Aparokshanubhuthi – 8

Prarabdha for a Jnani 

Verse 89

Athmanam satatam janankalaṃ naya mahadyute I

Prarabdhamakhilam bhunjannodvegam kartumaharsi II

O enlightened one, pass your time always contemplating on Athma while you are experiencing all the results of prarabdha for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

This verse is a verse of advice to the student who has the grasped the teaching so far. This teaching can be broadly classified into two lessons.  The first lesson is on Athma-anathma-Viveka; separating world including one’s own body-mind complex as anathma from One’s own Self, ’I’, as Athma that is same as Brahman, the super Self.  Second lesson is; anathma is mithya and non-substantial and Athma alone is the substance and Sathya and is One only, without changes. Sri Sankara is advising the student to spend his time thinking of himself as “I”, the Athma, without bothering about the problems of body, the anathma.  Body will not get liquidated on Liberation, but will continue until exhaustion of prarabdha, experiencing problems of health and environs.  He cannot change the experience but he can change his attitude to the experience. The changed attitude is - “All these problems concern the body which is not me, the Athma”.  This change of attitude and constant contemplation of Self as Athma will change the impact of prarabdha on him.  From the next verse a discussion on prarabdha and Jnani is started.

Verse 90

Utpanne'pyathmavijnane prarabdham naiva munchati I

Iti yacchruyate sastre tannirakriyate'dhuna II

The theory one hears of from the scripture, that prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Athma, is now being refuted.

Verse 91

Tattvajnanodayadurdhvaṃ prarabdham naiva vidyate I

Dehadinamasatyatvadyatha svapno vibodhatah II

After the origination of Athma Jnanam, prarabdha verily ceases to exist, inasmuch as the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking

Verse 92

Karma janmantariyam yatprarabdhamiti kirtitam I

Tattu janmantarabhavatpumso naivasti karhichit II

That karma which is done in a previous life is known as prarabdha (with respect to this life which it has brought forth).  But such a prarabdha does not exist (for a Jnani) as he has no other birth.

Verse 93

Svapnadeho yathadhyasthastathaivayam hi dehakah I

Adhyastasya kuto janma janmabhave hi tatkutah II

Just as a body in a dream is superimposed (and therefore illusory), so is also this body.  How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body) where is the room for that (prarabdha) at all?

Prakarana granthas like Tattvabodha have said that a Jnani has got prarabdha.  “On gaining Jnanam the sanchitha gets removed and agami is avoided but prarabdha continues for a Jnani because of which he survives until its exhaustion” is what one learns from them. Sri Sankara after recalling this in verse 90 proceeds to refute it in succeeding verses. Verse 91 points out that one who has acquired Athma Jnanam is a person with the realization that as Athma he is neither a kartha nor bhoktha and his body-mind complex is an unReal upadhi only and is like the dream body that does not exist for the waker.  So though from vyavaharika-drshti a Jnani is said to have prarabdha, a Jnani does not have prarabdha from Paramarthika-drshti

 Verse 92 advances another argument in support of this.  The karma of the previous other births are known as prarabdha. For the realized Jnani, there is no question of other births and so the prarabdha also does not exist.  Verse 93 explains why it is said there is no purva janma for Jnani.  Just as a dream-body is superimposed on the waker, the sthula sareera, which is unreal for the Jnani, is a superimposition on the Jnani, the Athma. How can prarabdha, which is said to be the cause for birth of the body exist when there is no body in the first place, just like the date of birth for the rope-snake.

Verse 94

Upadanam prapanchasya mrdbhandasyeva kathyate I

Ajnanam chaiva vedantaistasminnashte kva visvata II

The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the world, just as clay is of the pot. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the world, subsist?

Verse 95

Yatha rajjum parityajya sarpam gṛhnati vai bhramat I

Tadvatsatyamavijnaya jagatpasyati mudhadhih II

Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the world without knowing the Reality

Verse 96

Rajjurupe parijnate sarpakhandam na tisthati I

Adhisthane tatha jnate prapanchah sunyatam gatah II

The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the world becomes extinct.

Verse 97

Dehasyapi prapanchatvatprarabdhavasthitih kutah I

Ajnanijanabodhartham prarabdham vakti vai srutih II

The body also being within the world (and therefore unReal), how could prarabdha exist? It is therefore for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Sruthi speaks of prarabdha (for the Jnani). 

In the above verses, two examples quoted earlier to prove mithyathvam of the world is restated to support the statement that prarabdha does not exist for Jnani.  The clay-pot example is repeated in verse 94 and the rope-snake example is repeated in verses 95 and 96 to emphasize mithyathvam of the phenomenal world for the Jnani, which the ajjnani treats as Real.  Verse 97 explains in the second line why Sruthi in some places speaks of prarabdha for Jnani.   In the first line it continues the statement of earlier verses that the world is falsified for the Jnani. Body being part of the world is also falsified as well and the prarabdha that affects the body has no impact on him as body does not exist for him. But ajjnani argues that if ignorance with all its effects is destroyed by knowledge how does a body of a Jnani live and how is it possible for him to behave like ordinary mortals?  It is for their sake Sruthi gives a tentative explanation that Jnani has prarabdha and only the other two karmas get destroyed with the dawn of Jnanam only to get refuted at the advanced stage of spiritual learning.  Sri Sankara himself who has earlier stated in Tattvabodha that Jnani has prarabdha, later refutes it in Vivekachudamani in 18 slokas (446 to 464)

Verse 98

Ksiyante chasya karmnni tasmindrste paravare I

Bahutvam tannisedhartham srutya gitam cha yatsphutam II

“And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Athma) which is both the higher and the lower”.  Here the clear use of the plural by the Sruthi is to negate prarabdha as well.

Verse 99

Uchyate'jnairbalccaitattadanarthadvayagamah I

Vedantamatahanam cha yato jnanamiti srutih II

If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion.  So one should accept those Sruthis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

Verse 98 has as its first line the second line of Mundaka Upanishad Mantra (2-2-8) which states that for the one who has realized Brahman as both Nirguna and Saguna, the karmas get exhausted.  To prove that the karmas include all the three, the second line of the verse quotes a grammar point. In Sanskrit we have singular, dual and plural which is more than two.  In the Mandukya Mantra plural is used and so the word ‘karmas’ denote all the three i.e. agami, sanchitha and prarabdha karmas. So the Upanishad statement is a support for the argument that Jnani has no prarabdha from paramarthika dhrishti.

Verse 99 which is the concluding verse of the discussion on Jnani and Prarabdha outlines the problem if one ignorantly holds on to the view that Jnani has prarabdha. This will mean that prarabdha cannot be destroyed by Jnanam and then prarabdha also will become Real or Sathyam along with Athma and that is duality. From duality arises fear and fear leads to samsara. If samsara is there Moksha is not possible and so acceptance of prarabdha for Jnani means there is no Moksha possible for him and he will be in eternal samsara.  The second defect is that the whole parampara, Guru-sishya-parampara, will become redundant in the absence of Moksha for the Jnani.  Further this view will also be contradicting the Sruthi teaching that clearly says Jnanam is the only Moksha-sadhanam.  If Jnanam does not destroy prarabdha then Jivanmukthi also will not be there.  So prarabdha is negatable by Jnanam and Jnani is free from prarabdha also.  

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Aparokshanubhuthi – 7

 

Anathma mithyathvam

Verse 65

Sarvo'pi vyavaharastu brahmana kriyate janaih I

Ajnananna vijananti mrdeva hi ghatadikam II

People perform all their actions in and through Brahman (but on account of ignorance they are not aware of that), just as through ignorance persons do not know that pots and other earthenware are nothing but clay.

Verse 66

Karyakaranata nityamaste ghatamrdoryatha I

Tathaiva srutiyuktibhyaṃ prapanchabrahmanoriha II

Just as there ever exists the relation of cause and effect between clay and pot, so does the same relation exist between Brahman and the world; this has been established here on the strength of scriptural texts and reasoning.

Verse 67

Gṛhyamane ghate yadvanmrttika'yati vai balat I

Vikshamane prapanche'pi brahmaivabhati bhasuram II

Just as (the idea of) clay forces itself upon our mind while thinking of the pot, so also does (the idea of) ever-shining Brahman flash on us while contemplating on the world.

