"Your constitutional position is that you are pure living soul," the Lord told Sanātana. "This material body cannot be identified with your real self; nor is your mind your real identity, nor your intelligence, nor false ego. Your identity is that of eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Your position is that you're transcendental. The superior energy of Kṛṣṇa is spiritual in constitution, and the inferior external energy is material. Since you are between the material energy and the spiritual energy, your position is marginal. Belonging to the marginal potency of Kṛṣṇa, you are simultaneously one with and different from Kṛṣṇa. Because you are spirit, you are not different from Kṛṣṇa, and because you are only a minute particle of Kṛṣṇa, you are different from Him."
Identification with the body (CC and other books)
Expressions researched:
"bodies"
|"bodily"
|"body"
|"identification"
|"identifies"
|"identify"
|"identifying"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
For those grossly engaged in identifying the body as the self, pious activity, or karma-yoga, is recommended. For those who identify the mind with the self, philosophical speculation, or jñāna-yoga, is recommended. But devotees standing on the spiritual platform have no need of such material conceptions of adulterated devotion. Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim for love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, solely to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The example of misunderstanding a rope to be a snake is mentioned in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, but it is meant to explain the error of identifying the body with the soul. Since the soul is actually a spiritual particle, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke), it is due to illusion (vivarta-vāda) that a human being, like an animal, identifies the body with the self. This is a proper example of vivarta, or illusion. The verse atattvato ’nyathā-buddhir vivarta ity udāhṛtaḥ describes such an illusion. To not know actual facts and thus to mistake one thing for another (as, for example, to accept the body as oneself) is called vivarta-vāda. Every conditioned living entity who considers the body to be the soul is deluded by this vivarta-vāda. One can be attacked by this vivarta-vāda philosophy when he forgets the inconceivable power of the omnipotent Personality of Godhead.
The saṅkīrtana movement has been introduced by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu just to dispel the illusion of māyā, by which everyone in this material world thinks himself to be a product of matter and therefore to have many duties pertaining to the body. Actually, the living entity is not his material body: he is a spirit soul. He has a spiritual need to be eternally blissful and full of knowledge, but unfortunately he identifies himself with the body, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as an animal, sometimes a tree, sometimes an aquatic, sometimes a demigod, and so on. Thus with each change of body he develops a different type of consciousness with different types of activities and thus becomes increasingly entangled in material existence, transmigrating perpetually from one body to another. Under the spell of māyā, or illusion, he does not consider the past or future but is simply satisfied with the short life span that he has gotten for the present. To eradicate this illusion, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has brought the saṅkīrtana movement, and He requests everyone to accept and distribute it.
CC Madhya-lila
"The theory of illusion can be applied only when the living entity identifies himself with the body. As far as the cosmic manifestation is concerned, it cannot be called false, although it is certainly temporary."
The living entity is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Being part and parcel of the Lord, he is constitutionally pure, but due to his contact with material energy, he identifies himself with either the gross or the subtle material body. Such identification is certainly false and constitutes the genuine platform of the theory of illusion. The living entity is eternal: he can never be subjected to the limits of time, as are his gross and subtle bodies. The cosmic manifestation is never false, but it is subject to change by the influence of the time factor. For a living entity to accept this cosmic manifestation as the field for his sense enjoyment is certainly illusory. This material world is the manifestation of the material energy of the Lord. This is explained by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4):
- bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
- ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies."
The material world is the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but it is not a fact that the Supreme Lord has been transformed into this material world. The Māyāvādī philosophers, devoid of true understanding, have confused the theory of illusion and the theory of the cosmic manifestation by word jugglery. The theory of illusion can be applied to a person who identifies himself with the body. The living entity is the superior energy of the Supreme Lord, and the material world is the inferior energy. Both, however, are prakṛti (energy). Although the energies are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from Him, the Lord never loses His personal form due to the transformation of His different energies.
The topics that are about to be discussed between Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya cannot be understood by a materialistic poet, nor by intelligence or material perception. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that the spiritual mellow can be realized only when one is situated on the transcendental platform beyond the material stage of goodness. That platform is called viśuddha-sattva (sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam). Realization of the viśuddha-sattva platform is beyond the pale of the material world and is not perceived by bodily senses or mental speculation. Our identification with the gross body and subtle mind is different from spiritual understanding. Since the intelligence and mind are material, the loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are beyond their perception. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam: (CC Madhya 19.170) when we are free from all material designations and our senses are completely purified by the bhakti process, we can understand the sense activities of the Absolute Truth (hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170)).
