PART 4 INCISIVE ESSAYS
The English translations of three of the essays penned by His Holiness in Kannada in the 1950s have been included here. The translations of the numerous citations in Sanskrit in the original have been included in the body of the text and the references given in the foot notes. The depth, accuracy and comprehensiveness with which His Holiness has covered the three topics in the light of the scripture are matched by His presenting them in an effortlessly comprehensible manner.
1. WORSHIP OF ĪŚVARA
People desire to escape death. But experience shows that this desire is not fulfilled. The Lord has said: “For anyone who is born, death is definite and for the one who dies, rebirth is certain. Hence, with regard to what is unavoidable, you ought not to grieve.”¹
We have been born now. The Lord speaks of rebirth. If there is to be a rebirth in future, death must occur first. The exit of the prāṇas (life-breaths) from the body is said to be death. While we do not want our prāṇas to leave the body, in whose case will there actually be no departure of the prāṇas from the present body and entry into another body? The Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad says: “The enlightened one’s prāṇas do not depart from the body,”² and, “They dissolve into him alone.”³
In the case of a jñānin, the one who has realized the Supreme, the subtle body comprising the mind, organs and the prāṇas does not depart from the gross body and proceed to another body. Instead, the earth, water, fire, air and ākāśa that constitute the body dissolve into their respective universal forms. The Veda asserts that there is no death for a jñānin: “It is only on knowing Him that one transcends death.”⁴ He who is without death cannot have any rebirth. Statements such as, “Birth, death and dwelling in the mother’s womb occur again and again,”⁵ are not applicable to a jñānin. So if people are to fulfil their desire for freedom from death, it is imperative that they acquire jñāna, the realization of the Truth. For this, it is necessary that they secure the means for the dawn of realization.
The Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad teaches: “The Ātman, my dear, should be realized, heard of, reflected on and firmly meditated upon.”⁶ Thus, the proximate means to realize the Ātman, which is none other than Brahman, are śravaṇa, the hearing of the Truth from the Guru and the scripture, manana, reasoning in accordance with what has been taught to resolve all doubts, and nididhyāsana, steadfast, one-pointed concentration of the mind on the Ātman. A tetrad of qualifications is needed for one to engage in śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana. These are viveka, discrimination, vairāgya, dispassion, śamādi-ṣaṭka-sampatti, possession in abundance of the set of six qualities beginning with mind control, and mumukṣutva, the desire for freedom from transmigratory existence. The set of six referred to comprises śama, the control of the mind, dama, the control of the senses, uparati, withdrawal from activities, titikṣā, forbearance, śraddhā, faith, and samādhāna, focus. If the four qualifications are not present in a person, his attempt at śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana will not bear fruit in the form of the dawn of the realization of the Supreme. Just as upanayana (investiture with the sacred thread) is a prerequisite for a person to perform a Vedic yāga, these four qualifications are needed here. However, they are uncommon.
What is one who is not yet qualified to engage in śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana to do? It is said: “Since our mind has not withdrawn from the world in its entirety, we cannot practise śravaṇa and manana. However, the anguish caused by sense-objects is unbearable. To end it, we practise the worship of God’s feet.” Bhakti is what should be resorted to.
The nature of devotion
By nature, we are emotionally involved with something or the other. It is said: “A child is engrossed with play. A lad dotes on a maiden. An aged one is given to worrying. But none is attached to the Supreme Brahman.”¹ It is patent that we are not free from attachments at any time and that it would be well-nigh impossible for us to give up fondness altogether. However, what we can do is to turn our fondness towards the Lord; if we do so, we will benefit greatly. Fondness is a vṛtti of the mind; it needs an object and cannot subsist without one. The emotional pull towards children is called ‘vātsalya’, that towards the wife is named ‘rati’ and that towards the revered is termed ‘bhakti’. Nārada has defined bhakti thus in his Bhakti-sūtras: “Bhakti is of the nature of supreme love for God.”² A devotee with this ‘parama-prema, supreme love’ just cannot exist without God; he who can manage for even a moment without love for God does not have this parama-prema. Such is the characteristic of consummate bhakti. A devotee with this bhakti attains God and transcends dotage and death.
According to the Taittirīya-upaniṣad, the intrinsic nature of God is as follows: “Brahman is absolute existence, pure consciousness and infinite (unlimited by space, time and objects).”³ The Supreme is, thus, nirguṇa, bereft of qualities. The good qualities of an entity engender fondness for that entity. As God is without qualities, how is one to love Him? The Supreme, though intrinsically devoid of qualities, appears with wonderful qualities that thoroughly facilitate devotion. The Lord has said: “Though
I am without birth, have, by nature, a power of knowledge that never wanes and am the Lord of beings, by subjugating My Prakṛti, I take birth by My own Māyā.”¹ The Veda teaches, “He that is unborn manifests in many ways.”² Thus, it must be accepted that God incarnates. His incarnations are His captivating sports. Why does the Lord incarnate? He does so for the sake of benefitting beings. It is said: “Having compared the weights of helpfulness to others and abidance in absoluteness and concluded that helping others is the weightier of the two, the Lord incarnated ten times.”³ It is also said, “Fie upon the life of one who helps none. May animals live; even their skins are useful.”⁴ The life of the person who helps none is a sheer waste; an animal is much better than him, for it is useful even after its death. As for the Lord, He is the embodiment of kindness.
