उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

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.

1-8] EYELESSNESS 129
जिघत्सा वा पिपासा वा शोकमोहौ जरामृती ।
न विद्यन्तेऽशरीरत्वाद्व्योमवद्व्यापिनो मम ॥ ४ ॥
4. All-pervading like the ether I have no hunger,
thirst, grief, delusion, old age or death as I am without
a body (mind and vital force).
अस्पर्शत्वान्न मे स्पृष्टिर्नाजिह्वत्वाद्रसज्ञता ।
नित्यविज्ञानरूपस्य ज्ञानाज्ञाने न मे सदा ॥ ५ ॥
5. Devoid of the organ of touch I have no act of
touching ; and devoid of the tongue I have no sensation
of taste. I never have knowledge or ignorance as I
am of the nature of eternal Consciousness.
या तु स्यान्मानसी वृत्तिश्चाक्षुष्का रूपरञ्जना ।
नित्यमेवात्मनो दृष्ट्या नित्यया दृश्यते हि सा ॥ ६ ॥
6. It is well known that the mental modification,¹
produced through the instrumentality of the eye and of
the form of the object of vision, is always witnessed by
the eternal Consciousness of the Self.
तथान्येन्द्रिययुक्ता या वृत्तयो विषयाञ्जनाः ।
स्मृती रागादिरूपा च केवलान्तर्मनस्यपि ॥ ७ ॥
मानस्यस्तद्वदन्यस्य दृश्यन्ते स्वप्रवृत्तयः ।
द्रष्टुर्द्दृष्टिस्ततो नित्या शुद्धानन्ता च केवला ॥ ८ ॥
¹ In connection with an object the intellect gets transformed into
the form of that object. This transformation is called a modi-
fication.
9

130 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XIII
7, 8. Similarly, other mental modifications in the
forms of objects of knowledge produced through the in-
strumentality of other organs and also those in the forms
of memory, attachment, etc. existing only within the
mind, and those¹ again in dream are witnessed by one
different from all of them (i.e., by the Self). The Know-
ledge, therefore, of the Knower² is eternal, pure, infinite
and without a second.
अनित्या साऽविशुद्धेति गृह्यतेऽत्राविवेकतः ।
सुखी दुःखी तथा चाहं दृश्ययोपाधिभूतया ॥ ९ ॥
9. It is through the indiscrimination between the
Self and the modifications of the mind, Knowable
adjuncts to the Self that the Knowledge of the Knower³
is wrongly conceived by the people to be impure and
transitory and the Self happy or miserable.
मूढया मूढ इत्येवं शुद्धया शुद्ध इत्यपि ।
मन्यते सर्वलोकोऽयं येन संसारमृच्छति ॥ १० ॥
10. All men misconceive themselves to be ignorant
or pure according as they identify themselves with the
mental modification, ‘ I am ignorant ’ or ‘ I am pure ’. It
is for this reason that they continue to be in transmigra-
tory existence.
अचक्षुष्कादिशास्त्रोक्तं सबाह्याभ्यन्तरं त्वजम् ।
नित्यमुक्तमिहात्मानं मुमुक्षुश्चेत्सदा स्मरेत् ॥ ११ ॥
¹ These modifications do not assume the forms of external objects
but of their impression only. ² I.e., The Self which is Knowledge
itself, just as by the heat of fire we mean the heat which is
fire itself. ³ See footnote 2 on the two previous verses.

