Sri mad Bhagavatam - Prabhupada

Text 17]The Glories of Devotional Service1019TEXT 17 q 3lR&U;i t Sl: '{ Iftfrouri{1Wf'R'ff6'{ 11 \911tada purua atmanarhkevalarh prakrte[! paramnirantararh svayarh-jyotirar-imanam akhar-flitamtada-then; purua -the individual soul; atmanam-himself; kevalampure;prakrte param-transcendental to material existence; nirantaramnondifferent;svayam-jyotil; -self-effulgent; af}imiinam-infinitesimal;akhal)itam-not fragmented.TRANSLATIONAt that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to materialexistence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minutein size.PURPORTIn the state of pure consciousness or Krr:ta consciousness one can seehimself as a minute particle nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. Asstated in Bhagavad-gita, the jfva or the individual soul is eternally part andparcel of the Supreme Lord. Just as the sun's rays are minute particles ofthe brilliant constitution of the sun, so a living entity is a minute particleof the Supreme Spirit. The individual soul and the Supreme Lord are notseparated as in material differentiation. The individual soul is a particlefrom the very beginning. One should not think that because the individualsoul is a particle, it is fragmented from the whole spirit. Mayavada philosophyenunciates that the whole spirit exists, but a part of it, which is called thejiva, is entrapped by illusion. This philosophy, however, is unacceptable becausespirit cannot be divided like a fragment of matter. That part, the ]iva,is eternally a part. As long as the Supreme Spirit exists, His part and parcelalso exists. As long as the sun exists, the molecules of the sun's rays also exist.The jiva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be l/10,000 thesize of the upper portion of a hair. It is therefore infinitesimal. TheSupreme Spirit is infinite, but the living entity or the individual soul isinfinitesimal, although it is not different in quality from the Supreme