Panchadasi – Chapter 2 Class Notes – Volume 4

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Introduction

In Chapter 2 of the Pañcadaśī, after the earlier sections which analysed the five elements and the nature of power (shakti/māyā) in verses 1-72, Verses 73-102 move further into the integration and application of that discrimination. This portion emphasizes how the realized one lives, how knowledge functions in daily life, how the sense of limitation disappears, and how in the midst of world-appearance one abides as the Self. It transitions from philosophical analysis to the lived implications of that insight. Click Here To Access more other text.

Benefits

Studying Verses 73-102 brings these major benefits:

A fuller understanding of the lived state of jñāna (knowledge) and how it transforms one’s relationship to the world, actions, body and mind.
Greater freedom from identification with limited roles, states, powers — seeing them as mere appearances in consciousness.
Increased inner stability: confusion, fear and restlessness diminish when one internalizes the teaching of abiding as the Self.
Enhanced clarity of method: how to live the insight moment-to-moment, not just conceptually.
Living embodiment of non-duality: seeing that the Self remains untouched amid change, thereby reducing attachment and fear. Click view PDF.

All Verses 73-102 (Translation + Commentary)

Here are Verses 73-102 with short translations and commentary:

Verse 73

Translation: “He whose discrimination (viveka) is firm sees even the five elements as non-Self and abides as the witness of their play.”
Meaning: The wise one realizes that even earth, water, fire, air, and space are not the Self but objects witnessed by consciousness.
Insight: Marks the shift from theoretical discrimination to steady witnessing—watching without identifying.

Verse 74

Translation: “Even when the body acts, the Self remains inactive; the wise one identifies with that inactivity and stays unshaken by results.”
Meaning: Actions happen through body and mind, but the Self is actionless.
Insight: True detachment is not inaction but knowing “I do nothing.” Click view PDF.

Verse 75

Translation: “Though the world of names and forms appears, the Self remains the formless background; the wise one rejoices in that formlessness.”
Meaning: Forms are mere appearances in the formless consciousness.
Insight: Joy arises from abiding in the unchanging.

Verse 76

Translation: “When the mind withdraws from identification, the sense of limitation vanishes — the infinite alone shines.”
Meaning: The ego dissolves when mental grasping ends.
Insight: The infinite Self is ever-present once limitation is seen as false. Click view PDF.

Verse 77

Translation: “The Self is self-luminous, beyond opposites and change; one who knows this is free while living.”
Meaning: Freedom (jīvanmukti) is realizing the changeless witness even amidst life.
Insight: Liberation is here and now, not post-mortem.

Verse 78

Translation: “The wise do not claim doership, enjoyership, or ownership; all roles appear as mere illusion.”
Meaning: Life continues, but egoic ownership ends.
Insight: Function continues, bondage ceases. Click view PDF.

Verse 79

Translation: “Attachment and aversion do not touch him; pleasure and pain arise, but he remains the unmoved witness.”
Meaning: Emotions occur, but identification ends.
Insight: Equanimity through witnessing.

Verse 80

Translation: “His mind is like a clean mirror—reflecting the world yet untouched by it.”
Meaning: Perception remains, purity stays.
Insight: Symbol of the realized mind. Click view PDF.

Verse 81

Translation: “Though the body perishes, the Self remains ever-present; the wise rejoice in that permanence.”
Meaning: Mortality belongs to the body, not the Self.
Insight: Knowledge ends fear of death.

Verse 82

Translation: “Knowing the Self as changeless, he sees body and mind as mere instruments.”
Meaning: Identification transfers from instrument to Self.
Insight: Self is subject, not the object. Click view PDF.

Verse 83

Translation: “The Self is beyond time, space, and causation; though seeming within them, it is untouched.”
Meaning: Time, space, and causality are projections in consciousness.
Insight: True freedom is transcendence of all dimensions.

Verse 84

Translation: “He whose knowledge is steady is not born again; ignorance and bondage vanish.”
Meaning: Liberation ends the cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra).
Insight: Fruit of wisdom — apunarbhava. Click view PDF.

Verse 85

Translation: “Even if he lives in the world, he is like a divine child—untouched by bondage.”
Meaning: Outer activity continues, inner purity remains.
Insight: Symbol of innocence regained.

Verse 86

Translation: “He does not seek liberation, for he is already the Self; freedom is recognition, not attainment.”
Meaning: Knowledge reveals what was never lost.
Insight: Mokṣa is not achieved — it is unveiled. Click view PDF.

Verse 87

Translation: “Fear of death and loss vanish, for the Self is the substratum of all.”
Meaning: Nothing can threaten what you truly are.
Insight: Realization brings abhaya — total fearlessness.

Verse 88

Translation: “He speaks when needed, silent when needed — his actions arise naturally, not from ego.”
Meaning: Life becomes spontaneous expression of awareness.
Insight: Freedom expresses as effortless balance.

Verse 89

Translation: “He mingles with the wise or remains alone as required — inwardly, he is ever alone in his Self.”
Meaning: Solitude or company no longer matter.
Insight: True solitude is inner independence. Click view PDF.

