dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho 'kṣara ucyate
"There are two persons in the world—the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are the perishable; the unchanging is called the imperishable."
What This Means:
There are two categories of purusha (person/being): the perishable (kshara)—all manifest beings—and the imperishable (akshara)—the unchanging witness. Bodies perish; the witnessing consciousness doesn't.
Going Deeper:
'Dvau imau puruṣau'—these two persons/categories. 'Kṣaraḥ'—the perishable, changing. 'Akṣaraḥ'—the imperishable, unchanging. 'Kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni'—all beings are perishable (the manifest world). 'Kūṭa-sthaḥ akṣaraḥ ucyate'—the unchanging (witness, like an anvil—kūṭa—that remains stable while being struck) is called imperishable. This sets up the revelation of the third, highest category.
How To Apply This:
You participate in both: your body-mind is kshara (changing daily), but your awareness is akshara (the same awareness you had as a child). Can you identify with the unchanging rather than the changing?
Key Sanskrit Terms: