Shvetashvatara Upanishad 5.8

The Hidden TruthYajur Veda

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Shvetashvatara Upanishad 5.8
intermediate
अङ्गुष्ठमात्रो रविनुल्यरूपः संकल्पाहङ्कारसमन्वितो यः। बुद्धेर्गुणेनात्मगुणेन चैव आराग्रमात्रो ह्यपरोऽपि दृष्टः॥

aṅguṣṭhamātro ravinulyarūpaḥ saṃkalpāhaṅkārasamanvito yaḥ | buddheguṇenātmaguṇena caiva ārāgramātro hyaparo\'pi dṛṣṭaḥ ||

"Thumb-sized, like the sun in appearance, endowed with will and ego, with the quality of intellect and the quality of the self - this other one is seen as small as the tip of a goad."

What This Means:

The Self is described as thumb-sized, like a sun, having will, ego, and intellect. It is seen as tiny as a goad's point.

Going Deeper:

The "thumb-sized" Self in the heart is a recurring Upanishadic image (Katha 6.17). Though luminous like the sun, it appears tiny because of limiting adjuncts.

How To Apply This:

Meditate on the luminous Self in the heart, thumb-sized, radiant as the sun.

#thumb-sized Self#heart#luminous#ego#intellect