Verse 68

Sadaivathma visuddho'sti hyasuddho bhati vai sada I

Yathaiva dvividha rajjurjnanino'jnanino'nisam II

Athma, though ever pure (to a Jnani), always appears to be impure (to an ajjnani), just as a rope always appears in two different ways to a Jnani and ajjnani.

 The above four verses declare the sarvathma bhava through Sruthi quotations and examples. Verse 65 states that as Brahman alone appears as the world, whenever one deals with the world, one is dealing with Brahman alone since Consciousness and existence are common in all transactions and they represent Brahman who is Sat-Chit swarupa. Further Brahman being the karanam for the world, the world is only Brahman plus nama-rupa-karya.   But due to ajjnanam one is not aware of it, like the one who through ignorance is not aware of the fact that while dealing with earthenware, he is dealing with its cause, clay only. This fact is repeated in verse 66, with the statement that there is Sruthi Pramanam to support the statement that karana-karya-sambandha exists between Brahman and world.  These Pramanams were quoted earlier while discussing Jagat mithyathvam.  Verse 67 states a fact of life that like one thinking of clay as well sometimes when dealing with pot, one thinks about Brahman also while contemplating about the evanescent nature of the world. Verse 68 points out that to a Jnani the world appears ever pure as he sees it always as Brahman while to an ajjnani the world appears ever-impure.  This is like two visions of the rope.  To a person with the rope-ignorance the rope appears as a snake, while to the person with rope-knowledge the rope appears as a rope only.

Verse 69

Yathaiva mrnmayah kumbhastadvaddeho'pi chinmayah I

Athmanathmanvibhago'yaṃ mudhaiva kriyate'budhaih II

Just as a pot is all clay, so also the body is all Consciousness.  The division therefore, into the Athma and anathma is made by the ignorant in vain.

In this verse Sri Sankara argues that taking the Athma-anathma-Viveka to its logical conclusion of anathma mithyatvam leaves one only with the Athma which is all Consciousness. So the body as the karyam, is no different from the karanam and so is all Consciousness as well like the pot being all earth.  As karanam pervades the karyam, Consciousness pervades the body.  So making the division of body and Consciousness after gaining Jnanam is a waste of effort to be indulged in by ajjnani only.

To fix firmly in the mind the point of anathma mithyatvam, Sri Sankara repeats the examples given earlier with new ones in the ensuing verses 70 to 74.  All these verses have the same second line which emphasising anathma mithyathvam says: “So is the Athma determined to be the body by an ignorant person”.  In the first line the examples are given. They are: -

1)    Rope being seen as a snake - verse 70

2)    Sea-shell being seen as silver - verse 70

3)    Clay being thought of as pot - verse 71

4)    Threads being thought of as cloth - verse 71

5)    Gold being thought of as ear-ring - verse 72

6)    Water being thought of as waves - verse 72

7)    Stump of tree being seen as human figure - verse 73

8)    Mirage being seen as water – verse 73

9)    Wood-work being seen as house – verse 74

10)  Iron being seen as sword – verse 74

The same idea is repeated from verses 75 to 86 also but with new examples.  In these verses also the same second line is repeated while the first line describes the example. The common second line is “So does a person on account of ignorance see Athma as the body”.  The examples given are: -

1)    Illusion of a tree in the water – verse 75

2)    Illusion of everything being in motion to a person riding the boat – verse 76

3)    White things appearing yellow to a person suffering from jaundice – verse 77

4)    Everything appearing to be defective to a person with defective eyes – verse 78

5)    Firebrand in rotation appearing circular like the sun – verse 79

6)    Things that are really large appearing to be small owing to great distance – verse 80

7)    Objects that are very small appearing to be large when viewed through lenses – verse 81

8)    A surface of glass being mistaken for water or vice versa – verse 82

9)    A person imagining a jewel in fire or vice versa – verse 83

10)  The moon appearing to be in motion when the clouds move – verse 84

11)   A person through confusion losing all distinction between the different points of the compass – verse 85

 12) The moon reflected in water appearing to one as unsteady – verse 86

Verse 87

Evamathmanyavidyato dehadhyaso hi jayate I

Sa evathmaparijnanalliyate cha parathmani II

Thus through ignorance arises in Athma the delusion of the body, which again through Self-realization, disappears in the supreme Athma (Brahman)

Verse 88

Sarvamathmataya jnatam jagatsthavarajangamam I

Abhavatsarvabhavanam dehasya chathmatha kutah II

When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Athma (Brahman) and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Athma?

