Nirvana Shatakam - Verse 4
न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दु:खम् न मन्त्रो न तीर्थं न वेदा: न यज्ञ
अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता चिदानन्द रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवॊऽहम्
Literal Translation
Merits and Sins both do not define me,
I am not bound by sacred mantras/hymns nor pilgrimages
Neither by scriptures or rituals
I am neither an experience, nor an object to be experienced
not even the one who experiences,
I am Shiva, Pure Consciousness, Knowledge and Bliss.
I need to do a good job explaining this one - because it is my personal favourite of all the six verses. I personally relate to it because my philosophy about religion, spirituality and the Divine Supreme is captured in this one verse. I do not identify with sins and merits, and my faith does not depend on the reading of scriptures or visiting holy places, and I want to attain the state of mind and soul that the second line of the verse embodies.
Adi Shankracharya continues to expound on the non-qualities of the Atman. The concept of merit (punyam) and sins (paapam) are limited to beings that are not yet enlightened - only they are bound by the limits of karma and have to suffer the consequences of their good and bad actions. Similarly, once enlightened you are no longer aware of the differences between pain and sorrow - because the Atman exists in pure bliss.
In the Hindu culture, one needs to study the holy scriptures (vedas), or chant holy hymns (mantras) or undertake certain pilgrimages (tirtha) or perform fire rituals (yagna) - all of these to attain spiritual progress and eventually enlightenment or otherwise he/she or a jiva-atman will be forever stuck in the cycle of birth and rebirth. But the enlightened soul, has crossed these stages and these barriers and exists Free of all bondages that tie one to rituals, scriptures, holy chants and pilgrimages and hence no longer needs to do any of the above.
The next verse -
I am neither an experience, nor an object to be experienced not even the one who experiences
can be translated in many different ways. The word in the verse itself "bhojanam" is food, which is also a term for an experience or an enjoyment of the material world or an object. The second word is "bhojyam" which is the interaction between the one enjoying the object and the enjoyer (in this case jiva-atman). And the third word "bhokta" is the one who enjoys, the subject. All the gross manifested objects in the Universe are enjoyed or experienced create a sense of duality - that of the object and the subject. Adi Shankracharya here is trying to say, that this duality between object and subject and their ongoing interactionis limited to unrealised individuals - and is far removed from the state of Atman, which is non-dual.
Adi Shankracharya continues to expound on the non-qualities of the Atman. The concept of merit (punyam) and sins (paapam) are limited to beings that are not yet enlightened - only they are bound by the limits of karma and have to suffer the consequences of their good and bad actions. Similarly, once enlightened you are no longer aware of the differences between pain and sorrow - because the Atman exists in pure bliss.
In the Hindu culture, one needs to study the holy scriptures (vedas), or chant holy hymns (mantras) or undertake certain pilgrimages (tirtha) or perform fire rituals (yagna) - all of these to attain spiritual progress and eventually enlightenment or otherwise he/she or a jiva-atman will be forever stuck in the cycle of birth and rebirth. But the enlightened soul, has crossed these stages and these barriers and exists Free of all bondages that tie one to rituals, scriptures, holy chants and pilgrimages and hence no longer needs to do any of the above.
The next verse -
I am neither an experience, nor an object to be experienced not even the one who experiences
can be translated in many different ways. The word in the verse itself "bhojanam" is food, which is also a term for an experience or an enjoyment of the material world or an object. The second word is "bhojyam" which is the interaction between the one enjoying the object and the enjoyer (in this case jiva-atman). And the third word "bhokta" is the one who enjoys, the subject. All the gross manifested objects in the Universe are enjoyed or experienced create a sense of duality - that of the object and the subject. Adi Shankracharya here is trying to say, that this duality between object and subject and their ongoing interactionis limited to unrealised individuals - and is far removed from the state of Atman, which is non-dual.
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