Shiva Gita (study and summary)

by K. V. Anantharaman | 2010 | 35,332 words

This page is entitled “the concept of vairagya abhijnana shakuntala” contained in the Shiva Gita (Study and English comments by K. V. Anantharaman). The Shiva Gita is a philosophical text from the Padma-purana in the form of a dialogue between Lord Shiva and Shri Rama. It deals with topics such as Advaita metaphysics and Bhakti and consists of 768 verses.

Appendix 6 - The Concept of Vairāgya Abhijñāna Śākuntala

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[Full title: The Concept of Vairāgya Abhijñāna Śākuntala highlighted in Śiva Gītā]

“dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkarasaṃjñā vairāgyam”—Śrī Patañjali Yogasūtra 1.15

“Vairāgya is the state of trained mind wherein the burning desire for power and pelf and possession and sexuality of this world and heaven etc. of the other worlds are consummately eschewed”.

1.0 Vairāgya—tenet of Śiva Gītā

In Śiva Gītā an entire chapter is devoted to Vairāgya or dispassion and its importance stressed in many other chapters too. This Vairāgya teaching emanates from Agastya Mahaṛṣi to Śrī Rāma in chapter two, titled Vairāgyopadeśam.

2.0 Rāma’s predicament

Raghunandana wanted to put an end to his life along with his brother Lakṣmaṇa, pining in sleeplessness, oblivious of his own self, taking no food, for days and nights, when Sītā was abducted by Rāvaṇa. Coming to know of this condition of Rāma, Agastya, the husband of Lopāmudra arrived at Rāma’s place in Daṇḍakāraṇya and taught him about the emptiness of the worldly life. Agastya poignantly teaches Rāma, the way of dispassion by eliciting from him the cause of his grief. He asks Rāma to enquire into this. The so called beloved, is only a product of the five elements which are inert^[1] and subject to decay and death. The body is burnt on death by firewood lit by the fire and is eaten in certain cases by jackal etc. Even then, it does not know anything. What could be its pain by separation from erstwhile kith and kin?^[2]

3.0 Śaṅkarā’s teaching

Śrī Sankara Bhagavatpāda^[3] says:—

“This body of ours is the product of food and comprises the material sheath; it lives on food and dies without it; it is a mass of skin, flesh, blood, bones and filth and can never be eternally pure, self-existent Ātman”

4.0 Quote from Vairāgyaśataka

Bhaṛtruhari says in Vairāgya Śataka:—^[4]

‘Awaits the old age threatening like a tigress, surrounding the body the diseases like the foe; slips out like water from a broken pot; yet, sinfully acts the man. How wonderful is it”

5.0 Agastya—Teacher to Rāma.

Agastya is gradually coming up with the teaching of Vairāgya for Rāma, to make him attain the status of a knower of Brahman which will ultimately make him Brahman himself: “brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati”

5.1 Recalling the eloquent passage from Śaṅkarācārya in Viveka Cūḍāmaṇi^[5] “The idea of ‘me and mine’ in the body, organs etc. which are non-self—this superimposition the wise man puts a stop to, by identifying himself with the Ātman”

5.2 Agastya teaches Rāma the essencelessness (asārata) of worldly things by pointing out that the body is merely skin. He exhorts Rāma to use his intellect to understand that Sītā his beloved wife is only an object of revulsion.^[6]

6.0 Kṛṣṇa Miśra on Vairāgya.

A parallel is seen from Prabodhacandrodaya through the character of Vairāgya^[7] of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Miśra:

“If Prajapati (the creator) had not created the body with the flesh covered merely with skin big and delicate like the edge of a fresh blue lotus, how could have any one stopped the vultures, crows and wolves falling on the body with the object of seizing the mouthfuls of raw smelling flesh with blood flowing fresh”

Agastya goes on to tell Rāma that who is it that endearly called beloved wife or husband? All are siblings.^[8]

7.0 Yogatatvopaniṣad on Vairāgya.

Yogatatvopaniṣad^[9] puts things in a delectable way:

yaḥ stanaḥ pūrvapītastaṃ niṣpīḍya mudamaśnute ||
yasmājjāto bhagātpūrvaṃ tasminneva bhage raman |
yā mātā sā punarbhāryā yā bhāryā mātareva hi ||
yaḥ pitā sa punaḥ putro yaḥ putraḥ sa punaḥ pitā |
evaṃ saṃsāracakreṇa kūpacakre ghaṭā iva |
bhramanto yonijanmāni śrutvā lokānsamaśnute ||

8.0 Piṇḍotpatti-kathanam on non-attachment.

Agastya points out the futility of attachment with great force in Śiva Gītā and in Piṇḍotpatti Kathanam the following verses VIII.47^[10] and 48^[11] are very apt. “What is there except bones, flesh, skin etc. in the body of a beautiful woman? Deluded by Māyā one does not perceive the world Abhijñāna Śākuntala it really is” Abhijñāna Śākuntala Māyā is defined Abhijñāna Śākuntala ‘aghaṭita ghaṭanā paṭīyasī’—‘expert in manifesting phenomenon that is not there’. Agastya goes on to say that when vital air makes its exit from the body, one does not investigate how the body is born nor is it reflected on after five or six days.

9.0. Svāmi Śivānanda on Vairāgya.

In the words of Svāmi Śivānanda^[12]:—

“There is a grain of pleasure in objects, but the pain mixed with it is of the size of a mountain.”

9.1

māṃsalubdo yathā matsyo lohasaṃkuṃ na paśyati |
sukha lubdastathā dehī yamabandhaṃ na paśyati || ^[13]

“The fish with its attachment to a piece of meat is unaware of the metal hook wherein it gets trapped, so too the body hankering after worldly pleasures do not see the shackles of death”.

