The Virtual Self.

A Philosophy Of Existence.

Sri Ramana Maharshi uttered a few verses in Tamizh Language that He Himself or His devotees compiled in the form of the Text of 

(உள்ளது நாற்பது)

A disciple and devotee of Sri Ramana translated the same into Sanskrit, with the title :

सद्दर्शनम् 

T. M. P. Mahadevan

Erstwhile Head of the Department of Philosophy, Madras University,

Wrote down a commentary on the same with the title :

Sri Ramana Maharshi, (and His) 

The Philosophy of Existence.

Today is the 29th October 2024.

Going through my own thought-process which is like of a common man, thinking of and about my own existence as a self, I too in my own way, tried to give words to my own Philosophy of :

The Philosophy of Virtual Existence of the self.

Based upon this theme I could compare 'myself' as an adopted child of my own parents that I found in this world when I was born with this name.

Like and every other person, I too had my mother and father in this world. But they were my physical parents and the mother-father. However I could also say I discovered one another couple, who I could call my virtual parents of "myself".

I can say this body-mind complex that caused myself  - the sense of "myself" in me; as a particular individual being, in the world - are my virtual parents that gave birth to me - "the virtual myself".

Therefore I see this is also true for all and every individual soul on the earth.

I can also say that though physically an individual person has either a male or a female body,  this body-mind complex could be said to be a couple where either of the body and the mind could play the role of being either a mother or a father accordingly as individual has a physical body in the form of either a male or a female.

For example - I'm a male person, as my this body is a male, I could say this body is my virtual father while my mind is my virtual mother.

Therefore, I think, as every-one has this body-mind complex as one's identity in this world, one can accordingly say who out of the two, the body and the mind is one's virtual father and who the other is the virtual mother.

The two are indeed a committed couple, who adopted me - the virtual self, myself, and I don't exist apart from any of them both together.

Therefore I see my existence in the world is consequential to their existence and I have none other independent identity of my own.

And as I was inspired by and wrote my thinking, while I was going through and trying to understand the above-referred text, I feel, I'm really blessed in a way. 

--

Ants at work.

The Spontaneity of the Moment,

and The Layers of Ignorance.

Observation is the spontaneous nature of the Observer. 

The manifestation begins with this split in the consciousness. With the split, Time and Space together appear to exist as the Observed , while the  consciousness thus split is the Silent Observer and also as an Observer of the manifest observed. This virtual split is then reflected within any sentient physical body and the individual as an existence independent in a world assumes the form of a "person".

As soon as all this has taken place, the consciousness as the Observer within a certain physical and sentient form, Life  happens, though it always existed even before this split in consciousness could take place. Because Time and Space were the one and the same "Known" and "The Observed", the person, or the individual was a temporary phase of the moment,  a Spontaneity only. 

While observing an ant, it looks though the ant may have perhaps the sense of smell, touch and taste, it lacks the sense of sight and hearing. In comparision of an ant, there are various other insects who have the sense of a well developed sight and hearing which enables them equipped better to face the challenges of life moment to moment. They can escape or avoid as soon as they feel there is any danger to their being and respond to it, while the ants often fail until felt through the sense of tough, smell or the taste.

Accordingly all living beings haveless or more a sense of cognisance too but more evolved have a better developed memory of the "experiences" they go through in the process of living the life. They could therefore imagine something like a past and an associated information / memory that is but there because of this assumed "past". The past is therefore the memory and conversely the memory is the name of this said past. It is thus a mechanism only and the mechanism functions in its own independent way.

This mechanism is thus independent of the apparent and the assumed Time and Space in the memory / the said past.

