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

Vivekachudamani- Post 53

It is indeed, through contact with ignorance that you, who are the  supreme Self, experience yourself to be under the bondage of the not- Self From this misunderstanding alone proceed the worlds of births and deaths. All the effects of ignorance, root and branch, are burnt down by the blaze of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two - the Self and the not-Self  (Verse 47)

Ajnana yogat tava paramatmanaḥ; so you are really the paramatma; the consciousness; you are really the consciousness, not the body. It isnot you have consciousness, it is not you have consciousness, but according to Vēdānta, you are Conciousness. It is an independent entity.

And now what has happened. Anatma bandaḥ; whereas now you are tied down to the body; the matter; now you are tied down to the matter;

What causes us, the supreme Self that we really are, to suffer these  bondages, and what exactly is that, which compels us thereafter to  struggle hard to regain our true divine glory through the delicate  process of Self-rediscovery is explained here. 

Just as a ghost vision is possible on a wayside post when  there is ignorance of the post, so too, it is the ignorance of the  Self in us that gives birth to the 'thought flow' called the 'mind'. 

The pure Consciousness or Life gets reflected in the pool  of thoughts and in our preoccupation with our mental life we  take ourselves to be this egocentric (jiva), which is nothing but  life conditioned by our own thoughts in a given pattern of time  and place. 

Anatma bandaḥ means deha abhimanah; And what is the cause of this deha abhimanah?

ajnana yogath; purely because or ignorance. 

Purely because of ignorance; and when did ignorance come; it has been there right from birth; in fact, even as I am born, I find that I am born ignorant. 

The sorrows of life, the limitations of the equipment, the  imperfections of the world, the concept of likes and dislikes, the  pulls of pleasures and pains, the shattering concepts of merit and  sin - all these are effected by this ego. 

The ego ends upon its own funeral pyre lit by itself, which  blazes into a conflagration of knowledge. The fire arising from  a constant discrimination between the Real and the unreal,  between the Self and the not-Self, between the Spirit and  matter, is fanned into a blazing brilliance through steady vichara in  which all the effects of ignorance are burnt down. When ego ends,  we realise our real nature to be intrinsically divine, eternally free  and absolute Bliss. This is immortality. 

Sastra alone presents consciousness as a separate entity and by the study of that sastra, vivrkaḥ means discrimination between; tayorho; between atma and anatmanoho; matter and consciousness.

And it will produce what? bodhahvanni; it will be produce the fire of knowledge. So by the friction of enquiry, the fire of knowledge is produced; and why is the knowledge compared to fire; because ajñāna karyam pradahet samulam; this fire of knowledge will burn down; what?

ajnana karyam; ajnanam as well as its karyam; what ajnanam?; that I am Consciousness the separate entity is not known.

And what is its consequence? Since I do not know that I am consciousness, I take myself as matter; that matter-identification is karyam; ignorance is karanam; identification is karyam; So, the fire of knowledge will destroy the effect along with the causal ignorance; it will destroy the effect along with the causal ignorance. 

Where there is light, darkness cannot be; where knowledge  has come to rule, ignorance must quit. Where the cause has been  eliminated, the effect cannot remain. Where ignorance has ended,  all its effects - the five kosas constituting the three bodies, the  three planes of consciousness, the realms of pains made up of sense  objects, feelings and ideas - must end instantaneously, totally.

Love

Vivekachudamani - Post 52

Faith, devotion and the practice of meditation these are mentioned in the songs of Sruti as the chief factors that help a seeker to attain Liberation.  Whoever pursues these is liberated from the bondage of the body which is a projection mysteriously accomplished by his spiritual ignorance. 

The technique of vichara has been exhaustively analyzed and insisted upon. The power to do vichara is the very fuel which helps the spiritual vehicle to maintain its motion and what constitutes  vichara has also been explained. Here we are told of the practices we must follow, strictly and sincerely, so that our capacity to do vichara  may be increased and the vicara itself be rendered most efficient. 

In Kaivalya Upanishad, the student Asvalayana approaches the teacher Brahma and asks for this knowledge. And there Brahmāji straightaway starts his teaching by saying Sraddhaḥ bhakthi dhyana yogadavaih. 

That Sraddha bhakthi dhyana yoga of Kaivalya Upaṇiṣad, Sankara quotes here; that these three are the means of knowledge. 

Kaivalya upanishad says these three are the means of liberation; for whom? mumukshoh; for a seeker of liberation.

