Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.12.25
Mukti· LiberationUnderstand the Sources of the Body
“A sober, self-realized person who has full knowledge should merge the various parts of the body in their original sources. The holes in the body are caused by the sky, the process of breathing is caused by the air, the heat of the body is caused by fire, and semen, blood and mucus are caused by water. The hard substances, like skin, muscle and bone, are caused by earth. In this way all the constituents of the body are caused by various elements, and they should be merged again into those elements.”
What the purport teaches
- To be self-realized, one must understand the original sources of the body's various constituents.
- Bodily openings come from sky, breath from air, and heat from fire. Bodily fluids come from water, while skin, muscle and bone come from earth.
- A sober person with full knowledge recognizes these constituents in relation to their original elements. The purport calls one who knows the self ātmavān.
Try this today
Notice your breath and bodily warmth, and recall their connection with air and fire.
Ask yourself
How does knowing the body's material sources affect my understanding of myself?
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.