Joyful Living

[Based on Chapter 13: Advaitananda Prakaranam

of Panchadashi of Sri Vidyaranya Swami]

Course material written and dedicated to Swami Paramarthananda

by
Raja Subramaniyan (joyfulliving@gmail.com)
October 2008
 Module M

Joy of
The Universe

580
Unit 01: Understanding the Universe Number of Sessions: 5
(M01 – M05)
Number of Lessons: 4

On completion of this unit, the student-teacher will be able to

(a) Know why there is nothing but happiness in the world

(b) Understand the perspective of a wise man and that of an ignorant person
with respect to the world.

Notes to the teacher: (Ref 13.001 and 13.105 of the original text)

Unit Test: Session M05

1. How the evolution of the universe is described with the example of pot,
clay and potter?
2. What are the three types of material causes?
3. What are the ten descriptions of ONE given in the Holy Scriptures?
4. Explain why knowledge of the world will become useless after gaining
knowledge of ONE?

581
Lesson 1: The nature of the Universe Session: M01

The creation which we perceive through our five senses is made up of a single
substance called bliss.

Example: The pot is made out of clay. Potter is different from clay. Clay is
material cause of the pot and potter is intelligence cause of the pot.

Similarly, ONE is intelligent cause of the creation and bliss is material cause of
the creation. Prior to the creation of pot, it existed in potential form in the clay.
Similarly, prior to the creation of the universe it existed in potential form in the
bliss. After creation, pot is sustained by clay and if the pot is destroyed it
becomes clay again.

Similarly, the entire universe is created out of bliss, sustained by bliss for some
time and then it is resolved back into bliss. As such there is nothing other than
bliss in the creation, just as there is nothing other than clay in the pot.

Potter is different from the pot. Similarly, ONE is different form the bliss. The
potter has the power to create a pot out of clay. The clay is an inert object and it
cannot become a pot by itself. Similarly, ONE has the power to create the
universe out of bliss.

The existence and destruction of the pot are never attributed to the potter.
Similarly the existence and resolution of the universe does not rest on ONE. Both
the pot and the non-pot (after destruction) are seen as the clay. Similarly, the
universe and its resolution are different status of bliss. The universe when it
exists is called as the manifested bliss. Prior to creation and after resolution, the
universe is said to be in the unmanifested bliss.

Although bliss is the material cause of the universe, it does not become the
universe or it causes the universe. The material cause can be of three types.

1. Original Material Cause

2. Evolutionary Material Cause
3. Illusory Material Cause

Both Original Material Cause and Evolutionary Material Cause assume that the
output is different from the input. The Illusory Material Cause does not give rise
to another product with the same state of reality.

582
Original Material Cause

When one kind of material is produced from another kind of material then the raw
material is called Original Material Cause. While the basic ingredients of both the
raw material and the finished product may be identical, the finished product will
have some additional attributes which the original raw material may not have.

Example: Gold is shaped into jewels. Cloth is stitched into garments.

In such cases, there is no difference between the raw material and the finished
product except that the finished product has a name and a form.

This is not the relationship between bliss and the universe. Bliss is not such a
raw material from which the world is created.

Evolutionary Material Cause

When the raw material undergoes certain change and becomes the finished
product, it is the case of Evolutionary Material Cause.

Example: Milk becoming curd. Cotton is woven into thread.

In such cases, the raw material is different from the finished product.

This is not the relationship between bliss and the universe. Bliss is not such a
raw material that evolved into the world.

Illusory Material Cause

When the finished product appears to be produced in the presence of the raw
material, it is case of Illusory Material Cause.

Example: The sea appears to be blue reflecting the color of the sky. The
rope appears as a snake in twilight.

The sea water is colorless. It appears to change colors in tune with the color of
the sky. However, the sky itself is colorless.

Such is the relationship between the Illusory Material Cause, bliss and the
finished product, world. The world is an illusion that appears to spring up from the
bliss. While the bliss has the status of absolute reality, the universe belongs to a
lower order of reality, namely, objective reality. This is similar to a man who sees
a snake in a rope while all others see it as a rope. Rope is the objective reality
and the snake is the subjective reality. In other words, rope is real and the snake
is false. Similarly, bliss is real and the universe is false.

