"Full many a ray of purest ray serene the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness to the desert air."
from "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray

Monday, March 7, 2011

Atma Bodha - verses 02-05



oÉÉåkÉÉåÅlrÉxÉÉkÉlÉåprÉÉå ÌWû xÉɤÉÉlqÉÉå¤ÉæMüxÉÉkÉlÉqÉ |
mÉÉMüxrÉ uÉÌ»ûuÉe¥ÉÉlÉÇ ÌuÉlÉÉ qÉÉå¤ÉÉå lÉ ÍxÉkrÉÌiÉ ||2||

bodhonyasādhanebhyo hi sākṣānmokṣaikasādhanama |
pākasya vahnivajjnānam vinā mokṣo na sidhyati ||2||

Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge, there is no emancipation. Compared with all other forms of discipline, the Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.

In the process of cooking, ingredients can be substituted, but fire is essential and has no alternative. Similarly, there are alternative paths that people may take for seeking the Self, but the Knowledge of the Self is essential for mokṣa – liberation.
The previous stanza’s reference to tapas - austerity should not be misconstrued to understand that austerity itself will elevate one. Austerity and self-control brings a person to a state of physical and mental discipline where the focused and quiet mind can be established in the Self. Performing austerities, rituals, charity, mind control and scriptural study qualify the person to seek the Knowledge of the Self, which is the only thing that can then remove the avidyā - ignorance that keeps us from liberation.  
When a surgery is to be performed, it can be managed without many amenities and facilities with a makeshift arrangement, but the person performing the operation must have the required knowledge for the surgery to be successful.
Shankara emphasizes here that knowledge is mandatory for liberation.   

AÌuÉUÉåÍkÉiÉrÉÉ MüqÉï lÉÉÅÌuɱÉÇ ÌuÉÌlÉuÉiÉïrÉåiÉç |
ÌuɱÉÌuɱÉÇ ÌlÉWûlirÉåuÉ iÉåeÉÎxiÉÍqÉUxɆ¡ûuÉiÉç ||3||

avirodhitayā karma nāvidyām vinivartayet |
vidyāvidyām nihantyeva tejastimirasanghavat ||3||


Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.

The darkness of ignorance can only be countered by the light of knowledge. Action is not the opposing force of avidyā – ignorance. Desire gives rise to thought that results in action. Unless the action is dedicated to a higher altar, it strengthens the underlying vāsanā that manifested itself as desire, and the karmic cycle continues.  Even if the action is dedicated to the highest altar, or divinized, it can only serve to exhaust the karmic cycle of a lifetime. It still cannot result in liberation.  
Krishna says in the Bhagwad Geeta (4-37) that as the blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, so the fire of knowledge burns to ashes all reaction to material activities. Jnāna burns all āgāmi karma and liberates a person. And further, Krishna says (4-41,42) that one who has renounced the fruits of his action, whose doubts are destroyed by transcendental knowledge and whose mind is firmly seated in the Self, is not bound by action. So the doubts that have arisen in the mind out of ignorance can only be slashed by the weapon of knowledge.   
Knowledge alone leads one to liberation.  

mÉËUNû³É CuÉÉ¥ÉÉlÉɨɳÉÉzÉå xÉÌiÉ MåüuÉsÉÈ |
xuÉrÉÇ mÉëMüÉzÉiÉå ½ÉiqÉÉ qÉåbÉÉmÉÉrÉåÇÅzÉÑqÉÉÌlÉuÉ ||4||

parichhanna ivājnānāttannāśe sati kevalah |
svayam prakāśate hyātmā meghāpāyenśumāniva ||4||
 
The Atman appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed, the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself, like the sun when the clouds pass away.

The Self is luminous and is not visible to us because of our ignorance, like the sun is not visible to us when the clouds obstruct our vision. Just as we can see the sun when the clouds pass away, we will realize the Self when ignorance is destroyed.
The Self is the one universal consciousness. With our limitations of knowledge, we see multiplicity in the world because of our multiple super-impositions caused by our misunderstanding about the nature of the Self.
In the Shiva Purana, the story is told of Daksha expressing his anger at his son-in-law, Shiva for not standing up to receive him. In response, Shiva’s close devotee Nandishwara cursed Daksha and other brāhmins for being so ignorant as to forget Shiva's greatness. Shiva chastized Nandi for cursing the brāhmins and asked him how he could forget that Shiva is the Supreme Consciousness in all? Nandishwara looked around, and as a realized soul, he saw Shiva in everyone around him, and realized his mistake.
Krishna says in the Bhagwad Geeta (4-35) to Arjuna that once a person has learned the Truth, such a person will realize that all living beings are a part of Him. Once we have realized the Self, we realize the One consciousness that pervades the universe.

A¥ÉÉlÉMüsÉÑwÉÇ eÉÏuÉÇ ¥ÉÉlÉÉprÉÉxÉÉ̲ÌlÉqÉïsÉqÉç |
M×üiuÉÉ ¥ÉÉlÉÇ xuÉrÉÇ lÉzrÉå‹sÉÇ MüiÉMüUåhÉÑuÉiÉç ||5||

ajnānakaluṣam jīvam jnānābhyāsādvinirmalam |
kratvā jnānam svayam naśyejjalam katakareṇuvat ||5||


Constant practice of knowledge purifies the Self (jivātman), stained by ignorance and then disappears itself – as the particles of the kataka-nut settles down after it has cleansed the muddy water.

