Drg Drsya Viveka Lecture 04
Vedānta: Māyā, Ahaṃkāra, and the Three States of Consciousness
Review of Morning Discussion
So, what were the important points we discussed in the morning? Three types of relationships and what is the parihāra — what is the way to destroy those relationships. Two relationships can be destroyed; one cannot be destroyed until both go together. So that is the part we importantly discussed.
We also discussed how ahaṃkāra creates three types of states: when it is completely asleep, it is called suṣupti; when it is half awakened, it is called svapna; and when it is fully awakened, it is called jāgrat. So that is a very important point for us to understand. Who is it that goes through these three? It is the ahaṃkāra, which is combined with the cit-chāyā. Ahaṃkāra means antaḥkaraṇa — antaḥkaraṇa plus cit-chāyā.
Now, antaḥkaraṇa also goes by another name: that is called sūkṣma śarīra. So why is he introducing this terminology? Sometimes we may have doubts — what is the relationship between ahaṃkāra and antaḥkaraṇa? What is the relationship between antaḥkaraṇa and sūkṣma śarīra? These are different terms used but for exactly the same purpose.
So it is the sūkṣma śarīra which recognises the bondage, which feels the longing for liberation, and which again feels it is liberated. Because the body doesn't know what is bondage, what is liberation. The sākṣin is ever free and therefore it doesn't know, because it doesn't know there is anything else.
The Problem of Māyā's Origin in Advaita Vedānta
But the sākṣin's reflection — how it came, he will explain later on. How it came — that is no explanation, but it is an explanation. He says you have to believe me; there is no explanation. Because if you go a little bit deep, then Advaita Vedānta falls down at the very first step.
Very briefly: how it comes — Brahman is. Before the creation, who was there? And Brahman is all knowledge. Then how can such a Brahman fall into the clutches of māyā? From where has māyā come? Because if it is all knowledge, where is the place for it? If it is 90% knowledge and 10% māyā, then there is a possibility. But if it is 100% knowledge, where is the place for it? So that question can never be answered.
Svāmī Vivekānanda himself brings out this question: how did the one become many? He says that is an illegal question — ask a legal question. What he means is: I don't know, don't ask me. But we are here; for some reason we are here.
A Note on Karma and Its Explanation
Now, how to explain? It is exactly the same situation that we were discussing in the car. Karma phala is already an accomplished fact; we are all trying to come to some explanation for why it happened.
Just before coming here, I was reading a nice joke. A man was walking, and suddenly a voice came: "Stop, a brick is about to fall." So he stopped, and immediately a huge brick fell in front of him. Then again he started walking. He was about to cross a road, and suddenly the same voice came: "Stop, otherwise the car will run over you." He stopped, and a huge car came careening and passed right in front of him. Then he was astonished and asked, "Who are you?" The voice said, "I am your guardian angel." "Oh yeah — where were you when I got married?"
So the point is that we are never discussing about karma that is to come in the future, because the karma phala is always unknown. The karma phala which we are experiencing now — the root cause of it is also unknown. We are what we are; that's why we see the differences. The karma phala which is going to come, because we are performing actions right now, is also unknown to us. We do not know what type of karma phala is going to come.
That is why Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna that you have the right only to perform the actions. What it means is: you don't know. There are so many variable factors. The common example given is: there is a plot of land and you put so many different types of seeds. Which type of seed comes first? And among those which come first — it is the same species — some are very healthy, some are not healthy. It is the same soil, the same seeds, the same person who is watering, and yet there are some variable factors which we do not know. So many factors are not in our control. That is why he says there are five factors for every action, and daiva means what? Adṛṣṭa — we just don't know; there is a factor.
So what is the point we are discussing here? The controversy, the quarrel need not be there. Whether you accept or not, we are trying in our own way to find out an explanation, and to console ourselves why this has come, and how we should behave in future. That is why we must always have faith in the scriptures. The scriptures tell: if you do good, the result will be good; if you do not, the result also will not be good. That is very scientific — the law of invariable relationship between cause and effect. Otherwise the whole of science will fall down. If there is any variation in the result — you see the point — the law of cause and effect must be invariable for prediction, otherwise it becomes unpredictable.
Verse 11: The Antaḥkaraṇa and Its Three States
So we discussed in the morning: who is feeling the bondage? It is the antaḥkaraṇa combined with the cit-chāyā. This fact has been put in such simple, beautiful, elegant śloka form: mind alone is the cause of bondage and also of liberation. That is the fact he was trying to tell. So jāgrat avasthā or svapna avasthā or suṣupti avasthā — all are variations of the ahaṃkāra. Ahaṃkāra means, by extension, antaḥkaraṇa. There is not much difference between these three. When ahaṃkāra is fully functional, it is called jāgrat; if it is half functional, it is called svapna; if it is not functional, it is called suṣupti. That is a fact which we should always think about.
So let us go to, I think number 12 — is it 11?
antaḥkaraṇa vṛttistha, cit-chāyā aikyam āgatā, vāsanā kalpaye svapne, prabodhe akṣair viṣayān bāhihe.
Though that akāra is lopa akāra, it is called so. When pronouncing, you simply say prabodhe akṣair viṣayān bāhihe.
So let me elaborate. Antaḥkaraṇa vṛttistha, cit-chāyā aikyam āgatā — this is what I mentioned just now. The antaḥkaraṇa already has vṛttis. Antaḥkaraṇa means vṛttis. These vṛttis are illuminated by the cit-chāyā, because if they are not illuminated, what happens? Suṣupti avasthā — they are there, but not illuminated.
Dream State: Svapna Avasthā
So what happens? Vāsanā kalpaye svapne — in svapna, what does the antaḥkaraṇa do? In the dream state, what does it do? It makes a khicaṛī of all these things.
