Some thoughts on Vedanta

8/3/2019 Some thoughts on Vedanta.

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*Titiksha*Life is a great teacher. Life teaches us everything. It brings us everything togive us a lesson. The best lesson is received when we donot complain but accepteverything which comes our way. There are some qualities which are needed for one to be established into the Self. Mind and sense organ control, always keepingthis firm perception that I am the Self is the next, having faith on the Masteris the third but among this, there is another very vital aspect of Sadhana and t

hat is - titiksha which literally means accept the unacceptable without even complaining. This is that quality within us which enhances our power and capacity of mind to hold the ever flowing spiritual knowledge. Practice this Titiksha as much as you can. Whatever comes your way, don't react. Accept that as a gift of God. Knowledge manifests itself into a character. This is the character - so strong so as to hold every eventualities still remaining calm and still. This will also help you in keeping your mind always on God or the Self. You are the Self, always. You are that Undifferentiated Universal Consciousness, the one without the second, you are the Truth the absolute Existence. Know this and be free, you are Freedom. With love always, Swamiji----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Conversation.*

hello my very good friend

how are you?

J:Hello! I am good, and honored!

How are you?

Me :I am good as well, just a bit busy with the publications

J:;);)

Me :where do you live?

J :Oh, I am so far away! I am in Washington State in USA, the Northwest corner.

Me :I am in Varanasi

J :And you have a new school?

Me :a new Ashram, yes, near the university

J :Oh, that is good to be near the university, I would think.I so wanted to attend Bhagavan's birthday celebration.

Me :please come whenever you want to

J :I have really enjoyed the Vedanta Society. It is similar to mine, and is serious



work.

Me :yes, quite serious and sincere

J :Yes! Sincere!

J :You know, India has contributed so much to spirituality, and she should be healthier.How can I help?

Me :lets work together to build a consciousness about spirituality which would be beyond any narrow mindedness or sectarianism

J :Oh, yes! I am so for this! Shouldn't we all be learning about the same thing, re

ally. We just have had different ways of coming upon it.

Me :yes

J :And then we need to be able to live it!

Me :most of the spiritual worker gets struck to a particular form thereby loosing the universal outlook

J :

Right. so true. then we actually fear the new news.

Me :they infact harm humanity because in the process of preaching peace and love, they preach very dangerous sectarianism

J :Yes, it usually still come with an accusal of some kind as well...

Me :I want to work with everybody and help people , no matter he/she follows Jesus or Buddha or Krishna or Allah

J :So great, I have sensed that!

Me :yes

J :The more I learn the more I have appreciated that other sects have really concentrated on an area which is essential to fit with the whole puzzle.

Me :yes, the puzzle which will never be solved till we are within the limitations of

mind

J :



Well, here in the U.S. the big challenge is to realize that we have one!

Me :I can help you in this regardto realize

J :

Soon the consciousness of matter will need to pop out from under the microscopeto say hello! Then we might learn what is in control.

Me :it wontit cannot be felt through senses

J :So far, it is hoping that the scientist will tell it something about itself.

Me :we can come to a conclusion, but, its impossible to know that through senses

we have to become that if we want to feeland the moment we transcend our senses, we start to realize

J :This is true, the scientist would need to have their own developed consciousnessto hear of course.

Me :yes

Judy :That will be the day!

Me :when the medium of understanding disappears, then does the one beyond comprehension manifest

J :This is why we have always had to have faith instead of full comprehension.

Me :yes faith and then make efforts to make it a confirmed knowledge

J :We just have to begin to try with faith, and then we may have confirmation. Thisis what most Christians have done. Since Christian Scientists prove their health with it, we have a lot of confirmation.

Me :yes, faith is the basis of all religion

J :You know, though, it is really love which is the required ingredient.

Me :love comes from insideits the purest product of devotion and honesty

J :Surely, and it needs to go out and be given.



Me :whatever comes from inside will definitely go out spontaneously

J :Right. without honesty we have not much.

Me :

any effort in that regard will make it an intellectual exercise

J :This is where I find that although we do need to learn self, love self and appreciate what is there, we need to challenge the belief that others are not able, because we will never have our own thoughts pure.

Me :spirituality starts from the point where you stop bothering about others and concentrate within yourselfthe whole world you will find is within youseparation is such an illusion

J :This is true, we must make ourselves responsible for what we experience from others.

Me :that others is also the outcome of your own thought and actionsthere is no other

J :It is God from which we can never be separated, and since God is with all, we are really not different.

