Shloka 18
अव्यक्त–पुरुष–विवेकः (Discrimination of Avyakta/Prakṛti and Puruṣa) — Yājñavalkya’s Anvīkṣikī to Viśvāvasu
निर्$वाते हि यथा दीप्यन् दीपस्तद्वत् प्रकाशते । निर्लिड्रोडविचलश्नोर्ध्व न तिर्यग् गतिमाप्रुयात्
nirvāte hi yathā dīpyan dīpas tadvat prakāśate | nirlīḍo 'vicalaś cordhvaṁ na tiryag gatim āpnuyāt ||
Sinabi ni Vasiṣṭha: “Gaya ng ilaw na nakasindi sa lugar na walang hangin—na nagniningning nang matatag—gayon din ang Sarili na sumisiklab sa katahimikan. Hindi na ito kumakapit sa banayad na katawan (liṅga-śarīra) at nagiging di-makilos—walang hilig na umangat, lumubog, o lumihis sa gilid. Ang aral na etikal: ang tunay na kalayaan ay hindi bagong gawa sa daigdig, kundi ang paghinto ng panloob na pagyanig; kapag napatahimik ang pagnanasa at pagkabalisa, kusang lumilitaw ang linaw at sariling-liwanag.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that when the mind is free from disturbance (like a lamp in a windless place), the self’s clarity shines naturally. Liberation is marked by non-clinging to the subtle body and the ending of restless tendencies—no upward, downward, or sideways ‘movement’ of craving and fluctuation.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing on the state of inner steadiness associated with liberation. He uses the image of a steady lamp to describe a consciousness that has become unattached and motionless, no longer driven by subtle impulses or identifications.