अशून्यमिव यच्छून्यं यस्मिन् शून्यं जगत्स्थितम् । सर्गौघे सति यच्छून्यं तद्रूपं परमात्मनः ॥ २२ ॥
aśūnyamiva yacchūnyaṁ yasmin śūnyaṁ jagatsthitam | sargaughē sati yacchūnyaṁ tadrūpaṁ paramātmanaḥ || 22 ||
Translation
That which is empty and yet as if not empty, in which the empty world stands, which, though a flood of creations is there, is empty: that is the form of the supreme Self.
Word by word
- aśūnyam
- not empty
- iva
- as if
- yac
- (yat) which
- śūnyaṁ
- empty
- yasmin
- in which
- jagat
- the world
- sthitam
- stands
- sarga
- of creations
- ōghē
- a flood
- sati
- is there
- tad
- (tat) that
- rūpaṁ
- is the form
- paramātmanaḥ
- of the supreme Self
Meaning
The commentary unfolds the paradox. It is empty of the nature of the world, and yet as if not empty, for it is full as the true being of all things. The world stands in it, though the world is not. And while ignorance shows flood upon flood of creation, it, though present, seems empty, because it is of no use to that flood: it is not one of the things in it.