Adhyaya 3 Pada 3 AdhikaraNa 13
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Atomic
Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
Now the author of the sUtras considers the size of the
individual spirit souls. In the MuNDaka UpaniShad (3.1.9) it is
said:
eSho .aNur AtmA cetasA veditavyo yasmin prANaH pa~ncadhA
samviveSha
"When the life-breath withdraws the five activities,
the mind can understand the atomic soul."
SaMshaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul atomic or
all-pervading?
PUrvapakSha (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul
is all-pervading. BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (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 shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.2) it is said:
tasya haitasya hR^idayasyAgraM pradyotate. tena pradyotenaiSha
AtmA niShkrAmati cakShuSho vA mUrdhno vAnyebhyo vA
sharIra-deshebhyaH
"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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.11) it is said:
anandA nAma te lokA
andhena tamasAvR^itAH
tAMs te pretyAbhigacchanti
avidvAMso .abudhA janAH
"Sinful fools enter into planets known as the worlds
of torment, full of darkness and ignorance."
In the BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.6) it is said:
prApyAntaM karmaNas tasya
yat ki~ncedam 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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad describes the soul.as
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 shrImad-BhAgavatam (10.87.30) it is said:
aparimitA dhruvAs tanu-bhR^ito yadi sarva-gatAs
tarhi na shAsyateti 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
svAtmanash cottarayoH
sva - own; AtmanaH - of the soul; ca - and; uttarayoH - ofthe
latter two.
Also because the last two refer to the soul.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.2) passage quoted in
the previous purport. It is also seen in the following words of
Bhagavad-gItA (15.4):
sharIraM yad avApnoti
yac cApy utkrAmatIshvaraH
gR^ihItvaitani samyAti
vAyur gandhAn ivAshayAt
"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 KaushitakI UpaniShad
refutes this idea:
sa yadAsmAt sharIrAt 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; shruteH - fromthe
scriptures; iti - thus; cet - is; na - not;itara - other;
adhikArAt - because of being appropriate.
If it is claimed that the shruti-shAstra 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 shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
Here someone may object: Is it not so that that the
individual spirit soul is not atomic? After all, the BR^ihad-
AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.22) affirms:
sa vA eSha 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 BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.3.7)
it is said:
yo .ayam vij~nAnamayaH prANeShu
"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 (BR^ihad-
AraNyaka UpaniShad 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-shabdonmAnAbhyAM ca
sva - own; shabda - word; unmAnAbhyAm - with measure;ca - and.
Because of its word and measurement.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The word "sva-shabda" (the word describing it) here means that the wordatomic is used to describe the individual
spirit soul. An example of this is in MuNDaka UpaniShad (2.1.9):
eSho .aNur 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 shvetAshvatara UpaniShad (4.9):
bAlAgra-shata-bhAgasya
shatadhA kalpitasya ca
bhAgo jIvaH sa vij~neyaH
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
avirodhash candana-vat
avirodhaH - not contradicting; candana - sandal; vat - like
It does not contradict. It is like sandal paste.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 .apy ayaM jIvaH
sva-dehaM vyApya tiShThati
yathA vyApya sharIrANi
haricandana-vipruShaH
"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-vaisheShyAd iti cen nAbhyupagamAd dhR^idi hi
avasthiti - abode; vaisheShyAt - because of being specific;
iti - thus; cet - if; na - not; abhyupagamAt - because ofacceptance;
hR^idi - 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 shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 Prashna UpaniShad (3.6):
hR^idi hy eSha 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 shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 inBhagavad-gItA (13.34):
yathA prakAshayaty ekaH
kR^itsnaM lokam imaM raviH
kShetraM kShetrI tathA kR^itsnaM
prakAshayati 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 darshayati
vyatirekaH - difference; gandha - fragrance; vat - like;tathA - so;
hi - indeed; darshayati - shows.
As a fragrance is in a different place, so it is also in a
different place. This the scripture shows.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
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 Kaushitaki UpaniShad (3.6) explains:
praj~nayA sharIraM 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 SmR^iti-shAstra it is
said:
upalabhyApsu ced gandhaM
kecid brUyur anaipuNAH
pR^ithivyAm eva tam vidyAd
apo vAyuM ca saMshritam
"They who do not understand may sometimes say that fragrance is presentin water. Earth is the natural home of
fragrance, although it may sometimes take shelter of water or
air."
In the Prashna UpaniShad (4.9) it is said:
eSha hi dR^iShTA
"The soul is the person who sees."
