Katha:1.2.8

Mantra 1.2.8

Original Text:

न नरेणावरेण प्रोक्त एष सुविज्ञेयो बहुधा चिन्त्यमानः ।
	अनन्यप्रोक्ते गतिरत्र नास्त्यणीयान् ह्यतर्क्यमणुप्रमाणात् ॥ ८ ॥

na nareṇāvareṇa prokta eṣa suvijñeyo bahudhā cintyamānaḥ |
	ananyaprokte gatiratra nāstyaṇīyān hyatarkyamaṇupramāṇāt || 8 ||

Sanskrit Term	Transliteration	Hindi Meaning	English Word or Meaning	Comments
न	na	नहीं – निषेध, अभाव का बोधक	not, negation
नरेण	nareṇa	मनुष्य द्वारा – सामान्य व्यक्ति के द्वारा	by a person, by a human being
अवरेण	avareṇa	निम्न बुद्धि वाले – जिसकी बुद्धि अल्प या साधारण है	of inferior intellect, of lesser understanding
प्रोक्तः	proktaḥ	कहा गया – जिसे बताया गया है	explained, taught
एषः	eṣaḥ	यह – यह आत्मा	this (referring to ātman)
सुविज्ञेयः	su-vijñeyaḥ	सहजता से जाना जाने वाला – जिसे आसानी से समझा जा सके	easily knowable, easily understood
बहुधा	bahudhā	अनेक प्रकार से – विभिन्न रूपों में	in many ways, variously
चिन्त्यमानः	cintyamānaḥ	विचार किया गया – जिस पर विचार किया जाता है	being considered, being deliberated upon
अनन्य-प्रोक्ते	ananya-prokte	अद्वितीय द्वारा कहा गया – जो ब्रह्म से अभिन्न है उसके द्वारा बताया गया	taught by one who is non-different (from Brahman), by a non-dual teacher
गतिः	gatiḥ	गति – आगे बढ़ना, प्रगति, यात्रा	movement, progression, travel
अत्र	atra	यहाँ – इस विषय में	here, in this context
न	na	नहीं – निषेध	not
अस्ति	asti	है – अस्तित्व का बोधक	is, exists
अणीयान्	aṇīyān	अत्यंत सूक्ष्म – बहुत ही सूक्ष्म	subtler, finer
हि	hi	निश्चयार्थक – निस्संदेह	indeed, certainly
अतर्क्यं	atarkyam	तर्क से परे – जिसे तर्क द्वारा नहीं जाना जा सकता	not to be reasoned about, beyond logic
अणु-प्रमाणात्	aṇu-pramāṇāt	अणु के प्रमाण से भी – अणु से भी अधिक सूक्ष्म होने के कारण	than the measure of an atom, subtler than the atom

Translation/Explanation

Hindi: यह आत्मा, जिसे अभी समझाया गया है, सामान्य या अल्पबुद्धि वाले व्यक्ति द्वारा बताने पर सहजता से नहीं जानी जा सकती, क्योंकि उस पर अनेक प्रकार से विचार किया जाता है। जब यह ब्रह्म से अभिन्न गुरु द्वारा बताया जाता है, तब इसमें आगे कोई यात्रा नहीं रहती, क्योंकि यह आत्मा अत्यंत सूक्ष्म है, तर्क से परे है और अणु से भी सूक्ष्म है।

English: This ātman, as now explained, cannot be easily known if taught by a person of inferior intellect, since it is considered in many different ways. When it is taught by a preceptor who is non-different from Brahman (ananya-prokta), there is no further progression, for this ātman is subtler than the subtle, beyond reasoning, and finer than the atom.

Commentary

Why so? Because, taught by a person of worldly understanding, the ātman which you ask me about, is not easily knowable, because it is variously discussed by disputants, whether it exists or not, whether it is a doer or not, whether it is pure or not and so forth. How then can it be well-known is explained. If the ātman is taught by a preceptor who is free from the notion of duality and who has become one with Brahman, none of the various doubts exists, such as whether it is or not, etc., because the nature of the ātman absorbs all such doubtful alternatives; or, the text may be thus construed: when the ātman, which is none other than one's own Self, is taught, there is no knowing any other thing; for, there is no other knowable; for, the knowledge of the oneness of the ātman is the highest state of knowledge. Therefore, there being nothing else to be known, knowledge stops there; or, gatir atra nāsti, may mean there is no travelling into saṃsāra when the ātman, not distinct from the Self, has been taught; because, emancipation, the fruit of such knowledge, is its necessary concomitant. Or, it may mean that when the ātman is explained by a preceptor who has become one with Brahman, there is no failing to understand it. The meaning is that as in the case of the preceptor, the hearer’s knowledge of Brahman will take the form, ‘I am not other than that.’ Thus, the ātman can easily be known when explained by the preceptor versed in the āgamas, to be no other than one’s self; otherwise, the ātman will be subtler than even the subtle and cannot be known by mere intelligent reasoning. When the ātman is established by argument to be something subtle by one person, another argues it to be subtler than that and another infers it to be something yet subtler; for, there is no finality reached by mere argumentation.

Concept List

ātman
ananya-prokta
Brahman
saṃsāra
emancipation
āgama
subtler than the subtle
beyond reasoning