Verse 87 states that so long as there is ignorance of Self, mistaking the body as Self, the Athma, will continue.  Through Self-realization, when one realizes that Athma (Brahman) alone is Real and nothing else is Real, ajjnanam with all its effects, such as the delusion of body as Athma, ceases to exist and they stand dissolved in terms of understanding.  In verse 88 this idea is re-emphasised. The world with all its sentient and non-sentient beings and objects is Brahman, super Self, only, one realises with the dawn of Self-knowledge. That means Brahman only is Real and the world of movable and immovable objects is non-substantial and mithya. With this realization on acquisition of Self-knowledge, the confusion of body with Athma ends as body is not separate from the world and is only mithya.  Mithya body cannot be the Sathya Athma.

With this verse, the discussion on anathma mithyathvam ends and from next verse discussion on prarabhdha starts with an advice to the enlightened student.

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Aparokshanubhuthi – 6

Jagat & Jivathva mithyatvam

Verse 52

Svalpamapyantaram krtva jivatmanparamatmanoh I

Yah santishtati mudhathma bhayam tasyabhibhashitam II

Fear is attributed to the ignorant one who rests after making even the slightest distinction between Jivathma and Paramathma.

Verse 53

Yatrajnanadbhaveddvaitamitarastatra pasyati I

Atmathvena yada sarvam netarastatra chanvapi II

When duality appears through ignorance, one sees another; but when everything becomes identified with Athma, one does not perceive another even in the least.

Verse 54

Yasminsarvani bhutani hyatmantvena vijanatah I

Na vai tasya bhavenmoho na cha soko'dvitiyatah II

In that state when one realizes all as identified with the Athma, there arise neither delusion nor sorrow, in consequence of the absence of the duality.

Verse 55

Ayamathma hi brahmaiva sarvatmakataya sthitah I

Iti nirddharitam srutya brhadaranyasamsthaya II

The Sruthi in the form of Brihadaranyaka (Upanishad) has declared that this Athma, which is the Self of all, is verily Brahman.

Sri Sankara is refuting Dvaita in the above four verses based on Sruthi statements. Verse 52 is based on the Tatttriya Upanishad Mantra (2-7-1) which states among other things – “yada hyevaisha etasminnudaramantaram kurute . atha tasya bhayam bhavati (When he (the ignorant one) makes the slightest differentiation in It (Brahman), there is fear for him)”.  Fear leads to samsara and has its root in duality and can be overcome by him alone who realizes non-duality.  For such a wise person with Advaita Jnanam there is nothing to be gained or lost and nothing to be afraid of as well. 

Verse 53 gives the substance of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Mantra (4-5-15). The translation of the relevant portion of the Mantra runs as-- “For when there is duality, as it were, then one sees another, one smells another, one tastes another, one speaks to another, one hears another, one thinks of another, one touches another, one knows another. But when to the knower of Brahman everything has become the Self, then what should he see and through what, what should he smell and through what, what should he taste and through what, what should he speak and through what, what should he hear and through what, what should he think and through what, what should he touch and through what, what should he know?  Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known?”.  It means that a person sees duality in ignorance and that when he becomes enlightened he see his Self as everything and there is no duality for him.

Verse 54 is based on the Isavasya Upanishad Mantra 7 given below:

Yasmin sarvani bhuthani athmaivabhuth vijanathaha I

Tatra ko mohah kah soka ekathvamanupasyathaha II

To the man of realization, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness?

Verse 55 is based on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Mantra (2-5-19) wherein it is stated – “Ayam Athma Brahma sarvanubhuh (This Self, which experiences everything, is Brahman)”.  The one Athma which is the Self in all is verily the Brahman.

Verse 56

Anubhuto'pyayam loko vyavaharakshamo'pi san I

Asadrupo yatha svapna uttarakshanabadhatah II

This world, though an object of our daily experience and serving all practical purposes, is, like the dream world, of the nature of non-existence, inasmuch as it is contradicted the next moment.

