Book 1- Sutra 3
The Translation:
Tada – then
Drastuh – the soul, the seer
Svarupe– in his state
Avasthanam- dwells
The Sutra:
“Then, the seer swells in his own true splendor.”
An explanation (based off of Iyengar’s translation):
This sutra is sharing that when the seer (you or I) have a still mind we can then see our own true nature and know the splendor of our own soul. In the Bible a “seer” is a prophet or person with visions, however, in this case, a seer is anyone who is aware of their own consciousness of mind and therefore doing the seeing.
What the Bible says:
So the question comes up…in God who are we? When we recognize our own splendor we recognize that we are not our bodies or our beliefs or our community but each priceless members of one body, the body of Christ. When all else is removed and by the grace of God we see ourselves as God see’s us we are His children.
Ephesians 2 : Explains the splendor of Truth we get to surrender to when we still our mind and live for God.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
One in Christ. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
You and I are washed clean by the Holy Spirit and made whole by the blessing of Christ. Grasping this in its completeness happens by the Grace of God, but it is nice knowing the Truth and from this knowing maybe we can live our lives like the beacon of light Christ lived His as.
My conclusion:
I see that Christ did give us hope to live as He did, aware of our divine nature through Him and the Holy Spirit. God wants to show us how wonderful He sees us and for us to know ourselves as He knows us. This sutra and the Bible agree.
