Invocation | Salutation to the Guru
Vasudevendra, the king among Yogins, Him do I salute, the bestower of knowledge; For the benefit of all yearning souls, is begun this exposition of “Tattwa Bodha”.
Overview
The fourfold qualifications – for those who are endowed with them, the means of liberation, namely, the mode of enquiry into the nature of Reality, is now being expounded.
1. The Fourfold Qualifications
What are the fourfold qualifications? They are:
- The capacity to Discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent
- The fruits of actions here and hereafter, to have Dispassion for their enjoyment
- The Sixfold Virtues beginning with Shama
- Burning yearning for Liberation
What is Discrimination?
The Eternal alone is the Reality. Apart from It all else is ephemeral. This alone is Discrimination.
What is Dispassion?
The enjoyments in this world and heaven, the absence of desire for them.
What is the inner Wealth of Virtue?
They are
- Shama
- Dama
- Uparati
- Titiksha
- Shraddha
- Samadhana
What is Shama?
Control or mastery over the mind.
What is Dama?
The eyes, etc, i.e. the 10 sense organs, their firm control is called Dama.
What is Uparama (or Uparati)?
One’s own Dharma or duty, the strict observance of that alone.
What is Titiksha?
Of heat and cold, of joy and sorrow (pleasure and pain), it is their endurance.
What is the nature of Shraddha?
Of the Guru and of the scriptures, in their words (teachings, instructions), etc., to have faith in them is Shraddha.
What is Samadhana?
Single-pointedness of mind is Samadhana.
What is Mumukshutva?
“Let me attain Liberation”, this intense desire is Mumukshutva.
This is the Fourfold Qualification. Thereafter, for the enquiry into Truth, they become fully qualified and fit.
2. Enquiry into the Truth
What is Enquiry into the Truth?
(The firm conviction ) that the Self is Real, and all other than That is unreal.
What is the Self?
The gross, subtle and the causal – other than these 3 bodies; Beyond the five sheaths; The Witness of the three states of consciousness; Of the nature of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. That which remains is the Self.
3. The Three Bodies
What is the Gross Body?
That which is made up of the 5 great elements that have undergone the process of Grossification; born as a result of good actions of the past; for experiences such as joy, sorrow, etc., the counter to experience these; To exist, be born, to grow, to mature, to decay and to die. Subject to these six modifications. This is the Gross Body.
What is the Subtle Body?
That which is composed of the 5 great elements which have not undergone grossification; born of the good actions of the past; for experiences such as joy, sorrow, etc. – the instrument to experience these; the five sense organs; the five organs of action; the five Pranas; the one mind; the one intellect – in this way, constituted of these seventeen items together – these make up the Subtle Body.
What is the Causal Body?
That which is inexplicable, beginningless, and in the form of ignorance; the sole cause of the two bodies (subtle and gross); ignorant of one’s own true nature; having a form that is free from all thoughts – such is that Causal Body.
4. The Organs of Knowledge
The ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose, these are the 5 organs of perception.
Space over the ears; Air over the skin; Sun over the eyes; Water over the tongue; and Ashwini-Kumaras over the nose; these are the Deities presiding over these organs.
Cognition of sound for the ears; cognition of touch for the skin; cognition of form for the eyes; cognition of taste for the tongue; cognition of smell for the nose; thus are described the fields of experience for these organs.
5. The Five Organs of Action
Speech, the hands, the legs, the anus, and the genitals; these are the 5 organs of action.
Of speech Agni, of the hands Indra, of the legs Vishnu, of the anus Yama, and of the genitals Prajapati; these are the presiding Deities of these organs.
Of speech to speak, of hands to grasp things, of legs to move (locomotion), of the anus elimination of waste, and of the genitals pleasure or procreation; these are the functions of these organs.
6. The Three States
What are the Three States?
Waking, dream, and deep sleep, these are the (three) states.
What is the Waking State?
By the organs of perception like the ears, etc, the sense objects like sound, etc, are perceived thus, that state is called the waking state.
Identifying Itself with the gross body, the Self is called “VISHVA” in this state.
What is the Dream State?
