When a man is dying, we try to feel whether the man is breathing, or he's feeling touch sensation. These are the test. So the touch sensation is there so long the soul is there. Now I am living body. If somebody pinches my body, because the consciousness is all over the body, so I feel, "Somebody's pinching me." But when the conscious . . . consciousness is not there, if somebody chops up my body I will not protest.
Therefore we should understand what is that living thing. That consciousness, which is spreading all over this body, that is living force. Kṛṣṇa says here: avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. Yena, by that consciousness. The consciousness is spread all over the body.
So Kṛṣṇa says: "That consciousness is avināśi." After the death of . . . after the annihilation of this body, which we call dead, the consciousness is not dead. That we do not understand. There is no science, there is no philosophy. Everything based on a foolish assumption.
They say the consciousness is made possible by combination of matter. The combination of matter, five elements, gross, the subtle elements they cannot see. Even they see, so their . . .
(aside) Not now.
Their proposition is that this consciousness is a symptom of combination of matter. That is Buddhist philosophy. They do not accept the existence of soul. "The consciousness is a combination of matter." But if it is a fact, then why don't you, if some matter is lacking, why don't you bring that matter or chemical and inject in the dead body and make it again conscious? Why it is not possible? What is your argument?
If you say consciousness is combination of matter . . . just like our motorcar is being driven. So when the petrol is finished, matter . . . because motorcar running means combination of matter—some machine made of matter, and some oil, acting—so it is running.
Of course, the driver is there. But foolish person, they do not understand: simply combination of matter will not act. There must be a driver, a living person. Then the motorcar will go. So supposing the combination of matter, that the petrol is finished. So we can bring petrol; again the motor runs. So if this body was running simply on combination of matter, and some matter is lacking, so why not bring that matter and put into it, and it will run? But that is not possible.
That is, that was . . . the living force which was running this body was a different element: spirit. Nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ (BG 2.16). We have discussed this verse. That is living force. And Kṛṣṇa says, vināśam avyayasya asya. This consciousness has no annihilation. Vināśa. Nobody can kill this consciousness, or the soul.
One can do harm to this material body, but not to the spirit soul and consciousness. Vināśam avyaya. Avyaya means which is never deteriorates. That is avyaya. Vināśam avyayasya asya na kaścit kartum arhati. Nobody can kill. Nobody can kill consciousness; nobody can kill the soul. Therefore it is said, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20): "The consciousness, or the spirit soul, is never killed, never annihilated, on the destruction of this body."
So this is a great science. Unfortunately, the so-called scientist, he has no idea. He does not know. They simply say that, "We do not know, but we are trying to know." That's all right. But here is the knowledge, perfect knowledge, in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why don't you take it? That they will not take. They'll go on speculating and promise falsely that, "In future we shall be able to inject some matter within the body and the body will again become alive."
That is their dream. In the past history it was never possible; at present also it is not possible. How you can expect in future? But they are under illusion. They think like that, that "We are making progress." At all, no progress practically. They have no knowledge. That is their position. They have no knowledge.