WHO AM I--I AM NOT THE BODY, THE BODY IS NOT FOR ME
(Compilation for a discourse by N.R. SRINIVASAN,
Nashville.TN, USA, January 2017)
In spite of knowing that no worldly
thing is ours, when we face a thing it has effect on us. We have to weigh two
considerations in this: 1. If there is
effect then we should not pay heed to it. We should consider it neither good nor
bad. We should neither have a desire that it should persist, nor have a desire
that it should perish. We should be unconcerned with it. 2. The thing has its
effect on your mind and intellect and not on your Consciousness (Self).
Therefore, don’t accept it in you (in the Self).
We get connected to a thing when we are
attached to it also if we have aversion to it. When Rama went to exile the sages
and saints as well as demons got connected with him. The sages and saints who
loved him attained salvation. The demons that had aversion to him also attained
salvation. Those who had neither attachment nor aversion did not attain
salvation because they were not connected with him. We should be fortunate to
get the right contact. So it is important to stay connected.
If the world has effect on us, we
should not get connected with it by having either attachment or aversion to it.
We should remain engaged with the Self. The mind has its connection with
Nature. We have accepted our connection with the mind in preference to Self and
therefore we shall have to suffer. Now whatever we do with our mind and body we
will reap virtuous or sinful reward. The Lord in Geeta says: “mamaivaamsoe jeevaloke
jeevaabhootaaha sanaatanaha”—the soul having become an embodied
soul is an eternal fragment of mine only. This awakening will come to us only if we have
no connection with the senses, mind and intellect.
In the expression known to us “I AM”,
‘I’ is insentient, while ‘am’ is
sentient. ‘am’ is there because of ‘I’.
If there is no ‘I’ (ego), ‘am’ will not persist but only divinity will remain.
Lord says in Geeta, “Vihaaya
kaamaan yaha sarvaan pumamscharati nihsprihaha nirmamoe nirahankaaraha sa
saantim adhigacchati; Eshaa braahmee sthtihi”(2/71-72)—when
the seeker becomes free from the sense of ‘mine’ and ‘egoism’ he attains peace
and the state of realized soul.
Egoism is not our inherent nature.
Egoism is of the lower nature while the Self is of higher nature. Self is
different from egoism. In wakeful state egoism remains awakened, in deep sleep
it does not remain awakened, but merges in ignorance. In sound sleep egoism
does not persist but the Self exists. The Self is un-manifest. “Mayaa tatam idam sarvam jagat
avyaktamoortinaa” (9/4)—all universe is pervaded by my
un-manifest form; this entire universe is an expansion of me, says the Lord in
Geeta. So, we are but a fragment of the
Self, un-manifest (formless).
A seeker should realize the fact that
he is un-manifest. We are the same to-day as were in our childhood. From
childhood till today our body has changed so much that it can’t be recognized.
Yet, the Self is the same. The body is not the same, it does not remain the
same even for a moment; it continuously changes. He who does not change is a
seeker. He who changes is not a seeker.
Those enlightened seekers who have
taken refuge in the transcendental knowledge are born in the next birth in the
house of pious and prosperous or born in the family of enlightened yogis. Those
that have taken refuge will attain unity with the Supreme.
The body changes every moment but Self
does not change even when there is new creation or final dissolution but
remains the same says Gita: “Idam jnaanam upaasritya mama saadharmyam aagataaha; sarge api noepajaayante pralaye na vythanti
cha”(14/2). They, who have taken refuge in this Transcendental
Knowledge, attain unity with Me; they are neither born at the time of creation,
nor afflicted at the time of dissolution.
We
have acquired several bodies till now, but they have all been left. The present
body will also be left here; the self will go to hell or heaven or get
liberated. It means that our existence does not depend on the body. Therefore
it does not make any difference in the Self whether the body lives or dies.
There are infinite universes and infinite creations but all of them have not
even an iota of effect on the Self. They have no access to the Self at all.
They have access only to the mind and intellect. The evolutes of nature can’t
have an access beyond mind and intellect. Therefore in the infinite universe
nothing belongs to us at all. By spiritual discipline we attain the Self. While
protecting spiritual discipline we should hold to the view that we are
un-manifest. We are not manifest or body. Self sits in the house; it does not
become the house. The house is different, the Self is different. Self departs
leaving the house. The house will remain lying here and the Self will go away.
The Self will reap the fruits of the virtuous or sinful actions, the body will
not reap. Self attains salvation, the body will not. The Self has been
described in Geeta thus: “ácchedyoyam
adaahyoham akledyo soeshya eva
cha; nityaha sarvagataha sthaanur achaloyam sanaatanaha”(*2/24). “Avyaktoeyam
achintyoeyam avikaaryoeyam uchyate; tasmaad evam viditvainam naanu soechitum arhasi”(2/25)—The
spirit (Self) is said to be unexplainable, incomprehensible and unchanging.
