Advaita Makaranda -3

Verses 13 to 17

Verse 13

shad-vikara-vatam vetta nirvikarah aham anyatha I

tad vikara anusandhaanam sarvathaa na avakalpate II

I am the knower of things having the six modifications. Hence, I am free of all such modifications. Otherwise, the memory of those modifications would in no way be possible to imagine.

The human body is subject to six modifications.  The six modifications are; it is born, it grows, it changes, it decays and it perishes.  As ‘I’, the Consciousness, is the knower of them all, it is free from them all. For the knower of a thing is different from the thing. Here the knower stands for illumining principle. Consciousness which illumines the changes is changeless.  It merely illuminates the changes.

Verse 14

tena tena hi roopena jaayate leeyate muhuh I

vikaari vastunah teshaam anusandhaatritaa kutah? II

If a thing is born and disappears every moment, taking different forms successively, then how can such a changing thing, remember the changes?

In the last verse it is pointed out that the inert physical body suffers modifications and Consciousness, the knower of modifications is changeless. But kshanjka-vijnana-vada group of Buddhists argue that there is no division as sentient and insentient and it is the Consciousness itself that rises every moment in the form of objects and then disappears and there is no permanent Consciousness which is changeless.   If Consciousness perishes with the passing of every modification, how can there be knowledge of the sequence of modifications?  So Vedanta says there is a permanent substratum on which all objects play as a mere appearance and that substratum is Consciousness.  Otherwise knowership or recollection of the happenings is not possible.

Verse 15

na cha sva-janma naasam va drishtum arhati kashchana I

tau hi praag uttara abhava charama prathama kshanau II

In addition, one’s own birth or death cannot be seen by oneself.  Indeed, birth is the last moment of ‘prior non-existence’; and death the first moment of ‘posterior non-existence’.

This verse is countering an argument in support of the kshanjka-vijnana-vada group of Buddhists. However wise one may be, one cannot see one’s own birth and death.  The end of prior non-existence, Praag-Abhava, is birth and beginning of posterior non-existence. Uttara-Abhava, is death.  Thus we have birth as the Charama Kshana or the last moment of prior nonexistence, rather than the first moment of existence! Similarly, death is Prathama Kshana or first moment of posterior non-existence, rather than the last moment of existence!   So even if the Consciousness is of a changeable nature with the capability to know the changes it cannot know the two moments of Prathama Kshana and Charama Kshana purely because It is not present there.  So if a changing Consciousness would not be able to know at least two of the six modifications, namely, birth and death then how can it know all the other modifications between them!   So it is illogical to hold the view that Consciousness can know its own modifications. The only other option is that Consciousness is free of all modifications.

Verse 16

‘na prakase aham’ iti uktir yat prakasaika bandhana

sva-prakasam tam aatmaanam aprakasah katham spriset?

The statements like “I do not know” are illumined on the basis of Consciousness.

How can that self-illumining Self be ever touched by Ignorance?

When one says “I do not know”, it is not ignorance that is speaking, but knowledge, the knowledge which is obtained through the Self, that is Consciousness.  This Self illumines everything that one knows, including the knowledge that one does not know. That is the ability which belongs solely to Consciousness, which is all-knowing and self-illumining.  Ignorance cannot touch it because they are of the opposite nature.  Ignorance cannot and does not exist in Athma i.e. Consciousness.  Just as clouds that veil the sun are seen because of the light of the sun and the clouds can neither touch nor actually cover the sun.  Further the fact that one is able to talk about ignorance, ignorance of everything including self ignorance, indicates that ignorance can conceal everything but not the consciousness which is illumining ignorance. Also Consciousness being infinite anything cannot cover the Consciousness because to cover the infinite, you require something bigger than the infinite.

Verse 17

tatha api abhaati kah api eshah vichara abhaava jeevanah I

avasyayah chidakaase vichara arkah udaya avadhih II

Even then this inexplicable something (ignorance) appears as long as enquiry into one’s Self is absent. It is like a thick mist in the space of Consciousness, which lasts only until the sun of knowledge born of Self-enquiry rises.

Ignorance is described as ‘inexplicable something’ as it cannot be pointed out positively as existing or negatively as non-existing. It is not unreal as it is experienced directly.  We cannot also say it is real because a real thing cannot be negated and this ignorance can be negated.  Further though nothing can cover Consciousness, that is infinite, ignorance seems to do it as most of the people are ignorant of their real Self, the Consciousness, and as a result of Self-ignorance do not claim “Aham Brahmasmi” and land in Samsara, which they cannot get rid of without getting rid of Self-ignorance through Self-knowledge.   The author conveys the idea through a nice simile.  In the sky covered by thick mist that obstructs or distorts vision, when bright sunlight comes the mist evaporates leaving behind a clear bright sky.  Similarly the mist of ignorance that appears to cover the Space like Consciousness disappears with the onset of Self-enquiry giving rise to Self-knowledge.

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