15.7 मम My, एव even, अंशः portion, जीवलोके in the world of life, जीवभूतः having become a soul, सनातनः eternal, मनःषष्ठानि with mind as the sixth, इन्द्रियाणि the (five) Indriyas, प्रकृतिस्थानि abiding in Prakriti, कर्षति draws (to itself).Commentary: Now the Lord explains how the individual soul comes into being. The individual soul is a ray of the Lord. A ray of the Supreme Being enters Nature, draws to itself the five senses and the mind and becomes an embodied soul (Jiva) by assuming a body. Here is a description of how the subtle body or LingaSariria enters the gross body.Although the sun is reflected in water, it is not in any way tainted. When a crystal comes in,contact with a red cloth or red flower, it seems to be red but it is really not so. Even so the Supreme Beings is not in any way tainted by the actions of the individual soul.Ignorance is the limiting adjunct of the individual soul. On account of the limitation caused by this ignorance the soul experiences that it is the doer and the enjoyer. In essence the individual soul is identical with the Supreme Being or Brahman. When ignorance, the limiting adjunct or principle, is destroyed, the individual soul (Jiva) realises it identity with the Supreme Being (Brahman).Just as the ether in the pot becomes one with the universal ether when the limiting adjunct, the pot, is broken, so also the individual soul becomes one with Brahman when the limiting adjunct, ignorance, is annihilated. Just as there is no return of the potether after it has become one with the universal ether when the pot is destroyed, so also there is no return of the individual soul after the limiting adjunct (the Antahkarana, i.e., mind and the other inner instruments) is destroyed. It becomes one with Brahman.Pratibimba (reflection) is only a portion of the Bimba (object). The reflected sun is only a portion of the real sun (the rays of the sun). When the water is removed the reflected sun goes back to the original sun, as it were. It does not return to the water again. Even so, when ignorance or the mind is annihilated, the Jiva (individual soul) which is a reflection of Brahman in ignorance is absorbed in the Bimba Brahman. It does not return to this world of birth and death.The individual soul is only an imaginary or fictitious portion of Brahman. It is not a real portion. For the Supreme Being is indivisible. It has no parts. If It has parts, It would be liable to destruction when the parts are disjointed or removed.The senses abide in Nature, in their respective seats such as ear, skin, tongue, eye and nose. A Sannyasi living in the caves of the Himalayas dreams that he is a married man and moves about hither and thither to get a job for his livelihood. Even so, the individual soul forgets its real divine nature, mistakes the impure, perishable body for the pure, immortal Self and imagines that it is the real actor and enjoyer by identifying itself with the body. It says, I am the Karta. I am the Bhokta. I am a soul bound by Samsara. I am happy. I am miserable. It becomes finite.In essence the Jiva is identical with Brahman. The difference is on account of delusion or imagination or superimposition. The illusion of difference is due to the limiting adjunct or principle (the mind) even as the illusion that the ether in the pot is different from the universal ether is caused by the limiting adjunct, viz., the pot. Jivabrahmabhedabhranti (the delusion of the distinctior between the individual soul and the Supreme Being) is removed when the limiting adjunct (mind) is annihilated. In deep sleep the mind rests in a subtle state along with all the Samskaras (impressions) and Vasanas (tendencies) in its cause (primordial ignorance). Again it comes back from this state of ignorance when you return to the waking state. If the cause (ignorance) is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, its effect (mind) is also annihilated.Just as the tortoise stretches out its head and feet which were in a state of Laya (absorption) in its body, so also the individual soul strecthces out its mind and senses which were in a state of absorption in primordial ignorance in deep sleep, to enjoy the sensual objects in the waking state.A ray of the Supreme Being enters Nature, draws to itself the five senses and the mind In this verse the formation of the astral body (LingaSarira or Sukshmasarira) is described.The Sruti declaresस एष इह प्रविष्टः आनखाग्रेभ्यः तत् सृष्ट्वा तदेवानुप्राविशत्।।That Supreme Being Itself, having created this aggregate of the body from the head to the toe, entered this body in the form of the Jiva.According to Vedanta there are nineteen principles, viz., the five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action, the five vital airs (Prana, Apana, Vyana, Samana and Udana), the mind, intellect, Chitta (the subconscious or the unconscious mind), and egoism. We will have to conclude that the words the five senses and the mind point to the collection of the remaining thirteen principles also.Amsa This does not mean here a particle or portion which has been cut out. It is like the Amsar of the ether in the pot the ether is not cut out but still remains the whole ether. (Cf.XIV.3)