Knowing this Self as such you should not grieve. Weapons do not cut this
spirit, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and the wind does not
make it dry. It is eternal, all-pervading, unchanging, immovable, and primeval.
It is the human desire that he should
never die, he should know everything and he should ever be happy. At the root
of these three desires are Truth, Consciousness and Bliss.- (Sat-Chit-Ananda). But he wants to fulfill these desires with the
help of the body because in spite of being a fragment of Self, he accepts the
body, senses, mind and intellect as his. In Geeta the Lord says in 15/7: “Maamaivaamso
jeevaloke jeevabhootaaha sanaatanaha; maamaha shashthaaneedriyaani
prakritisthaani karshati”—The eternal individual soul (jeevaatma)
in the body of living being is indeed, my integral part. It is associated with
the six sensory faculties (including the mind) of perception and activates
them. In essence Aatman is the Eternal Being (Brahman). Brahman is the true
nature of the Supreme Being (Parabrahman), and therefore it is called the
integral part of Parabrahman. The difference between Aaatman and Jeevaatma is due to
the limiting adjuncts—the body and the mind: similar to the illusion that the
enclosed pot space is different from the unlimited space.
As
a son belongs to his father, so do we more singularly belong to Self. But we,
instead of accepting Self as ours, assumed the body, senses, mind and
intellect, which abide in Nature (Prakriti) as ours—this is bondage. Beside this, there is no other bondage. The
body consists of the fragments of both-- father and mother but the Self does
not contain the fragments of Nature. We (the Self) are the fragments of
Paramatma—mama eva amsaha. Being the
fragments of Paramatma we abide in it; but we have assumed the body, which
abides in Prakriti, ours—this is our error. The fragment of Prakriti has abode
in Prakriti, but (we the self) have developed disinclination for Paramatma. The
inert Prakriti remained a worthy (dutiful) son but we (the self) became
unworthy (undutiful) sons.
But man can’t satisfy his real demand
with the help of body or mind or the world. Body is perishable; therefore no
one can escape death by it. The body is inert (non-sentient) so knowledge can’t
be gained by it. World is kaleidoscopic, so no one can be happy about it.
Therefore the desire which a man has for Truth, Consciousness and Bliss can be
satisfied only by being detached to the body.
The
body is neither helpful nor obstructive in the least, in the fulfillment of
this desire but affinity with the body is only obstacle to it. Actions and
objects are evolutes of Nature. When a seeker totally renounces his affinity
with the body, then he gets detached from actions and objects. When a seeker
gets detached from actions and objects, his real desire is fulfilled. When his
real desire is fulfilled, the seeker gets established in Self, which is Truth,
Consciousness and Bliss. When he gets established in the Self, the worldly
spiritual disciplines, Karmayoga, and Jnaanayoga attain perfection. Then he
accepts Paramaatman as his and takes refuge in Him, whose fragment he is, thus
his non-worldly spiritual discipline Bhaktiyoga attains perfection and he
attains supreme love. In the attainment of love there is full perfection of
human life.
It
is a mistake to suppose that the soul is in the body. It is truer to say that
the body is in the soul. The body is enveloped and pervaded by the soul which
is infinite, all pervading and eternal.
The body is like a pot and the soul is like the space within and without it.
When the pot is moved from place to place, the space within is not moved. When
the contents of the pot are boiled, the space or ether in it is not boiled.
Similarly, there is in us, something uncreated, and something untouched by sin
or suffering. The Geeta quotes from Kathoepanishad: “It is said that the senses
are great, but greater than the senses is the mind, and greater than the mind is
the understanding (intellect), but what is greater than the understanding is
Self”. “Indriyaani
paraanyaahur indriyebhyaha param manaha; manasas tu paraa buddhir yoe buddheheh
paratas tu saha”(Geeta 3-46). “Indriyebhyaha paraa hyaarthaa arthebhyascha
param manaha; manasas tu paraa buddhihi buddheraatmaa mahaan paraha” (Katha:
3-10)—Sense objects are more important than the sense organs; the
mind is more important than sense objects; the intellect is more important than
mind; and the great soul (Jeevaatma) is
more important than that intellect. Journey to the abode of Paramaatman is
possible only with intellect as the charioteer and well controlled mind as
reins. In 12-204-10 Mahabharata also says: “The mind is superior to the senses;
the intellect is superior to the mind; Self-knowledge (Jnnana) is superior to
the intellect and Aatman is superior to Jnaana.
Therefore
the seeker from the very beginning should accept the fact that “I am not the
body, the body is not for me”. The reason is that individual Self is of higher
nature (sentient) which is a fragment of the Paramaatman while the body and the
world are of lower nature (Non-sentient). The lower nature in spite of our best
efforts can’t satisfy our real desire; it can’t make us immortal, can’t wipe
out our ignorance and can’t make us happy for ever.
Bhagavadgeeta
teachings focus to make everyone a matter of circumstances and happenings,
around and within him. We are riddled with lowest values because we identify
ourselves with the matter envelopments and view life through these distorting
media. How we can withdraw our identification with the outer envelopments and
turn inward, as it were, in a spirit of self-discovery—this is accomplished
through Upaasana.