As an example: in the waking state, we see a bird flying in the sky and a human being walking on the earth. So both impressions have been taken into the antaḥkaraṇa. We observe the fact — the bird is flying and the man is walking. So this walking and flying, these vṛttis are there in the mind. In svapna, what does it do? It combines them. So: man is flying in the sky. In svapna, it is fine — you never question how you are able to fly. Only after waking up do you question: how come I could fly in the dream? So that is the business of antaḥkaraṇa. It has the impressions, and what does it do? Vāsanāḥ kalpayat — vāsanāḥ means different types of desires. It already has desires. So it takes those desires, takes these raw materials, and shapes the raw materials according to the desires.
For example, a poor child has a desire to eat chocolates, but his family cannot afford them. Nothing can prevent him in the dream. So he has a desire, and then he has seen a big shop. So he combines his desire with the big chocolate shop, and then he makes a relationship with the owner of the shop — he might become the son-in-law of the owner, or adopted by the owner, so that he can eat.
So why do we have particular types of dreams? Because most of the time our experiences are common, but our dreams are not common. How do we explain this? They are more or less the same experiences, more or less the same impressions, but we fashion these impressions into our own desires. The desires are like moulds; the impressions are like the dough. When we put the dough through our own mould, it comes out in these particular things. That is the svapna prapañca.
The Usefulness of Dreams
In svapna prapañca, it has usefulness. According to Western psychology, what is the usefulness? This is the only way to let the steam off. Because physically, in the external world, many times it is not possible — as I gave the example, you can't beat your boss in the physical world, but in svapna loka you can beat him black and blue, and you get relieved.
It gives intense joy. Yes — that is also created by your fears. You have desires, and desires always come in the form of expectations. So if you have fear — suppose you have a fear of flying — then you can create a dream in which you are flying and you are having a horrible experience.
So many things happen, but one thing is true: so long as you are there, it does bring about sukha and duḥkha. Sometimes you can get rid of what is called karma kṣaya even in dreams. You can also do karma kṣaya — after all, what is karma kṣaya? If you are happy, some amount of your puṇya is gone; if you are unhappy, some amount of your pāpa is gone. So the karma phala kṣaya can happen — that is very true. It can happen. In fact, what the scriptures say: even our waking state is also our dream state only.
On Karma: Making and Experiencing Simultaneously
In fact, we are all experiencing sukha and duḥkha. You will never get a person with complete sukha all the time; you will never get a person with all duḥkha all the time — it is not possible. So you see that unconsciously, we are all finishing our karma kṣaya; we are doing it. There are again two types of karma kṣaya, and it is difficult to demarcate them. One is pūrva janma karma kṣaya, in the form of our body, our mind, our surroundings, our family, etc. And there are the present karmas — yesterday what we did, today morning what we did. To some extent, that karma phala also is being experienced by us.
Some karmas give immediate effect. So if you put your hand in hot water, the karma phala is instantaneous. Some karma phalas take time. If you have eaten something ten days back, it might slowly ferment and bring some kind of stomach problem or health problem after ten or fifteen days. Some can come after twenty years. How? Suppose a student hasn't paid attention to his studies for twenty years from the very beginning — every first opportunity he goes and watches cinema and chit-chats. After that, when he starts seriously searching for a job, the accumulated result of all that shows up. Don't we see it in front of our eyes? We see it. But it is very hard for us to judge which is the result of which.
The Relationship Between Dream Impressions and Waking Life
Question: What we see in a dream — is it also like our thoughts which we have in the jāgrat state?
Answer: The point we have to understand is that it is a state of experience. Svapna is a state of experience; jāgrat is a state of experience; suṣupti is also a state of experience only. In experience, what is the big deal of difference you are making? You can be happy — many people are happy in a drunken state. A drunken state is almost like a svapna state; he is on top of the world, isn't it? So he is creating karma kṣaya, he is also experiencing karma phala, and he is creating karma — all at the same time.
You can never make the distinction: "Now I am making karma, and now I am experiencing karma." At the same time you are making karma, at the same time you are also experiencing karma, because these two are totally different instruments. One is the instrument of kartā, another is the instrument of bhoktā — these two can go simultaneously. Your hands may be doing something; your mind may be experiencing something.
Question: Are experiences themselves also karma, Mahārāj?
Answer: Experiencing is also karma. Experiencing itself is both experience as well as karma maker, because how we experience a thing determines our future. You see the point? Suppose you are having some small problem — that is you experiencing the karma phala of some karma which we have done, we don't know when — yesterday, fifty years back, or last birth. But with what attitude you are experiencing that karma phala also determines your future.
Because if you are grumbling about it, then your future result will be more grumbling — because that mood also determines our actions. Simple example: if I am very angry — suppose I am suffering and I have become very angry — this anger is the seed which shapes my future karma. I can go and do any undesirable action. So that is why Kṛṣṇa teaches both things: not only what the karma phala is, but how to experience the karma phala.
He says, whether it is sukha or duḥkha, they are all the result of one's own karma phala — mātra sparśa. So how do you experience? Simply say: that is the nature of this world. They will come and they will go. If you expect only one, that would be wrong. You have to expect both. Why? Because that is the nature of the world. It is like a multicoloured, constantly moving wheel. I want to see only one colour all the time — is it possible? If I accept the fact that since it is a multicoloured wheel, constantly moving, then I know what to expect. And that has a lot of impact upon our own sukha and duḥkha. That is the freedom we have. We can't stop the wheel, but how we view the movement of the wheel — there we have some amount of freedom.
