Page 5
APAROKSHANUBHUTI
aparokShAnubhuti:
Video 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO1yDEcVYCU
Note: This video begins with a discussion on the verse # 69 once again though the verses up to 72 were covered in the preceding video.]
Just like the pot is all clay, our body is all Consciousness. Only the ignorant speak of the difference between the Self and not-Self.
Initially, we were taught to distinguish the Self from not-Self. Now the teaching says that there are no two separate things. It’s all Self and nothing else. Because we were unaware of the fact that what-is-all is Self only, we were told to make a distinction between the two at the beginning. We were first taught to do analysis and then arrive at synthesis. The process involves first the clear recognition of the Self, and then the cognition of the not-Self also to be the Self.
The apparent contradiction in the teaching hides behind it a significant point.
When we know that everything is Self, why should we distinguish between the Self and not-Self? When we know that everything is gold, why do we call one a necklace? Although it is all water only, why should we call something as a wave? That is because we are unable to give up the view that it is a necklace, it is a wave and so on. The wave is entirely water in substance. The necklace is entirely gold in substance, but to the intellect, it looks partly as gold and partly as an ornament. The mistake lies with the intellect. But there is a greater danger in viewing the gold as a necklace only.
The snake in the rope metaphor also illustrates the same danger. It is a rope to start with. It is a rope in the middle when we saw it as a snake. It is a rope even at the end. From its own point of view, it has always been a rope only. But from our point of view, it was a snake during the time we were seeing it as a snake.
To sum up, from the point of view of the substance, it is all Self only. But from the point of view of the human being, it appears to be not-Self. If one is able to see it as Self right from the beginning, there would be no need to talk about the distinction between Self and not-Self. Individuals who are able to see the world as Self do not need any instruction. For such an individual, it is all One, a-dvaita, Non-duality. An instruction is given to the person who understands that the world is Self, but does not directly realize so as a fact in experience.
One should ask oneself, whether he or she is looking at things from the point of view of the Universal or from the point of view of a particular individual, forsaking the Universal. The Universal is that which pervades all the entities and assimilates all in Itself. From the point of view of the Reality, It is Oneness. Let us illustrate the point with an example.
The ocean is, from its own viewpoint, all water. It never says that it has become a wave. But to the one who stands on the beach, the sheet of water appears at a distance and only the waves are seen nearby. This is the dualistic view that breaks things up. He sees both the water and the wave. He might eventually realize that it is water only that takes the form of a wave. This is a safer situation. There is real danger if he sees only the wave, and no water at all. If he can view the wave as water, that is the best view. We have three possible positions:
i) Seeing the wave only forgetting the substance water.
ii) Seeing the wave in the background of water.
iii) Just holding on to the wave without any knowledge of the water.
We are presently in the third position. We see name and forms (waves) and not the Consciousness aspect of the Self (water). We forgot about It. Seeing waves without any knowledge of the water is equivalent to seeing particulars, such as spouse, children, property etc., and not the Universal Self. All things we perceive in the world are like the waves. We feel insecure and scared because the waves don’t last very long. One may lose family, property, and possessions. Losing sentient beings or insentient things is sorrowful. It becomes unbearable. It may lead one to depression and death. All of this happens because of our viewpoint.
Because you see only the particulars (and not the Universal) and the particulars keep disappearing, you also disappear. Who is this “you”? The “seeing” itself is “you,” while all that you perceive in the world are percepts. Gita says:
यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः ॥ -- verse 3, Ch 17, Bhagavad-Gita.
[As a man’s conviction is, so is he.]
Rumi also said that “a man is his vision.” He did not say he is the ‘seer.’ The individual’s conviction guides his outlook.
Vedanta asks to verify for ourselves whether we hang on to the particulars totally devoid of the Universal or not. Since we identify ourselves as particular individuals, we see only particulars, be it our family, or property, or possessions. This is the reason for our struggles and troubles in the world. We forget the Universal.
Irrespective of when we attain liberation and direct experiential realization of the Self, it is important that we have the right Knowledge. If we acquire the right Knowledge at least at an intellectual level, and we keep working on it, we may have a big break.
We are all afflicted by a disease. It is the disease of looking at particulars from the viewpoint of a particular individual.
