Abhava is the negative of 'bhava' which means being, becoming, existing, appearance. The word bhava is derived from the Sanskrit root 'bhû' which means to be, to come into being, to become. Therefore abhava means non-existence, the state of non-being.
Existence is the positive state of something and non-existence is the negative state of the same thing, which indicates that something, probably everything, has both positive and negative states of being. Wherever the positive and the negative are discovered to be present in opposition it can be reasonably concluded that the three gunas have separated and manifested, no longer being in a state of equilibrium. Because bhava and abhava are opposites this very duality is indicative that the gunas are involved, rajas being the positive guna and tamas being the negative guna.
The god Brahma, who a personification of the positive guna, at the end of the kalpa is absorbed into Siva Loka, where Siva, the personification of the negative guna, intensely compresses the head of Brahma, constraining it down into transcendental nothingness. Brahma effectively is unable to remember himself and stays in that state of non-existence for aeons of time, compressed into apparent nothingness, his head completely covered by Siva's swaddling body, and disappearing in a state of total self forgetfulness. After an inexorable passage of time, when Brahma eventually stirs, he struggles magnificently to remember himself, but it is not possible to remember yourself unless you love. Brahma remembers himself by discovering the principle of love-existence, which is the principle that existence is possible if all-support-all, and he rises upwards as a bubble, ascending and expanding. Ascending to a region beyond the control of Siva, Brahma escapes from Siva Loka and creation begins again, creation being the positive form of existence. Creation, the golden world of Brahma Loka, is held up by nothing except love, reciprocal love, and hovers above Dissolution, the nihilistic world of Siva Loka, . If that love ever ceases, if someone breaks the bond of reciprocal support, everything, the whole of existence, would fall into the non-existence of Siva Loka again, which always lies below, menacing and threatening. That is the essential nature of the relationship between the two gunas who are eternally in opposition to each other: what one creates the other seeks to destroy. Purusha, the highest witness, sees all this as Prakriti, merely the action and interaction of the gunas, with which Purusha remains unentangled. The Self, oneself as the Absolute, is said to be aloof. Nisargadatta states we are in the universe as the witness (Purusha) and outside of the universe as the Absolute (Parabrahman). Therefore the Absolute is neither existent nor non-existent. Existence and non-existence are states produced by the gunas, and since the three gunas are merely aspects of the mathematical law by which the energy of Shakti manifests as the universe, it can be concluded that both existence and non-existence are part of the illusion produced by Shakti-Maya.
Advaita, particularly Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, states that that which exists can never cease to exist, and that which is non-existent can never come into existence. Therefore everything that has being must always exist, although it may temporarily be located in a state of non-existence. Everything may oscillate between a state of existence and non-existence, and although completely disappearing it, everything, still exists, although undetectable, in the state of non-existence, which is its negative phase.
Nisargadatta has some interesting things to say about existence and non-existence:
"Existence and non-existence relate to something in space and time, here and now, there and then, which are in the mind. To exist means to be something, a thing, a thought, a feeling, an idea. All existence is particular. Only being is universal. Existences clash, being never clashes. Existence means becoming, change, birth and death, and birth again, while in being there is silent peace. All existence is in space and time and is limited and temporary. He who experiences existence is also limited and temporary. I am not concerned either with what exists or with who exists. I take my stand beyond, where I am both and neither. Do not identify mere existence with reality. Existence is momentary, while reality is changeless and all pervading. Existence is in consciousness, whereas your essence is independent of consciousness. Deny existence to everything except yourself."
Thursday 30 December 2010
Saturday 18 December 2010
Theories that the universe had a beginning and has an end
In Indian philosophy there are several opposing theories about the origin of the universe, its creation, maintenance and dissolution, and particularly whether or not it has a beginning and an end.
There are three major darsanas (literally ‘showings’) (metaphysical systems of Indian Philosophy): arambha-vada of the Nyaya-Vaisheshika school, parinama-vada of the Ramanuja and Samkhya-Yoga schools, vivarta-vada of the Advaita Vedanta school.
Arambha-vada is the theory that the Universe had a beginning and is the creation of an external agency, believed to have been created by Isvara from minute ultimate round particles or atoms, called anus. The anus are composed of even smaller particles called paramanu, sometime known as the ‘ultimate atoms’ which are equivalent to sub-atomic particles. The paramanus always exist, whether in the unmanifest or the manifest state. Since they were never created, they can not be destroyed, because destruction is merely the separation of constituent parts, and the paramanus have no smaller constituent parts. Being indestructible, the paramanus therefore are eternal, and occupy no space, having no inside and no outside. Having no magnitude the paramanus are only conceivable by the mind. The aranbha-vada theory, by placing the paramanus as the ultimate constituent of material existence, hints at the emptyness and insubstantiality of gross matter. The combination of two paramanus form one atom, or anu. Anus in turn combine to form a dvyanuka or molecule. Molecules can combine into ‘illusionary’ visible objects. There are four kinds of atoms: earth, water, fire, air. The ultimate atoms are incapable of being divided further, and the formation of the various objects in the universe is due to the conjunctions and aggregation of the atoms, and correspondingly the destruction of objects is due to their disjunction and disaggregation. This process is perpetual. Arambha-vada theory corresponds remarkably closer to contemporary chemistry and physics theory than any other ancient Indian philosophical system.
Arambha-vada is also known as Asat-karya-vada and includes the thesis that the effect is not pre-existent in the cause (as some other Indian systems believe, eg Samkhya and Advaita). The cause (Isvara, God) is one thing and the effect (the universe) is an entirely different thing. The effect (the universe) is an entirely new production by the cause (Isvara, God), and therefore the universe has a beginning. The universe does not exist before its creation by the cause (Isvara, God). There are variations in arambha-vada theory and in the sutras of Kanada a supreme creator, Isvara, is not admitted and instead an agnostic view is proposed, admitting an adrishta or ‘unknowable unseen cause’. However, another proponent of the theory, Prastapada, adheres to the traditional Hindu doctrine of Brahma as the creator and Siva as the destroyer of the universe.
Parinama-vada is the theory that the universe is neither created nor destroyed, but is a transformation of the Absolute. The Absolute has created the universe by a transformation of a small part of his substance or being. Samkhya-Yoga states that the universe is a manifestation of the Absolute stepping into unmanifest Prakriti. A difficult concept to comprehend is the thesis that the effect pre-exists in its material cause, ie the universe pre-exists in unmanifest Prakriti. The Absolute, despite the transformation of its being, is not changed by the universe emanating out of itself and dissolving back into itself.
Vivarta-vada is the theory that the universe appears as it is only because of the limitations of the observer, who is subject to Maya, the magical power of Shakti, which is coeval with the Absolute. The universe is actually Brahman, and upon the self-realization of the Atman with Brahman the illusion of the universe ends.
Advaita only accepts the vivarta-vada thesis, and rejects arambha-vada and parinama-vada as being untrue. The clearest view of vivarta-vada is presented by Nisargadatta who states that: “God is not running the world. Nobody is running the world. All happens by itself. All is a play in consciousness. Yours is the desire that creates the universe. Know the world as your own creation and be free. All the time you look for origins and causes. Causality is in the mind only. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now the idea of cause and effect losses its validity”.
There are three major darsanas (literally ‘showings’) (metaphysical systems of Indian Philosophy): arambha-vada of the Nyaya-Vaisheshika school, parinama-vada of the Ramanuja and Samkhya-Yoga schools, vivarta-vada of the Advaita Vedanta school.
Arambha-vada is the theory that the Universe had a beginning and is the creation of an external agency, believed to have been created by Isvara from minute ultimate round particles or atoms, called anus. The anus are composed of even smaller particles called paramanu, sometime known as the ‘ultimate atoms’ which are equivalent to sub-atomic particles. The paramanus always exist, whether in the unmanifest or the manifest state. Since they were never created, they can not be destroyed, because destruction is merely the separation of constituent parts, and the paramanus have no smaller constituent parts. Being indestructible, the paramanus therefore are eternal, and occupy no space, having no inside and no outside. Having no magnitude the paramanus are only conceivable by the mind. The aranbha-vada theory, by placing the paramanus as the ultimate constituent of material existence, hints at the emptyness and insubstantiality of gross matter. The combination of two paramanus form one atom, or anu. Anus in turn combine to form a dvyanuka or molecule. Molecules can combine into ‘illusionary’ visible objects. There are four kinds of atoms: earth, water, fire, air. The ultimate atoms are incapable of being divided further, and the formation of the various objects in the universe is due to the conjunctions and aggregation of the atoms, and correspondingly the destruction of objects is due to their disjunction and disaggregation. This process is perpetual. Arambha-vada theory corresponds remarkably closer to contemporary chemistry and physics theory than any other ancient Indian philosophical system.
Arambha-vada is also known as Asat-karya-vada and includes the thesis that the effect is not pre-existent in the cause (as some other Indian systems believe, eg Samkhya and Advaita). The cause (Isvara, God) is one thing and the effect (the universe) is an entirely different thing. The effect (the universe) is an entirely new production by the cause (Isvara, God), and therefore the universe has a beginning. The universe does not exist before its creation by the cause (Isvara, God). There are variations in arambha-vada theory and in the sutras of Kanada a supreme creator, Isvara, is not admitted and instead an agnostic view is proposed, admitting an adrishta or ‘unknowable unseen cause’. However, another proponent of the theory, Prastapada, adheres to the traditional Hindu doctrine of Brahma as the creator and Siva as the destroyer of the universe.
Parinama-vada is the theory that the universe is neither created nor destroyed, but is a transformation of the Absolute. The Absolute has created the universe by a transformation of a small part of his substance or being. Samkhya-Yoga states that the universe is a manifestation of the Absolute stepping into unmanifest Prakriti. A difficult concept to comprehend is the thesis that the effect pre-exists in its material cause, ie the universe pre-exists in unmanifest Prakriti. The Absolute, despite the transformation of its being, is not changed by the universe emanating out of itself and dissolving back into itself.
Vivarta-vada is the theory that the universe appears as it is only because of the limitations of the observer, who is subject to Maya, the magical power of Shakti, which is coeval with the Absolute. The universe is actually Brahman, and upon the self-realization of the Atman with Brahman the illusion of the universe ends.
Advaita only accepts the vivarta-vada thesis, and rejects arambha-vada and parinama-vada as being untrue. The clearest view of vivarta-vada is presented by Nisargadatta who states that: “God is not running the world. Nobody is running the world. All happens by itself. All is a play in consciousness. Yours is the desire that creates the universe. Know the world as your own creation and be free. All the time you look for origins and causes. Causality is in the mind only. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now the idea of cause and effect losses its validity”.
Sunday 31 October 2010
Consciousness, Knowledge, Understanding
Consciousness, Knowledge, Understanding
An essay exploring the meaning of the Sanskrit words:
Jnana, Vijnana, Prajnana and Sujnana.
This discussion between Sri Mohan and myself took place
on the Advaitin Yahoo discussion group website in
January 2009. Because it evokes some of the statements that
Nisargadatta made on the subjects of Consciousness, Knowledge
and Understanding it is perhaps of interest to republish it
here. Sri Mohan demonstrates the use of these three important
concepts in a typically contemporary manner which results in
their interchangeability and confusion, whereas Nisargadatta
explains their meaning with clarity and insight.
Sri Mohan wrote...
“The English terms `Awareness', `Consciousness' and
`Understanding' are used interchangeably and to mean the
same concept in Western philosophy.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the meaning in almost identical
terms and basically states that they represent a state of
knowledge which enables one to understand something clearly.
`Awareness' appears to be a state of existence or being.
`Understanding', however, is the end result of acquisition
of knowledge. `Awareness' is a state that is free of any
definitive action or process. It can be described as `endowed'
or `self-existent' rather than `acquired' or `achieved'.
`Understanding', on the other hand, clearly connotes the
acquisition or achievement of some kind of intellectual
clarity, following a process of learning or striving.
This difference can be demonstrated by the idea of `being
aware that one has understood a situation'. `Awareness' and
`Un-awareness' are states of being, while `Understanding'
is an intellectual achievement.“
The response....
Awareness, Consciousness and Understanding are not the
same concept. Awareness does not necessarily have to represent
a state of knowledge. Awareness is beyond being and non-being.
Understanding is perhaps a combination of knowledge and being.
Understanding may well be a result of knowledge acquired in
previous existences, since the organ chitta, the seat of
understanding, accompanies the jiva in transmigratory existence.
Children are born with different degrees of understanding,
different qualities of chitta accompany them.
Memory and understanding are related since understanding
could be said to be the result, in part, of past remembered
knowledge. Chitta includes therefore both memory and
understanding. Knowledge can be forgotten but true
understanding is not lost, since it has passed into the
subtle organ. Understanding is not merely an intellectual
achievement since individual understanding directly and
proportionately varies with the quality of the being of
the individual. Purify your being and you will see and
understand more even with the same knowledge.
