Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 12

(He who directly experiences at the time of realization, His own Atman as being one with this Universe)

At this point, we are introduced to the realized person’s experience. The equation for realization is simple, the Maya element has to be removed:

JEEVA – MAYA = ATMAN.

From the viewpoint of realization, the world will certainly appear unreal, as just a reflection before us. And because there is no mirror anymore, whatever we see as the world will be seen as being in the Atman. In other words, the Atman and the Universe will be inseparable. That is the vision of realization.

There is a logical extension of this vision: All Jivas have essentially the same Atman; it is only their unique mirrors that make them appear different. Without that mirror, the realized person will see all Jivas as himself. In fact, he will see all inert objects, too, as himself. 

That is nothing short of being Iswara Himself, the totality of all creation. And the Atman that he realizes, not being connected any more to his individuality, is now no different from Brahman, the supreme, universal Reality. What a shift this is! The realized person transcends his individuality completely and lives in universality.

Upon realization, one gains knowledge of his true Self by recognizing the illusory mischief of Maya and eliminating it, then, for him, “I am Atman” at the individual level, and no different from Brahman at the universal level. So, in fact, I and Brahman are found to be the same Reality. 

Janaka roars in Ashtavakra Gita, thus: -

(Wonderful, Marvelous, In Me, the limitless ocean, the waves of individual selves, according to their nature, arise, jostle about (push / strike each other), play for some time and disappear)

Let us see this verse in depth from different perspective.

When the Jiva perceives this verse in his early stage in sadhana

When the waves are considered as Jivas, with even Janaka may be one of them, then, the whole session on the wave and ocean fits in this verse straight.

However, that is not what is given in this verse.

The absolute level which this verse echoes.

These were the bullet points noted by the author when he went into a very deep contemplation on this verse and he is giving it to the world of seekers as it is.

•       At transcendental level, Janaka cannot perceive anything apart from Him, the limitless ocean.

•       Therefore, all his expressions about all beings arising, jostling, playing and merging in Him, is not possible

•       At the substratum level (Pure Canvas), He cannot come up to the surface level (creation level) to see various beings arising..

•       Even if any being is there, for Him, that being, all beings are not apart from Him the Pure Canvas, substratum.

The way a Guru would teach this to mumukshu sadhakas.

•       Assuming the role of a preceptor, acting as Sadguru for all future mumukshus to come in 1000s of years, He comes down from that transcendental state 

•     And, He says, yes, you may say there is creation, there are various human beings with various vasana levels

•       For you, I must teach that “You, if at all you arise from me, the Pure Canvas and due to ignorance, say that you are different from me, you are Non SELF, then I have to teach you that you may arise, jostle against each other, play ….. but you have to ultimately come and merge in me.

•       Your assuming an identity as wave, apart from me the Pure Canvas, is your ignorance, your misapprehension.

•       But I, if I must see you all, must clearly express that I see you as what you were before arising (before identifying yourself as Jiva, wave, separate from me) or I can say, I see you all as that, after you have merged with me at your final moment of realization.

In both these states, before you were even born or you were just born in your first ever birth, without developing any ego 

Or

After going through all the roller coaster of life in few/many births, when you have discovered SELF and have merged in me the Pure consciousness. 

You (the sum total of “each you”, representing the whole creation) is always same as me, the Pure consciousness/ Atman.

Swami says,

Unity is not Combination, it is a Realization.

What does unity mean? It is not the combination of many; it is the realization of oneness. When you have mirrors all around you, you see your many forms. These are all truth.

The one who asks the question and the one who gives the reply, both are one and the same. All are one. The same person appears in many forms. To consider these forms as different from each other is a mistake.

(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol.42/Ch.19)

 

(To that “Realized One”, The Revered Form of the Guru, do I offer my salutation; He is the Revered Form of Sri Dakshinamurthy)

This Pada or the 4th line, common to all the verses, is the basic line of salutation to the Guru, who is addressed in the context of this verse as the “Realized One”, known as Sri Dakshinamurthy.

All the three references to the Lord (Tasmai and Moortaye (moortaye appearing twice)) are to indicate who is saluted. This indicates that they are terms to be regarded on an equal footing. 

