An Introduction to advaita vEdAnta
In ?Unit 15, we started with the understanding of Brahman; we reviewed the vishEShaNa , vishEShya relationship.
In ?Unit 16, we reviewed the lakShaNas that help us understand Brahman.
In ?Unit 17, We looked at some of the scriptural statements describing
Brahman.
In ?Unit 18, we understood that Brahman is nirguNa and why so.
In this unit, we will conclude the study of Brahman, by understanding that jagat is a projection (adhyArOpa) and negation of it (apavAda) helps us understand the svarUpa of Brahman.
adhyArOpa and apavAda.
The seeker, in the beginning understands that Brahman is the intelligent cause of jagat and the jagat is different from Brahman. This understanding makes him identify Brahman with attributes only. The shAstras take him from here, closer to Brahman, through the understanding of Brahman as real (satya), consciousness (jnyAna) and infinite(ananta); finally, Brahman being also the material cause of jagat, describes Him as nEti, nEti ( not this, not this logic) and takes the seeker to Brahman. This method is described in the shAstras as adhyArOpa and apavAda. The study of shAstras helps the seeker understand that Brahman is independent of all transactions, even though the creation and dissolution are happening through Him. Without a firm knowledge (without internalizing) that Brahman is the material cause of jagat, the seeker believes that the jagat is independent and its creator is Brahman. adhyArOpa is the process of following this thread of the seeker in attaching creation, vishEshaNa, lakShaNa and transactions to Brahman. Following this, the shAstra, through the discussion of kArya nad kAraNa, helps the seeker understand that the jagat is not different from Brahman - Brahman is the upAdAna kAraNa of jagat. Then the seeker comes to ignore the unreal names and forms and firmly experiences the only Real Brahman. The seeker comes to understand that the jagat, not different from Brahman, cannot be an upAdi of Brahman. Without upAdi, he understands that there are no creation, vishEshaNa, and lakShaNa. Upon this realization, the seeker experiences the svarUpa of Brahman and all the attached transactions disappear. Then, even though he is transacting in the unreal jagat, he does not move away from the experience of the svarUpa of nirguNa Brahman. This state of rejecting the adhyArOpa on realizing the knowledge of svarUpa of Brahman is apavAda.
In summary, adhyArOpa is due to seeing the jagat as a kArya. Once he understands the teachings of shruti, he starts to see jagat from the view of kAraNa. Then he firmly rejects (apavAda) all transactions in Brahman, though the sense organs are transacting with sense objects.
Three Levels of Reality.
We have understood that Brahman appears in different forms in association with upAdhis, though He is not subject to any limitation and can not be described at the speech and mind level. The truth at the supreme level (paramArTha) is the only Reality, while what is observable at the transactional or relational level is not the reality. However the common experience of people is to recognize the body / mind level experiences as reality. Keeping this in mind, the vEdAnta recognizes three levels of reality as follows;
- pAramArThika satya or Supreme Reality
- vyAvahArika satya or Trancactional Reality
- prAtibhAsika satya or Apparent Reality.
It is not possible to capture this image and cannot be a transactional experience, though can be seen (think of a creative artwork, which at an angle, will look something differently). In this example, the object is the pAramArThika satya, the lens image is the vyAvahArika satya and the apparent image is the prAtibhAsika satya. In the backdrop of this example, we can understand the three levels of reality in the philosophical plane.
Brahman is Real is the pAramArThika satya. This is the statement of shrutis. The experience of the sense organs keeps changing from time to time or person to person; what is changing can only be the experiences of the sense organs as Science has demonstrated to us. Even in ordinary experiences this is true - like the change in the musical speed can only be determined with respect to a metronome. Brahman is beyond sense organs and is unchanging and is the Supreme Reality.
The jagat is constantly changing and this change is experienced by the five sense organs. This change is the common experience of all (without defects in sense organs). The knowledge thus established through the sense organs is the basis of all transactional activities. The shAstra classifies this changing jagat experienced by all and being the basis of all transactions as vyAvahArika satya.
A traveler, on a hot afternoon, sees water at a distance. When he arrives at that location, the water that we all have come to know is not to be seen. The water is a mirage. It appears to be there, but it is not there. This experience, dependent on time and space, is called prAtibhAsika satya. This experience is also called "satya", though it is an apparent experience, because Brahman is the substratum supporting this apparent experience - the laws of nature support the mirage.
Though the three levels of reality are conceded by the shAstra, the pAramArThika satya is the supporting Reality for the Transactional Reality and the Apparent Reality. As much as the Apparent Reality is unreal with respect to the Transactional Reality, so is the Transactional Reality is unreal with respect to the Supreme Reality.
Summary.
Brahman, though is the kAraNa for the jagat, is different from jagat, in that the jagat is jaDa and Brahman is consciousness. vEdAnta's approach in explaining Brahman, obviously, has to be, to take the student from the known to the unknown. jagat is the known, Brahman is the unknown. The vEdAnta takes the seeker from the jagat, through the mAyA to the Brahman. The first experience to the seeker is the Brahman with upAdhis. Then the seeker experiences the lakShaNas of Brahman - satyam, jnyAnam and anantam. Here the seeker understands the Supreme Reality of Brahman. He understands that the Transactional Reality (jagat) and the Apparent Reality are nothing but the Supreme Reality that is Brahman. The adhyArOpa that Brahman is the intelligent cause of jagat, and the jagat is different from Brahman is negated (apavAda) and establishes himself in Brahman, the Supreme Reality, beyond speech and mind.
We will take up the study of jIva in the next unit.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
We have now discussed jagat and Brahman. As we said in the introduction, every philosophy tries to understand the relation between universe, God and the individual. Understanding jIva (individual) is the remaining entity in our study of advaita vEdAnta. advaita starts from our current understanding of what we are - adhyArOpa (our secular understanding is that we are body, mind and intellect); it then presents the scriptural view of the svarUpa of jIvas ; Finally vEdAnta helps us negate (apavAda) our delusional understanding based on the shruti pramANa, to clearly help us understand our svarUpa.
sharIra Thraya - Three Body Forms.
