Leading a Religious Life - Part 1

Leading a Religious Life - Part 1

As a householder or student and as a person playing various roles in the society, beyond a certain age, every person is challenged with the two fold commitment of duties and responsibilities.A householder be it a mother or a father has responsibility towards the children, and the grandparents, as well as towards other members of the extended family. This includes financial responsibility as well as responsibilities in terms of time.The same person also has duties to fulfill towards the society, towards the nation and so on. As a hindu he has duties towards ancestors and as a human towards birds animals and even the devatAs.The person has to realise that in a life of a householder, it comes with all these different sets of duties and responsibilities.

In this post, I do not wish to expand on the list of responsibilities, but want to emphasise on a key point, that every duty or responsibility is a shared responsibility.

Whenever we perform any task or action, towards a particular result, it is never performed alone. For every task we need the help of other people, material resources, cooperation from others , as well as a host of other factors that are not under our control. Therefore no task is every performed alone, but there is always a shared responsibility.

Just like raising a child is not just the responsibility of mother, but father also has to contribute, same way running the household also, both husband and wife undertake as a joint responsibility.

As a religious person, as a hindu, I am able to recognise that this performance of responsibilites and duties is not only shared by the members of the household, but every action and its result, also preserves the very presence of bhagavan in those actions.

Life is a series of decisions, and every decision or effort comes with a certain result that affects the family. It is humanly impossible, as well as factually Untrue, if the person believes falsely that the Entire responsibility is on HIS shoulders alone.

Not realising the concept of shared responsibility, a family is put under stress of having to take responsibility, not only for performing an action, but also for having to worry over the result of the action. If the results do not go as planned, the person ends up with self blame and guilt and ends up blaming himself and treating oneself as a failure.

Additionally while undertaking decisions, the person does not seem to be able to decide which path to take for the greatest good, and is waylaid by wealth and greed, instead of ensuring overall well being for the family and the society.

Whole jagad is like a pot

Whole jagad including you the jiva is like a pot.
Pot is clay. You are that clay, all pervading consciousness.
You transcend the pot. Whole jagad resolves in clay.

To gain this knowledge, you need the qualified mind, which is silent and available for contemplation. In that steadiness you can see the jagad is mithya, and satyam brahman is all pervading. And satyam brahman is none other than oneself.

Mind cannot be 'made' steady by force, force itself is opposite of steady.

One can however enjoy sammatvam, and be relatively free of rAga dvesAs. This can be developed through karma yoga.
This sammatvam is gained by seeing ishvara as order, and jagad as orderly presence of ishvara. In this order we can relax and gain the neccesary sammatvam or qualification for knowledge.

Role of karma and upAsana

Karma yoga and upAsana yoga are a mandatory requirement for all seekers, in order to gain the necessary maturity for knowledge.
The personality has to be tuned towards receiving the guru Krupa . Guru Krupa is readily available. But due to my own raga dveshas interfering and my own ideas ,come in my way.
Through the attitude of yoga towards karma, which is two fold
1. Appreciating ishvara as dharma that connects actions and results and leading a life of svadharma, knowing fully well that svadharma leads to spiritual punya, or readiness for gnanam, by keeping raga dveshas in control and allowing one to be objective.
2. Seeing that ishvara is in both the knowledge and organs of actions , as well as the results of the action in the form of situations and material , seeing ishvara in action and result, I can relax in this order, which is samatvam. This samatvam gives me the mental leisure to pursue knowledge.

If karma yoga is the machine tool, the upasana yoga is the fuel and the oil that keeps the machine running smoothly. Upasana enhances the bhakti, enables us to have the bhagavatha smarana (remembrance of the lord ) always. Upasana is a part and parcel of a karma yogi lifestyle. Foremost of these is a bhakti towards ones ishta devata. Establishing a relationship with the ishta devata, with the goal of moksa, enables one to effectively gain the benefits and deepen the attitude of karma yoga. Deepen the bhakti, leading a bhakti filled aware life of purpose. Ishta devata removes all the obstructions to gnanam, and also takes care of our general well being (yoga kshemam).

With objectivity and mental leisure, I can make myself available to the pramana, I can surrender to the pramana, my own subjectivity can be dropped and the pramana can operate unobstructed, to transform as though , and to remove the ignorance which makes one think jiva and ishvara are separate.

Sathyam and Mithya

Any and every attribute is nama rupa, what it IS is satyam. The nama rupas gain their glory from satyam. Like air, water , space are all glorious entities.They are positive entities, that exist. Air exists, water exists, when we say 'exists' we should recognise that the 'exists' is non dual. So when you say air you can visualise air, water you can visualise, space you can think of it itellectually in terms of its function, but when you say brahman you cant visualise or intellectualise, as brahman is free of attributes, hence brahman is not another object, but that brahman IS that which lends presence to every object.So when any object is visualised, brahman IS, buthis fact is not recognise by us, until the shAstra points it out or teaches us to recognize.

Brahman remains as attributeless consciousness in every object name and form but it itself is free of names and forms.
Space is brahman ( borrowed existence from brahman), but brahman is free of spaceness.
Air is brahman ( borrowed existence from brahman), but brahman is free of airness.
Water is brahman ( borrowed existence from brahman), but brahman is free of waterness.

Therefore we talk of two levels of reality. Brahman is sathyam, and all that stands upon brahman with its own attributes and names and forms is mithya.
Appreciate that the mithya object is also brahman, but brahman is not the mithya object. Just like a bangle and a necklace is also gold, but gold is free from bangleness or necklaceness.

The secret to being BIG

Everyone wants to be bigger than the other person. We can't take that we are small, and that I am smaller than someone else. I want to be bigger than someone else in one area or the other. I want to be accepted by someone else by all.
If it is career I want to be at a higher post.
If it is wealth I want to be big in terms of wealth.

If dharma and values are important for me, I want to be an example to others in following values and I want to be respected by others as a person of values. I want values to be respected in the society else, I lose my own value.

If I am a parent I want to be my child's hero, if I am a child I want the parent to consider me as the biggest.

This feeling of wanting to be big is universal, it is the universal need of a human being to be big, to be accepted.

But it is also a fact that in the relative scheme of things I will never be the biggest, there will always be somone bigger than me. If I am Sachin Tendulkar in batting, there is still a better captain than me in the form of ganguly.
If I am a CEO , there is a bigger CEO or else I am a not satisfied and want to be known as a philanthropist and hence seek other ways to become even more bigger.
This search for bigness is a never ending pursuit. There is always someone who is bigger.

This is where shAstra and the vedic way of life puts things in perspective for this individual seeking bigness.
ShAstra and the hindu dharma, offers a lasting, permanent, real ,true and the ONLY solution to the human beings endless quest to become BIG.

In the 10th chapter of the bhagavad gita, bhagavan explains all his vibhuti or glories to arjuna. He says among the mountains I am Himalayan and I am indra among devas I am vyasas among rishis and so on.
This is a very important chapter for a spiritual aspirant since this makes him realize that all the bigNess he is seeking for in the relative world in fact belongs to the lord ishvara , the creator and the material this jagad is ishvara. There is none other who is bigger than ishvara. If ravana thinks he is bigger rama comes and destroys him. If hiranyakashyapu thinks he is bigger narayana comes as narasimha. That lord pashupati sadasiva, who is the whole, the entire jagad is he, he who effortlessly projects and resolves this jagad unto himself, who can ever be bigger than him. So any glory you see in anyone. It is ishvara alone.

Recognizing that all glories belong to ishvara and do not belong to me, does it make me smaller or bigger ?
Earlier I thought I was good at poetry, I have good command over language, I am a great orator, I am a. Basketball player , I am a great mathematical genius etc etc. Now if bhagavan comes and takes away even that glory , by saying any glory is bhagavans, what am I left with ? Doesn't it make me smaller?

No it doesn't make you smaller , says the gita. It makes you bigger. In fact it makes you BIG, in the true sense. Now since all your glories have been taken away by ishvara as his glorie, do you know what he has to offer in return? Do you know the bargain?
He offers you HIMSELF in return.

Yes bhagavan krishna says that those who surrender to me alone, I teach them via the shAstra the knowldge of atma. Atma is non different from ishvara. And knowing thus. The jiva attains to me alone, via aikya gnana.
This jiva knows that he IS and that IS is ishvara.

With the aikyam of jiva within ishvara. All jiva actions are in tune with ishvara. In fact are none other than ishvara. In the final sloka of shiva manasa pooja ,

Aatmaa Tvam Girijaa Matih Sahacaraah Praannaah Shariiram Grham
Puujaa Te Vissayo[a-U]pabhoga-Racanaa Nidraa Samaadhi-Sthitih |
San.caarah Padayoh Pradakssinna-Vidhih Stotraanni Sarvaa Giro
Yad-Yat-Karma Karomi Tat-Tad-Akhilam Shambho Tava-Araadhanam ||4||

Meaning:
4.1: O Lord, You are Atma (me) , Devi Girija (the Divine Mother) is my Buddhi (Pure Intellect), the Shiva Ganas (the Companions or Attendants) are my Prana and my Body is Your Temple,
4.2: My Interactions with the World are Your Worship and my Sleep is the State of Samadhi,
4.3: My Feet Walking about is Your Pradakshina (Circumambulation); all my Speech are Your Hymns of your Praises,
4.4: Whatever work I do, all that is none else but Your Aradhana (Worship), O Shambhu.

Revisiting mithya

I can see that any object has three things

1. Name and form
2. Properties
3. Functions

If we take a tree, it has name and form, it has solidity and life, it has various functions.

However we see that there is no such thing in existence which is always 'tree'. Tree is a name given to a form but what that form IS, is it tree or non tree. If we say it is tree, then is tree in the form of a tree.
If we say then okok non tree, then that non tree cannot have treeness.

Hence only explanation is that tree is mithya, which means it is gaining its existence from something else.

Existence can never be objectified, since any object will be mithya. Therefore the existence aspect is not available for knowledge as an object. However it is yourself, hence it need not be known, since you are self evident to yourself.

So you are the brahman, the cause and all that is here is yourself.

Attributes are not an issue. All that is here has attributes. You yourself have the attribute of being a knower. The knower, knows the known objects. That is how it is.
This is the manifest consciousness, the prakrti or mAya.

This is ishvara who is manifest. Ishvara the all powerful being. The being is none other than yourself. Yourself means simply yourself, without a preposition, simply yourself. This simply yourself is ALL, its all that is here, without missing out on anything, its is the entire thing, ishvara is all, which is yourself. This is the vision. Of non duality. All that is here is one, which is ishvara, which is you.

2. arthA

I began a series where I introduce vedic/snskrt terms and discuss them in short simple paragraphs as a simple hindu educational series.
I had started with the term 'purushArta', which refers to goals of every human being. There were 4 goals I introduced, ArthA or Security and Survival, kAma or luxury ,Dharma or Righteousness , MoksA or total freedom while pursuing the above three goals of arthA, kAma and dharmA.

Today we shall look at arthA, the first goal. My aim in this post is to mainly completely quash the thinking that spirituality and material wealth are 'in opposition'. This post will be a slightly longer, since its about our Favorite topic 'wealth' smile emoticon

2. arthA

arthA is used in multiple sense in vedic civilisation. Everyone needs arthA. A small child new born comes to this world Completely dependent on its parents for survival. Survival means food , clothing and shelter, what one needs to merely survive. This is farely basic and easily understood by all, i need not elaborate.

But arthA is also used in a much broader sense to refer to wealth. I would like to discuss this meaning of arthA specifically in this topic.

Veda recognises that human beings are slightly different from animals. A dog is happy with a dogs life, in fact it prefers to be on the streets perhaps, rather than want to be tied up in someones home and get nice bedding or processed dog food.

Human beings are different. We have a fascination and attraction for wealth, and unless we are sanyAsis, which most of us are not, we are in search of wealth.

Wealth gives us leisure, safety, security and happiness. However the same wealth can be a cause of much sorrow and anxiety, as well as greed.

The attitude of the vedas to arthA in the form of wealth is fascinating and largely reflects in culture of hindus.

We look upon wealth as Śrī, श्री. Referring to the goddess lakshmi.

Lakshmi pooja is performed throughout india from Punjab to Kerala. Among the most popular gods is Lord Balaji or Tirupathi.

Whether we are in business, or professional jobs, life is unpredictable, and so is wealth. Sometimes inspite of our best efforts, and best talent the 'rub of the green' goes against us. We do not appear to have 'luck' and lose wealth. We also tend to lose fame, and health due to this 'bad luck syndrome' which is what we call as pApa. Hence the hindu is encouraged to do actions that lead to punyA, or favorable situations.

On the other hand if we gain wealth through unrighteous illegal means, we are in a pitiable situation, where the wealth cannot be enjoyed, and our tension balance is more than the bank balance, all of it goes in High BP treatment. And this wealth usually wont last long, and will bring along with it what hindus call 'pApa' or bad luck ( ever heard of millionaires dying alone with no one to bother for him?)

So the kind of wealth the hindu wants is Sri, wealth gained through dhArmik (righteous) means, which also means wealth in the form of punyA .Wealth is not limited to bank balance, but is a holistic wealth that includes health, fame, a general sense of mental well being and happiness. The word we use is 'mangalam', a divine well being and richness, which is a personification of Sri or Lakshmi.

An important point to make would be, compared to other cultures, while the hindu wants wealth, he doesnt want to become a slave to wealth. As he grows more older and more mature, he wants to at some point of time , be able to discard his mental dependance on wealth. That way he becomes a master of wealth, rather than allow wealth to become his master.

Mahalkshmi refers to the kind of wealth that satisfies our desire for 'mangalam' , while at the same time keeps us rooted, and helps us gain self mastery.

And the pursuit of such wealth and its mastery is the favourite topic of the vedic people. Whenever things are seen to be not in Your control, you resort to a power above, and that prayer can take a very specific form for the Hindu. It is the same god, but we invoke in a special form, a wealth giving form. Just like for a child the mother is same, but we invoke her as someone who cooks for me, or someone who teaches me math, or someone who advises me.

I would like to quote two specific vedic mantras that illustrate this.

All our yagnas (vedic rituals) end with the following chant to Kubera the lord of wealth

Om rajAdhirAjaya prasahyasAhine
Namo vayan vaishravanAya kurmahe
Sa me kaman kamakamaya mahyam
Kameshvaro vaishravano dadatu
Kuberaya vaishravanAya maharajAya namaH

“We offer salutations unto Vaisravana (the son of Visrava, Kubera), the king of kings, whose nature is to help others without any purpose. May Vaisravana, the lord of deities, give me, the seeker of wealth, what I desire. Salutations unto the great lord Kubera, the son of Visrava.”

Another one is the veda itself, the veda itself gaurantees wealth or Sri (righteous long lasting, dharmik, happy wealth)

OM yopam pushpam veda, pushpavan prajavAn pashuman bhavati

"He who understands the heart lotus of vedas, He becomes the possessor of happiness of the heart, of children and cattle (wealth was measured in cattle those days) "

This is the attitude of the hindu to arthA. Let me summarise.

1. ArthA must be gained through righteous means for it to be truly lasting and to be a source of sukham or happiness
2. Artha is not limited to money, but includes health, fame, a general sense of well being and mangalam
3. The vedic literature, culture and tradition is steeped in the pursuit of wealth personified by Sri or Mahalakshmi.
4. Mahalaxmi helps us gain wealth, but at the same time, she makes sure we achieve mastery over wealth and do not become a slave to wealth. Hence she is also known as moksaLaxmi.

1. PurushArta

I am planning to run a series where I introduce vedic/snskrt terms and discuss them in short simple paragraphs as a simple hindu educational series.

Let me start with the term 'purushArta'.

1. PurushArta

The terms purusa refers to human beings, and artA means goal.
So purusArta translates to goal of a human being.

Looking at the goals of any human being, the tradition looks at human goals in a four fold manner.

1. ArthA or Security and Survival
2. kAma or luxury ( anything beyond what one needs for basic survival)
3. Dharma or Righteousness (the human need to be treated by others in a righteous just manner, as well as the inherent desire to be righteous to others as well)
4. MoksA or total freedom while pursuing the above three goals of arthA, kAma and dharmA.

These are not goals Prescribed by hindus. Hindus do not prescribe anything. Rather we simply look at the facts the way it is. If you look at the human goals, all goals will fall under either of the first 3 heads. The uniqueness of Hindu faith is that the final goal of moksA, is to be attained WHILE LIVING, and pursuing the first 3 goals. Hence our moksa is not in heaven etc. rather we call moksa as 'JIVAN MUKTI' or liberation while living.

In the next post we will look at each goal.

One alone IS

When you say laptop, there is a name and form and there is the IS, which is the laptop. Laptop IS , when we say, that is the same as Sky IS.
Tree IS. Only the name and form and function is varying, but what IS is ONE.

The one alone IS, and what IS is the one.

Outside is one.
Inside is one.
Left is one.
Right is one.
Bottom and top are one.
All directions is one.

Whatever thought comes is one.

Whatever happens is one.

Waiting is one.

Breathing is one.

Concentrating is one.

Writing is one.

Is one need not be said. While taking anything, and saying it is one, that thing is already one. So all we are saying is one is one.

The real and the incidental nature of what is

What is, alone is what we refer to as Brahman, or Atma.

What is, is the non dual self alone.

However, this is not in our knowledge. In our knowledge, what IS, isnt one, but many.

We believe that each thing, has its own independent existence.

The tree exists, separate from the sky, separate from the earth.

While this is indeed true, but there is a greater truth to it, which we are not aware of.

That the tree, and the sky and the earth, are one and the same brahman, and only the gunAs or the attributes are different, that truth we are not aware of.

Reason is , we are not aware of the reality that , reality is non dual.


We are not aware, that this non dual reality is myself.

That atma, is brahman the non dual reality, which alone is in terms of forms and shapes, 'all that is here' that truth we dont know. ShAstra is the means of knowledge to know this.

To know that, the non dual brahman has a two fold nature.

It is attributeless, consciousness, and independent existence, that is the truth about brahman.

That it is the cause of the world, and from it arose the various manifest objects, and unto it the manifest objects resolve into unmanifest state, is looking at brahman in the form of maya shakti, that is what we call as mithya ( less true that satyam).

So what is true is what we want to know.

The Householder -- Part 4

That we seek happiness, is a given fact, and we seek this happiness in every aspect of our life.

While a sanyasi is seeking happiness in the form of knowledge, a grhsta is seeking happiness throught the threefold goal of arthA, kAma and dharma.

A grhsta has to rightfully pursue all the 3 goals of wealth & Security for his family and beyond, any form of luxury or enjoyment ( such as arts, music etc.) and of course most importantly, a commitment and understanding of the righteous means of obtaining these, as well as a plethora of activities and actions that lead to punyA, which come under the bracket of dharma.

Dharma is very simple to understand. 'I dont want to be hurt',' I want to live', these are the two basics of any living being. Any animal or human or even insect, wants two things,
1.Survival 2. Wishes not to be hurt

Dharma is simply to make as much of an effort as possible, that in all ones desires and activities, one is not 'treading' onto others wish to achieve the very same goals. This infact the goal of every life form, even gods and even other lokas, of every possible being.

This dharma we want others to adhere to, so that we are not hurt, hence we also must adhere to to enjoy the same harmony that we want to enjoy. If we affect the harmony adversely, it only takes a reverse wave and comes back to us. Any tremor that we cause, shakes our own ground.

This awareness, is awareness of the interconnected, goal of life, as an organic whole, which is the awareness of dharma, indicating supreme intelligence in this interconnected whole.

The Householder -- part 3

There is not only knowledge in sustaining, surviving in this body, there is also knowledge in relationship.

If you observe, each relationship, comes with its own psychological make up. Brothers , Sisters, Mother, Father, Son, Daughter, Mom In Law, Father in law, Daughter in Law.
Employee, manager, voter, social media discussion forum contributor, admin of a group, so many roles, and each role has its own psychologicla make up, goals, desires, variety of actions to be done.

The goal of every human is to seek happiness in all of these relatioships, to seek harmony in all of these relationships is our endevour, and we all have a certain awareness of the need for this harmony.

Both the desire for the harmony, the dynamics and the complexities of each relationship as well as the various activities governing the relationships, reveal and intelligent design, a tapestry of well woven colourful yarns making up a beutifully woven piece of fabric, that is the fabric of our life.

The Householder --- Part 2

Now let us look the entire universe.  The prapancha.

We look at a simple daily activity, that we are ignoring, which is the sun.

The sun is the source of all energy for the earth and its living beings, and its our father and mother both.

Without the suns energy, no living being will have what we call as 'shakti'.

If a man stays hungry for one day, he is unable to get up and walk.
She is unable to do basic activities.

This is how much we are dependent upon food, for our sustenance, and for every action that we perform. This food is what gets converted into energy within our bodies.

Our body , the human body is an intelligent coming together of various functions or organs, and all of  us might have studied in biology, how the food is intaked and the oxygen that we breathe, converts the food into energy. This energy is nothing but a force, a certain life force, which we call in sanskrit as prAna. PrAna shakti is required for the human body to sustain and survive, and hence it is very essential that we pay attention to this prAna.

The same prAna shakti is looked at in a five fold manner.

a. PrAna  or incoming oxygen

b. ApAna the energy that leads to excretion of all unwanted waste

c. vyAna all the nerves of the body responsible to communicate within all organs and body parts

 d. samAna the vayu responsible for digestion and converting food into energy and transmitting through the body

e. udAna is what leaves the body after one passes away

This prAna shakti is maintained by proper eating, drinking water, and proper activity that does not harm the pranic system.

Here also there is so much knowledge involved, knowledge of what to eat, how to eat, that one has to take bath, that one has to exercise, and so on.

These are knowledge, all knowledge.

There is intelligence here, there is order, in ones life.

The Householder --- Part 1

While the sanyAsi can choose a path of nvrtti, and can reduce activities to concentrate on the self, and meditate in seclusion, that kind of luxury is not available to a grhsta or householder.However this does not mean the householder cannot perform meditation.The householder can perform a very beautiful, fulfilling and amazing meditation, which I am going to talk about.This meditation is nothing new, but it is our same old karma yoga, but the way I am going to talk about it is something different, a different manner I will talk about it.While a sanyAsi is meditating on the nirguna brahman, or nirgunatvam of brahman, a householder, may not have the time for this meditation in a secluded place.However, he is engaged in various activities, as a householder, a citizen of the nation, as a father, as a participant in a society and culture.As a part of his society there is a variety of activities that occur in his daily life and a variety of roles that she or he has to play.Each role involves interaction with other people, involves the psychology of people, involves the dymanics of interaction.A simple activity such as cooking involves so much KNOWLEDGE.Not only does each role and activity of a householder involve so much knowledge, it involves a lot of effort as well. And not to forget behind every effort there is a desire that drives the effort.So the householders life is three pronged living a life of pravartti, or activity, which involves knowledge, desire and effort.