Agnirdevoe dwijaateenaam muneenaam hridi
daivatam |
Prathima svlpabuddheenaam sarvatrea
viditaatmanaam ||
The
ritualists have their God in the fire (Agni);
but the wise folk find him in their own heart. It is the dull-witted one that seeks God in the icon. Those
who have higher understanding see God in Everything. So seek the Self within
you.
(Excerpts,
from the speeches of Swami Ramsukhdas of Geeta Bhavan, Haridwar; Primer of Hinduism, D.S.Sharma, Bharatiya
Vidya Bhawan, Mumbai; and The Bhagavad
Gita, Ramananda Prasad, American Gita Society, CA--suitably abridged and edited
for the Vedanta Class at Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville TN, by N.R.Srinivasan)
APPENDIX
[A Western Thought on self within us--You are eternally and inseparably One with God; wake from the
nightmare to the awareness of your Oneness
with the Source]
There is
no reason to be in fear. Fear is of the illusion, unreal, a reaction to
uncertainty which just drains your energy, because it focuses on the future,
distracting you from living in this now moment which is the only time that
exists. Now is where you need to focus your attention and your feelings,
and through doing that be fully aware of your state of presence right
now. Intend to maintain this constant state of present awareness so that
you are fully alive and alert, and then you are open to the intuitive nudges,
the wise guidance from those watching over you from the spiritual realms.
You are constantly
being watched over by those who would assist you immediately if you call on them.
You are never alone or unsupported, but you do need to pay attention in
order to access what is offered. Frequently you have strong expectations
of what your guidance should offer you, and so you often miss what is actually
being offered. Relax, allow, receive, and enjoy the guidance that then
arises, miraculously!
Knowing,
as in truth you do in every moment, that you are divinely supported and never
alone, then relax into Life, into Love, and allow the Reality of that to guide
you in every moment. Always engage lovingly with others, all
others! There are no exceptions to this if you wish to heal
yourselves. Love expands, embraces, supports, and encourages, increasing
your energy and your vitality; whereas fear discourages, disempowers, drains,
and weakens. Love responds with Love. Fear responds with
fear. Remind yourselves frequently that you are Love, open
yourselves to allow It to enter within you. Love is like a vast flowing
river that envelops and embraces you in every moment if you will permit.
If you shut It out it is as though you were in the river but covered completely
by a dry suit, completely protected or shut off from Its warm embrace.
Love is
all about allowing. You need do nothing else because Its purpose
and intent is to totally suffuse and renew your energy field in every moment if
you will allow It to do so. When you do peace and contentment will fill
and uplift you. Do not focus anxiously on the conflicts and suffering you
see in the world around you while wondering what you could or should be doing
to help relieve them, by all means intend to send your love to those who are
suffering, but focus instead on the Love that you are as a divine
creation. By doing this the world is changed, and that is
what you incarnated to do. Where you focus your attention, whatever
thoughts you hold – positive or negative – bring into your life those points of
focus.
It is very
difficult for you not to become distracted by the chaos and confusion with
which the illusion constantly bombards you, however, you knew that this would
happen before you made the choice to incarnate for this particular
lifetime. So, go within at least once daily to make contact with the
divine flame burning constantly within you, It is the flame of divine Love from
which you were created and from which you can NEVER be separated.
You are
already saved, there is nothing you need or can do to make yourselves
more acceptable to God. God created you already perfect, from Love, from
the energy field that is All That Is, and to which you are eternally
connected. You are all God’s beloved children, and there is nothing
that you can ever do that can or will change that. Sin, however grave and
unforgivable it may appear to you to be, is of the illusion, it is unreal even
though it brings intense pain and suffering to many who are incarnate as
humans. However, your true and eternal existence at One with each other
and with your divine Source is unchanging.
Initially
you constructed or built the illusion to play games and experience separation
because in Reality separation is impossible, and it was only by imagining and
building the illusion that you could in any way sense what separation would be
like. Now you have had enough of the intense pain and suffering that it
brings you and you desire only to awaken from the nightmare that you
built. All around you are signs that people, humanity, are waking
up. When the conditions of life in the illusion become intolerable you
choose to awaken, and that time has come. The power of your awakening
energy fields, your unbreakable connection to Source, is intensifying simply
because that is what it does, and purely in order to assist in your awakening
process. Being divine your real wills are completely in alignment
with God’s, and so your awakening is divinely assured and inevitable. You
can continue to delay it, but it makes absolutely no sense to do so,
after all why would you continue to experience intense pain and suffering when
there is no requirement to do so?
It seems
that many are addicted to pain and suffering, it has, in fact, become so
normal that without it they feel incomplete, that something important in their
lives is missing. God’s Power and God’s Love resides in each of
you. You need seek no gurus, no priests, no pastors, no intermediaries of
any kind because each one of you has her or his own unbreakable connection to
God which, if you will allow it or listen to it, will lead you home.
