Atma Bodha - Self-Knowledge - Verse 34 - 05.01.2016

[kalpana muzumdar]

अहमाकाशवत्सर्वं बहिरन्तर्गतोऽच्युतः ।

सदा सर्वसमश्शुद्धो निस्सङ्गो निर्मलोऽचलः ॥३४॥

ahamaakaashavatsarvam bahirantargatochyutah l

sadaa sarvasamashshuddho nissango nirmalochalah ll34ll

Like the space, I fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times I am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.

I, the pure Consciousness, am like space, which is all pervasive (aham aakaashavat sarvam). Both inside and outside (bahihi antargata). There is no place where I am not. Shankara says that I manifest as Existence in inert forms (the Sat aspect of the Consciousness, the "is-ness" of any object) and as the life principle or Chaitanya in living forms (Sat and Chit aspect of the Consciousness). A devotee says that the Atma is all pervading but now the Vedantin has to say I am all pervading, as he has to train his mind to see the common thread which binds together all the plurality in this world, and he does this during nidhidhyasanam. He should be able to really feel the oneness among the multiplicity, and there should not be even an iota of doubt in his mind regarding this.          

The word Achyuta, means never fallen and never subject to arrival and departure. I exist in all three periods of time. There is not any time when I don't exist. I, the Original Consciousness have not become a samsaari  to be saved by someone, I am ever pure and free. I am already free, only thing is I don't know it, and so, take myself to be this limited jeeva. It is similar to saying that I am the reflection in the mirror forgetting that I am separate from the reflection (who is giving existence to the reflection) as well as the mirror. The quality of reflection will depend on the cleanliness of the mirror. Our subtle body acts as a reflecting medium, so the purer the mirror of the mind the nearer the reflection will be to the original.  

I am always same in all beings and things (sada sarvasamaha). The Original Consciousness is uniform in everybody and there is no gradation. There may seem to be gradation due to the differences in the subtle body (as it is the reflecting medium). Just as a reflection in a dirty mirror will be dirty and in a clean mirror be clean, similarly clearer and cleaner and more tranquil the mind the divinity shines forth  more brilliantly in it. That is why great Mahatmaas have a ring of halo around them and people are attracted to them like bees to a flower!!

The next word in the shloka is siddha, which refers to the Atma in this verse. The word siddha usually means one having miraculous powers or a jnyani, but here the meaning is Atma, which is self evident. Now what is self evident? Any thing in the creation e.g. a book, requires the pramaaNa of the eyes to convince us of its existence or at least we need to feel it with our hands to be certain of its existence. So any thing in the creation requires at least one means of knowledge to be operated, i.e. it needs some pramaaNa to be operated for it to become evident. In case of Atma it is not so. It itself being the illuminator does not need to be illumined. It's like the bright Sun in the sky which illumines everything in the creation. Do we need any thing to illumine the Sun? No! It is self-illumining!! So is the case with Atma. Can we anytime doubt our own existence? In all the periods of time, I, the witness Consciousness principle, which is illumining all the events in my life is ever present. The entity which is “I” always exists. Even during sleep I don’t cease to exist. If I had even an iota of doubt regarding that, I wont go the sleep ever. In deep sleep (suShupti) also my gross and subtle bodies are dormant but I do exist. Which is this "I", which is ever present and self evident. Is it Chidaabhaasa, the Reflected Consciousness or the saakShi chaitanya, the Original Consciousness? We know that the Original Consciousness and the Reflected Consciousness always occur together. The Reflected Consciousness cannot exist without the Original Consciousness and the Original Consciousness cannot manifest without the reflecting medium of the subtle body where the Reflected Consciousness exists due to Original Consciousness. Original Consciousness is to be inferred from the Reflected Consciousness, just as the existence of myself is to be inferred from my reflection in the mirror.

Nissangaha- this means not related to anything or being in the creation. In nidhidhyaasanam, I have to meditate on the fact that, like space, I am not attached to or dependent on anything in the world. All the roles which I perform as daughter, mother, wife, friend etc are like temporary clothes, which are not me. Just as in a theatre, the actors perform different roles at different time in different dramas, but never for a moment forget their true identity, similarly I should sincerely perform all the roles allocated to me but never for a moment forget that these are just temporary roles assigned to us.

Nirmalaha- the space remains ever pure, irrespective of all the storms arising in it. Similarly irrespective of all the events which take place in my life, I, the saakShi chaitanya may illumine all the events but am never agitated or dirtied by them.

All relationships and events tarnish the mind or scratch it or soothe it at other times. I have to understand during nidhidhyaasanam that these are all of and for the mind and I, the saakShi chaitanya, am ever pure and untouched.

Achalam- this word literally means motionless, but the implied meaning is that the mind is unshaken due to the events in the outside word. Usually we get agitated, elated, depressed, angry etc due to the various things, beings and situations we come across in life. Emotionally and psychologically every small event disturbs us. A small event as the neighbour not smiling at us while passing by has the capacity to spoil our whole day, without realizing that the neighbour may be preoccupied in his own thoughts and may not even have noticed you. But I, the chaitanya, am like space which does not get disturbed whether a marriage procession is passing through or a funeral procession.

There are two types of mind. One is a gross insensitive mind which hurts others and the second is a extremely sensitive mind which gets hurt easily.  Both these are detrimental for our spiritual progress. The third type of mind is that of a jnyani, which is sensitive enough not to hurt others and strong enough not to get hurt!!! We have to cultivate such a mind by the practice of nidhidhyaasanam.

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Best Regards,
Kalpana Muzumdar

 

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Best Regards,
Kalpana Muzumdar