Ananya Bhakthi – a brief analysis.

Bhakthi comes from the root Bhaj , which means to serve with attachment, here the attachment is to God.  Those who follow the path of bhakthi are called bhakthas. These bhakthas can be broadly divided into two groups, Sakama bhakthas and Nishkama bhakthas.  Sakama bhakthas are those whose devotion to God and worship of God is motivated by material wants and desires.  So here God is not the end goal of the bhaktha.  God is only an intermediate means through whose help he wants to attain the fulfillment of his material wants. This is usually the early stages of bhakthi in which we most are. In this early stage God is worshipped in many forms, depending upon bhaktha’s moods and needs.  In this early stage there is also much importance to rituals, and worship is offered equally out of fear as of love.

The Nishkama bhakthas are those bhakthas for whom God is the end as well as means. They do not have a material goal either for themselves or in respect of others to whom they are attached, except for the welfare of all of humanity as a class.  For them bhavana, the mental attitude, in bhakthi  is more important  than any physical  ritual.  Under Nishkama bhakthas come Jijnasu bhakthas and Jnani bhakthas.  The Jijnasu bhakthas  have as their goal Jnanam, knowledge of God and to this end pray for anthakaranasuddhi, the purity of mind and thoughts, necessary for acquiring Jnanam overcoming raga and dwesha.  Their goal is spiritual goal which is related to God, who can be called as Iswara as well.  Those Nishkama  bhakthas, who after attaining  Jnanam, revel in that Jnanam with bhakthi  are the Jnani bhakthas.  The Jijnasu’s path to Jnanam is through ananya bhakthi.  

Lord Krishna gives the formula for ananya bhakthi that is the hallmark of Bhakthiyoga in a few places in Gita. We shall see two of them starting with the advice to Arjuna in 9-27.

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्। ( Yad karoshi Yad asnasi yad juhoshi dadhasi yad )

यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्॥ (Yad tapasysi kaunteya tad kurushva madharpanam )

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever ritual you perform, whatever you give, whatever religious discipline you follow, Arjuna, please do it as an offering to me.

After revealing his Viswarupa, Sri Krishna again spells out the recipe for ananya bhakthi to Arjuna in 11-55.

मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मदभक्तः सङ्गवर्जितः। matkarmakrit matparamo madbhakthaha sangavarjithaha।

निर्वैरः सर्वभूतेषु यः स मामेति पाण्डव॥ nirvairah sarvabhutheshu yah sa mamethi Pandava॥

He who does actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme goal, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment and who bears no enmity towards any being, he attains Me.

In this sloka Lord Krishna has laid down four criterions for ananya bhakthi with a rider that such an ananya bhaktha will attain Him.  As Lord Krishna is speaking these words not as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva but as the incarnation of Cosmic Supreme, attaining Him is Mukthi or liberation from the cycle of birth and death and so we can take these as criterions for a bhaktha to reach his spiritual goal of liberation. They are:

 1)   Whose work is all for Iswara  

2)  For whom Iswara is the Supreme goal

3)  Who is free from all worldly associations

4)  Who has no sense of enmity towards any living being. 

Criterion 1 was explained in the sloka we saw earlier i.e. sloka 9-27.  For a Nishkama bhaktha seeking liberation, Iswara is the Supreme goal.  His attachment is only to Iswara and to Satsangh and so he is free from all other worldly associations and material attachments.  Criterion 4 which results from the Universal vision, that Lord Krishna speaks of in Gita 10-8, is very important as it lifts bhakthi to its higher form, Parabhakthi.  For what constitutes lower form of bhakthi, let me quote from Swami Vivekananda’s work on Bhathiyoga

Swamiji  writes “ The one great advantage of Bhakti  is that it is the easiest, and the most natural way to reach the great divine end in view; its great disadvantage is that in its lower forms it oftentimes degenerates into hideous fanaticism……... That singleness of attachment (Nishthâ) to a loved object, without which no genuine love can grow, is very often also the cause of the denunciation of everything else. All the weak and undeveloped minds in every religion or country have only one way of loving their own ideal, i.e. by hating every other ideal. Herein is the explanation of why the same man who is so lovingly attached to his own ideal of God, so devoted to his own ideal of religion, becomes a howling fanatic as soon as he sees or hears anything of any other ideal. This kind of love is somewhat like the canine instinct of guarding the master’s property from intrusion; only, the instinct of the dog is better than the reason of man, for the dog never mistakes its master for an enemy in whatever dress he may come before it. Again, the fanatic loses all power of judgement.”