The casual use of the words 'awareness', 'consciousness'
and 'understanding' interchangeably, debases language and
ensures no one understands what is being said. It is reasonable
to suspect that such words are being used interchangeably
because it is not known what they indicate or mean. In fact
a study of the English words 'awareness, consciousness, and
understanding' leads to some comprehension of the quite
different levels and natures of Atman, Brahman and Parabrahman.
However, what the corresponding Sanskrit originals of these
words are, remains something of a mystery? The meanings given
by the Oxford English Dictionary can never exceed the level,
mundane and spiritual, of the compiler. Original meanings
found in an etymological dictionary tend to give greater
insight, as if the creators of language were at a finer level
than subsequent generations of users. Language seems to start
at a surprisingly high level and then slowly degenerates with
time? Ancient Panini's and Bhartrhari's comprehension of the
spiritual structure which is the basis of the Sanskrit
language is astonishingly profound and no one since, eastern
or western, appears to have again approached such a level
of understanding.
Sri Mohan wrote...
`Vijnana', `Prajnana' and `Sujnana'. These words describe
a kind of ascending scale of knowledge.
`Vijnana' can be said to be `experience' or `wisdom', which
is knowledge gained from experience. `Prajnana' is a wider
and more profound knowledge of matters beyond the ken of
the mind and intellect. `Sujnana' is pure knowledge of the
Supreme and corresponds to `Consciousness'. The terms
`Pragnana' and `Sujnana' can be said to state the same
concept.
The response....
Looking up these words in the Monier Williams and
Macdonell Sanskrit dictionaries subtle differences are
found.....
'Vi' indicates 'separation', 'apart', 'without', possibly
derived from 'dvi' meaning 'in two parts', 'in different
directions'. 'Vi' as a prefix to nouns indicates 'division',
'distinction'. 'Jnana' simply means 'knowledge'. Vi together
with the root jna means to distinguish, discern, observe,
recognize, know, understand. Therefore vijnana literally
means without knowledge, separation knowledge, or
possibly knowledge in two directions, knowledge of duality?
Monier Williams lists the meanings: 'the act of distinguishing',
'discerning', 'comprehending', 'understanding'.
Macdonell offers the meanings: 'discernment', 'knowledge'.
'Pra' with verbs means 'before', and with nouns means
'great', but with adjectives means 'exceedingly'.
Therefore prajnana literally means great knowledge.
Monier Williams lists the meanings: 'wisdom', 'knowledge'.
Macdonell offers the meanings: 'cognisance', 'knowledge'.
He also equates prajnana with Sarasvati, the shakti of
Brahma.
'Su' has many meanings and indicates 'to move', 'possessing
supremacy', 'extract', 'beget or bring forth', 'good',
'right', 'excellent', 'virtuous'. Simply and literally,
sujnana means good knowledge. Monier Williams lists the
meanings: 'possessing good knowledge', 'easy to be known'.
Macdonell offers the meaning: 'good knowledge'. 'Su' is
indicative of a high ethical quality.
In summary.... Vijnana is knowledge of the principle of
duality, knowledge of the subtle world. Prajnana is great
knowledge which transcends human knowledge, knowledge of the
causal world. Sujnana is knowledge of the highest ethics,
goodness, knowledge of dharma, knowledge of the single
ethical principle that enables creation to manifest, which
is love-existence, existence is possible only if all love all.
The buddhi is capable of looking in two directions,
outward to the material world and inward towards the subtle
world, It reaches to the causal world but it cannot penetrate
into the causal world. Therefore someone who uses
predominantly the buddhi is able to discriminate between the
real and the unreal, but having no direct knowledge of the
cause of anything cannot claim to be a possessor of great
knowledge. Aham is latent in the buddhi and once it comes
into manifestation it could be further stated that no 'I'
can be a great man, no 'I' can know great knowledge. Sujnana
is knowledge at the level of the creator. Since Brahma is
merely a personification of one of the gunas, rajas, such
knowledge, although magnificent, does not transcend
Prakriti, and is located within the Vyavaharika.
Prajnana and Sujnana clearly do not represent the same
concept. Sujnana is not consciousness. Since the Absolute
does not know himself and has no knowledge, neither vijnana,
prajnana, or sujnana. Neither jnana nor any word prefixed
to it, can apply to the Parabrahman.
What has been said in this short essay is simply playing
with the etymology of the words. Whether these were the
true original meanings of the words is very difficult to be
certain. One can only guess. Sri Mohan has eloquently given
some of the current meanings and naturally they predominate
in the contemporary understanding of jnana and its several
derivatives.
Sri Mohan wrote....
It is in this context that an important sloka from the
Aitreya Upanishad is translated thus:
Sarvam Thath Pragnanetram Pragnane Prathistitam
Pragnanetro Lokaha Pragna Prathista Pragnanam Brahma
'All these are guided by consciousness and are supported
by consciousness. The universe has consciousness for its
guide. Consciousness is the basis or stay of all. Verily
consciousness (Prajnanam) is Brahman.'
The response...
Since nowhere, in the Sanskrit dictionaries quoted, is
prajnana translated other than 'knowledge' or related to
knowledge, therefore Prajnana in the Aitreya Upanisad
cannot accurately be translated as consciousness.
I suspect we are not going to get very far merely
consulting dictionaries in distinguishing Awareness,
Consciousness, and Understanding. Also the word Knowledge
could well be added to these three since it is frequently
interchanged with Consciousness by Vedantic authors. It is
necessary to hear what a jnani has to say?....
Nisargadatta uniquely has distinguished these four.
First Nisargadatta distinguishes between Western and
Indian concepts of consciousness-knowledge. His explanation
shines light upon the basic conceptual confusion....
“In the West the name for consciousness is the mind,
in India the name for consciousness is Jnana, knowledge.”
So there is the explanation... the majority of Western
Advaitins and Western philosophers simply do not understand
the concepts present in the Indian mind.
It is acknowledged, as Sri Dennis Waite says, that
Nisargadatta uses the word consciousness differently from
the majority of Vedantins, however it is believed this is
because he has managed to transcend consciousness while
they appear not to have, perhaps mistakingly regarding
consciousness as an absolute?
Nisargadatta uses the word 'chetana' (=cetana) for
consciousness, which Monier Williams lists as 'visible,
conspicuous, distinguished, consciousness, soul, mind'.
and 'caitanya' as 'consciousness, sensation, intelligence',
and the Samkhya usage as 'Universal spirit'. Macdonell
translates cetana, the adjective as 'manifest, distinguished,
sentient, animate, conscious', and the noun as 'perception,
appearance', and with a final long 'A' vowel as
'consciousness, intelligence, mind'. And 'caitanya' similarly
as 'consciousness, mind'.
Occasionally Nisargadatta uses the word 'chitananda' for
consciousness, indicating, I believe, a universal non-dual
level of consciousness that differs from 'cetana' the
consciousness which has a manifold nature and can assume
innumerable forms. Nisargadatta spoke in Marathi and one
can only hope his translator understood the subtleties
of the different words used for consciousness.
Philosophy, both Western and Vedanta, is essentially
words talking about other words, words defining and refining
other words... and one may well ask what is the point of
it all? It could be justified as the mind trying to understand
the mind? If so, that seems to be a useful process in the
quest to transcend our limited nature, which most of us,
if honest, find ultimately unbearable.
What follows is a collection of quotations by Nisargadatta,
scattered throughout the many transcripts of his talks.
Sri Dennis Waite will possibly comment that it is too long....
but only those who want to understand the essential difference
between Awareness, Consciousness, Understanding and
Knowledge will read this far, and certainly any further...
and that is just how it must be. I sincerely believe that
reading just a little of Nisargadatta will enable one never
again to confuse, or interchange, the concepts of
consciousness and awareness. Nisargadatta also reveals
what understanding is and the great usefulness, but
ultimate limitations, of knowledge.
Some Advaitins may suggest that extensive quotations should
not be made on this forum, rather one's own understanding. To
that one counters that this collection is not ordinarily
available, and the clear voice of Brahman seems to be speaking
through illiterate Nisargadatta's mouth, and there is no
desire to alter, enhance, imitate, or précis that. I am simply
amazed by what he says.
------------------------------
Nisargadatta on consciousness....
"Everything takes place in consciousness.
As Absolute, I am timeless, infinite, and I am awareness
without being aware of the awareness. As infinity I express
myself as space, as timelessness I express myself as time.
Unless there is space and duration I cannot be conscious
of myself. When space and time are present there is
consciousness, in consciousness the total manifestation
takes place, and various phenomena come into being.
You are not the consciousness but have to become one
with the consciousness. Consciousness is normally
associated with an individual. But it is not really the
individual that has consciousness, but it is the
consciousness that assumes innumerable forms. Out of the
same consciousness, with the formation of a Krishna body
a Krishna is born; a donkey also is formed accordingly.
Consciousness is the same. There is no end to what this
consciousness can do. This consciousness that one has
is of a manifold nature.....it can adopt any form
it likes..... whereas your true nature is full in itself,
unchanging.
Just like in a cinema all is light, so does consciousness
become the vast world. Look closely and you will see that
all names and forms are but transitory waves on the ocean
of consciousness, that only consciousness can be said to
be, not its transformations.
Consciousness is like light. Just like in a cinema
all is light, so does consciousness become the vast world.
Consciousness does not shine by itself. It shines by a
light beyond it. Having seen the dreamlike quality of
consciousness, look for the light in which it appears,
which gives it being. If you are alert, be aware of yourself,
and you will see light in the deepest recesses of your core.
You are the light.
This consciousness, because of which everything else is,
is itself merely the light of That which is, a reflection
of That which is.
This consciousness is nothing but energy. When the body
essence grows weaker, the consciousness grows weaker,
and ultimately will leave. I am not consciousness, nor its
contents. Whatever you perceive is not you, nor yours.
It is there in the field of consciousness, but you are not
the field and its contents, nor even the knower of the
field. Cease taking yourself to be within the field of
consciousness. Consciousness comes into being and
goes out of being. Sometimes we are conscious and sometimes
not. When we are not conscious, it appears to us as a
darkness or a blank. But a jnani is aware of himself as
neither conscious nor unconscious, but purely aware,
a witness to the three states of mind and their contents.
There is the content of consciousness as well as the
awareness of it.
Consciousness has identified with a form. Later it
understands that it is not that form and goes further.
In a few cases it may reach the space, and very often there
it stops. In a very few cases, it reaches its real source,
beyond all conditioning. Consciousness must seek its
source. Not as an individual, the knowledge “I Am” must
go back to its source.
Whenever a form is infused with life (prana), consciousness
(chetana) appears by reflection of awareness in matter. The
combination of the body and the vital breath generates this
consciousness. You are not the consciousness.
Because of the mistaken identity we think of personalized
consciousness, but actually it is vast and limitless. The
source of consciousness is prior to time and space, prior
to manifestation. Consciousness itself is an impurity,
because it is the result of procreation, and cannot exist
without a body. Consciousness is made of material and is
therefore temporary. People do not really understand that
the body, breath, and consciousness are time-bound.
At the end of the day the consciousness will disappear.
Being in consciousness is time-bound. Consciousness is
a temporary condition which has come upon the total,
timeless, spaceless, changeless state. It is a happening
which has come and which will disappear. Entering the
consciousness drags you down into the suffering.
Consciousness brings you trouble. Understand the nature
of the consciousness and feel you have nothing to do with
it. Consciousness is a guest with you, it was not
originally there and will not be there in the future.
It is temporary. In the temporary knowledge about the
consciousness you want to understand everything in that
consciousness itself. Understand that consciousness
is conditioning. Consciousness is concepts, ideas, hopes,
and all things. Awareness is already beyond consciousness.
Be aware of being conscious and seek the source of
consciousness. That is all. Consciousness comes upon one
by itself, spontaneously, and goes away in the same manner.
Consciousness is a time-bound state. Go back to your state
before this consciousness came upon you. The original
state is before the consciousness came upon you.
That which you do not know, that is the right state.
Everything that comes after this consciousness is attained
is useless. Consciousness is useless.
Consciousness is the product of the five elements and
their interactions. Consciousness is present as long as
the five elements are present. When the great dissolution
of the universe occurs, there is dissolution of the five
elements, and consciousness also finishes. But the knower
of consciousness, the Absolute state, is unaffected.
In that state there is no fear of anything. Even when
there is total destruction, the Absolute is merely
watching, being in a state of witnessing.
What remains when consciousness, or the sense of Being
goes, is the Original, which is unconditioned, without
attributes, and without identity. It is Parabrahman,
the Absolute.
The Guru tells me that this consciousness, which I love
so much, is only an illusion. This consciousness is the
basic cause of all unhappiness. My true state is before
this consciousness arose, and beyond all concepts.
Consciousness cannot be separated from the world and
the universe, it is the same. This is my maya,
it has come out of me, and I know that I am not the
maya. I am the witness of this play.
