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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 6

राहुग्रस्तदिवाकरेन्दुसदृशो मायासमाच्छादनात्
सन्मात्रः करणोपसंहरणतो योऽभूत्सुषुप्तः पुमान् ।
प्रागस्वाप्समिति प्रबोधसमये यः प्रत्यभिज्ञायते
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥6॥

Why should the individual make the effort to get rid of anAtma? Can’t anAtma disappear by itself, just as it does in deep sleep? During waking and dream states we have the feeling of ‘I’ and the object ‘I see.’ But in deep sleep we do not have that same feeling. We are not aware of either the external or the internal worlds. Even our thoughts disappear in deep sleep. Atma alone Is. If Atma alone Is in deep sleep, why are we not aware of It in deep sleep? If Atma is Consciousness Itself, shouldn’t it be aware of Itself even in deep sleep? Does Atma disappear along with the anAtma in deep sleep? These are the questions that Shankara addresses in this verse.

Even when the body, mind, and external world disappear in deep sleep and it appears as though there is nothing to be experienced, there is something. It is not the gross body or the subtle mind. It is the causal body, which is subtler than the mind. While the gross body and mind are dormant in deep sleep, the causal body is active and present like a thick curtain of darkness.

Since we perceive the gross body (annamaya kosha) and the mind (manomaya kosha), they are easy to grasp, but the causal body is harder to grasp since it is extremely subtle and invisible. A ‘body’ is not necessarily a collection of gross body parts only. Even the mind is referred to as the subtle body (manomaya kosha). Whatever shrouds the Infinite Consciousness and makes it appear finite is a body (sharIra). Just like the gross body and mind which cover the Infinite Consciousness and make It appear finite, so also does the causal body. The causal body is made up of vAsana-s, which are the deep tendencies and impressions in the mind. The mind is like a piece of cloth that has been used to wrap a small amount of the spice, asafetida. However hard we try to wash the cloth, we will not be able to get rid of the pungent smell of the spice. Tendencies are like the lingering smell of the spice in the cloth. Over life-times spent in the vicious cycle of birth and death, we have accumulated many deep tendencies and impressions that continue to haunt us life after life.

So strong and many are these tendencies that they persist as vAsana-s, even after thoughts and the world subside (as in deep sleep and death). Transactions with the world trigger thought-modifications (vritti-s), streams of persistent thoughts, which in turn create deep impressions that bind us in samsAra. It is these deep-rooted tendencies that are hard to get rid of that constitute mAya, avidyA, or nescience. Vedantists refer to these tendencies as the causal body because they are the reason for rebirth and the need for a gross body and mind through which they continue to manifest to satisfy deep desires. Since its very nature is avidyA or nescience, the causal body persists until one attains vidyA, Self-Knowledge. Attaining Self-Knowledge means realizing that everything that is perceived is the Self only. Just like the darkness that is dispelled upon sunrise, the moment the Knowledge of the Self rises in the individual, nescience is dispelled. This is liberation. Until we attain such Knowledge and liberation, we continue to suffer the consequences of the causal body.

It is such darkness or ignorance that overcomes us in deep sleep. Even though we are not aware of our body-mind and the external world in deep sleep, we do not experience real peace, which is our true nature, because our causal bodies continue to be active. Just like the effulgence of the sun and the moon that is temporarily eclipsed by the shadow of the earth, the ever-shining Consciousness(AtmA) is present, but temporarily hidden by ignorance in deep sleep.

Atma is Existence-Consciousness. Existence and Consciousness are not two different things. They are one and the same. Where Existence Is, Awareness Is. This is an irrevocable principle. It appears as though Awareness is absent in deep sleep because the sense organs and the mind that controls them are defunct. There is no instrument called the mind present to comprehend the ‘nothingness,’ the absence of objects/thoughts, in deep sleep. When the instrument of comprehension is not available, there is no consciousness of the presence or absence of objects. Hence, Consciousness appears as though absent in deep sleep.

