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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 10: Chapter 14: Verses 23-31
You are the one Self, the most ancient Person, real, self-luminous, infinite, the very first, eternal, imperishable, full of uninterrupted Bliss, taintless (untouched by Maya), perfect, secondless, devoid of all adjuncts and immortal. They (surely) cross as it were the false ocean of mundane existence, who perceive through the penetrating eye of wisdom obtained from the sun-like preceptor You as such, the very Self of all living beings, as the Self of their own self. In the eye of those who fail to perceive the Self in its true character the whole universe is evolved through that very ignorance and again it disappears as a result of spiritual enlightenment, even as the body of a serpent appears and disappears in a rope (through ignorance and knowledge of its real character respectively). Bondage in the form of mundane existence and release from it-both are as a matter of fact (mere) names given through ignorance. In relation to the absolute transcendent Self, consisting of eternal consciousness, when investigated, they have no existence separate from the Self, which is truth and consciousness combined, any more than day and night have separate existence in relation to the sun.
Oh ! such is the folly of the ignorant folk that regarding You, their very Self, as other (than themselves), and the body etc., (which is other than the Self) as their self, they look for the Self (the supreme Spirit) outside (their self). In this psycho-physical organism (which comes into being), 0 infinite Lord, the wise indeed seek You alone, rejecting (all) that which is other than You (vi ., the body etc., which is ordinarily recognized as one's own self). Could even men of correct judgment perceive the rope (which is mistaken for a snake through ignorance) lying near at hand without negating the snake though non-existent ? Nevertheless, 0 self-effulgent Lord, he alone who is blessed with an iota of grace of Thy lotus-feet can in fact realize the essence of Your glory; none other can do so even though investigating it for a long time all alone (in uninterrupted seclusion). Therefore, 0 Lord, may that great fortune be mine, whereby in this (the life of Brahma) or any other life even among the subhuman creatures I may turn out to be anyone of Your devotees and lovingly tend Yourfeet, tender as a fresh leaf. Oh, highly blessed are the cows and cowherdesses of Vraja, the nectar-like milk of whose udders and breasts was gladly sucked to Your heart's content by You in the form of their calves and sons, 0 almighty Lord, to whose gratification sacrifices have not proved equal even to this day !
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