The question is : What is the method by which the self can be known as brahman? What should we do to make that happen? What should we leave and what should we imbibe? What kind of meditation should we do? How should we enter into samaadhi? Do we even need all these methods or we do not?
One camp says : “Without performing any action, you cannot gain any state, situation or knowledge. You cannot gain the knowledge of brahman by mere discussion or contemplation”. Another camp says : “Any state, situation or knowledge gained by performing actions will be perishable. If the knowledge of brahman comes as a result of any action, then the liberation achieved out of that will also be temporary. Vedanta does not concern itself with temporary liberation. Therefore there is no other method for the knowledge of brahman. Knowledge is the only method”.
So what is the right conclusion here?
It is ok that liberation is the identity of the self, and the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman is not a result of any effort. But we ask this : “The self is not achieved through any method” - how did this knowledge arise in you? A proper readiness of the mind is required for this knowledge to arise. First, why don’t you understand the difference between what can a method get you, and what can knowledge get you?
A method gets you a result. The result has prior absence (praagaabhaava) and later absence (pradhvansaabhaava) also, since it is the identity of the result. But, that which is always present can only be acquired through knowledge. A method gets you a perishable result, while knowledge gets you that which exists already, this is the difference between method and knowledge. That which already exists is unavailable due to ignorance, ignorance is what makes it unavailable. The knowledge of that object just makes it available to the knower. Knowledge can only destroy ignorance, it cannot create anything from scratch.
Besides the means of knowledge (pramaana), there is no need for any other method to know an object. For example, in order to gain knowledge of a form, we only need clear eyesight. Similarly, in order to know brahman, you only need a clear means of knowledge, which is the thought flow (vritti) born out of the great statements (mahaavaakyaas such as tat-tvam-asi). You do not need action, worship, yoga or samadhi.
However, if there is a disease in the eye, it needs to be cured with medicine. Medicine can only cure the eye, it cannot create the power of sight from scratch. Similarly, the means of knowledge (the thought flow) which arises in the mind, is rid of the faults of dirt and agitation through method (saadhana), which are caused by external actions and internal desires (vaasanaas).
The seeker of brahman should clearly understand this. The foundation of the thought-flow, which is the means of knowledge for liberation, is the mind. The purpose of all the scriptural methods is the removal of defects of the mind, not the creation of knowledge of brahman. Therefore, all methods have to be accepted like medicines, not as creators of health. Any method is discarded after the defect has been cured. Whatever you were before the method and after the method is the same. Only the ignorance of your true identity is destroyed, leading to the rise of knowledge.
The non-dual essence is never obtained through any method, it is always present, ever attainable. Removal of the illusion that something is unattainable, when in reality it is ever attainable, requires knowledge. If you are worried that you will get lost in the dense forest of knowledge, then find a way to remove this obstacle. The method does not reveal brahman, it improves the quality of the means.
Vedanta is not the acquirer of that which is non-acquirable. It says : "You are the complete brahman". This knowledge removes all the weaknesses. Health is your real identity. There are some reasons which have created insanity in you that "you are the body, you are the dweller of the body, you get cut and divided, you are sick". Remove all thoses causes. That is all! Nothing else is expected. Recognize the diamond that is with you. Using the methods under discussion, remove all obstacles that prevent you from recognizing it.
Many books and scholars know the methods under discussion. But only those experienced saints who have dedicated their lives to these methods can go into their depths. Therefore, the decision about the right method should only be done by such people.
There are four categories of methods in Vedanta. Our actions have an effect on our mind. Therefore, some methods deal with purifying our actions. These are called action-cleansers (karma shodhak). Some methods deal with purifying attraction and aversion of the mind, which are a result of the afore-mentioned actions. These are called instrument-cleansers (karana shodhak). Even after the decrease or removal of these desires (vaasanaas), the intellect contains ignorance, doubt and incorrect thinking about our self, the world and brahman. The methods used to correct the intellectual defects are called substance-cleansers (padaartha shodhak). Finally, even after knowing the substance accurately, until the thought of the identify of brahman and the self does not happen, we will not realize our fullness. So, the thought-flow that gives rise to this knowledge is called realization-method (saakshaat saadhana).
You can understand this through the illustration of the gun. The rule is that four points are necessary for proper use of the gun: 1. Cleaning the nozzle 2. Loading a bullet 3. Lining up the eye, nozzle and target and holding the trigger and 4. Firing the gun. Cleaning the nozzle = action-cleansers, Loading the bullet = instrument-cleansers, Aiming = substance-cleansers and Firing = realization-method.
These four methods are have other popular names. Action-cleanser methods are called tradition-methods (paramparaa saadhan), instrument-cleanser methods are called external-methods (bahiranga saadhan), substance-cleanser methods are called internal-methods (antaranga saadhan) and realization-methods are called supreme-internal-methods (parama antaranga saadhan). Let us examine each of these.
1. Tradition-methods (paramparaa / karma shodak saadhan)
The improper combination of objects and actions results in impediments in our lives such as : stealing, lying and so on. The traditional methods that are used to correct these impediments such as truth-speaking, non-hoarding and so on are called tradition methods. Proper action (dharma), worship (upaasanaa) and yoga are called tradition-methods.
Physical and mental control, as well as actions performed in a spirit of sacrifice, are called proper action (dharma). Performing one’s duty is called proper action. But the only foundation of proper action is scripture. Action performed in accordance with scripture is proper action, otherwise it is improper action. Observance of proper action destroys improper action. Proper action is the controller of our actions. It diverts our life from the path of selfish desires (vaasanaas). It puts us on the path of limited enjoyments and sanctioned cultured conduct. In every culture, there is a specific set of proper actions for everyone. In this manner, by being the cause of removal of improper actions, and by being the cause of purifying action, proper action (dharma) is the tradition-method of Vedanta.
