एष एव मनोजन्तुर्यद्यत् प्रयतते हितम् । कृतं तत्तदवाप्नोति स्वत एव हि दैवतः ॥ १९ ॥
ēṣa ēva manōjanturyadyat prayatatē hitam | kṛtaṁ tattadavāpnōti svata ēva hi daivataḥ || 19 ||
Translation
This very creature who is mind, whatever good he strives for, obtains that, as it was done, from himself alone and not from fate.
Word by word
- ēṣa
- this
- ēva
- very; alone
- manō
- (manaḥ) who is mind
- jantur
- (jantuḥ) creature
- yadyat
- whatever
- prayatatē
- strives for
- hitam
- good
- kṛtaṁ
- as it was done
- tattad
- (tat tat) that
- avāpnōti
- obtains
- svata
- (svataḥ) from himself
- hi
- indeed
- daivataḥ
- from fate
Meaning
The commentary raises an objection: the Upaniṣad says that breathing the Self is called breath, speaking it is called speech. So the Self is what stands as act and fruit; call that fate, then. Well and good, it answers. That takes nothing from a person's freedom, since this one who has become mind is the one who strives and receives. The phrase mano-jantu, the creature who is mind, is a striking one. We are not a body that happens to have a mind. Whatever we are now, we are it as a mind, and a mind can act on itself.