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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 1

विश्वं दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं निजान्तर्गतं
पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोद्भूतं यथा निद्रया ।
यः साक्षात्कुरुते प्रबोधसमये स्वात्मानमेवाद्वयं
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥1॥

This vast Universe of countless names and forms, moving and unmoving, makes up our external and internal world. Externally, it appears as objects. Internally, it manifests as feelings, perceptions, and emotions. Shankara is now inquiring into the nature of such a world. What is the nature of this world of objects (jagat) that we see and transact with? Who created it? What is the nature of the individual who feels trapped helplessly between the world and its Creator (Ishwara)? This is the discussion we will now embark upon, the worthiest of all discussions in the world.

Shankara focuses on the jagat (world) in the very first stanza because it is ever present and distinctly visible to us, while Ishwara and jIva are not so obviously present or visible. What is not obviously present and visible can be inferred from that which is present and clearly visible. The world that we see and transact with every moment of our lives is the reason for our suffering. We (jIva-s) are not a problem to ourselves, nor is Ishwara, the Creator, who is not visible to us. A problem arises only when there are two entities of different types confronting each other. For instance, the poison in a snake does not harm the snake because the snake and its poison are one. Similarly, an individual is not a threat to himself. The Lord, is also not a problem, since we do not see Him or transact with Him directly. A snake, even if it is poisonous, if it is in a distant place, it cannot harm us. Therefore, it is the world that is a problem to us because it is neither too far away like Ishwara or too close like our own self.

Once the problem with the world is resolved, problems with the individual and the Lord will also be automatically resolved. When the notion of a separate world arises, the notion of a separate individual also arises. If there is no notion of a separate world, there will be no notion of a separate individual. The object world is the upAdhi, the adjunct, through which Infinite Consciousness manifests as the finite individual (jIva). If there are no upAdhi-s, Consciousness will remain in Its own intrinsic nature as Infinite and Complete. The feeling of a separate self would not arise. Hence, it is the appearance of the world that gives rise to the notion of a separate individual and the notion of a Creator (Ishwara). If the world is absent, the separate individual and creator will also be absent! If the finite individual Consciousness expands, it dissolves into the Universal Consciousness. As long as we think we are limited individuals, Ishwara will appear as different from us. When we realize our true nature as Infinite Consciousness, our individual Consciousness will expand and permeate the entire world. All notions of a separate world and Creator will disappear.

Hence, even though thery appear to be three separate entities, jIva, jagat, and Ishwara, it is only the jagat that is a problem, and not the individual (jIva) or the Infinite Consciousness (Ishwara). To realize our full potential as the Infinite Consciousness, we must understand the nature of the world and how it keeps us in bondage. When all traces of worldly attachments and egoic tendencies cease and Self alone IS, the jIva will no longer be in bondage. All effort must be spent in addressing the problem of the world. Hence, Shankara starts the very first verse of the hymn with the word visvam (universe).

Does the world really exist? Or does it not? If we insist that that the world is real, all we will be doing is accepting the problem, but not solving it. To solve the problem, we must prove that the world is only an appearance and not real.

Even if we prove that the world does not exist, we may wonder if it will make any difference to our experience, since we will continue to see it. It is ridiculous to deny the world that we experience every minute of our lives. Experience is the greatest proof of the existence of anything.

So we now face a dilemma. If we say that the world does not exist, it is self-deception because we are experiencing it every minute. If we say that the world does exist, we will only be restating the problem, not solving it. Shankara skillfully resolves this dilemma using the analogy of a mirror. If we put a tall mirror in front of a city, the entire city will appear in the mirror. Is the city appearing in the mirror real? Does it really exist? Since the city is clearly visible to us in the mirror, we cannot help but admit that it does exist. But did the city actually enter the mirror? Can something so large as a city completely enter a small mirror? The city in the mirror appears only as long as the mirror is present, and disappears the moment the mirror is removed. It is only a reflection that we see in the mirror, not the original object itself. The object is outside the mirror. It is not dependent on the mirror in any way for its existence. The object can stand on its own, whether or not the mirror is present. Therefore, the object is real, but the reflection is unreal.

The world that we perceive is like the reflection in the mirror. It is unreal. The world appears like a reflection in our mirror-like Pure Consciousness. The world we perceive externally is only a reflection of the original substance, which is Consciousness. The reflection is visible but false. The substance is not visible, but Real.

