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14
Law of Karma
freedom. But freedom refers to an immortal soul. In view of the Indian Philosophical systems, soul has been regarded as immortal. As it is immortal, there is no question of its destruction. It enjoys the fruits of its own deeds. In order to reap what has been sown, the soul must survive the body after its annihilation. So, the Law of Karma presupposes immortality of soul.
To quote Dr. McTaggart, "All is not lost with the loss of memory and what is of value may be preserved as well as transcended."26 The self in its true nature can neither come into being nor pass away. It is eternally identical though this identity does not mean the memory of its existence. Since the soul is an ultimate differentiation of the Absolute, must always have existed, and yet we have no memory of such existence. Immortality means survival of the soul after death. The proof generally produced in support of immortality is that the soul, thought it resides in the body, is a simple, immaterial substance. There is no question of beginning and end with regard to it. It has no past at all. It is regarded as simple, indivisible atom. So, the substance which has no parts, has no question of destruction. Hence, the soul is immortal.
According
to Prof. Royce, "Immortality rests on an intrinsic and necessary relation of the finite self to the Absolute."27
Royce regards the self of man not as dictum but as ideal. On the other hand, he holds the essential feature of finite self, as expressing the absolute. Since the intrinsic meaning is not attained in time-experience, so the self must find its consummation in a larger individuality. The self is thus distinguished from the Absolute. It is partial in a sense, for it must be supplemented by other selves; but it is infinite in its kind. Here a difficulty may arise, does the self which is necessarily inherent in the Absolute and guarantees its immortality, come into existence at any time? Royce makes it clear by saying that finite self should be regarded simply as an expression of the Absolute. It is not a self-conscious centre of feeling and will which distinguishes itself from the Absolute. Plato distinguishes between rational and irrational. He further
