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## Kanta Dristi: State in Bhava, Self-Consciousness in the External Body
(543) Just as one who is bewildered, remains steadfast in the path, so too, one who is deluded by the allure of enjoyment, remains steadfast in the path of liberation.
**Meaning:** Just as one who is bewildered, remains steadfast in the path, so too, one who is deluded by the allure of enjoyment, remains steadfast in the path of liberation.
**Commentary:** The Bhagavata Purusha, who has a strong attachment to the water in the illusionary world, just as he remains steadfast in the path due to the influence of the water-consciousness, so too, he remains steadfast in the path of liberation, which is characterized by knowledge and other qualities, due to the delusion caused by the body and other intricacies, which are the cause of enjoyment.
The meaning of this is that the Bhagavata Purusha, who has an attachment to the water-consciousness in the illusionary world, due to the preconceived notion that this water is real and true, remains steadfast in the path, suffering from anxiety and sorrow due to the world. However, he does not progress towards liberation, knowing that there is no good in this. He does not make an effort to cross the ocean of the world, but remains steadfast in the enjoyment, dwelling in the enjoyment.
Similarly, he remains steadfast in the path of liberation, which is characterized by knowledge and other qualities, due to the delusion caused by the body and other intricacies, which are the cause of enjoyment. This means that he remains stuck where he is, he does not progress. The implication is that just as he remains steadfast in the path of Bhava, he also remains steadfast in the path of liberation, not progressing further. In other words, he remains submerged in the ocean of Bhava and does not progress towards liberation.
In this way, the soul, forgetting its original, inherent, pure form from time immemorial, is self-conscious in the external object due to ignorance, which is the form of Avidya or Mithyatva.
Due to the long-standing habit of identifying with the body and other external objects, his self-consciousness has become so externalized that it has taken deep roots. This has given rise to the perverse notion that "the body and other external objects are me." Due to the long association with the inert, he has become like the inert!
Thus, the soul, which is grasped by the self-consciousness in the body and other external objects, is called the external soul. This external soul, which is far from self-knowledge, forgets its own form, becomes deluded by the senses, and considers its body to be the soul. In the human body...