In a Zoom meeting with Ramana Kendra, Delhi, on 12th June 2022 Michael James discusses the meaning and implications of verse 18 of Upadēśa Sāraḥ:
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वृत्त यस्त्वहं वृत्ति माश्रिताः ।
वृत्त योमनो विद्ध्य हंमनः ॥ १८ ॥
vṛtta yastvahaṁ vṛtti māśritāḥ
vṛtta yōmanō viddhya haṁmanaḥ
पदच्छेद: वृत्तयः तु अहंवृत्तिम् आश्रिताः. वृत्तयः मनः. विद्धि अहम् मनः.
Padacchēda (word-separation): vṛttayaḥ tu ahaṁ-vṛttim āśritāḥ. vṛttayaḥ manaḥ. viddhi aham manaḥ.
अन्वय: वृत्तयः मनः. वृत्तयः तु अहं वृत्तिम् आश्रिताः. विद्धि अहम् मनः.
Anvaya (words rearranged in natural prose order): vṛttayaḥ manaḥ. vṛttayaḥ tu ahaṁ-vṛttim āśritāḥ. viddhi aham manaḥ.
English translation: Thoughts are mind. But thoughts depend on the I-thought. Know that ‘I’ is the mind.
Explanatory paraphrase: Vṛttis [thoughts] are mind. But vṛttis depend on the ahaṁ-vṛtti [the thought ‘I’]. Know that aham [‘I’, namely ego, the thought ‘I’] is the mind.
While discussing these verses, Michael also discusses the meaning and implications of various passages from Bhagavan’s writings, including Upadēśa Sāraḥ, Upadēśa Undiyār, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, Nāṉ Ār? and Āṉma-Viddai.
This episode can also be watched as a video, 2022-06-12 Ramana Kendra, Delhi: Michael James discusses Upadēśa Sāraḥ verse 18, and a more compressed audio copy in Opus format (which can be listened to in the VLC media player and some other apps) can be downloaded from here.