20071221 Pancadasi[1]
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PANCADASI NOTES FROM SWAMI PARAMARTHANANDA’S RECORDED LECTURES Author: Professor H. K. Kesavan Copyright (2014) Estate of Professor H. K. Kesavan 1 Ch 1: Tatva viveka prakaranaM The text This Vedantic text is authored by Swami Vidyaranya in the 14th century. Prior to becoming the head of the Sringeri matt, he was called Madhavacharya and served as an administrator of the Vijayanagara kingdom. He was a prolific writer and his most famous work is Pancadasi which is considered to be one of the best works on Vedanta. The characteristic feature of this book is that there is a progressive development of the subject. Accordingly, it is excellent both from the standpoint of the student as well as of the teacher because of its pedagogical value. One can derive full benefit from the study of the text if the student has already undergone the study of the Gita and the principal Upanishads. The text has 15 chapters of varying sizes and each chapter is called a prakaranam—not adhyaya as it is usually referred to. It can be subdivided into three groups with five chapters in each group, called panchakam. The three groups are: a) viveka panchakam; b) deepa panchakam; and c) ananda panchakam. The first chapter is titled Tatva-Viveka Prakaranam. Subject Matter It starts with Gurunamaskara and asks for the grace of God. Sri Sankarananda, a great Vedantic scholar, who was also a prolific writer, was Vidyaranya’s guru. Amidst all types of ignorance, Self ignorance (mula avidya) is the fundamental ignorance. Every jiva is in the grip of this ignorance. The bondage and resulting pain arising from this ignorance is called samsara. Next, the author introduces the knowledge of the tatvam about the inner essence of an individual which is invisible and immortal. For a proper understanding of the teaching, the student should have some prerequisites which are four-fold in nature; they are called sadhana chatushtaya sampathi (scs). If there is such an extensive preparation that is necessary before embarking on the study of the tatvam, how can students who do not have this prior preparation benefit from it? Vidyaranya assures that it will also help them through his blessings. It will gradually convert such students into qualified people and so he advises them to do seva in sincerity. 2 JivatMa The author starts with an analysis of jivatma which is the inner essence of the individual. Nature of jivatma is sat, chit, and ananda—meaning, existence, consciousness, and bliss. The definition of consciousness is enumerated next and a clear understanding of its implications is expected for the study of Vedanta. The five-part definition is: a) it is not a product, property, and part of the body; b) it is an independent entity; c) it is not limited by the boundaries of the body and extends beyond it; d) it survives after the fall of the body; and e) the medium of the body is essential for its manifestation. The humans are sentient beings and are endowed with the faculty of consciousness. Some other alternative words used for consciousness are awareness and sentiency. This consciousness alone comes into indirect contact with objects of the universe-- vedyaha. In the scriptures, the subject of consciousness is divided into 5 segments. Each segment is accessible to only one sense organ. Ear is the pramana of sabda prapanca, the world of sound—it is nonexistent for the deaf. Similarly, sparsa prapanca is accessible for touch, rupa for vision, rasa for taste, and gandha for smell. Consciousness comes into contact with these 5 objects. The deciding factors are: 1) sense organ—the organ that is being operated shuts off the remaining sense organs—indriyas; 2) mind—specific thought (vritti). Indriyam along with vritti decides which object should come into contact with consciousness. It brings about experience of the object. For instance, consciousness plus cow, gives the cow experience. Experience is the name of consciousness when it comes into contact with the object. It is another name for consciousness indicating a relational status. Thus, there are several relational names with the objects of the universe. Are the experiences many or one? The usual answer to the question would be that there would be many experiences which are based on a fundamental error. In truth, there is only one consciousness seemingly appearing as many experiences; thus, plurality is an erroneous conclusion. Relational names refer to one and only one consciousness. Changes are only in objects. Intellectually, remove the objects from experiences; we will be left with one and the same consciousness. In jagrat —the waking state—one uniform consciousness appears as manifold experiences. Consciousness persists in svapna avastha, the dream state, but the objects are different. The difference between jagrat and svapna can be stated. In jagrat, objects have longer periods of existence whereas