PB November 2012568 Svarajya Siddhih: Attaining Self-dominion Gangadharendra Saraswati Translated from Sanskrit and annotated by Swami Narasimhananda (Continued from the previous issue ) hew$ees ueeskeâesÓefOeiecÙe: keÇâlegefYejefOeielees efJeÅeÙee osJeueeskeâes ÙeÉe Ûesle:keâ<eeÙe#eheCeefcen leÙees: mceele&cesJeeÓmleg meeOÙeced ~ Ùe%esveslÙeeefoJeekeäÙeeodYeJeleg efJeefJeefo<ee lelHeâueb Jesoveb Jee %eeveeosJeeÓce=lelJeb ve efn MeMekeâJeOet: efmebnheesleb Øemetle ~~ 9 ~~ Pitṛloka, the worlds of manes, is attained by per- forming nitya and naimittika actions. Devalokāḥ, the worlds of the gods, are attained by perform- ing (the mental action of ) worship. Or the re- sult of that vidyā, worship, or action is spoken of in Smritis like: 'The impurities of attachment and aversion are destroyed through actions, and knowledge is the means of liberation; after the impurities are destroyed through actions, know- ledge arises.' 55 (The result is) the destruction of the impurities of the citta, mind-stuff. Even if we hold that by the statement, 'the brahmanas seek to know It through the study of the Vedas, sacrifices, charity, and austerity consisting in a dispassionate enjoyment of sense-objects',56 the desire for know- ledge, or knowledge itself, is attained, liberation is attained only through knowledge, just as a female hare or a doe can never give birth to a lion cub. The world of enjoyment, that is the world of the manes like the Aryaman, is attained by the performance of nitya and naimittika ac- tions. This is established by Vedic statements like: 'Karmaṇā pitṛlokaḥ; the world of manes (is attained) through rites' (1.5.16). The mental ac- tion of worship leads one to the worlds of gods, like those of Indra, Hiranyagarbha, and so forth. This is also supported by Vedic statements like: 'Vidyayā devalokaḥ; the world of the gods (is attained) through worship' (ibid.). The ignorant person attains to the world of the worshipped god. This occurs to the person who becomes one with that particular god. Thus the results of ac- tions and worship performed merely through the use of the intellect have been spoken of. Now the results of actions done with an at- titude of offering to the Lord are being told. Such actions purify the mind-stuff by remov- ing various samskaras like attachment and aver- sion, which cause innumerable births. These samskaras are further intensified by repeated births. But the knowledge of Brahman alone is the means of attaining liberation. The performance of Vedic rites, charity, and austerities may lead to the strong desire for know- ledge arising as a result of hearing Vedic state- ments before taking sannyasa. This knowledge can be the means of liberation. The performance of nitya and naimittika actions, like Vedic sac- rifices, may also result in such knowledge. The scriptures say: 'Sarve vedā yat padaṁ āmananti; the goal that all the Vedas propound.' 57 By using the saṁyoga-pṛthaktva nyāya, the maxim of con- junction and disjunction, the result of the per- formance of actions may be taken to be the de- sire for attaining knowledge, or knowledge it- self. The saṁyoga-pṛthaktva nyāya postulates that two different meanings can be attributed to the same sentence or word depending upon the con- text. For instance, the word khādira has different -No bleed here- 569PB November 2012 51Svarajya Siddhih: Attaining Self-dominion meanings in statements like, 'khādiro yūpo bha- vati; the khādira wood can be used for making the sacrificial post', or 'khādiraṁ vīryakāmasya; khādira increases virility'. Similarly, in the present context, by the mental action of worship both the meanings-vividiṣā, thirst for knowledge, and the result of such thirst, knowledge itself-are meant. The word 'vividiṣanti, seek to know,' 58 is derived from the root vid, used here to mean knowledge. The indefinite future tense lṛ has been applied with the suffix saṅ to mean desire, and thus is derived the meaning 'seek to know'. If in the word 'yajñena, through sacrifices' (ibid.) the suffix saṅ is used to mean desire-due to the prominence of the object of the sentence submitted by the karaṇa, instrument-it can be held that the meaning will be 'seeking to know'. If, however, the word vividiṣā is used in its nat- ural meaning of knowledge, without the use of any suffix, then it is held that the meaning will be 'knowledge' here. In the sentence 'desires to go to the village by horse' the meaning is brought about by the logical connection of the instru- ment 'horse', with the natural meaning of 'going'. In conclusion, it is being held that by show- ing a different interpretation-not only due to the lack of a plausible argument or evidence but also due to the inability of actions-actions can- not cause liberation. Immortality or one's true nature of being deathless-the realization of the nectar-like supremely blissful nature of the Atman, also called kaivalya-is brought about only by the knowledge of Brahman and not by any other means. Actions cause only the accumu- lation of fruits of actions, which are exhaustible. They do not