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OM
Ajnanatimirintasyajnananjanasalakaya
Cakshurunmilitam yena tasmai
srigurave namah
ADVAITA VEDANTA
D Krishna Ayyar
Part II
OUTLINE OF ADVAITA VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY
Section 1 - Nature of Self
1. Let
us start with finding answers to the questions raised in Party
I. It is not difficult to understand that I am not the
physical body . I can see the body. So, no thinking man will
deny the fact, “ I am not the body.” “Am I the ‘prana’
(divided into prana, apana, vyana,
udana and samana) , i. e., the life forces that are
responsible for the respiratory, circulatory, assimilative
functions etc.? I am aware that I am breathing. I am aware
that I am hungry etc. So, I am not the ‘prana.’ Am I the ‘jnanendriyas,’
i.e., the sense organs of perception, i.e., the faculties of
sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch? I am aware that I see,
hear etc.. So, I am not the jnanendriyas. Am I the ‘karmendriyas’,
the sense organs of action, i.e., the faculties of speaking,
lifting, walking etc? I am aware that I am speaking, walking
etc. So, I am not the karmendriyas. ( A single name for the
jnanendriyas and karmendriyas put together is ‘indriyas’
– sense organs, in English).
2. Next,
we have to find out about the mind. [In Sanskrit, the mind is
called ‘antahkarana’ which comprises “ manah ” (
the faculty which receives stimuli from the outer world and is
the seat of emotions and feeling), “buddhi ” ( the
faculty of reasoning, decision, speculation and imagination).
“citta” ( the faculty of memory) and the “ahampratyaya”*
(ego) ( the ‘I’ thought, the sense of ‘I am the knower, doer
etc.). (In what follows, for the sake of simplicity, the word,
mind, is used as a synonym for antahkarana.) (The physical
body is called, “sthoola sarira." The prana, the
indriyas and the antahkarana together are called “sukshma
sarira”. The prana that continues to function during deep
sleep and the indriyas and the antahkarana that
lie dormant in the deep sleep state are, together, called “karana
sarira.”) (* The technical term used for the ‘I’ notion in
Sastra is ahamkara. But
the word ahamkara is used also for the combination
of antahkarana as a whole and the cidabhasa as
it will be used later in this paper itself. To avoid
confusion, in this paper, the word, ahampratyaya, is
used for the ‘I’ notion as it is used in some places in
Sureswaracarya’s “Naishkarmyasiddhi” and the word ,
ahamkara, for the combination of antahkarana and cidabhasa.)
3.
Am I the mind? The mind is an entity that expresses as
thoughts in the form of cognition of external objects, emotion
, reasoning, decision, speculation, imagination recollection
and conceptualisation. “ I know the pot is a thought”. “ I am
angry at my son” is a thought. “I had ice cream yesterday” is
a thought. “Black hole is a mystery” is a thought”. Thoughts
are momentary; one thought arises, stays for a while and
disappears; then, another thought arises, stays for a while
and disappears, and so on. “Is there an awareness of these
changes”, if we ask, the answer is “yes”. That which is
changes cannot itself be aware of the changes. It follows
that, besides the changing mind, there is a changeless
conscious principle. In the individual, this is invoked in the
form of a constant “I”. For example, when I think that I who
was angry yesterday am calm today, though this thought arises
in the mind, the “I” that is invoked as the one existing
yesterday and the same “I” existing today cannot be the
changing mind; because the angry the angry I disappeared
yesterday and the calm I has appeared only today. The
constant “I” that is invoked by the thought in question is a
changeless consciousness, which, as we shall see later, is the
original consciousness by the reflection of which the mind
itself becomes sentient and acquires the capacity of cognition
etc. The answer to the question “who am I” is “I am this
unchanging original consciousness”. It is called “atma”.
Other terms for atma is “pratyagatma” and “ sakshi
caitanyam” or “sakshi”.
4. This
process of connecting a past condition of the mind and the
present condition is called “pratyabhinja”. We can
observe pratyabhinja in situations connecting the dream state
(called “swapna avastha”) and deep sleep state (called
“sushupti avastha”) on the one hand and the waking
state (called “jagrat avastha”) on the other. In the
dream state, the mind projects a dream world which it cognises
as objects existing outside it. When one wakes up, one
realises that what he saw as a world existing outside one’s
mind were merely thoughts in one’s mind. Thus, one says, for
example, “last night I dreamt that I got a lottery of one lakh
rupees but now I know that I don’t have a paisa”. Again, this
constant I that is invoked by this thought as having existed
during the dream and as existing now is the changeless
consciousness, the atma. Similarly, when one is a state of
dreamless deep sleep, the mind is bereft of any kind of
cognition, emotion and conception. When one wakes up one says,
“I didn’t know anything”. Here also, the I that is invoked by
this thought connecting the I that existed when the mind was
blank and the I that exists now when the mind recollects the
blank state is the changeless consciousness, the atma. To make
this clearer, suppose you ask a person who has woken up from
deep sleep “when you were sleeping were you conscious of
yourself?”. He will say that “I did not know that I was
there”. The “I” referred as having been absent during sushupti
is not the changeless “I”, the Sakshi, which is never absent,
but the changing ‘I’, which, as part of the sukshma sarira, is
dormant during sushupti and is not evident. Thus, if we
analyse the sushupti experience, we can clearly recognize the
existence of the changeless “I”, the atma caitanyam called
Sakshi, separating it, intellectually, from the changing “I”.
