In Part 7, it is said that the chapter 10 focuses on nidhidhyasana, i.e., meditation on vedantic teachings for their assimilation and to deal with contrary feeling. The following verses do it by of ‘glorification’ of I (Self) and is in the first person. Brahmjnanavalimala is very similar to chapter 10. It should not be mistaken as ego-boosting because every human being is entitled to it.
10.1 to 10.3 I am the supreme Brahman which is changeless and is of the nature of pure consciousness. I am unborn, imperishable. I am deathless, unchanging, devoid of old age. I am not attached with mind and body though I as consciousness pervade them. As consciousness, I am within the body, but I am not confined to the body. I have no edge and no boundary. Like space, I am in all directions and all -pervading. Worldly ups and downs belong to mind and body and do not affect Me. I am ever free. I am the ultimate subject. I am beyond objects but illumine them. I am self-effulgent. I am beyond cause and effect. Cause and effect are in the realm of duality. I am non-dual. The understanding is that though duality is experienced it is mithya. Duality is subject to change. I am non-dual and not subject to change. I alone am real.
10.4 The three states of experience, namely, waking, dream, and dreamless sleep are with respect to mind and body. They are mutually exclusive and are mithya. I am the unchanging consciousness called turiya which is in and through the three states. I am the witnessing consciousness, the seer, of the three states. All the experiences are in consciousness, i.e., Me. I am the common factor in all experiences, and I lend existence to them.
10.5 and 10.6 There is a series of BDS (Body Mind System) spread over many births. They are subject to suffering, pain and pleasure. I am distinct from mind and body and unrelated to them. The statement, ‘my body’ is born of ignorance. I am free from pain and pleasure they in as much as they are unreal like dream objects are to the waking state. They are mithya and do not affect me. I am devoid of sin and virtue. There is neither bondage nor liberation for me. I have no varna and no ashrama.
10.7 As I am unborn, I have no beginning. I am changeless. I am neither doer nor enjoyer. Karmas do not cling to me. I am embodied but not attached to the body because I am formless and the subtlest. I remain untainted like space.
10.8 to 10.11 The verse 10.8 restates BG 13.31 and 13.32. I am non-dual, immutable and the inner controller of all beings. The mind and body are different from Me, but their attributes are considered as of Mine due to ignorance. The powers of seeing and other perceptions are wrongly assigned to Me. I am untouched by the defects of beings in whom I reside. I am beyond the perishable (manifested world) and the unmanifested world (maya). I am independent of ignorance. Therefore, I am unaffected by (wrong) identification with mind and body. Consequently, karmas do not taint Me. I am pure. I am established in my real nature (Sat, Chit and Ananda). The notions of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, ‘this’ and ‘that’ do not belong to Me as they are borne of delusion. As karma (cause) does not belong to Me, a person having conviction that he is Brahman is free from rebirth (effect). I am beyond causality.
10.12 to 10.14 are about fruits of Self-knowledge (jnana-phala) gained from Vedantic teachings. It is the claim of Vedanta that when Self-knowledge arises, delusion of bondage and grief are removed. Ocean of samsara is crossed and there is immortality. In 10.13, the author describes on the authority of Vedanta as to how a jivanmukta lives in the world. “It is the conclusion here (in the Vedantas) that one who, though perceiving the world of duality in the waking state, does not, as a man in deep sleep does not perceive it owing to duality being negated and who is (really) actionless even when (apparently) acting, is a man of Self-knowledge; but no one else is so.” [Upadesa Sahasri, Translated into English with explanatory notes by Swami Jagadananda, R K Math].
The author concludes (10.14) that he has described the highest knowledge (as it is based on Vedanta) and asserts that a man convinced of this knowledge is liberated while living in midst of intense worldly activities.
CONTD