Prose-section 60
In plain words
‘The renunciant who has come to freedom beyond the body and abides as undivided Brahman, pure being, is never born again. In the fire of knowing the Self and the supreme as one, everything from ignorance down to the body has been burnt, and he remains as Brahman alone; how could there be another birth for him? The false snake’s appearing and vanishing do not really happen in the rope. In the same way, in the Self that is awareness alone, imperishable, eternal, untouched and non-dual, all that is called “is” or “is not” belongs to the mind and is not there in truth. So the bondage and liberation that māyā makes, which the mind imagines and fools pile on for nothing, do not exist at all; it is as if a man who did not know that a cloud had covered his own eyes blamed the sun for being covered. Since there is nothing other than Brahman, one cannot say that there was bondage by veiling and liberation by its removal. To say so would break non-duality and set up the look of duality, and the Vedas do not accept that. In that Brahman, utterly at peace, without a second, without parts, stainless, actionless, pure and full like space, where could imagining be? Scripture declares: “There is no birth and no death, no one bound and no one striving, no one seeking freedom and no one freed. This is the final truth.” ‘My disciple, I have told you this, the settled end of all Vedānta, the secret of secrets. You too should teach it, after testing him many times, to a seeker of freedom who has turned from desire and is free of the faults of this age.’
Word for word
‘The renunciant who has attained bodiless freedom, established as indivisible Brahman, existence alone, is never born again. Through the fire of knowledge of the identity of Self and the supreme, adjuncts from ignorance to body are burnt. How can rebirth occur for one remaining as Brahman alone? ‘The unreal snake’s appearance and destruction do not truly occur in the rope. Similarly, in the indestructible, eternal, unattached, non-dual reality of the consciousness-Self alone, all assertions of existence or absence belong to intellect and are not there in reality. Bondage and liberation, fabricated by māyā, imagined by intellect and vainly superimposed by the ignorant, do not exist at all. They are like an obstruction attributed to the sun by someone who does not understand that a cloud has obstructed his own sight. ‘Since nothing exists apart from Brahman, one cannot ultimately speak of bondage through veiling and liberation through destruction of veiling. Saying so would impair non-duality and establish the appearance of duality; this is unacceptable to the Vedas. Where can imagining exist in that supremely peaceful Brahman without a second, partless, pure, actionless, stainless and complete like space? Revelation too proclaims: “No origination; no destruction; no bound person; no practitioner; no seeker of liberation; no liberated one. This alone is the supreme truth.” ‘Disciple, I have disclosed to you this settled conclusion of all Vedānta, the most secret of secrets. You too should teach it after repeatedly examining a dispassionate seeker of liberation who is free of the faults of the age.’