DEIVATHIN KURAL #139 (Vol #4) Dated 30 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #139 (Vol #4) Dated 30 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para on page number 770 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
355. Paramatma: Cause of the World, the in-Dweller. Functionally we have come to understand that there are two entities as Paramatma and Jeevatma. This differentiation has been made in view of the practical world drama. What do we see in this world? Nature seems to impact upon the inanimate things of the world in many ways. The Planets including the Earth are going around the Sun and the Moons are going around the Planets. These changes cause Day and Night; the light and dark fortnights; seasons such as winter, autumn, summer, falls and seasonal changes like winds, rains; etc. By the power of the Sun plants and animals grow. Put together these things make human life possible on Earth. Amongst human beings and other life forms, the male and female together make procreation possible. Then using their brains and power human beings are able to make many more changes and produce and grow food and materials. Each one is born with varying degree of a variety of capabilities and powers. Each person’s past good and bad actions seem to cause them to reap the good and bad returns on a very systematic basis! Thus there are many things inter connected in a number of strings as though in an order the logic of which is not easily discernible! There is one central power or authority which ensures this order which we call the Paramatma. ‘Param’ means the supreme, top and eminent. As He or it is the Cause of all existence and controlling power as well as the Indwelling reality, it is rightly named as the Paramatma!
356. While talking according to the Adwaita Saastraas, I mention about the Jeeva’s body, sense organs and then the inner complex of Anta: KaraNam of mind, buddhi, chittam and ahankaaram; then the Aatma which stands apart from the gross and subtle body parts. Then there is the world arena of Jagat where these Jeevas have similar and different experiences and it’s coming into being, about which I am not talking at all here! In this there are some areas of differences amongst Adwaitins themselves. Here I am giving only the general views in a very simplified manner.
357. Because there is something as the mind in each individual, he or she gets varied experiences from the Jagat. Since the whole series of problems of repeated life and death and accumulation of Karma effects are due to the mind and its predilections, I said that we should control the mind and try to get the direct Aatma Anubhava. OK, it is all right. When the Jeeva controls his mind, for him the worldly experiences come to a halt. But, the world does not cease to exist for others. So the appearance of the world and its disappearance is not dependent on the individual minds imagination only. (KTSV adds: That is, this one man’s imagination creates or erases only his own world and not the objective world of others. That also means what is seen as the world is an overlap of many people’s imagination, though seemingly same, is vastly different for each individual. That is why the same point in space may be Hell for some and Heaven for others! I wish to make another observation here. Each individual is also part of the very world that we are observing or interacting with, in which all the seers, what is seen and the scenery are all continuously changing every moment!)
358. In all this dynamic chaos, there is still some inviolable order, as seen amongst the stellar inhabitants of galaxies, stars and planets in the Macro-Universe; amongst people of the world; and the molecular, atomic and sub-atomic particles in the Micro-Universe. This order cannot be transgressed except while resulting in oddities of quirks of fate! On careful observation these will be seen to be not by some individual’s mind, call it the mind of a Jeeva, except for the oddities and aberrations!
359. It is by this mind that each Jeeva is tied up by the knots of Karma, squirming like a fish stuck in the hook, having been caught by the bait as though! If everything is an imagination of the mind, will anybody imagine such torture for oneself? If everything is mind’s imagination, as seen by us now, as we have a greater penchant for sins, will anybody in the right frame of mind subject oneself to so many punishments for those sins? Moreover, for each Jeeva, other than him there seemingly are so many others; were they all created by his mind? If they are all his creation, he should know as to who is good or bad or what type? In practical life he does not seem to know at all! However much we may closely interact with others, we are not able to correctly assess others. Trustingly we are duped by many. Many are wrongly assessed by us as not worthy of our trust are seen to be gems at a later date! Forget about others, we do not seem to know our selves also properly!
360. Another factor: If you think of others as you mind’s creations, each one of them may think of you as their mind’s creation! So if all the Jeeva-s are creation of some other person, when one man’s mind is annulled and that Jeeva has attained to Release of Mukti, all people of this world should be released at once, is it not so? In practice, we have seen that there have been many great Maha Aatmaa-s who have destroyed their own minds and attained to Mukti but; this world of animate and in-animate existence continues as before! (This aspect is being discussed again later in this very talk!) So the only lesson drawn here is that, this mind of the individual is the cause of his own experiences with others like him and the world; that is with other life forms, happening in his own mind, period. But that is not the cause of everybody else’s experience or their creation and destruction! That also means that there has to be some other cause for the world to be there! In all this endless inter connections and inter-dependencies there cannot be so much apparent Law and Order!
361. Easwara or Brhmam with Characteristics (SaguNa Brhmam). What is that cause? That is the power of Maya. That is the power that shows Brhmam as so many Jeevas and Jagat. Since Parabrhmam is such an entity that there can be nothing other than it, this Maya Shakti also has to be the same only! If it is something else, then the concept that Parabrhmam is the founding constitution (Mool Aadhaar) for all will become a lie! So what we can understand from this is that, Brhmam in addition to being by itself, by its power of Maya can also be as though related to Maya. To be purely by itself is the NirguNa Brhmam and to be with Maya is the SaguNa Brhmam. GuNam means special unique defining characteristics. To be free of any such GuNa is NirguNa. With GuNa is SaguNa. Easwara is the Chief Executive of the Universe, the SaguNa Brhmam. The one Aatma as the created, manipulated puppet is Jeevatma and the puppeteer is the Paramatma, the SaguNa Brhmam that is known as Easwara, for ease of reference.
362. When we say that as Easwara when with the power of Maya, NirGuna Brhmam picture paints or conceptualises the universe, then this Easwara can be said to be the Mahamanas or the Higher Mind. Like the limited mind of the Jeeva imagines, visualises, plans and does things; in the mind of Easwara is this Universe coming in to being and runs the world. As he orchestrating the whole lot of activities of the universe, we could call it the Cosmic Mind! One major difference between these two minds is that, our mind does not know the Aatma. The mind has to go for Aatma to be realised. But Easwara while being the SaguNa Brhmam is also aware of its being NirGuNa Brhmam as these are only different names that we have hoisted on IT!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 138 (Vol #4) Dated 28 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 138 (Vol #4) Dated 28 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para on page number 762 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
344. Desire arises in the mind for whom or what? It is always for something other than itself. What comes in the way, thereby causing anger, fear and sorrow is also yet another something other than itself. Without another what remains as ONE is Adwaitam. Instead of there being only one, to be many is Dwaitam. The correct meaning of Dwaitam is Duality and not many. Paramatma is one and Jeevatma is a different one. To be thus made of two things is Dwaitam. This Jeevatma is made of body, mind, buddhi, senses and ego; put together known as Anta: Karana. Then there are many things experienced or interacted with by the Jeevatma, put together known as Dwaita Prapancham.
345. The complex of body, mind and Anta: karaNam; together are known as the Jeevatma, that is man (in English) or Manushya (in Sanskrit), both derived from the fact that he is basically so strongly identified with the mind! Out of all animals, since he is known to be capable of thinking, which includes in itself memory, imagination, analysis and logical reasoning, man is said to have the most refined sixth sense! But from what we have seen, this capacity to think seems to be the cause of endless problems of birth, actions and life. With that as the basis of the capacity to think, but beyond its grasp and comprehension there is this Aatma as the bedrock of our very being and it seems to be the reality in the background!
346. Without any help from anything, how is that this mind has this ability to think? When we face this question, it occurs to us that, this mind may also be independently having that power to think without a touch of the Dwaita Prapancham, like the Aatma! How is that possible? All the problems as we have already analysed and identified are from whatever is located in the outer world. To make or get something outside our own, we are trying so hard in life like a dog running hither and thither! Having obtained that something as ours, then we are concerned about how to retain it in our possession. Then that thing may vanish or dissipate or somebody can take it away! Thinking of such things we are ready to break into tears and feel angry and fear! If only this mind can start thinking by itself, without any reference to the outer world, how nice it would be! But here lies the dilemma. It is here that the mischief of Maya is most effective. The mind is just not capable of standing on its own! The moment it has to stand alone it will cease to be! Without thoughts about something else, the mind is a non-entity! It is just incapable of thinking without an objective. Try and see for yourself if you can form any thought in your mind without an objective or in other words, it is just not capable of subjective thinking!
347. Other than thinking it is capable of sensing and feeling, that is cognizing the sensory inputs from the sense organs. Whatever it experiences or feels or enjoys are all about things alien to it! The whole range of feelings that this mind feels are about the things about which it is getting the inputs from the sensory organs. When we have food we take the cooked rice with a ladle, soup with a serving spoon, sugar or the pickle with a spoon. Similarly the inputs to the mind are from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Though the experiencer is the mind, it requires the input devices and in turn they need different exclusive things such as scenery, sounds, scents, tastes and materials for the sense of touch.
348. Even without inputs from the senses, the mind is capable of imagining things. That leads to a whole range of expectations, aspirations, trepidations, fears and apprehensions! In doing all this it is looking out at things other than itself and never is it able to think of itself and feel fulfilment! Mind concocts stories, creates novels and authors even epics. It has the capability to versify words in to poetry which is the noblest form of expression! But it is always about other characters, natural scenes, feelings and events. Even when it is about its own feelings, it is never about itself! It is never capable of subjective analysis!
349. If it ever sits down for self analysis, it will know that it has no independent existence! Related to itself, its happiness, its agonies, its likes and dislikes, its ideas and experiences; it has plenty. By that same token it also knows that none of those things are its true form. They are related to the mind and by that very logic are not the mind! Raman has a house, lands, wife and children. None of them are he! Raman has a mind too. Unrelated to anything else, can that mind define itself? No! So, this mind which is never capable of keeping quiet, without thinking of something or the other, about others is never able to do self analysis. It will always get involved with the world of duality!
350. Aatma that Stands Alone! You can never feel or know the Aatma as an object. So, to focus the mind without thoughts in itself will actually mean, instead to focus our attention without the mind on our true Self, the Aatma, that which stands alone by itself the true Self! Mind can never experience what is ‘manoteetam’, meaning that which is beyond the mind! The characteristics of the Mind and Aatma are exact opposites! Aatma cannot be known or experienced by the mind. Mind knows everything other than itself and Aatma. Aatma knows only itself and nothing else! Mind is Dwaitam and Aatma is Adwaitam.
