Eternal Soul and Devotion: The Unchanging Spiritual Journey
The ideas of the soul’s eternity in the Vedas and the concept of eternal bhakti harmoniously complement each other. In the Vedas, it is asserted that the true “self” — the soul — is immutable, despite the constant transformations that the body undergoes. At the same time, the Bhagavad Gita (a constituent part of the Mahabharata) introduces, for the first time, the concept of bhakti as a comprehensive, constant service and connection with the higher reality. In other words, although the physical body is subject to changes and reinterpretation, the soul remains the unchanging foundation through which the spiritual connection with the Divine is realized, and it is this eternal entity that becomes the object of bhakti.This is illustrated, for example, by the following statement: “My body is constantly changing both in form and in composition. It is in a state of continuous exchange with the material and organic world that surrounds me…” (source: link txt) This emphasizes that while the physical shell is constantly changing, the focus of the true spiritual quest should be on the soul — the unchanging core of one’s identity.At the same time, service to the Divine as described in the Bhagavad Gita does not depend on the status or condition of the body. A quote from the Mahabharata clearly conveys the essence of bhakti as devoted service that leads to liberation and the realization of absolute reality: “A component of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita (‘The Song of the Lord’), in which for the first time the concept of bhakti — devoted service — is introduced…” (source: link txt) Thus, even if the physical components of a human being are subject to change, the path of eternal bhakti remains uninterrupted, as it is directed toward achieving and developing the true, eternal “self” — the soul.In summary, in the Vedas the eternity of the soul and in the Bhagavad Gita the concept of bhakti complement each other: the impermanence of the body does not hinder the establishment and maintenance of an unchanging, eternal connection with the Divine, which forms the basis of the true spiritual path.