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Mahavakyas
The knowledge that liberates (svarupa-jnana) does not produce moksa, it simply removes
the ignorance that was responsible for the illusion of bondage just as the knowledge
of the rope dissolves the snake-illusion. To know Brahman is to be Brahman. It is
through this identity of the Self (atman) and the Absolute (Brahman) that Samkara
interprets what tradition refers to as the mahavakyas (great sayings) of the Upanisads.
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Prajnanam-brahma – 'Consciousness is the Absolute [Brahman]' (Aitareya
Upanisad)
Tat-tvam-asi – 'That thou art' (Chandogya Upanisad)
Ayam-atma brahma – 'This Self is the Absolute [Brahman]' (Mandukya Upanisad)
Aham-brahmasmi – 'I am the Absolute [Brahman]’ (Brhadaranyaka Upanisad)
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The practice of jnana-yoga can be understood as a movement through these four statements.
As will be discussed below, elaborations on the first three of the mahavakyas form
the core of the study, reflection and contemplation of the truths revealed in the
Upanisads. From an acceptance of the premise that consciousness is of the nature
of Brahman (prajnanam-brahma), we can infer that even though we live our lives as
separate individuals the fact that we are conscious implies that we are not different
from the indescribable Absolute (tat-tvam-asi). Then, if we are convinced by the
reasoning of Samkara as outlined above, we come to the conclusion of Advaita which
is that our true nature is identical with that which is consciousness itself (ayam-atma
brahma). However moksa occurs only when this intellectual conviction ripens into
the full and direct realisation of the fourth mahavakya: I am the Absolute (Brahman).
Viveka-Cudamani
Samkara established the validity of Advaita Vedanta in his commentaries on what
is known as the prasthana- traya or the ‘triple canon’ of Vedanta which consists
of the Upanisads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Brahma- sutra, the three texts that
form the doctrinal core of the Vedanta tradition. However he also wrote more accessible
works, one of the most popular being the Viveka-cudamani ('Crest-Jewel of Discrimination')
which is basically a jnana-yoga manual. Keeping in mind that moksa is not attained
but is the very nature of the Self, jnana-yoga does not recommend a regime of practices
for achieving liberation. Rather the intention is to remove the obstacle that veils
the truth. The aim of any prescribed practice is therefore to counter avidya with
its opposite: jnana.
According to the Viveka-cudamani, the discipline of jnana-yoga has two stages. The
first is preliminary and has much in common with the karma-yoga of the Bhagavad-gita.
The aim in this stage is to purify the jiva through the development of what is referred
to as the four qualifications, aids or means (sadhana-catustaya) to the study of
Vedanta:
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Viveka is discrimination or discernment between the permanent and the transient,
the true and the false, the Real and the merely apparent. It leads to an understanding
that our entanglement in this phenomenal world is not definitive, and so provides
an incitement to liberation.
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Vairagya is dispassion or non-attachment to the pleasures of this phenomenal existence.
It involves an inner renunciation of the fruit of our actions which enables us to
turn our attention to the Absolute.
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Possession of the six treasures or virtues (sat-sampati):
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Sama (from sam = 'to be quiet') - calmness or tranquillity acquired by directing
out attention away from the phenomenal world and towards the Absolute.
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Dama (from the verb root dam = 'to control') – temperance or self-restraint through
the control of the senses which habitually seek stimulation.
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Uparati – capacity to maintain the regulation of the mind and the senses developed
through sama and dama by abstaining from actions not relevant either to the maintenance
of the body or the pursuit of liberation.
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Titiksa – forbearance or tolerance in the sense of enduring contrary experiences
such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, praise and censure, with equanimity.
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Samadhana – discipline of single-mindedness in all situations but especially in
the study of Vedanta. It is a self-settledness that facilitates concentration on
the truth.
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Sraddha (from the verb root dha = 'to place' + srad = 'faith') – placing one’s faith
in the teachings of Vedanta and the words of a realised guru.
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Mumuksutva – intense yearning for moksa without which all study of the Vedanta remains
an intellectual exercise rather than a means to liberation.
