उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

2-8] SUBTLENESS AND PERVASIVENESS 109 (with those defects) like a boy who (erroneously) looks upon the sky as blue. मच्चैतन्यावभास्यत्वात्सर्वप्राणिधियां सदा । वपुर्मे प्राणिनः सर्वे सर्वज्ञस्य विपाप्मनः ॥ ६ ॥ 6. As the intellects of all beings are illumined by My¹ Consciousness all beings are bodies belonging to Me who am all-knowing and free from all sins and virtues. जनिमज्ज्ञानविज्ञेयं स्वप्नज्ञानवदिष्यते । नित्यं निर्विषयं ज्ञानं तस्माद् द्वैतं न विद्यते ॥ ७ ॥ 7. Objects that come into being and are capable of being made the objects of Knowledge are as unreal as those known in dream. As duality has no (real) existence Knowledge is eternal and objectless. ज्ञातुर्ज्ञातिर्हि नित्योक्ता सुषुप्ते त्वन्यशून्यतः । जाग्रज्ज्ञातिस्त्वविद्यातस्तद्ग्राह्यं चासदिष्यताम् ॥ ८ ॥ 8. As there is nothing other than the Self in dreamless sleep it is said by the Sruti² that the Consci- ousness of the Knower³ is eternal. (As Knowledge is really objectless) the knowledge of objects in the waking state must be due to Ignorance. Accept then that its objects are also unreal.⁴ ¹ I.e., by Me Who am Pure Consciousness. ² Br. U., 4. 3. 23-30. ³ Consciousness is the real nature of the knower like heat which is the nature of the sun. ⁴ For the changeless Self cannot be the seat of knowledge nor can the non-conscious intellect. Therefore Knowledge in the waking state with its objects cannot but be falsely superimposed on the Self which alone is real.

110 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. IX रूपवत्त्वाद्यसत्त्वान्न दृष्ट्यादेः कर्मता यथा । एवं विज्ञानकर्मत्वं भूम्नो नास्तीति गम्यते ॥ ९ ॥ 9. It is clearly understood that Brahman cannot be the object¹ of knowledge just as It cannot be the object² of seeing etc. as It has no colour, form and the like. ¹ It is said in the Chhândogyopanishat (7. 24. 1) : ' Where one sees nothing else, knows nothing else it is Brahman', from which it might be inferred that one does not see or know anything else, it is true but one sees and knows the Self. The above verse is to remove this doubt. The Chh. text (7. 24. 1) prohibits in Brahman the duality appearing to be real during Ignorance. ² It is said in the Brihadâranyakopanishat (2. 4. 5) : ' The Self should be seen, heard, reflected upon and meditated on.' So there may be a doubt that the Self is the object of seeing etc. The present verse is to remove this doubt. The Br. text (2. 4. 5) is really intended to make people turn away from the non-Self. It is not to teach them that the Self is object of seeing etc.

दृशिस्वरूपपरमार्थदर्शनप्रकरणम् ॥ १० ॥ CHAPTER X RIGHT CONCEPTION OF THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS दृशिस्वरूपं गगनोपमं परं सकृद्विभातं त्वजमेकमक्षरम् । अलेपकं सर्वगतं यदद्वयं तदेव चाहं सततं विमुक्तॐ ॥ १ ॥

1. I am the supreme Brahman which is pure con- sciousness, always clearly manifest, unborn, one only, imperishable, unattached and all-pervading like the ether and non-dual. I am, therefore, ever-free. Aum.¹ दृशिस्तु शुद्धोऽहमविक्रियात्मको न मेऽस्ति कश्चिद्विषयः स्वभावतः । पुरस्तिरश्चोर्ध्वमधश्च सर्वतः संपूर्णभूमा त्वज आत्मनि स्थितः ॥ २ ॥
2. Pure and changeless consciousness I am by nature devoid of objects (to illumine). Unborn and established in the Self I am all-pervading Brahman in the front, oblique, upward, downward and all other directions. ¹ The Sanskrit word ‘Aum’ used in the text indicates that one realizes Brahman by meditating on it. See Kathopanishat 1. 2. 16, 17.

