Kailvalyopanishad – Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati . 2nd October, 2013 – Chinmaya Mission Delhi. Hari Om! Kaivalyopanishad reveals the knowledge of Brahman in beautiful way. Our own Self is Brahman.One has to recognize our own inner Self as Brahman. The student Ashvalayana approaches the teacher, Brahmaji, the creator and request the teacher to teach the Supreme Brahmavidya. This Brahmavidya is constantly perceived by good and wise people but it is very deep, great secret. Unless it is revealed one will not be able to comprehend. Having known this vidya one becomes free of all sins, transcends all sins of all the lives, because the sinner itself gets dissolved. And the wise person comes to recognize the Purusha, Brahman who is beyond prakriti, causal world. This is the request by the student and now the teacher replies. He conveys the entire message in small sentence. tasmai sa hovāca pitāmahaś ca śraddhā-bhakti-dhyāna-yogād avaihi | When we approach the teacher with proper respect and thirst to know then the teacher dispels all our doubts. The teacher is the Pitamaha great grandfather – creator of this world, Brahmaji, Hiranyagarbha. He is first born from ishvara. Brahmaji is also a jiva remains for one lifetime. His life span is 100 years. All the four yugas Satya, Dwapara, Treta and Kali are called chatruyuga. There are 2000 chaturyugas in one day of Brahmaji. Brahmaji’s one year is 360 days. He lives for 100 years. In 100 years of his life he creates this world many times. Every day he creates this world. After his lifespan is over, he gets dissolved in the Brahman, Supreme Reality and a new jiva, devata becomes Brahmaji. Ishvara gives Brahmaji the knowledge of Vedas. With the help of this knowledge, he creates this world along with all the beings as it was in previous kalpa. It goes on. One remains as jiva till one attains the state of enlightenment, liberation. This state is attained when our false personality gets dissolved and we recognize our own Self. Teacher said that you can know the Brahman through dhyanayoga. That meditation should be accompanied with shraddha and bhakti. What is dhyanayoga – meditation? We have the senses, body, mana buddhi chitta and ahamkar, these are the instruments with which we act. Meditation is also subtle action. Meditation is not something to be done with body. It is not an action of the body. Senses don’t have a role in meditation. Brahman is not something which can be perceived through senses. Organs of action are also not required. The pranas give energy to our senses, like electricity. Pranas will not help in meditation directly. Pranayam is not meditation. Meditation is not action to be performed with body. It is not perception through our mind. Mind is directly connected to senses. Mind is a thinking organ. Mind is not required directly. Ahamkara or chitta are also not directly involved. What is required is the buddhi. With the help of the buddhi, which has understood what is the nature of the Self, that buddhi has to be directed to the Self. One has to think about the Self constantly with the buddhi. Vrittis are involved in meditation. Thinking is involved. Meditation involves thinking according to Vedanta. We have to think of Self with the help of buddhi. When the buddhi gets directed to the Self then mind, chitta, ahamkara also gets directed to the Self. Finally all these get abidance in the Self. Gita, bhagavan says, slowly and steadily you withdraw all your attention and thoughts from the world and focus it on the Self. Vedanta calls it nididhyasana. When nididhyasana is done for long time then slowly and steadily mind and buddhi gets abidance in the Self. This is meditation. In order to make the meditation possible, we have to have knowledge. We cannot meditate without knowledge. There are many stars in the sky and if you have to meditate on North Star then first you have to locate North Star and once you know it, you can look at it, meditate on it. Similarly, One should be able to understand exactly what do we mean by Brahman, Supreme Self. One should have the knowledge. That knowledge comes through pramana means of knowledge. I require eyes to gain the knowledge of an object. Through the eyes I gain the knowledge of the object. Without means we cannot gain knowledge. Brahman is such that it cannot be known through the senses nor can be inferred. It is beyond the senses. It can only known through Upanishads. Upanishads are the only means of knowing Brahman. Therefore it is said Brahmopanishad – the Brahman from the Upanishad. Vedantavedyam – it can be known only through Vedanta. Upanishads are the means. One has to approach a master and study the Upanishads. One must have shraddha in teacher and the Upanishads. We should have the faith that the Upanishads are the pramana. If one does not have faith in the pramana then we will not faith in what is