and its solution
“Some people think the problem is inside, some people think the problem is outside. But the problem is not inside or outside, the problem is you! If you are the problem, then you alone are the solution. This is Vedanta.” Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Since all conscious living beings innately desire to avoid any sort of pain or suffering, they choicelessly and ceaselessly struggle to remove it.
But sorrow/suffering is never permanently removed by any means of speculative thinking, doing, or not doing.
What is the reason for this?
Because sorrow/suffering is directly caused by embodiment/incarnation.
Human embodiment is immediately caused by a certain un-manifest mixture of Punyam and Paapam. Punyam = Pleasant Results of Dharmic Actions , Paapam = Painful results due to Inappropriate or Adharmic actions.
These countless results were accumulated (by a Living being-Jiva enjoying Agency/doership ) in countless past incarnations. Therefore they are countless in number and variety.
The results of merit and demerit = pleasure and pain (accruing to you now) will never come to an end, meaning they will never get exhausted through experiencing them, because they are countless and are due to the self ignorant agents performance of countless words and actions. The actions performed may be dharma or adharma, which produce differing degrees of pain or pleasure when they manifest. The self-conscious doer is totally responsible for all of his/her actions and their results, which can be of any degree of pain or pleasure. They are ever manifesting to him according to impersonal immutable cause-effect laws. In this Devine Restaurant nothing is forgotten nothing is out of order. You always get what you ordered whether consciously or unconsciously. No one would consciously cause pain for themselves. There for all the pain that is accruing to you has resulted from unconscious mechanical behaviors! There fore you can choose to be prayerfully conscious, offering non-resistance to facts you cannot change, and reduce all mechanical or unconscious behaviors. This will bless one to have relative peace and prepare one to know absolute peace beyond opposites.
Punya-paapa results are caused by Pravrttih = Persuit of objects of awarness, and nivrttih = Retreat or getting rid of objects of awarness. Pravrttih and nivrttih are due to/prompted by, desire and aversion.
What is the immediate cause of desire and aversion?
Desire and aversion arise because of the superimposition of the qualities of happiness and sadness on the objects of the five senses including ones own body. This is called Shobhana –happiness Ashobhana-unhappiness Adhyaasah-superimposition.
Shobhana-ashobhana-adhyaasah –
The superimposition of the qualities of happiness and sadness on objects of the senses (which includes all persons) and its immediate cause.
This superimposition of quality arises from the perception of duality and the misconception that it ( this seer-seen perception) is independently real (Both the perception and the mistake happen simultaneously). This division/duality is nothing but seer-seen division, which is mistaken to be independently existent or independently real.
What is the immediate cause of this superimposition/ error of imagining inert objects to have the quality or Capacity to give us happiness or sadness?
This fundamental mistake is due to the absence of proper inquiry (with the appropriate, adequate means of knowledge) into this seer-seen-duality’s “degree of reality” or ontological status. An imposter will only survive as long as you do not enquire into him.
This mistake that the seer-seen is independently real is like mistaking (superimposing unconsciously) a worthless shell on the beach , for a valuable silver coin, or mistaking a harmless rope to be a deadly cobra. One only sees what is in ones mind never exactly what is outside.
This superimposition never gets removed i.e. my mistaking the subject-object to be independently existent, doesn’t go away or get resolved by any means of perception, inference or action which are all limited within time and space.
In fact, these three, perception, inference and action are products or results of Self-ignorance, therefore, how can they ever be the cause for removal of that same self-ignorance?! It would be like ignorance removing ignorance! Darkness removing darkness! One has to see the absurdity in this!
Therefore one must understand clearly that any action, mental or physical has absolutely no connection with gaining moksah or freedom/liberation from Samsaarah = vicious circle of sorrow and struggling to become.
Ignorance and superimposition will continue forever, unless one finds and properly employs the appropriate, adequate means of self-enquiry. This means has to be other than perception and inference for one is totally helpless with these means alone!
This is the first and crucial “realization” that I am a Samsaari-Insect Caught within the whirlpool-disease of becoming and that I am totally helpless to get out by myself.
Vedanta/Upanishad tells in so many words that it is the appropriate and adequate means of knowing ones true nature. Shabda Pramaanam or Means of knowledge in words which are outside of perception and inference. These sacred words are Unlocked with Keys of Sampradaaya-Handed down methods , by a traditional teacher. Therefore one must choose to listen to Vedanta from a qualified traditional teacher.