To have the viewpoint of the Universal is health. We are missing health. The remedy is direct experiential realization (aparokShAnubhuTi). Health is not remote. It is available right here. The variety of particulars we are viewing is in fact nothing but the Universal. By Itself, It is the Reality. Sadly we are unable to see so from the particular perspective. We lost touch with the Reality and we are carried away by the name and form. We are not cognizing from the point of view of the substance. It is like seeing the ornaments and not seeing the gold in them. As a consequence we struggle to maintain relationships and properties.
The ordinary life in the world results from seeing the particulars divorced from the Universal. We look at things as though they are real because we lost touch with the Reality. A seeker will continue to look at the particulars without losing the Universal. Though the particulars continue to appear to him, they lose the earlier solidity. They are seen as mere false appearances. This is the second stage, the position of the seeker, the practitioner of Advaita.
In the second stage, the seeker has been not able to shed the thought, “I am viewing the apparitional thing out there.” He has not identified himself with the Universal. He has yet to become the Universal. The seeker has to realize, “I am myself that ‘seeing.’ I am the Beingness and Knowingness.” At that very moment, the separate individual disappears. He loses the sense of “I am separate.” It can be expressed as the loss of the ‘ego’ or the false “Me.” He then remains as the Universal. He is not a ‘seer’ or a ‘doer’ or an ‘experiencer’ anymore.
The seeker realizes that he is himself the seeing and the doing and the experiencing. It is the third stage, the stage of the Accomplished. This realization is the key teaching of Advaita. It can be learnt only from the scripture and the teacher. This teaching cannot be obtained from a mere self-study of a book.
If one pays attention to the information in the universe, i.e.
knowledge about the ‘particulars,’ it will be huge. There are an unending
number of particulars out there in the world. So one can never completely learn
the knowledge about the particulars. The knowledge may be about science,
religion, philosophy, arts, does not matter which field it belongs to, it is
about things (particulars) which differ from one another. They make up the
world of diversity. It is not about the Universal, or Oneness. That is the
reason the Upanishad cautions us:
कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवतीति ॥ -- I-i-3, muNDaka upa.
[Knowing which, Sir, all this becomes known?]
Get hold of that thing knowing which all else will be known. The muNDaka Upanishad disregards even the Vedas declaring them
to be concerned with only worldly knowledge. No preceptors of other religions
and philosophies demonstrated the courage like our ancient Indian Sages who
could so boldly declare the Truth negating their revered texts. From the
standpoint of the Supreme Self, neither a world matters nor any holy text.
The Sage has such courage because he understands that the Self is
common to all. It pervades everything. Once you are the water, does the birth
(arising) or death (dissolving) of a wave matter? The knowledge we know about
the ‘particulars’ is like knowing the wave ‘forms.’ It is all just a thought
modification but not the Absolute Knowingness per se.
Summing it all up, we may say that there are three viewpoints.
i) The Perspective of the ignorant
person of the world;
ii) The Perspective of the Seeker;
and,
iii) The Perspective of the Accomplished.
The world looks to be real in the first stage. The world continues
to appear in the second stage but is understood to be apparitional. It seems to
lose its solidity. In the third stage, the world appears as a smear. Not
separate from the very “seeing,” it appears like splendor, a magnificence or
glory of the Self which I am. There is no speech. It is absolute Silence. This
is the level of Krishna. He expresses his glories in the Chapter 10 of
Bhagavad-Gita. One will be the same as all that one sees, as Gita says:
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति ।
[When a man realizes the whole variety
of beings as resting in the One, and is an evolution from that (One) alone,
then he becomes brahman.]
The Self-realized man feels as though
he expanded into all the forms that are. The realized one sees the entire world
to be at one place. That is to say that he sees all the particulars merged into
one Universal. For example, the wave, ripple, bubble, spume, foam, spray are
all seen to be water only. He sees that all that appears to have evolved from
the one Universal, or in other words, the Universal Itself has taken all the
forms. That is the state of Self-realization. It is not an intellectual
understanding obtained by listening to a description of It. It is
experientially felt. Only then would it
become immediated direct experience. Such an individual will be witnessing the
world as his own glory.
Shankara advises, therefore, that we should learn to see the
particulars as the Universal but not the Universal as the particulars. You
should see all the ornaments as gold but do not take that the gold has become
the ornaments. Having understood the multiplicity as the splendor of the One Universal,
next see yourself as that Oneness.
