Summary:

Lecture 16 introduces the 3 kinds of jivas: pratibhasika-jiva, vyavaharika-jiva & paramarthika-jiva. Comparing the wise and unwise person. 3 types of karmas (agami, sancita, prarabdha). What carries over into next life? Sancita is like the fragrance inside the pot put by agami-karma. And prarabdha is little bit of sancita's pot fragrance released just to last one lifetime.

Source: Drg Drsya Viveka

Verse 30-31: Jivanmukta – Liberated One

VERSE 30: Status of a Liberated Being

देह-अभिमाने गलिते विज्ञाते परमात्मनि | यत्र यत्र मनः याति तत्र तत्र समाधयः ||
deha-abhimāne galite vijñāte paramātmani | yatra yatra manaḥ yāti tatra tatra samādhayaḥ ||
When identification with the body disappears and Self is known, wherever the mind goes, one is in [effortless] meditation.

[COMMENTARY: With continuous practice of savikalpa and exposure to knowledge, attachment to body diminishes. Through self-inquiry, it is known all internal entities including ego are objects witnessed by the Self. Unjustified attachment to changing internal and external phenomena reduces. The mind fixates on the reality behind the objects. Body-identification is of two types: [1] General identification due to prarabdha karma, [2] Intellectual identification born of ignorance causing emotional problems.   Self-knowledge removes only the intellectual identification, not general identification. The jnani has no more sadhana. He abides in natural sahaja samadhi with the teaching. He recognizes Brahman in every perception. This effortless samadhi is called jivanmukti.]

• Vijñate paramātmani: When nature of atma is totally known and integrated, the I-sense remains, but no longer plays the old story of lack and smallness. He/she is a Brahma-nistha. In this case, Yatra yatra mano yāti, tatra tatra samādhayaḥ; Wherever the mind of brahma-nistha goes, it’s notions are keeping with what-is.
  • Whereas contrast to unwise person (brahmavit); one is compelled to give absolute reality to pratibhasika/vyavaharika.
  • Sometime while transacting in vyavaharika, own story comes up. You’re objective if recognize it’s your own story.
    • EG: When abandoned child starts arising in your personality, can say, “This is how you felt before, but now I’m adult, and don’t have to feel like that”.
    • So FIRST STEP is understand that pratibhasika is pratibhasika. Otherwise, one takes subjectivity as absolute reality, therefore no incentive to change.
• Is self-knowledge (moksha) a click?
  • GROWING CLARITY: First time listen to Vedanta, mind is producing a model of what’s being said. But understanding is partial and don’t see connection between things. Each time you listen, you gain growing clarity (not linear). Able to make more connections. That’s why some say “Today’s class was superb!”, because to that mind, new connections got made.
  • CULMINATION OF GROWING CLARITY: Growing clarity culminates to akhanda-akara-vrtti. When you mind creates exactly same meaning as spoken by shastra, then transfer of knowledge is complete. No discrepancy between what you understand what shastra is revealing.
  • TO EXPLAIN AKHANDA-AKARA-VRTTI, LET’S SEE HOW KNOWLEDGE TAKES PLACE:
    1. MODEL 1: (Shared in class)
       • Every knowledge is gained through vrtti-jnanam. Your first hear, then create your own thoughts based on heard. If thought captures the intended meaning, that’s called knowledge.
       • Vrtti-jnanam will have 2 operations:
         1. Vrtti-vyapti (acquisition of thought):
            • When listening to a discourse, or see an object, a corresponding thought arises in mind.
            • EG: If show a rose, does it physically enter your mind? No. What happens is, light goes into eyes > brain > mind creates “rose-thought”. Even if you imagine the rose, it won’t exactly correspond to the physical rose. But when mind creates a thought that’s keeping exactly with the object, it’s called vrrti-vyapti. So while seen, a corresponding rose-thought removes maya’s avarana-shakti (ignorance) of the physical rose. Then thought is no longer required because it’s removed ignorance of the thing. Once ignorance is removed, that’s called knowledge.
         2. Phala-vyapti (acquisition of result):
            • Result of vrtti-vyapti which is removal of ignorance of that object.
       • In case of akhanda-akara-vrtti, there’s no vrtti-vyapti, as Awareness is not a thought, unlike thought of rose. Awareness is formless. So ignorance of “I” goes, without creating a corresponding thought or image of Awareness in the mind.
         • Akhanda-akara-vrtti : Partless-formless-thought. Meaning it’s a thought that removes ignorance of “I”, but without creating an image of atma/drk.
         • OBJECTON: If thought that removes ignorance of Atman is limited, how can a limited thought remove ignorance of limitless-Atma?
           • Because Atma was never completely covered. Thus you don’t need a limitless thought to get the job done.
           • Because Awareness is the same. Even if thought is small, whatever it uncovers, underneath it, will always be the same Awareness.
       • So after akhanda-akara-vrtti, there’s never again one doubt regarding nature of “I”. That person is called jnani or brahma-nistha. Until then, it’s a growing clarity, like adding one more piece of puzzle.
    2. MODEL 2: (Not shared in class)
       • This model of vrtti-vyapti and phala-vyapti will seem opposite to MODEL 1. This is because MODEL 2 explains the two words differently. So it helps you see it from two different standpoints.
       • How knowledge of Object takes place:
         • Vrtti-vyapti (Thought Pervasion): A thought of an objects manifests in the mind, thereby destroys ignorance of that object. EG: Pot thought (ghaṭākāra vṛtti) comes in the mind, and subsequently removes ignorance of pot's nature and existence.
         • Phala-vyapti (Result Pervasion): Awareness (brahman) illumines the pot-through, turning it into an object known to Me (Awareness).
       • How Self-Knowledge takes place (Moksha):
         • Vrtti-vyapti: Thought of “You are that” removes ignorance of opposing thought that “I am not that”.
         • Phala-vyapti: Refers to the illumination of an object by Awareness, but in the case of self-knowledge, the self is always known to me as “I am,” and thus does not require to be illumined by a second awareness.
       • Akhanada-Akara-Vrtti:
         • akhaṇḍa-ākāra-vṛtti can be understood as the vṛtti-vyāpti created by a mahāvākya (great sentence) such as “tat tvam asi” (You are that). It is a unique thought that removes the ignorance about the self's true nature without leaving a mental image. Akhnada-akara-vrtti allows the self-revealing consciousness to be recognized as non-dual Brahman.
       • Conclusion:
         • For ordinary objects, both vṛtti-vyāpti and phala-vyāpti are necessary. Vṛtti-vyāpti removes ignorance, and phala-vyāpti illumines the object.
         • For self-knowledge, only vṛtti-vyāpti is necessary. The self is self-luminous, so phala-vyāpti is not required to illumine the self. The self being self-luminous (svayam prakāśa) does not negate the need for vṛtti-jnāna (knowledge through thought).
         • Vṛtti is needed to remove ignorance, even if it is not needed to illumine the self.
         • Mokṣa involves the removal of ignorance (phala-vyāpti) through the mental modification (vṛtti-vyāpti) created by the teaching “Aham Brahma Asmi.”
         • “Phala-vyāpti” in both object knowledge and self-knowledge cases, refers to the presence of consciousness, which is always known to oneself as the self-revealing “I.”
  • SUMMARY: So rishis have analyzed the physical rose can’t enter your mind. So your mind has to create a corresponding thought of the physical rose. Each time, the corresponding thought gets refined, each time remove more discrepancies between what the mind has created, and the actual object. Same applies with removing ignorance of nature of Atma. Only difference is, thought doesn’t create a mental image of consciousness.
• NEXT VERSE: When akhanda-akara-vrtti occurs, then what…

