If ātmā is not the one who is active, but activity is nothing but contact between guṇan and guṇa, does it mean that doer-ship belongs to object? But any product of māyā is inert, how can an inert thing have doer-ship?
ātmacaitanyamāśritya dehendriyamanodhiyaḥ |
svakriyārtheṣu vartante sūryālokam yathā janāḥ || 20 ||
Having resorted to the consciousness self, the body-organs-mind-intellect etc. are engaged on the objects of their own functions. Just like people having resorted to the light of the sun, they are engaged in their own activities.
yathā - just like janāḥ - people āśritya - having resorted to sūryālokam - the light of the sun, vartante - engage svakriyārtheṣu - in their own activities. Because of the presence of sunlight, all the activities including dharma and adharma activities happened, yet the sun is not involved and not tainted. Similarly dehendriyamanodhiyaḥ - body, organs, mind, intellect, etc. āśritya - having resorted to ātmacaitanyam - the self which is consciousness vartante - are engage svakriyārtheṣu - in the objects of their own functions. Ātmā provides existence and consciousness to body-mind-senses, but the types of activities are not decided by ātmā.
By mere presence of ātmā without involvement, all the activities happened based on the guṇa and karma therefore ātmā is only the witness, not the doer.
The next two verses are elaborations of the idea that activities of anātmā are superimposed upon ātmā.
dehendriyaguṇānkarmāṇyamale saccidātmani |
adhyasyantyavivekena gagane nīlatādivat || 21 ||
Qualities and activities of body and organs are superimposed on the pure, existence, consciousness self, due to non-discrimination. Just like the blueness is superimposed in the sky.
In here the example of sky is given, since space and ātmā share a lot of similarities such as: being only one, formless, pervasive, and unattached. nīlatādivat - just like the blueness etc. gagane - in the space / sky. The blueness of the sky does not belong to the sky which is colourless, but it appears to be.
Similarly, ignorance people adhyasyanti - superimpose dehendriyaguṇānkarmāṇi - qualities and activities of body and organs saccidātmani - on the self which is of the nature of existence and consciousness and amale - pure, avivekena - due to non-discrimination, not knowing the distinction between ātmā and anātmā.
ajñānānmānasopādheḥ kartṛtvādīni cātmani |
kalpyante’ mbugate candre calanādi yathā’ mbhasaḥ || 22 ||
Because of ignorance, doer-ship etc. of the mind is superimposed upon the self. Just like the movement of water is superimposed on the moon which is reflected in water.
kartṛtvādīni - does-ship etc. (enjoyer-ship) mānasopādheḥ - of the upādhi which is the mind (manomaya and vinyanamaya) kalpyante - are superimposed ātmani - upon the self, ajñānāt - because of ignorance. yathā - just like calanādi - movement ambhasaḥ - of water is superimposed candre - on the moon ambugate - which is reflected in water. Attributes of mind such as: desire, likes and dislikes are superimposed upon ātmā which is obtained and being evident in the mind. Therefore I think these attributes belong to me. And because of this identification, the status of being a jīva - individual is there. This status is the cause for doer-ship, which acts based on the mind’s direction. Therefore doer-ship belongs to jīva who identifies with this body-mind-senses, and the same jīva who takes up the enjoyer-ship, reborn again and again. Ātmā is always there un-involved in the process.
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