PramAta and prameyA

The pramAta, is the atma.

PrameyA is clearly anAtma.

This is atma anAtma viveka.

PramAta and prameya also have fundamental differences.

PramAta is attributeless, prameya has attributes.

PramAta is aprameya, prameya is prama through pramAnas such as pratyaksa iti.

PramAta is 'asti' svarupa, by itself exists and has no  nAma rupA, Prameya is also 'asti' but comes with nAma rupA.

ShAstra calls pramAta atma as satyam, since it is independent, while prameya is mithya, since its astitiva is not its own.

You cannot find any prameya vastu, with its own astitiva.

Hence satyam, is atma alone.

Any mithya prameya vastu, we say it exists, due to the prama that it exists.

This prama that it exists is maya shakti.

It exists, when it is said, that is all of shrshti, with all of its knowledge.

This knowledge gains existence from the atma alone, which is astitva.

But atma is like a shining sun, which itself, does not become the prameya vastus.

So the prameya vastus, only appear to have their own astitva, it is a borrowed from atma.

By itself, in fact there is nothing other than atma, atma is advitiyam.

The mithya jagad, appears with atma as Ashraya.

By gnAna it is known that atma alone is real, therefore the mithya jagad is merely a khyAti or adhyAsa.

With the jagad adhyAsa, atma becomes pramAta, and also atma becomes the various vastus.

Also atma becomes parameshvara, and there is also a jiva, with ignorance upAdhi and so on.

Hence the jagad does not arise from brahman, rather jagad is a beginingless 'khyAti' or 'superimposition' which really speaking 'ends' with gnanam.

Since atma is sathyam, the pursuit of moksa stands negated, and there is nothing to pursue for the mukta , by way of achieving moksa.

All pursuits are as they naturally occur, and this is in order, since the jagad is orderly, and known as parameshvara.

A dedication to the pitrus

OM

Namaste to the venerable ones
The upholders of the pitru loka
This is a prayer from Shivaramakrishnan
The scion of Naidruva kashyapa gotra
Son of Subramaniam Shivaramakrishnan
And grandson of Shivaramakrishnan Subramaniam.

By the travails and accounts of endless karmas,
Was born myself, in the loka of manava.

Hail the great blessing of the pitrus
Whose blessings are the sole reason
For every son of the dynasty
To be continuing this great lineage

I make my prayers to you in despair
But with the strength of my gurus and the lords blessings
For you are the most esteemed ones,
And you are the most accomplished.

You are the great dAtAs of manava loka
You bless men folk with progeny
And good health and wealth
As well as with confidence

I do have a debt , that I repay.

I thought one day, how best to repay,
There are so many efforts that one can make


Conduct grand yagnas, an shine as a million suns
Do great punya yagnas, and earn the blessings of the devas
Be of great sevice to mankind, and to devas and pitrus
Should I not set an example to be worthy of your blessings

Forgive me for naivety in my young and early adulthood,
For what I had not found was my beloved guru
To the earlier question as to how best I repay
I shall narrate , that finding a guru is indeed the best way.

Men do try , with all their limited powers.
And limited knowledge, and limited friendships
Even if they go on to befriend the devas,
And indra and all the celestials
They shall also make enemies with the asuras,
They can never ever enjoy limitless freedom.

In each and every of our limited pursuits,
The pursuit has to be understood in clarity,
May I invoke lord mahaganapthy
The very icon and devata of clarity alone
Since he is the very remover of all vignAs or obstacles.

Such clarity he lent, by the blessings of the pitrus
To seek the limitless, in this limited loka.
What is the limitless, isnt that what we seek,
isnt that what you seek, oh beloved pitrus
the manes the fathers the great great grandfathers

Oh great karma yogins and follower of the vedas
All your efforts were for worshipping the lords
The great yagnas you performed and the greatness you achieved
We are forever in praise of you

But isnt it true the self is the most beloved
And all that you did was for praising brahman

The fire is brahman, and so is the laddle
The ghee that is poured is also brahman
The one who pours the ghee is non separate from brahman
and brahman alone is the results of the karma

So what is done is for the sake of brahman
And brahman alone does what is to be done
And how it is done is none other than brahman
What else one wants other than the limitless goal

All karmas are useful to attain the readiness
Attain the greatness that takes one to a guru
And it is indeed the fruits of your greatest penances
That I had the greatest fortune of meeting my guru in this life itself

OM Shri DakshinAmurtaye namaH
OM Shri Swami Paramarthananda Saraswatiye NamaH
OM Shri Dayananda Saraswati Swamine Namaha
OM Shri Svatmavidananda Saraswathi Swamineem NamaH
OM Shri Viditatmananda Saraswatiye Namaha
OM Shri Ramakrishnaya Namaha
OM Vigneshvaraya Namaha
OM Shri Lalithatripurasundari namaH
OM Shri GaneshAya namaH
OM Karthikeya Swamine NamaH
OM Bhagavan DevakiNandanAya namaH
OM RudrAya namaH

OM Shri BAlakrishnAya namaH
OM Shri Ayyappa Swamine NamaH

OM Shri Samartha Sadguru SainAthaya Namaha

HarihOM Shri gurubhyo NamaH Harih OM.

Such a guru whom I met in my lifetime,
Isnt it a fruit of your blessings alone
I know you can hear my plea
And you can hear my prayer
And you can respond since you are the blessed ones

Anger is always possible
But so is possible to bless and cool happiness
Swami Narsmha himself had cooled down
After such an ugra form
Into the benefic form of lord laksmi Narasmha

You who are the great devotees of lord nrsmha NArAyana
I plead thy to lend your ears and  your great attention
To this secret that my guru had taught me

Knowing the true value of a guru,
Here is what he taught me,
That I dedicate and pass onto you
In the true spirit of the guru SIshya tradition


OM, is the word, that denotes the three worlds.
It denotes the waking, dreaming and sleeping states.
It denotes the three bodies of a jiva.
It denotes the three bodies of ishvara.

OM is hence a name for the lord
The lord who is all pervasive
The lord whom you worship.

But this is only the direct meaning of OM

There is indeed an implied meaning for the word OM
And this is the meaning that was taught to me
By my exalted gurus ,
Who are brahmavids and shrotriya brahmaNishta

When I say 'I', the I is indeed atma
This atma is formless, shapeless, attributeless, limitless, consciousness that is different from known objects which are matter, and of the nature of limitlessness

Such an atma is the satyam, it is indeed the truth,
It alone exists, and nothing else exists whatsoever other than this atma

This atma is tvam, this atma is aham, this atma is tad

This atma is the basis on which,
The mithya jagad is sustained

All that is here, which is OM, is sustained, or exists with atma as the basis,
But all that is here, does not enjoy the same degree of reality as atma

While atma is truth the blemishless and beginingless truth
This world only seemingly exists, and enjoys its existence, with atma being the maker as well as the material,
That is what is parameshvara, parameshvara is indeed the parambrahman, which is atma.
The great intelligent being, bhagavan is atma,
And soham iti, so am I.

Where is duality, other than just a dream,
From the paramArthika pov, there is only blemishless truth,
Satyam Gnanam Anantham brahma.

