When wisdom comes, ātmā is not converted to brahman. Ātmā is just free from impurities in the form of ignorance and ignorance’s born conclusions. This pursuit is just a pursuit of purification, not a pursuit of becoming. This is being explained next.
śravaṇādibhiruddīptajñānāgniparitāpitah |
jīvassarvamalānmuktaḥ svarṇavaddyotate svayam || 66 ||
Jīva who is well kindled by listening with enquiry, etc., and well heated by the fire of knowledge, becomes free from all impurities and shines by itself. Just like gold.
svarṇavad - just like gold, dyotate svayam - itself is effulgent, its shine is not experienced by us because of mixing with other metals and becoming impure. Only by discarding some gross mud and rocks, then further purified by the process of heating to remove the other metal mixture, then its natural shine comes out. Its luster is not a product of the process, but it is the very nature that is obstructed by impurities. Similarly, jīvaḥ - individual who is brahman alone, because of the impurity of ignorance and ignorance’s born conclusion, becomes samsārī. Only through śravaṇādibhiruddīpta - well kindled by śravana etc., including manana, nididhyāsana and others sādhana such as karma yoga to remove our likes and dislikes, he grows to have sufficient purity of the mind, then jñānāgniparitāpitah - well heated by the fire of knowledge, totally burn out ignorance, sarvamalānmuktaḥ - he becomes free from all impurities, and finally his limitlessness shines by itself. Just like the example that we don’t add shining on the gold, what we are doing is just to remove the impurities then the nature of gold shines by itself. Similarly, a teacher doesn’t add ānanda to the students, but by engaging sādhana to students, their impurities that cover their ānanda are removed and ānanda shines on its own after the teaching of “tat tvam asi - you are that brahman.”
Even though shining is the nature, however effective jñānam as the only means to remove the obstruction for the self to shine must be there. The next verse presents this idea.
hṛdākāśodito hyātmā bodhabhānustamo ‘pahṛt |
sarvavyāpī sarvadhārī bhāti bhāsayate ‘khilam || 67 ||
Ātmā which is the sun of consciousness risen in the space within the heart (buddhi) indeed is the removal of ignorance. Then the self shines as all pervasive and sustainer of all.
In this verse, ācārya compares ātmā to the sun, which is risen in the heart of a wise person. It is not that the sun was absent before knowledge took place. The sun of ātmā is always there for everybody, but we missed it. Just like in our solar system, the sun is always there, only because of the position of the earth, which obstructs the vision of the sun, we experience absent of the sun which is called night. And when the obstruction is gone, we experience the sun rise. Similarly ānanda-ātmā is always there for everyone, because of the obstruction in the form of ignorance, we become dukhī. hyātmā - indeed ātmā which is bodhabhānuḥ - the sun of consciousness hṛdākāśodito - risen in the space within the heart (buddhi of a wise person) tamo ‘pahṛt - is the removal of ignorance. It doesn’t mean ātmā is not there for an ignorant person. Just because ātmā is not opposed to ignorance, thus it can’t destroy ignorance. Only ātmā reflected in the buddhi which in the form of brahmakara-vrtti - I am brahman, that vrtti-jñānam - understanding is apposed and removes ignorance. Therefore sun of consciousness destroys ignorance not directly but indirectly.
Just like sunlight that falls onto paper will not burn the paper, but if the sunlight that passes through a lens then falls onto paper will burn. Similarly, consciousness which doesn’t manifest in brahmakara-vrtti - the knowledge of I am Brahman, it just illumines ignorance, but when it does, it burns ignorance and ignorance’s born products. Thus the direct means for moksa is self-knowledge alone.
Lastly is the phala-śruti - glorification of the result of ātmā-jñānam.
digdeśakālādyanapekṣya sarvagam
śītādihṛnnityasukham nirañjanam |
yaḥ svātmatīrtham bhajate viniṣkriyaḥ
sa sarvavitsarvagato ‘mrto bhavet || 68 ||
One whose activities are gone (sannyāsī), he resorts to the place of pilgrimage in the form of oneself, without following direction, place, and time, etc., which is everywhere, which is the removal of cold, etc., which is of the nature of permanent happiness, and stainless, he would become the knower of all, all pervasive and immortal.
Ātmā is compared to tīrtha-sthānam - place of pilgrimage, where people go to remove impurities in the form of pāpam and to get punyam. One who resorts to ātmā which is compared to the place of pilgrimage - ātmatīrtham, becomes free from impurity in the form of ignorance, which is the very root of all pāpam. Then he owns up oneness with brahman.
There are some rules and regulations to follow for pilgrimage even before the event, therefore only certain people are suitable for it. Thus who is suitable for ātmatīrtham? yaḥ viniṣkriyaḥ - one whose activities are gone, formally renounces all worldly and religious activities, a sannyāsī - a renunciate who has seen all the limitations in other pursuits and committed only to moksa pursuit, bhajate - he resorts to svātmatīrtham - a place of pilgrimage in the form of oneself.
This ātmātīrtha is unlike usual pilgrimage place, it is digdeśakālādyanapekṣya - deprived of expectancy of following direction, place, and time, etc., whereas in the pilgrimage, certain direction, place, and time should be followed in the activities during pilgrimage. It is sarvagam - everywhere, not confined to certain location like pilgrimage place, śītādihṛt - removal of cold, etc., as there are no pairs of opposites in ātmā, whereas pilgrimage place is usually a place either too cold since it is located up at the north or too hot at down south. nityasukham - ever happy, as the very nature of happiness, whereas one’s happiness is reduced day by day in the place of pilgrimage, since a lot of discomfort is there. nirañjanam - stainless, whereas the place of pilgrimage is usually dirty because of crowds.
sa - he, the person mentioned above, who has owned up ātmābodha - knowledge of the self bhavet - would become sarvavit - the knower of all sarvagataḥ - all pervasive, free from limitation of place, amrtaḥ - immortal, free from limitation of time.
Om tat sad
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