Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.28.40
Mukti· LiberationDistinguish Body, Soul and Supersoul
“King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge by being able to distinguish the Supersoul from the individual soul. The individual soul is localized, whereas the Supersoul is all-pervasive. He became perfect in knowledge that the material body is not the soul but that the soul is the witness of the material body.”
What the purport teaches
- The material body is made of the Lord’s external energy; it is not the soul. Malayadhvaja clearly understood this distinction.
- The individual soul is localized in one body, while the Supersoul is present in every body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead remains distinct from the individual soul.
- The body is a field in which the individual soul works and experiences the fruits of activity. The Supersoul witnesses these activities without enjoying their fruits.
Try this today
Write down the three distinctions: the body is the field, the individual soul works in it, and the Supersoul witnesses.
Ask yourself
How does distinguishing myself from my body change my understanding of who I am?
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.