Summary:
Chapter 2, Verse 10: The entire universe including all Vedic rituals, religious disciplines, meditation and Vedas is Brahman alone. Scripture uses two methods to convey this truth: first, adhyāropa-vākya (superimposition) presents Brahman as intelligent and material cause with the world as effect – a provisional teaching like saying ornaments come from gold. Second, apavāda-vākya (negation) reveals that all this is Brahman alone, just as ornaments are nothing but gold. Knowing Brahman differs from knowing objects – it is recognizing what you are, not what you perceive.
CH 2, SECTION 1, VERSE 10: Purusha (Brahman) & Universe Are One
पुरुषः एव इदम् विश्वम् कर्म
तपः ब्रह्म पर-अमृतम्
एतत् यः वेद निहितम् गुहायाम्
सः अविद्या-ग्रन्थिम् विकिरती इह सोम्य (२.१.१०)
puruṣaḥ eva idam viśvam karma
tapaḥ brahma para-amṛtam
etat yaḥ veda nihitam guhāyām
saḥ avidyā-granthim vikiratī iha somya (2.1.10)
The world consisting of Vedic rituals, religious disciplines and meditation and Vedas is Brahman (Purusha) alone. The one who knows this limitless, timeless Brahman present in buddhi, resolves the knot of ignorance here itself, Oh pleasing one!
“The world consisting of Vedic rituals, religious disciplines and meditation and Vedas is Brahman alone”:
The scripture employs two types of statements to convey the truth…
First is adhyāropa-vākya (deliberate superimposition): This line is in this category. “Everything is born of this Puruṣa.” This presents Puruṣa as the intelligent and material cause, and the world as the effect. This causal relationship is not ultimately true, as everything is Purusha. The cause-effect framework itself is provisional. EG: Initially we say ring, bangle, necklace comes from gold – we don't even talk about the fact that ornament is nothing but the gold.
The second type is apavāda-vākya (negation): “All that is here is Puruṣa alone.” EG: Ring is nothing but the gold. Purpose is to recognize “all this” is mithya, which is never separate from satyam. Through this negation, everything is cognitively “swallowed” and only Puruṣa (Brahman) remains.
“The one who knows this limitless, timeless Brahman present in buddhi”:
Knowing Brahman differs completely from knowing objects. Brahman is the truth of the knower – it is what you are, not what you perceive. Brahman (Consciousness) abides in the cave (guhā), or another way to say is consciousness is reflected in the buddhi, just how the sunlight is reflected on a mirror – your buddhi is like a mirror.
Brahma-vidyā serves as this light, illuminating Brahman within the buddhi. Like pot-knowledge, it shows true nature of the pot is clay. Nothing is added. Similarly, brahma-vidya shows (1) your individual “I am” is nothing but all-pervasive “I am”, and (2) your individual “I am” (subject) is not different from perceived objects.
Brahma-vidyā doesn’t point out the existence of “I am”, because it’s self-revealing, but to point out the TRUE nature of “I am”.
“…resolves the knot of ignorance”:
Pulling the wrong end of a knot only tightens it further, keeping you busy untangling dramas of life. Once you know this reality, all the knots of your heart (emotions of smallness, inadequacy) are resolved because of strength of knowledge, knowing: All that is here is purusha and the purusha is me. (When this statement is said by the wise person, the direct understanding of “me” isn't in the body-mind, but in consciousness).
How to tell know is NOT resolved? Scriptures say that Self is free of sorrow, and you want mind to be free of sorrow, which is impossible because mind has empirical sorrow.
NEXT VERSE: How to internalize this knowledge via OM meditation…
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Recorded 11 July, 2025