FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.27.9

सानुबन्धे च देहेऽस्मिन्नकुर्वन्नसदाग्रहम् । ज्ञानेन द‍ृष्टतत्त्वेन प्रकृते: पुरुषस्य च ॥ ९ ॥
sānubandhe ca dehe ’sminn
[saanubandhe cha dehe ’sminn]
akurvann asad-āgraham
[akurvann asad-aagraham]
jñānena dṛṣṭa-tattvena
[jnaanena drishta-tattvena]
prakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca
[prakriteh purushasya cha]
sa-anubandhe — with bodily relationships ca — and dehe — towards the body asmin — this akurvan — not doing asat-āgraham — bodily concept of life jñānena — through knowledge dṛṣṭa — having seen tattvena — the reality prakṛteḥ — of matter puruṣasya — of spirit ca — and.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sānubandhe ca dehe ’sminn
sa-anubandhe
with bodily relationships
ca
and
dehe
towards the body
akurvann asad-āgraham
asmin
this
jñānena dṛṣṭa-tattvena
prakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca
akurvan
not doing
asat-āgraham
bodily concept of life
jñānena
through knowledge
dṛṣṭa
having seen
tattvena
the reality
prakṛteḥ
of matter
puruṣasya
of spirit
ca
and.
One’s seeing power should be increased through knowledge of spirit and matter, and one should not unnecessarily identify himself with the body and thus become attracted by bodily relationships.

The conditioned souls are eager to identify with the body and consider that the body is “myself” and that anything in relationship with the body or possessions of the body is “mine.” In Sanskrit this is called aham-mamatā, and it is the root cause of all conditional life. A person should see things as the combination of matter and spirit. He should distinguish between the nature of matter and the nature of spirit, and his real identification should be with spirit, not with matter. By this knowledge, one should avoid the false, bodily concept of life.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
He should not have thoughts of I and mine for his body or relatives. By realized knowledge of prakṛti and puruṣa, he should transcend all states of consciousness such as waking and sleeping. He should see all material objects from far away. The jñānī should realize the Paramātmā by the pure jīva alone, and attain that Lord, seeing him like an ocean of light by the healthy eye. The object of realization for the liberated souls, Paramātmā constantly remains in the temporary material world as the antaryāmī. He is the cause of prakṛti, is the revealer of prakṛti’s evolutes, the material elements, pervades both prakṛti and its evolutes, and is one alone. Asad-āgraham means “conceptions of me and mine.” He should be free of attachments by knowledge consisting of seeing the truth about prakṛti and puruṣa. He should be free of states (avasthānaḥ) of intelligence like waking and sleeping. He sees all objects other than the Lord (anya) from far away. This jñānī (ātma-dṛk) realizes Paramātmā, an ocean full consciousness, by the pure jīvātmā (ātmanā), a particle of consciousness, by bhakti alone, and attains him (pratipadyate). He realizes Paramātmā, like an ocean of light (arkam), by the undiseased eye, a particle of light (cakṣuṣā). The owl does not see the sun by his eyes though it is without disease, but other beings like men can see the sun. Similarly, the jñānī without bhakti, though being a purified jīva, cannot realize Paramātmā, but the person with bhakti can. Bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ: I am perceived only by devotion. (SB 11.14.21) bhaktyā māmabhijānāti yāvān yaścāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tadanantaram Only by bhakti can a person know me as Brahman. Then, knowing me as Brahman by that bhakti, he merges with me. BG 18.55 What is this Lord? He is known by the liberated person (mukta-liṅgam). He is the object of knowledge and realized by the liberated person. He remains shining in the temporary world (asati) as the antaryāmī. He is the lord (bandhum) of causes (sataḥ). He is the revealer (cakṣuḥ) of the effects (asataḥ) such as mahat-tattva. He is completely full in all effects and causes (sarvānusyūtam). He is one (advayam). These five descriptive terms describe the Lord as the object of knowledge coming from scripture in the state previous to realization.
Material life is described here not as something to fix from inside but to see through. The verse names suffering honestly so the reader stops expecting permanent happiness from impermanent arrangements.
Reflection Questions
  • What 'if only X happens, I'll finally be fine' story are you still telling yourself?
  • What would change if you read your suffering as a teacher rather than an enemy?
📝 My note

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