Advaita Vedanta

aparokShAnubhUti, jnAna shAstra

  aparokShAnubhUti is a short treatise of 144 verses on the Science of Self-knowledge (jnAna shAstra) by  Sri Adi Shankaracharya.  It describes the most Direct Path method of Self-realization right here and now.

 The clear and lucid verses of Sri Shankara, further elucidated by Brahmasri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao garu, facilitate an immediated and direct experience of brahman, the Non-Dual Universal Reality.

   In an attempt to share the great wisdom of these great sages with the English-speaking Advaita Vedanta students of the world, Dr. Ramesam Vemuri and Ms. Padma Neppalli have made a humble effort to transcribe and translate into English the speeches given by Sri. Yellamraju garu over a course of eight days. It is not an exact word to word transcription but corresponds broadly to the talk in Telugu by Shri Guruji.

 Dr. Ramesam Vemuri retired as an Adviser in the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. He is the author of the book Religion Demystified, and has also translated from Telugu to English several philosophical works, such as the Yogavasishta and Yogataravali. His articles appear regularly at many Advaita web sites.

Padma Neppalli is a student of Advaita Vedanta. She has been listening to Sri Yellamraju Srinivas Rao’s lectures for over ten years. She is a technical writer by profession, and currently works as the Director of Information Development in a semi-conductor company in California, USA.

Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWiqh_EvP74

Om namo gurubhyaH

The text, aparokShAnubhUti, is a short treatise of 144 verses on the Science of Self-knowledge (jnAna shAstra). It is quite different from the Science of Yoga (yoga shAstra) of Patanjali. It is in anuShTup meter. It is very concise in expression, but the content is highly profound and powerful.

aparokShAnubhUti is a well-known prakaraNa grantha of Shankara. It is different from his commentaries on the traditional texts (scriptures). Although the text is crisp, the meaning it conveys is as deep and comprehensive as his commentaries. While his commentaries contain long complex discussions and polemic debates on opposing views, the prakaraNa granthas written by him are short monographs. They focus on key concepts of Advaita without any diversion, and cover smoothly the entire course of the subject matter. Their style is simple and intelligible to all. “dakShinAmUrti stotra,” “nirvANa ShaTkam” etc. are examples for other monographs in the genre of aparokShAnubhUti penned by him.

Shankara was a genius of an incomparable ability in his observation of people and nature. He grouped spiritual aspirants into three categories based on their capacity to grasp complex concepts: the best, the intermediary and the slow types.

Students of the first type (best) comprehend things even before an instruction is given. They infer and learn through keen observation of the nature. The visible world is a great teacher, the Supreme Guru for them. Their Guru, thus, is none other than the Supreme Self, Itself.

We say we worship the Supreme Guru:

कृष्णं वंदे जगद्गुरुम् |

[KrishnaM vande jagadgurum.]

We also recite the guru lineage as,

नारायणं पद्मभुवं वसिष्ठं शक्तिं च तत् पुत्र पराशरं च |

[nArAyaNaM, padmabhuvaM, vasiShTaM, shaktiM ca tat putra parAsharaM ca.]

Who is the first Guru? He is Narayana. What does Narayana mean? “nAraM” means the five fundamental elements. “ayanaM” means substratum, support. So Narayana is he who pervades the five elements and is the substratum of everything in the visible world. The visible world is, therefore, a superimposition on Narayana. There cannot be a superimposition without a substratum. The substratum is the root of everything as stated in the Bhagavad Gita:

ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । -- Ch. XV, verse 1, Bhagavad-Gita.

[Urdhwa mUlaM; adhaH shAkhaM.]

That is the form of Narayana. He is the Guru. His teaching is through “Silence”

मौनव्याख्या प्रकटित परब्रह्मतत्त्वं युवानं | -- 1, dakShiNAmUrti stora dhyAnam

[mauna vyAkhyA prakatita brahma tatvam, yuvAnam.]

This is the description of the Lord Dakshinamurti, who teaches in Silence. True teaching is Silence only. Why so?

Words, however abundant and expressive, are still limited. Silence, on the other hand, is complete and perfect. A single word uttered shatters the infinite Silence into pieces. An experience in general and a spiritual experience in particular, loses its intensity and gets diluted once it is expressed in words.

The spoken word is an expression of the thought that preceded it. A thought is a vibration, a movement, a perturbance. You can hear your thoughts. So a thought is also like a word! When a thought is not articulated, it is heard by you alone. If it is uttered it is heard by all. Speech is a movement in the mouth.

A word first takes shape as a thought in the mind, then forms into a word in the mouth, and is finally expressed externally as speech by the body. Mind, speech, and body are instruments of action, so they are the source of movement. No movement is ever perfect. It is always limited. A wave in the ocean moves, but does not pervade the entire ocean. It is finite and limited. Water is unlimited and pervades the entire ocean. The ocean does not move, it is still. Stillness is Silence. Silence is all-pervading.

