1 Ashareeram: “without a body”. The association of the Self to a body is the result of It being reflected in the intellect of the individual being. Without interference from the intellect, It has no such association to a body; It is bodiless; It is the same Self in all bodies. There are no boundaries to the Self. Our meditation is thus directed to take us beyond body-consciousness. This technique is taken up further later in this text. The Self, in the body, remains the Self and does not become the body. It is totally non-attached to the body, and goes beyond the body. Whether the body is that of a King or a beggar, the Self is the same pure substratum in both.
2 Avasthitam: “that which is fixed; the permanent”. With reference to all the Upadhis that are associated with the Self, the Self is fixed or permanent, while the Upadhis are Anavastheshu, not fixed or impermanent.
3 Mahantam: “very large”; which cannot be locked up into any particular object. It is pervasive throughout an object and beyond it. That is to be meditated upon. Meditating. in such a manner one attains the Self.
The use of the word Atman to refer to the Reality is significant, because we are talking of the Reality with reference to the individual body, for which the word Atman is more appropriate than Brahman. Brahman is the collective; Atman is the individual. This verse is a Mahavakya type of verse. It contains all the essential elements of the Brahman-Jiva identity. All the key words are placed in the same case (Dviteeya Vibhakti), viz. Ashiram, Asthitam, Mahantam, and Atmanam. This means they all refer to the same Reality.
Three Contradictions in the Self : The three flashing contradictions in the verse compel us to remember this point about having a subtle intellect. Acharyaji was intent on not letting these further examples of contradictions go unnoticed. The Bhashya brings out the hidden teaching in them:
1 i) Sitting, It travels far: We can understand the body remaining in one place while the mind travels far away in imagination. This line is not about this type of ‘mental travel’. This is about the Self which is all-pervading. There isn’t a spot that it does not occupy. Where does it need to travel? That is the riddle raised. 2 ii) Sleeping, It goes everywhere: Again, when we are asleep, our body is plottable on an x-y axes that give it a location, but the mind is elsewhere in dream. How does the line apply the same to the Self? The Self does not act, so it can be considered as good as asleep. It is not possible for the Self to go about everywhere if it is not acting. 3 iii) Joyful, It is joyless: The third contradiction is most puzzling. Humans can express joy and still be joyless within. But the Self is free from feeling joy or sorrow. It is said to be All-Bliss at all times.
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