Verse 31 — The Crystal and the Red Flower

Just as a clear crystal, in contact with a red flower, appears to be red, so too this Self — unattached and unborn — when in contact with the five sheaths, appears to take on their individual nature. But one who discriminates thoroughly realizes that the Self is unborn and unattached, since it is non-dual. [Verse 31]

Verse 30 said the Self is separate from the three bodies. So why do we feel so completely merged with them? Verse 31 gives the answer: superimposition (adhyasa) — a kind of optical illusion of the mind.

Two kinds of "borrowing" — only one is real

The text contrasts two examples to make a sharp point:

Iron ball + fire	Crystal + red flower
The ball really becomes hot and red	The crystal only appears red
Real transference — the iron truly burns	Apparent transference — the crystal is untouched
—	Remove the flower, and it's clear again

The Self is like the crystal, not the iron ball. When a red flower is placed near a clear crystal, the crystal looks red — but it never actually becomes red. Move the flower away, and the crystal is as clear as ever.

flowchart LR
    F[Red flower<br/>= the sheaths] --> C[Clear crystal<br/>= the Self]
    C --> A["Crystal APPEARS red<br/>(but is untouched)"]
    A --> R[Remove the flower →<br/>crystal is clear again]

Key idea. The qualities of the three bodies — fat/thin, agitated/calm, ignorant/knowing — are superimposed on the Self. They appear to belong to "me," but they never actually touch the Self, which remains asanga (unattached) and aja (unborn). Discriminate carefully, and the borrowed colours fall away.

Even ignorance is borrowed

A subtle and important application: the causal body has the power to veil (avarana shakti), which is why in deep sleep you experience blankness. But notice — ignorance itself is just a thought belonging to the causal body, superimposed on the Self.

In deep sleep	In the waking state
The mind is "blank"	The mind knows things
Ignorance is present	Knowledge is present

The Self is the constant witness of both — present in the ignorance of deep sleep and the knowing of waking. So:

Jnana-agyana-vilakshana atma aham asmi — I am the Self, distinct from both knowledge and ignorance. I am the light in which both the blank and the bright states are seen.

The purpose of this contemplation

Why dwell on all this? Because it is the content of nididhyasana — the deep assimilation that turns intellectual understanding into settled conviction. What you are absorbing is:

The Self is asanga — unattached, like the untouched crystal.
The Self is advaya — non-dual; there is no second thing to genuinely affect it.
The Self is unborn — and therefore also deathless, free of all the six modifications (birth, growth, decay, death, and the rest) that belong only to the bodies.

A last clarifying note the text adds: your mother gave birth to the gross body, not to the subtle body — that continued from a previous life. Every relationship, every "birth date," belongs to the gross body alone. The Self was never born at all. Verse 32 goes deeper still, showing how even the mind's three states never touch the witnessing consciousness.