manifest the ever-established, su- premely blissful Atman. Suppose a person is wear- ing a golden chain around the neck and forgetting this thinks that the chain is lost. The golden chain cannot be regained even by performing a thou- sand actions; it is gained only by the knowledge that it is and was around the neck all the time. For this no action is necessary, knowledge is suf- ficient. There is another illustration: A female hare, a small animal with long ears, runs in fear at the slightest rustling of dry leaves. The playful lion cub is capable of crushing the frontal lobes of a mad elephant. With such a big difference in their traits the female hare cannot give birth to a lion cub. Similarly, small prayers and other ac- tions giving smaller results, of destroying the ef- fects of small mistakes, cannot lead to liberation from the beginningless bondage. As taught in the scriptures: 'Even the gods cannot prevail against him, for he becomes their Atman' (1.4.10), after the advent of the knowledge of the Self, even Brahma and other gods cannot create bondage. Only knowledge can remove bondage. The different qualifications needed for per- forming actions and attaining knowledge of Brahman are being described, and the contra- dictions between such qualifications are shown to denounce those who hold the conjunction of actions and the knowledge of Brahman. DeLeer& o#ees efÉpeesÓnb yegOe Fefle ceefleceeved keâce&metòeâesÓefOekeâejer Meevlees oevle: heefj›ee[ghejcehejcees yeÇÿeefJeÅeeÓefOekeâejer ~ FlLeb Yesos efJeJe#eved mecegefolecegYeÙeb cegefòeânslegb megMeerleb veerjb JewÕeevejb ÛeesYeÙecenn le=<eesÛÚsokeâece: efheyeslme: ~~ 10 ~~ [It is mentioned in the Mimamsa texts that] only a person who has the pride of 'I am wealthy', 'I am an able person', 'I am twice-born', 'I am a scholar' is fit for performing actions. [According to Vedanta] only a sannyasin who has controlled his external and internal organs and is free from impurities like attachment and aversion is fit for the knowledge of Brahman. Though such distinction [is found in the scrip- tures], the person who wishes to hold that both [actions and the knowledge of Brahman] to- gether are the means of liberation, is like a per- son who, desirous of quenching thirst, drinks both cold water and fire. PB November 2012570 Prabuddha Bharata52 One who is skilled in earning a livelihood by performing the duties of one's caste in society, has enough wealth to perform Vedic sacrifices, and is desirous of obtaining the results of such sacrifices, is a wealthy person. An able person is one who can perform Vedic rites without the assistance of priests and other people. The twice-born be- long to the first three castes of society: brahmana, kshatriya, and vaishya. These three castes have the ritual of yajñopavita, investiture with the sacred thread, when one is considered to have had a sec- ond birth. A scholar is one who has studied the Vedas and the Mimamsa philosophy propounded by Jaimini and has understood the meaning of the Karma Kanda, the portion of the Vedas deal- ing with rituals. Apart from being proud of being wealthy, able, twice-born, or a scholar, one can be proud of belonging to a higher caste among the twice-born, being of advanced age, or belonging to a particular place or time. A person with such pride alone is fit for doing actions. One who is free from attachment and aversion, has controlled the mind and senses, moves about having renounced everything, properly studies the Vedas and becomes a paramahamsa, and does not engage in any activity other than the preser- vation of the body for listening to Vedic dicta is alone best fit for attaining the knowledge of Brahman. The Smritis say: 'There is no wealth of a brahmana like unity, equanimity, truthfulness, moral character, austerity, carrying the staff of re- nunciation, and straightforwardness-these are great in that order.' A person having these qualities is the best among human beings and is fit for the knowledge of Brahman. It is well known that the qualifications for performing Vedic rituals and for attaining the knowledge of Brahman are very different. Yet, some people claim that the conjunction of these two is the means of liberation. Their condition is like that of a person who wants to quench his thirst by consuming cold water and fire, as it were, at the same time. This is the plight of a fool who is ignorant of the opposites. Cold water and fire cannot go together, as water destroys fire and there is no use of fire in quenching thirst, rather it increases it. Similarly, actions and the know- ledge of Brahman cannot coexist, as the know- ledge of Brahman destroys actions, and on the arising of this knowledge actions become useless. Actions bind rather than cause liberation. Objection: Let it be held that knowledge alone is the condition for liberation. But, one does not find any system supporting the position that the knowledge of Brahman is the means of liberation. The followers of Sankhya and Patan- jali hold that the knowledge of the difference between Prakriti and Purusha is the