Here is an example from the Mahābhārata of His kindness. Kṛṣṇa was in His palace at Dvārakā. At that time, in Hastināpura, in keeping with Duryodhana’s instruction, Duśśāsana dragged Draupadī from her private quarters to the hall and started disrobing her to shame her. Being greatly devoted to Kṛṣṇa, she cried out to Him for succour: “Alas! O Kṛṣṇa! O Resident of Dvārakā! O Delighter of the Yādavas! Where are You? Why are You ignoring me, who have attained this state, with nobody to protect me?”⁵ The Lord’s heart melted. He did not give thought to any possible inconvenience. He did not wait to inform anybody. He immediately went to Draupadī and saved her honour in an extraordinary manner. Yet, such was His compassion that He was not satisfied with what He did for her and later stated, “Sobbing, ‘O Govinda’, Draupadī invoked Me, who was afar. So My debt to her is great and does not leave My heart.”⁶
Referring to the captivating qualities of the Lord, the Bhāgavata-purāṇa points out, “Even sages who revel only in the Ātman and are free from all bonds (or, have given up even the study of texts) are devoted to God without any expectation whatsoever. Such are the excellent qualities of God.”⁷
A prayer of Bhagavatpāda is, “What am I to make known to You, who are skilled in giving devotees with what they lack and preserving what they have, who are intent on bestowing all good on devotees, who impart knowledge about the means to desired seen and unseen ends, who pervade everything from within and without, who are omniscient and are merciful? O Śaṁbhu! I constantly bear in mind that You are my inmost self.”¹ The Lord’s lovely nature is indeed of the kind depicted in the verses.
Intense, steady love for God is the bhakti specified earlier. A name for it is ‘sādhyā bhakti, accomplished devotion’. There are nine devotional practices that lead to it. We call even these as bhakti; this term is used in the scripture to refer to accomplished devotion and, secondarily, to the means to it.
Prahlada said, notes the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, “Hearing about the greatness of the Lord, praising Him, thinking of Him, waiting upon Him, worshiping Him, paying obeisance to Him, being His servant, looking upon oneself as His friend and dedicating oneself to Him – if devotion to God, which has these nine forms, is practised by a person without any expectation right from the moment he is taught about it, that I deem to be the best learning.”²
Faithfully listening to the exposition of works, such as the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, that highlight the greatness of God is called ‘śravaṇa’ (the first of the nine means). Such hearing engenders affection towards God. We, however, squander our precious time now on worthless matters. By doing so, we are not going to attain any good in this world or the next. On the contrary, if we turn to works about God such as the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, we would not only develop devotion to the Lord but also learn about how to lead our lives meaningfully and about the actual insipidity of worldly pleasures.
Various spiritual practices have been specified in the scriptures for us to attain what is truly good. While it is difficult in the kali-yuga, the present age, for people to duly resort to these, one of them,‘kīrtana’ (the second of the nine means), is indeed easy and effective. Chanting the names of the Lord is included in this. The Viṣṇu-purāṇa points out, “What a person attains in the kṛta-yuga by meditation, in the tretā-yuga by the performance of sacrifices and in the dvāpara-yuga by worship, he attains in the kali-yuga by chanting the names of the Lord.”³As the yugas passed, human ability kept decreasing and, hence, people resorted to simpler and simpler means. However, what has to be finally achieved has not changed and we must never lose sight of it.
‘Kīrtana’ refers not only to the singing of bhajans but also to the performance of the japa of a mantra into which one has been initiated. According to the Manu-smṛti, “A brāhmaṇa attains perfection through japa itself. There is no doubt regarding this. He may or may not engage in rites and such else. He who is the friend of beings (as japa does not involve causing injury to anyone) is said to be connected with the Supreme.”¹ It is said in the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, “There is, O king, a great merit in the kali-yuga, a storehouse of defects. One gets freed from attachment and reaches the Supreme just by praising God.”² From this it is apparent that if we keep engaging in kīrtana, we will become freed from worldly bonds. Though engaging in kīrtana, we should never neglect our scripturally-ordained duties. If we do not do our duties, our chanting of the Lord’s names and mantra-japa will not duly fructify.
