उपनिषद् · Varāha 2.15
॥
देवनागरी
देहात्मज्ञानवज्ज्ञानं देहात्मज्ञानबाधकम् । आत्मन्येव भवेद्यस्य स नेच्छन्नपि मुच्यते
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
dehātmajñānavajjñānaṃ dehātmajñānabādhakam | ātmanyeva bhavedyasya sa necchannapi mucyate
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
देह-आत्म-ज्ञान-वत् ज्ञानंdeha-ātma-jñāna-vat jñānaṃlike the knowledge of oneself as the body
देह-आत्म-ज्ञान-बाधकम्deha-ātma-jñāna-bādhakamknowledge that supersedes the knowledge of oneself as the body
आत्मनि एव भवेत् यस्यātmani eva bhavet yasyaarises in the self for whom
सः न इच्छन् अपि मुच्यतेsaḥ na icchan api mucyatethat one, even without wishing it, is liberated
अनुवाद
"For whom the knowledge of the self becomes as [firm] as the knowledge of oneself as the body, and supersedes it, — that one, even without wishing it, is liberated."
संस्करण
3c858d3587be · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here is an excellent verse, and it deserves examination, for it gives a measure, not an argument. The measure is this: knowledge of the self must become as certain as the knowledge that I am this body. It is worth appraising just how precise this measure is.
A person does not reason about being a body: he knows it without proof, and every one of his movements proceeds from it. Struck — he flinched, before he had time to think. And here it is said: until knowledge of the self has become just as firm, it is not knowledge.
Let us add the second half: na ichchhan api muchyate, "and even without wishing it, is liberated." That is, with such firmness, liberation arrives regardless of intention: it need not be pursued. This consideration, in my view, explains a great deal about the failures of seekers.
A person who knows about the self from books, at the first fright, behaves as the body; and this is not hypocrisy, but an indicator: his knowledge is of a different order. The Vaishnava side accepts this measure and applies it to its own subject. Its sign is not reasoning, but the involuntary: tears, a trembling voice, an inability to continue; discussed when reading the Rudraksha-jabala (3p12).
The ground is the same: the involuntary cannot be faked, while the voluntary can be, entirely.