ADVAITA DIALOGUE Continued from Page 2

401. S: Shall we therefore say that Brahman is the commonality of everything there is?

402. G: Now go back to the Atman, the Consciousness in all that is animate.

403. S: I see where you are leading me. You are going to connect this Atman with that Brahman?

404. G: You have just missed the mark. Not just ‘connect’; I am going to say They are the same.

405. S: What! Atman and Brahman are the same?

406. G: Exactly. This is the fundamental conclusion of the Upanishads.

407. S: It is too much!

408. G: What is your reservation?

409. S: Atman is our inner essence. Brahman is what is everywhere. How can they be the same?

410. G: What is everywhere can be in your core also!

411. S: That doesn’t seem to be enough logic for me.

412. G: That is why our elders resort to the authority of the Upanishads for this.

413. S: But the concept of Brahman is then again unclear.

414. G: Well, you cannot hope to understand Brahman purely by your intellect.

415. S: How else do I understand it?

416. G. Brahman is not an object of knowledge.

417. S: Then what is it?

418. G: It is itself pure knowledge.

419. S: You are only playing with words.

420. G: No. Brahman cannot be known in the usual way by which everything else is known.

421. S: Even by observation and experiment?

422. G: Because, Brahman is beyond cause and effect, substance and attribute.

423. S: Is it then just a void?

424. G: Not at all, because it is a bundle of consciousness.

425. S: Then how are we supposed to become familiar with it?

426. G: Why familiarity? You are It.

427. S: You mean I am Brahman?

428. G: Of course. But you have to qualify that ‘I’.

429. S: In what way?

430. G: The ‘I’ has been covered and camouflaged by so many other things.

431. S: Earlier you said there are two selves, namely the outer (BMI) and the Inner.

432. G: The Inner Self is the Atman. It witnesses all your actions but is never involved in any of them.

433. S: Is that the one which is the same as Brahman?

434. G: Yes. We shall discuss that point later in more detail.

435. S: Now that you have mentioned ‘actions’, I have several questions.

436. G: You may ask them. But remember to include your thoughts in the category of ‘actions’.

437. S: How can actions and thoughts belong to the same category?

438. G: Because thoughts are also actions -- actions of the mind.

439. S: Who is responsible for my thoughts and actions – most of which I would like to disown?

440. G: You can never disown any of your thoughts or actions. You have to be responsible for them.

441. S: In what way?

442. G: Thoughts and actions leave their vAsanAs in your mind.

443. S: What are vAsanAs?

444. G: VAsanAs are imprints of earlier tastes and tendencies. They form the cause of future birth.

445. S: And the state of no future birth is supposed to be moksha!

446. G: Moksha, release from births, cannot be attained until vAsanAs are exhausted.

447. S: How do I exhaust all my vAsanAs?

448. G: It is a good question. But let us do some organization of our discussion.

449. S: I am ready.

450. G: As you exhaust earlier vAsanAs you also acquire newer vAsanAs.

451. S: That is unavoidable.

452. G: But there is a strategy to avoid this acquisition.

453. S: I thought Vedanta is far from being a game of strategies!

454. G: But Lord Krishna is a strategist. He tells you how to avoid future vAsanAs sticking to you.

455. S: You mean in His Gita?

456. G: Yes. He says: Do your actions with detachment.

457. S: I have heard this word very often in religious expositions. Please tell me about it, Guruji.

458. G: The word ‘non – attachment’ is more expressive. Let us use it.

459. S: Does non-attachment mean that we should not be attached to anything?

460. G: It is the attitude of non-attachment that is recommended.

461. S: But if I am not attached to my work, how do I do it efficiently?

462. G: Actually only then you can do it efficiently.

463. S: It is perplexing. How can that be?

464. G: Because attachment will cloud the issues, as it did for Arjuna on the battlefield.

465. S: But how does Vedanta resonate with this idea of non-attachment?

466. G: It is Vedanta that gives the right rationale for non-attachment.

467. S: Shall I try to reason it out?

468. G: Go ahead, that is what I like.

469. S: Vedanta says that there are two selves in me: the perishable BMI and the imperishable Atman.

470. G: You have begun well.

471. S: The Atman is changeless, so does not do any action.

472. G: All action is done by the BMI.

473. S: But it is the Self that motivates the action.

474. G: No, the Self does not motivate the action. In the presence of the Self action takes place.

475. S: So who is responsible for the action: the Self or BMI?

