Animal has no soul? Why? What is the difference between animal and man? What are the symptoms of possessing the soul?

Expressions researched:
"All the symptoms are there; how you can say there is no soul" |"Animal has no soul? Why? What is the difference between animal and man? What are the symptoms of possessing the soul" |"animal has no soul" |"animal has not soul? What are the special symptoms" |"animal is, has no soul" |"animals have no consciousness" |"animals have no soul" |"how you can say there is no soul. The same symptoms of life there" |"symptom of possessing soul" |"symptoms of possessing soul"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase research query: "animal* symptom* soul*"@40

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Animal has no soul? Why? What is the difference between animal and man? What are the symptoms of possessing the soul? They are all equal. The man also eats, the animal also eats. The man also sleeps, the animal also sleeps, the man also have sex life, the animals also have sex life. The man also defends, the animals also defends. So where is the deficiency that you say that the animal has no soul?

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

Just like one rascal has manufactured this daridra-nārāyaṇa. The poor man has become Nārāyaṇa, and the goat Nārāyaṇa is killed for their feeding. Not this kind of sādhu. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. A sādhu will not allow any kind of killing. See in the Christian religion, it is first injunction is "Thou shalt not kill." If you want to become religious... They are simply killing, and still, they are claiming "Christian." What kind of Christian? Simply their business is killing. So it is very difficult to find out a Christian, although they are claiming, I am "Christian." It is very difficult. Because their business is killing. And Lord Jesus Christ ordered, first order is, "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not covet." Who is following?

So sādhu is suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Why he should allow animal killing? They are also living entities, but for their benefit, the so-called sādhu says, "The animal has no soul." What is this nonsense? Animal has no soul? Why? What is the difference between animal and man? What are the symptoms of possessing the soul? They are all equal. The man also eats, the animal also eats. The man also sleeps, the animal also sleeps, the man also have sex life, the animals also have sex life. The man also defends, the animals also defends. So where is the deficiency that you say that the animal has no soul?

Imperfect knowledge. Or making adjustment for their own benefit. Now they are making correction: "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not murder." That means it will come to human being. But the actual commandment is "Thou shalt not kill." But these Christian people, they are making some amendment, "Thou shalt not murder." Because murder will apply to the killing of human beings. But Lord Jesus Christ never said like that. "Thou shalt not kill." It is applicable both for human being and for animal or even for trees. Unnecessarily you cannot kill. That is sādhu. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). "Don't kill my brother, but you can kill my neighbors." Not like that. He is not sādhu. Sādhu is kind to all living entities.

If you think that "I am the only son of God, and the animal is, has no soul, and let us kill," that is not a very good philosophy. Why not? What the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is the same four formulas: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. The animals also busy in these four things; we are also busy in these four things. Then where is the difference between animal and me?

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

So one has to understand that we are neither proprietor nor enjoyer. Bhoktāraṁ yajña... God is the enjoyer. And God is the proprietor. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram. And suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29), He's the best friend of everyone. He's not friend only of the human society. He's friend of the animal society. Because every living entity is God's son. How we can be otherwise treating man in some way and animal in other way? No. God is actually perfect friend of all living entities. If we simply understand these three things, then we become peaceful, immediately.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

(BG 5.29)

This is the process of śānti. You cannot establish... If you think that "I am the only son of God, and the animal is, has no soul, and let us kill," that is not a very good philosophy. Why not? What the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is the same four formulas: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. The animals also busy in these four things; we are also busy in these four things. Then where is the difference between animal and me?

Because a human body is very much advanced, has got the power to kill animals, therefore they are speaking this nonsense that the animal has no soul. Why the animal has no soul? What is the symptom of possessing soul? I am spirit soul; I am within this body. Everyone can understand. Understand or no understand, if I am a human being, if I have got my soul, why this poor animal has no soul? What, where is the difference, that you say that the animal has no soul? Where is the difference? Let us analyze.

