THE WORKS OF SANKARA

VIVEKA CHUDAMANI

SLOKAS 151 TO 160

 
p·anam¢p    kaESanampvadE    ¢vBaÏyy|    S¤Ñ¯D:    ,
¢nÏyanÓdWkrs:    p#Ïyg#¥p:    pr:    Þvy|ÇyaE¢t:    ,   151   ,  
p·anam¢p   when all the five
kaESanampvadE   sheaths have been eliminated
¢vBaÏyy|   the Self of man appears
S¤Ñ¯D:   pure
¢nÏyanÓdWkrs:   of the essence of everlasting and unalloyed bliss
p#Ïyg#¥p:   indwelling
pr:   supreme
Þvy|ÇyaE¢t:   and self-effulgent.
 
151.  Take the five sheaths away, the Atman manifests itself,pure,eternal,blissful,unchangeable and luminous.
AaÏmanaÏm¢vvEk:    ktIÛyaE    bÓDm¤³yE    ¢vѤxa    ,
tEnWvanÓd£    Bv¢t    Þv|    ¢våOay    s¢ÅcdanÓdm¯    ,   152   ,  
AaÏmanaÏm¢vvEk:   should descriminate between the Self and the nonSelf
ktIÛy:   by that alone
bÓDm¤³yE   to remove his bondage
¢vѤxa   the wise man
tEnWvanÓd£   and becomes happy
Bv¢t   comes
Þv|   he
¢våOay   to know
s¢ÅcdanÓdm¯   his own Self as ExistenceKnowledge
 
152.  Discrimination between the self and the non-self is, therefore,the way to freedom; this alone will help to recognise one's own self and attain its knowledge and bliss.
m¤¸a¢dx£ka¢mv    èÜyvgaIt¯
p#Ïy·maÏmanmsÄñm¢@ym¯    ,
¢v¢vÅy    tæO    p#¢vlaÔy    svI||
tdaÏmna    ¢t¾¢t    y:    s    m¤³:    ,   153   ,  
m¤¸a¢dx£ka¢mv   a stalk of grass from its enveloping sheath
èÜyvgaIt¯   who discriminates between all senseobjects
p#Ïy·maÏmanmsÄñm¢@ym¯    and the indwelling,unattached and inactive Self
¢v¢vÅy   as one separates
tæO   in It
p#¢vlaÔy   and merging
svI||   everything
tdaÏmna   in a state of identity
¢t¾¢t   remains
y:   s:  m¤³:    He indeed is free.
 
153.   The seer and the seen must be separated, as the blade of grass is separated from its sheath, to be able to see and dwell in that Atman, in freedom.
dEhaE{ym°BvnaE{°myÞt¤    kaES
àa°En    j£v¢t    ¢vnÜy¢t    t¢¹h£n:    ,
ÏvkqcmIma|sâ¢Dra¢ÞTp¤r£xra¢S
naIy|    Þvy|    B¢vt¤mhI¢t    ¢nÏyS¤Ñ¯D:    ,   154   ,  
dEhaE{ym°BvnaE{°myÞt¤   this body of ours is the
kaES:   product of
c A°En   food
j£v¢t   and comprises and lives on food
¢vnÜy¢t   and dies
t¢¹h£n:   without it
ÏvkqcmIma|sâ¢Dra¢ÞTp¤r£xra¢S:    it is a mass of skin, flesh, blood, bones and filth
nay|   this alone
Þvy|   self-existent Atman
B¢vt¤mhI¢t   can never be
¢nÏyS¤Ñ¯D:   the eternally pure
 
154.  The body is the first sheath; as it lives by food and dies without it, it is called the food sheath or Annamaya Kosa. The body is composed of many things such as skin,bone, flesh etc and is ever-changing.It cannot be the Atman which is an unchanging one without a second.  
p¥vI||    jnEr¢Dm¦tEr¢p    naym¢Þt
jatXN:    XNg¤NaE{¢nytÞvBav:    ,
nWkaE    jfà    GzvÏp¢rèÜyman:
ÞvaÏma    kT|    Bv¢t    Bav¢vkarvEäOa    ,   155   ,  
p¥vI||   prior to
jnEr¢Dm¦tEr¢p   inception or posterior to dissolution
naym¢Þt   it does not exist
jatXN:   but lasts only
XNg¤NaE{¢nytÞvBav:   for a short( intervening) period
nWkaE   and it is changeful by nature
jfà   slow
GzvÏp¢rèÜyman:   is seen like a jar
ÞvaÏma   one's own self
kT|   how can it
Bv¢t   be
Bav¢vkarvEäOa   the Witness of changes in all things?
 
