MANASOLLASA - V

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Ahamkara (the feeling of `I') is of three types: Nirvikalpa (without

any modification), Suddha (pure) and Malina (dirty). The Nirvikalpa

Ahamkara, which is cleansed of all ideas, is the highest Brahman

itself and can be compared to the sky, which is free from dust,

darkness, smoke and clouds. At the time of discrimination, due to the

elimination of body etc., the pure Ahamkara is seen a little as

Brahman even as the sky limited by the stars. Ahamkara is the

reflection of the Atman in the Buddhi. When this is absolutely pure,

it is identical with the Brahman. Like the sky enveloped in darkness

and offering no space, the dirty Ahamkara appears impure due to the

contact with the body, the senses etc. the total identification with

the body, the sense organs, the mind etc., leaves practically no

scope to discern the Atman in the Ahamkara. When the Jiva wakes up to

the sense of his being Ishwara, he will become omniscient and the

doer of all. Ishwara, who had been excessively deluded by Maya,

shines by knowledge. By meditation on the Ahamkara, which is without

modifications, the Atman knowledge shines. Discriminative knowledge

frees the Ahamkara from Maya. Meditation on its true nature fully

manifests the Atman. When the covering called Avidya is got rid off,

this supreme Lord in the form of Dakshinamurthy shines by himself.

Till now, the various arguments against the identity of Atman

and Brahman were countered. Now let us tackle various other views,

which often confuse and confound people. Let us begin with the

Charvakas. They claim, `Direct perception is the only means of

knowledge. The four elements (earth, water, fire and air) are the

ultimate truth. There is no liberation apart from death since no soul

is admitted to exist. Lust and lucre are the only two values of life

to be pursued by human beings. Dharma is just go-by. Moksha is not an

independent value to be striven for, since it is nothing but death

that is available without much effort. Ishwara, the creator, does not

exist. If the Atman existed apart from the body, let then it be seen

in front of us like the pot! It is the body that is seen as short,

tall, youth, child etc. and hence is the only reality'. This is the

view of the Charvakas.

Some ignorant people based on the knowledge of experience

as, `I breathe', `I live', `I am hungry' etc., think that the prana

is the Atman. Some others, based on the experience, `I hear', `I

know', say that the intellect is the Atman. Let us examine their

views.

How can objects like the body etc., which are inert like

stone and hence the non-self, get the knowledge of `I' without the

connection with Ishwara? Firstly, this body is not the Atman for the

following reasons: Like the pot, it is seen. It is Drishya (the seen)

and not the Drk (the seer). It is inert, because it has no life or

consciousness of its own. It has a form and anything that has a form

is limited. Also, by losing the form, it can be destroyed. It has

parts, and hence is liable to disintegration. It is a compound of the

five elements. Any compound can be destroyed when broken into the

constituent elements. The body continues to be seen even in states of

swoon, deep sleep and death. But the Atman is not comprehended then

since it is different from the body. If the body itself were the

Atman, then, even when in swoon or deep sleep or death, the `I'

consciousness should have continued to exist. Since this is not seen,

it should be concluded that the Atman is different from the body.

Even as the sun is the first cause of all activities of the earth,

the Atman is the chief cause for the activity of the body. Every

person considers the body as `my body'. None at any time feels, `I am

the body'. Lute and other musical instruments do not produce sound.

They just manifest the sound that is already there in an unmanifested

form. Similarly, the ear is also just a means of apprehending sound.

The eye, like the moon, is also just a means of apprehending form and

color. People who are deficient in sense-organs say, `I have no sense

organ', `I am dumb', `I am deaf'. Do they then have no Atman?

Neither is the prana the Atman since there is no awareness in

the deep sleep state. A person goes to the state of deep sleep in

order to get rid of the fatigue of the experiences in the waking and

dream states. But the prana is still active, protecting the body. So,

it means that in the deep sleep state, the sense organs have retired

but the prana is still active. If prana were to be the Atman, then it

naturally becomes the Lord of all the sense organs. Then, how can

there be retirement of the sense organs when the prana is still

active? When the king is still fighting in the war, the soldiers will

certainly retire! Therefore the prana cannot be the Lord of the sense

organs.

