[Source on the commentary] Vedanta unveiled

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TatTvamAsi Partlll SWAMIADVAYANANDA Introduction A student has to take three knowledge-steps in understanding the adaaitic import of the mahaaakya 'Tat taam asi'. These steps are - sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfranam, ai1esanaa i 5esy a t d- sambandha-j fidnam and I aksya-l aksana t d-sambandhajfianam. The first orre samdnadhikaranya-sambandha-jfrrtnam is the knowledge (jmanam)of the relationship (sambandha)of the words tat and taamhaving the same locus (samAnAdhiknranyn).Inorder to understand this concept, the terms adkya, pada, adkyartha, padartha and sarhsargawere taken up for detailed analysis. 'Vdl(yv' is a sentence,'padas' are the words that constitute a sentence, 'paddrtha' is the word-sense denoted by a partiaiar pada and 'uAkyartha' is the collective sentence-sense arrived at by perceiving the relationship between the padarthas. This reiationship between the various padarthas is termed 'sarhsarga'(literally 'coming together'). Knowledge of these sarhsargasis the direct cause for determining ti;readkydrtha or the sentence-sense. All these were elaborately discussed in the last essayl. We had concluded the last essay by mentioning that the sarhsargas(relation) between tlnepadarthas(word-senses) are basically of two types - bheda-rnpa-sarhsargaand abheda-rtpa-sarhsarga.In this essay we shall elaborate on these two types of sarhsargls, for a thorough grasp of them alone will facilitate the right understanding .of the first knowledge-step - samLnddhikaranyasambandhri-jfianam. lPlease refer to Tat Tztam Asi - Part II, which appeared in the September 2004 issue of Tapoz:an Prasad. It is advisable to gain a good grasp of t h e t e r m s t h e r e i n b e f o r e g o i n g through this essay.

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Bhe d a - Riip a - Sarh s qr g a The example used by the Acdryas to explain bheda-rilpasarhsarga is - '(taarh)daqtdena gdm dnaya'. This sentencemeans -'(You) bring (anaya)the cow (gam) with a stick (dandena),. The word 'tuaffi' or 'you', which is the subject of the adkya (sentence),is implied in sanskrit and need not be explicitly written. It is therefore put within brackets2. Each of the padas(words) in this adkya(sentence)ionnotes different padarthas(word-sense).The padarthaof the pada,go,or 'co\/' is 'an animal which has cow-ness (gotoa)',The gi-pada (the word go) in the adlcyais seento be -inlhe grammaticarform which is the second or the accusatiJztcase.Hence we come to the conclusion that t]nego-pada'spadirtha (the word-senseof the word go) namely - '2n animal havihg the property of cowness (gotaa)'is the object of the (adkya)sentence. The next pada, the da4Qa-pada (the word dandaor stick) has its padarthaas,an object having the property of stick-ness (darydataa)'.The danda-pada (the word dandaor stick) is present in the sentencein its third case or the instrumental case as indicated by the word-form 'danflena'. This enables us to come to the decision that this paddrtha- 'an objecthaving the property of stick-ness(dandataa)', is used in the senseof an instrument or means for an act. Now relating these padarthasarsowith the (imperative or command) verbal senseof 'dnaya'or'bring', we arrive at the aakr1artha of ' the senten." ur''Yoi bring the"cow using a stickl. Let us now analyse the nature of the relationship between the two padarthasof go-padaand danda-padawhich aie 'an animal having the property of cow-ness (gotaa),and ,an object having, the property of stick-ness(danQataa),respectively. it i, natural that the two padas 'go-pada'(the word ,cow,) and the 'dapQa-pada' (the word 'stick') have different padarthasbecause their connotations (praorttinimitta) arc different. what is of special interest to our analysis is that these padrtrthasdo not .have a common single adhiknranaor locus which they are ielated 'This implication is inferred from the second-person-singular verbal form Enaya Tapovan Prasad

to. This relationship between the padarthas which are not related to a single common adhikarana is described as bheda-riipa'the relationship of difference'3. sarhsargaor We are now led to a logical question - What makes the or having the padarthashave the relation of bheda-ri,tpa-sathsarga relationship of not being related to a single and common adhiknrana or locus? we infer that the capacity of the padas to indicate padarthaswhich are not related to a common adhikarana gramor locus arises because the padas are placed in different 'danda'go-pada' (word go) and the the matical casesa. Since are found in different grammatical cases pada' (word dar.LQa) the accusative (or second) case and instrumental (third) case respectively - they are not related to a single common adhiknra4a o, io..m. ff tfrey were in the same grammatical case the result would be contrary. This will become clearer when we analyse and comp are the bheda-r npa-sarhsarg a w ith abheda-r itpa-sait sarg a.

Abh ed a- Rilp a- SafitsarI a The traditionalexampleusedto explainthis type of sarhsaVga is 'nrlamutpalam(asti)- (Thereis a) blue lotus'. The verbal 'asti' ( derived from the verbal toot'as'-'to be'), is word-form 'there is a'. This is implied in Sanskrit and translated freely as there is no actual need to explicitly mention it. Hence this is put within brackets. 'nllam utpalam',the pada(word) 'nlla', In this aalcya(sentence) 'the quality nllataa or blue-ness'. This berefers to a colour 'nTla-pada'(the word comes the padartha(word-sense) of ttre qon" -"y .bf.t t" thrs sort of relationship - if there is no relationship of the nature say there is no of being'relaied to the same adhikarana or locus why can't we simply 'the relationship of is there saying rather than the padatthas all between at relation"ship difference,? This is not an acceptable objection. In a sentence th.repadarthas referred to by the padas (words) will have to be neccessarily related to each because of the mere fact that it is only the relationship between the padarthns that establishes t}:re odfudrtha of a sentente. Thus.the relationship between the pndnrthas exists and in this case their relationship (saiuarga) is that of difference! What is being denied is only the relationship of the padarthas being related to a single adhikarana (locus)' 4The different grammatical cases are called'aibhaktis' in sanskrit. They are eight in number.

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ntla). The padarthaof 'utpala-pada'(the word utpala) refers to 'the substancecharacterisedby 'utpalatua'or,lotus-ness,. Since the connotations (praartti-nimitta) of both t]ne 'nlla-pada, and 'utpala-pada' are different, their padarthasare also naturaly different. upto this point there is a similarity with bheda-rtipasarhsarga.Inthe exampleused to illustrate - 'dandena ghmdnaya, saw that t}itepadarthasreferred to by the 'danda-pada'(the word daafla)and'go-pada' which are 'an object which has the property of stick-ness (dandataa)'and'an animal having the property of cow-ness (gotaa)',respectively,.aredifferent. But the similarity ends here. ln bheda-rriifa-sarhsarga the padas are in different cases- 'danda' is irp the instrumental or third caseas dandenaand'go'is in the a&usative or secondcase as gam. But in the caseof abheda-rnpa-sarhsarga, we find that both 'nlla-pada' 'utpala-pada' the and are'grammatically in the same case (aibhakti), t}:refirst case or the nominative case (prathamA aibhnkti) as evinced by their grammatical forms 'nTlam, and. 'utpalam'. Noticing therefore the grammatical agreement between the twq padas 'ntlam' and 'utpalam' we conclude that their two padarthas,i.e. 'the quality characterisedwith ntlataa or blueness' and 'the substance characterisedby the property of utpalataaor 'lotus-ness'should inhere or be related to ihe same adhikarana(locus or substratum) - here the object ,flower., Once this understanding happens, we then arrive at the t:akyArtha (sentence-sense) of the sentence'nTlam utpalam'as'nila-abhinnautpalam',i.e. the knowledge of 'there being a flower which has both the properties of 'nllataa' (blue-ness) and 'utpalataa,.

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Despite thepadas(words) indicating different padarthns(wordsenses),becauseof their different connotations(praartti-nimitta), t}]e padasbeing in the same grammatical case (aibhakti) fotce the padarthasto become related to one and the same locus (relationship) wherein the (adhikarana).This type of sartusarga padarthasof differentpadasare associatedto the sameadhikarana 'non-difference' - hence the term abhedais described as abhedaor When we say that the sarhsarga(relation) between rilpa-safitsarga. 'nrlataa' (blue-ness) and 'utpaLatua'(Iotus-ness)is that of nondifference,it is not to mean that'nTlataa'and'utpalataa'are the same for they cannot be the same becauseof the different connotations (praartti-nimitta)of the nlla-padaand utpala-pada.But what is meant is that they both have the sameadhikarana(locus or substratum) and in that sensethere is the relation of nondifference between the two padarthas. What we have attempted till now is not to be mistaken and discarded as some intellectual gymnastics of the over-analytical grammarians and logicians of yore. It is only a step-by-stgp lucid verbalisation of the psychological processeswhich are involved in understanding sentences.This is important because even'Tat TaamAsi' is a sentence.

The cause of difference the paddrthasate It is now clear that in abheda-rIipa-sarhsarga while in (Iocus substratum) or adhikarana a single related to to a single related not the padarthasare bheda-rnpa-sarhsarga adhikarana.We can now exactly pinpoint the one and the only reason which causesthis difference. In the caseof abheda-riipasarhsargathe padas(words) are in the same grammatical cases the padas (aibhakti),but in the case of the bheda-rilpa-sartusarga are in different grammatical casesand there is no grammatical agreementbetween them.

Sdmdnfiilhik ar aryya- Sambandha When padas(words) are in different grammatical cases,we say that they are in bhinna-aibhakti,but when t}lrepadasare in the same grammatichl case,they are described as having samdnaOctober2004

'samdna-aibhakti' aibhakti. This term can be translated as grammatical agreement, grammatical co-ordination or apposition. In our discussions just concluded above, we have seen that padas having samdna-uibhakti(enjoying grammatical agreement or apposition) will have their padarthas related to one and the same locus or substratum, or to put it in Sanskrit, they will have a samdna-adhikarana(samdna= same and adhikara(a = locus or susbstratum). The golden rule is t}lrepadas (words) will have a samana-adhikarana(same locus) for their padarthas(word-sense) if they are in samana-aibhakti (in the same, grammatical case) and will have bhinna-adhikarana (differ6nt locus) for their padarthnsif the padas are in bhinna-aib4akti (different grammati': cal cases). This relationship (sambandha),bf the padas which are in samdnaz;ibhakti,thereby forcing theii respective padarthastohave the same common adhikarana, is termed samdnddhikaraqtatrsasambandha or sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha. Hence ntl a-pada and u t paIa-pada have the relationshi p of sdmdnadhikaranya-sambandha. This concept of sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha is summarised by Sri Sureswaracharya in Mdnasollasa, the adrttika (gloss) on D aksinamI,rrt i St otr am:

ryqfrftry

{rqaris-ctsft |

qqfil€g HqFfflT;h.-tulcqltr€I?{klll bhinnapraartt4nimittdnath 1abdanamekaa astuni, praarttistu samdnddhikar anatoamihocy ate. Whenpadas (words),whichreferto differentpadarthas(meanings), pointtowardsthesamesubstratum (orlocus),thenthe(mutual) relationship of thesewordsis that of samhnddhikaranataa or 'havingthe same substratum'

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The jfiana (knowledge) of this sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha between the padas is called sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfiana.

