tm bdha

Transcription of Pravacanas (talks)

of

Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati

Transcribed by Raghu Ganapathy

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda i

Contents

Key to transliteration and pronunciation of Sanskrit letters .................................................................. v

Preface .................................................................................................................................................. vii
Introduction to tm bdha ................................................................................................................. 1
Derivation of the terms tm and bdha ................................................................................ 6
Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya .................................................................................................. 19
Verse 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 21
Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam ........................................................................................ 29
Verse 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 31
Verse 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 35
Verse 4 ..................................................................................................................................... 38
Verse 5 ..................................................................................................................................... 52
Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha............................................................................................................ 59
Verse 6 .................................................................................................................................... 61
Verse 7 ..................................................................................................................................... 72
Verse 8 ..................................................................................................................................... 74
Verse 9 ..................................................................................................................................... 78
Updhi and Uphita .......................................................................................................................... 83
Verse 10 ................................................................................................................................... 85
Verse 11 ................................................................................................................................... 91
Verse 12 ................................................................................................................................... 93
Verse 13 ................................................................................................................................... 96
Verse 14 ................................................................................................................................... 98
Verse 15 ................................................................................................................................. 105
tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra ...................................................................................... 111
Verse 16 ................................................................................................................................. 113

ii Introduction to tm bdha

Verse 17 ................................................................................................................................. 117

Verse 18 ................................................................................................................................. 121
Verse 19 ................................................................................................................................. 126
Verse 20 ................................................................................................................................. 128
Verse 21 ................................................................................................................................. 132
Verse 22 ................................................................................................................................. 134
Verse 23 ................................................................................................................................. 136
Verse 24 ................................................................................................................................. 139
Verse 25 ................................................................................................................................. 142
Verse 26 ................................................................................................................................. 146
Verse 27 ................................................................................................................................. 148
Verse 28 ................................................................................................................................. 151
Verse 29 ................................................................................................................................. 158

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana .......................................................... 163

Verse 30 ................................................................................................................................. 165
Verse 31 ................................................................................................................................. 170
Verse 32 ................................................................................................................................. 171
Verse 33 ................................................................................................................................. 175
Verse 34 ................................................................................................................................. 178
Verse 35 ................................................................................................................................. 182
Verse 36 ................................................................................................................................. 186
Verse 37 ................................................................................................................................. 190
Verse 38 ................................................................................................................................. 195
Verse 39 ................................................................................................................................. 197
Jna Phala ........................................................................................................................ 201

Verse 40 ................................................................................................................................. 203

Verse 41 ................................................................................................................................. 205

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda iii

Verse 42 ................................................................................................................................. 208

Verse 43 ................................................................................................................................. 210

Verse 44 ................................................................................................................................. 212
Verse 45 ................................................................................................................................. 216
Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta .............................................................................. 221
Verse 46 .............................................................................................................................................. 223
Verse 47 ................................................................................................................................. 228
Verse 48 ................................................................................................................................. 233
Verse 49 ................................................................................................................................. 237
Verse 50 ................................................................................................................................ 240
Verse 51 ................................................................................................................................. 242
Verse 52 ................................................................................................................................. 248
Verse 53 ................................................................................................................................ 253
Brahma svarpa ................................................................................................................ 259

Verse 54 ................................................................................................................................. 261

Verse 55 ................................................................................................................................. 263
Verse 56 ................................................................................................................................. 267
Verse 57 ................................................................................................................................. 269
Verse 58 ................................................................................................................................. 272
Verse 59 ................................................................................................................................. 275
Verse 60 ................................................................................................................................. 279
Verse 61 ................................................................................................................................. 282
Verse 62 ................................................................................................................................. 285
Jna Phala and Jna Di ............................................................................................................ 289
Verse 63 ................................................................................................................................. 291
Verse 64 ................................................................................................................................. 293
Verse 65 ................................................................................................................................. 295

iv Introduction to tm bdha

Verse 66 ................................................................................................................................. 298

Verse 67 ................................................................................................................................. 301

Phalaruti ............................................................................................................................................ 305

Verse 68 ................................................................................................................................. 307
tm Bdha- The Verses as explained in this book .......................................................................... 311

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda v

Key to transliteration and pronunciation of Sanskrit letters

Sanskrit is a highly phonetic language and therefore accuracy in the pronunciation of

the letters is very important. A change in the pronunciation could change the meaning of
the word itself. For those who are not familiar with the Dvangar script, the
International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a guide to the correct
pronunciation of the Sanskrit letters.

fun

feet
full

marine

aisle

**

father

it

pool

revelry

go

***

ai

au

a
ka

rhythm

play

cow

Seek 1

kha
blockhead*1
ga
get 1
gha
a

log-hut * 1
sing 1

ca

chunk 2

jha

hedgehog *2

cha
ja

tra

ha

ha
a
ta

tha
da

dha
na
pa

pha
ba

bha
ma

match *2
jump 2

three 2

ant-hill *3
duck *3

godhead *3

(close to) pathetic *4

numb *4

thunder *3

(close to) that*4

(close to) think *4

(close to) breathe *4

purse 5

sapphire *5
but 5

ya

loyal

va

virtue

ra
la

a
a
sa

ha

ka
ja

red

luck

sure

shun
sir

hum

worksheet
*

(close to) world *

''

'

unpronounced

(a)

unpronounced
()

abhor 5

mother 5

* No English equivalent ** Nasalisation of preceding vowel *** Aspiration of preceding vowel.

1. Guttural

Pronounced from throat

2. Palatal
Pronounced from palate
3. Lingual
Pronounced from cerebrum
4. Dental
Pronounced from teeth
5. LabialPronounced from lips.
The 5th letter of each of the above class called nasals is also pronounced nasally.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda vii

Preface

All of us have, at some time or the other, heard of various terms like soul,

spirit, tm etc. Most of us have our own notions about these, which more

often than not are confusing than revealing. The heady mixture of the terms
used in Western theology and the English translation of the Vdntik

terminology has only added to the confusion surrounding these concepts.

Of course, even between the Vdntik commentators, we can find

disagreements in the meaning of these terms and what they actually

represent.

(tm Bdha) written by di akarcrya is an excellent

introductory text for gaining a complete understanding of the term tm ,

what it is and what is its role in the grand scheme of things in the universe,
from the Advaita Vdnt perspective.

This text is based on the series of 16 pravacanas of Svmi

Paramrthnand Sarasvat (Svmi Ji) delivered by him in a camp

conducted by him in Srisailam, in Andhra Pradesh. A reader would,

therefore, find some references to this place in these talks.

Like my earlier work on Svmi Jis pravacanas on Tattva Bdha text, the
present work is also a transcription of his lectures on the subject of tm

Bdha. My contribution is restricted only to faithfully reproducing Svmi

Jis words to the best of my abilities, albeit with appropriate editing to
conform to the print and reading medium.

The subject of this text which is the knowledge of the tm or Brahman is a

very subtle one. A new student, who is a serious seeker of this knowledge,

could find it a bit difficult to appreciate the contents of this work in his first

viii Introduction to tm bdha

attempt. I would, therefore, urge all such students to first listen to Svmi Jis
talks on Tattva Bdha or at least go though the transcription of these
talks, before listening to his talks on the subject of tm Bdha or
attempting open even the first page of this text. As Svmi Ji often

emphasizes in his talks, a serious study of Vdnt, needs to be undertaken

in a very systematic manner as it is done for all subjects in any school or

college. For one, who has gone through Svmi Jis talks on the Tattva

Bdha text, this teaching on tm Bdha will be relatively easy to follow

and assimilate.

The unique feature of these talks by Svmi Ji is that one could at times get a

doubt whether he is rendering the talks in English or Sanskrit? That the

knowledge of Sanskrit language is a great advantage, rather an imperative,

for a serious study of our scriptures will not be an overstatement. And

Svmi Ji, in his own inimitable style has, in these talks, tried to push the

listeners towards creating an yearning for learning this language by

exposing them in a fairly large measure not only to the word and sentence
formation but also to some basic aspects of grammar of this beautiful and

most scientific language of Gods, as they say. This is definitely a succeeding

step in his teaching methodology following from his exposition on Tattva

Bdha.

As in the case of Tattva Bdha, Svami Ji has taken great pains to explain

each and every word contained in the original tm Bdha text. And as

stated above, he has also used Sanskrit language liberally to explain some
of the aspects. I have reproduced all the contents of his talks rendered in
Sanskrit in Dvangar script with my limited knowledge of Sanskrit

language. So errors cannot be ruled out. I humbly request the readers to

give me feedback ([email protected]), so that they can be rectified.

Preface ix

Additionally I have adopted the scheme of International Alphabet of

Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) for Romanization of the Dvangar script.

Of course the meaning of each word is elaborated by Svami Ji himself. The

transliteration and pronunciation guide is given at the beginning of this

text.

I would like to emphasize that this text is in no way meant to be a

substitute for Svmi Jis pravacanas. I would strongly urge any serious
seeker to first listen to the pravacanas of Svmi Ji in a systematic and

regular manner as one would do in a class room in a school or a college.

Vdnt is a serious subject and the ultimate knowledge. It is not bedside

reading literature. A serious study requires utmost learning discipline, if

one were to understand the philosophical concepts even just at the

intellectual level. This text should help such students to revise their
learning after listening to Svmi Jis pravacanas.

I am indebted to scores of people who have helped me, directly and

indirectly, in compiling this text, in particular to my wife Rajalaskhmi and

my good friend M. Janardan in Kuwait, for the successful completion of this

project.

I offer my humble praams and prostrations at the lotus feet of Svmi

Paramrthnand Ji and seek his blessings for the successful completion of

this endeavor of mine.

Now over to Svmi Jis pravacanas.

Harih O Tat Sat

Raghu Ganapathy

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 1

Introduction to tm bdha

Introduction to tm bdha 3

The text (tm Bdha) supposed to be written by di

akarcrya himself is known as a (prakaraa grantha).

Prakaraa grantha is any auxiliary text or any supporting text written by

any crya for understanding the main source of Vdnt. The main text of

Vdnt is the upaniads themselves. They are the

(mla

grantha) for which the author is unknown. Upaniads belong to Vds and

the author of the Vds is unknown and if at all we have to know the

author, we have to call the Lord alone as the author! Therefore, the mla

granths do not have any author and that is why they are called
(apauruya granthah). Apauruya means that which is not a

product of human intellect.

(purua buddhi janya na),

whereas, in contrast, prakaraa grantha are pauruya granthas. They

are written by cryas with the aim of clarifying the original text.

The prakaraa granths are twofold. Some of them are introductory

granths which are studied before studying the upaniads. The examples of
such texts are Tattva bdha or tm bdha or even to some extent

Vivka Cmai, Laghu Vsudva Manana, tmntm Vivka etc.

There are so many prakaraa granths which teach the whole system of

Vdnt in a simple manner. Elaborate arguments are avoided. The other

systems of philosophy are not discussed. It is like spoon feeding for a LKG
student.

Then there are other set of prakaraa granths which come after the study

of upaniads which are meant to stabilize the upaniadik teaching. And,

therefore, lots of arguments are involved. Every upaniadik idea is

4 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

questioned. And other systems of philosophy like Sakhy, Nyya etc. are

taken into account and even other interpretations of Vdnta are

considered like Viidvaita interpretation, Dvaitik interpretation of

Vdnta. Eventually through a well argued process, all other systems of

philosophy are rejected and all other interpretations are also dismissed.

These are also done by prakaraa granths. But these are studied after
studying the upaniads. Those prakaraa granths are called nyya

granths or siddhi granths like Ia siddhi, advait siddhi, brahma siddhi

etc. There are a number of siddhi granths. They are very advanced texts.

Most of the time logic alone will be there. To sum up, there are the two

types of prakaraa granths. And tm bdha happens to be the first type

of prakaraa granths and therefore, we need not be frightened.

However, it is a bit more advanced than Tattva bdha and therefore, I

chose this text for two reasons. Because in a camp we find we have a

peculiar type of audience. Students from different levels of learning attend

these camps. There are some students who have just joined Gt classes.

They are like 3 months old babies. We have got students who are

Pacada students who have even studied Brahma Sutrs Ph.D students.
So it is a mixture of both and tm bdha is a peculiar book which caters

for both types of students. The fundamental ideas are also clarified

beautifully and we get the whole picture of Vdnt. Some of the important

advanced topics are also highlighted.

And the second reason I chose this text is that every important ideas of

Vdnta are clarified through examples. This is the uniqueness of tm

bdha. Almost all lks have got an example. The first two lines of the

lka will be the idea and the later two lines of the lka will be the

example. For every idea, therefore, we have an example. One can, therefore,

Introduction to tm bdha 5

understand the whole Vdnta through examples. So if tm bdha is

learnt by heart it will be very useful because any idea that needs to be

clarified, a pithy lka will help. It is unlike Vivka Cmai where there
are long verses and sometimes the metres are also not very fine. For
example let us look at the following verse from Vivka Cmai:
I

II

prpnavyndnasamn bhavatyasau pra I

svayamva vttibhd dvikti bhdtsuvara salildivat II

Does this sound like a lka? They are lks, no doubt, but they are called

viama vtts which means difficult metres. So committing them to

memory is difficult. Vivka Cmai has more than 500 lks!

But tm bdha contains only 68 lks and all of them are in

(anuup) metre which is the simplest metre in Sanskrit. Thus the

fundamentals are expounded in a simple language supported by very good

examples. For those who have studied Tattva bdha, this text will be a

reminder and revision which will also take them further in their pursuit.

6 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Derivation of the terms tm and bdha

Lets first understand the meaning of this word tm bdha. tm means

tm - the svarpa or the very nature of everyone. tm literally means

the svarpa, the content, the essence. Just as

(md) the clay is the

tm of the pot, (svara) is the tm of ornaments; water is the

tm of waves, bubbles, and ocean etc. Similarly essence of everyone is

called tm. Various meanings are given for the word tm:

yaccpnti yaddatt yaccti viayniha.

yaccsya santat bhvastasmdtmti krtyat.

The word tm is derived from four different roots. One root is (p) to pervade. (pnti iti tm). It is that essence which

pervades everyone. Just as clay pervades all pots as their essence, tm is

that which pervades everyone. So (yat sarva pnti).

The second meaning is (yat datt) datt means that which

resolves everything into itself the resolver just as clay, the essence

resolves all the pots unto itself; just as water resolves all the waves unto
itself; similarly tm resolves every antm unto itself at the time of

pralaya. Therefore, it is called tm - dattderived from the root -

(- d) to take unto, to swallow, to resolve, to absorb.

Introduction to tm bdha 7

The third meaning is (Atti iti tm) derived from the root

(ad) to eat; to experience. The tm is that essence that

(caitanya) which experiences everything

Yna rupa rasa gandha abdn sparca maithunn. tnaiva

vijnti kimatra pariiyat.

Which upaniad? Can anyone guess?

I will keep this question for the evening quiz. I will not ask now. I know you

dont have (Kahpaniad) here, so you cannot refer to it also.

Oh! Oh! What a fool am I? I have given out the name of the Upaniad!!! It

is Kahpaniad all right.

Ya atti means that which experiences rupa rasa gandha abdn

spar ca (bhkt rpa).

: (Upadranu mant ca bhartt bhkt

mahvara) says Bhagawad Gt . The spirit dwelling in this body is really

the same as the Supreme Lord.

Therefore the third meaning is the experiencer. We can also call it as the

witness.

So one is the pervader, two resolver, three experiencer and the fourth

meaning is derived from At - (at shatya gaman) that

8 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

which exists for ever (santat bhva), (satata

asti) ( sad asti) - iti tm.

Just as pot is gone, clay is; pot is resolved, clay is; and before the birth of

pot, the clay is. So the pot comes and goes but the clay ever exists. Similarly
the tm is that essence which exists whether the world comes or goes. So
the fourth definition is tm is that which ever IS, which is eternal.
Thus these are the four meanings of tm. It is nothing but the very

caitanya - cit consciousness. The awareness, the svarpa caitanya is

called tm.

The word bdha means knowledge. So now a question could be raised

that tm also is caitanya which is knowledge, awareness and bdha

also is knowledge and therefore, awareness. So tm bdha would mean

awareness awareness! This in Sanskrit grammar would be a

(punarukti da), because tm itself is bdha svarpa, that is, of the

nature of knowledge and bdha also means knowledge. What, therefore, is

the difference between tm the knowledge and bdha the knowledge?

There is a difference.

Let us try to understand this difference by using capital A for tm the

bdha svarpa i.e.of the nature of knowledge and small letter a for the

second one. tm in tm bdha is of the nature of knowledge, the

awareness, which ever IS i.e. eternal. This tm is the pure knowledge

which doesnt have any objects. It is not the knowledge of man, it is not the

knowledge of the pot; it is not the knowledge of physics or chemistry, book

or river or the Sun or the moon. It is not an objective knowledge. It is

knowledge without any object. It is objectless awareness, which is common

Introduction to tm bdha 9

in people and which is present in all living beings. We, therefore, call it

object-less awareness in Sanskrit svarpa caitanya.

However, the word bdha, the tm, with the small letter a, refers to a
second type of knowledge which is an objective knowledge. Here the

knowledge is not pure knowledge but the knowledge of something. The

previous one is objectless knowledge. The second one is objective

knowledge. When we say I know, one may ask what do you know? We

will say I know English, I know German, I dont know Chinese. This
objective knowledge is always a born knowledge. It is not eternal

knowledge; the svarpa jna which is always there in people.The

objective knowledge is born whenever we learn something. For example,

English knowledge is not there from the beginningless times. English
knowledge had an origin when one studied English. Similarly the

knowledge of colour was born when one operated the means i.e.ones eyes.
The second knowledge, therefore, is born knowledge - a janya jna, a
knowledge which has a beginning. The previous one is ajanya jna unborn knowledge; svarpa jna the objectless knowledge. The
objective knowledge is called janya jna.

But how is this knowledge born? Whenever we use an instrument of

knowledge and know the object like seeing an object through the eyes,
hearing an object through the ears etc., these are all operations of a

relevant instrument of knowledge. In Sanskrit we call it as a

(prama). So when we use a prama towards an object which is

called the (pramya), the image of the pramya enters through

our eyes or ears and in our mind a (vtti), is formed or we can say a

10 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

vtti is born. Vtti means a thought. And what type of thought? It is a

thought which is relevant to the object.

The process of the formation or the birth of a thought can be better

understood with an example. If (ghaa) is the object of perception, the

thought, the vtti, which will be formed, will be (ghakra vtti).

If : (paha) is the object, (pahkra vtti). In short,

(tattat viaya kra vtti jyat); jyat means

born. And the moment the vtti is born the svarpa caitanya which is

the consciousness, pervades that thought and the caitanya also seems to

assume the form of the thought. Thus, the formless awareness, by

pervading a formed thought, becomes the formed awareness as it were. So

ghakra vtti is there; (nirkra) or formless caitanya is

there. The nirkra caitanya pervades the ghakra vtti and the

caitanya also now appears as ghakra caitanya. And this ghakra

caitanya is called ghaa jna.

This ghaa jna or ghakra caitanya is born only when ghaa vtti is

born. We, therefore, called this knowledge as vtti jna. So the

objective knowledge is called janya jna or vtti jna. And
objectless knowledge is called svarpa jna or ajanya jna.

Now all of us already have tm the svarpa jna. And inspite of

svarpa jna being there, people suffer from the ignorance of the self.
They are sasrs, bound to the wordly affairs. From this we come to
know that svarpa jna cannot give liberation to people. Svarpa

jna cannot give happiness to people. If svarpa jna can give

Introduction to tm bdha 11

happiness, all people must be always happy. Nobody should cry. Everyone

must be smiling all the time. But we know that this is not the case.

So it means that merely possessing svarpa jna is not enough. We

require some other jna. That is the knowledge about oneself is

necessary. We should have knowledge about our svarpa. That means

(aha svarpa caintanya asmi )

(aha tm asmi )

(aha sarvavyp asmi )

(aha sarvasya dt asmi )

(aha sarvasya att asmi )

(aha sarvad asmi)

What we, therefore, require now is not svarpa jna. What we require

now is the vtti jna about tm. We require a janya jna. And for

that jna what is the viaya i.e. what is the object of knowledge? The

object of knowledge is the very subject itself. So we need a subjective

knowledge. We need a knowledge for which the object is subject. i.e the

knowledge about self. Therefore, when akarcrya called it tm

bdha the word tm refers to the svarpa jna and bdha refers to
vtti jna about the tm like ghaa bdha, pata bdha tm

bdha tm viayaka janya jna - Svarpa caintanya viayaka vtti

jna.

We all already have tm. But tm bdha we all do not have. And tm

bdha being a janya jna it has to be produced by an effort. And what

are the means to produce this knowledge? Nose produces gandha viayaka

12 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

bdha. Each prama produces (tattat pramya

viayaka bdha). Now here we want tm viayaka bdha. A knowledge

for which tm is the subject matter. And that is going to be the job of this
particular text.

Now the question is, tm bdha, which is vtti jna about tm, is it

(ctana) or actana - sentient or insentient? Jna itself means

ctana. So svarpa jna is ctana. Vtti jna is also ctana.

So the next question comes as to how can we call the text as tm bdha?
I am just giving you an example of how they make inquiry in Vdnta?

So the question is whether this book is ctana or actana? There is no

doubt, the book is actana. The book is in the form of words

(abdtmaka grantha). abda is ctana or actana? abda is

actana. The one who produces abda happens to be ctana but the
abda itself is a viaya like abda, spara, rpa, rasa, gandha all of them

are actana only - Aya grantha abdtmaka, which is actana. So

how can this actana abdtmaka grantha be called tm bdha the

caitanya?

The answer is that even though this is only an actana grantha, this

abdtmaka grantha serves as a prama to produce tm bdha and

since it produces tm bdha it is called tm bdha. It itself is not tm

bdha. , (tm

bdha janakatvt, tm bdha iti gauyt vtty ucyat). The grantha is

not tm bdha. The grantha produces tm bdha. So here tm

Introduction to tm bdha 13

bdha means tm bdha producing grantha. ,

, (tm bdha ityasya artha,

tm bdha janaka grantha, janak janya lakat). So, therefore, this text

is a prama. tm bdha is pram. So the grantha tm bdha which

is a prama produces the tm bdha which is the janya jna.

Now the next question is why akarcrya should write such a text? The

answer is simple - to produce the tm bdha, the self knowledge, in our

mind. That alone he is going to prove in the introductory five lks. In the

first five lks he introduces the main theme and the purpose of the whole
text and in fact the whole pursuit of human beings.

The most important thing before pursuing any spiritual sdhan is that we

should have a clear idea about what we are going to do and what our

ultimate destination is.

We will find that if we are in a place without knowing what we are

supposed to do, we will find ourselves highly restless and confused. In life,

we will face many such situations. Whenever we undertake any task, we

need to know what happens in each stage; which is first, which is last etc.

Similarly if we embark on a spiritual sdhan we should have a clear idea.

People would say do japa, do pj, do dhynam, go on pilgrimage etc. So

many things may be said. We should, therefore, have a clear picture of

what is what. And this is very clearly outlined in the introduction of all

Vdnta granths.

In the first five lks, akarcrya establishes two or three important

points. At first is he establishes that our fundamental disease is ignorance.

This must be crystal clear. The diagnosis must be clear before swallowing
any tablet. One cannot say I will try all tablets. It may create lots of

14 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

problems. One dose and immediately close! One may have many allergies,

for example, sulpha drug allergy. One cannot experiment with medicines.

Some people have medical dictionary at home. And they want to look into

that for their symptoms. In fact if one looks into the medical dictionary it

will contain all symptoms that one has. Such an approach will not work. So
we should have a very clear understanding of the disease. akarcrya

says that the disease is ignorance; ignorance of oneself; ignorance of ones

full self; ignorance of ones complete self as revealed by Shstrs -

, , (aha tm, aha nitya, aha sarvagata).

Remember the first and fourth definitions? Put together, it would mean

(aha pra) I am full, I am complete. Unfortunately this truth is

unknown. And once this pratva is unknown we have a sense of

apratva. We always miss something in life; we miss people, we miss

places, we miss objects, some people may miss newspaper. Everyone is

missing something or the other. Missing is a sign of apratva and this

alone later becomes kma which unfulfilled becomes krdha and fulfilled
becomes lbha etc. They are all off shoots. They are not diseases in

themselves but they are symptoms of sense of incompleteness caused by

the germs of ignorance. Ignorance virus causes the the kma krdha flu.

This is the fundamental point which is called (adhysa).

Adhysa means feeling incomplete because of ignorance. This is the first

fundamental thing which everybody should know. That is why all Vedntik

text books begin with adhysa. tm bdha also begins with adhysa.

Brahma str also begins with adhysa bhya. So a sense of

incompleteness due to self ignorance is the diagnosis.

Introduction to tm bdha 15

Once the diagnosis has been made, the next step is medication. Ignorance

virus can be destroyed only by one medicine and that is

(tm jna auadha) -

(tm jna auadha vin ajna

sarpadaasya na ygna na skhyna karma nna vidhyay). You may

stand upside down; nothing will happen. So the tablet is tm jna

auadha. This is the first point which the crya establishes.

The second point is that any treatment requires some preparation on the
part of the patient. The patient must be able to stand the treatment.

Otherwise the treatment could create a worse disease. Such diseases are

called iatrogenic diseases. These are diseases caused during the course of

the treatment of a disease. Normally the doctor treats for curing an existing
disease. But when a he starts to try a new medicine or being unsure of the

course of treatment to be pusued, they try a new drug. As a result the

patient may get head ache in addition to stomach ache for which he had

gone to the Doctor in the first place. These are called iatrogenic diseases.

Suppose if we dont know what our disease is and we try to practice intense
meditation. What will happen? We may meditate for one hour. Nothing may
happen. Then we will do meditation for two hours and then for three hours
etc.; and that too concentrating on the eyebrows! Eyes are not meant to see
our eyebrows. So if we try to concentrate like this, naturally it would be an
unnatural and an abnormal pursuit and if we do it for a long time, we may
end up with a severe headache! So the meditation, instead of curing the

disease, may lead to some other problem. Thus any sdhan can lead to

problems if we do it without proper understanding. And that is why

preparation is necessary before giving the dose of medicine. It is, therefore,

16 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

said that

(anabhys via stra ajr bhjana viam, via

sabh daridrasya, durjanasya subhita via) for an untrained person,

the scriptural knowledge is poison; for a person suffering from indigestion,

food would be like poison; for a poor person an assembly of persons is

poison because he would feel an inferiority complex in the company of

people who are all well to do; and good advice given to a wicked person, a

dua purua will not only go unheeded but it could rebound on the

person giving the advice! Likewise, stra, if it enters into an unprepared

person, it will not be digested and Vdnta could be a problem. As Lord

K said in the Gt -

- -

Na buddhi-bhda janayd ajn karma-sagin.

Jayt sarva-karmi vidvn yukta samcaran

A wise man established in the Self should not unsettle the mind of the
ignorant attached to action, but should get them to perform all their
duties, duly performing his own duties.

So stra should not be given to an unprepared mind. And that

preparation is Sdhana Catuaya Sampatti 1 for the jna operation.

Before conducting an operation, the Doctors carry out urine test, blood test

etc. to ensure that all parameters are alright. Similarly, here also Sdhana

Catuaya parameters must be alright. Then alone jna can be initiated.

1

Authors Note: Please also refer Swami Jis talks on Tattva Bodha

Introduction to tm bdha 17

So akarcrya begins with the preparatory steps in the first lka. And

only those who are prepared with these four steps would be deemed to be

qualified to enter the jna which is meant to remove the ignorance.

With this introduction we step into the text of tm bdha.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 19

Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya

Verse 1

Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya 21

II 1

Tapbhi kappn
ntn vtargi I
Mumukmapkyya
tmabdh vidhyat II

In this lk akarcrya talks about the preparations necessary for this

study which has been described in Tattva Bdha as Sdhana Catuaya

Sampatti- the four-fold qualifications. Lets briefly recollect these

qualifications.

The first one is (vivka), which, though not specifically mentioned

in the lk, has to be understood. Vivka means a clear understanding of

what I want and what I really dont need. What I want is

(pratva) and what I dont want is

(apratva). This must

be clear. Otherwise it will be like groping in the darkness from one

apra to another. If one house which is apra cannot satisfy oneself

another bigger house which is also apra cannot also satisfy him. But if

he doesnt have vivka, he will think that changing the house, changing the
people, changing the job, changing the dress, changing the various things

will solve the problem. This is what akarcrya called as

(mhamat) in Bhaja Gvinda. So first thing that one should know is

22 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

what he needs and what he wants? This is vivka. I have elaborated in

Tattva Bdha and so I dont want to go into that in detail.

Then the second qualification is (vairgya) which is indicated here

as (vtarg). Vtarg refers to the persons and vairgya refers to

the qualification. (vtarga asya asti iti

vtarg). Vtargi vtarga means vairgya vairgya asya asti

iti vtarg. That means what? Once one knows here is pra and here is

apra, naturally he has to turn his attention away from apra if he

has to turn towards pra because he cannot turn to both sides

especially when they are on the diagonally opposite directions. And

therefore, one has to turn away from apra, if he has to turn towards

pra.

( )

Dramt vipart vic avidy y ca vidyti jt.

Vidybhpsina naciktasa many na tv km bahav'llupanta

(Kahpaniad)

These two, ignorance and knowledge, are wide apart and lead to

different ends or goals. I believe Nachiketas to be one who desires for

knowledge, for even many desires have not shaken thee.

Turning away from apra is called vairgya. Turning towards pra is

called

(mumukutva) to which we will come later.

The third qualification is (amdi aka sampatti)

which is indicated by the word ntn. nt means the one who has

Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya 23

got ama. nt is the name of the person ama is the name of the

qualification. And the definition of ama can be found in Tattva bdha.

(man nigraha) is ama i.e. Mind control and this is a

(upalakaa) indication for , , , ,

(dama, uparati, titk, raddh, samdhna) which along

with ama constitute the aka sampatti. Dama indicates sense control;

Uparati means quietude of the mind. In Tattva Bdha the word the

uparati was defined as (svadharma anuna) i.e. doing

ones duty. So we can take that meaning also svadharma anuna. But
that is only a rare meaning. Generally in Vdnt, uparati is taken as

quietude. In that case one may wonder as to what is the difference between

ama and uparati. In ama also mind has to be quitened, uparati also we

translate as quietude. But we make a subtle difference. In ama it is the

quietening the mind. In uparati it is the perpetuation of this quietude.

That is the quietened mind does not get disturbed again. So ama is

withdrawal and uparati is the maintenance of that quiet condition.

In
(Vivka cmai), akarcrya says

(bhynlambana vttrparatiruttam). The best

uparati or self-withdrawal consists in the mind function ceasing to be

affected by external objects. Thus in ama the extrovert mind is quitened.

In uparati the quitened mind does not become extrovert again.

Then the fourth one is called titk which means equanimity in

(sukha dukhdi dvantvt). The next is raddh which means
faith in guru and scriptures. This has been analyzed in detail in Tattva

24 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Bdha. Therefore, I dont want to go into the details. I just want you to

remember them. And the last one is samdhna which is

(citta kgrat) - Concentration of the mind. These six together is called

amdi aka sampatti, which is indicated by the word ntn.

Then comes the fourth and final qualification of the student which is

mumuk. And this is indicated by the word mumukm. So here also

mumuk is the name of the qualification and mumuk is the name of the

student. So in this lka instead of naming the qualifications, akarcrya

has named the persons nt, vtarg, and mumuk. Vivk is

understood. And if all these four qualifications are found in someone, such
a person is called a (adhikr). Adhikr is one who has all the

four fold qualification. Just to recall, in Tattva Bdha the first sentence
was:

Sdhana catuaya adhikri mka sdhana bhta tattva vivka

prakra vakyma:

The same content in lka form is this verse in tm bdha. There it is

Tattva Bdha and here it is tm bdha. Tattwa and tm are one and

the same.

The only plus point in this lka is that akarcrya says how to gain these
qualifications. How to gain this (adhikritva)?

And that is given in the beginning. (tapbhi ka

ppn). These qualifications are attained by tapa alone. Tapa

indicates all kind of sdhans. It includes karmyg, it includes upsan, it

Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya 25

includes all vrathas, it includes pilgrimage etc. All kinds of disciplines are
called tapa or tapas. And how does tapa give these qualifications?

Tapa does not directly give these qualifications. Tapa removes all the

ppas and as the ppas are removed, Vdntik qualifications come. So

akarcrya says tapbhi ka ppn - those people whose ppas

are ka; naa; are wasted; are rubbed off by the constant

performance or practice of tapas. This indicates that tapas is sdhana.

We should remember that any obstacle to Vdnt is considered to be a

ppa. Suppose a person is very rich and because of his wealth he is

involved in worldly pleasures. From worldly angle people will call him a

puyavn because he has plenty of riches, he can travel all over the world
he would be considered a very big puyavn. But since he is distracted

because of the prosperity, since he is not able to come to Vdnt, the very
prosperity becomes a ppa. In fact anything that obstructs Vdnt is a

ppa. Even our own relatives - close relatives, if they are becoming an

obstacle to Vdnt, getting such relatives also is a ppa. They might give
us plenty of wealth, even they may be our own parents but when we are

sincerely craving for Vdnt, if the parents are putting an obstacle and say
that you should be in sasr, then that is also a ppa. It is said

(ppa mt rpa) what a tragedy? To get a mother who says

You go, this is a wonderful opportunity for getting mka. I am your true

well wisher and therefore you go - that mother who gives such permission
is puya. Therefore, what I want to say is that puya and ppa in this

context are based on what promotes mka which is puya and what

obstructs mk which is ppa. And therefore, as the ppa goes away

by tapas, a person becomes adhikr and this adhikr is qualified for the

study of this text.

26 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

And by introducing this qualification, akarcrya is also introducing

another thing known as

(anubandha catuaya). This

means four factors to be introduced in the beginning of any stra. It need

not be Vdnt. It could be tarka, vykaraa, jytia, mms etc. In all

of them, these four factors are supposed to be

(Adhikr viaya prayjanam) and (sambandha). Adhikr means

who is a qualified person fit for the study of the stra.

Sdhana Catuaya Sampanna is the adhikr for this stra. The second
factor is viaya i.e. the subject matter of study. It is given in the last line of
the verse - tmabdh vidhyat. Here the subject matter is tm and not

antm. Tarka, vykaraa, jytia, mms all come under antm. Here

the subject matter is tm. We should not say tma bdha is the subject
matter. NO. tma bdha is the prayjanam. Here the subject matter is

tm. And what is prayjanam is this work.

The immediate benefit of this study is tma bdha. One will get self

knowledge that is the prayjanam. And this self knowledge is the

immediate cause of liberation. So the ultimate prayjanam is mka. And

the fourth factor is sambandha relationship. And sambandha can be

anything. Sambandha is the relationship between two things. And the

nature of the relationship depends upon two things. Isitnt? Suppose

somebody comes and asks what is your relation? What will you answer?

You will question with whom? One cannot talk of a relationship without

knowing the two things that are involved. Similarly sambandha is always
between two factors. Many sambandhs are there depending upon which

two factors one takes. If we take a text, the grantha and the subject matter

Sdhana and Anubandha Catuaya 27

i.e. viaya, then we say , (pratipdhya,

pratipdhaka sambandha). So the text is the one which propounds or

which reveals and tm is that which is revealed. tm is pratipdhya,

grantha is pratipdhaka. So

(granthay viay madhy pratipdhya pratipdhaka

sambandha).

Whereas if we take knowledge and the result ie. (viaya

jna) and prayjanam, the sambandha cannot be pratipdhya

pratipdhaka sambandha but it will be (janya janaka

sambandha). Knowledge produces the (phala). So knowledge is

called, janaka the producer and the phala is called janya the produced.
Therefore, (jna phalay madhy

janya janaka sambandha).

Similarly, if we take adhikr and viaya? (adhyt

adhta sambandha).That is the relationship is between the student and

the subject matter of the study; between the learner and the learnt. Thus
we can take any two things and then we can say the sambandha. But

generally we talk about the sambandha between the text and the subject

matter and therefore, we say pratipdhya pratipdhaka sambandha. This

is the most confusing thing. It is easy to understand the adhikr and

viaya but it is very difficult to understand sambandha. It is always a

problem.

28 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Now coming back to the text, he says

(mumuk

apkya). So for the qualified people this text book is apkya. Apkya
means to be resorted to, to be pursued or to be studied. , ,

(paanya, daranya, vicraya ityartha). So this

tma bdha grantha is to be studied by the qualified people. And such a

text is vidhyat - written by me. Literally it means prescribed by me. But in

this context we can take it as written by me.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 29

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam

Verse 2

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 31

II 2

bdh'nyasdhanbhy hi
sktmkaikasdhana I
pkasya vahnivajjna
vin mk na sidhyati II

In the previous lka he said mumukm bdh vidhyat i.e. for the

seekers of mka, tma bdha is prescribed. It is thus clear that tma

bdha is a means to mka. So if for a seeker of mka, tma bdha is

prescribed, indirectly it means that tma bdha is a means to mka. This

would mean the relationship is janya janaka sambandha.

In this lka akarcrya says that tma bdha is not one of the means to

mka but it is the only means to mka, which means the mumuks

have no choice. Purua skta says (nnya

panth ayanya vidhyat) there exists no other path.

So now the question is, if tma bdha alone is the means to mka, why

do the scriptures prescribe so many sdhans? Scriptures talk about jap,

scriptures talk about pilgrimage, scriptures talk about pj, and scriptures
talk about millions of sdhans. So does this mean that the scriptures are

talking about vyartha sdhans invalid means?

32 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

For that akarcrya says they are also sdhana to mk but they are

not (skt sdhana) direct means; they are all

(pramparya sdhana) - Only indirect means to mka. They

cannot directly do anything. Then what is skt sdhana? It is bdha.

That is why he says bdha va skt sdhana. Bdha here means

tma bdha. Skt sdhana means (avyavahita sdhana)

gapless means; immediate means; direct means. That means
, (yatra yatra tma bdha vartat, tatra

tatra mka api vartat). We cannot say yatra yatra japa vartat, tatra

tatra mka vartat. So between other sdhans and mka there is no

definite vypti - there is no definite relationship but between jna and

mka the relationship is direct and definite.

(yatra jna vartat tatra mka avaya vartat). And therefore,

it is called skt sdhana. Compared to other sdhanas -

(anya sdhana apkay) anya sdhana means it can be karm

yg, it can be upsan, it can be aga yg etc. A person may be an

expert in yama, niyama etc. upto samdhi. He may go upto samdhi but as

long as tma jna is not there, mka cannot be attained.

There is a hymn known as

(Antmarvigarhaa Sttram) of akarcrya in which he says:

?


?

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 33

dhturlka sdhit v tata ki?

virlk vkit v tata ki ?

ambhrlkasit v tata ki ?

yna svtm naiva sktkt'bht .

He says You might have reached Brahma lk, you might have

peeped into Viu lk, you might have ruled over iva lk tata

ki? So what? You may undertake all these global visits but as long

as you dont know your own self, all these global visits do not matter.

He goes on to say:

| (vahnirjagdh ljavadv tata ki)

So what if you can eat fire? That can be done by some fire eating bird
also. So can it get mk? And

(abdhi padbhy laghit v

tata ki)

You may cross the ocean by walking over the water. So what?
You may do all these things. So what?

(yna

svtm naiva sktkt'bht).

As long as you dont know your own self, all those accomplishments
do not matter.

There are 19 such lks. In each one he enumerates a number of such

feats. And finally he says all these feats do not matter. Only tma jna
can lead to mk.

34 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Therefore, he says, (anya

sdhana apkay mka va skt sdhana) and that too

(kamva sdhana).

Now he gives the (dnta) in the second line.

Like I said, in every lka there is an example. Let us study the example in

this lka.

He says pkasya vahnivat we have to supply skt ka sdhana. Pka

means cooking; vahni means agni or fire which is ka sdhana. Agni is

the only means or sdhana for cooking. Donts say microwave and all.

Microwave is also agni tattva only. Ultimately heat is transferred in one

form or the other.

But for this purpose we may need to have a number of other necessary

things. We may need a vessel. We may need some water for cooking. We
may need gas line etc. But eventually the one thing that we require for

cooking is heat i.e agni. Normally we give the example of removing

darkness and say that light alone is the means of removing darkness. But

here akarcrya gives the example of agni which alone is the means for

cooking. The example of cooking is given because everybody knows it very

well. Generally, we are often thinking of that only!!!

So ,

(vahnivat pkasya skta sdhana yath, tath jna vin mka na

sidhyati). Without knowledge, mk is never possible.

Here we can recall the verse from (vtvatarpaniat)

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 35

Yad carmavadka vayiyanti mnav

Tad dvamavijya dukhasynt bhaviyati.

This verse says that one can get mk without knowledge under only one
condition. If one is able to roll the k like a mattress, he can get mk

without knowledge. What does that mean? It just cannot be done.

Verse 3

II 3

avirdhitaykarm
n'vidhy vinivartayt I
vidhyvidhy nihantyva
tjastimirasaghavat II

In the previous lka he said knowledge alone will give mk. There was

an emphasis on alone (avadhraa).

? (avadhraay ttparyam ki?). What is conceived by this

statement?

Knowledge alone will give mk could mean that knowledge gives mk

and only knowledge gives mk. If we just say knowledge gives mk it

means could mean knowledge gives mk and other things may also give

mk. But when we say knowledge alone gives mk, it means other

36 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

things cannot. This is the (va kryasya ttparyam).

(Jndi va) means (va

kryasya ttparyam anya vyvtti). Similarly

(jndi va kaivalya anya sdhan vyvtti).

So all anya sdhans put together akarcrya calls as karm. All other

sdhans other than jna come under karm. That means karm yga is
karm, upsan is karm. However, one may ask what karm is performed

in upsan? One is just sitting only. We need to remember that there also
the mind is thinking of certain particular object and it is called mnasa

karm. In aga yga also the physical organs, mind, sense organs etc. do
a particular action. And therefore, all of them come under karm only. And
here he says all these karms cannot give moksh.

Why karm cannot give moksh? That is because karm cannot remove

ignorance. Jna can give mk because jna removes ignorance.

Ignorance is the virus which has caused the bhava rga. So

(karm avidhy na nivartayt) - karm cannot remove

ignorance.

Why will it not remove ignorance? He gives the reason. -

(avirdhatay) Because karm is not opposed to ignorance. One can

remove the other one only if the two are (virdh) - enemies.

Friends will reinforce each other. Only enemies will cancel each other;
negate each other.

