Q69. Are we the spiritual soul, or matter, the body?

We are spiritual, the soul, which is eternal, and not the lump of matter, the body. The soul is present in the heart of every living being, including the plants and animals. “Just as the sun illuminates the whole universe with light, the soul illuminates the whole body with consciousness.” (Lord Krishna, BhagavadGita 13.34) Consciousness is a symptom of the soul. The soul illuminates the entire body with consciousness. When the soul leaves the body, instantly the consciousness is gone. This is one of the main differences between the teachings of the eternal BhagavadGita and the recently created non-Vedic scriptures. “One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own… - such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.84.13) The body is nothing but a bag containing three primary elements—mucus, bile, and air—and one who accepts this combination of mucus, bile, and air as himself is an ass. Even great philosophers and scientists take themselves to be this combination of mucus, bile, and air. This is their mistake. The philosophers and scientists are spirit souls, and according to their karma they are exhibiting their talent. The non-Vedic scriptures teach that we are matter (the body), thus we are stool, dirt, all kinds of horrible fluids, chemicals, bones and so on, we are not eternal (no reincarnation), and everything happens by chance (no karma). Based on the Vedic scriptures and the truth, the body is temporary, but we (the soul) are eternal. The body will be destroyed but nobody can destroy the soul.