[Chaturamnaya] Tattvabodha of Adi Sankaracharya - 15

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Continued from previous post)
 
 
2.4.2 The Dream State
 
svapnAvasthA keti chet ?  If the question
"What is svapnAvasthA ?" is asked (the
answer is)
 
 jAgradavasthAyA.n yaddR^iShTa.n yad shrutam
 tajjanitavAsanayA nidrAsamaye yaH prapa~nchaH pratIyate
 sA svapnAvasthA .
 
The world that is produced (projected)
during sleep, based on the impressions
generated from whatever has been seen or
heard during the wakeful state, is known as
dream state.
 
 sUkShmasharIrAbhimAnI AtmA taijasa ityuchyate .
 
The Self that associates with the subtle body
is known as "taijasa".
 
nidrAsamaye , during sleep; (i.e, withdrawal from
the wakeful state or sthula Sareeram. Then
identification with the subtle body - the mind
- which has lot of events etc. recorded during
the wakeful state through the five sense
organs. These impressions are generally called
vAsanas or samskAras.)
 
yaH prapa~nchaH pratIyate , the world that is projected
 
tajjanitavAsanayA , from Impresslons produced
 
jAgradavasthAyA.n yaddR^iShTa.n yad shrutam - based on what
is seen or heard during wakeful state sA svapnAvasthA .
(is called) the dream state.
 
The mind belongs to the subtle body; in the
dream state, we associate ourselves with the
subtle bodyand so is described as
sUkShmasharIrAbhimAnam.h and the experiencer in this state
- the dreamer - is described as sUkShmasharIrAbhimAnI.
It should be noted that the sUkShmasharIram - the subtle
body, is inert and the chaitanyam (functioning
through the subtle body in the dream state) is
given the name taijasaH. Between the wakeful
state and the dream state, the experience and
the instruments of experience are different, but
the experiencer is same. (We say, "I dreamt,
and I woke up").
 
2.4.3 The Deep-Sleep State
 
ataH suShuptyavasthA kA? Then, what is the
deep sleep state?
 
 aha.n kimapi na jAnAmi sukhena mayA nidrA.anubhUyata iti
 suShuptyavasthA .
 
The deep-deep state is that state of which one
says later, "I do not know anything; I
experience a nice sleep".
 
 kAraNasharIrAbhimAnI AtmA prAj~na ityuchyate .
 
The Self that associates with the causal
body (in the deep-sleep state) is known as
"prAjna".
 
In jAgradavasthA and svapnAvasthA the respective
experiencer knows(aham jAnAmi). But in the
suShuptyavasthA, there is no particular experience
and so the absence o f anyparticular eerience
is the expereince in the deep-sleep state.
 
kimapi na jAnAmi - I do not know anything
 
sukhena mayA nidrA.anubhUyate - I enjoy a happy (good)
sleep.
 
Here the experiencer cannot associate with
either sthula or sukshma Sareeram and so
identifies with the kAraNa Sareeram.
 
The exneriencer in this state is described
as kAraNasharIrAbhimAnI. Here also the chaitanyam
or the illuminator is given a separate name
called, prAjna: (prAyeNa ajna: - almost
ignorant).
 
The Self is given different names during
each Of the states and is identified with one Of
the three Sareeras in any one state. But the
Self is the same and illuminates (ispresent in)
every one Of these states Hence the Self is
described as the witness (sAkshI).
 
 
(Continued in next post)