40. JÑĀNIN

D: Is a jñānin beyond virtue and sin?

A: Yes.

D: Then, since no merit or sin is acquired by a jñānin, will he conduct himself in any manner whatsoever?

A: A jñānin will not do so normally. His mind should have been extremely pure prior to his attaining jñāna. This purity remains even after the dawn of knowledge. A jñānin is an ideal for others. Sureśvarācārya has observed, “If a jñānin were to act in an unregulated fashion, then what is the difference between him and a dog, which consumes even what is unclean?”

D: Should the śrāddha of a jñānin be performed after he dies?

A: Yes.

D: A jñānin will not be reborn. How then is śrāddha useful?

A: To whom?

D: To the jñānin.

A: As far as the jñānin is concerned, it serves no purpose.

D: Then why should the śrāddha be performed?

A: Because the relatives do have a duty to fulfil. From the jñānin’s point of view, performance of śrāddha is of no use. However, the relatives continue to have their duty to perform śrāddha. Just because one becomes a jñānin, one’s relatives are not absolved of their duty. They are bound to perform those actions that the śāstra-s have prescribed for them.

D: Whom should we consider a jñānin?

A: A jñānin is one who has realised his true nature as Brahman. It is possible that misery, happiness, etc., exist in his mind just as in the minds of others but since his mind is totally pure, they do not affect him. To cite an example, a seed that is roasted and then sown in the soil cannot sprout and grow into a tree but can still be eaten. The mind of a jñānin is burnt by the fire of jñāna. A semblance of the mind remains, like a burnt seed, but it cannot perform any action that can lead to rebirth.

D: We see even jñānin-s experiencing joys and sorrows. How can they?

A: Let us suppose a man is spinning a wheel. If he takes his hands off the wheel, it will come to a stop only after a few more rotations. Prārabdha is the cause of the jñānin’s body. Once jñāna is attained, identification with the body and mind ceases. Nonetheless, as long as prārabdha remains, like the momentum of the wheel, the jñanin’s body and mind continue to act. From an observer’s perspective, only the āgāmi and sañcita karma-s (the actions that would yield fruits only later) are destroyed, but not prārabdha. Prārabdha is expended only by experiencing it. However, from a jñānin’s standpoint, he has neither prārabdha nor the body and mind.

D: Is a jñānin’s abidance in the Supreme constant in the states of waking, dream and deep sleep?

A: Yes.

D: What will be his experience when he looks at the world?

A: “Nothing is different from me; there is no universe apart from the Ātman” – he knows thus as a matter of experience.

D: Why are jñānin-s compassionate?

A: Prior to the dawn of knowledge, a jñānin's mind should have been very pure, for jñāna dawns only after the mind is thoroughly purified. Hence, compassion should have been cultivated earlier. That manifests itself more prominently after realisation of the Truth. Jñānin-s have nothing to attain through any action. They are ever content, having attained what is to be attained. Therefore, it may be said that they live only for the welfare of others.

D: Can even jñānin-s have devotion to Īśvara?

A: When a jñānin can and does feel, why should he be incapable of devotion to Īśvara? The glory of the Lord is supreme and infinite. So, even a jñānin’s mind inclines towards Īśvara. This does not mean that he has not realised his own True nature. Though he has realised the non-dual Truth, his body and the mind engage in acts of devotion to Īśvara. We read in the Bhāgavata:

(BP, I.7.10)

(Even sages who revel only in the Ātman and are without any bond (or have given up even the study of texts) are devoted, without any expectation whatsoever, to the Lord. Such is the excellence of the Lord.)

D: To which world will a jñānin or a jivanmukta go after death?

A: He will not go to any world. He just remains as Brahman. After his death, we refer to him as a videha-mukta. The śāstra-s say that he who has attained jñāna attains immortality. He realises Brahman here itself. After death, he is not differentiated from Brahman.

D: Will a jñānin desire samādhi? Is there any need for him to remain in that state?