583
Lesson 2: The nature of the bliss Session: M02

Bliss is the power of ONE. It is pure joy. ONE is part less and non dual. Bliss is
not independent of ONE nor is it identical with ONE.

Example: A man has power to sing a song. There can be no song which is
independent of the singer and at the same time we cannot say that the
song and the singer are one and the same.

Such is the relationship between bliss and ONE. ONE is pure consciousness,
pure existence and pure joy (bliss). Bliss causes the appearance of the universe
without getting involved in the process. Consciousness is reflected in some parts
of the universe giving rise to living beings. ONE alone exists and the existence is
borrowed by all objects in the creation.

Just as a magician has a power to bring about an illusory object, ONE has the
power (bliss) which appears as the world. The power of the magician is
inseparable from him and at the same time it can not be said that he is identical
with his power to perform magic. For example, unless an appropriate
environment is provided to him, he cannot perform the magic. This does not
mean that he does not have the power. There is no magic without the magician
and presence of magician not necessarily leads to performance of magic.
Similarly, bliss is inseparable from ONE and at the same time it is not identical
with ONE.

We can perceive the power of the magician only when he performs the magic.
Similarly, we can perceive the power of ONE only by observing this universe.
Just as the illusory object created by the magician, this universe is an illusory
object created by ONE.

Holy Scriptures give a description ONE and its power as follows:

1. ONE is eternal, perfect and non-dual.

2. ONE has the power to create the universe.
3. This power sustains this universe. This can be observed directly in our
action, knowledge and will power. People seem to have the power to
know, power to desire and power to act. These are the powers of ONE.
4. Everyone feels that they are conscious. This is the expression of power of
ONE.
5. This power of ONE is also expressed as movement of air, hardness of
stone, liquidity in water and the ability of the fire to burn.
6. Similarly, it is the emptiness of the space and the perishability of the
objects.
7. Prior to creation the whole universe is latent in ONE just as a huge snake
is latent inside the egg.

584
 8. When ONE which is all pervasive, eternal and infinite assumes the power
of cognition we call it as the mind.
9. When the non-existent EGO appears in the mind, it assumes the status of
doer and enjoyer. Hence there is bondage. Therefore, one has to look for
liberation.
10. The bliss, which is the power of ONE, is also expressed as the power of
sense organs to sense the objects of the word.
11. The bliss also appears as sense objects of the world and feed the mind
with experience through making contact between the sense organs and
the sense objects.

The whole creation is brought about just as an imaginary story for the children.

“Once upon a time there were three handsome princes. Two of them were never
born and one is yet to be conceived in the just born mother. They lived happily in
a city which never existed. When they are roaming around they saw trees laden
with fruit growing in the sky and among the trees they saw a beautiful non-
existent angel….”

Such stories are narrated to entertain children who do not have the power of
discrimination yet. They will not ask how a prince who is not yet born can walk
around. They will accept all the narration as true. They will be happy if the
fictional characters in the story are happy and will become sad if any sorrowful
event happens to them.

Similarly, most human beings do not yet have the discriminatory power to
differentiate reality (SELF) from illusion (Universe). They assume that the world
they perceive is solid and real. Therefore, they take the events in the world as
real and accordingly they feel emotions of pleasure and pain. This is bondage
just as children are amused or suffered by listening to the made-up story. It is
possible for the story-teller to bring in ghosts within the story and scare the child.
The child may start crying and go to bed weeping continuously. Suffering of the
people in life is not any different from the suffering of the child listening to the
ghost story. People suffer because they give reality to the illusory objects of the
world.

The made-up story cannot gain the status of reality based on the number of
children, who are affected by it. Similarly, it cannot be said that the world is real
because many people perceive it to be real. An older child listening to the story
along with others may know that the story is a fiction. Similarly, a wise person
who has understood the illusory nature of the universe will not be affected by the
events of the world, while the rest of the people suffer due to ignorance.

The story is the outcome of the power to tell story which is inherent in the story
teller. Story-teller is ONE. The power to tell story is equivalent to the bliss. The
story is the creation, universe.

585
Lesson 3: ONE and the Universe Session: M03

Bliss is the illusory material cause of the universe. Bliss is different from the
universe and it does not undergo any change when the universe is manifested,
sustained or resolved.

