Material body is sure to come to an end. It is perishable in nature. It may perish immediately or after many years. It cannot be protected permanently or maintained indefinitely.
Spirit soul is immeasurable (aprameyasya), indestructible (anasinah) and eternal (nitya). Its dimension is extremely small to be measured and cannot be seen. Lord states "ukta" since this knowledge is authorized in Vedic literatures and ascertained by authorities (acarya).
Soul cannot be killed. When an embodied living entity is hurt by fatal weapon, the living entity within the body is not killed. It is only the body that gets killed. Soul is not slain when the body is slain. na hanyate hanyamane sarire.
Killing of the human body or animal slaughter is not encouraged by Vedic injunction. Also, killing of body without authority is abominable and punishable by the law of the state and the law of the Lord. In Manu-samhita lawbook for mankind, a murderer is supposed to be condemned to death so that in his next life he will not suffer for the great sin he has committed.
Arjuna however was engaged in killing for the principle of religion and hence was advised to fight. For the administration of justice, violence committed in the act of fighting under instructions from Krsna is permitted. This is similar to a surgical operation meant to cure a patient and not kill him.
For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being and will not come into being. He has no past, present or future. He is unborn (ajah), eternal (nitya), ever-existing (sasvatah), primeval (puranah) and immutable (avyayam).
The soul is called steady or kuta-stha. The changes in the body do not affect the soul. He does not grow nor does he deteriorate like a tree. He does not become old as the body does. The soul also has no by-product or off-shoots. Body on the other hand appears to have by-products or children. However, even a child has different individual soul and the body develops because of the presence of soul.
In Vedanta-sutra the living entity is qualified as light because he is part and parcel of the supreme light or Supreme Spirit. As sunlight maintains the entire universe, spirit soul maintains the material body. As soon as the spirit soul is out of the material body, the body begins to decompose. Therefore it is the spirit soul which maintains the body.
Spirit soul is immeasurable (aprameyasya), indestructible (anasinah) and eternal (nitya). Its dimension is extremely small to be measured and cannot be seen. Lord states "ukta" since this knowledge is authorized in Vedic literatures and ascertained by authorities (acarya).
Soul cannot be killed. When an embodied living entity is hurt by fatal weapon, the living entity within the body is not killed. It is only the body that gets killed. Soul is not slain when the body is slain. na hanyate hanyamane sarire.
Killing of the human body or animal slaughter is not encouraged by Vedic injunction. Also, killing of body without authority is abominable and punishable by the law of the state and the law of the Lord. In Manu-samhita lawbook for mankind, a murderer is supposed to be condemned to death so that in his next life he will not suffer for the great sin he has committed.
Arjuna however was engaged in killing for the principle of religion and hence was advised to fight. For the administration of justice, violence committed in the act of fighting under instructions from Krsna is permitted. This is similar to a surgical operation meant to cure a patient and not kill him.
For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being and will not come into being. He has no past, present or future. He is unborn (ajah), eternal (nitya), ever-existing (sasvatah), primeval (puranah) and immutable (avyayam).
The soul is called steady or kuta-stha. The changes in the body do not affect the soul. He does not grow nor does he deteriorate like a tree. He does not become old as the body does. The soul also has no by-product or off-shoots. Body on the other hand appears to have by-products or children. However, even a child has different individual soul and the body develops because of the presence of soul.
In Vedanta-sutra the living entity is qualified as light because he is part and parcel of the supreme light or Supreme Spirit. As sunlight maintains the entire universe, spirit soul maintains the material body. As soon as the spirit soul is out of the material body, the body begins to decompose. Therefore it is the spirit soul which maintains the body.
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