Dakshinamurthy Sthothram – 2

(slokas 1 – 3)

Sloka 1

Visvam darpaṇa dṛsyamana nagari tulyaṃ nijantargatam
Pasyannatmani mayaya bahirivodbhutam yathanidraya |
Yassakshatkurute prabhodhasamaye svatmanamevadvayaṃ
Tasmai Sri gurumurtaye nama idam Sri Dakshinamurtaye || 1 ||

The universe is like the reflection of a city seen in a mirror, and it is located within oneself.  It is similar to his seeing the dream-world, which is within him, during the state of sleep.  Due to Maya the one real fact appears as many different truths and one realizes (this) when one wakes up (spiritually) and perceives the Reality that he is the one and only one soul (Athma) really. Salutation to Sri Dakshinamurthy, the greatest teacher (whose grace is responsible for getting this illumination)

Of the four lines in this verse the fourth line is a sthuthi of Lord Dakshinamurthy, who  is the greatest teacher being the embodiment of Brahma Vidya, offering salutations to Him,  In the first three lines Tvam padam of the Mahavakhya “Tat Tvam Asi”, representing Jivathma and the Jiva jagat sambanda are discussed through two examples.  The two examples are: 1) The reflected image of a city in a big mirror, 2) Experience of the dream-world. Let us take the first example.  Imagine a big mirror strategically kept focussed on a busy city street. When we analyse the reflection of the street in the mirror four points arise.

1)    The mirror is the adhishtanam for the image i.e the mirror and the street image have supporter – supported relationship, the mirror being supporter and street image, supported

2)    The mirror can exist without reflection; but reflection cannot exist without the mirror. So mirror is satyam; having independent existence, whereas reflection is mithya; having dependent existence.

3)    Whatever events happen in the reflected street, they will not affect the mirror. For example a fire in the reflected street will not burn the mirror.

4)    Irrespective of the number of images in the reflected street, the mirror is one only.  The reflected images cannot add to the count of the mirror and it is one and one only, non-dual.   

Here mirror stands for Athma and street for universe and we have from the example:

1)    Athma is the adhishtanam for the anathma, which includes the external universe and body and mind

2)    Athma is Sathyam while anathma is mithya

3)    Athma is asanghaha, unaffected by agitations in anathma

4)    Athma is one and non-dual, Advayam while anathma is multiple and manifold.

To drive home clearly the idea of Athma being adhishtanam for anathma, the second example of dream-world is given. The dream-world with all its players and events is supported by the sleeper as it arises from him during sleep and dissolves in the sleeper when he wakes up and so the sleeper is the adhishtanam for the dream-world.  The dream-world which has only dependant existence is mithya while the sleeper who has an independent existence is Satyam. The sleeper is asangha unaffected by the happenings in the dream.  Sleeper is one while dream can be manifold. Athma stands for the sleeper and the dream-world for anathma. During the sleep, the dream-world is real and external for the sleeper.  Same way for a person in ajjnana avidya nidra, the experiencing world appears Real, external, disturbing and manifold due to the play of Maya.  Only when he wakes to Athma Jnanam due to the teachings and blessings of Guru he realizes the truth about his Real Self, Athma. Lord Dakshinamurthy is the Guru of such gurus and so is the greatest teacher who due to his silent teaching dispels the doubts regarding Self of even profound Vedic scholars.

Sloka 2

Bijasyantati vankuro jagaditam prannarvikalpam punah
Mayakalpita desakalakalana vaichitryachitrikrtam |
Mayaviva vijrmbhayatyapi mahayogiva yah svechchaya
Tasmai Sri gurumurtaye nama idam Sri Dakshinamurtaye || 2 ||

He in whom this universe, prior to its projection was present like a tree in a seed (unmanifested), and by whose magic this was transformed(manifested) in various forms, by His own will similar to a great yogi's- to that Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the greatest teacher, I offer my profound salutations.

The fourth line in this verse is same as in the previous verse, a sthuthi of Lord Dakshinamurthy, offering salutations to Him.  The other three lines discuss the ‘Tat’ padam of Mahavakhya “Tat tvam AsI”, representing Paramatma or Brahman and Brahma Jagat sambanda using the example of seed and tree.  Sri Sankara talks of Brahman as the material cause of the universe when he describes Brahman as one in whom the universe prior to its projection was present as a tree in the seed. Sri Sankara describes Brahman as the intelligent cause when he states that universe was projected with Space and Time in varieties of forms due to the power of Maya of Brahman. So while Brahman the karanam is one and advayam and also Satyam, world the karyam is mithya and manifold.  Sri Sankara compares this act of projection of universe through the power of Maya by Brahman to that of magician who materialises many things through the play of magic and to that of Mahayogi who also materialises things through his Sankalpa.