Sdmdnddhik ar aqtya- Sambandha-| fi ana in 'Tat Taam Asi' 'Tat Now let us go to our main sente the mahaaakya tuarn asi', to analyse which we have had to do such elaborate groundwork. We find herein [hat both the tat-pada and tuampada are in the same grammatical case which is the nominative or first case (prathamaaibhaktl).This looks exactly similar to the 'nllam example of abheda-rlpa-sathsargautpalam' wherein we found both the nTla-padaand utpala-padain samdna-aibhakti(the same first case). This caused their respective padarthas to be related to a samnna-adhikarana(same locus) thereby creating the relationship of sdmdnadhikaranya-sambandha between t}ire nllapada and utpala-pada. The similar5 sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha is also present be*'Tat tween the tat-pada and taam-pada in the mahaaalcya taam asi'. Since both tat-pada and taam-pada are in the same grammatical case, we have to choicelessly accept here that they too should 'tat-pada' enjoy sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha. And since tii.:e an:.d 'taam-pada' have come to have sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha we have to accept a single adhikarana (locus) for both t};retat-padartha (the padart.haof the pada'tat') and taam-padartha(the padartha of 'tuam'). the pada We have already discussed t}lretatpaddrtha and the taampadartha as l1aara and jtua respectively6. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that bothTlaara and jtaa should have a single adhikarana (locus). sThere is one major difference between the oalqa'ntlam utpalam' and the mahaoakya'Tat taam asi'. The former has abheda-rapa-sathsargawhile in the latter there is saariipa-abheda and no sarhsarga at all. This subtle difference will be explained when the third knowledge step laksya-Iaksalia-sambandha-jfidnam is dealt with. 6Refer to August

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'Tat

Taam Asi - Part I'.

October2004

This knowledge of the padas'tat' and'tuaffi'having a samanaadhikarana (the same locus) because of their grammatical apposition (or agreement or co-ordination) is the very first knowledge-step to be taken in the understanding of the mahaaakya 'tat taam asi'. This alone and nothing else can lead us to the appreciation of the fact of a single common locus for the tatpadartha l1aara and the tuampadartha jtoa. This is the basic, necessary and unavoidable component of the thought process involved in arriving at jTaa-brahma-aikya- the tdtparya-uisaya (central subject-matter) of Vedanta.A person Who has not taken 'Tat taam asi'. this step has hardly begun his journey into

The Tussle between Grammaf and Logic It is vital at this juncture to ngie that the relationshipof

'tztam-pada' 'tat-pada' is not a and sdmdnddhikaranyabetween forced manipulation or a product of some calculated thinking. It is naturally present according to the grammatical rules of two words which are present in sdmdna-uibhakti (same grammatical case). 'nTlam' of Just as how the sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfiana and'utpalam' leads to the acceptance of the locus (i.e., the flower) 'utpalatua' 'nllataa' and so too the naturally which has both visible sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-j fi ana b etween' t at-pada' and 'taam-pada'leads us to the seemingly illogical acceptance of an adhikarana (locus) which has the nature of both l1aarataa and jtuataa. But logic and mere commonsense prevent the acceptance of such a possibility for it is impossible to visualise a locus or substratum which has these two mutually exclusive and contradictory properties of r1oaratoa and'jtaataa. The 'nllataa' and adhikarana of a flower can definitely have both 'utpalataa'because they are not mutually exclusive but how can one ever imagine an adhikarana which has the properties of both t1aarataa and jtaatr:a which are absolutely contradictory r and hence mutually exclusive? Accepting this proposition is to

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admit that there exists a aastu (thing or object) which is both Ilaara and jtaa at the same time! We are thus led to an interesting logical impasse causedby the tussle between grammar and commonsense. The llkn (subcommentary) on SaarajyasiddhiT seems to mock at the grammatical neccessity of having a single and common locus for 'tat-pada' and'taam-pada' :

qdilqfo H-f,€-ft iqgil-c{qqiq-gdstgcqg'ft+a'

t

A

-

.

-

n

.

qqHq-dcqqRflq{rEHr

-

n

q(€tRTq€qiqr( |

Saraajfiyakifrcijj matua-nityamuktataabaddhata asukhaikarasataaduhkhitaa-saraaniyantr t aapdratantryadmath parasparaliir uddhatadt I Because thepairssuchasomniscience andlimitedknowledge, ever liberated natureandboundnature,unalloyed blissandmisery,controller andthecontrolled etc.,aremutually opposites...

*,

Conclusion

Let us see if at least the next knowledge-step - ai1esanaoi1esyatd-sambandha-jfidnamwlII help us break this stalemate between grammar and logic. Mahaaakya aicdra has been the subject of many books and a vast amount of literature is available on this topic. Mahaaalcyaaicdra being the direct cause for Liberation, great attention has been paid by our VedantaAcaryas to perfect this analysis. A boon for us indeed! TSaarajyasiddhiand its ttka KaiaalyakalpadrUmaare written by Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati. Some scholars opine that this text is w r i t t e n b y S r i S u r e s w a r a c h a r y a .

,

: Accept. Surrender, Let IIim be the chariote'er of your life. , :, Swami Chinmayananda

SRISATISH ARORA DEGORS GANEWEII (Haryana) Panchkula (Punjab) Ludhiana

October 2004

SWAMIADVAYANANDA

Introduction The teaching methodology of Vedanta comprises two sequential steps - adhydropa and apauada. A very well'known traditional statement declares,' adhyAropa-apauhdAbhydrh nisprapa{icarit prapaficyate-by adhydropa and apaaafia is shown the pure Brahman'. Adhy7ropa, which is deliberate sgperimposition (by the ldstrss and guru) is the first of the two step's and this has been coveredl in detail in our earlier issues. The purpose of adhydropais only to facilitate its subsequent negation (apaoada)r.It is only in the fitness and order of things that we proceed after adhyAropa to the next sequential step i.e., apaadda.

Apavdda - A Technical Term The word 'apaafrda'is derived from the verbal root'und,, which means'to speak'. To this the prefix 'apa'is added. The word then comes to have the foliowing meanings -'to revile,, ,to contradict, and 'to deny'. The word apaadda is a technical term (pAribhasika 6abda) having a specified connotation and meaning in different knowledge fields. In sdhitya (literature) it means 'to revile' or ,speak ill of someone'. In pilraamTm7hsd (the ritualistic section of the Vedas) the word is used in the sense of 'an exception to a general rule,. For example, the general rule is that in tTrthas(holy places) one should 1 Adhyaropa has been discussed in -detail from June 2003 to May 2004 issues of Tapouan Prasad. Folabird'seyeviewofhowbothAdhydropaandApauddaworkhandinhand,please _ -t refer to'Adhyaropa and ApaaEda - A Brief outline', fune 2003 issue of Tapoaan Prasad.

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not perform tonsure of one's head (muUdan). But in Prayag one is reccommeded to do it. This is an apaadda or exception to the gen.eral rule that one should not perform tonsure in tTrthas. 'negation' or 'refutation In Vedanta, apaaddais used to denote of a wrong imputation or attribution'.

Apaztdda - Definition Sri Swami Sadananda inVedanta Sara uses the famous example of rope-snake to define apaaada--

siqqKi alq tqiiqakq sdtq tqrTlx.qqq aegfiaakv a{F(;l; gl-ffi: gqsr€q cr{gqtTcqa I

Apaaddo ndma rajjuairsartasya sarpasya rajjumdtrataaaad aast ua iaar t asya aaastun al.taj madel.tp r apaficasya aast u mdtr atuam I Just as the illusoryserpentwhich is not real and which is the appearanceof a rope,is nothingbut a rope,so too the universe,beginningwith 'ajfiana',which is not real and which is an appearanceof Reality,is nothingbut that Reality- this (instruction)is describedas apaadda. Hence apauddais an instruction that negates the false and asserts the truth. Thus aparsddahas two aspects to it - refuting as well as reaealing.In the example of the rope-snake quoted above the fake appearance of the snake is refuted and the reality of the rope is revealed. Let us see one more definition of apartdda.This famous definition is offered by Sri Sankaracharya in his commentary on the Chandogya Upanisad:

q-qriaTqqx {fuiFq+tgR1dffiu^* fr"vq*^friM g&' $frfrur (sÊdhana-catuêÌaya-sampannaò — the one endowed ¼e©²eefÞNeÓeeëeeÞe©¼eÓeeëe úeNe_oe ÐeosëeµesÓeÓúeÓeÓex with the four-fold qualificaµe©µe©*eNes >> tion) approaches and totally PraâÊntacittÊya jitendriyÊya surrenders to the Guru. The ca prahØàadoêÊya yatoktacompetent Guru, who is kÊriàe, both a brahmaniêÌha (one esGuàÊnvitÊyÊnugatÊya tablished in the Self) and sarvadÊ pradeyasrotriya (learned in the Scripmetatsatataø mumukêave. tures), out of supreme comThis is always to be taught to passion, gives the Knowlone who is of tranquil mind, one edge of the Self, which libwho has subjugated his senses, erates the student from who is free from passions, obesaøsÊra . This idea of the dient, endowed with virtues, alGuru bestowing the supreme ways devoted to the teacher and Knowledge of VedÊnta to a who is constantly eager for liberation. qualified student is echoed

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Guru — The Embodiment of Compassion What prompts the Guru to give this priceless wealth of Knowledge to the student? Only his deep compassion. And this is his very nature itself. He has not the least trace of expectation from the student for the jæÊna he bestows. He has attained the Lord after which there is nothing more to attain. His life is fulfilled. Hence, even if the âiêya (disciple) wants to give something, there is nothing which he can give. What can a mahÊtmÊ of no need, need? Absolutely nothing. There is one more reason why the student can give nothing to his Guru. The Guru lives in the realm of Reality while the student lives in the realm of illusion. And there cannot be even a seeming connection between the two realms of Reality and illusion. Nothing of this illusory realm can be exported to his realm! Hence what can the student give even if he wants to give? Hence the student remains eternally indebted to the Guru. To the Guru, the karuàÊ-märti (the embodiment of compas24

sion), he is ever surrendered — his actions, his will, nay, even his thoughts are pervaded by love, respect and gratitude to the Guru. To that the karuàa-sÊgara (the ocean of compassion) we offer our prostrations.

