Kaupeena Panchakam

Kaupeena Panchakam is a short poem of five stanzas written by Sri Adi Sankara glorifying the life of a Jivan Muktha renunciate.  “Kau (कौ))” means private part of the body; that which covers it is called “Kaupeena (कौपीन)), which is the simple loincloth worn as an undergarment that is made up of rectangular strip of cloth tied around the waist of the wearer as a cover for the genitals with the help of the strings connected to the four ends of the cloth.  G-string is a similar modern undergarment which is a narrow piece of cloth that is attached to a band around the hips and passes between the buttocks to conceal the genitals. While the G-string is close to the Kaupeena in terms of design, the purpose is different. While G-string is worn to reveal the curves of the body seductively, Kaupeena here is worn by a spiritually liberated person who does not identify himself with the body, as a symbol of his total renunciation and he wears even that only to avoid a feeling of embarrassment to others.  The Jivan muktha Sanyasi is also called Yeti.  So this work is also called Yeti Panchakam, Panchakam meaning collection of five.  These verses highlight the inner disposition of the Yeti  whom Mundakopanishad  calls athmakreedah, and athmarathihi (3-1-4), the one who sports in himself and delights in himself  and call him “the fortunate one”.  With this brief introduction let us go into the work.

Verse 1

Vedantha Vakhyeshu Sada ramantho,
Bhikshannamathrena trishtimantha,
Vishokamantha karane charantha,
Kaupeenavantha Khalu bhaghyavantha  1

That person, who always revels in the Vedantic declarations; is satisfied with the food obtained by begging; is blissfully thinking about the inner Self, and is wearing the loin cloth only, is indeed a fortunate one.

Sri Sankara is describing in all these verses the traits of a Jivan Muktha ascetic who has limited his possessions to just a piece of cloth only and that too from a sense of decency and not out of any necessity.  The upanishadic statements on the Vedantic truths give him great pleasure as he mulls over them always.  He has no preferences in the matter of food.  He is happy with whatever he gets as Bhiksha.  In the matter of food he is as Lord Krishna says in Gita (4-22) “Yadricchaalaabhasantushtaha”, content with whatever comes to him without specifying.  He is ever in bliss, as Lord Krishna says in Gita (12-13)-“Santushtah satatam yogi” ever contented as a yogi.  He has neither dehabhimana nor fancy for dresses or ornaments

Verse 2

Moolam tharo kevalam ashrayantha,
Panidhvayam bhokthuma manthrayantha,
Kandhamiva sreemapi kuthsayantha,
Kaupeenavantha Khalu bhaghyavantha -2
That person who resides (anywhere, even) under the base of the tree, taking food using two cupped hands only to receive the food and disregarding wealth treating it as worthless piece of torn cloth and is wearing the loin cloth only, is indeed a fortunate one.

He has no fixed address or residence. He is “suramaṃdiratarumulanivasaḥ”(taking shelter in a temple or under a tree) as described in Bhaja Govindam(verse 18).   Receiving food using cupped hands denotes two things. One is that besides the loin cloth which he wears to save others the embarrassment, he has no other possessions, including plates and cups for taking food or drinking water. He just uses the cupped hands for that purpose.  Second is that he has totally conquered the ego and has no inhibitions in stretching his hands for receiving alms.  He has scant regard for wealth as he is free from desires and attachments.  His dispassion for possessions has come out of Athma Jnanm he has acquired that reveals the mithyatvam of worldly objects.

Verse 3

Swananda bhava pari thushti mantha,
Sushantha sarvendriya vruthi mantha,
Aharnisam brahma sukhe ramantha,
Kaupeenavantha Khalu bhaghyavantha – 3

That person who is contented in the joy of one’s own Self, controlling all the sense-pleasures and immersed all the time in the bliss of Brahman and is wearing the loin cloth only, is indeed a fortunate one.

He has realized through Athma Jnanam that his true nature is Brahman which is Aananda Swarupa.  The senses are under his control and  they do not run after worldly objects and pleasures at their will that leads to samsara.  In the words of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad he is, aptakamaha, athmakamaha and akamaha (4-3-21).  Aptakamaha is one whose desires have all been fulfilled; athmakamaha, one whose desire is for Athma only and akamaha, one who has no desires to fulfil. So with the knowledge of Athma and with no distractions caused by senses, he is immersed all the time in the Bliss of his own Self that is Brahman.

Verse 4

Dehadhi bhavam parivarthayantha,
Swathmana athmanyavalokayantha,
Naantha na Madhyam na bahi smarantha,
Kaupeenavantha Khalu bhaghyavantha – 4

That person, who is only a witness to the changes in his body, seeing himself as Athma only and having no thoughts of inside, outside or middle and is wearing the loin cloth only, is indeed a fortunate one.

Through Athma Jnanam he has realized that his true nature is Sakshi Chaithanyam, which is only a witness of changes that take place in the body-mind complex as in youth, old age etc., as well as of the three avasthas; waking, dream and deep sleep, daily. This knowledge has given him the Sarvathmabhava that makes him see all as one with no divisions.

Verse 5

Brahmaksharam pavanamucharantho,
Brahmahamasmeethi vibhavayantha,
Bhikshashano dikshu paribramayantha,
Kaupeenavantha Khalu bhaghyavantha - 5

That person who is always reciting the glory of Brahman with devotion and wandering around living on alms sporting only the “I am Brahman’ thought and is wearing the loin cloth only, is indeed a fortunate one.