Me :there is only One seen or perceived differently into different names and formsGod is not with all, God is all that isthere is no other existence than God

J :It does seem to all have similar concerns to us, I have even checked this!So that if we do not love these other things, and we do have the same God with us, it is difficult to then think we will have support for this.

Me :to love others, you have to love God only

J :It is to love God first, and then all else.

Me :love God only

J :Well, then we have to be very inclusive and correct about what we are loving.

Meyes, that's why discrimination is a must for aspirants

J :Yes!!



Me :love Him till you feel that whatever there is, is all but Him

J :Yes, I like that idea.

Me :

this is Vedanta

J :That is lovely.

Me :thanks----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Fear Not.*In Sankaracharya’s Vivekachudamani we can see how a disciple after doing everything and by burning in the fire of this world comes to a master with folded hands a

nd says “Oh master, I have been bewildered by this realms of the world. Please take me to that peaceful state, to that calm state. I want to rest in peace. I wantto liberate from this burnings. I want to liberate from the fire of this world.”

The first thing that the master tells is “Don’t worry. Fear not”. The first word of the Vedas, Upanishads, of the scriptures is this “Fear not”. Whatever happens to us weshould know ‘fear not, fear not whatever happens, just hold it till you realize t

he self confirmly”. Upnaishads means the knowledge by which we always stay near the self with full confirmation. When a person realizes the self with this confirmation he knows that this is the place where the self, the oneness, unity, bliss,joy, happiness of freedom, of knowledge, of truth, of infinity, of divinity, ofeternity, this is the place. We are all moving towards that state. But the nega

tive thoughts are coming and distracting us. So we have to know why these thoughts are coming and from where they are coming. When we know that where do we stan

d then only we see that from tomorrow, today, this moment itself it will not come. It comes because of our weakness. This comes because we are always used to think in this way. We have been told that we cannot do anything. Nothing will happen with us. Study, get a job, marry, have two or three kids, that’s it. You cannotdo anything more. This is the common dialogue everybody of us has heard. And byhearing this dialogue we grew up. People like Swami Vivekananda, Shankaracharya

, all the great people said “no. You have infinite capability within you. You haveinfinite strength within you. Believe in this. You are the sun of the bliss, yo

u are the sun of the immortal. You don’t have any death. Fear not. Go beyond death”.Only by knowing that person, which person? In the Vedas it has been said that p

erson, that man, that existence who is bright like the sun thousand suns. You know this. I have known that Purusha. I have known that person who is referred inthe Vedas as a person who is brighter than thousand suns. By knowing this man itself I can go beyond the truth. While knowing self there are many things which will come on our way and we have to go beyond that. Just by surpassing it we willsee that we go to that place. Swami Vivekananada in one of his poems called the‘song of monks’ in every stanza he put one word ‘leave the rope which is binding you

towards the world’. There is an undefined attachment with this world. We feel thatif we leave this what will happen to me. No, nothing will happen. When these ro

pes of thoughts try to take you with them to some unseen dark forest tell them just leave those ropes and say leave it and say ‘Hari Om Tat Sat’, ‘You are truth’. Thesethoughts have no power. They gain power because you are attaching with them. Th

ere is a famous story of a saint and mouse. A mouse used to live in the ashram of a saint. The saint used to love it very much. One day the saint saw that the mouse is very frightened and moving here and there and the saint asked “what happen

ed” . Mouse said “there is a cat came to eat me”. The saint by his power turned the mouse into bigger cat and that cat which came to eat it got frightened and ran away. Now this bigger cat is very happy as it’s no more a mouse it’s a cat and nobody w



ill come to it and eat. After some days the saint saw that this cat is again frightened. He saw that there was a big dog standing on the door steps. Then the saint transformed the cat into a bigger dog. The dog which was standing ran away.One day this saint saw that this dog is again frightened. The saint saw that atthe door step there is a lion standing. Then the saint turned that dog into bigger lion and the lion which came ran away. Now this bigger lion became the king of that forest. One day that lion was sitting near the saint and the saint told t

he lion to do something. Because now it’s a lion the king of the forest, it has ego and its ego got hurt and it came to eat the saint. When it came to eat the saint, the saint said “become mouse again”. This is how we treat our thoughts. From mouse we take them up to lion. It’s a very small thought which comes but we feed themand we grow them until it becomes lion. We can’t make again into a mouse and thatis why this lion comes and eats us. Why does it come to eat us? Because we don’t