The Questions The Guru bestows this knowledge only when the student asks him questions related to the Self. It is an absolute dictum in matters concerning the Self – ‘Give only when asked’. The questions, which are to be asked, are beautifully enumerated as a series of seven questions by ãrØ Ëdi ãaÜakara in VivekacäÒÊmaài:

kàes Þeeµe =eÞÕe : kàÙeµesÔe De¼eÓe : kàÙex ÐefÓeÔ¢eúëe kàÙex fNeµees*e:> kàes³úeeNeÞeeÓµee çejµe: kà DeÓµee ÓeëeesfNe_Neskà: kàÙeµesÓeo©èëeÓeeµe¡ >> Ko nÊma bandhaò kathameêa Êgataò kathaø pratiêÌhÊêya kathaø vimokêah, Ko‘sÊvanÊtmÊ paramaò ka ÊtmÊ tayorvivekaò kathametaducyatÊm. What is bondage? How has it come? How does it continue to exist? How can one get out of it completely? What is the not-Self? Who is the March 2003

supreme Self? And what is the process of discrimination between these two, the Self and the not-Self? Please explain all these to me.

One does not barge into the Teacher’s privacy. One waits for an appropriate occasion and time and, prostrating with supreme devotion and humility, requests the answers to the Questions. It is very comical to find some enthusiasts memorising these questions from one of the many Vedantic texts and verbally parroting them to the Guru without any feeling or urgency. This is a big farce. That would sure make the whole thing so disenchanting to the Guru that he may again close his eyes for meditation! Worst of all is to go to the Guru and ask for something worldly and burden him with our mundane troubles and request him to forecast the future and such other trivialities. These are to be avoided at all costs. Only to a sincere student does the Guru point out the nature of the Self.

The Four Categories of Students Vedanta recognises four categories of students even among those who are fit for Tapovan Prasad

receiving knowledge. The categories are: 1. Manda (the lowest), 2. Madhyama (the middling), 3. Uttama (the best), 4. Uttamottama (the superior among the best). One may wonder, if all are fit for receiving the Knowledge why these differences? Let us use a traditional example to elucidate this. Even in the vegetable kingdom we have different categories like plantain, wet wood, softwood and hardwood which can be used as fuel. All of them do not burn in the same way, even though all of then do burn and do give heat. In the same way, even if all the four types are fit for receiving the knowledge, yet, depending upon their level of accomplishment in sÊdhanacatuêÌaya i.e. the four-fold qualifications — viveka, vairÊgya, and âamÊdi-êaÌka-sampatti mumukêutvam, they can be divided into the above four categories. If the accomplishment of the uttamottama type in sÊdhana-catuêÌaya can be put at 100%, the uttama type will have the sÊdhana-catuêÌaya of about 75%, the madhyama 50%, and the manda about 25%. Such

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Hetu

Citta-âuddhi and citta-ekÊgratÊ

Doêa-drsÌi

A life of yama and niyama

SÊdhu-saàga

SÊdhana catuêÌaya

Viveka

VairÊgya

ãamÊdi-êaÌkasampatti

Mumukêutvam

Burning desire for the Supreme.

Citta-nirodha (cessation of the mind).

Revulsion and many times even fear of worldly pleasures.

The conviction that Brahman alone is permanent and the seen world is impermanent.

Svaräpa

Reaching the lotus feet of the Guru.

absence of worldly transactions.

VyavahÊrarÊhityam - the

Absence of desire even for objects that can be enjoyed (e.g. food).

One repeatedly contemplates on the impermanency of the world and the permanency of the Self.

KÊrya

The renunciation of all actions and total dedication to spiritual pursuit.

Total forgetfulness of the dìâya-prapaæca (seen-world) right from the body.

Just as one is entirely indifferent to a torn cloth on the wayside, one becomes totally indifferent (upekêa) towards the whole gamut of worldly pleasures.

Even if opposing views are given by contrary thinking people, one remains firm in one’s conviction that Brahman alone is permanent and all else is impermanent.

Avadhi

a numerical gradation is not to be taken literally. Rather it is only to explain things in a simple, non-technical way for easy comprehension. To understand the exact basis for the formation of these four categories we have to refer to the earlier essays on sÊdhana-catuêÌaya *. In the Table on facing page, we reproduce a section of its analysis for recapitulation and analysis of the four categories. Please read the analysis of the four categories of adhikÊrins given below referring to this chart. All the technical terms used in the chart like hetu (cause), svaräpa (nature), kÊrya (effect) and avadhi (culmination) have been explained in the earlier essays. The only new word in the analysis is paryanta which means ‘till’ or ‘until’. 1. Manda: Those who are endowed with all the four aspects of sÊdhana-catuêÌaya , but only hetu-paryanta i.e. till the hetu or cause. 2. Madhyama: Those who are endowed with all the four aspects of sÊdhana*

Refer September to December 2002 issues of Tapovan Prasad.

Tapovan Prasad

catuêÌaya, but only svaräpa paryanta — i.e., till the svaräpa or nature aspect of all the four aspects of sÊdhana-catuêÌaya. To put it mathematically, madhyama = hetu+ svaräpa. 3. Uttama: Those who are endowed with all the four aspects of sÊdhana-catuêÌaya, but only kÊrya-paryanta i.e., till the kÊrya or effect aspect of the sÊdhanacatuêÌaya . Hence uttama= hetu+ svaräpa + kÊrya 4. Uttamottama: Those who are endowed fully with all the various aspects of all the four-fold qualifications i.e., avadhi-paryanta or all the aspects up to the avadhi or culmination. Thus uttamottama = hetu + svaräpa + kÊrya + avadhi. The Guru recognises these four categories of the students and gives Teaching accordingly.

The Glory of all the Adhikarins The words manda and madhyama here can be quite misleading. We should not think that they are ‘dull’ or ‘mediocre’ in the sense we 27

commonly use these terms. Just because someone comes second in an Olympic running race he or she is not dull! All those who run in the Olympic race are highly accomplished. They are the best runners in the whole world. And certainly, we are nowhere near them to call them dull or mediocre! In the

28

same way, we are speaking of such adhikÊr Øs who are the cream of sÊdhakas (spiritual aspirants). It is only in comparison with the best of the best of the best that they are called manda and madhyama. Those blessed souls are all way above us! And to all of them our salutations!

March 2003

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SWAMIADVAYANANDA Introduction We have already seen the nature, Purpose and importance of *raaana (listening) and manana (reflection), the first two (means)for Realisationl.In this essaywe shall take up sddhands 'nididhyasnna',the thfud sadhana. for study Through 1raaanaone comes to ascertainthat the essential knowledge (jfiana) envisaged by the Upaniqadsis the identity of the inner-Self (pratyagdtman)with Brahman' Various doubts about this knowledge are removed by tnanana,the second sadhand-step. Thus at the end of *raaaqtaand manana,the seeker has come of the Self. to the 'doubtless Knowledge' (sarh1ayarahitajnana)

lftdna and Vijnana Mere 'intellectual Knowledge' - even if it is doubtless - is not the 'actual Experience'(anubhatil.The BhagaaadGeeta2uses 'ifliina' to two distinct words to differentiate them - the word 'aijfidna' to indicate 'doubtless intellectual Knowledge' and indicate 'actual Experience'. That the intellectual Knowledge of the Self is different from the actual Experience of the Self is 1 For '6raaa4a'and'manana'refer to September and October 2005 issues of Tapoztan Prasad. 2 Yide BhagaaadGeeta(Verse 9.1) "...jfianah oijftdnasahitarityajifiatoa moksyase'6ubhat."

Tapovan Prasad

evident to all seekers.It is the universal experienceof all seekers that they are still within the powerful grip of ignorance-based thoughts' such as notions of doership and enjoyership, likes, dislikes, desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy, fear and so on, notwithstanding the clear intellectual Knowledge that the Self is the all-pervading Brahman,which they come to enjoy after the processof study and reflection. The presenceof such strong notions and ways of thinking is a clear sign of the continued existenceof ignorance. Seekersoften wonder what they should do further in their sadhanato get rid of these persistent disquieting notions and thoughts. Viparlta-bhdaand 'I TheVedanflcKnowledge of am the all-pervadingBrahman' 'I am the (limited) not-Self'. The is contrary to the notion of 'I notion of am the not-Self' gives birth to the ideas of doership and enjoyership (knrtrtaa and bhoktrtaa),which further ramify into desire, anger,greed and so on. These thought ramifications, especially their root-thought - the identification with the notSelf and the notions of kartytua (doerchip) and bhoktrtaa 'uiparTta'aipartta-bhdaand'. The term (enjoyership)- are termed 'contrary notions' i.e., notions that are bhdaand'literally means 'I am Brahman'. antithetical to the Knowledge Knowledge (jfiana) fructifies into Experience (aiifiana) only 'aiparrta-bhdaands'are overcome. And as long as when these 'I am the 'aiparTta-bhaaands' are present, the thought of these infinite Brahman' gained through 6raoa4aand mananaremains rather shallow and superficial and does not become the potent auytti'3which destroys ignorance. An and compelling' brahmdknr example will make this concept clear: In the game of chess, it is easy to attack the king when his supports - the queen, bishops, elephants, horses and soldiers - are defeated. As long as this'armyiprotects the king, it is difficult to attack him- In 3 For 'brnhmdkfuraoytti' roter fuly and August 2005 issues of TapooanPrasad. November 2005

the same way, it is possible to overcome ignorance, when its defence, constituted of the aiparlta-bh7aanAs (contrary notions) - identification with the not-Self, kartytaa and bhokrtT)A,ego, desire, anger, greed and so on - are weakened. The third and fourth sddhands- nididhyasanaand samddhirespectively - aim at destroying these aipartta-bhdannAs. This prospect of aipartta-bhaaanascontinuing to hold sway, in spite of the intellectual Knowledge of the Self and the absolute need to eliminate the aiparlta-bhaaanas(contrary notions) for gaining the experience of the Self is emphasised in many Adaaitic works. The following is a verse to this effect from Sri Sankaracharya's Viaekacndamani(verce 267):

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tadvijæÊnÊrthaø sa gurumevÊbhigacchet samitpÊàiò ârotriyaø brahmaniêÌham. Let him, in order to obtain the knowledge of the Eternal, take sacrificial faggots in his hands and approach that Preceptor alone who

30

is well versed in the Vedas and is established in Brahman.