Consciousness is the illusory material cause of the living beings. All the living
beings in the universe are inert objects except that they can reflect the
consciousness. Therefore, they appear to be alive.

Pure existence is the substratum on which the universe is projected as an

illusion. Universe is just a name and form that appear to be real since it has
borrowed the existence from ONE.

Thus, existence, consciousness and bliss are the powers of ONE which is non-
dual, ever perfect and unchanging. The universe is ever changing, never perfect
and exists only for appearance.

During deep sleep there are no dreams. All dream objects are available in potent
form within our mind which is not functioning during the stage of deep sleep.
Similarly, prior to manifestation of the Universe, it was in latent form within ONE.

The power to manifest a dream-world is inherent in the dreamer. Similarly, the

power to manifest this world is inherent in ONE.

The power to dream is different from the dream. Similarly, bliss is different from
the universe.

When this power of dreaming is exercised from deep sleep stage we move on to
dream stage. Many dream objects appear and a dream world is projected in our
mind. This dream world is the product produced by the power to dream. Similarly,
the universe is the product produced by bliss.

Dream world is not real. The real world consisting of the person sleeping on the
bed remains outside the reach of the dream objects. The dream events cannot
affect the substratum, the person sleeping on the bed. Similarly, the world and
the events happening in them cannot affect the substratum, SELF/ONE.

Thus, universe is not real although it appears to be real with many objects of
varying forms and names. Such names and forms are available only in the minds
of people. A tree is a tree even before it was named as a tree. So it can be said
that when man began to evolve a language, giving labels as names to the
objects, the world is created.

The whole creation will continue to exist even if there are no living beings to
name them. The universe is born only when people started naming the objects in

586
it. Such labeling is essential for the development of science and technology
leading to comforts in life. However, people due to ignorance started giving
reality to the names and forms, which is the cause of our bondage.

When children play make-believe game, they make imaginary coffee from toy
stove. A child offers this imaginary coffee in a non-existing cup, the guest is
supposed to say that it is too hot to drink or the sugar is less. If the guest says,
‘where is the coffee, I do not see it’, he will be dismissed as an unsupportive
person and the children will disregard him. On receiving proper response, the
child may add more imaginary sugar and serve the coffee again. After drinking
the coffee, the guest is supposed to return the non-existent cup and comment
that the coffee was good or horrible. A child playing this game well is supposed
to enjoy the game irrespective of the comments, whether positive or negative. As
long as the make-believe game goes on well, the child should be happy. It should
not matter to the child whether the guest enjoyed the coffee or not. However, if
the child starts crying because the guest did not like the coffee then the suffering
caused is not because of the comments of the guest but because of the fact that
the child gave more reality to the make-believe game than it really warrants.

Similarly, wise people live in this world without dismissing it and at the same time
knowing it to be an illusion. Ignorant people give the status of reality to the make-
believe world and suffer until they learn the truth. Most people are not matured
enough to learn the truth and therefore they should continue to play (live) by
involving in many actions. For example, if the guest is unhappy with the coffee,
the child may decide to cook a very good meal so that the guest can be made
happy. Wise people have no such desires. They are aware that the world does
not exist, the objects in the world are not real and the objects/ events of this
world cannot affect them. They will live joyfully.

Thus, people who gain the knowledge are liberated. They do not deny the
appearance of the world. They are aware it is an illusion of name and form. They
are also aware of the existence of the reality, ONE which is the substratum.
Therefore, there is no more suffering to them. Events in the illusory world do not
affect them and they do not have any desire for any objects in the world.

However, they continue to be involved in action and live life like anyone else
because they are aware that they are the ONE and their body/mind complex is
part of the illusory world. Their body/mind complex will continue to be imperfect
and be involved in action all the time. However, they are aware that in essence
they are the ever witnessing joy, which is the only reality. They also know that the
changes in the body/mind complex have no impact on their real SELF. Just as
the guest is aware that drinking poison in the make-believe game will not kill him,
as a good player he will drink the poison and act as if he is dead. Similarly, wise
people respond to the events in the world appropriately without any fear, worry or
feeling of insecurity. They are always aware that they are complete, perfect,
eternal and joyful all the time.

