AVG 6.1

Chapter 6 (Patterns that point to a peerless awareness) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
आकाशवदनन्तोऽहं घटवत्प्राकृतं जगत् ।
इति ज्ञानं तथैतस्य न त्यागो न ग्रहो लयः ॥ ६-१॥

PURPORT:
The phenomenal world seems segmented;
discrete like the space confined within
an earthen pot. But, my capacity for
awareness and serenity is as immeasurable
and boundless as the all-pervading space.
This is pure nonpareil awareness and on
realization, this phenomenal world needs neither
abdication nor acceptance nor negation.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥
आकाशवत् अनन्तः अहम् घटवत् प्राकृतम् जगत् ।
ākāśavat anantaḥ aham ghaṭavat prākṛtam jagat ।
इति ज्ञानम् तथा एतस्य न त्यागः न ग्रहः लयः ॥ ६-१॥
iti jñānam tathā etasya na tyāgaḥ na grahaḥ layaḥ ॥ 6-1॥

MEANING:
Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = says ॥
ākāśavat (आकाशवत्) = like space (spacious/extended)
anantaḥ (अनन्तः) = infinite/limitless/immeasurable
aham (अहम्) = I
ghaṭavat (घटवत्) = like a jar/like a pot
prākṛtam (प्राकृतम्)* = phenomenal (the natural world of phenomena)
jagat (जगत्) =  world।
iti (इति) = this
jñānam (ज्ञानम्) = knowledge/awareness
tathā (तथा) = so
etasya (एतस्य) = of this (as in 'of this phenomenal world')
na (न) = not
tyāgaḥ (त्यागः) = renouncement/abdication/surrender (the meaning should be construed as in 'when this higher level of knowledge or awareness is achieved, then one does not need to trouble oneself with the question of surrendering or abdication or renouncement as one is already in union with the universe AND the phenomenal world - therefore the question of renunciation of the phenomenal world does not arise')
na (न) = not
grahaḥ (ग्रहः) = recognition/acceptance (the meaning should be construed as in 'one would not need to feel attached and thus accept or recognize the phenomenal world')
layaḥ (लयः) =  dissolved/negated (the meaning should be construed as in 'one would not need to negate the phenomenal world as something other than what we are composed of')॥ 6-1॥

COMMENT:
While the previous chapter talked specifically about the various ways by which the seeker may attain the dissolution of self-pride and consequently the death of the ego, in this short chapter, Ashtavakra steers the seeker to a higher plane - a plane where the common patterns of thought and state-of-being experienced by the seeker is correspondent and homogenous with anything and everything in contact with the seeker (insofar as it relates to emotions, entities, activities, thoughts, and such). Ashtavakra here teaches us that pure self-awareness was never restrained nor bound; the transparency that comes with this form of awareness allows for one to neither accept this phenomenal world (as one is already deliquesced with both the phenomenal world as well as the larger universe that the world is a part of) nor accept this phenomenal world (as the phenomenal world does not have the potential nor power to provoke attachment, clinging, hankering or possessiveness on the part of the seeker) nor the need to negate the phenomenal world (because the seeker feels the synthesis of their own identity in graceful harmonic resonance with the fluctuations of the world allowing for the seeker to dance, live and love in a radiant manner). Therefore, the seeker in this state of peerless awareness does not in any way resemble the state of disconnectedness evidenced by the metaphor offered in the first line - the metaphor of the space within the earthen pot being separate and distinct from the limitless space that surrounds the same earthen pot.

NOTE:
*prākṛtam (प्राकृतम्)* prākṛtam is from the Sansrit prakriti or prakruti meaning "nature"; refers to a primal creative or natural force, connoting the natural or original intended state of something or of an individual's being. The term is derived from the Sanskrit pra, meaning “beginning,” and kriti, meaning “creation.” While the overall import remains the same, the interpretation varies based upon the schools of Indian philosophy. In the Samkhya school, it is contrasted with Purusha (spirit, consciousness), and Prakriti refers to "the material world, nature, matter, physical and psychological character, constitution, temper, disposition". In Hindu cosmology, Prakṛti is the feminine aspect of existence, the personified will, and energy of the Supreme (Brahman); while in Shaktism, the Goddess is presented as both the Brahman and the Prakṛti. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is the "primal motive force"; the essential constituent of the universe and the basis of all the activity of the creation. According to the Bhagavad Gita Prakrti or Nature is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of being, known as Sattva (arising), rajas (abiding), and tamas (cessation). Sattva encompasses qualities of goodness, light, and harmony. Rajas is associated with concepts of energy, activity, and passion; Tamas is commonly associated with inertia, darkness, insensitivity.