How does the wrong 'I' think he/she is the enjoyer and the agent?

[Guest guest]

namaste.

 

[wrong 'I' here is defined as the ego-mind-body complex, a word usually

used in Shri RamaNa Maharshhi's sayings and is described in Shri Harsha

Luthar's posting of a few days ago with subject: Ramana maharshi]

 

The wrong'I' considers him/herself to be the enjoyer and the agent of

action. In truth, it is not. In paramArtha, there is no action, and no

agent of action. But the wrong 'I' considers itself to be the agent.

Why and how does this happen? Shri Shankara touches on this in His

BrahmasUtrAbhAshhya (BSB), in the introductory chapter on adhyAsabhAshhya.

Here is my understanding of that portion of the chapter.

 

AdhyAsa (superimposition) is avidyA. Understanding the truth by viveka

(discrimination) is vidyA. If x is superimposed on y, the faults or the

good qualities of x are not transferred to y. y is untouched by the

superimposition.

 

However, all the means of knowledge (perception, inference) operate only

based on avidyA. In fact, knowledge is based on avidyA. It is because,

for the means of knowledge (perception, inference, etc) to operate,

there has to be a knower. The existence of a knower depends on the

notion of wrong 'I' with its body and the sense organs, which is a

result of avidyA. Such notions depend on the operation of the senses,

the body and the superimposition of the real 'I' on that body. Without

all this superimposition, the jeeva (here I mean by jeeva, the wrong 'I'

+ the real 'I') cannot become a knower.

 

Humans become attracted or repelled by the sense objects, just like any

other species. A human who does vratAs and other sacrificial acts as

dictated in the vedas does not understand the relation between the

real 'I' and the wrong 'I'. If he/she has realized this relation, he/she

would see the uselessness of such actions (vratAs and sacrficial acts).

What that means is, the vedic texts have as their purpose, that which

is dependent on avidyA. [As I gather from Shri Shankara's BSB, even the

concept of moksha is based on avidyA. But that will be the subject of

a latter post]. The wrong 'I' with its body, sense organs is simply a

superimposition on the real 'I'. The real 'I' is a witness to all.

This witnessing real 'I' is superimposed on the body and the sense

organs which are again superimposed on the real 'I' and so on. This

natural, beginningless and endless superimposition, taking the form

of erroneous notions, is the reason why the wrong 'I' supposes

himself/herself to be the agent and the enjoyer.

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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