Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 21

 Verse 5

 

 

(Taking to be Reality) their body or even Prana, or senses, or even the ever-changing intellect, or even a void, consider such ideas to be effeminate, childish, blind or idiotic, uttering “Thus I am” in ignorant innocence,

Deluded as they are, they vigorously stick to their words, then follows the play of the power of Maya, which gives rise to terrible misconceptions.

He who removes these delusions at their root, to that “Remover of Delusion”, the Revered Form of Guru, do I offer my salutation, He is the Revered Form of Sri Dakshinamurti)

 

We will take up the first line today

 

(Taking to be Reality) their body or even Prana, or senses, or even the ever-changing intellect, or even a void…

 

The main point in focus in Dakshinamurthy Stotram is Brahman, the Reality. In the first line of this verse, we are shown eight false viewpoints of Brahman. They are contradictory to Vedanta. 

The intention is to provide a suitable reply to strong criticisms of Vedanta by other schools of thought. The class discussion centered largely on evaluating the philosophies of other schools against the Vedantic viewpoint which takes Brahman, the Non-dual Absolute, alone as the Reality and nothing short of it.

In general, any philosophical system is assessed under four basic requirements:

 

 i.          Pramana: the means of obtaining knowledge (this text uses logical inference);

 

  ii.            Tattwa: What is the ultimate Truth or Reality? 

 

iii.            Sadhana: What are the means to reach it? 

 

iv.            Srishti: How is Creation viewed? 

 

In the following discussion we are mainly concerned with Tattwa, that which is the ultimate Truth of each philosophy.

When it comes to the Truth, Sankara insists on pinpointing clearly what it is. He does not compromise on matters of the ultimate Truth. 

Eight schools of thought are discussed below. None of them come up to the ultimate, Non-dual Truth proclaimed by Vedanta. 

We begin by considering them from the grossest view to the closest that reaches Non-Duality.

 

    i.         Deha aham Iti - Body is Self: 

Charvakas 1 - Everything related to the body is considered as being most important. They are “vital statistics”. This is the maximum level of delusion.

 

ii.        Indriyani Aham Iti - Senses are the Self: 

 

Charvakas 2 – The next group take the senses to be the Self. They say without the senses the body is useless. “I love my senses more than the body.”

 

iii.     Prana Aham Iti - Prana is Self: 

 

Charvakas 3 – More subtle than the senses are the Pranas which give life to them, and the whole body. Most people fall into this category of belief. 

 

The life force is worshipped. People go to any extent to ensure a long life. They do anything to look younger. Strength and energy become the deities for this group, as they display power. Breathing exercises are emphasized.

 

iv.      Manas Aham Iti - Mind is Self: 

 

Charvakas 4 – This school says “Mind is me.” When mind is absorbed in work, one feels very happy and contented. This implies that thought is me. There are many thoughts. Which thought is ‘me’?

 

 v.         Buddhi Aham Iti - Intellect is Self: 

 

Kshanika Vijnana Vadins – The intellect is a higher instrument than the mind. The Buddhists or Kshanika Vijnana Vadins believe in this theory. All objects are nothing but thought.

 

vi.      Ignorance is Self: Meemamsakas 

 

There are those who take the Anandamaya Kosha to be their Self. That is where all the happiness is ignorantly observed to reside. Sleep gives us a good taste of this happiness. But at other times, too, as when one is enjoying a sense object, the joy experienced is from the Anandamaya. 

 

vii.    Ignorance with Consciousness is Self: 

Kumarila Bhatta – This school believes that Self is a combination of inertness and sentiency, like a firefly, which has half its body in light and half in darkness. After sleep one feels, “I did not know” (inertness) as well as “I slept well” (sentiency).

 

viii.   Shunyam Aham Iti - Non-existence is Self: 

Shoonya Vadins – Finally, we have Vedanta’s most powerful opponent, the believers of non-existence. Their Reality is a Void. 

The school has its supporters, mainly the Buddhistic section of Shoonya Vadins. There are those who say that Shoonya is just another word for Brahman, for the indefinable Brahman appears to them as a void. They have never known of anything in their experience that resembles the correct definition of Brahman. That simply means that no one among them has realized Brahman!

The Chandhogya Upanishad has a direct counter to their belief. It poses the question, “How can anything be produced out of nothing?”

In Mandukya Karika, Sri Gauda pada has blasted this Shunya vada with a series of verses with astounding logic and clarity.

He asks, when you say, Non-existence is Self or Self is void, if you are yourself in and as void, then who in you is saying that "Self is void"? 

So, the one who says "Self is void" has to be something other than void because, in void, how can he ever say anything?

It is like how Swami rephrases the expression "GOD IS NOWHERE" to GOD IS NOW HERE", because, it is the God / consciousness within which illumines even the expression of the atheist when he yells " GOD IS NOWHERE". Devoid of consciousness, how can he even have the life force in him, the intellect in him to believe or to proclaim that God is non-existent? (Drik Drsya viveka)

These different types of philosophers mentioned above expresses their opinion all the time. The reason behind their marketing about their opinion is that they are deluded. They are confused. Not surprisingly, their opinions are based on their own personal experience. It is based on their own perspective. And almost invariably it is not the full truth.

In the next post, we will move on to the second line of the 5th verse.

 

Love.