AVG 11.8

Chapter 11 (Coherence on a choiceless witnessing of happenings) Verse 8
नानाश्चर्यमिदं विश्वं न किञ्चिदिति निश्चयी ।
निर्वासनः स्फूर्तिमात्रो न किञ्चिदिव शाम्यति ॥ ११-८॥

PURPORT:
One who knows for certain that this
astonishingly diversified universe is not
anything that it is perceived to be realizes
independence from aspirations, yearnings
and conditioned expectations. Thus freed,
one finds a transcendent radiance whose
very nature is empty but nevertheless tranquil.

TRANSLITERATION:
नानाश्चर्यम् इदम् विश्वम् न किञ्चित् इति निश्चयी ।
nānāścaryam idam viśvam na kiñcit iti niścayī ।
निर्वासनः स्फूर्तिमात्रः न किञ्चित् इव शाम्यति ॥ ११-८॥
nirvāsanaḥ sphūrtimātraḥ na kiñcit iva śāmyati ॥ 11-8॥

MEANING:
nānāścaryam (नानाश्चर्यम्) = wonderfully diversified (compound of nānā (नाना) meaning 'manifold/diversified/multitudinous' and aścaryam (अश्चर्यम्) meaning 'wonderful/amazing')
idam (इदम्) = this
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
na (न) = not
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = anything
iti (इति) = this
niścayī (निश्चयी) = one who knows for certain ।
nirvāsanaḥ (निर्वासनः) = free from predilections
sphūrtimātraḥ (स्फूर्तिमात्रः) = just transcendent radiant awareness (compound of sphūrti (स्फूर्ति) meaning 'scintillating radiant (as in a radiant awareness)' and mātraḥ (मात्रः) meaning 'just/solely')
na (न) = not
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = anything
iva (इव) = as if/seeming
śāmyati (शाम्यति) = finds peace ॥ 11-8॥

COMMENT:
The last verse of this chapter is a beautiful meditation in capping the overall themes of this chapter. One finds additional layers of meaning within the very last line of this verse where Ashtavakra veritably asks that the seeker "find that peace as if nothing in the world exists" when he mentions "na kiñcit iva śāmyati" (न किञ्चित् इव शाम्यति). On the face of it, such an existence 'as if nothing exists' can potentially be construed as being insipid, neutral and banal - where one is not engaging in and partaking of what the world and the universe at large has to offer. Interacting with the world from a standpoint of neutrality somehow can seem to negate the happiness and the joy that one would otherwise get from the world - it almost seems as if the lines exhort the seeker to lead an insipid life - however, a closer reading points one to the exact opposite direction.

The lines point the seeker towards a space where happiness and a sense of satisfaction can be truly felt - a space where the sense that things are lacking from ones life has been extinguished, a space where absolutely nothing whatsoever is lacking from ones existence. When you start to want for nothing, the conditioned mind is thrown off-balance and the mind cannot seem to focus; the first aspect in the mind being off-balance is our constant focus on a future state where things supposedly desired - as a result of conditioning - needs to be accomplished and planned for and accumulated, and the second aspect being a focus on prior failures or past successes that entangle the mind with thoughts of regret or delight as the case might be.

When the sense that nothing is lacking within oneself comes about, the mind becomes empty and a private stillness within oneself starts to build resonance. I use the word 'private' in a deliberate manner as each one of us have our own perception of that calm stillness that can bring about a total cessation to the fluctuations and entanglements that thought engenders within ourselves. In this sense, happiness is not about harboring positive states of mind or positive thinking or positivity in general. The nostrums of positivity that is often peddled in the hopes of self-realization miss the fact that for every positive aspect of our lives there is a corresponding negative aspect - in fact, the word positive cannot be connoted or explained without somehow referencing the underlying negative connotation. Ashtavakra tells us to get out of such polarities and such dualities that not only constrain our physical and emotional framework but also entangle our thoughts insofar as it relates to biases, notions, inclinations, preferences and prejudices. The key is to get to a place where there is absence of desire for entities that are extraneous to our own selves. The absence thereof builds into a state where one is more in tune with the present nature of things without focussing on a perceived future state nor lamenting over a misplaced past state. The state where the mind is not allowed to latch, cling or attach onto any specific entity, yet, enjoy that specific moment/entity for what that juncture/entity has to offer in the present - this can be applied to work, play, sleep or any aspect of our lives that we consciously engage in - the reality of deeply engaging in 'what-is' by dissolving the reality of 'who-is'; or, put another way, not appending implicit value judgements to 'what-is' by the dissolution of designated appellations like 'who-is' - this leads of fragmentation of the ego as well as a splintering of our desires and frustrations.

The radiant existence of little children is akin to this state (a state of pure blissful flow) where expectations of how the environment needs to be refashioned to suit the child's state of existence is minimal (to none) and the child is completely present within the current moment without any thoughts of steering a course for a future where the arc of events are forcibly bent to their will nor anguish in the past with respect to paths taken thus far where the the arc of the world did not seem to bend to their whim.

The saying that one can fully transform their own way of thinking in the short sojourn given to them on this planet and be able to discover freedom, stilling of the mind and experience lasting tranquility is true and can be accomplished. Of course, one must also understand that this can never be arrived at via accumulation of hours in self-help studies nor immersion within scriptural guidance. Those who seek the path of self-help are on the path of self-help for the foreseeable future and those who choose to follow the scriptures are on the path of enlightenment for the foreseeable future. They seem to unceasingly chase, but never fully seeming to arrive at awareness of the self in either case.