Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.4.19

bhuvi bhaumāni bhūtāni

yathā yānty apayānti ca

nāyam ātmā tathaiteṣu

viparyeti yathaiva bhūḥ

SYNONYMS

bhuvi — on the surface of the world; bhaumāni — all material products from earth, such as pots; bhūtāni — which are produced; yathā — as; yānti — appear (in form); apayānti — disappear (broken or mixed with the earth); ca — and; na — not; ayam ātmā — the soul or spiritual identity; tathā — similarly; eteṣu — among all these (products of material elements); viparyeti — is changed or broken; yathā — as; eva — certainly; bhūḥ — the earth.

TRANSLATION

In this world, we can see that pots, dolls and other products of the earth appear, break and then disappear, mixing with the earth. Similarly, the bodies of all conditioned living entities are annihilated, but the living entities, like the earth itself, are unchanging and never annihilated [na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]].

PURPORT

Although Kaḿsa is described as a demon, he had good knowledge of the affairs of ātma-tattva, the truth of the self. Five thousand years ago, there were kings like Kaḿsa, who is described as an asura, but he was better than modern politicians and diplomats, who have no knowledge about ātma-tattva. As stated in the Vedas, asańgo hy ayaḿ puruṣaḥ: the spirit soul has no connection with the changes of the material body. The body undergoes six changes — birth, growth, sustenance, by-products, dwindling and then annihilation — but the soul undergoes no such changes. Even after the annihilation of a particular bodily form, the original source of the bodily elements does not change. The living entity enjoys the material body, which appears and disappears, but the five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether remain the same. The example given here is that pots and dolls are produced from the earth, and when broken or destroyed they mingle with their original ingredients. In any case, the source of supply remains the same.

As already discussed, the body is made according to the desires of the soul. The soul desires, and thus the body is formed. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ

hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati

bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni

yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." Neither the Supersoul, Paramātmā, nor the individual soul changes its original, spiritual identity. The ātmā does not undergo birth, death or changes like the body. Therefore a Vedic aphorism says, asańgo hy ayaḿ puruṣaḥ: although the soul is conditioned within this material world, he has no connections with the changes of the material body.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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