Q. 553 – Mind and Causality

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Q: Does the mind play a causal role in enlightenment? If not, then it seems that no change can actually happen. But then we say that there is now Self-knowledge where before there was ignorance. If the mind is neither cause nor instrument, then surely there can be no Self-knowledge because no change can have occurred.

Furthermore, if the mind isn’t a factor, preparatory practices can be dispensed with and ultimately the understanding isn’t something which takes place in time. Is that what’s meant by the mind having no causal role? That realization isn’t something which happens in time? Am I missing something here please?

A: I think that your problem here is failing to differentiate absolute and empirical reality. The bottom line is that there is only Brahman or Consciousness. And you cannot say anything more. (Even that is too much.)

From the standpoint of empirical reality (vyavahāra), there certainly is causality. Enlightenment is the ‘event’ in the mind when the above is realized to be true beyond any shadow of a doubt. And there are certainly causes for this. The first of these is the preparation of the mind – sādhana catuṣṭaya sampatti. Then there is śravaṇa – listening to a qualified teacher or reading very good books; and manana – clarifying doubts by asking someone who knows the answers to your questions. These are all causes, hopefully leading to eventual enlightenment. Being enlightened is having knowledge of the Self. Not being enlightened is not having that knowledge. (Beware of thinking that there is a positive thing called ‘ignorance’ – I have just written a book about this.)

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 3

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Part 2

Part 4

Chapter 2 Eight Upanishads-Introduction
A brief outlay of each Upanishad is presented for familiarization and to arouse curiosity. It is not necessary to know all the concepts at this stage.


2-1 Aitareya Upanishad It belongs to Rig Veda. There are three chapters. The first chapter has three sections, second and third chapters have one section each. A total of five sections. The Upanishad uses creation (shrIsti) and entry (anupravesha) methods (prakriyA) to convey the Vedantic teaching, namely, Brahman is the reality, jagat is mithyA, and jiva is not different from Brahman. Brahman is the cause and creation is the effect. Brahman exists independently and the world borrows its existence from Brahman. Therefore, Brahman is the reality and the world has relative reality and is mithyA. The world including jiva is made of five elements. A jiva can transact in the world if it has consciousness. Therefore, Brahman which is of the nature of consciousness enters jiva. The embodied Brahman is jivAtmA. However, the jiva forgets that his real nature is consciousness. This forgetfulness causes desire and suffering. It continues from one life to another until the jiva gains Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge enables the jiva to claim his freedom which he always has. The Upanishadic depiction of creation and entry may give an impression that Brahman fashions creation, etc, like a magician. However, the depiction is figurative. The mahAvAkya, aham Brahmasmi is from this Upanishad.

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Q.552 – Teaching and Seeking

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Q: I’m currently reading ‘Back to the Truth’ and I can see you have presented a holistic view of Advaita. But I am curious. In your journey, having investigated all these schools, which do you prefer? Which teachers or schools do you think are best or have been most helpful to you? Or if you could choose just one school, book or guru to study, which would it be?  Also, what is your main spiritual practice? What aids have been most helpful to you?

Do you think that, reading books on Advaita becomes at a certain point not so helpful anymore; after you realize the only thing to truly do as ego is just self-enquiry and turning within?

A: I wrote ‘Back to the Truth’ nearly 20 years ago. I considered writing a second edition, in which quite a bit would change, but my publisher wasn’t interested. Instead, I began a series of books on ‘Confusions in Advaita Vedanta’. The scriptures (Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Brahmasutras) are the source of the teaching. Many modern ‘teachers’ are either unaware of this or simply do not bother to read them. Traditional teaching is the ONLY reliable, consistent, reasonable, proven method. This teaching was systematized by Adi Śaṅkara but, even here, many subsequent ‘traditional’ teachers have distorted, mistranslated or misrepresented him.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part 2

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Part 1

Chapter 1 General Introduction

1-2 PramAna  VedAnta accepts six sources of knowledge called PramAna. Direct perception: Sense organs directly perceive and give information. Inference: It is an indirect knowledge of something not in the range of direct perception. There is knowledge of fire when smoke is seen. Presumption: Knowledge about something in the past by directly perceiving something different in the present. On seeing a wet street in the morning, there is knowledge of rain in the night. Comparison: It is knowledge of something derived by comparison. There is knowledge of a wild buffalo in the forest because it resembles the buffalo seen in the village. Non-cognition: Knowledge of the absence of something by non-cognition. Seeing a chair in a room gives the knowledge of the absence of an elephant in the room. Testimony: It is knowledge derived from written or spoken words. I read a Physics book Physics to get the knowledge of laws of motion.

