Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.45
Mukti· LiberationYour Identity Is Beyond Bodily Age
“Although the illumination of a lamp consists of innumerable rays of light undergoing constant creation, transformation and destruction, a person with illusory intelligence who sees the light for a moment will speak falsely, saying, “This is the light of the lamp.” As one observes a flowing river, ever-new water passes by and goes far away, yet a foolish person, observing one point in the river, falsely states, “This is the water of the river.” Similarly, although the material body of a human being is constantly undergoing transformation, those who are simply wasting their lives falsely think and say that each particular stage of the body is the person’s real identity.”
What the purport teaches
- A lamp’s rays and a river’s water constantly change. Similarly, childhood and old age are temporary bodily phases, not a person’s real identity.
- The body is a transformation of the three modes of material nature, the Supreme Lord’s potency. The person’s real identity is spirit soul, part and parcel of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
- Ignoring the Lord’s instructions wastes the opportunity of life. Through Kṛṣṇa consciousness, loving service to the Supreme Lord, the unchanging soul becomes free from ignorance and suffering.
Try this today
Read the Lord’s instructions in this verse once more, remembering that you are a spirit soul meant for His loving service.
Ask yourself
How much of my sense of identity depends on my present bodily age?
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.