As it has been said in the first aphorism that the question of the Self or Brahman has began. Now, the question is- why should we question about the existence of Brahman? Does the world cease to exist after the knowledge of the Self is attained? The answer is an obvious ' NO'. After the realization of the Self or Brahman, which has been described in the Upanishads as the destroyer of the world phenomena, liberator of the illusory world etc, we still continue to witness the relative existence or Samsara( world). So, why should we desire for Brahman or Self?
Answer - It is true that even after the attainment of the knowledge of the Self where one becomes conscious of the world beyond this illusory world, the Self beyond this empirical Self, one experiences and dwells within the illusory world but this vision of the illusory world is not because of its( world) actual existence but because of the past impression or Sanskaras. For example, if we keep a piece of onion in a bowl for seven days, the bowl will continue to smell onion for several more days even after withdrawing onion from the bowl. Though there is no onion present within the bowl, still, it would keep on smelling, thus, though the Self knowledge has already been attained, yet, we keep on witnessing and dwelling into this empirical Self which is better known as ego-consciousness but there is a difference. We can understand this better if we see an event in the life of Swami Vivekananda when He was a wondering monk. Once during His journey into the deserts of Rajasthan, He saw a village full of trees and lakes. Because He was thirsty, so He ran towards the lake but within a moment understood that it was a mirage. There was no such village full of lake within the vicinity of a few kilometers. He kept walking and while He continued, He saw the same village again. This time He didn't run, He knew that though He have seen it, yet in reality, it doesn't exist, its a mirage. Thus, a wise after realization of the Self though sees and experiences this world, yet, He knows it very certainly that the world with its attributes doesn't exist. That it is false. Falseness doesn't mean the nonexistence of the world, but, its not what it is seen. Thus, the Guru and the scriptures repeatedly speaks about the non reality of this world and the existence of the Self. The world is seen real because of the super imposition of the non real entity into the real. Thus, reality has to be perceived first and then realized.
Like in the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna says-
" Na tewaham jatu nasam na twam neme janadhipaha
Na chaiba na bhavishyamah sarve vayamataha param" 2.12.
- (But certainly its not a fact that I didn't exist at anytime nor you, nor these rulers of men. And surely it is not that we all shall cease to exist after this).
Now, How do we exist eternally or how does the world exist eternally? It exists eternally because it is eternal by nature but because of delusion or ignorance it is perceived to be a name and form and with attributes.We are consciousness absolute but because of Maya or super-imposition, the Self is perceived and related to the three states viz conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious. This Self though perceived to be empirical and unreal is not so. We are the Real Universal soul and thus, this reality should always be sought. Thus, Brahma Jignyasa(question) is valid.
What do we know after the question is raised about the Brahman- The brahma Sutra gives us a very define answer to this question in the second aphorism-
Janmadhyasya Yatah.
(To be discussed in the next post)
No comments:
Post a Comment