Lecture on BG 2.14 -- London, August 20, 1973:

Real religion is that "I am the Supreme Soul, Parambrahma, Kṛṣṇa. And you are My part and parcel. So we have intimate relation, like father and son. So it is the son's duty to obey the father. That is perfection of life." That's all. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). You have created so many religious system on the bodily concept of life, bodily concept of life so strong that even big, big learned so-called religionists, they say that the animal has no soul. The bodily concept of... Because a human body is very much advanced, has got the power to kill animals, therefore they are speaking this nonsense that the animal has no soul. Why the animal has no soul? What is the symptom of possessing soul? I am spirit soul; I am within this body. Everyone can understand. Understand or no understand, if I am a human being, if I have got my soul, why this poor animal has no soul? What, where is the difference, that you say that the animal has no soul? Where is the difference? Let us analyze. Soul... The, I mean to say, existence of the soul within the body, how we can understand? That is very easy. Because yena sarvam idam... Everything is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam: The soul is existing, spreading its influence all over the body, just like the sun is existing, spreading the sunshine all over the universe. Similarly, God is existing, spreading His consciousness all over the universe, all over the creation. Therefore He knows everything. Similarly, I am also part and parcel of God. I am also soul, like the sun. My shining, my consciousness, is spread all over the body. Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam. These things, ślokas, will come. "That thing which is spreading all over the body, that is avināśi; that is eternal." Antavanta ime dehāḥ: "But this body is antavat; it is perishable. But within the body, the soul, which is spreading its consciousness all over the body, that is eternal." We shall come to that verse later on. Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam.

Therefore the proof of the soul existing is that the consciousness is spread all over my body. As soon as I pinch any part of my body, I feel pain. Therefore I understand a soul is there. Just like a man who is going to die. So doctor is examining. He sees the pulse. He sees the heart—"Yes, it is beating." That is the sign that still the man is living. Similarly, the soul is there. The proof is that I can feel pains and pleasure on my body. That is explained in this verse. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya (BG 2.14). Actually the body in touch with the consciousness feeling pains and pleasure. Otherwise body, what is this body? It is a lump of matter. It is a lump of matter, earth, water, fire, air, material combination of matter.

Don't think that the animals or living entities other than the human being, they have no soul. No. That's a wrong conception. They have got souls. How you can say there is no soul. The same symptoms of life there.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

God is the supreme father, and this material nature is the mother. The father... As this father injects the seed of living being within the womb of the mother, similarly, God injects the living being within this material world, and they come out under different forms with a material body. That varieties of material bodies are eight million four hundred thousands of species. As we get according... Yathā yoni yathā bījam. As we are getting life here according to the father's semina and mother's secretion, the body and situation... Somebody is very highly intelligent. Somebody is not so intelligent. Somebody is very rich. Somebody is poor. Somebody is middle class. Somebody is animal. Somebody is tree. Somebody is insect. Somebody is aquatic. Varieties of life.

Don't think that the animals or living entities other than the human being, they have no soul. No. That's a wrong conception. They have got souls. How you can say there is no soul. The same symptoms of life there.

Just like the symptoms of life means it takes birth at a certain date, then it grows, it stays, it gives some byproducts, then dwindles, then vanishes. Take any. Either you take tree or you take a human body, or you take an animal body or if you take an insect body, or take the demigod's body—any body you take, there is a certain date of birth, everyone, certain date of birth. And then there is a certain duration of life. Somebody lives for ten years. Somebody lives for one year. Somebody lives for six hours, five hours. There are many germs. They live for five hours, six hours, or even less than that. And there are living entities like Brahmā, whose life is millions and millions of years.

The part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa or God, the soul, is there everywhere. Don't think that simply human being has got soul. This is not very good philosophy, that the animals have no soul. They have got soul. You can practically examine. What is the symptom of possessing soul? First of all try to understand.

Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu (BG 18.54). Equal to all living entities. Our philosophy is not like that, that we give protection to the human being and send the cows to the slaughterhouse. No, that is not our philosophy. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. We think on this subject matter, that if a man is killed, as he's put into so difficult position for being killed, the animal also. They also feel. It is nonsense to think that animal has no soul, no. Everyone has got soul. There are 8,400,000 species or forms of life. Everyone has got soul. Even the ant has got soul, or the elephant has got soul, what to speak of other animals. Everyone, even the trees, birds, beasts, plants, everyone has got soul. And in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya

mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ

tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir

ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

(BG 14.4)

The part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa or God, the soul, is there everywhere. Don't think that simply human being has got soul. This is not very good philosophy, that the animals have no soul. They have got soul. You can practically examine. What is the symptom of possessing soul? First of all try to understand. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam: The presence of soul can be perceived when there is consciousness on the body. This is the proof. When you pinch my body, I feel pain, when I pinch your body, you feel pain, when I pinch an animal's body, he also feels pain. Even I pinch even the tree's body he feels pain. It is scientifically proved. Sir Jagadish Candra Bose has proved by machine that when you cut a tree, it feels pain and it is recorded in this statistic machine. So everyone has got the soul. So how you can think...?

