This treatise is an analysis of Bhakti, Love and Happiness based on Swami Paramarthanandaji, Swami Omkaranandaji and Swami Dayanandaji’s talks. The references are:
1. dṛg dṛśya viveka Vers 20: Priyam is one of the indicators of ātmā in our experiences.
2. Taitriya Upanisad – Ānanda Mimasa: Analysis of Happiness – ānanda.
3. Brharadyaka Upanisad Verse 2.4.5 – Who is the dearest
4. Narada Bhakti Sutra: Various sutras
5. The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: By Michael Comans – Sri Vasudevacharya, Sydney
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Summary: Ātmā, ānandā and prema are one and the same, which is I, myself. Part 1 will analyse ātmā and we can substitute ātmā with ānandam or prema in every sentence. Ātmā ≡ ānandā ≡ prema Ānanda is happiness. Prema is love. Ātmā is self. In original form, all these three are same. |
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Upādhi: An upādhi refers to a thing that apparently conditions something else by transferring its properties to that other thing on account of the proximity between them. The standard illustration is that of a red flower which transfers its property of redness to a clear crystal due to their proximity. In this instance the red flower is the upadhi of the crystal. Upādhi is something which seemingly limits that which cannot be limited.  It is called as a limiting adjunct. In vedanta, upādhi is used to indicate the boundaries, limitations or the factors which makes an all pervading entity appear as limited. Nirupādhika: Something which does not have a upādhi. Boundless, limitless, unconditional, all pervading, omniscient and such are indicated by the term nirupādhi. For example, we can say a nirupādhika space is something which is not bounded by a pot. Saupādhika – An adjective. Sa – Upadhi. Anything with upādhi. Space limited by a pot is saupādhika – space which is limited, conditional, with a boundary. Anything which has a boundary, limitation or condition is only as good as the limiting factors. These can be small, big, really big. Even if one says something is infinite, it is a very large number, but not boudless. Examples: In our example, “pure” space is nirupādhika pot space. Space without any boundaries. A saupādhika ākasā “becomes” a pot space. Nirupādhika – Without upādhi. Saupādhika – With upādhi. Saupādhika ocean is a wave. Nitupādhika wave is ocean. Nirupādhika sand castle is sand. Saupādhika sand is sand castle. Saupādhika agni is a candle light. Nirupādhika bush fire is agni. Saupādhika ātmā is I, the individual. My common experience and knowledge is that I have a name and form and limited by many factors. I have a jātakaṁ, date of birth and also a date of expiry. When limited by avidyā as my upādhi, ātmā “seemingly becomes” me, a limited person. Nirupādhika jivātmā is ātmā also known as brahman. When avdiyā – self ignorance is removed by sastra, I claim ātmā as myself. The model of upādhi (boundaries, limitation) is applied also to love and happiness. We can experience only limited happiness or limited love. We will look at our experiences and how to differentiate ātmā from what is not ātmā. Note that this method also applies for Love and Ananda. |
The nature and characteristics of ātmā are exactly the same for ānandā and prema. So a discussion on either ātmā or ānandā is also applicable to prema.
dṛg dṛśya viveka Verse 20.
asti bhāti priyaṃ rūpaṃ nāma cetyaṃśapañcakam ।
ādyatrayaṃ brahmarūpaṃ jagadrūpaṃ tato dvayam ॥ DDV 20॥
How to Discriminate and Differentiate between Brahman and Jagat
It was said in DDV Verse 19 that through enquiry the seeker differentiates between what is Brahman and what is creation. The differentiation is an intellectual process because they can be never separated. The objects can be physically separated from each other because they are limited. But Brahman being limitless cannot be physically separated from the objects. Existence and consciousness being all-pervading cannot be physically separated from the world. Only intellectual separation is possible and actually intellectual separation alone is enough. At the objective level pure existence cannot be seen separately. At the subjective level, I cannot physically separate consciousness from the three bodies. In the waking state, the gross body continues, in the dream state, the dream body continues, in the deep sleep state and even in the samādhi state, the causal body continues. I am never going to experience pure consciousness, but it is only in terms of discriminative understanding that the differentiation is done. How is that discrimination done?
