In the third chapter called pancha kosha viveka or discrimination of the five sheaths, it is explained that there is the body, inside which resides the vital force, inside which resides the mind, inside which resides the intellect or the doer, inside which resides the bliss or the enjoyer. This sequence is the place or "cave" for the hiding of the self. This cave inside which the brahman element has hidden can be known only when the afore-mentioned five sheaths are discriminated. That is why, come on, let us skin the five sheaths like a coconut and behold the brahman element beyond the cave.
Normally, these sheaths of the food, vital force, mind, intellect and bliss conceal the self element. They do not let it manifest. In the same way they can be used as a means to view the self. They create bondage and they enable freedom also. Although the coconut shell hides the coconut, the shell also enables its access. If these five sheaths were absent, no one could focus on the self element. The technique of beholding the brahman element is that one by one, none of the entities from the body to the bliss sheath contain the self. But that which sees them, and is never seen, that element, is the self.
The self is not seen, not because there is no such thing called the self, but because it is the self that causes seeing to occur. Jaggery cannot be made any sweeter. Similarly, the self cannot be made into a seen. It may not come in the experience of anyone, but the knowledge form of the self element is not impacted in the least bit. If a person cannot understand knowledge, how can he experienced known objects? "My mouth does not have a tongue". This point is quite illogical, on the same lines of the point "I do not know knowledge".
Think about this, we have knowledge of the pot, of the cloth, and of form and other sensations. We need to discard the specific knowledge of the pot, the cloth and so on, and the shift our vision to the knowledge, the awareness that in incorporated in all those knowledges just like the string in a necklace of beads. When this happens, understand that this knowledge is the brahman element. It is also self illumined. Before any of this mess is seen, it sees. When this self gives the command "the desire to see", then this mess begins to be seen afterwards.
In fact, this mess is seen by its seeing alone. If this self does not want to see, like in sleep, then this mess will not be seen. This seeing is one hundred percent subservient to the seer. This witness of the entire world, the knowledge form self, will only see in its pure state when it will completely cast off all these five sheaths. In other words, we should stop considering them as the self. That which makes these sheaths shine, that light called knowledge, that is our inherent form.
During the time of non thinking, the sheaths are considered the self. When they are considered as the not self, then the self element itself comes in front of the contemplator. At that time you can call it nothing, you can call it the self, or don't call anything at all. In order to describe the self element, the spiritual scripture used the unique language of not this not this.
A story is told by certain traditions in connection with this. A man and a woman were separated in a fair. The king lined up all men in the fair. The woman kept saying not him, not him, and when she saw her husband, she became quiet. Similarly, whatever can be negated, when it is negated, that essence which remains is the self.
So here, the self is the reality, this is proven. Its knowledge form is also proven. This element is endless. Even if we visit the farthest reaches of time and space, that knowledge will already be there. There is no boundary of time or space for it. This knowledge takes all forms. It is like the sun taking all forms of the objects it illuminates. Or it is like the five elements taking the form of the objects they inhabit. Similarly, this knowledge also takes the form of all objects. It is the self of all objects since it sits inside them and reveals them. It is infinite in every respect.
This same element sometimes becomes Ishvara and sometimes becomes the jeeva or the soul. When the creative power of the world comes into our thinking, then we remember this element in the form of Ishvara. When our mind goes towards the five element composed body, then this element appears to us as the soul. What this means is that this element plays with all of the adjuncts that we see, it revels in all of them. When we see neither the world nor the body, then this infinite pervasive awareness comes and stands in front of us. Then the yogee becomes speechless and reaches the highest state.
Both Ishvara and soul both exist due to their adjuncts. Both are awareness imbibed with adjuncts. That great person who leaves the awarenesses with adjunct, and goes eye to eye with the adjunctless awareness, that seeker whose concentration is not divided, that seeker who does not forget this pervasive awareness even while governing a kingdom, that great person in whose insides this point is firmly placed that this Ishvara notion and soul notion is born when we pay attention to powers and sheaths, if we stop paying attention to both, then only the brahman notion remains.
