नेदं नेदमिति व्यर्थप्रलापैर्नोपशाम्यति । संकल्पजनकैर्दृश्यव्याधिः प्रत्युत वर्द्धते ॥ २४ ॥
nēdaṁ nēdamiti vyarthapralāpairnōpaśāmyati | saṁkalpajanakairdṛśyavyādhiḥ pratyuta varddhatē || 24 ||
Translation
It is not quieted by idle talk of "not this, not this"; rather the sickness of the seen grows by them, since they give rise to fresh imaginings.
Word by word
- na
- not
- idaṁ
- this
- iti
- "
- vyartha
- idle
- pralāpair
- (pralāpaiḥ) by talk
- upaśāmyati
- is quieted
- saṁkalpa
- imaginings
- janakair
- (janakaiḥ) since they give rise to
- dṛśya
- of the seen
- vyādhiḥ
- the sickness
- pratyuta
- rather
- varddhatē
- grows
Meaning
The commentary meets the objection: if freedom is the absence of the seen, why the labour of gaining knowledge? Just say of each thing as it comes, "this is not", as one cures a disease by driving it out. No, it says: such talk does not destroy the seen, it makes it grow. While the seen stands, saying "this is not" is contradicted by the seen itself, so one must imagine some other seen to drive out the first, and the denial produces two in place of one. The "not this" of scripture (neti neti) works only when it brings knowledge; repeated as a formula, it is one more imagining.