Transcreating Dakshinamurti with Bibliography & Seven Intro-Conclusions (a work in progress; 5 of 10 to date)

Not a translation but a transcreation, and not as much such as a talking in verse. Link at number leads to page of  brief commentaries and translations.

1. The universe is wholly contained in one's own Self like a city seen in a standing sidewalk mirror.

Due to Maya, this inner universe appears to be externally manifested, like an inner world appearing to be an outer one while dreaming.

To the One who knows this at the time of awakening as one's nondual self, O to that divine teacher, the one who is facing south.

2. This universe was once a sprout inside a seed without any differentiation—until Maya

using concepts of space, time, and causation, imagines it to be a multiplicity of color and form

like a magician projecting its witchcraft, like a yogi directing its will.

3. To the one whose self-luminous light of existence shines forth

pervading this illusory material world with the Vedic affirmation of tattvamasi 

willing individuals to waken and realize and never return to an ocean of samsara.

4. Inside a vessel of many perforations is placed a great lamp, radiant and illuminating.

Awareness blazes outward via instruments of eyes and all the senses

through which it emanates forth. Thus I know, shining, that alone is illuminating the entire world.

5. Some believe in the body or the breath of life, the senses or the ever-changing intellect, or even the void of nonexistence.

There's the innocence of mother and child, the world of the blind and demented, or the philosopher's deep confusion.

Creation, energy, manifestation, projection, delusion: they're all meant for that great destroyer, Dakshinamurti.

Seven Introductions as Conclusions

As a terse expression of the fundamental truths of the Vedânta, the well-known Hymn of S’ankaracharya forms a suitable text upon which the student may meditate and thereby construct the whole doctrine for himself. The reader will also be struck with the catholicity of the teaching, which is not addressed to any particular class of people nor contains any reference to distinctions of caste and religious order. While concisely stating the process by which the oneness of Self and the unreality of all else is established. ~Sastri

Of all the hymns of Śrī Śaṅkara, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti stotra is the shortest, but at the same time, in its philosophical import, subtlety of expression and confidence of assertion, it is one of the most inspired works of the advaita philosopher. On a small canvas, Śaṅkara has, with unerring dexterity, crammed all the arguments of non-dualists against the preachers of dualism. Naturally, the stanzas are loaded with suggestions and to dive into their rich depths, special training is necessary for the students. ~Chinmayananda

The Dakshinamurti Stotram was composed by Adi Shankaracharya approximately 1,300 years ago. Within its ten verses—or shlokas—lies the entirety of Vedantic philosophy, condensed into sublime poetry that continues to illuminate seekers across centuries. Along with these core verses, numerous associated mantras and shlokas, composed by other masters and drawn from various texts, are traditionally chanted alongside the Dakshinamurti Stotram. ~Sarvapriyananda

The Hymn to Dakşiņāmürti has rightly become famous. In a short compass it gives the quintessence of Advaita. It is addressed to God as Guru, by whose grace one receives the teaching of non-duality. How the one reality appears as the many, how even the distinction of the teacher and the taught comes about one cannot explain. But the basic truth of Advaita, which is the Self, of the nature of consciousness, cannot be denied. Whether it is called God, Guru, or Self, it is the same. The realization of this truth is the goal of Advaita. And, Advaita is in opposi-tion to no school of thought or mode of spiritual life. In order to show this, Sankara employs in this Hymn some of the terms peculiar to Kashmir Saivism. ~Mahadevan

In the Indian hymnal literature, the stotras of Śri Sankara occupy a unique place. They are charmingly simple and yet, simply charming. The panegyrical material of the hymns often alternates with the moral principles or spiritual values. However in a few of the rarer pieces, he has introduced masterly condensations of the doctrines of Advaita Vedānta. And, this hymn is a masterpiece among them, combining in itself poetical elegance as well as metaphysical brilliance, a rare achievement indeed. ~Harshananda

This stotra is attributed to Śaṅkara. We don’t know whether it is from Śaṅkara but it is attributed to Śaṅkara. The stotra is very profound. It has all the things that you have to discover in the whole Vedanta śāstra along with bhāṣya. Vedanta śāstra means Upaniṣads, Bhagavadgītā and Brahmasūtras which is an analytical śāstra in the form of sūtras, all the three along with bhāṣya of Śaṅkara. These three are called prasthāna-trayī. ~Dayananda

A crown jewel amongst all of Shankara’s hymns, the hymn to Dakṣiṇāmūrti is in a class by itself. Although it is a short hymn of ten verses only, it is densely packed with the same profound wisdom that Shankara packed into his extensive commentaries on the Prasthānatraya. If we can read and absorb the wisdom contained in these short verses, we would not have to read anything else. Perhaps, that is why Shankara’s prominent disciple, Sri Sureshwarācārya, wrote an elaborate commentary (vartikā) on this hymn, called Mānasollāsam, which translates into “that which rejoices the mind.” ~Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Note on Authorship

Of course, the Advaitist's metric works—from erotic, tantric poems to Saivite hymns—do not contain strict philosophical terminology or logical argumentation. That is why the most reliable method of sorting out Sankara's poems from the enormous mass of religious and mystic poetry of the mediaeval period is the evidence from his disciples and followers. And the Vedantins are of the opinion that Sänkara was the author of the poetical cycles Daksinä-murti-stotra (Praise ofthe benevolent Siva), Gurvastakam (Eight poems to the teacher), Bhaja-govinda-stotra (Praise of Krsna-Govinda) and Sivänandalahari (Wave of bliss of Siva). 