476. G: BMI cannot act; it is inert.

477. S: Then it is the Self that is responsible.

478. G: That is where you miss a subtle point. There are two selves.

479. S: A self which identifies with BMI and a self which does not.

480. G: You be the Self which does not so identify.

481. S: But then who acts?

482. G: Action happens in the presence of You, namely the Self which does not identify with BMI.

483. S: But then I will become responsible.

484. G: No, You are only a witness, a silent non-participating, non-attached witness!

485. S: You mean: Let my mind think, Let my hand act ... Still should I remain just a witness?

486. G: Yes. That is the meaning of your identifying with the Inner Self.

487. S: This is walking on razor’s edge!

488. G: That is why a Krishna had to explain that strategy!

489. S: Looks like we are cheating ourselves!

490. G: There is no cheating here. In the presence of the Inner Self, because of that presence, action takes place.

491. S: In any case the doer is I myself, right?

492. G: No. You are not the doer. Your attitude is ‘na ahaM kartA’. “I am not the doer”.

493. S: But with this posture, I can go and kill somebody and say “I have not killed”!

494. G: First of all it is not a posture. But tell me, why would you kill somebody?

495. S: Because I need to kill. I want to.

496. G: What is the need?

497. S: Oh, it could be several things. Revenge, maybe.

498. G: That is it. By bringing things like revenge, jealousy, etc. you have brought in attachment.

499. S: Attachment to what?

500. G: Attachment to the result of your action.

501. S: What is wrong with it?

502. G: Then you are not in identity with the Inner Self. The Inner Self is indifferent to all results; and it has no attachments.

503. S: But suppose I need to kill because it is my duty, like that of a soldier on the front.

504. G: Are you doubly sure that you are only doing your duty and you have no hate of the object of your hurt?

505. S: You mean, like a doctor on the surgery table?

506. G: Yes, that is a right example.

507. S: So if hate is not there, is killing right when done as a duty?

508. G: It is on that basis, the military justifies itself.

509. S: You are now entering the political arena.

510. G. No, you are missing the most important point about the state of the mind.

511. S: What is it?

512. G: There should be no hate, no attachment. Then the sin or otherwise of the action does not devolve on you.

513. S: Is this what is known as Karma yoga?

514. G: Karma Yoga builds up on this idea and gives you a methodology to act up to this.

515. S: What is that methodology?

516. G: It is known as ‘yajna’.

517. S: I have no clear idea what it is. But I have heard the word.

518. G: How does a dedicated nurse in a hospital work?

519. S: You said ‘dedicated’. So she must be doing her work excellently well.

520. G: Does she have any self-interest?

521. S: Maybe she is interested in her monthly pay.

522. G: Suppose she works for the love of it and does not receive any salary.

523. S: She must be really a very dedicated soul.

524. G: Now what would you say about her work?

525. S: She must be great!

526. G: Leave aside the appreciation. Here is somebody working for the sake of work and is not having any self-interest.

527. S: Is this called the yajna-type of work?

528. G: Yes. Gita says every action should be done with a yajna spirit.

529. S: Easier said than done.

530. G: As usual Krishna tells you how. Dedicate all your actions to God.

531. S: I can certainly dedicate all my actions to God, but still be doing wrong things.

532. G: Dedication means you do only that type of work which your God of dedication would like you to do.

533. S: And avoid that kind of work which that God would not want me to do – I can see the game.

534. G: Perfectly right. Dedication means voluntary acceptance of discipline for the sake of your object of dedication.

535. S: The concept of yajna is really great!

536. G: Not just great. It is the greatest contribution of Hinduism to the ways of living for the whole world.

537. S: But what is the point of all this, except to say it is good?

538. G: The bottom line is this. By doing every work as a yajna, you avoid the vAsanA of the work sticking to you.

539. S: Where did ‘vAsanA’ come here in this picture?

540. G: We were saying that when you work with detachment, sin or otherwise of the action would not devolve on you.

541. S: Does the yajna attitude give you detachment?

542. G: Exactly. When you dedicate your action to your God, it means you have no self-interest.

543. S: But aren’t you interested in the result of your action?

544. G: You are like an actor on the stage. Result on the stage, of the action on the stage, is the Director’s responsibility.

