The Spirit is ... The word "spirit" that can mean?

What is the soul, and what is the spirit? Is the soul and spirit identical concepts, or are they different from each other? The questions are not new, deep, not having an unambiguous answer ... However, we can not help asking them. Our essence is searching, restless, eternally wandering and languishing in ignorance, but because it is alive, real, developing and infinite. If we were given to approach the truth closely and look into her eyes, we would disappear at the same moment, evaporate, as we would lose our essence, and hence the meaning of our existence. Therefore, in today's answer to the question "spirit is what?" There will be a small part of the truth.

Orthodoxy

The basis of the Orthodox faith is the doctrine of the trichotomy in human nature, otherwise it is the recognition that man consists not only of two basic substances (soul and body), but also of the third gracious gift - the spirit. However, in the teachers of the Church, the doctrine of the three-partedness of man, unfortunately, was more "self-evident" in nature than it was a deeply and comprehensively developed doctrine, so that disputes and objections always arose on this question. Opponents of trichotomy insisted that the essence of man consists only of the soul and body, and the words "spirit" and "soul" that are found in the Holy Scriptures are unambiguous concepts.

In turn, the proponents of the theory of the three-fold nature of man also do not differ in unity. Some believe that the soul is an absolutely immaterial substance, a lower manifestation of the spirit, therefore only the human body can be material. Others admit the other: the spirit is the only spiritual component of man, while the body and soul are material in their essence and are united into a single whole, sometimes denoted by the biblical term "flesh".

Many books have been written on these questions. This is "Addition to the Word of Death" by Bishop Ignatius, "Conversations and words of the Monk Makarii the Great", "The Soul and the Angel are not the body but the spirit" of Bishop Theophanes and many others. The reasoning is interesting, profound and instructive, but the resolution of this dispute is inherently impossible, because its depth is infinite, therefore - unattainable.

The concept of the spirit in Islam

In Islam there are such concepts as "nafs" (soul) and "ruh" (spirit). What do they mean? The scholars and commentators of the Qur'an disagreed. Some believe that these words are synonymous, and the differences can be found only in their qualities and properties. For example, the word "ruh" (spirit) can have such equivalents as "rych" - the wind that is conducive to the emergence of a new life, "rakh" is pacification, and the concept of "nafs" (soul) comes from the "nafis" - expensive, priceless, And from "tanaffas" - to breathe. Others include interpreters who say that from birth a person is given "hayat" (life), "ruh" (spirit) and "nafs" (soul). Spirit is a divine principle, it is light, and the soul is human, created from clay and fire.

However, there are wise men who call not to enter into conversations about the soul and its essence, for when the Prophet was asked about what the soul (spirit) is, he did not give an unambiguous answer, patiently waiting for the divine revelation. The aish that was sent was profound and wise: "The Spirit comes from the command of my Lord, and you are given very little to know about it." In other words, the existence of the spirit and its divine origin was confirmed, but its essence remained hidden and invisible. The mind of man is limited. He can not imagine concepts that do not have an obvious form and color, do not have certain dimensions that can not be weighed or otherwise studied. Therefore, if the questioners received a definite answer, they would still not be able to comprehend what they heard, because in the "world of orders" there are no definitions that are large or small, red, blue, square or round. Talking about the soul, you can only talk about what comes from this or that soul, what or who can influence it, that it can spoil or uplift. In other words, people can only talk about the characteristics of the soul, and Allah knows the truth.

Spirit is power

In Islam, in addition to the above concept of "ruh" (spirit, soul), there is one more idea. Allah supports all believers in Him with a different spirit: "Allah has inscribed faith in their hearts and strengthened them with the Spirit from Him" (Quran 58/22). That is, in addition to the spirit - the soul, which is originally in the human body, God gives His support and sends other opportunities at His will. Hence the word "spirit" takes on a special meaning: the spirit is power. Therefore, they say "strong in spirit" or "weak in spirit", "a healthy spirit is felt". However, unlike spirit - the soul, this spirit is mortal. It disappears when the body dies.

Ordinary miracle

One day the Monk Sergius, who was eating with the monastery's brethren, suddenly rose abruptly from the table, turned, bowed to the west, and said: "Rejoice, and you, the shepherd of Christ's flock, bless the Lord be with you." The monks were very surprised, they could not restrain themselves and asked the saint's paternal, to whom these words were addressed. What was their still more astonishing, when the monk replied that eight versts from the monastery the bishop of Perm, Stefan, who was on his way to Moscow, stopped. He bowed to the Holy Trinity and uttered the words: "Peace be unto you, spiritual brother." That's why Sergius answered him. Not everyone believed the words of the Holy One, some hurried to that very place and soon really caught up with Stefan, who confirmed the words of Sergius.

The example given is amazing, but not singular. Both believing people and scientists have had to deal with such phenomena hundreds of times. The former are called the Divine Miracle, which changes the usual logic of things in a second. The latter try to approach the scientific question (Sh. Rishe, Kotik, Oliver Lodok) and propose a theory of invisible radiation of energy by the thinking brain, i.e. Every thought is an energy that radiates outward and has both mental and physical properties.