Less dependable is Sankara's authorship of other cycles and single poems. However, he is usually considered the author of the cycle Bhavänyastakam (Eight verses to Bhaväni, or divine Mother), of the hymn Annapurna-stotra (Praise to the giver of food), of the cycle Visnu-sat-padl (Six verses for Visnu), the poem Gahgä- stotra (Praise to Ganga river), Devyaparadha-ksamapanastotra (Praise of the Goddess-Mother for the forgiveness of sins), Vedasära-Siva-stotra (Praise of Siva as the essence of Veda), the cycle Siuänämälyastakam (Eight lines in the name of Siva), Siväparädha-ksamäpana-stotra (Praise of Siva for the forgiveness of sins), Kaupina-pancakam (Five verses about the loin-cloth of an ascetic), Dvädaäamanjarikä-stotra (Praise in twelve garlands or stanzas), as well as the author of an often-cited but probably spurious cycle Nirväna-satkam (Six verses on liberation). ~Isayeva

Bibliography of English Translations

Hymn to Dakshinamoorthy by Swami Chinmayananda

Sri Dakshinamurti Stotram: In praise of the teacher of teachers by Swami Dayananda

Dakshinamurti and Manasollasa by John M. Denton

Dakshinamurti by Swami Gurubhaktananda (Sandeepany)

Dakshinamurti Stotra by Swami Harshananda

Hymn to Dakshinamurti (from The Hymns of Sankara) by TMP Mahadevan

The Vibrant Stillness: Commentaries on Sri Lalita Divya Nāma and Sri Dakṣiṇāmūrti Stotram By Sri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao trans. Padma Neppalli

Dashinamoorthy Stotram by Swami Paramarthananda (unverified transcription)

Reflections on Dakshinamurti Stotram by Swami Sarvapriyananda

Dakshinamurti Stotra by Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

God and Brahman

God is nature.

Spacetime appears in Brahman.

The universe appears in God

and God appears in Brahman.

Dakshinamurti 5 Grid

Deham, body, innocence (mother), creation, Dakshinamurti.

Pranam, breath of life, innocence (child), energy, Dakshinamurti.

Indriyāṇi, senses, world (blind), manifestation, Dakshinamurti.

Buddhi, intellect, world (demented), projection, Dakshinamurti.

Sunya, nonexistence, confusion (philosopher), delusion, Dakshinamurti.

Atman is Brahman is Turiyam

Atman is not exactly like a soul. It's not inside a person. The person appears inside it.

Similarly, the universe is appearing in Brahman, that great absolute godhead.

My real self is not the mind. Without the mind, there's deep sleep. Without consciousness, who am I?

Talking Dakshinamurti 5

Some believe in the body or the breath of life, the senses or the ever-changing intellect, or even the void of nonexistence.

There's the innocence of mother and child, the world of the blind and demented, or the philosopher's deep confusion.

Creation, energy, manifestation, projection, delusion: they're all meant for that great destroyer, Dakshinamurti.

Dakshinamurti 5 Grids

1.

Deham, body, innocence (mother), creation, Dakshinamurti.

Pranam, breath of life, innocence (child), energy, Dakshinamurti.

Indriyāṇi, senses, world (blind), manifestation, Dakshinamurti.

Buddhi, intellect, world (demented), projection, Dakshinamurti.

Sunya, nonexistence, confusion (philosopher), delusion, Dakshinamurti.

2.

Mother of creation 
Child of energy. 

Blind from manifestation.
Demented from projection. 

Philosopher of delusion.

All for Dakshinamurti.

Brief Commentaries

The previous stanza removed the difficulty in understanding the declaration of Vedānta ‘Ᾱtman alone is the Reality’. This stanza meets the challenges of other schools of thought and their hypothesis on what is the ultimate Reality. It also gives an inkling of the correct method of contemplation that will help the seeker to arrive at the Reality behind the world of change. ~Chinmayananda

Shankaracharya uses terms such as “women, children, the blind, and the dull” as metaphors, not as literal criticisms. These are upamā (examples) symbolizing certain limitations of mind. In today’s world, such language could be misunderstood as being prejudiced, so it’s important to clarify that he is pointing to mental tendencies, not actual gender, age, or physical condition. in reality, many great women have been Vedantic masters from ancient times: Vak Ambhrini, Gargi, Maitreyi, and undoubtedly many others whose names were never recorded—partly because historically men wrote the texts and recorded debates. ~Sarvapriyananda

Using good reasoning and analogies, we have proved that Self alone Is Real. But this conclusion does not concur with our own experience or the experience of a common man or a brilliant scientist. From the materialists (cārvākā-s) to the Madhyamikā Buddhists (śūnya vāda-s or emptiness theorists), over ages, everyone one has enquired into the nature of Reality, and each came up with a different conclusion and doctrine. ~Rao