When you take the animal to the slaughterhouse for killing, he cries. Why? Because he's feeling pain. He knows that "I'm going to be killed." So there is soul. Soul is there. You don't think that soul is not there: soul is there. Therefore, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person who has realized God, he is samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, he's equal to all living entities. He'll feel pain even for cutting a tree. He'll feel pain, he'll feel pain even he traverses over an ant.

General Lectures

Now, apart from Bible or any scripture, how do you find that the animal has no soul? How do you consider it? What is the symptom of having soul? That is very easy, but you do not know. When the soul is gone from the body, it does not move. And when the soul is there, it moves. This is the understanding of soul.

Sunday Feast Lecture -- Atlanta, March 2, 1975:

...expert in calling Bible, but where it is said, he does not know. He is so expert in Bible (laughter) How do you know? Now, apart from Bible or any scripture, how do you find that the animal has no soul? How do you consider it? What is the symptom of having soul? That is very easy, but you do not know. When the soul is gone from the body, it does not move. And when the soul is there, it moves. This is the understanding of soul. So do you think the animal does not move? The animal has no blood? The animal has no bone? How do you say that animal has no soul? This is foolishness. The soul is there. Even one small ant, there is soul. Otherwise how it is moving? So long the soul is there, the dull material body is moving. And as soon as the soul is gone, you will cry, "My father has gone away." Why your father gone? It is lying there. Why do you say, "My father has gone away"? This is ignorance. We do not know what is soul. We see the body. So long I have seen the body of my father. Now the soul has gone. I am crying, "My father has gone away." But did you see your father? "Yes, that body." The body is there. Why you are crying? So it is very common sense affair to understand where there is soul. A big stone, a big mountain, it cannot move although it is so big. And a small ant is moving. Why? There is soul. So how can you say the animals have no soul? This is ignorance. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). The soul being within the body means it is changing the body from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, like that. And if the child is born dead—no more change of body. That is the proof that there is soul. Soul means the living force which is moving the body. That is soul. How you can say the animal has no soul? Everyone has soul. Even the grass has soul, because it is growing, changing body.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

First of all, if the, point is that you say that the animals have no soul. So what is the special point that you are speaking of the animals having no soul? You eat meat, or I eat rice, that doesn't matter, but eating is there. That is the common thing. You cannot say the animal does not eat or man does not eat. Only animal eats. No. Everyone eats. First of all, you enunciate: how do you say that the human being has got soul and the animal has not soul? What are the special symptoms?

Car Conversation after meeting with Cardinal Danielou -- August 9, 1973, Paris:

Yogeśvara: His point was that human beings, they think on higher platforms than animals do.

Prabhupāda: What that higher platform? Eating, you require to maintain the body. I eat something, you eat another. That does not mean higher or lower. You eat, I also eat. That's all. You eat according to your taste. I eat according to my taste. So the eating is the real symptom, not the varieties of eating. By varieties of eating, suppose I... A animal, the cow is eating grass, and you are eating the same animal by keeping a huge slaughterhouse with machines and... Does it mean that you have improved your eating process? Simply by having big, big machine and ghastly scenes. And the animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating. One man's food, another man's poison. That is another thing. But eating is there. Somebody eats poison. Somebody eats ordinary thing. But eating is there. So nobody can avoid eating. That is the main symptom. Even in human society, there are different varieties of food. We Indians, we like a different type of dish. European, Americans, they like a di... But eating is there. Either American, Indian or cats, dogs, eating must be there. That is real symptom. After eating, you must sleep. That is essential. So where is the difference of real character, characteristic between the animals and the human beings?

Yogeśvara: Then his point was that we find God's creatures, many of them, not just human beings, but it's a symptom of life everywhere that meat-eating is allowed. There are many creations, he said, many species...

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Eating, that is another thing. First of all, if the, point is that you say that the animals have no soul. So what is the special point that you are speaking of the animals having no soul? You eat meat, or I eat rice, that doesn't matter, but eating is there. That is the common thing. You cannot say the animal does not eat or man does not eat. Only animal eats. No. Everyone eats. First of all, you enunciate: how do you say that the human being has got soul and the animal has not soul? What are the special symptoms?

