The Individual Nature
Divine Life
Society Publication: Chapter 8 Light on the Internal Self- The
Philosophy of the Panchadasi
In luminosity the Chidabhasa
resembles the Atman, and it is for this reason that the Jivas mistake
themselves for reality and mistake the objects of the world also for similar
realities. The difference, however, is that the Atman is never attached,
because it is universal, while the Chidabhasa is not. The Atman never undergoes
transformation, because it is absolute, while the Chidabhasa does. The former
is different from the latter because of its material nature and is
distinguished from the latter which has the characteristic of luminosity.
In the Aitareya Upanishad, it
is stated that it is the Atman that enters into the various individuals and
gives them the character of a Jiva. The Jiva, thus has a twofold nature, that
which limits, namely, the Antahkarana, and that which shines, namely, the
Atman. The Upanishad says that the Atman enters into the variety of creation
and the latter become the Jivas, on account of their partaking of the Consciousness
and Existence aspects of the Atman. Hence, the formation of the Buddhi and the
Antahkarana is a subsequent act in creation, not originally connected with the
Atman. But how the Absolute, All pervading One manages it is wonderful, indeed.
This wonder is similar to the wonder of the whole of creation. Creation, being
relative to the Jivas, cannot be regarded as an ultimate truth, and the entry
of Brahman into the Jivas, being a part of the process of creation, remains,
then, a mystery.
Sage Yajnavalkya mentions, as
we have it in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, that the Jiva rises by being
connected with the various limiting agents, such as the elements, body, mind,
etc., and ceases to be when these limiting agents cease to be. The sage says
that there is no consciousness after the destruction of individuality, meaning
thereby that there cannot be externalized consciousness in the state of
salvation of the soul in Brahman, where there is no duality in order that one
may perceive another. The Atman is declared as indestructible and is equated
with the Kutastha-Atman. While the Atman is supposed to operate in the Jiva by
an apparent contact with the elements, the Jivahood is destroyed in Moksha, or
final liberation, but not the essence of the Jiva, which is the Atman. It is
the Jiva that undergoes transmigration in different worlds; the Atman is
unaffected.
How does one know that one is
Brahman when Jivahood is destroyed? It is quite obvious, because, knowledge is
not the prerogative of the Jiva, and as a matter of fact, it is only a
semblance of knowledge. It shines, in fact, in borrowed feathers, and has no
consciousness of its own. The identity of the Jiva with Brahman is established
by a method known as Samana-Adhikaranya, which means the identity of one thing
with another that can be known only when the obstructing characters of the
things identified are removed. In the present case it means the union of the
Jiva with Brahman, not literally in its present form, but essentially after the
Jiva is divested of its limiting features such as the three bodies; but the
identity of the Kutasha-Atman with Brahman is direct and primary, and, hence,
it is called Mukhya-Samanadhikaranya, or primary identity, like the identity of
space within a vessel with the all-pervading space. Just as one may mistake in
the dusk a standing post for a human being, but after going near it and
carefully observing it one generally knows that it is a post alone and not a
man, so, in the darkness of our ignorance we have mistaken Brahman for the
Jiva, but by a careful investigation into the subject, and observing the
situation correctly, we will realize that the Jiva is only an appearance and it
is really Brahman, after all. When this realization takes place, there is an
immediate destruction of the false notion of doership, enjoyership, etc., which
are attributed to the Jiva. The identity of the world with Brahman, or of the
Jiva with the Kutastha-Atman, is to be understood in the sense of the
Badhasamanadhikaranya, or sublative identity, mentioned above. When the names
and forms are separated from the essence, the essence is known to be Brahman.
There is the question of the
identity of the Jiva with Brahman by negating certain attributes, only if we
regard the Jiva from the point of view of its essence, as Consciousness. If we
define Jiva as a limited individual with a reflected consciousness, etc., then
naturally, in that state, it cannot be identified with Brahman, and to effect
identification there should be the abandoning of its limiting characters. If it
is regarded as Consciousness in its innermost being, then there is this direct
identity of substratum. When the Jiva is investigated into and its true nature
is researched, then it will be known that it is the same as what we call Kutastha,
and in this condition it is immediately one with Brahman.
Kutastha and Brahman mean one
and the same thing. That is called Kutastha which is Consciousness acting as
the substratum of the appearance of the Jiva with the appendages as body, mind,
senses etc. Brahman is the same Consciousness existing as the substratum of the
whole cosmos. When the entire cosmos is something super-imposed on Brahman,
what to speak of this Chidabhasa, which is only a part of creation? We make a
distinction between Isvara (God) and Jiva (individual) by introducing a
difference between the whole and the part, namely, the universe and the body.
The one Brahman in relation to the universe is called Isvara, and it alone in
relation to the body is called Jiva. The substance is one, Consciousness is
one, appearances are two. Jivahood, therefore, is ultimately to be sublated, it
being an appearance, because it is a false constitution made up of the
erroneous notions of doership, enjoyership, etc., and belongs to the world and
the semblance of consciousness borrowed from the Atman.
Excerpts from:
Chapter 8 The Individual Nature - The
Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
If you would
like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact
the General Secretary at:
