32-33

“Have I studied Sankhya Kaarika?”, I repeated the question after him.”No, I haven’t. There is no chance of even hearing about it in Maadhwa families. He is considered to be a Budhist”, I responded.

“Leave aside if Ishwara Krishna or Gauda pada were budhists, their system is the key to understand why different people perceive things differently. It is precursor to modern cognitive psychology”, he responded. “My Inquiry is not about differing perceptions of the same entity or event, but as to why there should be so many god forms . More importantly how do we logically lead to the conclusion that all gods are same. What we have today is an axiomatic statement from Shankara that all are one and the same ; or they are different and graded as per  Anada Theertha Muni”, I quipped.

Umesha went on to his serious countenance . “This confusion occurs only because you are seeing the concept of Ishwara being outside all other definitions. This is perhaps due to your Maadhwa background. If you treat Ishawara as any other concept, then you will recognize how they are seen to be different and how the underlying principle is same. Shankara did not provide a choice of six gods with a caveat that all are virtually same without any foundation. That is why I want you to study Samkhya kaarika.”. 

He was right as always. Shrimad Ananda theertha muni’s core point can be said in a few words .
स्वतन्त्रंपरतन्त्रंच प्रमेयंिद्विवदंमतं| स्वतन्त्रो भगवान्िवष्णुि.. 
There are two principles in the cosmos - Independent and dependent. Vishnu is the only independent principle. It does make a lot of sense to postulate one independent principle that becomes the source of everything else. This also logically takes us to the conclusion that this one independent principle is beyond all our comprehension. This is because every dependent principle becomes a subset of independent and hence has no way of discerning the Universal set. 

Where Anada Theertha Muni departs from Shankara is to fix Vishnu as one definitive entity, making everything else , including other possible gods as hierarchically subservient to Vishnu.  This difference is real, hierarchical and eternal even in moksha. This system logically calls for axiomatic approach as the validation comes only from text. It is so because some book says so. 

 Don’t we need a system that is self complete and which can logically explain the difference while defining how they can all tie into single principle ? Do we need axiomatic approach, giving a much interpretable text as final authority? Can’t we have our own basic experience as touchstone? 

Using our experiences as touch stone is a very attractive proposition as any knowledge built on personal experience is self-internalized. But, how do we know that our experiences are real, valid and a true representation of the ‘reality’ out there? More importantly how do we, as intelligent creatures, gather our experiences and what kind of transformations do these experience undergo inside us before being registered as valid knowledge by us? How do we ensure that the knowledge so gathered as accurate as possible ?

Sankhya model tries to analyze all this and present a workable model of cognition - the process of experiential knowledge. It clearly recognizes the issues involved in ‘self certification’. 
दृष्ट्वद आनुश्रविकः सहि अविशुद्दि क्षयाति शययुक्तं 
तद् विपरितः श्रेयान् व्यक्त अव्यक्त ज्ञ विज्ञानात् (2)
Observational methods have an inbuilt errors of distortion, attenuation and resolution. Hence an intellectual method is needed to get accurate solutions by identifying the unobservable and the cause that creates it.

मूल प्रकृतिर् अविक्रुतिर् महत् अध्या: प्रकृति विकृतयः सप्त 
षोडश कस तु विकारो न प्रकृतिर् नि विकृतिः पुरुषः
Primal nature is not an evolute; the seven concepts including mahat are evolvent & evolutes; the sixteen are evolute. But the Purusha is neither an evolute or evolvent. 
Slowly and methodically Samkhya Karika buillds our senses perceive external universe objects, events; how our belief systems creates a very unique personal universe for each one of us in which we are trapped and act; how our ego and guna attitudes drive the whole thing.

But how is this related to various god forms we worship? Why did  Umesha ask me read the Karika ? 

I discovered the answer decades later , in Trivamdrum Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple. As a reluctant temple goer, I accompanied my wife , a very devout woman. The crowd rushed in the sanctorum and I was amused  when the priest Namboodri  called out for a seva karta ,” Vishnu , Vishnu, evvide? prasādaṁ svīkarikkū”.  Fond of repartee and amused by the name , I pointed to the large reclining stone idol and shouted, “ Vishnu Ivvide”. Every one in the crowd laughed, but sone flash of inspiration struck me as stood watching the garbhagruha. Vishnu smiled.

Srimad Narayana form, was teaching the Samkhya eloquently, in silence, literally lying in front of every one.

