Artha, Anartha, Viparit Artha and Paramartha

I was arriving at the last verse of the Changdev Pasashti today. I had to pause and re-read the verse to get its meaning. 

And after 2 reads I got it. 

Then came a realization .

The words in the verse were just pointers to the meaning of what Dnyaaneshwar was intending for Changdev or a listener to understand. Once the meaning became apparent, the words were unnecessary. The words were just transporters, not the goods.

For example, when you read the word sugar, the mind understands what is being referred to. At that point the inferred entity remains in focus and understanding. Its designated name becomes unnecessary for further understanding. 

Most words are pointers to things that are perceptible to the five senses( eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch) or to the mind and intellect. The meaning that is delivered at the end of those words is experienced through one or more of these faculties. 

Parmarth is very different from such ordinary words. The term itself is a conjoined word formed from an adjective plus a noun. Param plus artha = paramartha.

Param = highest, superior, ultimate

Artha = meaning 

The reason it is called paramartha is because the entity this word is referring to is not any ordinary entity. Unlike other things brought to attention by ordinary words, this entity is not perceptible by the human faculties of sense organs, the feeling mind or thinking intellect. It stands beyond ordinary perception. Hence the referring word for it is qualified with the adjective “ param “. Paramartha is the word that delivers the meaning of something that is superior to ordinary things. And because that superior thing is so exclusive, although within anyone’s reach, the discussions about Paramartha, are never ordinary like common topics pertaining to the world of matter or thought. It stands in its own class. Often difficult to understand for the uninitiated. Sometimes difficult to comprehend even for the initiated. If the student remains earnest and driven to understand, the meaning reveals itself to him or her. 

The last verse of the Changdev Pasashti is as follows: 

Nidai parautey nidaijaney 

Jagruti giloni jaagane

Kele taise gumphaney 

Dnyandevo mhane

निदै परौते निदैजणें

जाग्रुती गिळोनि जागणे 

केलें तैसें गुंफणे

ज्ञानदेवो म्हणे 

Dnyaaneshwar says, by weaving these verses(केलें तैसें गुंफणे), ( I have gifted Changdev with)

a state of stillness, one devoid of thoughts or tendencies(व्रुत्ती), that lies beyond the ordinary human experience of deep sleep(निदै परौते निदैजणें)

 and also the state of such wakefulness that swallows the ordinary state of waking( जाग्रुती गिळोनि जागणे)(that humans normally experience). 

Thus the state of self awareness is skillfully and succinctly described by Dnyaaneshwar to be comprised of two basic qualities. It’s awake nature and stillness ( where no thought or tendencies exist). It is like a clear open sky of consciousness. 

All texts, discussions, poetry that deal with this ultimate reality come under the broad umbrella of Paramartha. The ultimate state of existence that is attainable for direct experience through the study of such literary tools is also what is indicated by the word paramartha. But once the meaning is understood and experienced, the word becomes irrelevant and just as ordinary as any other word. It is the experience of the state that truly owns the qualification of param(superior). 

There is another difference to understand between the entity represented by paramartha and any other word representing an object or condition or emotion. Let us take the word sugar again. The object that the word conveys remains distinct from your being. Sugar doesn’t become Madhavi. Madhavi doesn’t become sugar. Madhavi can experience the quality of sugar when she puts it on her tongue or feels it in her hand or sees it with her eyes. Even after it dissolves in her mouth it does not become Madhavi. Let us take another word, Fear. Madhavi can recognize fear within her mind when suddenly a tiger appears in front of her when she is in a forest by herself. The fear may grip her. Yet fear does not become Madhavi. In case of Paramarth, when Madhavi experiences it, the image of Madhavi is wiped off the slate( mind) and only a single entity remains. Madhavi and Paramartha become one. 

A realization I had earlier in the day was about the image that pops in the mind when the words such as Dnyaaneshwar or Muktabai are uttered or read out. The mind has conjured up images to represent the entities referred to by the respective words. Those images are not who the entities in these cases identified themselves as. Whether Dnyaaneshwar or Muktabai or Samarth Ramdas or Sant Tukaram or Shri Krishna or Shri Ram. None of these entities saw themselves in the form that our minds know them. Perhaps it is time to educate our minds and make necessary corrections in our understanding of these names. Let us be literate and read the meaning conveyed by these words, the real entity they are trying to point out. 

