DEIVATHIN KURAL # 172 (Vol # 5) Dated 11 May 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 172 (Vol # 5) Dated 11 May 2012

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti 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 going ahead from the page No 1071 of Vol 5 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)


1167. Saarvaakam says that the Jagat (world) is Satyam (real) and Brhmam is Asatyam (that is, untrue). Buddhism says that both the Jagat and Brhmam are both Asatyam. Nyaayam says that both Jagat and Brhmam are Satyam. Saankhyam says that, ‘the jagat is unreal as it is the caused by the Prakruti (Nature) that is unreal while Brhmam known as the Purusha is Satyam! Now, what did our AachaaryaaL say about this? Only Brhmam is real, whereas the Jagat is Mithya that is not Satyam. At the same time it is also not totally untrue. It is seemingly true till one gets Gnaanam. With the Gnaanam dawning on you the Jagat becomes untrue. Still it does not go away anywhere or disappear. It continues to be seemingly true for all others in the world, isn’t it? So it never ends also. It is being seen as true by all the people who as yet are steeped in Agnaana. Gnaani also sees it as true, as an indistinct part of Brhmam that is the only truth!

1168. In Buddhism and Meemaamsai, there is neither the SaguNa Easwara (that is, the concept of an Easwara with all characteristics or qualities) nor the NirguNa Brhmam (that is, the concept of a Brhmam with none of the defining qualities)! In Saankhyam, there is no SaguNa Brhmam. In Yoga, Nyaya and Vaiseshika both the SaguNa and NirguNa postulates are there, but their mutual inter relation and their connection with Jagat and Jiva, have not been clarified. In the religions of devotion, only SaguNa Brhmam is there while there is no talk of NirguNa Brhmam at all. In Adwaitam, both are there. The Jada (inert) Prakruti (nature that is,) Maya creates the world using Brhmam as the basis. Those words have enormous meanings and connotations. Jada Prakruti, as we have seen and known earlier is the insentient Nature that is also called Maya because of its power of illusion to cause delusion! So their creation is as real as an image caused by a mirror! To do that it is using real NirguNa Brhmam as the basis as well as the material. To put it differently, NirguNa Brhmam, using its power of Maya depicts itself as the inanimate Jagat as well as the animate Jiva-s respectively; thus combining the interplay of NirguNa Brhmam, SaguNa Brhmam, Jiva-s the life forms as well as the Jagat, the whole universe which is the stage where all this drama is enacted! This is the context of Adwaitam.

1169. For Jagat Srushti that is, about the creation of the world, Meemaamsaka-s say, “Why should we say that sometime in the past one day God created this world? It is there as it is forever. In it as you sow, so you reap; similarly you get the return as per your past Karma”. Saarvaakam says, “by the power of lifeless nature, world has come into being and is running. There is no start or end to the world; there is neither God nor Ghost; no Swami no Bhootham; no Karma and no Karma effects; life just goes on physically and mechanically”. Nyaaya – Vaiseshika religions say, “World is made up of so many atoms. These are combined in ever so many ways for making all the things of the world”. This is known as ‘Aaramba Vaadam’. In Sankhya – Yoga, there is no connection between the Srushti (Creation) and Easwara (or God). They will not agree with any new creation of what was not there earlier. Prakruti that is known as Maya or Nature, has metamorphed into so many things of the world including time and space. This is known as ‘PariNaama Vaadam’!

1170. In this context, what does Adwaitam say? It says that in truth there is no creation. Neither subatomic particles nor atoms nor compounds or their seemingly collective shape or form of the world, together known as the Jagat, are real! Nature’s PariNaama or transformation is also not an appropriate theory. Because when one thing is converted into another, the basis in this case instead of going out of existence continues to exist. So all that happens is the change in appearance! In subdued light, a rope looks like a snake. Neither has the rope gone out of existence nor has the snake been created, except temporarily in some viewers mind! Like that, Brhmam itself appears as the Jagat in Maya. To put the same thing in other words, NirguNa Brhmam with Maya becomes SaguNa Brhmam and depicts itself as the Jagat! The snake has neither been created nor has the rope been converted; isn’t it? Exactly like that, the world instead of being neither the creation nor the metamorphed thing is only an appearance. With better lighting the scene is differently seen! The rope which was considered to be a snake is now seen as the rope that it is! In the light of Gnaana, the darkness of Maya goes and what was seen as the Jagat will be seen to be Brhmam only! Without Srushti or PariNaama Vaadam, what is the real one, is seen to be another as the Jagat is ‘Vivarta Vaadam’.