He further states later “It has always to be understood that the personal God worshipped by bhaktha is not separate or different from the Brahman.  All is Brahman, the one without a second; only the Brahman, as unity or absolute, is too much of an abstraction to be loved and worshipped; so the bhaktha chooses the relative aspect of Brahman, that is Ishwara, the Supreme Ruler”.  So all personal Gods are to be understood as different manifestations of Brahman.  With name and form, they are different, but without name and form, as Absolute Truth, there is no difference.  Swamiji uses a simile to drive home this point. 

In Swamiji’s words “Brahman is as the clay or substance out of which an infinite variety of articles are fashioned. As clay, they are all one; but form or manifestation differentiates them. ….. the clay-mouse can never become a clay -elephant, because, as manifestations, form alone makes them what they are, though as unformed clay they are all one. Ishvara is the highest manifestation of the Absolute Reality, or in other words, the highest possible reading of the Absolute by the human mind”.  From this understanding comes the Universal vision an essential constituent of ananya bhakthi that can lead to Mukthi.

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“Flow” and Ananya bhakthi

Flow is a term used by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to describe a state where you are totally immersed in the activity you are engaged in.  He describes the mental state of flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."  Flow, also known as Zone, is described as the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Csíkszentmihályi explains it with examples drawn from games like chess, athletics and activities like music and painting.  This focused absorption is also the feature in deep meditation and also in ananya bhakthi, the one-pointed devotion to one’s chosen deity.

Bhakthi can be defined as reverential love for God and bhaktha as a person leading a dharmic life who has bhakthi.   On the basis of Lord Krishna’s classification of bhakthi in Gita (7-16), we can classify bhakthas into four categories as Aartha bhakthas, Artharthi bhakthas, Jijnasu bhakthas and Jnani Bhakthas.  Aartha bhakthas turn to God seriously only when then they are in distress or in trouble.  Artharthi bhakthas regularly think of God but always with a plea for a favour, maybe it is fortune, position, fame etc. or for the redressal of some grievance, for themselves or for their loved ones. An Artharthi bhaktha is an Artha bhaktha as well but not the other way round. But both are only sakama bhakthas for whom God is only a means for a material goal.

Unlike these two the Jijnasu bhaktha, who is a seeker of  spiritual Jnanam, has a spiritual goal and is a nishkama bhaktha for whom God Himself is the end goal and not any other material means. For a Jijnasu bhaktha, bhakthi is a sadhana to reach his spiritual goal of God-realization and so his bhakthi is called sadhna bhakthi as well.  When he realizes that God, the Supreme Self called Paramatma, is in essence his own true Self, Athma, he blossoms into a Jnani bhaktha, and his bhakthi, Jnani  bhakthi,  is siddha bhakthi, i.e. bhakthi after achieving the goal of Realization and not bhakthi for achieving the goal of Realization.  For such a bhaktha all his actions are for God only and the thought of God is always in his mind in the background in all his deeds, words and thoughts.  His devotion is so intense that all thoughts, all words, and all deeds are given up unto the Lord, and there is no forgetfulness of God at any time in all his activities.  This intensity is the hallmark of ananya bhakthi.  When the sadhana bhakthi of a Jijnasu who has no material goal acquires this intensity his bhakthi also qualifies as ananya bhakthi.

  

According to Csíkszentmihályi, there are ten factors, many or all of which accompany the experience of flow. Those ten factors are:

1)   Clear goals, while challenging, still attainable

2)   Strong concentration and focused attention

3)   The activity is intrinsically rewarding

4)   Feeling of serenity; loss of feeling of self-consciousness

5)  Timelessness; a distorted sense of time; feeling so focused on the present that you lose track of time passing

6) Immediate feedback

7)  Knowing that the task is doable; a balance between skill level and the challenge presented

8)  Feelings of personal control over the situation and the outcome

9)   Lack of awareness of physical needs

10)   Complete focus on the activity itself.

In the ananya bhakthi of Jijnasu, we can see these factors present, when we leave out those factors pertaining to material goal.  This ananya bhaktha has clear goals of God-realization, which he hopes to achieve not through his efforts alone but through his efforts blessed by God’s Grace.  He has chitha ekagratha, which is focused attention of mind on the single subject, i.e.his Ishta devatha.  He revels in the very act of  bhakthi and is neither conscious of time nor of his own self, when he is immersed in acts of Bhakthi, be it singing, chanting or in satsang.  He is totally oblivious of his physical needs and there is complete focus on the activities of devotion.

