Upanishads · Bhāvanā p43
॥
Devanāgarī
सत्यमस्ति कर्तव्यमकर्तव्यमौदासीन्यनित्यात्मविलापनं होमः
Transliteration (IAST)
satyamasti kartavyamakartavyamaudāsīnyanityātmavilāpanaṃ homaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सत्यम् अस्ति कर्तव्यम् अ-कर्तव्यम्satyam asti kartavyam a-kartavyam"truly," "it exists," "should," "should not"
औदासीन्य-नित्य-आत्म-विलापनंaudāsīnya-nitya-ātma-vilāpanaṃdissolution, through detachment, into the eternal self
होमःhomaḥis the fire-offering
Translation
"Truly," "it exists," "should," "should not" — their dissolution, through detachment, into the eternal self — this is the fire-offering.
Version
b6976400986f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Homa, "the fire-offering," is reinterpreted as vilāpana, "dissolution": the wavering of the mind — is it true, does it exist, should it be — dissolves into the eternal self. The image here is precise, and it is worth acknowledging. What is placed in fire disappears; so here too: doubts are placed into a certain state, and cease to be.
The word audāsīnya, "detachment, indifference," however, is exactly what deserves close attention. It comes from udāsīna, "one sitting apart"; and it is offered as a means: stop taking this to heart, and the questions will fall away of themselves. This means works, and therein lies its danger. Indifference can extinguish not only anxiety over "should or should not," but the very distinction between the proper and the improper; and then a person becomes calm and useless.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds firmly to this distinction. The Gītā demands not indifference, but non-attachment to the fruit: "you have a right to the deed, never to its fruits" (2.47); and this is something entirely different. One not attached to the fruit does the deed, and does it well, for he is not distracted by counting; one who is indifferent does nothing.
It is worth adding that the word vilāpana is also two-faced. A doubt can be dissolved by resolving it, or by ceasing to feel it. The first requires an answer; the second only time.