Advaita Ratna Rasāyana

The Chemistry of Self-realization as explained in Sankarācārya’s Eka-sloki.
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Nirvāna-anusāsanam Veda-anusāsanam 1 says Shrthi. What is Nirvāna? Nirvāna is the trance, a state of pure existence that makes a jiva emancipate the wordly existence. In this Supreme state there exists neither the existence nor the non-existence, not even existence & non-existence and so it is said ‘na san asan na sadasan’. Such is the Nirvāna or the Nirguna. The Nirguna aspect is described as ‘satya kāma’ by the Mundaka Upanishad; the abode of the Ultimate desire – the moksa. An aspirant for this ultimate Desire, known as mumuksu endeavors to relieve himself from the ephemeral affinities and so he gains the gems of self realization. Shruthis mention four gems of ātma darsana vide, atma kāmā – desire for Self, āpta kāma desires fulfilled (paryāpta kāmasya krtātmanastu says Mundaka), nishkāma – no desires and jirna kāma – desires consumed. These are the steps to attain the self-realization as prescribed by the Upanishads – atma darsana sopāna. First the mumuksu desires for knowing the nature of Self. He then develops the desire for investigating the scriptures, which are the true testimonies of valid knowledge (Sāstra yonitvāt says Vyāsācārya). The scriptures are the āpta vacanas. Soon after mumuksa crosses the stage of being āpta kāma he renounces the ephemeral desires and hence becomes desire less – the nishkāma. Mundaka Upanishads shares it view to say kāmānyah kāmayate manyamānah – one he who ponders over the worldly desires, sa kāma birjāyate tatra tatra – he is born life after life. Finally the mumuksu enters the final stage – the jirna kāma wherein he realizes that he himself is the abode of the Supreme realization – the Ultimate state Oneness with Brahman that exists no where but within him. The Jiva drops the notion of duality and attains liberation with the Partless Ultimate – Akhanda Brahman. Such jirna kāma is known as satya kāma. A mumuksu who attains this Visnu pada, & sees everything as Vishnu in this world, is a Jivan Muktha says Shruthi. It says ‘Jivan muktasya vijnēyah, sa dhanyah krta krtyavān; Jivan muktha is one who is blessed with bliss, he has all his duties fulfilled in him Jivan mukthapadam tyaktva svadēhē kālasātkrtē’ after when he quits his body ‘visatya dēha muktatvam pavanah spandatam iva’ He merges into the dis-embodied motionless state of Brahman, which is the Nirvāna. It is the state of Nirguna Brahman, which is asabdam, asparsam, arupam, avyayam, amalam, anantam. Satyam- jnānam-anantam as Taitiriya preaches, the realization to be this stateless state of attribute less Brahman alone gives Moksa. The aspirant becomes one with this Supreme Brahman, who is the indwelling spirit of all beings. Shruthi conveys the same as ‘ātmendriya mano yuktam bhoktety āhur maharsayah; tato Nārāyana sāksād hrdayē supratistitah’ Sankarācārya, remarks that this Nirguna Brahman is omni potent and non-different from the Jivātma. The seer thus gains the vision to see the Golden hued creator in him, the most immediate being. Immediacy is, Niranjanah paramam sāmyam as the Mundaka Upanishad proclaims. The Jivan muktha shines with his effulgence, illuminating the un-illumined. ‘antar jyohir bahir jyothir’ says Sankarācārya. What jyothi is this? Surēsvarācārya in his Vārtika on Jyotis Brāhmana clearly says it is the Light of the Self. ‘ātma jyotis tatai vedam, sadānandastamidomitam’ – the nature of this light is atman which is the inner most self, that neither sets nor arises unlike the Sun – it is all glorious’. Is Sun’s effulgence inferior to Self-effulgence? Sankarācārya begins his Eka-sloki with the same question ‘Kim jyothir svabāvānumānahani me rātrau pratipādikam?’ meaning…

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1) Subālopanishad XI.1