Vivekachudamani 9 Going Beyond Books - By Swami Tattwamayananda

Title: Going Beyond BooksVerses:  51, 60, 61, 62The student poses seven questions in the 51st verse. The rest of the text answers these seven questions. The seven questions are: (1) What is this bondage? (2) How does it come about? (3) How does it exist and what sustains it? (4) How do we come out of it? (5) What is anatman? (6) What is the supreme Atman? (7) How do we differentiate between atman and anatman?Buddha refers to bondage as “Dukkha” – a feeling of imperfection with empirical enjoyments. Patanjali uses the term “Parinama Dukkha” – he says that spiritually elevated souls feel a discontentment with the empirical world and pleasures. They have a strong desire to look for something higher.What is wrong with robbing a neighbor? Swami Vivekananda answers his own question by saying that it is nit for fear of law enforcement – rather, by doing so, the person would be harming himself. It is the advaitic foundation of universal ethics. Swamiji also said, “The infinite one of the soul is the eternal sanction of all morality and ethics.”We are all lonely spiritual travelers, traveling from one life to another. Our goal is to realize the supreme spiritual truth, to realize the presence of the divine within ourselves and in everything.The essence of the 60th, 61st and 62nd verses is: “Books are helpful, but by themselves they do not constitute the supreme goal. Books by themselves will not help us with the highest spiritual realization. Long, eloquent scholarly discussions can only confuse oneself and others. As long as one has not realized the spiritual truth, books are useless. Upon realization of the spiritual truth, books are useless. The world of books is like a big jungle that can only create confusion, if we do not understand that the spiritual truth is beyond books.”Scriptures attempt to describe the truth – they do not constitute the supreme truth. Spiritual truth is beyond ideas and books – it is a matter of inner experience. With this understanding, we should read scriptures. After crossing a river with a boat, we leave the boat behind – we don’t carry the boat on our head. Similarly, we transcend books upon realization of the truth.Scriptures get their authenticity because the teachings within them come from the experience of realized sages. By following their path, we can also experience the truth.