In the days of yore when there used to be regular homas and yÊgas conducted at the gurukulas, there was always a need for the samits (sacrificial faggots). Offering of the samit symbolised seva-bhÊva, the attitude of service. It meant “O Guru! I am at Your service. Your word is my command and Your desire my will.”

Guru-Upasana The tradition of SanÊtana Dharma gives great importance to the Guru. When Kabirdas was asked as to whom he would first render his prostrations to, if the God and the Guru came together, he replied unhesitatingly that his first prostration would be to the Guru. The reason he gave was that it was only by the revelation of the Guru that he came to recognise the Lord! In many Indian homes, verses like “gururbrahmÊ gururviêàuò gururdevo maheâvaraò, gurureva paraø brahma tasmai ârØgurave namaò” are chanted daily. The ãvetÊâvatara Upaniêad asserts that the Scriptures reveal their meanings only to the person who has Ùâvara-

February 2003

bhÊva in the Guru (the conviction of Guru being Iâvara).

ëeúëe osNes çeje §ef¬à: ëeÙee osNes ÓeÙee ¼e©jen > ÓeúëenÓes kàfÙeÓee OÙee_: ÐekàeÑáÞÓes µe|eÓµeÞe:>> yasya deve parÊ bhaktiò yathÊ deve tathÊ gurau, tasyaite kathitÊ hyarthÊò prakÊâante mahÊtmanaò It is for him who has immense devotion for the Lord and who possesses the equal and same sort of devotion to his Guru, that the Upanishads are explained and to him alone the Upanishads will reveal their highest truths.

Uttama-adhikaris of VedÊnta, with devotion and total surrender, worship the Guru himself as their IêÌadevatÊ (the chosen Lord of their heart). This worship of the Guru is called guruupÊsanÊ.

Surrender and Service unto the Guru On reaching the Guru the seeker should offer sÊêÌÊÜganamaskÊra. ‘NamaskÊra’ means ‘prostration’. ‘SÊêÌÊÜga’ (sa+ aêÌa+aÜga) means ‘along with the eight limbs‘. Thus SÊêÌÊÜganamaskÊra means prostration with the eight limbs. The eight limbs or parts of the body used for SÊêÌÊÜga-namaskÊra are

Tapovan Prasad

(a) the two feet (b) two knees (c) two hands (d) chest and (e) the head. When one does a prostration in this fashion, the body lies flat on the ground like a fallen stick (daÜÒavat). This symbolises complete humility and total surrender to the Guru. Though the action or ritual of prostration has its own value, the inner attitude of surrender is most important. Mere action without the right attitude is of minimal value. And if the attitude is there, physical prostration becomes quite natural. Devotion gives rise to surrender and only to a student who has surrendered, the teachings of the Guru bear fruit. This surrender is at four levels: 1. ãarØra-arpaàa: ãarØra means the ‘body’ and ‘arpaàa’ means ‘offering’. Engaging oneself physically in the service of the Guru (like cleaning the Gurukula) comes under this category. 2. Mana-arpaàa: Having the attitude of the Lord in one’s Guru is called mana-arpaàa or offering of the mind. A disciple should ever meditate on the divine form of the Guru in one’s heart. One’s behaviour should be always endearing to the Guru and there

31

should be no fault-finding at all. The Guru should be considered as Viênu, ãiva, Ganga and Surya. When the Guru is kind, he should be considered as Viênu, as ãiva when he is angry, as Brahma when he is actively engaged in action, when he is serene he is to be known as placid GaÜgÊ and when he destroys the darkness of one’s ignorance with the bright effulgence of his teaching he should be considered as Sära (Sun god). In this way one sees only the Lord in one’s Guru in all his modes of being and finds no faults with him at all. 3. Dhana-arpaàa: One has a sense of ownership in one’s wealth, home, land, etc. Technically, these are called wealth, and offering them to the Guru is known as dhanaarpaàa. The Guru may not accept it, for he may not need it at all. Dhana-arpaàa only indicates one’s willingness to give up all for the sake of the knowledge and one’s desire to be of service to the Guru. 4. VÊk-arpaàa: VÊk-arpaàa is to be ever engaged in the praise of one’s Guru and never to indulge in talking about his

32

faults, true or imaginary. All this may seem too exaggerated in these times of selfishness, mistrust and glorified individualism. One may feel that the Guru would take advantage of this kind of total surrender and use the student for his own personal and selfish ends. A true Guru has no selfish goals. He ever revels in the happiness of the student. But what about the false Guru? God save the Guru!! In God’s infinite mercy, no sincere student gets trapped by a false teacher. And he is a sincere student who never judges the Guru from his limited understanding. The essence of arpaàa (surrender) can be illustrated with a beautiful story. A king approached a Guru and requested instruction on the Self. The Guru directed him to do a rigorous twelve-year service at the ashram’s cowshed before he would teach him. The king refused to serve. He felt it was demeaning and left. He returned after two years and requested once again to be taught. The Guru now directed him to the cowshed for twenty years. This time the king willingly went to take up the service. Even before the king had

February 2003

reached the cowshed the Guru called for him and directed him to get ready for the Teaching. The king said that he had not even started the service. The Guru replied that it is not the service, which really matters, but the willingness to serve!

Conclusion Wholehearted surrender to the Guru is an absolute must. Only a heart that has been perfected with love and devotion to the Guru can have faith in the Teaching and become capable of soaring into divine VedÊntic heights. When such a highly qualified student characterised by the 1. willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of BrahmaVidyÊ 2. endowed with total surrender to the Guru and

3. possessing a firm understanding that the Guru is verily the pratyakêa-Ùâvara (the visible Lord) reaches the lotus feet of the benevolent Guru, he bestows upon him the liberating Knowledge of VedÊnta and lifts him from the mire of samsÊra. The MuàÒaka Upaniêad (I.ii.13) echoes this strongly when it says, “To that pupil who has thus approached him respectfully, whose mind is calm and serene and whose senses are subdued, let the wise Teacher truly teach Brahma Vidya through which the immortal Self is known”. In the forthcoming essays, we shall enquire into the methodology of VedÊntic instruction – the famous technique of deliberate superimposition (adhyÊropa) and subsequent negation (apavÊda).

G Tapovan Prasad

33

Tanmatra

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SWAMIADVAYANANDA

Introduction We have discussed the following points in the previous essays 1. Maya is of the nature of the three gunas - sattaa, rajas and tamasl and it has two powers - daararla and uiksepa2.Aoararya veils Brahman and paves the way for uiksepato project the world of names and forms. 2. Consciousness with the upddhi of mdad is called lgaara3 or the Lord and l*aara is at once ihe efficieniand material cause of the universe, i.e., the abhinna-nimitta-upadana-karanaa . It is important that these concepts are understood thoroughly for these will form the basis of our future discussions. From this essay onwards we shall describe the process of creation according to the uedanticadhydropas.First comes the creation of subtle elements which are called slksma-bhntasor more commonly as tanmatras.lt is these tanmdtrasthat later on combine with themselves to create

lRefer

to July 2003 issue of TapoaanPrasad;zReferto September 2003 issue; 3Refer to August 2003; "October 2003; ]une 2003.

Taoovan Prasad

EE

the gross elements which in turn form the gross universe that we p"t"uirr". In this essay we shall elaborate on the creation of the subtle elements, the tanmdtras.

The Creation In the enlivening Presence of Consciousness, under the influence of thleaikqepa6akti, from,mdyT which has got a preponderance of tamas the creation starts. In VedAnta Sdra, Swami Sadananda elaborates on this:

:I clFFr{T 6q:qr16-ftffiqq-sl-ffid-+il{r( 3ilsl{nqqlgr1 ffi:-sTfr: t e{}: ailg:I irr;dil:qFrfr I wqqi rr akd$dd akfr1aL.t, tamahpradhAna-aiksepa6aktimat-ajfianopahita-caitanydd utpadyate ca pythiat rsdyult,aayofuagnil.r,agnell apah, adbhyafu From Consciousness associated with the projecting power of ignorancewhich has a preponderanceof the qualityof tamas,hasevolved space which in its turn, has producedair, from air has come fire, from fire '* water and from water earth6. It is to be noted that Swami Sadananda in the context of creation, which has been quoted above, makes three specific observations 11,.Creation happens fuom mdyd which has got a preponderance of tamas. 2. Maya by itself does not create - it has to have the presence of Consciousness. 3. Creation happens only when mdydis associated withztilqepa1akti.

6

Th"r" ideas of the prakaru4agranthasare based on passagesfrom the Upaniqadslike aoyoragnil.t akasadaayutt tlneTaittirtya 2."1.1- tasmadaa etusmddatmanahdkdfnbsafitbhfrtal.t agnerdpaftiaAnya7 pTthir:i - from Brahman indeed which is this Self, was produced siace.'Fro^ spacelrqetged air. From air was bom fire. Froni'fire was bieated water. From water sprang up earth. The Chdndogyallpanigad 6.2.3,4 speat “The means to the attainment of Knowledge are: discrimination between things permanent

and transient, renunciation of the enjoyment of the fruits of actions in this world and hereafter, the six wealths such as control of the mind etc., and the desire for liberation.” Thus the sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya, the four-fold means are: 1. Viveka or Discrimination 2. VairÊgya or Dispassion 3. ãamÊdi-êaÌka-sampatti or the Disciplines of the six innerwealths beginning with âama . 4. Mumukêutvam or Desire for liberation.

handed down by tradition. One may not find in any of the Upaniêads the seriatim presentation of the above four as sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya . Yet, these are based on the various statements of the upaniêads and the values they have enumerated for a person who wants to become an adhikÊrØ (a qualified or fit aspirant) for the vedantic pursuit. The vedantic tradition truly and firmly insists that only if an aspirant has the above four-fold means in full measure, can he attain the knowledge of Truth.

These four Ds are crucial to spiritual progress.

The Five-fold Analysis

The basis for Sadhana-Chatustaya The above four aspects of the sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya enumerated in the Prakaraàa -granthas like VivekacäÒÊmaài have been In articles such as this which carry several technical terms, standard rules of transliteration are applied. However, occasionally we judiciously digress from them keeping in mind our foreign readers. For example, catuêÌaya is spelt across this article as chatuêÌaya.

