Saddarsanam - 1

(Verses 1 to 5)

Saddarsanam is a vedantic text written in Tamil originally by Ramana Maharishi under the title “Ulladu Narpadu (உள்ளது நாற்பது), It was translated into Sanskrit by his devotee Vasihta Ganapathi Muni.  Saddarsanam means Vision of Truth i.e. knowledge of Brahman as one's Self and is a short work of 44 verses.

Verse 1

Sat-pratyayah kim nu vihaya santam hrdy-esa chinta-rahito hrd-akyah I

Katham smaramas-tamameyam-ekam tasya smritis-tatra drdaiva nishta II

Can there be thoughts of existence of objects without the Existence principle? (No).  This Existence named as hrt is in the heart itself free from thoughts.  How can we remember that one immeasurable Existence?  Its remembrance is in the form of firm abidance in it.

This is a verse of benediction which is called Mangalacharanam.  Mangalacharanam can be in three different ways; 1) offering best wishes to the humanity, 2) Offering namaskaras to Guru and sastra, 3) statement of the Truth.  Maharishi chooses the third one and defines Brahman as Truth in the first verse.

In the first line Brahman is revealed as Existence.  Whenever we are experiencing an object we are not experiencing the object only, but also an additional thing called “Existence”. We experience the object as ‘is’ i.e book is, pot is etc.  Without ‘is-ness’ no object can exist.  All existent objects have Existence, Sat but Existence is not an object.  The thought of existing objects (sat-pratyaya) are many but the Existence principle is one only. Existence being the support of all is all-pervading.  Though the objects keep changing and differ in name, form, qualities. Existence which supports them is unchanging and so is indestructible.  For instance; a seed ‘is’; it grows into a tree and a tree ‘is’. The tree is cut; then timber ‘is’.  Timber is made into furniture and furniture ‘is’ and so on. The names and forms are created and destroyed but the ‘is-ness’ they enjoy as the unchanging substratum continues.  Thus giving up names and forms Brahman, the Truth, should be experienced as pure Existence.  This very same Existence that permeates all objects is experienced in the heart as Consciousness named hrt.   Consciousness illumines all thoughts, as Sakshi Chaitanyam, itself remaining free from thoughts.  Just as existence of object = object +Existence principle, knowledge of thought = thought + Consciousness.  Brahman, the Existence-Consciouness. is not an object and is free from thoughts and the only way to abide in it is to be one with it as ‘I am Brahman’ and only through this firm abidance can only be Brahman remembered always, according to Maharishi.

Verse 2

Mṛtyunjayam mrtyu-bhiyasritanam aham-matir-mrtyum-upaiti purvam ।
Atha svabhavad-amrteṣu teṣu kathaṃ punar-mrtyu-dhiyo'vakasah II

For those who have taken refuge, out of fear of death, in the Conqueror of death, the “I” thought (notion) is the first to attain death.  Thereafter, in them (who are) by their own nature immortal, how again can there be space for the thought of death? 

This is the second verse of benediction.  In the first one Maharishi expounded the path of jnanam.  In this verse he is taking up the path of bhakthi through bhakthi to Lord Siva.  Lord Siva is here addressed aptly as Mrityunjaya, conqueror of death. Here Maharishi gives a philosophical significance to Siva Puja.  Lord Siva’s bhaktha who is scared of death takes refuge in Him.  Lord Siva by destroying the devotee’s feeling of individuality (aham-mati), rids him of the feeling of mortality and also of the insecurity of samsara.  For with the extinction of individuality, the notion ‘ I am bhaktha’ also goes. When this notion goes, the notion based division also goes. Division is the cause of finitude and feeling of limitation caused by plurality.   So ahamkara-nasa is followed by bhaya-nasa as well because with the destruction of the notion of division, Jiva-Isawara bhedha also goes and the devotee feels one with the Conqueror of Death, Lord Siva.   Anyone identifying with body fears, death and insecurity and suffers samsara.  On realisation of the true identity of his Self with the Lord, no more for him fear of death and insecurity of samsara, Maharishi points out.  But to gain the realisation of identity through the path of devotion one needs to surrender to Lord totally with strong faith.