Verse 57

Svapno jagarane'likah svapne'pi jagaro na hi I

Dvayameva laye nasti layo'pi hyubhayorna cha II

The dream (experience) is unreal in waking, whereas the waking (experience) is absent in dream.  Both, however, are non-existent in deep sleep which, again, is not experienced in either.

Verse 58

Trayamevam bhavenmithya gunatrayavinirmitam I

Asya drashta gunatito nityo hyekaschidathmakah II

Thus all the three states are not Real inasmuch as they are the creation of the three Gunas; but their witness (the Reality behind them) is, beyond all Gunas, eternal one, and is the Consciousness itself.

In the above three verses Sri Sankara is using yukthi  pramana to establish the mithyathvam of anathma prapancha through avasthathraya Viveka. In verse 56 it is said that a thing cannot be called Sat (ever-existent) merely because it is experienced and has pragmatic value.  The dream-world is experienced by the dreamer in dream and has practical value for the dreamer in dream but it is not Real, as it disappears in waking state. In the same way the waking world with all its relationships and transactions is not Real for one, as it is absent in dream for him.  This logic is carried on in verse 57 to show the unreality of avasththraya, all the three states, which constitutes the total world of one’s experiences. The waking state experience is absent in dream and deep sleep and the dream state experience is absent in waking and deep sleep states and the Bliss of freedom from samsara temporarily enjoyed in deep sleep state is absent in waking and dream states.  Verse 58 argues that all the three states are not Real as they are produced by the permutations and combinations of the three Gunas viz. Satva, Rajas and Tamas, with waking state being Satva-pradhana, dream state Rajo-pradhana and deep sleep state Tamo-pradhana and these three Gunas together constitute Maya.  Further whatever is a compound must disintegrate and so subject to destruction. The world thus being a compound is subject to destruction and so cannot be Real.  Further the three avasthas made up of the three Gunas, the constituents of Maya, are also mithya only like Maya i.e. available for transactions and experience but not Real.   The Consciousness principle, Athma, remains as a silent witness to all the changes, unaffected by the Gunas, being Gunathitha and Nirvikara.

Verse 59

Yadvanmrdi ghatabhrantim suktau va rajatasthitim I

Tadvadbrahmani jivatvam viksamane na pasyati II

Just as (after the illusion has gone) one is no more deluded to see pot in clay or silver in the mother-of-pearl so does one no more see Jiva in Brahman when the latter is realized (as one’s Self)

Verse 60

Yatha mrdi ghato nama kanake kundalabhidha I

Suktau hi rajatakhyatirjivasabdastatha pare II

Just as clay is described as a pot, gold as an ear-ring and a mother-of-pearl as silver, so is Brahman described as Jiva.

In the above two verses Jivathva-mithyatvam is discussed with examples. So long as a person is in ignorance, he thinks of himself as one with a distinct individuality, Jivathva, apart from Brahman.  But with the acquisition of Athma Jnanam he realizes his oneness with Brahman as Jiva and Jivathvam, that portrays Jiva as apart from Brahman, appears as nothing but an illusion like the illusion of pot apart from the clay and ear-ring apart from gold.  Pot and ear-ring are only words necessary for transactional purposes.  The all-pervading Pure Consciousness available within the body is called Jivathma and without the body by Itself It is called Paramathma.  There is no Jiva other than Brahman.  As ring is another name for gold itself and pot for clay so Jiva is another name for Brahman.

Verse 61

Yathaiva vyomni nilatvaṃ yatha niram marusthale I

Purushatvam yatha sthanau tadvadvisvaṃ cidatmani II

Just as blueness in the sky, water in the mirage and a human figure in a post (are only illusory), so is the world in Athma (Brahman).

Verse 62

Yathaiva sunye vetalo gandharvanaṃ puraṃ yatha I

Yathakase dvicandratvam tadvatsatye jagatsthitih II

Just as the appearance of a ghost in an empty place, of a castle in the sky and of a second moon in the sky (are illusory) so is the existence of the world in Brahman.

