Sloka 25 and 26
SLOKA 25:
parapremaspadatayaa maa na bhuvamahaM sadaa .
bhuuyaasamiti yo draShTaa so.ahamityavadhaaraya .. 25..
padartha:
Saha drushta: the seer
Paraprema aasmpadatayaa: the object of supreme love,
Yaha aham maa na abhyuvam : regarding whom there is the earnest desire ‘may I never cease to exist’
Sadaa bhooyaasam iti: may I always be
Avadharaya iti: ascertain this.
Do ascertain the fact that you are one with the seer, the dearest of all for whose sake persons and things such as children and wealth are dear and with regard to which there is the earnest desire may I the object of supreme love, always be and never cease to exist.
In the previous slokas we learnt that the Atman is the sole illuminator and witness and hence distinct from all the objects perceived, The Guru is here explaining to the student that it is only the Atman that is dear to everyone. It is the Self for whose sake, money, children, spouse and all the objects become dear.
If we analyze the desires of the mind carefully we can see the truth in this statement. The goal of anyone would be to happy, we desire for something only because it brings happiness. No one would ask for anything that brings sadness., hence all the gold, money etc, are sought out only for this happiness, if we say that "I work for others, I want this for my parents etc." then too we can observe that there is ‘our’ happiness in that also, when the people we want are happy we become happy due to the associations with them. Hence ultimately everything is the world is done for one’s happiness only. The only true love thus is the love towards Self, the dearest of all.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad deals in detail regarding this and says that "The husband is loved not for the sake of husband but for the sake of Self.. It is only for the desire of the infinite, which is the Self that everything appears to be desirable." Thus all objects in the world are loved only for the sake of Self, which is the verily bliss and hence the source of all happiness. The guru is hence saying here that the Self is that for which everything becomes dear.
It is only for the Self that the wealth and other objects are dear, Its only when the illusory ego associates these objects to the Atman that objects become dear. As Swami Vidyaranya says beautifully in Panchadasi 7th chapter, A seeker must hence not attach oneself too much to objects, as the main point behind all such attachment is not the love of the objects but the Self which is verily happiness. Swami Vidyaranya hence points out that for a seeker, the affection for this supreme happiness must be as firm as the affection that ignorant ones have towards sense objects.
Hence the guru is here asking the student to know the dearest of all, the Atman by removing the wrong notion of attachment to all objects and thus renounce the desires which lead to all the miseries.
SLOKA 26:
yaH saakShilakShaNo bodhastvaMpadaarthaH sa uchyate .
saakShitvamapi bodhdR^itvamavikaaritayaatmanaH .. 26..
Pada artha:
Bodhaha: consciousness
Yaha saakshi lakshanaha: which is of the nature of witness
Saha uchyate : is
Tvam pada arthaha: what is meant by the word thou
Saakshitvam: the witnessing power
Api: is again
Vodhrutvam: knowingness
Aatmanaha: on the part of the Self
Avikaaritayaa: as one free from all changes
Consciousness which is of the nature of a witness is what is meant by the word ‘thou’. Witnessing again is nothing but knowingness on the part of the Self as one devoid of all changes.
In the previous slokas we learnt that the self is the witness and illuminator. In the next two slokas, the guru explains the meaning of ‘Thou’ in the Mahavakyas. Here the guru is explaining that the real nature of Thou, or Self which was proved as the ever present witness and illuminator of everything is but the consciousness. Hence the Tvam or Thou in the Mahavakyas refer to that ever present consciousness which is the witness to everything.
It was explained that the Self is but a witness to everything and to ascertain the real nature of Self. Here in this sloka, the teacher is also explaining the nature of witness hood. By saying that the Self is a witness, it means that the consciousness which is verily Self is devoid of all changes. As we have leant that the witness can be only that which is unaffected by all the changes and is ever present as a unchanging reality, by the witnessing nature, it only means that the Self is ever present and is devoid of any changes. All changes are superimposed on the witness, which is action less. Like the sun that illumines everything but is still unaffected by the changes, the Self illumines all the modifications of the mind, intellect and the body and yet is only a witness to them. This illumination is what is called as knowing here. Hence by the word witness, it only implies that the atman is devoid of all changes yet is the substratum of all the changes. Self is that though illuminator of all the changes is ever present as only a unchanging witness.
