Verses 47 - 56 VivekachudAmani (essence of Vivekachudamani's message)

The following conversation between Guru and siśyā is essence of Vivekachūdāmani’s message

Guru gives the truth to the student

अज्ञानयोगात्परमात्मनस्तव
ह्यनात्मबन्धस्तत एव संसृतिः ।
तयोर्विवेकोदितबोधवन्हिः
अज्ञानकार्यं प्रदहेत्समूलम् ॥ ४७ ॥

Ajñāna yogātparamātmanastava
hyanātmabandhastata eva saṃsṛtiḥ |
tayor vivekodita bodhavanhiḥ
ajñānakāryaṃ pradahetsamūlam || 47 ||

47. It is verily through the touch of Ignorance that you who are the Supreme Self, find yourself under the bondage of non-Self (anātma) & thereby proceeds the cycles of births and deaths. The fire of knowledge, kindled by the discrimination between these two (i.e. ātma and unātma), burns up the effects of Ignorance together with their root cause (i.e. ignorance in its seed form ~namely I’m puny and this world is real).

Student filled with bhakti to Guru and Guru’s upadeśa asks as follows the seven questions

को नाम बन्धः कथमेष आगतः
कथं प्रतिष्ठास्य कथं विमोक्षः ।
कोऽसावनात्मा परमः क आत्मा
तयोर्विवेकः कथमेतदुच्यताम् ॥ ४९ ॥

ko nāma bandhaḥ kathameṣa āgataḥ
kathaṃ pratiṣṭhāsya kathaṃ vimokṣaḥ |
ko'sāvanātmā paramaḥ ka ātmā
tayorvivekaḥ kathametaducyatām || 49 ||

49. What is bondage (bandhaḥ) ? How has it come upon (Me) ? How does it continue to persist/subsist (katham pratiṣṭhāsya)? How is one freed from it? What is this non-Self (anātma)? And who is the Supreme Self (paramātmā)? And how can one discriminate (viveka) between them? -- Please tell me about all these.

Guru is pleased with the state of purity and earnestness pervading siśyā’s mind, which is the precondition for such detailed enquiry into Brahman.
 

श्रीगुरुवाच
धन्योऽसि कृतकृत्योऽसि पावित ते कुलं त्वया ।
यदविद्याबन्धमुक्त्या ब्रह्मीभवितुमिच्छसि ॥ ५0 ॥

śrīguruvāca
dhanyo'si kṛtakṛtyo'si pāvita te kulaṃ tvayā |
yadavidyābandhamuktyā brahmībhavitumicchasi || 50 ||

50. The Guru replied ‘You are verily blessed! You have achieved the state in which nothing more remains to be done (kṛtakṛtya) and have sanctified your lineage (family) by desiring to attain Brahman by striving to free yourself from the bondage of Ignorance!’

EXT: Here the jijnyāsu has become kṛtakṛtya ~ due to (i.e. having purified yourself with nitya/naimittika karmānuśtānam which includes upāsana). Such a person has natural vairagya – due to lack of interest in worldly enjoyment and thus becomes a jijyāsu. Also we see from Br.Su.1.1.1  bhāśyā by Sri Bhagavatpādā – this implies he has practiced sādhanāchatuśtayam for a sustained period.

Freeing oneself from bondage is one’s own task and it comes only through knowledge of one’s (eternal) identity with Brahman.

ऋणमोचनकर्तारः पितुः सन्ति सुतादयः ।
बन्धमोचनकर्ता तु स्वस्मादन्यो न कश्चन ॥ ५१ ॥

ṛṇamocanakartāraḥ pituḥ santi sutādayaḥ |
bandhamocanakartā tu svasmādanyo na kaścana || 51 ||

51. A father has got his sons and others to free him from his debts, but he has got none but himself to remove his bondage.

EXT: The adhyāsa of unātman on ātman (Self) via one’s upādhi is what is to be removed with jnāna. So, this can be only brought about (i.e. de-superimposition) by one’s own clarity vide ātmavidya śravanam.

