Aparokshanubhuti-14

Verse 29

• Purusha etymology: dweller in the body-city with 'I' sense.
• Self is beyond body, not void, not non-existent.
• Supported by śruti ("ayam ātmā brahma") and smṛti ("uttamaḥ puruṣaḥ tu anyaḥ").
• Analogy: Self is like pot-seer ≠ pot; Self ≠ body.
• Refutation of śūnyavāda.

Verse 30

• First objection: "If not void, then is Self body?"
• Refuted by śruti and reason.
• Self is sat-ākāra — pure existence, not visible to sense.
• Emphasizes faith (śraddhā) and subtlety of knowledge.

Verse 31

• "Aham" points not to the body but to the Self.
• Self is one, eternal, and ever-present; body is many, perishable, and inert.
• The use of "tu" (but) emphasizes contrast with the body.
• Saying "body is Self" is like equating light and darkness.
• Such confusion arises only in the grossly deluded (atimūḍha).

Verse 32

This verse powerfully reinforces:

• The subject-object distinction: The Self (subject) is the seer, while the body is the seen.
• Ownership implies distinction: Saying “my body” shows the body is not the Self, just as saying “my house” means the house is not you.
• The self-revealing nature of the ātman, through the intuitive “I” (aham), is proof of its primacy and distinctness from all objects — including the body.

Verse 33

• The Self (Atman) is changeless, eternal, untouched by birth or death.
• The body is perceptibly mutable, undergoing birth, aging, illness, and death — a clear sign it is not the Self.
• That this distinction is self-evident (pratyakṣa) makes the confusion all the more irrational.
• Thus, equating the body with the Self is a deep delusion born of avidyā (ignorance).