Verse 2.232

Sanskrit text and transliteration:

तरुशाखाग्रदृष्ट्यैव सोमं यद्वत्प्रदर्शयेत् ।
निष्कोशं कोशदृष्ट्यैव प्रतीचि ब्रह्म दर्श्यते ॥ २३२ ॥

taruśākhāgradṛṣṭyaiva somaṃ yadvatpradarśayet |
niṣkośaṃ kośadṛṣṭyaiva pratīci brahma darśyate || 232 ||

English translation of verse 2.232:

Just as a person is made to see the moon through seeing the edge of a branch of a tree alone, so also he is made to see Brahman which is identical with the inward Self and which is devoid of sheaths through the knowledge of the sheaths alone.

Notes:

It is Brahman-knowledge which is required for attaining liberation. Scripture seeks to impart this knowledge through an exposition of the nature of the five sheaths (kośa-pañcaka). Though these five sheaths are other than the Self, they have been looked upon all along due to ignorance as of the nature of the Self. Through an explanation of the nature of these sheaths, Scripture seeks to impart the knowledge of the Self which is beyond the five sheaths. Understanding the real nature of the sheaths as not-Self is the means to the attainment of the knowledge of Brahman-Ātman (ātmajñāne kośānām anātmajñānameva mukhyopāyaḥ). The method of instruction that is adopted here is to teach what is not known through what is known, to teach what cannot be easily comprehended through something more tangible and easily understood. Consider the case of a person who does not know the moon. We help him to see the moon by first pointing out the edge of a branch of a tree and then telling him that the moon is near the edge of that particular bough. In the same way, śruti helps us to realize Brahman-Ātman by explaining first of all the nature of the five sheaths. So the exposition of the nature of the sheaths serves a very useful purpose.