Atma Bodha - Post 78

Last verse 68

दिग्देशकालाद्यनपेक्ष्य सर्वगं

शीतादिहृन्नित्यसुखं निरंजनम् ।

यः स्वात्मतीर्थं भजते विनिष्क्रियः

स सर्ववित्सर्वगतोऽमृतो भवेत् ॥ ६८॥

Dikdesa Kaalaadi Anapekshya Sarvagam

Seetadi Hrunnitya Sukham Niranjanam

Yassvaatma Teerdham Bhajate Vinishkriyam

Sa Sarvavit Sarva Gato Amruto Bhavet.

[He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.]

The splendid spiritual feast of Atma Bodha is brought to an end here with a verse that is like a dessert after the meal.

In this verse the whole spiritual journey is summed up as follows:

i)    Transcending All Limitations: The breaking down and release from all the Upadhis that limit us to the narrow confines of experience through this body, mind and intellect, and confined also to the limitations of time.

ii)   Overcoming all Pairs of Opposites: represented by heat and cold and so on.

iii)  Bringing the being to a stainless state: (Niranjana); this represents the states of Chitta Shuddhi and Chitta Ekagrata (purity of mind and one-pointedness of mind).

iv) Considering Self as Highest Teertha: This is the culmination of the spiritual quest by taking the Atman to be the highest place of pilgrimage to do one’s worship.

v)   Renunciation of all activities: Activities refer only to the Tamasic and Rajasic activities. Sattwic activities may be continued as per the Prarabdha of the realized sage.

The verse also describes the essence of the destination reached:

i)     One becomes all-knowing;

ii)    One experiences the all-pervading nature of the Self;

iii)  One attains immortality. One is no longer identified with the body, etc, which have a limited existence from birth to death, but is now identified with the eternal Self.

Just like the sun that is ever shining unaffected by the world and its happenings, Atman transcends beyond all limitations and is ever blissful. It is that which is ever present and is verily the substratum of all the illusory creations.

  

Acharya is here explaining that one who renounces all desires and ego and attachments to likes and dislikes of the world and its pleasures and one who is ever established in the reality of Self verily enjoys the eternal bliss and hence becomes Brahman alone.

As the Lord explains in many places in Gita about such a knower as;

ANAPEKSHAH SHUCHIRDAKSHA UDAASIINO GATAVYATHAH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII YO MADBHAKTAH SA ME PRIYAH

He who is free from wants, who is pure, clever, unconcerned, untroubled, renouncing all undertakings, he who is (thus) devoted to Me is dear to Me.

SAMADUHKHASUKHAH SVASTHAH SAMALOSHHTAASHMAKAANCHANAH

TULYAPRIYAAPRIYO DHIIRASTULYANINDAATMASA.NSTUTIH

MAANAAPAMAANAYOSTULYASTULYO MITRAARIPAKSHAYOH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII GUNAATIITAH SA UCHYATE

He to whom pain and pleasure are alike, who dwells in the Self, to whom a cloud of earth and stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the un-dear are alike, who is a man of wisdom, to whom censure and praise are same;

The same in honour and disgrace, the same towards friends and enemies, abandoning all undertakings – he is said to have crossed beyond the gunas.

As the Upanishads proclaim, the knower of Brahman becomes verily the Brahman. One who overcomes the attachments and aversions to the illusory world and realizes the real nature of Self as that of Existence Consciousness Bliss verily becomes bliss and hence becomes immortal i.e. for such a knower, there is no death as Self is ever existence and no sadness as Self is but bliss and no limitations as Self is Consciousness. 

The Kaivalya Upanishad explains the same in various slokas as:

VEDAIRANEKAIRAHAMEVA VEDYO VEDAANTAKRIDVEDAVIDEVA CHAAHAM

NA PUNYAPAAPE MAMA NAASTI NAASHO NA JANMA DEHENDRIYABUDDHIRASTI

I alone am taught in the various Vedas, I am the revealer of the Vedanta or Upanishads, and I am also the Knower of the Vedas. For me there is neither merit nor demerit, I suffer no destruction; I have no birth, nor any self-identity with the body and the organs.

NA BHUUMIRAAPO NA CHA VAHNIRASTI NA CHAANILO ME ASTI NA CHAAMBARAM CHA .

EVAM VIDITVAA PARAMAATMARUUPAM GUHAASHAYAM NISHKALAMADVITIIYAM.H

SAMASTASAAKSHIM SADASADVIHIINAM PRAYAATI SHUDDHAM PARAMAATMARUUPAM.H.