The intellect or Buddhi is not Atman either. It is born out

of Atman and dissolved into Atman. Hence, this intellect, which did

not exist before birth and after dissolution, cannot be proved to

exist by itself. The Buddhists claim the sanctity of the doctrine of

Kshanika Vijnana Vaada, according to which the momentary

consciousness itself is the Atman. They argue that each wave of

knowledge of Buddhi or Vijnana gives rise to the next, thus

maintaining a stream of consciousness and this stream itself is the

Atman. Now, when the second Buddhi (thought) is born, is it still

connected with the first, which is in the process of dying and hence

still present? Or is it already dead and gone? If the first

alternative is accepted, then it leads to the possibility of

innumerable thoughts being simultaneously present creating enough

confusion. If the second is accepted, one has to concede that

something is produced out of nothing. Both these conclusions are

logically indefensible and unconvincing.

Till now, it has been proved that the body, the sense organs,

the prana, the mind and the intellect – none of these, singly is the

Atman. Let us now refute the possibility of the whole group being the

Atman. The moment a part is separated from the whole, the whole

ceases to be whole. Hence the moment a person loses a limb or a sense

organ, he should continue to live as a conscious being. Then what

about those born with physical or mental deficiencies?

The size of the Atman is a point that is often discussed by

the various Darshanas. The schools of Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, yoga

and Advaita Vedanta consider the Atman as Vibhu or all-pervading. The

Jaina school thinks he is of the same size as the body. Some schools

of Vedanta like Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita consider him as Anu or

atomic. If the Atman had the same size as the body it occupies, then

growth and old age cannot come to a child. If he undergoes changes

like the body, he will also get destroyed like it. This disproves the

Jaina theory. Vedanta considers the mind as atomic and not the Atman.

Like the small mirror reflecting the vast expanse of the sky, the

mind can reflect the all-pervading Atman. The mystery of an entire

world being created by this atomic mind in the dream state is solved

by this reflection theory. It is the delusory feeling of `I' with

regard to the body that causes the Samsara. This feeling of

identification of the self with the body is due to Avidya or

nescience. This then gives rise to Kaama or desire, to fulfill which,

karma or action is done. To experience its results, more births

become necessary. This is how Samsara or transmigration comes about.

The Veda, for the sake of facilitating liberation, has taught

that Ishwara has entered inside the beings. By this, Veda is trying

to make us understand that we are different from the body and the

senses and to make us strive to realize the true nature of the self.

This great delusion, called Maya, can confound even those good at

disputation. Doubts and disputes will continue as long as Brahman is

not realized, since Maya will then be acting in full swing. It gets

dissolved immediately after realizing the Brahman, which is eternal

auspiciousness.

Consider some doubts! If it is averred that this world is

established in Ishwara in the waking state also, just as it was

established in him in the dream state, then: In the deep sleep state,

what appears to whom? In that state, who is the being that is

constant? This is the objection raised by the Sunyavadins, nihilists

among Buddhists. This is funny, but listen to their

views: `Everything is momentary and void. Each and everything is born

in one moment, stays for one moment and is destroyed in the next

moment. Everything is self-comprehending i.e. there is no division of

the knower and the known. The bodies of the beings are assemblages of

the five Skandhas. These Skandhas are: Roopa skandha, Vijnana

skandha, Sanjnaa Skandha, Samskara Skandha and Vedanaa Skandha. The

objects and sense organs are called Roopa skandha since they

are `formed' (Roopa=form) in the mind. Knowledge of the sense-objects

and sense organs is christened as Vijnana skandha. Name, quality,

action, species and knowledge of specialty – this is the fivefold

aspect of the Samjnaa Skandha. For the cows, the `name' is stated to

be `cow'. The `species' is `cowness', which is inherent in all

cows. `Quality' is whiteness etc. `Actions' are referred to when we

say, `It goes' etc. `Knowledge of the specialty is of this

form: `This animal has horns, four legs and a tail'. Thus, the

Samjnaa Skandha is stated to be limited to these five. Attachment, as

also merit and demerit are called Samskara Skandha. Happiness and

misery, as also liberation is named as Vedanaa skandha. Verily, apart

from these five Skandhas, no other Atman exists at all. Nor is there

any creator called Ishwara at all. The world contains in itself all

the excellence. In other words, the various processes in this world,

like creation or regulation, take place all by themselves. The world

is born out the Skandhas and Paramanus, which are of momentary

existence. World of the succeeding moment arises out of the world of

the preceding moment'. This is what the Buddhists propose.

Now, remembrance is actually `re-cognition', cognition of

something that has already been cognized. If none existed during the

deep sleep state and it was all void according to the Buddhists, then

who is it that recognizes himself as, `It is I who slept' after

waking up? Devadutta's previous experiences can be remembered or re-

cognized by Devadutta only and not by Brahmadutta who did not undergo

those experiences. So, this proves the existence of a permanent Atman

who endures through all the states of consciousness. If void is the

cause of this world, then the world itself cannot be proved to exist.

If there is none to assemble the Skandhas and the Paramanus, there

will be no assemblage since there is no cause to achieve it. In the

absence of a potter, the mere existence of clay, wheel and stick will

not automatically produce the pot. Similarly, if Ishwara, the

sentient creator is not accepted, then there can be no creation. What

for does the Buddhist, who denies the existence of the Atman keep

religious vows? Since according to him, the `conscious entity' is

constantly changing, the `entities' that perform the religious acts

like fasting are different, so also the `entities' that will reap the

fruits of these acts! If one earns something and another enjoys it,

why should the person take all that trouble?

A person engages himself in some action or desists from it,

depending on the previous experience and memories of pleasure or

pain. Actions giving pleasure or pain are repeated, others are given

up. This is possible only if the continuity of the personality is

accepted, which is what Pratyabhijnaa or re-cognition indicates. If

this Pratyabhijnaa is an illusion, then no continuity of activities

is possible in this world.

Giving room is an essential act of Akasha (space or ether),

which proves its existence. In the same way, being a doer, knower

etc., are the essential acts that prove the existence of the Atman.

Because the Atman is a conscious independent entity, therefore, he

can think and act. Conversely, because a person can think and act

independently, therefore he is a conscious entity, the Atman. Acts of

thinking and doing proceed from the awareness of oneself first as a

conscious entity. Because the Atman is of the nature of truth,

knowledge and bliss, even at the time of deep sleep, he is recognized

through the statement, `I slept happily'! Being a knower and doer,

based on which the existence of the Atman was proved, is an obvious

fact in the waking state and to a lesser extent, in the dream state

also. But what about the dreamless sleepless state? Since there is

remembrance of the deep sleep experience (Pratyabhijnaa) after waking

up, the existence of consciousness is proved; hence the existence of

the Atman also. Awareness of himself (Jnana) and feeling of joy

(Sukha) even without the existence of and contact with a second

object, prove that he is Satya – Jnana – Sukhatmaka.

Karma is the object of action. Kartru is the agent of the

action. When the effect of the action of an object is upon the agent

itself, the usage is called Karma Kartari Prayoga. For eg., `Rice is

cooked'. Here, in the process of re-cognition, after deep sleep, the

person who recognizes and the person recognized are both the same.

How is this possible? Because, the Atman is self-revealing. When we

say, `I see', `I go' and so on, it is obvious that the rel `I', the

Atman, which is separate from the body, the senses, the mind etc.,

and acting as their Lord, that is doing all this. This fact can be

discovered by Viveka or Vichaara (discrimination) as taught in the

Srutis by the enlightened sages.