Am *I* an Immortal ?

Question

Vedas are telling that we are "Amritasya Putraa".
That, all of us are immortals because we are the children of Devas.
Gita says that "Vasamsi Jeernani yatha vihaaya"
That, "You will change this body as you change your torn old dress into a new one"
Upanishads are declaring authentically that you may forget everything after the death, but the concious of existance or the feeling of that " I am " remains same forever EVEN WITH NEW BIRTH. Death occurs only to the body but never to that " I am"

So ARE WE IMMORTALS??
and ARE YOU WITH ME SINCE THAT BEGINNING OF CREATION?

Answer 1

The veil, has shrouded 'our' memories of
what 'we' are...
'You' and I' in our formless form,
have been and shall remain...
close your eyes
and open 'yours'
and you shall 'see'...
'we' were the sparks
in the skulls they dig
and proclaim it a link
in the chain of evolution...
'we' are the sparks
that have witnessed all...
from mammoths and yeti,
to the comp and car...
'we' shall be, to witness more
from re-igniting the sun
to black hole cars...
'you' and 'me'
were, are, and shall remain
to see the sparkles
in His own 'eyes'.

Answer 2

Hi Magnolia,

Congratulations to you for posting such a nice n relevent questions , and thanks to all those who have tried to answer the same .

My little contribution :-

First - Whos is reffered to as "I" -
if its the body - NO its never immortal.
If its tye sould - YES it is .

All the terms which you quote from Vedeas, Geeta, Upnsiahds etc. reffer to no physical You but the Atman in it .

As nobody has touched Adi Shankara on this subject let me mention here the Nirvana Shatkam by him , which answers yours and all seekers question/s


Six Pada on Nirvana
I am not mind, wisdom, pride, and heart. Neither I am ear and tongue nor I am nose and eyes. Neither I am sky or earth nor I am power or wind. I am the eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||1||

I am not the state of being alive or the five type of Vayu. Neither I am the seven elements constituting the body (Dhatu) nor I am the five sheaths which invest the soul. Neither I am voice, hand, or leg nor I am the portion at the bottom of waist (anus or Linga). I am the eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||2||

I am not the state of envy and passion or the emotions of greed and attachment. Neither I am intoxication nor I am the emotion of jealousy. And I am not even the four Purushartha — Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. I am the eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||3||

I am not Punya (good deed), Paap (Sin), Saukhya (friendship), or Dukha (Grief). Neither I am chants (Mantra) or Shrine (Teertha) nor I am the Veda or the sacrifice and oblation. Also, I am not the food, or the one that should be eaten, or the eater. I am eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||4||

Neither I am the fear of death nor I am the difference between races. Neither I am [any relation like] father, mother, nor I am born. Also, I am not a relative, a friend, a teacher (Guru), or a student (Shisya). I am the eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||5||

I am free from changes, and lack all the qualities and form. I envelope all forms from all sides and am beyond the sense-organs. I am always in the state of equality — there is no liberation (Mukti) or captivity (Bandha). I am the eternal happiness or bliss state, I am Shiv, I am Shiv.||6||

Poet: Adi Shankaracharya

Source: Kamakoti

© Stutimandal 2006, Mar 24.

I hope I have been able to clarify my viewpoint clear enough for all the interested

Answer 3

There are a number of ways I can think of... Here's one: Research various commercially-available chemicals, an in particular look for ratings of their "Lethal Dose" - this will typically be expressed as LD with a number (eg. LD50) This means that the amount given would be sufficient to kill 50% of those who consume it. This means that if you consume that quantity you could estimate your survival likelihood at about 50%. Repeat this for a few more chemicals and your survival likelihood will drop considerably. For example, consuming the LD50 quantity for four chemicals gives you a total survival probability of about 6%. After consumption, if you are still alive there is only a 6% chance that you are not immortal. As far as the risk of death goes, you can circumvent the odds with medical intervention. Here's an example: the LD50 for alcohol is a BAC of about 0.4%. If you were to get your blood alcohol up to this level and survive without intervention, you could move onto the next test (note: ingesting it by drinking delivers it too slowly - you'll pass out or throw up before you get close. Try administering it rectally instead.) In the event that you are actually not immortal, on the other hand, your body will begin going through symptoms indicating this. At some point your body will be unable to sustain itself on its own, but can still be resuscitated. You will need a medical team standing by to flush your system, administer transfusions, perform CPR, and medicate you immediately. In effect, your life will be dependent on their intervention. It stands to reason that if you are no longer able to sustain yourself by your own means (implying that your life can be deprived from you and would have been were it not for forces beyond your control) then death is at least possible for you, and you are therefore not immortal.

Answer 4

On a quantum level everything is energy and eternal.
Imo there is enough proof of the existence of universal consciousness which can be the source of memory once part of us accesses it. Therefore my answer is yes we are immortal humans if we choose to be from moment to moment or we can choose to be non-physical if the desire is such. I am not convinced as to the role of time within these frameworks but it seems that we can both live in time or outside of time on some level. On some level we are eternally one since it is possible at least to acquire each other's memories though this is very rarely done. Can you imagine what some idiots would do with this ability if it were easy to access? Fortunately the veil is strong.

