PRABODHASUDHAKARA | SEL049 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

|| 12 | SELF-LUMINOSITY | 139-142 ||

Although ( luminous bodies ) headed by the sun , the moon , fire and the lamp are lights to themselves and others , the Self is not at all illuminated by those ( objects ) anywhere .

Or else , there can be the perception of these ( luminous objects ) through the eyes , only on account of the Supreme Self . And even there , if the Self has not become the helper through the eyes , even those objects are not known by mere luster .

If it is not so , why does not a blind person see objects when there is light ? Even when there is the Self why is there no knowledge ( or cognition in the above case ) ?

Yet , that ( cognition ) can arise through a different sense-organ . For instance , there is the perception of objects in a blind person when there is the association of the hand .

Commentary by Samvid :

The Self is self-luminous , being Pure Consciousness . It is not made known by any other factor .

It is the light of Pure Consciousness of the Self , which makes the perception of even luminous objects possible .

External light is of no avail to a blind person in cognizing objects . But the light of the Self enables a blind person to cognize objects through other sense-organs : eg the sense of touch .

The Self is the only self-luminous entity which illuminates everything in the Universe .

PRABODHASUDHAKARA | SEL050 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

|| 12 | SELF-LUMINOSITY | 143 ||

( There is ) the statement of the Upanisad-s thus :

" By which , possibly , can one know IT ( the Self ) , though whom one knows everything ?

Therefore , the Self is known by the Self .

Commentary by Samvid :

The reference is to the statement in the 5th section of the 4th chapter of Brhadaranyakopanisad . The cognition of all objects arises from the Light of Pure Consciousness . How could one know that by which one knows everything ?

The Self is verily one's real nature . One could only Be the Self . In other words , the Self knows itself .

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