545. S: Oh! Here the Director is God! But Besides the example of a hospital nurse, can I have other examples of this?

546. G: During the pre-independence times of India, many of our freedom fighters had that dedication.

547. S: Some of them were not believers in God. Who or What was their God of dedication?

548. G: Mother India or BhArat-mAtA was their Goddess of dedication.

549. S: They even laid their lives for Her sake.

550. G: When every action is done in this yajna fashion, work becomes worship.

551. S: What is so great about worship? Why worship? Why God?

552. G: Are you taking me into a discussion of God?

553. S: I was only waiting for this opportunity.

554. G: Articulate your doubts.

555. S: Earlier we concluded that Brahman is the Ultimate and it is nameless and formless.

556. G: Certainly. So what?

557. S: Then why do we worship several Gods and Goddesses with different names and forms?

558. G: Brahman is infinite in existence, infinite in knowledge and infinite in Bliss.

559. S: If Brahman were infinite in Bliss and is also all-pervading, then Bliss should be all-pervading.

560. G: Of course it is.

561. S: Don’t tell me that, Guruji. We have only to look at the tragedies in the world.

562. G: Tragedies are natural in world-life. They cannot but be there. You have to transcend them to see the Bliss.

563. S: It looks like escapism from reality.

564. G: I am not asking you to run away from it.

565. S: What else does ‘transcending’ mean?

566. G: As a citizen of the world your duty is to go and do your best, first to prevent and then remedy, the tragedies.

567. S: Then why are you asking me to look beyond them?

568. G: Looking beyond is not looking away. You should not turn your head the other way.

569. S: You are puzzling. Please make it simple.

570. G: Be in the world. Be an honest citizen. Do your duty. But have an attitude of transcendence.

571. S: How does that help?

572. G: It helps in your ascent to spirituality.

573. S: You have not yet told me why I have to be spiritual.

574. G: I thought you showed interest in spirituality.

575. S: I was only exhibiting an academic curiosity.

576. G: An academic curiosity would only lead to scholarship; it would not lead you to Mokshha.

577. S: I apologise, Guruji. I stand corrected.

578. G: In fact, in order to absorb advaita, there are four prerequisite qualifications prescribed by Shankara.

579. S: I would like to know them, certainly.

580. G: First, a capacity to discriminate between what is permanent and what is ephemeral.

581. S: Even the beginning seems tough!

582. G: Secondly, a dispassion towards desire for acquisitions, here or in the world hereafter.

583. S: I see why you played down my academic curiosity!

584. G: The third one is an intense anguish for obtaining release from the cycle of births and deaths.

585. S: It is easy to agree with this, but it is the intensity of feeling that is in question .

586. G: And a conglomerate of six qualities: Equanimity, Self-control, Self-withdrawal, Endurance, Tranquillity and Faith.

587. S: Blessed are those indeed, who have all these!

588. G: Let us now come back to the topic of transcendence of transience.

589. S: You mean whatever is transient must be transcended?

590. G: Good. The scriptures have a beautiful way of saying this.

591. S: I would like to hear that.

592. G: All that is transient is called mAyA, in Vedanta.

593. S: I thought mAyA meant Illusion.

594. G: What is illusion?

595. S: Illusion is something which appears but is actually non-existent.

596. G: Then mAyA is not Illusion.

597. S: Then all those expositors of Vedanta, who translate mAyA as Illusion, are wrong?

598. G: It is not a question of translation; it is a question of what impression is conveyed.

599. S: So if mAyA conveys the meaning of illusion, meaning appearance of falsity, then that is not right?

600. G: mAyA simply means whatever is transient, that is, comes and goes.

Continued on page 4

Copyright © V. Krishnamurthy August 20, 2004

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