Vedanta - Discussion Forum I (introductory))

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The maya- brahman relationship:
Reposting my earlier post based on the email from my guru

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CHATHURSHLOKI BAGAVATHAM

COMMENTARY
Om! Rama Krishna Hari!

Poornamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnameba Vashishyate

Om Shanthi! Om Shanthi! Om Shanthi!

What is shloka?

What is a shloka? ‘Sah’ means That. ‘Loka’ means world. Shloka means ‘That World’. There are seven lokas. They are i) Bhuh ii) Bhubah iii) Swah iv) Janah v) Mahah, vi) Tapah and vii) Satya. Satya Loka is the highest Loka – Loka of Ultimate Truth. A shloka deports one to a different Loka commensurate with its potency. Chathur Shloki Bhagavatam is so potent that it can directly hurtle one to the Satya Loka and that is “World Of Truth”. It is the master key to the world of Satya Loka. Each Shloka talks about a particular tattva of paramount spiritual essence.

1. Bramha Tattva - First Shloka is the master key to the essence of the Truth, Bramhan.

Aham eva asam evagre nanyath yatha sat asat param
Pashchat aham yatha etat cha yah avashishyetha sah asmi aham (1)

Aham – I, Eva – only, Asam – exist, Eva – certainly, Agre – in the beginning (before creation), Na Anyath – nothing else, Aham – I (am), Yatha – like, Etat – all these (creation), Sat – real, Asat – unreal, Cha – and, Param –Supreme, Paschat – afterwards (after dissolution), Yah – whatever, Avashishyetha – remains, Sah – That, Asmi – am, Aham – I.

“Certainly I only exist in the beginning, nothing else. <b>I am like all these creation comprising Sat, Asat, and Param. I am also That, whatever remains afterwards.</b>”

Before, after and during the Creation, I only existed. Just like the waves emerge and merge in the ocean, the entire universe emerges from Me and again dissolves into Me.

Sat, Asat and Param.

What is Param?
Param is the Truth – Niranjan (untainted), Nirmal (Pure), and Nirantar (undifferentiated). Param is Existance beyond existence and nonexistence. Param is Light beyond light and darkness. Param is Bliss beyond pain and pleasure. Param is Niranjan, Nirmal, Nirantar - The One and the Only one.

<b>What is Sat? It is appearance of Truth. All that appears as Truth is Sat.</b>- <i>i guess he refers to the saguna brahman or ishwara</i>

What is Asat? It is appearance of that which is not Truth. All that is unreal is Asat. All that is illusory is Asat. Now let us discuss an Example so that one can understand easily:

Imagine that it is a full Moon Day. It is night time. There is no wind and there is no sound. Total calmness prevails. There is a lake. There is no ripple in it. Then the Moon will get reflected with all its majesty in it. In its full glory as it is. But as soon as it is dawn, just before the sun rise there is gush of wind. The lake is now full of ripples. At that time, will the Moon get reflected in the lake water as it is? It won’t. It will be distorted. It will be fragmented. Now one can only see the pieces of illuminations, flashes of light here and there.

So also when one’s intellect is full of peace and serenity, one can experience the Truth reflected majestically in it with its entire splendor. Otherwise, there is a lot of distortion. There is a lot of fragmentation. What is reflected is multitude of names and forms. This is the JAGAT.

‘Sat’ is like reflection of the Moon as it is in the lake without any distortion. ‘Asat’ is like the distorted reflection of the Moon. ‘Param’ is the Moon itself in this example. Truth reflects in a pure and calm intellect as ‘Sat’, whereas in a disturbed intellect as ‘Asat’. Only way to experience Truth is to purify the intellect by calming the mind. As long as the movie is continuing, one does not experience the Light, though all the moving pictures on the screen are Light only. Once the movie stops, the screen is flooded with Light and only Light.

2. Maya Tattva – this is the key to the essence of Illusory power of the Lord.
We shall go deep into it. Maya is nothing but Lord’s Illusory power. Just as the turbulent current in the ocean produces waves in the ocean with the influence of sound and light, so also Maya produces various Names and Forms which is the Jagat.

Rte artham yath prateeyeta na prateeyeta cha atmani
Tat vidyat atmano maayam yatha abhaso yatha tamah (2)

Rte – without (lacking), Artham – real meaning (essence), Yat – whatever, Prateeyeta – appears, Na prateeyeta – does not appear, Cha – and, Atmani – of Truth, Tat – That, Vidyat – (you) know, Atmano – Truth’s, Maayam – Illusory power, Yatha – like, Abhaso – reflection, Yatha Tamah – out of Ignorance.

“Whatever appears lacking the real essence does not appear as the Truth. And (this) you know (for certain), that (unreal) appears (due to) My Illusory Power like reflection (of light rays) out of ignorance (appearing as an illusory image)”

When somebody asks you “What is Rose?” You may say “Rose is a flower.” On further enquiry you may say “Rose is a color.”, “Rose is a color among so many colors.”

But this is not correct. All these are your interpretations, your own views. They can be different for different people. Rose can be devotion for a devotee. It can be a token of Love for a Lover. It can be an object of art for an artist. It is named as Rose in English language, whereas it called as Gulab in Hindi language. It brings memories of joy in some minds, whereas it may bring memories of grief for some others. The word rose brings different interpretations and different feelings in different people. It varies from mind to mind. Now I will give you another example. Darkness means fear for a child. It is profit for a thief. It is romance for a young couple. Also it is time to rest and relax for tired laborers. For different people it has different contextual meanings.

Everything gets jumbled up due to effects of Lord’s Illusory power Maaya. There are three aspects of everything – ‘Artha’, ‘Sabda’ and ‘Gyana’. ‘Artha’ is the essence – true meaning. ‘Sabda’ is the sound identifying the thing, naming the thing, thus limiting it to just a sound. It is linguistic representation of that particular thing. ‘Gyana’ is psychological. It is interpretation of the thing as per earlier individual experience of the thing by that particular person.

In the earlier example, rose blooming in the garden is ‘Artha’, whereas the word ‘r o s e’ is ‘Sabda’ just the phonetics. The idea of rose in the mind and its associated stored experience is ‘Gyana’. Darkness in a room devoid of any light is ‘Artha’. The phonetics ‘d a r k n e s s’ is ‘Sabda’. The mental concept of darkness with its associated experience and feelings is ‘Gyana’

Maya is having two powers called as ‘Avarana Shakti’ - the veiling aspect, and ‘Vikshepa Shakti’ - the superimposition aspect. Veiling aspect hides the true thing. Superimposing aspect dresses the thing with a false notion. ‘Sabda’ veils ‘Artha’ and ‘Gyana’ superimposes a falsity into ‘Sabda’. It is like a serpent is experienced in stead of a rope. Or a ghost is experienced in stead of a post. Or nacre shines as Silver. ‘Artha’ is ‘Param’, ‘Sabda’ is ‘Sat’, and ‘Gyana’ is ‘Asat’. Mixing of these three ‘Artha’, ‘Sabda’, and ‘Gyana’ create the confusing illusion of Individual realities.

Since people have different interpretations according to their own understanding, they get attached to their own illusory knowledge. They start claiming whatever they say is correct. That is how fanaticism comes into existence. All the world’s miseries are due to political and religious fanaticism.

Saivites and Vishnavites fight with each other even though they both are spiritual seekers having the same aim of God-realization. Even in Islam there are different faiths as Sihas and Sunnis. It is just because there is clash of their respective faiths. This is nothing but their respective bundle of opinions and judgments out of confusion in understanding due to admixture of ‘Artha’, ‘Sabda’ and ‘Gyana’. Won’t it be better World to live, if people stop fighting over something which is itself out of misapprehension? Out of misunderstanding? Out of illusion? Won’t this clarity make World full of Love and Peace?

Maya is the dynamic aspect of Bramhan, like current in the Ocean. The cause Ocean, the instrument current, and the effect waves are one and the same Ocean. There is no difference. Similarly the Truth as potency, Maaya as its dynamic aspect, and the resulting Jagat are all one and the same – The One Truth.

Maaya by its veiling and superimposition powers creates the illusory Jagat as so many names and forms. Jagat is like a mirage. The Sun rays in a desert, while passing through layers of air of different density create an illusion of a lake due to interference of refracted rays. But it is just a mirage. As you go near it, it recedes farther and appears again at some distance. Like that out of ignorance, the entire Jagat is created by interference of rays of Bramhan refracted in the impure individual Intellects. Maya is ‘sat’, but Jagat is ‘asat’, whereas ‘Param’ is ‘Artha’ - the TRUTH.

Artha Matra Nirbhasham, Swarupe Shunyamivam Samadhim.

When the Truth (‘artha’) shines, the self image (consisting ‘sabda’ and ‘gyana’) being void, that is Samadhi.

3. Jagat Tattva – this is the third key to essence of Jagat, the effect of Lord’s Illusory Power.

Yatha mahaanthi bhutani bhuteshu uccha avachesuh anu
Pravisthani apravisthani tatha thesu na theshu aham (3)

‘Yatha’ – like, ‘Mahanti’ – Primary, ‘Bhutani’ – elements, ‘Bhuteshu Uccha’ – huge material, ‘Avachesuh Anu’ – miniscule atom, ‘Pravisthani’ – enter (to give shape), ‘Apravisthani’ – do not enter (to maintain void), ‘Tatha’– like that, ‘Thesu’– in them, ‘Na Thesu’– in not them, ‘Aham’- I

“Just as the (five) primary elements (Pancha Mahabhutas) constitute small atoms to gigantic materials by entering it and (also constitute the void between the materials) by not entering it, like that I am in them (in the primary elements) and in not them (out side them also).”

<b>Brahman is the only essence which is really in existence. The Jagat is formed due to the playing of this Brahman essence at various levels. The vibration of this Bramhan essence at different frequencies and amplitudes forms first the five Tanmatras like Sabda (sound), Spharsa (touch), Rupa (form), Rasa (taste) and Gandha (smell). Again due to the various permutations and combinations of these five Tanmatras, five Mahaboothas (primary elements) like Akasa (Space), Vayu (Air), Agni (Fire), Jala (Water), and Prithvi (Earth) came into existence. These Pancha Mahabhutas exist everywhere whether it is in a small atom or a huge Mountain.</b> The five primary elements combine and coexist as follows by a process called quantification:

What is Space? Space consists of 50% Sabda and remaining Tanmatras 12.5% each

What is air? Air consists 50% of Touch, and the remaining Tanmatras 12.5% each.

What is Fire? Fire consists of 50% of Form and remaining Tanmatras 12.5% each.

What is water? Water consists of 50% of Taste and remaining Tanmatras 12.5 % each.

What is Earth? Earth consists of 50% smell and remaining Tanmatras 12.5 % each.

Param is the subtlest. Param can be anywhere. Inside everything and also outside. These Mahabhootas can exist in all materials and also in the gap between these materials. That is everywhere. Similarly the Lord is inside the primary elements and also outside them.

These primary elements are progressively gross. That means water can seep into earth, fire can seep into both water and earth, air can seep into the earlier three, whereas space can seep into all the four. But Lord being the subtlest can seep into all of them. Lord is the substratum for all these like a screen acting as background for painting. The screen is there behind the paint as well as behind where it is not painted. Or like the mirror is there behind the reflection of the face and also behind where there is no reflection of the face. Similarly Lord is there in everything and outside everything. Lord is all pervasive and all permeating.

Just like various scenes appear in the same screen and then the screen remains as screen only, Lord remains as screen and on Him everything appears. Like ocean, waves, foam etc., are the same water whereas appearance of waves and foams are apparent and transitory. So also everything is one and the same Brahman and everything that appears as names and forms are just apparent and transitory.

4. Jignasu Tattva – This is the essence of all sadhana required to attain the Lord.

What is meant by Jignasu? Jignasu is the one who is earnestly interested in the real knowledge or true knowledge about the Truth.

Etavat eva Jignasyam tattva jignasunath atmanah
Anvaya Vyathirekabhyam yat syat sarvatra sarvada (4)

‘Etavat’ – up to now, ‘Eva’ – certainly, ‘Jignasyam’ – is to be enquired (of Truth), ‘Tattva’ – essence, ‘Jignsunath’ – by the seekers (of Truth), ‘Atmanah’ – Truth, ‘Anvaya’ – positive induction (attraction), ‘Vyatireka’ – negative induction (repulsion), ‘Bhyam’ – both, ‘Yat Syat’ – whatever it maybe (under all circumstances), ‘Sarvatra’ – everywhere, ‘Sarvada’ – always.

“Certainly up to now the essence of Truth (as in the earlier three shlokas) is to be enquired by the seekers (of Truth) by adopting both attraction (to Bramhan by dwelling in it) and repulsion (from Jagat by forgetting it) always, everywhere and under all circumstances.”

What has been told in the earlier three shlokas, one has to dwell upon it all the time using the two techniques called Anvaya and Vyatireka. Anvaya means attraction like a magnet induces magnetism in magnetic material and attracts it. That is magnet magnetizes Iron and attracts it. Vyatireka means indifference like a magnet does not induce magnetism into non-magnetic material and thus ignores it. That is magnet does not magnetize wood and ignores it. Like that one need to constantly remember the Truth and dwell in the Truth. Be a magnet to the Truth. At the same time constantly ignore and forget the Jagat and all other unreal illusory things like the magnet rejects the wood. This needs to be done constantly and continuously in all places, in all circumstances and all the time.

Like the magnet that attracts the magnetic material and it ignores nonmagnetic material, you too should reject the unreal ‘Asat’ around you and abide in TRUTH all the time. This process is the real Sadhana. For example, whenever you see a tree, you see the TRUE ESSENCE, Brahman, ‘Artha’ in it. Reject the word ‘t r e e ‘ the phonetic sound associated with it (‘sabda’) and also the mental conceptions formed in the mind about it (‘gnana’). Like a Rajahansa separating milk from water, you need to sift out ‘Artha’ from ‘Sabda’, and ‘Gyana’. Only those who constantly practice these techniques and imbibe essence of this Chathur Shloki are entitled for further Para Knowledge.

Rama Krishna Hari!
Hari Om Tat Sat!!
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Sarvam Krishnarpanam