However in a more evolved an animal or any living being, a structured memory is there, in the form of a record, as a kind of an audio-visual information stored up in its brain. Though there may be a slight hint of Time and a Future, it's hardly as vivid as in the case of so-called the most evolved species like the humans. And just because as the humans have developed kind of an easy or a complicated way of expressing and communicating through this instrument which we call Language, they can store up the past / information regarding their experiences in this kind or format, they tend to believe they are better equipped to face and to respond the challenges of life. Wonderful, this can sure help them in living comfortably the life, but the moment they think about the wants and needs, of the desires and the  fears in the anticipated future, they're at a loss because though they can imagine the future, can hardly "Sense" the same. They can speculate like a less-developed animal through memory but can never have a "vision" about and of the same in the present moment, While it's only the present moment that inevitably forces them to think accordingly and to behave or act so. In other words, we are Blind  to the future but cover up our blindness under the name of "Knowledge" stored up in the form of the information or the memory. Moreover, We are also Blind to our Blindness. Our blindness consists of the false pride of the verbal knowledge that we have developed  in a system of information. This Knowledge so acquired causes even more anxiety, apprehension and fear of the unknown, anticipated imaginary "future" that though we can never see nor perceive at all. Again, we are also Blind to the reality that this anxiety too is a phase only, repeatedly arising and disappearing in our mind, because the Mind itself is a composite of Knowledge and consciousness. 

Mind is not only the "knowledge", or the "observed" but is also the "Observer", the underlying consciousness,"conscious" of itself.

Mind  is such an incomprehensible and strange Reality comprising of both the dead matter / the material object as well as the Life - the Live Awareness also.

Driven by sheer memory / knowledge / information, the mental construct, our hopes, desires and fears, born out of our imagination only, we constantly create our own conflicts, misery all the time.

The Spontaneous Moment, devoid of all so-called past and future however never inflicts upon us all this strife, agony and the anxiety.

🐜 🐜 ...🐜 ...🐜 🐜 🐜 ....🐜 🐜 🐜 .......

***

 

कौतूहल!

अभी 12:40 के कुछ समय बाद,

कौतूहलवश 

श्रीमद्भागवद्महापुराण द्वादश स्कंध श्लोक 18 एवं 24 का अवलोकन किया! 

श्लोक 18 कुछ इस प्रकार से है :

यदा चन्द्रश्च सूर्यश्च यदा तिष्य बृहस्पति। 

उपरोक्त श्लोक में वैदिक "लॉक" है।

उस "लॉक" को खोला तो पता चला कि "तिष्य"  शब्द "भविष्यति" / "भावी" के वर्तमान रूप का सूचक है। तात्पर्य यह कि ज्योतिषीय गणना के अनुसार जब सूर्य, चन्द्र और बृहस्पति एक ही राशि पर होंगे, उस समय कलियुग समाप्त हो चुका होगा, किन्तु वह राशि ठीक ठीक कौन सी और वर्ष भी ठीक ठीक कौन सा है, इसे जानने हेतु कुछ और जानकारी प्राप्त की जाना वाँछित है,  क्योंकि लगभग प्रतिवर्ष ही ऐसा कोई समय अवश्य ही उपस्थित होता है। अतिरिक्त जानकारी संभवतः इसी अध्याय में प्राप्त हो सकती है।

पुनः इसी अध्याय के 24 वें श्लोक में दी गई जानकारी के अनुसार कल्कि के अवतार (संभवतः) वही व्यक्ति हैं, जिनका नाम पंडित श्री काशीनाथ मिश्र है।

यह सब मेरा अनुमान मात्र है, किन्तु मैं नहीं कह सकता कि मेरा अनुमान कितना सत्य या असत्य है। संभवतः यह सब कपोल कल्पना ही हो। वैसे अन्य संकेतों और समय के लक्षणों से यह प्रतीत होता है कि यह जानकारी अवश्य ही सत्य है।

इस आधार पर कहा जा सकता है कि इस समय वर्तमान में कलियुग समाप्त हो चुका है। यद्यपि इस बारे में पता नहीं कि कल्कि अवतार कौन है? 

इस बारे में मेरा कोई आग्रह या दावा नहीं है।

***

Once Upon A Time.

