Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 17

Let us take up the second line of the 3rd Stotram today.

Direct enlightenment, through “Tat Twam Asi” the Mahavakya or ‘Great Vedic statement’, is imparted to those who have surrendered to Him.

Surrender & Enlightenment

The Guru first ensures that the student has the spirit of surrender before imparting to him the knowledge of “Tat Twam Asi”. 

One has to surrender to a Guru (who is the Lord Himself) and learn about the nature of God and the nature of his own Self. 

By checking this single quality, all the six-fold virtues, named Shad Sampat, are guaranteed to exist in the student. Only to such a student is the precious knowledge of “Tat Twam Asi” imparted.

After receiving the instruction from the Guru, the student still has much Self-enquiry to do before enlightenment follows. 

Enlightenment comes when we realize that Twam or “Thou”, the microcosmic Reality Atman at the individual level, is none other than Tat or “That”, the macrocosmic Reality Brahman at the total level. To experience this identity is enlightenment.

The Sadhana for God-realization, under the direction of a perfect Master, is pointed out in this Pada. The main elements of this Sadhana are Manana and Nididhyasana. 

Brahman is the truth of everything. But where Brahman can be discovered? Ishvara pervades the universe. But where is the Ishvara‟s presence felt? It is within one’s own self. This is the uniqueness of Vedantic perspective.

How would guru make you understand the reality? Through the Vedantic teachings

“That thou Art”.

"That" here means the underlying reality because of which this world of forms exists. Ishvar’s pulsating active creation giving existence and appearance is discovered through the knowledge that "you are that"  by looking within.

The TRUTH of you is the TRUTH of everyone. This is discovered directly / immediately.

This is not a matter of belief or faith. This is something you discover directly. The reason you discover directly is it is right within you. Anything that is remote is known indirectly. 

For example a temple in Gangotri in Himalayas is known to you indirectly. 

Suppose the temple is right in front of you, it is known to you directly. It is present in your experience. You are in your experience. You are not remote from your experience. Your true nature is not remote from your experience. That true nature “Atma”, happens to be identical with the reality because of which everything exists.

The Guru wields the teachings of the Veda. The Guru uses the scriptures as a road map to lead you along a path of discovery. The teacher makes you discover the TRUTH (absolute reality) that he or she has discovered.

What do you finally discover? The irony is that the scientists are looking through the microscope. They are looking for the reality because of which the thread exists. But the reality cannot be found on that side of the lens. The reality can only be found on the other side of the lens. That is through a process of self-enquiry, you have an opportunity to discover the reality of all. 

Swami says,

“Tat Twam Asi’, That Thou Art, is the holy declaration of the Sama Veda. Tat (That) was in existence before creation and will remain subsequently too. It is the principle of Total Consciousness, the totality of Being and Becoming, encompassing, and transcending the physical, mental and spiritual realms – Yato Vaacho Nivartante, Apraapya Manasaa Saha, beyond the horizon of expression and imagination. 

The cosmos did not originate from God. It is God. There is nothing ‘other’. There is no second. Some people ask, “Have you seen God?” You reply, “Yes. I have seen God.” Then they might ask, “Where is He? Show Him to us.” If God is in one specific place, you can point your finger in that direction and say, “He is there”. But there is nothing in the Universe different, distinct, or higher than God. 

This microphone, this garland, this handkerchief, all these are God. He is the ‘Tat’ (That), the Omnipresent (Eternal Awareness – Chaitanya). It is referred to as ‘Tat’ (That), since we now imagine It to be distant, far from us. But far from where? Far from your body, your senses, your mind, your reasoning faculty, which are all equipped with limited capabilities? But once your intuitive consciousness is aroused, that which appears to be ‘far’ becomes ‘close’.”

One looks up to the Guru as the one who can solve the problem of suffering. Refuge is the place we go for safety, security, comfort, peace. The Guru is the one who can teach you in such a way that you can find peace, comfort, safety and security. Guru can remove any fear and can finally remove all your suffering.

Love.

 

Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 16

 Verse 3 

(He whose manifestations are themselves nothing but the Reality alone appearing as the delusory objects of the world.

Direct enlightenment, through “Tat Twam Asi” the Mahavakya or ‘Great Vedic statement’, is imparted to those who have surrendered to Him.

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.)

 

The main points of discussion in this verse, line by line are:

     i.            the Jagat, Brahman and Maya

  ii.            Surrender & Enlightenment through Atma Vichar or Self-Enquiry

iii.            Freedom from Transmigration & Rebirth

iv.            All this is attained by the Grace of the Guru.

We will take up the first line of the verse today for contemplation.

He whose manifestations are themselves nothing but the Reality alone appearing as the delusory objects of the world.

Relationship between Jagat, Brahman and Maya

This Pada has the first main point. As mentioned in the opening verse, the universe is Brahman Himself manifested in the form of a multitude of names and forms. 

The big point made here is that from Reality, only Reality can arise; the names and forms are merely unreal appearances over the Reality.