351. But, without Aatma there can be no mind. If Aatma is the real form of the Self, can that man or person have anything which is not dependent on that Self? If he has no sense of the self, how can he have a mind? It is the Aatma by Maya is seen as the mind. It is the Aatma which is seen as so many individual life forms as Jeevas, say the Adwaita Saastraas.
352. Example of Electricity. To understand these subtle points of Aatma and Mind, science helps with an oft repeated example. The same electricity is more or less powerful as 50 Watts and 100 Watts in different bulbs; seen as different colours; as sound in a audio instrument; as heat or cold in a stove or air conditioner; and thus as various outputs in different appliances. The same electricity is also seen as the power within the atom, between the atoms and molecules; and also as thunder and lightning in the atmosphere! None of these capabilities can be said to define the characteristics of electricity! Looking at the electrical appliance we cannot say that electricity is green or that it is capable of jazz music or generate cold air! There are not many types of electricities! Only one by that name is there. So is Adwaitam! That one Aatma by the power of Maya is responsible for all the animate life forms and inanimate materials and their interactions and all the drama of this world and universe!
353. Paramatma and Jeevatma-s. If it is true that it is one Aatma which is seen as so many people, life forms and things due to Maya; it is also clear that there cannot be separate things as Paramatma and Jeevaatma! Like all the appearances, what is seen as so many Jeevaatma should also be one and the same Aatma. Instead of everyone having a separate Aatma, this one is the inner life of all.
354. When you take one body of one person, from his head to foot, there are many body parts, each uniquely different doing some important duty in the outer and inner being as Karmendriyas, namely hands giving, receiving, operating tools such as hammer and chisel, screw driver, scalpel and so on; legs moving the body in running, walking, skiing, crawling; genitals enjoying and procreating; anus and urinary tract passing urine and stools; Gnaanendriyas for seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling the touch; flesh, fat, bones, blood, mucus, marrow, hair and nails; then Anta: Karana of mind, buddhi, chittam, ahankaara, and so on! All of them put together is one living thing. Some religions accept rebirth and reincarnation as per which this manas-buddhi-ahankara-chittam combo is taken away from one body to the next to continue with accumulated balance account of good and bad Karma. Some religions do not accept this reincarnation and do not have a clear explanation for the endless range of gradation of knowledge, luck and abilities with which people and life forms are born in this world! For all of the varieties there is one life that is one Aatma, that is seen as so many Jeevaatma-s. It is also the same Paramatma says Adwaitam!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 137 (Vol #4) Dated 26 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 137 (Vol #4) Dated 26 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 757 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
335. Loyalty to one’s own Principled Stand on religious point of view is OK. But that loyalty should not mean looking down on other’s beliefs and Siddhantam. If you go to fight with other religions and their point of views, it will only be crass extremism. Every religion teaches you universal love. If anyone says differently, it is a misunderstanding and not the true teachings of that religion. They would be found to be paying only lip service to their own religion! There are more such people who claim to belong to a religion, but do not practice any of its teachings. Such is the condition of many hard core, non-practicing renegades who are spreading hate for people of other religions. This is the problem of the present day world. I am talking about how there were different stand point of view at the time of our AachaaryaaL Adi Sankara.
336. AachaaryaaL was only 32 years of age, when he had completed the purpose of his Avatara and was about to drop his mortal coil. At that time his many followers requested him to be kind enough to give in brief his manifold Upadesas. He gave in five slokas, clear instructions as to what one should do to progress. That is known as Sobaana Panchakam or Upadesa Panchakam. In it, in the very first sentence, he says “Chant the Vedas daily and observe all the Karmas mentioned in them without fail”! Then he says that we are not to do the Karma Anushtaana for any personal aggrandisement but for ‘pleasing God’ and be devoted to God with the clarity of strong belief, faith and conviction!
337. If we are the true followers of our AachaaryaaL, we should sincerely adhere to his advice that he gave at the end of his worldly journey, which also happens to be the gist of what he has repeatedly said in so many words in so many ways, in so many slokas! That is, we should do all our allotted duties as per the Jaati or caste to which we are born; then be devoted to God as per procedures taught to us by our Father and elders of the family and society; till we are clear in our own minds that our mind has been cleansed of all cobwebs of all past tendencies. Then and only then can we endeavour to put an end to Karma and Bhakti and get into Adwaita Vichaara.
338. From the beginning the aim of Adwaita may be kept in mind. Daily at least for a few minutes we should inhere and dwell on the following line of analysis. “This world is all unreal. All duality, individuality and variety are only imagined. Aatma is the only reality that is, action-free, absolute and peace. I am that ‘I am’”. If this above assumption is to become a conviction we have to go through the paths of Karma and Bhakti. As the Adwaita idea becomes an Anubhava, the Karma and Bhakti will drop off by themselves. But, they are not to be intentionally given up, thinking that we have become some sort of a Master of Adwaita! We have to go to Adwaita through Dwaita only. By bodily actions of Karma Anushtaana only, we have to search the way to Karma Naasa that is, abandonment of having to do work! By mental activity of devotion only, we have to attain the maturity for Mano Naasa that is, annulment of the mind!
339. Followers of other Siddhanta-s do not accept Adwaitam. But, we accept their procedures as the leading steps towards our destination. There is nothing surprising in this. A person in the ground floor may not be aware of their being a first floor. But, the man in the first floor very well knows the fact of existence of the ground floor! If you want to reach the peak of a hill, you have to go from the foot hills only. From here if someone goes to Chidambaram and gets down, he may not know about Madras. Anyhow do not take my examples literally, which I just happened to give. Adwaitam is an inclusive concept which accepts other’s point of views most of the way. The difference is only in the end destination. But, the moment we start giving attention to the differences, it will take us away, far away from the Adwaitam of Oneness!
340. So what we have to do is Karma and Bhakti only. Along with them right from the beginning there has to be a thread of continuity of Adwaitam, not to be forgotten ever. For that eventual aim of Adwaita Anubhava, the preparatory steps are Karma and Bhakti. Neither is Karma for the sake of Karma nor is Bhakti an end in itself! End point is Adwaitam and means are the Karma and Bhakti. The changeless state is Adwaitam, rest are all changes from the state of Truth. However much the achievements of Karma and whatever the blissfulness of Bhakti, there has to be (an ‘I’ or ‘Me’ or ‘We’ as) a separate entity, to enjoy those achievements or blissfulness! The oneness of Truth has no place for separateness.
341. Thus to be the True being is the real happiness. Whatever the pleasures of duality of praise, property, possessions, position, name and fame; the real happiness is in dropping our separate false identity only. That was the reply given to that man of comfort (Sukha Jeevi), who asked as to why we should bother about Adwaita Anubhava at all! Analyse all the things that you consider as comfort, pleasure and ease; and you will find that they are all meant for the Mind and Body! They are all transient and fleeting that could turn topsy-turvy any moment. This mind is all the time attached to the ‘me as the body and mine’ concepts. Things can change in a fraction of a second and they do. To-morrow itself, if hands or legs are broken; or a scorpion bites; or all our stashed up money is taken away by dacoity or forgery; or our most cherished relative is taken away by Yama the God of Death; we are likely to collapse with our fore heads resting on our palms! Our own deluded thinking can cause us much embarrassment and shame! If nothing else, under a shock or trauma, the mind itself can go mad!
342. So let us be clear that as the be-all and end-all; sometimes somehow, we have to earn the maturity and dropping all the perceived pleasures of duality, fix our minds, not simply directed at but be the Aatma! Then and then only will we know our real Self. With that the wrong identification with the body wanes and bodily problems do not affect us anymore. Loss or gain does not affect us anymore so also the delusion of some as our own and others as aliens or enemies. We then are beyond the reach of the pain and pleasures of death of kith and kin and award of Bharath Ratna or Nobel Prize! Desire, anger, fear, sorrow and such feelings that arise about the others will vanish with pure unpolluted Aananda as our real Swaroopa!
343. Adwaitam means that there is nothing other than our real Swaroopa of Aatma, as another or different. Was there a world different from us in sleep or in swoon? Were there relatives, enemies or properties in sleep or swoon? When you have them then only, desire to have them, desire for more that is greed, fear of loss, anger, jealousy and so on are created. How do we relate fear to desire? We are afraid of ghosts, bad weather, thugs and ruffians, police and higher ups. Well OK, but how is this connected with desire? We love our body, mind and intellect. Anything that can cause harm to them instigates fear. We love our body and so are afraid of possible discomfort and harm by natural calamities. We are afraid of ghosts and spirits as that may affect our minds which we desire so much! We desire our possessions and properties and so are afraid of being duped. We have much desire for an imaginary property known as prestige. Any situation that can cause harm to that, like suspension from the position held in the office makes us afraid. Thus, as I said earlier, desire is the cause of greed, infatuation, delusion, pride, envy and jealousy. Now we see that it is also the cause of fear and sorrow! There is fear in apprehension and sadness when we do not get what we desire for or if we lose it after getting it!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 136 (Vol #4) Dated 24 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 136 (Vol #4) Dated 24 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 752 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
328. How did it come about that independent Aatma became enmeshed in worldly ties inextricably? None of the Principled Stands (Siddhantam) have any satisfactory explanation for this question. But we need not worry about it. Adwaitam which says that the cause of all worldly complications are due to Maya also does not satisfactorily provide an answer to the question as to how did the Aatma come under the influence of this Maya? Once again I must underline the fact that we need not feel bad or befuddle our brains about it. Because once we know that we are trapped in a mesh, we should exercise our brains about how to get out of the trap instead of going in to how we got trapped! That is how we have somehow got enmeshed in a net of Maya Jaal. Jaal means a net as well as a Magic show. It is a bluff which looks like real. The illusion that Aatma is influenced by Maya itself is a magic. It is not real. Aatma can never ever be in the clutches of Maya. But practically we see its effect on people. A short time magic show entertains. But this show by Maya is a tear jerker. So we have to make an effort to get out of its clutches. Our aim should be not about debating as to how we got trapped, but about how to get out. Instead of wracking our brains about questions such as, ‘How this came about? How were we embodied? Where from did this Maya trap us?’ we should simply pay attention to way and means of finding release from it! Even if we find the answer to these questions, there will be hundreds of interpretations, which put together make no difference to the fact of enslavement!