5.
Pratyabhinja invoking a constant is also observed when we
connect different stages in our life. Our body and mind are
changing entities. When one is young, one is strong and
healthy and can win a cross country race. When one becomes
old one needs a stick even to walk. In early age, one can
recite the entire Bhagawatgita and Upanishads from memory .
When one becomes old ,one doesn’t remember even the name of
his dearest friend. In one’s youth one is arrogant. When one
has become old , one has become humble. When one says, for
example, “I who could recite the entire Bhagawatgita from
memory once upon a time can’t even recollect a single line
now”, one is imvoking the constant I, the unchanging
consciousness, the atma. The consciousness reflected in the
mind is called “cidabhasa” and the mind and cidabhasa
together are called “ahamkara”). ( The body, the ahamkara and
atma together are called "jivatma").
Section 2 – Brahman, the ultimate reality.
The
central theme of the Upanishads is Brahman, called also
Paramatma. It is a conscious principle. The word for
conscious principle in Sanskrit is “caitanyam” The
seminal sentence defining Brahman which occurs in
Taittiriya Upanishad (II.1.ii) is “satyam jnanam
anantam Brahma.” In English, this is translated as “
existence-consciousness-infinity. ( Existence, consciousness
and infinity are not three separate entities; they are three
words denoting the nature of the same entity.) The word, “
satyam ” is defined as that which is eternal and has
independent existence. The word,“ jnanam ”, in this context,
means consciousness. The word, “anantam” means infinity.
Infinity denotes what is infinite not only in terms of space
but in terms of time and entity. (In some places, Brahman is
also defined as saccidananda.; it is a compound word
consisting of “ sat ” which is the equivalent of “
satyam ”, “ cit ” which is the equivalent of “jnanam ”
and “ ananda ” which is the equivalent of “ ananatam”).
Section 3 – Identity of the individual self and Brahman
1. There
are various Upanishad passages which talk of Brahman, the all
pervading consciousness as being available for recognition
within the intellect or the mind. The Upanishads also
expressly state that Brahman is not only nondual (“advayam”)
but divisionless (“nirvikalpam”). Therefore Advaita
Vedanta says that the atma in you, in me, in other human
beings, in the animals, the birds, the insects, the plants
and, in fact, in all living beings, be they denizens of this
world or the other worlds, i.e., even the atma in gods
(“Devas”) and demons (“Asuras”) is one and the same entity.
Brahman and Atma are not different. They are just two words
for the same entity. There is only one unbroken, undivided,
all pervading consciousness. ("akhanda caitanyam" or “Brahma
caitanyam”) When the focus of teaching is on the all
pervading aspect, it is generally referred to as Brahman and
when the focus is on the original consciousness available in
the jivatmas, it is generally referred to as Atma. When the
focus is on the source of cidabhasa, It is referred to as
Sakshi. It is the same all pervading consciousness that is
available in the jivatmas. And it is this that is invoked as
the unchanging, constant I, by a pratyabhinja vritti. When the
minds of the jivatmas are superimposed in the ‘field’ of the
all pervading consciousness, there occur reflections of
consciousness in the minds. The minds have the capacity to
receive the consciousness and reflect it, unlike objects like
the table, just as mirrors have the capacity to receive the
sunlight and reflect it. The reflected consciousness is called
"cidabhasa", in Sanskrit. Without the reflected consciousness,
the mind cannot perceive objects, cannot know, cannot think,
cannot react, cannot recall and cannot imagine. (The qualities
of different minds are different. Some are cheerful, some are
morose. Some are intelligent; some are dull the comparison is
that a mirror coated with dirt will throw a dull light on a
dark room and a clean mirror will throw a bright light.) The
mind, in turn, lends the borrowed consciousness to the sense
organs and the body; that is how the mind, the sense organs
and the body become sentient. It is the mind cum cidabhasa
(technically called ahamkara) that expresses as the
changing I.
2.
Deriving consciousness from the Atma, the mind perceives the
external world through the sense organs. While the awareness
of the existence of oneself as a self conscious human being
and as the same person, in spite of the changes which the body
and mind undergo cannot be explained without the Atma, the
perception of particular objects or entertainment of
particular thoughts in a voluntary, selective manner cannot be
explained without the mind. If I am watching the T.V. with
great interest, I may be eating at the same time, but if you
ask me later what I ate , I will not be able to tell you.
Another proof of the capacity of the mind to select what it
wants is what is known as the “cocktail effect.” And it is
the mind which perceives objects of the external world, at one
time, projects a dream world at another time and becomes
dormant at a third time. Atma, the eternal consciousness, is
there all the time, without undergoing any of these changes.
If Atma alone was there and there was no mind, there would be
permanent perception of everything together at the same time
(which will be utter confusion) if we assume Atma to be a
knower or there will be permanent non-perception, if we assume
Atma to be a non-knower.
Section 4 – Transmgration and karma
Another
fundamental tenet of Advaita Vedanta – indeed of all schools
of philosophy in Hinduism – is that the sukshma sarira in
which cidabhasa is always there survives the death of the
sthoola sarira and is involved in transmigration from one
world to another among the fourteen worlds (lokas)
mentioned in Sastra and entry into different sthoola sariras
in successive births (janmas). Associated with this tenet,
there is the theory of karma. According to this, for the
actions and thoughts of jivatmas they incur what are called “punya”
and “papa” (merit and demerit) and have to undergo
enjoyment or suffering in future janmas and, sometimes in this
janma itself. Vide Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.vi – “Being
attached, the (transmigrating jivatma) together with its karma
attains that on which its subtle body or mind is set. It
experiences (in the other world) the karma phalam
(recompense for punya papa in the form of enjoyment and
suffering) for whatever karma it had done in this world. When
it is exhausted, it comes again from that world to this world
for new karma. Thus does the man with craving
(transmigrate)”. Kathopanishad II.ii.7 – “ Some embodied ones
enter (after death) into (another) womb for assuming bodies.
