Vivekachudamani- Post 60

Who else but oneself can help rid oneself of the bondage caused by  the chains of ignorance, desire, action and so on, even in a hundred crore of kalpas? (60)

The bondage felt by the mortal is caused by the ignorance of his  own real nature. This ignorance of his own all fullness in his  spiritual personality creates in his intellect, waves of desires with  which he expects to make himself full. Desires create thought  waves in his mind, and thoughts express themselves as action. 

These three - ignorance, desire and action - are together called  in Vedanta sastra as the "heart knots' (hrdaya granthi). These are  the cords that bind the ego (jiva) to the finitude and sorrows of a  mortal. 

What is avidya? ignorance; ignorance of what? In vedantic context, ignorance means ignorance of my own real nature. Ātma avidya ityarthaḥ;

And what is the next strand? kama, which is the consequence. How does avidya cause kama? Kama means desire; so my real nature is purnatvam; fullness. And if I am ignorant of my fullness; I am going to mistake myself as incomplete.

And once I have concluded that I am incomplete, then what happens? I have to struggle to make myself complete.

And this struggle for completion is called kamah; and the kama leads to varieties of karma;

In this enumeration of ignorance, desire and action when  Sankara adds 'and the like' he means, the residual impressions  (vasanas) that are left on the mind when a desire prompted activity  is consciously undertaken. These vasanas thicken the ignorance  by darkening desires, agitating thoughts and propelling us into a world of frenzied activity. 

The Acharya, naturally asks, who can save a man from the  chaos in his mind and intellect which is responsible for his rabid activities in the world of objects and his painful confusions in his  relationships with his fellow beings? The answer is contained in  the question itself; none but he himself. 

Guru also can give assistance by teaching. Sastra also can assist the guru kripa can help; sastra kripa can also help; even Isvara kripa can only give assistance; but none of them can replace our Will or effort and therefore our freewill has to be appropriately used.

Sankara  asks; Atmanam vina kaha bandam vimochitum saknuyad. Who can remove the bondage? So who can throw away the bondage; remove the shackles; atmana vina; other than oneself. 

Even God cannot remove my bondage, guru cannot remove my bondage, sastra cannot remove one’s  bondage, if one  try to removes; if one works for the removal, they can all assist him.

The term 'kalpa' is used to indicate the entire duration of one  universe from its day of creation to the day of doom. It has been calculated that the life of the universe is one day of the Creator  which is equivalent to 432 million years, in terms of calculation of time, possible with our finite and limited time.

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 59

The actuality of things is to be known by a first-hand personal experience through the eye of clear understanding and not through the  report of learned men. The beauty of the moon is enjoyed through one's own eyes; can one appreciate it through the description by others? 

Sankara reinforces the idea in the above three examples with yet  another verse, hammering, as it were, the last nail on the coffin  of our doubts. 

The beauty, the brilliance, the soft glory, the queenly  dignity, the serene consolation, the message of love and leisure, of peace and quietude, which the moon sheds as it glides across  the springtime skies cannot, indeed, be captured in words but they  are experiences to be enjoyed subjectively only. 

The vision of its  majesty is to be perceived by one's own eyes and experienced in  satisfying suggestive silence. A blind man cannot enjoy the love  messages of a moonlit night. 

When the Self rises in the dark bosom of our ignorance and glides across the horizon of our experiences, that experience  cannot be described fully by us to another, even though he may  have experienced it himself. Each must experience it for himself, in himself. This analogy of moonrise is indeed the most poetic and by far the most appropriate example to indicate the soft silvery light  of knowledge that illumines, with its sublime peace and perfection,  the dark atmosphere in the bosom of the ignorant.

vasthu svarupam, vasthu means reality. The ultimate truth is called vasthu. So in Samskrit the word vasthu has got two meanings; one meaning is any object in the world is called vasthu.

But in the context of vedanta; the word vasthu has a specific meaning and this is paramarthika satyam; the absolute reality. And the corresponding opposite avasthu means mithya or unreal.

It is derived from the word  “vas”, to exist. 

vasathi; asthi, sarvadha asthi ithi vasthu; that which exists eternally. That which is unnegatable is called vasthu; in short satyam. So vasthu svarupam means the nature of reality 

svenaiva vedyam has to be known by oneself. The nature of reality has to be known by oneself through what means? 