All consciousness is limited and therefore painful. At
the root of consciousness lies desire, the urge to
experience.
Consciousness cannot stand still. Consciousness is
the same as movement. The movement takes place through
the three gunas which are inherent in this knowledge
“I Am”. All movement takes place through these gunas
and this consciousness keeps on vibrating.
The whole consciousness is already there. No great
man having taken birth has wrought an iota of change
in the consciousness. What is, is. It will never change.
The experience is there and somebody comes later to
experience it. Unknowingly this knowingness has appeared
in you, and you have to go through it, willingly or
unwillingly. No one can change what he has to face as
experience so long as he is identifying with the body
and mind.
Consciousness happens in the universal consciousness
or mind, called the ether of consciousness. All the
objects of consciousness form the universe. Beyond both,
supporting both, is the supreme state, a state of utter
stillness and silence. Whoever goes there, disappears.
It is unreachable by words or mind. It is called God,
or Parabrahman, or Supreme Reality, which are names
given by the mind. It is the nameless, contentless,
effortless and spontaneous state, beyond being and
not being. Just as the universe is the body of the mind,
so consciousness is the body of the supreme.
There is a state beyond consciousness, which is not
unconscious. Some call it super-consciousness, or pure
consciousness, or supreme consciousness. It is awareness
free from the subject-object nexus. Which is first,
consciousness or awareness? Awareness becomes
consciousness when it has an object. The object changes
all the time. In consciousness there is movement;
awareness by itself is motionless and timeless, here and
now. In pure consciousness (ie awareness) nothing ever
happens.
‘I-am-ness’ is consciously receding from the Absolute.
Consciousness is slowly extinguishing itself, knowingly
it is disappearing. But nothing affects you, the Absolute.
You can never isolate yourself from the consciousness
unless consciousness is pleased with you and gets rid
of you. Consciousness opens the gate for you to transcend
consciousness.
Look at consciousness as something that happens to you
and not in you, as something external, alien, superimposed.
Then, suddenly you are free of consciousness, really alone,
with nothing to intrude. And that is your true state.
You cannot step out of consciousness for the very idea
of stepping out is in consciousness. But if you learn
to look at your consciousness as a sort of fever, personal
and private, in which you are enclosed like a chick in its
shell, out of this very attitude will come the crisis
which will break the shell.
All that is to be done, if anything, is to sit and let
consciousness unfold itself, and unfold knowledge about
itself. You must have a thorough knowledge of this
consciousness, and having known everything about the
consciousness you come to the conclusion that
it is all unreal, and then it should drop off.
You know that you are not the consciousness. You witness
your consciousness. Consciousness is the reflection of
the Awareness that is the Absolute.
Nisargadatta on awareness......
Awareness and consciousness are not the same. Awareness
is primordial, it is the original state, beginningless,
endless, uncaused, unsupported, without parts, without
change. Consciousness is on contact, a reflection against
a surface, a state of duality. There can be no consciousness
without awareness, but there can be awareness without
consciousness, e.g.. as in deep sleep. Awareness is absolute,
consciousness is relative to its content since consciousness
is always consciousness of something. Consciousness is
partial and changeful, awareness is total, changeless
calm and silent, and is the common matrix of every
experience. Consciousness comes and goes, awareness shines
immutably.
When the content of consciousness is viewed without likes
and dislikes, the consciousness of it is awareness. But
there is still a difference between awareness as reflected
in consciousness and pure awareness beyond consciousness.
Reflected awareness, the sense: ‘I am aware’ is the witness,
while pure awareness is the essence of reality. Reflection
of the sun in a drop of water is a reflection of the sun,
no doubt, but not the sun itself. Between awareness
reflected in consciousness as the witness, and pure
awareness, there is a gap, which the mind cannot cross.
Nisargadatta on knowledge.....
All knowledge is a form of ignorance. All knowledge is
in memory; it is only recognition, while reality is beyond
the duality of the knower and the known. How is it known
that everyone is completely ignorant? Consider, where did
it all start? It is part of the knowledge “I Am”, and this
knowledge and the particular form, the whole bundle, has
been created out of the 5 elements, and the 5 elements
have no knowledge, so the whole thing is pure ignorance.
All these ideas of yours are binding you. Understand that
there is no knowledge, that it is all ignorance. There is
no knowledge whatsoever. When you understand yourself, both
knowledge and ignorance disappear. You only require
knowledge so long as the ignorance is there.
Can you understand that knowledge itself is ignorance?
If knowledge were real it would have been there eternally
.....it would not have had a beginning and an end.
People consider themselves ignorant and want knowledge.
They come to a jnani and listen and they get knowledge,
and ultimately they give the knowledge up again as being
unnecessary. When you want knowledge you want something
in the manifestation. You are amassing knowledge for an
individual. You are amassing knowledge that is not going
to help you, because it is in a dream.
Can there be true knowledge of things? Relatively.....
yes. Absolutely.....there are no things. To know that
nothing is is true knowledge.
The no-knowingness state is a total, complete, perfect
state. In the knowingness state everything is imperfect
and is never complete. In your nothingness you are perfect,
you are total, and in your knowingness you are imperfect.
Knowledge and ignorance both disappear into vijnana.
Jnana is knowledge, ajnana is ignorance, both disappear
into vijnana.
You can never have knowledge about your Self because
Parabrahman cannot be witnessed. You know what you are
not..... what you are you cannot know. The Ultimate
knowledge does not have any knowledge.
Ultimately one must go beyond knowledge.
When you are convinced you are the Knower of the
consciousness, there is still a mental identification
with the body which makes you feel that something good
is going to happen to you. Now you have a certain amount
of knowledge and it makes you feel very happy. This
knowledge has driven away ignorance. In the washing
away of the ignorance the knowledge will also disappear,
only you remain.
The Absolute does not know Itself.
Nisargadatta on understanding....
Consciousness and whatever appears in consciousness is
nothing but a gigantic fraud. It is a spontaneous
happening, there is no perpetrator of this fraud. There
is nothing that can be done about it, therefore all
that can happen is for the understanding to take place.
All experiences are due to memories and are merely
movements in consciousness and therefore they cannot last.
All experiences will be a means of suffering if one has
not realized what they are. Whatever happens is a mere
movement in that consciousness. Once this is understood,
nothing remains to be done, there is nothing you can or
need to do. What you think you have understood is only a
movement in your consciousness, and you are separate from
that consciousness. As far as the Self is concerned there
is no question of understanding or not understanding.
Understand your own mind and its hold on you will snap.
The mind misunderstands, misunderstanding is its very
nature. Right understanding is the only remedy. By all
means use your mind to know your mind. It is perfectly
legitimate, and also the best preparation for going
beyond the mind.
You can not know perfection, you can know only
imperfection. For knowledge to be, there must be
separation and disharmony. You can know what you are not,
but you can not know your real being. You can only be
what you are. The entire approach is through
understanding, which is the seeing of the false as false.
But to understand, you must observe from outside.
The correct understanding will be when you realize that
whatever you have understood so far, is invalid.
In Jnana-yoga all that is understood is made unreal.
Understanding is a stage. You must go beyond this
understanding stage, to a stage beyond, you must come
to a state of “I have not understood anything”. Come
to the conclusion that the various stages from childhood
up to old age..... whatever you have understood and
got stabilized as your identity.....has proved false.
Similarly, whatever you have tried to understand
during your spiritual search will prove false.
Therefore nothing is to be understood. The ultimate
point of view is that there is nothing to understand,
so when we try to understand, we are only indulging
in acrobatics of the mind. You have not understood
until you have solved the riddle of the one who
thinks he has understood.
Nisargadatta on distinguishing Atman,
Brahman and Parabrahman....
This consciousness which makes perception possible is
the Atman. That which is aware of the consciousness
is the Brahman. The Paramatman is that knowledge that
indwells the body, “I Am”, and that cannot be described.
Brahman means the emanation of the world, simultaneously
confirming that “I Am”. In this Brahman everything is
illusion. The principle that understands, realizes, and
witnesses, is the Parabrahman. Witnessing happens to
the Parabrahman.
The Parabrahman is the highest Self. It is subtler than
space. One who is Parabrahman does not know whether
he is or is not. Non-beingness or beingness have
absolutely no effect on him. That is nirguna. Saguna and
nirguna are one in Parabrahman. There is only the Supreme.
In movement it is saguna. Motionless it is nirguna. But
it is only the mind that moves or does not move. The
real is beyond, you are beyond.
In the Absolute state there is no one to be conscious,
so there is no question of reaching the Absolute state
as long as consciousness is present. The Absolute state
is where knowledge is absorbed in knowledge, and
knowledge is not aware of itself.
How is Brahman to be recognized?.....
When you are absolutely one with Brahman, you do not
use the mind. There is no sound, and you cannot talk.
You keep quiet. To talk you have to use the instrument
of the mind, and so you need to detach a little from
Brahman, then talk can come out.
How is Brahman to be transcended?....
Once stabilized in the Brahman, there is no longer
any use for knowledge of the Brahman, that is, knowledge
of the Self. Therefore I, the Brahman, do nothing, and
need nothing. This is videhisthiti, the body-free state.
There is no high nor low, no real nor unreal, no inside
nor outside, and no dimension of any kind in that state.
You are the Brahman who loses identification with the body,
no longer a human being. You are not ever the Brahman,
but the Parabrahman, the witness of that Brahman.
All this Brahman is illusion, ignorance. Brahman is created
out of your beingness. Your beingness is ignorance only,
from the Absolute standpoint.
With the transcendence of the knowledge “I Am”, the
Absolute prevails. The state is called Parabrahman,
while the knowledge “I Am” is termed Brahman. This knowledge
“I Am” or the beingness is illusion only. Therefore when
Brahman is transcended only the Parabrahman is, in which
there is not even a trace of the knowledge “I Am”.
How is the Parabrahman to be recognized?....
Nobody becomes a Parabrahman, nobody can become a
Parabrahman. It is. Before the knowledge “I Am”
appeared on you, that is Parabrahman. In the Parabrahman
state the quality of knowingness is not present, nor does
the Parabrahman state have any embellishments like the
manifest consciousness. The Parabrahman state does not
know it is, neither does it have this manifestation.
In spite of the dissolution of universes and cosmos
that Absolute is untouched. It exists.
In the Parabrahman there is no awareness of existence,
there is awareness of awareness only. As soon as awareness
of existence comes, there is a duality and manifestation
comes.
Even the dissolution of the manifest universe, the Brahman,
cannot destroy the Self. Prior to, during, and after the
dissolution, I, the Absolute, ever prevail, untouched,
untainted, and unchanged.
----------------------------------
Part of the confusion of the interchangeability of
consciousness and knowledge is because consciousness
and knowledge are located in our structure side by side.
One helps the other. When there is consciousness there
is also simultaneously knowledge. When there is knowledge,
consciousness is enhanced. This may cause some Vedantins
to believe that consciousness and knowledge are one and
the same, but they are quite separate in us and seen
by awareness which is located behind and watching this
pair. Only in Cit or citta, are knowledge and consciousness
united. Citta sees, knows, and understands instantly
Nisargadatta's language is astonishing and provocative.
How can Nisargadatta's words be known to be true or
false? There is a simple test, which can be done each and
every day of one's life. Observe at the moment of awaking
in bed each morning. You will awake as simple awareness.
In that first brief instant you are pure awareness. It is
realized that you have not been asleep. Someone may have
been asleep, asleep throughout the whole of the night, but
you have never slept. You have remained throughout, day
or night, in your natural state.... pure simple awareness.
All this is in one instant moment. The next moment
something occurs, there is a thought that you do not know
who you are. You identify with the suggested thought... you
ask the question: Who am I? It is a fatal question. The next
instant something comes in from the left hand side, and
covers you, completely obliterates you, like a cloak
covering its wearer. Consciousness appears and you remember
you are your familiar self living in such and such a house,
with all the people in your life, and all your work to do.
And you realize it is all pseudo. Of course you get up and
go about your activities being the person you are in ordinary
life.... but if you are quick, very very quick, you realize
that you have been completely covered over by consciousness.
You have disappeared.
Consciousness, the vyavaharika, has been superimposed
upon awareness, the paramarthika.
It is completely unnecessary to know who I am. The self
is awareness that does not know who it is. Having made a
serious mistake, having been deceived by suggestion, I wonder
who or what is the source of the suggestion? I also wonder
how I am going to be able to resist the suggestion tomorrow?
I spend the rest of the day, and the next day, and every day,
saying: neti, neti... I am not this person who I believe
I am. This person loves himself....neti, neti. This
consciousness does not want to disappear.... neti, neti.
I want to be my true self.... neti, neti.
John Ward..... neti, neti.
An essay exploring the meaning of the Sanskrit words:
Jnana, Vijnana, Prajnana and Sujnana.