If it is asked, the explanation is: In the waking state, whatever is seen or heard, from the impressions formed from that, that world which, at the time of sleep, is projected; that is the dream state.
Identifying itself with the subtle body, the Self is called “TAIJASA” in this state.
Then what is the Deep Sleep State?
“I do not know anything”, “A good sleep was enjoyed by me”; such a state is called Deep Sleep. Identifying Itself with the causal body, the Self is called “PRAJNA” in this state.
7. The Five Sheaths
What are the Five Sheaths?
They are:
- Food Sheath
- Pranic Sheath
- Mind Sheath
- Intellect Sheath
- Bliss Sheath
What is the Food Sheath?
That which is born of the essence of food; which grows by the essence of food; and into earth which is of the nature of food, it merges – that is the Food Sheath, or the Gross Body.
What is the Pranamaya Kosha?
The 5 physiological functions or Pranas; the 5 organs of action like speech and so on. This is the Pranamaya Kosha.
What is the Mind Sheath?
The mind, together with the five sense organs of perception. These constitute the Mind Sheath.
What is the Intellect Sheath?
The intellect, together with the five sense organs of perception. These constitute the Intellect Sheath.
What is the Bliss Sheath?
That which is of the form of the Causal Body; established in Ignorance; of an impure nature; united with thoughts like Priya, etc. This is the Bliss Sheath.
These then are the Five Sheaths.
As “my body, my pranas, my mind, also, my intellect, my ignorance” – thus are these known to oneself.
Just as, since they are known as “mine”— bangles, earrings, house, etc., are different from “myself”; So also, the five sheaths, etc., are also different from “myself”. Since they are known as “mine, they are not “ME”, the Self.
8. The Supreme Self
Then what is the Self?
It is of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
What is Existence?
That which remains in all three periods of Time, that is Existence.
What is Consciousness?
It is of the nature of Absolute Knowledge.
What is Bliss?
It is of the nature of Absolute Happiness or Bliss.
Thus, of the nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda, should one know oneself to be.
9. The Emanation of the Universe
Now then, the twenty-four principles and how they evolved from the beginning, shall be explained by us.
i) Depending on Brahman; ii) being of the nature of Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, the 3 qualities of Nature, Maya exists.
From that (Maya), SPACE was born; from space, AIR; from air, FIRE; from fire, WATER; from water, EARTH.
Among these five Great Tanmatras or subtle elements,
- from the Sattwic aspect of Space, the organ of hearing evolved
- from the Sattwic aspect of Air, the organ of touch evolved
- from the Sattwic aspect of Fire, the organ of sight evolved
- from the Sattwic aspect of Water, the organ of taste evolved;
- from the Sattwic aspect of Earth, the organ of smell evolved
Of these five Great Elements, from their total Sattwic aspect, the mind, intellect, ego and memory, the inner instruments, are formed.
The mind is of an indecisive nature; The intellect is very decisive in nature; The ego has the characteristic of ‘doership’; And the memory governs thinking & recollecting.
The Deity of the mind is the Moon; That of the buddhi is Bramha; That of the ego is Rudra; And that of the memory is Vasudeva.
Among these five Great Tanmatras or subtle elements,
- from the Rajasic aspect of Space, the organ of speech evolved
- from the Rajasic aspect of Air, the organ of grasping evolved
- from the Rajasic aspect of Fire, the organ of locomotion evolved
- from the Rajasic aspect of Water, the organ of procreation evolved
- from the Rajasic aspect of Earth, the organ of excretion evolved
From their total Rajasic aspect, the five Pranas or vital airs are formed.
Of these five Great Elements (Tanmatras), from their Tamasic aspect, the grossified 5 elements are born.
This process called “Panchi Karanam” – if it were asked , “How so?” (we answer):
- Of these five Great Elements, from their Tamasic aspect, each Element, divides into two equal parts (halves)
- One half of each remains intact
- The other half of each, divides into four equal parts
- To the intact half of its own, from the other half of each of the others, one of these quarters gets joined together
- then Panchi-Karana is complete.
From these five “grossified” elements, made from the five Great Tanmatras, the Total Gross Body is formed.
