Dnyaneshwari
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.
As gold burnt in fire suffers loss of weight, but improves in purity
So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, lifebreath 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
It is only when intense dispassion towards worldly pleasures wells up in the heart, it pulls down the hedge between worldly existence and heaven
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. 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.
and acquires non-attachment, which is the threshold of liberation (896-900
This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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); so when the wise cogitate upon the creation, the world disappears and there remains only the Self.
The wise, O Partha, aspire for it very much, but this rightmindedness 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.
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).
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.
37. Even as the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of wisdom burns all actions.
38. There is nothing so purifying on earth comparable to wisdom. He, who is perfected in Yoga realises it within himself, in time.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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should be practiced with conviction and with undespairing 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.
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 allpervading 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 selfrealisation without much effort.
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.”
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.
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.
One can attain this wisdom by easy steps, and when it is attained, all experience comes to an end (46-50).
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.
I am disclosing to you this secret of Mine, which you should experience in your heart, by shutting the doors of the senses (131-
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.
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
10. Unflinching devotion to Me, through exclusive Yoga, resort to secluded spots and distaste for the company of men,
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.
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
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.
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.
In the same way, a person does not realise, while enjoying sensuous pleasures, that death has come to him in the guise of life.
26. And he who serves Me exclusively with Yoga of devotion, goes beyond these qualities and qualifies to become Brahman.
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.
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.
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.
3. ....Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity.
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.
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
21. This is the triple gate to hell, which spells doom for the self-passion, anger and greed; therefore, one should discard these three.
16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of the heart are called austerities of the mind.
So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, lifebreath and senses come to a stop
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.
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).
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?
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
Then for attaining this Self, one has to make one’s mind steady on either knowledge or Yoga and discard all other worldly ideas.
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.
that by which one turns to the thought of the Self, that is the true nature of austerity.
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
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.
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. 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.
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.
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).
idenfn w/body
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)?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sattvic steadiness:
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, lifebreath 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). So when dispassion becomes ripe in the light of the knowledge of Self, all pain born of ignorance
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.
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.
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?
Takes time even if straight road ahead:
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).
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
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.
If you think over it, you will realise that what is inessential is illusory, and what is essential is eternal by nature.
Thus a mind undisciplined by Yoga is the source of misery, and for this reason it is best to control the senses.
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.
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.
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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
38. There is nothing so purifying on earth comparable to wisdom. He, who is perfected in Yoga realises it within himself, in time.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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 senseobjects 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.
Jeevan Mukti Viveka:
" Latent desire is not destroyed till the mind is not dissolved,
" and the mind is never at rest till latent desire is not
killed out."
* From the Kathopanishad : " This is the concealed Self of every being,
never mainfest ; It is seen with the pointed intellect by those who are
accustomed to minute observation,"
" Virtues such as self-control and the like derive nourish-
" ment from gnosis,
and gnosis ripens into full development through these virtues ;
these conduce to the well-being of each other like the lotus and
" the pond wherein it grows."
Avoid desire for enjoyment 'at a
distance] because the smallest desire being admitted, there
will be nothing to prevent it from going to any excess, even
The mind
" severed from all connection with sensual objects, and
"prevented from functioning out, awakes into the
light of the heart, and finds the highest condition.
' The mind should be prevented from functioning, till
" it dissolves itself in the heart ; this is gnosis, this
" is Concentration, the rest is all mere concoction of
" untruth."
He becomes Brahman who knows Brahman" .....Dnyaneshwar..camphor fire ..fire
" A sight of that which transcends all having been obtained the tie which binds the
heart to egoism is at once dissolved, all doubts disappear, all
Karma vanish into nothing"
"gnosis dispels ignorance only." If it be asked what can be
the means of dissolving the subtile body, we say the
destruction of the conditions which make up that body.
the author of the
Panchapadika takes the word ' ignorance 'in the sense of
all that exists away from Brahman" by a kind of constant
concomitant relation with ignorance. If this sense were not
read into the word, the text will evidently contradict expe-
rience ; for, in actual experience we find that all that exists
away from Brahman ' is dissolved with the ignorance which
gnosis destroys.
Simplicity of disposition, plainness of conduct, universal
" compassion, forbearance, straightforwardness, devo-
' tion to the teacher, parity, steadiness, self-control,
" non-attachment to objects of sense, absence of
" egoism, having the eye constantly on the misery and
" evil concomitant with birth, death, age, and decay, no
" clinging to wife, child or property, nor any painful
" attachment to them, constant evenness of mind under
" agreeable as well as disagreeable circumstances, one
" sole devotion to Me in complete identification with
" myself, love of solitude, no liking for the company
" of men, unswerving conviction of the absolute truth
" of self-knowledge, looking at things through gnosis ;
" this is all that it meant by gnosis, the rest is all
" ignorance."
Latent desire may be described as that indiscriminate
" hankering after things which is forgetful of autece-
" dence and consequence on account of the overpower
61
" ing impression they produce. He becomes that
" which he identifies himself with, by force of strong
" and deep attachment, and loses, oh strong-armed
"one ! all other memory in the act. The man thus
" subdued by vasana, fixing his eye on anything what-
" ever, is deluded into believing it as the best of its
*' class ; and the perceiver being entirely under the
" impulse of vasana, the object thus perceived is not
" cognized in its real form. Thus does he, with be-
" clouded eye, perceive everything like one under the
" power of strong intoxication, quite in this deluded
" fashion."
' Ignorance ' is that which veils the distinction of the three
bodies, the five sheaths, and the transcendent witness of them
all. Being ' of the form of thick ignorance' means being
darkly built of this ignorance. As milk becomes coagulated
on being mixed with whey, or as liquid clarified butter being
62
exposed to cold turns to thickness, so does this Vasana become
thick (through ignorance).
" Men born to Life of the Lower Self do not understand the
distinction between action and inaction, nor do they know purity, polite-
ness, or truth.
The S'ruti, too, has it : " This self is not realizable by study,
nay, not even by intelligence or much learning."
Identification of Self with the body
70
being unsupported by any evidence, and being the source of
much misery, is certainly most ' impure.'
These three Vasanas, world, learning, and life
though apparently thought agreeable by the uninformed should
entirely be given up by those who have acquired discri-
mination ;
for, they obstruct the rise of knowledge,
in those who are seekers of knowledge, and interfere with
the condition of gnosis acquired by the accomplished.
Hence it is that Satva is the residual native form of the
man of gnosis who has done away with Rajas and Tamas
through application to Yoga. It has been said with this in
mind : " The mind of the knower is no mind at all, for, his
mind is called Satva.*
Says the S'ruti:
" It is seen with the pointed intellect by those who are
accustomed to minute observation,''
It is not possible to examine jewels, pearls, and the like,
with a view to determine their value, in the light of a lamp
flickering under the breeze ; nor can a large ploughshare
help to sew a piece of cloth, like a fine needle.
* S'ankara.
83
what is said in the Naishkarmyasiddhi : " The knower has no
pride of spiritual knowledge, for pride belongs to life of the Lower
Stlf ; if this life of the Lower Self should impart its colour
to the Knower^ knowledge of Brahman remains of no use
whatever."
Attachment to any one of the many fields which the
" mind visits for exercise, is the surest sign of ignorance;
"and greenness is certainly impossible in the tree
" that conceals a consuming fire in its hollow ;"
In another Smrti also it is said :
" He is not an ascetic whose hands and feet are not free
" from activity, whose eyes are not at rest, and he also
" is not an ascetic whose tongue is not under control.
