Jnana Vahini

The jnana (higher Knowledge) derived from the mere hearing of Vedanta cannot be termed Aparoksha-Jnanam (Immediate Knowledge – one which cannot be acquired through any kind of medium like senses, but is only to be experienced). Since the Abhasa-avarana (obscuring or masking of Absolute Reality with multiple appearances) persists and hides the Absolute Knowledge of the Self, how can it be termed as Aparoksha-Jnanam? No, it cannot be. It is Paroksha-jnanam (Indirect Knowledge – acquired through sensory perception) only.

Of course, by hearing about the Svarupa (True Form) of the Brahmam as Sat, Chit and Ananda, one may be able to grasp it; but, one has to actually ‘see’ or experience the Brahmam, the Witness of the Five Vestures (the Annamaya – Gross-body or modification of food; the Pranamaya – modifications of vital-air and five powers of physical action; the Manomaya – modifications of five senses and mind together; the Vijnanamaya – modifications of five powers of perception and intellect; and the Anandamaya – Temporary and conditional happiness, a temporary reflection of Absolute Bliss) of the Individual.

You may know from the Shastras that He who has four arms and who has the Shankha (conch), Chakra (discus), Gada (mace) and the Padma (lotus) in each of them is Lord Vishnu; you may even be picturing Him as such in Dhyana. But yet, unless you have actually seen Him by your own vision, the knowledge gained by the study of iconography can be termed only as indirect perception and it cannot be direct perception.

Since the Form of Vishnu is considered different and outside, when understood through the study of the Shastras, what you get is really Indirect Inference, not Direct Experience. Though a person is ignorant of the fact that the Brahman is His own self (not different or outside), can he not realize Himself as Brahman as soon as he hears the exposition of a Mahavakya like “Tat-Tvam-Asi” (Thou art That) which reveals that basic Truth? But, he does not. He cannot declare so, when he has the apprehension (conception or understanding) that it cannot be indirectly “known” through the Shastras which discuss those that are different from His own Self like heaven, etc. (whereas Brahman is not different but His own Self)! For, the same Shastras have said that you are the Brahman Itself, that You are fundamentally Brahman and nothing else, by means of Mahavakyas or Great Announcements. And they also warn you that Aparoksha-Jnanam is not gotten by the mere hearing of these Mahavakyas!

The progress of the Spiritual aspirant is of this nature: He reasons out with Shraddha (Faith and Care) what he heard until he understands the characteristics of the Atma in an indirect way. Then, to bring that knowledge into the field of actual experience, he takes up the process of Manana, i.e., ruminating on it in Manas (the mind).

The Atma is present everywhere and is in everything, It is unaffected, It is omnipresent like Akasha or Ether. It is even beyond the Akasha; It is the Chidakasha (the space in the intellect in which Consciousness shines or manifests as I-sense). It is described in the Shrutis as “Asango hyayam purushah,” “This Purusha is Unattached.” Isn’t it?

Because of the fact that the Atma is unaffected and untouched by anything and is beyond everything and indifferent, you should not doubt that It is Parichchhinna (restricted or limited). It is beyond the three limitations of Space, Time and Causation. It is all-pervading. So, you cannot state that the Atma is limited only in one place and not in another. It is not limited by space. You cannot state that It exists at one time and does not exist at another time. It is not limited by time. Atma is Everything. There is nothing which is not Atma. Atma is All; so, It has no limitation of Vastu (object). Atma is Purnam (All-pervading). Knowing this is the Absolute Jnana. And, that is the Absolute Satya.

A doubt may be raised here: If the Atma is pervasive like the Akasha, does It also undergo a transformation, a Vikara, a change like Akasha and the other elements? No. Existing, emanating, growing, changing, declining, dying – these are the six transformations or Shadbhava-vikaras that occur for Akasha and the other elements. But the Atma is the Universal, Eternal Witness, cognizing Akasha and the other elements; and hence, It has no modifications at all. It is Nirvikara.

When it is said that the Atma is Nirvikara, it means, some other things have Vikara or modifications; so, a thought may arise that the word 'Sadvaya' (dual) can be used rather than ‘Advaita’ (Non-dual). But that thought should be completely discarded. Now some things have Vikara and some have not. But when there is nothing besides Atma, it is wrong to speak of a two-fold entity. It is not two. It is One! Doubt does not exist and arise, as there is nothing other than Atma and hence It is Non-dual. How can it be said that there is nothing besides Atma? For this reason: that the Atma is the Cause of all this, and there can be no distinction between the Cause and the Effect. The Cause cannot be, without the Effect and the Effect cannot be, without the Cause.