9.2 Vairāgya is mental detachment from all connexions with the world.^[14] The truly holy man is he who has surrendered not only his belongings but also his longings of his self. Spiritual pride is the deadliest of sins. And one should be wary to not fall in this trap. Perfect desirelessness is Para-Vairāgya.^[15]

10.0Śaṅkara in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi.

It is worth recalling Śrī Śaṅkarācāryā’s words in Viveka Cūḍāmaṇi:—^[16]

mātāpitrormalādbhūtaṃ malamāṃsamayaṃ vapuḥ |
tyaktvā caṇḍalavaddūraṃ brahmī bhūya kṛtī bhava ||

Shunning from a great distance the body which has come from impurities of the parents and itself consisting of flesh and impurities—Abhijñāna Śākuntala one does an outcast—be thou Brahman and realize the consummation of thy life.

11.0 More quotes from Śiva Gītā.

11.1 There are more references to Vairāgya in the same chapter of Śiva Gītā where Lord Śiva gives his clarion call for non-attachment:

tato mṛtijaduḥkhasya dṛṣṭānto nopalabhyate |
yasmādvibhyantibhūtāniprāptānyapiparāṃrujam || VIII.53

There is nothing comparable to the sorrow brought about by death. Hence all creatures are scared of death, inspite of suffering from incurable diseases.

nīyate mṛtyunā jantuḥ pariṣvakto'pi baṃdhubhiḥ |

sāgarāntarjalagato garuḍenaiva pannagaḥ || VIII.54

The creature is lead away by death though one is surrounded by relations just Abhijñāna Śākuntala the serpent hiding in the waters of the sea is carried away by Garuda (the mighty eagle).

11.3 Lord Śiva again hits the nail on its head by telling Rāma to eschew his passion towards Sītā.

“The body (before death) was smeared constantly with camphor and sandal paste, beautified by a variety of ornaments and was clothed in choice garments, that same body, left behind by subtle body which is untouchable and invisible, is taken out of the house and is not kept there even for a moment.”

11.4 Just Abhijñāna Śākuntala echo of Bhagavad Gītā comes the following verse VIII-69—

mṛtabījaṃ bhavejjanma janmabījaṃ bhavenmṛtiḥ |
ghaṭayantravadaśrānto baṃbhramītyaniśaṃ naraḥ ||
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruvaṃ janma mṛtasya ca |
tasmād aparihārye'rthe na tvaṃ śocitumarhasi || 27 ||

11.5 Again in Śiva Gītā we have the words of Lord Śiva:—^[18]

“Abandoning attachment towards all being, even beginning from the world of Brahma and developing disgust towards everybody including one’s children and friends, one should approach the Gods through one’s preceptor".

12.0 Mind control Through Vairāgya

When Arjuna requires Kṛṣṇas advice on mind control and manonāśa Abhijñāna Śākuntala mind is difficult to control just like the wind, Kṛṣṇa has the prompt reply Abhijñāna Śākuntala under:

asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam |
abhyāsena Taittirīya Upaniṣad kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate || Bhagavad Gītā VI.35

“The mind is without doubt unsteady and difficult to curb, Arjuna; but it can be controlled through practice (of meditation) and dispassion, O son of Kuntī”.

This highlights the utmost importance of Vairāgya to obtain manonaśa and subsequent spiritual progress.

13.0Bhagavatpāda’s wisdom

Wise statement of Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda’s runs Abhijñāna Śākuntala under:

brahmādisthāvarāntareṣu vairāgyaṃ viṣayeṣvanu |
yathaiva kākaviṣṭāyāṃ vairāgyaṃ taddhi nirmalam ||

“Spotless freedom from desires means such a dissatisfaction in respect of all objects from Brahmā down to inanimate things Abhijñāna Śākuntala is felt in respect of the excrement of a crow.”

14.0 Attachment, the cause of Pain and Sorrow.

Śrī M.M. Agarwal^[19] makes the bold assertion:

“Non-attachment is freedom, not of the will, but from the will, for it signifies the total absence of that self-centred psychological structure of desire-emotion-action which limits and distorts the perception of truth in life, resulting in unnecessary sorrow and pain.” He continues to assert that world in its totality is incomprehensible, the world in its particularity is unbearable. To be free from all attachment is the sine qua non for spiritual advancement.

15.0 Types of Vairāgya.

Śiva Gītā puts great emphasis on Vairāgya Abhijñāna Śākuntala the comer stone for attaining mokṣa and this has been endorsed by Śrī Śaṅkarācārya making it Abhijñāna Śākuntala a prominent pillar of Sādhanācatuṣṭaya. Actually Vairāgya can be of two types, Kāraṇa Vairāgya and Viveka pūrvaka Vairāgya. Kāraṇa Vairāgya comes momentarily on account of miseries like loss of some dearly loved relative or wealth, popular parlance calling it Abhijñāna Śākuntala śmaśāna Vairāgya and prasava Vairāgya. This will not help one in one’s spiritual advancement. The mind will be simply hankering for an opportunity or excuse, to catch hold of the sensual objects, when the chance arises.

16.0 Vairāgya -the main pillar of Sādhanācatuṣṭaya

Therefore, Vairāgya born of Discrimination or Viveka is the premonitory symptom of spiritual development. That will help the aspirant. That will give him a good spiritual uplift. These two together forms the first two limbs of Sādhanācatuṣṭaya.

We can summarise quoting the Kaṭhopaniṣad^[20] (repeated verbatim in Śiva Gītā XV.13) in a skewed manner;