Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.99
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा सौक्ष्म्याच्चिदाभास्य आकाशो नोपलक्ष्यते तथा निरंशश्चिद्भावः सर्वगोऽपि न लक्ष्यते
Transliteración (IAST)
yathā saukṣmyāccidābhāsya ākāśo nopalakṣyate tathā niraṃśaścidbhāvaḥ sarvago'pi na lakṣyate
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
यथा सौक्ष्म्यात् चित्-आभास्यःyathā saukṣmyāt cit-ābhāsyaḥas, through subtlety, though lit by consciousness; as, by reason of its fineness, though illumined by awareness
आकाशः न उपलक्ष्यतेākāśaḥ na upalakṣyatespace is not remarked; the expanse goes unnoticed
तथा निरंशः चित्-भावःtathā niraṃśaḥ cit-bhāvaḥso the partless being of consciousness; thus the undivided existence of awareness
सर्व-गः अपि न लक्ष्यतेsarva-gaḥ api na lakṣyatethough omnipresent, is not remarked; although all-pervading, goes unmarked
Traducción
“As space, through its subtlety, though lit by consciousness, is not remarked — so the partless being of consciousness, though omnipresent, is not remarked.”
Versión
1f78d22a6593 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
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The comparison with space, and it explains the chief strangeness of our situation.
Space is everywhere. We live in it every second. And we do not see it — not because it is hidden, but because it resembles nothing and differs from nothing.
Objects are seen; the space between them is no object.
So with consciousness. We use it without pause and do not notice it — for the very same reason.
Note the word niraṃśa — “partless, undivided”. What can be noticed has an edge; the undivided has no edge.
This explains why the search for the Ātman is so hard, and why it is not a search in the usual sense. One searches among objects; the sought is no object.
Recall 4.79: the sun shines, the trouble is in the eye. Here it is otherwise: the trouble is not in the eye, but in the very constitution of seeing.