To repeat, whether it is directly experienced or indirectly known
by listening to one speak about it, the seeker should see the multiplicity as
Unicity but not the other way around. Seeing the Unicity as multiplicity will result
in a double jeopardy – firstly, you will not be able to apprehend the Oneness
and secondly, you will have the burden of carrying the multiplicity which is of
no advantage for you.
It can better be illustrated through the classic metaphor of snake
on the rope. Suppose the rope is seen as a snake. The Knowledge of the rope is lost
forever. On the top of it, The false knowledge of the
snake on the rope will only contribute to engender fear. If the multiplicity is
seen as Oneness, you will have the Knowledge of Oneness and the fear emanating
from the false knowledge (of seeing multiplicity in place of the Unicity) will
be gone.
Shankara expounds the above principles in the next 30 verses.
सर्पत्वेन यथा रज्जू रजतत्वेन शुक्तिका ।
[Just as a rope is imagined to be a snake and nacre to be a piece
of silver, so is the Self determined to be the body by an ignorant person.]
The ignorant one considers the rope as snake; likewise the
ignorant one thinks that Consciousness is body. If one is intelligent, he would
see the body as Self. It is Self-Knowledge (brahma jnAna) to be able to see the body
as Consciousness. If one speaks of the body as impure, does not exist and so
on, it can be safely concluded that s/he has not yet understood the Advaita
message.
It is a mistake to see the whole of the Universal (the Infinite)
to have contracted into a particular (a finite object). The all-pervading Self
must be seen to be present everywhere and should not be seen to be confined
merely to a body. If we experience only a single body, we lose touch with the
Universal. The contact you have with one ‘particular’ has no meaning.
The moral of the story is that the Universal must not be seen as
the particular; the entire lot of the particulars should be seen merged into
the Universal. It is immaterial whether the knowledge of the particular exists
or not. The multiplicity is considered to be a false appearance by the seeker.
The multiplicity is considered to be his own magnificent glory by the
Accomplished. The Accomplished seeker sees no danger in witnessing the
multiplicity. The real danger is in the ignorant stage when the multiplicity is
seen to be the reality.
Let us next consider the metaphor of dreaming to illustrate the
point.
Shankara answers the question with appropriate
analogies. He begins with a familiar illustration of his times from his
native land.
यथा वृक्षविपर्यासो जलाद्भवति कस्यचित् ।
[Just one sees the inverted images of a tree on account of water, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
When one travels by a boat, one sees along the banks of the river, the trees and bushes reflected in the river water. The images appear inverted. The trees are not really inverted; but they appear so only in our perception. The trees look inverted because of the water. Likewise, it is our vision that shows the Self as not-Self. The Self has never become not-Self. Though the tree looks inverted, one thinks of the tree in the normal position. Likewise, though our perspective shows the Self as not-Self, we must learn to view It in a proper manner. We will see the body as the Self. Looking at the body as The Self is the wholesome view (samyag dRiShti). It’s because of ignorance the appearance gets distorted.
पोतेन गच्छतः पुंसः सर्वं भातीव चञ्चलम् ।
[Just as to a person going in a boat everything appears to be in motion, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
The next question can be about our movement. We may argue that we are able to move from one place to the other and hence it’s not just a sight like the inverted trees. We are able to do things with our limbs. We are able to speak. Shankara’s response is that the movement is also an illusion. For example for one sitting in a moving boat, everything seems to be moving on the land. Likewise even the Self does not really move. It has no place to move. We are just piling mistake upon mistake. First we mistake the Self as the body, next we mistake that the body moves.
पीतत्वं हि यथा शुभ्रे दोषाद्भवति कस्यचित् ।
[Just as white things appear yellow for a person suffering from jaundice, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
For one affected by jaundice, everything appears yellow. Freshly laundered white garments look yellow to him. For one who holds a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Likewise, missing to notice Self, you mistake it to be the body, the action, the movement and so on.
चक्षुर्भ्यां भ्रमशीलाभ्यां सर्वं भाति भ्रमात्मकम् ।
[Just as for a person with a defective eye everything appears to be defective, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
If one is mounted on a merry-go-round and rotating fast, all things appear to be moving.
अलातं भ्रमणेनैव वर्तुलं भाति सूर्यवत् ।
[Just as the firebrand through rotation appears as circular like the Sun, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
When a firebrand is rotated, it appears as a circle resembling the Solar plane. Where did the circle arise from?