One finds highly concise definitions of the sÊdhanachatuêÌaya in texts like Tattvabodha, and explanatory ones in a few texts like Vivekachudamani and Sarva Vedanta Sidhanta SÊra Sangraha of Adi Shankara. All of them contribute in their own unique ways to our understanding of the sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya . Certain advanced texts of Vedanta (like the famous Tamil Vedanta text NÊnÊ-jØvavÊdakaÌÌaÎai ) explain each of the above four aspects of sÊdhanachatuêÌaya in a very systematic

manner keeping in view a fivefold criterion. They are:

Viveka is only paroksa

1. 2. 3. 4.

Since viveka is explained as a qualification for an aspirant before he starts the study of VedÊnta one may question as to how a person can be endowed with firm viveka even before he starts the study of VedÊnta. One may also wonder as to how can one have viveka before the actual knowledge of Brahman. It is certainly possible even before Realisation to feel convinced in general that there is a permanent factor beyond the impermanent and that the former alone is of real value. It is to be noted that the vedantic seeker is not a total novice. He already has a general grasp of spiritual wisdom through the study of the Puranas, a few basic texts and scriptural lore (though it may not include the Upaniêads etc., which directly pertain to VedÊnta). The Puranas have vivid descriptions of the impermanence of every perceived object, right from this body to the subtle realms of Brahma, the creator. Descriptions of all the fourteen worlds being perishable and the Lord alone being changeless and permanent cannot but be strongly felt

Hetu Svaräpa KÊrya Avati -

5. Phala

The cause The nature The effect The fulfilment or perfection, and - The result.

Our explanation of the sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya shall be on the basis of this five-fold criterion.

Viveka: The first one of Sadhana-Chatustaya Definition This first one of sÊdhanachatuêÌaya is called ‘viveka’ and is translated as ‘discrimination’. Its full form is ‘nitya-anityavastu-viveka’ Vedanta SÊra defines it thus:

fÞeÓëeefÞeÓëeNeúÓe©fNeNeskàúÓeeNeo¡ ÖeQnNe fÞeÓëex NeúÓe© ÓeÓees³Þëeof×e½eµefÞeÓëefµefÓe fNeNesèeÞeµe¡ >> ”Discrimination between things permanent and transient consists of the discernment that ’Brahman alone is permanent and that all things other than It are transient’.”

by the seeker who listens attentively to satsangs (spiritual discourses) on these texts and studies them carefully. Through a study of these texts the seeker develops a correct appraisal of things and a yearning for the eternal, and becomes convinced that Brahman alone is permanent and everything else is transient. This type of conviction based on a study of the scriptures is called parokêa or indirect as opposed to aparokêa or direct (conviction) which arises from one’s own personal experience of the Supreme Reality.

The Five-fold Analysis of Viveka a. Hetu – The cause: Due to the dedicated performance of one’s duties and the worship of the Lord which one has done in many earlier births (i.e., not in just one birth) there arises chittaâuddhi (mental purity) and chitta-ekÊgratÊ (single pointedness of the intellect)* which in *Please refer to the definition of adhikÊrØ in the August issue of Tapovan Prasad for details on chittasuddhi and chitta-ekÊgratÊ.

turn becomes the hetu or cause for the birth of nitya-anityavastu-viveka. b. Svaräpa – The nature: The svaräpa or the nature of this viveka is that Brahman alone is the Truth and the seen world right from the body which one thinks of as ‘me’ or ‘mine’ is impermanent. c. KÊrya – The effect: One repeatedly contemplates on the impermanence of the world and the permanence of the Self based on the logical arguments and facts one has gathered through one’s general study of the scriptures and also from the experiences of one’s own life. The aspirant may use such logic as – ‘everything that has a beginning must have an end and since everything, including the fourteen worlds, is a product of the five elements, they all have a birth and hence they are all certainly perishable and thus impermanent’. d. Avati – The perfection: Even if opposing views and logical arguments contradicting the impermanence of the world and the permanence of Brahman are given by learned people with other views and philoso-

phies, one remains firm in one’s conviction that Brahman alone is permanent and all else is impermanent. In other words when viveka becomes rock-firm, then that is the avati or perfection of nitya-anitya-vastu-viveka. e. Phala – The fruit: Viveka gives rise to vair Êgya or dispassion, the next in the list of sadhana-chatuêÌaya . Certain texts also indicate brahma-lokaprapti or the attainment of brahma-loka, the highest and most sublime of the fourteen worlds. This is taking into consideration the death of the

seeker before he reaches his goal of Self-realisation. (In our later essays we shall discuss about brahma-loka-krama-mukti.) In the next article we shall discuss the remaining aspects of sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya : vairÊgya, and âamÊdi-êaÌka-sampatti mumukêutva. Any doubts or queries regarding this series of articles may be addressed by email to with the subject: Attn: Vedanta Made Easy.

lsvarar the Creator srvAMlADVAYANANDA

I*aara is Brahman with the upfudhi or conditioning o_fmdyd. The two powers of mayd are the daarana and uikqepalakti. Aaarana 6akti veils the self and 7he aiksepa6akti proiects the world of names and forms. All these have been elaborated in earlier essayst. In this (nimitta essay let us see how liaara is at once the efficient cause universe. In kArarya)and material cause (upadana kara?a) of the 'abhinna-nimittaaedanta this concept is termed l'aara being thLe Let us now understand these two terms - nimitta updddna-kdrana'. kfrrana and upadana kdrana.

Nimitta Kdrarla and Upddana Kfrralta

+

Creation necessitatestwo factors - the material substance from which a thing is created and an intelligent principle which fashions the "."uiiorr. For example to create a pot you need the clay and the potter. The substance from which the karya i.e., the effect 'material cause'. The is createi is called fne upaddnakdrana or the intelligent principle that propeis and fashions the creation, is called 'efficient cause'. These terms will become the nimitta,kAranaor the amply clear when we understand them with a few examples. In the creation of a pot, clay, the substance or material from which the pot is made is tne upddanakhrana or the material cause and the pott^er, the intelligent being who fashions the pot out of the clay is the nimitta karipa or the efficient causez. In the creation of gold Forl1aara refer to August 2003 issue of TapouanPrasad and for the two powers of mdud the September 2003 issue. 1

- the sahakari kdrar.ta or the accessory One more cause is sometimes pointed out stick that are the accessories in the and the potter-wheel of the This consists cause. 'accessory causes' are considered to be part and creation of the pot. Even these parcel of the efficient cadse in rrrany Vedantic texts'

26

October2003

ornaments, the goldsmith is the nimitta karanaand gold is updddna kara1a.

Precise Definitions The above two terms have been analysed much in Vedanta and have been precisely definedl. 1.

The following is the definition of updddna kdrana.

T(fiffi

qffi,

qftm qmeqfuxft: arRa,rqsvtqrannrrq

Fqkr I yat kdryasaarilpe praaiSati, yaduina karyisya sthitih ndsti, tat i*upadanakaranamucyate. upadanakaranaor the materialcause is that which pervadesthe effectand withoutwhich the effectivill not be there. Let us relate the definition to the example of clay and the pot. Clay is the upddana karana or the material cause of the pot because: a. It pervades the pot and b. Without the clay there would be no pot 2.

Now coming to the definition of nimitta kara4a,

q-(*.rdq6qa qm, fug *,rqkfr{ ftni e-(+.rfi(rcqrqqft, q€q il-ia qrd a irqfr, rqftfuifiriur(qfr irnr,ffi r yat kdryasaoiOp, ,o praaifuati,kintu kary.at prthak sthitair sat kAryam utpadayati, yasya ndSena kAryartu na nasyati tat nimittakaranam iti abhidhtyate. Nimitta karanaor the efficienlcause is that which does not pervade the effect, and standingdistihct from the effect, creates the effect, and in the destructionof which the effectis not destroyed. 3 The famous Hindi vedanta text viclra sdgara ol Sri Svami Niscaladasa has been translated and brilliantly commented in Tamil by Sri Sivardya a centurv and a half ago. The noted scholar svdmi vdsudeva Brahmlndra sarasvati has translated this Tamil work into sanskrit. The above definitions are reproductions from his monumental translation.

Tapovan Prasad

When we relate the definition to the example we find that the potter is the nimitta kdra4aor the efficient cause of the pot because a. He does not pervade the pot like the clay. b. He stands distinctly apart from the clay and the pot. c. And even in his absence the pot continues to exist.

The Vedic Tangle ls i'aara the nimitta kLranaor the uphddnakAra\a of the universe? If the Lord is the nimittakdrana i.e., the efficient cause, then he has to be different from the world. But the vedas declare that he pervades the creation - tatsrstad tadeadnupraai1at having crecause has efficient the ut"d it He pervaded it'. As defined earlier, to remain different from the creation, as seen in the case of the efficient cause of the pot, the potter being different from the pot. If it is not possible to posit the Lord as the nimitta karana why not consider the Lord as the upadanakarana,the material cause of the universe? This would not be logically tenable becausethe world is inert and if the Lord were the material cause of the universe - the then it would amount to the Lord being inert' To explain of tKe effect being the gold ornament helps us to infer the nature cause also as being that of gold. In the same way the material cause of the inert world has to be only inert and not otherwise. 'very But the lJpanisadsemphatically declare the Lord to be the embodiment of Consiiousness - praifranaghana'.Also the Vedas declare that the Lord stands apart from the created universe apart atyatisthatdasdhgulam.Since the material cause cannot stand from the effect, we cannot posit the Lord to be the material cause. Thus both ways we have a problem - a seemingly insurmountable scriptural tangle. Further, the contradictory nature of the statements within the scriptures itself - some claiming that the Lord pervades the creation and others extolling him as distinctly apart from the creation - is disturbing. Is there any way out of it?

The Vedantiq Solution vedanta says that all these seemingly unconquerable problems. are surmounted effortlessly if one understands the true nature ot isoara. i1aara is Brahman with the upadhi or conditioning of Mayd October2003

i.e., i*uara = Brahman + Maya. The Brahman aspect of i1zsarais of the nature of Consciousnessand the Maya aspect of l{aara is inert. The Maya aspect of l1aara is the cause of the universe. Thus the inert universe has the inert MdyE as the updddna karalta or the material cause. Ttre Vedic statements that talk of the Lord pervading the creation is only with respect to His upadhi - mdyd, which is the material cause. And as the material cause it is inert, needless to say He pervades the inert universe. But as the Brahman aspect,i|aara is jfidna-saaritpa,pure knowledge.In this aspectisaarabecomes the nimittakdrana or the efficient cause - the one who fashions this enormously wonderful and variegated creation. In this aspect He is at erice distinct and unaffected by the inert world of names.4nd forms. Thus, the Vedic statements that speak of the Lord aq being distinctly apart from the creation is only with respect to l6uara'sBrahmanaspect and not the l6uara's mdyd aspect. Note that bi definition tlire nimitta karana has to remain apart from the effect. Thus Adaaita Vedanta solves this seemingly convoluted problem quite effortlessly. We thus see that l|aara is both the efficient cause and the material cause.