Sraddha yoga refers to Sravanam; and why is Sravanam called Sraddha yoga?; because Sravanam requires faith in guru and Sastra. Without faith in the scriptures; without faith in the guru; a person cannot come to a teacher for learning. Therefore, Sravanam should be supported by Sraddhah.

Next is Bhakti Yogah. In the context of this verse, we must not identify bhakti with  the meaning which we, in our ignorance, have  given it. It is to be rightly understood as our identification with  our concept of our Ideal. 

Suppose I have got reverence to the scriptures; what will be my approach? I would never say scriptures are irrational; unscientific or illogical; I say that I have not grasped its essence properly. The problem does not lie in the scriptures, the problem lies in my attitude and therefore what do I do; again enquire and again the same problem; again enquire; how long; until I understand it properly and when I understand properly; it will not be irrational at all; it will not be illogical at all; until then I have to continue. 

This reverential attitude of questioning my understanding rather than scriptural validity is called pramaṇika buddhi. Acceptance of the validity of scriptures. This is the Bhakti referred in this verse.

When thus we are truly aided by faith and devotion, we are  able to meditate properly and through meditation, we come to  realise our true nature. 

And then comes the last one; dhyana yogah; which is known as nidhidhyasanam; Sraddhah yōgaḥ is equal to śravaṇam; bhakthi yogaḥ is equal to mananam in this context and dhyana yogaḥ means nidhidhyāsanam.

So therefore, these three-fold jnana yogah, Kaivalya upanishad presents as a means of moksha. 

Moksha is from what; avidya kalpita deha bandhat; freedom from physical bondages or limitations and how have we got these shackles?

Because purely projected by ignorance, because purely projected by ignorance; that means I am a physical entity; as long as I am identified with physical body. 

I have to  understand that the physical limitations belongs to physical body, I am not limited by the physical body. How do you prove; in dream, when I am no more identified with the body; I no longer feel physical limitation. 

In sleep I am not identified with the body, I am a conscious entity, without feeling any physical limitation. Therefore physical limitations are incidentally felt; in jagrat and svapna, and they are dropped in sushupti. Whatever is incidental is not my intrinsic nature. 

Love

Vievkachudamani- Post 51

 

The highest Knowledge arises from the sincere contemplation upon the meaning of the Upanishad mantras. By this Knowledge, immediately a total  annihilation of all sorrows born of the 'perception of change' takes place. 

The previous verse assured us of a sovereign means by which we  could cross over the world of our finite experiences. Now we are given  a definition in the form of a clear declaration of what exactly that is. 

Constant vichara upon the meaning of Truth of Vedanta leads  one to true Knowledge. 'Vichara' is a term which has no corresponding  word in English. Words like thinking, contemplating, reasoning,  analyzing and so on, do not fully express the meaning of the technique  of vichara. 

Vichara comprises all these in synthesis, along with certain  essential mental and intellectual discipline. With a mind and intellect  trained and made steady, a seeker rips open the declarations of  Upanishad one by one and comes to experience the implications and the  deeper suggestiveness of each mantra - this process is called 'vichara'. 

The nectar in a flower is always secreted in its innermost  chambers. Its enchanted lover, the honeybee, which courts it with  ardour and adoration, alone can scent the nectar and groping  through its dusty exterior reach the honey treasured in the blossom. 

Similarly, in the garden of Vedanta are the flowers of the mantras of Upanishad. The sweetness of each is secreted not in its outer words, fascinating though they may be, but lies hidden in the  pulsating bosom where its immortal heart throbs with the thrilling  ecstasy of love fulfilled and perfection experienced. The divine secret can be reached with this meaning only through a prepared  mind and intellect. 

The process by which the acutely intellectual and the divinely sympathetic head and heart of a seeker come to live in their  subjective experience, the strangely enchanting voiceless cadence  rising from the rishi's heart, is called 'vichara'. 

Vedanta is only one thing, which is serving as a mirror. What is the difference between a telescope and a mirror? With telescope you can see everything else, except your eyes. With the microscope you can see everything else, except your eyes. 

Replace all the scope, telescopes and microscopes or any other scope for which there are scope, you remove all of them and you replace by a mirror. What is the uniqueness of the mirror; that is the only instrument which helps me to see my own eyes. I am seeing outside; but what I am seeing is myself. Seeing the mirror is never an objective vision; seeing the subjective knowledge.

Similarly, all sciences provide us only better and better instrument to study the world better and better, vedanta is the unique verbal mirror. It is the unique verbal mirror, mirror made of words and sentences in the form of teaching. 

