8 Beyond Birth and Death

Living in the bodily conception, our idea of happi-
ness is like that of a man in delirium. Some philoso-
phers claim that this delirious condition of bodily
identification should be cured by abstaining from all
action. Because these material activities have been a
source of distress for us, they claim that we should
actually stop these activities. Their culmination of
perfection is in a kind of Buddhistic nirvana in which
no activities are performed. Buddha maintained that
due to a combination of material elements, this body
has come into existence, and that somehow or other
if these material elements are separated or dismantled,
the cause of suffering is removed. If the tax collec-
tors give us too much difficulty because we happen
to possess a large house, one simple solution is to
destroy the house. However, Bhagavad-gita indicates
that this material body is not all in all. Beyond this
combination of material elements, there is spirit, and
the symptom of that spirit is consciousness.

Consciousness cannot be denied. A body without
consciousness is a dead body. As soon as conscious-
ness is removed from the body, the mouth will not
speak, the eye will not see, nor the ears hear. A child
can understand that. It is a fact that consciousness is
absolutely necessary for the animation of the body.
What is this consciousness? Just as heat or smoke are
symptoms of fire, so consciousness is the symptom
of the soul. The energy of the soul or self is produced
in the shape of consciousness. Indeed, consciousness
proves that the soul is present. This is not only the
philosophy of Bhagavad-gita but the conclusion of
all Vedic literature.