Many are the philosophies of the self. Although they agree that there is the self, they differ widely over the question, what is the self. The materialists identify the self with the physical body. There are some who think that the senses constitute the self. The vitalists contend that the vital breath is the self. The subjective idealists resolve the self into a flux of momentary ideas. The nihilists say that the self is nothing. ~Mahadevan

In fact, all of Vedanta is quite opposed to common thinking. Everything is opposite; nouns become adjectives, adjectives become nouns. You say golden chain, the truth is chainy gold. Really that is the truth because gold is the substantive. Chain is not a noun at all, naturally, because chain is only a form. It is only an adjective. It is an incidental attribute to gold, not even an adjective that is intrinsic. Therefore, you have to say chainy gold. All ultā (opposite), everything is ultā. You think you are mortal, you are not. You think you are duḥkhī, you are not. You think you are a kartā, you are not. You think you are a bhoktā, you are not. You think there is duality of subject and object, and that is not true. Everything is opposite. ~Dayananda

Translations

dehaṁ prāṇam-apīndriyāṇyapi calāṁ buddhiṁ ca śūnyaṁ viduḥ strī-bālāndha-jaḍopamāstvaham-iti bhrāntā bhṛśaṁ vādinaḥ, māyāśakti-vilāsa-kalpita-mahāvyāmoha-saṁhāriṇe tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (5) देहं – body; प्राणम् – prāṇa; अपि – also; इन्द्रियाणि – sense organs; अपि – also; चलां – ever-changing; बुद्धिं – intellect; च – and; शून्यं – void (non-existence); विदुः – consider; स्त्रीबालान्धजडोपमाः – intellectually innocent as a woman, a child, a blind or an idiot; तु – indeed; अहम् – I; इति – thus; भ्रान्ताः – deluded; भृशं – firmly; वादिनः – arguing; मायाशक्तिविलासकल्पितमहाव्यामोह-संहारिणे – He who removes all the terrible misconceptions created by the deluding play of māyā; तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – the divine Teacher; नमः – prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti 

5. He who removes all the terrible misconceptions created by the deluding play of māyā, in those who are intellectually innocent, as a woman, a child, a blind or an idiot and who consider the Reality as their body, or their prāṇa, or their senses, or their ever-changing intellect, or as a mere void and through error (misconception) declare them to be the only Reality; to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration. ~Chinmayananda

Those who contend that the Ego is the body, or the vitality, or the sense-organs, or the fickle Buddhi, or the void, they are verily on the same level with women and children, with the blind and the possessed: they are quite deluded. To Him who destroys the mighty delusion set up by the play of Mâyâ's power, to Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (Siva) be this bow! ~Sastri

They who know the 'I' as body, breath, senses the changing intellect, or the void, are deluded like women and children, and the blind and the stupid and talk much. To Him who destroys the great delusion posited by the sport of maya's power: to Him of the form of the Preceptor, the blessed Dakshinamurti may this obeisance be! ~Mahadevan

Some believe the highest expression of ‘I’ to be the body or the breath of life or the senses, the shifting intellect, or even nothingness but this is on the level of the feminine, a child, the blind or dull. I bow to that one who is the destroyer of the cause of this great loss of consciousness arising through mental doubt and confusion from the playful inventions of the power of the illusory force. To him in the blessed guru and in the representation of wisdom facing south, deep homahe. ~Denton

Line 1:deham (देहम्): The physical bodyprāṇam (प्राणम्): The vital life forceapi (अपि): Also / Evenindriyāṇyapi (इन्द्रियाण्यपि): And the senses (indriyāṇi + api)calām (चलाम्): Fickle / Restlessbuddhiṁ (बुद्धिम्): The intellectca (च): Andśūnyaṁ (शून्यम्): The void / Nothingnessviduḥ (विदुः): They know / Consider

Line 2:strī (स्त्री): Womenbāla (बाल): Childrenandha (अन्ध): The blindjaḍa (जड): The dull-witted / Idiotsupamāstu (उपमास्तु): Similar to / Comparable to (upamāḥ + tu)aham (अहम्): "I" (the Self)iti (इति): Thusbhrāntā (भ्रान्ता): Deluded / Confused onesbhṛśaṁ (भृशम्): Utterly / Deeplyvādinaḥ (वादिनः): Those who argue / Philosophers

Line 3:māyā (माया): Illusion / The cosmic power of creationśakti (शक्ति): Power / Energyvilāsa (विलास): Play / Manifestationkalpita (कल्पित): Created / Projectedmahā (महा): Greatvyāmoha (व्यामोह): Delusion / Ignorancesaṁhāriṇe (संहారిणे): Unto the destroyer of

Line 4:tasmai (तस्मै): Unto Himśrī-guru-mūrtaye (श्रीगुरूमूर्तये): The embodiment of the Gurunamaḥ (नमः): Salutationsidaṁ (इदम्): This (prostration)śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye (श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये): Unto Lord Dakshinamurthy (the manifestation of Shiva facing south)

~Google search

Nondual Medicine Wheel

By the time we're high out of Phoenix, there was silver snow falling on the tall saguaro like San Anselmo. And snowballs flying in the median of the interstate.

Sedona was the southern direction of my medicine wheel—where gods created out of sandstone tend to stick around for 300 million years before taking flight.