A question may be raised here. If Consciousness is ever present and Self-Aware, why does It dependent on the mind and sense organs for Its existence? Due to habituated wrong thinking we assume it is only through our mind that we know we exist. We forget that our Self transcends the mind. We think that we exist because our minds exist, and that we cease to exist, if our minds cease to exist. However, the mind is “aware” of the “I AM” feeling hence, it knows intuitively that Awareness transcends the mind. Consciousness (Self) does not depend on anything for its existence. Because we lack this knowledge of the ever-present Self, we assume Self is also absent when the mind and sense organs are absent in deep sleep.

In deep sleep, there is no mind to cognize the Self although the Self is ever present, both as Existence and Consciousness. Even if the mind is absent, Consciousness is aware of Itself. Even in deep sleep, there is no gap in Its Awareness. It’s effulgence remains undiminished. The mind is only an instrument through which Consciousness manifests externally. Just because an image of an object appears in a mirror, we cannot assume that the mirror created the object. Whether or not its image appears in the mirror, the object can stand on its own. The mirror is only a projector, not the creator of the object. Similarly, mind is just a projecting instrument. Even if the mind is defunct, there is no problem. Consciousness continues to shine on Its own.

If Consciousness is totally absent in deep sleep, we would not be aware of It on waking up. It is not possible to remember something suddenly without having experienced it previously. Cognition and experience precede memory – this is common experience.

On waking up, we remember our experience of having slept peacefully the night before. We wake up and tell people that we slept peacefully. If we were not aware of the peace we experienced in deep sleep, how would we remember it on waking up? Having experienced something, we recollect it. Therefore, even in deep sleep, Self is aware. If there is a break in the Self, in our Consciousness, we would cease to exist in deep asleep and suddenly come back into existence on waking up. As Krishna said in Bhagavad Gita, na asto vidyate bhavo, na bhavo vidyate satah. That which exists does not cease to exist, and that which does not exist, does not come into existence. What IS does not disappear suddenly.

Consciousness is the “I AM” awareness. It is our essential nature, so it can never be absent. If It is present sometimes and absent at other times, it cannot be our essential nature. If Consciousness is absent, we will be absent as well. Consciousness must be present to cognize its absence! Saying “Consciousness is absent” is as ridiculous as saying “I have no tongue.”

Therefore, the Self/Atma is present in the waking, dream, and deep-sleep states as Existence and Consciousness. Only because the instrument called mind is temporarily defunct, we think Atma is absent in deep sleep. However, if Atma is absent in deep sleep, we would have no recollection (prathyabhigna), after waking up, of having slept soundly. Unless there is cognition of something, there can be no recognition, recollection, or memory of it.

When we meet someone after a long time, we recognize them only because of our past experience with them, even though we have lost touch with them in between. Even though we did not experience them directly during the gap, they were present and experiencing themselves all the time. That is why, we were able to recognize them again later when we see them. As the scripture puts it, “so yam devaduttaha.” “This is that same Devadatta that I saw in the past.” We are able to recognize something based on our past experience because there is no difference between the thing of the past and the thing of the present. They are one and the same. The difference is only in time and place, not in the thing itself.

We must apply the same logic to our deep sleep experience. It is the same Self, Consciousness, that was present before we went to sleep that is also present after we wake up. In the middle, during deep sleep, Consciousness appears to be temporarily absent (anupalabde), not annihilated, because the mind that cognizes the presence and absence of objects is absent. If Self is completely annihilated in deep sleep, we would have no memory or recognition of ourselves after we wake up. When “I” go to sleep, it is the same “I” that wakes up. No one else wakes up in my place. Therefore, it is clear that in the waking, dream, and deep sleep states, Self, is no way diminished. It shines without a break.

When it appears as though the Self is absent at times, like the sun during eclipse, we must remember that the Self is the “I AM” awareness that is ever present. This recollection of that ever shining awareness of the Self is pratyabhigna. This in essence is the meaning of the sixth verse.