Revels in oneself

The idea of seeing the entire world in oneself, is elaborated in the next verse.

ātmaivedam jagatsarvamātmano’ nyanna vidyate |

mrdo yadvad ghaṭādīni svātmānam sarvamīkṣate || 48 ||

This entire world is ātmā alone. Anything doesn’t exist apart from the self. Just as pot etc don’t exist apart from clay.

idam jagatsarvam - this world ātmā eva - is ātmā alone. How can this manifold world is said to be one ātmā alone? It is just like saying the snake, garland, and water hose are a rope alone in reality, where they are only one of the appearances of a rope. In the same way, this world is an appearance of sat-ātmā, thus this world is ātmā alone. One who can see this reality, svātmānam sarvamīkṣate - seeing everything as oneself, anyanna vidyate - nothing exists apart from himself. It is not that the world does not exist at all, but it does not independently exist. It exists in a different state of reality, thus it is called mithya. mrdo yadvad ghaṭādīni - just as pot, etc. don’t exist apart from clay, yet it serves its own function.

Therefore the wise person who sees everything as himself, doesn’t have the sense of limitation, since there is no other existence thing that can limit him. When there is no sense of limitation, that is total freedom. Only the wise person who appreciates that nothing is different from him is totally free, that idea is being elaborated in the next verse.

jīvanmuktastu tadvidvān pūrvopādhigunāmstyajet |

saccidānandarūpatvād bhaved bhramarakīṭavat || 49 ||

The knower of that (brahman) is indeed free while living. He would give up attributes of previous upādhi. He becomes brahman because his nature is sat-cit-ānanda. Just like a wasp and an insect.

tadvidvān - the knower of brahman as the self is jīvanmuktastu - indeed free while living. jīvanmukta is peculiar to advaita-vedānta, since quite a lot of teaching is having freedom only after the death of the body. How one can be free while living? pūrvopādhigunāmstyajet - he would give up the attributes of previous upādhi, all three bodies.

Upādhi is that which transfers the quality, thus the wise person has stopped to own up qualities of anātmā to himself. This giving up is cognitive, not physical. For him, upādhi is only there but not doing the job of transferring quality, therefore it is said as pūrva-upādhi - ex-upādhi.

When the cover of a wrong identity is removed, the nature shines. saccidānandarūpatvād - because of one’s nature as existence, consciousness, limitless, bhaved - he becomes (owns up brahman). There is no real becoming, just like a brass vessel that oxidised, only by cleaning itself, the brass-ness shines without becoming brass. Ācārya gives comparison of a wasp and an insect - bhramarakīṭavat. A wasp takes a worm and puts it inside its hive. That particular worm doesn’t have any thought, except the wasp, and thus in a length of time, it becomes a wasp. The worm may be a wasp’s potential worm, but it needs to give up its wormy nature, and own up the flying wasp’s nature then it is free. Similarly by giving up limited attributes of upādhi, the wise person owns up his limitless nature and is free.

Next verse presents the result of owning up one’s nature, by using metaphor in the story of Ramayana.

tīrtvā mohārṇavam hatvā rāgādveṣādirākṣasān |

yogī śāntisamāyukta ātmārāmo virājate || 50 ||

Having crossed over the ocean of delusion, and having killed raksasa in the form of likes and dislikes, etc., the yogī being very well endowed with śhanti, he is reveling in himself and shines excellently.

jīvātmā is compared to Lord Rāma here, which originally was paramātmā alone. When jīva goes after worldly pursuit just like Rāma chases golden dear, he loses his śhanti, represented by sītā. To get his śhanti back, tīrtvā mohārṇavam - having crossed the ocean of delusion through a sētu, similarly jīva crosses over delusion through viveka - discrimination. Then hatvā rāgādveṣādirākṣasān - he kills all rāksasā in the form of likes, dislikes, etc. yogī - the yogī, who has gone through sādhana of śravana, manana, and nididhyāsana, śāntisamāyukta - being very well endowed with śhanti, ātmārāmo - he is reveling in oneself, virājate - shines excellently.

In the next verse, the idea of ātmā-rāmah is elaborated.

bāhyānityasukhāsaktim hitvātmasukhanirvṛtaḥ |

ghaṭasthadīpavatsvasthaḥ svāntareva prakāśate || 51 ||

(Yogī) having given up attachment for impermanent happiness from external objects, he remains satisfied in fullness of ātmā. Just like a lamp is placed inside a pot, he shines by abiding inside himself alone.

The name rāma means revels in oneself - ātmā, thus one who revels in the self is called ātmā-rāma. He has no desire for all the anātmā sense objects because he knows everything he revels in is nothing but ātmā. bāhyānityasukhāsaktim hitvā - having given up attachment for impermanent happiness from external objects, ātmasukhanirvṛtaḥ - he remains satisfied in fullness of ātmā. In Gītā chapter 5 verse 22nd says that enjoyments born out of contact of senses have the potential of sorrow and momentary. Therefore the wise person does not indulge in them.

As we progress in our spiritual pursuit, vairagyam will increase, since we slowly understand that by holding onto the limited things, we can’t own up limitlessness. This nature of vairagyam can be measured by our composure, either by the arrival or departure of any objects and situations. Since ātmā ever shines - virajāte, his ānanda also shines all the time without aid from external objects. ghaṭasthadīpavat - just like a lamp placed in a pot, svāntareva - the wise person remains in oneself alone, not searching for external fulfilment, svasthaḥ prakāśate - he shines on his own, as a fulfilled person. When I discover the joy within myself, naturally the attachment towards external pleasure is dropped.