Advaita Bhoda Deepika #26

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End of post #25

 

M.: The waking man functions as the dreamer (taijasa) in

his dreams. The dreamer is neither identical with nor separate

from the waking man (visva). For the man sleeping happy on

his bed has not moved out whereas as the dreamer he had

wandered about in other places, busy with many things. The

wanderer of the dream cannot be the man resting in his bed.

Can he then be different? Not so either. For on waking from

sleep, he says 'In my dream I went to so many places, did so

many things and was happy or otherwise'. Clearly he identifies

himself with the experiencer of the dream. Moreover no other

experiencer can be seen.

 

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D.: Not different from nor identical with the waking

experiencer, who is this dream-experiencer?

M.: Being a creation of the illusory power of sleep the

dream-experiencer is only an illusion like the snake on a rope.

With the finish of the illusory power of dream, the dreamer

vanishes only to wake up as the real substratum, the original

individual self of the waking state. Similarly the empirical self,

the jiva is neither the unchanging Brahman nor other than It.

In the internal faculty, the mind, fancied by ignorance, the Self

is reflected and the reflection presents itself as the empirical,

changing and individual self. This is a superimposed false

appearance. Since the superimposition cannot remain apart

from its substratum, this empirical self cannot be other than

the absolute Self.

 

D.: Who is this?

M.: Successively appearing in the ignorance-created mind and

disappearing in deep sleep, swoon etc., this empirical self is inferred

to be only a phantom. Simultaneously with the disappearance of

the medium or the limiting adjunct (upadhi), the mind, the jiva

becomes the substratum, the True Being or Brahman. Destroying

the mind, the jiva can know himself as Brahman.

 

24. D.: With the destruction of the limiting adjunct, the

jiva being lost, how can he say 'I am Brahman'?

M.: When the limiting ignorance of dream vanishes, the

dreamer is not lost, but emerges as the waking experiencer. So

also when the mind is lost, the jiva emerges as his true Being -

Brahman. Therefore as soon as the mind is annihilated leaving

no trace behind, the jiva will surely realise 'I am the Being-

Knowledge-Bliss, non-dual Brahman; Brahman is I, the Self '.

 

D.: In that case the state must be without any mode like

that of deep sleep. How can there be the experience 'I am

Brahman'?

M.: Just as at the end of a dream, the dreamer rising up as

the waking experiencer says 'All along I was dreaming that I

wandered in strange places, etc., but I am only lying down on

the bed,' or a madman cured of his madness remains pleased

with himself, or a patient cured of his illness wonders at his past

sufferings, or a poor man on becoming a king, forgets or laughs

at his past penurious state, or a man on becoming a celestial

being enjoys the new bliss, or a devotee on uniting with the

Lord of his devotion remains blissful, so also the jiva on emerging

as Brahman wonders how all along being only Brahman he was

moving about as a helpless being imagining a world, god and

individuals, asks himself what became of all those fancies and

how he now remaining all alone as Being-Knowledge-Bliss free

from any differentiation, internal or external, certainly experiences

the Supreme Bliss of Brahman. Thus realisation is possible

for the jiva only on the complete destruction of the mind and

not otherwise.

 

25. D.: Experience can be of the mind only. When it is

destroyed, who can have the experience 'I am Brahman'?

M.: You are right. The destruction of the mind is of two

kinds: (rupa and arupa) i.e., in its form-aspect and in its formless

aspect. All this while I have been speaking of destroying the

former mind. Only when it ceases to be in its formless aspect,

experience will be impossible, as you say.

 

D.: Please explain those two forms of the mind and their

destruction.

M.: The latent impressions (vasanas) manifesting as modes

(vrittis) constitute the form-aspect of the mind. Their effacement

is the destruction of this aspect of mind. On the other hand, on

the latencies perishing, the supervening state of samadhi in which

there is no stupor of sleep, no vision of the world, but only the

Being-Knowledge-Bliss is the formless aspect of mind. The loss

of this amounts to the loss of the formless aspect of mind. Should

this also be lost, there can be no experience - not even of the

realisation of Supreme Bliss.

 

D.: When does this destruction take place?

M.: In the disembodiment of the liberated being. It cannot

happen so long as he is alive in the body. The mind is lost in its

form-aspect but not in its formless one of Brahman. Hence the

experience of Bliss for the sage, liberated while alive.

 

26-27. D.: In brief what is Realisation?

M.: To destroy the mind in its form-aspect functioning as

the limiting adjunct to the individual, to recover the pure mind

in its formless aspect whose nature is only Being-Knowledge-

Bliss and to experience 'I am Brahman' is Realisation.

D.: Is this view supported by others as well?

