Maneeshapanchakam- Contd

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Sri Sankara’s answers to the sweeper’s questions are given below:--

 

1.If a person has attained the firm knowledge that he is not an object of

perception, but is that pure consciousness which shines clearly in the states of

waking, dream and deep sleep, and which, as the witness of the whole universe,

dwells in all bodies from that of the Creator Brahma to that of the ant, then he

is my Guru, irrespective of whether he is an outcaste or a Brahmana. This is my

conviction.

Note. In the waking state the physical body as well as the senses and the mind

function and experience external objects. In the state of dream there are no

objects and the body and senses do not function, but the mind creates objects

and events and experiences them. In deep sleep even the mind does not function.

In all these three states consciousness is present. In the first two states the

presence of consciousness is obvious because of the experience of external

objects and the creations of the mind respectively. It may appear as if in deep

sleep there is no such experience, but it is the experience of every one that on

waking up he remembers that he slept happily and did not know anything.

Remembrance is possible only of what has actually been experienced previously.

It therefore follows that consciousness existed during deep sleep also and that

it was because of this consciousness that happiness and ignorance were

experienced. This consciousness is

thus the witness of all experiences as well as the absence of experiences. This

consciousness is the Self that dwells in every living being. Everything other

than this consciousness is an object. The external objects are objects of

experience for the sense organs. The sense organs are objects for the mind. The

mind itself is an object for the consciousness or Self. Thus the self alone is

the subject and everything else is an object of experience. The person who has

realized that he is the Self and not the mind or the senses or the physical body

is an enlightened person. Such a person is the Guru for the whole world.

 

2. “I am Brahman (pure consciousness). It is pure consciousness that appears

as this universe. All this is only something conjured up by me because of avidya

(nescience) which is composed of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas)â€.

One who has attained this definite realization about Brahman which is bliss

itself, eternal, supreme and pure, is my Guru, whether he is an outcaste or a

Brahmana.

3. Having come to the definite conclusion, under the instruction of his Guru,

that the entire universe is always perishable, he who, with a calm and pure mind

constantly meditates on Brahman, and who has burnt his past and future sins in

the fire of knowledge, submits his present body to the operation of his

praarabdha karma. This is my conviction.

Note. Karma, in the sense of results of actions performed, is divided into three

categories . (1) sanchita karma—the accumulated results of actions performed

in past births, (2) praarabdha karma-- those results of past actions which have

given rise to the present body and (3) aagaami karma—the results of actions

performed in the present birth. On the dawn of Self-knowledge the first category

is completely destroyed along with the third category acquired upto the time of

attainment of knowledge. After the dawn of Self-knowledge any action performed

does not produce any result in the form of merit or demerit. The second

category, praarabdha karma, is not destroyed on the attainment of

Self-knowledge, but has to be exhausted only by being actually experienced. On

the exhaustion of this category of karma the body of the enlightened person

falls and the jivanmukta becomes a videhamukta. This is brought out in the above

sloka by the statement that the

enlightened person merely submits his body to the operation of praarabdha

karma. For extracts from Sri Sankara’s Bhashya on the question of praarabdha

karma, please see sub-heading ‘karma’ under main heading ‘Terms and

Concepts in Vedanta’ in www.geocities.com/snsastri.

 

4. The Self or pure consciousness is experienced clearly within by animals, men,

and gods as ‘I’. It is by the reflection of this pure consciousness that the

mind, senses and body, which are all insentient, appear to be sentient. External

objects are perceived only because of this consciousness. This Self is, however,

concealed by the very mind, senses and body which are illumined by it, just as

the sun is concealed by clouds. The yogi who, with a calm mind, always meditates

on this Self is my Guru. This is my conviction.

Note. The Self or pure consciousness is what enlivens the mind, senses, etc.,

which are insentient, and enables them to function. Clouds owe their origin to

the heat of the sun which makes the water in the oceans evaporate. The clouds

become visible only because of the light of the sun behind them. The same clouds

hide the sun from our view. Similarly, the body, mind, and senses, which owe

their sentiency to the pure consciousness that is the Self, conceal the Self

from us by making us engage ourselves in worldly pursuits all the time. The self

can be realized only if the senses and mind are withdrawn from external objects.

5. The Self, which is Brahman, is the eternal ocean of supreme bliss. A minute

fraction of that bliss is enough to satisfy Indra and other gods. By meditating

on the Self with a perfectly calm mind the sage experiences fulfillment. The

person whose mind has become identified with this Self is not a mere knower of

Brahman, but Brahman itself. Such a person, whoever he may be, is one whose feet

are fit to be worshipped by Indra himself. This is my definite conviction.

,Note. The Upanishads say that the happiness experienced by all living beings,

including the gods, is only a minute fraction of the supreme, infinite bliss of

Brahman (Brihadaranyaka, 4.3.32, Taittiriya, 2.8). Knowing Brahman means knowing

that one is Brahman and not the body-mind complex. He who attains this knowledge

is Brahman itself (Mundaka, 3.2.9).Thus knowing Brahman is the same as remaining

as Brahman. It should be noted that this is not the attainment of any new state.

Every one is in reality Brahman, even when he is in bondage and looks upon

himself as a limited human being. Liberation is nothing but the removal of the

wrong identification with the body-mind complex by the realization of his real

nature as the infinite, eternal Brahman. A rope is mistaken for a snake in dim

light, but when it is examined with a light it is found that there never was a

snake and that there was only a rope all the time. No one would say that there

was a snake

previously and that it had gone away. Similarly, when a person realizes that he

is not the body-mind complex, but Brahman, it follows that he was always Brahman

and that only the wrong notion about himself has been removed and nothing new

has emerged. Thus there is no real bondage, but the individual jiva thinks,

wrongly, that he is in bondage, due to ignorance of his real nature. When this

ignorance is removed as a result of sravana, manana, and nididhyasana, the

person becomes a jivanmukta here itself.

 

S.N.Sastri