Bhāṣya 4

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Bhāṣya 4

अक्षरस्यैव दुर्लक्ष्यत्वात्पुन पुनर्वचन सुलक्षणार्थम् ।यस्मिन् अक्षरे पुरुषे द्यौ पृथिवी च अन्तरिक्ष च ओत समर्पित मनश्च सह प्राणै करणै अन्यै सर्वै, तमेव सर्वा-श्रयमेकमद्वितीय जानथ जानीत हे शिष्या ।आत्मान प्रत्यक्स्वरूप युष्माक सर्वप्राणिना च ज्ञात्वा च अन्यावाच अपरविद्यारूपा विमुञ्चथ विमुञ्चत परित्यजत ।तत्प्रकाशय च सर्व कर्म ससाधनम् ।यत अमृतस्य एषसेतु एतदात्मज्ञानममृतस्यामृतत्वस्य मोक्षस्य प्राप्तये सेतुरिवसेतु, ससारमहोदधेरुत्तरणहेतुत्वात्, तथा च श्रुत्यन्तरम्—'तमेव विदित्वाति मृत्युमेति नान्य पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय'इति ॥

In plain words

The Akṣara is hard to discern, so the teaching describes it again and again until its mark is clear. Heaven, earth, and the space between are woven into the Akṣara Puruṣa, as are Manas, every Prāṇa, and all the other faculties. Disciples, know this alone: the support of all, one without a second. Know it as Ātman, the inward Svarūpa—the true nature—of yourselves and every being. Then release the other words that belong to lower vidyā, together with all the karmas and ritual means those words disclose. Ātmajñāna, knowledge of Ātman, is the bridge to deathlessness and mokṣa because it carries one across the vast ocean of saṃsāra. As another Śruti declares, “Knowing him alone, one passes beyond death; there is no other path by which to go.”

Close to the Sanskrit

Because the Akṣara is difficult to discern, the statement is repeated again and again so that it may be clearly marked. In that Akṣara Puruṣa are woven—rest upon—heaven, earth, and the atmosphere, along with Manas, the Prāṇas, and all the other karaṇas. Know that one alone, the support of all, the one without a second, O disciples. Know it as Ātman, the inward Svarūpa of you and of all living beings; then cast off, abandon, the other words that take the form of lower vidyā, together with all the karma and means that those words reveal. For this Ātmajñāna is the bridge to amṛta, to immortality and mokṣa, because it carries one across the great ocean of saṃsāra. Another Śruti says the same: “Knowing him alone, one crosses beyond death; there is no other path for going there.”