This implies that the Guru and the Lord Himself are on equal footing. The Guru is being saluted as an embodiment of the Lord. This is the attitude of an ideal student.

Any realized Guru will never equate himself with God on his own. 

But in his perfection, in his utmost purity, in his absolute desire less ness, in his love, in his compassion, in his existence as  pure existence, awareness, bliss, the experience gained by few sincere disciple is exactly the same as that which they get when they are in divine presence of God. 

To such an ideal disciple, his realized master gives the assurance, “If  the guru has realized SELF, then the  disciple can also realize SELF. 

In fact, the disciple, irrespective of his shortcoming, his vasanas, his ego, is ever the pure SELF. This purity of the disciple is reflected in the mirror (SELF) which the Master exists as. 

Love.

 

Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 11

Now, we move on to the 2nd line of the first verse

(Although the play is happening within in ‘Me’, the Atman. Yet, due to Maya’s power, it is seen to be produced outside ‘me’, the Jiva, just as it appears in a dream)

When we look at a mirror, what do we see? Ourselves, of course. That means, the Atman within is seeing Itself as the Jagat outside. 

The real “I” is being equated to the world seen in the mirror. What makes the ‘Me’ within appear as the ‘world’ outside?

The text says that this is due to a cosmic illusory Power called Maya. That which makes the internal ‘Me’ appear as an external ‘world’ is Maya. 

It means the mirror is Maya. If Maya were not there, there would be no world out there. That means there will also be no “me” as Jiva, but only ‘Me’ as the Atman.

Actually, the world is not an illusion. But our experience is illusion.

For example, when you watch a movie, you are seeing various lights on the silver screen. But your perception is entirely different. You watch still pictures in a succession every second. But you have a perfect illusion of seeing action. This illusion is due to Maya.

You think, what you perceive is REAL. But it is complicated illusion of all things brought in by your senses and projected on your mind, creating a sense of real experience. This illusion is due to maya.

Swami Sivananda writes,

“Maya is cunning and deceptive. She is the illusory power of Ishvara. It is the finitising principle that creates finite forms in Infinite Brahman. She has got 2 powers, Avarna Sakti and Vikshepa Sakti. 

She hides the Truth through Avarana Sakti (veiling power). She projects this universe, creates false names and forms through Vikshepa Sakti (projecting power).

Avarana Sakti conceals the Atman and veils the Jiva. Through the force of this Sakti, he is not able to separate himself from the five sheaths.”

Maya has different meanings in different context. In this context, it means the capacity to delude you from recognizing the true experience (ignorance).

This immediately throws out a challenge to our intellect and we think, My current experience is that the world appears real to me; I consider myself to be a real entity. But I am told that this world is not real, but is a reflection of ‘Me’, reflected outside by Maya, like the sun being reflected outside itself in a mirror. All the other Jivas like me are equally reflections of the one Atman in various mirrors; I as an individual am one of them.

So, each Jiva must surely have its own unique mirror, constituted of varying proportions of Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, producing its own world.

This fact of Jivas experiencing different worlds unique to each Jiva, is compared to the appearance of dream. 

Each Jiva produces its own dream which no other Jiva has any access to. Similarly, due to having different mirrors, each Jiva produces its own ‘world’, which is different from the worlds seen by other Jivas.

When you dream, your dream world seems external. 

You see so many things happening and you may even see yourself as a part, as one of the characters in your dream.

You are there and the dream is happening outside you. This is what you think, till you get up next day morning.

Next day you realize that the dream existed within your mind. 

This dream world seems as though exists outside, but it is seen within oneself. Everything that is experienced in dream exists within.

This dream experience brought in by Sankara in this verse clearly explains to a sadhaka, one truth.

The creation, as though appearing outside you (like the dream appeared to have been happening outside you), in reality, it is only the play of your mind due to the power of maya/avidya.

There is no creation outside you and there is no you the jiva other than you the atman, to perceive any creation outside you.

It is futile to keep struggling to find out how maya is causing me to look at the creation outside me, even myself as a jiva outside me (the SELF). 

It is beneficial to realize SELF and upon the realization, maya shakti gets away from you, unable to bear the fire of your Brahma anubhuti!!

Love.

 

 

 

Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Post 10

Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam

After completing the Dhyana Shlokam, we are starting the Dakshinamurthy Stotram or the Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam, as it is referred to.