What else is possibly there, other than Aham,

What else is their to achieve,
Is this to be achieved or to be known

Soham iti, is to be known
And only to remove ignorance,
Since soham is manifest as me,
as you of beloved pitrus
Tat Tvam Asi.

OM Shri Parvathi Pathaye, Hara Hara MahAdeva.

Astitiva and nama rupa

One problem is the problem with respect to existence of nama rupa, as separate from astitiva.

The word separate is a problem.

Separate should not be used, since separate conveys 'separation in terms of space'.

or 'separation in terms of time'.
With nama rupa, it is not like that.

We see a tree, we call it a tree, this is the vyavahara. This is how the universe is.

When one talks about what is it that has treeness, and says that treeness is chaitanyam, like pot and clay. there is an issue.

Pot is a name and a form, it is a knowledge.

Same way tree is a name and form, it is a knowledge, and in a tree there is infinite knowledge.
Limitless knowledge.

Name, within names with names.

Word and meaning, millions of words and meanings, each made possible by means of knowledge being operated and meanings mined.
This which is means of knowledge operating and mining meanings, IS.
That is ishvara.

That is how ishvara is, he is the karakas and the karanas, the instrument, means of knowledge, the knower as well as known object, is what ishvara IS.
This ishvara is by oneself, atma.

Atma is the ashraya, in the sense, of atma not being the underneath layer. There is no underneath layer for ishvara.

Underneath itself is a name, a word and meaning.

Then what is this atma. This atma is anantha, in all names and forms, that which is invariably present is sat, ISness, and satAnanta hence. This satananta, happens to be you, chit.

So we say that which is invariable present, not in terms of some invariable substance.

Like in clay pots, we say clay is invariable present, in a pot?? nono, clay is not present in a pot, rather pot IS clay. All of the pot is clay alone.

Same way all of the jagad, in any name and form, IS atma alone.

Atma is hence satAnanta, and happens to be oneself, hence chit.

Hence there need not be any vrtti to keep remembering about atma. What is here is atma, that is all. It is self evident, but the ignorance has to be removed.

The thing is that, in a gold chain and bangle, the fact that it is gold is known through seeing.
However, as far as jagad is concerned that fact that jagad is chaitanyam is not known through seeing, since seeing itself is chaitanyam seeing, 'seeing chaitanyam'.
Hence it is known through shabda pramana.
Shruti has to tell, ok, see all that you hear, see, shrotrasya shrotram, chakshushah chakshu, manso manoyat, tad brahma advayam aham asmi.

In the leaf, and the sky and the tree, inside of it is not atma, rather atma itself is leafy atma, skyii atma.

I need not see atma separately, since seeing is 'seeingy' atma.
I the seer is 'seery' atma.

How can such an atma, which is ever evident, but still hidden be revealed.

It is present, but hidden, How can that be. What is here is atma alone, but still it is hidden how can that be. That can be due to ignorance. I dont know that atma alone is, and atma is non dual.

That fact I dont seem to know, and shruti makes me know.

The knowledge

We have only functional knowledge. Knowing how to do karma, and how to quench hunger etc.
We know the means and ends, thats all. Knowledge of means and ends, is not really knowledge. It is simply a recognition that this is the means and this is the ends. It is preexisting shakti or power, which is gnana shakti.

However, the real gnanam is to know that which IS.

There is only one thing, which is what you are. You are transcending all this that you know. You are transendental reality.

Revel in this reality. Because that is your nature.

Mithya Nama Rupam

When we analyse our own experience, we can see aspects of experience.
Every experience means
1. Experiencer
2. Experience thought form
3. Experienced object
4. Awareness of difference beween all these 3

If you look at each knowledge
1. Experiencer

I know I am experiencer. Which means I have the status of being an experiencer of a thought modification in my mind.
I become experiencer w.r.t the vrtti and the object. For vrttii to take place there has to be a body mind self complex. This is also an experienced object.

Another aspect of experiencer is that, experiencer IS, the ISness. Also the experiencer is different from the experienced, in nature also. We recognize the fact, that the experiencer is aware of the experienced object, but the experienced object is not aware of the experiencer.
This makes the experiencer , fundamentally different in terms of quality from the experienced objects.
We hence call this aspect of being aware, or the ability to be aware, or the quality of awareness as non separate from the experiencer, and in fact intrinsic to the experiencer, the svarupa of the experiencer. This is a key point, which serves as a svarupa lakshana of the experiencer atma, a definition for the atma, that uniquely identifies atma. Mere awareness is not enough, since awareness, is in every living being. We will talk about the essential awareness later.

2. Experience thought form
Now this is another sort of object that the experiencer is aware of, but due to its subtle nature and its ability to remove ignorance, we call this vrtti out separately, instead of clubbing it with the experienced objects.
Vrtti has ability to remove ignorance.
Any vrtti hence comes with a shakti, a power, a capability, which is the capability to remove ignorance.
Ignorance for a jiva sareera, is natural, a jiva is born with this ignorance sharira, or ignorance present.

Also point to note is that, the experienced vrtti, also conveys another knowledge, that this vrtti IS. vrtti Asti, iti. This isness is also communicated by any knowledge vrtti.

3. Experienced object
This is the third component. This is the experienced object. Any object has a certain name, form, function which it has inherent to that object. This much is known to us through our brain, our karaka, we get this knowledge through a vrtti.
Now we also get to know the specifics of this power or name form and function of any object, again by employing the brain, and the karakas, the instruments of knowledge, they reveal the particular, name , form and function of the experienced object.

One again important thing, the karakas reveal is that the experienced object, also IS. The object IS, is our knowledge from the karakas , the instruments of knowledge themselves.

4. Awareness of difference

This difference awareness, is something the mind is capable of by itself, this seems to be the learning capacity of the mind, which the mind is endowed with.

The ignorance ( mula avidya)

Now in general, any human being takes it for granted, that these separate objects, which is experiencer, experienced, experience vrtti, the awareness of differences, means that, the objects are independent of each other, the 3 or 4 are independent of each other.
But we do not fully understand the meaning of the word independent, and without any analysis, we say they are independent, which means not related. That is also ok, they may not be related directly, we tend to agree they are perhaps related indirectly through natural cycles, this much we come to know from observation and science , that they are all related.
But still we believe, the moment an object has name form and function, its existence, is intrinsic to that particular name form and function. So we do a mix up of namarupa, with the astitiva.

This mix up, is purely an assumption, it is not obtained from any valid means of knowledge.

Due to mere proximity, we assume they are mixed up. We assume that every object has existence, that is unique to itself.

For example 'tree'. we believe, that which has 'treeness' is tree. Then that which has 'treeness' is it tree or non tree? We say non tree. Then non tree has treeness? Of course not, then is it something else? Of course it is the treeness vaala isness. What is the proof, no proof, no means of knowledge to claim that the trees isness is specific to the tree.
Nor do we have any means of knowledge to say that treeness IS when we say, that isness is related to the tree, we assume it is related.
This assumption is ignorance.

Shastra tells us otherwise. Shastra tells us, that the treeness IS when we say, the ISness is a borrowed isness. It is borrowed from a fundamental isness, which is the isness of oneself. oneself meaning the expriencer, that experiencer, who has the quality of awareness or consciousnesss, he is also ISness intrinsically and is also, limitless, as in, not having any specific attribute of itself. Like gold and gold jewellery.

This knowledge comes from a valid means of knowledge which is shruti or shastra.

Another issue is space. We say tree is in that co-ordinate. The co-ordinate is also further namarupa, the co-ordinate IS, that ISness is not dependent to be on the space co-ordinate. the isness is independent, isness, it is svarupa isness, it needs no evidence, it is no in turn dependent.

THe maya shakti , of experiencer , experienced and experience vrtti, is a manifestation, of knowledge, knowledge of names and forms, and for it to manifest, it needs an astitiva, astitiva alone provides a base to manifest upon. And this knowledge has to rest in a conscious being. The conscious being is I, is ishvara, is atma.

Any knowledge has its base in atma. Is atma in fact. What is knowledge, I know this tree IS.
What is this knowledge? It is a recognition. I say , I know. Which means absence of ignorance.
Ignorance means I dont know, but even here, I know ignorance, I know that I dont know.
So this I know, is inseparable.
I comes along with know.
But I know is a potential, it is not necessarily that I have to keep knowing something all that time, in order to be I.
So this one who has the potential for gnana, to be a gnani, is the gna dhatu, is the chit. since quite clearly , the jada does not have potential for gnana.
Hence all the nama rupas rest in ishvara, who is gnana svarupa, atma that is gnana svarupa.
So you look at ishvara as sarva gnana. All gnana.
Tree gnana, is ishvara as a tree.
Sky gnanan is ishvara as the sky.
So this tree knowledge manifest is nothing but atma. This sky knowledge manifest is also atma.
The knowledge is atma, and then a specific knowledge is manifest.

Gnana and bhakti

A bhakta who desires results waits for Darshan till results come , worships ishvara as results
A bhakta who prays without wanting anything strives for constant remembrance in various forms, and worships ishvaras forms
A bhakta who wants to know the lord , spends time in study of vedanta and tries to know ishvara as he really is, and worships ishvara as guru and the scriptures
A bhakta who has gained the knowledge , knows him as chaitanyam, and is ever non separate, as all that is here is chaitanyam.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam - 8 (Revisiting the pursuit of gnanam)

The previous post, made it known , that you are sathyam chaitanyam, the non dual consciousness, which is from the standpoint of totality , known as ishvara and from standpoint of an specific body mind called as jiva.

These standpoints, are purely from a mithya point of view. From the standpoint of mithya ishvara, and mithya jiva.

Even the ajnana, or ignorance of a jiva, is also mithya, and a mithya knowledge, from mithya ishvara, removes this ajanana.

When ajnana is removed, the self that you are, remains as you are, but you dont have any ignorance that you are body mind. As a matter of fact, being chaitanyam which is sathyam, you never ever were ignorant, never knowledgable.

Who you are, which shAstra calls as limtless chaitanyam and so on, has always been the same, changeless reality.

You are reality itself.

You were never 'really' ignorant, ignorance is mithya.
You never 'really' needed gnanam or knowledge, that is also mithya.
You never 'really' had to become free, both bondage and freedom is 'mithya'.

Do I need to tell you who you are, I AM. Om.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam -7 (Jiva ishvara aikyam)

Now that we know sathyam , mithya of vedanta, and we also know jiva chaitanyam, ishvara chaitanyam from previous posts, it is time to communicate the primary pratigna of shAtra, which is to reveal the oneness of jiva and ishvara.

When we say the jiva chaitanya, and ishvara chaitanya are one and the same, it has to be understood by using the right method to understand the meaning of this mahavakya ( sentence communicating oneness of jiva and ishvara)

There are various ways to understand meanings of a sentence.

Let us look at a few sentences.

Direct meaning
Ramu says, " I am hungry , I ate at the hotel next to the temple."
Here the meaning is straightforward.

1.Supplying implied meaning, and also keeping entire direct meaning intact
But next day, I ask you "Where did you go?" and Ramu say "Next to the temple". Here 'I supply' the additional implied meaning that there is a hotel, next to the temple, while keeping the 'next to temple' part intact, and I understand, "that ramu ate at a place next to the temple".

2. replacing entire direct meaning with implied meaning
Then after a few days ramu sees me and says, " I again went to the temple tonight". 
Here , I , knowing that ramu is not so religious, and based on previous conversations, I completely replace the direct meaning, and look at the implied meaning that he 'ate at a hotel near the temple'.

3. keeping half of direct meaning, and replacing other half with implied meaning
Today ramu gives out a secret. He says " You know what, I was saying all these days I went next to the temple, but truth is, temple IS the hotel".
Here now, the meaning is basically that ramu used to go to temple to eat temple prasAdam ( temple food).
This is understood, by keeping the half the direct meaning that ramu DID go to the temple, but remove the direct meaning that temple IS the hotel, but replace it with the meaning that he went there to eat.


To understand the one-ness of jiva and ishvara chaitanyam, shAstra uses the 3rd type of meaning, which is keeping half of the direct meaning, but replacing other half  with an implied meaning.

This is technically called 'lakyartha' (implied meaning) or 'bhaga thyaga lakshyartha' ( 3rd type among implied).

Let us now apply this bhaga thyaga lakshyArtha, to the equation jiva IS ishvara, or jiva chaitanya IS ishvara chaitanya.

The direct meaning which is retained, is chaitanya, and that which is let go off is jivaness and ishvaraness.
This means the attribute of being the owner of the body is let go off for jiva chaitanya, and attribute of being lord of the universe ( maker and material) is let go off for ishvara chaitanya.
What is looked at,  is the truth of this 'ishvara form' and 'jiva form', which is simply chaitanya itself, which is in fact sathyam, which is formless, like our clay in the clay pot and gold in the gold chain , formless, attributeless, limitless, non negatable truth, or sathyam.

The ishvaratvam ( ishvaraness) and jivatvam ( jivaness) is Mithya.

Chaitanyam is satyam. This chaitanyam is you only.

So truly speaking, the truth is that, you are chaitanyam, and you just 'happen' to be playing the role of a jiva. Ishvara happens to be a role.

There is only one chaitanyam, and that is who you are, the non dual chaitanyam, truth of both ishvara and any jiva, is you.

This is the shift, you have to make, from identifying with body mind, which is mithya, you shift identity to your true identity, which is the non dual chaitanyam.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam -6 (Mithya in Vedanta)

Afrer introducing jiva and ishvara chaitanyam, we started to understand how shAstra communicates the oneness of two opposite principles of jiva and ishvara.

We went onto understanding the meaning of the word 'sathyam' in the general wordly way, and then understood in previous post, how vedanta, lends a special meaning to the word sathyam, and sathyam in vedanta, refers to absolute, non negatable, limitless truth.

ShAstra says chaitanyam is this absolute anatham sathyam, or limitless truth, and saying so, we wanted to understand, if chaitanyam is sathyam, then what about the manifold universe of names and forms.

That is where we introduced the word mithya, and said mithya refers to, a degree of reality, that is neither altogether false ( like horn of a hare, that does not even exist for any functional utility), nor as true as sathyam of vedanta, which is a word that can ONLY be used for the non dual cause of the universe, which is ishvara, and ishvara being chaitanyam, means the word sathyam can only be used for chaitanyam.

The question can be, if ishvara is chaitanyam, and he has become this world, why do we even need a new word mithya. Since by definition, it appears sathyam chaitanya became sathyam universe.

This is where we need to add discuss in more detail about the nature of sathyam.

What is the nature of clay in a clay pot, or gold in a bracelet. From the golds point of view, has it become anything other than gold? From golds point of view, there is gold ALONE, it has not undergone any change whatsoever to become a bracelet, it remains GOLD as it is.

Thus if we are to say, if ishvara chaitanyam, were satyam, then ishvara chaitayam, never ever should have desired or created this world out of himself ( as claimed by upanisad), since creation, means change. ShAstra says tad AkAshaH sambhootaH, akAshAt vayuH, vayoh tejaH, etc.
Which means from chaitanyam, came space, from space came air, from air fire, from fire water, from water earth.This means change in name and form.

