Summary:

Atma Bodha, Verse 33: As the Self beyond mind, one is inherently free from emotional states like sorrow, attachment, hatred, and fear. The teaching emphasizes not recreating a “fearless mind” but managing it by discriminating between natural fears (īśvara–sṛṣṭi) and self-imposed burdens (jīva–sṛṣṭi). While the body-mind continues experiencing attachments and emotions, buddhi recognizes pure Awareness as that which illumines these experiences.

Atma Bodha, Verse 34: The Self is nirguṇaḥ (attributeless), niṣkriyaḥ (actionless), nityaḥ (eternal), nirvikalpaḥ (undivided), nirañjanaḥ (pure), nirvikāraḥ (unchanging), and nirākāraḥ (formless). While modifications occur at all three body levels – including the causal body's karma dynamics (sancita, prarabdha, agami) – the Self remains unaffected. Prarabdha karma unfolds daily experiences, requiring responses that generate new karma (agami), yet the Self remains ever-free (nityamukta).

Verse 33: No mind, no emotions

अमनस्त्वात् न मे दुःख राग द्वेष भयादयः ।
अप्राणः हि अमनाः शुभ्र इति आदि श्रुति शासनात् ॥
amanastvāt na me duḥkha rāga dveṣa bhayādayaḥ |
aprāṇaḥ hi amanāḥ śubhra iti ādi śruti śāsanāt ||

Because I am totally free from the mind, thus for me there is no sorrow, attachment, hatred, fear and so on. ‘The self is free from prāṇa, and even free from mind, it is pure,’ thus declare the Shrutis.

Shruti declares I am free from sorrow/anger/fear and prana (digestion/circulation issues). However ignorant mind wants to recreate fear-free mind. Don’t recreate atma features at level of mind.

Rather manage the mind:

You can’t make mind totally fearless, at same time need to remove fear (subjectivity) to capture the reality. Need to discern useful fear (īśvara–sṛṣṭi), and your own loads (jīva–sṛṣṭi). Thus first settle accounts with Ishvara. Then ready to understand truth of Ishvara is my truth also.

I am totally free from attachment:

“I am” is not referring to your body-mind. Meaning, body-mind will continue to have some attachments, dislikes, likes. Cognitively, buddhi knows “That which illumines these attachments, dislikes experienced at level of the mind, is Awareness, which is pure”.

Verse 34: Free from attributes and actions

निर्गुणः निष्क्रियः नित्यः निर्विकल्पः निरञ्जनः ।
निर्विकारः निराकारः नित्यमुक्तोऽस्मि निर्मलः ॥
nirguṇaḥ niṣkriyaḥ nityaḥ nirvikalpaḥ nirañjanaḥ |
nirvikāraḥ nirākāraḥ nityamukto'smi nirmalaḥ ||

Free from attributes, free from actions, eternal, free from division, free from impurity, free from modification, free from form, ever free and ever pure I am.

Verse shifts focus from negation to positive assertion of what Self is…

1. Attributeless (nirguna): From standpoint of Awareness, it has no attributes. Attributes belong to senses/body/mind/karmas (punya–papa). All mithya.
2. Free from actions (niṣkriya): Actions happening at level of Subtle/Gross. Not Causal (unmanifest).
3. Eternal (Nitya): Brahman is not only truth of objects but time-and-space.
4. Free from division (nirvikalpa): Body-mind complex is different from other complexes. My causal is different from yours. One thought is different from another. One race is different from another. No need to remove the divisions. Only understand Awareness is free from divisions.
5. Ever pure (nirañjanaḥ / nirmala): Detoxification happens at body level.
6. Free from form (nirākāra) [such as happiness/sorrow/fear/attachment]: Emotions take place at manomaya–kosha.
7. Free from modifications (nirvikāra). Modifications happens at level of…
   1. 3 Bodies:
      • Free of gross and subtle bodies.
      • Free of causal body, because causal body’s unmanifest karma–phala and deep rooted desires are constantly becoming manifest. How did doer come in first place? There is an account called sancita–karma (well collected). A portion of it called prarabdha (etymology: prakarṣeṇa ārabdha: carefully begun; meaning each day exhaust a little, just enough to handle it) is assigned for one life, which will take you through set of painful/pleasurable experiences. You don’t just witness these pleasant/unpleasant situations, but have to respond via faculty of choice, which has unseen results (agami: some is experienced in this life, and rest spills into sancita at death, thus modifies Causal Body).
   2. Ishvara: all-knowledge-power reshuffles/reorganizes, and changes from unmanifest to manifest.

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Recorded 13 Jan, 2025