Arunachala Pancharatna Varttikam and Vichara

Preliminary

The significance of this work was touched upon previously, as to how it had the special attention of Sri Bhagavan. Also, please do bear in mind that in this post as well, particular importance is attributed to a few verses which were inserted by Bhagavan Himself into the main body of the text. Again the assumption is that they were most likely to have been composed by Bhagavan Himself; and if not, and were actually written by Sri Laksmana Sarma (“SLS”), that was done under Bhagavan’s specific directions as to content and meaning, and then brought back to Him to be added at the appropriate place. Again, in all fairness, I should mention that this is reasoned-out from a study of the printed manuscript in the book only and could be wide off the mark.

The usual interpretations of Bhagavan’s great hymn “Sri Arunachala-pancharatnam” are that the hymn covers all the 4 traditional paths to Liberation. Jnana is covered in verse 3, Yoga in verse 4, Bhakti in the first half, and Karma Marg in the second half of verse 5; and that each have equal weight, each reaches the Goal. Some also say that verse 4 actually expands on valid methods of aiding Vichara such as, “rejecting external objects, breath and mind controlled”, and so on.

The “Varttikam” commentary on the other hand is blunt and clear; Vichara and Jnana are Bhagavan’s primary teaching, and the only direct path to Liberation. The other paths are auxiliary. The text has many interesting verses (including a few added by Bhagavan) wherein the paths of the “Yogi” and the “Premi” (Lover of God) are considered. As the intent in this post is not to have a controversial discussion on the various paths and their efficacies, the actual “Varttikam” text may be referred to by those who may have further interest.

The focus of this post is to pay attention to what Bhagavan emphasized with respect to practical Vichara, by adding additional verses to the original text.

The Verses on Vichara

The third Chapter of the Varttikam book covering Vichara has 31 verses (Nos. 48 to 78) in it, of which 7 were added by Sri Bhagavan (besides the changes He made in several others). Again, as these are likely to have been composed by Bhagavan Himself, these verses have enormous significance. The chapter begins by a paraphrased rendering of the hymn’s 3rd verse by SLS as under:

“Searching for the Truth of oneself, with the exceedingly pure mind diving into the Heart to find “Whence arises this I’, if one has the Experience of Thee as the Self who is Pure Consciousness, then the mind becomes forever still in Thee like the river that has joined the ocean.”

Then, after 2 initial verses, comes this verse as SLS’s only contribution towards the actual practice of Vichara in the whole chapter:

50.   Eliminating its unconscious parts, namely the body etc., and taking up the pure ‘I’ which is of the nature of consciousness, one should seek the Source of it (the I), namely the Self.

Bhagavan then has added these 2 verses (please see scanned image of the manuscript from the book as published by Sri Ramanasramam):

51.     As a diver dives into water to get hold of something that has fallen into it, so the seeker should dive into the Heart, seeking the Source of the ‘I’.

52.      As a dog seeks his master taking hold of his scent, so the mind should seek its own  Source,  taking hold of the purified I.

Verses 51 & 52 are seen added by
Bhagavan at the top of the page

For me, these 2 verses exemplify all what Vichara is really about. Both examples were used by Bhagavan often and it is worthwhile to read their expanded versions.

The Pearl Diver

The example of the diver was used by Bhagavan in one of His first works, “Who am I”. Just how intense and dramatic the illustration actually is, as originally given by Bhagavan in 1902 or thereabouts, is apparent from what was incorporated by Sri Sivaprakasam Pillai in his poem “Anugraha Ahaval” [from the Mountain Path, Jayanthi 1993; “The Various Texts of ‘Who am I’”, Pg 145, article and translation by Michael James].

“… just as  just as a person who, wishing to obtain the pearl lying at the bottom of the ocean, has entered that [ocean], plunges and dives deep, deep into it again and again, and, even though the ocean-water obstructs and causes him much trouble, raising him to the outer surface, [finally] brings up [the pearl], so when one seeks that beautiful pearl [the real Self] by scrutinizing who one is, countless crores of thoughts about outer things will obstruct and drag one, casting one out towards the world, and yet in spite of their casting one out [thus], if, like a simple woman who will not cease going after something she has set her heart upon, one plunges and dives, dives, dives deep within oneself, one can know oneself; that knowledge alone is the rare and precious state of liberation.” 

Never fail to find this absolutely stunning. Each time I compare what I am doing by way of Vichara practice and the level of intensity described by Bhagavan above, in so simple and clear terms, I know that more and even more is required. There is no mere “holding on to the ‘I’” here as is understood by many as describing the process of Vichara. There is an intensely alert, a sort of deliberately calm and composed but intensely dynamic sense about it all. It is almost as if – if not done in such visceral a manner, then there is a life-threatening situation on hand, unsaid but lurking just behind the scenes somewhere. Just “holding on to the ‘I’” puts us in as a swimmer in a sanitized and safe swimming pool as it were. Whereas being Bhagavan’s “pearl-diver” throws us into a dangerous and unpredictable sea, and we stake our very life each time we deliberately choose to dive for the prize we seek. Only then is it “Vichara”.