The extremely inferior ones, after death attain the state of
motionless things like trees etc., in accordance with each
one’s work – i.e., under the impulsion of the fruits of the
works they have accomplished in this life; similarly too, in
conformity with the nature of knowledge acquired.” Prasnopanishad
III.7 – “ ….leads to a virtuous world as a result of virtue,
to a sinful world as a result of sin, and to the human world
as a result of both.” (“punyena punyam lokam papena papam
ubobhyam eva manushyalokam.”) The punya papa
account is a running account to which additions are made by
actions and thoughts and subtractions take place on account
of enjoyment and suffering and through further action and
thought. The accumulated punya papa account is called “sancita
karma”, the punya papa incurred in the current janma is
called “agami karma” and the punya papa quota assigned
to be exhausted in a particular janma is called “prarabhda
karma”. In accordance with prarabdha karma, the jivatma’s
next janma may be as a celestial or a god in one of the lokas
superior than the earth or as an asura or some other denizen
in an inferior loka , with different kinds of sthoola sariras
,or again, on earth, as a human being or as a plant or an
animal or insect or microbe . Jivatmas and karma are
beginningless. Therefore , questions such as “what is the
cause of the first janma?” i.e.,“how can there be a first
janma with different people being different in various
respects unless there was a preceding karma?”, “how can there
be karma without a previous janma?” are out of court. Only a
theory of karma and rebirth can explain the phenomenon of
prodigies or morons or babies afflicted with congenital
diseases unconnected with heredity and the wide disparity in
physical and mental equipment, health, wealth, joy and
suffering among human beings. That is, if you say that a
person is born and dies once for all, and that there is no
rebirth, when a person undergoes enjoyment or suffering, you
cannot explain it, because there is no punya papa for which
the enjoyment or suffering is undergone. The other way, for
the actions and thoughts of a person, the punya papa will hang
in the air without reward or retribution. If you say that the
Lord created persons with varying patterns of physical and
mental equipment and comforts, enjoyment and suffering, then
that would make that Lord partial. In Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad,, IV.iii.9, read with Sankaracarya’s commentary, we
get a logical proof of transmigration of sukshma sariras. The
Upanishad says, “Remaining in the junction between waking and
sleep, i.e., in the swapna avastha, the jivatma experiences
this world and the other world.” This is how we get strange
dreams of things we have never experienced. Dreams are based
on impressions formed during the waking state, called vasanas.
Even a baby has dreams. Where are the previous experiences for
it to have formed vasanas? The baby’s dreams are based
impression formed in the mind out of experiences (“vasanas”)
of its previous janma. Similarly, on the eve of death, it is
said, that a man has a glimpse pf his next janma during his
dreams.. Another argument for the karma theory is the well
known fact that the mind, though conscious of consequences
wills evil; and though dissuaded it does engage in deeds of
intensely sorrowful consequences. If there was no vasana of
evil, since everybody wants only happiness, evil will not
exist in the world at all.
Section 5 – Free will
Apart
from karma, there is scope for free will ( called “purushartha”)
in human lives. Good action and good thought can reduce papa
and increase punya. Whether free will or karma will prevail or
to what extent free will can mitigate karma depends on the
relative strength of the two. Since there is no way of knowing
what one’s karma is, wisdom lies in doing good actions and
entertaining good thoughts. One should not lose faith in the
efficacy of good actions and good thoughts; good actions and
good thoughts are bound to bring about a better balance of
punya papa and, consequently, mitigate suffering and increase
happiness in the present janma itself or in future janmas.
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, fifth chapter, fourteenth section
talks of the beneficial result of the chanting of the famous
Savitri mantra in the Gayatri metre. There are
various other sections in the Upanishads, particularly
Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya, which talk of beneficial results
of meditation on deities. We should extend this to good
actions and good thoughts in general. What physical and mental
equipment one is born with, in which set up one is born and
what opportunities are available are determined by one’s
karma. But, in any janma, how one develops one’s potential,
how one makes use of opportunities and how one does action in
and reacts to situations depends on one’s free will.
Section 6 – Status of the world - Orders of reality
1. Now,
let us consider the nature of the world. From what we see
around us, information obtained from others, by inference and
through scientific investigation and theories, we know that
the universe is a vast, complex entity; the human body itself
is a miraculous mechanism; the vegetable and animal kingdoms,
the planets, the stars, the galaxies, the black holes, the
particles, the waves, matter, antimatter and what not – are
all miracles. There is no effect without a cause. So, we
cannot but postulate an omniscient and omnipotent creator.
2.
Upanishads state expressly in innumerable passages that
Brahman is nondual (“advayam”, “ekam”) and
eternal (”nityam”); “nityam” implies changelessness; in
the Bhagavadgita (Gita, for short), Brahman is
specifically said to be changeless. ( In his Bhashyam,
Sankaracarya says that , unlike milk turning into curd,
Brahman does not undergo any such transformation.
