We continue the commentary on the Ashtavakra Gita. As in Part 1, terminology will be listed first, followed by the verses. If you are already familiar with the terminology feel free to skip forward to the first verse below.
The Existence- Brahman, the All. There is an apparent changing aspect, the Experience, and an unchanging aspect, the Experiencer.
The Experiencer- the unchanging aspect of the Existence which is ever-present. It is the essence of the Existence and thus the whole of the Existence. Also referred to as Consciousness, Awareness, the Witness, The Self, Atman. Emptiness is another term to describe the Experiencer since it is free of all possible characteristics and is pure subjectivity.
The Experience- the changing aspect of the Existence. It is also known as the illusion or Maya. Fundamental ignorance causes identification with the Experience (namely the body and mind and creates the sense that "I Am the Doer") and thus suffering arises for the illusory individual.
Self-Realization- The dropping of the ignorance that "I Am the Doer". There is the realization that "I Am the Experiencer" and that "Experience is illusory". We see that the essence of this Existence is that which is ever-present, the Emptiness, Experiencer or Witness of all Experience.
Awareness- A remembering or recall of the essential Knowledge "I Am the Experiencer". Awareness causes gradual destruction of ignorance and the tendencies which cause suffering.
Experiencing- it is a presence that is the base state of the Existence where there is no subject or object, no Experiencer or Experience. Experiencing is all there is, all there was, and all there ever will be. Anything else is an unnecessary division.
Oneness/Nonduality- There can be a recognition that there is no two in this Existence, only one, indivisible reality. There is only this Existence, Experiencing itself as illusory Experience.
The Experiencer- the unchanging aspect of the Existence which is ever-present. It is the essence of the Existence and thus the whole of the Existence. Also referred to as Consciousness, Awareness, the Witness, The Self, Atman. Emptiness is another term to describe the Experiencer since it is free of all possible characteristics and is pure subjectivity.
The Experience- the changing aspect of the Existence. It is also known as the illusion or Maya. Fundamental ignorance causes identification with the Experience (namely the body and mind and creates the sense that "I Am the Doer") and thus suffering arises for the illusory individual.
Self-Realization- The dropping of the ignorance that "I Am the Doer". There is the realization that "I Am the Experiencer" and that "Experience is illusory". We see that the essence of this Existence is that which is ever-present, the Emptiness, Experiencer or Witness of all Experience.
Awareness- A remembering or recall of the essential Knowledge "I Am the Experiencer". Awareness causes gradual destruction of ignorance and the tendencies which cause suffering.
Experiencing- it is a presence that is the base state of the Existence where there is no subject or object, no Experiencer or Experience. Experiencing is all there is, all there was, and all there ever will be. Anything else is an unnecessary division.
Oneness/Nonduality- There can be a recognition that there is no two in this Existence, only one, indivisible reality. There is only this Existence, Experiencing itself as illusory Experience.
If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, “Thinking makes it so.” 1.11
In the previous post, we discussed this dividing activity of the mind. Before this apparent division, there is only One, unified Existence. There is Experiencing without subject or object and without Experiencer or Experience. This is unchanging essence, bliss, freedom, and nondual Truth which is the base state of this Existence. When the mind is dividing and duality is superimposed on this nondual Truth, the individual/other, knowledge/ignorance, good/bad, free/bound are born. When the activity ceases, the Truth shines forth. Awareness, which is the intellect’s recollection of the Truth (that we are the Experiencer, the whole of the Existence, and that all that is appearing as multiplicity and diversity, i.e the Experience, is an illusion), allows for the understanding that “I Am Free”. This simple understanding and Awareness bring peace.
However, before the Truth is understood, we believe that we are separate individuals and bound to the causes and effects of this individual’s life. With this comes craving, aversion, ignorance, and suffering. Our only tool for liberation is the intellect which can grasp the essential knowledge and Truth which leads to the higher layer of activity, which is Awareness.
Your real nature is as the one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness — unattached to anything, desireless and at peace. It is from illusion that you seem to be involved in samsara. 1.12
The Experience, Maya, or illusion, is incredibly powerful. We know based on our previous discussion that anything that can be pointed to within the Experience can not be the Experiencer, since the Experiencer is pure subjectivity. Maya has created a virtual reality in which a body and mind arise and appear to the Experiencer. Thoughts arise and identify with this body and mind. Although the Experiencer is never lost, this identification clouds who we really are. This is ignorance.
