स य एषोऽणिमैतदात्म्यमिदं सर्वं तत्सत्यं स आत्मा तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो इति भूय एव मा भगवान्विज्ञापयत्विति तथा सोम्येति होवाच ॥
sa ya eṣo’ṇimaitadātmyam idaṁ sarvaṁ tat satyaṁ sa ātmā tat tvam asi śvetaketo … |
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 6.8.7)
“That which is this minuteness (aṇimā) [i.e., that which is the subtle basis of perceptible world]—this whole [perceptible world] is possessed of the nature of this [i.e., of this subtle-most existence]. That [i.e., that subtle-most existence which is the source of everything] is being (satya). That is the Self (Ātmā). You are that, O Śvetaketu.”
Commentary
मद्रूपमद्वयं ब्रह्म मध्याद्यन्तविवर्जितम् । स्वप्रभं सच्चिदानन्दं भक्त्या जानाति चाव्ययम् ॥ इति वासुदेवोपनिषदि ।एवम् ‘तत्त्वमसि’ इत्यादिशास्त्रमपि तत्प्रेमपरमेव ज्ञेयम् । त्वमेवामुक इतिवत् । किं च, लोकव्यवहारोऽपि तत्पर एव दृश्यते ।सर्वे हि प्राणिनः प्रीतितात्पर्यका एव, तदर्थमात्मव्ययादेरपि दर्शनात् । किन्तु योग्यविषयमलब्ध्वा, तैस्तत्र तत्र सा परिवर्ज्यते । अतः सर्वैरेव योग्यतद्विषयेऽन्वेष्टुमिष्टे सति, श्रीभगवत्येव तस्याः पर्यवसानं स्यादिति । तदेवं भगवत्प्रीतेरेव परमपुरुषार्थत्वे समर्थिते साधूक्तं ‘अथ प्रीतिसन्दर्भो लेख्य’ इत्यादि ।
mad-rūpam advayaṁ brahma madhyādy-anta-vivarjitam | sva-prabhaṁ sac-cid-ānandaṁ bhaktyā jānāti cāvyayam || iti vāsudevopaniṣadi |evam ‘tat tvam asi’ ity-ādi-śāstram api tat-prema-param eva jñeyam | tvam evāmuka itivat | kiṁ ca, loka-vyavahāro’pi tat-para eva dṛśyate | sarve hi prāṇinaḥ prīti-tātparyakā eva, tad-artham ātma-vyayāder api darśanāt | kintu yogya-viṣayam alabdhvā, tais tatra tatra sā parivarjyate | ataḥ sarvair eva yogya-tad-viṣaye’nveṣṭum iṣṭe sati, śrī-bhagavaty eva tasyāḥ paryavasānaṁ syād iti | tad evaṁ bhagavat-prīter eva parama-puruṣārthatve samarthite sādhūktaṁ ‘atha prīti-sandarbho lekhya’ ity-ādi |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)
“In Vāsudeva Upaniṣad (29) [it is said]:
‘By means of bhakti [i.e., prīti], one perceives my form [i.e., Bhagavān’s nature] as nondual (advayam), absolute (brahman), devoid of beginning, middle, and end, self-luminous, imperishable, and possessed of [true, eternal] being, consciousness, and bliss.’
“Thus, even [statements in] śāstra such as, ‘You are that’ (Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 6.8.7) are to be understood as focused only on prema for him [i.e., for Bhagavān], as in [statements like], ‘You are so and so [i.e., the statement ‘You are that’ in Chāndogya Upaniṣad should be understood to be similar to a statement wherein one is described as being equal to an object because one holds that object to be extremely dear]. Moreover, even the behavior in the world is seen to be focused only on that [i.e., upon prema, syn., prīti], since all living beings are [understood to be] intent upon prīti alone on account of observation of [their] even expending the self [i.e., their giving up their own life, meaning, their own body] and so forth for the sake of that. But not finding a worthy object [of prīti], that [i.e., prīti] is [eventually] withdrawn by them from here and there [i.e., from wherever it has been invested]. Then, since it is desired by all to find a suitable object of that [i.e., of prīti], its fixation [i.e., its ultimately becoming fixed upon a suitable object] shall occur in Śrī Bhagavān alone. Therefore, in this way, with only prīti for Bhagavān established as the supreme puruṣārtha, it was rightly stated [earlier at the beginning of this treatise (sandarbha)], ‘Now, Prīti Sandarbha is to be written.’”