Then we drove as far north as we could. Grand Canyon stopped us. From there you can see through space and time and temple like the Atman you are.

Talking Dakshinamurti 4

Inside a vessel of many perforations is placed a great lamp, radiant and illuminating.

Awareness blazes outward via instruments of eyes and all the senses

through which it emanates forth. Thus I know, shining, that alone is illuminating the entire world.

Commentaries

The stanza opens with a beautiful picture, which explains the ‘theory of perception’ in Vedānta. The infinite Consciousness by Itself never illumines anything, inasmuch as, in the absolute Awareness there are no objects for It to illumine. Electricity itself has no incandescence; only when the current passes through the filament, it bursts out into its light manifestation. Similarly, when Consciousness functions in the intellect, then the ‘beam of light’ reflected by the intellect is the intelligence, by which we come to illumine the objects of the world outside. ~Chinmayananda

In the previous verse, Shankara established that the individual consciousness in our body is the same as the all-pervading Universal Consciousness. This is the truth declared by the mahāvākya tat tvam asi. Because the Consciousness referred to as ‘you’ (tvam) in the mahāvākya is already present in our body, we are able to say that the Consciousness in us is the same as ‘That’ (tat) Universal Consciousness. It is only with the help of the gross and the visible, we can infer the subtle and the invisible. If it were not so, our search for truth would be as baseless as trying to search for the snake that is no longer on the ground. ~Rao

The Kena Upanishad expresses this beautifully: “Pratibodha-viditaṃ matam”—“When pure Consciousness is recognized in every act of knowledge, that is true understanding.” Not in some special, exotic experience, but in the most ordinary acts of knowing, the extraordinary truth is always available. This is the profound teaching of the fourth verse. That Consciousness which shines through your senses right now as you read these words, that Awareness which knows these thoughts as they arise in your mind—that is Dakshinamurti, that is your guru, that is your own true Self. ~Sarvapriyananda

The source of light, both for the individual and the cosmos, is the Self. The individual is able to know objects because of the luminosity of the Self. The objective universe can be known because of the light of the Self. In self-consciousness, of the form 'I know', it is the Self that is Awareness. But for the basic Awareness, none can know and nothing can be known. It is true that this awareness is not evident at first. That is because it is hidden in avidyā, nescience, even as a lamp placed within a pot remains unseen. But it is not a hermetically sealed pot that contains the lamp; it has several holes through which the light of the lamp streams forth. Similarly, avidya is itself made manifest by the Self. There are many chinks in it which give it away. In the body-mind complex which is a product of avidya, for instance, there are avenues of knowledge. The sense-organs are not themselves the sources of knowledge. It is the Self that functions through them. Similarly, the objects of the world which are inert cannot become manifest by themselves. It is by the reflection of the Self's luminosity that they become manifest. ~Mahadevan

Translations

nānā-cchidra-ghaṭodara-sthita-mahādīpa-prabhā-bhāsvaraṁ jñānaṁ yasya tu cakṣurādikaraṇa-dvārā bahiḥ spandate, jānāmīti tameva bhāntam-anubhātyetat-samastaṁ jagat tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (4) नानाच्छिद्रघटोदरस्थितमहादीपप्रभाभास्वरं – (just like) the bright light of a great lamp placed in a pot having many holes; ज्ञानं – knowledge; यस्य – whose; तु – indeed; चक्षुरादिकरणद्वारा – through the eyes and other sense organs; बहिः – outside; स्पन्दते – flashes; जानामि – I know; इति – thus; तम् - Him; एव – only; भान्तम् – illumining; अनुभाति – after whose light, shining; एतत् – this; समस्तं – whole; जगत् – universe of objects; तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – the divine Teacher; नमः – prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti 

4. He whose intelligence ‘flashes’ outside through the eyes and other sense organs, just like the bright light of a great lamp placed in a pot having many holes and after whose shining, this whole universe of objects shines; to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration. ~Chinmayananda

All this world shines after Him alone shining in the consciousness "I know,"—after Him alone whose consciousness, luminous like the light of a mighty lamp standing in the bosom of a many-holed pot, moves outwards through the sense-organs such as the eye. To Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (Siva) be this bow! ~Sastri

To Him who is luminous like the light of a great lamp set in the belly of a pot with many holes: to Him whose knowledge moves outward through the eye and other organs: to Him, who shining as I know', all this entire universe shines after to Him of the form of the Preceptor, the blessed Dakshina-murti, may this obeisance be! ~Mahadevan

Obeisance to him, Śri Daksiņāmūrti, who is the Guru, whose consciousness is flowing out through the senses like the eyes etc., even as a powerful light kept within a pot full of holes (flowing out through the holes) following whom the resplendent One-this whole world is shining and thinks, 'I know.' ~Harshananda

To him alone who is inherent in the whole universe, shining by his presence, like a splendid great radiant lamp of knowledge as ‘I know’ standing in a mighty perforated jar and shining out through the holes as the eyes and so on; to him in the blessed guru and in the representation of wisdom facing south, deep homage. ~Denton

Line 1: nānā-cchidra-ghaṭodara-sthita-mahādīpa-prabhā-bhāsvaraṁ

nānā (नाना): Many; various.chidra (छिद्र): Holes; perforations.ghaṭa (घट): Pot; pitcher.udara (उदर): Inside; belly; interior.sthita (स्थित): Seated; placed; staying.mahā-dīpa (महादीप): Great lamp; powerful light.prabhā (प्रभा): Luster; rays; radiance.bhāsvaram (भास्वरम्): Shining; brilliant; illuminating.