shown by the pramana. Suppose I show you fine material like slice of onion under microscope. It looks quite interesting through microscope. With naked eyes, it looks different. If you don’t understand working of the microscope and don’t have faith in microscope, you will not know what you are seeing. You will not accept it. Similarly one should know what are Vedas, Upanishads. Why they are pramana? What is the proof that they are the proof? They are anadi, apaurusheya, they don’t have the defect of human intellect. Our perception is not holistic so knowledge is not complete. Knowledge is complete if I know everything. Only a sarvagya will be able to tell about everything. Sarvagya knows the past, present and future. The Vedas are not created by human intellect, they are given by Ishvara. Why believe in Vedas? The ultimate proof of one’s belief is in experience. If we believe, follow the path shown, we will finally gain that experience. The experience is the final proof. What the Vedas are giving fantastic knowledge, ‘you are Brahman’. It is not even logical. It is not easily acceptable. It is not common sense. It is not within our experience. It is not even so-called scientific. BVedas are saying that ‘you are Brahman’. You are that Brahman, Brahman which is the cause of this world. The world is very vast. There are billions of galaxies. How can we accept this? It is unacceptable. There is no logic. There is no way to infer. Such impossible claims are made by Upanishads. We have to have faith in the beginning. If we follow the path, they are showing, we will actually experience what they are saying. Experience is the ultimate proof. Aham Brahmasmi – aparokshanubhuti – direct experience of the Self is attained. Faith in the Upanishads is the first step. Upanishads cannot be comprehended directly. They are very subtle. There is procedure of understanding Upanishads. It is called sampradaya. There is technique of teaching and learning. There should be a teacher who knows the Upanishads and he is established in what is said in the Upanishads. If you don’t have faith in teacher you will not be convinced. Conviction comes through faith. We should have faith in our own capacity. We should have faith that it is possible, if the path is followed. Faith in ultimate Reality, Brahman should be there. One should have faith that Brahman is real. Faith in Brahman, faith in myself, faith in the teacher and faith in the scriptures is required. The culmination of the faith is in understanding what is being taught. Faith does not mean passive fiath. Faith should be followed by shravana - listen and manan - contemplate. And here it is said that we have to meditate with faith. Faith is required at all steps. Bhakti is love for the goal which is being indicated, Brahman. It is also love for the path. There should be love for the teacher. Love means reverence, respect and love. Respectful love is reverence. This reverence expresses in form of directing all our energy towards the goal. All actions are directing towards the goal. In Gita, Bhagavan says that dedicate all your action to me. All the actions are performed to attain God. Suppose I have planned to construct a house, then I dedicate all the actions towards that. I will work to get money for the house. I will contact the architect. All the actions will be dedicated towards building that house. Similarly, when all the actions are dedicated to the goal of attaining Brahman is called Bhakti. We have to meditate to gain the knowledge with these two, faith and bhakti. They are very important for meditation. One has to meditate for long time without a break. It is like two wooden pieces rubbed together. They become warm and then they catch fire. Fire is there within. If you rub them for a long time then it catches fire. When it catches fire then the job is done. Nididhyasana will lead you to aparokshnubhuti if done for long time. This is like aphorism; Brahmaji conveys everything in one sutra. Now he explains this statement in detail. na karmaṇā na prajayā dhanena tyāgenaike amṛtatvam ānaśuḥ ||2|| pareṇa nākaṃ nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ vibhrājate yad yatayo viśanti | This is a very famous mantra. This mantra is chanted to receive a sannyasi. This is said in praise of a sannyas. It conveys the path by which we can attain the Supreme state of amrutatvam – state of immortality Na karmana – not by action, Na prajaya – not by progeny, Na dhanena – not by wealth, but only by tyaga – renunciation, one can attain the state of immortality. We constantly experience death because of our identification with the body because it is the nature of the body. Change is experienced and we have identified with this change. So we consider ourselves as changing. Though I have not really experienced death but I constantly experience the death of those things which I consider as myself. I consider