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 37

He will give the example later. Even in our own experience what do we

find? When two people are enemies, they cannot stay together in one place.

If you try to put them in one room, the room itself could be destroyed! So

they cannot stay in one place. When one comes, the other one automatically
goes away. Similarly here also karm and avidhy are not paraspara

virdh. Why? Because if we analyze we will find that karm is born out of
ignorance. Not directly but indirectly. How?

According to Vdnt, because of ignorance each one of us doesnt know

that I am a paripra aha. So I become a paricchinna aha, a limited

I. As paripra aha, I am akart. I cannot do anything and I need not

do anything because I dont have kms or desires also. So as I the pra

aha, I do not have any desires and therefore, I need not do karms to
fulfill my desires. Even if I want to do karms Icannot because I am

sarvagata, acala, sthu, avikra. I cannot do any karm. But when I

dont know my original nature, the pra aha is mistaken as apra

aha. Once I become apra aha I end up in desires and as an

incomplete I, I want to complete myself, either by getting pravtti or

nivtti. And therefore, ajna creates apratva the sense of finitude.

Apratva creates kma - desire. And kma creates karm action.

Therefore, karms father is kma and kms father is apratva and

apratvas mother is avidhy. Avidhy, therefore, is the great

grandmother (avidhy is feminine gender!) of karm. So can mother and

child be inimical at any time? Both will only reinforce each other. They will

never negate each other. Karm, therefore, reinforces kma and kma

reinforces ajna. Thus more a person is active, the more the ignorance is
reinforced. Every action we do is only reinforcing ignorance. Therefore,

karm can never eliminate ignorance. That is why they say

38 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(karm bandhya bhavati). And (vidhy mkya

bhavati).Therefore, avirdhatay since they are not enemies;

(avidhy na vinivaryt).

Then the next question is what will eliminate ignorance?

(vidhy va avidhyy nihanti) Knowledge alone

will remove ignorance. We can put va at the end also i.e nihanti va, which

will mean that knowledge definitely removes ignorance. That would mean

knowledge alone removes and knowledge certainly removes niaaya

nihanti.

Upto this is the main idea of the lka. Now comes the example.

Tja timira saghavat. Just as light alone removes (nihanti we have to

supply) timira saghavat the pitch darkness. Saghavat denotes pitch. Of

course some of you might have heard the word timira in another context
also. (ajna timira andhasya) there we take

timira as cataract. Timira also means darkness. This is because there also
timira creates darkness in the eye and also outside which makes the eyes

incapable of seeing things.

Verse 4

II 4

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 39

paricchinna ivjnt

tann sati kvala I

svaya prakat hytm

mghpy'umniva II

In the previous lks akarcrya had said that karm cannot give

moksh because karm cannot remove ignorance. Jna can give moksh
because Jna can remove ignorance. So naturally the question will arise

as to why should we remove ignorance for getting moksh? Why cant we

go in for some other pursuit for getting moksh? Why cant we try to get

moksh by going to, say Vaikuha? In that case there will be no question of

getting any knowledge. There will be no question of removing any

ignorance. We have only to please the Lord and the Lord

(santua san svara rathna viu

dta ada gancchanti). The pleased Lord will send his emisseries with a
golden chariot to transport us to moksh!!!

And this bhakt will climb into the chariot and he will be taken to

Vaikuha. We can claim that action as Jna. It must, therefore, be very

clear that ignorance is the cause as sasr which the crya has not said

till now. I disclosed that earlier only to remove the suspense. But the

crya talks about that here only.

So the idea is that sasr is a sense of limitation. And a sense of limitation

cannot be removed by any other method, whether it is going to Vaikuha

or any other place. We may be in front of skt Viu bhagavn and he

may be infinite but what are we? We are finite only. We have only maraa

dharm. We are mortal subject to asti, jyat, vardhat, vipariamat etc.

40 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Therefore, going to someone who is a mukt will not make us mukt. If

another person is rich it does not mean we are rich. In fact in front of a rich

person we will feel poorer only.

Similarly going to Vaikuha or Kailsa doesnt help because the problem is

centered on I and therefore the solution also must be centered on I. I am
unhappy is the problem. I am limited is the problem. I am frustrated is

the problem. I am mortal is the problem. All problems are centrered on I.

The rectification, therefore, should also be centered on I. I have to

complete me, who am now in an incomplete form. But unfortunately an

incomplete I cannot be made into a complete I by any method because

one incomplete thing, by a process of change, cannot become complete. An

incomplete thing by a process of change can only become another

incomplete thing - probably a better incomplete thing!

And that is why the crya says that if you are incomplete, there is no hope.
You will ever be incomplete. So hope is there in only one condition. And

that is that you are already complete and because of ignorance, you have a
feeling that you are incomplete. The incompleteness must be a notion; a

sense; a feeling caused by ignorance and if that is the cause then there is a

solution. The ignorance can be removed and completeness can be achieved.

On the other hand, if incompleteness is a fact, that fact can never be

changed. And, so here he says paricchinna iva ajnt because of

ignorance there is a sense of limitation and this alone is the cause of

sasr. Sasr means dukha. Therefore, dukha nivtti is possible by

paricchda nivtti and paricchda nivtti is possible by ajna nivtti
only. Thus he establishes ajna in the lk.

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 41

So the crya is pointing out that sasr or sorrow is nothing but a sense

of limitation. He makes a very subtle point. Normally we will define sorrow

as a mental pain caused by loss of someone or death of someone or poverty

or some physical illness. We generally do not know what sorrow is at all.

We feel sorrow, we experience sorrow but we do not exactly know the

psychological process of sorrow.

When somebody dies we have pain and we say that the pain is caused by

the death of that person. We only go into this much depth. But Vednt says
that sorrow is not caused by the death of that person at all because if the

death of a person should cause sorrow, death of everyone should cause

sorrow. Death is death whether this person dies or that person dies. Then
we find that death of everyone does not cause sorrow but death of some

special people only causes sorrow those who are VIPs for us. For others

also they are VIPs -very insignificant persons but for us they are VIPs very important persons!!!

Now what makes the difference between importance and insignificance? It

is because of our relationship. We think that in the presence of that person
I am complete. I dont miss anything. This can be verified, for example,

while attending some big camps or even some programmes. Most people

will look for one particular person and will check if that person is present.

A person may alight with hundred people from the train. But he may not
care about all the hundred. He will look for that one particular person

because in the presence of that person only he will feel that I am

complete. If that person is missing, then the feeling would be I am

incomplete. Let all the other 99 go, it will not matter. But if that one person

has some problem, he cannot concentrate on anything.

42 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So sorrow is not a headache, death or any such thing. Sorrow is a sense of

incompleteness caused by a missing thing. It could be any thing - the wife

or children or house or anything and therefore, sorrow is paricchda or

limitation. Thus the first and foremost important Vdntik revelation or

truth is that sorrow is not anything else but only a sense of limitation and

this alone expresses itself in the form of various symptoms. Loss of money
is again only a symptom of this problem. If we have a loss in business we

call that also as sorrow. But if we go into the root of that problem, we will

find that if we have failed in the business, we feel that we are incomplete.

Sasr, therefore, is paricchda and that is what we call apratva.

This is a very important idea which is expounded in this lk which is
worth remembering. Paricchinna is the problem. The reason I am

emphasising this is that we should not blame anyone for our sorrow. Our

tendency is that whenever we face any problem, we tend to blame someone

or the other, something or the other or atleast we blame the weather, if no

body else is available. Only when we realize that the problem is centered on
us then it will be clear that the solution also has to be centered on us.

Then the second and equally important point is that this sense of limitation
which is our disease called sorrow is caused by ignorance. That also must
be equally clear. Why do we say ignorance is the cause? We say that

because our true nature happens to be pratva. Apratva is nothing

but self-disowning, self-forgetfulness, self-estrangement, self-hypnotism

ignorance self-loss. And, therefore, he says ajnt paricchinna iva. This

alone is the definition of sasr. Sasr will go away when paricchda

will go away and paricchda will go away when ajna will go away and

ajna will go away when jna comes. Therefore

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 43

(atht brahma jijs) Hence a deliberation on Braman is to be

undertaken (Brama Stra). There is no other way.

Therefore, he says ajnt paricchinna iva. We have to carefully note the

use of the word iva. It means I am limited as though. It is a notion; it is

not a fact thank God. If I am paricchinna, I can never become

aparicchinna. A limited one can never become limitless by any process.

Survarcrya in one his works says that if limitation is a fact, better stop

all your sdhans, because sdhans are not going to change a fact. So pj,

japa, tapa etc. are all useless. So if you are having a limitation whatever

you can enjoy, you enjoy. Never struggle for moksh, if limitation is a fact.
But thank God limitation is a notion and not a fact. There is a lot of
difference between a notion and a fact.

The crya contines - (tann sati) tat here means

ajna. So tat n sati i.e. ajna n i.e. destroyed. Then what

happens? (kvala bhavati ) kvala means non-dual which

means pra. For, if there is no second thing there will not be any

limitation because limitation is always caused by the existence of a second

thing. Therefore, ,
,

.

(kvala ct advaya , advaya ct pra , pra ct

mukt.Apra ct baddha).

So from this discussion one more point becomes clear. Moksh is nothing

but getting out of this sense of limitation i.e. freedom from the sense of

limitation. So moksh is not any mysterious state. Moksh is not going to

44 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

some other lk, it is not having some mystical experiences coming as a

flash and going away, moksh is not a change in the physical body or

anything. Moksh is when I look at myself; I dont miss anything in life. If I

have got that condition of fullness, I can say I am mukt. In every other

way I am normal. People think a mukt means some abnormal person. NO.
He will also eat. He will also go to bathroom or toilet. He also will sleep etc.
There is nothing abnormal. He is not a mystic or anything. He is a normal
person. The only difference is that when he looks at himself, he doesnt

miss anyone. If people are around him, he will enjoy the company. If the

people go away, he will not miss anyone. So if I can be with things and I

can be without things, without missing anything, then I am liberated. So

moksh is nothing but removal of the notion that one is limited.

And any notion is removed by knowledge. A notion arises because of false

knowledge. This false knowledge is displaced by right knowledge. So

moksh means kvalatvam a firm conviction that aha pra. People

cannot add to my fullness. People cannot remove anything from my

fullness.

Lord K says in the Gt :

pryamamacalapratiha samudrampa pravianti yadvat .

tadvatkm ya pravianti sarv sa ntimpnti na kmakm

As the waters of different rivers enter the ocean, which, though full
on all sides, remains undisturbed; likewise, he in whom all

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 45

enjoyments merge themselves without causing disturbance attains

peace; not he who hankers after such enjoyments.

So I am like an ocean without any notion. Let the rivers merge into me I
am pra; let the rivers not merge into me I am pra.

na karma vardhat n kanyn bhavati . a hi mahim

brhmaasya

Bhadrayakpaniat says that this is the mahim of a Brhmaa.

Brhmaa means a Brahma jn. Others are Brhmaa only for name
sake.

And once ajna is gone what happens?

(svaya prakat hi tm). When ajna is removed, tm being the

svarpa caitanya, svaya praka caitanya tm shines by itself it

is self evident.

So here the idea conveyed is a technical point. In the introductory class I

said that there is svarpa jna and there is vtti jna. When there is a

pot, a thought takes place in the mind which is called ghakra vtti. And

ghakra vtti reveals the ghaa. How does it reveal? In ghakra vtti
there is the caitanya pratibimba and therefore, it is known as vtti jna.
So vtti jna contains two parts. One is vtti thought mode and

pratibimbita caitanya - the reflected consciousness, are there. These are

the two parts. Of this each part has got its function. The vtti part is

supposed to destroy ignorance. So it is said that vtti pervades the pot and

destroys ignorance. This is called vtti vypti.

46 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(ghakra vtti ghaa vypya ghaa

viayaka ajna nayati).

What happens to the pratimba caitanya? The pratibimba caitanya the

reflected consciousness also pervades the pot and having pervaded the pot
it illumines the pot. The pot becomes known.

(pratibimba caitanya ghaa vypya ghaa prakayati).

The pratibimba caitanya pervades the pot and illumines the pot. So vtti
destroys ignorance vtti jna illumines the pot.

But when it is the case of tma jna here also we require a vtti
known as (aha Brahma asmi). Self knowledge also

requires vtti jna, which we called as tma bdh. We have already

seen this in the introduction. tma bdh means

(tm viayaka vtti jna).

So here also aha Brahma asmi vtti takes place. When does it take place?

When the teacher says (tat twa asi). When the teacher

says you are Brahman and the student says I am Brahman. Tat twa asi

is the (upada vkya). And aha Brahma asmi is the

(jna vkya). The iya owns up and when he says aha Brahma

asmi, it is both janya and vtti jna because only after tat twa asi

upada, aha Brahma asmi is born; whereas svarpa caitanya is there

even before the upada. So the student also gets vtti jna. Aha

Brahma asmi thought takes place. And in that thought whether the

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 47

pratibimba caitanya is present or not? It is there in all thoughts. So aha

Brahma asmi contains pratibimba caitanya in itself.

Here also vtti has got a function. Pratibimba caitanya has a function. So
what does the vtti do?

yath ghaa vtti ghaa vypya ghaa viayaka ajna nayati,

tath aha brahmsmi iti vtti tmna vypya, tma viayaka
ajna nayati

So what is left? The second part, the pratibimba caitanya is left. In the

case of ghaa jna what happened? In ghaa jna the pratibimba

caitanya illumined the pot because pot is ghaa rpa. But in

(aha Brahmsmi iti vtti jna), the

pratibimba caitanya tries to illumine the subject the tm. But tm

happens to be the bimba caitanya - the original caitanya, the svarpa

caitanya, whereas vtti pratibimbita caitanya is only a reflection. So
this vtti jna will amount to saying that the reflected consciousness

tries to illumine the original consciousness! How foolish it would be to say

that:

tamva bhntam anubhti sarva tasya bhs sarvamida vibhti

In reciting the above verse, we are stating our foolishness only. In front of
the Lord we are saying that with this camphor light, this pratibimba

48 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

caitanya, we are trying to illumine you Oh! Lord the bimba caitanya.
How foolish I am?

Similarly here also vtti is necessary to destroy ignorance. The vtti

pratibimbita caitanya is not necessary to illumine the tm because

svaya prakate tm. So vtti jna is not necessary to illumine the

tm - svaya prakamnatvt.

But this creates confusion for people. Many people say tm is svaya

praka. So vtti jna is not necessary to illumine the tm. And

therefore, mind is not at all necessary for tm jna because mind is

necessary for what purpose? Vtti jnrtha. We require a mind for

knowing a pot. So vtti jnrtha we require a mind. But since tm is

self-effulgent many people think that mind is not necessary because vtti

jna is not required to illumine the tm. Therefore, they say transcend

your mind. So one has to go nirvikalpa samdhi, get out of the body, get

out of the mind, get out of the intellect and if he has got out of all of them,
then tm will svaya prakate. So why does one need the mind?

Therefore, one has to go beyond the mind. This is the mistake people

generally commit. They forget one point. Vtti jna is not necessary to
illumine the tm but we should remember that vtti is necessary for
destroying ignorance.

And vtti will take place in the tm or in the mind? Vtti will take place

only in the mind, fortunately or unfortunately. If tm entertains vtti,

tm will be changing vtti means vikra. Therefore ,

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 49

(ajna nrtha,

aha Brahmsmi iti vtti apkit na tu tma prakanrtha).

tma prakana; the prakana is called phala vypti.

Illumining the tm is called phala vypti. Phala vypti is not required in

the case of tm because tm is self evident. In the case of pot, vtti vypti
is necessary to remove the ignorance. Phala vypti is also necessary to

illumine the pot. But in the case of tm, vtti vypti is necessary to
destroy ignorance. But phala vypti is not required because tm is

swaya praka.

Vtti vypti requires the mind. Therefore, by going to nirvikalpa samdhi

ignorance will not be destroyed. Then what will happen? The mind will

continue to be an ignorant mind. As long as one is in nirvikalpa samdhi he

will be fine because the sorrowful mind would have been transcended for
the time being. There will be no sorrow and all worries would have been

forgotten; all limitations would have been forgotten; but the ignorance will

still continue in a dormant form. And when he comes out of the samdhi,

the ignorance will again rise and ajna also will come back. So he will

be coming through the other door. He will back again to saying ,

,
(aha dhsmi, aha pitsmi, aha putrsmi)

all the problems of sasra will be back.

And, therefore, suppose somebody asks whether mind is necessary for

tma jna or not. We should say it is necessary. And suppose someone

says that mind cannot illumine the tm. What should be the answer? The

50 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

answer should be Yes that is true, mind cannot illumine the tm but we

are not retaining the mind to illumine the tm but we are retaining the
mind to destroy ignorance and therefore, with mind alone tma jna

has to be gained. Without the mind or by transcending the mind tma

jna cannot be gained at all.

And that is why Muakpaniat says

(nurtm ctas vditavya). This subtle tman is to be known by the

mind. tma jna has to be gained by mind alone. This is required for
(vtti vypti siddhyartha).

Whereas, in Knpaniat it is said

(yanmanas na manut

- With the mind the tm cannot be known. There it means that the mind

cannot illumine the tm. So mind is required to destroy ignorance but

mind cannot illumine the tm. So mind is required from one angle and not
required from another angle. ,

. -

(vtti vypti dy apkita, phala vypti dy na apkita.

Apkita ca na apkita ca - tasmt ruti virdha nsti).

Transcending the mind, therefore, doesnt solve the problem. We have to

hold the mind and we have to produce the -

(vtti aha Brahmsmi - janya jna

utpdayitavya prayatnna).

But the question now is how to produce aha Brahmsmi vtti? Are there
are special seeds available so that we can bore a hole in the head and sow

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 51

those seeds and then slowly aha Brahmsmi vtti jna starts

sprouting? Certainly not. Aha Brahmsmi vtti is (pram). Pram is

born out of (pramam) and pramam is (guru

stra upada).

So guru stra upada must be there. And mind also must be there. No

use of transcendence. And that mind must be awake. Only in jgrat avasth,
real jna can take place. In svapna and suupti, whatever is there will

also be lost. Therefore, a student must be very much in jgrat avasth. His
intellect must be very much alive. At that time when the guru gives the

upada tat twa asi, the student must have the vtti aha Brahmsmi.
This vtti will destroy ignorance and with that tm will swaya

prakate.

Then one should not ask whether the moment ignorance is destroyed tm
is swaya prakate or before that also tm swaya prakate? When is

tm swaya prakate? The answer is tm is swaya prakate all the

time. Suppose before listening to the class lecture, if tm is not known,

one can never say I am. He will know all people around but he will never

know his own self!

We have to remember that tm is swaya praka all the time. But there
was paricchda, super imposed on us. When we say I am we refer to

swaya praka tm. But after saying I am, we dont put a full stop.

That is where the problem lies. One must put a full stop after I am. But we
add so many things after I am our full bio-data. Each one of them is

paricchda thrown upon us upon the swaya praka tm. And when

the paricchda is removed through sstra pramna teaching, what will

be left will be I am and full stop. The I should be an unqualified I without

adding any adjective because the moment any adjective is added it will

52 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

become a qualified I. Every qualification is a disqualification in Vednt. So

if we remove the qualification only I will remain and that I is called

Brahman. Brahman is not another qualification. When all qualifications are

gone, I am Brahman - aha Brahmsmi.

All these seem very complicated. So akarcrya comes up with an

example. Mghpy aumn iva. What a beautiful example? Aumn

means Srya, the Sun which is swaya praka. And let us suppose that

it is covered by clouds and the Sun appears to be non-shining i.e. the light of
the Sun appears dull. Now vyu or wind or breeze comes, and removes the
cloud. Then the non-shining Sun becomes the shining Sun. Non- shining
means non-shining for us. In making the Sun a shining Sun what is the

contribution of the wind? The wind removed only the cloud. Wind never

added any shine to the Sun. Shining was never given to the Sun by the wind.

The wind can never give shining also because Sun is swaya praka.

Therefore, akarcrya says megha apye Apye means when removed

or gone (apagat sati) removed by what? By the wind.

In the orginial scenario, the aha Brahmsmi vtti is the wind and the

cloud is the ajna.The aha Brahmsmi vtti removes the ajna the

cloud. And Srya is I the tm which is always shining. Aumn means

Srya as already mentioned. Au means rami or rays Aumn

means the one who has rays. Iva means like that.

Verse 5

I

II 5

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 53

ajnakalua jva

jnbhy sdvinirml I

ktv jna svaya nayt

jala katakaruvat II

Here a technical question is being answered. Previously he had said

(ajna n sati kvala bhavati) - in Verse No. 4
he had said (tann sati kvala). Once ajna is

destroyed by (vtti jnna) specifically (vtty) - but

I am using the word vtti jnna.

(vtti jnna ajn na sati tma kvala bhavati). This is

non-dual advaita. But some philosophers are against advait in fact

most of the philosophers are against advait. Accepting advait is the most
difficult proposition for them.

They say, according to advaitins ajna has been removed by jna

that is vtti jna. So vtti jna has pushed out the ajna and
alongwith the ajna all dvaits are also removed.

Now the
(prva pak) this is not a type of bird it means the

opponent who generally opposes advait, questions how can you say that

this is advaita? There are two things now also. What are they? Svarpa

jna tm is there and vtti jna is there which came to dismiss all

other things. So the dismisser vtti jna is also there. Therefore, once

again (dvaita gata)!

So what are the two things Svarpa jna eka and vtti jna anyat.

But if we have to remove this vtti jna we have to bring in ajna

54 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

because they are paraspara virdhi. So, only ajna can remove vtti

jna. But if this happens again we are back to dvaita!

So in response akarcrya says that vtti jna removes ajna and

vtti jna goes by itself. Because every vtti is (kaikam)

lasting for a moment only. No vtti is permanent and once ajna is

destroyed, thereafterwards, the vtti jna is not necessary again because

its job is over. That is why once we have learnt that 2+2 =4, the ignorance
is gone. Now when we know that 2+2 = 4, are we continuing to entertain

the vtti 2+2 =4? No. We dont retain the thought for ever. Once ignorance
is gone, the thought is also gone. .

(gata gata va. Ajnasya punarjanma nsti). Ignorance cannot be

born again. And, therefore, once jna has done that job, vtti jna

need not come again to destroy.

Therefore, he says ajna kalua jva jna vinirml karoti. So jva

the individual is now polluted by ignorance. So the jva is ajna kalua.

Now he is treated with what? Jnna - jna abhyst - by the constant

abhys of jna i.e. ravaa manana nidhidhysana of Vdnt which

is called jnbhysa.

(tat cintanam tat kathana anynya

tat prabdhanam ydatka paratvaca brambhysa vidhurbuddha).

Jnbhysa, Brahmbhysa, akarbhysa - we can refer to it by any

term. In fact when we give akarbhysa to children the aim is that they
should come to Brahmbhysa later. Initially we start with alphabet

akarbhysa later they should come to Brahma rpa akarbhysa

which is nothing but ravaa manana nidhidhysana. But through this

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 55

process, the jna i.e. the knowledge which is born out of that what

does it do?

Vinirml ktv- it removes; washes off the ajna dust. Then what

happens to jna here jna means vtti jna svaya nayt it

gets automatically destroyed. And once vtti goes away, the pratibimbita

caitanya also has to go away because once the mirror is gone the

reflection also has to go away. So

(vtti nayati vtti pratibimbita caitanya api nayati).

But we should be very careful. When akarcrya uses the word vtti

jna goes away, we should not immediately think that ajna comes
back. Once ajna is gone and ajna is not there, vtti jna is also

not there, we are knowledgeable. Like in our mind, we know so many

things even though those vttis are not there. Once we learn the names of
all our friends, the knowledge is there. But even though the vttis are not
there, we still remember the names of all the friends. So once we gain

knowledge, ignorance cannot come back again.Similarly once jn has

gained aha Brahmsmi knowledge, he need not repeatedly say aha

Brahmsmi, aha Brahmsmi. In fact if he repeats, it means he is

doubtful!!! (yath narathva pramitira narasya).

Ramaa Mahrii says that a man doesnt say to everyone I am a human

being. If he goes on telling everyone that he is a human being, it means that

he himself is doubtful if he is one or not!

So when you know, you dont think you know but you know that you know.
Similarly aha Brahmsmi, once you know that, you dont need to say all

56 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

the time. And for this akarcrya gives a brilliant example. This is genius
of akarcrya.

Jala katakaruvat. Kataka is a nut which is supposed to be powdered

and that powder is called kataka ru. Ru means powder, dust particles

etc. In olden days the kataka powder was used for purifying the water. This

nut powder has a peculiar quality. When put in a pot or vessel containing

water, the powder would absorb all the dust into itself and having

absorbed the dust, it would also settle down in the bottom. So the impurity

is gone and the nut powder also does not remain suspended in the water
and it goes to the bottom. The water becomes crystal clear and potable.

Taking another example, it said to use a thorn to remove a thorn and once

the other thorn is removed, this thorn is also thrown away. Similarly this
powder is used to remove other powder impurities in the water and this
powder also goes away leaving the water pure enough for consumption.

So ,
(yath kaaka ru jala nirml

ktv svayam adha gacchati, va vtti jna jvana nirml ktv

svayam nayati).

Therefore, who is a jn ? Jn is Brahman who is beyond ajna and

jna. , (jna ajna atta, advait

tm).

Before we discuss the 6th lk, a small recap would be helpful.

Upto the 5th lk akarcrya has given the main theme of Vdnt

sankpata - in brief. The essence of the five preceding verses is that by

my own nature,
(aha pra Brahmsmi). This is an

Ajna, Jna Sdhana and Prayjanam 57

eternal fact. Now I have got the problem of ignorance ajna and because
of this ajna I feel that
(aha apra asmi). As

apra I am called jva. Jivah means sasr. If aha apra jva has

to be reverted back and if I have to attain my original glory, I have to

remove the ignorance. This is Vdnt.

(jnna jna nivtty brahmatva prpti). This is what Vdnt is about.

And of course for gaining this knowledge certain preparations are required
- tapbhi, kappn, ntnm, vtargi etc. This jna

requires the preparation of vivka, vairgya, aka sampatti and

mumukutva. This is the essence. Now this idea is going to be elaborated

from the 6th lka onwards.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 59

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha

Verse 6

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 61

II 6

sasra svapnatuly hi
rgadvdi sakula I
svakl satyavadbhti
prabdh satyasadbhavt II

So continuing from the above, we say that

(aha pra

Brahma) has become

(apra jva) because of ajna. We

are going to now analyze in what way ajna creates problem for us.

What is the job of ajna? What is the function of ajna? What is the
mischief done by ajna?

This ajna itself is known in Vdnt by different names. One name is

mlvidhy i.e. mla + avidhy. And another name for ajna is my. So

thus we have three names, ajna, mla avidhy and my. And this

ajna or my has got two powers known as (vikpa

akti) and (varaa akti).

Vikpa akti means creative power. Vikpa means to throw out; to

expand. And varaa akti means deluding power; literally it means

covering power, veiling power. Vikpa akti is a result of its rajo guna

and varaa akti is the effect of tamo guna. Thus ajna or my has
both creative power and veiling power.

62 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

And because of this vikpa akti, the ajna creates the vast universe.

But not a real universe and that is why we called it my. Just as a magician

with his indrajal creates an illusion of objects, similarly my creates the

dvaita prapaca, the sasra, the world consisting of things and beings

including our own body and mind. This false creation or projection alone is

technically called adhysa.

So ajna or mlvidhy or my with its vikpa akti creates this

wonderful world of duality which is false. Even though the my creates

this world, it being unreal or mithy, in reality it cannot affect us at all

because I the tm am the pra Brahma; the satya; the real. I the
real tm cannot be affected by the unreal world created by this my.

akarcrya will give an example. Just as the waker is not affected by the

apparent dream world created by the wakers sleep, similarly, I am

Brahman and I have this my and my has vikpa akti and vikpa

akti has created this wonderful universe including my own body and

mind all bodies including this particular body. Therefore normally what

should I be doing? I should be telling everyone, see my glory, my akti

- -- (my kalpita-dakla-

kalanvaicitrya-citrkta) I have created this vast universe, I have

created all the bodies, I have created my own body and I am making use of

this body and doing a lecture, I create the students, I become a teacher and
I create all kinds of mischief. This is what I should be saying. This is the

normal thing. But what happens? My has got the second power

varaa akti deluding power, covering power, confusing power,

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 63

(tribhirguamayairbhvairbhi sarvamida jagat .

Mhita nbhijnti mmbhya paramavyayam)

says Lord K in the Bhagawad Gt.

The whole of this creation is deluded by these objects evolved from

the three modes of prakti sattva, rajas and tamas; that is why the

world fails to recognize ME, the tm, the imperishable, who stands
apart from these.

And then what happens? After the creation of this world including my body,
the varaa akti comes into play and therefore, instead of knowing that

I am the creator, the subject, the (adhihna); and the world

is something created, false, (adhyasta); I fail to know that and

not knowing this differentiation between tm and antm, Brahman and

abrahman, aha and idam idagu sarva asjata that I am the sra
and all these things are created, I get confused between myself and my

created equipment - Sraru s vivka nsti. Thus because of the

confusion, instead of saying the body is created, the janma of the body, the

limitations of the body, the vikras of the body, all these, I again

superimpose upon my true self. This is the second adhysa.

Thus two adhysas take place. The first adhysa is the creation of the

world (prapaca si). Adhysa means superimposition

64 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

or projection. In Sanskrit we call it (prthamika

adhysa) primary superimposition. Before primary superimposition,

what was there? tm, I alone was there and after primary

superimposition takes place an antm prapaca is created including

this arra. (ida arra kauntya

ktramityabhidhyat ) says Lord K in the Gt. This body, Arjuna is

termed as the field - ktra.

So the creation of antm is called prthamika adhysa and this is done

by my by using its vikpa akti. Therefore, the vikpa akti of my

brings out the prthamika adhysa of the arra. And then what

happens? A relay race takes place. Vikpa akti takes rest and varaa

akti of my takes over. And what is its job? - To create confusion

between tm and antm. It takes the antm dharm and superimposes

it upon tm. And this adhysa is called secondary adhysa.

(dvitya adhysa). In this process, the body created by the first

adhysa is taken as me who in fact am not the created but who am the

creator.

mayyva sakala jta mayi sarva pratihitam .

Mayi sarva laya yti tad brahma advayamasmyaham

says Kaivalypaniat.

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 65

In ME, the pure infinite consciousness, tm alone is this entire

creation is born, this entire creation and everything in it have

their being and this entire creation and everything in it

ultimately resolve. I am that non-dual, all-inclusive and all-

pervasive Brahman.

This is called tma antm (avivka).

(antmani tm dharma adhysa

tmani antm dharma adhysa).

, ..........

(anynyasmin anynytmakat anynyadharmca

adhyasya itartarvivkna, .......... ahamida mamdamiti) says

akarcrya in his Brahma stra bhya. This is called secondary

adhysa. Si is primary adhysa. Confusion is secondary adhysa.

And as long as the ignorance continues, the confusion between tm and

antm will continue. This confusion is two-fold.

Antm prapaca is there it is (savikra) means subject to

change - asti, jyat, vardhat etc. That savikratvam the changing nature

of antm, I superimpose on myself and I say aha jta aha mariy

I am born, I am dying, I am growing old etc. This is called

(antmana

savikratvam tmani adhyasya aha savikr iti buddhi janayati).

66 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So what is there in antm has been superimposed on tm. It doesnt stop

there. There is barter involved to do full justice.

The antm prapaca is satya or mithy? No doubt it is mithy. And who

am I - Satya or mithy? I am satya. This satyatva which belongs to

me, the tm aha is superimposed upon the antm, the prapaca, the

arra. Therefore, I have become savikra and the world has become

satya now because of the transference of the satyatva of mine on to the

world. This is what is known as (anynya adhysa).

This is caused by varaa akti. Vikpa akti doesnt create anynya

adhysa because in that two things are not involved. Vikpa akti

creates a second world in addition to tm. It is varaa akti only which

creates the anynya adhysa.

Now, of these two, what is that we have to destroy? Our attempt in spiritual

sdhan is only taking care of varaa akti. We dont want to do anything

to vikpa akti. We are concerned only with varaa akti. This is called

tlvidhy. Mlvidhy is prthamika adhysa. And tlvidhy is dvitya

adhysa. By tm jna, this tlvidhy, this confusion between tm

and antm is sorted out and once this confusion is sorted out, what

belongs to antm, I give to antm and what belongs to tm I give to

tm give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar!

Now when I say I am changing, the savikratva really does not belong to

me but it belongs to the antm. I should know that all the changes belong
to antm. I should know that (arra pariamat). I

should know that as Lord K says in the Gt , aha

-

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 67

( na jyat mriyat v kadci- nnya bhtv bhavit

v na bhya . aj nitya vat'ya pur na hanyat hanyamn

arr).

So aha nirvikra and antm is savikra. So we should take the

vikra from here that is tm and give it to antm for keeps sake. And
then what do we do? In the antm we have got what buddhi? The

satyatva of the tm had been given to antm. We quietly pluck it away

and give it back to myself i.e. tm.

, ; ,
,

(Aha satya, jagan mithy; aha brahma, pra satya asmi, jagat
mithy asti).

And once we have sorted this out whether varaa akti is still there or

not? It is no longer there. we have tackled varaa akti. Now the question

is, will the world continue or not?

The world will stop only when vikpa akti is tackled. Our tm jna

does not do anything to vikpa akti. Therefore vikpa akti will

continue and therefore, the world will continue and therefore, arra will

continue, I will of course continue, tm will continue and antm will also

continue because vikpa akti continues throughout. Now the interesting

question is, if tm and antm both continue, how can advait be there?
(aha kvala katha bhavmi)?

Suppose such a question is raised. Even after tm jna, I the tm

continues, the world of antm continues because vikpa akti is not

destroyed. If both of them continue wont there be dvaita? What can be

68 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

the answer? One will instictly feel like saying that dvaita is there. But we
have to remember that once varaa akti is gone i.e. ajna is sorted

out, what will happen? Antm will continue but it will no more continue as

satya antm. It will continue only as mithy antm. And I will be satya.
Therefore, let vikpa akti continue, let the antm continue, let the

world continue but once I know it is mithy, thereafterwards it is as good

as not there. Therefore, we destroy the dvitya adhysa alone. We do not
touch the prthamika adhysa. We are only falsifying the prthamika

adhysa. The world will continue but it is falsified as mithy, whereas

dvitya adhysa does not continue. If this continues what will happen? The

world will be taken as satya. Once the dvitya adhysa is gone, the world
will not have satyatva, I will not have vikritva. Vikritva is given to
the world, satyatva comes to me. In this internal exchange sasra is

gone. This is the essence of the following teaching. Now let us go to the

lk.

He says sasra svapna tulya. Sasra means prapaca.

(sasriyat asmin iti sasra) the place in which

we travel from one place to another not only manuya travels during one

janma to another after death the jva travels from one lk to another
the whole universe wherein jva moves is called sasra. And what is the

nature of this sasra? Svapna tulya it is similar to a dream. Svapna

here means mithy.

(yath svapna mithy va

prapaca api mithy va). Once it is known as mithy we should

understand that it is the projection of ajna or my.

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 69

(yad yad mithy tat tat ajna janya iti

vypt).

Whatever is mithy is born out of our ignorance only. Like our sarpa

our snake, it is mithy only if it is born of ignorance. This is not to say that

every snake is mithy. Only the snake in the rajju sarpa example is mithy.

So it is ,
(ajna janya,

mlvidhy janya my kalpita).

But let the world be there. It is a wonderful creation. It is all full of beauty,

where music is available, dance is available, wonderful Sunrise is available.

Everything is there. What is wrong with the world? akarcrya says that
if there is nothing wrong, I would not have written tm bdha. There is

something wrong because the world seems to be

(lka ka hata ca samasta) because it is (rga

dvdi sankula). Sankula means riddled with, disturbed by and afflicted

with rga and dva. di means etc. And as long as rga dva is there, we

know what the problem is? In the first chapter of the Gt, Arjunas plight is
thus described (kpay parayvi

vidannidamabravt). Arjuna was overcome with deep compassion (on

seeing all the relations present there and pitted in the war against him) and
he spoke (thus) in sorrow. If rga dv is there, we can practice only one
yga, and that is (vida yga).

Now the next question would be what is meant by mithy?

The definition of mithy is given here as svakl satyavat bhti svakl

means as long as it is experienced; at the time of experience, it appears to

70 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

be real. That means that once we say satyavat it means as though real

but not actually real. If I say you are as though beautiful, it will mean that
you are not beautiful but you seem beautiful. So when we say satyavat

bhti, this itself means that it is not satya. At the same time when we say
satyavat bhti it means it appears to be satya. And therefore, it is not
asatya also. The word bhti connotes that it is neither satya nor
asatya. Then what is it?

(sat asadbhy anirvacanya mithy).

It is beyond words like svapna. In svapna everything is unreal. For

example, suppose someone dreams that he has lost a suitcase. So losing the
suitcase is unreal. The irony is that the dream was probably seen in the
sleep with the head on the suitcase. Yet he dreams that the suitcase is

apparently lost. Can we say that it is asatya? One cannot say that because

he is disturbed, because he wakes up with disturbed feeling. So it is capable

of disturbing him. So, it must have some kind of existence. Therefore,

neither it is totally existent nor it is totally non-existent. Therefore, it is

called mithy. In Pacadai Vidyraya Svmi says

(yad asad bhsamna tan mithy svapna

gajdivat).

Then why cant we say it is satya itself. He says we cannot because,

prabdh sati asadbhavt. We should be careful in reading this sentence. It

means on waking it becomes asat non-existent. And therefore,

(trikl api yat tiati tadva sat). The definition of

sat is (trikla abhdhya).

(dhvamsa abhva apratiyg) - that which is not an object of future non-

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 71

existence. Cant they simply say that which exists in future!!! They use

double negative. So yat sat - that which is real; tiati exists; trikl api

all three periods of time. Svapna seems to be satya because at that time of

experiencing it, it disturbs us. At the same time on waking up it goes away
and that is why it is called mithy.

Therefore prabodhe sati asat bhavet on waking up it becomes unreal.

Thus, to sum up, sasra is prthamika adhys caused by mlvidhy

and that too vikpa akti of mlvidhy.

72 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 7

II 7

tvatsatya jagadbhti
uktikrajata yath I

yvanna jyat brahma

sarvdhihnamadvayam II

Now in this lka he says that the world, the mithy prapaca appears to
be real because the reality belonging to the tm or Brahman is falsely

transferred. That is anynya adhysa. This anynya adhysa mutual

confusion arises because of avivka, which again is because of ignorance.

As long as this avivka continues, this ignorance continues, we will

transfer the satyatva of the adhihna to the jagat only. So, he says,

tvat jagat satya bhti. The world will appear to be satya - yvat

Brahma na jyat as long as the sarva adhihna Brahman is not

known as satya.

The word adhihna is a technical word which means whatever lends

satyatva to another thing or a mithy vastu is called adhihna. For

example, pot nma rpa is mithy because the name and form does not

exist independently. The existence or the satyatva really belongs to the

clay.The clay lends its existence i.e. satyatva to pot nma rpa and now

we say pot is real. And we further argue also that pot can fetch water and it
can even keep the water cool. Therefore, it is (artha kriy

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 73

kr) which means capable of functioning. And this apparent pot seems to

have reality which is borrowed from clay. Therefore, clay is called

adhihna.

Similarly the world has now got satyatva borrowed from Brahman. So

Brahman is called sarva adhihna. And not only is that, it also

(adhvaya). Pots are many. Clay is one. Ornaments are many, gold is one.

World contains infinite things but adhihna Brahman is kvala

advait. And as long as this adhihna is not known, we will commit

the mistake of giving the reality of Brahman to the jagat and jagat will

appear to be satya and satya jagat will disturb us. A mithy jagat cannot

disturb us. The mirage water will not tempt us. The real water will tempt

us. Even the mirage water will tempt us if we dont know that it is mithy.

Similarly the world will tempt us if we do not know it as mithy. Therefore,

he says yvanna jyat Brahma sarvdhihnam advayam tvat jagat

satya bhti or in other words ,

, (yath Brahma jyat tath jagat mithy

bhavati, bhdhit bhavati, bhsit bhavati).

This is the main idea for which he wants to give an example of uktik

rajata. uktik is the shell and rajata is silver. The sea shell in a bright

sunlight shines and appears like silver. So he says that as long as the shell is
not known as the shell the reality, we will take it as silver which is real. And
not only that, it will tempt us and we will go towards that silver. The first
job will be to look around to see if anyone is observing. And seeing that

nobody is seeing, we will even pocket it! uktik rajata is an example for

74 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

rg. For dv we can supply an example which is rajju sarpa. This is

dv viay dnta. One is for attraction and another is for aversion.
Verse 8

II 8

updn'khildhr

jaganti paramvar I
sargasthitilaynynti

budbudnva vrii II

Now the same adhysa akarcrya is explaining further from a different

perspective. The adhihna, he calls as (updna

kraa). What is updna kraa? In the previous lka he said,

, (pra aha, brahma rpa aha) I am the

adhihna.

Now he says updna. From this angle the world will be called krya.

When I am adhihna the world will be called adhysa. But when I say I

am the kraa the world will be called the krya - two different names

and the same idea. And the law is the same. Adhihna alone lends

satyatva to adhysa or to put it in the language of this lka, kraa

alone lends satyatva to krya. So ,

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 75

(kryasya svatantra satyatva nsti, kryasya

satyatva kraa apkya vartat). (kraa

tantra, krya satya) which means the dependence on the kraa is

krya satya the reality of the krya.

Similarly the whole world is the krya and who is the kraa? I but not

by self alone but along with my - mlvidhy. So with the help of my

or mlvidhy, I has created the universe. The universe is krya. Or in

other words I has superimposed a universe upon me.

(viva darpaa dyamna nagartulya

nijntargata) Dakimrti sttram. The universe, like even the city

being seen in the mirror, is within oneself.

Then one will ask how you can say that the world is within me. I can very
well see that world is outside me. The sttram clarifies

(payanntmani myay bahirivdbhta

yath nidray). Just as in sleep, one sees the world as though it is created

outside, while all along it remains on the substratum of ones own tman.
Let us analyze this. When we have a dream, the dream world is within us or
outside us? One should ask when? As long as we are dreaming, we see the

world not withinus, but we see the world very much outside. There also the
Sun is nine crores miles away. There also the moon is 2, 50,000 miles away.
There also we get into the train to go Bombay. Bombay is not within us but
outside us. So svakl i.e. .