Dereliction of duties is regarded as a ‘nāmāparādha’, an offence relating to the chanting of the Lord’s names. It is said: “Finding fault with noble persons (i); preaching the greatness of God’s name to the wicked (ii); regarding Śiva and Viṣṇu as distinct from one another (iii); lack of faith in the words of the Vedas, śāstras and the Guru (iv, v, vi); having the delusion that what has been taught about the greatness of God is not factual (vii); indulging in what is forbidden and giving up what is prescribed as obligatory by the scriptures under the belief that as the divine name is there, these acts of commission and omission do not matter (viii, ix); and equating the chanting of the names of Śiva and Viṣṇu with other dharmas (x) – These are the ten nāmāparādhas, offences relating to the chanting of the Lord’s names.”³ It is said, “The Lord should be constantly praised (by the chanting of His names) by one who is humbler than a blade of grass, is more patient than a tree, gives respect to others and is free from egoism.”⁴
The third means spoken of is ‘smaraṇa, keeping God in mind’. A teaching of the Yogasūtras is, “Repetition of Om (the name of God) and meditation on what it signifies (result in the practitioner’s mind becoming one-pointed).”⁵ Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “To those persons who are ever attached to Me and who, becoming non-different from Me and meditative, worship Me everywhere, I provide what they lack and preserve what they have.”⁶
It is said in the Bhāgavata-purāṇa: “With peacock feathers as a diadem and karṇikāra flowers behind his ears, wearing a yellow vestment and donning the Vaijayantī garland, Kṛṣṇa, who had the form of an expert dancer, whose praises were sung by the gopis and who was filling the stops of His flute with the nectar of His lips, entered Vṛndāvana, rendering it lovely with His footprints.”¹ One could contemplate thus on Īśvara; the term, ‘smaraṇa’ encompasses contemplation on God.
The next form of bhakti that is spoken of is ‘pāda-sevana, serving the lotus feet of the Lord’. Waiting upon the Lord’s manifestations and bathing in holy rivers such as the Gaṅgā, which is said to have come from the feet of God, and the Yamunā, in which Kṛṣṇa sported, are included in this form of devotion.
‘Arcana, worship’ is the next form of bhakti. Īśvara’s idols should be worshipped as specified in the scriptures. Pūjā ought not to be performed to those idols in which ‘prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā, the invocation of the presence of God’ has not been done. It is said, “Idols in which prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā has not been performed remain without sanctity. There is no godhood in just gold and the like.” A person readily associates himself with his picture. God is particularly present in an idol of His in which prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā has been performed.
A question may arise: Why should pūjā be done to an idol even though God is omnipresent? A veterinarian may prescribe that something be mixed with ghee and given to an ailing cow. It will not do if it is given to the cow unmixed with ghee on the ground that ghee is only a product of milk and plentiful milk is already present within the cow. Likewise, though God is present everywhere, He confers special blessings when He is worshipped in a duly consecrated idol. What is to be done if there is no idol with us or we lack the capacity to do idol-worship ourselves? My Guru (Jagadguru Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin) has said that one could well go to a temple and worship God there.
Worshipping the Lord is actually very easy. The Lord has said, “Whoever offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water to Me with devotion – that devout offering made by the pure-minded person, I accept.”² The Mṛutyuñjayamānasa-pūjā-stotra (Hymn on the Mental Worship of Śiva), Devīmānasa-pūjā-stotra (Hymn on the Mental Worship of Devī), etc., have been composed to bless us with guidance on worshipping God mentally, even without any physical item of worship.
‘Vandana, prostration’ is spoken of next. It does form a part of pūjā. Nonetheless, noting that Īśvara is present everywhere, prostrations can be submitted to Him at any time, physically, verbally or mentally. This is admitted as ‘vandana’ in devotional literature. Seeing the cosmic form of the Lord, Arjuna offered his prostrations to God, saying, “Prostration to You in the eastern direction and in the western direction. O All! Prostrations to You on all sides.”¹
The next form of bhakti is ‘dāsya, viewing oneself as God’s servant’. The Lord has declared, “The Veda and the smṛti are My commands.”² Hence, we should treat the śruti and the smṛti as His commands and carry out with faith what is prescribed for us. Further, we should dedicate everything to God in keeping with His instruction, “O son of Kuntī! Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give and whatever tapas you perform – do all that as an offering to Me.”³
A prayer for dāsya is, “O Parama-śiva! You may roam about in the crematorium or in a place beyond the world or in Kailāsa or on the peak of the Meru Mountain. But please keep Me near You and make me a servant of Your servitors.”⁴
The next form of bhakti that has been spoken of is ‘sakhya, viewing oneself as God’s friend’. When we persevere with such devotion, our attachment to Īśvara becomes stronger and stronger. We do not fear a close friend; for his part, he wants and helps us to be happy. This is seen even in the relationship of friendship between a devotee and God.
Lastly, we have ‘ātma-nivedana, the complete offering up of oneself to God’; it culminates in the knowledge that we are not separate entities but are none other than the Supreme. After a river merges with the ocean, it has no distinct identity of its own; that which was the river becomes the ocean and the ocean alone remains. One who attains absolute merger with the Supreme thereafter remains as just the Supreme.
