Aparokshanubhuti Bengali - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Aparokshanubhuti" by Shankaracharya, based on the provided Bengali translation:

Book Title: Aparokshanubhuti (Direct Self-Realization) Author: Shankaracharya

Introduction and Purpose:

The "Aparokshanubhuti" is a treatise containing 144 verses (shlokas) that expounds the means to achieve "Aparokshanubhuti," which is direct, immediate, and unmediated self-realization – the experience of "I am Brahman." The text emphasizes that until one perceives themselves and the universe as distinct from the ultimate reality, this realization cannot occur.

Foundation: The Four Preliminary Qualifications (Sadhana Chatushtaya):

The text begins by outlining the necessary qualifications for undertaking this path:

Vairagya (Dispassion): This is not mere indifference but a profound detachment towards all worldly enjoyments, from the lowest to the highest realms, recognizing their impermanent nature. The analogy used is the utter disregard for crow's excreta.
Nitya-Anitya Vastu Viveka (Discrimination between the Eternal and the Non-eternal): This involves a settled conviction that the Atman (the Self, the seer) is the only permanent reality, while everything else (the seen) is transient.
Shama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Shraddha, Samadhana (The Six Virtues - Shatkarma):
- Shama: The constant abandonment of desires.
- Dama: The control of the external senses and their activities.
- Uparati: Complete turning away from all sense objects.
- Titiksha: Patient endurance of all sorrows and pains.
- Shraddha: Implicit faith in the words of the Vedas and the spiritual teacher.
- Samadhana: Concentration of the mind on the one reality, Sat (Brahman).
Mumukshutva (Intense Desire for Liberation): A burning and firm desire to be free from the bonds of worldly existence (birth and death).

The Path of Self-Inquiry (Tattva Vichara):

The text stresses that knowledge leading to self-realization is not attainable by any other means than Vichara (self-inquiry), just as an object cannot be perceived without light. This inquiry involves asking profound questions:

Who am I?
How did this world come into being?
Who is its creator?
Of what material is it made?

The process of Vichara leads to the realization that "I am not the body, nor the aggregate of the senses. I am something different from these." It establishes that everything arises from ignorance (ajnana) and dissolves in knowledge. The ultimate cause of both ignorance and thought is the singular, subtle, and unchanging Sat (Brahman). Through this inquiry, one realizes, "I am indeed that One, Subtle, Knower, Witness, Ever-Existent, and Unchanging – I am Brahman."

The Nature of Ignorance (Ajnana Swarupa):

The text vividly illustrates ignorance as the mistaken identification of the Self (Atman) with the non-Self (body and senses). It repeatedly asks, "What else can be called ignorance but this?" when people confound:

The singular, partless Atman with the multi-part body.
The indwelling Atman (ruler) with the external body (ruled).
The conscious, pure Atman with the fleshly, impure body.
The luminous Atman with the dark, inert body.
The eternal Atman with the transient body.

It clarifies that the luminosity of the Atman is not like that of external lights, as it is the basis of all manifestations and does not diminish. The ignorance is so profound that people identify with the body ("I am the body") even while knowing it as belonging to them ("This is mine").

The Nature of Knowledge (Jnana Swarupa):

True knowledge is defined as the realization: "I am verily Brahman, being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. I am not the body, which is non-existence itself." The text reiterates this through various attributes of Brahman:

Without change, form, blemish, and decay.
Beyond disease, comprehension, and duality.
All-pervading, attribute-less, inactive, eternal, ever-free, and imperishable.
Pure, immovable, unlimited, undecaying, and immortal.

Debunking the Identity of the Body with the Atman:

The text then engages in a rigorous debate, refuting the idea that the body is the Atman (Purusha). It highlights the inherent differences:

"I" (Atman) is one, while gross bodies are many.
"I" am the seer, the body is the seen.
"I" am unchanging, the body is constantly changing.
Scriptures declare Purusha as "higher than all," while the body is limited.
The body is impure and attached, while Purusha is unattached (asanga) and self-illumined.
Even the Karma-kanda (ritualistic section of Vedas) differentiates the Atman from the body, as the Atman experiences the fruits of actions even after the body's demise.
The subtle body (linga sharira) is also composite, unstable, changeable, limited, and unreal.

Therefore, the immutable Atman is identified as Purusha, Ishwara, the Self of all, present in every form yet transcending all.

The Universe as Brahman (Jagat Brahma-nanya):

The text asserts that the universe is not different from Brahman. Just as a pot is ultimately earth, and a cloth is ultimately threads, the entire universe is Brahman.

The perceived division between Atman and body is the basis for the world's apparent reality, but this leads to no ultimate purpose.
The difference between the Atman and the body is denied because Consciousness is one and indivisible. The concept of "Jiva" (individual soul) is as illusory as seeing a snake in a rope.
Just as ignorance of the rope causes it to appear as a snake, ignorance of Brahman causes the universe to appear as distinct from it.
There is no material cause for the universe other than Brahman.
The scriptural declaration "All this is Atman" negates the distinction between the pervaded and the pervading, leaving no room for a cause-effect distinction.
Maya (illusion) deceives those who see multiplicity in Brahman, leading them to repeated death.
All beings originate from Brahman, the Supreme Atman, and thus are verily Brahman. Brahman alone supports all names, forms, and actions.