(Transformation is called "parinama" in Sanskrit). But
we do experience a world. The world that we experience cannot
be the effect or transe formation of Brahman. We can explain
what is experienced only if we say that the world belongs to a
lower of reality. So, a cardinal doctrine of Advaita Vedanta
is the scheme of three orders of reality ( ontological
statuses ) – “ paramarthika satyam” ( absolute reality), “
vyavaharika satyam” ( empirical reality ) and “pratibhasika
satyam” ( subjective reality ). Brahman is paramarthika
satyam. The universe comprising external objects and our
bodies and minds is vyavaharika satyam. The dream world is
pratibhasika satyam. Objects that are erroneously perceived in
jagrat avastha as existing outside are also called “
pratibhasika satyam”. Examples are snake perceived on the
rope, silver perceived on the shell, water perceived on the
desert sand ( i.e. mirage), man perceived on the post etc. The
position of the world vis a vis Brahman is compared to the
position of the dream world vis a vis the waker, the position
of the snake perceived in the rope etc. Cf. Chandogya
Upanishad II.vi.1– “That (Brahman) created all that exists.
That ( Brahman), having created that entered into that very
thing. And, having entered there, It became the true and the
untrue, Truth became all this. (“satyam ca anrutam ca;
satyam abhavat”). The first “the true” (“satyam”), refers
to vyavaharika satyam, “the untrue” (“anrutam”) refers to
pratibhasika satyam and the second “Truth” (“satyam”) refers
to paramarthika satyam. Orders of reality lower then Brahman
are covered by the technical term, “mithya” All that is
experienced but is not paramarthika satyam falls under the
category of mithya. Mithya can be either vyavaharika satyam
or pratibhasika satyam. Mithya is defined as that which is
experienced but has no independent existence, E.g., If clay is
taken away, there is no pot. The dream world is dependent on
the waker. If the rope was not there, snake would not appear.
Another definition of mithya is that which is neither totally
existent nor totally non-existent. “Totally non-existent” is
ruled out because it is an object of experience. “Totally
existent” is ruled out because when the Brahman is known, the
object is seen as unreal i.e., relegated to a lower order of
reality. Thus the snake perceived on the rope is mithya. The
dream world is mithya. Anything that is mithya is also called
“anirvacaniyam” (that which cannot be defined) in
Sanskrit. Whatever is mithya is a superimposition on a
substratum. If there was no substratum, it cannot appear and
when the substratum is known it disappears or is relegated to
a lower order of reality. (When the word, “ satyam” or “ real
”is used without any adjective, hereafter, it should be taken
to refer to paramarthika satyam and when the word, “ mithya”
or “ unreal” is used without any adjective, it should be taken
to refer to “vyavaharika satyam” or “pratibhasika satyam”,
depending on the context.)
Section 7 - Creation
According to Advaita Vedanta – indeed all schools of Hindu
philosophy – there is a beginningless and endless cycle of
creation, maintenance and dissolution or resolution, called “srishti”,
“sthithi”, ”laya.” Cf. Svesvatara Upanishad
I.9, where it is said that Iswara as well as jiva are
birthless.) In each srishti, the variety and pattern of
objects, the attributes of the bodies and minds and the events
and situations have to be fashioned to suit the karmas of the
myriad of sentient beings in the janmas they go through in
that srishti. This requires conscious planning and skilful
action on the part of the creator. According to Sastra,
Brahman is eternal and changeless and It is neither a doer
nor a thinker thinking with a mind which undergoes
modification. Put in Sanskrit, It is “akarta” and “amanah”.
( Action involves change. Thought is also change because it is
movement of the mind). If Brahman has to be a cause and the
world has to be a product, Brahman has to change and when the
product comes, the cause in its original form is no longer
there. So an eternal, changeless Brahman cannot be the
material cause of the world (“upadhana karanam”). Since
the changeless Brahman is amanah, It cannot be the
intelligent cause of the world (“nimitta karanam.”).
So, the question arises, how does creation come? Advaita
Vedanta says that in Brahman, there is, as a lower order of
reality, an entity and power, called “Maya”. Maya is inert
matter, consisting of undifferentiated names and forms.
Brahma caitanyam gets reflected in Maya, to constitute an
entity called “Iswara”. Iswara has the caitanyam aspect
of Brahman in the form of reflected consciousness as well as
the matter aspect of Maya. Therefore Iswara has in himself the
capacity to think, visualise and plan creation and the raw
material to evolve the objects of creation. Just as creation
is mithya, Iswara is also mithya, belonging to the
vyavaharika order of reality. Creation is only unfolding of
forms with corresponding names (nama roopa) on a substratum.
The substratum is Brahman, the non-dual existence, the sat.
Sat does not undergo any change. The names and forms
unfolded as a superimposition on sat, the substratum,
include not only various worlds, stars, planets, mountains,
rivers etc but the bodies of plants, insects, animals and
human beings, gods, asuras etc. Iswara visualises and plans
the creation, keeping in mind the requirements of the karmas
of the jivas and impels Maya to unfold the names and forms
accordingly. ( Cf. Svesvatara Upanishad IV.10 where world is
said to be the form of Maya and Svesvatara Upanishad IV. 6,
where it is said that Iswara referred to as Mayi
creates the universe. That the word, Mayi, refers to Iswara,
we can see from Svesvatara Upanishad IV.10 which says that
‘Prakriti said, earlier, to be the cause of the world should
be known as Maya and the great Iswara to be ruler of Maya.)
