नान्यदन्यद्भवेद्यस्मान्नान्यत्किंचिद्विचिन्तयेत् । अन्यस्यान्यत्वभावे हि नाशस्तस्य ध्रुवो भवेत् ॥
nānyadanyadbhavedyasmānnānyatkiṃcidvicintayet | anyasyānyatvabhāve hi nāśastasya dhruvo bhavet ||
Since one thing can never become another, one should not think of anything else [as oneself]. For if something were to become something else, its destruction would be certain.
क्योंकि एक वस्तु कभी दूसरी नहीं बन सकती, इसलिए किसी अन्य वस्तु को [अपना आप] नहीं सोचना चाहिए। यदि कोई वस्तु कुछ और बन जाए, तो उसका नाश निश्चित है।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
What you truly are cannot be changed into your job, your failure or your mood; if it could, it would not be you. So stop thinking of yourself as those passing things.
आप जो सचमुच हैं, वह आपकी नौकरी, आपकी असफलता या आपके मूड में बदल नहीं सकता; अगर बदल सकता, तो वह आप नहीं होते। इसलिए इन बदलती चीज़ों को अपना आप मानना छोड़िए।
Shankaracharya opens chapter 15, 'One thing cannot become another': the Self cannot turn into anything else, so the seeker should not think of anything else as being himself.