We see that there is actually a double illusion at play which fortifies ignorance. The illusion of mind, thoughts, and perception arise and take ownership of the illusory objects of the body, personality, and individual identity. It’s a miracle that anyone was able to untie this knot of ignorance. Fortunately, we are graced with great masters such as Ashtavakra who has passed down the essential Knowledge which tells us that we are always free and always have been, it’s only an illusion that says otherwise.
Meditate on yourself as motionless awareness, free from any dualism, giving up the mistaken idea that you are just a derivative consciousness or anything external or internal. 1.13
Ashtavakra asks Janaka to look directly at his experience to untie the double illusion of Maya. From a direct perspective and free from blind beliefs, there is only Experiencing without subject or object. There is motionless awareness or witnessing which is eternal, impersonal, and non-local. “Derivative consciousness” is likely referring to the belief that there are multiple Experiencers, one for each individual body and mind and that the Experiencer is born with the birth of the body. This is a common misunderstanding of nondual teachings.
Using our direct experience and logic, we see that it is logically impossible for there to be more than one Experiencer. In order for there to be more than one Experiencer, the individuated Experiencers would need to be counted, who would be doing that counting? This creates an infinite regression and shows that the one Experiencer “stands behind” all Experiences. If anything can be pointed to as an Experience it can not be the Experiencer. If anything has an objective feature, it can not be the Experiencer.
When abiding as the Experiencer, we also see that space and the division of “external or internal” are also arbitrary. When examining our direct experience, we see a stream of data. We can use the screen and movie analogy here. When we watch a movie, is there actual space appearing within the screen? No, it is an illusion. The screen is static and unchanging while the appearances on the screen create the illusion of space and movement. The same can be said of our own experience. There appears to be space, an internal space (in our heads or body for example), and an external space but when viewed as One, we see there is no division, only an ongoing data stream of Experience that is alive and illuminated by the essence, which is the Experiencer. When we abide as the Experiencer, there is pure equanimity, without craving, aversion, self, other, or any other division.
You have long been trapped in the snare of identification with the body. Sever it with the knife of knowledge that “I am awareness,” and be happy, my son. 1.14
We previously discussed the fundamental ignorance of identification with the body in passage 1.4 and the double illusion in section 1.12 which acts as the “snare of identification” (e.g illusory thought claiming the illusory identity).
It’s important to note, that in this passage, “awareness” is referring to the Experiencer in the Path of Knowledge program terminology defined at the top of this article. It is easy to confuse terms such as consciousness and awareness. The “knife of knowledge” is referring to “Awareness” since we define “Awareness” as the knowledge that “I Am the Experiencer”. This severs the snare of ignorance which is “I Am the Body” or any other Experience for that matter.
For some, Self-Realization and Awareness can completely sever the ignorance of identification with Experience but for most, there will be an automatic re-identification. This is why “Awareness practice” can at times be helpful for those that continue to have this reidentification with the body or mind. It is not necessarily a practice but a simple remembering of our True Nature. Eventually, this becomes the new mode of operation. If you are one of the people who still feel identified with the body or mind, have no fear, what’s important is that you have the Knowledge, it can never be unheard. It’s only a matter of time before all of the snares are severed.
You are really unbound and actionless, self-illuminating and spotless already. The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling the mind. 1.15
This is a very important passage for those of us who continue to believe that effort will bring us to the goal of Self-Realization. It is rare for a spiritual seeker to begin their path without a degree of effort in concentration, devotion, or other practice of the mind or body. These practices can bring a sense of accomplishment and wellbeing to the practitioner but they ultimately create more experience seeking and imply that there is a final goal that a separate individual will attain. Self-Realization is the end of seeking.
In this passage, Ashtavakra is reminding Janaka that Self-Realization does not require any practice. That which every spiritual seeker seeks is already here and now, always. We’ve used the mind to accomplish every goal in this illusion thus far, which is why Self-Realization remains elusive for those who are unable to drop the activity of the mind. Every movement of the mind towards a future goal is simply bondage, even the intention to still the mind. Ashtavakra is saying to drop the effort completely and surrender; simply be your Self, which is unbound, actionless, self-illuminating, and spotless.
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