किं सदेवाहमस्मीति किं वान्यत्प्रतिपद्यते । सदेव चेदहंशब्दः सता मुख्यार्थ इष्यताम् ॥
kiṃ sadevāhamasmīti kiṃ vānyatpratipadyate | sadeva cedahaṃśabdaḥ satā mukhyārtha iṣyatām ||
Does one understand 'I am Being itself', or does one understand something else? If Being itself, then let the word 'I' be accepted as having Being for its primary meaning.
क्या व्यक्ति 'मैं सत् ही हूँ' ऐसा समझता है, या कुछ और? यदि सत् ही, तो 'मैं' शब्द का मुख्य अर्थ सत् ही माना जाए।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
When you say 'I', the deepest thing it can mean is simply 'what is', existence itself, not a particular body or story.
जब आप 'मैं' कहते हैं, तो उसका सबसे गहरा अर्थ केवल 'जो है', स्वयं अस्तित्व, हो सकता है, न कि कोई ख़ास शरीर या कहानी।
Shankaracharya poses a dilemma about what one grasps when one understands 'I am Being': either Being itself, or something else.