This discussion between Sri Mohan and myself took place
on the Advaitin Yahoo discussion group website in
January 2009. Because it evokes some of the statements that
Nisargadatta made on the subjects of Consciousness, Knowledge
and Understanding it is perhaps of interest to republish it
here. Sri Mohan demonstrates the use of these three important
concepts in a typically contemporary manner which results in
their interchangeability and confusion, whereas Nisargadatta
explains their meaning with clarity and insight.
Sri Mohan wrote...
“The English terms `Awareness', `Consciousness' and
`Understanding' are used interchangeably and to mean the
same concept in Western philosophy.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the meaning in almost identical
terms and basically states that they represent a state of
knowledge which enables one to understand something clearly.
`Awareness' appears to be a state of existence or being.
`Understanding', however, is the end result of acquisition
of knowledge. `Awareness' is a state that is free of any
definitive action or process. It can be described as `endowed'
or `self-existent' rather than `acquired' or `achieved'.
`Understanding', on the other hand, clearly connotes the
acquisition or achievement of some kind of intellectual
clarity, following a process of learning or striving.
This difference can be demonstrated by the idea of `being
aware that one has understood a situation'. `Awareness' and
`Un-awareness' are states of being, while `Understanding'
is an intellectual achievement.“
The response....
Awareness, Consciousness and Understanding are not the
same concept. Awareness does not necessarily have to represent
a state of knowledge. Awareness is beyond being and non-being.
Understanding is perhaps a combination of knowledge and being.
Understanding may well be a result of knowledge acquired in
previous existences, since the organ chitta, the seat of
understanding, accompanies the jiva in transmigratory existence.
Children are born with different degrees of understanding,
different qualities of chitta accompany them.
Memory and understanding are related since understanding
could be said to be the result, in part, of past remembered
knowledge. Chitta includes therefore both memory and
understanding. Knowledge can be forgotten but true
understanding is not lost, since it has passed into the
subtle organ. Understanding is not merely an intellectual
achievement since individual understanding directly and
proportionately varies with the quality of the being of
the individual. Purify your being and you will see and
understand more even with the same knowledge.
The casual use of the words 'awareness', 'consciousness'
and 'understanding' interchangeably, debases language and
ensures no one understands what is being said. It is reasonable
to suspect that such words are being used interchangeably
because it is not known what they indicate or mean. In fact
a study of the English words 'awareness, consciousness, and
understanding' leads to some comprehension of the quite
different levels and natures of Atman, Brahman and Parabrahman.
However, what the corresponding Sanskrit originals of these
words are, remains something of a mystery? The meanings given
by the Oxford English Dictionary can never exceed the level,
mundane and spiritual, of the compiler. Original meanings
found in an etymological dictionary tend to give greater
insight, as if the creators of language were at a finer level
than subsequent generations of users. Language seems to start
at a surprisingly high level and then slowly degenerates with
time? Ancient Panini's and Bhartrhari's comprehension of the
spiritual structure which is the basis of the Sanskrit
language is astonishingly profound and no one since, eastern
or western, appears to have again approached such a level
of understanding.
Sri Mohan wrote...
`Vijnana', `Prajnana' and `Sujnana'. These words describe
a kind of ascending scale of knowledge.
`Vijnana' can be said to be `experience' or `wisdom', which
is knowledge gained from experience. `Prajnana' is a wider
and more profound knowledge of matters beyond the ken of
the mind and intellect. `Sujnana' is pure knowledge of the
Supreme and corresponds to `Consciousness'. The terms
`Pragnana' and `Sujnana' can be said to state the same
concept.
The response....
Looking up these words in the Monier Williams and
Macdonell Sanskrit dictionaries subtle differences are
found.....
'Vi' indicates 'separation', 'apart', 'without', possibly
derived from 'dvi' meaning 'in two parts', 'in different
directions'. 'Vi' as a prefix to nouns indicates 'division',
'distinction'. 'Jnana' simply means 'knowledge'. Vi together
with the root jna means to distinguish, discern, observe,
recognize, know, understand. Therefore vijnana literally
means without knowledge, separation knowledge, or
possibly knowledge in two directions, knowledge of duality?
Monier Williams lists the meanings: 'the act of distinguishing',
'discerning', 'comprehending', 'understanding'.
Macdonell offers the meanings: 'discernment', 'knowledge'.
'Pra' with verbs means 'before', and with nouns means
'great', but with adjectives means 'exceedingly'.
Therefore prajnana literally means great knowledge.
Monier Williams lists the meanings: 'wisdom', 'knowledge'.
Macdonell offers the meanings: 'cognisance', 'knowledge'.
He also equates prajnana with Sarasvati, the shakti of
Brahma.
'Su' has many meanings and indicates 'to move', 'possessing
supremacy', 'extract', 'beget or bring forth', 'good',
'right', 'excellent', 'virtuous'. Simply and literally,
sujnana means good knowledge. Monier Williams lists the
meanings: 'possessing good knowledge', 'easy to be known'.
Macdonell offers the meaning: 'good knowledge'. 'Su' is
indicative of a high ethical quality.
In summary.... Vijnana is knowledge of the principle of
duality, knowledge of the subtle world. Prajnana is great
knowledge which transcends human knowledge, knowledge of the
causal world. Sujnana is knowledge of the highest ethics,
goodness, knowledge of dharma, knowledge of the single
ethical principle that enables creation to manifest, which
is love-existence, existence is possible only if all love all.
The buddhi is capable of looking in two directions,
outward to the material world and inward towards the subtle
world, It reaches to the causal world but it cannot penetrate
into the causal world. Therefore someone who uses
predominantly the buddhi is able to discriminate between the
real and the unreal, but having no direct knowledge of the
cause of anything cannot claim to be a possessor of great
knowledge. Aham is latent in the buddhi and once it comes
into manifestation it could be further stated that no 'I'
can be a great man, no 'I' can know great knowledge. Sujnana
is knowledge at the level of the creator. Since Brahma is
merely a personification of one of the gunas, rajas, such
knowledge, although magnificent, does not transcend
Prakriti, and is located within the Vyavaharika.
Prajnana and Sujnana clearly do not represent the same
concept. Sujnana is not consciousness. Since the Absolute
does not know himself and has no knowledge, neither vijnana,
prajnana, or sujnana. Neither jnana nor any word prefixed
to it, can apply to the Parabrahman.
What has been said in this short essay is simply playing
with the etymology of the words. Whether these were the
true original meanings of the words is very difficult to be
certain. One can only guess. Sri Mohan has eloquently given
some of the current meanings and naturally they predominate
in the contemporary understanding of jnana and its several
derivatives.
Sri Mohan wrote....
It is in this context that an important sloka from the
Aitreya Upanishad is translated thus:
Sarvam Thath Pragnanetram Pragnane Prathistitam
Pragnanetro Lokaha Pragna Prathista Pragnanam Brahma
'All these are guided by consciousness and are supported
by consciousness. The universe has consciousness for its
guide. Consciousness is the basis or stay of all. Verily
consciousness (Prajnanam) is Brahman.'
The response...
Since nowhere, in the Sanskrit dictionaries quoted, is
prajnana translated other than 'knowledge' or related to
knowledge, therefore Prajnana in the Aitreya Upanisad
cannot accurately be translated as consciousness.
I suspect we are not going to get very far merely
consulting dictionaries in distinguishing Awareness,
Consciousness, and Understanding. Also the word Knowledge
could well be added to these three since it is frequently
interchanged with Consciousness by Vedantic authors. It is
necessary to hear what a jnani has to say?....
Nisargadatta uniquely has distinguished these four.
First Nisargadatta distinguishes between Western and
Indian concepts of consciousness-knowledge. His explanation
shines light upon the basic conceptual confusion....
“In the West the name for consciousness is the mind,
in India the name for consciousness is Jnana, knowledge.”
So there is the explanation... the majority of Western
Advaitins and Western philosophers simply do not understand
the concepts present in the Indian mind.
It is acknowledged, as Sri Dennis Waite says, that
Nisargadatta uses the word consciousness differently from
the majority of Vedantins, however it is believed this is
because he has managed to transcend consciousness while
they appear not to have, perhaps mistakingly regarding
consciousness as an absolute?
Nisargadatta uses the word 'chetana' (=cetana) for
consciousness, which Monier Williams lists as 'visible,
conspicuous, distinguished, consciousness, soul, mind'.
and 'caitanya' as 'consciousness, sensation, intelligence',
and the Samkhya usage as 'Universal spirit'. Macdonell
translates cetana, the adjective as 'manifest, distinguished,
sentient, animate, conscious', and the noun as 'perception,
appearance', and with a final long 'A' vowel as
'consciousness, intelligence, mind'. And 'caitanya' similarly
as 'consciousness, mind'.
Occasionally Nisargadatta uses the word 'chitananda' for
consciousness, indicating, I believe, a universal non-dual
level of consciousness that differs from 'cetana' the
consciousness which has a manifold nature and can assume
innumerable forms. Nisargadatta spoke in Marathi and one
can only hope his translator understood the subtleties
of the different words used for consciousness.
Philosophy, both Western and Vedanta, is essentially
words talking about other words, words defining and refining
other words... and one may well ask what is the point of
it all? It could be justified as the mind trying to understand
the mind? If so, that seems to be a useful process in the
quest to transcend our limited nature, which most of us,
if honest, find ultimately unbearable.
What follows is a collection of quotations by Nisargadatta,
scattered throughout the many transcripts of his talks.
Sri Dennis Waite will possibly comment that it is too long....
but only those who want to understand the essential difference
between Awareness, Consciousness, Understanding and
Knowledge will read this far, and certainly any further...
and that is just how it must be. I sincerely believe that
reading just a little of Nisargadatta will enable one never
again to confuse, or interchange, the concepts of
consciousness and awareness. Nisargadatta also reveals
what understanding is and the great usefulness, but
ultimate limitations, of knowledge.
Some Advaitins may suggest that extensive quotations should
not be made on this forum, rather one's own understanding. To
that one counters that this collection is not ordinarily
available, and the clear voice of Brahman seems to be speaking
through illiterate Nisargadatta's mouth, and there is no
desire to alter, enhance, imitate, or précis that. I am simply
amazed by what he says.
------------------------------
Nisargadatta on consciousness....
"Everything takes place in consciousness.
As Absolute, I am timeless, infinite, and I am awareness
without being aware of the awareness. As infinity I express
myself as space, as timelessness I express myself as time.
Unless there is space and duration I cannot be conscious
of myself. When space and time are present there is
consciousness, in consciousness the total manifestation
takes place, and various phenomena come into being.
You are not the consciousness but have to become one
with the consciousness. Consciousness is normally
associated with an individual. But it is not really the
individual that has consciousness, but it is the
consciousness that assumes innumerable forms. Out of the
same consciousness, with the formation of a Krishna body
a Krishna is born; a donkey also is formed accordingly.
Consciousness is the same. There is no end to what this
consciousness can do. This consciousness that one has
is of a manifold nature.....it can adopt any form
it likes..... whereas your true nature is full in itself,
unchanging.
Just like in a cinema all is light, so does consciousness
become the vast world. Look closely and you will see that
all names and forms are but transitory waves on the ocean
of consciousness, that only consciousness can be said to
be, not its transformations.
Consciousness is like light. Just like in a cinema
all is light, so does consciousness become the vast world.
Consciousness does not shine by itself. It shines by a
light beyond it. Having seen the dreamlike quality of
consciousness, look for the light in which it appears,
which gives it being. If you are alert, be aware of yourself,
and you will see light in the deepest recesses of your core.
You are the light.
This consciousness, because of which everything else is,
is itself merely the light of That which is, a reflection
of That which is.
This consciousness is nothing but energy. When the body
essence grows weaker, the consciousness grows weaker,
and ultimately will leave. I am not consciousness, nor its
contents. Whatever you perceive is not you, nor yours.
It is there in the field of consciousness, but you are not
the field and its contents, nor even the knower of the
field. Cease taking yourself to be within the field of
consciousness. Consciousness comes into being and
goes out of being. Sometimes we are conscious and sometimes
not. When we are not conscious, it appears to us as a
darkness or a blank. But a jnani is aware of himself as
neither conscious nor unconscious, but purely aware,
a witness to the three states of mind and their contents.
There is the content of consciousness as well as the
awareness of it.
Consciousness has identified with a form. Later it
understands that it is not that form and goes further.
In a few cases it may reach the space, and very often there
it stops. In a very few cases, it reaches its real source,
beyond all conditioning. Consciousness must seek its
source. Not as an individual, the knowledge “I Am” must
go back to its source.
Whenever a form is infused with life (prana), consciousness
(chetana) appears by reflection of awareness in matter. The
combination of the body and the vital breath generates this
consciousness. You are not the consciousness.
Because of the mistaken identity we think of personalized
consciousness, but actually it is vast and limitless. The
source of consciousness is prior to time and space, prior
to manifestation. Consciousness itself is an impurity,
because it is the result of procreation, and cannot exist
without a body. Consciousness is made of material and is
therefore temporary. People do not really understand that
the body, breath, and consciousness are time-bound.