know that we are the saint. We have given this power to this thought to become like this to think that it’s greater than me. The thought when it comes, it comes in a very subtle way and we feed it and make it stronger and stronger and at onetime it becomes so strong we get covered by its weight and we tend to die. In India we say “Chintha chita samaan hai”. ‘Chintha’ means thought. ‘Chita’ means the oven whethe dead bodies are burnt. These thoughts are like that oven which burns us. Th

e thought always burns. What to do? Know that you are the saint. Only by knowingthis then only you can make that into action. You can transform that lion intomouse. We have to know that we are that Brahman, we are not thoughts, we are notmind, we are not the ego, we are not the body, we are not this world. There is

nobody in this world who can disturb me. Nobody can kill me because I am one without second. Even the body dies but the Atman cannot be killed. This birth and death is only but imagination. The self or the soul is birthless and deathless. Only the body takes birth and dies. Death is only a fear. The first thing that amaster or Guru or the scriptures says is “Fear not”. In Gita Krishna explains the twenty four divine qualities of man. The first word is ‘Abhi, fear not’. So if you want to become divine you have to be always very fearless. Every time you have to face. One day Swami Vivekananda went to Vrindavan. There was one sacred lake andhe took bath there. When he was bathing some monkeys has taken his clothes. Afte

r coming back out of the lake he asked monkeys to give his clothes and the monkeys become very furious. They attacked Swamiji. Swamiji when he saw that the monkeys were attacking him, he started running. When he started running the monkeyswere also behind him. Suddenly he heard a voice “Don’t run. Face it”. He immediately stopped and turned around. When he turned around the monkeys got frightened. Theyleft his clothes and ran away. This is the science by which we have to lead ourlife. Don’t run away, stop and face it. See what is this. You will see there is n

othing. It is only you that is standing. There is nothing that can ever scare you, harm you. Only one that harms you is you, yourself. We see ghosts, evil spirits. If you are always Brahman, how can a evil spirit catch you? If you are always divine can catch you? It catches you if you are weak. Now everywhere there aregerms of many, many diseases. Why are we not getting all those diseases? Becaus

e, our body has all that power to resist all those diseases. The moment this body looses that power to resist at that moment all kind of disease will catch us.The problem is not because the disease has caught you. It’s because you have become weak. You have given a chance to them to act. Don’t give chance. Always be likea warrior and fight. Swami Vivekananda said always keep the sword of discrimination with your pillow when you sleep, not only throughout your day. Even in the sleeping state no fear should come to you. You have to cut the roots of fear, illusions, all weaknesses. Always keep the discrimination with you that “I am that Brahman”. The scriptures which are eternal tell me this. The scriptures are also divine because they talk about that divinity. The scriptures are nothing but the practical words of the enlightened soul. I should not have fear of anything because I am the son of the immortal. The son of a lion doesn’t fear, it knows that it is a lion but the son of a deer will fear. It is trained to be fearful from the c

hild hood. The first thing that his mother teaches is to how to run. The motherof a lion will teach how to hunt. Learn this how to make people run. Stand stillin your place. Don’t run away my dear. Whatever thoughts come to you are thoughts



of ignorance, these are not yours. This is Maya. You have to know that this isalso within the system.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*An Introduction to the BHRAMHA SUTRAS*(Classes of Swami Probuddhananda Puri.)Part 1.

Today we start the Brahma Sutras. Its a very important text of Spirituality or Vedanta. The Vedic religion or the religion prevalent in ancient India was depended on three texts or the three authoritative texts, one is the Sruti or the Vedas, the next is Smriti or the Bhagavat Gita, where Lord Krishna delivers His great teachings to Arjuna in the battle field, and the third one is the Vedanta Sutra or Bhramha Sutras or Nyaya. Vedanta Sutras means - these are aphorisms, theseshort of very small words, wherein the whole essence of the Vedas or spirituality has been poured in. Its believed that this Vedanta sutras or the Bhramha Sutras were composed by Vyasa because whenever we talk about these texts, we come across a name called Vadarayana. Vadarayana is the other name of Vyasa, the same person who has transcribed the whole Vedas, the Mahabharata epic including the Bhagavat Gita, the 18 Puranas where Bhagavatam also is one of them and Adhyatma Ram

ayana. Because He had compiled the whole vedas into words, so, He is also knownas Veda Vyasa. He is the unanimous Master of the Vedic Spiritual tradition. Allthe vedic school of thoughts regard Veda Vyasa as their Master. So Vedanta sutras is the Authoritative texts because this is the Nyaya or the grammar of Vedanta.Today I chose to read this Vedanta Sutras to you, why? Because as I mix with you, or talk to you, I see two different thought process going on simultaneously inyour mind. One thought or one force is very very very powerful force or thought

