Our
sacred scriptures namely the Upanishads
and the Brahmasutras are the principal
sources of Vedanta philosophy.
The Vedas and the Upanishads
permit varied interpretation on the nature of the individual
soul and the Universal Soul, namely
Jivatma and Paramatma
respectively. The interpretations
are (i) these two are one and
the same (ii) eventhough they
are different, in one stage they
are the same and (iii) they are
different.
Based on these tenets,
the philosophies known as Advaita,
Visishtadvaita and Dvaita have
been founded. Adi Sankara expounded
the Advaita philosophy, Acharya
Ramanuja, the Visishtadvaita and
Acharya Madhva the Dvaita philosophies.
The central idea of the Advaita
philosophy is that the self-effulgent
Supreme Soul that is known as
Brahman or Paramatma
is the only true entity, this
world is evanescent and the Jivatma
is verily the Brahman and
not different ( t `Oэy `ե ̜̏:) . We have the Rigvedic statement namely
'the eternal Truth is one which
the learned call by various names
( DF ͈ ̷ zэt
) * Bhagavadgita
defines Brahman as the
single-lettered syllable 'Om'
(+͘tFK̜
).
The Brahmasutra starts
with the aphorism +yt `b̲ meaning thereby the desire to know the nature of the Brahman. The vedic
mahavakyas such as b̍ , tu̘Ͳ,
+̘t , + Ѳ,
̥ Lџz
emphasise and firmly
establish the oneness of Jiva
and Brahman.
Due to the preponderance
of Maya, the deluding principle,
the same entity appears as many.
This body of ours, senses, the
vital forces, happiness and the
mortal world are all the creation
of Maya. In darkness we
mistake a rope for
a snake; light makes us
get rid of this illusion. . Similarly,
we deceive ourselves thinking
that the mirage in a desert is
water due to ignorance. We mistake
the barren trunk of a tree in
darkness for a ghost.
We also delude ourseves
thinking this perishable body
to be the Jivatma. When real knowledge
dawns Maya disappears altogether
and we see things in the proper
light..
Duality and the need to get rid of it : The multitude of duality that
confronts us in our everyday life
makes it difficult in attempting
to practise
Advaita or non-duality.
The limited mind cannot comprehend
the limitless Self and it is essential
to transcend even the mind to
understand the unity of the individual
soul with the Cosmic Reality.
Lord Krishna
states that if Arjuna fights
by treating happiness and sorrow,
profit and loss, victory and defeat
alike he will not incur sin.
Lz:L ̘ Ft
̡̗̗ `̙`̙ *
tt
̙ `̲
̘̥̏̏Ͳ **
(
Bhagavadgita 2/38 )
This is a tall order and cannot be
easily practised by anyone and
needs the guidance of a preceptor.
One should get rid of likes
(raga), and dislikes (dvesha
) by constant and determined endeavour
and should develop dispassion
or a sense of detachment.
It is common knowledge
that we have preferences with
regard to practically everything
and do not attempt to get rid
of them. For example, we come
to like someone without practically
any reason and dislike or hate
some other again without any reason
whatsoever. To be tolerant to
the faults of others is not easy
to come by. One can win the whole
world through tolerance. We should
start with trying to get rid of
small likes and dislikes.
A few examples will suffice to bring
home the philosophy of
Advaita. The sun shines
equally in the Ganges as well
as in the sewage gutter and its
form does not undergo any change. Similarly, the wave of the ocean is also water
and is the same as the ocean itself
though a part of it.. The empty
space in a room, inside a pot,
in a box and the broad expanse
of the outer space are one and
the same in essence though in
terms of shape they are taken
as different for our easy comprehension.
A tiny spark and a big
conflagration are essentially
fire and nothing else . These
go to illustrate that the individual
souls are not different but only
manifestations of the one and
only indestructible Brahman.
Love is God : It is said
Love is God. Selfless love towards
all beings human and subhuman
should be cultivated. In other words, one should not think, speak or
do anything that will harm any
creation of the Lord. Harm done
to anyone is harm done to God.
Very often we fail to comprehend
what another person's needs or
sufferings feel like. We should
always try to look at things with
an impersonal perspective. In
other words, one should cultivate
the habit of considering all as
one's own people and treating
all as oneself everywhere. Our
scriptures also advocate compassion
and due respect and regard not
only towards persons placed not
so fortunately as ourselves, but
to others as also all animals,
birds and lower species. Helping
others, charity, always speaking
with a smiling face, humility,
feeling very small and powerless,
and equality of vision are the
hallmarks of compassion. An attempt
should be made to be compassionate
with our less fortunate brethren
and to help them to the extent
possible.
Lord Krishna declares that
the enlightened souls treat a
brahmin endowed with scholarship
and modesty as well as a cow,
an elephant, a dog and also the
one who eats the dog's meat as
similar and do not distinguish
among them.
̙̲̆ͥ̍ɏ ̺s Oͥ Ѳt͍ *
͍
Z ̏F Z snt: ̘zϨ̍:
**
(Bhagavadgita 5/18 )
Loving kindness towards all creations is a sign of realisation of the ultimate
non-duality, the Advaita.
Service unto God: When we meet
someone who is in need of something
or in distress and we feel we
can help such individual, the
feeling that we should have is
not one of pity or sympathy but
that of having got an opportunity
of being of some small service
to him. If there is no recipient
there cannot be a giver. Since
God resides in all beings sentient
or insentient alike, if we treat
someone with a sense of pride
in us , such an act will not please
God.
If we feel angry with someone
or hate or envy him we should
try to understand that what we
are doing is to be angry with
ourselves or feel hatred or envy
towards our own selves.
Experience of Adi Sankara : While in Varanasi, Aadi Sankara chanced to meet a person (considered
at that time as belonging to a
lower caste) with four dogs and
a pot of toddy This man was asked
to move away as Sankara was a
higher caste brahmin. The
man who was none other than the
Lord ,who had come to test Sankara,
asked him back which of them namely
his body or soul that was to move
away. This opened the eyes of
Sankara who paid obeisance by
his mind to God ( in the garb
of the low caste human ) and considered
Him as his preceptor for teaching
him a lesson. It is in this background
Sankara composed a hymn known
as 'Maneesha Panchakam' consisting
of five shlokas.
The philosophy of Advaita is a potent one and provides solution to many problems
especially
social and economic ones.
Advaita explains that everything
in the universe is
a manifestation of the
one and only Supreme Truth which
is omnipresent, omnipotent and
omniscient.
