chp 16 intro
A marvelous sun has risen, who dispels the illusory form of the world and makes the lotus in the form of non-dualism blossom;
I bow to him. This sun, in the form of My Master, dispels the dark night of ignorance, puts out the stars in the form of knowledge and ignorance and shows to the enlightened men the auspicious day of Self-realisation.
When this sun rises, he gives the eye of wisdom and the birds in the form of beings leave their nests in the form of body-consciousness.
With the rise of this sun, the bee in the form of the subtle body full of desires, is released from its confinement. This lamp of the world reunites the pair of chakravaka birds (the brahmany geese) in the form of the intellect and knowledge and makes them happy - the chakravaka birds who had been trapped in the darkness of ignorance, as a result of their being caught in the difficult situation of the incomprehensible words of the scriptures and were lamenting their separation on the two banks of distinction (1-5).
When knowledge dawns, the time stolen by the thief in the form of distinction, comes to an end and the wayfarers in the path of Yoga, walk along the way, leading to Self-realisation.
With the rays of this sun, in the form of discrimination, the sunstone in the form of knowledge, becomes ignited and burns the forests in the form of worldly affairs. When the rays of this sun fall on the sandy plains of the self, the latter becomes flooded with the mirage, in the form of the great miraculous powers (mahasiddhis). When this sun reaches the zenith of Self-realisation in the noon of Brahmic state, then the shadow cast by delusive knowledge in the form ‘I am the body’, vanishes (it remains under his feet) (6-10).
When in this state, the dark night in the form of Maya ends, then who would remember the dream of world appearance and slumber, in the form of false knowledge?
When the bliss becomes plentiful in the city, in the form of non-dualism, dealings in the form of worldly happiness become slack and what is more, in the light of this sun come the bright days, in the form of liberation. When this king of the sky, in the form of the Self rises, he does away with the rising and setting, along with the directions and destroying knowledge along with ignorance, he displays the knowledge of the Self, which had been covered by them so long. In short, he creates this unique dawn (11-15). Who can see this sun of knowledge, who is beyond day and night and who is a globe of self-illumination without the aid of things that illuminate?
Fearlesness
Now that virtue which is foremost in this Divine endowment, is known as fearlessness. Just as a person, who does not leap into a great flood, is not afraid of being drowned, or one who follows the prescribed diet, does not feel concern about being ill, so he who has no egoistic feeling, while performing actions or not performing them, has no fear of worldly existence (66-70).
Fearlesness
Now that virtue which is foremost in this Divine endowment, is known as fearlessness. Just as a person, who does not leap into a great flood, is not afraid of being drowned, or one who follows the prescribed diet, does not feel concern about being ill, so he who has no egoistic feeling, while performing actions or not performing them, has no fear of worldly existence (66-70).
When his mind is filled with the notion of non-dualism, he knows that the whole world is pervaded by Brahman and discards fear.
Just as when the water starts to dissolve salt, the salt itself becomes fluid, so the non-dual state destroys fear.
O Arjuna, this is the characteristic of what is known as fearlessness and it is followed by true knowledge
Purity of mind
Now, that which goes by the name of purification of the mind, should be known by the following signs.
Purity of mind
Now, that which goes by the name of purification of the mind, should be known by the following signs.
Just as the ashes do not burn nor are extinguished, or as the moon has the subtlest phase when the new moon night is gone, but the first day of the lunar month is yet to dawn (71-75) or the river Ganga is in its natural state, when its flood of the rainy season has subdued but before the summer has begun,
so the intellect, after discarding desires and doubts, and dropping the burden of rajas and tamas qualities, develops a liking for meditation on the Self and so it is not disturbed the least,
if the senses present to it desirable and undesirable sense-objects.
Just as the mind of a chaste wife, pining for her husband who has gone to a distant place, is not deflected by any consideration of loss or gain, so the intellect becomes fond of the Self and solely devoted to it.
This state is known as the purity of the inward disposition, so said Lord Krishna,
Then for attaining this Self, one has to make one’s mind steady on either knowledge or Yoga and discard all other worldly ideas.
or the goddess Lakshmi, after coming out of the churning of the Milky Sea, should wed only Lord Vishnu, so he should engage himself in the Yoga of knowledge, being free from doubts. This is the third characteristic of knowledge, so said Lord
Krishna.
Self restraint
Now I shall tell you, the characteristics of sense-restraint.
Like a warrior who kills his enemy with his sword, the yogi does not allow the senses to combine against him,
but instead, he brings about their separation.
He prevents sense-objects from storming his mind, through the doors of the senses and so by harnessing the senses through regular practice, brings them under the sway of self-restraint (86-90).
He sets fire of non-attachment to the ten senses, so that their natural propensity to activity, deserts the mind.
He observes many vows more rigorous than breath-control, without a moment’s pause.
This is the sign of what is known as dama or restraint of the senses.
Austerity
Now, I shall tell you the meaning of austerity (101-105). The bitter colocynth withers after bearing fruit, the incense burns itself in order to give fragrance to others, the gold sheds its weight by burning to become pure, or the moon wanes in the dark fortnight of the lunar month to nourish medicinal plants. So, O Arjuna, to chasten one’s life, senses and body is called austerity.
Austerity
Now, I shall tell you the meaning of austerity (101-105). The bitter colocynth withers after bearing fruit, the incense burns itself in order to give fragrance to others, the gold sheds its weight by burning to become pure, or the moon wanes in the dark fortnight of the lunar month to nourish medicinal plants. So, O Arjuna, to chasten one’s life, senses and body is called austerity.
The other kinds of austerities should be properly scrutinised before accepting them. Just as the royal swan puts his beak in milk mixed with water and separates the milk, so he keeps awake in his mind discrimination and separates the Self from the body, with which it is in conjunction (106-110).
When a person cogitates on the Self, his intellect contracts itself (ie. withdraws itself from mundane things) and becomes introspective, in the same way, as both sleep and dream cease after one wakes up, O Arjuna,
that by which one turns to the thought of the Self, that is the true nature of austerity.
Just as the mother’s milk is good for the infant or consciousness abides equally in all beings, so polite behaviour towards all beings is known as ‘uprightness’
Tyaga
Now just as a rock, sprinkled with water, does not produce sprouts, or butter cannot be secured by churning whey (121-125) or the slough of a cobra does not raise its hood when trampled upon, or the sky does not grow flowers in the spring, or even the sight of the nymph Rambha does not excite passion in the mind of sage Shuka, or ghee poured on ashes cannot kindle fire or prostrating before god Brahma does not make a dead person rise again, so when the utterance of words, which makes even an innocent child red with anger, does not produce wrath in him, that is the state of ‘absence of anger’, so said Lord Krishna to Arjuna (126130).
that by which one turns to the thought of the Self, that is the true nature of austerity.
Just as the mother’s milk is good for the infant or consciousness abides equally in all beings, so polite behaviour towards all beings is known as ‘uprightness’
Tyaga
Now just as a rock, sprinkled with water, does not produce sprouts, or butter cannot be secured by churning whey (121-125) or the slough of a cobra does not raise its hood when trampled upon, or the sky does not grow flowers in the spring, or even the sight of the nymph Rambha does not excite passion in the mind of sage Shuka, or ghee poured on ashes cannot kindle fire or prostrating before god Brahma does not make a dead person rise again, so when the utterance of words, which makes even an innocent child red with anger, does not produce wrath in him, that is the state of ‘absence of anger’, so said Lord Krishna to Arjuna (126130).
Now, if one abandons the clay, one abandons the earthen pot; if one abandons the yarn, one abandons the cloth and if one abandons the seed, one abandons the tree. So if one abandons the wall, sleep, water, rainy season and riches, one automatically abandons the painting (on the wall), the dream, ripples, clouds and sensuous enjoyments respectively.
In the same way, enlightened persons relinquish the worldly affairs by abandoning the body-consciousness.
This is known as tyaga, relinquishment (of fruit of action), so said Lord Krishna, the enjoyer of sacrifice.
Tranquility
Tranquility is that state, in which the knowable object is fully known, and both the knower and the knowledge cease to exist. When at the time of the deluge, the waters flood the entire universe and pervade it through and through everywhere, then all distinctive terms such as the source, current, joining the sea etc. become obliterated and no one is even aware that the whole world is covered with water; in the same way when the knower becomes one with the knowable object, ‘the state of knowing’ also ceases to exist and whatever remains, is the true nature of tranquility (136-140).
In the same way, to those who have become addicted to despicable deeds, owing to ignorance, heedlessness or as a result of their past actions (141-145), he imparts his goodness and makes them forget the misery which afflicts them. He purges the deficiencies of those who come to him, by his glance and then looks at them with favour
Non-covetousness
In the same way, even if the pleasures of this and the next world come to him, he does not feel like enjoying them. In short, that state, in which he does not entertain any desire for sensuous pleasures, is known as non-covetousness.
Absence of fickleness
A chaste wife (with her husband living) feels abashed when she is called a widow, or when a handsome fellow suffering from leprosy feels as if he is in the throes of death or a respectable person feels the same, when he is accused of a shameful act. In the same way, he feels ashamed to live like a corpse, in the body three and half cubit long, to go through birth and death again and again or to pass his time in a womb, which is a mould of fat filled with blood and urine (176-180).
Tranquility
Tranquility is that state, in which the knowable object is fully known, and both the knower and the knowledge cease to exist. When at the time of the deluge, the waters flood the entire universe and pervade it through and through everywhere, then all distinctive terms such as the source, current, joining the sea etc. become obliterated and no one is even aware that the whole world is covered with water; in the same way when the knower becomes one with the knowable object, ‘the state of knowing’ also ceases to exist and whatever remains, is the true nature of tranquility (136-140).
In the same way, to those who have become addicted to despicable deeds, owing to ignorance, heedlessness or as a result of their past actions (141-145), he imparts his goodness and makes them forget the misery which afflicts them. He purges the deficiencies of those who come to him, by his glance and then looks at them with favour
Non-covetousness
In the same way, even if the pleasures of this and the next world come to him, he does not feel like enjoying them. In short, that state, in which he does not entertain any desire for sensuous pleasures, is known as non-covetousness.
Absence of fickleness
A chaste wife (with her husband living) feels abashed when she is called a widow, or when a handsome fellow suffering from leprosy feels as if he is in the throes of death or a respectable person feels the same, when he is accused of a shameful act. In the same way, he feels ashamed to live like a corpse, in the body three and half cubit long, to go through birth and death again and again or to pass his time in a womb, which is a mould of fat filled with blood and urine (176-180).
In short, he does not think anything more disgraceful than to get into such a body and assume name and form. The nausea which a sinless person feels for such a loathsome body is known as humility, but a shameless person derives great pleasure in it. Just as the movement of a puppet comes to a stop with the snapping of the string (in the hand of the puppeteer), so his organs of action cease their activity, when he practises breath-control. Just as the rays of the sun cease after sunset, so his organs of sense cease to function with self-control. In this way, all the ten senses become feeble and this is known as ‘absence of fickleness’ (181-185).
Spiritual Vigour
When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength.
There is nothing so dreadful than immolation, but a chaste wife does not hesitate to enter the pyre of her dead husband.
In the same way, a person longing to attain his Lord, the Self, rejects sensuous pleasures like poison and treads the difficult path leading to the formless Brahman.
In this journey, he is not obstructed by precepts or prohibitions nor is he lured by the miraculous powers.
In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour.
Spiritual Vigour
When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength.
There is nothing so dreadful than immolation, but a chaste wife does not hesitate to enter the pyre of her dead husband.
In the same way, a person longing to attain his Lord, the Self, rejects sensuous pleasures like poison and treads the difficult path leading to the formless Brahman.
In this journey, he is not obstructed by precepts or prohibitions nor is he lured by the miraculous powers.
In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour.
Forebearance
Now as the body is not aware of the numerous hairs on it, so one is not proud that he is the best among those blessed with patience. This absence of pride is known as forbearance.
Fortitude
When the senses have a strong appetite for sensuous pleasures, or a dormant disease raises its head, or one has to suffer separation from the dear and near ones and association with undesirable ones, when a person is flooded with such calamities, he stands firm and faces it squarely, like sage Agastya.
Just as a gentle breeze disperses a heavy column of smoke in the sky, so he digests all the three classes of corporeal, physical and supernatural afflictions, if they fall to his lot (191-195).
To sustain courage and stand steadfast on occasions of extreme perturbation of the mind, is what is known as fortitude.
Purity
When a gold pot is cleaned and filled with water of the Ganga, it becomes pure. Purity is like that.
Purity
When a gold pot is cleaned and filled with water of the Ganga, it becomes pure. Purity is like that.
Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity.
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4. Hypocrisy, arrogance and conceit, wrath as also harshness and ignorance - these, O Partha, belong to one born to the demoniacal endowment.
Wrath
In the same way, when he sees the learning, luxurious living and good fortune of others, he becomes flush with anger. Know that this is wrath
Harshness
Now hear about harshness - he whose mind is like the hole of a serpent, whose sight is as fiery as a sharp-pointed arrow, whose speech is like the shower of live coals, whose actions are like a sharp saw and whose conduct is painful to others, is vile among men and harshness incarnate.
Ignorance
Now I shall tell you the characteristics of ignorance (241-245). Just as a rock does not feel cold or hot or a person blind from birth does not know day from night or the fire does not know what it should consume and what not, or the philosopher’s stone does not distinguish between iron and gold or a ladle does not know the taste of juices in which it is dipped or the wind does not know the difference between a highway and a by-path, so he is blind to good and bad actions. Just as a child puts anything in its mouth, without knowing whether it is good or bad (246-250), he consumes the hotch potch of merit and sin without knowing whether it is bitter or sweet. There is no doubt that this state of mind, is ignorance.
5. The Divine endowment is known to lead to release, and the demoniacal to bondage
10. Resorting to insatiable passion, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, they act with impure vows holding false views through delusion.
21 Triple gate to hell
self-passion, anger and greed;
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16/4 YOU
4. Hypocrisy, arrogance and conceit, wrath as also harshness and ignorance - these, O Partha, belong to one born to the demoniacal endowment.
Wrath
In the same way, when he sees the learning, luxurious living and good fortune of others, he becomes flush with anger. Know that this is wrath
Harshness
Now hear about harshness - he whose mind is like the hole of a serpent, whose sight is as fiery as a sharp-pointed arrow, whose speech is like the shower of live coals, whose actions are like a sharp saw and whose conduct is painful to others, is vile among men and harshness incarnate.
Ignorance
Now I shall tell you the characteristics of ignorance (241-245). Just as a rock does not feel cold or hot or a person blind from birth does not know day from night or the fire does not know what it should consume and what not, or the philosopher’s stone does not distinguish between iron and gold or a ladle does not know the taste of juices in which it is dipped or the wind does not know the difference between a highway and a by-path, so he is blind to good and bad actions. Just as a child puts anything in its mouth, without knowing whether it is good or bad (246-250), he consumes the hotch potch of merit and sin without knowing whether it is bitter or sweet. There is no doubt that this state of mind, is ignorance.
5. The Divine endowment is known to lead to release, and the demoniacal to bondage
10. Resorting to insatiable passion, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, they act with impure vows holding false views through delusion.
21 Triple gate to hell
self-passion, anger and greed;
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16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of the heart are called austerities of the mind.
Like the lake without waves, the sky without clouds, or the garden of sandalwood trees without serpents (221-225) or the full moon without its phases, or the king without anxiety or the Milky Sea without the Mandara mountain, his mind remains steady in the Supreme Self, free from entanglements.
He realises his own Self,
like light without heat,
food without fat
or the sky without space.
Just as the benumbed limbs are not afflicted by cold, so he is rid of his fickle nature.
Then his mind becomes clear and full of love like the unchanging and spotless moon’s disc (226-230).
In this state, he does not feel the hardship of dispassion, his mind becomes free from desire and fear, and there remains only the warmth of Self-knowledge.
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austerity of the mind
The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence.
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austerity of the mind
The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence.
Just as the salt, when dropped in water, which is its original state, becomes merged in it, so the mind, having realised the Self, loses its essential nature.
How then could emotions and other tendencies arise in such a mind?
How could his mind rush along the road of the senses and reach the town of sense-objects?
Then the tendencies of the mind become pure, in the way the palm of a person is free from hair (231-235).
O Arjuna, when the mind reaches this state, it is said to possess the austerity of the mind.
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I have also explained to you, the different applications of the three-syllabic name, when taken singly (406-410).
Have you now realised the secret of the name of Brahman?
If this faith increases in your mind, you will get rid of the bonds of birth and death.
If you perform action by the application of this Sat syllable in the best way possible, the action will become perfect according to the injunctions of the Vedas.
18 intro
Renunciation and relinquishment are the two paths, which are free from the fear of being affected by actions and which conduce to knowledge. They are incantations of invocation to knowledge, or are the fields of growing knowledge, or are the very ropes for hauling up knowledge.
When an alloyed gold is burnt in fire, its alloy gets burnt and it becomes pure gold; such is the case with these actions. Because of them, the mental defects are destroyed, the spiritual status of the doer improves and he attains to a perfect state
In this way, those who relinquish the fruits of all obligatory actions and renounce the optional actions, they become fit for the knowledge of the Self (126-130).
18 intro
Renunciation and relinquishment are the two paths, which are free from the fear of being affected by actions and which conduce to knowledge. They are incantations of invocation to knowledge, or are the fields of growing knowledge, or are the very ropes for hauling up knowledge.
When an alloyed gold is burnt in fire, its alloy gets burnt and it becomes pure gold; such is the case with these actions. Because of them, the mental defects are destroyed, the spiritual status of the doer improves and he attains to a perfect state
In this way, those who relinquish the fruits of all obligatory actions and renounce the optional actions, they become fit for the knowledge of the Self (126-130).
If any try to abandon the actions somehow, they will not be able to do so, but will get more and more involved in actions.
Others declare that actions such as sacrifice ought to be performed; otherwise there is no other means for the purification of the mind.
Others declare that actions such as sacrifice ought to be performed; otherwise there is no other means for the purification of the mind.
If one wishes to bring about early purification of the mind, one should not be sluggish in performing actions. If one wishes to purify gold, one should not neglect to burn it, in the crucible. If one wishes to see his face in a copper mirror, he should not neglect to keep ashes ready to polish it (136-140). If one wishes to get his clothes washed, he should not call the laundry-trough unclean. In the same way, even if actions cause trouble, one should not abandon them.
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A cowherd looks after the cows of a village, without the desire of their milk, so one should be disinterested in the reward of his actions. A person who performs action in this way, attains to the knowledge of the Self (171-175).
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A cowherd looks after the cows of a village, without the desire of their milk, so one should be disinterested in the reward of his actions. A person who performs action in this way, attains to the knowledge of the Self (171-175).
My best message to all is, that they should perform actions without expectation of a reward and attachment to the body. He who is dead tired of the bonds of existence and is anxious for his deliverance, should not transgress this command of Mine.
7. Now to renounce an obligatory function is not proper; its abandonment through delusion is declared to be derived from tamas quality.
If a person trips up in the dark, he angrily pierces his nails in his own eyes, in the same way a person abandons all actions as they lead to bondage. I call this abandonment, as of tamas quality. It is like cutting one’s own head angrily, on account of a shooting headache.
7. Now to renounce an obligatory function is not proper; its abandonment through delusion is declared to be derived from tamas quality.
If a person trips up in the dark, he angrily pierces his nails in his own eyes, in the same way a person abandons all actions as they lead to bondage. I call this abandonment, as of tamas quality. It is like cutting one’s own head angrily, on account of a shooting headache.
O Arjuna, if the road is rough, one must walk over it anyhow.
Does anyone cut off the feet, on the ground that the road is bad (176-180)?
If hot food is served to a hungry person and he kicks it away, because it is hot, he will have to go without food.
A tamas-dominated person does not know, because of delusion, the trick as to how to destroy the bondage of actions through actions. He, therefore, abandons actions, which fall to his lot, according to his natural disposition. Do not allow such a tamas-dominated person, even to touch you.
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Just as with the touch of the philosopher’s stone, both the rust and its black colour disappear, so with the relinquishment of the fruit of action, both rajas and tamas qualities are destroyed. Then with the purification of his sattva, he becomes enlightened in regard to the true nature of the Self. Just as the mirage vanishes as soon as the evening sets in (206-210), the deceptive appearance of the universe like that of the sky (which looks blue without being so) vanishes.
He, therefore, does not entertain a sense of duality between the action done and its doer. Then it is known as a sattvic tyaga
Just as the consumption of seeds puts a stop to further agricultural operation, so the relinquishment of the fruit of action, stops the future consequences of one’s action.
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Just as with the touch of the philosopher’s stone, both the rust and its black colour disappear, so with the relinquishment of the fruit of action, both rajas and tamas qualities are destroyed. Then with the purification of his sattva, he becomes enlightened in regard to the true nature of the Self. Just as the mirage vanishes as soon as the evening sets in (206-210), the deceptive appearance of the universe like that of the sky (which looks blue without being so) vanishes.
He, therefore, does not entertain a sense of duality between the action done and its doer. Then it is known as a sattvic tyaga
Just as the consumption of seeds puts a stop to further agricultural operation, so the relinquishment of the fruit of action, stops the future consequences of one’s action.
Then the knowledge of Self dawns upon one, as a result of the purification of his mind and the ambrosial shower of the Guru’s grace, and it destroys the misery arising from the notion of duality.
The three kinds of fruit which gives rise to the world appearance is destroyed and in this condition, the duality between the experience and the experiencer ceases (256-260).
O greatest among warriors, those who have been able to relinquish action in this way through knowledge, become free from the sufferings of birth and death.
And when their vision, through such relinquishment, reaches the Self, how can the actions appear different to them from the Self?
When the wall collapses, the paintings on it also become reduced to dust. Will the darkness of the night outlast the rising of the sun? How can a shadow exist without a figure? If there is no mirror, where will the face get reflected? How can one dream after the sleep is over and will not all the talk whether the dream is true or false become redundant (261-265)? With the relinquishment of the fruit of actions, ignorance ceases and then who can receive or dispense the fruits of actions? Then all talk about actions and their fruits ceases, in the case of a relinquisher.
But so long as ignorance exists in the mind, so long as the soul undertakes good or bad actions
with the egoistic feeling that he is the doer, and so long as this vision continues to see distinctions among living beings, the notion of duality, O intelligent Arjuna, exists between the Self and the action.
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I say that the body is the first cause of action (311-315). It is called a seat, because the experiencer resides here, along with the objects of experience. All the ten sense-organs toil day and night and by reason of the prakriti present pleasure and pain for the experience of the purusha; there is no other place except the body, where he can experience them. Therefore, the body is called the seat of experience. This is the home of the twenty-four elements. and the tangle of bondage and release is unraveled here. The body gives support to the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep, and so it has received the name of a body (316-320).
If we continue to meditate over an emancipated person, we attain liberation.
Just as one sees a missing thing in the lamp-light, or one sees one’s reflection in a clean mirror or the salt is dissolved when put in water, or why say more, as a reflection turns back to see the reflecting body merged in that body, in the same way by thinking of saints, one discovers one’s Self.
O wise Arjuna, he who was experiencing for long the worldly happenings in a dream of ignorance heard the great proposition (mahavakya) ‘tat tvam asi’, ‘you are that’. He was awakened from his dream of the world and deep slumber of ignorance into a blissful state by the grace of the Guru, who woke him up by placing his hand over his head and patting it (401-405). Just as with the moonbeams the mirage disappears or with the departure of childhood, the goblin does not remain an object of fear, or when the firewood is burnt it cannot be used as firewood, or a dream disappears as soon as one wakes up, so his mind does not entertain the notions of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
If the sun enters a cave in search of darkness, he can never see it there, so he who has realised the Self sees no distinction between the object seen and the seer (406-410).
Just as a thing which catches fire becomes fire, obliterating any distinction between one who burns and one who is burnt, so when the notion of the action as separate from the Self and of the attribution of its agency to the Self disappears, then what remains is the pristine state of the Self
Will the Lord of this state ever think that he is the body? Will the flood of deluge identify itself with a brook? In the same way, how can one who has realised the Self identify himself with the body?
Can the latent fire once released from the fire-wood re-enter it and
remain latent in it again?
But so long as ignorance exists in the mind, so long as the soul undertakes good or bad actions
with the egoistic feeling that he is the doer, and so long as this vision continues to see distinctions among living beings, the notion of duality, O intelligent Arjuna, exists between the Self and the action.
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I say that the body is the first cause of action (311-315). It is called a seat, because the experiencer resides here, along with the objects of experience. All the ten sense-organs toil day and night and by reason of the prakriti present pleasure and pain for the experience of the purusha; there is no other place except the body, where he can experience them. Therefore, the body is called the seat of experience. This is the home of the twenty-four elements. and the tangle of bondage and release is unraveled here. The body gives support to the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep, and so it has received the name of a body (316-320).
If we continue to meditate over an emancipated person, we attain liberation.
Just as one sees a missing thing in the lamp-light, or one sees one’s reflection in a clean mirror or the salt is dissolved when put in water, or why say more, as a reflection turns back to see the reflecting body merged in that body, in the same way by thinking of saints, one discovers one’s Self.
O wise Arjuna, he who was experiencing for long the worldly happenings in a dream of ignorance heard the great proposition (mahavakya) ‘tat tvam asi’, ‘you are that’. He was awakened from his dream of the world and deep slumber of ignorance into a blissful state by the grace of the Guru, who woke him up by placing his hand over his head and patting it (401-405). Just as with the moonbeams the mirage disappears or with the departure of childhood, the goblin does not remain an object of fear, or when the firewood is burnt it cannot be used as firewood, or a dream disappears as soon as one wakes up, so his mind does not entertain the notions of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
If the sun enters a cave in search of darkness, he can never see it there, so he who has realised the Self sees no distinction between the object seen and the seer (406-410).
Just as a thing which catches fire becomes fire, obliterating any distinction between one who burns and one who is burnt, so when the notion of the action as separate from the Self and of the attribution of its agency to the Self disappears, then what remains is the pristine state of the Self
Will the Lord of this state ever think that he is the body? Will the flood of deluge identify itself with a brook? In the same way, how can one who has realised the Self identify himself with the body?
Can the latent fire once released from the fire-wood re-enter it and
remain latent in it again?
How can the sun who has come out of the womb of night ever cognize the night? In the same way, how can a person, in whom the knowable object and the knower have become one, entertain the egoistic feeling that he is the body? As the sky pervades wherever one goes, the Self also pervades all. So whatever work one does is his own Self. In what way then can he think himself to be the agent of any action (416-420)?
Just as there is no space apart from the sky, or the sea has no flow apart from it or the Pole star has no moon, similar is the state of the person (who has realised the Self).
The whole world sees with reverence the self-immolation of a sati (on the pyre of her deceased husband) while she herself is unconscious of the fire, her own person and the spectators (436-440).
Just as there is no space apart from the sky, or the sea has no flow apart from it or the Pole star has no moon, similar is the state of the person (who has realised the Self).
The whole world sees with reverence the self-immolation of a sati (on the pyre of her deceased husband) while she herself is unconscious of the fire, her own person and the spectators (436-440).
In the same way, he who is awakened to his real Self, and whose notion of being a seer has vanished along with the object to be seen, does not know what his senses are doing.
If persons standing on the shore of the sea see a big wave swallowing a small one, yet from the standpoint of water, who has swallowed what? In the same way, a person who has attained perfection does not see anyone distinct from him, whom he can kill.
Can the sun say that it will dispel the darkness after seeing it? So in the case of an enlightened person who has no sense of duality, there remains nothing different from him which he can destroy.
But the picture of false knowledge is painted on the canvas of ignorance, as a result of the famous three-fold cause (456-460). For this triad of knower, knowledge and the object of knowledge is the seed of and without doubt, the impulse to action.
After hearing the description of the nymph Urvashi, people put up ladders in the form of sacrifices to the heavens. O Arjuna, a blue pigeon soaring in the sky, swoops down at the very sight of a she-pigeon or the peacock whirls in the sky, on hearing peels of thunder. In the same way, the knower rushes to the objects of knowledge.
Just as one sees one’s reflection in the mirror, so one who has attained the sattvic knowledge perceives the knowable, in the form of one’s knowledge.
By bringing harmony into the senses and his natural inclinations, he binds his feet with fetters of self-restraint and does not allow his mind to turn to the fruit of action. As long as he lives, he takes care to keep up fortitude of the best kind, in order to achieve self-restraint. He does not care for his physical comforts while working, out of love for the attainment of self-realisation. While doing such works he forgoes sleep, does not feel the pangs of hunger and is not touched by sensuous pleasures (636-640). As gold burnt in fire suffers loss of weight, but improves in purity. He feels even more enthusiastic about performing actions.
18/30
An ailing person who takes medicine and proper diet lives and if the fish gets the support of water, it does not have to fear for its life. So if a person performs the obligatory actions, he is sure to attain liberation
This intellect of sattvic quality is inclined to the performance of obligatory actions and knows also the actions, which are not fit to be performed.
The intellect feels mightily afraid, after seeing such actions prohibited by the scriptures. One cannot escape death when served with poisoned food. In the same way, one cannot avoid the cycle of birth and death if one performs prohibited actions. When the intellect comes to realise that such actions lead to bondage, it turns away from them (711-715).
33. That firmness, by which one upholds the activities of the mind, breath and senses by means of unfailing Yoga, that steadiness, O Partha, arises from sattva quality.
When the sun rises all darkness vanishes and all thefts cease, and when the King so orders, all underhand dealings come to a stop. When a strong wind blows, all the clouds are swept out with their thunder or when the sage Agastya (Sirius) appears, the sea becomes calm. When the moon rises all the day-lotuses close (731-735). When an elephant in rut comes face to face with a roaring lion, he forgets to put his foot down, which he had raised (to attack an
enemy). So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, life breath and senses come to a stop. Then the bond between the senses and their objects automatically ceases and all the senses enter the womb of their mother i.e. the mind (instead of turning to their objects). The prana, which moves upward and upward, being blocked, along with the nine different vital airs, enters the sushumna nadi, and the mind being stripped of its garments, in the form of desires and fancies, the intellect remains quiet behind it (736-740). In this way, that firm steadiness brings the functions of the mind, vital airs and senses to a standstill and confines them through the power of Yoga in the chamber of meditation. It then keeps them shut up there and prevents them from succumbing to any temptations, until it delivers them to their Lord, the Supreme Self. That is the sattvic steadiness, so said the Lord of goddess Lakshmi to Arjuna.
As in all such ways, O Arjuna, in order to gain spiritual pleasure, one has to bear initially, the discomforts resulting from the practice of self-control and sense-restraint. It is only when intense dispassion towards worldly pleasures wells up in the heart, it pulls down the hedge between worldly existence and heaven. When he listens to discourses on discriminating knowledge and practices hard vows and rites, the intellect etc. are sorely tried.
If persons standing on the shore of the sea see a big wave swallowing a small one, yet from the standpoint of water, who has swallowed what? In the same way, a person who has attained perfection does not see anyone distinct from him, whom he can kill.
Can the sun say that it will dispel the darkness after seeing it? So in the case of an enlightened person who has no sense of duality, there remains nothing different from him which he can destroy.
But the picture of false knowledge is painted on the canvas of ignorance, as a result of the famous three-fold cause (456-460). For this triad of knower, knowledge and the object of knowledge is the seed of and without doubt, the impulse to action.
After hearing the description of the nymph Urvashi, people put up ladders in the form of sacrifices to the heavens. O Arjuna, a blue pigeon soaring in the sky, swoops down at the very sight of a she-pigeon or the peacock whirls in the sky, on hearing peels of thunder. In the same way, the knower rushes to the objects of knowledge.
Just as one sees one’s reflection in the mirror, so one who has attained the sattvic knowledge perceives the knowable, in the form of one’s knowledge.
By bringing harmony into the senses and his natural inclinations, he binds his feet with fetters of self-restraint and does not allow his mind to turn to the fruit of action. As long as he lives, he takes care to keep up fortitude of the best kind, in order to achieve self-restraint. He does not care for his physical comforts while working, out of love for the attainment of self-realisation. While doing such works he forgoes sleep, does not feel the pangs of hunger and is not touched by sensuous pleasures (636-640). As gold burnt in fire suffers loss of weight, but improves in purity. He feels even more enthusiastic about performing actions.
18/30
An ailing person who takes medicine and proper diet lives and if the fish gets the support of water, it does not have to fear for its life. So if a person performs the obligatory actions, he is sure to attain liberation
This intellect of sattvic quality is inclined to the performance of obligatory actions and knows also the actions, which are not fit to be performed.
The intellect feels mightily afraid, after seeing such actions prohibited by the scriptures. One cannot escape death when served with poisoned food. In the same way, one cannot avoid the cycle of birth and death if one performs prohibited actions. When the intellect comes to realise that such actions lead to bondage, it turns away from them (711-715).
33. That firmness, by which one upholds the activities of the mind, breath and senses by means of unfailing Yoga, that steadiness, O Partha, arises from sattva quality.
When the sun rises all darkness vanishes and all thefts cease, and when the King so orders, all underhand dealings come to a stop. When a strong wind blows, all the clouds are swept out with their thunder or when the sage Agastya (Sirius) appears, the sea becomes calm. When the moon rises all the day-lotuses close (731-735). When an elephant in rut comes face to face with a roaring lion, he forgets to put his foot down, which he had raised (to attack an
enemy). So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, life breath and senses come to a stop. Then the bond between the senses and their objects automatically ceases and all the senses enter the womb of their mother i.e. the mind (instead of turning to their objects). The prana, which moves upward and upward, being blocked, along with the nine different vital airs, enters the sushumna nadi, and the mind being stripped of its garments, in the form of desires and fancies, the intellect remains quiet behind it (736-740). In this way, that firm steadiness brings the functions of the mind, vital airs and senses to a standstill and confines them through the power of Yoga in the chamber of meditation. It then keeps them shut up there and prevents them from succumbing to any temptations, until it delivers them to their Lord, the Supreme Self. That is the sattvic steadiness, so said the Lord of goddess Lakshmi to Arjuna.
As in all such ways, O Arjuna, in order to gain spiritual pleasure, one has to bear initially, the discomforts resulting from the practice of self-control and sense-restraint. It is only when intense dispassion towards worldly pleasures wells up in the heart, it pulls down the hedge between worldly existence and heaven. When he listens to discourses on discriminating knowledge and practices hard vows and rites, the intellect etc. are sorely tried.
One has to swallow the currents of prana and apana by the mouth of the sushumna nadi.
The sour taste of unripe grapes is more burning to the tongue than the touch of a firebrand; yet the same grapes, when ripe, become sweet (786-790).
The sour taste of unripe grapes is more burning to the tongue than the touch of a firebrand; yet the same grapes, when ripe, become sweet (786-790).
So when dispassion becomes ripe in the light of the knowledge of Self, all pain born of ignorance
vanishes along with dispassion.
vanishes along with dispassion.
As the river meets the sea, so intellect merges in the Self, revealing the mine of non-dual bliss.
So that which is rooted in dispassion and culminates in the peace of Self-realisation is said to be sattvic happiness.
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Whatever things there are in this world, big or small, none of them is without the agent, action and fruit. O Arjuna, as the cloth is made up of yarn, so this triad is woven by three qualities.
Then he dissolves the obligatory duties which he performs by the renunciation of their fruit and reaches the border of liberation. In this way, he is released from good or bad affairs of worldly existence and acquires non-attachment, which is the threshold of liberation (896-900).
18/39
Whatever things there are in this world, big or small, none of them is without the agent, action and fruit. O Arjuna, as the cloth is made up of yarn, so this triad is woven by three qualities.
Then he dissolves the obligatory duties which he performs by the renunciation of their fruit and reaches the border of liberation. In this way, he is released from good or bad affairs of worldly existence and acquires non-attachment, which is the threshold of liberation (896-900).
This non attachment, is the boundary of his good fortune leading to liberation and is the culmination of all his labours, in the path of action. It is the flower of the tree in the form of good actions,
which makes certain the attainment of liberation and the seeker gently places his foot on this flower like a bee.
This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.
It is the Divine collyrium, which shows him the buried treasure in the form of Self-knowledge and he applies it whole-heartedly to his inward eye. In this way, O Arjuna, by performing prescribed actions, he makes himself worthy for the attainment of liberation (901-905).
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O brave Arjuna, this Supreme Self becomes pleased, if he is worshipped with flowers in the form of performance of prescribed duties.
which makes certain the attainment of liberation and the seeker gently places his foot on this flower like a bee.
This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.
It is the Divine collyrium, which shows him the buried treasure in the form of Self-knowledge and he applies it whole-heartedly to his inward eye. In this way, O Arjuna, by performing prescribed actions, he makes himself worthy for the attainment of liberation (901-905).
18/46
O brave Arjuna, this Supreme Self becomes pleased, if he is worshipped with flowers in the form of performance of prescribed duties.
If the Supreme Self becomes propitiated with this worship, he grants the devotee the gift of non-attachment as a token of his grace.
Then he only thinks of God, as a result of which, he feels nausea for the pleasures of the world, as for vomited food.
Just as a faithful wife, suffering the pangs of separation from her husband, finds her life unbearable, so he feels all worldly enjoyments as painful (916-920).
Thus, even before the attainment of knowledge of the Supreme, his mind thinks of Him and becomes identified with Him. For this reason, he who takes the vow of liberation, should perform his duties with zeal.
Just as with the slaughter of a pregnant woman, her foetus is also killed, so with the destruction of ignorance, the triad of action, agent and the instruments of action, also ceases.
When ignorance, which is the root cause of action, is destroyed, even the name of mundane existence becomes obliterated and the knower himself becomes, that which is to be known.
When the sun rises, light envelops darkness from all sides. When camphor comes into contact with lamp, it becomes a lamp (981-985). When a granule of salt is dropped in water, it becomes water. When a person wakes up from sleep, his sleep along with dream ends and he resumes his conscious state.
Just as with the slaughter of a pregnant woman, her foetus is also killed, so with the destruction of ignorance, the triad of action, agent and the instruments of action, also ceases.
When ignorance, which is the root cause of action, is destroyed, even the name of mundane existence becomes obliterated and the knower himself becomes, that which is to be known.
