Category Archives: Vedanta

Vedanta

All Seeking is for Self

Leave a comment

Below passage is in the context of sage Yajnavalkya addressing his wife, Maitreyi.

[Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Translation, 2.4.5, Advaita Ashram]

He said: It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one’s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the  sake of the Brahmana*, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the gods, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one’s own sake – that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should  be realised-should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realisation of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known.

*Brahmana here refers to a cast.

Awareness, Consciousness, Vedanta

Deep Sleep Awareness

Leave a comment

Q: I do not seem to be aware at all in deep sleep. If awareness never goes then where does my awareness go in deep sleep?

A: When you say, “my” awareness you are referring to the reflected/personal awareness. A stone may have no reflected/personal awareness at all but stone is within the impersonal/pure awareness which never goes. Stone is an expression of pure awareness. When we say awareness never goes, we refer to the pure awareness, not the reflected one. Incidentally, even “your” awareness does exist in dormant form in deep sleep. Had it not been the case then nobody would get up from the deep sleep after hearing a loud noise or nobody would get up from deep sleep due to mosquito bite. Also, consider the following verse:

image

[Panchadasi, Chapter 11, Verse 39]

Implied Meaning: If there is no comfort in deep sleep then why great effort is made to set up soft bedding and other conveniences?

Vedanta

What is Vedanta?

Leave a comment

The word Vedanta can be looked at from two angles:

  1. The knowledge that is contained in the texts called Upanishads at the end of each Veda.
  2. The knowledge that ends the quest for the knowledge.

From the perspective of the core source texts (Prasthānatrayī) Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita jointly can be referred to as Vedanta. However, there are very large number of texts that are studied in the tradition of Vedanta.

A teaching tradition has developed out of the work of several sages over a span of last 3000 years or so based on Upanishads which is also known as Vedanta. Vedanta is a proven systematic teaching method of Self Realisation. Since, one can know oneself directly (if qualified) by following the teachings of Vedanta, it is not really a philosophy but is a direct means of Self knowledge.

Enlightenment, Self Realisation, Vedanta

Irreversibility of Self-Realisation

Leave a comment

It is said that while tomorrow you can forget what you hear today but you seldom forget cycling or swimming. Self-Realisation/Aparokshanubhooti is the direct knowledge of the Self. It is not a bookish knowledge, epiphany without true realisation, belief or faith.

image

[Panchadasi, Chapter 7, Triptideep Prakraran, Verse 62]

The above implies that once the intellect develops to recognise the truth of the Atman then any behaviour/false-identification involving/caused-due-to  body, mind, energy, intellect, bliss does not cause the loss of this intellect. To live in the apparent reality, false identification has to be done. The enlightened person does respond when called by a name. He/she still signs cheques and does all the routine jobs involving false identifications. But, just like an actor does not remain character of the play after the act, the enlightened person can get rid of these false identifications. Aparokshanubooti (direct knowledge) is generally irreversible in the long run.

Bliss, Consciousness, Vedanta

The Bliss Confusion

Leave a comment

Atman (Self) is often defined as Sat-Chit-Aanand. Sat implies forever/permanent/existence, Chit implies self revealing consciousness and Aanand generally implies bliss. Definition of something means all conditions should be satisfied at all time.

Emotions come and go so how can an emotion like bliss always be permanent? For example, bliss cannot be experienced while watching horror movie or while watching a bad dream. Also, Atman is everywhere whether we speak of living beings or non-living objects. How can bliss be associated with a non-living entity like stone? How can bliss be associated with living entity not capable of experiencing bliss for example certain microbes/insects/animals etc. Also, Atman is the knower of everything including bliss, how can it itself be bliss?

If Aanand is considered as Anant which means limitless/infinite, this confusion would not be there and Atman indeed is limitless/whole/infinite. The word bliss when used in the context of Atman should be seen in this light. It is true that the more mind abides in Self, the happier it is. So, the words bliss & aanand can be used in their general sense also but they cannot be the direct representative of permanence when used this way.

Perhaps a Sanskrit scholar can look into the origin of the words Anant & Aanand.