The Dog following his Master’s Scent

An elaboration of Bhagavan’s second example above is found in “Maharshi’s Gospel” [In the Chapter “Aham & Aham-vrtti”, Pg 78].  

M:   “Self-enquiry by following the clue of Aham-vritti is just like the dog tracing its master by his scent. The master may be at some distant, unknown place, but that does not at all stand in the way of the dog tracing him. The master’s scent is an infallible clue for the animal, and nothing else, such as the dress he wears, or his build and stature etc., counts. To that scent the dog holds on undistractedly while searching for him, and finally succeeds in tracing him. Likewise in your quest for the Self, the one infallible clue is the Aham-vritti, the ‘I-am’-ness which is the primary datum of your experience. No other clue can lead you direct to Self-realization.”

This one focuses on doggedness (pun intended!) in approach. The doggie is completely and single-mindedly focused on following the scent of its master. Nothing distracts it, nothing stops it, till its master is located.

[As an aside, whenever this example comes to mind I am reminded of the “Search Companion” we find in the “Search” option that pops up on clicking “Start”  in Windows XP operating software; it is a little animated doggie character, and when we start a search of our computer for a particular file or folder, the little doggie animates, presses its nose to the ground and tail up in the air, and enthusiastically goes sniffing about in a little quadrant of the screen as if physically searching for the files, and continues to do so till the search program finishes].

To summarize then, Bhagavan completed His little teaching on Vichara in this commentary by adding 2 important practical aspects to the basic, “Seek the Source of the ‘I’”. One verse emphasizes the dynamic and intense nature of this search, and the other the earnestness and doggedness needed to carry on till the Goal is reached.

I had briefly mentioned above that an approach to Vichara often suggested is, “locate your sense of ‘I’, hold on to this ‘I’, then you will sink in deeper and deeper, wait for the Supreme ‘I’ to reveal itself”. It is my humble opinion that this is too static and low-key, a sort of a wimpy, sleepy approach to it all. In all His primary works, Bhagavan described the process repeatedly as, “Seek the Source of the ‘I’”; and the “seeking” bit adds the absolutely critical dimension of dynamism to it. We have to chase full-tilt after the ‘I’, hunt it down to the point from which it arose as it were. The level of intensity in chasing after it is exemplified by Him with the “Pearl Diver” example; and the level of undistracted earnestness and persistence needed is shown via the “Dog hunting down the Master” example. Also need to mention here, that really no “Source” or a point of origin as such can ever really be located or pinned down; for, that the Source should exist as a “source” or as a specific location anywhere is ab initio a contradiction in terms, given that It is beyond the subject-object duality. The whole point of the instruction is - that the intense and earnest effort to “Seek the Source” introverts the mind like nothing else, and as you rapidly sink deeper and deeper within, the “you” bit dissolves away, and the pure ‘I’ shines forth.

Just remains to mention one other remarkable verse added by Bhagavan in this chapter, as it covers a crucial (theoretical) aspect of Vichara (please see scanned image below):

“Brahman & Brahmajna” (Reality and the Knower of Reality)

SLS gets into a detailed and complicated exposition of theory towards the middle of his commentary in this chapter. Some of the verses are difficult and that probably prompted Bhagavan to add several clarificatory verses (though herein we consider only one).

SLS wrote these 2 verses:

60.   The extinction of the thought that what is nonself is the self is the true meaning of the expression “knowing the Self”. The real Self is the only one that exists, and is devoid of the knower or the known.

“Nonself” being the limited ‘I’, the Jiva, the world we see; we take this as true and as our real self till we are ignorant; but extinction of this idea that this (falsity) is our (real) self, reveals the true Self and is enlightenment; and in that sense is regarded as “knowing the Self”. Really, SLS made it complicated here.

61.   The one whose mind is extinguished by diving into the Heart through the Quest, is the Self, not the knower of the Self; he is Reality Itself, not the knower of it.

This one makes it really really complicated. Questions that immediately pop-up are: The Self has a mind? The Self Itself undertakes the Quest? Surely it is the Jiva, the limited ‘I’, the mind of the individual which does the diving? How can the Jiva be called the “knower of the Self”?

Whereas, all I think what SLS is trying to present here is Bhagavan’s teaching, “There are not 2 selves at all; the Self is only one”. [The limited ‘I’ is an imposter and does not exist in the first place; it arises “in-between” as it were from the reflected light of the pure Self, and disappears when scrutinized]. And so SLS is actually saying that - though it seems that the Quest for the Self is undertaken by the mind, the limited ‘I’, since this is actually non-existent otherwise, it is in effect only the Self that undertakes it. Bhagavan clarifies this elegantly by adding this truly remarkable verse with a solemn warning at the end:

62.      The seeker who thinks that there is a real distinction between the Reality [Brahman] and him that is described as its knower [Brahmajna], is hindered by that same false notion. (His Quest will be a failure].

Something for those on the Quest to ponder over!

Verse 62 can be seen added by
Bhagavan at the top; note the extent
of the changes/additions  made by
Bhagavan on this page.