Shloka 9
Yājñavalkya on the Unity of Sāṃkhya and Yoga and the Marks of Meditative Composure
पजञ्चविंशो महानात्मा तस्यैवाप्रतिबोधनात् | विमलस्य विशुद्धस्य शुद्धाशुद्धनिषेवणात्
pañcaviṁśo mahānātmā tasyaivāpratibodhanāt | vimalasya viśuddhasya śuddhāśuddhaniṣevaṇāt ||
婆悉吒说道：“第二十五谛——大我——其自性本无垢染，圆满清净。然而由于不识此真，并因与清净与不净之境相交、沉溺其间，那本来无染无著之我，便显现得仿佛与清与不清同类。噫，大地之主！与无分别者为伍，即使具分别慧者，亦会趋于无分别。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self (Puruṣa), though intrinsically pure and unattached, seems to take on impurity or purity due to ignorance (non-recognition) and due to association/indulgence in mixed influences; therefore one should cultivate discernment and avoid the company and habits that erode it.
Vasiṣṭha instructs a king (addressed as ‘lord of the earth’) in a philosophical-ethical discourse: he identifies the ‘twenty-fifth principle’ as the pure Self and explains how ignorance and association with pure/impure objects makes it appear otherwise, concluding with a practical warning about the corrupting power of bad company.