112 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. X अजोऽमरश्चैव तथाऽजरोऽमृतः स्वयंप्रभः सर्वगतोऽहमद्वयः । न कारणं कार्यमतीव निर्मलः सदैकतृप्तश्च ततो विमुक्तॐ ॥ ३ ॥ 3. I am unborn, deathless, devoid of old age, im- mortal, self-effulgent, all-pervading and non-dual. Per- fectly pure, having neither cause nor effect and contented with the one Bliss ¹ I am free. Yes.² सुषुप्तजाग्रत्स्वपतश्च दर्शनं न मेऽस्ति किंचित्स्वमिवेह मोहनम् । स्वतश्च तेषां परतोऽप्यसत्त्वतस्तुरीय एवास्मि सदादृगद्वयः ॥४॥ 4. No perception whatever in waking, dream or deep sleep belongs to Me but it is due to delusion. For these states have no independent existence nor an existence depending³ on the Self. I am, therefore, the Fourth⁴ which is the Seer of all the three states and without a second. शरीरबुद्धीन्द्रियदुःखसंततिर्न मे न चाहं मम निर्विकारतः । असत्त्वहेतोश्च तथैव संततेरसत्त्वमस्याः स्वपतो हि दृश्यवत् ॥५॥ 5. As I am changeless the series producing pain viz., the body, the intellect and the senses are not Myself nor Mine. Moreover they are unreal⁵ like dream-objects, there being a reason for inference that they are so. ¹ I.e., the Bliss of the Self. ² The word in the Text indicates assent. The disciple accepts Brahman as the Self. ³ For they cannot have an existence dependent on the Self which is contrary to them in nature i.e., the Self is conscious while they are not so. ⁴ Fourth, because the Self is beyond the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep which are superimposed on It. ⁵ The argument is this : the series is not real as they are objects of knowledge like dream-objects which are known to be unreal.

3-8] THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 113 इदं तु सत्यं मम नास्ति विक्रिया विकारहेतुर्न हि मेऽद्वयत्वतः । न पुण्यपापे न च मोक्षबन्धने न चास्ति वर्णाश्रमतोऽशरीरतः ॥ ६ ॥ 6. But it is true that I have no change nor any cause of a change as I am without a second. As I do not possess a body I have neither sin nor virtue, neither bondage nor liberation, neither a caste nor an order of life. अनादितो निर्गुणतो न कर्म मे फलं च तस्मात्परमोऽहमद्वयः । यथा नभः सर्वगतं न लिप्यते तथा ह्यहं देहगतोऽपि सूक्ष्मतः ॥ ७ ॥ 7. Beginningless¹ and devoid of attributes I have neither actions nor their results. Therefore I am the supreme One without a second. Though in a body I do not get attached on account of My subtleness² like the ether which, though all-pervading, does not get tainted. सदा च भूतेषु समोऽहमीश्वरः क्षराक्षराभ्यां परमो ह्यथोत्तमः । परात्मतत्त्वश्च तथाद्वयोऽपि सन्विपर्ययेणाभिमतस्त्वविद्यया ॥ ८ ॥ 8. Though I am the Lord³ always the same in all beings, beyond the perishable and the imperishable,⁴ and therefore the Supreme, the Self of all, and without a second I am considered to be of a contrary nature on account of Ignorance. ¹ Bh. Gîtâ, 13. 31. ² I.e., having no form. See Bh. Gîtâ, 13. 32. ³ I.e., the cause. And therefore untouched by the defects of beings in whom I reside. ⁴ The unmanifested Power of Brahman which transforms itself into the manifested universe. See Bh. Gîtâ, 15. 16-18. 8

114 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. X अविद्याया भावनया च कर्मभि- विविक्त आत्माऽव्यवधिः सुनिर्मलः । दृगादिशक्तिप्रचितोऽहमद्वयः स्थितः स्वरूपे गगनं यथाऽचलम् ॥ ९ ॥ 9. Not distanced¹ by anything from Itself and un- touched by Ignorance, by false conceptions (of possess- ing a body etc.) and by actions the Self is very pure. Without a second and established in My real nature like the immovable ether I am (thought² to be) connected with the powers of seeing and other perceptions. अहं परं ब्रह्म विनिश्चयात्मदृङ् न जायते भूय इति श्रुतेर्वचः । न चैव बीजे त्वसति प्रजायते फलं न जन्मास्ति ततो ह्यमोहता ॥ १० ॥ 10. There is the saying of the Śruti³ that one who has the sure conviction about oneself that one is Brah- man is never born again. There being no⁴ delusion, there is no birth. For, when the cause is not there there cannot be any effect. ममेदमित्थं च तथेदमीदृशं तथाहमेवं न परो न वान्यथा । विमूढतैवं न जनस्य कल्पना सदा समे ब्रह्मणि चाद्वये शिवे ॥ ११ ॥ 11. False conceptions of people such as, ‘mine,’ ‘this,’ ‘thus,’ ‘this is so,’ ‘I am so,’ ‘another is not so,’ etc., are all due to delusion. They are never in Brahman which is auspicious, the same in all and without a second. ¹ See footnote 1, p. 60. ² Through Ignorance. ³ Kath. U., 1. 3. 8. ⁴ For one has known the Self.