76 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(svapna kl svapna

prapaca bhya vartat. jgrata avasthy prabdh sati sa va svapna

mama anta bhavati).

In the same way,

(ajna kl yatriva dvaita iha bhavati tratra itara

itara payati itara itara ti).

But when we know I am the caitanya, not only the world is within us,

this body is also within us. Just as svapna arra is also within us. Svapna

prapaca is also within us the waker. Svapna arra and svapna

prapaca are both within the waker. But once we identify with the svapna
arra what happens? Svapna arra dy svapna prapaca is inside

or outside?

(svapna arra datay bahhi)

but waker dy, ,

(svapna arra, svapna prapaca ubhau api madantargatau va).

Similarly this world and this arra both of them are within us aha

Brahma the (sarvagata caitanya). But if we dont look from

the angle of the orginal I and look from the stand point of this svapna

arra, this world becomes outside. And therefore, he says updn

akhildhr paramvar mayi. We have to add mayi i.e. in me, at the end.
In me - who am the updn kraa, who am the akhila dhra,

, , ,
,

(vivdhr, gagana sad, caitanya rp mayi, aha uddha caitanya

svarup, paramvar) who am the paramvara.

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 77

But then we will also say that we dont look like one. No the look will not be
like that. If we look at the body we will not be

(paramvara aha sita) but I, the caitanya am Ivara.

Next he says sarga sthiti layn ynti, jaganti. Jaganti means all the lks. So

all these 14 lks, sarga sthiti layn ynti si, sthiti and laya that is

krya prapaca - So this krya prapaca gains si, sthiti and laya all
because of me who is kraa caitanya rpa.

And from my standpoint, the creation and destruction of lks is like

budbudni iva vrii here akarcrya compares the tm to the ocean

the huge reservoir of water. And every lk is like a bubble, because in

front of the infinite, even galaxies are like bubbles only. One may say this

galaxy 50,000 light years wide or 70000 light years length etc. New galaxies
are continuously being discovered. The lk may be vast but in front of the

caitanya all these galaxies are like budbudha like bubbles. A star is

born. It is like a bubble formation. Another one is gone one bubble is

gone. Just as by their arrival and departure, the bubbles do not disturb the
water in the ocean; similarly the arrival and departure of people one

person dying, one person going away or loss of anything on the earth is of
no consequence. The disappearance of the whole world is like the

disappearance of a bubble for me. That is the essence of budbudnva

vrii iva jaganti mayi sarga sthiti layn ynti.

So just as false bubbles, the bubbles which are nothing but nma rpa
appear and disappear in water similarly ,

, , (mayyva

sakala jta, mayi sarva pratiitama, mayi sarva laya ynti , tad

78 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

advaya brahma aha asmi). We have already seen the meaning of this

verse.

Now the same idea akarcrya repeats in the 9th lk also.

Verse 9

II 9

saccidtmanyanusyt

nity viau prakalpit I

vyaktay vividhssarv
hak kaakdivat II

In the previous lk the adhysa of the (actana

prapaca) was pointed out and by using the word jaganti, the various lks

were mentioned.

In this lk akarcrya is going to talk about (vyakti

adhysa). Vyakti means various living beings that is, various physical and

subtle bodies. Here vyakti stands for countless number of (jva

arra), not only (manuya) but also

(pau pak mga dva yaka kinnara), all the arras both sthla and
skma and that adhysa is pointed out.

Sthla and skma arras - are ctana or actana? They are also

actana only but because of caitanya pratibimba they become ctana

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 79

later. Therefore, we divide into two actana prapaca and ctana

prapaca. Originally both are actana only. But the difference is that in

actana prapaca, (cidbhs) is not there; (cit

pratibimba) is not there; whereas in ctana prapaca cit pratibimba will be

there but both are actana only. One has cidbhs and the other has no

cidbhs.

So therefore, (vyaktaya adhyast), it is said. And in

the previous lk he called the adhihna as ,

(updna, akhila dhra, paramavara) but here

akarcrya uses different words

(saccidtmani, nity, viau) different words but referring to the same

tm alone.

Here we are not talking about jvtm; we are talking about the original

tm the (paramtm). Sacchidtmni; para tmni - Sat

means of the nature of eternal existence. Cit means of the nature of eternal

awareness (ajanya caitanya). We know

janya caitanya.

(ajanya jna rp sadrp abdhya caitanya rp tmani Brahmai)

we can say like that. And what type of Brahman or tm is it?

(anusyt) which is inherent, which is in and through all. And why it is

80 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

anusyta? (adhinatvt).


(yat adhihna tat adhyastha viayu

anusytatvna vartt). The adhihna will always be inherent in and

through the adhys, just as the rope will be there wherever the snake is.

Therefore, adhihna must pervade the adhysa because the very

(satt) of the adhysa is borrowed from the adhihna only. To put it

in another language,

(kraa kryu

anusytatay vartat). ,

.

(kraa md rpa, kryu ghau anusytatay vartat). This is what

is known as (antarym). Antarym means anusyta.

And not only that, he further says nity. So this adhihna is nitya. The

adhys will come and go but adhihna will continue or to put it in

another language krya will come and go but kraa will continue and
therefore nity. (prk pradhvamsa abhva

rahit) or (prk pradhvamsa abhva

apratiygini). So that which doesnt have prior non-existence and that

which doesnt have posterior non-existence. What does it mean? It is

always existent. But cant that be stated in a straightforward manner?

Because this is tarka so if it is stated in a complicated way then only it is

tarkam!

Then he says Viau. In the previous lk he used the word Paramvar.

Paramvar generally stands for iv. And here he says Viau. It seems

he does not want to create a controversy. And akarcrya is a aivaite

also. So there could be some controversy. So, therefore, he says

Adhysa and Tat Pada Artha 81

Paramvar and Viau to point out that Viu and Paramvara are one
and the same adhihna Brahma. All the bhds are kalpita for the

sake of pj. One is called

(jaydhr), the other is called

(akacakradhr). They are all superficial differences. But

they all are nothing but adhihna Brahma only. And incidentally

through this akarcrya is removing our vsans also, because the

moment the word Viau is uttered we get the picture in our mind. So

akarcrya wants to remove that idea which is only temporary. There is

a lka which says

(pjrtha

yat kalpita tad apardhya m kamasva). It says Oh Lord! For the

sake of pj, I gave you forms and limited you and this is a great sin I have
committed. By doing pj I have sinned against you. Because everytime I
did pj, I said come and I said go making you anitya. In the lk he
talks of 3 doshas out of which this is one.

Similarly here also whenever one says Viu, that thought comes and

akarcrya immediately negates. In seems in Kamba Ramyna also,

the author describes Rm in one place as the adhihna of the whole

universe upon whom the whole word is adhyastha. So we think Rm is

Daaratha putra, crying for St profusely. It is not so. Rm is none other

than jagat adhihna because of whose existence alone the whole world

is adhyastha and knowing that Rm which is Brahman, the whole

world will disappear. But this orginal Rm is not discussed in the

Ramyna but that Rm is the subject matter of the Upaniad. So Rm

is the upaniadik Brahman upon who the world is adhyastha like rajju

sarpa, so says Kambar. He talks pure advait.

82 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So , (Viau rm

saccitnanda svarup kalpit, prakalpit) all these are superimposed.

What are superimposed? (vivid sarv

vyaktaya). That is all varieties of , ,

, , , ,

(pau, pak, mga, k, dv, tirya, manuydi);

(sarv vyaktaya). Prakalpit (nma rpa mtra)

(vcrambhaa vikr nma dya).

(kivat)? Hak kaakdivat. Haka means gold. Kataka means

ornaments. Just as the varieties of ornaments really do not exist because

they are nothing but names and forms superimposed upon the adhihna,

the anusyta gold, similarly all these jva rs are none other than nma

rpas superimposed on Brahman.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 83

Updhi and Uphita

Verse 10

Updhi and Uphita 85

II 10

yathk hk
nnpdhigat vibhu I
tadbhddbhinnavadbhti
tann kval bhavt II

Now hereafterwards, akarcrya is going to talk about the secondary

adhys. The first adhys we have seen is the ctana actantmaka

prapaca si. That is actana prapaca is superimposed on the ctana

arra cidbhsa yukta arra.

(dhadvaya yut
citi) says Vidyraya Svmi in Pacada. These two bodies, the sthla

and skma arras as well the cidbhsa, both have been dealt with
and with this the prthamika adhys is over.

Now we are going to get into the secondary adhys and what is that? This

is the confusion between the (adhyasta antm), the

(sa antm) and the (si kart aha

Brahma).

And this adhys, the secondary adhys, this confusion, is caused by the

varaa akti of my or ajna and because of which I take the

attributes of antm as mine and I take my attributes and give it to

antm. This alone we call as

(anynyasmin anynya tmakat madhyasya madhyasya). We call it

86 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(anynya tdtmiya). And since I take the attributes

of the antm and superimpose them on my self; since the attributes of

antm like jyat, vardhat, kart, bhkt etc. is transferred to me

falsely, this antm is called (updhi) technically. And I am called

(upahita). So I am the (upahita caitanya)

(cidbhsa sahita). That which gives the attributes is called

updhi that whichreceives the attributes is called upahita. arra is

updhi, aha is upahita. And we have got so many examples. Suppose

there is a colourless crystal and there is a red colour flower nearby. The
colour of the flower will appear in the crystal. Therefore, the colour is

transferred to the crystal. The flower lends the attributes. Therefore, it is

called updhi. The crystal borrows the attributes and so it is called

upahita. So the definition of updhi is

(samp sthitv dhyat sveeyaan dharmaan iti

updhi). Upa means samp sthitv - being nearby - dhyat means

transfers, gives, attributes. What does it give? (svyn

dharmn) its own attributes. Therefore, it is called updhi.

And for the tm what is the updhi? It is not just one updhi but all the

vyakti i.e. individual bodies have become updhis. And each body has got

its own attributes. Now one tm appears to be many tms with many

attributes. (aha ka

paramtm nnvidha jvtm rpa bhmi ) - I the one paramtm

appear as though nnvidha or numerous jivtm because of various

arras.

Updhi and Uphita 87

In fact this is not the unique thing. Every day in the dream we do that. Just

examine the whole dream procedure. Sleep has got vikpa akti. With the

vikpa akti, we create the whole svapna prapaca, the whole svapna

arras and a special body for us also. And having created all the special

bodies, there is a dream body. And even though we are the waker, what do

we do? We, the waker and the dream body gets confused and we mistake

ourselves to be the dream body. We take the attributes of the dream body

as our own attributes. That is the varaa akti of nidr or sleep. Creating

the dream body is the vikpa akti of the nidr. But afterwards taking the
dream body to be ourself is varaa akti. So when the dream body

moves, we feel we are moving, when dream body sits we feel we are sitting;

when the dream body is terrified, we feel we are terrified - this confusion is

caused by the varaa akti of the nidr.

Suppose from the dream we remove the varaa akti alone and vikpa

akti continues. Can anyone guess how the dream will look like? We wont
wake up because vikpa akti will contine and therefore, the dream will

continue but since varaa akti is gone, we will tell everyone aha

wakerasmi. We would be lying down comfortably in our bed. And we

would have created with our vikpa akti this whole svapna prapaca.

And we would have created a body for ourself. Not only a body for ourself,

we would have created all other bodies also and having divided into two,

we would be doing all vyavahr. In this way here also the updhis
attributes are superimposed. That is what is said here in the lka.

Yatha ka hka nnpdhi gat vibhu, tat bhdt bhinnavat bhti

tann kval bhavt.

88 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Hka is the name of the tm he uses all (sagua) names to

make clear that

(sagua nirguay bhda

nsti). Nirgua alone is appearing as sagua. Hka is the name of

the Lord. Hka is the name of the tm also because hka means

(hk indriy a hka).

(indriya adhipati) that is tm.

And what is the nature of the tm ? Vibhu, which means all pervading.

But now this vibhu tm aha am associated with nn updhi gata so

many arras are superimposed. And, therefore, I am available in every

arra. As Lord K says in the Gt

(ktraja cpi m viddhi sarvaktru bhrata). He says Know

Myself to be ktraja (individual soul) in all the ktrs. So I am in every

updhi, in every sthla, skma arra. I am there as the cit, the

adhihna of every arra including cidbhsa.

(cidbhsa sahita array adhihna aha).

Of this, the arras are limited. Cidbhss are also limited. arra

travels. Cidbhsa also travels. But the I the cit, the adhihna do not

travel, I has no appearance, no disappearance, all these things are not

there, but what happens? I also seem to travel etc. because I take the

attributes of the arra as though my attributes. Therefore, he says nn

updhi gata. The moment we say updhi, it means that the attributes have
been transferred. And because of that tat bhdt; because of the

differences; because of the plurarity in the (adhyasta

Updhi and Uphita 89

prapaca), the adhihna I also seem to be pluralistic. Because of the

differences among the adhia arra, I the adhihna also appear to

be different from others. So that means the first superimposition is what?

The updhi has got duality. Similarly here also, I become dualistic. That

means other than me there are so many people to compare with. And then
having created the division, I go on talking about the differences.

akarcrya will talk about that later, , , ,

etc.(jti bhda, vara bhda, kula

bhda, liga bhda aha purua s str etc.) All these differences

come.

So he says tat bhdt bhinnavat bhti. Tat bhdt means updhi bhdt

bhinnavat bhti. Bhinnavat means divided- the undivided I seemingly

appear as divided I. The division is in the form of ,

(pramt prama pramya bhda,

kartkarmkraa bhda), all these bhdas in what?

(na anta praja na bahi praja na ubhayata

praja). (nta iva

advait tury mayi tat sarva bhti). And

(tann sati kval bhavt). Once the updhis are gone, i.e
(updhi n sati) what will I become? Kvala bhavt. So in the

beginning also we saw tann sati kvala. Here also tann sati kval

bhavt.

90 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

But here we should carefully understand one point. Tann kval bhavt,

if we take literally, we will get into a problem. We are all divided because of

the bodies alone. To remove the division what should we do? Updhi n

and therefore, everyone should be destroyed! So here updhi na should

not be taken literally. We should also remember that it is impossible to do

so. Because if we have to destroy everyone, how many jva rs are there?
Fortunately we need not destroy. We only have to remove the varaa

akti of my which causes the confusion. So once varaa akti is

removed what will happen? I had given reality to the body. That reality I

will no longer give. Therefore

(updhi n nma updau satyatva buddhi na). We just have change

the vision. In Vdnt how do we destroy a pot? Normally we will break the
pot and destroy. In Vdnt the ghata is (vittightya) one

author uses this word vittightya means (jna nya). We

destroy the pot just by seeing the content. We understand that there is no

pot other than the clay pot is gone. Pot has been reduced to just name and
form. This is called the iv destroying the three puras tripura
(updhi traya). iv destroys the tripura by the (jna

di). Similarly if we remove the varaa akti, even though the updhis
will be there but they will be mithy and mithy updhi cannot create
division. And if at all it does, it will be a mithy division only. Mithy

division cannot disturb satya advait. Therefore, updhi n nma

jna va. So understanding this well is what is updhi na. Therefore,

(jnt satyatva buddhi

nivttau saty kvala bhavt). I become kvala. World will contine,

Updhi and Uphita 91

updhis will continue. Still I will say , ,

(Brahman satya, jagan mithy, aha brahmaiva n para).

And to reveal that updhis do not divide me, he gives an example. - yath

ka. Kda ka? Vibhu vibhu means vypaka just as all

pervading ka cannot be divided by any number of pots or walls,

therefore,

(yath ka paricchinna

iva bhti yathrtha na paricchinna pra va tath updhi bhdt aha

bhinnna bhavmi ityartha).

Verse 11

II 11

nnpdhivadva

jtivarramdaya I

tmanyrpitsty

rasavardi bhdavat II

Now he gives the details of adhys. The previous lk contained a general

statement. (arra dharm

arrii mayi ktraj adhyasth). It was generally said that the bodily

attributes are taken unto me. Now here enumerates the many varieties of

attributes.

92 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

They are jti means, for example, (aha

brhmaa abhimna). Some people have abhimna with

qualifications. Many people have abhimna without any qualification!

That is the tragedy. Even without knowing gyatr mantra they will say

aha brhmaa! Therefore, jti abhimna jti means janma. Then,

vara abhimna. Vara means again ,

(brhmaa, katriya vaiya dra). Since vara is mentioned

separately, jti can be taken as birth i.e kula abhimna. Otherwise it will

be a repetition. That is I belong to uttama kula etc. Then rama that is

brahmacr, ghasta etc. Then daya education; then dhana - aha

dhan, tvam nirdhana itydi - all these divisions, the status symbols - all of

them come.

All these are not in tm at all. Because I am

,
(jti nti kula gtra draga nma rpa gua da varjita,

da kla viaydi vastu yad brahma tattvam asi bhvaytimani). I am

(atta) of all of them but (nn updhivat),

because of the updhis (jti

varramdaya tmani rpit). They are all superimposed upon me

the tm. This is the idea of the lka.

Now an example is given.Ty rasavardi bhdavat. Tya means water.

What is the colour of the water? It is colourless. Even though water is

(svabhvata) free from all the colours, and not only free from

Updhi and Uphita 93

colour, it is also free from taste, but to that water when some rasavaram
etc. are added, it takes the colour and taste of those added ingredients. Let
us take a contemporary example of aerated drinks bottle; it has got

varieties of colours. They are not colours of the water even though they

appear in the water; they belong to some updhi that is there in the water.
Some other liquids have been added, permitted colours have been added.
So it has got different colours and it has got different taste also. And what
are they? They are adhyasta due to updhi.

(yath ty rasavardi bhd nn updhi

vat adhyasta va tmani jti vardi bhda nn updhi vat

adhyasta itynvaya).
Verse 12

II 12

packtamahbhta -

sambhava karmasacita I

arra sukhadukhn

bhgyatanamucyat II

In the previous lk he said nn updhivat. Nn means variety,

different. When we said different, it should be more than one. And

94 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

therefore, in the following lks he enumerates the updhis of the tm. I

am not translating the word updhi because we cannot have a proper

translation. In some English books they translate as adjunct but that is

tougher than the word updhi. And even then it means only something

close. The word updhi has a technical connotation. Not only must it be

nearby, it must also transfer the attribute. Three points should be noted in

updhi. It should be near. It should transfer the attributes. And that is not

enough. The transfer must be false.

Suppose one is sitting on the carpet and there is some dirt or stain. He sits

on the stain and his white dress gets soiled. Now is that colour transferred

really or apparently? Here the transfer is real. So removal also requires

effort.

But, taking the example of the flower and crystal, we should remember that

when the colour of the flower is transferred to the crystal, we need not take
the crystal and wash it because the transfer is apparent and not real. Thus
the transfer is two fold. (vstavika tdtmiya) and
(dhysika tdtmiya). It has to be split into two

types. Here the transfer is (dhysika sasarga). So

we have to remember that updhi means the three conditions should be

satisfied. And in that sense only I am going to use the word updhi. I am not
going to translate hereafter.

Therefore, nn updhis are going to be enumerated. The sthla arra

updhi, skma arra updhi and kraa arra updhi are the three

updhis which he enumerates in these three lks. 12th lk talks about

Updhi and Uphita 95

sthla arra. 13th lk talks about skma arra and 14th lk is on

kraa arra.

So sthla arra is defined here packta mahbhta sambhava. I am

not going to deal with the process of pac karaa which has been dealt
with in detail in Tattva Bdha. Therefore, packta mahbhta means

the five grossified elements. As explained in Tattva Bdha, first the five

elements are born in a subtle manner and later they get grossified and

therefore, here we are referring to them as packta mahbhta. It is

sufficient if you understand them as the great five grossified elements

which are ka, vyu, agni, pa and pthiv. That is the space, air, fire,
water and earth. And out of this five grossified elements is born this sthla

arra which he refers to as mahbhta sambhava.

Now, if all the bodies are born out of the same five elements, all of them
should also be the same. But they are not. Why? The reason is karma

sacitam. Each one has been individually assembled. So there is assembly

difference. This difference is because of the past karms. Here sacitam
means assembled. It qualifies the arra and not karm. Karmabhi

sacita. Sthla arra is sukha dukhn bhga yatana, which is

the aboard, remaining in which the jv experiences pleasures and pains.

yatana means aboard, tenement, rented house. Because the moment we

enter the world, we require a tenement. Therefore, sukha dukhn

bhga yatana arra iti ucyat. So this body is said to be bhga

yatana. arra is the subject.

For example if one says aha sthla, I am fat, the sthlatva of the

sthla arra is transferred to tm. Similarly (katva),

96 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(ruga), (arga) and (aha vayaska),

(aha yuv), all these are sthla arra (dharm) - tmni

adhyast.

This is the first updhi of tm. We should remember that this is an updhi.
(arra tu prathama updhi).

Verse 13

II 13

pacapramanbuddhi -

dandriyasamanvitam I
apacktabhtttha

skmga bhgasdhanam II

This is simple. Skmga aga means arra. He says skmga

bhga sdhana. Sdhana means instrument -

(sdhyat prpyat sukha dukha bhg anna iti

sdhana). Sthla arra is bhga yatana. Skma arra is bhga

sdhanam. So in Tattva Bdha it was all in prose form. Here it is nice

poetry. So skma arra is bhga sdhanam instrument of

Updhi and Uphita 97

experiencing pleasure and pain. And what is the nature of skma arra?

All other words are adjectives, explanation of skma arra. It contains

seventeen parts , , (paca pr,

man, buddhi dandriya samanvita). How beautifully the prose is

converted into poetry! Paca pr is the five prs - , , ,

(pra, apna, vyna, udna, and samna). Then man, and

buddhi six and seven. Then dandriya ,

(paca jnndriyi, paca karmndriyi) seven plus ten

is equal to seventeen.

(va saptadaakalbhi saha yat tihati tatskmaarram). These are

dealt with in detail in Tattva Bdha.

For example, in skma arra the paca jnndriys are there and they

have the attributes like , , (andhatva,

mandhatv, pautva dharm). When a person says (aha

andha) I am blind, blindness is not the attribute of the physical body

but it is the attribute of skma arra because it belongs to

jnndriya. Similarly when he says (aha pagu) I am

lame this is the attribute of karmndriya. Similarly when he says

(aha aanyvn pipsvn) I am hungry,

thirsty etc. they are the attributes of the pra and they are taken to tm.
Similarly I am very emotional type, I am very sensitive, I am upset etc.

these sensitivities are again the characteristic of the mind which belongs to

98 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

skma arra and when he says I am intelligent, the class is very simple

for me or I am a slow coach, I am not able to understand this, this is also

(pautva) or (mandatva) - as the case may be of

(buddhi). Thus all of them I superimpose on myself. akarcrya does

not specifically mention this superimposition but we have to supply all

these ideas.

So paca pra man, buddhi daa indriya samanvita samanvita

means consisting of. And it is made up of what? Apackta bhta uttha.

Packta is grossified, apackta means not grossified. That means subtle.

The five subtle elements are, therefore, the updna kraa. The five

gross elements are updna kraa for sthla arra. The five subtle

elements are the updna kraa for skma arra. What is the
(nimitta kraa) for these? Number one is Karm. And number

two is vara. Thus vara and karm are nimitta kraa. Bhtas are

updna kraa. This is dvitya updhi.

Now akarcrya comes to the ttya, the kraa arra updhi.

Verse 14

II 14

andhyavidhynirvcy
krapdhirucyat I

updhitritaydanya

Updhi and Uphita 99

tmnamavadhrayt II

He says updhi tritayd anya. So what is the third updhi?

(andhi anirvcya avidhy) or

(anirvcy andhi avidhy). Here we have to carefully note that

avidhy means mla avidhy which is otherwise called my and which is

responsible for the projection of sthla arra and skma arra. Thus

kraa arra is mla avidhy, otherwise called my which has got

vikpa akti and also varaa akti. This avidhy alone has projected

the sthla arra and skma arra with its vikpa akti. And since

it is the cause for the other two bodies, it is the updna kraam. Since

avidhy is the updna kraam for sthla and skma arras, this mla
avidhy is called kraa arra. So in short, mla avidhy means sthla

skma arra in (bja avasth). And sometimes we use the

word ignorance also. We need to carefully understand that this mla

avidhy is for projection of sthla and skma arra. This is different

from the confusion we have between satya and mithy and that is also

called avidhy ignorance. So there is an ignorance which is in the mind

and which is caused by varaa akti and the other ignorance is the bja

avasth of the mind, the very cause of the mind that is called mlvidhy.

For example now, is our mind in a resolved condition or in a wakeful

condition? I hope it is in a wakeful condition and it has not gone to the

mlvidhy avastha a deep sleep state! But this mind in the wakeful state

i.e. jgrat avasth has got ignorance. This ignorance is in the form of

indiscrimination between satya and mithy. This ignorance is called

100 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

tlvidhy. So this ignorance which is the confusion existing in the wakeful

mind is called tla avidhy varaa akti. In Vdnta, this tla avidhy

alone we are first trying to to resolve. Even after removing the tla avidhy,
the mind continues and that mind when it goes to sleep resolves in mla

avidhy only. So even in a jn the mla avidhy i.e. the kraa arra

continues. If the jn does not have mla avidhy, the kraa arra,
what will happen? The tragedy will be that a jn can never sleep. So

remember that even a jn when he sleeps, his mind is resolved in mla

avidhy only. Then what has jn done? In jns mind there was the

varaa akti which was in the form of tla avidhy. That varaa akti
he has removed and therefore, his mind in the wakeful state is now free
from the confusion between tm and antm.

For a jn, the varaa akti or deluding power is destroyed, even though

mla avidhy continues; it is not harmful because the poison is varaa

akti. Once varaa akti is removed mla avidhy is like a cobra without
a fang. And for a jn, mla avidhy becomes an instrument. Just as for

var, my is a glory only. Just as var is not bound by my because

varaa akti is not there, similarly for a jvan mukt also kraa arra
does not contain varaa akti. Therefore, it is harmless. He will sleep

during the sleeping time. But he will get up when he wakes but during

sleep the kraa arra identification is not there. He will never say I

slept. Ineither sleeps, nor dream nor wakes up. They belong to kraa,

skma and sthla arras. And therefore, we say mla avidya is bhdita. Sthla arra is bhdita. Skma arra is bhdita.
Bhdita means falsified.

Updhi and Uphita 101

When does the mla avidhy also go for a jn? It will continue as long as

prrabdha is there. ,
,

. .
.

(prrabdha avasna kl,

sthla arra gacchati, skma arra gacchati, kraa arra api

gacchati. Vidha mukti kl, mla avidhy nayati. Jvan mukti kl mla

avidhy bhdyat, iti Vda). So during jvan mukti they are all falsified.

During vidha mukti they are destroyed.

So what I want to say is that, even for a jn the mla avidhy continues
but it is falsified. Even for a jn prakti continues, the mind also

continues, the sthla arra also continues. They all continue because of

mla avidhy or my but even though they continue, he does not have tla
avidhy which is in the form of indiscrimination. And therefore, the third

updhi is avidhy, otherwise called my, otherwise called prakti,

otherwise called ajna.

But when did this start? (andi) from beginningless times,

whereas sthla and skma arra have got a beginning. During si,

sthla and skma arras begin and during pralaya, sthla and skma
arras resolve. Therefore, sthla and skma arras fall within

creation. Kraa arra doesnt fall within creation. Kraa arra is the
very cause of creation, which means that during si, the sthla skma

arras are there and during pralaya, the sthla skma arras are

not there, whereas kraa arra will be there even during pralaya. It is

102 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

only because of that reason the next si comes. If kraa arra also

goes away no creation can come again.

The only thing is that we generally use the word kraa arra with

respect to an individual and we use the word my with respect to total

arra. Kraa arra is (vyai dy). My is the word

used from (samai dy). But both are one and same

prakti alone. And this kraa arra also is an updhi for the tm. Why

it is called updhi? It is so called because again the attributes of the kraa

arra are taken by me. Since kraa arra happens to be in a passive

state and when in suupti a person is in the kraa avasth, what do we

say? We should have said kraa arra was passive there during

prayala. Instead of that what do we say? I slept well, I was totally

inactive. So when I say I am inactive, the inactivity of the kraa arra

is superimposed upon me. The inactivity of the kraa arra is

transferred to the tm and so the kraa arra is also called updhi.

A jn may also say I am inactive. But when a jn says I am inactive,

he says
(payan van span

jighrann anan gacchan). These are words from (avakra

Gt).

Therefore, jns inactivity is not borrowed from kraa arra. It is his

svarpa. So when jn says he is akart it is his svarpa. When ajn

says he is akart it is borrowed from kraa arra.

Now how does one know the difference between a jn and ajn?

Updhi and Uphita 103

The ajn says I am akart borrowed from the kraa arra. His

akrutva, therefore, is only temporary i.e. only during the time of his

sleep. The moment he wakes up his akrutva also goes away and he once
again becomes the kart. So, when the akrutva is temporary, it is

borrowed from kraa arra. When the akrutva is permanent, it is not

from updhi dharma, but it is ones own svarpa. So, therefore, the

sleeper is also akart, jn is also akart. Sleepers akrutva is temporary

borrowed from kraa arra. Jns akrutva is original unborrowed.

And that is why in the 4th chapter of the Gt Lord K said

(karmai akarma ya payt akarmai ca

karma ya). It is a complicated lk. We will not go into it now.

Anyway kraa arra is also another updhi. With kraa arra, tm

becomes bhkt. Sthla shariam is called bhga yatana. Skma arra

is called bhga sdhana and kraa arra is called

(nandabhuk ct mukha prjasttya pda)

(Mkypaniat). Therefore, in kraa arra avasth one becomes a

bhokt.

And what is tm? It is different from all the three.

So upto the first line akarcrya has talked about the updhi and the

confusion between updhi and upahita.

Now from the second line onwards he is talking about sorting out the

confusion. So upto this it is confusion i.e. sasr and the second line

104 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

onwards removal of the confusion. For this purpose, varaa akti is

required to be destroyed. We dont need to do anything with vikpa akti.

Let it be there and let kraa arra be there. We need to sleep every day.

There is no harm. And when we wake up from kraa arra, let skma

arra come, let there be thoughts, no harm. And let there be sthla

arra, no harm. So let my project the world, let there be sthla arra

and skma arra, and let there be activities at the level of sthla and

skma arras. Vikpa akti is not a damaging one. The real

damaging one is varaa akti because of which we attribute the reality to

the updhi. Once varaa akti is removed we will know that the three

arras are mithy and we are the satya, different from all the three
arras.

That is what akarcrya says updhi tritayt anya. Different from these
three updhis is tmna is tm i.e. myself. So I am not the three

updhis. I am the upahita caitanya iti (avadhrayt); Iti

(nicinvyt ); , (nicaya kuryt,

niraya kuryt).

And remember once this has been sorted out, thereafterwards, one may be

intimately close to the body, he need not be afraid because the transference
of the attribute is not real. Here also we have to be careful. Suppose there
is a dirty object. And there is a clean cloth. Because of the

(sabandha) with the dirty object, the cloth has become dirty. And

therefore, to clean the cloth, we have to remove the dirty object and wash.

And not only remove, but thereafterwards, we should not allow it to be

dirtied again because in this case the transference is real. But when it is

Updhi and Uphita 105

crystal and a dirty object, even when the dirty object is intimately

associated with the crystal at the given time, the crystal is clear. How much
clear? Crystal clear!

Similarly tm and the body are intimately associated

(aha uddha svarpa va). So we just need to understand that we need

not separate the tm. Separation must be in the antahkraam alone.

akarcrya is going to explain all these in detail hereafter. Here he is only

laying the preparatory ground for that. .

Verse 15

II 15

pacakdiygna

tattanmy iva sthita I

uddhtm nlavastrdi ygna sphaik yath II

The same idea i.e. the confusion between the tm and antm is being

repeated here in a different form. Previously the updhis were divided into

three sthla, skma and kraa arras. But in this lk he divides the

very updhi into five as the (paca ka). Things are the same
but the division is from another angle.

The previous division was according to their grossness and subtlety. Sthla

arra is very gross. Skma arra is comparatively very subtle.

106 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Kraa arra is subtlest. So gross updhi, subtle updhi and subtlest

updhi.

Now the division is not based on the grossness or subtlety but it is based on

the functions. It is a functional division. akarcrya doesnt enumerate

the five kas i.e. annamaya, pramaya, manmaya, vijnamaya and

nandamaya k.

What is the job of annamaya ka? Eat, eat and eat. To recall from Tattva

bdha - annarasnnaiva bhtv annarasnnaiva vddhi prpya

annarpapthivy yadvilyat tadannamaya ka. It has to absorb the

anna and keep the sthla and skma arra in tact. In English it is

expressed as keeping the body and the soul together. Pramaya kas

function is the physiological system. And that is pra, apna, vyna, udna
and samna the fivefold physiological function like respiration, excretion,

circulation, and digestion and finally the reversal system, that which also
causes death. So this becomes the second ka. The third function is

manmaya ka the emotional function. And vijnamaya ka,

judging, thinking, logic all of them. And lastly, the nandamaya ka to

sleep happily.

Even though the five ks are stated, we have already seen that annamaya

ka corresponds to sthla arra; pra, man and vijnamaya

correspond to skma arra and nandamaya ka corresponds to

kraa arra. . Previously the updhis were divided into three sthla,

skma and kraa arra. So previously it was (arra

traya updhi) but now it is (ka pacaka updhi).

Updhi and Uphita 107

And here also the paca kas are called updhis because their function is

taken as though it is my function i.e. functions of tm. So annamaya

kas function is taken as my function etc. and therefore akarcrya

says paca kdi ygna here yga means (tdtmyna);

(ajna kta tdtmyna). Yga means ,

(sambandha; sasarga). Why do I say it is ajna kta

sambandha? It is because tm being

(asaghi
aya purua) cannot have yga or sambandha with anyone.

(yath ka) is (asaga)

(va tm asaga svarpa).

,

(tasmt tman sa yasya kasyacit api vastuna sanga naiva

sambhavati, sayga sambandh v samavya sambandh v svarpa

sambandh v). Many types of sambandhs are stated. None of these

associations is possible in the case of tm. And if the impossible is made

possible, it is the job of ajna. Even in the case of a rope and snake, it is

the job of ajna or ignorance. Similarly I the tm cannot have paca

ka yga. But now the yg has taken place because of

(anynya avivkna anynya tdtmya

sambandhna).

,
...... (anynyasmin anynytmakatm

anynyadharmca adhyasya itartarvivkna, satynt

mithunktya.....). We have already seen this lk.

108 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

I am satya. arra updhi is mithy. Satya and mithy cannot have

any sambandha but still out of ignorance, I get associated. And, therefore,
what happens? He says tattanmaya tat tat updhi maya.

(tanmayatva) means when we see someone struggling in a movie or in a

drama we feel we are also struggling this is called tanmayatva.

Whatever be the condition of the struggler the same condition we also feel.

So, updhi maya; (updhi tdtmyvn

bhavati). akarcrya has added iva which connotes

(na tu vstavika parantu dhytmika);

(svapnavat). He then refes to uddhtm. Who is that uddha tm?

uddha here means asaga. Asaga tm. And once we understand

uddha as asaga, we will understand that ygna here is mithy ygna.

Only to show that the use of the word ygna is mithy ygna he has used
the adjective uddha tm (htugarbha viaa) implied meaning.

So uddhtm tattanmaya iva sthita tm seems to be in the form of the

updhi itself. Upto this is the idea to be conveyed. Now he comes to the
(dnt).

He says nla vastrdi ygna sphaika yath tattanmay bhavati. Nla

vastra ygna nlamaya sphaika, ptavastra ygna ptamaya sphaika

(naivya) bhavati. (nlasya bhva) is naivyam. Ptasya

bhvah is (paitya). ,

Updhi and Uphita 109

(yath sphaika nla ptdivat bhti, va uddha tm

va bhti).

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 111

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 113

Verse 16

II 16

vapustudibhi kai

yukta yuktyvaghtata I

tmnamantara uddha
vivicyttaula yath II

Till now anynya avivka, between , , , ,

(tm and antm, ktra ktraja, arra arr, dha dh),

satya mithy and subject object etc. has been talked about, which is
sasra kraam.

Now hereafterwards this sorting out is going to be discussed elaborately

which has been hinted earlier in the 14th lk where he said

updhitritayd anya tmnam. Now he is elaborating. So how do we sort

out? That is being said here with an example. I will tell the example first
because here it comes first.

He says vapu tudibhi kai yukta taula yath. Vapu here

refers to arra but for the present we should leave vapu and take

tudibhi yukta taula iva for consideration. Taula means rice.

And tua means the cover, the husk etc. with which it becomes paddy.

Now the taula is useful to us but the external covering is not useful to

114 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

us. If we put it in the mouth, it will only prick us. It is (dukha

htu) but inside it is

(sukha htu). But we cannot throw away
the paddy completely like throwing the baby with the bath water. So what
we do is, we remove the external covering and take out the taula by

pounding avaghta avahan dhtu it is abstraction. -

(avahanti - vrhn avahanti). So avaghta or avahanana is

pounding. So by a process of pounding the taula the rice is separated

from the husk. And the rice is taken and the husk is thrown away. One is

(updya) to be taken. Another is (hya) to be thrown

away. So taula is updya and tudibhi is hya. Taula is

anta, tudibhi is bahi. Anta means what is inside. Antastha

taula updya, bahistha tudibhi hya. What he is stating is that

we are all like paddy. We all have got a covering which is useless asti,

jyat vardhat, vipariamat all the covers create problem only. And it is
not one layer of husk. We have got paca ka five layers which is

bahi. Are they hya or updya? No doubt, hya - to be rejected.

Their identification which has been taken as real should be given up. And

within that, the tm is compared to rice, antm is compared to the husk.

And here also what is required is pounding.

That is what akarcrya is doing

(mha mudgara)

mudgara is a type of long hammer like implement made of wood and

which is used for pounding rice to separate the rice from the husk. The

pounding has to be done very carefully. If too much pressure is used the
rice will get powdered.

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 115

Here even though akarcrya is doing the pouding job the pounding is of
a different nature. In the case of paddy, the taula tua sayga is

vstava both have the same order of reality. And therefore, we require

actual separation by karm. (vstavika

ygatvt karm apkyat). But here the sayga between tm and

antm is not actual sayga because tm kavat asaga. So here the

sayga is ajna kta sayga.

(ktraktrajasaygttadviddhi bharatarabha ) says Lord K in the

Gt . He says that whatever is born has emanated through the union of

matter and spirit that is ktra and ktraja. Here it is ajna kta

sayga. Therefore, the pounding is in the form of (vicra) i.e. in

the form of inquiry.

Therefore, akarcrya says yukti vaghtata.By the vaghta of yukti

yukti here means tm vivka. Is sthla arra myself? Is skma

arra myself? And this method of inquiry is called

(anvaya vyatirk) method. And what is that? During jgrat avasth

sthla arra is there I am there. During svapna avasth sthla arra

is separated. A new vsanmaya arra i.e. skma arra comes. The

body has changed but I has not changed. I exist in svapna arra. I exist

even when jgrat arra is there. Jgrat arra goes I am. Svapna

arra comes I am. Svapna arra goes away I am. And in suupti,

kraa arra comes I am. So when they are there I am. When they
are not I am. Therefore, Imust be different from them. They come and
go. I always AM. So when they are I am is called anvaya and when

they are not- I am is called vyatirk. Or another word also is used. The

116 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

arra comes and goes. This is called (vyvtti). tm is always

there and it is called
(anuvtti). So we can call it either anvaya

vyatirk nyya or logic or anuvtti vyvtti nyya or logic. And these

two nyys are called here yukti. With this yukti we have to do the

pounding job. And everytime we say I am not the body one bang. I am
not the skma sharira another bang. I am not the kraa arra

another bang. The banging must continue till all the ks are removed.
Now lets look at the lk. He says kai yukta antara tmnam

uddha vivicyt. We have already seen that vapu means arra. So

vapustudibhi means arra rpa tudibhi. For the jva the tua i.e.
the husk is in the form of arra. So vapu rpa tudibhi kai yukta

antara uddha tmnam vivicyt so the internal and pure tm

should be separated. Vivicyt means (vivka kuryt). Like

what - yath tudibhi yukta taula vivicyt tath vapustudibhi

kai yukta tmnam vivicyt. In this manner one should separate.

II -

gat kal pacadaa pratih

dvca sarv pratidvatsu .

karmi vijnamayaca tm

par'vyay sarv kbhavanti II - Muakpaniat

The Upaniad states (sarva avyay k bhavanti).

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 117

So we have to separate tm and antm. That is what he said

tmnamantara uddha vivicyt. And incidentally he used the word

antara and to remove the confusion with regard to that word, he gives the

following lk.

Verse 17

II 17

sad sarvagat'pytm
na sarvatrvabhsat I
buddhvvvabhsta

svcchu pratibimbavat II

In the previous lk akarcrya used a word which can create

confusion. It is only to remove that confusion this lk is said. If that

confusion is removed, then this lk can be understood.

In the previous lk what was said? tm was compared to rice and

antm was compared to the husk. tm is within, antm is without. We

have to remove the external ks and discover the internal tm. These

words internal and external can create havoc. The word internal can be

understood as deep within, deep in the (hdaya), in the

(hdaya ka guhy). Thus one may try to see the tm deep

within and he may try to meditate upon and nothing may come. This could
lead to all kinds of problems.

118 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

And therefore, here the word antara does not literally mean internal.

Here this word means (adhihna tmaka). Antara

means adhihna rpa. Bahi means adhyastha.

, (yat adhyastha tat bahi iva, yat

adhihna tat anta iva).

If I say water is within the wave, what does it mean? Or if I say water is the

content of the wave? It would mean that the wave is the container and
water is within that container called wave. This would be a wrong

understanding. So when I say wave is the container and water is the

content it means water is adhyastha and wave is the adhihna nma

rpa. Always remember this idea throughout Vdantik literature that

anta means adhihna. And that is why often tm is described as

(sarvntara). For the pot clay is adhihna. So if one is asked

what is the adhihna for the jagat? It is tm. With respect to pot clay
is adhihna. With respect to clay something else is adhihna. Thus

we can go interior and interior and the final adhihna is

-
(yat skta

aparkt Brahma ya tm sarvntara - Bhadrayaka vkya).

Sarvntara means the innermost self and innermost means final

adhihna.

And since the word antara can be misunderstood, akarcrya says

that the word antara should be understood in this manner. That is tm

is sarvagata. We have said it is vibhu, nitya etc. But even though tm is

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 119

sarvagata, the manifestation of tm is not everywhere. The tm

caitanya does not manifest everywhere; for example, in the wall, the

caitanya is not manifest. In the wall tm is there or not? tm is there.