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Advaita in the Vedas – Rig Veda 6.47.18

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There is a verse in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which says, 

Indra, through Maya, appeared as many forms. [1]

It has been quoted by both Gaudapada and Shankara to illustrate how, through the illusion of Maya, Brahman appears as many. With knowledge of Advaita, this illusion is dispelled. 

The full verse says,

He shifted shape to match every shape, to manifest his shape. Indra, through Maya, appeared as many forms. his horses, hundreds and ten, are yoked.

Though quoted in Advaita literature, the verse is, itself, a quote — from the Rig Veda [2].

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‘nididhyAsana’ – as Shankara explains – 2/2

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[Part – 1/2]

Putting together 4.1.2, BSB and 1.1.6, muNDaka bhAShya, we can draw five conclusions from bhagavatpada prasthānatraya bhAShya prakriyA as given below:

  1. It is possible to get the Knowledge of the Self in just one hearing of the Vedic statement ‘That thou art’. But, to achieve this it has to be a highly eligible seeker.
  2. Those who have but a vague idea of the meaning of a text on hearing it once do come to shed their various misconceptions and understand it rightly after repeated hearings.
  3. There are some for whom the meanings of words ‘that’ and ‘thou’ are obscured by ignorance, doubt and misunderstanding. In their case merely hearing the text ‘That thou art’ will not yield Knowledge of its True meaning. A seeker can only understand the meaning of the sentence after understanding the meaning of the words in it. In case of such people, repeated hearing followed by reasoning upon them is needed to first get the true meaning of words.
  4. The Knowledge gained by the most well-qualified in one hearing and that gained by another seeker over repeated hearings is not different; i.e. there isn’t anything more to be done by either of them. Because gaining the Knowledge itself is “gaining” the Self (unlike in karma kANDa where knowledge about a ritual which bestows heaven will not by itself take the seeker to heaven. After knowing, the seeker has to perform the ritual and body has to fall off in course of time. Only after that, s/he may be taken to heaven).
  5. For most highly qualified seekers all it takes is one hearing alone. For the remaining seekers (including Svetaketu Aruni) it needs repeated attempts. But in every attempt what is needed is shravaNa+manana+nididhyAsana combined together.

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Eight Upanishads (Topic-wise) Part1

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Part 2

It is a series of eight chapters. Chapter 1 General Introduction Chapter 2 Eight Upanishads- Introduction Chapter 3 Jagat Jiva Isvara Chapter 4 Bandha Chapter 5 Preparation Chapter 6 Jnana and Moksha Chapter 7 Brahma Sutra Bhasya Chapter 8 Vedic Practices 

Chapter 1 General Introduction
1-1    Why should Upanishad be studied?                                                                      A brief answer should suffice at this stage. The Upanishads, also called Vedanta, form the end parts of Vedas and contain Vedantic teaching. The Upanishads are one of the Trai-Prasthanas, the other two are Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutra. Trai means three and Prasthana means to go. It is held that to know the truth, one must take recourse to the said three scriptures. Upanishad is Sruti (revealed) Prasthana, Gita is Smriti (remembered) Prasthana and Brahma Sutra is logic (Nyaya) Prasthana. Brahma-sutra provides the logical foundation for Upanishadic teachings. Shankaracharya has written a commentary (Bhasya) on Brahma Sutra.

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‘nididhyAsana’ – as Shankara explains – 1/2

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[“nididhyAsana” is a very important and popular term in Advaita Vedanta.  Every teacher tends to give his or her own interpretation of what it means as per his/her understanding and/or the philosophical school s/he belongs to. A sincere seeker in Shankara tradition, however, would like to know what “nididhyAsana” stands for according to Shankara.

To answer this, Shri Michael Ji kindly collected Shri Prasanth Neti Ji’s comments from several separate posts on the subject and turned them into a single post at the FB SAV Group. I feel it provides an authentic picture of how Shankara himself explicates the term. Both Shri Prasanth Ji and Michael Ji have been very generous in letting me post the Article here. I trust the Readers will find this post interesting and useful – ramesam.]

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Maitreyi asks her husband, Sage Yajnavalkya:  Continue reading →

Advaita in the Vedas – Rig Veda 4.27.1

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Following on from the last post, another of Vamadeva’s mantras from the Rig Veda is quoted in the Upanishads:  

It was said by the ṛsi:
“While in the womb I fully knew
The births of all the gods.
A hundred citadels of iron surrounded me.
A hawk, I flew out with speed.”
Vāmadeva said that while lying in the womb. [1]

The mantra in question is Rig Veda 4.27.1. Because of it, Vamadeva is sometimes known as a rishi who became liberated in the womb. However, this is not the full picture of the verse. For one, we have no explanation for why and how he became liberated.

Looking at the symbolism in the mantra shows its deeper truth and how Vamadeva “became immortal” through knowing Brahman [2].  Continue reading →