मस्तकन्यस्तभारादेर्दुःखमन्यैर्निवार्यते ।
क्षुधादिकृतदुःखं तु विना स्वेन न केनचित् ॥ ५२ ॥

Mastakanyastabhārādeh duḥkham anyair nivāryate |
kṣudhādikṛtaduḥkhaṃ tu vinā svena na kenacit || 52 ||

52. The burden of bearing heavy load on one’s head can be removed by others but none but one’s own self (body, mind etc) can put a stop to the pain which is caused by hunger and the like.

पथ्यमौषधसेवा च क्रियते येन रोगिणा ।
आरोग्यसिद्धिर्दृष्टास्य नान्यानुष्ठितकर्मणा ॥ ५३ ॥

pathyamauṣadhasevā ca kriyate yena rogiṇā |
ārogyasiddhirdṛṣṭāsya nānyānuṣṭhitakarmaṇā || 53 ||

53. A person can recover from illness (regain health) by taking recourse to proper diet and medication and not through work done by others (i.e. other’s cannot consume medicine/diet on the patient’s behalf).

EXT: Ignorance is intensely personal problem, it’s the misidentification of one’s upādhi with one’s Self (i.e. pure consciousness). So de-superimposition starts with recognizing one’s own upādhi – namely body, mind etc… are mere appearances illumined by one’s Self and have no essential existence apart from the Self – which is pure existence = pure consciousness.

वस्तुस्वरूपं स्फुटबोधचक्षुषा
स्वेनैव वेद्यं न तु पण्डितेन ।
चन्द्रस्वरूपं निजचक्षुषैव
ज्ञातव्यमन्यैरवगम्यते किम् ॥ ५४ ॥

vastusvarūpaṃ sphuṭabodhacakṣuṣā
svenaiva vedyaṃ na tu paṇḍitena |
candrasvarūpaṃ nijacakṣuṣaiva
jñātavyam anyairavagamyate kim || 54 ||

54. The true nature of things is to be known personally, through one’s own eye of clarity (i.e. clarity of conviction), and not through some other, however knowledgeable. What the moon exactly is, is to be known with one’s own eyes; can others make him know it?

अविद्याकामकर्मादिपाशबन्धं विमोचितुम् ।
कः शक्नुयाद्विनात्मानं कल्पकोटिशतैरपि ॥ ५५ ॥

avidyā kāma karmādi pāśabandhaṃ vimocitum |
kaḥśaknuyād vinātmānaṃ kalpa koṭi śatairapi || 55 ||

55. Even in a 100 crores of kalpas, who else but oneself can bring about one’s release from the bondage of avidyā, kāma and karma!

न योगेन न सांख्येन कर्मणा नो न विद्यया ।
ब्रह्मात्मैकत्वबोधेन मोक्षः सिध्यति नान्यथा ॥ ५६ ॥

na yogena na sāṃkhyena karmaṇā no na vidyayā |
brahmātmaikatvabodhena mokṣaḥ sidhyati nānyathā || 56 ||

56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sānkhya, nor by karma, nor by vidyā (i.e. upāsana), but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation (brahmātmaikatvam) possible, and by no other means.

EXT: Mokśā is the very nature of Brahman / ātman. It can’t be produced by any action. Everything listed here is facilitating the right mindset ~ purity, concentration, special grace all of which culminate in the knowledge of the ever- existent identity(brahmātmaikatvam). The siddhānta pertaining to Yogā, sānkhya is predicated upon duality being real, hence beyond a point they get in the way. So, it’s important to resort to them (i.e. yoga, sankhya, karma, upāsana) with the clarity that they are important w.r.t developing chitta śuddhi when undertaken with Iśvarārpana buddhi and Iśvara prasādha buddhi (i.e. karma yogā). This leads to dawn of brahmajnāna, when received from a śrotriya brahmaniśta. Brahmajnāna is vritti jnāna – i.e. knowledge of one’s infinite nature taught in the form of a well-reasoned thought pattern, following the  traditional method of reasoning (Śruti mata tarkam). The special form of vritti or brahmajnāna upadeśam does not produce brahmattvam, but reveals our essential nature here and now, as brahman. The recognition of our anubhuti’s pristine untainted, unlimited nature as pure existence, pure consciousness is mokśa or liberation, from ajnāna.