Sloka - 37 and 38

Hari OM,

SLOKA 39:

aatmanyevaakhilaM dR^ishyaM pravilaapya dhiyaa sudhiiH .
bhaavayedekamaatmaanaM nirmalaakaashavatsadaa .. 39..

Pada artha:
Aatmanyeva: the atman alone
Akhilam: entire
Drushyam: world of objects
Pravilapya: merging
Dheeyaa: (by his) intelligence
Sudhihi: wise man
Bhaavet: should think
Ekam: one
Aatmaanam: the Self
Nirmala aakashavat: like the stainless or pure sly
Sadaa: constantly


The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world-of-objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self ever as uncontaminated by anything as the sky.

In the previous sloka, Acharya had explained the path of meditation, but for a seeker it is not easy to meditate on the unity of Brahman and Atman when the duality is perceived all around. Hence, Acharya in this sloka is explaining that through discrimination, one should realize that the entire perceived world is falsely superimposed on Atman and it is but Self alone that exists. Just as how a snake seen in rope is rope alone, the substratum alone is real and all the names and forms of the objects are but Atman alone.

The snake, wrongly perceived on the rope can never affect the rope; similarly Self can never be affected by the various forms perceived just as even though the various shapes of the clouds seem to cover the sky, it remains ever unaffected. Thus through help of such reasoning, the discriminative seeker should realize the non existence of the world apart from Self and merge the universe in Atman. Here the words “merging the universe” cannot be taken in the literal meaning but as “perceiving the entire universe as Self alone”.
Acharya explains the same as to how a seeker should discriminate between the real and unreal in Vivekachoodamani slokas also as:

sarvaatmanaa bandhavimuktihetuH
sarvaatmabhaavaanna paro.asti kashchit.h .
dR^ishyaagrahe satyupapadyate.asau
sarvaatmabhaavo.asya sadaatmanishhThayaa .. 339..

“He is free who knowing through his mind the Self in moving and unmoving objects and observing it as their substratum, gives up all superimpositions and remains as the absolute and infinite Self”

Let us learn about the nature of such a knower of reality in the next sloka.

SLOKA 40:

ruupavarNaadikaM sarva viGYaaya paramaarthavit.h .
paripurNaMchidaanandasvaruupeNaavatishhThate .. 40..

pada artha:
roopa varnaadikam : form, color etc.
sarva : everything
vihaaya: discarding
paramarthavit: one who has realized the Supreme
paripoorna chidananda swaroopena : as an embodiment of the Infinite consciousness and Bliss
avathishtate: becomes(remains)

He who has realized the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.

“The knower of Brahman becomes verily Brahman” so say the Upanishads as “Bhramavid Brahmaiva bhavati”. Acharya is explaining the same here in this sloka. While the ignorant perceive duality in the world as various names and forms, the wise ones see the world as the Atman alone. He who has realized the true nature of Self thus sees no duality and dwells as an embodiment as bliss alone.

When all the names and forms are known to be illusory, then there can be no attachments or aversions towards them, and that which remains ever is known to be Self alone. And this Self is but existence-consciousness-bliss.

We have also learnt this in Bhajagovindam as “Nandati nandati nandatievam”. There is but bliss and bliss alone for such a realized one. The same is also been explained in Isha Upanishad, sloka 6 and also in Gita chapter 6 as “A realized one or a true yogi always sees oneness everywhere and hence sees the Self in all and all in the Self”. The same import can also be found in vivekachoodamani sloka 394 as: “ It is a unquestionable fact that those who know their identity with Brahman and have given up their connection with the objective world, live palpably unifold with Brahman as eternal Knowledge and Bliss”

A Jnani thus discards all the attachment with the objects of the world. As we see in Mahatmas, such a knower verily becomes the embodiment of Bliss and is ever unaffected by the happenings of the world.

Hari OM

With regards,
Mallika R
What you have is God's gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift to God