Ego and Thoughts

Drik Drisya Viveka 3

Verse 10

Ahankaralaye suptau bhaveddeho'py acetanaḥ ।

Ahankaravikasardhah svapnah sarvastu jaagarah ॥ 10॥

When the Ego disappears in deep sleep, the body also becomes unconscious; the Ego is in its semi-manifest state in dream; it is fully manifest in the waking state.

In this work the word Ego is used where normally the word “Mind” is used in other Vedanta texts.  This is done in order to emphasise the role played by the Ego in entrapping the Jiva into this Samsaric delusion.  In the state of deep sleep the body becomes unconscious as Ego does not identify itself with body and merges itself in the causal ignorance which is characterised by the non-apprehension of empirical objects. As the result of past karma is not noticed then one becomes unconscious of one’s body in that state. In this state of deep sleep there is no perception of duality.

In the waking state the ego experiences the gross external objects by means of its internal organs. The ego and the non-ego which constitute the entire world of experience are both cognized in the waking state. Therefore the full manifestation of the Ego happens only in the waking condition.  In the dream state the Ego does not perceive any object external to itself. The seer, the objects seen and the act of seeing which constitute the dream experiences are only the mental modifications of the Ego.  In dream it is the mind alone of the sleeper which appears both as the ego and the non-ego. The dream experiences, though they appear during the dream state as outside the body of the seer, are only modifications of the mind from the standpoint of the waking state. Therefore from the waking standpoint the dream state is only a partial manifestation of the Ego.

Verse 11

Antahkaranavrttischa chitih chaya ikyamagataa ।

Vasanah kalpayet svapne bodhe akshairvishayan bahih ॥ 11॥

The thought modifications of the inner equipment, by their identity with reflected Consciousness, project impressions in the dream state and, in waking, objects outside with the eyes.

This verse discusses the vrittis i.e. thought modifications in three avasthas, Jagrat, swapna and sushupthi i.e. waking, dream and deep sleep states just as the previous verse discussed the role of Ego in these three states.  There is no mention of deep sleep in this verse as thoughts are almost zero in that state and there is no consciousness of the inner equipment i.e. mind,intellect, chitha and ego, and no experiences in this state,   In the dream state, the thoughts are generated by the semi-conscious mind from one’s own past experiences registered in memory. Out of the activated vasanas, a subjective universe is projected. These vasanas are registered in the memory in the waking state, some recently, and some in the distant past including previous births and creations. Thus the dream experience is created by the thought part of the semi-conscious mind.   In the waking state, the thoughts go out through the sense-organs like the light beam from a flash light and illumine the external world. The mind material is the ‘light source’ and the thought,vṛtti, is the ‘light beam’. Five such vṛttis come out through the five sense-organs and whatever is in the field of these vṛttis is registered and experienced by the mind and thus the objective external world is experienced. The external world is experienced only because of vṛttis.  Vṛttis are responsible for the subjective world in dream and the objective external world in waking.  The thought part of the mind also functions by its association with Reflected Consciousness, Thought associated with the Reflected Consciousness registers the absence of experience in deep sleep, activates the vasanas in dream projecting an internal world of experience, and in waking, projects an external world of experience with the help of the sense-organs.  We should remember here that that one’s experienced world of pleasure and pain is the world of Iswara’s creation transformed into the world of one’s own creation under the influence of one’s thoughts of Ahamkara and Mamakara.

Verse 12

Mano'hankṛtyupadanaṃ lingamekam jadatmakam ।

Avasthatrayamanveti jayate mriyate tatha ॥ 12॥

Constituted of mind and ego, the one insentient subtle body, goes through the three states; it is born and it dies.

The words ‘mind and ego’ represent the two kinds of thoughts seen in verse 6 earlier.  The ‘Characteristics of Thought’ is the subject matter of this verse. Firstly, thoughts dwell in the Antahkarana, i.e. Mind and Ego, where Mind stands for the mind, intellect and memory. Thoughts are thus very much the essence of the subtle body equipment within us. The subtle body which is the parent body of mind-thought part is called Lingam in this verse. The subtle body consists of the five organs of knowledge, five organs of action, five-fold physiological systems called prana along with the mind and thought. All these together constitute one unit as subtle body and the subtle body is inert by itself but becomes sentient with its association with Reflected Consciousness. So the subtle body as well has the three states of experience; waking, dream and deep sleep. Besides the three states of experience, the subtle body has also birth and death. But subtle body’s birth and death is different from that of gross body. The subtle body packs up and leaves the gross body at the time of death of physical body. Then it goes to its new body (the next birth) and unpacks all its components into that body to continue existing through that body which can be called birth in a new body. The death of subtle body occurs truly and verily only when all the karmas it carries get exhausted in Videhamukthi.

