Tuesday, January 7, 2020

AVG 4.6

Chapter 4 (A seeker's perspective into the beauty of self-awareness): Verse 6
आत्मानमद्वयं कश्चिज्जानाति जगदीश्वरम् ।
यद्वेत्ति तत्स कुरुते न भयं तस्य कुत्रचित् ॥ ४-६॥

PURPORT:
Rare is the one who knows that the self is
composed of pure awareness sans thought,
and is unity without duality that vibrates in
harmony with the universe and its sentients.
That one does what they consider worth
doing and finds their actions qualified
and they harbor no fear from anywhere.

TRANSLITERATION:
आत्मानम् अद्वयम् कश्चित् जानाति जगदीश्वरम् ।
ātmānam advayam kaścit jānāti jagadīśvaram । 
यत् वेत्ति तत् सः कुरुते न भयम् तस्य कुत्रचित् ॥ ४-६॥
yat vetti tat saḥ kurute na bhayam tasya kutracit ॥ 4-6॥

MEANING:
ātmānam (आत्मानम्) = the self-model of awareness without thought fluctuations
advayam (अद्वयम्) =  without a second/non-dual/absolute monism
kaścit (कश्चित्) =  scarcely/rarely/seldom
jānāti (जानाति) =  knows
jagadīśvaram (जगदीश्वरम्) = an epithet for a perceived omniscient creator of the world (literally 'lord of the world'). I consider this equivalent to the phrase 'sentients and the universe'।
yat (यत्) =  that which
vetti (वेत्ति) =  finds/knows
tat (तत्) =  that
saḥ (सः) =  that one (literally translates to he)
kurute (कुरुते) =  does
na (न) =  not
bhayam (भयम्) =  fear
tasya (तस्य) =  of that (literally translates to his)
kutracit (कुत्रचित्) =  from anywhere ॥ 4-6॥

COMMENT:
The last verse in this chapter captures the overall theme of the chapter itself: that the seeker is no different from the objects that the seeker strives to obtain over the course of their lives - the goals of the search may variously include happiness, peace, oneness and such; in other cases, the search may be more material-based in terms of wealth, possessions and other like assets; in yet other cases, the search and seeking may be directed by the senses and may include societal and behavioral markers like lust, thirst for knowledge, desire, cravings and other similar hungers. The search itself may be characterized by a variety of attendant emotional states that may include elation, joy, sadness, wrath, jealousy, anger, ego amplification and such. Benign and innocent misunderstandings on the part of the seeker may lead the seeker to mistakenly conclude that the objects, assets and societal markers that they spend their lives scouting around are separate from themselves and apart from the rest of the relative world - leading to an overwhelming feeling of duality and its attendant anomie.

In these verses, Janaka informs that the seeker, the objects sought and every one of these attendant emotions are in fact the same - they form within us, they are of us and we are the only ones who have the capability to appropriately modulate our behavior and expressions; turning to scriptures, books, so-called holy humans or finding refuge within words supposedly spoken by supernatural entities might have temporary calming effects, but in the ultimate analysis, the pertinent moderation and harmonization of ones thoughts will only come from a reduction and an eventual cessation of their constant fluctuations within our minds. The realization that comes from such a cessation of thoughts is the first step towards understanding the fundamental oneness that pervades all sentient expression within the universe - because, we are That universe. The absence of any form or shape or type of dualism (in the sense of a separatedness) is the key import that Janaka brings to us here. Janaka thus eloquently ends the chapter by informing that for a seeker who is clearly established within this understanding and awareness, there cannot be an innate or extraneous fear of (or from) anything around them nor within themselves.

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AVG 15.6

Chapter 15 (A Celebration of the Seekers Native Self): Verse 6 सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि । विज्ञाय निरहंकारो निर्ममस्त्वं सुख...