Three body forms are associated with the jIva - sthUla sharIra or gross body, sUkShma sharIra or subtle body and kAraNa sharIra or causal body.
sthUla sharIra or gross body:
Four kinds of gross bodies are classified; - chaturvidha sharIrANi tu jarAyuja, anDaja, svEdaja, udbIjjA khyAni. They are
- jarAyujAni jarAyubhyah jAtAni manushya pashvAdIni - taking birth in a womb, like humans, mammals.
- anDajAni anDEbhyO jAtAni pakShi pannagAdIni - taking birth through an egg like birds and reptiles.
- svEdajAni svEdEbhyah jAtAni yUkAmashakAdani - taking birth through moisture like some flies and insects.
- udbbijAni bhUmim udbhidya jAtAni latA-vrikShAdIni - taking birth by breaking the earth like plants and trees.
There are similarities in the different gross bodies, as well as some differences. The jarAyuja is the most evolved sthUla Sharira. We will focus our attention on this sthUla sharIra in the discussion below.
shIryate iti sharIrah - that which decays or is lost is the gross body. The physical body with limbs, head and body is the gross body. All names and forms - man or woman, Hindu, Christian etc., young and old are the descriptors of this body. This body consisting of bones, skin, flesh, blood, fat, bone marrow, and excretions is born and bred of food; so is called the body of food - annamaya sharIra. The source of these body components are the five great elements - earth, water, fire, air and space. The gross body communicates with the jagat through nine outlets - two eyes, two nasal nostrils, two ears, mouth and two lower outlets. This body goes through six changes (shadvikAra) - (1) asti or present in the womb, (2) jAyate or born, (3) vardhatE or grows, (4) pariNamate or becomes old, (5) apakShIyate or decays and (6) vinashyati or dies.
Among the animals and humans, the gross body is animated by the vital airs and mind. The plants possess only vital airs and no mind.
The gross body is also called the annamaya kOsha- Food Sheath - because of its dependence on food for birth as well as growth. The annamaya kOsha is the outermost sheath or casing. The other kOshas in the order are prAnamaya kOsha - sheath of vital airs, manOmaya kOsha - sheath of mind, vijnyAnamaya kOsha - sheath of knowledge, and Anandamaya kOsha - sheath of happiness. We will learn more about these in appropriate contexts.
What is the purpose of the gross body? - The gross body is the medium for the jIva to communicate with the outside world or jagat. The jIva needs this medium to experience the fruits of action of previous lives.
The previous life was for the experience of fruits of its previous life or lives. So the life experience for the jIva is beginningless - having a gross body anytime is a result of a previous life existence. So there is no description of first life. The jIva, through the body, experiences the fruits of the previous life only or do more karma, guaranteeing a future life with another gross body. Good deeds only beget a divine body, mixed deeds beget a human body or bad deeds only beget an animal or plant body. Suffering from continuous births and deaths, at some point, the jIva recognizes the futility of the cycle of birth and death from the beginning-less time; he then begins the quest for liberation from this cycle of birth and death and over time will become a realized person or jnyAni.
Is the jIva, the gross body? - If the jiVa is acquiring new bodies every time he is born, obviously the gross body is not the jIva. Just as humans discard old torn clothes and acquire new clothes, the jIva discards old and frail bodies and acquires new bodies to experience the fruits of his action (gIta 2-22 - vAsAmsi jIrNAni yathA vihAya..). Just as a human does not change when he acquires new clothes, so the jIva does not change with the acquisition of a new body.
This is also obvious from our life experiences. As the individual is growing from child to adolescent to adult to oldage, the individual is the same individual. During sleep the individual has no association with the body. During surgery under anesthesia, the individual has no experience of cuts on his body. So the jiVa is not the gross body. This rejects or negates (apavAda) the understanding that the jIva is the gross body(adhyArOpa)
We will discuss sUkShma sharIra (subtle body) in the next unit.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
We will discuss sUkShma sharIra (subtle body) in this unit.
sUkShma sharIra or subtle body.
An entity, inside the Gross body that is not cognizant to the sense organs and responsible for all the activities of the gross body is the subtle body. The activity is the marker for identifying the jIva in the body, and hence is also called the Marker body or Linga sharIra. During sleep, the subtle body withdraws inwards and hence no activities of the gross body is experienced during sleep. Death is marked by the total withdrawal of the subtle body. The subtle body experiences the fruits of activities (karma) of the gross body and hence is the store house of the fruits of action. At death, the subtle body leaves the gross body with the store of the fruits of action; following death, this subtle body takes another gross body in accordance with its fruits of action (karma) and the law of karma to experience those fruits. What is this subtle body made of?
The constituents of the subtle body are (1) five sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, (2) five organs of action - hands, legs, speech, and two lower organs, (3) five vital airs - prANa, apAna, vyAna, udAna and samAna, and (4) antah-karaNa - the seat of thought and feeling consisting of manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), chitta (memory bank) and ahankAra (ego). Thus the subtle body has a total of 19 constituents - These are the "panchIkrita" constituents - gross space formed by the combination of subtle space, subtle air, subtle fire, subtle water and subtle earth etc. The five prANAs contain the panchIkrita vAyu and is called the five vital airs; the five sense organs consist of the pancIkrita fire and the five organs of action contain the pancIkrita earth; the mind consists of panchIkrita space. This being the case, the material cause of the subtle body is also Brahman, as is the case with gross body.
The activities of the gross body could be physical or sense organ driven actions. Some of the physical activities are under the control of the jIva, but some are not; The actions under control are driven by the five organs of action; the actions not under control are driven by the five vital airs. The 19 constituents of the subtle body are called AdhyAtmika (relating to the Self), their actions are called adhiboutika (relating to the physical environment) and the presiding deity driving the activity is called the Adhidaivika (relating to deity - a function of individual karma). The presiding deity is the driver and controller of the activities of the subtle body. We may recall here the following verse (18-14) from Bhagavad gIta;
"adhiShTAnam tathA kartA karaNam cha prthak vidam
vividhAh cha prithak chEShTah daivam cha iva atra panchamam "
- In the accomplishment of karma, there are five factors - the body, the doer, the various senses, the various different functions and the presiding deity being the fifth.
antah-karaNa
The literal meaning is "internal tool". The outer sense organs are the bAhya-karaNa or "external tool". The information captured by the external tool is captured by the internal tool, processed and offered to the jIva for his experience/decision. The most subtle part of the food the jIva consumes forms the fuel for the antahkaraNa (the most gross portion is excreted, the middle portion transforms to flesh). So food is an essential ingredient for proper function of the antahkaraNa. The antahkaraNa is impacted by the type of food we eat. sAtvika, rAjasa, and tAmasa foods(gIta 17-8,10) promote respective guNas in the antahkaraNa and drive respective reactions in the jIva. This is why many seekers carefully choose what they eat.
