Bhakti Mantra: Search results for states of consciousness

Search results for states of consciousness

Atma Bodha - Post 5

Bhakti Mantra May 16, 2018

O Atma Swarupas,

Like any upanishad chanting / commentary starts with a shanti path or an invocation prayer, Atma Bodha usually has the following invocation prayer composed by Adi Sankara.

।

PRÁTAH SMARÁMI HRUDI SAMSPHURAD ÁTMA TATTVAM

SAT CHIT SUKHAM PARAMA HAMSA GATIM TURIYAM

YAT SVAPNA JÁGARA SUSSUPTAM AVAITI NITYAM

TAD BRAHMA NISKALAM AHAM NA CHA BHUTA SAÑGHA.

At the early hours of the day, I meditate upon the essential SELF, clearly experienceable in the heart cave AS THE ESSENCE (TATWAM),

-That which is Existence, Knowledge and Bliss in nature,

-That which is the supreme goal, the Parama hamsa state,

-That which is the fourth state of consciousness (Turiyam),

-That which illumines all experiences in all the three state of consciousness, waking, dreaming and deep sleep.

- That which is that part less Brahman, not this assembly of matter envelopments!

Commentary

Like my heart throb every moment, along with every heart beat, let me experience clearly in my heart, the reality:- That is SATH (Pure Existence), CHIT (Pure awareness) SUKHAM (Pure Bliss).

That is Parama hamsa, the goal of all sages. (Parama saham Aham)

(Parama hamsa is also explained in the context of the Hamsa Bird, which has the capacity to segregate water from milk, takes in only the milk and discards the water. That is, the attainment of the state where, one is clearly able to discriminate between the real and the unreal and discard the real and embrace only the real)

That which is the Turiya state or the 4th state of consciousness, as clearly explained in mandukya upanishad, the state of pure awareness, existence, consciousness.

That which illumines all the other three states of consciousness - waking, dream state and deep sleep.

(The three states of consciousness and the fourth state, Turiya, have been dealt with elaborately in this blog under the theme "Vedas and Vedanta". The link to that post is given below

https://bhaktirah.blogspot.com/search?q=states+of+consciousness

Readers may please use the above link and read about the 2 states of consciousness explained in a simple manner)

That is part less, indivisible Brahman and not the mere matter which my body, mind appears to be, at the surface level!!

What a positive, wonderful prayer in the early hours even before we start our day, asserting with conviction, what we really are, so that, we remember the same through out the day and not end up believing about ourselves what we really are not!!

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 5

Reviewed by Bhakti Mantra on May 16, 2018 Rating: 5

Atma Bodha - Post 50

Bhakti Mantra July 03, 2018

Verse 40

रूपवर्णादिकं सर्व विहाय परमार्थवित् ।

परिपुर्णंचिदानन्दस्वरूपेणावतिष्ठते ॥ ४०॥

ROOPA-VARNA-ADIKAM SARVAM

VIHAAYA PARAMAARTHA-VIT

PARI-POORNA CHIDAANANDA

SWAROOPENA AVATISHTHATE

[All identifications with form, colour, etc, are discarded by one who has realized the Self. As the all-full Infinite Consciousness and Bliss, He dwells as its very embodiment.]

This verse is more to give the seekers some idea of the state of God-intoxication, which of course is human being’s goal, and therefore totally relevant to our interest.

Self-Realisation: A Comparison given in Tatwa Bodha

In Tatwa Bodha, we learn of the three states of Reality. They are:

i. Pratibhashika: the dream state;

ii. Vyavaharika: the normal, waking state; and

iii. Paramarthika: the Absolute or God-realized state.

We recall this now because of a comparison we are about to make to grasp the God-realized state, at least intellectually.

We are all familiar with the shift from dream state to waking state and how the dream world is completely destroyed upon waking up. In a not too dissimilar manner, may be seen the shift from the waking state to the God-realized state.

At the least, that is one point to start from in comprehending this otherwise inexplicable state. This verse directly tells us that the waking state is ‘discarded’. The waking state is an experience of perceptions of names and forms.

All such identifications are discarded in the same way as we discard our dream objects upon waking. Roopa-Varna-Adi: i.e. “forms, colours, etc.” This term is used here for names and forms. They are the five fields of the five sense organs. In effect they stand for the whole manifested universe.

He who has realized the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.

“The knower of Brahman becomes verily Brahman” so say the Upanishads as “Bhramavid Brahmaiva Bhavati”. Acharya is explaining the same here in this sloka. While the ignorant perceive duality in the world as various names and forms, the wise ones see the world as the Atman alone. He who has realized the true nature of Self thus sees no duality and dwells as an embodiment as bliss alone.

When all the names and forms are known to be illusory, then there can be no attachments or aversions towards them, and that which remains ever is known to be Self alone. And this Self is but existence-consciousness-bliss.

