JIvAatma SAkshAtkAram as a pre-requisite to ParamAtma SAkshAtkAram

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrmhaNE namaH

 

namO nArAyaNa!

 

Dear devotees,

 

SrI KrishNa : Please bear with some explanations that may

not be the exact things you are looking for. They

are added for the sake of completion and to make

the article quite readable by all.

 

 

> I need an answer to the following question.

>

> As per gita,

>

> Is atmasakshataram absolutely necessary for one to start bhakti

> yoga? If not why not - prove using slokas from gita + commentaries.

 

This sounds that, you only need the supportive texts in BG

for the pUrvapaksham that jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram is not necessary for

one to start bhakti yoga. Please clarify.

 

> As per upanisads can it be established unmistakably, that

> atmasakshatkaram is absolutely needed for bhakti yoga? If so

> provide detailed quotes and these quotes should be unmistakable

> and generally agreeable to wider audience, (in the sense strongly

> provable.)

 

In SrImad RTS, SwAmi DESikan in the 9th Ch on different

upAyas (upAya-vibhAga adhikAra), crisply highlights the important

characteristics of Karma, Jn~Ana and Bhakti Yogas. In the

concluding part of swAmi's note on Jn~Ana yoga, it is stated that

jIvAtma-darSana is essential for starting bhakti yoga, with the

analogy of a RatNa inside a cloth. In essence, the siddhAnta

implied is that during the bhakti-yoga (UpAsana), the ParamAtma

has to be meditated upon as one's (jIvAtma's) aatma ie.SarIri.

<<Ref discussion from Bramha SUtras at the end>>

 

Three things are to be noted : JIvAtma-the upAsaka,ParamAtma-the

object of upAsana and the SarIra-SarIri bhAva- the binding

relationship between them. If the jIvAtma (upAsaka) needs to

meditate upon the ParamAtma as its SarIri, it presupposes that

the upAsaka needs to have full-realization of what he is actually.

In the upAsana " ParamAtma, MY SarIri " , the " MY " component is

there. This upAsana is incomplete, without the full knowledge of

" I " - ie.jIvAtma sAkshAtkAram (*). Hence, JIvAtma-SAkshAtkAram is

absolutely necessary for starting bhakti-yoga.

 

(*) : During jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram, jIvAtma as being essentially

jn~Ana which is aNu,blemishless, bliss etc is fully

realized. JIvAtma being a sEsha {Or SarIra} is not meditated

upon in the dhyAna yoga for attaing jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram.

That characteristic is added during upAsana. Please refer

to the archives on a posting on Karma,Jn~Ana and Bhakti

Yogas for further information.

 

SrI UtthamUr SwAmi, in his commentary to SrImad RTS cites one

text as being in KaThavalli : " adhyAtma-yoga-adhigamEna

dEvam matva... " . It can be easily spotted in KaThopanishad -

Second VallI of the first adhyAya - which includes the

qualifications for the seeker of moksha. The above cited text is

in the mantra (1.2.12), which is the pointed answer in a

nut-shell by Yama to Nachiketas's third query. Next mantra is also

a part of that answer.

 

tam durdarSam gUDam anupravishTam guhAhitam gahvarEshTham purANam |

adhyAtma-yoga-adhigamanEna dEvam matvA dhIr(aH)O harshasOkou jahAti||

 

SrI Ra~ngarAmAnuja Muni explains that adhyAtma-yoga refers to

realization/knowledge of the jIvAtma. The first line is filled with

adjectives of the ParamAtma - dEva. In essence, this mantra staes

that, the wise man (jIvAtma) discards both pleasure and sorrow

{of material world} after knowing the Supreme-Self - which is

difficult to be perceived, un-revealing due to avidya in the form

of karma/action, entered all beings, dwelling in the cave of heart,

indwelling and beginingless. This state is obtained " Through the

Realization attained by the meditation upon oneself ie.jIvAtma " -

Meaning of " adhyAtma-yoga-adhigamEna " .

 

In the commentary to the next mantra, Upanishad BhAshyakAra

elaborates on the justification of the meaning ascribed to

adhyAtma-yoga in mantra 12 - Quite lengthy for this article if

needs to be fully explained. SrI KrishNa : Please go through both

the pUrvapaksham and siddhAntam here ; Refer the corresponding

adhikaraNa in SrI-BhAshya for additional info. More info can be had

from the commentary to subsequent mantras also : Please go through

them as well, since the discussion on mantra 12 still carries on.

