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26 * The Path to Real Nature
Chapter IV THE PATH TO REAL NATURE Soul's nature is knowledge, Soul itself is knowledge What can soul do other than knowing !
Amritchandra Acharya, Atmakhyati, Verse 62
Let us start with the story of a gold necklace. It was gold in a mine, refined by someone, sold to someone else, made into an ornament by somebody, kept in a show room at a jewellery shop, so many people saw it every day, someone bought it one day, sold it to the king, it was worn by members of the king's family for generations, kept in the safe or in the underground or in the treasury, adorned later on elephants, horses etc., hidden under marshy lands, once again it was sold to someone, converted into other ornaments and so on, goes the story of the gold necklace.
It remained pure gold in all these conditions. The gold passed through a number of good or bad conditions and assumed different forms but not affected by these conditions and remained the same gold. Likewise, the soul passes through infinite births and deaths but the real nature of pure soul remains the same. Therefore, this chapter further delves into the real nature of pure soul.