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The Adipurana states that the body is not the cause of consciousness, neither as a material cause nor as a contributing cause. The body cannot be the material cause of consciousness because it is a different kind of substance. If it is a contributing cause, then we would accept that, but we must still search for the material cause. If you say that the subtle elements are the material cause, that is incorrect because consciousness is distinct from the body, which is formed by the combination of the subtle elements. Therefore, it is correct to consider the Jiva-dravya as the material cause of consciousness, because it is of the same kind and has the same characteristics.
The example of intoxication, given by the materialists, is refuted by the above argument. The substances that cause intoxication, such as flowers, jaggery, and water, are inert and material, and the intoxicating power that arises from them is also inert and material. The example of intoxication is inappropriate because you are trying to prove the origin of a different kind of substance from a different kind of substance, while giving an example of the origin of a similar kind of substance from a similar kind of substance.
The materialists, the Charvakas, seem to be obsessed with the material elements. If they were not, how could they say that the world is only made up of earth, water, fire, and air, without any living beings?
Perhaps the materialists will say that the four elements contain consciousness in an unmanifest form. But that is also incorrect because it is well known that inert substances do not possess consciousness.
The above argument proves that the Jiva is a distinct substance and consciousness is its characteristic. Just as the Jiva exists in this present body, it also existed in previous bodies and will exist in future bodies. This is because the present body of a Jiva cannot exist without a previous body. The reason for this is that the actions of the Jiva in this present body, such as drinking milk, are the result of past karma. If the Jiva had not had a body before this one, and had just come into existence, it would not have been able to drink milk immediately. Similarly, after this present body, the Jiva will take on another body, because the soul, with its sensory knowledge, cannot exist without a body.