Swami Dayananda Saraswati

There is only one source of knowledge and that is you. Quoting Sankara, “being a conscious being there are only two things one is ‘I’ and the other is ‘This’.” What you objectify is not you then what are you? The one who objectifies using the senses to presume, infer and illustrate.

Quoting the Keno Upanishad that, ‘I objectify my sense organs I am the eye of the eye the ear of the ear and through these sense organs I perceive and learn.’ To know is a conscious phenomenon and unlike all activities there is no will involved.

You open your eyes you see. Knowing is a peculiar action, as all action requires will except knowing. All the senses involve consciousness, if there is seeing there is form consciousness, hearing there is sound consciousness, for everything there is consciousness.

Even galaxies and black holes are within consciousness and objects of consciousness. Who is the one who is conscious it is ‘I’. ‘It is therefore very obvious that the meaning of the word ‘I’ is nothing but jnanam consciousness, jnaptih. Any conclusion about you is a conclusion based upon what you objectify.’

The verse further defines Brahman as satyam jnanam anantam brahma. You are existence and everything that exists depends upon you to exist, you are all knowledge and all the laws of the universe come from you and you are limitless. Yet, you see yourself as a wanting being inadequate in shape form and content. 

It is an error born of ignorance a mistake for if you are consciousness what separates, a thought from thought consciousness, or an object from object consciousness?

You are evident to yourself you are self- evident and the Sastra tells us that Brahman is self-evident and is Atma!

Essence of Vedanta - Part 29

Dear All,

Please note that from the previous post, instead of completing this theme posts with the theoritical knowledge of BRAHMAN or PURE CONSCIOUSNESS of THAT or GOD as described in our vedanta, we are attempting to link and align all that we have learnt about THAT GOD as Satyam, Jnanam and Anantam in previous posts, with the exact state of a Human being who takes up sadhana sincerely, seriously, as the only God in his life, once the human or the Jiva attains God realization and is freed from bondage of samsara. 

Atleast with these posts where the Upanishad declaration on Brahman is being directly aligned with  the state of a God realized human, we should try to contemplate on each of these posts and atleast visualize and know how it would be, when each one of you / us, actually reach THAT state and experience what ever is described about a Jiva becoming a Jivan mukhta and existing as Satyam / Jnanam and Anantam.

Most subtlest subject, which can only be experienced and can never be expressed, is being expounded through these posts by SAI, through SATHYA. Kindly take these posts seriously and contemplate. This is sathya's reverential request to all of you, with his prostrations at your feet.

Now, we move on to JNANAM .

1)   Self illumined and illumines the creation.

GOD / BRAHMAN

The self / God that has to be realized,  is the light, the knowledge, which illumines itself and illumines various objects in the world, in various states of consciousness. 

What do we mean by this exactly??

Roopam drishyam lochanam drik,

Tad drishyam drik tu maanasam

Drishyaa dhee vrittayah sakshi drigeva na tu drishyathe

(Form is the seen whereas the eye is the seer. The eye is the seen and the mind is the seer. The mind and its modifications are seen and the seer is the Self alone which never becomes the seen or perceived as it is the Subject.)

(Drik Drsya viveka, verse 1)

Vedanta splits the experience of the world into TWO distinct terms.

1. Drik or Seer or Experiencer – this is the Self or the Subject. This is independent, always existing, real.
2. Drishya or Seen or Experienced – these are the Objects that become objects for the Self or Subject. These are all dependent on the Self for their existence and hence are temporary and illusory like snake in rope or water in desert.

The objects that we see in the external world are called sense objects as these become objects to the senses (the senses being the Seer in this case).

1. Gross objects – the level of gross objects (objects are very gross and perceptible to the sense organs).
2. Subtle objects of sense organs – the sense organs are part of the subtle body as these are not seen or perceived as gross objects & are subtle in nature (without form but just performing actions). The external eyes or ears that we see are not the sense organs but these are just the openings through which the light of the sense organs fall on the sense objects.
3. Antah karana or inner instruments – The sense organs are called Bahi Karanam or external instruments as they tend to experience the external objects whereas there are 4 components or parts of the inner instruments that help the sense organs for their activities.
   

Thus these instruments are the illuminer of the sense organs. These four components are split according to their functions. 

First is the MIND or MANAS which is of the nature of doubts, confusions and thoughts. 

Second is the INTELLECT or BUDDHI which is of the nature of determination. 

Third is the MEMORY or CHITTAM which is a store house of all happenings. 

Fourth is the EGO or AHAMKAARA which identifies itself with the body and other things & becomes proud of these. 

A person sees another person coming from far. He thinks whether this is Rama or Krishna. This is Mind working now. 

When he comes nearby, it compares with the picture in his memory (CHITTA) and determines that it is Krishna only. 

This is Intellect determining that it is Krishna only.

Now the person says that Krishna is my friend. This identification of MY FRIEND is the function of the Ego.

Let us summarize our learning below, by drawing a subject – Object relationship summary

  

Conclusion

Consciousness / God / Brahman is SELF ILLUMINED and in turn, through the cosmic intellect, it illumines the entire creation!!

In the next post, We will try, with His grace, to learn how the above nature (less nature) is aligned in the state of a Jiva, upon realizing God, as we have learnt in SATYAM post in the previous day.

Hari Aum Tatsat.