“Shatashloki” of Shri Shankaracharya – VI (Shloka – 7)
The Witness Consciousness

Shloka – 7

Translation:

A man who earns his livelihood by entertaining people and scaring small children by painting his body like a tiger and wearing a tiger’s mask does not attack or eat animals or human beings like a tiger.  A man who dresses up as a woman for a performance in a drama does not think that he is a woman and does not seek a husband. Similarly, when one realizes that one’s true nature is Atman and is separate from the body and mind, that person considers oneself as a witness consciousness residing in the body and is not affected by the actions of the body and mind.

 Comments:

In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says (9.8-9), “With My Power (Prakriti), I (Brahman) create all beings again and again whose destiny has been framed by their past actions. But, being the witness consciousness, I (Brahman) am unattached to their actions and do not get affected by their actions.”

According to the Vedanta philosophy, Brahman (Pure Consciousness) is the support of the existence of the universe and Atman (the individual Pure Consciousness) is the support of the existence of an individual.

Note:  ‘The State of Witness Consciousness’, ‘Lack of Doer-ship’ and ‘Being Unattached’ are inter-connected.

Let us try to understand the ‘State of Witness Consciousness’.

State of Witness Consciousness: Pure Consciousness is infinite. It is never born and it does not die. An individual Pure Consciousness gets tied to the body-mind form. This body-mind form has a beginning (birth) and an end (death).

Question: How can the infinite and all-powerful Pure Consciousness get tied to the body-mind, which is made out of matter?

Answer: Shri Krishna explains in the fourteenth chapter of Bhagavad Gita that the Pure Consciousness (Atman) is tied to the body-mind by three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva is pure and luminous and it ties Atman to the body-mind by spiritual knowledge and pure bliss. The nature of Rajas is passion and attachment. It creates desires for worldly pleasures and ties Atman to the body-mind in actions. Tamas is created by ignorance and it creates delusion which ties Atman to the body-mind by laziness, inadvertence, and sleep.

The fact is that our true identity is Pure Consciousness. Due to ignorance, each one of us assumes that ‘I am nothing but my body and mind.’ This ignorance is deeply engrained in our mind. It creates desires that ‘I will be happy if I sleep, or work to attain something, or do spiritual practice.’ Thus, the mind remains in the Tamasika, Rajasika, or Sattvika states accordingly. After some time (this time could consist of thousands of lives) going through lots of suffering and life-experiences, we start understanding that the sattvika state gives us longer-lasting happiness and a better understanding of our lives. As we establish ourselves in the sattvika state, we find that ‘Our true identity is something higher than our body and mind.’

Shri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (14.19-20), “When a person realizes that he/she is beyond the three gunas, is a witness consciousness, and only the three gunas are the cause of all actions, then he/she attains My (the Supreme) state. Then, he/she goes beyond the three gunas. Thus, he/she becomes free from the cycles of birth-death-birth and all the suffering of the body-mind and attains Immortality and the highest bliss.”

Note: When one realizes that ‘as Witness Consciousness I am different from the body-mind form’, then one attains the ‘State of Non-doer-ship.’ In that state, one feels that the body-mind functions according to the rules of its nature. This is exactly ‘The State of Detachment;’ being aware of one’s Atman, one is detached from the body-mind form.

Question: If the Pure Consciousness is different than the body-mind and the body-mind does not have its own consciousness, then how can the body-mind function?

Answer: According to the Vedanta Philosophy, the body-mind has borrowed consciousness. An example is given to understand this borrowed consciousness. Let us put potatoes into a pot filled with water and put that pot on the stove. Turn on the stove. After some time the water boils and the potatoes start jumping. The potatoes do not have their own energy to jump. But, it is the energy of the fire comes through the boiled water to the potatoes that make them jump. Thus, Pure Consciousness illumines the intellect, which illumines the mind, and then through the borrowed consciousness of the mind, the senses function.

That is why Shri Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (3.42-43), “The senses are superior to the body and the objects of the senses, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and the Atman (Pure Consciousness) is superior to the intellect. By knowing this, with the power of Pure Consciousness, control the intellect, mind, and senses, and destroy the enemy, called the ‘cravings’ which brings all suffering and delusion.”

Question: A natural question comes: ‘How can one comprehend the Atman (Pure Consciousness) residing within as a witness consciousness?’

Answers:

First, we have to understand that Brahman (Pure Consciousness) is infinite and beyond the comprehension of our finite mind. Therefore, all our expressions to describe Brahman will fall short.  However, analogies and examples give us some idea of Brahman. After acquiring some idea, sincere seekers, through meditation, experience the presence of Brahman within as the witness consciousness.

