________________
I am the Soul
395
Alexander had not heard such language before. He had not even dreamt that the body and the ‘l' living in it are two different entities. He was no doubt, the disciple of the great philosopher Aristotle. But had never heard such things.
Brothers! I had told you once earlier that the depth to which the aspect of Atma has been studied in Indian philosophies, the amount of research that has been done, cannot be matched by any other philosophy. That was how Alexander had never heard of the matter of body and soul being separate. He could not understand what the Saint was saying. He asked, “Saint! What are you saying? I do not understand your words!”
“Brother! It is nothing new. What seems unusual to you is known to every young boy of Bharat. The body and soul are
separate!”
“Soul? What is a Soul?”
“Alexander! The spirit that is in you, that which makes you say “I shall kill you' is your 'l' the Soul.”
Alexander was a brilliant man. He had never heard, yet he began to think, “Although it is difficult to understand, it appears that I can feel the 'I' in me. Even in me there is my 'I' speaking. And Alexander was a changed man. He bowed to the Saint. His hands folded naturally. Humble feelings arose. He said, “Sir! I do not follow what you say but it is very nice to hear. So please tell me more!"
The Saint saw that Alexander was softening. He was sitting there with a willingness to understand, and understand he will. So the Saint said, “ Brother! You say, I shall kill you. Then you can kill this body, not me.”
“Then are you not the body?”
“No, I am separate from the body, I am the soul. I can understand whatever happens in this body. But having
Jain Educationa international
For Personal and Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org