Spirituality Studies 10-1 Spring 2024 13 Michael James 10 Being as We Actually Are Is Karma, Bhakti, Yōga and Jñāna Subsiding and thereby being in sat-bhāva, which is the source from which we had risen as ego, is not only the “very nature of supreme devotion” (Sa. para-bhakti tattva) but also the ultimate aim of all the four kinds of spiritual path, namely karma, bhakti, yōga and jñāna, as Bhagavan says in verse 10 of Upadēśa Undiyār: Being, subsiding in the place from which one rose: that is karma and bhakti; that is yōga and jñāna. [15] As we can recognise by carefully considering our experience in sleep, what exists and shines in the absence of ego in sleep is only our own being, “I am”, so the only thing that exists prior to our rising as ego is our own being, and hence our being alone is what Bhagavan refers to in this verse as “the place from which one rose” (Ta. uditta iḍam). Therefore this “place” or source from which we have risen is what he referred to in the previous verse as sat-bhāva, the “state of being”. As soon as we rise as ego, thereby departing (albeit only seemingly) from our real state of just being, we experience ourself as “I am this body”, and by thus imposing limitations on ourself, we face problems of numerous kinds and suffer accordingly. In this situation, therefore, the only wise option is to subside back and dissolve forever in our own being, which is the source from which we rose, and this is what Bhagavan indicates in this verse by the adverbial participle oḍuṅgi, which means “subsiding”, “dissolving” or “ceasing”. By thus subsiding and dissolving in our source, we remain as we always actually are, so this is what he describes here as “being, subsiding in the place from which one rose” (Ta. “uditta iḍattil oḍuṅgi iruttal”). This state of just being as we always actually are without ever rising as ego is itself karma, bhakti, yōga and jñāna, in the sense that it is the ultimate aim and fulfilment of each of these four paths. 11 Investigating Ego Is Fulfilling the Purpose of All Spiritual Paths In order to be as we actually are, we need to subside and dissolve forever in our own being, which is the source from which we rose as ego, and in order to subside thus, we need to investigate ourself, the one who now seems to have risen as ego. Therefore, since we as ego will subside and dissolve forever in our source if we investigate ourself keenly enough, and since we will thereby remain as we always actually are, there will then be no need for us to practise any other spiritual path. That is, the need to practise any spiritual path such as karma, bhakti, yōga or jñāna arises only because we have risen as ego, and in the absence of ego there would not only be no need to practise them but also no one to practise them. Therefore the aim of all spiritual paths will be achieved if, and only if, we investigate ourself, the “I” for whom there seems to be a need to practise them, as Bhagavan points out in verse 14 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham: Investigating for whom are suchlike, viṉai, vibhakti, viyōga and ajñāna, is itself viṉai, bhakti, yōga and jñāna. When one investigates, without ‘I’ they never exist. Only being permanently as oneself is what is true. [16] The Tamil word viṉai means “action”, so it is used here in place of its Sanskrit equivalent, namely karma. The four defects mentioned in the first line of this verse, viṉai, vibhakti, viyōga and ajñāna, are each respectively the opposites of the corresponding four paths, namely viṉai (Sa. karma in the sense of niṣkāmya karma, “desireless action”), bhakti (Sa. “devotion”), yōga (Sa. “joining”, “yoking” or “union”, particularly in the sense of yoking the mind to the object or target of its meditation) and jñāna (Sa. knowledge in the sense of “self-knowledge”, “awareness of oneself as one actually is”), so in this context the first viṉai means kāmya karma, “action motivated by desire”, vibhakti means “lack of devotion”, viyōga means “disunion” or “separation”, and ajñāna means “ignorance of one’s own real nature”. If we investigate ourself, the one for whom such defects seem to exist, we as ego will begin to subside, and if we investigate ourself keenly enough, we will thereby dissolve forever back into our being, which is the source from which we had risen, whereupon both ego and all its defects will be found to be ever non-existent, as Bhagavan implies in the second sentence of this verse: “When one investigates, without ‘I’ they never exist” (Ta. “āyndiḍa, ‘nāṉ’ iṉḏṟi avai eṉḏṟum
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