13-12

ज्ञेयम् यत् तत् प्रवक्ष्यामि यत् ज्ञात्वा अमृतम् अश्नुते ।
अनादिमत् परम् ब्रह्म न सत् तत् नासदुच्यते ॥ १२ ॥

jJeyam yat tat pravakSyAmi yat jJAtvA amRtam aznute |
anAdimat param brahma na sat tat nAsaducyate || 12 ||

प्रवक्ष्यामि [pravakSyAmi] I will explain तत् यत् ज्ञेयम् [tat yat jJeyam] that awareness, ज्ञात्वा यत् [jJAtvA yat] with which अमृतम् अश्नुते [amRtam aznute] people achieve freedom from the cycle of death . ब्रह्म [brahma] The Self expands मत् परम् [mat param] to realize that I am supreme. न सत् [na sat] This state is not the one in which the Self is bound to this environment. न असत् उच्यते [na asat ucyate] It is also not the state when the Self is present in the subtle singularity .

The Lord continues -

The Self is always evident to us. Its nature must be grasped by the virtues described before in 13-7.

I will clarify the nature of the Self now. You will grasp the Self with this knowledge.

By nature, the Self is not subject to the laws of the material world. It is free of birth, old age and death. It has no beginning, likewise no ending either. This is said in कठ उपनिशत् [kaTha upanizat] , 2-18: ‘It is not born, does not perish, it is full of wisdom’.

The Self realizes My supremacy, as I said in 7-5: ‘Know My ultimate nature in the form of a conscious being, by whom this world is sustained’

By being the body of the Lord , It is in the very nature of the Self to enjoy being under the service of the Lord. This is said in the बृहदारण्यक [bRhadAraNyaka], 3-7-22: ‘The One who is situated in the Self and pervades it; The One whom the Self does not know; The One whose body is the Self ; The One who controls the Self from its core’.

And in श्वेताश्वतर [zvetAzvatara] , 6-9: He is the Controller of the one who controls the organs. He has no origin, He has no controller. In श्वेताश्वतर [zvetAzvatara] , 9-16: He is the owner of both the Self and the environment; The Lord of all qualities.

The knowledge in the Self is infinite. It is distinct from the body and not bound by it. As said in श्वेताश्वतर [zvetAzvatara] , 5-9: The Self is able to achieve the state of boundlessness. Being bound to a body is the outcome of the actions committed by the Self. When the Self is free from the bonds of action, it reaches infinity .

The word ब्रह्म [brahma] in this chapter refers to the unbound Self. The word ब्रह्म [brahma] is used this way in other Shlokas too - as in 14-26: ‘With focused devotion, a person completely overcomes the three qualities and is cut out to ब्रह्मभूय [brahmabhUya] – the experience the Self in its true form’ and in 18-54: ‘Having realized the Self, with a serene mind, he doesn’t get upset and doesn’t yearn. Such a person realizes the equivalence among all beings. He attains ultimate devotion to Me ’.

The last part of this Shloka says - ‘This state is not the one in which the Self is bound to this environment. It is also not the state when the Self is present in the subtle singularity ‘.

When liberated , the Self is not associated with being the cause, nor the effect. The words ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ don’t relate to the state of the Self. While interpreting this Shloka, the word ‘ सत् [sat] ‘ is mapped to the state after creation, where things can be distinguished and be named. ‘ असत् [asat] ‘ is the state before creation, when this could not be done.

This interpretation is supported by the scriptures:

आनन्दवल्लि [Anandavalli] , 7: ‘ असत् [asat] was the state that existed before all this. Then सत् [sat] was born’ and बृहदारण्यक [bRhadAraNyaka], 1-4-7: ‘At that time (before creation), this world was undivided. The Lord created the classifications with names and forms’

Ignorance prevents the Self from expressing its completeness.

The terms ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ are applicable to the ignorance that sticks to the Self, by the influence of past actions. They are not characteristic of the Self. Hence, these terms don’t describe the nature of the Self.

The phrase ‘ असत् [asat] was the state that existed before all this’ says that the universe and its beings were the body of the Lord before creation, though in subtle form.

Before creation, the Lord had His body (the universe) in subtle form. That was a state in which nothing could be distinguished by a name. Even in this state, the Self is still bound to the material world due to its actions. That does not describe its true nature.