[Advaita-l] Concept of soul

[Mahesh Ursekar]

Pranams!

Ok. That is a viable theory. But consider consider its consequences -

If you believe in the evolutionary theory, then the first "living" organism
was a prokaryote cell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(biology) This
includes organisms like bacteria & archaea. Scientists believe that it was
most likely that a phagocyte engulfed a prokaryote cell, resulting in the
creation of eukaryote cells. Our body parts are composed largely of
eukaryote cells. (This para is to the best of my understanding)

Now my question to you is - both prokaryote and eukaryote cells are living
entities. Our body contains millions of cells of both categories. Now
according to your theory, the enlivining force of all living entities are
subtle bodies. Does that mean that I, as a human being, am host to other
subtle bodies too? That doesn't sound right. Or do subtle bodies somehow
differentiate between the two aforementioned "living" cells and hence we
can say bacteria have subtle bodies but skin cells don't?

Thanks, Mahesh


On 8/23/07, kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> PraNAms
>
> What is normally called 'soul' in advaita is the
> presence of subtle body which is conducive for the
> illumination or reflection of the all pervading
> consciousness.  When the physical matter is conducive
> (with proper DNAs and RNA etc)and properly assembled
> for the subtle body to enter and manifest its karma,
> then we can say the consciousness get reflected
> through that subtle body to the physical body - which
> can now respond to the external stimulus.  We now say
> that matter is living.
>
> When the subtle body leaves that matter due to
> unfavorable circumstances (say heated up to high
> degree etc) then composite (assembled or otherwise) we
> say it is dead.
>
> Consciousness is all pervading - it cannot be created
> or annihilated.  But whether it can express as life or
> not depending on the upaadhis.  What science can do is
> assemble the matter imitating the existing living
> structure and see if subtle body, which makes the
> gross matter to respond to stimulus, can enter in that
> assembled matter.
>
> The law is wherever and whenever the upaadhis - both
> gross and subtle are capable of reflecting the
> consciousness, they will.
>
> Scientists do not create life.
>
>
> Hari Om!
> Sadananda
>
>
> --- Mahesh Ursekar <mahesh.ursekar at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The theory that, after the death of a human being,
> > there exists an entity
> > called the soul that persists and continues to take
> > a new birth. If we
> > create life using chemicals in a laboratory, it
> > appears that the human being
> > is nothing but matter and after death the result is
> > "ashes to ashes, dust to
> > dust".
> >
> > On 8/23/07, Ramesh Krishnamurthy
> > <rkmurthy at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On 23/08/07, Mahesh Ursekar
> > <mahesh.ursekar at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > If we manage to create life from scratch, does
> > that debunk the soul
> > > theory?
> > > > See below:
> > > > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249628/
> > > >
> > >
> > > ** And what is the "soul theory"?
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