[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Re: Definition of sAkshI

[Bhaskar YR]

Witnessing only takes place by virtue of an upAdhi – mind.

praNAms Sri Dennis prabhuji
Hare Krishna

I have some observations with regard to this.  But before that I would be happy to note that these dialogues with regard to concept of sAkshi in ‘some threads’ is ‘free from tarka karkasha nomenclature to sAkshi-chaitanya’ and we could able to talk about it within the purview of shruti and shankara 😊

In bruhadAraNyaka there is an example of big fish which is moving from one bank to another of the river without being swept away from its strong waves.  Likewise jeeva too moving from waking state to dream to sleep and again back to waking state without getting influenced by the kAma karma ( you can refer shankara bhAshya with regard to this in bruhadAraNyaka).  Just as the big wish different from waves and currents and also banks, the jeeva also different from these three Avastha-s.  The socalled connection with his gross body detached away when he is dreaming, the mind too snapped away when he is going from svapna to deep sleep.  Therefore he has to be different from body and the mind as well.  And elsewhere there is a mention that this jeeva even transcends the indriya-s and prANa also!!  Therefore he is the sAkshi (the witness) the seer of the external world when he is in waking state, seer of the subtle body (mind) and mind projected world in swapna and he is the witnessing consciousness in susupti where the external world and upAdhi-s are conspicuous by its absence.  He is beyond all these states it implies that he is only the sAkshi.  And this sAkshitva (witness-hood) of the consciousness does not depend on sAkshi bhAsya nor upAdhi (mind) he is in its svarUpa ‘sarva sAkshi’ whether sarva is there or not his own svarUpa is sAkshi svarUpa.  Shwetaashwatara and US (poem) establishes this fact beyond any doubt.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar