ATMA BODHA 4

 

ATMA BODHA 4                                                  

PARI CHINNA IVA  AGYANATH TANNASE SATI KEVALAH
SWAYAM  PRAKASATE HI  ATMA MEGHAPAYE AMSUMANIVA

 “The SOUL appears to be finite because of ignorance or Avidya. When that ignorance is annihilated the SELF bereft of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself.”

Sankara builds up the same idea described in the previous verse. As he had stated earlier, all the austerities  like tapas, calmness, control over the senses, leading a life without sin do not lead directly to the KNOWLEDGE of the Self. In other words, it is KNOWLEDGE that can wipe out ignorance.  Is it possible to make the sun shine by any means? Any such attempt is foolish. The sun is ever bright, radiant and dazzling in the sky. It illuminates the entire universe by itself all through the changing seasons. Does the sun lose its glory and effulgence at any time?  But we see the sun losing his shine in the sky often. We mistake that the sun has lost his shine and glory. That is because of our ignorance. The reason is that our vision is marred by the passing clouds that hide the disc of the sun. The sun shines brilliantly as soon as the clouds pass away.

The SELF is Infinite. It is homogenous. It is bereft of any plurality or multiplicity. The KATHA Upanishad declares: “Smaller than the small and greater than the great ,the SELF is hidden in the heart of every creature. A man who is free from desires beholds the glory of that SELF through the tranquility of his mind and senses and becomes freed from sorrow.” ( Katha Upanishad  iii Up 1 2 3 –7)  It is because of our ignorance and misunderstanding that we fail to recognize the Supreme Being!

The KATHA Upanishad again and again explains the glory of the SELF. It states: “The knowing SELF is never born, nor does it die. It sprang from nothing, and nothing sprang from it. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.”  Therefore, this ATMAN or SELF is incomparable  in its Supreme glory and Its existence.   Who are those qualified to experience the Truth? They are the wise who have no attachment to the enchanting , material things in the world.  Who is the man who has no grief? The Upanishad asserts: “The wise man who knows the SELF  as bodiless within the bodies, as the unchanging among changing things as great and all pervading will never grieve.”  (Katha Upanishad)