Atma Upanishad: Verse 21
उपाधिनाशाद् ब्रह्मैव सद् ब्रह्माप्येति निर्द्वयम् । शैलूषो वेषसद्भावाभावयोश्च यथा पुमान् ॥२१॥
उपाधि-नाशात् । ब्रह्म । एव । सत् । ब्रह्म । अप्येति । निर्द्वयम् । शैलूषः । वेष-सद्भाव-अभावयोः । च । यथा । पुमान् ॥२१॥
upādhināśād brahmaiva sad brahmāpyeti nirdvayam | śailūṣo veṣasadbhāvābhāvayoś ca yathā pumān ||21||
जब उपाधि, यानी जो चीज़ें हमे लिमिट करती हैं, वो सब टूट जाती हैं, तब सच में बस ब्रह्मा बचता है। ब्रह्मा को जाननेवाला ब्रह्मा में मिल जाता है, कोई दूसरा नहीं। जैसे ऐक्टर का कपड़ा पहना या उतारना, वो ऐक्टर वही रहता है। कपड़े से उसका काम बदल जाता है, लेकिन वो खुद नहीं बदलता।
By the destruction of limiting adjuncts (upādhis), the real (sat) is Brahman alone; (the knower) attains Brahman—non-dual—just as a man who is an actor (is the same) in the presence or absence of costume.
- उपाधिनाशाद् → उपाधि-नाशात् (समास; द् = त् before pause)
- ब्रह्मैव → ब्रह्म + एव
- ब्रह्माप्येति → ब्रह्म + अपि + एति
- वेषसद्भावाभावयोश्च → वेष-सद्भाव-अभावयोः + च (योः + च → योश्च)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Upādhi-nāśa (negation of limiting adjuncts) and non-duality (advaita)
- The mahavakyas
- Supports ‘अहं ब्रह्मास्मि’ (Aham brahmāsmi) by removing upādhis that obscure identity with Brahman.
- Veda
- Atharva Veda
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (śloka)
Yoga and practice
Neti-neti contemplation; disidentification from body–mind roles; meditation on the witness (sākṣin) as unchanged amid changing ‘costumes’ of states and identities.
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