Sutra 16
natma cruter nityatvac ca tabhyah
na - not; atma - the individual spirit soul; sruteh - from the Sruti-sastra; nityatvat - because of being eternal; ca - and; tabhyah - from them.
Because the individual spirit soul is eternal, and because of the statements of Sruti-sastra and other scriptures, this idea about the individual spirit soul is not true. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The individual spirit soul was never created. Why not? TheSutra explains: "sruteh" (because of the statements of Sruti-sastra). In Katha Upanisad (1.2.18) it is said:
na jayate mriyate va vipaccin
nayam kutaccin na babhuva kaccit ajo nityah cacvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane carire
"O wise one, for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."*
That the individual spirit soul was never born is also declared in the Svetasvatara Upanisad
(19):
jYajnau dvav ajav icanicau
"Neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor the individual spirit souls were ever born."
The word "tabhyah" in the sutra means "the eternality of the individual spirit soul is described in the Sruti and Smrti -sastras". The word "ca" (and) in the Sutra means that the individual spirit soul is also conscious and full of knowledge. In the Katha Upanisad (2.5.13) it is said:
nityo nityanam cetanac cetananam
"Of all eternal living souls there is one who is the leader. Of all eternal souls there is one who is the leader."
In the Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Lord explains: ajo nityah cacvato 'yam puranah
"The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval."
Therefore, when it is said, "Yajnadatta is born and again he dies," such words refer only to the external material body. The jata-karma ceremony and other ceremonies like it also refer to the external material body. The individual spirit soul is different from the external material body and resides in it like a passenger. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.3.8) it is said:
sa va ayam puruso jayamanah cariram abhisampadyamanah sa utkraman mriyamanah
"At the moment of birth the spirit soul enters a material body and at the moment of death the soul leaves the body."
In the Chandogya Upanisad (6.11.3) it is said:
jivopetam vava kiledam mriyate na jivo mriyate
"The soul resides in the material body. When the body dies the soul does not die."
Here someone may object: How can this be? If this is so, then this fact disagrees with the scriptural description of the individual souls' creation.
To this objection I reply: The individual spirit souls are said to be created because they are effects of the Supreme. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has two potencies, and these are said to be His effects. Here is what makes these two potencies different. One potency is the pradhana and other inert, unconscious, not alive potencies that are meant to be objects of enjoyment and various experiences. The other potency is the individual spirit souls, who are not inert, dull matter, but are conscious, alive beings, and who are able to enjoy and perceive various experiences. These two potencies share one common feature: that they are both the effects of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way the scriptural description of the souls' creation is not contradicted. In this way the scriptures are correct, and in this way, also, the individual spirit souls are never born. .pa
Adhikarana 12
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Both Knowledge and Knowers
Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Now the author of the sutras considers the nature of the individual spirit soul. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.7.22) it is said:
yo vijYane tisthan
"The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge."
In another passage it is said:
sukham aham asvapsam na kiYcid avedisi "I slept happily. I did not know anything."
Samcaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul unalloyed knowledge only, or is the soul the knower that experiences knowledge?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul consists of knowledge only. This is confirmed by the statement of Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.7.22): "The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge." The soul is not the knower or the perceiver of knowledge. The intelligence is the knower. Therefore statement, "I slept happily. I did not know anything." is spoken by the intelligence, not by the soul.
Siddhanta (conclusion): The author of the sutras gives the following conclusion.
Sutra 17
jYo 'ta eva
jYah - knower; atah eva - therefore.
Therefore he is the knower.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The individual spirit soul is both knowledge and knower. In the Pracna Upanisad (4.9) it is said:
esa hi drasta sprasta crota rasayita ghrata manta boddha karta vijnanatma purusah
"The individual spirit soul is the seer, the toucher, the hearer, the taster, the smeller, the thinker, the determiner, the doer, and the knower."
This truth is accepted because it is declared by scripture, not because it is understood by logic. Our acceptance of the truth of scripture is described in sutra 2.1.27:
crutes tu cabda-mulatvat
"The statements of Sruti-sastra are the root of real knowledge." In the Smrti-sastra it is said:
j Yata j nana-svarupo 'yam
"The individual spirit soul is both knower and knowledge."
Therefore the individual spirit soul is not knowledge alone without being anything else, and this is not at all proved by the statement, "I slept happily. I did not know anything," for such an idea would contradict these scripture statements that affirm the soul to be the knower. Therefore it is concluded that the individual spirit soul is both knowledge and knower. .pa
Adhikarana 13
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Atomic Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Now the author of the sutras considers the size of the individual spirit souls. In the Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.9) it is said:
eso 'nur atma cetasa veditavyo yasmin pranah paYcadha samvivesa
"When the life-breath withdraws the five activities, the mind can understand the atomic soul." Samcaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul atomic or all-pervading?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul is all-pervading. Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.14) declares that the soul is "mahan" (great). The statement that the soul is atomic is merely a poetic metaphor.
Siddhanta (conclusion): The author of the sutras gives the conclusion in the following words.
Sutra 18
utkranti-gaty-agatinam
utkranti - departure; gati - travel; agatinam - and of return Because of departure, travel, and return. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
In this sutra the word "anuh" (the atomic soul) should be understood from the previous sutra. In this sutra the genitive case is used in the sense of the ablative. The individual spirit soul is atomic and not all-pervading. Why is that? The sutra explains: "Because of departure, travel, and return." In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.2) it is said:
tasya haitasya hrdayasyagram pradyotate. tena pradyotenaisa atma niskramati caksuso va murdhno vanyebhyo va carira-decebhyah
"The soul shines in the heart. At the moment of death the effulgent soul leaves through the opening of the eyes, the opening at the top of the the head, or another opening in the body."
In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.11) it is said: ananda nama te loka
andhena tamasavrtah tams te pretyabhigacchanti avidvamso 'budha janah
"Sinful fools enter into planets known as the worlds of torment, full of darkness and ignorance."
In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.6) it is said:
prapyantam karmanas tasya yat kiYcedam karoty ayam tasmat lokat punar etya yasmai lokaya karmane
"At the time of death the soul reaps the results of his works. He goes to the world where he deserves to go. When the results of his past deeds are exhausted, again he returns to the middle planets, the world of karma."
In this way the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad describes the soul's travel from one place to another. If he were all-pervading, the soul would not be able to travel from one place to another, for he would already be everywhere.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.30) it is said:
aparimita dhruvas tanu-bhrto yadi sarva-gatas tarhi na casyateti niyamo dhruva netaratha
"O Lord, although the living entities who have accepted material bodies are spiritual and unlimited in number, if they were all-pervading there would be no question of their being under Your control."*
However, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although all- pervading, can travel from place to place. This is possible because He possesses inconceivable powers.
Here someone may object: The individual spirit soul can be all-pervading and unmoving, and still, because he mistakenly identifies with the external material body, imagine that he goes and comes. He is like the ruler of a village who never really leaves his realm.
To this the reply is given: Because it is said that he both departs and returns it is not possible that the soul is actually stationary and unmoving. The author of the sutras confirms this in the following words.
Sutra 19
svatmanac cottarayoh
sva - own; atmanah - of the soul; ca - and; uttarayoh - of the latter two.
Also because the last two refer to the soul. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "ca" (also) is used here for emphasis. Here the word "uttarayoh" (the last two) means "of the coming and going". The coming and going here definitely occurs to the individual spirit soul. This is so because the coming and going in the pervious sutra clearly refer to an agent, to the performer of the
action. The coming and going here are understood to be coming and going from a material body. This is clearly seen in the first Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.2) passage quoted in the previous purport. It is also seen in the following words of Bhagavad-gita (15.4):
cariram yad avapnoti
yac capy utkramaticvarah grhitvaitani samyati vayur gandhan ivacayat
"The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another."*
If someone says that the soul actually never goes anywhere, although it seems to go places because of the misidentification of the external material body as the self, then I say this is a foolish idea. In the following words the Kaucitaki Upanisad refutes this idea:
sa yadasmat carirat samutkramati sahaivaitaih sarvair utkramati
"At the time of death the soul, accompanied by all his powers, leaves the material body."
The word "saha" (accompanied by) is used when the more important is accompanied by another of lesser importance. An example is the sentence: "Accompanied by (saha) his son, the father took his meal." Another example is in Bhagavad-gita (15.4), which declares that the soul carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. In this way the foolish example pushed forward by the impersonalists, the example of the air in the jar and in the sky, is clearly refuted.
Sutra 20
nanur atac chruter iti cen netaradhikarat
na - not; anuh - atom; atat - not that; sruteh - from the scriptures; iti - thus; cet - is; na - not; itara - other; adhikarat - because of being appropriate.
If it is claimed that the Sruti-sastra denies the idea that the soul is atomic, then I reply that it is not so, because those descriptions apply to someone else.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Here someone may object: Is it not so that that the individual spirit soul is not atomic? After all, the Brhad- aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.22) affirms:
sa va esa maha-jana atma "The soul is very great."
After all, to be great in size is the very opposite of being atomic.
If someone claims this, then the sutra replies: "No. It is not so." Why not? The sutra explains: "itara" (because these descriptions apply to someone else). These words are descriptions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-pervading Supersoul. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.3.7) it is said:
yo 'yam vijnanamayah pranesu
"He is full of knowledge. He stays among the life- airs."
Although this passage begins by describing the individual spirit soul, it proceeds with a description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as is seen in a following passage (Brhad- aranyaka Upanisad 4.3.13):
yasyanuvittah pratibuddha atma "He is the self who knows everything."
These words clearly describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not the individual spirit
soul. Sutra 21
sva-cabdonmanabhyam ca
sva - own; cabda - word; unmanabhyam - with measure; ca - and. Because of its word and measurement. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "sva-cabda" (the word describing it) here means that the word atomic is used to describe the individual spirit soul. An example of this is in Mundaka Upanisad (2.1.9):
eso 'nur atma
"The soul is atomic in size."
