Vivekachudamani – 2

 Select verses 4 to 9

Verse 4

patanthu sastrani yajanthu devan, kurvantu karmaṇi bhajantu devataḥ |

atmaikyabodhena vina vimuktih, na sidhyati brahmasatantare’pi ||6||

Let people study the scriptures; let Devas be invoked through Vedic rituals; let them do altruistic activities, let personal gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Athma, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the life times of a hundred Brahmas put together.

            After talking about the glory of human birth, Sri Sankara now starts discussing the means of Moksha.  For attaining Moksha, there is only one means i.e. gaining and imbibing Self-knowledge. All other means, study of scriptures, performance of Vedic rituals, sincere worship of Ishta Devata, altruistic activities, though good and dharmic by themselves earning Punyam for the performer cannot give one Moksha however long he tries with devotion. As the reason for one’s feeling of bondage is Self-ignorance and consequent Self-misapprehension, all the noble deeds like yajnas, charity and upasana cannot remove it.  Only Self-knowledge can remove Self-ignorance as light alone can remove darkness.  Self-knowledge is here described as ‘atmaikyabodha’ i.e. knowledge of non-duality of Athma, the Self, i.e. “There is only one Absolute Reality which is Athma”

Verse 5

chittasya suddhaye karma, na tu vastupalabdhaye |

vastusiddhirvicharena, na kinchit karmakotibhih ||11||

Actions help to purify the mind but they do not, by themselves, contribute to the attainment of Reality. The attainment of  Reality is brought about only by Self-Inquiry and not in the least by even ten million acts.

            This verse clearly defines the role of action in the pursuit of Self-knowledge. Actions stand for karma yoga actions like various yajnas, upasana yoga actions like meditation, and bhakthi yoga actions like prayer, bhajans. They help in purification of mind and making it single-minded, to pursue the knowledge but they cannot by themselves, individually and/or collectively give knowledge of Brahman, the Absolute, called here Reality.  The knowledge of Brahman is gained by enquiry alone i.e. vasthu-siddhi-vicharena. Vasthu here denotes Brahman, the Reality.  So the path to Self-enquiry is through the enquiry into sastras.  The enquiry into the sastras is to be done under the guidance of a guru, which will be discussed in the next verse.

 Verse 6

ato vicharah kartavyah, jijnasoratmavastunah |

samasadya dayasindhum, gurum brahmaviduttamam ||15||

Therefore, a true seeker of the Self should proceed with his inquiry after duly approaching a Master who is established in the experience of the Self and who is an ocean of compassion.

            In this verse Sri Sankara makes an important note that no one should conduct the scriptural enquiry by oneself as it may lead to misunderstanding of the scriptures. When the scriptures are studied from a guru then alone it will be effective for it will be then converted into liberating knowledge. Otherwise, it will end up in scholarship only.  So he should approach a guru who is stotriya and Brahmanishta i.e. who is well-versed in the sastras and is himself established in Brahman. When such a guru is approached with sraddah and devotion, he will teach, not for money or fame, but out of compassion to help the jijnasu disciple to achieve his goal of Self-liberation.

Verse 7 

adhikarinamasaste, phalasiddhirvisesatah |

upaya desakaladyah, santyasmin sahakarinah ||14|| 

Ultimate success in spiritual endeavours depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker. Auxiliary conveniences such as time and place all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary.

In this verse Sri Sankara points out that if a student has to benefit from the teaching of a guru not only the guru is fully qualified but the student must also have a prepared mind and intellect, to absorb the teaching. It is like sowing the seed. The seed will be able to sprout and bear fruit in a well prepared soil only.  As the knowledge has to take place in the mind, the mind has to be ripe and ready to receive the teaching.  Time, place, service to the teacher and so on are no doubt important but they are only secondary and supportive factors that are only indirectly helpful.  Adhikari refers to a properly qualified, fit person.

Verse 8

sadhananyatra chatvari, kathithani manishibhih|

ayesu satsveva sannishṭa, yadhabhave na sidhyati ||18||

Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment which, when present, (a sadhaka) succeeds in the realization of Brahman and in the absence of which (the four qualifications) the realization is not attained.

                The four qualifications, Sri Sankara talks about are the primary qualifications one needs for engaging in Self-inquiry; desakaladyah, time and place of enquiry he talked about in the previous verse being only supportive or secondary factors.  These four qualifications will be listed in the next verse.