The Jiva is Not Different from Brahman:

The text reiterates that any distinction made between the Jivatman and Paramatman, even the slightest, leads to fear. When everything is realized as the Atman, the duality vanishes, and with it, delusion and sorrow. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states that this Atman, the Self of all, is Brahman.

The Three States of Consciousness and the Witness:

The phenomenal world, though experienced daily, is unreal like a dream, as it is contradicted in the next moment.
The dream state is unreal in waking, and the waking state is absent in dream. Both are absent in deep sleep, which itself is not experienced in the other two states.
Thus, all three states (waking, dream, deep sleep) are unreal, being creations of the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas). Their witness, however, is beyond the Gunas, eternal, one, and Consciousness itself.
Just as the illusion of a pot in earth or silver in nacre is dispelled upon true realization, the illusion of Jiva in Brahman vanishes upon realizing Brahman as one's own Self.

The text uses numerous analogies to illustrate how ignorance superimposes the body onto the Atman, similar to mistaking a rope for a snake, nacre for silver, earth for a pot, gold for an earring, a stump for a man, wood for a house, etc. This misidentification is due to the nature of ignorance, like seeing a tree upside down due to water, everything appearing in motion on a boat, or white objects appearing yellow due to jaundice.

The Dissolution of Prarabdha Karma:

The text challenges the notion that Prarabdha karma (fruits of past actions that determine one's present life) persists even after Self-realization.

It argues that after realizing the true nature of reality, Prarabdha ceases to exist, just as a dream vanishes upon waking.
Karma done in a previous life is Prarabdha, but for a realized soul, there is no "previous life" as the ego (which is the basis of past lives) is gone.
The body, being part of the unreal phenomenal world, cannot sustain Prarabdha.
Scriptures that mention the perishing of actions upon realization are intended to negate the concept of persistent Prarabdha. Those who cling to this idea suffer further absurdities and abandon Vedantic conclusions.

The Fifteen Limbs of Raja Yoga for Self-Realization:

The text then describes the fifteen steps of Raja Yoga, a practice for achieving the aforementioned self-realization:

Yama: Control of the senses by the knowledge that "All this is Brahman."
Niyama: The continuous flow of Brahmic thought, excluding all others.
Tyaga: Renunciation of the illusory universe by realizing its nature as the all-conscious Atman.
Mauna: Dwelling in silence where words and mind cannot reach, the state beyond description.
Desha: Solitude where the universe does not exist, but which pervades all.
Kala: The non-dual, blissful Brahman that creates all beings instantaneously.
Asana: A posture that allows for uninterrupted meditation on Brahman.
Mulabandha: The root that supports all existence and the basis for mind control.
Dehasamya: Equipoise of the limbs achieved through absorption in Brahman.
Drishti: Vision transformed into knowledge, seeing the world as Brahman.
Pranayama: Restraint of all mental modifications by viewing all as Brahman. This includes Rechaka (negation of the universe), Puraka (thought "I am Brahman"), and Kumbhaka (steadiness of this thought).
Pratyahara: Absorption of the mind in Supreme Consciousness by realizing Atman in all objects.
Dharana: Steadiness of the mind through the realization of Brahman wherever the mind goes.
Dhyana: Remaining independent of everything with the unwavering thought, "I am verily Brahman," leading to supreme bliss.
Samadhi: The complete forgetfulness of all thoughts after they become changeless and identified with Brahman.

The aspirant should practice these steps until Samadhi becomes spontaneous and under their control. This leads to freedom from all practices and a state beyond the reach of mind and speech.

Obstacles and Their Overcoming:

The text acknowledges obstacles in Samadhi such as lack of inquiry, idleness, desire, sleep, dullness, distraction, pleasure-tasting, and blankness. These must be gradually overcome. The mind becomes like what it contemplates: thoughts of objects lead to object-existence, thoughts of void lead to emptiness, and thoughts of Brahman lead to perfection. Those who abandon the thought of Brahman live in vain, like beasts.

The Path of the Wise:

The text emphasizes that those who maintain the Brahmic thought and develop it are the truly blessed, respected, and realized beings. Discussing Brahman without realization or attachment to worldly pleasures leads to ignorance and repeated births. The wise do not remain even a moment without the thought of Brahman.

Conclusion:

The ultimate reality is the pure, indescribable Brahman. By observing the relationship between cause and effect (like earth and pot), one realizes that the cause inheres in the effect, and when the effect is discarded, the cause remains. Through diligent meditation and firm conviction, one becomes that reality. The wise reduce the visible to the invisible, thinking of the universe as Brahman, thus abiding in eternal bliss.

For those whose minds are partially purified, Raja Yoga should be combined with Hatha Yoga. For those with completely purified minds, Raja Yoga alone leads to perfection. Devotion to the teacher and the Divine makes this path quickly accessible.