To understand the real nature of the witness, we first need to understand its adjuncted natures. These adjuncted natures are : the arrogator of the waking state "vishva", the arrogator of the dream state "taijasa", the arrogator of the deep sleep state "praajnya".
You know your self as the arrogator of the waking Purusha. To understand this in the form of the pure witness, you need to take one step forward. The first step is : You need to know yourself as "vishva", the arrogator of the entire waking state, not the arrogator of one body. The second step is to know your self as taijasa, the arrogator of the entire dream state. The third step is to know yourself as praajnya, the arrogator of the entire deep sleep state. And the fourth step is to know yourself as the pure witness that is the same seer of the waking, dream and deep sleep.
In dream, there are three clear divisions of the "I" : The dream Purusha, the dream arrogator, and the dream seer. In the dream, the one who is going to take a bath in the Ganga is the dream-Purusha. After waking up, that "I" which thinks that the entire dream was created out of my impressions is the dream arrogator taijasa. The seer of the dream and the seer of the waking state is the same.
Similarly, there are three divisions of the "I" in waking : The waking Purusha who is the arrogator of the waking body, the waking arrogator or vishva who is the arrogator of the entire dream state, and the waking seer who is the same in all three states. In dream, there are only two divisions of the "I", the deep sleep arrogator "I" (praajnya) who remembers the ignorance and memory of happiness of deep sleep, and the seer of the deep sleep who is also the seer of the waking and dream states. [There is no deep sleep Purusha].
In the dream, the creator and created of the dream was me (taijasa), similarly, I (vishva) am the creator and created of the waking state. Like in the dream, I am not the dream-Purusha in reality, similarly, I am not the waking-Purusha. Also, I alone become the taijasa with the adjunct of the dream, and I alone become the vishva with the adjunct of the waking state, and praajnya with the adjunct of the deep sleep state. In my form as adjunct-less, I am the pure witness.
When the witness stays in the waking location, then his name becomes vishva. But, to understand the waking location, we have to remove ourselves from the waking state of one body.
Leaving aside the qualities and faults, birth and death and disconnected-ness of the body, we the vishvaatmaa need to become one with the viraata, the arrogator of the gross macrocosm (sthoola samasthi). The discharging of the disconnected "I", is the first step of the self.
What is the specialty of the waking state? Externalized knowledge or "bahishprajnyataa". I am aware and this visible world is inert, this knowledge is called externalized knowledge. Our knowledge is converting the inert into sense objects, which means, it is imbibing something other than itself in the form of sense objects (vishaya), this is the specialty of the waking state. In this waking state, only knowledge is becoming externalized. When the aware (chetana) imagines another and illuminates it, then its name becomes prajnyaa or knowledge. But when the aware does illuminate the "chitta" (the world) but does not illuminate other-ness, then it is called brahman. Knowledge with object is called "chitta" and knowledge devoid of object-ness is called brahman.
Brahman is self-illumined and infinite. Since it is self-illumned, it cannot remain without seeing. Since it is infinite, it cannot be seen completely. Therefore it imagines itself as another form, disconnected, and illuminates it. This is the secret of externalized knowledge. Neither is there fault in the waking state, nor is there fault in externalized knowledge. But taking both of these as real is a fault, it is ignorance, it is misunderstanding. Vedantic analysis removes this very misunderstanding.
Ok, if I am not the waking body, I am the vishvaatmaa, then what are my limbs? Then we say that you think this: I have 7 limbs, 19 mouths, I am the gross eater ("sthoolabhuk") vaishvaanara (Maandookya Upanishad 3).
In regards to the 7 limbs, Shree Shankaraachaarya has mentioned the following shruti:
The space between heaven and earth (antariksha) is his head, the sun (soorya) is his eyes, air (vaayu) is his praana, space (aakaasha) is his waist, water (aapa) is his genitals, earth (prithvi) is his feet. (Chhaandogya Upanishad 5.15.2).