9-14] THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 115 यदद्वयं ज्ञानमतीव निर्मलं महात्मनां तत्र न शोकमोहता । तयोरभावे न हि कर्म जन्म वा भवेद्वयं वेदविदां विनिश्चयः ॥ १२ ॥ 12. All grief and delusion are removed from those great souls when there arises the very pure ¹ knowledge of the non-dual Self. It is the conclusion of those who know the meaning of the Vedas that there cannot be any action or birth in the absence of grief ² and delusion.² सुषुप्तवज्जाग्रति यो न पश्यति द्वयं तु पश्यन्नपि चाद्वयत्वतः । तथा च कुर्वन्नपि निष्क्रियश्च यः स आत्मविन्नान्य इतीह निश्चयः ॥ 13. It is the conclusion here (in the Vedântas) that one who, though perceiving ³ the world of duality in the waking state, does not,⁴ as a man in deep sleep does not,⁵ perceive it owing to duality being negated and who is (really) actionless even when (apparently) acting, is a man of Self-knowledge ; but no one else is so. इतीदमुक्तं परमार्थदर्शनं मया हि वेदान्तविनिश्चितं परम् । विमुच्यतेऽस्मिन्यदि निश्चितो भवेन्न लिप्यते व्योम इवेह कर्मभिः ॥ 14. This Right knowledge described by me is the highest because it is ascertained in the Vedântas. One becomes liberated and unattached (to actions) like the ether if one is perfectly convinced of this Truth. ¹ I.e., free from all doubts. ² Ignorance implied by them. ³ Apparently. ⁴ I.e., does not perceive it to be real. ⁵ Duality gets merged in Ignorance in the case of deep sleep but in the case of Self-knowledge it gets negated in all the states.

ईक्षितृत्वप्रकरणम् ॥ ११ ॥ CHAPTER XI NATURE OF THE WITNESS ईक्षितृत्वं स्वतःसिद्धं जन्तूनां च ततोऽन्यता । अज्ञान। दित्यतोऽन्यत्वं सदसीति निवर्त्यते ॥ १ ॥

1. All beings are by nature pure Consciousness Itself. It is due to Ignorance that they apppear to be different from It. Their (apparent) difference from It is removed by the teaching ‘Thou art Existence’.¹ एतावद्धमृतत्वं न किंचिदन्यत्सहायकम् । ज्ञानस्येति ब्रुवच्छास्त्रं सलिङ्गं कर्म बाधते ॥ २ ॥
2. The scriptures negate Vedic actions with their accessories ² by saying ‘Knowledge alone is the cause of immortality,³ and that there is nothing else to co- operate with it (in producing liberation).’ सर्वेषां मनसो वृत्तमविशेषेण पश्यतः । तस्य मे निर्विकारस्य विशेषः स्यात्कथंचन ॥ ३ ॥ ¹ Brahman. ² The sacred tuft of hair on the head, the sacred thread, etc. ³ Br. U., 4. 5. 15.

