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18
THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
said that it was, others denied it. The former attributed life to the air on the ground that it moved. It, therefore, logically follows that if motion gave life to air, why should it not give life to matter also because matter also has motion. On the other hand there were those who asserted that a thing could not be a living being simply because of its motion. Then there were those who opined that the motion of air was a self-propelled motion. That which moves because of its own force is a living being. That which moves because of the application of an external force is not a living thing. Pudgala or matter was such a non-living substance. When threw you a stone, it will move. When you fired a loaded gun, the bullet will move. These movements are not self-propelled movements. They are caused by the application of an external force. Only a living being can move because of its own willpower.
Desire and will are the essential characteristics of a jiva or living being. Living beings are distinguished from nonliving beings on the basis of these. The most tiny living beings, whether they are earth-beings or plants, possess desire and will.
Energy has three forms: will-force, concentration and controlling power.
The nervous system is the source of the energy which we possess. A living body without the nervous system is meaningless and without any value. The nervous system has two parts sensory nerves which accumulate knowledge without which there will be no activity and motor nerves.
The centres of consciousness and power lie in the nervous system. Let us remember that consciousness and power are the two entities to which we owe our existence. The gross body is the medium through which energy and consciousness function. Even the finest vibrations of the body are connected with the gross body which is the medium of their expression. This medium is the nervous system. The sensory nerves express consciousness and the motor nerves express the vital energy.
When the body is pricked with a thorn, the event is immediately reported to the brain centres by the sensory
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