God Vishnu is lying down on a serpent bed, in a dark room, having his Yoga Nidra. Brahma the creator sits on a lotus shooting from his Navel (nabhi); Narayan’s right arms slides down gently touching a small Linga (shiva the destroyer) ; an antechamber connected with three doors, and you see the idol through them. What does this convey?
You need to leave your ego at the door
Learn to ignore distracting sensory input (chaos, noise, dark sanctum) ,
Go past Three Gunas (attitudes) that torment us by creating expectations and desires (three doorways to view the idol)
Vishnu (all pervading) in Yoga sleep - Thuriya or fourth state of consciousness in which all actions are sublimated.
Lying on a snake with five heads (senses), three coils (three gunas in check),
Brahma pushed far away and Shiva pushed down - going beyond creation, evolution and belief system. 
The snake is called Anantha Sesha, or eternal residue. (beyond the idea of birth, and death the residue is our pure consciousness, which is eternal)

We are fools to be talking and spreading rumors about billion dollar treasure that is supposedly hidden in some chambers. The most valuable treasure is lying down , open right in front of us and we don’t see it. 

As I stood there frozen, captivated by the smile of the sleeping Vishnu, Umesha’s words echoed in my mind. “Every philosophical view has integrated the Sankhya tatvas as key element of their Ontology and Epistemology” .

Was it true for Shrimad Ananda Theertha Muni whose Tatava Vaada philosophy totally rejected the Mithya Vaada and the associated vyahavarika empirical reality model ? Isn’t the world real, absolute and eternal for Maadhwas? 

 We often hear that it will take a lifetime to follow the instructions of a great Guru. This played out so true so many times in my life. A simple question of jyeshta mahasannidhanam if Vishnu was present in the gaps between his arms, propelled an inquiry for life; Umesha instructing me to study Sankhya Karika made me labor for entire life. His assertion that Sankhya model is the core gateway connecting external world and our internal universe was a homework that took almost all my adult life.




How did Shrimad Ananda Theertha Muni deal with Sankhya System? On the one hand Sankhya was dualistic in the sense it accepted two different entities as super classes, almost like his Tatva Vaada doctrine of two entities-the Independent Vishnu and dependent jIvas. On the other hand, Sankhya’s perception model supported the Advaitik notion that perceived world is just a relative reality that will have to be sublimated to get to absolute reality. This is total anathema for Shrimad Ananda Theertha, who always went in for permanency of everything.

In an almost sutra style, Ananda Theertha Muni lays down his core Ontology & Epistemology in “Tatva Sankhyanam”. In this terse, two page doctrine statement, he explains the building blocks of universe and our experience of it.  

In his trademark hierarchy formula, he starts at top most layer with two entities - Independent Vishnu & Dependent everything else. He takes the Dependent and splits into two again - Bhava sentient and Abhava non-sentient. Bhava gets split into two again - Cetana and Acetana. The Acetana, without consciousness, is broken into threee, permanent, transitory and permanent-impermanent.
The transitory category is finally split into two-homogenous and heterogenous.

He docks the Samkhya Tatvas - human cognition faculty-into this heterogenous category. This makes logical sense - these are live concepts Bhava and not dead wood; but , as conceptual constructs they do not have self illumination svatah prakasha and so are Acetana. It is easy to see that they are transitory in nature as our perceptions are dynamic. Surely the constituents of Sankhya model is heterogenous-influencing each other but never fusing. 


नित्य अनित्य विभागेन त्रिविधा एव अचेतनम् मतं  61 
अनित्यं द्विविधं मतं || असंसृष्टं च संसृष्टं 72
असंसृष्टं महानहं बुद्धिर्मनः खानि दश मात्रा भूतानि पञ्च च 73 (TS)

He put the 24 Tatvas that constitute our cognitive instrument in the  “heterogenous-transitory-non self illuminating-active but dependent on Vishnu” category. 

The implications are far reaching and perhaps not acknowledged by Tatvavaada scholars. His categorizing human cognition that way is very similar to Advaitha argument of vyahavarik Satya , very special and unique to the individual. 

“If I extrapolate this, this can even dovetail into Drishti Shristi Vaada दृष्टिसृष्टिवाद or even Eka jiva Vaada”, I would opine when I met Umesha after nearly 30 years. “Vyasatheertha has written so many things that I see as  supporting some of the Advaitha arguments”, he responded. This was a startling statement considering Vyasa Raja Theertha is perhaps the most formidable Dwaitha Dialectician. Looking at his nyAmruta, Tarka Tandava and Tatparya Chandrika one might even say he is the best dialectician world has ever seen.

