Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.26
Mukti· LiberationBody and Soul Appear Inseparable
“Śrī Uddhava inquired: Although nature and the living entity are constitutionally distinct, O Lord Kṛṣṇa, there appears to be no difference between them, because they are found residing within one another. Thus the soul appears to be within nature and nature within the soul.”
What the purport teaches
- The material body is a temporary fabrication of the modes of nature, whereas the conscious living entity is an eternal spirit soul.
- The body's material elements belong to the Lord's separated, inferior energy. The living entity is His superior, conscious energy.
- Identification with the body and the body's dependence on the soul obscure their difference. Śrī Uddhava asks the Lord to clarify this apparent mutual dependence.
Try this today
Write one sentence distinguishing the temporary material body from the eternal, conscious soul.
Ask yourself
When do I treat the temporary body as though it were my whole identity?
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.