329. One point in which all the different principled stands (of the Siddhantam of Adwaitam, Dwaitam, Visishtadwaitam, Saiva Siddhantam and other religions too) agree is that all the problems of life can be solved. Whether we do Self Realization by Aatma Vichara or Surrender to God, in some way or the other, we can find a solution. Come to think of it somehow even at the cost of becoming inert like a piece of log, seems preferable than not trying to get release. One end of the spectrum of these Siddhantis talks about becoming Chaitanya Swaroopa of the highest level of clarity and animation. The other one talks of enjoying immense pleasure of the bliss of Paramatma’s love and kindness. This is also not inertness of a dull dead wood! The third party talks about being immersed in the effulgent glow of Chaitanya’s brilliance! Whatever the end, they are decidedly preferable to remaining in the clutches of Maya! That we should make a start in cutting down all our ties of involvement, whatever be the difference in the end state yet to be reached, all different Siddhantis are in total agreement! By doing our duties dispassionately we have to make a serious effort to cut away all the binding tethers and by devotion to the Supreme remove all sinful and negative tendencies. For Adwaita Saadhanaa too this is the start!
330. There need be no confusion about this. “Are we not adherents of Adwaita tradition? Do we not believe in the oneness of all apparent phenomena in the ultimate reality? So our efforts should mainly be directed towards achieving the Adwaita Anubhava, is it not so? So, why should we be interested in Karma Anushtaana and ritualistic devotional practices?” We need not befuddle ourselves with such doubts. Our AachaaryaaL Adi Sankara has clearly directed us to do so. We should give our minds to ‘Saadhanaa Panchakam’! Having been living in the dual world of relativity for so long, practicing dual methods of devotion, how can we suddenly get the Adwaita Anubhava? All the sins committed in duality may be corrected by devotional procedures first. Then we will be able to shift to Adwaita Saadhana. So at the initial stages our AachaaryaaL has completely approved of all the devotional procedures without any reservation. Then as you attain to inner maturity, without recourse to our pride of Ego, we will be able to drop all the props of duality and sail into Adwaitam!
331. Other Principled Stand people of Dwaitam, Visishtadwaitam and Saiva Siddhantam do not accept Adwaitam. But Adwaitins accept the others and their methods in the initial stages. Before reaching the Adwaita stand point, there are many improved stages of duality, our AachaaryaaL clearly states. In explaining the Bruhad AaraNyaka Upanishad mantra, (5.1.1.), that too the one which says, “poorNamada: poorNam idam”, meaning ‘that is complete and this is also complete’, AachaaryaaL says the following. “na cha dwitasya anrutatva buddhi: pratamam eva kasyachitsyaat”, that is ‘nobody in this world is likely to have the awareness that this world is unreal, from the very beginning’! (KTSV adds: Here it is worth the while to give your minds to the fact that Ramana had the experience of Adwaita Anubhava which cascaded on him whenever he heard the word Arunachala mentioned before him even in passing. Finally he had the Death experience opening his eyes to reality when he was 17 years of age!)
332. Brhma Sutram second chapter talks of many postulates as to how the world originated! Though it is agreed that Brhmam is the cause of the world and universe (Jagat), did it make the world with certain other inputs or by metamorphosis of itself? If there were other inputs, then the postulate that Brhmam is the Jagat KaaraNam, falls by the wayside! If there was a change of one thing becoming another, like the change of milk into curd, that is also not acceptable as Brhmam is defined as devoid of change! If it completely became the Jagat, then there is no more Brhmam. So, none of these ideas are correct. AachaaryaaL has established that neither were there any additional inputs nor was there any metamorphosis. All the changes are unreal appearances seemingly noticed like the snake is seen in the rope due to poor light. This is known as the ‘rajju – sarpa nyaasam’ often mentioned in books on Adwaitam.
333. This basic concept of Adwaitam while being discussed in the 2nd Chapter, 1st Sec, 14th Sutra of Brhma Sutram, I Quote, “tananyatva maaraNamba sabdaadibhya:”, literally meaning, “there is non-difference of those cause and effect on account of the texts about origin etc”, while establishing the inviolability of the tenet; our Aachaaryal Adi Sankara reconciles and accepts all the other non-adwaitic Siddhantams of their principled stands, very clearly. He says, “when you are dreaming all the events in the dream are so real that no one can deny them while still dreaming, and are found to be only a dream event, ‘only after you wake up from the dream’! Similarly till the Jeevatma wakes up to his reality as the Parmaatma, of necessity has to take all that happens in the world of duality as true only! I quote, “sarva vyavahaaraaNaam eva praak brahmaatmataa vignaanaat satyatvopabadde: swapna vyavahaarasyanpraak prabhodanaat”.
334. Thus accepting the way things are as they are; as adviced by our AachaaryaaL, (in Saadhanaa Panchakam, Atma Bodha: Tatva Bodha:, Viveka ChudamaNi and so many more places), we have to do 100% observance all our duties of Nitya Karma Anushtaanas and Deotional procedures and cause our mind to be perfectly cleansed to nullity and then only can we venture to step into Adwaita Vichaara and not before! We do not have to hesitate as to, “being believers of Adwaitam, should we be doing things meant for Dwaitins at all?” We do not have to worry about being laughed at by others who may not understand, that we are also following the same devotional procedures! If the Truth is our aim, then we have to be prepared to set aside all sorts of pride and prejudice! That is way of our AachaaryaaL!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 135 (Vol #4) Dated 22 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 135 (Vol #4) Dated 22 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page number 747 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
321. ‘To Go’ is the Mind only and Not the Body! So, to avoid all problems and be happily off we have to be rid of the delusion created by the mind and become aware of the inner reality of our selves. When you are one with the real Self the wrong identification with the body will go. Then even if the body is affected by any disease, it will not be much of a bother! If you wrongly come to the conclusion that since all the problems are related to being embodied and decide to do away with the body, I told you already that to commit suicide is not the answer. Even if this body goes, this life will take other gross or subtle forms (sthula or sookshma sareeras). By those bodies too, it will still have to suffer whatever it has to. So, death of the body is no solution. The conviction that we have in this body as ourselves, is what is required to be discarded. The ignorance that causes us to think of ourselves to be just this person, that ignorance has to go! Not only the wrong identification with the body, even the thought that ‘I am this Body – Mind – Intellect combination as myself’, has to go. Once you have this thought, there is a mind which thinks and a man who is thought of! That is again duality. Two means that there is cause for fear. So the thought and the thinking mind both have to vanish and just be – that is Aatma Saatchaatkaaram! That is our true state.
322. In that true ‘I’, how did this sense of separateness, Jeeva Bhava, the physical body and mind come into being? If the answer is that by the power of Maya, Aatma becomes a Jeeva with a body and mind; the question arises as to ‘Why’? There does not seem to be any convincing reply for this! When the Brhmam was contentedly happy, why should it create this Maya and thereby become incomplete and then aspire for completion? What is this? The only reply for this can be, ‘WE DO NOT KNOW!’ What was already the totality has to first create this Maya, reduce itself to something less and then search for fulfilment?! This is something like tying a cloth around your eyes and then search for yourself in a self created blindness! Why should the Brhmam play like this?
323. “Play means that there is no purpose. OK! After all playing games means that there can be no logic or arguments. It is played for fun sake! Why make a big issue out of it? In Brhmam there is a play, a Leela for no rhyme or reason. Just leave it at that!” If the reply is like that, and again if you ask, “What is the reason for that”, what can I say? Then we are shut up with the reply, “Do not ask such stupid questions!” Then we are tongue tied but dissatisfied!
324. If we say that, ‘in this life time this body is a result of the Karma of our past life’, then the question arises as to why that life happen to come about? After endless regression, when the first time it happened, it could not have been due to Karma! So how did it all start? Jeeva means that it has a life of its own. If it was never to be born as a Jeeva, it would have remained the Aatma. Aatma is never born or not what comes into being. So it could not have become a Jeeva that comes into being! In Brhma Sutram itself, there are seemingly mutually contradictory statements! For example at the very start, (Brhma Sutram 1.1.2) it says that life (Janma) happens from Brhma. Then slightly later (Brhma Sutram 2.3.16, 17.), it says that ‘what is life (Janma) is an assumption because of the physical body and not real!’ It also says that Aatma is uncreated and eternal. The Dwaitins (dualists) cannot reconcile this! If they take that Aatma is not created and is eternal as true as a reference to Jeeva Aatma too, then it cannot be accepted as evolving from Brhmam! How can an eternal thing evolve from something else? In Adwaitam, we accept temporarily a differentiation as Paramatma and Jeevatma for the sake of discussions and interactions of the worldly business only. Otherwise, we do not accept the differentiation between Jeevatma and Paramatma as two or many at all. The existence is of only one Aatma, call it what you want as Aatma or Brhmam. That it is a permanent thing that is creation free as the Brhma Sutram says, we accept in total. In that one Aatma all the Jeevas and the world are only appearances like the mirage. Since the appearances of all Jeevas are from that, all life forms can be said to have evolved from that only. That is acceptable. But if you ask me as to, “why should all the life forms and the world come into being, and then all this generations of so many life times, depending on Karma, good and bad sustaining repeated births and deaths and incarnations?”, it becomes impossible to answer!
325. If you think of these puzzles our heads start reeling. When was the first Jeeva created and where? How did this come about? If we ask such questions, we are told, “Do not ask such questions! Jeevan never comes into being. It is the same as the eternal Paramatma principle which is without a start and or end.” Put in other words, we are told that, “Maya creates the illusion in Aatma as though it is a Jeeva! It is wrong to ask questions such as where and when, because both space and time are not absolute and only illusory constructs in Maya! What is the meaning of asking as to when was Maya started? It has never started and has never been!” We are wonder struck into silence!
326. There is just one thing which is somewhat a solace. Whether Jeeva or Maya is without a start or both are such, they do have an end. One is Aadi (genesis) and the other is Antham (end). Without a start and end is only Paramatma. Maya has an end. The moment you have Gnaanam, Maya is no more. Its effect is only till we are ignorant. The instant you are aware of the reality, Jeeva ends in Paramatma and becomes that like the rivers joining the ocean. Then no Janma, no body, no duality with all the problems of Dwaitam such as desire, fear, hate and so on!