VERSE 31: Supporting Verse from Mundaka Upanishad

भिद्यते हृदय-ग्रन्थिः छिद्यन्ते सर्व-संशयाः | क्षीयन्ते च अस्य कर्माणि तस्मिन् दृष्टे परावरे ||
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ | kṣīyante ca asya karmāṇi tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare ||
The knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are resolved and all his karmas get exhausted when the vision of Him, who is high and low, takes place. 

[COMMENTARY: There are 7 knots: (1) Ignorance, which produces (2) discontent, and to get ride of it, we engage in (3) desire, hoping it’ll rid of discontent, which motivates (4) actions to fulfill them, and due to competition, provokes… (5) six enemies: disappointment, anger, greed, jealousy, envy, meanness – which generates (6) papa-kama, which leads to… (7) transmigration/rebirth.   Realizing Brahman in the cause (karana) and effect (karya) dissolves mental attachments and doubts.  Cause refers to Brahman as Ishvara, effect is the manifested universe. All accumulated karma (sanchita) and future karma (agami) are destroyed for the jnani. Only prarabdha remains. Jnani is free from the false notion of doership and results of action.]

• When Brahman is known directly, which means, I recognize all effects, are reflections of the one Cause, then hṛdaya-grantiḥ chidyante; the entanglements/knots of the heart are cut.
  • Heart is not a physical heart. Heart is that which is very close or intimate to you; the I-sense (part of the buddhi).
  • ALL DOUBTS RESOLVED: Whether neuro-scientist, or psychologist, or physicist is challenging you, their doubt doesn’t become your doubt, even if you can’t answer their question.
• Kṣīyante ca asya karmāṇi: All karmas are gone. Only prarabdha They enable you to live with vision of Oneness for a while. If it’s transferred to you totally, you can transfer to others; without pride, as humans don’t create knowledge, only remove ignorance. All knowledge belongs to Ishvara.
  • Somebody will get it totally. Others will listen (shravanam), but not follow up with meditation/self-inquiry.
  • Who gets what teacher depends on what level you’re at. Which teacher you resonate with, shows your level.

Keywords:  

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Course was based on [1] Drig Drishya Viveka book by Swami Tejomayananda [2] Book by Swami Nikhilananda [3] Neema Majmudar.

Recorded 19 Jan, 2024