Bhagavatapurana 11.3.36

11.3.36

* //
naitan mano viśati vāg uta cakṣur ātmā $ prāṇendriyāṇi ca yathānalam arciṣaḥ svāḥ &
naitan mano viśati vāg uta cakṣur ātmā $ prāṇendriyāṇi ca yathānalam arciṣaḥ svāḥ &
śabdo 'pi bodhaka-niṣedhatayātma-mūlam % arthoktam āha yad-ṛte na niṣedha-siddhiḥ //

36. Neither the mind nor speech, nor the eye nor Buddhi (intellect), nor Prana, nor the senses comprehend it even as flames and sparks of fire do not comprehend Fire. Even the word, the only means of knowing Brahman (Atman), presents Him only as an inference: because it denies itself the power to describe Him directly: still the inferred Atman must be admitted as a real existence, for in the absence of real existence no negative description either is possible.