The soul is defined as immovable, then how does it transmigrate to another body after death?

[The Editor]

The soul is defined as immovable, then how does it transmigrate to another body after death? When unchangeable how does it contain deeds of the present life to display in the next. When unthinkable how can it be realized, etc.

Namaskara.

Thank you for writing.

The soul moving to another body is only conceptual as the soul is not situated within matter and space. The soul remains eternally pure and untouched by matter, but its energy known as consicousness (chitta) becomes contaminated by the three gunas of prakriti resulting in all the states of experience in the material world. It is something like a person using a virtual reality system, projecting his consciousness into a virtual world which does not actually exist (hence the world is referred to as maya). Thus when our body walks around in this 3D world of matter, our soul is not moving around within the same 3D space.

The space itself (akasha) is a material product created from sound according to Vedic sankhya philosophy. Beyond that is another space known as chid-akasha. The soul is existing beyond both of these fields of space and is not contained within them. Just as the soul isn't moving as your body walks around and moves in this world, so in the same way, at the time of death, when the soul "moves on" to another body, it is not moving at all, as it is not existing within this material space.

What moves is a secondary material body known as sukshma sharira, or subtle body, which contains the material mind, intelligence (buddhi), identity (ahankara), the prana (life airs), the 10 senses (in sukshma form), and one's record of karma (papa and punya) recorded within this subtle unit. Just as the physical body moves within material space, so this subtle body also travels in the subtle space and is joined with another suitable vehicle (the next body) in seed form, where these individual components can manifest into the physical realm in the form of the next body for carrying out action and reaping the results of past action.

In all of this, the soul (atma) remains eternally pure and untouched, just as the paramatma seated along side him also remains eternally pure and untouched. If the soul will withdraw his energy (consciousness) from projecting outward towards the matter, he will be liberated from this state of apparent virtual bondage.

In brief this is how the soul remains eternally pure yet apparently conditioned and bound, and how the soul though beyond movement appears to be moving within this world.

Yours in service,

Jahnava Nitai Das,
Bhaktivedanta Ashram
http://www.bvashram.org