SB 07.07.23 dehas tu sarva-sanghato... cited

Expressions researched:
"atraiva mrgyah puruso" |"dehas tu sarva-sanghato" |"jagat tasthur iti dvidha" |"neti netity atat tyajan"

SB Canto 7

SB 7.7.23, Translation and Purport:

There are two kinds of bodies for every individual soul—a gross body made of five gross elements and a subtle body made of three subtle elements. Within these bodies, however, is the spirit soul. One must find the soul by analysis, saying, "This is not it. This is not it." Thus one must separate spirit from matter.

As previously stated, svarṇaṁ yathā grāvasu hema-kāraḥ kṣetreṣu yogais tad-abhijña āpnuyāt. An expert in the study of soil can find out where gold is and then dig there. He can then analyze the stone and test the gold with nitric acid. Similarly, one must analyze the whole body to find within the body the spirit soul. In studying one's own body, one must ask himself whether his head is his soul, his fingers are his soul, his hand is his soul, and so on. In this way, one must gradually reject all the material elements and the combinations of material elements in the body. Then, if one is expert and follows the ācārya, he can understand that he is the spiritual soul living within the body. The greatest ācārya, Kṛṣṇa, begins His teachings in Bhagavad-gītā by saying:

dehino 'smin yathā dehe

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptir

dhīras tatra na muhyati

"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." (BG 2.13) The spirit soul possesses the body and is within the body. This is the real analysis. The soul never mixes with the bodily elements. Although the soul is within the body, it is separate and always pure. One must analyze and understand his self. This is self-realization. Neti neti is the analytical process of rejecting matter. By expertly conducting such an analysis, one can understand where the soul is. One who is not expert, however, cannot distinguish gold from earth, nor the soul from the body.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.7.19-20 -- Bombay, March 18, 1971:

Aṣṭau prakṛtayaḥ, eight material elements, that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā-bhūmir āpo 'nalo vayuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4)—earth, water, fire, air, sky, and the mind, ahaṅkāra, mind, egotism and khaṁ mano buddhi, and intelligence. These are gross and subtle material elements. Aṣṭau prakṛtayaḥ proktās traya eva hi tad-guṇāḥ, and these material elements are moving by the interaction of the three material qualities—sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. One who is situated in the sattva-guṇa, he is also existing on these eight material elements. And one who is existing in the modes of passion, he is also existing on the... Brāhmaṇa's body, take for example. Brāhmaṇa is in the sattva-guṇa, and kṣatriya is in the raja-guṇa. Vaiśya is mixed up and śūdra is the tamo-guṇa. So existing means the consciousness according to the contamination of different condition of the guṇas... This condition is the guṇas. Sattva-guṇa, one who is in sattva-guṇa, his consciousness is different from the consciousness of the raja-guṇa. One whose consciousness is raja-guṇa, his consciousness is different from the tamo-guṇa. In this way you will find different types of consciousness. In pure there are three. If they're mixed up-three into three, it becomes nine. Again mixed up-nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. Again mixed up-eighty-one... In this way you will find varieties of life. But they're based on the three types of consciousness—sattva-guṇa consciousness, raja-guṇa consciousness, tamo-guṇa consciousness. So when one is transcendental to this contaminated consciousness, polluted by the three qualities of material nature, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

aṣṭau prakṛtayaḥ proktās

traya eva hi tad-guṇāḥ

vikārāḥ ṣoḍaśācāryaiḥ

pumān ekaḥ samanvayāt

But the soul is the same. By external affection in the material world under different qualities, he's appearing different. Therefore, we have got 8,400,000 of species of life, by different consciousness. When one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness there is no such differentiation, there is one consciousness. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, I am His servant, that's all. So long one does not come to this platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no possibility of so-called eternity, fraternity, unity, universal brotherhood, that is not possible. It is impossible because they are all contaminated.

dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto

jagat tasthur iti dvidhā

atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo

neti netīty atat tyajan

(reads Sanskrit commentary) The Sankhya philosophy here, the description is Sankhya philosophy. Twenty-four elements, twenty-four elements. Eight gross and subtle elements, and then their production, the ten indriya, senses, working senses, and knowledge acquiring senses. Eight, ten, eighteen. Then the sense objects, five. Eighteen plus five, twenty-three. And then the ātmā, the soul. Twenty-four elements, the Sankhya philosophy, they are analyzed. The Sankhya philosophy. The European philosophers they like very much this Sankhya philosophy system because in the Sankhya philosophy these twenty-four elements have been very much lucidly explained. Sankhya philosophy. Dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat. So there are two kinds of bodies, jagat and tasthuḥ-moving and not moving. But they're all combination of these twenty-four elements. atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo neti netīty, now, one has to find out the ātmā from these twenty-four elements by eliminating, "Where is ātmā, where is ātmā, where is ātmā." But one can find out in that way provided he follows the rules and regulations, and the process. That is possible.

Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967:

So this analytical study is called sāṅkhya philosophy. Sāṅkhya philosophy, you have heard the name. They very nicely analyze these material elements, and this sāṅkhya philosophy of India is very much appreciated by European philosophers because they are more or less materialists. But the sāṅkhya philosophy, sāṅkhya kara (?), has become very popular in European circle. So vikārāḥ ṣoḍaśācāryaiḥ pumān ekaḥ samanvayāt. Now, within this, these sixteen interactional presentation and eight differentiated energies, it makes twenty-four. Within these twenty-four interactions of this material energy, I am sitting. I am soul, spirit soul. Dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā (SB 7.6.23). Now, these twenty-four, I mean to say, manifestation, is called this body. And that body are also two kinds. What are? That some bodies are moving, and some bodies are stationary. Just like trees, plants, they are also living entities. They are also living entities, and we, human beings, or animals... There are divisions. Several times we have discussed. There are 8,400,000 of species of life. Out of these, trees and plants they are two millions. And the aquatics, there are 900,000's. Similarly, the bacteria, worms and reptiles, they are sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṇkhayakāḥ, eleven..., 1,100,000's. There are analytical study in the Vedic knowledge. They are experimented, and if you like, can experiment yourself also. Just like the information is that there are 900,000's of aquatics. Now, if you have got power to study how many aquatics are there, you can corroborate. Or two millions of plants and trees and creepers—that also, you can corroborate. But we get from Vedic literature these informations. So these are the different manufactures, different presentation of this interaction of these twenty-four elements. Dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā. And this deha, this body, is divided into two classes of body: one class, moving, and one class, not moving, standing stationary.

Atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣaḥ neti netīty atat tyajan. Now, if you are intelligent enough, then you can find out the puruṣa. Purusa means the enjoyer. We... I have got this body because I wanted a certain type of enjoyment. So nature has given me a certain type of body. You wanted certain type of enjoyment: the nature has given you a certain type of body. The tiger wanted a certain type of enjoyment, so he, it has got a certain type of body. Similarly, every one of us, in the 8,400,000's of species of life, we have got different bodies. But the soul is there. The soul, the individual soul, is within the elephant, and the individual soul is within the bacteria. Bacteria you cannot find with your open eyes. You have to see with a microscope. It has got the same soul. As the elephant has got the same soul, similarly, the bacteria has also got the same soul. Atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo neti neti. Now you have to analyze. You have to analyze what is soul and what is not soul. That requires intelligence. Just like the other day I explained to you that if you think yourself, meditate on your self, that "Am I this hand? Am I this leg? Am I these eyes? Am I this ear?" oh, you'll say, "No, no, I am not this hand. I am not this leg." You'll understand. If you meditate, you'll understand. But when you come to the point of consciousness, you'll say, "Yes, I am this." This is meditation. This is meditation, analytical study of yourself.