The following is a
transliteration of the Utsarg (Dedication) and Mukhobondho (Exordium) sections
of Apanbodh by Sri Ramen Basu.
Dedication
The Reality of
the Self-IConsciousness is Eternal Truth in one’s Own Consciousness. In the divine sport of the Self-IConsciousness,
one’s Own Consciousness is totally engrossed. Self-IConsciousness is ever
associated with one’s Own Consciousness.
Self-IConsciousness bestows the Self-I in the hands of one’s Own
Consciousness.
Exordium
This treatise
is called ‘Apanbodh’ i.e., one’s Own Consciousness, Self-Consciousness or the
Consciousness of the Atman (the Divine Self I-Reality). The subject matter
propounded in Vedanta is profound Saccidananda, the Supreme Reality, the
Supreme Truth, One without a second Reality of the Brahman-Atman — the
Knowledge of Brahman-Atman (the Divine Self I-Reality). One without a second
Knowledge is verily Wisdom Absolute. By the Science and Knowledge of
Vedanta/Upanishad is meant the profound Wisdom Absolute Brahman-Atman. One
without a second Knowledge is direct Knowledge — the Self-Conscious Awareness
(Swanubhuti). That is always only Self-realizable. The non-dual Knowledge of
Vedanta is verily the ocean of the essence of Self-Conscious Awareness
(Swanubhuti). It is eternally Absolute and ever perfect in one’s Own Consciousness.
Hence, one’s Own Consciousness Itself, the embodiment of all-attainment, is
non-dual ambrosial shower. The fundamental subject matter of this treatise has
been described in two chapters. In each page of this treatise the self-perfect
immortal True Nature of the Self-Conscious Divine Self I-Reality has been
presented in the essence of Self-Conscious Awareness (Swanubhuti).
The profound
Saccidananda, the Absolute Divine Self I-Reality, is Itself attributeless in
Self-Consciousness, and is Itself attributeful in Self-nature (Swabhava). In
Self-Consciousness It is only Witness Itself — Brahman-Atman (the Divine Self
I-Reality) Himself. In Self-nature, He is the playful Lord Himself, the inner
Controller, the Subject, the Enjoyer and the Experiencer — the becoming and
Being (Shakti and Satta) of all lives. On His own bosom, out of His own Will,
He has manifested Himself as the infinite living universe and is Himself
engaged in the blissful divine universal Game on His own bosom. From the
tiniest to the greatest, all are His manifestations. His Existence is ever
present in the heart of all manifestations as the Being, the Atman (the divine
Self I-Reality). The universal as well as the individual, both are His
identity. As the substratum of all consciousness, experience and sentience, He
is never absent.
In life, the
evolving expressions of Self-Consciousness are ever perfect; Awareness and
experiences are its proof. In His infinite manifestations, the experience of
the diversified forms, names, ideas and consciousness, keeps life overwhelmed.
At the root of all kinds of experiences, the Saccidananda Itself —
Atmaram-Pranaram (the Divine Self I-Reality), is ever present. The power of His
Bliss-Consciousness displays His infinite glory on His bosom itself. On the
bosom of partless Atman-Existence, even though the expressions of His
Bliss-Conscious Self-nature (Cidananda Swabhava) are manifested in the form of
infinite diversities, yet in the atoms and sub-atoms of each manifestation
dwells the Saccidananda Reality Himself. In the language of the Person
perfected in Self-Conscious Awareness (Swanubhuti), the creation bereft of
Saccidananda Brahman-Atman can never be imagined. Even the imagination is
possible through the medium of Consciousness, by the Consciousness only. That
Consciousness is experienced in life either in a positive or in a negative way
or in both positive and negative ways. The unified form of all kinds of
experiences is the Self I-Reality (Real I) or Ahamdeva I (Lord Self-I). Since
Consciousness and Atman (the Divine Self I-Reality) are identical, the True
Nature of Atman is Ownness.