SaMshaya (doubt): Is the consciousness that the soul possesses
eternal or not?
PUrvapakSha (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.a 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.
SUtra 26
pR^ithag-upadeshAt
pR^ithak - separate; upadeshAt - because of the teaching.
Because there is a specific teaching.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The soul is conscious eternally. How is that known? The
sUtra explains: "Because there is a specific teaching."
Some examples of that teaching follow.
In the Prashna UpaniShad (4.9) it is said:
eSha hi dR^iShTA
"The soul sees eternally."
In the BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.5.14) it is said:
avinAshI vA are ayam AtmAnucitti-dharmA
"The soul.as consciousness is never destroyed."
The soul does not become conscious merely by contact with
the mind, for soul and mind are both indivisible and cannot interact. Turningaway from the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the soul obscures its natural spiritual knowledge. Turning
towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul revives its
natural spiritual consciousness. This is described in the SmR^iti-
shAstra:
yathA na kriyate jyotsnA
mala-prakShAlanAn maNeH
doSha-prahANAn na j~nAnam
Atmanah kriyate tathA
"As by washing away the dirt that covered a jewel,
the jewel.as splendor is not created but merely uncovered, so by
removing the dirt of materialism that covered the soul, the
soul.as splendor is not created, but merely uncovered.
yathodapAna-khananAt
kriyate na jalAntaram
sad eva niyate vyaktim
asataH sambhavaH kutaH
"As by digging a well, water is brought forth but
not created, so by spiritual activities the nature of the soul is
brought forth but not created. How would it be possible to create
the the soul.as qualities from nothing?
tathA heya-guNa-dhvaMsAd
avarodhAdayo guNAH
prakAshyante na jAnyante
nitya evAtmano hi te
"When material faults are destroyed, the soul.as
qualities become revealed. The soul.as qualities are eternal. they
are never created."
Here someone may object: These quotes from scripture merely
show that the soul is synonymous with consciousness. They do not prove
that the soul itself is conscious.
To this objection the author of the sUtras replies in the
following words.
SUtra 27
tad-guNa-sAratvAt tad vyapadeshaH prAj~na-vat
tat - of that; guNa - quality; sAratvAt - because of being the
essence; tat - that; vyapadeshaH - designation;prAj~na - intelligent;
vat - like.
It is called that because that is its essential nature, just
as He who is intelligent.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
Because the soul is consciousness itself, therefore it
is conscious. Why is that? The sUtra explains: "It is
called that because that is its essential nature."
In this sUtra the word "guNa" (quality) refers to
the soul.as quality of consciousness. The word "sAra"
means "the essential nature of the thing, the absence of
which makes the thing non-existent." The word "prAj~na-
vat" means "Like Lord ViShNu, who is known as
prAj~na" (all-knowing) because He is all knowledge.
Because He is all-knowledge personified, Lord ViShNu is said to
know everything. In the same way, because the soul is
consciousness personified, therefore the soul is conscious. That
the statements "the soul is consciousness personified"
and "the soul is conscious" mean the same thing is also
confirmed in the next sUtra.
SUtra 28
yAvad Atma-bhAvitvAc ca na doShas tad-darshanAt
yAvat - as long as; Atma - of the soul; bhAvitvAt - because of
existence; ca - and; na - not; doShaH - fault; tat - ofthat;
darshanAt - because of the sight.
It exists as long as the soul exists. There is no fault in
this, because it is clearly seen.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
There is no fault in saying that the two sentences
the soul is consciousness" and "the soul is
conscious" mean the same thing. That is the meaning here. Why is
that? The sUtra explains: "It exists as long as the soul
exists. There is no fault in this, because it is clearly seen."
The soul.as consciousness exists for as long as the soul exists.
As long as the soul exists, the soul.as consciousness will not be
destroyed. The soul exists eternally, without a beginning or end
in time, and the soul.as consciousness also exists eternally. The
sun may be given here as an example. The sun is both light and
the bringer of light. As long as the sun exists it will have
these two features, which are actually not different. In the same
way the soul is both consciousness and conscious.
Here someone may object: Is it not true that consciousness is
born from the modes of material nature? Is it not true that,
because it does not exist in the state of dreamless sleep,
consciousness is not eternal? Is it not true that even when the
living entity is fully awake his consciousness is in fact created
by a barrage of various sense-objects?
If these objections are raised, the author of the sUtras
replies in the following words.