M.: Yes. Sri Sankaracharya has said: 'Just as in the ignorant

state, unmindful of the identity of the Self with Brahman, one

truly believes oneself to be the body, so also after knowing to be

free from the illusion of the body being the Self, and becoming

unaware of the body, undoubtingly and unmistakably always

to experience the Self as the Being-Knowledge-Bliss identical

with Brahman is called Realisation'. 'To be fixed as the Real

Self is Realisation', say the sages.

 

28. D.: Who says it and where?

 

29. M.: Vasishta has said in Yoga Vasishta: 'Just as the mind

in a stone remains quiet and without any mode, so also like the

interior of the stone to remain without any mode and thought

free, but not in slumber nor aware of duality, is to be fixed as

the Real Self '.

 

30-31. Therefore without effacing the form-aspect of the

mind and remaining fixed as the true Self, how can anyone

realise 'I am Brahman'? It cannot be. Briefly put, one should

still the mind to destroy one's individuality and thus remain

fixed as the Real Self of Being-Knowledge-Bliss, so that in

accordance with the text 'I am Brahman' one can realise

Brahman. On the other hand, on the strength of the direct

knowledge of Brahman to say 'I am Brahman' is as silly as a

poor beggar on seeing the king declaring himself to be the king.

Not to claim by words but to be fixed as the Real Self and

know 'I am Brahman' is Realisation of Brahman.

 

32. D.: How will the sage be, who has undoubtingly,

unmistakably and steadily realised Brahman?

M.: Always remaining as the Being-Knowledge-Bliss, nondual,

all-perfect, all-alone, unitary Brahman, he will be unshaken

even while experiencing the results of the past karma now in

fruition. (prarabdha).

 

33-35. D.: Being only Brahman, how can he be subject to

the experiences and activities resulting from past karma?

M.: For the sage undoubtingly and unmistakably fixed as

the real Self, there can remain no past karma. In its absence

there can be no fruition, consequently no experience nor any

activity. Being only without mode Brahman, there can be no

experiencer, no experiences and no objects of experience.

Therefore no past karma can be said to remain for him.

D.: Why should we not say that his past karma is now

working itself out?

 

M.: Who is the questioner? He must be a deluded being

and not a sage.

D.: Why?

M.: Experience implies delusion; without the one, the other

cannot be. Unless there is an object, no experience is possible.

All objective knowledge is delusion. There is no duality in

Brahman. Certainly all names and forms are by ignorance

superimposed on Brahman. Therefore the experiencer must be

ignorant only and not a sage. Having already enquired into the

nature of things and known them to be illusory names and

forms born of ignorance, the sage remains fixed as Brahman

and knows all to be only Brahman. Who is to enjoy what? No

one and nothing. Therefore there is no past karma left nor

present enjoyments nor any activity for the wise one.

 

36-37. D.: However we do not see him free from the

experience of past karma; on the other hand he goes through

them like an ordinary ignorant man. How is this to be explained?

M.: In his view there is nothing like past karma, enjoyments

or activities.

D.: What is his view?

M.: For him there is nothing but the pure, untainted Ether

of Absolute Knowledge.

D.: But how is he seen to pass through experiences?

M.: Only the others see him so. He is not aware of it.

 

38-39. D.: Is this view confirmed by other authorities?

M.: In Viveka Chudamani, Sri Acharya has said

'Simultaneous with the dawn of knowledge, ignorance with all

its effects flees away from the sage and so he cannot be an enjoyer.

However, the ignorant wonder how the sage continues to live

in the body and act like others. From the ignorant point of

view, the scriptures have admitted the momentum of past karma,

but not from the point of view of the sage himself '.

 

40. D.: If truly he is no enjoyer, why should he appear to

others to be so?

M.: Owing to their ignorance, the others regard him as an

enjoyer.

 

41-43. D.: Can this be so?

M.: Yes. To the ignorant only the non-dual, pure Ether of

Absolute Knowledge manifests Itself as various beings, the world,

God, different names and forms, I, you, he, it, this and that.

Like the illusion of a man on a post, silver on nacre, snake on

rope, utensils in clay, or ornaments in gold, different names

and forms on the Ether of Knowledge delude the ignorant.

The sage who, by practice of knowledge, has destroyed

ignorance and gained true knowledge, will always remain only

as the Ether of Absolute Knowledge, unaware of enjoyments of

fruits of actions or of worldly activities. Being That, he can be

aware as the Ether of Knowledge only. Nevertheless, owing to

their ignorance others see him otherwise, i.e., as an embodied

being acting like themselves. But he remains only pure,

untainted ether, without any activity.

 

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Taken from Advaita Bhoda Deepika

as published by Sri Ramanasramam

Tiruvannamalai 2002.

 

To be continued...

 

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