A: A jñānin has neither craving for nor the need to remain in samādhi. Be it samādhi or distraction, they are mental states. He is beyond all these. Considering the depth of a jñānin’s experience of samādhi, it is said that one jñānin is superior to another. This is with regard to an observer. That is, as far as an observer is concerned, gradations, such as, “He is a greater jñānin”, are there. But as far as the jñānin-s are concerned, there is no such differentiation at all. A jñānin involved in worldly activities is referred to as a brahmavid. If a jñānin has the practice of going into nirvikalpa-samādhi and coming out of it on his own, he is a brahmavidvara. If he can be awakened from nirvikalpa-samādhi only by the efforts of others, he is a brahmavidvarīyān. A brahmavidvariṣṭha is one who never emerges from nirvikalpa-samādhi. His body perishes while he is in samādhi. As a brahmavidvariṣṭha has the best prārabdha, he is deemed the greatest jñānin.

D: If engaged in actions, will jñānin-s also have the experiences of happiness and misery?

A: Yes, they too experience pain, etc. However, as their minds are very pure, they are not unsettled by the experiences. They are like a soldier who does not cease firing even though he is wounded. A jñānin does not give room to ill will even if another person causes him misery. Similarly, happiness does not elate him.

D: Can jñānin-s get dreams?

A: Why not? They can certainly get dreams. Just as the jñānin sees the world of the waking state as having no existence apart from the Ātman, he apprehends the world of a dream as having no existence apart from the Ātman. I just told you the actual state of affairs.

D: What purpose is served by becoming a jñānin?

A: If one attains jñāna one can become a jīvanmukta. One then becomes freed from all bondage. Supreme bliss is experienced. A jñānin is never reborn. He is one who has attained that which is to be attained. What more need be said?

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad says:

(MuU, II. 2.8)

(When the Supreme Ātman, which is both superior as the cause and inferior as the effect, is realised, the knot of the heart is destroyed, all doubts come to an end and one’s actions become dissipated.)

Jīvanmukti is indeed the highest attainment.

D: What is the reason for two jīvanmukta-s giving differing advices to their disciples?

A: Jīvanmukta-s are those who have realised the Truth and are devoid of vāsanā-s (tendencies of the mind). They may have practised different spiritual disciplines and so may advise others differently. Instructions are given keeping in mind the competence of the disciple. This is another reason for the differences in their advices.

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❑ Discourses of Acharyal

Acharyal was a perfect jīvanmukta. What follows is an extract from one of His divine discourses about a Guru, who is a realised soul:

One who makes us literate, one who does good unto us may be ordinarily described as a Guru. But the great preceptor is one who himself knows the essence of the Upaniṣad-s, releases us from bondage, and being free from ignorance, is steadfast in the enjoyment of the Self and is able to impart this path unto others.

People desire freedom from pain (like Gajendra), they desire prosperity or they desire knowledge; all these three approach God for the fulfilment of what they hope for. But the preceptor who has realised himself is godly. That is why Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Gīta, “There is no difference between Me and the jñānin or the realised soul.” Such a preceptor or ācārya is free from ignorance and desire. If he is under their influence then he is no ācārya. The true seer does not see the world as such but only as the undifferentiated Brahman.

The question may be asked whether such a realised soul can or will give advice to others. This is possible. As God incarnates Himself for redeeming mankind, so also He incarnates as preceptor to help in the salvation of His disciples. Lord Śiva Himself came down to earth as Ādi Śaṅkara. A proper awareness of the external world and of such activity as instruction to disciples is consistent with the state of jīvanmukti, or release from bondage while the body still exists. The complete disappearance of the external world occurs along with the disappearance of the conditioned body. There is no inconsistency here.

One’s real Self is veiled by ignorance. Therefore, we flounder in the sea of samsāra or cycle of births and deaths. Sometimes, passion and ego rule our actions. How can a similar human being help us to emancipate ourselves from this state? Hence the need for approaching a true ācārya. The logicians, who argue with conviction that the world is as real as Brahman, cannot be real preceptors. He alone can be a preceptor who can help us to ward off accumulated wrong impressions and instil the right ones. [Excerpted from Saint of Sringeri in Sacred India]

