After having such a
direct experience, never again shall the realized one return to this ocean of
worldly existence.
To that “Liberated One”,
the Revered Form of the Guru, do I offer my salutation, He is the Revered Form
of Sri Dakshinamurthy.
Na Punah Aavrittih: “Never again returns”. By realizing one’s
unity with God, one is elevated to the Paramarthic Sathya,
the highest or Absolute level of Reality, beyond this transitory world. This is
called transcending worldly life; it means never returning to take birth again
in this relative world. It is Liberation from the bondage to all sorrow. It is
the ultimate spiritual freedom.
This is the emphatic
message of this Pada. There are
hundreds of Shruti passages which speak of this fruit of Vedantic Sadhana.
Hence, we need not elaborate on it.
However, it is interesting
that not all schools of thought aim for such a fruit.
The Karma Kandis aim specifically for a material result for their
actions. They want some material gain. That is their goal and therefore they
perform action.
The Upasakas aim for a place in heaven, but that is also in the realm
of Samsara. They follow the rules of Dharma, earn merit and then spend it in
heavenly pleasure. At the end of it, they have to return to earth to take
another birth.
Vedanta is the only path
where renunciation is the main Sadhana and the goal is to transcend this cycle
of rebirths and coming out of Samsara.
Our thoughts are
known to us because of consciousness. We exist because of
consciousness. Suppose we really understand that this consciousness is the
same consciousness that is the reality of this universe. Then there is no
return for us in this world. There is no rebirth. The concept of
rebirth does not sound so bad.
However, with rebirth,
not just we get to born again and again but we have to die again and
again. Dying once is very difficult. Dying again and again would be extremely
grim.
The knowledge of Brahman
makes us free from suffering in this life. It also liberates us from
rebirth into this vast ocean of suffering. We get the knowledge when our guru
instructs you using the teachings of the Veda.
Guru imparts knowledge
using the mahavakya such as to lead
us to discover the truth which is not remote. The truth that is here and
now, available for the discovery.
The Guru is the one who
makes us recognize the truth. Guru is the one who wakes us up from the
illusion of thinking this world is the ultimate reality.
Swami Krishnananda sums up the state of
Moksha or Liberation or “No return to Samsara” in a beautiful way
“By knowing Him alone one goes to That
which is beyond death. By knowing the Supreme Being, the wise one casts off
both joy and sorrow. They who see Him, the Self-Existent – they, and no others,
have eternal peace. Of him, whose desires are completely satisfied, who is
totally perfected, all desires dissolve themselves here itself.
The liberated one becomes onefold,
threefold, fivefold, sevenfold, ninefold, elevenfold, hundred-and-elevenfold,
twenty thousand-fold! He goes to the other shore of darkness. That state is
ever illumined, it is always day there.
Time, age and death, sorrow, merit and
demerit do not go there. Fearless is the state of the Bliss of Brahman. Even
the gods fear him, even Indra and Prajapati cannot obstruct him – he becomes
the Self-Emperor. The knot of the heart is broken, all doubts are rent asunder,
and all actions perish, when That is seen. Which is the Highest and the
Deepest.
His vital-spirits do not depart, they are
gathered up, here itself. Being Brahman already, he becomes Brahman Itself. He
is the maker of everything, he is the creator of all, the universe is his, he
himself is the universe. This is the supreme treasure.
The freed souls enter into the All, they
enter into Brahman, they are liberated beyond mortal nature. The whole
constitution of individuality becomes unified in the Supreme Imperishable. As
rivers enter the ocean, leaving name and form, so the wise one, liberated from
name and form, reaches the Transcendental Divine Being. Thus, is
Immortality."
On not rerturning to the world after realization or not being aware of the creation after realization, Janaka says,
Where is creation, where
is destruction, where is the end and where is the means? Where is
the seeker and where is the accomplishment for me, abiding in my own non-dual
nature?
Love.