327. Jeevatma as it is without a start as well as without an end is the view of dualists. Its end if at all is to be in the presence of God’s proximity permanently. That is the attainable end for repeated births and deaths of this worldly life they say! If this is Dwaitam, Visishtadwaitam makes a slight modification, as per which, having recognised the immanent divinity in each one of us to permanently abide in that knowledge is Moksham. Here replacing Vishnu for Siva as the presiding deity is Saiva Siddhantam. What they say is that, like there are stars in the sky even in day time, though they are invisible because of the brilliant Sun. Similarly in Moksham, the Jeevas remain ever permanently fixed though unseen without being destroyed. Similarly all the Jeevatma remain merged in Paramatma having lost their separatedness! So even in Moksham, the three remain as Pasu (Jeevatma), Pathi (Paramatma) and Paasam (the connecting link of the Jagat)! We need not worry about these slight nuances of differences. Once you reach that stage, it does not matter as to who is right and who is wrong! At that level, these differences are only matters that are immaterial! Let us be happy with that.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 134 (Vol #4) Dated 20 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 134 (Vol #4) Dated 20 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 741 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
315. After Mind has been Annulled, What Happens? Yes desire is not easily controlled. Krishna says that this “kaamaroopam duraasadam”, meaning that the desire is the very form of uncontrollability! “But still You are a Maha Bhaahu”, He says, meaning that Arjuna is a mightily armed man, possibly tapping him on the shoulders to encourage him! If we consider the Maha Bharatha war of Pandavas and Kouravas, as allegorically representing the struggle between good and evil; the ‘Maha Bhaahu’ phrase is indicative of the Saadhaka’s perseverance. To carry on regardless of how many times one fails; to re-gather the mind and try again, you need indomitable energy and a ‘never say die’ attitude! Once the mind has been annulled, Aatma will be seen to be shining bright. After all, the worldly experiences are all through this mind only, is it not so? When the mind subsides, all these experiences will also vanish. No more problems, fears, worries, anxieties and aspirations, expectations and disappointments too! All these are reactions to what this ghost of desire instigated. With the subsidence of the mind, this ghost vanishes. Then there is only absolute peace! All the ties created by Manas, Buddhi, Ahankaara, Karma, relations and properties will all be cut asunder unto total freedom of thoughtlessness! That is the experience of Ananda of the state of Samaadhi!
316. If that is experience of Anandam, there has to be someone to feel or know that experience, is it not so? If he is apart from Anandam as another person, then Dwaitam comes in again. The moment that happens then fear and anxiety and the whole lot of connected feelings will also come in! Then it cannot be Anandam anymore. So, that man having lost his separate identity becomes the very embodiment of bliss! That man is Aatma the Self! Till now we have been thinking of ourselves to be the mind. We have been taking the mind’s thought processes and experiences as our own. To gain that, like someone who went for a bath and ended up covering oneself in mud, we have been earning a whole generation of sorrows! In this the biggest sorrow is that instead of learning about the truth we have been living a lie!
317. To think of the mind as ourselves, as the real self is a mistake, is it not? Is it not a lie? We do experience a stage of mindlessness every day in sleep. In sleep, while drunk with alcohol, under anaesthesia and in Samaadhi mind is defunct, but still we or me or I is, very much in existence. So thinking this mind to be our self was an error, is it not so? To know the Self, the Aatma, the real ourselves is Aatma Gnaanam. Once we realise this mind to be fictitious, we will know the real us. That is Self Realization! We learn many things – History, Geography, Atomic Science, Electronics and many other subjects. To know and learn is the purpose of this very birth it seems. Thus there are many Arts and Sciences to be studied and known. We use our brains to do search and research and create many goods and facilities for our ease and comfort. While we think of ourselves to be great and smart, one other factor becomes embarrassingly clear. That this mind, using which we did all the search and research, for whose satisfaction we did all that, by which we learnt many truths; that mind itself is unreal! This is a very unpalatable truth, is it not so? That all our searches and researches ended up in increasing so many objects of luxury for the satisfaction of this mind! Then to know that this mind is an unreal fictitious commodity is an embarrassing fact! More over this mind for whose satisfaction we work hard like a slave, is never satisfied! Is this not a very pathetic state of affairs? We should be ashamed of the fact that to sustain a Lie with a big capital ‘L’, we have been persevering all our lives! We have been fooled. It is high time that we woke up!
318. One gentleman approached me and asked me as to, “Why we should know this Aatma?” In the worldly perspective he was quite a lucky man. He had no problems and not too many demands on his time and resources. He said, “I do not know as to why you are suggesting that we should learn about Adwaitam and Aatma Shanti and such things. You are saying that only then will we be happy as otherwise we will be subject to all sorts of problems. I do not think that life is all that problematic as you are saying. When everything is just OK, why should I control my mouth and stomach and mind?” I replied him thus. “Let us say that you are taking care of somebody, by whom you are expecting much happiness and satisfaction. Later if you get to know that person whom you were thinking to be worthy of your attention is a bogus fraud, would not be disappointed? This mind of ours is like that.”
319. When we say that we are happy, we are talking about what we think and that is the job of the mind. Do we not have to know if this mind is really our self or not? We feel proud of our human achievements and our knowledge base. From the atom’s inner constitution to the outer galaxies of this universe, we are making a new discovery every day and feel mighty proud about it. Do we not owe it to ourselves to know as to who we are? Who is this making all these researches and discoveries? Without knowing our true reality, what is the use of our saying that we have come to know all truths through Science? If we have to know the truth of all truths and attain the knowledge about knowing; we have to come to learn about the science of the Self!
320. Even the majority who may not be able to seriously practice this Aatma Saastra of the Science of Self should grasp this idea that this mind is the villain who is hiding the true hero in us! Daily for at least some ten minutes or even five minutes, we should start practicing Dhyana (that is meditation)! At least for those five or ten minutes, we should learn to sit quietly in silence reminding ourselves not to run after the dictates of this mind! If you have had a life of comfort and are happy with your life so far, be thankful. For one thing, life is capable of changing fast. Any moment any of the following things such as death, disease, theft, madness, anger and fear, can take over! If you have no problems, well and good! Actually that is more the reason for launching ourselves in this quest of trying to know the answer to the question, “Who am I”?
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 133 (Vol #4) Dated 18 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 133 (Vol #4) Dated 18 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page number 736 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
305. For Adwaita Saadhaks there is no need to tell this fact of God’s Grace being the cause of the final upliftment from the dual level to the Adwaita Anubhava! Actually there is more logic in not mentioning this fact. That is why, in the Bhagawat Gita which emphasises this fact (that Moksham is finally achieved by God’s Grace); on occasions when mainly discussing the Gnaana Marga, it has been bypassed, quite logically in my opinion. That is how, starting from the senses, he goes on raising the level to Mind, Intellect and Self; He tells Arjuna to know as to what is above the Intellect, he has to control the mind, senses and defeat the enemy named desire. Here the direction is as though, the Jeeva will achieve everything by his own efforts. Refer to the 3rd Chapter of Bhagawat Gita!
306. Even here He is referring to Easwara indirectly I feel. Even to me this fact seems to have become clear only as I was talking to you about it. When He says that Aatma is superior to our Buddhi, He uses the Sanskrit word “sa:” to refer to Aatma, which means ‘He’ and not ‘it’! So we can take it that by referring to Aatma in the male gender single, He means Easwara. Then the next sentence would mean, “Thereby knowing Easwara, controlling your mind, destroy your desires!” This can be taken to be as good as saying, “Knowing Easwara to be the one to control your mind, destroy your desires!” We had seen earlier that this mind will have to vacate and vanish before you can know Aatma or rather before you can know yourself to be the Aatma! But to know Easwara, the mind has to be there! The Dwaita Easwara will be known to the Dwaita mind only. Either way, when the Jeeva’s mind is annulled, he will know himself to be the Aatma and Adwaita Anubhava is attained or in other words Easwara pulls you up from the duality in to oneness of Adwaita Anubhava! So, if we take it that Gita is saying, “Knowing Easwara the mind subsides”, it means that, ‘for a man in the dual world, once he has come to know Easwara as the supreme, to him Easwara Grants Mano Nigraha’.
307. Aatma Gnaana is Destruction of Desires. So it all comes down to the fact that, whatever be the way Easwara may function, what the individual man the Jeeva has to do is to, simply try to control his own mind by dispassionate practices. When such control has effectively been established thus, then only this Kaama the Desire can be made defunct and destroyed. What was earlier described by Bhagawan as the power that forcibly pushes man in to the abyss of Hell and the gluttonous sinner who is never satisfied, to destroy that Kaama thus; the only way is to compulsorily stop and control the Indriya – Mano – Buddhi – Ahankaara, says Bhagawan, as I told you earlier. That is to say, annulment of his separate individuality resulting in Adwaita Aatma Gnaana would also mean that there would be no more desires! Not only does the desire get erased, the idea that one is a Jeeva that is Jeevatvam goes and Adwaita Anubhava results.
308. Arjuna had asked as to which is the power that pushes the reluctant man into Sin (Paapa) for which Bhagawan had replied that it is ‘Desire’ with due discussion about the related hazards. In pointing out the remedial measures, He virtually opens the Gates of Heaven as though! Later in another place He lays this out quite clearly that if you get released from the clutches of Kaama and Krodha, you attain to Brhma Satchaatkaara, that is also known as NirvaaNa or Moksha. (Ref to Bhagawat Gita.5.26.) I Quote, “kaama krodha viyuktaanaam yateenaam yata chetasaam I abhito brhma nirvaanam vartate viditaatmanaam II” Meaning, ‘absolute freedom (or brahmic bliss) exists on all sides in both, for those self – controlled ascetics who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.’ What is that ‘in both’, that is underlined?
309. That is, for the Adwaitins who refuse to accept the Duality of the world everything will become one! Otherwise, this world of relativity is known as ‘Iham’ and what is other than this relative existence is ‘Param’! Normally till you are embodied, you are in Iham. Then only when you die, that is drop the mortal coil, you become entitled to Param and that is Moksham! But for the Adwaitin, he finds release while still in this physical body. Once he knows that this world of Maya is unreal, He just knows! He may be seemingly going around doing his things like anybody else. But he will be constantly living in Aatma. Then the body drops off whenever it has to. The body’s being there or not being there will not be of any relevance to him whatsoever since, the individual has become one with the very existence!
