32 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION

car, and I must drink this petrol,’’ he is considered insane. Similarly, one
who thinks that he is this body, and who tries to become happy with
bodily pleasures, is also insane.

Mike Robinson: There’s a quote here that I’d like you to comment on. I
was given this literature by your people before I came, and one of the
things you say here is that ‘“‘Religion without a rational basis is just senti-
ment.” Can you explain that? :
Srila Prabhupada: Most religious people say, ‘‘We believe...’ But
what is the value of this belief? You may believe something which is not
actually correct. For instance, some of the Christian people say, ‘‘We
believe that animals have no soul.’’ That is not correct. They believe
animals have no soul because they want to eat the animals, but actually
animals do have a soul.

Mike Robinson: How do you know that the animal has a soul?

Srila Prabhupada: You can know, also. Here is the scientific proof: the
animal eats, you eat; the animal sleeps, you sleep; the animal has sex,
you have sex; the animal also defends, you also defend. Then what is the
difference between you and the animal? How can you say that you have a
soul but the animal doesn’t?

Mike Robinson: I can see that completely. But the Christian scriptures
say...

Srila Prabhupada: Don’t bring in any scriptures; this is a commonsense
topic. Try to understand. The animal is eating, you are eating; the animal
is sleeping, you are sleeping; the animal is defending, you are defending;
the animal is having sex, you are having sex; the animals have children,
you have children; they have a living place, you have a living place. If the
animal’s body is cut, there is blood; if your body is cut, there is blood. So,
all these similarities are there. Now, why do you deny this one similarity,
the presence of the soul? This is not logical. You have studied logic? In
logic there is something called analogy. Analogy means drawing a conclu-
sion by finding many points of similarity. If there are so many points of
similarity between human beings and animals, why deny one similarity?
That is not logic. That is not science.

Mike Robinson: But if you take that argument and use it the other
way...

Srila Prabhupada: There is no other way. If you are not arguing on the
basis of logic, then you are not rational.

Mike Robinson: Yes, OK, but let’s start from another hypothesis. Sup-
pose we assume that a human being has no soul...