एकदा नैमिष्यारण्ये

एक बार किसी समय नैमिष्यारण्य (राजा निमि, जिन्होंने ऋषि वसिष्ठ को दिए गए अपने वचन का पालन न करते हुए ऋषि वसिष्ठ से अपने यज्ञ को पूर्ण करने का अनुरोध किया और जब ऋषि वसिष्ठ अन्यत्र पूर्व-निर्धारित यज्ञ का पौरोहित्य पूर्ण कर लेने के पश्चात् राजा निमि के यज्ञ को पूर्ण करने के लिए राजा निमि के पास आए और जब उन्हें पता चला कि ऋषि विश्वामित्र यज्ञ को पूर्ण कर चुके हैं तो वे रोष से भर गए। तब ऋषि वसिष्ठ और निमि भी मृत्यु को प्राप्त हुए। तब राजा नामि को उनके द्वारा पूर्ण किए गए यज्ञ के पुण्य के फलस्वरूप मनुष्य के नेत्रों की पलकें के मध्य अविनाशी स्थान की प्राप्ति हुई, जिससे निमिषमात्र समय के व्यक्त और अव्यक्त रूपों का उन्मेष हुआ। "निद्रा" भी "द्रा" धातु से निष्पन्न पद है जो नेत्रों के निमीलन और उन्मीलन के अनुसार काल का निमिषमात्र व्यक्त प्रकार है। इस कथा का वर्णन वाल्मीकि रामायण के उत्तरकाण्ड में विस्तार से है। ऋषि वसिष्ठ ने भी पुनः कुम्भज ऋषि के रूप में जन्म लिया। और इसी प्रकार से (संभवतः) ऋषि अगस्त्य ने भी ऋषि वसिष्ठ की ही तरह दूसरे किसी कुम्भ से।)

एक बार वनस्थली में 88000 (2 x 2 x 2 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 11) ऋषिगण :

स्वाध्यायेश्वरप्रणिधानानि क्रियायोगः

के निमित्त एकत्रित हुए और उस पवित्र सरयू (सरि + उ) के तट पर आचार्य के सम्मुख उनसे उपदेश-प्राप्ति की अभिलाषा से प्रस्तुत हुए।

तब आचार्य ने ऋषिगणों पूछा कि उनके वहाँ उपस्थित होने का क्या उद्देश्य है?

वहाँ विद्यमान समस्त ऋषियों ने आचार्य को प्रणिपात-पूर्वक निवेदन किया :

हे प्रभो!

द्वापर युग और इसके साथ ही महाभारत युद्ध भी समाप्त हो चुका है और पृथ्वी पर कलियुग का अवतरण हो चुका है, अहिंसा, सत्य, अस्तेय, ब्रह्मचर्य, और अपरिग्रह आदि भी मनुष्यमात्र को विस्मृतप्राय हो गए हैं। ऐसे समय, जब हर मनुष्य का आचरण कलि के प्रभाव से अनायास ही हिंसा, असत्य, स्तेय, स्वार्थ और परिग्रह से ही कलंकित, दूषित और प्रेरित हो रहा है, और कलह ही सर्वत्र व्याप्त हो रहा है, तब मनुष्य किस प्रकार से उस धर्म के स्वरूप को जानकर उसका पालन करें जिससे कि उसका और उसके संसार का भी वास्तविक कल्याण हो?

तब आचार्य ने किञ्चित् स्मितपूर्वक कहा :

ऋषियों! तुमने बहुत उत्तम प्रश्न किया है।

किन्तु इसका उत्तर सुनने से पहले तुम इस पर ध्यान दो कि महाभारत युद्ध क्यों हुआ? किसी का जन्म किसी विशेष योनि में और किन्हीं माता पिता से ही क्यों होता है? शारीरिक दृष्टि से तो सभी का जन्म अवश्य ही किन्हीं माता पिता से होता है, किन्तु क्या प्रत्येक मनुष्य स्वयं ही अपने पूर्व-जन्म के संस्कारों से ही प्रेरित या बाध्य होकर उन अपने माता पिता से जन्म लेने का एकमात्र प्रमुख और वास्तविक कारण नहीं होता? महाभारत की कथा को रूपक की तरह देखें तो क्या पाँच प्रकार की वृत्तियाँ ही पाँच पाण्डव और भिन्न भिन्न प्रतीत होनेवाले संस्कार ही एक सौ तरह के कौरव नहीं हैं? क्या धृतराष्ट्र, पाण्डु और विदुर एक ही पिता की संतान नहीं हैं?

