Verse 34
निर्गुणो निष्क्रियो नित्यो निर्विकल्पो निरंजनः ।
निर्विकारो निराकारो नित्यमुक्तोऽस्मि निर्मलः ॥ ३४॥
NIRGUNAH, NISHKRIYAH, NITYAH,
NIRVIKALPAH, NIRANJANAH
NIRVIKAARAH, NIRAAKAARAH
NITYA-MUKTAH ASMI NIRMALAH
[Without attributes, without actions, eternal, without any desire
(thought), without any impurity, without any change, without form, ever
liberated, and ever Pure I am.]
Here we come to the final phase of the
discussion, which is Nididhyasana or meditation on the divine qualities of the
Self. Up to now we were focusing on NEGATION (“Neti-Neti”). Now the time has
come to focus on positive ASSERTION.
The divinity of the Spirit is asserted in
Nididhyasana. Nididhyasana is where we bring the whole process to its glorious
end, where we reap the full benefits of all the laborious efforts of earlier
Sadhana. There is actually nothing to discuss.
The spirit of these verses is purely to
assist us in the meditation Sadhana. No Need for “Why” & “How” Now To bring
in why and how at this stage will sully the experience of Truth.
Most important to derive the full benefit of
these verses is to know that at this stage we are not interested in the ‘why’
and the ‘how’ anymore. All the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ have been dealt with in
the previous stages.
We have passed that stage already and come to
the last phase which requires us to hold our focus steady and imbibe the
richness of the Self-experience. We must feel the full flow of these qualities
throughout our system, body and mind.
A monk said, “We do not need the
speed-breakers of ‘why’ and ‘how’ to arrest the smooth flow of these qualities
into our bloodstream.” What a beautiful illustration of the state of meditative
ecstasy! Surely, that can only come from one who is himself immersed in such a
state of bliss.
Nine qualities of the Self are listed in this
verse.
Nirguna – without
attributes
Nishkriya – without actions
Nitya
– eternal
Nirvikalpa – without any desire and
thought
Niranjana – without any dirt
(impurity)
Nirvikara – without any change
Nirakara. – without form
Nityamukta – ever free or liberated
Nirmala – without
impurity; ever pure
And all these qualities / lakshanas are given
by Sankara for “Asmi”, the expression in the 4th line of the
verse.
Asmi: Who is the one described here? It is I – asmi.
I am these. This is the crux of this Meditation effort. I meditate on these as
My own self.
I must spend as much time as
necessary so that my nature sinks into me fully, totally and absolutely, as
described in the verse. This is another extraordinary session
of Nidhidhyasanam. I need to achieve total self knowledge as total
identification with the self.
What a line-up! – An awesome, invincible team
indeed! We experience our deepest Self as these beautiful qualities. It is such
an experience that makes the spiritual quest so intensely rewarding and
worthwhile. It is for a glimpse of these qualities that Yogis and sages make
huge sacrifices in their personal lives.
Do they not now richly deserve to reap the
harvest of all their hard work?
An Indirect Simile: “Ni” – the Highest Note
in Music. All nine words for the nine qualities of the Self begin with the
prefix ‘Ni’.
The seventh and highest note of a music
octave is Ni,
in Indian music.
Is it significant here that in talking about
the qualities of God, the name of this note is in all of them?
A classical musician, when he gets to the
highest note,
tries to hold it for as long as he can. Is it significant
then that when the spiritual seeker scales the heights of spirituality, he
tries to maintain that state for as long as he can? – Perhaps forever!
Aho…. Aho……..
Love
