Do plants have souls in them?

Question

Plants are living entities and is proven by science. Is there any mythological proof which supports that that plants have souls in them?. If you know, please provide it except the story of sons of Kuvera, who had been cursed to stand as trees until delivered by Krishna in Mahabharat.

Answer 1

The soul is covered by various degrees, expressing various levels of consciousness.

1. Covered consciousness (acchadita-cetana) like souls within bodies of trees, grass, and stones. Lowest level on the verge of being unconscious

2. Retracted consciousness (sankucita-cetana) like those souls residing in the bodies of nimals, birds, snakes, fish, other water-creatures, worms. Their consciousness is a little opened and is directed toward eating, sleeping, fearing and bustling to and fro to fulfill a host of desires, arguing with others over property claims and anger when someone is wronged

Next three level of consciousness are exhibited in the bodies of human beings.
3. Budding consciousness (mukulita-cetana) - The immoral people and the two kinds of atheists are situated in the stage of budding consciousness.

4. Blossoming consciousness (vikacita-cetana) - The people who believe in God and the people engaged in the practice of devotional service, sadhana-bhakti.

5. Fully blossomed consciousness (purna-vikacita-cetana)
The people engaged in the ecstatic devotion, bhava-bhakti.

The above classification is from the Jaiva Dharma by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the great-grand spiritual master of Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON.

There is the description of seven palm trees (sapta tala), that were very old, very bulky and very high, within Dandakaranya forest. These trees are mentioned in the Kiskindhya section (11th &12 chapter), of the Ramayana. In Sri Chaitanya Charitamirta, Madhya Lila, chapter nine, verse 313, it is mentioned, "Upon seeing the seven palm trees, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced them. As a result, they all returned to Vaikunthaloka, the spiritual world.

Similarly, the Gita Mahatmya, Lord Siva tells narrates incidents to Parvati, wherein some souls in the bodies of trees are liberated by chanting a chapter of Bhagavad gita.

Also, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, while traveling in the forest of Jharikhanda in the Bihar state, chanted the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, and the trees and wild animals exhibited various symptoms in the bodies of etc...

Answer 2

First of all we don’t have a clear definition for soul. We can say whether it is there in the body or not? But we don’t know what it is exactly. What are its dimensions. How can you define it medically. Before Medical field was thinking it as something in Brain. But now it is proved that it is the force which initiated the heart and it is controlling the brain. That is why we say few persons as Brain dead, but still life is there. Soul is something which gives life. The things which have life in it is proved by the growth. So in that aspect soul is there in plant and animals. But the functions of other living things are predefined. Means they don’t have any alternative way. Or choice. Or freewill to choose this or that. Only man has been given the power to think and act. Animals cant even count from 1 t0 10. Soul for all living things are not same, but as long as they grow they have some sort of soul. Another proof for soul is they are born, they grow and they die one day. Plants have soul in them but it is entirely different.
A brief findings about heart & soul.
The actual physical heart in our breast beats at about 100,000 times a day, pumping two gallons of blood per minute, 100 gallons per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for an entire life time! The vascular system that sends this life-giving blood is over 60,000 miles long: it is more than two times the circumference of the earth. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the heart starts beating before the brain is formed; the heart begins to beat without any central nervous system. The dominant theory was that the central nervous system is what is controlling the entire human being from the brain, yet we know now that in fact the nervous system does not initiate the heartbeat. It is actually self-initiated; we would say, it is initiated by God. Atheists would say it evolved.
Soul is a very sophisticated entity residing in all of us. Ego is a feature of soul which has to be controlled. Or else it will kill the soul. Every day we hear & see so many deaths around us. This should make us realise that we have soul. May be the word & name may differ. During insults we as a whole human get affected. Soul initiates this effect. Even our hands react, legs react while insulted.

Answer 3

Interesting question, but a bit convoluted. The phrase "mythological proof" is an oxymoron. However the earth is made of matter as are all living things. It is believed by many that all living things have a soul. Or were created spiritually before they were created physically. It has been shown that plants have an aura and that it changes when plants are subjected to changes such as music. And although plants thrive when people talk to them that is most likely because of the carbon dioxide exchange.

Answer 4

Plants are really living things and is really proven by science also. a typical example if you have a plant in your house if you see them drying , just put some water on them and there roots . they becaome very happy, the leaves starts shaking it is because they got a life and they grow again like any living things
any living things in this planet has a soul . soul dont have a shape they will be in different forms.

Answer 5

Soul is nothing but consciousness. Any living being , which takes birth , grows and dies is a conscious being . The strength of these feelings vary from living being to living being.
Plants have a very subtle sense of conscience. These can be felt ( as these are finer feelings which cannot be seen ), by higher forms of conscious beings .
We , feel the presence of peace and contentment in the shadows of huge trees , in the summer months . Of course , for having this experience , you have to go to a lonely place , as in cities these finer senses are dumbed.
The biggest proof is that in Hindu religion , all the spiritual gurus got moksha or awakening , by meditating below the presence of a great tree. This proves that these trees with their essence of soulful presence , helped our great masters to achieve further success.

Answer 6

Why plants? The seemingly inert materials are pervaded by the soul. Nothing is lifeless in this world. From minerals only all things have evolved. Minerals are the creation of God. Hence minerals contain the soul as all other things and beings in this world. The five basic elements, earth, water, fire, air and sky are the first creations from God, which are considered as part of God., as per Hindu philosophy. nagarajan.(Consider the motion of protons, electrons etc inside atom, they are in constant flux. How is it possible without a conscious basis for all the motion including those of planets like moon, mars, mercury etc)

Answer 7

Animals are sentient. flora at the instantaneous are not. Animals are patently attentive to experience perceptions. Sentient beings have minds; they have ideas and teach a favor to stay with assistance from operating faraway from those who ought to damage them or crying out in soreness. in spite of if flora respond to image voltaic and different stimuli, they don't seem to be sentient; they don’t have a ideas, they don’t imagine about or concern lack of life, they don't seem to be conscious and wakeful. flora do no longer have a fearful equipment, benzodiazepine (soreness) receptors, or endogenous opiates, alongside with endorphins that alleviate soreness following extreme damage, which begs the question of why an animal ought to have those applications in the journey that they did not experience soreness. Feeling soreness and the means to struggle through is area of being sentient, as well as experiencing excitement and a favor to stay. The SOUL is the essence of a sentient being ,someone & animal.

Answer 8

As far as Iknow, plants Do feel pain:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/julaug01/art5jul.html

but as far as a" soul" I, as a nonreligious person, really don't know what a soul is. When I think of a soul, i think of a mind, but i don't exactly know what theists would consider a soul to be. If an animal has a soul because it feels pain, then plants do have souls.

Answer 9

Even though I'm an atheist, I like to believe that everything has a soul. I just don't believe that it's eternal. I like to believe that my kitties have a soul, and that the plants i grow also have one. Plants are beautiful, and respond to music, and grow according to how well you care for them, just like any other living creature.

Answer 10

Plants have spirits which are a part of the whole. I don't know if it would qualify as mythological proof but Kirlian photography of a torn leaf will show the whole leaf.

Blessed Be )O(