Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 12
निःस्पृहं मानसं यस्य नैराश्येऽपि महात्मनः ।
तस्यात्मज्ञ्नानतृप्तस्य तुलना केन जायते ॥३-१२॥
PURPORT:
With whom can we compare that one?
That one with great self-awareness, who,
content in the knowledge that comes with
impartial awareness and choiceless action,
is free of desire even in disappointment.
TRANSLITERATION:
निःस्पृहम् मानसम् यस्य नैराश्ये अपि महात्मनः ।
niḥspṛham mānasam yasya nairāśye api mahātmanaḥ ।
तस्य आत्मज्ञ्नानतृप्तस्य तुलना केन जायते ॥३-१२॥
tasya ātmajñnānatṛptasya tulanā kena jāyate ॥3-12॥
MEANING:
niḥspṛham (निःस्पृहम्) = free of longing and desire/indifferent
mānasam (मानसम्) = mind
yasya (यस्य) = whose
nairāśye (नैराश्ये) = in disappointment/in hopelessness/in non-expectancy
api (अपि) = even
mahātmanaḥ (महात्मनः) = of the one with a great self-awareness (literally mahātmanaḥ is Sanskrit for "Great Soul" (महात्मा mahātmā: महा mahā (great) + आत्मं or आत्मन ātman [soul]). mahātmanaḥ is similar in usage to the modern English term saint and can be translated to "ascended master".)।
tasya (तस्य) = their (translated literally as masculine 'his' in Sanskrit, but I prefer to use their or they)
ātmajñnānatṛptasya (आत्मज्ञ्नानतृप्तस्य) = of them who is satisfied with self-knowledge and awareness (compound of ātmajñnāna (आत्मज्ञ्नान) meaning 'self-knowledge and self-awareness' and tṛptasya (नतृप्तस्य) meaning 'belonging to contentment/fulfillment/satisfaction')
tulanā (तुलना) = comparing/on par with
kena (केन) = with whom
jāyate (जायते) = can be/happen/become ॥3-12॥
COMMENTS:
The key lines here is the idea of being desireless even within disappointment. Those of us who are seekers might have a tendency to further pursue our desires and aspirations with renewed vigor in the face of disappointment as it might serve as a temporary salve to ward off the crushing pessimism of disappointment. Modern culture even encourages the insidious concept of engaging in 'binge consumerism to ward off the blues'. Ashtavakra reasons that the precept understands that gain and loss, praise and blame, pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness are only two sides of the same coin. One of these cannot exist without the other - in fact, any one of gain, praise, pleasure, or happiness cannot be characterized as such without implicitly or explicitly referencing the flip side of each of these factors. We tend to cling to our desires for the productive and forward looking while naturally being filled with revulsion to the concomitant pessimism that such positivity accompanies. Despite all of one's efforts, one does not get many of the things that one wants, or, even if one has managed to obtain the things they so desire, they do not continue to offer up the level of happiness that accrued when one first obtained the thing. In this sense, Ashtavakra gently informs that the precept understands these fundamental truths and thus works through their disappointment.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
AVG 3.11
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 11
मायामात्रमिदं विश्वं पश्यन् विगतकौतुकः ।
अपि सन्निहिते मृत्यौ कथं त्रस्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-११॥
PURPORT:
Discerning this universe as an active
hallucination, the precept's search and
seeking ceases; thus, how can the resolute
mind of the perseverant be in angst
even about their own approaching demise?
TRANSLITERATION:
मायामात्रम् इदम् विश्वम् पश्यन् विगतकौतुकः ।
māyāmātram idam viśvam paśyan vigatakautukaḥ ।
अपि सन्निहिते मृत्यौ कथम् त्रस्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-११॥
api sannihite mṛtyau katham trasyati dhīradhīḥ ॥ 3-11॥
MEANING:
māyāmātram* (मायामात्रम्) = mere illusion*
idam (इदम्) = this
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
paśyan (पश्यन्) = seeing
vigatakautukaḥ (विगतकौतुकः) = destitute of an intense desire to know and understand (compound of vigata (विगत) meaning 'destitute of/apart from' and kautukaḥ (कौतुकः) meaning 'curiosity/an inquiring nature')।
api (अपि) = even
sannihite (सन्निहिते) = approaching/imminent/impending
mṛtyau (मृत्यौ) = death/cessation/demise
katham (कथम्) = how
trasyati (त्रस्यति) = fear/angst/unease
dhīradhīḥ (धीरधीः) = resolute/perseverant/unwavering ॥ 3-11॥
COMMENTS:
Ashtavakra points out here that the precept on clearly discerning that all of the universe is but an active hallucination, puts an end to their searching and seeking and understands their own demise in an manner that is free of angst, worry or fear. The fundamental inter-relationship between death and the latent impermanence of all sentient beings is a common factor that binds many traditions. In this sense, death and cessation is part of every arising and is the very fulcrum upon which the concept of impermanence of all entities within the universe pivots. The precept being clear in the awareness of the fact that any one of us could die at any moment allows for the precept to prepare and enjoy every moment for exactly what that moment offers to the fullest. Extending this line of thinking. the practice of being within the present moment as it applies to ones impending demise also applies to the past. While a choiceless observance of events past as well as an impartial anticipation of the events that might unfold will need to come with practice, the clarity arises when one does not get to be occupied with either the observance of the past not the anticipation of the future. This way, the mind is free to examine and choose, but, not is bound by that choice or designations.
NOTES:
*"The truth is that all perceptions are acts of interpretation. They're acts of informed guesswork that the brain applies when it encounters sensory data. I think the way I can think of this is that there is no light in the skull, and there's no sounds. All that's going on in the brain are electrical impulses whizzing around in complex patterns. And out of all this - all this pattern-making in the brain, a world appears. And in some sense, we've known this for a long time. So since Newton, it's been pretty clear that colors - red, yellow, green, et cetera - colors are not objective properties of objects in the world. They are attributes of reflected light. And the brain - the visual system will make inferences based on wavelengths of light about what color something is. So something as basic as color is not something that we just passively receive from the world. We actively attribute it to things out there in the world. And the idea of controlled hallucination is just that, well, this applies to everything. I mean, this applies to everything that we perceive, and not just perceptions of things out there in the world, but also, it applies to our perceptions of our self, of our body, of our memories, of our sense of agency, of our sense of volition - that everything that we perceive is a construction. But it's not a random construction. It's construction - it's a best guess that is reined in by the sensory data at all times, which is why most of us agree, when we look at a table, that we will say, yeah, I see a table, you see a table and we both see the same thing. And that's because these aren't just random constructions. They're constrained by the sensory data that we get. And that's why, I think, the term, controlled hallucination, is very appropriate." - Anil Seth
मायामात्रमिदं विश्वं पश्यन् विगतकौतुकः ।
अपि सन्निहिते मृत्यौ कथं त्रस्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-११॥
PURPORT:
Discerning this universe as an active
hallucination, the precept's search and
seeking ceases; thus, how can the resolute
mind of the perseverant be in angst
even about their own approaching demise?
TRANSLITERATION:
मायामात्रम् इदम् विश्वम् पश्यन् विगतकौतुकः ।
māyāmātram idam viśvam paśyan vigatakautukaḥ ।
अपि सन्निहिते मृत्यौ कथम् त्रस्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-११॥
api sannihite mṛtyau katham trasyati dhīradhīḥ ॥ 3-11॥
MEANING:
māyāmātram* (मायामात्रम्) = mere illusion*
idam (इदम्) = this
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
paśyan (पश्यन्) = seeing
vigatakautukaḥ (विगतकौतुकः) = destitute of an intense desire to know and understand (compound of vigata (विगत) meaning 'destitute of/apart from' and kautukaḥ (कौतुकः) meaning 'curiosity/an inquiring nature')।
api (अपि) = even
sannihite (सन्निहिते) = approaching/imminent/impending
mṛtyau (मृत्यौ) = death/cessation/demise
katham (कथम्) = how
trasyati (त्रस्यति) = fear/angst/unease
dhīradhīḥ (धीरधीः) = resolute/perseverant/unwavering ॥ 3-11॥
COMMENTS:
Ashtavakra points out here that the precept on clearly discerning that all of the universe is but an active hallucination, puts an end to their searching and seeking and understands their own demise in an manner that is free of angst, worry or fear. The fundamental inter-relationship between death and the latent impermanence of all sentient beings is a common factor that binds many traditions. In this sense, death and cessation is part of every arising and is the very fulcrum upon which the concept of impermanence of all entities within the universe pivots. The precept being clear in the awareness of the fact that any one of us could die at any moment allows for the precept to prepare and enjoy every moment for exactly what that moment offers to the fullest. Extending this line of thinking. the practice of being within the present moment as it applies to ones impending demise also applies to the past. While a choiceless observance of events past as well as an impartial anticipation of the events that might unfold will need to come with practice, the clarity arises when one does not get to be occupied with either the observance of the past not the anticipation of the future. This way, the mind is free to examine and choose, but, not is bound by that choice or designations.