Sputa bodhacaksusa; through the eyes of clear understanding; through the eyes of clear understanding; bodhah means jnanam, sputa bodhaḥ means clear jnanam, caksusa means eye; jnana caksusa  vedyam.

Many people think that there is a physical eye in the forehead and they try to open it; some people call it ajna chakram; and even ajna chakram is symbolic; there is no such thing called a physical or subtle eye; if at all you call it subtle eye it should be understood as antha karanam. 

Swami Sivananda writes on Grace (of Guru) and Self Effort.

“

Realization cannot come to you as a miracle done by your Guru.  Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, Rama Tirtha have all done Sadhana. Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to develop Vairagya (dispassion) and Abhyasa (practice). 

He did not say to him, “I will give you Mukti(liberation) now”. Therefore, abandon the wrong notion that your Guru will give you Samadhi and Mukti. Strive, purify, meditate, and realize.

Guru-kripa-grace of a Guru-is very necessary. That does not mean that the disciple should sit idle. He must do rigid Purushartha, spiritual practices. The whole work must be done by the student. 

The Guru and the Shastras can show you the path and remove your doubts. Anubhava (direct experience) of the Aparoksha kind or direct intuitive knowledge is left for your own experience. A hungry man will have to eat for himself. He who has a severe itching will have to scratch for himself.

No doubt, the Guru’s blessing can do everything. But how can one have his blessings? By pleasing the Guru. A Guru can be pleased with his disciple only if the latter carries out his spiritual instructions implicitly. 

Carefully follow, therefore the instructions of the Guru. Act up to his instructions. Then only will you deserve his blessings, and then alone his blessings can do everything.”

Love

vivekachudamani-Post 58

51. A father has his sons and others to save him from his financial debts , but to redeem himself from his delusions , he has to resort to  none but himself.

52. Exhaustion and fatigue caused by carrying a load on the head can be  relieved by others coming to one's help. But none , save one's own self  can end the pangs caused by hunger and so on. 

53. The patient who faithfully follows the right diet and takes the proper  medicine alone is perceived to recover from his illness; no one recovers  because another undergoes the treatment. 

Since Chinmaya has dealt with the three verses together, the previous verse is also referred here again, though there was a detailed commentary on the same in the previous post.

Chinmaya writes,

“In these three verses, the Master is trying to drive home the  importance of self effort upon the student. Any amount of hearing, study, intellectual thinking and logical discussion cannot by themselves bring about Liberation from our misconceptions and  false evaluations in life. 

In order to impress this idea upon the student, the Teacher  gives three verses with three different examples. These homely analogies which fall within the experience of everyone are given  to remove any possible misunderstanding of the student regarding  the technique of Self-realization. 

All the objective sciences in the world can be mastered by merely studying them. The man who studies the law of the country  with all its implications can become a lawyer; he who studies the  symptoms of diseases and their cures can become a doctor. 

An advocate of criminal law need not be a criminal himself, a doctor  need not himself be a patient to know the science of medicine. 

But Atma-vidya is gained only when it has brought about a  complete regeneration of the individual who studies it. After gaining the objective knowledge there must also be a subjective achievement. 

Let us see the 3rd verse quoted in today's post, verse no 53.

The Teacher, not satisfied with these two striking examples, adds yet another verse to drive home to the student the necessity  for conscious personal effort. He says, 'Only those patients are cured of their ailments who faithfully follow the prescribed diet and take the right medicines themselves.' 

To come back to your natural healthy condition; which means removal of the unnatural condition; your sadhana is two-fold. What are the two sadhanas? 

Medicine taking is the main one to cure the disease, but as important as medicine is the pathyam (this a Tamil word) which means the discipline/diet we must observe, the Do’s and Don’ts we have to follow. 

Without pathyam , medicine is useless and there is another person who observes all the pathyam, but he does not take medicine. Then also it will not work. Therefore which is important if somebody asks, I should answer both are equally important. Both are equally important.

For getting moksha  also, two things are there; pathyam and oushada seva. 

Medicine in the context of Sadhana

Vedanta Sravaṇa Manana Nidhidhyasana, is the medicine. Without the study of scriptures moksha is never possible; whether the scriptural study is for long time or short time; that all depends upon the condition of sickness. 

But at the same time, sastra warns that any amount of  sravaṇa manana nidhidhyasanam you may do, it will not give you any benefit, unless you follow the pathyam also. Without the pathyam, all your study will make you a wonderful scholar. 

