Many religions say that what fuels us is something indestructible and, for all practical purposes, invisible – the soul. Hinduism believes that all living creatures — from the tiniest of germs to largest of the redwood trees — have a spirit energy fuelling them. This invisible field of energy does not end when the body is destroyed. It merely leaves the body, to return later on in another one.
Without going into the dynamics of reincarnation, karma, and the whole train of concepts that lie in that general direction (perhaps I will go there some other time), I would like to propose an argument in defense of the spirit/soul idea.
The scientific view of an organism is that it is a machine. A very complicated and highly developed machine, but a machine nevertheless. Science believes that all that is to be understood about an animal is in plain sight. All that we need are powerful enough instruments. Oddly enough, it is this very machine view that trumps science’s dismissal of the soul.
To me, proof of the soul’s existence lies in the difference between a living creature and a dead body. If organisms were simply a superior variety of machines, they would end in as straightforward a manner as machines do. But they don’t — there is a crucial difference.
Think about it. What differentiates a living being from a corpse? What really happens when we die? Machines stop working when a crucial function ends or when they run out of fuel. In case of humans, crucial functions end all the time. Accidents destroy vital organs, disease eats up parts of the body, various illnesses happen. But these are not the causes of death. If they were, we could (in theory at least) find cures to them and prevent death. What about the inevitable kind of death? What is it that causes a man to die of old age? What leaves him that does not come back?
We are told the body’s chemical composition changes, turning it from a life-supporting structure to something that is no longer suitable for the purpose. But truth be told, it is all guesswork. We don’t really know how chemical composition changes, or even if it does change. If we did, we would be able to change it back. If nutrition is what the body lacks, we would be able to give it nutrients and bring it back to life. If specific conditions are what caused someone to die, then we would be able to change those conditions and bring them back to life.
But we can’t do any of those things. What differentiates an organism from a machine is that beyond a point, it cannot be repaired.
None of the above “scientific” reasons are that crucial deciding factor between life and death. Science simply does not know what causes people to die. Conditions, failures, old age, accidents and diseases are mere circumstances. They do not cause death. Death happens when life leaves, whatever the reason. We can go ahead and make a list of things people die of and then proceed to find a cure for every single of those conditions, but people will still die. Science can’t “cure” death for the simple reason that science does not know what causes it.
What stands to logic however, is that something vital does leave the body at the time of death. Call it the immortal spirit, the pristine soul, life force, the aatma. Heck! Call it life if the other names sound fancy and magical – it doesn’t matter.
To be fair, it is entirely possible that one day there will be a scientific way to “see” this vital differentiator between life and death. But in order for that to happen, science has to start looking for it. Blunt denial of the soul’s existence will not get the job done.
Thanks Monica! You are too cool.
Death is a much misunderstood phenomenon. I keep trying to put forward perspectives that would at least throw a different sort of light on it.
i don’t know about the spirit/soul but i think it’s mostly the electro-magnetic energy that leaves the body when death occurs. this is the life force within us. that keeps us moving , that keeps our hearts beating and that keeps our brain functioning. it hold us together – wand when it dissipates is when death occurs. this is not a belief or a scientific fact. its just a logical conclusion.
You said exactly what I wanted to say with this post Satz.
satz above arrived at his logical conclusion, but his is in glowing similarity to the phenomenon of the dissipation of prana before death. a good yogi/yogini can know atleast 6 months prior about his time of death, thanks to her/his sharpened subtle perceptions due to her/his spiritual training, wherein s/he senses prana leaving her/his body. infact, as satz said, the ‘tridev’ concept of god esoterically points at the nurturing electo-magnetic forces of the universe, personified to aid humans in concentration and meditation (a point of view…from form to formless).
well, anyways, kudos to you vijay ! i saw your webpages for the first time now, and feel that you are doing a commendable job. i personally dislike engaging in debates and also see others doing so as hilarious, due to my own personal reasons…futility in the end. so i leave everyone to themselves, to their own views/beliefs/disbeliefs, and care not a heck about what or how others might feel, or believe, or whether they think as myself or not, or how could i convince someone else, etc, etc, as long as they dont pose as HARM. but seeing your posts, i really feel to congratulate you on your zeal and on your sense of sane and sober arguments and facts that you put. bravo!
Thanks kilroy. Encouragement is always appreciated by this blogger.
I feel the subjective need not suffer the tyranny of the objective world. You don’t need peer review of the fact that you have fallen in love. You just know it and nothing anyone says will change that.
If something makes sense to you and gives you purpose, then it is for you and no one else. Like Morpheus told Neo after he emerged from the Oracle’s room, “What was said was for you, and for you alone.”
verily ! everyone’s got their own personal truths and legends, and be there any number of external observers or their verdict(s), its just of no value to one’s inner self…
I exactly agree with the point that soul is the difference between life and death.Its the electricity or the energy which is driving the human civilization. The day we unearth the truth we can see the evolution of new universe.For the time being I can say that we are trying to find the starting point of a circle which has been encircled n number of times.The day we find it maybe we all will be not here or may be that point is the end of this civilization and marks the start of new era.
Thanks for your views !!