Sloka 3

yasyaiva sphuranam sadatmakam asatkalparthakaṃ bhasate
sakshat tatvamasiti vedavachasa yo bodhayatyasritan |
yassakshatkaranad bhavenna puranavrttir bhavambhonidhau
Tasmai Sri gurumurtaye nama idam Sri Dakshinamurtaye || 3 ||

He, by whose light the (unreal) universe appears real, teaches the truth of Brahman to those who want to know the Athma through the vedic statement tattvamasi (thou art That) and He Who puts an end to the samsara cycle – to that Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the greatest teacher, I offer my profound salutations.

The fourth line in this verse also is the same as in the previous two verses, a sthuthi of Lord Dakshinamurthy, offering salutations to Him.  In the first three lines the ‘Asi’ padam of the Mahavakhyam “Tat Tvam Asi” which spells out the Jiva Brahma Ikyam is discussed. The world is experienced by us and it is experienced because it is existent.  Vednta says Pure Existence is an independent substance which pervades the world and makes the world existent. That Pure Existence is called Sat and Sat is an aspect of Paramathma and is itself called Paramathma, just as Chit, Pure Consciousness. Sri Sankara says in this verse that Brahman, the Paramathma, makes the projected world existent and throbbing with life through Sat and Chit, and an ignorant Jiva experiencing the existent world imagines it is Real while only Brahman is Real and the world is only apparently Real.  In the first two verses Sri Sankara has revealed separately that Jiva and Brahman are Real and Non dual and the world as mithya.  Now these two statements are reconciled by stating that Lord Dakshinamurthy as Brahma Vidya Guru teaches His disciples the Vedic truth of the identity of Jivathma and Paramathma through the teaching of Mahavakhya “tat tvam asi” (You are That), dispelling the doubt regarding the reality of the world.  When one understands and absorbs the truth of Mahavakhya, one becomes a Jeevanmuktha, a liberated person for the rest of one’s life i.e. until the exhaustion of the prarabhdha karma when one attains Videha Mukthi and sheds the body once for all. The one attaining Videha Mukthi frees oneself from the cycle of birth and death for ever. This Mahavakhya Lord Dakshinamurthy teaches in silence through Chinmudra as explained in the Dhyana sloka and to this Brahma Vidya guru salutations are offered.

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Pranayama and Mano-nasa

Upadesa Saar – verses 11 to 15

After talking about Karma Yoga and Bhakthi, Upasana Yogas in first 10 verses, Maharishi talks about a key step in Ashtanga yoga, also called Raja Yoga.  Ashtanga Yoga had been discussed in an earlier blog “Shadanga Yoga”.  Let me refer to it briefly.  Raja yoga consists of eight steps:

1)    Five “don’ts” under the name Yama

2)    Five “do’s” under the name Niyama

3)    Asana -  Steady physical posture

4)    Pranayama - Control of prana or life force

5)    Pratyahara -  Withdrawal of the senses

6)    Dharana  -  Concentration

7)    Dhyanam -   Meditation

8)    Samadhi – Total absorption in meditation.

Of  these 8 steps Maharishi highlights the fourth step, Pranayama and its role in control of mind that can lead to “Mano-nasa”,  merger of mind in the spiritual heart, which he outlined as the goal in the earlier verse, in the next five verses i.e. verse no. 11 to 15.

Verse no.11 reads as:

वायुरोधनाल्लीयते मनः | (Vaayurodhanaath leeyathe manah)
जलापक्षिवाद्रोधसाधनम् || (Jaala pakshivad rodhasaadhanam)

Through breath-control, the movement of the mind is contained, just as a bird is restrained when caught in a net. (This checks the thoughts of the wandering mind). 

Vayu means breadth and Rodhanam means regulation and together “Vayu Rodhanam” refers to Pranayama.  Maharishi says that Pranayama is one way of quietening the chattering mind. Breathing and mind are interconnected.  This can be verified  by observing the fast breathing when the mind is agitated, disturbed or excited and the steady and normal breathing when the mind is calm.  Maharishi compares arresting the thoughts of the wandering mind to the restraint imposed on the bird which is caught in a hunter’s net and cannot wander in the sky or on earth. In the next verse Maharshi goes on to explain the link between mind and Prana and how the control of one leads to the control of the other. 