" Due attention to these makes up the true ascetic."
" Tongueless, emasculated, lame, blind, deaf, and mad ;
" the mendicant with these six characteristics finds
" certain liberation.
As Kataka dust put into
turbid water settles down with the mud in the water, so would
the effort (for doing away with the co-ordination of doer and
instrument) put down the consciousness of doer and instru-
ment as also itself. This being accomplished, the mind
stands emptied of all vdsana whatever, for pure vdsanah
also would thus have disappeared like the impure vasandk
sought to put out.
Vasishtha says with this very thing
in view :
" The mind, therefore, experiences bondage through vdsand,
" void of vasana it is ever liberated. Oh Rama ! try as
" soon as possible to acquire the condition free from
*' vasand.
Vasana melts away on acquiring proper
" vision through Truth,
the mind attains the condition
" of supreme tranquility on the dissolution of vasana.
" He is the real Jivanmukta who is wide awake though
" in sleep, who does not even know waking, and whose
" knowledge is ever free from all vasand
I have
studied enough of philosophy, nay I have talked and
" taught it to my full ;
I am convinced there is no con-
' dition higher than that Silence which comes of the
" abandonment of all 'latent desire.'"
Bow to that immutable
" moon-like effulgence of him from whose heart has died
" out the serpent of the mind ever lying there in a coil,
" emitting with every breath the terrible venom of
" endless desire. The mind is the navel of this all-
" whirling wheel of Illusion ; if thou can'st stand out
" of it (the navel) there is nothing which can affect
" thee."
Gaudapadacharya too has said :
" In all ascetics whatever, the condition of fearlessness
" depends on control of mind, which leads also to
" destruction of misery, perfect light and inexhausti-
" ble peace."
Company of the good' is the only remedy for those who,
though often enlightened, are unable to grasp the Truth, as
well as for those who forget it as often as they grasp it. The
'good' constantly inculcate the Truth, and ever remind their
100
hearers of the same.
The result of Pranayama is thus set forth in the same book of
Aphorisms:
" Thence is destroyed the covering of light."
The Light is the light of Sattva; that which obscures this
native light is the cause which manifests itself in sleep, sloth-
fulness, and the like ; this is removed by the practice of
Prdndydma. Also
" The mind becomes fit for absorption."
Absorption is contemplation from fixing of the mind on some
place, such as the seven plexuses distributed in the body
respectively at the rectum, the genitive organ, the navel, the
heart, the throat, the middle of the eye-brows, the crown of the
head. "
" The wise fixing his mind upon the ever functioning character of itself should reduce it to the Self the unfailing subject of contemplation. This is contemplation."
These stages are seen to be four in the Kathopanishad :
" The wise should fuse all speech into the mind, the mind
into the Self that discriminates (buddhi), the discriminating
Self into the great Self (mahat), and he should fuse this great
Self into the Self, all peace and tranquility."
" and renunciation are sure to hold it in check. I am
" of opinion that yoga is impossible in him who has
" not his mind under full control ; he who strives with
" his mind in control attains to it by proper means."
" Fix the mind
in the Self and think of nothing besides."
This yoga alone is to me the highest means of attaining the
ultimate end of existence ; conviction of this kind is called
' faith.
"The condition of the 'well-controlled mind of the en-
" lightened in .unconscious ecstacy is different from
"sleep, not at all like it. It (the mind) is absorbed
"That bliss which is experienced by- the mind purified of
" all dross from the practice of trance and fixed in
" Atman cannot be described in words, it is understood
"by the inner sense alone."
It has been said
in the Kathopanishad, with the same in view :
" That is called the lightest condition wherein all the
" five senses and the mind remain in full control
" and wherein even the intellect does not pass out to
u other desires.
This steadying of the senses is called
" Yoga, the Yogin is full awake in that condition, for,
" Yoga is creating accompanied with giving up."
" Doubt " is the thought whether Atman is doer and suffer-
er or not ? * False knowledge ' is knowledge that the body is the
176
self. Both these refer to the doer ; the ' illusion ' here referred
to has connection with objects of enjoyment, and this illusions
manifold as explained in that verse of the Bhagvad-Gitd which
sa^s " give up all imaginings " etc. The cause of this illusion
viz.. Ignorance, is fourfold
This ascetic is
for ever awake in the light of this supreme Atman
For, it is
only the ascetic who, bearing in mind the text : "The patient
Brdhmana having known It should harmonise himself in the
Self, he should not be deluded away by words ; it is mere waste
of breath ;" gets over all mental destruction with the force of
Yoga, and acquires " harmony in the Se'lf^'
"And this is mere harmony in the Self."
The ascetic gains the conviction : I am that Supreme Being,
all peace ; free from all distraction beginning with anger and
the like; immoveable from having no action whatever; above all
distinction of like and unlike, of part and whole ; one uniform
essence of existence, thought and bliss
Raja-yoga interprets it to mean
tho point where the individual soul merges into the supreme soul and
onenoss is realized.
Hatha-yoga also has its own interpretation of Sandhyd.
The fusion of the Ida, and Pingala, the sun- and moon- breaths in
the SushumnA when both flow together, is the real point of all formal
twilight-worship and, true enough, such fusion does take place at both
the twilights and at midday and midnight.
Those who destroy Self go, after death, to the
" sphere called asurya (without the sun) ail enveloped
" in thick darkness."
Thirumantiram:
312: God Abides not in the Hearts of Unlearned¶
Things transitory you fix in heart as abiding joys,
This mortal body frail you deem as enduring stuff;
Though the Lord God all life pervades,
Absent is He and His Light from the hearts of the unlearned.
They alone truly reckon who, wise in love, win the truth.
Yet they catch not of his light the faintest gleam.
320: Middle Path Is Wisdom¶
Unless you in middle path stand, wisdom you have not,
To those who in middle path stand, hell opens not its gate,
Those that in middle path stand, heavenly beings are they;
In the noble fellowship of the just, I too walked in their way.
324: Drunkards Lose Sense Of Right And Wrong¶
The cow fed on broth of rice wanders not from tank to tank
The cow denied its drink of broth grows weak and lank
Who swill the toddy neat, from righteousness go astray
Truest drink is Sivananda, the bliss supreme, far and away.
328: Truth Eludes Drunkards¶
They see not the inner truth, know not the pasu-pasa,
They dwell not in the bounteous lord's divine grace;
In the clear light of wisdom, Sivayoga they seek not,
They, who soak in liquors, truth never can appraise.
331: Joys Of Sivananda Nectar¶
In meditation lost, rid of the cycle of night and day,
Dead to outward things, they drink not the bliss-nectar
The bliss of the lord's feet that neither night nor day knoweth,
I, caught in maya causing night and day, struggle to reach.
334: Divine Nectar Leads to Siddhis¶
All Tattvas and egoity past, Truth of self realised,
In truest joy immersed, of false penances void,
Rid of worldly lure, drunk full of Heavenly Bliss,
This indeed is Siddhi true and Sivananda unalloyed.
The yogis who, breath in control held, yearn for
The nectared delights of Contemplation's Moon,
The eight Siddhis they seek; but witless fools are they
Who to toddy yield and in its heady joys let their senses swoon.
