Jnana Vahini - Post 22

Maya, by means of its power of (1) hiding the real nature and (2) imposing the unreal over the real, makes the one and only Brahman appear as Jiva, Eswara and Jagath, three entities where there is only one! 

The Maya faculty is latent, but when it becomes potent, it takes the form of the mind. It is then that the seedling of the huge tree (which is the Jagath) starts sprouting, putting forth the leaves of mental impulses or Vasanas, and mental conclusions or Sankalpas. So all this objective world is but the proliferation or Vilasa of the mind.

Jiva and Eswara are caught up in this proliferation and they are inseparably intertwined in the Jagath and so they too are creations of mental process like things appearing in the dream-world.

Imagine Jiva, Eswara and Jagath as having been painted; the pictorial Jagath has both Jiva and Eswara incorporated in it and all three appear as different entities though created by the same paint. So also the same mental process creates the appearance of Jiva and Eswara as pervading and immanent, in the background of Jagath.

It is Maya that produces the illusion of Jiva and Eswara and Jagath: this is declared by the Sruthis. The Vasishtasmrithi made clear that mental processes were responsible for the magic dance of He and I, This and That and Mine and His. 

Truth and untruth must be kept apart by means of the sharp sword of Jnana. It keeps the world afar and bring the Residence of the Lord within reach. That Residence is Nithyananda, Eternal Bliss, Paramananda, the highest Bliss; the Bliss of Brahman:

The expression "Sohamidam" found in that text indicates Jiva, Eswara and Jagath. "Sah" means He, the Unmanifested, the Supersoul, the Power beyond and Above, the Easwara. "Aham" means "I", the entity enveloped by the consciousness of doer etc. "Idam" means this objective world, the perceivable sense world. So it is clear that these three are the products of mental process only and they do not have any absolute value; their value is only relative.

The great souls who have won this Atmajnana deserve worship. They are holy; for they have attained Brahman, the right of everyone in the world, however great or whatever the Tapas. 

That is the Kingdom they seek, the honor they aspire for. This is the great mystery, the mystery elucidated in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Sastras. The solving of this mystery makes life worthwhile; it is the key to liberation.

Love.

(Author's note- Swami has touched upon Jiva, Jagath and Iswara in this post.

The same was explained in one of the posts in another theme. The same is recaptured below.

Since we have our identity as Jiva, we need to know more about JIVA.

Our identity as JIVA is relevant only in the context of the people around us, the society in which we live, the world comprising of many societies, many beliefs, many faiths ETC. Hence, in this context, the importance of CREATION, the world around us, is important.

Jiva and Jagath has become important in the above context. But a question arises now. What is the principle, the power, the energy which has caused this Jagath and then we the Jiva in this jagath??? Who is the Supreme Creator?? In this context, the need / relevance of ISWARA arises. 

(1) Jiva or Individual

Vedanta approaches Jiva or an individual through the analysis of its internal nature. It says Jiva consists of three:

(a) physical body,

(b) mind and

(c) consciousness. 

After death the physical body is destroyed, but the same mind travels to find a next body – this is called rebirth. Consciousness part of Jiva always remains pure and it does not travel. Whereas mind experiences the various type of enjoyments and miseries through the physical body and preserves impressions within it. After the fall of physical body, mind carries those impressions with it to the next life.

(2) Jagat or Creation

Vedanta analyses the nature of this cosmos or creation around us through generalization. 

It says the perceived cosmos is available to us while we are awake in day time. In our dream while sleeping we have another creation – the individual dream world. 

In our deep sleep there is no such perceived creation. This waking cosmos is constantly changing – it is Anityam or temporary. It also does not exist eternally. Vedanta says –It is not really created, rather it is projected from Pure Consciousness. 

(3) Iswara or Creator

Iswara is defined as that from which the origin, sustenance and dissolution of this world proceed. Vedanta says the Pure Consciousness is the God itself. 

People also say it as Brahman, Supreme Self, Iswara, Bhagawan etc. Its nature is described as Satchidananda – Sat (Existence), Chit (Knowledge or awareness), Ananda (bliss) – The Blissful Conscious Existence.

Pure Consciousness ‘projects’ the cosmos out of its own. Iswara is both the intelligent cause and material cause of this cosmos. For example – Spider projects the web from its own body. Similarly, the Pure Consciousness, the greatest magician projects this cosmos. And swallows it when required. )

Love.

