jīvaṁ kalpayate pūrvaṁ tato bhāvān pṛthag-vidhān, // bāhyān-ādhyātmikāṁś-caiva yathā-vidyas-tathā-smṛtiḥ. (16)
जीवम् – the jīva, the individual; कल्पयते – (the Self) projects, imagines; पूर्वम् – first; ततः – thereafter; भावान् – objects; पृथक्-विधान् – various entities; // बाह्यान् – external, objective; आध्यात्मिकान् – subjective, personal; च एव – and also; यथा – as is; विद्यः – the knowledge; तथा – so is; स्मृतिः – the memory
16. First of all the egocentric attitude (jīva bhāvanā) is projected and thereafter follow imaginations of the various entities both objective and subjective. As is the knowledge, so is the memory of it. (tr-Chinmayananda)
Like the fancying of a snake in a rope, He purvam kalpayate, first imagines; jivam, the individual-who is a bundle of causes and effects expressing themselves through such beliefs as, ‘I act; and mine are the (resulting) sorrows and happiness’ - on the pure Self that is devoid of such characteristics. After that, for his sake, He (the Lord) imagines different objects, such as the vital force and so on, bahyan adhyatmikan ca eva, both external and mental, dividing them into action, instruments, and results. As to that, what is the reason for that imagination? That is being stated. The individual that is imagined by (the Lord) Himself and is himself capable of imagination, gets a memory, yathavidyah, in accordance with the kind of thought-impressions that he is possessed of; that fact is alluded to by tathasmrtih, he is possessed of that kind of memory. ~Shankara (tr-Gambhirananda)
First comes the knowledge of the idea of cause and next the knowledge of the idea of effect. Then follows the memory of both cause and effect. This memory is followed by a corresponding knowledge which results in the various states of knowledge characterized by action, actor, and effect. These are followed by their memory, which, in turn, is followed by other states of knowledge. In this way are imagined various entities, internal and external, which are perceived and are related to one another as cause and effect. ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilananda)
Ātmā, with the help of māyā-śakti projects the waking world. The entire created world should include the experiencer jīva and the experienced objects. One is sentient and the other is insentient. Even though we cannot talk about the order of the appearance of the experiencer and the experienced, for our understanding we talk about an order. In that order, first the experiencer jīva is created according to the karma of the jīva and thereafter the experienced world is created based on the karma of the jīva only. The world does not have puṇya-pāpam because it is inert. …The whole drama starts. The only solution is to raise oneself from Viśva, Taijasa and Prājña to Turīyam. ~Paramarthananda
Gauḍapāda says that first of all, the imagination of separative individual Self, jīvātma bhāvanā, is rendered upon the Ᾱtman. This egocentric idea is born with the concept of the separateness, when the mind rose up and the awareness was reflected on the mental pool of its own thought flow; and the egocentric entity, seemingly real, changes its attitude, character, nature and behaviour according to the reflecting medium, namely, the mental condition. This ego (jīva), which is the reflection of Reality on the mental lake, is the one which is the enjoyer and the doer, who is the sufferer and the liberated, who is the seeker and siddha. // Once this projection of the egocentric concept is posited upon the Ᾱtman, this delusion creates a multiple hierarchy of delusions, each thickening the veil and taking us farther and farther away from our real nature and in the ultimate analysis of it all, the egocentric deluded entity in us looks out, into a self-made world through the mind and the sense organs, to cognise in its own dream world a panorama of names and forms arranged and paraded to order. These are as decided by the previous mental impressions in the individuals! This idea is very subtly indicated when Gauḍapāda says very crisply, ‘as the knowledge, so is the memory of it’. ~Chinmayananda
The “I” sense in itself is not a product of ignorance. In its pure state, this “I” is actually our true Self. However, when it begins to relate to and identify itself with the limited body and mind, it becomes a puny imitation – a caricature of the splendour that is our real Self. // From this basic sense of individuality, arises the entire projection of falsity into this world. This is denoted here by “he imagines different objects”, where the key word is not ‘objects’ but ‘different’. Difference denotes Duality, which is a departure from Non-duality, the state of the Pure Self. We can say, the Ego gives birth to Duality, because Duality is really not there in a world where Ego is not present. Duality lies only in the Ego’s perception of the world! ~Sandeepany (Gurubhaktananda)
How can projection be a series? It isn’t a series, but breaking it down into stages makes it easier for a Self-ignorant person to understand the nature of mithya. Liberation is complete knowledge of satya and mithya. If you don’t understand the relationship between your sentient jiva and its thoughts and feelings, which after all are just material objects, how can you free yourself from attachment to them? ~Swartz
aniścitā yathā rajjur-andhakāre vikalpitā, sarpa-dhārādibhir-bhāvais-tadvad-ātmā vikalpitaḥ. (17)
17. As the rope whose real nature, when not known, is imagined in the dark to be a snake, a water line and so on, so also the Ᾱtman is imagined in various ways. ~Tr- Chinmayananda
To say the Self is not clearly known implies that it is also vaguely known. If the Self is not known, Vedanta won’t set you free, because Vedanta is a means of knowledge, not a belief system. A means of knowledge removes vagueness about something, in this case your identity. ~Swartz
Niścitāyāṃ yathā rajjvāṃ vikalpo vinivartate । rajjureveti cādvaitaṃ tadvadātmaviniścayaḥ ॥ 18॥
When the rope is clearly known as “(this is) rope only”, (every) misperception goes away and the nondual (rope remains.) The knowledge of Ātmā (is also) like that. (verse 18). ~Tr. Paramarthananda
MK2.16 Medley
Gauḍapāda says that first of all, the imagination of separative individual Self, jīvātma bhāvanā, is rendered upon the Ᾱtman. (Ātmā, with the help of māyā-śakti projects the waking world.~P) This egocentric idea is born with the concept of the separateness, when the mind rose up and the awareness was reflected on the mental pool of its own thought flow. ~C
Even though we cannot talk about the order of the appearance of the experiencer and the experienced, for our understanding we talk about an order. In that order, first the experiencer jīva is created according to the karma of the jīva and thereafter the experienced world is created based on the karma of the jīva only. The world does not have puṇya-pāpam because it is inert. ~P
How can projection be a series? It isn’t a series, but breaking it down into stages makes it easier for a Self-ignorant person to understand the nature of mithya. Liberation is complete knowledge of satya and mithya. If you don’t understand the relationship between your sentient jiva and its thoughts and feelings, which after all are just material objects, how can you free yourself from attachment to them? ~S
From this basic sense of individuality, arises the entire projection of falsity into this world. This is denoted here by “he imagines different objects”, where the key word is not ‘objects’ but ‘different’. Difference denotes Duality, which is a departure from Non-duality, the state of the Pure Self. We can say, the Ego gives birth to Duality, because Duality is really not there in a world where Ego is not present. ~S/G
This delusion creates a multiple hierarchy of delusions, each thickening the veil and taking us farther and farther away from our real nature and in the ultimate analysis of it all, the egocentric deluded entity in us looks out, into a self-made world through the mind and the sense organs, to cognise in its own dream world a panorama of names and forms arranged and paraded to order. ~C
First comes the knowledge of the idea of cause and next the knowledge of the idea of effect. Then follows the memory of both cause and effect. This memory is followed by a corresponding knowledge which results in the various states of knowledge characterized by action, actor, and effect. These are followed by their memory, which, in turn, is followed by other states of knowledge. In this way are imagined various entities, internal and external. ~S(N)
