So far we have seen that man is a being who has first a gross body which dissolves very quickly, then a fine body which remains through æons, and lastly a _jiva_. This _jiva_, according to the Vedânta philosophy, is eternal, just as God is eternal, and Nature is also eternal, but changefully eternal. The material of Nature, the _prâna_ and the _âkâsa_, are eternal, but are changing into different forms eternally. Matter and force are eternal, but their combinations vary continually. The _jiva_ is not manufactured, either of _âkâsa_, or of _prâna_; it is immaterial, and therefore will remain for ever. It is not the result of any combination of _prâna_ and _âkâsa_, and whatever is not the result of combination will never be destroyed, because destruction is decomposition. That which is not a compound cannot be destroyed. The gross body is a compound of _âkâsa_ and _prâna_ in various forms and will be decomposed. The fine body will also be decomposed after a long time, but the _jiva_ is a simple, and will never be destroyed. For the same reason, we cannot say it ever was born. Nothing simple can be born; the same argument applies. Only that which is a compound can be born. The whole of this nature combined in these millions of forms is under the will of God. God is all pervading, omniscient, formless, everywhere, and He is directing this nature day and night. The whole of it is under His control. There is no independence of any being. It cannot be. He is the Ruler. This is the teaching of dualistic Vedânta. Then the question comes, if God be the Ruler of this universe, why did He create such a wicked universe, why must we suffer so much? The answer is made that it is not God’s fault. It is our own fault that we suffer. Whatever we sow that we reap. God does not do anything to punish us. If a man is born poor, or blind, or lame, he did something before he was born in that way, something that produced these results. The _jiva_ has been existing for all time, was never created. It has been doing all sorts of things all the time. Whatever we do we suffer for. If we do good we shall have happiness, and if bad, unhappiness. This _jiva_ is by its own nature pure, but ignorance covers its nature, says the dualist. As by evil deeds it has covered itself with ignorance, so by good deeds it can become conscious of its own nature again. Just as it is eternal, so its nature is pure. The nature of every being is pure. When through good deeds all its sins and misdeeds have been washed away, then the _jiva_ becomes pure again, and when he becomes pure he goes after death by what is called _Devayana_ (the path of the gods), to heaven, or the abode of the gods. If he has been only an ordinarily good man he goes to what is called the “Abode of the Fathers.”