Verse 9

adau nityanityavasthu-vivekah pariganyate |

ihamutraphalabhoga-viragastadanantaram ||

samadisatkasampattih, mumuksutvamiti sphutam ||19||

(While enumerating the qualifications), first we count the ability to discriminate between the Real and the unreal; next comes a spirit of detachment from the enjoyment of the fruits of actions here and hereafter; after that is the groups of six virtues beginning with mind control; and the last is undoubtedly an intense desire for liberation. 

The four essential qualifications are stated briefly.  They will be described in detail in ensuing verses:

1)    Viveka – Discrimination.  The discriminative understanding with reference to what is nitya, eternal or permanent, and anitya, time-bound or impermanent.

2)    Vairagya – Dispassion or detachment. Dispassion towards  the anitya vasthu-the objects and pleasures of this world and the other world as well.

3)    Six virtues – The six virtues starting from Sama, discipline of the mind. These will be enumerated later.

4)    Mumukshutva – the burning desire for Moksha

Swami Paramarthananda sums them up briefly as 4Ds; Discrimination, Dispassion, Discipline and Desire.

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Vivekachudamani – 1

 Select verses 1 to 3

Vivekachudamani is a popular prakarana grantha by Sri Aadhi Sankara, whom we shall refer to as Sri Sankara, that expounds Advaita Vedanta philosophy in detail.  A few western commentators like Alston and Comans have disputed the authorship of Vivekachudamani as ascribed to Sri Sankara in view of difference in style as compared to his commentaries on Prasthanatraya.  But there is a general agreement among many others that Vivekachudamani is an ancillary treatise of Sri Sankara addressed to different audience with a specific emphasis and purpose.  In this connection Swami Dayananda Saraswathy observes “―I do not think we lose anything even if the authorship is attributed to any other Sankaracharya of one of the various Sankara-mathas.“   For Vivekachudamani, meaning ‘the crest jewel of discrimination’, remains a vade mecum of quintessential Advaita Vedanta theory and practice.

This is a fairly big work of 580 verses of which 108 were selected by Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and Swami Paramarthananda for their talks.  My blogs on Vivekachudamani will be based on these selected verses only.  The verse no. in the original text is given along with the verse and verse no. in the selections is given before the verse.

The text opens with mangalacharanam, an auspicious invocation, for the sake of successful completion of this work.

Verse:1

sarvavedantasiddhanta-gocharam tamagocharam |

Govindam paramanandam, sadgurum pranato’smyaham ||1||

My salutations to Sat-Guru Govinda who is limitless and is of the nature of Bliss Supreme, who is beyond the reach of the known instruments of perception and who can be known only through the import of the essence of Vedanta

Here Govinda refers to Lord and also to Sri Sankara’s guru, Sri Govindapada.  So Sri Sankara is offering salutations to his guru as well as to the Lord seeking their blessings for the successful completion of the text. Further the real nature of guru, like that of the Lord, is Brahman only. And Brahman is infinite; cannot be objectified by the senses; can be known only through the study of the Upanishads and is of the nature of Sat, Chit, Aananda.

Verse:2

durlabhaṃ trayamevaitad, devanugrahahetukam |

manushyatvam, mumukshutvaṃ, mahapurushasamsrayah ||3||

Very rare indeed are these three things and happen only due to the utmost Grace of God—a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the blessed refuge of an illuminated sage.

Human beings only of all the creatures have the free will, which helps them to pursue all the four Purusharthas that includes Dharma and Moksha. So birth as a human being, Manushyatvam, is considered as a blessing of the Lord.  Of those born as human beings only few develop a burning desire for Moksha. This burning desire for Moksha is called Mumukshutvam and the one who has this desire is called a mumukshu. Moksha can be gained only through Self-knowledge and Self-knowledge can be acquired only through the study of scriptures under the proper guidance of an enlightened Guru who has the knowledge of the sastras as well. Such a Guru is called Mahapurusha in this verse. So this three-fold accomplishment of Manushyatvam, Mumukhutvam and the discipleship under a Mahapurusha, for a jiva is described as special blessings due to the Grace of the Lord.

Verse: 3

labdhva kathancinnarajanma durlabham,

tatrapi pumstvam srutiparadarsanam |

yassvatmamuktyai na yateta mudhadhih,

sa hyatmaha svam vinihantyasadgrahat ||4|| 

Is there a man who, having somehow obtained this rare human birth, together with masculine temperament and also a complete knowledge of the scriptures, is foolish enough not to strive hard for Self-realisation? One verily commits suicide, clinging to things unreal. 