310. We saw earlier that for a person who identifies rightly or wrongly that all problems of existence are due to the body being there, then at once is confronted with the question if all those problems will cease if the body goes? Then we came to the conclusion that it is not good enough if the body goes and that it is the accumulated effect of Karma that has to go! For that again, the wrong identification that, “I am this body”, has to go! The one who has enjoyed the Adwaita Anubhuti, while still living in the body, continues to enjoy the eternal, death–free state of being the Aatma! He would just not have a thought of being in a body. Thus, the one who seems to be just one amongst us, but is released from body consciousness and is in a state of Adwaita Mukti, is called the Jeevan Muktan.
311. Thus, the statement that one could reach the Brhma NirvaaNa, in both Iham and Param, while still living in this world of Iham, has the Bhgawan’s stamp of approval. In Veda itself in Purusha Sukta and Upanishad, there is mention of such people who attain to immortality in this mortal Iham! Without having to go to another world of Kailasam or Vaikundam or any other heaven, that we could enjoy the eternal bliss of Aananda of Moksha is possible only in Adwaita! Destruction of desire takes you there says Bhagawan! That is exactly what AruNagiri Nathar said in the 43rd stanza of Kandar Anubhuti, “aasaa nigaLam tugaLaayina pin pesaa anubhuti pirandaduve”, meaning that when the all desires were rendered unto dust, word-free Anubhuti was born!
312. Much before Buddha! “All problems are due to desire. If you win over your desires, you attain to NirvaaNa”, is claimed to be a finding by Buddha as though it is a discovery of unparalleled importance! It was only re–dis–covered by Buddha! There is no gain saying the fact that this is one of the basic tenets for any Saadhak to make any progress! We can quote not one but many scriptures to prove this point. Anyhow in what we have been discussing for quite some time now about Bhagawan Sri Krishna’s statement in Gita, that by getting over desire and anger, you can attain to ‘Brhma NirvaaNam’; they deleted the word indicative of totality, Brhma; and simply opted for only the bare ‘NirvaaNam’! The culture of India that has been the driving force for thousands of years before Buddha, of which he was only an off spring, is delightfully made into a path breaking pioneer by British historians with vested interest, to depict as though prior to Buddha, Indians were barbarian country brutes! We can only thank God for the fact, that many of the Indian Historians who feel pride in being copy cats and heirs of western historians, have not said that Bhagawat Gita chronologically comes after Buddha! In Upanishad’s much before Buddha and even Gita, this need to overcome desire has been emphasized!
313. There is a gradation for the level of happiness attainable to various types of lives. If we take that the maximum happiness of a human being to be One Unit for the sake of using it as a yard stick, ten times that is the capacity for happiness of Gandarvas. Ten times that is the happiness level of Pithrus. Next higher level is that of Devas, Indra, Bruhaspati, Prajapati and finally Brhma; each ten times higher or better than the previous. (What I am talking here refers to Ananda Valli in Taitreeya Upanishad, which I have also touched upon in Para 191 of Deivathin Kural 117 of (Vol#4) dated 17 Dec 2010, which may be referred.) As he moves from the level of Dwaitam to Adwaitam, we can take it that a Saadhak goes through all these levels of experiencing happiness! Here it is repeatedly emphasised that the aspiring Saadhak should be a Srothriya and Akaamahata. Srotriya means a person of high quality by birth, behaviour, education and attitude. Akaamahata means one who is not affected by the pulls of desires. Only such a person will proceed to the next level of happiness, to reach the pinnacle, instead of getting stuck at the lower levels.
314. In the Upanishads Aatma Gnaanis have been described as “veetaraaga’, which means that their desire has been erased permanently. In Maha Narayanopanishad in the portion known as Dahara Vidya (12.3.4.), it is said, “na karmana na prajaya dhanena na tyagena ekena amrutatvam aanasu:” , meaning that eternal immortality of Amaratvam cannot be obtained by any amount of actions or having a great lot of kith and kin and followers or wealth; but, many have attained to it simply by giving up! There are many other places in the Upanishads where it is held that destruction of desire is the only way to freedom and release. What the Rishis said in the Vedas and Upanishads is what is compiled and included in the Bhagawat Gita and Gita is about three thousand years predated to Buddha! The Mangala sloka of Gita says that Krishna the cowherd, milked the Upanishads the cows, for the calf Arjuna as a representative of all kind hearted people of the world! The main advice of Krishna in Gita for all of us is to control our desire!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 132 (Vol #4) Dated 16 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 132 (Vol #4) Dated 16 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page number 730 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
298. All Adwaita Saastraas are meant for those who have attained to a certain degree of clarity, equanimity and expansiveness of the mind through sustained and disciplined efforts. That is why there is not much mention of Karma Anushtaana and Bhakti in them, giving more importance to self analysis of deep philosophical principles and concepts! To carry forward the argument in the Adwaita ambience, there is no mention of Easwara Anugraha. Actually come to think of it, when finally the Saadhak has dropped off all his otherness and done whatever is to be done as per AachaaryaaL’s advises in Saadhanaa Panchakam, Easwara Anugraha is but certain, as by then the difference between the Saadhak and Easwara would have been erased!
299. More than the Bhashyams to Brhma Sutram, Upanishads and Gita; our AachaaryaaL’s PrakaraNa Granthas such as Viveka ChoodaamaNi, Upadesa Saahasri, Aparoksha Anubhuti, Aatma Bodhaha and Tatva Bodhaha, are all addressed at such already evolved souls who have clearly identified their aim in life to be comprehending and understanding the Adwaita Anubhava only. Similarly other exponents of Adwaita who have come after Adi Sankara too have authored works addressed at such advanced students. In them also there is no mention of this Easwara Anugraha matter. Still I wished to emphasise the importance of this that while in the relative existence the way out has to be with God’s Blessings only even for those desirous of Adwaita Anubhuti. That is why even books purely on Adwaita Anubhava will be starting with a MangaLa Sloka expressing a sense of gratitude to Guru or Easwara that it is by their Anugraha that Gnaana will be obtained!
300. Many of the Adwaita Granthas start with a disciple surrendering to a Guru completely, totally dependent on the Guru’s whim and wish. Then the Guru will give his Upadesa which the disciple keenly absorbs. Some intricate points may be clarified by the Sishya asking some questions, which the Guru will respond to. Towards the end the disciple will express his gratitude for having been enlightened with the wonderful Adwaita Anubhuti. These are all proof of the fact that obtainment of Gnaana is dependent on Anugraha from Easwara who is in the form of Guru!
301. ‘Easwara’ as an unseen Tatva (principle) seems an unnecessary interpolation of Dualism in an aspirant keen on Adwaita Anubhava. Still in practice it becomes necessary to seek the advice of an experienced person’s Upadesa and Anugraha. So, that person comes as the friend, guide and philosopher in his life, in human form as the Guru. This duality does not create any ripples or hindrance, but is taken as a welcome support by the aspirant. I can give you an apt example here. Many of the followers of Ramana Maharishi, especially the westerners, wish to follow the Adwaita philosophy only. To bring in the element of Easwara will be not conducive to their Self-enquiry path. Still they too call him and consider him as a Guru or Master by whose grace they claim that they could experience the Anubhava! For all that, Ramana never claims to be a Guru to anyone and does not consider anyone coming to him as his disciple. There is also J.Krishnamurthy who clearly does not approve of any Siddhanta or defined route or path. He clearly says that there is no Guru required. But, despite all that, those who listen to him still consider him as a Guru by whose Anugraha they claim that they get clarity of thoughts and understanding! So, it seems that calling it Easwara Anugraha tends to emphasise the duality while calling it the Guru Prasadam seem to be more easily acceptable to the Adwaitic frame of mind! This fact has been mentioned by our AachaaryaaL in clear words with love, devotion and gratitude in Gurvashtakam and many such works of his. The last sloka in Baja Govindam for example conveys the following meaning:- “The sishya (disciple) who has with devotion placed all his trust in the lotus feet of the Guru, is released from the ties of the world for ever and by controlling his sense organs and mind, he goes on to see that God, in his own heart!”
302. Maya Sakti Also Sanctions Gnaana. Easwara is of the very form of Gnaana (Gnaana Swaroopi). He is also the one granting Gnaana. This is conveyed in a very succinct manner, by our AachaaryaaL in his Bhashyam on Kenopanishad. “Who so ever does whatever at any time in the world, it is not by their own power but by the power of Brhmam”, says AmbaaL to Indra in Kenopanishad. In the original text of Kenopanishad, AmbaaL is referred as Uma and Haimavati. In our Aachaaryaal’s word by word commentary as well as sentence by sentence commentary in his Bhashyam, he has referred to AmbaaL as ‘Vidya’ repeatedly. Vidya means learning or knowledge. The most important thing to be learnt being the knowledge that we are nothing but the very Aatma that we are seeking. So, Vidya means Gnaana and that too the Adwaita Aatma Gnaana! The knowledge of various methods of Upaasana will have names of that method with Vidya as a suffix, such as Dahara Vidya or so and so Vidya. Out of all such Vidyas to be known, the knowledge that Aatma is Brhmam is the highest Advaita Gnaanam. This is known simply as Vidya without a prefix or suffix! That is Aatma Gnaanam. “Amongst all that has effulgence, the highest and foremost is Vidya only”, Says our AachaaryaaL in his Bhashyam, describing AmbaaL as Vidya SwaroopiNi (Gnaana personified).
303. Avidya means Agnaana that is, ignorance or Maya as mentioned by Adi Sankara. (Then amongst Adwaitins there has been a slight difference in interpretation as to what is the difference and oneness between Maya and Avidya. They say that Maya is a sort of power that hides the reality and shows something that is not there, like a magic show of illusion! As per them, Avidya is a state of ignorance not being aware of the reality! They also say that Brhmam with Maya is Easwara and Brhmam under the control of Maya is Jeeva. Keep this information aside somewhere in the archives of your mental library.) In what the Adwaitins say about Brhmam with Maya as Easwara, remaining above its control as a Gnaana incarnate; Adi Sankara goes one step beyond and describes AmbaaL not as the power of Maya but as Vidya itself! To pray to AmbaaL as Rajarajeswari is called ‘Sri Vidya’ as a special method of venerating God. This AachaaryaaL has done by Sri Chakra Yantra Prathishta (establishing a particular design to describe AmbaaL’s abode) and described the method of such pooja in Soundarya Lahari. So what is Maya the Power of wailing and illusion is also shown as the power of that runs the show of the world of Maya, as well as the power that releases you from the delusion of the world!