NOTES:
*"The truth is that all perceptions are acts of interpretation. They're acts of informed guesswork that the brain applies when it encounters sensory data. I think the way I can think of this is that there is no light in the skull, and there's no sounds. All that's going on in the brain are electrical impulses whizzing around in complex patterns. And out of all this - all this pattern-making in the brain, a world appears. And in some sense, we've known this for a long time. So since Newton, it's been pretty clear that colors - red, yellow, green, et cetera - colors are not objective properties of objects in the world. They are attributes of reflected light. And the brain - the visual system will make inferences based on wavelengths of light about what color something is. So something as basic as color is not something that we just passively receive from the world. We actively attribute it to things out there in the world. And the idea of controlled hallucination is just that, well, this applies to everything. I mean, this applies to everything that we perceive, and not just perceptions of things out there in the world, but also, it applies to our perceptions of our self, of our body, of our memories, of our sense of agency, of our sense of volition - that everything that we perceive is a construction. But it's not a random construction. It's construction - it's a best guess that is reined in by the sensory data at all times, which is why most of us agree, when we look at a table, that we will say, yeah, I see a table, you see a table and we both see the same thing. And that's because these aren't just random constructions. They're constrained by the sensory data that we get. And that's why, I think, the term, controlled hallucination, is very appropriate." - Anil Seth
AVG 3.10
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 10
चेष्टमानं शरीरं स्वं पश्यत्यन्यशरीरवत् ।
संस्तवे चापि निन्दायां कथं क्षुभ्येन्महाशयः॥ ३-१०॥
PURPORT:
The one with the broad awareness observes;
witnessing their own body acting as if it were
another's. As such, how can such a one be
disturbed or agitated by common praise or
reproach or disapproval?
TRANSLITERATION:
चेष्टमानम् शरीरम् स्वम् पश्यति अन्यशरीरवत् ।
ceṣṭamānam śarīram svam paśyati anyaśarīravat ।
संस्तवे च अपि निन्दायाम् कथम् क्षुभ्येत् महाशयः ॥ ३-१०॥
saṃstave ca api nindāyām katham kṣubhyet mahāśayaḥ ॥ 3-10॥
MEANING:
ceṣṭamānam (चेष्टमानम्) = performing/behaving/acting
śarīram (शरीरम्) = body
svam (स्वम्) = own/intrinsic
paśyati (पश्यति) = sees
anyaśarīravat (अन्यशरीरवत्) = like another's body (anya (अन्य) meaning other/another and śarīra (शरीर) body) ।
saṃstave (संस्तवे) = in common or simultaneous praise
ca (च) = and
api (अपि) = even
nindāyām (निन्दायाम्) = reproach/defamation/disapproval
katham (कथम्) = how
kṣubhyet (क्षुभ्येत्) = should be disturbed or agitated
mahāśayaḥ (महाशयः) = one having a magnanimous and broad disposition ॥ 3-10॥
COMMENT:
The seeking of awareness, the understanding of reality and the core quietude that we yearn can only come when self-identification is absolved thoroughly from ones thought processes. That is the basic message contained within this beautiful verse.
The process begins with the freeing of oneself from mores, cultures, upbringings, superstition and dogma - those commonly ascribed cultural touchpoints by which we measure and score each other. The process continues with discarding the idea that one is a man or a woman or a transgender - just the fact that one is part of a multifarious ocean of sentient creatures each of whom have their own unique forms of conscious experience and individual specialized umwelts** should be enough and internalized. The next step in this process is the casting away of the identity - the fact that one is this, that or the other. All of such made-up appellations should be discarded; such appellations are creations of our collective sub-culture that had considered humans to be at the apex of the chain*, when, in reality, we are links within the chain that has been causally balanced via evolution. The next step in the process is the abandonment of self-concern and the overriding urge within us to accumulate, collect and amass - whether in the form of material goods, wealth, fame, pleasures or other forms of entities that seem to be culturally imputed with value.
All of this does not in any way, shape or form mean that one needs to be imprudent and irresponsible. No, it does not mean that. Pure awareness begins to seep into the mind when the mind is free of thoughts of the self and ones aim centers towards divesting one's material and spiritual baggage to a level where one is not consumed by the thoughts, worries or problems that such baggage might bring into ones mind. The stilling of thoughts is the objective and the results of such a stilling is beautifully portrayed in these lines when Ashtavakra mentions that the mind of a stilled one does not differentiate their own body as separate from another's; the imputation is that one who sees this way has ceased to self-identify with emotions, feelings or other thought fluctuations. The ideas of fear, blame, praise, anger, respect and other like cultural signifiers always have their locus with respect to bodily actions that one performs. Ashtavakra mentions that the moment one stops to self-identify with any of these cultural signifiers, it is equivalent to not identifying with your own body. This does not mean that Ashtavakra is insinuating the discarding of our bodies and elevating the mind (and the self) as the most unique entity. On the contrary, it is further clarification that we are just that - organic collections of cells that constitute sentience along with the ocean of other sentient beings that populate this universe.
NOTES:
*Anthropocentrism is that philosophical viewpoint that argues that human beings are at the apex of all creatures and are the single most significant entities in the world. This is a fundamental acceptance embedded within many non-Eastern religions and philosophies. Anthropocentrism regards humans as separate from and superior to nature and holds that human life has intrinsic value while other entities (including animals, plants, mineral resources, and so on). As such, such resources may justifiably be exploited for the benefit of humankind to the detriment of all other sentient beings on earth. I would consider that we are in an advanced state of chauvinistic anthropocentrism.
**I described umwelt and the concept thereof in verse 1.18. Since the concept of umwelt is critical to the understanding of the Ashtavakra Gita, I have excerpted the following writeup that defines the concept by David M. Eagleman Neuroscientist, Stanford University (Author, Incognito, Sum, The Brain): "In 1909, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll introduced the concept of the umwelt. He wanted a word to express a simple (but often overlooked) observation: different animals in the same ecosystem pick up on different environmental signals. In the blind and deaf world of the tick, the important signals are temperature and the odor of butyric acid. For the black ghost knifefish, it's electrical fields. For the echolocating bat, it's air-compression waves. The small subset of the world that an animal is able to detect is its umwelt. The bigger reality, whatever that might mean, is called the umgebung.
The interesting part is that each organism presumably assumes its umwelt to be the entire objective reality "out there." Why would any of us stop to think that there is more beyond what we can sense? In the movie The Truman Show, the eponymous Truman lives in a world completely constructed around him by an intrepid television producer. At one point an interviewer asks the producer, "Why do you think Truman has never come close to discovering the true nature of his world?" The producer replies, "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented." We accept our umwelt and stop there.
To appreciate the amount that goes undetected in our lives, imagine you're a bloodhound dog. Your long nose houses two hundred million scent receptors. On the outside, your wet nostrils attract and trap scent molecules. The slits at the corners of each nostril flare out to allow more air flow as you sniff. Even your floppy ears drag along the ground and kick up scent molecules. Your world is all about olfaction. One afternoon, as you're following your master, you stop in your tracks with a revelation. What is it like to have the pitiful, impoverished nose of a human being? What can humans possibly detect when they take in a feeble little noseful of air? Do they suffer a hole where smell is supposed to be?
Obviously, we suffer no absence of smell because we accept reality as it's presented to us. Without the olfactory capabilities of a bloodhound, it rarely strikes us that things could be different. Similarly, until a child learns in school that honeybees enjoy ultraviolet signals and rattlesnakes employ infrared, it does not strike her that plenty of information is riding on channels to which we have no natural access. From my informal surveys, it is very uncommon knowledge that the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to us is less than a ten-trillionth of it.
Our unawareness of the limits of our umwelt can be seen with color blind people: until they learn that others can see hues they cannot, the thought of extra colors does not hit their radar screen. And the same goes for the congenitally blind: being sightless is not like experiencing "blackness" or "a dark hole" where vision should be. As a human is to a bloodhound dog, a blind person does not miss vision. They do not conceive of it. Electromagnetic radiation is simply not part of their umwelt.
The more science taps into these hidden channels, the more it becomes clear that our brains are tuned to detect a shockingly small fraction of the surrounding reality. Our sensorium is enough to get by in our ecosystem, but is does not approximate the larger picture.
I think it would be useful if the concept of the umwelt were embedded in the public lexicon. It neatly captures the idea of limited knowledge, of unobtainable information, and of unimagined possibilities. Consider the criticisms of policy, the assertions of dogma, the declarations of fact that you hear every day — and just imagine if all of these could be infused with the proper intellectual humility that comes from appreciating the amount unseen."
चेष्टमानं शरीरं स्वं पश्यत्यन्यशरीरवत् ।
संस्तवे चापि निन्दायां कथं क्षुभ्येन्महाशयः॥ ३-१०॥
PURPORT:
The one with the broad awareness observes;
witnessing their own body acting as if it were
another's. As such, how can such a one be
disturbed or agitated by common praise or
reproach or disapproval?