A person with ignorance is compared here with a container of muddy water. We see the world as a reflection of the Supreme Consciousness on our body-mind-intellect equipment. It is our ignorance that distorts the superimposition of the Self just like the mud in the water distorts reflections. This gets corrected when we purify our equipment by jnānābhyāsa.  
jnānābhyāsa is the continuous practice of meditation. This allows the person to destroy the identification with the material world, and instead assert one’s divine spiritual nature. This identification, “I-am-the-Self”, has to be constantly reinforced. But this reinforcement is in itself a flow of thought, and is therefore of a finite nature. When the body-mind-intellect equipment is cleansed of impurities, a person attains equanimity. Once the muddy water is cleaned, the kataka nut particles dissolve, just like the more commonly used alum in modern times, and are not needed any more. Once a person has calmed the agitations of the mind, effort like meditation is no longer needed.
Once asleep, one does not need to make an effort to sleep. Similarly, knowledge practices are no longer necessary once the mind is firmly established in the Self.   


Saturday, March 5, 2011

Atma Bodha - verse 01

सदाशिव समारम्भाम शङ्कराचार्य मध्यमाम्‌ ।
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्ताम वन्दे गुरु परम्पराम्‌ ॥


sadāśiva samārambhām śankarācārya madhyamām |
asmadācārya paryantām vande guru paramparām ||

Beginning with the eternal Shiva, through the master Shankara, till our teacher, I bow to the lineage of the gurus.

Shiva is the first guru, the lord of the Yogis, the first teacher with the ultimate knowledge of the Brahman. Shiva is the destroyer, following the creation by Brahma that is nurtured by Vishnu. At a personal level, He is the destroyer of the ego, the identifier of the individual, to allow the person to see the Real. And, at the universal level, he is responsible for destruction, dissolution and salvation so that Brahma can create the world again. Shiva represents the Supreme Consciousness. The path to Shiva is the introspective path to seek the Self.

Shankaracharya established Advaita (non-duality) as the dominant school of philosophy in India. In a short lifespan of thirty-two years, he has composed an impressive volume of work : bhāṣya - commentary on the Geeta, the Upanishads and the brahmasutras, stotram – hymns in praise of deities, and prakaraṇa - brief expositions in prose and verse. 

Atmabodha is one of the prakaraṇa grantha that explains the knowledge of the Self in sixty-eight verses in a simple manner. Shankara starts with explaining the attributes of the seeker in the first stanza. He goes on to explain samsāra – the world, māyā – illusion, and the nature of the ātman – the Self.  He then describes the brahman – that after knowing which nothing needs to be explained. Whereas Shankara says that bhakti – devotion leads to salvation, and karma – action is necessary, he advocates jnāna – knowledge, as the direct means of liberation. He explains complex concepts with intense clarity, and holds experience as the ultimate teacher. Whereas it is possible to acquire knowledge through a study of the scriptures, the role of the guru is to guide the seeker, accelerating the progress along the path of knowledge.    

My understanding is based on the study of the commentary by Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda-ji, with other commentaries posted on the Internet as reference and books, as well as group discussions with a study group at the Chinmaya Mission in Dallas, co-ordinated by Swami Sarveshananda.


तपोभिः क्षीणपापानां शान्तानां वीतरागिणाम्‌ ।
मुमुक्षूणामपेक्ष्योऽयमात्मबोधो विधीयते ॥१॥


tapobhih kṣīṇapāpānām śāntānām vītarāgiṇām |
mumukṣūṇāmapekṣyoyamātmabodho vidhīyate ||1||

I am composing the ātma bodha, this treatise of the Knowledge of the Self, for those who have purified themselves by austerities and are peaceful in heart and calm, who are free from cravings and are desirous of liberation.

As is the ancient tradition of spiritual works on Sanatana Dharma, this first verse defines the anubandha chatuṣṭaya that comprises of:
  1. viṣayah (subject matter) – atma bodha (knowledge of the Self). If this is not the subject of your interest, stop right now and go no further.
  2. prayojana (purpose of the text) – liberation. If this is not what you are looking for, abandon further reading of this composition.
  3. adhikārī (eligible seeker of knowledge) – purified by austerity and peaceful in heart and calm of mind, free from craving. These are the qualities of the seeker who will gain from the knowledge in this composition.
  4. bodhya-bodhaka-sambandha (relationship of the seeker of knowledge to the use and knowledge matter in the text) – the seeker who is desirous of salvation will find the knowledge of the Self in this book directly leading them to liberation.   
Shankara has defined the attributes of the seeker of liberation as sadhanacatuṣṭaya (four-fold qualifications) both in Tattwa Bodha and Vivekachudamani, which clearly explains what is expected of a seeker.
(i)            viveka (discrimination) – ability to differentiate between Real and Unreal
(ii)           vairāgya (dispassion) – ability to detract from the world
(iii)          śamādisādhanasampatti (inner wealth starting with śama)
a.    śama – mastery over the mind  
b.    dama – restraint of external sense organs
c.    uparati – strict observance of one’s dharma (duty)  
d.    titikṣā – endurance of the pairs of opposites – heat and cold, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow
e.    śraddhā – faith
f.     samādhāna – single pointed focus of the mind on the Self
(iv)         mumukṣutva (burning desire for liberation) – need for  

The verses of the ātma bodha can be categorized by topic.
01        : four descriptors of the work
02-05   : means of emancipation
06-12   : samsāra (world)
13-19   : śarīra (embodiments)
15-19   : adhyāsa (
26-30   : ahamkāra (ego)
31-36   : neti-neti (a list of what not to do)
37-39   : sādhanā (seeking)
40-46   : ātma bodha (self-realization)
47-53   : vision of a jnānī and characteristics of a jivanmukta (liberated soul)
54-68   : brahman (supreme consciousness) 


Next : Atma Bodha verses 02-05