Line Meaning: Shining like the radiance of a great lamp placed inside a pot that has many holes.

Line 2: jñānaṁ yasya tu cakṣurādikaraṇa-dvārā bahiḥ spandate

jñānam (ज्ञानं): Knowledge; consciousness; awareness.yasya (यस्य): Whose; of whom.tu (तु): Indeed; verily.cakṣuḥ-ādi (चक्षुरादि): The eyes and other senses (ears, nose, skin, tongue).karaṇa (करण): Instruments; organs of perception.dvārā (द्वारा): Through; by means of; via openings.bahiḥ (बहिः): Outward; outside.spandate (स्पन्दते): Streams forth; vibrates; emanates.

Line Meaning: Whose consciousness indeed streams outward through the eyes and other sense organs.

Line 3: jānāmīti tameva bhāntam-anubhātyetat-samastaṁ jagat

jānāmi (जानामि): "I know."iti (इति): Thus; in this manner.tam (तम्): Him (the Supreme Consciousness).eva (एव): Alone; only.bhāntam (भान्तम्): Shining; luminous.anubhāti (अनुभाति): Shines after; reflects; illuminates because of.etat (एतत्): This.samastam (समस्तं): Entire; whole.jagat (जगत्): Universe; world.

Line Meaning: When a person says "I know," they are reflecting Him; the entire universe only shines because it reflects His primary light.

Line 4: tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye

tasmai (तस्मै): To him; to that.śrī-guru-mūrtaye (श्रीगुरुमूर्तये): To the personification of the sacred teacher.namaḥ (नमः): Salutations; prostrations; bowing down.idam (इदं): This (offering).śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye (श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये): To the Lord facing south (Lord Dakshinamurti).

Line Meaning: Salutations to that auspicious guru, who is the embodiment of the divine Lord Dakshinamurti.

~Google search word by word meaning

The Lamp of Awareness

The reflected consciousness of attention is ordinary awareness for most

and not that real awareness which witnesses even the state of deep sleep when the mind is turned off. 

Thus this actual awareness is not ordinary so to speak but neither is it extraordinary. It's a natural lamp.

This Subtle Universe

Although Atman is universally present in the material world of Maya without any distinction at all, 

Its presence is felt in different degrees due to the varying subtleties of the medium through which It manifests.

Bedrock is least subtle. Gods are grown from the subtlest of all. And people are subtle and really somewhat not.

Tattvamasi. Talking Dakshinamurti 3

To the one whose self-luminous light of existence shines forth

pervading this illusory material world with the Vedic affirmation of tattvamasi 

willing individuals to waken and realize and never return to an ocean of samsara.

Notes:

Chinmayananda 3

yasyaiva sphuraṇaṁ sadātmakam-asat-kalpārthakaṁ bhāsate sākṣāt-tat-tvam-asīti veda-vacasā yo bodhayatyāśritān, yat-sākṣāt-karaṇād-bhavenna punarāvṛttirbhavāmbho-nidhau tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (3) यस्य – (he) whose; एव – alone; स्फुरणं – manifestation; सदात्मकम् – nothing but the Reality; असत्कल्पार्थकं – as delusory objects; भासते – appears; साक्षात् – direct (enlightenment); तत् – That; त्वम् – thou; असि – art; इति – thus; वेदवचसा – with the great statement of the Vedas; यः – he who; बोधयति – imparts enlightenment; आश्रितान् – to those who have surrendered to Him; यत्साक्षात्करणात् – after the direct experience of which; भवेत्न – never shall; पुनः – again; आवृत्तिः – return to; भवाम्भोनिधौ – the ocean of worldly existence; तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – the divine Teacher; नमः – prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti 3. He whose manifestations, which are themselves nothing but the Reality, appear as the objects of the world; He who imparts to those who have surrendered to Him, direct enlightenment, through the commandment of the Vedas ‘That thou art’ and after the direct experience of which, there is no more any return to the ocean of worldly existence; to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration.

Mahadevan 3

To Him whose luminosity alone, which is of the nature of Existence, shines forth entering the objective world which is like unto the non-existent: toHim who instructs those who resort to him through the Vedic text That thou art': to Him by realising whom there will be no more return to the ocean of transmigration to Him, of the form of the Preceptor, the blessed Daksinamurti, may this obeisance be!

Sarvapriyanada 3

“To him in the effulgent form facing the south, Shiva, whose light, which is existence itself, shines forth entering the objects which are almost non-existent. To him incarnate in the guru who instructs the disciples in the Vedic text ‘thou art that.’ To him who being realized there will be no more return to the ocean of saṃsāra. To him, Shiva, be this salutation.”

Sastri 3

To Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, whose light, which is Existence itself, shines forth entering the objects which are almost non-existent,—to Him incarnate in the Guru who instructs the disciples in the Vedic text "That thou art;"—to Him who being realized there will be no more return to the ocean of samsâra, to Him (Siva) be this bow!

