Aparokshanubhuthi – 1

 

Four-fold qualification

Aparokshanubhuthi is a Prakarana Grantha of 144 verses whose authorship is attributed to Sri Adhi Sankara.  Prakarana Granthas are explanatory texts giving the outline of the system in a simplified form with some emphasizing one or other main features. Tattva Bodha, Athma Bodha and Drik Drisya Viveka that we had seen earlier are examples of Prakarana Granthas.  This text while presenting a brief description of Vedanta, deals specially with that aspect of it which deals with realization of the Supreme Brahman.  Aparokshanubhuthi means direct knowledge.  The direct knowledge is that of Brahman.  Anubhuthi is also translated as experience.  We experience Brahman all the time as we are conscious of anything because of Brahman only.  For Brahman is nothing but Existence, Consciousness and Anand principle. This truth is realized through the removal of the ignorance that covers this truth, through the gaining of new knowledge.  How to gain that knowledge, is taught in this text.  With this brief introduction let us enter into the text proper.

The first verse is Mangala-sloka where Lord, as Lakshmi Narayana, is invoked for the successful completion of the text.  The second verse explains that this text details the sadhanas, the pure in heart should practice regularly to attain their goal of Moksha through Self-Realization.  The third verse introduces the four preliminary qualifications, such as vairagya and the like, that are to be acquired by the devout, dharmic seekers who perform their duties with diligence. We shall see these qualities which start from verse 4.

Verse 4

Brahmadisthavaranteshu vairagyaṃ vishayesvanu I

Yathaiva kakavisthayaṃ vairagyam taddhi nirmalam II

The indifference with which one treats the excreta of a crow-such an indifference to all objects of enjoyment from Brahmaloka to this world is verily called pure vairagya.

The first qualification defined is vairagya, which means detachment or dispassion.  This should come out of understanding of the evanescent nature of the pleasures of this world as well as the other world to come and this type of dispassion is called Vairagya.  It is indifference without raga and dwesha, giving these pleasures as little value as to a crow’s dropping.  

Verse 5

Nityamatmansvarupaṃ hi dṛsyaṃ tadviparitagam I

Evaṃ yo nischayaḥ samyagviveko vastunah sa vai II

Athma (the seer) in itself is alone permanent, the seen is opposed to it (i.e. transient) – such a settled conviction is truly known as discrimination.

The second qualification Viveka is described in this verse.  Viveka, discrimination, is the differentiation between Athma and anathma as the Real and the unreal, and the permanent and the impermanent.  Anathma comprises everything in the world other than Athma including the body-mind complex and Athma is one’s own Real Self. 

Verse 6

Sadaiva vasanaatyagaḥ samo'yamiti sabditaḥ I

Nigraho bahyavrttinaṃ dama ityabhidhiyate II 

Abandonment of desires at all times is called Sama and control of the external functions of the organs is called Dama

Verse 7

Visayebhyah paravṛttih paramoparatirhi sa I

Sahanam sarvaduhkhanam tithiksha sa subha mata II

Turning away completely from all sense objects is the height of Uparati and patient endurance of all sorrow (or pain) is known as Tithiksha which is conducive to happiness.

Verse 8

Nigamacharyavakyeshu bhaktih sraddheti visruta I

Chittaikagryam tu sallakshye samadhanamiti smrtam II

Implicit faith in the words of the Vedas and Guru is known as Sraddha and concentration of mind on Sat only (i.e. Brahman only) is regarded as Samadhana. 

In the above three verses 6,7 and 8, the third qualification which is in the form of six-fold mental discipline, called Shatka Sampatti is described.  They are 1) Sama, mind-discipline and 2) Dama, sensory-discipline in verse 6 and 3) Uparati also known as Uparama, withdrawal of mind and 4) Tithiksha, forbearance in verse 7 and 5) Sraddha, faith in the teacher and scriptures and 6) Samadhana, single-pointedness of mind in verse 8.  We shall see these six one by one.

1)    Sama - Previous impressions that are lying dormant in the mind as well as contact of the mind with external objects give rise to desires.  By disassociating the mind from these two sets of stimuli, one can abandon desires.  Dhyana, Japa, satsang and prayer are all helpful in this effort as mind control can be achieved through thought control only.

2)    Dama - The sense organs are gateways of the mind to the outer world. So they determine what enters the mind. Senses are extrovert by nature and run after their sense objects without any discrimination. It is only through sound intellect and good habits they can be kept on track under control. Kathopanishad compares sense organs to horses, sensory objects to the path it traverses on, mind to reins and intellect to the charioteer. Neither reins nor horses should be allowed to determine the direction of the chariot. Only the charioteer should. Same way mind and Indriyas must be under the control of the intellect and the intellect must be properly developed through satsang, and study of scriptures and moral and ethical literature.

