Answer: They are two distinct levels of reality. Just as a car and a driver have different needs, the body and the soul also have different needs.

Our body is basically a survival machine. So it needs, essentially, to survive and reproduce. So ahar, nidra, bhaya, maithuna—these are the activities of the body.

Now, the word soul is used both literally and metaphorically. It is used metaphorically to refer to the deeper essence, the underlying spirit, or the driving energy of someone. For example, we may say, “The spirit of India is rising,” or “The spirit of India was crushed when India lost the World Cup final to Australia.” So, whether we use the word soul in a literal or a non-literal sense, the idea is that the soul is nourished by meaning and purpose.

While the body is driven primarily to exist, the soul asks the question, “Why do I exist?” In between the soul and the body is the mind. The mind comes up with different answers: “I exist for pleasure,” “I exist for power,” “I exist for this hobby.” But the basic need of the soul is not just to survive, but to bring meaning to our survival. That meaning ultimately comes through harmony with the divine.

The Gita explains that we are all parts of the divine, and when we learn to live in harmony with the divine, that is when the soul becomes satisfied. Otherwise, as the Gita says, manah shashthani indriyani prakriti-sthani karshati. Different kinds of dissatisfaction arise, which can eventually lead to disruption and even destruction.

So, the need of the soul is to connect with the divine and contribute in a mood of service to the divine. The Gita says that this connection is established through inner remembrance. That is where mantra chanting, prayer, and meditation all help us connect with the higher reality.

And contribution is the seva-bhava. When we understand that we are part of a bigger reality and that we can do something of value, that is what brings deep spiritual fulfillment: connection and contribution.

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15.07 The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.