Advaitic aspects of Act VII

When once the sarīra becomes fit and strong enough to engage in tapas, Jīva should do so with deep bhakti in his heart. Bhakti would at the appropriate hour of need, make Jīva to have a vision of the Supreme (Sāmba) (VII.7ab):

bhaktāya mayā kadācidbhavate darśiṣyate sāmbaḥ |

Therefore, holding bhakti very strongly in the depth of the heart, sincere prayers must be offered by Jīva to visualize the Lord’s presence and grace (VII.7/8; p.436):

tāmeva bhagavatīṃ bhaktiṃ hṛdi dṛḍhamavalambya bhagavataḥ parameśvarasya darśanārthaṃ saṃnidhānānugrahaḥ prārthyatām ||

Jīva is also made to contemplate on the greatness of the Lord by recollecting the Lord's limitless grseat deeds, according to the tradition of the bhāgavatas, by Śravaṇa and Kīrtana. Jīva is also made to understand that while the Lord is worshipped on the one hand as Sāguṇa Brahman (here lord Śiva and goddess Pārvati together as Samba), he is also to be realized as Nirguṇa Brahman.

Jīva also should understand that the Supreme Being is the total controller of all creations; He is not affected by any karma; He has no beginning or end; He is all the intelligence; He is also the Īśvara or Lord of all; He is One and One only; He is limitless and complete; He is the ultimate Brahman; He is Truth; He is knowledge; He is the Ultimate Bliss; and in Him the entire universe reposes (VII.15):

kartāraṃ katicit kilānumimate kāryairyamurcyādibhiḥ ke'pyāhuḥ puruṣasya yasya purataḥ sajyaṃ prakṛtya jagat |
kleśaiḥ karmabhirāśayaiśca sakalairaspṛṣṭarūpo'khilaprajṣo'nādiguruḥ sa īśvara iti vyākhyanti kecittu yam ||

As Jīva engages in deep meditation, the essence of Advaita Vedānta and allied Yogic practices are described well in this final Act of the play (by Ānandarāya Makhin) through the mouth of lord Parameśvara Himself. The Lord declares that to win over the natural enemies like diseases, the Jīva has to first completely control all the diseases that attack the body.

Therefore, the Lord, wants to teach him the complete course of Yoga Śāstra by which he would be hale and healthy physically.

He would also make him fulfill the purpose of his birth by drenching his body in that nectar-shower which comes out of the abode of Candra situated in the Brahmarandhra and also make him the repository of his ambitions (VII.23/24; p.461):

etasmai yogasiddhimupadiśya nirjitanikhilarogaṃ brahmarandhrasthita-candramaṇḍalaniṣyandamāna-āmṛtāplutaśarīraṃ nijānandānubhava-tucchīkṛta-ākhilaprākṛta-sukhāntaraṃ-saphala-manorathamenaṃ kṛtārthayiṣyāmi |

(1) Having decided thus, the Lord teaches the king about yoga and its consequences–Yoga is the complete control of mental attitude; the inner-mind is known as citta, which through the organs like eyes and ears understands the external happenings through the various powers of these organs (VII.23/24;p.463):

yogaḥcittavṛttinirodhaḥ | cittaṃ nāmāntaḥkaraṇam | yaścakṣurādikaraṇadvārā bahiḥ nirgacchat-viṣayākāreṇa pariṇamati |

(2) When knowledge is involved in deep meditation, the ātmā also remains still with that meditation; when knowledge comes out of that towards the worldly matter and keeps on moving, the ātmā also does so. Hence ātmā remains dependent on both meditation and knowledge (p.463):

dhyāyantyāṃ dhyāyatīvātmā calantyāṃ calatīva ca | buddhisthe dhyānacalane kalpyete buddhisākṣiṇi ||

The Vedic saying reads thus: “As if in meditation and as if in other activities”. The activities are: Kāma, Saṅkalpa, Vickitsā, Śraddhā, Aśraddhā, Dhṛti, Adhṛti, Hrīḥ, Dhīḥ, Bhīḥ–all these are internal activities of knowledge and the external ones are those knowledge-oriented matter obtained through sound, touch and so on (p.464):