And if you go further, he says this is the most wonderful spiritual fact: whatever is happening to each one of us, throughout our lives, is the best thing, the only right thing that is happening. But we don't want to accept it. Why is it the best thing? It is the best thing because this karma kṣaya is happening; it is the best thing because this is the only thing which will take us further. But for our future to be better, we have to change our understanding and attitude. Understanding makes us accept, and that also leads to changing our attitude. Both are necessary. The practice of these two is called yoga. Yoga is very practical.
Return to Verse 11: The Nature of Mind in the Three States
So let us go back to the eleventh. Antaḥkaraṇa vṛttistha cit-chāyā aikyam āgatā — so the antaḥkaraṇa and the cit-chāyā are combining. Because the cit-chāyā is meaningless if there is no antaḥkaraṇa; the antaḥkaraṇa doesn't know it is an antaḥkaraṇa unless there is cit-chāyā. Aikyam āgatā — then what happens? That becomes our so-called mind in general. What we call mind — if you don't use the word antaḥkaraṇa, etc., it is simply mind.
So what does this mind do? In dream, it takes up the impressions and the moulds of the previous desires, and it pushes these impressions into those moulds. And that is what our experience called dreams is. Prabodhe akṣaiḥ viṣayān bāhiḥ — it does exactly the same thing in a different way. Prabodhe means after waking up. We are talking about not knowledge, but the dream state and the waking state. Then what is akṣaiḥ? Akṣaiḥ means the eyes, etc. Viṣayān bāhiḥ — it experiences.
Look at this translation: the inner organ, mind — which is itself but a modification — identifying itself with the reflection of consciousness, imagines ideas in the dream. And the same inner organ, identifying itself with the body, imagines objects external to itself in the waking state.
The Difference Between Svapna and Jāgrat
With respect to the sense organs, there is absolutely no difference between svapna and jāgrat. What is the difference? In svapna also you have got a svapna śarīra, so it will be in the svapna śarīra, and the svapna śarīra has got the eyes, ears, etc., and through that it is seen. But there are certain differences — why we don't call it jāgrat. What is the difference?
The first difference is it is purely private to the particular individual. If you are seeing a horse in your dream, nobody else sees that horse. It is entirely created with our own individual desires.
So when we come back to the jāgrat avasthā, what happens is: if there is an elephant, every one of us sees the same elephant. It is a common experience. How we interpret it is different; the element is common. How we interpret that elephant — that is an individual affair. That is why Īśvara sṛṣṭi and jīva sṛṣṭi are totally different in the jāgrat avasthā. But the svapna avasthā is purely jīva sṛṣṭi only. There is nothing else. But for it to do sṛṣṭi, it has to borrow certain elements. Those elements are called impressions of the waking state. Otherwise, if you have never seen the waking state, your svapna will be completely empty.
So what is the point of this? It is the mind which goes through these three states. All these three states are made possible only because there is aikyatā with cit-chāyā, the reflection of the consciousness. Otherwise, how can you say, "I am in the waking state, I am in the dream state, I am in the suṣupti state"? If the "I" is removed, then all the states will completely disappear at that very instant.
Why is it said aikyam āgatā? Aikyam āgatā means they have not become one; they appear to become one. How do we know? Because the "I" can be totally separated. When the "I" becomes seemingly mixed up with the mind, that is called jīva. When the "I" is totally separated from the mind, that is called Parabrahman, Paramātmā, whatever you call it. That is why he uses the word cit-chāyā or sākṣin. Earlier he used the words dṛk, sākṣin, cit — here it is cit-chāyā. That is jīva. Jīva means chāyā — cit-chāyā plus mind. That is the jīva. Sūkṣma śarīra is the jīva, and this sūkṣma śarīra identifies with a temporary dress called the physical body. The physical body comes and goes. But this jīvatva is, until one separates the "I" completely — it doesn't go; it has no death. But ultimately it also has a death: when knowledge comes, it dies. But until that time, it looks as though it is living a long time.
Question: The dream experience is created out of the impressions from the jāgrat avasthā. Is it possible that the experience we have in the jāgrat avasthā is also carried from our dreams, because we are making some kind of impressions also when we are in dreams, and then we form an opinion — and here, when we are faced with an experience, is it all packaged like that?
Answer: Yes, it is both ways. The external world influences the dream, and the dream also influences. Suppose in the waking state you have eaten well, and then you went to bed, and in that dream a beautiful, shining, cold Coca-Cola is appearing, and you are drinking it. Immediately suppose you wake up — you get a great desire to go and drink Coca-Cola. It can influence. Many things it can influence.
The Power of Saṃskāra
Question: Sometimes we see something in a dream only, but we never remember it after we wake up.
Answer: You see, that is no argument, because you don't remember what you did ten years back, do you? You don't remember. But the influence — the subtle vāsanās left behind by that experience — are influencing you even today. There is no doubt about it.
I will give you a funny example given by Ṭhākur in the Gospel and Kathāmṛta. An old bull was seen moving with some cows — it is past its servicing capacity. And Ṭhākur gives that example: why is it still moving? Because it cannot forget its past impressions. How wonderful — what a wonderful example!
Another example he gives: some sādhus were meditating with closed eyes. Suddenly they heard the sound of ānklets — usually the sound of ānklets is made only by women. All the other sādhus remained with their eyes shut. One fellow opened his eyes and obliquely was looking at that woman. Ṭhākur explains: he had become a sādhu, but before becoming a sādhu, he was a householder. So that saṃskāra has not gone.
