॥ अष्टमोऽध्यायः ॥
अथ यदिदमस्मिन्ब्रह्मपुरे दहरं पुण्डरीकं वेश्म दहरोऽस्मिन्नन्तराकाशस्तस्मिन्यदन्तस्तदन्वेष्टव्यं तद्वाव विजिज्ञासितव्यमिति ॥ ८.१.१ ॥|| aṣṭamo’dhyāyaḥ ||
atha yadidamasminbrahmapure daharaṃ puṇḍarīkaṃ veśma daharo’sminnantarākāśastasminyadantastadanveṣṭavyaṃ tadvāva vijijñāsitavyamiti || 8.1.1 ||1. Om. This body is the city of Brahman. Within it is an abode in the shape of a lotus [i.e., the heart], and within that there is a small space. One must search within this space and earnestly desire to know what is there.
Word-for-word explanation:
Atha, next; asmin brahmapure, in this city of Brahman [i.e., the body]; yat idam daharam, this small; puṇḍarīkam, lotus; veśma, an abode [i.e., the heart]; asmin, in this; daharaḥ antarākāśaḥ, is a small space; tasmin yat antaḥ, within that; tat anveṣṭavyam, one must seek that; tat vāva vijijñāsitavyam iti, one must earnestly desire to know that.
Commentary:
The scriptures try to help us know our real identity, because when we know that, we know we are all one with Brahman. But first we must have a pure mind. The mind becomes purified by living a good life and by practising self-restraint and truthfulness. It is in the pure mind that the Self reveals itself. The heart is said to be like a lotus, and in that lotus resides the Self—as if this is the home of the Self.