Soul and spirit

Who is right, and what is the truth in this case? This is a great mystery. The soul and spirit are one and the same in essence, they are united in one essence, and their origin is divine. They are primary, they are the source and source of everything visible and invisible. However, there are differences. What are they? The soul is the sun, huge, bright, eternal. The spirit is the energy emanating from the sun, the rays that carry light and warmth to everyone. The spirit is that connecting thread, invisible, but very strong, that connects all and all with each other and with God. Thus, the soul transmits and disseminates that power, faith, those experiences, feelings, knowledge, all the conscious and unconscious that is in it at the moment. The deeper the soul, the stronger and purer the spirit, the more unlimited and all-encompassing.

Between relatives, mother and child, people who love each other, a special spiritual connection is established, through which people do not exchange much more energy as much as pass on energy of special quality to each other. Of course, it is impossible to describe, measure or evaluate what is happening beyond our understanding. Unequivocally, it is unattainable to determine the quantity, quality or strength of a spiritual connection, to fully understand and understand it, therefore, the words used by us are relative and conditional. They give only a small idea of who we are.

Evil spirit

However, the soul is not always calm, wise and sublime. It can be at different stages of development, have different degrees of spirituality or come to all kinds of states. As the apostle Paul says , there are spiritual people (1 Cor. 2:14). There are also people-animals, people-plants, people-angels. The first category includes people whose spirituality comes at the stage of instincts, and the latter approaching spirits without flesh. Hence, all kinds of connections and promises. One brave, fiery heart pours out morale, the spirit of courage and honor, igniting hundreds of other souls. Another, the heart of the mother, is poured out by a gentle and sweet flow of love on the child who clings to her breast. And the third, distorted by anger and hatred, radiates an evil spirit, energy, causing fear, anxiety or even reciprocal hatred and cruelty.

The spirit of one people

One can not deny the special relationship between people of the same nationality. The philosophical concept of "people's spirit", implying the supra-individual, revealing itself in the manifestations of the objective spirit of representatives of the same people, can also be interpreted as an unknown connection between people of the "same blood", which forms a kind of unity. It flows mysteriously flows of beliefs, values, knowledge, experience, love, special qualities, peculiar only to this people. This force is in constant movement, but in troubled times in the history of this or that people, it can unfold with unprecedented power, become a stream that carries all the dams.

Speaking about the national spirit, it is impossible not to mention the Russian spirit: "Magic City! There, people in the business are quiet, but they say they are worried about two. There, from the Kremlin, from Arbat to Plyushchikh, the pure Russian spirit is blowing everywhere "(Nekrasov). What is it? Here is a real paradox. It can not be described, or rather, in the following words: it is highly spiritual, deep, powerful, hospitable, heroic, bright, but no epithet gives 100% comprehension of this phenomenon, and despite this, the Russian spirit is easily recognizable and respected in different parts of the planet .

Relationship of spirit and form

Spirit, soul are brightly reflected in material forms. Moreover, the spirit creates forms. For example, a person, his eyes, nose, lips, body shape, movements and facial expressions - everything corresponds and at the same time is built up by the soul and spirit. This theory is not new. Another Oscar Wilde in his work "The Picture of Dorian Gray" brings to the readers the idea that even the most beautiful face and delicate, subtle features are distorted beyond recognition under the press of seemingly elusive, hidden from the eyes of the surrounding thoughts, actions and actions of man.

However, in addition to external changes that can not be concealed, there are also subtle, inconspicuous features of a person's appearance. You look at the woman: a beautiful cut of eyes, plump pink lips, perfectly straight nose - there's nothing to complain about, a real ideal of beauty! However, with a closer look, there are very different sensations, directly opposite. What is it? Every day two opposing worlds unfold before us. One is accessible to the eye, the other, for example the spirit of a person, is hidden from the eyes. But their importance is inversely proportional to their "visibility". Spiritual appearance is primary. Let the soul live deep within us, let the spirit in the body be hidden from the sight, but only it is our true self, and it can not be hidden under the "fashionable dress". A minute or two, and the next moment the fog is completely dissipated, and before us either a dead forest opens, or a large glade under the rays of a bright spring sun.

Illusion and Reality

Top and bottom, inside and out, right and left ... Anyway, not just a person, but "physical space" consists of two things: visible and invisible. The world, inaccessible to the eye, the ethereal "spirit" of the Earth, is the nucleus, the beginning of all beginnings, which generates and maintains the external world of form and appearance. Birth, death, the change of the seasons, climate change, the motion of the tectonic plates of the Earth - all living and lifeless experiences, on the one hand, the real drama of life, and on the other - it's just a metaphor designed to embody the essence of the invisible inner world. For what? Maybe in order to help each of us find a unique, unique, but real key to the door with the sign "True Spirit of the World."