Madhurashtakam - PDF produced by Claude!

Who is Mahēśvara?

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यो वेदादौ स्वर: प्रोक्तो वेदान्ते च प्रतिष्ठित: ।

तस्य प्रकृतिलीनस्य य: पर: स महेश्वर: ॥

तैत्तिरीय आरण्यका १०.१२.३.१७

yo vedādau svara: prokto vedānte ca pratiṣṭhita: ।

tasya prakṛti-līnasya ya: para: sa maheśvara: ।।

Taittirīya Araṇyaka 10.12.3.17

Swami Bhoomānanda Tīrtha:

Maheśvara is the Supreme Lord who transcends the svara (Om), which is declared in the beginning of the Vedas, and is well established in Vedanta (Upanishads), and is dissolved in the prakṛti (the primal cause).

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Ōm ityēkākṣaraṁ Brahma -Gītā 8.13

Om is Brahman!

The Upaniṣad clearly states Mahēśvara is beyond Brahman!

Attaining Brahman leads to devotion!

Bhagavān reveals in the following verses of the Srīmad Bhagavadgītā. the path taken by one who seeks liberation.

बुद्ध्या विशुद्धया युक्तो धृत्यात्मानं नियम्य च ।

शब्दादीन्विषयांस्त्यक्त्वा रागद्वेषौ व्युदस्य च ॥ १८-५१॥

The one endowed with purified intellect, holding himself in steadfast discipline, disconnecting himself from sound and other sense inputs, and having forsaken the feelings of attraction and repulsion... 

विविक्तसेवी लघ्वाशी यतवाक्कायमानसः ।

ध्यानयोगपरो नित्यं वैराग्यं समुपाश्रितः ॥ १८-५२॥

Being in solitude, eating meagerly just to keep the body and soul together, disciplining his thought, word, and deed, and engaged in meditation constantly, and establishing himself in dispassion...

अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् ।

विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥ १८-५३॥

Eschewing ego, power, arrogance, desires, anger, and attachments to his own possessions, he gives up the sense of "I and mine" and becomes peaceful. And then, he attains the experience of Brahman. 

What is there anymore for such a man? 

Indeed, this is where the next stage begins!

ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।

समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ॥ १८-५४॥

The sign of such a man established in Brahman is his cheerfulness. He never grieves and never desires. He is equal towards all creation, all beings, and develops devotion to Bhagavān. "Madbhaktim labhate parām", "He attains supreme devotion to me", says Bhagavān.

भक्त्या मामभिजानाति यावान्यश्चास्मि तत्त्वतः ।

ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा विशते तदनन्तरम् ॥ १८-५५॥

सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रयः ।

मत्प्रसादादवाप्नोति शाश्वतं पदमव्ययम् ॥ १८-५६॥

Through devotion he gets a complete and perfect understanding of me ( that is, Bhagavān). Having known me thus, he enters into me. He then does all his actions in this world - his actions do not stop but continue - but he performs all his actions being established in me. Through my grace (i.e. through Bhagavān's prasāda), he attains a state of permanent immersion in divinity. 

Thus, the summum bonum of the spiritual path is perfect devotion in action, according to the Srīmad Bhagavadgītā.

Practice makes perfect

This statement from the Patanjali Yoga Sutras is a very significant one and is often quoted by our teachers who are teaching us either Sanskrit Vyakarana or Yoga Shastra or even Vedanta. The statement of Patanjali is:  

स तु दीर्घकाल-नैरन्तर्य-सत्कार-आसेवितो दृढभूमिः 

The Bhashya and Vivarana of Adi Shankara emphasize the meaning of this statement. 

 For practice to make us perfect, it has to be:

• dīrgha kāla, for a long duration
• nairantarya, without interruption, without breaks
• satkāra, with devotion
• āsevito, when practised

and then it becomes dṛḍhabhūmiḥ, i.e., it becomes a strong foundation for our spiritual or yogic growth. 

In other words, for my practice to take effect and make me a better exponent, I have to be engaged in it for a long time, without breaks, with devotion, and with the singular purpose of achieving my growth. It will then establish a firm foundation for my future growth. 

Īśvara vs. Māyā in the Gītā

Vēdānta, as spread in so many books and videos, is considered the same as Advaita.

Advaita, as understood by most, means 4 things:

1. ब्रह्मसत्यं जगन्मिथ्या -  Only Brahman is the truth/reality; this world is false/illusory.
2. जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः   -  The living entity is Brahman himself, and none else.
3. मायया परिच्छिन्न इव भाति तद् ब्रह  - That Brahman appears to be the many owing to Māyā.
4. अज्ञानात् जीवभावः - The state of being a Jīva arises from ignorance.

In other words, in Advaita, this world is an illusion that has fooled Brahman into thinking that he is the Jīva. 

By the way, these are all statements of Advaita Ācāryas and not found in the Prasthānatraya (Upaniṣads, Brahma Sūtras and Bhagavadgītā). In other words, it is wrong to equate Advaita to Vēdānta.

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I was pondering over these statements while reading the Śrīmad Bhagavadgītā. Indeed, according to all my readings, Bhagavān, i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa, while speaking the world's most revered "The Song of God", has never stated anything like these statements. 

Indeed, according to the Gītā. Māyā is the energy and creative phenomenon of Bhagavān, or Īśvara, as the correct term is for God in Hinduism. Through his Māyā, the universe comes into existence, consisting of the three Guṇas - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. 

So the quintessential message of the Gītā is about Īśvara as the controller of Māyā, and to attain him, the Jīva has to overcome Māyā by devotion to Īśvara and thereby secure his grace!

Here are the key Ślōkas of the Gītā in this context with their simple meanings.

अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ॥ ४-६॥

Bhagavān is explaining how he takes Avatāras (stated in the following Ślōkas) to uplift the good and vanquish the evil (both are his play!). "I am the Unborn and Inexhaustible Consciousness of all creation, and the Supreme Master of all creation. I rule over my own Nature=Prakṛti (made up of the 3 Guṇas), and manifest as Avatāras  through my own Māyā."

 

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।

मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ ७-१४॥

"This Māyā of my own creation consists of the 3 Guṇas, and is very difficult to overcome for man. Only those who worship me can cross over this Māyā!"

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः ।

माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ ७-१५॥

"Those of evil deeds are stupid, lowly men who do not worship me. Their wisdom has been stolen by Māyā, and they develop demonic tendencies." 

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।

मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ ७-२५॥

" I do not reveal myself to everyone. That is because my Yoga Māyā covers me. That is why the fool does not perceive me, the Unborn and Inexhaustible Consciousness in all creation."

ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।

भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८-६१॥

तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत ।

तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥ १८-६२॥

"Īśvara dwells in everyone's heart, oh Arjuna! He is the one running this world like an automated wheel, with all beings spinning on its rim helplessly through his Māyā!"

"So what is the solution? Simply surrender to that Īśvara, in all respects. By his grace alone will you attain eternal peace and the changeless state."

Finally, as if to remove all confusion between Jīva and Īśvara, Bhagavān clarifies indubitably:

द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च ।

क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ १५-१६॥

उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः ।

यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥ १५-१७॥

"In every living being, there are two "Puruṣas". One is the apparent man, i.e., the mortal body covering made up of the perishable matter and chemistry. The other is the eternal Jīva, who dwells inside this body, and moves from body to body through rebirth. There is then the Supreme One, different from both these! He is the one called Paramātmā! He is the one who creates and suffuses and upholds all as the immutable Īśvara!"

I can go on quoting many more verses from the Gītā on the path to liberation, but that is for another day!

॥ हरिः ॐ तत् सत् ॥