The Properties of Life (the Ātmā)

There are innumerable atmas (living entities), each being a quantum of consciousness. Each atma resides temporarily in an ephemeral biological form, according to the atma's consciousness. This consciousness is due to the atma alone, but the content of the atma's consciousness is due to its interactions with the particular body it occupies. The material body can be divided into two categories: the gross and the subtle. The subtle body is made up of mind, intelligence, and the apparent self (or the false identification of one's self with the material body). The gross body is made up of the five gross elements-solid matter, liquids, radiant energy, gases, and ethereal substances. The interaction of the individual atma with the gross and subtle bodies produces inconceivably complex reactions, which cannot be explained by simple chemistry and physics in the living cell. That is why chemistry and physics cannot explain why there is so much difference between a living body and a dead one. Simply put, when the individual living being leaves the body, the live body becomes dead matter-although all the chemicals necessary for the functioning of the living organism are still present.