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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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Satvam, Rajas and Tamas

Gita essays – 24

While discussing Purusha-Prakrithi Jnanam in chapter 13, Lord Krishna made four points; 1) “Whatever being, moving or stationary, is born --- know that to be out of the union of Purusha (Khṣetrajna) and Prakrithi (Kshetram); 2)  Purusha and Prakrithi are both without beginning and all forms and gunas are born of Prakriti; 3) Purusha seated in Prakriti, seemingly experiences the qualities (gunas) born of Prakriti. It is attachment to the gunas that is the cause of birth in good and evil wombs; 4) He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti along with the gunas is not born again. In chapter 14, where Lord discusses mainly the three gunas, Satvam, Rajas and Tamas that constitute Prakrithi, Lord starts with the the glorification of Athma Jnanam (Purusha-Prakrithi viveka) praising it as an important knowledge that is worth repetition since those attaining this wisdom and being established in it will not ever be born again after they shed their mortal coil in death. He also restates the point no.1 referred to earlier from a different angle. He presents Purusha-the Nirguna, Nirvikara, Chetana, Sathya tatvam and Prakrithi-the Saguna, Savikara, Achetana. Mithya tatvam symbolically as the father-principle and mother-principle bestowing on every created being Conscious and material aspects representing Purusha and Prakrithi respectively.  The three gunas in varying proportions in each created being contribute to the variety in creation.

After the brief introduction Lord analyses the three gunas under four heads:

1)    Chief characteristics of each guna and the nature of their bondage

2)    Indications that reveal the predominance of each guna (lingam)

3)    Their effect on life

4)    Effect after death

This knowledge of the gunas can be used to transcend them when that Jnanam will liberate one from samsara, while alive and from the cycle of birth and death, on death.  So let us see the details as revealed by the Lord in these verses.

The characteristics of Satva guna is descrbed in the verse 14-6: “O Arjuna, Satva, is bright and harmless due to its purity, and binds by causing attachment to knowledge and to happiness”.  Satva Guna is marked by brightness and calmness.  A calm and bright mind can learn things, absorb knowledge and engage in meditation.  But this too can cause bondage as a Satvic mind seeks always seclusion and a tranquil environment, free from noise pollution.  As the external circumstances are not under one’s control, one’s longing for quietude and solitude, causing restlessness in noisy crowded environs, becomes a bondage.  Further, the knowledge that it seeks is mainly worldly knowledge which is not totally fulfilling and satisfying however much one acquires it.

Rajo guna is described in the next verse (14-7): “O Arjuna, know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, born of thirst (desire for sensual enjoyment) and attachment and binds the embodied one through attachment to action”.  Rajo Guna is of the nature of attachment and passion; a Rajasic mind is highly extrovert and it always wants to relate with things and people.  This thirst for sense-enjoyment propels one to action and so Rajas is characterised by activity. A Rajasic mind seeks always company and action and will go mad in seclusion.  As Rajasic mind is of competitive nature, it is always anxious and restless.  This restlessness and longing for activity and sense-enjoyment is the cause for samsara and samsara is bondage

Tamo guna is described in next verse (14-8): “O Arjuna, understand Tamas as born of ignorance and as the deluder of all beings. It binds by (causing) negligence, indolence, and sleep”.  Under the influence of Tamo guna one’s capacity for discrimination gets veiled and the person suffers from Ajjnanam and delusion.  It is just the antithesis of Rajo guna in that it dislikes activity and takes pleasure in laziness and lethargy; physical, mental and intellectual.  So the person’s attention span and absorption capacity are at a low level and he is ignorant or uncaring for the higher purposes of life.