TRANSLITERATION:
चेष्टमानम् शरीरम् स्वम् पश्यति अन्यशरीरवत् ।
ceṣṭamānam śarīram svam paśyati anyaśarīravat ।
संस्तवे च अपि निन्दायाम् कथम् क्षुभ्येत् महाशयः ॥ ३-१०॥
saṃstave ca api nindāyām katham kṣubhyet mahāśayaḥ ॥ 3-10॥
MEANING:
ceṣṭamānam (चेष्टमानम्) = performing/behaving/acting
śarīram (शरीरम्) = body
svam (स्वम्) = own/intrinsic
paśyati (पश्यति) = sees
anyaśarīravat (अन्यशरीरवत्) = like another's body (anya (अन्य) meaning other/another and śarīra (शरीर) body) ।
saṃstave (संस्तवे) = in common or simultaneous praise
ca (च) = and
api (अपि) = even
nindāyām (निन्दायाम्) = reproach/defamation/disapproval
katham (कथम्) = how
kṣubhyet (क्षुभ्येत्) = should be disturbed or agitated
mahāśayaḥ (महाशयः) = one having a magnanimous and broad disposition ॥ 3-10॥
COMMENT:
The seeking of awareness, the understanding of reality and the core quietude that we yearn can only come when self-identification is absolved thoroughly from ones thought processes. That is the basic message contained within this beautiful verse.
The process begins with the freeing of oneself from mores, cultures, upbringings, superstition and dogma - those commonly ascribed cultural touchpoints by which we measure and score each other. The process continues with discarding the idea that one is a man or a woman or a transgender - just the fact that one is part of a multifarious ocean of sentient creatures each of whom have their own unique forms of conscious experience and individual specialized umwelts** should be enough and internalized. The next step in this process is the casting away of the identity - the fact that one is this, that or the other. All of such made-up appellations should be discarded; such appellations are creations of our collective sub-culture that had considered humans to be at the apex of the chain*, when, in reality, we are links within the chain that has been causally balanced via evolution. The next step in the process is the abandonment of self-concern and the overriding urge within us to accumulate, collect and amass - whether in the form of material goods, wealth, fame, pleasures or other forms of entities that seem to be culturally imputed with value.
All of this does not in any way, shape or form mean that one needs to be imprudent and irresponsible. No, it does not mean that. Pure awareness begins to seep into the mind when the mind is free of thoughts of the self and ones aim centers towards divesting one's material and spiritual baggage to a level where one is not consumed by the thoughts, worries or problems that such baggage might bring into ones mind. The stilling of thoughts is the objective and the results of such a stilling is beautifully portrayed in these lines when Ashtavakra mentions that the mind of a stilled one does not differentiate their own body as separate from another's; the imputation is that one who sees this way has ceased to self-identify with emotions, feelings or other thought fluctuations. The ideas of fear, blame, praise, anger, respect and other like cultural signifiers always have their locus with respect to bodily actions that one performs. Ashtavakra mentions that the moment one stops to self-identify with any of these cultural signifiers, it is equivalent to not identifying with your own body. This does not mean that Ashtavakra is insinuating the discarding of our bodies and elevating the mind (and the self) as the most unique entity. On the contrary, it is further clarification that we are just that - organic collections of cells that constitute sentience along with the ocean of other sentient beings that populate this universe.
NOTES:
*Anthropocentrism is that philosophical viewpoint that argues that human beings are at the apex of all creatures and are the single most significant entities in the world. This is a fundamental acceptance embedded within many non-Eastern religions and philosophies. Anthropocentrism regards humans as separate from and superior to nature and holds that human life has intrinsic value while other entities (including animals, plants, mineral resources, and so on). As such, such resources may justifiably be exploited for the benefit of humankind to the detriment of all other sentient beings on earth. I would consider that we are in an advanced state of chauvinistic anthropocentrism.
**I described umwelt and the concept thereof in verse 1.18. Since the concept of umwelt is critical to the understanding of the Ashtavakra Gita, I have excerpted the following writeup that defines the concept by David M. Eagleman Neuroscientist, Stanford University (Author, Incognito, Sum, The Brain): "In 1909, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll introduced the concept of the umwelt. He wanted a word to express a simple (but often overlooked) observation: different animals in the same ecosystem pick up on different environmental signals. In the blind and deaf world of the tick, the important signals are temperature and the odor of butyric acid. For the black ghost knifefish, it's electrical fields. For the echolocating bat, it's air-compression waves. The small subset of the world that an animal is able to detect is its umwelt. The bigger reality, whatever that might mean, is called the umgebung.
The interesting part is that each organism presumably assumes its umwelt to be the entire objective reality "out there." Why would any of us stop to think that there is more beyond what we can sense? In the movie The Truman Show, the eponymous Truman lives in a world completely constructed around him by an intrepid television producer. At one point an interviewer asks the producer, "Why do you think Truman has never come close to discovering the true nature of his world?" The producer replies, "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented." We accept our umwelt and stop there.
To appreciate the amount that goes undetected in our lives, imagine you're a bloodhound dog. Your long nose houses two hundred million scent receptors. On the outside, your wet nostrils attract and trap scent molecules. The slits at the corners of each nostril flare out to allow more air flow as you sniff. Even your floppy ears drag along the ground and kick up scent molecules. Your world is all about olfaction. One afternoon, as you're following your master, you stop in your tracks with a revelation. What is it like to have the pitiful, impoverished nose of a human being? What can humans possibly detect when they take in a feeble little noseful of air? Do they suffer a hole where smell is supposed to be?
Obviously, we suffer no absence of smell because we accept reality as it's presented to us. Without the olfactory capabilities of a bloodhound, it rarely strikes us that things could be different. Similarly, until a child learns in school that honeybees enjoy ultraviolet signals and rattlesnakes employ infrared, it does not strike her that plenty of information is riding on channels to which we have no natural access. From my informal surveys, it is very uncommon knowledge that the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to us is less than a ten-trillionth of it.
Our unawareness of the limits of our umwelt can be seen with color blind people: until they learn that others can see hues they cannot, the thought of extra colors does not hit their radar screen. And the same goes for the congenitally blind: being sightless is not like experiencing "blackness" or "a dark hole" where vision should be. As a human is to a bloodhound dog, a blind person does not miss vision. They do not conceive of it. Electromagnetic radiation is simply not part of their umwelt.
The more science taps into these hidden channels, the more it becomes clear that our brains are tuned to detect a shockingly small fraction of the surrounding reality. Our sensorium is enough to get by in our ecosystem, but is does not approximate the larger picture.
I think it would be useful if the concept of the umwelt were embedded in the public lexicon. It neatly captures the idea of limited knowledge, of unobtainable information, and of unimagined possibilities. Consider the criticisms of policy, the assertions of dogma, the declarations of fact that you hear every day — and just imagine if all of these could be infused with the proper intellectual humility that comes from appreciating the amount unseen."
Friday, December 20, 2019
AVG 3.9
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 9
धीरस्तु भोज्यमानोऽपि पीड्यमानोऽपि सर्वदा ।
आत्मानं केवलं पश्यन्न तुष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ३-९॥
PURPORT:
Whereas entertained, feted, celebrated
or even tormented, the steadfast individual
unconditionally observes their own true awareness,
and is thus neither gratified nor agitated.
TRANSLITERATION:
धीरः तु भोज्यमानः अपि पीड्यमानः अपि सर्वदा ।
dhīraḥ tu bhojyamānaḥ api pīḍyamānaḥ api sarvadā ।
आत्मानम् केवलम् पश्यन् न तुष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ३-९॥
ātmānam kevalam paśyan na tuṣyati na kupyati ॥ 3-9॥
MEANING:
dhīraḥ (धीरः) = perseverant/steadfast individual/a serene person
tu (तु) = but/whereas
bhojyamānaḥ (भोज्यमानः) = feasted, feted and enjoyed by the senses
api (अपि) = even
pīḍyamānaḥ (पीड्यमानः) = afflicted/tormented
api (अपि) = even
sarvadā (सर्वदा) = at all times ।
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one's substantive individualization (through choiceless awareness)
kevalam (केवलम्) = absolutely/unconditionally
paśyan (पश्यन्) = seeing
na (न) = not
tuṣyati (तुष्यति) = to be pleased/is gratified/become calm and satisfied
na (न) = not
kupyati (कुप्यति) = be moved or excited or agitated/be angry and filled with rage ॥ 3-9॥
COMMENT:
It is seen that from verse 1 through to verse 8 of this chapter, the incongruous and slightly eccentric nature of an irresolute seeker has been chronicled, pointing out the conflicts and inconsistencies within the seekers path to awareness and the material distractions along the path. Verses 1-8 indicate that true awareness may elude the seekers grasp so long as the seeker continues to experience the contradictions and inconsistencies indicated in those verses. From this verse onward, the judgement, habit and method of a true preceptor is explained. Nevertheless, the journey remains beautiful, the language gentle and brims with wisdom.
