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All pervading self

  • Aug 10, 2025
  • 2 min read

Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Since consciousness and reflected consciousness are in the same locus, this overlap causes confusion that this body/mind appears alive and self-aware, and we have mistaken that for our true identity. Because reflected consciousness appears to be sentient, we superimpose the qualities of the body/mind on the self. If one knows the fact that any attribute of the body/mind does not belong to oneself, he is free from sorrow.   


aśarīram śarīreṣvanavastheṣvavasthitam |

mahāntaṃ vibhumātmānam matvā dhīro na śocati ||1.2.22||

Having known the self is bodiless among those with bodies, which is changeless among the changing, which is big, and which is all-pervading, the wise does not grieve.


Even though I found myself residing in this body, but aśarīram - ātmā is bodiless, where any attribute of the body does not belong to me (in the individual level). Without any individuality, śarīreṣu - yet appears in all bodies as individuals (in the total level). Because of its attribute-less nature, the appearance with different attributes is possible. Just as formless space appears in many sizes of different space.


And all bodies (which ātmā appears to be) are kept changing, but ātmā remains changeless - anavastheṣvavasthitam. Though ātmā seems to be “in” the body, it is actually independent of it. Whatever happened to my body, I am not affected. Just like relatively permanent space is present in every impermanent container (pot), when the container is broken, space remains untouched.


ātmānam matvā - having understood this innermost self, which is mahāntaṃ - big. How big? vibhum - all pervasively (limitlessly) big, dhīro na śocati - he is free from sorrow. The one who knows this fact, there is no tenability for him to grieve.

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