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Hindu Bhakti Stotras (Devotional Hymns) Index
Maneeshaa Panchakam
By Adi Shankaracharya; Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Works of Adi Shankaracharya, Stotras of Adi Shankaracharya, Hymns of Adi Shankara, Gauri Dasakam, Govindashtakam, Dakshinamuthy Stotram, Brahma Jnanavali Mala, Bhashyas of Adi Shankara, Soundaryalahari, Shivanandalahari, Atma Bhodha, Vivekachudamani
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Introduction
In this work consisting of just five verses Sri Sankara has brought
out succinctly the essence of Advaita Vedanta. The occasion for
this composition may first be narrated. One day Sri Sankara was
walking towards the temple of Lord Viswanatha in Varanasi along with
his disciples. It so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on
the same street. Sri Sankara asked the sweeper to move away from his
path.The sweeper then asked him some questions which form the substance
of two verses which are a prelude to the main work. On hearing
these questions, Sri Sankara realized that the person before him was
no ordinary sweeper. Sankara replies to these questions in five
verses.These five verses have been collectively given the
name ‘Maneeshaapanchakam’. The word ‘maneeshaa’, meaning
‘conviction’ appears in the last line in all the five verses.
According
to tradition, the sweeper was none other than Lord Siva Himself in
that form. Sri Sankara himself is considered to be an incarnation of
Lord Siva. Therefore this work is in essence a dialogue between two
forms of Lord Siva, intended to convey to the world the essential
teachings of Vedanta. Questions such as whether even Sri Sankara practiced untouchability in spite of being an enlightened soul have no
place in the light of these facts. Moreover, in all such cases the story
by itself is not important. To derive various conclusions about
other matters on the basis of the story would be going off at a tangent.
One fact which emerges is that, once a person has attained
Self-knowledge,considerations such as his caste, etc., are totally
irrelevant.
The verses are now taken up one by one.
The sweeper’s questions:--
1.O
great among the twice-born! What is it that you want to move away
bysaying, ”Go, go”? Do you want the body made up of food to move
away from another body made up of food? Or do you want consciousness to
move away from consciousness?
2. Is there any difference
between the reflection of the sun in the waters of the Ganga and its
reflection in the water in a ditch in the quarters of the outcastes? Or
between the space in a gold pot and in a mud pot? What is this illusion
of difference in the form, “This is a Brahmana and this is an outcaste”
in the indwelling self which is the ripple-free ocean of bliss and
pure consciousness?
Note: The indwelling self, which is
identical with the supreme Self whose nature is bliss and pure
consciousness, is the same in all creatures. As the Bhagavad gita says,
“The enlightened see the same Self in the Brahmana endowed with learning
and humility, the cow, the elephant, the dog and the out-caste” (5. 18).
Sri Sankara’s answers:--
1.If a
person has attained the firm knowledge that he is not an object
of perception, but is that pure consciousness which shines clearly in
the states of waking, dream and deep sleep, and which, as the witness
of the whole universe, dwells in all bodies from that of the
Creator Brahma to that of the ant, then he is my Guru, irrespective of
whether he is an out-caste or a Brahmana. This is my conviction.
Note:
In the waking state the physical body as well as the senses and the
mind function and experience external objects. In the state of dream
there are no objects and the body and senses do not function, but the
mind creates objects and events and experiences them. In deep sleep even
the mind does not function. In all these three states consciousness
is present. In the first two states the presence of consciousness
is obvious because of the experience of external objects and the
creations of the mind respectively. It may appear as if in deep sleep
there is no such experience, but it is the experience of every one that
on waking up he remembers that he slept happily and did not know
anything. Remembrance is possible only of what has actually been
experienced previously. It therefore follows that consciousness existed
during deep sleep also and that it was because of this consciousness
that happiness and ignorance were experienced. This consciousness is
thus the witness of all experiences as well as the absence of
experiences. This consciousness is the Self that dwells in every living
being. Everything other than this consciousness is an object. The
external objects are objects of experience for the sense organs. The
sense organs are objects for the mind. The mind itself is an object for
the consciousness or Self. Thus the self alone is the subject
and everything else is an object of experience. The person who has
realized that he is the Self and not the mind or the senses or the
physical body is an enlightened person. Such a person is the Guru for
the whole world.
