उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् | विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ||
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
Translation
The deluded do not perceive it as it departs, stays, or experiences, united with the gunas; those with the eye of knowledge see it.
Interpretation
The ignorant do not see the soul departing at death, residing in the body, or experiencing through the senses when surrounded by the gunas. They see only the body, the senses, the personality — not the invisible witness behind it all. But those with jnana-chakshu — the eye of wisdom — perceive the soul directly. This 'third eye' of wisdom is not a mystical organ but the discriminative faculty that has been purified through practice. Spiritual practice is fundamentally about developing this capacity to see the seer, to be aware of awareness itself.