As stated earlier, the antah-karaNa consists of manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), chitta (memory bank) and ahankAra (ego). The mind is the origin of thoughts - "sankalpa vikalpAtmakam manah"; sankalpa pertains to imagination, volition, mental resolve, intention, determination etc.; vikalpa relates to doubts, uncertainty, indecision, hesitation, suspicion etc. The mind is a tool for the conduct of the jIva and is also called manOmaya kOsha - manOmayah icchA shaktimAn karaNa rUpah. The buddhi sorts the thoughts and helps in deciding them in to right and wrong (nischyAtmika buddhih). The buddhi has the agency of doing and is called vijnyAnamaya kOsha - vijnyAnamayO jnyAnashaktimAn kartru rUpah. The chitta stores the thoughts. The ahankAra provides an identification - I am a man, I am a woman, I did this, I am rich, I am poor etc. The presiding deities of mind, intellect, memory and ego are Moon, BrahmA (chaturmukha brahma- four headed brahmA), vishnU and Rudra respectively. Any action originates as a sankalpa in the mind, going through the stages of deciding and storing the thought/action and expresses in ego - I did this, I did not do this etc. So it is in the anthah-karaNa that the fruit of the action accumulates.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
sUkShma sharIra or subtle body.
Panch prANa - Five vital airs.
The prANa is supported by the subtle part of the water we drink (the gross portion of the water is discharged, while the middle portion adds to the blood).
The five prANAs are (1) prANa vAyu - located in the face, regulates breathing; (2) apAna vAyu - located in the anus, regulates excretion; it is the apAna vAyu that helps inhalation and experiencing smell; (3) vyAna vAyu - located in the nerves throughout the body; Its function is between the inhalation and exhalation, like holding the breath, facilitating speech, carrying heavy objects and hard labor.(4) udAna vAyu - located from the forehead to the feet, it is responsible for determining the next life (5) samAna vAyu - located in the navel, supports distribution of food and water throughout the body.
Five organs of action.
The AdhyAtmikas of this group are tongue, hands, feet, and two lower organs. The respective Adibhoutika activities are speech, give and take, walk and excretion. The respective presiding deities are agni, indra, upEndra, yama and prajApati. The speech is supported by the fat content of the food (the gross part of the fat supports bones, the middle part supports bone marrow and the subtle part of fat supports speech - it is generally known that musicians and shrotrIyas consume a larger amount of ghee).
The eight of the 19 subtle body constituents - five sense organs, mind, tongue and hand are together called grahas. The five sense objects - sound, touch, form, taste and smell, the desires of the mind, the speech of the tongue and the actions of the hand are called atigrahas. The grahas are captives of atigrahas. The grahas and atigrahas are the shackles (or fetters) of the jIva. A person who has freed himself from this shackle is a liberated person, experiencer of the self.
The organs of action and the five vital airs together are called the prANamaya kOsha - sheath of vital airs; The vital airs are responsible for all activities in the gross body. Therefore the prANamaya kOsha is a product of the rajas gUna in the jIva - idam prANAdi panchakam karmEndriyaih sahitam sat prANamaya kOshO bhavati; asya kriyAtmaktvEna rajO amshakAryatvam.
Five Sense Organs.
The five sense organs are ears for hearing, skin for touch, eyes for seeing, tongue for tasting and nose for smelling. The outer sense organs are only hardware. Their presiding deities are dik dEvatas, vAyu, Sun, varuNa and ashwini dEvas respectively. Each organ can capture its own information - eyes cannot hear, ears cannot see etc. In addition, they cannot function simultaneously - when the eye is seeing, the ear cannot hear. This is because, the mind that processes the information from each, can interface with only one organ at a time. However, the speed at which the mind can switch between them makes us feel that we are experiencing the activities of more than one sense organ at a time.
The sUkshma sharIra or subtle body encompasses the prANamaya kOsha, manOmaya kOsha and vijnyAnamaya kOsha.
Is the jIva the subtle body ?
The 19 components of the subtle body are inert. They are functioning in the body on a cooperative basis. For whose benefit is this functioning? It is clear that it is for the benefit of the jIva. So the subtle body has to be apart from jIVa. The jIva is experiencing the variations in the state of the sense and action organs, and prANAs. One can control prANAs by breath control (prANAyAma). So the organs and prANAs are tools available to the jIVa; they are therefore separate from the jIva and are not the jIva. How about the antah-karaNa? As much as the jIva is witnessing the mind, (sankalpa/vikalpa), intellect, chitta (memories) and ego (I am this etc.), he has difficulty in separating himself from these witnessed entities. This is resolved from the experiences of the deep sleep state. It is the antah-karaNa that is responsible for the cognizance during waking and dream states. However, it is everyone's experience that during deep sleep, no cognizance is experienced. Still, when he wakes from deep sleep state, he relates that he slept well. Sleeping well is a cognizance absent during sleep, but the cognizance is reported when awake from deep sleep. Therefore the jIva is an entity other than the antah-karaNa, witnessing the cognizance of the antah-karaNa during deep sleep and reporting it to the antah-karaNa when awake. So the jIva has to be different from the antah-karaNa.
In the foregoing, it is demonstrated that the components of the subtle body - action and sense organs, prANAs as well as antah-karaNa - are witnessed by the jIva and are different from the jIva. It is therefore rejected that the jIva is the subtle body.
kAraNa sharIra or causal body.
