Devanagari
स्यात्सादृश्यभ्रमस्तावद्विकल्पे सति वस्तुन: ।
जाग्रत्स्वापौ यथा स्वप्ने तथा विधिनिषेधता ॥ ६१ ॥
Verse text
syāt sādṛśya-bhramas tāvad
vikalpe sati vastunaḥ
jāgrat-svāpau yathā svapne
tathā vidhi-niṣedhatā
Synonyms
syāt
—
it so becomes
;
sādṛśya
—
similarity
;
bhramaḥ
—
mistake
;
tāvat
—
as long as
;
vikalpe
—
in separation
;
sati
—
the part
;
vastunaḥ
—
from the substance
;
jāgrat
—
waking
;
svāpau
—
sleeping
;
yathā
—
as
;
svapne
—
in a dream
;
tathā
—
similarly
;
vidhi
—
niṣedhatā — the regulative principles, consisting of injunctions and prohibitions .
Translation
When a substance and its parts are separated, the acceptance of similarity between one and the other is called illusion. While dreaming, one creates a separation between the existences called wakefulness and sleep. It is in such a state of mind that the regulative principles of the scriptures, consisting of injunctions and prohibitions, are recommended.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In thinking elements are real, one makes an error by a mistaken attribution of qualities. Just as one has perception of waking and sleep states in a dream, so one has perceptions of good and bad which are stated in the Vedas.
“But how does the perception that elements are real arise?” One makes an error in thinking that the false elements are real (vikalpe). This is the error of thinking Lord’s abode is eternal by equating it wrongly with Brahman, which is real. It is like the mirage of water. Light is real, but superimposing the idea of real water on it, one sees the mirage of water. Similarly though Brahman is real, by superimposing, through ignorance, elements of the Lord’ṣ abode, one produces the illusion of real elements.
However, one should not actually say that the Lord’s abode is unreal, being an illusory transformation of Brahman. Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad says that the abode of the Lord arises from Brahman’s svarūpa. Bhū-gola-cakre sapta-puryo bhavanti tāsāṁ madhye sākṣād-brahma-gopāla-puri: on earth there are seven cities, but among them the abode of Gopāla is directly Brahman. The genitive case (tāsām) is used to show the special nature of Kṛṣṇa’s abode among the cities. The words sākṣād-brahma indicate that this place is not like other objects, which are false superimpositions on Brahman. Thus the Lord’s abode should not be taken to be illusory.
The advaita-vadīs do not respect the eternal abode of the Lord and its elements, which arise from the hlādinī and other spiritual śaktis, completely different from māyā-śakti. They criticize it as an error of equating the unreal with the real, through their philosophy of transformation of Brahman, following a blind tradition. “If the world is false, how can the Vedas, knowing everything, speak of rules and forbiddance in this world? An intelligent person cannot point out good or bad qualities in an illusion of water.” Just as in a dream there is perception of waking and sleep states, so in the false world, there are both states, though they are unreal. The Vedic statements are made for those who are ignorant. Thus it is said: traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: the Vedas are concerned with the three guṇas; be transcendental to the guṇas, O Arjuna! (BG 2.45)
Purport
In material existence there are many regulative principles and formalities. If material existence is temporary or false, this does not mean that the spiritual world, although similar, is also false. That one’s material body is false or temporary does not mean that the body of the Supreme Lord is also false or temporary. The spiritual world is real, and the material world is similar to it. For example, in the desert we sometimes find a mirage, but although the water in a mirage is false, this does not mean that there is no water in reality; water exists, but not in the desert. Similarly, nothing real is in this material world, but reality is in the spiritual world. The Lord’s form and His abode — Goloka Vṛndāvana in the Vaikuṇṭha planets — are eternal realities.
From
Bhagavad-gītā
we understand that there is another
prakṛti,
or nature, which is real. This is explained by the Lord Himself in the Eighth Chapter of
Bhagavad-gītā
(8.19-21):
bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ’vaśaḥ pārtha
prabhavaty ahar-āgame
paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo
’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu
naśyatsu na vinaśyati
avyakto ’kṣara ity uktas
tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
yaṁ prāpya na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
“Again and again the day of Brahmā comes, and all living beings are active; and again the night falls, O Pārtha, and they are helplessly dissolved. Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is. That supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible, and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is My supreme abode.” The material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is temporary or false, but the spiritual world is an eternal reality.