AVG 13.3

Chapter 13 (The Seekers Sense of Well-Being): Verse 3
कृतं किमपि नैव स्यादिति संचिन्त्य तत्त्वतः ।
यदा यत्कर्तुमायाति तत्कृत्वाऽऽसे यथासुखम् ॥ १३-३॥

PURPORT:
Thoroughly appreciating that what is
done is done by the ego in concert with
the mind, body and senses and that no
one can truly claim achievement to work
done eo ipso, the ego remains unattached
in the work that the body and the mind
does and thus I live in happiness.

TRANSLITERATION:
कृतम् किम् अपि न एव स्यात् इति संचिन्त्य तत्त्वतः ।
kṛtam kim api na eva syāt iti saṃcintya tattvataḥ ।
यदा यत् कर्तुम् आयाति तत् कृत्वा आसे यथासुखम् ॥ १३-३॥
yadā yat kartum āyāti tat kṛtvā āse yathāsukham ॥ 13-3॥

MEANING:
kṛtam (कृतम्) = done
kim (किम्) = anything what
api (अपि) = ever
na (न) = not
eva (एव) = indeed
syāt (स्यात्) = is
iti (इति) = thus
saṃcintya (संचिन्त्य) = fully thinking
tattvataḥ (तत्त्वतः) = in reality ।
yadā (यदा) = when
yat (यत्) = what
kartum (कर्तुम्) = to do
āyāti (आयाति) = comes
tat (तत्) = that
kṛtvā (कृत्वा) = having done
āse (आसे) = live
yathāsukham (यथासुखम्) = thus happily ॥ 13-3॥

COMMENT:
The lines that resonate within this verse is the wisdom contained within the words "I keep doing what needs to be done, as and when things needs to be done". This reminds me of that tiny line attributed to zen teachings that simply states that before one sees aspects of awareness, they chop wood and carry water; and, after awareness is part of ones being, they continue to chop wood and carry water.
In this sense one does not grasp nor cling onto anything, one does not get attached even to awareness, awareness seeps in while we continue to perform our regular activities that life asks of us and one does not reach some kind of an exalted state where one has to proclaim truths nor feel any need to evangelize - one just carries on doing the same actions - the mindfulness involved in all activities brings peace naturally without trying too hard.

The key takeaway that Janaka offers to the seeking individual is that while it does not seem like things have changed externally (and things should not change so), just about everything about the intrinsic makeup of the seeker will have changed after seeing aspects of clarity and awareness. I always use the word 'aspects', because the stilling of thoughts and the tamping down of mental fluctuations within our minds starts off by one seeing only 'aspects' of such an inner tranquility. The moment comes by, one understands the moment and in many cases, it passes on; it is only by a sustained maintenance of being mindful within every moment and situation that one can look to prolong and actualize this particular state of being.

This might be one reason why psychedelics like LSD and soma (there is a theory that soma* was magic mushrooms) played a initiation-to-aspects-of-awareness role among seekers - the psychedelic worked within the appropriate neural pathways (that are little understood) to allow for the sense of ego and self-model to dissolve allowing for the user/seeker to gain 'aspects of such an awareness'. The glimpse of such an awareness and the resultant feeling of contentment might sometimes have been enough to gently nudge the seeker into looking into techniques by which this awareness slowly becomes their natural state of being (and that path should not be the repeated use of such mind altering substances, but, instead should be the start of a journey of looking inwards and understanding the answers within oneself).

Therefore, coming back to the verse at hand, the implication being that one does what they are doing fully engaged in the activities while they are doing the same. Never do what you are not doing when you are not doing it. One never considers states like 'awareness' and words like 'enlightenment' to be destinations like the tops of mountains that one has climbed nor as goals or milestones that one has achieved; rather one sees these way-points as opportunities where one gets to align and reorient their inner clarity with the external world.


*In Vedic tradition, soma (सोम) is a ritual drink of importance among the early Indians. Within Hindu and Zoroastrian heritage and teachings, this ritual drink is thought to have been a robust psychedelic, and it was used in religious ceremonies. It was said to be a plant extract known for enhancing awareness, conveying idealistic mystical experiences, and helping the imbiber with mental sensations of beatitude, artistic inspiration, and deeper insight. Gordon Wasson, the published 'Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality' in which the author put forward an argument that the psychoactive mushroom Amanita muscaria as the source of the soma in the Hindu and Zoroastrian tradition. Recent research has however shown that the authors theory may not be fully watertight as soma was explicitly described as plant based with the leaves, flowers, and stalks that are juiced to create the drink whereas the description of a mushroom is different.