Jnana Vahini - Post 21

Panchadasi says, 

"Thath chinthanam,

thath kathanam,

anyonyam thath prabodhanam,

ethath eka param thwam cha,

Jnanabhyaasam vidur budhaah".

"Thoughts dedicated to Him alone,

speech devoted to Him alone,

conversation centered on Him alone,

this one-pointed existence is referred to by the wise as the Discipline of Jnana".

This is the lesson taught in the Gita by Krishna. 

"Math chiththaa

mathgatha praanaa

bodhayanthah parasparam,

kathayanthi cha maam nithyam

thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha".

"They fix the mind on Me,

they survive only because they breathe me,

they inform each other about Me,

they talk only of Me,

they are happy and content with these only".

This ceaseless thought of the Lord is also referred to as Brahma chinthana or Jnaana abhyaasa or Atma abhyaasa.

The mind pursues exterior objects only either because of the pull of the senses or because of the delusion caused by superimposing on the external world the characteristics of permanence etc. So it has to be again and again brought back to travel to the correct goal.

The recalcitrant mind can be slowly turned towards Brahma dhyana if at first it is shown the sweetness of Bhajan, the efficacy of prayer and the calming effects of meditation. It must also be led on by the cultivation of good habits, good company and good deeds. 

Dhyanam will, as it proceeds further and further, give rise to greater and greater keenness. Thus the mind has to be caged in the cave of the heart.  

The final result of this discipline is no less than Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the Equanimity that is undisturbed.

This Samadhi is really speaking Brahmajnana itself, the Jnana that grants release or Moksha. The discipline for this consists of three exercises:

·       the giving up of craving,

·       the elimination of mind and

·       the understanding of the Reality. 

The instincts and impulses or Vasanas are too strong to yield easily; they make the senses active and greedy and bind the person tighter and tighter. 

Attention has therefore to be paid to the sublimation and subjugation of the senses and the promptings behind them, to the development of self-abnegation, the relentless pursuit of reason and discrimination in order that the mind may not get mastery over man. When the mind is won, the dawn of Jnana is heralded.

The Jnani or the liberated person will be unaffected by joy or sorrow, for how can any event produce reactions in him who has wiped out his mind? It is the mind that makes you 'feel'; 

When one has taken a drug that deadens the consciousness, he feels no pain or joy, for the body is then separated from the mind. So too, wisdom, when it dawns, separates the mind and keeps it aloof from all contact.

Love.

Jnana Vahini - Post 20

The springs of egoism etc., arise from ignorance of the Basic Truth. When knowledge of the Atma dawns, ignorance with its brood of worry and misery will vanish. 

The mark of the Jnani is the absence of egoism, the extinction of desire, the feeling of equal Love for all without any distinction. These are the fundamentals of Atmajnana.

When a person develops into a full Jnani, he becomes THAT and THAT is merged in him and both become indistinguishable. 

Then he realizes that he is the inscrutable, the indefinable Brahman, not limited by the illusory super-imposition of name and form.

The Pure Essence can be known by the Sadhana of Bhakthi. The goal of Bhakthi is indeed Jnana. When an author writes a play, the entire play will already be in his mind, before he sets pen on paper, act after act, scene after scene. 

If he has no picture of the entire drama in his mind, he will never entertain the idea of writing it at all. But take the case of the audience. 

They can grasp the story only after the drama is fully over; it unfolds itself scene by scene. Once they have understood the theme, they too can confidently describe to others the purport of the play. 

Similarly, for the Lord, this Drama of Time with its three Acts, the Past, the Present and the Future, is as clear as crystal. In the twinkling of an eye, He grasps all the three. For He is Omniscient; it is His Plan that is being worked out, His Drama that is being enacted on the stage of Creation. 

However, both the actors and the spectators are lost in confusion, unable to surmise its meaning and its development. For how can one scene or one act reveal its meaning? The entire play must be gone through for the story to reveal itself.

Without a clear understanding of the play in which they are acting their roles, people cling to the error that they are Jivis and waste away their lives, buffeted by the waves of joy and sorrow.

When the mystery is cleared, and the play is discovered as mere play, the conviction dawns that you are He and He is you. Therefore, try to know the Truth behind Life, search for the Fundamental, bravely pursue the underlying Reality. Seekers of Jnana must always be conscious of this.

Love.