DDV 22
Indifferent to both name and form while being devoted to existence-consciousness-bliss, one-pointed meditation should be practiced both within the heart and outside.
Upeksya nāmarūpe dve saccidānanda- tatparah,
Samādhim sarvadā kuryād hṛdaye vā’thavā bahih.
उपेक्ष्य being indifferent; नाम रूपे (to) name and form; द्वे two; सच्चिदानन्द तत्परः – being devoted to Existence-Consciousness- Bliss (Truth); समाधिम् – meditation; सर्वदा always; कुर्यात् – should be practised; हृदये वा either in the heart; अथवा or; बहिः – outside
Being indifferent to both name and form, and devoted to the Truth, one should always practise meditation both in the heart and outside.
~T
नामरूपे (to) name and form द्वे two उपेक्ष्य being indifferent सच्चिदानन्दतत्परः (सन्) being devoted to Saccidānanda हृदये वा either in the heart अथवा or बहिः outside सर्वदा always समाधिं concen- tration कुर्यात् should practise.
Having (1) become indifferent to name and form and being devoted to Saccidānanda, (2) one should always practise concentration (3) either within the heart (4) or outside. (5)
~N
Being indifferent to both name and form,
and devoted to the Truth,
one should always practice Meditation
Both within in the heart and outside.
~S
Notes
Samādhi is not a verb, it is a noun. One cannot ‘do’ samādhi, one can only ‘be’ in samādhi. Samādhi is the alert, steady and poised state of mind abiding in its true nature. Assuming a pose or posture does not guarantee this poise. One can only be alert, to be alert. This attentiveness can be maintained irrespective of the activity one undertakes, the emotions one feels, or the thoughts one entertains. Hence, it is said that meditation should be practised at all times.
In true samādhi, one does not experience something new or out of the world, such as flashes of light or the sound of conches. Such experiences may occur as stages in the practice of samādhi.
The practice of samādhi can be within or without. The practice within is done with reference to the individual. On enquiring, Who am I?’ and discriminating between the Seer and the seen, one realises the Self which is of the nature of pure Consciousness. The practice without is done with reference to the world perceived. On enquiring, ‘What is the world?’ and discriminating between the world and its substratum, one realises the Self to be the absolute Reality. Close eyed and open eyed meditation is also sometimes referred to as meditation within and without, respectively. Whatever be the locus of meditation, withdrawing the attention from names and forms and fixing it in the Truth, is meditation.
~T
[1] Having, etc. Names and forms are impermanent, because they appear and disappear. Though names and forms give the direct meaning (वाच्यार्थ) of ‘That’ (तत्) and ‘Thou’ (त्वं) yet they are negatable as found in deep sleep.
[2] Saccidānanda This is the implied meaning (लक्ष्यार्थ) of all objects. The characteristics of Existence, Conscious- ness, and Bliss are universal and therefore they form the common features of the substratum of all objects compre- hended by “That’ and ‘Thou’. Therefore these aspects alone, being permanent, as distinguished from names and forms, are worthy of being concentrated upon.
[3] Concentration – Concentration or samādhi means one- pointedness of the mind by which the student feels his steady identity with Brahman.
[4] Heart – Heart is pointed out, for the facility of concentra- tion, as the seat of Paramatman.
[5] Outside – That is, concentration can be practised through the help of any external object, such as a word, sound, image, or any other symbol. These two modes of concentra- tion are meant for different temperaments.
~N
From the 13th verse up to the 21st verse, the author dealt with the central theme of the text, which is the cause of saṃsāra and the remedy for saṃsāra. The cause for saṃsāra is the ignorance-based mixing up of the real and the unreal. This mixing-up takes place both at the subjective level between the seer and the seen, and the objective level between Brahman and the universe. We have a wrong self-image and have a wrong expectation from the world. These two together cause saṃsāra. These two have to be sorted out by viveka, discrimination, through proper enquiry. That enquiry is done by Vedānta śravaṇaṃ and mananam, which leads to correction at the subjective and the objective levels. Subjectively, I learn that I am emotionally independent and objectively, I learn that the unstable nāmarūpa world cannot give lasting security. Kṛṣṇa uses two adjectives to describe this, nityatṛptaḥ, always contented, at the subjective level, and nirāśrayaḥ, independent, at the objective level. From verses 22 to 31, the author talks about the assimilation of the teaching because without internalization, the teaching will remain an academic knowledge.
For this nididhyāsanam is prescribed from verses 22 to 31. Nididhyāsanam can be practiced in many ways. The definition of nididhyāsanam, Vedāntic meditation, is dwelling upon the teaching intently by providing quality time and not trying to get rid of thoughts or remaining thought-free. If dwelling on the teaching is meditation, it can be done in any manner that is convenient to us.
In this verse, the author is talking about samādhi-abhyāsa-rūpa nididhyāsanam. Six-fold samādhi is described in this section. This is a unique approach that is not found in any other Vedāntic text.
~P
The Sacred Matrix of Satcitananda
Namarupa is the superimposition and satcitananda is the substrate. Namarupa in translation is name and form. Satcitananda in translation is existence, consciousness, bliss. One name for namarupa is Maya. One name for satcitananda is Brahman.
In that classic Vedantic analogy of snake and rope, or raju sarpa nyaya, namarupa is the snake and satcitananda is the rope, indicating the reality matrix of Brahman is ignorantly believed to be this illusory world of samsara instead.
This inquiry, analysis, viveka is all about teasing out the golden strands of nondual satcitananda from the monolithic dualities of namarupa. In doing so, one becomes impervious to all names and forms and devoted to the underlying trinity of existence, consciousness, bliss.
~A
Translators / Commentators Legend
A: Aumdada
D: Dayananda
N: Nikhilananda
P: Paramarthananda
S: Sandeepany
T: Tejomayananda
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