This particular verse is a distillation of the sense of liberation that a precept with a clear understanding of the nature of awareness will experience. Ashtavakra tells Janaka that when a precept has managed to understand and channel all of the desires and fears of the mind and moves towards finding a state of being where there is neither elation nor irritation (as both elation and irritation are dependent and one cannot be characterized as such without the other), then the precept is a choiceless observer - neither anger nor disappointment nor extreme elation can overly tilt this equanimity. Of course, the state of awareness itself as potentially experienced by a precept does not care nor is bothered by whether (or not) the individual experiences a sense of dichotomy within their thoughts or a sense of non-duality within their thoughts. Similarly, the state of awareness does not care whether the individual experiences the world as a singular entity or as an entity as part of an undifferentiated whole. Choiceless awareness is not affected by the content of the individuals experience. The precept understands this and Ashtavakra informs us so.
The beginning seeker sees glimpses of this choiceless state as they read, meditate or work. It is thought that a constant practice of such channeling will allow for the seeker in expanding these moments of choiceless clarity. In addition, it should be understood by the seeker that the moment the seeker sets out to reach this state of choiceless awareness as some kind of an idyllic goal from whence the seeker hopes to find peace, realize that the seeker is lost and needs to restart. There are no goals, no idols on high, no ever-shining luminosity that one needs to use as a goal. There are no goals. Choiceless awareness is just that - awareness without thought, emotion, predilections or preconceptions - impartial observance leading to profound peace and insight. The awareness will follow.
धीरस्तु भोज्यमानोऽपि पीड्यमानोऽपि सर्वदा ।
आत्मानं केवलं पश्यन्न तुष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ३-९॥
PURPORT:
Whereas entertained, feted, celebrated
or even tormented, the steadfast individual
unconditionally observes their own true awareness,
and is thus neither gratified nor agitated.
TRANSLITERATION:
धीरः तु भोज्यमानः अपि पीड्यमानः अपि सर्वदा ।
dhīraḥ tu bhojyamānaḥ api pīḍyamānaḥ api sarvadā ।
आत्मानम् केवलम् पश्यन् न तुष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ३-९॥
ātmānam kevalam paśyan na tuṣyati na kupyati ॥ 3-9॥
MEANING:
dhīraḥ (धीरः) = perseverant/steadfast individual/a serene person
tu (तु) = but/whereas
bhojyamānaḥ (भोज्यमानः) = feasted, feted and enjoyed by the senses
api (अपि) = even
pīḍyamānaḥ (पीड्यमानः) = afflicted/tormented
api (अपि) = even
sarvadā (सर्वदा) = at all times ।
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one's substantive individualization (through choiceless awareness)
kevalam (केवलम्) = absolutely/unconditionally
paśyan (पश्यन्) = seeing
na (न) = not
tuṣyati (तुष्यति) = to be pleased/is gratified/become calm and satisfied
na (न) = not
kupyati (कुप्यति) = be moved or excited or agitated/be angry and filled with rage ॥ 3-9॥
COMMENT:
It is seen that from verse 1 through to verse 8 of this chapter, the incongruous and slightly eccentric nature of an irresolute seeker has been chronicled, pointing out the conflicts and inconsistencies within the seekers path to awareness and the material distractions along the path. Verses 1-8 indicate that true awareness may elude the seekers grasp so long as the seeker continues to experience the contradictions and inconsistencies indicated in those verses. From this verse onward, the judgement, habit and method of a true preceptor is explained. Nevertheless, the journey remains beautiful, the language gentle and brims with wisdom.
This particular verse is a distillation of the sense of liberation that a precept with a clear understanding of the nature of awareness will experience. Ashtavakra tells Janaka that when a precept has managed to understand and channel all of the desires and fears of the mind and moves towards finding a state of being where there is neither elation nor irritation (as both elation and irritation are dependent and one cannot be characterized as such without the other), then the precept is a choiceless observer - neither anger nor disappointment nor extreme elation can overly tilt this equanimity. Of course, the state of awareness itself as potentially experienced by a precept does not care nor is bothered by whether (or not) the individual experiences a sense of dichotomy within their thoughts or a sense of non-duality within their thoughts. Similarly, the state of awareness does not care whether the individual experiences the world as a singular entity or as an entity as part of an undifferentiated whole. Choiceless awareness is not affected by the content of the individuals experience. The precept understands this and Ashtavakra informs us so.
The beginning seeker sees glimpses of this choiceless state as they read, meditate or work. It is thought that a constant practice of such channeling will allow for the seeker in expanding these moments of choiceless clarity. In addition, it should be understood by the seeker that the moment the seeker sets out to reach this state of choiceless awareness as some kind of an idyllic goal from whence the seeker hopes to find peace, realize that the seeker is lost and needs to restart. There are no goals, no idols on high, no ever-shining luminosity that one needs to use as a goal. There are no goals. Choiceless awareness is just that - awareness without thought, emotion, predilections or preconceptions - impartial observance leading to profound peace and insight. The awareness will follow.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
AVG 3.8
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 8
इहामुत्र विरक्तस्य नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः ।
आश्चर्यं मोक्षकामस्य मोक्षाद् एव विभीषिका ॥ ३-८॥
PURPORT:
It is surprising that the one who is unattached
to phenomena of this world or to other worlds,
the one who can judiciously discern between
the perpetual and the intermittent, the one who
hankers for a transcendence of desires and fears,
that same one, fears such a transcendence.
TRANSLITERATION:
इहामुत्र विरक्तस्य नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः ।
ihāmutra viraktasya nityānityavivekinaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् मोक्षकामस्य मोक्षात् एव विभीषिका ॥ ३-८॥
āścaryam mokṣakāmasya mokṣāt eva vibhīṣikā ॥ 3-8॥
MEANING:
ihāmutra (इहामुत्र) = in this world and the next (broken up as iha (इह) meaning 'this/here' and amutra (अमुत्र) meaning 'in the next world' or 'in the next life'; combining to form ihāmutra (इहामुत्र) to mean 'in this world and the next' or 'in this life and the next')
viraktasya (विरक्तस्य) = of one who is unattached
nityānityavivekinaḥ (नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः) = of one who judiciously discerns between the perpetual and the intermittent (compound of nityā (नित्य) meaning 'perpetual/eternal/everlasting' and anitya (अनित्य) meaning 'ephemeral/intermittent/terminable/transient' and vivekinaḥ (विवेकिनः) meaning 'one who employs judicious reasoning allowing for a clear discrimination of concepts')।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = surprise/astonishment
mokṣakāmasya (मोक्षकामस्य) = of the one who hankers for emancipation resulting from a transcendence of desires and fears
mokṣāt (मोक्षात्) = from emancipation
eva (एव) = even
vibhīṣikā (विभीषिका) = terror/fear ॥ 3-8॥
COMMENT:
These sublime lines from Ashtavakra immaculately encapsulates an ironical dilemma faced by many seekers - the dilemma where the seeker wants to transcend, yet, is held back in the process by an innate fear propagated by the seekers imaginary ego that does not want to let the seeker free to reach that transcended space.
Ashtavakra states that it is rather surprising that a seeker who is unattached to mental or corporeal phenomena and creations of this world (or other worlds envisaged), a seeker who has learned to judiciously discern between what can potentially be construed as eternal processes or transient processes (within their own frames of reference), a seeker who longs for a transcendence of desires and fears is indeed terrified of such a transcendence. The ego (and the self-model thereof) resorts to various tricks within the mind - tricks that combine gratification, fear, loss of control, greed, hope and power - a combination of some or all of these allow for the ego to pull the seeker back into ego-centric territory.
The use of the word moksha* here merits a little detail - the Sanskrit word itself generally means to be liberated from the cycles of birth and death (construed more generally as a state where an individual is never again born into this material world). Different Indian scriptural traditions understand the attainment of the same in many different ways. The realization that the self-model is immanent and pervades all of cosmos is one interpretation, the pure bliss emanating from the fact that one has experienced that immortal soul that lives within each of us and is part of a larger soul is another interpretation. Yet another interpretation holds that moksha is the final liberation from cycles of rebirths and deaths within this material creation.
As seekers, one understands that moksha, soul, afterlife, spirit and variations thereof are concepts that we have developed to help ourselves. That is all. Moksha is what we make out to be as we strive to attain (and maybe maintain, at least for some period of time), a state of transcendence where we are perfectly free of desires and fears, a state of pure observation without choices, prejudices or partial leanings, a state where thought, action, reaction and teaching cannot intrude. That would be moksha for me as a seeker - albeit fleeting such a moment might be.
*In fact, the ancients considered moksha as one of the four goals or 'purushaartha's' desired by seekers (the other three being 'dharma' or righteousness, 'artha' or wealth and 'kaama' or fulfilling of desires). The 'purushaartha' system is yet another facet of the Dharma concept in Hinduism. Knowledge of this is really not necessary to understand the message behind the Ashtavakra. I included this here just in case you were wondering what this might reference.