Verse 90

Translation: “The Self is everywhere; multiplicity exists only for the ignorant. The wise live as the universal Self.”
Meaning: All distinctions dissolve in unity.
Insight: “I am all” replaces “I am this.”

Verse 91

Translation: “Through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one moves from doubt to certainty; the Self then shines as bliss.”
Meaning: The traditional triad — śravaṇa-manana-nididhyāsana — purifies understanding.
Insight: Knowledge matures through repeated inquiry. Click view PDF.

Verse 92

Translation: “Established in this wisdom, he sees no sacred or profane — all is Self.”
Meaning: Dualities of purity/impurity dissolve.
Insight: Universal vision of equality.

Verse 93

Translation: “He does not confuse memory with direct knowledge; realization is continuous, even in sleep.”
Meaning: Knowledge is not recollection but abidance.
Insight: Unbroken awareness beyond waking states.

Verse 94

Translation: “He lives in the body and mind but is not of them; the Self is his reality.”
Meaning: The world is appearance, not essence.
Insight: “In the world, but not of it.” Click view PDF.

Verse 95

Translation: “When one knows the unreality of the non-Self, one rests in the Self — nothing remains to be done.”
Meaning: The seeker’s journey ends in effortless being.
Insight: Completion of neti-neti — pure “I-am.”

Verse 96

Translation: “All powers and roles vanish in the Self; the wise abide in limitless peace.”
Meaning: Renunciation of subtle ego and spiritual pride.
Insight: Real contentment — nothing to gain or lose. Click view PDF.

Verse 97

Translation: “In the Self there is no second; multiplicity appears only for the ignorant.”
Meaning: Reality is one without another (advaita).
Insight: End of all dual thought.

Verse 98

Translation: “The Self is never born nor dies; it witnesses both birth and death.”
Meaning: The witness remains unchanged.
Insight: Awareness outlives all cycles.

Verse 99

Translation: “He who knows this remains unattached to the body-mind, though appearing as a person.”
Meaning: The sage seems human but lives as pure consciousness.
Insight: Appearance without identification. Click view PDF.

Verse 100

Translation: “Let the wise strive with effort yet without effort — by knowledge ignorance falls away; this is the highest yoga.”
Meaning: The paradox of spiritual discipline — doing to realize non-doing.
Insight: The only true yoga is knowledge-based stillness.

Verse 101

Translation: “Having known the Self, let him abide as the Self — unaffected by gain or loss, motive or reward.”
Meaning: Stability of realization; action free of expectation.
Insight: Unshakable equanimity. Click view PDF.

Verse 102

Translation: “May all seekers understand this discrimination and abide as the ever-free, blissful Self.”
Meaning: Concluding blessing — may knowledge awaken in all.
Insight: Benediction marking completion of the chapter.

Why Study

Because this section transitions from analysis to integration—it shows how discrimination of elements/power leads to living insight and transformation.
Because unless one understands how knowledge functions in life, the teaching remains intellectual — these verses show how to embody it.
Because they address the final barriers: doer/enjoyer identification, fear, attachment, and show how the Self transcends them.
Because they provide the living ethic and psychology of the realized being, enabling you to move beyond theory into practice.
Because they give motivational support: showing the fruit and freedom of the path, thereby inspiring perseverance. Click view PDF.

How to Study

Śravaṇa (Listening/Reading): Read all verses 73-102 with translation and commentary (your PDF notes). Focus especially on the living implications (verses 77-90) and the method reminders (verses 91-100).
Manana (Reflection): After each verse ask:
1. Where am I still identifying with body/mind/power?
2. What difference would it make if I abided as the Self in this moment?
3. How does this verse shift my view of action, desire, fear?
  Use journaling for your responses.
Nididhyāsana (Meditative Assimilation): Sit quietly for 10-20 minutes focusing on phrases like: “I am the ever-free Self unaffected by name/form.” When anxiety, ambition, fear or desire arise, gently notice them as content and return to the “I-am” sense.
Repetition Schedule:
1. First reading: thorough once.
2. Second reading: after ~1 week, deeper reflection.
3. Third reading: after ~1 month, allow insight to settle into life.
4. Weekly reviews for 3-6 months; then quarterly.
Study with a Teacher / Group: Especially useful for discussing how to live these teachings practically: questions like “How do I function in society while abiding as the Self?” or “How do I handle fear of death even after realization?”
Daily Application: Whenever you feel fear, drive, attachment, or identification: recall verses such as 77, 87, 95. Ask: Am I the Fear-holder or the Self that witnesses fear? Let that question be your practice trigger. Click view PDF.

Conclusion

Verses 73-102 of Chapter 2 of the Pañcadaśī bring the inquiry into the realm of living realization. They teach how the discrimination of elements and powers leads to non-identification with them, how the wise live in the world yet abide as the Self, and how the final state of freedom, peace and bliss is not a far-off attainment but recognition of one’s true nature. When these teachings are assimilated, the seeker moves from being “someone who knows” toward being the knowing itself, unaffected by the tides of name, form, power, birth or death. This section marks the threshold from philosophical understanding to steady being-as-That.