At the end of the day the consciousness will disappear.
Being in consciousness is time-bound. Consciousness is
a temporary condition which has come upon the total,
timeless, spaceless, changeless state. It is a happening
which has come and which will disappear. Entering the
consciousness drags you down into the suffering.
Consciousness brings you trouble. Understand the nature
of the consciousness and feel you have nothing to do with
it. Consciousness is a guest with you, it was not
originally there and will not be there in the future.
It is temporary. In the temporary knowledge about the
consciousness you want to understand everything in that
consciousness itself. Understand that consciousness
is conditioning. Consciousness is concepts, ideas, hopes,
and all things. Awareness is already beyond consciousness.
Be aware of being conscious and seek the source of
consciousness. That is all. Consciousness comes upon one
by itself, spontaneously, and goes away in the same manner.
Consciousness is a time-bound state. Go back to your state
before this consciousness came upon you. The original
state is before the consciousness came upon you.
That which you do not know, that is the right state.
Everything that comes after this consciousness is attained
is useless. Consciousness is useless.
Consciousness is the product of the five elements and
their interactions. Consciousness is present as long as
the five elements are present. When the great dissolution
of the universe occurs, there is dissolution of the five
elements, and consciousness also finishes. But the knower
of consciousness, the Absolute state, is unaffected.
In that state there is no fear of anything. Even when
there is total destruction, the Absolute is merely
watching, being in a state of witnessing.
What remains when consciousness, or the sense of Being
goes, is the Original, which is unconditioned, without
attributes, and without identity. It is Parabrahman,
the Absolute.
The Guru tells me that this consciousness, which I love
so much, is only an illusion. This consciousness is the
basic cause of all unhappiness. My true state is before
this consciousness arose, and beyond all concepts.
Consciousness cannot be separated from the world and
the universe, it is the same. This is my maya,
it has come out of me, and I know that I am not the
maya. I am the witness of this play.
All consciousness is limited and therefore painful. At
the root of consciousness lies desire, the urge to
experience.
Consciousness cannot stand still. Consciousness is
the same as movement. The movement takes place through
the three gunas which are inherent in this knowledge
“I Am”. All movement takes place through these gunas
and this consciousness keeps on vibrating.
The whole consciousness is already there. No great
man having taken birth has wrought an iota of change
in the consciousness. What is, is. It will never change.
The experience is there and somebody comes later to
experience it. Unknowingly this knowingness has appeared
in you, and you have to go through it, willingly or
unwillingly. No one can change what he has to face as
experience so long as he is identifying with the body
and mind.
Consciousness happens in the universal consciousness
or mind, called the ether of consciousness. All the
objects of consciousness form the universe. Beyond both,
supporting both, is the supreme state, a state of utter
stillness and silence. Whoever goes there, disappears.
It is unreachable by words or mind. It is called God,
or Parabrahman, or Supreme Reality, which are names
given by the mind. It is the nameless, contentless,
effortless and spontaneous state, beyond being and
not being. Just as the universe is the body of the mind,
so consciousness is the body of the supreme.
There is a state beyond consciousness, which is not
unconscious. Some call it super-consciousness, or pure
consciousness, or supreme consciousness. It is awareness
free from the subject-object nexus. Which is first,
consciousness or awareness? Awareness becomes
consciousness when it has an object. The object changes
all the time. In consciousness there is movement;
awareness by itself is motionless and timeless, here and
now. In pure consciousness (ie awareness) nothing ever
happens.
‘I-am-ness’ is consciously receding from the Absolute.
Consciousness is slowly extinguishing itself, knowingly
it is disappearing. But nothing affects you, the Absolute.
You can never isolate yourself from the consciousness
unless consciousness is pleased with you and gets rid
of you. Consciousness opens the gate for you to transcend
consciousness.
Look at consciousness as something that happens to you
and not in you, as something external, alien, superimposed.
Then, suddenly you are free of consciousness, really alone,
with nothing to intrude. And that is your true state.
You cannot step out of consciousness for the very idea
of stepping out is in consciousness. But if you learn
to look at your consciousness as a sort of fever, personal
and private, in which you are enclosed like a chick in its
shell, out of this very attitude will come the crisis
which will break the shell.
All that is to be done, if anything, is to sit and let
consciousness unfold itself, and unfold knowledge about
itself. You must have a thorough knowledge of this
consciousness, and having known everything about the
consciousness you come to the conclusion that
it is all unreal, and then it should drop off.
You know that you are not the consciousness. You witness
your consciousness. Consciousness is the reflection of
the Awareness that is the Absolute.
Nisargadatta on awareness......
Awareness and consciousness are not the same. Awareness
is primordial, it is the original state, beginningless,
endless, uncaused, unsupported, without parts, without
change. Consciousness is on contact, a reflection against
a surface, a state of duality. There can be no consciousness
without awareness, but there can be awareness without
consciousness, e.g.. as in deep sleep. Awareness is absolute,
consciousness is relative to its content since consciousness
is always consciousness of something. Consciousness is
partial and changeful, awareness is total, changeless
calm and silent, and is the common matrix of every
experience. Consciousness comes and goes, awareness shines
immutably.
When the content of consciousness is viewed without likes
and dislikes, the consciousness of it is awareness. But
there is still a difference between awareness as reflected
in consciousness and pure awareness beyond consciousness.
Reflected awareness, the sense: ‘I am aware’ is the witness,
while pure awareness is the essence of reality. Reflection
of the sun in a drop of water is a reflection of the sun,
no doubt, but not the sun itself. Between awareness
reflected in consciousness as the witness, and pure
awareness, there is a gap, which the mind cannot cross.
Nisargadatta on knowledge.....
All knowledge is a form of ignorance. All knowledge is
in memory; it is only recognition, while reality is beyond
the duality of the knower and the known. How is it known
that everyone is completely ignorant? Consider, where did
it all start? It is part of the knowledge “I Am”, and this
knowledge and the particular form, the whole bundle, has
been created out of the 5 elements, and the 5 elements
have no knowledge, so the whole thing is pure ignorance.
All these ideas of yours are binding you. Understand that
there is no knowledge, that it is all ignorance. There is
no knowledge whatsoever. When you understand yourself, both
knowledge and ignorance disappear. You only require
knowledge so long as the ignorance is there.
Can you understand that knowledge itself is ignorance?
If knowledge were real it would have been there eternally
.....it would not have had a beginning and an end.
People consider themselves ignorant and want knowledge.
They come to a jnani and listen and they get knowledge,
and ultimately they give the knowledge up again as being
unnecessary. When you want knowledge you want something
in the manifestation. You are amassing knowledge for an
individual. You are amassing knowledge that is not going
to help you, because it is in a dream.
Can there be true knowledge of things? Relatively.....
yes. Absolutely.....there are no things. To know that
nothing is is true knowledge.
The no-knowingness state is a total, complete, perfect
state. In the knowingness state everything is imperfect
and is never complete. In your nothingness you are perfect,
you are total, and in your knowingness you are imperfect.
Knowledge and ignorance both disappear into vijnana.
Jnana is knowledge, ajnana is ignorance, both disappear
into vijnana.
You can never have knowledge about your Self because
Parabrahman cannot be witnessed. You know what you are
not..... what you are you cannot know. The Ultimate
knowledge does not have any knowledge.
Ultimately one must go beyond knowledge.
When you are convinced you are the Knower of the
consciousness, there is still a mental identification
with the body which makes you feel that something good
is going to happen to you. Now you have a certain amount
of knowledge and it makes you feel very happy. This
knowledge has driven away ignorance. In the washing
away of the ignorance the knowledge will also disappear,
only you remain.
The Absolute does not know Itself.
Nisargadatta on understanding....
Consciousness and whatever appears in consciousness is
nothing but a gigantic fraud. It is a spontaneous
happening, there is no perpetrator of this fraud. There
is nothing that can be done about it, therefore all
that can happen is for the understanding to take place.
All experiences are due to memories and are merely
movements in consciousness and therefore they cannot last.
All experiences will be a means of suffering if one has
not realized what they are. Whatever happens is a mere
movement in that consciousness. Once this is understood,
nothing remains to be done, there is nothing you can or
need to do. What you think you have understood is only a
movement in your consciousness, and you are separate from
that consciousness. As far as the Self is concerned there
is no question of understanding or not understanding.
Understand your own mind and its hold on you will snap.
The mind misunderstands, misunderstanding is its very
nature. Right understanding is the only remedy. By all
means use your mind to know your mind. It is perfectly
legitimate, and also the best preparation for going
beyond the mind.
You can not know perfection, you can know only
imperfection. For knowledge to be, there must be
separation and disharmony. You can know what you are not,
but you can not know your real being. You can only be
what you are. The entire approach is through
understanding, which is the seeing of the false as false.
But to understand, you must observe from outside.
The correct understanding will be when you realize that
whatever you have understood so far, is invalid.
In Jnana-yoga all that is understood is made unreal.
Understanding is a stage. You must go beyond this
understanding stage, to a stage beyond, you must come
to a state of “I have not understood anything”. Come
to the conclusion that the various stages from childhood
up to old age..... whatever you have understood and
got stabilized as your identity.....has proved false.
Similarly, whatever you have tried to understand
during your spiritual search will prove false.
Therefore nothing is to be understood. The ultimate
point of view is that there is nothing to understand,
so when we try to understand, we are only indulging
in acrobatics of the mind. You have not understood
until you have solved the riddle of the one who
thinks he has understood.
Nisargadatta on distinguishing Atman,
Brahman and Parabrahman....
This consciousness which makes perception possible is
the Atman. That which is aware of the consciousness
is the Brahman. The Paramatman is that knowledge that
indwells the body, “I Am”, and that cannot be described.
Brahman means the emanation of the world, simultaneously
confirming that “I Am”. In this Brahman everything is
illusion. The principle that understands, realizes, and
witnesses, is the Parabrahman. Witnessing happens to
the Parabrahman.
The Parabrahman is the highest Self. It is subtler than
space. One who is Parabrahman does not know whether
he is or is not. Non-beingness or beingness have
absolutely no effect on him. That is nirguna. Saguna and
nirguna are one in Parabrahman. There is only the Supreme.
In movement it is saguna. Motionless it is nirguna. But
it is only the mind that moves or does not move. The
real is beyond, you are beyond.
In the Absolute state there is no one to be conscious,
so there is no question of reaching the Absolute state
as long as consciousness is present. The Absolute state
is where knowledge is absorbed in knowledge, and
knowledge is not aware of itself.
How is Brahman to be recognized?.....
When you are absolutely one with Brahman, you do not
use the mind. There is no sound, and you cannot talk.
You keep quiet. To talk you have to use the instrument
of the mind, and so you need to detach a little from
Brahman, then talk can come out.
How is Brahman to be transcended?....
Once stabilized in the Brahman, there is no longer
any use for knowledge of the Brahman, that is, knowledge
of the Self. Therefore I, the Brahman, do nothing, and
need nothing. This is videhisthiti, the body-free state.
There is no high nor low, no real nor unreal, no inside
nor outside, and no dimension of any kind in that state.
You are the Brahman who loses identification with the body,
no longer a human being. You are not ever the Brahman,
but the Parabrahman, the witness of that Brahman.
All this Brahman is illusion, ignorance. Brahman is created
out of your beingness. Your beingness is ignorance only,
from the Absolute standpoint.
With the transcendence of the knowledge “I Am”, the
Absolute prevails. The state is called Parabrahman,
while the knowledge “I Am” is termed Brahman. This knowledge
“I Am” or the beingness is illusion only. Therefore when
Brahman is transcended only the Parabrahman is, in which
there is not even a trace of the knowledge “I Am”.
How is the Parabrahman to be recognized?....
Nobody becomes a Parabrahman, nobody can become a
Parabrahman. It is. Before the knowledge “I Am”
appeared on you, that is Parabrahman. In the Parabrahman
state the quality of knowingness is not present, nor does
the Parabrahman state have any embellishments like the
manifest consciousness. The Parabrahman state does not
know it is, neither does it have this manifestation.
In spite of the dissolution of universes and cosmos
that Absolute is untouched. It exists.
In the Parabrahman there is no awareness of existence,
there is awareness of awareness only. As soon as awareness
of existence comes, there is a duality and manifestation
comes.
Even the dissolution of the manifest universe, the Brahman,
cannot destroy the Self. Prior to, during, and after the
dissolution, I, the Absolute, ever prevail, untouched,
untainted, and unchanged.
----------------------------------
Part of the confusion of the interchangeability of
consciousness and knowledge is because consciousness
and knowledge are located in our structure side by side.
One helps the other. When there is consciousness there
is also simultaneously knowledge. When there is knowledge,
consciousness is enhanced. This may cause some Vedantins
to believe that consciousness and knowledge are one and
the same, but they are quite separate in us and seen
by awareness which is located behind and watching this
pair. Only in Cit or citta, are knowledge and consciousness
united. Citta sees, knows, and understands instantly
Nisargadatta's language is astonishing and provocative.
