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VIVEKACŪDAMAŅI
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organs presided over by their respective deities. In the dream state, when the sense organs cease to be active, all objects of experience are created in a subtle form that can be apprehended only by the pure witnessing consciousness. Answering the question what are these objects, it is replied: the mind creates the manifold distinctions of kind like the body, the varna, the aśrama and the caste. Distinctions of body refer to the differences of divine, animal and human forms. The varņa distinctions refer to those of brāhmana, ksatriya, vaisya and śūdra. The āśrama distinctions refer to the brahmacarya, gārhasthya, vānaprastha and samnyāsa. It also creates distinctions of body like deva and manuşya and of jāti like devatva etc. As in dreamless sleep,33 i.e., suşupti, the mind does not exist (i.e., does not function), these differences are not there. So, it follows that these distinctions are all creations of the mind. So too are the qualities, sound, etc., actions like throwing forth, which pertain to those effects. Their objects like pot etc., their actions, all these are always created by the mind. There is no other cause; for in the absence of the mind, nothing exists. śarīra...... bhedāḥ may also be understood in two ways: as differences of body, varņa, āśrama and jāti or as differences in the body.
prasūte: utpādayati: originates; creates. bhedāh: prakārāh: modifications.
180 असंगचिद्रूपममुं विमोह देहेन्द्रियप्राणगुणनिबध्य ।
अहं ममेति भ्रमयत्यजत्रं मनस्स्वकृत्येषु फलोपभुक्तिषु ॥१८॥ asangacidrūpamamum vimohya
dehendriyaprāņaguņair nibadhya , aham mameti bhramayatyajasram
manassvakytyeșu phalopabhuktişu 11
The ātman (jiva) is pure intelligence unattached to anything. Binding him by the cords of the body, senseorgans and vital airs, disabling him from understanding his real nature, the mind leads him up and down with a sense of agency and possession ('I' and 'mine') among the objects produced by his actions.
The manas is the subject of action. The ātman is asanga cit; it is devoid of all attachment; its form is infinite intelligence. This ātman is deluded by the qualities of the body, the sense-organs and
33 and in samadhi.