When the sun rises, light envelops darkness from all sides. When camphor comes into contact with lamp, it becomes a lamp (981-985). When a granule of salt is dropped in water, it becomes water. When a person wakes up from sleep, his sleep along with dream ends and he resumes his conscious state.
So if he hears the instruction of the Master through good fortune, his mind sheds the notion of duality and rests in the nature of Self.
Then can anyone say, that there remains any action to be performed by him? Is there anything like coming and going possible in the case of the all-pervading sky? Without doubt, there remains nothing for him to do. But in the case of a particular seeker it so happens (986-990), that he does not become one with Brahman immediately after hearing the words of the preceptor. It may be that he has kindled the fire, in the form of the performance of his prescribed actions, by feeding it with the firewood in the form of innovated and prohibited actions and burnt the rajas and tamas qualities.
Then he may have brought under his control, like a servant, his craving for sons, wealth and heaven. He may have cleansed in the holy waters of sense-restraint, his wayward senses defiled by the enjoyment of sense-objects (991-995).
He may have followed all the paths of spiritual disciplines, to attain the vision of the pure Self.
And lastly, after he met the preceptor, the latter may have instructed him in the knowledge of the Self, withholding nothing from him. But can a patient recover from his illness immediately after taking medicine and resume his former state?
Or does it become noon immediately after sunrise? Or can one reap a harvest immediately after sowing seed in a fertile and well-watered field? All this requires time. Even if there is a straight road and a good companion, it requires time to reach the destination (996-1000). In this way, after attaining non-attachment, he meets the preceptor and discrimination rises in his mind; then he becomes convinced through discriminating knowledge, that Brahman alone is real and that the world is an illusion. Then all activity to secure liberation comes to an end in Brahman, which is all-pervading and Supreme, and he attains the knowledge of Self, which destroys the knowing agent, the knowable object and the means of knowledge. Then there remains only the oneness of unity and whatever particle of joy he had, also gets dissolved (1001-1005). But this union with Supreme Brahman, is attained only gradually. If a delicious meal is served to a hungry person, he attains satisfaction after taking every morsel; in the same way, the seeker attains the treasure in the form of Self, after lighting the lamp of discrimination. If the seeker wishes to attain fitness to enjoy the grandeur of self-knowledge, I shall describe to you, the stages by which he attains it (1006-1010).
51. Endowed with pure intellect, controlling the Self with firmness and having abandoned the sense objects such as sound and casting away passion and hatred,
He follows the path indicated by the teacher and reaching the bank of holy waters in the form of discrimination, he washes off the impurity of his intellect.
51. Endowed with pure intellect, controlling the Self with firmness and having abandoned the sense objects such as sound and casting away passion and hatred,
He follows the path indicated by the teacher and reaching the bank of holy waters in the form of discrimination, he washes off the impurity of his intellect.
Just as the moonlight released by the demon Rahu (i.e. after the eclipse is over) embraces the moon, so his intellect, after being purified, becomes attracted to the Self. Just as a woman from a good family leaves the homes of her parents and parents-in-law and follows her husband, so his intellect, discarding the notion of dualism, becomes absorbed in the meditation of the Self. He has eliminated the five sense-objects, which he had prized so long in the life, of acquiring the desired knowledge, in the same way as the withdrawal of the rays by the sun (at sunset) destroys the mirage
Just as one, who has taken food unknowingly, in the house of a low-caste person is forced to vomit it, so he has banished sensuous desires from the senses.
Just as one, who has taken food unknowingly, in the house of a low-caste person is forced to vomit it, so he has banished sensuous desires from the senses.
Then, after withdrawing the senses from the sense-objects, he brings them to the bank of the Ganga, in the form of the mind and washes them clean through atonement.
Then, after purifying the senses with sattvic fortitude, he keeps them engaged in the practice of Yoga. When he is required to experience the fruits of his past deeds, good or bad, he does not grieve over his sufferings or long for enjoyments (1016-1020). Thus, he does not feel joy or grief at good or bad happenings and resorts to a cave or recess on a mountain.
And so, O winner of wealth, surrender all your actions to Me (1256- 1260). But, O warrior, do not abandon your obligatory actions and fix your mental faculties in discriminating knowledge. You will come to know through this discriminating knowledge, My spotless nature, which is different from actions and that the Maya, which is the source of ignorance, is far away from you. Then, O Arjuna, you will realise that this prakriti too, is not distinct from the Supreme Self, as the shadow cannot remain without its original object. In this way, when this prakriti is negated, then there will result without any effort, total renunciation of action (1261-1265). With the elimination of all actions, only the Self will remain behind and your intellect will become united with him like a chaste wife. So when your intellect will enter Me, with unswerving devotion, then your mind will resort to Me, casting off the other objects of thought. So you should act in such a way, that your mind will give up all other thoughts and remain steady in Me.
58. Thinking of Me you will surmount all obstacles through My grace. But if you, through egoism, will not listen, you will perish.
And so, O winner of wealth, surrender all your actions to Me (1256- 1260). But, O warrior, do not abandon your obligatory actions and fix your mental faculties in discriminating knowledge. You will come to know through this discriminating knowledge, My spotless nature, which is different from actions and that the Maya, which is the source of ignorance, is far away from you. Then, O Arjuna, you will realise that this prakriti too, is not distinct from the Supreme Self, as the shadow cannot remain without its original object. In this way, when this prakriti is negated, then there will result without any effort, total renunciation of action (1261-1265). With the elimination of all actions, only the Self will remain behind and your intellect will become united with him like a chaste wife. So when your intellect will enter Me, with unswerving devotion, then your mind will resort to Me, casting off the other objects of thought. So you should act in such a way, that your mind will give up all other thoughts and remain steady in Me.
58. Thinking of Me you will surmount all obstacles through My grace. But if you, through egoism, will not listen, you will perish.
When your mind becomes united with Me, through whole-hearted devotion, then you will have attained My grace, in full.
Then all the miseries of birth and death, which every human being has to undergo, although hard to overcome, will conduce to your happiness (1266-1270). Who will care for darkness, if his vision receives the support of sunlight? In the same way, how will he, who has lost his body-consciousness, through My grace, be afraid of the goblin in the form of worldly affairs? Therefore, O Arjuna, you will be able to escape from the evil trap of worldly existence. But if, out of egoism, you will not listen to My words or pay attention to My teaching, then even if you are eternally free and imperishable, that will be of no avail to you, and you will have to bear the bullets dealt by the body (1271-1275).
You will suffer from self-destruction at every step, in the bodily actions and will have hardly even a moment’s respite from agony. If you do not pay any heed to what I say, you will have to face dreadful torments of a living death.
Who is going to prevent the wind, from merging with the sky or the wave from getting dissolved into the sea? Whatever distinction is seen between you and Me, is due to the properties of our bodies.
Who is going to prevent the wind, from merging with the sky or the wave from getting dissolved into the sea? Whatever distinction is seen between you and Me, is due to the properties of our bodies.
When the body-consciousness disappears, you will become one with Me.
72. Have you listened to this, O Partha, with one-pointed mind? Has your delusion due to ignorance been destroyed, O winner of wealth?
chp 2 Sankhya Yoga
16. The non-existent does not exist, nor the existent ceases; the nature of both is discerned by seers of truth.
Arjuna, listen, I shall now talk of another matter, which those who think know well (121-125). (All philosophers acknowledge that)
72. Have you listened to this, O Partha, with one-pointed mind? Has your delusion due to ignorance been destroyed, O winner of wealth?
chp 2 Sankhya Yoga
16. The non-existent does not exist, nor the existent ceases; the nature of both is discerned by seers of truth.
Arjuna, listen, I shall now talk of another matter, which those who think know well (121-125). (All philosophers acknowledge that)
Latent in these conditioning factors, there is an all-pervading Self.
Even when milk is thoroughly mixed with water, the swan separates them from each other, or one (the goldsmith) segregates the pure gold by heating the alloy
(in a crucible), or one takes out butter skillfully by churning the curds, or one separates, by winnowing the grain from the chaff (126-130);
(in a crucible), or one takes out butter skillfully by churning the curds, or one separates, by winnowing the grain from the chaff (126-130);
so when the wise cogitate upon the creation, the world disappears and there remains only the Self.
Therefore, they do not ascribe existence to the transient things, as they have already determined the essence of both.
17. Know that to be indestructible on which this whole world is strung; nor can anyone bring about the destruction of this immutable self.
If you think over it, you will realise that what is inessential is illusory, and what is essential is eternal by nature.
That from which these three worlds have sprung, is not marked by name, colour or form. It is all-pervasive and transcends birth and death; even if one wishes to destroy it, it cannot be destroyed (131-135).
41. In this, O joy of Kurus, there is resolute insight; but the thoughts of the irresolute are many-branched and endless.
Even as a small flame of a lamp gives abundant light, one should not under-rate right mindedness, even though meagre.
The wise, O Partha, aspire for it very much, but this right mindedness is difficult to attain by everyone.
Even as the philosopher’s stone is not easy to obtain like ordinary stones, or a drop of nectar becomes available only by a stroke of good fortune (236-240),
so this right-mindedness which leads to God-realisation is difficult to attain.
Just as the river Ganga ends only in the sea, so this insight is the only knowledge which aims at nothing but God.
Everything else is perverse reasoning, which is ever changing, and non discriminating persons always take delight in it.
The latter O Arjuna, attain only heaven, earth or hell, and do not get even a glimpse of the bliss of self-realization.
42. These ignorant men, O Partha, taking delight in Vedic utterances, say that there is nothing else and utter this flowery speech,
They speak on the authority of the Vedas and endorse the Vedic rites; but when they do so they are attached to their fruits (241-245). They say, “One should be born in this world and perform sacrifices and other rites and enjoy the delectable pleasures of heaven. Other than these celestial pleasures, there is naught else, which conduces to constant joy”, so say these persons of dull wit.
43. Abounding in a variety of rites, resulting in actions, fruition and rebirth as the means to enjoyment and power, being full of desire and intent on heaven.
Overcome by desire, they perform works in order to indulge in sensuous enjoyments. They undertake many rites strictly according to religious precepts and perform their religious duty with dexterity.
44. As for those who cling to sensuous enjoyment and power, with their wits carried away (by that flowery speech), their single-pointed mind does not remain fixed in contemplation.
But, O Arjuna, they do a wrong thing in that, they long for heaven and forget God, who is the enjoyer of sacrifices (246-250). Even as one collects camphor and sets fire to it, or one cooks sweet dishes and mixes poison in them, or one kicks a jar full of nectar found by a stroke of luck, in the same way they lose merit through the motive of gain. Tell me, after making this great effort, why do they run after worldly pleasures? But what can one do? They are ignorant in this matter. Just as a house-wife were to cook good dishes and sell them, similarly thoughtless persons lose merit for the sake of worldly pleasures. Hence, O Arjuna, bear in mind that those who take delight in the letters of Veda, have a perverse mentality (251-255).
45. The Vedas have the three gunas as their subject; be above the three qualities, O Arjuna.
41. In this, O joy of Kurus, there is resolute insight; but the thoughts of the irresolute are many-branched and endless.
Even as a small flame of a lamp gives abundant light, one should not under-rate right mindedness, even though meagre.
The wise, O Partha, aspire for it very much, but this right mindedness is difficult to attain by everyone.
Even as the philosopher’s stone is not easy to obtain like ordinary stones, or a drop of nectar becomes available only by a stroke of good fortune (236-240),
so this right-mindedness which leads to God-realisation is difficult to attain.
Just as the river Ganga ends only in the sea, so this insight is the only knowledge which aims at nothing but God.
Everything else is perverse reasoning, which is ever changing, and non discriminating persons always take delight in it.
The latter O Arjuna, attain only heaven, earth or hell, and do not get even a glimpse of the bliss of self-realization.
42. These ignorant men, O Partha, taking delight in Vedic utterances, say that there is nothing else and utter this flowery speech,
They speak on the authority of the Vedas and endorse the Vedic rites; but when they do so they are attached to their fruits (241-245). They say, “One should be born in this world and perform sacrifices and other rites and enjoy the delectable pleasures of heaven. Other than these celestial pleasures, there is naught else, which conduces to constant joy”, so say these persons of dull wit.
43. Abounding in a variety of rites, resulting in actions, fruition and rebirth as the means to enjoyment and power, being full of desire and intent on heaven.
Overcome by desire, they perform works in order to indulge in sensuous enjoyments. They undertake many rites strictly according to religious precepts and perform their religious duty with dexterity.
44. As for those who cling to sensuous enjoyment and power, with their wits carried away (by that flowery speech), their single-pointed mind does not remain fixed in contemplation.
But, O Arjuna, they do a wrong thing in that, they long for heaven and forget God, who is the enjoyer of sacrifices (246-250). Even as one collects camphor and sets fire to it, or one cooks sweet dishes and mixes poison in them, or one kicks a jar full of nectar found by a stroke of luck, in the same way they lose merit through the motive of gain. Tell me, after making this great effort, why do they run after worldly pleasures? But what can one do? They are ignorant in this matter. Just as a house-wife were to cook good dishes and sell them, similarly thoughtless persons lose merit for the sake of worldly pleasures. Hence, O Arjuna, bear in mind that those who take delight in the letters of Veda, have a perverse mentality (251-255).
45. The Vedas have the three gunas as their subject; be above the three qualities, O Arjuna.
Free from the pairs of opposites, be firmly established in purity, and not caring for gain and preservation, be possessed of the Self.
Know for certain that the Vedas are pervaded by the three qualities. All the Upanishads and the like are endowed with the quality of goodness. Other religious texts are imbued with passion and darkness, as they speak of rites which lead to heaven, O Arjuna. Knowing that they only cause pleasure and pain, do not entertain them in your mind. Forsake this triad of qualities and give up the sense of ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’, and do not for a moment forget the bliss flowing from the self.
46. Whatever use a well has in a place flooded with water, that much use there is in the Vedas for an enlightened person.
Though the Vedas speak of a variety of religious rites, we should accept only those that are conducive to our benefit (256-260).
When the sun rises, many roads come in sight; but tell me, can a person take all of them? Or even if the earth is flooded with water, we take that much as will satisfy our thirst. So also the wise men reflect on the meaning of the Vedas and accept only the eternal truth.
Therefore, listen, O Arjuna, as a spark fallen on firewood suffices to consume all the three worlds, so even if the mind perchance broods over the sense-objects, doom seeks him out and overtakes him (326-330).
65. And from serenity results cessation of all suffering. For in a person with a serene mind wisdom becomes firmly set.
Listen, when the mind remains serene without break, all the sorrows of the world do not enter it. Even as hunger and thirst do not affect a person who has a spring of nectar in his belly, how can sorrow affect him whose mind is tranquil? His understanding remains of itself absorbed in the supreme Self (336-340). Just as the flame of a lamp does not flicker in a windless place, so the wisdom of a yogi remains steady in the Self.
66. He who is not imbued with Yoga has neither knowledge nor meditation. For the unmeditative there is no peace, for the unpeaceful whence happiness?
He is surely caught in the net of the sense-objects, in whose mind the thought of Yoga has not taken root. The wisdom of such a person, O Partha, never becomes steady, and the desire for such steady wisdom does not arise in his mind.
When he does not have even the desire for steadiness, how can he attain to peace, O Arjuna? As he has no abiding interest in peace, happiness does not flow into him even by chance (341-345), as there can never be salvation for a sinner. If seeds roasted in fire sprout, happiness will accrue to a man without peace.
Thus a mind undisciplined by Yoga is the source of misery, and for this reason it is best to control the senses.
chp 3 point 3
Or as the rivers flowing east and west follow different courses, but eventually join the sea to become one in the end, so these two paths point and lead to the same truth. But the seeker has to choose that path which suits his capacity (36-40). Look, a bird can fly straight to the tree and seize the fruit all at once. Tell me, can a man do it with the same speed? He will have to climb the tree slowly from one branch to another and follow this method until he reaches the fruit in the end. So by adopting the way of the birds, the Sankhyas pursue the way of knowledge and soon attain final release. The yogis, on the other hand, follow the path of action and, by performing the prescribed duties, achieve liberation in course of time.
34. Attachment and aversion are settled in every sense for its object. Let no one fall into their power, for they are one’s enemies.
It is true that when the senses are fed with their favourite objects, the mind finds true satisfaction. (206-210). But this is like the company of a gentle-looking thug, until they leave the border of the town. When a person beguiled by the sweet taste of poison develops a fondness for it, it proves fatal in the end. Desire, which is inherent in the senses, gives rise to a false hope of pleasure, even as the bait attached to the angle deceives the fish. The fish does not know that the angle which is concealed will take away its life; likewise if you entertain this desire and hope for sensuous enjoyment, you will land yourself in the fire of wrath (211-215). As the huntsman surrounds the deer through his trackers and drives it to a place where it can be killed, the senses act in the same way. So you should not get attached to them. O Partha,
Know for certain that the Vedas are pervaded by the three qualities. All the Upanishads and the like are endowed with the quality of goodness. Other religious texts are imbued with passion and darkness, as they speak of rites which lead to heaven, O Arjuna. Knowing that they only cause pleasure and pain, do not entertain them in your mind. Forsake this triad of qualities and give up the sense of ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’, and do not for a moment forget the bliss flowing from the self.
46. Whatever use a well has in a place flooded with water, that much use there is in the Vedas for an enlightened person.
Though the Vedas speak of a variety of religious rites, we should accept only those that are conducive to our benefit (256-260).
When the sun rises, many roads come in sight; but tell me, can a person take all of them? Or even if the earth is flooded with water, we take that much as will satisfy our thirst. So also the wise men reflect on the meaning of the Vedas and accept only the eternal truth.
Therefore, listen, O Arjuna, as a spark fallen on firewood suffices to consume all the three worlds, so even if the mind perchance broods over the sense-objects, doom seeks him out and overtakes him (326-330).
65. And from serenity results cessation of all suffering. For in a person with a serene mind wisdom becomes firmly set.
Listen, when the mind remains serene without break, all the sorrows of the world do not enter it. Even as hunger and thirst do not affect a person who has a spring of nectar in his belly, how can sorrow affect him whose mind is tranquil? His understanding remains of itself absorbed in the supreme Self (336-340). Just as the flame of a lamp does not flicker in a windless place, so the wisdom of a yogi remains steady in the Self.
66. He who is not imbued with Yoga has neither knowledge nor meditation. For the unmeditative there is no peace, for the unpeaceful whence happiness?
He is surely caught in the net of the sense-objects, in whose mind the thought of Yoga has not taken root. The wisdom of such a person, O Partha, never becomes steady, and the desire for such steady wisdom does not arise in his mind.
When he does not have even the desire for steadiness, how can he attain to peace, O Arjuna? As he has no abiding interest in peace, happiness does not flow into him even by chance (341-345), as there can never be salvation for a sinner. If seeds roasted in fire sprout, happiness will accrue to a man without peace.
Thus a mind undisciplined by Yoga is the source of misery, and for this reason it is best to control the senses.
chp 3 point 3
Or as the rivers flowing east and west follow different courses, but eventually join the sea to become one in the end, so these two paths point and lead to the same truth. But the seeker has to choose that path which suits his capacity (36-40). Look, a bird can fly straight to the tree and seize the fruit all at once. Tell me, can a man do it with the same speed? He will have to climb the tree slowly from one branch to another and follow this method until he reaches the fruit in the end. So by adopting the way of the birds, the Sankhyas pursue the way of knowledge and soon attain final release. The yogis, on the other hand, follow the path of action and, by performing the prescribed duties, achieve liberation in course of time.