We have also learnt this in Bhaja Govindam as “Nandati Nandati Nandatievam”. There is but bliss and bliss alone for such a realized one. The same is also been explained in Isha Upanishad, sloka 6 and also in Gita chapter 6 as “A realized one or a true yogi always sees oneness everywhere and hence sees the Self in all and all in the Self”.

The same import can also be found in Vivekachoodamani sloka 394 as: “It is a unquestionable fact that those who know their identity with Brahman and have given up their connection with the objective world, live palpably unifold with Brahman as eternal Knowledge and Bliss”.

A Jnani thus discards all the attachment with the objects of the world. As we see in Mahatmas, such a knower verily becomes the embodiment of Bliss and is ever unaffected by the happenings of the world.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 50

Reviewed by Bhakti Mantra on July 03, 2018 Rating: 5

Atma Bodha - Post 78

Bhakti Mantra July 31, 2018

Last verse 68

दिग्देशकालाद्यनपेक्ष्य सर्वगं

शीतादिहृन्नित्यसुखं निरंजनम् ।

यः स्वात्मतीर्थं भजते विनिष्क्रियः

स सर्ववित्सर्वगतोऽमृतो भवेत् ॥ ६८॥

Dikdesa Kaalaadi Anapekshya Sarvagam

Seetadi Hrunnitya Sukham Niranjanam

Yassvaatma Teerdham Bhajate Vinishkriyam

Sa Sarvavit Sarva Gato Amruto Bhavet.

[He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.]

The splendid spiritual feast of Atma Bodha is brought to an end here with a verse that is like a dessert after the meal.

In this verse the whole spiritual journey is summed up as follows:

i) Transcending All Limitations: The breaking down and release from all the Upadhis that limit us to the narrow confines of experience through this body, mind and intellect, and confined also to the limitations of time.

ii) Overcoming all Pairs of Opposites: represented by heat and cold and so on.

iii) Bringing the being to a stainless state: (Niranjana); this represents the states of Chitta Shuddhi and Chitta Ekagrata (purity of mind and one-pointedness of mind).

iv) Considering Self as Highest Teertha: This is the culmination of the spiritual quest by taking the Atman to be the highest place of pilgrimage to do one’s worship.

v) Renunciation of all activities: Activities refer only to the Tamasic and Rajasic activities. Sattwic activities may be continued as per the Prarabdha of the realized sage.

The verse also describes the essence of the destination reached:

i) One becomes all-knowing;

ii) One experiences the all-pervading nature of the Self;

iii) One attains immortality. One is no longer identified with the body, etc, which have a limited existence from birth to death, but is now identified with the eternal Self.

Just like the sun that is ever shining unaffected by the world and its happenings, Atman transcends beyond all limitations and is ever blissful. It is that which is ever present and is verily the substratum of all the illusory creations.

Acharya is here explaining that one who renounces all desires and ego and attachments to likes and dislikes of the world and its pleasures and one who is ever established in the reality of Self verily enjoys the eternal bliss and hence becomes Brahman alone.

As the Lord explains in many places in Gita about such a knower as;

ANAPEKSHAH SHUCHIRDAKSHA UDAASIINO GATAVYATHAH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII YO MADBHAKTAH SA ME PRIYAH

He who is free from wants, who is pure, clever, unconcerned, untroubled, renouncing all undertakings, he who is (thus) devoted to Me is dear to Me.

SAMADUHKHASUKHAH SVASTHAH SAMALOSHHTAASHMAKAANCHANAH

TULYAPRIYAAPRIYO DHIIRASTULYANINDAATMASA.NSTUTIH

MAANAAPAMAANAYOSTULYASTULYO MITRAARIPAKSHAYOH

SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGII GUNAATIITAH SA UCHYATE

He to whom pain and pleasure are alike, who dwells in the Self, to whom a cloud of earth and stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the un-dear are alike, who is a man of wisdom, to whom censure and praise are same;

The same in honour and disgrace, the same towards friends and enemies, abandoning all undertakings – he is said to have crossed beyond the gunas.

As the Upanishads proclaim, the knower of Brahman becomes verily the Brahman. One who overcomes the attachments and aversions to the illusory world and realizes the real nature of Self as that of Existence Consciousness Bliss verily becomes bliss and hence becomes immortal i.e. for such a knower, there is no death as Self is ever existence and no sadness as Self is but bliss and no limitations as Self is Consciousness.

The Kaivalya Upanishad explains the same in various slokas as:

VEDAIRANEKAIRAHAMEVA VEDYO VEDAANTAKRIDVEDAVIDEVA CHAAHAM

NA PUNYAPAAPE MAMA NAASTI NAASHO NA JANMA DEHENDRIYABUDDHIRASTI

I alone am taught in the various Vedas, I am the revealer of the Vedanta or Upanishads, and I am also the Knower of the Vedas. For me there is neither merit nor demerit, I suffer no destruction; I have no birth, nor any self-identity with the body and the organs.

