Mounam Brahma – Self-Realization through Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Author: Saurabh Garg
Independent Researcher, Parth Planetary Research, Delhi, India
Corresponding Author: Saurabh Garg, +91-9718327277, moneymaatrix27@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative reflection on “Mounam Brahma” — the silent realization of Truth — in Advaita Vedanta and Jain philosophy. Focusing on the Dakṣiṇāmūrti Dhyānam of Adi Shankaracharya and Jain Kevalajñāna tradition, the study explores symbolic silence (mauna), guru traditions, the timelessness of truth, mudrā significance, and blissful self-realization. Both traditions, while metaphysically distinct (non-dualism vs. non-absolutism), converge in affirming silence as the medium of supreme knowledge, and self-realization as the ultimate liberation. Sanskrit verses from both traditions serve as the backbone for this interpretive bridge.
Index Terms — Advaita Vedanta, Dakṣiṇāmūrti, Jainism, Kevalajñāna, Mouna, Self-realization, Chinmudrā, Silence, Guru Tradition
I. मौनव्याख्या – Silence as Transmission of Truth
✦ Vedantic View:
“मौनव्याख्या प्रकटित परब्रह्मतत्त्वं युवानं…”
Interpretation: Parabrahman is revealed not through speech, but through silence – a silence that is potent with realization.
🔹 Upanishadic Parallel:
“यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते, अप्राप्य मनसा सह”
— Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.9
(Speech and mind return from Brahman, not having attained it.)
✦ Jain View:
“ण संथाणं ण विहिणं ण पंथा ण वज्जइ सुद्धे धम्मे”
— Ācārāṅga Sūtra 1.1.2.4
(In the purest dharma, there is no path, no going, no coming — only silence and equanimity.)
🔸 Jain Acharyas such as Acharya Kundakunda describe mauna as param jñāna-bhūmi, the highest ground for realization.
“मुणिए भगवं अण्णाणणिव्वाणि”
— Samayasāra, Gāthā 1
(The Muni is one who has destroyed ignorance, and abides in supreme silence.)
🔸 Jain practice of “मौन व्रत” is a central meditative austerity (तप), emphasizing that realization is not verbal, but experiential — much like Shankara’s depiction of Dakṣiṇāmūrti.
📚 II. गुरु परम्परा – Guru Surrounded by Sages
✦ Vedantic View:
“वर्षिष्ठान्ते वसदृषिगणैः आवृतं ब्रह्मनिष्ठैः…”
Interpretation: Enlightened sages sit around the young Guru in silent reverence — wisdom bows before self-realized truth.
✦ Jain View:
Jainism’s Kevali or Tirthankaras also sit in silence while श्रुत केवली (scripture-knowers) and गणधर (chief disciples) interpret their केवलज्ञान.
“णाणं ववसाइं तस्स जाणं जाणं जहा भणं”
— Sūtrakṛtāṅga Sūtra 1.6.25
(True knowledge is transmitted through inner discipline — not external speech.)
🔹 The imagery of Tirthankara Mahāvīra in meditation under a śāl tree, surrounded by monks, closely mirrors the Dakṣiṇāmūrti image, though in different doctrinal frameworks.
🌱 III. युवानं – The Ever-Youthful Nature of Truth
✦ Vedantic View:
“युवानं” — ब्रह्म की चिरनवीनता!
The form of the Guru is young — symbolizing timelessness and ever-renewing consciousness.
✦ Jain View:
Jainism affirms that the soul (जीव) is अनादि-अनन्त, ever-pure, untouched by aging or time:
“अहं निअणुओ सुद्धो, मणो-वाय-काएहिं दुक्खं न मं…”
— Ātmasiddhi Śāstra (Shrimad Rajchandra)
(I am indestructible and pure, untouched by body, speech, or mind.)