An objection may be raised at this point. In the example of the mirror, we stated that the city outside the mirror is real, and its reflection inside the mirror is false. But now we are saying, in the case of the world we perceive, that what is internal (Consciousness) is Real, and what is perceived outside (world) is unreal. Is the analogy of the mirror inappropriate since it does not fully explain the relationship of Consciousness to the world we perceive, we may wonder. An analogy is used to compare and illustrate only some aspects of a situation, and not all aspects. It is enough if it serves the specific purpose that it is intended for, and not much more. Shankara is illustrating only one point through the analogy of the mirror – that the original image is real and the reflected image is false. The analogy, however, is not expected to explain the concepts of external objects and internal images. To illustrate these concepts, Shankara uses yet another analogy – the analogy of a dream.

Let us say we had a dream when we are asleep at night, and in the dream we saw a beautiful city. Where did this city come from? Where is it located? Is it inside us or outside us? In the dream, it appeared as though it is outside us, but in reality it is not outside us because, when we wake up in the morning, we don’t see it anywhere. Even though the city appeared to be outside us, it did not exist outside. It appeared inside us. Therefore, the city in the dream is unreal, although we saw it.

Similarly, whatever is present in our Consciousness is real, and whatever appears outside is only its reflection (AbhAsa), therefore, unreal. We perceive objects only when they appear within the sphere of our Consciousness. If an object is outside the sphere of our Consciousness, or, in other words, if our Consciousness does not extend to it, we will not know that the object exists. If a thing is not “known” to Consciousness, the thing has no existence. Knowledge, Awareness, or Consciousness is the proof of the existence of anything. Therefore, although the entire world is present inside our Consciousness, we see it as though it is outside us, just like the objects we see in a dream. Dream objects appear outside us because we are asleep. The world appears outside us when we are awake because of the illusory power of mAya or avidya. avidya means ignorance, lack of Self-Knowledge. Ignorance of our real nature (Self) is present in our dream and waking states. When we sleep, completely oblivious of our body-mind, a world appears from inside us in a dream. Similarly, in the waking state, we live our lives completely oblivious of our true nature, which is Pure Consciousness. This is mAya. It is due to mAya, that the world that lies un-manifested in Consciousness, appears as the external world. It is the attachment and involvement with the illusory world that keeps us in bondage.

To free ourselves from this bondage, we must find the source of the problem and get rid of it. As discussed earlier, ignorance is the source of the problem. The antidote for ignorance is Knowledge. Attaining that Knowledge is prabhOda, which means Awakening and Intelligence. Both of these meanings are applicable here. It is only after we wake up from sleep that we realize that what we saw was a dream. In this context, prabhOda means “awake.” In the larger context of our lives, prabhOda means “intelligence” or “knowledge” (sAkshAth kuruthe prabhOda samaye). When Knowledge of the Self arises, we realize that the Self alone Is without another (swAtmAnamevA advayam), that the ‘Self’ is pure Awareness, the feeling that “I AM.” The awareness that “I AM” was always present, even before the dawn of Knowledge. But this awareness was not pure. It was not advayam (non-dual) - the experience that there is nothing other than the Self (Self alone IS). Before the dawn of Knowledge, there is the notion of the “other,” which includes every object that the world contains, animate and inanimate. This object-view of the world not only limits our Consciousness, but also perpetuates false notions, such as “I am a limited individual (jIva)” and “there is a Creator (Ishwara) who is superior and separate from me.” These false notions are due to mAya. The moment we realize that this external world is unreal, we will be free of mAya. When mAya disappears, the world also disappears. As the individual Consciousness transcends the world and expands into the Universal Consciousness, the world loses its separateness and dissolves into the Self without a trace. The jagat is no longer a problem.

When jagat dissolves into Consciousness, and there are no limiting adjuncts, such as body, mind, and external objects, Self freely expands. The notion of a separate self disappears. Since this expansive Self is the Supreme Self Itself, the notion of a Ishwara, the Creator, disappears. Instead of appearing as three separate entities, the jIva, jagat, and Ishwara merge into the One Indivisible Infinite Consciousness, which is experienced as our very own nature. This is the experience of the Universal Self. The Lord Dakshinamurti symbolizes the Universal Self (paramAtma). The word daskhina means Knowledge or Intelligence (jnAna shakti), and the word vAma means, the power to act or create (kriya-shakti). Intelligence is the very nature of the Universal Self. Creation is Its expansion (vibhUti). Since the creative power is intrinsic to the Universal Self, Dakshinamurti is a complete and perfect union of the jnAna and kriya shakti-s. The disciple who attains the perfection of His teacher is also revered as Dakshinamurti. Hence, the teacher and the disciple who attain perfection through the teaching are both brahman. Although Shankara says he bows to the three, in essence he bows to the One.