1-6] NATURE OF THE WITNESS 117 मनोवृत्तं मनश्चैव स्वप्नवज्जाग्रतीक्षितुः । संप्रसादे द्वयासत्त्वाच्चिन्मात्रः सर्वगोऽव्ययः ॥ ४ ॥ 3, 4. How can there be any special¹ property in Me who am changeless by nature and witness the modifi- cations of the minds of all without any exception ? (How can again there be any change in Me) who witness the mind and its functions in the waking state as in dream ? But as there is the absence² of both the mind and its functions in deep sleep I am Pure Consci- ousness, all-pervading and changeless. स्वप्नः सत्यो यथाऽबोधाद्देहात्मत्वं तथैव च । प्रत्यक्षादेः प्रमाणत्वं जाग्रत्स्याद्यात्मवेदनात् ॥ ५ ॥ 5. Just as dreams appear to be true as long as one does not wake up, so, the identification of oneself with the body etc. and the authenticity of sense-perception and the like in the waking state continue as long as there is no Self-knowledge. व्योमवत्सर्वभूतस्थो भूतदोषैर्विवर्जितः । साक्षी चेताऽगुणः शुद्धो ब्रह्मैवास्मीति केवलः ॥ ६ ॥ 6. I am Brahman of the nature of pure Conscious- ness, without qualities, free from Ignorance, and free from the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. Living in all beings like the ether I am the witness free from all their defects. ¹ E.g., agency, egoism, etc. ² Therefore witnessing the mind and its functions is not in the nature of the Self.

118 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XI नामरूपक्रियाभ्योऽन्यो नित्यमुक्तस्वरूपवान् । अहमात्मा परं ब्रह्म चिन्मात्रोऽहं सदाद्वयः ॥ ७ ॥ 7. Ever free and different from names, forms and actions I am the supreme Brahman, the Self, consisting of pure Consciousness and always without a second. अहं ब्रह्मास्मि कर्ता च भोक्ता चास्मीति ये विदुः । ते नष्टा ज्ञानकर्मभ्यां नास्तिकाः स्युर्न संशयः ॥ ८ ॥ 8. Those who think themselves to be one with Brahman and at the same time to be doers and experi- encers should be regarded as fallen from both Know- ledge and duties. They are, no doubt, unbelievers (in the Vedas). धर्माधर्मफलैर्योग इष्टोऽदृष्टो यथात्मनः । शास्त्राद्ब्रह्मत्वमप्यस्य मोक्षो ज्ञानात्तथेष्यताम् ॥ ९ ॥ 9. It must be accepted on the strength of the scriptures that the Self is Brahman, and that liberation accrues from Right Knowledge only, like the connection with the Self$^1$ of the results of sin and virtue, which, though unseen is admitted (on the same authority). या माहारजनाद्यास्ता वासनाः स्वप्नदर्शिभिः । अनुभूयन्त एवेह ततोऽन्यः केवलो दृशिः ॥ १० ॥ 10. What are called (in the Sruti$^2$) clothes coloured with turmeric etc. are nothing but mental impressions $^1$ The individual Self. $^2$ Br. U., 2. 3. 6.

7-13] NATURE OF THE WITNESS 119 perceived by people in dream. (The Self, their ¹ illumi- nator, must, therefore, be different from them and from the subtle body in which they lie.) So the Self, pure Consciousness, (the perceiver of doership etc.,) must be different from them ² (in the waking state also). कोशादिव विनिष्कृष्टः कार्यकारणवर्जितः । यथासिर्दृश्यते स्वप्ने तद्वद्बोद्धा स्वयंप्रभः ॥ ११ ॥ 11. Just as a sword taken out of its sheath is seen as it is, so, the Knower, the Self, is seen ³ in dream in Its real and self-effulgent nature free from cause ⁴ and effect.⁴ आपेषात्प्रतिबुद्धस्य ज्ञस्य स्वाभाविकं पदम् । उक्तं नेत्यादिवाक्येन कल्पितस्यापनेतृणा ॥ १२ ॥ 12. The real nature ⁵ of the individual (Self) who was pushed and awakened ⁶ has been described by the saying, “Not this,⁷ not this” which negates all super- imposition. महाराजादयो लोका मयि यद्वत्प्रकल्पिताः । स्वप्ने तद्वद्द्वयं विद्याद्रूपं वासनया सह ॥ १३ ॥ 13. Just as objects of enjoyment like a great King- ship ⁸ etc. are superimposed on Me in dream (and are ¹ The Knower, Knowing and the Known in dream. ² I.e., from the subtle body and the impressions in it. ³ Not as an object. ⁴ I.e., the mind which assumes the forms of causes and effects in dream. ⁵ Brahman Itself. ⁶ Br. U., 2. 1. 15. ⁷ Br. U., 2. 3. 6. ⁸ Br. U., 2. 1. 18.

