Shloka 16
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
न हायं चक्षुषा दृश्यो न च सर्वैरपीन्द्रियै: । मनसा तु प्रदीपेन महानात्मा प्रकाशते
na hāyaṃ cakṣuṣā dṛśyo na ca sarvair apīndriyaiḥ | manasā tu pradīpena mahānātmā prakāśate ||
Vyāsa teaches that the Supreme Self cannot be grasped by the eye, nor by the full range of the senses. Rather, it becomes manifest only within the intellect when the mind is purified and made luminous—like a lamp—so that inner clarity, not outward perception, reveals the highest reality.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Supreme Self is not an object of sensory perception; it is realized inwardly when the mind becomes a clear illuminator—purified, steady, and subtle—so that true knowledge arises in the intellect.
In the instruction-filled Shānti Parva, Vyāsa is presenting a contemplative teaching: shifting the seeker from reliance on external senses to disciplined inner awareness as the proper means to apprehend the highest reality.