Shloka 45
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Wrath, the Assault on Vedic Culture, and the Boy-Yamarāja’s Teaching on the Soul
न श्रोता नानुवक्तायं मुख्योऽप्यत्र महानसु: । यस्त्विहेन्द्रियवानात्मा स चान्य: प्राणदेहयो: ॥ ४५ ॥
na śrotā nānuvaktāyaṁ mukhyo ’py atra mahān asuḥ yas tv ihendriyavān ātmā sa cānyaḥ prāṇa-dehayoḥ
ಇದು ಶ್ರೋತವೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ವಕ್ತವೂ ಅಲ್ಲ; ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವೆಂದು ಎಣಿಸಲ್ಪಡುವ ಪ್ರಾಣವಾಯುವೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇಂದ್ರಿಯವಂತ ಜೀವಾತ್ಮವೂ ಪ್ರಾಣ ಮತ್ತು ದೇಹದಿಂದ ಭಿನ್ನ; ಆದರೆ ನಿಜವಾದ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕನು ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ, ಜೀವನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಹಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ದೇಹಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಡೆಸುವವನು. ದೇಹ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಾಣಶಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ ವಿಭಿನ್ನನು।
The Supreme Personality of Godhead distinctly says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) , sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Although the ātmā, or soul, is present in every material body ( dehino ’smin yathā dehe ), he is not actually the chief person acting through the senses, mind and so on. The soul can merely act in cooperation with the Supersoul because it is the Supersoul who gives him directions to act or not to act ( mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca ). One cannot act without His sanction, for the Supersoul is upadraṣṭā and anumantā, the witness and sanctioner. One who studies carefully, under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, can understand the real knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is actually the conductor of all the activities of the individual soul, and the controller of their results as well. Although the individual soul possesses the indriyas, or senses, he is not actually the proprietor, for the proprietor is the Supersoul. Consequently the Supersoul is called Hṛṣīkeśa, and the individual soul is advised by the direction of the Supersoul to surrender to Him and thus be happy ( sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ). Thus he can become immortal and be transferred to the spiritual kingdom, where he will achieve the highest success of an eternal, blissful life of knowledge. In conclusion, the individual soul is different from the body, senses, living force and the airs within the body, and above him is the Supersoul, who gives the individual soul all facilities. The individual soul who renders everything to the Supersoul lives very happily within the body.
FAQs
This verse states that the real self is the conscious, sense-using ātmā, which is distinct from both prāṇa (vital air) and the material body.
Prahlāda instructs his father in spiritual discrimination, emphasizing that true identity is the ātmā, not the body or merely the life-force—countering materialistic notions of life.
By remembering you are not the body or just “energy,” you can face fear and loss with steadiness and prioritize bhakti and dharma over temporary bodily demands.