Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands

18th May 2016

Witness

“Deep Understanding”

Man believes in an action because he is a witness to it. This belief convinces man that not only is an action an actuality, but that he can also witness an actual action. To logic and reason an actual action is accepted as the truth.

The enlightened nevertheless also witness but they understand that an action is not an actuality in life, because they declare that man is not the doer. This brings into question: what is the deep understanding of an action by the enlightened and what does he witness if not an action?

Man understands with reason and logic that there are many actions that make up the day. He also understands that many actions are needed for daily life to happen and that without actions daily life would not happen.

Man also understands that he does not do actions every moment of his daily life, because he understands that he needs to rest in between actions and in the night he needs to sleep. Therefore, man assumes that he does not move while resting or during sleep.

The enlightened too understand that they do not do actions every moment of the day and need to rest and sleep as well. They however understand that the body moves during rest and during sleep too.

The enlightened also understand that the movements of an action of a body are not separate from the movements of the body that are not an action. They also understand that the body moves continuously day and night and the continuous   movement of the body is intermittently interpreted as illusory actions.

The enlightened understand that the body continually moves during actions, during not doing an action, during rest and during sleep as well. Therefore, the deep understanding of an action by the enlightened is that an action is a sophisticated movement of the body that is not separate from the movements that are less sophisticated as during rest and sleep.

The enlightened witness all that happens and recognise and identify what happens, but not as an action. They neither witness the continuous movement of the body nor an action. They understand that the body continually moves, rests and sleeps. They are certain that man is not the doer.

When this deep understanding happens to man, it reflects as unconditional love, care and concern for everyone.

Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2016

Editor’s Note:
Movements of the body determine man’s understanding of an action and his conviction that he or she is conducting an action. By the same token, when man does not perceive any movement of the body, he believes that there is no action. The wise have realised, however, that movements of the body never cease. Thus, movements of the body that take place during sleep or rest cannot be determined by man, neither can he claim, when he awakens, that movements of the body are then determined by him or her. When this is discovered, there can be no claim on doing an action; no claim on being the doer. The burden of doing dissolves and the heart opens.   
Julian Capper, UK.

German Translator’s Note:
Observation of a baby reveals: Actions are thoughts in the adult’s mind, because the child obviously isn’t born talking and thinking. Babys therefore a are a gift of life for parents to witness life moving as a baby. When the child begins to talk, observation without interpretation becomes difficult for the conditioned mind. However, the conditioning is exposed by life in this stage of parenthood. Lucky are the parents whose understanding of actions deepens through wisdom as presented in this article by Dr. Shankar.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.

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