Summary Of Chitra Deepa, 6th Chapter of Panchadashi

A cloth with a picture on it has four states - washed, starched, outlined and painted. In the same way, there are four states of the supreme self: (1) Chetana 2) Antarayaamee (3) Soortaatmaa (4) Viraata. In his own self he is chetana, when he meditates on maayaa he is antaryaamee, when he sees the subtle creation then he is sootraatmaa, when he sees the gross creation he is viraata.

The bodies of gods, animals, humans are superimposed on awareness. In that, there are reflections of awareness called chidaabhaasa or jeeva/soul. It is those souls that are roaming the creation. The aware element is pervasive, transcendental, undivided, it cannot roam in creation. Those who take the creation of the soul as the creation of the awareness, they make a mistake. One point to be noted about the chidaabhaase is that it reflections in bodies, but not in soil or stones. The notion of a soul arises due to lack of science.

The visible creation is the supreme goal, everyone pursues it, thinking is is misunderstanding. This creation is of the soul, and there is no creation happening in the self element, this knowledge is called "vidyaa" or science. This science arises through constant contemplation. To gain it, one has to constantly contemplate upon the world, soul and supreme self. When the notion of soul and world will go, then just the self will remain, then kaivalya or aloneness will arrive.

When the self element will ascend in the form of aloneness, then contemplation will drop by itself. In order to bring the self element in the form of aloneness, the assistance of contemplation is required, so let us spend some time on contemplation. "Kootastha" and "soul", "brahman" and "Ishvara", these four kinds of awareness have been imagined for ease of understanding.

The awareness in both bodies never undergoes any transformation (vikaara). This awareness is called kootastha. In that kootastha awareness, first there was the imagination of an intellect, then the reflection of awareness fell on it, then the power of vital force arose. This is all that constitutes a soul. It is that which gets trapped in the world. It has completely wrapped and covered the kootastha underneath. Now, it never gains the distinct understanding of the essence. Its not knowing this is beginningless. This is called "moolaajnyaana".

This lack of science works in two ways. One, it covers the real form, two, it projects or shows the real form as some other form, like the body etc. This alone is aavarana and vikshepa. Aavarana or cloaking stops the experience of our own form. Vikeshepa or projection mixes our self with other things. Both of these vanish once knowledge of the essence happens. But projection takes longer to vanish after knowledge of the essence. This is because projection is creation through actions and lack of science intermingling. Projection vanishes only after the effects of actions go away. This is the reason why after knowledge, the praarabdha actions of a knowledge bearer are not destroyed.

About the self, many people have misconceptions. Some people think of it as one thing, some people think of it as another. The essence of all of this is that the supreme Ishvara is the wielder of maayaa, which is an instrument of his. The imagined parts of that controller have pervaded this entire world. When his maayaa is not contemplated upon, it appears real, upon contemplation it appears indescribable, if the shruti is to be accepted, then maayaa is proven useless. This maayaa power is not seen without awareness. It is not independent from that, but since it can convert unattached to attached, it is independent as well.

As long as maayaa is not understood, it is considered as a wonder. When it is understood, it is no longer considered as a wonder. In dreams, the soul creates his own maayaa, in which no rules apply. Whatever is seen is fine, it is accepted. In the same manner, no matter how maayaa is seen, it is fine. If logic is used to understand it, it is a mistake. When walking on the path of faith, that point which was seen in the early stages of knowledge, should be reexamined to check whether it was seen when none went astray.All objections are imposed only on those who believe that the world is real. Just like in sleep, there can be no objections applied to maayaa. Without applying objections to maayaa, and contemplating on ways to remove it, this is the supreme benefit.

That which cannot be explained, but is visible, such an indication of worldly maayaa is applicable to Ishvara's maayaa as well. That which has the power of infinite creation, that seed called maayaa is experienced by all in deep sleep. Just like a tree within a seed, the entire world is dormant in that state of deep sleep. In that maaya, all the latent desires (vaasanaas) of the world are present. The awareness in those desires is not clearly manifested. That is why no one fully knows the extent of their latent desires.

When this maayaa or lack of science becomes endowed with the reflection of awareness and manifests as the intellect, then the reflection of awareness is clearly seen in it. When the latent desires become intellect thought flows, then it is known that even such a latent desire was present. The reflection of awareness (chidaabhaasa) subservient to maayaa, is the same one that is called maheshvara, antaryaamee, sarvajnya, jagat kaarana in the Vedas.

No one has the capacity to change the inner or outer world created by this one. This alone is its sarveshvara or "all Ishvara" nature. That is why, when one is obsessed with something, no one else can change it. In this state of lack of science in deep sleep reside the latent desires of the intellects of all beings which have surrounded the world. The entire world becoming subservient to these subtle desires is occupied in their endeavours. That is why it is called sarvajnya or omniscient. The reason why we do not know its omniscience is no one ever knows their desires directly. Depending on the objects that come before us, the corresponding desires spring up. Perhaps not in one time, but in some other time, by experiencing all objects, his omniscience is proven. Just because his omniscience is not known in one instance, we cannot gauge it. It has to be inferred.

This one stays inside all of the sheaths including the intellectual sheath and others, and controls them. Hence he is called antaryamee or the inner controller. Just like the thread stays as the material cause in cloth, this one becomes the material cause of everything and remains everywhere, sarvatra. When the thread moves, it is certain that the cloth also moves. In the same way, when the inner controller is influenced by the desire of a thing, that effect will definitely arise. If the desire of a pot arises in the inner controller, a pot will surely be created. This is the notion in the Gita of the inner controller making everyone move by sitting on a machine.

That same Ishvara takes on the form of the supreme goal also, that is why the supreme goal or purushaartha is not useless. If this inspiration of the inner controller were to fully come into the mind, then the non-attached-ness of the self element will be understood. By the knowledge of its unattachedness, liberation is attained, this point is mentioned in the scriptures.

Anticipating the actions of beings, Ishvara sometimes creates the world, and sometimes hides it in himself. Creation and dissolution of this world is exactly like our day and night, our waking and dream, our blinking the eyelids, and our silence and fanciful thinking. This Ishvara and that brahman element are not one. But in general, this difference is not known. Most people think of them as one. Scriptures assert that the brahman element is unattached. The creation of the world, the great Ishvara, wields maayaa.

Now hear about the sootraatmaa. He keeps the "I am" nature in all subtle bodies. "Desire", "knowledge" and "action", these powers are resident in him. Just like the world is seen fuzzily in light darkness, is the same way it is seen in the sootraatmaa. It is the state of the seed ready to sprout, also called Hiranyagarbha.

The third state called viraata is like the world shining under sunlight. No matter how large or how small, aware or inert, all objects of the world are the Ishvara element alone. That is why, when someone comes to the aid of another, he says, you have become Ishvara and come to me. This world is doing nothing but worshipping all these small and large Ishvaras. It is also reaping the fruits of these large and small Ishvaras. This is all fine, but the great fruit called liberation will not be achieved by worshipping these Ishvaras. Liberation will be achieved only by realizing the brahman element. Just like our dream is not broken unless we wake up. in the same manner, without knowledge of the self, the bondage of the world does not get cut.

In the non-dual brahman element, this entire world is like a great dream In this dream, someone is Ishvara, someone is soul, some are aware and some are inert. Ishvara is "of bliss" and soul is "of science". The Ishvara element is fuzzy, the soul element is clear. Both are created out of maayaa. Their worlds are also created out of maayaa. Ishvara and soul are two playthings of maayaa, Regarding them, there are many debates, but no one knows the brahman element which remains unattached. Without knowing this non-dual brahman element, neither liberation nor worldly enjoyments can be properly realized. That is why seekers continuously contemplate on the brahman element.

This brahman element was the same prior to, during, and after creation, and will remain so even after liberation. All of this negation, creation, bondage, seeking, all this is only happening on the surface of the ocean of brahman. In the quiet depths, none of this is even registered. Like the idol of Shiva, it always remains in an unbroken state of silence. But maayaa has unnecessarily caused people to become deluded. They think that neither there is such a thing called the non-dual, nor can it be experienced. The resolve of the knowledge bearer is opposed to this. He is bound by his own resolve, and he is liberated by his own resolve. When masters of horses and donkeys don't have ropes to tie them, they pretend to tie them, and that works just as well.

In this manner, due to their own desires, beings are bound since the beginning of time unnecessarily. A hornet that can cut into wood cannot make a dent in a lotus. In the same way, people are bound by their own desires which are hard to tackle. Now they cannot come out of it. Due to having all these desires, infinite universes have passed. The being's notion of bondage has become firm. He has begun to think that I am a trapped being. It is natural for me to experience birth and death. I have to experience the results of my actions. My stay in the womb cannot be averted. I will never break the cycle of birth and death. It is this kind of thinking alone that is called bondage. Besides the experience of bondage, there is nothing else called bondage.

