Upanishads · Bhāvanā p46
॥
Devanāgarī
आदिमतेनान्तश्चक्रभावनाः । तस्य देवतात्मैक्यसिद्धिः
Transliteration (IAST)
ādimatenāntaścakrabhāvanāḥ | tasya devatātmaikyasiddhiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आदि-मतेन अन्तः-चक्र-भावनाःādi-matena antaḥ-cakra-bhāvanāḥaccording to the first teaching — representations of the inner diagram
तस्य देवता-आत्म-ऐक्य-सिद्धिःtasya devatā-ātma-aikya-siddhiḥone has the attainment of unity of deity and self
Translation
According to the first teaching — representations of the inner diagram; one has, from this, the attainment of unity of deity and self.
Version
2704063a6035 · published Aug 6, 2026, 6:48:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The goal for whose sake the whole book was written is named: devatā-ātma-aikya-siddhi, "the attainment of unity of deity and self." Here one must say plainly where the divergence lies, for until now we have examined particulars, and this is the essence. If the goal is unity with the deity, then everything described in the book is consistent: the services are turned upon oneself, invocation is one's own readiness, prostration is a state, not a movement toward another. She cannot be reproached for this — she does what she promised.
The Vaiṣṇava objection is not that unity is unattainable, but that it is not what a person actually wants. A person wants not to cease existing, but to cease being alone; and everything he does — bowing, offering, calling by name — speaks precisely of this. Unity in which there is no one to bow to and no one to speak with is a solution to the problem by its abolition: the lonely one is relieved of loneliness by canceling himself.
Hence the Vaiṣṇava side holds to sāmya — likeness of nature — rather than identity of person. The Gītā promises mama sādharmyam, "oneness of nature with Me" (14.2), and sālokya, "dwelling in one world"; and all these words mean closeness, not merging. The difference between "I am He" and "I am beside Him" is, in essence, the whole difference between the two teachings; and it is resolved not by arguments, but by what a person wants, when he is honest.