However if we are to look at chaitanyam as 'sathyam' ( like gold of a bracelet), gold never has any name and form of itself, other than being just gold. Gold does not BECOME the bracelet from its OWN point of view, but the bracelet will say ' I am gold'. Same bracelet if you melt and make it a bangle, bangle will also say ' I am bangle', but if you ask gold, gold will say, well I was , am and will be ONLY gold .

So it appears shastra is contradicting itself. It says chaitanyam is changeless satyam. It also says from chaitanyam universe arose and resolves back into chaitanyam that makes it appear as though chaitanyam undergoes change.

Well shAstra solves this problem, by saying, in truth, or as far as absolute truth is concerned, chaitanyam, never became many, never underwent change, never took up the role of creator, preserver or destroyer, never created the world out of itself, but is was and will simply remain as it is, as chaitanyam.

The ishvartvam, ishvaraness, of chaitanyam, which we call as ishvara chaitanyam, is in fact an incidental FORM or attribute to chaitanyam, like a bracelet is form of gold. So chaitanyam becoming the universe, being the cause for the universe, this causal status is mithya. a dependant reality.

Hence ishvaratvam, or ishvara chaitanyam, is in fact mithya. Same applies to jiva chaitanyam also, jivaness is also mithya.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam -5 (Sathyam in Vedanta)

In the previous posts, we introduced jiva chaitanya, ishvara chaitanya and raised the question how shAstra can claim oneness of these two opposite principles.
This is where we raised the two fold nature of chaitanyam, which is sathyam and mithya , and started talking about what we mean by sathyam.

Sathyam as we said in the previous post, we understand its general meaning to be that which is true, known through a valid means of knowledge to be true.
We gave examples such as , 'A tree exists outside ramus home'. If I go to Ramus home and check, and I see the tree, the 'sight' reveals, that OK, this is indeed 'true' and that is what we call as 'sathyam'.

However in the vedantic context, vedanta has a pratigna, a vow, that is has to reveal the oneness of ishvara chaitanya and jiva chaitanya. This is indeed the truth, since veda is valid pramAna.

The veda has to use words to communicate this knowledge, and necessarily by design, it has to use the words, that the jignasu,the one who wants to know can understand. Words that are within the understanding of the jignAsu.

Now one such word, we discussed and clarified, is sathyam, however the word sathyam alone is not enough to communicate what veda seeks to convey.

We previously talked about ishvara chaitanyam or consciousness as ishvara, and jiva chaitanyam or consciousness in the form of jiva and we were wondering, how in the world, can veda says that jiva and ishvara are one and the same, inspite of having directly opposite attributes.

That is when we introduced the two fold nature of sathyam and mithya.

Right not we are unfolding the word sathyam.

Now shAstra, has more to say about chaitanyam or consciousness.

Shastra says 'vAchArambanam vikAram nAmadeyam, mrtikka eva satyam'.
This translates to 'Pot exists only in terms of name and form, clay alone is sathyam or truth'.

Hence shAstra now loads the word sathyam, with a special meaning, rather than the general meaning we talked about in the previous post for sathyam.

This is the vedantic meaning, and in fact a more complete meaning given to sathyam, sathyam is not simply true, it has to be in fact THE truth. What do I mean by THE truth.

Here is what it is. In a world of gold ornaments, gold is THE truth, while chain, bracelet, earring and so on are the forms and names of that gold.

In a word of clay objects clay is THE truth, while the pots, and jugs and mugs and so on are the names and forms of clay.

Same way, chaitanyam, says the shAstra is THE truth, while all that exists here, which is essentially ishvara chaitanyam, ishvaras knowledge as multifarious forms and names and objects, of which jiva chaitanya is an amsa ( small part) , that chaitanyam , is not just sathyam, but in fact THE satyam. We can use the word anantham sathyam. Chaitanyam is sathyam in the manner, how clay is the sathyam for all objects made of clay, and gold is sathyam for all objects made of gold.

In case of gold jewels, or clay pots and jugs, while the maker of the jewel, is separate person, in the cause of the jagad, shAstra says
'He desired, He became many'.

That HE or SHE as we know is chaitanyam. So here the chaitanyam is BOTH the maker as well as the material, and chaitanyam is also sathyam, THE truth of the jagad, THE truth of all  that is here, including the jiva chaitanyam , who is an amsA or a part.

Hence sathyam of vedanta, is not simple sathyam, rather is THE sathyam, non negatable sathyam, or in other words anantham sathyam, limitless sathyam.

Hence shAstra loads further meaning to the word sathyam, to now refer to absolute non negatable, limitless 'truth' and not just simple truth.

This chaitanyam, the vastu the , thing, that is chaitanyam, is ekam, is ONE, is non dual, advitiyam, and is also sathyam or truth of all that is here.

Note carefully, the word sathyam here, does not qualify chaitanyam as an adjective, rather reveals the 'reality' of chaitanyam to be 'truth', and not just conventional truth, rather  communicates the knowledge that chaitanyam is 'absolute truth', non negatable, limitless truth, using the example of clay and pots, gold and jewels in order to load meaning.

Now OK, I understood, that sathyam means absolute truth, then what about the jagad, what word , what reality word will you use for all that this chaitanyam has become. What word will you use for chaitanyam as ishvara, as all knowledge, as every object? can we say anrtham? can we say 'false'? NO. Since there is functional utility for this world, it cannot be said to be false.

Therefore shAstra now introduces the word 'mithya', that can be used for jagad.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam -4 (Sathyam)

In previous posts we talked about jiva chaitanya, ishvara chaitanya, and two fold nature of reality.

We ended by saying, sathyam and mithya is the two fold nature.

In this post, we will talk about sathyam.

It is important to understand the kind of word sathyam and mithya is.

There are various words that describe an object.

We can use an adjective. We can say, this flower is a 'red' flower.
An adjective 'differentiates' an object, from rest of the objects of the same species. So an adjective qualifies a noun, and brings out its difference. That is the job of an adjective.

Ramu is a station master. Shamu is an honest station master. The word 'honest' qualifies shamu the station master, and differentiates him from other station masters.

However, there are certain words, which are simply reality words. They also qualify the object, but do not differentiate it. Instead they communicate its reality.

For example if we say, 'hair of a tortoise'. Now we all know that in reality, in the objective reality that we observe, the animal, that we call as tortoise, has no hair. Therefore, hair of a tortoise, is a 'false' object. Another example of 'horn of a hare'. There can be many such examples.

"False" is hence a word that qualifies an object but does not differentiate it from within its species.
In sanskrit we use the word 'anrtham' , the reality word, for 'false'.

In opposition stands the word 'true' or 'sathyam'. A tree, sky and so on, can be said to be true. If an object is said to exist, when known through a valid means of knowledge, it can be said to be 'true' in the general sense.

Hence we now have a nice and straightforward meaning for the word Sathyam.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam - 3 ( Two Fold Nature of Reality)

In post 1 and post 2 the ishvara chaitanya, and jiva chaitanya was mentioned.

Now what is the svarupa, of this chaitanya?

This is to be known, since earlier, we only said that chaitanya, is sAkshi.
We also talked about ishvara, and said ishvara is also a conscious being, chaitanya svarupa.

Now comes the main part of the teaching of vedanta, which is the oneness of this ishvara chaitanya and jiva chaitanya.

The very valid question put forth by a seeker, is, OK, I agree ishvara is chaitanya svarupa, and jiva is chaitanya svarupa, which means conscious being, or consciousness.

However, if you see ishvaras consciousness, it is qualifed, ishvara is qualified with the MEGA knowledge, with all knowledge, with all power, in fact the entire creation is ishvara.

