स य आकाशं ब्रह्मेत्युपास्त आकाशवतो वै स लोकान्प्रकाशवतोऽसंबाधानुरुगायवतोऽभिसिध्यति यावदाकाशस्य गतं तत्रास्य यथाकामचारो भवति य आकाशं ब्रह्मेत्युपास्तेऽस्ति भगव आकाशाद्भूय इति आकाशाद्वाव भूयोऽस्तीति तन्मे भगवान्ब्रवीत्विति ॥ ७.१२.२ ॥
॥ इति द्वादशः खण्डः ॥sa ya ākāśaṃ brahmetyupāsta ākāśavato vai sa lokānprakāśavato’saṃbādhānurugāyavato’bhisidhyati yāvadākāśasya gataṃ tatrāsya yathākāmacāro bhavati ya ākāśaṃ brahmetyupāste’sti bhagava ākāśādbhūya iti ākāśādvāva bhūyo’stīti tanme bhagavānbravītviti || 7.12.2 ||
|| iti dvādaśaḥ khaṇḍaḥ ||2. ‘One who worships ākāśa [space] as Brahman attains worlds that are spacious, shining, free from all drawbacks, and extensive. One who worships ākāśa as Brahman can do what he pleases within the range of ākāśa.’ Nārada asked, ‘Sir, is there anything higher than ākāśa?’ ‘Of course there is something higher than ākāśa,’ replied Sanatkumāra. Nārada then said, ‘Sir, please explain that to me’.
Word-for-word explanation:
Saḥ yaḥ, he who; ākāśam brahma iti upāste, worships space as Brahman; saḥ vai lokān, he attains worlds; ākāśavataḥ prakāśavataḥ, that are spacious and shining; asambādhān, free from all hindrances; urugāyavataḥ, [and] extensive; yāvat ākāśasya gatam, as far as space goes; tatra, that far; asya yathā-kāmacāraḥ bhavati, as he wishes he can go; yaḥ ākāśam brahma iti upāste, he who worships space as Brahman; bhagavaḥ, sir; ākāśāt bhūyaḥ asti iti, is there anything higher than ākāśa; ākāśāt vāva bhūyaḥ asti iti, there is certainly something higher than ākāśa; bhagavān, sir; tat me bravītu iti, please explain it to me. Iti dvādaśaḥ khaṇḍaḥ, here ends the twelfth section.
Commentary:
If you meditate on something vast, you become vast. Space is infinite, so when you meditate on space you gradually envelop the whole universe. You become so vast that you find there are no hurdles in your way.
Why do we practise meditation? One reason is to quicken our growth, our inner development. When we meditate on the deity we like most, we are, in fact, meditating on the qualities that deity embodies. Then gradually we find we are acquiring those same qualities.
There is a Sanskrit saying: ‘As you think, so you are.’ If you think you are good, then you will be good. But if you start thinking you are bad, you will soon discover that you are deteriorating. This is why we must meditate on that which is good and noble.
Again Nārada is not content. He asks if there is something higher. The student has to ask; otherwise, if he is not interested, there is no point in teaching him. The student must have the urge within himself