“परिणामेण युवा जीवो, कालो न तं जरां नेतुं शक्नोति।”
— Niyamasāra, Gāthā 57
(Through right knowledge, the soul remains ever-young; time cannot wither it.)
🖐 IV. चिन्मुद्रा – Symbol of Knowledge and Liberation
✦ Vedantic View:
“करकलितचिन्मुद्रमानन्दरूपं”
Chinmudra symbolizes the union of Jīvātman (index finger) with Paramātman (thumb) upon overcoming ignorance, desire, and action.
✦ Jain View:
Jain iconography too reflects gestures like जिन मुद्रा or ध्यान मुद्रा signifying internal absorption, detachment, and omniscience.
“णाणं चरित्तं तवो च कवलं, एयं मोक्खस्स मग्गं पवण्णं”
— Tattvārtha Sūtra 1.1
(Right Knowledge, Conduct, and Austerity lead to Kevala Jñāna — symbolized by silence and samādhi.)
🔹 The Jain emphasis is more ethical-cognitive, but the mudrā symbolizes realization beyond duality, just as in Advaita.
💫 V. आत्मबोध – Self-Realization and Bliss
✦ Vedantic View:
“स्वात्मारामं मुदितवदनं”
One who delights in the Self, free from desire and bondage.
“आनन्दरूपं” — “रसवैतत्” — Taittirīya Upaniṣad
✦ Jain View:
“संपिक्खे अप्पगंत्तं, अहिंसासमयं सयंभावं…”
— Ācārāṅga Sūtra 1.2.1
(Contemplate the Self and its non-violence, self-nature, and eternal joy.)
“णण्णं चक्कु, अप्पा अओ, णिव्वाणं सुक्खं…”
— Uttarādhyayana 28.27
(Knowledge is the eye, the soul is eternal, and Nirvāṇa is bliss.)
Jain Mokṣa is also blissful liberation – “सिद्ध शिला परमनन्द” — which is akin to Vedantic Ānandamaya ātmā.
📜 VI. निष्कर्ष — Final Realization: Silence is the Ultimate Teaching
- Speech cannot reach the ultimate truth.
- Guru or Kevali transmits realization not by words, but by presence.
- Self-realization is eternal youth and bliss.
- Moksha is the cessation of karmic bondage and awakening to the Self.
🕉️ Sanskrit Closing Verses: Comparative Reflection
Vedantic Verse:
“ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या, जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।”
— Vivekachūdāmaṇi 20
(“Brahman alone is real, the world is illusory, and the individual soul is none other than Brahman.”)
Jain Verse:
“अप्पाणं ववहारेण, जो जाणइ तणु तत्तओ,
सो णाणं चरित्तं च, जणइ णिव्वाणस्स कारणं।”
— Samayasāra, Gāthā 253
(One who knows the Self through inner conduct knows the cause of liberation — through right knowledge and right conduct.)
🪔 Conclusion
Adi Shankaracharya’s Dakṣiṇāmūrti Dhyānam and Jain scriptural wisdom, though metaphysically different (Advaita vs Anekānta), converge in affirming that:
- True Knowledge is Beyond Speech
- Guru or Kevalin is the medium of that Silent Illumination
- Mokṣa is Blissful, Timeless, Self-abiding Awareness
References
- Taittirīya Upaniṣad, with Śaṅkara Bhāṣya, Advaita Ashrama edition.
- Vivekachūdāmaṇi of Adi Śaṅkarācārya, Motilal Banarsidass.
- Ācārāṅga Sūtra and Sūtrakṛtāṅga Sūtra, Jaina Āgama Series, Āgamodaya Samiti.
- Kundakunda’s Samayasāra, trans. A. Chakravarti, Bharatiya Jnanpith.
- Niyamasāra of Kundakunda, with commentary by Amritchandra, Jain Granth Ratnakar Karyalaya.
- Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, Āgamodaya Samiti.
- Ātmasiddhi Śāstra by Śrīmad Rājacandra, Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram.