महत्त्वे सर्ववस्तूनामणुत्वं ह्यतिदूरतः ।
[Just as all objects that are really large appear to be very small owing to a large distance, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
The twinkling stars at a distance look like grains of rice scattered around. The size of our Sun is so big that 1.3 million earths can fit into the Sun. The size of a star can be several hundred times larger than the Sun. Because of the large distance from the earth the stars look very small.
Similarly, the Self is Infinite and the body is quite miniscule in size compared to It.
All things are relative in size in our world. Whether one is large or small, what permeates them all is the Consciousness-space. That is the only Absolute Truth. It is in our perception, It is in our space, It is everywhere.
सूक्ष्मत्वे सर्ववस्तूनां स्थूलत्वं चोपनेत्रतः ।
[Just as all objects that are appear to be large when viewed through the lenses, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
Looked through a magnifying lens, even minute things appear to be very large in size. Similarly, the subtle Self appears to be the solid body.
काचभूमौ जलत्वं वा जलभूमौ हि काचता ।
[Just as a surface of a glass is mistaken for water or vice versa, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
Some people have a highly polished tiled floor. It reflects light and looks bright. It appears as though water is flowing. Similarly, the surface of a pure crystal clear water body appears like a glass plane. That is the nature of its purity. Similarly, the Self is mistakenly seen to be the physical body.
यद्वदग्नौ मणित्वं हि मणौ वा वह्निता पुमान् ।
[Just as a man imagines a gemstone in fire or vice versa, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
A brightly shimmering gem at a distance may look like fire. Likewise a burning flame may look like a ruby. Similarly the Self is seen wrongly as the body.
अभ्रेषु सत्सु धावत्सु धावन्निव यथा शशी ।
[Just as when the clouds move, the moon appears to be in motion, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
Shankara is offering many examples from our everyday life to show us how mistaken our vision is.
When the clouds are moving fast in the sky, it looks as though the moon too is moving. This is a common experience to all. Actually it is not the moon that is moving. So also is our mistaken take on the Self as the body.
यथैव दिग्विपर्यासो मोहाद्भवति कस्यचित् ।
[Just as a person through confusion loses the sense of direction, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
When one is giddy, it looks as though everything around is rotating and gets confused about his orientation.
यथा शशी जले भाति चञ्चलत्वेन कस्यचित् ।
[When the moon (reflected in water) appears to be unsteady, so does a person on account of ignorance see the Self as the body.]
The reflection of moon in water moves along with the ripples in the water though the moon actually does not stir at all. Our body is like the reflected image in the water and our actions are like the motion of the image in the water.
एवमात्मन्यविद्यातो देहाध्यासो हि जायते ।
[Thus through ignorance arises in the Self the delusion of the body, which disappears through Self-realization in the Supreme Self.]
Shankara explains the reason for giving so many examples. As long as the true nature of the Self is not known, one mistakes the body as the Self. Because the true Self is not known, the ‘particular’ looks like the Universal. The cause for our problems lies in our mistaken belief that the false appearance itself is real.
The body is false, the actions are false and the appearance are false. What is real, present and never moves is the Consciousness-space. It is spread everywhere -- inside as well as outside.
तदेजति तन्नैजति तद्दूरे तद्वन्तिके ।
[It moves and It moves not; It is far and It is near; It is within all this and It is also outside all this.]
To be present inside means, it is within the ‘particular’ and also outside of the ‘particular’ -- like the pot space and the open space. The pot space is comparable to the individual and the pot to the body. Our attention usually goes to the pot, but it should actually go to the open space around the pot-space leaving out both the pot and pot-space. That will be the perfect Vision. So far we have not been viewing the pot and pot-space from such a perfect Vision. from a position of such a perfect Perspective, one should notice the pot and pot-space.
When this is clearly understood, the body shines as the Supreme Self. Otherwise, it is an ordinary body. It is Knowledge, if it is clearly understood that the wave-form is water which is non-different from the water in the ocean. If one is not clear, the form is a wave. When the seeing is clear, it is a rope; otherwise it is a snake. The key word in all the things is “clear understanding.” The clear understanding comes from having the Knowledge of the Reality.
सर्वमात्मतया ज्ञातं जगत्स्थावरजङ्गमम् ।
[When the whole universe of movable and immovable things is known to be Self, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is the room to say that the body is Self?]