The Lord has averred in the Bhagavadgītā, “O scion of the Bharata dynasty! Seek refuge in Him with all your being. By His grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.”⁵ Moreover, the view of sages is: “Always thinking about It (the Supreme), talking about It, teaching each other about It, and being completely intent upon It - the wise regard this as the practice of the knowledge of the Supreme.”¹
We should dedicate everything to God and be without any worry. If we do so, the Lord Himself will fully take care of us; He will provide us what we lack and preserve what we have. He will give the realization of the Supreme too. The deathlessness that we desire would then be ours. Attaining God is alone the ultimate attainment and the highest good.
2. DEMONSTRATION OF THE NEED FOR THE ŚASTRA
In Īśvara’s creation, man has attained absoluteness. In what? It is not in size; an elephant is much bigger than him. Nor is it in strength, for many a beast is mightier than him. Could it be in unhappiness? No; it is not as though people can endure the acme of torment. Any claim that man’s joy is what is unsurpassed would be summarily dismissed as incredible. As a poet aptly put it, “O deer! You neither beguilingly panegyrize the opulent nor feast your eyes repeatedly on their visages. You do not lend your ear to their supercilious pronouncements or rush to them with any expectation. Instead, you sate yourself with tender grass when hungry and yield to sleep when drowsy. Do divulge to me what austerities you practised and where to become so contented.”²
Is man’s perfection in the possession of wealth? No. It is pertinent to consider what exactly constitutes wealth. Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita has clarified, “Wealth is certainly not the same thing for all. What is wished for by a person is that man’s wealth. While different objects constitute the wealth of the common folk, destitution is the wealth of the wise.”³ What is dear to anyone is one’s wealth. Hence, what dearth of wealth is there for a deer that grazes freely in a lea that is green with luscious grass?
What then is the basis of man’s fullness? Knowledge. Like humans, animals experience happiness, pain, desire and anger. However, unlike humans, they are ineligible to access completely the storehouse of knowledge. It may be objected that they are quite knowledgeable, possessed as they are of understanding that encompasses food, wandering, sleep and the like. That animals possess such awareness is true but were the treasure-house of knowledge to contain merely what they discern then a human, such as the objector, would be on the same footing as them. However, there exist superior grades of knowledge that are acquirable by man but not by them.
The Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad points out, “There are two kinds of knowledge to be acquired, the higher and the lower.”¹ Among the two, ‘aparā-vidyā’ or lower knowledge throws light on what leads to happiness and sorrow in this world and in the next. Just as engineering and medicine promote common good, the means taught by the Veda in the course of its description of ‘aparā-vidyā’ yield desired worldly and heavenly fruits. For instance, a scriptural instruction is “Let one who wants rain perform the Karīrī sacrifice.”² Another injunction is, “Let one who desires heaven perform the Jyotiṣṭoma sacrifice.”³ Just because animals lack such knowledge, man cannot be regarded as being superior to them. After all, ‘aparā-vidyā’ conduces to the attainment of only impermanent joy. Were man’s understanding of afterlife and more worldly matters than animals adequate, by virtue of its being expansive and multiplex, to demonstrate his pre-eminence, a heap of husk should, in view of its being large and constituted by many elements, be worthier than a piece of diamond! Familiarity with science does not make man the greatest. On the other hand, he attains fullness on account of that knowledge which provides the answers to queries such as, “Am I the body or distinct from it? If distinct, am I eternal or impermanent? Am I of the nature of bliss or sorrow? What is the relationship between this world that is perceived and myself?”
The Muṇdaka-upaniṣad proceeds to teach, “Then there is the higher knowledge by which the Immutable is realized.”⁴ This knowledge does not arise in animals. Further, unlike the other forms of knowledge which give room to future follies, it terminates delusion once and for all. The Kaṭha-upaniṣad avers, “On knowing It, one becomes freed from the grasp of death that comprises ignorance, desire and action.”⁵ This knowledge should be attained through recourse to vicāra or enquiry.
It is unfeasible to carry out the vicāra in question without a bedrock. In materialistic matters too, there is the practice of conducting an investigation on some basis. We have to depend on mathematics to compute the distance of the sun from the earth; it is futile for us to hope to make the measurement with a foot-rule. In like manner, we should understand the Ātman by means of the Upaniṣads and then personally realize It. Hence, Bhagavatpāda has given us the instruction: “Enquire into the import of the scriptural utterance about the identity of the individual soul with Brahman. Take recourse to logic that is in consonance with the view of the scripture.”¹
The Ātman cannot be determined purely through logic. This is because ratiocination lacks finality. A Brahma-sūtra begins as follows, “Since reasoning is inconclusive…”² There is scope for what is shown to be right by us today through logic to be proven wrong tomorrow by another. A verse (of the Vākyapadīya approvingly) cited (in the Bhāmatī) by Vācaspati is, “Even what has been painstakingly demonstrated by adroit logicians is proved to be otherwise by defter dialecticians.”³ Our experience is in agreement with this verse. The following assertion of Raghunātha Śiromaṇi (the author of the Nyāya work, Dīdhiti) adds to the case against the finality of mere ratiocination: “Even while I, Raghunātha, the master of ideas, proceed with my exposition, hosts of scholars must reverse their positions about whatever they had unanimously proclaimed to be right or flawed.”⁴
Hence, having the Upaniṣads as the basis, one should understand the Ātman with the aid of reasoning. By the direct realization of the Ātman, man attains the Supreme Brahman, which is not different from the Ātman and is spoken of in the scripture as, “That Supreme Brahman is infinite; Brahman conditioned by this universe is also infinite.”⁵ Abidance as Brahman characterizes true absoluteness.