Caitanya is there or not? Our tendency is to say caitanya is not there.
But technically speaking we should say caitanya is there because once

tm is there, caitanya has to be there. Because what is tms nature? It

is caitanya. So .

. .

(yadi tm asti tatra caitanya api asti. Yadyapi asti tatpi asmbhi na
jyat. Anabhivyakta rpa vartat. Na abhivyakta rpa). And the

abhivyakti alone, the manifestation alone, we call cidbhsa. Therefore,

, , .

(tatra cid vartat, tatra cidbhsa na vartat, cid

abhivyakti na vartat. Cid puraa na vartat). And therefore,

akarcrya says sarvagata tm api. Yadyapi is understood.

Yadyapi tm sarvagata all pervading. When? Sad all the time.

Sarvatra na avabhsat Why? - Because it requires a medium for

manifestation. tm does not require anything for its existence tmnah

satt is svatantra. But tmnah prti manifestation is paratantra.

It depends upon some medium. And therefore, what is that medium? We
have to find out. Buddhau va avabhsta only in buddhi the tm

caitanya will shine, manifest.

(cidbhsa rpa cit pratibimba rpa buddhau va

avabhsta), which alone we call aha. Aha is the manifest tm only.

120 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Why tm is called inner self? Two meanings can be given. One meaning is

that which I gave you. That is adhihna is called antara. That is one

way of explaining the word inner. And there is a second explanation also

given by akarcrya as to why we use the word innerself. What is

wrong with this word? If you use the word inner, it will denote limitedness

it would mean that it is not outer. Therefore akarcrya explains, even

though tm is (antarbahica

yat sarva vypya nryaa sthita); (sabhya

bhyantar yaja), even though tm is both inner and outer, the outer
the caitanya is not manifest. Inside alone i.e in the buddhi alone the

caitanya is manifest. Therefore, (anta

abhivyjyamnatvt) or
(abhivyaktatvta
anta ityucyat).

So buddhau va avabhsta. And why it is manifest only in the buddhi?

Because svaccatvt. Buddhi is made up of sattva gua. So sattva gua

pradnatvt svaccatva. (svaccatvt

pratibimbatva). Whereas sthla arra is which gua pradna? Tamo

gua pradna. That is why the body does not co-operate very well. Buddhi
co-operates, it seems to enjoy the class at least that is what I am

assuming. It is the body which is not able to sit quiet, it keeps shuffling, it

wants a wall to lean on tamo gua pradnatvt it is always a slow coach.

And therefore,

(tatra caitanya pratibimba samyak na bhavati

parantu buddhau avabhsta svacctu pratibimbavat).

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 121

And I am continuing everywhere in what form? Avyakta rpa. So I am

all pervading in avyakta rpa. I am in the buddhi in vyakta rpa. The

manifestation is within the body. tm is not within the body, it is all over.
But the manifestation is within the body. Therefore, we use the word

antara. That is why he says buddhau va avabhsat. And buddhi is

within sthla arra. If it is outside, it is very convenient. One can leave

the buddhi in the class and can be sleeping at home. But unfortunately for

attending the class buddhi is needed. And if buddhi is needed, the arra

has to come to the class. Thus, the manifestation is within. Like what?

Svcchu pratibimbavat. The example has come.

(yath pratibimba svaccha tal bhavati ).Svachcha means

uddha; clear. Pratibimba means reflection. Just as reflection comes in a

clear surface, tm also manifests in the clear updhi called skma

arra or buddhi. And therefore, we use the word antara. We do not

literally mean it.

Verse 18

II 18

dhndriyamanbuddhi praktibhy vilakaam I

tad - vttiskia vidhy

tmna rjavatsad II

122 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Until now akarcrya said one should discriminate, segregate, separate,

vivicyt. Then the student is looking at the crya and asks how this

discrimation is to done? The cryas answer is you need not know. I

myself will do that also.

So in the following lks we get the method of discriminating between the

self and the not-self; tm and antm. And the main method used here is
called (dk dya vivka) which is nothing but a sub-

division of (anvaya vyatirk). Anvaya vyatirk method

alone is applied here in this particular form.

Dya means object. Dk means subject. Literally dya means seen. Dk

means the seer. How do we apply anvaya vyatirk? Dya is present

dk is present. Dya is gone, dk is present. So

(dy sati dk asti dy asati ca dk asti). When

dya is there dk is there this is called anvaya. When dya is gone,

dk is there this is called vyatirk - co-presence and co-absence.

For example, when abda is there, we know there is abda and when abda

is gone, we are there to say there is no abda. Similarly sparas presence

we know and sparas absence also we know. Why? During jgrat and

svapna avasth, all dyas are there, I am there. During suupti all
dyas are gone. Still I, the dk, am there.

How do we know that during suupti the seer is there? Because as said in
the Dakimrti sttram

I
(sanmtra

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 123

karapasaharaat y'bhtsuupta pumn I prgasvpsamiti

prabdhasamay ya pratyabhijyat). The Puru has withdrawm all the

senses and went into deep sleep. He wakes up again and remembers: I

slept all this while.

A person says that in suupti I did not experience any thing. That means

the absence of experiences itself is known to us, witnessed by us, illumined

by us. Therefore, jgrat and svapna are anvaya, suupti is vyatirk.

, .

(viaya satv tm satva , viaya abhv tm satva. Tasmd

tm dk dyt bhinna).
(tu

vyvttu satsu anuvartamnatvt). So dk the seer is different from the

scenes, because even when the scenes come and go, the seer continues to

be there throughout. Therefore, the seer must be different from seen.

.
(yat anuvtta tat

vyvttbhya bhinnam, yath stra pupbhya). This is the

(nyya). Yat anuvtta - That which exists all the time; tat

vyvttbhya bhinna that is different from those which come and go.

Yath stra pupbhya just as the stra - the thread in a garland, is

different from the flowers, which come and go.

Now instead of using the word dk, we use another word (sk).

Both are the same. Dk is otherwise called sk; dya is otherwise called

124 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(skya). So (dk dya

vivka athav sk skya vivka).

So here what are the skyas? akarcrya says in the lk that all the

paca ks and their functions are dyas. So dha which stands for
annamaya and pramaya k, indriy stands for manmaya ka,

buddhi stands for vijnamaya ka. Prakti stands for nandamaya

ka. Because we have said prakti is my, my is mla avidhy, mla

avidhy is kraa arra and kraa arra is nandamaya ka. Here

prakti refers to nandamaya ka.

Vilakaam means distinct or different. Tad vtti skia here the word

vtti means function, , (vypra, pravtti). In fact

vtti is the general word used for the function of anything. So any

function of anything can be called vtti. Sthla arra function can be

called sthla arra vtti like walking, talking etc. Similarly the function of
the mind is called man vtti. And what is the function of the mind

thoughts. But after some time, we started using the word vtti only for the
mental function. We gave it a (sankucita artha). We started

calling the mental function alone as vtti but really speaking vtti means
not only the mental function of thoughts, vtti is the function of

vijnamaya ka and vtti is the function of sthla i.e annamaya ka

also.

So vtti has got two meanings. One is the function of anything and

specifically the function of the mind. But the second meaning has become

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 125

more popular than the first. But here we have to take the first and general
meaning only.

It is like for example the cat family. A number of animals have got a general

name cat. But the name cat is used in a specific meaning of the well known

milk drinking cat. Thus there is a smnya name and there is also a via
name. Similarly paca pras is called pra and a particular respiratory
function is also called pra. Similarly all functions are generally called

vtti and specifically the mental function is also called man vtti.

Tad vtti skia so I the tm am the ski for all the functions of the

paca ks. Vidhyt thus one should understand. That is, one should

understand oneself to be the ski of the paca ks. This is the essence of
this lk.

So what if I am the ski of the paca ks? The ski is different from

skyam. , .
,

,
, (aha paca ka vilakaa, paca

ka skitvt yath srya pthv vilakaa, pthv skitvt,

prakitvt). That which is the ski of something is different from that

something. Similarly, if I am the dk, I am different from the dya. So the

conclusion is that aha paca ka vilakaa.

Now he wants to give an example. Rjavat. Just as the Rj the King is only

the ski of the all the functions of his people and he doesnt do any one of
those karms. Here there is an alternative interpretation also. The word

prakti has got a second meaning. Prakti means any instrument or a helper

is also called prakti - assistant, instrument, help etc. So Rjaprakti means

126 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

those people who are around the Rj to do whatever he wants. The

moment he wants something to drink, they will immediately bring water.

The moment he looks around for something to sit, they will immediately

bring a chair. Similarly those people, the retinue of the King who are there
to assist him is called rjaprakti. And the King does not do any function.

They all do the function around King. If we take that meaning in the

previous line i.e. dhndriya man buddhi for prakti, here also we should
take the meaning of the word prakti as instrument and take dha, indriya,

mana and buddhi as praktis, assistants, helpers. So jnndriyas job,

karmndriyas job, the job of the mind, the job of the buddhi is all prakti.
Here the Rj is tm and his retinue is the arra praktis. But in this

context kraa arra will not come into the picture because prakti is not
taken as kraa arra. Also kraa arra need not be taken here as

prakti because it does not do any function. On the contrary it suppresses

the other functions. So both meanings can be taken. Anyway the essence of

the lk is that I am the essence of the three bodies.

Verse 19

II 19

vyptvindriyvtm
vyprivvivkinm I

dyat'bhru dhvatsu
dhvanniva yath a II

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 127

What he referred to as vttis in the previous lk, here he refers to them as

vypras. He says that all the vypras or functions or transactions or

activities belong to the indriys alone. Indriys means jnndriya,

karmndriya and antakraam. So we have to take all the daa bhya

indriyi and chatvri anta indriyi. All the

(bhya antarindriyu vyptu). And tm is what

(avypta sk caitanya mtra).

Even though this is the fact, what happens? When the indriyas are

moving and when I am observing it, gradually I get identified with that
and after sometime I feel as though I am moving. Therefore, he says,

indriyu vyptu satsu When all the sense organs are functioning

tm vypr iva tm appears to be functioning; for whom? ,

, , (avivkn, mandn, alapaprajn,

bln). So avivkn (dyat) it appears.

For that an example is also given. He says abhru dhvatsu satsu yath

a dhvan iva. Even though the moon being avypta does not move but

when the clouds are moving it appears as though the moon is moving in the
opposite direction. That means what?

(mghastha vypra avypt candr adhyasyat). The

activity of the cloud is superimposed on the actionless moon. In the same

way the transactions of the indriys get superimposed on the actionless

tm.

128 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

This phenomenon we can experience in a train journey also. Suppose a

train has stopped in a station. If we are near the window we can see the

platform. But suppose we are in the middle of the compartment and the

platform is not visible. We look out of the window and we see another train

in another platform. After sometime we will feel that our train was moving.
It would be impossible to find out whether our train was moving or the
other train was moving. And suddenly we find out one of our team

members had got down the train to fill water. Then to our relief we will

realize that our train was not moving. It was only that the movement of the

other train was falsely superimposed on our train. So something stationary

has to be there. Otherwise, the movement of the other train cannot be
falsely superimposed on this train.

Similarly, we say that the station has come! How can the station come? The
train has reached the station. But see our delusion when we say that the

station has come!!! Therefore, the movement of the train is superimposed

on the actionless station. If this kind of confusion can happen time and
again in a most common manner, why cant happen to tm? It is
happening. So he says yath a iva bhti tath.

Verse 20

II 20

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 129

tmacaitanyamritya

dhndriyamandhiya I

svakriyrthu vartant

srylka yath jan II

If tm is avypta, if it is actionless, then one may think that tm has no

contribution at all. One may be led to think that the prakti, the antm is

capable of doing everything by itself. And it will become Skhya

philosophy. In Skhya philosophy, matter can function by itself. There,

consciousness is a separate principle, matter is a separate principle and

matter is capable of evolving itself into the creation. Consciousness is not at

all necessary. Svatantra pradna they say.

But here in Vdnt we dont agree with that. We say that even though the

caitanya does not do anything, in the presence of caitanya alone and

because of the blessings of caitanya alone, prakti will be or the matter

will be or the paca ks will be capable of functioning.

(maydyaka prakti syat

sacracara).

Similarly here also tm doesnt do anything but its

(snnidhya) is necessary. Snnidhya means presence;

(adhyakat) is necessary. The signature is necessary.

This is because for all activities two basic things are necessary. First the

paca ks must have satt existence. The question of activity comes

only if they are existent. And the second thing that is necessary is that they

130 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

must be (ctana) to do all the things. We should remember that the

inert buddhi cannot do that, the inert mind cannot do that, and the inert

legs cannot do that. Therefore, all vyprs require sat and cit. And the

paca ks do not have sat and cit of their own.

So therefore, the tm alone has to lend sat and cit to the paca ks. Once
the sat and cit are added, then the paca ks can do everything. For

example, if someone sings badly and asks the opinion, it would be very

difficult to say you sang very badly. So what people do, they say that the

performance was very good.Then after some time, they will add that if the

ruti was slightly better, it would have been much better. And they will

also say you need a bit more practice on the beats also. So except ruti
and the beats, everything was perfect. How will this sound? Similarly, if

these two i.e. sat and cit are missing, how will the paca ks function?

So tm provides them. That is why he says tma caitanya ritya

depending upon the cit and we have to add sat which he does not mention

specifically; so tm caitanya tm satt ca ritya depending upon

the tm caitanya and tm satt alone dha indriya mana dhiya -

the paca ka or the four ks here function.

. (tath kart karaa ca

ptak vidha vividhca ptak c. Daiva caivtra pacama). So

dha indriya mana dhiya (svakriyrtu vartant).

They remain in their respective functions. The function is not determined

by the tm. The function depends upon the nature of the instrument.

Electricity does not determine the function. Electricity blesses all the

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 131

instruments, whether they rotate, whether they get heated or whether they
light up, it all depends upon the type of the instruments i.e. fan, heater or

bulb, respectively. Just because the electricity is the same, the function will
not be the same. Similarly sat and cit is given to all the organs. Eyes will do

their function of seeing; ears will do their function of hearing etc. tm is

(rtrasya rtra manas man yad vc ha vca sa u prasya pra

- Knpaniat). It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, tongue of the

tongue (the speech of speech) and also life of the life.

Next is the example.

Yath srya lka ritya jan svakriyrthu vartant. Sunrise is

common to all. lka means praka. If the text says srya lka it is a

secondary reading. Srylka is a better reading. Srya lka means the

world of Srya. But a better reading is Srya lka which is Srya

praka. So when the Sunrise comes, it gives life to all people, all sleeping

people are given life. The job of the Sun is to energise all people. And that

much alone is the Suns job. What all activities are done depends upon the

type of people. One person runs to the milk booth. The other person runs to
the newspaper stand to get a newspaper. Another person perhaps runs to
the bathroom to take a bath and perhaps do some jap. Thus different

people do different functions. But the life is given by the Srya eka

(sry yath sarva lkasya caku). That is

what is said in the sandhy vandana mantras also. The essence of all is

132 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

that Srya is eka. It activates all organs, all people. Similarly tm is

eka. All organs are bahni. All of them are enlivened by tm aha.
Verse 21

II 21

dhndriyagunkarmi

amal saccidtmani I

adhyasyantya vivkna

gagan nlatdivat II

So he talked about the vyprs, the functions of the four ks and now in
this lk he says even though the tm is - kvala adhyaka - only the

presiding principle, because of ignorance, the activities of the antm are

superimposed on the adhyaka the presiding tm. This is almost a

repetition only. So dha indriya gun so here he wants to go k by

k. In this lk he takes the annamaya and pramaya ks. In the next

lk he will talk about manmaya ka adhys. Then he will talk about
vijnamaya ka adhys. So ka by ka he is explaining the adhys.
So dha indriya stands for annamaya and pramaya. Gun their

attributes means sthlatva, katva, brhmaatva, puruatva,

vddhatva all belong to sthla arra. Similarly pramaya kas

attributes are aanyvn, vipsvn hunger, thirst etc. And not only

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 133

gun but karmi their functions also. What is the difference between

gu and karm? Gu is relatively permanent. For example, sthlatva

remains relatively permanent. Whereas functions are anitya they are

impermanent. For example of talking and walking, which are only for a

short while, or say, for a couple of hours. Thus karms are relatively for a

short duration. But both of them dravya rita; they depend upon some

dravya. Here it is annamaya and pramaya.

So dhndriya gun karmi adhyasyanti tmani. People superimpose

upon tm the caitanya. We know this because nobody says body is fat.
Everybody says I am fat. That sentence indicates superimposition. So
nobody openly superimposes but their very vyavahr indicates the

superimposition. Simillarly people say I am hungry, I am thirsty etc.

And what is the nature of tm? He says saccida tmani the tm which
is sat cit svarpa. The tm is not sthla, hrasva, ka, asthla,

anu, drgha etc.

But one can take another line of argument. It is agreed that tm does not

have these attributes by itself. But because of sanga da it could come.

Like for example, if we say our cloth was very clean. But after sitting on a

dirty patch in the carpet i.e because of sanga da it became dirty. Or else
one may say my son is very good but because of neighbours son he is

spoiled because of the sanga da. Now the neighbour also will be saying

the same about their son that he is very good but because of sanga da he
is bad!!

134 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So why cant one say that tm is uddha but

, (tathpi arra sagt idn

auddha abhavat kasmt va na bhavati)? He says we cannot that say

that because it is amal amal means it is ever pure asanga svarp.

So amal means nitya uddha svarpa. Therefore, he says

(kavat uddh svacch amal adhyasyanti).

But then why do we do that? Avivkna because of avivka, because of

indiscrimination we do this superimpostition.

And here also he gives dnt the example - gagan nlatdivat. We talk
about blue skies. Factually there is no blue sky at all. The sky is nitya

uddha svarpa only it is pure only till bla, avivkina, nlat

gagan or k adhyasanti. I am not giving the details ka I have

talked about plenty. ,

(ka katva vartat, ka

uddhatva vartat k n rpatva vartat k asagatva vartat).

(k nlatva nsti). But because of ignorance we

superimpose.

Verse 22

II 22

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 135

ajnnmnaspdh
karttvdni ctmani I

kalpyant'mbugat candr

calandi yathmbhasa II

So here he gives manmaya ka guakarmadhysa. So adhysa of gua

and karm the superimposition of the properties and functions of

manmaya ka upon tm is discussed. So he says mnasa updh

karttvdni. Mnasa means manas manas and mnasa are the same.

Mana va mnasa. Neutral gender. Mnasa tu ki?

(mrga kt naiva mnasa mrga rjavt). Mnasa

updh karttvdni. These are karttva, bhkttva and various other

functions. So karttvd stands for functions. And we have to add gu

the attributes also which are rga dva, kma, krdha etc. or sankalpa

vikalpa also we can add. However, akarcrya peculiarly puts rga dva
in vijnamaya ka. So we will reserve that for that lk. Here we will
take sankalpa vikalpa. This is an abnormality seen in tm bdh.

Normally we would put rga dva in manmaya ka and karttvd we

would put in vijnamaya ka. But here it is reversed. We dont know the
reason.

So karttvdni tmani kalpyant. They are all superimposed upon the

tm. And here also he gives an example. Like ambugat candr calandi
kalpyant. Ambu means water; ambus also means water. He uses two

different words. Calana means movement. The moon is there up in the

sky and that moon is reflected in the water. The water is flowing or moving

calandi but it appears in the reflection that the moon is moving. So the

136 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

calandi karm belongs to water and that calandi karm is

superimposed upon the candra the moon which does not have any

movement. Ambugata means ambu pratibimbita. So he says ambu

pratibimbit candr. Just as the movement of the water is superimposed on

the motionless moon, similarly the movements of the antm are

superimposed on the tm. And what is the cause for the superimposition?

It is because the candra pratibimba is there, so the confusion comes. Here

also tm pratibimba is there and therefore, confusion comes.

Verse 23

II 23

rgcchsukhadukhdi

buddhau saty pravartat I

suuptau nsti tann

tasmd buddhstu ntmana II

As I said earlier, rga dva etc. are supposed to be manmaya dharms but
here the crya takes the rga dvas as buddhi dharms or vijnamaya

dharms. And these attributes are also superimposed upon the tm. Rg
means attachment; icch or km or desire. The difference between rg
and icch is that rg is attachment to thing which is already ours

(prpta viay rga), whereas icch is a desire for a thing not

yet acquired by us i.e. aprpta viay icch or kma.

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 137

Similarly sukha means pleasure. Dukha means pain. Here we should

carefully note that the crya gives sukha as the antm karm which is

superimposed upon tm. Consequently, we may get confused whether

sukha is antm dharm or tm svarpa? Are you getting the

question?

Rg does not belong to tm and therefore, it is superimposed. Icch does

not belong to tm and therefore, it is superimposed. Dukha does not

belong to tm and therefore, it is superimposed. All these are clear. But if

we say sukha is superimposed on tm, what would that mean? tm

doesnt have sukha, whereas we say tm is nanda svarpa. So,

therefore, we should understand here that the sukha that is talked about

here is the janya sukha or vtti sukha. Janya sukha means the sukha

which comes and goes, which is dependent on , ,

(priya vtti, mda vtti, and pramda vtti). So, therefore, these
three sukhas belong to antm and this janya sukha we see

superimposed on the tm. I was happy yesterday but I am not happy

today. The happiness that I enjoyed was temporary happiness and that
temporary happiness belonged to manas and not the tm. It is this

sukha which is janya sukha, anitya sukha, vtti pratibimbita nanda

is superimposed on the tm, which has got , (tratamya

tyacata)
,

(mnua nanda, manuya gandharv nanda

tratamya sukha janya sukha savia sukha), we can use any

expression.

138 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

In fact in this lk, the crya doesnt say the buddhi dharms are

superimposed on the tm. He doesnt say it. But that is understood.

Now crya is answering a question of a (naiyyyik) a
(nyy) philosopher. And according to nyy philosophy, rga, icch,

sukha, dukha etc. are tm dharm, the properties of tm and he

says tm is sagua, dravya etc. In this lk akarcrya refutes the

nyy philosopher by anvaya vyatirk method. And what is that method?

When buddhi is wakeful in jgrata svapna avasth then rga, icch

sukha, dukha etc. are there.

(buddhau
saty rgadvdaya vartant). This is what is called anvaya. Whereas
in suuptau when the buddhi is resolved, we find rga, dv etc. are not

there. That is why when a person is sleeping with open hand, even if you

put a cobra in the hand, he will not do anything. You put a 1000 rupee note

in the hand, he will not do anything. But make sure he is asleep!!! Otherwise
he will walk away with the 1000 rupee note!!!

So both rga towards money and dv towards cobra are possible only

when he is awake i.e when buddhi is awake. Buddhau saty rga dva;

buddhau asaty rga dva na. The first one is called anvaya. The

second one is called vyatirk. And from this what do we know? Rga

dva belong to buddhi alone. When buddhi is, rga dva is. When buddhi

is not, rga dva is not. So, buddhi alone is the cause of rga dva.

On the other hand, if rga dvas were belonging to tm, what will

happen? During suupti also tm is there. And if rga dva belong to

tm during suupti also rga dva would have been there. But we know

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 139

that during suupti, tm is there but rga dva is not at all there. Rga

dva, therefore, never belong to tm. This is the logic he gives.

Buddhau saty, where buddhi is there; saty means when it is present,

when it is awake; rgcch sukhadukhdi pravartat.Pravartat means

they are active, they are present. This is anvaya. Then suuptau during

deep sleep state; tann tann means buddhi n - when the buddhi

is (lna)
(n adaran Pini sutr).

Adarana means cannot be perceived i.e it is in (laya) state. So

tann i.e. budhdhin nsti. What is nsti? Rgcch sukhadukhdi

nsti. These things are not there. This is called vyatirk.

So then what is the conclusion? Tasmt thence; buddhstu ntmana - the

rga, icch belongs to buddhi alone, antm alone, vijnamaya k alone

and not to the tm. They do not belong to me because I am tm.

Even though they do not belong to me, what does everybody say, I am rgi,

I am dvi etc. tm doesnt have rga dva but still they say aha rgi

etc. This, therefore, can happen only in one method and that is

(adhysna va rgadvdaya gacchanti svarpata abhvt adhysna

gat iti nicita).
Verse 24

II 24

140 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

prak'rkasya tyasya

aityamagnryathat I

svabhva saccidnanda -

nityanirmlttmana II

Here akarcrya says that at the time of adhysa, tm is uddha

only. That is before the adhysa, tm is uddha. After the adhysa is

over tm is uddha. During the adhysa also tm is uddha only.

Taking the rajju sarpa example, before superimposition there was rope.

After superimposition is negated there is rope alone. But during

superimposition, what is there? Our tendency will be to say snake. We will

say that during superimposition I am sarpa. But Vednt says

(sarpa darana kl api tatra rajju va). Similarly

it is not that ,
(ajna kl aha

baddha, jnntara aha mukt). Ajna kl api tm mukt va.

So, even when one is profusely crying, even at the time of sasr, he is

mukt only. It is only that nitya nirmlt all along. That is what
akarcrya says here.

tmana svabhva saccidnanda nitya nirmlt. The svabhva of the

tm, of both jn and ajn,

.
(a vanda a rahita

a vatsu api tm uddha. a rahitu api tm uddha). That is

what he says tmana svabhva saccidnanda nitya nirmlt. We can

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 141

understand sat, cit, nanda and nirmlt. We have to add nitya to all. Nitya

sat, nitya cit, nitya nanda, nitya nirml. And even though we are all

ajns, we say we are existent. Not only that we say we are existent NOW.

Therefore, one who says so is also sat. But the difference is that he does not

say I am nitya sat but tm is nitya sat rpa, nitya cit rpa. Similarly for

nand also the ajn feels that his nanda is anitya nanda. But even at

that time tm is nitya nanda. , , (aha

asmi, sad bhmi, sad asmi). And in fact he need not use the word nitya
at all. Once he says svabhva, it itself means nitya. He is only trying to

emphasise the nityatva by using the word nitya. Svabhva is

. (yat na

jahyat tat svabhva. Svm siddhik svbhvik sahaj aktcay).

(praktissya vijya svabhva na

jahti y). That which is not given up is called svabhva. Whatever is

temporary in nature cannot be called svabhva. Saccidnanda is not
temporary and that is why he uses the word svabhva.

Now to illustrate the point he gives an example. Arkasya praka just as

praka, that is light, is the very nature of Srya Arka means Srya
arkasya svabhva sarvad praka. (tyasya aitya) the

svabhva of water is coolness; then (agn uat) the heat

of the agni; all these are svabhva it is never absent in them. Similarly

uddhi is there always in the tm.

Then why do we talk about purification? Why do the scritptures say do

karmyoga and purify your self? Whose purification are we talking about?

142 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

We dont say tm uddhi. We say only antakraa uddhi. But then in the

5th chapter of the Gt, it is said tm viuddhay? We need to understand

that there the reference to tm is to antakraam. There is no question

of purifying the tm. There is only question of purifying the mind. Why

should mind be purified? - To know that I am uddh. To be pure we

dont need any sdhana. But to know that we are pure, we require sdhana.
Therefore, sdhana is for knowledge. Sdhana is not for the sake of

becoming mukt.

Verse 25

II 25

tmana saccidaaca

buddhrvttiriti dvayam I
sayjya cvivkna

jnmti pravartat II

So now the question comes, how do you say tm is nitya, sadrpa,

nirml rpa etc? Satya means changeless. How do you say tm is

changeless? tm seems to be changing all the time, because every time a

person says jnmi meaning I know something, the very knowledge is

some kind of activity. Knowing requires a vikra. Jna is a kriy. How

do you know it is a kriy? Because jnmi is a verb that is born out of

(ja dhtu) (ja dht nipanna kriy)

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 143

is jnmi and every verb indicates an action. And action must always

belong to the subject of the sentence. When you say aha gacchmi,

gacchmi is a verb which indicates (gamana kriy). And kriy

cannot independently exist. It always requires an raya. Dravya is

necessary. And what is the raya, the support for the kriy? It is aha iti

kart. So kart, the subject of the sentence, is always the raya for the
kriy. So grammatically speaking the subject of a sentence is the locus of
the action indicated by the verb of the sentence.

(Rma gacchati) means

(gamana kriyy raya rma bhavati ityartha) or to state it

correctly in Sanskrit (gamanakriyraya rma

bhavati).

And according to grammer rules, whenever a kriy takes place, kriy

always brings out a change in its locus. Any action brings about a change in
its locus. So, if Rm does some action, Rm cannot be same. He will have

to undergo changes. He gets tired. He moves from one place to another.

There is gasping. All these changes are happening in Rm because Rm is

the locus of the action. (kriy sva raya

pariamayati). Kriy always brings out a vikr in its ray. So, when we

say aha jnmi, jnmi is a kriya a (jna kriy) and this

, (jnakriyy raya, kart ka)?

Aha. And who is aha? tm. And therefore, tm must undergo some

144 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

change. Otherwise jnakriyy raya na bhavati. This is the

(prva paka).

akarcrya says that jnakriy is also a superimposition. tm does not

have jna kriy, tm is jna svarpa. Then how do you say aha

jnmi? How do you say I know? akarcrya says the kriy is taking
place in the mind. In the word jnmi, the mi i.e. the termination

represents kriy lat. When you say jnmi, the actual kriy is taking place
in the mind and that kriy is nothing but vtti vikra. So the kriy or the

action is nothing but the thought that is taking place in the mind. And what
is happening in tm? Nothing is happening. tm is jna svarpa. And
in the mind which is undergoing modificiation, caitanya is not there. But

what happens? The caitanya of the tm or the tm caitanya is

reflected in the vtti vikra. Vriiti vikra means the thought modification
of the mind. And therefore, what do I do? The caitanya is transferred to

the mind the modification. And the modification is transferred to the

tm. Thus joining the man vikra and tm caitanya and we make a

statement aha jnmi.

Therefore, he says tmana saccidaaca tm has got sat aa and

cit aa and buddhi has got what? Buddheh vtti buddhi has got the
modification, (ghakra vtti) , (pakra

vtti),
(vkkra vtti) etc. and these modifications belong
to the mind. Then what happens is that the moment the vtti comes, the

caitanya pervades the vtti, and because of the caitanya, the vtti gets

sat and cit. This sat and cit which the vtti gets is borrowed from the tm
alone and the vikra is borrowed from vtti. Therefore, vtti gives

vikra and tm gives sat and cit. So joining both - tmana

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 145

saccidaaca buddhrvttiriti dvayam sayjya so confusing them

together, an ignorant person says jnmi iti pravartat. What is the cause?
He says avivkna because of confusion.

Then what will jn say? A jn will never say aha jnmi. He will say

aha jna svarpa asmi and I am the sk of those vttis and I am not

subject to change at all.

akarcrya does not give an example in the lk and so it is a unique

lk. But normally the example quoted is (aya agni

pia) the red hot iron ball. Normally we use the expression the iron

ball burns. Really speaking the iron ball does not burn. Fire is pervading

the iron ball. The fire is the one which is burning. So we take the burning

nature from the fire and we take the iron ball and combining both of them,

we say iron ball burns. It is a wrong statement.

Similarly we use the word there is a fire ball. Fire is never of the nature of a
ball. It does not have any specific shape. We take the specific nature of the
fire and superimpose on the ball and say fireball burns. In fact neither the

fireball burns nor the ironball burns in both cases the ball and fire are
mixed together. Or when we say the bulb illumines. Pure bulb cannot

illumine. Pure electricity cannot illumine. Then what illumines. Is there a

third entity which illumines? There is no third entity also. So, there is a

peculiar mixture, the electricity and the bulb together alone do the job of
illumining. Similarly tm cannot know because nirvikratvt. Buddhi

cannot know because of actanatvt.

146 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

. (tmnah nirvikratvt jna

kriy na karti. Buddhi actanatvt jna kriy na karti). Then

? (ka jna kriy karti?) tmana saccidaaca

buddhrvttiriti dvaya. So the answer is

, , (cidbhsa viia antakaraa jnti,

na tu tm, na antakaraa). That is why it is said sbhsa

antakaraa. (bhsna sa vartat iti

sbhsa). So what does this mean? The moment one says jnm, it

means the confusion has started. So when a person says I know, generally

everybody thinks he is a wise man. But in Vdnt alone, if you say I

know, it means you dont know because to say I know, adhysa is

necessary, ahankr is necessary. This sbhsa antahkraam is what we

refer to as ahankra. , . (aha na jnti,

buddhi na jnti). (Aha buddhi mira) known as

(ahakra jnti).

Verse 26

II 26

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 147

tmn vikriy nsti

buddhrbdh na jtviti I
jva sarvaml jtv
jt drati muhyati II

Here he says that neither the tm is a knower, nor the antm is a knower.

tm cannot be a knower because if tm has to be a knower, it has to do

the kriy of knowing. When we say er it denotes action walker, talker,

eater, drinker etc. If tm is a knower it will mean tm has knowing

action, it will mean tm is the locus of an action, it will mean tm is

savikr. And since tm is nirvikr, tm cannot be a knower. He says

tmna vikriy nsti tm does not have any modification. Therefore,

tm cannot be a (jt). In these places only the grammer

discussion will be useful because in grammer they have elaborately

analysed and they have concluded that wherever (t)

pratyaya comes, it means kriy raya savikr. So , , ,

, , (kart, bhkt, mant, vijt, kart, bhkt) etc. The

moment that (ta pratyaya) comes, it connotes kriy raya;

it denotes savikra. All these discussions are analysed in grammer.

Therefore t means vikriy. In tm, there cannot be any t and so tm

(na jt bhavati).

Then why cant we say buddhi jt bhavati? That is also not possible.

(buddh bdha na jtu api). Jtu means

(kadcit) kadcit api means at any time. Buddhi does not have

148 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

caitanya at any time. Bdha here means caitanya or cit. Buddhi

cannot know. So consciousness cannot know because it is changeless.

Matter cannot know because it is inert. And still everyone says I know.
That is called (agadita ghaan payasi

my).

That is why he says, jva sarva ala jtv. This jva, not knowing all

these i.e. ,
(tmana

avikriyatva, buddh jaatva ca ajtv). So not knowing all these

things, what does the jva do?

(jt dra iti

muhyati). Jva adds all kinds of t pratyays. He says , ,

, (aha jt, aha mant, aha kart, aha bhkt).

Mant means thinker. Iti muhyati thus he is deluded. And at that time

only he gets , , (viva, taijasa, prja etc.) ,

(anta praja, bahi praja, ghana praja) all these are

(jttva) only. Then who am I? Na antapraja, na bahipraja,

caitanya svarpa va.

Verse 27

II 27

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 149

rajjusarpavadtmna

jva jtv bhaya vaht I

nha jva partmti

jtaacnnirbhay bhavt II
The original nature of tm is that it is not a jt and therefore, not a kart

and therefore, not a bhokt no ta should come. ( jna

svarpa aha).

(jna svarp mayi jttva adhyrpita tasmdva sasra

bhaya).

So (jna svarp jttva

adhyrpaa va sasra). Because when I am jna svarpa, I am

para tm. But when I am jt svarpa, I am jva tm. I have

straightway descended from the higher pedestal of being a para tm to

a lower pedestal of being a jva tm all because of one wrong

pratyaya instead of jna I use jt. That is all.

Therefore he says, tmna means paramtmna; jva jtv

jivtmna jtv. That means taking the paramtm to be the jivtm;

taking the aha to be ahakra; taking the jna to be jt; taking the

apramt to be a pramt; taking nirvikra to be savikra; taking

nirvia to be savia etc. What will happen?

If you say I am fine and I seeing wonderful things, akarcrya says now

bhaya vaht the moment you become jt there will be bhaya

because the moment the jt comes, the other two will come triputi

jt, jna, jya; pramt, prama, pramya; kart, kraam

150 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

and krya. That means as (jna svarpa aha

advait); as (jt svarpah) I have come down to

(dvaita). And once I have come down to dvaita, first of all limitations

will come, (paricchinnatva) will come, because the jt is

limited by jna and jya. This is the fundamental problem. And not

only limitation will come in the jya; rga and dv, hya and

updya will also come. These are to be procured, these are to be

rejected the list will come. And once the list has been made with respect

to updya vastu, that is, what all is to be procured, pravtti or pursuits

will begin and with respect hya vastu that is which all are to be rejected

nivtti will begin pravtti nivtti cha. And once pravtti and nivtti start

the puya ppa will automatically start. And when puya ppa comes,
it will automatically be followed by sacita, gmi, and prrabdha and

thereafterwards punarapi janana punarapi maraa. That is what is

called bhaya sasr bhaya bhavt.

And therefore what is our job? The whole process has to be reversed.

. . (aha

jt na asmi. Jva na asmi. Param tm jna svarpa asmi). That is

what he says. Na aha jva that is na aha jt. Then who am I?

Partmti para tm or parama tm iti (jtasct). If I

know myself as myself; as paramtm what will happen? Nirbhaya

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 151

bhavt. ( na bibhti

kutacanti abhaya prati vindat). Like what?

He cites the well known dnta - Rajju sarpavat ,

, (rajju, rajjutvna

jnti ct nirbhaya, rajju sarpatvna jnti ct sabhaya). If rope is

known as snake there is bhaya, if rope is known as rope there is

nirbhaya. Similarly I need not acquire any thing new. I have to know

myself as myself. Then I am nirbhaya. Knowing me as a jt

(jnti icchati yadat bhukt ca). This is the series
of sasr.

Verse 28

II 28

tmvabhsayatyk

buddhydnndriyyapi I
dp ghadivatsvtm

jaaistairnvabhsyat II

Now the question comes, if I negate all the paca ks as antm, who is

there to know the tm or myself as the paramtm because all knowledge

152 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

is gained by the instruments and all instruments belong to the ks.

Jnndriya belongs to the manmaya and vijnamaya k, the mind

belongs to manmaya k, buddhi belongs to vijnamaya k. If ks

are negated, sense organs are gone, mind is gone, intellect gone, and then
who will know the left out tm? But akarcrya says you negate all of

them and know yourself at paramtm. Once they are negated, who will
illumine the tm is the question? For that the answer is given.

tms illumination is not because of any of the ks. None of the ks

are necessary to illumine the tm. And none of the ks can illumine the

tm also because every km is jaa. So sthla arra is jaa.

Skma arra is jaa. Kraa arra is my, prakti which is also

jaa. If the three arras are jaas, the paca ks are also jaa.

Therefore,
, -.

(jaa k tmna avabhsayitu na aknuvanti, jaatvt - ghaavat).

They cannot illumine.

Then the question comes, if you say they cannot illumine because they are

jaa, how is that we are knowing every object in the world with the help

of mind, sense organs etc? If the sense organs are jaa, sense organs

should not be able to see abda spardi. But our personal experience is

that the mind and sense organs illumine the world. For that the answer is

that if mind and sense organs are illumining the world, it is not because
they are ctana, it is only because the mind and sense organs have

borrowed caitanya from the tm and taking the borrowed illumination

they are illumining the external world.

Now the next question is that with the borrowed illumination, let them

illumine the external world, but with that borrowed illumination can they

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 153

illumine the tm itself? But where did they borrow the tm. It is just

like I am asking you to lend me 100 rupees. And then I offer you a loan of

Rs. 10! Is that possible! Dont tell me that is what bankers do!!! But it makes

no sense for me to borrow 100 rupees first and then lend 10 rupees back to
you. I can borrow money from you and loan to someone else. So three

things are there - tm, prama and pramya. Prama borrows

praka from the tm. With the borrowed praka, prama is

illumining the pramya but the prama itself cannot illumine the tm
because tm is the original illumination.

The best example is that we imagine there is a mirror. In the mirror there is
a reflected sunlight and because of that the mirror has become a dpa a

lamp. Mirror by itself cannot become dpa but because of the borrowed

sunlight it has become a mini dpa. What is the original maxi dpa?-

Srya. And with the blessings of this maxi dpa, this mini dpa is lighted
up. And with that reflected sunlight, suppose it is illumining this hall or a

room inside. That is fine because the mirror can illumine the room as the

room happens to be darker. But suppose that same reflected light tries to

illumine the Srya itself, how foolish it would be! It cannot illumine and

even if it illumines from the mirror, it is the illumination belonging to the

Sun only.

Similarly buddhi ndriyi themselves borrow illumination from the tm.

They cannot lend illumination to the tm and therefore, tm is not

known by any one of them.

If tm is not illumined by all the paca ks then who illumines? Nobody

illumines. If nobody illumines how can tm shine? See we have got a

fixation. We feel that a thing can shine only if it is illumined by something.

154 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

But tm is not illumined by anyone at the same time tm shines. This is

because tm is svaya praka.

Therefore he says, tm ka, buddhydni indriyi avabhsyati. So ka

tm, this one non-dual tm, avabhsyati illumines; buddhydni all

the four antakraam, i.e. buddhi, manas, citta and ahankrani; and

not only that indriyyapi also the bhya krani the external organs.
So the illuimined objects are many, the illuminator is one.

I
(ktra ktr tath ktsna prakayati bhrata). says Lord Ka
in the Gt . As one Sun illumines this entire universe, so the one tm

illumines the whole ktra i.e field or in this context the entire universe.

Ktr or ktraja is ka, ktra is anka. ka anka

prakayati.

And what is the rule? The illuminator is never illumined by the illumined.

The illumined objects are ever illumined object and they can never become
illuminators. And illuminators can ever be only illuminator, it can never

become illumined. Seer is ever seer, seen is ever seen. Seen cannot become
seer and seer cannot become seen. Therefore, I am ever the subject.

Organs are ever the objects. Object cannot become subject and subject

cannot become object.

But then how to know me? That question itself is wrong because I am all
the time known as aha aha iti. Self knowledge is never an event. We

have to note this point very carefully. Pot knowledge is an event, because

pot was not known before. After operating the sense organs, pot becomes

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 155

known. So there is an unknown condition and after sometime a known

condition comes. The transfer from unknown condition to known condition

is called the knowing event but tm is never an unknown condition

because all the time tm is available as aha, aha, aha caitanya. We

may add some attributes to it i.e. antm dharm we may add but at that
time also whether tm is known or not? Whenwe say I am fat, that I

am refers to what? It refers to the tm. So therefore, when one says I

am, the tm is shining. And because of the tm caitanya, arra is

also shining. So two things are shining. I the tm is shining self

effulgently. arra is shining with borrowed light. And body is different

from tm that is also shining.

