यो वै भूमा तत्सुखं नाल्पे सुखमस्ति । भूमैव सुखं भूमा त्वेव विजिज्ञासितव्य इति भूमानं भगवो विजिज्ञास इति ॥
yo vai bhūmā tat sukhaṁ, nālpe sukham asti | bhūmaiva sukhaṁ, bhūmā tv eva vijijñāsitavya iti bhūmānaṁ bhagavo vijijñāsa iti ||
(Chāndogya Upaniṣad: 7.23.1)
[Sanat Kumāra]: “That which is infinite is happiness. There is no happiness in the finite [i.e., the minute, alt., the trifling]. Only the infinite is happiness. Indeed the infinite should be desired to be known in detail.”
[Nārada:] “O venerable one, I desire to know the infinite in detail.”
Commentary
yo vai bhūmā mahan niratiśayaṁ bahviti paryāyās tat sukham | tato’rvāk sātiśayatvād alpam | atas tasminn alpe sukhaṁ nāsti, alpasyādhika-tṛṣṇā-hetutvāt | tṛṣṇā ca duḥkha-bījam | na hi duḥkha-bījaṁ sukhaṁ dṛṣṭaṁ jvarādi loke | tasmād yuktaṁ nālpe sukham astīti | ato bhūmaiva sukham | tṛṣṇādi-duḥkha-bījatvāsambhavād bhūmnaḥ |
(Ṭīkā of Śaṅkarācārya)
“That which is infinite, synonyms [for ‘infinite’] being vast, unsurpassed, and great, is happiness. That which is distinct from this, because it is surpassed at some point, is finite. Therefore, there is no happiness in that, the finite, because the finite is a cause of additional desire. Desire is a cause [lit., seed,] of suffering. A cause of suffering is not seen to be happiness, as in the case of fever and so forth in the world. Therefore, it is proper to say that there is no happiness in the finite. Thus, happiness is only in the infinite. Because causes of suffering beginning with desire are impossible [within it], it is infinite.”