And by that, I come to know that I am not the physical body, I am not the mind; but I am the consciousness which is ever the subject and never an object, and which consciousness is Sat chit anandaḥ svarupah. And thereafter wards I use matter, and I do not need matter for my fulfilment. Matter is there or not; it does not matter! Why because I am different from matter.

During moments of meditation when we strive hard to experience the meaning of mantras of Upanishad, we are in the realm  of vichara. Through vichara our misunderstandings about ourselves, which are the expressions of our ignorance, are removed, and when ignorance is banished, knowledge shines forth. With this right knowledge, instantaneously, all the delusive sorrows of samsara  end. 

And therefore, he says vedantarthavicarena; by enquiring into the subject matter of vedanta. Arthah means subject matter. And what is the subject matter of vedanta? It is not matter. Subject matter is a subject, which is not matter. Then what is it? 

It is the consciousness. Brahman. Vedantarthaha means Brahman or atma. Therefore, vedantartha vicharaḥ means Brahma vicharaḥ; atma vicharaḥ; chaitanya vicharaḥ; tatva viharaḥ; sarva adiṣṭana viharaḥ; any word you can use; by that enquiry. 

And what is that vidyā; I am not this body; I am not this mind; and I am poorna caitanyaṁ; what type of consciousness; I have told you before. Consciousness which is neither part of the body, nor product of the body, nor a property of the body, but which is an independent entity which pervades and enlivens the body and which is not bound by the limitations of the body. That purṇa chaitanyam ahaaasmi.

After waking up from our dream, the moment we realise  our waking state identity, all the sorrows created in us due to our  dream identification and the dreamworld end instantaneously.  

On the rediscovery that our spiritual nature is pure Knowledge,  uncontaminated by any trace of ignorance, we come to enjoy  our divine heritage of perfection and bliss ever beyond even the penumbra of any misery thereafter. 

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 50

here is a supreme means by which you can put an end to the fear of  relative existence; by that you will cross the sea of samsara and attain  supreme Bliss. 

Kaschit mahān upāyaḥ asti. There is a great grand method; Sādhanām, means  for saṁsāra bhaya nasanaha, which method will destroy the fear caused by saṁsāra. The anxiety, the insecurity, the sense of want, a sense of limitation, the fear of losing things and people. 

So this saṁsāra bhayanāśanaḥ destroying remedy is there. There is a medicine. And I am ready to give it to you. Tēna tīrtvā; saṁsāra bhayanāśanaḥ, nāśanaḥ means destroyer of fear. Tēna by that method; bhavām bhōdhiṁ tīrtvā, you can cross the ocean of saṁsāra.

Vedanta says Mokṣa is here and now. Therefore, you can test for yourselves. Therefore, never criticise without study.

 

Therefore, first study systematically comprehensively and see what vedanta has to say. Therefore tena tirtva, by that method, you can cross; bhavām bhōdhiṁ means saṁsāra sagaraha; bhava means saṁsāra, amōdhiḥ means ocean. 

After having crossed what will happen to you; param anandam apsyasi; you will attain the highest anandah, otherwise known as purnatvam; sense of fulfilment; sense that life has been meaningful; purposeful; wonderful.

A psychological assurance is again given here in a flood of love  that pours out from the heart of the Teacher. The repetition is  not merely for the sake of emphasis, but also to clearly reveal the  infinite consideration and divine sympathy which the Teacher has  for the student. 

It is the one most important insistence of Vedanta that  there is a sovereign means by which our misunderstanding and  consequent false evaluation of life can be completely crushed,  culminating in right understanding. 

Love

Vivekavhudamani- Post 49

मा भैष्ट विद्वंस्तव नास्त्यपायः

संसारसिन्धोस्तरणेऽस्त्युपायः ।

येनैव याता यतयोऽस्य पारं

तमेव मार्गं तव निर्दिशामि ॥ ४३ ॥

ma bhaista vidvaṃstava nastyapayaḥ

saṃsara sindhostaraṇe styupayaḥ |

yenaiva yata yatayo'sya paraṃ

tameva margaṃ tava nirdisami || 43 ||

The Guru said , "Fear not , O learned one! There is no danger for you . There is a way to cross over this ocean of change, I shall instruct you in the very path by which the ancient rishis walked to the beyond." 

First the guru says: ma bhaista; this is the most important statement. Do not be anxious. Do not be worried.

Hey  Vidvan; this is also patting the student, by addressing him: Oh Intelligent One; Oh learned one; the student is really informed and he has done everything correctly. And therefore, he addresses Hey Vidvān.

