मुखवत्स्थित आत्मान्योऽविविक्तौ तौ तथैव च । संसारी च स इत्येक आभासो यस्त्वहंकृति ॥
mukhavatsthita ātmānyo'viviktau tau tathaiva ca | saṃsārī ca sa ityeka ābhāso yastvahaṃkṛti ||
The Self stands apart like the face; and in the same way the two are not discriminated. Some say: the reflection in the ego is the one who transmigrates.
आत्मा मुख के समान अलग स्थित है; और उसी प्रकार दोनों का विवेक नहीं होता। कुछ कहते हैं: अहंकार में जो आभास है, वही संसारी है।
Meaning today and contextआज के लिए अर्थ और संदर्भ
The trouble is not that the Self is mixed with the mind, but that we do not tell them apart. The verse also opens a debate on who it is that wanders in samsara.
समस्या यह नहीं कि आत्मा मन में मिल गई है, बल्कि यह कि हम दोनों में भेद नहीं करते। श्लोक यह चर्चा भी खोलता है कि संसार में भटकता कौन है।
Shankaracharya develops the analogy of a face and its reflection in a mirror to explain the relation of the Self, the ego and the 'reflection' of consciousness. He states that the Self stands apart like the face, yet the two are not told apart; and he introduces a view held by some, that the reflection in the ego is what transmigrates.