Verse 1

 

(The Pluralistic Universe is seen as though in a mirror, reflected in it like a city. 

Although the play is happening within in ‘Me’, the Atman. Yet, due to Maya’s power, it is seen to be produced outside ‘me’, the Jiva, just as it appears in a dream;

He who directly experiences at the time of realization, His own Atman as being one with this Universe, to that “Realized One”, 

The Revered Form of the Guru, do I offer my salutation; He is the Revered Form of Sri Dakshinamurthy.)

The verse introduces seven key Vedantic concepts that are described in later verses:

    1. Jagat – the Pluralistic Universe.

    2. Maya – the Power of Illusion which projects it.

    3. Jiva – the individual soul that experiences it.

  4. Eswara – the universal Soul that is the totality of all Jiva(s) and all inert objects.

    5. Brahman – the universal Reality, that is identical with

   6. Atman – the individual Reality. Realization of this is the spiritual goal.

    7. Guru – the Teacher who leads us to realization is himself the Reality. 

These seven concepts need to be understood clearly by the serious student. Their inter-relationships are elaborated upon in the remaining seven verses of the Ashtakam. 

The opening verse is the Vastu Sangraha Vakya or “Contents page” for the remaining verses.

The Simile of the “Mirror”

The entire world is like a city which is being seen in a mirror, but it is located within oneself.

The mirror is an excellent simile for the subject matter as it clearly demarcates the Real from the unreal, the two being on either side of the mirror. 

The first message the text delivers is that Jagat, referred  here as Viswam, the Universe of names and forms, is an unreal, illusory appearance, like any image we see in a mirror. 

In the case of an ordinary man the world is taken as real, because the presence of the mirror is not known. 

The external world is experienced through the 5 basic senses of knowledge called sense organs.  These senses are Eye, Ear, Skin, Tongue, and Nose. 

Their functioning is seeing, hearing, touch, taste and smell respectively. These senses metaphorically project its experience on the screen of the mind. 

This projection on mind is illumined by the consciousness. Thus, the external experience conveyed through the senses is known to you.

Everything you know about the world comes to you in the form of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell (through five senses). It creates the perception on the screen of your mind.

My mind always thrives in the association of something gross that my five sensory organs deliver to it. The five sensory organs bring in material things, thoughts, emotions and my mind without them cannot stay on its own. 

It craves for them and runs behind them. In this process, it becomes stained with the impressions of them. 

Awareness is for the mind to notice these happenings. Noticing or witnessing is enough to understand about the clinging. Reality in its purest form is never affected by anything. 

Just like that, awareness is also like a mirror reflecting everything and never being affected by them. When I am aware I need not worry. Realizing that I am a mirror is called awareness and thus my mind is stainless.

The immediate fact raised in the very first line is that there are two selves. 

1) There is an unreal self or “me” who is the individual, the Jiva, that is part of the world, part of the reflection. 

2) The other is the Real Self or “Me”, the Atman, who is looking into the mirror and seeing the whole world reflected in it, including the Jiva. 

In this sense, the Atman is the Witness of the Jiva and the world in front. My present experience is only of the unreal “me”, the Jiva. I do not know anything of the Atman who is the real ‘Me’. 

I, the Self, see Myself as the world. I, the seeker-Jiva, am told that this Universe which I see before me is only an illusion. These are two distinctly different ways of looking at the same world. 

My two selves see the world in two opposite ways: the Jiva aspect, ‘me’, sees the world as being different from ‘me’. 

Whereas the Atman aspect, “Me”, views the world including “me”, as its own Self!

An enlightened person is just like that mirror. They just reflect only the present and yet are not attached to it. They are not anxious of the object that must be reflected and if there is nothing to reflect upon, they just reside in the emptiness.

Relating to the mirror=mind, Author gave a session long back on Mind=consciousness. 

The enlightened seer’s mind is like that. He does not see anything except himself, the pure consciousness and hence, the mirror mind, the seen creation, the perceiving senses - he cannot differentiate these things and see them as objects, for him, there is nothing apart from him, the pure awareness consciousness.

Love.

PS- Today's post covers only the first line and in the most brief manner possible. We will be going very slow, getting into the very depth of each line and if need be, each word / expression, henceforth.