Denton 3

To him by whose luminosity (this universe) shines forth as existing in the form of unreal objects before the eyes, who having recourse to the words of the Veda ‘thou art that’ causes people to awaken so that they may realize and never again fall into the ocean of life that is the cycle of transmigratory existence. To that blessed guru in the form of śrīdakṣiṇamūrti this profound venerarion.

four things

there are three states of reflected consciousness

1. waking (body on, mind on) 

2. dreaming (body off, mind on)

3. deep sleep (body off, mind off)

the fourth (consciousness always on)

a. maya is beginningless

b. brahman is timeless

c. maya ends but brahman doesn't

4. what id is in your wallet?

It's Julian Time

Unconsciousness is a misnomer.

Only the reflection of consciousness can be undone.

It's always eleven o'clock somewhere.

Consciousness is that eternal substrate of the universe and you.

This is the revelation handed down by seers from the highest peaks. 

In the valley of the mind, the sun is always on time.

All shall be well, Julian.

21st Century In Memoriam

We remember the dead by living it up on this first weekend of the summer.

We used to do Bar Harbor on a package deal. The surf and turf was free. We paid for the inn only.

One summer, after the fireworks were canceled, we watched our thoughts go by 

in the clearing twilight sky like blue whales heading for the gray havens of one consciousness.

Brahman, Kutastha, & Chidabhasa

Somewhere in the desert air sits a clay pot. The space inside the pot (Kutastha) is the same as the space outside the pot (Brahman).

For practical purposes, it's said that people are superimposed on Kutastha and the universe is superimposed on Brahman. It's Tattvamasi in reality.

Kutastha is reflecting in the subtle body of the Buddhi and called Chidabhasa-chaitanya.

It's this reflected consciousness that lends reality to an individual (jiva) and its universe (Isvara).

Krishnananda says, just as matter cannot know matter, the intellect cannot know an object; what is known is material and what knows is consciousness. I cannot say it better.

The mind limits consciousness into attention. So focus: attention minus our mind games is the self-luminous self of satcitananda. Such is the play of self-awareness.

Conception: Talking Dakshinamurti 2

This universe was once a sprout inside a seed without any differentiation—until Maya

using concepts of space, time, and causation, imagines it to be a multiplicity of color and form

like a magician projecting its witchcraft, like a yogi directing its will.

Commentaries

Advaita Vedānta is not satisfied with any of the above mentioned views. The variegated and intelligently ordered universe cannot be the result of chance. Even to say that it is the result of chance is to accept causation. The world cannot be self-caused, because the world itself is inert, and one and the same thing cannot be both the agent and the patient of a process. Neither the elements nor the atoms, nor Prakrti can account for the universe; for they are all non-intelligent. God cannot be merely the efficient cause, for, if He were to shape the universe out of some stuff which is external to Him, He would become conditioned thereby. Nor can the universe be considered a transformation of God; for a God that changes cannot be immutable. So, Advaita concludes that the universe is an illusory appearance (vivarta) of the absolute spirit. The world is a play of maya (maya-vilāsa). That is why Sankara, in the present verse, compares God to the magician and the yogin. In the illusions created by these, nothing really happens. It is this truth that Guru Dakşiņāmūrti teaches. ~Mahadevan

The stanza opens with an example of the embryo in the seed and reinforces it with the example of the juggler and the yogī. This is a deliberate act to avoid misunderstanding. In the case of the seed, when the tree emerges, the seed is destroyed. A student might understand that the supreme Existence has exhausted Itself now, because It has become the world of plurality. To remove this idea of modification (pariṇāma), the example of the magician and the illustration of the yogī’s creation are suggested in the same stanza along with the example of the tree remaining unmanifest in the seed. ~Chinmayananda

The Advaitic position represents a variation of satkāryavāda, positioned between the two theories. The Advaitin agrees with the satkārya vādin that the effect emerges from the cause and pre-exists within it. However, the asatkārya vādin is also correct in observing that change and changelessness cannot be reconciled. Therefore, the Advaitin maintains that the effect does emerge from the cause, but not through transformation or change. Instead, the cause remains as the cause and appears as the effect. Brahman, the ultimate cause, the first cause, remains as Brahman without changing while appearing as this changing universe. ~Sarvapriyananda

Translations

Chinmayananda 2

bījasyāntarivāṅkuro jagadidaṁ prāṅ-nirvikalpaṁ punaḥ māyā-kalpita-deśakāla-kalanā vaicitrya-citrīkṛtam, māyāvīva vijṛmbhayatyapi mahāyogīva yaḥ svecchayā tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (2) बीजस्य – of the seed; अन्तः – within; इव – like; अङ्कुरः – the future tree (the embryos); जगत् – universe; इदं – this; प्राक् – before; निर्विकल्पं – unmanifest; पुनः – again, later on; मायाकल्पित – created by māyā (delusory); देशकालकलना – due to the play of time and space; वैचित्र्यचित्रीकृतम् – projected himself out to be the world of endless; मायावी – juggler/magician; इव – like; विजृम्भयति – unrolls; अपि – also; महायोगी – a great yogī; इव – like; यः – He who; स्वेच्छया – by His own free will; तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – the divine Teacher; नमः – prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti 2. He who, like a juggler or a great yogī, unrolls this universe just out of His own free will – the universe, which, before creation, remained unmanifest like the future tree in a seed and later on, He has projected Himself out to be the world of endless variety, due to the delusory play of time and space, both the products of māyā – to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration.

