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II ADHYAYA, I PÂDA, 9.
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Kanvas; "he who dwells within the Self,' according to the Madhyandinas) that they constitute the body of the highest Self. Similarly the Subala-Upanishad declares that matter and souls in all their states constitute the body of the highest Self (He who dwells within the earth' &c.), and concludes by saying that that Self is the soul of all those beings ("He is the inner Self of all' &c.). Similarly Smriti, "The whole world is thy body'; 'Water is the body of Vishnu'; 'All this is the body of Hari'; 'All these things are his body'; 'He having reflected sent forth from his body'—where the 'body' means the elements in their subtle state. In ordinary language the word 'body' is not, like words such as jar, limited in its denotation to things of one definite make or character, but is observed to be applied directly (not only secondarily or metaphorically) to things of altogether different make and characteristics—such as worms, insects, moths, snakes, men, four-footed animals, and so on. We must therefore aim at giving a definition of the word that is in agreement with general use. The definitions given by the Purvapakshin—'a body is that which causes the enjoyment of the fruit of actions' &c.do not fulfil this requirement; for they do not take in such things as earth and the like which the texts declare to be the body of the Lord. And further they do not take in those bodily forms which the Lord assumes according to his wish, nor the bodily forms released souls may assume, according to 'He is one' &c. (Kh. Up. VII, 26, 2); for none of those embodiments subserve the fruition of the results of actions. And further, the bodily forms which the Supreme Person assumes at wish are not special combinations of earth and the other elements; for Smriti says, 'The body of that highest Self is not made from a combination of the elements. It thus appears that it is also too narrow a definition to say that a body is a combination of the different elements. Again, to say that a body is that, the life of which depends on the vital breath with its five modifications is also too narrow, viz. in respect of plants; for although vital air is present in plants, it does not in them support the body by appearing
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