Sometimes a university student or professor tries to study these transcendental literatures and attempts to put forth a critical analysis from the mundane view, with an end to receiving degrees like a Ph.D. Such realization is certainly different from that of Rāmānanda Rāya. If one actually wants to take a Ph.D. degree from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and be approved by Rāmānanda Rāya, he must first become free from all material designations (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170)). A person who identifies with his material body cannot understand these talks between Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Man-made religious scriptures and transcendental philosophical talks are quite different. Indeed, there is a gulf of difference between the two. This subject matter has been very diligently described by Śrīman Madhvācārya. Since material philosophers are situated in the material conception of life, they are unable to realize the spiritual prema-vilāsa-vivarta. They cannot accommodate an elephant upon a dish. Similarly, mundane speculators cannot capture the spiritual elephant within their limited conception. It is just like a frog's trying to measure the Atlantic Ocean by imagining it so many times larger than his well. Materialistic philosophers and sahajiyās cannot understand the talks between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu concerning the pastimes of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The only tendency of the impersonalists or the prākṛta-sahajiyās is to face the platform of impersonalism. They cannot understand spiritual variegatedness.
"Spiritual substance is never within the jurisdiction of the material conception. This is always the verdict of the Vedas and Purāṇas."
As stated in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.3.9, 12):
- na sandṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya
- na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainam
- hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikḷpto
- ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
- naiva vācā na manasā prāptuṁ śakyo na cakṣuṣā
"Spirit is not within the jurisdiction of material eyes, words or mind."
Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13) states:
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
"A human being who identifies his body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of his body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow."
These are some Vedic statements about spiritual substance. Spiritual substance cannot be seen by the unintelligent, because they do not have the eyes or the mentality to see the spirit soul.
Materialists consider Vṛndāvana-dhāma an unclean city because there are many monkeys and dogs there, and along the bank of the Yamunā there is refuse. Some time ago, a materialistic man asked me, "Why are you living in Vṛndāvana? Why have you selected such a dirty place to live after retiring?" Such a person cannot understand that the earthly Vṛndāvana-dhāma is always a representation of the original Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Consequently Vṛndāvana-dhāma is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam: according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His abode, Vṛndāvana, are equally worshipable. Sometimes materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vṛndāvana as tourists. One who goes to Vṛndāvana with such materialistic vision cannot derive any spiritual benefit. Such a person is not convinced that Kṛṣṇa and Vṛndāvana are identical. Since they are identical, Vṛndāvana is as worshipable as Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's vision (mora-mana—vṛndāvana) is different from the vision of an ordinary materialistic person. At the Ratha-yātrā festival, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, absorbed in the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, dragged Lord Kṛṣṇa back to Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spoke of this in the verses beginning āhuś ca te (CC Madhya 13.136).
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13) it is stated:
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
"A human being who identifies the body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth as worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow."
A man covered by illusion cannot understand the proper way; therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, dharma-sthāpana-hetu sādhura vyavahāra: "The behavior of a devotee is the criterion for all other behavior." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself followed the devotional principles and taught others to follow them. Purī-gosāñira ye ācaraṇa, sei dharma sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally followed the behavior of Mādhavendra Purī and advised others to follow his principles. Unfortunately, people have been attracted to the material body since time immemorial.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
"A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers his land of birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow." (SB 10.84.13) Those who accept the logic of gaḍḍālikā-pravāha and follow in the footsteps of pseudo mahājanas are carried away by the waves of māyā.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The Lord also said that the living entities are known as kṣetrajña, or "knowers of the field of activities." In the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the body is described as the field of activities, and the living entity as kṣetrajña, the knower of that field. Although the living entity is constitutionally conversant with spiritual energy, or has the potency to understand spiritual energy, he is covered by the material energy and consequently identifies the body with the self. This false identification is called "false ego." Deluded by this false ego, the bewildered living entity in material existence changes his different bodies and suffers various kinds of miseries. Knowledge of the living entity's true position is possessed to different extents by different types of living entities.
