स्वप्ने यथा शिरश्छेदं पञ्चत्वाद्यात्मन: स्वयम् । यस्मात् पश्यति देहस्य तत आत्मा ह्यजोऽमर: ॥ ४ ॥
svapne yathā śiraś-chedaṁ pañcatvādy ātmanaḥ svayam yasmāt paśyati dehasya tata ātmā hy ajo ’maraḥ
- svapne
- in a dream
- yathā
- as
- śiraḥ
- of one’s head
- chedam
- the cutting off
- pañcatva-ādi
- the condition of being composed of the five material elements, and other material conditions
- ātmanaḥ
- one’s own
- svayam
- oneself
- yasmāt
- because
- paśyati
- one sees
- dehasya
- of the body
- tataḥ
- therefore
- ātmā
- the soul
- hi
- certainly
- ajaḥ
- unborn
- amaraḥ
- immortal
In a dream one can see his own head being cut off and thus understand that his actual self is standing apart from the dream experience. Similarly, while awake one can see that his body is a product of the five material elements. Therefore it is to be understood that the actual self, the soul, is distinct from the body it observes and is unborn and immortal.