Verse no. 12:

चित्तावायवाश्चित्क्रियायुताः | (Cittavaayavaas citkriyaayutaah)
शाखयोर्द्वयी शक्तिमूलका || (Saakhayor dvayee saktimulakaa)

Mind and Prana endowed with Jnana sakthi and Kriya sakthi respectively are the two branches of Prakrithi or Maya the divine power of Brahman (i.e. they emerge from one common source). 

In an earlier blog on “Panchikarana, process of creation”, a topic of Tattvaloka, we had seen that from Prakrithi, Maya sakthi of Saguna Brahman, Pancha bhuthas are born and that from their collective satva guna, that stands for faculty of knowledge, Jnana sakthi, mind is born and that from their collective rajo guna that stands for the power of action, Kriya sakthi, Prana is born.  Maharishi refers to this and says that Prana and mind are born out of the same subtle matter,Prakrithi, and so are inter-connected.  Maharishi says that since both are connected to each other, if you control one the other automatically gets controlled, as control of one leads to the control of the other. Of the two, mind is more difficult to control directly and so it is suggested one tries to control mind indirectly through Pranayama.  So through Pranayama one can control the breath & indirectly the mind also.  Control of the mind can be in two ways, Maharishi points out in the next verse.

Verse no, 13:

लयविनाशने उभयरोदाने | (Layavinasaane ubhayarodhane)
लयगतम् पुनर्भवती नो मृतम् ||   (Layagatam punarbhavati no mrtam)

Resolving and destruction of the mind are the two different types of control of the mind. Among these two, the temporarily resolved mind again rises up, but the destroyed mind never rises again as it is dead.

There are two ways by which mind can be resolved i.e. made thought-free:

1. Laya of mind or mano-laya– This is a temporary state of resolution or dissolution of the mind as it happens in the states of dreamless deep sleep, Pranayama, Samadhi state of Raja yoga, intoxication caused by drug or liquor

2. Vinasa of the mind or mano-nasa – Permanent state of removal which happens when the mind is merged in the spiritual heart and made thought-free for ever.  When one gains advaita jnanam through Atma vichara, one realizes the mithyatvam of mind and this knowledge of mithyatvam once gained and firmly established stays with one forever thereafter. So this state is termed permanent. 

A spiritual seeker strives for mano-nasa only and not for mano-laya.  How this can be achieved is discussed in the next verse.

Verse 14:

प्रानबन्धनात् लीनमानासम् | (Praana bandhanaath leena maanasam)
एकचिंतनात् नाशमेत्यदः ||  (Eka chintanaath naasham etyada)
Mind that is temporarily resolved through Pranayama gets destroyed through Athma Vichara (by knowledge of the One non-dual ultimate Reality as Self or pure Consciousness)

Pranayama quietens the mind temporarily making it free of thoughts.  When one comes out of Pranayama, mind goes back to its extrovert state, running after external things, because it believes they are real and they are source of one’s happiness, peace and security.  It is ignorant of the knowledge of Self as One, non-dual Reality, Brahman, which is the only real source of one’s peace, happiness and security.  This Self-knowledge one gets through eka –chitthanam or Athma- vichara i.e. Self-enquiry.  When one is established in this Self-knowledge, one has the mano-mithyartva nischayatvam i.e conviction of the mithya nature of mind, and attains the state of mano-nasa.  While ignorant mind is the cause of samsara, an enlightened mind leads to Liberation or Moksha, as is said “Mana eva manushyanaam kaaranam bandha mokshayoh” (Mind alone is the cause for one’s bondage and Liberation).   Such a person who has achieved mano-nasa through Self-enquiry is a realized Yogi or Jnani and next verse spells out his state.  

Verse 15:

नष्टमानसोत्क्रुष्टयोगिनः | (Nashta maanasotkrishta yoginah)
कृत्यमस्ति किं स्वस्थितिम् यतः|| (Krityam asthi kim svasthithim yathah)

For that exalted Yogi, whose mind has been destroyed and who is always established in the Self, what action is to be performed ??? (No action needs to be performed for Self-fulfillment)

In this verse, Maharshi is explaining the state of a realized Yogi and the characteristics of such a Yogi.  The realized Yogi is one, whose mind has been destroyed and who is established in the Self. Such a Yogi is a Jeevanmuktha, who has attained Liberation and stays alive in the body to exhaust Prarabdha karma, which also does not affect him, as he knows he is not the body-mind complex.  He can be like Suka, the great BrahmaRishi, who left his home in childhood or like King Janaka who was staying in the palace and taking care of his kingdom; either way he acts out of fulfiiment and not for fulfilment.  Engaging in pravritti, activity or nivritti, withdrawl, due to the influence of residual prarabhdha, he works for lokasangraha (universal welfare) only, through seva or through silence or through both. His desires are non-binding and his actions are selfless ones arising out of a sense of fulfillment and a sense of love and compassion for all, with no sense of doership, karthrutvabhava.