How can Nisargadatta's words be known to be true or
false? There is a simple test, which can be done each and
every day of one's life. Observe at the moment of awaking
in bed each morning. You will awake as simple awareness.
In that first brief instant you are pure awareness. It is
realized that you have not been asleep. Someone may have
been asleep, asleep throughout the whole of the night, but
you have never slept. You have remained throughout, day
or night, in your natural state.... pure simple awareness.
All this is in one instant moment. The next moment
something occurs, there is a thought that you do not know
who you are. You identify with the suggested thought... you
ask the question: Who am I? It is a fatal question. The next
instant something comes in from the left hand side, and
covers you, completely obliterates you, like a cloak
covering its wearer. Consciousness appears and you remember
you are your familiar self living in such and such a house,
with all the people in your life, and all your work to do.
And you realize it is all pseudo. Of course you get up and
go about your activities being the person you are in ordinary
life.... but if you are quick, very very quick, you realize
that you have been completely covered over by consciousness.
You have disappeared.
Consciousness, the vyavaharika, has been superimposed
upon awareness, the paramarthika.
It is completely unnecessary to know who I am. The self
is awareness that does not know who it is. Having made a
serious mistake, having been deceived by suggestion, I wonder
who or what is the source of the suggestion? I also wonder
how I am going to be able to resist the suggestion tomorrow?
I spend the rest of the day, and the next day, and every day,
saying: neti, neti... I am not this person who I believe
I am. This person loves himself....neti, neti. This
consciousness does not want to disappear.... neti, neti.
I want to be my true self.... neti, neti.
John Ward..... neti, neti.
Monday 18 January 2010
Astavakra Gita the essential concepts
Astavakra Gita: The 100 Principle Concepts
Astavakra Gita – an ideas-only-version
Here is the Astavakra Gita stripped of all unecessary literary style and form, and reduced to the 100 most meaningful concepts and ideas that it contains. John Richard's translation from the Sanskrit original has been used, although in the future there is an intention to make a new careful literal translation that preserves all the subtle advaitic essence of the text. Whether you are established in your own glory or not... this condensation of ideas in the Astavakra Gita makes for a remarkable study.
1. Seek liberation by shunning the objects of the senses.
2. Practice tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness.
3. You are not earth, water, fire, air or ether.
4. You are consciousness, the witness of earth, water, fire, air and ether.
5. Rest in consciousness and you will be happy, peaceful and free from bonds.
6. You are not any caste, you are not at any stage of life, nor are you anything that the eye can see. You are unattached and formless, the witness of everything.
7. Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain are purely of the mind and are no concern of yours.
8. You are not the doer, nor the reaper of the consequences of action. You are always free.
9. The cause of bondage is that one considers the witness as something other than being free from action and instead as someone who reaps the consequences of action.
10. Self opinion is the bite of a black snake.
11. Knowledge is the fire that burns away ignorance.
12. That world in which all this appears is imagined.
13. You are joy, supreme knowledge and awareness.
14. Your real nature is one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness - unattached to anything, desireless, at peace.
15. Meditate on yourself as motionless awareness.
16. You are free from all dualism.
17 You are not anything external or internal.
18. You are self-illuminating, unconditioned and changeless, formless and immovable, unfathomable awareness and imperturbable.
19. The apparent is unreal, while the unmanifest is abiding.
20. The eternal, everlasting Being exists in the totality of things, just as one and the same all-pervading space exists within and without a jar.
21. You have been afflicted by delusion. All this, everything, has emanated from yourself, and is no other than yourself. Everything has been produced out of yourself and is completely permeated with yourself.
22. The whole world is yours and, alternatively, nothing is yours. You possess nothing at all, and alternatively possess everything to which speech and mind can refer.
23. From ignorance of oneself, the world appears, and by knowledge of oneself it appears no longer.
24. Shining is your essential nature. When the world shines forth, it is simply yourself that is shining forth.
25. From Brahma down to the last blade of grass everything in the world is destroyed. But for yourself there is no destruction.
26. You are solitary! Even though with a body, you neither go anywhere nor come from anywhere. You abide forever, filling all that is.
27. Knowledge, and that which is known, and the knower - these three do not exist in reality. You are the pure reality in which they appear. Knowledge, and that which is known, and the knower, are contaminated by ignorance.
28. Dualism is the root of suffering.
29. The only remedy for dualism and suffering is the realisation that all this, all that one sees, is unreal, and that you are the one stainless reality, consisting of consciousness.
30. There is neither bondage nor liberation. When the illusion has lost its basis and ceased, then there is the realization that truly all this exists in me, though ultimately it does not even exist in me.
31. The physical body, heaven and hell, bondage and liberation, and fear too, all this is active imagination.
32. There is nothing left to do for one whose very nature is consciousness.
33. You are not a living being. You are consciousness. It is your thirst for living that is your bondage.
34. You are one and indestructible.
35. You are the limitless ocean. Living beings are waves. In the limitless ocean of yourself the waves of living beings arise, collide, play and disappear, according to their natures.
36. When one is oneself in all beings, and all beings are in oneself, then the sense of individuality is no longer able to continue.
37. See even one’s own body in action as if it were someone else’s.
38. When you see this world as pure illusion, and are devoid of any interest in it, then you will no longer feel fear, even at the approach of death.
39. If you manage always to be aware of the supreme self-nature you will discover that you are neither expectant nor disappointed and are completely undisturbed by praise or blame.
40. When all attachment has been eliminated, and there is no longer any dualism, then there is freedom from both desire and repulsion. Then any object that comes of itself is neither painful nor pleasurable.
41. The wise person of self-knowledge plays the game of worldly life.
42. You are infinite like space. To know this is knowledge, then there is neither renunciation, nor acceptance, nor cessation of it.
43. The world is a wave of its own nature which rises and vanishes in the infinite ocean of myself. There is no increase or diminution to me from it.
44. It is in the infinite ocean of myself that the imagination called the world takes place.
45. Truly I am but pure consciousness, and the world is like a conjurer's show.
46. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something, or displeased about something.
47. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything, or displeased about anything.
48. When there is no 'me', that is liberation, and when there is 'me' there is bondage.
49. Rare indeed is the person whose observation of the world’s behaviour has led to the extinction of the thirst for living, for pleasure and for knowledge.
50. Abandoning desire, practice indifference to everything.
51. Being, non-being and transformation are of the very nature of things, but when you realize that nothing exists here but Isvara, the Creator of all things, you will no longer be attached to anything.
52. When you realize that misfortune and fortune come in their turn from fate, you will place your senses under control, and no longer like or dislike anything. You will be unconcerned about what has been attained or not.
53. When you realize that pleasure and pain, birth and death, are from fate, and that desires cannot be achieved, you will remain inactive, and even when acting no longer be attached.
54. Realizing that all this varied and wonderful world is nothing, one finds peace.
55. A sage said: "First of all I was averse to physical activity, then to lengthy speech, and finally to thinking itself. Trying to think the unthinkable is unnatural to thought."
56. Just as the performance of actions is due to ignorance, so their abandonment is also due to ignorance.
57. The inner freedom of having nothing is hard to achieve, because it requires living as one pleases, abandoning both renunciation and acquisition.
58. Recognising that in reality no action is ever committed, the sage lives as he pleases, just attending to what presents itself to be done.
59. No benefit or loss ever comes to you, consequently live as you please, abandoning the pleasant and unpleasant.
60. One person of pure intelligence may achieve the goal by the most casual of instructions, while another may seek knowledge all his life and still remain bewildered.
61. Liberation is indifference to the objects of the senses. Bondage is love of the senses.
62. You are eternally pure consciousness, the witness, and you are in need of nothing.
63. Desire and anger are objects of the mind, but the mind is not yours, nor ever has been.
64. You are beyond natural causation.
65. You consist of pure consciousness, and the world is not separate from you. So who is to accept or reject it, and how, and why?
66. It is through your ignorance that all this exists. In reality you alone exist. Apart from you there is no one within or beyond samsara.
67. Knowing that all this is an illusion, you become free, as if nothing existed.
68. When the mind is freed from such pairs of opposites as ‘I have done this,’ and ‘I have not done that,’ it becomes indifferent to merit, wealth, sensuality and liberation.
69. So long as desire, which is the state of lacking discrimination, remains, the sense of attraction and revulsion will remain; that is the root and branch of samsara. The wise person is free from the pairs of opposites like a child.
70. Those who desire pleasure and those who desire liberation are both bound in samsara.
71. Someone established in the absolute state with an empty mind does not know the alternatives of inner stillness and lack of inner stillness, nor of good and evil.
72. The liberated person is not averse to the senses nor is he attached to them. He enjoys himself continually with an unattached mind in both achievement and non-achievement.
73. One may get all sorts of pleasure by the acquisition of various objects of enjoyment, but one cannot be happy except by the renunciation of everything.
74. This existence is just imagination. It is nothing in reality.
75. The realm of one’s self is not far away, nor can it be achieved by the addition of limitations to its nature. It is unimaginable, effortless, unchanging and pure.
76. When you know yourself to be God, and being and non-being are just imagination, what should you, free from desire, learn, say or do?
77. The worlds of heaven or beggary, gain or loss, life in society or in the forest, these make no difference to a mystic whose nature is free from distinctions.
78. There is nothing needing to be done for the mystic who is liberated while still alive. There is no delusion, no world, no meditation on That, nor liberation for the great soul. All these things are just the realm of imagination.
79. Nothing is done by one who is free from being and non-being. He is contented and desireless. He encounters no difficulty in either activity or inactivity.
80. One who is desireless, self-reliant, independent and free of bonds functions like a dead leaf blown about by the wind of causality.
81. There is neither joy nor sorrow for one who has transcended samsara. With a peaceful mind one lives as if without a body. One whose joy is in oneself, and who is peaceful and pure within has no desire for renunciation or sense of loss in anything.
82. The pure person realizes that this action was done by the body but not by me. He is not acting even when acting. He acts without being able to say why.
83. One who is beyond mental stillness and distraction does not desire either liberation or its opposite nor their compliments. Recognising that things are just constructions of the imagination, that great soul lives as God here and now.
84. There are no rules, dispassion, renunciation or meditation for one who is pure receptivity by nature, and who admits no knowable form of being.
85. Pure illusion reigns in Samsara which continues until self realisation.
86. The enlightened person lives in the beauty of freedom from me and mine, from the sense of responsibility and from any attachment.
87. There is neither dissolute behaviour nor virtue, nor even discrimination of the truth for the sage who has reached the goal and is the very embodiment of guileless sincerity.
88. The wise person who is contented in all circumstances is not asleep even in deep sleep, not sleeping in a dream, nor waking when he is awake.
89. The seer is without thoughts even when thinking, without senses among the senses, without understanding even in understanding and without a sense of responsibility even in the ego.
90. Neither happy nor unhappy, neither detached nor attached, neither seeking liberation nor liberated, one is neither something nor nothing.
91. For one established in his own glory, there is no past, future or present. There is no space or even eternity, there is no self or non-self, no good or evil, no thought nor even absence of thought, there is no dreaming or deep sleep, no waking nor other state beyond them, and certainly no fear.
92. For one established in his own glory, there is nothing far away and nothing near, nothing within or without, nothing large and nothing small, there is no life or death, no worlds or things of this world, no distraction and no stillness of mind, there is no need for talk of the three goals of life, no need of union nor of knowledge.
93. In the one who is forever actionless, there are no elements, no body, no faculties, no mind. There is no void and no despair.
94. For the one in his unblemished nature, there are no scriptures, no self-knowledge, no mind free from an object, no satisfaction and no freedom from desire. There is no knowledge or ignorance, no me, this, or mine, no bondage, no liberation, and no property of self-nature.
95. For the one who is always free from individual characteristics there is no antecedent causal action, no liberation during life, and no fulfilment at death.
96. For the one who is free from individuality, there is no doer and no reaper of the fruits of action, no consequences, no cessation of action, no arising of thought, no immediate object, and no idea of results.
97. For the one who is free from dualism there is no world, no seeker for liberation, no mystic, no seer, no-one bound and no-one liberated. There is no emanation or return, no goal, no means, no seeker nor achievement. He remains in his own non-dual nature.
98. For the one who is pure and always free from deliberations there is neither conventional truth nor absolute truth, no happiness and no suffering, there is no illusion, no samsara, no attachment or detachment, no living being and no God.
99 For the one who is forever unmovable and indivisible, established in himself, there is no activity or inactivity, no liberation and no bondage.
100. For the one who is blessed and without limitation, there is no initiation or scripture, no disciple or teacher, and no goal of human life. There is no being or non-being, no unity or dualism. What more is there to say? Nothing emanates from him.
---------------------------------
Astavakra Gita
The 100 Principle Concepts
based upon a translation from the Sanskrit by John Richards
the public domain full text of which is available at...
