Upanishads · Varāha 2.70
॥
Devanāgarī
ब्रह्मत्वे योजिते स्वामिञ्जीवभावो न गच्छति । अद्वैते बोधिते तत्त्वे वासना विनिवर्तते
Transliteration (IAST)
brahmatve yojite svāmiñjīvabhāvo na gacchati | advaite bodhite tattve vāsanā vinivartate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ब्रह्मत्वे योजिते स्वामिन्brahmatve yojite svāminwhen [one is] joined to brahman-being, O lord
जीव-भावः न गच्छतिjīva-bhāvaḥ na gacchatithe living-being state does not depart
अ-द्वैते बोधिते तत्त्वेa-dvaite bodhite tattvewhen the nondual truth is taught
वासना विनिवर्ततेvāsanā vinivartatethe ingrained tendency departs
Translation
"When [one is] joined to brahman-being, O lord, the living-being state does not depart; when the nondual truth is taught, the ingrained tendency departs."
Version
92c980915411 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is remarkable for acknowledging a difficulty the others pass over in silence: jiva-bhavo na gachchhati, "the living-being state does not depart." That is, a person has been taught that he is brahman — and remains the same. This admission is, in my view, the most honest passage in the whole chapter, and deserves appraisal.
We noted this difficulty when reading the Jabala-darshana (6.50), where the Gita's verse on jnanino nitya-vairina, "the eternal enemy of the knowing" (3.39), was cited: even the knowing one has an enemy knowledge has not overcome. Here the same is said directly, and, moreover, with the address svamin, "O lord"; that is, the questioner complains. The answer the verse gives deserves examination: vasana vinivartate, "the ingrained tendency departs."
The word vasana, "tendency, imprint," was examined when reading the Yajnavalkya (12); and it was said there that a tendency is displaced by another tendency, not by prohibition. That is, the book's answer is this: what is taught does not cancel the state at once, but wears away the tendency; and the change proceeds slowly. The answer is correct, and the Vaishnava side accepts it; it only adds by what exactly the tendency is displaced.
Not by reflection, for reflection is the same mind; but by deed: hearing, singing, service. And of the fact that its ladder places anartha-nivritti as the third rung, arriving through the course of service, discussed when reading the Yajnavalkya (12).