8-3

श्री भगवान् उवाच -
अक्षरम् ब्रह्म परमम् स्वभावोऽध्यात्मम् उच्यते ।
भूत भावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्म सन्ज्ञितः ॥ ३ ॥

zrI bhagavAn uvAca -
akSaram brahma paramam svabhAvo'dhyAtmam ucyate |
bhUta bhAvodbhavakaro visargaH karma sanjJitaH || 3 ||

श्री भगवान् उवाच [zrI bhagavAn uvAca] The Lord said- ब्रह्म [brahma] The ‘self-existent’ denotes परमम् [paramam] the one who is beyond everything, अक्षरम् [akSaram] who is unchanging. अध्यात्मम् [adhyAtmam] The phrase ‘environment’ उच्यते [ucyate] refers to स्वभावः [svabhAvaH] the nature of this material world. विसर्गः [visargaH] The act of creating, भूत भावोद्भवकरः [bhUta bhAvodbhavakaraH] which makes all beings and their experiences कर्म सन्ज्ञितः [karma sanjJitaH] is meant by the word ‘activity’.

The ‘self-existent’ is the one who is beyond this universe, the one who is unchanging, without destruction. It is the state of complete awareness.

सुबाल [subAla] , 2 says- The subtle rests in enlightenment. Enlightenment rests in what cannot be seen.

Start by knowing the body of the Lord – The Self, the environment and its activities.

The state of ‘being beyond the universe’ and ‘remaining ever-unchanged’ constitute the state of the Self when it is dis-entangled from the material environment.

The ‘environment’ refers to the nature of this material world. This is the environment surrounding us - matter that is distinct from the Self, yet relates to the Self - consisting of all gross and subtle things and their influences. The fact that these are to be known is also mentioned in the पन्चाग्नि विद्या [pancAgni vidyA] .

A person desiring Moksha must know the environment as a set of things that can be acquired and given up.

The word ‘activity’ refers to the act of creating, which makes all beings and their experiences happen - such as the experiences that happen in a human body. A person who desires Moksha must know the act of creation that materialized these experiences. He must know other actions as well - which bring so much anxiety - and break free of their influence.

Later in this chapter, the Lord says this about the pure experience of the Self: ‘Yearning for which, people practice celibacy and study’ 8-11