This is the true Science of Knowledge. One will be in a strong position if he can see the particulars from the position of the Universal. He will be much stronger if he himself becomes the Universal and looks at things. There will be none even to speak to from this position. He will be Alone. There will be seeing only. He will remain Silent. He would be a Sage. Nothing affects him. It will not be possible even to say whether it is arrogance or confidence.
When everything is seen as the Self, neither the mobile nor the
immobile things of the world will appear. When all things have become naught,
where is the body? The body too disappears.
आत्मानां
सततं
जानन्कालं
नय
महामते
।
[Oh, the Enlightened one, pass your time always contemplating on the Self; no need to feel anxious while you are experiencing the current happenings.]
Shankara exhorts us to recognize the Self while viewing things from the perspective of the Universal. He advises us to live our life practicing the same. He assures us that there is nothing to worry about.
Even after understanding the Truth as above, are we free from what is called ‘prArabdha,’ the effect of actions done in the past? After all, Shankara himself talked about the inescapability from prArabdha in his commentaries on the canonical texts.
उत्पन्नेऽप्यात्मविज्ञाने
प्रारब्धं
नैव
मुञ्चति
।
[The theory one hears from the scripture that the current sufferage (prArabhdha) does not loosen its hold upon one even after the origination of Self-knowledge, is being refuted now.]
Shankara here disregards prArabhdha totally. Even if it is mentioned by the shruti, he refutes it strongly.
तत्त्वज्ञानोदयादूर्ध्वं
प्रारब्धं
नैव
विद्यते
।
[After the origination of the Self-Knowledge, prArabdha verily ceases to exist, in as
much as the body etc. become non-existent. Just as a dream does not exist on
waking up.]
Shankara maintains that once the Self-knowledge is achieved, prArabdha cannot exist. When everything
is considered to be the Self, prArabdha
can also be taken as the Self. All things are reduced to Beingness and
Knowingness. The bodies are there and hence seen. The world is there and hence
seen by a jIvanmukta (liberated
individual). ‘prArabdha is there and hence seen. But its appearance will not be
as ‘particular’ but as the Universal.
For example, when one is ill and hospitalized, if he sees the
doctors, hospital, the illness, the body etc. as separate entities, that is
looking at the particulars. If all the things are looked at from the position
of the Universal, there will be no particular and even ’prArabdha’ will appear as Universal.
कर्म
जन्मान्तरीयं
यत्प्रारब्धमिति
कीर्तितम्
।
[The karma which is done in a past life is known as prArabdha (with respect to this life which it has brought forth). But such a prArabdha does not exist for a man of Self-knowledge as he has no more births.]
The brought-forward effects of the past actions are said to be the prArabdha. But when I know (after Self-realization) that I was never born, there cannot be a question about prArabdha for me.
For one who understood the Non-dual message, there were no past lives and he is not born even now. So if one entertains the concepts of past births, it is obvious that he did not ingest the message fully. From the viewpoint of the accomplished, there is neither birth nor death.
As observed in verse 91, the teaching says there is no body. Just as the body of dreamer-you is not there in the awake position, the liberated individual does not see a body for himself.
स्वप्नदेहो
यथाध्यस्तस्तथैवायं
हि
देहकः
।
[Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and hence unreal), so also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed body and in the absence of birth, where is the room for prArabdha?
Just as the body in the dream is imagined, even the awake world body is also a pure imagination.
उपादानं
प्रपञ्चस्य
मृद्भाण्डस्येव
कथ्यते
।
[The Vedanta texts declare the ignorance to be the material cause of the phenomenal world, just like clay is of the pot. That ignorance being destroyed, where can the world exist?]
A world appears when there is ignorance. When ignorance is gone after attaining liberation, there is no scope for a world to be appearing. When it is known that ‘what-is’ is rope, both the serpent as well as the viewing of a serpent are gone. In other words, there is neither the individual nor the world.
यथा रज्जुं
परित्यज्य
सर्पं
गृह्णाति
वै
भ्रमात्
।
[Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving the rope, so does an ignorant person see the phenomenal world without knowing the Reality.]
If one imagines to be possessing a body, it will amount to holding on to the serpent forgetting the rope. The body which is not-Self cannot be even grasped because it does not exist. Albeit without coming under the grip of anyone, the Self is ever there, never not present.
रज्जुरूपे
परिज्ञाते
सर्पभ्रान्तिर्न
तिष्ठति
।
[The real nature of rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears.]