In this quotation from the nine sages who were instructing Mahārāja Nimi, māyā is defined as "forgetfulness of one's relationship with Kṛṣṇa." Actually, māyā means "that which is not." It has no existence. Thus it is false to think that the living entity has no connection with the Supreme Lord. He may not believe in the existence of God, or he may think that he has no relationship with God, but these are all "illusions," or māyā. Due to absorption in this false conception of life, man is always fearful and full of anxieties. In other words, a godless concept of life is māyā. One who is actually learned in the Vedic literatures surrenders unto the Supreme Lord with great devotion and accepts Him as the supreme goal. When a living entity forgets the constitutional nature of his relationship with God, he is at once overwhelmed by the external energy. This is the cause of his false ego, his false identification of the body with the self. Indeed, his whole conception of the material universe arises from this false identification with the body, for he becomes attached to the body and its by-products. To escape this entanglement, he has only to perform his duty and to surrender unto the Supreme Lord with intelligence and devotion and with sincere Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Unintelligent persons who cannot understand this doctrine of byproducts cannot grasp how the cosmic manifestation and the living entity are simultaneously one and different from the Absolute Truth. Not understanding this, one concludes, out of fear, that this cosmic manifestation and the living entity are false. Śaṅkarācārya gives the example of a rope being mistaken for a snake, and sometimes the example of mistaking an oyster shell for gold is cited, but surely such arguments are ways of cheating. As mentioned in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the rope for a snake and the oyster for gold examples have their different applications and can be understood as follows. The living entity in his original constitutional position is pure spirit. When a human being identifies himself with the material body, he may be said to be mistaking a rope for a snake, or an oyster shell for gold. The doctrine of transformation is accepted when one thing is mistaken for another. Actually the body is not the living entity, but the doctrine of transformation accepts the body as the living entity. Every conditioned soul is undoubtedly contaminated by this doctrine of transformation.
Nectar of Instruction
Being situated in his original Kṛṣṇa conscious position, a pure devotee does not identify with the body. Such a devotee should not be seen from a materialistic point of view. Indeed, one should overlook a devotee's having a body born in a low family, a body with a bad complexion, a deformed body, or a diseased or infirm body. According to ordinary vision, such imperfections may seem prominent in the body of a pure devotee, but despite such seeming defects, the body of a pure devotee cannot be polluted. It is exactly like the waters of the Ganges, which sometimes during the rainy season are full of bubbles, foam and mud. The Ganges waters do not become polluted. Those who are advanced in spiritual understanding will bathe in the Ganges without considering the condition of the water.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
"The luminous planets like the sun, moon or stars reflect themselves in different types of reservoirs, like water, oil or ghee. The reflection moves according to the movement of the reservoir. The reflection of the moon is on the water, and the moving water makes the moon also appear to be moving, but actually the moon is not moving. Similarly, by mental concoction the living entity attains different kinds of bodies, although actually he has no connection with such bodies. But on account of illusion, being enchanted by the influence of māyā, the living entity thinks that he belongs to a particular type of body. That is the way of conditioned life. Suppose a living entity is now in a human form of body. He thinks that he belongs to the human community, or a particular country or particular place. He identifies himself in that way and unnecessarily prepares for another body, which is not required by him. Such desires and mental concoctions are the cause of different types of bodies. The covering influence of material nature is so strong that the living entity is satisfied in whatever body he gets, and he identifies with that body with great pleasure. Therefore, I beg to request you not to be overwhelmed by the dictation of your mind and body."
Kaṁsa knew very well that no one can frustrate the purpose of Viṣṇu. Any intelligent man can understand that the laws of God cannot be violated. His purpose will be served in spite of all impediments offered by the demons. Kaṁsa thought, "If I kill Devakī at the present moment, Viṣṇu will enforce His supreme will more vehemently. To kill Devakī just now would be a most abominable act. No one desires to kill his reputation, even in an awkward situation; if I kill Devakī now, my reputation will be spoiled. Devakī is a woman, and she is under my shelter; she is pregnant, and if I kill her, immediately my reputation, the results of my pious activities and my duration of life will all be finished."
He further deliberated, "A person who is too cruel is as good as dead, even in this lifetime. No one likes a cruel person during his lifetime, and after his death, people curse him. On account of his self-identification with the body, he must be degraded and pushed into the darkest region of hell." Kaṁsa thus meditated on all the pros and cons of killing Devakī at that time.
