11-17. In case the seeker has no such experience of The Divine Presence in him and in all names and forms around him, how is he to get it? That is explained by means of an example of kindling Yajna Fire, a familiar Vedic ritual of those times. This ritual is called ‘Jnana Nirmathana’, i.e. “Churning out The Fire of Wisdom in one’s intellect.”
In The Vedic age, every time people perform a Havan they freshly create the fire to light up the fuel pile in the Havan Kund. The process of creating this fire is itself a very significant ritual, and the process is also simple. Sparks of fire are generated by the friction caused by rubbing two small blocks of wood. That fire is caught by a piece of cotton, which is then transferred into the fuel pile in The Havan Kund. The process of generating the initial sparks of fire is the ritual referred to here.
This process is as follows. Two small blocks of wood are held, one above the other, with the flat surfaces in contact with each other. Each block of wood is called ‘Arina’. Thus there is a lower Arina and an upper Arina. Each block of wood has a hole scooped at the center, to accommodate a perpendicular wooden rod, which is firmly fixed into the hole of the lower Arina. The rod passes through the hole of the upper Arina. A length of rope is wound around the rod and a churning process is initiated. Out of this churning process arise sparks of fire which are recognized as The Sacred Fire of Wisdom.
Alluding to this ritual the teacher says “Make your ego the lower arani and the sacred syllable OM the upper arani, by repeated churning through the practice of knowledge (jnana nirmathana abhyasa) a wise seeker burns up all the fetters of bondage.
By the repeated practice of such contemplation, sparks of the fire of wisdom will arise, and they will progressively burn the entire rope, which means, all bondages with past karma and its fruits will disappear naturally.
While the above illustration itself appears clear, some difficulty may be experienced in the practical process of the required contemplation. The teacher clarifies by explaining “avastha thraya prakriya” - an analysis of the three fields of experience of an individual in the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states of existence. A clear understanding and appreciation of this analysis can churn out the required fire of wisdom.
The Supreme Consciousness functioning through ‘avidya’ (Maya) is individual ‘Jiva”. Jiva, identifying with the body does all actions i.e., all perceptions, feelings and thoughts arise on account of this identification. In the waking state it is this Jiva who reaches gratification through a variety of objects of enjoyment such as wine, women and food, etc. (stri yanna paanadi vichitra bhogaih).
In the dreaming state of existence, the very same Jiva, the very same individual person who was a waker before, and who is now a dreamer, becomes the experiencer of joy and sorrow in the dream world, created by one’s own maya guna vasanas - residual effects of one’s past actions - thoughts, words and deeds.
The difference between the waking state of existence and the dreaming state of existence must be clearly understood. The world one experiences in the waking state of existence is a manifestation of the totality of all vasanas of all jivas in this creation (which means that any action by any one, anywhere, at any time, leaves a continuing effect on every one in this creation) whereas the world one experiences in the dreaming state of existence is a manifestation of the vasanas of that particular Jiva only.
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Again, in the case of the same individual person in the dreamless, deep-sleep state of existence, as the sleeper when all experiences dissolve into the consciousness of total absence of everything, the Jiva enjoys a kind of bliss in deep sleep, even though the person is unaware of that happiness while sleeping. We must understand that absence of a thing is also an object of consciousness. When I say “I see nothing”, I am conscious of the absence of the thing. Thus, the characteristic of the deep sleep state is the consciousness of total absence of everything. Being overpowered by tamas guna, the state of simple ignorance, the Jiva went to sleep because its body required rest. After a good sleep, the Jiva, the person automatically wakes up again. Why, because it has Karmas to do. It came into the world only for the purpose of doing Karma, to exhaust all its lingering impressions of past actions.
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Again, the very same Jiva, the very same individual person who was earlier the waker, then the dreamer, and then the sleeper, that very same Jiva because of its connection to Karma , arising from vasaanas out of actions of past lives wakes up automatically, and that waking also is another kind of dream, because the Jiva is not waking up to Absolute Reality, but it is waking up to this outer world of transient reality, which is only a manifestation of the totality of the vasanas of all the Jivas in this creation.
Let us understand this clearly: The Upanishad is telling something very significant. Even when we are awake, as we very often think so, we are not really awake, because we are not awake to Absolute Reality. Our waking state is only another kind of dreaming state, where we continue to be ignorant about the true nature of ourselves.
The Upanishad continues: The Jiva plays the role of a waker, dreamer, and sleeper in the presence of the Pure Conscious Being in the three states of existence, namely waking state, dreaming state and deep sleep state respectively. It is from that Pure Consciousness alone that all these amazingly varied beings, in different forms and names in this creation are born. This means that there is nothing in this creation which is independent of that Consciousness.
By the above analytical description of the three states of existence of an individual person, what the teacher tells Asvalayana is the following: Recognize yourself, as you are, by your intellect. The waker, the dreamer and the sleeper are simply different roles played by the Jiva in the three states of existence. The waker is not in the dream state of experience, or in the deep-sleep state of experience. Again, the dreamer is not in the waking state of experience, or in the deep sleep state of experience; and likewise the sleeper is not in the waking state of experience, or the dreaming state of experience, but you are in all the three states of experience, which means the waker is you, but you are not the waker, the dreamer is you, but you are not the dreamer, the sleeper is you, but you are not the sleeper.
Who are you, then? You are that ONE invariable conscious being in all the three of them. While the waker, the dreamer and the sleeper are dependent on your existence, you exist in all of them, independent of all of them. As the waker, you are conscious of all the experiences in the waking state. As the dreamer, you are conscious of all the experiences in the dreaming state. And as the sleeper, you are conscious of the absence of every experience in the deep-sleep state.
That Pure Consciousness in you is common in all the three fields of experience, in all the three states of existence. As Pure Consciousness, you are in every thought, in every perception, and in every kind of cognition, and you are also in all in-between thoughts where there is no thought, in all in-between perceptions where there is no perception, and in all in-between cognitions of any kind where there is no cognition of any kind.
That unchanging, continuous, unbroken Pure Consciousness you are. Therefore, that which is indicated by the content of OM mantra, you are. That sat chit ananda svarupa atma you are. That satyam, jnaanam, anantam, brahma you are. You are satyam- ever-existent Absolute Reality. You are indeed the basis of all existence, limitless and undivided Infinite Pure Consciousness, in which all the three fields of experience, all the three states of existence resolve themselves into ONE POORNA ATMA. That POORNA ATMA you are. Now recognize That Poorna Atma as Yourself.
It is from That Pure Consciousness alone, from That Poorna Atma alone, the prana, the mind and intellect, all organs of perception and action, the five great elements which sustain this entire universe, all of them are born.
That which is Limitless Brahman, that which is The Atma, the Pure Self of all beings, that which is The Truth of every one and everything in this creation, that which is The Abode of this Great Universe, and at the same time that which is more subtle than the most subtle one can think of, that which is eternal existence, unbound by time That you are, certainly so, You are indeed That.
Thus the teacher effectively points out the identity of Pure Jiva and Paramatma and that the true nature of every individual person is Paramatma, Brahman. The teacher concludes his teaching by saying “That Brahman which illuminates the waking world, the dream world and the deep-sleep world, and also all the infinitely mixed worlds of existence and experience realizing that Brahman as The Absolute Reality of the Self in oneself, recognizing “I am that Brahman” one is totally released from all bondages. One gains total freedom from all bondages.
Here ends the teaching.