AVG 5.1

Chapter 5 (Pathways to dissolving the self) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
न ते सङ्गोऽस्ति केनापि किं शुद्धस्त्यक्तुमिच्छसि ।
संघातविलयं कुर्वन्नेवमेव लयं व्रज ॥ ५-१॥

PURPORT:
You have no possessiveness towards anything
whatsoever. Thus pure, as you are, what then
do you wish to renounce? Consequently, dismiss
the aggregate of body, mind, senses, intellect.
Clarified thus, realize the path to dissolution.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥
न ते सङ्गः अस्ति केन अपि किम् शुद्धः त्यक्तुम् इच्छसि ।
na te saṅgaḥ asti kena api kim śuddhaḥ tyaktum icchasi ।
संघातविलयम् कुर्वन्  एवम् एव लयम् व्रज ॥ ५-१॥
saṃghātavilayam kurvan evam eva layam vraja ॥ 5-1॥

MEANING:
aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = said ॥
na (न) = not
te (ते) = your
saṅgaḥ (सङ्गः) = attachment/contact/possessiveness
asti (अस्ति) = there is
kena (केन) = with anything
api (अपि) = truly
kim (किम्) = what
śuddhaḥ (शुद्धः) = you who is transparent and true (are pure)
tyaktum (त्यक्तुम्) = to forsake/renounce
icchasi (इच्छसि) = you wish ।
saṃghātavilayam* (संघातविलयम्) = dissolution of the assemblage / dissolving of the aggregate complex (compound of saṃghāta (संघात) meaning 'collection/group/assemblage/complex' and vilayam (विलयम्) meaning 'dissolution/dissolve/attenuation/decomposition')
kurvan (कुर्वन्) = doing/effecting
evam (evam) = thus
eva (एव) = surely
layam (लयम्) = dissolution/disintegration (awareness results from such a state of dissolution)
vraja (व्रज) = attain ॥ 5-1॥

COMMENT:
The four verses spoken by the preceptor Ashtavakra in this short chapter is packed with wisdom and a fundamental theme which allows for the reader to clearly understand the various modes by which a seeker may channel their energies towards reaching a state of dissolution of the ego. Dissolution of the ego (or ego-death as it is sometimes called) and the consequent dissolving of any attendant  self-model within ourselves is a necessary and crucial step in the seekers path to awareness.

The first of the verses talks about dissolution via a steadfast focus on moving from a mindset that looks to identify the objects and notion with the self-based-mindset of the individual to a mindset that is geared towards non-attachment to material objects and to incorporeal notions. As mentioned earlier, non-attachment does not mean nihilism or non-engagement; on the contrary, non-attachment means the engagement of the individual fully and completely to the task at hand. The crucial difference being that zero focus is accorded by the doer of the task towards any potential accolades or benefits accruing from the actions that one performs. All of humanity's great spiritual traditions speak to this and the import of the first verse is no less than the timeless spiritual messages from antiquity.
 
The second verse talks about the path to dissolution via the seekers realization that the universe is composed of (and operates from) the same reality as we are composed. This is also another refrain that has remained constant across ages where the clarity in understanding that You are That and You are no different from That-which-pervades-all-of-this-manifest-universe; from the molecules and atoms that form the gas clouds obscuring the heart of our great galaxy to the oxygen molecules that make up the blood cells that course though our bodies (as well as the coyotes’ arteries), to the paramecia, the crustaceans, the giant sequoias, the frozen carbon dioxide on the peak of Olympus Mons on Mars, the fine needles of snowflakes that formed on the windshield of your car early winter mornings, the micro-cellular structures that allow the eye of the tiger to discern light and prey, the moss stuck at the bottom of that decaying tree slowly dissolving into the earth - the list goes on and on and on - the structures and shapes that give form and substance to all of the above were forged within the fires inside the heart of stars millions or billions of years ago or from the by-products of some supernova explosion that eventually collapsed to create a neutron star. The understanding of this simple fact is the key import of the second verse - that You are That!.

The third verse talks about the fundamentally illusory nature of objects and entities we interact with – on reading this, one does not want to jump to the immediate conclusion that the world is illusory and hence not worth interacting with or to the conclusion that statements like ‘world is illusory’ demonstrate some perceived dogmatic ignorance of preceptors in the distant past. On the contrary, the illusoriness of the world and all of the objects within the universe stems from the fundamental idea that there cannot be found (however hard one might look), a permanent abiding essence within any object that we interact with; all of what we interact with is in a state of flux, mutation and difference, even in the tiniest moiety of any second - the lack of being able to find a permanent inhering essence within any structure and the understanding that all structures are either in  state of arising dependent upon various causal conditions, or abiding for a finite period of time (again dependent upon causal conditions) or in a state of culmination based (again) upon causal conditions is enlightening. This useful discernment leads the seeker to interact with objects, entities, thoughts and emotions fittingly – without attachment, sans passion and destitute of resentment, but nevertheless, interact with a sense of equanimity, serenity and tranquility. This is the main import of the third verse - the lack of fundamental essence and the co-dependent maintenance of manifest entities propped up by casual conditions all around us. A clearer understanding of this paves the path for awareness and eventual dissolution of the ego.

The last verse talks the avoidance of falling into the quagmire of opposites – love-hate, passion-apathy, happiness-melancholy etc. etc..... the equanimity offered by a mind that is free of thought fluctuations allow for the seeker to not be absorbed by the extremes that are present within any object, entity or thought - a middle way of moderation that allows for the seeker to appropriately temper ones reactions (and feedback) to the world from a position of composure allowing for the seeker to remain unaffected by the constant buffeting that is a natural symptom of our material existence. This level of restraint cannot be achieved any other way other than to train oneself to not be captive to one’s own thoughts – a training that allows for one to willfully cease the fluctuations within one’s mind of the constant tide of thoughts that automatically arise within the wellspring of our minds.