Vivekachudamani – 5

 Select verses 21 to 25

Verse 21

durvarasamsaradavagnitaptam,dodhuyamanam duradrstavataih|

bhitaṃ prapannam paripahi mrtyoh,saranyamanyam yadaham na jane||36|| 

I am scorched by the blazing forest fire of samsara; I am being tossed around by the cruel storms of misfortune; I am terrified (within and without)—O Lord! save me from death; I take refuge in you, for I know no other shelter.

            The sishya now tells his story.  He says he is afflicted by the forest fire of samsara.  Forest fire cannot be that easily put down with water like ordinary fire.  The use of the word ‘forest fire’ to describe samsara shows he understands the effort involved in getting rid of samsara.  Further this fire is fanned by the winds of his papa and he is frightened that even if he manages to escape, it will be only a temporary relief, as the cycle of birth and death will again push him back into it. So he wants to get rid of the cycle of birth and death through attaining Moksha and he seeks Guru’s guidance to gain Self-knowledge which only can lead one to Moksha.  So he prays to Guru whole-heartedly “I take refuge in you. Please help me to gain this knowledge”. 

Verse 22

santa mahanto nivasanti santah, vasantavallokahitam charantah |

tirnah svayam bhimabhavarnavam janan, ahetunanyanapi tarayantah||37II

There are peaceful and magnanimous saints who ---like the spring season—are ever doing good to the humanity. They have crossed the dreadful ocean of samsara through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives, they help others to cross it.

            Sishya follows up the prayer with the praise of Guru through the words of admiration of all Gurus. He says they are ‘santa’, people who have inner composure, tranquillity; ‘mahanta’, those who know Mahat, the Brahman. They are like the spring, that brings about a colourful change in environment, making the flowers bloom and trees to grow fresh leaves. Like the spring they do good to the people without seeking any appreciation.  These people have not only crossed the ocean of samsara but also help all the others who come to them to cross this scary ocean of samsara without expecting name, fame or power or anything else. Through this praise sishya is effectively saying “You are also one of them and please help me to cross the frightening ocean of samsara”.  Listening to the plight of sishya, the Guru replies in the next two verses.

Verse 23

ma bhaista vidvaṃstava nastyapayah, samsarasindhostarane’styupayah|

yenaiva yata yatayo’sya paaram, tameva margam tava nirdisami || 43॥

Fear not, O learned one! There is no danger for you. There is a way to cross over this ocean of samsara. I shall instruct you in the very path by which the ancient Seers have reached the other shore of this ocean of samsara.

            Guru in his reassuring reply addresses the sishya as ‘Vidwan’, the learned one, as he is a qualified student with all the necessary qualifications and to make him feel confident that there is no cause for danger.  Showing appreciation of his problem the Guru further assures that there is a time-tested means for crossing the ocean of samsara which the guru will teach him. So there is no reason for fear or despair.  Guru’s confidence and encouraging words pacifies the sishya and makes him ready to listen with sraddha.  Guru continues his encouraging words in the next verse as well.

Verse 24

ajnanayogatparamatmanastava, hyanatmabandhastata eva samsrtih |

tayorvivekoditabodhavahnih, ajnanakaryam pradahet samulam||47॥

You are indeed the Supreme Self but due to your association with ignorance you find yourself under the bondage of the not-self, anathma, which is the sole cause of the cycle of births and deaths. All the effects of ignorance, root and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the not-Self (Athma and anathma).

            This is a very profound verse which lays the foundation for the entire teaching to follow. In this verse Guru is diagnosing the problem and refers to the cause of samsara in a cryptic manner.  Guru starts saying that sishya is not an insignificant individual, but his true Self is Athma which is none other than Paramathma, the Supreme Brahman.  Guru further says that identifying with body-mind complex, as his true Self, is the reason for bondage as this makes him limited and mortal while as Brahman he is free from all limitations.  This mistaken idea arises out of Self-ignorance, which is inborn and can be overcome through Self-knowledge only.  The ignorance of Self is destroyed by the fire of knowledge, born of discrimination between Athma and anathma.  Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita (4-37) how Athma Jnanam destroys all karmas as below:

Yathaidhaamsi samiddho’gnir bhasmasaat kurute’rjuna; I

Jnaanaagnih sarvakarmaani bhasmasaat kurute tathaa. II

As the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all Karmas to ashes!

Same way Self-knowledge destroys Self-ignorance and its offspring, the notion of bondage and thereby samsara.  Through this verse several new ideas have been presented to the sishya and they rebound in the form of questions in the next verse.

Verse 25

ko nama bandhah kathamesa agatah, katham pratisthasya katham vimoksah

ko’savanatma paramah ka atma, tayorvivekah kathametaduchyatam ||49॥

What, indeed, is bondage? How has it come? How does it continue to exist? How can one get out of it completely? What is this not-self? Who is the supreme Self? And what is the process of discrimination between these two (Self and not-self)? Please explain all these to me.

            The disciple reacts to Guru’s introductory encouraging words with seven questions as below:

1)    What is the nature of bondage?

2)    How did I become bound?

3)    How this bondage persists?

4)    How can I free myself of the bondage?

5)    What is anathma, the not-Self?

6)    What is Athma, the Real Self?’

7)    How is the discriminative analysis between Athma and anathma to be done?

Through these seven questions, the disciple has asked for the entire Vedanta sastra.

--------------------