यदि नाम न मुक्तोऽसि न बद्धोऽसि कदाचन । साकारं च निराकारमात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ॥
yadi nāma na mukto'si na baddho'si kadācana | sākāraṃ ca nirākāramātmānaṃ manyase katham ||
If indeed you are not freed, because you were never bound, how can you think of the Self as having form or as formless?
यदि सचमुच तुम मुक्त नहीं हुए, क्योंकि कभी बँधे ही नहीं थे, तो आत्मा को साकार या निराकार कैसे मान सकते हो?
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
Endless questions about whether God or the Self has form can become a way of staying in the head. The verse turns us from theory back to the one who is asking.
ईश्वर या आत्मा साकार है या निराकार, ये अंतहीन प्रश्न दिमाग में ही उलझे रहने का तरीका बन सकते हैं। यह श्लोक सिद्धांत से हटाकर प्रश्न पूछने वाले की ओर लौटाता है।
Dattatreya asks the listener: if you were never bound and so never needed freeing, how can you think of the Self as having form or as formless?