304. Both Karma Bandam and Gnaana Siddhi are by Easwara Only! When we look at the Bhashyam for Brhma Sutra also, we notice that even in places where the Grace of God (Easwara Anugraha) is not mentioned in the main text, AachaaryaaL talks of it as the reason for our release from Karma Bandam! There are many examples to prove this point. In Brhma Sutra 3 – 2 – 5 it says that, “The oneness of Jeevatma and Paramatma is dormant in Jeevatma. By praying to Paramatma this hidden knowledge is revealed because both the bandam (ties that are binding) and release from it are obtained from Him only!” In such places if our Aacharyaal is to say that Adwaita Moksha is by the Grace of God only, there is nothing special about it! In this Brhma Sutram itself in another place, the thing being analysed is, “Is this Jeeva a Karta who acts or not? If the answer is yes, then how can actionless Samaadhi happen to him?” Ref Brhma Sutra 2 – 3 – 40-41. Then it gives the reply that Jeeva is an actor as well as a non-actor. If you ask as to how is it possible that he is a Karta as well as Akarta, it says that he is a Karta as well as Akarta, ‘like the carpenter!’ When the carpenter is plying his trade, he works with his instruments like the saw, chiseller, leveller, scraper and such. At such moments he is a Karta. Then he goes home and does no action as a carpenter. At such moments he is an Akarta! Similarly the Jeeva who is normally a Karta using his bodily instruments of Gnaanendriyas and Karmendriyas. Then when resting in actionless Aatma during Samaadhi, he is an Akarta! Thus the Jeeva gets his Karma and involvement from Easwara only. Here there is no mention of the release from this involvement in doing ones duties and the resultant ties, through Gnaana and or Easwara’s role in such release, in the Brhma Sutra text. Here too AachaaryaaL while giving his comments, instead of stopping at saying that by doing work the Jeeva gets the worldly life of Doer (Kartrutvam) and Enjoyer (Bhogtrutvam) roles by Easwara’s Commands; says also that this Jeeva becomes worthy of Moksha by the highest Gnaana also by the Anugraha from the same Easwara! He could have stopped at, “Easwaraat tat anujyayaa kartrutva bhogtrutva lakshanasya samsaara siddhi:” In the original text that is being explained, there is nothing more than that. But our Aachaaryaal not wanting to stop at only sounding as though we are accusing God for the involvement in the worldly affairs, goes on to add that the same power that got us involved, is also responsible for granting relief and release! He adds, “tat Anugraha hetukeneiva cha vignaanena moksha siddhir bhavatum arhati”. That is to say that by Easwara Anugraha only this individual Jeeva becomes worthy of receiving the Highest Gnaana, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 131 (Vol #4) Dated 14 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 131 (Vol #4) Dated 14 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para of page number 723 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
291. Adi Sankara, our AacharyaaL has often spoken about God’s Endowment of Gnaana. Though he was steeped in Adwaitam, he also excelled in spreading Bhakti wherever he went, all over India. He has written many slokas on all the Gods soaked in deep devotion. For example in ‘Soundarya Lahari and Sivananda Lahari’ both basically devotional slokas, he has said that Maya is removed and Moksham is granted by God’s Grace. Even in those works oriented mainly towards Gnaana, he has mentioned in several places the critical role of Easwara Anugraha in attaining Gnaana. The reason for this could be that, as you go on being devoted to God, the end result could well be Gnaana. (KTSV adds:- In introducing Baja Govindam song by Adi Sankara sung by Dr.M.S Subhalaxmi, Rajaji says I Quote, “End of Bhakti is Gnaana and end of Gnaana is Bhakti”.)
292. We do not have to tell people who are in the Bhakti Marga that they can hope to get Gnaana only by doing Gnaana Vichaara and Nidhidyaasana. As they progress in the Bhakti Marga, it will naturally lead to single pointed devotion of the mind. Such a mind will stop playing its tricks and quietly lead you to the source eventually. We do not have to talk about it. Devotion can be and is an end in itself! That is called ‘Ananya Bhakti’ or devotion without a second; which in other words is Adwaita Anubhava! If you have it in your mind that there is Gnaana beyond Bhakti, then you may feel like dropping the devotional activities even before your attaining to maturity of ‘Chitta Aikaagrata’ required to do Gnaana Vichaara! So, thinking about all these things, Bhakti is emphasised first, so as not to create confusion in people’s minds. To be acceptable to the people on the devotional path of the Bhakti Marga, he could have said that Gnaana Siddhi, Moksha and Adwaita Anubhava are all by sanction of Easwara only! We saw the reasons for not mentioning this fact in the Bhashyam for Adwaita Granthas. At the same time, Adi Sankara has not ignored this fact totally also! (One point of clarification: Adi Sankara has written his commentaries on Brhma Sutram, Ten important Upanishads and Gita. These commentaries are known as Bhashyas. Then he has himself authored Adwaita Granthas such as, ‘Viveka ChudaamaNi, Upadesa Saahasri, Aparokcha Anubhuti, Aatma Bodha: and Tatva Bodha:’ together known as PrakaraNa Granthas.)
293. If Adi Sankara had talked about Easwara Anugraha while making the Bhashya to statements made in the Gita such as, “By all means surrender to God the Easwara. By His Grace you will attain to eternal peace”, it would not have been so surprising. But, despite being champion of Adwaita; he has gone out of his way to emphasise the importance of Easwara Anugraha in his PrakaraNa Granthas as well as in such places in the Bhashyas where there is no mention of it in the original. For example, in the 18th Chapter, even before that sloka on, “sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam saraNam vraja”, Sri Krishna Bhagawan says that, “One should never give up one’s assigned duties of Nitya Karma Anushtaana. His Swadharma of daily and periodical duties itself, when he does as an offering of love and devotion to God, he gets the Siddhi! That is, I will tell you how the Saadhak gets the highest attainment of merging into the Parabrhmam itself!” (Gita 18.46 – 50.) That means that a person simply doing his duties without hankering for the immediate gains of such actions gets the maturity of ‘Gnaana Nishta Yogyataa’! He does not say that God does anything like a favour for the devotee. But the devotee becomes deserving of receiving Gnaana. He uses a word, “tat prasaadajaam”, meaning ‘as an endowment’. This is not so mentioned in the original text, to which AachaaryaaL is giving the Bhashyam. But, of his own volition, he is bringing in the idea of God’s Grace doing the needful!
294. Easwara only gives the fruit of our actions, as the organizer, manager and executive. Karma does not give the ‘Phal’, the fruit of our actions, being an inanimate law. This is the belief of the Adwaitins. Poorva Meemaamsakas used to hold the view that Karma itself gives the fruits and that there is no need to bring in the element of Easwara at all! They the Poorva Meemaamsakas were roundly criticised and put in their place by our Aachaaryal Adi Sankara. For all that happens the dispenser of fair justice according to your actions is the job of Easwara as the Chief Executive and Chief Justice rolled in to one! But, his power is within the ambit of the world of Maya only! They do not say that he is the ‘Phala Dhaataa’ even when we are aspiring to get relieved of the strangle hold of Maya. All their contention is that, “Karma Yoga gives Chitta Shuddhi. Then the Jeeva does Gnaana Vichaara. That matures him to become worthy of attainment of Gnaana.” Here our AachaaryaaL is affirming that it is directly as a result of Easwara Anugraha.
295. That to move from Karma Yoga to Gnaana Yoga, we need the Easwara Krupa or sanction, is being mentioned in the last chapter of Gita that is the 18th! The first step for this commences in the 2nd Chapter of Gita. There, having described all the nuts and bolts of Gnaana Vedaanta, for some 26 slokas, He says, “So far I told you about Sankhya and now I will tell you about Yoga!” Normally Sankhya would mean Kapila’s Saankhya Saastra and Yoga would mean, Patanjali’s Raja Yoga. Here Bhagawan Sri Krishna is referring to the Gnaana Marga as Saankhya and Karma Marga as Yoga! But set aside the names and follow the main thrust of my point of view. Here Bhagawan Sri Krishna at the very start of talking about Karma, is saying that “Karma itself cuts asunder all ties. When you do Karma interested in the returns, it enhances the involvement and ties you up in knots! When you simply do your duties not aspiring for the returns, that action itself relieves you from all the ties, while simultaneously proving to be salubrious for the society also. When you do your duties simply for the sake of one’s own clarity of mind and attitude, it cuts all ties! You cut your Karma Knot thus He says, “karma bandam prhaasyasi”!
296. Here too, though not mentioned by Sri Krishna, our AchaaryaaL, so as not to leave it unsaid emphasizes in his Bhashyam to Gita that; “by Easwara Anugraha having attained to Gnaana, cut asunder the ties born of good and bad karmas of dharma and adharma actions!” That is Karma does not give the returns on its own but the fruit of karma is provided by Easwara, our AachaaryaaL says. He uses the phrase, “Easwara prasaada nimitta”, that as a result of God’s Grace, “gnaana praapte:” meaning ‘attainment of enlightenment happens’ he says! So, ‘doing Karma should be considered as a way of attainment of Gnaana, undoubtedly’, says Adi Sankara. Thus starting from sowing the seeds for Karma Yoga, till it takes you to ‘nish kaamya karma’, it is Easwara Anugraha that takes you to across the ocean of Samsaara. There at the end point, for people asking as to how to catch the Aatma by the Buddhi, that is the combination of brains, mind and intellect, He says that, “This will be known to those who get the Guru Prasaadam in themselves”! That is, he says, “labda gurvaatma prasaadaanaam”. Here he says that Guru Prasaadam is the same as Aatma Prasaadam. That means that, by the Grace of the Guru we could catch on to the Aatma. What was Antah KaraNam made up of four different entities of ‘mano – buddhi - ahankaara – chittaani’ of the devotee; gets the right clarity from the AntaHh KaraNam of the Guru, which is the same as Aatma; pointing out His Anugraha! Though there is no mention of Grace of God or Aatma or Guru here in the original, our AachaaryaaL deems it necessary to bring out the special effect and power of Anugraha!