Pathyam in the context of Sadhana

Sadhana chatuṣṭaya sampatti is the pathyam.

What is the level of viveka? What is the level of vairagya? What is the level of sama, dama, uparama, titiksha  and finally and most importantly what is the level of mumukshatva?

It is observed by the author that even after decades of sadhana, few sadhakas are  unable to get closer to Self Realization. 

The problem is in their pathyam- Sadhana chatushtaya

Somewhere they are lacking in viveka or vairagya. Without viveka, vairagya, mumumkshatva is impossible and without 100% tivra Mumukshatva, even after 10/20 years of sadhana, one can be pulled by Samasara, by the objective world, by relations, by attachment and the sadhaka is pulled down to zero level in their sadhana/ in their purpose of God realization.

Coming back to the three examples, Sankara  has chosen such examples, that we are not acquiring anything new. We are only removing something. So therefore, hunger and thirst problem he has given. Here also our aim is what? removing the hunger and thirst and upon their removal,  health is the natural condition of a person. We never acquire health. 

Similarly, samsara   is unnatural; or struggle is only to remove the unnatural samsara and once the unnatural samsara  is removed; liberation is not acquired; you come back to your natural state of liberation.

In short, each one of us must walk the path by himself but properly guided by the instruction of the Teacher and the scriptures. 

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 57

 

A father has got his sons and others to free him from his debts, but he has got none but himself to remove his bondage. (51)

Every human being has to fulfil the four purusharthas, dharma, artha, kama and moksha. So this is the duty; in fact, the intrinsic urge of every human being. 

So artha and kama is the fulfilment of the needs of the lower personality. Just to have physical security and also physical pleasure or entertainment, every human being needs from the level of one personality.

And if a person grows higher, a little bit more; he no more happy with the near fulfilllment; he feels that he has to do something to the society, something to the other people, the need for fulfilllment of certain values. 

These are all higher needs of an individual; they call need for self-esteem. I want to be a dharmic person; I want to tell the people that I have given so much money for the institution; these are the needs of the higher ego. The lower ego needs artha kama; the higher ego needs dharma. Everybody wants to present himself or herself as dharmic person.

And then still when you go to higher ego; there is the spiritual need which is called need for mōkṣa. They call it hierarchy of need. First security; then entertainment; then self-esteem; then self-actualisation; in our language, artha, kāma, dharma and moksha. Mokṣa is also a need in the sense that mōkṣa indicates the highest growth that a human being can achieve.

And this is also a need, because if you study any being in the creation, even a plant or animal, you find one thing common to all and what is that; everything is growing, growing. 

A plant. You need not request a plant to grow; it is natural urge to grow. And if there is any obstruction like ceiling or something, if you keep the plant inside the house, it will go through the window and grow. 

An animal also wants to grow. How much? maximum as much as it can grow. Therefore, growth is not something which you choose but growth is something which is intrinsically thought by all beings; it is a natural urge. But the only difference between animals and human beings is, in the case of animals, the growth is only physical.

But in the case of human being, the growth is not only physical but also emotional. By emotional growth I mean the capacity to love, care etc. for all the entire humanity. Love for all. Similarly, intellectual growth, i.e. knowing about everything. 

That is why science cannot remain quiet because they want to know what is star. they want to know; ‘they’ means what? the entire humanity wants to know. Knowledge wise growth and spiritual growth. All these are the innate urge of every human being. And moksha represents the highest growth possible; that is purnatvam; the infinitude.

Dharma Artha kama needs can be fulfilled by ourselves and we can fulfill these needs helped by other people also. I can fulfill by myself or even if I do not have time or capacity to fulfill; the other people can fulfill my needs.

For example, any ritual can be taken up by son, if father is aged and is not able to sit and perform the ritual. Within the family, one can earn and feed the other.

Whereas when the question of moksa comes, there is difference. What is that? For the sake of the father, son cannot say I will get knowledge on behalf of you. When son gets knowledge, who will get moksha?; son will get moksha, father is not going to get moksha; and son cannot even hand over.

Therefore Sankara says your moksha need you alone have to fulfil; therefore never give a complaint, I have no time; do not say; you have to fulfil dharma artha kama; you have to do your duties due to your family. Your children; your wife; your husband. But never say I do not have time for moksha;

As they say, seven people can take a horse to the water front; but the horse alone has to drink. Similarly, children may be ready to provide all the conditions for knowledge, but the father alone has gain it; nobody else can do. 