इहामुत्र विरक्तस्य नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः ।
आश्चर्यं मोक्षकामस्य मोक्षाद् एव विभीषिका ॥ ३-८॥
PURPORT:
It is surprising that the one who is unattached
to phenomena of this world or to other worlds,
the one who can judiciously discern between
the perpetual and the intermittent, the one who
hankers for a transcendence of desires and fears,
that same one, fears such a transcendence.
TRANSLITERATION:
इहामुत्र विरक्तस्य नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः ।
ihāmutra viraktasya nityānityavivekinaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् मोक्षकामस्य मोक्षात् एव विभीषिका ॥ ३-८॥
āścaryam mokṣakāmasya mokṣāt eva vibhīṣikā ॥ 3-8॥
MEANING:
ihāmutra (इहामुत्र) = in this world and the next (broken up as iha (इह) meaning 'this/here' and amutra (अमुत्र) meaning 'in the next world' or 'in the next life'; combining to form ihāmutra (इहामुत्र) to mean 'in this world and the next' or 'in this life and the next')
viraktasya (विरक्तस्य) = of one who is unattached
nityānityavivekinaḥ (नित्यानित्यविवेकिनः) = of one who judiciously discerns between the perpetual and the intermittent (compound of nityā (नित्य) meaning 'perpetual/eternal/everlasting' and anitya (अनित्य) meaning 'ephemeral/intermittent/terminable/transient' and vivekinaḥ (विवेकिनः) meaning 'one who employs judicious reasoning allowing for a clear discrimination of concepts')।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = surprise/astonishment
mokṣakāmasya (मोक्षकामस्य) = of the one who hankers for emancipation resulting from a transcendence of desires and fears
mokṣāt (मोक्षात्) = from emancipation
eva (एव) = even
vibhīṣikā (विभीषिका) = terror/fear ॥ 3-8॥
COMMENT:
These sublime lines from Ashtavakra immaculately encapsulates an ironical dilemma faced by many seekers - the dilemma where the seeker wants to transcend, yet, is held back in the process by an innate fear propagated by the seekers imaginary ego that does not want to let the seeker free to reach that transcended space.
Ashtavakra states that it is rather surprising that a seeker who is unattached to mental or corporeal phenomena and creations of this world (or other worlds envisaged), a seeker who has learned to judiciously discern between what can potentially be construed as eternal processes or transient processes (within their own frames of reference), a seeker who longs for a transcendence of desires and fears is indeed terrified of such a transcendence. The ego (and the self-model thereof) resorts to various tricks within the mind - tricks that combine gratification, fear, loss of control, greed, hope and power - a combination of some or all of these allow for the ego to pull the seeker back into ego-centric territory.
The use of the word moksha* here merits a little detail - the Sanskrit word itself generally means to be liberated from the cycles of birth and death (construed more generally as a state where an individual is never again born into this material world). Different Indian scriptural traditions understand the attainment of the same in many different ways. The realization that the self-model is immanent and pervades all of cosmos is one interpretation, the pure bliss emanating from the fact that one has experienced that immortal soul that lives within each of us and is part of a larger soul is another interpretation. Yet another interpretation holds that moksha is the final liberation from cycles of rebirths and deaths within this material creation.
As seekers, one understands that moksha, soul, afterlife, spirit and variations thereof are concepts that we have developed to help ourselves. That is all. Moksha is what we make out to be as we strive to attain (and maybe maintain, at least for some period of time), a state of transcendence where we are perfectly free of desires and fears, a state of pure observation without choices, prejudices or partial leanings, a state where thought, action, reaction and teaching cannot intrude. That would be moksha for me as a seeker - albeit fleeting such a moment might be.
*In fact, the ancients considered moksha as one of the four goals or 'purushaartha's' desired by seekers (the other three being 'dharma' or righteousness, 'artha' or wealth and 'kaama' or fulfilling of desires). The 'purushaartha' system is yet another facet of the Dharma concept in Hinduism. Knowledge of this is really not necessary to understand the message behind the Ashtavakra. I included this here just in case you were wondering what this might reference.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
AVG 3.7
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 7
उद्भूतं ज्ञानदुर्मित्रमवधार्यातिदुर्बलः ।
आश्चर्यं काममाकाङ्क्षेत् कालमन्तमनुश्रितः ॥ ३-७॥
PURPORT:
It is indeed bewildering that knowing
desire to be contrary to awareness,
one who is extremely feeble and
approaching the end of one’s days,
should still pine for physical possessions.
TRANSLITERATION:
उद्भूतम् ज्ञानदुर्मित्रम् अवधार्य अतिदुर्बलः ।
udbhūtam jñānadurmitram avadhārya atidurbalaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् कामम् अकाङ्क्षेत् कालम् अन्तम् अनुश्रितः ॥ ३-७॥
āścaryam kāmam akāṅkṣet kālam antam anuśritaḥ ॥ 3-7॥
MEANING:
udbhūtam (उद्भूतम्) = produced/come forth
jñānadurmitram (ज्ञानदुर्मित्रम्) = antagonistic to knowledge/not a friend of learning and intelligence
avadhārya (अवधार्य) = to be ascertained or known/knowing for certain
atidurbalaḥ (अतिदुर्बलः) = extremely feeble/acutely weak।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonishment/surprise/bewilderment
kāmam (कामम्) = sensual gratification (in this context, I want to read this word more as one’s attachment to physical possessions and not just from a sexual perspective as the word is commonly connoted within Sanskrit)
akāṅkṣet (अकाङ्क्षेत्) = should desire with longing/pining for
kālam (कालम्) = days/time
antam (अन्तम्) = last/end
anuśritaḥ (अनुश्रितः) = impending/approaching/imminent॥ 3-7॥
COMMENT:
These beautiful lines talk about that juncture where a seeker fully cognizant that s(he) will pass on from this universe, possessively clings to objects of attachments and selfdom thoughts that allow for the seekers ego to continue to consolidate and dominate. While death to the ancients came on suddenly and without warning, the prospect of death in most cases to prevailing generations is a factor that is clear and present within their lives - just that most of us choose to ignore the same as the ego will still continue to dominate until the very end (in a certain sense, the prevailing generations have a better chance at planning for the dissolution of the ego before the oncoming end than our erstwhile generations).
There seems to be two distinct spiritual directions a seeker approaching their end-days might take - the way of ego transcendence or the way of ego preponderance. To briefly expand, the latter is what Ashtavakra directly refers to within these verses - where the force of the ego and the thoughts and actions thereof is so all-empowering that even with the distinct knowledge that the end is near, one refuses to give up those modes of attachments and diversions that have always proven to fuel and prop the ego. As an extension, Ashtavakra might indirectly be leading us down the alternate path that the seeker may strive to cultivate – the path of ego transcendence - where the seeker lives out life in a manner where the deeds, actions, legacies and work of the seeker serve as a path forward to the people left behind with little regard for the signature of the seekers ego to be overlayed on such deeds, actions, work and thoughts. As someone once wisely said: we do not really possess anything that is called an ‘ego’, we are only possessed by the idea that we have one.
उद्भूतं ज्ञानदुर्मित्रमवधार्यातिदुर्बलः ।
आश्चर्यं काममाकाङ्क्षेत् कालमन्तमनुश्रितः ॥ ३-७॥
PURPORT:
It is indeed bewildering that knowing
desire to be contrary to awareness,
one who is extremely feeble and
approaching the end of one’s days,
should still pine for physical possessions.
TRANSLITERATION:
उद्भूतम् ज्ञानदुर्मित्रम् अवधार्य अतिदुर्बलः ।
udbhūtam jñānadurmitram avadhārya atidurbalaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् कामम् अकाङ्क्षेत् कालम् अन्तम् अनुश्रितः ॥ ३-७॥
āścaryam kāmam akāṅkṣet kālam antam anuśritaḥ ॥ 3-7॥
MEANING:
udbhūtam (उद्भूतम्) = produced/come forth
jñānadurmitram (ज्ञानदुर्मित्रम्) = antagonistic to knowledge/not a friend of learning and intelligence
avadhārya (अवधार्य) = to be ascertained or known/knowing for certain
atidurbalaḥ (अतिदुर्बलः) = extremely feeble/acutely weak।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonishment/surprise/bewilderment
kāmam (कामम्) = sensual gratification (in this context, I want to read this word more as one’s attachment to physical possessions and not just from a sexual perspective as the word is commonly connoted within Sanskrit)
akāṅkṣet (अकाङ्क्षेत्) = should desire with longing/pining for
kālam (कालम्) = days/time
antam (अन्तम्) = last/end
anuśritaḥ (अनुश्रितः) = impending/approaching/imminent॥ 3-7॥
COMMENT:
These beautiful lines talk about that juncture where a seeker fully cognizant that s(he) will pass on from this universe, possessively clings to objects of attachments and selfdom thoughts that allow for the seekers ego to continue to consolidate and dominate. While death to the ancients came on suddenly and without warning, the prospect of death in most cases to prevailing generations is a factor that is clear and present within their lives - just that most of us choose to ignore the same as the ego will still continue to dominate until the very end (in a certain sense, the prevailing generations have a better chance at planning for the dissolution of the ego before the oncoming end than our erstwhile generations).
