Sat-darshana Bhashya (translation)

Verse 10.

भवन्तु सद्दर्शनसाधनानि
परस्य नामाकृतिभिः सपर्याः।
सद्वस्तुनि प्राप्ततदात्मभावा
निष्ठव सद्दर्शनमित्यवेहि ॥

For perception of the Truth, worship of the Supreme
In name and form is means indeed.
But the state of being that in natural poise of Self,
That alone is perception true.

Names of the Lord such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra and others, or his forms such as the Hiranmaya, the mystic gold-form of the Upanishad, or the eight-fold form Universal, asthamurti[^102]

[^102]: The Lord’s embodiment in created existence is Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Sun, Moon and yajamana, the soul that offers its all in sacrifice to the Lord., all these are means of worship leading to the ultimate Realisation of the Supreme Truth, sat-darsana. Worship by means of forms is indeed fruitful, and has a purpose and usefulness of its own, whether these forms are as imaged in the human mind, such as Shiva with his vehicle of the symbolic Bull vrsavahana or Vishnu seated on the Divine Eagle garudavahana, or whether these are as formed in the universal mind, such as Agni, Vayu and Surya. But the fruit of worship depends upon the grace of the worshipped Lord who responds to the measure of faith in the worshipper. The worshipped Lord, not confined to the particular form in which he is worshipped, responds to the call of the devout worshipper whose being in all its entirety is filled with faith and bestows on him the fruit of his worship. Worship by means of names and forms are a help indeed to the realisation of Brahman as our deepest being, the Self. "But the state of being that in natural poise of the Self is perception true.” Nistha the supreme state is verily sat-darsan real perception of the Truth.

And this is the nistha, the settled state in the Supreme Reality, in the one Substance, support and basis of the worshipper and the worshipped, in which is realised the identity of self with Brahman. In this verse, Truth-perception is described to be the highest poise of the self. In a subsequent verse (the 23rd), Self-perception or God-realisation is said to consist in the jiva or soul becoming food, i.e., object of enjoyment or experience to the Lord. So we have two descriptions of the one exalted state, sat-dorsana and atmadarsana, Truth-perception and Self-realisation. Similarly in the two invocatory verses commencing the work, this Supreme Brahman was described to be both Impersonal and Personal, Impersonal for purposes of kaivalya nistha the sole supreme poise, and Personal for sayujya, conscious union of the soul with Brahman. Thus we are reminded that the two aspects are presented for the two distinct paths of knowledge and devotion, that ultimately culminate in a Supreme Realisation, which, in view of the Oneness of the being in the jiva as well as in the Ishwara is mentioned as sat-darsana (nistha) and in view of the jiva’s relation in world-existence to Iswara is named atma-darsana sayujya.

Then search is suggested as a means, a discipline helpful to an earnest enquirer of the discriminating mind.