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Law of Karma and Videha Mukthi

Tattva Bodha - 8

Law of Karma states that every deliberate action one does, produces two types of results; one that  flows from the visible action called dhrishta phala, visible result and another that flows from the invisible motive behind the action called  adrishta phala. invisible result. The positive invisible result is called Punyam, with a pleasurable impact and the negative invisible result is called Papam with a painful impact. While the dhrishta phala fructifies soon after the action, the adrishta phala takes its time to fructify, maybe now or later in this janma or in next or in one of the subsequent janmas.  This uncertainty of the gestation period gives rise to three categories called, Agami Karma, Sanchitha Karma, and  Prarabhdha Karma. 

The actions wilfully performed by a Jeeva in human form with a sense of doership result in Punyas and Papas which come under Agami karma. Living beings other than humans have no sense of doership and no judgemental capacity to discriminate actions as good and bad and so they all have no Agami Karma.  Some of the Agami Karma may fructify during jeeva’s current lifetime.  The unfructified Agami Karma at death gets added to the unexhausted, accumulated stockpile of Karma called Sanchitha Karma. Sanchitha Karma is the unexhausted accumulated punyas and papas over the countless births in the past.   Cycle of birth and death continues until Sanchitha Karma is reduced to nil balance with no unfructified Agami Karma to add at the time of the death of Jeeva. 

Prarabhdha karma is that portion of Sanchitha Karma that comes to fruition at the time of Jeeva’s birth.  Prarabhdha Karma determines जातिः आयुः भोगाः (Jathihi, aayuh,bhoghah),  as per sutra 13 of Sadhana pada of Patanjali Yoga Sutra.   जातिः stands for environments of birth like birth in a particular country, society, family and other characteristics at birth like sex, defects or peculiarities. आयुः  stands for the life span. When Prarabhdha is totally exhausted death of the body occurs.  भोगाः stands for experiences of life pleasant, painful and mixed. Prarabhdha is commonly called fate or destiny.

So in a nutshell,  Agami Karma is the freshly acquired punya, papa in the current janma;  Sanchitha Karma the stockpile of unexhausted  Agami Karma  accumulated  over countless births and  Prarabhdha Karma  the portion of Sanchita Karma that matures at  jeeva’s birth to be exhausted in jeeva’s  lifetime.

Law of karma is not fatalism. Rightly understood it can be an antidote for fatalism.  From the study of Prarabhdha Karma we understand that past "I" as kartha is responsible for the present  "I".  Extending this logic we can say future "I" can be shaped by the present "I" as kartha by managing the circumstances intelligently in this janma.  So the responsibility for our future lies in our hands only and  that is why Sri Krishna says in Gita(6-5) “उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं (uddhareth athmanaathmanam)”- one should lift oneself by one’s own efforts. 

Every experience we undergo in our life is because of Prarabhdha Karma and Agami Karma i.e. our own actions in the present and past janmas.  So we cannot blame the world or any other beings for our experiences. When we understand this we will stop blaming the world or others for our sufferings; and accepting responsibility as a past or present karta, will improve our mental health.  So right understanding of the law will help us to stop blaming others or the world including God for our ills and sufferings.

We are experiencing in the present janma not only the Agami phalam (action done as current kartha) but also the Prarabhdha Phalam (action done as previous kartha).   That is the reason why some good people appear to suffer and some not so good people appear to prosper.  If the reason is rightly understood that it may be the effect of past karma, this understanding will help us retain our faith in the Lord and not turn cynical. 

