Shloka 54
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
अक्षर: क्षरमात्मानमबुद्धिस्त्वभिमन्यते
akṣaraḥ kṣaram ātmānam abuddhis tv abhimanyate |
婆悉吒说道：不坏之我（akṣara）被无分别的知见误认作可坏之我（kṣara）。纵未修苦行，亦自以为苦行者；纵未往来于途，亦自以为行者与旅人。虽离世缠而自谓世俗；虽本无畏而自生恐惧。是故，虽为不坏之“阿克沙罗”，却认作可毁之“克沙罗”；虽超越思量之境，仍自矜其智——此乃由迷妄于自我而生的伦理之失。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Misidentification is the root ethical and spiritual error: the imperishable Self is wrongly taken as perishable, leading to false self-images (ascetic, traveler, worldly, fearful) and pride in intellect even when the Self transcends intellect.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vasiṣṭha explains how delusion (abuddhi) makes one superimpose changing attributes onto the Self, producing contradictory self-conceptions and bondage in saṃsāra.