Objection that the Upaniṣads are unnecessary
Must we seek this absoluteness characterized by identity with the Supreme Brahman? Even if we do, why should we ascertain the import of the Upaniṣads by hearing them from a Guru and then reflect on it in order to achieve the goal? Such questions can arise.
Everyone endeavours to attain what one likes and to avoid what one dislikes and terms unwanted. Though we have an aversion towards many objects and beings, such as poison and tigers, our distaste for them is not intrinsic. It is only because we fear the unhappiness they can cause us that we view them with disfavour. What we loathe by nature is just sorrow. We ever despise it and much of our efforts are directed towards getting rid of it. If unhappiness were non-existent, the scripture that makes known the Ātman would be superfluous. In spite of the existence of sorrow, if man did not abhor it or did not wish to transcend it, then also the scripture would be unnecessary. Moreover, if man were to want to be rid of sorrow but the annihilation of sorrow were impossible, then too the scripture would be irrelevant. Such impossibility can be of two kinds. Akāśa (space) is, according to the Tārkikas, eternal by its nature; as it is indestructible, there is no means by which it can be destroyed. If sorrow were eternal like ākāśa, obviously there would be no possibility of ending it. The second kind of impossibility would prevail if sorrow were destructible but we were to have no knowledge of the means to eradicate it. Finally, even if sorrow were to be removable, the Upaniṣads would be pointless if what is revealed by them does not constitute the means to destroy sorrow or, even if does, there are some other easier ways to do so.
Reply to the objection
None can say that sorrow is non-existent. Everyone is experiencing it and is also striving to be rid of it. The śāstras have categorised sorrows under three heads: ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika. Ādhyātmika sorrow, in its turn, is of two types: śārira or bodily and mānasa or mental. By bodily sorrow is meant the suffering due to diseases such as fever which result from the imbalance of wind, bile and phlegm. The grief caused by desire, anger greed, delusion, fear, jealousy and the like constitutes mental sorrow. Woes of these two kinds are termed ādhyātmika because they are rooted in the faulty functioning of the body and the mind. Pain that is caused by objects and beings such as poison, foes and snakes constitutes ādhibhautika sorrow. Ādhidaivika sorrow is that resulting from malevolent spirits and the like and from natural calamitous phenomena such as earthquakes.
We have been striving to get rid of all the three kinds of sorrows but till now our efforts have not been successful. Thus, there is a triad of miseries and man desires to eradicate it. Unhappiness can be eliminated in its entirety and the means described by the śāstras are potent to do so.
(Counter-objection:) Notwithstanding all this, recourse to the śāstras is unwarranted. The śāstras say that a person should free himself from sorrow by realizing the Ātman. They prescribe that to achieve such realization he should endow himself with discrimination, with dispassion, with the set of six qualities, which are mind control, restraint of the senses, withdrawal, forbearance, faith and concentration, and with longing for liberation and that, so endowed, he should hear about the Ātman, reflect on it and firmly meditate upon It. The path shown by the scripture is tough. Why? The Kaṭha-upaniṣad states, “The self-existent Lord impaired the out-going senses. Hence, one sees external things and not the inner Ātman.”¹ Arjuna told the Lord, “I consider the control of the mind to be as greatly difficult as that of the wind.”² Hence, one should look for a simple route to freedom from unhappiness. There do exist well-known worldly cures for the three kinds of sorrows. They are easy to implement and do not require firm restraint of the senses and the mind. It is said, “If honey can be got at an arka tree, what need is there for a person to go to a mountain in search of it? When the object desired has been attained, which wise man would strive to acquire it?”³
Numerous are the treatments prescribed by eminent doctors to combat corporeal afflictions. Mental woes crop up because of the frustration of longings. If the mind is supplied all that it desires then ādhyātmika sorrows of the mental kind would be absent. If, taking a cue from demoniacal view, “This adversary has been slain by me and I shall exterminate other antagonists as well,” a powerful person were to subjugate those who stand in the way of his consummating his wishes, he would cease to be subject to grief born of anger.
Having studied treatises about worldly wisdom and salutary deportment, a person can safeguard himself from potentially harmful objects and creatures and, thus, avoid ādhibhautika sorrow. With regard to ādhidaivika sorrow, the distressing influences of evil spirits and the like can be put an end to by means such as the personal or commissioned chanting of suitable mantras. Thus, there are simple ways by which all kinds of sorrows can be nullified. One can totally get rid of unhappiness without strain by resorting to them. Hence, it appears that the scriptural texts that expound the Supreme are superfluous.
