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