3)    Uparati -Withdrawal is achieved through reduction of extrovert activities and turning the mind away from sensual objects and from worldly longings.  This comes naturally when one practices Sama and Dama with Viveka and Vairagya and attains inner tranquillity.  Quality time to gain Self-knowledge is possible only when Uparati is achieved

4)    Tithiksha – This is tolerance of conditions outside one’s control, natural, social or physical without losing one’s cool i.e. the ability to bear without reacting, complaining, or blaming oneself or others for contrary experiences at the physical level like heat and cold, at the emotional level like joy and sorrow, and at the intellectual level like praise and censure, whether conducive or non-conducive.  This gives one a tension-free calm mind that is suitable for reflection on scriptural teachings regarding Self, Athma.

5)    Sraddha -  This is non-critical acceptance of the words of Guru and scriptures. Sraddha enables one to listen to the words of Guru and scriptures with an open, alert mind and work with determination towards the chosen goal to attain Athma Jnanam

6)    Samadhana -  This is the ability to have the goal in one’s sights always and be constantly focussed in one’s efforts to reach it. As a bowman has an eye only for the target so must be the concentration of efforts to attain the goal. 

 

Verse 9

Saṃsarabandhanirmuktih kathaṃ me syatkada vidhe I

Iti ya sudrdha buddhirvaktavya sa mumuksuta II

“When and how shall I, O Lord, be free from the bonds of this world” – such a burning desire is called Mumukshutha

The fourth main qualification, Mumukshutha, is described in this verse.  Mumukshuta, also called Mumukshutvam, means intense desire for freedom from samsara i.e. for Moksha.  It is characterised by “I want liberation here and now” attitude. This person’s intensity for Moksha can be compared to the intensity of a drowning person for air. 

Controlling the mind and senses through Sama and Dama, withdrawing from worldly pursuits through Uparati, meeting the internal and external challenges through Titiksha and pursuing the goal with Sraddha and Samadhana, a seeker qualifies with Vairagya for the goal of Athma Jnanam chosen through Viveka and strengthened by Mumukshutvam.  Thus the four-fold qualification of Vairagya, Viveka, Shadka Sampatti and Mumukshutvam that Swami Paramarthananda refers to as four D’s – Dispassion, Discrimination, Discipline and Desire, and which is called in Tattva Bodha as Sadhana Chathushtayam, leads a seeker to qualify for Self-knowledge.

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Seer-Seen relationship

Drik Drisya Viveka – 1

Drik-Drisya Viveka is a Prakarana Grantha like Athma Bodha and Tattva Bodha which were dicussed in earlier blogs.  Prakarana Grantha is an explanatory text or a supporting text written by a later day Acharya for understanding the main source, the fundamental three works of Vedanta, Prasthana Triam, namely the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. But unlike Tattva Bodha it does not deal with all the six aspects of Vedantic teaching i.e. jiva, the individual; jagat, the world; Iswara and Creation; bandha, the bondage; moksha, liberation; sadhana, the means by which the jiva can travel from bondage to liberation. Drik-Drisya Viveka, is a prakarana grantha that highlights the jiva-vichara i.e. Jiva, bandha, moksha and sadhanas.  The author of Drik-Drisya Viveka is not clearly known. According to some people, Adhi Sankaracharya is the author while some others say that Vidyaranya is the author. But there are quite a good number of people who say that Vidyaranya’s guru, Bharathi Tīrtha, one of the Sankaracharyas of the Sringeri Mutt in the 14th century is the author.  Drik-Drisya Viveka is a relatively smaller prakaraṇa grantha consisting of 46 verses.  The word ‘Drik’ in the title of this text means Seer or illuminator or experiencer; ‘Drisyam’ means Seen, illumined or experienced object; and ‘Viveka’ means discrimination i.e. resolving confusion in thinking leading to clear knowledge of both.  Confused thinking leading to deluded knowledge i.e. aviveka, also called moha or adhyasa which is the cause of samsara. To attain Moksha, this confusion has to be resolved and hence Drik-Drisya Viveka is necessary for Athma Jnanam.  This book is also called Vakya Sudha, which means “the nectar or essence of the Mahavakyas”.  With this brief introduction we will enter into the text proper.