Others may be able to help you find your path, but only you can identify it through
your own inner knowing, and then choose to follow it home.
That you
are eternally and inseparably One with God is reason to celebrate. To
celebrate is healthy, uplifting, inspiring, and fun. It intensifies your
energy fields so that they expand out into the world, melding with others who
are also celebrating, and raising the whole planetary frequency so that
humanity’s awareness of its true nature arises to the surface of its
consciousness thus making it impossible to deny it any longer.
Denial of your
divine nature has been an enormous obstruction on your path to awakening.
You have, over the eons since the separation game commenced, been very confused
about life and its purpose because of the amnesia that is a powerful aspect of
it. Consequently you have been seeking but unable to find a convincing
answer to the question: “What, if there is one, is the purpose of life?”
Many myths arose with stories of gods and goddesses, demons and witches,
magicians and sorcerers, but none of them offered any meaningful help or
consolation because they all demanded your allegiance to someone or
something outside yourself.
God is
within you, period. It is within yourselves, and only there, that you can
and will find your unbreakable connection to God, Source, the Creator who so
lovingly brought you into existence to enjoy the infinitely abundant fullness
of life forever in His Presence. When you chose to experience separation
from your divine Source it was essential that you also chose to remove all memory
of It from your conscious awareness otherwise you would have been unable to
experience the sense of separation that you wanted.
Always the
choice to go within and find God has been available to you, but the
distractions of the world outside yourselves, the unreal world,
have seduced you for eons with their siren songs that lead only to unmitigated
disappointment. Now, finally, you have made the collective to
choice to dissociate yourselves from the distractions of the illusion and
return to awareness of your true nature at One with God. Your eternal
Home the Home you have never left, is within you and always has been, It
waits patiently and lovingly for you to remember and awaken, and that is
what humanity is collectively in the process of doing right now.
The choice
to awaken was made eons ago, at the moment when the apparent separation
occurred, but the decision to follow through on that choice was made only in
the last few decades. All around you signs of this inevitable decision
abound, so take heart and know that you are waking up from the
nightmare into full awareness of your Oneness with Source, and that your joy
and delight will be unbounded.
[This is
what Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja preaches—The liberated Self does not get
dissolved in Paramaatman but remains integrated . ]
Diwali - Let the Divine Lamps Dispel
the Darkness of Our Ignorance
Diwali
is a glorious holiday. It is a holiday filled with continuous festivity,
revelry and celebration. Even sworn enemies embrace, and hostilities melt as we
share box after box of fresh sweets.
At
this sacred time, I reflect upon the words of my Guru, Pujya Swami Chidanand
Saraswatiji: "Don't only light the lamps in your temples, homes and
offices. Also remember to light the lamp in your own heart. That divine lamp
will dispel the darkness of ignorance; that is the true way of welcoming
Bhagawan Rama into your life."
The
lamp in our hearts? What divine light is he referring to? What darkness of
ignorance is there within us which should be dispelled on this holy day?
Ignorance of the Nature of the True
Self
We
are all ignorant about so many things. One cannot possibly be an expert or even
properly informed about the majority of subjects in the world. The information
available in the world today is too vast, its depth and breadth boundless and
unfathomable. Yet ignorance of math, science, history or technology may make
life slightly inconvenient but it does not shroud us in darkness. It does not
keep the presence of the Divine an arm's length from our hearts.
What
is the ignorance which is so dark it must be dispelled in order for us to live
peaceful, fulfilling, meaningful and divinely-connected lives? It is the
ignorance of the true nature of the Self.
To
me, one of the most beautiful aspects of Hinduism is the belief that at the
core of our being we are divine. In contrast to other major world religions,
Hinduism teaches that at the essence of our being there is pure divinity, there
is light, there is perfection. It is merely ignorance, the false identification
with the body and its urges, which leads us to "sin". Of course the
karmic consequences for our actions must be paid, even when we realize that
they were committed due to the darkness of ignorance rather than the darkness
of evil.
That Divine Light Within
When
the saints and spiritual masters of India exhort us to remove the darkness, to
light the lamp within, they are referring not to a transformation of inherent
darkness into newly created light, but rather to a shedding of that ignorance,
that false identification, that illusion, which shrouds our innate light from
our view. As Pujya Swamiji explains, "The sun is always shining outside,
but if your windows are covered with two inches of mud it will be dark in your
home. The answer is not to go out in search of the sun, to sign up for courses
or workshops on invoking the power of the sun, or even to bemoan the darkness.
The answer is simply to clean the windows so that the naturally occurring
presence of light may flow into your home."
In
the same way as the sun in Pujya Swamiji's example, the inner divine light is
always there, always shining, always available. It is the core of our being.
However, the "windows" of our consciousness have become muddied by
our false-identifications, our expectations, our grudges, our jealousies.
Hence, that light is obscured from our view.
Who AM I?