means of lib- eration. The possessing of fourteen special qual- ities like buddhi, intellect, endowed with the knowledge of the characteristics of and the differ- ence between sixteen or seven entities causes the dawn of knowledge, according to the followers of Gautama [Naiyayikas] and Kanada [Vaisheshi- kas]. The Pashupatas believe that liberation is caused by the knowledge of the difference be- tween paṣu, the created, and pāṣupati, the Lord of creation, who is the cause. The followers of Bhar- triprapancha believe that liberation is caused by the realization of Brahman, which is brought about by the understanding that the effect and cause are the part and the whole. This further helps one comprehend both the identity of and the difference between Brahman and the uni- verse. This also gives the saprapañca, cosmic, and niṣprapañca, acosmic, understandings of Real- ity. The Bhartriprapancha school believes that in this manner one understands that Brahman is both identical with the universe and different from it. The Advaitins hold that liberation is at- tained upon the realization of Brahman, which is one's true nature and is Satchidananda, absolute, 571PB November 2012 53Svarajya Siddhih: Attaining Self-dominion independent, unchanging, and without a second. The view of Bhartriprapancha is being ex- plained here. Bhartriprapancha lived before Acharya Shankara, and he may be the same per- son mentioned as Bodhayana. Shankara refers to Bhartriprapancha's thoughts in his commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Bhartripra- pancha's philosophy is called bhedābheda- advaita; Bhaskara was also an adherent of this school. Bhedābheda-advaita is the relation be- tween Brahman and the jiva on one hand and Brahman and the world on the other hand- this is a relation of identity-in-difference. Ac- cording to this view, both jiva and the world evolve out of Brahman, and so this doctrine is also called brahma-pariṇāma-vāda. Brahman is transformed into the antaryāmin, inner control- ler, and the jiva. On the physical side, Brahman is transformed into avyakta, unmanifest, sūtra, subtle universal person, virāj, gross aspect of the universal person, and devatā, deity, which are all saprapañca; and jāti, genus, and piṇḍa, species, which are niṣprapañca. These are various modes of Brahman and are the eight classes into which the variegated universe is divided. They are again classified into three rāśis, groups: paramātma- rāśi, jīva rāśi, and mūrttāmūrtta rāśi, correspond- ing to god, soul, and matter. Bhartriprapancha recognises pramāṇa- samuccaya, which means that the testimony of common experience is quite as valid as that of the Vedas. He upholds jñāna-karma-samuccaya, the conjunction of actions and knowledge. Accord- ing to him, since Reality is a unity within differ- ences, differences are as true as the unity. Duties or actions have to be performed even after attaining knowledge. Hence, both actions and knowledge are necessary. Liberation is attained by achieving Self-knowledge followed by the performance of selfless actions. This view gives equal importance to Self-knowledge and the performance of rites, which have been prescribed by the Vedas. Here the extremes-that only knowledge leads to lib- eration, as believed by the Advaitins, or that only actions lead to liberation, as believed by the Mi- mamsakas-are avoided. The ultimate truth is dvaitādvaita, duality in non-duality. Liberation is achieved in two stages. The first stage is apa- varga, emancipation, where saṁsāra is overcome by overcoming āsañga, attachment, and the sec- ond stage is leading to Brahmanhood through the dispelling of avidyā.59 In this manner different schools hold differ- ent kinds of knowledge as means of liberation and also stipulate contradictory methods to attain this knowledge. It is difficult to decide which position to accept and which to discard. It is also not logical to hold that the opinion of the Advaitins alone is proper. The Advaitins hold that upon hearing the Vedic dicta the aspirant gets an immediate indubitable knowledge, real- izes Brahman, and does not again come into the transmigratory cycle of births and deaths. Reply: It may be contented that the various stands regarding the means of liberation posited by different schools sometimes go against experi- ence and make futile exercises like contempla- tion. This leads to hopelessness. This contention is countered in the next verse. (To be continued) References 55. 'Kaṣāyapaktiḥ karmāṇi jñānaṁ tu paramāgatiḥ. Kaṣāye karmabhiḥ pakve tato jñānaṁ prajāyate', quoted by Acharya Shankara in his commentary on Brahma Sutra, 3.4.26. 56. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.4.22. 57. Katha Upanishad, .2.15. 58. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.4.22. 59. See Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, 3 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1952), 2.43–4,100 and Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, ed. Karl H Potter, 13 vols (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981), 3.40.