Shloka 7
Cāturhotra as Inner Sacrifice (Yoga-Yajña) and Nārāyaṇa Recitation
स्वगुणं भक्षयन्त्येते गुणवन्त: शुभाशुभम् । अहं च निर्गुणो5नन्तः सप्तैते मोक्षहेतव:
svaguṇaṁ bhakṣayanty ete guṇavantaḥ śubhāśubham | ahaṁ ca nirguṇo 'nantaḥ saptaite mokṣa-hetavaḥ ||
Disse o brâmane: “Estas faculdades, por serem constituídas de qualidades (guṇas), ‘consomem’ as suas próprias qualidades—experimentando o auspicioso e o inauspicioso como objetos dos sentidos. Mas eu sou sem qualidades e infinito, sem relação com elas. Quando isto é compreendido corretamente, estes sete—começando pelo alento vital (prāṇa) e pelos sentidos—tornam-se causas que conduzem à libertação (moksha).”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the guṇa-bound faculties (prāṇa and senses), which undergo and ‘consume’ auspicious and inauspicious experiences, from the Self that is nirguṇa and infinite. Liberation arises when one knows the Self as unattached and not identical with these guṇa-driven processes; then the very same faculties become instruments supporting release rather than bondage.
A Brahmin speaker is instructing about inner constitution: the senses and vital functions naturally engage with their objects and generate mixed moral results, but the true ‘I’ is beyond these qualities. He frames this insight as a practical turning point—understanding the Self’s separateness converts the ‘seven’ (prāṇa and related faculties) into means toward mokṣa.