 

Bramha SUtras on this issue :

 

In the first pAda of Fourth adhyAya, the nature of upAsana

is stated atfirst. The first two sUtras are on the repetitive

nature (aavruti) of the upAsana. The third sUtra, which is the

only sUtra of " aatmatvOpAsana-adhikaraNam " is :

 

aatmA-iti tu-upagacchanti grAhyanti cha |

 

aatma-iti tu : << UpAsana upon ParamAtma has to be>> Only as

<one's> Self (aatma). " tu " is for affirmation/

certainity.

 

upagacchanti : The upAsakas of the past have done it that

way.

 

grAhyanti cha : As understood from Upanishads.

 

SrI-BhAshyam and its commentaries are quite elaborate and

are flooded with many pramANas and explanations. In essence,

the upAsana has to be in the form of " aham bramhAsmi " etc.

Many such sAmAnAdhikaraNya Sruti texts are being cited to this

effect {ie. " aham " etc refers to ParamAtma-the SarIri of

the jIvAtma}.

 

As stated earlier, meditating ParamAtma as being one's aatma

presuposses the upAsaka be fully realized of oneself {JIvAtma

SAkshAtkAram}. The corresponding AdhikaraNa-SArAvali verses

for this single SUtra are from 444 to 448 (Totally Five).

Lots of info are available in its commentaries as well.

 

> I am having the time of my life discussing gita with sri SMS chari

> who is writing a new book on Gita. His book will be something

> very unique. I don't think a similar book has been written before.

 

Its a very happy news. SrI SMS Chari's books have always maintained

an excellent standard of presentation. The recent ones on

Upanishads and GIta will be a great boon for all and esp. for those

who want to learn through English.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan alias Anand.

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrmhaNE namaH

 

namO nArAyaNa!

 

Dear devotees,

 

Just thought of writing about the Bhagavad GIta (BG) verses

regarding this issue for the interested members.

 

> > As per gita,

> >

> > Is atmasakshataram absolutely necessary for one to start bhakti

> > yoga? If not why not - prove using slokas from

> > gita + commentaries.

 

PramANas for JIvAtma-SAkshAtkAram to be essential for bhakti-yoga :

 

In the last adhyAya (18th), Lord KrishNa wonderfully

sums up the essence of his teachings through the verses

51-56. They are regarding the paths of karma,jn~Ana and bhakti yoga,

and their inter-relationships in attaining Him.

 

Through the verses 51 to 53, BhagavAn describes various

characteristics of a person, endowed with which and

by performing aatma-anubhavam (SAntaH), he becomes

eligible to attain the " Bramha-bhAva " :

" .......SAntaH bramhabhUyAya kalpatE " (18.53).

 

Here, " Bramha-BhAva " is not one's attainment of being

Bramhan, as advaitins might think, since in the very next

verse, further attainment of Para-Bhakti towards BhagavAn

is stated.

 

bramhabhUtaH prasannAtmA na Sochati na kA~nshati |

samaH sarvEshu bhUtEshu madbhaktim labhatE parAm || (18.54)

 

In essence (from BhAshyam and SrI UtthamUr SwAmi's brief

Tamil Commentary}, it states :

 

bramha-bhUtaH : As one experiensing oneself (jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram),

also with the nature of being a SEsha to Me,

 

prasanna-AtmA : one with blemishless svarUpa having controlled

various vAsanAs (previous imprints/instincts),

 

na SOchati : neither grieves for the loss of other things

except Myself,

 

na kA~nshati : nor craves for any other object except Myself.

 

sarvEshu Regarding all beings alike - that all these are not

bhUtEshu : his object of attainment, including the self

samaH {jIvAtma},

 

labhatE : one attains

 

parAm bhakti : para-bhakti unto Me - the BhagavAn.

 

 

Also, in the 12th adhyAya, which is " Steps for Bhakti-Yoga " as

pointed out by SrI UtthamUr SwAmi in his Sanskrit TippaNi, we

have pramANa to this effect. Lord KrishNa basically gives

the reverse order of spiritual path - explaining bhakti yoga

at first and then prescribes its previous stage of spiritual

sAdhana for those who can't perform bhakti yoga of that order,

again its previous stage of sAdhana for those who are not capable

of it and so on.

 

One of the main issues in starting the bhakti-yoga is the

" love " factor. Even during his days of karma-yoga, the yogi

loved PerumAL and proceeded to the stage of jIvAtma sAkshAtkAram

also. But, the excessive amount of love with which bhakti-yoga

needs to be performed might make the yogi spend some more

time in various bhagavad anubhavams and kai~nkaryams before

proceeding further to bhakti-yoga or upAsana proper. In the verse

12.9, " abhyAsa yoga " is prescribed for such yogis who haven't yet

developed that excessive love for PerumAL to start bhakti yoga.

