[Advaita-l] Vedastuti part 10

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

tava pari ye charantyakhilasattvaniketatayA
ta uta padAkramantyavigaNayya shiro niR^ite.h |
parivayase pashUniva girA vibudhAnapi tAMastvayi
kR^itasauhR^idA.h khalu punanti na ye vimukhA.h || 27 ||

"Those who worship You as the source of all existence, oh! they casually 
step on the head of Death.[1] But with sacred words[2] You tie up like animals
even the wise.[3]  It is those who have befriended[4] You who can purify 
not those that avoid You."

[1] Knowing the true nature of existence is immortality.  One who knows it 
becomes free of the cycle of birth and death.  Death is called by the 
feminine name niR^itti here not the usual yama or mR^ityu.

[2] The shastras.

[3] If one approaches the shastras simply as a list of "do"s and "don't"s 
without understanding their purport which is Brahman then what should be 
the key to liberation instead becomes a yoke like the yoke of a beast of 
burden.

[4] The word used here is sauhrd which is not just a fellow traveller but 
one who is on the same emotional wavelength.  It is not enough to know 
"All is Brahman" as a concept, one has to feel it.  One has to live life 
like he really means it.

tvamakaraNa.h svarADakhilakArakashaktidharastava
balimudvahanti samadantyajayA.animiShA.h |
varShabhujo.akhilakShitipateriva vishvasR^ijo
vidadhati yatra ye tvadhikR^itA bhavatashchakitA.h || 28 ||

"Though you are devoid of senses you illuminate the sense-power of all 
things.[1] Brahma[2] and the Devas[3] enjoy tribute and offer it to you 
just as the king of the land is given tribute by his barons.[4] So too do 
the creators of the universe perform their duties out of fear of You.[5]"

[1]  Vedanta teaches that knowledge of Brahman is veiled by maya.  But if 
we the jivas are also of maya how can we ever pierce the veil?  The answer 
is that Brahman is svata.hsiddha ("self-illuminating.") That which we can 
sense is known by the power of Brahman underlying the senses.

[2] Literally dhara ("maintainer") usually a name of Vishnu but here 
refering to Brahma.

[3] Literally ajaya ("immortal") and animisha ("unblinking".) One of the 
characteristics of Devas is that they do not blink and of course they are 
immortal.

[4] In shruti the Devas are equated with the senses.  See the bhashya on 
Ishopanishad 4 for example.  Just as a lord gets taxes etc. from his 
subjects and in turn pays them to his king, just as the Devas have 
their worshippers and the senses receive perceptions and they are 
transmitted by the nerves to the brain.  But the mind (mAnasa) itself has 
the capability to understand due to Brahman.

[5] See Taittireyopanishad 2.8.1

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>