PART VI: Book - I NIRVANA (LIBERATION)
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PART VI: Book - I NIRVANA (LIBERATION) 1. What is Nirvana: Sage Valmiki’s opus, Yogavaasishta consisting of six chapters can be broadly divided into two major modules. The first module comprises the initial two Chapters, which are mainly introductory in nature. The subsequent three Chapters that follow them deal with Origination (Utpatti), Sustenance (Sthiti) and Dissolution (Laya) respectively of the universe. What is there to be discussed further when once the universe was Dissolved? From the standpoint of the theoretical exposition of the subject matter, the theory had been covered fully in the two Chapters on Origination and Sustenance. The Chapter that came next was not called Dissolution; instead it was titled, “The Calm Down.” The Chapter on The Calm Down dealt exhaustively with the practical aspects of calming down the mind. By now both the theory and the praxis had been fully expounded from all perspectives. What is it that remains to be explained in one more chapter? Sage Vasishta considered contemplation on Aum to be a very important means of achieving liberation in his discourse in the Chapter on The Calm Down. He pointed out that Aum consisted of the four sounds ‘A’, ‘U’, ‘M’ and a half note. Knowledgeable people following the tradition of contemplation on Aum say that the sound ‘A’ represents creation, ‘U’ represents sustenance and ‘M’ represents calming down. They consider the fourth half note to signify the indistinct ‘hum’ of the three states. If we accept this approach, chapters on creation, sustenance and calming down corresponding to ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’ were completed. It may be remembered that it is the half note, which actually brings forth a Oneness by merging the sound with soundlessness and the seeker with what is sought. What is sought being Nirvana (Liberation), a chapter corresponding to the half note has now to come up. At the beginning of the Chapter on Sustenance (Part III in our Series on Yogavaasishta), it had been clearly indicated that Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution were transitory qualities temporarily assumed by Brahman and that they would not permanently adhere to Brahman. It was also mentioned at that time that His true nature was Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence- Consciousness-Bliss). After completing a discussion on the transitory characteristics of Brahman, there is still a need for a chapter to explicate the true characteristics of Brahman. That is the reason why Sage Valmiki introduced the Chapter on Nirvana (Liberation) as the sixth and final chapter of Yogavaasishta. While meditating on Aum, the final sound of the half note is pronounced for an extended period. As if to imply this, Sage Valmiki stretched the Chapter on Nirvana to a length of about 15,000 verses. (The rest of the five chapters together constitute only about 17,500 verses). The indistinct three sounds of AUM existing in the half note generate a new force in the half note. Accordingly, the very same issues that were explained earlier are again taken up for a detailed exposition, but one does not feel any redundancy. A seeker achieves a consolidation of his experiential attainments with further clarity and certitude in this chapter. Elders, therefore, look upon this chapter with utmost respect and high regard. 1 A question may come up about the title of the chapter. It was not christened as “Moksha (Salvation)” but called as Nirvana (Liberation). The Sanskrit root derivation is “vaa – gati gandhanayoh”. It means ‘to move or to indicate’. Adding a suffix, the derivative form becomes ‘vaanam’ indicating movement. The prefix ‘nir’ makes it ‘nirvanam’. Under the influence of the prefix, the original meaning gets further modified and changes to an implied meaning of “Bliss.” The words nirvanam, bheshajam and bhishak have been used as synonyms of Supreme Consciousness in the 1,000 names in praise of Lord Vishnu (Verse 75). Shri Adi Shankara explained in his commentary on the Thousand Names of Lord Vishnu as follows: “sarva duÅkh°pa¿ama lakÀa¸aÆ param¡nanda r£paÆ nirv¡¸aÆ” -- Shankara Bhashya on Vishnu Sahasra Nama, Verse 75. ‘Nirvana alleviates all misery and has the form of supreme beatitude’. One may, therefore, infer from this that traditionally the word nirvana was used to indicate the supreme bliss experienced in the state beyond sorrow and misery, viz. salvation. Because the root derivation “Vaa – gati gandhanayoh” has the meaning of ‘movement’, nirvana (with negation by ‘nir’) also implies “stable, unwavering state.” Only the all- pervading, ever-perfect and infinite Brahman can be motionless. Thus Nirvana can mean the Supreme Self or Brahman. Vedas define Brahman as “Satyam Jnanam Anantam (Truth, Knowledge and Infinity)” and “Nityam, Vijnanam Anandam (Eternity, Wisdom and Bliss).” Combining these two sentences, it can be inferred that whatever is infinity that itself is bliss, that itself is Brahman. The word Nirvana also means the same. Such a state is possible only in moksha (salvation). Hence nirvana is used in the sense of salvation. For instance, Shri Gaudapada used the word nirvana as follows: “Sukham nirvaati vedavit.” Nirvaati is another derivative form for nirvana. He used it to denote ‘transcending’, ‘attaining salvation.’ From the above discussion, we may conclude that the great poet Valmiki titled this chapter as Nirvana to indicate the culminating goal of all seekers, the final space where the half note of Aum gets absorbed viz., salvation as established by Vedic scriptures. A few commentators observe that the word ‘Nirvana’ is popular with the Buddhists and usage of such a word shows that Yogavaasishta belongs to post-Buddha period. Assigning a date to Yogavaasishta is not our concern here. However, we may suggest that it would be better for those that would like to date this work to post-Buddha period to look for evidences other than usage of the word Nirvana. For, first of all, Buddhists did not coin the word ‘nirvana’. It predates Buddhism. Nirvana appears in many well-known works like The Mahabharata. A famous example is: “brahma nirv¡¸a m¤cchati” Ch: II, Verse: 71, Bhagavad-Gita. 2 2. Recapitulating Previous Lessons: What had been established using the transitional attributes of Brahman is being reaffirmed in the current chapter with reference to the true attributes of Brahman. Hence we may expect quite a bit of replication of what had been already taught. But the skilful narration of the great Sages Valmiki and Vasishta is such that it never gives us a feeling of tiresome redundancy. Even Rama many a time alludes to a past discourse in his questions while requesting for further clarification. At other places Sage Vasishta himself reminds Rama that that particular topic was explained earlier and beseeches him for more attentive listening while he (Vasishta) elucidates it further. Sage Vasishta holds that Vedanta is a very deep subject and unless and until one examines it from several angles, it cannot be fully comprehended. Because the Chapter Nirvana is too long (15,000 verses), Sage Valmiki divided it into two convenient sections. Book - I comprises the steps of Deep Meditation (Samadhi Yoga) to be followed in order to attain the Ultimate Calmness of mind. Book - II deals with the way one stabilizes oneself in Eternal Bliss without being distracted after having once achieved it following the steps described in Book I. Both Books offer an occasion to the reader to assess himself/herself with respect to each of the topic expounded. It will be highly advantageous to revisit a topic and examine how and in what manner it was explicated earlier and remember the original context when it was first explained. One should note carefully the change in the way a topic is re-confirmed, the novelty adopted in the exposition and the freshness added to it. Only thus the objective of reading this chapter is fulfilled. Let us now with the kind blessings of the Gurus take up the study of the current chapter attempting to synthesize the previous and present explanations. We may recall that the Chapter Upasama (The Calm Down) in Yogavaasishta opened with the following description: Sage Vasishta closed the morning session of teaching by noon itself so that the disciples could have a chance to mentally revise what was taught thus far. Rama did not go to bed all through the night but reviewed in his mind sequentially the lessons he learnt. The daily ablution routine followed by Rama and the Royalty of the day as well as the routine of Sage Vasishta were narrated in detail by Sage Valmiki at this juncture. The current Chapter too opens up with a similar narration. One difference, however, is that Sage Vasishta ended here the day’s teaching in the evening. Everyone attended to their evening prayers and prescribed routines. They reassembled for the discourse next morning. No sooner than all were seated, Sage Vasishta enquired from Rama whether he did a thorough review of the past lessons. Without waiting for Rama’s reply, he himself proceeded to summarize what was thus far taught. His summary contained many brilliant aphorisms. For example, j¢vanmukt¡ mah¡tm¡n° y® par¡vara dar¿inaÅ t®À¡Æ y¡ cittapadav¢ s¡ sattvamiti kathyat®'' 3 j¢vanmukta ¿ar¢r®Àu v¡san¡ vyavah¡ri¸¢ na cittan¡mn¢ bhavati s¡ hi sattvapadaÆ gat¡ (Nirvana Purva Sarga 2, Sloka 42,43) “Rama! A man should become a Jivanmukta right in this life practicing various methods of calming down the mind. He should attain the Supreme Self. He should become a Mahatma. However, please note that some worldly matters remain to be attended to even after the attainment of Jivanmukti. You may say that involvement in worldly affairs automatically implies the presence of remnant mind.