Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.31.45-46
Nirodha· Winding upThe Soul Outlasts Its Bodily Instrument
“When the eyes lose their power to see color or form due to morbid affliction of the optic nerve, the sense of sight becomes deadened. The living entity, who is the seer of both the eyes and the sight, loses his power of vision. In the same way, when the physical body, the place where perception of objects occurs, is rendered incapable of perceiving, that is known as death. When one begins to view the physical body as one’s very self, that is called birth.”
What the purport teaches
- The living entity sees through the instrument of sight. When that instrument becomes incapable of functioning, the seer can no longer see through it.
- Similarly, death occurs when the bodily instrument can no longer function, and birth means receiving a new instrument. Bodily changes occur constantly, with the final change called death.
- The living entity itself has neither birth nor death but is eternal. It does not die when the material body is destroyed.
Try this today
When looking at an object today, pause and remember: the eyes are the instrument, and the living soul is the seer.
Ask yourself
What changes when I distinguish myself from the bodily instruments I use?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.