In this verse Sri Sankara criticises the person, who with the advantages of human birth, a subtle intellect and academic scholarship in scriptures, does not strive for Self-realisation. Wasting the advantages that this person has got by not pursuing the fourth Purushartha of Moksha is akin to squandering the human birth. So Sri Sankara calls him a dull fool and compares his lack of enthusiasm to strive for Moksha, to committing suicide. Swami Chinmayananda comments “One can get a Doctorate in Foolishness if one does not utilize such a rare opportunity to make rapid spiritual progress.”   In this verse masculine temperament is to be interpreted as emotional strength or freedom from emotional complexes, a quality that will be of great help in practicing detachment, if he chooses to.

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The feeling of emptiness

(adapted from the article by Sri Om Swami)

Emptiness is a feeling that everyone experiences at one time or other, in life.  It is not a disorder but a mix of loneliness, sadness and disconnection. There is an anecdote about a child playing in the sun with toys. Suddenly the child started crying.  The child’s mother rushed out to find out the cause of the child’s crying.  She found the child pointing to its shadow imitating its actions and wanting to hold it. When the mother tried to explain that the other figure is only shadow which it cannot hold, the child did not understand and only cried louder.  Then mother gently held the child’s hand and asked it to touch its own head and stroke its own face.  The child did so and seeing the shadow imitating its action, giggled aloud with the discovery that the child could make the shadow do what it wanted by doing it to itself.

Pleasures in one’s life is like the shadow only.  So as long as one is conscious of their transience, while enjoying them, all is well.  The moment one wants to grab it and hold it, then the struggle starts ending in failure.   Everyone has a centre of bliss that affects one’s emotional and spiritual balance like the centre of gravity that determines the balance of any physical object.  As a child learns to crawl, it has its mother as its centre of bliss. At that stage mother’s milk is the sweetest food and mother’s lap is the safest place to rest, for the child.  As the child grows, initially the centre of bliss shifts to toys which it prefers over mother’s lap.  Later as it starts schooling as part of its process of growth, the centre of bliss changes to friends and the old toys hold no interest for it.  Its friends and dreams take the place of its toys and mother’s lap.  As one grows still older and crosses teens, one’s attention shifts to sensual pleasures and as a growing youth one wants to stay out of supervision and have fun.  Later one’s centre of bliss changes to one’s career and one’s ambitions.  Then the desire for acquisition of wealth, drives one to acquire more and more enjoying the effort and exertion as well.  Also one starts having a family which also becomes another centre of bliss.  But a day comes when one is physically old and no more has the energy and strength to exert and children have also grown, old and focused on their respective lives and one is left alone, with one’s thoughts only, for company, most of the time.  What had been the centres of bliss so far, he cannot access anymore and life seems to be empty without charm or purpose.

The way to escape this feeling of emptiness is by cultivating an internal centre of bliss which does not depend on any external source for its sustenance be it parents, family, career etc.  The inner journey of discovering internal source of bliss starts with cultivating consciously the emotions of contentment, gratitude and compassion.  One cannot be empty, if one has contentment; one cannot be sad, if one is grateful; one cannot be angry, if one is compassionate. And if one fills oneself with love, one can realign one’s emotions and recalibrate one’s thoughts.  Still, if at anytime one is faced with aching emptiness threatening to become unbearable loneliness, one need not despair but just wait it out. It will pass away yielding place to periods of joy which one must enjoy with the feeling it is only a shadow and it is impermanent like life itself.

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Who is an Asthika?

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

Normally we understand Asthika, as a believer in the existence of God and Nasthika as one who does not believe in the existence of God.  But the word Asthika means only the believer in existence and Nasthika, the opposite.  The belief can be in the existence of other subjects also like Swarga, punya, papa, re-birth etc. The word Asthika is derived from the word ‘asthi; meaning existence and does not say about the existence of what?   The widely used word is God and hence we have that general understanding about Asthika and Nasthika.  But the traditional definition relates to Veda as a Pramanam.  That means Asthika is one who believes and hence accepts Veda as a Pramanam and Nasthika is one who does not believe and hence does not treat Veda as a Pramanam.

Pramanam is a means of knowledge.  In respect of any knowledge three things are present.  They are: Prameyam, object of knowledge; Pramata,the knower and Pramanam, the means of knowledge. Ordinarily everyone employs five Pramanams   consciously or unconsciously to gain the knowledge of various things they come across.  They are pratyaksha (perception), anumana (inference), upamana (comparison), arthapathi (postulation), anupalabdhi (non-apprehension). These five are based on our sensory perception, internal and external. The external world of matter is perceived through the sense organs and the internal world of pain and emotions through the mind directly in the prathyaksha Pramanam and this serves as a basis for the other Pramanams.  These are called Paurushya Pramanams.  They are limited to the areas of matter covered by human mind and intellect and the sense-organs and so covers matter only in all its forms and modifications.  The entire science works in the world of Paurusheya Pramanam and Paurusheya Prameyam.

