Bhagavatam-daily 166 – 11.10.08 – See beyond visible object to invisible active principle

Thank you. I don’t know.
11, 10, 8 Vilakshanaha Lakshanaha is characteristics. Vilakshanaha is having different characteristics. Sthula Sukshmata So, Sthula Sukshmata refers to the gross and subtle body.
Dehaat Atmikshita Swadrik So, Dehaat Dehaat We have the subtle body and the gross body. Atmikshita the soul which is the seer Swadrik which is capable of seeing oneself which is capable of self-enlightenment. Now, Swadrik and then Yathag nirdaruno dahayat Just as the fire which burns wood dahako anyaprakashakha is different from the wood.
So, here from this verse onwards for several verses the metaphor of the fire and wood and their relationship and dynamics will be developed. So, first it is stated over here that just as the fire is different from the wood similarly the soul is different from the body. Vilakshanaha Just as the fire and the wood have different characteristics similarly the soul and the body have different characteristics.
Now, there are many different characteristics but the fundamental which is discernible is consciousness. Prakashakaha Just as light illumines, similarly consciousness illumines. In fact, for perception, for awareness, for using illumination consciousness is a prerequisite.
If there is not light we can’t see that is true but so if there is fire which gives out light then we can see but even for seeing, even when fire is present there has to be consciousness beforehand. If there is no consciousness if there is simply a spectacles the spectacles may be in a room which is fully illumined but nobody can see over there because there is no seer at all. So, we need for perception not just the tool for seeing such as the eyes but the seer also and that seer is not the tool.
The seer is actually different from the tool. The seer is not the spectacles of the eye the seer is the soul. So, just as the wood is usable as a tool for for burning the tool is inflammable.
The wood is inflammable and that’s why when fire comes in it fire burns it but still even if we say that the wood is inflammable the fire that burns the wood is something which is different from it. So, similarly if somebody says that consciousness is the source of perception, source of vision not the eyes then somebody may ask and why can’t we see with the ears? Why can’t we see with the nose? It’s because, not because it is the capacity to see intrinsically in the eyes no it is because the eyes are the suitable tool for the consciousness of the soul to be routed through by which visual perception can takes place can take place. So, the tool has to be suitable but the suitability of the tool does not imply automatically that the tool itself is the user of the tool.
So, now just as this analogy of fire will be developed further in the fixed visual verses which we will talk about when we come to those verses but here the point is the notion of the that which is the active principle is different from that which is the visible object. So, the visible object is the wood but the active principle within the wood is not the wood itself but the fire within it similarly the visible object is the body but beyond the body the active principle is the soul and this active principle is what enables any kind of activity to be done and here the word is used for the soul so, now commentary mentions that ultimately the soul depends on the supreme lord. The soul is not independent.
So, how is it that the soul is considered to be swadruk swadruk means having the capacity of vision swadruk is the seer self enlightened seer it is said. Something like that swadruk. So, what it means is that the soul has the capacity for perception.
The soul has the capacity for enlightenment just as fire gives luminosity fire gives out light now that ultimately all light in the universe is recycled sunlight. Still not all substances are capable of recycling sunlight so the fire which is reflected from the fire of the sunlight which is reflected from the wood will not be reflected through sorry not fire Vishwanath Chaturthi gives the example of gold just as if there is a luminous object there is a shining object like gold now gold in and of itself is not has the capacity to reflect light and dazzle and that’s why when sunlight falls on gold then gold shines gold dazzles gold as we say glitters now the same sunlight falls on stone. The stone will not glitter the way the gold glitters.
Why? because the stone does not have the innate capacity so now similarly the consciousness ultimately comes from the soul from the supreme lord and enlightenment comes from the supreme lord but neither consciousness nor enlightenment would be perceivable would be achievable if it had not been originally for the soul for the soul having the capacity for consciousness so here the verse is making one point and Chakravarthi path is clarifying a possible misconception the thrust of the verse is that we should see beyond the visible object to the active principle so we should see beyond the gross and subtle bodies to the soul and the eyes are the tool for vision and that’s why when a person is unconscious the eyes are there and even if the eyes are physically opened by pulling the upper and lower part of the eyes apart that person will not see because the consciousness is not there in the body. The tool is not enough for seeing just as like wood is innately inflammable but if some object is not inflammable it is much more difficult to burn it and further the active principle is the reality so apart from the consciousness which is pointed which is the difference between the unconscious body and the soul apart from consciousness being a difference which is pointed to by also the word Swadrik there is also that this body is temporary whereas the soul is eternal so Sat Chit Ananda and the body in and of itself is not capable of experiencing emotions whereas the soul is capable of experiencing ecstasy so in this way this verse uses the metaphor of fire to direct our consciousness from the visible object to the invisible active principle underlying the visible object