336: Drink Divine Nectar in Samadhi¶
Open and drink deep the nectar that gushes from the spring;
Unfold the petals of the Holy Master's Lotus Feet;
Lead the Yoga-breath through the spiring channel up
And thus in Samadhi ascending,
Reach the Divine Good in holy meet.
116: He Shattered Impurities Three--Egoity, Illusion and Karma¶
122: Sivayoga is to Attain Self-Lumination¶
Sivayoga it is to know the Cit-Acit,
And for the Yoga-Penance qualify;
Self-light becoming Self,
To enter undeviating, His lordly domain;
He granted me this--Nandi of the Nine Yogas.
Ascending thus the steps,
Thirty and six of Freedom's ladder high,
Into the peerless Light of Bliss they walked;
And Siva, the inexplicable, they saw--
Having seen, realized and so stayed.
129: Sleeping Still They Perceive¶
Sleeping, in themselves they saw Siva's World,
Sleeping, in themselves they saw Siva's Yoga,
Sleeping, in themselves they saw Siva's Bhoga,
How then describe the minds
Of those who sleeping saw?
134: Silentness of Waveless Thought¶
Like the ghee subtly latent in purest milk,
Into the waveless Thought the Lord in silentness speaks;
They who, in silentness realise, this mortal coil shuffled,
Purity they become, in Limitless Light mingling.
135: When the Five Senses Take Cit's Way, They Reach Cit¶
When the senses Five, sound commencing, Cit's way take,
Where shall the Cit go but to the Cit?
In space light mingles but with Light,
Note this, as doth salt in the sea vast.
183: Subdue the Senses, Birth Cycle Ends¶
The five needles thick, this bag of senses holds
The five needles thick in this bestial body roam free;
If the five needles thick you tame and subdue,
No more this bag that life's cycle involves.
194: Lord is the Light Beyond Visible Reach¶
The bee, that nectar seeks, flies high for its flower on top
And there, alone, it sucks the fragrant juice;
Even so, they who seek the blessed grace divine,
Aspire for the Light beyond visible reach of eyes.
357: The Lord Comes to Those Who Seek Him in Yoga Way¶
While the heavenly Beings sang of Him
As seated in rapture serene,
He came rushing
To me along the highway of bliss that opened up
As from Muladhara the Kundalini fire shot up
To the crimson spheres of Sahasrara
In the way that is yoga.
392: As Light Within Brahma, the Primal One Creates¶
A rare Ruby--He is easy of reach,
The One Lord--He is easy of love,
He is the light within Brahma;
And now I know why the Creator does it easy so.
432: The Lord Gave This Life¶
The Lord who gave life so sweet
Imprisoned me in pasas miseries;
A skeletal frame He fashioned,
With flesh and skin He clothed it;
Lighting then the spark of life
To annihilation He hastened me.
567: Breath Control Yields Life Nectar¶
Let Prana merge in Mind
And together the two be stilled
Then no more shall birth and death be;
Therefore, learn to direct breath
In streams alternating left and right
And in silentness chant "Aum"
Then shall you sevile of the nectar of life.
When in the Meru Peak of Sahasrara
Bindu and Nada flourish
In their union will Samadhi be;
And the Light Resplendent of Endless Jnana
Will then visioned be!
625: Ambrosia in Samadhi Leads to God¶
There is a way to vision the Lord,
The Celestial Beings churned
But with the mountain dark,
And partook of ambrosia;
But they climbed not
The heights of the Mystic Mountain
And partook not of ambrosia there flows,
For, they possess not
The unwavering mind
That soars in Samadhi high.
717: Perform Yoga Penance and Reach Lord¶
Thus toward that goodly state
Practise yogic penance;
If you succeed in coursing breath
Into the lotus in cranium,
You shall gain the Lord
That remains hidden in Vedas.
735: Continence Leads to God-hood¶
If the seminal seed thickens by sexual absention
It shall never be destroyed;
If the body is lightened by austere discipline
Long shall the life be;
If food is eaten sparingly
Many the good that flow;
You may verily become
The Lord of Dark-Hued throat.
Thus does knowledge that comes in diverse ways,
But erode life span in succession;
Knowing this not, they perish away.
749: Kindle Kundalini Lamp Within¶
They who know not this Way to the goal
And try other Ways
Are but fools;
They search with blazing torch
While within them is the hand-lamp
They who can kindle the Kundlini Fire within
Will abide ever in this fleeting world.
839: Vision of Void in Pariyanga Yoga¶
When You know the Void
And the light in that Void
Your mind shall be strong as a chistle of bronze;
After having tasted of the nectar
I saw the Void
With goodly Nandi guiding;
Beyond, I knew not.
1008: Kriya is Not Sought by Bhaktas, Yogis and Jnanis¶
They who have been received by Lord in His Grace
Seek not Kriya Way;
They who desire not to accumulate Karma,
Seek not to perform Kriyas;
They who are Siva Yogins great
They too seek not Kriyas;
They who are in loving devotion surpassing stand
They too seek not Kriyas.
1009: Seek God the Jnana Way¶
They know not to reach Him by Jnana Divine;
They seek Him by ways of senses, in vain;
If within you, you constant seek Him in right way,
You shall indeed be in Nadanta.
1383: Effect of Five Years Chanting Hrim Sakti¶
Sever your Pasa's roots,
Adore Her in your heart's recesses,
All evil will leave you;
In five years you shall Siva be.
1422 Suddha Siddhanta is Vedanta ¶
Suddha Siddhanta is Vedanta;
They who have scaled the heights of Nada sphere
Have verily had the Vision Unwavering;
Comprehending Tattvas from world of elemental matter
To the Finite End of Jnana (Bhodanta)
They become Perfection in Nadanta;
They verily are the ardent seekers of Jnana.
1434 Way of Jnani¶
He stills the incessant flow of thought
That even Yoga's severity stills not,
With Jnana he effaces the Self
And in Bhava identifies with Siva;
That in brief is worthy Jnani's story.
Unless you shed your fleshly attachments
And realize Him in the depths of your heart
You shall never never reach His Holy Feet
1468: Jnani Transcends Nada¶
Out of the primal Principle of Sound (Nada)
The Mind springs;
And out of the Mind-Intelligence, Egoity and Will;
They who have mastered these three,
And the Mind's cogitational activity as well,
Verily have mastered Nada
And have truly attained Jnana.
1472: Jnani Becomes Light Divine¶
In whose thoughts Jnana ripens and swells,
In his path the Life-Boat appears and greets him;
And thus does he reach the surging waters
Of the Crescent Moon's sphere,
And there, rid of Impurities,
He himself the Effulgent Light becomes.
Vivekchudamani:
69. The first step to Liberation is the extreme aversion to all perishable things, then follow calmness, self-control, forbearance, and the utter relinquishment of all work enjoined in the Scriptures.
75. Those fools who are tied to these sense-objects by the stout cord of attachment, so very difficult to snap, come and depart, up and down, carried amain by the powerful emissary of their past action.
79. The shark of hankering catches by the throat those seekers after Liberation who have got only an apparent dispassion (Vairagya) and are trying to cross the ocean of samsara (relative existence), and violently snatching them away, drowns them half-way.
141. The man of perverted intellect, having his Self-knowledge swallowed up by the shark of utter ignorance, himself imitates the various states of the intellect (Buddhi), as that is Its superimposed attribute, and drifts up and down in this boundless ocean of Samsara which is full of the poison of sense-enjoyment, now sinking, now rising – a miserable fate indeed!