We can also define this concept of “Flow” and ananya bhakthi using computer terminology.  Studies by psychologists have revealed that the amount of information the mind can attend to at any time is only limited to 126 bits.  Some bits of this are taken up for  the involuntary coding and decoding of vital information essential for the running the autonomic system of the body. Where all the available balance bits are taken up by what one is engaged in, the condition of flow occurs. Same way ananya bhakthi is the state where all the available  balance bits are taken up by the act of devotion to God.

Talking of such bhakthas Lord Krishna says in Gita (10-10)

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूरर्वकमम्।

ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते॥

tesam satatayukthanam bhajatham preetipurvakam।

dadami buddhiyogam tam yena mamupayanthi te॥

For those who are always committed to me, seeking me with love, I bless them with the yoga of knowledge through which they reach Me.

He reinforces this assurance more emphatically by clearly spelling out His act of Grace in the next verse (10-11)

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थम् अहमज्ञानजं तमः।

नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानददीपेनभास्वता॥

tesamevanukampartham ahamajnanajam tamah ।

nasayamyatmabhavastho jnanadeepena bhasvatha॥

For them alone I shower my Grace, destroying the darkness born of ignorance through shining the light of knowledge, dwelling in their heart

Any bhaktha when he acquires this “Flow” in his bhakthi and stays with it can reach the spiritual goal of God Realization, irrespective of his past as Lord Krishna assures in  Gita 9-30, where he says that even a worst sinner when he  turns a new leaf and worships Him with this “Flow” (indicated by the term अनन्यभाक्,ananyabhak), he must be considered as a noble person only.

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Kodagu, the coffee-land.

Kodagu, once known as Coorg is an administrative district in Karnataka state of India.  It was under the direct governance of British till the Indian Independence in 1947 and became an independent state in 1950. In the year 1956, during the re-organization of the states, it was merged with Karnataka and today it is the smallest district of Karnataka with Madikeri, formerly known as Mercara, as the district headquarters.  Kodagu, situated in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka is famous for its evergreen forests, lush green valleys, sprawling coffee plantations, and fast flowing streams and is termed as the Kashmir of Karnataka.  To this Madikeri, myself and Rajam travelled from Bangalore in the air-conditioned luxury of Airavat, the Karnataka State Transport Corporation’s de-luxe service.

We stayed in Hotel Cauvery Residency, which is opposite to the bus depot, which we misread as bus stand while reserving on-line. So when we found that the hotel is a bit away from the town centre where all the shops and vegetarian restaurants are located and as we did not fancy the walk in the hilly town with all the ups and downs, we felt initially a tinge of disappointment over the choice.  But as the hotel was comfortable and the staff very courteous, our stay for two nights and three days became quite enjoyable though hectic.

As we landed in Madikeri  in the afternoon, we went round the local and nearby attractions the first day after lunch and brief rest. Our first visit was to the local fort, which is in the heart of the town.  The fort was originally built by Muddurajah and later re-built by Tipu Sultan, and now houses government offices.  There is a museum with ancient antiques like weapons, idols, canon etc.  Our next visit was to Abbey falls, which is about 8 kilometres from city centre. The winding drive on the mountain path to the falls is through the forests and coffee plantations,  You have to walk down another kilometre in the rugged path to reach the hanging bridge, from which you have a good view of the gushing waters of Cauvery that cascades down a mountain face.  We were told that this beautiful falls will present an awesome sight in monsoon.

