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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 4

नानाच्छिद्रघटोदरस्थितमहादीपप्रभा भास्वरं
ज्ञानं यस्य तु चक्षुरादिकरणद्वारा वहिः स्पन्दते ।
जानामीति तमेव भान्तमनुभात्येतत्समस्तं जगत्
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥4॥

In the previous verses, Shankara established that the individual consciousness in our body is the same as the all-pervading Universal Consciousness. This is the truth declared by the mahAvAkya tat twam asi. Only because the substance called Consciousness, referred to as ‘you’ (twam) in the mahavAkya, is already present in our body, we are able to say It is the same as “That” (tat) Universal Consciousness. It is only with the help of the gross and the visible, through inference, that we can grasp the subtle and the invisible. Otherwise, our search would be baseless, like trying to find a snake that has left the ground.

All we see is the body made up of the five elements - earth, fire, water, wind, and space. Like the body, the sense organs are also made up of matter. The lifeforce (prANa), which helps the sense organs function together, is made up of the moving element called life-force (prANa). It enters the body and, in the form of in-breath and out-breath, stays in close contact with the sense organs, making sure they do not fall apart. That is why prANa is called sUtra (string). Like a thread that strings together multiple beads, prANa strings together the five senses and their operations. Like the beads and the string that are made up of matter, the senses strung together by the lifeforce are made of matter.

While the nature of prANa is movement, the nature of mind is thought-generation. Thoughts are also movement. prANa moves, but it is not conscious. The mind moves but it is conscious. Although the mind is conscious, it is not pure Consciousness. It is a false appearance of Consciousness. It is like an iron rod that becomes hot when it is placed in the fire for a long time. If we touch the iron rod, it will burn our skin, just like fire. However, iron by nature is cool. It does not have the capacity to burn anything. Because of its association with fire, it absorbs the heat from the fire and acquires the ability to burn like fire. Hence, it is not exactly the iron rod that burns. It is the fire that is burning through the instrument called iron.

Similarly, Consciousness is not an attribute of the mind. Even though the mind generates thoughts endlessly, it is inert. The scripture says that the mind is a product of the food we eat. Food is of the nature of the earth element. The subtlest form of food becomes the mind and appears as thoughts. Hence, everything, from the body to the mind, is made of the gross element earth. There is nothing other than the gross in the body.

There is no individual or separate Consciousness (jIva caitanya) as we imagine. The “I AM” awareness that we have is Consciousness. Couldn’t the mind that thinks “I see,” “I act,” etc., also think “I AM?” After all, isn’t it the mind alone that thinks? Isn’t the thought and feeling that “I AM” also an activity of the mind? If mind is also matter, then like the senses and other gross entities, wouldn’t it also eventually dissolve into the five elements? When mind dissolves, and all thoughts come to an end, wouldn’t the thought “I AM” also come to an end? If nothing remains upon the death of the body, where would that feeling of “I AM” be located? Even if we say there is Consciousness, isn’t that also only a thought in the mind? Thoughts do not transcend the mind. Such questions and doubts plague us. Shankara addresses these questions now. He proves that there is a Self, a Consciousness, that is separate from the mind.

From the body to the mind, everything is made of inert matter. Because body and mind are insentient and not self-aware, there must be something, a witnessing presence, that is aware of them. What is that witnessing entity?

It is easier to perceive the body and lifeforce as objects, but harder to perceive the mind also as an object. We assume it is the mind that perceives everything. Mind is a stream of thought- modifications. A thought is a movement (vritti), a function of the mind. Before the movement of the thought, there is stillness, Pure Consciousness. There is no movement in Consciousness (acalam). It is like an illumined screen on which objects appear. The illumined screen and the image of the object together appear as a vritti, a thought modification. That vritti is the mind.

The images that appear on the screen are the names and forms of physical objects. When objects are removed, the screen appears empty as a screen. It is no longer the mind. It is what the Vedantins call the Self/Atma or Consciousness. Atma, therefore, is distinct from the mind. It (AtmA) is Pure Consciousness in the form of illumination. It is due to the illumination supplied by Consciousness that the insentient mind appears as a sentient entity. It (mind) is like the iron rod in the analogy we discussed earlier. Just like the iron rod, which by nature is cool, becomes hot when it comes in contact with fire, so too the mind, which is originally insentient, appears sentient because of its contact with Consciousness.

