Advaita from scratch - Kanchi Mahaswamigal's Discourses - 16

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Kanchi Mahaswamigal's Discourses on Advaitam

 

KMDA – 16

(For KMDA – 15 see #44601.

For the first post in this series see #43779)

 

Tamil original starts from

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part4kural309.htm

 

Note: In these discourses, `the Acharya' refers to Adi Shankaracharya. The

speaker is the Kanchi Mahaswamigal.

 

What is the Power that pushes us into sin?

 

But something is forcibly preventing me from following the dictum " Let me not

have a desire of my own. In the particular varNa that I was born, let me,

without questioning, adhere to that varna dharma, and to the dharma of the

Ashrama in which I am " . " What is it that pushes me into the sin of not

listening to the intellect which seems to agree wiuth tradition? It is forcing

me inspite of myself " . That force or power pushes one into rejecting something

in favour of something else and makes one do what is undesirable and thus brings

one into sin. What is that force? The resultant effect of that force is felt

but one does not know what it is that is so powerful as to push one inspite of

oneself. These questions arise in the mind of Arjuna. And that is why he asks

Krishna:

 

atha kena prayukto'yaM pApaM carati pUrushhaH /

aniccannapi vArshhNeya balAdiva niyojitaH //

 

`atha': However. That is, even though, irrespective, as you say, of what the

mind desires or wishes, being like an inert log of wood, the JIva thinks of

doing the svadharma according to ShAstra injunctions,

 

`ayam pUrushhaH': this JIva. `purushha' itself is also spelt `pUrushhaH'.

 

`aniccan api': even though the intellect does not want it; after thinking

deeply, even though it has not rejected something in favour of something else;

involuntarily.

 

`kena': by whom

 

`prayuktaH': being prompted well; forcibly directed

 

It is clear that somebody is pushing him into `like' and `dislike' as if one is

physically pushed from behind; who is it that is doing this pushing? One does

not know!

 

`'balAt' : forcibly

 

niyojita iva' : as if given a jump start and pushed. The root word here is

`yuj' that becomes `yoj'. Attaching to something, joining and linking, - this is

the meaning of `yuj'. From `yuj' comes `yuktaH'. From `yoj' comes `yoga'. The

English word `yoke' that indicates the linking of the bullock to the cart,

derives from here. Why do we want to `yoke' something to something? In order to

drive something or somewhere. The bullock is yoked so that it may plough the

land. The mind has to be `yoked' so that it may go in the direction of the

Supreme. So in the process of `yoking' there is a `driving' force or `propelling

force' understood. The word `yojitaH' indicates the state of driving or moving.

The prefix `ni' before a word gives meanings of two or three different kinds.

Among them, one is to give emphasis. `pAtaM' means falling; `nipAtaM' means

`falling well'. `darshanaM' : sight; `nidarshanaM' : a good sight. So when `ni'

is added to `yojitaH' , `niyojitaH' would mean `driven well', `directed well'.

That is why I gave the meaning: `given a jump start and pushed'.

 

`pApaM carati': goes into sin? enters into sin?; that is, `commits sin?.

 

" Without one's will in it, as if somebody pushes him into that, man falls into

sin. Who is it that does this forcing? " This is the question which Arjuna asks

Krishna.

 

samsAram is a concept involving duality. We said it causes fear. Whatever gives

fear is sin. Therefore to adopt another's dharma, is as the Lord said,

`bhayAvahaH' (that which gives fear). It will certainly generate sin. It is why

Arjuna refers to sin.

 

To leave one's svadharma and adopt para-dharma is a sin. Not only this. There

are several other sins. One should see the descriptions of Hell to know how many

different sins are there and what the punishments are for them. Arjuna refers to

all these sins in his question. Men commit several sins. Not every such

commission is pre-meditated an pre-planned. They appear to have been done

inspite of the doer. This is what Arjuna calls `anicchan-api'. `Who is it that

makes man do it?' is Arjuna's question.

 

Note that Arjuna is asking here for the power which is behind the commission of

sin by Jivas. He is not asking by what means one gets release from the sins. If

he had asked like that Bhagavan would have replied " However much one may slip

down, if only right in the midst of all those sins one keeps on going on his

svadharma path, that itself will wean the JIva away from the Asuric tendencies

that draw one into sin " . Actually He has actually told him this. While talking

about the nishhkAmya-karma-yoga, He has already said: " Even a slight adoption of

this dharma will protect one from the great danger of samsAra " .

 

The words `pApa' (sin), `bhaya' (fear), `bandha' (bondage) and `samsAra'

(transmigration) all of them talk about the same thing. So protection from

`fear' means redemption from `sin'.

 

Right now Arjuna is not asking for the method of redemption from sin. Maybe

because He has already talked about it. Then what is he asking now? He is

asking " What is the power that prompts the JIva into those sinful tendencies

that are characterised as asuras in the fight between the divine and demonish

characteristics? Who is that who compulsively draws man into sin? "

 

(To be continued in KMDA – 17)

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

PraNAms to Kanchi Mahaswamigal.

profvk