In contrast, word is movement. It is limited. It cannot pervade everything, but is pervaded by the Supreme Self. The Supreme Self is expansive, space-like. Hence, It is formless. The Supreme Self is the Guru that pervades all. His words are formless, so permeate everything as Silence.

The seeker of the first kind approaches the Supreme Guru and receives the silent teaching. Such a seeker is the Upanishadic Sage. Thus, the seekers of the best category don’t need any instructions from anyone. They receive the vibrations directly from nature and draw their lessons from the world itself. Examples for such seekers are Prahlada and Kuchela. Since we in turn receive the teaching from such a Sage, we are “twice removed from Truth,” as Plato said.

Knowledge implies deciphering the unknown from the known. From an observation of the world, the effect, the seeker of the first kind will be able to directly infer the originator (the cause) of the world. The seeker of the Intermediate category will learn only if a Guru teaches him. He understands the word of the teacher and practices what is learnt to firm up his understanding.

Seekers of the third category will not understand the truth even after an instruction is given to them by the teacher. They cannot follow logical deduction. They can arrive at the truth only through an illustrative metaphor. They first appreciate the meaning of the metaphor, see the reason behind it, and then grasp the truth. They learn slowly. But there are people who are totally incapable of grasping the truth. They fall into the fourth category – the extremely slow type. Those people are unfit to learn the truth. Human life is wasted by them. They have no value for the spiritual world. We will not be concerned with such people. Shankara’s teaching, and in fact all Vedantic teaching, is addressed to the top three categories.

Seekers of the first category do not need any instruction from Shankara, since they are at the same level as him. However, to be sure they have correctly understood the truth, they need to assess and validate their understanding with that of the established elders, who are experts in the field. It is for their sake that Shankara had written the commentaries on the three canonical texts – prasthAna traya.

If you are a seeker of the first category, study these texts, grasp the essence of the teaching, and internalize the understanding (the Truth) experientially. These commentaries help test one’s ability in assimilating the Truth. The one who can stand to that test is indeed the best seeker. That is a real challenge.

Shankara wrote short treatises for the sake of the intermediate or the second type of seekers. These treatises are like manuals. The entire gamut of the teaching is comprehensively presented at one place in a straight forward and clear manner, and in simple words. They are direct and crystal clear. Unlike commentaries, the treatises do not contain twisted or complex arguments. The commentaries are more combative in style, debating in detail the Vedantin’s theory, while demolishing all the opposing views. They make a statement, take up an argument, question the argument, and raise questions on questions. They proceed in that fashion, making it difficult to follow the logic and reasoning, unless one is very intelligent and sharp in mind.

The second or the intermediate type of seekers need to be instructed in a simple and straightforward manner so that they can confidently say that they understood the essence of the teaching. The short treatises written by Shankara meet the needs of these seekers. We can safely claim that we belong to the second category without overrating our brilliance or condemning ourselves too much. With such an attitude, we will find the treatises to be highly satisfying to our intellect.

Shankara has written over a hundred of the treatises. The most significant of those are the dakShinAmUrti stotra, nirvANa ShaTkam, aparokShAnubhUti, anAtmaShrivikarhaNa, swAtma nirUpaNa, upadesha sAhashrI, sarvavedAnta siddhAnta sArasangrahaH, and a few others. The present book, aparokShAnubhUti stands out among them as a very deep, concise, yet profound work. It encompasses the entire doctrine, the praxis, and the achievement of the goal.

For the third (slow) category of seekers, Shankara wrote many “Hymns of Praise for Worshiping” different Gods/Goddesses. An example is the composition of bhajagovindam verses. It asks the seeker to worship Govinda. Shankara upbraids the slow seeker with the words:

भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं, गोविन्दं भज मढूमते|

संप्राप्तेसंनिहितेकालेिहि िहि रक्षनत डुक्ंुकरणे||

[Bhajagovindaṁ bhajagovindaṁ govindaṁ bhajamūḍhamate | samprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakśati ḍukṛñkaraṇe || ]

Meaning: O Fool! Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda. When the appointed time (death) comes churning on the-rules of grammar will surely not save you.

Thus Shankara rebukes first, but later teaches with compassion a grammarian lost in a study of the rules of the grammar about the root verb “kri” (to do) and how to parse the word in all the three tenses etc. He reminds the grammarian that when death approaches there will be no time left. One has to get ready to leave the body, take up a long travel to some unknown destination.

This Hymn known as Mohamudgara is a great teaching. It comprises 14 captivating verses written by Shankara, followed by 12 more verses added by his twelve disciples. These 26 verses are adequate to help us transcend the miseries of the world.

We shall now take up the study of aparokShAnubhUti meant for the second type, mid-level seekers like us, with the silent blessings of Shankara. It is a superb text, and we shall cover it in eight days. Though we study it for eight days, we have to reflect, deeply contemplate and meditate on its teaching till the end of our life. It may be said to be worthy of reflection for a life time.

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