THE WITNESS IS THE LIGHT FOR THE SEER, THE SEEING AND THE SEEN

 

THE WITNESS IS THE LIGHT FOR THE SEER, THE SEEING AND THE SEEN

Question : Is not the Self the witness only [sakshimatra]?

Bhagavan: ‘Witness’ is applicable when there is an object to be seen. Then it is duality. The Truth lies beyond both.

In the mantra, sakshi cheta kevalo nirgunascha, the word sakshi [witness] must be understood as sannidhi [presence], without which there could be nothing. See how the sun is necessary for daily activities. He does not, however, form part of the world actions; yet they cannot take place without the sun. He is the witness of the activities. So it is with the Self.

Bhagavan: Talking of the ‘witness’ should not lead to the idea that there is a witness and something else apart from him that he is witnessing. The ‘witness’ really means the light that illumines the seer, the seen and the process of seeing. Before, during and after the triads of seer, seen and seeing, the illumination exists. It alone exists always.

- Day by day with Bhagavan, 18th July 1946