SB 11.28.36 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एतावानात्मसम्मोहो यद् विकल्पस्तु केवले । आत्मनृते स्वमात्मानमवलम्बो न यस्य हि ॥ ३६ ॥

Verse text

etāvān ātma-sammoho yad vikalpas tu kevale ātman ṛte svam ātmānam avalambo na yasya hi

Synonyms

etāvān — whatever ; ātma — of the self ; sammohaḥ — delusion ; yat — which ; vikalpaḥ — idea of duality ; tu — but ; kevale — in the unique ; ātman — in the self ; ṛte — without ; svam — that very ; ātmānam — self ; avalambaḥ — basis ; na — there is not ; yasya — of which (duality) ; hi — indeed .

Translation

Whatever apparent duality is perceived in the self is simply the confusion of the mind. Indeed, such supposed duality has no basis to rest upon apart from one’s own soul.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Since only one ātmā exists, seeing duality is one’s own bewilderment. It has no basis except the jīva himself. “How can the universe be one with the Lord when it is seen to be different?” Though there is only one ātmā, distinction arises. One’s bewilderment has no basis other than the jīva himself. The jīva perceives separateness by his ignorance. The jīva, though different from Paramātmā, is an effect of Paramātmā, and thus is one with Paramātmā. Śruti say neha nānāsti kinṣcana: there is no duality in this world at all. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.19) There is no duality.

Purport

As explained in verse 33 of this chapter, the eternal self is neither assumed nor lost, since every living entity is an eternal reality. The word vikalpa, or “duality,” here refers to the mistaken idea that the spirit soul is partly composed of matter in the form of the gross body or subtle mind. It is thus that foolish persons consider the material body or mind to be an intrinsic or fundamental component of the self. In fact the living entity is pure spirit, without any tinge of matter. Consequently the false ego, which is generated by the false identification with matter, is a mistaken identity imposed upon the pure spirit soul. The sense of ego, or “I am” — in other words, the sense of one’s individual identity — comes from the spirit soul, because there is no other possible basis for such self-awareness. By studying one’s false sense of ego, one can analytically understand that there is a pure ego, which is expressed by the words ahaṁ brahmāsmi, “I am pure spirit soul.” One can easily understand in a similar way that there is a supreme spirit soul, the Personality of Godhead, who is the omniscient controller of everything. Such understanding in Kṛṣṇa consciousness constitutes perfect knowledge, as described here by the Lord.