Plurality of the Soul

[Guest guest]

According to Srila Prabhupada's commentary on BG 2.12, plurality is assigned to

the soul, but Sankara assigns it to the body, as indicated by the use of

material designations such as kings. A soul cannot be attributed material

designation and consequently, 2.12 should refer to the plurality of the bodies.

Are there other verses from the scriptures which establish the plurality of the

soul and how is Srila prabhupada's commentary consistent with what Krishna

says? Also, which are verses that establish the jivatma as eternal?

 

in your service,

Aravind.

 

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[Guest guest]

Haribol,

 

According to Srila Prabhupada's commentary on BG 2.12, plurality is assigned to

the soul, but Sankara assigns it to the body, as indicated by the use of

material designations such as kings. A soul cannot be attributed material

designation and consequently, 2.12 should refer to the plurality of the bodies.

Are there other verses from the scriptures which establish the plurality of the

soul and how is Srila prabhupada's commentary consistent with what Krishna

says? Also, which are verses that establish the jivatma as eternal?

in your service,

Aravind.

If we read this verse: "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you,

nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." to

indicate the body rather than the soul, then are we to understand, therefore,

that the kings would never cease to be kings? Such an explantion cannot be

supported. It seems clear that the position that is eternal must be the

spiritual one.

ys, Santiparyana

[Guest guest]

These are great questions. Anything that makes us rethink or reread

Srila Prabhupada's writings can only be for our benefit. We get faith

by reading once, but we get firm faith or conviction by rereading,

questioning, and coming to a better understanding than the one we had

previously.

 

achintya, Aravind Mohanram <psuaravind>

wrote:

> Haribol,

>

> According to Srila Prabhupada's commentary on BG 2.12, plurality is

assigned to the soul, but Sankara assigns it to the body, as

indicated by the use of material designations such as kings. A soul

cannot be attributed material designation and consequently, 2.12

should refer to the plurality of the bodies. Are there other verses

from the scriptures which establish the plurality of the soul and how

is Srila prabhupada's commentary consistent with what Krishna says?

Also, which are verses that establish the jivatma as eternal?

>

 

Interpreted literally, the verse is describing that the plural

entities (kings and so forth) are eternally existing. The question

then is what are those plural entities? Are they the bodies of the

individuals being referred to, or are they the individual spirit

souls?

 

The answer cannot be the bodies of the living entities. In the

previous verse (BG 2.11), Lord Krishna already condemned the material

point of view by chastising Arjuna for lamenting over the impending

death of the material identities of the living entities in question.

It therefore makes no sense for Krishna to then place a proposition

on the body, when He just condemned the bodily perspective.

 

- K