Let's all have a great weekend!

Answer 5

If human life is rotating as per karma then we must ve been together somewhere sometime. I was given this knowledge by the general conversation in family and friends that when we come across someone we ve link in the past too as we do not share our thoughts with all but only with a few. So far as immortality is concerned it is based on Karma, if they are applaudable then history remembers u and u become immortal despite physical body consigned to ashes. People like Aryabhat, Yoga Guru Patanjali and so many others are immortal because of their works. I think we ve to work for our fellow beings and help them lead a better life then we will be immortal at least for some generations for some families. I rather look up to Aum himself for the right answer.

Answer 6

We have been, are now, and always will be part of the One. We should not perceive the physical body as the end of who we are. We are energy, atoms and molecules dancing at a dimensional vibration that allows us movement. (In our essence, the only difference between us and a table or chair is that we have a soul.) We are the tangible manifestation of our thoughts and feelings, which are simply electromagnetic energy that becomes dense and physical, forming who we are. But our thoughts and feelings are limitless and they commingle with others, where they harmonize, blend and touch each other's souls. When the physical being can no longer function, those thoughts and feelings continue to vibrate, our soul continues to exist outside of the density of human form. Our creation is always beginning, because it never truly ends.

Answer 7

We are not this body, IE race, color, nationality, religion, job, mind, intellect, or even gender. We all are eternal spirit Souls, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, also known as Krishna, Allah, Jehovah, Vishnu, etc. Krishna says in the Gita the soul is unborn and eternal. Yes we are immortal. The soul (That's us)never takes birth it has always existed and it never dies,only the body dies. The soul moves on to it's next destination according to the conscious one has at the time of death. If one thinks of God, (named above), at the time of death, they will not return to this material world nor take another material body. They will return to the Eternal, blissful spiritual world where their is no more material births, deaths, old age or disease. We well always exist. The soul can not be burned moistened, cut or killed.

Answer 8

The I can be immortal only if the ego of the I is removed, amd after it merges with the Lord! And, thats not possible till the ego of ours is removed! The I continues to be there, birth after birth in any form till salvation!
I am there with you since the beginning of the Creation!

Answer 9

Dear Sister Flora,

Yes we are immortal whether we know it or not.That is what our scriptures say and we believe.

Vedanta is a very interesting subject .when we delve deep into it the verse in Geeta gives different meanings at different times.As we progress understanding the scriptures well.the real meanings gradually show them selves up.

The creation itself is is an illusion, they say.What ever that is happening is is happening like in a dream.The pain and pleasure are same as we experience in a dream.while in dream they appear real and we enjoy and weepand laugh etc in dream state.
Similarly in Jagrad avastha ,this is also another phase of dream state.
What ever that exists is only ONE.
EKAM SAT VIPRA BAHULAA VADANTI.
So we see many things,many religions and many objects.But there is only one thing that is manifesting like all these ,like Gold taking different shapes as ornaments.
But we have to see that LIGHT in US.For that we have to try and destroy the layers of ignorance,egoismand arrogance too.Then surely the LIGFHT will show up.
When one reaches that stage all appears unreal and ONLY ONE THING REMAINS.That is immortal.That is you and all.
You existed from the beginning and there is no end to your existence.
With faint rememberence s of what happened in this birth it self we are suffering much.if we remember all Janmas , imagine the suffering you will have and confusion and commotion in you.So it is better for us that we do not remember our past janmas.Let us do good things as per scriptures and gradually peel off the layers of ignorance and try to see the Divine light.Then we realise the Eternalnature of of us.

This is my humble opinion.I will be grateful if any body corrects my version and educates me further.Thanks in advance to all.

Answer 10

Yes, I do believe that "I" which is mentioned as soul in Gita is immortal. We have thousands of examples for this in the history and even in our day to day life we come to know about this. These days all NEWS channels are full of these kind of stories..............just kidding but yes I do believe that we are immortals and part of the immortal GOD

Answer 11

The word caitanya means “living force,” carita means “character,” and amrita means “immortal.” As living entities we can move, but a table cannot because it does not possess living force(soul). Movement and activity may be considered signs or symptoms of the living force. Indeed, it may be said that there can be no activity without the living force. Although the living force(the soul, the "i am") is present in the material condition(these bodies), this condition is not amrita, immortal. The words Caitanya-caritämrita, then, may be translated as “the character of the living force in immortality.”
But how is this living force displayed immortally? It is not displayed by man or any other creature in this material universe, for none of us are immortal in these bodies. We possess the living force, we perform activities, and we are immortal by our nature and constitution, but the material condition into which we have been put does not allow our immortality to be displayed. It is stated in the Katha Upanisad that eternality and the living force belong to both ourselves and God. Although this is true in that both God and ourselves are immortal, there is a difference. As living entities, we perform many activities, but we have a tendency to fall down into material nature. God has no such tendency. Being all-powerful, He never comes under the control of material nature. Indeed, material nature is but one display of His inconceivable energies.

As spirit souls, yes, we are immortals and we have been even before creation.