________________
Second Fundamental-Everlastingness of Soul
Snakes and such other creatures have varying degrees of fury, etc.; such traits are derived from previous births; that shows the eternity of soul. (67)
Explanation & Discussion: In this stanza the Guru points to the existence of previous births as the evidence of everlastingness. This aspect has been scientifically explored by now and it has been found that in several cases the information about the previous lives was incontrovertible.
It is also noticed that snakes, scorpions and such other creatures are furious. Their fury is not learnt by them in the current life. Similarly who could have taught a dog to bark or a donkey to brag? They possess those traits from the birth and hence could have been brought forth from an earlier life. In other words, the soul concerned must have acquired those traits, while it was in another body during a previous life. That is the evidence of the soul migrating from one body to another. It can therefore be clear that while changing the body from birth to birth, the soul continues to exist.
There are many people, who refuse to believe in a previous life. If they try to observe the nature, they can notice the innumerable living beings with different forms and shapes, different aptitudes, having varying number of sense organs, undergoing different types and varying intensities of misery, pain etc. Is it possible that all such differences and variations occur without any cause? Keeping aside other beings, even among human beings there happens to be much diversity. Some are black, some are white; some are poor, some are prosperous; some live longer, some shorter; some are healthy, some are afflicted with disease; and so on.
117
