Atma Bodha - Post 75

Verse 65:

सर्वगं सच्चिदात्मानं ज्ञानचक्षुर्निरीक्षते ।

अज्ञानचक्षुर्नेक्षेत भास्वन्तं भानुमन्धवत् ॥ ६५॥

SARVAGAM SAT CHIT AATMAANAM

GYAANA CHAKSHUR NIRIIKSHATE

AGYAANA CHAKSHUR NEKSHETA

BHAASVANTAM BHAANUM ANDHAVAT

[Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.]

In the previous few slokas we learnt about a realized one, here in this sloka, Acharya is explaining to us about an ignorant one also. The importance of spiritual disciplines is also highlighted by Acharya.

The absolute pure consciousness though all pervading is not perceived by everyone. Only those who have developed the inner eye of the wisdom and who are discriminative enough to reject the illusory world from the real, who are pure and are cleansed by the knowledge alone can apprehend the reality.

The ignorant ones who are deluded by the dualities of the world, and who cannot discriminate the reality from the unreal can never realize the bliss of Self. Lord explains the same in Gita 15th chapter as:

UTKRAAMANTAM STHITAM VAAPI BHUNJAANAM VAA GUNAANVITAM.H.

VIMUUDHAA NAANUPASHYANTI PASHYANTI JNYAANACHAKSHUSHHAH

Him who departs, stays and enjoys, who is conjoined with gunas, the deluded perceive not; they see, who possess the eye of knowledge.

YATANTO YOGINASHCHAINAM PASHYANTYAATMANYAVASTHITAM

YATANTO.APYAKRITAATMAANO NAINAM PASHYANTYACHETASAH

Those who strive, endued with Yoga, perceive Him dwelling in the self; though striving, those of unrefined self, devoid of wisdom, perceive Him not.

Acharya gives an example of a blind man for this. The Sun is ever shining in the day and is so bright that normal people cannot see it with naked eyes, still for a blind man; there is neither light nor the sun i.e. he does not perceive the glowing Sun due to his blindness.

It is the blindness of the person that makes the sun dark to him even though the sun shines ever bright and brilliant. Similarly, the real nature of the all pervading Atman is not perceived by those who are blinded by ignorance.

Jnana Chakshu, or the eyes of wisdom, only is capable of knowing the Sath Chith Aananda Brahman everywhere in the universe.

In Mahabharath, Lord Krishna is known to have displayed his Viswaroopa twice. Once in the Kauravas’ royal Parliament – and a second time, at the start of Mahabharath war.

First time, no one in the Kaurava’s Court Hall could really see his Viswaroopa (which really means seeing him everywhere in the Universe).

Lord Krishna in Gita explains this as:

NAADATTE KASYACHITPAAPAM NA CHAIVA SUKR^ITAM VIBHUH

AGYAANENAAVR^ITAM GYAANAM TENA MUHYANTI JANTAVAH

The Lord takes neither the evil nor even the good deed of any; wisdom is enveloped by un-wisdom; thereby mortals are deluded.

Acharya is here explaining that an ordinary mind turned outward in perception and feeling which is agitated by the thoughts of the sense objects of the world cannot apprehend the reality whereas one who is disciplined and discriminate apprehends the reality.

Referring to the Viswaroopa, second time, Lord Krishna wanted his long time friend and disciple, Arjun to fight the Mahabharath War and annihilate the entire Kaurava Army, as his bounden duty. 

But, Arjun has a hundred doubts on whether it is good or bad, whether it is his duty or not and so on. Lord Krishna teaches him Atma Jnanam in the shape of Bhagavad Gita and also shows him his Viswaroopa. Arjun witnesses the Viswaroopa with Jnana Chakshus given to him by Lord Krishna and prepares for war.

Atma Jnani, as we can see, does not stop doing karma. He goes about it with a new light. Karma phalam does not touch him at all.

Viswaroopa is Bhagavad roopa and also Swaroopa for the Atma Jnani. He sees no difference any more.

Mundaka Upanishad explains this .

