The jiva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be one ten-thousandth the size of the upper portion of a hair.
[Posted
Apr 30, 2009]Size Does Matter
The measure of a man (woman, beast, microbe – the living entity)
A silica nanowire wrapping a beam of light around a human hair (Credit: Limin Tong/Harvard University)
University of Illinois Developed Nanoneedle
This is truly amazing that the thinnest human head hair is about 10,000 times thicker than recently developed nanoneedle. This is a breakthrough device with applications for biophysical research.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a nanoneedle with 50 nm diameter. It was created with a rigid, but resilient, boron-nitride nanotube. The nanotube is then attached to one end of a glass pipette for easy handling. It is coated with a thin layer of gold. go to story
Sri Guru and Gauranga
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The soul is infinitesimal
excerpt from Teachings of Lord Kapila, "Purifying the Mind for Self-realization"
In the state of pure consciousness, or Krishna consciousness, one can see himself as a minute particle nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the jiva, or the individual soul, is eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Just as the sun's rays are minute particles of the brilliant sun, so a living entity is a minute particle of the Supreme Spirit. The individual soul and the Supreme Lord are not separated as in material differentiation. The individual soul is a particle from the very beginning. One should not think that because the individual soul is a particle, it is fragmented from the whole spirit. Mayavada philosophy enunciates that the whole spirit exists, but a part of it, which is called the jiva, is entrapped by illusion. This philosophy, however, is unacceptable because spirit cannot be divided like a fragment of matter. That part, the jiva, is eternally a part. As long as the Supreme Spirit exists, His part and parcel also exists. As long as the sun exists, the molecules of the sun's rays also exist.
The jiva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be one ten-thousandth the size of the upper portion of a hair. He is therefore infinitesimal. The Supreme Spirit is infinite, but the living entity, or individual soul, is infinitesimal, although he is not different in quality from the Supreme Spirit.
Two words in this verse are to be particularly noted. One is nirantaram, which means "nondifferent" or "of the same quality." The individual soul is also expressed here as animanam. Animanam means "infinitesimal." The Supreme Spirit is all-pervading, but the very small spirit is the individual soul. Akhanditam means not exactly "fragmented" but "constitutionally always infinitesimal." No one can separate the molecular parts of the sunshine from the sun, but at the same time the molecular part of the sunshine is not as expansive as the sun itself. Similarly, the living entity, by his constitutional position, is qualitatively the same as the Supreme Spirit, but he is infinitesimal.
Self-realization means seeing one's proper identity as the infinitesimal jiva. At the present moment, we are seeing the body, but this is not our proper identity. We have no vision of the real person occupying the body. The first lesson we receive from Bhagavad-gita (2.13) informs us that the body and the owner of the body are different. When we can understand that we are not the body, that is the beginning of self-realization, and that is called the brahma-bhuta [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.30.20] stage. Aham brahmasmi. I am not this material body, but spirit soul. And what are the characteristics of the jiva, the soul? First of all, he is animanam, very minute, infinitesimal. We are also jyoti, effulgent, like God, but God is brahma-jyoti, all-pervading and infinite. According to the Mayavada theory, we are the same as that brahmajyoti. Mayavadis give the example of a pot and the sky. Outside the pot there is sky, and within the pot there is sky. The separation is only due to the wall of the pot. When the pot is broken, the inside and outside become one. However, this example does not properly apply to the soul, as it is described in Bhagavad-gita (2.24):
acchedyo 'yam adahyo 'yam
akledyo 'shoshya eva cha
nityah sarva-gatah sthanur
achalo 'yam sanatanah
"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same."
The soul cannot be cut in pieces or segmented. This means that the soul is eternally, perpetually minute. We are the eternal parts and parcels of Sri Krishna. As Sri Krishna Himself states in Bhagavad-gita (15.7):
mamaivamsho jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
"The living entities in the conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts."
The word sanatana means "eternal," and the word amsha means "particles." God, Krishna, is very great. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him. It is said that God is great, but we do not actually realize how great God is. He is so great that millions of universes are emanating from the pores of His body.
yasyaika-nishvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
vishnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-vishesho
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
"The Brahmas and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of the Maha-Vishnu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, for Maha-Vishnu is a portion of His plenary portion." (Bs. 5.48)
Millions of universes emanate from the breathing of the Maha-Vishnu. In the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Krishna gives Arjuna some indication of His infinite glory, and He concludes His descriptions with the following statement (Bg. 10.42):
athava bahunaitena
kim jñatena tavarjuna
vishtabhyaham idam kritsnam
ekamshena sthito jagat
"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe."
This universe (jagat) is situated on the strength of one part of Krishna's yogic powers. In this way we must understand the greatness of God and our own identity as minute particles. It is stated in the Puranas that the individual soul is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair. If we could somehow divide the tip of a hair into ten thousand parts, we might begin to understand how the soul is invisible. Self-realization means knowing our identity as small particles. The small particle of spirit soul is within every one of us, but it is not possible to see with material eyes. There is no instrument existing in the material universe by which one can actually see the soul. Because of our inability to perceive the soul, we say it is nirakara, formless. We cannot even calculate its dimension (akara). Although we cannot calculate it, it is there nonetheless. The living entity has full form. There are small microbes and insects we can barely see, but they have an anatomy consisting of many working parts. Within a small insect there is also the spirit soul, and that spirit soul also exists within the elephant and other big animals.
Soul is nonphysical
excerpt from conversation with disciple, Washington D.C., Jul 4, 1976
SVARUP DAMODAR: We get a description that the soul, the size of a soul is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair. We were just discussing whether... does this imply that it can be measured?
PRABHUPADA: Yes, this is the measurement.
SVARUP DAMODAR: But we are claiming that it is nonphysical.
PRABHUPADA: No, nonphysical, that doesn't mean it has no measurement. It has measurement.
SVARUP DAMODAR: So measurement... Actually, Sadaputa calculated from how much the size is. Now from electron microscope, actually we can get an idea about the tip of the hair, how much it is. Now you divide it by one ten-thousandth part, so it will come out the size of the soul is about two angstroms, by calculation like that.
PRABHUPADA: Two atoms?
SVARUP DAMODAR: No, angstroms. Angstrom is the smallest scale that science can imagine. It is smaller even than the hydrogen atom. So actually it is atomic, it is very small in size.
PRABHUPADA: Yes.
SVARUP DAMODAR: But we were wondering whether that is reasonable.
PRABHUPADA: Reasonable? Yes. It is given in Upanishads and Padma Purana, authorized.
RUPANUGA: It's just that this one ten-thousandth tip of hair has no material quality. It is nonphysical but still can be measured.
PRABHUPADA: Nonphysical... Just like axiomatic truth... point has no length, no breadth, but it has length and breadth. You cannot measure it.
SVARUP DAMODAR: But does this not imply—one ten-thousandth the size–does that not imply measurement, that it can be measured?
PRABHUPADA: Yes, measurement, measurement is there.
keshagra-shata-bhagasya
shatadha kalpitasya cha
bhago jivah sa vijñeyah
sa chanantyaya kalpate [Cc. Madhya 19.140]
In the microbe there is soul. If it is not so small, how in the microbe there can be soul?