ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : Mantram 46. - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya.

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Thursday, January 26,  2023. 06:00.

(68 Mantras in 9 Chapters)

B. EMERGING OUT OF IGNORANCE: Mantras : (40-46)

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Mantram - 46 : As Wrong Notions of Directions Are Destroyed. 

With Translation :

1 Tattva swaroopa anubhavaat   =  As a result of the experience of the Truth,

2 utpannam jnaanam anjasaa;   =  Self-knowledge is gained, and instantly 

3 “aham mama” iti cha ajnaanam  =   the ignorant notions of “I” and “mine”

4 baadhate dig-bhrama-aadi-vat.  =  are destroyed, just as wrong notions of  directions (are destroyed by right information).

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Bhashyam (Vyakyanam) :

1-2 To attain something that is not with us requires three things: knowledge, time 

and space. We need the (secular) knowledge of when and where to get it, the time to get it 

and to cover the space that separates us from it. But the attainment of the Self is not in this 

category. It is already in us. To get it we need only Self-knowledge – no secular knowledge, 

no time, and no coverage of space.

These two categories are given technical terms in Samskrit by Indian philosophers (these are not terms exclusive to Vedanta) :

i) Apraaptasya Praapti: The former belongs to this category, which means “attaining 

that which we do not possess.” For this category, Action is required. The results of an action 

always come in the ‘future’ of the actual action, whether that may be just seconds away or 

centuries away. With action comes the accompaniment of the whole train consequential to 

action, namely, the creation of merit or demerit (Punya or Paapa), the time when it will 

fructify, the actual fructification, and the experience of the joy or sorrow. This is the cycle of 

Karma which, when looked at compositely and over the long term, is the same as the cycle 

of rebirth, of endless repetition.

ii) Praptasya Prapti: This refers to the category of attaining “that which is already 

with us, but concealed from us.” Self-realisation falls in this category. Here Karma is not 

necessary. We do not need to go through an endless cycle of births and deaths to acquire it. 

We simply need Knowledge to destroy the ignorance that conceals it. No action is required.

An objector may say that he sees much action pertaining to the spiritual quest also. 

He feels it contradicts what we have just stated.

Digbhramadivat”: Wrong Notions About Directions

3-4 Acharyaji took great pains to illustrate why he considered this simile to be of 

outstanding quality. It is listed out so that the application can be compared to it thereafter. 

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As usual it had its entertaining side :

1. Patika: There is a traveller, who is journeying at night.

2. Nagta Andhakara: He gets lost in the dense darkness and cloudy conditions.

3. Dig Bhrama: He loses his sense of direction completely.

4. Raja Marga: He loses the main road on which he was.

5. Yatra-Tatra: He roams or wanders about here and there as a result.

6. Kantaka: He gets hurt by the sharp stones, he hits against trees, thorns, etc.

7. Duhkham: He experiences great sorrows as a result of these.

8. Surya Tejo: In the morning, at the coming of the dawn,

9. Dig Bhrama: He is able to see his way again, and gets the proper directions.

10. Raja Marga: He finds the main road which he had lost.

11. Anandam: He is ever happy that he has found his way once again.

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The application of this simile, stage by stage, as laid out above is as follows:

1. Jiva: The individual soul is also on a similar journey.

2. Avidya: He gets lost in the dense darkness of Avidya or ignorance.

3. Aham-Mama: He loses his true identity and gets identified with “I” and “mine”.

4. Brahma Marga: He loses his path of going along the road to Brahman.

5. Janma-Marana: So he gets knocked about and goes through endless rebirths.

6. Vighna: These cause him to go through many a hardship or obstacle.

7. Duhkha: He experiences great sorrows as a result.

8. Jnana Tejo: Then at the right time he comes in touch with the spiritual teaching.

9. Sadhana: He does spiritual practices in earnest according to his Guru’s guidance.

10. Brahma Marga: He gets established on the spiritual path once again.

11. Moksham: He finally attains liberation and enjoys everlasting bliss.

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Can there be a more appropriate simile than this? Acharyaji was justifiably thrilled during the entire narration of this simile.

One may view this as follows:

Those aspects of the spiritual journey which require action are connected to the 

aspect of spiritual unfoldment needed to reverse and nullify the Karma accrued from the 

first category of Action. To undo that action, we need to perform these purificatory actions 

which are part of the spiritual life. That includes everything from pilgrimages, rituals, 

chanting, study, Sravana, Manana and right up to but excluding Nididhyasana. All these have 

an element of ‘action’ in them. But the final explosion of Self-knowledge through concerted

Nididhyasana or meditation does not require anything external to reveal itself. This was 

seen in the examples of the last two verses.

There are two aspects to attaining the Self, the first is the Apraaptasya category, and 

the second is the Praaptasya category. Hence, there are two types of knowledge required, 

one for each of these aspects. In general literature, the term knowledge may loosely be 

applied to both these. The student of Vedanta is made aware of the two distinct types of 

knowledge on the spiritual path: the first is knowledge of the various ‘actions’ that need to 

be done; and the second knowledge (which may rather be written as Knowledge, with a 

capital ‘K’) is the self-revealed Knowledge of the Self which comes without the need of any 

action on our part. That comes in a flash as stated at the outset.

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A Brief Re-Cap on Slokas 40-46:

An interesting point is discovered when we review all the above seven verses, and 

study how the thought develops through them. We note a gradual shift in the standpoint 

from the body level to the Absolute level. It is so subtle, as to pass by almost unnoticed.

Here is a breakdown of how the thought flows:

i) In slokam 40, our awareness of the Self is lost amidst the thick jungle of names and 

forms. We are still groping in the dark world of physical perceptions.

ii) In slokam  41, the state of realisation is described in terms of our ability to know 

through the intellect. We have shifted from the physical to the intellectual.

iii) In slokam 42, we move on from the intellectual to the intuitive level by coming to 

an understanding of meditation, explained so well by the Aruni metaphor.

iv) In slokam 43, the benefits of meditation are seen as the brightening of the night sky 

metaphor. The development of a Sattwic aura around the seeker is being described.

v) In slokam 44, the Self is now seen to have been with us all along. It was never really 

outside of us, but was around our own neck all the time! The problem is seen as one of nonapprehension of the Truth.

vi) In slokam 45, it is further noted that we have mistaken the Self to be something 

else. A post is mistaken to be a ghost. The problem is seen as one of mis-apprehension of 

the Truth.

vii) And finally in slokam 46, the whole “discovery” is credited to the Knowledge of the 

Self which we gain from the Guru. Without his clear directions, we will never be successful 

in our quest.

Thus we see a systematic presentation of the factors leading to the state of  Realisation in the last 7 slokas

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Next
C. THE UNIVERSAL ATTITUDE: (47-50)
Slokam 47: The Vision of the “Eye of Wisdom”
To be continued

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