Tava apayaḥ nasti; there is no danger for you. Because you are imagining the future. 

The perfect disciple, having duly reached the Master's feet, expresses his fears that he will never be able to grow out of the disturbing concepts of time and space which provide for him experiences of unending sorrows of finitude. 

Things change in their relationship to both time and place. Objects remaining the same, they, with reference to different conditions of time and place, react upon the same individual differently. 

These pluralistic experiences produce agitations in the mind and that is indicated in verse 40 by the word, 'samsara duhkha'. When the student reached the Master, he despairingly requested him, 'Condescend to save me, O Lord! and describe in full how to put an end to the misery of this relative existence.' 

The Teacher now gives the answer to the student's question. Psychologically, when a questioner is extremely upset because of some fear or agitation in his mind, he is not in a mood to receive any philosophical idea, even when elaborately explained. 

Therefore, a sympathetic Teacher, if he knows what he is about, will first of all, pacify the student and give him hope and spiritual solace. 

Then alone would he become fit to receive the logical conclusions arrived at by a fully rational philosophy. Most fittingly then, the Master with paternal consideration and love, assures the student that what he fears, is only a myth. 

The Master can clearly see the spiritual destiny and the divine perfection which lie in the innermost core of the disciple. Change is only at the level of the mind and intellect. But when the pure Consciousness, eternal and infinite, functions through these equipments, it gathers into itself a delusive vision which interprets a world in terms of change and plurality. 

Therefore, danger or death is not the phenomenon of the Spirit but only the hallucinations of the mind. Therefore, with all confidence, the Teacher assures the student, 'There is no death for you.' 

Guru says yatayaḥ; many committed seekers; asya param yaata; asya means samsarasya; param means the other shore; yatayaḥ means they have reached. So many sincere seekers of the past have reached the shore of samsara very successfully; you can also reach. 

Tameva margam tava nirdisami; that very same path followed by the traditional people tameva margam- I shall teach you.

Now what the teacher is going to teach the disciple  is not the theory born out of the Teacher's own intellect but it is the path followed by the footprints of the ancient seers, who had themselves crossed over from the finite to the Infinite. 

We are assured that what is to follow now in the Teacher's discourse is an exhaustive discussion upon this sacred path of Self-realization, the authenticity of which has been proclaimed by an endless array of brilliant Rishis of yore.

Love

Vivekachudamani- Post 48

विद्वान् स तस्मा उपसत्तिमीयुषे

मुमुक्षवे साधु यथोक्तकारिणे ।

प्रशान्तचित्ताय शमान्विताय

तत्त्वोपदेशं कृपयैव कुर्यात् ॥ ४२ ॥

vidvān sa tasmā upasattimīyuṣe

mumukṣave sādhu yathoktakāriṇe |

praśāntacittāya śamānvitāya

tattvopadeśaṃ kṛpayaiva kuryāt || 42 

To him, who in his anxiety for Liberation, has sought the protection  of the Teacher , who abides by (scriptural) injunctions , who has a serene  mind and who is endowed with tranquility , the Master should pour out  his knowledge with utmost kindness. 

Vidvan- The guru has clearly estimated and judged the student properly and the guru has understood that the śiṣya is qualified for knowledge. Only if the śiṣya is qualified for knowledge, he can give. 

Mumukshu- Here, the teacher finds that the student is tīvraḥ mumukṣu. He is ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of mōkṣa. And that sacrifice alone is represented by sanyāsa āśrama; because a sanyāsi physically sacrifices everything that he can claim as his own. People as well as things. So that sanyāsi mind is required whether a person physically sacrifices or not; that sanyāsi mind is required. And that is there in this student; mumukṣu.

Yathoktakarine-  the one who leads his life in keeping with vēdic instructions. yathōktakāri means vēdōktakāri; the one who obeys the vēdic instructions; the one who is vaidikaḥ.

We require life of involvement to polish our personality and later gradually we should take to a life of withdrawal also,  and this is called yathoktakaari. 

Yatha uktam; uktam means instructed; instructed by what: by vedena; or even you can include guru; by guru. If guru or vēda, whatever has been instructed; he performs. This implicit obedience is also considered a qualification.

Prashantacittaya- the one who has got a tranquil mind; the one who does not get easily upset; the one who has got mental impunity to face ups and downs. In the sādhanā catuṣṭaya saṁpatti language, this is called Kshama.

samanvitaya; here the word śamaḥ should be translated as damaḥ; the word śama should be translated as damaḥ.