Once the rope is clearly seen, the imagination of it as a snake will be gone. It will be gone at that very moment of clearly seeing the rope. Similarly, if one can knows the substratum, the world will not anymore be seen. The Self appears as Consciousness.
देहस्यापि
प्रपञ्चत्वात्प्रारब्धावस्थितिः
कुतः
।
[The body also being within the phenomenal world, (and hence unreal) how could prArabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the sake of the ignorant alone that the shruti speaks of prArabdha.]
The body itself is a part of the world. The entire world is already seen as the Self. Wherefore then one should entertain any doubt about the nature of the body?
It’s like someone worrying about whether his attaché in his hand is also moving with him or not when he is aboard a train. The train carries not only the human being but everything that is within it including the attaché. When the Self includes everything in the world, why to think of the body separately? It is also a part of the world which is realized to be the Self. Where is prArabdha then for the liberated one?
‘prArabdha’ is only an explanatory artifact talked about for the sake of the ignorant people who are still not liberated. The liberated individual is no more an ignorant person. There is no prArabdha for him. That means, there is no prArabdha in his own perspective. The ignorant onlookers think that the liberated man has also prArabdha because they look at the activities of his body. Shankara explains in his commentary on Bhagavad-Gita:
कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः । -- verse 18, Ch 4, Bhagavad-Gita.
[He who can see inaction in action and action in inaction…]
The liberated man sees inaction even when he is involved in action. The ignorant onlooker, however, sees the action being done by him; but he (the ignorant person) does not know the perspective of the liberated individual. The onlooker attributes prArabdha to the liberated one.
क्षीयन्ते
चास्य
कर्माणि
तस्मिन्दृष्टे
परावरे
।
[All the actions of a man perish when he realizes that Self which is both the higher and the lower. Here the clear use of the plural (consequences of actions) by the shruti is to negate prArabdha as well.
Shankara quotes in the first line of the verse 98 the mantra (II-ii-9) from muNDaka upaniShad to say that all types of karmic effects end for the liberated individual. Shankara says that when the shruti clearly says “all” karmas, it would include the accumulated sancita, the ongoing (prArabdha) as well as yet to-come-into-operation (AgAmika) varieties of effects. The reason for using the plural by the Upanishad is to indicate “all” effects – not merely two. Therefore, prArabdha cannot be there for a liberated man.
(In the grammar of the Sanskrit language, in addition to
singular and plural numbers, there is a dual number also in-between. The dual
number is used to indicate two. If the Upanishad intended to say that only two
of the three types of karmas would dissolve on liberation, it would have used
the dual number. But it used the plural. Hence, we have to take that the
Upanishad is speaking about the dissolution of the effects of all types of
karmas).
उच्यतेऽज्ञैर्बलाच्चैतत्तदानर्थद्वयागमः
।
[If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintains this, they will not only be involving themselves into two absurdities, but also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. One should accept the shruti alone from which proceeds true Knowledge.]
If anyone still holds on to the theory of prArabdha continuing even after Self-realization, he is undoubtedly an ignorant person. Such a man faces double trouble. One is that he will be violating the doctrine expounded by Vedanta. Another is that a lag is implied to be present for experiential understanding after the achievement of Self-knowledge. it does not make sense either.
Vedanta holds that when one looks at anything after Self-realization, he will notice brahman only because there is nothing else than That. If prArabdha is admitted to be present, it amounts to contradict the Advaita teaching that there is something more than brahman. It is against the very basic teaching of Advaita. One part as Knowledge and another part as karma cannot be said to coexist in a Self-realized individual. When it is seen that all is Self, a thing like prArabdha which is not-Self cannot exist.
Secondly, at the very moment of Self-realization, the Oneness of all That-IS would be experientially understood. The Knowledge is direct and immediated (aparokSha). It is on a “here and now” basis. It is not indirect. It is not that the seeker will first reach a place like Heaven and subsequently obtain realization. In fact, the distinction between Knowledge and karma is that karma yields the results after a time lag. Knowledge is itself the result. The very moment the Seeker experientially knows the Oneness, he himself becomes the Self. He sees nothing different from himself. If the prArabdha is postulated, it would imply a time gap after obtaining Knowledge and this is not admissible.
In the 99 verses thus far covered, Shankara repeatedly and relentlessly
impressed on us the main points of Advaita doctrine with crystal clarity and
without any compromises.
