le for the soul to remain. The conclusion is that the soul is the basis of matter. Although the soul cannot be perceived materially, it is certainly there. Yet its presence can be understood by its symptoms, which are consciousness and bodily development. Just as the individual soul is the living force that gives life to the body, God is the supreme living force that gives life to the entire cosmic manifestation.
Syamasundara dasa: Descartes's method involved searching within one's self for a basis of truth. That basis he found to be self-consciousness. He concluded that first of all, I exist, and then reasoned that God exists necessarily.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. I exist, my father exists, my grandfather exists, and so on; therefore God exists. In Sanskrit, we use the word ahankara, "I am." At the present moment, we exist, but our conception of existence is incorrect. We are thinking, "I exist through my body." We do not understand how it is we exist. By reasoning and understanding, we have to come to know that we are spirit soul and not the body. It is the spirit soul that exists. By reasoning, we can understand that we existed as a child, as a young man, and as an old man, and that after the body is finished, we will continue to exist. I still exist, and I have passed through many bodies, and by reasoning I can conclude that even after this body is destroyed, I will continue to exist. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita:
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire
"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." (Bg. 2.20) Even when the body is annihilated, the spirit soul continues. We can arrive at this conclusion through experience, and our experience can be confirmed by the sastras. This can also be concluded by reason. If this is supported in so many ways, it is a fact.
Syamasundara dasa: Descartes claims that truth must be self-evident and innate, like the intuitive knowledge "I exist."
Srila Prabhupada: This is innate knowledge: I exist now, I existed in the past, and I shall continue to exist in the future. This is also confirmed by Bhagavad-gita:
na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param
"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." (Bg. 2.12) This is confirmed by Krsna, and my reasoning also agrees. The body changes during one lifetime. As I exist in a body that is different now from my childhood body, in the future I will continue to exist in a different body.
Syamasundara dasa: For Descartes, whatever is clear and distinct—such as the mind's consciousness of itself—must be true.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, this is true. I think in this way, and this is corroborated by authoritative scriptures and confirmed by the acaryas. It is not that we think in a whimsical way. Sri Krsna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all the acaryas agree; therefore there is no doubt.
Hayagriva dasa: In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes further writes: "I fall into error because the power which God has given me of distinguishing the true from the false is not in me an infinite power." If we can never be certain that we can distinguish truth from error, where does certainty lie?
Srila Prabhupada: Certainty is in Krsna because He is absolute. He is infinite, and we are finite. The soul is finite Brahman, and the infinite Brahman is God. All religions accept the fact that God is the Supreme Father and that all living entities are His sons. Our existence is based on the mercy of the Supreme Father, and we can reach this conclusion by reasoning.
Syamasundara dasa: Descartes claims that the elementary truths of consciousness are innate in man's personality and that they provide man with immediate and rational proof.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that is a fact. Because I am part and parcel of the Suprem