I will cite a few of these examples:

(1) Electricity: We know that electricity is flowing in the wires which are hidden in our house walls. We see only the outlets. Now, in these outlets, we can plug-in lamps, heaters, fans, air conditioners, cookers, food processors, phone and computer chargers, vacuum cleaners and other equipment. Each equipment has its own function and two different pieces of equipment may have two contradictory functions, but the electricity powering each of them is the same. Electricity does not directly provide heat or cold nor does it do the cooking; the equipment does the work. Similarly, in the presence of the Atman, the body and the mind function. Thus, we can think that electricity is like the witness consciousness.

(2)  Light:  Shri Ramakrishna said that in the light one may be reading holy scriptures while another may be preparing false documents to commit a crime, but the light is unaffected by these acts. Here, the light is witness consciousness.

(3) Sun: Kathopanishad (2.2.11) says, “The sun helps all the eyes to see, but is not affected by the blemishes of the eyes. Similarly, Atman who dwells in all beings is the cause of all the awareness, but it is not affected by the suffering of all beings.” The sun is an example of witness consciousness.

(4) The reflection of the Moon: It has been mentioned in the scriptures that the reflection of the full moon in the water of a lake, a river, or an ocean appears to move up and down with the waves, but the moon itself is not moving. This indicates that, like the reflection of the moon, the thinking power of the intellect is the borrowed power of the Atman.

(5) Lotus Leaf in the Water: In the Bhagavad Gita (5.10) Shri Krishna says, “One who offers the results of all actions to Brahman and works without any attachment does not get affected by the ill results of the actions, just as the lotus-leaf is not affected by the water.”  The lotus grows in the water and its leaves remain in the water for a long time but do not get affected by it and remain green. Thus, the lotus-leaf is a good example of a state of witness consciousness.

(6) Fire and Knife: Saints and sages give simple examples of fire and a knife to explain the witness consciousness. Fire can be used to cook food and it can also burn a person, but it is not the fault of the fire. Similarly, knives are used to cut vegetables and fruits to eat, but can also cut one’s finger. It is not the fault of the knife.

(7) Movie Screen:  This is a very concrete example to get an idea of witness consciousness. We see various kinds of movies on a movie screen like tragedy, comedy, horror or an educational movie. We laugh or cry or learn, but the movie screen remains unattached by all these movies and the moods they create.

(8) A Babysitter:  Shri Ramakrishna gave a wonderful example of a babysitter from our day-to-day life to explain the deeper and difficult concept of working with full mind and heart while still remaining unattached. He said that a babysitter takes care of the children whose family she is hired by.  She calls them ‘My Dear Gopal’ or ‘My Dear Hari or Dhara’ and shows her love as if they are her children. But, in her mind, she is very clear that these children belong to the owner of the house and they are actually not hers. Similarly, we have to work with all, love all, take care of all the people who depend on us, but we have to remember that they are created and nourished by God and their lives are controlled by God and we have no control over them. This is a sign of Ultimate Knowledge. A person, who experiences him/herself as the witness consciousness, sees that his/her body-mind does all the work and as Atman (Pure Consciousness) he/she is unattached to these actions.

(9) Living in Hotels:  A wandering monk was passing by a king’s palace. He somehow got inside the palace, occupied a corner and lay down to take some rest. Security guards came and told him that this is a king’s palace and he has to leave. The sadhu said that it is a Dharamshala, meaning a place where wandering pilgrims can stay for a while and take rest. The security guards tried to explain to the sadhu that it is not a Dharamshala, but rather a king’s palace. But the sadhu did not budge. As the sadhu was a man of God, the security guards did not want to hurt him or force him to leave. They were confused. One of them informed the king about the situation. The king was amused and wanted to talk to the sadhu. The sadhu asked the king, “O Dear King! For how long have you been living here?” The king replied, “For the last 35 years.” The sadhu asked, “Who lived here before then?” The king said, “My Father lived here.” The sadhu asked, “Who lived here before your father?” The king said, “There was another king who built this palace and lived here.” The sadhu said, “O King! See this palace is like a Dharamshala or a hotel where people come, live for a while and then leave. You also will live for a while and leave this palace. Your 35 years is like a day compared to the infinite time.  Similarly, our body is also like a hotel-room which we have rented for a while and as Atman, we have to leave this place after some time.” The king knew that this sadhu was a realized person and had come to teach him a life lesson. The king honored the sadhu and made him his guest for a couple of days. Then, the sadhu continued his pilgrimage.

Wrong interpretation of the witness consciousness state:  People can twist or misinterpret the highest truths and mislead themselves and other people. The state of witness consciousness uplifts a person and brings out the best in him/her. But, its misinterpretation can degrade a person and bring harm to the person and others.

