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
three shlokas last week added mere droplets of description to that which is
indescribable. S61 spoke of the Self-Illuminator. Now a shloka which expands on
this.
SvymNtdRihVyaRPy
_aasyÚiol< jgt!,
äü
àkazte viûàtPtaysip{fvt!.62.
Svayam-antar-bahirvyaapya
bhaasayanna-khilam jagat,
Brahma
prakaashate vihna-prataptaayasa-pindavat ||62||
Pervading the entire universe wihtin and without, the
Supreme Brahman shines by Itself, like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron
ball, and glows by Itself.
Brahman
is transcendental Truth; it shines of its own accord and penetrates all of
creation. It is not something separate from that creation. It is the material
and the efficient cause, as clay and the potter are to the pot. Matter without
spirit (Consciousness) is inert. The Supreme is the vital content in every
particle of this world and, just as butter can be brought out of the milk
through churning, so it is that we can Realise the Supreme through meditation.
An
iron ball which has been in contact with fire for a long time comes to glow red
as the fire itself. Similarly, though matter be inert, when it plays in the
vitality of Brahman, there is the manifestation of life.
The
Infinite is unborn therefore is also deathless; It is omnipotent and
all-pervading. The created world is subject to change, to birth, to death… it
thus has limitation. It is finite and thus is opposite to the Infinite. How to
perceive the Infinite within the finite? Just as the iron ball, which by nature
is black, heavy, lifeless in appearance, can appear to dance like the flames
around it, so the very nature of life demonstrates the presence of that which
gives the life.
Meditate
upon this example.
