Devanagari
अर्थे ह्यविद्यमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते ।
ध्यायतो विषयानस्य स्वप्नेऽनर्थागमो यथा ॥ ७३ ॥
Verse text
arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi
saṁsṛtir na nivartate
dhyāyato viṣayān asya
svapne ’narthāgamo yathā
Synonyms
arthe
—
sense objects
;
hi
—
certainly
;
avidyamāne
—
not being present
;
api
—
although
;
saṁsṛtiḥ
—
material existence
;
na
—
never
;
nivartate
—
ceases
;
dhyāyataḥ
—
meditating
;
viṣayān
—
on sense objects
;
asya
—
of the living being
;
svapne
—
in dream
;
anartha
—
of unwanted things
;
āgamaḥ
—
appearance
;
yathā
—
as .
Translation
When the living entity dreams, the sense objects are not actually present. However, because one has associated with the sense objects, they become manifest. Similarly, the living entity with undeveloped senses does not cease to exist materially, even though he may not be exactly in contact with the sense objects.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as enjoyment of objects continues in a dream, thought the objects are not present, saṁsāra does not cease for a person attached to sense objects though the subtle body stops functioning during deep sleep.
In states like deep sleep, there is obstruction to the subtle body’s functions, but it is not absent. Some say that during deep sleep and final devastation, the subtle body does not exist, because of merging into prakṛti. But they also say that this is not liberation. It is still saṁsāra. An example is given. Just as a person who meditates on senses objects perceives forms for enjoyment in a dream though the physical objects are not present, so in deep sleep, though the subtle body does not function, there is no liberation because of the impressions have not been destroyed. Saṁsāra continues.
Purport
It is sometimes said that because a child is innocent he is completely pure. Actually this is not the fact. The effects of fruitive activities reserved in the subtle body appear in three concurrent stages. One is called
bīja
(the root), another is called
kūṭa-stha
(the desire), and another is called
phalonmukha
(about to fructify). The manifest stage is called
prārabdha
(already in action). In a conscious or unconscious state, the actions of the subtle or gross bodies may not be manifest, but such states cannot be called the liberated state. A child may be innocent, but this does not mean that he is a liberated soul. Everything is held in reservation, and everything will become manifest in due course of time. Even in the absence of certain manifestations in the subtle body, the objects of sense enjoyment may act. The example has been given of a nocturnal emission, in which the physical senses act even when the physical objects are not manifest. The three modes of material nature may not be manifest in the subtle body, but the contamination of the three modes remains conserved, and in due course of time, it becomes manifest. Even if the reactions of the subtle and gross bodies are not manifest, one does not become free from the material conditions. Therefore it is wrong to say that a child is as good as a liberated soul.