, which is always pulling you towards the Self or the Knowledge, but the other one is a lot of confusion, doubts which creeps up into your mind and sometimes Isee that you suffer. But these doubts are very normal because the mind is like awave, sometimes it will be high, sometimes it will be low. Its like tides, so t

heres nothing to worry. Because you don

t have a very detailed understandings ab

out the spiritual back grounds, what happens, why it happens, that is why you get confused and I have seen that you suffer a lot.But there is no reason to suffer at all. Because once you have come to this question that I want to realize the self or God, it is very much evident that you will know the truth. The first thing that I want to tell you is that to know the truth we need three qualifications, one is a human birth, a cow cannot have selfrealization, why? Because she doesn

t have that mental level which she can transcend her mind, she can go beyond the limits of the mind, she cannot discriminate. Any other creature in this world doesnt have that capacity to discriminate their mind which will take them beyond the realms of mind, beyond the limitations of the mind.We all know mind, mind, a group of thoughts, group of all cloudy thoughts, is taking us always into the external world. when this group of thoughts act upon us,we get distracted, but we also have the capacity within us by which we can cut

this distraction and this faculty of ours is called discrimination. Because of this discrimination, we can cut all the thoughts can we can go beyond the limitations of the mind. We can reach that unlimited Brahman and that is why human being is so much valuable. He is held equivalent to God. In the puranas if you see,you will see that the Lord residing in the heaven also cannot become enlightened, if they want to become enlightened, they have to take a human birth. So, herewe have to know that though we remain amongst sufferings and miseries, we are superior to any other creature in the whole scheme of creation. Why? Because it isonly the human being who can get enlightened and liberated. so, the first thingthat we need for enlightenment is a human birth, it doesnt say that you have totake birth in India or become a Brahmin, but it says you should have a human bi

rth. Next is the extreme urge for freedom or enlightenment, I have to have thisstrong urge which will tend me towards enlightenment, liberation, freedom. Everybody wants to be free. The first thing that every human being wants is to become



free, because he is always free by nature. But, he doen

t know this. Why do wealways want to become free, to sleep? Sleep is the only state which we love themost, whatever we do, we do that for a good sleep, why? Because the sleep givesus the taste of freedom, freedom from our thoughts, mental distractions and sufferings, from physical sufferings also. We get freedom in such a state about which we have no idea, we feel refreshed after we come back from sleep. Enlightenment or Samadhi, where there is a union with ourself or God, the highest state of a

human being is Samadhi, that state is nothing but conscious deep sleeping. I amsleeping but I am conscious about the sleep. We sleep but we dont know what hap

pens, but the man who is conscious about his sleep is an enlightened man. We areall talking about freedom, enlightenment, how to achieve that? We have to eleva

te ourself to such a plane of consciousness where we remain conscious in the sleep. This urge to realize God will take us upto that point, so the next quality required is the urge to liberation. The third factor is a contact with an able Master. It says if you have these earlier two qualities, the human birth and un urge for liberation, then only you will come in contact with an able Master. Whenthese three conditions are fulfilled, you get liberated. You go beyond your mind, the cycle of birth and death, time, space and casualty. A man who goes beyondthe limitations of his mind goes beyond birth and death.

Now we have to see ourselves. When we come together, practice vedanta, take classes, where do we stand? We have seen that we have this urge to know the Self. Everybody of us who are present here today have a genuine urge to know the Self and we are working very hard for that. Now we have to see what the scriptures tellus about this state of ours, where do we stand, where a man stands when this se

lf search comes to him? Where does the man stand when this question comes to himthat I want to know myself , O my Lord, tell me, tell me. We have to study Sank

aracharyya also. We have to know the Vivekchudamani where we will find that thedisciple comes to a Master and prays to be taken away from the realms of this world because he is bewildered by the fire of this world. He wants to get that peaceful state, wants to get liberated from these burnings. The first thing that the Master tells Him is -don

t worry. Fear not. The first words of the Vedas or the Upanishads is this- Fear not. whatever happens to us, everytime we should know

, fear not, there is way, there is way. So when this opposite thoughts comes tous, I know that in everybody

s mind, this is very obvious, till you know the Self confirmedly , hold on, fear not. Upanishads means remaining near the self withfull confirmation. It means that he is totally confirmed that there is the Self

, that He is the Self, the unity, the oneness, the abode of peace, bliss, joy, happiness , freedom, of knowledge, of truth of infinity, of divinity, of eternity. This is the place, he knows it.Upanishads means the knowledge by which we staynear the truth with full assurance.

