Shloka 23
Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti
देहस्तु सर्वसङ्घातो जगत्तस्थुरिति द्विधा । अत्रैव मृग्य: पुरुषो नेति नेतीत्यतत्त्यजन् ॥ २३ ॥
dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo neti netīty atat tyajan
Le corps n’est qu’un assemblage d’éléments et se présente sous deux formes : grossière et subtile (mobile et immobile). Pourtant, c’est au sein de ces corps qu’il faut rechercher le puruṣa, l’âme. Par l’analyse disant « ce n’est pas cela, ce n’est pas cela », en rejetant ce qui n’est pas le Soi, on sépare l’esprit de la matière.
As previously stated, svarṇaṁ yathā grāvasu hema-kāraḥ kṣetreṣu yogais tad-abhijña āpnuyāt. An expert in the study of soil can find out where gold is and then dig there. He can then analyze the stone and test the gold with nitric acid. Similarly, one must analyze the whole body to find within the body the spirit soul. In studying one’s own body, one must ask himself whether his head is his soul, his fingers are his soul, his hand is his soul, and so on. In this way, one must gradually reject all the material elements and the combinations of material elements in the body. Then, if one is expert and follows the ācārya, he can understand that he is the spiritual soul living within the body. The greatest ācārya, Kṛṣṇa, begins His teachings in Bhagavad-gītā by saying:
FAQs
This verse teaches that the body is merely a material aggregation, and one should seek the true puruṣa (the Self) by rejecting non-self identifications through the discernment ‘neti neti’—not this, not this.
Prahlāda instructed them to stop identifying with the temporary body and the changing world (moving and nonmoving) and instead search within for the real person—the soul—by rejecting what is not the Self.
Practice detachment by noticing, “I am not merely my body, emotions, status, or possessions,” and redirect identity toward the soul and devotion—living with clarity, restraint, and remembrance of the Lord.