Verse Text
artho dvidhātma-śabdasya paṇḍitair upapāyate |
dehy-ahantāspadaṁ kaiścid dehaḥ kaiścin mamatva-bhāk ||195||
Translation
The learned say that ātmā (mentioned in verse 194) has two meanings: some say ātmā refers to the soul having the identity of “I”, while others say that ātmā refers to the body, since it belongs to the soul.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Ahantāṣpadaṁ dehī (the possessor the body with a sense of “I”) means the jīva.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Dehaḥ kaiścit (others say it means the body) means “This is an alternative meaning.”
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
According to different authorities, self is differently defined. Self is sometimes considered to refer to the spirit self, or soul, and self is sometimes considered to refer to the mind or to the body. Full self-surrender, therefore, means not only surrendering one’s self as spirit soul, but also surrendering one’s mind and body to the service of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a nice song in this connection. While offering himself as a fully surrendered soul, he said, “My mind, my household affairs, my body, whatever is in my possession, my dear Lord, I offer to You for Your service. Now You can do with them as You like. You are the supreme possessor of everything, so if You like You can kill me, or if You like You can give me protection. All authority belongs to You. I have nothing to claim as my own.”