Aparokshanubhuti-12

Verse No 22

• In Advaita Vedānta, the Self (Ātman) is described as svayaṁprakāśa — self-luminous.
• It is not illumined by anything else; rather, it is that by which everything else is known.
• Objects like pots and cloths can only be experienced as "this" because of the light of consciousness shining upon them.
• The passage emphasizes that the revealing power (prakāśatva) belongs only to the Self.
• The Self’s light is self-dependent, not subject to creation or destruction, and always present everywhere.
• Unlike fire or lamp, it does not remove ignorance automatically but makes everything — including darkness — known.
• It is the ultimate illuminator of all illuminators (fire, sun, mind, senses, etc.).
• It must be accepted as the final principle by those established in Self-knowledge.