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ashtavakra_Gita
or alternatively at...
http://www.indopedia.org/Ashtavakra_Gita.html
the sanskrit text is available at...
http://sanskrit.gde.to/all_pdf/ashtgita.pdf
--------------------------
Introduction
Main source of information: Wikipedia article on The Astavakra Gita.
The Astavakra Gita, also known as The Ashtavakra Samhita, is said to be a dialogue between the perfected advaitic rishi Ashtavakra and Janaka who was the King of Mithila in ancient India. The name Ashtavakra means eight bends or eight deformities. Details of Ashtavakra's life are found in the epic poem the Ramayana in which it is related that Sujata, the mother of Astavakra, while pregnant, exposed the unborn infant to Vedic teachings and the chanting of mantras at the ashram of the sage Uddalaka, who was also her own father. It was believed in ancient India that an unborn child was able to hear and listen to the Vedas, when chanted by a rishi, thus advancing the understanding of them when they would be encountered when a student. Kahoda (sometimes named Khagodara), Sujata's husband and thus unborn Ashtavakra's father, being the chief disciple in Uddalaka's ashram, also had the responsibility of chanting the mantras, but whenever he made a mistake Ashtavakra would move in distress in the womb in indication of the error. Eventually this evoked rage in the humiliated Kahoda and, believing himself to be insulted, he cursed his unborn infant son, wishing upon him eight deformities. Ashtavakra was in fact born with eight deformities.
At the time of Ashtavakra's birth his father Kahoda was invited to debate with the great philosopher Bandi in the presence of King Janaka. Bandi, unknown to everyone, was the son of Varuna, the god of all water bodies, and had been sent to Earth in order to perform a special ritual on behalf of the god. One of the rules of the debating contest was that the loser had to submerge himself and 'drown' in the nearby river Ganges. During the debate Bandi easily defeated Kahoda, who consequently had to peform the ritual of submerging, leading to his own drowning. The fatherless child Ashtavakra was consequently brought up by Uddalaka and his disciples at the ashram where he soon mastered his Vedic studies. Ashtavakra grew up believing Uddalaka was his father. Ashtavakra was never told of the fate of his real father until one day his uncle Svetaketu inadvertently blurted out that Uddalaka was not his true father. Ashtavakra then questioned his mother Sujata who told him the truth and the story of his father's fated debate with Bandi. Ashtavakra then decided to confront Bandi and debate with him.
Ashtavakra, then twelve years old, went to the palace of King Janaka and presented himself for debate with Bandi. King Janaka fearing that the young Ashtavakra would lose the debate, and meet the same fate as many Brahmanas had before, attempted to dissuade Ashtavakra, but Ashtavakra was quite resolute. King Janaka then tested Ashtavakra's knowledge and understanding by a series of questions... which Ashtavakra answered surprisingly profoundly. The very questions testingly posed by King Janaka to Ashtavakra together with the answers given by the precocious twelve year old sage form the text of the Astavakra Gita.
Satisfied with Ashtavakra's responses to his questions, King Janak arranged the debate, with Ashtavakra insisting one condition that Bandi, if he lost, would grant any wish whatsoever to his conqueror. Ashtavakra defeated Bandi in the debate and for his wish asked Bandi to restore to life all the sages and Brahmanas who had been forced to submerge and drown in the water of the Ganges. The defeated Bandi then revealed his true identity as the son of the god Varuna and explained the reason for the ritual which was now completed. Bandi communicated the request to his father Varuna who bade farewell to the sages and Brahmanas who were merged in his water world and sent them to the surface. The released Kahoda, upon learning what had happened, humbly acknowledged his son's superior intelligence and knowledge.
According to Swami Chinmaynanda there are two versions of the legend as to how Astavakra reached the court of the King Janaka. The other traditional version creates the scene with Astavakra in search of his father and the meeting with King Janaka was relatively a matter of chance. Janaka was regarded as a benevolent king and ,in order to have direct knowledge of his subjects, frequently made tours of their villages. He was making one such tour when he saw the young sage Astavakra limping along. Janaka dismounted from his horse and he prostrated himself before the teenage sage, who was then only twelve years of age. The deformities of the young Astavakra became more noticeable when he moved, and viewing the young sage from close-up the king felt a strong aversion to the deformalities of his anatomy. Young Astavakra being expert in Yoga-vidya as well as established in self knowledge read the kings mind and spoke to him:
"O King, just as the shape of a temple does not affect
the akasa (sky), the crookedness of the physical body
has no effect on Atma (Soul). A wise man has Atmadrsti
i.e. he looks at the Reality behind this
manifested world, whereas an ignorant one has
Carma-drsti i.e. he gets lost in names and forms."
The king was taken aback by such an incise wisdom of the young sage and requested him to grace his palace, an invitatioo which Astavakra accepted. When he arrived Astavakra was given a place of honour in king's palace. During conversations with the king he was able to remove all doubts from Janaka's mind. By defeating Bandi, the royal scholar, he got his father released from his watery captivity.
According to Swami Chinmayananda, the story of the meeting and the dialogue between Astavakra and King Janaka is described in Chapter 132 to 134 in the Vana Parva portion of the epic, Mahabharata, where Maharshi Limasa narrates it to Dharmaputra Yudhisthira, the eldest of Pandava princes. In the Mahabharata, there is yet another slightly different version. Astavakra was in search of his father, and was accompanied by Svetaketu, his maternal uncle, who was of his own age. They reached Janaka's kingdom to observe Mahayajan being conducted there. The king was proceeding to Yajnasala and attendants accompanying him were diverting traffic to clear passage for the king.
By his precise knowledge of Sastras, Astavakra pointed out that a brahmana had priority in the right of passage over even the king. On hearing, the king was impressed with the knowledge of the young medicant, and acceded the point and requested him to proceed ahead of him.
Although the Mahayajna was open only to established scholars, the king took him along to the Mahayajna. On learning about his motive of defeating Bandi-the royal scholar, the king tested his knowledge of the Sastras by questioning. With appropriate and precise answers he impressed the king who invited Bandi to engage the young sage in arguments. Astavakra defeated Bandi and thus got his father released.
Astavakra's conversations with King Janaka form the content of the Astavakra Gita.
The date of the Astavakra Gita is not known. It appears to be older than the Mahabharata and its famous philosophical interlude, the Bhagavad Gita, because the text of the Mahabharata refers to material derived from the Astavakra Gita. Mainly because the text resembles the Upanisadic teaching style, incorporating a dialogue between a questioning disciple and his teacher, it is provisionally dated to the late Upanisadic period, circa 1000-200 BC. However, there must be doubts that such an early dating is true. I offer an opinion: considering the literary style, the surprising relatively modern language used, the clarity and openness of the concepts, and the relatively modern form in which the concepts of advaita are expressed.... the Astavakra Girta is probably a late medieval text?
--------------------------------------
Other translators and commentators
Swami Chinmaya has made a word for word translation of the Astavakra Gita. His book, titled: The Astavakra Gita, contains the Sanskrit text, a transliteration, the word-to-word meaning, a translation, and a detailed commentary. In paperback form, published in 2006 by The Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, ISBN 8175970626, 450 pages, size 8.3” x 5.3”, price about £12 (about 15 euros or $19).
Thomas Byrom has made a more poetic translation of the Astavakra Gita, titled: The Heart of Awareness ~ a translation of The Ashtavakra Gita
Astavakra Gita – an ideas-only-version
Here is the Astavakra Gita stripped of all unecessary literary style and form, and reduced to the 100 most meaningful concepts and ideas that it contains. John Richard's translation from the Sanskrit original has been used, although in the future there is an intention to make a new careful literal translation that preserves all the subtle advaitic essence of the text. Whether you are established in your own glory or not... this condensation of ideas in the Astavakra Gita makes for a remarkable study.
1. Seek liberation by shunning the objects of the senses.
2. Practice tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness.
3. You are not earth, water, fire, air or ether.
4. You are consciousness, the witness of earth, water, fire, air and ether.
5. Rest in consciousness and you will be happy, peaceful and free from bonds.
6. You are not any caste, you are not at any stage of life, nor are you anything that the eye can see. You are unattached and formless, the witness of everything.
7. Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain are purely of the mind and are no concern of yours.
8. You are not the doer, nor the reaper of the consequences of action. You are always free.
9. The cause of bondage is that one considers the witness as something other than being free from action and instead as someone who reaps the consequences of action.
10. Self opinion is the bite of a black snake.
11. Knowledge is the fire that burns away ignorance.
12. That world in which all this appears is imagined.
13. You are joy, supreme knowledge and awareness.
14. Your real nature is one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness - unattached to anything, desireless, at peace.
15. Meditate on yourself as motionless awareness.
16. You are free from all dualism.
17 You are not anything external or internal.
18. You are self-illuminating, unconditioned and changeless, formless and immovable, unfathomable awareness and imperturbable.
19. The apparent is unreal, while the unmanifest is abiding.
20. The eternal, everlasting Being exists in the totality of things, just as one and the same all-pervading space exists within and without a jar.
21. You have been afflicted by delusion. All this, everything, has emanated from yourself, and is no other than yourself. Everything has been produced out of yourself and is completely permeated with yourself.
22. The whole world is yours and, alternatively, nothing is yours. You possess nothing at all, and alternatively possess everything to which speech and mind can refer.
23. From ignorance of oneself, the world appears, and by knowledge of oneself it appears no longer.
24. Shining is your essential nature. When the world shines forth, it is simply yourself that is shining forth.
25. From Brahma down to the last blade of grass everything in the world is destroyed. But for yourself there is no destruction.
26. You are solitary! Even though with a body, you neither go anywhere nor come from anywhere. You abide forever, filling all that is.
27. Knowledge, and that which is known, and the knower - these three do not exist in reality. You are the pure reality in which they appear. Knowledge, and that which is known, and the knower, are contaminated by ignorance.
28. Dualism is the root of suffering.
29. The only remedy for dualism and suffering is the realisation that all this, all that one sees, is unreal, and that you are the one stainless reality, consisting of consciousness.
30. There is neither bondage nor liberation. When the illusion has lost its basis and ceased, then there is the realization that truly all this exists in me, though ultimately it does not even exist in me.
31. The physical body, heaven and hell, bondage and liberation, and fear too, all this is active imagination.
32. There is nothing left to do for one whose very nature is consciousness.
33. You are not a living being. You are consciousness. It is your thirst for living that is your bondage.
34. You are one and indestructible.
35. You are the limitless ocean. Living beings are waves. In the limitless ocean of yourself the waves of living beings arise, collide, play and disappear, according to their natures.
36. When one is oneself in all beings, and all beings are in oneself, then the sense of individuality is no longer able to continue.
37. See even one’s own body in action as if it were someone else’s.
38. When you see this world as pure illusion, and are devoid of any interest in it, then you will no longer feel fear, even at the approach of death.
39. If you manage always to be aware of the supreme self-nature you will discover that you are neither expectant nor disappointed and are completely undisturbed by praise or blame.
40. When all attachment has been eliminated, and there is no longer any dualism, then there is freedom from both desire and repulsion. Then any object that comes of itself is neither painful nor pleasurable.
41. The wise person of self-knowledge plays the game of worldly life.
42. You are infinite like space. To know this is knowledge, then there is neither renunciation, nor acceptance, nor cessation of it.
43. The world is a wave of its own nature which rises and vanishes in the infinite ocean of myself. There is no increase or diminution to me from it.
44. It is in the infinite ocean of myself that the imagination called the world takes place.
45. Truly I am but pure consciousness, and the world is like a conjurer's show.
46. Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something, or displeased about something.
47. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything, or displeased about anything.
48. When there is no 'me', that is liberation, and when there is 'me' there is bondage.
49. Rare indeed is the person whose observation of the world’s behaviour has led to the extinction of the thirst for living, for pleasure and for knowledge.
50. Abandoning desire, practice indifference to everything.
51. Being, non-being and transformation are of the very nature of things, but when you realize that nothing exists here but Isvara, the Creator of all things, you will no longer be attached to anything.
52. When you realize that misfortune and fortune come in their turn from fate, you will place your senses under control, and no longer like or dislike anything. You will be unconcerned about what has been attained or not.
53. When you realize that pleasure and pain, birth and death, are from fate, and that desires cannot be achieved, you will remain inactive, and even when acting no longer be attached.
54. Realizing that all this varied and wonderful world is nothing, one finds peace.
55. A sage said: "First of all I was averse to physical activity, then to lengthy speech, and finally to thinking itself. Trying to think the unthinkable is unnatural to thought."
56. Just as the performance of actions is due to ignorance, so their abandonment is also due to ignorance.
57. The inner freedom of having nothing is hard to achieve, because it requires living as one pleases, abandoning both renunciation and acquisition.
58. Recognising that in reality no action is ever committed, the sage lives as he pleases, just attending to what presents itself to be done.