Some might be suffering under the doubt: How can the Atma be the Universal Cause? The Atma is the Universal Cause, because it is the Universal See-er, that is, Atma is All-Knower. It is very well known that the see-er is the cause of all the delusion of this world. The see-er who superimposes silver in the Shukti (mother of pearl) and the dreamer who dreams the varied scenes of the dream world are the Upadana Karana (material causes). Similarly, the see-er (the knower), the Atma, is the Upadana Karana of all the projections or delusions of this world. Is it not?

Therefore, when the entire Universe is nothing but an illusion, then Atma is the Karana (cause) of it. Now, a doubt may arise, “how can this whole Universe be an illusion?” It is as follows. Just like the superimposition of the snake on the rope (Rajju-sarpa illustration), on account of the play of Maya (ignorance, Avidya), the names and forms are superimposed on the Non-dual Atma at the time of Pralayam (Complete cessation or dissolution). That is what the Shruti too declared. Isn’t it?

The Atma is always content and blissful. To you, one thing appears more attractive than another and so, this sensual attachment and affection are the results of delusion; and, it is not your true nature. It is like a dog that gnaws a bone and, when blood oozes out of its tongue and gets mixed with the bone, it relishes the bone the more for that additional taste. When it gets another bone, it drops the first one and runs after the second. What the Atma does is to superimpose upon the external, evanescent object its inherent love and thus envelop that object with a certain attractiveness. Objects are taken to be pleasure-giving, but they are not really so. They only add to the grief. Since this affection born out of delusion is ever changing, that love for the objects can only be Satisaya (better), but not Niratisaya (the best, supreme or unparalleled).

However, the love for the Atma (Self) will not undergo any such modifications. Even when the senses and the body fall, the Atma will remain and infuse bliss. So, it is the Supreme Love. Everyone has love towards the Self, or Atma. It is of the nature of Paramanandam (Supreme Bliss). For this reason, It is described as of the nature of Sat, Chit and Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).

Are these three (Sat, Chit and Ananda) the characteristics or qualities (attributes) of the Atma? Or, are they Its essence, Its nature? A doubt of this type may arise. Redness, heat and splendour are the nature of Fire, not its attributes. Atma, too, in the same manner has Sat, Chit and Ananda as Its very nature and not Its attributes. Agni is one though its nature is redness, heat and splendour. Similarly, Atma too is One though Its nature is Sat, Chit and Ananda. Taste, coldness and liquidity are of the very nature of Water; yet, water everywhere is the same, not diverse.

Atma is One; It subsumes all and thus, It is all-knowing and all-pervading. It may be asked, “how come the Innermost Self (Pratyagatma) which is the Witness of the five koshas (Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya) of the individual is ‘All-knowing’? Since It is the one and only Atma that subsumes or pervades all beings and all objects, but not anything besides Atma, It (Atma) can know everything. Everything else other than Atma is inert, and hence they do not know. Can the pot, which is Jada (inert), know the Akasha (space) inside it? Though it does not know, the Akasha is there all the same. Similarly, that which is Anatma or Jada does not know that Atma is inside it. Though it does not know, Atma is there in it. Atma knows all the Jada (inert objects, including the mind) in the presence of the senses of perception. Within one’s Awareness of the Atma, not only the objects like the house, the field, the village, the country, etc., which can be known directly through the senses are being known; but even the unseen items like Meru, heaven, etc., which are unknown directly, are also being known within one’s Awareness. (Note: The knowledge of “not knowing” happening in one’s Awareness is also because of the all-pervasive Atma.)

One should know that, though the multiplicity of body, country, etc., is non-existent just like Vandhya putra (son of a barren woman), they appear so, because they are projected by the Vasanas (tendencies) of the mind and are being ‘known’ within one’s Awareness. Similarly, even the Asat (non-existent) items, such as Meru, heaven, etc., which are unknown directly, are projected by the Vasanas (tendencies) of the mind and are being known that they are “unknown” is also happening within one’s Awareness. In the dream though one experiences a multiplicity, one knows that they are unreal creations of one’s own mind. This is clear to the witness of the dream that it is a dreamer’s world in one’s own Awareness. Similarly, the experience of the waking state also is nothing but the projections of the mind in two ways (direct and indirect). Otherwise, how can people in the world say, “they do not know anything about Meru, heaven, etc.?” (i.e., the knowledge of “not knowing” is also happening within one’s Awareness). Therefore, a Jnani (true seeker of Self-Knowledge) should have a unique characteristic of investigating into the Yathartha (Absolute Truth or Reality).