Shloka 60
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath, the Assault on Vedic Culture, and the Boy-Yamarāja’s Teaching on the Soul
अत: शोचत मा यूयं परं चात्मानमेव वा । क आत्मा क: परो वात्र स्वीय: पारक्य एव वा । स्वपराभिनिवेशेन विनाज्ञानेन देहिनाम् ॥ ६० ॥
ataḥ śocata mā yūyaṁ paraṁ cātmānam eva vā ka ātmā kaḥ paro vātra svīyaḥ pārakya eva vā sva-parābhiniveśena vinājñānena dehinām
সেয়ে তোমালোকে ন নিজৰ দেহৰ ক্ষতিৰ বাবে শোক কৰা, ন আনৰ দেহৰ বাবে। ‘মই কোন? আন কোন? ই মোৰ নে পৰৰ?’—এনে দেহভেদৰ আসক্তি কেৱল অজ্ঞানৰ পৰিণাম।
In this material world, the conception of self-preservation is the first law of nature. According to this conception, one should be interested in his personal safety and should then consider society, friendship, love, nationality, community and so on, which have all developed because of the bodily conception of life and a lack of knowledge of the spirit soul. This is called ajñāna. As long as human society is in darkness and ignorance, men will continue to make huge arrangements in the bodily conception of life. This is described by Prahlāda Mahārāja as bharam. In the materialistic conception, modern civilization makes enormous arrangements for huge roads, houses, mills and factories, and this is man’s conception of the advancement of civilization. People do not know, however, that at any time they themselves may be kicked out of the scene and forced to accept bodies that have nothing to do with these enormous houses, palaces, roads and automobiles. Therefore when Arjuna was thinking in terms of his bodily relationships with his kinsmen, Kṛṣṇa immediately chastised him, saying, kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam: “This bodily conception of life is befitting the anāryas, the non-Āryans, who are not advanced in knowledge.” An Āryan civilization is a civilization advanced in spiritual knowledge. Not merely by stamping oneself an Āryan does one become an Āryan. To keep oneself in the deepest darkness concerning spiritual knowledge and at the same time claim to be an Āryan is a non-Āryan position. In this connection, Śrīla Madhvācārya quotes as follows from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa:
FAQs
This verse explains that the sense of ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’ arises from ignorance in embodied life; with true knowledge, such divisions and the resulting lamentation diminish.
He spoke to stop grief and to push a hard, impersonal view that bodily relationships are temporary—arguing that lamentation is rooted in ignorance of the self.
When anxiety or grief arises from possessiveness and identity-labels, reflect on what is temporary (body, roles) and cultivate steady spiritual practice that strengthens clear self-understanding and reduces reactive attachment.