Shloka 23
बुद्धिद्रव्येण दृश्येत मनोदीपेन लोककृत् महतस्तमसस्तात पारे तिष्ठन्नतामस:,सूक्ष्म बुद्धिरूप धन-सम्पन्न पुरुष ही मनोमय दीपकके द्वारा उस लोकस्रष्टा परमात्माका साक्षात्कार कर सकते हैं। वह परमात्मा महान् अन्धकारसे परे और तमोगुणसे रहित है; इसलिये वेदके पारगामी सर्वज्ञ पुरुषोंने उसे तमोनुद (अज्ञान नाशक) कहा है। वह निर्मल, अज्ञानरहित, लिंगहीन और अलिंग नामसे प्रसिद्ध (उपाधिशून्य) है। यही योगियोंका योग है। इसके सिवा योगका और क्या लक्षण हो सकता है। इस तरह साधना करनेवाले योगी सबके द्रष्टा अजर-अमर परमात्माका दर्शन करते हैं
buddhi-dravyeṇa dṛśyeta mano-dīpena loka-kṛt | mahatas tamasas tāta pāre tiṣṭhann atāmasaḥ ||
Vasiṣṭha said: The Maker of the worlds can be directly perceived by the subtle substance of intelligence, using the mind as a lamp. O dear one, that Supreme stands beyond the vast darkness and is free from tamas; therefore the all-knowing seers who have crossed beyond the Veda call Him the dispeller of darkness (ignorance). Pure, free from ignorance, without marks or limiting signs, He is known as ‘aliṅga’—devoid of adjuncts. This is the very yoga of yogins; what other defining mark of yoga could there be? Practising in this way, the yogin beholds the unborn, deathless Supreme Self, the seer of all.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Realization of the Supreme is possible when the intellect becomes subtle and discriminative, and the mind is made a steady ‘lamp’ for contemplation. The Supreme is beyond ignorance (tamas) and without limiting attributes (aliṅga); yoga is defined here as this direct inner realization of the unborn, deathless Seer.
In the Mokṣa-oriented discourse of Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha instructs his listener on contemplative knowledge: how the purified mind and refined intellect enable direct perception of the world-creator, described as beyond darkness and attribute-less, which yogins realize through disciplined practice.