प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति
विजानन् विद्वान् भवते नातिवादी ।
आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावा-
नेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥ ४॥
praṇo hyeṣa yaḥ sarvabhūtairvibhāti
vijānan vidvān bhavate nātivādī .
ātmakrīḍa ātmaratiḥ kriyāvā-
neṣa brahmavidāṃ variṣṭhaḥ .. 4..
He indeed is Prana; He shines forth variously in all beings. The wise man who knows Him does not babble. Revelling in the Self, delighting in the Self, performing actions, he is the foremost among the knowers of Brahman.
Commentary:
—–
This great Hiranyagarbha Prana, the Universal life principle, is visible in the form of the life of every little creature in this world. Having known this, our mouths are shut and we will not speak afterwards. Like a drowning person whose mouth is filled with water, Eternity will fill us to such an extent that we will have no occasion to open our mouths, and we will not speak. Silence is golden. Not merely is it a policy, but it is a result that follows from the highest vision. The more we know, the less we speak. As it is said, it is only half-filled pots that make a lot of noise. One who is filled with this knowledge of the Universal Prana operating through all life in this world is the true knower, and he does not speak afterwards. What does he do then?
Ātma-krīḍa ātma-ratiḥ kriyāvān eṣa brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah: He is the Knower supreme. He is the best of the knowers of Brahman. He rejoices not with things outside; he rejoices with himself—ātma-krīḍa. He plays with himself, he rejoices with himself, he works through himself, not with instruments outside. God does not have instruments like a pickaxe, a fountain pen, etc. By His very existence, He works. So is this knower of Brahman capable of working miracles in this world by his very existence. The words used here are brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah, which means the best of the knowers of Brahman.
There are four stages of Brahman knowledge described in the Yoga Vasishtha, and these stages are called brahmavid, brahmavidvara, brahmavidvariya and brahmavidvarishta. There are seven stages of knowledge in the ascent of the spirit to God—shubhecha, vicharana, tanumanasi, sattvapatti, asamsakti, padartha-bhavana and turiya. The fourth stage is called sattvapatti, where light flashes from Brahman, and that condition of the awareness of the flash of light from Brahman is called the state of brahmavid. Then the next stage comes. When we are totally detached from everything on account of the perception of this light everywhere, that is brahmavidvara. When we see consciousness illuminating through every brick, every stone and every atom, that stage is brahmavidvariya. Then we feel that the light is scintillating within us also, and we become indistinguishable from this mass of light everywhere; that is turiya. Such a stage is called brahmavidvarishta. He plays with himself, he rejoices with himself, he is satisfied with himself, and he works through the soul, and not by any kind of external instruments. Such a great soul, a true knower of Brahman the Supreme, is called brahmavidvarishta—eṣa brahma-vidāṁ viriṣṭhah.