ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : Mantram 38 - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya. Reflections by SWAMI GURU BHAKTANANDA. Chinmaya Mission.

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Thursday, September 02, 2021. 6 : 56. AM..
ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”
(68 Slokam-s in 9 Chapters)
Chapter - 7 (“Towards REALISATION”) Mantras  38-53 (16 no.) 
Mantram-38. Meditate Upon Such a Self
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The State of Realisation :

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The destruction of the mind has taken place in the previous slokam. That is the dawn of Realisation! What follows are observations from that privileged platform. From here till the end of the text we have exquisite descriptions of the state of God-realisation, given by a God-realised sage of the highest order – Sri Shankaracharyaji.

The descriptions defy further comment, and are left largely to speak for themselves; for each soul to interpret according to his growth and inner inspirations. Acharyaji’s comments are faithfully produced for these slokas.

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A. SAMADHI – SAVIKALPA & NIRVIKALPA: (38-39)
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Slokam - 38: Meditate Upon Such a Self

"Vivikta-deshe asenah viragah vijita indriyah;

bhavayet ekam atmanam tam anantam ananyadheh."||38||

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Translation ;

1 Vivikta-deshe asenah             =Sitting in a solitary place;

2 viragah vijita indriyah;           = freeing the mind from desires, controlling the senses;

3 bhavayet ekam atmanam       = meditate upon the One Self without a second,

4 tam anantam ananyadheh.     = that boundless Being, with unswerving attention.

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This and the next verse take the student of Vedanta on a short but very significant part of the spiritual journey. It is the final lap of the journey, and may be introduced as follows:

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A Closer Look at Samadhi :
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There is a fine distinction drawn between the various states of consciousness reached upon the end of Nididhyasana. In broad terms we have been calling this state as Samadhi in Sadhana Panchakam and Tattwa Bodha. But if we take a magnifying glass and look at the actual ‘map’ of the area that is travelled, we will see in finer detail what is broadly termed Samadhi. There are distinct levels of Samadhi which may be identifiable to one who is a serious practitioner.

If we look at a map showing India, Mumbai may be represented only as a dot called ‘Mumbai’. If we magnify this map many times and look at Mumbai closely, we will see all the main routes into the city, the suburbs as we approach the city, and then finally the main railway station at which one has to get off. The word Samadhi is like Mumbai, and taking a closer look at it we identify many more details within the topic of Samadhi.

The two main distinctions mentioned by Acharyaji are Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The former is a ‘suburb’ that we reach before the main station. It is the stage when the thoughts in the mind have been thinned out to a single thought. In Yoga this could be any thought, as long as it is a single thought. In Vedanta that single thought is called the Brahmakara Vritti, “I am Brahman”. Savikalpa is also described as absorption of the mind while in meditation. It is like getting our first foot into the room of enlightenment.

As one progresses further through the suburbs, one gets closer to the main Terminus which in Yoga is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In this stage, the single thought is maintained without any effort even out of meditation, and continuously. It becomes the natural or Sahaja state in which one dwells at all times, without a break. That is the state of realization.

1-2 Here in this verse, more advanced practice of meditation is prescribed for the person who wants to advance from the suburban station of Savikalpa Samadhi to the final main station of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

3 More advanced practice means more intense and prolonged meditation with more concentration. At this stage, all actions have to be given up, and the senses have to be brought under 100% control. There should be zero disturbance. This is the zero-tolerance zone of perfection. Only under these conditions can one enter the non-dual state.

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The Four Obstacles in this Stage:
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4 Ananyadheeh: “unswerving attention”; Acharyaji identified four obstacles that arise to obstruct the meditator at this very advanced stage. They are, in the order that they appear as one gets closer to the goal:

i) Laya – Sleep: the mind feels an irresistible urge to slip into sleep while meditating.

ii) Vikshepa – Restlessness: the mind develops a tendency to suddenly revolt and become restless, despite all the Abhyasa up to this point. It is just its nature.

iii) Kashaya – Veiling: the meditator confronts a ‘block’ of nothingness or darkness or a block of dirt Vasanas, beyond which he finds it impossible to go. It just stands there before him like an impenetrable wall.

iv) Rasaswada – Taste of Bliss: when he does pierce this veil, the taste of the bliss is so great that he simply remains ‘locked’ in the enjoyment of that taste, and refuses to go further. The bliss of the state becomes an obstacle to move forward. This is just to give us, as students of Vedanta, some idea of what one is faced with at this penultimate stage of realization.

End.

Next-Slokam 39: Total Abidance in the Self

To be continued ...

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