Introduction to Vedanta
by
H. H. Swami Paramarthananda Saraswathi
Chapter -6
Jnana-Yoga
Now we have to see jnana-yoga, which is the third and final stage of
sadhana prescribed. When a person becomes more and more refined and
disciplined, he begins to question the very purpose of life. Introspection
becomes serious. When a person seriously questions his pursuit, he finds
all his pursuits are meaningless ones. They are not what he is seeking
for. These pursuits take him towards dependence only. And when a person
realizes that he is going more and more towards dependence only, he
starts questioning whether he is really interested in dependence or
independence. The instinctive urge of every living being is freedom.
A bird is never happy in a cage; an animal is never happy in a zoo;
a child is never happy if it is confined to its room. It wants to be
free. Even a child holding on to its mother’s hand decides to
become free the moment it finds itself strong enough to be on its own.
The innate urge of every human being is renunciation of all dependences.
This tyaga is not a struggle. It is the innate nature of everyone. A
person is holding on to things now, not because he loves those things
but because he has found that he cannot be otherwise. The moment there
is a choice he will give up everything because every person wants to
depend on himself alone. What one seeks is not dharma, artha or kama,
but the renunciation of these, freedom from dependence on these. Moksa
is giving up of dependence and discovering independence. This is the
innate nature of all humanity, in fact, all living beings. Therefore
a person who is a karma-yogi and upasana-yogi slowly gets convinced
that what he wants is moksa or freedom. His top priority is not artha.
It remains merely an incidental thing needed for living. His top priority
is not karma; entertainment is like a pickle which can never be the
main dish. Similarly with dharma. None of them is his top priority.
Moksa alone is his top priority, he discovers.
Now his problem is how to discover that self-dependence or independence.
He continues with karma-yoga and upasana-yoga. With the grace of the
Lord, he finds help from outside. Either he comes across a person who
is informed about moksa-such a meeting is called satsanga-or he comes
across a book which discusses the topic of moksa. He gets more information
regarding moksa from the scriptures or from the people who had learnt
the scriptures.
Seek Within
The first thing that the scriptures point out is that security and happiness
can never be got from outside. The moment I read this statement, a bell
rings in my heart. The inner heart tells me what the scriptures tell
me the truth. I myself had experienced this in my life. Now I develop
a faith in the scriptures. I feel that the scriptures know about life
and its goal. When an astrologer reveals something correct about the
past, I develop faith in the astrologer. So when he predicts something
about the future, even though it is unknown to me, I start believing
in what he says because I have checked the truth of his prediction from
the past. Similarly the scriptures tell the truth that the world cannot
give security and happiness which I have been discovering all the time.
I am able to concur and develop some kind of faith in the scriptures.
Then the scriptures reveal the next thing - the security and happiness
can never be found in the external world because they are my very nature.
What is within me, I cannot find outside. If I miss a key which is in
my pocket, I will never find it anywhere else, however hard I may search
for it. Since the search is a misplaced search, I fail. My failure is
not because of any lack of effort on my part; it is because of lack
of direction. Thus I am told that security and happiness are my own
innate nature. In other words I understand that I need not depend on
anything for my security and happiness. My very nature is independence.
Since independence is my very nature, dependence makes me uncomfortable.
If dependence is natural to me, depending on the external world will
make me feel comfortable. But the fact is I am not very comfortable
with dependence. All the time I am struggling to stop being dependent.
I am like the child who wanted to drop his mother’s hand and run
away the moment he realizes that he can be on his own.
Whatever is unnatural will make me feel uncomfortable or sick. In our
body system also as long as things are natural we find ourselves healthy
and comfortable. The moment something enters into our system which is
unnatural to us, we become uncomfortable and there is a struggle to
eject that foreign body. Therefore the struggle to get rid of an unnatural
situation is natural. As dependence is unnatural to us, we are naturally
struggling for independence because it is our very nature. The scriptures
point out that our nature is moksa. Due to ignorance, we have disowned
our nature and taken ourselves for granted.
A person analyses the nature of everything in the creation. We have
study of plants, animals, stars, atoms, rivers, mountains and the like.