Knowing his true nature as Brahman and the body-mind complex as mere upadhi, he uses his body for worldly transactions, as in wandering at will and collecting alms for survival, while keeping his mind engaged sub-consciously in contemplating on the glory of Brahman, with the “I am Brahman” thought.

The Jivan Muktha sanyasi is called a fortunate one as he is free from karma syndrome.  His accumulated sanchita karma has been annihilated;  accruing agami karma does not affect him as the punya phala goes to those who serve him and the papa phala, if any, goes to those who insult him or ill-treat him leaving only prarabdha karma to be lived through.   On its exhaustion, he attains Videha mukthi and is totally Liberated merging with Brahman.

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

Nidhidhyasanam - Vedantic meditation

Lord Krishna starts his reply to Arjuna’s question with this sloka, in the third chapter of Gita;

लोकेऽस्मिन्द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ। (Lokesmin dvividha nishta pura proktha mayanagha)
ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम्।।3.3।। (Jnanayogena sankhyanam karmayogena yoginam)

“In the world twofold path has been enunciated by me Jnana yoga for Sankhyas and Karma yoga for other yogis”

One of the reasons for the distinction made between Jnana yoga and all other yogas grouped under Karma yoga is the Jnanam that is secured through the sadhanas.  In case of Jnana yoga it is Aparoksha Jnanam (direct knowledge) and in case of others it is Paroksha Jnanam (indirect knowledge).  We shall briefly see the difference between the two. In Paroksha Jnanam there is an action involved to enjoy the benefit of Jnanam. For example one hears about rasagulla and its taste.  Unless he gets one rasagulla and tastes it, this knowledge of rasagulla is only academic knowledge or just information.  Only when he gets and tastes one. he has direct experience.  In the case of Aparoksha Jnanam which is knowledge about oneself the very act of imbibing the knowledge makes one have the experience and reap the benefit.   For instance in the case of Karna who was lamenting that he was not a kshatriya because he was Radheya, son of a charioteer, Kunti’s revelation to him that he is her first-born makes him realize he is Kaunteya, and so a kshatriya, without any other action needed from him except mere grasping of this fact. 

The Jnanam one gets in Jnana Yoga is of a similar nature, the knowledge about one’s Self, Athma Jnanam.  Proper understanding and abidance in this knowledge in all circumstances itself enables one to reap the benefit of this knowledge.  And so it qualifies as Aparoksha Jnanam. But there is a catch.  The knowledge of Jeeva Brahma Ikyam is of a mind-boggling nature and is in total contradiction of one’s experience through senses.  One knows one is a mortal and has number of limitations, while Brahman is immortal and free from all limitations and Athma Jnanam reveals that one is in essence none other than Brahman and only the upadhi of body-mind complex makes one look, feel and act different.  So great mental and intellectual effort is required first to absorb it, second to resolve all the doubts that may arise from this understanding and finally to make it make it one’s own but when once that is achieved this knowledge transforms one from a samsari to a Jeevanmuktha.  That is why Yajnavalkya tells his wife Maitreyi in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2-4-5)

आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि, (The Self, Maitreyi, should be realized – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon;). 

This process of hearing, reflecting and meditating together constitute the sadhanas of Jnana Yoga, which are technically termed as Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam. We shall see briefly Sravanam and Mananam before going into Nidhidhyasanam. Sravanam is committed, consistent study of scriptures under a Guru for a length of time.  This is necessary so as not to misunderstand the words of scriptural text where in many places implied contextual meaning is to be taken and not literal meaning which will be misleading.  Mananam is resolving all the doubts in respect of the teaching either by reflection or by going back to the Guru and seeking clarification or through discussion with other students or through a combination of one or more of these methods. As mere academic understanding and mental conviction alone will not confer the benefits of the Athma Jnanam unless one is able to abide in it all the time unshaken by vasanas, one needs to meditate on this knowledge and make it one’s own.  Nidhidhyasanam is that meditation on this knowledge through which one gets firmly established in Athma Jnanam unassailed by doubts and unshaken by the outburst of residual vasanas at any time and lets one enjoy undisturbed the peace and bliss of Purnatvam.

The key knowledge gained during Sravanam and consolidated during Mananam is “Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva na Parah”(Brahman alone is real, the world is Mitya, the individual Real Self is Brahman).  Brahman is Real, is easy to understand, remember and practice.  But to extend it to say Brahman alone is Real from which the other two flow is a difficult proposition.  Much more difficult is extending it to one’s individual Self.  So this knowledge that has already been gained in Sravanam and consolidated in Mananam is to be internalised and assimilated. Nidhidhyasanam is the process for this. So in Nidhidhyasanam no new knowledge is gained nor any new realization is attained, but one’s entrenched habitual body-mind identification as Self is removed and the residual vasanas are liquidated to enable constant abidance in Athma Jnanam.  Sri Sankara says in Viveka chudamani (verse 365) that Mananam is hundred times superior to Sravanam and Nidhidhyasanam hundred thousand times superior to Mananam.

Nidhidhyasanam, Vedantic meditation, is like what is referred to as Dhyana in Yoga Sutras. The mind is freed of thoughts of sense-objects and their enjoyments and there is only the chosen thought of meditation. This is a two stage process.  In the first stage there is the rejection of what is false. The sadhaka 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 Nidhidhyasanam 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 one becomes free of his habitual notions that hold sway over one’s   subconscious and blossoms into a Jeevanmuktha and stays in Divine bliss for ever as Bhaja Govindam says “यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव ॥“(yasya Brahmani ramathe chitham, nandhati nandhati nandhatyeva) One whose mind is established in Brahman is always in bliss.

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