Verse 1

Rupam drisyam lochanam drik taddrisyam driktu manasam ।

Drisya dheevrittayah sakshi drik eva na tu drisyate ॥ 1॥

Form is the Seen, the eye is the Seer; that eye is the Seen, and mind is its Seer; Athma (the Sakshi) the Seer of the thoughts in the mind is Seer alone and is never the Seen

In the first five verses the author is talking about the nature of the individual, Jiva, who is a composite entity consisting of three layers of Seer and Seen.  In Tattvabodha,  Jiva is presented as a composite entity consisting of three bodies, five sheaths, etc.  Here the author says that the individual consists of three types of Seers or experiencers.  Of these, two are relative Seers and the third one is the absolute one. The first Seer is the sense-organs, represented by the ‘eye’ and the Seen, the experienced object, is the external world represented by the ‘form’. Then the sense-organs themselves are seen or experienced and so they become the object, and from that standpoint the mind becomes the second Seer and the sense-organs the Seen.  The mind itself is experienced or illumined by Athma, the Sakshi Chaitanyam or Consciousness and so the mind becomes the object of experience, and Consciousness, the Athma, becomes the Seer. This Consciousness itself cannot be objectified or seen by anything else. Therefore consciousness is ever the Seer and never the Seen. Thus sense-organs are both the Seer and the Seen and therefore they are relative Seers. The mind also is both the Seer and Seen and therefore it is also a relative Seer.  But Athma, the Consciousness, is ever the Seer and never the Seen and therefore it is the absolute Seer. Thus two relative Seers plus one absolute Seer is the individual’s composition. The first verse is an introductory verse in which all the three Seers are introduced and also the three relationships:

1)    Eye - Object relationship

2)    Mind – Eye relationship

3)    Athma (Sakshi) – Mind relationship

These relationships are explained in the later verses

Verse 2

Nilapitasthulasukshmahrasvadirghadibhedatah।

nanavidhani rupani pasyellocanamekadha ॥ 2॥

The forms (objects of perception) are many and varied on account of the differences like blue, yellow, gross, subtle, short, long, etc.  The eye remaining the same sees them all.

The first Seer, eye, representing sense-organs, is explained in this second verse.  ‘Eye’ stands for all the five sense organs; eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin, and ‘Forms’ stands for all the 5 respective sense objects for each sense organ; sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Every sense-organ is a Seer and the relevant sense object is the Seen.  This verse takes eye for example and analyses Seer-Seen relationship,  Eye is one and the objects of perception are many and varied.  Without undergoing any change, remaining the same, the eye illumines all the varied sense objects. The forms, dimensions and colors of the sense objects are many and varied but the eye, remaining the same and single, observes all of them. Therefore while Dṛisyam is many, Drik is one only.

Verse 3

Andhyamandyapatutvesu netradharmesu caikadha ।

sankalpayenmanah sotratvagadau yojyatamidam ॥ 3॥

Blindness, dullness and sharpness are the many characteristics of the eye, but mind (being one) remaining the same knows (these differences).  The same thing applies to the ear, the skin, etc, (i.e. whatever is perceived through them).

The second Seer mind is discussed in this verse.  Though the eye, representing sense-organs is the perceiver (Seer) in respect of the various forms, yet it becomes the object of perception (Seen) in its relation to the mind. This is true of other sense-organs as well.  The mind is one, whereas there are five different sense organs which report to it. Each sense organ can receive only the signal that it is tuned to receive. The ear can only hear, the nose can only smell etc.  From the same sense object, all the five sense organs pick up the five signals concerning them and send it to the mind. The mind then integrates all these signals and forms the composite assessment of the particular object. The full information is obtained only by the mind and so the mind is the Seer and the sense-organs are the Seen.  The sense-organs are seen by virtue of their perceptual power in three different levels. Total perception, total non-perception and partial perception and partial non-perception are those three levels represented by sharpness of vision, blindness and dullness of vision in the case of eye.  The mind experiences or illumines these three conditions of the eye without undergoing any change itself.  Blindness of the eye does not make the mind non-functional, and the dull vision does not make the mind dull.  This principle can be extended to the other four sense-organs such as ear, skin, etc as well.   Here again we see the principle of the observed being many and the observer being one i,e Drisyam is many  and Drik is one. 

Verse 4

Kamah sankalpasandehau sraddha asraddhe dhrtitare ।

hrirdhirbhirityevamadin bhasayatyekadha chitih ॥ 4॥ 

Consciousness, remaining the same, illumines all the thoughts (mental states); thoughts of desire, willingness or doubt, belief or disbelief, fortitude or its lack, modesty, understanding, fear, and such others.

