Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.10Famous
intermediate
तद्यथाहिनिर्ल्वयनी वल्मीके मृता प्रत्यस्ता शयीतैवमेवेदं शरीरं शेते। अथायमशरीरोऽमृतः प्राणो ब्रह्मैव तेज एव॥
tadyathāhinirlvayanī valmīke mṛtā pratyastā śayītaivamevedaṃ śarīraṃ śete | athāyamaśarīro\'mṛtaḥ prāṇo brahmaiva teja eva ||
"Just as the slough of a snake lies dead and cast off on an ant-hill, so does this body lie. But this bodiless, immortal Life (Prana) is Brahman indeed, is light indeed."
What This Means:
Like a snake's shed skin lying on an anthill, the body lies dead. But the Self - bodiless, immortal - is Brahman, is light.
Going Deeper:
The snake-skin analogy: the body is discarded like an old skin. What remains is the deathless Self, which is Brahman.
How To Apply This:
You shed bodies like a snake sheds skin. The immortal Self remains - that is Brahman, that is light.
#snake skin#shedding body#immortal Self#Brahman#light