7-15] EYELESSNESS 131
11. One should always remember the Self to be
ever-free, unborn and comprising¹ the interior and
exterior as described in the Sruti in which the Self is
spoken of as 'eyeless'² and so on if one is an aspirant
after liberation.
अचक्षुष्कादिशास्त्राच्च नेन्द्रियाणि सदा मम ।
अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्र इति चाथर्वणेर्वचः ॥ १२ ॥
12. That organs never belong to me is known from
the Sruti, 'eyeless'² etc. There is again the saying of
the _Sruti_³ belonging to the Atharva Veda that the Self is
'devoid of the vital force, devoid of the mind and pure.'
शब्दादीनामभावश्च श्रूयते मम काठके ।
अप्राणो ह्यमना यस्मादविकारी सदा ह्यहम् ॥ १३ ॥
13. As I am always devoid⁴ of the vital force and
the mind and heard of in the _Kathopanishat_⁵ as having
no connection with sound etc. I am always changeless.
विक्षेपो नास्ति तस्मान्मे न समाधिस्ततो मम ।
विक्षेपो वा समाधिर्वा मनसः स्याद्विकारिणः ॥ १४ ॥
14. I, therefore, have neither unrestfulness nor a
profound concentration. Both of them belong to the
mind which is subject to change.
अमनस्कस्य शुद्धस्य कथं तत्स्याद् द्वयं मम ।
अमनस्त्वाविकारित्वे विदेहव्यापिनो मम ॥ १५ ॥
¹ See foot-note ² verse 43, Chapter 17 and also see Mu. U., 2. 1. 2.
² Br. U., 3. 8. 8. ³ Mu. U., 2. 1. 2. (Thus both the Srutis prove the same thing.) ⁴ Mu. U., 2. 1. 2. ⁵ Kath. U., 1. 3. 15.

132 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XIII
15. How can I who am pure and mindless have
those two ?¹ I am without any change and without a
mind as I am all-pervading and devoid of a body.
इत्येतद्यावदज्ञानं तावत्कार्यं ममाभवत् ।
नित्यमुक्तस्य शुद्धस्य बुद्धस्य च सदा मम ॥ १६ ॥
16. So, I who am ever free, ever pure and ever
awakened had duties² to perform so long as there was
Ignorance.
समाधिर्वाऽसमाधिर्वा कार्यं चान्यत्कुतो भवेत् ।
मां हि ध्यात्वा च बुद्ध्वा च मन्यन्ते कृतकृत्यताम् ॥ १७ ॥
17. How can I have concentration, non-concentra-
tion or other actions in Me as all men feel that the
acme of their lives is fulfilled when they meditate on
Me and know Me ?
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि सर्वोऽस्मि शुद्धो बुद्धोऽस्म्यतः सदा ।
अजः सर्वत एवाहमजरश्चाक्षयोऽमृतः ॥ १८ ॥
18. I am, therefore, Brahman, the all-comprehensive
Principle, ever Pure, ever Awakened and ever Unborn,
devoid of old age, imperishable and immortal.
मदन्यः सर्वभूतेषु बोद्धा कश्चिन्न विद्यते ।
कर्माध्यक्षश्च साक्षी च चेता नित्योऽगुणोऽद्वयः ॥ १९ ॥
19. There is no knower other than Myself among
all the beings. I am the distributor³ of the results of
¹ See the previous verse. ² See the following verse.
³ See Sankarânanda's gloss on Sw. U., 6. 11.

15-22] EYELESSNESS 133
their actions and the witness. It is I to whom all
beings owe their consciousness. Without qualities and
without a second I am eternal.
न सच्चाऽहं न चासच्च नोभयं केवलः शिवः ।
न मे संध्या न रात्रिर्वा नाहर्वा सर्वदा दृशेः ॥ २० ॥
20. I am not the three ¹ visible elements nor the
two ² invisible ones, neither am I both (i.e., their combi-
nation, the body). I am devoid of all attributes and
the three Gunas.³ In Me there is neither night ⁴ nor
day ⁴ nor their juncture ⁴ as I am always of the nature
of light.⁵
सर्वमूर्तिवियुक्तं यद्यथा खं सूक्ष्ममद्वयम् ।
तेनाप्यस्मि विनाभूतं ब्रह्मैवाहं तथाऽद्वयम् ॥ २१ ॥
21. Just as the ether is subtle, without a second and
devoid of all forms, so, I am the non-dual Brahman
devoid even of the ether.
ममात्मा स्वत आत्मेति भेदो व्योम्नो यथा भवेत् ।
एकस्य सुषिभेदेन तथा मम विकल्पितः ॥ २२ ॥
22. The distinction between the Self in Itself ⁶ and
my Self is due to the superimposition (of different ⁷
adjuncts on one and the same Self), just as difference
¹ Earth, water, and fire. ² Air and ether.
³ Sattva, rajas and tamas, the three constituent essences of Mâyâ,
the Power of Brahman transforming itself into the universe. See
Bh. Gîtâ, 14. 5-19. ⁴ These words may also mean deep sleep,
waking and dream respectively. ⁵ I.e., Consciousness.
⁶ Brahman. ⁷ The intellect etc.