NA BHUUMIRAAPO NA CHA VAHNIRASTI NA CHAANILO ME ASTI NA CHAAMBARAM CHA .

EVAM VIDITVAA PARAMAATMARUUPAM GUHAASHAYAM NISHKALAMADVITIIYAM.H

SAMASTASAAKSHIM SADASADVIHIINAM PRAYAATI SHUDDHAM PARAMAATMARUUPAM.H.

YAH SHATARUUDRIYAMADHIITE SO.AGNIPUUTO BHAVATI SURAAPAANAATPUUTO BHAVATISA

SA BRAHMAHATYAAYAAH PUUTO BHAVATI SA SUVARNASTEYAATPUUTO BHAVATI

SA KRITYAAKR ITYAATPUUTO BHAVATI TASMAADAVIMUKTAMAASHRITO

BHAVATYATYAASHRAMII SARVADAA SAKRIDVAA JAPET

For me there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. Thus realising the Paramatman, who lies in the cavity of the heart, who is without parts, and without a second, the Witness of all, beyond both existence and non-existence – one attains the Pure Paramatman Itself.

ANENA JNAANAMAAPNOTI SA.NSAARAARNAVANAASHANAM TASMAADEVAM

VIDITVAINAM KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTE KAIVALYAM PADAMASHNUTA ITI

By means of this, one attains the Knowledge that destroys the ocean of Samsara or repeated transmigration. Therefore, knowing thus one attains the fruit of Kaivalya or liberation, verily one attains liberation.

One who becomes Atma Jnani becomes free of all these chains and limitations imposed by Maya and stay free in his original state of Atma.

The veil on our wisdom is Ignorance and removal of this ignorance of Self through Atma Jnanam instantly removes the veil and the Atma shines in its pristine purity.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all such limitations.

When our identification with Sareera thrayam falls off – automatically, we are freed from Seetha and Ushna (cold and heat) and other dualities that affect Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, be freed from all dualities afflicting us through the Sareera thrayam.

May you, as Atma Jnani, enjoy Nitya sukham (eternal Aananda) andfreedom from all stains on our mind and body.

May you always be immersed in the holy waters of the Atma theertham and thereby become free from all karma (nish-kriya) and karma phalam.

May you be the Sarva-vid (all - knowing) - meaning total Self knowledge.

May you be Sarva Gathaha, the all pervading (as Atma).

May you be immortal (Amrutha)!

॥ इति शंकराचार्यविरचित आत्मबोधः समाप्तः ॥

ITI SHANKARAACHAARYAVIRACHITA AATMABODHAH SAMAAPTAH...

Thus concludes Atma-Bodha.

Love.

PS- In the next couple of posts, we will recapitulate the flow of Atma Bodha Verses from start till end.

Atma Bodha - Post 78

Reviewed by Bhakti Mantra on July 31, 2018 Rating: 5

Atma Bodha - Post 48

Bhakti Mantra July 01, 2018

Verse 38

विविक्तदेश आसीनो विरागो विजितेन्द्रियः ।

भावयेदेकमात्मानं तमनन्तमनन्यधीः ॥ ३८॥

VIVIKTA-DESHE AASEENAH

VIRAAGAH VIJITA INDRIYAH

BHAAVAYET EKAM AATMAANAM

TAM ANANTAM ANANYADHEEH

[Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires, controlling the senses, meditate upon the One Self without a second, that boundless Being, with unswerving attention.]

This is the final lap of the journey. There is a fine distinction drawn between the various states of consciousness reached upon the end of Nididhyasana. If we take a magnifying glass and look at the actual ‘map’ of the area that is travelled, we will see in finer detail what is broadly termed Samadhi.

An acharya from Chinmaya mission takes an easy example to describe this verse, thus:-

There are distinct levels of Samadhi which may be identifiable to one who is a serious practitioner. If we look at a map showing India, Mumbai may be represented only as a dot called ‘Mumbai’. If we magnify this map many times and look at Mumbai closely, we will see all the main routes into the city, the suburbs as we approach the city, and then finally the main railway station at which one has to get off. The word Samadhi is like Mumbai, and taking a closer look at it we identify many more details within the topic of Samadhi.

The two main distinctions are Savikalpa Samadhi and Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The former is a ‘suburb’ that we reach before the main station. It is the stage when the thoughts in the mind have been thinned out to a single thought. In Yoga this could be any thought, as long as it is a single thought. In Vedanta that single thought is called the Brahmakara Vritti, “I am Brahman”.