Veda is called an Apaurusheya pramanam. This deals with the four-fold goals attainable by humanity.  The goals are called Purusharthas.  Veda itself provides the sadhanas i.e. means of accomplishing them, as well. The four goals and the four sadhanas, in all eight topics belong to the Apaurusheya Prameyam.  The four Purusharthas are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha. We shall see them one by one.

Artha stands for everything that one wants to possess for the sake of one’s survival with safety and security.  It can be money, ornaments, land, insurance etc. For example, it can be medicine and also medical insurance. Aim is survival. Safety and security are the most fundamental things which even animals want.

Kama stands for the desire for the enjoyment of pleasure or happiness. Towards that end one acquires many things. Anything   one acquires for happiness comes under Kama as anything one acquires for one’ security comes under Artha. Veda talks about Apaurusheya Kama, Artha that one seeks in the other world after death.  As the sciences talk about conservation of matter and energy, Veda talks about conservation of life. Life does not end with death, it continues in other worlds like heaven and in other bodies after re-birth. So one can get, better superior bodies which are more secure, more long living and not only that. It can have an environment where enjoyments are far superior. Just as human beings have got better happiness compared to animal beings.   And not only the Veda talks about Apaurusheya Artha, Kama, it also talks about means of accomplishing them through varieties of rituals, meditations, prayers.  Some of these rituals, meditations are also meant for Paurusheya Artha, Kama.

Dharma is a profound and significant expression that has got several shades of meaning.  Fundamental meaning given by Purva Mimamsa school of thought and accepted by Vedanta school of thought as well is that it stands for a life style or way of life prescribed by the Vedic injunctions.  Based on this only it is said that Hinduism is a way of life.  Practice of these do’s and don’ts by one contributes to the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being at the individual level and also to the family and environmental well-being.  As it preserves the all-round harmony and as word ‘Dharma’ itself means harmony, the second meaning of Dharma is harmony and also the way of life that promotes this harmony is called Dharma.  The third meaning for Dharma, given by Veda, is Punyam, the invisible spiritual credit earned for leading a Dharmic life, faithfully honouring the do’s and don’ts laid down by the Vedas. The violation of Dharmic code also burdens one with Papam, the invisible spiritual debit points.  Punyam rewards one with happiness and joy while Papam punishes one with grief and sorrow. So what one chases in Artha and Kama one can enjoy only if one is blessed with Punyam, the fruit of Dharma.  Further Dharma alone can help in the pursuit of the fourth Puruṣhartha, Moksha, the most important Purushartha, by giving one the desire for Moksha and by helping him know the relevance of Moksha.

Moksha is the fourth Purushartha, available only within Apaurusheya Pramana Prapancha and so accessible to Asthikas only. It is matter of joke for Nasthikas, which does not bother informed Asthikas.  Moksha involves giving up Self-ignorance and Self-misconception which are cause of human struggles, called Samsara. As light alone destroys darkness, so knowledge alone delivers one from ignorance.  So only Self-knowledge can dispel Self-ignorance and Self-misconception and save one from Samsara.  In gaining Self-knowledge, one faces a serious problem.  Self is a Pramatha, the knower, the subject and Paurusheya Pramanams are designed to study objective world only.  One cannot use one’s eyes to see one’s face directly.  At the best one can see the reflection in a mirror. As Kathopanishad (2-1-1) says: “paranchi kaani vyathrunath swayambhuh, tasmat parangpasyathi nontharathman (The self-existent Supreme Lord inflicted an injury upon the sense-organs in creating them with outgoing tendencies; therefore, a person perceives only outer objects with them, and not the inner Self.).  Therefore, Pramatha, one’s Real Self can be known only through Apaurusheya Pramanam, Veda. Veda in its end portion, reveals the mind-boggling fact that one’s Real Self is Brahman through the Mahavakhya “Tat Tvam asi (that is yourself)” and the Asthika student who understands it acknowledges with another Mahavakhya, “Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman)”.  He has the realisation that he is not a human being seeking spiritual experience, but he is a spiritual being temporarily having a human experience.  This realisation is called Moksha, the parama Purushartha as he no longer views life as a meaningless burdensome boring struggle and feels free from Samsara. 

