Upanishads · Mahā 5.99
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा सौक्ष्म्याच्चिदाभास्य आकाशो नोपलक्ष्यते तथा निरंशश्चिद्भावः सर्वगोऽपि न लक्ष्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
yathā saukṣmyāccidābhāsya ākāśo nopalakṣyate tathā niraṃśaścidbhāvaḥ sarvago'pi na lakṣyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यथा सौक्ष्म्यात् चित्-आभास्यःyathā saukṣmyāt cit-ābhāsyaḥas, through subtlety, though lit by consciousness; as, by reason of its fineness, though illumined by awareness
आकाशः न उपलक्ष्यतेākāśaḥ na upalakṣyatespace is not remarked; the expanse goes unnoticed
तथा निरंशः चित्-भावःtathā niraṃśaḥ cit-bhāvaḥso the partless being of consciousness; thus the undivided existence of awareness
सर्व-गः अपि न लक्ष्यतेsarva-gaḥ api na lakṣyatethough omnipresent, is not remarked; although all-pervading, goes unmarked
Translation
“As space, through its subtlety, though lit by consciousness, is not remarked — so the partless being of consciousness, though omnipresent, is not remarked.”
Version
1f78d22a6593 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with space, and it explains the chief strangeness of our situation.
Space is everywhere. We live in it every second. And we do not see it — not because it is hidden, but because it resembles nothing and differs from nothing.
Objects are seen; the space between them is no object.
So with consciousness. We use it without pause and do not notice it — for the very same reason.
Note the word niraṃśa — “partless, undivided”. What can be noticed has an edge; the undivided has no edge.
This explains why the search for the Ātman is so hard, and why it is not a search in the usual sense. One searches among objects; the sought is no object.
Recall 4.79: the sun shines, the trouble is in the eye. Here it is otherwise: the trouble is not in the eye, but in the very constitution of seeing.