So every time we know two things. The first is I the self effulgent one and

second is the arra with the borrowed light. When we see the fatness, we

should say I am the body which is fat. But we have no patience. We

remove the body which isand say I am fat. Therefore I am the self

effulgent I and fat is the object of my knowledge. I am not an object. I am

the self effulgent subject and body is the object. We are correct when we

say I am but we wrongly add body to this. So the self need not be known
because even now when we say I am, we know we mean the self only.

Then instead of adding the fat to the self, we should give it to the body.
Then what will be left is self only. So when we say I am is it a new

knowledge? No. Previously also we said I am. Now also we say I am. So

the difference between the previous condition and the new condition is not
a new knowledge but only elimination of the superimposition of some

attributes. Therefore, I was known before, I am known now and I will be

known later because self effulgent I can never become unknown.

156 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(na kacit nha asmti pratyti ) says

akarcrya in (adhysa bhya). Nobody says I dont

know myself. And therefore, there is no event called self knowledge. There
is no incidence called self knowledge. If this is not known, we will try to sit
in meditation, we will try for nirvikalpaka samdhi and we will wait for

that flashy event in which the self will come in front of us, give darana

for two minutes. We can put some kuku or some such thing and come
away. So remember self knowledge is not an event

(pratibdha vidita mata) Every time we say I, we refer to the self

only.

And is this jvtm or paramtm? It is paramtm only. Who makes it

jvtm? When we say I am fat, we make it jvtm. In our mind we are

making it jvtm and even at that time I am paramtm only.

So therefore, tm avabhsayati buddhydn indriyi. And

(tai jaai tm na avabhsyat). tm is not
illuimined by those inert ks. So tm avabhsayati. tm na

avabhsyat. tm is the illuminator. tm is never the illumined. So

jaai tai na avabhsyat. This is the definition of svaya prakatva.

(svayam

sarva prakakatvsati sva itara aprakyatva svayam prakatva). The

illuminator of all, that which is never illumined by any, is called self

effulgent.

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 157

Now what is the example? The example is dpa. So any dpa, light is the

example - Dpa ghadivat. The light illumines the pot and light is never

illumined by the pot. Light is the illuminator and pot is illumined. This can

never be interchanged. Always subject and object cannot be interchanged.

But someone may raise a question. Suppose I am seeing you, who am I? No

doubt, I am the subject. And what are you? The object. Now when I am

seeing you, at the same time you are also seeing me. Now what are you?

The subject. And who am I? The object. So subject and object are getting
interchanged! So how can the scriptures say that the subject and object
cannot be interchanged?

This is where the problem lies. We should remember that when I say I am

seeing you; I am the caitanya and not the body seeing you. So I am the

caitanya seeing your body through my body. So when I say I am seeing

you I am is the caitanya. You are what? The body. I can never see your

caitanya. So now caitanya is the subject and body is the object.

And when you are seeing me, who are you? The caitanya and I am the

body. So you the caitanya are the subject and I, the body is the object.

Therefore, always remember that caitanya alone is the subject and body
or matter alone can be object. It can never be interchanged at any time.
(dgva na tu dyat). So dpa ghadivat svtm

jaai na avabhsyat.

158 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 29

II 29

svabdh nnyabdhcch
bdharpataytmana I

na dpasynyadpcch

yath svtmaprakan II
In the previous lk, akarcrya said that tm is not illumined by any
organ. So the question is how is tm known? We have already seen that

tm is self effulgent. That answer the crya is giving in this lk.

So if tm is not illumined by anyone, then how is tm known? For that

he answers svabdh anya bdha icch nsti. In gaining the knowledge of

oneself, sva here refers to tm; svabdh means tm bodh tm

viaya bodh. Anya bdha icch nsti another bdha or vtti jna is
not necessary for knowing the tm. For ghaa knowledge ghaa vtti

jna is necessary. For paa knowledge paa vtti jna is necessary. In

fact every object in the world is known by a corresponding vtti jna.

That vtti jna is referred to here as bdha. So anya bdha means any
particular vtti jna. Why? Because in the vtti jna itself, the very

caitanya comes from where? It comes from the tm only. For pot, vtti

jna is necessary because pot is jaa. And therefore, the vtti jna

must come and the vtti jna must be illumined from outside. Whereas

vtti jna is not necessary for tm because tm is svarpa jna

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 159

and therefore it need not borrow light from vtti jna. Whereas gha
is tam rpa, jaa rpa, ajna rpa and therefore vtti jna is

necessary.

So for illumining the tm, vtti jna icch nsti. Here icch means

requirement or necessity and not desire. It means apk. So vtti jna

is not necessary to illumine oneself. Why? tmnah bdha rtpatay -

because tm itself happens to be svarpa caitanya, svarpa jna. So

reflected consciousness is not necessary to illumine the orginal

consciousness. Reflected sunlight is not necessary to illumine the orginal

sunlight. Cidbhsa is not necessary to illumine cit.

And an example is given. Na dpasya anya dp icch asti. The light

illumines every object in the room but how to do you know light is there in
the room? The light is illumining all the objects. Then somebody asks who
illumines the light? No object can illumine the light because they

themselves do not have any light of their own. So if they do not illumine,

then who illumines? No other illuminator is necessary. Therefore, dpasya

anya dp icch here also icch means apk requirement, necessity,

need. So another light is not necessary to illumine one light.

If you say another light is necessary what will happen? It will lead to

(anavasth da). That light will have to be illumined by

another light which will have to be illumined by another light and this will

go on. There will be endless regress and this is called infinite regress which
is a da. In Sanskrit this is called anavasth da.

160 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So (caitanya prakanrtha

kicit anyat na apkat). So na dpasya anya dp icch svtm prakan.

Here svtm is the reflexive pronoun. Svtm means for the dp i.e. dp

prakan. So the dpa or a lighted lamp, in order to reveal itself does not

need another dpa or lighted lamp. So dpa svasya prakan anya dp

icch na asti. So it follows that tm jna doesnt require vtti jna.

Now does this sound contradictory? In the beginning we said for tm

bdha, we need vtti jna and so we need the mind and the intellect

etc. and now we are saying that vtti jna is not necessary. How will we

resolve the contradiction?

Vtti jna is not required to illumine the tm. But vtti jna is

required to remove ignorance. (ajna nivtyartha).

That there is no other entity called Brahman. It is this svaya prakaa

tm alone is Brahman. So thus tmnah brahmatva viaya ajna

nivtyartha vtti jna.

Let us take an example. Suppose the Sun is there. And we are able to see

the Sun clearly. But we dont know that this is the Sun. Now the experience
of the Sun is not lacking in us because we are seeing the Sun. But what is
lacking is the knowledge that this is the Sun. Therefore, that ignorance

alone is the problem. So what we have to do is to gain the knowledge that

this particular luminous body which we are experiencing all the time is the

Sun. And afterwards we dont require the Sun experience because we have

been experiencing the Sun all the time. What was required was the

tma Antm Viveka - Tvam Pada Vicra 161

introduction of the Sun as the Sun. So the moment someone says this is the

Sun, it is enough. Thereafterwards, we dont require the Sun experience as

an event because Sun experience has always been there.

Similarly tm is always

(anubhta viaya), tm anubhti
is not required, (sa nitypalabdha

svarpham tm). But it is this tm that is Brahman is not known.

Therefore, first the introduction is done that the Brahman you are looking
for is this self-effulgent tm. For this we require vtti jna. So vtti

jna doesnt illumine the tm. (aha Brahmsmi) is not

for illumining Brahman because it is all the time illumined. But aha

Brahmsmi does what? It removes the ignorance. So now tell me whether

vtti jna is necessary or not? It is necessary for ajna nivtti but it is
not necessary for tm prakan. And therefore, mind is necessary,

prama is necessary, guru is necessary; sdhana catuaya sampatti is

necessary, (sarva

ajna nivtyartha, kicidapi na tm prakanrtha).

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 163

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana

Verse 30

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 165

II 30

niidhya nikhilpdhn
nti ntti vkyata I
vidhydaikya mahvkyai
jvtmaparamtman II
So from the 16th lk onwards upto the last lk i.e. the 29th lk, tm

antm vivka was the topic. This alone we technically call as

(tva pada vicra) - analysis of twa in the

(tattvamasi mahvkya). Sthla, skma kraa arras are antm.

These antms are sagua. I am nirgua. Antms are savikra. I

am nirvikra. Antms are savikalpa. I am nirvikalpa. Antms are

jaa. I am svaya praka ctana rpa.

But is this enough? Vdnt says this is not enough. This is only the first

phase of Vdntik enquiry. Tva pada vicra alone is over. What still has

to come is (tat pada aikya). So the second phase is

necessary.

Why should there be a second phase? Is it not enough that I have known
that I am different from the body and that I am caitanya? Is this not

enough? Vdnt says No. It is not enough. Why? Because now that I have
done tm antm vivka, I know that I am a subject and different from

166 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

the object. I am the consciousness and everything else is inert matter. I am

the illuminator and everything else is the illumined. But still how many

things are there? Dvaita is still persisting. tm is No. 1 and everything

else is antm that is No.2. I am ktraja - No. 1 and everything else is

ktra - No. 2. In fact ktra seems to be vast. And therefore, we should

carefully know that this entire antma prapaca is a superimposition, is a

krya and I the tm am the kraa.

So we have to go to prthamika adhysa. Till now we have sorted out

only the secondary adhys. Now we have to know the primary adhys.
And what is that? That is the knowledge that through my, I, the tm

alone, has created the whole universe. But because of the varaa akti I

got confused. That confusion is gone now. But that is not enough. We

should also know that this antm prapaca is born out of the vikpa

akti of my my. There I the tm am kraam.We should know that

with the help of the my I alone have created the universe.

(viva darpaa dyamna nagar

tulya nijntargata). The universe, like even the city being seen in the

mirror, is within oneself.

So knowing that I am kraa is called Brahma aikya. Knowing that I

am the caitanya, the kraa caitanya, is called aha Brahma asmi.

Then one may ask what the advantage of that is? Previously I said I am

tm and this is antm. Now I am saying that I am kraa and this is

krya. What big difference is there? In fact there is a very big difference.

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 167

When I say I am tm and this is antm, dvaita is there. But when I say
I am kraa and this is krya, dvaita goes because krya does not

exist different from kraa. There is a big stra in Brahma stra which is
very brilliantly analyzed by akarcrya. It is called

(rambhadi karaa).
(tadananyatva rambhaaabddibhya

vcrambhaa vikr nmadhyam mttik va satya).

So once we know that the clay is the kraa and the pots are the krya,
what is the conclusion that we will arrive at? Pots do not exist different

from clay. Clay alone is. What we call as pot is nothing but vcrambhaa

vikr nmadhyam. Similarly once I know that caitanya is kraa and

matter is krya, the conclusion will be that there is no matter at all.

The scientists talk about consciousness, matter etc. According to Vdnt

there is no matter different from consciousness. Then what is matter?

Vcrambhaa vikr nmadhyam matter is nothing but nma rpa.

So now how many things are there? Only one that is caitanya - ka va.

And what we call matter doesnt exist different from caitanya -

, , ; ;

; ; (Brahmrpaa,

Brahma havi, Brahmgnau Brahma huta; sarva khalu ida

Brahm; nha nnsti kicana; tmaiva idagu sarva; tat satya sa

tm) all the ruti vkyas indicate that caitanya alone is

168 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

everywhere, matter is an aberration, matter is illusion, matter is an error,

matter is mithy.

And if we know that matter is mithy what does it matter? Matter doesnt

matter. The advantage of this knowledge is that matter will no more matter
to us. We will not be attracted by or we will not be frightened by the

material universe. Brahma satya, jagan mithy; Aha caitanya satya,

matter jagat is mithy and the material universe cannot touch us.

(nahi adhyastasya

guna da v anumtrpi sa na sambadhyat). So adhyasta gua

ds will not affect us even a wee bit. So the second phase of this inquiry

which is caitanya rpea aha Brahma asmi, jagat kraa asti; aha

satya asmi, krya rpa jagat mithy asti that is the essence of this
lk which we will now examine.

Nikhilpdhn niidhya one should negate all the updhis, we may call it

paca k or arra traya. Niidhya means negating. Negation does not

mean destruction. Negation means tm buddhi tyaktv this is not

me, this is not me so saying is what is negation. It is purely an intellectual

job only because the confusion is in the intellect, not in the body or tm.
Therefore, since confusion is an intellectual problem, the negation of the

antm is also a clear intellectual job. And how is this negation to be done?

Nti ntti vkyata. The Upaniad itself helps by saying na sthla, na au,
na hrasvam, na drgha and not only that sa a tm nti nti this very

expression nti nti itself is there in

(Bhadrayakpaniat). And twice it is repeated. In the Bhadrayaka

commentary it is given that once it is said to remove the samai prapaca

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 169

and the second neti is to remove vyai prapaca, both samai si and

vyai si. Just before this portion in Bhadrayaka, the topic discussed
is mrta amrta brhma. Therefore, mrta prapacha negation, amrta

prapaca negation is discussed that is the negation of both the manifest

universe and the unmanifest universe. There are different commentatries.

(lakya sagua vcyrtha nirgua

lakyrtha).

Once antm is negated what is left out? I the tm. That is

(tva pada vcya) is gone. Now we have come to (tva pada

lakya). Sagua caitanya is tva pada vcyrtha. Nirgua caitanya is

tva pada lakyrtha.

And similarly what is Brahman, paramtm. Para tm also is nirgua

caitanya, I am also is nirgua caitanya. Therefore, both I and para

tm are one and the same. So jvtma para tman aikya vidhyt

one should know the identity between jvtm and para tm How?

Mahvkyai - by the mahvkya upad of the teacher. Like ,

, (tattvamasi, aha Brahmsmi or prajna

Brahm) so many mahvkyas are there. Through them the identity has

to be known. And only after this identity is known advait will come. Till

then tm and antm will stand separate. Only after knowing that I am

the jagat kraam Brahma and the whole antm is krya tann sati

kvala that kvalatva will come kaivalya will come kaivalya

navanta we can enjoy.

170 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 31

II 31

vidhyaka arrdi dya

budbudavatkaram I
tadvilakaa vidhyt
aha brahmti nirmlm II

So in this lk the same idea is expounded. In the previous lk he said

nikhilpdhn niidhya. Here the same thing is said as dya niidhya.

There it is updhi here it is dya. Dya means object of experience.

And every dya is vidhyaka means avidhy janya. Avidhy means

mla avidhy, prakti or my. So sthla prapaca is my janya,

skma prapaca is my janya, sthla arra is my janya, skma

arra is my janya. In fact

(yad yad dya tat sarvamapi my janya va).

That is what he says - arrdi dya - di padt which will include

arra, indriya, mana, buddhi all of them are dya and not only
dya they are vidhyaka born out of my and not only that

budbudavat kara they are also perishable like budbudha bubble.

Whereas who am I? (ytad vilakaa aha

asmi). I am not my janya; I am my adhihna. I am not avidhy

janyam; I am avidhyym adhihna. I am not kara; I am akara.

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 171

I am not dya; I am dk. I am not the arra which is avidhy

janya. And what is my nature? Aha nirmlm Brahma iti vidhyt this,
dk rpa aha, am Brahman.

And what is the meaning of the word Brahman? That is tat pada artha. He

has not discussed the tad padrtha in this lk. But we have seen a

detailed discussion of tad padrtha earlier in the 8th and 9th lks. It will

be useful to revise the meanings of those lks now. In those lks the

prthamika adhys was pointed out, that Viu, Paramvar, nitya, the
updna kraa all these words described the meaning of the word

Brahman. So we need to carefully note that the Brahman here refers to the

explanation given in the 8th and 9th lks.

And what type of Brahman is it? It is nirml Brahma, which is free from

all impurities. And what is the fundamental impurity? It is avidhy or my.

So I am free from not only my krya, I am free from my also. In

Vivka Cmai akarcrya says, neither I am my krya nor am I

my itself, I am the adhihna, uttama purua. My is akara

purua. My krya is kara purua. I am neither kara purua, nor

akara purua. I am uttama purua. Aha in Sanskrit is uttama purua.

Verse 32

II 32

172 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

dhnyatvnna m janma jarkryalaydaya I
abddiviayai sag
nirindriyatay na ca II

In the previous two lks 30 and 31, the jva Brahma aikya was revealed

which has to be known through mahvkya ravaa. ravaa means

analysis of the mahvkya and recognising the identity between aha and

Brahman. So the two lks 30 and 31 were ravaa.

Now the lks 32 and 33 refer to manana. Manana is for what

purpose? (saaya nivtyartha) because whenever I say

aha Brahmsmi, suddenly a doubt will come. Brahman is nirvikra, is

birthless and deathless and when I say aha Brahmsmi, it will mean that

I am birthless and deathless. How can I say I am nirvikra, janma

maraa rahita, because all the time I am frightened of janma maraa

only? As Pjya Svmj says, all the time we are security conscious. What
will happen to us in our old age? Therefore, when this fear is constantly

there, how can I say aha Brahmsmi?

For that purpose only manana is being pointout. Whenever we get the
thought that how can I be Brahman we must immediately ask the

question, What do I mean by the word I? All problems lie with this word

I, because whenever a doubt comes, or whenever the thought of insecurity

comes, the I refers to the body. The body can never say aha Brahmsmi.
From body point of view, I can never have security. Body is ever insecure.
We can have all preparation. King Daaratha had 4 sons gem like sons

who were ready to blindly obey their father. (pit

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 173

vkya pariplana). And such a Daaratha had to die without anyone being

around. If this can happen to a King like Daaratha, how can we provide all

security and be sure that at the time of our death, our children will be there
to chant Viu sahasranma, pour Ganges water etc. The children want

to settle in the US or the Gulf countries and we are in India. That itself is an

issue. So the body is never secure.

And therefore, when one says I am secure, it is correct because

(dha anyatvt na m janma). As dha I am insecure

but dha anyatvt, as the sk of the body, as dha dk, dha sk rpa,

janma nsti. And if janma nsti, , , (jar, krya,

laydaya nsti). Jar means

.
(agam galita

palita muam daanavihnam jta tua. Vddha yti ghitv

daam tadapi na mucati piam) says akarcrya in Bhaja

Gvinda.

Therefore, old age, to state in Tattva bdha language, is

(apakaya). Jar technically is apakaya declension. Krya means

becoming thin; (kasya bhva krya).

(sthlasya bhva sthaulya). So in old age, the the body becomes

weaker and weaker. Then laya which refers to maraa. daya di

padt punarapi janana etc. All these are not there for me. Body has got

all modifications but I do not have them. So, therefore, whenever fear of

174 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

insecurity comes, we have to tell the mind that the body is ever insecure. It
is foolish to worry too much about the body. You can take an insurance
policy and do all that is necessary to secure yourself. But if you have to
suffer and die, all of them will go away in a moment.

I came across an incident recently. Somebody died in a train and he had 10

sons. But none of them knew where he was. He was in the mortuary for 3-4

days and no claimant was there. But all the 10 sons were of no use at the

relevant time. So we must remember that when the security issue comes,

body has a prrabdh and if the body has to undergo the prrabdha

phala, no body on earth can stop it. I dont say one should not make any

provision, but when the time comes, all the provisions may not be of any

issue. Therefore, whenever worry comes, we should understand that body

is ever insecure. If that thought is there worry will not be there at all.

Similarly aha asaga Brahman is asaga and aha Brahmsmi.

Therefore, I am asaga. Now immediately the question will arise. How do

you say I am asaga? I have got saga with all the people, wife is there,

children are there, so many vishays are there i..e. abddi viaya; abda,

spara, rpa, rasa, gandha etc. which stand for all the objects of the world

and objects includes people also. And here akarcrya says that all these

connections are not there for me. They are ,

(indriy va, indriyrthu indriy

indriyrthu vartant). Therefore, indriya and viays have got saga.

tm doesnt have saga with any one. Because indriya also is prakti

janya, viays are also prakti janyam. Prakti and prakti can have

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 175

connection. But purua is ever asaga.

.

vkya.

(asaghi aya purua. asag nahi sajyat) - Bhadrayaka

Therefore, he says, abddi viayai saga na vartat. We should

complete this as abddi viayai saga na asti. For whom? Me -

(mahya). So for me there is no connection with abda, spara etc. Why?

Because nirindriyatay because I have no indriyas at all. tmnah

nirindriyatvt; niravayatvt. So nirindriyatay is the htu for asagatv.

Then one may ask how do you say tm doesnt have indriyas? There are

indriyas one may claim. But we have to remember that indriyas are

my janya - mithy and I am satya. Satya cannot have connection

with mithy.
(satyntay sanga naiva

bhavati). Just as the waker and the dream objects cannot have connection.

I and the arra cannot have any connection.

Verse 33

II 33

amanastvnna m
dukhargadvabhaydaya I
apr hyaman ubhra
itydi rutisant II

176 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

And when we say aha Brahma asmi, another doubt that will come is that

I have got so much worry, all the time I am agitated and all the time I am
tense. Whereas, Brahman is said to be

(nta iva nikala prapacpaama etc). How can, the

embodiment of peace Brahman and I the embodiment of agitation, be

identical?

For that akarcrya gives the answer. Whenever we say agitiation, again

it refers to man vtti which belongs to antm. And I the tm has no

connection to the mind at all. Because mind is mithy and aha is satya.
Mind is myika, I am satya. And therefore amanastvt since I am

totally free from the mind - dukha rga dva bhaydaya na m santi. M

means for me. Na m santi for me they are not there. They refers to

dukha sorrow; rga attachment; dva hatred; bhaya fear di

padt kma, krdha, lbha mha, mada, mtsarya etc. all of them.

How do we know that tm is free from mind, body etc? He gives the ruti

quotation also here; Apr hyaman ubhra itydi rutisant.

I
-

(divy hyamrta purua sa bhybhyantar hyaja.

Apr hyaman ubhr hyakartparata para - Muakpaniat)

So since tm is free from pra, since tm is free from mana and

ubhra means tm is free from ignorance also. So tm is skma arra

rahita, kraa arra rahita. ubhra refers to kraa arra rahita.

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 177

Apr hyaman refers to skma arra rahita. And divy hyamrta

here amrta refers to sthla arra rahita. Thus tm is sthla, skma,

kraa arra rahita.

Here we should note a small subtle difference. First we say tm is

different from three arras. Next we say tm is free from three

arras. Can you see the difference? When we say tm is different from

three arras, we dont negate the three arras. The three arras are

there, tm is different from them. Here there is dvaita. If I say I am

different from you, it would mean that I am there and you are also there.

Similarly first I say tm is sthla skma kraa arrt vyatirikta. This is

only the first stage.

Later I should say that the sthla skma kraa arras are not at all

there. First we accept that they are existent. Later we say that the three

arras are not at all there. They are adhys. They are krya. They are
myika. They are nma rpa. Therefore, prapac naasti. Itydi ruti
sant. sant means vkyt. So from this ruti pramna we come to

know that tm is different from arra traya.

And therefore, whenever we say aha Brahma asmi, we should be clear

about the meaning of aha. When saying aha if we are referring to the

arras, it would mean we remember only our relative status like brother,

sister etc. then aha Brahma asmi looks like a ridiculous statement. Our

minds are worrying about family problems and we go on telling that I am

Brahman it will all look out of place. So when I say you are Brahman
you should have got out of your body, your mind, your intellect etc. and as

178 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

caitanya aha Brahma asmi is correct. So this is how sandha nivtti has

to be done.

And hereafter from 34 to 39 lks (nididhysana) is

discussed.

Verse 34

II 34

nirgu nikriy nity

nirvikalp nirajana I
nirvikr nirkr
nityamukt'smi nirml II

So by ravaa, jna has been acquired. By manana doubts have been

removed. So the seeker has now got doubtless knowledge.

(nisaaya jna).

And once nisaaya jna has come, thereafterwards what type of

sdhan is necessary? Why should there be nididhysana? What is the

pupose of nididhysana one should know?

Often people misunderstand nididhysana for experiencing Brahman. We

have already learnt that there is no event as

(tm

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 179

anubhava) because tm being chaitanya svarpa, we are experiencing

tm all the time. Pratibdha vidita mata everytime caitanya is

experienced by us. It is like experiencing the sunlight in and through all the

experiences. When we are experiencing the table, are we not experiencing

the sunlight? We are very much experiencing it. In fact without the sunlight
the table will not be experienced. Thus in and through all the experiences,

we are experiencing sunlight. Similarly in ghaa jna, tma anubhava

is there. In paa jna tma anubhava is there. In every knowledge,

caitanya is experienced. So meditation is not meant for caitanya

anubhava.

(caitanyasya via anubhava nsti caitanyasyaiva anubhava

svarpatvt).

Then one should not say meditation is for removing duality because that

we are removing every day at the time of sleep. Every time we sleep

dvaita is negated. And one cannot say that in suupti caitanya is not

there and only in nirvikalpaka samdhi caitanya is there. In suupti also

caitanya is very much there. So meditation is not for tm anubhava.

Meditation is to remove habitual identifications, habitual worries, and

habitual fears of insecurity which is always there deep inside. One will say

my son is very good but after daughter- in- law came he has become

different That is why she is called a (dhr). Dhr means the one

who creates a split between son and mother. I am not joking. ,

, (dhrayati, vidhrayati, chinatti ) the parents and the

son the one who creates dhr. These are all facts.

180 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

There is a lk also. , ,

,
(labda vidy gurn dvi, labdha

dhrastu mtara, labdha putr pati dvi, dva mla ida jagat).

Not that these are universal facts. But chances are there.

Labda vidy gurn dvi after the knowledge is gained there is a chance

of guru dva. Labdha dhrastu mtara dvi once wife has come,

mother becomes secondary; labdha putr pati dvi once children are

born husband becomes secondary; dva mla ida jagat.

Anyway the idea is that we always have got the worry whether the same

love is there or not. Pjya Svamji often tells that once in a while people ask,

Do you love me really? There is always a doubt.

So always there is a doubt whether that person loves me. Craving for love,

craving for security, craving for moral support, these are all innately there

and all of them have to completely go. Whether people support me or not,
whether people love me or not, I dont require love from anyone, I am

pra love svarpa asmi. I can give love to everyone whether they give

me love or not. This must be discovered inside and this discovery alone is

nididhysana. All expectations should stop - from wife, from children,

from husband, from parents, from Government, from neighbours, from
everyone, from Guru also.

And the nididhysana should be according to the type of problem. If

saga is creating the problem, meditation should be aha asaga. If

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 181

desire is creating the problem, the meditation should be aha tpta.If

anger is creating a problem, aha nta or knta. Similarly, if

apratva is creating a problem, I miss someone; meditation should be

on aha pra. So according to the type of problem the opposite

meditation should be practiced. That is why akarcrya gives a lot of

samples and we have to choose according to our necessity.

Let us study them. The first is nirgua. So when there is a jealousy with
regard to gus. A feeling that that person is superior; I dont have

certain gus etc. So when comparison of gus is troubling, at that time

meditation should be on nirgutva.

Similarly, nikriya free from action. When there are too much of

activites, responsibilities etc; never ending work; big family with lots of

visiting guests; a feeling that I have no retirement - many ladies feel this

way. We must note that retirement is not physical but retirement is an

inner state of mind. Once inner peace is discovered, we will be ever retired.
Otherwise physically getting away is again getting tired. Nitya means

eternal. Whenever fear of mortality comes, meditate on I am nitya. Body

came and body will go. (dhi nityamavadhy'ya).

Then nirvikalpa free from divisions - pramt, prama, pramya;

kart, kraam krya the triputi divisions. So the meditation should

be aha nirvikalpa. Then nirajana ajana means dirt so

nirajana means nirml. Then nirvikra free from modification;

nirkra free from forms; nityamukt ever free, because in

meditation also we will think, if we meditate gradually we will become

182 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

liberated. Therefore, there will be a feeling will not that day come when I
will be liberated? So therefore, we always look forward to liberation and

we think that meditation should culminate in liberation. NO. Meditation is

not to culminate in liberation. Meditation is in the form that liberation is

not an event; it is an ever existing fact to be owned up. If you stop looking

forward to liberation, you are liberated now. But if you are looking forward
to it, you will be going on and on, like trying to meet the horizon. The
nearer you go, the farther it will move. It will keep on receding and

receding as long as you look forward to that D-day or L-Day - Liberation

day. So nityamukt aha asmi; nirml asmi. Free from all kinds of

impurities. Niranjana and Nirml seem to be repetition. So we can make

a subtle difference. Niranjana means it does not have any borrowed

impurities, which comes because of saga. And nirml stands for its own

innate purity.

Verse 35

II 35

aha kavatsarva
bahirantargat'cyuta I
sad sarvasamauddh
nissag nirmal'cala II

The meaning is very clear. Aha kavat sarva gata. Gata means

pervade, vypta. So I pervade everything anta bahi both within and

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 183

without. Like what? kavat like the space. Acyuta I never have a

fall means I never lose my nature my pratva will not become

apratva. So that is unlike the svargdi when I go to svargdi, phala

there and (cyuti )is also there. Cyuti means fall. I will have the svarga

sukha but afterwards again (k puy martya

lka). Mksha is my svarpa and therefore, svarpa can never be

lost. In fact svarpa can never be lost. I should not say so because what

cannot be lost is called svarpa. That is why he said earlier

prak'rkasya tyasya aityamagnryathat svabhva saccidnanda

nityanirmlttmana. Just as water never loses its coolness, just as fire

never loses its heat, just as the Sun never loses its light, similarly I can

never lose my mksha svarpa.

Then one may ask how did I lose till now? Till now also you never lost but

you thought that you had lost it. Never can you lose your nature. Therefore,

Bhagawn is called acyuta. In fact really speaking, acyuta is the name of

para Brahman the one who never falls from his own nature. Says Lord
Ka in the Gt

(aj'pi sannavyaytm bhtnmvar'pi

san. prakti svmadhihya sambhavmytmamyay). Though birthless

and immortal and the Lord of all beings, I manifest through my own

Ygamy, keeping my nature (prakti) under control.

Then sad sarva sama. We have to add sad to everything here. Sad

bahirantargata, sad acyuta, sad sarvasama, sad uddha, sad

nissaga etc. Then sarva sama means the same in all

184 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

;
(vidhy

vinaya sampann brhma gavi hastini ; sama sarvu bhtu

tianta paramvaram) etc.

What is the nature in all? It is sacchit svarpa in all. The differences

belong to nma rpa. In sat there is no difference at all, in cit there is no

difference at all. This sacchida tm is the same in all. Then nissaga

free from all relationships. So this also we should remember, especially by

ghasts that most of the problems are caused by relationships. It is a

constant struggle amongst varities of relationships. One side will be the

wife and another side will be the mother. This is the problem for men. The

mother will find herself to be between husband and children. So everyone

has to do lot of tight rope walking. In fact they say life is like the job of a
tongue. The tongue is between 32 sharp teeth. But see how it moves
around and avoids getting caught in the two rows of sharp teeth.

So we should know how to live within relationships and manage them. Like

Pjya Svmi Daynanda Sarasvat says all relationships are like playing

role. In vyavahr we cannot avoid these relationships. And there is no

perfect role. In relationship perfect satisfaction of everyone is not possible.

As somebody said I dont know the formula for success but I know the

formula for failure and that is trying to please everyone. If we try to please

everyone there will always be a problem. Therefore, relationship means we

take the best course of action. Some people will be happy some will be

unhappy. These things will be there. Therefore, we should accept them as

vyavahrika situation. In vyavahrrika situation perfection is not expected.

And therefore, we have to accept imperfection in vyavahrrika situation.

We should try to get maximum perfection but in spite of that these

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 185

problems will be there. Therefore, we accept them. If this meditation is

practiced, relationship will not affect them. We should learn to see every

relationship as vyavahrrika, mithy, and temporary, inevitable because in

prva janma some other relationship was there and in further prva

janma some other relationship had been there. Relationships will

constantly come and go and these things cannot be avoided. If this is

understood then the problems will be less because we always try to say

aha Brahma asmi. Aha Brahma asmi alone is not enough. At the body
level these problems will be there, which we have to say I accept.

Acceptance at the body level has to be there. Acceptance of old age we have

to consciously do. Problems at the relationship level we have to consciously

accept. Therefore, as tm, as asaga we have to accept all these things.
We have to do this consciously. We may try to forget the problem by

coming to the camp. Forgetting the problem is not the solution. Accepting
the problem alone is the solution. Therefore, as Brahman we should

accommodate all people, all characters, all misbehaviours, all problems all
situations. Therefore, he says I am nissaga.

Nirml we have seen before. Here we can take the meaning as even free
from ignorance. Ajna ml rahita. So three times pure has come.

Nirml twice and nirajana once. We can interpret them in different

ways. One can be sthla arra ml rahita. Another is skma arra ml

rahita. Another is kraa arra ml rahita. Different ways it can be

seen. Then finally acala means free from all movements.

186 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 36

II 36

nityauddhavimuktikam
akhanandamadvayam I
satya jnamananta
yatpara brahmhamva tat II

Again a simple lk and the meaning should be clear. He says nitya uddha

vimukt ka. Nitya should be added to each word; nitya uddha, nitya
vimukt, nitya ka. So I am ever pure, I am ever free and I am ever

non-dual. This is the difference between Viidvaita and Advait.

They also talk about advait. They say before si Ivar was one. After

pralaya Ivar will be one. But in between Ivar becomes many. Thus

advait, dvaita and again back to advait. Whereas in advait what

we say is that there is no question of advait to dvaita and then back to

advait. There was advait. There is advait. There will be advait.

This is the difference between Viidvaita and advait. We say nitya

advait. For them advait itself is a phase. Then how do I see plurality

then? That is what is called an error. So dvaita is kalpita. Previously

rope was, now rope is, later also rope will be. In between snake is an error

and a hallucination. Therefore, nitya ka.

And then akhaa nanda advaya. I am undivided happiness nanda.

Why does he use the word akhaa nanda? Because we know another
word which is khaa nanda means happiness for some time it is a

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 187

temporary happiness which comes and goes. That happiness is priya, mda,

pramda vtti. It is pratibimba nanda that we enjoy. A pratibimba

nanda, a reflected nanda is a mental state that will go away. That is

why in advaita we always say, never try to experience nand, you will
come to division or dvaita because experiences are always khaa.

There is no permanent experience at all. We have experienced it in doing

jap also. We try to keep one particular vtti constantly. It will never be

possible. So if at all in nirvikalpaka samdhi nanda is experienced, it will

be khaa nanda because before samdhi nand was not, after

samdhi nand is gone during samdhi nand came. So is this khaa

or akhaa? It is khaa nand. Whereas once we know aha nanda

svarpa asmi, then there is no division at all because svarpa is always

there. And therefore, he says aha akhaa nanda asmi. And my nand
sometimes comes to manifestation. Sometimes it does not manifest.

Whether it manifests or does not manifest, I am nanda svarpa. When I

hear a joke, then in my mind my nanda is manifest. When the joke is over

when we all become serious, that nanda is no longer manifest but even

when we are serious what is our nature? nanda. When we are laughing
it is nanda. What type of nanda? Manifest nanda. What is the

medium? The medium is priya mda pramda vtt. This is called

knowledge. So akhaa nanda advaya advaya means non dual.

Then, satya jna ananta yat para Brahma that para Brahma

which is defined in the Upaniad as satya jna ananta Brahma.

Satya is which is trikl api tiati, which is ever existent. Jna means

the pure consciousness not vtti jna but svarpa jna. And

ananta means limitless. So I am limitless existence, limitless awareness

and therefore I am para Brahma. This is the sample of nididhysana

188 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

and like this we can add any more number of Brahma svarpa and this

has to be practiced. How long? Till the habitual reactions go away.

Therefore, he will say in the next lk va nirantara abhyasth.

Whenever there is a worry about anything, immediately our tendency is to

exhaust that by scolding someone. At that time we should quietly go to the

room and we should not try to remove the worry. When you try to remove

the problem it means you are accepting the problem. Therefore, we should
not try to remove the problem. We should sit quietly and tell ourselves,

there is no problem at all. If the son is misbehaving, we want to change the

sons attitude immediately, while the son is trying to change the fathers
attitude because the son is sure that the father doesnt know anything!

That is what it seems. Once a father told his son that he wanted to discuss

facts of life. So they fixed up a particular date. And on that date both of

them met and son immediately asked the father Yes father, which facts of

life did you want to know! The father wanted to tell some facts to the son

but it turned out otherwise. Therefore, we should learn to be happy

whatever character the son has, the husband has, the wife as etc. This
acceptance is called nididhysana.

So, nididhysana is dropping the habitual reactions to the situations;

dropping habitual expectations; expectations of the future and expectations

of changes in situations; changes in people etc. because our nand should
not be dependent on any of these conditions. As long as our nand

depends upon our family members, their actions, their inactions, as long as

they determine our nand, we will continue to be in sasr inspite of the

Vdnt study.

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 189

Then one may ask, Should I not change the people if they commit

mistakes? Should we not change the people if the son misbehaves, the wife

misbehaves, the husband misbehaves etc? The change can be attempted

but the motive of the change will make the difference. A sasr wants to
change others so that he will be happy. For example, a sasr wants to
change the attitudes of the son or wife or brother because unless they

behave the way he wants, he cannot be peaceful. And therefore, he wants

them to change. This is sasr.

Whereas a jn may also advice others to change but whether they change

or not, the jns nand is not disturbed. If they change, it is for their own

good. Even if they continue to behave like that he wont be upset. He will be
happy if they continue in their mischevious way also. No more

expectations.

If one expects that the others should obey his commandments, then he will
be upset on disobedience. But if he says to the other that for you it is a

discipline, if you follow I will be happy and if you dont follow also I will be

happy. If this is not the case, he will also become another sasr.

We all have expectations from our children. I have expectations from my

students. Expectation is sasr whether it is from iya, or from the son,

or from the wife or from the husband or from the father or from the

mother. Therefore, nand is a state of no expectation. If at all changes are

advised for others good, it is for them to follow or not.

And if we know already that the others wont listen, next time that advice
also will not be given. Words are very precious. So next time no advice.

190 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

That is the jns attitude. In short no expectation, no reaction. I am

happy with whatever my prrabdha brings.

Now the next question is how long is this required to be practiced? Till the
reactions completely go. Just as reaction is natural to us, the

reactionlessness should become natural.

(dhtma jnavat jna dhtma jna bdhaka). Peace should

be natural. Till then continue doing nirantara abhyast. That is going to be

said in the next verse.

Verse 37

II 37

va nirantarbhyasth
brahmaivsmti vsan I
haratyavidhyvikpn
rgniva rasyanam II
va means
(prva lkkta prakra) that is

nirgua aha asmi, asaga aha asmi, kvala aha asmi, nitya aha

asmi, nirml aha asmi, shnta aha asmi - (itydi

prakra). Nirantara abhyasth it has to be practiced constantly

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 191

antara means gap. Niranrata means gaplessly which means

continuously, constantly, as often as possible.

One should not ask how we ghasts can do it. We should remember that
for ghasts alone nididhysana is more important. For sanyss

nididhysana is not at all that much important because whatever he has

heard in ravaa, there is no vtti to contradict that. Aha bhart, aha

putra, aha bhrya (itydi sanga na santi). So he

need not say aha asanga because his very sanysa rama is asanga.

Therefore, more than a sanys, for the ghast alone it is important

because for one hour he will say aha Brahma asmi and for the rest of the

time, for each person he comes across the opposite vtti will come. In front
of children he is going to become a parent. In front of the spouse he will
become the spouse husband or wife. Therefore, the ahakra vtti is

often there in ghast. So the ahakra cancellation has to be constantly

practiced.

Whenever one expects something, instead of shouting at the children, he

should go to the pja room. And then tell his self, I should not shout,

shouting is actually done more for my happiness. When one is advising the

child for the childs benefit, he will tell softly. That is the difference between
advice and reaction. Advice is always soft. Reaction is always through

shouting. Soft and shout there is a lot of difference. So whenever one

shouts he is trying to change others for his own happiness. And whenever

that tendency comes, we should withdraw and allow one or two days to
pass and again call that very same person with a balanced mind and say

softly - That day you behaved in that fashion. That should not have been

192 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

done. It is not good for you. If you follow it is fine. If they dont follow also it
will be fine. We have to remember that once the children are 18-20 years

old, we cannot command them; in fact even much earlier. As far as people
elder to us are concerned, we cannot even think of changing them. So,

therefore, when we cannot change others and if we feel that it would have

been nice if they were different but we are not able to change them, then
what to do? We have to take it as prrabdha. We are in the house. Our

elders are wrong. We cannot change them. We cannot leave the house. So

what to do?
(prrabdha

tviha bhujyatmatha parabrahmtman sthyatm). This body has come to

this life because of some prrabdh and it has to go through it. We have to

accept it as our prrabdha or vara prasda. Normally we use the word

vara prasda for a karmygi and we do not normally use it for a jna

ygi. For a jn he should say asanga aha asmi, aha akart, aha

abhokt, karmmahya na asti. Therefore, acceptance and

accommodation alone is the solution in choiceless situations. This is the

(abhysa).

So nirantara abhyasth continuous practice needs to be done.

Nididhysana should be done on Brahmaivsm, that is not just aha

Brahma asmi but aha Brahma va asmi there is no doubt at all. And just

saying Brahma will be a meaningless word. It should be followed by aha

(prsmi); aha (ntsmi) because when there is

anger instead of saying Brahmaivsm, one should say aha ntsmi. -

nti nti nti. Suppose we want something and the family is not

ready to buy it for us or the son is not going to get it for us. Then,

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 193

(tptsmi). If we get it, well and good; if not also it is fine. In all

circumstances aha tptsmi. So Brahmaivsm is a general term.

According to situation we have to convert it. Iti vsan. In some books

vsan is said but bhvan is a better word than vsan. Bhvan means

nididhysana.

(nsti buddhirayuktasya na cyuktasya

bhvan . Na cbhvayata ntirantasya kuta sukham) says Lord Ka

in the Gt .

So iti bhvana nididhysana. What will it do?

(harati avidhy vikpn). So this nididhysana removes the avidhy

vikpa. Avidhy is removed by ravaa. Nididhysana is not to

remove avidhy but avidhy vikpa which means habitual reaction. It

means (viparta bhvan). So it is for removing avidhy

vikpn, avidhy janya mhn, avidhy janya viparta pratyayn. We

should also include the pratyay that I will become liberated when will I
become liberated? All these are avidhy vikpa only. Will I get at least

krama mukt? All these are vikpas.

So avidhy vikpn harati completely removes. What is the example?

