Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.23.16
Nirodha· Winding upUnderstanding the Body’s Material Ingredients
“In this way, according to the different positions of the various parts of the body, Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the holes of his senses with the sky; his bodily liquids, such as blood and various secretions, with the totality of water; and he merged earth with water, then water with fire, fire with air, air with sky, and so on.”
What the purport teaches
- Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the bodily elements into their sources according to their proper divisions. Earth merged into water, water into fire, fire into air, and air into sky.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates the cosmic manifestation in an ordered sequence. The body is formed through the same process, drawing its ingredients from the total material elements.
- The words yathā-sthānaṁ vibhāgaśaḥ emphasize knowing the process of creation. Meditating on this process in reverse is described as a way to become free from material contamination.
Try this today
Write down sky, air, fire, water and earth, then read the list backward while reflecting that the body draws its ingredients from these elements.
Ask yourself
How does understanding the body’s material ingredients change the way I see it?
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.