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My Guru was a knower of Brahman and was not dependent on any effect or cause. His introversion did not stem subsequent to His taking saṁnyāsa, studying the śāstra-s and practising spiritual disciplines. It manifested right from His birth. Detachment is said to be extreme, middling and mild. What is mild detachment? When some problem crops up, one feels, “What is the need for this world?” Extreme detachment is that in which, owing to the company of a sage, one feels, “The world must be renounced this very instant.” If a person has fire on his head, he would rush to put it out. My Guru’s detachment was of this kind. His detachment was so intense that though He dwelt as a pontiff in such a big Math, He did not even have the idea that He lived there. “He receives food as alms in his palms and lives at the bases of trees” - It was with this mental attitude that He abided in the Math. However, when it came to religious activities and activities relating to the welfare of the devotees, He acted in accordance with the following words of the Bhagavad-Gītā - “O Pārtha, there is nothing in the three worlds that I must do; nor is there anything to be attained that has not been attained. Yet, I engage in actions.” “O Pārtha, if I do not, without laziness, ever engage in action, men would, in all matters, follow My path. These worlds would be ruined if I did not perform action.”

Keeping others in mind, He opined, “You have all labelled Me a big pontiff. Regardless of whether or not I should perform worship and obtain the fruit thereof, what would you say if I were to abstain from worship? ‘Even Swamigal does not perform any worship. Why should we engage in what He Himself is not interested in carrying out?’ Therefore, I must perform worship. You people will then act likewise, thinking, ‘The great one Himself engages in worship. It may or may not be necessary for Him but we need it. So, we must carry it out.” That My Guru was a mahātman (great soul) has been known by experience by those who were His contemporaries and beheld Him.

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The following is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Acharyal at Bangalore in the year 1989. This is among His last five benedictory addresses. It was uncommon for Acharyal to speak about or comment on His gracious speeches. However, without any discernible occasion to do so, of His own accord, He recalled and commented on this holy address, at Sringeri, in August 1989. He had remarked, “I remember that, while at Bangalore, I went one day to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. That morning, I had sat for long in nirvikalpa-samādhi. Though I engaged in My normal activities, My mind was particularly indrawn that day. Perhaps, that is why I spoke about the viewpoint of a knower of the Truth and about samādhi. I now get a feeling that I shall not be discoursing on those lines again.”

Acharyal was a nonpareil yogin and had been frequently abiding in nirvikalpa-samādhi, the pinnacle of yoga, since His teens. He had the capacity to confer samādhi on others. As stated by Him, He had sat for long in nirvikalpa-samādhi on the day He delivered this divine discourse. Yet, in connection with samādhi, He chose to cite, in this sacrosanct address, the experiences of a disciple rather than His own; further, He took no credit whatsoever for those experiences. Such was His matchless freedom from egoism.

Merger with the Supreme, characterised by realising our True nature, is the goal that we must attain. After jñāna or firm realisation of the Truth is got, what does a person have to do? Nothing. He has no identification with the body and abides in bliss. There is a disciple of Mine. Owing to the special merit acquired by him in his earlier birth, on his sitting in samādhi, the acme of yoga, he does not get up even when three days have passed. One may ask, “Has sandhyāvandana not got omitted?” He is doing something that is far superior to sandhyāvandana. He is absorbed in the Supreme Brahman.

I : What was it like when you remained for three days in samādhi? Were you aware of day and night?

Disciple : No, I was aware of nothing external. I just abided in that state.

I : How did you know that three days had passed?

Disciple : I had kept a watch with me. When I got up, I learnt from it that three days had lapsed.

When he has attained a high state, is it necessary for him to perform sandhyāvandana or to perform abhiṣeka to a Śiva-liṅga? No.

On the other hand, suppose there is a person who desires to eat tiffin, drink coffee and go out and wander in the streets, and also does all this but remains without performing worship of God. What can we say to him except “You are a thorough nāstika.” On the other hand, it must be said about this disciple of Mine that he is the ultimate āstika. Because, in samādhi, he does nothing. If he were to engage in activities then it might be suggested to him to do sandhyāvandana too. But he does nothing whatsoever; even food is not needed by him. There do exist such persons.

What I am saying is what I have seen in My disciple. His achievement is because of the special merit acquired by him in his previous birth. He told Me, “I wish to go to a forest and sit in penance.”

I : For how many days?

Disciple : One month.

I : What will you eat?

Disciple : I shall keep with me a little aval (flattened rice).

