Shloka 61
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
स्यात्सादृश्यभ्रमस्तावद्विकल्पे सति वस्तुन: । जाग्रत्स्वापौ यथा स्वप्ने तथा विधिनिषेधता ॥ ६१ ॥
syāt sādṛśya-bhramas tāvad vikalpe sati vastunaḥ jāgrat-svāpau yathā svapne tathā vidhi-niṣedhatā
Quand, par la pensée, on sépare une substance de ses parties, admettre une ressemblance entre l’une et l’autre s’appelle illusion. De même, dans le rêve, on crée une séparation entre veille et sommeil; c’est dans un tel état d’esprit que l’Écriture recommande ses règles, faites d’injonctions et d’interdits.
In material existence there are many regulative principles and formalities. If material existence is temporary or false, this does not mean that the spiritual world, although similar, is also false. That one’s material body is false or temporary does not mean that the body of the Supreme Lord is also false or temporary. The spiritual world is real, and the material world is similar to it. For example, in the desert we sometimes find a mirage, but although the water in a mirage is false, this does not mean that there is no water in reality; water exists, but not in the desert. Similarly, nothing real is in this material world, but reality is in the spiritual world. The Lord’s form and His abode — Goloka Vṛndāvana in the Vaikuṇṭha planets — are eternal realities.
FAQs
This verse says that as long as one accepts dualistic perception as real, delusion continues; within that mistaken framework, moral “do’s and don’ts” appear absolutely binding—like experiences in a dream.
Nārada instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on higher dharma: rules and prohibitions are necessary within conditioned life, but one should ultimately awaken to spiritual reality beyond bodily duality.
Use it to reduce obsessive identification with temporary roles and anxieties: follow dharma responsibly, but cultivate spiritual knowledge and bhakti so that external dualities lose their power to bind the mind.