The soul is the eternal knower and proprietor; the body is merely the field of temporary activity.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 13.1–2 — September 25, 1973, Bombay 730925BG-BOMBAY [30:15 Minutes] Bg-13.01–02_730925BG-BOMBAY Prabhupāda: arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñaṁ eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava [Bg. 13.1] So four questions. Arjuna wanted to know from Kṛṣṇa the answers of four questions. First, prakṛti, this material nature; puruṣam, the enjoyer of the material nature; kṣetram, the field of enjoying, or field of activities; and kṣetrajñam, one who is enjoying, or one who is acting on the field. Etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava.
Another two things: jñānam, what is knowledge, and jneyam, what is the object of knowledge, the aim of knowledge. So Kṛṣṇa replied, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate [Bg. 13.2]: "This body is kṣetra." Etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetrajñaḥ iti tad-vidaḥ: "And one who knows this body, he's kṣetrajña." The whole subject matter of Bhagavad-gītā is to know who is the proprietor of this body. Generally everyone, 99.9 percent, everyone knows that "I am this body." But that is not the fact. The owner of the body: one who knows that "I am not this body, but I am the proprietor of the body." Just like I am sitting on this throne.
I am not this throne, but I am a different person who is sitting on the throne. Similarly, when somebody asks me, "What you are?" if I give my identification... [aside: These children must be removed.] ...with this body, that is my foolishness. In the śāstra it is said, yasyātmā buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādīṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13] Go-kharaḥ. Go means cows and kharaḥ means asses.
Person who is identifying this body as the self. This body is a bag of three dhātu: kapha, pitta, vāyu. According to Āyurvedic treatment, this body is made of kapha, pitta, vāyu. Otherwise, we can take it, this body is made of flesh, bone, blood, urine, stool, cough.
If you analytically study this body, you'll find these are the ingredients of the body. Therefore these ingredients are not myself. This is the first ignorance. In spiritual knowledge, unless one understands fully that "I am not this flesh, blood, urine or other things in this body.
I am separate from"; one who knows that "I am separate from this body. I am spirit soul. I am the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord," as it is stated, mamaivāṁśo jīva bhūtaḥ [Bg. 15.7], then my knowledge is complete. So education is given to the students, but this knowledge is absent from the educational institution. Nobody knows that "I am not this body." Therefore śāstra says, "Anyone who is identifying this body as his self," yasyātmā buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke [SB 10.84.13], "and in relationship with the body, others also," sva-dhīḥ, "thinking, 'They are our own men,' " sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, and bhauma, "the land of birth is worshipable," ijya-dhīh...
So this is going on. At the present moment, throughout the whole world, everyone is identifying himself with this body, and the land in which the body is born is taken as worshipable, bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, and persons who are in relationship with this body, "They are our own men, or kinsmen." This is going on. But according to śāstra, anyone who is accepting this identification, body as self and the country or the land as worshipable and the kinsmen or relatives, "They are our only own men," in this way this misconception of life is being accepted. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, this is a civilization of the cows and the asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13].