Shloka 21
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
जब जीवात्मा सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंमें अपनेको और अपनेमें सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंको स्थित देखता है, उस समय वह ब्रह्मभावको प्राप्त हो जाता है
yadā jīvātmā samasta-prāṇiṣu ātmānaṃ ca samasta-prāṇinaḥ ātmany eva sthitān paśyati, tadā sa brahma-bhāvaṃ prāpnoti.
Vyāsa said: When the individual self truly perceives itself present in all beings, and all beings present within itself, it attains the state of Brahman—an ethical vision in which separateness falls away and universal regard becomes natural.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises from direct realization of non-separation: seeing the same Self in all beings and all beings within oneself. This vision culminates in brahma-bhāva, the Brahman-state, which grounds ethical conduct in universal empathy rather than narrow self-interest.
In the Shānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa articulates a contemplative criterion for spiritual attainment: the moment of inner vision where the jīvātmā recognizes its identity/continuity with all life, leading to Brahman-realization.