Panchadasi Chapter 2 Mahabhutaviveka--
The discriminative knowledge of the five elements Brahman, the non-dual reality, can be known by
discriminating it from the five elements. To enable this, the five elements are
first described. The element ether has only one quality, sound. The
element air has sound and touch as its qualities. The element fire has sound,
touch and colour. The element water has sound, touch, colour and taste. The
element earth has sound, touch, colour, taste and smell. These elements are
perceived by the corresponding five organs of perception. All actions of man can be classified into five groups.
These are speech, grasping, movement, excretion and reproduction. These are
performed through the corresponding five organs of action, namely, tongue,
hands, feet, anus and genitals. The subtle organs of perception and action are known as
'indriyas'. These form part of the subtle body. The corresponding organs in the
physical or gross body are known as 'golaka'. The mind is the ruler of the ten
organs of perception and action. It is situated within the heart-lotus. It is
known as the inner organ (antahkarana). It depends on the ten organs for its
functions in relation to external objects. The mind is constituted of the three
gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. The mind undergoes changes which are caused by
the gunas. Sattva guna produces non-attachment, forgiveness, generosity and
similar virtues in the mind. Rajas gives rise to emotions such as desire, anger,
avarice and is the cause of the person undertaking various actions. Tamas is
responsible for lethargy, confusion, drowsiness, etc. When sattva is predominant
in the mind, merit (punya) is acquired; when rajas predominates, demerit (papa)
results. When tamas is predominant, life is merely wasted.
All the objects in the world, as well as the senses and
the mind are made up of the five elements. There are three kinds of differences. A tree has the
trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. These are all different from one
another. These are differences within one object, namely, the tree. Such a
difference is known as 'svagatabheda' or internal difference. The difference of
one tree from another is known as 'sajatiyabheda' or difference within the
same species. The difference of a tree from a stone (or from any object other
than a tree) is called 'vijatiyabheda' or difference between objects of different species. Since Brahman is the
only reality, and there is nothing else of the same species or of a different
species, there can be no difference of the last two kinds in Brahman. Since
Brahman is homogeneous and without parts, there can be no internal difference.
Brahman is therefore described as 'one only, without a second' (ekam eva
advitiyam). The word 'one' negates 'sajatiyabheda'; the word 'only'
rejects 'svagatabheda'; and the words 'without a second' negate 'vijatiyabheda'.
Brahman can be experienced when the mind becomes absolutely tranquil. Brahman is
self-revealing and is the witness of the cessation of all modifications of the
mind. Maya is the power of Brahman and
has no existence independent of Brahman. Maya
cannot be known directly, but can only be inferred from its effect, the
universe. Before the manifestation of the universe Maya
existed in Brahman in a potential form. Maya is neither existence nor non-existence. It is indefinable. The
Sruti says that the created universe forms only a part of Brahman. In the Gita
Sri Krishna says to Arjuna, "The universe is sustained by a part of
Me". Though Brahman is without parts, the Sruti speaks of it as having
parts, using the language familiar to us. With Brahman as the substratum, Maya
modifies itself into all the objects in the world, just like various pictures
drawn on a wall. The first modification of Maya is space. Space derives its
existence from Brahman. That is to say, space appears to exist only because of
its substratum, Brahman, which is existence itself. Space has sound as its
quality. It is Brahman or Existence which appears as akasa (space),
but ordinary people and the logicians consider existence as a property of akasa.
This wrong notion is due to Maya. Space
has no existence apart from Brahman. Similarly, the other elements, air, fire,
water and earth too have no existence apart from Brahman. They are not real in
the absolute sense, but appear to be real because of the substratum, Brahman.
Brahman is all-pervading, but the range of Maya
is limited, that of space is more limited and that of air yet more so. Space has the property of (communicating) sound. Air
has the property of perceptibility to the sense of touch. Colour is the specific
property of fire, in addition to the properties of space and air. The specific
property of water is taste. In addition it has the properties of its
predecessors, space, air and fire. Earth has the specific property of smell, in
addition to the properties of space, air, fire and water. Brahman alone is the absolute Reality. The universe has
only empirical reality. When duality, which is not real, is negated, one becomes
established in the non-dual Brahman. Such a person is known as a jivanmukta
(liberated-in-life). A jivanmukta is not affected by delusion and it makes
no difference whether he dies healthy or in illness, whether while in meditation
or rolling on the ground, whether in a conscious state or in an unconscious
state, since he has already given up identification with the body. Thus the discrimination of the elements from the
non-dual Reality leads to supreme bliss. End of
chapter 2 |