Thus, between the Microcosm & Macrocosm, there is seen to be complete identity.
10. Differentiating Jiva (This) & Ishwara (That)
Identifying himself with the gross body, and known as the Jiva, is the reflection of Brahman.
Conditioned by Ignorance, the Self is called the Jiva; Conditioned by Maya, the same Self (Brahman) is called Ishwara.
In this way, due to different conditioning, seeing Jiva and Ishwara as being different, as long as that continues, this worldly existence of the form of repeated birth and death can never be removed.
For that reason, the mentality of seeing difference between Jiva and Ishwara should never be accepted.
11. Identity Between Jiva & Ishwara
Endowed with ego, and having limited knowledge, is the Jiva. Without any ego, and having Omniscience, is Ishwara.
In the Mahavakya, “That Thou Art”, how can there be this equality between these two contradictory things having opposite characteristics? If there is such a doubt, “No, it is not so!”
The gross and the subtle, one identified with these bodies, this is the literal meaning of “Thou”. Free from all conditionings and being in the state of Samadhi, the Pure Consciousness, this is the implied meaning of “Thou”.
So, too, who is endowed with Omniscience, and so on, and known as Ishwara, this is the literal meaning of “That”. Free from all conditionings, the Pure Consciousness, this is the implied meaning of “That”.
And so, between the Jiva and Ishwara, from the standpoint of Consciousness, there is no contradiction in their identity.
12. Liberation While Living
Thus by the words of Vedanta, and the teachings of the Sadguru, those in whom the vision of the Truth in all beings has been awakened, they are the liberated ones. This is the meaning.
Then who is a Jivanmukta?
Just as “I am the body”, “I am a man”, “I am a Brahmana”, or “I am a Shudra”, one has a firm belief that he is such.
So also, “I am not a Brahmana”, “I am not a Shudra”, “I am not a man”, and in its place, “I am unattached”, “I am Existence-Knowledge-Bliss absolute”, “I am of the form of Effulgence”, “I am the Indweller of all”, “I am the formless Awareness”, one has a firm belief that he is such.
Such a one having this direct experience, is called a JIVANMUKTA.
“I am Brahman alone”. Thus by this immediate, direct knowledge, from the bondage of all karmas, the Jivanmukta becomes liberated.
13. The Doctrine of Karma
“How many kinds of Karmas are there?”
If thus asked, (the answer given is): Agami, Sanchita and Prarabdha Karmas – these are the three different kinds.
After the dawn of knowledge and performed by the body of a realized soul, such Karmas, whether good or bad, of whatever kind they may be, are known as Agami Karmas.
What are Sanchita Karmas?
Having arisen in endless crores of births, and remaining in seed form, those results of actions gained from the past, which still remains – that should be known as Sanchita Karma.
“What is Prarabdha Karma?”
If asked this, here is the reply: Having given birth to this body, then, in this very world, resulting in happiness or sorrow, and so on, those results of actions are called Prarabdha. Destroyable only by being enjoyed, are such Prarabdha Karmas. Enjoyment alone exhausts them.
The Sanchita Karma, by holding the thought “I am Brahman alone” with firm, one-pointed knowledge, gets destroyed.
The Agami Karma is also destroyed by knowledge. Of Agama Karma it is said, they are as “a lotus leaf unaffected by water on it.” The wise man has no relation with it.
Further, those who praise, serve and worship the wise man – to them, out of all the actions being done by the wise man, the good fruits accrue.
On the other hand, those who criticize, hate or cause pain to the wise man – to them, out of all the actions being done by the wise man, those which are not praiseworthy, i.e. the sinful fruits, accrue.
In short, friends take the meritorious results, whilst enemies take the demeritorious ones.
And so, the knower of the Self, having crossed Samsara (worldly life), attains supreme Bliss here itself. The Shruti says, “The knower of the Self crosses over all sorrow.”
Let the wise cast off the body in Kashi, or in the house of a dog-eater, (it matters not).
At the time of attaining knowledge, he gets liberated from all his Karmas. Thus assert the Smritis, too.
Thus the “Tattwa Bodha” Prakarana text comes to an end.