48. Individual Spirit Souls Are Eternal

Adhyaya 3 Pada 3 AdhikaraNa 11

The Individual Spirit Souls Are Eternal and Without Beginning


Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


Because He is the origin of everything, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead has no other origin from which He was
created. This has already been described. Now we will determine
the nature of the individual spirit soul. First the idea that the
individual soul has an origin will be refuted.
In the TaittirIya AraNyaka, MahA-NArAyaNa UpaniShad (1.4) it
is said:


yataH prasUtA jagataH prasUtI
toyena jIvAn vyasasarja bhUmyAm


"From the Supreme Personality of Godhead the
universe was born. With water He created the living entities on
the earth."

In the ChAndogya UpaniShad it is said:


san-mUlAH saumyemAH sarvAH prajAH


"O gentle one, all living entities have their roots
in the Supreme."

SaMshaya (doubt): Do the individual spirit souls have an
origin or not?

PUrvapakSha (the opponent speaks): Because He is the creator
of the material universe, which contains both sentient living
entities and insentient matter, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead must be the creator of the individual spirit souls. Any
other idea would be illogical.

SiddhAnta (conclusion): The author of the sUtras gives the
following conclusion.


SUtra 16


nAtmA shruter nityatvAc ca tAbhyaH

na - not; AtmA - the individual spirit soul; shruteH - from the
shruti-shAstra; nityatvAt - because of being eternal; ca - and;
tAbhyaH - from them.


Because the individual spirit soul is eternal, and because
of the statements of shruti-shAstra and other scriptures, this idea
about the individual spirit soul is not true.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


The individual spirit soul was never created. Why not? The
sUtra explains: "shruteH" (because of the statements of
shruti-shAstra). In KaTha UpaniShad (1.2.18) it is said:


na jAyate mriyate vA vipashcin
nAyaM kutashcin na babhUva kashcit
ajo nityaH shAshvato .ayaM purANo
na hanyate hanyamAne sharIre


"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 shvetAshvatara UpaniShad (1.9):


j~nAj~nau dvAv ajAv IshAnIshau


"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
shruti and SmR^iti -shAstras". The word "ca" (and) in the
sUtra means that the individual spirit soul is also conscious and
full of knowledge.
In the KaTha UpaniShad (2.5.13) it is said:


nityo nityAnAM cetanash 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 shAshvato .ayaM purANaH

"The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and
primeval."

Therefore, when it is said, "Yaj~nadatta 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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.3.8) it is
said:


sa vA ayaM puruSho jAyamAnaH sharIram 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 UpaniShad (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.a 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.a creation is not contradicted. In this way the
scriptures are correct, and in this way, also, the individual
spirit souls are never born.