There seems to be two distinct spiritual directions a seeker approaching their end-days might take - the way of ego transcendence or the way of ego preponderance. To briefly expand, the latter is what Ashtavakra directly refers to within these verses - where the force of the ego and the thoughts and actions thereof is so all-empowering that even with the distinct knowledge that the end is near, one refuses to give up those modes of attachments and diversions that have always proven to fuel and prop the ego. As an extension, Ashtavakra might indirectly be leading us down the alternate path that the seeker may strive to cultivate – the path of ego transcendence - where the seeker lives out life in a manner where the deeds, actions, legacies and work of the seeker serve as a path forward to the people left behind with little regard for the signature of the seekers ego to be overlayed on such deeds, actions, work and thoughts. As someone once wisely said: we do not really possess anything that is called an ‘ego’, we are only possessed by the idea that we have one.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
AVG 3.6
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 6
आस्थितः परमाद्वैतं मोक्षार्थेऽपि व्यवस्थितः ।
आश्चर्यं कामवशगो विकलः केलिशिक्षया ॥ ३-६॥
PURPORT:
Enduring in a profound state of non-duality
with an intent and focus towards liberation,
it is surprising that one should yet, be in thrall
to the power of attachment and the practice
of clinging to impassioned endeavors.
TRANSLITERATION:
आस्थितः परमाद्वैतम् मोक्षार्थे अपि व्यवस्थितः ।
āsthitaḥ paramādvaitam mokṣārthe api vyavasthitaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् कामवशगः विकलः केलिशिक्षया ॥ ३-६॥
āścaryam kāmavaśagaḥ vikalaḥ keliśikṣayā ॥ 3-6॥
MEANING:
āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः) = existing/abiding/enduring
paramādvaitam (परमाद्वैतम्) = in supreme non-duality (compound of param (परम) meaning 'absolute/profound/supreme' and ādvaitam (अद्वैतम्) meaning 'to be in a state that is destitute of dichotomy' or 'to be in a state of non-duality')
mokṣārthe (मोक्षार्थे) = with an intent towards and a focus on redemption (compound of mokṣa (मोक्ष) meaning 'absolution/redemption/liberation' and arthe (अर्थे) meaning 'on the account of/with an intent towards')
api (अपि) = even
vyavasthitaḥ (व्यवस्थितः) = persevering/established/settled/fixed।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonished/miracle/surprise
kāmavaśagaḥ (कामवशगः) = being held in the power of attachment/lust (compound of kāma (काम) meaning 'desire/lust/pleasure' and vaśagaḥ (वशगः) meaning 'being in the power of/subjected to/subjugated to')
vikalaḥ (विकलः) = weakened/crippled/exhausted/maimed
keliśikṣayā (केलिशिक्षया) = by the learning and practice of impassioned endeavors (compound of keli (केलि) meaning 'amorous and sportive pleasures' or impassioned activities' and śikṣayā (शिक्षया) meaning 'by the learning' of or 'by the practice of') ॥ 3-6॥
COMMENT:
In reading this verse as well as the previous verses, the concept of attachment, lust, desire and like emotions keeps surfacing (previously in 3.4 and 3.5). These verses should not be construed as a condemnation against love or desire or lust; also, the verses should not be read as espousing a life of strict, celibate non-attachment. These lines are far from such narrow sedentary interpretations. Within my limited understanding of these lines, I humbly submit that the import of these verses boil down to the following simple message: love and desire for the other person is the most positively uplifting selfless act one can bring oneself to accomplish as long as such love for the other does not become a place from which the innate self-awareness of the other stops shining and fades – where attachment happens to the exclusion of all else and the other is subsumed in this process. Kahlil Gibran espoused the same sentiments when he wrote the following lines in the poem ‘On Marriage’ that seemed to better express the thinking that I had on reading these verses.
“Love one another, but make not a bond
of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from
one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat
not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.”
आस्थितः परमाद्वैतं मोक्षार्थेऽपि व्यवस्थितः ।
आश्चर्यं कामवशगो विकलः केलिशिक्षया ॥ ३-६॥
PURPORT:
Enduring in a profound state of non-duality
with an intent and focus towards liberation,
it is surprising that one should yet, be in thrall
to the power of attachment and the practice
of clinging to impassioned endeavors.
TRANSLITERATION:
आस्थितः परमाद्वैतम् मोक्षार्थे अपि व्यवस्थितः ।
āsthitaḥ paramādvaitam mokṣārthe api vyavasthitaḥ ।
आश्चर्यम् कामवशगः विकलः केलिशिक्षया ॥ ३-६॥
āścaryam kāmavaśagaḥ vikalaḥ keliśikṣayā ॥ 3-6॥
MEANING:
āsthitaḥ (आस्थितः) = existing/abiding/enduring
paramādvaitam (परमाद्वैतम्) = in supreme non-duality (compound of param (परम) meaning 'absolute/profound/supreme' and ādvaitam (अद्वैतम्) meaning 'to be in a state that is destitute of dichotomy' or 'to be in a state of non-duality')
mokṣārthe (मोक्षार्थे) = with an intent towards and a focus on redemption (compound of mokṣa (मोक्ष) meaning 'absolution/redemption/liberation' and arthe (अर्थे) meaning 'on the account of/with an intent towards')
api (अपि) = even
vyavasthitaḥ (व्यवस्थितः) = persevering/established/settled/fixed।
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonished/miracle/surprise
kāmavaśagaḥ (कामवशगः) = being held in the power of attachment/lust (compound of kāma (काम) meaning 'desire/lust/pleasure' and vaśagaḥ (वशगः) meaning 'being in the power of/subjected to/subjugated to')
vikalaḥ (विकलः) = weakened/crippled/exhausted/maimed
keliśikṣayā (केलिशिक्षया) = by the learning and practice of impassioned endeavors (compound of keli (केलि) meaning 'amorous and sportive pleasures' or impassioned activities' and śikṣayā (शिक्षया) meaning 'by the learning' of or 'by the practice of') ॥ 3-6॥
COMMENT:
In reading this verse as well as the previous verses, the concept of attachment, lust, desire and like emotions keeps surfacing (previously in 3.4 and 3.5). These verses should not be construed as a condemnation against love or desire or lust; also, the verses should not be read as espousing a life of strict, celibate non-attachment. These lines are far from such narrow sedentary interpretations. Within my limited understanding of these lines, I humbly submit that the import of these verses boil down to the following simple message: love and desire for the other person is the most positively uplifting selfless act one can bring oneself to accomplish as long as such love for the other does not become a place from which the innate self-awareness of the other stops shining and fades – where attachment happens to the exclusion of all else and the other is subsumed in this process. Kahlil Gibran espoused the same sentiments when he wrote the following lines in the poem ‘On Marriage’ that seemed to better express the thinking that I had on reading these verses.
“Love one another, but make not a bond
of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from
one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat
not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.”
Monday, December 16, 2019
AVG 3.5
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 5
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
मुनेर्जानत आश्चर्यं ममत्वमनुवर्तते ॥३-५॥
PURPORT:
It is astonishing that the sense of ownership
and narcissism should continue even in the sage
who has actualized the understanding
that the self is in all and all is in the self.
TRANSLITERATION:
सर्वभूतेषु च आत्मानम् सर्वभूतानि च आत्मनि ।
sarvabhūteṣu ca ātmānam sarvabhūtāni ca ātmani ।
मुनेः जानतः आश्चर्यम् ममत्वम् अनुवर्तते ॥३-५॥
muneḥ jānataḥ āścaryam mamatvam anuvartate ॥3-5॥
MEANING:
sarvabhūteṣu (सर्वभूतेषु) = in all beings/in all things
ca (च) = and
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one’s substantive individualization
sarvabhūtāni (सर्वभूतानि) = all things/all beings
ca (च) = and
ātmani (आत्मनि) = in the self/within one’s substantive individualization ।
muneḥ (मुनेः) = of the sage/of the guide
jānataḥ (जानतः) = knowing
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonishment/surprise
mamatvam (ममत्वम्) = self-conceit/narcissism/egotism
anuvartate (अनुवर्तते) = continue/run after ॥3-5॥
COMMENT:
The key to understanding these lines (as has been talked about earlier) is in the realization that just about everything changes and all entities are in a state of constant flux. Every second of every hour of our sentient existence, the one overriding surety that we could bring to ourselves is the fact that there is no underlying essence that has a constant and everlasting presence which defines any material or immaterial object – that flower, the mountain, the birds, that earthworm, our bodies, thoughts, emotions – every single object is in a state of flux. This does not mean that you or I or those mountains or those birds are not real; on the contrary, they are very much real, but to see their 'realness' with the lens that shows that each and every one of these entities lack an intrinsic identity that is separate and distinct from the other is the lens we can strive to cultivate.
