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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 8

विश्वं पश्यति कार्यकारणतया स्वस्वामिसम्बन्धतः
शिष्याचार्यतया तथैव पितृपुत्राद्यात्मना भेदतः ।
स्वप्ने जाग्रति वा य एष पुरुषो मायापरिभ्रामितः
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥8॥

While it is possible to experience our own true Self, it is not a common occurrence. If it was a common occurrence, then whoever has been hearing the teaching for a long time would have experienced the Self by now. But that is not the case. The reason it is not so easy is realize the true nature of the Self is due to the power of mAya. Shankara reminds us about this power of mAyA. mAya has two types of powers: Contraction or veiling power, and distraction or projecting power. With its veiling power, mAya limits the Infinite Self, and makes it appear finite. With its projecting power, mAya projects an unreal world that appears as though separate from the Self. Therefore, we suffer in two ways as a result of mAya:. Not only does the not-Self appear everywhere, it also inflicts misery on us in the form of natural disasters, sickness, etc.

It is, therefore, these veiling and projecting powers of mAya that bind us in samsAra. Although, as individuals, we are aware of ourselves, our awareness is not complete or perfect. It is limited and contaminated because it is identified with the adjuncts (body, mind, and sense organs), and not the Pure Self. Hence, in our conventional understanding, the self we know is the false self (separate self). It is this limited self only that we experience throughout our life. We experience the three states (awake, dream, deep sleep), one after the other, endlessly. In the waking state, we are very aware of our self, we have the feeling that “ I Am.” In the dream state, that feeling is very vague. In deep sleep, it is completely gone. What is the use of such awareness, if it is present sometimes and not at other times? And, even when it is present in the waking and dream state, if it is not the awareness of the Real Self?

Therefore, we fail to experience the Real Self in all three changing states. We are not able to free ourselves from the bondage of the not-Self. The contracting power of mAya reigns over the deep sleep, while the projecting power of mAya reigns over the waking and dream states. Shankara refers to these different powers in the sixth and eight verses. In the sixth verse, he referred to the veiling power of mAya (AcAdana) in deep sleep state. In the eighth verse, he refers to the projecting power of mAya (paribrAmitah) in the waking and dream states.

When the veiling power of mAya operates, Infinite Consciousness appears as a limited individual, a separate self with a distorted vision. It is like a child, spun around by two hands, who sees the world around him upside-down. Under the spell of the projecting power of mAya, the our vision gets distorted. In the waking and dream states, we see a world of objects, instead of the substratum, Consciousness, on which they appear.

Not only do we enjoy this magical world and the pleasures and pains it offers, we are also curious about it. In order to learn about the true nature of the world and the Self, we need an eminent teacher, an AcArya, who has attained that Knowledge and is capable of transmitting it to others. A true disciple is the one who is capable of grasping the Knowledge “as is” from an AcArya. It is this teacher-disciple tradition that keeps the lamp of Self Knowledge lit and shining without a break. Since it helps seekers in their search for truth, the teacher-disciple tradition is of utmost importance.

All relationships can be summed up as cause-effect relationships. In the father-son relationship, he who is a son with reference to his father, is himself a father with reference to his son. The cause is not different from the effect.

This entire creation is like a magical production. It is through the creative power or shakti of the magician (Supreme Self) that the world of moving and unmoving objects is projected. Hence, the Supreme Self is the source of the creation (world). In the dream and waking states, we perceive a world of objects. We perceive the objects (effect) as different from the source or cause. This is due to a dualistic vision that fails to see the commonality, which is the cause that permeates the effect (world). It is the Supreme Self, Consciousness, Itself that appears as the world. When we forget the non-dual nature of our Self, we start seeing multiplicity, instead of unity. We perceive the world as “mine” and ourselves as its owners. We assume a “me and mine” relationship with the world and get deeply entrenched in it. We attribute a cause and effect relationship to the Lord and His creation, and assume a me-mine relationship with the world.

It is this me-mine relationship we have with the world that leads to bondage (samsAra). The vision that sees duality fails to grasp the underlying unity that is Consciousness. It does not have the non-dual understanding that it is the cause itself that is appearing as the effect. This misapprehension is due to the power of mAya, the Supreme Power of the Supreme Self.