From Abbey falls we retraced our steps to the city, to view other attractions there.  Our first stop was at Rajah’s tomb or the tombs of Dodda Virarajendra & Lingarajendra II.  The royal tombs provide a commanding view of the entire town. The tombs are of Muhammadan style with central domes and turrets. Even the bars of the windows are made of fine brass and adorned with beautiful engravings.  From Rajah’s tomb we made our way to Omkareshwar temple. This temple where the main deity is Lord Siva is also built in Muhammadan style with a central dome and turrets in four corners.  Our last stop for the day was at Rajah’s seat. This is the spot from where the kings watched the sunsets with their consorts and is a beautiful scenic spot.  From here you can have a fascinating view of not only the green valley but also of the curved road to Mangalore down the valley.   We sat here for sometime giving rest to our tiring legs watching the sun go down

Next day morning we started early for Talacauvery, the birthplace of Cauvery river.  It is 42 kilometres uphill from Madikeri.  On the way we spent some time in a coffee plantation. The source of the river is a small pond at the foot of the Brahmagiri hills.  The river originates as a spring supplying water to this tank. The water then flows underground to emerge as the Cauvery river at some distance and travels down the states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu before entering the sea at Poompuhar in Tamilnadu. Though it is considered  sacred to have a dip in the pond, we did not attempt it but only had the water sprinkled on our head. Nor did we venture to climb up the Bramagiri hills, as we were happy with the scenic view from the base of the hill and as we did not want to tire ourselves before the afternoon program.  Though there was a toilet facility here unlike some of the tourist spots, they were charging higher rates for the use of toilet by ladies(Rs. 5), as compared to the use of toilet by men(Rs. 2).

On our way back from Talacauvery we made a halt at Bhagamandala, where River Cauvery is joined by two other rivers, Kannika and Sujyothi. There is a temple built in Kerala style at this place of confluence dedicated to Lord Siva. The rivers Kannika and Sujyothi look like little streams at the point of confluence.  In the afternoon we proceeded to Bylakuppe, near Kushal Nagar to visit the the Tibetan temple, which is called the Golden temple in view of the big gold coated statues of  Buddha,  Padmasambhava and  Amitayus.  Bylakuppe is the second largest Tibetan settlement in India.

From Bylakuppe we proceeded to Nisargadhama, which is on our way of return to Madikeri, 3 Kilometres from Kushalnagar.  Nisagadhama is a picnic spot where Cauvery river splits forming an island, with a bamboo forest. A hanging bridge, deer park, elephant ride, tree-top shelters, boating facilities, dwelling cottages etc., all add to the charm of forest  scenery.  From Nisargadhama we made our way back to Madikeri

Next day after going round the shops in the city and getting the feel of the town through roaming round,  we made our way back to Bangalore, the same way we left, by Airavat service of KSRTC.   Photos of this trip can be viewed in my Picassa album “Coorg, the coffee-land” at https://plus.google.com/photos/102997826156729709715/albums/6110477543818351681?banner=pwa&authkey=CMbbifDhyr6kaQ

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Positive psychology and Purusharthas

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living.  It is a new branch of psychology to help normal human beings lead happy, fulfilled lives with a sense of well-being as contrasted with the study of abnormalities and dysfunctions of the human mind. It is a departure from the Freudian focus on making life less miserable to making life more happier.  In short its emphasis is on “What is right with you mentally” rather than “what is wrong with you mentally.”   Martin Seligman the founder of this branch of psychology defines it as the branch of psychology that uses scientific understanding and effective intervention to aid in the achievement of a satisfactory life rather than merely treating mental illness.  This is reflected in an interview with CNN on the current state of psychology.  When asked to describe in one word Seligman said “Good”. When he was asked to describe in two words, he changed it to” Not good”.  The interviewer taken aback asked him to describe in three words and he came out with the reply “Not good enough”.  That is in the field of treating unhealthy minds it is good, while in the field of helping healthy minds not good, and so overall not good enough.  This study originated in 1998 when Martin Seligman was elected the President of American Psychological association and he made positive psychology theme of his term.

As per Martin Seligman good life is “using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification” i.e. to continuously be happy and fulfilled.   Seligman has classified happiness in three broad categories.   

1) The happiness that one derives from a “life of enjoyment”, the Pleasant life.  The emphasis here is on savoring as much pleasures as possible through the normal avenues of entertainment, relationships, hobbies etc.. Seligman says this is most transient and ranks it low.

 2) The happiness that one derives from a “life of engagement’, the Good life. The happiness comes from one’s accomplishments, achievement of goal, meeting a challenge.  This happiness ranks only average as the feeling of fulfillment or satisfaction does not last long.

3) The happiness that one derives from “a life of meaning and purpose”, a meaningful life, The happiness comes from the feeling of satisfaction, one derives, when contributing to something bigger than themselves and more permanent than themselves like organizations, social groups, belief systems etc.. This ranks high on the scale when rendered selflessly and affords enduring satisfaction. 

