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VIVEKACUDAMAŅI
accordance with it and because śruti itself conveys this truth by say. ing 'amrtatvasya nāśāti vittena' (Brh.), that immortality cannot be secured by worldly goods and as such karmas which produce them are discountenanced for the purpose of liberation, therefore, let the wise men strive truly and well for liberation.
अतो विमुक्त्यै प्रयतेत विद्वान् संन्यस्तबाह्यार्थसुखस्पृहः सन्। सन्तं महान्तं समुपेत्य देशिकं तेनोपदिष्टार्थसमाहितात्मा ॥८॥ ato vimuktyai prayateta vidvān
samnyastabāhyārthasukhasprhassan santam mahāntar samupetya desikam
tenopadiştārthasamāhitātmā 11
Therefore, let a wise man strive earnestly for liberation giving up all desire for pleasures coming from external objects. He must humbly approach a guru who; by his realisation, is to be equated with the sat and possesses superlative virtues, and concentrate his mind on the significance of his teaching
By the word vidvān in the śloka is indicated the wise man who knows to discriminate between the eternal and the transient. The Gītā says ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā duḥkhayonaya eva te 1 ādyantavantaḥ kaunteya na teșu ramate budhaḥ 11 "The joys that come from sense-contact make for sorrow only. They have a beginning and an end. A wise man does not delight in them." By this the Gītā clearly indicates the meaning of the word 'vidvān' by the use of the word 'budhah'.
The expression 'bāhyartha' (springing from an externai source) points to the transience of pleasures springing from objects of sense. Things are in the external world; they come and go; they are not permanent. So, the pleasures arising from them are also impermanent. Hence śrī Bhagavatpāda first detailed the method of striving (for liberation) by saying that the wise man of determination and daring should give up such desire for external pleasures. That means that one should renounce the desire for pleasures of this
5 They are called duḥkhayonayah. This may be understood in two senses, either as having their source in duḥkha or as being themselves the source of duhkha. Their 'yoni' or source is in duḥkha. Not having them before they were obtained is fraught with sorrow, or, they pass away quickly and when they pass away, that leads to sorrow. Further, sense-pleasures are pleasant in the beginning, but lead to pain at the end.