Chapter 4
Section 4 Sariraka Brahaman
4.4.1 to 4.4.6 YJV talks about transmigration. At the time of death, the physical body becomes weak (the weakness is figuratively attributed to Self) and the sense organs withdraw from their physical locations. The presiding deities of the sense organs leave and go to their respective abodes. The sense organs do not function and the perceptions of colour, sound etc cease. They are as good as dead in the current body and Self is figuratively said to senseless.
Subtle and causal bodies continue to exist. As determined by the causal body, the subtle body assumes another physical body. Thus, death and rebirth are nothing but dropping one physical body and taking another one. In the previous section, it was explained with dream example in which we drop the current physical body and take a dream body for transactions. In rebirth, instead of taking a dream body, another physical body is taken. Two illustrations explain vividly.
A worm travels up a tall blade of grass. It goes to the tip of the grass and looks around. It sees another blade of grass close by. It puts its head on the tip of the other grass blade. Therefore, one half of its body is in this grass, and the other half is in the other grass. Making sure it is fixed well in the next blade of the grass; it leaves this one and shifts to the other. Carefully, only after firmly fixing in the next one, it shifts the rest of its body. It is an illustration to show some similarities only. The jiva is not like an insect. It is not that half jiva is in this physical body and another half in another body. It does not physically fix itself to the next body. The next body is already decided or fixed. The fixation aspect is the example part, not the physical travel.
A goldsmith fashions a new ornament from out of the old ornament by breaking the old ornament and giving the bare gold the form of the new ornament. Gold, the core of the ornament remains same. The forms only change. Similarly, the five subtle elements constituting the subtle body in the old gross body is fashioned into a new subtle body suitable to the new gross body. The five subtle elements constitute the core. The subtle body along with the reflected consciousness travels and enters another gross body. The type of the new body is determined by the karmic laws. How do karmas arise? The human being is a mixture of embodied consciousness and subtle and gross bodies. Due to embodied consciousness, the mind, pranas, all organs are sentient. The all- pervading consciousness becomes finite or embodied due to the limiting adjuncts, namely, mind and body. Therefore, a man suffers from a sense of limitedness.
On different occasions, the man identifies himself with intellect or the mind or various sense organs and motor organs. When he says that he is tall, there is identification with gross body. When he says that he sees, there is identification with the eyes, and so on. There is identification with five elements depending on the dominating element. This identification with different entities is borne of ignorance because the real nature of a man is pure consciousness. It is real I. Human desire has a deciding role in the matter of rebirth. Desire propels a man to engage in action. Action produces karmas: punya and papa. As stated above, (re) birth is on account of karmic balance called sanchit. A portion of sanchit called prarbdha is ready to give results and determines the next birth to exhaust the prarabdha. Though prarabdha is invisible, it is inferable from the visible results of action.
4.4.7 Desire is the cause of bondage in the form of current life and the next life. Conversely, if there are no desires, one is liberated in the current life and there is no birth. Who is free from desires? As a seeker, the highest desire is of moksha. By Self-knowledge, a Jnani knows that he was always free and he reclaims it. A knower of Self has no desires for he sees Self everywhere. He identifies himself with the Self and that everything is Self. It is non-dual, without a second. Therefore, there is no desire. Even if a desire arises due to prarabdha, he is not attached to it because for him, desire belongs to the MBS and not to him. It is a like discarding a lifeless slough after coming out of it. The snake has no attachment with the slough. Hence no fresh karma accrues. He lives as liberated person to exhaust the prarabdha. But prarabdha does not affect him. It is defanged. He is a liberated while living, i.e., a jivan-mukta. At death, there is no karmic balance and the three bodies dissolve. In the absence of subtle body, the reflecting medium, the reflected consciousness merges, as it were, in original consciousness. Jivatma goes back to Paramatma for good. It is called Videha-mukti
4.4.8 The path of knowledge is glorified. Knowledge alone is the means of liberation. The sages of the yesteryears undertook the path of knowledge and attained liberation. Likewise, anyone can attain liberation by gaining knowledge.
Contd