142. As layers of clouds generated by the sun’s rays cover the sun and alone appear (in the sky), so egoism generated by the Self, covers the reality of the Self and appears by itself.
143. Just as, on a cloudy day, when the sun is swallowed up by dense clouds, violent cold blasts trouble them, so when the Atman is hidden by intense ignorance, the dreadful Vikshepa Shakti (projecting power) afflicts the foolish man with numerous griefs.
144. It is from these two powers that man’s bondage has proceeded – beguiled by which he mistakes the body for the Self and wanders (from body to body).
145. Of the tree of Samsara ignorance is the seed, the identification with the body is its sprout, attachment its tender leaves, work its water, the body its trunk, the vital forces its branches, the organs its twigs, the sense-objects its flowers, various miseries due to diverse works are its fruits, and the individual soul is the bird on it.
146. This bondage of the non-Self springs from ignorance, is self-caused, and is described as without beginning and end. It subjects one to the long train of miseries such as birth, death, disease and decrepitude.
147. This bondage can be destroyed neither by weapons nor by wind, nor by fire, nor by millions of acts – by nothing except the wonderful sword of knowledge that comes of discrimination, sharpened by the grace of the Lord.
148. One who is passionately devoted to the authority of the Shrutis acquires steadiness in his Svadharma, which alone conduces to the purity of his mind. The man of pure mind realises the Supreme Self, and by this alone Samsara with its root is destroyed.
149. Covered by the five sheaths – the material one and the rest – which are the products of Its own power, the Self ceases to appear, like the water of a tank by its accumulation of sedge.
150. On the removal of that sedge the perfectly pure water that allays the pangs of thirst and gives immediate joy, appears unobstructed before the man.
151. When all the five sheaths have been eliminated, the Self of man appears – pure, of the essence of everlasting and unalloyed bliss, indwelling, supreme and self-effulgent.
152. To remove his bondage the wise man should discriminate between the Self and the non-Self. By that alone he comes to know his own Self as Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute and becomes happy.
153. He indeed is free who discriminates between all sense-objects and the indwelling, unattached and inactive Self – as one separates a stalk of grass from its enveloping sheath – and merging everything in It, remains in a state of identity with That.
162. As long as the book-learned man does not give up his mistaken identification with the body, organs, etc., which are unreal, there is no talk of emancipation for him, even if he be ever so erudite in the Vedanta philosophy.
163. Just as thou dost not identify thyself with the shadow-body, the image-body, the dream-body, or the body thou hast in the imaginations of thy heart, cease thou to do likewise with the living body also.
164. Identifications with the body alone is the root that produces the misery of birth etc., of people who are attached to the unreal; therefore destroy thou this with the utmost care.
When this identification caused by the mind is given up, there is no more chance for rebirth.
176. In the forest-tract of sense-pleasures there prowls a huge tiger called the mind. Let good people who have a longing for Liberation never go there.
178. Deluding the Jiva, which is unattached Pure Intelligence, and binding it by the ties of body, organs and Pranas, the mind causes it to wander, with ideas of "I" and "mine", amidst the varied enjoyment of results achieved by itself.
181. Therefore the seeker after Liberation must carefully purify the mind. When this is purified, Liberation is as easy of access as a fruit on the palm of one’s hand.
202. The cessation of that superimposition takes place through perfect knowledge, and by no other means. Perfect knowledge, according to the Shrutis, consists in the realisation of the identity of the individual soul and Brahman.
That by which all those modifications such as egoism as well as their subsequent absence (during deep sleep) are perceived, but which Itself is not perceived, know thou that Atman – the Knower – through the sharpest intellect.
267. Even after the Truth has been realised, there remains that strong, beginningless, obstinate impression that one is the agent and experiencer, which is the cause of one’s transmigration. It has to be carefully removed by living in a state of constant identification with the Supreme Self. Sages call that Liberation which is the attenuation of Vasanas (impressions) here and now
268. The idea of "me and mine" in the body, organs, etc., which are the non-Self – this superimposition the wise man must put a stop to, by identifying himself with the Atman.
275. The desire for Self-realisation is obscured by innumerable desires for things other than the Self. When they have been destroyed by the constant attachment to the Self, the Atman clearly manifests Itself of Its own accord.
276. As the mind becomes gradually established in the Inmost Self, it proportionately gives up the desires for external objects. And when all such desires have been eliminated, there takes place the unobstructed realisation of the Atman.
360. The truth of the Paramatman is extremely subtle, and cannot be reached by the gross outgoing tendency of the mind. It is only accessible to noble souls with perfectly pure minds, by means of Samadhi brought on by an extraordinary fineness of the mental state.
361. As gold purified by thorough heating on the fire gives up its impurities and attains to its own lustre, so the mind, through meditation, gives up its impurities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and attains to the reality of Brahman.
362. When the mind, thus purified by constant practice, is merged in Brahman, then Samadhi passes on from the Savikalpa to the Nirvikalpa stage, and leads directly to the realisation of the Bliss of Brahman, the One without a second.
363. By this Samadhi are destroyed all desires which are like knots, all work is at an end, and inside and out there takes place everywhere and always the spontaneous manifestation of one’s real nature.
364. Reflection should be considered a hundred times superior to hearing, and meditation a hundred thousand times superior even to reflection, but the Nirvikalpa Samadhi is infinite in its results.
365. By the Nirvikalpa Samadhi the truth of Brahman is clearly and definitely realised, but not otherwise, for then the mind, being unstable by nature, is apt to be mixed up with other perceptions.
368. Living in a retired place serves to control the sense-organs, control of the senses helps to control the mind, through control of the mind egoism is destroyed; and this again gives the Yogi an unbroken realisation of the Bliss of Brahman. Therefore the man of reflection should always strive only to control the mind.
375. The extremely dispassionate man alone has Samadhi, and the man of Samadhi alone gets steady realisation; the man who has realised the Truth is alone free from bondage, and the free soul only experiences eternal Bliss.
Give up thy identification with such unreal things as the body, and fix thy mind on the Atman. For thou art really the Witness, Brahman, unshackled by the mind, the One without a second, and Supreme.
378. Fixing the mind firmly on the Ideal, Brahman, and restraining the external organs in their respective centres; with the body held steady and taking no thought for its maintenance; attaining identity with Brahman and being one with It – always drink joyfully of the Bliss of Brahman in thy own Self, without a break. What is the use of other things which are entirely hollow?
379. Giving up the thought of the non-Self which is evil and productive of misery, think of the Self, the Bliss Absolute, which conduces to Liberation.
380. Here shines eternally the Atman, the Self-effulgent Witness of everything, which has the Buddhi for Its seat. Making this Atman which is distinct from the unreal, the goal, meditate on It as thy own Self, excluding all other thought.
381. Reflecting on this Atman continuously and without any foreign thought intervening, one must distinctly realise It to be one’s real Self.
382. Strengthening one’s identification with This, and giving up that with egoism and the rest, one must live without any concern for them, as if they were trifling things, like a cracked jar or the like.
383. Fixing the purified mind in the Self, the Witness, the Knowledge Absolute, and slowly making it still, one must then realise one’s own infinite Self.
407. This apparent universe has its root in the mind, and never persists after the mind is annihilated. Therefore dissolve the mind by concentrating it on the Supreme Self, which is thy inmost Essence.
