Text 18
yathā gandhasya bhūmeś ca
na bhāvo vyatirekataḥ
apāṁ rasasya ca yathā
tathā buddheḥ parasya ca
yathā — as; gandhasya — of aroma; bhūmeḥ — of earth; ca — and; na — no; bhāvaḥ — existence; vyatirekataḥ — separate; apām — of water; rasasya — of taste; ca — and; yathā — as; tathā — so; buddheḥ — of intelligence; parasya — of consciousness, spirit; ca — and.
As there is no separate existence of the earth and its aroma or of water and its taste, there cannot be any separate existence of intelligence and consciousness.
The example is given here that anything material has an aroma. The flower, the earth — everything — has an aroma. If the aroma is separated from the matter, the matter cannot be identified. If there is no taste to water, the water has no meaning; if there is no heat in the fire, the fire has no meaning. Similarly, when there is want of intelligence, spirit has no meaning.