Everybody does research without inquiring into the basic thing - who
am I? Without making an inquiry I have concluded that I am a miserable
mortal depending on the external world for my happiness. This has been
an unquestioned conclusion regarding myself. Therefore the scriptures
say what you require is jnanam or knowledge, knowledge of what ? Knowledge
of my own true nature, which is discovery of independence discovery
of moksa. This person, until now a mumuksu, a seeker of freedom, becomes
a seeker of knowledge. Knowledge of his own independent nature. What
is the difference between a mumuksu and a jijnasu? Mumuksu is a seeker
of freedom and jijnasu is a seeker of knowledge. Mumuksu seeks freedom.
But he does not know how to accomplish it. He has no direction. On the
other hand, a jijnasu is an informed mumuksu. He knows that his problem
is self-ignorance. He seeks self-knowledge he has direction.
Pramanam = Means of knowledge
We know that any knowledge can be gained by using a proper instrument
or means of knowledge. To know the colours I have to use the instrument
called the eyes; to hear a sound I have to use the instrument called
the ears; to know the taste, I have to use the instrument called the
tongue. In short, without an instrument, I cannot gain any knowledge.
The means of knowledge is called pramanam. There are many pramanams.
For our convenience, we can divide them into two: primary pramanam and
secondary pramanam. Primary pramanam is direct perception and secondary
pramanam is analysis of direct perception. From this analysis we can
derive more information. The bio-chemist presents his clinical data
from direct perception. The doctor arrives at the disease through analysis.
This is secondary pramanam.
But all those instruments are meant for studying the world; none of
them is usseful for studying oneself. This is because sense organs basically
are extrovert in nature and so they cannot help in the study of the
subject, which is myself. The eyes cannot see themselves. Then what
to talk of my true natue? Thus we discover that all the regular instruments
of knowledge are for the search of an object and not for the study of
the subject. Now the scriptures come and tell us that there can be only
one means by which one can know the Self and that is the scriptural
teachings themselves. The end portion of the Veda i..e, Vedanta, serves
as a verbal mirror in revealing my nature. When I want to see my eyes
I look into a mirror. There is no other means. Similarly, I use vedantic
words as the mirror to see my nature. There is no other means. This
means is called sastra-pramanam.
Role of A Guru
Then the seeker encounters another problem. When I try to study
vedanta in any language whether it is in Sanskrit, English, Telugu,
Tamil or Kannada - I don’t understand anything of it. In fact,
it seems to be a bundle of contradictions. At one place, it says that
my nature is not known through the mind. Elsewhere it says mind alone
knows. Thus, it goes on using the language of contradictions. Therefore
I am not able to use the scriptures properly because I do not have the
key to open the scriptures. The situation is like having a cold cocacola
bottle with me when I am thirsty but I am not able to drink it because
I don’t have the opener. The scriptures seem to be a source of
knowledge but I do not have the key to open it. The key seems to be
somewhere but not within my reach.
The scriptures themselves say that I have to go to a guru if I want
to open them. The guru has the secret key or secret number. Resorting
to a trial and error method is not going to be of much use. The only
method is to seek the guru and humbly ask him for he knows the right
answer. If you want to avoid wasting time and wandering all over, the
best thing is to take the help of a guide. Gurumukhatah vedanta-vicharaha.
The only method of gaining knowledge is enquiry into Vedanta with the
help of a guru. This is called jnana-yoga. In other words it is enquiry
into the scriptures with the help of a teacher.
Now comes the next question. If I am going to study the scriptures with
the help of a teacher or without the help of a teacher, will it not
be bookish knowledge, will it not be a secondhand knowledge? How can
it lead to discovery of the Self? Can it give firsthand knowledge? Yes.
The teacher gives firsthand knowledge and not secondhand. If it is properly
received form a teacher who knows how to teach properly and if both
the student and the teacher are competent enough, then, the very communication
will lead to an instantaneous self-discovery.
Direct and Indirect Knowledge
The rule goes like this. Suppose I want to know about the Himalayas,
which is far away, I read a book on Himalayas. Naturally, when I read
a book on the Himalayas, I get the knowledge of the Himalayas. Is this
knowledge firsthand or secondhand? Definitely, it is secondhand knowledge.
