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- The Shri Sutra Kritanga Sutra states that if the soul is one and all-pervading, then it would not be possible for one to know what another knows.
A leaf came to the Kasina, a child, a wise one.
There are no souls, there are no souls, there are no souls. ||11||
Shadow - Each and every one of the soul, those who are children and those who are wise.
There are souls after death, but they are not souls, there are no souls.
Translation - In this world, the soul of all those who are children, ignorant, wise, and knowledgeable, is separate and distinct, not one. After death, the soul does not exist, and only the souls of the beings who are born again exist - they do not go to the other world.
Commentary - The author of the text presents the view of those who believe in the body as the soul as the opposing view. The view of those who believe in the body as the soul is that consciousness arises or manifests from the five elements that have transformed into the form of the body. Therefore, in each body, there is a separate soul. All souls exist in this form. Those who are children or ignorant, devoid of knowledge, and those who know the difference between good and bad, the wise, are all separate. One should not accept that there is one soul that pervades all. Accepting this would lead to the impossibility of distinguishing between the knowledgeable and the ignorant.
Now, fearing that the multiplicity of souls due to their being in each body might be objectionable, the author says, "There are souls" - they exist as long as the body exists, but they do not exist when the body does not exist. For example, consciousness arises in the elements that have transformed into the form of the body, and consciousness disappears when the collection of elements disintegrates. Consciousness is not found elsewhere. This is what the author is showing by saying, "There are no souls" - "After death" in the other world, there are no souls. The meaning is that there is no soul called "soul" that is different from the body and enjoys the fruits of its own actions.
Why is this so? The author says, "There are no souls" - the word "are" is a negation of the word "are" and should be understood in the plural. The meaning is that "there are no souls" - there are no souls who have been born again, because they are not born again, they do not go to another world. For example, the scripture says, "These beings arise from the mass of consciousness, and they perish along with them. There is no consciousness after death."
Now, what is the difference between the view of those who believe in the elements and the view of those who believe in the body as the soul? The author says, "The view of those who believe in the elements is that the elements themselves, which have transformed into the form of the body, perform actions like running, jumping, etc. The view of those who believe in the body as the soul is that consciousness, the soul, arises or manifests from the elements that have transformed into the form of the body, and it is inseparable from them." This is the difference. ||11||
_Commentary - The author of the text presents the view of those who believe in the body as the soul as the opposing view.
The view of those who believe in the body as the soul is that consciousness arises or manifests from the five elements that have transformed into the form of the body. Therefore, in each body, there is a separate soul. All souls exist in this form. Those who are children or ignorant, devoid of knowledge, and those who know the difference between good and bad, the wise, are all separate. One should not accept that there is one soul that pervades all. Accepting this would lead to the impossibility of distinguishing between the knowledgeable and the ignorant.