DEIVATHIN KURAL # 56 (Vol # 6) Dated 21 Sept 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 56 (Vol # 6) Dated 21 Sept 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 middle of page No 391 of Volume 6 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)

241.  To concentrate the mind on NirguNa Brhmam instead of SaguNa Easwara is Samaadhaanam, that is done is Aatma Saadhana. To bring that Brhma / Aatma Tatvam in to practical experience is the effort.  So instead of the Easwara who is with Maya, you have to focus your mind on the NirguNa Brhmam beyond Maya.  The trouble is with the mind which is like a monkey.  If you tell the mind not to think of something, it will bring that forbidden thing repeatedly in to its thoughts!  Here Easwara with Maya is symbolic of all the Upasana Murthys such as Rama or Krishna, Ambal, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Pillaiyar and Muruga – all of them are included.  This mind was trained initially, to become one pointed.  Now in the next stage, it has to be trained to concentrate on the formless NirguNa Brhmam. 

242.  Often the SaguNa Brhmam will come to our minds.  On those moments, instead of thinking of Him as the administrator of the world of Maya, we should think of Him as the Grace of Anugraha that has given us the very urge to move beyond Maya.  We should not continue to keep depending on that SaguNa Roopa anymore and turn our minds back into our own Aatma Swaroopa!  Since after all, that SaguNa Brhmam in all of us is itself the NirguNa Brhmam in each one of us.  So, to catch hold of the principle of Aatma Tatvam is in other words, being devoted to God.  Thus we have to repeatedly turn our minds to NirguNa Saadhana.  Even when we get thoughts of our Ishta Devata, those thoughts should be dissolved in the fact that, He is also the same as NirguNa Brhmam and hence the Chittam should be taken back to शुद्ध ब्रह्मं. 

243.  Here I am using the word ‘Chittam’.  This Chittam, Buddhi, Mind are all slightly differing aspects of one and the same mind of ours.  This mind of ours is a complex of Chittam, Buddhi, Manas and Ego or Ahamkaar, which are all its different aspects.  It includes thoughts, feelings, intellectual analysis, willing, recording, memory and recall.  All this together are also known as ‘अन्तः करणं’ / ‘antah karaNam’, the inner being.  Our AachaaryaaL has used the word ‘Buddhi’ and said “सम्यक आस्तापनं बुद्धे: शुद्धे ब्रह्मणि सर्वथा” – to establish this mind, this Buddhi firmly in Brhmam is what is to be done in समाधानं – Samaadhaanam.  Thoughts originate in Chittam.  Manas is like a sensor.  It does not know as to how to differentiate between good and bad.  It will simply jump to conclusions.  It is the Buddhi or intellect that has the ability to analyse the input data, evaluate their inter-se value, process and judge.  Ego or Ahamkaar is a sense of separateness expressed as I or me or myself, normally mistakenly identifying ourselves to be this body!  It is this sense of a separate identity, which causes in us a sense of being a unique individual.  This Ego has to go, for us to correctly loosen our identity as this body, as a Jivan and know ourselves as the Aatman.  This destruction of ‘Ahamkaar’ is the highest pinnacle of achievement of Saadhana!

244.  Here while defining Samaadhaanam, our AachaaryaaL says that when our mind or Chittam has the power to judge as the Buddhi, it has to be fixed in the Brhmam – ‘aadaanam’ ஆதானம் பண்ணணும்!  Normally we take Chittam to be the mind or manas.  So, generally knowingly or unknowingly, we say that it is the mind that has to be completely brought under control and rendered unto समाधानं Samaadhaanam.  When anybody gets some religious (Karma) ceremony done as a Karta, he requests the conducting Brahmins, “मनस् समाधीयतां” – meaning ‘Please keep your minds under control in a balanced manner!’  They will reply “Yes, we will do that accordingly!”  Their reply will be “समाहित मनस् स्म”.  As Karta is using the word ‘समाधी’, notice their reply is ‘समाहित’.  That is, the quietude of the mind is a state of ‘समाहित’!

245.   Because, it is generally the mind that is thought to be ‘AntahkaraNam’ the inner being of us all that, we give so much importance to the mind saying, ‘the mind should be controlled’ or ‘the Maya of the mind should be erased’.  Thus it is the control and subjugation of the mind that is aimed at in ‘आद्यात्मिक् साधना‘, calling it ‘मनो लय: and मनो निग्रहः’.  It is so because the individual Jivan is being pulled in all directions by the mind only, which is the cause of all agitations and oscillations.  So, in the ‘sama’ mentioned in ‘समाधि षट्कं’, it is the mind that is attempted to be kept controlled in the Aatman – “स्वलक्ष्ये नियतावस्ता मनस: सम उच्यते” – as defined by our AachaaryaaL! 

246.  The Indriyas or the senses are also agents of the mind only.  To control them is ‘dama’.  Thus ‘dama’ is also a matter of control of the mind only, so also ‘uparati’, is an aspect of control of the mind only, by which we are doing away with the tendencies and prevarications of the mind known as ‘vruttis’.  The patience and forbearance of ‘titiksha’ is also concerned with reforming the mind only.  Here while talking about ‘Samaadhaanam’ our AachaaryaaL is telling us to establish the Buddhi firmly (“सम्यक आस्तापनं बुद्धे: शुद्धे ब्रह्मणि सर्वथा”) in Brhmam. You might have heard repeatedly that the mind should be reined in, controlled, kept under strict supervision, firmly established, and so on.  So, if I say that we should do so with our Buddhi, that may sound a little odd; instead of mind / manas / or Buddhi, I used the word Chittam, a little extra smartly.  (PeriyavaaL says this with a slight smile on his face.)  In Aparoksha Anubhuti our AachaaryaaL himself has used this word Chittam, in defining Samaadhaanam, “चित्तैकाग्रयं तु सल्लक्ष्ये समाधानमिति स्मृतम्”.