After this short outline of Positive Psychology, let us go to a brief study of the Purusharthas.  Purushartha is a word used in our scriptures to describe human goals.  Though the individual goals may be different and numerous they can be broadly grouped under four heads; Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.  Now we shall see them, though not in the same order as stated above. Artha is one that gives security, economic, emotional or social.  So it can be basic physical needs like food, shelter, clothing and health and also higher emotional needs that come from fame, status, fortune and success and from relationships.  All forms of luxury needs to enhance the comfort or for sense gratification, entertainment and social pleasures come under Kama.  Dharma lays down the code of righteousness and the moral values that must govern all actions whether of Artha or of Kama. Moksha is the goal of liberation from the cycle of birth and death which is characterized by let-go and withdrawal.  The scriptures have also clubbed together all the paths of action and called it as Pravritti marga and the path of withdrawal as Nivriiti marga.  Whatever may be the goal the end-aim of all actions is one’s happiness and well-being only.  So we can consider Purusharthas as our scriptural divisions and compare it with the modern divisions of Practical Psychology in the area of enhancement of human happiness and well-being.

Kama corresponds to Life of enjoyment, Artha to Life of Engagement and Dharma to Life of meaning and purpose.  All of these come under Pravriiti marga only and so cannot give one lasting total happiness, which can be achieved through nivriiti marga only.  Withdrawal does not mean taking to Sanyasa or total cessation of activities.  It is not even what the Positive psychologists call “the learned helplessness”,  which is resignation born of a belief, or beliefs, that one has no control over what occurs, and that something external dictates outcomes, e.g., success.  Withdrawal or detachment is not only internal renunciation of attachment to results while being active in the activities of the world i.e. family, profession, and society; but also the internal renunciation of the feeling that you are the conglomeration of body, mind and intellect by replacing it with the knowledge of your true Higher Self. So here you renounce internally even the feeling of being a doer or enjoyer.  This is as indicated by Lord Krishna  in Gita (5-13)

सर्वकर्माणि मनसा सन्यस्यास्ते सुखं वशी । (Sarva karmani manasa sanyasyasthe sukham vasi)

नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन् ॥ (navadware pure dehi naiva kurvan na karayan)

Mentally relegating all the actions to the city of nine gates (the body with nine openings), be the the embodiment of Bliss without stress of doing oneself or of getting done by others.

Positive psychology which is less than a decade old and which lists spirituality, calling it “a search for the Sacred” (Sacred can be inferred as God), as one of the contributing factors to the feeling of well being and happiness may one day move to the millenniums-old wisdom of Vedas that realizing that ‘the Sacred’ one is searching is one’s  own Higher Self  and living this Truth is the ultimate prescription for Absolute uninterrupted happiness, with a feeling of total fulfillment.

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Mahavakhya

(I received a few queries regarding Mahavakhya, of which I made a reference in my blog "I AM THAT I AM"  So by way of explanation I am publishing here my article that appeared in Medha, the annual magazine of school of Vedic Sciences, Sydney)

A mahavakhya is a Vedic statement that occurs in Upanishad giving the oneness of Jiva with Brahman, which is referred to as Jiva Brahma Ikyam. Swami Chinmayananda calls the mahavakhya an identity revealing statement. Since it reveals the central teaching of the Upanishads, it is called Tatparya Vakhyam. The Vedic statement that refers to Brahman without dealing with Jiva Brahma Ikyam is called avaantara vakhya. Though there are a number of statements giving Jiva Brahma Ikyam, one mahavakhya only from each Veda is chosen, because of its brevity and directness, to represent all mahavakhyas. These four mahavakhyas are:

1)    Prajnanam Brahma –“Consciousness is Brahman”. This occurs in Aitareya Upanishad of Rig Veda

2)    Aham Brahma Asmi – “I am Brahman”.  This occurs in Brihadharanyaka Upanishad of Yajur Veda

3)    Tat Tvam Asi – “That thou Are”.  This occurs in Chandogya Upanishad of Sama Veda.

4)    Ayam Athma Brahma – “This Self is Brahman”.  This occurs in Mandukya Upanishad of Atharvana Veda.

