Atma Bodha - Post 18

VERSE 11:

नानोपाधिवशादेव जातिवर्णाश्रमादयः ।

आत्मन्यारोपितास्तोये रसवर्णादि भेदवत् ॥ ११।

NAANAA UPAADHI-VASHAAT EVA

JAATI-NAAM-AASHRAM-AADAYAH

AATMANI AAROPITAAH TOYE

RASA-VARNA-AADI BHEDA-VAT.

(Because of Its association with different conditionings (Upadhis) such ideas as caste, color and position are super-imposed upon the Atman, as flavour, colour, etc., are super-imposed on water.)

This verse continues the theme begun in the last verse, expanding on the effect of the different conditionings or Upadhis in appearing to split Reality into pieces.

In the last verse the focus was on finding a solution for the removal of the differences raised by the Upadhis. 

In this verse we are not looking the solution, but we examine the consequences of the appearance of innumerable differences in day-to-day life resulting from these Upadhis.

The Birth of Distinctions in Human Society

The direct result of differences in the Upadhis combined with distortion in our vision is that humanity itself gets split into so many groups, each claiming to have a unique characteristic. Caste, colour and creed are directly mentioned here, but it does not stop there. “And so on” refers to an endless list of other divisions into which humanity gets broken up or splintered.

If diversity were accepted in a healthy spirit, which is possible if there were no ego operating in men, then there is no cause for alarm. In many old traditions, people have successfully lived together in spite of the presence of these differences, because they kept in check their ego from identifying with those differences.

However, that is more an exception than the rule. In most cases, communities have used these differences to create enmity, hostility and even wars among various groups. The tragic reality is the pain and sorrow that our society is suffering from such divisive thinking.

In this context a verse such as this has much to teach us. Sankara is here placing before mankind the bare truth. If we take note of it and correct ourselves at the root of the problem, mankind can save itself from endlessly acting out tragedy after tragedy in the course of its history.

The Example: Water Differentiated by Flavours and Colour:

The simile is again astonishingly appropriate. It is another of the gems pulled out by Sankaracharya from his seemingly unlimited imagination.

Water and its conditioning

Water is intrinsically pure. In that state of purity it is colorless – it takes on the colour of that which it is placed in. It is also tasteless in its pure state. It takes on the taste of any flavor that is added to it, such as tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, and so on.

Pure water has the property of accurately conveying the properties of colour and flavour added to it, while ever remaining pure in itself. Water is not to blame if flavours or colors added to it do not agree and produce a dirty displeasing taste or colour.

SELF and its conditioning 

This is precisely what this verse is trying to teach us about society and its problems. The Self is unaffected by all the numerous divisions that are ascribed to It by the power of the ignorance in man, for it always remains uniform and unaffected by them.

When conflicts arise among men, the blame falls on the ignorant understanding of these differences. The conclusion we have to come to is that the Upadhis, by being “near” the Self, impart their own characteristics to the Self, even as the flavors and colours impart their qualities to the water into which they are added.

This, in fact, is the literal meaning of the word Upadhi! The word conditioning does not do full justice to the meaning of Upadhi. 

There is much more to it in the philosophical sense. What exactly are the Upadhis? The next three verses summarize them beautifully into gross, subtle and causal Upadhis…

THE ONE SELF

Like the water is pure, colorless, the non dual Atman can never have any associations and hence is verily bliss but due to ignorance one tends to super impose the characteristics of caste, color, position etc on it.

Chinmaya writes on this verse, thus:-

“……..Whether one is a Doctor or an Advocate or a porter, the inner personality factors are the same. The education gained and the profession pursued may differ but they are all of one community.

Whatever may be the physical shape, name or caste, emotional beauty or the intellectual grasp exhibited, the ATMAN is the same everywhere. There is no difference such as a young Atman or old Atman, a Christian or a Hindu Atman, a rich or a poor Atman and so on.

The same electric current causes the fan to revolve,the refrigerator to cool its contents, the light to burn differently in the green, blue or the red bulbs.

Because of the differentiation in the manifestation of the energy, as it passes through the different equipments, ignorant people call them by different names.

Yet, the electric wireman understands them all as depending upon one energy.

Similarly, life is the same everywhere but the expression of life manifesting through each one of them differs from all others…….”

As Acharya explains in the previous verse, when these are removed, there is but bliss absolute alone, i.e. the Self alone. Hence a seeker must learn to discriminate the reality from the non reality i.e. the Self from the Upadhis that seem to limit it.

Love.