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THE EVIDENCE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL AS AN INDEPENDENT DRAVYA OR SUBSTANCE
Question: Is there any evidence for the existence of the soul as an independent Dravya or substance?
Answer: Yes. There is evidence. There are many proofs of the existence of the soul.
(1) Knowledge, desires, happiness and sorrow, attachments and hatred, forgiveness, politeness etc. are the attributes of Chaitanya or consciousness and they are different from such qualities as colour, smell, taste, touch etc. Therefore, there ought to be a dravya totally different from the inert substance; and possessing such attributes as knowledge etc. This dravya is the soul.
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(2) As long as this Atmadravya (or the soul) is present in the body, there will be such effects as the experience of the food eaten, and blood, fat, nails etc. This Atmadravya is not present in the dead body. So, a dead body cannot eat food, nor can it carry out such activities as living beings can.
(3) We, say "This creature has lost its life". There is no 'life' in it. This life itself is the soul.
(4) The body grows and sometimes it grows small, but such attributes as knowledge desires, happiness, sorrow, forgiveness, politeness etc. do not change in accordance with the changes in the size of the body. This proves that these qualities such as knowledge etc. do not belong to the body and that they belong to the soul.
(5) The body is like a house. A house has a kitchen, a drawing-room, a verandah etc. But the person who resides in it i.e. the owner or the tenant is not the house. He is different from the house. The body has the five senses. But they are not the soul. In the absence of the soul, the eyes cannot see; the ears cannot hear; and the tongue cannot taste anything. The soul impels these various senses to carry out their activities. When the soul leaves the body, all the activities of the body
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