जय श्री कृष्ण
Salutations to Sri Krishna the Loka Guru. Salutations to Sri Venkateswara, our living Guru. Salutations to Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada, Salutations to Sri Kanchi Maha Periyava. Salutations to Sri Sathya Sai Baba & Salutations to my parents Shrimati Rajalakshmi and Sri Viswanath Iyer.
सच्चिदानन्दरूपाय कृष्णायाक्लिष्टकारिणे।
नमो वेदान्तवेद्याय गुरवे बुद्धिसाक्षिणे॥ 1
The above sloka is from the introductory invocatory hyms written by Sri Bhagavatpada to his Bhashyam on the Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam. It starts with the world Sacchidanandarupaaya meaning one who is of the form of Sacchidanandarupa. I asked an elder the meaning of this word . He nicely said that it represents Sri Krishna or God in the form of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. I asked back- Is Sacchidananda knowable? He replied- In the state of deep meditation one attains the Turiya state wherein he experiences the Saccchidananda Swarupa.
Clearly these answers did not satisfy my quest for knowing more about my dear Sri Krishna. I went through many commentaries and listened to the audio files of some eminent sanyaasis. One such Sanyaasi explained the first two words of Sat and Chit in simple terms. Sat means I exist. Chit means I know that I exist. I fully agreed that this made good sense. Sri Krishna is Satchit Swarupa. Okay then what about Anandaa? What could it mean? When quizzed the Sanyaasi quipped saying that we could leave Anandaa for later as knowing about it could make one very sad.
The search went on. Somewhere someone would provide an answer I thought. In the meantime I read in the Brihadaryanka Upanishad a learned conversation between Sage Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, his wife. Herein Sage Yajnavalkya explained by saying that “ It is not for the sake of the husband that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self is a husband dear.". Clearly this did not make much sense. to me then. So I waited for more clarity.
Then after a wait for about five years I chanced upon a commentary about the Sri Devi Suktam wherein the Concept of Sacchidananda was explained. Herein I got clarity about the meaning of Anandaa. I will share a couple of stories to explain the word Anandaa.
Story 1- Radha and Mohan were a young couple in love. They were lucky to get married and went for a boat ride in the Ganga. Before they started the ride the boatman warned them that at no cost should they try to touch the water of the Ganga. Lest the crocodiles cling to the hand and overturn the boat. Both Radha and Mohan agreed and the ride started. They wanted to go alone so that they would get the privacy. After a few minutes of the ride the Radha became very shy due to the love talk of Mohan. She inadvertently started playing with the river water. And lo her hands were clutched by a hungry crocodile. There was great pulling by Mohan but of no avail. The crocodile was stronger. Mohan realised that if he pulled Radha's hand any further he could lose his life. In a sudden moment of decision making he pushed Radha into the water and escaped back in the boat to the banks. He was crying for Radha. How his most dearest Radha was dead because of his mistake. He was disconsolate. His friends and relatives kept trying to pacify him. But he wouldn't stop crying. He had decided in that moment of crisis that It was he himself that was his dearest object. Even dearer that his beloved Radha. And Lo Behold! We have he meaning of Ananda in front of us.
SAT= I EXIST
CHIT= I KNOW I EXIST
ANANDAA= THE DEAREST OBJECT FOR ME IN THIS WORLD IS MY OWN SWEET SELF.
Even I thought- is not Anandaa an explanation/act of utter senseless Selfishness? How could one kill another being to save oneself?
But the fact that I am my dearest object or thing is also a TRUISM. How much ever one may say that I love Krishna or I love my daughter or I love my wife or I love my mother, nothing is dearer to me than my own Sweet Self. When there is a life and death situation this Self Love or Self Preservation becomes most important.
Even an eminent Swamiji once refrained from explaining Anandaa to new students. He referred to Anandaa as one which could give great Sorrow to its knowers. Clearly this is an Advanced Portion of Vedantaa.
Then what is Sage Yajnavalkya explaning his wife Maitreyi?
For this let me share another tale.
Story 2- I (Kannan) was about six or seven years old. Now I understood the movies. I was introduced to some movies of the then Superstar Mr. Rajesh Khanna. What did I see in those movies? Here was this man who was obedient to his parents. He was courteous to one and all. He was handsome. He could sing good songs. The neighbors doted him and this list of his positive qualities went on and on.. What was my reaction on seeing him? I wished- When I grow up I should be like him. It was here that my I sense got identified to the characters played by Mr. Rajesh Khanna. Hence whenever I saw his picture I would see them as myself. I would not stand any criticism about him. I would only think good things about him. Because He was Me and I was Him. Any event of falling in love between a man and woman is also akin to the above. The boy could see a brave and positive girl. He could identify her with his own self. Then at no cost he would dispense with his affection for the girl. Years may come and go but the oneness with the I never ceases. Similar is the I sense identified with great leaders by some of his followers. The followers want to be like their leader. Their I sense has got identified with the leader.
Hence Sage Yajnavalkya tells his wife Maitreyi that Kannan (that is me) loves Mr. Rajesh Khanna for his own sake not for the sake of Mr. Rajesh Khanna.
Sage says that the lover boy loves the girl for his own sake and not for the sake of the girl.
Sage says that the follower loves the leader for his own sake, not for the sake of the leader.
It is virtually impossible to change this affection. This is our nature. We are Ananda swarupa. We love our self the most. In the above cases Mr Rajesh Khanna, the lover girl and the Leaders have become the Self of Kannan, the lover boy and the follower respectively.
Taking it a little further- Whether it is in the outside physical world or in the internal world of thoughts and dreams I am always in love with my own self at all times. Hence I am Anandaswaroopa in every moment of my existence. I am only loving myself in all my activities.
A friend asked me- How do you explain unhappy situations? When I asked him to be specific
he replied- How do you explain a condition where I hate someone who abused me?
I answered- This situation is also explained by my Love for myself.
My Question: Whom do you love most? -
His Answer: I love myself the most.
My Question: Who is abused by the friend?
His Answer: The friend abused me- or Myself.
My Question: Even in the hatred for friend who is the most loved person?
His Answer:- It is myself.
Conclusion- Be it Love or be it Hatred our Dearest Object is our Dear Self alone. It is for the sake of the Self that we love someone or something. It is for the sake of the Self that we hate someone or something.
Love for ourself is the COMMON FACTOR in all the activities.
I hope and pray that by the grace of Sri Krishna the readers will understand the concept I have tried to explain.
May Sri Krishna bless us all on his birthday. May we all come out of the prison of Kamsa and live happily in the family of Sri Nanda and Maa Yashoda.
Jai Sri Krishna
( Written on Sri Krishna Janmashtami 2021 _30/08/2021)
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