155.  It is insentient, and is an object of the senses, and hence cannot be their enjoyer, like the Atman which is the enjoyer of all change.  
pa¢Npada¢dmaÓdEhaE    naÏma    ÛyÄñE{¢p    j£vnat¯    ,
täOÅC³ErnaSaÅc    n    ¢nyØyaE    ¢nyamk:    ,   156   ,  
pa¢Npada¢dmaÓdEh:  naÏma   the body,consisting of arms, legs, etc.,
ÛyÄñE{¢p   when particular limbs are gone
j£vnat¯   for one continues to live
täOÅC³ErnaSaÅc   and the different functions of the organism
n   ¢nyØyaE   also remains intact.
¢nyamk:   is the Ruler of all
 
156.   The body is physical, while the Atman is spirit. The body lives and dies, but the Atman lives eternally. The body can be controlled but the Atman is the controller.  
dEhtѯDmItÏkmItdvÞTa¢dsa¢XN:    ,
st    ev    Þvt:    ¢sѯD|    t¹WlXÎymaÏmn:    ,   157   ,  
dEhtѯDmItÏkmItdvÞTa¢dsa¢XN:    from the body, its characteristics, its activities, its states,etc.,
st   ev   of which
Þvt:   is different
¢sÑG|   as the abiding Reality
t¹WlXÎymaÏmn:   That the Atman, is selfevident.
 
157.The body has attributes and actions; the Atman has none; the Atman is witness of everything, the body of nothing.
 
SÚyra¢SmaIs¢lçOaE    mlp¥Na©I{¢tkÜml:.
kT|    BvEdy|    vEäOa    ÞvymEt¢¹lXN:    ,   158   ,  
SÚyra¢SmaIs¢lçO:   being a pack of bones, covered with flesh
mlp¥Na©I{¢tkÜml:   full of filth and highly impure
kT|   how can
BvEdy|   the body
vEäOa   be the selfexistent Atman, the Knower
ÞvymEt¢¹lXN:   which is ever distinct from it ?
 
158.  Food is the cause of life of the body; the Atman has no cause and is self-existent. How can this collection of blood, bones, flesh etc, be the knower of bliss? The Self is separate from it.
ÏvHqma|smEdaE{¢ÞTp¤r£xraSa
vh|m¢t|    m¥Fjn:    kraE¢t    ,
¢vlXN|    vE¢äO    ¢vcarS£laE
¢njÞvãp|    prmaTIB¥tm¯    ,   159   ,  
ÏvHqma|smEdaE{¢ÞTp¤r£xraSa    who identifies himself with a mass of skin, flesh, fat, bones and filth
vh|m¢t|   knows his own Self
m¥Fjn:   It is the foolish man
kraE¢t   does
¢vlXN|   as distinct
vE¢äO   realizes
¢vcarS£laE   while the man of discrimination
¢njÞvãp|   the only Reality
prmaTIB¥tm¯   that there is, from the body.
 
159.  He who refers to this collection of bones and flesh when saying `I am' is a fool.  
dEhaE{h¢mÏyEv    jfÞy    b¤¢Ñ¯Drq
dEhE    c    j£vE    ¢vѤxÞÏvh|D£:    ,
¢vvEk¢våOanvtaE    mhaÏmnaE
b#'ah¢mÏyEv    m¢t:    sdaÏm¢n    ,   160   ,  
dEhaE{h¢mÏyEv   thinks he is the body
jfÞy   the stupid man
b¤¢Ñ¯D:   buddhi
dEhE   c   with the mixture of body
j£vE   and soul
¢vѤxÞÏvh|D£:    the booklearned man identifies himself
¢vvEk¢våOanvtaE   possessed of realization due to discrimination
mhaÏmnaE   the sage
b#'ah¢mÏyEv   and thinks, " I am Brahman"
m¢t:   buddhi
sdaÏm¢n   the eternal Atman as his Self.
 
160.  The fool thinks he is the body; the intellectual thinks he is the jiva (individual soul), but the sage who is full of knowledgeand discrimination knows that he is always the Atman.  
PROCEED TO SLOKAS 161 TO 170 -
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