Na nirodho na cotpattir-na baddho na ca sādhakaḥ, na mumukṣur-na vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā. (32)
निरोधः – there is neither dissolution; न च-उत्पत्तिः – and nor creation, birth in other words, origination; न बद्धः – none is in bondage; न च साधकः – and none is aspirant for wisdom; न मुमुक्षुः – none hankers after liberation; न वै मुक्तः – none indeed is liberated; इति-एषा – this is; परमार्थता – the supreme Truth
32. There is neither dissolution, nor birth; neither anyone in bondage, nor any aspirant for wisdom; neither can there be anyone who hankers after Liberation, nor any liberated as such. This alone is the supreme Truth.
Tr-Chinmayananda
And then there is na nirodhah, no dissolution - nirodha being the same as nirodhana, utpattih, origination; baddhah, one under bondage, a transmigrating individual soul; sadhakah, one who strives for liberation; mumuksuh, one who hankers after liberation; muktah, one who is free from bondage. In the absence of origination and dissolution, bondage etc. do not exist. Iti esa paramarthata, this is the highest Truth. ~Shankara (tr-Gambhirananda
This verse sums up the meaning of the chapter. When duality is perceived to be illusory and Atman alone is known as the sole Reality, then it is clearly established that all our experiences, ordinary or religious (Vedic), verily pertain to the domain of ignorance. Then one perceives that there is no dissolution, i.e., destruction (from the standpoint of Reality); no birth or creation, i.e., coming into existence; no one in bondage, i.e., no worldly being; no pupilage, i.e., no one adopting means for the attainment of liberation; no seeker after liberation, and no one free from bondage (as bondage does not exist). The Ultimate Truth is that the stage of bondage, etc., cannot exist in the absence of creation and destruction. How can it be said that there is neither creation nor destruction? It is thus replied: There is no duality (at any time). ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilananda)
Gauḍapāda’s work is a call of Truth to man, from Truth, to walk the path of Truth, and to reach the Truth. Throughout the path, the Truth is explained and the Truth is described only in the native language of the land of Truth. Thus, without commentary and vivid explanations given by interpreters, who know both the language of Truth as well as the language of ignorance, none can understand the Kārikā fully. ~Chinmayananda
The creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the waking world only seemingly happen but really they do not happen from the standpoint of Turīya ātmā. From the waker’s standpoint they are real. Jīvas coming into existence, experiencing saṃsāra, jīvas becoming seekers, following the sādhanas karma-yoga, upāsana-yoga and jnana-yoga, coming to a guru, guru teaching, and getting liberated only seemingly happen. There is no question of anyone becoming liberated. From the standpoint of the body-mind complex, all these are really happening but from the standpoint of Turīyam, all these are as though happening. ~Paramarthananda
This statement is probably responsible for more mischief in the modern “advaita” world than any other. In the hands of untaught teachers with no impersonal means of knowledge, it amounts to a license to frustrate unqualified seekers and has spawned a generation of non-existent gurus proclaiming non-existent truths to non-existent seekers. Unless it is seen in the context of a complete teaching of reality – satya and mithya – and a sadhana that converts an undisciplined seeker into a disciplined inquirer, it amounts to nothing more than denial of mithya. The mithya world and the mithya seeker exist, so a teaching has to account for it and provide tools that prepare the mind to understand the meaning of this statement. ~Swartz
Karikas 31 and 32 present Gaudapada’s famous teaching of “nonorigination” (ajativada). These karikas exhibit a very close resemblance to some portions of Mahayana Buddhist literature... Though Gaudapada’s language here is undeniably similar to that of Nagarjuna and to Mahayana Buddhism in general, the similarity ends at this point, for Gaudapada’s perspective is quite different. Gaudapada’s perspective is based upon the teaching contained in the Mandykya Upanisad. If the phenomenal world is an unreal appearance, then there is no real origination or real destruction, there can only be an apparent origination and an apparent destruction. Accordingly, there is no one who is really bound etc. ~Comans
From the standpoint of Reality the stanza is indeed true. To one who has awakened to the supreme Consciousness, there is neither dissolution, nor birth, nor bondage. Having reached the goal there are no more aspirations, no more seeking, no more the satisfaction of having gained the Liberation. Having become the native of the land of Liberation, the individual has already transcended the ordinary planes of delusions. To him, therefore, the pluralistic world of illusions or the endless demands made by the physical, psychological and intellectual entities in himself are no more there. Having cognised the Self, he becomes the Self, and as the Self he is himself the all-pervading, divine Reality. ~Chinmayananda
No comments:
Post a Comment