The word sama should be translated as damaḥ And what is damaḥ? indriya nigraḥ; sensory discipline. 

upasattimīyuṣē; the one who has approached the teacher properly. Proper approach. The one who has approached; derived from the root, e to go. yeti, yatchathi, to go. This is the fifth qualification, which means the one who has approached guru also.

Even if a man is well restrained and his mind does not get agitated with low thoughts of sensuousness, the philosophy being so subtle, it is not possible for a layman to understand it immediately, in all its deep significance. 

If the Teacher is impatient and has not the kindness to repeat even for the hundredth time, if need be, with equal love and consideration, the student will not be benefitted by the Teacher. 

So the Teacher should take up the job of initiating the student with extreme kindness. 

The word krpa has, unfortunately, no corresponding word in English. It is not merely 'kindness' nor is it a superficial sympathy.  At best, we can say that it is an attitude of sympathy cooked in  kindness, honeyed with love and served on golden platters of  understanding. 

Love

Vivekachudamani -Post 47

तथा वदन्तं शरणागतं स्वं

संसारदावानलतापतप्तम् ।

निरीक्ष्य कारुण्यरसार्द्रदृष्ट्या

दद्यादभीतिं सहसा महात्मा ॥ ४१ ॥

tathā vadantaṃ śaraṇāgataṃ svaṃ

saṃsāradāvānalatāpataptam |

nirīkṣya kāruṇyarasārdradṛṣṭyā

dadyādabhītiṃ sahasā mahātmā || 41 ||

As he speaks , afflicted by and seeking protection from the conflagration  of the fire of samsara , the Teacher looks at him in all pity and  kindness and spontaneously bestows upon him protection from fear. 

So with the previous slōka, the śiṣya's words are over, which is called paripraśnaḥ. The student has done everything he has to do. He has acquired intellectual qualifications; he has acquired spiritual qualifications, he has approached the teacher; he has surrendered and asked for the way out. 

So whatever he has to do; he has done. Now the ball is in the court of the Guru. Application has been made. Is he going to accept? What will be guru do and that is discussed from verse No.41 to 47. Guru's response. Guru's response, if the student has got all the preparations proper.

Here Sankara is assuming that the preparations are proper; if the preparations are not proper; he is not ready to receive the teaching

Niriksaya; he looks at him; and when he looks at him, what type of glance it is; karunya rasa ardha dr̥shtya; with a glance which is soaked in the essence  of compassion.

The scriptures always emphasise “kaṭaksah”. 

The guru looks at the eye of the disciple. And what type of disciple? He says: tatha vadantam; the teacher looks at the student who has addressed thus. 

Thatha refers to the previous five versus. The one who has spoken thus with humility, with reference, with appreciation, with clarity and also surrender.

Previous verses spoke about the attitude of surrender and devotion with which the student addressed his guru, with reverence.

For all those expressions, the preceptor answers with His one look. The one look expresses everything that the master has to convey to the student who has surrendered to him and is ready to be taken over by his guru to teach him Brahma vidya.

For those who have been following various talks given by the author, this Kataksha of Guru has been explained in the bhajan talk “Beda paar Karo mere Sai” in which one line “Reham Nazar Karo Sai Baba” comes. (Refer to his YouTube channel “satyamurthy viswanathan”.

The teacher looks at the student who has surrendered, taken refuge, Saraṇagatham, taken shelter in the teacher, tvam means the teacher himself, the one who has surrendered to the teacher and samsara  dhavanala tapa taptam. This word has occurred very often; the one who is scorched by the forest fire called samsara.

Mahatma abhitim dadyad. So that mahātma, that jnani , that generous minded wise person, that compassionate person; that saintly person will give abhitim, abhitim means fearlessness, that means confidence, courage.

Fear in any jiva is fear of change.

This fear of change finds its origin in the Jiva’s ego which makes him stick to a particular state, particular likes and dislikes, particular associations or relationships, particular position or power, particular status in society, particular stage even in his spiritual state.

When the Guru takes over his disciple completely, He instantly helps his disciple to let go of the root cause of fear, “ego” of his disciple.

When the disciple has entered the kutir of his guru, offered his prostration with surrender to his guru and has offered himself to be taken over by his guru, at that very instant, his Ego leaves him or atleast gets reduced considerably.

When the root cause is gone, the effect- Fear- is also gone.