Mahadevan 2

To Him who, like a magician or even like a great Yogin, displays, by His own will, this universe which at the beginning is undifferentiated like the sprout in the seed, but which is made again differentiated under the varied conditions of space and time posit-ed by maya: to Him, of the form of the Preceptor the blessed Dakshinamurti may this obeisance be!

Sarvapriyananda 2

“To him who like a magician or like a mighty yogi displays by his own will this universe—undifferentiated in the beginning, like the plant within the seed, but made afterwards picturesque in all its variety through combination with space and time created by māyā; to him who is incarnate in the teacher, to him in the effulgent form of Shiva facing the south: to him be this salutation.

Sastri 2

To Him who, like unto a magician, or even like unto a mighty Yogin, displays by His own will this universe, undifferentiated in the beginning like the plant within the seed, but made afterwards picturesque in all its variety in combination with space and time created by Mâyâ, to Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (Siva) be this bow!

Krishnananda on Individual Consciousness (Commentary on Pancadasi Ch-8 The Lamp of Kutastha)

An object is known by the mind with the assistance of Chidabhasa-chaitanya (consciousness reflected through the intellect, or the psyche)...

Just as matter cannot know matter, the intellect cannot know an object. What is known is material and what knows is Consciousness...

It is not the General Consciousness of Brahman but the reflected consciousness, Chidabhasa, that particularises knowledge...

It is the Chidabhasa that rises and falls, but Brahma-Chaitanya is always there, and has no beginning or end...

In luminosity the Chidabhasa resembles the Atman, and it is for this reason that the Jivas mistake themselves for reality and mistake the objects of the world also for similar realities...

The Jiva, thus has a twofold nature, that which limits, namely, the Antahkarana, and that which shines, namely, the Atman...

If we define Jiva as a limited individual with a reflected consciousness, etc., then naturally, in that state, it cannot be identified with Brahman, and to effect identification there should be the abandoning of its limiting characters...

If it is regarded as Consciousness in its innermost being, then there is this direct identity of substratum...

Kutastha and Brahman mean one and the same thing. That is called Kutastha which is Consciousness acting as the substratum of the appearance of the Jiva with the appendages as body, mind, senses etc. Brahman is the same Consciousness existing as the substratum of the whole cosmos...

We make a distinction between Isvara (God) and Jiva (individual) by introducing a difference between the whole and the part, namely, the universe and the body...

The one Brahman in relation to the universe is called Isvara, and it alone in relation to the body is called Jiva. The substance is one, Consciousness is one, appearances are two...

What is this intellect and what is this Jiva? What is the Self, and what is the world? The inability to arrive at a clear definition regarding this issue, and the consequent activity to which one is driven, is called Samsara (worldly entanglement). He who knows the answer to these questions is a knower of Truth; he is the liberated one...

(Krisnananda's excerpted commentary on Pancadasi 8)

Basho was Here 2007

Matsushima, Yamadera, Hiraizumi: Basho was here.

Ten thousand pine islands, ten thousand mountain temples, ten thousand gold leaves on the ancient ground.

Basho at Hiraizumi: Summer grasses / all that remains of great soldiers’ / imperial dreams

Basho at Yamadera: Lonely stillness / a single cicada’s cry / sinking into stone

Basho at Matsushima: Pine Islands, ah! / Oh, Pine Islands, ah! / Pine Islands, ah!

~Haiku by Basho (tr-Hamill)

You Know

You are not what you think you are. What you are is unthinkable.

Where you really are is unreachable. You're already there.

You're imperceptible & indescribable but you already know that.

Notes on a Mahavakya

The absolute godhead Brahman is infinite, unchanging and nondual.

If it's finite, transformative, and multiple, it's not Brahman.

If it's not Brahman, it's not real. That which is not real is called Maya.

One's soul, inner self, Atman is infinite, unchanging, and nondual.

If it's not, it's just a thought. Believing thoughts is original ignorance. 

Such avidya is Maya on a micro scale. Atman is Brahman is a mahavakya.

Talking Dakshinamurti 1: Mayaya

The universe is wholly contained in one's own Self like a city seen in a standing sidewalk mirror.

Due to Maya, this inner universe appears to be externally manifested, like an inner world appearing to be an outer one while dreaming.

To the One who knows this at the time of awakening as one's nondual self, O to that divine teacher, the one who is facing south.

Commentaries

One of the forms in which Lord Siva is pictured is that of the youthful world-teacher seated beneath the sacred fig-tree, facing South, and teaching elderly disciples through silence. The significance of this form is the supreme identity of God (Iśvara), Teacher (Guru), and Self (Atman). It is the same Self that appears as God and as the soul, as the teacher and as the taught. 

