Page 24 - Hinduism

external world, and its five sense organs are active. It sees things with the eyes, hears sounds with the ears, has the sensations of smell, taste and touch through the nose, the tongue and the skin. Therefore sensations are in the Jīva and the objects which cause them are in the external world. In the dream state or svapna, the Jīva does not perceive things but is only mentally active and enjoys pleasure and pain. In deep sleep or suṣupti, the Jīva is at perfect rest and its consciousness does not work. Though it is not active, it is not non-existent; it is in a latent state.
The ātman is by nature self-effulgent, active, joyful and eternal. It is a mode or aṁśa of God and though it exists as an eternal entity, it is not separate from Him. It is not born and it does not die. It is beyond the past, the present and the future and is thus beyond time and it is beyond space. The ātman is essentially self-conscious and it has the quality of jñāna by which it thinks, feels and wills. It is a knowing subject and is not jaḍa or inert. It has moral freedom and it is not passive. It is joyful and is not miserable or sick-minded. In this way it abides in its own spiritual nature and is different from prakṛti and God. Ātman has its own dignity, intrinsic worth and autonomy. It is not a thing or physical substance like a stone or piece of wood which is acit or jaḍa. It is not subject to prakṛti and its guṇas and is free from the instincts, like lust, anger, hatred, jealousy and it has self-mastery. Thus it is a spiritual 24