A Note on Nididhyasana

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Namaste Sadhakas,

 

A note on Nididhyasana using the Avasthatraya and Panchakosha viveka:

 

The Avastha traya viveka involves the analysis of the three states of

experience, waking, dream and sleep.  The Mandukyopanishat explains

this best by specifying a name to each of these.  The Truth

transcending these states and immanent in these is named the Turiya.

 

We have the Panchakosha viveka as well which involves the analysis of

the five sheaths : the Annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, 

and anandamaya koshas.  The Atman, the Pure Consciousness, none other

than Brahman, is shown to transcend, and be immanent in, all these

five 'sheaths'.

 

There is this mantra in the Kathopanishad:

 

YacchEd vAngmansI prAjnaH tadyacchEd jnAna Atmani |

JnAnamAtmani mahati niyacchet tadyacchet ShAnta Atmani ||

1-III-13. Let the wise man merge speech in his mind, merge that

(mind) into the intelligent self and the intelligent self into the

Mahat. (Let him then) merge the Mahat into the peaceful Self.

 

In the above, the word speech is shown by the Acharya to be taken as

representing all the organs.  This means that the gross body

including the sensory and motor organs and the prana that is

responsible for their functioning, are all merged in the mind.  In

other words, the aspirant has to transcend the identification with

the annamaya and pranamaya koshas and rest in the manomaya.  This

again means that the aspirant transcends the waking state, jagrat

prapancha characterised by the experiencing of objects through the

senses.  This marks the arriving at the dream state, subtle state,

where the manomaya kosha is principal. 

 

Then, the Kathopanishad mantra says: merge that (mind) into the

intelligent self and the intelligent self into the Mahat.

 

The merging of the manomaya (and the intelligent self otherwise known

as vijnanamaya) into the Mahat would mean, in the kosha-scheme, the

transcending these manomaya and vijnanamaya koshas and arriving at

the Anandamayakosha.  Mahat is the cause of even the ahankara, the

ego.  Ahankara and ego are elements of the Anandamayakosha.  This is

the causal state.  The Mandukya scheme specifies the sleep or prajna

state as the causal state, which is what is corresponding to this

Mahat. 

 

And finally, the Kathopanishat mantra above says:  Let him then merge

the Mahat into the peaceful Self.

 

The merging of the Mahat into the peaceful Self, ShAnta Atma,  is the

actual Realisation, Anubhuti, of the Atman.  Interestingly, Mahat, in

a cosmic sense corresponds to the Hiranyagarba BrahmA of the

Anandamimamsa of the Taittiriyopanishat.  There, the joy of various

beings, starting from the human upto the celestial, is specified in a

certain calculus and the BrahmA's joy is mentioned in the end.  After

this, the Absolute Brahman's joy is left unspecified as it is

infinite.  There is, as it were, a leap from the Hiranyagarbha

BrahmA's joy to the Brahman's ananda.  Of course, it would be wrong

to say  'Brahman's Ananda', for Brahman Itself is Ananda, there being

no enjoyer-enjoyed duality here.

 

The Peaceful Self is the Ultimate, the kosha-free Atman, Brahman.  It

is the Atman of the Taittiriya teaching and is also the Turiya, free

from the triad-of-states, of the Mandukya teaching.

 

The above manner of synthesis is just to show that the Kathopanishat

mantra is the practical part, the implementation part, of the

teaching obtaining in the Taittiriya Panchakosha viveka and the

Mandukya Avasthatraya viveka.  Whichever viveka one takes to, it goes

without saying that the other viveka is automatically involved and

the final realisation, Saakshaatkara, results by taking recourse to

the Kathopanishat method of nididhyasana.

 

Thus there is the merging of the gross into the subtle, the subtle

into the causal and finally transcending the causal.  This is the

process of nididhyasana that culminates in sakshatkara taught by the

Katha mantra.  

 

Let the Guru's grace ever be on us and secure us that liberating

Sakshatkara.

