Panchadasi-Chapter 1-Verses 8 and 9

Hari Aum

Prostrations to my Guru. Prostrations to All.

SLOKA 8:

iyam aatmaa paraanandaH para premaaspada.n yataH .
maa na bhuva.n hi bhuuyaasam iti prem aatman iikshyate .. 8..

SLOKA 9:

tat prem aatmaartham anyatra naivam anyaartham aatmani .
atas tat parama.n tena param aanandat aatmanaH .. 9..

This Consciousness, which is our Self, is of the nature of Supreme Bliss, for it is the object of greatest love, and love for the Self is seen in every man who wishes “May I never cease to exist”.


Other objects are loved for the sake of Self, Self is loved for none other. Therefore love for the Self is the highest. The Self is of the nature of Bliss Absolute.

In these two slokas Vidyaranya talks about the Blissful nature of the Self. Bliss is the very nature of the Self. All that is desired for in the world is only for the sake of this Self. If we desire to get something, it is desired for the sake of the Self only, if we are doing actions for the sake of family members so that they are happy, the happiness that one gets on seeing others happy is also for the sake of the Self. Nothing is loved for the sake of the object but for the sake of the Self. No one would want to destroy oneself, and hence one will always wish to exist all the time. Sometimes there will be displeasure with ones own Self because of the painful experience, but those are momentary hatred. The Self is always loved and it is the object of the greatest love. Happiness is what everyone wants, and all the desires are only for the happiness of ones own Self. If one love sweets it is for the sake of happiness to the Self through the sweets, the sweet is loved. But the Self is not loved for the sake of other objects. We can thus infer love for the Self is the highest than the love for any other thing.

The objects of desire doesn’t really have happiness but only seems to give the happiness, and thus when the desired object is got the happiness seems to have got from the Self. The happiness that seems to have got from the desired object is because of the ignorance of ones own Self, as the objects doesn’t give bliss but it is very nature of the Self. When a father lives with his most lovable son, he is very happy but if the son dies he is very sad. Thus we can see that objects of love don’t really have happiness but it is only seemingly got. Those momentary happiness are the bliss of the Self but conditioned by the modifications of the mind. Thus Self is of the nature of Supreme Bliss. It is called Supreme Bliss because all other bliss that is got from the desired object are only transitory and hence have only limited happiness, but it is the Bliss of the Self which is the very nature of the Self is Eternal and hence it is Supreme.

Prostrations to all

Hari Aum

Thanks,
Rajesh