p. 182
विनष्टिः’ इति ।बृहदारण्यके प्रमादाख्यस्याज्ञानस्य साक्षान्मृत्युत्वं दर्शितम्—‘मृत्युर्वै तमो ज्योतिरमृतम्’ इति ।यस्मात्प्रमाद एव साक्षात्सर्वानर्थबीजम्, तस्मान्न प्रमाद्येत चित्सदानन्दाद्वितीयब्रह्मभावेनावतिष्ठेत इत्यर्थः ।तथा चाज्ञानस्य बन्धहेतुत्वं विज्ञानस्य मोक्षहेतुत्वमुक्तं भगवता—‘अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः’ इति ।यस्मात्प्रमाद एव मृत्युः अप्रमादोऽमृतत्वम्, अत एव न कर्मसाध्यं नापि कर्मप्राप्यम्; नित्यसिद्धत्वात्, नित्यप्राप्तत्वाच्च ।तथा च श्रुतिः—‘एष नित्यो महिमा ब्राह्मणस्य न कर्मणा वर्धते नो कनीयान् ।तस्यैव स्यात्पदवित्तं विदित्वा न लिप्यते कर्मणा पापकेन’ इति ।तथा—‘तमेव विदित्वाति मृत्युमेति नान्यः पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय’ ‘तमेव धीरो विज्ञाय प्रज्ञां कुर्वीत ब्राह्मणः’ इति ज्ञानस्यैव मोक्षसाधनत्वं दर्शितम् ।तथा—‘न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मणा वा ।ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्वस्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः’ इति ।वक्ष्यति च भगवान् ज्ञानस्यैव मोक्षसाधनत्वम्—‘अन्तवन्तः क्षत्रिय ते जयन्ति लोकाञ्जनाः कर्मणा निर्मितेन’ इति, ‘एवं मृत्युं जायमानं विदित्वा ज्ञानेन तिष्ठन्न विभेति मृत्योः’ इति च ।तथा च मोक्षधर्मे—‘कर्मणा बध्यते जन्तुर्विद्यया
In plain words
Destruction: the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad explicitly demonstrates that ignorance in the form of heedlessness is death itself, declaring: 'Death is darkness; immortality is light.' Because heedlessness is the direct seed of every evil, one must never be negligent, but must remain established in the non-dual reality of consciousness and bliss—this is the true import. The Lord likewise declared that ignorance causes bondage while realization brings liberation: 'Knowledge is veiled by ignorance; thereby creatures are deluded.' Since negligence is death and vigilance is immortality, liberation cannot be produced or attained by ritual action, for it is eternally existent and ever-attained. Scripture affirms this: 'This eternal glory of the knower of brahman neither grows nor diminishes through action. One should know this state; knowing it, one is never tainted by evil.' It also states: 'Knowing Him alone, one goes beyond death; there is no other path.' And 'Having known Him, the wise seeker should cultivate firm wisdom'—thus showing that knowledge alone is the means to freedom. Furthermore: 'He is not grasped by the eye, by speech, by celestial beings, by austerity, or by ritual work. But when the mind is purified by the clarity of knowledge, one beholds the partless Self in meditation.' The Lord will likewise declare that knowledge is the only path to liberation: 'Finite are the worlds won by constructed actions, O Kshatriya.' And: 'Knowing death as it continually arises, one who abides in knowledge fears death no more.' The Mokshadharma similarly proclaims: 'A creature is bound by action and set free by knowledge.'
Close to the Sanskrit
Destruction: in the Brihadaranyaka, ignorance named heedlessness is shown directly to be death—'Death is indeed darkness, while light is immortality.' Because heedlessness itself is directly the seed of all evils, therefore one should not be negligent; one should abide in the state of conscious, blissful, non-dual brahman—such is the meaning. And similarly, the Lord has stated that ignorance is the cause of bondage and realization is the cause of liberation—'Knowledge is covered by ignorance; by that creatures are deluded.' Since heedlessness is death and vigilance is immortality, therefore it is neither accomplished nor attained by action; because it is eternally existent and ever-attained. And similarly the scripture—'This eternal glory of the knower of brahman does not increase by action nor decrease; one should know this state; having known it, he is not tainted by sinful action.' And—'Having known Him alone, one transcends death; no other path exists for transit'; 'Having known Him alone, the wise seeker should cultivate deep wisdom'; thus the means to liberation is shown to be knowledge alone. And—'He is not grasped by the eye, nor by speech, nor by other deities, nor by austerity, nor by action; but through the grace of knowledge, with a purified mind, one beholds Him who is partless through meditation.' And the Lord will state that knowledge is the sole means to liberation—'Finite, O Kshatriya, are those worlds which people conquer by constructed action'; 'Thus knowing death as it arises, abiding in knowledge, one does not fear death.' And similarly in the Mokshadharma—'A creature is bound by action and liberated by knowledge.'