From
the time of the war of Kurukshetra, when Bhagawan Krishna urged Arjuna to
realize his true Self, to realize not only the universal dharma but his
personal dharma as a Kshatriya, as the son of Pandu, as one whose task was to
restore dharma to adharma, saints and rishis and sages have enjoined us to
recognize our true nature.
When
we are not aware of who we really are, we inevitably try -- consciously or
unconsciously -- to become something else. We then live our lives falsely
identified with roles, masks and personalities that are not truly us. However,
unlike the actor in a drama who remembers to remove his costume and make-up at
the end of the day, we have become so internally united with our false self,
that we have begun to think it is who we are. We have come to believe the mask
is our true face, the script is our true life and the costume is our true Self.
We
get a degree and we say, "I AM a PhD, or I AM a doctor." We put on
make-up and expensive clothes or we get cosmetic surgery and we say "I AM
beautiful." We earn a lot of money and we say, "I AM rich. I AM
successful." We get married and have children and we say, "I AM a
wife and mother" or "I AM a husband and father." We make many
friends and we say "I AM popular. I AM well-liked and respected."
However,
these are merely things we DO, ways we spend our time, choices we make,
personalities we don because it suits the culture in which we live. They are
not who we ARE. We are not our degrees, our beauty, our bank accounts, our
popularity or our relations. The problem with this false identification is that
these roles are all fleeting. They are based merely on what we have done and
achieved today. So, when they get shattered, as falsehood is inevitably
shattered and as anything of the flesh is inevitably limited, we lose not
merely a title or a job or money or beauty, but we lose the very connection to
our Self. We have wrapped our sense of Self so tightly around these roles that
when the curtain falls and the drama ends, we feel that our life is being torn
out from within us. If I AM beautiful, what happens when I age or my skin
breaks out or I have an accident that scars my face? Then who AM I? If I AM a
mother or wife then when my children grow up and don't need me or my husband
divorces me or dies, who AM I? If I AM rich and successful, if I lose my money
or retire from my profession, who AM I?
We
also say, "I AM angry. I AM sad. I AM frustrated. I AM depressed."
Yet, our scriptures, philosophy and gurus tell us we are none of these things.
Our brain may be experiencing emotional patterns of chemical and electric
energy that correlate to what psychologist’s term anger or depression. However,
I, the true Self is pure, perfect, untouched and un-afflicted by patterns of
energy corresponding to emotional states. I am the one who is aware, who is
watching, who is witnessing, who is able to name the states of sadness and
depression, but not the one who is afflicted by them.
Ignorance of the Self Leads to Misery
The
lack of awareness of who we truly are, the lack of ability to distinguish
between what I DO and who I AM, this ignorance is the darkness which leads to
suffering and misery in life. It is also this ignorance of the Self's true
nature that leads us to act in ways for which we have to reap the fruits of
negative karma. Greed, lust, dishonesty, jealousy, anger and arrogance are
products of our blindness toward the true light within and toward the true
nature of the Self. If I am already full and complete then there is nothing to
covet.
The True Self's Cup is Always
Overflowing
These
days in the new-age "spiritual" circles there is talk about
"enlightened abundance," which typically refers to the concept of
becoming so enlightened that one can manifest piles of money! There are books,
films, courses and workshops on manifesting abundance as though if one is simply
in touch enough with the Source, that Source will provide whatever one asks.
However, what the lives and teachings of the true saints and rishis teach us is
that the moment one has even a taste of awakening, a taste of Divine
Connection, a taste of being One with the Source, one immediately experiences
not a genie who will grant three wishes, but rather an immediate and
overwhelming sense of completeness. Those who are truly enlightened live with
the experience that their cup is overflowing. They are One with all of
creation; thus there is no need to possess the wealth of the universe. It is
already theirs. This is why in the stories of our scriptures, whether it's
Kunti (mother of the Pandavas) or Dhruv or Prahlad, when God Himself stands in
front of them instructing them to ask for any boon, there is nothing they want.
They are complete merely due to His presence.
When
I first came to Rishikesh, during one of my early satsangs with Pujya Swamiji
He held up a pen in front of me and He said to me, "You are not this
pen." I laughed. Of course I am not a pen, I thought. How obvious. He then
said, "There will come a time when I will tell you that you are not that
body and you will laugh in the same way you just laughed when I said you're not
a pen. A time will come when it will be as ridiculous to assume you are the
body as it is ridiculous to assume you are a pen."
At
this sacred time of Diwali, when we line our homes and offices and streets with
brightly burning lamps, let us pray for that light within our own hearts that
illumines the nature of our Self, showing us who we really are. When that light
is there, then we know that Bhagawan Rama has truly returned, not merely to
Ayodhya but also into our hearts and our lives.
Sadhvi
Bhagawati Saraswati
Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh
Swami Akhandananda Thoughts
Spiritual life is
not possible with an empty stomach, so real ‘religion’ in a country of chronic
hunger is feeding the poor; then comes education and medical service.
Constant
remembrance of God and unlimited reliance upon Him under all circumstances is
Sadhana.