134 A THOUSAND TEACHINGS [CHAP. XIII
(is wrongly conceived to) exist in one and the same
ether owing to apertures (in various objects).
भेदोऽभेदस्तथा चैको नाना चेति विकल्पितः ।
ज्ञेयं ज्ञाता गतिर्गन्ता मय्येकस्मिन्कुतो भवेत् ॥ २३ ॥
23. How can difference, absence of difference, one-
ness, manyness and the qualities of being known and
being a knower, the results of actions and also agency
and experiencing be attributed to Me who am one only ?
न मे हेयं न चादेयमविकारी यतो ह्यहम् ।
सदा मुक्तस्तथा शुद्धः सदा बुद्धोऽगुणोऽद्वयः ॥ २४ ॥
24. I have nothing to reject or accept inasmuch as
I am changeless. Always free, pure, awakened and
without qualities, I am without a second.
इत्येवं सर्वदात्मानं विद्यात्सर्वं समाहितः ।
विदित्वा मां स्वदेहस्थमृषिर्मुक्तो ध्रुवो भवेत् ॥ २५ ॥
25. One should, with great concentration of mind,
always know the Self to be All.¹ One certainly be-
comes all-knowing and free when one knows Me to
be residing is one's own body.²
कृतकृत्यश्च सिद्धश्च योगी ब्राह्मण एव च ।
य एवं वेद तत्त्वार्थमन्यथा ह्यात्महा भवेत् ॥ २६ ॥
26. He who thus knows the reality of the Self
becomes successful in attaining the goal of his life and
¹ Brahman. ² As the witness of the body gross and subtle.

23-27] EYELESSNESS 135
becomes perfect. He becomes a Knower of Brahman
and one¹ with It. One knowing the Self otherwise may
be said to commit suicide.²
वेदार्थो निश्चितो ह्येष समासेन मयोदितः ।
संन्यासिभ्यः प्रवक्तव्यः शान्तेभ्यः शिष्टबुद्धिना ॥ २७ ॥
27. This ascertained meaning of the Vedas described
briefly by me should be imparted to those who have
given up worldly action and controlled their minds
by one whose intellect has been trained (according to
the scriptures under a teacher who has known
Brahman).
¹ For a Knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. See Tai. U., 2. 1.
² For the Self remains hidden, killed as it were. See Îsh. U., 3.

स्वप्नस्मृतिप्रकरणम् ॥ १४ ॥
CHAPTER XIV
DREAM AND MEMORY
स्वप्नस्मृत्योर्घटादेर्हि रूपाभासः प्रदृश्यते ।
पुरा नूनं तदाकारा धीर्दृष्टेत्यनुमीयते ॥ १ ॥
1 As the resemblance of (objects of knowledge
like) jars etc. is perceived in dream and memory it is
inferred that the intellect in those forms was surely seen
before.
भिक्षामटन्यथा स्वप्ने दृष्टो देहो न स स्वयम् ।
जाग्रद्दृश्यात्तथा देहाद्द्रष्टृत्वादन्य एव सः ॥ २ ॥
2. Just as the body going from place to place for
alms¹ seen (e.g. by a wandering mendicant) in dream
is not oneself, so, witnessing the body in the waking
state the Seer must be different from it as it is seen.
मूषासिक्तं यथा ताम्रं तन्निभं जायते तथा ।
रूपादीन्व्याप्नुवच्चित्तं तन्निभं दृश्यते ध्रुवम् ॥ ३ ॥
¹ The only means of subsistence, according to the scriptures, for
those who have given up worldly action in search of the knowledge
of Brahman.