Vignaana Nouka - Sloka 6

Sloka#6

yadaananda lESai stadaananda viswam
yadaabhaana sattvE tadaabhaati sarvam
yadaalOchanaa roopa manyat samastam
param brahma nityam tadE vaaha masmi

yadaananda lESai=on account of whose blissful form
tat viswam=a world of such greatness
aanandi=rejoices
tat=on whose
aabhaana sattvE=effulgent knowledge
tat sarvam=the whole world
aabhaati=existence is cognized
anyat samastam=the rest
yat=(conjunction)
aalOchanaa roopam=the form of aatma
nityam=permanent
param=the biggest and greatest
tadEva brahma=such a Brahman
aham asmi=I exist

Literal Translation

On account of whose bliss, the world is rejoicing; on account of whose effulgence the world is shining brightly; and the rest is whose cognition; I am being Him

Commentary

Almost all of us desire material comforts and carry out actions to acquire them. When the desires are not met, the consequence is dukha or sadness. We usually can handle smaller or bigger comfort but not sadness in any quantity.

Since bondage results in sadness, we think by acquiring wordly comforts it can be overcome. This leads to a vicious circle where more and more comforts are desired with corresponding sadness when the desires are not met.

Wordly Comforts

Wordly comforts are fleeting because our focus on material comforts keeps shifting. Sometimes we fulfill our desire with focus and acquire comfort. Soon it will fade away or our focus shifts to another.

We desire an object in order to enjoy it and gain comfort from it. When a coveted object is obtained, there could be a temporary sense of joy. It is temporary because there can be side-effects that enjoin sadness. So we cannot say worldly comforts are permanent. However, any worldly thing that is felt as comfortable is because of aatma. Therefore, a transient comfort that is perceived as a comfort is making aatma comfortable for a limited period.

Permanent Comfort

The only permanent thing in this world is aatma. When we say we gained comfort from an object, it is because of our aatma. That's why we say "We are comfortable" but not "Comfort is within me."

Despite this, we run away from aatma seeking fleeting comforts and joy. Sooner or later we have to realize that aatma is the source of pure joy, security and comfort. Without this knowledge we cannot be blissful. We run after things of the world only to return to aatma. Hence wordly things are called maaya.

Light and Shadows

When we say world exists, it is because we perceive it with our senses. The proof is not found in the world but within us. Our senses can interact with the world but the cognition has to take place within our mind. Before seeing a never seen object we are not conscious of it. But when our senses interact with a never seen object, we become conscious of it. On the other hand, when we are in deep sleep, there is no consciousness.

Therefore for consciousness, including the lack of it in deep sleep, the substratum and basis are aatma. While we can prove that the world exists with our senses, we cannot prove aatma exists without the scriptural reference or vEda pramaana.

Great Resolution

There is no greater cause for this world than paramaatma. The world, including us, are dependent on paramaatma for our existence. There could be a different nurturer than the mother for a jiva (sentient being). But for this world the originator and nurturer are one and the same paramaatma.

The world operates on dharma or that which amplifies good karma. This is because the progenitor for various dharmas is paramaatma. No thought is incongruous with the grand design of the paramaatma whose existence precedes that of the world and who subsumes and transcends the world.