Verse 3

sarvair-nidanam jagato'hamas-ca vacyah prabhuh kascid-aparasaktih ।
citre'tra lokyam ca vilokita ca patah prakaso'pyabhavat-sa ekah ॥

The primary cause of the world and of the “I” is accepted by all as some Lord with boundless power.  Here, in this picture, that One alone has become the seer, the seen, the screen, and the light also.

When one makes enquiry into the cause for jiva and jagat, one arrives at the third factor, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Brahman which is the primary cause, a causeless cause. On enquiry one learns that Brahman with his power of Maya projected the world and the beings out of Himself i.e He himself appears as this world and all its beings. To understand this we can take the example of a knitted picture containing sunset behind the mountains, a river running by the side of mountains, persons and animals on the river-bank etc.  If one starts pulling the wool one will realize that one ball of wool had become all this. Similarly Brahman alone is the substratum, the illuminator, for the various names and forms of this world, says Maharishi.  Like movie on a stationery screen this play of jiva and jagat is imagined on Brahman, that is Consciousness, which is one’s Self only.

Verse 4

Arabhyate jiva-jagat-paratma - tattvabhidhanena matam samastam।
Idam trayam yavad-ahaṃ-mati syat sarvottama'ham-mati-sunya-nishta ॥

All philosophies begin with naming of the principles of the individual, the world, and the Supreme Self.   This triad will exist so long as the “I”-notion exists. The best of all is abidance in the Self where there is absence of the “I”-notion.

All the philosophical systems accept three basic tattvams.  They are: 1) Jiva, the individual; 2) Jagat, the world and 3)Paramathma/Isvara, the cause of jiva and jagat.  Insecurity and samsara will continue as long this triad is maintained.   It would be quite impossible to gain the vision of oneness, if one were to keep the ego/ahamkara intact.  The supreme state of oneness is devoid of ego.  In this state of oneness ‘I” am not a kartha, bhoktha, bhaktha, upasaka, pramatha, Jnani etc.  Experience and interaction will continue in this state but all with an awareness that “it is all only nama-rupa”.  So Maharishi advises that one starts with the triad, refines the ahamkara until the finite ahamkara is uprooted and abidance in the absence of the finite ‘I’ notion is achieved.  The absence of the finite ‘I’ notion is achieved only when the infiniteness of the Self as Brahman is realised.

Verse 5

Satyam mrsa va cid-idam jadam va duhkham sukham veti mudha vivadah ।
Adreta-loka niraham-pratitir - nistha'vikalpa parama'khilesta ॥

Arguments that this is true or false, sentient or inert, sorrow or happiness, are to no purpose.  The state free from all thoughts, without the ‘I’ notion and the world, is the supreme state desired by all.

A discussion among equals in order to arrive at truth or a conclusion is called vada.  An argument where the ego is at play is called vivada.  Maharishi feels that vada and vivada regarding the nature of the world as true or false, sentient or inert, sorrow and misery or joy and happiness etc, are wasteful exercises only, as it does not knock off ahamkara for the culmination of enquiry must be in the assured absence of ahamkara.  Only if one knows the truth of ‘I’, the knowing subject, can one correctly know the truth of the world, the known object. Since the resulting state of Self-knowledge is devoid of the ego, which is the root of all problems and sufferings and the cause of all arguments, Maharishi declares it is a desirable state for all. Further in that state of wisdom only there is no division and one sees the world as not real and the localized ‘I’ is not seen.   In samadhi and sushupthi state also divisionlessness is experienced but they are temporary states of divisionlessness where dvaitam is in a potential form and becomes manifest as one comes out of samadhi or sushupthi.   So when one has given up attending to the world and has known oneself by enquiring ‘Who am I’, there is no individual who seeks to know the truth about the world.

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