The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust's publication, The Science of Self Realization, is one of its most popular books, either in hard or soft copy, and it continues to be a good introduction to bhakti-yoga. In 1968, an article appeared in the Montreal Gazette. Our guru, Prabhupada, read with interest the topic on soul research, which appears in the SSR. He did respond to it. Here is an excerpt from that Gazette Headliner.
Heart Surgeon Wants to Know What a Soul Is
WINDSOR- A world-famous Canadian heart surgeon says he believes the body has a soul which departs at death and the theologians ought to try to find out more about it.
Dr. Wildfred G. Bigelow, head of the cardiovascular surgery unit at Toronto General Hospital said that "as a person who believes there is a soul, he thought the time had come "to take the mystery out of this and find out what it is..."
There are certain cases where you happen to be present at the moment when people pass from a living state to death and some mysterious changes take place. One of the most noticeable is the sudden lack of life or luster to the eyes. They become opaque and literally lifeless.
Said Bigelow, "in modern medicine when something was encountered that could not be explained, "the watchword is discover the answer, take it into the laboratory, take it somewhere where you can discover the truth."
“The central question,” said Bigelow, was "where is the soul and where does it come from?"
As mentioned, Prabhupada responded to the article with an elaboration based on Vedic wisdom. It was informative.
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