Atma Bodha - Post 3

Dear All,

Let us recapitulate one more post which was covered under the theme "Creation of the Universe" as well as "Vedas and Vedanta". 

This post will directly explain what ATMAN is and what BRAHMAN is; which will be very useful as we are entering into the new theme which is all about knowledge of ATMAN or SELF KNOWLEDGE.

Now, to the post which is the essence of chapter 6 of Panchadasi by Sri Vidyaranya.

PURE CANVASS AND DRAWINGS 

Let us visualize a strange situation in the context of the Pure canvas – Starched canvas - Outline of drawings - Inking of drawings and completed drawings appearing on the canvas or a motion show running on the movie screen.

We are seated away from the screen in both cases and we see drawings / human beings of so many different dimensions - some short, some tall, some thin, some fat, some beautiful, some ordinary, some ugly, etc.

Suppose, imagine, a miracle happens and we, at that instant, travel and sit on the canvas ourselves.

What will happen?

Seated on the canvas, how will we be able to see the other varied objects on the canvas? It is impossible because there is no space / no distance between us and the other drawings and the eyes cannot see itself, the eyes can only see things to our right / to our left / in front of us / above us / below us. It cannot see itself, it cannot see anything which exist as itself on the screen, with no space between it and the other drawings.

Correct?

This imagination takes us directly to the highest philosophy, highest truth which is pregnant in all the 100+ Upanishads.

What is the highest truth which follows the above imagination?

·       The pure canvass is Brahman which is referred as Purusha in Panchadasi and Purushottama in Bhagvad Gita.

·       All the fallacies, all the issues, all the karmas are faced by us only because WE EXIST AWAY, AS A SEPARATE IDENTITY, AS MR. SO AND SO, FROM THE PURE CANVASS, FROM  BRAHMAN, FROM GOD.

·       Existing away from God (avidya and asmita) as explained in MBCA, we are seeing / perceiving all drawings, the varied creations, good people, bad people, beautiful people, ugly people, good things, bad things etc. and are disturbed seeing this variety.

·       As per our ego (attachment / hatred), we deal with different human beings, different things perceived by us, standing away from God.

·       GO, MERGE, SIT ON THE SCREEN YOURSELF!!
(Go towards God through spiritual sadhana, merge in God in the climax of your sadhana and exist as God yourself)

·       If you have merged with the screen / God, then how will you see other things / diversities in the canvass / world?

Now, for the ONLY truth which follows from the above, which is the theme / essence of vedantha.

·       The pure canvass is the universal consciousness / absolute consciousness which is referred to as Purusha or Brahman or Paramatman in vedantha.

·       You, the one who have occupied a portion of the canvass is referred to as JIVA.

·       The portion of the pure canvass which has been occupied by you is the individual consciousness or Atman or Jivatma.

·       When, in Sadhana, undertaken with intense craving for God realization (Mumukshatva in vedantha), a day or THE DAY arrives when you have totally discarded your identity with your body, mind, intellect, ego then what happens?

·       The discarding of your identity is to be understood as erasing your identity which is sitting on the pure canvass, occupying a portion of the pure canvass.

·       What happens when your physical identity seated on the canvass is erased?

·       Is it not that the portion of the pure canvass on which you had super imposed your physical identity, GOT FREE??

·       This erasing of your identity is FREEDOM OR MOKSHA.

·       The arrested portion of the pure canvass on which you had super imposed yourself, getting free now, is ATMAN or JIVATMAN

·       With the portion on which you had  been existing on the canvass getting free, it has now regained its original free existence and post erasing, there is no difference between that portion and the other area of the pure canvass. 

·       This non difference explained above is MERGER OF JIVATMAN WITH PARAMATMAN, Merger of Atman with Brahman, Merger of your individual consciousness with absolute, universal consciousness.

Love.