Panchadashi Chapter 10

In this chapter, using an allegory of a lamp and its illumination of a theatre, the nature of the Self and its illumination of the world of objects is expounded. Just as the lamp illuminates the entire theatre without participating in it, the Self similarly, without changing, illumines the entire drama of life. The various aspects of the metaphor such as the audience, dancers and musicians are compared and contrasted with the entities such as the body, mind and senses, which are all illumined by the Self. Also, the lamp continues to illuminate even in the absence of the dancer and the rest of the people. Likewise, the Self continues to remain as an all-illumining Consciousness Principle even when the ahankara, buddhi and so on are absent. This album contains discourses by Swami Advayananda, President of Chinmaya International Foundation, recorded during the webinar satsangs held at Adi Sankara Nilayam in December 2023.