Tatvabhodha 4

The Tatvabhodha started with a Statement that we are going to expound to those qualified with Sadhana chatushtayam , the mode of enquiry ( tatva viveka prakaaram) which is the means of liberation. We have seen what is meant by Sadhana chatushtayam. The one endowed with Sadhana chatushtayam then becomes qualified to receive the mode of enquiry into reality.

Now the question is what is tatva vivekah .

So now the text of the fourth lesson starts

तत्व विवेकः कः ?
आत्मा सत्यं तदन्यत् सर्वं मिथ्या इति ।

What is the enquiry into the truth ?.
It is the firm conviction that the self is real , and everything other than that is unreal.

The discrimination of what is real and unreal constitutes the enquiry into truth The real remains un changing under all circumstances.

While one says self is real . There is still a question about what is self . Is it the body we recognize ? Obviously because we recognize the body , body has to be be different from that which is recognizing it , namely self !!!.

It may sound a like circular logic, but it is true that the one entity that is recognizing that this is my hand , this is my head has to be other than the hand or the head. So none of the physical attributes constitute the self. So since we ( self ) recognize the body , body has to be some thing other than that which is recognizing it !!!.

This is continued in further dialog

आत्मा कः ?
स्थूल सूक्ष्म कारण शरीरात् व्यतिरिक्तः
पंचकोशातीतः सन्
अवस्थात्रयसाक्षी
सच्चिदानंद स्वरूपः सन् ।
यस्तिष्ठति सः आत्मा ।

What is self ?

That which is other than gross ( Sthula )subtle ( Sukshma) and casual ( karana) bodies;
It is beyond five sheaths ( Pancha kosas )
It is witness of three states of consciousness
It is of the nature of Existence - consciousness- and bliss ( Sachidananda svarupam)
It remains that !

So in defining self- First we establish it is other than the bodies the gross , the subtle and the causal.

The bodies are defined as three types.The gross body is that which is perceived by the senses. That is clear. The subtle body is that which is not perceived but yet known to us. For example I am hungry is recognized by us but not perceived by any senses. The third type is the causal, which carries the rajas tamo satvik gunas !

After dispensing with bodies which it is not , we come to the coverings ( sheaths) with which Self is covered . These are called pancha kosas or Five sheaths. The Self is also different from the five sheaths. The sheaths are defined like layers of clothes bodies wear !!

After dispensing with sheaths , we come down to the three states of the body , to say self is different from these states ! These states are the waking state in which I am aware of everything around me, the dream state where in I am aware of the dream ! . There is a third state of deep sleep ( shusupti) which I am aware in a way with absence of everything, the objects the emotions etc !

After saying no the three bodies , three states , the five sheaths what remains is that !!

That is self !!

om tat sat