Rgniva rasyana. Rasyana means (auada) i.e. medicine. So

yath rgn rasyana iva harati, va. Rasyana is to remove the arra

rga. Nididhysana is to remove man rga. Rasyana is meant to

remove vydhi, nididhysana is meant to remove dhi. And here also

time is involved. Even after the medicine is taken and even after the illness

194 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

is cured, it takes sometime like convalescence. The disease is gone but at

the same time one has not acquired his fullest capacity. Similarly this fellow

is also in an intermediary stage. He has understood Vdnt but still he has

not become a (nivn) established in that. That duration is

called nididhysana duration because even during the convalenscence

period he cannot afford to be careless. He has to be careful. Because

(jyat viayn pus) he could get struck again. So
(rasavarja ras'pyasya para dv

nivartat). The persisting taste for the sense objects also disappears in the
case of the man of stable mind when he realizes the Supreme says Lord

Ka in the Gt .

During that period also some of the disciplines should be followed. And

then jna ni means (sarvath

vartamn'pi sayg mayi vartat) after that there will be no problem. He

will be completely healthy. So rgniva rasyana is an example which we

should remember. We should note all the examples given in the lks

because it is very good for meditation. Pjya Svmi Daynanda Sarasvat

always says that tm bdh is good for meditation because we can take

one lk and with the example if we meditate on that, it will be very very

easily assimilated.

Verse 38

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 195

II 38

viviktada sn
virg vijitndriya I
bhvaydkamtmna
tamanantamananyadh II
Here he gives some instructions for nididhysana. What is that? Vivikta

da sna. We have seen that in the Gt and in Kaivalypaniat

(viviktad ca sukhsanastha uci samagrvaira arra

Kaivalypaniat). Then in Chapter 13 of Gt

(viviktadasvitvamaratirjanasasadi).

Vivikta d means (vijana prad) in a secluded place, in a

quiet place; sna one cannot do meditation standing and therefore

sna sitting in a comfortable posture. And all other details we have to

take from the Gt and Kaivalypaniat - how to sit, how to control the

breathing etc. And thereafterwards, vijita indriya restrain all the sense

organs; both jnndriya and karmndriya

(vijitni daa indriyi yna sa) so body discipline, indriya
discipline etc must be followed.

196 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Next is virga mental discipline; without any rga attachment. Because

once rga comes, krdha and bhaya will always follow. Rga, bhaya and

krdha always go together. Once there is a rga we will find that there will
be a worry. So worry about our children will be directly proportional to

our attachment. So the bhaya will always be there where there is rga, if

not forever, at least temporarily.

Then he says, ananya dh iti buddhi without fixing the buddhi on

anything else. Anya dh means thinking of others. Ananya dh means not

thinking of anything else. So ,

(anyasmina viay dh yasya sa anya dh, na anya

dh ananya dh).

And then what should be done? ka ananta ta tmna bhvayt.

That is why earlier I said that bhvan was a better word. So the verb

bhvayt means nididhyst. One should meditate upon that tm para

tmna, nirgua, nicala, nitya nirmlmdi jagat adhihna

bhta bhvayt. Aha pra, aha tpta. I dont worry about

anything. Let things happen according to prrabdh. I will accept

everything. I dont know the future. But whatever is future I will welcome

and accept. Wherever I can change I will try to change but whether things
change or not either way it is OK. As Brahman, I am all accommodative.

Brahman accommodates all. I am also ready to accommodate all. So ka

is non-dual. Ananta is limitless. tmna is the self - bhvayt.

Verse 39

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 197

II 39

tmanyvkhila dya
pravilpya dhiy sudh I
bhvaydkamtmna
nirmalkavatsad II
This is a continuation of nididhysana. In this lk, the jagan mithytva

buddhi is emphasized. Previously aha satya, aha brahma, dk

svarpa aha was emphasized. Now here the dya jagat is being

falsified. As long as reality is attributed to the universe, strong reactions

cannot be avoided. Reaction is directly proportional to ones satyatva

buddhi. Reaction means both rga reaction as well as dva reaction. On

the other hand if the whole dya prapaca is understood as nma rpa
superimposed on me, thereafterwards, the acceptance will be easy.

For example, imagine loss of something. If we take that something as nma

rpa we will see that something only as a change of nma rpa which is

natural. In fact we are all nothing but nma rpa bundles only. As long as

we understand this, it is OK but once the nma rpa is given more and

more reality then it becomes difficult to accept the disappearance of our

own body or another body. If we are absorbed in the wave nma rpa, the

destruction of the wave will disturb us but if we know that wave is mithy,
water is satya, the arrival and that the departure of the wave is a natural
phenomenon in fact it is a beauty to the ocean we will not be disturbed

198 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

when a wave goes away. Why are we able to enjoy the waves coming and
going? Because we are all wave jns! Because we all know that waves

come and go. We are all water di sarvatra. But imagine if we get attached
to one particular wave. Then we will find that when that wave goes, we will
be upset.

Similarly in any nma rpa we give reality to, i.e we have satyatva buddhi,
that particular nma rpa will create a hell. We dont require many nma

rpas to create sorrow. We require only one nma rpa. Even for a sanys
(kamaalu) is enough to disturb. Why kamaalu a

(kaupna) is enough a rag is enough to disturb. Therefore,

(sarva jagat dya tmani va pravilpya).

The whole creation should be resolved in me. This is a technical

expression. Resolution means the world does not exist different from me.

This understanding is called resolution.

(dk vilakaa dya nsti iti bhvan va

pravilpana). All are technical words.

As I said the other day, what is the destruction of pot in Vdnt? In the
case of other people the destruction of pot means breaking it. But a

Vdntin destroys the pot with his eyes - (darana mtra)

and what is that darana? There is no pot other than clay. Once one

understands this, the pot is resolved into clay. So

Jva Brahma Aikya ravaa, Manana, Nidhidhysana 199

(ghaa pravilpana nma md

vyatiriktatay ghaa nsti iti darana va).

And this itself if we put in another language, it becomes mithytva buddhi.

Just like a hall fitted fully with mirrors. What happens? We see our

reflections all over. But we very well know that except our own self, all

others are mere reflections - mithy va. And when we come out what

happens? Pravilpana. All reflections have resolved into us. So he says

(akhila dya tmani va

pravilpya). One should resolve the whole dya prapaca into ones own

self. And in this the most important word is dhy. It means wisdom. It all

rests in ones understanding only. There is no mysticism. In ghaa

pravilpana what is the mysticism? There is no mysticism. It is only a

clear understanding. Wisdom alone is involved. Sudh means a vivki, a

jn. So a jn should resolve the entire objective universe into him by

seeing that there is no objective universe other than him. Thus tmnam

bhvayt Thus he should mediate upon himself.

Once we know dya prapaca does not exist separate from us, how many
things are there now? Only one - ka because the whole thing has been

resolved into me. Previously when we saw the waves, there was plurality
but when the waves have resolved into water, how many things are there.
Can we count the water, ocean, waves etc. separately? Certainly not.

Similarly the whole prapaca is nma rpa and the content of the whole

prapaca is aha (mayyva sakala jta).

Therefore, in that lk he said (tad brahma

200 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

advaya asmi). The world doesnt exist separate from me. Therefore, he

says ka tmnam bhvayt. And here what is the example?

Nirmalkavat. Like the k which is ever nirml. Nirml means it

is free from everything. Even though clouds are there, they do not belong to
the k kasya asagatvt. Similarly I dk on the satya and I am

not connected to the dya prapaca because it is mithy. And when should
one meditate? He says sad always.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 201

Jna Phala

Verse 40

Jna Phala 203

II 40

rpavardika sarva
vihya paramrthavit I
paripracidnanda svarpva tihat II
With the previous lk nididhysana topic is over, which started from

nirgu i.e lks 34 to 39.

Now from lk 40 onwards we are getting the phala that is ravaa

manana nidhidhysana phala or jna phala. And what is the phala?

(ni) (tmani ni Brahmai

ni). We can call (sthitha praja) as in 2nd chapter of the Gt ,

we can call par bhakti as in 12th chapter, we can say gutt as in 14th

chapter or we can say jvan mukt. This word is not used in Gt , but we

can say that also. So from lk 40 onwards till the end of tma bdha we
are getting jvana mukti mainly and here and there, vidha mukti is also
talked about.

What does this jvan mukt do? He says rpa vardika sarva vihya

paramrthavit. So the subject of the lk is paramrthavit which means

Brahma vit. Paramrtha means parama artha here artha means

vastu. In some places paramrtha would refer to parama purushrtha

204 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

because artha can also denote purushrtha. But here artha means

vastu reality. And parama artha means the absolute reality. Vit means
(vtti iti vit) Brahma vit ityartha. So, paramrthavit,

Brahma vit, jn sarva rpa vardika vihya vihya means tyaktv

katha tyaktv? Mithytvat buddhy tyaktv. Giving up the mithytva

buddhi is the sacrifice. Otherwise we cannot give up the body. If we give up

the body, it will mean death. And not only that we cannot give up anything.
Why we cannot give up can anyone guess? Because once we know aha

Brahma everything exists in Brahman only. Therefore I the Brahman

cannot give up anything. Sannys is impossible. In fact the one who

takes up sannys is an ajn really speaking. This is a secret. Just think

about it. What can one really give up? Everything is in Brahman. Then what
is giving up? .
(tatra mithytva

buddhi va sannysa. Brahma vyatiriktatay yat kicit vastu nsti iti

di va yathrtha sannysa). Therefore, a true sannys, a vidvat
sannys can never try to escape from the problems.

And therefore, sarva vihya sarva means rpa vardika. So form,

colour or varna can be taken or varramas like brahma, katriya

etc. also can be taken because it is very difficult to give up the abhimna.
Even among sannyss, people ask whether you are brahma sannys!!!

The very purpose to taking up sannys is to get rid of these problems and

then where is the question of special treatment for a brahma sannys, a

katriya sannys etc. It is all not at all according to str. So vara and
then jti kula etc. - all those things vihya. Then what does he do?

Jna Phala 205

Paripra cidnanda svarpa paripra cit and paripra nanda

avatihat means abides. We should understand every word clearly. This

should not be understood as sitting in one corner in nirvikalpaka samdhi

abiding in Brahman. There is no question of that because everybody is

always abiding in Brahman only. And Brahman is not confined to a corner.

If so, one can go and sit in one corner and become a jn!!!

So abiding in Brahman means that not forgetting the knowledge that I am

Brahman (jna avismti va ni). Not

forgetting this alone is ni. When? When the problem comes because only

then Vdnt becomes more relevant. And therefore, we should not forget

especially when there are problems any kind of problem. So we get the

word ni from the word avatihat. Lord K expounds this in the 2nd

chapter
( brhm sthita

prtha nain prpya vimuhyati). He says to Arjuna, such is the state of

the God-realized soul that is a person who has given up all desires, and
moves free from attachment, egoism and thirst for enjoyment; having
reached this state, he overcomes delusion.

This na vimuhyati is what connotes jna avismti hyati means forgotten

na muhyati means he never forgets Vdnt.

Verse 41

II 41

206 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

jtjnajyabhda
par ntmani vidhyat I
cidnandaikarpatvt
dpyat svayamva hi II

In the previous lk he said paramrtha vit i.e. paramrtha vtti iti

paramrtha vit. That means that a jn knows Brahman. It is like Brahma

vit. The moment cry uses the expression that the jn knows Brahman
it would mean that Brahman is the object and jn is the subject, knowing
is the instrument pramt, prama, pramya tripu gat. So what?

Immediately dvaita will rush in. So if the word knowledge is used, it can

create problem. Therefore, here akarcry says knowledge is only a

word used because we want to say that he does not have ignorance. So
when we say he knows Brahman, it only means that he does not have

ignorance about Brahman. That is all the meaning to it. It does not mean

that he knows Brahman as an object.

He doesnt have ignorance of Brahman means that he doesnt struggle to

know Brahman. He doesnt know Brahman.

(nha

any suv dti ). And suppose we want to know Brahan? If we ask a

sasr whether you know Brahman? He will say I dont know". But if we

ask him do you want to know Brahman? He will say yes yes I want to

know Brahman; I am a seeker he will say. If we ask a jn, whether you

know Brahman? He will not say I know Brahman. But if we ask him do
you want to know Brahman. He will say I dont want to. Why? Because

he will say I am Brahman. Therefore, the jn doesnt say I know

Brahman. Jn doesnt say I dont know Brahman. His struggles stop.

Jna Phala 207

(tma jna nma tm

jijs nivtti va). Or Brahma jna nma Brahma jijs nivtti va.

Here there is no question of knower, known, knowledge plurality.

That is what he says here jt jna jya bhda. Jt means knower

the pramt; Jna means prama or instrument. Many people

translate as knowledge but better translation is knowing instrument;

then jya known object or knowable object. So pramt, prama,

pramya bhda; vikalpa tripu. Par tmani na vidhyat these are

not there in the para tm.

If the tripu is not there how can knowledge take place? I have already told
you that tm jna is not an event. It is not an incident. It is not a

happening. So there is no question of tm jna taking place because

tm is sarvad prakamna vartat. Therefore, he says cidnanda ka

rpatvt.

Since it is in the form advaya non-dual cit and non-dual nanda, he uses
the word ka is because here the vtti jna is not involved. Vtti is

necessary to illumine an object. Vriiti is not necessary to illumine tm, the

awareness itself. Therefore, when vtti is, tm shines and illumines the

vtti and when vtti is not, still tm shines illumining the absence of vtti
also. It is svaya sphurati shines on its own; self effulgent. That is what

he says cidnanda ka rpatvt svayamva tat sphurati.

208 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 42

II 42

vamtmraau dhyna mathan satata kt I

uditvagatirjvl
sarvjnndhana daht II

Now here nididhysana and phala are mentioned with an example. He

quotes the famous example of arai mathana which comes in one of the

upaniads.

In the olden days the fire was produced by the churning of arai wood. A

lower arai with a scoop would be there. And an upper arai which fits into
that will also be there and by churning both the fire was produced. This is
the example.

Similarly here what is the arai? tm araau. tm here means

antahkraa and not sacchidnanda tm - the nididhysakas

antahkraa, the students antahkraa. The upper arai is mentioned

here but we should understand it as the Vdnta vkys. So Vdnta vkys

should be fixed in the mind and the churning is nothing but

(ravaa manana nidhidhysanni), because each of them

is centered on mahvkyas only. We listen to mahvkya, we analyse

mahvkya and we mediate also on the same mahvkya alone and

Jna Phala 209

ravaa manana nidhidhysana is mathana. Mahvkya is the upper

rod.

vam tmraau dhyna mathan satata kt sati- when is this to be

done? Satata means constantly. How long? - Till the fire comes. By this

churning udita avagati jvl so here the fire is compared to the

knowledge. Jna is the agni. And as Svmiji said agni has got two jobs.

It illumines and it destroys. Similarly tm jna illumines Brahman and

also it destroys karm. (pa dahati). So it destroys all the

karms - (sarvi karmi).

(jngni sarva karmi bhasmast kurut tath). Jna

destroys all karms also. And when we say all karms, sacita karm is

destroyed, gmi karm is destroyed, and prrabdha karm is falsified.

Prrabdha karm is not destroyed but he doesnt have satyatva buddhi in

prrabdha karm.

Then avagati means this (saaya

viparta bhvan rahita jna). Habitual reaction should have gone. Udita
means born. So the flames of tm jna will burn down all the fuels

called ajna ajna indhana daht. Just as agni burns the indhana,

jna burns ajna. And once ajna is gone,

(bhidyat hdaya granthi chidyant sarva saay)

etc. (Brahmnand ygnanda) all of them we have to

take.

210 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Verse 43

II 43

arunva bdhna
prva santamas ht I
tata virbhavdtm
svayamvumniva II
Here he clarifies the idea which he has already stated before. The tma

jna has got only one job which is destroying ajna and for that vtti
vypti alone is necessary. tm jna need not illumine the tm

because tm is svaya praka rpa. Phala vypti is not necessary. But

in the case of ghaa jna, it has got both the jobs. Ghaa jna destroys

ignorance, it is called vtti vypti. Ghaa jna illumines the pot. It is

called phala vypti. Thus destruction and illumination two jobs are there

in antm jna. In tm jna there is only one job i.e. destruction of

ignorance. Mgh apy aumn iva. Once the cloud is gone Srya shines

by itself. That is what he says here.

Prva santamas ht sati once the tamas or the ajna is removed by

vtti jna bdhna refers to the vtti jna aha Brahma asmi iti

vtti jnna; Brahmkra vtti jnna; tmkra vtti jnna;

santamas tamas means darkness. Santamas means dense darkness or

pitch darkness, as it is said; ht means removed; na, nait, nivrit etc.

Tata thereafterwards; the vtti jna is no more necessary to illumine

Jna Phala 211

the tm because tm is (svayamva virbhavt)

tm comes to light by itself. So vi means praka. So virbhavt means

prak bhavt sphurt. tm svayamva sphurt. tm svayamva

prakta. We dont require any further effort on our part.

And for this, an example is given of the Sun rise. Aruna santamas ht

sati - the word santamas is common for both the contexts. So arua is the

light of the Sun even before the arrival of the Sun itself; even before the

Sunrise i.e. the light of the dawn. So this arua removes the darkness of the
night. And once the arua has removed the darkness of the night, soon

thereafter svayamva aumn virbhavati the Sun comes to

manifestation by itself. Similarly,he says bdhna ajn nit sati tm

svayamva virbhavati. Like what? Aumn iva like the Srya. So the
idea is that all the effort involved on our part is only in removing the
covering, the veil of varaa akti.

In Pacadasi another example is given. In a dark room there is a candle

light which is lit. And there is another candle which is not lit. And imagine

both of them are covered by a pot. So a dark room with a lighted candle and
a candle which is not lit and both of them are covered by a pot. Now when

we want to know the lighted candle we have to remove the pot, and as even
we remove, the lighted candle is recognized. We have only one job to do.

That is (varaa nivtti mtra). The candle need not

be illumined because it is svaya prakat. But nearby there is another

candle and covered by the pot. To recognize that candle we have two jobs.
One we have to remove the pot. Even then we cannot see it because the

room is dark. Thereafter, either we have to light the candle or we have to

212 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

have a torch light. Removing the pot is vtti vypti. Lighting the candle is

phala vypti. In the case of a lighted candle, vtti vypti alone will do. The
torch light or phala vypti is not necessary. Similarly tm is like the

lighted candle. Ajna is like a pot. Bdh is like removing the pot. And
once the pot is removed tm svaya prakat.

Verse 44

II 44

tm tu satata prpt
apyaprptavadavidhyy I
tann prptavadbhti
svakahbharaa yath II
Some times examples can create more problems because in the last verse

the srya udaya example was given. And in that example, there was a time

when the Sun was not visible and there is a time when the Sun arrives.

, (prva aprpta, pact prpta).

This may lead one to think that tm also is an aprpta vastu before

sdhan. That is, it is deep like the Sun, under the ocean or on the other

side of the earth and tm also is hiding behind paca ks. And then he

may think that by doing sdhans, he has to remove ks one by one and

Jna Phala 213

slowly tm will come up and at last the flash of the tm will come like

the Sun. One is bound to make this imagery, if the example is taken literally.

And that is why here akarcrya says that there is no such thing called

tm prpti. There is no question of tm prpti i.e. attaining the tm,

meeting tm, merging into tm none of them happen because tm tu

satata prpta. And that is why we call tm is siddha vastu. Siddha vastu
means ever available as aha. Aha aha iti rpa sarv, sarvad,

sarvatra siddha va tm; whereas the antm is always sdhya i.e. to

be attained in time. And therefore, he says tm tu satata prpta tm

is available all the time.

Then he says api which means yadhyapi even though that is the fact.

Aprptavat bhti it appears as though tm is not attained. Sdhyavat

bhti looks like something to be attained.

Then one may say that no body says that I want to attain tm. So how do
you say tm can become sdhya? tm can become sdhya only if
people go in search of tm.

Remember when we say tm is siddha, what is tm svarpa?

nanda. So nanda is siddha. tm siddha means nanda siddha

already attained. And therefore, whenever one goes in search of nanda

he is actually going in search of tm only. So one need not specifically go

in search of tm. Whenever one goes in search of peace, whenever he asks

for security, you are he is seeking tm alone. And akarcrya says that

the very seeking is born out of avidhy. It is because of

(mha

mati). That is what he says Bhaja gvinda. ,

214 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(Bhaja gvinda bhaja gvinda, gvinda bhaja

mha mat). Here akarcrya uses the word mha mati in two
meanings.

He is addressing all of us as mha mat. But someone can object. He may

ask what right akarcrya has got to call us mha mat? If such an
objection is raised, akarcrya will say I am not calling you mha

mat; I am addressing my own mind mh mati.

(tat

purua samsa). So the first is (bahuvrhi) - mha mati yasya

sa h mha mat. Now if we object, he will say I am addressing my own

mind; h mha mat; hey my mind! So there is a double meaning to the

word.

Similarly avidhyay aprpti iva mha mati cintayati. And therefore, the

distance between mk and me is purely ignorance. There is no da

distance i.e. distance in terms of space. There is no kla vyavadhnam -

vyavadhnam means distance or separation. There is no da

vyavadhnam. There is only avidhy vyavadhnam. And therefore, there is

no question of when will I get mk? The question itself is wrong. And

where will I get mk? That is also wrong. Mk is here and now if

only we are ready to own it up. Therefore, he says tann means avidhy

n sati prptavat bhti tm is attained, mk is attained. Remember

tm prpti and mk prapti are synonymous. There are not two different

processes. tm prpti va mk prpti. Mk prpti va nanda

prpti, pratva prpti, tpti prpti. And here also akarcrya is very
careful, he uses the word prptavadbhti.

Jna Phala 215

After knowledge, tm seems to be attained by me; mk seems to be

attained by me. At that time mk is not really attained because what is

away from me alone can be attained. What is always my nature can never
be attained. Then why do we use the word prpti? The sense of loss is

gone. So here the attainment is the sense of loss of the feeling that I dont
have peace, I dont have nanda. So now after knowledge, I dont miss

nanda anymore this bhrnti nivtti alone is prpti. Like what?

Example is given famous example svakahbharaa yath - like

getting back the (bharaa) - ornaments, which was all the time

in ones own neck.

Lets take a contemporary example. These days spectacles are joined to

some mls. And when one is not wearing the specs the presence of ml is
felt. And when the specs are put on the ml cannot be seen nor felt. It

would be at the back. Now suppose someone without realizing that the
specs was put on, starts searching for the ml. He or she would run

around all the places to search for the ml without realizing that the ml
was always in the neck only. Only after some running and searching, he or

she will realize the fact that the ml was always there in the neck.

So now the question is whether the running was necessary? Till he or she
ran around, there was this struggle for searching. The struggle stopped
only after he ran around in search. At the same time was this running

necessary? It can be said that it was not necessary because the ml was
always in the neck. So what do we say? Running was necessary to know

running was not necessary. Similarly sdhan is necessary to know that

216 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

sdhan is not at all necessary. tm siddha. So

(siddhatva jnrtha sdhanni na tu

sdhyartha sdhanni). So how long will the teacher ask the student to

do sdhan? Till the student asks why should there be sdhan? The

moment that question comes; the answer will be no more sdhan is

necessary. So the ball is in the students court only. So as long as the

student asks is sdhan necessary, the teacher will say it is necessary.

But if the student asks why it is necessary because I am nitya mukt

svarp then the teacher will say it is not necessary.

Verse 45

II 45

sthau puruavadbhrnty
kt brahmai jvat I
jvasya tttvik rp
tasmind nivartat II
He uses another nice way of putting Brahma prpti. The word Brahma

prpti seems to be a confusing word, because when we say Brahma

prpti, it looks as though someone is attaining Brahman. And then

naturally there will be a tripu there will be somebody who attains, there

is something which is attained, and if it is attained, it will be later lost also

all these problems will arise if the word prpti is used. akarcrya

analyses this elaborately in (Taittirypaniat). The first

Jna Phala 217

sentence itself is (Brahmavit pnti para). What

is the meaning of pnti? Because if you say mk is attained, there will

be a problem. Therefore, to avoid this problem, akarcrya puts it in a

different language. Brahma prpti is equal to abrahmatva nivtti. So

Brahma prpti is removing the thought or idea that I am not Brahman.

Brahma prpti nma abrahmatva nivtti. That is aha abrahma asmi.

When we say aha manuya, aha sthla all these are abrahmatva
only or to put it in a different language jvatva buddhi. Jvatva buddhi

nivtti va Brahmatva prpti. So therefore he says, brahmai jvat

bhrnty kt i.e even though I am all the time Brahman, I have

superimposed jvatva buddhi. Aha paricchinna- which he had already

said before paricchinna ivjnt tann sati kvala. So aha jva,

aha kart, aha bhkt, aha jta, aha mariy etc. So jva

brahmai kt. Kt means kalpit, adhyast, adhyrpit. Then what will

happen? Tttvik tasmin rp d sati - tttvika rpa is Brahma

svarpa va. Tasmin rp d sati when the original nature of the

jva is recognized. Here the word d should not be taken literally

because we dont see the tttvika rpa. So here d means

(aparki kt sati) when it is owned up as me. What happens?

nivartat. Jvatva buddhi goes away. And that is called Brahma prpti.

And here another example is given sthau puruavat. Just as the purua.

Here purua should be specially taken as a thief stna purua. So there

is a sthu the trunk of a tree. And it has been cut off and there are only

two branches left. And some leaves or twigs are also there. And when one
looks at it in semi darkness, the trunk of a tree looks like a man standing

218 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

and the two branches look like hands. The leaves and twigs which are there
look like fingers. And there is a breeze because of which the fingers seem to
be moving. This fellow, who is seeing the tree, has already read some ghost
book or some book regarding thieves, robbery etc. So he has those

terrifying thoughts only. He takes the tree for a thief and gets terrified first.

But when he picks up the courage and goes near the tree, then sthau

purua bhrnti udti. And what happens,? He understands sthu as

thu. The sthu purua buddi nivartat; Stna buddi nivartat. He

gets enlightened that the tree was not a thief he had imagined. And once

this stna buddi is gone (tat kta bhaya api

nivartat).

Here also the crya uses the word Brahmai i.e. I am Brahman and I have
got jvatva buddhi and once Brahman is known as Brahman, the jvatva

buddhi (apagacchati) goes away. Alongwith the jvatva

buddhi bhaya also goes away.

We have a wonderful exposition in Taittirypaniat -

(ady'ntmy'nirukt'nilayan'bhaya pratih vindat. Atha

s'bhaya gat bhavati). This verse says that when the tman attains
fearless oneness with the Brahman, who is invisible, incorporeal,

undefined, abodeless, then he comes free from fear. On the other hand,

- I (yad hyvaia

tasminnudara-mantara kurut. Atha tasya bhaya bhavati). When,

however, this tman makes even the slightest distinction in Brahman; then

Jna Phala 219

there is a fear for him. That Brahman Himself becomes the source of fear

for him. That is, one will be fearless as long as I am understood as I am

but the very same I become bhaya hetu if I am understood wrongly.

Therefore, sthau puruavat jvat nivartat. And this jvatva nivttih is

called Brahmatva prpti. There is no other Brahmatva prpti. So it is

more a viyga rather than yga.

(ta vidhy dukha sayga viyga yga sahita). So we dont attain

Brahman, we are just rejecting the jvabuddi because aha sarvad

Brahmaiva.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 221

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta

Verse 46

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 223

II 46

tattvasvarpnubhavt
utpanna jnamajas I
aha mamti cjna
bdhat digbhramdivat II

Further phala of ajna nivtti is given. For example, taking the rope

snake example, rajju jna destroys rajju ajna directly. It destroys

some other things also. Whatever is born out of ajna is also destroyed.

, ,
(ajna janya yat kicit vartat, ajna krya yat kicit

vartat, tadpi jna nayati). And what is born out of rajju ajnaa?
Sarpa adhysa, sarpa bhranti, sarpa kalpan. All these are products of
ignorance. And once the ajna is gone ajna being kraam and

sarpa bhrama being krya kraa n krya na. Once ajna

goes, adhys also goes away. So therefore, jna does not directly

destroy adhys the snake. Jna only directly destroys ignorance. And

once ignorance is gone, the by- products are also gone which are the

adhysa nivtti or sarpa nivtti.

Similarly Brahma jna destroys what? Brahma ajna .That alone is

the direct result. Jna cannot do anything else. But jna need not do

because Brahma ajna alone is the kraam for all our sasr. So

224 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

ajna is the kraam and jvat or sasritva adhysa is the krya.

And Brahma jna pulls the carpet. Similarly ajna is the carpet over

which all the sasr are there jvatva, sasra, sukha, dukha,

kma, krdha all are on the ajna carpet. The Brahma jna just

removes the kraam i.e. the carpet and thus the krya nayati. That is
what he says.

But instead of using the word jvatva and sasra, akarcrya uses

the word ahakra and mamakra. So here sasr is referred to aha

or aha kra. Iti ajna here ajna means adhysa. So aha,

mama iti adhysa or bhrnti, error, confusion etc.which is born out of

ignorance.

So therefore he says, tattva svarpa anubhavt utpanna jna the

knowledge that is born out of tattva svarpa anubhava anubhava is a

word often used in Vdnt and this word should not be translated as

experience. If we use the word experience without proper understanding,

one may be led to think that it is some mystical peculiar experience. So it is

better to translate as aparka jna. Anubhava means aparka

jna i.e. knowing myself as Brahman and not coming through any new

experience but I who am all the time experienced, that ever available
experience is Brahman.

If one says that aparka jna alone he calls as experience, then there is

no harm. But generally whenever we use the word experience, our vsan
is to imagine an unknown new experience. So since there is a wrong

connotation for the word experience, we should be careful. Otherwise if we

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 225

give a technical connotation, the word experience is OK. But we should

understand, it is not a new experience because tm anubhava is not an

event. tm anubhava is available to everyone even now. Pratibdh

vidhitam matam. So therefore, tattva svarpa anubhavt utpanna jna

the knowledge that is born; what does it do? ajas straightaway,

immediately, without any gap; that is between jna utpatti and ajna

nivtti there is no gap. It is like eating and kudh nivtti hunger remover.
Not that we have our lunch at 12 noon and slowly the hunger goes away

and by 1.30 all the hunger is completely gone. It doesnt happen like that.
The moment we eat the hunger vanishes.

Whereas in certain cases the phala is slow. If we sow a seed, it will

become a tree only much later. Thus there are two types of kraa krya.

In certain kraa krya there is a big gap, whereas in certain kraa

krya there is no gap at all. All these akarcrya discusses in

(Knpaniat bhya). (Samanantara

phala) that which gives immediate result. Similarly

(jna prpti mtrdva phala ajna nivtti). That

is why the use of the word ajas, sksht, sadya. It removes what? Aha,

mama iti ca ajna - the error, the adhys in the form of aha, mama

etc.

Or we can give another interpretation also. Ajna ca aha mama iti

adhysa ca. We gave the meaning adhysa for ajna itself. If we take
ajna as adhysa then we will have to supply ajna afresh in the

verse. If we take ajna as ajna, then we have to supply adhysa in

the verse. In short, both should be there. Therefore, aha mama iti

226 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

adhysa ajna ca. Aha mamti adhysa is krya and ajna is

kraam. Jna destroys both; one directly and another indirectly.

Ajna is destroyed directly and the adhysa is destroyed indirectly.

And for this he gives an example.

Bdhat digbhramdivat. Digbhrama means confusion regarding direction.

Bdhat means destroys. For example, if a person doesnt know which is

East? It is a cloudy day. So he cannot spot the Sun. But this person wants to
know the East direction for some purpose. So he has got Eastern ajna

ajna of the East. And he asks somebody which is the Eastern direction?

That person points to a direction and tells, This is East. And this vaky
i.e. iyam prva dik this is East direction the moment this statement is
given, it destroys the ignorance of the seeker of the direction. This is the

direct and immediate result. The indirect result is, once he has removed the
ignorance of the East, the ignorance of the West is gone. So therefore, when

one ignorance goes, it automatically destroys all other ignorance also which

is the by-product of the first knowledge. Similarly Brahma jna removes

only tm ajna and as a by-product all other errors also go away.

Therefore, the example is by the destruction of one error, other errors are

also destroyed. So he says bdhat digbhramdivat. We can take any

number of examples.

Let us briefly recap the main discussions from lk 40 onwards.

Jna phala is being pointed out in all these lks and when we say

jna phala it means the phala of the knowledge which has been made

free from saay and viparyay through manana and nidhidhysana.

The idea is that jna is jna only when it is free from all types of

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 227

doubts.
(Nisaaya jnava jna

ityuchyat), because as long as saaya is there, doubts are there,

jna will not be allowed to give liberation or fructify into mk. Jna
will be stultified by the doubt. And that is why saaya is called

(pratibandha). Pratibandha means obstacle. And as long as obstacles are

there, jna will be there inside but the shnti will not be there because

at crucial momements we will begin to doubt Vdnt itself. In the quiz,

answers will be correctly given. So one will be able to answer all questions

of Vdnt but it would not have entered his heart because in one corner of

his intellect he would be questioning the whole thing. And therefore,

saaya is a pratibandha for knowledge and as long as the pratibandha is

there, knowledge will not be allowed to bless us.

And saaya sahita jna is called (sappratibhdhaka

jna) jna with obstacles. And like saaya there is another

obstacle also and that is our old habits which we call as viparyaya which is
also another obstacle. And as long as this obstacle is there, jna will

remain in one corner of our intellect and our behaviour like kma, krdha,
irritation, depression etc. will continue. It will be a peculiar combination

like sometimes we have the Sun and rain at the same time. So we have got a
peculiar stage where Vdnt has been understood but still anger, desire,
jealousy, depression, sorrow, fear, anxiety etc. all continue. And this is

called the obstacle. And then also the jna is called sappratibhdhaka

jna. Manana is to remove the pratibandha called saay and

nidhidhysana is to remove the pratibandha called habitual reaction.

Consciously we have to remove anger; consciously we have to remove

228 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

irritation when provocation comes. And once these two pratibandhas are
gone then alone the knowledge becomes complete. Sappratibandhaka

jnam becomes appratibandhaka jna.

And we should rememeber that whenever we use the word jna it

means appratibandhaka jna. Jna deserves the name jna only

when it is appritibandhaka jna. So if one asks if the light is there, then

one need not ask if electricity is there because light can burn only if

electricity is there. A light will be light only when the power is there. As

long as the power is not there, the light will be useless. Similary here also

jna will light up into mk only when there is appratibandha. And

therefore, whenever I say jna phala, it should be understandand that I

am referring to appratibandhaka jna phala.

Now what is the phala? He has got (advait di). He has got

(pra di). He has got (jagan mithytva

di) etc.

Verse 47

II 47

samyak vijnavn yg
svtmanyvkhila jagat I
ka ca sarvamtmnam
kat jnacaku II

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 229

So here also the vision of a jn is being stated. How does he look at the

world? He says samyak vijnavn yg. Vijnavn means a jn who

has got vijna that means aparka jna. Vi stands for

(via). ( bhda rahita jna) is called vijna. And

the word samyak indicates that it is free from saaya (dha).

So vijnavn has completed ravaa. From the word samyak, we can

know that he has no more doubts left. So manana is also over. And then

yg indicates that he has done nididhysana also. Yga means

nididhysana. Yg means the one who has done nididhysana also.

Therefore, he doesnt have viparta bhvan also. So samyak vijnavn

yg is saaya viparyaya rahita jn.

kat he sees; akhila jagat sva tmani va kat he sees the whole

universe as resting in himself. This is not a new idea. He has said that in one
of the previous lks - tmanyvkhila dya pravilpya in that lk

we have already seen this idea. There he used the word dya and here he

uses the word jagat that is the whole antm prapaca is a krya of me,

the tm, and since it is krya it doesnt have an existence separate from
me the kraam. Therefore, it is nma rpa mtra vcrambhaa.

Since the jagat is nma rpa, since the jagat is mithy, it does not have an

independent existence. (viva

darpaa dyamna nagaritulya nijntargatha). The universe, like even

the city being seen in the mirror, is within oneself. So sva tmni va

akhila.In the 6th chapter of Gt , Lord K says

230 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(sarvabhtasthamtmna sarvabhtni ctmani).

That is what he says here sarvabhtni jagat svtmni.

Now the question is whether he is referring to jvtm or paramtm? As

long as he remains as jvtm he will not say the world is in me, he will
say I am in the world. As long as I am wave, I will say I am born in the

ocean, I am existing in the ocean, I will resolve into the ocean as a wave.

But once I know I am the water the very content, I can say the very ocean
is existing in me only. There is no wave or ocean without me. Therefore,

whether I am in the ocean or whether ocean is in me depends upon my

own vision only. As a wave I am created but as water I am the creator. As

antm I am created. As tm I am the creator. As object I am created but

as subject I am the creator. As arra I am created and as arr I am the

creator. Whether we want to be arra or arr is our choice. There is no

distance between the two. Only we have to have a small shift in the vision

to say aha Brahma asmi. What is the distance between wave and water?

There is no distance. Therefore, with a small shift in the vision, one can
become a jn. So simple it is.

Then why do some people say that it is very difficult? When a person is
loose minded we will say it is difficult. And when a person becomes

frightenened we will say susukha kartu avyaya. Then what is the fact?
The fact is that it is neither difficult nor easy. If one is prepared it is easy

but if one is unprepared it is difficult.

(kurasya dhr niit duratyay durga patha)- the path is difficult to

cross like the sharpened edge of the razor. Kahpaniat itself says it is

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 231

very difficult. And when there is bhaya, it will say

(susukha kartu avyaya) very easy to practise and imperishable.

Not only that, now all the antms been resolved into tm. So there is no

difference between antm and tm vijtya bheda has gone. But now
one may then think that there are so many tms - so sajtya bheda still

exists. One may think, here is one tm, there is one tm etc. That bheda

also must go away. Because once the body is resolved then there is no

difference between tm in this body and tm in the other body.

(ktraj cpi m viddhi sarvaktru

bhrata) says Lord K in the Gt . Therefore, what is the next job?

(kaca sarva tmna).

So every jvtm is none other than one paramtm only. So first, tm

antm bheda is negated. Then tm tm bheda is negated. Then what is

left (ka

va advitya sajtya vijtya svagata bhda rahita Brahma).

Does that mean he will no more see the world because kat is said? It

means he sees everything in himself. Does it literally mean that is

everything exists in his mind? NO. The idea is that the sense organs will

continue to see the world externally only. But even though the sense organs
see the world externally, his intelligence, and his wisdom tells him that

everything is in himself only. Therefore, (katva darana) is

232 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

not with the physical eyes. katva darana is with the wisdom eye
(jna caku kat).

Like what? I continue to see the waves and even as I see the waves, I say
there is no wave. This is the greatness of advait and that is why

advait is difficult also. Because seeing the plurality, the advaitin says

there is no plurality. That is why viia advait is appealing because we

see the plurality and they say there is plurality no problem. Dvaitin also

agrees with this perception and there is no problem. Whereas advaitin

says even when you see plurality there is no plurality. How? It is because of
the wisdom eye. That is what we call the third eye of wisdom divya

caku jna caku payat dyat.

It is like the Scientist saying that everything is nothing but the same proton,
neutron and electron alone. All different types of metals, gold or silver etc.
all of them are the same. The diamond is also a type of coal only. Coal

slightly changed becomes diamond. And we are even making artificial

diamond. Suppose a Chemistry professor lectures that coal and diamond

are one and the same and after the talk if we say to him, let us exchange
your diamond ring with a piece of coal. Will he agree? That means

(vyvahrika bhda sa api payati). The

katva is scientific knowledge. Similarly advaitin knows that differences

are superficial but the identity is a fact. So he says jna caku kat.

Verse 48

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 233

II 48

tmaivda jagatsarvam
tman'nyanna vidhyat I
md yadvadghadni
svtmna sarvamekat II

Ida sarva jagat tm va. This is called (bdha

smndi karaya) (sarva khalu ida Brahma)

(Brahmaivda viva ida varia) the whole

world is nothing but tm. What does it mean? It is exactly like, taking the

rajju sarpa example, telling sarpa rajju va. The snake is nothing but

rope. If said like this, anybody will think that it is an unintelligent

statement. Isnt it? Will any one accept such a statement? A snake is a snake
and a rope is a rope. How can one say snake is a rope?

But suppose someone tells a person that snake is rope, how should you

translate it? What you are falsely seeing as snake is really nothing but rope.
So one must be mithy and the other should be satya.

( yat aja dy sarpa asti tadva vija

dy rajju asti.). Similarly stra says jagat Brahma. How can that be?
Jagat is savikalpa, Brahman is nirvikalpa. Jagat is jaa, Brahman is

cetana. Jagat is anitya, Brahman is nitya so many viruddhas are

234 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

there. So how can ruti say jagat is Brahma? The idea is that what one is

falsely seeing as jagat is nothing but factually Brahman which means jagat
is an error, a superimposition, a kalpan, a svapna. So sarva ida jagat

tm va antm nsti.

If the jagat is not there, then how do we see the jagat, the world? And that is

why we do not say the jagat is not there because that will also be wrong. If a

person says the world is not there, then the question comes how do we see
it then? But at the same time we cannot say the world is there also. If the
world is there, ruti cannot negate it. What is there factually cannot be

negated. What is not there cannot be seen. Take the sarpa itself. We are

negating the sarpa the snake. The question is whether the snake is sat or

asat? The Snake is there or not? If we say snake is there, one cannot negate,

if we say snake is not there, one cannot experience it. ,

(sat ct na bdhyta, asat ct na pratyta). If it is

there, it cannot be negated. If it is not there it cannot be seen. But the world
we are seeing also and also negating also. It is neither sat nor asat. It is
called mithy.

So world is neither non-existent because we experience it nor it is existent

because it is negatable and therefore it is mithy, an error, a bhram. Every

error is a mithy whether it is (prtibhtika) error or
(vyvahrika) .

(Sarv bhrntaya mithy rp va api).

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 235

Then (tmana anyat kicana na

vidhyat) there is nothing other than tm. That means there is no

antm at all. Then why should we talk about tma antma vivka? We
do so because people are seeing antm and from the standpoint of the
people, ruti uses the word antm. From rutis standpoint there is no

such thing called antm at all.

Suppose a person is seeing a snake upon the rope and there is another

person the guru who sees the rope as a rope. Now guru is telling the iya
that the snake is nothing but rope. Now when the guru uses the word

snake, it does not mean that the guru accepts the snake. Then why at all

does the guru use the word snake? He does so because the iya is seeing a
snake and so he temporarily comes down to the level of the iya and

temporarily accepts that there is a snake. In gurus di there is no snake

at all. Even the word snake doesnt exist for him. But since the iya has got
a false perception, temporarily accepting the false perception, he says that

the snake that you are seeing is nothing but rope. Similarly in rutis vision

there is no scope for tma antma vivka at all. But since the sasr is

mistaking the antm as tm, therefore, anya dy antm asti. ruti

dy antm na asti.