I : What will you do if a tiger comes?

Disciple : Oh, am I not there as a food for that tiger? If it feels like eating, let it do so.

That is the extent of his firmness of mind. One day, when he was seated, a tiger actually came there. He saw it and felt, “God has come to me in the form of this tiger. He is revealing Himself like this.” He just remained seated. The tiger observed him and saw whether he was moving his hands, or legs or head. He did not move at all. What did the tiger think? Perhaps, it concluded that this person must actually be some stone. It went away. If we get that kind of capacity, need we do worship of God? No, for we would experience God right where we are. After all, has it not been said, “Nārāyaṇa pervades the interior and exterior of everything perceived or heard in this world”?

[Excerpted from Divine Discourses]

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❑ Incidents from Acharyal's Life

Acharyal’s recognition of realised souls merits special mention. An avadhūta named Brahma arrived at Sringeri. He seemed to observe no regulations and did not even hesitate to urinate or defecate in public. He partook of food from a Muslim’s house and seemed to be an eccentric, partly bordering on lunacy. Acharyal immediately recognised that He was no mentally deranged person. In fact, on an earlier trip of his, Acharyal had blessed him. Acharyal spoke to him freely and made arrangements for his comfortable stay even when He was setting out on His tour. He explicitly confirmed that Brahma was a jñānin.

Speaking of him on another occasion, Acharyal remarked, “He was a jñānin no doubt. But few understood his ways and so, he spent time inside a lunatic asylum rather than outside it.”

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❑ Experiences of Devotees

Acharyal was a perfect jīvanmukta. Being a sage versed in the scriptures and established in Brahman, He had the authority and competence to decide upon the sādhanā to be practised by an aspirant and uplift the disciple to the level of Self-realisation.

I once prayed to Acharyal for blessing me with true devotion. Acharyal blessed me and said, “Abidance in the Self is indeed considered the highest devotion. May you have that true devotion.”

On another occasion, Acharyal asked me to come near Him. When I did so, I was astounded by what I saw in His eyes. It seemed as if everything was within them and that He was the embodiment of indescribable power. In a few moments, He appeared His normal self. Unexpectedly, He got up and started walking towards the bridge leading to the northern banks of the river Tunga. He beckoned to me to follow and soon, we reached the aśvattha tree near the Private Secretary’s office in Narasimhavanam. There, with a tone of finality, He remarked, “This shall be your last birth.” [A disciple]

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On an occasion, I requested Acharyal on behalf of my brother-in-law to bless him with a liṅga for his pūjā. His Holiness went upstairs and brought two liṅga-s. One was a sphaṭika (crystal) bāṇa-Liṅga, while the other was a Narmadā-liṅga. He gave me the first and said, “Worship it. You will get jñāna.” The second one was to be given to my brother-in-law. What induced Acharyal to act as He did is unknown to me. I commenced daily worship of the liṅga. Subsequently, I came into contact with an avadhūta called Brahma. He had an unkempt appearance, had long nails and a beard. On seeing me he said, “Bring prasāda.” I went and brought some idlis, gave them to him and said, “Namaste.” “Happy man”, he replied, “How about realisation?”, I queried. “You will get it”, he remarked. “How?”, I persisted. “The mind will tell you”, was the poignant reply. The conversation ended there. I met Acharyal and reported what had transpired. He was silent for a while and gazed fixedly. “He is a Raja-yogin with Vedantic experience”, said Acharyal finally with a tone of absolute certainty. A clearance had been given. Had not Acharyal told me earlier that by worshipping the liṅga that He gave me I would get jñāna? The means were now beginning to operate in full force. [Sri P.S.Venkatasubba Rao]

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During the year 1982, Acharyal suffered an anginal attack. He was given an injection of morphine, for relief. Acharyal soon slipped into semi-torpor, with His mind reeling. Sri Giridhara Sastry and I were seated by His side. There was no one else in the room. Acharyal, who was hardly conscious of His surroundings, began lisping a verse meaning, “Virtuous and faulty deeds of the mind do not touch Me, the Supreme Brahman, who am all pervasive.” Who else but a great jīvanmukta could have asserted thus even when He was barely conscious of what He was saying? [A disciple]

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