Posted on: 05 Oct 2006
Note: This article is meant for intellectuals only
[Message on Dasara,Dasara, Day-4] The Advaitin says that by attaining the self [atman or soul], which is just pure awareness, one attains infinite bliss. This is absurd since it contradicts practical experience. In every living being, the soul (pure awareness) exists but every soul is not blissful. If you say that the impurity in the soul hinders the bliss, one can easily achieve the pure awareness at least temporarily during meditation with a little practice. In such meditation, peace is experienced but not bliss. Peace is not bliss. Zero is not plus. Even zero may appear as plus relatively with respect to minus. But with respect to plus, zero is relatively minus. In meditation, you are relieved from worldly stress for sometime and such relief may appear as bliss relatively with respect to the stress you had. You may feel that it is bliss since you have not tasted the real bliss separately. If peace is bliss, God would have been entertained with such bliss through peace without this creation [in the absence of creation, God alone existed and there was nothing to disturb His peace]. If such bliss existed already, there would have been no need for any entertainment. Bliss is higher than entertainment. In that case, the Veda would not have said that God was not entertained when He was alone in peace without creation (Ekaki Na Ramate). Entertainment is needed for happiness and hence, the state before entertainment must have been without happiness. If God did not have entertainment before creation, it means that God was not happy. In that state, how can you say that He was blissful? Assuming that God was happy even before creation, He must have been bored with such continuous happiness and the state of boredom shows lack of happiness. Only after creating this creation, which consists of variety by alternating comedy and tragedy, did He derive continuous happiness as per the Veda. Such happiness continues throughout the existence of creation and therefore, God is blissful.
The state of boredom is removed by the alternating disturbance in creation. Bliss is defined as continuous happiness. The word Ananda (bliss) is a composite of ‘Aa’ and ‘Nanda’. ‘Aa’ means continuity. ‘Nanda’ means happiness. The reason for the continuity of happiness of God during the existence of creation is His detachment to the creation during tragedy. The tragedy removes the boredom obtained from the previous comedy and the detachment to the tragedy avoids misery. Together this means entertainment—deriving happiness continuously without boredom. God is like a spectator of a cinema (Sakshi cheta—Veda) and after sometime God is like the actor acting in a role in the drama when He enters this creation (Tadevanu Pravishat—Veda). In both cases, He covers Himself with the ignorance of Maha Maya and Mula Maya and becomes equal to the individual soul. But, He is in full realization of the awareness of the unreal nature of Maya. God in human form restricts Himself to the lowest level of Maya like the individual soul. Such knowledge of the unreality of Maya in tragic situations keeps Him in the continuous entertainment (bliss). This technique is possible even for the soul because the soul is also above Maya and can attain the knowledge of the unreality of Maya by self-analysis. The difference between God and the soul is that God is really above the Maha Maya and Mula Maya also, where as the soul is not really above Maha Maya and Mula Maya.
Of course, God also gets controlled by Maha Maya and Mula Maya like the individual soul by imposing ignorance on Himself. The difference is that God is controlled by apparent and artificial ignorance, whereas the individual soul is really controlled and there is no point of apparent and artificial ignorance in the case of individual soul. God crosses Maha Maya and controls the Mula Maya by simply removing His apparent ignorance when He has to perform some miracles in an emergency. Even a blessed soul can perform miracles by the grace of God. He too crosses the Maha Maya and controls the Mula Maya. But, in fact, the soul cannot cross really Maha Maya. The soul is awareness, which is a component of Maha Maya. The soul cannot cross itself. The soul cannot control Mula Maya because the soul can never dream of crossing Mula Maya. Therefore, whenever an individual soul performs miracles, God alone performs miracles in the name of the individual soul. Demons do not realize this and become egoistic thinking that they [souls] performed the miracles. The demon-soul as well as the spectators [other souls in the world] are under the illusion that the individual soul is performing the miracles. But the devotee realizes the truth and reveals it to the public whenever a miracle happens through him. God can even cross the Mula Maya, if God wishes to withdraw the world including space. Mula Maya is the primary energy or space. Such a situation is possible but it does not happen. The primary energy exists continuously just as the roll of the film is preserved even after the show is over. The film [primary energy] contains the subtle impressions of the world (Avyaktam). The producer can destroy the film but He is not a fool to destroy it just to satisfy you regarding His capability to destroy the film! When God enters into this world through the human form, He remains only in the status of a realized individual soul by crossing just the Maya and keeping Himself controlled by the Maha Maya and Mula Maya. In this state, the entire drama of His divine play is also limited only to Maya. There is no need of crossing the higher Maha Maya and control the highest Mula Maya in order to do a miracle unless such emergency action is required, which is very rare. God is reluctant to perform miracles frequently because the miracles have a side effect on the devotees of making them selfish and tempting them to use the superpower of God for selfish ends.
