Atma Bodha - Post 44

Verse 34

निर्गुणो निष्क्रियो नित्यो निर्विकल्पो निरंजनः ।

निर्विकारो निराकारो नित्यमुक्तोऽस्मि निर्मलः ॥ ३४॥

NIRGUNAH, NISHKRIYAH, NITYAH,

NIRVIKALPAH, NIRANJANAH

NIRVIKAARAH, NIRAAKAARAH

NITYA-MUKTAH ASMI NIRMALAH

[Without attributes, without actions, eternal, without any desire (thought), without any impurity, without any change, without form, ever liberated, and ever Pure I am.] 

Here we come to the final phase of the discussion, which is Nididhyasana or meditation on the divine qualities of the Self. Up to now we were focusing on NEGATION (“Neti-Neti”). Now the time has come to focus on positive ASSERTION.

The divinity of the Spirit is asserted in Nididhyasana. Nididhyasana is where we bring the whole process to its glorious end, where we reap the full benefits of all the laborious efforts of earlier Sadhana. There is actually nothing to discuss.

The spirit of these verses is purely to assist us in the meditation Sadhana. No Need for “Why” & “How” Now To bring in why and how at this stage will sully the experience of Truth. 

Most important to derive the full benefit of these verses is to know that at this stage we are not interested in the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ anymore. All the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ have been dealt with in the previous stages. 

We have passed that stage already and come to the last phase which requires us to hold our focus steady and imbibe the richness of the Self-experience. We must feel the full flow of these qualities throughout our system, body and mind.

A monk said, “We do not need the speed-breakers of ‘why’ and ‘how’ to arrest the smooth flow of these qualities into our bloodstream.” What a beautiful illustration of the state of meditative ecstasy! Surely, that can only come from one who is himself immersed in such a state of bliss.

Nine qualities of the Self are listed in this verse.

Nirguna        – without attributes

Nishkriya     – without actions

Nitya             – eternal

Nirvikalpa   – without any desire and thought

Niranjana    – without any dirt (impurity)

Nirvikara     – without any change

Nirakara.     – without form

Nityamukta – ever free or liberated

Nirmala        – without impurity; ever pure

And all these qualities / lakshanas are given by Sankara for “Asmi”, the expression in the 4^th line of the verse.

Asmi: Who is the one described here? It is I – asmi. I am these. This is the crux of this Meditation effort. I meditate on these as My own self. 

I must spend as much time as necessary so that my nature sinks into me fully, totally and absolutely, as described in the verse. This is another extraordinary session of Nidhidhyasanam. I need to achieve total self knowledge as total identification with the self.

What a line-up! – An awesome, invincible team indeed! We experience our deepest Self as these beautiful qualities. It is such an experience that makes the spiritual quest so intensely rewarding and worthwhile. It is for a glimpse of these qualities that Yogis and sages make huge sacrifices in their personal lives.

Do they not now richly deserve to reap the harvest of all their hard work?

An Indirect Simile: “Ni” – the Highest Note in Music. All nine words for the nine qualities of the Self begin with the prefix ‘Ni’.

The seventh and highest note of a music octave is Ni, in Indian music.

Is it significant here that in talking about the qualities of God, the name of this note is in all of them?

A classical musician, when he gets to the highest note, tries to hold it for as long as he can. Is it significant then that when the spiritual seeker scales the heights of spirituality, he tries to maintain that state for as long as he can? – Perhaps forever!

Aho…. Aho……..

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 43

Verse 33

अमनस्त्वान्न मे दुःखरागद्वेषभयादयः ।

अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्र इत्यादि श्रुतिशासनात् ॥ ३३॥

AMANAS-TVAAT NA ME DUHKHA

RAGA-DVESHA-BHAYA-AADAYAH

APRAANAH HI AMANAAH SHUBHRAH

ITI AADI SHRUTI-SHAASANAAT

(Because I am not this mind, thus not for me is sorrow,   attachment, malice, fear and so on.  The Self is without Prana, and even without mind. “It is Pure” – thus declare the Shrutis (Upanishads). 

We now deal with the second aspect of our Upadhis – the mind. This step is Manana on the mind. It is more subtle reflection than that described in the previous verse. It is much more difficult to negate the mind than to negate the body.

The abstract is always more elusive than the concrete. 

Why is this negation being done? Is it because the Guru said so?

No, it is because that is the firm conviction that is arising in our mind of the limitations incumbent upon these Upadhis.

It is from our own intellectual conviction that we make the resolve to raise ourselves above these limitations, and not because anyone has told us to do so. 

This is the deep personal conviction which Vedanta imposes upon us, and from which springs the energy for the Sadhana.  

The mind here has to be taken as the entire Antahkarana or inner equipment, i.e. the mind, intellect and ego-sense. All these together form the mental Upadhis. 

Each one of them is associated with the full baggage of attachments, fears, likes and dislikes, emotions and feelings, and the joys and sorrows that are the effects of these thoughts.

We notice that from verse 31, the text begins to use the first person. ‘I’ am the subject of the actions. This is because the negation process is a process that concerns only ‘me’ in my relationship with all these Upadhis. 

It is an individual Sadhana to overcome the individuality. No one else need even know about this Sadhana. It is a personal practice, done for self-purification, not for acquiring any accreditation from others. 

It must not end up as an achievement for which the ego will be expecting to be applauded.

Swami Chinmayananda compares this step (of bringing the mind under scrutiny) as one would view or analyse one’s own dream. 

Once the dream is seen as a dream, it ceases to carry with it all the associated feelings and emotions it may have carried while it was still being dreamt. Upon awakening from one’s dream, the child that died in the dream does not bring sorrow.

Similarly, the seeker does not lament that he has to give up all the feelings that he once associated with his experiences. He now sees his mental encounters dispassionately as a witness. 

