Asthi, Bhathi, Priyam.

Drik Drisya Viveka 5

Verse 18

Tatha sargabrahmanoscha bhedam avritya thishtathi ।

Ya sakthistadvasadbrahma vikrutatvena bhasate ॥ 18॥

Similarly, the Creation and Reality distinction remains veiled; and due to the influence of this veiling power, Brahman appears as though It is undergoing modifications.

In this verse the focus shifts to the Macrocosm.   This verse discusses about superimposition as between universe and Brahman instead of Jiva and Sakshi in the previous verse.  As Sakshi, through false identification, appears to have become the Jiva, so also Brahman under the influence of Avarana Sakthi, comes to be identified with the external universe. When one looks at the world there seems to be one entity but there are actually two entities, Brahman and the world. The world and Brahman are mixed together.  Because of this mix-up one thinks that the world is substantial and the changes of the nama-rupa are transferred to the changeless Brahman  The difference between the non-substantial world, which is hollow nama-rupa, and the substantial Brahman, which is the substance, is not known to us because the Avarana Sakthi  covers that difference  Because of this superimposition the non-changing, attributeless Brahman falsely appears as the changing one with the six attributes; birth, existence, growth, change, decay and annihilation. This discussion is continued in the next verse as well.

Verse 19 

Atra api avrtinaasena vibhathi brahmasargayoh ।

Bhedastayorvikarah syat sarge na brahmani kvacit ॥ 19॥

In this case also, by the destruction of the veil, the Brahman-Creation distinction is made clear. Of the two, the modification exists in Creation, never in the Brahman.

As in verse 17 for the Microcosm, so too with this verse for the Macrocosm.  To get over the veil of Avarana Sakthi, one needs to equip oneself with the knowledge of the Self, Athma Vidya or Self-knowledge.  With Self-knowledge one understands the clear distinction between Brahman, the Creator and world, the Creation.  Brahman is satyam, free from attributes and suffers no change at any time.  World is mithya nama-rupa and without substance resting on Brahman that lends it substance.  The apparent identity of both is fostered by the Avarana Sakthi of Maya taking advantage of one’s Ajjnanam, ignorance of Self-knowledge.   When Ajjnanam is destroyed by Jnanam, Self-knowledge, the blinding veil of Avarana Sakthi falls off.  This process of overcoming the veiling power in this context is called Tat-pada-viveka while the one employed in verse 17 is called  Tvam-pada- viveka, where Tat stands for Brahman and Tvam stands for Jiva.

Verse 20

Asthi bhathi priyam rupam nama chetyamsapanchakam ।

Aadyatrayam brahmarupam jagadrupam tato dvayam ॥ 20॥

“It is, it shines, it is dear, it has form, and a name” – are the five aspects (of every entity).  The first three belong to Brahman; the latter two belong to the world.

Asthi denotes “Isness” or Existence I,e, Sat

Bhathi denotes “awareness” or Consciousness i.e. Chit

Priyam denotes “dearness” or liking i.e. Aananda

These three together i.e “Sat Chit Aananda”, constitute Brahman.

Nama denotes the name that everything and everyone in the creation is associated with.

Rupam: denotes form, this not only refers to the physical form but also refers to any property associated with objects and individuals in creation

Every entity has the above five characteristics, viz., Asthi, Bhathi,Priyam, Nama and Rupam.  Of these, the first three belong  to Brahman i.e. Ashti, bhathi, and priyam are Brahma-rupam, and are uniformly everywhere without any change or modification.  The other two i.e. Nama and Rupam belong to the world only and are always changing and abound in variety. One does not notice the brahma-rupam, which is the truth but fall in love with the variety, which is the untruth as untruth is attractive. A wise person is one who knows that the first three belong to Brahman and the last two is the work of Maya and with this wisdom enjoys the unstable mithya world without losing sight of its instability and mithyatvam.  We can say that the message of this verse is:  “Brahman is uniformly present in everything in creation, whether it is in objects or living beings". This message is explained further in the next verse.

Verse 21

Kha vayu agni jalorveeshu deva tiryang naradishu ।

abhinnaah sacchidanandaah bhidyate rupanamaani ॥ 21॥

In space, air, fire, water and earth; in deities, animals, man and all others; Existence, Knowledge and Bliss is no different; only their names and forms differ.

Brahman i.e.Sat-Chit-Ananda is equally present in all the insentient things of the world and also in the sentient beings.  In the verse, the insentient things are referred to by the five elements; space, air, fire water and earth, which constitute the building blocks making up the whole of creation.  The sentient beings are referred to by three grades of beings, the superior celestials, the inferior animals and the intermediate human beings: celestials, beings born with predominantly good karma; animals, beings born with predominantly bad karma; humans, beings in between these two, having a mixed karma of good and bad almost in equal proportion.  Within each of these categories there are an infinite variety of species, races, colours, etc.  In all of them, the characteristics of Brahman are uniformly present as the same, as Brahman  is the unchangeable substratum of everything created. In other words although Brahman is equally present in all beings, due to an infinite number of differences in the subtle and gross body make-up, they all manifest Brahman in a whole range of multiple ways.  In all of Creation, the two characteristics of Creation nama and rupa are different  and this difference in nama-rupa make all the things and beings appear different.  This verse reinforces the message that while satyam Brahman is unchangeable and constant in all objects and beings, the mithya creation as nama-rupa varies and differs and only when Avarana Sakthi of Maya is destroyed through Self-knowledge one can differentiate between satyam and mithya and not mix them up and be caught in the mire of samsara.

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