120 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XI unreal ¹), so, the two forms,² (the visible and the in- visible) with the mental impressions,³ are also super- imposed on Me (and are similarly unreal ⁴). देहलिङ्गात्मना कार्या वासनासरूपिणा क्रियाः । नेतिनेत्यात्मरूपत्वान्न मे कार्या क्रिया क्वचित् ॥ १४ ॥ 14. All actions are performed by the Self ⁵ which has identified Itself with the gross and the subtle bodies and which has the nature of accumulating ⁶ impressions. As I am of the nature ⁷ indicated by the Sruti, ‘Not this, not this,’ actions are nowhere ⁸ to be done by Me. न ततोऽमृतताशास्ति कर्मणोऽज्ञानहेतुतः । मोक्षस्य ज्ञानहेतुत्वान्न तदन्यदपेक्षते ॥ १५ ॥ 15. As actions have Ignorance for their cause there is no hope from them of immortality. As liberation is caused by right Knowledge (alone) it does not depend on anything else.⁹ अमृतं चाभयं नार्तं नेतीत्यात्मा प्रियो मम । विपरीतमतोऽन्यद्यत्त्यजेत्तत्सक्रियं ततः ॥ १६ ॥ 16. But Immortality ¹⁰ is free ¹¹ from fear and des- truction. The individual Self (signified by the words) ¹ Br. U., 4. 3. 10. ² Br. U., 2. 3. 1. ³ Br. U., 2. 3. 6 ⁴ For they are objects of Knowledge. ⁵ The individualized Self. ⁶ Owing to continual performance of actions. As a matter of fact the subtle body is the seat of mental impressions. ⁷ I.e., Pure Consciousness. ⁸ Neither in waking nor in dream ; and also neither by nature nor by Vedic injunctions. ⁹ Actions etc. ¹⁰ Brahman. ¹¹ If it were not so it would be capable of being produced by actions.

14-16] NATURE OF THE WITNESS 121 'dear¹ to one' is Brahman² (devoid of all attributes) according to the Sruti, 'Not this, not this'. Whatever³ is thought to be different from It⁴ should, therefore, be renounced together with all actions. ¹ Br. U., 1. 4. 8 and 2. 4. 5. ² Therefore Brahman, not different from the Self, is not capable of being realized by actions. ³ I.e., the ideas of 'me' and 'mine' with respect to it. ⁴ Brahman.

प्रकाशप्रकरणम् ॥ १२ ॥ CHAPTER XII LIGHT प्रकाशस्थं यथा देहं सालोकमभिमन्यते । द्रष्ट्राभासं तथा चित्तं द्रष्ट्राहमिति मन्यते ॥ १ ॥

1. Just as a man (erroneously) looks upon his body placed in the sun as having the property of light in it, so, he looks upon the intellect pervaded by the reflection of Pure Consciousness as the Self, the witness. यदेव दृश्यते लोके तेनाभिन्नत्वमात्मनः । प्रपद्यते ततो मूढस्तेनात्मानं न विन्दति ॥ २ ॥
2. The Self gets identified with whatever¹ is seen in the world. It is for this reason that an ignorant man does not know himself (to be Brahman). [The reason why people mistake the combination of the subtle and the gross bodies for the Self is this identification caused by Its reflection. On account of there being the reflection of Pure Consciousness in the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the vital ¹ The body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the vital force.

1-5] LIGHT 123 force they appear to be conscious and cannot, therefore, be discriminated from the Self.] दशमस्य नवात्मत्वप्रतिपत्तिवदात्मनः । दृश्येषु तद्ग्रहेऽवायं मूढो लोको न चान्यथा ॥ ३ ॥ 3. An ignorant man gets identified with objects ¹ of knowledge and does not know the Self (which is different from them) like the tenth ² boy who got identi- fied as it were with the other nine. त्वं कुरु त्वं तदेवेति प्रत्ययावेककालिकौ । एकनीडौ कथं स्यातां विरुद्धौ न्यायतो वद ॥ ४ ॥ 4. Say how there can reasonably by the two con- trary ideas, ‘You do this’ and ‘You are Brahman’ ³ at the same time and in respect of the same person. देहाभिमानिनो दुःखं नादेहस्य स्वभावतः । स्वापवत्तत्प्रहाणाय तत्त्वमित्युच्यते दृशेः ॥ ५ ॥ 5. Pain belongs to one identifying oneself with the body. One not identifying oneself with it, as in deep sleep, is, therefore, by nature free from pain. The teaching, ‘Thou art That’ is imparted in order that this identification ⁴ might be removed ⁵ from the Self. ¹ See foot-note, verse 2 above. ² After swimming across a river one of ten boys counted their number and found that they were only nine. The reason for this was that the boy did not count himself. He got, as it were, identi- fied with the other nine and could not find that he was the tenth. But he came to know that he was the tenth when he was told so. ³ Which is a non-doer. ⁴ Together with Ignorance, its cause. ⁵ The unity of the Self and Brahman is here taught and not action.