Foolish persons are engaged in committing all sorts of sins due to the misconception of identifying the material body with the self. But one should be intelligent enough to understand to whom the body belongs. A foolish person indulges in killing animals to maintain the body, but he does not consider whether the body belongs to him or to his father or mother or maternal grandfather. Sometimes a father gives his daughter in charity to a person with a view of getting back the daughter's child as a son. The body may also belong to a stronger man who forces it to work for him. Sometimes a slave's body is sold to a master, and from that day on the body belongs to the master. And at the end of life the body belongs to the fire, because the body is given to the fire and burned to ashes. Or the body is thrown into the street to be eaten by the dogs and vultures.
There are various details to be observed in the performance of sacrifices. They are known as deśa, place; kāla, time; pṛthag-dravya, the different detailed paraphernalia; mantra, hymns; tantra, scriptural evidences; agni, fire; ṛtvik, learned performers of sacrifices; devatā, the demigods; yajamāna, the performer of the sacrifices; kratu, the sacrifice itself; and dharma, the procedures. All these are for satisfying Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that He is the actual enjoyer of all sacrifices because He is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Absolute Truth, beyond the conception or speculation of the material senses. He is present just like an ordinary human boy, but for persons who identify themselves with the body, it is very difficult to understand Him. The brāhmaṇas were very much interested in the comforts of the material body and in elevation to the higher planetary residences called svarga-vāsa. They were therefore completely unable to understand the position of Kṛṣṇa.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Conditioned human beings are expert at dealing with this material body and mind. These gross materialists, who cannot see beyond materialistic activities, find it impossible to believe that besides our material universe, a spiritual universe exists. Completely identifying with the body, such materialists are like animals, simply eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. They are so captivated by these four animalistic propensities that they lose the power to discriminate between sinful and pious activities. They tirelessly endeavor for a little sense gratification, but all their efforts end in futility. Many modern scientists have taken up the role of priests facilitating such gross activities, which are unbeneficial and fatal. These scientists have made available a variety of products meant simply to titillate the senses, thus creating a deadly competitive mood among the materialists, which has in turn caused an obnoxious atmosphere in society. People think they become free and independent through such sensual activities, but factually they become more tightly bound up in chains. The greater their accumulated wealth, the greater their anxiety and depravity. As much as they try to usurp the Supreme Lord's position of being the only enjoyer, that much and more are they drawn into the jaws of a horrible death. And these activities make a Herculean task out of such a simple and basic activity as sustaining the body, which needs a little nourishment only.
Identifying the self with the material body and mind, or thinking that the soul is material, or thinking that everything in relation to the body belongs to oneself—such illusions keep a person ignorant and bereft of self-realization. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa advises us to be situated in knowledge of the self. When we become spiritually aware, we can understand that the "I," the self, is not the body or mind; we can realize that we are products of the superior, spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord and hence fully spiritual and eternal. With realization of these transcendental truths comes knowledge of the actual nature of the material energy in its pure form. And when these spiritual realizations gradually mature, one achieves a natural distance from the dualities of material nature. At this stage of spiritual development, the false ego is destroyed, all false identification and titles are removed, and we are liberated from the shackles of the illusory, material energy on the strength of our spiritual association with the Transcendence. No longer does māyā entangle us in material activities.
Delusion is the perverted image of reality and is the hallmark of māyā, the Lord's external energy. This delusion is totally absent in His internal, spiritual potency. The jīva is a product of the Lord's superior, transcendental energy, but he becomes deluded into identifying his body as his self. Once this ignorance is dissipated, he can immediately understand the actual nature of the body. Illusion is possible on the mundane plane but never in the spiritual energy.
The variety visible in material nature is due to the influence of the Lord's spiritual energy. In other words, material nature is but a perverted reflection of spiritual energy. For example, sunlight is ever-existing, but when sunlight is reflected on water, there comes into being a new source of light that must accept the cycle of creation, maintenance, and annihilation. The original sun, of course, is not bound by such changes. This practical analogy helps us understand that the spiritual nature is transcendental to creation, maintenance, and annihilation, whereas the perverted reflection of the spiritual energy—the material nature—is bound by these three conditions. The material nature is illusory: sometimes it is there, and at other times it is not. When this illusory, temporary existence of "there and not there" is totally removed and in its place are manifested the name, form, qualities, associates, paraphernalia, and abode of the Lord, one is on the platform of satyaṁ param, the Absolute Truth, who is described here as nirasta-kuhakam, "forever free from the illusory representation of the material world."
