Viveka Sloka 6 Tel Eng

వదంతు శాస్త్రాణి యజంతు దేవాన్ (పాఠభేదః - పఠంతు)
కుర్వంతు కర్మాణి భజంతు దేవతాః ।
ఆత్మైక్యబోధేన వినాపి ముక్తి- (పాఠభేదః - వినా విముక్తిః న)
ర్న సిధ్యతి బ్రహ్మశతాంతరేఽపి ॥ 6॥

శాస్త్రాణి = శాస్త్రములను, పఠన్తు - పఠింతురుగాక దేవాన్ ఇంద్రాదిదేవతలను, యజంతు - యజ్ఞములచే సేవింతురుగాక; కర్మాణీ - కర్మలను, కుర్వoతు = చేయుదురుగాక; దేవతాః - దేవతలను; భజంతు - ఉపాసింతురుగాక. ఆత్మైక్యబోధేన వినా- ఆత్మైక్యజ్ఞానము లేకుండగా, బ్రహ్మశతాంతరేఽపి = నూరు బ్రహ్మాంతరములలో గూడ, విముక్తి - ముక్తి, న సిద్ధ్యతి = సిద్ధింపదు

vadantu śāstrāṇi yajantu dēvān (pāṭhabhēdaḥ - paṭhantu)
kurvantu karmāṇi bhajantu dēvatāḥ ।
ātmaikyabōdhēna vināpi mukti- (pāṭhabhēdaḥ - vinā vimuktiḥ na)
rna sidhyati brahmaśatāntarē'pi ॥ 6॥

A number of us have personal gods that are propitiated with pooja or prayed to in some form. The devotees among us recite, chant, sing praises of our favorite god. Some well to do will perform rituals, sacrifices, visit temples and holy sites to perform abhishekas, archanas and so on.

The more devout will read (pathana), listen (sravana) and meditate (nidhidyasana) over the scripture. We think following a set routine to do these things will bring us closer to the liberation we all seek. It could mean attaining heaven, vaikuntha, kailasa or brahma loka. Deviating from the set routine, for the superstitious, will cause anxiety. Missing pooja for a day, one fears, will bring bad karma. The superstitious devotees are the most pitiable. By falling into a rut, they may experience closeness to their god, but not liberation.

Attaining heaven can't be liberation for one returns to marthya loka after exhausting the punya. In Bhaja Govinda hymn Sankara says "punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam, punarapi jananee jathare sayanam". It means one has to be born again and again to exhaust karma and vasanas (latent tendencies) unless one aspires for liberation from the birth-death cycle.

Sankara says even in countless births liberation is not possible when all one does is pooja, rituals, sacrifices, abhishekas, archanas in every birth. Liberation is complete cessation of birth. So what one is to do without birth? Where will he be? What form will he be in? Why is it esoteric knowledge?

Sankara answers these questions in the subsequent slokas. Liberation is knowing the Self and merging with paramatma who has no karma and attributes (nirgunam), is infinite (poornam), one without a second (adviteeyam). By knowing the Self, one understands that all the creation has the same Self. Strictly there is nothing to merge with. We are already a part of the universal consciousness. The complete awareness that the Self in you is the same as the Self in me itself is liberation from feelings of disharmony, competition, one-upmanship and struggle.

Some are afraid of deviating from their routine and embracing Sankara's advice as that might engender the wrath of god. For them god has vengence alongside love (otherwise why would the gods have weapons?). They think the only way to avoid retribution from their god is to constantly pray to him at every opportunity. Sankara is implicitly debunking the assumption that god is vengeful. So not doing pooja for a few days or altogether stop it won't hurt the god. This doesn't mean pooja has no benefit. It keeps the thought order exceptional and sets the rhythm in life. Other than that it has nothing to do with liberation. All the strife one experiences in life is because of past karma (prarabda) only. God is there as a witness and to lend a helping hand when his devotee falls off from sadhana.

Some justify their sadhana as a way to mitigate bad karma or even nullify it. They think good karma will offset the bad, like a company's balance sheet of credit, debit, loss or profit. This is far from reality. No matter how much sadhana one does, the bad karma has to be reaped. That's why bad and good experiences alternate. There is no complete happiness outside heaven. Nor is there complete sadness.

From science we know that all life has DNA in common. So one can say Sankara's reference to atma is the same as DNA. It is true but not entirely. The DNA of plants and animals differ in subtle ways. A scientist can't turn a chimpanzee into a man in the laboratory. Whereas a rock has no DNA, according to Sankara, it has the same Self as you and me.