We should know that only a person with total self-control, pure in mind, having no ego or selfishness can attain the state of witness consciousness. A person with an impure mind or with a selfish motive may think that he/she has attained the state of witness consciousness and is not affected by whatever his/her body-mind does. A person may do wrong or evil things and may think that he/she has nothing to do with the act. This is dangerous. Such a person is called a hypocrite. But, it is certain that if one does a wrong or evil act, then one has to suffer its painful consequences. A person attaining the state of witness consciousness is so well established in morality and ethics that his/her body-mind cannot do any unethical or harmful thing. If such a person had done anything wrong unwillingly, then he/she will immediately accept his/her mistake and would not mind the painful consequences.

Two more excellent examples:  In addition to the examples mentioned above describing the state of witness consciousness, the Shatashloki’s shloka-7 gives two more excellent examples:

(1) A person who earns one’s livelihood by wearing a tiger mask and painting oneself like a tiger knows very well that he/she is different from the tiger. He/she does all the acting of a tiger to amuse people or scare children, but he/she will not eat animals and people like the tiger does. Thus, we perform our various roles in life, but we can realize that our true identity is pure consciousness.

(2) The second example is similar. A man who dresses up like a woman to perform a female role knows very well that he is not a woman. Here it has been shown that gender is also an external thing. Pure consciousness has no gender.

What are the advantages of attaining the state of witness consciousness?

If we practice and realize the state of the witness consciousness, then we see the following advantages in our lives:

(1) Finding better solutions:  We see our body-mind objectively. Whenever we look at each problem objectively, we can understand the problem and see a solution.  In that state, we can see the causes of our problems in life. Once we realize these causes, either we solve the problems or we get inner strength to bear the problems. Thus, our quality of life improves.

(2) Live with serenity:  We attain the state of serenity. We can keep our mind balanced in joy or sorrow, honor or insult, success or failure, love or hate, and many such pairs of opposites. We acquire a total control on our body and mind.

(3) Views of people and situations change:  When we are attached to our body and mind, we think of everything from the selfish point of view. We try to use people and situations to give happiness to our own body and mind. We forget that each individual is free, has his/her own life, and is not born to make us happy. When we see that people or objects of the world are obstacles to our happiness, then we get angry. With the practice of witness consciousness, we try to give more than we receive because we see that other people are not different from us. Seeing that all people are basically nothing but pure consciousness, we develop a bond of unselfish love with all and we express that love through our thoughts, speech, and actions. What we give, that we get. When we express unselfish love to all, we receive unselfish love in return. In that state even if we don’t receive unselfish love in return, it does not bother us at all since our happiness does not depend on any external thing. Many times children get angry towards their loving parents, but the parents just smile and continue performing their responsibilities towards them.

(4) Fearlessness: The cause of all fear is the fear of death. When we realize that we are pure consciousness separate from our body and mind, the fear of death goes away. Pure consciousness is not born, and so it does not die. The body and mind were born, so they die. We see that they are just temporary instruments to express pure consciousness. The Upanishads say that there is no other way to overcome the fear of death.

(5) Monitoring our progress:  When we understand the mechanisms of our body and mind objectively, then we can monitor them in a better way. We can guide our body and mind to take ourselves towards the highest state – the realization that ‘I am Atman and my nature is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

(7) Not to add bondages:  The body-mind has been formed to perform certain actions based on our past Karma.  There is a chain of action-results-action based on the chain of cause-effect-cause. We can cut this chain by not adding any unnecessary desire and thus not performing unnecessary action.

(8) Becoming a good performer of our responsibilities: When we know exactly what our responsibilities are, and we can watch the performance of our body and mind objectively, then we become an excellent performer. We all came here to play our roles. If we understand that role, then we can perform better.

Remember the famous lines of William Shakespeare: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…” (From ‘As You Like It’, Act II, Scene VII).

As an excellent actor/actress, when one becomes attached and detached as needed from his/her performance in the world, then his/her every action becomes a piece of perfection. Echoing this thought, there is a hymn which says, “O Krishna! Your every action including walking, talking, friendship, playing flute, dancing, and dealings with others is filled with love and is sweetness.”

The state of witness consciousness and doer-ship:  As we discussed before, when a person realizes that he/she is nothing but pure consciousness, is different from his/her body-mind, and that his current actions result from the three gunas, which result from past actions, then he/she feels that he/she is not the doer of all actions. Sri Ramakrishna used to sing a song, “O Mother (the Power of Brahman)! Everything is happening according to your wish. Actually, you are doing everything, but people think that I am doing everything.” This is also the ultimate surrender to the will of God. With complete surrender to the will of God comes perfection in our performance, and we experience inner peace and bliss.

(Thanks to Sonali Tatapudy and Rushil Desai for editing this post.)