Swami Paramatmananda talks of the availability of Prayaschitha Karma to mitigate the effects of Prarabhdha in his talk on Law of Karma.  Prarabhdham is adrishtam, not visible.  So this cannot be dealt with normally. Planetary positions as revealed in the horoscope give an indication of the Prarabhdha in store, but they themselves do not cause joy or sufferings.  Through the clock we see the time of sunrise and sunset but clock itself does not cause sunrise or sunset. By knowing what is in store for us, we can create an Agami, to counter or mitigate the Prarabhdha effects to come. This is called Prayaschitha Karma which like medicine can cure the disease or help to manage the disease or only be just a temporary palliative. In the case of weak Prarabhdha it can relieve the suffering, in intermediate case it can help to manage the suffering and in a strong case give the mental strength to accept it.  When the Prayaschitha is general it is called prayer, when it is specific, it is called parihara.

Before going into Videha mukthi let us see what happens to the bodies at the time of death. The gross body of ajnani as well as Jnani  disintegrates to merge with the Pancha bhuthas at death.  The subtle body and causal body of the ajnani along with the reflection of Chaithanyam in Sukshma Sareera, Chidabasa, leave the gross body to take up a new body according to the fructified portion of Sanchitha Karma, Prarabhdha Karma; and continues in the new body accumulating Agami Karma until the Prarabhdha Karma is exhausted when again it continues the journey in another new body with fresh Prarabhdha Karma.  Liberation from this cycle of journey from body to body is called Mukthi. What happens in Mukthi we can see from the life of Jnani.

A Jnani is one who is  firmly established in Athma Jnanam.  Whatever Sanchitha Karma was to his credit along with the unexhausted  Agami Karma in his account , they all get totally destroyed  on the date of his firm realization that he is neither the doer nor the enjoyer but only the witness Consciousness. This Sri Krishna points out in Bhagavat Gita (4-37) 

“यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन।(yathaidhamsi samiddhognih bhasmasath kuruthe Arjuna)

ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥ (Jnangnih sarvakarmani bhasmasath kuruthe tatha)

As a blazing fire reduces all fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of Self-knowledge reduces all karma to ashes.

But this applies only to Sanchitha and Agami Karma.  Prarabhdha Karma has to be exhausted by living it through.  That is why we have seen Jnanis like Ramakrisna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi suffering from body afflictions before death.  Their illness only brought grief to others but they remained indifferent to it with the firm conviction that it is only the body that is affected and they are not the affected body. Because of this Jnanam the Jnani lives as Muktha Purusha until death and is called Jeevanmuktha and his state is called Jeevanmukthi, liberation while living.  Agami karma does not accrue to him after he attains Jeevanmukthi as he has no sense of doership.  At death Jeevanmuktha’s  subtle body merges with the subtle bhuthas and the casual body gets liquidated as there is no residual karma to give rise to gross body or to sustain subtle body. Since the subtle body is dissolved,  Chithabasa, the reflected Consciousness, also gets dissolved  and the witness consciousness becomes one with the total Consciousness like pot space becoming one with the total space when pot is broken.  This is called Videha Mukthi, liberation at death.

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Jeeva Iswara Aikyam – A startling equation

Tattva Bodha – 7

Aikyam  is a Sanskrit word meaning identity or sameness.  Jeeva Iswara Ikyam means Jeeva and Iswara are identical.  Expressed as an equation it is Jeeva=Iswara.  The equation will startle any individual who knows from knowledge of oneself  that Jeeva is finite, of limited knowledge (alpajna), having only limited strength (alpasakthiman), occupying even less than a mini micro-dot space in the universe (alpavyapi), a slave of maya (mayadasa),  full of sorrows and problems (samsara); while on the other hand Iswara is known  from the study of scriptures to be infinite, omniscient (sarvajna), all powerful (sarva sakthiman), all-pervading (sarvavyapi), master of maya (mayapathi), and is all bliss untouched by sorrows (asamsari).  But this Ikyam is the central theme of Advaita Vedanta.  So let us see how the seeming difference is reconciled and the identity established, in a simple manner.

An equation is possible between two entities only when they appear to be different but on analysis reveal identity as in the case of “9-4” and “3+2”.  Equating both sides is not possible if they not only appear different but are also really different for then any amount of analysis cannot establish identity as in the case of “9-4” and “4+3”.  And an equation is not necessary between same two entities like”9” and “9”.

On the face of it the omniscient, omnipotent, all-pervading, mayapathi, infinite, asamsari Iswara cannot be the same as alpasakthiman, alpajna, alpavyapi, mayadasa, finite, samsari Jeeva as both appear totally different.   So to explore the identity let us analyse and find the essential nature of each of them.