NA CHAKSHUSHHAA GRIHYATE NAAPI VAACHAA

NAANYAIRDEVAISTAPASAA KARMANA VAA

JNYAANAPRASAADENA VISHUDDHASATTVA-STATASTU TAM PASHYATE NISHHKALAM DHYAAYAMAANAH

It is not comprehended through the eye, nor through speech, nor through the other senses; nor is It attained through austerity or karma. Since one becomes purified in mind through the favorableness of the intellect, therefore can one see that indivisible Self through meditation.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 74

Verse 64

यद्यद्ब्रह्मणोऽन्यन्न तद्भवेत् ।

तत्त्वज्ञानाच्च तद्ब्रह्म सच्चिदानन्दमद्वयम् ॥ ६४॥

DRISHYATE SHRUUYATE YADYADH

BRAHMANO AYANNA TAD BHAVET.H.

TATTVA GYAANAACHCHA TAD BRAHMA SACHCHIDAANANDAMADVAYAM

[All that is perceived, or heard, is Brahman and nothing else. Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute.]

In the last sloka we learnt that there is nothing apart from Brahman and all the dualities are just like a mirage in a desert. Acharya continues to explain the same in this sloka also.

When all that exists is but Brahman, whatever is heard, seen or perceived through sense organs cannot be anything other than Brahman. One who knows this sees oneness everywhere and the entire universe is known as Brahman alone.

Mahanaraayanopanishad verse 13.5 says this beautifully as:

YACHCHA KIJNCHIJJAGATYASMIN DRISHYATE SHRUUYATE.API VAANTARBAHISHCHA TATSARVA.N VYAAPYA NAARAAYANAH STHITAH

Whatsoever there is in this world known through perception (because of their proximity) or known through report (because of their distance), all that is pervaded by Narayana within and without.

Just as whatever one sees in dream state cannot be other than ones own waking state mind, all the objects cannot be different from the consciousness due to which all the activities of perception, thinking etc are illumined. 

Hence the objects of world which we sense cannot have any existence apart from the consciousness. When all that exists in the body or mind or intellect or in the outer created are realized to be manifestations of Brahman alone, nothing else is seen nor perceived and all the differences dissolve. All that exists is known as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss alone.

As Isha Upanishad explains,

YASMINSARVAANI BHUUTAANYAATMAIVAABHUUDVIJAANATAH .

TATRA KO MOHAH KAH SHOKA EKATVAMANUPASHYATAH

When a man realizes that all beings are but the Self, what delusion is there, what grief, to that perceiver of oneness?

“Brahman is everywhere”.

This is the mantra given by the preceptor, the spiritual doctor, to his disciple.

The First dosage of the above mantra: In verse 63, he tells us that if we do not see Him everywhere, that is a sickness in the disciple.

The Second dosage of the above mantra: Then in verse 64, he comes to check on us if we have taken his mantra. If we really have, that is, if we have gained the knowledge of the Reality, then our sickness should have left us.

We should be seeing everything as Brahman and nothing else. A confident spiritual preceptor knows that the signs of progress lie in how much we recognize God in all beings. He keeps checking that when he gives the dosage. When we can see the Lord in all, we are fully cured of our disease (of ignorance).

Our failure to experience the dictum of this verse “Brahman is everywhere” is brought about wonderfully by Swami Krishnananda ji in one of his talks, thus:-

“………..The existence of things is the highest value of things. The search of the soul for perfection outside is due to the fact that it makes a distinction between the existence of things and the value of things. 

Otherwise, where would be the need for anyone to move towards things that exist if existence itself would be a satisfaction?

We create a distinction between the value of the object and the existence of the object. We are never satisfied with the existence as such of anything. 

A flower may be in the garden. The flower exists in the garden, but we are never satisfied unless it becomes ours. It must be plucked from the plant and brought home, and perhaps it should adorn our head, etc.

The bare minimum of existence does not satisfy us. We are not satisfied even with our own existence, and we are not satisfied with the existence of anyone else. 

There is no satisfaction with the existence of anything. We always want to enhance that existence by adjuncts from an apparent external source, under the impression that the adjunct is something which is other than existence…….”

Thus, taking the flower example (where, the flower represents every possible thing existing in the creation, living and non living), Swami ji reveals wonderfully to us that IN ITS PURE EXISTENCE, EVERY THING IN THIS CREATION IS COMPLETE AND ULTIMATE, EVERYTHING IN THIS CREATION IS PURE KNOWLEDGE BY ITSELF, EVERYTHING IN ITS EXISTENCE IS INFINITE, REALIZING WHICH, A YOGI EXISTS IN AND PURE BLISS.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 73

Verse 63

जगद्विलक्षणं ब्रह्म ब्रह्मणोऽन्यन्न किंचन ।

ब्रह्मान्यद्भाति चेन्मिथ्या यथा मरुमरीचिका ॥ ६३॥

JAGAT VILAKSHANAM BRAHMA

BRAHMANA ANYAT NA KINCHANA.