And therefore, what does ruti do? It comes down to the level of ajn and

temporarily accepts antm. And thereafter, talks about tm antm

vivka. But according to ruti there is no antm at all. So he says

tmana anyanna kicana therefore antm is called anuvda which

means temporary acceptance. ruti never accepts antm really. All these

are stated in the (Mkypaniat). :

236 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

: (upya sdhvatrya nsti bhda

kathajana). These are all upyas, just tricks just to accept the iyas
contention and later negate it.

And therefore, the jn has raised his vision to the level of ruti. So ruti

was in the first floor, later it came to the ground floor and thereafter the

ruti has to take the student to the same vision and once he also have the

same vision as the ruti what happens to him? Sva tmna sarva kat

he sees everything as himself.

yasminsarvi bhtni tmaivbhdvijnata

tatra k mha ka ka katvamanupayata

says (vsypaniat).

When, to the knower, all beings become one with his own tman,

how shall he be deluded, what grief is there when he sees everwhere

oneness?

So the crya says sva tmna sarva kat.

Like what? Yadvat ghadni mda.

(yad vidvn ghadni mda anyni na kat). Just as a wise man

who has got sarvatra clay buddhi, who has got sarva clay darana, a

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 237

md vijn mda anyat ghad naiva kat va tmnah anyat na

kat sees only clay in all the pots, a jn sees nothing other than tm.

Verse 49

II 49

jvanmuktstu tadvidvn
prvpdhigustyajt I
saccidnandarpatvt
bhavd bhramarakavat II

Here akarcrya uses a new term - jvan mukta. The very same jn is
now known by the name jvan mukt. Why is he called jvan mukta?

Because jvan means he is still alive because of (prrabdha

vat). Whose prrabdha? iyas prrabdha! Because remember that

from the gurus di there is no prrabdha at all. That is why he is

compared to the Lord. Otherwise the guru- iya parapar itself will not
come. That is why this concept of jvan mukta is a very beautiful thing

which is also unique in advait. In viia advait, there cannot be jvan

mukta, in dvaita there cannot be jvan mukta. In all those systems a

person is liberated only after dropping the body, after going to Vaikunt. So

here jvan means he is still having the body. And mukta means he is free

from the bonds of antm because he has got mithytva budhdhi in antm
and so it does not disturb him. Just as our reflection in the mirror does not
disturb us, just as our shadow does not disturb us, the whole world is our

shadow. In Bhgavata the world is compared to the shadow of the Lord

or Brahman.

238 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Who is jvan mukta? He says tad vidvn so tad brahma vidvn. What
does he do? Prva updhi gun tyajt updhi here means sthla,

skma, kraa arri. And gun means their properties sthla

arra properties in the form of sthlatva, katva, vddhatva,

brhmaatva, puruatva, strtva etc. Similarly skma arra

properties like rga dva itydi, similarly kraa arra property like

ajna all these updhi gun tyajt he gives up.

And here akarcry uses the word prva updhi because they are

updhi only as long as their attributes are taken by one. Once he has done

tm antm vivka, thereafterwards he will not take their attributes as his

attributes. He will see fatness as arra dharm, rga dva as arra

dharm and therefore, they no longer will become updhi for him. So they

are updhis only as long as they are taken as ones attributes. Now he has

shed the updhi dharms, because remember taking the updhi dharm is

notional. Like the red crystal example, there is no red crystal at all.

Previously when we said red crystal, crystal never became red, the

viaa was only our mental confusion. And therefore, giving up the

attributes means what? Crystal need not give up the attributes; we only

have to drop the notion. Therefore, removal of the attributes is nothing but

dropping the notion that one is attributed. And therefore, he says prva

updhi gun tyajt. He no longer takes himself to be attributed. Therefore,

if one says he is limited, he will be limited. If he knows that he is limitless,

he will be limitless. So the whole change is not external. The change is only
a correction in the thought. And that is why he says prva updhi gun

tyajt. But how? Katha? He says vivkna. And once he gives up the
updhi attributes, what happens to him?

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 239

Saccidnanda rpatvt since his original nature is saccidnanda, till now

he had superimposed asat - mortality, acit jaatva and annand

dukha all these things he had superimposed. Then ,

,
(asat m sad

gamaya, tamas m cit gamaya jytir gamaya, mtyram amta

gamaya) once these things are dropped the original nature is attained

Saccidnanda rpatvt bhavt Brahma bhavt. How? Heres the dnt Bhramara kavat.

In this example, what he implies is that this dropping of antm abhimna

and owning of tm svarpa is little bit of a gradual process. Knowing is
not a gradual process. But dropping the abhimna which is a viparta

bhvan goes only gradually because abhimna has been there for andi

vidhy vsanay. The abhimna has been there not for years but for
million of janms. And therefore, deha abhimna going and tma

abhimna owning up or coming it takes some time. As they say habits

die hard. And for this purpose akarcrya gives the example of a

bhramara ka. This is known as bhramara ka nyya which is widely used

in the scriptures.

The bhramara ka nyya is like this. It seems that a fullfledged bhramara

a wasp or a bee or any such stinging insect - let us take it as wasp. What it

does it seems is it takes a worm and puts it inside its hive. And that this

particular worm does not have any other darshana other than the wasp
because that hive has got only one opening and in that opening the wasp
sits not allowing the worm to do anything. And the worm, whenever it

opens its eyes, sees only the wasp. And therefore, constantly seeing the

240 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

wasp, the worm has got only one darshana, one buddhi that is wasp

buddhi. Suppose it doses off, the wasp would give it a sting to tell the worm,
dont look here or there or doze off but constantly look at me only. And

thus this worm constantly looking at the wasp and thinking of the wasp,

sooner or later becomes a wasp. This is the concept of bhramara ka nyya.

The worm may not be any other worm. The worm may be one of the stages
of the wasp itself. But it has the potentiality to become a flying wasp. As a

worm it has got a wormy existence- sasr. It was not free like a bird that
it could fly anywhere. Similarly we are all in wormly sasr. And bird

means a free bird mukt. Therefore, yathbhramara ka by

(satata dhynna bhramara bhavt, va jva api satata brahma

nidhidhysna brahma ni bhavt).That nita is indicated by the

bhramara ka nyya.
Verse 50

II 50

trtv mhrava hatv

rgadvdirkasn I
yg ntisamyukta
tmrm virjat II

So here he beautifully illustrates how the jva attains mk is through the

well known Ramyan story. And in this story Rm is originally the

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 241

paramtm and when St asked for the golden deer and Rm went after

the golden deer, this action on the part of Rm is supposed to be the fall of

Rm from paramtma avasth to jvtma avasth. The golden deer stands

for the antm abhimna because gold is material, matter. So thus when

Rm the paramtm goes in pursuit of matter he loses St the nti.

Those who have knowledge of music will recall these lines from the

popular song composed by Sadiva Bramndr Khlati mama hday

(nti vidha suta sahacar

khlati mama hday Rma) nti is St. So St, the svarpa nti is lost
once Rm the paramtm comes down to jvtm level getting lost in

golden deer. And the nti is so far away separated by mha arava
(mha mahrava traka kr). So there is a very big

arava samudra called mha. And therefore, what is the first job
mha mahrava trtv trtv means having crossed. So as Rm

crossed the rava through the stu, similarly the jvtm has to cross the

mha rava through vivka vivka stu. So this dustara mha

mahrava has to be crossed by vivka stu. And thereafterwards, rga

dvdi rkasn hatv hatv mean having killed. So many rkass and

rkass came. All the rkass are in the form of rga, dva, kma,

krdha, lbha mha etc. all of them were killed and then St samta -

nti was regained. Similarly the jvtm should get associated with nti

sameta.

The word ygi, means the seeker who does all these jobs and becomes
united with the nti - the nti which was originally belonging to the

jvtm itself. So St originally belonged to Rm but because of Rms

242 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

own foolishness, St was lost and once that foolishness was destroyed, St

was got back. Similarly every jva is tm Rm and once he crosses the

mha rava and destroys rga dva, he gets associated with nti.

And for this purpose a guru is necessary. Remember Rm also gets united

with St only with the help of a guru. janya is the one who unites
these two together. So here in the place of janya is the guru. Every

guru conducts this wedding. His job is to conduct the vivh between
jvtm and nti- mk. And this wedding will never have a divorce

because mk once got will never be lost. And that is why there is a

lk also.

.

(satya mt pit jna dharm bhrt day sakh nti patn

kam putra at mama bndhav) these are the real bandhs.

These are the liberating bandhs. So akarcrya says tm Rma

virjat.

Verse 51

II 51

bhyanityasukhsakti
hitvtmsukhanirvta I
ghaasthadpavatsvastha
svntarva prakat II

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 243

The previous lk he concluded with tm Rma virjat. So tm va

Rm. Rm is called Rm because rmnt sarv asmin iti Rm.

tm is called Rm because everyone revels in tm alone.

So every jn is called tm Rma. Every ajn is called antm Rma.

Virjat means he shines.

This very thought is clarified here. tm Rma word is explained here in

this lk. He gives up all his antm rati. So bhya anitya sukha sati means

antm rati revelry in antm he gives up. And he always revels in tm.
One should recall lkms fom the Gt here.

(bhyasparvasakttm vindatytmani

yatsukha). He whose mind remains unattached to sense objects, derives

through meditation, the Sttvika joy which dwells in the mind. Then

I
(yastvtma ratirva sydtma tptaca mnava. tmanyva ca

santuastasya krya na vidyat) He who takes delight in the Self alone

and is gratified with the Self, and is contented in the Self, has no duty.

So the essence is that he no longer revels in antm, therefore he no longer

depends on antm and therefore their arrival and departure never makes
any difference for him. Since tm is ever available his nand is also all

the time there. Things are there - he is happy. Things are not there -he is

happy.

244 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

In so saying, he is pointing out the difference between a sasr and jvan

mukt. Sasr is one who is (bhya viaya sakta).

(parci khni vyatt svayambhstasmtparpayati nntartman

Kahpaniat). The Lord created the senses with outgoing tendencies;
therefore man beholds the external universe and not the internal Self
(tman).

In the lk bhya refers to antm. And he says Bhya anitya sukha

sakti. sakti means attachment. Sukha means pleasures. What

pleasures? - Anitya sukha - impermanent happiness - coming from bhya

viaya- external objects. Bhya viaya janya anitya sukha sakti.

Why the external pleasure is anitya? Once again recalling the lkms
from the Gt

: |

yhi sasparaj bhg dukhaynaya va t.

dhyantavanta kauntya na tu ramat budha

The pleasures which are born of sense-contacts, are verily a source of

suffering only (though appearing as enjoyable to worldly-minded

people). They have a beginning and an end (they come and go);

Arjuna, it is for this reason that a wise man does not indulge in them.

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 245

mtrsparstu kauntya tasukhadukhad I

gampyin'nityststitikasva

O son of Kunt, the contacts between senses and their objects, which

give rise to the feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain etc., are
transitory and fleeting; therefore, Arjuna, endure them.

This is the definition of a sasr. The more he is turned extrovert, he

misses tmnanda because a person cannot be interested in both antm

and tm because again quoting from Kahpaniat

(dramt vipart vic vidhy y ca

vidhyti jt). These two, ignorance and knowledge, are wide apart and

lead to different points or goals.

So the one who goes after antma sukha cannot go for tma sukha

because paraspara viruddhatvt. And therefore, the sasr misses the

tm sukha.

Jvan mukt is one who has sacrificed the antma sukha for the sake of

tma sukha. So bhya anitya sukha sakti hitv. Hitv means tyaktv
having given up, having sacrificed, not a painful sacrifice but a happy

sacrifice as Pjya Svmji says once we know it as a rubbish and throw it in

the waste paper basket we dont go telling everybody I am a great sanys

a rubbish sanys! Nobody claims credit for renouncing a banana peel.

Similarly here also he happily renounces. For what purpose? tm sukha

nirvta - for getting the nivtti contentment, fulfilment, tpti, tui. In

what? tm sukh. So antm sukh sakti tyaktv, tm sukhe nia,

246 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

nirvta. That is why in Lalit Sahasranma lk we chant

,
(antarmukha samrdhy, bahirmukha

sudurlabh). For the bahirmukha people for the extrovert people - Dvi
who is sacchidnanda rpi -

(supt prjtmik tury sarvvasth-vivarjit ) so sarva avasth-

vivarjit turya rpa sacchidnanda rpi tm she is sudurlabh

for the one who is an extrovert. So jvan mukt is one who has renounced

antma sukha.

Then one may wonder, so both are equal now. Sasr gets antma sukha
and he misses tma sukha. And a jvan mukt gets tma sukha and

misses antma sukha.

I

II (yvnartha udapn sarvata samplutdak.

Tvnsarvu vdu brhmaasya vijnata) A brhmaa, who has

obtained enlightenment, has as much use for all the Vds as one who

stands at the brink of a sheet of water overflowing on all sides has for a
small reservoir of water says Lord K in the Gt .

Antma sukha does not include tma sukha whereas tm sukha

includes antma sukha. Because antm sukha is finite and tm

sukha is infinite. Infinite is not included in the finite where as finite is

included in the infinite. Therefore jvan mukt does not miss any nanda.

(yatsaukhymbudhilalata im akrday nirvt - Manpacaka).

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 247

All the (nand) like ,

,

(indrnand, bhaspatrnand, prajpatrnand) all the nand

are tma nands lava lsa mtra. And therefore, jvan mukt enjoys

pra nanda.

And an example is given here. Ghaastha dpavat svastha. Svastha means

(svasmin svarp sthita). His mind is ever

established in his svarpa.

(yath

dp nivtasth nngat spamsmt). Even for a second he doesnt lose

sight of his inner self. (svntarva prakat) sva

antarva .
(y antasukha
antar rma tath antarjytirva ya). Antar here means antar tm.

Antartmni sthita san. So antarva sthita san prakat. Like ghaastha

dpavat. Just as a dpa which is within the pot, shines within alone. It is not

extrovert. It doesnt go outside. Similarly a jns mind also doesnt go

extrovert. It ever abides in the self.

Now this may create a doubt. If a jns mind doesnt go outside and it is

always is shining within only, that could mean that a jn is always sitting
in samdhi with eyes closed. Pjya Svmji, in a light vein used to say in

Hindi (hiln nahi) - dont move. Like one has to sit absolutely

motionless. The moment a small motion takes place, he will become an

extrovert!!! NO. Remember jn sees the world very much outside but

there also in the Gt it is said -

(vidhy vinaya sampann brhma

248 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

gavi hastini. uni ca va vapkca pait samadarina). Even in the

external world what does he see? That the very adhihna is his own

self. That antartm he doesnt lose sight of. They are all nothing but nma

rp. The sat in the external world is I the cit alone.

Therefore, not that the jn doesnt see the outside world, but he always

remembers
(sarva bhtastha tmna). Not that he
closes the eyes all the time. Therefore, antarva prakat means

- antar tm di kadpi na tyajati never

gives up the vision of the innerself, tm.

Verse 52

II 52

updhisth'pi taddharmai
alipt vymavanmuni I
sarvavinmhavattiht
asakt vyuvaccart II

We had said earlier that even after jnam, a jn has got prrabdh

because jnam can destroy only sancita and gmi karms.

(prrabdhay nna jnna na sambhavati). And as

long as prrabdh is there, arra will also continue. And as long as

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 249

arra continues, sukha dukha anubhava, dvanda anubhava like

mnam, apamnam, sukha dukham, rgya, anrgya - all these

oppsites will continue. So therefore, jn has got arra. He has got

opposite experiences. Naturally the question will be how a person be

liberated as long as he has arra and sukha dukha anubhava? This is

the question which Viia advaitins and Dvaitins always ask. Their

contention is ,

(yvat kla arra sambandha vartat, tvat kla dukha

sambandh api bhavt va). And that is why they say only if you drop the

body, you are free from all pleasures and pain. And therefore, they say jvan

mukti is impossible, because as long as you have body, hungerand thirst

will be there. Food may be available or may not be available. Especially if

you are a sanys you may not always get the food you like. And you may

not even get food always. So these experiences you cannot avoid. This is

what they say. For this the answer is given in this lk.

Jn will have the updhi sambandha. Jn will continue to be in the

updhi but at the same time he knows that these updhis are mithy and

therefore, sambandha is also falsified. That is what is said here.

Updhistha api even though the jn continues to hold the updhis that

is sthla, skma, kraa arra because of prrabdhavasht tat

dharmai Updhi dharmai alipta he is not affected. So even though

jn continues to be in the updhi he is not affected by that. Does it mean

that if he is pricked with a needle he will not feel the pain? If so, it will be

very easy to detect a jn!!! We just have to call him and prick him with a

250 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

needle. If he shouts in pain that he is an ajn. On the contrary, he smiles at

you and seems to be unaffected then he is a jn. But if someone has got a
skin disease and he doesnt feel the pain, we will say he is a jn!!! So for

becoming jn what is required is only skin disease!!!

So what do we mean by painlessness? Remember there are two types of

pain. One is biological pain which is common to all jva rsis. Animals have

got biological pain. Humans have got biological pain, which is purely

prrabdh janya. And nobody can stop it. But human beings have got an

additional pain, in addition to the biological pain and that is sorrow caused
by the biological pain our reaction towards the biological pain. Often

when we are sick, more than the physical pain our worry is, if I fall sick,

other people will have difficulty, or who will do this particular job, or how
much will be the expenditure etc. so all these things are not biological

but psychological pain. Biological pain is also felt in the mind. Psychological
pain is also felt in the mind. The animals also have biological pain but
animals do not have sorrow. They dont worry. Or children have got

biological pain and they will also cry but they do not know that the mother
is suffering because of that and she doesnt get sleep at all or so much
expenditure will come etc. This psychological pain is called sasr.

Biological pain is not called sasr. Our psychological reaction to the

biological pain is called sasr. And the psychological sorrow which we

call worry, anxiety, concern for others is born of ignorance which we can

take care through Vdnt.These are all caused by judgement, looking into

the future, looking at the bank balance etc. - all those things we take into

account and react and this reaction is caused by ajna . But a jn will

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 251

not have this reaction. He will also have biological pain and in extreme pain
he may also scream but that is the end of it. There will be no question of
worrying over it. This is the arra dharm. Pain will come. Pain will go.

Even death may come. But he wont worry about what will happen when he

dies, who will take care of the next generation, what will happen to this
what will happen to that etc. All these worries are called sasr.

Therefore, remember tat dharmai alipta he doesnt worry about

updhis problem. So alipta ka? Muni means jn.

And the example is vymavat k. Just as k is unaffected by

anything that happens; because of the Sun k doesnt get heated up;

because of the rain k does not get wet; similarly pleasure and pain does

not give rise to any worry in the mind of a jn. So, if because of his disease
some people have to suffer, let them suffer. Most people worry about that
only. What if I become bed ridden and give trouble to others? What can

be done about it? What is the point in worrying about it? Suppose one is hit
by paralysis then the worry is, I will give trouble to all others. If that

happens so be it. If trouble is given so be it. It is their prrabdh. They

became our children. On the contrary if they dont take care, then a

different kind of worry. We gave birth to him or her and gave all love and

affection and brought him up. But see now he does not even bother to ask if
we are alive or dead. If so, what can be done about it? It is our prrabdh.

So if they take care of we worry. If they dont take care of we worry. So

remember, if they have to undergo difficulty because of us it is paraspara

prrabdha only. We dont want to cause difficulty to our wife, our

husband, to our children. But inspite of that if they have difficulty let us not

worry about our difficulty nor let us worry about their difficulty. Worry is

252 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

sasr. Biological pain is not sasr at all. Therefore, he gives the

example of vymavat alipta.

Then sarvavit mhavat tiht. Even though he, that is the jn, is

admidst the people, how does he behave? Be a Roman when you are in

Rome. That means amidst ajns he also will be exactly like that. So, if

there are bhakts very much interested in pjs, punaskras and all, he

will join them also and do pja punaskra. And if there are people

interested in knowledge, he will discuss knowledge. If there are people

interested in karm, he will join them. Amongst Viu bhakts he will be be

a Viu bhakt and happily eat puli hora (puliogarai). And amongst iva

bhakts he will be be a iva bhakt.

akarcry has written about 28 lks called Jvan muktnanda lahiri. It

is wonderful. A jn joins everyone because he does not have a

personality of his own. Like the Dlda - that which doesnt have colour,

odour, aspara, arpa etc. When it doesnt have any specific property of
its own, it can mix with anyone. A jn is like that.

So sarva vit sarvaja mhavat tiht because everybody is

mhavat amidst mhas. Why?

(na buddhi bhda janayt ajn karma sanghin) if one wants to

do pja let him do a lot of it. If he wants to study Vdnt lt him do it.

But when some student comes (adhhi

bhagav brahma vidy vari), then comes out the real knowledge

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 253

that he has got within. As Lord K taught the whole Gt the moment

Arjuna asked the question.

And let him move amidst people, but when he moves amidst people, he

doesnt get attached to anyone, which is our weakness. We immediately

form pairs. If there is a group with whom we have moved with and are

friendly, immediately, we develop an attachment. We want to share our

room only with those people. So we have got (sakti). Jn moves

(asakta vyuvat cart). Any room it is OK with a

jn. Just as vyu moves from place to place without getting attached to

anyone similarly sah carati.

Verse 53

II 53

updhivilaydviau
nirvia vinmuni I
jal jala viyadvymni
tjastjasi v yath II

This is a vidha mukti lkah. We know what vidha muktih is. As long as

prrabdh is there sthla arra continues, skma arra continues,

kraa arra also continues that is mla avidhy because mla avidhy
is not destroyed, it is only falsified. Because if mla avidhy i.e. kraa

arra is not there, the jn cannot sleep. So kraa arra also

254 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

continues, till the prrabdh is exhausted. But when the prrabdh is

exhausted sthla arra is gone, skma arra is gone and kraa

arra also gets destroyed for a jn. Previously it was bdhita now it is

naa. Bdhita means it continues but it doesnt have reality. Naa

means it does not even appear. Therefore, maraa kl sthla skma

kraa arri sarvyapi nayanti.

This is what is stated in a

(Muakpaniat) lk as

(parntakl). For the rest of the people, it is antakla because

in antakla only sthla arra is destroyed. During pralaya kla

skma arra also gets resolved. But in pralaya kraa arra

continues. But in jnam mah pralaya even kraa arra is

destroyed.

Then what happens? The caitanya which was till now confined to the

three arras that is (arra avacchinna caitanya)

gets merged into (anavacchinna caitanya

Brahma). Avicchinna means contained within, circumscribed,

conditioned, delimited. That is what is said here.

Updhi vilayt when? (prrabdha avasna kl);

updhi vilayt sthla, skma, kraa updhi traya vilayt; muni viau

vit; Viu means not (aka cakra gaddhr

viu) but it refers to the all pervading tm or Brahman; vit means

merges, enters, becomes one. This is what is called

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 255

(Brahma nirva cchati) in the Gt nirva means merger,

resolution.

And how does he merge? Is it that he is sitting on one part of Brahman, on

the head or leg etc? No. Nirvia means indistinguishably that means

totally, completely. So nirvia vit. So here also we should remember

that merging is only a verb used but there is no question of any activity or
process involved. That is why we give the example of ghaka merging
into mahka when pot is broken. I use the the word ghaka merges

but what happens to ghaka? Does it gradually move and merge? No. So

merging means the word ghaka is taken away, it is no more there.

Similarly here also the word jn is taken away, the word Brahma vit is
taken away and instead of the word Brahma vit the word Brahman is

replaced. (Brahmaiva na brahmavit) as it appears in the

following lkm from Manpacaka.

II

yatsaukhymbudhilalata im akrday nirvt

yaccitt nitar prantakalan labdv munirnirvta I

yasminnityasukhmbudhau galitadhrbrahmaiva na brahmavit

ya kacitsa surndravanditapad nna man mama II

An individual who has overcome every kind of conditional thinking is

free from all kinds of desires. Such a person need not worry about

anyone and anything in life. Such a person is full of Love, kindness

and joy. Such a person responds to everyone and everything

256 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

happening around him, but will not react to anyone or anything. Such
a person is always in that eternal self effulgent bliss. Such a person is
completely fulfilled and self-contented. Even if a minutest portion of

that bliss is tasted, then it will satisfy king of gods, Indra himself. That
means that joy is far more than billions of billions of happiness

experienced together. Such a person who is always in that ocean of

eternal bliss is not a mere knower of Brahman, but Brahman itself.

Therefore sah na Brahmavit parantu Brahmaiva. This is the fact.

Now what is the example? Jal jala. Here we have to imagine that there is
a pot submerged in a well or a pond or in any water body. When the pot is

submerged in water, water is there both inside the pot and outside the pot.
We can give special name say pot water for the water inside the pot. The

outside water let us assume is called well water because in a well only we
can have this experience. When we tie a rope to a pot and put it in the well

(anta pr bahi pra pra

kumbhaivmbhar) there is beautiful lk.

Now imagine suppose the pot is broken. We use the expression the pot

water merges into well water. But we know that there is no question of

merger because there is only well water all over. What has happened is that
the word pot water is removed and we use the word well water only. This
is the Jal jala. This is what is said in Kahpaniat

(yathdaka uddh uddha

sikta tdgva bhavati). The same example he uses here.

Jna Phala, Jvan Mukta and Vidha Mukta 257

Then viyat vymni. Viyat means ka. The first ka refers to ghaka.

Vymni refers to the second ka i.e mahka. Similarly earlier also the
first jala refers to ghaa jalam, the second jalam to kpa jalam or taka

jalam. So ghaka yath mahk we have to supply the verb vit.

Similarly tja tjas - just as the light merges into the light. Suppose there
is a tube light there and a tube light here. And suppose there is a partition
in between some screen. And we remove the screen and then talk about
the light of that tube light and this tube light has merged. Can anyone tell

which light belongs to that one and which light belong to this one? Suppose
two children quarrel and one says to the other you should not read in my

light, you should read only in your light! It is not possible because both are

merged inseparably. Therefore, ,

(yath ka dpa tja anya dpa

tjas vit, tath jvana mukt brahma nirva prpnti).

Which means once the kraa arra is gone; kraa arra cannot have
re-appearance. Once sthla arra goes another sthla arra can come

because the kraa arra is there. Similarly one skma arra is

destroyed another skma arra can be produced because kraa

arra is existing. But once kraa arra is destroyed there cannot be

another kraa arra. Therefore, there cannot be another sthla arra;

there cannot be another skma arra. That means, as said in

Dakimrti sttram

(yatsktkaradbhavnna punarvttirbhavmbhnidhau). The meaning

of this part of the verse is that whosoever realizes this truth (that Brahman
is indeed you) will not return to the ocean of repeated births and deaths.

258 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

There is no question of punarjanma for him. He is ever one with Brahman

who is in all bodies. He is not in any particular body. He is in all bodies and

if he is in all bodies we can give him what name? Caitanya associated with

all bodies is vara and therefore jn is no more associated with an

individual body. He is vara who is associated with all bodies.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 259

Brahma svarpa

Verse 54

Brahma svarpa 261

II 54

yallbhnnpar lbh
yatsukhnnpara sukhaI
yajjnnnpara jna
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

In the previous lk akarcrya said that jvan mukt becomes one with

Brahman brahma nirva cchati. Now in the following four lks, 54,

55, 56 and 57 Brahma svarpa is mentioned.

Why is it mentioned? Because if we say that jvan mukt attains oneness

with Brahman the student will ask so what? A person gets a house,

another person has got land, and another person gets some money. This

person has got Brahman. So what? So he may take that gain like one of the
other gains in the world. So Brahma prpti can be compared to putra

prpti, vitta prpti, vi prpti etc. Because when Sage Vimmitra goes to
Rms palace, Rm gives various examples how much happy he was.

Yath vi if rain comes or a person who did not have a child for a long

time has a child or a person who did not have a house buys one there are
so many such prpts. So is Brahma prpti also one of such prpts? Or is it
something else?

Here the crya wants to say that Brahma prpti cannot be compared to

any other prpti, because in every other gain the satisfaction is momentary.

262 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Happiness on getting a new house will last for a few days. And thereafter,

one will start looking what all are missing in the house. Previously, he did

not have a house. Now he doesnt remember that he has a house but he

starts looking for what all he doesnt have in the house. And once that is

got, something else will be remembered. That means they all give a false
sense of satisfaction. Only a fake fulfilment. When the child sucks the

thumb, it does not get real milk but gets some sense of false satisfaction. Or
they give something like some nipple etc. It sucks it and goes too sleep.
What type of satisfaction it has got? It is never equal to the real one.

Similarly they do not know what the real one is. Just like a child sucking the
thumb and getting a false sense of satisfaction, these people are getting

false satisfaction. Whereas, Brahman gives real satisfaction. That is what he

says.

Yallbht na apara lbha gaining which there is no other further gain in

life; there is nothing else to be gained; means total satisfaction; utter

satisfaction. Even though thereafter, he may go after something but they

are all pursuits with satisfaction. Like a jn setting up a rama. There is a

lot of difference between a sasr ghast setting up a family and a jn
setting up a rama. Both are pursuits. Perhaps the jn has a bigger
budget. Then what is the difference? In one that is ghast seeks

satisfaction through his pursuit. In the other i.e. the jn engages in the

pursuit with satisfaction out of satisfaction. Life becomes a game.

Sampra jagadva nandavana. A play, a ll.

Then yat sukht na apara sukham. After gaining which nand there is

no other greater nand? Then yat jnt na apara jna. After gaining

which knowledge there is no further craving for more knowledge? Because

Brahma svarpa 263

remember craving for knowledge is as much a greed as a craving for money

or land or anything else. There are people who want to study a lot of books.
They want to see the end of a particular field before they die. And when

they are not able to solve that particular thing, they are utterly dissatisfied.
But here is a knowledge in which a person gets complete intellectual

satisfaction. Therefore, by attaing which one can get physical satisfaction,

emotional satisfaction and intellectual satisfaction?

Tat Brahma. So by attaining which Brahma all these satisfactions will be

obtained, that Brahma is the one which is attained by the jvan mukta. So

Brahman is ,
,

(niratiaya lbha, niratiaya sukha and niratiaya jna viaya). Iti

avadhrayt iti (niraya kuryt).

Verse 55

II 55

yaddv npara dya

yadbhtv na punarbhava I
yajjtv npara jya
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

This is a continuation of the thought process from the previous lk ,

which is easy to understand. Yat dv na apara dya asti. Having

seeing which it is almost similar to yat jnt the only difference is the

264 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

previous lk is in terms of jna i.e. the pursuit itself. In this lk it is

in terms of the end of pursuit. Jna was uttama in the previous lk.
In this lk jya is uttama. That is the subtle difference.

Yat dv na apara dya vartat. There is no superior jya vastu.

Then again yat bhtv, having become which Brahman, na punarbhava

there is no further becoming, because in every other becoming it is only an

intermediary stage. Man first becomes (dvah), then

(prajpati), then (bhaspati) and afterwards again becomes

(sthu many anusayyanti yath

karm yath ruta). This process goes on. That is why it is said

(sasarati iti sasra). That is why sasra is called bhva.

Bhva means we become so many things. In fact in every other pursuit,

our aim is that we want to become someone else. It is a very very subtle

thing to be noted. We are never satisfied. We want to convert the bachelor

I into a husband I. So superficially putting, we want a wife but

Vdntically putting the bachelor I is not satisfied, so wants to become

husband I. After that the married I wants to become father I. After that

the father I wants to become householder I buy a house and thereafter

this I wants to become a father-in-law I and therafter wants to become a

grand father I. Thus remember in and through all the pursuits I am

converting the I into so many things and every I is not satisfied. This is

called bhva constantly transforming the I into varieties of things. And

this transformation will culminate where? Any relative I will not be

satisfied. The relative I should be converted into Brahman. That is why it

is said kttmna - kt tmna - pratvna kta

Brahma svarpa 265

tm

: (yatant yginacaina payantytmanyavasthitam .

yatant'pyakttmn naina payantyactasa) says Bhagawn K in

the Gt . The striving yogs too are able to realize this Self enshrined in

their heart. The ignorant, however, whose heart has not been purified,

know not this Self in spite of their best endeavours.

So (kt tmana) means the one who has converted the

relative I into Brahman I it is only after that, this journey of bhva will

stop. Otherwise, there will be constant struggle.Therefore, the culmination

is becoming the absolute I. And this becoming happens not by any process
but by jna. So ,
(jnna yat brahma

bhtv, na punar bhava).

Then yat jtv na apara jya. Having known which, there is no

further thing to be known. One can give many reasons. One reason is I

become pra that is I has got fulfilment. Second reason is everything

else is mithy. So what is the use of knowing mithy vastu? So tat brahma.

It is this fulfilment giver, it is this stopper of the journey, that which puts an
end to the struggle. We can recall the example of the pri as long as the

pri is flat it runs around in the oil but when it becomes pra, it stays in

one place that is why perhaps it is called pri! Tat pratva va iti

avadhrayt. It is this Brahman which the jvan mukta becomes.

266 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Before we proceed further, it would be useful to recapitulate the essence of

the last two lks.

In the 53rd lk crya talked about vidha mukti which is nothing but the

merger of the jvtm into Brahman or the seeming merger of jvtm into

Brahman, when the conditioning equipment i.e. the updhis are gone

because of (prrabdha kaya). So ,

(prrabdha kay sati,

updhi vilay sati jvtmana brahma k bhva vidha mukti)

And having talking about merger into Brahman in the 53rd lk, from the

54th lk onwards Brahma svarpa is being pointed out in the following

4 lks i.e. from 54 to 57. Of them, we have seen 2 lks, the essence of

which is that Brahman is niratiaya, Brahman is superlative in

everything. So in bigness it is superlative, in happiness it is superlative, in

beauty it is superlative, and in love it is superlative. Whatever we know as

superlative the greatest is Brahman. Sarva niratiaya -

(nirgata atiaya yasmt sa) be it physically or emotionally

or intellectually - in any field. That is why Brahman is capable of giving tpti

at all levels. Mathematics may give intellectual tpti but a mathematician

can be emotionally dissatisfied, if there is a problem with his wife or

children. He could be a great but unhappy mathematician. There are people

who are emotionally fine and secure but they may have intellectual

problem or physical problem. But Vdnt is a unique field where a person

finds fullness emotionally and intellectually at all levels.

Verse 56

Brahma svarpa 267

II 56

tiryagrdhvamadha pra
saccidnandamadvayam I
ananta nityamka yat
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

So the 4th line is similar to that of the previous two lks. Tat brahma iti

avadhrayt that is Brahman. What is Brahman? Tiryag rdhva adha

pra that is which is full at all levels. Tiryag means at our level, middle
level or horizontal level. rdhva means upper level. Adha means lower
level. So lower level, middle level, upper level - tiryag can be taken as

middle level also. In short, the idea is that at all levels Brahman is pra.
And sacchidnanda and advaya we have already seen these words

and therefore, no explanation is necessary. It is of the nature of existence,

awareness and nanda. At the level of Brahman, the pratva we call as

ananta. But when we discover that pratva in our mind it expresses as

nanda. So ananta va antakaraa par at the level of anta karaa
is the expression of nanda. Pratva in mind is nanda. Minus mind

the same nanda is ananta. Satyam jna ananta. They correspond to

sat, cit and nanda at the individual level. And therefore, advaya non

dual (sajtya vijtya svagata bhda

rahita) free from all types of differences.

268 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

This can be understood only if we know jagat is mithy. If jagat also is

satya there will be vijtya bhda because one is ctana and the other
is jaa. That is why in all other philosophies, vijtya bhda cannot be

negated. In viia advait they say sajtya bhda is not there because
there are no two vara and therefore, there is no sajtya bhda. But

vijtya bhda they will have to accept because one is ctana and other

is jaa. But in advait alone vijtya bhda is negated.

Now if one says world is visible, we say that we dont negate the visibility

(pratiti na nidma

parantu satyatva va nidma). We are not negating the experience of

the world. We are only negating the existence of the world. We are not

negating the experience of blue sky. We are only negating the existence of
the blue sky.

Then ananta means anta rahita all these words we have already
seen. Ananta indicates (data aparicchinna).

Nitya indicates klata aparicchinna. In English ananta can be taken

to mean all pervading; nitya is eternal. ka vastuta aparicchinna.

There is no second thing at all. We can take this as explanation for advaya
which means , , ,

(ananta, nitya, ka, ata, klata, vastuta paricchda nya yat).

The thing which is like this, that is Brahman. It is this Brahman that jvan

mukta merges with.

Verse 57

Brahma svarpa 269

II 57
atadvyvttirpa
vdntairlakyat'dvaya I
akhanandamka yat
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

Now one may wonder how can there be such a Brahman at all. That is

ananta, nitya, ka, sacchidnanda, advaya

(da Brahma katha sambhavati) because whatever we experience

happens to be paricchinna , , , , ,

(antavat, anitya, anka, asat, acit, dukha) and all these are

opposites. So how can such a Brahman be there is the question? What is

the prama for such a Brahman

(pratyaka v anumithy

v tda brahma naiva jtu akyat ki tatra prama lakaa

ukta prama ki)?

For that we say say Vdnti Vdnt reveals that Brahman. Vdnt

alone is the prama. If we use pratyaka or tarka or science they

all function in the objective field they can never reveal Brahman.

270 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Then the next question will be how even Vdnt can reveal Brahman

because if Vdnt reveals Brahman there also limitation will be there.

Vdnt will be the revealer and Brahman will be the revealed and we

would be sitting here looking at that Brahman. So pramt, prama,

pramya division will come. Therefore, akarcrya says, Vdnt does

not reveal Brahman directly

(na tu vcyrthatay viay karti parantu lakyat).

What does Vdnt do? It uses a negative method in which it negates

everything. So it goes on negating everything we know. Because everything

we know is anitya, paricchinna, and dvaita. Therefore, the upaniad
keeps on negating. Once everything else is negated, only one will remain

unnegated. That is the negator alone will remain unnegated because if the
negator is to be negated, we will require another negator and for him

another negator. And therefore I alone will remain and that I is never a

limited thing because whatever is experienced is limited and we can never

say I am limited at all because if I have to say I am limited, I should be an

object of experience. , (yat yat dya, tat

paricchinna). Therefore, dk aparicchinna adyatvt vyatirkhna

ghaavat. And therefore, Vdnt does not reveal positively, it makes

Brahman remain as I after negating everything else.

That is what akarcrya says, atad vyvtti rpa here tad means

Brahman. So atad vyavtti rupena means by negating everying which is

other than Brahman. And what is that? Sarva dya. So by negating all

Brahma svarpa 271

dya vastus whatever is left out i.e. I is indirectly revealed as Brahman.

So Vdntai advaya Brahma, prama aviaya Brahma lakyat.

Because we should remember, once Vdnt negates everything that is

required to be negated, Vdnt also gets negated because that is also a

viaya. So once Vdnt negates everything that is dya finally the

Vdnt itself gets negated, pramya gone, prama gone and what is

left is only pramt.

And once pramt is left out that is I, I cannot be called even pramt

because I can be pramt only as long as pramya or prama are

there. Once Vdnt negates pramya, objects of knowledge and itself the

prama I the pramt will be left out without pramttva. Just as I

am the teacher here and you are all the students there. Suppose you all go
away and I am left alone. So I am here with my teacher-hood because my

teacher status depends upon your grace and by your anugrah alone I am a
teacher. Similarly, once Vdnt negates pramya and prama, I, the

pramt, without pramttva, am left out. And this is what is known as

pramttva nivtti. What Vdnt does is, it leaves me as the balance, the
only remaining entity minus the knower-hood. I am pure knowledge,

awareness, apramt Brahma aha asmi. This is what is called ,

(lakaa vkya, nti nti iti nida vkya, na anta praja na bahi
praja iti apavda vkya)- all these are said.

272 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So atad vyvtti rpa and the famous vkya for that is neti neti
' ' , -

(athta d 'nti nti' na hytasmditi nti, anyat

paramasti. - Bhadrayakpaniat). This is a very famous Bhadrayaka

vkya.

So here atad vyavtti means nti nti iti vkya pramna, Vdntih

advaya lakyat. Advaya means pramt, prama, pramya rahita,

turya lakyat. And what is the nature of that turya? It is akhaa

nanda ka which is the non-dual and undivided nand pra

nand. It is not pratibimba nand obtaining in nandamaya k but it

is bimbnand the original I I

(nanda tm I brahma puccha pratih). And tat this paripra

nand, nirvikalpaka svarpa alone is called Brahman and it is this

Brahman which the jvan mukt merges into.

Verse 58

II

58

akhanandarpasya
tasynandalavrit I
brahmdhystratamyna
bhavantynandin'khil II

Brahma svarpa 273

So in the previous lk he said Brahman is akhaa ka nanda. So

naturally we would like to know how big is Brahmnand? Some of you

might have heard the story of the frog in the well. When the frog from the

ocean came into the well, this ocean frog told the well frog that ocean was

very big. And that well frog with its froggy hand asked is it this big, or this
big or this big by keeping on stretching both its hands. No said the ocean
frog it is very big. Then the well frog jumped from one corner of the well

to the other and asked is it this big? The ocean frog said mauna
vavyky what can it say?

Similarly we also cannot conceive that nand and therefore, the upaniad

wants to give a comparison which has already been given in Taittirya

Upaniad in nanda mms. What is that one unit of nand? Suppose

there is perfect human being even this is highly doubtful but let us

assume so who is young, who is very learned and who is very moral and
who possesess the whole world including the diamond fields of Africa.

What would be his nand? It is equated to one unit that is ka mnua

nanda. And 100 units of this mnua nanda amounts of one manuya

gandharva nand and 100 units of manuya gandharva nand adds up to

one dva gandharva and so it goes on to pit, jnajn dvn,

karma dvn, dvn, indrasya, bhast, prajpat, brahmaa each

succeeding one a multiple of 100 of the previous one. Just imagine how

many zeros will be there. Each level is multiplied by 100 of the previous
level. So all these nand are included in this brahmnand.

274 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Now if we say all these nands are included in the brahmnand then one
will start to add all of them! So the Upaniad says

(tasya nandasya la lata) a small fraction of the fraction of

that infinite nand alone is the total sum of all the nands mentioned

earlier. That means that this nand doesnt have even a trace of dukha.

