“Just as the all-pervading ether, being subtle, is not affected, (tainted or contaminated by anything), even so, the Self pervading the whole body is not tainted.”
— Bhagavad Gita
When he was in Bharat (India), Alexander came across a gymnosophist on the banks of a river. He ordered the gymnosophist to bow, but the latter merely smiled. The furious Greek king unsheathed his sword and threatened to kill him.
To this the gymnosophist calmly replied, “Whom will you kill, O king? Me, whom weapons cannot pierce, fire cannot burn, nor can water wet, nor can air dry up?” Alexander was stunned! For the first time, a man did not cower in front of his blade.
The gymnosophist (who we can assume was a rishi, a saint) identified himself as the Ātman, the soul.
We think we are the mind, body, and intellect. But ancient Indian teachings have always maintained that we are the Ātman, the eternal Self, the ultimate consciousness that holds the truth of the cosmos. It has no sex, caste, or imperfection.
Mind and body are a means to an end, which is to connect with the Ātman that’s hidden by the veil of Maya (ignorance). This very Maya makes us see the mind and body as ends in themselves. And to indulge them we subject ourselves to the pain, contamination, and misery in the world.
Remind yourself, “I’m not the mind, I’m not the body; I’m the Self the cannot be cut, burned, wet, or dried up.” Meditate on this every day. Slowly, a gap between you and your thoughts will develop.
This gap will let you witness your thoughts and actions from a small distance and become objective about them. That’s the wisdom that liberates us from Maya.