In the previous verse, the mind was introduced as Seer 2, the relative Seer. In this verse, the author says that the mind itself is ‘Seen’, experienced or clearly known. The mind goes through different emotional conditions like happiness, sorrow, jealousy, compassion, fear, etc., In addition, there are several cognition conditions of the mind like ignorance, knowledge, partial ignorance, partial knowledge, doubt, etc. These various conditions of the mind are known because they are experienced by something external to the mind. That is Consciousness, Seer 3 and mind is the Seen.  Consciousness was referred to earlier as Sakshi and it is also called Sakshi Chaitanyam or Athma as well and It is only a witness to the conditions of mind that It illumines without itself undergoing any change.  Sakshi's nature will be discussed in the next verse.  This Seer 3 is unlike the other two Seers. It is ever the Seer and never the Seen. It is ever the experiencer and never the experienced for Athma is never an object of experience.

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Introduction to Athma Bodha

Athma Bodha -1

Athma Bodha meaning ‘Knowledge of Self’ is a prakarana grantha containing 68 verses written by Sri Adi Sankaracharya, whom we shall refer to hereafter as Sri Sankara, for gaining an understanding of Athma, the Self, from the Advaita Vedanta perspective.  Prakarana Grantha is an explanatory text or a supporting text written by a later day Acharya for understanding the main source, the fundamental three works of Vedanta, Prasthana Triam, namely the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras.  Since one’s Self is in essence Brahman, the Supreme, Self-knowledge, is also known as Brahma Vidya. 

The importance of Self-knowledge can be seen from the dialogue between Narada and Sanatkumara  In chapter 7 of Chandogya Upanishad.  Here Narada approaches Sanathkumara and seeks knowledge.  Guru Sanathkumara tells sishya Narada “First tell me what you know; afterwards I shall tell you byond what you already know”. Narada replied “I know the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda, history and mythology, grammar, the rules for sacrifices for ancestors, the science of numbers, the science of portents, the science of time, logic, ethice, etymology, the science of pronunciation, ceremonials, prosody, the science of elementals, the science of war, astronomy, the science of snake-charming and fine arts.  But with all this knowledge I feel I only know the words of sacred books as I do not know the Self.  And I have heard from eminent men like you that only the one who knows about Self can overcome grief and feel fulfilled.  Sir, teach me Self-knowledge to overcome this feeling of grief in me.”   Sanathkumara replied “Yes, whatever you have read only is a name” and proceeds to teach him through various upasanas, Athma Vidya which is called here Bhuma Vidya, Bhuma meaning Infinite Reality.  In Mundaka Upanishad, Brahma Vidya is called Para Vidya and is described as one knowing which everything in the universe becomes known.

Swami Chinmayananda in the introduction to his commentary on Athma Bodha says  “In the days of his (Sri Sankara’s) perfect maturity he took up his pen to write “introductory books”, introducing the theme of Vedanta for the infants in the spiritual world.  Athma Bodha is one of them.  This is not an original book as there is not a single idea in it which is an entirely original contribution of Sri Sankara.  Every one of them is culled from the garden of Upanishads and strung together on the chord of his poetry, interspersed with exquisite similes“.  Almost in all slokas the idea is explained with an illustrative example that makes understanding easier.  Athma Bodha starts with a sloka that spells out the Anubandha Chathushtayam, the four factors to be introduced in the beginning of any sastram including tarka, vyakarana. Mimamsa etc.  The sloka runs as follows:

Verse 1

Tapobhih ksinapapanam santanam vitaraginam I

Mumuksunamapeksyo’yam atmabodho vidhiyate II

This Atma Bodha is designed for the benefit of those who who have purified themselves by austerities and are peaceful in heart and calm, who are free from cravings and are desirous of Liberation.

The three factors Adhikari, Vishaya,and Prayojanam are introduced through this verse, while the fourth factor Sambandaha is inferred. 

Adhikari details who will benefit by the study of the book.  It means the target audience for the book. It is given here as “Those who have purified themselves by austerities, who are peaceful in heart and calm, free from cravings and desirous of Liberation.”  This in short means those who have got the Sadhana chathustaya sampathi, the four-fold qualification of Viveka, Vairagya, Samadhi shatka sampathi and Mumukshuthvam or in other words, discrimination between the Real and unreal; dispassion; the six qualities of calmness, self-control, self-settledness, forbearance, concentration and faith; longing for Liberation’

          Vishaya means the subject which is given as Athma Bodha, Knowledge of Athma, one’s true Self

          Prayojana means benefit to be obtained from the study of this book which is indicated by the term ‘mumukshu’ i.e. Liberation

          Sambandaha means the relationship of the subject to the goal and here the sambandha is that of illuminator and illumined, the Prakashiya-Prakashaka Sambandha, where the illuminator is this Self- knowledge and illumined is the qualified seeker.

This verse starts with the word “Tapas” which is an auspicious word and so this verse can be taken as an invocation as well for starting the study of this work on Self-knowledge.

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