52 VIVEKACHUDAMANI
123. From Mahat down to the gross ]3ody everything is the effect of Maya : These and Maya Herself know thou to be Non-self and therefore unreal like the mirage in a desert,
^[Mahat — Cosmic Intelligence. It is the first to proceed from Prakriti or Maya. For the hierarchy vide Katha Upa. I. iii. lo-ii. ]
124. Now I am going to tell thee of the real nature of the Paramatman, realising which man is freed from bondage and at- tains liberation.
[ Liberation : ' Kaivalya ' literally means extreme aloofness. ]
125. There is some Absolute Entity, the eternal substratum of the perception of Egoism, the witness of three states, and distinct from the five sheaths or cover- ings.
l^Five sheaths &c. — Consisting respectively of Anna ( matter ), Prana ( force ), Mana ( mind ),
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