इसलिए सभी मनुष्य शरीरधारी भिन्न भिन्न स्वभाव और प्रकृति के होते हैं और उन्हीं अपनी अपनी प्रवृत्तियों से प्रेरित होकर कार्य करते हैं।

प्रत्येक मनुष्य को उसके पूर्वसंस्कारों के अनुसार ही नए शरीर की प्राप्ति होती है और उसके शारीरिक माता पिता तो इसके केवल भौतिक माध्यम और निमित्त होते हैं। संस्कारों के रूप में मनुष्य के गुणों और कर्मों के अनुसार समय समय पर उसके चित्त में उपरोक्त पाँचों प्रकार की वृत्तियाँ क्रम से उठती और विलीन होती रहती हैं। कर्म के रूप में तमोगुणी कौरवों और रजोगुणी पिण्डों के बीच होनेवाला उनके व्यवहार या युद्ध को ही क्रमशः कुरूक्षेत्र तथा धर्मक्षेत्र में होनेवाला महाभारत कहा जाता है।

तमोगुणी स्थूल इन्द्रियाँ और रजोगुणी ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ दोनों ही प्रकृति के क्रियाकलाप के साधनमात्र हैं। सतोगुण मन ही उनके मध्य कभी रजोगुण और कभी तमोगुण से आवृत्त होने से मन में द्वन्द्व के उत्पन्न होने का एकमात्र कारण है।

ऋषियों इस भवसागर से तरने के लिए केवल दो ही मार्ग साधन या उपाय क्रमशः योग और ज्ञान ही हैं।

मैंने तुम्हें उपदेश तो प्रदान कर दिया, किन्तु यह तुम्हारी जिज्ञासा, उत्कंठा, लगन और धैर्य ही हैं जो कि तुम्हारे लिए मोक्ष का मार्ग प्रशस्त करेंगे।

--

इसी ब्लॉग में निम्न पोस्ट भी दृष्टव्य है, यद्यपि उसमें कुछ त्रुटियाँ व्याकरण की हैं, जिनका शोधन सुधी पाठक स्वयं ही कर लेंगे यह आशा है।

अस्तु !

--

Saturday 6 May 2023

हरो यद्युपदेष्टा ते

अष्टावक्र गीता

अध्याय १६

श्लोक ११

हरो यद्युपदेष्टा ते हरिः कमलजोऽपि वा।।

तथापि न तव स्वास्थ्यं सर्वविस्मरणादृते।।११।।

(हरः यदि उपदेष्टा ते हरिः अपि कमलात्मजः। तथापि न तव स्वास्थ्यं सर्व-विस्मरणात् ऋते।।)

अर्थ  : यदि स्वयं भगवान् शङ्कर, भगवान् विष्णु या ब्रह्मा ही तुम्हें उपदेश क्यों न दें, तो भी जब तक तुम, सब कुछ (बौद्धिक ज्ञान) पूरी तरह से विस्मृत नहीं कर देते, तब तक अपने स्वयं के नितान्त विशुद्ध और निज आत्म-स्वरूप में कभी स्थित नहीं हो सकोगे।

।।इति षोडषाध्यायः।।

--

ಅಷ್ಟಾವಕ್ರ ಗೀತಾ

ಅಧ್ಯಾಯ  ೧೬

ಶ್ಲೋಕ ೧೧

ಹರೋ ಯದ್ಯುಪದೇಷ್ಟಾ ತೇ ಹರಿಃ ಕಮಲಜೋಪಿ ವಾ||

ತಥಾಪಿ ನ ತಮ ಸ್ಮಾಸ್ಥ್ಯಂ ಸರ್ಮಮಿಸ್ಮರಣಾದೃತೇ||೧೧||

||ಇತಿ ಷೋಡಷೋಧ್ಯಾಯಃ||

--

Ashtavakra Gita

Chapter 16

Stanza 11

Let even the Lord Hara (Shankara), Lord Hari (Vishnu) or the lotus-born Lied BrahmA be your instructor, but unless you forget all, you cannot be established in the Self.

Thus concludes chapter 16 of the text :

Ashtavakra Gita. 

