I have question that came up during a discussion with a colleague. We were discussing the fact that the body is temporary, but the soul is eternal. My colleague asked me if the soul is formless, and I said, "Yes, it is, because the body it is associated with is temporary." He asked if formlessness is a quality of the soul, and by extension, if the Supreme Soul should also not possess the same property of formlessness? I explained that in our system we worship Krishna who has form and yet is above form at the same time. However, I was unable to provide a more clear answer.
Arising out of this, given that the Lord has form, and is above form or formlessness, what about liberated souls who have attained Goloka and the Lord's lotus feet? Do they possess indestructible, blemishless forms as well in that exalted state? Or are they without form?
With humble dandavats,
Srinivas
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The soul is not formless. In fact the body has form because it is a covering for the soul, which has form. Just as a glove has form because it covers the hand, which has form, the body also has form because it covers the soul, which has form. You need to study our books more thoroughly before you start preaching.
It not correct to say that Krishna is above form. This makes it sound like formlessness is above form. Krishna is the Supreme Person and the Supreme Form because Krishna and His form are one and the same. There is no difference between the person Krishna and His form. In this connection Srila Prabhupada states in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.15.35, "His body is nondifferent from Him, and therefore He is known as the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss."
Every living being throughout all of existence has his svarupa, his eternal spiritual form. In material consciousness, he forgets his eternal form and foolishly misidentifies with so many imperfect material forms one after another in the cycle of birth and death. But once he revives his Krishna consciousness he reactivates his eternal spiritual form and regains his original position in the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that most wondrous spiritual sky.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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