[Advaita-l] ***UNCHECKED*** Avadhuta Gita - 1-2,1-3 and 1-4

[Venkatesh Murthy]

Namaste

येनेदं पूरितं सर्वमात्मनैवात्मनात्मनि ।
निराकारं कथं वन्दे ह्यभिन्नं शिवमव्ययम् ॥ २॥

How shall I salute the formless Being, indivisible, auspicious and immutable,
who fills all this with His Self and also fills the self with His Self?

पञ्चभूतात्मकं विश्वं मरीचिजलसन्निभम् ।
कस्याप्यहो नमस्कुर्यामहमेको निरञ्जनः ॥ ३॥

The universe composed of the five elements is like water etc. in a mirage.
Oh, to whom shall I make obeisance - I who am one and taintless?

In these two Slokas Dattatreya is asking how can He bow to the Formless
Brahman that is His own Self. Bowing is only when we are bowing to another.
How can a person bow to himself? Then Dattatreya is saying how can He bow
to a God with form composed of the five elements the Pancha Bhootas. All
Gods like Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh have forms and the forms are from
Pancha Bhootas only. But the Panch Bhootas and the Universe made of those
Pancha Bhootas are like water in a mirage. They are not real. How can a
person bow to a God with unreal form?

आत्मैव केवलं सर्वं भेदाभेदो न विद्यते ।
अस्ति नास्ति कथं ब्रूयां विस्मयः प्रतिभाति मे ॥ ४॥

All is verily the absolute Self.Distinction and nondistinction do not
exist. How can I say, "It exists; it does not exist"? I am filled with
wonder!

Everything is the Self. Then we cannot even say there is Bheda and Abheda.
Why? To say Bheda is there we require two things A and B. Then we can say
there is a difference between A and B. Or we can say there is no difference
between A and B. Similarly to say a thing A exists we require something
B to not exist. Then we say A exists but not B. But here Atman only is the
only thing. There is not a second thing. Therefore we cannot even say Atman
exists. We cannot say it does not exist. This is the wonderful point made
by Dattatreya.


-- 
Regards

-Venkatesh