A silkworm wraps itself up in silk and invites death. He digs his own grave. In the same way, a person thinks himself to be bound, becomes a criminal who has confessed, becomes bound by his own will, and the cycle of birth, old age and death continues. So long as the non-dual element is not immediately experienced, the notion of bondage cannot be destroyed. In the form of knowledge, that non-dual element is shining in all. This knowledge has kept all worlds within itself. There is no space or time that is not covered by the sea of knowledge. Using the logic of cooked rice in a vessel, a little bit of non-duality should be converted to an understanding of entire non-duality. Using the logic of oneness of cause and effect, the non-duality should be contemplated, and whenever the maayaa oriented duality arises, it should be removed through contemplation.

Fruits ripen and leave their stems. Similarly, when there is fullness in realization, then this contemplation automatically drops. After gaining this knowledge, if the essence is harmed by feelings of hunger and thirst, if this essence is ready to run or disappear, let hunger and thirst stay with the ego that has them. Do not take the qualities of others upon yourself. This hunger and thirst stick to the self through identification alone. The removal of that superimposition and the repetition of discrimination should be conducted always. This is because the enemy in the form of superimposition can be repelled only through the shield of discrimination.

When the chidaatmaa is kept separate and the ego is known as distinct, you can become free and desire a million things, after the knots have been removed, there is no obstruction. Even after the knots have gone, desires can come due to the defect of praarabdha. There is no need to fear desires. Whether there is sickness in the body, whether trees grow or wither, whether the ego desires, how does any of this affect the aware self? When the self element was never affected even before removal of the knots, when this understanding comes, that itself is called "removal of the knots". But ignorant people do not understand this, this is what is called a knot. This knot is what separates ignorant from the wise.

In worldly dealings, both wise and ignorant look the same. In the Gita, the mark of a wise person is as follows: he does not detest the sorrows that have arrived, and he does not insist the departing joys that they stay. He just works like someone uninterested. In other words, internally he has renunciation, but externally he shows attachment, and this is how he works. Those who insist that the result of knowledge is leaving all action, they make a mistake. The knowledge gained by them is a kind of disease that makes the body useless. The thing that has to be dropped is attachment. Dealings are not meant to be dropped. One who wants joy should give up attachment. 

Dealings do not cause any harm. But attachment does cause harm. In the world, even if someone commits murder without any attachment, then he does not become a criminal. Knowledge is not the cause of dealings to stop. In order to understand the starting and stopping of dispassion, dispassion, knowledge and cessation or uparama have to be understood properly.

Dispassion arises from the vision of fault in enjoyments. The desire to give up enjoyments is the true form of dispassion, not having the notion of dependency on enjoyments is the effect of dispassion. The knowledge of the essence arises from hearing, sorting and meditation. Recognizing real and unreal is the true form of knowledge, the prevention of further knots is the effect of knowledge. Yama (non-violence, truth, non-stealing, incontinence, non-hoarding) and niyama (cleanliness, contentment, penance, self study and Ishvara devotion), aasana, praanaayaama, pratyaahaara, dhaaranaa, dhyaana and samaadhi, by performing all of these, cessation is born. The ability of the intellect to stop is its true form. The reduction or cessation of dealings is the effect of cessation.

People who want to stop dealings immediately after knowledge continue to think mental dealings. People who forcibly stop dealings regress. Their unfulfilled desires arise at some point and cause agitation. What should happen is this. After the knowledge of the essence, when our mental creations, the creation of the soul ends, we begin to conduct transactions keeping Ishvara's creation in mind. In other words, the actions that were conducted by us in a state of attachment, they will happen in a state of non-attachment in Ishvara's creation. By performing yama etc., the creation of our mind begins to hide, and the creation of Ishvara begins to come in front of our eyes.

This is how divine wealth begins to increase, and that will slowly leave us into the full essence. Then, quite naturally, our transactions will exhaust. The practice of withdrawal alone will really result in transactions ending. The reduction of transaction only happens through withdrawal, not through the ending the knowledge. If dispassion and withdrawal are complete, but if knowledge is halted, then liberation is not attained. If there is fullness in realization, then even if dispassion and withdrawal are complete, then too, liberation will be attained, but the rare bliss of living liberation will not be attained. 

Considering even the realm of Brahma like a blade of grass is the foremost point of dispassion. When the supreme essence also is considered the self like the body self, this is the foremost state of dispassion. Forgetting the world in waking, just like in sleep, is the foremost limit of withdrawal. In our self awareness, maayaa has created a picture in the form of the world. Through knowledge, when we do not look at this picture, but look at our self awareness instead, then even while seeing this world picture, we do not get deluded.

Translated from the Commentary by Pandit Raamaavataara Vidyaabhaaskara, a student of Achyuta Muni.