297. Guru is like a prophet of God, as a true representative of His. The root of all Gurus is God Himself. Easwara Himself is the Guru of all Gurus. “sa poorveshaamapi guru:” Easwara Himself comes as the Guru and guides the Jeeva. That is the basis of all our beliefs in our Religion. So Guru Prasaadam is Easwara Prasaada, the God’s Grace!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 130 (Vol #4) Dated 12 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 130 (Vol #4) Dated 12 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 717 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
282. Depending on the level of maturity the advice has to be different. Especially in the subject that we have now taken up, what we have to pay attention to is that the same material content cannot be there for all the students from class one to the school final and the aspiring college student to post graduate curriculum! Initially they have to be made fully conversant with the need for moral discipline in performing their duties and devotional activities of Pooja, Prayers and Bhajans involving SmaraNa and Manana and Chintan leading to meditations. After some grounding on such dualism (Dwaitam) they could be considered as entitled to receive some introduction to the principles of monism (Adwaitam). They should not simply stop at the Dwaitam level only, but enabled to move on to the concepts of Adwaitam. Once they have advanced more on the Adwaitam, they should not be permitted to go back to prayers and pooja. Without any mention of dualism their minds should be fully weaned away and completely riveted on Adwaitam only.
283. The Dwaitins have to be told about progressing to Adwaitam little by little whereas the Adwaitins should never be permitted to slide back into dualism. They should be enabled to completely forget dualism. That is the reason for the Adwaita Saastraas not talking about the role of Easwara. In our country these principles instead of remaining only as intellectual discussions were more on making them practical inner experiences. This led to the creation of many traditions with detailed step by step instructions. Evidently these should not be told to every Tom, Dick and Harry and given as a lecture for the general public! The Adwaita Saastraas were written for such people who have progressed already by regular practice of Karma Anushtaana and Upaasana and left those practices also while taking Sanyaasa. At the time of taking Sanyaasa, they get the Maha Vaakya Upadesa. Having thus officially renounced all worldly involvement of action with desire and abandoned the fruits of all actions, they are to meditate on the Aatma / Para Brhmam. The Adwaita Saastraas are meant for their study and consumption. As I said earlier, till they are persevering mentally but still short of complete realisation of Adwaita Anubhava; bringing in the element of the Grace of God, will take him back to Squire One! So, that point about the role of God is not so mentioned!
284. Easwara is a great ‘Mayavi’ that is a magician. It is said that “avan anri oraNuvum asaiyaadu”, meaning that, ‘without him not an atom can move’! He having entered our minds makes us think of Him while keeping us totally in the dark about Him! When we get all sorts of stupid ideas we know clearly that these cannot be his thoughts! Those ideas cannot be worthy of His nobility and omniscience, we feel! Then we pray to Him to guide us and grant us the right attitude, correct thoughts and actions! That is what the Gayatri Mantra is for. Though all that happens in the world are His action only, some of those things we assign to ourselves as our actions and feel guilty or proud about them varyingly! Sometimes it looks as though He has given this mind to test us as to how we make use of them. All the fun seems to be His watching us, as he is known as the ‘sarvadhee saakchi bootam’, the Eternal Witness! If everything is His plan, His action; then what is there for us to do? What is the idea of correcting us, progressing on which path and go where?
285. How far will He let us proceed with our own plans and actions? When will He take over completely? Nobody can answer these questions. After entering Aatma Vichaara, as He progressively raises our level, before taking over completely, He may play with our minds. He may let us have much liberty and independence to come to the right conclusions on our own too. Somewhere on the way, there is a distinct possibility for our minds come to the conclusion that, “Easwara’s Blessings are so wonderful and so why not continue to be a devotee of the God?” Exactly this sentiment has been expressed by one of the Azhvaars when he said, “ichchuvai tavira yam poi indira lokam aaLum achchuvai perineum vendane Arngamaa nagaruLaane”, meaning ‘compared to the pleasure of being a devotee of yours, Oh God! I would not care even for ruling over the Heavens as Indira the King of the Devaas’! God may Grant that and Adwaita Anubhava will remain only a hazy forgotten dream!
286. What is the Need of Saastraas for What God Does? God Himself may Grant anything without showing that He has done so. He could also Grant Adwaita Anubhava itself without revealing His hand! Such greats who have attained to Adwaita Anubhava, have written the Adwaita Saastraas, have come to realise that their effort is taken over completely by the Grace of God as nothing of their being remains in balance! They having lost their separateness have become one with the only reality, call it whatever you may! By then they would have lost all sense of being a separate human individual. So, the Saastraas are meant for others on the path for them to make the required initial efforts as aspirants to reach that level of maturity when God can take over. So, the Saastraas are needed for what we have to do and not for what God has to do or may do! Let the aspirant go deep into meditation. The curtain of ignorance lifts when all relativity is no more.
287. But, in Gita Bhagawan Sri Krishna has clearly mentioned that Adwaita Anubhava happens with God’s Grace. Not that he has said all that without considering the fitness or worth of the recipient. Actually He has said clearly that, “Gita is not to be told one who is devoid of ‘tapas’ that is austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service or who does not care to listen, nor to one who cavils at Me” (Bhagawat Gita Chapter 18 Sloka 67). But His Gita is unlike other Adwaita Saastraas. In fact the first six chapters of Gita are considered as Karma Shatkam, the next six as Bakti Shatkam and the last six as the Gnaana Shatkam. This is not a very strictly correct classification, but remains generally true. In purely Adwaita Saastraas, Karma and Upasana are dealt with only in passing. They will only say that at the initial stages Karma and Bakti, have a role to play in the eventual maturity of the individual without elaborating the idea.
288. In the Gita, Bhagawan Sri Krishna has given very relevant advices concerning the paths of Karma, Bhakti and Gnaana. So he has covered both Dwaitam and Adwaitam in detail, covering also their interplay and overlapping areas. He has spoken much about both interlinking them without treating them as totally opposed to each other. So He has said even those things not normally covered in the Adwaita Granthas. So He has also said that it is the Easwara who lifts the aspirant from Dwaitam unto Adwaitam. It is not due to the effort of the Saadhak that the curtain of ignorance is lifted but by the God’s Grace!
289. Arjuna is not the one renouncing the world and taking up Sanyaasa. In a mistaken notion deeply mired in the ignorance of his self as this person a Pandava and the army arraigned against him as his relatives Kaurava, killing whom will be a sin; he has dropped his bow and decided not to fight! He is not the Uttama Adhikaari to receive the Sankhya Gnaana. He is only to be motivated to do his Swadharma of playing his part as a soldier and commander. To do Swadharma without desire for such doing of duty so as to get clarity of mind is what he is required to do just now. So he is only a Yoga Saadhak. He is a Madhyama Adhikaari as established by Adi Sankara in his Bhashyam on the Gita. Madhyama is middle level between Uttama and Adhama. So, he is told of the link between Dwaitam and Adwaitam and the point up to which the Saadhak can aspire for and the role of God in the final upliftment!
290. At one place He says, “Maya is my power of the form of Satva, Rajo and Tamo GuNas. So they are divine powers. How can they be just crossed by human efforts? If man surrenders unto Me completely then, by My Grace man can go across” (Gita 7.14.). “If you surrender to God, by all means by God’s Grace the eternal peace of Adwaita Moksha will be attained,” He says (Gita 18. 62.). “Even when you start of as a devotee and God as something to be approached, slowly you will know Me in truth, what and who I am; then having known Me in truth, he forthwith enters into the Supreme”, He says (Gita 18.55.).
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 128 (Vol #4) Dated 08 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 128 (Vol #4) Dated 08 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 706 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
267. Release is Sanctioned by Easwara Only. So the power that gets us involved in all the attractions of Nature and the one to wean us away from involvement are both the power of Nature only. Nature is also the power of delusion of Maya. Delusion and release are both by Maya only. In the world of Maya, whatever becomes our GuNa or defining character qualities is called our nature only. This nature is what is called the Prakruti in Sanskrit . Mother Nature in the female form is also called the Maya the Power or Shakti of Easwara. Thus the whole creation is the work of Maya with Easwara. So we are what we are, unavoidably so! We do not have to be ashamed or have a guilty conscience for whatever our deficiencies or short falls. Simultaneously it is equally true that we all have some inner identification with our true being, which will be goading us towards perfection too! That is also part of our Nature only.
268. Maya is Kept under Check by the Same Easwara. There is one more thing that I should be saying. Whosoever created this world with Maya and caused us all to flow with the nature; it is the same Easwara who can give us the release too. So Release or Independence is a relative term only! In the beginning itself I had said that Bhagawan Himself had raised this question as to how can Nature be done away with, even if a person is already aware and attained to Gnaana? Moksham can be there only when the Nature is subdued or subsided! After all this Mind is a product of Nature that is Maya! Till now I have been talking about controlling and annulling the mind and not about controlling the Maya. Nowhere in the Adwaita Saastraas too is there anybody advocating or advising us to control the Maya! The advice is to control one’s own mind only, period!
269. Do you know why it is so? It is so because Maya is a power much beyond our control. It is a power which has created us. Easwara who has created this Maya, Jagat and Jeeva; is the one and only power that could control. So, it is His Grace the only thing that could control Maya. Maximum that this man could do is to try and control his own mind. After it is subdued, Maya should not let this mind rise again. After all it is in the mindless Aatma only this Easwara has caused the mind as an abode of Maya, which in turn is responsible for all thoughts including the thought of being a separate Jeeva with no end to himself and his ego! So, despite all the efforts of the individual, he can find himself back in squire one, any time on the path. Is this not so? Instead, if many have been seen to have attained to Adwaita Saatchaatkaara, it is clear that they have been enabled by the Grace of God only!
270. Though rare, that so many have been able to wipe off this mind totally and become Gnaanis and then remained merged in Aatma Swaroopa; is indicative of the fact that God in His Infinite Compassion has caused it to happen for the benefit of the humanity at large! When Bhagawan Sri Krishna Himself has confirmed that even a Gnaani cannot control this Maya, it is clear and beyond any further analysis and arguments. We were discussing as to if this Jeeva has come from Easwara. I showed that Bhagawat Gita says so.
Jeeva – Easwara Differences.
