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ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
the beginningless eternity of time in the past, just as surely as it will continue to exist in the future.
But the soul could not have existed in the past as a pure spirit, for in that case it would be impossible for it to be born in the world. As said in the Practical Path :
"In respect of the causes of ensoulment of a jiva (soul) in the body of matter it is to be observed that in its natural purity the soul is the enjoyer of perfect wisdom, unlimited perception, infinite power and unbounded happiness, which, in the absence of a restraining force or body of some kind, must be deemed to be manifested in the fullest degree in its nature. The idea of such a perfect being descending to inhabit a body of flesh and thereby crippling its natural unlimited perfection in a number of is too absurd to be entertained for a moment. It follows from this that the soul did not exist in a condition of perfection prior to its present incarnation, and that the existence of some force capable of dragging jivas into different wombs is a condition precedent to their birth in the several grades of life. But how shall we conceive force operating on a soul and dragging it into an organism, if not as the action of some kind of matter? It is, therefore, clear that the soul has always been in union with some kind of matter in the past.”
It is the influence of matter, then, which is responsible for all those conditions of the soul which are not natural to a pure spirit. For the fusion of substances always results in the limitation or suspension of their pure natural functions, e.g., hydrogen and oxygen which are deprived of their gaseous nature so long as they remain locked up in the embrace of each other, as water. But it is not a case of actual destruction or annihilation of an attribute, because the separation of substances is marked by the immediate restoration of their natural properties in full.
We may now formulate a reply to the all-important question which necessitated the present investigation from the standpoint of manifested nature : the divine attributes of pure spirit are not manifested in the case of an unredeemed, that is to say, an unemancipated soul because of its union with matter, which, combining with it, prevents it from exercising its natural function The union of spirit and matter is always fraught with pain and misery for the soul even under the best of circumstances, though in some rare cases moments of pleasure preponderate, for a time, over those of pain, owing to the fruition of good karmas (meritorious deeds).
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