"We are in the form of this disconnected body" - this delusory notion has to be removed. This self, which you know indirectly, that self alone is the vaishvaanara. That which is vishva (cosmos) as well as the nara (person), is the vishvaanara, and the vishvaanara is the vaishvaanara. You are not a person, you are the cosmic person. The intensely luminous heaven (dyuloka) is your foreheard. The sun which shows the forms of the world is your eyes. The macrocosmic wind is your vital force, and so on.
All forms are refractions (vakreebhavana) of solar rays. During rainfall, sunlight is refracted through water particles and is seen as a rainbow. Similarly, knowledge enters the senses, attains refraction, and appear in a variety of forms. Knowledge enters the eyes as form, the nose as smell, the ears as sound etc. - in this manner, the one same knowledge becomes many-formed.
Whatever objects are being perceived are all perception only, not different then the process of perception (drishti). This means that the seer and seen, (pot, cloth etc.) both are in one space. We do not have knowledge of the external pot, our thought-flows take the shape of a pot, we know those thought-flows alone. Perception is always independent.
If both the pot and the book are cognized at once, then we could say that the book is not the pot. But these are cognized as different entities, therefore perception alone is cognized as the pot or book. The differences between various perceptions also is a perception alone. There are various perceptions in various times [sequentially]. And even time is a perception alone. This creation was made by our perception, and we disconnected perception by placing it into the body. Therefore "we are the body", is what we began to cognize. We have to lift that perception from the body and take it up to the level of the vaishvaanara viraata.
Vaishvaanara is also the name of a ritual fire. Therefore, as the imagined form of the eastern fire of the agnihotra, 7 limbs have been described.
This vaishvaanara has 19 mouths. 5 organs of knowledge, 5 organs of action, five vital forces and 4 aspects of the internal organ. These are the 19 mouths. In each body, these are the gates of enjoyment, gates of access of the vaishvaanara. External objects are imbibed through the external organs such as the senses, and internal objects are imbibed through the internal organ and so on. In these, the containers of the senses are made from the pancheekrita five great elements. The senses and the four-fold internal organ is made from the apancheekrita five great elements. In the containers of the senses, there is dominance of one great element respectively. The mind has all these five. In reality, the thought-flow of the senses is alone called the mind. When the mind comes to a particular sense container (indreeya golaka), at that time, the mind is called that sense alone. This vaishvaanara enjoys the gross objects of senses (sound, touch, form, taste and smell) through these 19 mouths.
If you are the 7 limbed viraata purusha, then what will be the nature of these 19 mouths? Because, how can the senses of the microcosm (vyashti) become the senses of the macrocosm, the viraata? Just like there is adhyaatma, adhibhoota and adhidaiva in each body, they are the same in the macrocosm. The 7 limbed viraata (vaishvaanara) is the adhibhoota, the individual soul with the 19 mouths is the "hiranyagarbha" (taijasa) adhidaiva, and he who is the enjoyer of the gross objects through these mouths is the "Ishvara" who is the (praajnya) adhyaatma.
Since there is recollection of the dream and deep sleep states in the waking state, it is clear that taijasa and praajnya become one with the vishva in waking. Therefore the description of adhyaatma, adhidaiva and adhibhoota is consistent. As a result, the vital forces, senses, minds of the entire creation of the universe are my instruments alone! And all gross objects such as dounds etc. are my gross enjoyments.
Who is the enjoyer of objects in the waking state? It is the vaishvaanara, this the shruti tells us. But in reality, this arrogator of the deep sleep praajnya alone has become one with the vishva in the waking state, and he alone has become one with the taijasa, and is the enjoyer of the subtle enjoyments in dream (sookshma bhuka). In deep sleep, that alone (praajnya) is the enjoyer of the enjoyment in deep sleep (aananda bhuka). The enjoyed objects of each state change, the enjoyer remains the same.