This is also the main import of the first line when Ashtavakra mentions that one sees one’s own substantive individualization when they interact with manifested entities and similarly, an aspect of awareness and impermanence is reciprocally reflected back from such manifested entities. Thus, Ashtavakra asks Janaka (in a surprised tone), how Janaka could find the concept of attachment or egotism towards any of such manifested entities (as Janaka claims to have clearly understood these concepts in the previous chapter).
On a side note, even the concept of identity and self is only constructed within the situational context that is present in that moment. That moment conditioned by the layers of conscious absorption of tenets, customs and values impinged upon us by society as well as the affirmation one receives when one has responded in ways that align to such tenets, customs and values. Clinging to the fiction that one has an enduring, important and overriding essence called self and reifying the concept so is the recipe for craving - a craving that manifests in the accumulation of wealth, power, platitudes, adoration and other like riches.
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
मुनेर्जानत आश्चर्यं ममत्वमनुवर्तते ॥३-५॥
PURPORT:
It is astonishing that the sense of ownership
and narcissism should continue even in the sage
who has actualized the understanding
that the self is in all and all is in the self.
TRANSLITERATION:
सर्वभूतेषु च आत्मानम् सर्वभूतानि च आत्मनि ।
sarvabhūteṣu ca ātmānam sarvabhūtāni ca ātmani ।
मुनेः जानतः आश्चर्यम् ममत्वम् अनुवर्तते ॥३-५॥
muneḥ jānataḥ āścaryam mamatvam anuvartate ॥3-5॥
MEANING:
sarvabhūteṣu (सर्वभूतेषु) = in all beings/in all things
ca (च) = and
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one’s substantive individualization
sarvabhūtāni (सर्वभूतानि) = all things/all beings
ca (च) = and
ātmani (आत्मनि) = in the self/within one’s substantive individualization ।
muneḥ (मुनेः) = of the sage/of the guide
jānataḥ (जानतः) = knowing
āścaryam (आश्चर्यम्) = astonishment/surprise
mamatvam (ममत्वम्) = self-conceit/narcissism/egotism
anuvartate (अनुवर्तते) = continue/run after ॥3-5॥
COMMENT:
The key to understanding these lines (as has been talked about earlier) is in the realization that just about everything changes and all entities are in a state of constant flux. Every second of every hour of our sentient existence, the one overriding surety that we could bring to ourselves is the fact that there is no underlying essence that has a constant and everlasting presence which defines any material or immaterial object – that flower, the mountain, the birds, that earthworm, our bodies, thoughts, emotions – every single object is in a state of flux. This does not mean that you or I or those mountains or those birds are not real; on the contrary, they are very much real, but to see their 'realness' with the lens that shows that each and every one of these entities lack an intrinsic identity that is separate and distinct from the other is the lens we can strive to cultivate.
This is also the main import of the first line when Ashtavakra mentions that one sees one’s own substantive individualization when they interact with manifested entities and similarly, an aspect of awareness and impermanence is reciprocally reflected back from such manifested entities. Thus, Ashtavakra asks Janaka (in a surprised tone), how Janaka could find the concept of attachment or egotism towards any of such manifested entities (as Janaka claims to have clearly understood these concepts in the previous chapter).
On a side note, even the concept of identity and self is only constructed within the situational context that is present in that moment. That moment conditioned by the layers of conscious absorption of tenets, customs and values impinged upon us by society as well as the affirmation one receives when one has responded in ways that align to such tenets, customs and values. Clinging to the fiction that one has an enduring, important and overriding essence called self and reifying the concept so is the recipe for craving - a craving that manifests in the accumulation of wealth, power, platitudes, adoration and other like riches.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
AVG 3.4
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 4
श्रुत्वाऽपि शुद्धचैतन्यमात्मानमतिसुन्दरम् ।
उपस्थेऽत्यन्तसंसक्तो मालिन्यमधिगच्छति ॥ ३-४॥
PURPORT:
Having discerned your nature of pure awareness
and your innately beautiful self-ideation,
how can you still be infatuated and covetous
and thus be afflicted with dissonance?
TRANSLITERATION:
श्रुत्वा अपि शुद्धचैतन्यम् आत्मानम् अतिसुन्दरम् ।
śrutvā api śuddhacaitanyam ātmānam atisundaram ।
उपस्थे अत्यन्तसंसक्तः मालिन्यम् अधिगच्छति ॥ ३-४॥
upasthe atyantasaṃsaktaḥ mālinyam adhigacchati ॥ 3-4॥
MEANING:
śrutvā (श्रुत्वा) = having heard/on hearing (in this context the use can construed to be more like ‘having thus understood’)
api (अपि) = even
śuddhacaitanyam* (शुद्धचैतन्यम्) = pure self-awareness/unadulterated consciousness (compound of śuddha (शुद्ध) meaning pure/unadulterated/unqualified/cleansed and caitanyam* (चैतन्यम्) meaning awareness/consciousness/intelligence);
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one’s substantive individualization
atisundaram (अतिसुन्दरम्) = exceedingly beautiful (compound of ati (अति) meaning exceedingly/outperforming everything else and sundaram (सुन्दरम्) meaning loveliness/beauty/beautiful)।
upasthe (उपस्थे) = generative organs/procreative agency (reference to lust and lustful infatuation)
atyantasaṃsaktaḥ (अत्यन्तसंसक्तः) = very deeply attached (compound of atyanta (अत्यन्त) meaning excessive/absolute/perpetual and saṃsaktaḥ (संसक्तः) meaning closely connected/adhered or stuck together)
mālinyam (मालिन्यम्) = impurity/contamination/adulteration (as in to be afflicted with an impurity or adulteration)
adhigacchati (अधिगच्छति) = go towards/accomplish/obtain॥ 3-4॥
COMMENT:
Balanced gently on that narrow ledge straddling benign chiding and tender reminding, Ashtavakra talks about that singular issue that confronts the beginning seeker – how is it that the seeker continues to covet and lust even after knowing and understanding aspects of awareness that is liberating to their minds? This is Ashtavakra's way of reminding Janaka that lust and the feelings thereof is just like every other learned and conditioned emotional concept fabricated from our thoughts. The experiences garnered as a result of applying conceptual designations and the resultant names and forms used in describing feelings of lust as well as the object of ones lust do not innately spring forth from the distilled self-awareness of a discerning seeker, but instead, such behavior and designations are learned, conditioned and habituated culturally.
In an extrapolation of the thoughts that Ashtavakra references, one can almost say that the object of ones lust is not an object at all. The confusion and the latent sense of ownership arises from the fact that one starts to recognize the object of ones lust as an objective entity in the first place. One seems to think that one has subjective experiences (desire, possession, ownership) of an objective entity (the target of ones lust) when in reality there might be none at all on closer scrutiny. But, Ashtavakra wants us to understand that ultimately, there is nothing out there other than ones relative truth that is conditioned by the trappings of societal and cultural forces. There is no objective, independent truth out there and, by extension, on deeper analysis, one will not be able to find (with any clarity) the existence of anything "outside" or "external" to ourselves. Nothing exists independent of our minds and the fluctuations of thought that seem to percept such an externality.
* caitanyam is from the from the Sanskrit root “cit” (“चित्”); a form of pure consciousness where the reference is to just an awareness that is choiceless and impartial and is not awareness of this particular entity or awareness of that specific object accompanied by its own attendant subjective interpretations.
Interesting relevant tidbit: the actual meaning of the word “citra” (“चित्र”) is also not ‘picture’ but ‘perception of multiplicity’ or ‘manifold’ – thus, the world can also be construed as being a “citra” (illusion/picture).
Additional tidbit: Satchitananda (सच्चिदानन्द) is a compounded Sanskrit word consisting of "sat", "cit" and "ananda", all three considered as inseparable and a nature of ultimate reality where sat (सत्): means "being, existence", "real, actual", "true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true being, really existent, good, true"; cit (चित्): means "consciousness" or "choiceless awareness" (as referenced above) and ānanda (आनन्द): means "happiness, joy, enjoyment, bliss"; taken together, satchitananda is therefore translated as "Being;Choiceless Awareness;Bliss".
श्रुत्वाऽपि शुद्धचैतन्यमात्मानमतिसुन्दरम् ।
उपस्थेऽत्यन्तसंसक्तो मालिन्यमधिगच्छति ॥ ३-४॥
PURPORT:
Having discerned your nature of pure awareness
and your innately beautiful self-ideation,
how can you still be infatuated and covetous
and thus be afflicted with dissonance?
