Vivekachudamani – 13

 

Select verses 62 to 67

Verse 62

sishyah uvacha

mithyatvena nisiddhesu, kosesvetesu panchasu |

sarvabhavam vina kincid, na pasyamyatra he guro |

vijneyam kimu vastvasti, svatmana’tmavipascita ||212||

Sishya asked, “Oh Guru, after negating these five sheaths as unreal, I find nothing but an absence of everything.  Is there indeed any vasthu to be known as oneself by the one who is adept in the deliberation upon the self?”.

            The Buddhist ideology of sunyavada i.e. “emptiness is Reality”, is being taken up here in the form of a question from the disciple.  The disciple asks, “When I negate the five sheaths as not Real, I find only an empty void, total absence of everything.  What is there a wise man can find?”.  Nihilists argue on this basis that pure non-existence is the ultimate Truth.  Guru, happy that the disciple is listening and asking a relevant question proceeds to answer him, rebutting the sunyavada argument.

Verse 63

sriguruh uvacha

satyamuktam tvaya vidvan, nipuno’si vicharane |

ahamadivikaraste, tadabhavo’yamapyanu ||213||

Verse 64

sarve yenanubhuyante, yah svayam nanubhuyate |

atamatmanam veditaram, viddhi buddhya susuksmaya ||215||

 Guru said - Rightly you have spoken, O learned one. You are indeed clever in your ability to discriminate. Through an extremely subtle intellect may you know the one by whom the modifications of the ego as well as its absence, are experienced but who himself is not experienced, as the Self, the ultimate knower.” 

    Guru replies encouragingly complimenting the disciple on his intelligent and reasonable doubt.  Beginning with ego, the various modifications form the kosas.  The ego itself is the modification of vritti in the form of kartha-bhoktha.  Athma is the one by whom all the modifications are illumined and objectified but Itself is neither illumined nor objectified by anything.  It is Athma that illumines their absence as well in deep sleep. Guru is telling the disciple in this verse “That which you had never experienced but because of which you had all your experiences that is in fact your Self, the Athma who knew them all as witness.  It is the “principle of knowledge” in whose presence all knowledge is rendered possible. It can be known only through the intellect made very subtle”

Verse 65

jagratsvapnasusuptisu sphutataram, yo’sau samujjrmbhate

pratyagrupataya sadhamahamiti, antah sphurannekadha |

nanakaravikarabhagina iman, pasyannahamdhimukhan

nityanandachidatmana sphurati tam, viddhi svametam hrdi ||217||

That which clearly manifests itself in the waking, dream and deep-sleep states; that which shines inside uniformly and continuously as “I” - ”I”; witnesses the ego, the intellect etc., which are of different forms and modifications, which shines in the form of Ananda and Consciousness that is not subject to Time.

            The Athma is explained further in this verse.  Athma reveals itself in one’s buddhi as aham aham, “I”, “I” and not as an object of the word “this”.  Again, it reveals itself always in one form which means it is not the ahamkara, which undergoes change all the time and is not present during deep sleep.  Athma reveals itself by illumining the ego etc. and It is present in all the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep as the innermost Self, the witness, without undergoing any change.  The day-to-day modifications and forms are experienced by the Jiva, the false self, which is identified with the various sheaths. Due to its identification with the sheaths, it is impossible for Jiva to be their witness.  Athma is “I” thought only, free from anything else and shines in the buddhi as Ananda and Consciousness, that is limitless and not subject to any modifications, - “nithyanandachitadmana”. 

Verse 66

brahmabhinnatvavijnanam, bhavamoksasyakaranam |

yenadvitiyamanandam, brahma sampadyate budhaih ||223||

The cause for liberation from transmigration (samsara) is the realisation of identity of one’s Self with Brahman. By means of this, the wise attain Brahman, the one-without-a-second, the Bliss-Absolute.

Verse 67

satyam jnanamanantam brahma, visuddham param svatah siddham |

nityanandaikarasam pratyag-abhinnam nirantaram jayati ||225|

Brahman is Existence-Knowledge-Limitless, extremely pure, Supreme (beyond Maya), Self-evident, Eternal, Indivisible-Bliss, absolutely without parts and is always available as not different from one’s inmost Self. 

    Theoretical book-knowledge is called Jnanam and a full subjective experience is called direct knowledge, Vijjnanam.  The realisation of one’s identity with Brahman, the universal Self, is the cause for Liberation, Moksha, that liberates one from the cycle of birth and death.  Brahman is one without second, Bliss absolute. Taittreya Upanishad (2.1.1) says “Satyam, Jnanam, Anantham Brahma i.e. Brahman is Existence, Knowledge Infinite”.  These words are to be understood as the svarupa lakshana of Brahman.  Brahman is visuddha, always pure. Everything else is superimposed on it and what is superimposed does not taint It. Again it is para, Supreme, that which is beyond Maya.  From the standpoint of Brahman there is no Maya. Further Brahman is not dependent on anything for its existence or evidence.  It is “nityanandaikarasam”, Bliss limitless that is not subject to Time, not subject to comparison i.e. eternal, incomparable, unalloyed, Bliss.  It is not separate from one’s Self and as Kenopanishad (2.4) points out it is available as an integral part of every experience of oneself.

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