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
previous shloka portrayed the arrival of Self-Knowledge as being like the
arrival of the sun in the morning. A key difference, though, is that the sun
can set again and we think that it has 'gone', that darkness has taken over.
The scientific mind, though, knows the sun goes nowhere, it is merely the turn
of the world which makes it appear so. Thus…
AaTma
tu stt< àaPtae=PyàaPtvdiv*ya,
tÚaze
àaPtvÑait Svk{Qa_ar[< ywa.44.
Aatmaa
tu satatam praapto-pya-praaptavad-avidyayaa,
Tannaashe
praaptavad-bhaati svakanthaa-bharanam yathaa ||44||
In
the same way that the sun is never actually absent from the system, the Aatman
is ever-present. It is only the veil of ignorance (avidya) which prevents us
from recognising this. All that remains for us to know Aatman is to rediscover
It, in the same way that a woman may, forgetting she has placed a necklace
around her neck, only remembers when she touches it. In Sanskrit culture, men
also wore necklaces which is why women are not specified here, but these days,
few men wear chains - though it is not impossible. Perhaps another way to write
the analogy is the keys of the car. A husband may be looking around for some
time before the wife says to him, "what are you searching for?" He
will admit, "the car keys". She smiles indulgently and says
"check your left pocket!" The
fellow is surprised to find they were with him all the time, but for some
reason he had forgotten.
Knowledge
lies veiled by ignorance. It may be temporary, like the forgetfulness
mentioned, or it may be that we have no knowledge at all. No one can give a
dreamer his waking experiences - he must live them for himself. That person is
the same personality whether they be awake or in the dream, or, indeed, in the
deep sleep state. Similarly, there is no need to think that one must become
different when one Realises the Truth.
However,
if one is not at that stage yet, it may be necessary to build up to it by
listening and studying and cogitating and meditating. It is not that one is
changing one's personality, but atuning it to the frequency which will permit
the dropping of ignorance and the apprehension of Reality.
It
is not that this shravanam, mananam, nididdhyaasanam and such like 'creates Aatman'; it is that Aatman awaits our arrival as we travel
through these 'gateways'. If we were to say that the saadhana brings Aatman
into being - ie, that it is the 'cause' - then the minute we cease from
saadhana, Aatman also ceases. What is created has a finite existence. Aatman,
we must understand, is not created, but is that from which all creation arises.
Saadhana is a means to reach, but is not the cause of, Aatman. Even in
saadhana, Aatman is present, but until we attain a suitable atunement, we are
blind to it.
Aatman
is ever-present, in all states of experience, in all beings and at all times.
We can only live because of its Illumination, yet are blind to the Light
Divine.
When
the veil is removed, we might exclaim in surprise. Despite being told again and
again of Its existence, we still marvel at the dawn, is it not? How much more
so the Realisation of Self! We may lament, as in the example of the shloka, at
the potential loss of our necklace/keys, which we know ought to be there but we
cannot find… because they are already with us,
we already have them upon our being! On rediscovering them we recognise how
silly was our despair.
