उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHANGELESS 39 नित्यमेव असत्त्वं स्यात् । यथा शुक्तिकादिषु अविद्ययाध्यारोपितानां रजतादीनां नित्यमेव अत्यन्तासत्त्वं, तद्विपरीतानां च विपरीतेषु, तद्वत् देहात्मनोरविद्ययैव इतरेतराध्यारोपणा कृता स्यात् । तत्रैवं सति देहात्मनोरसत्त्वं प्रसज्येत । तच्चानिष्टं, वैनाशिकपक्षत्वात् । अथ तद्विपर्ययेण देहः आत्मन्यविद्ययाऽध्यारोपितः, देहस्या- त्मनि सति असत्त्वं प्रसज्येत । तच्चानिष्टं, प्रत्यक्षादिविरोधात् । तस्माद्देहात्मानौ नाविद्यया इतरेतरस्मिन् अध्यारोपितौ । कथं तर्हि, वंशस्तम्भवन्नित्यसंयुक्तौ ॥ ५५ ॥ 55. Disciple.—“Whatever is superimposed through Ignorance on anything else is found to be non-existent in that thing, e.g., silver¹ in mother of pearl, a human being in the trunk of a tree, a snake in a rope, and the form of a frying pan and blueness in the sky. Similarly, both the body and the Self, always the objects of an undifferentiated knowledge, would be non-existent in each other if they were mutually superimposed. Just as silver etc., superimposed on mother of pearl and other things and vice versa are always absolutely non- existent. Likewise, the Self and the non-Self would both be non-existent if they were similarly superimposed on each other through Ignorance. But that is not desir- able as it is the position of the Nihilists. If, instead of a mutual superimposition, the body (alone) is superim- posed through Ignorance on the Self the body will be non-existent in the existing Self.² That is also not ¹ It is non-existent in mother of pearl on which it is super- imposed. ² The disciple means by the word ‘Self’ the consciousness, ‘I’.