Torah is a transcendent, Divine reality, and as such it is considered an object sanctified with G-d's name.
Man is a physical being, composed of the material.
This is shown by man's inability to remain alive if he views G-d. It is the crown of the King which rests on his head that concretizes his elevation above the rest of the members of the community. Just as taking the crown of the King for ones own uses would be considered a serious act of rebellion, and would immediately bring execution to the perpetrator, so, too, is the response to one takes the Crown of Torah for his personal use. This can be better understood by realizing that when two objects which have no form of connection attempt to unite, the stronger object overcomes and repels the weaker one, which lacks the ability to exist. When a human being uses a holy object, which is an attempt to form a bond with something that is fundamentally transcendent, he is repelled and overcome by it, uprooting his physical existence.