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

*More thoughts on Brahma Sutras*

Brahman or God or Self, Truth, Consciousness or Existence or whatever you call is not an object perceivable to our senses, mind or intellect. We cannot see it through our physical eye, neither can we taste or hear or smell or even think ofHim. Thus, the first approach always has been of negation- not this, not this. He is that, what is not. For example, in the Upanishads, the Masters says- That which cannot be seen, smelt, heard etc but by whose presence the senses or mind works is Brahman.That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship. If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Itsform; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Brahman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry.Thus Tatastha laksana becomes a must.In the katha upanishad also, we see the reference of a constellation Arundhuti.This constellation being very very far from us is like a dot in the night sky. To reach(see) it,we take the help of other bigger constellations near to this and

thus reach the desired Arundhuti. That which helps us in the Self Inquiry in the very outset but looses its relevance once the goal is reached might be definedas the Tatastha laksana.



With this negation comes the right perception of that which IS and which cannotbe expressed. This brings us a step further where we can have the benefit of theSwarupa laksana. Within this time, because of a continuous search, our mind als

o has become much clear where we can hold the idea of that which is transcendental.The Upanishads holds the knowledge of the Self or God within it. But, there is lesser references of the means to attain the Absolute. Hence, the Br. Su. is an e

ffective tool by which our search gets translated into attainment. The first Sutra starts with a question-

Athata Brahmajignyasa

and ends with a confirmation-

Anabritti Sabdat Anabritti Sabdat

- ( liberation from the cycle of birth anddeath, complete liberation from attachment and aversion, worldly happiness and sadness, fame and defame and from all conflicts and confusions and attainment ofthe eternal supreme peace while immersed into the ocean of bliss forever.Now, why does the scriptures specially the Br. Su, advocate guided practice in accordance with the shruti or the Vedas? Once, I came across a reference made inthe Vedas thus-

Navedbin Manute Tam Brihantam

- ( one who doesn

t meditate theBrahman according to the hymns of the Vedas, cannot know Brahman

. I was very shocked initially because that suggested only a very narrow minded approach. But,now, my experiences say how correct and perfect those words are of the Vedas. H

ere, I include all the spiritual texts available in the world when I refer to asthe Vedas. When we approach something which cannot be seen or heard or touchedor thought of, its the Master and the words of the scriptures which are our onlyguidelines. We cannot create our own path according to our wish when we reel wi

thin the limitations of time, space and casualty.As to your idea of individual soul, I have to say, the Soul is one and thus infinite but is reflected in every being in equal proportion. The sun falls on a beautiful rose and also on wine bottle. But, there is no two. And while reflectingthrough the wine bottle, the sun doesn

t become impure. Hence, there is one soul. Another example, there are ten pots of water. And within those ten pots, we will see ten suns, but they are one and indivisible. When we break one pot, thereremains nine.....eight...seven....then ultimately, one reflected sun and one sun. When the last pot is broken, the one who remained earlier remained thereafter,

unchangeable. Gone are the reflections, but the true object remained. That is the Existence, the substratum of every being.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Topics of Brahma Sutras*Before going into the detailed study of the Sutras, we should learn something about

Adhikaran

or topic. The literal meaning of topic is the subject discussed. For example, in the 1st Sutras the word Jignasa or questioning was widely usedand the subject matter also was about questioning. Thus the 1st Aphorism is cal

led

Jignasa Adhikaran

. This topic consists of only one sutra. Similarly, the2nd, 3rd and 4th sutras are also of independent topic and their naming has beendone with respect to the subject discussed. In other topics, there are more thanone sutras. There is an arithmetic arrangement in the no. Of sutras and its top

ics.Br. Su are called the

Uttar Mimansha

because of the fact that they talk aout Brahman being the only object of knowledge and attainment unlike the

Purva Mimansha

where attainment of heaven is the prime objective. According to Sankara, there are in all 555 sutras and 191

Adhikarana

or topics which are divided into4 adhyaya or sections and each section into 4 padas or sub sections.