411. With the mind restrained in Samadhi, behold in thy self the Atman, of infinite glory, cut off thy bondage strengthened by the impressions of previous births, and carefully attain the consummation of thy birth as a human being.
419. The result of dispassion is knowledge, that of Knowledge is withdrawal from sense-pleasures, which leads to the experience of the Bliss of the Self, whence follows Peace.
422. The result of knowledge should be the turning away from unreal things, while attachment to these is the result of ignorance. This is observed in the case of one who knows a mirage and things of that sort, and one who does not. Otherwise, what other tangible result do the knowers of Brahman obtain?
427. That kind of mental function which cognises only the identity of the Self and Brahman, purified of all adjuncts, which is free from duality, and which concerns itself only with Pure Intelligence, is called illumination. He who has this perfectly steady is called a man of steady illumination.
431. The absence of the ideas of "I" and "mine" even in this existing body which follows as a shadow, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.
439. He who through his illumination never differentiates the Jiva and Brahman, nor the universe and Brahman, is known as a man liberated-in-life.
447. Through the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman, all the accumulated actions of a hundred crore of cycles come to nought, like the actions of dream-state on awakening.
471. High-souled Sannyasins who have got rid of all attachment and discarded all sense-enjoyments, and who are serene and perfectly restrained, realise this Supreme Truth and at the end attain the Supreme Bliss through their Self-realization.
473. Through the Samadhi in which the mind has been perfectly stilled, visualise the Truth of the Self with the eye of clear realisation. If the meaning of the (Scriptural) words heard from the Guru is perfectly and indubitably discerned, then it can lead to no more doubt.
521. What wise man would discard that enjoyment of Supreme Bliss and revel in things unsubstantial? When the exceedingly charming moon is shining, who would wish to look at a painted moon?
522. From the perception of unreal things there is neither satisfaction nor a cessation of misery. Therefore, being satisfied with the realisation of the Bliss Absolute, the One without a second, live happily in a state of identity with that Reality.
565. As, when a jar is broken, the space enclosed by it becomes palpably the limitless space, so when the apparent limitations are destroyed, the knower of Brahman verily becomes Brahman Itself.
Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad:
One desirous of bliss should dwell in this universe through the aid of Āṭmā alone, intent upon Āṭmā, free from desires, and without the desire of blessing (others).
One desirous of bliss should dwell in this universe through the aid of Āṭmā alone, intent upon Āṭmā, free from desires, and without the desire of blessing (others).
He becomes fit for salvation through the control of the organs, the destruction of love and hate and non-injury to beings.
He should abandon (all identification with) this feeble, perishable, and impure body of five elements whereof the bones are the pillars, which is strung by the nerves, coated over with flesh and blood, covered up by the skin, is of bad odour, full of urine and fæces is ever haunted by dotage and miseries and is the seat of all ills.
If an ignorant man be fond of this body firmly knit together
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with flesh, blood, pus, fæces, and urine, nerves, fat, and bones, he would, a fortiori, be fond of hell.
He should abandon (all identification with) this feeble, perishable, and impure body of five elements whereof the bones are the pillars, which is strung by the nerves, coated over with flesh and blood, covered up by the skin, is of bad odour, full of urine and fæces is ever haunted by dotage and miseries and is the seat of all ills.
If an ignorant man be fond of this body firmly knit together
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with flesh, blood, pus, fæces, and urine, nerves, fat, and bones, he would, a fortiori, be fond of hell.
That (identification of the body with the Self) is alone the seat of the Kālasūṭra hell. That is alone the Mahā-Vīchi-Vāgura (hell).
That is alone the Asipaṭravanaśreṇi (hell). Such an idea of the body being the Self should be strenuously abandoned, though all should perish.
That love of the body is not fit to be felt by one intent upon his welfare, just as a low-caste woman eating dog's flesh is unfit to be touched.
"One (fit to reach salvation), after leaving all meritorious actions to those dear to him and all sins to those not dear, attains the eternal Brahman through ḍhyāna-yoga.
Such a man, through the ordinances, gives up little by little all associations, and being freed from all pairs of opposites, remains in Brahman alone.
On account of the accomplishment (of salvation), he should be moving about alone and without any help.
"The ascetic should never in thought even think of others with the six (viz.,) love, hate, pride, deceit, treachery, and the illusion (of confounding them).
That paramahamsa of an ascetic in the order of life of a sannyāsin who is without dualities, always follows the pure saṭṭvaguṇa and sees all equally, is no other than the actual Nārāyaṇa Himself.
Though there is no difference between the women's secret parts that cannot be described by words and an (ever) oozing tubular wound, yet through the difference of the mind, (men are deluded). Such men are said to be without prāṇa, (viz., dead) though alive. Prostrations to those that sport in that piece of flesh which is rent in twain and tainted with the breaking of the wind, etc. What more revolting thing is there than this?
"To the wise, there is nothing to do, no sign (of identification). The muni who is without 'mine' and fear, with quiescence, without duality and eating leaf (alone), should ever be in meditation with either loin-cloth or no cloth.
It is the dictate of the Veḍas that the sign (of non-identification) itself is Kaivalya."
Should he be a sannyāsin learned (in the Veḍas, etc.), he should get himself initiated into Praṇava from his teacher and go about at his own free will with the thought of there being none other but his Self, and feeding his body with fruits, leaves and water, live in mountains, forest and temples.
That lover of salvation who after sannyāsa roams about naked in all places with his heart full of the enjoyment of Āṭmic bliss, with the fruit of avoidance of karmas and maintaining his life with fruits, juice, barks, leaves, roots and water should abandon his body in mountain caves, uttering the Praṇava.
"To the āṭuras and kutīchakas, the world they attain is bhūrloka and bhuvarloka; to the bāhūḍakas, swargaloka; to the hamsas, ṭapoloka; to the paramahamsas, saṭyaloka. To the ṭurīyāṭīṭa and avaḍhūṭa, Kaivalya in Āṭmā according to the analogy of the wasp and the worm through the realisation of Reality.
That person who, having visited all sacred places, does not do any injury to any living creature and gets alms at the proper time, is fit to be of the nature of Brahman. He should not associate with a forester or householder
Till the mind becomes pure, the learned man should thus be moving about. Then when the mind is purified, he may be anywhere as a parivrājaka.
Having given up abhimāna and anger, being content with moderate food, having conquered the organs and having controlled the avenues (of the organs), one should make the mind enter into meditation.
The yogin who has always controlled (his mind and organs) should ever diligently commence his meditation in empty places, caves and forests.
The knower of yoga who is bent upon accomplishing the end should never be engaged in giving feasts to Brāhmaṇas, in śrāḍḍha sacrifices, etc., or in going to places of pilgrimages, festivals or crowds.
The well-controlled yogin should go about as if people had treated him with disrespect.
He should not go against the actions of the wise. That great ascetic is said to be a ṭriḍanḍin (or having a three-knotted staff) who holds firmly the three-ḍaṇda (control) of mind, speech, and body. That ascetic is said to be a supreme person who begs alms-food of worthy brāhmaṇas, when smoke has ceased and fire has been extinguished (in their houses)
Then being devoid of 'I' and 'mine' and of all attractions, and having attained peace of mind, etc., he sees Āṭmā in himself.