SUtra 29
puMstvAdi-vat tv asya sato .abhivyakti-yogAt
puMstva - virility; Adi - beginning with; vat - like;tu - but;
asya - of him; sataH - of the existing; abhivyakti-yogAt - because of
manifestation.
But like virility and other things it exists and then is
manifest.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The word "tu" (but) is used here to dispel doubt.
The word "na" (It is not like that) is understood in this
sUtra. It is not true than consciousness is non-existent in
dreamless sleep and only exists in the waking state. Why is that?
the sUtra explains: "But like virility and other things
it exists and then is manifest." In the state of dreamless sleep
the soul.as consciousness exists in a dormant state, and in the
state of wakefulness that dormant consciousness becomes fully
manifested. Here the sUtra gives the example of virility. In
childhood virility and other qualities associated with it exist
in a dormant state. Then, at the beginning of adulthood, they
become manifested. In the same way consciousness is dormant in
dreamless sleep and fully manifested in the waking state. This is
described in the following words of BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad
(4.3.30):
yad vai tan na vijAnAti vijAnan vaitad vij~neyam na vijAnAti na hi
vijnAtur vij~nAnAt viparilopo vidyate avinAshitvAn na tu tad
dvitIyam asti tato .anyad vibhaktaM yad vijAnIyAt
"In the state of dreamless sleep the soul is both
conscious and unconscious. The soul is always conscious, and
consciousness can never be separated from it, because the soul
and its consciousness can never be destroyed. Still, in the state
of dreamless sleep no object is presented before the soul for it
to be conscious of."
When there is no object for consciousness to perceive, then
consciousness is dormant. Therefore in dreamless sleep
consciousness is dormant. When the senses contact the sense-
objects, then consciousness becomes manifested. Had it
not existed in a dormant state during dreamless sleep,
consciousness could not have manifested itself in the waking
state, just as a person born a eunuch cannot manifest virility at
the beginning of adulthood. In this way it is proved that the
individual spirit soul is atomic, is consciousness, and is
conscious eternally.
Now the author of the sUtras refutes the theory of the
sa~Nkhya philosophers.
SaMshaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul consciousness
and nothing else? Is the individual spirit soul all-pervading?
PUrvapakSha (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul
is all-pervading. This is so because the results of its actions
are seen everywhere. Had it been atomic, the soul would be unable
to perceive the pains and pleasures present in different parts of
the body. Had it been of a medium size, the soul would not be
eternal. Therefore the individual spirit soul must be all-
pervading.
SiddhAnta (conclusion): In the following words the author of
the sUtras gives the proper conclusion.
SUtra 30
nityopalabdhy-anupalabdhi-prasa~Ngo .anyatara-niyamo vAnyathA
nitya - eternal; upalabdhi - perceptionl; anupalabdhi - non-
perception; prasa~NgaH - result; anyatara - otherwise;
niyamaH - restriction; vA - or; anyathA - otherwise.
Otherwise there would be eternal consciousness, eternal
unconsciousness, or the limited existence of one or the other.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
If the soul were only consciousness and nothing else, and if
it were all-pervading, then the soul would be either always
conscious or always unconscious. Either that or there would be a
limited existence of one or the other. This is the meaning: It is
clear to the entire world that consciousness and unconsciousness
both exist. If the cause of this were a soul that is
consciousness only and also all-pervading, then consciousness and
unconsciousness would both be perceived simultaneously at every
moment by the entire world. If this all-pervading soul were the
cause of consciousness only and not unconsciousness, then no one
would ever be unconscious, and if this all-pervading soul were
the cause of unconsciousness only and not consciousness, then no
one would ever be conscious.
It cannot be said that consciousness is created by contact
with the senses and unconsciousness is created when there is no
contact with the senses, because if the soul is all-pervading
then it would be always in contact with the senses. Furthermore,
if the individual spirit soul were all-pervading then everyone
would simultaneously experience the pains and pleasures of
everyone else. If this were so there would be no meaning to
individual experience, individual desire, or individual destiny.
This effectively refutes the theory that the individual spirit
soul is all-pervading.
However, our theory, which affirms that the spirit soul is
atomic in size and different in each material body, is not
refuted by these considerations. Although atomic in size, the
individual spirit soul can act in any place, although it cannot
act in every place simultaneously. By its quality of
consciousness the individual spirit soul can pervade its material
body and perceive the happiness and other sensations present in
the various parts of the material body.
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