Subtle, finer than a lotus-fibre, he stands covering all

10 Subtle, finer than a lotus-fibre, he stands covering all;
Greater than the earth, firm, he stands supporting all.
He is other than the sense-knowledge of this world.
The world is not different from him,
who is ever standing as the supreme,
who is to be known, who himself divides into many.
From him the bodies all come forth,
he is the root, eternal, he is constant.

And subtle all-knowing.

finer than a lotus-fibre more fine than the filament of a lotus.

Who is this? It is that one who is the Self referred to, covering, having pervaded, all the world.

And then, greater, more expanded, more solid, than the earth, for he forms the Self of everything.

Firm constant,

supporting having made the foundation for all, for everything,

he stands he exists. From the indication in the Vedic verse, ‘By whom the sky is mighty and the earth firm’ (Taitt. Sa. 4.1.8). He the lord of all, omniscient, one, who is to be known. He the supreme Self is other than the sense-knowledge, than whatever knowledge is produced by the senses, of this world; he is des-cribed here as different from that worldly knowledge, and from what is said it is clear that he is knowledge itself. ‘Existence- knowledge-infinity’ says the holy text (Taitt. 2.1.1). So here it is said that he is other than the knowledge about this world pro-duced through the senses. Then it might be supposed that the world is utterly distinct from him, and to rule out that idea, he says, of this world which is none other than, not different from not separate from what is to be known (namely) the highest Lord who is non-dual, the ultimate truth, and who is to be known. He is as it were the clay of which pots and so on are made.

And he is the one ever standing as supreme (parame-sth-in). (The word parame-sth-in is explained as:) in his own supreme (parame) transcendent glory, standing (sth) which means abiding in the space in the heart, and ever (suffix -in) – such is he.

Himself alone he divides, has separated into gods, ancestors, men and so on, and as the distinction of knower, known and knowledge. So he alone, the Self which is to be known, himself of himself divides the world variously. Thus from the Self alone the bodies, the physical frames, come forth in order, beginning with space; all from the first-born god down. He therefore is the root of the world, as the holy text says, ‘From whom these beings are born’ (Taitt. 3.1) and hence he is eternal. For what¬ever is a modification, for instance of earth, will perish in due course as earth dissolves in the (reverse) sequence beginning with water (which had been the preceding element in the order of creation); it will revert to its fundamental cause, and such a thing is not eternal, not constant. And this Self is the ultimate root-cause, there being no further root-cause beyond it. Since what is born will perish, will revert to its ultimate cause, this which is different from those things is therefore eternal, always of the same nature. And it is constant because it is one, great, and the ultimate cause.

Thus for the man who has known the Self as described, the yogas of the Self (adhyatmika-yogas) practised in the approved way become directly effective. For it is only when preceded by false notions that doshas exist at all. When the doshas cease, samsara also, which arises from them by way of actions of right and wrong, ceases completely. To show this, the verse says,