TRANSLITERATION:
श्रुत्वा अपि शुद्धचैतन्यम् आत्मानम् अतिसुन्दरम् ।
śrutvā api śuddhacaitanyam ātmānam atisundaram ।
उपस्थे अत्यन्तसंसक्तः मालिन्यम् अधिगच्छति ॥ ३-४॥
upasthe atyantasaṃsaktaḥ mālinyam adhigacchati ॥ 3-4॥
MEANING:
śrutvā (श्रुत्वा) = having heard/on hearing (in this context the use can construed to be more like ‘having thus understood’)
api (अपि) = even
śuddhacaitanyam* (शुद्धचैतन्यम्) = pure self-awareness/unadulterated consciousness (compound of śuddha (शुद्ध) meaning pure/unadulterated/unqualified/cleansed and caitanyam* (चैतन्यम्) meaning awareness/consciousness/intelligence);
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = your self/one’s substantive individualization
atisundaram (अतिसुन्दरम्) = exceedingly beautiful (compound of ati (अति) meaning exceedingly/outperforming everything else and sundaram (सुन्दरम्) meaning loveliness/beauty/beautiful)।
upasthe (उपस्थे) = generative organs/procreative agency (reference to lust and lustful infatuation)
atyantasaṃsaktaḥ (अत्यन्तसंसक्तः) = very deeply attached (compound of atyanta (अत्यन्त) meaning excessive/absolute/perpetual and saṃsaktaḥ (संसक्तः) meaning closely connected/adhered or stuck together)
mālinyam (मालिन्यम्) = impurity/contamination/adulteration (as in to be afflicted with an impurity or adulteration)
adhigacchati (अधिगच्छति) = go towards/accomplish/obtain॥ 3-4॥
COMMENT:
Balanced gently on that narrow ledge straddling benign chiding and tender reminding, Ashtavakra talks about that singular issue that confronts the beginning seeker – how is it that the seeker continues to covet and lust even after knowing and understanding aspects of awareness that is liberating to their minds? This is Ashtavakra's way of reminding Janaka that lust and the feelings thereof is just like every other learned and conditioned emotional concept fabricated from our thoughts. The experiences garnered as a result of applying conceptual designations and the resultant names and forms used in describing feelings of lust as well as the object of ones lust do not innately spring forth from the distilled self-awareness of a discerning seeker, but instead, such behavior and designations are learned, conditioned and habituated culturally.
In an extrapolation of the thoughts that Ashtavakra references, one can almost say that the object of ones lust is not an object at all. The confusion and the latent sense of ownership arises from the fact that one starts to recognize the object of ones lust as an objective entity in the first place. One seems to think that one has subjective experiences (desire, possession, ownership) of an objective entity (the target of ones lust) when in reality there might be none at all on closer scrutiny. But, Ashtavakra wants us to understand that ultimately, there is nothing out there other than ones relative truth that is conditioned by the trappings of societal and cultural forces. There is no objective, independent truth out there and, by extension, on deeper analysis, one will not be able to find (with any clarity) the existence of anything "outside" or "external" to ourselves. Nothing exists independent of our minds and the fluctuations of thought that seem to percept such an externality.
* caitanyam is from the from the Sanskrit root “cit” (“चित्”); a form of pure consciousness where the reference is to just an awareness that is choiceless and impartial and is not awareness of this particular entity or awareness of that specific object accompanied by its own attendant subjective interpretations.
Interesting relevant tidbit: the actual meaning of the word “citra” (“चित्र”) is also not ‘picture’ but ‘perception of multiplicity’ or ‘manifold’ – thus, the world can also be construed as being a “citra” (illusion/picture).
Additional tidbit: Satchitananda (सच्चिदानन्द) is a compounded Sanskrit word consisting of "sat", "cit" and "ananda", all three considered as inseparable and a nature of ultimate reality where sat (सत्): means "being, existence", "real, actual", "true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true being, really existent, good, true"; cit (चित्): means "consciousness" or "choiceless awareness" (as referenced above) and ānanda (आनन्द): means "happiness, joy, enjoyment, bliss"; taken together, satchitananda is therefore translated as "Being;Choiceless Awareness;Bliss".
AVG 3.3
Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 3
विश्वं स्फुरति यत्रेदं तरङ्गा इव सागरे ।
सोऽहमस्मीति विज्ञाय किं दीन इव धावसि ॥ ३-३॥
PURPORT:
The perceived universe manifested
in apparent diversity all around us, is,
just as waves manifest within the ocean.
With the discernment of the truth
‘I am That’, why do you bustle and flee
like someone suffering and afflicted?
TRANSLITERATION:
विश्वम् स्फुरति यत्र इदम् तरङ्गाः इव सागरे ।
viśvam sphurati yatra idam taraṅgāḥ iva sāgare ।
सः अहम् अस्मि इति विज्ञाय किम् दीनः इव धावसि ॥ ३-३॥
saḥ aham asmi iti vijñāya kim dīnaḥ iva dhāvasi ॥ 3-3॥
MEANING:
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe (as in perceived universe or the worlds of perception)
sphurati (स्फुरति) = to be evident or manifest/appears so
yatra (यत्र) = wherein/on occasion where
idam (इदम्) = this
taraṅgāḥ (तरङ्गाः) = waves
iva (इव) = like
sāgare (सागरे) = in the ocean ।
saḥ (सः) = that
aham (अहम्) = I
asmi (अस्मि) = am
iti (इति) = thus/this
vijñāya (विज्ञाय) = knowing/recognizable/discerned
kim (किम्) = why
dīnaḥ (दीनः) = helpless/afflicted/poor
iva (इव) = like
dhāvasi (धावसि) = run around/flee/bustle॥ 3-3॥
COMMENT:
The key message that Ashtavakra artfully delivers here is on the nature of the awareness that results from choiceless observation and introspection; Ashtavakra does this by comparing the multifarious manifestations within the perceived world (Vishvam) to the waves that seem to arise and abate within the ocean – yet seems to be subsumed by the ocean at the end of the process. The objects thus perceived and classified by our minds are purely based upon concepts and knowledge accrued by us previously allowing us to categorize (such) Vishvam into culturally appropriated into cubby-holes that we artificially create within our minds.
In extending the words, I want to say that one tends to forget that everything that we perceive, interact and act-upon is a creation of thought. One is born from thoughts and many seekers tend to pass-on from this world sheathed within the close (and somewhat comforting) confines of these same thoughts. Without thought, it can be said that one would not be here at all (in a subjective manner); one would not be here perceiving, judging, lusting, owning and thus imparting a sense of permanency on things; things that really arise, abide and dissipate all around us only exhibiting a characteristic of pure impermanence.
Of course, I concede that thought has value in the sense that it allows us to participate as members of a shared culture and species within society and allows us to plan our steps and actions in response to stimuli, but it is also the single thing that will destroy the pure awareness that constitutes insight.
विश्वं स्फुरति यत्रेदं तरङ्गा इव सागरे ।
सोऽहमस्मीति विज्ञाय किं दीन इव धावसि ॥ ३-३॥
PURPORT:
The perceived universe manifested
in apparent diversity all around us, is,
just as waves manifest within the ocean.
With the discernment of the truth
‘I am That’, why do you bustle and flee
like someone suffering and afflicted?
TRANSLITERATION:
विश्वम् स्फुरति यत्र इदम् तरङ्गाः इव सागरे ।
viśvam sphurati yatra idam taraṅgāḥ iva sāgare ।
सः अहम् अस्मि इति विज्ञाय किम् दीनः इव धावसि ॥ ३-३॥
saḥ aham asmi iti vijñāya kim dīnaḥ iva dhāvasi ॥ 3-3॥
MEANING:
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe (as in perceived universe or the worlds of perception)
sphurati (स्फुरति) = to be evident or manifest/appears so
yatra (यत्र) = wherein/on occasion where
idam (इदम्) = this
taraṅgāḥ (तरङ्गाः) = waves
iva (इव) = like
sāgare (सागरे) = in the ocean ।
saḥ (सः) = that
aham (अहम्) = I
asmi (अस्मि) = am
iti (इति) = thus/this
vijñāya (विज्ञाय) = knowing/recognizable/discerned
kim (किम्) = why
dīnaḥ (दीनः) = helpless/afflicted/poor
iva (इव) = like
dhāvasi (धावसि) = run around/flee/bustle॥ 3-3॥
COMMENT:
The key message that Ashtavakra artfully delivers here is on the nature of the awareness that results from choiceless observation and introspection; Ashtavakra does this by comparing the multifarious manifestations within the perceived world (Vishvam) to the waves that seem to arise and abate within the ocean – yet seems to be subsumed by the ocean at the end of the process. The objects thus perceived and classified by our minds are purely based upon concepts and knowledge accrued by us previously allowing us to categorize (such) Vishvam into culturally appropriated into cubby-holes that we artificially create within our minds.
In extending the words, I want to say that one tends to forget that everything that we perceive, interact and act-upon is a creation of thought. One is born from thoughts and many seekers tend to pass-on from this world sheathed within the close (and somewhat comforting) confines of these same thoughts. Without thought, it can be said that one would not be here at all (in a subjective manner); one would not be here perceiving, judging, lusting, owning and thus imparting a sense of permanency on things; things that really arise, abide and dissipate all around us only exhibiting a characteristic of pure impermanence.
Of course, I concede that thought has value in the sense that it allows us to participate as members of a shared culture and species within society and allows us to plan our steps and actions in response to stimuli, but it is also the single thing that will destroy the pure awareness that constitutes insight.
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