Shloka 57
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
यस्यैते निर्जिता लोके त्रिगुणा: पजचधातव: । व्योम्नि तस्य परं स्थानमानन्त्यमथ लभ्यते
yasyaite nirjitā loke triguṇāḥ pañcadhātavaḥ | vyomni tasya paraṁ sthānam ānantyam atha labhyate ||
Vāyu said: “For the one who, while living in this world, has conquered the five material constituents—pervaded by the three guṇas—there arises the attainment of the supreme, limitless station within the inner sky (the heart-space). Such a person, having abandoned identification with the guṇa-bound body, reaches the highest Brahman-like state—this is liberation.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is described as the attainment of an infinite, supreme state when one conquers the guṇa-bound material constituents of embodied life—i.e., when one abandons identification with the body and masters the forces of sattva, rajas, and tamas operating through the five constituents.
In this passage Vāyudeva is instructing the listener on the inner path: by overcoming the three guṇas as they function through the five material constituents, one realizes the supreme abode within the inner space (the heart), culminating in mokṣa.