59. No benefit or loss ever comes to you, consequently live as you please, abandoning the pleasant and unpleasant.
60. One person of pure intelligence may achieve the goal by the most casual of instructions, while another may seek knowledge all his life and still remain bewildered.
61. Liberation is indifference to the objects of the senses. Bondage is love of the senses.
62. You are eternally pure consciousness, the witness, and you are in need of nothing.
63. Desire and anger are objects of the mind, but the mind is not yours, nor ever has been.
64. You are beyond natural causation.
65. You consist of pure consciousness, and the world is not separate from you. So who is to accept or reject it, and how, and why?
66. It is through your ignorance that all this exists. In reality you alone exist. Apart from you there is no one within or beyond samsara.
67. Knowing that all this is an illusion, you become free, as if nothing existed.
68. When the mind is freed from such pairs of opposites as ‘I have done this,’ and ‘I have not done that,’ it becomes indifferent to merit, wealth, sensuality and liberation.
69. So long as desire, which is the state of lacking discrimination, remains, the sense of attraction and revulsion will remain; that is the root and branch of samsara. The wise person is free from the pairs of opposites like a child.
70. Those who desire pleasure and those who desire liberation are both bound in samsara.
71. Someone established in the absolute state with an empty mind does not know the alternatives of inner stillness and lack of inner stillness, nor of good and evil.
72. The liberated person is not averse to the senses nor is he attached to them. He enjoys himself continually with an unattached mind in both achievement and non-achievement.
73. One may get all sorts of pleasure by the acquisition of various objects of enjoyment, but one cannot be happy except by the renunciation of everything.
74. This existence is just imagination. It is nothing in reality.
75. The realm of one’s self is not far away, nor can it be achieved by the addition of limitations to its nature. It is unimaginable, effortless, unchanging and pure.
76. When you know yourself to be God, and being and non-being are just imagination, what should you, free from desire, learn, say or do?
77. The worlds of heaven or beggary, gain or loss, life in society or in the forest, these make no difference to a mystic whose nature is free from distinctions.
78. There is nothing needing to be done for the mystic who is liberated while still alive. There is no delusion, no world, no meditation on That, nor liberation for the great soul. All these things are just the realm of imagination.
79. Nothing is done by one who is free from being and non-being. He is contented and desireless. He encounters no difficulty in either activity or inactivity.
80. One who is desireless, self-reliant, independent and free of bonds functions like a dead leaf blown about by the wind of causality.
81. There is neither joy nor sorrow for one who has transcended samsara. With a peaceful mind one lives as if without a body. One whose joy is in oneself, and who is peaceful and pure within has no desire for renunciation or sense of loss in anything.
82. The pure person realizes that this action was done by the body but not by me. He is not acting even when acting. He acts without being able to say why.
83. One who is beyond mental stillness and distraction does not desire either liberation or its opposite nor their compliments. Recognising that things are just constructions of the imagination, that great soul lives as God here and now.
84. There are no rules, dispassion, renunciation or meditation for one who is pure receptivity by nature, and who admits no knowable form of being.
85. Pure illusion reigns in Samsara which continues until self realisation.
86. The enlightened person lives in the beauty of freedom from me and mine, from the sense of responsibility and from any attachment.
87. There is neither dissolute behaviour nor virtue, nor even discrimination of the truth for the sage who has reached the goal and is the very embodiment of guileless sincerity.
88. The wise person who is contented in all circumstances is not asleep even in deep sleep, not sleeping in a dream, nor waking when he is awake.
89. The seer is without thoughts even when thinking, without senses among the senses, without understanding even in understanding and without a sense of responsibility even in the ego.
90. Neither happy nor unhappy, neither detached nor attached, neither seeking liberation nor liberated, one is neither something nor nothing.
91. For one established in his own glory, there is no past, future or present. There is no space or even eternity, there is no self or non-self, no good or evil, no thought nor even absence of thought, there is no dreaming or deep sleep, no waking nor other state beyond them, and certainly no fear.
92. For one established in his own glory, there is nothing far away and nothing near, nothing within or without, nothing large and nothing small, there is no life or death, no worlds or things of this world, no distraction and no stillness of mind, there is no need for talk of the three goals of life, no need of union nor of knowledge.
93. In the one who is forever actionless, there are no elements, no body, no faculties, no mind. There is no void and no despair.
94. For the one in his unblemished nature, there are no scriptures, no self-knowledge, no mind free from an object, no satisfaction and no freedom from desire. There is no knowledge or ignorance, no me, this, or mine, no bondage, no liberation, and no property of self-nature.
95. For the one who is always free from individual characteristics there is no antecedent causal action, no liberation during life, and no fulfilment at death.
96. For the one who is free from individuality, there is no doer and no reaper of the fruits of action, no consequences, no cessation of action, no arising of thought, no immediate object, and no idea of results.
97. For the one who is free from dualism there is no world, no seeker for liberation, no mystic, no seer, no-one bound and no-one liberated. There is no emanation or return, no goal, no means, no seeker nor achievement. He remains in his own non-dual nature.
98. For the one who is pure and always free from deliberations there is neither conventional truth nor absolute truth, no happiness and no suffering, there is no illusion, no samsara, no attachment or detachment, no living being and no God.
99 For the one who is forever unmovable and indivisible, established in himself, there is no activity or inactivity, no liberation and no bondage.
100. For the one who is blessed and without limitation, there is no initiation or scripture, no disciple or teacher, and no goal of human life. There is no being or non-being, no unity or dualism. What more is there to say? Nothing emanates from him.
---------------------------------
Astavakra Gita
The 100 Principle Concepts
based upon a translation from the Sanskrit by John Richards
the public domain full text of which is available at...
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ashtavakra_Gita
or alternatively at...
http://www.indopedia.org/Ashtavakra_Gita.html
the sanskrit text is available at...
http://sanskrit.gde.to/all_pdf/ashtgita.pdf
--------------------------
Introduction
Main source of information: Wikipedia article on The Astavakra Gita.
The Astavakra Gita, also known as The Ashtavakra Samhita, is said to be a dialogue between the perfected advaitic rishi Ashtavakra and Janaka who was the King of Mithila in ancient India. The name Ashtavakra means eight bends or eight deformities. Details of Ashtavakra's life are found in the epic poem the Ramayana in which it is related that Sujata, the mother of Astavakra, while pregnant, exposed the unborn infant to Vedic teachings and the chanting of mantras at the ashram of the sage Uddalaka, who was also her own father. It was believed in ancient India that an unborn child was able to hear and listen to the Vedas, when chanted by a rishi, thus advancing the understanding of them when they would be encountered when a student. Kahoda (sometimes named Khagodara), Sujata's husband and thus unborn Ashtavakra's father, being the chief disciple in Uddalaka's ashram, also had the responsibility of chanting the mantras, but whenever he made a mistake Ashtavakra would move in distress in the womb in indication of the error. Eventually this evoked rage in the humiliated Kahoda and, believing himself to be insulted, he cursed his unborn infant son, wishing upon him eight deformities. Ashtavakra was in fact born with eight deformities.
At the time of Ashtavakra's birth his father Kahoda was invited to debate with the great philosopher Bandi in the presence of King Janaka. Bandi, unknown to everyone, was the son of Varuna, the god of all water bodies, and had been sent to Earth in order to perform a special ritual on behalf of the god. One of the rules of the debating contest was that the loser had to submerge himself and 'drown' in the nearby river Ganges. During the debate Bandi easily defeated Kahoda, who consequently had to peform the ritual of submerging, leading to his own drowning. The fatherless child Ashtavakra was consequently brought up by Uddalaka and his disciples at the ashram where he soon mastered his Vedic studies. Ashtavakra grew up believing Uddalaka was his father. Ashtavakra was never told of the fate of his real father until one day his uncle Svetaketu inadvertently blurted out that Uddalaka was not his true father. Ashtavakra then questioned his mother Sujata who told him the truth and the story of his father's fated debate with Bandi. Ashtavakra then decided to confront Bandi and debate with him.
Ashtavakra, then twelve years old, went to the palace of King Janaka and presented himself for debate with Bandi. King Janaka fearing that the young Ashtavakra would lose the debate, and meet the same fate as many Brahmanas had before, attempted to dissuade Ashtavakra, but Ashtavakra was quite resolute. King Janaka then tested Ashtavakra's knowledge and understanding by a series of questions... which Ashtavakra answered surprisingly profoundly. The very questions testingly posed by King Janaka to Ashtavakra together with the answers given by the precocious twelve year old sage form the text of the Astavakra Gita.
Satisfied with Ashtavakra's responses to his questions, King Janak arranged the debate, with Ashtavakra insisting one condition that Bandi, if he lost, would grant any wish whatsoever to his conqueror. Ashtavakra defeated Bandi in the debate and for his wish asked Bandi to restore to life all the sages and Brahmanas who had been forced to submerge and drown in the water of the Ganges. The defeated Bandi then revealed his true identity as the son of the god Varuna and explained the reason for the ritual which was now completed. Bandi communicated the request to his father Varuna who bade farewell to the sages and Brahmanas who were merged in his water world and sent them to the surface. The released Kahoda, upon learning what had happened, humbly acknowledged his son's superior intelligence and knowledge.
According to Swami Chinmaynanda there are two versions of the legend as to how Astavakra reached the court of the King Janaka. The other traditional version creates the scene with Astavakra in search of his father and the meeting with King Janaka was relatively a matter of chance. Janaka was regarded as a benevolent king and ,in order to have direct knowledge of his subjects, frequently made tours of their villages. He was making one such tour when he saw the young sage Astavakra limping along. Janaka dismounted from his horse and he prostrated himself before the teenage sage, who was then only twelve years of age. The deformities of the young Astavakra became more noticeable when he moved, and viewing the young sage from close-up the king felt a strong aversion to the deformalities of his anatomy. Young Astavakra being expert in Yoga-vidya as well as established in self knowledge read the kings mind and spoke to him:
"O King, just as the shape of a temple does not affect
the akasa (sky), the crookedness of the physical body
has no effect on Atma (Soul). A wise man has Atmadrsti
i.e. he looks at the Reality behind this
manifested world, whereas an ignorant one has
Carma-drsti i.e. he gets lost in names and forms."
The king was taken aback by such an incise wisdom of the young sage and requested him to grace his palace, an invitatioo which Astavakra accepted. When he arrived Astavakra was given a place of honour in king's palace. During conversations with the king he was able to remove all doubts from Janaka's mind. By defeating Bandi, the royal scholar, he got his father released from his watery captivity.
According to Swami Chinmayananda, the story of the meeting and the dialogue between Astavakra and King Janaka is described in Chapter 132 to 134 in the Vana Parva portion of the epic, Mahabharata, where Maharshi Limasa narrates it to Dharmaputra Yudhisthira, the eldest of Pandava princes. In the Mahabharata, there is yet another slightly different version. Astavakra was in search of his father, and was accompanied by Svetaketu, his maternal uncle, who was of his own age. They reached Janaka's kingdom to observe Mahayajan being conducted there. The king was proceeding to Yajnasala and attendants accompanying him were diverting traffic to clear passage for the king.
By his precise knowledge of Sastras, Astavakra pointed out that a brahmana had priority in the right of passage over even the king. On hearing, the king was impressed with the knowledge of the young medicant, and acceded the point and requested him to proceed ahead of him.
Although the Mahayajna was open only to established scholars, the king took him along to the Mahayajna. On learning about his motive of defeating Bandi-the royal scholar, the king tested his knowledge of the Sastras by questioning. With appropriate and precise answers he impressed the king who invited Bandi to engage the young sage in arguments. Astavakra defeated Bandi and thus got his father released.
Astavakra's conversations with King Janaka form the content of the Astavakra Gita.
The date of the Astavakra Gita is not known. It appears to be older than the Mahabharata and its famous philosophical interlude, the Bhagavad Gita, because the text of the Mahabharata refers to material derived from the Astavakra Gita. Mainly because the text resembles the Upanisadic teaching style, incorporating a dialogue between a questioning disciple and his teacher, it is provisionally dated to the late Upanisadic period, circa 1000-200 BC. However, there must be doubts that such an early dating is true. I offer an opinion: considering the literary style, the surprising relatively modern language used, the clarity and openness of the concepts, and the relatively modern form in which the concepts of advaita are expressed.... the Astavakra Girta is probably a late medieval text?
--------------------------------------
Other translators and commentators
Swami Chinmaya has made a word for word translation of the Astavakra Gita. His book, titled: The Astavakra Gita, contains the Sanskrit text, a transliteration, the word-to-word meaning, a translation, and a detailed commentary. In paperback form, published in 2006 by The Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, ISBN 8175970626, 450 pages, size 8.3” x 5.3”, price about £12 (about 15 euros or $19).
Thomas Byrom has made a more poetic translation of the Astavakra Gita, titled: The Heart of Awareness ~ a translation of The Ashtavakra Gita
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)