Lord Krishna is non-judgemental as He outlines the characteristics, but we can grade them depending on their positive influence on one’s mental personality, ranking Satva that stands for brightness and knowledge as highest and Tamas that stands for lethargy and ignorance as lowest. We can also define them, in short, based on the aptitude of the person for activity at the time of predominance of the guna as non-activity, activity and inactivity.  The three gunas compete among themselves for supremacy and try to dominate overpowering the other two. Satva predominates overpowering Rajas and Tamas; Rajas predominates overpowering Satva and Tamas and Tamas predominates overpowering Satva and Rajas (14-10).

Lord Krishna gives also the indicators that reveal which is the predominant guna at any moment. When Satva is predominant all the jnanendriyas radiate the light of knowledge (14-11). This state of light comes from inner peace and tranquillity that Satva pradhana person enjoys and of his desire for knowledge. When Rajas is predominant, greed and activity, the undertaking of worldly actions with a selfish motive and longing for enjoyment are on the rise. (14-12).  Rajas pradhana people are great achievers and material progress is due to them, no doubt, but in their quest for success they tend to be impatient and intolerant of persons who do not measure up to their standard. They are restless in their longing for things not yet acquired and for tasks not yet accomplished.  Selfish interests and desires mark their activity.  When Tamas is predominant, darkness, inertia, miscomprehension, delusion flourishes (14-13). Tamas pradhana person has no interest in learning and doing with the result he is slow to act and understand.  Even where he acts, action is liable to suffer due to negligence and misunderstanding. In short, when one’s study and contemplation increases and when one becomes more calm and reflective we can say then Satva guna is predominant.  When activity increases and one becomes more competitive, selfish, aggressive and egoistic, Rajo guna is the dominant guna then, we can conclude. When one becomes lazy, lethargic and procrastinating spending more time in sleep and idleness, one is under the influence of Tamo guna, we can infer.

When Satva guna increases, knowledge and contemplation increases and so the fruit of Satvic action is stated as Punya..  When Rajo guna increases activity and ambition increases generating tension, anxiety, worry and sorrow and so the fruit of Rajasic action is termed as sorrow.   When Tamo guna increases sleep, negligence, idleness and dullness increases and so the fruit of Tamasic action is dubbed as ignorance.  So Lord tells in verse 16 & 17; “The result of Satvic action is pure puṇya; the result of Rajasic (action) is sorrow; whereas the result of Tamasic (action) is ignorance.” (14-16). “Knowledge is born out of Satva; greed is born out of Rajas; negligence and delusion along with ignorance are born out of Tamas.” (14-17).  

Lord Krishna goes on to say that gunas not only influence this life but they also have an impact on next life as well. When one is Satva pradhana at the time of death, then he will go to the higher lokas where he enjoys greater happiness.  When he is reborn he is born in a pious family. If one is Rajas pradhana at the time of death, he goes to the middle worlds and takes birth in the family of those who are attached to action.  If Tamas is predominant at the time of death, one goes to the lower worlds and is reborn in the family of dull and ignorant or even goes down the order of evolution being born in the animal kingdom. 

Lord Krishna talks more on the topic of classification of various subjects like Yajna, Dhana, Tapas, food, happiness etc. under the three gunas in the chapters 17 & 18 to enable one to shape one’s life on Satvic path, and eschew Tamasic ways in life.  One can make use of this knowledge of the gunas to change oneself to a Satva pradhana person as an initial step to transcend the gunas and attain Jivan Mukthi while living and Videha Mukthi at death, as a Gunatheetha, the person who has transcended the gunas, of whom Lord Krishna talks about in the rest of this chapter. 

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Karma Yogi and Jnana Yogi

 

Gita essays – 8

In Chapter 4, Lord Krishna glorified Jnanam, as a great purifier that washes off all sins, past and present, and praised Jnana karma sanyasi as actionless in action and not bound. But in the concluding verse of this chapter Lord told Arjuna “Get up and take to karma yoga.”  So Arjuna was confused and wants know for certain which is superior; karma sanyasa or karma yoga.  These two represent two life-styles, one is pravritti marga where you engage in action as a householder, renouncing attachment to action, while other is nivritti marga, where you renounce action itself as a sanyasi. Arjuna is confused as to whether sanyasa asrama is compulsory for gaining Jnanam to achieve liberation and if so why should he not straightaway renounce action itself and take to sanyasa.  Lord Krishna clarifies that what is important for liberation is only Jnanam which can be attained in both ways of life and one who tries to differentiate between them is only ignorant in verse 5-4.

सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः। (Saankhyayogau prithagbaalaah pravadanti na panditaah)
एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम्।। (Ekam apyaasthitah samyag ubhayor vindate phalam)

Ignorant (people) assert that sanyasa and karmayoga are different, not the wise. By resorting to any one of them properly, one attains the results of both.

Physical renunciation of objects is no renunciation at all. What is wanted is the renunciation of egoism and desires. So one does not become a sanyasi by merely giving up actions due to laziness or some other personal or family problem,  One is a true sanyasi who is free from raga, dwesha and other pairs of opposites. Asram is no bar to obtain Jnanam but it is difficult for one to become a true sanyasi with a pure mind free from attachments, without going through a life of karma yoga. So a life of karma yoga is preferable for an ordinary person, advises Lord Krishna. Then Lord goes on to describe karma-yoga as a sadhana for Jnanam ultimately.

A Karma Yogi lives in the world without bondage like a lotus leaf on water.  With selfless action and without anxiety for the fruits, he has inward peace at mental and intellectual levels. He finds divinity everywhere at all times. As he sees the divinity of the Self as all pervading, Lord remarks “he realizes his own Self as the Self in all beings”.  Even in the common, natural and unavoidable activities of the world like eating, sleeping, breathing, speaking, closing and opening of eyes etc., a man of wisdom will not have any sense of doership or egoism.  As he identifies himself with the Self always he remains only a witness of the activities of the senses.  As he has no attachment, whatever actions he performs at the level of body, mind, intellect and senses, they are only for the purification of the self and not for selfish benefits. Dedicating all actions to the Lord and abandoning attachment, he totally surrenders to the Divine will.  Thus united to Lord he attains eternal peace and is not born again.  On the other hand the one who is motivated by desire and attachment to the fruits of actions and who is full of egoism and sense of doership can be considered as unharmonised with the Divine will, and is bound by his actions and continues in the cycle of birth and death.  Attaining Athma Jnanam, karma yogi lives happily as a Jnana yogi, established in Self-knowledge, mentally renouncing all actions and not identifying himself with the body which is called a city of nine gates.  He is totally free from the consciousness of “I”, “me” or “mine” and also from the idea of acting or causing action and he lives only for exhausting the prarabhdha karma, which caused his present body.  He attains videha mukthi when the prarabdha karma is exhausted.

Then Lord goes on to explain the nature of Athma and about Jnana yogi who has successfully gone through all the four stages listed below and is firmly established in Jiva-Brahma-Ikya Jananam.

1)    Discovery of the value for the knowledge of one’s higher Self, Athma Jnanam

2)     Discovery of the higher Self, Athma, as his Real Self

3)    Gradual identification of oneself with Athma, the higher Self, while simultaneously disidentifying oneself from ahamkara, the lower self

4)    Effortless, constant mental Identification with Athma, one’s higer Self

Athma, one’s higher Self, is akartha and aboktha and it is only under the influence of maya /prakrithi, one’s ego-self, ahamkara, acts and enjoys the fruits of action.  So Athma has no hand in one’s papams and punyams. Maya’s avarana sakthi, veiling power, covers one’s Jnanam and as a result one mistakes in ignorance his ego-self as the Real Self and imagines in his ignorance that his Real Self, Athma, is the doer and enjoyer and papams and punyams result from the actions of Athma.  When this ignorance is destroyed by Self-knowledge, the reign of ego ends and Athma that is Brahman becomes revealed as Self just as the objects of the universe are revealed when the dark clouds covering the sun are dispelled and move away.  Identifying his Real Self with Brahman, he continues to live as Jivan muktha and attains videha mukthi at death gaining freedom from the cycle of birth and death. He is a Brahma nishta, ever established in Brahman mentally.  He is no more a samsari but a samadarsi, seeing divinity everywhere and in all forms of life, human or otherwise. He does not depend on his senses for his pleasure and satisfaction, with the knowledge that they are generators of pain and suffering in the long run. Facing the pleasant he is not elated, and facing the unpleasant he is not depressed and he accepts with equanimity the play of opposites in life, keeping his desires under his firm control.  Before concluding Lord Krishna declares that for success in spiritual sadhanas to become Jnana yogi one should restrain the impulse of kama and krodha and should not indulge in sense pleasures, understanding their impermanence besides acquiring doubt-free knowledge of Athma

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