Verse 2.265

Sanskrit text and transliteration:

आप्नोति सर्वकार्याणि कारणात्मतया विराट् ।
ततोऽप्यन्तः प्रवेशाय तस्मादित्यभिधीयते ॥ २६५ ॥

āpnoti sarvakāryāṇi kāraṇātmatayā virāṭ |
tato'pyantaḥ praveśāya tasmādityabhidhīyate || 265 ||

English translation of verse 2.265:

The Virāj, being of the nature of the cause, attains all effects. For the purpose of going inward even from that (sheath of food), the text beginning with tasmāt is uttered.

Notes:

The sheath of food has been explained with a view to divert the mind of a person from external objects in which it is engrossed. A spiritual aspirant must first overcome attachment to external objects such as wealth, son, kinsmen, and so on. By meditating constantly on the sheaths of food as Brahman as taught by śruti, one can withdraw from the external objects. So the knowledge of the sheath of food in the individual as well as the cosmic aspect is the first step to the knowledge of Brahman.

The next step consists in going inward through understanding from the sheath of food to the sheath of vital force. Realizing that the sheath of food or the Virāj is non-dififerent from its cause, viz., the sheath of vital force or the Hiraṇyagarbha, the spiritual aspirant must transcend it in thought and take his stand on that which is inward to it. It is with a view to lead the aspirant from the sheath of food to that of vital force that śruti says: “Than that, verily,—than this one formed of the essence of food,—there is another self within, which is formed of prāṇa