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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 7

बाल्यादिष्वपि जाग्रदादिषु तथा सर्वास्ववस्थास्वपि
व्यावृत्तास्वनुवर्तमानमहमित्यन्तः स्फुरन्तं सदा ।
स्वात्मानं प्रकटीकरोति भजतां यो मुद्रयाभद्रया
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥7॥

pratyabhigna is an excellent tool for reminding ourselves of our ever-present Self as Infinite Consciousness. As long as there is an opportunity to recognize a thing from past experience, we can postulate that that thing really exists. If there is no such opportunity, we can assume that the thing does not really exist. According to this principle, the one substance that is always present in both Atma and anAtma (Self and not-Self) is Consciousness. The world (not-Self) appears in the waking states but disappears in deep sleep. For a thing to really exist, it must exist at all times. Since, we do not experience the world at all times in all states, it is unreal. But we continue to see the world as though it is real, but fail to see the ever-present Self, which is our very nature. Our vision is superficial. We do not delve deep and enquire into the nature of Reality. Only when our vision is deep and expansive we will be able to separate the Real from the unreal. pratyabhigna is an excellent tool that can help us in this regard.

Shankara now explains how to enquire into the nature of Reality. Youth takes over childhood. Old age takes over youth and death takes over old age. Change is constant. The waking state changes to dream state, the dream state changes to deep sleep state, and the deep sleep state changes back to waking state. Our experience in the waking state changes minute to minute. We are happy one minute and sad the next. We are brave one minute and cowardly the next. From the minute we are born, we experience many different emotions and situations through our entire life,. Nothing is stable. Emotions, feelings, situations come and go. This is called vyAvritti, discontinuity.

The opposite of vyAvritti (discontinuity) is anuvritti (continuity). Even while childhood, youth, and life situations change endlessly, there is a constant factor that is ever-present and shining. It is Consciousness, the continuous awareness or feeling that “I Am.” Since this feeling of “me-ness” persists at all times, it gives scope for pratyabhignya.

When new situations appear, old situations disappear. When youth appears, there is no trace of childhood. There is no continuity or scope for pratyabhignya in the ever-changing world. Although it appears as though there is continuity, if we enquire deeply, we will understand the effervescent nature of the world. We don’t need the scripture to tell us that. Situations and events from the past appear as dreams to us in the present. Dreams are illusory, not real.

What is Real? Whatever gives opportunity for pratyabhigna is Real. That is Consciousness, this feeling of “I Am” that persists through all changes in the world, body, and mind. While states change (vyAvritti), Consciousness remains changeless (anuvritti). We are aware of its unchanging nature in every changing situation. Childhood has gone, and youth has arrived. But I am. Youth has gone and old age has arrived, but I still am. Old age has gone and death has arrived, but I remain. It is the same “I” that experienced youth that has experienced old age, and is now experiencing death. Through all these changes, my real nature as Consciousness remains. This constant awareness is pratyabighna. Since I am always aware of my Self through all states, my Self can never undergo any harm.

A question arises at this point. Does the Self die when the body and mind die? Is there an opportunity for pratyabhigna at the time of death? Since the I-AM Awareness is ever-present, It must be present even at the time of death. If not, who is to experience death? There must be something present to experience death. Death cannot experience itself. All experience is only to Consciousness. It is Consciousness Itself that has experienced childhood, youth, and old age. It must be Consciousness Itself that also experiences the death of the body. Wherever there is experience, Consciousness must be present. If Consciousness is present, that means the Self is present. Therefore, Self cannot be destroyed. As the scripture declares, the Self is avinAsi, indestructible.

Self is Atma, which is our real nature. It is the me-ness, the “I AM” awareness that is ever present. While others may not cognize our ‘me-ness’, we can cognize It because it is our very nature. Yet we do not really do so! Even if it appears as though we do, we are only cognizing the false sense of the self, and not the Real Self. If we truly grasped the Real Self, we would stop seeing the not-Self. When we clearly see the rope, we will stop seeing a snake in its place. If we continue to see the snake, instead of the rope, that means we have not seen the rope clearly. Similarly, once we have completely realized the true nature of the Self, we will stop seeing the not-Self/anAtma. But in the waking state, along with the feeling of “me-ness,” we also have the feeling of “mine” since we see and transact with the world. Therefore, the awareness of “I Am” that we have in the waking state is not the Real Consciousness because it is not the objectless Pure Awareness.

This false sense of self, however, is useful in helping us recognize the Real Self. It is like the shadow of a pigeon on the ground that helps us locate the real pigeon in the sky. The shadow is not the pigeon. It is a false appearance of the real pigeon. However, it helps us locate the real pigeon in the sky. Once we grasp the real pigeon, we are no longer interested in its shadow. The shadow has served its purpose as a pointer to the real object. Similarly, this feeling of I-AM that we usually experience is like the shadow of the pigeon. It is not the real Self or Consciousness. It is only the ego, which is a shadow of the Real Self. Since it is the ego that transacts with the not-Self/world, we assume it is the real self, although it is very limited. Hence, Vedantists refer to it as anAtma or not-self. As long as we assume we are the body, mind, and sense organs and take on doer-ship, we are identifying with the active self (ego), not the passive witnessing Self. To remain as Pure Awareness, there can be no feeling of “mine.” The not-self (world) must dissolve into the Self, in order to experience everything as One Infinite Consciousness.

To experience the Self as Pure Consciousness, one must practice sravaNa (listen) and manana (contemplate) continuously. We need an eminent teacher to help us in our practice. When the great sayings of the Upanishads, such as tat tvam asi, are taught by an enlightened teacher and the disciples contemplate on the teaching, they too will experience the Self, just like their teacher. When that happens, the knowledge of the Infinite that has been lying dormant in the disciple up until now will suddenly awaken and blossom. Great teachers (Acarya-s) appear on earth from time to time to reveal this profound Knowledge to sincere seekers who are devoted to the Truth. The Lord Dakshinamurti, the foremost of all such teachers, reveals the Truth in silence using a jnAna mudra.

A mudra is an external gesture, a symbol, that points to an internal truth. The symbol must be used to grasp the internal Truth. Otherwise, the symbol will remain a symbol, and the truth that it is pointing to will be lost. Once the truth is grasped, the symbol can be discarded. kechari, bhUchari, and other yogic mudras are all such symbols. However, these mudras are not considered “safe” from the Advaitic point of view because they offer prosperity (prEyas), not Peace (srEyas). srEyas is mOksha or freedom from samsAra. The jnAna mudra indicates srEyas because it points to Knowledge. It is also called the cinmudra – the joining of the thumb with the index finger of the right hand. The index finger represents the individual who enters the world and identifies with it. The three fingers next to the index finger represent the three attributes or guNa-s - rajas, tamas, and satva – that the body, mind, and the world are made up of. As long as we are totally identified with the guNa-s, we will have no awareness of the Self. To get a firm grasp on the Self, we must distance ourselves from the guNa-s. The thumb represents the Supreme Self or Consciousness. The thumb joined with the index finger symbolizes the union of the individual self with the Supreme Self. When the individual self merges with the Supreme Self, the not-Self (world) loses its separate identity. Everything is then experienced as one’s own Indivisible, Infinite Self. This in essence is the meaning of the seventh verse.