Savikalpa is also described as absorption of the mind while in meditation. It is like getting our first foot into the room of enlightenment. As one progresses further through the suburbs, one gets closer to the main Terminus which in Yoga is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

In this stage, the single thought is maintained without any effort even out of meditation, and continuously. It becomes the natural or Sahaja state in which one dwells at all times, without a break. That is the state of realization.

Here in this verse, more advanced practice of meditation is prescribed for the person who wants to advance from the suburban station of Savikalpa Samadhi to the final main station of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

More advanced practice means more intense and prolonged meditation with more concentration. At this stage, all actions have to be given up, and the senses have to be brought under 100% control. There should be zero disturbance. This is the zero-tolerance zone of perfection. Only under these conditions can one enter the non-dual state. The Four Obstacles in this Stage: 4 Ananyadheeh: “unswerving attention”.

An acharya identified four obstacles that arise to obstruct the meditator at this very advanced stage. They are, in the order that they appear as one gets closer to the goal:

i) Laya – Sleep: the mind feels an irresistible urge to slip into sleep while meditating.

ii) Vikshepa – Restlessness: the mind develops a tendency to suddenly revolt and become restless, despite all the Abhyasa up to this point. It is just its nature.

iii) Kashaya – Veiling: the meditator confronts a ‘block’ of nothingness or darkness or a block of dirt Vasanas, beyond which he finds it impossible to go. It just stands there before him like an impenetrable wall.

iv) Rasaswada – Taste of Bliss: when he does pierce this veil, the taste of the bliss is so great that he simply remains ‘locked’ in the enjoyment of that taste, and refuses to go further. The bliss of the state becomes an obstacle to move forward. This is just to give us, as students of Vedanta, some idea of what one is faced with at this penultimate stage of realization.

Love.

Atma Bodha - Post 48

Reviewed by Bhakti Mantra on July 01, 2018 Rating: 5

Atma Bodha - Post 8

Bhakti Mantra May 20, 2018

Verse - 2

बोधोऽन्यसाधनेभ्यो हि साक्षान्मोक्षैकसाधनम् ।

पाकस्य वह्निवज्ज्ञानं विना मोक्षो न सिध्यति ॥ २॥

BODHO ANYASAADHANEBHYO HI SAAKSHAAN MOKSHAIKA SAADHANAM
PAAKASYA VAANHIVAJ GYAANAM VINAA MOKSHO NA SIDHYATI

(Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline, Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation).

In the previous post having explained so much about the need for practice of austerity and self control etc. one may misunderstand from it that discipline alone may lead one to the goal.

To remove any such misunderstandings, Sankara in this sloka states that knowledge alone is the one direct means of liberation through a very simple example.

Just as fire alone is the direct cause of cooking, knowledge alone can lead to liberation from all miseries. In cooking, items such as vegetables, spices, water pots, pans etc. are all contributory causes and by themselves can never constitute food.

Fire alone can accomplish the cooking and hence the food. These articles are necessary, but it is the fire that actually cooks a meal. i.e. fire is the direct cause.

Similarly, the performance of rituals, control of mind, the study of the scriptures, the use of discriminating intellect etc. are all, no doubt helpful factors which aid in the spiritual growth but they do not by themselves directly lead one to liberation.

The purpose of practice of austerities, rituals, giving of gifts, charity etc. is only the purification of the mind. The Sadhana Chatushtaya only creates a favorable mental state that is conductive to knowledge and thus only prepares the seeker for the knowledge.

Thus such spiritual disciplines only train the aspirant to concentration and hence create necessary condition. But it is the knowledge alone that is ever present that can liberate one from the illusory duality and hence from all the miseries.

Just as the fire that is the direct cause of cooking, knowledge is the direct cause of liberation.

All the sadhanas are only to gain this ever present knowledge and strengthen it.

Hence Sankara in this verse is instructing that it is only by the true knowledge of one’s existence is realized, that liberation is possible.

Note

The author has explained the truth of this verse through his own spiritual sadhana experience in an earlier post.

Though Bhakti sadhana or Yoga or even Karma or the path of action are all very useful in their own capacity, it has to be noted that the misery of a human being starts only when he is ignorant of the truth is that he is created by divine as divine and in this ignorance, he starts believing in his existence with Body, mind and Intellect as real existence.

Like for each disease, only certain prescribed treatment is required to cure the disease, the misery in human life caused due to IGNORANCE or AVIDYA or LACK OF KNOWLEDGE can only be cured by the JNANA that he is verily divine.

Whether one actually goes through the path of Jnana and is actually in the path of Devotion only with utmost sincerity, the culmination of true devotion is Jnana where, the true Jnana is the transcending of the duality between the devotee and his Lord. Jnana's culmination is only the removal of one's ego and merger with divine / pure consciousness.

Love.