By rejecting that the jIva is not the gross body or the subtle body, what normally the jIva thinks he is, is negated. So the jIva is ignorant of who he actually is! This is his ignorance. By associating himself with the gross body - I am a man, woman, etc, he develops desires, feelings of love, hatred, jealousy etc. These desires and feelings drive him to action. The actions result in accumulation of fruits of action in the antah-karaNa. Inability to experience these fruits in this life (he is experiencing the fruits of past life or lives), he has to take another life to experience those fruits. He is thus caught in the cycle of births and deaths due to the ignorance - ajnyAna - of who he is. This ajnyAna is the prime cause of the cycle of births and deaths. This ajnyAna is therefore called the kAraNa sharIra or causal body. The jIVa is not this kAraNa sharIra either, which will be addressed below.
ajnyAna or avidyA.
In the vEdAnta terminology, ajynAna, avidya or kAraNa sharIra are synonymous terms.
The jIva attaches to different upAdhis and identifies himself with some thing, he is not, as follows;
upAdhi of body makes him believe he is a man, woman, handsome, beautiful etc.
upAdhi of buddhi makes him believe he is happy or unhappy, intelligent, sinner, yOgi, ajnyAni etc.
upAdhi of relation makes him a father, son, sister etc.
upAdhi of money and property makes him rich, poor etc.
The jIva is cognizing the above as a witness. So how can he be any of these? His svarUpa (the nature that is unchanging and always remaining same) cannot even be that of a knower, since in deep sleep his knowingness is absent. So what is the svarUpa of jIva and where/how to understand it?
His svarUpa can only be understood in deep sleep. Void of all upAdhis, he stands alone in deep sleep. So the jIva's svarUpa is his experience in deep sleep. His svarUpa is disguised in waking and dream states by association with upAdhi. Though he is unable to experience his svarUpa in deep sleep, his narration in the waking state - that he slept well - attests to his presence (the mind and body are not present in deep sleep to either experience or narrate it later on). From the beginningless time, he has come to identify himself with upAdhis and is at a loss to know his svarUpa without upAdhis.
The jIva cannot avail his body beyond waking state. His mind is not available beyond dream state. He cannot himself experience his svarUpa in deep sleep. Then how should he understand his svarUpa? The shruti is the only recourse, as in the determination of jagat. We will review some statements of shruti to understand the svarUpa of jIva. Before we review the statements of shruti, we will take a look at the views of other philosophies with respect to jIva.
We will continue with this in the next unit.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
Various Views about Jiva.
chArvAka view.
chAru - agreeable or pleasing, vAka - speaker; One who speaks agreeably and/or pleasantly is a chAruvAka. Without dwelling deep into philosophy,
they advance a theory that is pleasant to hear. So this name seems appropriate. A chArvAka says "AtmA vy putrah - he will be born as son"; " svasmin iva putrE api prEmadarshanAth putrE puShTE naShTe cha aham Eva puShTO naShTa-scha ityAdi anubhavAcca putrah AtmA iti vadati - just as a jIva has love for his son, as he has for himself and as the son progresses or is dying, the jIva feels that he is progressing or is dying (the jIva identifies with the emotions of son), the son is the Atman or self". This line is pleasing for all of us who love our children. So the chArvAka says his child is self. Other chArvAka statements include the gross body is self (sa vA ESha puruShO anna rasa mayah), the sense organs are self , the prANAs are self (anyO antara AtmA prANamayah), the mind is self (anyO antara AtmA manOmayah) etc.
[ The chArvAkAs and Buddhists don't believe in the shruti; the shruti
statements cited above and below is for the benefit of the vEdAntin to
reconcile an association ].
Buddhist view.
" bouddhastu - anyO antara AtmA vijnyAna mayah ityAdi shrutEh kartuh abhAvE karaNasya shakti-abhAvAt aham kartA aham bhOktA ityAdi anubhavAccha buddhih AtmA - iti vadati" - The Buddhist says Atma is the vijnyAnamaya which is inside the manOmaya. The Buddhist says, "I am the doer, I am the experiencer is the general experience of all jIvas": Therefore buddhi is the Atma (the buddhi here is not the part of anthahkaraNa discussed previously; It is the waves of knowledge). This is the view of the vijnyAnavAdi Buddhists. The soutAntrika Buddhists believe the outside jagat as satya or real and so also the mind. The mAdhyamIka Buddhists declare that there is no "satya" or Real entity. Every thing is shUnya or void. This Buddhist argues that this jagat was unreal before creation, nothing exists in deep sleep; so the self is shUnya.
mImAmsa view.
prAbhAkara tArkitou to "anyO antara AtmA Ananada mayah ityAdi shrutEh buddhyAdInAm ajnyAnE layadarshanAt aham ajnyah aham jnyAnI ityAdi anubhavAccha ajnyAnam AtmA iti vadatah".
bhATTastu "prajnyAnaghana EvAnandamayah (ManDukya upanishat -5) ityAdi shrutEh suShuptou prakAsha-aprakAsha-sadbhAvAt mAm aham na jAnAmi ityAdi anubhavAccha ajnyAnOpahitam chaitanyam AtmA iti vadati".
shabara muni has written a commentary on Jaimini mImAmsa. prabhAkara misra and kumArilla bhaTTa have written interpretations on the shabara muni commentary. Followers of prabhAkara interpretation are prAbhAkaras and followers of bhaTTa interpretation are bhATTas.
The prAbhAkara argument goes like this - the taittirIta says vijnyAnamaya encloses the self Anandamaya; the buddhi merges (lost) in ajnyAna and the experience of the jIva that I am ignorant (ajnya), I am knowledgeable(jnyAni); so the prAbhAkaras say "ajnyAna is jIva ".
The bhATTa argument goes like this - The jIva is prajnyAna Ghana and Anandamaya (mAnDUkya); in deep sleep jnyAna and ajnyAna are both present - waking from deep sleep, he says "I slept well, did not know a thing"; I did not know a thing is the ajnyAna; however, even to recall good sleep, there should be jnyAna; so both jnyAna and ajnyAna are both present in deep sleep. So the bhATTa argues that Atma is the consciousness having the upAdhi of ajnyAna; the Atma is neither totally insentient nor totally consciousness; it is a mix of both.
All the above views contradict each other and therefore none of them identify the svarUpa of jIva. The above views have already been refuted (logically) in rejecting the gross body, subtle body and the causal body as the svarUpa of jIva. The refutation of the above views based on shruti pramANa follows below.
