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सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च।।13.15।।

sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛich chaiva nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛi cha

Sanskrit Chant Recitation
Chapter 13, Verse 15
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Scripture Translation Room

Sanskrit to English Translation

Translator:
Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without being attached to them; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet the experiencer of them.

A Reading - Rantideb

Why: appearing to have the functions of all the senses, yet without any senses itself, unattached, yet sustaining all, without qualities, yet experiencing the qualities, describing something paradoxical, functioning like the senses without actually possessing them.

In life: you can be deeply engaged with and responsive to your circumstances without your deepest sense of self being made of the same fragile, reactive material as those circumstances.

Teaching: practice this same distinction in your own experience, responding fully and appropriately to what's happening around you while noticing that the deepest part of your awareness isn't actually made of the same reactive material as the response itself.

sarvaall
indriyasenses
guṇasense-objects
ābhāsamthe perciever
sarvaall
indriyasenses
vivarjitamdevoid of
asaktamunattached
sarva-bhṛitthe sustainer of all
chayet
evaindeed
nirguṇambeyond the three modes of material nature
guṇa-bhoktṛithe enjoyer of the three modes of material nature
chaalthough

Deep Classical Commentary (Bhashya)

Author:
13.15 सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासम् shining by the functions of all senses? सर्वेन्द्रयविवर्जितम् (yet) without the senses? असक्तम् unattached? सर्वभृत् (yet) supporting all? च and? एव even? निर्गुणम् devoid of alities? गुणभोक्तृ (yet) experiencer of the alities? च and.Commentary Brahman sees without eyes? hears without ears? smells without nose? eats without mouth? feels without skin? grasps without hands? walks without feet. He is the unseen seer? the unheard hearer? the unthought thinker. Other than Him there is no seer? no hearer? no thinker. He is the Self? the Inner Ruler? the Immortal. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III.7.23) He is free from the,alities of Nature and yet He is the enjoyer of the alities.All the senses The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action? the inner senses? mind and intellect come under the term all the senses. The organs of action and those of knowledge perform their functions in conjunction with the mind and the intellect. They cannot function independently. Therefore? the mind and the intellect are included in the term all the senses.Brahman is transcendental and unmanifest? but It manifests Itself through the limiting adjuncts of the extrnal and the internal senses. As It is destitute of the senses It is unattached and yet It supports all. It is the support or substratum of everything. It is destitute of the alities of Nature and yet It is the enjoyer of those alities. Brahman is really mysterious.This verse is taken from the Svetasvataropanishad 3.17.