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Shri Datta Swami

Jnana Saraswati – Parabrahma Sutras

    

64. The soul or Atman is inert energy


जानाति नन्दति क्रिये कर्तात्वात्मा जडशक्तिरतति।६४।
jānāti nandati kriye kartātvātmā jaḍaśaktiratati|64|

The verbs are ‘knowing’ and ‘being happy’. The actual noun or entity doing the work is Atman, which is the inert energy that pervades.

Explanation:

You know. You are happy. These two verbs give the verbal nouns, which are chit (jnanam) and bliss (ananda). The actual noun [entity] that does these works is the human body, which is inert energy in the form of inert matter. This inert energy is called as the soul or Atman that pervades all over the body. Since awareness is also a special work of inert energy, the inert energy pervades all the systems of the body including the nervous system. All the other systems of the body are pervaded by the inert energy itself directly.

Note:

Does the work of knowing always require a different worker?

Knowledge is work, so a working element different from the work must be present. A man walks; here the man is different from the process of walking. So, when the working element is different from work, and when knowledge is work, the working element in the case of knowledge cannot be knowledge (consciousness); it must be inert (other than consciousness). Inert energy alone is doing the process of knowledge. Thus, the working element of knowledge is inert. When knowledge is work, the working element must not be knowledge. That which is not knowledge is inert. Therefore, the inert energy alone is working through the nervous system and this inert energy itself is the working element. I have derived this concept through logic in this sutra.

Inert energy in the deep sleep is called as Atman which is the soul. Jiva is awareness. There you have to discriminate. Actually, according to philosophers, awareness in deep sleep is the soul. But awareness in deep sleep becomes inert energy. It means inert energy is the soul. When we scientifically analyze what the philosophers say, the soul turns out to be inert energy. Philosophers think that awareness remains in deep sleep. But it is wrong. The soul is awareness only in mediation. You should analyze whether you are talking about the soul from the point of view of science or philosophy. Philosophers are proved to be wrong ultimately by science. We are only analyzing created items here, and for analyzing created items, science is the ultimate authority.

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