\) The world Mayi In the minds of living beings, the
consciousness aspect of Brahman, (cit) is reflected to form
cidabhasa. After the karmas of the jivas assigned for that
creation have been exhausted through enjoyment and suffering,
Iswara makes Maya withdraw the projected names and forms unto
Himself in his aspect as Maya, there to remain, for a period,
called “pralaya”, in potential or seed form.
Section 8 – The concept of Maya
According to Advaita Vedanta, in our real nature, we are the
very infinite Brahman. Maya has a two-fold power - (i) veiling
power (“avarana sakti”) and (2) projecting power (“vikshepa
sakti”). Through avarana sakti Maya hides Brahman, as it
were, from us; i.e., makes us ignorant about our real nature
as Brahman and through vikshepa sakti, having projected the
names and forms which include our body mind complex, deludes
us into identifying ourselves with our body mind complex.
Consequently, we regard ourselves as limited individuals,
different from other beings and take on ourselves the
problems, the joy, suffering, fear, sense of insecurity etc.
belonging to the body and the mind . Whereas, it is the body
mind complex that thinks, does action, enjoys and suffers (
put in Sanskrit, is the "karta" and "bhokta" ,)
we regard ourselves as karta and bhokta. Our transactions in
the world, with this notion, result in our incurring an
obligation to get rewards for good thoughts and deeds and
punishments for bad thoughts and deeds in future births. In
the course of enjoyment and suffering as reward and
punishment, we engage ourselves in further transactions and
incur further obligations for the discharge of which we have
to be born again and again. Thus, we are caught up in the
cycle of births and deaths and enjoyment and suffering. This
is called “. Whereas, the macrocosmic cycle of srishti, sthiti
and laya is endless as well as beginningless, individual
samsara is not endless. When we understand that we are not the
body mind complex but we are the infinite Brahman, we get
liberated from samsara. ( In Svesvatara Upanishad .6,
it is said that Jiva regards himself to be different from
Paramatma, and gets involved in samsara)
Section 9 – Liberation – What it means
1. Thus,
the correct goal of human life, according to Advaita Vedanta
is one’s identification with Brahman, i.e., displacing the “I”
from the body, mind and ego and putting it, as it were, in
Brahman. the original pure consciousness, the
existence-consciousness-infinity. At the macrocosmic level,
Iswara is the conglomerate of the original consciousness, the
real part and Maya, the reflecting medium and the cidabhsa,
the reflected consciousness, which are the unreal parts
(mithya). At the microcosmic level, Jivatma is the
conglomerate of the original consciousness, the real part and
the body mind complex, the reflecting medium and the reflected
consciousness, which are the unreal parts (mithya). Owing to
ignorance caused by Maya, we, jivatmas regard ourselves as
limited individuals. When we negate the unreal parts of Iswara
and ourselves, i.e., relegate them to a lower order of
reality, and recognize the identity of the real parts, the
identity of the original consciousness available in us and the
infinite consciousness, we recognize our real nature as
Brahman, the Existcnce-Consciousness-Infnity. This is
called “jivabrahmaikyam”. Sentences in the sastra
that reveal jivabrahmaikyam are called Mahavakyas. There are
innumerable mahavakyas in the Upanishads. Four of them are
famous, one quoted from each Veda, namely, “ Tat tvam asi ” (
Chandogya Upanishad – Sama Veda), “ aham brahma asmi”
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – Yajur Veda), “ ayam atma brahma”
(Mandukya Upanishad – Atharva Veda) and “ prajnam brahma”, (Aitereya
Upanishad – Rg. Veda). Translated in English, the four
mahavakyas would read respectively as “ Thou art That ” “ I am
Brahman ” “ This atma is Brahman ” and “ Consciousness is
Brahman”).
2. In
the process of the teaching, we also understand, as explained
above, that the only reality is Brahman and all else, i.e.,
the world of objects and our own body mind complexes are
Mithya. This, together with the knowledge of “
jivabrahmaikyam” is expressed by the famous sentence,
“Brahmasatyam jaganmithya, jivobrhmaiva naparah.” (“ Brahman
is the reality; the world is mithya; jiva is Brahman, naught
else.”) .The moment this knowledge is gained effectively, one
is free in this very life. This freedom , liberation from the
bondage of samsara, is called “moksha”. The benefit
of this knowledge is unalloyed peace and happiness. The one
who has gained the knowledge is called, “jivanmukta”or
“Jnani”.
3. It is
not essential that one should become a sanyasi to gain
the knowledge. If one can go through the methods ( called “sadhanas”
) prescribed for attaining mental purity, calmness and
concentration which are prerequisites for gaining effective
knowledge and devoting sufficient time regularly and
systematically under the guidance of a competent teacher to
the study of the Upanishads and the commentaries, etc. even
while one continues to be engaged in the duties of one’s
secular life, one can become a Jnani.
Section 10 – Significance of liberation
1. The
world does not disappear for a jnani. But his outlook and
attitude to the world become different. On the paramarthika
plane, he has identified himself with nondual reality, the
infinite Brahman. Since he knows that the world, including the
body mind complex is unreal, he has no sorrow, no anxiety, no
fear, no desire , no hatred, no worry. Cf. Chandogya
Upanishad VII. 1. iii – “ I have heard from masters like you
that he who knows the Brahman transcends sorrow.” Because the
world is mithya, i.e., of a lesser order or reality and
nothing of a lesser order of reality can affect an entity of
the higher order of reality, jnani is not affected by
anything, good or bad, happening in the world. In the dream,
the tiger has mauled me. But when I wake up, I don’t find any
wound in the body. I win a big prize in a raffle in the dream.