(Rebuttal of the counter-objection:) Patients are not always restored to health even when the administration of drugs and other aspects of the treatment are precisely what they ought to be. It is not possible to procure and enjoy all that is desired and thereby get rid of unhappiness. Further, mental disquiet that is quelled by gratification stages a comeback. The rule is, “Never does desire subside through the enjoyment of desired objects. Instead, it only grows more and more as does fire because of clarified butter.”⁴ By adopting the methods suggested, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika sorrows may be warded off for a while but cannot be stamped out forever.
Therefore, though worldly means to tackle sorrow are relatively simple, they are impotent to consummate our wish that we never be unhappy. Such being the case, a desire for emancipation from transmigratory existence springs up in the discriminating. Nīlakāṇtha-dīkṣita has (with a touch of humour) said, “The discrimination between that which is unceasing and that which is perishable is present in everybody with respect to ‘pot-ness (the element that is common to every pot)’ and a pot. True discrimination is, however, that which gives peace; all else is but indiscrimination.”¹
Another objection against the need for the Upaniśads is, “It could be that the means prescribed by the scripture are unfit to permanently annul all sorrows.” The root cause of all sorrows needs to be ascertained before investigating the potency of the scriptural way to uproot them. Ajñāna or ignorance of one’s true nature is the fountain-head of sorrows and only the realization of the one’s non-difference from the Supreme can eradicate it; the details are not essential at this juncture. The right knowledge of one’s true nature is produced by the Upaniṣads and with its emergence, ignorance is annulled and unhappiness is transcended in accordance with Nārada’s statement, “The knower of the Ātman goes beyond sorrow.”²
Union with the infinite Brahman by the acquisition of knowledge is indeed what marks completeness and the absolute cessation of all sorrows. The way to get this knowledge has been clearly stated in the texts that reveal the Supreme. For instance, it is said, “The Ātman, my dear, should be realized, heard of, reflected on and firmly meditated upon.”³
At the time of Bhagavatpāda’s advent, this Vedic creed had well-nigh withered away. In just 32 years, He weeded out erroneous schools of thought from the whole of India and made the scriptural position shine in all its glory. May Bhagavatpāda grace everyone to tread the spiritual path and attain absoluteness.
3. DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE ĀTMAN
We have some abilities that are almost absent in the members of the subhuman species. One such is the power of vicāra or enquiry. Though feebly inherent in animals, it cannot wax to sublime heights in them. To it, we owe our distinction.
Every potential has consequences and we are in a position to fittingly utilize our capabilities. Our intrinsic power of vicāra generally manifests in some way or the other at all times other than when we slumber. Vicāra is synonymous with deliberation. Reflection comes naturally to humans. We ought to ascertain what is truly worthwhile for us to ponder on.
We normally cogitate on purposeful as well as irrelevant mundane matters. Bhagavatpāda has cautioned, “Man employs his ears to hearken to the disparagement of another done to the heart’s content by calumniators. The censured person does not perish as a consequence of that but he who lends his ears to slander pointlessly incurs much sin.”¹ Apart from taking into account the alleged or actual failings of others, we give thought to the domestic affairs and possessions of people. Nevertheless, nothing objective to which we bestow attention is dear to us at all times.
Each of us has unwavering affection only for himself or herself. The self that is ever dear is termed Ātman in the śāstras. Anything objective that is desirable now can become undesirable in the future and, likewise, what is currently distasteful can turn agreeable; the Ātman, however, is dear now and will continue to ever remain so. A sweetmeat that is routinely liked by a person is regarded as unwanted by him when he falls ill and loses his appetite. We might have cherished something in the past but dislike it now; on the other hand, we loved ourselves in the past and continue to do so to this day. In the normal course, we encounter three states; waking, dream and deep sleep. In all of them, one is dear to oneself. Bhagavatpāda has said, “An object continues to be dear to one as long as it gives one happiness and it is disfavoured for the duration that it causes unhappiness. An object is not always agreeable or disagreeable. Sometimes, that which is unwanted may become dear. Also, what is greatly liked can become undesirable. Hence, the Ātman towards which affection never wanes is always the most beloved.”²
It is the height of foolishness for us, who are reflective by nature, not to attend to and enquire about ourselves. There is no point in pondering over what is thoroughly known, such as that consumption of food appeases hunger. It is impossible to enquire about what is totally unknown. We know that we exist but have not understood what our fundamental nature is. Therefore, let us enquire into it.
