उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHANGELESS 37 52. The teacher said to him, “It is not so. There are exceptions. For, my child, there cannot be a rule that it is only well-known things ¹ that are superimposed on other well-known things, for we meet with the super- imposition of certain things on the Self. Fairness and blackness, the properties of the body, are superimposed ² on the Self which is the object of the consciousness ‘I,’ and the same Self is superimposed on the body.” ³ शिष्य आह—प्रसिद्ध एव तह्र्यात्मा अहंप्रत्ययविषयतया, देहश्च अयमिति। तत्रैवं सति प्रसिद्धयोरेव देहात्मनोरितरेतरा- ध्यारोपणात् स्थाणुपुरुषयोः शुक्तिकरजतयोरिव। तत्र कं विशेष- माश्रित्य भगवतोक्तं प्रसिद्धयोरितरेतराध्यारोपणेति नियन्तुं न शक्यते इति ॥ ५३ ॥ 53. The disciple said, “In that case the Self must be well-known owing to Its being the object of the consciousness ‘I’. The body also must be well-known, for it is spoken of as ‘this’ (body). When this is so, it is a case of mutual superimposition of the well-known body and the well-known Self, like that of a human being and the trunk of a tree or that of silver and mother of pearl. (There is, therefore, no exception here.) So what is the peculiarity with reference to which you said that there could not be a rule that mutual superimposition was possible of two well-known things only?” ¹ Objects of knowledge. ² When one says ‘I am fair’ or ‘I am black.’ ³ When one says ‘I am a man.’