Adhyātmika - From Bodily Misery to Spiritual Awakening
The term adhyātmika encompasses both the plight of the conditioned soul and the process of its liberation. In its most common usage, Śrīla Prabhupāda defines adhyātmika as the miseries arising from one's own body and mind. However, he also uses the term to describe the true spiritual practice—adhyātmika-yoga—which awakens the soul to its eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
Miseries of the Body and Mind
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently cites adhyātmika as the first of the threefold miseries (tāpa-traya). He explains that these are sufferings we experience directly from our own physiological and psychological constitution, such as disease, fever, anxiety, and mental instability.
- Adhyatmic means pertaining to the body and to the mind. Just like when there is some disarrangement of the different functions of metabolism within this body, we get fever, we get some pain, headache.
- Adhyatmika means pertaining to the body and mind. "I have got headache today. I have got some pain here in the back. My mind is not very much settled up today. I cannot talk with you."
- Adhyatmic, pertaining to the body. And another part of this adhyatmic misery is due to the mind. Suppose I have suffered a great loss. So the mind is not in good condition.
Inescapable Suffering
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the material body is a source of constant tribulation. Whether one is suffering from adhyātmika, adhibhautika, or adhidaivika miseries, the condition of material life is inherently painful. He points out that even satisfying the senses (like fanning oneself when hot) is merely a temporary relief from one miserable condition to another.
- As soon as you take birth, the all the material conditions, tri-tapa-yatana - adhyatmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika - you have to accept. There is no rescue.
- This boy is fanning me. Why? There is little miserable condition here: we are feeling too hot. So again, if you go outside, you may feel too cold. So either inside or outside, you are in miserable condition. This is called adhyatmika.
- Whichever material body we accept, it is meant for suffering. It is not meant for any happiness. Tri-tapa-yatana, the three kinds of material miseries - adhyatmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika - he has to undergo.
Adhyātmika-yoga: The Spiritual Solution
While adhyātmika refers to bodily misery, Śrīla Prabhupāda also uses the term in the context of adhyātmika-yoga. He contrasts this with gymnastic exercises meant for the body, defining real adhyātmika-yoga as the process of reviving the soul's lost relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or bhakti-yoga.
- Adhyatmika means to awaken the soul to his proper position. The soul is purusa, spirit, and his business is to reconnect his lost relationship with Krsna.
- In this way (satisfying Krsna's senses) our senses are spiritualized, and this is called adhyatmika-yoga or bhakti-yoga. This is the yoga that Lord Kapiladeva is herein expounding.
- The purpose of yoga is to awaken to Krsna consciousness and connect oneself again with Krsna. That is adhyatmika-yoga. Yoga does not mean showing some mystic magic.
The Sāṅkhya Perspective
In the analytical study of the self (Sāṅkhya), Śrīla Prabhupāda distinguishes between the adhyātmic person (the individual soul/possessor of senses), the adhidaivic person (the controlling demigod), and the adhibhautic person (the physical embodiment). This technical definition underscores the conditioned soul's entanglement in the material network.
- The individual person possessing different instruments of senses is called the adhyatmic person, and the individual controlling deity of the senses is called adhidaivic. The embodiment seen on the eyeballs is called the adhibhautic person.
- From the multitotal energy He further expands Himself into individuals in three dimensions, namely adhyatmic, adhidaivic and adhibhautic, as explained before (vyasti).
- The controlled living entity is called the adhyatmic person, and the controller is called the adhidaivic person. All these positions in the material world are due to different fruitive activities.
Conclusion
Whether referring to the inevitable pains of the body and mind or the process of spiritual awakening, the concept of adhyātmika is central to understanding the human condition. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that we must recognize the miserable nature of the body (adhyātmika misery) and engage in the true process of self-realization (adhyātmika-yoga) to attain permanent relief and eternal happiness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Adhyātmika. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.