SB 11.9.25 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

देहो गुरुर्मम विरक्तिविवेकहेतु- र्बिभ्रत् स्म सत्त्वनिधनं सततार्त्युदर्कम् । तत्त्वान्यनेन विमृशामि यथा तथापि पारक्यमित्यवसितो विचराम्यसङ्ग: ॥ २५ ॥

Verse text

deho gurur mama virakti-viveka-hetur bibhrat sma sattva-nidhanaṁ satatārty-udarkam tattvāny anena vimṛśāmi yathā tathāpi pārakyam ity avasito vicarāmy asaṅgaḥ

Synonyms

dehaḥ — the body ; guruḥ — spiritual master ; mama — my ; virakti — of detachment ; viveka — and intelligence which facilitates ; hetuḥ — the cause ; bibhrat — maintaining ; sma — certainly ; sattva — existence ; nidhanam — destruction ; satata — always ; ārti — suffering ; udarkam — future result ; tattvāni — the truths of this world ; anena — with this body ; vimṛśāmi — I contemplate ; yathā — even though ; tathā api — nevertheless ; pārakyam — belonging to others ; iti — thus ; avasitaḥ — being convinced ; vicarāmi — I wander about ; asaṅgaḥ — without attachment .

Translation

The material body is also my spiritual master because it teaches me detachment. Being subject to creation and destruction, it always comes to a painful end. Thus, although using my body to acquire knowledge, I always remember that it will ultimately be consumed by others, and remaining detached, I move about this world.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

My body is a guru since it teaches detachment and discrimination. The body supports creation and destruction and its final result is suffering. As much as I discern truth by the body with its senses, I engage in bhakti using the body and senses. But convinced that the body is fit for the dogs and jackals, I wander in the world without attachment to the body. My body is a guru because it is the cause of detachment and discrimination. It is described as the cause of detachment: it maintains creation and destruction. Its final result is always suffering. For instance if the stomach cannot digest two or three days’ food, it is similar to detachment. From this one learns detachment. The body is a cause of discrimination. By this body with its senses I contemplate truth: I attain bhakti-yoga with hearing and chanting in order to attain the Lord. A great devotee with taste, relishing rasa, does not become fully affected but when completely attached to the Lord’s rasa he becomes completely colored with rasa. Similarly the tongue, tasting ghee and other things, does not mix with those items, but the tongue mixes with betel nut juice since the tongue becomes red. (Thus though one uses the body, one should not become too attached to it, otherwise one falls under its control.) Thus one should not think that the body, since it is a guru, is permanent. I discern that the body is meant for others—to be eaten by dogs or jackals. Pārakyam in the neuter is poetic license. Therefore I walk about without attachment to the body.

Purport

The words yathā tathāpi are significant in this verse. Although the body bestows great benefit by enabling one to learn about this world, one should always remember its unhappy, inevitable future. If cremated, the body is burned to ashes by fire; if lost in a lonely place, it is consumed by jackals and vultures; and if buried in a luxurious coffin, it decomposes and is consumed by insignificant insects and worms. Thus it is described as pārakyam, “ultimately to be consumed by others.” One should, however, carefully maintain bodily health to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but without undue affection or attachment. By studying the body’s birth and death, one can acquire virakti-viveka, the intelligence to detach oneself from useless things. The word avasita indicates conviction. One should be convinced of all the truths of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.