Bhaja Govindam Verse 10

वयसि गते कः कामविकारः शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः ।
क्षीणे वित्ते कः परिवारो ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः ॥
vayasi gate kaḥ kāmavikāraḥ śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ |
kṣīṇe vitte kaḥ parivāro jñāte tattve kaḥ saṃsāraḥ ||

  • vayasi gate (sati): when age has passed (upon the passing of youth); kāmavikāraḥ kaḥ: where is the passionate desire (lust)? śuṣke nīre (sati): when the water has dried up; kāsāraḥ kaḥ: where is the lake? kṣīṇe vitte (sati): when wealth has depleted; parivāraḥ kaḥ: where is the retinue (attached family/followers)? jñāte tattve (sati): when the truth is known; saṃsāraḥ kaḥ: where is the worldly existence (samsara/sorrow)? 

Summary: End of Samsara
When youth has passed away, how can there be any expression of lust, and when water has dried up, how can there be a lake?
In the same way, when wealth is depleted, the entourage of relatives ceases to exist.
Therefore, once the atma tattvam is known, the painful worldly existence known as saṃsāra completely vanishes.

  • The Relationship Between Knowledge and Liberation: Swamiji explains how spiritual knowledge directly leads to mukti. He points out that human dependence on the external world is purely the result of ignorance regarding our own real inner strength. Because we do not realize that everything we truly need is already within us, we mistakenly seek fulfillment from outside.
  • The Root Cause of Suffering: This dependence is caused by ajñānam (ignorance), which is the fundamental root of saṃsāra. Following the logic that when a cause is removed, its effect is also removed (kāraṇanāśe kāryanāśaḥ), it becomes clear that when ajñānam is destroyed by knowledge, saṃsāra is automatically destroyed along with it (ajñānanāśe saṃsāranāśaḥ).
  • The Principle of Cause and Effect: To illustrate this profound universal principle (kāraṇanāśāt kāryanāśaḥ), śaṅkarācārya provides three vivid examples in the first three lines of the verse, demonstrating how the disappearance of a cause inevitably leads to the disappearance of its effect.
  • The Loss of Youth and Physical Activity: The first example addresses youth and strength: vayasi gate kaḥ kāmavikāraḥ. The word kāma means desire, and vikāraḥ (its product) translates to karma (activity). Desire compels a person to work tirelessly, and this intense activity is only possible because of vayaḥ, which represents youth and balam (physical strength). balam is the direct cause of karma. Therefore, when old age arrives and physical strength is gone, the capacity for all those activities completely vanishes (balanāśe karmanāśaḥ).
  • The Dried-Up Lake: The second example observes nature: śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ. A kāsāraḥ (reservoir or lake) exists entirely because of jalam (water). Water is the cause, and the lake is the effect. The moment the water dries up (śuṣke nīre), the lake inherently ceases to exist (jalanāśe kāsāranāśaḥ).
  • Wealth and the Illusion of Relationships: The third example confronts the delusion of social circles: kṣīṇe vitte kaḥ parivāraḥ. Money is the primary cause for keeping a parivāra (retinue of family, friends, and followers) around a person. As long as wealth is present, people eagerly claim close relationships.
  • The Perspective of the Poor Poet: Highlighting this reality, Swamiji shares a profound verse from a poor poet who ironically thanked his poverty for making him equal to bhagavan. The poet reasoned that just as bhagavan sees everyone but no one sees bhagavan, he, as a penniless man on the street, sees everyone walking past, but absolutely no one turns to look at him: हे दारिद्र्य नमस्तेऽस्तु सिद्धोऽहं त्वदनुग्रहात् । येन पश्याम्यहं सर्वान् न मां पश्यति कश्चन ॥ he dāridrya namaste’stu siddho’haṃ tvadanugrahāt | yena paśyāmyahaṃ sarvān na māṃ paśyati kaścana ||
  • The Disappearance of the Entourage: This proves that wealth is the sole cause of the entourage. When the money is gone, the followers immediately vanish (dhananāśe parivāranāśaḥ), proving the worldly truth that success has many fathers, but failure is always an orphan.
  • The Ultimate Lesson on Destroying saṃsāra: All three examples perfectly demonstrate the principle that destroying the cause destroys the effect. Extending this to our spiritual reality: jñāte tattve kaḥ saṃsāraḥ (when the ultimate truth is known and ignorance is destroyed, where is saṃsāra?). To achieve this, a seeker must approach a guru, undergo initial purification, and then receive the knowledge that destroys ignorance, making them a completely free person.
  • The Complete Spiritual Map: Swamiji concludes that this systematic process of purification, instruction, and the ultimate destruction of ignorance serves as the complete spiritual map for a human being, perfectly encapsulated within these twelve verses.