DakshiNa-mUrti ashTakam Verse 4

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Verse No.4

 

nAnAcchidra-ghatodara-sthita-mahA-dIpa-prabhA-bhAsvaraM

jnAnaM yasya tu cakshurAdi-karaNa-dvArA bahi-spanditam /

jAnAmIti tameva-bhAntam-anubhAty-etat samstaM jagat

tasmai SrI-guru-mUrtaye nama idaM SrI-dakshiNA-mUrtaye //

 

Translation:

 

To Him who is luminous like the light of a great lamp set in the belly of a

pot with many holes, to Him whose knowledge moves outward through the eye

and other organs, to Him who shining as 'I know' makes all this entire

universe known, to Him of the form of the Guru, ( who has no movement or

vibration) the blessed dakshinA-mUrti, is this prostration.

 

Commentary:

 

Verses 4, 5 and 6 talk about the Seer in us. It is the Light of the Spirit

within that leaks out of the senses and gives Light to all the objects and

experiences in the universe. This is the purport of this verse. It

broadcasts from the housetops the one Truth repeatedly proclaimed by the

scriptures: 'It is not lit by the lightof the sun, nor by the light of the

Moon, nor stars, nor by lightning nor by fire. Only through its Light do all

the others shine.' (katha-upanishad, 2 - 2 - 15):

 

na tatra sUryo bhAti na candra tArakaM

naimA vidyuto bhAnti kuto'yam-agniH /

tameva bhAntam-anubhAti sarvaM

tasya bhAsA sarvam-idam vibhAti//

 

It is the Light of the universe. By its shining all else is seen. Even an

ordinary light (from lamp when lit) does not need another light to show its

existence. When such is the case, the Supreme Light which lights up

everything does not need any other equipment to see it. It is

svayam-prakASaM, self-luminous. In the dream world the one Light that is

the Self lights up hundreds of objects; it needs only a little extrapolation

to conclude that even in the the waking world it is the Light of the Self

again that lights up everything . Ordinary matter does not have a luminosity

of its own. If everything had a luminosity of its own, then a chair and a

table should make their presence felt by us even when we do not 'look' at

them. If nothing was ever luminous, then we would be totally ignorant of

everything. Thus matter in the world needs a 'light' to make their presence

felt. We wrongly think that it is the physical light that brings the

knowledge of matter to us. Even the physical light has to be prompted,

supported, boosted, in fact 'lighted' by the spiritual Light which is the

substratum of all - this is what the scripture says when it declares that

'only by Its Light everything is lighted'. The supreme is shining as the

Light of Lights (jyotishAm jyotiH) within ourselves. This is analogous to a

lighted lamp placed in a vessel with several small holes in it. The Light of

the Self which is within this body of nine gates is then reflected by mAyA

through the sense organs and projected as rays of bliss --because what is

inside is full of bliss. Wherever these rays fall -- on the objects of

sense, for instance -- those objects come to light. The soul which

identifies itself with the body and the senses wrongly thinks that the sense

of happiness that he derives in 'seeing', 'hearing', 'smelling', 'touching'

and 'tasting' is actually in the external sense object and it is these rays

from the senses that bring him this happiness. Take another analogy. There

is a tent full of holes which allow the rays of sunlight to creep in. A

child who is inside the tent may wrongly think that it is the tent that

gives the light. Actually the child does not realize it is the tent that is

an obstacle to the light from the Sun and it is the holes in the tent that

bring the sunlight in. In the same manner we do not realize that it is the

body-mind-intellect that hides the Light of the Self within and it is the

holes of the sense-organs that sneak in the bliss from that Light now and

then through the various sense-experiences. And we mistake the happiness we

enjoy as that which arises from the sense objects. Suppose the child

attempts to get the light that it needs from the very tent which prevents

light from coming in; so also we are so childish spiritually that we expect

to improve our happiness from the very sense objects and sense organs which

prevent us from 'seeing' the Light of the Self which is already there in us.

If we cast away the tent the whole place will be flooded with all the light

from the sun; so also if we cast away the identification with the

body-mind-intellect we will become the mass of Bliss that is natural to the

Self.

 

Commentary and translation by Prof V Krishnamurthy

The website is at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/2952/gohitvip/63page8.html