Is it easy to
realize the Self? Incarnations (Avatars) of God are God Himself, yet they
themselves have to struggle so much, not to speak of others.
The divine soul
is sleeping in everyone. It is to be roused. Everyone is always trying to
express that Self.
When
the Self is realized, you will feel its presence everywhere. This is Siddhi.
The goal is to reach this state. Everybody must get back to this realization,
because it is our real nature.
— Swami
Akhandananda – a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.
FIVE VERSES ON SELF--EKANMA
PANCHAKM
If India had a glorious past, it was because of the seers and
sages and saints of this land. Though engaged primarily in a tapasyä of
knowledge and self-discipline, the Rishis always did benefit the world.The
latest in the galaxy of Maharshis is Ramana Maharshi.
Bhagavan is an expert in Tamil 'venba' meter and once He asked
Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni, to try this meter in Sanskrit. Kavyakanta tried
it in Sanskrit and left it saying that it is more difficult than 'Arya chandas'
of Sanskrit. Then the Muni tried it in Telugu and he also left that.
Later in the present Ashram, Suri Nagamma, a Telugu devotee (who is the author
of Letters from Sri Ramanasramam) requested Bhagavan to try Telugu verses in
'venba'. He replied, 'Why don't you try? Your mother tongue is
Telugu.' Suri Nagamma said 'No’ How can I, when Kavyakanta himself could
not succeed.' and she kept quiet. After about 3 days, Bhagavan wrote 3 verses
in Telugu 'venba' meter on the Self! Again, on the next day, He wrote 2
more verses in Telugu 'venba' meter! He said that this can be
called Atma Panchakam or Anma Panchakam (in Tamil) or Five Verses on the Self,
but since Sankara has already got a composition titled Atma Panchakam, we can
call it Ekatma Panchakam or Five Verse on the Only Self.
Bhagavan Himself, then, made this Telugu composition into Tamil
and Malayalam. About this composition, a touch of melancholy is that
this is the last original composition of Bhagavan, which was written on 16/17th
February 1947. Poet Muruganar has written a benedictory verse for this
compositionin Tamil. Even this benedictory verse has been translated by
Bhagavan in Telugu and Malayalam. The verses are Tamil transliteration.
Verse 1
1. When, forgetting the Self, one thinks; That the body is oneself
and goes
Through innumerable births; And in the end remembers and becomes
The Self, know this is only like; Awaking from a dream wherein; One has
wandered over all the world.
Tannai maṛandu tanuvē tānā-eṇṇi
Eṇṇil piṛavi eḍut tiṛudi – tannai
Uṇarndu tānā-dal
ulagasañ charak
Kanavin vizhit-talē kāṇga – anavara-dam
In a dream, one may go on a world-tour and in the dream, itself
return home and lie down in one’s own bed; but when one awakes one knows that
it was all a dream. In the same way all of one’s reincarnations in Samsara are
only a long-drawn out dream, at the end of which only the Self remains,
unaffected by all this. There is a difference here, because it was not the Self
that dreamed, but only the ego-mind.
Verse 2
2. One ever is the Self. To ask oneself; “Who and whereabouts am
I?”;
Is like the drunken man’s enquiring; “Who am I?” and “Where am I?”
Tānirun-dun tānā-gat tannaittā nānevan
Yān-irukkum stānam edu-venakkēt – pānukku
Yānevan evviḍam yānuḷan enḍṛa-madu
Pāna-nai yīḍu pagar-satcid –ānanda
Here the difference is that the
drunken man puts the question to others, but the Sadhaka puts the question to
his own ignorant, false self. The real Self remains unaffected all the time.
Verse 3
3. The body is within the Self. And yet one thinks one is inside
the inert body; Like some spectator who supposes; That the screen on which the
picture is thrown is within the picture.
Tannuḷ tanu-virukkat tānach jaḍa-vuḍalan
Tannuḷ irup-padāt
tānunnum – anna-van
Chitti-rattin uḷḷuḷada chitti-ratk kādāra
Vastira menḍṛeṇ-ṇuvān pōlvān – vastu-vām
Verse 4
4. Does an ornament of gold exist; Apart from the Self? The
ignorant one thinks ‘I am the body’; The Enlightened knows ‘I am the Self’.
Ponnukku vēṛagap bhūsha-ṇam uḷḷadō
Tannai viḍut tanu-vēdu – tannai
Tanu-venbān ajñāni tānā-gak koḷvān
Tanai-yaṛinda jñāni darippāi – tana-doḷiyāl
Here the truth is that the one Self is the substratum of all appearances.
This has been explained before. In the true state there is no superimposition,
only the substratum remains, but it is no longer a substratum.
Verse 5
5. The Self alone, the Sole Reality Exists for ever; if of yore
the First of Teachers Revealed it through unbroken silence; Say who can reveal
it in spoken words?