247.  Since I have painted so much of a preamble, let us now see as to why our AachaaryaaL has particularly used the word ‘Buddhi’ with reference to the context.  Just prior to this he talked about Shraddha, in which generally it is believed that there is ‘no brain work’ involved in faith and belief.  Still our AachaaryaaL maintained that to be a ‘certain conviction of the Buddhi to be Shraddha – बुध्यवधारणं!  We explained then that the Buddhi decides that it has no role to play here and let us better believe firmly in the words of the Guru, Vedas and Saastraas. As a continuation of that idea, now to collect the Buddhi together and establish it firmly in the Brhmam is ‘सम्यक आस्तापनं बुद्धे: शुद्धे ब्रह्मणि सर्वथा’ is Samaadhaanam!

248.  Without being pulled by the feelings, the part of our ‘Antah KaraNam’ known as Buddhi asks the right questions and finds the correct answers.  To relieve that Buddhi from its role of investigation and judging, and establish the same firmly in clean and pure Brhmam is ‘Samaadhaanam’, our AachaaryaaL says.  It is not that only the feelings have the habit of running helter-skelter.  So does the intelligence or the analytical brain known as அறிவு in Tamil. Normally this penchant of the brain to be inquisitive and run after all sorts of information is praised as ‘pursuit of knowledge’!  Even thieving, we say should be learnt properly.  In fact, then we are required to forget it.  As the Tamil proverb says, ‘களவும் கற்று மற’. That we do not do and become experts in thieving!  Our AachaaryaaL himself is known to have ascended the ‘सर्वज्ञ पीठं’ thereby establishing his fame as Omniscient!  I have myself encouraged and instigated people to enlarge their knowledge base!  But all this is not required to progress in the second stage of आध्यात्मिक् साधना.  Before you launch yourself in the spiritual line, the Buddhi has to be sharpened to a very fine degree.  But once having entered the आध्यात्म विध्या, having assumed the role of a Saadhak, all other knowledge are required only for “नित्या अनित्य विवेक विचार:” and not for anything else.  The only thing required is ‘knowledge of the Self’!  Ignoring all other things, he has to rein in his Buddhi solely on Brhmam / Aatman.

249.  Very clearly Sri Krishna has said (in Bhagawat Gita V – 28), “यतेन्द्रिय मनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्ष परायण: | विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो य: सदा मुक्त एव स: ||” That is to say, with the senses, the mind and the intellect ever controlled having liberation as the only and supreme goal, free from desire, fear and anger – the sage is liberated for ever!  To establish the Buddhi in Brhmam, our AachaaryaaL says “ब्रह्मणि बुद्धे: स्तापनं”.  But in Upanishads the Aatman cannot be comprehended or reached by the power of the Buddhi or intelligence.  It is stated categorically that comprehension of the Brhmam / Aatman can never happen by superior knowledge – ‘न मेधया’, in two places, in the Upanishads, namely in Katopanishad (I.i.23.) and Mundakopanishad (III.2.3.).  The fact that the mind, speech, Buddhi and Intellect are all incapable of defining the Aatma is well known.  But here our AachaaryaaL is not talking about the end stage of Samadhi but about Samaadhaanam.  It is alright that both the Upanishads say that Brhmam or Aatman is not within the comprehension of the intellect or mind, agreed.  Then how is it to be understood or even thought of?  There is an immediate reply, “By VaraNam”.  What is that?    

250.  To understand or comprehend the Brhmam can be done by the sanction of the Brhmam itself, and that is ‘VaraNam’.  We use a word ‘Varan’ for the groom to be.  The word means the selection or the best.  In स्वयम्वरम् the bride to be selects the boy whom she wishes to marry.  The suitors will be seated in a line.  The girl will come fully decked with a garland in her hands.  There will be a highly well informed person who will be ushering the girl making the selection.  He will keep on reading out a resume about each prospective bride-groom as they come in front of each of the suitors.  The girl will make up her mind, somewhere along the line and indicate her choice by putting the garland on the selected person’s neck.  That is the act of ‘VaraNam’.  So is a Guru selected by would be disciples or a disciple selected by the Guru. 

251.  Similarly, leaving everything else, to select the Aatman and to convey the message to the Aatman, “You reveal yourself!  Even if you are my very self only, that fact is not known to me or not very clear.  I am not able to understand or comprehend you by any of the things that I think of as me, my body, mind, speech, or intellect.  So, one day or the other, you have to solve this puzzle to me, yourself!  So, I will keep on praying to you.  Then all the things that I think of as me will cease to be and make it clear to me.  That is how I have to do ‘VaraNam’.  Adding one letter to that ‘VaraNam’ it will become ‘VivaraNam’ and that is the Revelation that I shall wait for.”  So, all that the Saadhak has to do is to correctly identify that none of these things as my brains, ego, intellect or knowledge will be of any use in this endeavour.  So, our AachaaryaaL has explained this in his Bhashyam to the Upanishads, in which such a prayer is part of the ‘VivaraNam’!

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva