उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

282 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XVIII
Liberation which is free from unhappiness, activity and
desires ?
सकामः सक्रियोऽसिद्ध इति मेऽनुभवः कथम् ।
अतो मे विपरीतस्य तद्भवान्वक्तुमर्हति ॥ २१५ ॥
215. (Objection). You should say why I, though
of¹ an opposite nature, should feel that I have desires
and activities and am not Brahman.
इहैव घटते प्रश्नो न मुक्तत्वानुभूतये ।
प्रमाणेन विरोधी यः सोऽत्रार्थः प्रश्नमर्हति ॥ २१६ ॥
216. (Reply).² A question on this subject³ is reason-
able, but it is not reasonable to ask why one is free.
It is only a thing contrary to evidences⁴ that should
be questioned.
अहं निर्मुक्त इत्येव सदसीत्यन्यमानजः ।
प्रत्यक्षाभासजन्यत्वाद्दुःखित्वं प्रश्नमर्हति ॥ २१७ ॥
217. The knowledge that one is free arises from
a different⁵ evidence viz., the evidence, 'Thou art That.'
Arising from fallacious perceptual evidence unhappiness
deserves an explanation.
पृष्टमाकाङ्क्षितं वाच्यं दुःखाभावमभीप्सितम् ॥ २१८ ॥
¹ Of the nature of Brahman. ² Verses 216—228.
³ I.e., why one feels unhappy though one is Brahman according
to the evidence of the sentence.
⁴ E.g., the sentence, 'Thou art That.'
⁵ Different from perceptual evidence and so on.