Hari OM
With regards,
Mallika R
What you have is God's gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift to God
parapremaspadatayaa maa na bhuvamahaM sadaa .
bhuuyaasamiti yo draShTaa so.ahamityavadhaaraya .. 25..
padartha:
Saha drushta: the seer
Paraprema aasmpadatayaa: the object of supreme love,
Yaha aham maa na abhyuvam : regarding whom there is the earnest desire ‘may I never cease to exist’
Sadaa bhooyaasam iti: may I always be
Avadharaya iti: ascertain this.
Do ascertain the fact that you are one with the seer, the dearest of all for whose sake persons and things such as children and wealth are dear and with regard to which there is the earnest desire may I the object of supreme love, always be and never cease to exist.
In the previous slokas we learnt that the Atman is the sole illuminator and witness and hence distinct from all the objects perceived, The Guru is here explaining to the student that it is only the Atman that is dear to everyone. It is the Self for whose sake, money, children, spouse and all the objects become dear.
If we analyze the desires of the mind carefully we can see the truth in this statement. The goal of anyone would be to happy, we desire for something only because it brings happiness. No one would ask for anything that brings sadness., hence all the gold, money etc, are sought out only for this happiness, if we say that "I work for others, I want this for my parents etc." then too we can observe that there is ‘our’ happiness in that also, when the people we want are happy we become happy due to the associations with them. Hence ultimately everything is the world is done for one’s happiness only. The only true love thus is the love towards Self, the dearest of all.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad deals in detail regarding this and says that "The husband is loved not for the sake of husband but for the sake of Self.. It is only for the desire of the infinite, which is the Self that everything appears to be desirable." Thus all objects in the world are loved only for the sake of Self, which is the verily bliss and hence the source of all happiness. The guru is hence saying here that the Self is that for which everything becomes dear.
It is only for the Self that the wealth and other objects are dear, Its only when the illusory ego associates these objects to the Atman that objects become dear. As Swami Vidyaranya says beautifully in Panchadasi 7th chapter, A seeker must hence not attach oneself too much to objects, as the main point behind all such attachment is not the love of the objects but the Self which is verily happiness. Swami Vidyaranya hence points out that for a seeker, the affection for this supreme happiness must be as firm as the affection that ignorant ones have towards sense objects.
Hence the guru is here asking the student to know the dearest of all, the Atman by removing the wrong notion of attachment to all objects and thus renounce the desires which lead to all the miseries.
SLOKA 26:
yaH saakShilakShaNo bodhastvaMpadaarthaH sa uchyate .
saakShitvamapi bodhdR^itvamavikaaritayaatmanaH .. 26..
Pada artha:
Bodhaha: consciousness
Yaha saakshi lakshanaha: which is of the nature of witness
Saha uchyate : is
Tvam pada arthaha: what is meant by the word thou
Saakshitvam: the witnessing power
Api: is again
Vodhrutvam: knowingness
Aatmanaha: on the part of the Self
Avikaaritayaa: as one free from all changes
Consciousness which is of the nature of a witness is what is meant by the word ‘thou’. Witnessing again is nothing but knowingness on the part of the Self as one devoid of all changes.
In the previous slokas we learnt that the self is the witness and illuminator. In the next two slokas, the guru explains the meaning of ‘Thou’ in the Mahavakyas. Here the guru is explaining that the real nature of Thou, or Self which was proved as the ever present witness and illuminator of everything is but the consciousness. Hence the Tvam or Thou in the Mahavakyas refer to that ever present consciousness which is the witness to everything.
It was explained that the Self is but a witness to everything and to ascertain the real nature of Self. Here in this sloka, the teacher is also explaining the nature of witness hood. By saying that the Self is a witness, it means that the consciousness which is verily Self is devoid of all changes. As we have leant that the witness can be only that which is unaffected by all the changes and is ever present as a unchanging reality, by the witnessing nature, it only means that the Self is ever present and is devoid of any changes. All changes are superimposed on the witness, which is action less. Like the sun that illumines everything but is still unaffected by the changes, the Self illumines all the modifications of the mind, intellect and the body and yet is only a witness to them. This illumination is what is called as knowing here. Hence by the word witness, it only implies that the atman is devoid of all changes yet is the substratum of all the changes. Self is that though illuminator of all the changes is ever present as only a unchanging witness.
Hari OM
With regards,
Mallika R
What you have is God's gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift to God
posted by vedanta at 5:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home