श्रीभगवानुवाच | अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते | भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः || ३ ||
śrī-bhagavān uvāca akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvo 'dhyātmam ucyate bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ
śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Lord said; akṣaram—the indestructible; brahma—Brahman; paramam—supreme; svabhāvaḥ—one's own nature; adhyātmam—the individual self; ucyate—is called; bhūta-bhāva-udbhava-karaḥ—the force that causes the manifestation of living beings; visargaḥ—offering/projection; karma—action; saṁjñitaḥ—is called.
“The Supreme Lord said: The Imperishable (Aksara) is the supreme Brahman. The individual nature is called Adhyatma. The creative force that causes the manifestation of living beings is called karma (action).”
Akṣara literally means 'that which does not decay.' Brahman is akṣara because it is beyond all change, beyond all conditions of time. Svabhāva (one's own nature) refers to the jīva insofar as it identifies itself as a distinct centre of consciousness. The 'visarga' or creative projection is the mechanics of karma—the means by which the unmanifest becomes manifest.
Reflect on the meaning of 'akṣara'—the undecaying. In your own experience, what does not change? Sensations, thoughts, and emotions arise and pass. But what receives them all and remains? That unchanging awareness is what this verse is pointing to. Recognising it, even briefly, is the beginning of liberation.