Can a Glass Box Trap the Soul? A Gita-Based Response

Question

I have a curiosity from the Gita. Suppose, when the soul leaves the body, we trap it inside a glass box—what would happen? Some say the glass would shatter; others say it wouldn’t. What’s the exact truth?

Answer

First, whether the glass would break or not—we can’t really determine that. And think about this: when the soul enters the body, who has seen that moment? The body is formed by material causes, yes, but consciousness has to enter; without that, the body cannot truly live. If we cannot see the entry of the soul, we won’t see its exit either.

A glass box is a gross, physical object. Even with something far subtler than glass, the coming and going of the soul can’t be observed. These things can’t be verified by experiment; we have neither a way to see the soul’s arrival nor its departure. Science tries, but where has it reached in matters like these? We even built vast underground facilities to probe the Higgs boson, yet such realities still elude form and shape. The soul has no form, no size; we only infer it from experience—there is a power that makes this body conscious.

Consider a huge elephant and a tiny ant. Their bodies are worlds apart, yet the power that animates both is the same conscious force. From that, we gain conviction that there is an unseen power, a supreme principle at work. But you can’t point to souls floating in space and say, “There it is.”

That’s why the Bhagavad Gita says we need divya chakshu—the divine eye. And “divine eye” here means the stance of witness-consciousness (sākṣī bhāva). When you abide as a witness, these questions settle down. Not every question can be answered in words. Spirituality is profound and mysterious; much of it is ineffable. So: understand what you can, and use that to lift your life from the lower to the higher.

What does moving from lower to higher mean? Cultivating love for all, equal vision toward all, growing in oneness. Let these arise first. Then, one step at a time, more will open up—just as children don’t grasp engineering all at once; they learn step by step.

It’s the same in the spiritual path: as we take each step, the next door opens. The purpose of life is to know our true nature. When we know the Self (ātman), we know God (paramātman)—because the two are not separate. Knowing the Self, we know everyone, and to know all is to know the Divine. So take the first step: know yourself. Once you do, the next step will reveal itself. Without taking the step you already see, the farther destination cannot be understood. Therefore, go as far as you truly know—reach that point first.