Maya’s connection with these manifestations is to veil the Reality from the manifestations. That is the delusory nature of Maya at work. Maya’s purpose is to keep our attention fixed on the names and forms and take it away from the Reality which is found in the Existence, Knowledge and Bliss aspects of the manifestations.

Jagat appears delusory only because Brahman is veiled from us by Maya. The Jagat is not delusory in itself, but made to appear delusory because of our ignorance of Brahman.

When we look around, we see different forms e.g. cloth. The cloth seems real. But it is just the form. It is not real. The threads are more real. If we pull apart the threads, the cloth will disappear, threads will remain. So relative to the cloth, threads are real. Relative to the threads, fibers are real.

However, fiber is also a form. They are made of cells. This way, you can get down to the level of molecules, atoms and particles. Whatever level you come down to, you can break it further. Electrons and Protons have been broken down to quarks. The point is whatever you discover scientifically, can be broken down further.

From standpoint of reality, whatever form you see, appears real, but is unreal. We cannot find a real basis. We find all the forms. Forms are not real. The reality because of which the form exists is real. This applies to the entire universe. 

Whatever we look at seems real, but upon analysis we discover that it is unreal. The form cannot exist without the contents. There must be some underlying reality because of which the form exists. You cannot discover this underlying reality using a microscope. You need to discover through someone’s help who has the knowledge of the reality, who has understood the TRUTH.

One of the Mahavakyas is the essence of the first line of the current verse which says- “Brahman is the only reality who appears as various limited forms”

The Truth about this world is that the Reality, which is imperceptible to the senses, appears as this world when looked at through the senses. The ordinary man sees only the appearance and attributes complete reality to it. At the same time, he sees also the changeability of the appearance, but he shuts his eyes to it. All spiritual paths attempt first to show the Reality behind the appearance. When looked at from the Reality itself, there is no appearance either.

To take the disciples to the Truth, phenomenal illustrations are often made use of. 

For example, take the gold and the ornament. The ordinary man, at the first glance, sees only the ornament. But on second thought, he admits that it is made of gold. He still lays greater emphasis on the form rather than on the gold because he relies on his sensual perceptions. 

After some more thought, he admits that between the form and the gold of the ornament, the form frequently changes, while the gold remains constant. Since gold is the essential constituent of all gold ornaments and since the form is only a temporary appearance leaving nothing behind, he is forced to admit that the gold alone is permanent and that the form is merely an illusion. 

Thus, having been shown gold in its pure formless nature, he is asked to look at the ornaments from the standpoint of gold. Then he sees nothing but gold in the ornaments. Even in the appearance it is the gold that appears and not the ornament. An 'ornament' is an 'ornament' only by convention, but it is only gold.

Now applying the illustration to the Self and the world, having separated the world including your own body, senses and mind from the Self, you are shown the Self in its pure nature. Taking your stand in that pure Self, if you look at the world, you see the whole world as nothing but your own real Self. This is how you are helped to experience the Truth of the aphorism: 'All is Brahman'. The object of Vedanta is not to help you not to perceive the appearance; but to help you to see the essence, even when perceiving the appearance through the senses.

Pure gold comprehends all ornaments. It is formless, imperceptible and is by itself no ornament. The ornament is gold in some form, and is perceptible. When you put an ornament in a crucible and apply heat to it, it melts. Then the ornament part disappears, and the gold alone remains over. Of course, this gold also appears in the form of the crucible. You cannot help this if you look through your eyes. Pure gold is formless and imperceptible. Having transcended objectivity, it is the Reality itself. 

There is no superimposition

at any time.

 

Even the thought that there is superimposition,

is a superimposition.

 

There is no serpent in the rope

at any time.

 

There is no world in the Reality

at any time.

 

The Earth is not pot.

But the pot is Earth.

 

Consciousness is not the object.

But the object is Consciousness.

 

The wave and the ocean are both objects as such.

But in essence both are water, one and the same.

In the recently concluded satsangh on Ashtavakra gita (uploaded in the YouTube channel, satsangh date 4/9/2021), it is explained as to how a man of wisdom, a Jivanmukhta, sees all beings in the creation, who are apparently different from one another, as one. The expression of ChinMaya to describe this truth is 

“World of objects viewed from self by the master, who sees in and through them, the brilliance, Glow, Beauty and the effulgence of ever-present SELF everywhere”

This line echoes the same truth as the first line of today’s strotram depicts. This line was explained in the satsangh concluded.

 

Love.

Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 15

Let us take up the last 2 lines of the 2nd stotram today

(Just as a juggler unrolls his magic, even so the “Great Yogi” (Brahman) manifests this universe by His own free will

To that “Great Yogi”, who is the form of the Guru, do I offer my salutations.)

Sri Dakshinamurti in this verse is referred to as the one who causes the expansion of this entire universe. How? Through his maya.

Here maya has yet another meaning. In common parlance, maya here means magic. Mayavi means magician. 

The ‘Juggler’ simile removes the defect of destruction of the Creator in the above simile. We now have a Creator who creates as a juggler creates his magic performance. 

