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Journey of the Soul
and transmigration are carried out through the science of païcägni (the five fires), which is delineated in the Vedas. The system of païcägni, such as the funeral fire, the fire of digestion, the fire which invokes rainfall, and so on 3 has been described in the Chändogya Upaniñad and Brahma-sütra. The jéva’s conditioned nature in a new body is the result of the impressions (saàskäras) made upon his subtle body from his previous births, and in accordance with this nature he takes birth within a particular status and caste (varëa). After entering varëäçrama4, he becomes attached to fruitive activity again, and when he dies he repeats the same process. Thus, the first covering of the eternal spiritual form is the subtle body and the second is the gross body. Vrajanätha: What is the difference between the eternal spiritual body and the subtle body? Çré Raghunätha däsa Bäbäjé: The eternal body is the actual, original body, and it is atomic, spiritual, and faultless. It is the true entity, which should be spoken of as ‘I,’ the real ego. The subtle body arises from contact with matter, and it consists of three vitiated transformations, namely the mind, intelligence, and false ego. Vrajanätha: Are mind, intelligence, and false ego material entities? If they are, how do they have the qualities of consciousness, knowledge, and activity? Çré Raghunätha däsa Bäbäjé: bhümir äpo ’nalo väyuù khaà mano buddhir eva ca ahaìkära itéyaà me bhinnä prakåtir añöadhä apareyam itas tv anyäà prakåtià viddhi me paräm jéva-bhütäà mahä-bäho yayedaà dhäryate jagat etadyonéni bhütäni sarväëéty upadhäraya ahaà kåtsnasya jagataù prabhavaù pralayas tathä Bhagavad-gétä (7.4–6) My separated, eight-fold inferior energy consists of the five gross elements, namely earth, water, fire, air, and space; and the three subtle elements, namely mind, intelligence, and false ego. 3
The word ‘fire’ refers metaphorically to one of the five components of yajïa, which is used in Veda and Vedänta as a paradigm to explain all aspects of the cosmos – ed. 4 Varëäçrama is the Vedic social system, which organizes society into four occupational divisions (varëas) and four stages of life (äçramas).