Therefore, Sankara says: bandamocanakarta; a person who releases one from bondage is svyam eva; oneself only; tasmat anyah kascana nasti; other than oneself nobody else can do that. And when we say nobody else can do; it includes even Bhagavan.

Even Bhagavan cannot give us mōkṣa. moksha is my very nature. God  can give the condition for discovering this fact. 

Easvara anugraha is manuṣyatvam; mumukṣutvam; and maha puruṣaḥ samsrayaḥ; moksha  is purely the  effort of the mumukshu sadhaka.

And therefore, you have to work for that. And whoever is working has to be congratulated. 

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 56

The Guru replied , "Blessed you are. For you wish to attain the absolute Brahman by freeing yourself from the bondage of ignorance. Indeed , you have fulfilled your life and have glorified your clan." 

The Teacher's face now beams with a smile of satisfaction and soon, words expressing his joy, at meeting such a perfect student, flow out of him. The very fact that the boy has decided that he wants to be free from all his weaknesses, that he wishes to walk out into the boundless fields of perfection, has made him blessed. 

There are a few people for whom God realization has become the only pursuit of life; such are rare ones; and here the student happens to be one; who has dropped everything and who has come to find an answer to the question. And therefore the teacher says: dhanyaḥ asi; you are indeed the fortunate one; blessed one.

kr̥ takr̥ tyaḥ asi. In fact you are a fulfilled one. Liberated one. In fact this statement is not really true, because the student has come for liberation; how can the teacher even before the teaching, saying that you are liberated. 

In ordinary life too, we use expression such as 'baking the bread', when we know that bread need not be baked. In such cases,  we generally use the immediate future fulfilment to indicate the  present activity. 

Similarly, the enquiry into life and its relationship  with its cause, with a burning desire to live and accomplish the  ultimate perfection in one's own self, is the present activity which  will, in a short time, end in the final consummation of the purpose  of life. Therefore, the Teacher in anticipation declares that the boy  has fulfilled the purpose of his life. 

Here the idea is you have got a serious desire to remove this and you have come to the right place and therefore liberation is guaranteed.

Te kulam tvaya pavitam; you have sanctified your family by being born in that family. In the scriptures, it is said that if a liberated person is there in a family, it will bless not only the liberated person, it will bless seven generations, it is said. Not only the immediate family, but previous generations, previous generations; in fact the impact of a jñāni is so penetrating; and therefore you have sanctified your family.

Brahmi bhavitham icchahthi To release ourselves from the shackles of ignorance is not  merely to have knowledge but, transcending the ignorance- created projection of the body, mind and intellect, it is to live and experience Reality in Itself. Therefore, the Teacher says, "You wish  to attain brahmanhood, that is, godhood." 

yad avidya banda-muktya. So you are struggling to release or give up the bondage caused by ignorance. And by removing the ignorance, you are desiring to become become Brahman. 

Brahman means the infinite. Because Moksha is defined as Brahma bhavah. And that is why we say moksha does not come under selfishness because when we look at the pursuit of a person, that he withdraws from the society, withdraws from the family and goes to what you call serious pursuit of moksha, it looks as though she is utterly selfish. 

But the pursuit of moksha is the expansion of the I from identifying with one's family or one's society or community; through moksha he is expanding the I to identify with the entire cosmos.

Love

Vivekachudamani- Post 55

What is bondage? How has it come? How does it continue to exist?  How can one get out of it completely? What is the not-Self? Who is the supreme Self? And what is the process of discrimination between these  two (Self and not-Self)? Please explain all these to me. (49)

This is series of seven questions which the student asks the  Teacher, who will now take them up one by one and answer them exhaustively. 

1) Ko nama bandaḥ; what is the bondage that is talked about in all philosophical literatures? This word bandaḥ is used in all Indian philosophical literature and this refers to spiritual bondage, which is otherwise known as saṁsāra.

2) kathameṣa agataḥ; how did this bondage come; what is the cause of bondage; 

3) kathaṁ asya pratiṣṭaḥ; how does this bondage continue to survive? how does this bondage continue? pratiṣṭaḥ means what? Continuation; permanence; persistence; how does it persist; that is another better word; because you find in the creation anything that we experience goes away by itself in course of time; anything you see wears out in course of time but this saṁsāra bondage is such a unique thing, that it does not have a natural death; every other thing including stars have a natural death.