All human
experiences happen in and through one’s Own Consciousness. At the root of this
experience is Atmaram-Pranaram, seated at the heart of every being. That verily
is the Real Identity of one and all. Atmaram-Pranaram is comprised of the
Saccidananda Reality. His self-effulgent form is Ahamdeva I (Lord Self-I). On
His bosom falls the reflection or shadow of His manifestations and that
comprises His Self-nature (Swabhava). The Atmaram, in the form of
Self-Consciousness, is fully involved in the divine sport of life under the
cover or mask of Self-nature. Self-nature conjoined with Self-Consciousness
means the Real I conjoined with the idea of mine (the reflected I). In
I-Consciousness, ‘I’ is the immutable Consciousness Atman; and in
mine-consciousness, ‘I’ is the Self-nature (Swabhava Prakriti). In the
manifestation of Self-nature, ‘I’ is full of diversities in the gross as well
as in the subtle. These diversities comprise forms, names and ideas. Although
these diversities are perceived to be real from the point of view of
Self-nature, yet for that perception one needs to accept the substratum of
Self-Consciousness, otherwise nothing can be experienced or perceived. It
means, without ‘I’ no experience can be admitted. This ‘I’ is the ego when
imputed with attributing adjuncts (Upadhijogey), and when devoid of any
superimpositions of attributing adjuncts, It is Ahamdeva (Lord Self-I).
Summing up,
whatever is perceived in and through the reflection-born idea and consciousness
of mine, is nothing but the immutable Consciousness Itself — Ahamdeva I (the
Lord Self-I). The sportful play of Ishwara takes place in association with
Self-Consciousness, and that of Jiva (theembodied being) takes place in
association with Self-nature. But only the Self-Consciousness is pure,
enlightened, liberated Atmaram Witness-Consciousness. Hence, it has been said
that there is bondage in Self-nature (Swabhava) and liberation in
Self-Consciousness. Just as by one’s Own Consciousness is meant the Atman
Self-Consciousness, similarly by mine-consciousness is meant energized
Self-nature. The essential nature or identity of Self-Consciousness is the
immutable Consciousness — Paravidya (the Science and Knowledge of non-duality).
The real inherent character of Self-nature is the reflection of Consciousness
(Cidabhas), the pure-Sattvic spiritual conscious power (Vidya Maya). The
essential nature of Prakriti is the reflection of Cidabhas, the impure-Sattvic nescience
conscious power (Avidya Maya). The manifestation of Avidya Maya is the living
universe. The manifestation of the spiritual conscious power (Vidya Maya) is
Jiva-Ishwara (the individual being and the Universal Being). The essential
nature of Paravidya — the Science and Knowledge of non-duality, is Ishwara-Atman
and the Brahman-Atman Self-Conscious Reality is the ‘Knowledge of Knowledge’.
The identity
of Self-Consciousness associated with Self-nature is as follows — at the center
it is Ishwara, in the inner it is Jiva (humans, Gods etc.) and in the outer it
is the universe. Ishwara is the predominant ‘I’ associated with mine, Jiva is ‘I’
associated with predominant mine, and the universe is predominant mine
associated with mine — here ‘I’ is obscured. The Atmaram Ahamdeva (the Absolute
Divine Self-I-Reality) is ‘I’ without mine.
The cover or
the mask of Self-nature has two divisions — one is inner and the other is outer.
The inner division comprises mind, intellect, ego and mind-stuff; and the outer
part comprises the gross body, senses and the vitals. Obscured by these
coverings Ahamdeva-Atmaram forgets the True Nature of His Own Being or the
Reality. Hence, in the form of an individual, He serves this covering
perceiving it to be real.
The subtle
part of the sentient manifestation is the cause, and the gross part thereof is
the effect. The subtle part controls the gross part. From the subtle-most to
the gross-most manifestations of Consciousness various kinds of diversities are
created according to the degree of the modifications of the inner sense. The
modifications of the inner sense are differently called Gunas or qualities,
that again is indicated as the attributing adjuncts. These qualities and the
attributing adjuncts are threefold — Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Since that
Awareness, which is the Consciousness Itself, is subtle-most, it is unmixed and
transparent like crystal. If any flower of red, blue, green, yellow etc. color
is put in the proximity of the crystal, it appears to be of red or any other
proximate color. Similarly, as the Pure Consciousness Divine Self I-Reality
gets associated with various Gunas and ideas, It attains the merits and
demerits of the corresponding ideas i.e., It appears as those ideas. In and
through the Gunas and ideas of the Self-nature, the three bodies — gross-subtle-causal;
five sheaths e.g., material sheath and the rest; three states waking-dream-deep
sleep are imagined and inferred. When the Atman — the immutable Consciousness
Ahamdeva, is associated with any one of them, then the corresponding grade of
experience manifests according to that nature and those ideas. The nature of
gross body is — birth, stability, growth, maturity, decay and death. Owing to
the body-identity, Atman considers or imagines Himself to be teenager, young,
old, thin, fat, Brahmin, Chandal and the rest; when the body is affected, He
experiences happiness or sorrow, suffers misery and becomes afraid thinking
death of the body to be His death. The character of the vitals — hunger and
thirst, decrease and increase, coming and going etc.; the character of the
mind — attachment and aversion, happiness and sorrow, fear and worry, grief and
delusion etc. The character of the intellect — agency, enjoyership, knowingness,
authoritarianism, perseverance etc. Being falsely identified with the nature of
the vitals and with the nature of the mind and intellect, Consciousness
presiding over the innate nature of life, presumes their character to be His
own. As a result, thinks Himself to be happy and sorrowful etc. This happiness,
sorrow, fear, grief and the rest are not the nature of the Atman, but they are
superimposed or adventitious nature i.e., imagined trait or emotion.
