Kindling The Flame Of Knowledge
The Brahmasutra Bhashya of Sankara is an abstruse exposition of his advaitic thought, best summed up in a classic line from the Bhasya: “Brahmn satyam jagat mithya jivo Brahmaivah napara” -- Brahmn alone is real, the world is illusory; the individual and the universal soul are one”. However, it is in the smaller poetic compositions that Sankara puts these abstruse advaitic concepts within easy grasp of the average individual, using everyday references to illustrate the concepts. The Atmabodha, set in 68 verses, is one such poetic primer of advaita, where Sankara begins by explicitly stating that the Atmabodha will serve as an easy text for those who are desirous of understanding the notion of liberation and how to equip themselves with the tools of discrimination in the mind. The second verse gets to the heart of the matter bluntly. It declares that knowledge alone can be the cause of liberation, just as fire is the direct cause of cooking. This may include the requirement of water, pots and pans, but it is fire that actually makes cooking possible. Sankara declares that karma or action is powerless to destroy ignorance for "...it is not in conflict with ignorance". The Self can be known only through knowledge just as light alone can dispel darkness.
Om Namah Shivay.
No comments:
Post a Comment