Love

Vivekachudamani- Post 46

 

कथं तरेयं भवसिन्धुमेतं
का वा गतिर्मे कतमोऽस्त्युपायः ।
जाने न किञ्ज्चित्कृपयाव मां प्रभो
संसारदुःखक्षतिमातनुष्व ॥ ४0 ॥

kathaṃ tareyaṃ bhavasindhumetaṃ
kā vā gatirme katamo'styupāyaḥ |
jāne na kiñjcitkṛpayāva māṃ prabho
saṃsāraduḥkhakṣatimātanuṣva || 40 ||

How to cross this ocean of relative existence? What is to be my ultimate destination? Which of the many means should I adopt? I know  nothing of these. O Lord! Please save me and describe in all detail how  to end the misery of this life in the finite. 

The disciple continues addressing the teacher. etam bhavasindhum kathaṁ tareyam.

Saṁsara is often compared to ocean; because our problems are as vast as samsara; I am not able to see the shore at all. Human problems are as vast as samsara  and it is also as mysterious as the ocean.

Many problems we are not even able to diagnose or understand. Everywhere, not only the problems are many, vast, it is also incomprehensible. Like the ocean is full of waves, similarly the problems also come in waves. Physical problem, emotional problem, family problem, company problem , financial problem, they also come  in waves and also the direction is not known; unpredictability is also there. 

I am looking at one  direction, and the wave are hitting me from behind; and there are sharks and there are so many other things.

Here the student asks  katham tareyam. How can I cross this ocean of samsara?

This is the type of question the student should ask when he approaches the Master after having served him long enough and perfectly tuned up to him. These questions in themselves speak volumes of clear thinking and logical conclusions which the  student has reached of his own accord. He has lived intelligently  his life of varied experiences and has evaluated it correctly. He  is neither despaired because of the insurmountable difficulties  experienced by him nor is he ready to make any compromise  with Truth. 

He has analysed his experiences in life and has come  to the conclusion that finite objects cannot give him anything but  finite satisfaction. He has looked within himself and has estimated  correctly his own demands in life as nothing short of infinite  perfection, which alone can yield to him infinite happiness. 

He wants to know from the Master how he can come to experience the  Infinite and thereby gain a complete transcendence of the finite.  Hence he asks, 'How can I cross this ocean of relative existence?' 

ka va me gatir; what is the lot in my life; what will happen to me?

Unless one, somehow or the other, fulfills this self-evolution  and reaches the portals of the Infinite and experiences the Real,  one wonders as to what would be his 'ultimate destination'.  The question, therefore, does not necessarily mean that he is  ignorant of what the destination would be. 

In fact, it is a dreadful  premonition of the consequences of getting entangled in the  finite world of desires, excitements and endless responsibilities  of satisfying each nerve tickling, unless he experiences the  Transcendental. 

Though he has come to an independent conclusion about  the life he is living and though he knows the goal, yet he feels  unsure as to what exactly is the method by which he can end his  delusions and reach the goal. The student has already read a lot  of the science of life as expounded in the literature on religion and  he finds therein, different methods of self perfection prescribed. 

katamō:'styupāyaḥ asti; Is there a way out at all? upāyaḥ means a means to solve; a solution. Upāyaḥ means a solution. A way out. A sādhanam. And do not tell me to solve my problems myself. I have already tried. 

He wants to know from the Guru, what exactly should be the path  for him. Through a process of trial and error one can, for oneself,  find the right path but it is more convenient, and indeed, a sacred  blessing if one can have a true Teacher to show the correct path  of self-development. Therefore, the student asks, 'Which of the  means should I adopt?' 

Suppose everything is going fine for him; suppose everything is going fine for him, do you think, he will be ever happy, because when he sees everywhere else problem is there, he sees himself as an exception, then there is more fear

kinchit na jāne. I am utterly helpless. The student accepts his ignorance, which is a very very important qualification. To accept that I do not know is a great step in the learning process. 

The expression, 'I know nothing', is not the student's  dull-witted confession of ignorance but it is an expression of  modesty, and devotion and reverence for the Teacher.

Ahaṁ kinchit na jāne and therefore kripaya mam bhava; kindly may you protect me. bhava means protect. kindly you protect me, never reject me.

Samsara  dukha ksatim atanusva; dukha refers to problems at emotional, physical and intellectual plane; atanusva; bring out.

Thus, the verse ends with the line “Please save me and describe in all detail how  to end the misery of this life in the finite.”

This kind of surrender, this kind  of total submission by a disciple to his preceptor, this kind of an unconditional faith and trust in one's preceptor- these are rare/ indeed very rare in present day world.

