ओम् श्रीगुरुभ्यो नम:
I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity for over two decades to listen to the nectar-like teaching of Advaita Vedanta as expounded by my Guru, Śrī Swami Paramarthananda.
In the mind-boggling vision of Vedanta, Mokṣa (limitless fulfillment and unconditional freedom from all limitations) is already accomplished because the Jīva is limitless Brahman here and now. It is ignorance of this fact that results in an inevitable mistake of taking oneself to be a limited being that then results in all consequent struggle and suffering in life.
To elaborate, nonapprehension of reality leads to the misapprehension of reality. Noncognition of the rope as a rope leads to mistaking it as a snake. The Jīva, not knowing that he is limitless Brahman, consequently takes himself to be the limited individual body and mind. Seeing himself as limited, he naturally feels unfulfilled. He then tries to “become” fulfilled through various limited means and ends. However, “becoming fulfilled” is an impossible pursuit because a limited being with any number of limited accomplishments can only remain limited. As my Parama Guru, Pūjya Swami Dayanandaji puts it, a broomstick, no matter how well decorated, always remains a broomstick, it doesn’t become something else. That lasting fulfillment one seeks always remains elusive because the Jīva continues to remain limited and unfulfilled in his own (flawed) assessment. The struggle for lasting fulfillment perpetuates. This then is Samsāra, the endless struggle for seeking fulfillment. The root cause of this endless struggle is Self-ignorance, i.e., ignorance of one’s Brahman nature.
This is analogous to the lady with the necklace on her neck who has mistaken that the necklace is lost. She continues to search endlessly for the necklace everywhere, never finding it, not in the least even suspecting that she already has the dazzling necklace right there on her neck. The only solution that can end her fruitless struggles to find the “lost” necklace is to know that she already has the necklace. The necklace was never lost, to begin with. She has to know that the problem of the lost necklace she was trying to solve was a product of ignorance and hence not a real problem to be solved at all.
So also, given that Self Ignorance is the root cause of Samsāra (the never-ending seeking after fulfillment), Vedanta declares in no uncertain terms that the only solution to this endless struggle lies in Self Knowledge, in clearly seeing myself as I am, by knowing that “I am already That limitless Brahman”. Aham Brahmāsmi. One has to awaken to the fact that one is eternally That limitless Brahman. One was never ever limited, to begin with.
But then how is one to awaken to this reality about oneself? How is one to know oneself as Brahman given that I, the observer, can never be observed? The solution lies in the astonishing teaching tradition of Vedanta. It is this teaching that has been handed down in an unbroken lineage from Guru to Śiṣya (teacher to student) that brings about this awakening in the student. Vedanta is the faultless mirror held by the Guru to show me who I really am. Vedanta is thus the pramāṇa, the means of knowing myself. Careful and repeated listening to the words of Vedanta as expounded by the Guru and inquiring into their import brings about the rise of Atma Jñānam (Self Knowledge) that “I am Brahman”.
With Guru’s grace, which is nothing but His consistent and systematic teaching of Vedanta, the diagnosis of the fundamental human problem and its only solution as presented by Vedanta becomes clearer and clearer. When the nature of the problem becomes clear, the solution too begins to become rather obvious as even the non-solutions begin to get eliminated. As one grows in this understanding of the fundamental human problem and its solution as presented by Vedanta, the nature of pursuits, priorities, and commitments in life also begin to change. Pursuits that involve accomplishing the unaccomplished for gaining some fleeting fulfillment (through action) begin to drop off and yield space to the pursuit of accomplishing the already accomplished Mokṣa (through knowledge). It is all about knowing that I am eternally limitless, free, full, and complete as I am.
As I find myself spending more of my time in study and contemplation, each day brings Vedantic thoughts wherein the mind recollects and dwells on different aspects of the teaching. I find that writing down such recollected teachings is a great way to make the mind abide deeply in the teachings as it requires that the teachings be collected, organized, and presented coherently. As Swamiji says, the mind should soak in and absorb the Vedantic teachings just like a pickle soaks in and absorbs the salty spicy fluid it is immersed in. Anything that helps the mind to do so becomes a form of Nididhyāsanam. In this context, I recall the following verse from Panchadaśi:
तच्चिन्तनं तत्कथनं अन्योन्यं तत्प्रबोधनं ।
एतदेकपरत्वं च ब्रह्माभ्यासं विदुर्बुधा: ॥
Thinking of That, speaking of That, helping each other understand That – Engaging fully in these, the wise consider as Brahmābhyāsa (meditation on Brahman).
Panchadaśi 7.106
I also hope that as I write periodically, over time, this blog will become a repository of such contemplations that I (and anyone else who finds this useful) can come back to from time to time for reference. If any other students of Vedanta happen to connect on this platform, I may discuss and respond to their comments as needed. I may also occasionally revisit and post some of my past writings from other forums here as well. I may also point to any interesting Vedanta-related content and articles elsewhere on the web.
I invoke the blessings of the Guru Pramparā that these contemplations become a form of Brahmābhyāsa Rūpa Nididhyāsanam. May this work be a fit offering at the lotus feet of my Guru.
ओम् श्रीगुरुभ्यो नम:
Advaita Drishti 