SB 03.25.17 tada purusa atmanam... cited

Expressions researched:
"animanam akhanditam" |"kevalam prakrteh param" |"nirantaram svayam-jyotir" |"tada purusa atmanam"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.25.17, Translation and Purport:

At that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to material existence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minute in size.

Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti, Verse 17

In the state of pure consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can see himself as a minute particle nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the jīva, or the individual soul, is eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Just as the sun's rays are minute particles of the brilliant constitution of the sun, so a living entity is a minute particle of the Supreme Spirit. The individual soul and the Supreme Lord are not separated as in material differentiation. The individual soul is a particle from the very beginning. One should not think that because the individual soul is a particle, it is fragmented from the whole spirit. Māyāvāda philosophy enunciates that the whole spirit exists, but a part of it, which is called the jīva, is entrapped by illusion. This philosophy, however, is unacceptable because spirit cannot be divided like a fragment of matter. That part, the jīva, is eternally a part. As long as the Supreme Spirit exists, His part and parcel also exists. As long as the sun exists, the molecules of the sun's rays also exist.

The jīva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be one ten-thousandth the size of the upper portion of a hair. It is therefore infinitesimal. The Supreme Spirit is infinite, but the living entity, or the individual soul, is infinitesimal, although it is not different in quality from the Supreme Spirit. Two words in this verse are to be particularly noted. One is nirantaram, which means "nondifferent," or "of the same quality." The individual soul is also expressed here as aṇimānam. Aṇimānam means "infinitesimal." The Supreme Spirit is all-pervading, but the very small spirit is the individual soul. Akhaṇḍitam means not exactly "fragmented" but "constitutionally always infinitesimal." No one can separate the molecular parts of the sunshine from the sun, but at the same time the molecular part of the sunshine is not as expansive as the sun itself. Similarly, the living entity, by his constitutional position, is qualitatively the same as the Supreme Spirit, but he is infinitesimal.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.25.17 -- Bombay, November 17, 1974:

Nitāi: "At that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to the material existence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minute in size."

Prabhupāda:

tadā puruṣa ātmānaṁ

kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param

nirantaraṁ svayaṁ-jyotir

aṇimānam akhaṇḍitam

(SB 3.25.17)

This is self-realization. Self-realization means to see one's proper identity. At the present moment we are not finding out our proper identity. We are seeing to the body. I see you, your body, and you see me, my body. We have no vision of the real person, which is, who is occupying this body. This is the first lesson we get from Bhagavad-gītā: dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Dehi... This body is called deha, and the owner of the body is called dehī. So

dehino 'smin yathā dehe

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ...

(BG 2.13)

So when we can see that we are not this body, "I am not this body," that is beginning of self-realization. That is called brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) stage. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am not this material body." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is self-realization.

Lecture on SB 3.25.17 -- Bombay, November 17, 1974:

So we should not falsely claim that "I am as great as the Supreme God." No. We should understand this, aṇimānam. Svayaṁ-jyo... Etad jyotiḥ, I am as effulgent... Just like spark. Spark is jyoti, but not as brilliant, effulgent, as the original fire. The original fire—phat! phat!—there are some sparks. You have got experience. The spark is also jyoti. If a spark falls on your cloth, it will immediately burn. The burning capacity is there. But it is not as good as the original fire. Svayaṁ-jyotiḥ. Here it is said, nirantaram. So nirantaram means there is, so far jyoti is concerned, there is no difference, but the small, very small. Aṇimānam akhaṇḍitam. This is self-realization. Don't falsely claim that "Because I am qualitatively one with God, therefore I am God." No. You may be god. God means controller. But you are not the Supreme God. The Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Parama means Supreme. We are īśvara, we may be īśvara. I may be īśvara for few persons, another may be for a big nation, another may be for the... You can go on increasing. But you cannot reach the, I mean to say, position of God. That is aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ.

Lecture on SB 3.25.17 -- Bombay, November 17, 1974:

So tadā puruṣa ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param. Prakṛteḥ param. Now we are thinking, "I am the product of this material world. I am Indian." What I am Indian? Because my body is Indian, I am Indian? No. I am the spirit soul, hṛdayānanda. That is self-realization. The whole world is fighting: "I am Indian," "American," "I am Pakistani," "I am Hindustani," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṇa." Dehātma-buddhiḥ. So one has to realize that "I am not this body." Kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param. "I am beyond this body, far, transcendental to this material world." How it is possible? Tadā kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye. We have discussed this verse yesterday. Ahaṁ mamābhimāna utthaiḥ kāma-lobhādi, kāma-lobhādibhir malaiḥ. So long we have got the desire, lusty desire and greediness, for enjoying this material world, then it is not possible. We have to free, we have to become free from these lusty desires.

Lecture on SB 3.25.18 -- Bombay, November 18, 1974:

So we have discussed in the last verse how one becomes liberated.

tadā puruṣa ātmānaṁ

kevalaṁ prakṛteḥ param

nirantaraṁ svayaṁ-jyotir

aṇimānam akhaṇḍitam

Aṇimānam, aṇu. We are minute particle of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). We are not Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa's part, minute part. That minute part also we have discussed—one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair. Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca (CC Madhya 19.140). So when we realize this, that "I am not God, but I am godly. I have got the quality of God..." I have given the example also: just like the sea and the drop of water of the sea. So chemically, the drop of water of the sea is the same quality. There is no change of taste or other chemical composition. Similarly, we should understand fully that we are simply qualitatively one with God, but quantitatively, God is great and we are very minute particle. This is self-realization. Therefore part and parcel. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). The all living entities, Kṛṣṇa says, "They are My part and parcel."

Part and parcel, we have several times explained. Just like in my body there are different parts, but the business of the part is to satisfy the central point, stomach. The leg is working, the hand is working, the eyes, the ears, everyone is working. Why working? To satisfy the stomach. The Hindi, there is a pe kaste, sat.(?) So similarly, we should work for Kṛṣṇa. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, therefore we should work for Kṛṣṇa. I can repeat the same story again: udarendriyāṇām. The indriyas, the different parts of the body, because they were working hard, and the stomach within the abdomen, he's simply eating, so they went on strike: "We shall no more work. This part is only simply..., this man is simply eating, and we are working. We shall not work." They stopped work. The indriyas, they stopped work. So gradually they became weak. So when next meeting, they saw that "We have become weak," therefore again decided that "Let us supply food to the stomach."This is sense.