***

From अरण्यकाण्डम्

गोस्वामीश्री तुलसीदास कृत रामचरितमानस, अरण्यकाण्ड से

--

नमामि भक्तवत्सलम् । कृपालुशीलकोमलं।। 

भजामि ते पदाम्बुजम् । अकामिनां स्व-धामदम्।।

निकाम श्यामसुन्दरम् । भवाम्बुनाथमन्दरम्।।

प्रफुल्लकञ्जलोचनम् । मदादिदोषमोचनम्।। 

प्रलम्बबाहु-विक्रमम् । प्रभोऽप्रमेयवैभवम्।।

निषङ्गचापसायकम्। धरं त्रिलोकनायकम्।।

दिनेशवंशमण्डनम्। महेशचाप-खण्डनम्।।

मुनीन्द्रसन्तरञ्जनम्। सुरारिवृन्दभञ्जनम्।।

मनोजवैरिवन्दितम्। अजादिदेव सेवितम्।।

विशुद्ध-बोध-विग्रहम्। समस्तदूषणापहम्।।

नमामि इन्दिरापतिम्। सुखाकरं सतां गतिम्।।

भजे सशक्ति-सानुजम्। शचीपतिं प्रियानुजम्।।

त्वदङ्घ्रिमूल ये नरा। भजन्ति हीन-मत्सरा।।

पतन्ति नो भवार्णवे। वितर्कवीचिसङ्कुले।।

विविक्तवासिनः सदा। भजन्ति मुक्तये मुदा।। 

निरस्य इन्द्रियादिकम्। प्रयान्ति ते गतिं स्वकम्।।

तमेकमद्भुतं प्रभुम्। निरीहमीश्वरं विभुम्।।

जगद्गुरुं च शाश्वतम्। तुरीयमेव केवलम्।।

भजामि भाववल्लभम्। कुयोगिनां सुदुर्लभम्।।

स्वभक्तकल्पपादपम्। समं सुसेव्यमन्वहम्।।

अनूपरूपभूपतिम्। नतोऽहमुर्विजापतिम्।।

प्रसीद मे नमामि ते। पदाब्जभक्ति देहि मे।।

फलश्रुतिः

पठन्ति ये स्तवं इदम्। नरादरेण ते पदम्।।

व्रजन्ति नात्र संशयम्। त्वचीय भक्ति-संयुता।। 

***

 

What or Who?

Ego / Alter-ego

Sat-Darshanam Verses 22 to 27 may help in understanding how the Personal / the individual ego keeps manifesting in and as the Alter-ego and the first step is to dissolve / merge this Alter-ego into the ego and then the second step is to let the ego on it's own dissolve / merge into the source from which it emerged out.

This may remind a sincere seeker the way :

माण्डूक्य उपनिषद् 

the mANDUKya UpaniShad

Points out about dissolving / merging the म्  / M into the उ / u and then dissolving / merging the उ / u  into the अ / a 

The three syllables :

 अ / a, उ / u and M / म्  

denote the manifest ॐ / OM

While this sound denotes the Supreme, Ultimate reality beyond and within the manifest.

ॐ जाग्रतादि त्रयोन्मुक्तं जाग्रतादिमयंस्तथा।।

ॐकारैकसुसंवेद्यं यत्पदं तन्नमाम्यहम्।।

(माण्डूक्य उपनिषद् मङ्गलम्)

This is therefore the  : 

आगमोक्तेः / AgamokteH 

Injunction from the scripture.

However this is not so easy to grasp the deeper sense of the above teaching as is given in the words of the scripture.

The world is the third person What

The ego / alter ego is the second person; an ad-mixture - विकार  of :

What and Who,

the first (what) is utterly dead matter, while the next (who) is consciousness, - either as in a man, or Consciousness as Supreme and Ultimate and Pure - beyond the both.

This point has been well elaborated in the following verse 26.

--

सद्दर्शनम्  / saddarsshanaM --

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

--

यदीशितुर्वीक्षणमीक्षितार-

मवीक्ष्य तन्मासिकेक्षणं स्यात्।।

न दृष्टुरन्यः परमो हि तस्य

वीक्षा स्वमूले प्रविलीय निष्ठा।।२२।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्... 

