Atma Bodha - Post 44

Verse 34

निर्गुणो निष्क्रियो नित्यो निर्विकल्पो निरंजनः ।

निर्विकारो निराकारो नित्यमुक्तोऽस्मि निर्मलः ॥ ३४॥

NIRGUNAH, NISHKRIYAH, NITYAH,

NIRVIKALPAH, NIRANJANAH

NIRVIKAARAH, NIRAAKAARAH

NITYA-MUKTAH ASMI NIRMALAH

[Without attributes, without actions, eternal, without any desire (thought), without any impurity, without any change, without form, ever liberated, and ever Pure I am.] 

Here we come to the final phase of the discussion, which is Nididhyasana or meditation on the divine qualities of the Self. Up to now we were focusing on NEGATION (“Neti-Neti”). Now the time has come to focus on positive ASSERTION.

The divinity of the Spirit is asserted in Nididhyasana. Nididhyasana is where we bring the whole process to its glorious end, where we reap the full benefits of all the laborious efforts of earlier Sadhana. There is actually nothing to discuss.

The spirit of these verses is purely to assist us in the meditation Sadhana. No Need for “Why” & “How” Now To bring in why and how at this stage will sully the experience of Truth. 

Most important to derive the full benefit of these verses is to know that at this stage we are not interested in the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ anymore. All the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ have been dealt with in the previous stages. 

We have passed that stage already and come to the last phase which requires us to hold our focus steady and imbibe the richness of the Self-experience. We must feel the full flow of these qualities throughout our system, body and mind.

A monk said, “We do not need the speed-breakers of ‘why’ and ‘how’ to arrest the smooth flow of these qualities into our bloodstream.” What a beautiful illustration of the state of meditative ecstasy! Surely, that can only come from one who is himself immersed in such a state of bliss.

Nine qualities of the Self are listed in this verse.

Nirguna        – without attributes

Nishkriya     – without actions

Nitya             – eternal

Nirvikalpa   – without any desire and thought

Niranjana    – without any dirt (impurity)

Nirvikara     – without any change

Nirakara.     – without form

Nityamukta – ever free or liberated

Nirmala        – without impurity; ever pure

And all these qualities / lakshanas are given by Sankara for “Asmi”, the expression in the 4^th line of the verse.

Asmi: Who is the one described here? It is I – asmi. I am these. This is the crux of this Meditation effort. I meditate on these as My own self. 

I must spend as much time as necessary so that my nature sinks into me fully, totally and absolutely, as described in the verse. This is another extraordinary session of Nidhidhyasanam. I need to achieve total self knowledge as total identification with the self.

What a line-up! – An awesome, invincible team indeed! We experience our deepest Self as these beautiful qualities. It is such an experience that makes the spiritual quest so intensely rewarding and worthwhile. It is for a glimpse of these qualities that Yogis and sages make huge sacrifices in their personal lives.

Do they not now richly deserve to reap the harvest of all their hard work?

An Indirect Simile: “Ni” – the Highest Note in Music. All nine words for the nine qualities of the Self begin with the prefix ‘Ni’.

The seventh and highest note of a music octave is Ni, in Indian music.

Is it significant here that in talking about the qualities of God, the name of this note is in all of them?

A classical musician, when he gets to the highest note, tries to hold it for as long as he can. Is it significant then that when the spiritual seeker scales the heights of spirituality, he tries to maintain that state for as long as he can? – Perhaps forever!

Aho…. Aho……..

Love.