Another real incident: one sādhu took a vow he would never see the face of a woman. For fifty years he was like that, and he was highly respected — he had so many devotees, so many disciples serving him; he was really a great sādhu. So suddenly one evening he heard the sound of ānklets in a wooded area. He should have been understanding this, and I don't think that was the only first time he was hearing it — so many village women would come nearby, gather some firewood, and then go. But one evening he heard it, and he couldn't control himself. He wanted to see who it was. Before anything could happen, he ran to the door and peeped out. He saw a woman who had gathered some firewood and was returning home. Then the sādhu came to his senses: "I took a vow I will not look at the face of a woman. For fifty years I never saw the face of a woman, and suddenly my mind has run out of control." Before he could even think, the automation had taken place. What is the power of saṃskāra!
Then he was a great sādhu — immediately he took an axe and broke his leg, saying, "This leg is not going anywhere from now onwards." This was an actual incident that really happened. Our Svāmī Bhavyānanda used to say that so many sādhus, unable to control themselves, do various injuries to themselves, and then sometimes are brought to the Vṛndāvan hospital for treatment later on. The idea is: sincerity is there, struggle is there — but the old saṃskāra comes suddenly, before rationality can even manifest.
That's what happens to all of us most of the time. If you are south Indian or north Indian, you are walking, and suddenly the fried smell of pakora — immediately the mouth starts watering, even before you could register what it is. The solution is: we have to go on increasing our awareness. The whole crux of spiritual progress is increasing our awareness, so that nothing takes place without our being aware.
What is spirituality? What is spirit? Consciousness. What is progress in spirituality? More and more, our awareness becomes more and more. So many things we do like automatons. Our whole body is nothing but an automaton — it is a condensed manifestation of our old saṃskāras. Automatically the hands are working, the feet are working. We think we are men, we are women. All these things are what? Automaton. We are neither men nor women, realistically. The cit-chāyā — is it man or is it woman? It is only because of its identity with the antaḥkaraṇa that for a long time it becomes so. How to break this — that is where the meditation portion comes. It is a beautiful progression.
Verse 12: The Sūkṣma Śarīra and Its Nature
Let us finish this one, so now we go to the eleventh being clear.
He is describing what happens: the cit-chāyā and the antaḥkaraṇa become one. The cit-chāyā thinks "I am the antaḥkaraṇa"; the antaḥkaraṇa thinks "I am the cit-chāyā". The result is "I am the antaḥkaraṇa." When they mix up, what happens? "I am the antaḥkaraṇa" — that division becomes like a super glue.
So number twelve:
mano'ham kṛtyupādānaṃ liṅgam ekaṃ jaḍātmakam, avasthā trayam anveti, jāyate mriyate tathā, jāyate mriyate tathā.
What is the point of this particular verse? The antaḥkaraṇa, liṅga śarīra, and sūkṣma śarīra are all nothing but one and the same — different names for the same entity. So that is manaḥ ahaṃkṛtī upādānam — so that subtle body, which is the material cause of the mind and egoism, is one. It is not different. Ahaṃkāra is not different, antaḥkaraṇa is not different, sūkṣma śarīra is not different — it is but one.
Is that point clear? What we call the mind has got four faculties. When you analyse the mind and it is doing a particular thing, we give it a particular name — this is manas, this is buddhi, this is citta. But actually it is one and the same material. Through the same man: when he is cooking, he is a cook; when he is in the club, he is a club member; when he is in the Olympics, he is an Olympic player. Different functions, same person.
So what is the point he is telling? Do not ever get confused by these terms — buddhi, manas, ahaṃkāra, citta, and then sūkṣma śarīra, liṅga śarīra — it is exactly one and the same. So in short, what we call in English "the mind" — that is a better word. Mind is one. What is its nature? First, its nature is insentiency — jaḍātmakam. By itself it is insentient. When does it become sentient? When the cit-chāyā comes and becomes one, which we discussed earlier — then it says "I am the mind." Then it starts using the word "I." Until that time it cannot even say "I am the mind," because it is not even aware that it is the mind.
And it is one — that is an important point for us. So let us not get confused by different words. "This is sūkṣma śarīra, this is ahaṃkāra, this is buddhi — then what is what?" It is all nothing but one and the same.
Then it is liṅgam — liṅgam means subtle. That is why we call it the subtle body. That is why another name for sūkṣma śarīra is liṅga śarīra. So what does this sūkṣma śarīra do? Avasthā trayam anveti — it goes through these three different states, which we had already discussed: suṣupti, svapna, and jāgrat.
Then he adds one here: jāyate mriyate tathā. It itself does not have repeated births and deaths. But it identifies itself with the physical body so intimately that whenever the physical body is born, it says "I am born." When the physical body dies, it feels "I am dying." Who says "I am dying"?
So you see: this is described because how did we come to this state of bondage at all? The whole saṃsāra depends upon this mind. What is the whole saṃsāra? All the saṃsāra is nothing but experiencing it in three different ways — suṣupti, jāgrat, svapna. Is there anything else? Even if you go to heaven, it still falls within jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti only. There is nothing else.
So what is the problem? Mixing the experiencer, the dṛk, with the dṛśya. So this dṛśya falls into three categories: jāgrat, svapna, and suṣupti. This is dṛśya.
So who created this so-called dṛśya? How came this dṛśya ever into existence? How wonderfully he is taking us. First he is telling: this is the dṛk and this is the dṛśya. First there are three types of dṛks, but from the ultimate point of view there is only one dṛk, and from the ultimate point of view everything else is dṛśya only. This dṛśya is nothing but antaḥkaraṇa.
This antaḥkaraṇa, by whatever name you call it, goes through this process of jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti by turns. So what is bondage? Going through these three conditions ceaselessly, helplessly — that is called saṃsāra.
The Two Powers of Māyā
How did this saṃsāra come about? Because if you want to prescribe a medicine, you must first diagnose the cause, and then only the remedy. So now he is coming to this point. What is it that brings about this dṛk-dṛśya saṃyoga? Māyā. The moment dṛśya is created, the dṛk is created, because the dṛśya is meaningless without the dṛk; the dṛk is meaningless without the dṛśya. Brahman is neither dṛk nor dṛśya. So this point is clear.
So what is the nature of that māyā? According to Advaita Vedānta, this māyā has got two powers. Usually it is given as āvaraṇa śakti first and vikṣepa śakti next. In this text, he differs and says vikṣepa śakti comes first and āvaraṇa śakti comes later. But both views are wrong, because āvaraṇa śakti and vikṣepa śakti do not function one after the other — they function simultaneously. So there is no controversy at all.
Usually we are taught: first the nature is covered, then vikṣepa comes. In this text, he says first vikṣepa śakti projects, then it covers. Because vikṣepa śakti is there — but if you know it is the same thing dressed in a different dress, then there is no bondage. So āvaraṇa śakti also must be there. That's why Muslims are so practical — they cover with burqā. There are reasons for that; we won't go into that.
Verse 13: The Two Powers of Māyā — Vikṣepa and Āvaraṇa
So let us go to the 13th:
vikṣepa śaktiḥ liṅgādi, brahmāṇḍāntaṃ jagat sṛjat, māyāyāḥ śakti dvayam, dvayam śakti hi.
Māyā — the powers of māyā are twofold. Dvayam — śakti always means that which is acting. If it is not acting, it is called Brahman. When it is not acting, it is called Brahman; when it is acting, it is called śakti. In Ṭhākur's words.
So what are those? Vikṣepa, āvaraṇa rūpakam — vikṣepa and āvaraṇa. So what is vikṣepa and what is āvaraṇa? Āvaraṇa means covering the nature of a thing. Vikṣepa means representing it as something totally different. And this covering is always partial, not complete. Because māyā itself needs the power of Brahman to function.
The example given is: the sun, the cloud, and us. We are here, the sun is shining, and suddenly a huge cloud comes and covers the sun. This is a wonderful example. Before the cloud came, we were able to see the sun. After the cloud came, we are not able to see the sun. The cloud is the production of the sun — the cloud depends for its formation entirely on the sun. If there were no sun, there would be no cloud at all. Now the cloud has come and it covers the sun. Not only that — even to know that it is a cloud, we need sunlight. If it is completely dark, there can be a cloud, but you will not know it is a cloud. So because of the sun, the cloud is created; because of the sun, the cloud is also illuminated, revealed.
Exactly the same way: because of Brahman, māyā is created; because of Brahman, māyā is also illuminated. How do we know it is māyā? Because of Brahman. I am saying "I am the body" — how are you able to say "I am the body"? Because that "I am" part is constantly there. So that is why Vedānta tells: māyā has only half power. Half Brahman, half māyā — that is called māyā. So how it works, he explains it further.
The Rope and Snake Analogy
Here is a rope. To express it in language, you say "there is a rope." In this sentence there are two parts: the existence part and the "ropeness" part. "There is" belongs to the existence part; "ropeness" is a separate issue. It is a manifestation of that general existence into a particular.
Just like: "here is a table." In the sentence "this is a table," you have to divide it. "This is" — what are you talking about? Wood. Instead of saying "this is a wooden table," we are simply shortening it to "this is a table." But by "this is" you mean wood. Wood is the material; "table" is nāma rūpa. That point is clear.
So here: "there is a rope." "There is" belongs to existence. Now, that existence is neither wood nor rope — it is existence, pure existence. A small part of that, like foam on the ocean. Without the ocean, will the bubble ever exist? It is not possible. It has come out of the ocean, it remains on the ocean, and it also again goes back into the ocean. How much part of the ocean becomes the wave? A small, infinitesimal part. That is why — sahasrāṃśena tiṣṭhati daśāṅgulam — only a small part of that is manifest as what we call this creation. The rest is ever remaining as pure existence.
So existence — a small bit of it appears to be, not even becomes — appears to be, because of nāma rūpa. "Here is a rope" — now when māyā comes, what happens? Simultaneously, the "ropeness" is covered and "snakeness" is imposed upon it. But we are still saying "there is a snake" instead of "there is a rope." So what is covered? "There is" is never covered — that is not possible. But "ropeness" alone is replaced by "snakeness." That is why māyā can only cover an infinitesimally small part of Brahman. It really doesn't cover; it appears to be covering. Just like the cloud seems to cover the sun — and yet, because of nearness, even a small hand is enough to cover the whole sun, "I can't see." That is the power. But for practical purposes, even though it is a small part of māyā, it is enough to create havoc.
Vikṣepa Śakti in Action
So what does vikṣepa śakti do first? Liṅgādi brahmāṇḍāntaṃ jagat sṛjet — it creates, as it were, or manifests, as it were, this universe. From where to where? From liṅga to brahmāṇḍa. Liṅga means antaḥkaraṇa, because the antaḥkaraṇa is the root cause of the entire universe. You close your antaḥkaraṇa — the whole jagat is completely gone. How wonderful it is! Our antaḥkaraṇa alone is enough to create the world, and also to sustain the world, and to destroy the world. In your whole svapna jagat — who is creating, who is sustaining, and who is destroying? And it is very easy. You enter into the svapna jagat and it is created. So long as you are there, it goes on without your least effort. The moment you wake up, you don't need to destroy anything — the moment you wake up, what a wonderful māyā!
That's why in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, Śaṅkarācārya says, "My God, what happened to that world? Just one second before, the whole world was there, and now, within one twinkling of the eye, the whole world has disappeared. Where has it gone? What happened? What is this wonderful power of māyā!" He exclaims — that's what is happening. Every time we go into deep sleep, the whole world is gone.