A Nasthika believes only in Paurusheya Pramanam and does not believe in Apaurusheya Pramanam. On the other hand, an Asthika who believes in Apaurusheya Pramanam, also believes in Paurusheya Pramanam and enjoys the benefit of scientific advances. So he enjoys the benefit of Moksha Pusushartha as well when he becomes an informed Asthika, without losing the material advantages that Paurusheya Pramanam offers. 

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Significance of Viswarupa Darsana

 

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s talks)

    Our scriptures talk about three types of Iswara Darsana, vision of God.  They are Eka-rupa-darsana, vision of God in the form of their chosen deity, Ishta devata; Viswa-rupa-darsana, vison of anything and everything in world as God only; and Arupa-darsana, contemplation of God as formless Divine, one’s Real Self.  Most of the seekers confine themselves to the first type of Iswara darsana and so they do not have the knowledge of the conception of God as in the second and third level.  But for a serious seeker it is the second and third level that is more relevant.  In this blog let us see in detail the second level.

    Scriptures teach that God is not only the intelligent cause but also the material cause for this Universe.  That means that God not only created the Universe but also pervades the Universe as gold pervades all golden ornaments. The ornaments are only gold with different names and forms.  Same way everything in the Universe is only God with various forms and names.  Isavasya Upanishad opens with the line: “Isavaasyam idagam sarvam,Yad kincha jagatyaam Jagat (Whatsoever is here in this changing world, is pervaded or covered by God)”.  As everything in this world is pervaded by God, one should learn to look at the world as manifestation of God alone.  The five natural elements and the world made up of these elements including all living beings are non-different from Iswara and so one should look at the entire creation as Iswara.

    Tamil saint Tirumular says in a verse in his work, Thirumandhiram:

மரத்தை மறைத்தது மாமதயானை (Maraththai maraithathu maamadha yaanai)

மரத்தில் மறைந்தது மாமதயானை (Maraththil marainthathu maamadha yaanai)

பரத்தை மறைத்தது பார்முதல் பூதம் (paraththai maraithathu paarmudhal bhootham)

பரத்தில் மறைந்தது பார்முதல் பூதம் (paraththil marainthathu paarmudhal bhootham)

The elephant (toy) hides the wood (with toy vision).  The elephant (toy) disappears in wood (with wood vision).  Pancha bhuthas hide the Supreme (with world perception).  Pancha bhuthas disappear in the Supreme (with God perception)

    Thirumular gives the example of toy elephant made of wood here.  A child is given a toy elephant made of wood.  The child only sees the elephant and not the wood and enjoys playing with it as elephant. But a carpenter who comes there sees only the wood and comments on the quality of wood and he has no eye for the elephant.  In the same way when one has the world vision one sees only play of Pancha bhuthas and not the Supreme pervading it, while with God vision one sees only God pervading the world and not the Pancha bhuthas and all the sentient beings and the insentient objects that make up the world. So in Viswa-rupa darsana one should replace prapancha bhavana with Iswara bhavana i.e. replace world vision with God vision that everything in the world is God only with different forms and names. 

      The most important lesson one learns from this is that since everything is God and God’s manifestation only no one can lay claim to his/her personal accomplishments. This will help to resolve many of one’s mental problems.  This can also be helpful to give up pride and dedicate every action to God, thereby developing amanitvam, humility, highlighted in Bhagavad Gita (13-7) as one of the essential virtues for Athma Jnanam by referring to it as Jnanam itself.  We have also instances of Svetaketu in Chadogya Upanishad and devatas, Indra and Varuna in Kenopanishad who were taught to become humble before receiving the highest teaching.

    

    Viswarupa darsana also helps one to free oneself of matsarya, jealousy.  As all glory belongs to God, one learns to appreciate the achievements of others and avoid getting jealous or running them down. It also helps to foster the quality of giving up the sense of ownership as everything belongs to God and one’s possessions and endowments are only the ones temporarily entrusted to one’s care.  Bhagavad Gita devotes one whole chapter, chapter 11 to the Viswa rupa aspect.  Arjuna also from his universal attitude of aham/esham before the start of teaching changes to the understanding that everything belongs to God, as Krishna, after Viswa-rupa darsana.

        Thus Viswa- rupa darsana helps in diluting one’s narrow outlook and ego and expanding the mind to accommodate people and situations.  One will also gain mental equilibrium in accepting all forms of worship and become free of dwesha as one will be hurting oneself only when hating others.  This also prepares one mentally for the next level of Arupa darsana, the vision of God as a formless entity, eternal and infinite and of the naure of Sat, Chit, Ananda, that is to be realised as one’s Real Self, the Athma.

