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Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.

Adi Shankara

All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.
ADI SHANKARA

Existence Imagination Manifestation Nature Ornament World
There is sorrow in finitude. The Self is beyond time, space and objects. It is infinite and hence of the nature of absolute happiness.
ADI SHANKARA

Beyond Happiness Nature Sorrow Time
When your last breath arrives, Grammar can do nothing.
ADI SHANKARA

Breathe Grammar Yourself
Loud speech, profusion of words, and possessing skillfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not lead to liberation.
ADI SHANKARA

Leadership Liberty Loud Scripture Speech Talk
Curb your senses and your mind and see the Lord within your heart.
ADI SHANKARA

God Heart Mindset
But the jiva [living being] is endowed with ego and his knowledge is limited, whereas Ishwar is without ego and is omniscient.
ADI SHANKARA

Ego Himself Human Knowledge Limitation
Give up identification with this mass of flesh as well as with what thinks it a mass. Both are intellectual imaginations. Recognise your true self as undifferentiated awareness, unaffected by time, past, present or future, and enter Peace.
ADI SHANKARA

Awareness Future Identify Imagination Intellectual Mass Peace Present Thinking Yourself
Who but the Atman is capable of removing the bonds of ignorance, passion and self-interested action?
ADI SHANKARA

Action Bond Ignorance Interest Remove
Space seems broken and diverse because of the many forms in it. Remove the forms and pure space remains. So, too with the Omnipresent Self.
ADI SHANKARA

Break Diversity Omnipresent Purity Space
Each thing tends to move towards its own nature. I always desire happiness which is my true nature. My nature is never a burden to me. Happiness is never a burden to me, whilst sorrow is.
ADI SHANKARA

Desire Happiness Move Nature Sorrow
Thus one should know oneself to be of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
ADI SHANKARA

Consciousness Existence Nature
You never identify yourself with the shadows cast by your body, or with its reflection, or with the body you see in a dream or in your imagination. Therefore you should not identify yourself with this living body either.
ADI SHANKARA

Body Identify Live Reflection Shadow Yourself
To be free from bondage the wise person must practise discrimination between One-Self and the ego-self. By that alone you will become full of joy, recognising Self as Pure Being, Consciousness and Bliss.
ADI SHANKARA

Bondage Consciousness Discrimination Freedom Recognition
Do not be proud of wealth, people, relations and friends, or youth. All these are snatched by time in the blink of an eye. Giving up this illusory world, know and attain the Supreme.
ADI SHANKARA

Eyes Friendship Illusion People Proud Wealth World Yourself Youth
Reality can be experienced only with the eye of understanding, not just by a scholar.
ADI SHANKARA

Experience Eyes Reality Scholar
The witness of the three states of consciousness [waking, dream and deep sleep] and of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss is the Self.
ADI SHANKARA

Consciousness Dreams Existence State
What is enquiry into the Truth? It is the firm conviction that the Self is real, and all, other than That, is unreal.
ADI SHANKARA

Reality Truth
The world, like a dream full of attachments and aversions seems real until the awakening.
ADI SHANKARA

Attachment Awakening Dreams World
Knowing that I am different from the body, I need not neglect the body. It is a vehicle that I use to transact with the world. It is the temple which houses the Pure Self within.
ADI SHANKARA

Body Different Myself Need Purity Temple World
Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.
ADI SHANKARA

Appearance Mother Reality Realize
The treasure I have found cannot be described in words, the mind cannot conceive of it.
ADI SHANKARA

Description Finding Mindset Treasure
From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures.
ADI SHANKARA

Goal Human Knowledge Scripture Teaching Yourself
As gold purified in a furnace loses its impurities and achieves its own true nature, the mind gets rid of the impurities of the attributes of delusion, attachment and purity through meditation and attains Reality.
ADI SHANKARA

Achievement Attachment Attain Gold Illusion Loss Reality Yourself

Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.

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Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.

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