AVG 14.4

Chapter 14 (The Seekers Sense of Serenity): Verse 4
अंतर्विकल्पशून्यस्य बहिः स्वच्छन्दचारिणः ।
भ्रान्तस्येव दशास्तास्तास्तादृशा एव जानते ॥ १४-४॥

PURPORT:
The disparate conditions and circumstances
of one who within themselves are devoid of
doubts and uncertainties but whose ways
on the outside may seem like someone
deluded can only be understood by
those who have seen a similar sense of serenity.

TRANSLITERATION:
अंतः विकल्पशून्यस्य बहिः स्वच्छन्दचारिणः ।
aṃtaḥ rvikalpaśūnyasya bahiḥ svacchandacāriṇaḥ ।
भ्रान्तस्य इव दशाः ताः ताः तादृशा एव जानते ॥ १४-४॥
bhrāntasya iva daśāḥ tāḥ tāḥ tādṛśā eva jānate ॥ 14-4॥

MEANING (concordance is as numbered):
1. aṃtaḥ (अंतः) = within/inside
2. vikalpaśūnyasya (विकल्पशून्यस्य) = devoid of thoughts and doubt (compound of vikalpa (विकल्प) meaning ‘thoughts/doubts’ and śūnyasya (शून्यस्य) meaning ‘of one devoid of’)
3. bahiḥ (बहिः) = outside
6. svacchandacāriṇaḥ (स्वच्छन्दचारिणः) = moving at their own pleasure (compound of sva (स्व) meaning ‘own’ and chanda (छन्द) meaning ‘pleasure/alluring’ and cāriṇaḥ (चारिणः) meaning ‘of one who moves’) ।
4. bhrāntasya (भ्रान्तस्य) = confused/deluded
5. iva (इव) = like
8. daśāḥ (दशाः) = conditions
7. tāḥ (ताः) tāḥ (ताः) = such and such (as in different, disparate and distinctive conditions manifested by someone who has a sense of awareness)
8. tādṛśā (तादृशा) = someone like that
9. eva (एव) = surely
10. jānate (जानते) = knows ॥ 14-4॥

COMMENT:
In the final verse of this chapter, Janaka talks about the mind of the one who is aware and the process by which one obtains that aspect of awareness. The ability for one to get out of the autonomous manner by which we differentiate between the perceived and ourselves is the objective, but the process begins with an appreciation of the material objects that seem to occupy space and time ‘out there’ in the 'real world' and the ways by which we think we perceive them.

The 'perception of contact' insofar as such 'contact' is construed as sound, touch, taste, smells and corporeal sensations is really the appearance of such a perception in terms of frequencies of light or sound vibrations or electrical impulses that are then converted into appropriate electrical or chemical potentials within our bodies and interpreted as 'contact of a material object' within our minds. The material object thus sensed by our minds are then channeled into appropriate classifications and assemblages that take the form of names that include atoms, molecules, compounds, trees, sentient being, earth, water, planet, star, galaxy, galactic clusters etc. All of such names and the perceived sensations from such name-and-form associations appears within our consciousness as an imprint of a pre-existing idea or concept or as a new template upon which future imprints can be patterned. Outside of one’s consciousness, these ideas, imprints and concepts do not exist in the exact state that we perceive them to be - this does not mean to say that they do not exist and the world is illusory - all this means, is that the way we see that wavelength of color or that frequency of sound vibration or that particular electrical impulse which led to the feeling (for example) that we are tasting ’salt' is specific and particular only to us and no one else - in that sense, the world and the appearances and objects are illusory at best.

Thinking about this some more, one understands that there is no difference between the perception (the function of perceiving by our sense faculties) and the experiencing consciousness. The perception (which is like any other idea or concept within consciousness) and consciousness itself are one and the same - there is a complete absence of any duality within our minds if one thinks about this thoroughly. They are non-dual. What we experience as sound, touch, taste, smells and corporeal sensations all appear and exist within our being conscious and is consciousness itself. It is only the addition of thought labels like 'this is entity “A' and should conform to properties that are assigned and belong to entity A' and so on for entities “B”, “C”, “D”, etc., that we start to develop a sense of separation between the perceived entity ('out there' in the external world) and ourselves (‘in here’ within our heads separate and apart from such a perceived entity). The separation of experiences and sensations from the experiencing itself is not possible. Thus it can be said that experiences not only occurs within our consciousness, but also, cannot be differentiated apart from that experiencing consciousness. Therefore, all appearances equates to consciousness. The phenomenal world that presents as sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and colors is consciousness*. Understanding this aspect within leads to liberation. Janaka in these verses only goes on to extend this thinking by stating that it takes one seeker to know another seeker. The disparate conditions and circumstances of those who have the realization within themselves and demonstrate a clarity devoid of doubts and uncertainties are visible to those who have a similar sense of serenity. But, to those on the outside, those disparate conditions and circumstances may seem like the ways of someone deluded.

*Unless the illusory nature of the perception of the world as an objective reality ceases, awareness is not obtained. If the mind, which is the instrument of knowledge and is the basis of all activity, subsides, the objective reality ceases. - Ramana Maharishi