VIVEKA-CHUDAMANI

By: Shankaracharya
Commentary: Swami Ranganathananda
Edited: Swami Shuddhidananda
Summary: Satyendra Nath Dwivedi

Part 2

Chapter 2: Steps to Self-Realization

The disciple in this book represents all the spiritual aspirants in the world, and the
seven questions asked by him are the universal ones troubling the heart of every
spiritual seeker.

“(1) What is bondage? (2) How has it come upon the Self? (3) How does it
continue to exist? (4) How is one freed from it? (5) What is this non-Self?
(6) Who is the Supreme Self? (7) How can one discriminate between them? Do
tell me about these.”

Just like the question raised by the disciple in this book, let our people ask: Why
are we selfish? Why are we corrupt? Why are we religious fanatics? Why are we
violent? It is good that we ask these questions. These are the issues that keep
us tied down to a petty life. These questions must be burnt into our souls today.
And when we begin to ask such questions, we will have to turn to books like
‘Viveka-Chudamani’, Upanishads, Gita, teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed
and other great spiritual masters of the world.

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Progress is possible only through genuine questioning and thinking, and never by
complacent attitude.

Each one of us has to strive for spiritual freedom by oneself. Somebody’s

freedom and spiritual experience doesn’t help us. This is an important maxim in
the science of spirituality. It is every individual’s personal task. Every one has to
gain spiritual experience for oneself. Says Gita [6.5]:

“Raise yourself by yourself. Don’t let yourself down. You are your own friend and
you are your own enemy.”

“The true form of reality should be known through one’s own ‘bodha-chakshu’
(clear eye of understanding), and not through (the proxy of) a scholar; the true
form of the (full) moon should be known by means of one’s own eye only; how
can it be known by proxy.”

Mere belief has no meaning, and so also someone else’s experience has no
meaning as far as our life is concerned. We must experience the truth ourselves.
This is the tenor of India’s approach to religion. The ‘Paramatman’ or God should
not remain a mere word but should become a verity through direct experience.
The words must be pierced through and the meaning obtained and experienced.
This striving to go beyond the surface to the depths, from appearance to reality,
is the central stress in the Upanishads.

Our cerebral system, which is the seat of our thoughts, is a special gift of nature
to us and is meant for a unique purpose. Through it we can realize our spiritual
nature. Therefore we have to make the best of this rare organ and build a
beautiful character based on our spiritual nature. We have to attain freedom in
this very life.

There is no freedom at all when we go out impelled by desires. We must be able

to control our desires and actions. To get this control and the resultant freedom,
we have to realize the truth for ourselves. We have to strive and achieve freedom
by putting forth all our effort.

“Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the
realization of one’s identity with Brahman is liberation possible, and by no other
means.”

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According to the ancient study made in India, speech has four levels: ‘Para’,
‘pashyanti’, ‘madhyama’ and ‘vaikhari’. The first three are known to the sages
who have disciplined their minds thoroughly. They are able to perceive these
subtle levels of speech. The speech of common people is known as ‘vaikhari’.
Anyone who grows spiritually depends less on gross speech and more on the
inward subtle speech. A mere look of a sage, or a mere thought vibration in a
sage’s mind, can convey ideas.

“The scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely
causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom should earnestly set about
knowing the true nature of the Self.”

Too much of study, discussions and arguments only distract the mind. We must
study only as much is required, understand the central point, believe in it, and
bend all our energies to convert this belief into truth.

Discussions, theorizing, and philosophizing usually end in ‘learned ignorance’.

But it need not be so. We can make it the beginning of our search for truth, which
begins when learned ignorance or philosophizing ends.

“A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine,
without taking it; similarly, without direct realization one cannot be liberated by
the mere utterance of the word Brahman.”

In our life misery is a greater teacher than happiness. In happiness, we forget the
truth, but when suffering comes, we become thoughtful.

“A man who even when agitated by the sharp interaction of pleasure and pain is
discriminating and knowing them to be of an evanescent nature, becomes
passionately devoted to the Atman. That which is nearest is least observed. The
Atman is the nearest of the near, therefore the careless and unsteady mind of
man gets no clues to it. But the man who is alert, calm, self-restrained, and
discriminating, ignores the external world and diving more and more into the
inner world, realizes the glory of the Atman and becomes great.”
- Swami Vivekananda

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“The first step to liberation is the extreme aversion to all perishable things, then
follow calmness, self-control, forbearance, and the utter relinquishment of all
work enjoined in the scriptures.”

Every normal adult outgrows one’s childhood needs and fancies and seeks
satisfaction at a higher level, and in doing this one gladly gives up the joy one
used to derive from the playthings of childhood. Similarly, when consciousness
rises to a higher level, it detaches itself from the lower levels. This is called
‘renunciation’, which is fostered by a sense of dispassion.

“Then come hearing, reflection on that, and long, constant and unbroken
meditation on the Truth for the ‘muni’. After that the learned seeker attains the
supreme ‘nirvikalpa’ state and realizes the bliss of ‘nirvana’ even in this life.”

Shankara says in one of his commentaries that a ‘muni’ is one who is deeply
thoughtful (‘manana-shila’). It is the state of always being thoughtful that makes a
person a ‘muni’.

The glory of the supreme Atman is available to us here itself. So, ‘ihaiva’ (here
itself) is the phrase used in the Gita, Upanishads, and other books. We can attain
the Supreme Bliss here itself, because it is our true nature.

We have to think and act for ourselves. All the teachers of Vedanta, and also
Buddha, show us the path and then ask us to tread the path ourselves. There is
no other way.

The truth is that this body is the non-Self and we are the Self, the pure
Consciousness. Every other understanding about our Self is the outcome of
delusion

People are tied down to the objects of the world, completely entangled. As a
result, they cannot think of anything higher.

“He who is free from the terrible snare of the hankering after sense objects, so
very difficult to get rid of, is alone fit for liberation, and none else – even though
he be versed in all the six ‘Shastras’.”

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Freedom – as a human being, as a citizen, or, as a man of spiritual
realization – can be attained only when the mastery over our sensory
system has been acquired.

“Know that death quickly overtakes the stupid man who walks along the dreadful
ways of sense-pleasures; whereas one who walks in accordance with the
instructions of a well-wishing and worthy guru, as also with his own reasoning,
achieves his end – know this to be true.”

“If indeed thou have a craving for liberation, shun sense objects from a good
distance as thou would do poison, and always cultivate carefully the nectar-like
virtues of contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straightforwardness, calmness
and self-control.”

“Conquer the dire death of infatuation over the body, wife, children, etc. –
conquering which the sages reach that Supreme state of ‘Vishnu’.”

“The ears, skin, eyes, nose and tongue are organs of knowledge, for they help
us to cognize objects; the vocal organs, hands, legs, etc. are organs of action,
owing to their tendency to work.”

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“The inner organ is called ‘manas’, ‘buddhi’, ‘ahamkara’, or ‘chitta’, according to
their respective functions; ‘manas’, from its considering the pros and cons of a
thing; ‘buddhi’, from its property of determining the truth of objects; ‘ahamkara’,
from its identification with this body as one’s Self; and ‘chitta’, from its function of
remembering things it is interested in.”

“One and the same ‘Prana’ (vital force) becomes ‘Prana’, ‘apana’, ‘vyana’,
‘udana’ and ‘samana’ according to their diversity of functions and modifications,
like gold, water, etc.”

Ages ago in the cultural history of India the study of energy coursing in the
psycho-physical system was undertaken and great truths were discovered.
Conscious control of this energy has been the chief concern of some systems of
Indian thought which had made great advancements in this area. They called this
energy ‘Prana’. This energy functions outside as well as within us. There is only a
single energy according to modern physical science and also according to the
ancient Vedanta, but it has different expressions.

In a technical sense, ‘Prana’ refers to the energy functioning in the upper portion
of the body, mainly in the nostrils; ‘apana’ to the energy functioning in the lower
portion of the body, in the organ of excretion; ‘vyana’ to the energy which
spreads throughout the body; ‘udana’ to the energy which helps passing out from
the body; and ‘samana’ to the energy which assimilates the food we take and is
situated in the middle portion of the body.

The impressions of our past actions are a tremendous force to reckon with, for it
determines the course of our actions in our day to day life. Therefore, handling of
these impressions is the real education of man and not merely reading a few
books and gaining academic success. The development of our character and the
course of our destiny lie in our hands by the performance of good actions and by
the generation of a fund of good impressions, so will be the type of experience
we have in our life. The good impressions bring about good and bad impressions
bad.

We are Brahman, but we have forgotten this truth. By a penetrating analysis of

our body-mind complex, Vedanta is pinpointing at our true dimension. We are
not this flimsy organic system, which a little extra heat or cold may destroy. But
within this system is a tremendous energy resource, which is God himself, the
Atman. We are That.

It was Helen Keller, the famous blind- and-deaf educator and philanthropist, who
said that people with eyes sometimes see less than people without eyes,
because the later employ their ‘inner eye’. That ‘inner eye’ is a wonderful eye,

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which Shankara calls ‘paramarthiki drishti’, the real vision. It is also known as
‘Jnana-Chakshu’.

“The inner organ (mind) has its seat in the organs such as the eye, as well as in
the body, identifying itself with them and endued with a reflection of the Atman.”

The ‘I’ of our experience is like a little tip of a rock jutting out the surface of the
sea. The immense rock lies submerged in the sea water. Similarly, the infinite ‘I’
protrudes just a little in and through all our psycho-physical experiences. But if
we go deep, realizing the infinite ‘I’ from the psycho-physical bounds, we realize
that our ‘I’ is actually infinite. It is not this tiny little organic creature. All human
progress is actually a growth from the limited ‘I’ to the Unlimited ‘I’.

From being a member of a small community, man’s identity grows, through a

process of inner struggle, to the national, continental, and finally to the
international level. There is a constant struggle between forces seeking the
extension of ‘I’ to wider circles and forces exercising constraint on it. And in and
through this struggle man expands his identity. There is a constant struggle for
expansion. This is because we are actually Infinite Being, and none can remain
at rest until one realizes one’s infinitude. This movement towards infinity is true
progress, and this is what Vedanta ensures for all human beings, everywhere.
“Vedanta is interested in the happiness and welfare of all beings”, says
Gaudapada in the ‘Mandukya Karika’.

“Know that it is egoism which, identifying itself with the body, becomes the doer
or experiencer, and in conjunction with the ‘gunas’, such as ‘sattva’, assumes the
three different states.”

The three ‘gunas’ of nature are ‘sattva’, ‘rajas’, ‘tamas’. Nature is comprised of
these three. Our world of experience is a play of these three gunas. Tamas
makes for inertia, which dominates our sleep. It makes us dull and lazy, and
primarily hides the luminous Atman. Rajas makes for intense action, which is
always misdirected. Sattva engenders equanimity. All the high values of life
come from the sattva type of energy.

That will be a great day in India when a little of ‘sattvika’ energy comes into the
lives of our people. That will make for men and women of high character with
great compassion and dedication to noble causes. To bring about such a
transformation, this knowledge of ‘man in depth’ is needed.

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Atman is ever-free from the ups and downs of life. It is always blissful. It is the
ego, centred in the subtle body that experiences the vagaries of life in the form of
happiness and grief.

“Sense objects are pleasurable only as dependent on the Atman manifesting

through them, and not independently, because the Atman is by its very nature
the most beloved of all. Therefore the Atman is ever blissful and never suffers
misery.”

Atman, our Self, is the true focus of love. Everything in this world appears lovable
because it contributes to our satisfaction.

In sleep there are no objects at all and yet we are blissful, and this is the
evidence that our true nature is ever blissful and that our Self is the true focus of
joy.

“Avidya or Maya, called also the undifferentiated, is the power of the Lord. She is
without beginning, is made up of the three gunas and is superior to the effects
(as their cause). She is to be inferred by one of clear intellect only from the
effects she produces. It is she who brings forth this whole universe.”

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad [4.10] says:

“Know nature to be Maya, and the great God to be the Lord of Maya.”

“She is neither existent nor non-existent nor partaking of both characters; neither
same nor different nor both; neither composed of parts nor indivisible whole nor
both. She is most wonderful and cannot be described in words.”

Ages ago the penetrating intellect of the sages of the Upanishads discovered that
whatever is conditioned by space, time and causality belongs to the relative
category. Our entire world of experience, including our thoughts, perceptions,

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and even ego, fall within the field of time and the network of cause-and-effect
relation. This is the sphere of that mysterious entity called ‘Maya’. It is the realm
of relativity in which the very basis of everything is a contradiction or paradox.

“Everything that has form, everything that calls upon an idea in your mind is
within Maya; for everything that is bound by the laws of time, space and
causation is within Maya.”
- Swami Vivekananda

Nature, especially at the sub-atomic level, is such that we cannot determine it

clearly. This is the ‘Principle of Indeterminacy’ discovered by Werner Heisenberg.
According to this principle, the mass as well as the position of an electron cannot
be determined at the same time, even theoretically.

Now this is the picture of reality in Quantum Physics alluding to the Vedantic
principle of Maya and echoing Shankara’s statement that Maya cannot be stated
to be existent or non-existent nor both and, therefore, a mysterious wonder
beyond description. When we go deep into nature, we do not clear the mystery
but increase it. The more we know of the nature the more mysterious it appears.

Vedanta refers to this fact of experience as Maya. The world is Maya. It does not
mean the world does not exist. It refers to a strange fact of its being
indeterminate and therefore indefinable.

“Maya can be destroyed by the realization of the pure Brahman, the One without
the second, just as the mistaken idea of snake is removed by the determination
of the rope. She has her gunas as ‘rajas’, ‘tamas’ named after their respective
functions.”

God is beyond Maya, and we are aligned with Him. We are not essentially
subject to Maya. Our subjection to it is only provisional.

“Lust, anger, avarice, arrogance, spite, egoism, envy, jealousy, etc. – these are
the dire attributes of ‘rajas’, from which the worldly tendency of man is produced.
Therefore, ‘rajas’ is a cause of bondage.”

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“Even wise and learned men who are clever and adept in the vision of the
exceedingly subtle Atman, are overpowered by ‘tamas’ and do not understand
the Atman, even though clearly explained in various ways. What is simply
superimposed by delusion, they consider as true, and attach themselves to its
effects. Alas! How powerful is the great ‘avritti-shakti’ (veiling power) of dreadful
‘tamas’.”

We should not be too sure of ourselves. Any moment this mind can fall from a
high state to something lower. We have to be alert.

“The traits of pure ‘sattva’ are cheerfulness, the realization of one’s own Self,
supreme peace, contentment, bliss, and steady devotion to the Atman, by which
the aspirant enjoys everlasting bliss.”

“The body, organs, ‘pranas’, ‘manas’, egoism, etc. all modifications, the sense
objects, pleasure, and the rest, the gross elements, in fact the whole universe,
up to the Undifferentiated, - all this is non-Self.”

(To Be Continued)

Summary: Satyendra Nath Dwivedi

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