Advaita Makaranda -4

Verses 18 to 22

Verse 18

aatma ajnaana mahaa-nidraa jrimbhite asmin jagat maye I

deergha-swapne sphuranti ete svarga mokshadi vibhramah II

Out of the great ‘Sleep’ called ignorance, is projected the dream consisting of this world. In this long dream, there spring forth the delusions such as heaven, liberation, etc.

In this and the next verse, the mithyathvam of the world is discussed.  To convey this idea, the author defines the world and its transactions as a dream caused by self- ignorance.  Self-ignorance is compared to spiritual sleep because in one’s regular sleep one is not aware of oneself as waker and in spiritual sleep one is not aware of oneself as Sat- Chit-Aananda swarupa Athma. The sleep has got two powers - Avarana sakthi and Vikshepa sakthi. The Avarana sakthi covers oneself as a waker. Then the Vikshepa sakthi projects a dream world out of oneself that appears very real in the dream for the dreamer does not know the dream as dream in the dream.   All the dream transactions and sufferings also appear real for a dreamer in the dream as the dream itself is real for the dreamer.  They can end only when one gets back to oneself as a waker.  The ignorance of oneself as a Sat- Chit-Aananda swarupa Athma is a higher sleep in which the Avarana sakthi has covered the Sat- Chit-Aananda swarupam and the Vikshepa sakthi has projected this waking world which is a longer dream.  From Vyavaharika jiva drishti, samsara, moksha etc., are all real but from Paramarthika Athma drishti samsara, moksha etc., are all mithya only.

Verse 19

jada-ajada vibhagah ayam ajade mayi kalpitah I

bhitti-bhage same chitre chara-achara vibhagavat II

This division as the inert and the sentient (things), is imagined in Me, the Pure Consciousness, just like stationary and moving objects drawn in a flat painting upon a plain white wall.

In the dream example cited in the previous verse, one dreams as a sentient living being and projects a dream that has sentient living beings and inert objects, both created by the dreamer.  The waker is not affected by the divisions in the dream.  The author in this verse gives another example of a stationary inert wall on which moving and stationary objects besides sentient beings and inert objects are painted.  The wall is not affected by the divisions in the painting on the wall.  It only supports the painting and is not concerned with what is painted on it.  In the same way, the Self, the pure Consciousness is unaffected by all the variety in creation superimposed on It.  The opposites like sentient and inert, moving and stationary in creation are all superimposed on the substratum, the real Self, the pure Consciousness.

Verse 20

chaityah uparaga rupa me sakshita api na taattvikee I

upalakshanam eva iyam nistaranga chid-ambudheh II

Even my witnesshood is only a thought arising in the mind; it is not the Absolute. This witnesshood is only an assumption in the waveless ocean of Consciousness (that I am).

Various thoughts like that of doership, enjoyership etc. constantly rise in the mind.  The Consciousness is the illuminator of all these thoughts. Only with regard to these thoughts Athma, the pure Consciousness is said to be the witness, but this status of being a witness is not absolute.  Because when the world, which is only a Vyavaharika sathyam, is negated, then Athma, the pure Consciousness, which is a Paramarthika sathyam no longer has the status of witness.  The witness status is only an incidental definition from the stand point of the unreal world. The term ‘witness’ only describes an assumption of that one Brahman, which is free from all modifications and which is a limitless Ocean- of-Consciousness without any waves of thoughts and that one without a second Brahman is Athma, my true Self.

Verse 21

amrita abdheh na me jeernih moorshaa dindeera janmabhih I

sphatika adreh na me raagah swapna sandhya abhra-vibhramaih II

To Me, the ocean of immortality, there is no loss when ‘unreal’ waves rise or fall. To Me, the mountain of pure crystal, there is no colouring when whirls of ‘unreal’ evening clouds pass by.

This verse gives us two beautiful analogies that tell us what Pure Consciousness is like. One is that of ocean and waves and the second is that of mountain of pure crystal and colourful clouds at time of sunset. Imagine an ocean with bubbles and waves rising and falling.  Bubble is not a separate substance and waves are not separate substances. There is only one substance called water. Bubble is a name given to a form, wave is a name given to another form. Similarly, I, the Consciousness, am like that ocean and the whole world is Nama-Rupa superimposed on me, the Consciousness. Because of the rise and fall of these waves and bubbles, nothing happens to the ocean with no increase or loss of water.  Similarly, because of the rise and fall of the creation, Nama-Rupa, nothing will happen to me, the Consciousness, an ocean of immortality, ever changeless and indestructible.  The second example is that of a mountain of pure crystal.   In the evening sky, colourful clouds appear and disappear and move about.  The colours of the cloud can never tinge the mountain with its colours. The mountain does not become red because of a red cloud or blue because of a blue cloud, only it appears to change colours with the clouds. But it does not change colour and remains asangaha; untainted, and un-tinged by the colors of the moving clouds. Even though, seemingly, the crystal seems to gain different colours, crystal is ever untainted. The movement of the colourful clouds cannot colour the crystal mountain.  Similarly, events in life cannot affect  Me, the Athma that is pure Consciousness.

Verse 22

swaroopam eva me satvam na tu dharmo nabhastvavat

mat anyasya satah abhavan na hi sat jaatih ishyate.

Existence is my (the Athma’s) very nature, not just my quality; as space-ness is the very nature of space. Nor can Existence be considered as a category because there is no existence apart from me.

If Existence is a property, it will have to depend upon something else for its existence.  If Existence is a property and it depends upon some substance then that substance different from this property has to be something other than existence. Other than existence, it can only be non-existence.  In that case Existence will be a property which depends upon non-existence for its existence which is logically wrong.  Therefore, Existence is not a property.  It is the very nature of Athma, my Self.  Existence is not many. There is only one Existence which pervades all the people.  For Athma that is Brahman is one without a second, Ekam eva Advitiyam, and Brahman’s aspect as Existence makes Him the support of all that has existence.  He is the very existence (Sat) of everything!  The example of space is given here to illustrate this. You cannot count many spaces because space is only one. When you count the spaces as pot space, room space, stomach space, head space etc., the plurality belongs to the containers and not to space.  So there is no plurality in respect of space. Existence cannot be categorised as well for there should be more of one to categorise.  As there is no plurality with Consciousness like space, it cannot be categorised. So Consciousness is one only and it is the nature of Athma, the Self and it is not a property or can be considered as a category.  That one Existence lending existence to all the Nama-Rupas is the Swarupam of my real Self as Athma. 

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