The topic consists 5 basic points viz. 1) the subject 2) confusion raised 3) justification of confusion with reference to the Shruti 4) justification against the confusion with reference to Shrutis 5) Conclusion. To derive the actual essence of the sutras, these five basic points has to be discussed in details and without the same, the conclusion derived will be considered invalid.Brahma Sutras are the testimony and explanation of the Upanishads. Thus, in each

topic, the definite meaning of the Shruti is discussed. Those words of the Shrutis are the topic heads of the respective topics in Br. Su.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



----------------------------------------* Lakhshana used in Brahma Sutras*

Now, when we have already started our journey into the Brahma Sutras quite seriously, let us be acquainted with some of the technical terms used in the Br. Su.( Brahma Sutra).To have a better understanding of the Brahma Sutras, we have to know a word - Laksana and its significance. The literal meaning of Laksana is the identifying fe

atures or attributes or very close to an analogy. For example, while explainingthe address of someone named Ram, we say, Ram

s house is in the Ganga. We all know that Ganga being a river cannot be a place where someone could build a house.It means that Ram

s house is in the banks of the river Ganga. This is known asthe Tatastha Laksana. Tatastha Laksana is that expression by which we express acertain character of an object which is distinct from its real nature. The definition of an object that helps temporarily to identify the object, but which is discarded later for a better definition is called incidental qualification or Tatastha Laksana;So, in the second Ap.( aphorism) of the Br. Su. ( Janmadhayashya Yatah), we findthe use of Tatastha Laksana where the origin, sustenance and dissolution has be

en referred or related to the world which has no relation what so ever with the

eternal, changeless and birthless Brahman but the second Ap. indicates the nature or characteristic of Brahman.There is another way of expressing an object. Its the direct expression. In thescriptures, we find the references about Brahman such as -" Truth, Knowledge, Infinite is Brahman." This way of directly defining an object, here in case, Brahman is known as Swarupa Laksana. Through Swarupa Laksana, we define an object inits true essence. Here, though these three words are distinctive to each other and carry separate meaning when referred to in a different context, yet they talkabout the one indivisible Brahman. For example, we say, H2O, two atoms of hydro

gen and one atom of oxygen. H2O means water. Though

H

,

2

and

o

are distinct, yet, they express the nature of one water. Another example is, Ram is a goodfather, a good son, a good husband and a good king. Father, son, husband and king are different, but they all refer to the characteristics of one person- Ram.

Why is the use of Laksana so important in Vedanta? It is because to understand and realize the depth of any given object and its definition, we should understand and realize at length the basic or intrinsic qualifications of those that construct that said object. In the Br. Su, we will find the references and need to understand the applications of such Laksanas often.Before going into the next Ap., we would like to discuss at length about

Adyasa

or super imposition which finds its relevance in almost all the texts of Vedanta and in the Br. Su.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Adhyasa*Therefore, we can easily come to the conclusion that the identification of the Self with the body,mind,intellect etc is only due to the superimposition or Adhyasa. All the miseries of finiteness and relativity starts with the perception that I am the body, mind etc. Our birth, death etc are all but due to this false notion. Because of Adhyasa, one though omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent seems to be bounded by the strings of time, space and causation. Hence, the only wayto get liberated from the mundane existence is to get rid of the false notion o

f I through true knowledge. The knowledge of oneness with the Absolute is the only way to pass beyond death and miseries. As the upanishads declare - ( AsabdamAsparsham Arupam Avyayam, Tatha Arasam..........Nicayya Tat Mrtyumukhat Pramucyate) - one becomes free from the jaws of death by knowing the one that is soundless, touchless, formless, undiminishing and tasteless.When the Self is realized, the phenomenal world disappears instantly. When by listening to the Mahavakyas from the Guru and then engaged into the inquiry of the

Self through comprehension and discrimination, one realizes the Self, He goes beyond all modifications or superimpositions. This reverse process by which we become one with our real nature leaving behind all the transitory existences is ca



lled Adhyaropa or Apavada. Thus Apavada is a process by which the existence of snake completely dilutes into the existence of rope and remains as a rope henceforth. The explanation of Sankara that the world is maya or illusion has given this philosophy the name of Mayavada or Anirvachaniya Khyativada( the doctrine of apparent modification of Brahman into the phenomenal world).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* First Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras*

" Sankaram Sankaracharyam Keshavam BadarayanamSutra bhasyou krito bande, Bhagavantou Punah Punah"

ATTHATHO BRAHMA JIJNASA --- Now this quest of the Truth or the Self or Brahman or the question of "Who Am I?" has arrived.The word

Brahman

has been derived from the root word (dhatu)

Briha

. Brahmanmeans the Self. The word self is derived from that dhathu. In Sanskrit root wordis called dhathu. From briha dhathu. Every word in Sanskrit has come from a roo

t. Like ‘Ram’ came from a root. When Ram came into this being he didn

t have a name.