YAH SHATARUUDRIYAMADHIITE SO.AGNIPUUTO BHAVATI SURAAPAANAATPUUTO BHAVATISA

SA BRAHMAHATYAAYAAH PUUTO BHAVATI SA SUVARNASTEYAATPUUTO BHAVATI

SA KRITYAAKR ITYAATPUUTO BHAVATI TASMAADAVIMUKTAMAASHRITO

BHAVATYATYAASHRAMII SARVADAA SAKRIDVAA JAPET

For me there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. Thus realising the Paramatman, who lies in the cavity of the heart, who is without parts, and without a second, the Witness of all, beyond both existence and non-existence – one attains the Pure Paramatman Itself. 

ANENA JNAANAMAAPNOTI SA.NSAARAARNAVANAASHANAM TASMAADEVAM

VIDITVAINAM KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTE KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTA ITI

By means of this, one attains the Knowledge that destroys the ocean of Samsara or repeated transmigration. Therefore, knowing thus one attains the fruit of Kaivalya or liberation, verily one attains liberation.

One who becomes Atma Jnani becomes free of all these chains and limitations imposed by Maya and stay free in his original state of Atma. 

The veil on our wisdom is Ignorance and removal of this ignorance of Self through Atma Jnanam instantly removes the veil and the Atma shines in its pristine purity.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all such limitations.

When our identification with Sareera thrayam falls off – automatically, we are freed from Seetha and Ushna (cold and heat) and other dualities that affect Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all dualities afflicting us through the Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, enjoy Nitya sukham (eternal Aananda) andfreedom from all stains on our mind and body.

May you always be immersed in the holy waters of the Atma theertham and thereby become free from all karma (nish-kriya) and karma phalam.

May you be the Sarva-vid (all - knowing) - meaning total Self knowledge.

May you be Sarva Gathaha, the all pervading (as Atma).

May you be immortal (Amrutha)!

॥ इति शंकराचार्यविरचित आत्मबोधः समाप्तः ॥

ITI SHANKARAACHAARYAVIRACHITA AATMABODHAH SAMAAPTAH...

Thus concludes Atma-Bodha.

Love.

PS- In the next couple of posts, we will recapitulate the flow of Atma Bodha Verses from start till end.

Atma Bodha - Post 77

Verse 67

हृदाकाशोदितो ह्यात्मा बोधभानुस्तमोऽपहृत् ।

सर्वव्यापी सर्वधारी भाति भासयतेऽखिलम् ॥ ६७॥

HRIDAAKAASHODITO HYAATMAA

BODHABHAANUSTAMO.APAHRIT

SARVAVYAAPII SARVADHAARI

BHAATI BHAASAYATE.AKHILAM

[The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.]

In this sloka, Acharya is next explaining about the rise of knowledge that removes all ignorance.

Space, or sky, is huge and limitless. There is another space which is considered equally limitless. This is our mind space (Hrith–akasa) which is equated more with the Buddhi (Intellect) rather than with the manas (emotional mind). The Buddhi can be equally expansive and limitless.

When Sun is not there, the limitless sky is enveloped in total darkness. This darkness of the sky is illumined by the rise of the SUN. 

Likewise, the hrith-akasa (mind space) is enveloped in the total darkness of ignorance or Maya. This darkness of ignorance in the Hrith-akasa (mind space or sky) can only be illumined by the rise of the SUN of Atma Bodha or self knowledge.

 

It is because of this Sun that one can see various objects and the world is known, such a sun is here compared to Atman which is verily Consciousness.

As we have learnt in the previous verses also, it is only due to Consciousness that all the other senses seem to perceive and function. It is Consciousness alone that illumines everything and hence sustains everything.

When such Consciousness is realized as the very nature of Self, when such sun rises in the sky of heart, all the ignorance, affections, aversions vanish just like the darkness that vanishes with the rise of sun.

As at the approach of dawn the darkness dissolves off and the light brings everything clearly to our cognition; so too at the dawn of wisdom, all the ignorance is destroyed and the Self is realized as the all pervading, sole illuminator and sustainer.

When, Atma Jnanam is complete in the intellect, when we actually identify totally with the Atma, we see our self in everything and everything within our self. 

In this way, we are all pervading and we are the underlying support for all actions and transactions occurring in the world. We, as Atma or Self, illumine the whole world.

What do we exactly mean by "Self illumining the world"? How does a sadhaka, not fully into the Knowledge of SELF, relate to this illumining the world?