" abhyAsa yoga " is the repetitive rememberance of various kalyANa

guNas of PerumAL, with *immense love*. If this stage is not attained

by the yogi, he is prescribed (in 12.10) to perform various

kai~nkaryams. BhAshyakArar lists various self-less kai~nkaryams

like construction of temples, laying out temple gardens, lighting

up lamps in temples, sweeping/washing the floor of temples, gathering

flowering for PerumAL, performance of pUja, performing nAma

sa~nkeertanam, glorifying various deeds and kalyANa guNas of PerumAL

etc - But to be performed with *great affection*. These same

activities can very easily be performed by even the likes of

aDiyEn - Its not as difficult as jn~Ana yoga. But, the catch is

the " love factor " . All these types of kai~nkaryams are to be

performed with great affection - Thats the source of difficulty. If

the yogi has not reached that stage, Lord KrishNa advises him

to resort to aatma yoga ie.jIvAtma sAkshAtkAram.

 

atha-etat-api-aSaktaH-asi kartum mad-yogam-aaSritaH |

sarva-karma-phala-tyAgam tataH kuru yat-aatmavAn || (12.11)

 

ie. If you -who has the objective to perform Bhakti-Yoga (mad-Yoga),

are unable to perform those as said in 12.10, then perform

nishkAma-karma anushTAna (sarva-karma phala tyAgam) with

controlled mind (aatmavAn) - to attain the jIvAtma sAkshAtkAram

ie.resort to akshara yoga with its pre-requisite of performing

nishkAma karma.

 

Infact, BhAshyakAra cites the verses 18.53-54 {explained

above} to make us understand the connecting link - 12th ch

being in the reverse order of ladder steps from bhakti yoga to

downwards and 18th chapter verses in the forward order of

salient ladder steps to bhakti yoga.

 

The implication of akshara-yoga {jIvAtma sAkshAtkaram} in the

above verse is easily understood from the next verse (12.12),

which is important to our question in hand :

 

SrEyO hi jn~Anam-abhyAsAt jn~AnAt dhyAnam viSishyatE |

dhyAnAt karma-phala-tyAgaH tyAgAt-SAntiH-anantaram || (12.12)

 

abhyAsAt jn~Anam SrEyaH : For one incapable of performing the

abhyAsa yoga, which demands immense love towards BhagavAn,

jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram (Or realization/knowledge of jIvAtma) is

better.

 

jn~AnAt dhyAnam viSishyatE : Better than the imperfect realization

or knowledge of the self, is the meditation on the self.

 

dhyAnAt karma-phala-tyAgaH <SrEyAn> : Better than the imperfect

meditation of the self, is the performance of nishkAma karma-

anushTAna.

 

tyAgAt anantaram SAntiH : By the performance of nishkAma karma-

anushTAna, mental purification or mental-peace is attained.

 

Hence, the ladder of sAdhana is extremly clear that jIvAtma

sAkshAtkAram is essential for one to proceed towards bhakti

yoga. Proceeding to bhakti yoga with imperfect knowledge

ie.realization of the self is strictly prohibited by Lord KrishNa.

 

The subsequent verses (12.13-19) describes the characteristics to

be imbibed by the devotee who is at the bottom-most stage in

performing only the nishkAma karma (has started to perform karma

yoga). By the way, please go through these verses witout fail.

PerumAL says that He loves the karma yogi with such

characteristics - No idea as to whether aDiyEn can obtain such

great guNas in this birth! Well, PerumAL cool-ly says that this

is the bottom-most step of the spiritual ladder for the

bhakti yoga !!

 

Also, in the avatArika (prelude ?) to the 3rd adhyAya on Karma

Yoga, BhAshyakAra explains with pramANas from Upanishads that

jIvAtma sAkshAtkAram is an a~nga (accessory) for bhakti yoga.

For instance, from the teaching of PrajApati in ChAndOgya Up,

starting from the text " ya aatmA-apahatapApmA .. " (8.7.1), it is

evident that jIvAtma-sAkshAtkAram is required for practising

bhakti yoga. SrI UtthamUr SwAmi mentioned this as " PrajApati's

vAkyas " in the SrImad RTS commentary in support of this doctrine.

{Sorry for missing this info in the previous posting reg

Upanishads}.

-----------------------------

 

Please refer the GIta-bhAshyam and tAt-parya-Chandrika for

more details apart from the Upanishad BhAshyam with SrI UtthamUr

SwAmi's parishKAra for appropriate texts involved.

 

SrI KrishNa Kalale : Are you satisfied with these pramANas ?

aDiyEn will also discuss this with AchAryas/vidvAns in the future

and will let you know if more insights are there Or if some other

source texts are available.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan alias Anand.

krushNArpaNam