"kaschit dhIrah pratyagAtmAnamaikShat Avritta chakSkuh amritatvam icchan"
- seeking immortality, a wise person withdrew from the sense organs and focused inwards on the Atman - (kaTha upanishat 4.1)" - this rejects that the son is the Atman, since son is outside him.
" asthUlah anaNuh."
not gross, not atomic (BrihadAraNyaka Upanishat 3.8.8) - this rejects that the gross body is Atman.
" aprANO hya manAh shubrah"
- void of prANa and manas, He is supreme (or pure) (munDaka upanishat 2.1.2) - this rejects that prAna and manas are Atman.
"achakShuh-shrOtram tadapANipAdam"
- It has no eyes, eyes or limbs (munDaka upanishat 1.1.6) - this rejects that organs are Atman.
"anantaschAtmA vishwarUpO hyakartA"
- Atman is limitless, cosmic and non-doer (shvEtAShwatara upanishat 1.9) - This rejects that buddhi (knowledgeable doer) is Atman.
"na chAsti vEtta mama chitsadA aham"
- None know me, I am the permanent bliss (kaivalya upanishat- 21) - this negates that ajnyAna is Atman.
"chinmAtrO aham sadAshivah"
- I am ever auspicious pure consciousness (kaivalya upanishat 18) - This rejects the argument that Atman is a mix or composite of inert and sentient.
"tat satyam sa AtmA"
- It is Real, He is Atman (chAndOgya 6.8.7) ,
"sadEva soumyEdamagra AsIt"
- "soumya!, prior to creation, this jagat was the Reality" - these statements reject that Atman is shUnya or void.
These statements of shruti negate the views of other philosophies about Atman. Logically also, it is evident that any object that needs the the support of an external source of light (consciousness) to be cognized (like light coming from a window to cognize an object) is inert; all inert objects are impermanent and unreal. So the son, gross body, sense organs are all impermanent and unreal and cannot be Atman.
Until now we discussed what Atman is not. The review is incomplete without
discussing what Atman is!
We will take up this study of discussing shruti's declaration of the svarUpa of jIva or who jIva is in the next unit.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
In discussing the subtle body, we understood that "the jIva is an entity other than the antah-karaNa, witnessing the cognizance of the antah-karaNa during deep sleep and relating it to the antah-karaNa when awake". So where is the jIva during deep sleep? The shruti statements answer as follows;
"sadA tadA sampannO bhavati, svam apItO bhavati"
- He is united with Reality (sat), He is merged with Atman " - chAndOgya 6.8.1
"parE Atmani sampratiShThtE"
- He is united with paramAtma" - prashna upanishat 4.7
"antar hridaya AkAshastrasminchatE"
- He is lying in the space of antar-hridaya" - brihadAraNyaka 2.1.17
"prAjnyEnAtmanA sampariShvaktah
- He is embraced by the wise Atman " -brihadAraNyaka 4.3.21.
shruti statements like these declare that the jIva in deep sleep is united with Brahman. So the daily experience of Jiva in deep sleep is Brahman. It does not mean that the jIva in waking and dream states is not Brahman (the jIva's focus being external, he is unable to experience it). This is confirmed in the chAndOgya (6.8.7)
"sa AtmA tat tvam asi shvEtakEto"
- That Atman, shvEtakEtu, you are
"nAnyO ato asti driShTA, nAnyO atO asti shrOtA, nAnyO atO asti manta, nAnyO atO asti vijnyAta"
- There is no other seen, there is no other heard, there is no other to realize, there is no other knower (other than the Atman) - chAndOgya 3.7.23.
"sa vA ESha mahAn aja AtmA yO ayam vijnyAnamayah"
- This knower (accumulating knowledge in the waking and dream states) is the supreme unborn Atman - brihadAraNyaka 4.4.22.
These statements of shruti guide us to understand the svarUpa of jIva.
mahAvAkyAs.
Two of the four mahAvAkyas (Distinguished Statements) of advaita philosophy point to the svarUpa of jIva. They are
"tat tvam asi"
- you are that - chAndOgya (6.8.7) and
"aham brahmAsmi"
- I am Brahman - brihadAraNyaka (1.4.10).
Both these distinguished statements are indicators of the svarUpa of jIva. The "tat tvam asi" statement is described as an instructional statement - the teacher advising the student that you are Brahman. The "aham brahmAsmi" statement is described as an experience statement - the student following the instructions of the teacher, contemplates on the nature of the self and experiences Brahman. The meaning of these statements are further described.
tat tvam asi
This phrase appears as part of several statements in chAndOgya upanishat. Two meanings-
- Literal meaning - describing consciousness associated with upAdhi
- Intended meaning - describing the pure consciousness are analyzed for this and all mahAvAkyas.
A red hot iron ball will burn our finger when it is touched. Descriptions of "iron ball burnt my finger" or "the heat of the red hot iron ball burnt my finger" both indicate that the burning principle is the fire aspect and not the iron aspect. The first description is conversational description, which combines the fire and iron aspects. The second is logical description; in this the object (iron) and upAdhi or association (fire) are separated. Similarly, in the mahAvAkya "tat tvam asi - that you are",' that' suggests Brahman, 'you' suggests jIva.
"jIva is Brahman" is the literal meaning. This does not separate the Atman and the jIva (Atman associated with the upAdhis of body, sense organs and mind). The intended meaning is "the consciousness in the jIva (separating the upAdhis from the jIva) is the Pure Consciousness Brahman. "That you are" suggests the Pure Consciousness Brahman through three relational aspects as follows ('tat' and tvam' are both in the nominative case;the relational aspects help understand the interpretation of the two subjects).