Verse 14: Sattā, Nāma, and Rūpa
So, everything depends upon our — now is coming — what is this sṛṣṭi?
saccidānanda vastuni, abdho phenādi vat sarvā, nāma rūpa prasāraṇa, sṛṣṭi nāma.
What is this sṛṣṭi? Brahma rūpe — that vastu called Brahman, saccidānanda vastu, is there. You can only project the snake on the rope — so there must be a vastu. What is that vastu? Brahman — saccidānanda Brahman. There is a meaning why he tells all those things. Brahma rūpe, so he gives an example: the ocean is like Brahman, and on the ocean — phena, buddha, and laharī, etc. Abdho phenādi vat sarvā — phena means foam, etc. Nāma sarvā nāma rūpa prasāraṇa — all the names and forms and everything are projected on that itself.
Is that point clear? So what is sṛṣṭi? What is sṛṣṭi? Looking at Brahman with nāma and rūpa — nothing else. What is a table? Wood plus nāma. So the idea is clear. What does māyā do, how does āvaraṇa śakti and vikṣepa śakti function? They take the vastu which is already there — they don't create the jagat. The vastu out of which the jagat is created, or projected, is already there; eternally it is there. Now what does it do? It creates seeming nāma and rūpa. So Brahman with nāma rūpa is called jagat. Jagat minus nāma rūpa is Brahman. How simple it is!
Brahma satyam, jagat mithyā — the essence of all Vedānta is finished. When we say jagat mithyā, what does it mean? We are already seeing jagat. How do we see that jagat as mithyā? Remove the nāma rūpa. Jagat mithyā means: jagat means nāma rūpa — remove the nāma rūpa, and what remains? Only Brahman. That means: see Brahman without nāma rūpa, and that is called Realisation. That's all; there is nothing else.
Even now it is real only; it is not unreal. Even now, because the Brahman vastu has never disappeared from here. If you say this carpet is unreal, then you are denying the reality of Brahman, because the carpet is nothing but Brahman with nāma rūpa. So you can never make this carpet really unreal. The reality is Brahman, but you are looking at it through the lens of nāma rūpa. That is the simple fact.
Verses 15–16: The Interplay of Dṛk and Dṛśya Inside and Outside
So, having given this for our understanding, then he goes on. It is something wonderful. Now he has described the veiling power of māyā — saṃsārasya kāraṇam. So now the power of āvaraṇa śakti is given. What does vikṣepa śakti do? It creates — adds nāma and rūpa to Brahman. So what is the point here?
If I know that this carpet is Brahman with nāma rūpa, I have no problem. I am not bound, because I am still seeing — only I am seeing Brahman with nāma rūpa. It is like somebody who comes with a bear's skin covering from head to shoulder, but the face is not covered. You understand? He can never fool me, because the original face is still there. But what āvaraṇa śakti does is it covers this — and then we can't recognise.
A circus came to a town. There was a tiger and there was a bear — they were exhibiting. So the bear somehow died. The circus owner, not wanting the circus to lose its attraction, went to a fellow and said, "Look here, a bear died — but people don't know. You put on that bear dress and move and behave like a bear, and I will give you some money." He agreed. He was very happy; all he needed was to put on the dress. Suddenly, the cage door opened — next to it was a tiger — and the tiger jumped in. This fellow was about to start screaming. The tiger came in and said, "Shh — don't scream. I am also acting." How wonderful it is! If everything is covered, then we have no way of identification.
Verse 16: The Nature of Jīvatva
sākṣiṇā purato bhāti, liṅgam dehena saṃyutam, cit-chāyā samāveśa jīvasya vyāvahārika, jīvasya vyāvahārika.
It is beautiful. Because of the sākṣin — the pure consciousness — the liṅga śarīra or sūkṣma śarīra, that subtle body, feels its identification with the body. What is the identification? "I am the physical body." Who is saying "I am the physical body"? It is the subtle body. How did it get that idea, "I am"? Because of the sākṣin. The sākṣin is ever present. Because of the presence — the all-time presence of pure consciousness — that is what is cit-chāyā samāveśa. Citi means pure consciousness; chāyā means its reflection in the antaḥkaraṇa.
So when this cit-chāyā — the reflection of the pure consciousness — and the liṅga śarīra join together, what is created? This combination of cit-chāyā and antaḥkaraṇa — what is that state's name? Jīva. He becomes jīva. He thinks "I am jīva." What is the jīva? "I am the body." To say "I am the body, I am the mind" is called jīva lakṣaṇa.
Do you see the point? Is it clear? Because it cannot say "I am this body" — this "I am" belongs to the sākṣin. The body and mind are totally insentient. Now this combination — the body doesn't know it is the body, the sākṣin doesn't know it is the antaḥkaraṇa — but this combination says, "I am both the sākṣin, I am also the body, I am also the antaḥkaraṇa, I am the lord of the universe." That is called jīvatva.
Do you see the point now? The jīvatva is possible only through the admixture of both: the reflection — why reflection? Otherwise Brahman himself — the power of Brahman, the reflection of the Brahman consciousness, and the liṅga śarīra. When both combine together, then it says, "I am the physical body, I am the subtle body, and I am also the jīva." That saying "I am the body" is called jīvatva.
The body doesn't say "I am the jīva"; the antaḥkaraṇa doesn't know it is the jīva. But when this antaḥkaraṇa becomes mixed up with pure consciousness, then it acquires the ability to say "I am." It becomes aware: "I am the body, I am the mind." So who is a jīva? He who says "I am the body and mind" is a jīva. So simple.