There is a story connecting all these four Mahavakhyas. A sishya went to a guru and told him “Sir, I want to know about Brahman”. Guru asked him to go and meditate on the vakhya “Prajnanam Brahma”. Since this is a vakhya given for meditation practice it is called abhyasa vakhya. The sishya went and meditated on the vakhya. When he meditated on the vakhya, he was startled by the mind-boggling discovery he made and wondered whether the Consciousness that activates him can be the supreme cosmic force, Brahman. So he came to the guru again for confirmation and guru replied affirmatively “Tat Tvam Asi”. Since this is given as a teaching, it is called updesa vakhya. The sishya went and again meditated for a time and then returned to the guru and told him, “Aham Brahmasmi”. Since this vakhya is uttered after realisation it is called anubhuthi vakhya. Guru agreed with him with this statement “Ayam Athma Brahma”. So this is called sammatha vakhya.

Mahavakhya removes the misconception that Self is different from Brahman.  As Brahman is the source of security, peace and happiness, bhedha buddhi makes one run after these searching them elsewhere and Ikya Buddhi i.e. knowledge of identity, makes one realize them within oneself.  Abiding in this knowledge of Jiva Brahma Ikyam at all times, gives one Jivan Mukthi, i.e. Moksha, while living. In that sense mahavakhya gives one, liberating Self Knowledge.  But we should always remember that when Self is equated with Brahman it is like equating water in the ocean with water in a container in the seashore on the basis that both have the same chemical formula H₂O or like equating tiny waves in the ocean with the mighty ocean itself on the basis that both are essentially water only. It is not the individual with the upadhi of sareera triam, equated with the Brahman with the upadhi of prapancha triam. We shall see this briefly taking one of the mahavakhyas for analysis, namely the updesa vakhya.

“Tat Tvam Asi” occurs in Chapter 6 of Chandogya Upanishad, where Guru Uddalaka instructs sishya Svetaketu through examples the nature of Brahman. The importance of this upadesa vakhya can be seen from the fact that it is repeated nine times in the course of the teaching. This statement is in the form of an equation Tat=Tvam.  Equating both sides is not necessary if they are same like, 5 and 5. Again equating both sides is not possible when they are different like, 5 and 8. Equating becomes necessary, only if they appear to be different but, on analysis, they reveal identity like, 5+1 & 8-2. That is what happens in this equation Tat=Tvam, when you take the lakshyartha for Tat and Tvam, instead of the vachyartha.

Vachyartha, which is also called mukhya artha, is the primary meaning and lakshyartha is the secondary meaning. When I say I bought a banana, it means I bought the whole fruit.  But when I say I ate a banana, it refers only to the pulp portion and not to the whole fruit with the skin. In the first instance, we have taken the primary (literal) meaning, vachyartha, for banana i.e. the whole fruit with skin. In the second instance we have taken the secondary (contextual) meaning, lakshyartha, for banana i.e. the edible portion without the inedible skin. For getting the lakshyartha in the place of vachyartha, we employ one of the three following methods:

1)    Jahallakshana – Taking the secondary meaning, excluding the primary meaning. For example when you order takeaway coffee, and you are asked ‘any sugar’ and you reply ‘two spoons’, coffee is given not with two spoons, but with two spoonful sugar mixed.

2)    Ajahallakshana – Taking the secondary meaning, without sacrificing the primary meaning. For example when you order coffee, it is served in a cup which you have not ordered but understood.

3)    Jahadajahallakshana or Bhagatyagalakshana - Retaining certain portion of the primary meaning i.e. primary meaning is partially included and partially excluded as in the case of eating a banana, where only pulp portion is included and the skin portion excluded, while understanding the statement.

We are employing one of the three methods regularly for finding lakshyartha, when the vachyartha does not fit in. Only we are doing it automatically, without our being even aware of it. In the case of the statement, Tat Tvam Asi, when we take the vachyartha of both, we cannot equate the Jiva who is mortal and has all types of limitations and Brahman who is eternal and transcends all limitations. So we go to the lakshyartha of both on the basis of sastras, which is the pramanam for all matters concerning Self and Brahman, that cannot be objectified or conceptualized. Employing bhagatyagalakshana method and taking out the unequal upadhis ie sareera triam in Jiva and prapancha triam in Brahman we are left with Consciousness on both sides of the equation and that is identical. The same is done in anubhuthi vakhya, Aham Brahma Asmi, understanding Aham as standing for the Self , which is consciousness and not as referring to the individual as such with the body mind complex. The other two mahavakhyas, Prajnanam Brahma and Ayam Athma Brahma are much more straightforward as Consciousness is Athma, as per sastras. 

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