Aparokṣānubhūti 31–38: Body is not Puruṣa
Channel: Consciousness Research Centre
Date: 2022-03-24

31. “The Supreme Puruṣa known as ‘I’ (Self) is but one, whereas the gross bodies are many. So how can this body be Puruṣa?”

32. “‘I’ (Self) is well established as the subject of perception, whereas the body is the object. This is learnt from the fact that when we speak of the body we say, ‘This is mine.’ So how can this body be Puruṣa?”

33. “It is a fact of direct experience that the ‘I’ (Ātman) is without any change, whereas the body is always undergoing changes. So how can this body be Puruṣa?”

34. “Wise men have ascertained the real nature of Puruṣa from that Śruti text, ‘There is nothing higher than He (the Puruṣa),’ etc. So how can this body be Puruṣa?”

35. “Again, the Śruti has declared in the well-known text Puruṣa Sūkta that ‘All this is verily the Puruṣa.’ So how can this body be Puruṣa?”

36. “So also it is said in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad that ‘The Puruṣa is completely unattached.’ How can this body wherein inhere innumerable impurities be the Puruṣa?

37. “There again it is clearly stated that ‘the Puruṣa is self-illuminated.’ So how can the body, which is inert, insentient and illuminated by an external agent be the Puruṣa?”

38. “Moreover, the Karma-kaṇḍa also declares that the Ātman is different from the body and permanent, as it endures even after the fall of the body and reaps the fruits of actions done in this life.”

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