IMMORTALITY OF SOULS

Characters-
Socrates- Ragavendra

Student 1 (Aristocle) - Ishana Student 2 (Antisthenes)- Rosmi Student 3 (Aristippus)- Ruthvik

Against 1- Jefferson Against 2- Sowmi

Soul 1- Dakshana Soul 2- Kavya

Narrator- This scene is set in ancient Athens in a market place, where Socrates is having a discussion
with his disciples regarding the immortality of souls.

Dialogues-
Socrates- Good evening students. It’s a lovely day to learn something new.

Student 1/2/3- Good evening, Gadfly.

Student1 (ishana)- What do you have planned to teach us today.

Socrates- I will be preaching about the the different stages of the soul and its immortal life.

Soul 1- (would suddenly pass out near the market place and would be confused)- die

(The disciples rush around the body)

Student 2 (rosmi)- Gadfly sir what do you think would happen to him?

Socrates- He is not truly dead as his soul would live on forever, as it is immortal.

Against 1 (Jefferson)- even at the time of someone’s death you still preach about worthless beliefs.

Against 2(Sowmi)- (in support of Jefferson)- How do you know his soul is immortal, you are blinded
by your own theories about the immortality of souls.

Socrates- How are you so sure that the soul isn’t immortal.

Soul 1 (dakshana)- *confused* what happened to me? What am I?

Soul 2- (kavya)- Oh finally another soul! I am Amara, atleast that was what I was called when I was a
mortal being. What is your name?

Soul 1- I think my name was Demi, what! What do you mean by soul?

Soul 2- I used to live a mortal human life amongst my fellow friends and family until I woke up one
day and found myself in this state. I understood my place in the world with the help of my dear
friend Socrates. I believe he would be able to help you too.
Socrates- As a person puts on a new garment, a soul accepts a new material body giving up the old
ones. This is an endless cycle which in turn proves how the soul never dies and stays immortal.

Student 3(Ruthvik)- How does this prove that the soul remains immortal? Can you give us the bigger
understanding about this?

Socrates- If the living come from the dead then our souls must exist in the other world, for if not,
how could they have been born again.

Student 1- How do you know that the living come from the dead?

Scorates- Things that are hot came from being cold and vice versa. The dead are generated from the
living through death, and that the living are generated from the dead, through birth. The souls of the
dead must exist in some place for them to be able to return to life. This is called as The generation
out of Opposites.

Soul 2- Now Demi, do you understand what a soul is?

Soul 1- I don’t fully comprehend what Socrates is trying to explain so I’d like to listen to this
conversation a little longer.

Against 1- I believe what is incorruptible must also be in-generable, the soul is therefore existed
before out death. But we have no recollection of our past lives and hence have no fixed idea of
whether the soul is actually immortal. So, I strongly believe that it is mortal.

Against 2- Science only concerns itself with the material universe, and since a soul is not material in
nature there is no proof of its existence making it mortal along with the person.

Socrates- Science is very vast and has different part and understandings to it. The mere assumption
that souls are incorruptible and in-generable. To truly understand and believe we must sometimes
rely on our instincts and not always on the proofs.

Socrates- Moving to the second argument, Recollection, I would like one of my faithful students to
explain it to you.

Student 2- This theory is an explanation of how we can come to know the kinds of things that we
can. For any questions we either know the answer or you don’t. If you know the answer then inquiry
is unnecessary. If you don’t know the answer you will have no way of recognizing the correct answer
when it presents itself. For if you don’t know what the correct answer is, how will you distinguish it
from false answers? So if you don’t know the answer enquiry is impossible.

Student 1- What we call learning is really just recollection. If that is true then surely what we
recollect now we must have learnt at some time before which is impossible unless our souls existed
somewhere before they entered this human shape. So in that way too it seems likely that the soul is
immortal.

Soul 2- So Demi have you understood the conceptual ideas of a soul according to Socrates?

Soul 1- I completely understood what Socrates spoke about today, and realized that it has a deeper
meaning and understanding to what a soul really is. Thank you for all your help Amara. I guess now
my true journey begins.