In the first verse, it is shown that the South-facing Siva, the supreme Lord who is the Self, is the substrate of the entire universe. The manifold universe consisting of the elements and the elementals exists in one's Self. The Self is one; the world is manifold. The Self is unchanging; the world is subject of ceaseless change. The Self is infinite; the world consists of finite entities. The Self is pure; the world is full of impurities. How can the former be the substrate of the latter? This is explained with the help of an example. The world appears in the Self like the city with its streets and buildings, market-places and business-houses, tanks and towers, vehicles and living beings in a clear, unsoiled mirror. The mirrored city is not real; and yet it appears in the mirror.

An example for the appearance, outside, of what is within is dream-experience. The dream-world is what is superimposed on the Self which is the witness; yet it appears as if outside the Self. Similarly in the state of waking, one sees the world which is superim-posed on one's Self, as if it exists outside. Because of the superimposition of identity with the body, etc., which are superimposed on the Self, one sees the world as if it exists outside. No relation of the world which is inert, such as conjunction and inhe-rence, is possible with the Self which is consciousness. If it were not for superimposition on the self-lumi-nous Self, the world would not even be manifest. Therefore, the world is only a superimposition on the Self.

~Mahadevan

This opening stanza can be considered as containing the invocation of the Supreme by the author, in all devotion, for the successful culmination of his great work. It considers the south-faced Lord2 as none other than the manifested form of the Infinite. The objects of the world, in fact, exist and play about only in the observer’s mind and yet, due to māyā, they are seen, as though outside, just as the reflection of oneself in a mirror.

The example is used to emphasise that the reflected image has no reality apart from the object reflected. Though the reflected image is of the same form as the object reflected, there is a lateral inversion of details in the reflection. The right side of the onlooker will be seen as the left side of his own reflection. Thus, sitting in front of a mirror, if you write with a pencil in your right hand, the reflection will look as though it is writing with the left hand. This ‘lateral inversion’ in our personality is that which causes confusions and sorrows of life, called the saṁsāra. The supreme Existence-Knowledge-Bliss (Sat-Cit-Ᾱnanda), when It gets reflected in the mind, is expressed as the world – non-existent, inert and sorrowful.

~Chinmayananda

This vast universe with its countless objects, moving and unmoving entities, manifests externally as the objects we see and internally as feelings, perceptions, and emotions. In this first verse, Shankara inquiries into the nature of the world (jagat), the nature of the Creator (Iśvara), and the individual (jīvā) who feels helplessly trapped between the world and the Creator.

Shankara focuses on jagat (world) in the very first stanza because jagat is distinctly visible and ever present, while Iśvara and jīvā are not visibly present. From what is present and visible, the invisible and the absent can be inferred.

~Rao

Shankaracharya presents this scenario to explain four key principles...the first principle: wherever a reflection exists, regardless of its nature, the mirror must be present. No reflection can exist without the mirror. Second, examining the mirror’s contents—buildings, roads, parks, skyline, vehicles, people—we discover that actually no such entities exist within the mirror...The mirror is real (satyam); the city is an appearance (mithyā). Third, nothing within the reflected city can affect the mirror...No element of the reflection influences the mirror. The mirror stands unattached (asaṅga) to the reflection...The fourth point—crucial and subtle—is that the mirror is non-dual with respect to the city. Although the reflected city contains countless variety of elements, if we count only the mirror, nothing exists but the mirror. This leads to the central teaching of the entire Dakshinamurti Stotram and Advaita Vedanta: The city, with its thousand or million different features, is not a second reality, separate from the mirror. Considering only the mirror, there is only one reality, though it appears manifold. This is called advaitam. ~Sarvapriyananda

Translations

Chinmayananda 1

viśvaṁ darpaṇa-dṛśyamāna-nagarī-tulyaṁ nijāntargataṁ paśyannātmani māyayā bahirivodbhūtaṁ yathā nidrayā, yaḥ sākṣāt-kurute prabodha-samaye svātmānamevādvayaṁ tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (1) विश्वं – the universe of names and forms; दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं – like a city seen in a mirror; निजान्तर्गतं – within one’s own Self; पश्यन् – recognising; आत्मनि – in the Self; मायया – due to the power of māyā; बहिः – outside; इव – as though; उद्भूतं – produced; यथा – as; निद्रया – in dream; यः – he who; साक्षात् कुरुते – experiences directly; प्रबोधसमये – at the time of Realisation; स्वात्मानम् – his own Self; एव – alone; अद्वयं – non dual (immutable); तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – the divine Teacher; नमः – prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti 1. He who experiences, at the time of Realisation, his own immutable Self, in which the Self alone plays as the universe of names and forms, like a city seen in a mirror, due to the māyā power, as though produced outside, as in a dream, to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration.

Mahadevan 1

To Him who by mayā as by dream, sees within Himself the universe which is inside Him, like unto a city that is seen in a mirror, (but) which is manifes-ted as if without: to Him who apprehends, at the time of awakening. His own non-dual Self: to Him, of the form of the Preceptor, the blessed Dakshinamurti may this obeisance be!

trans of 1a

The universe is like a reflection seen in a mirror, appearing like a city within one’s own Self, but seeming to be outside, through the illusory power of Māyā, as if dreaming in a sleep. ~Denton

through the illusion of the Ātman as through sleep, sees the universe existing within himself like a city reflected in a mirror, as though it were manifested externally. ~Sarvapriyananda