 

Pranams to all sadhakas,

subbu

[Guest guest]

subrahmanian_v <subrahmanian_v > wrote:    Namaste Sadhakas,

A note on Nididhyasana using the Avasthatraya and Panchakosha viveka:

The Avastha traya viveka involves the analysis of the three states of

experience, waking, dream and sleep.  The Mandukyopanishat explains

this best by specifying a name to each of these.          Dear Subramaniumji,

                                         In the Taithriya Upanishads, there is the idea of ascending from each kosa to the next higher, ultimately reaching the ananda. There are some subtle points about whether the ananda maya kosa itself is the grand finale, or it is also an upadhi. Acharya Sankara, I understand, equates the ananda maya also as an upadhi to be surrendered. I understand also that aharya Ramanuja holds ananda as the denonument. I read in a concise writing on Brahmasutras by Swamy Krishnananda that  it is difficult to infer from the Brahmasutras, which of the positions Badrayana holds good as the grand finale, whether the world of the  Hiranygarbha-this has to be equated with the anandammaya kosa, I think- is the place from which there is no return to mortality; or one enjoys the exalted bliss only till that world lasts, and inevitably returns to the terrestial realm after its tenure. According to Krishnananda,

Acharya Sankara makes an adroit interpretation of the Brahmasutras holding the position that even the world of Hirayanyagarbha is one of time and space, and the realization of Brahman only as one's inmost Consciousness is the irrevocable emancipation, the trinity of jiva, iswara jagat being falsified. Further, I understand that Acharya Ramanuja's position is only anandamamya kosa as the climax, this having to be equated with Iswara, the causal prius of all phenomena. Sankara's positon is even beyond anandamaya, which is Nirguna Brahman. Further, I understand that Taitriya Upanishads speak of the kosas from the microcosmic as well as macrocosmic aspects. Does the meditative ascent from

the lower kosas to the higher kosas in the first instance deamnd the shift fromt the individual to the cosmic in the same kosa. Which is to say that from the individual annamaya one has to ascend to the cosmic for further transition till the reach of the ananda maya, the causal realm. As this involves a subtle subject demanding much inwardness of perception even for an intellectual clarity, I would like you to dilate on the subject vis-a-vis also the truth of anandamaya in the advaitic scheme of evaluation.

       yours ever in Bhaghavan

sankarraman                   

 

           

 

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[Guest guest]

advaitin, Ganesan Sankarraman <shnkaran>

wrote:

>

>

>        Dear Subramaniumji,

                                          In the Taithriya

Upanishads, there is

the idea of ascending from each kosa to the next higher, ultimately

reaching the

ananda. There are some subtle points about whether the ananda maya

kosa itself

is the grand finale, or it is also an upadhi. Acharya Sankara, I

understand,

equates the ananda maya also as an upadhi to be surrendered. I

understand also

that aharya Ramanuja holds ananda as the denonument.

 

 

 

Response:

Namaste Sankarraman ji,

 

Your questions are interesting.  Yes, it is the Acharya Shankara's

view that the Anandamaya is also a kosha, an upadhi, to be

transcended.

Regarding the other view, I am not aware.

 

You write: I read in a concise writing on Brahmasutras by Swamy

Krishnananda that  it is difficult to infer from the Brahmasutras,

which of the positions Badrayana holds good as the grand finale,

whether the world of the  Hiranygarbha-this has to be equated with the

anandammaya kosa, I think- is the place from which there is no return

to  mortality; or one enjoys the exalted bliss only till that world

lasts, and inevitably returns to the terrestial realm after its

tenure. According to Krishnananda, Acharya Sankara makes an adroit

interpretation of the Brahmasutras holding the position that even the

world of Hirayanyagarbha is one of time and space, and the

realization of Brahman only as one's inmost Consciousness is the

irrevocable emancipation, the trinity of jiva, iswara jagat being

falsified.

 

Response:

 

Regarding the view of Badarayana, I would like to go by our Acharya's

commentary to the Sutras.  His is the best interpretation of the

Sutras.  Appropos the world of Hiranyagarbha, the decided view is

this:

 

There is this Bhagavadgita verse:

AabrahmabhuvanAllOkAH punarAvartino'rjuna |

MAmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate || Ch.8, verse 16||

The dwellers of all the worlds up to and including the world of the

creator are subject to the miseries of repeated birth and death. But,

after attaining Me, O Arjuna, one does not take birth again. (See

also 9.25) (8.16)

Worshippers of the celestial controllers go to the celestial

controllers, the worshippers of the ancestors go to the ancestors,

and the worshippers of the ghosts go to the ghosts, but My devotees

come to Me, and are not born again. (See also 8.16) (9.25)

 

Sri Madhusudana Saraswati's commentary  on the above verse clarifies:

Those who have performed upasana, meditation on the Lord, by

resorting to 'dahara vidyaa' and the like, attain to Brahmaloka. 

