[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Five kinds of 'bhrama' and their correction - Annapurna Upanishad

[Venkatraghavan S]

Namaste Subbuji,

Thank you for sharing this - it is so clear, there is no excuse really for
misunderstanding.

Regards,
Venkatraghavan

On Tue, 5 Dec 2023, 00:58 V Subrahmanian, <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:

> In this minor upanishad there is a conversation between Ribhu (Guru) and
> Nidagha (Disciple). Five kinds of errors are specified, that mark bondage
> and their respective correction that marks liberation:
> अन्नपूर्णोपनिषत्
> https://sa.wikisource.org/s/wr3
>
> भ्रमः पञ्चविधो भाति तदेवेह समुच्यते ।
> जीवेश्वरौ भिन्नरूपाविति प्राथमिको भ्रमः ॥ 12॥
>
> आत्मनिष्ठं कर्तृगुणं वास्तवं वा द्वितीयकः ।
> शरीरत्रयसंयुक्तजीवः सङ्गी तृतीयकः ॥ 13॥
>
> जगत्कारणरूपस्य विकारित्वं चतुर्थकः ।
> कारणाद्भिन्नजगतः सत्यत्वं पञ्चमो भ्रमः ।
> पञ्चभ्रमनिवृत्तिश्च तदा स्फुरति चेतसि ॥ 15॥
>
>
> https://www.vyasaonline.com/annapurna-upanishad/#:~:text=The%20Annapurna%20Upanishad%20asserts%2C%20in,person%2Dego)%20as%20Self
> .
>
>
> *—Annapurna Upanishad 1.37–38Translated by AGK Warrier*
>
> *Five delusions*
>
> The *Annapurna Upanishad* asserts, in verses 1.13 to 1.15,
> that delusions are of five kinds.
>
> The first is believing in the distinction between Jiva (living being) and
> god as if they have different forms.
>
> The second delusion, asserts the text, is equating agency (actor-capacity,
> person-ego) as Self.
>
>  Assuming Jiva as equivalent - and permanently attached - to body is the
> third delusion, states the text.
>
> The fourth delusion is to assume the cause of the universe to be changing,
> and not constant.
>
> The fifth delusion, asserts the Upanishad, is to presume the unchanging
> Reality in the universe to be different from the cause of the universe.
> These five delusive premises, asserts the text, prevents the understanding
> of Self.
> Their correction is as follows:
>
> 1. बिम्बप्रतिबिम्बदर्शनेन भेदभ्रमो निवृत्तः ।
>
> By recognizing the 'original' and the 'reflection' are really
> non-different, the error of 'difference' between Jiva and Ishwara is
> removed.
>
> 2. स्फटिकलोहितदर्शनेन पारमार्थिककर्तृत्वभ्रमो निवृत्तः ।
>
> The analogy of redness in crystal teaches that the doership/agency,
> katrutva, a person thinks is his true nature, is gone. The redness only
> appears in the crystal due to proximity of the red flower. So too the
> agency one experiences is actually in the body-mind complex, but wrongly
> perceived in the Atman, due to proximity.
>
> 3. घटमठाकाशदर्शनेन सङ्गीतिभ्रमो निवृत्तः ।
>
> By knowing that the pot-space and house-space are only conditionings of
> unconditioned space,  the delusion that one is indeed endowed with the
> three bodies/sharirams: kAraNa, sukshma and sthUla, is dispelled. The gross
> and subtle bodies are only upadhis created by avidya (kAraNa sharira). Once
> this is known the delusion of being a jiva is dispelled.
>
> 4. रज्जुसर्पदर्शनेन कारणाद्भिन्नजगतः सत्यत्वभ्रमो निवृत्तः ।
>
> The cause-effect analysis teaches us that the effect does not have a
> separate existence apart from the cause: This aspect of x having no
> existence apart from its cause y, is analogous to the superimposed snake
> having no separate existence from the substratum rope. Similarly the world,
> the effect of, the superimposition on Brahman, has no separate existence
> from Brahman. This realization dispels the false idea that the world is
> real (just like the knowledge of the rope dispels the erroneous idea that
> the world is real.)
> Shankara has on several occasions equated the clay-pot analogy with the
> rope-snake analogy.
>
> 5. कनकरुचकदर्शनेन विकारित्वभ्रमो निवृत्तः ।
>
> The understanding that the ornament is non-different from gold dispels the
> error that the world is a transformation of Brahman. When understood and
> viewed from the teaching of the Chandogya Upanishad: वाचारम्भणम् विकारो
> नामधेयम्, मृत्तिकेत्येव सत्यम्, the effect, ornament, is not really a
> transformation of gold.
>
>
> तदाप्रभृति मच्चित्तं ब्रह्माकारमभूत्स्वयम् ।
> निदाघ त्वमपीत्थं हि तत्त्वज्ञानमवाप्नुहि ॥ 16॥
>
> By contemplating on the above lines one would clearly realize he is
> Brahman and the appearance of the world is not real, and will get
> established in Brahman. The Guru Ribhu instructs and blesses his disciple
> Nidagha: You too thus contemplating attain the knowledge of the Self.
>
> This reminds us of the commentary of Shankara for the Bh.Gita 2.16: You
> too Arjuna, on the lines of the Jnanis,  viewing the transformations in
> life as mithya, practice forbearance. (Such a practice will result in the
> actualizing of the Jivan-mukta state).
>
> Om Tat Sat
>
>
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