Text 17] The Glories of Devotional Service 1019
TEXT 17

Tal FEY Weal Bas THA: WI |
fren aasaifartirarrrattsay 1129!

tadd purusa dtmanam
kevalam prakrteh param

nirantaram svayam-jyotir
animanam akhanditam

tada—then; purusah—the individual soul; dtmanam—himself; kevalam—
pure; prakrteh param—transcendental to material existence; nirantaram—
nondifferent; svayam-jyotih—self-effulgent; | animanam—infinitesimal;
akhanditam—not fragmented.

TRANSLATION

At that time the soul can see himself to be transcendental to material
existence and always self-effulgent, never fragmented, although very minute
in size.

PURPORT

In the state of pure consciousness or Krsna consciousness one can see
himself as a minute particle nondifferent from the Supreme Lord. As
stated in Bhagavad-gita, the jiva or the individual soul is eternally part and
parcel of the Supreme Lord. Just as the sun’s rays are minute particles of
the brilliant constitution of the sun, so a living entity is a minute particle
of the Supreme Spirit. The individual soul and the Supreme Lord are not
separated as in material differentiation. The individual soul is a particle
from the very beginning. One should not think that because the individual
soul is a particle, it is fragmented from the whole spirit. Mayavada philoso-
phy enunciates that the whole spirit exists, but a part of it, which is called the
jiva, is entrapped by illusion. This philosophy, however, is unacceptable be-
cause spirit cannot be divided like a fragment of matter. That part, the jiva,
is eternally a part. As long as the Supreme Spirit exists, His part and parcel
also exists. As long as the sun exists, the molecules of the sun’s rays also exist.

The jiva particle is estimated in the Vedic literature to be 1/10,000 the
size of the upper portion of a hair. It is therefore infinitesimal. The
Supreme Spirit is infinite, but the living entity or the individual soul is
infinitesimal, although it is not different in quality from the Supreme