124 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XII दृशेश्छाया यदारूढा मुखच्छायायेव दर्शने । पश्यंस्तं प्रत्ययं योगी दृष्ट आत्मेति मन्यते ॥ ६ ॥ 6. An ignorant person¹ looks upon the intellect as the Self, when there is the reflection² of the Self in the intellect like that of a face in a mirror. तं च मूढं च यद्यन्यं प्रत्ययं वेत्ति नो दृशेः । स एव योगिनां प्रेष्ठो नेतरः स्यान्न संशयः ॥ ७ ॥ 7. He who looks upon the ego, the indiscrimination that produces delusion and other mental modifications (or the reflection of the Self in them) as having no con- nection with the Self, is, without doubt, the dearest to the knowers of Brahman. No one else is so. विज्ञातेर्यस्तु विज्ञाता स त्वमित्युच्यते यतः । स स्यादनुभवस्तस्य ततोऽन्योऽनुभवो मृषा ॥ ८ ॥ 8. As it is the Knower³ of knowledge that is referred to by the word 'Thou' (in the Sruti⁴) the understanding of the term 'Thou' in this sense is correct. The other⁵ sense different from it is due to superimposition. दृशिरूपे सदानित्ये दर्शनादर्शने मयि । कथं स्यातां ततो नान्य इष्यतेऽनुभवस्ततः ॥ ९ ॥ ¹ 'योगी' in the text. ² This is why one attributes the properties (e.g., agency, experi- encing, etc.,) of the intellect to the Self like those (e.g., spots etc.) of the mirror to the face. ³ Br. U., 3. 4. 2. ⁴ Chh. U., 6. 8. 7. ⁵ I.e., the Self with the intellect etc. superimposed on It.

6-13] LIGHT 125 9. How can there be knowledge or ignorance in Me who am eternal and always of the nature of Pure Consciousness ? No knowledge,¹ therefore, other than the Self ² can be accepted. यत्स्थस्तापो रवेर्देहे दृशेः स विषयो यथा । तत्त्वस्थस्तद्वद्देहं दृशेः स विषयस्तथा ॥ १० ॥ 10. Just as the heat of the sun (in a part of the body) together with that part of the body is the object of the knower, so, pain and pleasure together with the intellect in which they lie are the objects of the Self. प्रतिषिद्धेदमंशज्ञः खमिवैकरसोऽद्वयः । नित्यमुक्तः सदा शुद्धः सोऽहं ब्रह्मास्मि केवलः ॥ ११ ॥ 11. I am Brahman without attributes, ever pure, ever free, non-dual, homogeneous like the ether and of the nature of Consciousness from which the object portion ³ has been negated.⁴ विज्ञातुर्नैव विज्ञाता परोऽन्यः संभवत्यतः । विज्ञाताहं परो मुक्तः सर्वभूतेषु सर्वदा ॥ १२ ॥ 12. I am always the free ⁵ supreme Knower in all beings inasmuch as there cannot be a more compre- hensive knower different from Me. यो वेदालुप्तदृष्टित्वमात्मनोऽकर्तृतां तथा । ब्रह्मवित्त्वं तथा मुक्त्वा स आत्मज्ञो न चेतरः ॥ १३ ॥ ¹ A mental modification with the reflection of Consciousness in it. ² Pure Knowledge. ³ See foot-note 3, verse 2, Chapter II. ⁴ On the authority of the Sruti, 'Not this, not this.' ⁵ Because untouched by the properties of objects of knowledge.

