ody or its
members do not imply defects in the spirit. This leads to the accurate
conclusion that if the whole body should be subjected to a radical change,
the spirit will survive that change; that even if the body of man is
destroyed and becomes nonexistent, the spirit of man remains unaffected.
For the spirit of man is everlasting. Sometimes the body sleeps, the eyes
do not see, the ears do not hear, the members cease to act, every function
is as inactive as death; nevertheless, the spirit sees, hears and soars on
high. For it is possessed of these faculties which operate without the
instrumentality of the body. In the world of thought it sees without eyes,
hears without ears and travels without the motion of foot. Without
physical force it exercises every function. This makes it evident that
during sleep the spirit is alive though the body is as dead. In the world
of dreams the body becomes absolutely passive, but the spirit still
functions actively, possessed of all susceptibilities. This leads to the
conclusion that the life of the spirit is neither conditional nor
dependent upon the life of the body. At most it can be said that the body
is a mere garment utilized by the spirit. If that garment be destroyed,
the wearer is not affected but is, in fact, protected.

Furthermore, all phenomena are subject to changes from one condition to
another, and the revolution caused by this transformation produces a form
of nonexistence. For instance, when a man is transformed from the human
kingdom to the mineral, we say that he is dead, for he has relinquished
the physical form of man and assumed the condition of the mineral
substances. This transformation or transmutation is called death.
Therefore, it follows that no phenomenal organism can be possessed of two
forms at the same time. If an object or phenomenon presents a triangular
shape, it cannot simultaneously possess the shape of a square. If it is
spherical, it cannot at the same time be pentagonal or hexagonal. In order
to assume any given figure or form it must relinquish its previous shape
or dimension. Thus the triangular must be abandoned to assume the square;
the square must change to become a pentagon. These transformations or
changes from one condition to another are equivalent to death. But the
reality of man, the human spirit, is simultaneously possessed of all forms
and figures without being bereft of any of them. It does not require
transformation from one co