Verse 63

Yatha tarangakallolairjalameva sphuratyalam I

Patrarupena tamram hi brahmandaughaistatha'tmata II

Just as it is water that appears as ripples and waves or again it is copper that appears in the form of a vessel, so it is Athma (Brahman) that appears as the whole world

Verse 64

Ghaṭanamna yatha prthvi patanamna hi tantavaḥ I

Jagannamna chidabhati jneyaṃ tattadabhavataḥ II

Just as it is the earth (clay) that appears under the name of a jar, or it is threads that appear under the name of the cloth, so it is Athma (Brahman) that appears under the name of the world. This Athma (Brahman) is to be known by negating the names.

Sri Sankara is quoting no. of examples in the above four verses to further illustrate Jagat mithyatvam. In verses 61 and 62 the following examples are cited.  They are the appearance of:

1)    Blueness in the sky

2)    Water in the mirage

3)    Human figure in a post

4)    Ghost in the empty space

5)    Castle in the sky

6)    Vision of two moons in the sky

Just as the above are only illusions, so is the appearance of the world in Brahman. Another set of examples are given in 63 and 64, where effect which is only cause plus nama, rupa is looked upon as different from the cause. They are

1)    Ripples and waves on water which are water only in substance.

2)    Copper vessel which is copper only in substance.

3)    Jar made of clay which is clay only in substance.

4)    Cloth made of threads that is threads only in substance.

Same way Brahman is the substance of the world and appears as world and by negating the names and forms of the world mentally Brahman is to be known.

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Aparokshanubhuthi – 5

 

Jagat mithyatvam

Verse 41

Ityathmadehabhagena prapanchasyaiva satyata I

yathokta tarkasastrena tatah kiṃ purusharthatha II

Thus the enunciation of the Athma and the body has (indirectly) asserted, indeed, after the manner of the Tarkasastra, the reality of the phenomenal world.  But what ends of the human life are served thereby?

Verse 42

Ityatmadehabhedena dehatmantvaṃ nivaritam I

Idaniṃ dehabhedasya hyasattvaṃ sphutamucyate II

Thus the view that the body is the Athma has been denounced by the enunciation of the difference between the Athma and the body. Now is clearly stated the unreality of the body that is different (from the Athma).

With the 40th verse Athma-anathma-viveka part is over. Now in verse 41 the sishya who has understood that Athma is different from body, the anathma and has not grasped that anathma is mithya poses a doubt.  He thinks that Athma and anathma are two separate Real entities and so asks guru whether this will not be Dvaita, the argument of Tarka sastra that holds phenomenal world, the anathma, is eternal and co-existent with Purusha as prakrithi.  Upanishad says that as long as there is duality there will be fear and thereby samsara.  So when Self-ignorance is removed there cannot be Liberation, as duality persists and with it samsara also. To remove such doubts an enquiry into the nature of anathma is introduced by the guru in verse 42, that will reveal  anathma mithyathvam that includes Jagat mithyatvam as well.

Verse 43

Chaitanyasyaikarupatvadbhedo yukto na karhicit I

Jivatvam cha mrsha jneyam rajjau sarpagraho yatha II

No division in Consciousness is admissible at any time as it is always one and the same.  Even the individuality of the Jiva must be known as false, like the delusion of a snake in a rope.

Verse 44

Rajjvajnanatksanenaiva yadvadrajjurhi sarpini I

Bhati tadvacchitih saksadvisvakarena kevala II

As through the ignorance of the real nature of the rope the very rope appears in an instant as a snake, so also does pure Consciousness appears in the form of the phenomenal universe without undergoing any change.

Verse 45

Upadanam prapanchasya brahmanonyanna vidyate I

Tasmatsarvaprapancho'yam brahmaivasti na chetarat II

There exists no other material cause of this universe except Brahman.  Hence the whole universe is Brahman alone and nothing else. 

Consciousness is all-pervading, one and uniform and there is no plurality of Consciousness. But there is plurality of the reflection of the Consciousness causing sentiency in every Jiva.  This reflected Consciousness is also anathma as the reflecting medium, the individual mind, is anathma only.  So the individuality of the Jiva, Jivathvam, is unreal and a delusion like the vision of the snake on the rope in twilight, says the verse 43. Here the rope is mistaken for a snake due to rope-ignorance.  In verse 44 this example is extended to the case of universe which is also anathma only.  Pure Consciousness appears as the material universe without undergoing any change whatsoever due to ignorance of Chaithanyam, Pure Consciousness. The universe which is material and insentient will be experienced as Real as long as this ignorance continues. This idea is further developed in verse 45.  Brahman being one and alone before the creation of universe, It is the material cause for this universe and has karana-karya relationship with the universe like clay with earthen pot.  So Universe is only Brahman plus nama-rupa-karma. The nama- rupa-karma that differentiates the karanam from karyam is found to be without substance on enquiry.   So the universe is Brahman only in substance. Sruthi pramanam for this assertion is given in the following verses.