We had seen earlier in the blog on Avastha thriam that a human being has three states of experience, waking state, dream state and deep sleep state. In waking state all three bodies gross, subtle and causal are active and he is called Viswa. In dream state only subtle and causal bodies are active and he has the name Taijasa. In causal state only causal body is active and he has the name Prajna.  We can say Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna are three dimensions of human personality.  Mandukya Upanishad states that besides these three dimensions, there is a fourth dimension to human personality which it simply calls as fourth and says that is the Athma.   

“चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते स आत्मा स विज्ञेयः॥ (chathurtham manyanthe sa Athma sa vijvijneyaha) - Considered the fourth this is Athma and this is to be realised”.      

In the Mandukya Karika,  Gaudapada calls it Turiya.  This Turiya is not a name for a separate state as this is the Athma only, which is present in all three states blessing Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna.  Jeeva is this Athma but in Self-ignorance, he considers himself as Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna depending upon the state he is in. This Athma is the essential nature of Jeeva. And Athma is the infinite, all-pervading, omniscient, eternal Consciousness principle.  So in a nutshell the essential nature of Jeeva is the Consciousness principle.

Iswara is Brahman with maya sakthi, that functions through prapancha thriam; sthula, sukshma, karana prapanchas which are also matter only.  So the essential nature of Iswara is Brahman which is also the infinite, all-pervading, omniscient eternal Consciousness principle only.  So the essential nature of Jeeva as well as Iswara is Consciousness principle only and on that basis their identity is established.

We can illustrate it with an example. Waves rise and fall in the ocean. Some waves are big, some small, some are short-lived and some comparatively long-lived. Compared to the waves ocean is vast and it is also the srishti, sthithi, laya karanam for waves as they rise in it, are sustained by it and perish in it.  So superficially looking they cannot be equated.  But if you take their essence, wave in essence is water defined by the chemical formula H₂O and essence of ocean is also water with the same chemical formula of H₂O.  So looking from the angle of their essence we can pronounce the wave –ocean-identity.

Now a doubt may arise that if Jeeva’s essential nature is omniscient all-powerful ever-in-bliss Brahman why one is not aware of it anytime during one’s life.  It is because of maya’s powers that one is not only aware of one’s blissful Brahmatvam  but also in Self-ignorance mistakenly considers oneself as a miserable samsari  jeeva.   Maya has two powers; avarana sakthi, the veiling power and vikshepa sakthi, projecting power.  Under the spell of the avarana sakthi Jeeva is ignorant of his true nature as Brahman and under the influence of the vikshepa sakthi  Jeeva mistakenly considers that he is the body-mind complex with a particular name and form.  Because of this mistake of identifying himself with the body-mind complex, he suffers from all the ills and woes that body and mind are prone to. When he realizes through self-knowledge, his own Real nature as Athma, he becomes a Jeevanmuktha, and is unaffected mentally by the ills and woes of the body and mind.

This identity translates into Jeeva-Brahma Ikyam, when we consider jeeva shorn of upadhi, limiting adjunct, of bodies, which is Athma and Athma is the name for Brahman in microcosm.  Brahman and Athma are only two names for the same entity one in the context of macrocosm and the other in the context of microcosm, as one who is referred to as C.E.O in office is called Beta, son, by his father at home.  The statements in the Vedas that spell out this Ikyam are called Mahavakhyas, important statements.  Other Vedic statements that talk about Brahman without referring to Ikyam are called avanthara vakhya, ordinary statement.  One famous Mahavakhya which is often quoted is  “तत् त्वं असि” (Tat tvam asi), - you are That, you standing for jeeva and That for Brahman, which occurs nine times in chapter six of Chandogya Upanishad of Sama Veda. This Mahavakhya is discussed in detail in my earlier blog titled "Mahavakhya"

This knowledge of Ikyam is called Athma Jnanam and is the end goal in the quest for Self-knowledge or the quest for knowledge of “Who am I’.  This is achieved through the sadhanas of Jnana Yoga; Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidyasanam.  Let us see briefly the benefits that this knowledge confers on one who is firmly established in the knowledge that he is not any of the three bodies but the Pure Consciousness behind them all.   

1)    He enjoys emotional independence as he is not emotionally disturbed by the presence of problems or absence of comforts in the life’s set-up and  accepts with a sense of detachment all that life has to offer in pairs of opposites like loss and gain, pain and pleasure, union and separation, heat and cold etc.   

2)    He develops  emotional strength to face undisturbed  all life’s challenges.

3)    He enjoys a sense of fullness, purnatvam, that gives complete peace and tranquillity as he has no compelling wants  or desires

4)    He attains Videha Mukthi on death, liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

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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.

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