5. Eppō-dum uḷḷadav ēkānma vasttuvē
Appō-dav vasttuvai yādi-Guru – ceppādu
Ceppit teri-yumā ceidanarē levar
Ceppit teri-vippar ceppu-gena – ippōdav
So this is the rationale of the silent teaching by God as
Dakshinamurti, the first Guru. Rightly to teach the Self is to be perfectly
quiet. That is teaching by being only the Self, without ego and without mind.
He who likewise remains as the Self, mind-free and egoless, understands this
silent teaching. Thus the truth of non-becoming
is confirmed.
Concluding Verse
Guru Ramana, who revels in the
form of (pure) jnana, composed these five verses on the Self. Declared in them
is the nature of Reality, which destroys the illusion that the body is the
Self.
Ekanma vuṇmai yinait-tenat tēṭṛiyan-bar
Dēhānma bāvañ cidai-vittān –ēkānma
Jñāna sorūpa-mā naṇṇuṅ Guru-Ramaṇan
Tān-navinḍṛa ippāviṛtan.
The knowledge thus far imparted is only preparatory to the
teaching of the means of obtaining the right awareness. It is not itself that awareness!
--July 28, 2019
Comments:
Thank you for the excellent
Sunday e-mail. Deeply appreciate it
INTRODUCING ASHTAVAKRA AND ASTAVAKRA GITA FOR SELF-REALIZATION
The
Ashtavakra Gita is an instruction for achieving the self-realization.
It is the most direct path to self-realization and you can achieve it in
three steps: (1) hear / read it again and again; (2) reflect and
understand it (clarify and dispel all doubts); (3) meditate / assimilate
/ realize and make it a fact in your life.
The
text is an instruction for achieving the self-realization and Oneness.
The Ashtavakra Gita is a short treatise ascribed to the great sage
Ashtavakra. It was composed before the common-era, most likely between
500-400BC. Though some claim it was written later, either in the eighth
century by a follower of Shankara, or as late as the fourteenth century
during a resurgence of Shankara's teaching. It is written as a dialogue
between King Janaka, the father of Sita, and his guru, Ashtavakra. The
Ashtavakra Gita elucidates the meaning of the Supreme Reality, Brahman,
the self and Atman (Self, soul) and Maya ("an illusion where things
appear to be present but are not what they seem").
Very
little is definitely known about Ashtavakra. His name literally means
"eight bends", indicating the eight physical handicaps he was born with.
The moral here is that even the ugliest form is filled with God's
radiance. The body is nothing, the Self is everything. The Ashtavakra
Gita is an ancient spiritual document of great purity and power. The
goal of every word in the Ashtavakra Gita is to trigger
Self-realization.
What
is Self-realization? "Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind,
and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not
have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all
times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just
as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is
improve our knowing." — Paramahansa Yogananda
The
Ashtavakra Gita talks to us directly, to our hearts. One thing it tells
you: You are the Pure Existence (~ Tat Tvam Asi ~ ). You’re God. It’s
as good as meditation.
You see a face of God in this text. My nature is light, Nothing but light. When the world arises I alone am shining. (2.8). It
speaks to reality inside you. It’s not for thinking about because it’s
beyond mind. Be a Witness (Atman): We always try to improve ourselves by
adding or subtracting something from ourselves. "I need to be more
spiritual through prayer, meditation, good deeds, being selfless, and
kind." Or "I'll get rid of things that I think are bad for me:
restlessness..."
Ashtavakra
tells you that you are already pure and perfect. You don’t need to add
anything to that. And you don’t need to give up anything. Don’t
misunderstand that... you still need to improve your life through
meditation etc. The universe is you. The universe arises from you.
Detachment but the entire universe is arising in you, you’re not a part
of that. You can’t experience anything outside your own consciousness.
What you experience (see) is you yourself.
Self-realization
is yoga or "oneness" with truth — the direct perception or experience
of truth by the all-knowing intuitive faculty of the soul.
The
heart of Ashtavakra's advice is not to give up our practice, but to
abandon our strenuous indolence. Striving is the root of sorrow, he
says. But who understands this? Ashtavakra Gita
is a unique treatise on the Non-dualistic (Advaita) philosophy which
guarantees to transport a seeker instantaneously by a direct path from
time to eternity, from the relative to the Absolute and from bondage to
liberation (Mukti / Moksha). There is no pre-requisite, no rituals, no
control of breath (Pranayama) or thoughts, no Japa or chanting of sacred
syllables and not even any meditation or contemplation. It is all an
effortless quantum flight to the ultimate goal (Moksha).
Set your body aside. Sit in your own awareness. You will at once be happy-- Forever still, Forever free. (1.4)
This
is a text which cannot be understood through intellectual brilliance or
by mere scholarship. It can only be understood through the heart, by an
intuitive spiritual experience. Out of the total 298 stanzas almost
each one of them is an independent Bliss-capsule, self-sufficient and
capable of taking one to the ultimate destination by itself. "...All we
have to do is improve our knowing."
