Vivek Chudamani

SR No.: 007022
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Chandrashekhar Bharti Swami, P Sankaranarayan
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidyabhavan
Publication Year: 1988
Total Pages: 552
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 14 MB

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VIVEKACUDAMAŅI
where was young and strong; the Devadatta seen now and here is old and weak. These are adventitious to Devadatta. Ignoring them, their identical reference is established when it is said 'so'yam devadattah.
Similarly, when it is said tattvamasi (That thou art), "That' (tat) refers to the caitanya delimited by māyā and 'thou' (tvam) to the caitanya delimited by avidyā or antahkarana. The former refers to iśvara who is infinite, omniscient, omnipresent and who is the creator and sustainer of the world and in whom finally the world merges; and the latter is the jiva who is finite, of little knowledge and who is restricted in time and place. These are the literal meanings, vācyārthas of 'tat' and 'tvam'. When it is said 'tattvamasi' (That art thou), it would mean, according to vācyārtha, that jīva is iśvara, which makes no sense. So, to rightly understand the expression, a portion of the literal meaning has to be rejected for the implied meaning of laksyärtha. Omitting the adventitious limitations (upādhis) of māyā which is responsible for the functions of creation, preservation and dissolution, and of avidyā which causes the wrong identification of the ātman with the series extending from the antaḥkaraņa to the body respectively, what remains in both cases is the caitanya and the identity between them is established. One is māyopahita-caitanya, the other is avidyopahitacaitanya. When the māyā and avidyā are negated, what remains is the caitanya in both cases and then, the 'tat' and 'tvam' become identical. This way of understanding tattvamasi is on the principle of jahadajahallakşaņā or bhāgalakşaņā as it is called. This is aikye sāmānādhikaranyam or the identity of reference of the words by virtue of their common nature. This is referred to as "vyaktisvarūs pamātrabodhaḥ'.