मोक्षधर्म पर्व — आत्माको स्वरूप र कर्म

Brahman said Listen, O son, as to how that Soul is indicated. He is eternal and immutable. He is undecaying and immeasurable. He pervades all things.

O best of all creatures, that soul cannot be seen by you or me, others. Those who are endued with the understanding and the senses but shorn of self-control and tranquillity of soul cannot see him. The Supreme Soul is said to be one that can be seen with the help of knowledge alone.

Though shorn of body, He lives in every body. Though living, again, in bodies He is never touched by the acts done by those bodies.

He is my inner soul. He is your inner soul. He is the omniscient Witness living within all embodied creatures and engaged in marking their acts. No one can grasp or comprehend him at any time.

The universe is the crown of his head. The universe is his arms. The universe is his feet. The universe is his eyes. The universe is his nose. Alone and singly, he passed through all bodies, unrestrained by any limitations on his will and as best as it likes him.

Kshetriya is another name for body. And because he knows all bodies as also all good and bad acts, therefore, he, who is the soul of Yoga, is called by the name of Kshetrajna.

No one succeeds in perceiving how he enters into embodied creatures and how he goes out of them. According to the Sankhya mode, as also with the help of Yoga and the due observance of the ordinances prescribed by it, I am engaged in thinking of the cause of that Soul, but, alas, I am unable to comprehend that cause, excellent as it is. I shall, however, according to the extent of my knowledge describe to you that eternal Soul and his Oneness and supreme greatness. The learned speak of him as the one Soul. That one eternal Being deserves the appellation of the great Supreme Purusha.

Fire is an element, but it may be seen to burn up in a thousand places under thousand different circumstances. The Sun is one and single, but his rays extend over the wide universe. Penances are of various kinds, but they have one common origin whence they have originated. The Wind is one, but it blows in various forms in the world. The great Ocean is the one parent of all the waters in the world seen under various circumstances. Shorn of qualities, that one Soul is the universe shown in infinitude. Originating from him, the infinite universe enters into that one Soul again who is above all qualities, when the time for its destruction comes.

By renouncing the consciousness of body and the senses, by renouncing all acts good and bad, by renouncing both truth and falsehood, one succeeds in divesting oneself of qualities.

The person who realises that inconceivable Soul and comprehends his subtile existence in the four-fold of Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana, and Vasudeva, and who, on account of such comprehension, acquires perfect tranquillity of heart, succeeds in entering into, and identifying himself with, that one auspicious Soul.

Some persons endued with learning speak of Him as the Supreme Soul. Others hold Him as the One Soul. A third class of learned men describe Him as the Soul.

The truth is that He who is the Supreme Soul is always shorn of qualities. He is Narayana. He is the Universal Soul, and He is the One Purusha. He is never affected by the fruits of deeds as the leaf of the lotus is never drenched by the water one may throw upon it.

The acting Soul is different. That Soul is sometimes engaged in acts and when it succeeds in renouncing acts acquires Liberation or identity with the Supreme Soul.

The acting Soul is endued with the seventeen possessions. Thus is it said that there are innumerable kinds of Souls in due order.

In sooth, however, there is but one Soul. He is the abode of all the ordinances in the universe. He is the highest object of knowledge. He is at once the knower and the object to be known. He is at once the thinker and the object of thought. He is the eater and the food that is eaten. He is the smeller and the scent that is smelled. He is at once he that touches and the object that is touched.

He is the agent that sees and the object that is seen. He is the hearer and the object that is heard. He is the conceiver and the object conceived. He is possessed of qualities and is free from them. He is that, O son, which is named Pradhana (Nature), enduring, eternal, and immutable.

He it is who creates the prime ordinance about Dhatri himself. Learned Brahmanas call Him by the name of Aniruddha. Whatever acts of excellent merits and blessings, originate in the world from the Vedas, have been caused by Him.

All the gods, and all the Rishis, gifted with tranquil souls, occupying their places on the altar, dedicate to Him the first share of their sacrificial offerings. I that am Brahman, the primeval master of all creatures, have come into being from Him, and you have sprung from me. From me has originated the universe with all its mobile and immobile creatures, and all the Vedas, O son, with their mysteries.

Divided into four parts, (viz., Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana, and Vasudeva), He sports as He pleases. That illustrious and divine Lord is such, awakened by His Own knowledge.

I have thus answered you, O son, according to your questions, and according to the way in which the matter is explained in the Sankhya System and the Yoga Philosophy."