AVG 13.2

Chapter 13 (The Seekers Sense of Well-Being): Verse 2
कुत्रापि खेदः कायस्य जिह्वा कुत्रापि खेद्यते ।
मनः कुत्रापि तत्त्यक्त्वा पुरुषार्थे स्थितः सुखम् ॥ १३-२॥

PURPORT:
There is distress in the body somewhere,
elsewhere disheartening speech and
somewhere else, there is dejection with
the mind. One understands that the cessation
of such distress associated with these crutches
only comes on realization of full awareness;
the seekers journey until then continues
bolstered thusly. Having renounced these crutches,
I am rooted happily within the understanding of life.

TRANSLITERATION:
कुत्र अपि खेदः कायस्य जिह्वा कुत्र अपि खेद्यते ।
kutra api khedaḥ kāyasya jihvā kutra api khedyate ।
मनः कुत्र अपि तत् त्यक्त्वा पुरुषार्थे स्थितः सुखम् ॥ १३-२॥
manaḥ kutra api tat tyaktvā puruṣārthe sthitaḥ sukham ॥ 13-2॥

MEANING:
kutra (कुत्र) = somewhere
api (अपि) = or other..
khedaḥ (खेदः) = is in distress/depression/dejection
kāyasya (कायस्य) = of the body (as in the use or abuse of the body in the search for awareness)
jihvā (जिह्वा) = tongue (refers to speech - as in the application of speech to the study of scriptures)
kutra (कुत्र) = somewhere
api (अपि) = or other..
khedyate (खेद्यते) = is distressed/in depression/in dejection ।
manaḥ (मनः) = mind (as in constraining thought and thinking in a labored manner within the seekers mind in the hopes of achieving awareness)
kutra (कुत्र) = somewhere
api (अपि) = or other..
tat (तत्) = this
tyaktvā (त्यक्त्वा) = having abandoned [the foregoing]. Note: 'the foregoing' as in the application of the body, speech and mind in realizing stillness presupposes a lack that still persists on the part of the seeker, and hence the seeker continues to rely on the crutches of the body (presumably in the exercise thereof), mind (presumably in the control over the same in a constrained and labored manner) and speech (presumably referring to the reciting of scriptures in the hope of understanding and reaching stillness). The thinking is that the cessation of these crutches only comes on the realization of full awareness - until then the seeker continues to use these crutches in the journey there.
puruṣārthe (पुरुषार्थे) = in the goals of life
sthitaḥ (स्थितः) = rooted/established/grounded
sukham (सुखम्) = happily ॥ 13-2॥

COMMENT:
This verse is a tacit admission of the realities that intersect the seeker's path as they continue to understand and find peace within themselves. The reality is that we are a product of biological evolution and our instincts and reactions were honed from the results of millions of years of evolution. In that sense, the constant wandering thoughts that occupy our minds, the actions that our bodies undertake to maintain a sense of homeostasis, the functions performed by our sense-organs in sampling, measuring and classifying phenomena around us will continue unabated - whether one wills it or not - we are a fortuitous collection of cells and structures that are dependently constituted to perform these autonomous functions.

The point being made here is that the extent to which we reify objects that are the results of our sense perceptions is the deciding factor in having us perceive that sensory object as 'real' or 'illusory'. Perceiving them as 'real' in a conventional sense is fine; this way, one can carry on with the business of living life - our bodies perform their prescribed actions, our brains help us navigate our surroundings mindfully and our sense organs recognize objects of perception and life goes on as we know it to be - the confusion stems from our inclination to overly identify and actualize any or all aspects of such sense objects that we come into contact with. Such identification leads to a pattern of being bound to characteristics and properties that we perceive and then associate with the object.
In addition, such binding leads to superimposition of personally favored characteristics onto these sense-objects that in turn channel appropriate emotions within us. The superimposition and binding commingle to produce an essentialism that we associate with the sense-object. This essentialism accrued over time leads to a complete reification of the object itself where one starts to believe that the object so reified possesses characteristics that allow for the same to endure through the end of time.

The gentle advice Janaka points us to here is that one needs to seek awareness realizing that while our senses, thoughts and bodies perform their biologically evolved functions, identification with any of the targets of these functions (like emotion or taste or thought or material possessions) must be undertaken within their conventional context while avoiding any inclination to assign any ultimate or absolute status to the same. Notice that Janaka also explicitly mentions (in this verse) that the seeker will continue to seek using their bodies, their minds and the sense-perceptions (from sense-organs) until such time the seeker understands that they will not need these crutches any more (in the presence of a full and complete awareness of their own selves).

Thus, one learns not to react or judge the world via thoughts nor the outputs of our sense organs, but instead to observe and witness the same from a standpoint that does not involve choices or biases or inclinations. One understands that while conditioning still lurks somewhere in the background, one is not channeled by the same anymore. In due course, the ego melts and fades away in equal measure.

One learns to be quiet internally; and, in that quietude, one grows. The feeling "I am a human being and I have a self and it resides within my head and heart" is sheer thought. It is a manifestation of the ego. In the same manner, one understands that other formulations of the same thought that take the following forms "I am made in the image of He" or "I am that Supreme Reality" or "I am <insert MysticalCreation here>" is also sheer thought. It is yet another manifestation of the same ego as in the first case. The ultimate form of quietude is to settle into the idea of the eventual cessation of identities like "my/I/you/your". While at first blush what seems to be a slightly morbid idea cannot be closer to truth; for, only in the complete cessation and the death of what we term the ‘self’ can a measure of peace be found that lasts.