Through observing the faults of samsāra, there arises indifference. There is no doubt that sannyāsa arises in one who becomes disgusted with samsāra. The aspirant after salvation who is called paramahamsa should, through the hearing, etc., of veḍānṭa, practise Brahma-jñāna, which is the direct and chief means of salvation. In order to attain Brahma-jñāna, the one named paramahamsa should possess the qualities of the control of mind and body, etc. He should always he a practiser of veḍānṭa, being master of the mind, the body
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and the organs, being without fear and egoism, with a firm mind, without the pairs (of opposites), without attaching himself to any, having a worn-out loin-cloth, and being bald-headed or naked. He should have the great intelligence of the knower of veḍānṭa, a yogin without 'I' and 'mine' and being equal and friendly to friends and other beings.
Thus the aspirant after salvation should ever be uttering the Praṇava which enables one to cross samsāra, and be living as a Jivanmukṭa. Thus the ascetic, according to each one's capacity, should ever be seeking the means to attain Kaivalya. Such is the Upanishaḍ."
"Omkāra that is Brahman is the vyashti (individual) and the samashti (cosmic).
O muni neither is it the trifling prajñā; nor is it the non-prajñā; nor is it the dual prajñā; nor is it the internal prajñā, though it is without prajñā; it is Prajñāna-ghana. It can never be known by the organs; nor it can be known by the reason; it cannot be grasped by the organs of action. It cannot be proved. It cannot be reached by thought. It cannot be proved by analogy. It can be realised by Self-realisation alone.
All Āṭmic knowledge is through ṭapas (only).
One who has neither given up vicious actions, nor controlled his organs, nor mastered his mind, nor given up longing after fruits of actions though the mind is undisturbed, nor brought his mind to one state (or point), will not attain this Āṭmā.
This (Brahman) is neither internal nor external consciousness; is neither gross, nor jñāna, nor ajñāna; nor is it the state between the waking and the dreaming states. It cannot be cognised by the organs; is not subject to proof; is within. He who knows that which is by Itself alone is an emancipated person."
The Lord Brahma said that he becomes an emancipated person. He who knows Reality is a Parivrāt. Such a Parivrāt roams about alone. Through fear, he is like a terrified deer. He will not be opposed to going anywhere. Having given up all but his body, he will live like a bee, and without considering others as foreign to himself; ever meditating upon Reality, he attains liberation in himself. Such a Parivrāt will be without delusion, without action or causing others to act, being absolved from teacher, disciple, books, etc., and having abandoned all samsāra. Such a Parivrāt roams about thus—without wealth, being happy, able to get wealth (if wanted), having crossed jñāna and ajñāna as well as happiness and grief, being Self-effulgence, being fit to be known by the Veḍas, having known all, able to confer siḍḍhis and remaining himself as Brahman, the Lord. Such a Parivrāt attains the supreme abode of Vishṇu, from which a yogin that has gone to it does not return, and where the sun and the moon do not shine. He does not return. Such is Kaivalya. Such is the Upanishaḍ.
The yogin who has always controlled (his mind and organs) should ever diligently commence his meditation in empty places, caves and forests.
The knower of yoga who is bent upon accomplishing the end should never be engaged in giving feasts to Brāhmaṇas, in śrāḍḍha sacrifices, etc., or in going to places of pilgrimages, festivals or crowds.
The well-controlled yogin should go about as if people had treated him with disrespect.
He should not go against the actions of the wise. That great ascetic is said to be a ṭriḍanḍin (or having a three-knotted staff) who holds firmly the three-ḍaṇda (control) of mind, speech, and body. That ascetic is said to be a supreme person who begs alms-food of worthy brāhmaṇas, when smoke has ceased and fire has been extinguished (in their houses)
Then being devoid of 'I' and 'mine' and of all attractions, and having attained peace of mind, etc., he sees Āṭmā in himself.
Through observing the faults of samsāra, there arises indifference. There is no doubt that sannyāsa arises in one who becomes disgusted with samsāra. The aspirant after salvation who is called paramahamsa should, through the hearing, etc., of veḍānṭa, practise Brahma-jñāna, which is the direct and chief means of salvation. In order to attain Brahma-jñāna, the one named paramahamsa should possess the qualities of the control of mind and body, etc. He should always he a practiser of veḍānṭa, being master of the mind, the body
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and the organs, being without fear and egoism, with a firm mind, without the pairs (of opposites), without attaching himself to any, having a worn-out loin-cloth, and being bald-headed or naked. He should have the great intelligence of the knower of veḍānṭa, a yogin without 'I' and 'mine' and being equal and friendly to friends and other beings.
Thus the aspirant after salvation should ever be uttering the Praṇava which enables one to cross samsāra, and be living as a Jivanmukṭa. Thus the ascetic, according to each one's capacity, should ever be seeking the means to attain Kaivalya. Such is the Upanishaḍ."
"Omkāra that is Brahman is the vyashti (individual) and the samashti (cosmic).
O muni neither is it the trifling prajñā; nor is it the non-prajñā; nor is it the dual prajñā; nor is it the internal prajñā, though it is without prajñā; it is Prajñāna-ghana. It can never be known by the organs; nor it can be known by the reason; it cannot be grasped by the organs of action. It cannot be proved. It cannot be reached by thought. It cannot be proved by analogy. It can be realised by Self-realisation alone.
All Āṭmic knowledge is through ṭapas (only).
One who has neither given up vicious actions, nor controlled his organs, nor mastered his mind, nor given up longing after fruits of actions though the mind is undisturbed, nor brought his mind to one state (or point), will not attain this Āṭmā.
This (Brahman) is neither internal nor external consciousness; is neither gross, nor jñāna, nor ajñāna; nor is it the state between the waking and the dreaming states. It cannot be cognised by the organs; is not subject to proof; is within. He who knows that which is by Itself alone is an emancipated person."
The Lord Brahma said that he becomes an emancipated person. He who knows Reality is a Parivrāt. Such a Parivrāt roams about alone. Through fear, he is like a terrified deer. He will not be opposed to going anywhere. Having given up all but his body, he will live like a bee, and without considering others as foreign to himself; ever meditating upon Reality, he attains liberation in himself. Such a Parivrāt will be without delusion, without action or causing others to act, being absolved from teacher, disciple, books, etc., and having abandoned all samsāra. Such a Parivrāt roams about thus—without wealth, being happy, able to get wealth (if wanted), having crossed jñāna and ajñāna as well as happiness and grief, being Self-effulgence, being fit to be known by the Veḍas, having known all, able to confer siḍḍhis and remaining himself as Brahman, the Lord. Such a Parivrāt attains the supreme abode of Vishṇu, from which a yogin that has gone to it does not return, and where the sun and the moon do not shine. He does not return. Such is Kaivalya. Such is the Upanishaḍ.
"So I shall tell you the means of destroying (these) sins. How could jñāna capable of giving moksha arise certainly without yoga? And even yoga becomes powerless in (securing) moksha when it is devoid of jñāna. So the aspirant after emancipation should practise (firmly) both yoga and jñāna. The cycle of births and deaths comes only through ajñāna and perishes only through jñāna. Jñāna alone was originally. It should be known as the only means (of salvation). That is jñāna through which one cognises (in himself) the real nature of kaivalya as the supreme seat, the stainless, the partless, and of the nature of Sachchiḍānanḍa without birth, existence and death and without motion and jñāna.