From this we get the general law that any word describing a remote thing
will give only indirect knowledge.
If the self is also remote, then the study of the scriptures will also
give an indirect knowledge only. I will have to go and meet the self.
But, the self is not like the Himalayas or London. It is not a remote
object. The self happens to be my own intrinsic nature. Therefore, when
words describe a thing which is intimately available, then the knowledge
gained is not indirect but direct.
I went to a school many years ago as the school headmistress had invited
me for a talk. When I reached the school, the headmistress was not there.
She had gone to the next room to attend to a phone call. The other teachers
who were there, who had together organised my talk for the children
of this school did not know me in person nor had they seen me earlier.
They only knew that a svami was going to come. Only the headmistress
knew me in person. At that time I was much younger and much thinner.
The teachers had expected an elderly person. In their vision a svami
is usually an elderly person with a beard, and that too a grey beard.
When I got down I saw them waiting with a purna-kumbham and other things
but nothing was offered to me. I got down and stood in a corner waiting
for the headmistress.
Later on I came to know that they had concluded that I should have been
a disciple of Swami Paramarthananda. One of the disciples should have
come in early to set the stage. Then the headmistress came and welcomed
me. The teachers discovered only then that I was the swami they were
waiting for. When the headmistress addressed me as swami, through her
words they discovered Svami Paramarthananda. Previously they were waiting
for me not knowingly. The moment they heard the word they discovered
me. This discovery is direct knowledge.
Jnana-Yoga And Direct Knowledge
Therefore we can conclude that words can give direct knowledge
when the object of knowledge is already experienced in front. In the
same way the scriptures are talking about my own inner nature which
is not away from me. The scriptural study thus can give me direct knowledge
through jnana-yoga. Jnana-yoga involves three stages. Sravanam, mananam
and nididdhyasanam.
Sravanam
Sravanam means enquiry into the scriptures with the help of
a guru. Sravanam is not passive hearing. It requires the full participation
of the student and he has to travel along with the teacher. The teacher
is trying to communicate something which is not an object but which
is my own true nature. In other words, consistent and systematic study
of the scriptures for a length of time under the guidance of a competent
guru is sravanam.
In other words, looking into the scriptural mirror which the teacher
shows for me, is sravanam. Initially when I start doing sravanam I get
lots of doubts. I should never ask questions initially. I will have
to be patient. Whatever question comes up I should keep it in my mind
or write it in a book with the hope that all the questions will be answered
as I understand more and more, as the teaching opens up new vistas,
as the unfolding starts revealing new information. The student should
have faith in the scriptures and the teacher for this. Therefore, no
questions are allowed. Just receive the whole vision comprehensively.
Let all the questions be there. Then having done comprehensive listening
for a length of time and having got all the aspects of the teaching,
look back at your questions. A painter cannot paint the whole picture
in one stroke. The painting unfolds gradually. Until the painting is
over, don’t disturb the painter. Similarly sravanam should be
done for a length of time setting aside all your doubts. Thereafter
the teacher says, “Now come on. See if you accept the teaching,
see if you are convinced.”
Mananam
After sravanam, the student can come out with any number of
questions. All the doubts are let loose and all of them are attacked.
This is called mananam. This continues until I am convinced. There should
not be any doubt or question. Once I have done sravanam and mananam
satisfactorily, I feel convinced that I can be independent. But as I
have been addicted to dependence for so long, I find it difficult to
be independent. I have to try to give up all dependencies just as a
person addicted to smoking tries to give it up. I can help him by telling
him that he can live without smoking. Similarly, we have to learn to
come out of all dependences.
Nididhyasanam
The person addicted to smoking is slightly nervous of leaving
it as he has been addicted to it for years. Hence there is a doubt if
he can live without it. There are withdrawal symptoms and he has to
train himself to handle them. This is discovery of true independence.
This third stage is called nididhyasanam and through nididhyasanam,
the person learns to drop dependences and be independent. Initially
there is fear, there are also withdrawal symptoms but later he finds
that he can be happy without people around. He discovers he can live
alone too. In short, nididhyasanam helps in converting knowledge into
emotional strength. Thus through sravanam, mananam and nididdhyasanam,
a person becomes jivanmuktah, a liberated person.