13-4

ऋषिभिः बहुधा गीतम् छन्दोभिः विविधैः पृथक् ।
ब्रह्मसूत्र पदैः चैव हेतुमद्भिः विनिश्चितैः ॥ ४ ॥

RSibhiH bahudhA gItam chandobhiH vividhaiH pRthak |
brahmasUtra padaiH caiva hetumadbhiH vinizcitaiH || 4 ||

पृथक् [pRthak] The fact the body and the Self are distinct बहुधा गीतम् [bahudhA gItam] has been told in many ways- ऋषिभिः [RSibhiH] by many Rishis, विविधैः छन्दोभिः [vividhaiH chandobhiH] by various Vedas, ब्रह्मसूत्र पदैः [brahmasUtra padaiH] by the verses of the Brahmasutra. विनिश्चितैः [vinizcitaiH] They state this fact with full conviction, हेतुमद्भिः [hetumadbhiH] along with the reasoning and logic that goes with it.

The true nature of the body and the Self has been told by Rishis such as Parashara in many ways.

Parashara was a great sage who described the three elements in the Vishnu Purana - the Self, the environment and the Lord. In that, he also described the achievement of Moksha.

There, he explains the three elements through an anecdote: There was once a king called Bahuguna. He set out on a palanquin, normally to be carried by four people. On that day, only three had turned up. Three people couldn’t hold it. Hence, the king called on Jadapradha, who was standing by the side. Jadapradha was a sage with vast knowledge, but looked quite ordinary. Hence the king mistook him for a commoner. Jadapradha lifted the palanquin. However, due to lack of practice, he did not lift well.

The king reprimanded him and Jadapradha replied - ‘When you told me to lift this, did you tell my body or my Self? What lifted it? The body or the Self? What are you and what am I? Hearing this, the king realized that the person is no commoner. He requested Jadapradha to teach him. A part of that teaching follows now:

In the विश्णु पुराण [vizNu purANa] , 2-13-69 ,70,71: ‘O King! You, I and others have been conceived with the elements. All our bodies are bogged down by the flood of three qualities. These qualities - sattva, rajas and tamas - are dictated by the past deeds we committed.

The deeds that we commit are born out of ignorance.

Ignorance is of two types - One is a belief that our body is our Self; Another is that the Self is independent of the Lord.

This is true of all beings. The Self is pure, peaceful and never wears out. It is not made from the three qualities, it is superior, beyond any material’.

This is continued in विश्णु पुराण [vizNu purANa] , 2-13-89 ,102,103: ‘The Self is separate from the body, which is made up of the head and various other organs. Given this, what do I address, by the word ‘me’? Are you this head? Or the chest? Or the stomach? Or the collection of legs and other organs?

O King, you are distinct from all these parts of your body. Think about who you are. Focus your intelligence on this. These two distinct entities - the Self and the environment - both have the Lord as the Ultimate Self ’.

This is also summarized at the end of the Vishnu Sahasranama: The organs, the mind, the intellect, the elements, energy, strength, steadfastness - all of them have the Lord as their Ultimate Self - as does the body and the Self.

The distinction between the body and the Self has been told in the other Vedas as well.

The origin and nature of the body is described in आनन्दवल्लि [Anandavalli] , 1: ‘Space came into being from this Ultimate Self; Space carries fields (think gravitational and electromagnetic fields); From these fields, energy came into being; From energy, fluids arose; Fluids became solids and planets. From the material of the planets arose organic compounds. Food in the form of vegetation is formed out of these compounds. From this food, the body of a person comes into being. Thus, a person is made from food and liquids’.

The Upanishad described the nature of the body as being made out of food. It goes on to state that the body has the breath of life and is pervaded by a mind. The Self resides in the body that’s pervaded by the mind. Yet, it is distinct from the body and the mind.

Having described the nature of the Self in this way, it goes on to say: ‘This Self has the Ultimate Self residing in it, being with infinite knowledge and filled with pure joy’.

In this way, the Vedas clearly state the distinction between the nature of the body and the mind. They state the fact that both of them have the Lord at their core. The Lord is the Ultimate Self.

The verses of the Brahmasutra describe the Lord as the owner of the Self and the body. They do so with conviction and logic. They start by establishing that space itself did not exist forever, that it came into existence at the time of creation. They go on to describe the nature of the body - the field of action . Then they describe the true form of the Self - the Self always exists in the form of awareness.

Finally, they describe the relation between the Self and the Lord, by saying that the Self is a doer of actions. That doership is entirely under the will of the Lord. The Lord sets the Self into action – even in this way, the Self has the Lord at its core.

The reality of the Self and its field of action have been elaborated in various scriptures in many ways. The Lord says - ‘Now listen to Me, I will describe it in a clear and brief way’.