The word "unmana" here means "Its measurement is atomic in size". The precise measurement of the individual spirit soul is given in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (4.9):
balagra-cata-bhagasya
catadha kalpitasya ca bhago jivah sa vij Yeyah sa cantantyaya kalpate
"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of these parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul."*
In these two ways the atomic size of the soul is proved. the word anantya" here means "liberation". "Anta" means "death", and "an" means "without". Therefore the word "anantya" means "the condition of being free from death".
Here someone may object: Is it not so that if it is atomic in size and situated in a specific place in the material body, the soul could not perceive sensations in all other parts of the body, where the soul is not actually present?
If this is said, then the author of the sutras replies in the following words. Sutra 22
avirodhac candana-vat
avirodhah - not contradicting; candana - sandal; vat - like It does not contradict. It is like sandal paste. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
As a drop of sandal paste placed on one part of the body brings a pleasant sensation to the body as a whole, so the soul, although situated in one place, perceives what happens in the entire body. Therefore, there is no contradiction. In the Brahmanda Purana it is said:
anu-matro 'py ayam jivah
sva-deham vyapya tisthati yatha vyapya carirani
haricandana-viprusah
"As the sensation created by a drop of sandal paste pervades the entire body, so the individual spirit soul, although atomic in size, is conscious of what happens in the entire body."
Sutra 23
avasthiti-vaicesyad iti cen nabhyupagamad dhrdi hi
avasthiti - abode; vaicesyat - because of being specific; iti - thus; cet - if; na - not; abhyupagamat - because of acceptance; hrdi - in the heart; hi - certainly.
If it is denied because it has no specific abode, then I say no, because it resides in the heart.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Here someone may object: Is it not so that the drop of sandal paste has a single, clearly visible, place where it resides on the body but the soul has no such single residence in the body? There is no reason to make guesses about the location of the soul in the body. The soul is clearly present everywhere in the body, just as the element ether is present everywhere. Therefore the sandal-paste example is clumsy and wrong.
If this objection is raised, then the author of the sutras replies: "No. It is not so." Why not? The sutra explains: "Because it resides in the heart." This means that the soul really does reside in a single place in the material body. The soul resides in the heart. This is confirmed in the following words of Pracna Upanisad (3.6):
hrdi hy esa atma
"The soul resides in the heart."
In the final conclusion the spirit soul, although atomic in size is, in one sense, all-pervading throughout the entire material body. This is explained in the following sutra.
Sutra 24
gunad valokavat
gunat - by quality; va - or; aloka - light; vat - like. By quality or like light. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Although the soul is atomic in size, it pervades the body by the quality of consciousness. Like light it pervades the entire body. As the sun, although situated in one place, fills the universe with light, so the soul fills the body with consciousness. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself declares this in Bhagavad-gita (13.34):
yatha prakacayaty ekah
krtsnam lokam imam ravih ksetram ksetri tatha krtsnam prakacayati bharata
"O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness."*
When the sun emanates sunlight it does not lose any atoms from its mass, nor does it become diminished in any way. Rubies and other jewels also emanate light without losing atoms from their mass or becoming diminished in any way. It is not possible to say that when light is emanated from them these things become diminished in size. The light they emanate is their quality, not their mass. The quality can function in a plane apart from the substance that possesses it. The author of the sutras explains this in the following example.
Sutra 25
vyatireko gandhavat tatha hi darcayati
vyatirekah - difference; gandha - fragrance; vat - like; tatha - so; hi - indeed; darcayati - shows. As a fragrance is in a different place, so it is also in a different place. This the scripture shows. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
As the fragrance of flowers or other objects may travel to a place far from its source, so the consciousness that emanates from the soul may travel from the heart and enter the head, feet, or other parts of the body. The Kaucitaki Upanisad (3.6) explains:
prajYaya cariram samaruhya
"By consciousness the soul is all-pervading in the material body."
Even though the fragrance may travel very far it is never actually separated from its source, just as the light of a jewel is also not separated from its source. In the Smrti-sastra it is said:
upalabhyapsu ced gandham
kecid bruyur anaipunah prthivyam eva tam vidyad
apo vayum ca samcritam
"They who do not understand may sometimes say that fragrance is present in water. Earth is the natural home of fragrance, although it may sometimes take shelter of water or air."
In the Pracna Upanisad (4.9) it is said:
esa hi drsta
"The soul is the person who sees."
Samcaya (doubt): Is the consciousness that the soul possesses eternal or not?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): The soul is by nature unconscious. It is like a stone. Consciousness only arises when the soul comes in contact with the mind. This is seen in the scriptures' statement: "I slept happily. I was not conscious of anything." This statement shows that consciousness is not an inherent quality of the soul but rather is attained by contact with something else. It is like iron and fire. When placed in fire, an iron rod gradually assumes the qualities of fire. If it were an inherent quality of the soul, then consciousness would not be lost in deep sleep.
Siddhanta (conclusion): In the following words the author of the sutras gives the conclusion.