Both vishva and taijasa are 7 limbed, and both have 19 mouths. But the externalized knowledge only resides in the vishva, taijasa is internalized knowledge. In vishva, the objects are gross, and in taijasa, the objects are subtle. Just like vishva is the macrocosm viraata alone, similarly taijasa is the macrocosm hiranyagarbha. In the Maandookya Upanishad, we see the one jeeva theory (eka jeeva vaada) or "drishti srishti vaada prakriyaa". Here, there is only one aware-self soul in the world of creation. The different individual souls which are cognized are appearances of individual souls alone, like the dream Purusha. Also, for that one soul, there is no reality which is unknown to it. Therefore, all that which is an object of experience, it is established in the perception of the seer at all times, neither before it nor after it [Everything is experienced at once, there is no past/present/future]. Therefore vishva, taijasa, praajnya, all have come into being for the macrocosmic deep sleep. Opposed to this, by the method of "appearance opinion" (aabhaasavaada), vishva etc. are the arrogators of the microcosmic body.
What are these senses? They are objects of Indra. Indra means the seer, his object means seeing. The instruments of the seer which enable him to see are called the senses. Those instruments which are used to see the external world are called external senses (bahir indreeya) and those which see the internal world are called internal senses! This alone creates the difference between externalized and internalized knowledge. "Prajnyaa" alone is the senses. When you see something different than yourself then it is knowledge (prajnyaa), and when you see something not different than yourself, then aware (chetana)! Knowledge with object (savishayak jnyaana) is called prajnyaa. Prajnyaa devoid of object is called jnyaana (knowledge).
Even the wise person (jnyaanee) sees objects, but he sees them as falsified (baadhita), with the resolution of illusoriness. That is why even if differences are seen by the wise person, they are not differences, they are the inherent nature of brahman. But even when the ignorant person is not cognizing anything, that time also there is a seed of all differences lying in his mind. The samaadhi of an ignorant person is also difference-oriented, and the transactions of a wise person are of the nature of non-difference. In the vision of wise person there is no difference of a inner and outer, because he is complete (poorna).
Joy-sorrow are not external objects, they are shapes of the mind. The innermost is "I" (aham). "I" is witness-appearance (saakshi bhaasya). The cognition of joy and sorrow happens only to the "I". Merit and demerit are intellectual joys and sorrows alone. This is because joy and sorrow are results of merit and sin respectively. That which is merit and sin from the viewpoint of action, they are joy and sorrow from the viewpoint of result. The result of performing an action is the doership-knowledge that "I am the doer" (aham kartaa). The result of doership is the enjoyership notion that "I am the enjoyer" (aham bhoktaa). Both thought-flows of doership and enjoyership happen in the internal organ alone. They happen in both waking and dream states.
Where we take the organs of action to be our own, we become a doer. Where we take the organs of knowledge to be our own, we become a knower. Where we take the internal organ to be our own, we become an enjoyer. Identification with the existence aspect ("sad ansh", disconnected existence) creates doership. Identification with the awareness aspect ("chit ansh", disconnected awareness) creates knowership. Identification with the bliss aspect ("aananda ansh", disconnected bliss) creates enjoyership. In other words, knower with the adjunct of the organs of sense, and enjoyer with the adjunct of internal organ.
Another way of looking at it : Doership due to ignorance of the existence aspect, knowership due to ignorance of the awareness aspect, and enjoyership due to ignorance of the bliss aspect. These three types of delusions happen due to ignorance of our existence-awareness-bliss nature. Therefore there is no doer, no knower and no enjoyer in this body. The knowledge of this body is not my knowledge, actions of the body are not my actions, enjoyment of the body is not my enjoyment - we experience this once we know our true nature.
All distress is due to ignorance of our inherent nature. Therefore, removing this ignorance is your duty. Ignorance alone is the causal body. Ignorance resides in the causal body. Where there is ignorance, cause-effect nature is imagined there. E.g., ignorance of the stump leads to a delusion that it is a person. This person did not come from the stump, he came from ignorance. That which has been created from ignorance is not truly created, the creation is a delusion (bhrama). Therefore, the body exists due to ignorance, in other words, the body has not been created. We are accepting the gross and subtle body due to ignorance. It is a mere cognition (prateeti maatra), and this cognition is transactional (vyavahaarika). If there is Ganga water in a pot then the pot is pure, and if it contains alcohol then it is impure. This purity-impurity is transactional. Similarly, from the standpoint of reality of the object, the pot is clay only. And in the same way, gross-subtle bodies are only transactional.