(Adapted from Sri R.B. Athreya’s article on Swamiji’s talks)

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Dependence to Independence

 

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s talks)

Human beings have two layers of personality, one external and the other, internal. The external personality concerns the body-mind complex; relating to one’s family, interaction with people, objects and situations, and material accomplishments. The internal personality is based on one’s character, value system and emotional maturity.  Scriptures caution one that external personality is ephemeral and subject to end at death and so should not be given over-importance.  Scriptures lay emphasis on the growth of the inner personality that is carried over from birth to birth.

    The growth of one’s external personality is enabled by one’s worldly knowledge that helps in achieving worldly success and accomplishments. On the other hand, the growth of one’s inner personality is only made possible by one’s Dharmic life-style and commitment to the principles of Dharma.  A Dharmic life-style enables one to confront the various life-situations without emotional disturbance. It is for encouraging one to lead a life committed to Dharma, various rituals and festivals are prescribed in Hindu religion and sincere observance of them promotes one’s devotion to God and Dharma. These pujas and rituals can be performed by any devout Hindu irrespective of their level of spiritual maturity.

    The scriptures talk about three levels of spiritual maturity. They are; world-dependent level, God-dependent level and Self-dependent level.  A seeker at the first level of world-dependence worships God, seeking protection for himself and for his worldly support systems in the form of family, profession, power, wealth and so on, in order to ensure his emotional stability.  He has no fixed notions about the form of God or the mode of worship and also keeps changing his devotion from one form of God to another or even to more than one form, with prayers for getting material benefits or for getting rid of adverse circumstances, for himself and others related to him.  These persons are quite ignorant of the fact that such a worldly support system cannot be sustained permanently.

    The seeker at the second level i.e. God-dependent level is conscious of the futility of dependence on worldly support system which is impermanent and chooses to depend on God only for his physical and emotional security and welfare.  At this level the seeker chooses to worship regularly a particular form of God as his personal deity, Ishta Devata, and does not waver in his devotion to this deity. It can be any one form like Siva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesa and so on.  He does not know the real nature of Iswara but he has firm faith in his Ishta Devata whom he worships regularly and sincerely and also offers special prayers and performs special puja to Ishta devata, in times of difficulty; emotional, physical, financial and so on for himself or his support group like family or for any special favours.  The sign of success of true God- dependence is achieving control over raga/dwesha and kama/krodha.

    The third and last level is Self-dependence that is independence.  At this level a qualified seeker takes to Jnana Yoga to understand the nature of God whom he is worshipping. The qualified seeker is one who has refined his inner personality through sadhana chathushtayam.  He has also come to understand that God-dependence is also some sort of bondage which he wants to outgrow. So he starts study of scriptures under the guidance of a competent Guru. Through diligent sravanam and mananam he acquires the Jnanam that God is the Supreme Brahman, of the nature of Existence, Consciousness, Bliss infinite and the various deities worshipped are manifestations of Brahman only with its power of Maya manifest.  He also learns that his Real Self, Athma, is Brahman only.  When this Jnanam gets firmly fixed through Nidhidyasanam, he has grown out of God-dependence to Self-dependence which is independence only.

    Though as a Jnana-nishta, established in Athma Jnanam, he has outgrown God-dependence, he does not give up the puja and prayer to God for two reasons. One as a form of thanks-giving to God for leading him out of the bondage to independence and the second to serve as a guiding example to others who have not reached this level of understanding and spiritual maturity.

(Adapted from Sri R.B. Athreya’s article on Swamiji’s talks)

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Knowledge and Experience

 

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

    Let me clarify at the outset that the knowledge and experience that will be discussed in this blog is in respect of Brahman, the absolute Reality that is called God in popular terms. This means that knowledge refers to Brahma Jnanam and experience refers to Brahma Anubhava.  Brahma Jnanam one attains through the study of scriptures, with shraddah and a subtle mind, under the guidance of a competent spiritual guru.  Now the natural tendency after getting the knowledge, is to look for the experience of Brahman, Brahma Aubhava, of whom he has gained the knowledge.  If he thinks so and seeks to know about a sadhana for this experience, he will be instructed by the guru to continue his studies as he has not grasped the knowledge correctly.  Because the scriptures describe Brahman as the Consciousness which is experienced all the time.  Kenopanishad (2-4) declares; “Prati bodha viditam matam (Brahman is revealed through every cognition of mind)”.

