Word meanings
- sarva
- all
- indriya
- senses
- guṇa
- sense-objects
- ābhāsam
- the perciever
- sarva
- all
- indriya
- senses
- vivarjitam
- devoid of
- asaktam
- unattached
- sarva-bhṛt
- the sustainer of all
- ca
- yet
- eva
- indeed
- nirguṇam
- beyond the three modes of material nature
- guṇa-bhoktṛ
- the enjoyer of the three modes of material nature
- ca
- although
Translations
Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without being attached to them; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet the experiencer of them.
Beyond the senses, it yet shines through every sense perception; bound to nothing, it yet sustains everything; unaffected by the qualities, it still enjoys them all.
Shining through the functions of all the organs, yet devoid of all the organs; unattached, and verily the supporter of all; without quality, and the perceiver of qualities.
वे (परमात्मा) सम्पूर्ण इन्द्रियोंसे रहित हैं और सम्पूर्ण इन्द्रियोंके विषयोंको प्रकाशित करनेवाले हैं; आसक्तिरहित हैं और सम्पूर्ण संसारका भरण-पोषण करनेवाले हैं; तथा गुणोंसे रहित हैं और सम्पूर्ण गुणोंके भोक्ता हैं।Commentary
Brahman sees without eyes, hears without ears, smells without nose, eats without mouth, feels without skin, grasps without hands, walks without feet. He is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker. Other than Him there is no seer, no hearer, no thinker. He is the Self, the Inner Ruler, the Immortal. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III.7.23) He is free from the, alities of Nature and yet He is the enjoyer of the alities. All the senses The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action, the inner senses, mind and intellect come under the term all the senses.
The organs of action and those of knowledge perform their functions in conjunction with the mind and the intellect. They cannot function independently. Therefore, the mind and the intellect are included in the term all the senses. Brahman is transcendental and unmanifest, but It manifests Itself through the limiting adjuncts of the extrnal and the internal senses. As It is destitute of the senses It is unattached and yet It supports all. It is the support or substratum of everything.
It is destitute of the alities of Nature and yet It is the enjoyer of those alities. Brahman is really mysterious. This verse is taken from the Svetasvataropanishad 3.17.