ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : 23 - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya
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Friday, May 08, 2020.
ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”
(68 Slokam-s in 9 Chapters)
Chapter - 5 : AN ERROR OF MISAPPREHENSION (Slokam-s 15 – 24)
Slokam-s 15-24 (10 Numbers.)
D. MIND IS RESPONSIBLE: (23-24)
VERSE 23: Where Do Attachments,etc, Reside?
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sushuptau na asti tat naashe tasmaat buddheh tu na aatmanah."
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2 buddhau satyaam pra-vartate; = are perceived only when the intellect functions.
3 sushuptau na asti tat naashe = In deep sleep, when the intellect is absent, they too are absent;
4 tasmaat buddheh tu na aatmanah. = therefore, they belong to the mind alone and not the Atman.
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take all my attention away from the things I like. What kind of life are you asking me to live?
Whatever you may say about desires, I feel very much that I am those desires. Is there any
proof you can give of your statements apart from all these examples. I am tired of your
similes. They are only similes, where is the proof that this is so?”
These objections are to be expected, but the Vedantin is rooted in sound logic and
observation of life without any bias. Here, in this verse, Sri Shankaracharya resists the
temptation of giving a simile, in order to answer the above doubt.
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1-2 We experience all these only as long as the intellect or mind functions. As soon as the mind is not available, as in deep sleep, these tendencies, desires, attachments, and so on, also cease. Is that not proof enough that they exist only in the mind and not the Atman? Hence, they cannot be the Self.
3-4 The logic of this verse is undeniable. It is simple and clear. The conclusion Sri Shankaracharyaji expects us to draw from it is that these are mental conditionings and we should not identify ourselves with them, unless we don’t mind being kicked about whichever way the mind blows. There is a Self within us that is steady and non flickering. It does not follow the vagaries of the mind. It is stable and steady, silent and peaceful, desireless and unattached.
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2. We see a boat rocking in the water at the river bank. After watching it for some time, we ‘take over’ the rocking movement and feel as if we are rocking with it. Why? – Because we identify with it.
3. A Mahatma was trying to teach a student how to handle the mind. He took two stones and kept rubbing them against each other. His student, watching this, asked why this was being done. The Mahatma said, “I am trying to make these stones white.” The student said it was not possible to do that; the stones will never become white. Then the Mahatma smiled at him and said, “It is the same with this mind. We can never change it; we have only to learn to be indifferent to it. However much we try, we will never make it Brahman.
4. And the last example: Suppose we have just completed a long 2-day journey to Sidhabadi in the Himalayas. When we get off the train, for quite a while we find ourselves still swaying like we were doing in the train. It is hard to keep balance, until we adjust slowly to being motionless again.
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Friday, May 08, 2020.
ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”
(68 Slokam-s in 9 Chapters)
Chapter - 5 : AN ERROR OF MISAPPREHENSION (Slokam-s 15 – 24)
Slokam-s 15-24 (10 Numbers.)
D. MIND IS RESPONSIBLE: (23-24)
VERSE 23: Where Do Attachments,etc, Reside?
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Slokam- 23.
"Raaga-icchhaa-sukha-duhkha-aadi buddhau satyaam pra-vartate;sushuptau na asti tat naashe tasmaat buddheh tu na aatmanah."
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Translation :
1 Raaga-icchhaa-sukha-duhkha-aadi = Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc,2 buddhau satyaam pra-vartate; = are perceived only when the intellect functions.
3 sushuptau na asti tat naashe = In deep sleep, when the intellect is absent, they too are absent;
4 tasmaat buddheh tu na aatmanah. = therefore, they belong to the mind alone and not the Atman.
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Discourse :
Placing himself in the shoes of an objector, Acharyaji asked, “You are asking me totake all my attention away from the things I like. What kind of life are you asking me to live?
Whatever you may say about desires, I feel very much that I am those desires. Is there any
proof you can give of your statements apart from all these examples. I am tired of your
similes. They are only similes, where is the proof that this is so?”
These objections are to be expected, but the Vedantin is rooted in sound logic and
observation of life without any bias. Here, in this verse, Sri Shankaracharya resists the
temptation of giving a simile, in order to answer the above doubt.
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Where Do Attachments, Desires and Pleasures Reside?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------1-2 We experience all these only as long as the intellect or mind functions. As soon as the mind is not available, as in deep sleep, these tendencies, desires, attachments, and so on, also cease. Is that not proof enough that they exist only in the mind and not the Atman? Hence, they cannot be the Self.
3-4 The logic of this verse is undeniable. It is simple and clear. The conclusion Sri Shankaracharyaji expects us to draw from it is that these are mental conditionings and we should not identify ourselves with them, unless we don’t mind being kicked about whichever way the mind blows. There is a Self within us that is steady and non flickering. It does not follow the vagaries of the mind. It is stable and steady, silent and peaceful, desireless and unattached.
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Examples of How to Detach From the Mind :
Since Sri Shankaracharyaji had decided to give his similes a rest, Acharyaji gave some excellent examples of his own :
1. A buffalo is walking past as you cross the road. Buffalos are always a nuisance to traffic, but you have no need to make that your problem unless, of course, you somehow feel that you are that buffalo! That is what we are doing to the thought-buffalos of our mind. They are not “me”; we should just observe them and ignore them. But when we make them “me”, that is when we are asking for trouble.2. We see a boat rocking in the water at the river bank. After watching it for some time, we ‘take over’ the rocking movement and feel as if we are rocking with it. Why? – Because we identify with it.
3. A Mahatma was trying to teach a student how to handle the mind. He took two stones and kept rubbing them against each other. His student, watching this, asked why this was being done. The Mahatma said, “I am trying to make these stones white.” The student said it was not possible to do that; the stones will never become white. Then the Mahatma smiled at him and said, “It is the same with this mind. We can never change it; we have only to learn to be indifferent to it. However much we try, we will never make it Brahman.
4. And the last example: Suppose we have just completed a long 2-day journey to Sidhabadi in the Himalayas. When we get off the train, for quite a while we find ourselves still swaying like we were doing in the train. It is hard to keep balance, until we adjust slowly to being motionless again.
NEXT - VERSE 24: As the “Essential Nature” of a Thing
To be continued ....=========================================================
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