Shloka 5.16 (Chapter 5, Verse 16)
In Sanskrit:
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः ।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ॥
jñānena tu tadajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitamātmanaḥ
teṣāmādityavajjñānaṃ prakāśayati tatparam
jñānena = by knowledge; tu = but; tat = that; ajñānaṃ = nescience; yeṣāṃ = whose; nāśitaṃ = is destroyed; ātmanaḥ = of the living entity; teṣāṃ = their; ādityavat = like the rising sun; jñānaṃ = knowledge; prakāśayati = discloses; tatparaṃ = Krishna consciousness.;
Translation:
But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by the Knowledge of the Self, like the sun, to them Knowledge reveals the Supreme (BRAHMAN) .
(But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by divine knowledge, the Supreme Entity is revealed, just as the sun illumines everything when it rises.)
Commentary;
“Despite the combined light of the full moon and all the visible stars in a cloudless sky, the night does not go. But the moment the sun rises, the night makes a hasty exit.” The light of the sun is such that the darkness cannot remain before it. The light of God’s knowledge has a similar effect in dispelling the darkness of ignorance.
Darkness is responsible for creating illusions. In the darkness of the cinema hall, the light falling on the screen creates the illusion of reality, and people get absorbed in watching it. However, when the main lights in the cinema hall are switched on, the illusion is dispelled and people wake up from their reverie to realize that they were only watching a movie. Similarly, in the darkness of ignorance, we identify ourselves with the body, and consider ourselves to be the doers and enjoyers of our actions. When the light of God’s knowledge begins shining brightly, the illusion beats a hasty retreat, and the soul wakes up to its true spiritual identity, even while it lives in the city of nine gates. The soul had fallen into illusion because God’s material energy (avidyā śhakti) had covered it in darkness. The illusion is dispelled when God’s spiritual energy (vidyā śhakti) illumines it with the light of knowledge.
