Aparokshanubhuthi – 4

 

Athma Swarupa

Verse 31

Ahamsabdena vikhyata eka eva sthitah paraḥ I

Sthulastvanekataṃ praptah katham syaddehakah puman II

The Supreme (Purusha) known by the word “I” is but one, whereas the gross bodies are many.  So how can this body be Purusha?

Verse 32

Ahaṃ drashtrutaya siddho deho drsyataya sthitah I

Mamayamiti nirdesatkatham syaddehakah puman II

“I” is well established as the subject of perception whereas the body is the object.  This is learnt from the fact that when we speak of the body we say, ‘This is mine’. So how can this body be Purusha?

Verse 33

Ahaṃ vikarahinastu deho nityam vikaravan I

Iti pratiyate sakshatkatham syaddehakah puman II

It is a fact of direct experience that the “I” is without any change, whereas the body is always undergoing changes.  So how can this body be Purusha?

Athma anathma Vichara is continued in the above verses with Athma being called the Purusha and anathma being the body.   In verse 31 it is pointed out Purusha is one and is without parts while body has multiple parts and bodies are many and so they cannot be equated.  In verse 32 an argument stated earlier is repeated.  It is that body is something “I” possess and so it is external to me.  So it cannot be identified with “I”, the Purusha.  In verse 33 it is pointed out that the body undergoes many changes and modifications over the years; in childhood, youth or old age and in happiness or misery while “I”, the Purusha remains the same without any changes and so Purusha is not the body.  So Purusha, the Self, is different from the body.

Verse 34

Yasmatparamiti srutya taya Purushalaksanam I

Vinirnitaṃ vimudena katham syaddehakah puman II

Wise men have ascertained the (real) nature of Purusha from that Sruthi text “(There is nothing) higher than He (Purusha),” etc.  So how can this body be Purusha?

Verse 35

Sarvam Purusha eveti sukte Purushasamjnite I

Apyuchyate yatah srutya katham syaddehakah puman II

Again the Sruthi has declared in the Purusha Suktham that “All this is verily the Purusha.”   So how can this body be Purusha?

Verse 36

Asaṃgah Purushaḥ prokto brhadaraṇyake'pi cha I

Anantamalasamslistah katham syaddehakah puman II

So also it is said in Brihadaranyaka (Upanishad) that “The Purusha is completely unattached”.  With its innumerable impurities how can this body be Purusha?

Verse 37

Tatraiva cha samakhyatah svayamjyotirhi Purushah I

Jadah paraprakasyo'yam kathaṃ syaddehakah puman II

There again it is clearly stated that “the Purusha is self-illumined”.  So how can the body which is inert (insentient) and illumined by an external agent be the Purusha?

Verse 38

Prokto'pi karmakaṇḍena hyatma dehadvilakshanah I

Nityascha tatphalam bhunkte dehapathadanantaram II

Moreover, the Karma kanda also declares that Athma is different from the body and permanent, as it endures even after the fall of the body and reaps the fruits of action (done in this life).

In the above five verses Sruthi pramanam is cited to prove that Purusha cannot be identified with body.

In verse 34 the sruthi text from Swetaswatara Upanishad (iii,9) is given as a pramanam for the nature of Purusha.   The Mantra runs as

Yasmat paraṃ naparam asti kimchid yasman naniyo na jyayo'sti kaschit I

Vṛksa iva stabdho divi tisthaty ekas tenedaṃ purnaṃ Purusena sarvam II 3.9 II

The whole universe is filled by the Purusha, to whom there is nothing superior, from whom there is nothing different, than whom there is nothing either subtler or greater; who stands alone, motionless as a tree, established in His own glory.

Quoting this Mantra, this verse asks how such a Purusha can be identified with this body

In the verse 35 the Sruti pramanam given is from Purusha Suktham of Rig-Veda. “Purusha evedagm sarvam (All this is verily Purusha)”.  As Purusha is all-pervading, He cannot be equated with the localized body.

In the verse 36 the Sruti pramanam given is from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4-3-15 &16) where it is stated among other things “Asngo hi ayam Purusha (This Purusha is unattached)”.  And body has relationship with another body as father-son relationship, husband-wife relationship etc. and so is sasanga.  So this Purusha cannot be identified with the body which has multiple relationships.

From the same Upanishad another passage is quoted as another Sruthi pramanam in verse 37.  “Atrayam Puruṣha svayamjyotih bhavati” is that text which means Purusha is self-evident and It does not need any pramanam to prove itself. So it is declared in the verse that the body which is inert and needs to be illumined by an external agent cannot be equated with the Self-illumining Purusha.

In verse 38 Karma kanda of Veda is quoted as Sruthi pramanam.  Karma kanda talks of previous, present and future janmas which only reveal that Purusha or soul which survives several janmas is not the same as the body witch perishes at death in this janma itself. 

Verse 39

Lingam chanekasamyuktam chalam drsyam vikari ca I

Avyapakamasadrupam tatkatham syatpumanayam II

Even the subtle body consists of many parts and is unstable.  It is also an object of perception, is changeable, limited and non-existent by nature.  So how can this be the Purusha?

In the previous verse while showing Karma-kanda also asserts that Purusha is different from body, Sri Sankara has taken sthula sareera only as body.  Here he is telling that Purusha is different from sukshma sareera as well. The sukshma sareera consists of seventeen parts, viz. the five karmendriyas, the five jnanendriyas, the five pranas, mind and intellect.  It is also an object of perception and is subject to movement, as it leaves one body at its death and enters another body at its birth. It is located in the sthula sareera and therefore limited, many and mithya. So it cannot be identified with Purusha which is without parts, the perceiver, all pervading, ekam and Sathyam.

Verse 40

Evaṃ dehadvayadanya Athma Purusha Isvarah I

Sarvathma sarvarupascha sarvatito'hamavyayah II

The immutable Athma, the substratum of ego, is thus different from these two bodies, and is the Purusha, the Iswara (the Lord of all), the Self of all; It is present in every form and yet transcends them all.

With this verse Athma-anathma-viveka discussion is concluded. Sri Sankara does not discuss karana sareera separately as karana sareera is only sukshma sareera and sthula sareera in potential form.  This verse sums up Athma Swarupa.  Athma, the Consciousness, is ekam obtaining in all bodies just like space is one in all rooms.  It transcends all bodies as well as it is all pervading and so is unaffected by anything.  It is different from the body and is the substratum of the ego as ego is “I” associated with body-mind complex. It is the Purusha, different from the sareera triam. It is changeless and is verily Brahman. 

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