"sambandhatrayam nAma padayOh sAmAnAdhikaraNyam pada arthayOh vishEshaNa
vishEshya-bhAvah pratyagAtma lakShaNayOh lakShya-lakShaNa bhAvaschEti" -
The three relational aspects are -
(1) sAmAnAdhikaraNya - identical power or identical support; In the phrase "blue lotus", the blueness and lotusness are both supported by the blue lotus. The blue lotus supports blue and lotus identically; blue and lotus identically empower blue lotus
(2) vishEShaNa - vishEShya bhAva - The adjective describing the quality and the object to which the adjective is associated
(3) lakShya-lakShaNa bhAva - The lakShya/lakShaNa bhAva between pratyagAtma (individual self) and the intended meaning of 'tat tvam asi'
In this context, it is said as follows;
"sAmAnAdhikaraNyam cha vishEShaNavishEShyatA
lakShya lakShaNa sambandah padArtha pratyagAtmanAm iti"
Identical power/support, adjective and noun relationship and lakShya-lakShaNa relation exists between object (meaning of tat and tvam) and pratyagAtma. Identical power/support In the statement "sah ayam dEvadadattah - "He is this Devadatta"; 'He' refers to a Devadatta having an adjective of prior time, and the 'this'adjective describing present time Devadatta. Both Devadattas of prior and present time are supported by the same person Devadatta. Similarly, in the mahAvAkya, the 'tat' having an adjective of 'that' and describing the Pure Consciousness and the consciousness described by the adjective visible and described by 'tvam', have both same support in the Pure Consciousness.
vishEShaNa-vishEShya Relation
He is the Devadatta related to a prior time; This is the Devadatta related to the present time. By rejecting any difference between the prior time Devadatta and the present time Devadatta, a relationship is established between 'He' and 'This' Devadatta. This relation is vishEShaNa-vishEShya Relation. Similarly, between the 'tat', having an adjective of invisibility (Pure Consciousness) and 'tvam', having an adjective of visible etc., if the mutual difference is rejected, the relationship is vishEShaNa-vishEShya bhAva relation.
lakShya-lakShaNa Relation
'He' is the Devadatta of the prior time; 'this' is the Devadatta of present time. The intended person is the same Devadatta. So by eliminating the attributes 'He' and 'this', the relation with the undifferentiated Devadatta is the lakShya-lakShaNa relation- the intended and literal person is the same Devadatta. Similarly in the mahAvAkya, by rejecting the attributes invisible and visible between 'tat' and 'tvam', the undifferentiated consciousness is the lakShya-lakShaNa relation between 'tat' and 'tvam' - The intended and literal entity is the Pure Consciousness. Another classification of lakShaNa (distinctive or identifying mark) is also described; it is of three kinds.
(1) jahat lakShaNa - ignoring (jahat) the literal meaning and taking only the intended meaning; For example, in the phrase "gangAyAm ghOShah - Village is in Ganga" , obviously the village cannot be in the midst of the Ganga river; the intended meaning is 'the village is on the banks of the Ganga. Here the intended meaning is extracted by ignoring the literal meaning. This is jahat lakShaNa
(2) ajahat lakShaNa - interpreting the intended meaning by retaining (ajahat) the literal meaning; In the phrase "shONah dhAvati - red color is running", since red color cannot be running, an animal having red color is running is the intended meaning. Here the literal description 'red' is retained and the intended meaning is extracted. This is ajahat lakShaNa
(3) jahat-ajahat lakShaNa - ignoring a part of the literal meaning and retaining a part of the literal meaning; In the statement 'sah ayam dEvadattah', since it is the same Devadatta, ignoring the reference to time, 'he and this' and retaining the person Devadatta, the jahat-ajahat lakShaNa is established. This is also called bhAga lakShaNA or bhAga-tyAga-lakShaNa. The mahAvAkya "tat tvam asi" cannot be interpreted by jahat lakShaNa or ajahat lakShaNa. It has to be interpreted by jahat-ajahat lakShana only to extract that 'tat' and 'tvam' identify the same Pure Consciousness as follows. The statement 'tat tvam asi' indicates the union of visible and invisible consciousness. The opposing visible and invisible attributes are dropped. By doing so, the undifferentiated Pure Consciousness only is retained is suggested.
The mahAvAkya - Aham brahmAsmi
This mahAvakya states "I am Brahman". Here again, the union of the jIva consciousness 'aham' and the Pure Consciousness Brahman have to be inferred by bhAgalakShaNa as in 'tat tvam asi'. This statement is described as an experience statement versus the instructional statement of 'tat tvam asi'. When the teacher has instructed the student, following the teachings of shruti, the student contemplates on the description of Brahman described in the shruti. When he experiences that pure bliss, he exalts "aham BrahmAsmi" - I am that Brahman. This is the culmination of the quest of the student in the realization of Brahman. We will pick up the process of contemplation down the road. So far, we negated that jIVa is the shtUla sharIra, or the sUkShma sharIra or the kAraNa sharIra. We also understood the svarUpa of jIva - that his svarUpa is the Pure Consciousness or Brahman. What is it that prevents the jIva from experiencing this svarUpa? This is the avidya or ajnyAna. We will next study the nature of ajnyAna.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
In the study of jagat and the jIva, we have understood that the names and forms of jagat as well as the jIva acting with an understanding of he is the body, mind or intellect are appearances only; in their svarUpa, they are identical with Brahman. The jIva is not aware that he is Brahman. This unawareness that he is Brahman is the avidya or ajnyAna of the jIva. This avidya leads him to misunderstand himself. This misunderstanding is adhyAsa - ajnyAna is the cause of adhyAsa. In other words, misunderstanding that he is, when he is not, is adhyAsa. The mis-understanding (projection or superposition) that he is the body - adhyAsa- , makes him experience pain and pleasure, happiness and sorrow etc., caused by the attachment to and fear from the multiplicity. This adhyAsa makes him imagine or conceive other bodies, material wealth etc. These he cannot create himself; these are created by Brahman by the power of mAyA, for the experience of karma of the jIva. In the absence of other bodies or material wealth, the jiva has no scope for the experience of karma. So the adhyAsa, created by avidya is supported by jagat (caused by the mAyA). In addition to supporting the birth and death cycle of the jIva, the jagat also supports jIva's quest for liberation through the practice of sAdhana chatuShTaya and shravaNa, manana and nidhidhyAsana.
avidya itself is not the culprit; but the adhyAsa arising out of avidya is the culprit - not knowing who he is (avidya), he conceives man woman, induced by desires (adhyAsa) moves from body to body. For example, not knowing (ajnyAna) there is a pit, is not dangerous by itself. But driven by some desire, going towards the pit (adhyAsa) could be dangerous. What this tells is that, the adhyAsa is of the 'bhAvarUpa'- of the form of 'is' in the antahkaraNa (wife is there, wealth is there etc.). The awareness in the misunderstanding is bhAvarUpa. But the kAraNa for this, the ajnyAna - lack of knowledge - is of the 'abhAvarUpa' - of the form of 'is not'. So the Atman does not have any relation to the kAraNa Sharira called ajnyAna (with the advent or dawn of jnyAna, the ajnyAna disappears). So the ajnyAna or avidya is not in the Atman. All that is in the Atman is bhAva rUpa - like pAramArthika satya. The vyAvahArika satya is bhAvarUpa of names and forms; the prAtbhAsika satya is bhAvarUpa of mirage. That which is opposed to all these and is really not in the Atman is abhAvarUpa; avidya belongs to this abhAvarUpa category.
