Vedanta says - "tat tvam asi", you are that. The literal meaning of the "that" aspect is Ishvara, and of the "you" aspect is the soul. Does that mean that Ishvara alone is the soul? But he who is the cause of all, omniscient, omnipotent, all pervasive Ishvara, how can he be associated with one body which is a disconnected doer-enjoyer, joyful-sorrowful, worldly, limited power soul? This statement cannot be true. Either the shruti is saying something impractical, or the literal surface meaning is not the intended meaning. The first point cannot be the case, therefore we have to understand the deeper meaning.
Whenever the direct meaning of a statement does not make sense, we have to perform "lakshanaa", in other words, it is understood that the words in the statement are indicating a meaning. Lakshanaa means indicating. There are three types of lakshanaas : jahat lakshanaa, ajahat lakshanaa, and jahat ajahat lakshanaa or bhaaga tyaaga lakshanaa. "Jahat" means "cast off".
"Jahat lakshanaa" happens where the primary meaning of a word is cast off, and a related meaning is taken up. For example, a person wearing glasses is called "Hey glasses!". Here, the meaning is not "glasses", it means "person who is wearing glasses".
"Ajahat lakshanaa" happens where the primary meaning of a word is kept, and some additional meanings are added. For example, you say "eat a couple of morsels". Here, you want to ask a person to eat more than just a couple of morsels.
"Jahat ajahat lakshanaa" happens when a partial meaning is discarded and a partial meaning is retained. For example, assume that you melted a gold bangle and made it into a necklace. Now you show the necklace to a friend and say "this is that bangle". Here, you discarded the old name and form, as well as the new name and form, but retained the essence which is gold. You really mean to say "the gold in that is the gold in this". This is also called "bhaaga tyaaga lakshanaa".
Now, in the "you are that" statement, the bhaaga tyaaga lakshanaa is accepted. That which is the "that" (Ishvara) cannot become the "you" (soul) and vice versa. But if you cast off the name, form, adjunct and effect of both, and the awareness, existence, bliss essence in both of them is imbibed, then the you aspect and the that aspect is identical. In this manner, through the bhaaga tyaaga lakshana in the "you are that" great statement, the knowledge of the awareness element in both soul and Ishvara is expected.
The "you are that" great statement is part of the existence science (sad vidyaa) of the Chhandogya Upanishad. The meaning of this topic is explained in chapter 17. Here is its summary. The existence element at the root of this world, which is of the form of awareness, which is endless, it is not any non-immediate thing, it is no other. It is you your self. In the time of non thinking (avichaara), that other existence consciousnes that you have accepted, is you alone from the viewpoint of thinking. "You are that".
"That" means Ishvara. The knower of the five element-filled creation is Ishvara. Even without sense organs, he is the knower of everything, therefore he is omniscient. But the "you", the soul, knows only through the sense organs, therefore he is a limited knower. In this manner, by being a non-organ doer, Ishvara is omnipotent, whereas the with-organ doer only has limited power. Ishvara is happy without intellect, therefore, he is independently of the nature of happiness. The soul is happy with the help of the intellect, therefore accepts himself as a subservient happy natured individual. Ishvara's adjunct is beyond existence and non-existence, indescribably maaya which is the material cause of everything, therefore Ishvara is all pervasive. The adjunct of the soul is the body-senses-internal organ, which is an effect of maayaa, therefore he is disconnected. But, in both of them, there is no different in their substratum existence, and also, no difference in their illuminator consciousness. Therefore, from the point of view of existence, as well as consciousness, there is no different between the soul and Ishvara.
Non-conscious existence is only imagination, and non-existence consciousness is inconsistent. That is why what is consciousness is existence, and what is existence is consciousness. That which the Chhandogya shruti calls the substratum of all names and forms, that is called existence, and that is the consciousness-nature self. In this manner, existence is "that" and in that consciousness-nature, "I" am. This the meaning of the statement "you are that". The distinction between the soul and Ishvara is adjunct-created: The adjunct of effect in soul, and the adjunct of cause in Ishvara, microcosmic awareness soul and macrocosmic awareness Ishvara. In the adjunct alone do the minor knowing of the soul and the omniscience of Ishvara exist, otherwise both are the same aware entity.
No comments:
Post a Comment