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
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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