AVG 15.4

Chapter 15 (A Celebration of the Seekers Native Self): Verse 4
न त्वं देहो न ते देहो भोक्ता कर्ता न वा भवान् ।
चिद्रूपोऽसि सदा साक्षीनिरपेक्षः सुखं चर ॥ १५-४॥

PURPORT:
You are not the body, nor is the body yours,
nor are you the performer of actions nor
the one who enjoys those actions. You are
the essence of awareness itself; appearing
as that impartial observer who strives to
remain unattached to the unfolding.
As a choiceless witness of things,
remain happy and go about the world.

TRANSLITERATION:
न त्वम् देहः न ते देहः भोक्ता कर्ता न वा भवान् ।
na tvam dehaḥ na te dehaḥ bhoktā kartā na vā bhavān ।
चिद्रूपः असि सदा साक्षी निरपेक्षः सुखम् चर ॥ १५-४॥
cidrūpaḥ asi sadā sākṣī nirapekṣaḥ sukham cara ॥ 15-4॥

MEANING (concordance as numbered):
3. na (न) = not
1. tvam (त्वम्) = you
2. dehaḥ (देहः) = body
6. na (न) = not
4. te (ते) = yours
5. dehaḥ (देहः) = body
9. bhoktā (भोक्ता) = merrymaker/reveler/one who enjoys
8. kartā (कर्ता) = doer
11. na (न) = not
10. vā (वा) = nor
7. bhavān (भवान्) = you ।
12. cidrūpaḥ (चिद्रूपः) = awareness itself/intelligence itself
16. asi (असि) = you are
13. sadā (सदा) = ever/always
14. sākṣī (साक्षी) = witness/observer
15. nirapekṣaḥ (निरपेक्षः) = unattached/independent/free of encumbrance
17. sukham (सुखम्) = happily
18. cara  (चर) = wander/roam/go about॥ 15-4॥

COMMENT:
The path to awareness and the outward radiating of such awareness first begins with the self. Learning to respect oneself, taking the time to reconcile with oneself and moving to love oneself are the essential first steps. The individual who has perceived of themselves as hurt and disadvantaged finds themselves enveloped within a state of mental or physical anguish (sometimes both). Prolonged exposure to such anguish prompts the body to manifest the feeling of fear (a homeostatic mechanism that was evolutionarily fine-tuned to protect itself). A repeated and relentless application to such a homeostatic state of fear hardens itself into a default self-posture that always evokes the memory of the same fear or disadvantage within the individual. The response of this inner fear within the seeker exhibits itself outwardly as aggravation and anger.

The resultant aggravation causes alienation and antipathy for the other (the ‘other’ can be any sentient being or even a non-existent entity). If the individual feels that they cannot seem to break away from the constant sense of alienation and antipathy, the individual suffers. Even if the suffering is an internally manifested state of being, the external manifestations of suffering tends to radiate out from the individual pessimistically (in much the same way as its foil, awareness, radiates in an optimistic manner). This suffering only tends to cyclically regurgitate and reinforce the homeostatic reaction of fear that leads to aggravation to alienation leading back to more suffering.

In this regard, the first step towards the finding of awareness is the process of reconciling and rehabilitating oneself so that the symptoms that might lead the individual to fearfully invaginate into oneself and thus close themselves off to the sentient world outside is dispelled. This inquiry starts with the idea that the potential for the individual to observe without judgment or preconceived biases needs to be cultivated initially as an addition to one’s daily activities which, slowly over time, becomes a state of heightened awareness. The resultant awareness shines not only within the individual, but, in equal measure, radiates outward towards the witnessed. Of course, this manner of observation and witnessing happens in a space where the individuals mental realm is free of clinging to thoughts, ideas, concepts, designations and such classifications. The understanding that the search for such a state of awareness transpires without the dependence upon conceptual tools of any nature will culminate in happiness.