13-11

अध्यात्म ज्ञान नित्यत्वम् तत्व ज्ञानार्थ दर्शनम् ।
एतत् ज्ञानम् इति प्रोक्तम् अज्ञानम् यदतोऽन्यथा ॥ ११ ॥

adhyAtma jJAna nityatvam tatva jJAnArtha darzanam |
etat jJAnam iti proktam ajJAnam yadato'nyathA || 11 ||

नित्यत्वम् [nityatvam] Being persistent अध्यात्म ज्ञान [adhyAtma jJAna] in the quest of Self-awareness; चिन्तनम् [cintanam] Reflection तत्व ज्ञानार्थ [tatva jJAnArtha] to realize the truth - एतत् [etat] This ज्ञानम् इति प्रोक्तम् [jJAnam iti proktam] is said to be awareness. यत् [yat] Anything अतः अन्यथा [ataH anyathA] other than this अज्ञानम् [ajJAnam] is ignorance.

Having the virtue of persistence in the quest of the Self;

The character of ‘reflection to realize the truth’ is about dedication towards those thoughts, whose purpose is to know the true nature of everything - Such awareness leads to the discovery of the Self.

The Lord described a set of virtues starting with 13-7. He began with the statement ‘being without a sense of superiority ‘. Such virtues are useful to everybody in the quest for Self-awareness.

What obstacles come in the way of our lives?

Any work that doesn’t comply with these virtues is called ignorance (for example, work done for fame and superiority, or due to attachments) - it blocks Self-awareness.

In the first Shloka of this chapter, the Lord described the Self as ‘the one who is aware’. Next, He clarifies the nature of the Self along with its awareness.