271. Jeeva is subjected to Maya’s AavaraNa and Vikshepa Shakti. We have seen earlier that AavaraNa shakti hides the truth and Vikshepa shakti paints pictures of illusions! As there is much food for the senses in the worldly transactions, the individual gets so lost in the apparent lure of these two powers of Maya, almost irretrievably! Easwara’s condition is not similar. How is He? Aatma that is Brhmam with Maya is Easwara. When not connected or related to Maya; it is referred as Aatma or Brhmam only! In relation to Maya, it is addressed or referred as Easwara. How can Aatma be ever related to anything including this Maya, remains a moot question! So, even when considered as related to Maya, it is far different to the way a Jeeva is related to Maya. Jeeva is a slave of the power of Maya. His very individuality of ‘Jeevatvam’ is a creation of Maya. In the equation between Maya and Easwara, it is His power and play. Maya is His slave and not the other way around. To the extent that through Maya is the creation of the whole world, Easwara is to that extent affected by the Vikshepa sakti of Maya, say the Adwaita Saastraas. When it comes to the AavaraNa sakti, the truth can never be hidden from Him and so not affected by it. Despite the outer dynamic cosmic dance, He is not at all affected inwardly and remains rooted in eternal Aatma Gnaana.
From Dwaitam to Adwaitam.
272. As He is thus in both the state of Adwaitam and Dwaitam, He could be the bridge between the two states of Aatma and Jeeva. Keeping the AavaraNa sakti of Maya at arm’s length, he is able to play all his tricks of Srushti, Sthithi and Samhara; that is creation, sustenance and re-absorption respectively. Keeping Himself above the veiling power of Maya, He is able to govern the world of Maya as well as be the ‘Antaryaami’ that is, the indwelling spirit in each living form. He is utterly involved while simultaneously un-involved! He keeps in touch thus with each and every individual soul while at the same time is enjoying the open expansiveness of the Aatma! So rightly He is the Bridge from here to eternity; from micro to macro; was, is and will be; then, now and forever! His role is not necessarily within our comprehension. Remaining an enigmatic puzzle, slowly bit by bit, He does get this Mind steeped and soaked in Dwaitam gradually dissolved in Adwaitam, dropping his sense of separateness!
273. To make it possible to understand, I am thinking of an example. Say there is an iron ball and we are asked to dissolve it in any liquid or air! How can it be done? In a big furnace using some oxy-acetylene gas they create temperatures upwards of 3000 degree Celsius. The iron ball starts melting and at further higher temperatures that can also be vaporised! That is how hard and solidified are we with our inner ‘Antah karaNam’ steeped in the multiplicity and duplicity of the Maya. For it to be vaporised in the open spaces of the Sky of Aatma Aakaasa is even more difficult than melting and vaporising the iron ball! Easwara though not gross and very subtle, is in a perfect position to act as the Oxy-Acetylene source to be able to touch this gross matter and melt this Jeeva’s mind and heart and make it fly like thin air and merge in the Aatma Saroopa!
Intermediate Transitory Stages.
274. Between this gross state of where we are now and the final stage of Aatma Saatchaatkaara, there are many intermediate stages. Not all of them can be comprehended or understood by this mind mired in worldly involvement. There is no meaning in discussing or questioning about them as to how can they be! In the process of our journey from the present gross state to that final state of extreme subtlety, the answers to our questions will be available. But they cannot be put in words or explained to anybody. When the whole process is one of movement from variety to oneness; from Dwaitam to Adwaitam; the very idea of telling someone other than oneself will mean coming back to Dwaitam! That is why AruNa Giri Naathar in Kandar Anubhuthi says, “tannam tani ninradu taan ariya, innam oruvarku isaivippaduvo?”. That means, ‘instead of getting to know that state of oneness our selves, are we to tell it to another?’
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 127 (Vol #4) Dated 06 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 127 (Vol #4) Dated 06 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 701 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
261. Adwaita Saastraas & Anugraha from Easwara. In the Adwaita Saastraas, this fact that Gnaana is sanctioned by Anugraha from God has not been clearly mentioned. This Gnaana cannot be what can be obtained by ones intellect. For the man to know himself, not as a separate individual but as one with the Divinity, with the all pervasive, all encompassing reality of Aatma is Gnaana. So to attain or obtain Gnaana means Moksha or Release. You may say or have a doubt that it is not so mentioned in any of the Saastraas on Adwaita that this release is resultant out of the Grace of God! ‘Now if you Swami give me an answer that the reason for not doing so is because Sri Krishna is talking about the path of Gnaana; that answer of yours raises another question as to why while talking of the path of Gnaana, the critical role of God’s Grace should not be mentioned?’
262. In reply to that, I think of this logic. That is, the aim of Adwaita is to disprove the principle of Dwaita. As the end point of totally erasing this mind of ours, if we talk of Easwara, it will mean bringing back Dwaitam with lock, stock and barrel! Easwara stands apart from the Jeeva. Now for us to say that this Jeeva is endeavouring and that Easwara is sanctioning or granting; it will be tantamount to reinforcing the Dwaita philosophy only! It will mean that they, the Easwara and Jeeva are two different entities and that one is praying and aspiring and the other being kind and compassionate, is fulfilling his wishes! This is a scenario of thoughts and actions with Adwaitam dropped in the dust bin on the side lines! So, we can presume that since to talk about the God’s Grace at the height of Adwaita Saadhana is like giving an order in the drill squire to, “Stop, About Turn, Quick March”. People especially those who have written the Adwaita Saastraas have refrained from mentioning this! Whether we say it or not and whether the aspirant gets to know about it or not, God in His Infinite Wisdom and Compassion is not going to stop granting His Grace. But, it is likely that this aspirant who has made much effort so far for Adwaita Anubhuti, may go back to being a devotee! Instead of devotion in duality, to merge in Aatma is the ideal. Even that God will wish that to happen. May be that is the reason for the authors of Adwaita Granthas avoiding mentioning this.
263. “Oh! No! It is anathema to stop being devoted to God and then aspire for some dubious knowledge as Gnaana! That is not Moksham or release but, only delusion and Moha!” There is sloka written by a gentle man who in all seriousness is said to have decried any talk of Adwaita Anubhava, with the above message. Instead of becoming like that, to raise above the state of devotion to God with form and attributes; to the level of formless, attribute less; to become one with that Aatma without a trace of our own separateness; those authors of Adwaita Granthas must have left out talking about the critical role of Easwara Anugraha, I feel! Initially in Adwaita Saastraas devotional activities like Bhajan, Keertan, along with SravaNa and Manana are recommended with Karma Anushtaana and Easwara Upaasana encouraged. At that level Dwaitam can be there or has to be there, for one pointed devotion and concentration of his mind. Otherwise, the aspirant will feel a vacuum or move around in all directions without any control! But towards the end when he is on the threshold of Nidhidyaasana, is not the time to be bringing back the Dwaitam dichotomy once again!
264. This Maya which is known as ‘anirvachaneeyam’ that is, impossible to be put in to words, hides the truth and creates a multiplicity of sceneries and experiences. As there is nothing other than that truth of the Aatma all the apparent scenes are like so many garbs. Hiding the truth is called the ‘AavaraNa shakti’ and creation of a variety of disguises is called the ‘Vikshepa shakti’. The actor who wears all these disguises is Easwara the essential dramatist. That is, this Brhmam itself with Maya creates this Easwara, Jeeva and Jagat, the world of variety of forms, colours, shades, attributes and characteristics! The root for all of them is one and the same Aatma. There is nothing alien to it. Having perfected your sight see the whole world as the one Brhmam says a succinct statement, “drushtim gnaana mayam krutvaa pashyata Brhma mayam jagat” ! Aatma and Brhmam are the same oneness. When we try to find out the origin of this individual Jeevan, it is the Aatma. For the big world and universe, when we try to find out the origin, it is the Brhma. Since both Jeeva and Jagat have originated from the one source only, it is the same Brhma also called the Aatma. When we have said that there is nothing apart from Aatma that is the origin of Jeeva, how can Brhmam be anything different? The same Truth Entity, in the context of the individual being is called the Aatma and in the context of billions and trillions of animate and inanimate beings and things, is said to be the Brhmam!
265. Jeeva is also from Easwara! Aatma with Maya is Easwara. Aatma itself in Maya has attained to the status of the Jeeva. The Adwaitins are of one mind about these two statements just made. They also accept that the Easwara is creating, maintaining and absorbing the world as a continuous process, as long as this imaginary world is taken to be real from a dual perspective! But when it comes to Jeeva arising from Easwara, Adwaitins are not of one uniform opinion. Instead of saying that Brhmam with Maya creates Easwara and that Easwara creates the Jeeva; they will say that, ‘Aatma itself by Maya is Jeeva and Easwara’! In Bhagawat Gita, in the chapter on Purushottama Yoga, Sri Krishna has said so clearly. He claims to be the highest amongst all males as Purusha Uttama and that is Easwara or Paramaatma. That is the one in all the three worlds of here, there and elsewhere; past, present and future; the inner and outer ‘Antaryaami’! While giving the Bhashya for this, our AachaaryaaL Adi Sankara, instead of pointing out the Nirguna Brhmam of Attribute-less-ness; talks of Purushottama as Narayana as a God of Attributes. So, as Easwara He says, “mamaivaamso jeeva loke jeeva bhoota: sanaatana: I mana: shashtanee indriyaaNi prakrutistaani karshati II” (Bhagawat Gita 15. 7.) This sloka means, ‘a fraction of this eternal me becomes the Jeeva in the world and pulls to itself this mind and the five Indriyas rooted in nature. Here He is combining the Mind with the five senses as - shashtaani indriyaaNi – as the six senses.
266. While all animals have the five senses of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch, man is known to be endowed with the sixth sense of the mind with its varied capabilities of memory, storage, retrieval, analysis, comparison, imagination and logical reasoning! Various animals are also known to have varied amount of these abilities in different scales. Our AachaaryaaL Adi Sankara too has played with words in the ‘Shat padee stotra’ on this sixth sense capabilities. (This is to be covered in detail under the Heading ‘VaNdu Stotram’, around the page number 907 of this 4th Volume, may be some 40 e-mails later.) So, all said and done, it is the Easwara who by a small trace fraction of his infinite abilities, has also become the Jeeva. Jeeva is from Him only. Nature is nothing else but Maya only. Mind is Maya’s creation and it is adopted by the Jeeva, the Easwara amsa, which would mean that it is Easwara Himself who has given the mind to Jeeva and caused him to enter and roam about in Maya! So we are naturally so involved in all the worldly pursuits! We are made to be like that and we are meant to be so! Since we are essentially also some portion of that Divinity; may be an infinitesimal portion but, still the same; it is equally natural for us to recognise this fact also and endeavour towards its fullest realization too!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.