34. Attachment and aversion are settled in every sense for its object. Let no one fall into their power, for they are one’s enemies.
It is true that when the senses are fed with their favourite objects, the mind finds true satisfaction. (206-210). But this is like the company of a gentle-looking thug, until they leave the border of the town. When a person beguiled by the sweet taste of poison develops a fondness for it, it proves fatal in the end. Desire, which is inherent in the senses, gives rise to a false hope of pleasure, even as the bait attached to the angle deceives the fish. The fish does not know that the angle which is concealed will take away its life; likewise if you entertain this desire and hope for sensuous enjoyment, you will land yourself in the fire of wrath (211-215). As the huntsman surrounds the deer through his trackers and drives it to a place where it can be killed, the senses act in the same way. So you should not get attached to them. O Partha,
know that both desire and anger are ruinous to man.
Do not, therefore, yield to them or even remember them.
But do not let the happiness of your natural state get stifled.
37. It is desire, it is anger, born of rajas quality all-consuming, most evil; know this to be the foe on earth.
chp 4
10. Many, freed from passion, fear and wrath and absorbed in Me have taken refuge in Me; and purified by knowledge and austerities, they have attained to My state.
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Look, if this world appearance, which is the shadow of the formless God, does not last in the light of wisdom, how can your mental impurities last?
37. Even as the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of wisdom burns all actions.
Is it difficult for the whirlwind of dissolution to scatter the clouds, when it can blow away the smoke coming out of the world-destroying fire? Or will the fire, fanned by the whirlwind, which can even burn water, be extinguished by hay or firewood?
38. There is nothing so purifying on earth comparable to wisdom. He, who is perfected in Yoga realises it within himself, in time.
All such things can never come to pass; it is absurd even to ask this. There is nothing, which equals wisdom in purity. This wisdom is superb. What is there to match it, as there is nothing else but the conscious Self? If the sun’s reflection can equal the splendour of the heavens, or one can hold the heavens in one’s arms (176-180), or find a measure sufficient to weigh the earth, O Arjuna, you will be able to find the like of wisdom. Thus even if we consider it from any angle, we have to admit that the purity of wisdom lies only in wisdom. When one is asked what nectar tastes like, one can only answer that it tastes only like nectar. So one can only give the simile of wisdom to wisdom; to say anything more than this is simply waste of time. Then Arjuna said, ‘O Lord, what you say is true’. When he was about to ask as to how one can acquire this wisdom, the Lord, anticipating his question (181-185) said, “Now I shall tell you how to acquire this wisdom; so, Arjuna, please pay your attention.”
39. The man of faith attains to wisdom, being devoted to it and restraining his senses. Having attained wisdom, he soon finds the highest peace.
He, who experiencing the sweet bliss of the Self, loathes the sense-objects and scoffs at the senses, who neither discloses his thoughts to the mind nor ascribes to himself the actions of prakriti, and who is happy being possessed of faith, then wisdom, which is full of peace, comes in search of him.
When this wisdom settles down in his mind, conducting to peace, the knowledge of Self spreads and fills his mind (186-190).
Then wherever he casts his eyes, he discovers peace and loses all sense of ‘Mine’ and ‘Thine’.
In this way the seed of wisdom grows faster and faster.
It is beyond description, let this suffice for the present.
chp 5
15. Wisdom is obscured by ignorance, whereby creatures get deluded.
16. But to those whose ignorance of the Self is destroyed by wisdom, this wisdom, shining like the sun, reveals the Supreme.
chp 5
15. Wisdom is obscured by ignorance, whereby creatures get deluded.
16. But to those whose ignorance of the Self is destroyed by wisdom, this wisdom, shining like the sun, reveals the Supreme.
21. He whose mind is not attached to external contacts (of objects) finds joy within himself. With his mind immersed in meditation of Brahman, he enjoys eternal bliss.
Since he, by neglecting his real Self, does not come under the sway of senses, he does not enjoy the sense-objects. Is there anything surprising in this (101-105)?
As his mind is surfeit with the boundless joy of the Self, he does not turn to the external sense organs. Tell me, if the chakora bird has feasted on the sweet rays of the moon from the plate of lotus petals, will it deign to chew the desert sand? So if a person who has attained to the bliss of Self, forsakes sense-objects, is there any need to talk about it? Now think very clearly as a matter of curiosity about those who are dazzled by the sensuous pleasures.
chp 6 Dhyana yoga
chp 6 Dhyana yoga
3. For a sage who wishes to ascend yoga, action is said to be the means. But for one who has ascended Yoga, self-control is said to be the means.
He who wishes to climb the summit of Yoga should not spurn the easy steps of the way of action. After reaching the foot-hill through the practice of rules of restraint of senses and the mind (yama-niyama), he should take the foot-path of yogic postures and climb the cliff of breath control (51-55).
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Then he reaches the precipice of self-control, where even the intellect slips and the Hathayogis too give up their wager of climbing it.
But through the force of practice, he should fix his fingernails of dispassion on the edge of the precipice of self-control,
where even the intellect slips and the Hathayogis too give up their wager of climbing it.
Thus, from the plateau of breath control, he takes the path of fixed attention (dharana) and climbs until he reaches the summit of meditation.
When his spiritual practice reaches the goal of the union with Brahman, the ascent stops and his craving for action also ceases. Then the yogi remains steady in the plane of Samadhi in which there is no further journey and no recollection of past practice (56-60). Now I shall describe to you the characteristics of the yogi, who has ascended Yoga by these means and attained perfection.
10. The yogi should meditate constantly remaining alone in solitude, controlling his mind and body, and having no desires and possessions.
12. Seated there in that seat, making his mind one-pointed, and controlling the functions of his mind and senses, he should practise meditation for the purification of the mind.
14. Then with a serene mind, and becoming fearless and firm in the vow of chastity, the yogi should control his mind, thinking of Me and remain devoted to Me.
Then the volition subsides, activity becomes calm, and the functions of the body and the mind stand still.
Then thoughts of hunger and sleep do not bother him and he does not even remember them. The in-breath which was confined by the anal constriction (mulabandha) moves backwards and being excited and puffy, it grows in its place of confinement and bangs at the naval centre (manipura). Then this expanded in-breath churns the belly from all sides and removes the impurities collected therein from childhood. But instead of rolling at the bottom, it enters the belly and destroys the bile and phlegm therein.
It overturns the seven humors without leaving a trace, pulverizes the rolls of fat and draws out the marrow of the bones. It calms the nerves and making the limbs loose, frightens the spiritual aspirant, but he should not waver. It gives rise to illness, but cures it also instantaneously and mixes together the liquid (bile, phlegm etc.) and solid (flesh, marrow etc.) parts of the body (216-120).
O Arjuna, next the heat generated by the posture wakes up the serpent power known as Kundalini like a young serpent bathed in red pigment (kumkuma) resting twisted round itself, this small serpent power, the Kundalini, is asleep with mouth downwards in three and a half coils. She is like a streak of lightening or a fold of flame, or a polished band of pure gold. This Kundalini sitting crowded at the naval center wakes up, when she gets pushed up by the anal contraction
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(mulabandh) (221-225). Now as though a star has fallen or the sun’s seat has broken loose or the seed of lustre, which has been planted, has produced a sprout, so this serpent power is seen to uncoil herself and stand up relaxing her body on the naval center. She has been hungry for long, and by reason of her being woken up, she opens her mouth wide and forcefully raises it up. Arjuna, then she embraces the in-breath collected under the lotus of the heart, and begins to bite the upper and lower flesh (226-230). She easily swallows the flesh wherever she can find it, and then she takes one or two mouthfuls of the heart’s flesh also. Then she searches for the soles of the feet and palms of hands, and piercing their upper parts she shakes up all the limbs and joints. Thereafter without leaving her place, she draws out the core of the finger-nails, and cleansing the skin, clings to the skeleton. She cleans up the bones and scrapes the fibres of muscles, so that the growth of the hair-roots of the body begin to wither. Then she quenches her thirst by lapping up the seven humours, and makes the body completely dried up all over (231-235).
O Arjuna, next the heat generated by the posture wakes up the serpent power known as Kundalini like a young serpent bathed in red pigment (kumkuma) resting twisted round itself, this small serpent power, the Kundalini, is asleep with mouth downwards in three and a half coils. She is like a streak of lightening or a fold of flame, or a polished band of pure gold. This Kundalini sitting crowded at the naval center wakes up, when she gets pushed up by the anal contraction
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(mulabandh) (221-225). Now as though a star has fallen or the sun’s seat has broken loose or the seed of lustre, which has been planted, has produced a sprout, so this serpent power is seen to uncoil herself and stand up relaxing her body on the naval center. She has been hungry for long, and by reason of her being woken up, she opens her mouth wide and forcefully raises it up. Arjuna, then she embraces the in-breath collected under the lotus of the heart, and begins to bite the upper and lower flesh (226-230). She easily swallows the flesh wherever she can find it, and then she takes one or two mouthfuls of the heart’s flesh also. Then she searches for the soles of the feet and palms of hands, and piercing their upper parts she shakes up all the limbs and joints. Thereafter without leaving her place, she draws out the core of the finger-nails, and cleansing the skin, clings to the skeleton. She cleans up the bones and scrapes the fibres of muscles, so that the growth of the hair-roots of the body begin to wither. Then she quenches her thirst by lapping up the seven humours, and makes the body completely dried up all over (231-235).
Then she draws in forcibly the out-breath, flowing outwards from the nostrils to a distance of twelve fingers. She thereafter pulls up the in-breath and pulls down the out-breath, and when they meet, only the sheaths of nerve-centers remain. Both the breaths would have mingled at that time; but the Kundalini, being uneasy for a moment, asks them to keep away. O Arjuna, this serpent power eats up all the solid stuff in the body, and leaves nothing of the watery parts also. When she eats these solid and liquid parts of the body, she becomes satisfied and remains calm in the spinal cord (236-240).
In this state of satiation, the venom she spits, turns into nectar and sustains life.
The fiery venom which comes out cools internally the body, which regains once again the strength which it had lost. The nervous flow stops and the nine life-breaths except prana cease and then the body too loses its functions. Then the breaths flowing through the left and right nostrils mingle, the knots of the three lower nerve-centers become loose, and the six nerve-centers become disjoined. The sun and moon currents of breath, which flow through the nostrils, are so subtle that they are not felt on the fibre held before them (241-245). The sparkle of intellect then ceases and the fragrance in the nose, along with the serpent power, enters the spinal cord. The cask of moon-nectar situated above, tilts on one side, and the nectar begins to flow into the mouth of the Kundalini. The nectar fills her and then spreads to the whole body and is soaked therein by the aid of the prana. As wax, placed in a red-hot mold melts and fills it up, so the body looks as if lustre covered by skin, has descended in the human form (246-250).
As the sun, hidden behind the cloak of a cloud, comes out in full splendour when the cloud is scattered, so the scales of skin, which seemed dry, fall off like husk, and then the body assumes a complexion so comely as though it is fashioned out of crystal or has sprouted from a gem, or dressed up with the red hue of the evening sky, or it is the figure taken on by the inner light. Then his body looks as if it is filled with red pigment and nectar or it appears as though it is peace incarnate (251-255). It is like a picture of delight, or a form of great happiness, or a full-grown bush of contentment, or a bud of gold-flowered champak (michelia Champaca) or a burst of nectar or an orchard laden with tender leaves, or like the moon embellished with the autumnal dew, or like a statue made of lustre sitting on a seat, when the Kundalini drinks the moon elixir. Then even Death-god stands in awe of that figure.
Then old age recedes, youthfulness takes a leap backwards, and the childhood which had long past, returns (256-260). Even though he looks so young, he performs great feats and his courage is equally great and unexcelled. Even as sparkling buds come out from the leaves
of the golden tree, new lustrous finger-nails come out of his body. He also gets new teeth, but they are so small, that they look like two rows of pearls set in the mouth. Like the broken bits of atom-sized rubies, tips of hair grow on his whole body. The palms of the hands and the soles of the feet become red like red lotuses and how can one describe his clear eyes (261-265)? Just as the shell cannot contain the pearl when it swells and becomes oversize, and its seam gives way and begins to open, so the sight, instead of being held within the eye-lashes, goes out far and wide and pervades the whole heaven. O Arjuna, the body takes on a golden colour but possesses the lightness of wind, having lost the liquid and solid parts of matter.
Then the yogi can see beyond the seas, hear the sounds of heaven, and comprehend the desire of an ant. He can ride on the wind, walk on water without wetting his feet, and in this way he acquires many miraculous powers (266-270). Holding the hand of prana and climbing the steps in the region of hearts, the Kundalini reaches the heart center through the spinal cord. This Kundalini is the mother of the world, who illumines the self and gives shade to the sprouted seed of the universe. It is the embodiment of the formless Brahman, the cask of Lord Shiva, the main spring of the sacred syllable Om. When this youthful Kundalini enters the heart-center, she begins to utter unbeaten sounds. The sounds fall slightly on the ears of intelligence, which is very close to the serpent power (271-275). In the cubicle from which these sounds emanate, they manifest themselves as figures as if drawn on the lines of Om. This can be known only by imagination, but where to find one who possesses it? No one knows what rumbling goes on in the region of the heart. I forgot to mention, O Arjuna, that so long as prana remains, these subtle sounds are produced in the region of the heart. When the latter resounds with these sounds resembling the rumbling of clouds, then the window to the Brahmarudhra readily opens. There is another great region resembling the calyx of a lotus, in which the self resides aloft (276-280). The supreme Kundalini then enters this abode of the self and offers him the victuals of her lustre. She indeed offers intelligence as a vegetable dish to him and does it in such a way as to leave no trace of dualism. Then the Kundalini gives up her fiery complexion and remains in the gaseous state. You might as well ask how she looks at that time. She dissolves herself in this gaseous form and keeps aside her garment of golden stripes. Even as the light is extinguished by the touch of the wind, or the lightning flashes and disappears in the sky (281-285), so when the Kundalini enters the lotus of the heart center she looks like a gold-chain or like water flowing from a spring of light. Then all of a sudden she subsides into the calyx of the heart, and her form merges into the formless Shakti. Although she is called Shakti, she is still in the form of gas (Vayu). At that time one is not aware of the Nada, or the Bindu or of the Kalajyoti. Then the conquest of mind, the support of breath-control and resort to meditation do not survive, and thought and its absence come to a stop. So she is the crucible in which the gross elements crumble (286-290). That the body should be swallowed by the body is the Natha creed and its purport is disclosed here by Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu. Untying the bundle of that purport and unfolding the truth, I have presented it before you, who are its clients.
18. When his mind well controlled rests in Self alone, he becomes indifferent to all enjoyments; then
he is said to be yukta i.e. absorbed in Yoga.
When the external senses are so regulated, the internal organs become full of happiness.
In this way the yogi attains to Yoga, without any effort.
Just as when fortune smiles at a person, prosperity walks to his door-step without much effort on his part, in the same way when one practices Yoga with ardour, one attains self-realisation (352-355).
Therefore, O Arjuna, the fortunate person who has mastered the art of self-restraint, adorns the throne of emancipation.
19. Like a lamp kept in a windless place that flickers not, this metaphor is thought of in the case of the mind of the yogi who has controlled it by practicing meditation on the Self.
20. That in which his mind finds peace, restrained by the practice of Yoga and in which he, seeing the Self by the mind, rejoices in the Self,
21. That in which he experiences absolute bliss, which can be grasped by the intellect, but is beyond the senses and in which, being established, he swerves not, in truth, from it,
If this Yoga is practiced by adopting a steady posture, then it will bring about restraint of the senses. Only when the senses become restrained through the practice of Yoga, the mind, of its own accord, realizes the Self (361-365).
When the mind turns away from the sense objects and becomes introspective, it perceives the Self and identifies itself with the Self.
Thereafter it experiences the kingdom of permanent bliss and become one with the self. Then the mind abides in the self beyond which there is nothing which is beyond the senses.
22. That by gaining which, he thinks no greater gain beyond it and in which being established, he is not shaken by sorrow, however great,
Then even if mountains of misery bigger than the Meru come down crashing upon him, his mind is not shaken.
22. That by gaining which, he thinks no greater gain beyond it and in which being established, he is not shaken by sorrow, however great,
Then even if mountains of misery bigger than the Meru come down crashing upon him, his mind is not shaken.
Nor does his mind, which is reposing in the Supreme bliss, become agitated, even if his body is cut with a weapon or falls into fire (365-370).
When the mind is absorbed in the bliss of Self, it does not remain conscious of the body, and having attained this indescribable bliss, forgets all things which affect the body.
23. That one should know by the name Yoga, which is detachment from the bond of pain, that Yoga should be practised with conviction and with un-despairing mind.
When the mind has savoured of this bliss of Self, it forgets all desires and withdraws itself from the worldly life.
This bliss is the grace of Yoga, the kingdom of contentment and the experience of wisdom.
This bliss is realised directly through the practice of Yoga and one who realizes it, becomes one with it.
24. Abandoning without exception all desires born of volition, and restraining on every side all the senses by the mind alone.
Nevertheless, O Arjuna, this Yoga is a simple path in one way. This Yoga is easy to attain, if one (destroys desire) and so makes volition mourn the death of its child (371-375).
When volition realizes that with the elimination of the sense-objects the activities of the senses are completely brought under control, it will die of a broken heart.
When dispassion fills every pore of the body and mind, then volition stops functioning and the intellect dwells happily in the mansion of fortitude.
25. Gradually he should cease from action by means of his intellect sustained by steadiness;
and fixing the mind on the self, he should think of nothing else.
26. From wherever the mind wanders, fickle and unsteady, by restraining it there from, he should bring it under his control.
If the intellect has the strong support of fortitude, it brings the mind gradually on the path of self-realisation and establishes it in the temple of the Supreme Self.
If this cannot be done, then I shall tell you another easy way, please listen. We should first make a rule and resolve not to deviate from it (376-380). if the mind becomes steady by means of this rule, then it has served its purpose. If this does not happen, the mind should be left to itself. Wherever then this uncontrolled mind wanders, it should be arrested from there and brought back. In this way, it will gradually become steady of its own accord.
27. Supreme bliss comes to the yogi whose mind is at peace, whose passion has subsided and who is stainless and has become one with Brahman.
When the mind remains steady for a long time, it gets near the Self and when it perceives the true Self, becomes one with it.
28. Constantly applying his mind thus, the yogi who is free from stain, enjoys with ease the infinite bliss of contact with Brahman.
In this way, several persons have, by adopting this method of Yoga and renouncing desire, attained self-realisation and oneness with Brahman.
29. Absorbed in meditation, he sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self and sees the same everywhere.
36. I agree that Yoga is hard to achieve by a person who has not subdued his mind. But this can be achieved by the right means by a self-controlled person who makes the effort.
I concede that those who are not indifferent to the world and do not practise Yoga cannot possibly control the mind.
chp 7
There are four kinds of devotees who have achieved the ends of human life through devotion to Me. The first is known as man in distress, the second is the seeker of knowledge, the third is the seeker of wealth and the fourth is the man of wisdom.