To carry out such vicāra, a suitable means is vital. In fact, without a means, no activity is possible. For instance, to walk, we need feet and to travel by air, we require an aircraft. He who has the capacity to make a plane may do so, board that aircraft and, through it, gratify his wish to course through the sky. Aircraft may be of various types and the cost of operating them may differ but for them to qualify as means of aerial travel, it is essential that they be capable of flying. He who is not in a position to make an aircraft can, nevertheless, consummate his desire to fly by means of one provided by another. Thus, a means is essential but it may be either our own or that provided by another; through it, we can achieve what we seek. The works of Bhagavatpāda constitute the means for us to perform vicāra; He has spelt out the nature of the Ātman therein.
Regarding the methods adopted by the great to expound the Truth, Sureśvarācārya has written, “Through whatever mode of exposition a person gets the knowledge of the inner Ātman, that is appropriate here; the mode is not rigidly settled.”¹ The nature of the Ātman Bhagavatpāda has taught, “Know this, your Ātman, to be that which shines in the heart as self-effulgent, eternal bliss and which, witnessing egoism etc., that have various forms and modifications and uniformly shining within at all times as the innermost entity and as not objectified, manifests itself very clearly in the states of waking, dream and deep sleep.”²
This teaching greatly surprises us for our experience is at variance with it. We are subject to pleasure, pain, death and rebirth. Numerous sorrows, which are of the ādhyātmika, ādhibhoutika and ādhidaivika kinds, retain us in their grip. Hence, it seems that, like teasing a beggar by calling him an emperor, this verse twits us. Nonetheless, there is simply no question of Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, the text that contains it, having been penned to poke fun at us. Its author, Bhagavatpāda, was of the following kind: “There dwell tranquil, great ones who move about effecting, like the spring season, what is beneficial to people. Having themselves crossed the dreadful ocean of transmigratory existence, they, without any motive, cause other persons too to cross over.”³
Unlike the example of a beggar being derisively called a monarch, there is another that is pertinent here. Owing to circumstances, a prince was growing up amidst foresters. One day, a palmist examined his palm and said, “You are a prince and shall become a sovereign.’’ These words appeared to be naughty at that time but subsequently their veracity became clear. The words of the verse about our true nature are also like that; so long as we are ignorant of who we really are, the words that readily appeal to us are only those that conform to our erroneous notions.
The reason for becoming different
Though being absolute existence, pure consciousness and supreme bliss, why do we experience the world? It is pointed out in the Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, “Being thoroughly shrouded by tamas, even a man who is invariably sagacious, has scriptural knowledge, is skilled in analysis and is a perceiver of what is most subtle does not clearly comprehend the Ātman even upon being taught about It in various ways. He considers what is superimposed on account of delusion to be true and attaches himself to its qualities. Alas, formidable is the power of concealment of calamitous tamas.”¹
Ignorance of one’s own nature is avidyā. Avidyā has two powers; the power of āvaraṇa or concealment and the power of vikṣepa or projection. Āvaraṇa precludes correct knowledge of the Ātman. Because of vikṣepa, manifold forms can be seen in the Ātman that is veiled. The condition of being a jīva, a doer and an enjoyer, as also egoism, the feeling, ‘mine’ and so on appear in the Ātman owing to vikṣepa. These cause unhappiness and constitute transmigratory existence. Is there anything that can bring about the cessation of transmigratory existence? Is transmigratory existence terminable at all? Let us inquire into the matter.
Illusoriness of bondage; knowledge its terminator
There are just two kinds of entities in the world; the real and the false. Our comprehension too is of two kinds; pramā or valid knowledge and bhrama or false knowledge. It is the position of the Vedānta school that illusory silver originates and is seen when a mother-of-pearl is mistaken, in partial darkness, to be a piece of silver. A justification for this view is that the annihilator of that silver is just the right knowledge of the nacre and not any bodily action or meditation.
It is said in the Svārājyasiddhi, “This bondage of transmigratory existence is caused by avidyā. It is eradicated only by knowledge and not by actions, which are like snares. Does at all a snake that one’s misapprehension conjures up in a garland go away due to prostrations, incantations, drugs, and other such means?”²
If the Ātman’s present bondage is real or natural, it cannot be terminated by knowledge. However, scriptural passages such as the following reveal that liberation from bondage is effected exclusively by knowledge. “On 1 2 Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi 116 knowing the effulgent One, all bonds are destroyed.”¹ “On knowing Him thus, one becomes immortal here.”²
That which is real must exist always. However, the condition of being a doer and an enjoyer as also the states of waking, dream and deep sleep do not co-exist with the Ātman at all times. In the waking state, the dream state is absent; in the dream state, the waking state is not there; in deep sleep, both these are missing. The Ātman alone is ever present. Śrī Gauḍapādācārya has pointed out, “That which is non-existent in the beginning and in the end is equally so in the middle.”³
The states of waking, dream and deep sleep are each seen one moment and cease the next and hence, are unreal. The Ātman is eternal and, thus, real. Nothing else is needed to illuminate It; certainly nobody needs to find out whether he exists by asking another. During deep sleep, there is objectless happiness. It is to experience this bliss that we fall fast asleep regardless of how many worldly activities we may have. Is it not apparent that we have a unique experience during deep sleep? At that time, there is no sign of any object or sense-organ. Bliss is had then though there is no contact with anything objective. How indeed is this possible but for the Ātman itself being of the nature of bliss? In that case, is not deep sleep sufficient for one to attain the Ātman? No, because even though vikṣepa is absent in that state, āvaraṇa, which veils the Ātman, is definitely present. To remove not just vikṣepa but also āvaraṇa, realization of the Ātman is vital.
