Verse 19
व्यापृतेष्विन्द्रियेष्वात्मा व्यापारीवाविवेकिनाम् ।
दृश्यतेऽभ्रेषु धावत्सु धावन्निव यथा शशी ॥ १९॥
VYAAPRITESHU INDRIYESHU
AATMAA
VYAAPAAREE IVA
AVIVEKINAAM
DRISHYATE ABHRESHU
DHAAVATSU
DHAAVAN IVA YATHAA
SHASHEE
(The Atman, observed
through the active senses by the non-discriminating people, is as
if active in appearance; when the clouds move in the sky, it seems as
though the moon were running)
In Verse 18, the Witness-ship was focused on
authority, awe and respect; it did not get into contact with the work.
In this verse, the same Witness-ship is seen as
if performing the activity, although it is in reality untouched by the
activity. We have to consider the example first in this case, to properly grasp
the real situation.
“Dhaavan Iva Yatha Shashee” Simile
Imagine - It is twilight; a group of clouds are
flying through the skies. In between them we see the moon. From a scooter the
little boy, holding fast to his dad, stares at the moon. He screams to dad,
‘Hey, father, look the moon is chasing us. Will it reach home before us? Quick,
go faster, let’s beat it!’ This is how a child would see the moon racing with
his scooter!
What does this teach us? How far away is the
moon? – Never too far away to avoid taking the blame for our activities on
earth!
The Self is in a similar situation. Although it
remains only as a witness of what is going on “under its nose”, yet in
the eyes of one who has not learnt to discriminate, the Aviveki, it appears as
if the Self is acting.
For an ignorant person who mistakes the mind and
the senses as the Self, Self appears to be limited. It is only when there is a
false cognition of Self that there arises misery due to thoughts such as “I
am sad”, “I am poor”, “I did this” etc. but the Self like the
moon is ever blissful and is never the enjoyer or the doer of any
actions.
It is only the ego that creates this illusion.
Hence for a wise one who discriminates between the reality and the non-duality,
for one who knows the real nature of Self, there can never be any miseries.
In an earlier verse, we learnt clearly as to how
consciousness illumines intellect.
Going further, the ego of a human
being borrow such reflected consciousness from intellect and it mistakes
that it is consciousness and it totally ignores the truth that it has only
borrowed the consciousness reflected in the intellect, so that the body, the
mind all can be conscious.
Thus, this verse is all about the mistaken
notion of the ego that it is consciousness and thus, the ego mistakes all
actions done by itself as reality, exactly like the child saw the moon and
thought, the moon is moving!!!
It is a little difficult to absorb but those
who contemplate in depth can take this part.
Due to the Self’s proximity to the scene of
action, it is viewed as if it is performing the actions. There is a complete
transference of doership from the Upadhis that are involved in the action, to
the Self which is independent of these Upadhis and who is not affected by the
actions.
Hence it is very essential for a seeker to know
that all the duality and hence the actions are illusions only and are perceived
only due to the ego arising due to ignorance of one’s true nature. And that any
actions can never be done by the Self and that ‘I am verily bliss alone’
and hence all the actions can never affect Self, just like the movement of
clouds on moon. This is what Acharya says in Atmashatkam also as “Aham Bhojanam
Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta; Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham”
The Self
is Asanga (unattached), Kutastha (unaffected) and Chidrupa (pure
consciousness). Yet it is seen by the unknowing intellect as being the actor
itself of all the numerous actions performed by the body and mind.
Love.
