________________ 110 Shrimad Rajchandra Letter 530 answers and had I written to you then, the letter would have taken longer to reach you. However, I now write my responses to your queries in brief, with the hope that when we next meet, we will be able to discuss them in more depth and detail. These responses will need deep thought and contemplation for proper understanding. My responses are generally brief, and so perhaps may not resolve all your doubts, but given the strong faith you have towards me and my words, I am confident that you will be patient and wait for full resolution. Your letter had twenty-seven questions which I have answered as follows: Question 1 (1) What is the soul? (2) Is it active? (3) Is it affected by karma? Answer: (1) Just as the pot and a piece of cloth are material objects, so also the soul is a cognisant object. The pot and cloth are ephemeral objects; they cannot retain their form forever. The soul can retain its form forever and thus remains unchanged eternally. An object that cannot be produced by any combination of substances is an eternal object. The soul cannot be created by the association of any other substances. That is because one may try thousands of combinations of inanimate substances, but none of those can give rise to consciousness. If a particular substance does not possess a certain quality, the combination of many such substances lacking that quality cannot give rise to a substance that possesses that quality.