It is simple.

We are not this body, mind and intellect, we are not these 17 instruments that drive us. That is not How God created us.

God created us as His own image, which means we are the same God, in His absolute splendor, beyond any name or form, Who / That created this universe and illumines the world.

Illumining here means providing the Chaitanya or Consciousness energy for the world to function.

When we attain / discover that we, as SELF or ATMAN, are the same as GOD or BRAHMAN, then what change is brought to our existence?

Like God's consciousness is providing strength to this world or, as we said, illumines this world, We, existing as Atman or pure consciousness, can no more see, identify, recognize and react to this world through our eyes / ears / senses, mind and intellect but,

We exist as Pure Consciousness or say, God.

So, like God has graced this universe by creating the same with and as Him the Pure Consciousness,

We also are now able to see / witness this world with all its diversities only with / as Pure Consciousness or in simple words to at least understand and relate to, as GOD.

This is what is meant in vedanta as "We the SELF, illumining this akhilam or Jagath or Universe".

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 76

Verse 66

श्रवणादिभिरुद्दीप्तज्ञानाग्निपरितापितः ।

जीवः सर्वमलान्मुक्तः स्वर्णवद्द्योतते स्वयम् ॥ ६६॥

SHRAVANAADIBHIR UDDIIPTA

GYAANA AGNIPARI TAAPITAH

JIIVA SARVAMALAAN MUKTAH

SVARNAVAD HDYOTATE SVAYAM

[The ‘Jiva’ free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.]

In the previous slokas we learnt that Atman though ever present is perceived only by the eye of wisdom and not by the ignorant ones. In the next two slokas Acharya is explaining that such an ignorant one when purified by the fire of knowledge, the Atman shines by itself just like Gold.

In obtaining knowledge, Vedanta recommends three courses, first is sravanam or listening to the truth from the scriptures, then mananam or reasoning of the truth heard and finally nidhidyasanam which is deep contemplation on what has been heard and reasoned out.

Such a systematic learning and contemplation is necessary to clean one from the impurities of thoughts and only when ignorance is removed thus, does the Self reveal itself in all glory.

“Swarnavat Dyotate Swayam” Gold Shines Forth

The beauty of these similes is again and again seen to be the right simile for the right situation. In nature, what do we see that needs to be heated in order to be extracted in pure form? The mining of gold is a brilliant example.

The gold ore contains the tiny gold nuggets in the midst of solid rock. The whole ore has to be heated to a very high temperature in furnaces. Then, with both in liquid form, the gold separates from the rock completely, and is siphoned off as it sinks below the molten rock. When cooled down to form gold bars, it has a beautiful golden shine.

In the same way, the Jiva is Consciousness (the gold) mixed with the impurities of Vasanas, as well as ignorance together with all its effects (the subtle and gross body).

This Jiva (the raw gold ore) has to be smelted down through the rigorous processes of Sadhana. After undergoing this “heating” process, the impurities are removed and the pure gold Consciousness shines forth in the realized sage who has discovered his true identity as Atman, by this process.

Dear All,

How Sai reminds us of the need for intense sadhana to shine as Gold, when He addresses us as “Bangaaru”??

Also, to remind us that even while undergoing the rigorous process of rock getting converted to Gold, the rock, in its essence, had the gold always (Even when a spiritual aspirant has to undergo intense Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam to get rid of all impurities in his mind, at the end, when he shines in and as the fire of Knowledge, the truth is that He is the Gold, He is that Atman ever), Swami writes in the very 1^st chapter in Jnana Vahini thus:-

I Quote Bhagawan,

“When gold is melted in the crucible, it shines with a strange yellow glory. Where did that light emanate from? From the gold or the fire? What happened was only the removal of the dross by the fire; the effulgence belonged to the gold itself; it is its very nature. The fire is only an instrument for the removal of the dross. Nothing has been added to the gold by the fire in the crucible! If fire could give the splendour, then why doesn’t a stick or blade or pebble placed in the fire become as shining as gold? One has to conclude that the splendour came not through fire but out of its own inner nature.

The inner presiding Atma (Pratyagatma) is separate from the five sheaths of the individual (the panchakosas). It shines with its own splendour; it is the witness of the activities and consequences of the three qualities (gunas); it is immovable; it is holy and pure; it is eternal; it is indivisible; it is self-manifested, it is peace; it has no end; it is wisdom itself. Such an Atma has to be cognized as Oneself.”

I Unquote Bhagawan.

Love.