Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj explains about the two questions: Who am I? Who is mine? He specifies, through scriptural evidence only, we can know about ‘I’ or self. In India, three systems of spiritual philosophy are accepted: the shruti system includes the Upanishads, the smriti system includes the Gita and other scriptures, and the nyay system includes the Vedanta or Brahm Sutra. The Upnishads are the essence of the Vedas. There are 108 most important Upnishads, and out of these, nine are foremost. This is known as the shruti system, which is irrefutable scriptural proof.

Kripaluji Maharaj describes that the Vedas say the two sentient entities are the ‘I’ or ‘self’ and God. Both of them reside in the heart of all the living beings. Soul is a power of God called tatastha shakti or neutral power. Another power of God is maya, and God, soul and maya are eternal. This means God did not create us or maya. The souls did not create God or maya, and maya is insentient, so it cannot create the soul or God. Thus, none were created nor can be destroyed by either of the three. But God is all-powerful, and the soul and maya are both His subordinate powers.

Another important fact that Maharajji states is, the souls are under the control of maya and God is the controller of maya. The souls are eternally under maya’s control, but it is not compulsory that they should remain there forever. God is eternally the controller of maya and will remain so forever. Also maya is apara or an inferior power of God, as it is insentient. The soul is para or a superior power of God, as it is sentient.

Kripaluji Maharaj says that Ved Vyas describes three powers of God: para, kshetragya and maya. The para, also known as swaroop shakti, samartha shakti or yogamaya, is the personal power that makes the impossible possible. There are some souls who have been one with para shakti since eternity, referred to as eternal associates of Shree Krishna. Then there are the souls who attain God realization, after which they also receive God’s swaroop shakti or para shakti forever. But the souls who are eternally controlled by maya and who have not attained God, are not parts of Shree Krishna’s para shakti, and neither are they part of maya, because maya is insentient. So, just one power remains to which these souls could belong and that iskshetragya or jeev shakti. All the souls controlled by maya are a special part of Shree Krishna’s power, called jeev shakti. This is also called tatastha or neutral power. So, soul is the neutral power of God. Maya has controlled the soul since eternity, but the soul who realizes God goes beyond maya. Shree Kripaluji ends by saying that there are many similarities and differences between the soul and God, which he will explain in detail later in the series.