Mbh 12.309.1b

O thou of great effulgence, only men of wisdom succeed in knowing that Brahma which is Unmanifest, which inheres in its real nature to all that is seen and unseen, and which, O son, is the one independent essence in the universe.[1633] When Jiva considers himself different from what he truly is (i.e. when he regards himself as fat or lean, fair or dark, a Brahmana or a Sudra), it is only then that he fails to know the Supreme Soul and himself and Prakriti with which he is united. When Jiva succeeds in understanding Prakriti (and knowing that she is something different from him) then he is said to be restored to his true nature and then does he attain to that high understanding which is pure and stainless and which is concerned with Brahma. When Jiva succeeds, O tiger among kings, in attaining to that excellent understanding, he then attains to that Pure Knowledge (without duality) which is called the twenty-sixth or (Brahma). He then casts off the Unmanifest or Prakriti which is fraught with the attributes of Creation and Destruction. When Jiva succeeds in knowing Prakriti which is unintelligent and subject to the action of the three attributes of Sattwa, and Rajas and Tamas, he then becomes destitute of attributes himself. In consequence of his thus understanding the Unmanifest (to be something different from him), he succeeds in acquiring the nature of the Supreme Soul. The learned say that when he is freed from the attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas and united in the nature with the Supreme Soul then does Jiva become identified with that Soul. The Supreme Soul is called Tattwa as well as Not-Tattwa, and transcends decay and destruction.[1634] O giver of honours, the Soul, though it has the manifest principles (viz. the body) for its resting place, yet it cannot be said to have acquired the nature of those principles. The wise say that including the Jiva soul there are five and twenty principles in all.