The means for the realization of the Ātman
It is specified in the Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi: “In the matter of freeing oneself from the connection with the bonds wrought by avidyā and thereby attain the Ātman, which is of the nature of existence, consciousness and bliss, the means of valid knowledge are the śāstra, yukti or reasoning, the words of the Guru and one’s own experience characterized by inner certitude.”⁴
Here, by śāstra is meant the Upaniṣads, which contain statements such as the following. “He that is here in the human person and He that is there in the sun are one.”⁵ “The knower of Brahman attains the Supreme.”⁶
“When the aspirant sees the slightest difference in It, he is smitten with fear.”¹
As for the yukti that is mentioned next, an instance of the reasoning that confirms that the Ātman is of the nature of existence, consciousness and bliss was given earlier.
Then there is the teaching of the Guru. Books together with practical training are essential to acquire some forms of knowledge. Though geniuses might become knowledgeable in modern science and engineering by themselves perusing books and logically pondering over matters, others need to be taught. Just as observing adept cooks when they make cakes of flour and receiving guidance from them enable others to prepare such cakes, the life and teachings of living saints who have realized the Ātman enable people to acquire knowledge.
Apart from the śāstra, reasoning and the words of the Guru, personal realization of the Ātman is necessary. A person’s own experience is what reveals to him whether he has realized the Ātman or not. Indirect knowledge based on the words of the śāstra and the Guru is insufficient to bring about liberation from transmigratory existence.It is said, “He who is attached to worldly pleasures but asserts that he knows Brahman is one who has strayed from both Brahman and karma and should be discarded like a lowly one.”² It is stated in the Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi,“The scholarliness of the learned marked by graceful and fluent speech and proficiency in explaining the śāstras leads to personal enjoyment, not liberation.”³
Only those who have personally realized the Ātman are truly fortunate; they are the ones whose dedication to vicāra is total. It is only in them that the power of vicāra, which is natural to humans, finds fulfilment. What is their life like? It is said in the Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, “Ever engaging in nirvikalpa-samādhi, the mendicant, who has controlled his mind, restrained his senses, fully withdrawn from external activities and patiently bears the pairs of opposites, experiences his oneness with everything. Having fully burnt through nirvikalpa-samādhi the various ideas born of the darkness of avidyā, he blissfully remains as Brahman, without actions and apprehension of distinctions.”⁴
Thinking of ‘sat-puruṣas’ is regarded as most beneficial. Who are ‘sat-puruṣas’? There is actually only one entity that is sat or absolutely real and that is Brahman. Hence, sat-puruṣas are those who abide as Brahman. The scripture teaches, “The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Itself.”¹ The import of this Vedic utterance is obvious to them as they have realized their oneness with Brahman. The word ‘sat’ is used figuratively when others, who are noble, are referred to as sat-puruṣas. We should strive to become true sat-puruṣas. Eulogising a liberated one whose body has fallen off, the Veda says, “His possessions go to his sons, his good deeds to his well-wishers and his misdeeds to his despisers.”²
My Guru had all the characteristics of a knower of the Ātman that were touched upon. Thinking of Him with devotion, I conclude here.
His Holiness Jagadguru Śrī Abhinava Vidyātīrtha Mahāsvāmin, the 35th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham was born on 13th November 1917. With the direct guidance of God and His Guru, He intensely engaged in spiritual practices right from the day of His saṁnyāsa on 22nd May 1931 and these culminated in His enlightenment and establishment in the Supreme Brahman on 12th December 1935.
His flawless character, noble virtues, intense dispassion, deep devotion to God and His Guru, thorough grasp of Vedānta, profound meditation, direct realization of the Supreme and jīvanmukti (liberation even while living) made Him stand out as a living testimony to the scriptural statements about enlightened sages.
Exceptionally kind and egoless, He was an accessible Guru par excellence who touched the hearts of the hundreds of thousands who came into contact with Him and He graced them in myriad ways.
This publication, ‘From Sorrows to Bliss’, comprises the invaluable teachings of His Holiness presented in four parts namely, Definitive Answers, Motivating Narratives, Scriptural Expositions and Incisive Essays. His Holiness’s explanations were characterised by lucidity and cogency, and they consistently bore the stamp of His direct experience of the Truth, His complete mastery of Yoga and His unparalleled erudition in the scriptures. Indeed, His teachings enable one to eradicate the sorrows of saṁsāra, the cycle of birth and death, and attain eternal bliss in the form of mokṣa, liberation.
ISBN: 978-81-944382-5-0 9788194438250