But then, VyAsa Raja Theertha is reported to have taught Advaitha to Advaith students in Kanchi better than even Advaitha scholars.

Be that as may, my search continued to see how Tatva vAdins internalized Samkhya. Raghavendra swamy has been a guiding light for me always-he shows up in meditation, or through some one to show direction. 

This time he did through a Kanaka Dasa song. After traversing England, Amethi UP and Pondicherry for over ten years, I moved back to Bangalore. As always , the first thing we did was to visit Jayanagar 5th Block Rayaru Brindavana. As I entered and looked at Rayaru, Vidyabhushana was on the CD player singing Ishtu Dina Eee Vaikunta. Captivated by Kanaka Dasa’s outpouring I stood motionless.

And then was struck by his lines ‘Entu Elanu kalidudatinde bantaraivara tulidudarinde ,tuntakanobbana taridudarinde ..’

There it was , Kanaka referring the Sankhya Tatvas and how he was able to sublimate 21 tatavas to get to see Vaikunta right here in his mind. Kanaka was explaining his sandhi anubhava . 

ಈಶ್ಟು ದಿನ ಈ ವೈಕುಂಟ ಎಶ್ಟು ದೂರವು ಎನ್ನುತಲಿದ್ದೆ
ದ್ರಿಶ್ಟಿಯಿಂದಲಿ ನಾನು ಕಂಡೆ ಸ್ರಿಶ್ಟಿಗೀಶನೆ ಶ್ರೀರ೦ಗಶಾಯೀ
ಎಂಟು ಏಳನು ಕಳೆದುದರಿಂದೆ ಬಂಟರೈವರ ತುಳಿದುದರಿಂದೆ
ತುಂಟಕನೊಬ್ಬನ ತರಿದುದರಿಂದೆ ಬಂಟನಾಗಿ ಬಂದೆನೋ ರ೦ಗಶಾಯಿ
ವನ ಉಪವನಗಳ ಕಂಡೆ ಘನ ಸರೋವರಗಳ ಕಂಡೆ
ಕನಕಗೋಪುರಂಗಳಿ೦ದ ಘಾನ ಶೋಭಿತನೆ ರಂಗಶಾಯಿ
ವಜ್ರವೈಡೂರ್ಯದ ತೊಲೆಗಳ ಕಂಡೆ ಪ್ರಜ್ವಲಿಪ ಮಹದ್ವಾರವ ಕಂಡೆ
ನಿರ್ಜರಾದಿ ಮುನಿಗಳ ನಾ ಕಂಡೆ ದುರ್ಜನಾಂತಕನೆ ಶ್ರೀರಂಗಶಾಯಿ

ರಂಬೆಉರ್ವಶಿಯರ ಮೇಳವ ಕಂಡೆ ತು೦ಬುರು ಮುನಿ ನಾರದರನು ಕಂಡೆಅ೦ಬುಜೋದ್ಭವ ರುದ್ರರ ಕಂಡೆ ಶಂಬರಾರಿ ಪಿತನೇ ರಂಗಶಾಯಿ
ನಾಗಶಯನನ ಮುರುಥಿ ಕಂಡೆ ಭೋಗಿಭೂಶನ ಶಿವನನು ಕಂಡೆ
ಭಾಗವತರ ಸ೦ಮೇಳವ ಕಂಡೆ ಕಾಗಿನೆಲೆಯಾದಿ ಕೇಶವನ ನಾ ಕಂಡೇ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To9TfXApjn8

All along I thought Vaikunta was far away
But I see it all in my vision of Ranga
After conquering the seven and eight,
Worsted the five truants, and subjugate a mischief monger

Oh, what I see is the beautiful garden and forts
And you oh Ranga shining in diamonds and gold
Surrounded by sages and dancing damsels
Narada, Shiva and all your devotees abound

All along I thought Vaikunta was far away
But I see it all in my vision of Ranga

It was all becoming clear. The fundamental idea is that all our ideas are our own individual creation , valid only to us. Understanding this is the toughest game; tougher would be to internalize this and act accordingly.

Vasihnavas have made the internalizing a fun filled family affair. I will get a taste of it three decades down through my wife’s initiative. She was alwys listening to upanyasa of a Srivaishnava Scholar who I found to be a torrent of a scholar. He would talk for hours without referring to any notes- Sanskrit and Tamil playing in his tongue. I asked her who he was. 

“He is U Ve Shri Velukkudi Krishnan Swamihal”, she replied