1171. There are three special theories by our AachaaryaaL in explaining this subject under discussion. One is the ‘Vivartha Vaadam’ as mentioned above. Next one is ‘Adhyaasam’. In fact there is neither a creation nor a conversion; nor is it a false flow as claimed by the Buddhists. As the snake was super-imposed on the rope, the appearance of the world or Jagat is a super-imposition on Brhmam. Crystal is called the Spatika in Sanskrit, and is an example for transparency, giving rise to the catchphrase ‘crystal clear’. When you keep a red flower behind a crystal Lingam, it will get that red hue. The red colour of the flower is superimposed on the Crystal Siva Lingam! That is known as Adhyaasam, the second of the postulates by our AachaaryaaL, in explaining this subject of creation of the world. The third is known as the ‘Prati-bhaasika-satyam’. There are not only the real and unreal states. There is a third state. What is seemingly true in ignorance becomes untrue when enlightened by gnosis, and that is called ‘Prati-bhaasika-satyam’!

1172. I told you about the differences between Adwaitam and other religions. Without seeing the differences, our AachaaryaaL has accepted many of the ideas and concepts from them all, starting from the Karma postulate from the Meemaamsakaas to total negation of the Jagat by the Buddhists. Of course, he has given quite an important place for Bhakti. From Nyaaya-Vaiseshika-Sankhya-Yoga disciplines, whatever is useful have been accommodated in his approaches and analytical discussions. On the subject matter about Proof of Evidence (PraamaaNya Vaadam) he has absorbed and adopted all the six PramaaNa-s from Paatta Meemaamsakaas. Regarding Sankhyam, he says in a place in his Gita Bhashyam (XVIII – 19), “Though that Saankhyam as a faith is contrary to our beliefs; their analysis of the three GuNas and the Jiva as partaking through those GuNas; are all acceptably accurate”!

1173. If you read his ‘Yoga TaravaLi’, you will know as to how, though the aim is Adwaitam, he has made use of many of the Yoga Aasanaas to beautifully suit his aims as part of daily practices in Saadhana. In Tamil there is a book known as ‘Sankara Aachaarya Ulaa’ containing a list of Yoga Aasanaas, as selected by him I suppose; that has been printed under the aegis of Madras Manuscript Library. ‘Emmadamum Sammadame’ is a pithy statement with a pun, meaning all religions are equally acceptable. That statement is most appropriate to our AachaaryaaL’s approach. Every religion has some relevance, usefulness and truthfulness, up to a certain levels like the ladders. Make use of them for progressing, climbing and ennoblement, continuously till you reach the very zenith of Adwaita Saastra! There is nobody on earth who has made sensible use of the good points in the very Saastraas that they condemned, as he has done.

1174. He continuously and tirelessly persevered to ensure that in Anushtaana there should not be any short cuts or deviations; but when it came to intelligent study and analysis, all the religions, their concepts, ideas and theories should be taken into consideration, he felt. There is a story to prove this point. The Jain Amarasinha after losing to our AachaaryaaL was consigning all the books written by him to fire. The moment our AachaaryaaL came to know about this, his reaction was one of consternation, as he believed that all products of intellectual exercises should be available for future generations of intellectual beings! He rushed to stop Amarasinha from doing this. By then Amarasinha had already destroyed all but one book. This, our AachaaryaaL managed to save and it happens to be the Sanskrit Dictionary ‘Amarakosam’!

1175. Amongst the 72 religions that he countered and disproved, many of them do not have any book of theology today. Similarly the interpretations of Brhma Sutra, written earlier than him like those written by Prithvidavar are just not available anymore. It does not mean that he has got them destroyed but, the very authors or their followers after losing the argument to our AachaaryaaL, wished to do away with them. As Adwaitam gives space for other Siddhaantams, the very serious Adwaitins still find it possible to write on Siddhaantams other than Adwaitam too, such as VidyaraNya Swami, Appayya Deekshidar and Vachaspathi Mishra. If this is one side of the story, the other side is that, people of other disciplines and other callings too, at the height of their experience have poured out the high truths of Adwaitam only! Intellectually they attack Adwaitam the most and at the zenith of their own Anubhava, knowingly or unknowingly they broadcast the intrinsic truths of the oneness of existence and universe only!

(To be continued.) Sambhomahadeva