So he says:
asya jīvatvam āropāt, sākṣiṇy api avabhāsate, āvaraṇe tu vinaṣṭāyām, bhede sphuṭe payātīta.
How is it possible for us to get liberation or mukti? He gave the nature of bondage: what is bondage? The creation of jīvatva. What is jīvatva? Jīvatva is the combination of the body-mind complex combined with cit-chāyā. Now, what is the way for liberation? Simply separate the cit-chāyā from the body and mind. The moment the cit-chāyā is separated from the body-mind, because there is no reflecting medium, the reflection also gets resolved into the original thing.
This is what he said. The character of an embodied self appears through false superimposition in the sākṣin also. What is that? The sākṣin says "I am the jīva." With the disappearance of the veiling power, the distinction between the seer and the object becomes clear, and with it the jīva character of the sākṣin also disappears. That is the remedy — the prescription.
The doctor has only diagnosed the problem, the disease, and also indicated the right medicine. That doesn't mean that as soon as the prescription is there, you will be cured. You have to follow. You have to follow in the right way.
A fat woman went to a doctor and said, "I want to be thin — give me something so I can become thin." The doctor said, "Very simple, I am giving you a prescription diet — you eat it, and after a month you come back; you will see a lot of difference." So after a month the woman went back, and now she had doubled in her fatness. The doctor was shocked and said, "Were you not following my diet?" She said, "Doctor, what a difficult prescription you gave! Along with my normal diet, I have also eaten the prescribed diet. Do you know how much difficulty I was having eating both?" So the prescription must be understood properly.
The Original Pure Consciousness as the Sustaining Basis
He has given here: it is the cit-chāyā. The original pure consciousness will never be affected, because that is the sustaining basis. Even to recognise "I am the jīva," that original consciousness must sustain us.
If you are not standing in front of a mirror, your reflection itself will disappear. The mirror itself is completely useless. The moment you break that mirror, your reflection also — where does it go? It merges with you. What do you mean by "merges"? Was there something? No, it was not there. It belonged to the mirror; it never belonged to you. Therefore, when that reflecting medium is destroyed, your reflection also will be destroyed simultaneously with that.
This is the prescription. How to bring about the separation between cit-chāyā and the sūkṣma śarīra — or mind, what you call the mind — all meditations or any yoga is only for this separation, either way.
Even bhakti yoga is only to bring about this destruction. What is that? That is why what is common to all yogas is the destruction of the ahaṃkāra. Once the ahaṃkāra, the "I am," is gone, then you don't even know whether there is a body or not — no body at all. You will never know. So whatever yoga you follow, every yoga has got only one goal: the destruction of the ahaṃkāra. There is nothing else.
Verse 17: Māyā Inside and Outside
So, let us move on. What happens?
tathā sargā brahmaṇoś ca bheda māvṛtya tiṣṭhati, yā śaktis tad vaśāt brahma vikṛtatvena bhāsate, vikṛtatvena bhāsate.
Now, what is the connection between the previous verse and this verse? Before, we said that this māyā makes two types of differences. What are they? It brings about identification inside us between the cit-chāyā and the antaḥkaraṇa — that difference it destroys, and therefore both of them feel "this is me, this is me." Similarly, he also said Brahman and sarga — outside, Brahman and jagat; inside, subject and object; outside, Brahman and creation. That differentiation also it destroys.
So in the previous verse, he said: what is the remedy? The remedy is that the difference between the dṛk and the dṛśya inside must be made crystal clear. The dṛk knows "I am dṛk, I am not dṛśya." The dṛśya also is to be separated.
Exactly similarly, what is the remedy in the outside world? The difference between Brahman and jagat has got to be separated. "This is Brahman; it has nothing to do with the jagat." The moment we know the difference, that is called jñāna — then jagat itself will disappear. Just as the reflecting medium is broken, the reflection goes away. So that reflecting medium is called māyā. Through māyā only has it come about; and through that māyā only, the separation — liberation — must also be achieved.
Exactly in the same way: the same māyā that brought about identity between dṛk and dṛśya, and between Brahman and sarga, must also bring about the separation. So inside, the combination has come; outside also, the combination has come. Inside, māyā should break this combination; outside also it must break the combination. That is why the meditation is both internal and external. The internal meditation removes the false identification. The external meditation makes the distinction very clear and reveals the real truth.
Now you understand why meditation is prescribed both internally and externally. So in Tantra — if you study, it is a beautiful combination of both removing the internal māyā and the external māyā. How wonderful it is! Of course, every yoga is like that only, especially Tantra. That's why you see the Divine Mother both inside and outside. Every object you have to see as the Divine Mother. It has developed certain special techniques to be able to do that.
Anyway, we will not go into that. So look here at what it is saying. Tathā means "exactly in the same way." What does it mean? Tathā means yathā — as it has been prescribed in the previous ślokas with regard to the internal condition. So exactly in the same way, this māyā covers up the difference between Brahman and sarga and makes them think they are one and the same. Therefore, Brahman — who has nothing to do with sṛṣṭi, the unlimited — thinks "I am the jagat." Inside, the subject thinks "I am the object." Outside, Brahman thinks "I am the jagat."
So that differentiation should be able to separate. That is what is indicated in the next verse.
Verse 18: The Remedy — Removing Āvaraṇa Śakti
sargena brahmaṇi kvacit, atrāpi āvaraṇa nāśena, brahma sargayoḥ, vibhāti,
Even here: āvaraṇa nāśena — by removing the veiling power — the differentiation, the crystal clear distinction between "this is Brahman" and "this is jagat," is revealed in front of us. Then what happens? bhedastayo vikārasya sargin — the moment you understand the bheda between Brahman and sarga, all the vikāras — all the changes that take place — belong to the sarga, the jagat, not to Brahman himself.
