________________
thus continues to exist along with its inherent properties. From the Dravyarthic point of view, therefore, the soul stays forever.
The second viewpoint relates to its changing states. For instance, by virtue of Karma a human may be reborn as an animal, or a male as a female, but the soul remains the same. Those changes merely indicate its different states. To take a familiar example, a child grows up to be a youth and then grows old. These changes occur in the same body.
Now let us consider Pudgal. Earlier we had talked about transformation taking place in the worldly order. Every transformation involves a change from an old state to a new one. Natural forces are continually at work to bring about such changes. When water is turned into snow, its liquid form gives place to the solid one. The living beings too are instrumental in bringing about such changes. When a cow eats grass, the carbohydrate form of grass is destroyed and it assumes the form of blood, meat, milk, etc. When a goldsmith makes earrings out of a necklace, he destroys the necklace form of the gold and gives it the form of earrings. Thus, in every case of transformation the old form disappears and the new form comes into being, but the matter, hydrogen and oxygen in the case of water, and gold in the case of jewelry, remains constant.
Changes thus continue to occur every moment, but many changes become evident after some time. The sea waves provide the example of the change occurring every moment. The waves continue to rise and fall every moment, but the water remains the same. The waves merely present its changing states. In spiritual terminology this phenomenon of ever changing states is termed as Paryäy. To consider anything from that point of view is therefore called Paryäyärthic viewpoint.
This stanza states that the soul stays constant like the water in the sea, but its states go on changing like the waves. Ignorance and enlightenment, for instance, represent two different states of soul. Similarly, childhood, youth, old age, etc. are the changing states of an embodied soul. If one views the soul from that angle, it can be termed as transitory and ephemeral. Since, however, the soul knows all such changing states, it can safely be stated that the soul itself remains constant; it stays forever.
Athavä Jnän Kshanikanun, Je Jäni Vadanär; Vadanäro Te Kshanik Nahin, Kar Anubhav Nirdhär.
Or, one who talks of the transitoriness after knowing it as such cannot itself be transitory; you can make sure of this by experiencing it. (69)
Explanation & Discussion :
Since the pupil had contended about the transitoriness of soul, the Guru points out that one, who talks of transitoriness, must exist. One cannot, for instance, speak of transitoriness without existing; he cannot therefore be transitory. Let us make this point a little more explicit.
When we term anything as transitory, we mean that its states go on changing every moment. Now if one, who knows something as transitory, is himself transitory, he
