ज्ञानात् एव ही कैवल्य – Liberation (मोक्ष) is only possible through knowledge (ज्ञानम्). Until one realizes his true nature as supreme soul (परमात्मा), supreme consciousness (परमब्रह्म), one has to keep coming back in the world in various forms.
The key word here is “realize“. It’s not just about intellectual understanding but directly experiencing it. Reading everything about swimming (nature of water, nature of human body, concept of buoyancy, usage of limbs, breathing techniques etc.), does not make one a swimmer. One needs to internalize this learning through practice and make it an experiential knowledge. Similarly, one must experience one’s true nature to attain liberation.
Sanatan dharma scriptures that explain perception, cognition, knowledge and learning (called ज्ञानमीमांसा) classifies knowledge in following ways based on how one learns.
- Direct knowledge (प्रत्यक्ष ज्ञानम्) is acquired through sensory inputs (eyes, ears etc.). E.g. Knowledge of forms by looking at the object.
- Indirect knowledge (परोक्ष ज्ञानम्) is acquired through inference. E.g. Knowledge of fire based on smoke.
- Experiential knowledge (अपरोक्ष ज्ञानम्) is acquired through one’s own experience. E.g. Knowledge of our existence, our dreams, our emotions.
Intellectual understanding of Vedanta (वेदांत) is indirect knowledge, gained through a qualified teacher (गुरु) and scriptures (शास्त्र). Tattvabodha (तत्वबोध) is one such preliminary scripture (प्रकरण ग्रंथ) written by Shri Adi Shankaracharyaji. It is a book of terminologies, written in questions and answer form, to help one prepare to study advance scriptures like Upanishads. It is one of the few texts written in a prose format. Tattvabodha literally translates to knowledge of reality (तत्व – reality, बोध – knowledge). One needs such text in early days of study to have correct understanding of terms based on the context. Clear understanding of various meanings of the term, and selecting the right one given the context, is required to understand any subject correctly.
Maṃgalācaraṇam (मंगलाचरणम्)
In ancient Bharat, books used to open with maṃgalācaraṇam verse. This tradition had several good reasons.
- It worked as an introduction / opening statement, capturing the gist of the subject and topics within it (वस्तुनिर्देश).
- Used as a practice of auspicious beginning (आशी).
- Filled reader’s mind with positive attitude by working as a prayer (नमस्क्रिया) to remove obstacles coming from within and outside (आधि, व्याधि, उपाधि).
Following maṃgalācaraṇam verse of Tattvabodha serves all above mentioned purposes.
वासुदेवेन्द्रयोगीन्द्रं नत्वा ज्ञानप्रदं ग्रुरुम् ।
मुमुक्षूणां हितार्थाय तत्वबोधोऽभिधीयते ॥
Having prostrated to वासुदेवेन्द्र, the best amongst योगी, the गुरु, who is giver of ज्ञानम्, तत्वबोध is explained for the benefit of साधक seeking मोक्ष.
Anubaṃdha Catuṣṭhaya (अनुबंध चतुष्ठय)
Along with the sacred opening, brief introduction about the text is must. It is helpful for one to understand the text before beginning. This is especially useful in absence of other metadata about the book like preface, table of content etc.
Anubaṃdha Catuṣṭhaya covers four aspects about the book. They are
- Pre-requisites for students or beneficiary – adhikārītva (अधिकारीत्व)
- subject(s) covered by the text – viṣaya (विषय),
- purpose / gains incurred after reading the text – prayojanam (प्रयोजनम्)
- how above three are connected to each other – saṃbaṃdha (संबंध).
Here Maṃgalācaraṇam itself covers details demanded by Anubaṃdha Catuṣṭhaya. 1. adhikārītva – indicated by seeker of liberation (मुमुक्षुत्वम्). 2. viṣaya – indicated by Tattvabodha , 3. prayojanam – indicated by the benefits to be accrued by the seeker, and 4. saṃbaṃdha – Revealer-Revealed relation (बोध्य-बोधक).
Pratijñāvākya (प्रतिज्ञावाक्य)
Pratijñāvākya is the statement with which the subject generally begins. It is the statement (or summary) announced by the author / teacher covering the delivery of knowledge about the subject(s). It is also called as vastusaṃgrahavākya (वस्तुसंग्रहवाक्य).
साधनचतुष्टयसंपन्नाधिकारिणां मोक्षसाधमभूतं तत्वविवेकप्रकारं वक्ष्यामः ।
This above pratijñāvākya promises to explain, modes of inquiry into the nature of reality, which will help as means of liberation to students having four-fold qualification.
Here it is interesting to note the word “वक्ष्यामः“, indicating plural (ending with आमः). Though the book is authored by a single author, the credit of knowledge is given to many. This is typical of वैदिक ज्ञान परंपरा, where the knowledge in not proprietary to an individual, but instead passes from guru (गुरु) to śiṣya (शिष्य) in गुरु परंपरा.
The term Vivek (विवेक) indicates the method of inquiry, by investigating / contemplating using compare, contrast and classify methods, to come up with the conclusion about the true nature of anything.
The word Tattva (तत्व) indicates the fundamental truth, that cannot be negated. It is the finest “ingredient” beyond which one cannot go further granular, representing it as the fundamental truth of reality.
The text is structured using jijñāsā paddhati (जिज्ञासा पद्धति), as conversation between śiṣya and guru, whereby the śiṣya asking a follow up question based on guru’s response. Thus, the next question naturally comes about “Four-fold qualification” – sādhanacatuṣṭaya (साधनचतुष्टय).
Read next तत्वबोध – 2 of 11: Four-fold qualification.
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