Part II - The teacher and the text

The Hindu tradition is one of oral propagation, which is why the Vedas, our core scriptures, have no original date, nor can they be attributed to any particular author. Their origins are lost in the mists of time. The great masters who, through deep meditation, discovered in themselves the transcendental truth, had no need to write books or claim copyrights on the knowledge revealed to them. They taught those who came to them and the teachings were passed on, from master to student for centuries. Most of the time, we know neither the teacher's name nor the students, only the teaching remains.
Thus the truths revealed in the Vedas are not attributed to any personality and stand on their own veracity rather than the recommendation of any person. These collected teachings of the oral tradition were gathered and organised into written texts for the sake of the future generations, by the great sage Vyasa. Therefore, some mistakenly people attribute the authorship of the Vedas to him.

Any teaching that does not grow and change with time, tends to lose the power to reach the average student. Although the core truth is still the same, the style of teaching must evolve with the society, the examples and metaphors must be updated, and aligned to the level of the modern society and seekers. Failing this, the average adherents of the scripture twist its meaning and the religion becomes a farce and curse to society. Hinduism went through this phase several times, and came out of it richer and more beautiful.
One such notable revolution was brought by the Buddha, and his approach was so radical and completely fresh that it spawned a whole new religion.
Later on, by the time of Adi Shankaracharya, both Hinduism and Buddhism had fallen into a slump of mere rote learning and misunderstanding of the subtle teavhing of the masters. Therefore, Shankara set forth to revive to spiritual heritage of India, and through his numerous commentaries on the Vedas, his own compositions and his very way of life, he once more set the spiritual seekers on the right track. The entire order of sanyasa or monkhood is his legacy and a crystal clear understanding of the truths of Hinduism is his gift to mankind.

 

Read about Sri Shankara's life at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara.


In our study, we are going to follow a text by this great master. The treatise is called Tattva Bodha - 'Realisation of that Which Is', or 'Realisation of Truth'.
The Tattva Bodha is an introductory text, meant for newcomers to the teachings of Vedanta and therefore serves as a primer, starting from the most elementary level and culminating the highest, most sublime thought of Hinduism.
This one of many beginner's texts by Sri Shankara, in which he gives clear, precise definitions of the terms used and also the relationship between them. He also wrote several more advanced texts, meditation guides, hymns and even guides for teachers -- a unique feature of his body of work.
Just because this is a beginners text, does not mean this is not sufficient to propel the student to attain the highest. For a fit student, one whose head and heart are already deeply in tune with the universe, even the mere presence of the teacher is sufficient. In Shankara's own life there examples of how just 2-3 words, half a verse, was enough to enlighten the ripe student.
For others, however, these preliminary texts give us an excellent foundation to propel us into the higher realms of meditation, as well as to guide our practice of life in the right directions.
This book is in the structure of questions and answers, each answer leading to a more branches of questions. It follows a highly logical pattern and by the end of it, the essence of the vedantic teaching becomes very clear indeed.

 

In the Hindu tradition, all texts and teachings start with an invocation followed by a clear statement of the purpose of the book, its subject, the fit student, and how the subject of the book relates to the purpose. The first verse of tattva bodha serves not only as an invocation, but also lists this essential information.

Bowing down to Vaasudeva, the greatest of Yogis and the Guru who is the source of all wisdom, the knowledge of truth (tattva bodha) is being expounded for the benefit of seekers of the truth.