Drawing parallels from this realization, another thing I realized today was how our personal understanding of ordinary people is similarly flawed. Take the example of any person you know in real life. You mother or your neighbor or your boss. Bring their name to your mind. Immediately your mind will bring forth an image of that person before your eyes. That image will in turn mean something to you. Ask yourself this question. What meaning that name, and its corresponding image convey to you, is that 100% accurate and complete? By referring to the particular image you see in your head, can you be 100% certain that you understand what that image totally represents? My own answer to this question was a resounding no. The image we have been saving in our heads for nearly every person we have ever met or known is our impression of them. An impression which we never had time to verify how accurate it is. How much of it is based on objectivity and how much on emotion. Yet these impressions become the guiding force for our opinions and judgments towards these people. Fascinating, scary, revealing and disturbing at the same time. This provides a hint at how unconscious biases take shelter in our psyche. 

Drawing inaccurate meaning of things, not understanding things fully, or doing things without full understanding is what is called anartha. It leads to disaster.

When someone is trying to help you earnestly and you see that as a nuisance, that is called viparit artha. Interpreting right as wrong, and wrong as right is called drawing viparit artha. 

There is a reason Paramartha is often described as “ the light within” or “ Atma Prakash “. The closer you get to it, all concealed tendencies, opinions, feelings, judgments, preferences etc become increasingly visible. And their validity becomes known. You get a clearer picture of what is truly Artha, what is Anartha, what is viparit Artha. Then your WILL must bear the responsibility of keeping only those things that are based on truth and discard the rest. A lot of opinions and judgements will get tossed out, preferences demoted to neutrality and several tendencies will be weeded out and  limited to only those that are essential and universally beneficial. Advice that leads to shreyas becomes acceptable and all other advice is politely heard but not implemented. Recognizing previous errors can lead to repairing some damaged bridges and building new ones. Or then simply being. Changing some paradigms and rearranging priorities. It gets to be a lot of fun awakening from the dark night of the soul. The entire universe becomes a free space to experience and explore. Not to own or exploit but to play with joy. 

Let’s go back and look at the verse again.

निदै परौते निदैजणें

जाग्रुती गिळोनि जागणे 

केलें तैसें गुंफणे

ज्ञानदेवो म्हणे 

Dnyaaneshwar Mauli is saying I have woven the words such that……. केलें तैसें गुंफणे

He is implying that the words are his tools. His skill lies in using ordinary words and putting (weaving) them together in such a fashion that they deliver the goods that need to reach the listener. The goods that his words are entrusted to carry are the absolute most valuable that one could find in the entire universe. Changdev was the lucky recipient of the goods. Anyone who can cash them would be in an enviable position. 

In this context it is important to study what Changdev did with the valuable goods he cashed out from the generous gift bestowed upon him by Dnyaaneshwar. He did not set up a shop and sell those goods to customers to make a fortune for himself. He didn’t write books, become a bestselling author and build himself a castle out of the proceeds. He didn’t accept royalties and honors to give speeches on the subject.

As we saw in the story of Muktabai, she was assigned the position of Guru for Changdev. Although Dnyaaneshwar gave all necessary instructions to Changdev for Self Realization through the Changdev Pasashti, the culmination of these instructions into the final state of experience required the blessings and guidance of a qualified guru. After Changdev attained to the enlightened state, he instructed all his previous followers and disciples to turn their allegiance to Muktabai. He spent his remaining years in the mortal body extolling the virtues of Muktabai, Dnyaaneshwar, Nivrittinath and Sopandev. After Muktabai left the mortal world, Changdev took the lead in creating her memorial shrine and starting the tradition of her palkhi yatra from Muktainagar to Pandharpur during the annual wari. 

Neither Dnyaaneshwar nor Changdev yearn to win awards akin to the Pulitzer Prize for the literature that was beyond extraordinary. Dnyaneshwar shifted the credit for the writings to his guru Nivrittinath.

Changdeva tuzeni vyaje 

Mauliya Shri Nivritti Raje

Swanubhav rasaal khaje 

Didhale lobhe 

चांगदेवा, तुझेंनि व्याजें

माउलिया श्री निव्रुत्ती राजें

स्वानुभव रसाळ खाजें 

दिधलें लोभें 

This is the 61st out of the total 65 verses of the Changdev Pasashti. What Dnyaaneshwar is saying here to Changdev is that because of you oh Changdeva, my guru Nivrittinath has in the spirit of motherly love and generosity, given me( Dnyaaneshwar) this sweet treat of the direct experience of the Self. 

In just one statement he deferred the credit of the work to his Guru and simultaneously took out any implication of favor towards Changdev. I am the beneficiary of this priceless gift because of you, he tells Changdev, thus giving him importance. So the humility is towards both, his Guru and his disciple. The more you study Dnyaaneshwar, the more you become aware of how big those shoes are for anyone to fit into.