LIVING ON TWO LEVELS

It's extraordinary how we humans are able to live simultaneously on two levels, on the level of relative reality and on the level of ultimate reality, and with two truths, relative truth and ultimate or transcendental truth--Alan Watts.

ODD

It seems odd that there is anything at all--Alan Watts.

BRAHMA SUTRAS

The word "sutra" literally means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew.  A related medical term is "suture."

The Brahma Sutras, also known as the Vedanta Sutras, consist of 555 aphorisms in four chapters.  Each chapter is divided into four quarters, each quarter consisting of several topical sections.

The first chapter states that all Vedānta texts speak of Brahman, the ultimate reality.  The realization of Brahman by way of the Atman, the subjective aspect of Brahman, is the goal of life.

The second chapter discusses and refutes the possible objections to this philosophy.

The third chapter explains the process by which ultimate emancipation (moksha) can be achieved.

The fourth chapter describes the state that is achieved in final emancipation.

Many commentaries have been written on the Brahma Sutras, the earliest extant one being by Sri Adi Shankara. His commentary set forth the non-dualistic (Advaita) interpretation of the Vedānta philosophy, which was commented upon subsequently by Vācaspati and by Padmapāda. These sub-commentaries, in turn, inspired other derivative texts in the Advaita school.

CREST JEWEL OF DISCRIMINATION

The Crest Jewel of Discrimination, or Vivekachudamani, is a famous work by Adi Shankara (India, variously 6th century to 8th century) that expounds Advaita Vedanta philosophy.  It describes developing "viveka," that is, the human faculty of discrimination, explaining that it is the central task in the spiritual life.  It calls it the "crown jewel" among the essentials for moksha (liberation).

The word "viveka" means discrimination, "chuda" is crest, and "mani" means jewel.  Hence the title Crest Jewel of Discrimination.

While Shankara wrote commentaries on the Brahma Sutra, the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, his principal work is the Vivekachudamani.

It consists of 580 verses in Sanskrit and is in the form of a dialogue between the master and the disciple.  The master explains to the disciple the nature of the Atman (soul) and the ways to research and know the Atman. The book instructs the disciple step by step how to reach the ultimate, Brahman, through the Atman.

The text begins with Adi Shankara's salutations to Govinda, whom some interpret as God and others as Shankara's guru Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada.  It then teaches the disciple the ways to attain self realisation, methods of meditation (dhyana), and how to know the Atman.  A description of an enlightened man (Jivanmukta), and a man of steady wisdom (Sthitaprajna) on the lines of Bhagavad Gita, complete the work.

The Crest Jewel of Discrimination has been repeatedly translated into various languages, often accompanied by a commentary in the same language. English translations and commentaries include those by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood (Vedanta Press), Swami Madhavananda (Advaita Ashram), and Swami Chinmayananda. Tamil translations and commentaries include those by Ramana Maharshi.

An English translation of the full text is available for free on the Internet at www.realization.org/page/namedoc0/vc/vc_0.htm , while a 56-part lecture, as free audio files, can be found at Vedanta.com.  Click on "Browse Catalogue," and then click on the picture of Swami Prabhavananda.  The lecture is by Swami Prabhavananda.

VEDANTA'S VIEW OF GOOD AND EVIL

When the One appears as many, it must, out of necessity, manifest as pairs of opposites. Good and evil are inevitable consequences of the One appearing as many. Good is that which helps us eventually see through the illusion that we are many. Evil is that which perpetuates our ignorance of our true divine nature.

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

We can find ourselves in a process that has a life of its own, something that is going on no matter what we do otherwise. 

And indeed we do do all kinds of things otherwise, get an education, hold jobs of all sorts, have every type of social relationship, have a spouse and family even. 

But then suddenly we realize that there has been this undertow all our lives, this feeling, vague as it has been, that there is more to us somehow.  We awaken to the fact that despite ourselves we are that thing that has been going on in us all along, that we are in fact that undertow.

PUJA

In his book My Guru and His Disciple, writer Christopher Isherwood details his experiences as an initiate in the Vedanta Society of Southern California.  Much of the book describes the routine at the Society's residence and temple in Hollywood.  He talks about puja as part of the ritual worship there.

Puja is designed to concentrate the mind on God, or Brahman, and thus to heighten devotion.  It is offered to any one of the many aspects of God, often to one of His divine forms such as Kali or Shiva, or to such incarnations as Rama or Krishna.  The deity may be represented by an image, photograph, or other symbol. 

Worship may be performed with sandalpaste and flowers.  It may also be performed with as many as five items, such as, for example, sandalpaste, a flower, a stick of incense, a light, and food, or even with the addition of ten more items.  In most centers of the Ramakrishna Order a ten-item worship is performed daily for benefit of the whole religious community, along with a food offering distributed afterwards.  A sixteen-item worship is offered on special days, such as Kali puja and the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna, to name just two. 

In some Ramakrishna monasteries, Jesus is honored with a Hindu ritual worship, especially at Christmastime. Each gesture or action during a puja must be done with the worshiper's mind concentrated on its symbolic significance, which serves to remind him or her that deity, offerings, utensils, and devotee are all Brahman.  The ritual worship is therefore basically nondualistic. 

The meditations accompanying it embrace Vedanta philosophy, metaphysics, and mythology, and are concretized in the accessories used.  Puja reconciles the path of devotion with the path of knowledge, ranging, as it does, from the devotee's meditation on his or her identity with Brahman, to worship of the deity as an honored guest, physically present.