In those times of yore, the disciple would have taken tremendous efforts and sacrifice to set out in search of his Guru and having found a realized master as his guru, he would surrender his mind, his heart, his very existence at the feet of his Guru. In today's world, the preceptor is in search of disciple, a sadhaka easily gets a Guru and therefore, the importance / significance of Guru Tattwam is lost somewhere in the journey.

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 45

 O Lord / Thy nectarine speech, honeyed by the elixir bliss of Brahman, pure, cooling, issuing in streams from thy lips as from a water jug, and pleasing to the ear; do thou shower upon me who am tormented by earthly afflictions as by the tongues of a forest fire. Blessed are those who have received even a passing glance from thy eyes, accepting them under thy protection. 

He Prabho vakyamr̥ taiḥ secaya; He prabho, he guro, secaya; bathe me, rinse me with what? vakya amr̥taiḥ, the waters which are int he form of your teaching; your words, your sentences; and here, the word amr̥taiḥ water the remedy is water and here the water is called amr̥taiḥ; the philosophical significance is, water will only quench or remove the pain; the heat temporary, but by using the word amrutham, not only it will remove the pain temporarily, but it will give immortality or moksha also. To indicate that duḥkha nivr̥tti, amr̥tatva prapti, and what is the glory of these words?

Brahma anandah rasa anubhuti kalitaiḥ; so endowed with the experience of the taste of Brahmanandaḥ. kalitam means endowed with the experience of the taste of brahmanandaḥ; that means what; when the guru uses the word he does not repeat like a parrot. Upanishad says Tattvamasi; and therefore I say Tattvamasi. 

Upaṇiṣad says that you are nitya suddha buddha muktaḥ; and therefore I also say. It is not parrot-like repetition of the words but it should be coming from the guru's own heart; when he says that you are Anandaḥ

So therefore when he says: You are anandaḥ; the guru must be anandaḥ svarupa. When he says you are secure, the guru's heart must enjoy security. When he says he is asangaḥ; guru's heart must be asangaḥ; in fact what he teaches, he must be.

That is why in Kathopanișad, guru is defined as ananyaḥ; a beautiful definition of guru; ananyaḥ means he is what he is teaching; he is what he is speaking; there is no difference between what he is and what he preaches. 

This is called teaching from heart; and when the words come from heart, not from lip, those words alone are live-words; like a live-wire, those words alone are called live-words. And therefore, he adds this adjective He Guro, you have those words which are endowed with the taste of brahmanandah; that means you are enjoying pūrṇatvam. And similarly, here also the waters are taste, pure, and clear waters. This is adjective No.1.

And the second adjective is putaiḥ; pavithram or śuddham; pūtham means pavithram or śuddham. 

Therefore puthaihi; sudhaaihi; seethaihi; the third adjective of word water; what is it; it is cool, with a cooling effect. And that is also applicable to both; it has got a cooling effect on a person who is scorched with heat; and also it has got the words have got a cooling effect that a student who has come with a disturbed mind, restless mind; he goes with a cool mind; he is santaḥ; samaḥ; therefore the teaching makes the student cool; santaḥ and samaḥ. The water also makes a person cool. Therefore sītaiḥ. More I will take in the next class.

And therefore Oh Teacher, with puthai, with such proper words, and suśītai, the words which are cold, which are with calmness, with śānti. So here the words cool has to be extended to both water as well as the words. Because somebody's body is scorched, you should rinse with what water. 

So suśītair; means the water is also cold and when you extend it to words, their cold means what; it has got śānthi. So when you say, a person is cool in disposition, it means he is never provoked. He enjoys śamatvam.

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 44

अयं स्वभावः स्वत एव यत्पर

श्रमापनोदप्रवणं महात्मनाम् ।

सुधांशुरेष स्वयमर्ककर्कश

प्रभाभितप्तामवति क्षितिं किल ॥ ३८ ॥

ayaṃ svabhāvaḥ svata eva yatpara

śramāpanodapravaṇaṃ mahātmanām |

sudhāṃśureṣa svayamarkakarkaśa

prabhābhitaptāmavati kṣitiṃ kila || 38 ||

Indeed , it is the nature of the magnanimous to help remove the troubles  of others, even as the moon of its own accord cools the earth scorched by  the flaming rays of the sun.

Sankara compares a seer with the moon and directs our  attention to the fact that the moon alone can and with effortless  ease does cool the parched earth which gets baked in the  burning rays of the sun. Nothing else can cool the earth as satisfactorily as moonlight, also there is no chance ever of the  moonlight adding a single calorie of heat to the earth. 

