Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.54-55
Mukti· LiberationDo Not Mistake Bodily Movement for Yourself
“The soul’s material life, his experience of sense gratification, is actually false, O descendant of Daśārha, just like trees’ appearance of quivering when the trees are reflected in agitated water, or like the earth’s appearance of spinning due to one’s spinning his eyes around, or like the world of a fantasy or dream.”
What the purport teaches
- Trees reflected in agitated water appear to move. Similarly, the soul’s material life and experience of sense gratification are false appearances.
- The material body is moved by the modes of nature, with the consent of the illusioned living entity. The conditioned soul mistakes this external movement for his own activity.
- One thinks oneself to be dancing, running, dying or conquering. These activities are interactions of the external body with the modes of nature.
Try this today
During one bodily activity today, pause and remember that the body’s movement is not your spiritual identity.
Ask yourself
When do I mistake what happens to my body for what happens to my real self?
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.