The Upanigadic example One would say that the above answer is strikingly beautiful for its ingenuity. However, are there real life examples where we can see one and the same thing being the upadanakdrana as well as the nimitta kdrana?Or is it just a philosophical hypothesis that has to be swallowed unquestioningly? Swami Sadananda in Vedanta-Sara takes the example of the common spider and its web example provided in the Mundaka Upanigadland clarifies.

er{ffid *c;q Rq'{Tffr EiqrFr$ilTffir llq|EFi {foffi q i1qft I ripTrqdr il The adhikÊrØ is an inquirer who, by reason of his formal study of the Vedas and Vedangas, has a general knowledge of what the Vedas teach; whose mind is purified through cleansing, in this or in a previous life, of all sins by abstaining from kÊmya karmas (desireprompted actions) and niê iddha karmas (prohibited actions) and by the performance of nitya karmas (daily duties) and naimittika karmas (occasional pr Êyaâcittas duties), (purificatory ceremonies) and upÊsanÊs (contemplation); and who is equipped with the sÊdhana-chatuêÌaya.

SÊdhana-chatuêÌaya* (the four-fold means) comprises a) viveka or discrimination, b) vairÊgya or dispassion, c) the group of six qualities like âama (control of the mind) etc. d) mumuskêuttva (intense desire for liberation). These four bestow on the seeker various * SÊdhana-chatuêÌaya forms a topic by itself and hence will be explained in a later article.

qualities that give both chittaâuddhi (purification of the mind) and chitta-ekÊgratÊ (singlepointedness of the mind).

2. Vishaya or Subject Matter The viêaya or the essential subject matter of Vedanta is the knowledge which propounds the identity between the individual self and Brahman, technically called jØva-brahma-aikya. This identity is revealed from the standpoint of the âuddhachaitanya (pure Consciousness) and not from that of the upÊdhis (limiting adjuncts) like the body etc. Other topics like the jagatsìêti (creation of the universe), upÊsanÊs (description of various contemplations) etc., are all meant to give further clarity on this essential purport of Vedanta, the jØva-brahma-aikya. VedÊntasÊra explains:

fNeÔeëe: ºerNeÖeQn´ëex Ñá©ûèenÓeÞëex Ðeµesëex Óe^e SNe NesoeÞÓeeÞeex ÓeeÓçeëee_Óe¡à > The subject-matter to be expounded is the identity between the individual self and Brahman, which is the pure Consciousness, that alone being the final purport of the Upanishads.

3. The prayojana or the Result This is also called phala or fruit. What is the result of the study of Vedanta? The Chandogya Upanishad establishes the prayojana when it declares:

ÓejfÓe Ñáeskàµe¡ DeÓµefNeÓe¡à >

Tarati âokaø Êtmavit (Chandogya Upanishad 7.1.3) The knower of the Self crosses over sorrow. Self Knowledge bestows one with supreme happiness by destroying the Êvaraàa (the veiling of the Self), which was described as the most primary of all doêas (defects). With the destruction of ignorance one crosses over the realm of samsÊra and becomes a mukta or a liberated soul never to be born again. This prayojana is many a times described in the classical Vedanta texts to be Êtyantika-duòkha-nivìtti (the complete cessation of sorrow) and paramÊnanda-prÊpti (the attainment of supreme happiness). And who would not want this?

4. Sambandha or Relationship This is the relationship which

exists between the grantha (text) and the viêaya (subject-matter of the text) i.e., the jØva-brahmaaikya . This is technically explained as pratipÊdaka-pratipÊdya-sambandha . PratipÊdaka means that which expounds i.e., the grantha (text) and pratipÊdya is that which is expounded i.e., the jØva-brahma-aikya. Though the importance of the first three anubandhachatuêÌaya viz., adhikÊrØ, viêaya and prayojana is normally understood, the last one, sambandha, is generally missed out or just dismissed as not important! Sambandha establishes the clear and unambiguous relationship between the text and its contents. Just as there is a clear relationship between the potter and pot as the creator and the created, so too, the relationship between the text and Self Knowledge is made clear as that between the ‘expounder’ and the ‘expounded’. In this way the absolute and clear use of the scripture with respect to Self Knowledge is firmly established thus prompting the student to make a thorough perusal of the text. There are also other types of sambandhas, though given less importance during discussions.

these are the preliminary considerations based on which one decides to study the text.

They include: a.

b.

Kartì-kartavya-sambandha: Kartì means ‘the doer’ and kartavya means ‘that which is to be done’. This relationship exists between the adhikÊrØ and the vichÊra (study). PrÊpya-prÊpaka-sambandha: PrÊpya is that which is to be attained and prÊpaka means ‘the one who attains’. This relationship exists between the prayojana and the adhikÊrØ.

All of them only make a point to show the clear, distinct and unambiguous relationship that exists between the grantha, adhikÊrØ, viêaya and prayojana.

In Retrospect Thus in this essay we have seen in detail the following points: l

The word anubandhachatuêÌaya means the ‘four connections’, for

l

l

l

l

The first anubandha – adhikÊrØ , describes the qualifications of a fit student of Vedanta as being one endowed with chitta-âuddhi and chitta-ekÊgratÊ . The second anubandha – viêaya , describes the central topic of Vedanta to be jØva-brahma-aikya. The third anubandha – prayojana, describes the result to be mokêa. And the fourth anubandha – sambandha, clearly points out the direct relationship between the text and the subject matter of Vedanta.

In our next essay we shall explore the topic of sÊdhanachatuêtaya or the four-fold qualifications of an adhikÊrØ. G

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PartlV

1ffi

SWAMIADVAYANANDA

Introductionl 'akhandartha' The or the adaaiticimport-of onenessbetween the tat-paddrtha-t6aara and taam-paQ4rtha-j tua is comprehended through three sequential knowledge-steps - (a) sdmdnddhikar anya-sambandha-jfianam,(b) ai1esana-ai1 esyatd-sambandha-jfianam and (c) laksya-laksanat fr-sambandha-J fianam.WhILe analysing the first knowledge-step, we saw that since the tat-padaand taam(grammatical coordination or appopada are in samdna-aibhakti anya-sambandha. This sdmdnddhikasition) they enjoy sdmdnddhiknr ranya-sambandha-jfianam enablesus to infer and posit a single and sameadhikarana(locus or substratum) for tat-padaand taampada. Its function of sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfidnam ends there. The function of the next knowledge-step oi1eqaqta-aiSesyatdis to help us track this adhiknrar.taindicated sambandha-jfidnam by the sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha.

The Term Vi 6eparya-Vi 6egyat d- Sambandha-| ftdn&m Before we proceed further, it is imperative that the term oi6esana-ai6eqyatd-sambandha-jfidnam is understood. The word 'ai1eqarya' means 'qualification'. That which is qualified by a I

Before going through this essayit is strongly recommended that the readers give at least a cursory glance at 'Tat TaamAsi - Part ll' and 'Tat TaamAsi - Part III' which appeared in the Septemberand October 2004 issues of TapoaanPrasad.You will find that the words pada,padartha,adkya,oakydrtha,akhaqr(artha,samdna-aibhakti, bhinnaoibhakti, samsarga,bheda-,ripa-sarhsarga, abheda-rtipa-sathsarga, sdmdnddhikarar.rya etc. 'Ntlam and the illustrations of utpalamasti' and'Da9(ena gdm dnaya'which figure in this essay are elaborately discussed therein.

Taoovan Prasad

'aiSegana' 'ai6eqya'2.In the sentence'He is a tall man', is called 'talI' is and the ai1esyais 'man'. When the syllable the ai1egana 'ai6esana'ai6esarla-aiieqyn', 'ta' the term becomes rs suffixed to 'tua' 'td' when added as suffix give or ai1esyatd'.The syllables 'condition' or 'state of being'. While bhaoa the the meaning of 'nilataa'is 'blueness'i.e., 'the state (bhaaa) 'nila' isblue,'nilatd' or 'ai6esana-ai6eqyatd' 'ai6esanaor of being blue'. Thus, the term 'zsi6egalta-aiSesyatd-bhaoa' rneans'the state of being aiSesyataa' or the qualification and qualifiedi. 'sambandha'means 'relationship'. This state of two The word 'uiSeqana' or more padarthas(word-sense)being related as the 'zti6eqya' (qualified) is itself the relation. Thus (qualification) and 'ai1egana'ai6eqar.ta-ai6esyatd' is itself the sambandha.Nowthe term means 'the relationship of being the qualioi1esyatd-sambandha' fication and the qualified'. The jfianam (knowledge) of this andha-j fianam'. Thus esyatd-samb a4a-ai6 sambandhais called' ai6eq the whole tercn'oi 6egana-ai6eqyatd-sambandha-j ftanam' means'the knowledge of the relationship of being the qualification and the qualified'. The tabular column below will give a cumuldtive picture of the methodology of constructing and construing this term: Term ViSesalta Vi6esana-aiSegya ViSepa1ta-aiSeqyata Vi5esarya-ai6egyatd-sambandha ViSesalra-ai6egyatasambandha-jftdnam

Meaning Qualification Qualification and the qualified The state of being the qualification and the qualified The relationship of being the qualification and the qualified The knowledge of the relationship of being the qualification and the qualified

is also called This ai6esar.tq-ai6esyatd-sambandha-jfianam ai6eQar\a- ai 6eQyataa-sambandha-j fi anam or ai 6eqa1ta-ai6esya-bhaaa2 Vi$esya and ai4esana are termed as 'noun' grammar.

40

and

'adiective'

respectively

in English

November 2004

sambandha-jfidnam.A mention of all these three terms is made because we find different texts employing these interchangeable terms to describe this relationship.

Vi$egaqta is Vy au acchedaka 'qualiWhen We say that aiSesana'qualifies' and ai1esyais 'being fied', what is exactly meant by 'being a qualifier' and qualified'? Sri Ramatirtha, while commenting on Sri Swami Sadananda's VeddntaSara clarifies: \

Eqrq€ffi

.

A \

.

