Atma Bodha - Post 78

Last verse 68

दिग्देशकालाद्यनपेक्ष्य सर्वगं

शीतादिहृन्नित्यसुखं निरंजनम् ।

यः स्वात्मतीर्थं भजते विनिष्क्रियः

स सर्ववित्सर्वगतोऽमृतो भवेत् ॥ ६८॥

Dikdesa Kaalaadi Anapekshya Sarvagam

Seetadi Hrunnitya Sukham Niranjanam

Yassvaatma Teerdham Bhajate Vinishkriyam

Sa Sarvavit Sarva Gato Amruto Bhavet.

[He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.]

The splendid spiritual feast of Atma Bodha is brought to an end here with a verse that is like a dessert after the meal.

In this verse the whole spiritual journey is summed up as follows:

i)    Transcending All Limitations: The breaking down and release from all the Upadhis that limit us to the narrow confines of experience through this body, mind and intellect, and confined also to the limitations of time.

ii)   Overcoming all Pairs of Opposites: represented by heat and cold and so on.

iii)  Bringing the being to a stainless state: (Niranjana); this represents the states of Chitta Shuddhi and Chitta Ekagrata (purity of mind and one-pointedness of mind).

iv) Considering Self as Highest Teertha: This is the culmination of the spiritual quest by taking the Atman to be the highest place of pilgrimage to do one’s worship.

v)   Renunciation of all activities: Activities refer only to the Tamasic and Rajasic activities. Sattwic activities may be continued as per the Prarabdha of the realized sage.

The verse also describes the essence of the destination reached:

i)     One becomes all-knowing;

ii)    One experiences the all-pervading nature of the Self;

iii)  One attains immortality. One is no longer identified with the body, etc, which have a limited existence from birth to death, but is now identified with the eternal Self.

Just like the sun that is ever shining unaffected by the world and its happenings, Atman transcends beyond all limitations and is ever blissful. It is that which is ever present and is verily the substratum of all the illusory creations.

  

Acharya is here explaining that one who renounces all desires and ego and attachments to likes and dislikes of the world and its pleasures and one who is ever established in the reality of Self verily enjoys the eternal bliss and hence becomes Brahman alone.

As the Lord explains in many places in Gita about such a knower as;

ANAPEKSHAH SHUCHIRDAKSHA UDAASIINO GATAVYATHAH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII YO MADBHAKTAH SA ME PRIYAH

He who is free from wants, who is pure, clever, unconcerned, untroubled, renouncing all undertakings, he who is (thus) devoted to Me is dear to Me.

SAMADUHKHASUKHAH SVASTHAH SAMALOSHHTAASHMAKAANCHANAH

TULYAPRIYAAPRIYO DHIIRASTULYANINDAATMASA.NSTUTIH

MAANAAPAMAANAYOSTULYASTULYO MITRAARIPAKSHAYOH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII GUNAATIITAH SA UCHYATE

He to whom pain and pleasure are alike, who dwells in the Self, to whom a cloud of earth and stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the un-dear are alike, who is a man of wisdom, to whom censure and praise are same;

The same in honour and disgrace, the same towards friends and enemies, abandoning all undertakings – he is said to have crossed beyond the gunas.

As the Upanishads proclaim, the knower of Brahman becomes verily the Brahman. One who overcomes the attachments and aversions to the illusory world and realizes the real nature of Self as that of Existence Consciousness Bliss verily becomes bliss and hence becomes immortal i.e. for such a knower, there is no death as Self is ever existence and no sadness as Self is but bliss and no limitations as Self is Consciousness. 

The Kaivalya Upanishad explains the same in various slokas as:

VEDAIRANEKAIRAHAMEVA VEDYO VEDAANTAKRIDVEDAVIDEVA CHAAHAM

NA PUNYAPAAPE MAMA NAASTI NAASHO NA JANMA DEHENDRIYABUDDHIRASTI

I alone am taught in the various Vedas, I am the revealer of the Vedanta or Upanishads, and I am also the Knower of the Vedas. For me there is neither merit nor demerit, I suffer no destruction; I have no birth, nor any self-identity with the body and the organs.

NA BHUUMIRAAPO NA CHA VAHNIRASTI NA CHAANILO ME ASTI NA CHAAMBARAM CHA .

EVAM VIDITVAA PARAMAATMARUUPAM GUHAASHAYAM NISHKALAMADVITIIYAM.H

SAMASTASAAKSHIM SADASADVIHIINAM PRAYAATI SHUDDHAM PARAMAATMARUUPAM.H.

YAH SHATARUUDRIYAMADHIITE SO.AGNIPUUTO BHAVATI SURAAPAANAATPUUTO BHAVATISA

SA BRAHMAHATYAAYAAH PUUTO BHAVATI SA SUVARNASTEYAATPUUTO BHAVATI

SA KRITYAAKR ITYAATPUUTO BHAVATI TASMAADAVIMUKTAMAASHRITO

BHAVATYATYAASHRAMII SARVADAA SAKRIDVAA JAPET

For me there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. Thus realising the Paramatman, who lies in the cavity of the heart, who is without parts, and without a second, the Witness of all, beyond both existence and non-existence – one attains the Pure Paramatman Itself. 

ANENA JNAANAMAAPNOTI SA.NSAARAARNAVANAASHANAM TASMAADEVAM

VIDITVAINAM KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTE KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTA ITI

By means of this, one attains the Knowledge that destroys the ocean of Samsara or repeated transmigration. Therefore, knowing thus one attains the fruit of Kaivalya or liberation, verily one attains liberation.

One who becomes Atma Jnani becomes free of all these chains and limitations imposed by Maya and stay free in his original state of Atma. 

The veil on our wisdom is Ignorance and removal of this ignorance of Self through Atma Jnanam instantly removes the veil and the Atma shines in its pristine purity.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all such limitations.

When our identification with Sareera thrayam falls off – automatically, we are freed from Seetha and Ushna (cold and heat) and other dualities that affect Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all dualities afflicting us through the Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, enjoy Nitya sukham (eternal Aananda) andfreedom from all stains on our mind and body.

May you always be immersed in the holy waters of the Atma theertham and thereby become free from all karma (nish-kriya) and karma phalam.

May you be the Sarva-vid (all - knowing) - meaning total Self knowledge.

May you be Sarva Gathaha, the all pervading (as Atma).

May you be immortal (Amrutha)!

॥ इति शंकराचार्यविरचित आत्मबोधः समाप्तः ॥

ITI SHANKARAACHAARYAVIRACHITA AATMABODHAH SAMAAPTAH...

Thus concludes Atma-Bodha.

Love.

PS- In the next couple of posts, we will recapitulate the flow of Atma Bodha Verses from start till end.