Chapter 11 Nature of Witness
11.1 and 11.2 The mind and body system (MBS) is made of five elements and is by nature inert. As it is conscious, it means that the source of consciousness is outside. The outside source is Brahman which is of the nature of pure consciousness (Consciousness) due to which MBS appears conscious. Whereas sentient MBS is changing, Consciousness is unchanging. According to scriptures, the true nature, i.e., real ‘I’ (Self) of a human being is Consciousness. In other words, a human being is essentially Consciousness which is different from the sentient MBS and utterly unaffected by latter’s experiences comprising dualities.
Due to ignorance, a person does not identify himself with Consciousness. Instead, he considers himself a sentient MBS. As a result, the experiences of MBS are wrongly considered as the experiences of ‘I’. This is bondage. The remedy of ignorance is Self-knowledge, namely, Thou That Art. Ignorance is not removed by action however virtuous it may be. The direct means of freedom from bondage is Self-knowledge as taught by scriptures. Since knowledge occurs in the mind, action may be required only to purify the mind and to make it fit to receive the knowledge. When the fit mind receives knowledge, there is liberation. There is nothing else to cooperate with knowledge.
11.3 and 11.4 Self which is Consciousness is free from attributes and unchanging. It is one (non-dual) and is the witness of modifications of all the minds without any exception. Consciousness is present as the witness in waking and dream states because the sentient mind is functional in the two states. During deep sleep, the mind resolves but Consciousness persists. There is experience of blankness which confirms existence of consciousness. Self is the witness of the blankness. During deep sleep, mind, body and the external world are not experienced and they ‘disappear’. It means that they are not real. As only consciousness is available in all the three states of experience, it alone is real.
11.5 to 11.7 Advaita Vedanta is not a philosophy. It is not pursuit of abstract knowledge. It is a teaching which addresses human suffering (experience). Our experience is of duality. Vedanta asks us to reexamine the conclusion drawn from ordinary experience. Wrong conclusion leads to suffering. Vedanta says that on re-examination it is found that reality is non-dual. Experience needs to be properly interpreted. Dream is as real to dreamer as the waking state is to a waking man. On waking up, dream experience is found to be not as real as waking state. On enlightenment, waking state is understood as not real. In a sense, we are ‘sleeping’ our way through the life. Sense perceptions are not authoritative. In a lucid dream, nothing is as real except the dreamer. For a knower of knowledge, waking state is like a lucid dream.
Self is different from and the witness of the three states. Conscious observer means ‘I’ in a fundamental sense. One consciousness is in all beings but is unaffected by their defects, like agency, egoism. In verse 6, Sri Shankara by using first person shares what he has discovered from the scriptures. He prompts an aspirant to learn from a jnani’s perspective of himself and the world. As consciousness, I do not get liberated. I am ever liberated. A jnani would wonder why this fact has been under veil. King Janaka says in Ashtavakra Gita (2.1): Truly I am taintless, peaceful, pure consciousness and beyond nature. It is ironical that all this time I was afflicted by illusion.
11.8 and 11.9 Vedas have two parts: Karma Kanda (KK) and Jnana Kanda (JK). The former caters to the first set of three human goals: kama, artha, and dharma, for which are prescribed various rituals. Another set has one goal, namely, moksha. The two parts are mutually exclusive and cannot be followed together. Some people are not aware that there are two sets of goals. They should choose one. Some pursue both and they fail in both. It is like putting two legs in two boats. They do not understand the scheme of Vedas and are like nastika-unbelievers. Sri Shankara questions a follower of KK who does not accept the authority of JK. The rituals produce unseen results (punya) for going to heaven after death. If a follower of Karma Kanda believes in unseen results on the authority of KK, he cannot reject JK which teaches mahavakyas
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