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18. Noble indeed are all these, but I hold the man of wisdom as My very Self. For with a concentrated
23. But the reward of the men of poor wit has an end. Those who worship the deities go to them, My devotee’s alone come to Me.
Such devotees do not know Me; because they do not get over their narrow views. Though they receive the desired fruit, it is perishable. Why say more! Such worship only leads to the cycle of birth and death. Their enjoyment of fruit is like the experience in a dream. Even if we leave this aside, whatever deity he likes to worship, he attains to its region only. But those who resort to My way, heart and soul, attain to oneness with Me on leaving the body (146-150).
29. They, who resorting to Me, strive for freedom from old age and death, know all about Brahman, the Self and action in its entirely.
O Partha, When one strives with faith to put an end to birth and death (174-175), then his effort brings him the fruit of God - realization from which oozes the juice of perfection.
By practicing Yoga make your mind pure and strong, by adopting proper means even a cripple can climb a mountain.
15. ....Those who have attained My infinite nature, will never be united with this body.
27. Knowing these two paths, O Partha, the yogi in not deluded, therefore, at all times, O Arjuna, remain engrossed in Yoga.
But how can one be sure by which path one will go after death? Why should one depend upon the right path for God-realization?
There does not remain now even a trace of body-consciousness in him; then how can he die at any time? Why then, should he search for any path and where can he go, when space and time have become his very Self? Look, when the jar breaks, has the space in it, to find its way to meet the Infinite space outside? Will it otherwise miss it?
17......This is like the unlucky person who sits under a wish-fulfilling tree and, knotting his cloth into a wallet, goes out begging in penury. If after offering Me hundred sacrifices they long for heaven, how can you call it merit? It is sin and nothing else. To attain heaven without Me is the meritorious path for the ignorant.
22.....They prostrate themselves before Me and perform all their acts of charity for Me alone (356-360). Their learning is centered in Me, they are both internally and externally satisfied with Me and their entire life is dedicated to Me. Whatever little ego they have, it is to extol My Divine glory and if they care for any thing in the world, it is to know Me. If they have passion and love, it is for Me alone; and being intoxicated with Divine madness, they become indifferent to the world. Whatever scriptures they study, whatever incantations they utter and whatever actions they perform are entirely devoted to Me. Surely even before death they are already united with Me. How then will they go anywhere after death (361-365)? Therefore, those who sacrifice to Me and have dedicated all their actions to Me, have attained oneness with Me. No one can attain devotional love for Me without self-surrender, nor can one attain to Me by performing mere rites. He who says that he knows Me knows nothing; he who flaunts his perfection is far from being perfect; and he who boasts of self-realization is dumb. Similarly, O Arjuna, all tall talk of sacrifice, charity or penance has no more worth than straw. Just see, is there any one here who excels the Vedas in knowledge or who is more loquacious and eloquent than the Shesha (366-370)? The Shesha has hid himself under My bed and the Vedas have turned their back by saying ‘Not this, Not this’ and sages such as Sanaka became confused.
31. Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me: sacrifice to Me and prostrate yourself before Me. You shall surely come to Me by practicing Yoga, with Me as your Supreme goal.
chp 13
10. Unflinching devotion to Me, through exclusive Yoga, resort to secluded spots and distaste for the company of men,
He is fully convinced that there is no other thing superior to Me in this world. He declares by body, speech and mind on oath, that there is no other goal in this world than Me (601-605). His mind is so enamoured of Me, that he has become one with Me. Just as a wife does not feel any reserve in approaching her husband, so he has dedicated himself to Me. Just as the river Ganga continues to join the sea, so even after he has become one with Me, he continues to worship Me.
He is firmly convinced that the knowledge through which one experiences the Supreme Self, is true knowledge and that the knowledge which leads to worldly prosperity and heaven, is nothing but ignorance.
When his knowledge of Self becomes impressed on his mind, he becomes one with Me.
O best among the warriors, some burn in the crucible of reason the impure gold and by removing the alloy of impure thoughts through hearing, study, reflection and meditation, purify the gold in the form of Self. They determine the pure Self by the elimination of the impure thirty-six principles, which are entirely different from the Self and then see the Self in their own heart through the vision of meditation. Others, through good luck, meditate upon him through the Yoga of knowledge or the Yoga of action (1036-1040).
chp 14
1. I shall again proclaim the wisdom, the highest of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages have attained liberation from here.
Now, I shall tell you again the meaning of the word highest (para), which is applied to the spiritual knowledge, by the scriptures. The other knowledges, do not take us beyond worldly existence and heaven and so the word ‘highest’ has been used to indicate that the knowledge of the Self is ‘beyond’ them. I call this knowledge of the Self as highest, because this knowledge is like fire and the other knowledges mere straw before it.
When the sun rises all darkness vanishes and all thefts cease, and when the King so orders, all underhand dealings come to a stop. When a strong wind blows, all the clouds are swept out with their thunder or when the sage Agastya (Sirius) appears, the sea becomes calm. When the moon rises all the day-lotuses close (731-735).
When an elephant in rut comes face to face with a roaring lion, he forgets to put his foot down, which he had raised (to attack an enemy).
52. Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, subdued in speech, body and mind, ever intent on the practice of meditation, and resorting to dispassion,
He dwells in solitude in a forest, far from the maddening crowd in company of his own body and organs.
Restraint of the senses and self-control become his recreation and he observes silence.
He is not even conscious how his time passes in meditating, over the instruction of his Guru.
He never gives any thought at the time of taking his food, as to how he should maintain his strength, satisfy his hunger or cater to the peculiar taste of his palate. The contentment, which he derives from a frugal meal is beyond measure (1021-1025).
He is afraid, that if he does not feed the abdominal fire, it will take away his life, and so he eats in moderation, to sustain life. He does not disturb his posture, in the same way as a chaste woman does not succumb to a person (who is not her husband), who expresses a desire for her.
His body touches the floor, only when he prostrates it before God; otherwise he does not commit the wanton act of rolling on the floor. He makes the movements of his hands and feet to the extent necessary to maintain himself. In short, he keeps his mind and senses under his control. He does not allow his inclinations even to reach the threshold of the mind (i.e. rise to consciousness). Then what scope is there for giving expression to them in words (1026-1030)?
After conquering body, speech and mind, he turns to the sky of concentrated meditation.
Just as one sees one’s face clearly in the mirror, he then scrutinizes the nature of his Self, as instructed by his Guru.
Meditation ordinarily consists of the meditator, the state of meditation and the object of meditation.
Then, pressing the heel of his right foot against the perineum between the genital organs and the rectum and contracting the lower region, he practices the three bandhas (physico-psychic postures) and he unites the life-breaths.
Since I am all-pervasive, all movements (of the devotee who is merged in Myself) stop and this absence of movement, becomes his pilgrimage to My non-dual state.
27. Supreme bliss comes to the yogi whose mind is at peace, whose passion has subsided and who is stainless and has become one with Brahman.
When the mind remains steady for a long time, it gets near the Self and when it perceives the true Self, becomes one with it.
Then the duality merges into unity, and all the three worlds become radiant in the light of this unity.
As when the clouds scatter, there remains the all pervading sky (381-385),
so when the mind becomes merged in the Self, the whole world becomes permeated by the radiant light of the Self.
By this way, it is possible to achieve self realisation without much effort.
28. Constantly applying his mind thus, the yogi who is free from stain, enjoys with ease the infinite bliss of contact with Brahman.
In this way, several persons have, by adopting this method of Yoga and renouncing desire, attained self-realisation and oneness with Brahman.
Just as salt having come into contact with water cannot be separated from it, such is the state achieved by the embodied Self when he becomes one with Brahman. Then he feels as if the world is the temple of unity and the people are celebrating the festival of lights. In this manner, one should turn one’s face in the reverse direction towards one’s original state (the Self). But if you find this also difficult, then please listen; I shall tell you another way (386-390).
29. Absorbed in meditation, he sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self and sees the same everywhere.
36. I agree that Yoga is hard to achieve by a person who has not subdued his mind. But this can be achieved by the right means by a self-controlled person who makes the effort.
I concede that those who are not indifferent to the world and do not practise Yoga cannot possibly control the mind.
But if we do not proceed along the path of self-control, never even remember what dispassion is, but keep on plunging in the waters of sense-objects and do not apply the cane of self-restraint, how can you make the mind still?
Therefore, adopt the means by which you can restrain the mind and then let us see how the mind does not become steady.
Do you think that the path of Yoga which has been laid down is all empty talk?
The most that you can say is that you are unable to practise Yoga (421-425). if you acquire the strength of yogic discipline, how can the mind remain fickle? Will you not be able to bring with the aid of Yoga the great principle (mahat) and others under your thumb? Then Arjuna said, “O God, what you say is true. The strength of the mind is feeble before the power of Yoga. So far I had not known what this Yoga is and how one can practise it. I, therefore, thought that it is difficult to control the mind. It is only now, for the first time, in my life, that I have come to know, through your grace, O Supreme person, what Yoga means.”
chp 7
There are four kinds of devotees who have achieved the ends of human life through devotion to Me. The first is known as man in distress, the second is the seeker of knowledge, the third is the seeker of wealth and the fourth is the man of wisdom.
Some desire relief from misery, some desire to know the Truth and some desire to amass wealth (106-110).
But the fourth kind has nothing to achieve in return. He is the man of wisdom, My true devotee, because in the light of knowledge he has gone beyond duality and unity. Though he has become one with Me, he still remains My devotee.
Just as a crystal placed in moving water seems moving for a moment, the same is the case of a man of wisdom. when the wind stops it becomes identified with the sky, so when the devotee becomes one with Me, he still continues to be a devotee. When the wind blows it appears to have a separate existence from the sky, otherwise it continues to be with it (111-115). So when the devotee performs actions, he appears as a devotee, but internally he has attained identity with Me. And in the light of knowledge, he regards Me as his Self; and so I too, being pleased with him, consider him as My very Self. If a person works in full realization of his true state beyond his present life, can he though in a separate body, remain separate from Me?
105
7 : WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE
18. Noble indeed are all these, but I hold the man of wisdom as My very Self. For with a concentrated
23. But the reward of the men of poor wit has an end. Those who worship the deities go to them, My devotee’s alone come to Me.
Such devotees do not know Me; because they do not get over their narrow views. Though they receive the desired fruit, it is perishable. Why say more! Such worship only leads to the cycle of birth and death. Their enjoyment of fruit is like the experience in a dream. Even if we leave this aside, whatever deity he likes to worship, he attains to its region only. But those who resort to My way, heart and soul, attain to oneness with Me on leaving the body (146-150).
29. They, who resorting to Me, strive for freedom from old age and death, know all about Brahman, the Self and action in its entirely.
O Partha, When one strives with faith to put an end to birth and death (174-175), then his effort brings him the fruit of God - realization from which oozes the juice of perfection.
When he attains fulfillment, he sees the world as full of joy, and his desire for self-realization is satisfied. Then his activity stops and his mind rests in peace. Then, O Arjuna, he soon realizes the Self, as he invests Me as capital in his spiritual undertaking. With increase in his equanimity, he acquires the wealth of unity with Brahman, and then does not experience the penury of dualism.
chp 8
8. By thinking of Him, O Partha, with the mind engrossed in yogic practice, and not wandering elsewhere, one attains to the Person Supreme and Divine.
chp 8
8. By thinking of Him, O Partha, with the mind engrossed in yogic practice, and not wandering elsewhere, one attains to the Person Supreme and Divine.
By practicing Yoga make your mind pure and strong, by adopting proper means even a cripple can climb a mountain.
Then by this yogic practice direct your mind to the Supreme Self; then it matters not whether your body remains or departs.
If the mind, which runs after different goals, is lost in the Self, then who will remember whether the body has remained or gone?
When the river with its noisy currents joins the sea, does it come back to see what happened after it left?
Never! It becomes one with the sea.
So the mind also becomes one with Brahman, which is of the nature of bliss and which puts a stop to transmigration (8185).
10. ...The Brahman is formless, and without birth and death, and is whole and the witness of all. It is more ancient than akasha and subtler than the atom.
He remembers that spotless Brahman at the time of death with a steady mind. He sits in the lotus posture, facing the north, thinking of the joy of karmayoga in his mind and hastens to attain the true nature of Brahman by collecting his mind and holding it dear.
10. ...The Brahman is formless, and without birth and death, and is whole and the witness of all. It is more ancient than akasha and subtler than the atom.
He remembers that spotless Brahman at the time of death with a steady mind. He sits in the lotus posture, facing the north, thinking of the joy of karmayoga in his mind and hastens to attain the true nature of Brahman by collecting his mind and holding it dear.
Then he leads his prana through the vein known as sushumna first into the plexus known as ajnachakra and then to the Brahmarandhra. When the prana enters the cidakasha, he sees the combination of body and mind as an unreal appearance (91-95).
Then with a steady mind full of devotional love, controlling him through the power of Yoga and keeping his mind steady on the center of the eyebrows, he tries to dissolve his body and mind.
Then just as the sound of a bell becomes dissolved in the bell, or the flame of a lamp kept under a vessel is extinguished without anybody coming to know of it, he leaves behind his body in peace. He then attains to the Supreme Self also known as the Supreme Person, and My highest light.
15. ....Those who have attained My infinite nature, will never be united with this body.
27. Knowing these two paths, O Partha, the yogi in not deluded, therefore, at all times, O Arjuna, remain engrossed in Yoga.
But how can one be sure by which path one will go after death? Why should one depend upon the right path for God-realization?
Whether one remains in body or departs, one is of the nature of Brahman. Because even if a rope appears like a serpent, it is really a rope. Is the water ever aware of the ripples, which come and go? It remains at any time with or without ripples as water only. Therefore, those who have become Brahman while living, are known as disembodied (246-250).
There does not remain now even a trace of body-consciousness in him; then how can he die at any time? Why then, should he search for any path and where can he go, when space and time have become his very Self? Look, when the jar breaks, has the space in it, to find its way to meet the Infinite space outside? Will it otherwise miss it?
The truth is that when the jar breaks, only its form is lost; but the space inside it, has always been part of the space outside.
With this knowledge, the yogi who has attained to oneness with Brahman, does not bother which path he should take (151-155). For this reason, O Arjuna, I urge you to become possessed of Yoga, by which you will acquire equanimity at all times. Whether his bondage to the body remains or goes, his free and eternal unity with Brahman remains unaffected. He is not born at the beginning of the epoch nor dies at the end of it, nor is he tempted by the pleasures of heaven or earth. He who has attained to this knowledge properly becomes a yogi who, discarding the pleasures of life, has attained his Self, he abandons, O Arjuna, as worthless the Lordship of Indra and other gods, which receives acclaim everywhere (256-260).
chp 9
2. This is the royal wisdom, the royal mystery, the best and most purifying, capable of direct perception, conforming to duty, very easy to practice and undecaying.
This wisdom has achieved the highest status among knowledge, and is the sovereign among all secrets, the purest of all pure things. It is the basis of righteousness; the best among the best and it leaves no scope for further rebirth. It is ever present in the heart of every one and comes to him easily as soon as he hears it from the mouth of the spiritual teacher. One can attain this wisdom by easy steps, and when it is attained, all experience comes to an end (46-50).
It's realization, which is easy to achieve even on this shore of life, fills the heart with great happiness. Another characteristic of this wisdom is that once it is attained, it is not lost, and even if one experiences it, it does not diminish or wilt. If you reason it out and raising a doubt ask, “how has such an entity been ignored by the people? How is it that those who do not hesitate to jump into fire to earn interest at one percent per menses on their investment, have been negligent in acquiring the joy of self-knowledge? This joy of self-knowledge is pure and pleasant, easily attainable and is in accord with one’s duty and conducive to liberation.
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9 : THE ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE
(51-55). If this is so full of bliss, how is it that people have overlooked it? If such a doubt enters your mind, do not entertain it.”
3. Men lacking in faith in this way of knowledge, O scorcher of foes, return to the path of the mortal world without attaining to Me.
O Arjuna, the udder of the cow contains milk, pure and tasty; but don’t the ticks ignore it and drink pure blood? The lotus-root and the frog live at the same place, but the bee enjoys its pollen, while the frog is left with mud. An unlucky person may have his house chests full of gold coins unknown to him, but he lives a life of penury. Likewise, though I, the fountain of bliss abide in him, a person deluded by the sense-object hankers after them (56-60).
This is like running after a mirage after spitting out nectar, or like throwing away the philosopher’s stone after finding a shell. Thus in the hurry and scurry of egoistic activity, these wretches do not reach Me and roll in pain on the banks of birth and death. If you ask Me what I am, I am like the sun always facing you, but I do not share his deficiency of being visible and invisible at times.
7. With Me presiding over her, prakriti begets the moving and stationary things; for this reason, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.
Just as the sun is merely the instrumental cause of the world’s affairs, so I am, O Arjuna, the cause of creation of the world. Since under My superintendence the prakriti creates this world, I am said to be the cause of it. Now if you look at My Divine Yoga in the light of this knowledge, you will know that neither I am in these beings, nor they in Me. I am disclosing to you this secret of Mine, which you should experience in your heart, by shutting the doors of the senses (131-135). Unless you know this secret, you will not realize My real nature, like grain in a heap of husk. People think that they can understand Me with the aid of reasoning, but can the earth become soft with the water of a mirage?
chp 9
2. This is the royal wisdom, the royal mystery, the best and most purifying, capable of direct perception, conforming to duty, very easy to practice and undecaying.
This wisdom has achieved the highest status among knowledge, and is the sovereign among all secrets, the purest of all pure things. It is the basis of righteousness; the best among the best and it leaves no scope for further rebirth. It is ever present in the heart of every one and comes to him easily as soon as he hears it from the mouth of the spiritual teacher. One can attain this wisdom by easy steps, and when it is attained, all experience comes to an end (46-50).
It's realization, which is easy to achieve even on this shore of life, fills the heart with great happiness. Another characteristic of this wisdom is that once it is attained, it is not lost, and even if one experiences it, it does not diminish or wilt. If you reason it out and raising a doubt ask, “how has such an entity been ignored by the people? How is it that those who do not hesitate to jump into fire to earn interest at one percent per menses on their investment, have been negligent in acquiring the joy of self-knowledge? This joy of self-knowledge is pure and pleasant, easily attainable and is in accord with one’s duty and conducive to liberation.
122
9 : THE ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE
(51-55). If this is so full of bliss, how is it that people have overlooked it? If such a doubt enters your mind, do not entertain it.”
3. Men lacking in faith in this way of knowledge, O scorcher of foes, return to the path of the mortal world without attaining to Me.
O Arjuna, the udder of the cow contains milk, pure and tasty; but don’t the ticks ignore it and drink pure blood? The lotus-root and the frog live at the same place, but the bee enjoys its pollen, while the frog is left with mud. An unlucky person may have his house chests full of gold coins unknown to him, but he lives a life of penury. Likewise, though I, the fountain of bliss abide in him, a person deluded by the sense-object hankers after them (56-60).
