Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.15.24
Mukti· LiberationThe Yogī Chooses His Destination
“The yogī who has achieved the mystic perfection called svacchanda-mṛtyu blocks the anus with the heel of the foot and then lifts the soul from the heart to the chest, to the neck and finally to the head. Situated within the brahma-randhra, the yogī then gives up his material body and guides the spirit soul to the selected destination.”
What the purport teaches
- The perfection called svacchanda-mṛtyu allows an accomplished yogī to leave his material body at will and guide the soul to a selected destination.
- Bhīṣmadeva wonderfully exhibited this mystic opulence at the end of the Battle of Kurukṣetra.
- Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that brahma here indicates various possible destinations. These include the spiritual sky, the impersonal brahmajyoti or another destination attracting the yogī’s mind.
Try this today
Write one sentence reflecting on the distinction between the spirit soul and the material body.
Ask yourself
What destination attracts my mind when I think about life beyond the material body?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.