Shankara readies us now for the next step – the praxis. And
appropriately enough, he compares the world to a sports field and insists that
everyone should necessarily play the sport. No escape; no exemptions. It is
immaterial what material expertise or background one may possess, there is no
shortcut to liberation other than observing in practice the Non-dual message.
In order to facilitate the exercise, he introduces a 15-step
process.
त्रिपञ्चाङ्गान्यतो वक्ष्ये पूर्वोक्तस्यैव सिद्धये ।
[Now for
the attainment of the aforesaid Knowledge, I shall expound 15-steps by the help
of which one should practice deep contemplative meditation at all times.]
The
theoretical exposition given so far has to be now implemented through three
times five ( = 15) steps. The theory gives only an
indirect knowledge. It is so far obtained through the medium of the sensory
organs. It has to be made direct experiential understanding to achieve
liberation.
The 15
steps are not to be done in tandem. They have to be observed by integrating
them together. Doing so invloves deep contemplative
meditation (nididhyAsana).
It is the Advaita practice for liberation. As long as the process of learning
and digesting the message goes, it is done through the help of a teacher. Thus
a disciple-teacher relationship exists during those two phases (learning and
digesting the message). The third phase of deep contemplative meditation has to
be done by the seeker himself.
The word nididhyAsna is
formed from a combination of “ni” meaning keen and dhyAna
meaning observation. Thus nididhyAsana is keen
observation. It is not a meditation with eyes closed. Open your eyes and notice
everything with utmost attention. The object will appear as the Self. It is not
about looking at the Supreme Self. It is about looking at the world as the
Supreme Self. If you look at the Supreme Self, you will either fall asleep or
you will see the objective world, the multiplicity. The important point is that
the world is to be dissolved in and as the Self, right
at the time of perception. The next verse tells us the way we have to observe
the world.
नित्याभ्यासादृते प्राप्तिर्न भवेत्सच्चिदात्मनः ।
[The Self
which is Beingness and Knowingness, cannot be realized without constant practice.
So one seeking Self-Knowledge should meditate upon brahman for the attainment of the
desired goal.]
Unless
regular practice is done, the pure Self which is intrinsic to you will not
spark in you. One should not forget that the world itself is the Self. Every
object of the world comprises Beingness and Knowingness and Happiness. Those
three are the nature of Self. The name and form are
the object part. Whatever may be the name and form, it is doubtless “is” (it
exists) and “shining” (it is perceivable).
If an
object is ID-ied with a name and form, it will be the
world. Just ‘seeing’ without naming is Self. Seeing the things as separate
entities with their own names and forms is ‘differentiated’ look. Just ‘seeing’
is undifferentiated looking.
Shankara
will now speak about the fifteen steps that facilitate the undifferentiated
‘looking.’ One need not go somewhere yonder for the Self. It is seen right here
and now.
यमो हि नियमस्त्यागो मौनं देशश्च कालतः ।
प्राणसंयमनं चैव प्रत्याहारश्च धारणा ।
[The
steps are:
The names
of the first eight resemble those of Patanjali’s aShTAnga yoga. But they differ in the meaning. Shankara
adds seven more steps to the eight. These 15 maybe called as the Steps to Knowledge.
The yoga anga-s of Patanjali
do not really provide protection. What we teach here are the steps that save
us. The 15 steps are explained in the verses that follow.
सर्वं ब्रह्मेति विज्ञानादिन्द्रियग्रामसंयमः ।
[The
restraint of all the senses by means of such knowledge as “All this is brahman” is called ‘yama.’ This should be practiced again and again.]
When
whatsoever is seen is understood to be brahman and nothing else, that itself is the control of the
mind and the senses. It is called as “yama” which has to be practiced again and again. There is no
other additional effort needed to restraint the senses and the mind. Any
direction you view will be seen to be Knowing-Being. If there is an instruction
that one should see a specific way, it can be a struggle to adhere to that
direction. Irrespective of what is seen, if it is recognized as Knowing-Being,
it will be easy to follow. In such a situation there is nothing to be
controlled. Even if the senses do not perceive an entity, even that is
Knowing-Being. Because there are no restrictions on what is perceived, this
will be easy on the mind.
The rest
of the fourteen steps too flow in the same fashion. They are not dense or
tension-ridden. They may be taken as a process or not. It does not matter. Just
perceive all that is seen as brahman.
There is
no greater nididhyAsana
than the above soft view of looking at everything as Knowing-Being.