This Listening to the live teacher unfold the words of Upanishad is Called Vedanta Sravanam and is a Daily Niyama-spiritual discipline, pursued by every Yogi , called Swaadhyaayaha . It’s the cause of the immediate generation of Self knowledge which removes Self ignorance ( the cause of all Human suffering) and therefore removes all samsaara.
What is the reason for this fundamental superimposition?
The cause for this fundamental superimposition is only ignorance of the nature of the self-evident, self-established, limitless, non-dual Self. This Self is of the nature of absolute happiness itself, which happiness has no object of awareness as a cause and is not an effect, and it is not an experience of any kind. This Happiness is beginning-less and endless = timeless= beyond the concept of time, and doesn’t depend on any state of experience. This absolute fullness called aananda in Sanskrit is not associated or connected with any state of experience nor is it apposed to any state of experience. This happiness is beyond all degrees and does not come and go, and cannot be added to or subtracted from. Therefore it is purely gained through immediate recognition/knowledge of the self-evident limitless self and by no other means.
The only appropriate and adequate means of knowledge that will produce this knowledge which immediately removes this self-ignorance is Vedaanta-pramaanam, which is in the form of words, which are unfolded by a live traditional teacher. These Vedantic words produce immediate knowledge in the fit student and this knowledge is the immediate cause of Moksah.
This Self-knowledge has to be free from vagueness, doubt and error and therefore we have in Vedanta the three aspects of study. Sravanam, Mananam, Nididhyaasanam .
Therefore Ignorance of the self alone is the root cause, or the fundamental cause of all human suffering. There simply is no other cause.
Therefore this self ignorance is called “The fundamental problem” The solving of which is the fulfillment of the purpose of human existence= Parama Purushaartha or which is Moksah and all other topical problems are as well solved and become simply like images appearing in amusement Park mirrors.
Just like seeing your face in the amusement park mirror! You don’t go running to the plastic surgeon do you? If you do, you don’t have clear knowledge of your face!
The causal chain is the following:
Avidyaa-Adhyaasa-Shobhana-Ashobhana-Adhyaasah-Raaga-Dvesha-Pravrttih-Nivrttih-Samsaarah =endless vicious cycle of, ignorance-desire-action, pain and suffering in countless reincarnations.
Alertness in constantly shifting to the fundamental problem and solving it through Sravanam of Vedanta is crucial for the student-Yogi. Listening to the traditional teacher one must constantly enquire into, discriminate and clearly cognize these following facts over and over again.
- Understand primary Adhyaasa-Superimposition caused by Self-ignorance.
- Understand secondary Adhyaasa of qualities of goodness or badness, happiness or sadness on objects.
- Understand Pravrtti and Nivrtti pursuits that are imagined to solve the fundamental problem and are a complete waste of your will and effort.
- Understand clearly that by solving any topical/roles problem, the fundamental problem is never solved and continues endlessly and suffering will continue unabated.
- Understand that trying to solve the fundamental through solving topical problems is just as helpful as throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out! Madness!
- Seeing the defect of “ becoming happiness” again and again. Becoming happy is the same as becoming sad. It’s only keeping the problem going. Happiness and sadness have no connection to pleasure and pain. To conclude so is an error. Akasmaat Sukham Happiness without a cause alone is happiness and is the immediate nature of the self.
- Enquiring into and Understanding clearly that all of this Jagat = Know-Unknown seen-gone universe (including ones body-mind complex = object of awareness) is as insecure as a balloon, popping every Pico second, The “big bang” is ongoing every Pico second! The only secure self is unseen and unsee-able, Un-negatable, self evident self existent self, the Real “ I Am”(which is in and through all experiences) which is the nature/essence of the first person singular I. The nature of I-Aham has to be known immediately as full and complete. For you happen to be already what you want and strive to be, The Seeker is the Sought! Limitless existence , Knowledge , Fullness.
- The one who understands this clearly is an informed Seeker, call Jijnaasu = ( the one who desires self knowledge and listens to Vedanta Daily) in Sanskrit. The Jignaasu alone is starting to wake up! All others are somnambulists.