“dhyāyatīva līlayatīva iti” śrutiḥ | tasya vṛttayo nāma kāmaḥ saṅkalpo vicikitsā śraddhāśraddhā dhṛtiradhṛtirhrīrdhīrbhīrityadyāḥ śrutīritā āntarāḥ bāhyāśca śabdasparśādi-viṣayagrāhiṇyaḥ |

The Bhagavadgīta speaks about Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and also the distinction between divine and demonaic attributes (p.465):

sattvarajastamorūpaguṇatrayātmikānāṃ ca tāsāṃ daivāsurasampadrūpatvena dvedhā vibhāga ukto gītayām |

Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in the Yoga of knowledge, charity, self-control, sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity, uprightness–these fall under the class of daivī sampat (pp.465-66):

ābhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhiḥjṣānayogavyavasthitiḥ |
dānaṃ damaśca yajṣaśca svādhyāstapa ārjavam ||^[1]

Ostentation, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, rudeness and ignorance fall under the category called āsurī-sampat (p.466):

dambho darpo'bhimānaśca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca |
ājṣānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha saṃpadamāsurīm ||^[2]

While, the divine wealth is harmonious, the demoniac wealth is activity and ignorance-oriented.

When the divine wealth is for mokṣa, the demoniac wealth is for bondage (p.466):

tatra daivī saṃpat sāttvikī | āsurī tu rajastamaḥpradhānā |^[3]

Further, all these internal and external activities of the mind disturb its concentration on the Supreme. Undoubtedly, the mind is restless and hard to be controlled.

Yet by practice and dispassion, it can be controlled:

āsaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam | ābhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate ||^[4]

Through resolute practice with an unwearied mind alone the Jīva can perceive the Supreme.

This is termed as Yogasiddhi when the meditated matter would be present before the eyes of the person in deep dhyāna (p.468):

etādṛśayogasya siddhirnāma dhyeyavastusākṣātkārarūpāvasthitiḥ |

Further, the ultimate success in practicing Yoga is achieved only through the grace of the Lord (VII.24d):

yoge siddhirbhavati ca yathānugrahaste... ||

When the Jīva has the strong desire for emancipation, by the grace of the Lord, the Jīva gets the benefits of Yogic power. The highest level of intelligence which is the matter for the five organs -eye, ear nose, mouth and skin, has absolutely been controlled by the systematic practice of Yoga. It evicts the mundane knowledge away from Jīva and hence the pure, and divine knowledge arises in the Jīva.

By this powerful knowledge, the Jīva realises that he could envision all the various creations in the world and understand himself to be different from the world (VII.26):

yā pratyakṣapadārthamātraviṣayā sā yogasaṃskārataḥ
  saṃskārān pratibadhnatītarakṛtān dhīḥ kāpi me jṛmbhate |
sūkṣmaṃ yattu vidūramavyavahitaṃ sarvān viśeṣān sphuṭaṃ
  paśyāmyeṣa yathāvadadya paramārthodbhūtayā prajṣayā ||

This real and divine knowledge in the highest degree of the Yogic power becomes the Samprajñāta Samādhi. From this, Jīva will experience the pure, divine and enlightened wisdom called ‘Ṛtambharā’.

Thereafter the Supreme Being would lead him into Asamprajñāta Samadhi which is known as Nirbījayoga (VII.26/27):

evaṃ saṃprajṣātasamādhiretasya prādurbhūtaḥ yata evaṃ sālambanāmanubhavati ṛtaṃbharāṃ nāma prajṣām | ātaḥ paraṃ nirbījayogasaṃjṣam āsaṃprajṣātasamādhimasyānugṛhṇāmi |

In this Yogic fire, which is nothing but strong, pure and deep meditation, ignited by those holy firewood sticks in the form of the Supreme Lord's mercy, all worldly activities of the Jīva are poured as oblation.

The Jīva becomes eternally satiated by the highest Bliss thus obtained (VII.27):

bhagavan karuṇāsamitsamiddhe dṛḍhanirbījasamādhiyogavahnau |
pravilāpitasarvacittavṛttiḥ paramānandaghano'smi nityatṛptaḥ ||

Immediately, on reaching this stage, the Jīva stays away from all the worldly activities.