This is like running after a mirage after spitting out nectar, or like throwing away the philosopher’s stone after finding a shell. Thus in the hurry and scurry of egoistic activity, these wretches do not reach Me and roll in pain on the banks of birth and death. If you ask Me what I am, I am like the sun always facing you, but I do not share his deficiency of being visible and invisible at times.
7. With Me presiding over her, prakriti begets the moving and stationary things; for this reason, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.
Just as the sun is merely the instrumental cause of the world’s affairs, so I am, O Arjuna, the cause of creation of the world. Since under My superintendence the prakriti creates this world, I am said to be the cause of it. Now if you look at My Divine Yoga in the light of this knowledge, you will know that neither I am in these beings, nor they in Me. I am disclosing to you this secret of Mine, which you should experience in your heart, by shutting the doors of the senses (131-135). Unless you know this secret, you will not realize My real nature, like grain in a heap of husk. People think that they can understand Me with the aid of reasoning, but can the earth become soft with the water of a mirage?
The moon’s reflection appears to be caught in a fisherman’s net in the sea, but when the net is brought to the shore and shaken, where is the reflection?
So some persons, on the strength of the words and utterances, pretend that they have attained self-realization; but when they are put to the test, they realize that they have not attained it nor are they likely to attain it in future.
17......This is like the unlucky person who sits under a wish-fulfilling tree and, knotting his cloth into a wallet, goes out begging in penury. If after offering Me hundred sacrifices they long for heaven, how can you call it merit? It is sin and nothing else. To attain heaven without Me is the meritorious path for the ignorant.
The wise, however, regard it as an impediment, leading to a fall. Heavenly life, no doubt, is reckoned as full of happiness, when compared with life in hell, but everlasting and faultless bliss ensues only from Me. On the way to My abode, O great warrior, there are two by-paths of waylayers which lead to heaven and hell (311-315). One leads to heaven through sin mixed with merit and the other leads to hell through unmixed sin. But pure merit alone brings the embodied Self to Me.
How is it that the tongue does not fall, which praises any action as meritorious even when it leads men astray from My Divine nature, though they are rooted in it? But enough of this, I shall now turn to the main theme.
18. Having enjoyed that vast heavenly world with their merit exhausted, they enter this mortal world. Thus by following the duties prescribed by the three Vedas and craving enjoyments, they go to heaven and come back.
No sooner is their merit exhausted, their heavenly joy comes to an end and they start coming back to the mortal world. When a person has squandered his last penny on a whore, he is not permitted by her even to tap her door. Such indeed is the pitiable plight of these sacrificers. Thus those who craved for heavenly enjoyments were lost to Me, who am eternal bliss. Their ascent to the immortal world becomes fruitless, as they have to return to the mortal world in the end (326-330). Born and baked in the mother’s wombs full of muck for a period of nine months, they are born over and over again and die. As one gains a treasure in a dream, which vanishes when he wakes up, so ephemeral is the heavenly joy of these sacrificers. O Arjuna, even a master of the Vedic lore lives an empty life like the chaff which is hollow and without the grain. So all these rites prescribed by the three Vedas are utterly worthless without Me. Even if you know naught but Me, you will enjoy eternal bliss.
18. Having enjoyed that vast heavenly world with their merit exhausted, they enter this mortal world. Thus by following the duties prescribed by the three Vedas and craving enjoyments, they go to heaven and come back.
No sooner is their merit exhausted, their heavenly joy comes to an end and they start coming back to the mortal world. When a person has squandered his last penny on a whore, he is not permitted by her even to tap her door. Such indeed is the pitiable plight of these sacrificers. Thus those who craved for heavenly enjoyments were lost to Me, who am eternal bliss. Their ascent to the immortal world becomes fruitless, as they have to return to the mortal world in the end (326-330). Born and baked in the mother’s wombs full of muck for a period of nine months, they are born over and over again and die. As one gains a treasure in a dream, which vanishes when he wakes up, so ephemeral is the heavenly joy of these sacrificers. O Arjuna, even a master of the Vedic lore lives an empty life like the chaff which is hollow and without the grain. So all these rites prescribed by the three Vedas are utterly worthless without Me. Even if you know naught but Me, you will enjoy eternal bliss.
22.....They prostrate themselves before Me and perform all their acts of charity for Me alone (356-360). Their learning is centered in Me, they are both internally and externally satisfied with Me and their entire life is dedicated to Me. Whatever little ego they have, it is to extol My Divine glory and if they care for any thing in the world, it is to know Me. If they have passion and love, it is for Me alone; and being intoxicated with Divine madness, they become indifferent to the world. Whatever scriptures they study, whatever incantations they utter and whatever actions they perform are entirely devoted to Me. Surely even before death they are already united with Me. How then will they go anywhere after death (361-365)? Therefore, those who sacrifice to Me and have dedicated all their actions to Me, have attained oneness with Me. No one can attain devotional love for Me without self-surrender, nor can one attain to Me by performing mere rites. He who says that he knows Me knows nothing; he who flaunts his perfection is far from being perfect; and he who boasts of self-realization is dumb. Similarly, O Arjuna, all tall talk of sacrifice, charity or penance has no more worth than straw. Just see, is there any one here who excels the Vedas in knowledge or who is more loquacious and eloquent than the Shesha (366-370)? The Shesha has hid himself under My bed and the Vedas have turned their back by saying ‘Not this, Not this’ and sages such as Sanaka became confused.
31. Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me: sacrifice to Me and prostrate yourself before Me. You shall surely come to Me by practicing Yoga, with Me as your Supreme goal.
chp 13
10. Unflinching devotion to Me, through exclusive Yoga, resort to secluded spots and distaste for the company of men,
He is fully convinced that there is no other thing superior to Me in this world. He declares by body, speech and mind on oath, that there is no other goal in this world than Me (601-605). His mind is so enamoured of Me, that he has become one with Me. Just as a wife does not feel any reserve in approaching her husband, so he has dedicated himself to Me. Just as the river Ganga continues to join the sea, so even after he has become one with Me, he continues to worship Me.
The splendour of the sun comes into being with the sunrise and vanishes with sunset. When the water rises on the surface of the river, it is called a ripple, but it is in fact water only (606-610).
So he who worships Me, with dedication and becomes one with Me, is himself knowledge incarnate. He prefers to live in holy places, or the banks of a sacred river, in a fine hermitage or a cave on a mountain or the bank of a lake. He does not like to live in a city, has a liking for solitude and distaste for human habitation. Know that he is knowledge in the human form. O intelligent Arjuna, I shall tell you some more characteristics of a wise person in order to elucidate knowledge clearly (611- 615).
11. Constant pursuit of knowledge of Self, and insight into the aim of true wisdom, all these are known as (the means of) knowledge. Everything else is ignorance.
11. Constant pursuit of knowledge of Self, and insight into the aim of true wisdom, all these are known as (the means of) knowledge. Everything else is ignorance.
He is firmly convinced that the knowledge through which one experiences the Supreme Self, is true knowledge and that the knowledge which leads to worldly prosperity and heaven, is nothing but ignorance.
He does not long for heaven, neglects his worldly affairs and becomes engrossed in the thoughts about Self.
Just as a wayfarer, makes careful enquiries at the crossroads and avoids the by-path, he fixes his mind and intellect on the knowledge of the Self (616-620).
Then his intellect becomes steady like the mountain Meru with the conviction, that the knowledge of the Self, is the only true knowledge and every other knowledge is delusive.
Just as the pole star remains steady in the sky, he keeps his mind steady on the knowledge of the Self.
There is no doubt that knowledge dwells in such a person.
When his knowledge of Self becomes impressed on his mind, he becomes one with Me.
When a person has just sat down, you cannot say that he is seated, the same is the case with knowledge, unless knowledge becomes firmly implanted in his own mind, one cannot call him a man of wisdom.
Then he sets his sight on the fruit of that knowledge, which is the knowable (Brahman) (621-625).
If one does not realise the knowable, then he cannot be said to have attained knowledge.
Of what use is a lamp in the hand of a blind man?
So if he acquires knowledge but does not realise the knowable, then his knowledge becomes worthless.
If the intellect does not reach Brahman in the light of knowledge, then it is blind.
He longs to attain that knowledge by which he sees the supreme Brahman everywhere and then he becomes endowed with that spotless knowledge by which he realises Brahman (626-630).
The development of his intellect keeps pace with the development of this knowledge. Then it does not need to be said in so many words, that he has become knowledge incarnate.
He, whose intellect comes into contact with this knowledge, experiences the touch of God. Is there any wonder if I say that he has become of the very nature of knowledge? Is it necessary to point out the sun as the sun?
11. ..The fish sticks on to his pond in the fond hope that it will never go dry and does not think of going to a place of deep water.
A deer enchanted with music does not see the approaching hunter. The fish swallows the bait without realising that it contains a deadly hook (736-740).
11. ..The fish sticks on to his pond in the fond hope that it will never go dry and does not think of going to a place of deep water.
A deer enchanted with music does not see the approaching hunter. The fish swallows the bait without realising that it contains a deadly hook (736-740).
The moth dazzled by the light of the lamp, does not realise that the lamp will burn it. A lazy and foolish person does not, while enjoying sleep, pay any attention to his house when it is burning or a person swallows food without knowing that it is cooked in poison. In the same way, a person does not realise, while enjoying sensuous pleasures, that death has come to him in the guise of life. He considers as real the growth of his body, the passing of day and night and the enjoyment of objects of senses.
But the poor fellow does not realise that a whore surrenders all that is hers to him only to plunder him (741-745), that friendship with a polished thief would spell his death or that to bathe a statue made of clay, is to destroy it or the swollen body of a jaundiced person is a sure sign of approaching death.
But the poor fellow does not realise that a whore surrenders all that is hers to him only to plunder him (741-745), that friendship with a polished thief would spell his death or that to bathe a statue made of clay, is to destroy it or the swollen body of a jaundiced person is a sure sign of approaching death.
So the ignorant person, being engrossed in eating and sleeping, does not know that he is doomed. A person sentenced to death does know that every step of his towards the gallows, brings his death nearer. In the same way as the body grows old, as more days pass, the craving for sense-objects becomes stronger and in the end death overtakes him. Just as salt gets dissolved in water (746-750), his life wastes away and he does not know when the god of death will approach him and take him briskly away. O Arjuna if a person does not realise, being deluded by the sensuous pleasures, that his body is succumbing to death every day, know for certain, that he is the king of the country in the form of ignorance.
11. ...His knowledge is like the eyes spread over the plumage of a peacock, none of which has vision. If one can secure even a small portion of the root of the Sanjivani plant, which restores the dead to life, of what use are the cartloads of other medicinal herbs? It is simply mockery to have auspicious marks on the palms without long life, to bedeck a headless body with ornaments or to start a marriage procession without the bride and the bridegroom.
11. ...His knowledge is like the eyes spread over the plumage of a peacock, none of which has vision. If one can secure even a small portion of the root of the Sanjivani plant, which restores the dead to life, of what use are the cartloads of other medicinal herbs? It is simply mockery to have auspicious marks on the palms without long life, to bedeck a headless body with ornaments or to start a marriage procession without the bride and the bridegroom.
In that way, O Partha, all other lores with the exception of the one relating to the knowledge of the Self, lack authority
So, O Arjuna, bear in mind that the body of the learned fool, who has not attained the true knowledge of the Self (836-840), has grown from the seed of ignorance and his learning is the plant of ignorance.
What he talks, is the flower of ignorance, and the virtuous deeds which he performs, are the fruit of ignorance.
Does it need to be said that one who has scant regard for spiritual knowledge is incapable of understanding its import?
How can he, who returns without reaching the shore on this side, know anything of the other shore?
How can he, whose head is caught in a niche at the very threshold, see what is inside the house (841-845)?
He who has not even a nodding acquaintance with the knowledge of the Self, cannot know the true import of that knowledge.
It is not necessary to demonstrate to you mathematically, that such a person does not understand the real essence of knowledge.
12. I shall now declare to you the Knowable, by knowing which one enjoys immortality. It is the beginingless Supreme Brahman, which is said to be neither existent nor non-existent.
The Supreme is called Jneya, as it is not knowable by any other means than knowledge, and as after knowing it, nothing remains to be known.
The Supreme is called Jneya, as it is not knowable by any other means than knowledge, and as after knowing it, nothing remains to be known.
With the attainment of this knowledge, a person becomes one with the Supreme and after renouncing the world, remains absorbed in eternal bliss.
That knowable has no beginning and no end and so is known as the Supreme.
If you say that it is non-existent, it becomes manifest in the form of the universe and if you say that the universe is the Supreme Self, it is only His Maya. It has no form, colour or shape. It is not seen nor does it see, so who can say that it exists and how ?
Well, if you say that it does not really exist, then how did the Great Principle (mahat) and the other evolutes come into being? Since no one could definitely say that it is or it is not speech, becomes dumb and the power of thinking too, comes to a dead halt. Just as clay appears in the form of a large earthen vessel, a pitcher and a dish, so the Supreme has become the universe and has completely pervaded it.
23. He who knows the purusha and the prakriti with its qualities, in whatever condition he may be, is not born again.
He who knows that this purusha is one and that all the actions of the qualities belong to the prakriti (1026-1030), and is convinced that they are like form and its shadow or water and mirage, he knows how to discriminate between the two.
23. He who knows the purusha and the prakriti with its qualities, in whatever condition he may be, is not born again.
He who knows that this purusha is one and that all the actions of the qualities belong to the prakriti (1026-1030), and is convinced that they are like form and its shadow or water and mirage, he knows how to discriminate between the two.
Although he is physically performing works, he is not tainted by them, just as the sky does not get defiled by the dust rising high. He, who is not infatuated with his body when it exists, does not have rebirth after it falls.
Thus in this marvellous way, the discriminating knowledge between the prakriti and purusha conduces to his spiritual benefit (1031-1035). Now, I shall tell you the various means by which this discrimination will dawn in your mind.
24. Some see, through meditation, this Self in themselves by the Self (mind); others by the Yoga of
knowledge and still others by the Yoga of action.
24. Some see, through meditation, this Self in themselves by the Self (mind); others by the Yoga of
knowledge and still others by the Yoga of action.
O best among the warriors, some burn in the crucible of reason the impure gold and by removing the alloy of impure thoughts through hearing, study, reflection and meditation, purify the gold in the form of Self. They determine the pure Self by the elimination of the impure thirty-six principles, which are entirely different from the Self and then see the Self in their own heart through the vision of meditation. Others, through good luck, meditate upon him through the Yoga of knowledge or the Yoga of action (1036-1040).
chp 14
1. I shall again proclaim the wisdom, the highest of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages have attained liberation from here.
Now, I shall tell you again the meaning of the word highest (para), which is applied to the spiritual knowledge, by the scriptures. The other knowledges, do not take us beyond worldly existence and heaven and so the word ‘highest’ has been used to indicate that the knowledge of the Self is ‘beyond’ them. I call this knowledge of the Self as highest, because this knowledge is like fire and the other knowledges mere straw before it.
Those knowledges, which esteem only worldly life and heaven, which value only works such as sacrificial rites, which entertain the notion of duality, appear like dreams before this knowledge of the Self. Just as the whirlwind gets dissolved in the sky (41-45) or the moon and other stars lose their splendour with the rising of the sun, or deluge obliterates all distinction between small and great rivers, so all other knowledges are dissolved with the dawn of Self-knowledge.
It is for this reason, O Arjuna, we call the latter the ‘highest’ knowledge.
O son of Pandu, that pristine state which is within us, from time immemorial, known as complete deliverance, is attained only through this knowledge.
With the realisation of this knowledge, the thoughtful persons do not allow worldly existence to raise its head.
By withdrawing the mind from the sense-objects, they become tranquil and do not come under the sway of the body, even though possessed of the body (46-50).
Then, they cross over the hedge of the body and come up to the same level as Myself, with an equable mind.
2. Having taken refuge in this wisdom, they have reached My likeness; so they are not reborn at the time of creation, nor do they suffer at the time of dissolution.
232
19.....But, O archer, it is a marvel that this wide net of the gunas do not come in the way of liberation. These three gunas push the body to and fro according to their functions, but they do not cause any obstruction in your transcending them (281-285).
26. And he who serves Me exclusively with Yoga of devotion, goes beyond these qualities and qualifies to become Brahman.
26. .... Just as there is no difference between the earth particles and earth or the snow particles and the Himalayas, so see the universe as abiding in Me .
2. Having taken refuge in this wisdom, they have reached My likeness; so they are not reborn at the time of creation, nor do they suffer at the time of dissolution.
232
19.....But, O archer, it is a marvel that this wide net of the gunas do not come in the way of liberation. These three gunas push the body to and fro according to their functions, but they do not cause any obstruction in your transcending them (281-285).
26. And he who serves Me exclusively with Yoga of devotion, goes beyond these qualities and qualifies to become Brahman.
26. .... Just as there is no difference between the earth particles and earth or the snow particles and the Himalayas, so see the universe as abiding in Me .
Even the smallest wave is not different from the sea; so the Self is not distinct from God.
If one attains this blissful state of vision of one’s identity with God, it is the highest form of devotion.
This vision is the quintessence of knowledge and Yoga.
Just as the mutual relation between the sea and the cloud has a continuous flow, so his mental attitude remains the same.
Just as there is no joint connecting the mouth of the well with the sky, similar is his oneness with the Supreme Self (386-390).
chp 15
....The main purport of the Gita is to demonstrate the unreality of the world and to impart the knowledge of the real nature of the Self.
3. ..................Did not this tree become strong, because of man’s ignorance of his true Self?
One should therefore, fell it by means of Self-knowledge.
If you make use of remedies other than this knowledge, you will become more and more entangled in this tree.
How long can you go up and down the branches of this tree?
So cut down the branches of this tree and cut down its root, which is ignorance, by true knowledge of the Self (246-250).
Otherwise it would be like gathering sticks to kill the (illusory) serpent, imagined in a rope or getting drowned in a real forest stream, while running in search of a boat, to cross the mirage.
Oh warrior, while one devises means for destroying this world-tree, one deprived of Self-knowledge becomes possessed of the notion, that the world affairs are real.
O winner of wealth, just as the waking state is the only way to get rid of a wound caused in a dream, so one needs the sword of knowledge to cut the root of world-tree, which is ignorance.
In order to wield this sword of knowledge without effort, the intelligence needs the constant support of non-attachment (251-255).
When this non-attachment becomes firm, it goes beyond righteousness, acquisition of riches and passion, in the way a dog vomits foul food consumed by it.
O Arjuna, when one forms a loathing for every object, this non-attachment grows strong.
Then one should take out the sword of knowledge from its sheath, in the form of body-consciousness and hold it firmly in the hand, in the form of intellect, which is looking inwards.
Then after rubbing this sword on the whetstone of discrimination, it should be sharpened and cleaned, on the notion ‘I am Brahman’.
Then holding this sword in one’s firm grip of resolve, one should brandish it once or twice and then balance it in his hand on the strength of reflection (256-260).
When the wielder of the weapon becomes one with the weapon, there is nothing in the world which can withstand its onslaught.
That sword of the Self-knowledge, will then, by means of its splendour of non-dualism, not allow the world-tree to exist anywhere.
Just as at the start of autumn, the wind clears the sky of all clouds or as the rising sun destroys all darkness, or as the waking state ends the confused state of the mind in a dream, so the sharpened edge of the sword of knowledge, does its work.