The company of the wise is the surest remedy to cool down  the bosom to a state of complete peace and happiness when it is in  conflagration, fed by desires and hatreds, attachments and yearnings. 

In verse 34, we have been told that a disciple should,  having approached a true Master, please him with his service,  humility and surrender. Sankara has so far used four verses in  praise of the Masters to express the attitude of total surrender  of the disciple to the Teacher. In the following verses, we hear  a definite and pointed request to the Master to answer the  seeker's doubts, so that through his inspired discourses and  explanations, the seeker may be lifted out of the ruts of wrong  thinking.

Sankara talks about the magnanimity to remove the trouble of others. This compassion towards the sufferers is not deliberately entertained by these jnanis. It is not a willful action entertained by jnanis; only when deliberations and will are involved, there is a question of what I will get out of it. So, if it is not deliberately, willfully entertained trait, how do they have it. 

Sankaraa says; svabhavaḥ, it is spontaneous; it is intrinsic; it is natural. In fact, they are helplessly compassionate. Even if they do not want to have compassion, they find themselves having that because compassion is an expression of fullness.

And even this lokaḥ sangraḥ karma done by these jnanis like you is not with any motive but it is the very svabhava of the jnani. And therefore, in this verse, which we are seeing, student says ayaṁ svabhavaḥ. 

In fact compassion of a Jnani  is only a bye product of purṇatvam. We can never work for developing compassion. As long as one feels apurṇa, compassion will not come because compassion is directed towards the needy samsaris. 

When I require all the compassion for myself, how can I extend my compassion to others. Therefore as long as I am apurṇaḥ, we do not have direct access towards compassion love, etc. 

It is just like I can never directly work to remove the rope-snake. I can never work to remove the rope snake directly; how ever much hit the rope-snake would not die. All your effort must be in knowing the rope; snake removal is a bye-product. Compassion is a bye-product. Fearlessness is a bye product. Security is a bye-product. Love is a bye-product. So we can never work on them; we have to work only for purṇatvam; and that too how? 

jnanena purṇatvam siddhaye eva prayatnah; once purṇatvam comes, compassion comes from svabhāva; and not deliberately entertained; but naturally enjoyed; and therefore the student says ayaṁ svabhāvaḥ. Oh Guru,  your compassion is your nature.

Eṣaḥ sudhaṁsuḥ. Sudha means moon, chandraḥ; aṁsuḥ means rays; sudhaṁsuḥ means the rays of the moon; chandra rasmih. What does it do? Especially in the summer days. 

Sankara says, during summer the earth is scorched by the rays of the Sun, during the daytime; the earth is scorched by the rays of the Sun during the daytime and what does the moon-rays due during the night-time. The cool rays of the moon; that is poetic imagination; moon's rays rare considered to be sitamsuḥ; himamsuḥ; these are the words they use for the moon; cool-rayed one. 

Sun is called chandra-kiraṇaḥ-scorching-rayed Sun. Now the Sun has scorched the earth; and the moon's rays what do they do during the night whey spread their rays and they cool the earth. 

Similarly, my sun is saṁsaraḥ; and you are the moon and I have been already scorched by the samsara rays and you have to cool me by your glance; by your teaching. 

The moon's cool rays will cool the earth which is scorched by the fierce rays of the Sun and this job of the moon is not a deliberate job of the moon, it is a very nature of the moon. 

Similarly, every jnani is like a moon. Every samsari is like the earth and samsara duḥkhaṁ is like the Sun and as even the jnani comes, he cools the samsari.

Dear all,

These precious verses were written in those times when mumukshu sadhakas were at the feet of their Guru, abandoning everything else in their life, seated at their Guru’s feet in Guru’s ashram, listening to each and every words, paying attention to each whisper, each movement, each silence, each action and each inaction of their Guru who was more than God for them.

Times changed, man changed, perceptions changed and now, sadly, that kind of dedication and surrender to Guru ( Guru tatwam, not guru’s form) is  not there anymore. 

A guru, when He is realized, continues to fulfil each and every description in these sacred treatise about the nature of a Guru, even now. 

He exists with His spontaneous compassion exacly as  given by Sankara in this verse.

But those who come to him, have changed. They listen to Him but choose to use their own mind/intellect to interpret. They come to Him, stay for sometime and leave. 

The Guru Sishya Parampara has lost its sanctity. There are very few ideal Guru Sishya Parampara in today’s world.

Even while  going through these verses and writing on such verses, it pains to realize how less relevant these verses have become in today’s  world.

Love