Shloka 14
भक्तिभेदाः—ज्ञानप्रधानभक्तेः प्रशंसा
Grades of Devotees and the Praise of Knowledge-Centered Devotion
अद्वितीये परे तस्मिन् ब्रह्मण्यात्मनि केवले । अज्ञः पश्यति भेदेन भूतानि ब्रह्मचेश्वरम्
advitīye pare tasmin brahmaṇyātmani kevale | ajñaḥ paśyati bhedena bhūtāni brahmaceśvaram
In that supreme, non-dual Reality—pure Brahman, the one Self alone—the ignorant, through the notion of difference, perceives beings, Brahman, and even the Lord (Īśvara) as separate.
Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva Purana teachings to the sages at Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
It teaches that separation is a product of ajñāna (ignorance): when the One supreme Reality is not recognized, the mind divides existence into “beings,” “Brahman,” and “God,” instead of seeing all as rooted in the one Shiva-tattva.
Though the Truth is non-dual, devotees approach Shiva as Īśvara through the Linga and other saguna forms; such worship purifies ignorance so that the underlying unity—Shiva as the inner Self of all—can be realized.
Meditate on Shiva as the one Self using japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and steady inner contemplation that dissolves bheda-buddhi (the sense of separateness).