Hastamalakiyam – Verse 8   «   »

Hastamalakiyam – Verse 8   «   »

विवस्वत् प्रभातं यथा रूपमक्षं
प्रगृह्णाति नाभातमेवं विवस्वान् ।
यदाभात आभासयत्यक्षमेकः
स नित्योपलब्धिस्वरूपोऽहमात्मा ॥८॥
vivasvat prabhātaṃ yathā rūpamakṣaṃ
pragṛhṇāti nābhātamevaṃ vivasvān .
yadābhāta ābhāsayatyakṣamekaḥ
sa nityopalabdhisvarūpo’hamātmā .. 8..
8. Just as the eye sees clearly only objects that are illumined by the sun, but not what is not so illumined, the sun itself is able to make the eye capable of seeing objects only because it is itself illumined by the Self.
Sri Adi Sankaracharya

English Translation and Notes based on the Bhashya of Sri Sankara
Translated by S. N. Sastri

The sun illumines all objects and makes them visible to us. But the sun itself derives its power to illumine objects only from Brahman. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says (3.7.9):– “He who dwells in the sun, and is within it, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun and who controls the sun from within, is the Internal Ruler (Antaryami), your own (the questioner’s own) immortal self”. There are similar statements in this section of this Upanishad about the earth, water, fire, sky, air, heaven, etc. The purport of these statements is that everything in this universe is pervaded and controlled by Brahman as the inner Ruler. The sun, earth, water, etc., are what they are only because of Brahman, the substratum of all. Sri Sankara says in his commentary on this section of this Upanishad:–“The body and organs of the presiding deity of the earth are regularly made to function or refrain from functioning by the mere presence of the Lord (Isvara or Antaryami, Inner Controller) as witness. Such an Isvara, called Narayana, who controls the deity of the earth, directs her from within, is the Internal Controller, who is the self of all”. The same remarks apply to water, fire, sun, etc. By the word ‘sun’ what is meant here is not the mere ball of fire which is visible to us, but its presiding deity. The inner self of the deity of the sun is the same as the inner self of all beings, namely, Brahman, as the following statement in the Taittiriya Upanishad (II.8.14) shows:– “This one who is in man and that one who is in the sun, He is one (Brahman)”. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes how everything in the universe is controlled by Brahman as the Inner Controller (II.8.1):– “From fear of Him the wind blows, from fear of Him the sun rises, from fear of Him Agni and Indra (perform their functions) and the god of Death runs (doing his duty)”.

Links
Hastamalakiyam: A Fruit in the Hand or A Work by Hastamalaka – Dr. H. Ramamoorthy and Nome

Hastamalakiyam – Verse 8 – Hastamalaka-8-vivasvat – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Translation, Meaning and Bhashya – Commentary by Sankaracharya – Hastamalakiyam-8