But when I wake up, I don’t find my bank balance increased.
Stain in the reflection in the mirror does not affect my face.
The fire in the movie does not burn the screen. If somebody
steps on my shadow, I am not hurt. Similarly, the happenings
in the empirical world ( in the “vyavaharika jagat”) do
not affect the jnani.
2. The
freedom from disturbance from the empirical world is a
psychological freedom arising from the knowledge of the truth
and does not extend to the physiological body. The jnani has
no sorrow, no anxiety, no fear, no worry, no craving, no
attachment and no hatred. Cf. Chandogya Upanishad VII.i.3 –“I
have heard from masters like you that he who knows Brahman
transcends sorrow.” Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.12 – “ If a
man knows Atma (Brahman) as “I am this” then desiring what and
for whose sake will be suffer when the body is afflicted?”
Sankaracarya’s commentary – “ If a man.....knows the atma
which is his own atma as well as the Paramatma – knows how? –
as ‘I am this Paramatma’, the sakshi of perceptions of all
beings, which has been described as ‘not this, not this’ and
so on, than which there is no seer.........knower and is in
all beings, and which is by nature eternal, pure consciousness
and free, desiring what other thing distinct from his own
Self which is everything and for whose sake, i.e., for the
need of what other person distinct from himself will he become
miserable when mithya body is afflicted? Because he as the
atma has nothing to wish for, and there is none other than
himself for whose sake he may wish it, he being the atma of
all, therefore desiring what and for whose sake will he suffer
when the body is afflicted?. For, this is possible for the man
who identifies himself with anatma (that which is not
atma, i.e. the body mind complex) and desires things
other than atma and struggles and desires something for
himself, something else for his son, and a third thing for his
wife and so on, goes round the births and deaths and is
diseased when his body is diseased. Bur all this is
impossible for the man who sees everything as his atma.”
However, the body mind complex with which the person who has
become a jnani is part of the vyavaharika world and as long as
that body lives, there are duties pertaining to it. So, if the
jnani is a householder, he does not cease to perform the
duties and obligations towards the body, the family and the
society. He does his duties with purpose but without any
desire and he accepts the results of actions, good or bad,
favourable or unfavourable with spontaneous equanimity. The
jnani is not dependent on anything except his identification
with Brahman for peace of mind and happiness. This does not
mean that he ceases to enjoy the good things of life, like
good food or music or literature, but he does not have desire
for them. That is to say, if it is there, he takes it and
enjoys it , but if it is not there , he does not miss it. He
may have preferences, but he has no need. If the jnani is ill,
he will also go to the doctor, but he will do so without any
anxiety . If his wife is ill, the jnani will look after her
with compassion but without sadness or anxiety or worry. If
the jnani’s son has to gain admission in a college, the jnani
will also make efforts, but he will not be sad if he fails.
If his son obtains the first rank in his class, the jnani will
also be happy, but he will be equally happy if the son of a
complete stranger, instead of his son, secures the first rank
.If he was a poet, he can continue to be a poet. If hw was a
musician, he can continue to be a musician. When he goes to a
temple or church or mosque, he will also do worship but he
will do so with the knowledge that he himself is Brahman. But
whatever he does, he will do that, not for himself, but for
the welfare of society or humanity or as an example for the
common man. His efforts for himself will be confined to the
barest minimum requirements of sustenance. Even while he is
transacting with the world, the deep undercurrent of thought
that he is the Brahman that is beyond the vyvaharika world
will be there. The jnani is like the actor on the stage.
Today, the actor plays the role of a beggar ; tomorrow , he
may play the role of a millionaire. But he knows that he is
neither a beggar nor a millionaire. Like that, the jnani plays
the role of father, husband, teacher and what not, committed
but unattached and never without the undercurrent in the mind
that he is really none of these but he is the relationless (“asanga”)
Brahman.
3. On
the vyavaharika plane, anything that there is in the world is
Brahman only, because the real essence is only Brahman and
what we see as external objects or persons are only names and
forms appearing on Brahman. Since the jnani has identified
with Brahman, the essence of everything, he can regard
himself as everything ; this attitude is called “ “sarvatmabhava”.
For him, everything that there is his, everybody’s happiness
is his happiness, everybody’s knowledge is his knowledge and
everybody’s achievement is his achievement. This is not to be
taken literally. Even a jnani can actually enjoy whatever
falls within the scope of the antahkarana in the body with
which he was born. Regarding others, enjoyment etc. as his
is a question of attitude born out of the knowledge that all
nama roopas exist on Brahman and he himself is Brahman..
Having this attitude, the Jnani has no sense of lacking
anything, nor has he desire for anything . Cf. Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad IV.iii.21 – “aptakamam atmakamam akamam roopam.”
Also Chandogya Upanishad VII.xxiv.2 – “Evam vijanan
atmaratih atmakridah atmamithunah atmanandah sa swarat bhavati”.
Since everybody is himself, he loves all equally and he has no
jealousy or hatred towards anybody or fear of anything or
anybody. He goes on teaching or working for the welfare of
society peacefully and happily. In this connection, we can
usefully refer to Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II.4.vi. “ The
Brahmana rejects him who knows the Brahmana to be different
from the Self. The Kshatriya rejects him who knows the
Kshatriya to be different from the Self. Worlds reject him who
knows the worlds to be different from the Self. The gods
reject him who knows the gods to be different from the Self.