126 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XII 13. He who Knows that the Consciousness of the Self never ceases to exist, and that It is never an agent and also gives up the egoism that he is a Knower¹ of Brahman is a (real) knower of the Self. Others are not so. ज्ञातैवाहऽमविज्ञेयः शुद्धो मुक्तः सदेत्यपि । विवेकी प्रत्ययो बुद्धेर्दृश्यत्वान्नाशवान्यतः ॥ १४ ॥ 14. Capable by no means of being known I am the knower and always free and pure as the discriminat- ing knowledge² is in the intellect³ and liable to be destroyed on account of its being an object of Know- ledge. अलुप्ता त्वात्मनो दृष्टिनोत्पाद्या कारकैर्यतः । दृश्यया चान्यया दृष्ट्या जन्यतास्याः प्रकल्पिता ॥ १५ ॥ 15. The Consciousness⁴ of the Self, on the other hand, never goes out of existence and is not capable of being produced by the action of agents etc. inasmuch as producibility is superimposed on It by another consciousness,⁵ Its object and different from It. देहात्मबुद्ध्यपेक्षत्वादात्मनः कर्तृता मृषा । नैव किंचित्करोमीति सत्या बुद्धिः प्रमाणजा ॥ १६ ॥ ¹ The consciousness 'I am a knower of Brahman' is a modifi- cation of the mind and should not, therefore, be attributed to the Self. ² The modification of the mind, 'I am Brahman.' ³ And not in the Self. ⁴ The Self which is Consciousness. ⁵ Phenomenal consciousness. It contributes its own producibility to the Self on account of superimposition.

13-19] LIGHT 127 16. The doership of the Self is false as it depends on the misconception of the body being the Self. That I do not do anything is the true knowledge which arises from the right evidence, (the Vedas). कर्तृत्वं कारकापेक्षमकर्तृत्वं स्वभावतः । कर्ता भोक्तेति विज्ञानं मृषैवेति सुनिश्चितम् ॥ १७ ॥ 17. Agency depends on doership, instruments¹ etc. but non-agency is natural. It has, therefore, been very well ascertained that the knowledge that one is a doer and experiencer is certainly false. एवं शास्त्रानुमानाभ्यां स्वरूपेऽवगते सति । नियोज्योऽहमिति ह्येषा सत्या बुद्धिः कथं भवेत् ॥ १८ ॥ 18. How can the idea that I am a person to be enjoined (by the Vedas to perform actions) be true when the real nature of the Self is thus² known from the scriptures³ and inference?⁴ यथा सर्वान्तरं व्योम व्योम्नोऽप्यभ्यन्तरो ह्यहम् । निर्विकारोऽचलः शुद्धोऽजरो मुक्तः सदाद्वयः ॥ १९ ॥ 19. Just as the ether is in the interior⁵ of all,⁶ so, I am in the interior⁷ even of the ether. Therefore I am without change, without motion, pure, devoid of old age, ever free and without a second. ¹ Of action and of knowledge. ² As described in this chapter. ³ See verse 8. ⁴ See verse 10 above. ⁵ Being the material cause. ⁶ The other four elements. ⁷ I.e., I am the substratum of everything.

अचक्षुष्ट्वप्रकरणम् ॥ १३ ॥ CHAPTER XIII EYELESSNESS अचक्षुष्ट्वान्न दृष्टिर्मे तथाऽश्रोत्रस्य का श्रुतिः । अवाक्त्वात्न तु वक्तिः स्यादमनस्त्वान्मतिः कुतः ॥ १ ॥

1. There is no vision in Me as I am without the organ of seeing. How can there be hearing in Me who have no auditive organ ? Devoid of the organ of speech I have no action of speaking in Me. How can there be thinking in Me who have no mind ? अप्राणस्य न कर्मास्ति बुद्धयभावे न वेदिता । विद्याविद्ये ततो न स्तश्चिन्मात्रज्योतिषो मम ॥ २ ॥ नित्यमुक्तस्य शुद्धस्य कूटस्थस्याविचालिनः । अमृतस्याक्षय्यैवमशरीरस्य सर्वदा ॥ ३ ॥ 2, 3. Devoid of the vital force I have no action (in Me), and devoid of the intellect I am not a knower. Ever free, ever pure, changeless, immovable, im- mortal, imperishable and bodiless I have no knowledge or ignorance in Me who am of the nature of the Light of Pure Consciousness only.