Namaskar Mahatmas!
We are in the 8th sloka of this Upanishad. Bhagavatham says there is no difference between Bhagavan, Bhaktha and Bhagavatham. This sloka explains the nature of Self which is also the nature of Self realised man, a Jivanmukta.
By surrendering ourselves completely to the Guru, by offering our mind and intellect at the feet of the Guru and by following His way – the simple limited man come to realise that he is the Unlimited Self. This is how the ordinary Narendra had become Swami Vivekananda; the thief Ratnakar had become Sage Valmiki; the normal man Mohandas had become Mahatma Gandhi.
Last week we covered ‘He, the Self-existent, all pervading, without body and muscles, without the taint of sin…’
He, the Self is that which supports everything, but doesn’t need a support for Itself. The nature of objects doesn’t affect the Self in anyway. The wise man who is established in Self, leaves all his dependency on the world of names and forms.
The idea ‘I am this body’ is completely removed in a wise man which is the cause of all limitations and differences. He does not identify himself with his gross body anymore. He being the Self, exists everywhere.
As long as we talk in our day to day life in terms of fat and thin; fair and dark; tall and short; looking into us whenever we come across a mirror; dull and intelligent; Brahmana and Shudra; my native place etc, we can assure ourselves that we are in the body conscious – away from knowledge.
This week…..we will try to understand Apaapaviddham, Shukram, Avranam and Shuddham.
SLOKA 8
SA PARYAGAAT SHUKRAM AKAAYAM AVRANAM
ASNAA-VIRAM SHUDDHAM APAAPA-VIDDHAM
KAVIR MANISHI PARIBUH SVAYAMBHUR- YATHAA
TATHYATO’RTHAAN VYADADHAAT SHAASHVATIBYAH SAMAABHYAH
Sah – He (the Atman); svayambhuh – self-existent; paryagaat – all-pervading; akaayam – without body; asnaaviram – without muscles; apaapaviddham – untainted by sin or ignorance; shukram – radiant; avranam – whole; shuddham – pure; kavih – all-seeing; manishi – all-knowing; paribhuh – encompassing all; (sah – He) yaathaatath-yatah – in proper way; shaashvatibhyah – for eternal; samaabhyah – Prajapathis (or years); arthaan – duties; vyadadhaat – assigned
He, the self-existent, is everywhere, without a body, without muscles, and without the taint of sin; Radiant, whole, and pure, seeing all, knowing all, and encompasssing all, he duly assigned their respective duties to the eternal prajapathis.
Without the taint of sin (Apaapaviddham):Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita: “Without attachment to the fruit of action, ever-satisfied, free from desires, well controlled mind, without any sense of ownership, rising above the contrasting conditions of life, without any competetive spirit, a man though working incurs no sin”
The notion ‘I am the limited body’, gives birth to the ideas of doership and enjoyership. This further multiplies into desire, anger, greed and so on. These are the notions which are against knowledge. In the game of Chess, it is easy to attack the king when his supports – the queen, the Bishops, the elephants, horses, soldiers are defeated. As long as this army protects the King, it is difficult to attack him. In the same way, it is possible to overcome ignorance, when its defences which are these bhavanas of doership and enjoyership along with ego are weakened and killed.
A person who thinks ‘I am the doer’, is only affected by the result of the actions. This makes the life very miserable – tossed between happiness and sorrow. The sense of doership comes because we think that we are indispensable. Who is feeding the ants, worms, and other creatures? Is not the Lord taking care of it? When the baby is born, there is milk in the mother’s breast. How does it come just when needed? When we know that the Lord is behind all this mercy, our anxiety and worry vanishes.
When Arjuna asked Lord Krishna, “Having known all the truth, why a man commit sin?, the Lord replied “It is lust, it is anger, born of Rajo guna (I –ness), insatiable that prompts man to great sin”. A wise man who is established in knowledge thinks “I have duties and responsibilities but I am not indispensable. Sometimes things can be done by others too and in a better way. However as long as I am in that position, I am an instrument in Lord’s hands”. Whatever be the work, the wise man keeps his heart but we keep our hands with ego. Thus they are not tainted by sin but we are into sin.
RADIANT (shukram):It is through the light of Consciousness, the experiences of Body, mind and intellect are felt. It is that light which illumines our waking, dream, deep sleep and even states beyond that. It is in the light of the Self, the Sun and other illuminous objects gets illumined.
WHOLE (Avranam):Lord Krishna says beautfully in Gita: “He, the Self, whom aspirants seek to know, is the impartiable whole, yet does He seem to dwell in all beings as if divided into many.” The Poornatvam of the Lord (Whole, Completeness) is discussed in great detail in the invocation mantra – poornamadah poornam idam. The Ocean does not increase in its level when the rivers merge into it nor does it go down in its level when we take water from it. The presence of world no way affect a self realised man. Desires do not enter into that Mahatma who is immovable in the Self.
PURE (Shuddham)Impurity is presence of something at the wrong place. We leave our chappals at the entrance of the temple knowing that it is an impurity inside the temple. Similarly this body is the temple where the Lord is residing. What can be entertained in this body to know the Lord only should be entertained. As Lord tells in Gita, whatever opposes to knowledge is ignorance, impurity. The 2 impurities which we should not entertain are 1. The notion that the Self is other than me. 2. The notion that I am finite, limited.
Just as all pervading Akaasha, being subtle, is not stained by anything. So also this Self, though abiding in all bodies, is never affected by any impurity. It is ever pure. None of our thoughts, actions touch the Self.
But with the presence of the impurity, the Ego, we miss the vision of the Lord who is hundred Suns illumined put together residing in our innermost. The Jivanmukta is pure by giving up his identification with the gross body, subtle body (mind and intellect) and also the causal body (Vaasanas). The knowledge destroys ignorance as light destroys the darkness in no time.
Swami Chinmayanandaji puts a beautiful question to us “If you start searching for “You”, where will you get it?”. The more we search for it, the more we are away from it. The Guru only says “retire into yourself”. That is the only way we can abide in the Self.
We will conclude this sloka in the next week. HARI OM!
