Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 406

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-13 Prakṛti-Puruṣa-vivek Yogaḥ

Commentary In reference to the body one says; ‘I am a god’, ‘I am a human’, ‘I am fat’, ‘I am thin’ etc. according to the principle of co-ordinate predication (samānādhikaraṇya) the ‘I’ referred to is the experiencing Self (jivātman), and that which is experienced [as fat, thin etc] refers to something other than the Self i.e. the body. The enlightened ones understand that the body is only the Field where the fruits of past deeds are reaped by the Self, which is different from the body. It is obvious that when one sees an object like a pot which is different from one's body, one thinks — 'I, a god, see this pot' or 'I, a human see it' etc., in this case one is identifying with one’s body by the principle of samānādhikaraṇya. In the same way one also experiences the body as an object of knowledge when one says:— ‘I know this body.’ Thus, if the body is a knowable object, it must be different from the knowing subject. Therefore, the Self as Field-knower (Kṣetrajña), is different from the body which is an object of knowledge like a pot and other things. But in practical terms one's body is inseparable from oneself; for it constitutes a fundamental attribute of the Self like the 'cow-ness' of the cow. The knowing Self is however unique in being an eternal and subtle form of consciousness and can only perceive itself through a mind refined by Yoga and not by mundane awareness. The ignorant regard the Self as being a physical phenomena because of its intimate involvement with material nature. Sri Krishna thus declares later on:— ‘When, being associated with the Guṇas, the Self departs or stays or experiences the deluded perceive it not, only those who are enlightened see’. .