Advaita Bhoda Deepika #17

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End of last post #16

 

54. D.: Do these three - Being, Knowledge and Bliss

form the qualities or the nature of the Self?

M.: These are not qualities but the very Self. Just as heat,

light, and redness form the nature of fire and are not its qualities,

so also Being, Knowledge and Bliss are the nature of the Self.

 

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55. D.: If the Self has three forms as Being, Knowledge

and Bliss, are there then three selves?

M.: No. It is only one. Just as the fire showing forth as heat,

light and redness, is not three but only one, or water appearing as

coldness, fluidity and taste is only one, so also the Self shining

forth as Being-Knowledge-Bliss is not three but only one.

 

56-58. D.: If the Self is only one, how can It be said to be

'all permeating'?

M.: It is correct to say that the Self, being only One, is all

permeating, because It is all knowing, It, as Knowledge, can

permeate all.

 

D.: Being the inmost Self aware of the five sheaths of the

body, can It be all knowing?

M.: Yes. It can. The whole universe made up of the five

elements, their combinations and mutations is seen by Itself

and by no other. Being insentient, the others cannot know.

Otherwise the insentient like a pot etc., should be knowing.

But it is not so. Only It knows all of them but they do not

know It. It is the All knower.

 

D.: The Self perceives only such things as are within the

ken of the senses and not those beyond. Where does It perceive

Mt. Meru or Heaven?

M.: It knows all. In the Self which is but the Ether of

Knowledge, all that is non-self i.e., insentient, appears in both

manners, as perceived or unperceived. Just as in the Ether of

Knowledge and not elsewhere, the home, lands, village, town and

country seem perceived by the senses, so also things beyond the

senses such as Mt. Meru or heaven appear as unperceived by them.

 

D.: Can anything unperceived by the senses appear at all?

M.: Yes, it can. Though non-existent like the son of a barren

woman, yet in the Ether of Knowledge, the home etc., appear

as objects of perception, because the latencies of the mind present

themselves so. In the same manner, though unreal and

unperceived, Meru etc., are fancied by the mind and appear in

the Ether of Knowledge.

 

D.: How?

M.: Before the witnessing consciousness in dreams the

mental phenomena present themselves as objects of perception

such as the home etc., and also others beyond perception like

heaven etc. In the same way they do so in the waking state too.

Otherwise one cannot say "I do not know heaven, Meru etc."

However one says "I do not know heaven, Meru etc." This

means that heaven, Meru etc., appear as objects unperceived by

the senses. Thus the Self which knows all the insentient nonself,

like Mt. Meru etc., is this Self only.

If not found in all (everywhere) but seen only within, as

the inner Self witnessing the five sheaths, how can It know all?

Certainly It cannot do so. In itself the mind fancies things far

and near, perceptible and imperceptible, known and unknown.

As their substratum the Self runs through and knows them all.

The Self is thus all-pervading. Therefore the same Self only is

in all and there can be no doubt of this.

 

59. D.: Should the Self be all-pervading, It must be

associated with all and therefore tainted.

M.: No. Like the all-permeating ether, It is impartite and

therefore unassociated. Not only untainted like the ether, but

also surpassing it, the Self remains as the Ether of Consciousness.

Therefore the srutis say "This Purusha is certainly untainted."

 

60. D.: Being unassociated and thus untainted, beyond

all, separate and indifferent, the Self must be imperfect.

M.: No. There exists nothing different nor similar to It;

there are no parts in It. It remains undifferentiated externally

and internally. It is Perfection. Though all-filling yet It remains

unassociated like the ether.

 

D.: How can It be all-permeating and yet impartite?

M.: Not here nor there, but all-pervading, It is undivided

in space. Not now, nor then, but ever-present, It is undivided

in time. There is nothing beside the Self, It is the All-Self or the

very being of everything; therefore It is undivided by anything.

It remains thus undivided by any or all these three, all-filling

and perfect. Thus Its Perfection is proved.

 

61. D.: Because, all-pervading like the ether, the Self fills

all, It must be changeful.

M.: No. Being the witness of all created elements, ether

etc., that undergo changes, such as existence, birth, growth,

transformation, decay and death, the Self cannot Itself be

changeful. Otherwise like the other things It would be

changing; then It must be born, grow and die away. Thus It

must fall into the category of insentient things. If insentient,

It cannot at all be aware. On the contrary, It is known always

to remain as the witness of the birth, growth and decay of all

the universe. It is also impartite. Therefore It must be free

from changes.

 

62-63. D.: To say that the Self is free from changes implies

the existence of non-self which is changing. Then the Self cannot

be 'non-dual' and duality must result.

M.: No. There exists nothing besides the Self. It is 'nondual'.

If the non-self is not different from the Self, there cannot

be duality.

 

D.: How can the non-self be the Self and not separate

from the Self?

M.: The Self is the origin of all. The effect cannot be

different from its cause. We do not see them totally different

from each other. Being the cause of all, the Self is identical with

all. There can be nothing different from It.

 

64-66. D.: How can the Self be the origin of all?

M.: Being the seer of all, It is the origin of all.

 

D.: How can the seer be the origin?

M.: In all cases of illusion, only the seer is found to be the

cause of all of them. When nacre is seen to be silver, the material

cause is no other than the seer; the same is the case with all

dream-visions for they have their origin in the dreamer only.

Similarly with the illusion of the world of the waking state, the

seer must be the cause.

 

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Taken from Advaita Bhoda Deepika

as published by Sri Ramanasramam

Tiruvannamalai 2002.

 

To be continued...

 

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