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Indriyadhyäs. The worldly soul is used to know through the senses and as such, it remains attached to the objects of the senses. Under the impact of that attachment, the soul conceives of happiness as lying in the sense objects and tries to seek the same from the external sources. Such attachment being too strong, the worldly soul remains involved with the sense objects and the circumstances associated with them. That extrovert state of soul is termed as Bahirätmä. By virtue of that involvement, the soul does not find time to look inward to its own nature. That condition will change, when it comes in contact with a true Guru. Then it gets awakened from the slumbering state of ignorance and turns inward. Such an introvert state of soul is termed as Antarätmä.
Je Drashta Chhe Drashtino, Je Jäne Chhe Roop; Abädhya Anubhav Je Rahe, Te Chhe Jiv Swaroop.
That, which is the seer of eyesight, which recognizes the form, and which retains the unobstructed experience, constitutes the essence of soul. (51)
Explanation & Discussion:
The pupil had asked, 'Why is the soul not visible to the eye?' The eye is the most vital sense organ. Other organs are also important; but losing any of them does not handicap a person to the extent he would feel handicapped by the loss of eyesight. If one loses, for instance, taste of the tongue or if the tongue somehow ceases to function, he would feel less uncomfortable than one who loses the eyesight.
In reply to the pupil's question the Guru asks him to figure out the element that actually sees when an object comes within the eyesight. We normally conceive of two factors that are involved in the act of seeing. One is the eye and the other is the object. The eye is the instrument with which it is possible to see, and the object of sight is reflected in the eye. But the question is, 'Who is the seer?' That must be different from the means as well as the sight. Another question is, 'Who actually knows what is seen?' In other words, who knows the form? The Guru states that whoever is the seer and the knower is termed as soul. Seeing and knowing are thus the properties of soul. The eye is merely an instrument in the act of seeing. With that instrument the objects become visible to the seer; but the seer itself, the soul, cannot be visible thereby.
Let us consider the example of a person looking out from a window of his house. He sees the street, the houses, the people, and the vehicles passing by. If there are no obstructions, he can also see the trees or the lake and the hills that may be lying far beyond. But what is the role of the window in the act of seeing those objects? Does it see any of them? No; the window is an instrument for seeing, while the person is the seer of the window as well as of the scene. Moreover, it is not possible to see the person with the help of window. Similarly our eyes cannot see our soul, which is the seer of the eye as well as of the sight.
Another question of the pupil pertained to experiencing of the soul. Here experiencing denotes the feeling with which is associated the sense of 'I' or 'mine'. The Guru tells him to analyze his experience and to find out who experiences the sense of 'I'. For instance, we walk with legs and undergo the experience of walking. That experience is thus associated with the ability of the legs to walk. Now let us analyze it. If, for instance, I lose the ability to walk on account of my legs being inoperative, can I still
