Shloka 24
Kurukṣetra Pilgrimage: Sages Praise Kṛṣṇa; Vasudeva Inquires on Karma; Viṣṇu-yajña Performed
यथा शयान: पुरुष आत्मानं गुणतत्त्वदृक् । नाममात्रेन्द्रियाभातं न वेद रहितं परम् ॥ २४ ॥ एवं त्वा नाममात्रेषु विषयेष्विन्द्रियेहया । मायया विभ्रमच्चित्तो न वेद स्मृत्युपप्लवात् ॥ २५ ॥
yathā śayānaḥ puruṣa ātmānaṁ guṇa-tattva-dṛk nāma-mātrendriyābhātaṁ na veda rahitaṁ param
As a sleeping person, absorbed in mere names and forms, forgets his true waking identity beyond the dream, so the mind bewildered by Māyā—driven by the senses—perceives only the names and forms of objects; memory is overwhelmed, and one cannot know You.
Just as a person’s dream is a secondary reality created from the stock of his memories and desires, so this universe exists as the inferior creation of the Supreme Lord, in no real way separate from Him. And just as the person who awakens from sleep experiences the higher reality of his waking life, so the Supreme Lord also has His distinct, higher reality beyond everything we know of this world. In His own words,
FAQs
This verse says that like a sleeping person who fails to recognize his own higher self, one absorbed in sensory appearance and mere labels does not know the transcendent self beyond the modes.
In their intense separation and emotion, Kṛṣṇa points to the difference between external, sense-based perception and the deeper spiritual reality, guiding them toward seeing Him and the self beyond māyā’s coverings.
Reduce identity based on labels and constant sensory stimulation; cultivate remembrance (smaraṇa), steady devotion, and self-inquiry so the witness-self and the Lord’s presence become clearer.