You are not this body (Books and Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"You are not the same body" |"You are not this material body" |"You are spirit soul, not this body" |"you are not body" |"you are not the body" |"you are not this body"

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad Introduction:

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.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Bhagavad-gītā is the A B C D of spiritual knowledge.The first book of knowledge teaches from the very beginning that you are not this body.

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

Bhagavad-gītā is the A B C D of spiritual knowledge. It is not very high depth of spiritual knowledge. High depth of spiritual knowledge is in the Srimad Bhagavatam. This is only entrance. Just like children are taught a b c d., or first book of knowledge. It is only the first book of knowledge. And what is that first book of knowledge? The first book of knowledge teaches from the very beginning that you are not this body. That is the beginning of knowledge, spiritual knowledge.

Bhagavad-gītā, in the beginning, says that you are not this body, neither this mind.

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

Bhagavad-gītā, in the beginning, says that you are not this body, neither this mind. This is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, and that is a b c d. Any person who does not know that I am not this body he has no even a-b-c-d knowledge of spiritual kingdom. If one is attracted with this bodily function or mind, mental function, he is outside the spiritual purview altogether. He rejected immediately. That test is in the Bhagavad-gītā.

The present civilization is in a shirt-coat civilization, present civilization. They do not know what is there within the shirt-coat. That they are missing. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very important. The missing point is being presented that you are not this body.

Lecture on BG 2.9 -- Auckland, February 21, 1973:

You kindly take this mantra and chant. Begin chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Then the result will be, gradually, all the misgivings within our heart will be cleansed. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). And as soon as our heart is cleansed, we can understand that "I am not this material body. I am spirit soul. I have got different business. So long I am working for the maintenance of this body. Now I understand that body is my superficial shirt and coat dress." One should not take simply care for the shirt and coat. Any gentleman knows. Shirt and coat, we take care of course, but not that as the self. Similarly, the present civilization is in a shirt-coat civilization, present civilization. They do not know what is there within the shirt-coat. That they are missing. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very important. The missing point is being presented that you are not this body. You are within this body, spirit soul. You just try to come out of this entanglement of birth, death, old age, and go back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

I am not this body, I am not this coat. This is real knowledge. Although sometimes we become little sorry, but the identity is different. So Kṛṣṇa says that "You are talking like learned man, but you do not know your identity. You are not this body."

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- London, August 17, 1973:

One must first of all understand what is his identity. So this is the beginning of a lesson given by Kṛṣṇa, that "You are lamenting for this body. This is not your identity. This is not your identity. You are wrongly thinking." Just like if your coat is some way or other destroyed, that does not mean that you are destroyed. If your car by accident is broken, that does not mean that you are finished. Sometimes we get accident, that is another thing. But I am not the car. I am not this body, I am not this coat. This is real knowledge. Although sometimes we become little sorry, but the identity is different. So Kṛṣṇa says that "You are talking like learned man, but you do not know your identity. You are not this body."

Kṛṣṇa is teaching Arjuna that "You are not this body. You are spirit soul." This is the first spiritual instruction by the authority to anyone, that "You are not this body." So by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra... It is the medicine recommended in the śāstra.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, November 17, 1972:

Every one of us is covered by the darkness of ajñāna. What is that ajñāna? "I am this body." "I am Indian." "I am American." "I am Andhra," "I am Bengali." "I am this, I am that." So there is fighting, due to ajñāna. So first of all we have to drive away this ajñāna. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is teaching Arjuna that "You are not this body. You are spirit soul." This is the first spiritual instruction by the authority to anyone, that "You are not this body." So by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra... It is the medicine recommended in the śāstra, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). That dust of ignorance is moved. He can understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. My duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa." In this way, he becomes enlightened gradually.

When you actually understand that you are not this body—therefore you are not American, nor Indian nor Mexican, but you are spirit soul—then your spiritual education begins.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Mexico, February 12, 1975:

You ask any learned scientist, professor, "Who are you?" He'll say, "I am Mr. John." He'll say, "I am Mr. John, I am American," or "I am Mexican," "I am Indian," like that. So this is ignorance. Nobody is this body. That is the first lesson of spiritual knowledge. So long we identify with this body, that "I am Mr. Such-and-such," "I am American," "I am Indian," this is all ignorance. When you actually understand that you are not this body—therefore you are not American, nor Indian nor Mexican, but you are spirit soul—then your spiritual education begins. And that is... In Sanskrit it is called ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul." Spiritual... Spirit soul has no connection with this material world. When one understands fully this, I mean to say, fact, that spirit soul is different from this material world, then he's actually learned.

To become jñānī, the first instruction, as Kṛṣṇa is giving to Arjuna, He's pointing out that "You are not this body.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Hyderabad, November 19, 1972:

So jñānī means one must be above this bodily concept of life. He's jñānī. Therefore to become jñānī, the first instruction, as Kṛṣṇa is giving to Arjuna, He's pointing out that "You are not this body. My dear Arjuna. You are decline, declining to fight, because you are bodily infected. You are thinking that your bodily, blood relation with the other party, namely your brother, nephews and others, that is wrong conception. You are not this body."