body as myself. I consider myself as mind. I consider myself as some objects of this world and all of them are changing or dying. This is the state of mortality in which an ignorant jiva lives. But his real nature is immortal. State of immortality can be attained through knowledge. Here it is said that it can be attained through tyaga and not through karma, praja or dhana. We have four purusharthas. We have desires and in order to fulfil those desires we constantly strive. All our desires are categorised into four. Desire for object, house, wealth and this desire is for the security. We have desire to protect what I think I am. I think I am the body, I think I am the mind. there is constant desire to secure myself. This is self preservation, survival instinct. All beings want to survive, protect themselves. Whatever I do to protect myself is artha purushartha. Another desire is for pleasure once I feel protected. I want to enjoy and that I do through my senses. I keep indulging in the various pleasures of this world. I keep grasping the objects of this world through senses. Shabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa and gandha. I desire for that which gives some stimuli to my senses. It gives pleasure to my mana, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara. Even after the event is over, I can recollect and go through the experience again. To seek pleasure is another desire, it is called kama purushartha. We desire swarga if we have faith in Vedas. We know this body is not lasting and we know we are born again so we desire to earn lot of punya. We desire to earn lot of punya through rituals, yajna, special karmas. All the dharmic kriyas we do is to get some special favors from devatas. That is called dharma purushartha. After going through all this one comes to know these three purusharthas will not give me what I really want. I don’t want to die. I want to be eternal. I want eternal peace. Free of sorrow, free of bondage. That is called moksha. Each of the first three purusharthas have their own limitations. You cannot attain moksha through artha, kama or dharma, so all the three are mentioned here. The state of enlightenment is not attained by these three. Immortality is not result of action. Through action we can reach a particular place. Through action I can modify, destroy. Through action I can create something. We can attain these four types of things by action. Brahman is not something where we have to reach. It is here and now. It cannot be created. It is already there. It cannot be modified because it is perfect. It cannot be destroyed. It is eternal. We cannot do anything with action. It is like someone tell you to put forth effort and compress the space or bound the space. We cannot do any action on space. We cannot catch it. Similarly, no action be done on Brahman. It is not a result of action. When we understand all this then we lose all interest in action and result of action through viveka. When we have followed the path of karmayoga, uapsana and understood that actions or the result of actions cannot give moksha then we lose interest in karma and its results. Arjuna had come to fight the war on the battlefield knowing that it is his duty. But he got confused. Bhagavan just removed his confusion and told him to continue with his duty. Arjuna was told that the ultimate goal is to attain the Self but by giving up action you cannot reach that state. You have to follow the path of karmayoga. You should not take sannyasa prematurely. We have to follow the pathe of karmayoga. Through karmayoga chittashuddhi takes place. Once the mind becomes pure then we can discriminate and understand tha what I am seeking is not in action and not in result of action. It is what we have to know, recognize. Once that happens, one gains vairagya. When one gains vairagya then one can drop all the action to get a particular result. We continue performing actions but performing action to get a particular result is dropped. That is called karmasannyasa or tyaga. Then one can focus on shravana, manan and nididhyasana, the internal sadhana. When I drop all desire prompted actions and focus on the antaranga sadhana shravana, manana and nididhyasana, that is called tyaga. It should lead to shraddha, bhakti dhyanayoga. One cannot attain the amrutatvam through action – dharma, through praja – kama or through dhana – artha. They have their own limitations but one has to go through them. Ultimately we drop them after gaining vairagya and then we will be able to attain the state of amrutatvam. This amrutatvam is beyond heaven, but it is attained in the cave of one’s own heart. Heart means shuddha buddhi – pure intellect. We gain the perfect reflection of our own Self in the pure intellect. That is what we call as akahndakar vritti. Our buddhi is pure but because of adhyasa, attachments, ignorance we have made it impure. We can purify the intellect through our sadhana. To make our mana, buddhi, chitta ahamkara pure is the sadhana. Just as the cave is deep, buddhi is also deep and one has to dive deep. The Self shining in the cave of heart. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi says, Hridayakuharamadhye kevalam brahma matram, ahamamiti sakshad aatmarupena bhati. – All pervading Brahman is shining in our heart as aham sphuranam. It is not aham vritti. Aham vritti is ahamkara. It is aham sphuranam. It is like the sun which is shining and reflection is seen in the bucket. Reflection is different and sun is different. Ahamkara is different and like the reflection. Aham sphuranam is Brhamna shining as pure Self. It is known as aham. When we are in deep sleep state, we remain as our own Self. There are no thoughts, no activities happening. There is no thinking or remembering.There is not perceiving, doing. But I alone am there in that deep sleep state. That I was who was there in the deep sleep state, it is called pratyagatma, kshetrajna. I say ‘I was sleeping’. It is referred to or it is known as ‘asmat pratyaya gochara’ – ‘I’. Brhaman shins in the deep cave of our heart. To enter the cave, we have to transcend mind, intellect, senses, therefore it is called cave. This is not a particular place in the cosmos. It is all pervading but it is recognized in the heart. It does not require any instrument to know it. Shines by itself. You don’t use the torch if you want to see if the sun has risen or not. Similarly, to know the Self senses, mind and intellect are not required. Hridivishimansaswam majjata chinvata va, pawan chalana rodhat atmanishtho bhavatwam. - You enter through enquiry deep within. Yati means the seeker who put forth right efforts. Here is where all the yatis enter to recognize their own Self in the cave of their own heart which is the shuddha buddhi. vedānta-vijñānasuniścitārthāḥ saṃnyāsayogād yatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ ||3|| te brahmalokeṣu parāntakāle parāmṛtāḥ [parāmṛtāt] parimucyanti sarve | These yatis, seekers who put forth proper efforts, they attain sannyasa yoga through tyaga - renunciation. When you attain vairagya, you renounce whether you are Brahmachari or grahastha or vanaprasthi. Vairagya is required for renunciation. When the plane has attained certain speed then it should take off. It is not possible for plane to take off when it is stationary. If it has not attained the required speed then it might fall down. If after gathering speed, it doesn’t take off then it is not good. The plane has to renounce the ground once it attained the right speed. Similarly, we should renounce when enough vairagya is attained which is gained through karmayoga, upasana. After gaining vairagya, karma will not take me anywhere further. I have to go to the nest level of sadhana of shravana , manan, nididhyasan. It is sannyasa yoga. We gain more purity of mind. Raga dwesha gets lost. All these are connected with activity and some kamana – desires. But we can’t drop the activities in the beginning. As the activities get dropped the buddhi becomes more and more pure. Then we have to study the scriptures – Vedanta. We should determine the exact meaning of Upanishad. Upanishad reveals the nature of my Self to me. the main statements of the Upanishads is Tat twam asi, Ayam atma Brahman. We should know what the Upanishad mean by the term Brahman. What is the meaning of I? The pratyagatma is Brahman which I experience in the deep sleep state and which is beyond body, mind, intellect and senses. Brahman is the upadana and nimitta karana of this world. Just as the gold pervades all the ornaments, Brahman pervades the world. I should know exactly what is the meaning of I. I should also know the relationship between, Brhman and world, myself and the world and myself and Brahman. I have to study the Upanishads to comprehend this knowledge. Why study so many Upanishads? There are so many doubts may come in mind. Many times people feel that they have come up with some original doubt. All the possible doubts are answered in the Upanishads. There is nothing new. Once the doubts are cleared then we should meditate. Nididhyasana happens only when the doubts are cleared. The yati becomes clear, and buddhi becomes clean. Only the thought of Brahman is there. There are no desires, confusion. With that clean budhhi, when one meditates on the Self then the buddhi also merges in the Self. After transcending, after all traces of ignorance are eliminated and transcending the conditioning they attain Brahman. All limitations, personality get dissolved in the Brahman. The supreme Truth is revealed. Our Facebook account gets deleted. Our account in this world gets deleted and one becomes one with everything.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 19:25:10 +0000
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