The ‘death’ of all the good or bad emotions and thoughts is not a cause for mourning, any more than are the termination of the sorrows and joys of dream upon awakening.

The logic of Vedanta is simple; we need not complicate it. Complications invite impurities to set in. The process is seen simply as this: “I am not these emotions. I am free from sorrow or pain. I have no attachment, malice or fear.” 

This practice, if carried out in simplicity, which means with purity, is sure to bring the result of peace of mind.

In other words, we should be very happy to be free from the mind! For it is the direction given by the Srutis (Upanishads) themselves. Handling of the mind in this way should bring us joy, not regret in having to lose something.

This negation of Mind, i.e., the Antah karana, is the first verse given by Sankara in Nirvana Shatakam

Mano budhi ahankara chithaa ninaham,

Na cha srothra jihwe na cha grhana netre,

Na cha vyoma bhoomir na thejo na vayu,

Chidananda Roopa Sivoham, Sivoham.

Our existence is perceived through Sareera Thrayam – the gross body, which is visible to us, the subtle body which runs the gross body in different ways from inside and the causal body which causes the existence of these two bodies but remains more or less dormant later with very less functions. These are Micro level bodies. At Macro level, the five great elements cause the existence of all the three micro bodies in each of us.

Sankaracharya is first negating that part of the causal body which feels as the ‘I’, the perceiver, then the sense organs (indriyaas) which act as the medium of transactions between this perceiver and the external world and then the external world, which is perceived by this perceiver.

The negation process is contained in the first 3 lines of the verse and is followed by the assertion process in the last line in strict adherence to the Nidhidhyasanam process. The meaning of the verse is explained below:

“I am not the emotional mind, the manas, which vacillates between thoughts and remains indecisive.

I am not the intellect, the Buddhi either, which is involved in decision taking.

I am not the ego, the ahankara,   which is responsible for the ‘I’  feeling.

I am not the Chittam, which indulges in deeper thinking and storing of all memories.

I am not the ears which hear the Sounds from external world, or the tongue which tastes, or the nose which smells or the eyes which see.

I am not the earth or the sky or the air or the light, the great elements of the universe.

I am the all pervading, universal consciousness and eternal bliss. I am the Siva, I am the Siva.”

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 42

Verse 32

देहान्यत्वान्न मे जन्मजराकार्श्यलयादयः ।

शब्दादिविषयैः सङ्गो निरिन्द्रियतया न च ॥ ३२॥

DEHA ANYATVAAT NA ME JANMA

JARAA AKAARSHYA LAYA AADAYAH

SHABDA-AADI VISHAYAIH SANGHA

NIR-INDRIYA TAYAA NA CHA

[I am other than the body, thus not for me is birth- wrinkling, senility, death and so on. With sense objects such as sound, etc, association is nil as I (the Self) am without sense organs.]

This and the next verse are Manana on the Self, wherein we ponder carefully over what we have heard on the Upadhis. We reflect seriously about the body and the mind and negate them, that is, go beyond the limitations imposed by them. In this verse we deal with the gross body – “I am not the body,” nor all the associated transactions it has with this world of names and forms.

Notice that the emphasis is on the changeability of the body. This is true of the entire gross universe of objects, but we see the effect of that changeability more dramatically when we see it in our own body. As we grow we encounter the 6 stages or modifications which the body undergoes.

They are: existence, birth, growth, disease, decay and death. They are the six phases which our body goes through in the course of a life of normal duration. When the body’s hold on our attention is loosened, then we begin to free ourselves from six changes that it undergoes, and which are inevitable to the body.

The real “I” is seen as a constant background, unaffected by the changing foreground. By retreating into the area of constancy in life, our life no longer dances up and down to the tune of the ever changing waves of bodily experiences. We do not live with the body as our centre. The body is not viewed as the essential part of us.

It is there, and we have to take care of it; but it is not the centre-stage of my life. This is how a seeker of Truth begins to reflect and analyze his body and its associated needs. As clearly mentioned in the previous verse, this does not mean that we sneer at the body as some inferior object to be detested. No such attitude is even suggested, even in the straightforward words, “I have nothing to do with these sense objects.”

By negating the gross body, we begin to reduce all identification with it, and finally eliminate it. In this process, our link to the spiritual world within is strengthened. The negation of body includes negation of our senses and all the sense objects that interact with the senses. These would naturally receive the same treatment as the body. They cease to dominate the drama of life.

Dear All,

In Puttaparthi, there used to be a devotee in 80s, who used to keep 2 photographs of his mother - one in her 20s and then another in her 90s.

Miracles used to happen at his place and devotees used to visit his place. Author has also visited few times.

That devotee used to show to the people both photographs of his mother and say, “This is how body changes, know this and come out of attachment to Body”.

As it is explained already, one need not and one must not develop any hatred / ill feeling towards his body when he goes through spiritual sadhana.

One has to only know and conclude that this body undergoes 6 changes from existence to death and thus, one must look beyond one’s body to THAT which never is born and therefore never dies. That is Atman, the SELF!!!

It is all about realizing the rope as rope and not snake, water as water and not merely as bubble or waves, Gold as just gold and not the various designs of ornaments made out of Gold. Sankara has filled Atma Bodha with so many examples to explain clearly as to what is REAL and what is UNREAL.

The call is – “Let Body be there. Channelize your mind towards higher SELF, towards God so that the mind stops giving too much importance to your body, its beauty etc. and focuses on God, the ultimate reality!!!!”

Rise beyond Body, mind, intellect and reach to THAT WITNESS CONSCIOUSNESS which has been observing all the changes that have happened to your body, your mind, your intellect, your very existence as human with all your impressions. Who has been watching all these changes and yet remains changeless????

Think!!!!!

Love.