4) katham vimōkṣaḥ; how can we free ourselves or give up this persistent saṁsāra; that which does not have a natural death? Therefore we will have to specifically work for getting rid of this saṁsāra.

Just as rivers ultimately merge into oceans, you will also ultimately merge into Brahman, God; but that can create a misconception; that mōkṣa is a natural process. Here we say No; it is never natural; it requires our effort; our initiative; our hard work; and how can we do that? katham vimōkṣaḥ; how is freedom from bondage acquired or how is this shackle broken? This is the fourth question.

5) kaha asaui anātma; what is anātma? That is a technical word; if you translate into English it only means not-self. Ātma means self; ‘a’ means not; anātma means non-self; what do you mean by non-self. 

6) paramaḥ ka atma. What is meant by paramatma? paramatma means the real self; the true self; the supreme Self. Why we have to say the real self?

7) tayōrvivēkaḥ katham; how can one discriminate between; or differentiate; how can one differentiate ātma and anātma.

The student wants to know what is this individual personality and how do you dissect the individual personality and find out the what is the genuine-I and what is the non-genuine-I. Katham. How to do that?

In all the previous verses,  the Teacher spoke in terms of 'bondages', 'Liberation', 'not-Self',  'supreme Self', and the 'discrimination between the Self and the  not-Self', till now these terms were freely used but the student is  not satisfied with a mere understanding of the theories of Vedanta. 

He wants to live them in life. So he is now pointedly asking him to explain more clearly. Naturally, the Teacher catches the  enthusiasm of the student in getting clear answers to all his questions and and we shall see how beautifully he warms up to  the discussion.

Love

Vivekachudamani- Post 54

The sishya said , "Kindly listen , O Master! to the questions that I now  raise. Hearing their answer from your lips , I shall feel entirely satisfied."  (48)

The entire Vivekacudamani has, by now, changed from being a  textbook into an outstanding poem, a literary masterpiece because,  while writing this great work, Sankara often excels the philosopher  in him and becomes a poet to splash the entire power with brilliant  colors of pure literary genius. 

He has a special niche in  the 'poet's corner' and will perhaps be remembered as the noblest  poet who ever wielded a pen to bring about a cultural revival. 

Questions of the Disciple 

The very conversational style of this verse relieves the  monotony of the philosophy and brings into its arid fields the  touch of the human hearts and the thrills of a warm, pulsating  life. Here, an ignorant student reaches a seer, who is the fountain of knowledge and through a process of discussion, tries to attune  himself to his Teacher for walking out of dark ignorance into the  Master's brilliant domain. 

He says: Hey Svamin, Oh Lord, the Sishya is no more looking at the guru as even a person; he has raised the guru to the status of Bhagavan; therefore he is addressing Hey Svamin;

Moksha gita starts with the sishya addressing his Guru thus:-

The disciple said: O Merciful Master! I bow to thee. I have fallen into the dreadful ocean of birth and death. I am afflicted with the three kinds of Taapas. Save me, O Lord. Teach me, how I should cross this ocean of Samsara. 

 Oh Lord; ayam prasna maya criyate; a group of  questions is presented by me to you.

And for what purpose I am giving the question? You should not just give me prasādam and send me away. Questions are for answers. Therefore, he says yat uttaram aham srutva; I would like to get answers to these basic questions. 

So yat uttaram prasnanam uttaram; sapta prasnanam uttaram aham srutva; I would like to hear. In fact, the entire Vedanta  sastra is sapta prasna uttaram only. 

And I want to listen from whom? Bhavan mukhat. So do not say that the reply is in that book; go and read, do not say go to this person and that person; do not send me away; bhavan mukhat srutva; I want to hear from you only. 

And by listening to the answers, aham kr̥tarthaḥ syam.  kr̥tarthah means fortunate, blessed, fulfilled; that is best translation; fulfilled I will become.

kritaarta means moksha purushartah prapti. Philosophical fulfilment, which includes intellectual fulfillment, which includes emotional fulfilment, which includes even physical fulfillment. 

Rare are such disciple existing in present day world, sincerely treating their Guru (Essence ) as Swamin/ Lord, wanting/craving for getting all their spiritual  doubts clarified  only from their Guru- Bhavan Mukhat Srutva. 

Such verses elevate a sincere Spiritual aspirant to an inexplicable level. 

Love