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The second stage of the discipline of jnana-yoga involves the serious study of Advaita
Vedanta. It is directed explicitly towards self-realisation and includes three phases:
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Sravana (hearing) involves the formal study of the Upanisads and other significant
Vedanta texts under the guidance of a qualified teacher. The aim is to become well
acquainted with the philosophical truths revealed in the sruti (revealed scriptures).
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Manana (reflection, consideration) follows the reception of the sruti in order to
remove any doubts as to the veracity of the Upanisadic truths. Continued reflection
transforms what has been received on trust into a firm intellectual conviction.
This phase is the most emblematic of the disciplines of jnana-yoga as it involves
the cultivation of jnana through the refinement of reason.
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Nididhyasana (meditation, contemplation) matures the intellectual conviction gained
through manana into a continuous and profound meditation on the nature of the Self
and its identity with Brahman. Continued contemplation eliminates any tendencies
in thought that are incompatible with the Upanisadic truths until they ripen into
the full immediacy of the ultimate realisation: Aham brahmasmi – 'I am the Absolute
[Brahman]'.
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Jnana and Liberation
The first stage of the discipline of jnana-yoga has much in common with other paths
of yoga, however Samkara insists that even though the cultivation of these qualities
is indispensable, it is jnana alone that dissolves avidya. This means that spiritual
disciplines such as remaining unattached to the fruit of one's actions (karma-yoga)
or devotional and meditation practices (bhakti- and raja-yoga), although useful
preliminaries, will not remove the ignorance that keeps us bound to the phenomenal
world. The reason for this is twofold: firstly, anything that is produced, modified
or acquired must eventually pass away and so cannot yield the Ultimate which is
eternal and immutable; and secondly, the very notion that there is something to
be produced, modified or acquired reinforces the distinction between the gainer
and the gained, the self and the not-self, which lies at the heart of the ignorance
that binds us. As long as there is something to be gained there is someone who stands
to gain, and it is the identification of consciousness with this someone that is
the origin of the ignorance that is the fundamental obstacle to liberation.
It might be argued that knowledge implies a distinction between the knower and the
known and so is prone to the same criticism. However the kind of knowledge intended
by Samkara in the second stage of his codification of jnana-yoga is concerned with
the nature of the Self, and as such is designed to remind us that the Absolute is
beyond all distinctions. Mere intellectual speculation is inadequate for this task
as the gap between the thinker and the thought cannot be bridged as long as we rely
on reason alone. However just as continued enquiry into the nature of the snake
illusion leads us to the knowledge of the rope that dispels the illusion, so the
knowledge generated by the study of Vedanta culminates in the immediate insight
into nature of the Self which is beyond all determinations.
If the Absolute is conceived in any way as different from the Self, if Brahman is
worshipped as something other than the Self, if the Self is taken to be of the same
nature as Brahman though of a lesser degree, then a process of some description
is required to bridge the gap between the Self and the Absolute, and as was stated
above, anything that is the result of a process cannot be permanent. According to
Samkara, the Absolute is always already directly known because the Self is not different
from Brahman. The only way to know Brahman is to be Brahman, and in this immediate
apprehension of the Absolute the ignorance that binds us is dissolved. So even though
this ultimate realisation or svarupa-jnana is said to be revealed in the mahavakya,
aham brahmasmi, the reality of moksa is beyond any possible expression.
The jnanin is one who has realised this truth and is therefore liberated while still
living (jivanmukta). For the jnanin the body is only apparent, and so its continued
appearance is of no significance. If it was otherwise liberation would depend upon
the dissolution of the body. However the whole point of jnana-yoga is to realise
that we are never other than Brahman, and that all manifestation is maya. Unlike
the yogin who experiences samadhi as separate from the waking and dream states and
remains in the thrall of maya as long as their body lives, the jnanin is in samadhi
at all times. The samadhi of the jnanin is sometimes described by the qualification
sahaja, which means natural, innate or spontaneous. In sahaja-samadhi one continues
to act in the world though with complete spontaneity, and experiences pleasure and
pain with no concern for either.
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