SB 11.13.34 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ईक्षेत विभ्रममिदं मनसो विलासं द‍ृष्टं विनष्टमतिलोलमलातचक्रम् । विज्ञानमेकमुरुधेव विभाति माया स्वप्नस्‍त्रिधा गुणविसर्गकृतो विकल्प: ॥ ३४ ॥

Verse text

īkṣeta vibhramam idaṁ manaso vilāsaṁ dṛṣṭaṁ vinaṣṭam ati-lolam alāta-cakram vijṣānam ekam urudheva vibhāti māyā svapnas tridhā guṇa-visarga-kṛto vikalpaḥ

Synonyms

īkṣeta — one should see ; vibhramam — as illusion or mistake ; idam — this (material world) ; manasaḥ — of the mind ; vilāsam — appearance or jumping ; dṛṣṭam — here today ; vinaṣṭam — gone tomorrow ; ati — lolam — extremely flickering ; alāta — cakram — just like the moving red line created by whirling a fiery stick ; vijṣānam — the spirit soul, by nature fully conscious ; ekam — is one ; urudhā — in many divisions ; iva — as if ; vibhāti — appears ; māyā — this is illusion ; svapnaḥ — merely a dream ; tridhā — in three divisions ; guṇa — of the modes of nature ; visarga — by the transformation ; kṛtaḥ — created ; vikalpaḥ — variety of perception or imagination .

Translation

One should see that the material world is a distinct illusion appearing in the mind, because material objects have an extremely flickering existence and are here today and gone tomorrow. They can be compared to the streaking red line created by whirling a fiery stick. The spirit soul by nature exists in the single state of pure consciousness. However, in this world he appears in many different forms and stages of existence. The modes of nature divide the soul’s consciousness into normal wakefulness, dreaming and dreamless sleep. All such varieties of perception, however, are actually māyā and exist only like a dream.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

One should understand that this world is a misconception, a diversion for the mind, visible but temporary, and flickering like a fire brand. Brahman is one consciousness but manifest as many. The three states arising by the guṇas create various transformations, but these are temporary like a dream. After realizing the difference of the ātmā from the three states with which it has no relation, one should see the conception of this world to be endowed with an illusory nature, arising from the identity of I and mine. One should see it as an object of interest for the mind (manasaḥ vilāsam) caused by imposing conceptions of I and mine out of illusion. Manasaḥ vilāsam can also mean “the universe in which there is great dancing (lāsa) of the mind.” The world is temporary and extremely fickle, full of movement, like a fire brand. “But from perceiving this duality in the world, one cannot attain realization of non-dual Brahman.” Brahman is one consciousness (ekaṁ vijṣānam) but is manifested in various ways. But this is not a variety in the spiritual substance itself, since the three states are created by the guṇas through māyā, and are temporary like a dream.

Purport

The Lord now describes an additional process for transcending the illusory interaction of the material mind and material sense objects. Lāsa means “jumping” or “dancing,” and thus manaso vilāsam here indicates that the material mind is jumping superficially from one conception of life to another. Our original consciousness, however, is one ( vijṣānam ekam ). Therefore, one should carefully study the flickering “here today, gone tomorrow” nature of the material world and detach oneself from the illusory variety of māyā.