Stefan Trellenkamp, a University of Kaiserslauten researcher, engraved a tiny soccer field on a tiny piece of acrylic glass using an electron beam. It took him an entire day to make it precise in every detail at 500 nanometers by 380 nanometers - meaning that it and 19,999 others just like it would fit on the tip of a human hair. Trellenkamp is “really, really proud” of his achievement.
But there is just one problem: Since no one can see it, there’s no point in putting it on display. So? “I guess,” he told reporters, “it’ll just stay in my drawer for the time being.”
20,000 on the tip of the hair makes it “half the size of the human soul”. The old preaching line of: “They can’t see the soul because it’s too small” is now out.
The Svetasvatara Upanishad (5.9) confirms (…):
balagra-sata-bhagasya
satadha kalpitasya ca
bhago jivah vijneyah
sa canantyaya kalpate“When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul.” Similarly the same version is stated:
kesagra-sata-bhagasya
satamsah sadrisatmakah
jivah sukshma-svarupo ‘yam
sankhyatito hi cit-kanah[Cc. Madya 19.140]
“There are innumerable particles of spiritual atoms, which are measured as one ten-thousandth of the upper portion of the hair.”
Bhagavad-gita 2.17 purport
The essential idea is that the soul is “outside the range of sense perception”. It may be that size in one sense, but it’s also imperceptible in another sense. That means that even if they can see things of that magnitude, they still can’t (as yet) directly perceive it.
Do you interpret this scripture literally - do you agree that the soul (though potentially undetectable by its lack of matter etc) actually has this definite scale?
I would have guessed this script to be trying to indicate that the size is immeasurably small, so to try and “find” via scientific method is pointless - its outside of sense perception even with tech being able to view at this scale now.
As it is made of non-material “stuff” it seems odd to give it dimensions or scale!
It is odd from the strict scientific perspective perhaps, but remember that the scriptures were poetry. From a poetic perspective, it is a metaphor which says the soul is impercevievable by the senses. Which is still true today, even in this time bubble of hypersensory perception that the oil based economy gives us. Even on the limited scale of time acknowledged by authorities, it is virtually nothing on the grand time scale, this bubble. And even within this bubble, for the overwhelming most of us,”Since no one can see it, there’s no point in putting it on display”.
The Christians used to argue about how many angels could fit on the tip of a hair. At least now we know why they were gathering there — to play soccer!
There are two issues that come to mind when I consider this. First was the question of whether the soul is opaque or transparent. I suspect it would be transparent to our material vision, even as we cannot seem to see Krishna with our material vision.
Second, there is a question of dimension. A hair is a three dimensional object, and the “tip” has two definite dimensions combined with an indefinite dimension. Perhaps the dimension of the 1/10,000th part is the cube root of the diameter of the hair; but then are we to conclude that the soul is a three-dimensional object. I doubt that would be true.
Hare Krsna
- Pandu das
Interesting thoughts. For comparison, here’s another verse from the KaTha-Upanishat, in which there is reference to “size” of a spiritual entity (in this case, the Paramatman residing in the heart!):
anguSTha-mAtraH puruSO madhya Atmani tiSThati
IshAnO bhUta-bhavyasya na tatO vijugupsate. etad va tat. (1.1.12)
Centuries ago, in their commentaries to this verse, Raghavendra-tIrtha (from the MAdhva sampradaya) has said:
upAsanArthaM parimANa-visheSaMAha anguSThamAtra iti.
The thumb-size is mentioned mainly for purpose of meditation (upAsana), since that roughly corresponds to the dimensions of the heart. Therefore, the manifestation of Godhead present with the individual soul is described as thumb-sized.
Hare Krsna,
Carl
toolman [hi] says the soul is made of nonmaterial “stuff”..
beyond any number, of ’souls’ fitting on the end of a hair,
more interesting and relevant is what a ’soul’ is, made of,
and, what people think, imagine, conceive or believe that
soul “stuff” to actually, be..
what do you understand such ‘nonmaterial stuff’ to be ?
Have a look at this book, Carl: Easy Journey to Other Planets.
It addresses your question nicely.