Worship as a helper method is incorporated into proper action, and is also a standalone method in itself. Worship increases proper action and one who follows proper action spontaneously develops a liking for worship. Worship gives rise to saattvic desires in the mind, and reduces taamasic desires. Purification of desires automatically cleans actions. That is why worship, in addition to proper action, is also considered a tradition-method in Vedanta. But worship is more internal than action, since the basis of action is the body, but the basis of worship is the mind.
Yoga is a special type of worship. That is why it is also considered a tradition method in Vedanta. Worship restrains the desires, and yoga reduces the restlessness of mind, that is why yoga is more internal than worship.
External engagement is found in proper action, internal engagement in worship and disengagement in yoga. The actor (kartaa) is clear in proper action, secondary in worship, and unknown in yoga. Therefore, proper action, worship and yoga are action-oriented methods. The state obtained by all of these is also action-born, that is why it is natural for such a state to perish. That is why, in the knowledge of brahman, proper action, worship and yoga are only considered action-cleansers. Since these are of the nation of action, they are external, but their result accrues internally, in the mind.
2. External methods (Bahiranga saadhan, karana shodhak saadhan)
Discrimination, dispassion, six fold wealth and mumukshaa - these four fold qualification described earlier are called external methods. They are more internal than tradition methods but are external to hearing-contemplation-meditation. That is why they are counted as external methods.
These methods destroy lack of discrimination, attachment to sense pleasure and other defects residing in the mind. That is why the four fold wealth is called an instrument cleanser. The methods have to be present in the very place the defect is found - in the mind. There are no external substances, actions or feelings. This is of the identity of disengagement. Disengagement is not different that its basis. Even so, these only purify the mind, they do not reveal the essence of objects. That is why they are called external methods (external to the self).
3. Internal methods (antaranga sadhana, substance-cleaner method, padaartha shodhaka saadhana)
Hearing Vedanta from the mouth of the teacher, then its contemplation and meditation, these are called the internal methods. These indicate the true identity of brahman. In Vedanta, the meaning of a "pada" or term is called padaartha. For instance "tat tvam asi" is a Vedantic statement that means "you are that". Here, "tat" and "tvam" are two terms (padas). The padaartha of "tat" is Isvara, the cause of the world. The padaartha of "tvam" is the doer-enjoyer-worldly-disconnected individual soul (jeeva). The term "Api" indicates the identity of the two paraarthaas.
In this manner, hearing (shravana) refers to the Vedantic conviction regarding the identity of the afore-mentioned padignaarthaas heard from the mouth of the guru through tradition. Then, thinking upon brahman through logic that supports this non-distinction and negates the distinction is called contemplation (manana). Then, meditation (nidhidhyaasana) is the stream of intellectual thought flow towards the non-dual meaning (advaitaartha) and negation of opposite thought flow. The mature state of meditation is the samaadhi of Vedanta. The samaadhi of yoga is either a tradition-method or a external-method in the category of samaadhaana.
Hearing, contemplation and meditation are not methods of direct realization of knowledge. But, they are called internal methods because they indicate the object. Is the intent of the Veda to produce the indivisible brahman or the divisible? Such a kind of doubt regarding the means of knowledge (pramaana), the Veda, is removed through hearing. "The relationship that we have with brahman is that of difference, it cannot be one of non-difference". Such an impossiblilty in the mind is removed through contemplation. The Veda is the means of knowledge of the topic of brahman. That is why the Veda is the means of knowledge, and the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman is the object of knowledge.
Therefore, the doubt regarding the means of knowledge is removed through hearing and the doubt regarding the object of knowledge is removed through contemplation. But, even if these are removed, the notion of reality ascribed to the body and other products of the world, as well as the illusion of the otherness of brahman, both of which are a result of repetition since time immemorial, comes back again and again. This is called "viparyaya" or contrary thinking. The defect of contrary thinking of the intellect removed through meditation.
The seeker who does not have any obstacles is fulfilled just by hearing. When the object is immediately perceivable (aparoksha), the knowledge of the immediately perceivable happens through mere hearing. When the object is not immediately perceivable (paroksha), knowledge reveals the object, but some other method is needed to attain the object. Brahman is always imeediately perceivable since it is our own self. There never was, is, or will be ignorance in the self. Hearing only removes the ignorance in the mind. Those seekers who have the faults of doubt and contrary thinking will not gain knowledge just by hearing. They need contemplation to remove doubt, and meditation to remove contrary thinking.
3.5.4 Realization-method (saakshaata saadhana)
Not knowing oneself as the non-dual brahman is ignorance. That knowledge which permanently removes this ignorance is the realization-method. It is the result of all methods. That thought flow of the intellect that can, without any indecision, imbibe the great meaning of the shrutis (those which reveal the identity of brahman and self), is called the realization-method of knowledge. It is also called the brahmaakaar vritti. This thought flow can occur in a qualified student through mere hearing, or in a student though the fruition of hearing, contemplation and meditation is thought flow destroys te thought flow of ignorance and merges with its refuge, the self luminuous brahman.
There are people who do not know Sanskrit, but listen to a teacher who is a knower of brahman. The knowledge that arises though the translation of the great Vedantic statements into the students' languages by that teacher is also known as the realization-method. Even so, the purification of action, mind and substance should be carried out as per the scripture.
In this manner, there are three tradition methods - action, worship and yoga. All these three can be called by one name - selfless action (nishkaama karma). The external methods are four - the four fold qualification. The internal methods are three - hearing, contemplation and meditation. There is one realization-method - knowledge born out of the great statement (mahaavaakyajanya prajnyaa). Here, selfless action and four fold qualification are associated with purification of the mind, and the rest are methods pertaining directly to knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment