Panchadasi Chapter
11 Yogananda—The
Bliss Of Yoga
Chapters 11 to 15 expound the various aspects in which Bliss which is
Brahman manifests itself. In this chapter it is pointed out that the bliss
attained through the practice of Yoga is an aspect of the supreme Bliss that is
identical with Brahman.
On the attainment of the bliss of Brahman one becomes free from all
present and future miseries. He who realizes that he is the supreme Self and
remains established in that realization becomes free from all fear; but he who
perceives even the slightest difference from the Self is overcome by fear.
The Taittiriya Upanishad says that the deities Vayu, Surya, Agni, Indra
and Yama are in constant fear of Brahman. They attained these positions
as a result of very meritorious actions performed in previous lives, but because
they have not realized their identity with Brahman they are still subject to
fear.
One who has attained the bliss of Brahman does not experience any fear at
all and is not troubled by thoughts such as whether he had done meritorious
deeds or not, because his actions do not taint him. So says Taittiriya
Upanishad, 2.9.1. Giving up all actions and going beyond all thoughts of good
and evil, he ever remains engaged in meditation on the Self. He looks upon all
actions as identical with the Self. All the desires which bind him are
destroyed, all his doubts about the Self are dispelled and all his actions
perish in the sense that they do not cause any bondage for him. Only by
realizing Brahman one goes beyond death and transmigratory existence. There is
no other means to attain this end. All bonds are cut when the effulgent Self is
known. All afflictions come to an end and he is not born again. One who has
realized that he is none other than the supreme Self becomes free from all
worldly joys and sorrows even while living in this world. He is not tormented by
thoughts about his acts of commission or omission. The srutis, smritis and
puranas repeatedly declare that the realization of Brahman puts an end to all
sorrows and confers supreme bliss.
Bliss
is of three kinds: The bliss of Brahman, the bliss born of knowledge, and the
bliss derived from external objects. Of these, the bliss of Brahman is being
described now.
Bhrigu heard the definition of Brahman from his father Varuna. By
negating the sheaths of food, vital air. mind and intellect, he realized Brahman
reflected in the bliss-sheath. The Taittiriya Upanishad says that all beings are
born from bliss, they are sustained by bliss and they finally merge in bliss.
(This statement is not elaborated in Panchadasi, but Ramakrishna, in his
commentary named Padadipika, explains this verse as follows: Procreation is
due to the pleasure derived from physical union, sustenance of life is due to
the happiness derived from sense-objects, and happiness is experienced in sleep
when the individual soul temporarily merges in the supreme Self). Therefore
there is no doubt that Brahman is bliss. Before creation of beings there was
only the infinite Brahman without the triad of knower, object known and the act
of knowing. In dissolution also the triad will cease to exist. When the created
world is in existence, the intellect-sheath is the knower, consciousness
reflected in the mind-sheath is knowledge and sound, etc., are the objects
known. Before creation none of these three existed. Before the creation of the
world and in the states of Samadhi, deep sleep and swoon also the Self alone
exists.
Bhagavan Sanatkumara told sage Narada that the infinite Self alone is
bliss. There is no happiness in anything finite. (Ch.Up.7.23.1). Even though
Narada had mastered the Vedas, Puranas and various scriptures, he still suffered
misery because he had not known the Self. Before he began to study the Vedas he
suffered only from the three kinds of afflictions natural to all human beings,
namely, adhyatmika, those arising from bodily ills, adhibhautika, those caused
by other creatures, and adhidaivika, those caused by calamities such as floods,
earthquakes, etc. But after he had mastered the Vedas and other scriptures he
was, in addition, burdened by the need to keep on reciting what he had learnt,
and beset by the fear of forgetting what he had learnt, the fear of being
defeated in argument and the pride of learning. So he approached Bhagavan
Sanatkumara and prayed for the knowledge that would lift him out of all sorrow.
Sanatkumara told him that the ocean of sorrow could be crossed only by attaining
Brahman which is pure Bliss. The happiness derived from external objects is
always accompanied by sorrow. There is no real or unmixed happiness in the
finite realm. It is true that there is no triad of knower, knowing and known in
the non-dual Brahman and so there can be no experience of happiness as from
sense-objects, but one who has realized Brahman remains as pure bliss. In deep
sleep the bliss of Brahman is experienced though there are no objects and no
triad. This bliss is therefore self-revealing. In deep sleep one does not suffer
the miseries experienced during the waking state, caused by blindness, wounds
and sickness. In deep sleep one is united with Brahman and so becomes bliss
itself.
The Upanishads give various illustrations to describe the bliss enjoyed
in sleep. A falcon, tied to a post by a long string, flies hither and thither
and finally, when exhausted and in need of rest, goes back to the post to which
it is tied. Similarly, the mind, after experiencing joys and sorrows in the
waking and dream states, becomes absorbed in its cause, avidya, in the state of
deep sleep. The jiva then becomes one with the supreme Self and enjoys bliss (Ch.Up.
6.8.2 and Br.Up. 4.3.19). A baby, having fed at the breast of its mother, and
being free from attachment and aversion, lies in its bed, enjoying its natural
bliss. A sovereign emperor, endowed with discrimination and having at his
command all the virtuous pleasures within the reach of human beings, and
consequently being free from further desire, remains as bliss personified. A
great Brahmana who has realized Brahman remains established in the supreme bliss
of enlightenment in the state of jivanmukti, having achieved all that was to be
achieved. The innocent child, the discriminating emperor and the enlightened
Brahmana are examples of supreme bliss. Others are subject to sorrow and not
entirely happy. In deep sleep, however, every one enjoys the bliss that is
Brahman. In that state he is not conscious of anything internal or external,
like a man in the tight embrace of his beloved wife (Br. Up. 4.3.21). The
experiences of the waking state are external and those of dream are internal.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that in the state of deep sleep, a father
ceases to be a father, a mother ceases to be a mother, worlds cease to be
worlds, and so on (4.3.22). Thus all worldly ideas are absent. Then jivahood
ceases and Brahman alone remains. Grief is the consequence of identifying
oneself as father, son etc. In deep sleep, when such identification is absent,
there is no sorrow. One who has woken up from sleep recollects that he slept
happily and knew nothing. Recollection presupposes experience. In deep sleep the
Self reveals itself as bliss and it also reveals ignorance. Brahman is
self-luminous bliss. In deep sleep the mind and intellect remain latent in their
cause, avidya. They become manifest when the person wakes up. The person then
remembers his experience of happiness and total ignorance during sleep. The
state of deep sleep in which the mind and intellect are latent is called the
bliss-sheath. When the person wakes up, the mind and intellect sheaths again
become manifest. It is the sheath of bliss that is the enjoyer and it is the
bliss of Brahman that is enjoyed. In the waking state the modifications of the
intellect, which are the instruments of cognition, cover various objects of
knowledge, but in deep sleep they become one undifferentiated mass of
consciousness. In deep sleep there are no mental modifications in the form of
sorrow. The state of deep sleep, in which bliss is enjoyed, ceases and the
person wakes up when prompted by his karma. The impression of the bliss enjoyed
in sleep remains for a short time after waking up. Then, impelled by his karma,
he sets about performing his duties and gradually forgets the bliss of Brahman.
Even though every one enjoys bliss during sleep, he does not realize that
bliss to be Brahman itself. Mere intellectual knowledge about Brahman is not
enough; Brahman should be realized as one’s own self.
Whenever happiness is experienced even without any external object or any
event to which it could be attributed, it should be understood to be the
impression (vasana) of the bliss of Brahman. The happiness experienced on the
fulfillment of any desire is due to the reflection of the bliss of Brahman in
the mental modification (vritti). This happiness is called vishayananda, or
happiness from the enjoyment of external objects. There are thus only three
kinds of happiness: Brahmananda or the bliss of Brahman, Vasanananda or the
happiness which is an impression of Brahmananda, and Vishayananda or the
reflection of the bliss of Brahman in the mind. Brahmananda is self-revealing
and it is what gives rise to the other two kinds of happiness.
The fact that the bliss of Brahman is self-revealing in the state of deep
sleep is testified by the scriptures, by reasoning and by experience. The jiva
is called Anandamaya in the state of deep sleep when he enjoys the bliss of
Brahman. In the states of dream and waking the jiva is identified with the
intellect-sheath or Vijnanamayakosha. The sruti says that in the waking state
the jiva abides in the eye, in the dream state in the throat and in deep sleep
in the lotus of the heart. In the waking state the jiva identifies himself with
the gross body and looks upon himself as a man, woman, etc. He then experiences
joys and sorrows. When at some time he is free from worries and at the same time
is not experiencing joy from any external object, his mind is calm. Then he
experiences the natural bliss of the Self. But this bliss is not the supreme
bliss of Brahman, as the notion of egoity is also present; it is only an
impression of the supreme bliss. This is like the outer surface of an earthen
pot full of water being cold to the touch, even though there is no water
outside. Just as the presence of water inside a pot can be inferred from the
coldness of the outer surface, one can comprehend one’s own nature of supreme
bliss when one’s egoity becomes extremely attenuated by continued practice.
The bliss in which there is no experience of duality and which is not the state
of deep sleep is the bliss of Brahman. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the
Bhagavadgita that one should gradually withdraw the mind from all other thoughts
and keep it fixed on Brahman. Whenever the mind, which is by nature restless and
fickle, strays away, it should be restrained and again fixed on the Self. The
Yogi who has made his mind perfectly tranquil and free from all taint, who is
sinless and who has realized his identity with Brahman attains supreme bliss.
When by the practice of yoga the mind is withdrawn from other objects and
concentrated on the Self, the supreme bliss which is beyond the senses and which
can be grasped only by the intellect, is attained. There is nothing higher than
this state. The person who has attained this state is not disturbed even by the
greatest calamity. Yoga is the state of being totally free from any association
with sorrow. This Yoga must be practised with determination and a dispassionate
mind. The Yogi who is free from all taint and whose mind is ever fixed on the
Self experiences the supreme bliss of identity with Brahman. Control of the mind
can be achieved by assiduous practice as pointed out in the story about the bird
which set about to dry up the ocean by baling out its waters drop by drop with
its beak. The story is that the eggs laid by a bird on the seashore were washed
away by the waves. The angry bird decided to get back its eggs by drying up the
ocean and began to bale out the water with a blade of grass. Sage Narada who was
passing by happened to see the bird and was impressed by its determination. He
went to Garuda and asked him to go to the rescue of a member of his own species
who was pitched against the mighty ocean. Garuda came and threatened the ocean
with severe punishment if it did not restore the eggs to the bird. The ocean
then returned the eggs to the bird. The moral of this story is that if one has
the necessary determination, divine help will come and enable him to achieve his
objective.
Just as fire becomes extinguished when the fuel is exhausted, the mind
merges in its cause when all modifications cease. When the mind is fixed on
Brahman, the ultimate reality, all joys and sorrows resulting from praarabdha
karma will be seen to have no reality. It is an ancient truth that the mind
assumes the form of the object towards which it is directed. The mind is the
cause of transmigratory existence. It should be purified with untiring effort.
By the purification of the mind all the impressions left by actions, both good
and evil, are destroyed. The purified mind abiding in the Self enjoys infinite
bliss. If a person fixes his mind on Brahman with the same intensity with which
people fix their mind on sense-objects, all bondage would be definitely
eradicated.
The mind which is tainted by desires is an impure mind and the mind which
is free from desires is a pure mind. The sruti says that the mind alone is the
cause of bondage as well as liberation. Attachment to objects of sense leads to
bondage and freedom from attachment is the means to liberation. The bliss
arising from absorption in the contemplation of the Self, when the mind becomes
cleansed of all impurities, cannot be described in words. It can only be felt in
the heart. The enlightened person always enjoys this supreme bliss inwardly even
when he is outwardly engaged in worldly activities. The wise man gives up all
desire for sensual pleasures and concentrates his mind on the Self so that he
can enjoy that supreme bliss. A man whose mind is free from worldly concerns and
is fixed on Brahman is not affected by any sorrows resulting from the operation
of his fructifying karma. When worldly pleasures which are not opposed to Dharma
come to him because of his praarabdha karma, without his seeking them, he looks
upon them only as aspects of the bliss of Brahman. He experiences the bliss of
Brahman in the waking state as well as in dream, because dreams consist only of
the impressions left by the experiences in the waking state.
In this chapter is described the realization of supreme bliss by the
Yogi.
End
of chapter 11
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