Shloka 24
Citraketu’s Detachment, Nārada’s Mantra, and the Darśana of Anantadeva
देहेन्द्रियप्राणमनोधियोऽमी यदंशविद्धा: प्रचरन्ति कर्मसु । नैवान्यदा लौहमिवाप्रतप्तं स्थानेषु तद् द्रष्ट्रपदेशमेति ॥ २४ ॥
dehendriya-prāṇa-mano-dhiyo ’mī yad-aṁśa-viddhāḥ pracaranti karmasu naivānyadā lauham ivāprataptaṁ sthāneṣu tad draṣṭrapadeśam eti
അഗ്നിസംഗത്തിൽ ഇരുമ്പ് ചുവന്നുതിളങ്ങി ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ശക്തി നേടുന്നതുപോലെ, ദേഹം‑ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ‑പ്രാണൻ‑മനം‑ബുദ്ധി ഇവ സ്വയം ജഡമായിരുന്നാലും ഭഗവാന്റെ ചൈതന്യാംശം പ്രവേശിക്കുമ്പോഴേ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിൽ ഏർപ്പെടൂ; അതില്ലാതെ പ്രവർത്തിക്കില്ല।
Red-hot iron can burn, but it cannot burn the original fire. Therefore the consciousness of the small particle of Brahman is fully dependent on the power of the Supreme Brahman. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “From Me the conditioned soul receives memory, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The power for activities comes from the Supreme Lord, and when the Lord withdraws this power, the conditioned soul no longer has energy with which to act through his various senses. The body includes five knowledge-acquiring senses, five active senses and the mind, but actually these are merely lumps of matter. For example, the brain is nothing but matter, but when electrified by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the brain can act, just as iron can burn when made red-hot by the influence of fire. The brain can act while we are awake or even while we are dreaming, but when we are fast asleep or unconscious the brain is inactive. Since the brain is a lump of matter, it does not have independent power with which to act. It can act only when favored by the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is Brahman or Parabrahman. This is the way to understand how the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, is present everywhere, just as the sunshine is present because of the sun-god in the sun globe. The Supreme Lord is called Hṛṣīkeśa; He is the only conductor of the senses. Unless empowered by His energy, our senses cannot act. In other words, He is the only seer, the only worker, the only listener, and the only active principle or supreme controller.
FAQs
This verse explains that the body, senses, mind, and intelligence act only when empowered by the Lord’s energy, but they themselves are not the true ‘seer’; real seeing belongs to the conscious principle (ātmā, under the Lord’s sanction), like iron glows only when heated by fire.
Because iron appears fiery only when in contact with fire; similarly, inert instruments like body and mind appear conscious only when enlivened by the soul and ultimately by the Lord’s empowering presence.
Treat the mind and senses as instruments, not as the self; practice devotion and self-awareness so actions are guided by the inner witness and offered to Bhagavān, rather than driven by mere impulses.