Swami Krishnananda-Philosophy of Panchadasi, en
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF
THE PANCHADASI
by
Swami Krishnananda
The Divine Life Society
Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India
(
Internet Edition: For free distribution only
)
Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org
CONTENTS
Preface
3
1. Discrimination Of Reality
5
2. Discrimination Of The Elements
15
3. Discrimination Of The Five Sheaths
22
4. Discrimination Of Duality
26
5. Discrimination Of The Mahavakyas
32
6. Light On The Analogy Of A Painted Picture
34
7. Light On Supreme Satisfaction
50
8. Light On The Internal Self
64
9. Light On Meditation
70
10. Light On The Drama Theatre
82
11. The Bliss Of Yoga
85
12. The Bliss Of The Self
94
13. The Bliss Of Non-Duality
101
14. The Bliss Of Knowledge
111
15. The Bliss Of Objects
116
The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda
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PREFACE
The
Panchadasi
is a standard text on the philosophy of the Vedanta, consisting of fifteen
chapters, written by Sage Vidyaranya. Historians and teachers of philosophy sometimes
hold that the later portions of this work were written by Bharatitirtha. Whatever be the
authorship of this treatise, it stands as an unparalleled compendium expounding the
fundamental principles of the Vedanta propounding the non-dual existence of Brahman,
the supremacy of the Absolute.
In accordance with the accepted definition of the Ultimate Reality as
Sat-Chit-Ananda
(Existence-Knowledge-Bliss), the fifteen chapters of the
Panchadasi
are grouped into
three sections of five chapters each, which are designated as
Viveka
, or Discrimination,
Dipa
, or Illumination, and
Ananda
, or Bliss, corresponding to the Existence,
Consciousness and Bliss aspects of Reality, which is the theme of the fifteen chapters.
The text purports to point out that the universe finally gravitates to the realization of
this great purpose of all life, namely, the experience of Absolute Existence, which is a
blend of infinity and eternity, wherein are brought together into the highest fulfilment
all the aspirations of the whole of creation. The first five chapters endeavour to
discriminate by analysis and understanding (
Viveka
) the nature of Reality as
distinguished from mere appearance, both in the external universe of the five Elements -
Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth - and the individual consisting of the five sheaths -
Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya - meaning the
Physical. Vital, Mental, Intellectual and Causal encasements of the pure Spirit.
Incidentally, the sequence of the process of creation is described, in the context of
stating the relationship between Brahman and the universe, which involves also an
explanation of the specific connection that seems to obtain between the individual
percipient and the world of perception. These are highly interesting in-depth analyses
and studies which probe into the final structure and substance of all things.
The second set of five chapters throw light (
Dipa
) on the fact that Consciousness is the
supreme principle, the only Reality, which is identical with pure Existence. Here, again,
a detailed description is entered into regarding the nature of
Isvara
(God),
Jagat
(world) and
Jiva
(individual), with an outstanding exposition of their mutual action and
interaction. The theory of perception, which is a very important field of study in all
philosophic circles, is discussed in an entire chapter in this section. Simultaneously,
there is a picturesque delineation of the gradational process of the ascent of the
individual to its supreme goal, liberation in union with Brahman, the Absolute. A very
poignant and candid discourse on the meaning and method of meditation leading to
contact with Reality is also a stimulating theme discussed in this section.
The last five chapters go into great detail in expounding the inner constitutive essence of
Brahman as unexcelled Bliss (
Ananda
). Joy is the essence of life. Happiness is the core
of all things. Everything struggles in the end for reaching a state of infinite satisfaction.
There does not seem to be any other aim or purpose in life, whatever be the movement
or the activity with which persons and things seem to be busy in the complex
arrangement of the evolution and involution of the universe. That the cause and the
effect are finally non-different, that reality and its manifestations cannot be drastically
separated one from the other, that God and the world are not two different realities, that
The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda
2
the deepest in man is Existence, which is Consciousness and Joy, that all effort at the
gaining of knowledge is an adventure in the direction of the union of knowing and being,
Consciousness and Existence, that the Self is the source of all happiness, whether the
concept of Self is empirically limited to persons, things and relations, or understood in
its primary sense of unlimited universality, and that the notion that pleasures come
from external objects located in space and time outside as the non-Self is a blatant error,
perfection being attainable only in the realization of the Absolute Self, form the
enthralling subjects inimitably described by the author in the concluding five chapters.
The
Panchadasi
is usually, and perhaps invariably, prescribed as a pre-condition of
study before one takes up the larger initiations into the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras
and the Bhagavadgita, inasmuch as this basic text acts as a fitting introduction to the
central doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy in general.
The present book consists of the lectures delivered on the philosophy and the teachings
of this great work to audiences of students at the Headquarters of the Divine Life
Society.
Swami Krishnananda
The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda
3
CHAPTER I
DISCRIMINATION OF REALITY
A
NALYSIS OF
S
ELF
The world consists of objects, and every object is a content of positive or negative
perception and cognition. The special feature of each object is that it is distinguished
from the other by characteristics that are ingrained in it in a particular manner. This is
why we see the world variegated in colours, sounds, tastes, touches, and smells. The
difference is in the existence somewhere of some characteristics outside the range of
others at other places. Thus, for example, we mark a difference between a cow and a
tree, because we do not find in a cow the features of a tree, and those of a cow in a tree.
Objects manifest a mutual exclusion of one another. It is this that enables us to know the
multitudinousness that the world is.
We also conceive such difference as that between God and the individual, God and the
world, one individual and another, the individual and the world, in addition to the
differences among the various contents of the world. There is a difference of limbs in the
body. There is difference among individuals of the same species as also individuals of
different species. There is external and internal variety. We may here raise a question as
to what it is that knows that there is difference, and how is difference known at all? We
have an immediate answer that a kind of consciousness in us is the knower of the
different objects outside as also inside, and this difference is also known by
consciousness itself. The world can be known by nothing other than consciousness.
Though the objects differ in their external features, we do not find any difference among
the various types of consciousness. There is distinction of sounds, colours, etc., but there
is no distinction between the consciousness of sound and the consciousness of colour,
and so on. This, then, means that the knowing consciousness is one and the same,
though things are multifarious and possess changing characters. One and the same
consciousness sees, hears, tastes, touches and smells, and it is also possible to be
conscious of the consciousness of all these. Consciousness is a synthetic unity of
apperception, it is all at once. Though the eyes cannot hear and ears cannot see, etc., and
each sense has one particular function to perform, consciousness is the unity of them all.
It is one and indivisible, and it is responsible for all the experiences in the world.
This same predicament is observed in the state of dream, also. The difference of the
waking state is only in the permanency of experience which it reveals. While dream
experience is short, the waking one is comparatively long. But there is no difference in
the constitution, the make-up, or the construction of the two states. Yet, it is seen that
the consciousness does not differ. Though there is difference between waking and
dreaming, there is no difference between the consciousness of waking and the
consciousness of dreaming. This is testified by the experience that one and the same
individual wakes and dreams, and asserts: “I dreamt.” While the waking state is due to
actual perception through senses, dream is brought about by the memory of waking
state on account of the impressions of the latter imbedded in the mind, which manifest
themselves on suitable occasions. Consciousness has no forms or shapes.
Also, taking into consideration the condition of deep sleep, it is seen that there is, in it,
The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda
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