Three Factors of ātmā:
All our experiences and knowledge has five factors or five components. We get an indication of ātmā, brahman through first three factors. The next two factors belong to anātmā (that which is not ātmā), the creation. Nitya anitya vastu vivekam or discrimination is critical to differentiate these factors.
The author presents the method of discrimination in this verse. This is a very oft-quoted verse. Ātmā, brahman which is beyond any description is revealed by these three qualities which is present in our every experience and knowledge.
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Asti: Existence; words like ‘is’, ‘am’, ‘are’ refer to existence. I never experience anything as non-existent. Even non-existent is referred to as ‘nothing is existent’. Asti is otherwise known as sat. It is common to all experiences but I take existence for granted. Vedānta is not helping me to experience the existence because it is always experienced. Vedānta’s aim is only drawing my attention to the already experienced fact and giving some additional information about that fact.
I exist. Inert objects like this table exists. My great great grandfather existed. A rabbit with a horn does not exist, but that fact exists. There is a man, woman, child and so on. Asti provides existence or “is-ness” to everything.
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Bhāti: it is known to me; it is, it is known or experienced. Everything that is experienced is known. It is known because if it is not known, I will never say, ‘it is’. The very talk about existence presupposes experience. The existence of what we do not experience cannot be talked about. No one can talk about an unknown thing. For example, if I say that I do not know Chinese language, the fact that I do not know Chinese language is known to me. Everything is known to me as known or unknown. ‘Known’ refers to knowledge of a known entity or an unknown entity. Knowledge is associated with consciousness. Thus bhāti = known = associated with knowledge = associated with consciousness. Everything is associated with existence and consciousness.
Bhāti means original shine. Anubhāti – shines after. Ātmā has the nature of shining by itself. Everything else shines only as a reflection of ātmā.
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Priyaṃ: dear; everything is associated with dearness. Everything is an object of my or someone’s liking. Objects are liked by me in two different ways. Some are liked when they come and some are liked when they go. Some people give happiness wherever they go and some others give happiness whenever they go. Every object is associated with like or dislike. Even disliked objects are liked when they go. Liking is associated with ānanda. priyaṃ rūpaṃ means ānandasvarūpaṃ. Everything in the creation has sat, cit and ānanda.
Two Factors of Jagat – This visible and invisible universe
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Nāma: everything is associated with a name.
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Rūpaṃ: form, refers to any property.
All our experiences have sat, cit, ānanda, nāma and rūpa. A wise person knows that the first three are Brahman and the last two belong to the world.
Experiencing Love
Ātmā is the most nearest and dearest to all, because that is myself. In original form – nirupādika ātmā cannot be experienced.
It follows that only a saupādika prema, conditional love, bounded love, temporary love can be experienced by anybody.
Nirupādika prema, unconditional love, boundless love, eternal love can never be experienced directly. While these cannot be directly experienced, these are used to describe a sthitha prajna – a ātma jnāni.
Glory of ātmā also of Love and Ananda
A partial list the glories of ātmā is below. Note that prema and ānandā in original, pure form have the same glories. Usage such as eternal love, never dying love, unconditional love, pure love, absolute love, universal love, maitrī (metta of Buddhism), imperishable love should be taken as referring to love without any upādhi. It follows that love that we experience can always have only a conditioned form of below.
Ātmā is satyam – Truth, nityam – eternal, bhati – shines by itself, akarta – non doer, abhokta – non enjoyer, suddha – pure, asanga – untainted, uninvolved, avyaktam – unmanifest, beyond the reach of our senses, anirvacaniyam – cannot be described by words, anavaya – does not have a part, does not undergo any change, ajaḥ – never born, akṣara - imperishable, amurtā – formless, parā – absolute, avikara / nirvikara – immutable, maitrī - universal loving-kindness and so on.
Love and Ananda have exactly the same glories, being one and the same.