Place the left heel pressed on the anus, stretch the right leg and hold it firmly with both hands. Place the head on the breast and inhale the air slowly. Restrain the breath as long as you can and then slowly breathe out. After practising it with the left foot, practise it with the right. Place the foot that was stretched before on the thigh. This is mahābanḍha and should be practised on both sides. The yogin sitting in mahābanḍha and having inhaled the air with intent mind, should stop the course of vāyu (inside) by means of the throat-muḍrā, and occupying the two sides (of the throat) with speed. This is called mahāveḍha and is frequently practised by the siḍḍhas. With the tongue thrust
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into the interior cavity of the head (or throat) and with the eyes intent on the spot between the eyebrows, this is called khecharīmuḍrā. Contracting the muscles of the neck and placing the head with a firm will on the breast, this is called the jālanḍhara (banḍha) and is a lion to the elephant of death. That banḍha by which prāṇa flies through Sushumnā is called uddiyāṇabaṇdha by the yogins. Pressing the heel firmly against the anus, contracting the anus and drawing up the apāna, this is said to be yonibanḍha. Through mūlabanḍha, prāṇa and apāna as well as nāḍa and binḍu are united and gives success in yoga: there is no doubt about this. To one practising in a reversed manner (or on both sides) which destroys all diseases, the gastric fire is increased. Therefore a practitioner should collect a large quantity of provisions, (for) if he takes a small quantity of food, the fire (within) will consume his body in a moment.
Like a lamp in an air-tight jar which is motionless, so that which is seen motionless through the process of yoga in the heart and which is free from turmoil, after having been drawn from the nine holes, is said to be Āṭmā alone."
From the Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad :
When, in the mind, indifference to all objects arises, then men should long after sannyāsa, (that being the best time for it); otherwise they are fallen.
One who attains vairāgya should take sannyāsa
Ramakrishna Notes:
MASTER: "If you want to realize God, then you must cultivate intense dispassion. You must renounce immediately what you feel to be standing in your way. You should not put it off till the future.
The Master continued: "That is called intense renunciation. No sooner did the man discriminate than he renounced. He went away with the towel on his shoulder. He didn't turn back to settle his worldly affairs. He didn't even look back at his home.
In other words, in samādhi man becomes one with God and gets rid of his egotism.
True knowledge is impossible without samādhi.
In samādhi man becomes one with God. Then he can have no egotism.
"Do you know what it is like? Just at noon the sun is directly overhead. If you look around, then, you do not see your shadow. Likewise, you will not find the 'shadow' of ego after attaining Knowledge, samādhi.
"A man attains Brahmajnana as soon as his mind is annihilated. With the annihilation of the mind dies the ego, which says 'I', 'I'. One also attains the knowledge of Brahman by following the path of devotion. One also attains it by following the path of knowledge, that is to say, discrimination. The jnanis discriminate, saying, 'Neti, neti', that is, 'All this is illusory, like a dream.' They analyse the world through the process of 'Not this, not this'; it is māyā
He who from the depth of his soul seeks to know God will certainly realize Him. He must. He alone who is restless for God and seeks nothing but Him will certainly realize Him.
"The youngsters do not enjoy worldly people's company. Rākhāl used to say, 'I feel nervous at the sight of the worldly-minded.' When I was first beginning to have spiritual experiences, I used to shut the doors of my room when I saw worldly people coming.
"As long as a man analyses with the mind, he cannot reach the Absolute. As long as you reason with your mind, you have no way of getting rid of the universe and the objects of the senses-form, taste, smell, touch, and sound.
When reasoning stops, you attain the Knowledge of Brahman. Ātman cannot be realized through this mind; Ātman is realized through Ātman alone. Pure Mind, Pure Buddhi, Pure Ātman-all these are one and the same.
"When the mind is annihilated, when it stops deliberating pro and con, then one goes into samādhi, one attains the Knowledge of Brahman.
Once a man's inner spirit is awakened, once he succeeds in knowing God, he doesn't feel the desire even to know about all this rubbish.
Fix your mind on God, and spiritual consciousness will be awakened in you."
"A man's spiritual consciousness is not awakened unless his kundalini is aroused."
"One's spiritual consciousness is not awakened by the mere reading of books. One should also pray to God. The kundalini is aroused if the aspirant feels restless for God. To talk of knowledge from mere study and heresay! What will that accomplish?
MASTER: "Man should possess dignity and alertness. Only he whose spiritual consciousness is awakened possesses this dignity and alertness and can be called a man.
Futile is the human birth without the awakening of spiritual consciousness.
"When a man develops pure sattva, he thinks only of God.
He does not enjoy anything else.
Some are born with pure sattva as a result of their Prārabdha karma.
Through unselfish action one finally acquires pure sattva.
"No sooner does a man develop pure sattva than he realizes God, through His grace.
"Ordinary people cannot understand pure sattva.
'When a man feels utter dispassion, he looks on the world as a deep well and his relatives as venomous cobras. Then he cannot think of saving money or making arrangements about his property.' God alone is real and all else illusory. To think of the world instead of God!
The unwavering conviction that God alone dwells in all beings is Jnāna, knowledge.
"Give up worldly talk altogether.
Don't talk about anything whatever but God.
If you see a worldly person coming near you, leave the place before he arrives.
You have spent your whole life in the world. You have seen that it is all hollow. Isn't that so?
God alone is Substance, and all else is illusory.
God alone is real, and all else has only a two days existence.
What is there in the world? The world is like a pickled hog plum: one craves for it. But what is there in a hog plum? Only skin and pit. And if you eat it you will have colic."
When the mind is united with God, one sees Him very near, in one's own heart. But you must remember one thing. The more you realize this unity, the farther your mind is withdrawn from worldly things
"Sri Ramakrishna said that one must pant and pine for God; only then may one have the vision of Him."
"When the soul longs and yearns for God like that, then you will know that you do not have long to wait for His vision. The rosy colour on the eastern horizon shows that the sun will soon rise."
Sanyas:
For a Viveki or a man of discrimination, this world is a ball of burning fire.
You must show extreme contempt towards worldly objects. Treat all earthly possessions and sensuous enjoyments as dung, poison, dust and straw. Turn the mind away from them. Then only will you get Jnana.
He whose self is unattached to external contacts, and findeth joy in the Self, having the self harmonised with the Eternal by Yoga, enjoys happiness exempt from decay (Ch. V-21).
That in which he findeth the Supreme Delight, which the purified Reason alone can grasp, beyond the senses, wherein established, he moveth not from the Reality; which, having obtained, he thinketh there is no greater gain beyond it; wherein established he is not shaken even by heavy sorrow (Ch. VI-21, 22).
The Yogi who thus, ever harmonising the Self, hath put away sin, he easily enjoyeth the infinite bliss of contact with the Eternal (Ch. VI-28).
When the dweller in the body hath crossed over these three qualities, whence all bodies have been produced, liberated from birth, death, old age and sorrow, he drinketh the nectar of Immortality (Ch. XIV-20).
The Bhagavata says that actual fire is not so dangerous, heated iron is not so dangerous, burning charcoal is not so dangerous, as the company of worldly persons!
All the so-called duties of the world have to be kicked away for the sake of that glorious state of Self-realisation.
The Mahabharata proclaims that for the sake of Self-realisation the whole world should be renounced without any hesitation.
Sadhana Without Vairagya Goes To Waste
When Vairagya appears in the mind, it opens the gate to Divine Wisdom. From dissatisfaction (with the sense-objects and worldly sense-enjoyments) comes aspiration. From aspiration comes abstraction. From abstraction comes the concentration of the mind. From the concentration of the mind comes meditation or contemplation. From contemplation comes Samadhi or Self-realisation. Without dissatisfaction or Vairagya, nothing is possible.