587
Lesson 4: Knowledge of ONE and the Universe Session: M04

Once the knowledge of ONE is gained, knowledge of the universe becomes

useless.

Example: A thief breaking into a goldsmith’s workplace in the night finds

various ornaments, some fully complete, some simple and some exquisite.
He is aware of the value of the gold which is the substratum of all the
articles. He does not need to know anything else. All other knowledge
about the names and forms of the various jewels make no difference to
him because whatever be the form and shape he need to melt them all
together. Besides he will not pick only the big items and ignore the small
items. Every piece of gold is equally important to him.

Similarly, for a wise person who has knowledge of the ONE which is the
substratum of everything in the universe, knowledge of the universe is of no use.
He does not differentiate one person from the other since the substratum is
same. Therefore, he treats everyone equally important. He does not need
anything from the name and form therefore his mind does not waver if he looks at
a beautiful object or famous person.

Thus, by the knowledge of the real substance, ONE, liberation is achieved. The
unreal phenomena, the world become useless. Therefore, the knowledge of the
world becomes unnecessary.

The thief at the gold smith shop will not admire an exquisite ear ring and wonder
how the goldsmith could carry out such an intricate work. However, a lady
customer will be carried away by the name and form of the jewel. Even if the
price quoted by the gold smith far exceeds the price of the gold, she might buy
the jewel because the unreal name and form has more value than the
substratum, in her eyes.

Similarly, the people who are ignorant about the underlying substratum, ONE, will
be carried away by the name and forms of the universe and start involving in
action leading to suffering.

Thus the nature of ONE is consciousness, eternal and joy. The nature of the
universe is mere name and form. Prior to creation, universe was in potent form
and after dissolution it goes back to the potent form within ONE. Therefore,
during the present it cannot be said that it exists for real. It is only available for
perception and it never has the status of reality.

In order to qualify for the attribute, one should be present at all the time. There
should never been a time when it was not present and there should never be a
time when it will become absent. Only then something can qualify for the status
‘reality’, else it is an illusion.

588
This unreality of the world and real nature of ONE is directly experienced by
human beings. Mind is active most of the time and it is continuously affected by
the changes in the environment. Pleasure and pain are experienced alternatively
depending on favorable and unfavorable environment.

However, occasionally when mind is silent and ego is absent, we forget the
whole world. We dwell in our natural bliss. No one suffers during this gap
between pleasure and pain.

Whenever, we face the question, ’how are you?’ from a stranger, the first answer
is ‘fine’ because the current thought flow is stopped by the question and the new
thought flow is yet to begin. During this gap all of us enjoy our natural happiness.

This experience conclusively proves that our real nature is happiness and the
pleasure and pain are part of the illusion. Natural bliss of the self is uniform and
steady. However, mind due to its fickle nature moves from pleasure to pain in few
moments.

Once we learn this knowledge from the Holy Scriptures and validate it through
our personal experience, we gain the direct experience of ONE. After that slowly
we start disregarding the illusory world of names and forms. In such way the
apparent duality is disregarded and one start having the clearer vision of the non-
dual ONE. When one is established in such direct knowledge, he becomes
liberated even while living. After this stage, the fate of his body/mind complex
does not matter to him since he is aware they are part of the illusion.

Such a person deals with the world with the awareness that he is dealing with
ONE. To him everyone is ONE and every object is ONE. All the knowledge,
desires and actions are the expression of the power of ONE. There is nothing but
ONE and therefore life is joyful without any trace of dualities like favorable or
unfavorable events.

While dreaming we do not question any events in the dream. Suddenly the car in
which we are traveling may become a cycle and we accept it without questioning,
‘how can this be?’ Similarly, a wise person accepts the power of ONE in
sustaining the world through constant changes. He understands that the only
way to perceive ONE is through the universe. We cannot see our face directly
and the only way we can see our face is to look at its reflection. Similarly, we
cannot perceive ONE and the only way we can experience ONE is through the
world. By looking at the reflection of the face we do not think that is the original
face. Similarly, looking at the changing world the wise person sees the
unchanging ONE.

For such a wise person life is joyful since he participates in the ever changing
movement of the world without any hesitation, expectation or attachment, just as
a huge stone supports and facilitates the flow of the river without being affected.

589