BRAHMA ANYAT BHAATI CENMITHYAA

YATHAA MARUMARIICHIKAA

[Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman. If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.]

In the previous slokas, Acharya explained that Brahman is the substratum of the entire creation, here in this verse, we learn that the Brahman is ever uncontaminated by the world as the world is illusory and Brahman is ever existent.

Acharya here is explaining that Brahman is that which is different from this word, but it is not to be taken that the world and Brahman exist differently, Difference is pointed out only w.r.t. their existence, i.e. world is unreal and Brahman is real, hence Brahman is different from the illusory world; it is its very substratum.

Hence Acharya immediately follows that whatever exists is but Brahman alone and there is nothing apart from Brahman. Thus the world that is perceived has to be illusory, like a mirage in desert.

The absoluteness of Brahman is explained in shruti is different ways. As Chandogya Upanishad explains this in 6th chapter as:

SADEVA SOMYEDAMAGRA AASIIDEKAMEVAADVITIIYAM.H

TADDHAIKA  AAHURASADEVEDAMAGRA AASIIDEKAMEVAADVITIIYAM

TASMAADASATAH SAJJAAYATA

‘In the beginning, dear boy, this was Being alone, one only, without a second. Some say that, in the beginning, this was Non-being alone, one only, without a second. From that Non-being arose Being.’

Brihadaranyaka Upaniahad also explains this in 4.3.23 as:

YAD VAI TAN NA PAŚYATI, PAŚYAN VAI TAN NA PAŚYATI  NA HI DRA..UR D...ER VIPARILOPO

VIDYATE, AVIN.ŚITV.T; NA TU TAD DVITIYAM ASTI, TATO’NYAD VIBHAKTAM YAT PAŚYET.

That it does not see in that state is because, though seeing then, it does not see; for the vision of the witness can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can see.

Marumrichika- The Mirage simile

In the mirage which appears while one walks in a desert on a hot day, actually only desert exists. The ignorant sees the water pools in a desert, known as the mirage.

Once a deluded mind has seen the mirage, it can multiply its mis apprehension and see the mirage having the waves and even the sun reflecting on the water surface and so on.

The mirage is different from the desert and yet, without the desert, the mirage cannot exist. And the mirage water cannot wet even an iota of the desert land.

Just as how the waters of mirage do not wet the sands of desert, similarly, the world of duality consisting of various names and forms can never affect or change the absolute consciousness.

It is only the ignorant who mistake the water and assume it to really exist while the wise ones know only the substratum as real and all the duality as only an illusion. A deluded mind alone sees the waters in a desert and apprehends them to be real, similarly it is only due to the ignorance that one sees the duality in the ever existent Self.

Let us recapitulate the simile once again.

Ø The desert is sand, and the mirage is water.

Ø We know that in a desert there is nothing but sand alone.

Ø If you see anything else in a desert besides sand, it has to be false, it simply cannot be true.

Now let us apply this lovely simile to the desert of the Vedantic world:

Ø The desert sands stand for Brahman. The world of objects is the mirage that appears as ‘water’.

Ø The preceptor tells us that Brahman alone is real. Nothing else is real. This is exactly the case with the desert sands.

  

Ø  If we see the ‘water’ of worldliness then that can only mean one thing. We have accepted as real something which is unreal, which only appears to be real.

 

Acharya Sankara has chosen this simile and explained in a way that this revelation can never be argued / can never be unaccepted by any school of thought. Glory to Sankara!

This is what Vedanta says about this world of names and forms. It does not say that they do not exist, but it says that their existence is temporary, until knowledge dawns and then it is seen clearly that Brahman alone exists.

Thus all duality perceived has to be known as an illusion alone. This sloka can be beautifully summarized by Acharya Gaudapada’s Mandukaya Karaika’s sloka 1.17 as:

PRAPAJNCHO YADI VIDYETA NIVARTETA NA SA.NSHAYAH

MAAYAAMAATRAMIDAM DVAITAMADVAITAM PARAMAARTHATAH

If a phenomenal world were to exist, it should, no doubt, cease to be. This duality is but an illusion; in reality it is non-dual.

Love.