When seekers find this knowledge, the fully become brahman. They break their adjuncts and earn their pervasive form. Those qualified seekers who are endowed with the four fold qualifications of Vedanta conduct discrimination of the sheaths as mentioned above, they realize that cave-hidden brahman, and they definitely become brahman. The birth and death of such a person goes away, since brahman is not born. Through discrimination, one awakens his immortal brahman notion.
Translated from the Commentary by Pandit Raamaavataara Vidyaabhaaskara, a student of Achyuta Muni
The self is not seen, not because there is no such thing called the self, but because it is the self that causes seeing to occur. Jaggery cannot be made any sweeter. Similarly, the self cannot be made into a seen. It may not come in the experience of anyone, but the knowledge form of the self element is not impacted in the least bit. If a person cannot understand knowledge, how can he experienced known objects? "My mouth does not have a tongue". This point is quite illogical, on the same lines of the point "I do not know knowledge".
Think about this, we have knowledge of the pot, of the cloth, and of form and other sensations. We need to discard the specific knowledge of the pot, the cloth and so on, and the shift our vision to the knowledge, the awareness that in incorporated in all those knowledges just like the string in a necklace of beads. When this happens, understand that this knowledge is the brahman element. It is also self illumined. Before any of this mess is seen, it sees. When this self gives the command "the desire to see", then this mess begins to be seen afterwards.
In fact, this mess is seen by its seeing alone. If this self does not want to see, like in sleep, then this mess will not be seen. This seeing is one hundred percent subservient to the seer. This witness of the entire world, the knowledge form self, will only see in its pure state when it will completely cast off all these five sheaths. In other words, we should stop considering them as the self. That which makes these sheaths shine, that light called knowledge, that is our inherent form.
During the time of non thinking, the sheaths are considered the self. When they are considered as the not self, then the self element itself comes in front of the contemplator. At that time you can call it nothing, you can call it the self, or don't call anything at all. In order to describe the self element, the spiritual scripture used the unique language of not this not this.
A story is told by certain traditions in connection with this. A man and a woman were separated in a fair. The king lined up all men in the fair. The woman kept saying not him, not him, and when she saw her husband, she became quiet. Similarly, whatever can be negated, when it is negated, that essence which remains is the self.
So here, the self is the reality, this is proven. Its knowledge form is also proven. This element is endless. Even if we visit the farthest reaches of time and space, that knowledge will already be there. There is no boundary of time or space for it. This knowledge takes all forms. It is like the sun taking all forms of the objects it illuminates. Or it is like the five elements taking the form of the objects they inhabit. Similarly, this knowledge also takes the form of all objects. It is the self of all objects since it sits inside them and reveals them. It is infinite in every respect.
This same element sometimes becomes Ishvara and sometimes becomes the jeeva or the soul. When the creative power of the world comes into our thinking, then we remember this element in the form of Ishvara. When our mind goes towards the five element composed body, then this element appears to us as the soul. What this means is that this element plays with all of the adjuncts that we see, it revels in all of them. When we see neither the world nor the body, then this infinite pervasive awareness comes and stands in front of us. Then the yogee becomes speechless and reaches the highest state.
Both Ishvara and soul both exist due to their adjuncts. Both are awareness imbibed with adjuncts. That great person who leaves the awarenesses with adjunct, and goes eye to eye with the adjunctless awareness, that seeker whose concentration is not divided, that seeker who does not forget this pervasive awareness even while governing a kingdom, that great person in whose insides this point is firmly placed that this Ishvara notion and soul notion is born when we pay attention to powers and sheaths, if we stop paying attention to both, then only the brahman notion remains.
When seekers find this knowledge, the fully become brahman. They break their adjuncts and earn their pervasive form. Those qualified seekers who are endowed with the four fold qualifications of Vedanta conduct discrimination of the sheaths as mentioned above, they realize that cave-hidden brahman, and they definitely become brahman. The birth and death of such a person goes away, since brahman is not born. Through discrimination, one awakens his immortal brahman notion.
Translated from the Commentary by Pandit Raamaavataara Vidyaabhaaskara, a student of Achyuta Muni
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