Then as the mirage disappears in the moon-light, the upper and lower roots of the world-tree and the expansion of its branches cease to exist (261-265).
Therefore, O best of warriors, you should cut down this top-rooted Ashvattha tree by means of the sword of Self-knowledge.
4. .....Then they should realise the Self which cannot be referred to as ‘this’ or ‘that’ and which destroys the ego.
But you should refrain from the notion of duality, which the fools entertain by looking into the mirror.
You should view this Self, in such a way, as the water springs remain intact, even when the well is filled up or as the sun’s reflection returns to the original disc, when the water in which it is reflected dries up, or as the space in the earthen pot merges in the sky when the pot breaks (266-270) or as the fire becomes extinguished, when the fuel is burnt up.
One should scrutinize one’s Self, as the tongue tastes itself or the eye sees its eye-ball. Just as splendour merges in itself, as the sky rolls on itself, or the water remains in water, I declare that one should view oneself with a non-dual vision.
4......The Vedas describe him with the help of limiting conditions (upadhis) and raise a noisy clamour in vain, that he has name and form.
chp 15
....The main purport of the Gita is to demonstrate the unreality of the world and to impart the knowledge of the real nature of the Self.
3. ..................Did not this tree become strong, because of man’s ignorance of his true Self?
One should therefore, fell it by means of Self-knowledge.
If you make use of remedies other than this knowledge, you will become more and more entangled in this tree.
How long can you go up and down the branches of this tree?
So cut down the branches of this tree and cut down its root, which is ignorance, by true knowledge of the Self (246-250).
Otherwise it would be like gathering sticks to kill the (illusory) serpent, imagined in a rope or getting drowned in a real forest stream, while running in search of a boat, to cross the mirage.
Oh warrior, while one devises means for destroying this world-tree, one deprived of Self-knowledge becomes possessed of the notion, that the world affairs are real.
O winner of wealth, just as the waking state is the only way to get rid of a wound caused in a dream, so one needs the sword of knowledge to cut the root of world-tree, which is ignorance.
In order to wield this sword of knowledge without effort, the intelligence needs the constant support of non-attachment (251-255).
When this non-attachment becomes firm, it goes beyond righteousness, acquisition of riches and passion, in the way a dog vomits foul food consumed by it.
O Arjuna, when one forms a loathing for every object, this non-attachment grows strong.
Then one should take out the sword of knowledge from its sheath, in the form of body-consciousness and hold it firmly in the hand, in the form of intellect, which is looking inwards.
Then after rubbing this sword on the whetstone of discrimination, it should be sharpened and cleaned, on the notion ‘I am Brahman’.
Then holding this sword in one’s firm grip of resolve, one should brandish it once or twice and then balance it in his hand on the strength of reflection (256-260).
When the wielder of the weapon becomes one with the weapon, there is nothing in the world which can withstand its onslaught.
That sword of the Self-knowledge, will then, by means of its splendour of non-dualism, not allow the world-tree to exist anywhere.
Just as at the start of autumn, the wind clears the sky of all clouds or as the rising sun destroys all darkness, or as the waking state ends the confused state of the mind in a dream, so the sharpened edge of the sword of knowledge, does its work.
Then as the mirage disappears in the moon-light, the upper and lower roots of the world-tree and the expansion of its branches cease to exist (261-265).
Therefore, O best of warriors, you should cut down this top-rooted Ashvattha tree by means of the sword of Self-knowledge.
4. .....Then they should realise the Self which cannot be referred to as ‘this’ or ‘that’ and which destroys the ego.
But you should refrain from the notion of duality, which the fools entertain by looking into the mirror.
You should view this Self, in such a way, as the water springs remain intact, even when the well is filled up or as the sun’s reflection returns to the original disc, when the water in which it is reflected dries up, or as the space in the earthen pot merges in the sky when the pot breaks (266-270) or as the fire becomes extinguished, when the fuel is burnt up.
One should scrutinize one’s Self, as the tongue tastes itself or the eye sees its eye-ball. Just as splendour merges in itself, as the sky rolls on itself, or the water remains in water, I declare that one should view oneself with a non-dual vision.
4......The Vedas describe him with the help of limiting conditions (upadhis) and raise a noisy clamour in vain, that he has name and form.
But those who are tired of heavenly and worldly pleasures, take a vow that they would never return to this world and resort to Yoga and knowledge.
Then, becoming indifferent to the world, they lay a wager to turn their back on mundane existence and even go beyond the abode of god Brahma, which is attainable through the way of action (276-280).
Then, after getting rid of egoism, they obtain an extra pass for entering their original home. As the snow freezes itself, one should view the essential nature of one’s Self, because of which, the world sequence is expanding like the vain hope of a luckless person.
Then, after getting rid of egoism, they obtain an extra pass for entering their original home. As the snow freezes itself, one should view the essential nature of one’s Self, because of which, the world sequence is expanding like the vain hope of a luckless person.
Without knowing this, one views the world appearance with a false notion of duality, in the form of ‘You’ and ‘I’.
O winner of wealth, there is another sign by which one can recognise it. It is this, that after the realisation of the Self, they are not reborn in this world.
It is only those who are completely saturated with the knowledge of the Self, as the world is brimful with water at the time of the deluge, attain to the Supreme Self.
5. Without pride and delusion, triumphant over the flaw of attachment, immersed in the Self after becoming freed from desires and the pairs of opposites, viz., pleasure and pain, they, undeluded, attain to that eternal abode.
Just as clouds clear out of the sky at the close of the rainy season, so delusion and egoism leave such persons (281-285).
Just as relations get tired of a poor and cruel person and desert him, they do not get into the clutches of emotions. Just as a plantain tree topples down after bearing bananas, so with the realisation of the Self, their activities slowly come to a stop.
5. Without pride and delusion, triumphant over the flaw of attachment, immersed in the Self after becoming freed from desires and the pairs of opposites, viz., pleasure and pain, they, undeluded, attain to that eternal abode.
Just as clouds clear out of the sky at the close of the rainy season, so delusion and egoism leave such persons (281-285).
Just as relations get tired of a poor and cruel person and desert him, they do not get into the clutches of emotions. Just as a plantain tree topples down after bearing bananas, so with the realisation of the Self, their activities slowly come to a stop.
Just as birds fly away from a tree, which has caught fire, all fancies leave them and go away.
They do not even become aware of the notion of duality, which produces sprouts of grass, in the form of shortcomings in the Field.
Just as darkness disappears with dawn, their body-consciousness leaves them along with ignorance (286-290).
Just as the body drops down with the expiry of the life span, so the notion of duality, which causes infatuation leaves them.
Just as a philosopher’s stone cannot acquire iron or the sun cannot come across darkness, so there is total absence of the sense of duality in them.
The pair of opposites viz., pleasures and pain, which is seen in connection with the body, does not affect them. Just as the acquisition of a kingdom or meeting with death in a dream do not cause delight or sorrow in the waking state, or the eagle is never caught by a serpent, so the pair of pleasure and pain which give rise to merit and sin does not affect them (291-295).
These thoughtful persons are like swans, that consume the milk of Self-knowledge, after separating it from the water, in the form of not-Self.
These thoughtful persons are like swans, that consume the milk of Self-knowledge, after separating it from the water, in the form of not-Self.
Just as the sun sends showers of rain to the earth and absorbs it through his rays (by the process of evaporation), so the Supreme Self, which had seemingly become scattered into different directions, becomes consolidated into the vision of Self.
Their thoughts become firmly grounded in the Supreme Self, as the flow of the river Ganga becomes merged in the sea.
Just as the sky does not shift from one place to another, so when these men of wisdom become one with the Supreme Self, they do not entertain any desires (296-300).
Like the seeds which do not grow on a volcano, passions do not arise in their minds.
Just as the Sea of Milk became calm, after the churning rod in the form of Mandara was removed from it, so the ripples of desire do not agitate their minds.
Like the full moon, which remains complete in all its sixteen phases, lacking nothing, they are not troubled by hope.
How much more can I describe to you, such incomparable things about them?
Just as the particles of earth cannot stand a (stormy) wind, so they do not like the sense-objects even mentioned before them.
Those who have sacrificed the sense-objects in the fire of knowledge merge in that abode, as purified gold unites with pure gold (301-305).
If you ask what is that abode in which they merge, it is that abode which never perishes, and which is not an object to be seen or known or in any way particularised.
11. ...The sky remains where it is and its reflection in the sea is a mere illusion. So that which abides in the body is the Self only (381-385).
Though the reflection of the moonlight, oscillates in the roaring currents of water and gives the impression of a being divided into parts, the light remains in the moon all the same.
11. ...The sky remains where it is and its reflection in the sea is a mere illusion. So that which abides in the body is the Self only (381-385).
Though the reflection of the moonlight, oscillates in the roaring currents of water and gives the impression of a being divided into parts, the light remains in the moon all the same.
The sun’s reflection appears in the puddle and disappears when it becomes dry; yet the sun remains unaffected where it is. In the same way, men of knowledge, know that the Self abides, when the body remains or ceases to exist. Even when an earthen pot and a hermitage are constructed and destroyed, the space in it remains as it is; in the same way, the Self remains changeless. The enlightened men know that the bodies conceived through ignorance, come into being and perish. The Self does not increase or diminish, he does not do work nor gets it done. In this way, the men of knowledge know Me truly.
But, even if a man attains this knowledge and possesses keen intellect, to penetrate through atom and becomes proficient in all lores, but is lacking in non-attachment, he will not attain to Me, the all-pervading one.
But, even if a man attains this knowledge and possesses keen intellect, to penetrate through atom and becomes proficient in all lores, but is lacking in non-attachment, he will not attain to Me, the all-pervading one.
Even if he talks glibly about discrimination, but at the same time entertains thoughts of sense-objects in his mind, he will definitely not attain to Me.
By repeating in sleep, the texts read by him, will he be able to break the bonds of worldly existence? Can one be said to have read a book, if he merely touches it? Or if one’s eyes are bandaged, will one be able to assess the worth of a set of pearls, by putting it to one’s nose (391-395)?
In that way, even if one has all the scriptures at the tip of one’s tongue, one will never attain to Me, so long as one’s heart is full of egoism. Now, I shall explain how, though single, I pervade the whole universe.
16... In the state of deep sleep (sushupti), there is total ignorance and so this state is known as the seed-state (bija-bhava) and the states of wakefulness and dream are known as the fruit-state (bija-phalabhava).
That which is known as the seed-state in Vedanta is the abode of that imperishable purusha.
It produces false knowledge, which giving rise to wakeful and dream states, roams in the forest of many fancies.
O Arjuna, that state from which consciousness creates the entire world and where its manifest and unmanifest states meet, is the imperishable Self (511-515).
The perishable Self assumes a body and experiences the states of wakeful and dreaming states. That from which these two states originate, is the state full of ignorance known as the state of deep sleep (sushupti), which is only lacking in the knowledge of Brahman.
O great warrior, if this state of deep sleep had not given rise to the wakeful state and dream, then it would have been designated as the state of Brahman. But two clouds in the form of prakriti and purusha come in the sky in the form of deep sleep, which witnesses the Field and the knower of the Field in the state of dream.
In that way, even if one has all the scriptures at the tip of one’s tongue, one will never attain to Me, so long as one’s heart is full of egoism. Now, I shall explain how, though single, I pervade the whole universe.
16... In the state of deep sleep (sushupti), there is total ignorance and so this state is known as the seed-state (bija-bhava) and the states of wakefulness and dream are known as the fruit-state (bija-phalabhava).
That which is known as the seed-state in Vedanta is the abode of that imperishable purusha.
It produces false knowledge, which giving rise to wakeful and dream states, roams in the forest of many fancies.
O Arjuna, that state from which consciousness creates the entire world and where its manifest and unmanifest states meet, is the imperishable Self (511-515).
The perishable Self assumes a body and experiences the states of wakeful and dreaming states. That from which these two states originate, is the state full of ignorance known as the state of deep sleep (sushupti), which is only lacking in the knowledge of Brahman.
O great warrior, if this state of deep sleep had not given rise to the wakeful state and dream, then it would have been designated as the state of Brahman. But two clouds in the form of prakriti and purusha come in the sky in the form of deep sleep, which witnesses the Field and the knower of the Field in the state of dream.
This imperishable Self is the root cause of this expanding tree in the form of this mundane existence (516-520). But why is this perfect Self known as purusha? Because he goes to sleep in the city of Maya. That state of his, in which, one does not experience the whirls of emotions, which are forms of ignorance, is the state of deep sleep.
That is why this imperishable purusha does not perish except through knowledge.
Therefore, it is well-known in the philosophy of Vedanta, as the doctrine of the imperishable purusha. In this way, the form of the embodied Self, which is assumed by consciousness through the limiting condition of Maya is the imperishable Self (521-525).
17. But different from these two is the Supreme Person called the Supreme Self, the immutable Lord who sustains these worlds after pervading them.
In this way the states of wakefulness and dream, which spring from false knowledge, become dissolved in ignorance.
Therefore, it is well-known in the philosophy of Vedanta, as the doctrine of the imperishable purusha. In this way, the form of the embodied Self, which is assumed by consciousness through the limiting condition of Maya is the imperishable Self (521-525).
17. But different from these two is the Supreme Person called the Supreme Self, the immutable Lord who sustains these worlds after pervading them.
In this way the states of wakefulness and dream, which spring from false knowledge, become dissolved in ignorance.
Like fire which is extinguished after burning firewood, this knowledge, after destroying ignorance, experiences the Supreme Self and vanishes.
That which remains behind after knowledge ceases to exist, is the Supreme Person.
This is the third purusha different from the other two purushas.
This is the ultimate truth of the doctrine of purusha.
O Arjuna, just as the wakeful state, which gives knowledge of the world, is entirely different from the states of deep sleep and dream (526-530) or the sun’s disc is different from the sun’s rays and mirage, so this Supreme Person, is distinct from the two purushas.
This is the ultimate truth of the doctrine of purusha.
O Arjuna, just as the wakeful state, which gives knowledge of the world, is entirely different from the states of deep sleep and dream (526-530) or the sun’s disc is different from the sun’s rays and mirage, so this Supreme Person, is distinct from the two purushas.
Just as the fire latent in firewood, is different from it, this Supreme Person is distinct from the perishable and imperishable purushas.
In a deluge, the oceans transgress their limits and the whole world becomes a mass of water, leaving no trace of the separate existence of rivers and rivulets; in the same way, the states of dream, deep sleep and wakefulness, cease to exist. Just as the conflagration at the time of world-dissolution consumes day and night, all empirical knowledge, along with monism and dualism, ceases to exist and one does not know whether there is existence or non-existence (531-535).
19. He, who knows Me thus as the Supreme Person, knows all and worships Me with his whole heart, O Bharata.
O Arjuna, the sun of knowledge dawns upon him, who knows Me as the Supreme Person. Just as the dream disappears after one wakes up, so with the dawn of knowledge the whole world appears to him as senseless (556-560).
When one takes the wreath in his hand, he gets rid of the false imputation of a snake upon it, so when he attains to My knowledge, he is not deceived by the false appearance of the world.
19. He, who knows Me thus as the Supreme Person, knows all and worships Me with his whole heart, O Bharata.
O Arjuna, the sun of knowledge dawns upon him, who knows Me as the Supreme Person. Just as the dream disappears after one wakes up, so with the dawn of knowledge the whole world appears to him as senseless (556-560).
When one takes the wreath in his hand, he gets rid of the false imputation of a snake upon it, so when he attains to My knowledge, he is not deceived by the false appearance of the world.
He who knows that the ornament is really gold, knows that the ornament is only a false imputation on gold.
Therefore, when he comes to know My real nature, he becomes free from all notions of distinctions.
Then he knows, that I am the self-evident Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, pervading everywhere and does not entertain the idea that he is different from Me.
To say that he knows all, does not do him full justice, because the notion of duality does not exist in him. So he alone is fit for my devotion, as the sky is fit to hug itself (561-565). Just as the Ocean of Milk should be given the feast of milk or a thing which becomes like nectar should be mixed with nectar, or as when pure gold is mixed with pure gold, the mixture also becomes pure, so when a person becomes one with Me, he offers Me true devotion. If the river Ganga were entirely different from the sea, how could it have joined the sea? So there is mutual connection between unity with Me and devotion for Me. Just as the waves of the sea are not different from it, so there is no duality between Me and My devotee. Just as the sun and his splendour are intimately related, so is the relation between Me and My devotee (566-570).
20... When a person takes a sip of nectar, he becomes immune to disease and immortal. Is there any wonder then, that one who attains full knowledge of the Gita, gets rid of delusion?
Through this knowledge of Self, one attains union with the Supreme Self (581-585) and all activity comes to a stop, knowing that its life’s work is fulfilled.
20... When a person takes a sip of nectar, he becomes immune to disease and immortal. Is there any wonder then, that one who attains full knowledge of the Gita, gets rid of delusion?
Through this knowledge of Self, one attains union with the Supreme Self (581-585) and all activity comes to a stop, knowing that its life’s work is fulfilled.
O great warrior, just as with the recovery of the missing article, the search comes to an end, so when the dome of knowledge is built on the temple of activity, all actions cease.
So said Lord Krishna, friend of the forlorn.
chp 16
3. ....Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity.
A king, when defeated, feels depressed or a self-respecting person becomes dispirited, when reduced to a low position (171-175), a worthy ascetic becomes crest-fallen when he finds himself
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16 : THE DIVINE AND DEMONIACAL NATURES
in the house of a low-caste person, or a member of the warrior-caste feels ashamed when he flees from a battlefield. A chaste wife (with her husband living) feels abashed when she is called a widow, or when a handsome fellow suffering from leprosy feels as if he is in the throes of death or a respectable person feels the same, when he is accused of a shameful act.
In the same way, he feels ashamed to live like a corpse, in the body three and half cubit long,
to go through birth and death again and again or to pass his time in a womb, which is a mould of fat filled with blood and urine (176-180).
In short, he does not think anything more disgraceful than to get into such a body and assume name and form. The nausea which a sinless person feels for such a loathsome body is known as humility, but a shameless person derives great pleasure in it. Just as the movement of a puppet comes to a stop with the snapping of the string (in the hand of the puppeteer), so his organs of action cease their activity, when he practises breath-control. Just as the rays of the sun cease after sunset, so his organs of sense cease to function with self-control. In this way, all the ten senses become feeble and this is known as ‘absence of fickleness’ (181-185).
When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength.
chp 16
3. ....Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity.
A king, when defeated, feels depressed or a self-respecting person becomes dispirited, when reduced to a low position (171-175), a worthy ascetic becomes crest-fallen when he finds himself
272
16 : THE DIVINE AND DEMONIACAL NATURES
in the house of a low-caste person, or a member of the warrior-caste feels ashamed when he flees from a battlefield. A chaste wife (with her husband living) feels abashed when she is called a widow, or when a handsome fellow suffering from leprosy feels as if he is in the throes of death or a respectable person feels the same, when he is accused of a shameful act.
In the same way, he feels ashamed to live like a corpse, in the body three and half cubit long,
to go through birth and death again and again or to pass his time in a womb, which is a mould of fat filled with blood and urine (176-180).
