A RAY OF MYSELF — The Infinite has no parts. It can suffer no divisions within Itself, and yet, just as with reference to the four walls of my room I consider the ‘room-space’ as different from the ‘outer-space,’ so too, with reference to a given mind-intellect vehicle, the Infinite Light of Consciousness playing upon it is considered, by the ignorant, as limited by its vehicles. The moon-in-the-bucket, will dance and break up into bits when the water in the bucket trembles at the touch of a passing breeze. Even if a million such reflected moons were to be broken and shattered, the immortal moon in the heavens will not suffer any destruction. Similarly, the ego-centric personality (Jiva), born out of the Consciousness playing upon a given subtle-body, suffers not any sense of limitations. Even though the ego changes with its joys and sorrows, with its knowledge and ignorance, with its peace and agitations, the essential nature of the Infinite Consciousness that sparkles in our heart is Eternal indeed, and hence the stanza qualifies the Self-in-man as: ‘THE ETERNAL JIVA IN THE WORLD OF JIVAS.’

ATTRACTS THE SENSES — This Spark of Consciousness vibrates the entire body with life, renders existence possible for a living creature, and maintains, by its mere presence, the sense-faculties and the mental-capacities around Itself. No doubt these are faculties that belong to matter, but at the same time, these powers of seeing, hearing, etc. and also of feeling, thinking, etc., are not the powers of the sense-organs, or even of the inner organs (Antah-karana). They are the expressions of the Spirit when It functions through matter, and hence, it is said that along with the mind and the five senses, ‘ABIDING IN THE PRAKRITI,’ (Chapter XIII) It functions. That this conditioned-Self is experienced as the limited ego, the mortal, because of our ignorance or error of judgement that It is only a portion, as it were, an imaginary portion of the indivisible whole, etc., — have all been proved in the Geeta.

WHEN DOES THE INFINITE DRAW THESE FACULTIES AROUND IT?

It is eva, verily amsah, a part, portion, limb, fragment-these are all synonymous; mama, of mine, of the supreme Self; [Here Ast. adds ‘narayanasya, of Narayana’:-Tr.] which, jiva-bhutah sanatanah, becoming the eternal individual soul, will known as the enjoyer and agent; jiva-loke, in the region of living beings, (i.e.) in the world-. As the sun (reflected) in water is a part of the (actual) sun, and goes to the sun itself and does not return when the water, the cause of the reflection, is removed, so also even this part becomes similarly united with that very Self; or, as space enclosed in a pot etc., delimited by such adjuncts as the pot etc., being a part of Space does not return after being united with Space when the cause (of limitation), viz pot etc., is destroyed. This being so, it has been rightly stated, ‘by reaching which they do not return.’

Objection: How can the partless supreme Self have any limb, fragment or part? If it has limbs, then there arises the contingency of Its becoming destroyed through the dismemberment of the limbs!

Reply: This fault does not arise, since Its fragment, which is delimited by an adjunct arising out of ignorance, is imagined to be a part, as it were. And this idea has been fully explained in the chapter (13) dealing with the ‘field’. How that individual soul, imagined as a part of Mine, enters into the world and leaves the body are being stated: Karsati, it draws to itself; indriyani, the (sense-) organs-ear etc.; manah-sasthani, which have the mind as their sixth; and prakrti-sthani, which abide in Nature, which are located in their respective spheres such as the orifice of the ear etc. When (does it draw the organs)?