ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : 28 - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya

 

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Friday, September   25, 2020. 5:01. AM.. 

ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”

(68 Slokam-s in  9 Chapters)

Chapter 6 - “The Birth of the EGO” - Sloka-s 25-37 (13 no.)

B. THE SELF-LUMINOUS SELF: (28-29)

Slokam 28: As a Lamp Illumines Objects

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Slokam-28. ( As a Lamp Illumines Objects ) :

"1 Aatmaa ava-bhaasayati ekah 2 buddhi-aadini indriyaani api hi; 

3 deepah ghat-aadi-vat swaatmaa  4 jadaih taih na ava-bhaasyate."

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Translation :

1 Aatmaa ava-bhaasayati ekah       = The Self alone illuminates

2 buddhi-aadini indriyaani api hi;   = the intellect, etc, and also verily the senses,

3 deepah ghat-aadi-vat swaatmaa   = just as a lamp itself illuminates pots, etc.

4 jadaih taih na ava-bhaasyate.       = Inert themselves, they cannot illumine themselves.

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Discourse : 

We return here to the light bulb analogy made in slokam - 26, this time it is coming

directly in the text itself, as a lamp illumining a jar. There it was used to illustrate the false

origin of the ego. Here it is used to emphasise the inherent inertness of the intellect

equipment (i.e. point number two in Slokam - 26).

What is meant by inertness of the intellect? The intellect is recognized to be the

most subtle part of the creation of the human being. The supremacy of the intellect was

brought out in verse 17. In spite of that supremacy, why is it still described as being inert?

Its supremacy lies only in the fact that it is the “light bulb” of the human being. No

other part of the human being has this capacity to express the Self so clearly as the intellect,

although in their functioning they all express to some extent the ‘intelligence’ of the Self.

The king of the human equipment is the intellect; it enlightens all other functions.

Nevertheless, it still cannot illumine itself. This limitation of the intellect is the point

being made in this verse. Intellect, although the highest instrument we have, cannot be

equated to the Self. By nature, it is still part of “material” creation, and in that sense inert.

Being Clear of the Role of Intellect:

The great value of the intellect lies in its power to analyse and reflect. The intellect

alone can grasp our real state of bondage: that we are trapped in a prison. To understand

the nature of the imprisonment, and to help us see the way out of it is the great function of

the intellect. Once it has done that, its job is over, and the Self is revealed by itself, by its

own self-luminous nature. This idea is developed further in the verses to follow.

Thus, the intellect only has to uncover the veil of ignorance. It is not tasked to reveal

the Self. The Self will do that of its own accord, as it is self-revealing. It does not need the

intellect to illumine It; indeed, there is no such need to illumine it as it is self-luminous.

If the intellect could speak to the Jiva, it would be saying: “Come, take me, use me,

get your job done through me, and then you may discard me for my job would be over.”

That is what the pure intellect is saying to the entrapped Jiva or consciousness that is caught

in the net of egoism.

In this connection, we note that Vedanta is the only philosophy in the world that

presents the process of enlightenment in this manner. The manner is characterized by Tyaga

or Renunciation. Renunciation is in the very heart of Vedanta. The “Neti Neti” procedure

(see verse 30) is designed to renounce every component of the three bodies we are

imprisoned in. As we peel off these outer coverings, starting at the grossest level and ending

with the most subtle (the intellect), we are renouncing every step of the way.

And finally, arriving at the intellect whence we can go no further, Vedanta says:

“That by which you were enabled to renounce, is itself now to be renounced.”

End.

Next : Slokam - 29 : As a Lighted Lamp Illumines Itself

To be continued ....

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