They attain Atma jnanam there itself and get liberated along with

Brahma at the end of the tenure of that Brahma loka.  But those who

resort to meditations like Panchaagni vidyaa and the like, and

therefore, not having meditated upon the Iswara, no doubt attain to

Brahma loka but return at the end of their punyam and they do have

rebirth. 

 

The first mentioned category are called 'krama mukti' aspirants, as

they get liberated in stages.  The aspirants who endeavour on the

path of Vedanta sravana, manana and nididhyasana, upon fruition of

their practices, attain sakshatkara, and get liberated here in this

body itself.  These are called 'sadyo mukti' aspirants and they

experience jivanmukti here.  Acharya Shankara's position is

unambiguous on this which can be seen in the very last sutrabhashya,

IV.4.22.    

 

 

You write:

 

Further, I understand that Acharya Ramanuja's position is only

anandamamya kosa as the climax, this having to be equated with

Iswara, the causal prius of all phenomena. Sankara's positon is even

beyond anandamaya, which is Nirguna Brahman. Further, I understand

that Taitriya Upanishads speak of the kosas from the microcosmic as

well as macrocosmic aspects. Does the meditative ascent from

the lower kosas to the higher kosas in the first instance deamnd the

shift fromt the individual to the cosmic in the same kosa. Which is

to say that from the individual annamaya one has to ascend to the

cosmic for further transition till the reach of the ananda maya, the

causal realm. As this involves a subtle subject demanding much

inwardness of perception even for an intellectual clarity, I would

like you to dilate on the subject vis-a-vis also the truth of

anandamaya in the advaitic scheme of evaluation.

        yours ever in Bhaghavan

sankarraman

 

Response:

 

The Taittiriya Upanishad speaks of the koshas from the micro as well

as the macrocosmic points.  The aspirant has to meditate upon the

macrocosmic aspect as 'I am He'.  For example, the Upanishad

mentions: 'Ye annam BrahmopAsate' meaning, 'those who meditate upon

the annam, Viraat, as 'annam, the Viraat, is from whom I am born, it

is in the annam, Viraat, that I exist and it is annam, the Viraat, in

whom I dissolve.  Therefore annam is Brahman'.  As a result, phalam,

of this meditation, upaasana, the Upanishad specifies that 'one who

meditates thus attains to all food'.  It has been reasoned

that 'attaining to all food' is impossible unless one attains to the

Viraat bhaavam.  This is impossible without upaasanam on such Viraat

as 'I am He'.  This is the scheme at all koshas. 

 

At the Anandamaya kosha, however, the contemplation of the

various 'parts' of the Anandamaya namely 'priya = love', 'mOda= joy'

and 'pramOda = delight' is mentioned and no specific phalam as in the

earlier koshas is mentioned.  The Sruti straightaway goes on to teach

the true nature of Brahman, who is the basis of the whole universe,

in the words 'Brahman is the tail the support'. 

 

The meditations at each kosha as 'i am He (the cosmic)' is with a

view to enable the aspirant to sufficiently mature to be able

to 'realise' the Absolute Brahman beyond the koshas as 'I am That'. 

Wonderful is the scheme of the Veda that it involves the meditation

on the Saguna Brahman with the avowed objective of preparing the

aspirant for the grand finale.  This kind of meditation can be seen

in the Mandukya Upanishad scheme also where the cosmic beings at each

state are specified.  

 

A very clear description of the above in an extremely detailed manner

is given in the book 'The Taittiriya Upanishad' with the commentaries

of Sri Shankaracharya, Sri Sureshwaracharya and Sri Vidyaranya by

Alladi Mahadeva Sastri, published by Samata Books, Chennai.  This is

an excellent book that gives 'everything about Vedanta'. A book in

English worth possessing.  It deals with a wide range of topics of

Vedanta by 'tempting' headings.

 

Regarding the other question about the position of Advaita on the

Anandamayakosha, a separate note is posted.

 

Warm Regards,

subbu

 

 

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