Progressive Realization of the Supreme Self
22. So long as the thought of the Self within the body does not arise, man is a absorbed in ordinary activities.
When hungry he eats, when thirsty he drinks, when drowsy he falls off to sleep - he knows nothing beyond these.
For these he fights. The thought in his mind is how to get these things. In this
way he is immersed in activities relating to the body. Progress begins only later. All this time, the Self remains merely watching.
Like a mother watching her baby crawling near the well, with the same care, the Self watches us. Quietly, it watches all these
activities. This is called the stage of the "upadrashtaa", the witness watching.
23. In this state, the Self watches without assenting. But the jiva the soul which till now acted in all things
identifying itself with the body, wakes up. The knowledge suddenly dawns upon it that it has been living like an
animal. When the soul begins to think like this, the foundations of ethics are laid. It examines every issue asking.
"Is it right? Is it wrong?" It starts exercising the power of discrimination. The power of
analysis develops. It stops acting merely on selfish impulse.
Discipline takes the place of self-indulgence.
24. When the soul thus enters the domain of ethics, the self does not merely stand aside and watch. It
expresses approval from within saying, "Well done!" Now it ceases to be merely an
"upadrashtaa," a witness, and becomes an "anumantaa," one who assents and
approves.
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