13-22

उपद्रष्टा अनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः ।
परमात्मा इति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन् पुरुषः परः ॥ २२ ॥

upadraSTA anumantA ca bhartA bhoktA mahezvaraH |
paramAtmA iti cApyukto dehe'smin puruSaH paraH || 22 ||

अस्मिन् देहे [asmin dehe] In this body, परः पुरुषः [paraH puruSaH] the Self is distinct. उपद्रष्टा [upadraSTA] It is the witness अनुमन्ता च [anumantA ca] and the enabler. भर्ता [bhartA] It wears and holds the body. भोक्ता [bhoktA] It is the one that experiences. महेश्वरः [mahezvaraH] It is the owner. परमात्मा इति च अपि उक्तः [paramAtmA iti ca api uktaH] It is also said to be the supreme person.

The Self plays the role of a witness and enabler while it’s in a body- with its intentions and initiatives that suit the body it occupies. In this way the Self holds the body together.

It also experiences the feelings of comfort and sorrow that are generated by the tendencies of the body. In this way, the Self is the owner of the body, its organs and the mind. It coordinates activities by sustaining the body and by being its controller.

A similar fact is stated later in 15-8: ‘When the lord of the body takes leave of its environment (when it leaves the body at the time of death), it takes the essence of the body along, just as the wind takes the fragrance from a fragrant thing’.

The Self is also said to be the supreme person in relation to the body, its organs and the mind. The Self in relation to the body and the mind is described next in 13-24: ‘Some see the Self inside their body through focused thought, using their mind’.

Notice the phrase च अपि [ca api] - ‘also’ in this Shloka (‘It is also said to be the supreme person’). It implies that the Self is regarded as the supreme person, in addition to being the controller. The superiority of the Self is described in 13-12: ‘The Self expands to infinite knowledge, realizing that the Lord is supreme’.

The Self has been entangled since beginning-less time.

The Self has unbroken knowledge and strength. However, it has been bound to the environment from beginning-less time. Due to this, it is attached to the three qualities and is the controller of this body, nothing more. It is said to be supreme only in relation to the body.