Beings reject him who knows beings to be different from the
Self. All reject him who knows all to be different from the
Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these gods,
these beings and this all are only the Self (one’s own atma)”
4. To
put it in technical terms, jnana phalam, the benefit of
the recognition of jivabrahmaikyam, is twofold - (i)
sarvatmabhava and poornatvam (from the standpoint of the
vyavaharika plane), the sense that I am Brahman, Brahman is
everything; so, I am everything – the sense of utter
fulfillment and (2) asangatvam ( from the standpoint
of the paramarthika plane), dismissing the universe as
unreal, the sense that I alone am , infinite in terms of
space, time and entity. The jnani thus has the choice of
ananda arising out of the attitude, “ I am everything” or the
peace of being relationless, the knowledge that I alone am,
all else is mithya and nothing can affect me, the satyam.
5. Since
the jnani has disidentified with the body mind complex with
which he was born, he becomes free of the sancita karma
pertaining to that body mind complex. Action involves physical
and mental movement. Movement is change in space and time.
Thought is also a movement, being a modification of the mind.
Brahman being all pervading, formless attributeless and
changeless is not a doer or enjoyer ( - to put it in
Sanskrit, Brahman is neither a “karta” nor a “ bhokta”. ) An
all pervading changeless entity cannot move and, therefore,
cannot act or think. Since Jnani is identified with Brahman,
he is free from the sense of doership and enjoyership ( “
kartrtvam and bhoktrtvam.”) .. Cf. Kathopanishad
I.2.xix – “ He who thinks that he is the killer or the killed
does not know atma. Atma neither kills nor is killed.”
Action and thought done or entertained with kartrtvam and
bhoktrtvam alone results in the accumulation of punya and
papa, So, for the jnani, there is no agami kama, either.
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.xxiv.3 – “Papa does not trouble
him by producing the desired result or generating sin, but,
he, the knower of Brahman consumes all papa, i.e., burns it
to ashes with the fire of the realisation of the Self of all.”
However, according to Chandogya Upanishad VI.xiv.2, like an
arrow that has already been shot from the bow , the quota of
karma out of the sancita karma bundle which has already been
assigned to be gone through in this life ( “prarabdha karma”)
continues to be there also for the Jnani. But even here, there
is a difference. While the physical aspect cannot be avoided,
on the psychological plane, the jnani is not disturbed. If
something good happens he does not jump with joy. If something
bad happens, he is not sad. He takes everything that happens
on the physical plane as the prarabdha pertaining to the
body-mind complex with which he has already dissociated
himself and therefore there is no disturbance in his mind. The
state in which Jnani continues to live, with a body mind
complex with which he has dissociated himself is called
“Jivanmukti” ( i. e., liberation in this very life). The
disassociation with the body is compared to the snake casting
off its old skin.
Section 11 – Knowledge, the sole means of liberation
According to Advaita Vedanta, moksha is obtained only through
knowledge of identity with Brahman and not through any karma
or upasana. Kaivalya Upanishad 3 – “It is through renunciation
that a few seekers have attained immortality – not through
rituals, not through progeny, not through wealth.....” (“
na karmana na prajaya na dhanena tyaganaike amrutatvamanasuh”).
Mundaka Upanishad I. 7 “ ....Indeed those who consider karma
to be a means for moksha are fools. They enter old age and
death again and again.” Mundakopanishad I.9 – “.....These
ritualists do not know the glory of moksha due to their
attachment. Consequently these wretched ones fall down when
the Punya is exhausted.” Kenopanishad II.4 – “Through
knowledge is attained immortality” “ (...vidyaya vindate
amrutam”). Also cf. Nrsimhapurvatapani Upanishad I.6. Cf.
Brhdaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.19 – “ Brahman has to be
recognised by the mind alone. ( “manasa eva anudrashtavyah”.)
“ “ Taittiriya Upanishad II.2.1 – “The knower of Brahman
attains Brahman” (“Brahmavid apnoti param”) “The
knower of Brahman becomes immortal.” Kathopanishad II.iii.8
– “ Superior to the Unmanifested (Maya) is the Infinite who
is......without worldly attributes, knowing Whom a man becomes
freed and attains immortality.” (“....Yam jnatva mucyate
jantuh..”). Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.17 –
“....that very Atma I regard as Brahman. Knowing Brahman, I am
immortal.” (“Tam eva manya atmanam vidwan brahma amrutah
amrutam.) Svetasvatara Upanishad – “ Svetasvatara
Upanishad III.8 - “ Knowing that Paramatma that is
Pratyagatma, Sakshi, that is the infinite, that is all
pervading, that is effulgent........men become immortal. For
attaining this Brahman, there is no other means” (“.......na
anya pantha vidyate ayanaya.”). Kaivalya Upanishad
9 - “He alone is everything which is in the past,
which is in the present and which will be in the future.
Having known him one crosses mortality. There is no other
means for liberation.” (“..... na anya pantha vimuktaye”).
Kaivalya Upanishad 10 – “Clearly recognising oneself to be
present in all beings and clearly recognising all beings in
oneself, the seeker attains the Supreme Brahman, not by any
other means”). (.....na anyena hetuna”). “Moksha is
only by knowledge”. (“ janat eva kaivalyam”). Cf.