That is the difference. Even the person who is maximum happy, if you

interview him, after talking for a long time, he will say but there is just one
small thing. He will come up with some problem or issue. So everybody
irrespective of how happy he is will have a trace of dukha but this

nand doesnt have even a dot of dukha. That is the essence.

So lavrit tasya nandasya lava rit brahmdhy brahmdhy

means Brahma which is hirayagarbha who has got the highest nand in
the relative world. di padt is used and so we should include all from

prajpat nanda etc. upto mnua nanda. In short all varieties of jva

ris are depending on what? Tasya nandasya lava rit. Tasya means
brahmaa nanda lava rit. So one drop of Brahmnand is taken
and that is divided and given to all these people lava rit.

And what type of nand it is? It is akhananda rpasya brahmaa. So

it is the drop of that Brahman which is of the nature of akhaa nanda

rpa. Then he says akhil all those people. So what happens to them?

Tratamyna nandina bhavanti. So all these people become happy, not

uniformly, but in gradation, because even here for the same joke, everyone

does not laugh in the same vein. Some will have a hearty laughter, some
people you can see the teeth, some people you can see a smile but some

people will not laugh at all. So we have got all graded nanda and all these

Brahma svarpa 275

are nothing but brahmnandasya lava va. What is the purpose here? If all
these are only lava of Brahman, you can imagine what the level of Brahma

nand would be?

But when I say can you imagine what the level of Brahmnand it would be,

one should be extremely careful. One should not think that Brahmnand is

going to be another extremely happy experience because if Brahmnand is

going to be another extremely happy experience, it will have to be limited.
The moment we say experience it would means limited only. It is a mental
state. It may come in samdhi, it may come in bhva samdhi or it may

come in some other state. So here the infinite nand is not in the form of

an experience but infinite nand is in the form of understanding that this

nand or pratva is my svarpa. Understanding this is infinite

nand. Than how do we call it nand? Once we know this, any nand we
experience we will understand it as our svarpa only. It is like a mirror.

Any nand is like a mirror. It is our nand that is experienced there.

Therefore, we need not go after any nand. That is what we should

remember. Whenever we enjoy, we should remember that it is our joy. This

is jns nand. Understanding this is pratva.

So, nandina akhil brahmdhy brahma nandna va nandina

bhavanti.
Verse 59

II 59

276 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

tadhyuktamakhila vastu
vyavahrastadanvita I
tasmtsarvagata brahma
kr sarpirivkhil II

Here akarcrya says that all the people, jns or ajns, are all the

time in Brahman alone and they are all the time seeing Brahman alone and

they are all the time handling Brahman alone. Therefore, they are in

Brahman, they are experiencing Brahman, they are transacting with

Brahman alone.

Then what is the difference between a jn and an ajn? Ajn doesnt

know this. Jn knows this. That is what Pjya Svmji quotes as an

example. One fellow was eating rasagulla without knowing it was rasagulla.
And while eating he was asking please get me some rasagulla, I have never

tasted it. Then the guru came and said that what you are eating is that
only. Similarly everybody is experiencing Brahman alone. How?

Imagine when a person is handling a pot seeing a pot and if he is asked

what he was handling he would say that he was handling a pot. But the

wise man will tell him that you are calling it a pot and you say that you are
handling a pot. There is no such thing called pot at all. Pot is a word you
are using, pot is a form that is there. What you are actually seeing and

handling is only clay. So he was all the time handling clay, thinking that it

was a pot. Now suppose this person closes his eyes for realising the clay. He

says I have experienced the pot plenty of times. What I have not

experienced is only clay. And they say clay is the satya, clay is the pot

kraa, etc. and he goes into nirvikalpa samdhi. What for? - For clay

realization. He is looking for clay in his mind but will he get it? So why

Brahma svarpa 277

should one go at all in search of clay by closing the eyes, when all time he
was handling clay only. Similarly people are trying to realize Brahman

somewhere all the time. The sat of the pot is clay. The very satt of the pot
is clay.

Similarly whatever is there in the world is that very satt. It is nothing but

Brahman. Nma rpa belongs to the world.

(nma rpasya adhihna bht satt). It is nothing but Brahman

alone. A verse in Dakimrti sttram says

(yasyaiva sphuraa sadtmakamasatkalprthaga bhsat).

The Brahman, which is Existence-Awareness Absolute, alone

pervades all the objects of the world making them shine (making
them evident), and imparting its own reality to them, which are
themselves unreal.

In every nma rpa, whenwe say IS, that is nothing but Brahman. And

when we say I AM that is nothing but the sat Brahman and it includes cit
also. Outside we experience sat Brahman and inside that is in our

antakraa we experience sat as well as cit. And whenever we are happy

we are experiencing sat, cit and nand. Therefore, the world has got sad

aa of Brahman, ajns have got sad aa and cid aa and jn

has got sad aa, cid aa and nand aa. That is why he is called

so and so nand. Sat, cit and nand are there all the time in the world.

Therefore, he says akhila vastu tad yukta every object in the creation
is associated with tad means tad Brahman associated here refers to

278 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

(adhihna rpa vartamna) and not

(sayga sambandh).

Tad yukta is associated with Brahman as if adhihna, just as pot is tad

yukta with clay. If we remember the example it will be easy to

understand. Just as every pot is associated with clay, everything is

associated with Brahman. Similarly vyavahra tadanvita all our

transactions are with Brahman only. Just as whether we handle the plate or

whether we handle jug or whether we handle a pot, all are vyavahra with

clay alone. That is why we say Brahma arpaa, Brahma havi, Brahma

agnau Brahma huta. Brahmai va sarv vyavhr adhyast, na tu

vstavik.

So where is Brahman? After all this teaching, one will, by force of habit

say,
(vara sarva bhtn

hdd Arjuna tiati) but this is all LKG stuff. One has to start like that

only. But thereafterwards, as Pjya Svmij said,

- (yatra yatra man yti tatra tatra samdhaya

dk dya vivka). He says that for a jn wherever the mind goes, there

he sees Brahman. Therefore, tasmt sarvagata Brahma.

Now the example - kr sarpi iva. Sarpi means ghee. Just as ghee is in

the milk; where, in which part? - Everywhere, sarvagata. Can you see it?

No. So can you say it is not there? No. So even though you dont see it, it is
there very much. Similarly, here also it is there very much. But by proper

Brahma svarpa 279

operation, we can take the kaivalya navanta. Similarly, here also by

proper sdhan, through recognition, Brahman can be realized.

How? We have already seen in lk 42 (arai mathana) -

(tmraau dhyna mathan satata kt)

There it is original mathana for kaivalya grahaa. Here it is jna

mathana. That is the only difference. So akhil kr sarpi iva.

Now the question is should these verses be taken as the Brahma svarpa

or the jvan mukt vision? We can take it in both ways. It is this Brahman

that jvan mukt merges into. Else jvan mukt is aware all the time in and
through all of them that Brahman alone IS. We can take it both ways. So

jvan mukt is aware that akhila vastu Brahma yukta or you can say

that jvan mukt merges into such a Brahman at the time of vidha mukti.

Verse 60

II 60

anavasthlamahsvaadrghamajamavyayam I
arpaguavarkhyam
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

280 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Again Brahma svarpa is being talking about, into which Brahman the

jvan mukt will merge. The meaning is simple.The essence of this lk is

that Brahman is free from all attributes.

,
, , , , (anau, asthla, ahrasva,

adrgha, aja, avyaya). So Brahman is devoid of these attributes. Au

means small. So anau means not a small thing. So Brahman is not a small

thing. Now one will immediately think that it is big. Immediately he says

asthla sthla means big. So asthla means it is not big also. What is
the corresponding mantra?

..... (arayn mahat

mahyn..... Mahnryapaniat).

There it is said that Brahman is both small and big. Which means it is

neither small nor big. Then he says ahrasva. It is not short. Immediately

one will think that it is long. So he says adrgha. It is not long. So what is
the purpose of these contradictions? Our intellect must stop the search

because intellectual search is in a relative field. Intellectual operation,

intellectual functioning, intellectual seeking, they are in the relative field,

where everything is either this way (dk) or that way (tdk).

So it is neither this nor that. Now if the intellect stops its seeking, what will

happen to the intellect? It will abide in the seeker. So the sought is not

outside but it is the very seeker himself. That is the whole purpose of the
negation. The seeker is the sought.

Brahma svarpa 281

Then aja unborn; avyaya inexhaustible, , (jar

rahita, na rahita) etc. So aja avyaya means

-


na jyat mriyat v kadci- nnya bhtv bhavit v na bhya .

aj nitya vat'ya pur na hanyat hanyamn arr

This is how Gt describes it.

Then , , (asti, jyat, vardhat,

vipariamat) etc. We have to consider all these. So

(sarva vikra nida).

Then arpa free from forms or a better meaning is colourless; agua

nirgua, free from all attributes both good and bad attributes. So viia

advaitins say Brahman is free from only bad attributes. It has got good

attributes, they say. We say it is not true because even good attributes

make Brahman relative. Because Brahman is

(anyatra dharmt anyatra adharmt) it is beyond adharm and beyond

dharm also. So when we say agua it means it is free from sagua and
durgua.

Then avara vara can be taken as jti or any vara classification. We can

take the cturvarya itself. For vara we dont take the meaning of colour

282 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

here because generally in Sanskrit and especially in Vdnt the word

rpa is taken to mean colour not form. For form they use the word kra
and the word rpa is used for colour. So arpa means colourless. And

so when we say avara, it refers to brhmaa, katriya etc. varas.

Then ankhya khya means nma i.e. name. So ankhya means it

does not have a name also. , , , ,

, , (amtracaturtha, avyavahrya,

prapancpaima, nta, iva, advait amtra). So name is silence. It is

nma rahita. Then why do we call it Brahman? It is also adhysa. So

(Brahma api nma iti adhysa va.

Remember Brahman, the name itself is mithy. Brahman is not mithy. But

Brahman the name is mithy. Then is it adhihna? Adhihna the

name itself also is mithy. Then what is satya?

.... (maunavykhy prakaita parabrahmatattva

yuvna ----.) A verse from Dakimrti sttram, which means that the

essential nature of Para Brahman is explained by silent exposition. And it is

this Brahman in which the jvan mukt merges into.

Verse 61

II 61

yadbhs bhsyat'rkdi
bhsyairyattu na bhsyat I
yna sarvamida bhti
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

Brahma svarpa 283

So the topic of Brahma svarpa itself is continuing. Earlier I had said 4

lks. But now after two verses, the same topic continues. All these are

Brahma svarpa or Brahma lakaa. And here Brahma is defined as

svaya praka rpa.

And what is the definition of svaya praka? It is that, because of which

everything shines and that which does not shine because of anything else.
Because of Brahman the world shines and Brahman shines not because of

anything else. (sva anya

prakakatv sati sva anya aprakyatva) . That which makes everything

shine but that which does not shine because of anything else.

Kahpaniat says

I
(na tatra sry

bhti na candratraka nm vidhyut bhnti kut yamagni. tamva

bhtamanubhti sarva tasya bhs sarvamida vibhti). The Sun does

not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do lightnings shine and
much less the fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His
light, all these shine. This is the essence of this lk.

So yad bhs yad Brahma bhs because of whose light; arkdi means

srya, candra, nakatri, vidyuta, agni di padt;

(jyti api tat

284 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

jyti; yat caitanya jytia arkdi jyt i vsant ityartha). Here also one

should be careful. When we say because of the light of Brahman everything

shines, we should not think that Brahman has got a peculiar light and all. It

means that because of which awareness everything is known. Light means

awareness. Shines means known. It is because of the awareness only the
Sun itself is known.

And (bhsyai yat na bhsyat). So by these

illumined objects bhsya the illuminator tm is not illumined. This is

the beauty of Sanskrit. Bhsyai na bhsyat. ? Kasmt? ,

(bhsyatvt, abhsakatvt). So by these illumined objects

tm is never illumined. That means they are ever the object. tm is ever

the subject. The do not become subject and tm never becomes object.

And yna sarva ida bhti yna means Brahma prakna, Brahma

caitanyna; ida sarva bhti all these are illumined.

So the idea is this. The caitanya illumines the sense organs. So we can say

that caitanya is the illuminator of sense organs. Now the sense organs
illumine the world because through the sense organs only the world is

illumined. But there akarcrya says, in fact the world is also illumined
by caitanya only because caitanya gives light to the sense organs and

the sense organs illumine the world and therefore, in the final analysis the
ultimate illuminator of the world is caitanya only. The difference is that

caitanya illumines sense organs directly but it illumines the world

indirectly, that is through the sense organs. That is why it is repeated twice

arkdi bhsyat and yna sarva ida bhti so one should be taken as

Brahma svarpa 285

direct illumination and another indirect illumination. So caitanya directly

illumines the mind and sense organs and caitanya indirectly illumines the
world. So ultimately everything is illumined by caitanya only.

This svaya praka caitanya is Brahma which the jvan mukt merges

into.

Verse 62

I
-

II 62

svayamantarbahirvypya
bhsayannakhila jagat I
brahma prakat vahni prataptyasapiavat II

So the idea he stated in the previous lk he is putting in a different form.

That is caitanya alone illumines everything, either directly or indirectly.

And how do we know that caitanya pervades? Whenever we say that

something is known, it indicates the pervasion of caitanya. Like what?

Whenever we say the wall is seen, it means that it is pervaded by light. Do

we need to say it in so many words, because if it is not pervaded by light,

wall would not have been seen?

( yadi vypta na abhaviyat tarhi darana na abhaviyat). So

the moment we say we see the wall, it indicates the pervasion of the light.

286 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Similarly the moment we say we know an object, it indicates the pervasion

of consciousness.

But the consciousness pervades in two ways. In the case of mind and sense
organs, it pervades directly. ,
(sk caitanyna skta vypta, mana indriyi ca). That is why
mind is always known whereas the external world is sk caitanyna

skta vypta. The sk caitanya becomes antakraa caitanya and

that which is called cidbhs. Again quoting from Dakimrti sttram

jna yasya tu cakurdikaraadvr bahi spandat

The awareness of Brahman is spilling out in the individual through

the sense organs like eyes etc.

When the mind goes to that object through the mind the caitanya

pervades the world. And therefore, caitanya pervades the world

indirectly. Thus everything is pervaded by sk caitanya or pramt

caitanya. Sk caitanya is directly. When we say pramt caitanya, it

is indirectly.

So, svaya anta bahi ca vypnti. Anta refers to the mind and the vttis
of the mind. And the caitanya illumines the mind and the vttis directly

and this caitanya is called sk caitanya which illumines the mind

which illumines the vttis of the mind, which illumines even the resolution

Brahma svarpa 287

of the mind during the suupti avasth. ,

(sk caitanya rpa, brahma tma antakaraa

vypnti). And once the antakaraa gets the caitanya, this particular

caitanya is capable of going out through the sense organs and capable of
illumining the external world. And when the caitanya in the

antakaraa goes out through the pramas and illumines the external
world, the very same caitanya gets the name pramt caitanya.

So sk caitanya directly illumines the antakaraa and that is why it

is ever illumined in all the three avasths. So sk caitanya pervades the

mind directly and through the mind it pervades the external world

indirectly, and therefore, he says antarbahirvypya pervading both within

and without; akhila jagat bhsayan it illumines the whole universe the

internal subjective universe as well as the external objective universe.

Brahma prakat thus Brahman shines both within and without.

And how do we know Brahman shines? The very fact that the mind is

known indicates pervasion of caitanya. Remember the example,

whenever we say the world is seen, it indicates the pervasion of light.

Similarly when we say mind is known it indicates pervasion of caitanya.

And therefore, Brahma prakat anta bahi ca.

He gives an example pratapta ayasa piavat - like the red hot iron ball.
Suppose in a dark room there is a red hot iron ball. Normally in a dark

room one cannot see an ordinary iron ball. Now if we are able to see the red
hot iron ball it is because of the pervasion of the fire principle. When agni

pervades the iron or when the fire principle pervades the iron ball, the

288 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

invisible iron ball becomes the visible ironball. It not only becomes visible

because of agni vypti but if we touch the iron ball, the heat will burn us. So
the existence of dhaka akti is also because of the pervasion of the Agni.
But do we see the agni separately? No. Agni seems to be the instrisic

nature of the iron ball. But even though it appears to be the intrinsic

nature; that is, the light and heat seems to belong to the iron ball; it is only
because of the agni tattwa. Similarly the mind is known because of the

pervasion of the caitanya, the world is also known because of the

caitanya alone. (asti bhti

priya rpa nma ctyaa pacakam). Everywhere Brahman is there.

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 289

Jna Phala and Jna Di

Verse 63

Jna Phala and Jna Di 291

I

II 63

jagadvilaka brahma
brahma'nyanna kicana I
brahmnyadbhti cnmithy
yath marmarcik II

Here akarcrya points out the peculiar relationship between satya

and mithy , for example, the relationship between the rope and the snake.

And what is the peculiar relationship? When we want to reveal the rope, we
say the rope is different from the snake. That is, the snake is temporary,

rope is permanent, snake is krya, and rope is kraam. So thus rope, the

satya is different from snake, the mithy. But once the rope has been

revealed, we say rope is different from snake alright whereas snake is nondifferent from the rope. Snake the mithy vastu is not different from

satya. Why do we say so? Snake is not different from rope because snake

does not have an existence different from rope.

(bhinna satt abhvt). Whereas rope is different from snake. Why? -

Because rope has got a separate existence. Even without the snake the rope
will exist and so we say rope is different from snake whereas snake is not
different from rope.

This is a peculiar relationship possible between rope and snake only;

Satya and mithy only. Between two satya vastus, this will not hold good.

292 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Book is different from the tape recorder. Tape recorder is different from
book or not? Is there any doubt? No, because both have same degree of
reality. (samna sattkay madhy). Whereas

when one is satya and other is mithy, we should say satya is different

from mithy whereas mithy is not different from satya because mithy

doesnt have a separate existence. The same is true between kraa and

krya because kraa is satya and krya is mithy. Therefore, we

say kraa is different from krya but krya is not different from

kraam. That means what? Clay is different from pot because even after
the destruction of pot, clay continues. But pot is not different from clay.

That is what he says here, jagat vilaka Brahma Brahman is different

from the world. Whereas brahmaa anyat kicana na asti whereas there
is no world existing different from Brahman. Even in the resolution of the

world, Brahman continues but there is no world existing different from

Brahman.

How do we say so? I am seeing the world which is different from Brahman.
He says Brahma anyat bhti ct. If we experience something different from

Brahman, it is mithy. So the idea is that other than rope there is no snake

at all. But if we experience a snake, it is only a mithy snake.

Like (yath maru marcik) in place of mirage water

in a desert what is there? Only dry land or dry sand is there. In that dry
land there is not even a drop of water. And if we see some water, it is

indrajla, it is myjla, it is maru marcik mithy.

Jna Phala and Jna Di 293

Verse 64

II

64

dyat ryat yadyad

brahma'nyanna tadbhavt I
tattvajncca tadbrahm
saccidnandamadvayam II

In the previous lk he said anything else experienced different from

Brahman is mithy. That mithytva he is clarifying here. Yad yad dyat

whatever is seen, yad yad ryat whatever is heard ; he has referred to

two and we have to supply whatever is smelt, whatever is tasted and

whatever is touched, in short whatever is experienced all of them tat

Brahmaa anyat na bhavt it does not exist separate from Brahman.

Why? - Because the existence in every one of them belongs to Brahman. So

(Brahma sattay t sattvanta).

(na tu sva sattay sattvanta).

Like what?
(yath md sattay ghaa

sattvn). So the ghaasya satt the existence of the pot is borrowed from

the existence of the clay. Similarly whatever we see doesnt have an

existence of its own.

294 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

How do we say that? Why cant we say they have the existence of their
own? Why cant we say pot has got existence of its own? If pot has an

existence of its own, if it has got (svatassatt), then we have to

rely on the verse of Gt ,

(nsat vidhyat bhv na abhv vidhyat sata) if the pot had its own
existence, it will never lose its existence. It will be eternally existent. The
very fact that the pot appears and disappears itself shows that it doesnt
have existence of its own. And therefore, Brahmaa anyat na bhavt.

One may say that But I see them as though different from Brahman. The

cry says that if you see it is your ajna. ,

. ,

(yatra ajna tatra ghaa di yatra jna tatra md

di. Yatrahit dvaita iva bhavati tatra itara itara itara payati, itara
itara ti). Similarly ,

(yatra ajna tatra jagat di, yatra jna tatra Brahma di).
That is what he says. Tattva jnt so once the tattva jna comes,

; ;

; etc. (yasmin sarvi bhtni

tmaiva abht vijnata; Brahmaivda viva ida varia; Purua va

idagu sarva; brahmrpaa brahma havi) - all of them.

(mayi tadtmiya ida sarva). All these indicate that

Jna Phala and Jna Di 295

for a jn, tm va asti. So tattva jnt tat Brahma tat is emphasized

tat means
(yat prva jagat st) what was earlier
in the form of the world the same world is now Brahman. Yat prva

sarpa st, tadva vastu idn rajju.

(yat prva di jnamay ktv payt

Brahma maya jagat).

Then one should not ask, did the world change into Brahman? The counter

question is did the snake change into rope? The change was not outside.
The sarpa buddhi, bhram buddhi was replaced by pram buddhi.

Similarly jagat buddhi has been replaced by Brahma buddhi. The effect of

bhrnti is gone.

What is the nature of this Brahman? Saccidnandamadvaya that which

is sachchidnanda advaya svarpa.

Verse 65

II 65

sarvaga saccidtmna
jnacakurnirkat I
ajnacakurnkta
bhsvanta bhnumandhavat II

296 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

So here akarcrya clarifies the idea that the difference is not in the

external world. The difference is only in the outlook. There is a correction

in the antakraam, exactly as in any error. From sarpa to rajju, the

change is not external but it is internal. And what type of change? - The
change from wrong vision to right vision.

But the change can also be from a wrong vision to another wrong vision.

First he saw a sarpa but later he may say no no it is not sarpa but it is a

ml. So here the change has come from one error to another error.

Similarly previously we said prapaca and now we say paca bhta

another error. Then we say world is atoms another error. Then we say

world is energy another error. Thus we may shift from one error to
another but here what is emphasized is the shift is from error to

knowledge. So akarcrya says that the world remaining the same, two

people have two different visions. That is why we have in Taittirya

Upaniad I

(ady'ntmy'nirukt'nilayan'bhaya pratih vindat. Tattvva

bhaya vidu'manvnasya).

So world is sukha for jn, world is dukha for ajn. For a jn,

Brahma rpa world is nanda svarpa, world rpa world is dukha

svarpa; Jagat rpa dukam, Brahma rpa nanda; Sarpa rpa

dukham, rajju rpa nanda.

Jna Phala and Jna Di 297

Therefore, he says there are two varieties of people. Ajnacaku - ajna

maya caku yasya and jnacaku jna maya caku yasya

bahuvrhi. Ajna maya caku means an eye which is backed by ajn

mind or ignorant mind. Jna caku means an eye which is backed by a

wise mind.

So jna caku sarvaga saccidtmna kat. The wise person sees the
all pervading sacchidtm. So jna cakshuh is the name of jn. Sacchid

tmnam sarvaga means all pervading; kat nirkat ,

, (nicayna, saaya viparyaya rahita

kat, samyak); whereas ajnacaku the ignorant person keeps the

eyes open very much (payannapi na payati). So even

though his eyes are open, na kta- he will not see. He will say there is only
pot. I am all the time handling what? Pot. And I am fetching water in

what? Pot. So when solidly pot is available, how dare you say there is no
pot at all? That is called ajnacaku. He doesnt understand what we are

trying to say. Na kta he does not see.

He gives an example. Bhsvanta bhnu andhavat. Just as andha- a

blind man never sees the Sun during day time. Or we can take another
meaning also for andha owl. (nicara) owl.

(y ni sarvabhtn tasy jgarti sayam I yasy jgrati bhtni s

ni payat mun). That which is night to all beings, the jn keeps

298 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

awake, and that in which all beings keep awake, is night to the seer says

Lord K in the Gt .

Similarly for this person also tm is always ni iva only. It is not known
to him. So andhavat, we have to complete the sentence na kta.

Verse 66

II 66

ravadibhiruddpta
jngniparitpita I
jvassarvamalnmuktv
svaraviddhytat svayam II

So in all these lks we can take them in two ways. It is all a description of

Brahman in which the jvan mukt merges. Or we can say this is the vision
of the jvan mukt.

What is the vision? When everybody sees asat, jvan mukt sees sat, when

everybody seems dukha, jvan mukt sees sukha - , ,

(nandati, nandati, nandati va). For an ajn it is ,

, (rdati, rdati, rdati va). Both are seeing the same

thing. Both have got body. Both have got the world. But their reactions are

different. They are dignonally opposite living in the same world. And that is

Jna Phala and Jna Di 299

why Lord K said in the Gt

... (y ni

sarvabhtn....). We have seen this verse in the previous lk.

We can also say that this is the jvan mukts vision. And in this lk also

jvan mukts nature is being pointed out. He is effulgent like gold. He

shines like gold. So jvan mukt is compared to the shining gold. What

about sasrs? They are also gold but dull. So dull gold because there are

lot of impurities, encrustations etc., and therefore, they dont shine that

much.

Similarly every jva is none other than Brahman nanda svarpa. But
everybody has got a dull look because there is an encrustation. The

fundamental excrustation is ajna. Then on that is rga dva. On that

is puya ppa. And on that is sukha dukha. All these are there.

Now what we have to do to get to the original gold? We have to remove all
these rga dva impurities and finally the ajna impurity should also
go. Karmyga is to remove rga dva impurities. Upsana is to remove
the vikpa impurities. We have already seen all these. Just as gold

processing also involves lot of steps. So to get 1 Kg of gold, how much of

mineral has to be mined. Then the external rocks have to be removed along
with mud and other things and thereafter they have so many processes.

And then the pure gold is taken out by the electrolytic method. After all this
they get 99.9999% purity only. But suppose if we take the big mine ore and
straight away use the electrolytic process, nothing will come. It is like

taking our duster cloth which has become very dirty. If we want to clean it,
it is a very tedious process. First we will have to dip it in ordinary water a

300 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

number of times to remove the outer dirt. And thereafter we have use soap,
washing soda or some powder etc. to clean it. If we directly use soap and

washing soda right in the beginning, it will not get cleaned at all. In fact the
soap etc. instead of cleaning the dirt, the dirt will absorb the powder and
remain there.

So therefore, here also straight away jna method cannot be used straight

away. First karmayga, then upsan and thereafter cleansing process

should take place. They call it sphukaraa of gold. So they have to boil it

and therafterwards, they use some processes and then the impurities have
to be removed as a scum. Similarly here also the impure jva is sphu

kta. How?

He says ravadibhi uddpta jna agni paritpita. Paritpita means

parita tapita totally heated. Through what jna agni. And this agni

has to be kindled and constantly fanned which is ravadibhi di padt

ravaa, manana, nidhidhysana.

So by this fanning the jna fire is kindled and in that jna fire the impure

jva is roasted and then he melts, the impurities come out and they are
removed. And after that the very same jva shines jva sarvamaln

muktv having dropped all the impurities, ajna, aaya, viparyaya,

rga dv, all of them; svaravat svaya dhytat he shines like a

svara gold. The beauty of the example is that we dont add shining to

svara because shining is svarasya svabhv. All these processes are not

to brighten the svara, even though we use the word brighten but these are

all to remove the pratibandhs for shining. We never add anything.

Jna Phala and Jna Di 301

Similaly by ravaa, manana, nidhidhysana the teacher does not give

nand to the student. But the teacher only removes the nanda

pratibandhs and so the shining bright face of the student is revealed.

Bright face is joy nanadati nandati sampra jagadva nandana. So

svaravat svaya dhytat.

Verse 67

II 67

hdkdit hytm
bdhabhnustam'paht I
sarvavypi sarvadhr
bhti bhsayat'khilam II

Here he says that the tm srya has risen in the heart of jvan mukt, The

tm bhnu Srya; not that till now the Srya was absent, but tm
Srya was there but still we missed it. Like during night the Sun is still

there but for us it is obstructed by our own earth only. Then what is Srya

udaya. It is not that Srya is rising but the obstruction is gone and

therefore, we recognize the Srya. Similarly in the hdaya k, tm was

very much there till now but because of the night of ignorance, the Srya

was not available. But once the night of ignorance is gone, it is the sign of

Srydaya.

302 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

Therefore he says hdka udita tm - tm has risen in the hdaya

ka. Of whom? - The jn, because in him only, the night of ignorance

is gone. Night is also dark and ignorance also is dark. Therefore, only in him
the Srydaya has come. And what type of Srya it is? Bdha bhnu it
is the Sun of awareness, svarpa caitanya - bdha va bhnu or bdh

rpa bhnu. That is why a jn says that in his antakaraam the Srya
has risen and it is a Srya which never sets and therefore he does not have

udaya astamana after jna. Therefore, (katha

sandhy upsmah?) - He asks. Therefore, he takes sanys. He wants to

give up sandhy vandan because the tm Srya has permanently come

into his heart and therefore he doesnt have udaystamana.

What type of Srya is it? Tam apaht the destroyer of all darkeness.

But we have to carefully note that tm does not directly destroy

ignorance. Tama here means darkness and darkness stands for ignorance.
So here he says tm is the destroyer of ignorance but logically speaking

tm cannot destroy ignorance. Because if tm can destroy ignorance,

everybody has got tm and therefore nobody will have ignorance. So

when he says tm destroys ignorance, it means that tm reflected in

akhakra vtti, destroys ignorance. So vtti pratibimbita sat. So not

directly but indirectly,

(mahvkya janita vtti dvr nayati na tu skt).

(svarpa jna vtti jna

rpa ajna nayati). How is it possible? It is like the Sun does not

directly burn a piece of cotton, but when the same Sunlight comes through

Jna Phala and Jna Di 303

a lens, it can burn a piece of cotton. Similarly svarpa caitanya does not

directly burn ignorance but svarpa caitanya coming through the lens

vtti lens- destroys ignorance. What a wonderful example? The credit goes

to Vidyraya Svmi.

So tam apaht and what is the nature of the bdhah sarva vypi all

pervasive; sarva dhr means viv dhra sustaniner of all, satt,

pradt, adhihna. And this tm, bhti shines by itself and not only it

shines by itself akhilam bhsayat ca. It illumines everything else also. As

Lord K says in the Gt - I

(yath prakayatyka ktsna

lkamima ravi. ktra ktr tath ktsna prakayati bhrata). As

one Sun illumines this entire universe, so the one tm illumines the whole

ktra i.e field or in this context the entire universe. There also

(srya dnta) only.

Therefore,

(yath

srya prakayati va tm srya sarva prapaca prakayati).

And who is this tm srya? It is this jn.

So with this the jvan mukts vision is also completed. Vidha mukti has

also been talked about and with this jna phala topic is also over. So jva

Brahma aikya has been pointed out. ravaa, manana and

nidhidhysana have been pointed out. Jna phala has also been

pointed out. Now what is left out is only (phalaruti).

304 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 305

Phalaruti

Phalaruti 307

Last lk.

Verse 68

II 68

dgdakldhyanapkya sarvaga
tdihnnityasukha nirajanam I
yassvtmatrtha bhajat vinikriya
sa sarvavitsarvagat'mt bhavt II

So here tm is compared to a (trtha). Trtha means

(trthayati punti sarvn iti trtha) that, which

purifies, sanctifies, cleanses. When we take dip in any holy trtha like
Ganges or various trthas like Prayg, Saga etc. they are called

trthas. When we merge or dip into those trthas our puya ppa

etc. will go away. Here akarcrya says that tm is the greatest trtha.
And if we dip into that tm trtha dipping means merging it is the

final dip. Once we dip we should not come out and all impurities will go

away because this tm trtha is superior to all other trthas in so many

respects.

All other trthas can remove our puya ppa etc. but they cannot

remove our ajna. And since they cannot remove our ajna, even

though we get purified, again we become impure and again we will have to
go to the same trtha or another trtha. They cleanse only temporarily.
This is the second limitation. Going to other trthas involves travel,

308 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

overcoming lot of troubles, and if it is on a festival day, there will be lacs

and lacs of people and we may not get an opportunity to there as there will
be a lot of competiton.

But in tm trtha, what are the advantages? First of all it is individually

with us only. It is sarvagata and we need not go anywhere. So anywhere

we can dip, we need not travel. The second advantage is that it removes

ppa, it removes puya and it removes ajna also. And final

advantage is that once the impurities are gone thereafter we need not take

any further dip. That will be the last dip.

So what type of tm it is? Sarvaga all pervading;

(digdakldi anapky) which is unrelated to, untouched by

space, time and direction; tdiht it is a destroyer of ta, ua;

dvanda nivtti kara destroys pairs; nitya sukha it is eternal

happiness; nirajanam ever pure; it will not get polluted like Ganges sva

tma trtha the holy place called tm ya bhajat the one who
resorts to or dips.

And what is his qualification? Vinikriya literally means sanys,

sarvakarma tyg but we will dilute it for our purpose and take it as a
seeker who has got internal detachment, vairg, sdhana catuaya

sampanna; sa sarvavit bhavt he will become sarvaja

(yasmin vijt sarva ida vijta

bhavati). He he does not know all the details but he knows that the essence

of everything is Brahman sarvavit, sarvagata he is all pervading and

Phalaruti 309

amta bhavt he will become immortal, he will become mukta, mukt

bhavati.

And therefore, he is indirectly advising all of us that instead of running

after from trtha to trtha, from temple to temple, from places to places,
the best and the last type dip is tm prpti. And therefore, all of us have
to take this dip and be liberated.

So with this the tm bdh text also is over.

II

Pramada pramida prt pramudacyat I

Prasya pramdya pramvvaiyat II
O nti nti nti

Hari O Sri Gurubhy Nama Hari O

tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda 311

tm Bdha- The Verses as explained in this book

1.

2.

II

3.

II

4.

II

5.

II

6.

II

7.

II

II

Tapbhi kappn
ntn vtargi I
Mumukmapkyya
tmabdh vidhyat II
bdh'nyasdhanbhy hi
sktmkaikasdhana I
pkasya vahnivajjna
vin mk na sidhyati II
avirdhitaykarm
n'vidhy vinivartayt I
vidhyvidhy nihantyva
tjastimirasaghavat II
paricchinna ivjnt
tann sati kvala I
svaya prakat hytm
mghpy'umniva II
ajnakalua jva
jnbhy sdvinirml I
ktv jna svaya nayt
jala katakaruvat II
sasra svapnatuly hi
rgadvdi sakula I
svakl satyavadbhti
prabdh satyasadbhavt II
tvatsatya jagadbhti
uktikrajata yath I
yvanna jyat brahma
sarvdhihnamadvayam II

312 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

8.

9.

II

I

II

10.

II

11.

II

12. -

II

13. -

II

14.
I

II

updn'khildhr
jaganti paramvar I
sargasthitilaynynti
budbudnva vrii II
saccidtmanyanusyt
nity viau prakalpit I
vyaktay vividhssarv
hak kaakdivat II
yathk hk
nnpdhigat vibhu I
tadbhddbhinnavadbhti
tann kval bhavt II
nnpdhivadva
jtivarramdaya I
tmanyrpitsty
rasavardi bhdavat II
packtamahbhta sambhava karmasacita I
arra sukhadukhn
bhgyatanamucyat II
pacapramanbuddhi dandriyasamanvitam I
apacktabhtttha
skmga bhgasdhanam II
andhyavidhynirvcy
krapdhirucyat I
updhitritaydanya
tmnamavadhrayt II

15.

II

16.

II

17.
I

II

18. -

-
II

19.

I

II

20.
I

II

21.
I

II

tm Bdha- The Verses 313

pacakdiygna
tattanmy iva sthita I
uddhtm nlavastrdi ygna sphaik yath II

vapustudibhi kai
yukta yuktyvaghtata I
tmnamantara uddha
vivicyttaula yath II

sad sarvagat'pytm
na sarvatrvabhsat I
buddhvvvabhsta
svcchu pratibimbavat II
dhndriyamanbuddhi praktibhy vilakaam I
tad - vttiskia vidhy
tmna rjavatsad II
vyptvindriyvtm
vyprivvivkinm I
dyat'bhru dhvatsu
dhvanniva yath a II
tmacaitanyamritya
dhndriyamandhiya I
svakriyrthu vartant
srylka yath jan II
dhndriyagunkarmi
amal saccidtmani I
adhyasyantya vivkna
gagan nlatdivat II

314 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

22.

II

23.
I

II

24.

II

25.

II 25

26.
I

II

27.

II

28.

I

II

ajnnmnaspdh
karttvdni ctmani I
kalpyant'mbugat candr
calandi yathmbhasa II
rgcchsukhadukhdi
buddhau saty pravartat I
suuptau nsti tann
tasmd buddhstu ntmana II
prak'rkasya tyasya
aityamagnryathat I
svabhva saccidnanda nityanirmlttmana II
tmana saccidaaca
buddhrvttiriti dvayam I
sayjya cvivkna
jnmti pravartat II
tmn vikriy nsti
buddhrbdh na jtviti I
jva sarvaml jtv
jt drati muhyati II
rajjusarpavadtmna
jva jtv bhaya vaht I
nha jva partmti
jtaacnnirbhay bhavt II
tmvabhsayatyk
buddhydnndriyyapi I
dp ghadivatsvtm
jaaistairnvabhsyat II

29.
I

II
30.
I

II

31.

II

32. I

II

33.

II

34.

I

II

35.

II

tm Bdha- The Verses 315

svabdh nnyabdhcch
bdharpataytmana I
na dpasynyadpcch
yath svtmaprakan II

niidhya nikhilpdhn
nti ntti vkyata I
vidhydaikya mahvkyai
jvtmaparamtman II
vidhyaka arrdi dya
budbudavatkaram I
tadvilakaa vidhyt
aha brahmti nirmlm II
dhnyatvnna m janma jarkryalaydaya I
abddiviayai sag
nirindriyatay na ca II
amanastvnna m
dukhargadvabhaydaya I
apr hyaman ubhra
itydi rutisant II
nirgu nikriy nity
nirvikalp nirajana I
nirvikr nirkr
nityamukt'smi nirml II
aha kavatsarva
bahirantargat'cyuta I
sad sarvasamauddh
nissag nirmal'cala II

316 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

36.

II

37.

I

II

38.

II

39.

II

40.

I
-

II

41.

II

42. I

II

nityauddhavimuktikam
akhanandamadvayam I
satya jnamananta
yatpara brahmhamva tat II
va nirantarbhyasth
brahmaivsmti vsan I
haratyavidhyvikpn
rgniva rasyanam II
viviktada sn
virg vijitndriya I
bhvaydkamtmna
tamanantamananyadh II
tmanyvkhila dya
pravilpya dhiy sudh I
bhvaydkamtmna
nirmalkavatsad II
rpavardika sarva
vihya paramrthavit I
paripracidnanda svarpva tihat II
jtjnajyabhda
par ntmani vidhyat I
cidnandaikarpatvt
dpyat svayamva hi II
vamtmraau dhyna mathan satata kt I
uditvagatijvl
sarvjnndhana daht

43.

II
44.

II

45.
I

II

46.

II

47.

I

II

48.

II

49.
I

II

tm Bdha- The Verses 317

arunva bdhna
prva santamas ht I
tata virbhavdtm
svayamvumniva II

tm tu satata prpt
apyaprptavadavidhyy I
tann prptavadbhti
svakahbharaa yath II
sthau puruavadbhrnty
kt brahmai jvat I
jvasya tttvik rp
tasmind nivartat II
tattvasvarpnubhavt
utpanna jnamajas I
aha mamti cjna
bdhat digbhramdivat II
samyak vijnavn yg
svtmanyvkhila jagat I
ka ca sarvamtmnam
kat jnacaku II
tmaivda jagatsarva
tman'nyanna vidhyat I
md yadvadghadni
svtmna sarvamekat II
jvanmuktstu tadvidvn
prvpdhigustyajt I
saccidnandarpatvt
bhavd bhramarakavat II

318 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

50.

II

51.

II

52.

II

53.

II

54.

II

55.
I

II

56.

II

trtv mhrava hatv

rgadvdirkasn I
yg ntisamyukta
tmrm virjat II
bhyanityasukhsakti
hitvtmsukhanirvta I
ghaasthadpavatsvastha
svntarva prakat II
updhisth'pi taddharmai
alipt vymavanmuni I
sarvavinmhavattiht
asakt vyuvaccart II
updhivilaydviau
nirvia vinmuni I
jal jala viyadvymni
tjastjasi v yath II
yallbhnnpar lbh
yatsukhnnpara sukhaI
yajjnnnpara jna
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II
yaddv npara dya
yadbhtv na punarbhava I
yajjtv npara jya
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II
tiryagrdhvamadha pra
saccidnandamadvayam I
ananta nityamka yat
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

57.

II

58.

II

59.
I

II

60.

II

61.

II

62.

I
-

II

63.

I

II

tm Bdha- The Verses 319

atadvyvttirpa
vdntairlakyat'dvaya I
akhanandamka yat
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II
akhanandarpasya
tasynandalavrit I
brahmdhystratamyna
bhavantynandin'khil II
tadhyuktamakhila vastu
vyavahrastadanvita I
tasmtsarvagata brahma
kr sarpirivkhil II
anavasthlamahsva
adrghamajamavyayam I
arpaguavarkhyam
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II

yadbhs bhsyat'rkdi
bhsyairyattu na bhsyat I
yna sarvamida bhti
tadbrahmtyavadhrayt II
svayamantarbahirvypya
bhsayannakhila jagat I
brahma prakat vahni prataptyasapiavat II
jagadvilaka brahma
brahma'nyanna kicana I
brahmnyadbhti cnmithy
yath marmarcik II

320 tm Bdha -Pravacanas by Swami Paramarthananda

64.

II

65.
I

II
66.

II
67.
I

II
68.

I


II

dyat ryat yadyad

brahma'nyanna tadbhavt I
tattvajncca tadbrahm
saccidnandamadvayam II
sarvaga saccidtmna
jnacakurnirkat I
ajnacakurnkta
bhsvanta bhnumandhavat II
ravadibhiruddpta
jngniparitpita I
jvassarvamalnmuktv
svaraviddhytat svayam II
hdkdit hytm
bdhabhnustam'paht I
sarvavypi sarvadhr
bhti bhsayat'khilam II

dgdakldhyanapkya sarvaga
tdihnnityasukha nirajanam I
yassvtmatrtha bhajat vinikriya
sa sarvavitsarvagat'mt bhavt II