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.
The
text now continues to explore the moment of 'Realisation'.
Aé[enev
vaexen pUvR< sNtmse ùte,
tt
Aaiv_aRvedaTma Svymeva<zumainv.43.
Aruneneva
vodhen puurvam santamse hRte,
Tata
aavirbhavedaatmaa svayamevaaM-shumaaniva ||43||
Just as the sun rises soon after Lord Aruna has
dispelled the thick darkness that existed before, so too the Self manifests on
its own accord, once the right Knowledge has dispelled ignorance.
Aruna
is the deity of the dawn. More specifically, he is that pre-dawn shimmer who
heralds the full emergence of the sun.
Ignorance
is the thick, sticky darkness of all our vaasanas through which we must trudge
until we reach awareness of Truth, the Knowledge Divine, and it is said here
that the experience of that final understanding of the Truth of Self is akin to
a shining dawn. All our mental agitations and small self-absorption acts as a
veil to the vision of Self. We need to utilise all techniques of
quietening the mind and exercising self-control; gradual withdrawal from all
things extrovert and a move into introversion. Not in the modern usage which
tends to the negative, shy, uninvolved sense, but, rather, in the full original
meaning of the word which is about self-containment, self-management,
self-sufficiency… knowing oneself to be in the world, but not being seduced or
ravaged by it. The greater our introversion, the nearer we can draw to that
Unity of Self.
There
is little more to say here on the matter. These shlokas are provided as a
'promissory note', if you will. To have brought yourself to this stage of
study, which is still yet in its infancy, it is still worth knowing and being
reminded what exactly it is one is studying for. Students of geology or
physics, for example, are encouraged by going on field trips and feeling, even
for a brief time, a bit more 'hands on' and in touch with the goal.
SAADHANA
Let
us then keep this short today. Ponder the possibilities on offer for the
dedicated seeker of spiritual advancement. Permit yourself, for a moment, to
dream of attaining that highest of high qualifications… and check in with
yourself as to the 'hour of the night' in which you currently sit. Do not
despair. There are nights, particularly in winter (tough times) when the night
can seem interminable; but with patience dawn will come. Not everyone can make it through the night…
but the promise of dawn, which has been seen by so many others, so many times,
provides hope and incentive to stand strong and act well even as we work our
way through it.