\

r

n

\

l-cr{qq cqqrq'€t H{rET(l

Vyaaacchedakarhoi6esanarh ayaaacchedyarh'ai1esyam I is andthatwhichis delimited Thatwhichdelimitsis calledai6ega4cr calledaiiesya. This simple, yet very profound grammatical concept can be explained with the example -'nTlam utpalamasti' -'The blue (ntlam) Iotus (utpalam)is (asti)'. The padartha(word-sense) of utpalais utpalataa(lotusness), a draaya(substance)with the characteristics of the lotus. It could be either a red lotus, a white lotus or a blue lotus. That does not become clear by the mere mention of the word utpalam(lotus). The padartha(word-sense)of nrla is thregu4a (quality), nrlataa (blueness),the colour blue. When we say that the padarthaof utpala is qualified by padarthaof nrla what is meant is that the utpalataa is restricted or delimited by nllataa. The utpalatua (lotusness)is no more general - it is not red or white or blue. WIt}n nrlataa (blueness) qualifiying utpalatan (lotusness), the utpalataais now particularised or delimited as 'blue'alone. This particularisation or delimiting of utpalataais its restriction. Thus nTlataabecomes the ai1eqarla lecause of its function of delimit(ayaaacchedaka) utpalataa. And utpalataa becattse of being ing is termed oi6eqya. delimited (ayaaacchedya) is It is important to note that the ai1esana-ai1esyatd-sambandha (word-senses). While always between the padarthas sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandhais between padas (w or ds), ai 6esanais between the padarthas(word-senses).It ai1eqyatd-sambandha Tapovan Prasad

has to be naturally so because only a padartha has the capacity to qualify another padartha. OnLy nTlataa carr qualify utpalatua and not the mere word ntla (nTla-pada).

Any onya-Vi6egaqta-Vi6egyat d- Sambandha

Through sdmdnddhikar anya-sambandha-jfiana through we infer the presenceof a common locus for both the ntla-padaand utpalapada,the secondknowledge step of ai6esana-ai6eqyatd-sambandh jfianam is required to discover the object - nllam utpalam(blue lotus). Both the nrlataapadartLiaand utpalataapadarthaby mutually delimiting each other discover the object. This mutual delimiting of the padarthasis called anyonya-ui6esana-ai1esyatd sambandha. This idea of mutual delimiting can be clearly grasped with the following illustration. Let us consider a room in which many types of lotuses are placed - red lotus, whlte lotus, and blue lotus. In the same room there are also many types of blue objects- a blue cloth, blue parnt, blue chalk-piece etc. When a person is directed'ntlam utpalam dnaya'-'3ring the blue lotus' what are the thought processesinvolved in the identification of the nllam utpalam (the blue lotus)? The preceding fundamental thought process is the sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfianam. Since I see that the words nllam and utpalam are in the same case,it is possible to ascertain that the meaning of 'the sentenceis a request to bring the object which has the characteristicsof both lotusness(utpalataa) and blueness (ntlataa).Once the need of one object (and not many) is seen,the next sequential thought process of anyonyaj fianam starts for the determination oi1esan a-ailesyatd-sambandhaof that single unitary object. Anyonya-ai6esana-ai6esyatd sambandha-jfianam embraces within itself a two-fold thought processj Thought Process I: The person delimits the lotusness (utpalatua)with blueness (nilataa) in an effort to find the right lotus. Nllataa acts as tl':reayaaacchedaka and utpalafuabecomes the ayaaacchedya or that which is delimited. When nllatoa deNovember 2004

the other lotusness limits utpalatoa (nllataa-ai6ista-utpala), - is white-lotusnessand red-lotusness(i.e., utpalasyaanTlataam) excluded. Thus in the first thought Processnrlataais the aiSesana and utpalataais the ai6esya. Thought ProcessII: This is just the opposite of of the first process. The person no\.v delimits the blueness (nllataa) with in an effort to find the right blueness. the lotusness (utpalatzta) Herein the utpalataabehaves as the delimiter of nllataa i.e', utpalataa becomes the ayaaacchedakaand' nTlata'ais tine a' a. rNhen utpalataa delimits nllataa (utpalataa-ai6iq[ ayaaacchedy paint-blueness, cloth-blueness, ntlam) the other blueness anutpalataam)'- is all excluded.Thus chalk-blueness(i.e.,nTlasya in the second thought process utBhlataatakes the position of t}lreoi1eqanaand nllataa becomes tlte ai6esya. It is only when the dual mutual delimiting processeshappen in the mind that one is able to find the right object -ta1 object which has lotusnesscharacterisedby bluenessand blue'a certain ness characterisedby lotusneess'or to put it simply thing which has the properties of both lotusnessand blueness' - the ntla-abhinna-utpalam.Since both nrlataa and utpalataa mutually qualify each other, the relationship is not merely'one'both-sided'. This 'both-sided' or 'two-sided'. relasided' but tionship between the padarthasmutually qualifying each other or 'the relation of is called anyonya-ai6eqana-ai6esyatd-sambandha mutually being the qualification and the qualified'3 An important point to be noted herein is that there is no hard and fast rule that these two-fold Processesof anyonyaatd-sambandha-jmanamslr.ottldhappen in the same ai6esana-ai1esy precise order mentioned above. Once sdmdnddhikaranyais complete, the dual thought processesof sambandha-jnanam can very well be anyonya-ai6esana-ai6esyatd-sambandha-ifianam interchanged without any harm to the final result of finding the nllam utpalam (blue lotus). But what cannot be avoided is 3 ViSesanasare known to have three functions - ayaaacchedaka,aidheya and hetugarbha. No effort is made to explain all these varied concepts for fear of exceeding the scope of these essays.

Tapovan Prasad

the dual aspect of the thought process.Even though these two thought processeshappen serially, the thought-processessbeing rapid in nature, one feels that they happen simultaneously. Also in this rapidity, the fundamental nature of the primary sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha-jfiEnam as the very basis of anyonyaai6esana-ai6esyatd-sambandha-jmanam is often not noticed.

Any ony a-Vi6egaqta-Vi 6epyat d- Sambandha in Tat Toam Asi The example which was used to illustrate the concept of anyonya-ui6esana-ui6esyatd-sambandha w as' N tlam utpalam ast i' . W e see in this sentence that nTlapadaand utpalapada are in samanaaibhakti and that they enjoy sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha. Since the nllapada and utpalapada are in samana-aibhakti, thefu padarthas, ntlatua and utpalatua, come to have ai1esana-zti1esyatd-sambandha between them. With the application of anyonya-ai6esana-ai1eqyatdsambandhawe discovered the object - nllam utpalam. Based on the analysis of this particular example, three general principles of sentence interpretation can be drawn: Principle l: Padas which are in samdna-aibhakti enjoy sdmdnadhikaranya-sambandha i.e., the relation of the padas denoting a common locus. Principle lI: Padas which are in samdna-oibhakti will cause their paddrthas to have ai1esana-aiSesqatd-sambandha between them. Principle III: By the application of anyonya-ai6esana-ai1esyatdsambandhabetween the padarthas, we can determine the common adhikarana denoted by the padas. It all starts with two words in samdna-oibhakti(grammatical co-ordination or apposition). If that happens we have to accept the presence of both sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha between the padasand to discover their common adhikarar.tawe take recourse to anyonya-pi1esana-ai6esyatd-sambandha between their respective padarthas. Since both the tat-pada and taam-pada are in samdnaaibhakti, with the help of anyonya-ai6esana-ai6esyatd-sambandha between the taam-padartha-itaa and the tat-padnrtha-isuara we November 2004

should be able to find their common adhikarana.B:ut are we able to do so? This is the vital question of crucial practical importance!

Dismissal of Tat Toam Asi?! When we try to employ this anyonya-aiSesana-ai6esyat7as envisaged by Principle III, to find out the comsambnndha, we and taam-padartha-ilua, mon locus of both tat-paddrtha-ISaara land into grave trouble. This becomesevident as we even try to 'trial run' the duai thought processesof anyonys-ai1esanaai1esyata-sambandha: wlth Tirought ProcessI: When we delimit trtipadartha-i*aara find is to trying to do what we are actqally taampadartha-jtaa out an igaarawith the properties of itaa. There is zero result. Thought Process II: When wertry to delimit taampadarthawe are'trying to find out a jTaawitl't itaa with tatpadartha-I1aara the characteristicsof iSaara.Here too the result is nil. The failure of both these thought processesis not at all surprising, for both these are truly impossible tasks. It is possible to delimit lotusnesswith bluenessand blueness with lotusness,since there is no contradiction in their essential nature. And since there is no contradiction between their padarthas,a aastu (thing) with properties of both the lotusness and bluenessis easily determined. There is nothing impossible or illogical about it. But it will be preposterousto delimit i|aara with jna and-try to expand jtaa wlth i6oara. This is utterly illogical and absolutely impossible since the characteristicsof i*aara and jtaa are contradictory and mutually exclusive.Both 'nTlam cannot have a single adhikarana(locus)a.Unlike the caseof utpalam' where the application of anyonya-ai6esana-ai6eqyatd' led to the discovery of the common locus of nTlataasambandha in'Tat taam asi' the application padarthaand utpalatoa-padartha, does not lead to a comof anyonya-ai6esana-ai6eqyatd-sambandha a Can there be a single common locus for both saraaiiiatua (infinite Knowledge) and it kificijjftataa (incornplete knowledge)? lf a uastu Possesses complete Klowledge cannot be said to be having incomplete knowedge! That which has sorrow cannot be said to be experiencing infinite Bliss also at the same time!

Tapovan Prasad

rnon qdhikarana for tatpadartha-isaara and taampadartha-jtua. In fact, even the idea of applying anyonya-aiSesana-ai6esyatasambandha for tatpadfrrtha-i|aara witln taampadartha-jtaa is ludicrous! An object cannot be 'hot and cold' at the same time. Let us take a sentence 'Bring that hot cold'. We see that the words hot and cold are in sdmdnddhikarar.tya.Hence their paddrthas, hotness and cold-ness will have anVonya-ai6esana-ai6esyatdsambandha. Even after we apply tire iules of grammar sdmdnddhikaranya and anyonya-ui 6esana-ai5esyatd-snmbandha, the uastu (object) is not discovered and therefore the sentence is 'Tat rightly discarded as alTkaor nonsensicai. Is Toam Asi' such an alTkn-aalcya(nonsensical sentence)? Nay, not at all. It is a Veda-aakya,a Mahd-udkya and has to be arthaaat (having a definite meaning).

