The Jnana derived from the mere hearing of Vedanta cannot be termed Direct Knowledge.
Sravanam
Of
course, by hearing about the Swarupa of the Brahman (which is Sathyam, Jnanam
and Anantham), one may be able to picture it or imagine it; but one has to
actually 'see' the Brahman, the Witness of the Five Sheaths of the individual
(the Annamaya, the Pranamaya, the Manomaya, the Vijnanamaya and the Anandamaya.)
You
may know from the Sastras that he who has four arms and carries the Sankha,
Chakra, Gada and Padma in them is Vishnu; you may even be picturing Him as such
in Dhyana; yet, unless you have actually 'seen' Him by your own vision, the
knowledge gained by the study of iconography can never be equated with
Prathyaksha or Direct Perception.
Since
the Form of Vishnu is considered different and external when understood through
the study of the Sastras, what you really get is indirect inference, not Direct
Experience. Though a person is ignorant of the fact that the Brahman is His own
self (not different or outside), can he not realize Himself as Brahman as soon
as he hears the exposition of a Mahavakya like "Tat Twam Asi"
which reveals that basic Truth? But he does not.
Mananam
He
ruminates over what he has heard with faith and earnestness until he
understands the characteristics of the Atma in an indirect way; then, to bring
that knowledge into the field of actual experience, he takes up the process of
Manana, i.e., revolving it in the Manas or mind.
Anantham
The
Atma is present everywhere and is in everything; it is unaffected; it is omnipresent
like Akasa or Ether; it is even beyond the Akasa; it is the Akasa in the Chit
or the Universal Consciousness; so it is referred to as 'Param' or Beyond; it
is described in the Sruthis as 'Asango-ayam Purushah', "this
Purusha is unattached".
The
Atma is unaffected and untouched by anything; it is beyond everything and
devoid of agitation or activity. You should not doubt whether it is unlimited
or not. It is beyond the three Limitations of Space, Time and Causation.
You
cannot state that the Atma is in one place and not in another. It is not limited
by space. You cannot state that it exists at one time and not at another time.
It is not limited by time. Atma is everything; there is nothing which is not
Atma. Atma is All. So it has no limitation of Vasthu, (thingness), of Name or
Form. Atma is Full and Free; knowing this is the Fullest Jnana, the Highest
Truth.
Sathyam
A
doubt may be raised here: If the Atma is immanent in everything, like the
Akasa, is it not subject to transformation, Vikara, or change? No; existing,
emanating, growing, changing, declining, dying - these are the six
transformations or Vikaras; but the Atma is the universal, eternal witness
cognizing Akasa and the other elements and hence it has no modifications at
all; it is Nir-Vikara.
When
it is said that the Atma is Nir-Vikara, it means some other things have Vikara
or modifications. So the question may be asked, how then can the word,
Advaitha, be used?
Now,
some things have Vikara and some have not. But when there is nothing besides
Atma, it is wrong to speak of a two-fold entity; it is not two; it is one!
There can be no doubt about this; it cannot arise.
Love.
