The following is a transliteration of the
exordium of ‘Apanbodh’ by Shri Ramen Basu
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 indivisible
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 I (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 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 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
Siddhapurusha (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
