SrI: SrImathE satakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
sUthram 6
தேஹாதி3கள் “என்னுடைய தே3ஹாதி3கள்” என்று ஆத்மாவில் வேறுபட்டுத் தோற்றுகையாலும், “இத3ம்” என்று தோற்றுகையாலும், ஆத்மா “நான்” என்று தோற்றுகையாலும், இவை ஒருக்கால் தோற்றி ஒருக்கால் தோற்றாமையாலும், ஆத்மா எப்போதும் தோற்றுகையாலும், இவை பலவாகையாலும், ஆத்மா ஒருவனாகையாலும், ஆத்மா இவற்றில் விலக்ஷணனென்று கொள்ளவேணும்
(dhEhAdhigaL “ennudaiya dhEhAdhigaL” enRu AthmAvil vERupattuth thORRugaiyAlum, “idham” enRu thORRugaiyAlum, AthmA “nAn” enRu thORRugaiyAlum, ivai orukkAl thORRi orukkAl thORRAmaiyAlum, AthmA eppOdhum thORRugaiyAlum, ivai palavAgaiyAlum, AthmA oruvanAgaiyAlum, AthmA ivaRRil vilakshaNan enRu koLLa vENum)
Meaning: The body and related entities are experienced as “my body,” “my senses,” and so on. They are perceived as objects, while the self is experienced as “I”. They appear and disappear at different times, whereas the self remains continuously present. They are many, while the self is one. Therefore, the self must be understood as distinct from them.
Introduction
In the previous sUthram, the commentator examined in detail why the self cannot be identified with the body, senses, mind, life-force, or knowledge.
That discussion was extensive and involved many detailed arguments.
Recognising that not everyone may be able to follow such elaborate reasoning, the commentator now presents a simpler and more accessible demonstration.
Beginning with the words:
தேஹாதிகள்
(dhEhAdhigaL)
He establishes the distinction between the self and the body through a few clear observations that are available in ordinary experience.
The body and related entities are experienced as “mine”
The first reason is that the body and related entities are experienced as possessions.
We naturally say:
- “My body”
- “My eyes”
- “My mind”
- “My life-force”
- “My knowledge”
The commentator expresses this as:
என்னுடைய தேஹம், என்னுடைய இந்த்ரியம், என்னுடைய மனஸ்ஸு, என்னுடைய ப்ராணன், என்னுடைய புத்தி
(ennudaiya dhEham, ennudaiya indhriyam, ennudaiya manassu, ennudaiya prANan, ennudaiya budhdhi)
Whenever something is spoken of as “mine,” it is understood to be different from the one who possesses it.
A person says “my body” just as he says “my house” or “my possessions.”
Thus, the body and related entities are experienced as belonging to the self and not as being identical with the self.
Therefore, they must be distinct from the self.
The body is experienced as “this,” while the self is experienced as “I”
The commentator gives a second reason.
We commonly say:
- “This is the body”.
- “This is the eye”.
- “This is the mind”.
These are all objects of experience.
They are experienced through the notion:
இதம்
(idham)
“This”.
The self, however, is never experienced as “this”.
Rather, it is experienced as:
நான்
(nAn)
“I”.
The body belongs to the category of objects known.
The self belongs to the category of the knower.
Since the experiencer and the experienced object cannot be identical, the self must be distinct from the body and related entities.
The body appears at some times and not at others
The commentator next points to another difference.
The body is not experienced in the same way in all states.
During the waking state, a person identifies himself with bodily conditions and says:
स्थूलोऽहम्, कृशोऽहम्
(sthUlo’ham, kruSO’ham)
“I am stout”.
“I am thin”.
In this way, the body becomes the object of aham-budhdhi (the notion of “I”) and appears as though it were the self.
However, this experience does not continue in deep sleep.
During deep sleep, there is no awareness such as:
“I am stout”.
“I am thin”.
or even
“I am this body”.
Thus, the body appears in one state and does not appear in another.
For this reason, the commentator says:
இவை ஒருக்கால் தோற்றி ஒருக்கால் தோற்றாமையாலும்
(ivai orukkAl thORRi orukkAl thORRAmaiyAlum)
“These appear at one time and do not appear at another.”
The self is present in all states
The self, however, continues to exist in all states.
After waking, a person naturally recognizes:
“Before sleeping I knew all these things. While sleeping, I did not know even my own body.”
This recognition is possible only because the same self existed before sleep, during sleep, and after waking.
Thus the self remains present throughout all states, even when the body is not experienced.
Therefore the commentator says:
ஆத்மா எப்போதும் தோற்றுகையாலும்
(AthmA eppOdhum thORRugaiyAlum)
“The self is always present”.
Another illustration based on birth and death
The commentator gives another way of understanding the same principle.
The body is subject to birth and death.
It comes into existence and eventually perishes.
Yet people commonly say:
“This is the result of actions performed in a previous birth.”
Such ordinary experience assumes the existence of a continuing self that persists across different births.
Therefore, while bodies arise and perish, the self remains.
The senses, mind, prANa, and knowledge also come and go
The same reasoning applies to the senses, mind, prANa, and knowledge.
The senses
The senses appear only under certain conditions.
A person may say:
“Earlier I possessed clear sight and hearing; now I have become blind and deaf”.
The eye and ear may function at one time and fail at another.
Yet the self that experiences these changes remains the same.
Therefore, the senses cannot be the self.
The mind
The mind functions through activities such as thinking, willing, and resolving.
At some times it is clear and active.
At other times it becomes dull and incapable of functioning properly.
A person may say:
“Earlier my mind was clear; now I do not understand anything.”
Since the mind appears in some conditions and fails to appear in others, it cannot be the self.
prANa
The prANas are known through activities such as inhalation and exhalation.
In states such as fainting or unconsciousness, their operation may become difficult to perceive.
One may even have to examine carefully whether life remains.
Thus, prANa also does not appear uniformly in all conditions.
Therefore, it cannot be the self.
Knowledge
Knowledge too appears and disappears.
A person says:
“At that time I had knowledge.”
“Now that knowledge has disappeared.”
Knowledge arises when an object is known and ceases when that cognition is gone.
Thus knowledge itself cannot be the enduring self.
Throughout all these changes, the self remains the same witness and experiencer.
The body and related entities are many
The commentator next points out another distinction.
The body and related entities are many.
The body consists of numerous parts.
The senses are many:
- eye
- ear
- nose
- tongue
- skin
The mind functions in different modes.
The life-force appears in various forms such as prANa, apAna, and others.
Knowledge also exists in many forms according to different objects known.
Thus, all these are characterized by multiplicity.
The self is one
The self, however, is experienced as a single “I.”
There is one continuous subject behind all experiences.
The person who sees, hears, remembers, thinks, and experiences is one and the same self.
The commentator therefore says:
ஆத்மா ஒருவனாகையாலும்
(AthmA oruvanAgaiyAlum)
“The self is one”.
Since the body and related entities are many while the self is one, the two cannot be identical.
Conclusion
The body, senses, mind, life-force, and knowledge are all experienced as distinct from the self.
They are spoken of as “mine.”
They are experienced as objects.
They appear and disappear.
They are many.
The self, on the other hand, is experienced as “I.”
It remains continuously present.
It is one.
Therefore, the self must be understood as distinct from all these entities.
adiyen vAsudhEva rAmAnuja dhAsan
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