His father brought Him to the sages to name him. When the sages saw that littlechild, they saw that he is attracting them in such a level that the sages feelthe presence of that child in their mind. While they feel the presence of that child in their mind they get connected with the lord. So this child is a medium to connect with that infinite lord. This wonder child is the one whom the yogis can meditate upon spontaneously and that is why that child was named as RAM - “Ramanthi yogina yasmin sa Ram”, the one in whom the sages meditate and take refuse isRAM. Krishna was born and in the same way the sages came and they saw that the boy was attracting them towards him. The one quality of the God is attraction. The world also attracts us but there is a sense of dis satisfaction and extreme desire and unfulfillment. But with the attraction of God, we find peace and blissand a natural flow of renunciation and fulfillment. We will see when we are meditating and are moving towards the self, the vibrations of the mind is very less

we feel the attraction coming from inside. Like somebody is attracting from inside. Who is that? That is the Self. So when sages came to name Krishna they saw that Krishna is attracting them and that is why they named Krishna as “Ya karshathisa Krishna”. Krishna has came from the word karshathi from "Krish" dhathu or the

root word. In the same way Brahman came from the root ‘Briha’. Brahman doesn’t mean that somebody sitting in the heaven. Brahman means ‘Me, You, Everybody and my Self’. Briha denotes greatness to an infinite degree and therefore applicable to all objects which have the quality of greatness. But aptly to that object by nature andquality posses this greatness to an infinite degree. Hence the word Brahman pri

marily denotes that supreme person who is the abode of all auspicious qualitiesto an infinite degree and who is free from all worldly taint. This supreme person is the only being, the knowledge of whose nature results in liberation. Afterknowing Brahman the person becomes the possessor of all divine qualities and that also to an infinite degree.

Then

denotes the immediate sequence and therefore signifies that the antecedent fact necessarily leads to an inquiry into Brahman. The word then means now the quest for truth has started, so when it says that

Now

means

When?

- when everything of this worldly activities have been finished and now we approach into the highest level where we come close to the realize the self and become free.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Question and conclusion of the first aphorism of the Br. Sutra.*As it has been said in the first aphorism that the question of the Self or Brahman has began. Now, the question is- why should we question about the existence of Brahman? Does the world cease to exist after the knowledge of the Self is atta

ined? The answer is an obvious

NO

. After the realization of the Self or Brahman, which has been described in the Upanishads as the destroyer of the world phenomena, liberator of the illusory world etc, we still continue to witness the re



lative existence or Samsara( world). So, why should we desire for Brahman or Self?Answer - It is true that even after the attainment of the knowledge of the Selfwhere one becomes conscious of the world beyond this illusory world, the Self beyond this empirical Self, one experiences and dwells within the illusory world but this vision of the illusory world is not because of its( world) actual existence but because of the past impression or Sanskaras. For example, if we keep a p

iece of onion in a bowl for seven days, the bowl will continue to smell onion for several more days even after withdrawing onion from the bowl. Though there isno onion present within the bowl, still, it would keep on smelling, thus, thoughthe Self knowledge has already been attained, yet, we keep on witnessing and dw

elling into this empirical Self which is better known as ego-consciousness but there is a difference. We can understand this better if we see an event in the life of Swami Vivekananda when He was a wondering monk. Once during His journey into the deserts of Rajasthan, He saw a village full of trees and lakes. Because He was thirsty, so He ran towards the lake but within a moment understood that itwas a mirage. There was no such village full of lake within the vicinity of a f

ew kilometers. He kept walking and while He continued, He saw the same village again. This time He didn

t run, He knew that though He have seen it, yet in reali

ty, it doesn

t exist, its a mirage. Thus, a wise after realization of the Self though sees and experiences this world, yet, He knows it very certainly that theworld with its attributes doesn

t exist. That it is false. Falseness doesn

t mean the nonexistence of the world, but, its not what it is seen. Thus, the Guru and the scriptures repeatedly speaks about the non reality of this world and the existence of the Self. The world is seen real because of the super imposition ofthe non real entity into the real. Thus, reality has to be perceived first and then realized.Like in the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna says-" Na tewaham jatu nasam na twam neme janadhipahaNa chaiba na bhavishyamah sarve vayamataha param" 2.12.- (But certainly its not a fact that I didn