    So Brahman is the Consciousness self-evidently experienced all the time, only one is ignorant of it due to lack of Jnanam.  Normally knowledge precedes experience. We read or hear about a place like Rishikesh.  Then we have the knowledge of Rishikesh and when we visit that place, we have the experience as well.  Here knowledge precedes experience.  There are also instances where experience precedes knowledge.  In a marriage function we may meet a stranger and while talking to him learn about him.  In this case, experience of the person happens first and we later acquire knowledge about the person.  Similarly, in the case of Brahman, one experiences Brahman all the time in all his transactions but is ignorant about it.  This ignorance will get cleared when one acquires and absorbs knowledge about Brahman. 

    So the experience one should aim at after acquiring Brahma Jnanam is Brahma Jnana phala anubhava, which can be experienced in one's mind. Brahma Jnana phala anubhava is described in the sastras as Shanthi, peace of mind; as Trupthi, a sense of fulfilment; as Abhayam, a sense of security and others as presented in the descriptions of Sthithaprajya, Gunathitha and Parabhaktha in Bhagavad Gita.  This Brahma Jnana phala anubhava is not something which is already there but it is something one has to work for. So effort is required to have this anubhava.  Two kinds of efforts are involved in getting this anubhava.  First effort is for getting the Jnanam and the second effort is for getting the phala anubhava.

    Through diligent Sravanam and Mananam, Brahma Jnanam can be intellectually acquired.   Brahma Jnanam which is at the intellectual level has to be transformed into Brahma Jnana phalam in the form of Shanthi, Trupthi etc. at the mind level overcoming obstacles for assimilation of the knowledge.  The obstructions are in the form of one’s entrenched habitual body-mind identification as one’s Self and the residual vasanas.  The removal of obstructions is necessary for assimilation of Brahma Jnanam, which facilitates the constant abidance in Brahma Jnanam that enables one to have the uninterrupted phala anubhava.  Nidhidyasanam, Vedantic meditation, is the process for this.

    In Nidhidyasanam no new knowledge is gained, but the acquired knowledge, Brahma Jnanam is internalised.  In Nidhidyasanam, the mind, freed of thoughts of sense-objects and their enjoyments, is made to concentrate on thoughts of Jiva-Brahma Ikyam.  This is a two stage process.  In the first stage there is the rejection of what is false. One rejects the false identification with the "Sareeras" with the thought “I am not any of the Sareeras; Sthula, Sukshma or Karana”.  The second stage of Nididhyasanam is identifying one’s True Self with Suddha, Buddha, Nithya, Muktha Brahman. By staying continuously in this thought through meditation on one of the Mahavakhyas, namely “Aham Brhamasmi”, one becomes free of one’s habitual notions that hold sway over one’s subconscious mind and enjoys Brahma Jnana phala anubhava.

Brahma Jnana sadhana is scriptural study. Brahma Jnana phala anubhava sadhana is Nidhidhyasanam.  The completion of Brahma Jnana sadhana i.e. the scriptural study, is indicated when one is convinced that one need not work for Brahma Anubhava as it is Nitya Siddha.  Once this conviction comes, one can engage in Brahma Jnana phala anubhava sadhana i.e. Nidhidhyasanam, to enjoy a life of divine bliss.

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God in Hinduism

 

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s talk)

Hinduism is also called Vaidhika dharma or Sanatana dharma as it is based on Vedas. Like most other religions, Hinduism is also a God-centred religion.  It also instructs all its followers to lead a God-centered life.  This God-centred life of a Hindu is broadly divided into two stages.  The first stage of God-centred life is Iswara Aradhanam or worship of God. The second stage of God- centred life is called Iswara Jnanam or acquiring knowledge of God. Both these stages are important and must be followed in this particular order also. Without Iswara Aradhanam, Iswara Jnanam is impossible and without Iswara Jnanam, Iswara Aradhanam is incomplete. Therefore, everyone must go through both in that order.  Here a doubt may arise - When one goes through this order, in the first stage one will not have Iswara Jnanam. So what is the basis for Iswara Aradhanam?  For that the answer is; it is based on Iswara Shraddha or faith in God. The faculty of faith is there in every human being as Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (17-3): “Shraddhaamayo’yam purusho yo yacchraddhah sa eva sah (The man consists of his faith; as a man’s faith is, so is he)”. Even the rationalist is an embodiment of faith, only his faith is in reason.  And as for Iswara Aradhanam, one has faith in God whom he believes as; One who has created, sustains and will resolve the world, i.e. srishti –sthithi-laya kartha of the world.

