ikseta vibhramam idam manaso vilasam

 drstam vinastam ati-lolam alata-cakram

vijñanam ekam urudheva vibhati maya

 svapnas tridha guna-visarga-krto vikalpah

 

Translation: 

 

One should see that the material world is a distinct illusion appearing in the mind, because material objects have an extremely flickering existence and are here today and gone tomorrow. They can be compared to the streaking red line created by whirling a fiery stick. The spirit soul by nature exists in the single state of pure consciousness. However, in this world he appears in many different forms and stages of existence. The modes of nature divide the soul’s consciousness into normal wakefulness, dreaming and dreamless sleep. All such varieties of perception, however, are actually maya and exist only like a dream.

 

Purport: 

 

The Lord now describes an additional process for transcending the illusory interaction of the material mind and material sense objects. Lasa means “jumping” or “dancing,” and thus manaso vilasam here indicates that the material mind is jumping superficially from one conception of life to another. Our original consciousness, however, is one (vijñanam ekam). Therefore, one should carefully study the flickering “here today, gone tomorrow” nature of the material world and detach oneself from the illusory variety of maya.