Vasudeva, the Lord of Yogis:Vaasudeva is a common name for Krishna (it means the son of Vasudeva). Shankara, although a strict nondualist, also has a heart that flows with devotion to the divine, in whichever form it may be. He has no strict adherence to any particular form or diety, but recognizes each as a manifestation of the same divine essence. Thus some of his books start with invocation of Sri Krishna, some with Siva, some with Ganesha. He has written the most beautiful and moving hymns to every deity in the pantheon.
Here refers to Lord Krishna, the cowherd boy of Vraja, the flute-playing blue boy of Vrindhavan, as the Lord of all Yogis. Yoga is a technical term in Hinduism that means 'to become one with'. Yoga is not a bunch of exercises to tie our limbs in a knot and reduce belly fat. It means total union with the higher spirit. Krishna, the great teacher who expounded the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield, showing how even the most despicable and vulgar situation can be conducive to spirituality, is seen as the greatest example of being centred and at one with the higher truth within.
His life is a string of one tragedy after another - born a jail, after 6 siblings had been crushed to death in their infancy, separated from his true parents the very night he was born, being hunted through his entire childhood by the demonic minions of his evil uncle, King Kamsa, having to leave forever, the beloved village of his childhood, to fight in numerous wars against the wicked ones, to constantly help and protect the good and righteous. His entire life was a story of sacrifice and tragedy, trouble upon trouble. And yet, he remained so eternally joyous, so full of life, so radiant with inner peace, a perennial source of happiness to all around him, because through all his travails he remained in yoga, at one with the higher spirit within. He did not retreat to forests or the Himalayan mountains, he remained his whole life in the cities and villages, working for the society, and yet centred in the truth. Therefore, he indeed deserves to be called the greatest of yogis.

There is also another meaning, a mystical interpretation of the name Vaasudeva - that which shines in all beings. In this sense, Vaasudeva is not the Krishna of Vrindhavan or Mathura, not Arjuna's Charioteer, not the beloved of the Gopis, but the very Life, the light of consciousness, the existence that floods the entire universe. This universal spirit can also be called the Lord of Yogis, because all aspiring yogis seek to discover that spirit within and around themselves, It is their altar of devotion and worship, their goal, their Lord.

 

The teacher who is the source of knowledge:

In Hinduism the teacher is given an importance that rivals even God. Kabir sang:
The Guru and God both stand before me, who should i bow to first?
Beloved Guru, (because) you are the one who introduced me to God.

So who is a Guru? A Guru is not the orange robed one, either bald headed or covered with hair from head to foot. A Guru is not the one who wears sandalwood paste or ash on the forehead. A Guru is not the one who gives wonderful eloquent lectures or writes bestselling books on the art of life. Of course, a Guru can do all these things, but they don't define him.
The Upanishads tell us who the Guru is: one who is learned in the scriptures and firmly established in the higher truth.
Most people would agree with the second point - being established in the truth. But why is scripture learning then important? The higher experience is something beyond words, and yet, in order to communicate it to the students, words are required. The scriptures contain the teachings of the masters who have successfully created verbal pointers to the truth, very many different ways of teaching to suit different personalities, guides to the ups and downs of spiritual life, and these enable the teacher to guide students better. Of course it need not be the vedas and upanishads, it could be the gospels of Christ or the sutras of the Buddha or any other spiritual literature. In fact, it could even be a wide range of secular learning, such as psychology or other sciences, that provides a means of communicating the truth.
Having thus bowed to God and the Guru, we turn our attention to the text.

Who is the qualified student?
Justa s our science textbooks tell us which level of student the book is targeting - fifth graders or college students, or doctoral students, etc. - the Hindu texts also tell us who the fit student for the text is. In this case, it is the mumukshu - a spiritual seeker who has a strong desire for the higher truth. It is a term we will deal with in greater detail later. But suffice to say a sincere spiritual seeker, willing to put forth consistent, dedicate and strong effort is the one who will benefit from this study.

What is the subject of the book?
Sri Shankara says the subject of the book is tattva - that which is, the essential truth. The aim of the spiritual seeker is to realize the transcendental, and this treatise is a direct exposition of that higher truth.

What is the aim of the book?
To benefit spiritual seekers. This is not for material benefit, nor is it to merely add to your store of knowledge. The aim of this teaching is to guide you in your efforts to reach the higher truth.

How is the subject related to the aim of the book?
How will the description of the truth help a spiritual seeker? Bodha - realisation. The book does not give a mere definition of the truth but guides the seeker to realise that higher nature in her own heart. The word Bodha has been translated in places as knowledge - please don't misunderstand this to be like other kinds of knowing, which are through the medium of the senses and the mind. Bodha is knowing through direct experience. It is to become one with, to attain yoga with the truth, to be the truth.

Thus the essential information that can be found of the back cover of any book has been provided right away and we are prepared to proceed into the teaching, which will be dealt with in the next lesson.

Hari Om!

 

I have read all your posts. I like the way you have explained things. I will look back from time to time hoping to find more from you.