Incarnation Behaves as Realized Soul & Guide Ignorant Souls
God stands just in the position of a realized soul to set an example for the ignorant soul, which is controlled by Maya. An ignorant soul laughs and weeps alternately, facing the corresponding scenes of happiness and misery. You can propose that such an ignorant soul can cross Maya and be in continuous happiness (bliss) like God by its own self-effort (self-attainment) following the above divine technique. But, you cannot attain this divine technique of God without the grace of God. Otherwise, you might also say that God is unnecessary because such bliss can be attained by even self-attainment. But, it is not correct because the soul can only attain peace but not bliss by self attainment. You may say that peace can be treated as relative bliss and therefore, real bliss is not needed. But, even such self-attainment cannot be continuous without the grace of God. The higher Maha Maya disturbs your state by insulting you, since you cannot cross the Maha Maya. Since Maya is under the control of Maha Maya, you will fall again to the state of an ignorant soul and even the Maya will insult you under the instruction of the superior Maha Maya.
The sages were insulted even by Maya, when a beautiful dancer from heaven appeared! They were controlled by the Maya of the beautiful form. Their self-attainment simply crashed! Totapuri is the best example of a realized soul; he had self-attainment. Yet, he could not overcome the feeling (Maya) of stomach pain and tried to commit suicide. Therefore, one may cross Maya (forms and feelings) temporarily by self attainment. Such a state is temporary because he will be trapped by Maya again within a short span of time. Even during the temporary existence of such a state, the soul only enjoys peace and not real bliss. Therefore, there is no use of this temporary state because the real fruit is not achieved.
If you accept God and surrender to Him, the entire story changes. Your self-attainment remains permanent because Maya or Maha Maya will not try to disturb you by the grace of God. Shankara acknowledged the necessity of the grace of God in the path of self-attainment (Ishwaraanugrahaadeva…). You can even attain the real bliss from the world by the grace of God because your knowledge of the unreality of Maya is not disturbed and therefore, you will enjoy even the tragic scenes continuously. Therefore, without the grace of God, all your self-effort is only a modification of your foolish and rigid egoism.
Strongest Desire Materalizes Due to Sanction of God
Still, if you do not realize this truth in spite of the divine preaching of God, God will leave you to your fate. You become a debarred and condemned soul. In that case, God blesses you to have the state of self-attainment permanently because you desired it so rigidly. The father will be vexed with the rigid son and leave him after sometime of advice. Now, what is the future of this rigid Advaitin? God sanctions the materialization of such intensive desire in the next birth of that soul because God is the Creator (Father) of even such a rigid soul. God has waited for the present birth of the soul hoping for some change in him before death. God is always kind and never has the aspect of revenge even if you scold Him. Unable to convert you, He sanctions your irrevocable desire in the next birth. You have continued in such a state of continuous peace of pure awareness (Chit) throughout your life as per your strong wish. Such a state of Chit is exactly found in meditation and even the self-awareness disappears in deep sleep. The state of meditation, which has no other feelings except a trace of self-awareness, is the state of a tree. The state of deep sleep, in which even that trace of Chit disappears by the total transformation of Chit in to the basic inert energy, is the state of a stone. The tree has almost complete peace where as the stone has absolutely complete peace. An Advaitin as a Sanyasin is a tree in human form and as an Avadhuta is a stone in human form. God still waits and sees whether such a soul can change at least a few minutes before death. When there is no hope of change, such a soul will be permanently materialized as a tree or a stone in the future birth. This is the fate of the Advaitin, who does not accept God other than the self. The strongest desire always materializes (Yat Bhavam Tat Bhavati).
People think that such materialization is the power of the soul. But, it is not correct. The actual truth in this statement is that God sanctions the materialization of the strongest desire of the soul because every soul is the son or daughter of God. The soul is under the illusion that it has the inherent power of materialization of its desire through strong will. It does not know that the materialization of its desire is taking place due to the will of God since it does not understand the advice that God tried to give it for a long time. The father advises the son to study well. But, the son is rigid and does not study. The son wants to enjoy the wealth without study. Finally, the father is vexed and gives the part of the property, which was earned by him (father) to the son. Now, the son thinks that his desire is fulfilled because of his own strong will which came from the powerful self. He does not know that due to his foolish rigidity, the kind father who was unable to change him, gave him some self-earned property and fulfilled his desire. The Advaitin thinks that the self can achieve anything by its powerful will because the self itself is God. They follow the path of continuously desiring for the fruit since they believe that the strong will always materializes due to the power of the self. Can you become the king by constantly desiring to become king or by constantly thinking that you are already the king? The Advaitin constantly thinks that he is God (Aham Brahmaasmi) and he believes that he becomes God by such constant thinking due to the power of the self which is already God. It is like the foolish son thinking that the property given by his father is the property earned by himself due to his powerful desire. The Advaitin can also feel that he achieved the state of a tree or a stone by his powerful will. The Brahman of the Advaitin is pure awareness without any contact with the world and such Brahman, representing perfect silence can be either a tree or a stone. For a tree or stone too, Ishwara is unreal as Advaitin believes.