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.viii.10 – “ He...who in this
world, without knowing this Immutable, offers oblations in the
fire, performs sacrifices and undergoes austerities even for
many thousand years, finds all such acts but perishable; he, O
Gargi, who departs from this world without knowing this
Immutable, is miserable. But he, O Gargi, who departs from
this world after knowing this Immutable, is a knower of
Brahman”. The same idea is expressed in different words in
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.10 . That knowledge is the means
of moksha is also said in Svetasvatara Upanishad I.11,
Nrsimhapurvatapani Upanishad II.6 (tam eva vidwan amrutam
iha bhavati”) Svetasvatara Upanishad VI.17, Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad IV.iv.14, Chandogya Upanishad VII.1.3,, Mundaka
Upanishad II.i.2 , II.ii.8, III.ii.8 and III.ii.9 Prasna
Upanishad IV.10 and VI.6 Isavasya Upanishad 7, Kena Upanishad
II.5, and IV.9 (read with IV.7) , Svetasvatara Upanishad
II.14, ,III,7, IV.17, and V.6, Kathopanishad II.ii.13,
Isavasya Upanishad 11 etc.
Section 12 - Liberation is this life itself - Jivanmukti
According to Advaita Vedanta, as a result of knowledge of
jivabrahmaikyam, liberation from samsara( moksha) is possible
in the current life itself; one does not have to wait for the
end of life. Cf. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.6 – “Being but
Brahman he becomes merged in Brahman. ( This refers to
jivanmukti followed by videhamukti. Videha mukti is the
disintegration of the karana and sukshma sarira when the death
of jnani’s sthoola sarira takes place.) Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad IV.iv.14 – “Being in this very body we have somehow
known that Brahman…….Those who know It become immortal,”
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.iv.7 – “When all the desires that
dwell in his mind are gone, he……….becomes immortal and attains
Brahman in this very body. Just as the slough of a snake is
cast off and lies in the any-hill, so does this body lie.” In
the commentary on Brhadaranyaka Upanishad I.iv.10, citing Rg.
Veda IV.xxvi.1, Sankaracarya points out that Vamadeva, while
talking of his sarvatmabhava as a result of his knowledge of
identity with Brahman uses the present participle, ‘while
realising’; present participle is used only when the action
indicated by the present participle and the action indicated
by the main verb are simultaneous. Nrsimhapurvatapani
Upanishad II.6 talks of the knower of Brahman becoming
immortal , here itself. Cf. Also Kathopanishad II.iii.14 and
II.iii.15 – “…..he attains Brahman here.” and “….even when a
man is alive, then a mortal becomes immortal.”
Section 13
- Liberation not an event in time. It is self-recognition
Moksha
is not a new state or an event. Being the infinite Brahman is
our eternal nature. The notion of being separate limited
inidividuals subject to the bondage of samsara is only
ignorance in the mind. The moment one gains the knowledge, “ I
am Brahman”, one discovers one’s true eternal nature. The
event that happens is only destruction of the ignorance in the
mind. Moksha is only owning up one’s true nature. Cf.
Sankaracharya’s Brahmasutra Bhashyam – “…..for as Brahman
constitutes a person’s Self, it is not something to be
attained by that person.” . Jivanmukti is like discovering a
diamond one had misplaced and thought that he had lost it.
Section 14 – “Merging” in Brahman – Videha mukti
1. the
case of ordinary people,, i.e., those who have not owned up
their identity with the Infinite Brahman, at the time called
death, the sukshma sarira and karana sarira, along with
cidabhasa, vasanas, i.e., habit-forming impressions of
experiences of thoughts and actions stored in the mind) and
the karma ( the sancita karma) leave the sthoola sarira and
enter another sthoola sarira in another world or in this
world. But when the sthoola sarira of a jnani dies, the
sukshma sarira and karana sarira disintegrate. Because,
consequent on disassociation with the body mind complex the
entire sancita karma pertaining to that body mind complex has
already been extinguished; in the absence of kartrutvam and
bhoktrutvam there is no agami karma; and prarabdha karma has
been exhausted. Therefore the sukshma sarira and karana sarira
of the jnani have become functus officio. This is called
“videha mukti”. ( Vide Brhadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.vi – “
Regarding this there is this Mantra verse: ‘Being attached,
the (transmigrating self ) together with its karma attains
that on which its subtle body or mind is set. It experiences
(in the other world) the karma phalam for whatever karma it
had done in this world. When it is exhausted, it comes again
from that world to this world for new karma. Thus does the
man with craving (transmigrate). But of a man who has no
craving – who is without desires, whose actions and thoughts
are without desire, who is fulfilled and whose only desire
is Brahman , (to put it more clearly, of him who knows that
he is Brahman), his prana, i.e., his sukshma sarira does not
go out (to enter another body). (Ever) being Brahman Itself,
he is merged in Brahman.” Cf. also Prasna Upanishad
VI.5 and Brhadaranyaka Upanishad III.ii.11.
2.
Sastra also talks of a more difficult route of attaining
liberation through knowledge. If one has done upasana on
Hiranyagarbha, the creator-god form of Iswara, throughout
his life and also at the moment of death but has not attained
the doubt-free and abiding knowledge that he is Brahman goes
to the world of Hiranyagarbha (Brahmaa). There he has the
opportunity to learn Vedanta from Brahmaa himself as the
teacher. If he utilises that opportunity, he becomes a jivan
mukta in Brahmaa’s world At the end of that Brahma’s life, he
also attains Videha mukti along with that Hiranyagarbha. This
is called “krama mukti”. We get a reference to it in
Svesvatara Upanishad I.11.
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