t exist at anytime nor you, nor these rulers of men. And surely it is not that we all shall cease to exist after thi

s).Now, How do we exist eternally or how does the world exist eternally? It existseternally because it is eternal by nature but because of delusion or ignorance it is perceived to be a name and form and with attributes.We are consciousness absolute but because of Maya or super-imposition, the Self is perceived and related to the three states viz conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious. This Self though perceived to be empirical and unreal is not so. We are the Real Universal soul and thus, this reality should always be sought. Thus, Brahma Jignyasa(question) is valid.What do we know after the question is raised about the Brahman- The brahma Sutragives us a very define answer to this question in the second aphorism-

Janmadhyasya Yatah.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*2nd Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras*anmadhyasya Yatah

Janmadi ( birth or origination etc) asya ( of this world) yahat ( from where)

The second Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras says- That from where the birth and death (origination, sustenance and dissolution) of this world happens.

This 2nd sutra or Aphorism is considered to be the definition of Brahman. In thefirst sutra, the inquiry into the Self had began. But, then, it becomes necessa

ry for an aspirant to know the characteristic of the one who is to be known or r

ealized. Thus, Brahman is that from where we come, live and dissolute into. It is our past, present and future and thus the most important knowledge to be known. We see a similar echo of this sutra in the Taitiriya Upanishads -



" Yato Va Imani Bhutani Jayante. Yena Jatani Jivanti. Yat Prayantyabhi Samvishanti" - that from where the world has originated. That in which the world lives. That in which it dissolves is the Self or Brahman.

But, the question is- in the first sutras when an inquiry had been made about Brahman, why didn

t the next aphorism talk about the means to attain that Knowledge. Instead we see that, there is a direct reference of that which is non perceiv

able or beyond all comprehensions. The answer to my mind might be thus-

There are two aspects of spiritual world. One the means and the other the end. Almost all the aspirant are been trained to follow the means to attain the end. The mandatory practices such as meditation, self analysis and the like. But, it is the Consciousness ( which comes out of constant perception) of the Self whichthe easiest, fastest and surest way to attain Self Knowledge and hence Liberation. Thus, with this second sutra, there is attempt to boost the endeavor of the aspirant so as to the real nature becomes clearer. We are the Self, the source ofall sentient and insentient, ever unattached from all phenomena of Maya and itseffect ignorance. Astavakra thus sings-- " Viswam sfurati yatredam taranga iva

sagare....."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*3rd Sutra of Brahma Sutra*

Sastra Yonitwat.Sastras (Scriptures) are the means of correct Knowledge.This sutra is a continuation, support and confirmation of the earlier Sutra thatBrahman being the primal cause of the world is known only through the scripture

s. Thus Brahman being the cause is not concluded by means of any analogy, estimation or inference, but, is supported by the Scriptures which are but the first hand realization of the Seers of truth. This also documents that the Srutis aloneare the evidence of the existence of Brahman.

Now, the objection that has been raised was- "Brahman is an already existing ent

ity like the pot etc and thus it can be known by other means of right knowledgealso other than the scriptures."Answer: There are enough scriptural texts that testifies that Brahman is beyondcomprehension and is not the object of knowledge perceptible unlike the pot etc.Any object which has a form, name, taste, smell etc can be defined by other mea

ns apart from the scriptures. For example, in the first chapter of keno Upanishads it says thus- (That Brahman is definitely unlike the one that is Known, and again, its beyondthe unknown. Such are the utterances that we had heard of the ancient sages whoexplained the same to us).Keno Upanishad keeps on repeating the same characteristic of Brahman being non perceivable to the different sense organs, the mind and the Prana( the five vitalforces). Similar facts has been echoed in the Brhadaranyaka as- "He who control

s the organ of speech from within" Br. III. vii 17. Or, in the Chandogya as, " One only; without a second", VI.ii.1 and "Where one doesn

t see anything else", VII,xxiv.1. " Hence, the finite is that where one sees something else" Ch. VII.xxiv.1. Thus, an object which is completely non perceptible through direct experiences of the senses and mind, intellect etc, cannot be established by inference and analogy. Therefore it can be known only through the scriptures. Earlier we had discussed, "One who is ignorant of the Scriptures cannot have right knowledgeof the Brahman." The other means of knowledge does have a scope but only when Brahman is established. They might be supplementary, not independent.

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Some thoughts on Vedanta