How does bhAvarUpa adhyAsa come from abhAvarUpa ajnyAna? This is resolved when one notes that the ajnyAna as kArana of adhyAsa is a pretext, and not a nimitta or upAdAna. As an example, an abandoned house invites a homeless person to occupy the house. The abhAva of the owner did not create the homeless person (neither nimitta nor upAdAna). When the owner comes back to claim the house, the homeless person quits the place. In this example, the intellect of the ajnyAni is the abandoned house, and the jnyAna is the owner. When the jnyAna is realized (owner comes back), ajnyAna disappears (homeless person quits). That is why it was said that adhyAsa - awareness (he is body, intellect etc.) in ajnyAna - is bhAvarupa. Only because ajnyAna is abhAvarUpa, it can be totally eliminated. If it is of the bhAvarUpa, it cannot be totally eliminated when jnyAna takes over or then it has to find place in another jIva, which is absurd. The avidya induced (desire oriented) actions of current life begets next life; like wise the desire oriented actions of previous life(or lives) got us this life. The previous life was derived from its previous life etc. Therefore avidya is anAdi or beginning-less, spanning back to many previous kalpas. There is no beginning for avidya. If there were to be a beginning for avidya, that would be synonymous with Brahman loosing his svarUpa, jnyAna and Ananda and acquiring avidya. How can it be Brahman, if it were to loose its svarUpa? (Brahma satya). Therefore avidya is anAdi or beginning-less; however, the blessed situation is that avidya has an end - it is sAnta (sa anta), through vidya. avidya is an affliction with the jIva and not Brahman. Krishna tells Arjuna
"bahUnI me vyatItAni janmAni tava cha Arjuna
tAni aham vEda sarvaNi na tvam vEttha parantapa "
- Arjuna, we both have crossed many lives; I know all of them, but you don't know them - (gIta 4-5).
The jIva sheds avidya and realizes Brahman. Brahman cannot loose jnyAna and become jIva. vidya can be acquired and not lost. avidya can be lost and not acquired. Here we can recall a parable from Sri Ramakrishna. Some tigers came to attack a cow heard. The villagers came to protect their cow heard. In the scuffle, all tigers escaped, except a pregnant tiger that got tired, delivered the baby tiger and died. The villagers took custody of the baby tiger and looked after the baby tiger. It grew with the cow heard, and became a big tiger. One day when this tiger was grazing in the forest with other cattle, another forest tiger was surprised at this domesticated tiger grazing grass. The forest tiger came up to the domesticated tiger and said "what is wrong with you? You are a tiger! You should be attacking the cows, not graze with them". The domesticated tiger did not believe the forest tiger. The forest tiger took the domesticated tiger to the nearby pond and asked it to look at its image in the water. It then said, "what do you see in the image? A tiger face like me or a cattle face like them?". The domesticated tiger realized it is a tiger and not a cattle and went to the forest. The tiger shed its ajnyAna and realized its tiger-hood. However, it did not acquire ajnyAna and become a cattle (its ajnyAna only made it think it is a cattle). So Brahman cannot acquire ajnYana and become a jIva.
avidya-imagined or avidya-fabricated (avidya kalpita)
The witnessed names and forms as a result of avidya are abhAva rUpa like avidya itself. So the perception itself is avidya-fabricated. The jagat of names and forms is of the svarUpa of Brahman. This knowledge itself is vidya (jnyAna). Prior to this jnyAna, the Brahman was non-Brahman for our perception. So the names and forms were avidya-fabricated during avidya. When it was rejected, the non-brahman(ness) disappeared. With jnyAna, the names and forms don't disappear, but the attitude or spirit of understanding changes - seeing Brahman in its svarUpa and not the names and forms (seeing gold, while looking at the ornament). For example a married man has a wife, mother-in-law, brother-in-law etc. If the marriage is divorced, the above relations don't exist any more; however those people don't die and are still very much alive. The shruti describes jagat of names and forms by both descriptions - (1) at the kAraNa (causal) level, the jagat is Brahman; at the kArya (or effect) level, jagat is avidya-fabricated. The anAtma is fabricated by avidya and there is nothing apart from Atma.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih (Om peace, peace, peace).
kAraNa for jagat - mAyA or avidya?
We have known from our foregoing study of jagat and Brahman that
- mAya is the kAraNa for the creation, sustenance and dissolution of jagat, and
- The transactions of jagat are superimposed on NirguNa Brahman due to avidya.
The adyhArOpa-apavAda process clearly leads us to the following without any doubt. VaishNavI mAyA (not avidya) is the upAdAna for the jagat. Brahman, with its power of mAyA creates the jagat for the benefit of jIvas, associated with avidya, to experience their karma. The number of jIvas are infinite; even, if one or two were to shed avidya and are not reborn, the creation, sustenance and dissolution of jagat (by the power of mAyA) continues from beginningless time (anAdi) to endless time (ananta) for the benefit of the jIvas still in samsAra.
avidya cannot be the kAraNa for jagat for the following reasons.
a) It is the awareness of every individual that he/she is not the creator of jagat
b) How does a single jagat come out of the varieties of avidya of different jIvas?
c) Multiple jagats from multiple avidya would create a chaos
d) avidya-free jnyAnis like vyAsa have also lived and interacted in this jagat; so avidya-free individuals also interact in jagat. So how can
avidya be the kAraNa for jagat?