For him the dawn of the highest stage of deep meditation has set on, which is the very great experience of oneness of the Jīvatmā and the Paramatmā (VII.27/28):

jhaṭiti vighaṭitākhilaparāgvṛttiḥpratyagātmaikyānubhavarūpo'saṃprajṣātasamādhirāvirbhūtaḥ |

It is also recorded here through the words of the Lord that both Jñāna and Vijñāna are necessary for the development of a Jīva towards attaining mokṣa.

Jñāna alone is fit for obtaining the best guidance to beget that success in other-worldly matters, while Vijñāna should always be there to get the worldly pleasures.

Both Vijñāna (Śarmā) and Jñāna (Śarmā) are to be taken care of; then both the worldly enjoyments and final liberation would be easily attained by Jīva (VII. 28-9):

prācīnaḥ sacivaḥ priyastava suhṛdyo jṣānaśarmā munistomasyāpi sudurlabhaḥ sa bhavatā mānyaḥ sadāhaṃ yathā |
śreyassaṃghaṭanāya hanta bhavataḥ satyaṃ sa evārhati preyastvaihikamātanotu satataṃ vijṣānaśarmāpi te ||

śaśvadjṣānādabhinnaḥ san vijṣānamapi mānaya |
evaṃ sati ghaṭeyātāṃbhuktimuktī kare tava ||

Also, by the grace of the Supreme power, Jīva is infused with bhakti; through steadfast bhakti, the Jīva is able to achieve all the puruṣārthas (VII.31):

īśānasya nideśāt prāptā sāpyatra śāṅkarī bhaktiḥ |
catvāro'pi pumarthāḥ puṃbhiryasyāḥ prasādato labhyāḥ ||

When the clouds move out, the sky becomes pure; likewise Jīva’s mind which was also surrounded by the veil of ignorance, gets bereft of the veil because of the absolute Consciousness.

Jīva now is fully drenched in the shower of the nectar which is flowing out from the cool-rays of that crescent-moon at the top of the head in the form of a thousand-petalled lotus, where Kuṇdalinī Śakti unites with the Supreme (VII.32):

mūrdhanyamaṇḍalaniketasudhāṃśubimbaniḥṣyandaśītalasudhāplutinirvṛtāṅgaḥ |
meghāvṛtivyapagame gaganaṃ yathācchaṃ caitanyamāvaraṇavarjitamasmi tadvat ||

This birth of a human being itself is a fault. Also if it is full of mental and physical diseases, then it is a great sorrow. But with the highly intellectual guidance of Jñāna and Vijñāna and with steadfast devotion (Śivabhakti), Jīva could visualize the Supreme couple.

On doing this, Jīva immediately crosses over all the great mundane problems and is bestowed with all goodness and auspiciousness (VII.33):

mantrin janmaiva doṣaḥ prathamamatha tadapyādhibhircyādhibhiścejjuṣṭaṃ kaṣṭaṃ batātaḥ kimadhikamapi tu tvanmatervaibhavena |
devyā bhaktyāḥ prasādāt paramaśivamahaṃ vīkṣya kṛcchrāṇi tīrṇaḥ sarvāṇi drāk tadatyadbhutamiha śubhadaṃ saṃvidhānaṃ tavedam ||

Also, by Jīva’s own good deeds performed in many previous births, he has gained good virtues; this makes lord Śiva bestows. His Blessings upon Jīva (VII.34):

bahujanmārjitaiḥ puṇyaistāvakaireva toṣitaḥ |
sarvābhīṣṭaṃ dadātīśaḥ saṃvidhānaṃ kimatra me ||

Thus, Ānandarāya Makhin has embedded the Advaitic aspects in the play. The highest lessons of Yoga Śāstra interwoven with Advaita Siddhānta are given in the form of lord Śiva’s direct teachings at the close of the play.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

BG. XVI. 1. See also BG. XVI. 2-3:
āhiṃsā satyamakrodhastyāgaḥ śāntirapaiśunam |
dayā bhūteṣvaloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīracāpalam ||
tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucamadroho nātimānitā |
bhavanti saṃpadaṃ daivīmabhijātasya bhārata ||

[2]:

ibid., XVI. 4.

[3]:

Cf. BG. XVI. 5ab: daivī sampadvimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā |

[4]:

BG. VI. 35.