स्वयं स्पन्दितया स्पन्दि चित्त्वाच्चिति महानभः । चित्प्रकाशप्रकाशो हि जगदस्ति च नाऽस्ति च ॥ ६८ ॥
svayaṁ spanditayā spandi cittvācciti mahānabhaḥ | citprakāśaprakāśō hi jagadasti ca nā’sti ca || 68 ||
Translation
Of itself, moving by movement, by awareness in awareness, the great sky. The world is the light of the light of awareness; it is and it is not.
Word by word
- svayaṁ
- of itself
- spanditayā
- by movement
- spandi
- moving
- cittvāc
- (cittvāt) by awareness
- citi
- in awareness
- mahā
- the great
- nabhaḥ
- sky
- cit
- of awareness
- prakāśa
- of the light
- prakāśō
- (prakāśaḥ) the light
- hi
- indeed
- jagad
- (jagat) the world
- asti
- is
- ca
- and
- nāsti
- is not
Meaning
The commentary takes the first half: Brahman, made of awareness, by not reflecting, imagining itself as the breath and the rest whose nature is to move, is a being in the world; by reflecting, when awareness rises as "I am awareness", it stands in awareness, its own nature. Then it asks: does the world exist in awareness in its own form or not? If it does, it would be bound; if not, it would be unrelated. The answer, over the next six and a half verses: the world exists by the being of Brahman, and does not exist by its own. The refrain "it is and it is not" begins here.