AVG 2.8

Chapter 2 (The Seekers Joy at Self-Cognizance): Verse 8
प्रकाशो मे निजं रूपं नातिरिक्तोऽस्म्यहं ततः ।
यदा प्रकाशते विश्वं तदाहंभास एव हि ॥ २-८॥

PURPORT:
Light is my elemental nature, and
I am not disparate from light.
When the universe manifests,
then, truly, it is I that shine.

TRANSLITERATION:
प्रकाशः मे निजम् रूपम् न अतिरिक्तः अस्मि अहम् ततः ।
prakāśaḥ me nijam rūpam na atiriktaḥ asmi aham tataḥ ।
यदा प्रकाशते विश्वम् तदा अहंभासः एव हि ॥ २-८॥
yadā prakāśate viśvam tadā ahaṃbhāsaḥ eva hi ॥ 2-8॥
MEANING:
prakāśaḥ (प्रकाशः) = light/lustre/brightness
me (मे) = my/mine
nijam (निजम्) = innate/intrinsic/elemental
rūpam (रूपम्) = nature/appearance/form/mode
na (न) = not
atiriktaḥ (अतिरिक्तः) = different from/distinct from/disparate to
asmi (अस्मि) =  am [as in ‘I am’]
aham (अहम्) = I
tataḥ (ततः) = from that/from that/due to that/therefore/therefrom।
yadā (यदा) = when
prakāśate (प्रकाशते) = become evident or become manifest/make noticeable
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
tadā (तदा) = then
ahaṃbhāsaḥ (अहंभासः) = I will shine/I will show lustre [as in ‘I that shines’]
eva (एव) = alone
hi (हि) = surely/verily/truly ॥ 2-8॥

COMMENTS:
In these verses, Janaka continues in his happy state of understanding his own-self and tells Ashtavakra that he realizes that his innate nature is a form of awareness that he metaphorically juxtaposes with light - an illuminating, radiant form of clarity that enlightens and enlivens the very core of his being. He is conscious awareness and conscious awareness is him - a seamless union of awareness and the one who possesses it (as the verse beautifully lays out with the line "light is my elemental nature and I am not disparate from light"). This form of awareness allows for Janaka to participate in the universe of designated names and imputed forms fully cognizant of the underlying reality that lacks inherent essence. Janaka understands that for him to intelligently navigate a world that is conventionally designated by labels, patterns and conventions, he will need to reconcile his deeper understanding of reality (the idea of selflessness and the lack of any foundational essence) with everyday conventional reality. To this end, he understands that he will need to harmonize conventional truths, representational designations and everyday dualities that we are constantly confronted with. The knowledge that the designations and concepts like reality, self, spirit or soul all have their importance, legitimacy and efficacy when they are applied within an internal frame of reference that encompasses the latent impermanence of all such entities as well as the lack of inherent essence within any entity.

NOTES:
On the Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness: A concept developed within the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead where one commits the fallacy of misplaced concreteness when one mistakes an abstract belief, opinion, or concept about the way things are for a physical or "concrete" reality. Mr. Whitehead says that this is an error, but, it is merely the accidental error of mistaking the abstract for the concrete. Whitehead proposed the fallacy in a discussion of the relation of spatial and temporal location of objects. He rejects the notion that a concrete physical object in the universe can be ascribed a simple spatial or temporal extension, that is, without reference to its relations to other spatial or temporal extensions. Very similar to notions and concepts presented here where the foundational essence behind any one entity cannot be detected; instead, one can only perceive the dependent arising of existents and entities via the contingent interrelationships of constituent portions.

REFERENCES:
Alfred North Whitehead: Process and Reality, An essay in cosmology, Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Edinburgh During the Session 1927-28
Full essay here: https://archive.org/details/AlfredNorthWhiteheadProcessAndReality