Self Discovery. Sri Sankara Acarya
experience, upa√diś to point out, tat (tad) That, pada word, artha meaning.
3 This is ‘advaya anubhava’ in Sanskrit. Experience of the non-dual may seem self- contradictory, but the word for experience ‘anubhava’ literally means ‘being along with’. Hence this type of experience is not experience of something separate.
4 This is a reference to such expressions in the Upaniṣads as ‘You are That’ (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7) in which ‘That’ means the ultimate reality.
3
Scorched by the blaze of worldly illusion, the disciplined aspirant is enlightened by the teacher through words enabling discovery of one’s own Self 5.
saṃsāra worldly illusion, dāva conflagration, pāvaka fire, santapta scorched, sakala all, sādhanā spiritual practice, upeta endowed;
sva own, ātman Self, nirūpaṇa discovery, nipuṇa capable, vākya sentence, words, śiṣya disciple, pra√budh to enlighten, guru teacher.
5 The Sanskrit expression here gives the whole work its title ‘Svātmanirūpaṇam’. ‘Nirūpaṇa’ means ‘discovering, stating, determining, defining’, from the root ‘rūp’ with the prefix ‘ni’. ‘Rūp’ means ‘to form, figure, represent (especially on stage)’ and ‘ni-rūp’ to perform, indicate by gesture; to find out, discover, ascertain; to investigate, examine, search, consider, reflect upon.’
4
Who can doubt their own existence? 6 Even if you have such a doubt the doubter is really your Self.
asti there is, exists, svayam oneself, iti thus, asmin (idam) in this, artha matter,
kasya (ka) of which, asti, saṃśaya doubt, puṃs person;
atra here, api even, saṃśaya, cet if, saṃśayitṛ doubter,
yaḥ (yad) who, saḥ (tad) he, eva really, bhavasi you are, tvam You.
6 Śaṅkara here clearly distinguishes his teaching from doctrines which maintain that the Self does not exist. For Śaṅkara, the Self (ātman) and the Absolute (brahman), which are identical, are positive, and by nature being, consciousness and bliss (sat-citānanda). This topic is also discussed in Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.6.1.
5
One who thinks ‘I am not’ thinks that the Absolute does not in truth exist. Fully realising7 ‘I am’ one knows oneself as Absolute alone.
na not, aham (asmad) I, iti thus, √vid to think, to know, yaḥ (yad) who, asau (adas) that, satyam truly, brahman Absolute, eva verily, √vid, na, √as to be, iti;
aham, √as, iti, vi√jn͂ā to know fully, brahman, eva, asau, svayam oneself, vi√jñā.
7 The Sanskrit here is ‘vijānan’, the present participle of the root ‘jñā’, ‘to know’, with the prefix ‘vi’. ‘Vi’ here indicates thorough knowledge and experience in practice. The implication is that ‘I am’ is not fully realised if that awareness is attached to some activity.
6
You are Absolute. Therefore, the idea ‘I am not Absolute’ is only delusion. Through delusion there is division, wherein all difficulties8 have root.
brahman Absolute, tvam (yuṣmad) You, eva verily, tasmāt (tad) therefore, na not, aham (asmad) I, brahman, iti thus, moha delusion, mātra only, idam this;
moha, √bhū to be, bheda division, kleśa difficulty, sarva all, √bhū, tad that, mūla root.
8 The Sanskrit word here is ‘kleśa’, which can be translated as ‘pain, affliction, distress, anguish’. There are, according to the Yoga Sūtras (2.3), five difficulties, namely, ignorance (avidyā), ego (asmitā), attachment (rāga), aversion (dveṣa), and obsession (abhiniveśa).
THE FIVE VEILS
7
One who has removed9 the five veils does not experience difficulties. Therefore, the wise always detach from the five veils.
na not, kleśa difficulty, pan͂ca five, idam this, √bhaj to experience, kṛta made, developed, kośa veil, pan͂ca, viveka the faculty of distinguishing;
atas therefore, eva verily, pan͂ca, kośa, kuśala right, good, dhī understanding, santatam continuously, always, vi√ci to part, divide.
9 The Sanskrit here is ‘viveka’, derived from the root ‘vic’ with the prefix ‘vi’, meaning ‘to divide asunder, separate from’.
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