ASAT or SAT-AKṢARAM or AKṢARAM–SAT
(1) The Aparabrahman has manifested as the material world we see – this is not the ultimate reality; therefore, he is known as Asat. (2) He who is the “lower”, “conditioned” Brahman which is not the ultimate truth/reality in the sense of “Pāramārthika-Sat“- therefore, he is known as Asat and seen as a modification of that Sat – all modifications thereof are only names. (Śaṅkara) (1) He whose existence is never diminished or destroyed in any way. (2) He who never forsakes the good (those who are good, that which is good). (Parāsara Battar) (1) Asat stands for that which is “avyakta” i.e., unmanifested (2) Bhagavān is Avyaktarūpa / Avyaktamūrti – he is not visible to everyone, nor can he be seen with the normal eyes. He is to be perceived as the living presence within – therefore he is Asat. (Bannanje Govindācārya)
As can be seen, the ācāryas see this nāma differently, in fact all the ācāryas differ in their interpretation based on their individual philosophical grounding. Parāsara Battar cannot for a moment consider that Viṣṇu or Viṣṇu–Tattva or the many manifestations of that Tattva can at all be Asat at any point in time and/or in any context.
Bannanje Govindācārya approaches this from a different angle. He sees Asat as representing that which is unmanifest “Avyakta” – not true as in not being visible to the normal means of seeing things in the world. He can only be perceived as a living presence deep within one’s own being.
For Śaṅkara, the unreality of that which is real is as real (or for that matter unreal) as anything else. It is the one that has become the many and the many owe their existence to that one, they are but “projections” of that one – projected at his will and withdrawn also at his will – they are apparently real in the timeframe and context that we find ourselves in but ephemeral and therefore unreal in the great arc of eternal time.
However, for most of us questions remain and need to be answered:
- How can that which was affirmed as the absolute truth in the previous nāma, be now seen as “false” or “untrue”?
- Why is this apparent contradiction introduced here?
The answer is that in this nāma, all that is manifested is seen as Asat, meaning not the real and the absolute truth, because even the manifested forms of that eternal truth are a product of Māya and therefore ephemeral and Asat. For example, even the avatāras and avatāra-puruṣas have a limited time on earth, as also Devas. This means that anything with form and anything that is manifested has a timeframe after which it ceases to exist and therefore all that is manifested is Asat – however, that does not in any way negate the fact that the material is also impregnated with the divine as the eternal is. This is the meaning and nature of “Viṣṇu” – he who pervades as well as invades everything in the universe. He who projected himself and then entered into everything and everyone he created. He is the truth that dwells both within and without – therefore he is that which is Sat as well as Asat. The material cloak may fall away but the spirit that animates it lives on, going back and coming forth in the eternal cycle of creation. In that sense the ephemeral and material world is a manifestation of the real and therefore unreal only in a limited sense – it is in this sense alone that the manifested universe is “unreal” and in no other sense.
Sri Aurobindo spoke of how “all life is yoga” and how the true aim of yoga is not an escape from life but rather a transformation that is affected in the way we live and as a result in the life around us – such that we find the center even in the midst of the tumult of Saṃsāra. This state of equipoise perfectly straddles the Asat and the Sat – the “apparent-unreal” and the “real-real“. The material is as imbued with the divine as the spiritual is. One cannot shun the former in order to catch hold of the latter. Often, people make the mistake of taking too literal a meaning of the word “unreal” and think the only way to enlightenment is in logging out of the world – this is far from the truth and the injunction to shun the world is not to give it up or to reject it. The aim rather, is to attain to a state of inner perfection that is not only reflected in the mirror of our inner self but is also manifested in the outer expression of a life that is divine – in such a state, is the Asat any different from the Sat?
This is how Śaṅkara sees it or at least how we must understand the nuance behind why Śaṅkara interprets this nāma in the way he does. Parāsara Battar the bhakta perhaps finds it difficult to even consider the point that the manifested Nārāyaṇa could be Asat, nuance or no nuance. Therefore, he qualifies the nāma by adding a suffix to it (as also the previous nama). He sees the suffix as an adjective that qualifies and thereby modifies the meaning of the nāma – that way Nārāyaṇa can never be Asat!
Sri Radhakrishna Shastri in his Tamizh commentary on the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, answers the apparent contradiction beautifully – he starts by posing this question: “How can that “Truth” which is the material cause of this world be True in the first instance but false in the second instance?” He then goes on to say that the eternal is eternally true whereas that which is true (like our lifetime, the lifetime of our world, that of the universe and so on) only for a finite period of time is untrue or not the absolute reality even if it is the manifestation of that very same absolute reality. Then again, he further adds, isn’t it true that when we view the world and all that is contained therein as the world alone, (meaning for the purpose of our own pleasure alone) then it is untrue but if we were to shift our gaze and see that everything and everyone in the world as an Aṃśa of the divine and the līlā (divine play) of the one divinity, then it becomes real.
The Kāñci Paramācārya speaks of two paths or inclinations in Sanātana Dharma Pravṛtti and Niivṛtti – both perfectly valid but leading toward two different destinations. The former is about leading a life that is aligned to Dharma and Varṇāśrama-Vyavastha and practicing the Karmānuṣṭhānas – the goal here is the attainment of Svarga which too is not permanent – one can enjoy the pleasures of Svarga but come back to earth and again into Saṃsāra in the cycle of “Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam“. After several such cycles, when the pleasures of Svarga are no longer desirable, then perhaps one may get on to the Nivṛttimārga. In a sense, the Pravṛttimārga is Asat although a necessary ingredient of spiritual growth and the Nivṛttimārga is Sat.
In Chapter-7, verse-14 of the Bhagavad-gītā, Bhagavān states quite clearly that Māya is a manifestation of his divine energy. This is as clear a confirmation as any of the meaning of this nāma – the material world is very much the manifestation of and a product of the very same divinity that pervades everything. Interestingly, he himself acknowledges that this Māyā is extremely difficult to overcome and people often get tangled in it – the more they struggle, the more they get caught-up in it. The only way to get out of it is Śaraṇāgati – the complete and unquestioned surrender to a greater power that will take us into its benevolent folds and guide us through thick and thin.
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया |
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ||7-14||[1]
daivī hyeṣhā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te
[BG:7-14]: This Māyā of mine is constituted of the three guṇas (the three modes of nature) and extremely difficult to transcend. The way out is unquestioned surrender to me and taking refuge in me
The following verse from the Chāndogyopaniṣad is also cited by Śaṅkara in the context of this nāma and specifically the portion highlighted – that all forms and all modifications are merely names and the absolute reality shines behind them.
यदग्ने रोहितंरूपं तेजसस्तद्रूपं यच्छुक्लं तदपां यत्कृष्णं तदन्नस्यापागादग्नेरग्नित्वं वाचारम्भणं विकारो नामधेयं त्रीणि रूपाणीत्येव सत्यम् ॥ ६.४.१ ॥[2]
yadagne rohitaṃrūpaṃ tejasastadrūpaṃ yacchuklaṃ tadapāṃ yatkṛṣṇaṃ tadannasyāpāgādagneragnitvaṃ vācārambhaṇaṃ vikāro nāmadheyaṃ trīṇi rūpāṇītyeva satyam || 6.4.1 ||
The red color seen in gross fire derives from the subtle fire, so also the white color, which is representative of the water element, and the dark color is from subtle earth. Thus, when observed closely that which constitutes the “fire-ness” of fire melts away and what remains is fire alone. All changes and modifications are therefore merely words, i.e., in name only…
There is nothing that is not either him or a manifestation on him – therefore, he who is Sat is also Asat.
Ramesh Venkatraman 