Now let me elaborate this point a little bit. Every object in this world — he himself is going to tell us — every object in this world has five parts: sat, cit, ānanda, nāma, and rūpa. So this is called jagat. What we call jagat is nothing but Brahman with nāma and rūpa. Now Brahman, in the outside world — as dṛk is in the inside world — is identified with sat, existence. There is absolutely no change ever taking place in existence. All the changes take place only in the nāma and rūpa.
One nāma, one rūpa changes into another rūpa, and therefore it gets another nāma. Just as an example: here is a table. The table is made out of wood. Now you call this a table. Suppose you break this table — when the table is broken, nāma rūpa is gone; wood remains. Out of the wood, imagine, you make a chair. Now what happened? That same wood which was before called a table is now called a chair. So where is the difference? Is it in the wood, or is it in the nāma rūpa of the wood?
Now you imagine this chair is broken, or you deliberately make it into a small flat surface — you call it a floor tile. So the table is gone, the chair is gone, and now it is being called the floor. What are you doing? You are changing the nāma rūpa; it is exactly the same material.
I have a wonderful devotee, Ela. She makes dough. First, when I am there, she makes dosa. After I have eaten the dosa, with the remaining dough, she makes idlis. So when she is serving me at the table, she calls it dosa. And afterwards the same dough is put in that idli vātra and she says, "Mahārāj, how was the idli?" — tasting exactly like the dosa only. Nāma rūpa changed; nothing changed, absolutely nothing changed. The whole jagat is nothing but change of nāma rūpa. Don't you see?
The body has certain materials. These materials — after the death of this body, actually this is a body, isn't it? Then it is small — what are you calling it? Baby. "Baby" is the name appropriate for that appropriate body. And when it becomes young, then you are calling it "young man," "young woman." You are not calling it baby. Then it becomes forty-five, fifty years old. Then it is the same rūpa, but dare you call it by a different name — "you are old!" Nāma and rūpa always go together; they have an invariable relationship. So if we want to change, we must change both. First comes rūpa, then comes nāma.
So the rūpa is the same — a fifty-year-old woman — but the nāma: "You are a young woman." See how much we get offended. Old people — men also. If you call someone "old man," we get offended. But "you are a senior citizen" — how happy we are! How much more can we delude ourselves? "Old man" is "old man" — that's all. There is no change in the substance. By giving a young man's name to the old man, this old man is not going to become young. We want to delude ourselves with all those things.
Summary and the Goal of Spiritual Practice
So, what is this verse talking about? Brahman is never changing — it is ever unchanging. It is not possible for it to change. But where is change taking place? In the nāma and the rūpa. What is the jagat? Brahman with nāma rūpa is jagat. But all the changes that are seemingly taking place are only in nāma rūpa. Therefore, when you clearly understand — by removing the āvaraṇa śakti — that the jagat and the Brahman, we are mixing up together, that is nāma rūpa and existence mixed together, separating as though they are separate. Really, there is no separation, because there is no object called nāma rūpa. Nāma rūpa is an idea in our brain. Wood, in whatever shape it is, is wood — nothing but wood.
But if we understand clearly — that in spite of changing all the nāma rūpa, no change is ever taking place in Brahman — when we have that kind of knowledge, the bondage falls off. How does the bondage fall off? We are deluded not by Brahman, but by what? Nāma rūpa. When we understand that nāma rūpa really is not happening, no change is ever taking place, and we are able to see clearly it is the unchanging material called Brahman — then we are never again deluded.
For that, sādhana of course has to be done.
Recap
So far, what did we cover? Māyā makes this problem. Māyā has two powers: āvaraṇa śakti and vikṣepa śakti. And both these wreak havoc, both inside and outside.
How does it wreak havoc inside? By mixing up the dṛk with the dṛśya — the individual subject with the individual antaḥkaraṇa.
How does it wreak havoc outside? It again makes Brahman appear as jagat and jagat as Brahman — because the material of jagat is none other than Brahman itself, in the form of nāma and rūpa.
So what is the remedy? Get rid of these two powers. And what happens when we remove the māyā śaktis, both śaktis? If you remove one, the other also goes, because both are simultaneously working — they are the two powers of the same māyā. So if you remove one, the other also will go away.
Then what happens? We see crystal clearly: "this is dṛśya and this is dṛk." And when we see clearly outside that this is Brahman — existence — and this is nāma rūpa, which is called jagat, another name for existence — then we will never again be deluded.
An Illustration
As a simple crude illustration: somebody is trying to make some sweet. Usually we associate a sweet with a particular nāma and rūpa. But whether you make rasgullā, whether you make sandeś, whether you make rasamalai — whatever you make — the basic material is milk. It is the same: milk. Adding sugar is also common to everything. It is only a bit of nāma rūpa difference, not much.
But we are deluded. "I like this, I don't like that." But if we understand the difference — it is all made up of exactly the same material — once we know everything is of the same material, where is the question of likes and dislikes? If it is two different objects, then "I like this, I don't like this." But if it is the same material, there is no question of liking or disliking. Then we become free.
What is bondage? Liking and disliking — rāga and dveṣa. If these two go away, what remains? Everything is likeable only. If there is no rāga and dveṣa, everything is likeable only. There is no difference. And then we are completely liberated.
"This is man, this is woman, this is plant, this is animal, this is living, this is non-living" — all these differences should go away. That is called spiritual progress: to see everything as Brahman, to see everything as one reality. Oneness does not mean degrading — it means seeing something as it is in itself. How? Sat, cit, and ānanda. Everything is saccidānanda.
So that is the goal. That is what we have discussed so far. I think that will do for today.
Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.