Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.53
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mamatā-bhāk
—
subject to mine-ness
Compound: mamatā (mine-ness) + bhāk (subject to). If the body is held as 'mine' rather than as 'me', the love is contractual, not absolute. Then deterioration produces grief, not surrender.
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ātma-vat priyaḥ
—
dear as the self
Compound: ātman (self) + -vat (like) + priya (dear). Held as the self, the body is dear absolutely; held as mine, only contingently. The grammatical distinction tracks an emotional one.
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jīryati
—
ages, decays
Third person of √jṝ — to age. Even old age does not displace mamatā for the body. The Bhāgavata's empirical eye for the persistence of attachment past pleasure.
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jīvita-āśā
—
desire to live
Compound: jīvita (life) + āśā (desire). The will-to-live, abhiniveśa. One of the five kleśas in Patañjali. The Gauḍīya extension: only kṛṣṇa-āśā can dissolve jīvita-āśā.
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balīyasī
—
very strong
Feminine comparative of bala — strength. The desire-to-live is comparatively stronger than the desire-to-enjoy. Strong precisely when pleasure has departed. The diagnostic is severe.
The word mamatā-bhāk is very significant here. An ordinary, foolish person thinks, “I am this body.” A more discriminating, intelligent person thinks, “This is my body.” In the literature and folklore of ordinary people we find the common theme of an old, decrepit person dreaming of obtaining a new, young body. Thus, even ordinary persons pick up the notion of self-realization, instinctively understanding that it is possible for the soul to exist in many different bodies. As the body of an intelligent person becomes old and useless, he strongly desires to live, even when he knows that his body cannot live much longer. This indicates he is gradually becoming aware that his self is more important than his body. Thus simply the desire for life can indirectly bring one to a preliminary understanding of self-realization. And in this case as well, one’s basic attachment is to one’s own self and not to that which supposedly belongs to oneself. It may be pointed out that the entire discussion between King Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī regarding the dearness of one’s own self is ultimately meant for broaching the subject of why the cows and cowherd ladies of Vṛndāvana considered Kṛṣṇa more dear than their own selves and certainly more dear than their own offspring. The discussion proceeds as follows.
In this verse the point is made that the person conscious of his body as self also holds the soul more dear than the body when he has some temporary realization. With a slight discrimination when the attachment changes to the soul, even the bodily conscious person develops more love for soul than body. The body becomes dear because of the soul. Evidence is then given. Seeing the difficulties for the self on giving up the body, the person understands that they are not the pains of the soul, but only the body. Out of affection for the soul, he has the desire to keep the soul in that body.
The position of the undiscriminating person who thinks the body as his is described. This is explained by Śrīdhara Svāmī. The word api indicates that though he gets old, and is even about to die, or is dependent on sons, still the desire to live is strong. Or api can simply act to join the ideas. In his second explanation the person with no discrimination desires to live even after aging. This is a criticism. Therefore the wise person sees the body as the possession of the self, and not as dear. The body does not last long. It dies. Therefore one should not hope for it to continue living. There is another meaning. The body which was considered to be the soul in the previous verse is not dear like the soul. Since one becomes afflicted by disease, the desire to live in the body becomes weaker (abalīyasī). By discrimination a person understands that the body is not the self and thus it is no longer dear.
- Where in my day do I think 'I am' the body rather than 'I have' the body?
- What desire of mine secretly admits that the soul outlasts the body?
An old man, his body breaking down, still clings to it — even when the body has become a worn coat the soul cannot fit. Mamatā for the body persists even when the body has ceased to please. Śukadeva's clinical observation: the will-to-live exceeds the will-to-enjoy. Hold this; the verses are building toward an answer for the gopīs.
My note
Source: vedabase.io