The natural
property of water is coolness. When it comes in contact with fire, it becomes
warm. This warmth is the adventitious or the superimposed state of water. After
the fire is removed, water again regains its natural quality of coolness.
Similarly, in and through spiritual discrimination when the adventitious nature
of the attributing adjuncts of three Gunas, three bodies, five sheaths and the
rest are negated, the immutable Atman is stabilized in His eternal, pure,
enlightened and liberated Witness Self. In other words, revelation of
I-Consciousness, free from the influence of mine, manifests in life. Through
spiritual discrimination it is experienced that I am not the body, mind,
vitals, intellect etc.; and do not even have their properties or nature. All
these attributing adjuncts are also not mine and I am also not all these
attributing adjuncts. I am free from these attributing adjuncts and a mere Witness
to all of them. My body, my mind, my intellect — all these attributing adjuncts
are used by everybody. ‘I’ — the subject, is always different from ‘mine’ — the
object. Still everybody, under illusion, imputes all these attributing adjuncts
like the body, mind, vitals and the intellect on the Atman or Ahamdeva. Thus,
they consider themselves to be fat, thin, happy, miserable etc.
Special
mention must be made here that whatever a human being considers as mine,
although its subject or the knower seems to be the ego-self, yet it is not the
ego. The subject or the knower is the immutable Consciousness-I (the Divine
Self I-Reality). The knower or the subject is always different from the object
of knowledge. The knower can never be knowable. The object of knowledge is not
self-effulgent, but it is always revealed by the knower. In one word, the
object of knowledge is not for the knowable, but for the knower. Again, the
knower is also not for the knowable, but for the subject. Ahamdeva, the ‘I’ of
the Divine Self I-Reality is the only Knower or Subject, and all manifestations
of the Self-nature are the object of knowledge to Him. Since the object of
knowledge is different from the subject, it is always imagined, hence the
non-self. Even the ignorance of deep sleep state is also revealed by Me — the
Real I. ‘I’ is aware of that state also. Since ‘I’ is the subject and ignorance
is the object of knowledge, that is why ‘I’ — the Conscious Divine Self
I-Reality (Atman),is different from ignorance and is the Revealer of ignorance.
Different kinds of manifestations of Self-nature are all objects of knowledge
to the Self-Conscious Atman. Simply put, starting from ignorance up to various
kinds of knowable or objects of knowledge that I know or see, cannot be
experienced or seen without the Knowledge-natured I. The Knowledge-natured I is
Ownness-natured, always homogeneous, whereas the creation is heterogeneous and
of manifold nature. The Ahamdeva I is calm or equipoise, steady and
self-luminous Existence Himself, Shiva— the highest Good. It is the divine
sport of Shakti on the bosom of Shiva. From the perspective of the Reality, on
the bosom of Self-Conscious Existence, it is the divine sportful play of the
power of Self-nature (‘Sportful dramatic sameside game of Self-Consciousness’
is the becoming nature on the Being) i.e., on Ahamdeva — the Absolute Existence
of Shiva I, Kali — the embodiment of the active power of Time, is dancing in the
divine play of Self-nature assuming the idea of mine-ness.