in svapna, they last for a relatively shorter time; according to scientists, the periods are on the average of about 1½ minutes. Consciousness is also very much present in susupti avastha, the sleep state. In this state, the object of experience is total blankness which is the sleep experience. Since consciousness is the same in the three states, consciousness 3 is uniform, undivided, and changeless throughout life. In fact, this conclusion is extended to time beyond an individual’s life—eternal. Vidyaranya asks us to focus only on one idea—consciousness is one continuous entity. Experiences of 3 states Every experience happens in the mind—a thought mode—vritti. Every vritti is a sentient one—chetana, not jada (sentient not inert). Every vritti is associated with consciousness. What is the relationship between consciousness and thought? The author wants to point out that it is similar to the relationship between consciousness and body—recall the definition of consciousness stated earlier. Stream of experiences means stream of thoughts. One thought arises and falls as experiences come and go. But consciousness does not rise and fall. Consciousness is also present between thoughts. If there is no thought, there will be no experience but consciousness continues. It will be objectless consciousness, not emptiness. Consciousness with dancing thoughts is compared to the story of rasa krida of Bhagavata where one Krishna dances with numerous gopis. If it is clearly understood that consciousness is associated but not affected by the thoughts, it will be pure ananda—pure bliss. In sleep also, we have a form of experience called experience of blankness. It is one uniform experience called mula avidya—primary ignorance. It is the absence of everything—everything is in a dormant form. How does one know that there is an experience of ananda? Definitely, this experience is not at the time when one is asleep; instead, we recollect this experience on waking. Recollection is possible only after collecting the experience. This observation lends proof to susupti anubhava. We remember only what we have directly experienced. The thought must have existed for the experience of blankness. Wherefrom does this thought arise? The thought arises in the dormant mind—the unmanifest condition called the karana sariram. Consciousness exists in that thought also. One does not recognize karana sarira vrittti at the time it occurs, but only after waking. We usually refer to sleep experience—the word sleep would not have existed in the vocabulary if the vritti had not occurred. Is sleep knowledge in the waking state memory or knowledge? It is memory because jagrat and susupti are different states. Memory of sleep in jagrat means direct experience of blankness in sleep state. Therefore, at the time of sleep, you had direct experience of blankness which is a special thought in the dormant mind. Even in coma, consciousness is there but the thoughts are those of sukshma vritti. By analyzing the three states of consciousness, we affirm that the consciousness principle does not undergo any change at all. Only thought patterns in the three states are different. Consciousness along with a thought is renamed as experience. When all the thoughts go away, there is no more drama in the mind. Only consciousness is present. No one can destroy consciousness. It has no birth because it is not created in time. 4 On existence In science, it is assumed that matter is fundamental and is always present; on the contrary, it is believed that consciousness evolves in time. In Vedanta, on the other hand, consciousness is ever present and does not evolve. What does evolution of life mean? Consciousness is eternally present but it requires a medium for it to materialize as the life principle. Let us hypothetically say that all living beings are destroyed. Consciousness will still be there but it cannot express itself. We introduce the term Chidabhasa to connote consciousness that is reflected in the body-mind complex. Chidabhasa has birth and death whereas chit, the perennial consciousness, does not take birth. Can one prove existence of consciousness? The very question is ridiculous because a human is a conscious being. The prover of everything need not be proved. He is self- proved—satyam prakashaha—svatha siddha—self-evident. Consciousness has intrinsic existence. Existence must be its very nature. So chit is also sat; jivatma is both chitrupaha and sadhrupaha. Ananda Having established that consciousness possesses the intrinsic features of sat and sadh, we proceed to establish its third feature, namely, ananda. Whenever a person or object gives me happiness, that entity gives me joy. Similarly, another object may not give me joy. And so we develop our likes and dislikes towards objects according to whether they give joy or sorrow. Everybody loves oneself. Self is also an object of love. There are several sources of joy including atma.