4.21 One part of individual consciousness can’t observe itself

4.21 One part of the individual awareness cannot observe another portion of itself, or an endless succession would confuse memory.

As you explore the relationship between your awareness, universal consciousness and the world of experience, questions may emerge:
Can there be more than one instance of your individual awareness?
Can one aspect of your awareness watch another aspect of itself?

If that were the case, argues this sutra, several instances of your awareness could watch one another creating an endless loop resulting in confusion. One way to explore this idea is to assume that you can observe different aspects of your awareness at the same time. If that were the case, you could direct your attention to noticing the sounds and noises in your surroundings. Simultaneously, you can start another process where you direct awareness to your list of things to do. If both processes can take place at the same time, can yet a different part of your awareness focus on noticing the sounds and the other on the process of thinking about your to-do list? If that is possible, can another portion of your awareness pay attention to the simultaneous process of observing each thread of your awareness?

Another very simple way to explore this notion is by bringing the tip of your thumb and the tip of your index finger in one hand to touch (jñana mudra) as lightly as you can. Feel the sensations at the point of contact as clearly as possible. Then try the same hand gesture with the other hand as well. Notice the sensations at the points of contact in each hand and notice if the sensory streams are perceived simultaneously or if your awareness keeps switching from one side to the other almost imperceptibly. What do you find? If it seems like you can feel both streams of tactile sensation coming in simultaneously, can you also observe yourself while you notice the tactile sensations from both hands? You can conduct a similar experiment during your daily activities. Notice the mental processes you are engaged in at any time. Notice if they are taking place at the same time. What aspect of you is keeping track of each one of these processes?

As usual, one more way of exploring the meaning of this sutra is by chanting it.
You can choose to chant it in its traditional form with some of the words coming together:

4.21 cittāntara dṛśye buddhibuddheḥ atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛtisaṃkaraśca
चित्तान्तर दृश्ये बुद्धिबुद्धेः अतिप्रसङ्गः स्मृतिसङ्करश्च ॥२१॥

Another option is to chant each word in the sutra individually:

• citta
• antara
• dṛśye
• buddhi
• buddheḥ
• atiprasaṅgaḥ
• smṛti
• saṅkaraḥ
• ca

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This is an excerpt from the book Unravel the thread: Applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to live a happy life

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