Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the
words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
We are now studying Aatmabodha. As
always, with each week, you are encouraged to review the previous teachings and
spend some time in contemplation of the meanings as the affect your life.
Please do consider purchasing the text. Remember, also, to recite the mangala charana before each study and
review the lessons before each new one.
Looking
now at the aspect of Aatman which "I"dentifies…
AaTmn>
siCcd<zZc buÏev&RiTtirit Öym!,
s<yaeJy
caivveken janamIit àvtRte.25.
aatmanaH
sacchidamshashcha buddher-vRttiriti dvayam,
Samyojya
chaavivekena jaanaamiiti pravartate ||25||
By the indiscriminate blending of the two - the
Existence (and) Consciousness aspects of the Self and the thought wave of the
intellect - there arises the notion of "I Know".
We have been learning that the Self, Aatman, is
self-effulgent, a light requiring no external power. Equally, we are to
understand that the mind is a product of matter and is therefore intrinsically
inert. Without the illumination of Consciousness, mind remains inert and
powerless. The awareness within us is something greater than the sum of the
material parts, regardless of their subtlety. (That said, it seems somewhat
contradictory to think of matter and non-matter 'uniting'. At best we can
presume that the matter is an imposition upon the non-matter; अध्यारोप /adhyaaropa
- superimposition, is one of the great premises of Advaita and will be
discussed more and more and deeper and deeper as the student progresses.)
The
experience of "I Know" can only take place where a thought comes into
the 'spotlight' of Aatman Consciousness. Each thought, one after the other in
speedy succession, gets its moment in the spotlight and the concept of
identity, a thinking entity, arises. The antaH karana is ever on the stage
ready for exposure to the spotlight. When the external makes its presence felt
through the various sense organs, the mind produces responses (according to
learned experience). Remember, just as mind can be defined as a constant flow
of thoughts, life can be defined as a constant flow of experiences. The storage
medium for these experiences is the brain. To 'know' what is happening now, and
comparing them to the stored experiences in order to respond accordingly, is
the description of the purpose of intellectual life.
The
Aatman is Absolute Knowledge, the very core of Knowledge itself, beyond which
nothing else need be known. Being Knowledge means that the Self has nothing, as
such, to know. Why then do we, at our level, say that 'we know'?
As
described, the theory is that knowledge of things and experiences can only be
gained as a result of the light shed from the Higher Consciousness which
bounces against each thought. An established illustration of this is that of
the bucket of water sitting in a dark room. At a certain point, the sun shines
through the window and hits the surface of the water, which reflects a wider
light into the room and may even make a clear spread of light upon the opposite
wall. If we play with the water, the surface breaks up and the light becomes
dimmer or disappears altogether. The more agitated the water surface, the less
reflective it becomes.
When
the Self, ever-present and ever-shining, hits our antaH karana it reflects as
an awareness. Due to the presence of thoughts within the individual's matter
equipments, the "I" which knows gets claimed as our own, in the form
of ahankaara - the ego. The more disturbed the mind (reflecting surface) the
less we are able to see the Self which is our true nature and more ego-centric
we are. Likewise, with agitated minds vexed with the worries of life, even the
most intelligent of men find it difficult to think in a clear and focused
manner… the inner light is dimmed.
In
this ego-centric state, we attribute anger, knowledge and all such
characteristics to the Aatman, because we are ignorant of the pollution which
has occurred at the material level. In
reality, the Aatman is nothing but the very Existence-Consciousness-Bliss which
underpins all these things but is untouched by them and in no way becomes
altered by them. The conditions we put together and call as 'life' exist as an
imposition upon the Self.
