We Are Not This Body But Are Within the Body
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the foundational step in all spiritual advancement is realizing our true identity. We are not the external dress of flesh and bones, but the eternal spirit soul situated within the body. Recognizing this active principle transforms our entire understanding of life, death, the mechanics of the material form, and our relationship with the Supreme Lord.
The First Principle of Spiritual Life
The ultimate failure of modern science is its exclusive focus on the gross material body while ignoring the living force inside. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that true education, or brahma-vidyā, begins with understanding the proprietor of the body. Without this primary knowledge, human life is no better than animal life.
- Bhagavad-gita begins with the spiritual instruction that one is not the body, but is within the body.
- Deha means this body, and dehi means who lives within the body. That is first of all explained. Dehinah asmin dehe: "In this body there is the resident of the body." That is soul. That is the beginning of spiritual knowledge.
- I am not this body; I am the soul. Within the body, I am living, and after giving up this body, I'll have to accept another body -This is the beginning of knowledge. One who does not understand these plain, primary principles of knowledge, he's animal.
- This is the message: that people are under the impression that one is this body, but that is not the fact. The soul, or the man, he is within the body. Just like you are not your..., this shirt and coat.
The Two Birds in the Tree
The Vedic literatures reveal that the individual soul is not alone within the bodily encagement. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead accompanies the soul in His localized feature as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul, constantly observing and guiding the living entity.
- The individual soul and the Supreme Soul live together within the body. This is confirmed in the Upanisads by the analogy that two friendly birds live in one tree - one bird eating the fruit of the tree and the other simply witnessing and directing.
- There are two persons interested in this body. One is the individual soul, living entity, and the other is the Supersoul, God. He is also within this body.
- As indicated (in SB 10.2.27) by the word dvi-khagah, the living elements within the body resemble two birds in a tree. Kha means - sky, and ga means - one who flies. Thus the word dvi-khagah refers to birds.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is living within this body along with the individual soul, and this is confirmed in the Vedas. They are likened to two friends sitting on the same tree.
The Active Principle of Consciousness
A dead body has no value because the source of consciousness has departed. Śrīla Prabhupāda illustrates that it is the minute spiritual spark within the body that spreads consciousness throughout the limbs, making sense perception and bodily growth possible.
- O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.
- As clearly stated in Bhagavad-gita (dehino 'smin yatha dehe (BG 2.13)), within the body is the body's proprietor, the living force, which is more important.
- Head, hands, legs and indeed the entire body have grown on the basis of the soul. If the soul is within, the body, head, hands and legs grow, but otherwise they do not. A dead child does not grow up, for the soul is not present.
- Within this body there is a living force, and without that living force the body is useless, lump of matter. That's all.
The Internal Mechanics
The material body is a highly complex machine functioning through various subtle and gross mechanisms. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the soul interacts with the body through the movements of different vital airs, or prāṇa-vāyu, which control biological functions and consciousness.
- The living being's activities are performed within the body through the movements of different kinds of air, known in summary as prana-vayu.
- Ten kinds of life air always flow within the material body. They are called prana, apana, samana, vyana, udana, naga, kurma, krkala, devadatta and dhananjaya. They are compared here (in SB 7.15.42) to the spokes of the chariot's wheels.
- There are so many processes going on within the body. Kapha-pitta-vayuh. There is very good mechanical arrangement. So the brain means to keep this mechanical arrangement very busy and going on nicely. That is brain.
The True Object of Love
We often think we love our family members or our own bodies, but our affection is actually directed toward the spirit soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda logically points out that no one loves a dead body; it is the person within the body who is the true object of affection.
- The body is not a lovable object. But because the soul is there within the body, therefore we love this body.
- I love this body. Why? Because I am the spirit self, or soul is within this body. Therefore just like I love this apartment. Why? Because I live here. Similarly, I love this body because I am spirit soul, I am living within this body.
- Suppose your wife or husband, you love, because the husband and wife is in the body, within the body. So I love the body because the spirit soul is there. This is right conclusion. Otherwise who is going to love a dead body? Nobody.
- If a man is offered the dead body of a beautiful woman, will he accept it? No, because the spiritual spark has moved out of the body. Not only was it enjoying within the body, but it was maintaining the body.
Liberated Within the Encagement
One does not need to wait for physical death to achieve spiritual perfection. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that a devotee who fully engages their body, mind, and words in the service of Kṛṣṇa is considered a jīvan-mukta, liberated even while in the physical body.
- When one is completely fixed in the service of the Lord, he is a liberated person in any condition of life. He is called jivan-muktah, liberated even within this body.
- Srila Rupa Gosvami has explained that those who are always engaged in Krsna consciousness with body, mind and activities are to be considered liberated even within this body.
- As long as he (a Krsna conscious person) lives within the body, he is happy to engage in the loving service of the Lord, and when he gives up the body, he is also permanently situated in the service of the Lord.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully dispels the deepest illusion of material existence—bodily identification. By understanding that we are the eternal spirit soul situated within the temporary body, we can transcend mundane anxieties and redirect our attachment from dead matter to the Supreme Lord. Realizing that both the soul and the Supersoul reside within the heart, and that the body is simply a mechanical vehicle driven by vital airs, is the foundation of true brahma-vidyā. Cultivating this knowledge allows the sincere practitioner to become a liberated soul, joyfully rendering service to Kṛṣṇa even while still within the material encagement.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Within the Body. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.