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’.