  In this paper, I briefly review the theoretical and observational work done
since 1958 on the gaseous objects with mass below the H-burning limit. Special
attention is paid to the theory that I developed during the period 1958-1962
for the hydrogen-rich gaseous objects with mass below the minimum main sequence
mass of ~ 0.08 Msun. The three main predictions of this theory (Kumar 1962a;
Kumar 1962b; Kumar 1963a; Kumar 1963b) are discussed. Fragmentation processes
for interstellar clouds are discussed, and it is pointed out that the minimum
mass of a gaseous fragment may be as low as 0.001 Msun. Observational results
obtained since 1995 on the luminous and dark objects of very low mass are
briefly reviewed. Comments are made on the basic nature of the stars and
planets, and it is pointed out that processes of star formation are
fundamentally different from those of planet formation. Arguments are presented
to show that some of the very-low-mass dark companions, discovered since 1995,
were most probably formed by the star formation processes and not by the planet
formation processes.