At Aradhanam stage Iswara can be invoked in any form, male, female, animal, human-animal mixed, male-female mixed or in symbols as well. For example, we have male forms like Siva, Vishnu, Brahma; female forms like Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathy; animal forms like Mathsya, Kurma, Varaha; human-animal forms like Narasimha; male-female form like Ardhanareeswara; symbols like Saligramam, Siva lingam etc. This worship, puja, can be done as a kayika, or physical, puja and that too in an elaborate formal way or in a simple, informal way, or it can be done as a verbal, vachika, puja as parayanam or even mentally as dhyanam or japam.  Whatever be the form or mode, one does it daily with devotion seeking the blessings of Iswara.  Iswara is also called Bhagavan, the holder of Bhaga and Bhaga is defined as follows:

Aiswaryasya samagrasysa veeryasya yasassriyaha I

Vairagyasya atha jnanasya shannam bhaga itheeranaa II

Power, courage, fame, wealth, knowledge, detachment in infinite measures is Bhaga. 

So Bhagavan means the Lord of infinite power and resources and that is Iswara who is also called Brahman.

    This faith based Ishwara Aradhanam will prepare one gradually for the second stage, which is Iswara Jnanam.  For entering the second stage three factors are required. The first factor is a deep, sincere desire to know what or who is God, and Lord Krishna calls it in Gita as Jignasu Bhakti. The previous stage, where God is seen only as a means for achieving the material goals and the prayer is also aimed at getting things one wants or getting rid of things one doesn’t want is called Artha/Artharthi Bhakthi.  A Jignasu Bhaktha has an intense desire to know the answer to the questions regarding the number, nature, identity and location of God. The second factor is a mature mind and a subtle intellect to understand the nature of God because when one wants to know the real nature of God one is entering an abstract and subtle subject.  The third factor is one needs a spiritual guru to guide one in the quest for the knowledge of God.  Sincere Iswara Aradhanam i.e. worship of the chosen personal God with sincerity, shraddah and intense devotion will lead one to all the three factors; sincere desire for knowledge of God, a mature mind and a spiritual guru.

    The spiritual guru teaches the Jignasu Bhaktha, who or what God is, making use of the primary sources of this knowledge, the Upanishads and the secondary scriptures like Bhagavad Gita. In the first stage of Iswara Aradhanam one has the common knowledge that Iswara is Jagat kartha, creator of this universe.  Now from the study of scriptures he comes to know that Iswara is Jagat karanam, source of universe i.e. Iswara is the fundamental cause, karanam, and universe is the product, karyam, evolving from that karanam.  Once one understands the karana-karya relationship between Iswara and the world, then he proceeds to analyse the nature of both Iswara and the world on the basis of this relationship making use of examples like Gold and ornaments, clay and pot etc. given in the scriptures. From this study he learns the four important features of karanam and karyam.  They are – karyam is anekam, asaaram, anityam and asathyam and compared to it karanam is ekam, saaram, nityam and sathyam.  Applying this to God and universe one learns the nature of God as - Iswara is; ekam, one only; saaram, in-dwelling substance of all in the universe; nithyam, permanent, unaffected by the pralayams; satyam, the absolute reality. As a corollary to this nature of Iswara, the Jignasu Bhaktha learns that Iswara who is everywhere, must be in him also. Analysing deeply on these lines, he comes to the conclusion of scriptures that Iswara cannot be the ever-changing and mortal, body-mind complex but is the unchanging Consciousness that has these five features:

1.    Consciouness is not a part, product or property of the body.

2.    Consciousness is an independent entity which pervades and enlightens the body.

3.    Consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body.

4.    Consciousness continues to exist/survive even after the death of the body.

5.    The surviving Consciousness is not accessible because of the absence of the body-medium.

This unchanging Consciousness being the nature of Iswara he can now boldly counter the argument of the rationalist who argues that God is ‘nowhere’ with the reply touching his heart, the God is ‘now here’. The jignasu bhaktha with this realisation that Iswara is his real Self matures into Jnani Bhaktha and attains Purnatvam getting freed from the cycle of birth and death, at death.   Thus the devout vaidhika Hindu starts from Iswara Aradhanam; goes to Iswara Jnanam; attains Jnanam that Iswara is everywhere and pervades everything; understands that Iswara is in him also; and then comes to the conclusion that his true Self, Athma, is Iswara only, imbibing the message of the Mahavakya, “Aham Brahmasmi”.

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