आत्मानमीक्षेत परं प्रपश्येत्-

इति आगमोक्तेः सुलभो न भावः।।

नात्मैव दृश्यो यदि का कथेशे

स्वयं तदन्नीभवनं तदीक्षा।।२३।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

धिये प्रकाशं परमो वितीर्य

स्वयं धियोऽन्तः प्रविभाति गुप्त।। 

धियं परावर्त्य धियोऽन्तरेऽत्र

संयोजनान्नेश्वरदृष्टिरन्या।।२४।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

न वक्ति देहोऽहमः प्रसुप्तौ

न कोऽपि नाभूवमिति प्रवक्ति।।

यत्रोदिते सर्वमुदेति तस्य 

धियाऽहमः शोधय जन्मदेशम्।।२५।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

देहो न जानाति सतो न जन्म

देह-प्रमाणोऽन्य उदेति मध्ये।।

अहंकृतिः-ग्रन्थि-विबन्ध-सूक्ष्म-

शरीर-चेतो-भव-जीव-नामा।।२६।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

रूपोद्भवो रूपतति प्रतिष्ठो

रूपाशनो धूतगृहीतरूपः।। 

स्वयं विरूपः विचारकाले 

धावत्यहंकार पिशाच एषः।।२७।।

सत्प्रत्यया किं नु विहाय सन्तम्  ...

Still we know all this theoretically only. 

To understand at the direct level through self-enquiry we can see how the sense of 'self' keeps us confused all the time, and we fail to notice that in its two forms we get overwhelmed and begin to say :

I have to get rid of the ego, I have to be free from the ego.

Can't we see the apparent but otherwise evident paradox / contradiction in our this thought where I want to free myself from myself? Isn't it self-contradictory only but ridiculous also!

But why we become a victim of such a paradox? Isn't it because though all the time and certainly, without least doubt, from the very insight we know ourself as the consciousness, as oneself who exists; and existence implies this knowing that we exist as consciousness only, somehow we tend to define and pronounce exactly what we might be!

So we accept whatever we have been told to us by others. Like

"You are so and so, you have this name, you're child, young man, boy or girl, man or woman, strong or weak, healthy or sick, you're of this age because you were born on such and such a date!" 

So we have a fairly excessive amount of data about what people think of of "me"  and we go on believing without raising a doubt whether it might be true or not.

In appearance this all is perfectly correct but inherently it's basically information and words only. If we turn to Patanjali's Yoga-Sutra for help, we can see how the sage has defined all this information in the following two aphorisms :

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम्।।८।।

शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः।।९।।

(समाधिपाद)

The above two aphorisms point out that all the worldly knowledge acquired is of two kinds only -

The first is  knowledge in the distorted form :

विपर्यय  / aberration  of the known fact,

The second is an alternative word used to denote something with no essence at all. 

This may be explained by the following examples : 

First of all let us see the example of a word "past".

The past in time tells us about an event that happened sometime ago -may be a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month an year or a few years or decades ago.

Is it the same in the memory of all those who were part of the event?  Don't all of them have a different narrative?  So the word "past" as it is told is but distortion of what exactly might have happened.

Take another word "Future".

The "past" was at least known to some extent by all, but what about the future? The happening that will happen after a short, long or very long time from now? This could neither be experienced, nor proved by any means, neither by logic, exoerience, nor by any example. Future necessarily doesn't mean uncertainty, but only a chance, a probability. At this moment, future is just unavailable to us to say and understand what it might be.  Really it is just absent. This is called but "option". It is therefore a solid example of  "विकल्प".

And how one could possibly handle that which is just not available?

Let us now see another example.

The "Past" was at least "known". Though maybe partially only,  but the "future" couldn't even be touched, what to speak of seeing, visualizing or handling it?

Isn't "Future" only an imagination of the kind? And in this moment of now, is just absurd to say that we will / can change or alter this assumed "Future".

How you're possibly going to acquire that miracle? Could you materialize the "future" and bring a mutation to this, of the kind now, at this very moment?

This is how there is no parallel to the

wisdom of Sage Patanjali.

।।ॐ नमो ऋषिभ्यः पूर्वेभ्यः।। 

The word :

"Brahman".

We have this word only and actually no object whatever indicated by this word. Still we discuss, define and debate a lot about this word and what might be it's possible meaning.

Then the scripture points out through the four  महावाक्य  :

1. अहं ब्रह्मास्मि, 

2. तत्त्वमसि, 

3. अयमात्मा ब्रह्म, 

4. प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म 

The three of them indirectly tell about what might be the  ब्रह्म  /  Brahman.

The second also in the same way uses a synonym to tell what might be this 

ब्रह्म / Brahman .