Similar arguments establish that the jagat is not the kArya of ajnyAna, but it is the kArya of mAya. This begs a question - then what is the meaning of jagat being imagined by avidya? It is answered as follows. With or without avidya, the jagat is not different from Brahman. However, a
person afflicted by avidya experiences that jagat is different from Brahman; a person free from avidya will experience jagat as not different from Brahman. With this knowledge, he recognizes that NirguNa Brahman is the only Reality. So avidya imagines a jagat (of names and forms) and does not cause a jagat (even vidya cannot cause jagat, so what to speak of avidya?); avidya makes a person believe that the jagat is independent (this is an imagination). So the enquiry helped him understand that the jagat is the kArya of mAyA. On realization (advent of jnyAna), this imagination that the jagat is independent disappeared. With the advent of jnyAna, he comes to realize that the jagat he had come to experience was imagined due to avidya. With jnyAna, he still interacts with jagat; however, this interaction is with a jagat that is NOT DIFFERENT from Brahman (jagat is not independent).
mAyA and avidya
Are mAyA and avidya synonymous? Absolutely not. mAya is associated with Iswara and not jIva; avidya is associated with jIva and not Iswara. The jagat resulting from mAyA is identically seen by everyone; the imagination or projection (adhyAsa) of jagat due to avidya is an individual experience. mAya helps jIva see Brahman in the form of jagat; avidya impels him in the cycle of births and deaths. mAya is the power of Brahman, while avidya is a weakness in the jIva. Crossing mAyA results in liberation, while dropping avidya results in liberation. mAyA is supported by Brahman, while avidya is supported by mAyA. Many more differences can be listed to show that mAyA and avidya are not synonymous. This completes the study of ajnyAna (or avidya), which is also called kAraNa sharIra.
Three States of jIva
The jIva experiences three states - waking, dream and deep sleep states.
Waking State.
During the waking, the 19 principles activate the gross body - his sense organs, organs of action and the inner organ -antahkaraNa are all activated. During the waking state, he interacts with the outside world through the organs of the gross body.
Dream State.
As he gets tired of the waking activities, the activities of the gross body are suspended, the mind is still engaged in its activities. This is the dream state. During the dream state, the vital airs are still protecting the gross body. The experiences of the dream state are driven by the imprints (vAsanas) within him. All the activities of the waking state are present in the dream state. He creates his own jagat, though this jagat is not experienced by others. This jagat is not the jagat of the five elements created by Brahman (through the power of mAyA). So the good or bad deeds of the dream state do not accrue to the karma of the jIva. There is no difference between the waking and the dream states at the mind level. As much as the outside environment of the jagat controls the mind in the waking state (spatial or temporal limitations), there is no such control of the mind in the dream state - the mind does not experience the limitations of the physical space and the time. The experiences of the dream world are false, while the experiences of the waking world are for true. The jIva is the creator of the dream - the experiences of the waking state manifest as dream.
The mind is the upAdhi in the creation of jIva's dream. The light that illumines the dream is the light of the Atman - " tam Eva bhAntam anubhAti sarvam tasya bhAsA sarvam idam vibhAti" (kaTha upanishad 2.2.15). It is the same light that illumines the activities in the waking state. However, in the waking state, the light from the sun or moon (light of the atman supported by the upAdhi of sun or moon), appears to overpower the light of the Atman; therefore it appears to takes backseat.
Deep Sleep State.
The activities of waking state through the gross body and mind and in the dream state via the mind will tire the jIva and he is immersed in deep sleep, to rest. In deep sleep, the jIva has no association with either the gross body or the subtle body. Here the jIva is embracing Brahman; however, he is still in the lap of ajnyAna - because, when he wakes up, he again identifies with the body and mind etc. There is one difference in the deep sleep state vs. the waking and dream states - The experiences of waking and dream states of all jIvas are different as narrated by their own experiences; however, the deep sleep experience is the same for all jIvas, since all jIvas embrace the one and only Brahman in deep sleep. Because, "I slept well" does not need additional explanation between jIvas; there is no second question like "how well was sleep" to understand the experience of sleeping well (the need for additional explanation to narrate the waking state experience of taste or sight etc. experiences between jIvas is obvious). So in deep sleep, there is no difference in the experience of jIvas. So in the absence of association with body and mind (upAdhis), there is no difference in the experience - the same happy state; there is no pain in deep sleep state. This happiness or bliss ends with the end of deep sleep state. Back in the dream or waking state, the upAdhis of gross and subtle bodies bring in the associated pain or pleasure. This is the only deficiency of the deep sleep state.
The bliss of the deep sleep state is not exceeded by any other bliss. He is alone, without the second. This is the state without any fear; this is paramAtma, this is supreme bliss. How to know this? It has been our experience that interaction with (external) sense objects provides happiness for some finite time, beyond which continued indulgence in the sense objects may not continue to provide the same level of happiness. With the loss of happiness, we may not even be inclined to associate with those sense objects again to regain the happiness. There may or may not be happiness in association with sense objects; even the happiness derived, is from the sense object or not cannot be firmly determined. However, it is clear that there is happiness in deep sleep, without any association with sense objects. In reality, the happiness arising out of contact with sense objects is not different from the happiness of svarUpa (of the self); however, it appears as the happiness derived from sense objects, caused by the disappearance of the layers of ignorance covering the svarUpa. So the transactional happiness (from sense objects) is a subset of the bliss of Brahman.
The Levels of Bliss.
Void of all upAdhis in deep sleep, Atman is alone, with the disappearance of many. This characteristic of deep sleep is the reason for that bliss in that state. This supreme bliss is not just the domain of deep sleep. A jIva, knowing its svarUpa has shed the many; he experiences this supreme bliss in waking, dream or deep sleep states. This happens in stages, as the jIva drops the coverings enclosing the Self. As all the coverings are shed, the differences disappear and the same bliss is experienced (unity with the Brahman). One, whose all desires are destroyed, enjoys the supreme bliss, in this life in all states.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
End
Om Tat Sat
End
(My humble salutations Sreeman Brahmasri Ramakrishna- Advaita Vedanta dot org for the collection)
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