Witness view point / sAkshyAnubhava

[Guest guest]

praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

While waiting for Sri Madathil Nair prabhuji's paper on *avasthAtraya*, I

think we shall relook into the concept of *witness*. Because I think

understanding of this concept is of paramount importance for the followers

of avasthAtraya prakriya (method of analysation of Three states i.e.

Waking, dream & deep sleep states).

 

It has been said several times that to examine our three states, we need to

have the view point of witness...The *witness* who is the common

experiencer of all the three states....It is of more practical interest to

enquire about the special features of the method which render it impossible

to be superseded by any other states...( strictly speaking even some

strange states such as samAdhi, coma, unconscious state, intoxicated state

etc. etc. also can be accommodated within these three states)...No need to

mention, it is the only method which considers life in all its aspects.

Shankara says there is nothing *beyond* these three to be known. OK, but

how do examine these states objectively?? is the question often comes to

our mind...coz. we have the firm belief that we are in waking state & from

this *real* state we are able to objectify the other two states...but

making the waking state itself as an object is not possible coz. we are in

that very state!!! But it is a fact to be noted that sitting in judgement

over the avastha-s really means taking an attitude of *self-disassociation*

from all these states & objectification of all phenomena whatsoever....From

this paradigm, in one sweep, we can include all the subjective and the

objective elements of my waking & dreaming and stand *outside* of it, (*as

it were*) as an unaffected witness of these states. As said earlier, the

waking time i.e. past, present and future & dream time too within the

broad embrace of those respective states...waking time cannot enter dream &

vice versa..The self-disassociated/witness view point of the mind above

depicted may be very difficult for one to understand...as we have seen

questions like " how can we stand outside the waking state, when we are in

that?? how can we objectify our existing state from which we are

comfortably, logically & reasonably talking about other two states etc.

etc. But granted the willingess to take a detached view of things and the

capacity to reflect, one cannot escape the conclusion that the witness of

the waking condition is indeed the witness of all the three states...And

this witness is the ONLY arbiter to give any sort of verdict on any of

three states...

 

Hence, the argument of the type " This is our experience that we_are_in

waking state wherein we are interacting together, where we have the

possibility to examine other two states, waking is the state of supreme

etc.etc. is not proper & logical. When we consider the above concept of

*self-disassociation* it is quite conspicuous that waking state & its

experience can noway dominate the other two state......Just now Sri

Srinivas Murthy prabhuji said "no one should quote the scriptures till he

has established his point independently on the basis of experience common

to all

beings" But what is this experience?? is it an individual experience??

is this experience restricted to one particular state?? The answer is

emphatic big NO....It is to be noted that waking state & its experience

alone cannot take arbitrary decisions on other two states,,,it is simply

because the waking mind cannot get entry into the dream & dreamless sleep.

When vEdAnta talks about *anubhava* (experience) it categorically says the

feeling or reaction at the psychological level (i.e. in the mind or heart)

that any one particular individual experience or accrues once at a

particular period of time in a particular state IS NOT *anubhava*

(commonly used as *experience*)...our mundane physical experiences like

hunger, anger etc. are not called here anubhava...According to vEdAnta this

anubhava is intuitive experience means the knowledge..shankara bhagavadpAda

called this kind of universal intuitive experience of the innate nature of

pure, absolute consciousness or knowledge alone as *anubhava*. The logical

disputation without the support of scriptures which Sri Nair prabhuji

insisting should be done on the basis of intuitive universal expereince

which is nothing but sAkshi view point...Unless one carries out

deliberation or discrimination on avasthAtraya taking the support of this

*self-disassociated* view point which is universal, the determination of

the ultimate reality of ours behind avasthAtraya prakriya is not at all

possible.

 

Anyway, let us wait for Sri Madathil prabhuji's paper & see how effectively

he presents his views holding ONLY waking states reality. I shall stop

here.

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

[Guest guest]

Namaste Bhaskar prabhuji, May I express some comments about your

write-up. You and I were born in this jagat, are reading/studying

Vedanta in this jagat, are analyzing, arguing, contemplating,

memorizing, chanting, recalling, talking, discussing in this jagat

in the jagrat avastha. You have been taught by the Guru that "You

are that" - a totally detached witness to the 3 states and for a

samsari this is just a concept on which he has shraddha. Either I

have absolute conviction/anubhava that I have absolutely nothing to

do with these 3 states and I am totally different from them or I

mentally argue, plead, contemplate, study, analyze (shravana-manana-

nidhidhyasana) about this grand statement. Till I have the full

conviction of truth, I am doing sadhana. All sadhana is happening in

jagrat state. I cannot do sadhana in swapna avastha and be totally

established in the truth of "I" - the absolute "I". Let me pose a

simple scenario. Suppose, I am doing some work and get hurt . When I

feel the pain, I am hoping that the first thought that should come

to my mind as part of Advaita sadhana would be - "I am that

awareness that is aware of this pain" to immediately disassociate

with the body. Now I have not firmly established in my antahakarana

that I am not this body so I have to plead that or argue my case

somehow. All this is happening in jagrat avastha.

It is said that awareness or pure consciousness is not aware of any

object - there is no creation, no jiva, no jagat etc. From that

absolute perspective ofcourse there is no difference between the 3

states. The dream state is as vivid and beautiful as perhaps the so

called awakre state.

 

regards,

Om Namah Sivaya