Therefore the Self is separate from the mind and lifeforce. Because It is sentient, It is Self-aware. Although the mind appears to be sentient, it borrows its sentience from Consciousness. While Consciousness is like a tranquil ocean, the mind is like a wave that rises from the ocean. Thoughts are like waves. When there is movement, there is a wave. When there is no movement, there is only water. Similarly, when Consciousness moves, it is the mind, and when it does not move it is Atma/Self. Although Consciousness appears to be in the body, it is not associated with it. It is like a lamp placed in a pot with many holes. The light from the lamp flows out through these holes and illumines the pot, the holes, and the objects around it.

Just because the lamp is inside the pot, the pot does not become the lamp. The lamp and the pot are separate from each other. They are of different nature. The pot is of the nature of earth and the lamp is of the nature of fire. Whether the lamp is inside the pot or outside it, it can stand by itself as a lamp. Although the lamp might appear inside the pot for the time-being, the pot is only an upAdhi (adjunct). It does not hold the lamp in bondage. Moreover, the pot and everything around it are illumined by the lamp. They shine in the light of the lamp. The only relationship that they have between them is that of the illumined and the illumination. Without illumination, none of the objects would appear. They depend on the lamp’s illumination to become visible. But the lamp itself does not depend on them. Whether or not the upAdhi-s are present, the lamp shines on its own and makes other objects shine it its presence.

Just like the lamp, Consciousness ‘entered’ the pot called the body. It did not actually “enter” the body. It only appears to have entered, just like an image in a mirror. Shining in its own effulgence, Consciousness flows out through the upAdhi-s, the eyes, ears, and other sense organs. The sense organs are like the holes in the pot. Consciousness flows out through the sense organs and illumines the moving and unmoving objects of the world around us. If it were not for the light of Consciousness, the world would not appear to us. We would not even be aware of our own body, mind, and senses. We are aware of our internal world (thoughts, emotions, etc.) and the external world only because Consciousness pervades everything. The light of Consciousness is not like the light of the lamp. Although separate from the pot, neither the lamp nor its light are sentient. They are both made up of gross elements. The lamp is not aware of its own effulgence or the fact that it is illumining the pot, etc. It is not Self-Aware. If it was Self-Aware, the lamp would be sentient. Therefore, although we refer to it as “light,” the light of Consciousness is not like the light of the lamp. It is a light that is aware of everything. It is neither subjective nor objective. Even if the lamp is absent, the pot and objects around it continue to remain. However, if the light of Consciousness is absent, the world ceases to exist. Consciousness is both imminent and transcendent. Only because of Consciousness, the Universe in its micro and macro forms appears to us. Without Consciousness, there would be no evidence that the universe exists.

For a thing to exist, there must be something that proves its existence. Either the thing itself is aware of its existence, or something else is aware of its existence. Without something or someone cognizing its existence, no “thing” can exist on its own. Whether the thing itself is aware of its own existence or something else is aware of its existence, it is only in Awareness that the thing appears. Consciousness is the Witness, the proof of the existence of anything. For an object to exist, it must be “known” to Consciousness. The world and our body/mind are objects of knowledge to Consciousness. Therefore, only when Consciousness cognizes objects, we become aware of them. Hence, Existence means Knowability, and Knowability is the proof of Existence. Consciousness is the only proof of the existence of the world. We don’t need to search for a proof to prove the existence of Consciousness. Since Its very nature is awareness, Consciousness is Self-evident. Since it is Self-evident, It is also Self-existent. Unlike the pot and the lamp, It does not depend on anything for its existence.

Since it is Self-evident, Consciousness is the only Real substance. Everything else that depends on It for its existence is unreal. If a thing comes into existence only when another thing is present, and ceases to exist when the other thing is absent, then the two cannot be different from each other. They must be of the same intrinsic nature, just like gold and gold ornaments. Even when we are seeing bracelets and necklaces, we are only seeing gold. If we remove gold from the ornaments, the ornaments cease to exist.

Similarly, Atma permeates everything. Just like the necklaces, bracelets, and other forms that gold appears in, Self or Consciousness appears in multiple forms, such as the body, mind, rivers, mountains, and other animate and inanimate objects. These are nothing but the forms of Pure Consciousness. Although Consciousness appears to be inside the body, It pervades everything inside and outside the body. Consciousness alone Is. ‘I ‘shine as Awareness, and in my effulgence everything shines. Consciousness is not “in” the body, It IS the body. Therefore, Consciousness alone is Real and the forms it appears in are unreal.