Yogeśvara: His, his point was that only in humans do we find a metaphysical search for the meaning of life.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yogeśvara: And that's the only difference.

Prabhupāda: The metaphysical search... Now metaphysically search out why do you deny soul in the human being, uh, in the animals? That is metaphysical. It is metaphysical question. What is your metaphysical study about the living, uh, animals that you say there is no soul? Come to the metaphysical then. You are thinking metaphysically. That's all right. But if you are still thinking like animal, then what is the use of your metaphysical studies? If you are thinking like the animals: "Where shall I get my food? Where shall I take shelter? Where shall I have sexual facility? How shall I defend?" If you are thinking like that, this is animal thinking.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

What is the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. The consciousness. The animals have no consciousness? How foolish they are!

Morning Walk -- January 7, 1974, Los Angeles:

Bali Mardana: When I was in Hawaii I gave a lecture at one Catholic college, and the priest in charge, he was asking me if in our philosophy we believe that animals have a soul. He's so foolish...

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Bali Mardana: The Christians are so foolish, even though they have big learned positions, they do not understand that the animal also has a soul.

Prabhupāda: You told? In that meeting?

Bali Mardana: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: What did they say?

Bali Mardana: They could not deny. They could not say anything.

Prabhupāda: Yes, what is the difference that you say the animals...? How do you say? What is the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. The consciousness. The animals have no consciousness? How foolish they are!

Bali Mardana: Just to rationalize their sins.

Prabhupāda: Yes. No. Rational or not rational...

Bali Mardana: No, to rationalize their meat-eating, they say...

Prabhupāda: Yes, to support, yes, their sinful activities.

Bali Mardana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: How you can say there is no soul in the animals? What is the reason? What is their reason?

Satsvarūpa: At one interview a person said to you, "They do not understand metaphysics, and the human being understands metaphysics."

Prabhupāda: Metaphysics. A child also does not understand. So therefore he has no soul? Cut him? They are doing that. They are doing that, so rascal. So do everyone understand metaphysics.

Karandhara: No.

Satsvarūpa: They should not be killed if they don't understand.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Satsvarūpa: They should not be killed just if they don't understand.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Is that any reason?

Devotee: Actually, they have no philosophical basis for that belief that the animal has no soul. It's just speculation. Yes.

Prabhupāda: No philosophy. Simply rascaldom. Simply rascaldom. And that is being preached by the priestly class. Priestly class. Just see the society! What third-class society!

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

No, killing or not killing, that is another point. You can kill your own son. They are killing, actually. That is another point. But they have got soul. All the symptoms are there; how you can say there is no soul? Where is the difference between man's behavior and animal's behavior? So far eating, sleeping, sex, defense is concerned, the same thing. How do you say that it is different from the human being? Why they differentiate the animal from the man? What is the main point?

Interview and Conversation -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Rūpānuga: We were having a meeting with the other scientists, and they were challenging you. They were saying, "Show us one experiment. Show us one experiment!" That's the way they are.

Prabhupāda: There are so many experiments.

Sadāpūta: We were wondering... We knew that, for example, Jagadisha Chandra Bose did some experiments indicating plants having consciousness. We were wondering if some things of that kind might be of some use.

Prabhupāda: So in the Calcutta there is Bose Institute, you can go and see. They have got all machine, how the plants are feeling. Everything is there.

Rūpānuga: That's important because they are saying these animals have no soul. They are saying lower form of life, they have no soul, so killing them is not important. So his work was important. It showed...

Prabhupāda: No, killing or not killing, that is another point. You can kill your own son. They are killing, actually. That is another point. But they have got soul. All the symptoms are there; how you can say there is no soul? Where is the difference between man's behavior and animal's behavior? So far eating, sleeping, sex, defense is concerned, the same thing. How do you say that it is different from the human being? Why they differentiate the animal from the man? What is the main point?

Sadāpūta: I think that scientifically that was just Christian doctrine that made them do that. Because the scientists turned around...

Prabhupāda: Christian doctrine is not perfect. But symptoms of animal and symptoms of human being, primary necessities eating sleeping, mating, defense that is there, everywhere.

Rūpānuga: They may agree, but they'll say that this...

Prabhupāda: There is soul. As soon as there is living condition, there is soul. As soon as the body is dead, there is no soul. This is difference. It is the Christian doctrine, not scientific doctrine, that animal has... What we have to do with Christian theory?