With the
changes in the body, vitals, mind and the intellect etc., Knowledge Self-I
(Cidatma Ami) does not get transformed. On the bosom of ‘I’, the substratum of
all kinds of transformations of mine-consciousness, is verily the Witness
Consciousness I Itself. From childhood up to old age and death, so many kinds
of modifications and transformations of mine-ness in the form of Self-nature,
occur on the bosom of Self-Conscious Divine Self I-Reality. In spite of all
those changes, One Self I-Reality is ever present at all times and in all
situations as their substratum. Just as the paintings on canvas are full of
diversities and tainted in various colors, forms and lines, yet their
substratum or background is one and the only canvas, and the paintings have no
separate existence and identity apart from it. Similarly, immutable Cidatma
Brahman-Atman Self-Conscious I-Reality Itself, on the bosom of the Lord Self-I
(Ahamdeva), is the only background of all kinds of glorious sportful play of
Its Self-nature, and the Self-knowing Lord Self-I Atmaram Himself, perfected in
Self-Conscious Awareness (Swanubhavsiddha), is the only Eternal Witness and
Knower.
With reference
to that ‘I’ of Ahamdeva, it is said that on the bosom of ‘mine’ in the play of
Self-nature, that ‘I’ of boyhood, ‘I’ of youth and that ‘I’ of old age is the
same unchanging Self-I-Reality. Again, that ‘I’ is the ‘I’ of the ignorant, ‘I’
of the wise, ‘I’ of the virtuous and honest, among the wicked and dishonest
also it is the same ‘I’, among the rich it is the same ‘I’, among the poor it
is the same ‘I’,among the renouncers it is the same ‘I’, among the sensualists
it is the same ‘I’, among the ascetics it is the same ‘I’, among the
emancipated it is the same ‘I’ and among the perfect Realizers it is the same
‘I’. Among all the Siddhapurushas (perfect Souls), Mahapurusha (supremely
perfect Souls), Siddhamahapurusha (Divine Souls), Avatarpurusha (supremely
Divine Incarnates), Gods and Ishwara, it is the same One I-Reality only which
is the background Existence, the immutable Atman-Brahman. All-Conscious
non-dual I-Reality bestows the very Existence to one and all. This creation of
names and forms becomes existent by Me (the Divine Self I-Reality), is revealed
by Me and all of it culminates in Me at the end. Hence, apart from Me — the
Consciousness Itself, this creation is false or dead. In and through such
repeated spiritual discrimination, the Knowledge of the dissociated nature of
the Divine Self I-Reality is attained. Afterwards, from the verbal testimony of
Guru, who is unified and identified with Brahman-Atman, on the topic of our
True Nature and Self-Consciousness in and through the spiritual analysis of the
great dictums Tattvamasi (thou art That) etc. or in and through the hearing of
the ‘Science of all-acceptance and all-embrace’, reveals the Pure
I-Consciousness in the heart of the Jiva i.e., I am (is) verily
Ishwara-Atman-Brahman—such direct Realization or Self-Conscious Awareness
(Swanubhuti) dawns. That is verily the cause of final emancipation.
Not everybody
is entitled to the path of Jnanayoga because for that past disposition of
highest order is the utmost requirement. But it is possible for everybody to
accept all in one’s Own Consciousness and to develop the habit of
‘all-acceptance and all-embrace’. Hence, in course of discussions it has been
said that ‘Ownness is one’s very nature and one’s Own is no different from
one’s Self-I’. The Self-I is ever perfect and ever accomplished in one’s Own
Consciousness. In the deliberations on the subject of one’s Own Consciousness,
the intrinsic or original characteristics one’s Own Consciousness, have been
expressed through the Science of one’s Own Consciousness in the light of
Self-Conscious Awareness. Since the self-perfect Science of Self-Conscious
Awareness is easily understandable through one’s Own Consciousness, it is
revealed through the words of one’s Own Consciousness. In the beginning, the
middle and the end of one’s Own Consciousness, the Self-I Consciousness has
been continuously revealing in the hearts of one and all the True Nature of the
immutable Consciousness and that of the Reality Itself of Atman-Brahman. The
treatise under discussion is the testimony of it. In the subject matter
included in this treatise, the sympathetic readers will find their Own Self in
their Own Consciousness. This is the uniquely significant characteristic of
one’s Own Consciousness.
Akshaya
Tritiya, 1410
Kolkata
Sri Sri Babathakur
Submitted at
the lotus feet of Sri Sri Babathakur
Transliterated
by Ramen Basu and edited by Sri P.C. Lahiri