Running transactions on the basis of non-dual knowledge is sentimental. "There is one supreme self in all, therefore treat everyone the same". This statement is not uttered thoughtfully. When we cannot treat each limb of our own body in the same manner, how can we treat everyone in society in the same manner? The basis of transactional life is difference-oriented knowledge (bheda jnyaana), and the self is non-difference-oriented by nature. Therefore, transactional life should always be carried out using social norms. Transaction happens in the particular, in that which has gunaas or qualities. The self essence is non-particular, with no qualities.
How can there be transactions of the specific in the non-specific? There is no quality or fault in any object-person-situation, nor is any action or enjoyment with quality or with fault, this is the meaning of non-particular. For the benefit of the seeker, the scripture organizes particular injunctions and prohibitions based on place, time, age, state, qualification and capability. This transaction of injunctions and prohibitions (dharma adharma) is a scriptural superimposition. The animal-like mechanical transactions of the body are natural. On the one hand, scriptural transaction corrects the faults of the natural transactions, and on the other hand, it gives birth to good thought-flows (sad vritti) in the internal organs, which illumines the path to the absolute by removing imperfections and adding of requisite qualities.
Accepting actions as good or bad is a mistake. The influence of the action on the internal organ after its completion should be seen. Action is only a means (saadhana). The "this-shaped" (idam aakaara) thought flow is means-oriented by nature, and the "I-shaped" (idam aakaara) thought flow is result-oriented by nature. "This is a meritorious action" - in this manner, an action becomes a means. After performing the action "I performed a meritorious action, I am a meritorious person" this I-shaped thought-flow became the result. But all of this is witness-perception (saakshi bhaasya).
Separating this I-shaped thought flow from the microcosm, from the disconnected, alone is to experience it in its macrocosmic form, in the entire vishva form. We alone are the macrocosmic vaishvaanara (samashti viraat). The separate "I" which are cognized in separate masses are mere cognition, just like the dream Purushas. In those, that self essence which has been strung together, which is pervaded, like the dream seer (svapna drishtaa), that alone is the vasihvaanara viraata. With the adjunct of the entire waking state, the name of the pure witness-brahman is viraata alone.
Resolve the speech and other senses into the mind (leena karo). In other words, the senses are not different from the mind, see this. Resolve the mind into the intellect. Which means, decisions and doubts of the mind are nothing but known objects, know it in this manner. Resolving does not mean doing, it means knowing that they were already resolved. Resolve the intellect into knowledge, and knowledge into the Mahat element, the macrocosmic intellect essence. Now resolve the Mahat element also into your self. (Katha Upanishad 1.3.13). Then you will realize - how mighty am I. There is animal-like behaviour in you, which has come by entangling yourself with this body comprising of bones, flesh and skin. You are not the body. You are the viraata Purusha.
This entire object-filled world, and the related divine world is pervaded in your body. And even this is imagined in just a quarter of your true nature.
Knowing yourself to be the vishva viraata is the first step in knowing your self to be brahman. The second step is to know yourself as the taijasa hiranyagarbha, in the form of the enjoyer of the subtle macrocosm. The third step is to know yourself as the bliss enjoyer (ananda bhuk) praajnya Ishvara, the causal self (kaaranaatmaa) of the gross-subtle-macrocosm. After than, even causality is negated, and the infinite bliss-nature brahman essence, indicated by the removal of all particulars, is experienced as your fourth nature. This is the fourth and final step.
If you continue to accept yourself as the microcosmic gross, subtle, causal body or body-owner (shareera vaalaa), the world will remain as it is. But, if you consider the entire universe as your gross body, the entire macrocosmic subtle body as your subtle body, and the entire causal body as your causal body, the world will cease and you will become established in your fourth state, you will attain the non-dual state.
In reality, accepting the self as disconnected by the body is a delusion. Even the five elements did not become disconnected from the body, from which this body is made. Then how can the non-attached self become disconnected? Each element of the body is one with the macrocosm. We use a line drawn of charcoal to divide land. Similarly, a line has been drawn in the mind that "this is my body, I am this". But this line is completely imaginary.
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