However, jiva chaitanya, can at best only be called an amsA, a small part, like the little finger in the body, perhaps we can say , jiva chaitanya is a small PART of ishvara chaitanya.

That is the best we can see, then how come, do you say, there is NON DUAL? There is only duality, ishvara and jiva. Both may be conscious principles, both may be consciousness, however That ishvara consciousness is All Glory, but this little jiva consciousness that I am, is nothing in comparison. I am a dependant person, for every small thing I depend on others, or for ishvara, from food down to sleep , I am dependant. How can we then say ishvara and jiva are one and the same?

This is where we stand, at cross roads.

This is where shAstra talks about the nature of reality being "two fold", depending on how we look at it.

This two fold is sathyam and mithya.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam - 2 (Ishvara)

Chaitanyam means consciousness. This was the understand we gained in previous post 'Knowledge of Chaitanyam - 1 (jiva)'

Now let us look at ishvara.

The upanisad tells us that, he desired, he created, he became all this.
From his own knowledge, he manifest the unmanifest universe into manifestation. The universe is his knowledge, and it cyclically becomes manifest as an organic being, which also non separate from him, and goes back into seed form, which is also his knowledge.

Noe let us look at this HE. This HE, can he be 'material object' ? What is his nature, is it material, or is it consciousness.

We look around universe, there is order, there is water cycle, nitrogen cycle, gravity, nine planets rotating revolving in geometry, human body has so much complexities, that there is specialist doctor for every part.

Certainly for such order to be present, it requires a conscious being.

Upanisad tells us the same thing, that ishvara is satchitAnantha, he is limitless conscious being, who is the cause of existence.

So certainly ishvara is also consciousness.

Ishvara is chaitanyam with the attribute or function of being creator, maintainer and dissolver of entire universe.

Knowledge of Chaitanyam - 1 (jiva)

Chaitanyam means consciousness. For us to understand the meaning of the word, consciousness, we have to rely on knowledge we already have, generally have. Vedanta only takes our current experience and teaches with 'known words'.

So consciousness , when we say, chaitanyam, refers to a known meaning, it is a meaning, which indicates the difference between , myself, the knower, and NOT me, the known.

I know, the rock.
I know, the tree.
I know my body.
I know the book.
I know the laptop.

Here 'I' is 'understood' generally, by even folks not interested in vedanta, it is understood, to be different in terms of quality, from the object that is known.

I, is understood to be knower, capable of knowing, capable of being conscious of another object, capable of being conscious as such, we convert that to a noun, instead of everytime saying the big phrase 'that which is capable of being conscious of another object' we replace the phrase with a noun form, 'awareness' or 'consciousness', or in sanskrit we say 'chaitanyam'.

So this is the way we understand the meaning of the word chaitanyam, referring to myself, who , w.r.t any object, is a sAkshi or witness or knower or awarer, is sAkshi chaitanyam, witness consciousness, knower consciousness, or simply consciousness.

JIva is chaitanyam with the attribute of being the controller of this body mind self complex.

Sarvam brahmamayam

Brahman is unqualified, consciousness or chit, and as jagat kAranam is also 'sat'.

This unqualified chit, is not available for knowledge, as an object, it cannot be available as any object of ones knowledge, since , any object is 'qualified'. Which means it will have some qualfication, to be qualified as an object. Object means qualifications only, when we say 'it is' we have to say something, about 'it'.
So any object, first is qualified as being an 'object' , same time is also having additional qualifications.

Now what is this chit, how is it to be known, if it can never be an object of knowledge.
ShAstra points out, that chit is already known, but not recognized as such, for what it is, which is chit.
It is simply 'I'. I is thought to be 'body', 'mind', 'bodymind', 'subtle body,' 'causal body,' waker', 'dreamer', 'sleeper', 'samadhi I' and so on, which are all 'qualified, attributeful objects'.
But no, that is not I, since I say, my body, my mind and so on, I am not the object, which is objectifiable.
Even when someone scolds me, I, remains unobjectifiable, they look at my body and say, he did this and scold me, but I am not subject to objectification. I cant be called 'subject' also, the body I , is subject with reference to the rose , when it is said, I see rose, but by 'itself' , I is not intrinsically a seer. In deep sleep, in fact in between two thoughts there is a gap, without which thoughts would criss cross,here there is no subject object division, yet I am.

Thus through vedantic enquiry it is revealed as true that, I am indeed the unqualified chit or consciousness, unqualified consciousness, I am.

Now once we have understood this clearly, shastra goes on to say, this chit, is the SATYAM BRAHMA.
This , 'I' is 'sat'.

Now sat means what.Sat is said to be the cause of the universe.
The cause is ontologically satyam. Which means its any so called effect is non different from it, and it itself does not undergo any change to become the effect.
The effect is said to be the jagat, both manifest and unmanifest, also both known and unknown.
Any satyam, from its own standpoint does not undergo any change, in fact does not admit to have become the effect also, it is only from the standpoint of the effect that we call the satyam as cause. From its own standpoint satyam is not even a cause ( eg: clay and pot).

From our own experience, body mind is known, planets, world etc. some parts of universe is known, a lot is unknown and is being explored as we speak. The manifest universe, part of it we know, partly we dont know and we are exploring, in fact in manifest universe, we know only infinitesimally small , and infinitely much of it, we dont know anything about it.
Then there is unmanifest also, that which is not even knowable. Such as a tree which is yet to sprout from its seed, is not knowable, but there may a tree in some mountain, yet unseen. waiting to be known.

ShAstra says, all the objects, which are by nature qualified, in fact being an object is itself a qualification, all of this manifest, unmanifest, known unknown, has brahman or satyam as its cause.

The effect which is whatever is known ( manifest known) , unknown (manifest knowable), and unknowable ( unmanifest unkown), all of it, is an effect.

Effect by nature is non separate from its cause, any pot is non separate from clay, iron instrument is non separate from iron, the jewels are non separate from gold, the shirt is non separate from cloth, same way all qualities, qualifications, name, shape , form, function etc. all this is knowable, unmanifest also, is all non separate from brahman.

So body, if you say, body is brahman, it has qualifications, like being an object called body, being knowable, having a form, being called matter etc. all these are its qualifications, but by becoming qualified, the satyam brahman, qualified and now called as body, does not undergo change, in fact it does not become subject to objectification, hence when I say, ' I objectify this body', I being subject, body being object, the subjectification of I is a qualification for I the chit, the objectification of body is a qualification of chit ( chit is sat) , the 'objectification and subjectification' as verbs in them-self are also qualifications of a verb, this qualification is what we call 'mithya'. This qualification is mithya, is knowledge , is all knowledge. And this all knowledge one is whom we call ishvara.

All this magic is due to ishvara. Ishvara is satchitananda, you are that satchitananda, there is no other chit.

With respect to the samashti (total), chit is qualified and called as parama Ishvara or parameshvara, and with respect to a body mind , sat (or chit) is qualified and called as jiva-Ishvara or jiveshvara.

This satyam brahma, is not available for objectification of course, it is unqualified chit itself, which is you.

Everything else is mithya ontologically, mithya means non separate from sat, its top bottom, inside outside all if it is sat, including its attributes etc, is all sat, the attributes are of satyam, but do not affect or change satyam brahman in any way. So you can pick up a rock, and simply say, I the picker of the rock is brahman, the rock is brahman, the act of picking is brahman, all this ' I pick up a rock' , is a tremendous knowledge, is mithya, ishvara.

Om Sairam. Om satgurave namaH. Om paramAtmane namaH. Om shri gurubhyo namaH.