Shloka 58
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
क्षीणकोशो निरातड्कस्तथेदं प्राप्तुयात् परम्,जो तत्त्ववेत्ता अन्त समयमें इन तत्त्वोंका ज्ञान प्राप्त करके एकान्तमें बैठकर परमात्माका ध्यान करता है, वह आकाशमें विचरनेवाले वायुकी भाँति सब प्रकारकी आसक्तियोंसे छूटकर पञ्चकोशोंसे रहित, निर्भय तथा निराश्रय होकर मुक्त एवं परमात्माको प्राप्त हो जाता है
kṣīṇakośo nirātaṅkastathedaṃ prāptuyāt param | yo tattvavettā anta-samaye ime tattvān jñātvā ekānte niṣaṇṇaḥ paramātmano dhyānaṃ karoti sa ākāśaṃ vicarato vāyor iva sarva-saṅgān parityajya pañcakośa-rahito nirbhayo nirāśrayaś ca bhūtvā muktaḥ paramātmānaṃ prāpnoti ||
Vāyu-deva said: “He becomes one whose sheaths are exhausted and who is free from fear; thus he reaches the Supreme. The knower of reality, at the final hour, having gained true knowledge of these principles and sitting in solitude, meditates on the Supreme Self. Like the wind that moves through the sky, he slips free of every attachment; becoming devoid of the five sheaths, fearless and without dependence, he is liberated and attains the Supreme Self.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is attained by the knower of truth who, especially at life’s end, withdraws into solitude, meditates on the Supreme Self, and becomes free from all attachments—transcending the five sheaths, fear, and dependence.
Vāyu-deva is speaking as a spiritual instructor, describing the state and destiny of a realized person: through knowledge of tattvas and focused meditation, the seeker becomes unattached like the wind moving through space and reaches the Supreme Self.