In short, he does not think anything more disgraceful than to get into such a body and assume name and form. The nausea which a sinless person feels for such a loathsome body is known as humility, but a shameless person derives great pleasure in it. Just as the movement of a puppet comes to a stop with the snapping of the string (in the hand of the puppeteer), so his organs of action cease their activity, when he practises breath-control. Just as the rays of the sun cease after sunset, so his organs of sense cease to function with self-control. In this way, all the ten senses become feeble and this is known as ‘absence of fickleness’ (181-185).
When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength.
There is nothing so dreadful than immolation, but a chaste wife does not hesitate to enter the pyre of her dead husband.
In the same way, a person longing to attain his Lord, the Self, rejects sensuous pleasures like poison and treads the difficult path leading to the formless Brahman.
In this journey, he is not obstructed by precepts or prohibitions nor is he lured by the miraculous powers.
In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour (186-190).
Now as the body is not aware of the numerous hairs on it, so one is not proud that he is the best among those blessed with patience. This absence of pride is known as forbearance. When the senses have a strong appetite for sensuous pleasures, or a dormant disease raises its head, or one has to suffer separation from the dear and near ones and association with undesirable ones, when a person is flooded with such calamities, he stands firm and faces it squarely, like sage Agastya. Just as a gentle breeze disperses a heavy column of smoke in the sky, so he digests all the three classes of corporeal, physical and supernatural afflictions, if they fall to his lot (191-195).
To sustain courage and stand steadfast on occasions of extreme perturbation of the mind, is what is known as fortitude.
10. Resorting to insatiable passion, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, they act with impure vows holding false views through delusion.
16. Bewildered by many such fancies, caught in the web of delusion and addicted to sensual enjoyments, they fall into foul hell.
21. This is the triple gate to hell, which spells doom for the self-passion, anger and greed; therefore, one should discard these three.
chp 17
16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of the heart are called austerities of the mind.
Like the lake without waves, the sky without clouds, or the garden of sandalwood trees without serpents (221-225) or the full moon without its phases, or the king without anxiety or the Milky Sea without the Mandara mountain, his mind remains steady in the Supreme Self, free from entanglements.
He realises his own Self, like light without heat, food without fat or the sky without space. Just as the benumbed limbs are not afflicted by cold, so he is rid of his fickle nature. Then his mind becomes clear and full of love like the unchanging and spotless moon’s disc (226-230).
In this state, he does not feel the hardship of dispassion, his mind becomes free from desire and fear, and there remains only the warmth of Self-knowledge.
The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence.
Now as the body is not aware of the numerous hairs on it, so one is not proud that he is the best among those blessed with patience. This absence of pride is known as forbearance. When the senses have a strong appetite for sensuous pleasures, or a dormant disease raises its head, or one has to suffer separation from the dear and near ones and association with undesirable ones, when a person is flooded with such calamities, he stands firm and faces it squarely, like sage Agastya. Just as a gentle breeze disperses a heavy column of smoke in the sky, so he digests all the three classes of corporeal, physical and supernatural afflictions, if they fall to his lot (191-195).
To sustain courage and stand steadfast on occasions of extreme perturbation of the mind, is what is known as fortitude.
10. Resorting to insatiable passion, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, they act with impure vows holding false views through delusion.
16. Bewildered by many such fancies, caught in the web of delusion and addicted to sensual enjoyments, they fall into foul hell.
21. This is the triple gate to hell, which spells doom for the self-passion, anger and greed; therefore, one should discard these three.
chp 17
16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of the heart are called austerities of the mind.
Like the lake without waves, the sky without clouds, or the garden of sandalwood trees without serpents (221-225) or the full moon without its phases, or the king without anxiety or the Milky Sea without the Mandara mountain, his mind remains steady in the Supreme Self, free from entanglements.
He realises his own Self, like light without heat, food without fat or the sky without space. Just as the benumbed limbs are not afflicted by cold, so he is rid of his fickle nature. Then his mind becomes clear and full of love like the unchanging and spotless moon’s disc (226-230).
In this state, he does not feel the hardship of dispassion, his mind becomes free from desire and fear, and there remains only the warmth of Self-knowledge.
The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence.
Just as the salt, when dropped in water, which is its original state, becomes merged in it, so the mind, having realised the Self, loses its essential nature. How then could emotions and other tendencies arise in such a mind?
How could his mind rush along the road of the senses and reach the town of sense-objects?
How could his mind rush along the road of the senses and reach the town of sense-objects?
Then the tendencies of the mind become pure, in the way the palm of a person is free from hair (231-235).
O Arjuna, when the mind reaches this state, it is said to possess the austerity of the mind.
Such are the characteristics of the austerity of the mind. I have explained to you, the three classes of austerities, viz., of body, speech and mind.
chp 18
0. Renunciation and relinquishment are the two paths, which are free from the fear of being affected by actions and which conduce to knowledge.
30. That which knows when to act and when to desist, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, the cause of fear and fearlessness, that intellect, O Partha, arises from sattvic quality.
33. That firmness, by which one upholds the activities of the mind, breath and senses by means of unfailing Yoga, that steadiness, O Partha, arises from sattva quality.
chp 18
0. Renunciation and relinquishment are the two paths, which are free from the fear of being affected by actions and which conduce to knowledge.
30. That which knows when to act and when to desist, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, the cause of fear and fearlessness, that intellect, O Partha, arises from sattvic quality.
33. That firmness, by which one upholds the activities of the mind, breath and senses by means of unfailing Yoga, that steadiness, O Partha, arises from sattva quality.
When the sun rises all darkness vanishes and all thefts cease, and when the King so orders, all underhand dealings come to a stop. When a strong wind blows, all the clouds are swept out with their thunder or when the sage Agastya (Sirius) appears, the sea becomes calm. When the moon rises all the day-lotuses close (731-735).
When an elephant in rut comes face to face with a roaring lion, he forgets to put his foot down, which he had raised (to attack an enemy).
So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, life breath and senses come to a stop.
Then the bond between the senses and their objects automatically ceases and all the senses enter the womb of their mother i.e. the mind (instead of turning to their objects).
The prana, which moves upward and upward, being blocked, along with the nine different vital airs, enters the sushumna nadi, and the mind being stripped of its garments, in the form of desires and fancies, the intellect remains quiet behind it (736-740).
In this way, that firm steadiness brings the functions of the mind, vital airs and senses to a standstill and confines them through the power of Yoga in the chamber of meditation.
It then keeps them shut up there and prevents them from succumbing to any temptations, until it delivers them to their Lord, the Supreme Self.
That is the sattvic steadiness, so said the Lord of goddess Lakshmi to Arjuna.
37. That which is first like venom, but like nectar in the end, and which arises from the purity of the mind, that happiness is said to be of sattva quality.
38. That which arises from the contact of the senses with their object, which is like nectar at first but like poison in the end, that happiness is known to be of rajas quality.
39. That pleasure which is delusive to oneself, at first as well as in the end, which arises from sleep, sloth and heedlessness, is deemed to be of tamas quality
40. There is not a thing on this earth nor yet among the gods in heaven, that is free from these qualities born of prakriti.
45... ... This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.
37. That which is first like venom, but like nectar in the end, and which arises from the purity of the mind, that happiness is said to be of sattva quality.
38. That which arises from the contact of the senses with their object, which is like nectar at first but like poison in the end, that happiness is known to be of rajas quality.
39. That pleasure which is delusive to oneself, at first as well as in the end, which arises from sleep, sloth and heedlessness, is deemed to be of tamas quality
40. There is not a thing on this earth nor yet among the gods in heaven, that is free from these qualities born of prakriti.
45... ... This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.
It is the Divine collyrium, which shows him the buried treasure in the form of Self-knowledge and he applies it whole-heartedly to his inward eye.
In this way, O Arjuna, by performing prescribed actions, he makes himself worthy for the attainment of liberation (901-905
49. He whose intellect is unattached to all things, who is self-restrained and free from desire, attains through renunciation (of the fruit of action,) the highest perfection, which is freedom from action.
As the wind is not entangled in a net, he is not entangled in the snares of mundane existence, such as the body.
49. He whose intellect is unattached to all things, who is self-restrained and free from desire, attains through renunciation (of the fruit of action,) the highest perfection, which is freedom from action.
As the wind is not entangled in a net, he is not entangled in the snares of mundane existence, such as the body.
Just as when the fruit becomes ripe, it does not cling to the stem, nor the stem remains attached to the fruit, so his attachment to the worldly life, diminishes.
Even though his son, wealth and wife act according to his wishes, he does not call them his own.
Now his intellect, which had been scorched by sensual enjoyments, turns inward to the contemplation of the Self.
Even if his mind wanders and comes into contact with sense-objects, he never forgets the oath he has taken, not to go after them (956-960).
Then holding his mind in the grip of unity, he makes it cherish the Self.
Just as the smoke is smothered by the dust covering the fire, his desire for sense-enjoyment in this and the next world, is destroyed.
In short, he attains to this plane of Yoga.
With the cessation of false knowledge, he remains absorbed in the knowledge of the Self.
Just as stored water gets exhausted by gradual use, so his accumulated karma from past lives gets expiated by being enjoyed in his present body and his mind does not feel like doing fresh deeds (961-965).
When the sun rises, light envelops darkness from all sides. When camphor comes into contact with lamp, it becomes a lamp (981-985). When a granule of salt is dropped in water, it becomes water. When a person wakes up from sleep, his sleep along with dream ends and he resumes his conscious state.
So if he hears the instruction of the Master through good fortune, his mind sheds the notion of duality and rests in the nature of Self
Then can anyone say, that there remains any action to be performed by him?
Is there anything like coming and going possible in the case of the all-pervading sky?
Without doubt, there remains nothing for him to do.
But in the case of a particular seeker it so happens (986-990), that he does not become one with Brahman immediately after hearing the words of the preceptor. It may be that he has kindled the fire, in the form of the performance of his prescribed actions, by feeding it with the firewood in the form of innovated and prohibited actions and burnt the rajas and tamas qualities. Then he may have brought under his control, like a servant, his craving for sons, wealth and heaven. He may have cleansed in the holy waters of sense-restraint, his wayward senses defiled by the enjoyment of sense-objects (991-995).
51........so his intellect, after being purified, becomes attracted to the Self.
When the sun rises, light envelops darkness from all sides. When camphor comes into contact with lamp, it becomes a lamp (981-985). When a granule of salt is dropped in water, it becomes water. When a person wakes up from sleep, his sleep along with dream ends and he resumes his conscious state.
So if he hears the instruction of the Master through good fortune, his mind sheds the notion of duality and rests in the nature of Self
Then can anyone say, that there remains any action to be performed by him?
Is there anything like coming and going possible in the case of the all-pervading sky?
Without doubt, there remains nothing for him to do.
But in the case of a particular seeker it so happens (986-990), that he does not become one with Brahman immediately after hearing the words of the preceptor. It may be that he has kindled the fire, in the form of the performance of his prescribed actions, by feeding it with the firewood in the form of innovated and prohibited actions and burnt the rajas and tamas qualities. Then he may have brought under his control, like a servant, his craving for sons, wealth and heaven. He may have cleansed in the holy waters of sense-restraint, his wayward senses defiled by the enjoyment of sense-objects (991-995).
51........so his intellect, after being purified, becomes attracted to the Self.
Just as a woman from a good family leaves the homes of her parents and parents-in-law and follows her husband, so his intellect, discarding the notion of dualism, becomes absorbed in the meditation of the Self.
He has eliminated the five sense-objects, which he had prized so long in the life, of acquiring the desired knowledge, in the same way as the withdrawal of the rays by the sun (at sunset) destroys the mirage.
52. Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, subdued in speech, body and mind, ever intent on the practice of meditation, and resorting to dispassion,
He dwells in solitude in a forest, far from the maddening crowd in company of his own body and organs.
Restraint of the senses and self-control become his recreation and he observes silence.
He is not even conscious how his time passes in meditating, over the instruction of his Guru.
He never gives any thought at the time of taking his food, as to how he should maintain his strength, satisfy his hunger or cater to the peculiar taste of his palate. The contentment, which he derives from a frugal meal is beyond measure (1021-1025).
He is afraid, that if he does not feed the abdominal fire, it will take away his life, and so he eats in moderation, to sustain life. He does not disturb his posture, in the same way as a chaste woman does not succumb to a person (who is not her husband), who expresses a desire for her.
His body touches the floor, only when he prostrates it before God; otherwise he does not commit the wanton act of rolling on the floor. He makes the movements of his hands and feet to the extent necessary to maintain himself. In short, he keeps his mind and senses under his control. He does not allow his inclinations even to reach the threshold of the mind (i.e. rise to consciousness). Then what scope is there for giving expression to them in words (1026-1030)?
After conquering body, speech and mind, he turns to the sky of concentrated meditation.
Just as one sees one’s face clearly in the mirror, he then scrutinizes the nature of his Self, as instructed by his Guru.
Meditation ordinarily consists of the meditator, the state of meditation and the object of meditation.
O Son of Pandu, one has to meditate until the object of meditation, the act of meditation and the meditation all become one.
Therefore the seeker who is intent upon attaining the knowledge of Self, takes recourse to the Yoga of meditation (1031-1035).
Then, pressing the heel of his right foot against the perineum between the genital organs and the rectum and contracting the lower region, he practices the three bandhas (physico-psychic postures) and he unites the life-breaths.
With the control of breath, the Serpent Power wakes up and when the passage of Sushumna opens up, she ascends, by piercing all the six centers from the Muladhara to the Ajna.
Then, the cloud in the form of thousand petalled lotus, in the brahmarandhra sends showers of nectar, which flows through the sushumna passages, until it reaches the Muladhara center.
Then the Kundalini places in a broken piece of a pitcher, a hotch-potch of cooked rice and pulses, in the form of the mind and the breaths before the terrible deity (Bhairava) dancing on the mountain of Brahmurandhra (1036-1040).
In this way, he practices the yogic discipline steadily for the attainment of Self-knowledge and in order to ward off obstacles in the way, he makes friends with non-attachment.
This non attachment keeps him company, in all the yogic states. If one has a lamp in hand, why should there by any delay in seeing the desired thing? So long as the seeker has the company of non-attachment, how can he meet with obstacles in his yogic practice (1041-1045)?
Therefore, that fortunate person who practices Yoga combined with non-attachment, becomes qualified for the attainment of Brahman.
Such a one, who wears the armour of non-attachment and rides on the horse of raja yoga, arms himself with the sword of meditation, in order to slash any obstacles, big or small, which come in the way. In this way, as the sun enters darkness, he enters the battlefield in the form of worldly existence, in order to gain victory in the form of deliverance.
53..... ....The holy Ganges slackens its speed, after it joins the sea or an amorous wife calms down after meeting her husband. A plantain stops its growth, after bearing fruit or a journey ends after reaching the destination. In the same way, after he knows that he is about to realise the Self, then he lays down slowly his arms in the form of spiritual practices. O Arjuna, when the time comes when he is to attain union with Brahman, then his yogic practice comes to an end.
53..... ....The holy Ganges slackens its speed, after it joins the sea or an amorous wife calms down after meeting her husband. A plantain stops its growth, after bearing fruit or a journey ends after reaching the destination. In the same way, after he knows that he is about to realise the Self, then he lays down slowly his arms in the form of spiritual practices. O Arjuna, when the time comes when he is to attain union with Brahman, then his yogic practice comes to an end.
Then he attains perfect peace, which is the consummation of non-attachment, the end of the study of knowledge and the fulfillment of his yogic practice and becomes qualified to become Brahman (1081-1085
55. .... ..... When he is awakened, he knows that he is all alone, that he is the sun the light-giver, as well the object lighted and that these two are not different from each other.
55. .... ..... When he is awakened, he knows that he is all alone, that he is the sun the light-giver, as well the object lighted and that these two are not different from each other.
Since I am all-pervasive, all movements (of the devotee who is merged in Myself) stop and this absence of movement, becomes his pilgrimage to My non-dual state.
However swiftly the wave moves on water, it cannot leave the water and encroach upon the land. The place which it leaves and the place it goes to, its movement and the means of movement, are nothing but water (1166-1170); wherever the wave moves it is all water, and so the oneness of the wave with water, remains undisturbed. So when he starts from the state of oneness with Me and again returns to Me, then this movement of his, constitutes his pilgrimage and he becomes My pilgrim.
When the object of knowledge disappears, only the knower remains and he realises that one who knows, is also Myself.
When the object of knowledge disappears, only the knower remains and he realises that one who knows, is also Myself.
He realises that this knowledge of non-dualism is also Myself, the Supreme spirit.
Then the knowledge dawns upon him, that he himself is the Supreme Self, who is beyond dualism and non-dualism and then that knowledge turns into realisation (1201-1205).
Thus, as the state which one attains, after waking up disappears, he does not know what state he has entered into, or as the gold ornaments appear as gold without their being melted, or when the salt is dissolved in water, the water acquires the salty taste and when that water becomes evaporated that salty taste too disappears, so when the term ‘he’ ceases to exist, how can the term ‘I’ subsist?
In this way, the notions of ‘he’ and ‘I’ cease to exist, and he merges into My being (1205-1210). Just as when the camphor is burnt up, both the camphor and fire also vanish and only the sky beyond them remains or when one is deducted from one the remainder is zero, so what remains after subtracting what is and what is not, is Myself.
In that state, all talk about Brahman, the Self and the Lord becomes meaningless and even refraining from speech, also has no scope there.
Pasayadana :
Now may the Supreme Self be pleased with the sacrifice in the form of this literary work and grant me this grace.
May the wicked drop their evil ways and become inclined towards good deeds and may all beings develop friendship for one another.
May the darkness in the form of sin in the world vanish and let there be the dawn of religious duty. May the desires of all beings be fulfilled (1791-1795).
May the concourse of saints who shower auspiciousness on the universe appear and visit perpetually all beings on this earth.
May these saints who are like walking wish-yielding trees, and the abodes of sentient philosophers’ stones or talking oceans of nectar, and who are like spotless moons or heatless suns be the constant kinsmen of all.
In short, let all the three worlds be perfectly happy and may everyone desire to offer perpetual worship to the Primeval person (Brahman) and may those who follow the teachings of this work, have perfect happiness in this and the next world (1796-1880).
Hearing these words, the Lord of the Universe said, “I grant you this grace”, at which Jnanadeva became very happy with this boon.
Pasayadana :
Now may the Supreme Self be pleased with the sacrifice in the form of this literary work and grant me this grace.
May the wicked drop their evil ways and become inclined towards good deeds and may all beings develop friendship for one another.
May the darkness in the form of sin in the world vanish and let there be the dawn of religious duty. May the desires of all beings be fulfilled (1791-1795).
May the concourse of saints who shower auspiciousness on the universe appear and visit perpetually all beings on this earth.
May these saints who are like walking wish-yielding trees, and the abodes of sentient philosophers’ stones or talking oceans of nectar, and who are like spotless moons or heatless suns be the constant kinsmen of all.
In short, let all the three worlds be perfectly happy and may everyone desire to offer perpetual worship to the Primeval person (Brahman) and may those who follow the teachings of this work, have perfect happiness in this and the next world (1796-1880).
Hearing these words, the Lord of the Universe said, “I grant you this grace”, at which Jnanadeva became very happy with this boon.
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