Upanishads · Varāha 2.18
॥
Devanāgarī
सर्वगं सच्चिदात्मानं ज्ञानचक्षुर्निरीक्षते । अज्ञानचक्षुर्नेक्षेत भास्वन्तं भानुमन्धवत्
Transliteration (IAST)
sarvagaṃ saccidātmānaṃ jñānacakṣurnirīkṣate | ajñānacakṣurnekṣeta bhāsvantaṃ bhānumandhavat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सर्व-गं सत्-चित्-आत्मानंsarva-gaṃ sat-cit-ātmānaṃthe all-pervading, being, conscious self
ज्ञान-चक्षुः निरीक्षतेjñāna-cakṣuḥ nirīkṣatethe eye of knowledge sees
अ-ज्ञान-चक्षुः न ईक्षेतa-jñāna-cakṣuḥ na īkṣetathe eye of ignorance will not see it
भास्वन्तं भानुम् अन्ध-वत्bhāsvantaṃ bhānum andha-vatshining sun, as a blind man [will not see it]
Translation
"The eye of knowledge sees the all-pervading, being, conscious self; the eye of ignorance will not see it, as a blind man will not see the shining sun."
Version
f9c8a81da25f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with the blind man and the sun is given, and it deserves examination, for it is more precise than many others. A blind man does not see the sun not because the sun is absent, and not because it is hidden: it shines on all and is in plain view. The cause is in the organ.
We examined this comparison when reading the Mahavakya (p13), where it was said the highest place is called manifest, and the difficulty lies in the one looking. Let us add the phrase jnana-chakshus, "the eye of knowledge." This phrase is in the Gita too, and deserves citing, for there it comes with a qualification absent here.
The Gita: "they do not see Him with the eye, nor by austerity, nor by sacrifice... by the eye of knowledge yogis, striving, see Him, [seeing themselves] established" (15.10–11). And right there it adds: yatanto'py akritatmanah, nainam pashyanty achetasah, "but the unwise, though striving, do not see Him."
Worth noting is this addition. It is said: striving — and still they do not see. That is, the eye of knowledge is not opened by effort; and hence the comparison with the blind man must be thought through further: it will not help the blind man to try very hard to look.
Hence the Vaishnava side insists on what was discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (4.62): what decides is not striving, but that He vivrinute tanum svam, "reveals His own form."