7.2 Inert And Aware

Let us clarify some preliminary points. (1) In these, the first point is that of inert and aware. The object is inert, the subject is aware. That which can know other things and know itself also, is termed "aware". But that which can neither know itself nor know anything else is termed "inert". The aware is self-illumined and the inert is other-illumined. There is inertness in the seen-ness, and awareness in the seer-ness. The seer is aware, the seen is inert. In Vedanta, the nature of aware is movement and the nature of inert is non-movement, this is not accepted. Or, that which has senses is aware and that which does not is inert, even that is not accepted. Movement/lack of movement, having senses/not having senses, are all that which is seen, and therefore are in the category of inert. Their seer is aware. The object is inert since it is seen, and the subject is aware since it is the seer.
 
Is illumination a quality of the aware, or is it the nature of the aware? Illumination or knowledge is the nature of the aware, not its quality. Through the adjunct (upaadhi) of teh thought flow, it is called the illuminator or the knower. The sign of the aware is : that which can never be known or seen, yet remain immediate (aparoksha), that is aware. By this sign, the "I" of every individual remains as the aware entity. "I" is the seer of everything, is never the seen of anything, and "I am not" - since this experience cannot ever happen, it is always immediate to all. By being the illuminator of objects, the name of "I" is the subject.