AVG 1.16

Chapter 1 (Guidance on self-realization): Verse 16
त्वया व्याप्तमिदं विश्वं त्वयि प्रोतं यथार्थतः ।
शुद्धबुद्धस्वरूपस्त्वं मा गमः क्षुद्रचित्तताम् ॥ १-१६॥

PURPORT:

This universe is pervaded by you,
in reality, the universe is dispersed within you.
You are the form of pure awareness,
do not give in to petty-mindedness.

TRANSLITERATION:

त्वया व्याप्तम् इदम विश्वम् त्वयि प्रोतम् यथार्थतः ।
tvayā vyāptam idama viśvam tvayi protam yathārthataḥ ।
शुद्धबुद्धस्वरूपः त्वम् मा गमः क्षुद्रचित्तताम् ॥ १-१६॥
śuddhabuddhasvarūpaḥ tvam mā gamaḥ kṣudracittatām ॥ 1-16॥

MEANING:

tvayā (त्वया) = by you
vyāptam  (व्याप्तम्) =pervaded/expanded/occupied
idam (इदम) =this
viśvam  (विश्वम्) = universe
tvayi  (त्वयि) = in you
protam  (प्रोतम्) = dispersed/disseminated/distributed
yathārthataḥ  (यथार्थतः) = with support of the clearest reality/truth।
śuddhabuddhasvarūpaḥ  (शुद्धबुद्धस्वरूपः) = compound of three words: śuddha = faultless/unmixed/pure; buddha = awareness; svarūpaḥ = nature/appearance/character/form. The compound word translates to ‘with the character or appearance of pure awareness’.
tvam  (त्वम्) = you
mā (मा) = not
gamaḥ (गमः) = obtain/reach/attain  
kṣudracittatām  (क्षुद्रचित्तताम्) =  petty-mindedness/trifling mindset  ॥ 1-16॥

COMMENTS:

The recurrent message of maintaining a state of awareness and a reiteration that our material bodies are one with the aggregate universe follow a well-worn cadence throughout this poem. With that said, it is clear that the first two lines of this verse (“this universe is pervaded by you and in reality, the universe is dispersed within you”) has implicit clarity and does not need a further explanation over and above that offered in the previous verse.

With that said, I want a expand a tiny bit on the last line (especially the use of the phrase ‘petty-mindedness’). The phrase is with reference to our feeling of being separate from the nature around us and how that may result in a life of limited potential. The internal strife that manifests with this disposition of duality and our need to individualize ourselves is the reason for such strife. The mindset and understanding necessary to inculcate the truth that we are not separate from the aggregate universe cannot be accomplished when we are mesmerized in being disparate, separate and discrete. Realizing a state of faultless awareness will need to involve letting go and finding the path to a cerebral synthesis with the aggregate. The seeker pursues a synthesis that will ultimately allow for a state of calm where the perception of time disappears. In addition to time, it is said that the perception that things ‘need/seem to matter’ also disappears. This does not mean that things will not matter anymore (that will be a narrow, one-sided reading leading to a nihilist mindset); understand that things that matter will happen with your active participation – just that IN the act of getting to fruition (for things that matter), one does not feel the burden of effort anymore. My understanding of such a synthesis reminds me of a phrase from contemporary occupational therapy referred to as a ‘flow experience’ - a  mental state in which the performer of an activity is so fully immersed within the activity so as to experience heightened focus, complete involvement and a sense of being amalgamated with the work at hand – so much so that the individual starts to experience a loss in the perception of both space and time. It is said that within such an immanent experience of the loss of perception of time, space and the sense of ‘performing an activity’, the façade that constantly cloaks us starts to fade – the façade that is erected by ‘me/I’ as the transactional locus. Thus, the journey to the arising of the person as an impartial witness starts to unfold. The latent petty-mindedness within us dissolves and thus evaporates away. 

“Personal entity and enlightenment cannot go together. Indeed there is neither entity nor enlightenment. Understanding this deeply is itself enlightenment. Freedom is the unshakeable knowledge of your real nature; it is the total negation of entityness.” - Nisargadatta