In truth, the individual and distinct spiritual souls of God, which each of us is, are spiritual atoms, also called spiritual sparks, infinitesimal eternal fragments, tiny eternal particles, integral parts of Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, infinitesimal components of that radiance, that dazzling emanation, that absolute light.

The spiritual soul that each of us is, like Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, immortal, since we are infinitesimal fragments of his divine person.

Man is, in truth, a trilogy.

The Supreme Eternal says: Like the ether, which, though everywhere diffused, cannot, by its subtle nature, mingle with anything, so too the soul, of spiritual substance, though in the body, does not mingle with it.

The ether penetrates water, earth, all that exists, but it does not mingle with anything. Likewise, the soul, although it resides in various forms of body, remains, by its subtle or ethereal nature, independent of these various bodies. It is therefore impossible to see, with our material eyes, how the soul is in contact with the body, and how it separates from it when the latter perishes.

In truth, man is composed of a material body, that is to say, a body of dense matter, an ethereal body, and an eternal spiritual soul.

The three elements that compose the physical body—human, terrestrial and aquatic animal, as well as all plants, from blades of grass to tall trees—are: a dense physical body of various forms + an etheric body + an eternal spiritual soul.

The physical body is merely the vessel of the spiritual soul. We are, in reality, a spiritual soul, also called a spiritual atom, spiritual spark, or spiritual particle, originating from the radiance emanating from the sublime and absolute spiritual body of Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, itself an emanation of the Lord's spiritual energy. The physical body contains the etheric body, which in turn contains the soul. The dense physical body, made of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, constitutes the outer envelope of the spiritual being.

The mind, intellect, and false ego form the etheric body in which the spiritual soul is enclosed.

At the moment of death, which concerns only the physical body and not the soul, which is immortal and therefore eternal, the etheric body, the inner envelope, transports the soul into the new body that a new mother prepares for the spiritual being who will incarnate within it.

Originally, as pure spiritual souls, we possess a spiritual body. This spiritual body is identical to our true Self [in other words, there is no distinction between our true Self and our spiritual body], while the current physical body is entirely distinct and different from our true identity.