Atma Bodha - Post 30

Verse 22

अज्ञानान्मानसोपाधेः कर्तृत्वादीनि चात्मनि ।

कल्प्यन्तेऽम्बुगते चन्द्रे चलनादि यथाम्भसः । २२॥

AJNAANAAN MAANASA UPAADHEH

KARTRITVA-AADINI CHA AATMANI

KALPYANTE AMBUGATE CHANDRE

CHALANA-AADI YATHAA AMBHASAH

(Due to ignorance, that which belongs to the mind; the agency of actions, etc, is attributed to the Self;  just as attributed to the moon reflected in water  are the trembling, etc, which belong to water.)

If we get a little deeper, then the translation comes to our contemplative mind thus:-

(They, the spiritually ignorant) will superimpose, those of the category of 'doer-ship', into which merges the delimiting adjunct that is(!) the mind, in(/upon) the Self, on account of the delusion that is the 'absence of (Self-)Knowledge', the way (the worldly ignorant) superimpose in (/upon) the sky-moon (moon in the sky) appearing in water, the movement of water (itself).

Acharya Shankara in this shloka talks about the ignorance of mind (which is an equipment or Upaadi). The mind expresses ignorance by mixing the Absolute with the relative and the relative with the Absolute. So ignorance of the mind is expressed as “mixing”. In a deeper sense, we take the Absolute (existence, awareness and joy), and we feel that it is actually relative - for example we think that our nature is to be depressed. We take that which is relative (such as the body, mind and intellect) and make that Absolute.

The greatest expression of vanity is the feeling of “I do” or “Kartrutva” that this is happening because of me. Where there is doer-ship there is deserver-ship. I project that the self is the doer and deserver. But we also just studied that the self does not have a purpose, self is complete and self is “being”. It is the mind and intellect (equipments) that express this “I do” and “I deserve”.

  

“Chandre Chalanadi Yathambhasa”

Acharyaji here quoted an example from Ramayana, where Bhagavan Rama as a little boy is playing with the pots of water reflecting the moon. Bhagavan Rama sees that the moon is shaking or not still and He gets upset. Then Bhagavan Rama’s mother explains to Him that when the pot is not shaking and the water is still, the moon does not look broken.

Both the direct moonlight as well as the reflected moonlight are unaffected by the turbulences in the puddle of water. Yet, to the child they seem to have “broken the moon”, and he takes immediate steps to run and fix it. Nor is the moonlight affected by any dirt or mud in the puddle. The moonbeams remain pristinely pure.

Moon

The moon referred to in this simile is the SELF, Pure consciousness that we are. The reflection of the moon on the water is the reflected consciousness on our Ego.

Water

Water referred in the simile is our mind. As long as our mind remains as pure ego with reflected consciousness without coming down to the ego that is ahamkara, our mind remains as stilled, serene and pure like the river without any movement of water, still, transparent, like the manasarover near Kailasa.

Leaf

The leaf that is thrown on the water are the various situations / events, good or bad, that happen to us / that comes to us for fetching experience to us.

Broken Moon

The disturbance in the water and the apparent  broken moon on the water is the disturbance of our mind caused due to the doer-ship / due to the ego that such and such things have happened to me, I am affected by such and such things, I am disturbed, I am tensed, I am in a hopeless situation etc.

A realized seer is the one who sees the reflection as it is and stands unruffled by the events that happen in his life, the one who is explained as a Raja or a King in a earlier verse,  who ever remains peaceful, in spite of various things that go on in the court / in his kingdom.

Thus, the consciousness that is borrowed from the intellect by our ego (Aham), is utilized only for carrying out our responsibilities in our life depending upon the asrama or the varna in which we are - Brahmacharya or Grahastha or Sanyasi or Vanaprastha, then our mind is never disturbed.

All the disturbance happens when the mind mistakes the reflected consciousness on its ego and believes that the mind or the physical entity of the human being itself is real and ignores that the body mind has borrowed the reflected consciousness only to discharge the responsibilities, to clear the karma and to retrace the lord.

When such disturbance happens due to ignorance of the truth, then the aham ego or the bigger I  is colored with smaller i and the Aham is mistaken and identified as Ahamkara!!!

This is how we are often affected by little disturbances in our life. Every movement disturbs our balance, and we react thoughtlessly to rectify it. If we developed a little of the witness-consciousness which is being taught here, we would not react in haste.

Calm observation may be the best way to resolve a disturbing situation. By observation, we come in touch with a part of our being that is truer than the superficial self (ego).

Love.