Ashtavakra
does not lay down any pre-condition or prior qualification. There is
neither any cultivation of particular qualities nor any renunciation of
existing conditioning. It is just Being and no Becoming.
“My
child, You may read or discuss scripture As much as you like. But until
you forget everything, You will never live in your heart.” (16.1)
According
to Ashtavakra, one could get instant liberation and bliss if only one
were to separate oneself from the body and remain effortlessly resting
in pure Consciousness. "...All we have to do is improve our knowing."
“One
second, you are here on what you consider as the terraforma of the
phenomenal world and the next you find yourself in a summit of
timelessness and bliss, where both the world and yourself are dissolved
into nothingness. When ‘I’ ceased to exist, there was liberation and so
long as ‘I’ existed, there was only bondage”.
The world only arises from ignorance. You alone are real. There is no one, not even God, Separate from yourself. (15.16)
You
are pure awareness. The world is an illusion, nothing more. When you
understand this fully, Desire falls away. You find peace. For indeed!
There is nothing. (15.17)
You
are not your body. Your body is not you. You are not the doer. You are
not the enjoy-er. You are pure awareness, the witness of all things. You
are without expectation, Free. Wherever you go, Be happy! (15.4)
How do I abide in Pure Consciousness?
You
already abide in Pure Consciousness – the problem is that you get mix
up with the mind that thinks 'I have to abide as Pure Consciousness'.
Abiding in Pure Consciousness is... noting... that in every experience
of life... bad or good, it is the same Pure Consciousness that shines
through all of them. All experiences are experienced in that One Light.
We think we need time because masters meditated years to achieve
Samadhi. How long it takes a wave to 'realize' it is water? It happens
instantly! How long it would take you to realize you're God? It happens
instantly!
Himalayan
master: "You, the Pure Consciousness, know yourself to be Pure
Consciousness. Don’t think yourself to be the Pure Consciousness. It’s
the mind thinking "I want to be the Pure Consciousness" but the mind
never could be the Pure Consciousness. The Pure Consciousness is you,
all the time and you cannot be anything else."
We
are all one Self. The Self is pure awareness. This Self, this flawless
awareness is God. There is only God. Everything else is an illusion: the
little self, the world, the universe. All these things arise with the
thought 'I', that is, with the idea of separate identity. The little 'I'
invents the material world, which in our ignorance we strive hard to
sustain. Forgetting our original oneness, bound tightly in our imaginary
separateness, we spend our lives mastered by a specious sense (false
sense) of purpose and value. Endlessly constrained by our habit of
individuation, the creature of preference and desire, we continually set
one thing against another, until the mischief and misery of choice
consume us. ...
Be
happy. Love yourself. Don't judge others. Forgive. Always be simple.
Don't make distinctions. Give up the habit of choice. Let the mind
dissolve. Give up preferring and desiring. Desire only your own
awareness. Give up identifying with the body and the senses. Give up
your attachment to meditation and service. Give up your attachment to
detachment. Give up giving up! Reject nothing, accept nothing. Be still.
But above all, be happy. In the end, you will find yourself just by
knowing how things are. ...
The
aim is realization of the Truth and not a rational defense of the same.
The Self alone is real and all not-Self is appearance. The false
identification of the Self with the not-Self is the cause of bondage.
Bondage is thus due to ignorance of the real nature of the Self and
freedom is attained as soon as the ignorance disappears on the dawn of
self-realization. The disappearance of ignorance automatically entails
the disappearance of the not-self, which is its product. The existence
of another is the cause of all our worry and unhappiness. When the Self
is realized as the only reality, difference and distinction vanish like
the mist before the sun and freedom is attained. In point of fact
freedom is the very essence of the Self and loss of freedom is only a
case of forgetting.
To
the question of Janaka as to how can freedom be achieved, the answer
given by Ashtavakra is simple: “If you wish to be free, Know you are the
Self, The witness of all these, The heart of awareness. (1.3).
Alternative translation: “Know the Self as Pure consciousness, the
unaffected witness of the phenomenal world, and you will be free” (1.3).
In
reality the Self is always free and freedom is not attained, but simply
realized and discovered. The impediment to self-realization and freedom
is our pre-occupation with the objective world, which inevitably leads
to conflict of interests and consequently to feud, jealousy, revenge and
moral depravity. ... The inward diversion of the mind will enable the
aspirant to realize his independence and detachment from the network of
relations, which constitute the phenomenal world. So long as the mind
sees another self, there is bondage. Freedom consists in seeing nothing
but the Self in everything. The Self is the Brahman, the undivided and
undifferentiated Consciousness-Existence-Bliss [Sat-Chit-Ananda]
and is not to be confounded with the ego. The ego is consciousness
limited and distorted by the mind as light is distorted by the prism. As
soon as a person effects his liberation from the snares of the ego, he
becomes Supreme Bliss, to which there is no limit. "...All we have to do
is improve our knowing."
[Quotes above are from Thomas Byrom, Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Sarvapriyananda, and Swami Shantananda Puri.]
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