The ether is the medium of all sound, and sound is its distinctive characteristic. It may be objected that water often has a smell. The Nyaya reply is that when it does, this is due to the presence of minute particles of solid matter which have earthy attributes but are carried within the water particles. For Nyaya, the material world is eternal. There is no absolute creation and no ultimate annihilation.
Drastic change can occur, but atoms are neither altered nor annihilated.
Nyaya asserts a real plurality of souls . I exist as an individual self. The existence of the self is necessary to explain the unity and coherence of my experience. The operation of the senses discloses the existence of the self as the agent who perceives the world by means of the senses. The self cannot be identified with mind or intellect, with thinking, perceiving or knowing.