2. “I am Brahman (pure consciousness). It is
pure consciousness that appears as this universe. All this is only
something conjured up by me because of avidya (nescience) which is
composed of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas)”. One who has
attained this definite realization about Brahman which is bliss itself,
eternal ,supreme and pure, is my Guru, whether he is an out-caste or a
Brahmana.
3. Having come to the definite conclusion, under the
instruction of his Guru, that the entire universe is always perishable,
he who, with a calm and pure mind constantly meditates on Brahman, and
who has burn this past and future sins in the fire of knowledge, submits
his present body to the operation of his praarabdha karma. This is my
conviction.
Note: Karma, in the sense of results of actions
performed, is divided into three categories . (1) sanchita karma—the
accumulated results of actions performed in past births, (2) praarabdha
karma-- those results of past actions which have given rise to the
present body and (3) aagaami karma—the results of actions performed in
the present birth. On the dawn of Self-knowledge the first category is
completely destroyed along with the third category acquired up to the
time of attainment of knowledge. After the dawn of Self-knowledge any
action performed does not produce any result in the form of merit or
demerit. The second category, praarabdha karma, is not destroyed on the
attainment of Self-knowledge, but has to be exhausted only by being
actually experienced. On the exhaustion of this category of karma the
body ofthe enlightened person falls and the jivanmukta becomes a
videhamukta.This is brought out in the above sloka by the statement
that the enlightened person merely submits his body to the operation
of praarabdha karma.
4. The Self or pure consciousness
is experienced clearly within by animals, men, and gods as ‘I’. It is
by the reflection of this pure consciousness that the mind, senses
and body, which are all insentient, appear to be sentient. External
objects are perceived only because of this consciousness. This Self
is,however, concealed by the very mind, senses and body which
are illumined by it, just as the sun is concealed by clouds. The yogi
who,with a calm mind, always meditates on this Self is my Guru. This is
my conviction.
Note: The Self or pure consciousness is
what enlivens the mind, senses, etc., which are insentient, and enables
themto function. Clouds owe their origin to the heat of the sun which
makes the water in the oceans evaporate. The clouds become visible
only because of the light of the sun behind them. The same clouds hide
the sun from our view. Similarly, the body, mind, and senses, which
owe their sentiency to the pure consciousness that is the Self, conceal
the Self from us by making us engage ourselves in worldly pursuits all
the time. The self can be realized only if the senses and mind
are withdrawn from external objects.
5. The Self, which
is Brahman, is the eternal ocean of supreme bliss. A minute fraction
of that bliss is enough to satisfy Indra and other gods. By meditating
on the Self with a perfectly calm mind the sage experiences
fulfillment.The person whose mind has become identified with this Self
is not a mere knower of Brahman, but Brahman itself. Such a person,
whoever he may be, is one whose feet are fit to be worshipped by Indra
himself. This is my definite conviction.
,Note. The Upanishads say
that the happiness experienced by all living beings, including the gods,
is onlya minute fraction of the supreme, infinite bliss of
Brahman (Brihadaranyaka, 4.3.32, Taittiriya, 2.8). Knowing Brahman
means knowing that one is Brahman and not the body-mind complex. He
who attains this knowledge is Brahman itself (Mundaka, 3.2.9).Thus
knowing Brahman is the same as remaining as Brahman. It should be noted
that this is not the attainment of any new state. Every one is in
reality Brahman, even when he is in bondage and looks upon himself as a
limited human being. Liberation is nothing but the removal of the
wrong identification with the body-mind complex by the realization of
his real nature as the infinite, eternal Brahman. A rope is mistaken for
a snake in dim light, but when it is examined with a light it is
foundthat there never was a snake and that there was only a rope all
the time. No one would say that there was a snake previously and that
ithad gone away. Similarly, when a person realizes that he is not
the body-mind complex, but Brahman, it follows that he was always
Brahman and that only the wrong notion about himself has been removed
and nothing new has emerged. Thus there is no real bondage, but
the individual jiva thinks, wrongly, that he is in bondage, due
to ignorance of his real nature. When this ignorance is removed as
a result of sravana, manana, and nididhyasana, the person becomes
a jivanmukta here itself.
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