Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 7.13
॥
Devanāgarī
देहे स्वात्ममतिं विद्वान्समाकृष्य समाहितः । आत्मनात्मनि निर्द्वन्द्वे निर्विकल्पे निरोधयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
dehe svātmamatiṃ vidvānsamākṛṣya samāhitaḥ | ātmanātmani nirdvandve nirvikalpe nirodhayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
देहे स्व-आत्म-मतिं विद्वान्dehe sva-ātma-matiṃ vidvānhaving drawn away the notion of one's own self
समाकृष्य समाहितःsamākṛṣya samāhitaḥfrom the body, the knowing one, concentrated
आत्मना आत्मनि निर्द्वन्द्वेātmanā ātmani nirdvandveby the self, in the self, free of duality
निर्विकल्पे निरोधयेत्nirvikalpe nirodhayetfree of differentiation, let him hold
Translation
"Having drawn away the notion of his own self from the body, the knowing one, concentrated, — by the self, in the self, free of duality and free of differentiation, let him hold."
Version
6d8aab5fbc3c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The goal of withdrawal of the senses is named, and it is expressed by the words nirdvandve nirvikalpe, "in that which is free of duality, free of differentiation." Nirvikalpa is an important word: vikalpa means "differentiation, division, the notion of something as this or that"; and nirvikalpa-samadhi, "concentration without differentiation," is held, in nondualist schools, to be the highest. Its opposite is savikalpa, "with differentiation," where a contemplator and the contemplated remain.
It is worth saying how the Vaishnava side relates to this, for here it does not reject, but rearranges. It acknowledges both states and does not dispute that they occur. The dispute is over which of them is higher.
Its position is this: the state without differentiation is peace, and this peace is real; but it is the limit of the negative path — of what is attained by removal. Everything is removed, nothing remains, and hence it is quiet. And the state with differentiation, where He remains and I remain, is the limit of the positive path; and it is higher not because it is quieter, but because there is something there, not merely an absence of disturbance.
The argument it uses to support this is the same one cited when reading the sixth khanda (6.47): the Bhagavatam says devotees do not take ekatva, "oneness," even when it is offered (3.29.13). Worth noting is that the offer there comes from Him Himself. That is, it is not said this does not happen or is unattainable; it is said it is declined — and only something real can be declined.