[Advaita-l] Iswara Darshanam - 2

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

                                                                                        Iswara darshanam -2

Seeing Iswara in and through the names and forms is understanding Iswara involves Veveka or discriminative intellect that can intellectually differentiate eternal from ephemeral, and vairagya that can discard the unnecessary details about the superficial names and forms, the faith in the teaching and the teacher who is pointing out this fact which is otherwise too subtle to grasp, and motivation supported by the strong desire to recognize this absolute all-pervading truth. In essence, one needs the purity of the mind with sadhana chatuShTaya sampaati that involves above mentioned requirements. 

This chapter essentially points out that viswaruupa darshanam is not different from the Iswara Dashanam or God-realization or seeing God. They are not two separate entities. Currently I feel that Iswara is different from the world that I perceive and transact with. That is my current understanding. In Swami Paramarthanandaji terminology I am in triangular format – with the notion that Jiiva- jagat and Iswara are three different entities. This is also what dvaita and vishiShTaadvaita teaches us – jiiva satyam, jagat satyam and paramaartha satyam. Hence, whenever I have problem, I run to the temple asking to the Lord to save me, since I have a strong feeling God can be approached by prayers at the temple. God is a means for my happiness or for overcoming otherwise unsurmountable obstacles in the pursuit of my happiness. Krishna calls us arthArthi bhaktas when we run to God with begging bowl, or Artha bhaktas when we run to Him when we are desperate.
 This bhakti is not love for God but love for fulfilling our desires or getting over the problem at hand.  

Vedanta teaches us the absolute truth that pure sat-chit-ananda swaruupam which we call it as Iswara, itself became many. Hence plurality that we see is nothing but God himself in many forms. Hence vishwa ruupa darshanam is not different from the Iswara darshanam, if I understand this simple fact that in and thought various forms the Lord alone is. The multitude of forms arise from that one source, sustained by it and go back into it. In essence the material cause – kaaraNa is not different from the products, kaaryam. To elucidate this only scripture provided the three examples – just as gold becoming many ornaments, mud becoming many mud pots, Iron becoming many iron tools. Iswara, in absolute sense, is beyond the cause-effect or kaaraNa-kaarya valakshanam. Since God has already become many forms, now I can only see God in and through many forms. Hence purity of the mind becomes essential factor to see God via the world, or Iswara darshanam via
 viswaruupa darshanam. Scriptures also teaches that the seer I, is also not different from the Iswara or the world that I see. Hence the absolute truth not only pervades the world of plurality but also seer and seen world of duality. Hence the misunderstanding that I am a seer and this has to be seen and the two are different also has to be dropped with ultimate realization that there is only one that pervades the entire universe, from which this universe of plurality arises, sustains and go back into. That becomes the true Iswara darshanam where non-duality is recognized in spite of apparent duality. That is the essence of advaita.  In essence, I move from a triangular format (Jiiva-jagat-Iswara) to binary format (aatma and anaatma) to unitary format (aham brahmaasmi). This movement is not at physical level but at mental level with clear understanding of the fact – seeing the unity in diversity is the self-realization, god-realization or real
 viswaruupa darshanam. This is same as samatva darshanam, seeing oneness in all apparently divergent things and beings. Krishna mentioned earlier the wise man sees that samatvam or oneness that pervades all, even though at transactional level he transacts with the differences. 

vidyA vinaya sampannE brAhmaNE gavi hastini|
shunichaiva svapAkEca panDitAH samadarshinaH|  5-18

Wiseman sees oneness in the cultured scholar, cow, elephant, dog, or dog-eater, even though they appear to be drastically different at transactional level. 
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To be continued.