Conclusion

When with the mere application of sdmrinddhikaranyasambandha-j fidnam and ai6esana-ai 5esyata-sambandha,j fidnam w e are not successfulin determining tfe adfudrthaof a sentence] we are advised to adopt the laksana-arttior the implied connotation to derive the meanings of the words. When that is done, the whole picture suddenly changes;all difficulties disappear and a cogent meaning, thLeadkyrtrthaof 'Tat taam asi' emerges. At this critical juncture. a student may raise some crucial questions.If sdmdnddhikaranya-sambandha and ai 6esana-ui6esyatdsambandha fail in giving a cogent aalqdrtha (sentencesense)of 'Tat taam asi,' and only the application of laksya-laksanatdsambandha helps us to find the adkydrtfua (sentencesense)of 'Tat taam asi' why not dismiss the first two steps?Why at all say that'Tat tztamasi' is comprehendedby three knowledge-steps? Why not just say that the sentence'Tat taam asi' is understood by only one knowledge-step, t};relaksya-laksanata-sambandha? Thesequestionswill be answered as we study methodically the next knowledge-step - the laksya-Iaksanatd-sambandha-jfianam. The Msha-odkya'Tat taam asi' is definitely a challenging topic.

November 2004

Mahava SWAMIADVAYANANDA

Introduction The Upanisads emphatically proclaim - 'saraait khalaidam brahma'- A11this is Brahmanalone. In the earliellessay on'apaadda'l we had seen how the whole world can b_eresolved into Brahman. Even if the whole world is perceived d,$Brahman,if the individual still continues to maintain the wrong hotion of himself being the ignorant, suffering, miserable jtaa, sri4hsArawill still continue to be. Hence apaaddais complete only if one's own inner Self, i.e., the pratyagdtman,is directly known to be one withBrahman.This direct experience (aparoksdnubhlLti)is achieved only by' mahaaakya-aicdra' 'enquiry or into the maha-zsakyas'.The forthcoming essays will deal with this final topic of Vedanta.In fact, the whole system of adhydropa-apaadda2is built to enable the direct apprehension of this identity between the pratyagdtman and Brahman. But before "the we enter into further discussions we need to be clear about 'mahaadkya'. precise nature of a This shall be the topic of the present essay.

MahAaakya - Definition Vedic sentences like 'Tat taam asi' (That Thou Art),'Aharh brahm1smi' (I am Brnhman) etc., which reveal the identity of the inner-Self (pratyagdtman) wit\ Brahman are called .mahaaakyas. Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda used to define mahaaakyas in the most unambiguous way as 'identity-revealing-statements'. This identity between the pratyagdtman and Brahmareis technically Refer to June 2004 issue of TapooanPrasnd. Refer to 'Adhyaropa and Apaadda'in 'June 2003 issue of TapoaanPrasad.

Tapovan Prasad

' called jtaa-brahma-aikya' (jtaa - the inner SeIf, brahma- Brahman and aikya - identity or oneness). Since the enquiry into these 'identity-revealing-statements' is the only means of liberation from sarhsdra,these statements are given the greatest honour in aedantic 'great stateliterature and are glorified as mahartalcyas,meaning ments'. In Vdkyaartti3, Sri Sankaracharya explains the theme of the mah7adkyas and establishes their pivotal role in liberation:

qffi:1 ffiqq€qrREr+i?ei

dtqrcrqfrwi fli dfui gftuwtarr tattaamasyddioakyottharh y ajjnaparamdtmanoh I ayarh jfianarh tadidarh muktisddhanam ll tdddtmyaois. The knowledgeof the identityof the individualSelfand the Universal 'That Thou Art' is the Self, originatingfrom Vedic statementssuch as meansto liberation. It is only the mahdaEkyas that point out our real nature and therefore without the understanding of the mahaaalcyas,liberation is impossible. Sahksepa-1drlraka,a text written by Sri Sarvajnamugri emphasises the absolute importance of this mahdadlcya-zticdra'Vina mahdadkyamatona kn1citpumdrhsamadaaitam aaaiti jantultwithout the mahaadkya, no person is capable of knowing the nondual nature of the inner Self'.

Mahapakya -

Their Number

Every Upanisadawill have mahaaakyas.This is because the theme 'jtua-brahma-aikya'. Thus we have in the of every Upanisads is 'etad aai tad - This verily is That' Kafhopanisad, the mahdaakya, and in the Kaiaalya Upanisad, the mahdaaWa-'tat taameaataameaa tat -That is you and you verily are That'. Although every Upanisad Vdkyanrtti is a terse text of 53 verses elaborating on the significance o{ the mahaaakya -'tat taam asi'. which are enumerated inthe Muktikopaniqad are considered Traditionally 108lJp,anisads '1 as authentii. For an elaborate appraisal of how the essential theme of aIl Upanisads is' jiaa-brahma'What Does The Word Upanisad aikya', refer to July 2002 issue of Tapoaan Prasad titled Mean?'

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will have at least one mahaaLlcya(and hence there will have to be numerous mahaoalcyas),we find attempts to enumerate the most important of them. Sri Kaivalyasrami gives a list of eleven important mahdrsdkyasin his Mahaaakya-oiaarana: 1. ftEqfr | Tattaamasi I That thou art. 2. €iE {qrFq I Aharh brahmdsmi I I am Brahman. 3. sFFlfiril 4d I Ayamdtmd brahma I This Self is Brahman 4.

r I EQat, atkintorydmyamrtahl This is your Self which is t\e inner controller and is ', immortal.

5. q qanri gtQ uarumiiei

€ gtr I Sa yailcdyarhpuruse

yaicdsdadditye sa ekahl He that is here in this human person, and He that is there in the sun, are one. 6. 56t VftUf $ffi qq I Prajfia pratisthd prajfirtnarh brahma I Consciousness is the support, Consciousness is Brahman. qa;-t vijfidnamdnandarhbrahmal 7. fu Brahman is Consciousness-Bliss. B. qFE Fl;tfi*i 44 | Satyarh jfranamanantarh brahma I Brahman is Existence-Consciousness-Infinity. 9. q q{iE gwi *g I Sa eaameaapuru€o brahma I This being is verily Brahqnan. Q

N

10. {lEI t{IGtE 4Q I SaraartukhalaidarhbrahmaI A11this is verilv Brnhman. \

n

n

A

.

11. g$qq|"|-{ilFf 4d I EknmeaddaitTuarhbrahma I Brahman is one alone and non-dual. Even though any Upanisadic statement, which has iiaa-brahma-

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aikya as its theme, is a mahaadkya, we find only four of them are That is because,in the ztedantic popularly described as mahaaalcyas. tradition, one mahazsdkyafrom each Veda is taken as representative of all the mahaaakyas of that Veda. Tii.e Vedas being divided into four (Rg, Yajur, Sdma and Atharua4a Veda), the total number of representative mahdaalcyasalso becomes four. The following tabular column gives some important details of this popular set of four mahaaakyas:

Mahaaakya

Meaning

Upaniqad

Veda

1

Tffi qiil Prajfidnarh Brahma

Consciousness is Brahman.

Aitreya Upanisad (3.3)

2

q€ €rFc

I arn Brahman

Brhadarar.tyaka Yajur Veda Upanisad (1.4.10)

That thou art.

Chandogya Upanigad (6.8.7)

Sdma Veda

Nrar.tquKya Upanisad (7.2)

Atharuana Veda

Ahafit brahmdsmil

cq CirwRr

3

Tat taamasi st*FffflIl 'ffl | Ayamdtma brahmal

4

This Self Brahman.

Rg Veda

e

The selection of these four mahaadkyas is not at random but is based on the strength of their directness and brevity. But it is equally important to note that the popularity of this set of four as does not disqualify the other i-rza-brahma-ailcya-bodhaknmahaaalcy adkyass from being termed as mahauakyas,

Mahdadkya - Dramatisation Sometimes these four mahaaa@asare beautifully connected by dramatising and weaving a story through them. 6

= jna (inner-Self) + brahma (Brahman)+ aikya (idenltaa-brnhma-aikya-bodhaka-zsdkya 'a tity) + bodhaka(propound) + oakya (sentence). This Sanskrit compound means sentencewhich propound.s the identity of the individual inner Self with Brahman.

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The disciple approaches the Guru and requests him to explain the nature of the ultimate Truth. Naturally the Guru first defines the Truth to the student - prajfidnath brahma (Consciousness is Brahman).Since this statement defines Brahman it is called laksana 'statement of definiton'. odkya or a The student reflects upon it and gets an inkling that the subjec'I', is tive Consciousness,which is ever being experienced as the what is being pointed out by the teacher as the Truth. But this vague knowledge is riddled with doubts because the student had always thought that the ultimate Truth is somewhere beyond him. Hence he comes back to the Teacher seeking further clarification. The Guru now declares clearly that the vgry3eeker is the Sought by propoundingtat taamasi(That thog art). This upadeia or'teach'statement of instruction'. ing' is called the upadeSauakya or the Now the student being free of doubts regarding the Teaching sits in meditation and overcomes his'habitual thinking of the Truth being something apart from him and that it is to be searched for outside. He gets rid of the notion that the upddhisTare the Self and begins to actualise (aparoksanubhilti)the Self as one wtth Brahman. His experience is of the nature of aharh brahmdsmi (I am Brnhman). 'anubhaua adkya' or the 'statement of experiThis becomes the ence'. Once he is established in his real nature the Guru advises him to revel and abide in the Knowledge constantly. The nature of his abidance is ayam dtmd brahma (This self is Brahman).The student never loses sight of this experiential Knowledge even when perceiving the world of objects around him. This mahaaakya is called 'statement of constant practice'. the'anusandhAna adkya' or the Please note that the above is only an interesting dramatisation with an intent to connect all the four mahdadkyas in a logical sequence, thereby providing lrs hints on the road map of our personal sddhana - listen, reflect, meditate, experience and abide. Nothing more is intended than that. Every mahAuAkyais complete by itself and each has within itself the potential to grant liberation ? upadhis are the conditionings of the three 1arlras or the five kodas. These topics have been covered in the previous essays.

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to a fit aspirant8 without the requirement of other mahTadkyas. sometimes, we find that the same four mahaaakyasare presented in a different order of dramatisatione. This only goes to prove that all the mahAaalcyasare same, equally potent and unanimously give only one message, aiz., the jtaa-brahma-atWa.

Conclusion In this essay we have had an overview of the mahaaalcyastheir definition, their absolute need, their total number and their dramatisation. In the next etruy -'u shall study the mahdadkya,Tat taam asi - That thou art' and try to understand the actual methodology of enquiry into a mahAaal