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Ätmasiddhi
capability is the basic attribute of the soul, the Guru asks him to examine whether any of the above three aspects has the capability to know. Every one has seen that at the time of death the body continues to exist without the capability to know. It does not have any sense of feeling and does not experience pain, even when it is cremated. Therefore the body cannot be the soul.
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Now consider the sense organs. They experience the senses of touch, taste, smell, etc. when the body is alive. When it is dead, the sense organs continue to be in the same place, but they lose the capability to experience. If some food is put on the tongue, it cannot taste; if a flower is brought near the nose, it cannot smell; the eyes which used to see different objects even from a distance, can no longer see, even if the objects are brought close to them. The same is the case with sound and touch. The ears cannot hear and the skin cannot feel. All these organs used to function, while the soul was there in the body, but they stop functioning as soon as the soul leaves. Hence the sense organs cannot be the soul.
Now examine the breath. Breathing is an essential activity of a live body. It continues uninterrupted for the whole life. As soon as the body is dead, it stops breathing. One may therefore tend to equate breath with life. A study of the breathing mechanism would indicate that it is a device to provide oxygen to the body. But oxygen is not life. Had it been life, the longevity could be extended indefinitely with oxygen cylinders. The respiratory system is no doubt essential for life, but it does not constitute life. There are various other activities like metabolism, blood circulation, brain activity, etc. which are also essential for life. In fact, brain stoppage is considered the sure sign of death. All of these activities, including breathing, are incidental to the live body (body with the soul in it). None of these activities can be equated with the soul.
Thus neither the body nor senses nor breath can be the soul, since they function only when the body is alive. The movements of the body and the knowing capability of the senses
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