Light of the Bhagavata
At night in the rainy season the moving clouds reflecting the moonlight make the moon appear to be moving. This is called illusion. The spirit soul, or the living being, is the root of all the activities of the material body, but because of illusion the spirit soul remains covered by the gross and subtle material bodies. Thus covered, the conditioned soul identifies with the material body and becomes subject to the sense of false ego.
This false ego obliges a living being to consider his material body to be his self, the offspring of the body to be his children, and the land of the birth of the body to be an object of worship. Thus the living being's conception of nationalism is another type of ignorance. Because of ignorance, a living being identifies himself with the land of his birth and moves with the misconceptions of national ideas. In fact, however, a living being does not belong to any nation or species of life. He has nothing to do with the body, as the moon has nothing to do with the moving clouds.
Progress in cultivating the human spirit entails the gradual disappearance of the materialistic ego. Covered by ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, the spirit soul thinks himself all in all and is covered by a false sense of ego. Thus he falsely identifies the soul with the body, and his bodily relations with material things become the objects of his attraction. This false identification and attraction for matter gradually dry up and fade away by success in the cultivation of the human spirit. That is the effect of such higher cultivation. Progress in spiritual culture brings about the disintegration of false ego and material attraction.
The ultimate goal of cultivating the human spirit is God realization and surrender unto God with a full sense of His all-pervasive nature. When a liberated soul thus surrenders unto the lotus feet of the all-pervading Godhead, the ocean of nescience becomes as insignificant to him as the water in the small hoofprint of a calf. He at once becomes eligible to be promoted to the spiritual kingdom, and he has nothing to do with the miserable land of the material world.
Cultivation of the human spirit is not, therefore, mere adjustment of materialistic anomalies. It is the process for preparing oneself to be promoted to the spiritual kingdom. No one can adjust the sufferings of material existence, but by spiritual culture one can elevate himself from the effects of such miserable life.
Sri Isopanisad
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something which is not: māyā. Māyā means "what is not." Everyone is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you what you are, you will say, "I am Mr. John; I am a rich man; I am this; I am that." All these are bodily identifications. But you are not this body. This is illusion.
As advised in Chapter Thirteen of the Bhagavad-gītā (13.8-12), one should culture knowledge in the following way:
(1) One should become a perfect gentleman and learn to give proper respect to others.
(2) One should not pose himself as a religionist simply for name and fame.
(3) One should not become a source of anxiety to others by the actions of his body, by the thoughts of his mind, or by his words.
(4) One should learn forbearance even in the face of provocation from others.
(5) One should learn to avoid duplicity in his dealings with others.
(6) One should search out a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him gradually to the stage of spiritual realization, and one must submit himself to such a spiritual master, render him service and ask relevant questions.
(7) In order to approach the platform of self-realization, one must follow the regulative principles enjoined in the revealed scriptures.
(8) One must be fixed in the tenets of the revealed scriptures.
(9) One should completely refrain from practices which are detrimental to the interest of self-realization.
(10) One should not accept more than he requires for the maintenance of the body.
(11) One should not falsely identify himself with the gross material body, nor should one consider those who are related to his body to be his own.
(12) One should always remember that as long as he has a material body he must face the miseries of repeated birth, old age, disease and death. There is no use in making plans to get rid of these miseries of the material body. The best course is to find out the means by which one may regain his spiritual identity.
(13) One should not be attached to more than the necessities of life required for spiritual advancement.
(14) One should not be more attached to wife, children and home than the revealed scriptures ordain.
(15) One should not be happy or distressed over desirables and undesirables, knowing that such feelings are just created by the mind.
(16) One should become an unalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and serve Him with rapt attention.
(17) One should develop a liking for residence in a secluded place with a calm and quiet atmosphere favorable for spiritual culture, and one should avoid congested places where nondevotees congregate.
(18) One should become a scientist or philosopher and conduct research into spiritual knowledge, recognizing that spiritual knowledge is permanent whereas material knowledge ends with the death of the body.
These eighteen items combine to form a gradual process by which real knowledge can be developed. Except for these, all other methods are considered to be in the category of nescience.
| Page Title: | Identification with the body (CC and other books) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 15 of Mar, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=9, OB=16, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 25 |