Verse 46

Vyapyavyapakata mithya sarvamatmeti sasanat I

Iti jnate pare tattve bhedasyavasarah kutah II

From the declaration (of the Sruthi), “All this is Athma” it follows that the idea of the pervaded and pervading is illusory.  This supreme truth being realized, where is the room for any distinction between the cause and the effect?

Verse 47

Srutya nivaritam nunam nanatvaṃ svamukhena hi I

Kathaṃ bhaso bhavedanyah sthite chadvayakarane II  

Certainly the Sruthi has directly denied manifoldness in Brahman.  The non-dual cause being an established fact, how could the universe be different from It?

Verse 48

Dosho'pi vihitah srutya mrtyormrtyum sa gacchathi I

Iha pasyati nanatvam mayaya vanchito narah II

Moreover, the Sruthi has condemned (the belief in variety) with the words, “The person who” being deceived by Maya “sees variety in this (Brahman), goes from death to death”.

Verse 49

Brahmanah sarvabhutani jayante paramatmanah I

Tasmadetani brahmaiva bhavantityavadharayet II

Inasmuch as all beings are born of Brahman, the Supreme Athma, they must be readily understood to be verily Brahman.

Verse 50

Brahmaiva sarvanamani rupani vividhani cha I

Karmanyapi samagrani bibhartiti srutirjagau II

The Sruti has clearly declared that Brahman alone is the substratum of all varieties of names, forms and actions

Verse 51

Suvarnajjayamanasya suvarnatvaṃ cha sasvatam I

Brahmano jayamanasya brahmatvaṃ cha tatha bhavet II

Just as a thing made of gold ever has the nature of gold, so also a being born of Brahman has always the nature of Brahman.

In the above verses Sruthi pramanam is given to prove everything is Brahman only.  In verse 46, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4-5-7) is quoted in part – “Idam sarvam yadayamathma (All these are only this Athma) to show Brahman itself is all.  It reveals that there is not anything apart from Brahman which It pervades, but It Itself is everything.

In verse 47 and 48 also Brihadaranyaka upanishad (4-4-19) is quoted to deny the manifoldness in Brahman. It runs as follows:

Manasaivanudrashtaivam neha nanasthi kinchana I

Mrtyoh sa mrtyumopnothi ya iha naneva pasyathi II.

Brahman is to be known by the mind in accordance with (the instructions of a teacher).   There is no diversity whatsoever in it.  He who sees diversity, as it were in It, goes from death to death. 

The first line is quoted in verse 47 and the second line in 48.  Sum and substance of these two verses is that unless a person realizes the nature of the non-dual Athma there is no escape for him from the cycle of birth and death.

In verse 49, Taittriya Upanishad (3-1-1) is quoted. It runs as “ yato va imani bhutani jayante,  yena jatani jivanti, yatprayantyabhisamvishanti,  tadvijijnasasva . tadh brahmeti – (That from which these beings are born, That by which, when born, they live, That into which they enter, and into which they merge—seek to know That. That is Brahman.)".  This reveals that Brahman is the material cause of the world and so the world is only Brahman plus nama-rupa.  Brahman being the only material cause is the adhishtanam for all the products and things in the world.  Products and things being only names, forms and actions, i.e. nama-rupa-karma, verse 50 emphasises what is stated in verse 49, citing a statement from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which runs as “Nama, rupa, karma Jagat (name, form and action-this world)”.   Verse 51 follows this up saying that the world being born of Brahman and sustained in Brahman, enjoys the Brahman-status, Brahmathvam, permanently like the golden ornaments that do not lose goldness even though they lose the superficial nature and substance.

Whenever we talk of anathma being unreal we should always remember that the unreality of anathma is from the standpoint of Athma, the Brahman, only. This means that the anathma is only less Real than Athma and it is very much Real from the standpoint of another anathma.

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