The straightforward English translation would be something like this :

1. I Am Brahman -- I AM THAT, 

2. Thou Art That -- You are That.

3. The / This Self (Itself) is Brahman. 

4. Awareness, Consciousness  or the Attention is  verily the Brahman. 

In effect, this word  ब्रह्म  / Brahman is a good example of what is विपर्यय. 

Another example may be  the "sky" :

We all know what we call "sky" is just nothing, a void or a blank only.

In the same way we acquire beliefs and ideas only about ourself, the world, God, Truth and so many other things. Instead if we try to find out what the word "I"   might mean, our attention at once will be drawn to ourself -

What we think of ourselves and what we might be Really in our own true being.

Alter-ego is therefore the one, "Who"   passes through the five kinds of 

 वृत्ति / vRtti,

as are enumerated by the Sage in these aphorisms of Patanjali.

One who says : 

"I think", "I've to do this or that, "I will do this or that", "I'm happy or sad", "I'm the owner of this property, body, house, family, monet and the relations", "I've this experience" I've in my name this achievement", "My name is going to be reputed always".

The experience is the Alter-ego, while the one who claims to have had it is the ego. 

What we think and believe we are, is but the Alter-ego, while knowing I'm but existence and consciousness only is ego. But enquiring about the "I"  and knowing the full import of this word takes us beyond ego and the Alter-ego both. 

***

 

The Trans.

The  Average Mind  /  चित्त

Goes through the following five phases :

मूढ  - unconscious.  

When the attention is yet to wake up and is free from the sense of individuality in a perceived world. Where the whole and the individual are undifferentiated.

क्षिप्त  - evolved / conscious. 

Where the attention has just woken up and the sense of the individuality comes up in a perceived world of senses. Like in the case of plants and trees where they are supposed to have only the sense of touch and know / experience the feeling only. A vague sense of just being only.

The same attention gradually grows in the kind of the next five kinds of sensory perceptions, like the smell, sound, taste and sight respectively.

So there is this hierarchy in that order. 

The insects, the tape-worm, the snail, the turtle, the frog and the fish are the next.

Then there are the animals, the birds and finally the humans on this ladder.

With this gradual ramification the five prominent sensory perceptions of them too become refined and subtle.

The same attention that in the beginning was of one kind, namely the touch, then becomes five-fold attention and though the focus of attention keeps on shifting from one to another kind, at a time only one of them governs over the other four. For example :

When you touch, attention is focused on this only and is withdrawn from all the other kinds of senses.

When you taste, the same thing repeats.

And in this way at any time the one of them dominates over the other four. In this way, the different kind of sensory perceptions always follow one-another.

एकाग्र  - centred  / pointed.

But when the attention is voluntarily or involuntarily kept fixed upon only one of them, the attention becomes pointed or centred about that specific perception.

Then you carefully withdraw attention from the other four kinds of the sensory perceptions and try to extend the time for comparatively a longer.

समाहित  - absorbed  / identified with the object of attention.

Because for that much span of Time, all sense of duality  seems to have ceased. It's like the state of deep dreamless sleep, where one enjoys the pure sense of being only and the natural, spontaneous bliss associated with it.

If the object attracts the attention and is very interesting, this rapt attention may give a great indescribable pleasure that remains stored in the memory.

But after a while because of compulsion or some other reason, when the pleasure is no more, attention diverts to another object of attraction.

This state of  mind  can't stay for long still one remembers it for a long time. This may be akin to Trans or samAdhi.

निरुद्ध - controlled.

This one is gained through effort because one realizes that all sensory perceptions howsoever promising and fulfilling don't last and can't stay for ever.

This is the beginning of the practice of Yoga. The aphorism :

अथ योगानुशासनम्।।१।।

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः।।२।।

The first aphorism, points out how to practice the discipline of Yoga.

The next one for the beginners, defines in the most simple words what Yoga means and is all about.

The above lines describe what are the five phases of Mind. 

It is also equally important to see and understand the consciousness in terms of the three states is something different but deeply related to the these five phases of Mind  /  चित्त.

That will be discussed in the next post :

The Alter-ego 

and 

The Altered states of consciousness.

So that in that perspective, we can better understand the meaning and the significance of the word :

Alter-ego.

***