Does this improve on the previous example? Yes, the juggler is not destroyed when the magic-show takes place. 

Brahman is the only reality

Even so, Brahman is not destroyed when creation takes place. Everything else is the same as before. 

Just like the magician, Eswara expands the universe. This is the metaphor used to impart the profound Vedanta. It does not mean Eswara is magician. 

Whatever magician creates is not as real as the magician. The magician is more real than his or her creation.

The magician may create a living creature, a real world of beings etc. at the stage.

When Sri Rama fought Ravana, Ravana used to manifest himself with same 10 heads as several Ravanas.

However, the real Ravana always knew that only he is real and all other Ravanas created with his maya shakti  are all unreal .

Similarly, Eswara is compared here to a magician where, Only He/Brahman exists. For us human beings, creation may be there, but Brahman has no association with the creation though Shruthis declare that He created this universe.  

Creation is unreal

In addition, we have the added benefit of demonstrating that Creation is something unreal; it’s just a piece of ‘magic’. 

Brahman is the efficient cause for creation

There is a further advantage to this simile. The juggler expresses His own free will (Swecchayaa). That is very accurate for the Creation process, where Brahman is the Nimitta Karana or efficient cause of Creation. Nimitta means “that which stands far apart from the effect and produces it.” 

Brahman is the efficient cause, providing the “blue-print” of creation, like an architect is the efficient cause for a building being built. The architect has to “live” in a building before it is built! It is the same with Brahman and His creation.

The Blue print referred here is the outline of the drawings we learnt in Panchadasi session.

Creation is an illusion

The Mayavi’s creation is purely an illusion. The objects he creates cannot be touched. No transaction can take place with them. This is also agreeable to the seeker. It helps him to understand the illusoriness of the world even better and thus, he develops dispassion towards such an illusory creation.

Creation for a videhamukhta - is it there?

We often read in various verses in vedanta treatise that a sage sees SELF in all or all as SELF.

Even as Sai devotees, we go about saying that we must see God in all.

For a sadhaka or a devotee, this deliberate efforts to see Swami in all is acceptable.

However, a videhamukhta (who has no duties left to perform in this creation) does not even perceive creation as He is liberated without his body.

He does not see human beings as human beings, this macrocosm world as world, nature as nature, any Deity as God.

He just exists as Brahman; that is all. 

Till the time he lives, his breathing is on, He exists (as Brahman/SELF) and only He exists. 

If anyone, out of their stupidity or ignorance, tries to relate such a sage with this creation, they can at best get only one answer

"He exists and only He/THAT exists. Therefore, whatever you call as creation, as human beings etc, must all be contained in His/THAT existence. In this context only, you may say, all creation is SELF, even this is a very limited intellectual understanding of His state"

Let us look at how we human beings create the world for us as magicians ourselves.

Janaka roars in Ashtavakra Gita,

(O marvelous! I am pure consciousness. The world is like a magic show. Hence, how, and where, can there be any notion of rejection or acceptance in me)

What a magic show is for a magician

A magician creates an environment and performs magic which are unbelievable and fascinating.

However, the magician is never carried away by the magic that is shown / that appears at the end, as he knows the tricks behind the magic and he also known that it is illusory, what appears to be real and fascinating, is not real.

Magician knows that the magic is illusion, and he never gets fascinated by the magic, though he created that with his mind and intellect

How Jiva looks at the creation he has created for himself as a magician

But a human being, filled with avidya and then, Raga, dvesha etc., gets carried away by the fascinations that he with his mind created and starts believing them to be true and starts living in that illusory fascinations…..

How a Jivanmukhta sees the world as a magic show

I am pure consciousness, says a realized Seer.

The magician’s mind that can create all fascinations as explained above, has merged in me the pure consciousness and is not separate from me the self anymore.

So, when I look at human beings caught in their own created illusory fascinating unreal world, I laugh like a child, I am amused. I don’t reject, I just laugh.

What is there for me in this whole scenario, in such a world, with illusory appearances, to either accept or reject?

Not only that. In my own life, depending upon my dharma, I also must do / undertake something with my mind, which, though not an illusion for me, I don’t get caught with my mind’s created action or event or whatever, still, I know, whatever done by mind at worldly level is all illusion as the world itself is an illusion.

So, not only that I laugh at the world (world’s minds causing illusory fascinating experiences) but I also laugh at myself, when I also have to take up something with my mind, though inwardly knowing all of that to be unreal and illusory.

I don’t have to make special efforts like one has to make for watching a magic show, standing in queue, getting ticket, pay for ticket, enter, sit, wait for a long time for the magic show to commence etc.

Wherever I am, I can see through the world of fascinating illusions and wherever I am, I can just laugh at the same and get back to my samadhi effortlessly!

Coming back to the stotram, the last line of each stotram is the same and once it has been explained in the 1st verse itself.

To that “Great Yogi” Dakshinamurthy, who is the form of the Guru, do I offer my salutations.

Love.