Intense Vairagya Necessary For Moksha
There must be intense (Tivra) Vairagya in the minds of the aspirants, throughout the period of their Sadhana. Mere mental adhesion will not do for success in Yoga. There must be intense longing for liberation, a high degree of Vairagya plus capacity for Sadhana (spiritual practice). Then only they will get Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Moksha. It was only Raja Janaka and Prahlada who had Tivra Vairagya (intense dispassion). This kind of Vairagya is necessary for quick realisation. It is very difficult to cross the ocean of Samsara with a dull type of Vairagya. The crocodile of sense-hankering (Trishna) for sense-enjoyments and sense-objects will catch the aspirants by the throat and, violently snatching away, will drown them half-way.
Those who do not develop the painless Vairagya inherent in one's self and that with great felicity and happiness are, at best, but vermins in human shapes.
Renunciation of desires brings about the annihilation of the mind. Annihilation of the mind brings on the destruction of Maya, because the mind alone is Maya.
"Na karmana na prajayana dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh. Neither by rituals, nor by progeny, nor by riches but by renunciation alone one can attain immortality."
Hear again the forcible utterances of the same Chhandogya Upanishad:
"Yo vai Bhuma tat sukham na alpe sukham asti, bhumaiva sukham bhuma tveva vijijnasitavyah.
The infinite (the Great) is bliss. There is no bliss in what is small (finite). The Infinite alone is Bliss. But one should wish to understand the Infinite."
"Yo vai Bhuma tat sukham na alpe sukham asti, bhumaiva sukham bhuma tveva vijijnasitavyah.
The infinite (the Great) is bliss. There is no bliss in what is small (finite). The Infinite alone is Bliss. But one should wish to understand the Infinite."
Only a thirsty man drinks water. Only a hungry man eats food. Even so, a man who is spiritually hungry and thirsty will only drink the Nectar of Immortality.
Stages in Vairagya There are four stages in Vairagya:
(1) Yatamana:- This is an attempt not to allow the mind to run into sensual grooves;
(2) Vyatireka :-In this stage some objects are attracting you and you are endeavouring to cut off the attachment and attraction. Slowly Vairagya develops for these objects also. Then the Vairagya matures. When some objects tempt and delude you, you should ruthlessly avoid them. You will have to develop Vairagya for these tempting objects and it must also mature. In this stage you are conscious of your degree of Vairagya towards different objects;
(3) Ekendriya:-The senses stand still and subdued, but the mind has either Raga or Dvesha for objects. Mind is, in other words, the only sense that functions independently;
(4) Vasirara :-In this highest stage of Vairagya, the objects no longer tempt you. They cause no attraction. The senses are perfectly quiet. The mind also is free from likes and dislikes (Raga and Dvesha). Then you get supremacy or independence. Now you are conscious of your supremacy. Without Vairagya no spiritual progress is possible.
Vairagya is of three kinds viz., dull (Manda), intense (Tivra) and very intense (Tivratara). Dull Vairagya cannot help you much in the attainment of your goal.
Vairagya is the opposite of Raga, or desire. It is dispassion or non-attachment. It is indifference to sensual objects herein and hereafter. Vairagya thins out the fatty sensual mind. It turns the mind inward (Antarmukh Vritti). This is the most important qualification for an aspirant. It is the one and the only means to enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Vairagya that is born of discrimination is lasting and steady.
Aspirants generally complain to me "Swamiji Maharaj, we are meditating for the last 12 years. But we do not know the reason why we have not made any substantial spiritual progress." This is due to lack of intense Vairagya only. The mind will be ever thinking of objects even during meditation. Intense Vairagya only can help the aspirant in attaining Self-Realization.
"Tarparampurushakyateh gunavaitrisnyam: Para-Vairagya or supreme non-attachment is that state wherein even the attachment to the qualities (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) drops, owing to the knowledge of the Purusha." (Patanjali's Yoga Sutras : 1-16).
In ordinary Vairagya there is a trace of Vasanas and desires. But in Para-Vairagya all Vasanas, Samskaras and desires are fried in toto. In Para-Vairagya there will be no desire at all. Perfect desirelessness is Para-Vairagya. In the Bhagavad Gita you will find: "Objects fall away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing behind. But his longing also ceases, who sees the Supreme." (11-59).
Note how Vairagya arises in the mind. The transitory, evanescent and perishable nature of all things creates a sort of disgust in all minds and in proportion to the depth and subtlety of nature, this reaction from the world works more or less powerfully in the mind of every individual. An irresistible feeling arises in our mind viz., that the finite can never satisfy the Infinite within us, that the changing and perishable cannot satisfy the change-less and deathless nature that is ours.
It is only when the mind, being divested of all its desires is indifferent to pleasure and pain and is not attracted by any object that it will be rendered pure, free from the grip of the great delusion like a bird freed from the cage and roaming about freely in the Akasa.
As soon as Vairagya arises in the mind, it opens the gate of Divine Wisdom
When the mind rests in Atma then the only Nitya-Tripti, or eternal satisfaction comes.
This Jnanagni or fire of wisdom will consume all fruits of actions in toto.
"Sarvam duhkham vivekinah-All indeed, is pain to a person of discrimination."
In the Bhagavad Gita you will find "Humility, unpretentiousness, harmlessness, forgiveness, rectitude, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control, dispassion towards the objects of the senses, and also absence of egoism, insight into the pain and evil of birth, death, old age and sickness, unattachment, absence of self-identification with son, wife, or home, and constant balance of mind in wished-for and unwished-for events, unflinching devotion to Me by Yoga, without other objects, resort to sequestered places, absence of enjoyment in the company of men, constancy in the wisdom of the Self, understanding of the object of essential wisdom; that is declared to be the Wisdom; all against it is ignorance (Ch. XIII-8-12).
"He, whose self is unattached to external contacts, and finds joy in the Self, having the self harmonised with the Eternal by Yoga, enjoys happiness exempt from decay." (Ch. V-21)
"That in which he finds the supreme delight which the Reason can grasp beyond the senses, wherein established, he moves not from the Reality; which, having obtained, he thinks there is no greater gain beyond it; wherein established, he is not shaken even by heavy sorrow." (Ch. VI-21, 22).
"The Yogi who thus, ever harmonizing the self, has put away sin, he easily enjoys the infinite bliss of contact with the Eternal." (Ch. VI-28).
"I shall declare that which ought to be known, that which being known immortality is enjoyed; the beginningless supreme Eternal, is called neither being nor non-being." (Ch. VIII-12)
"When the dweller in the body has crossed over these three qualities, whence all bodies have been produced, liberated from birth, death, old age and sorrow, he drinks the nectar of immortality." (Ch. XIV-20).
Worldly life is always attended with fear, whereas renunciation alone makes man absolutely fearless.
Panchadashi:
55. When the mind gradually leaves off the ideas of the meditator and the act of meditation and is merged in the sole object of meditation. (viz., the Self), and is steady like the flame of a lamp in a breezeless spot, it is called the super-conscious state (samadhi).
61. The entire network of desires is fully destroyed and the accumulated actions known as merits and demerits are fully rooted out by this Samadhi.
One who is subject to the urges of lust and other passions is unfit for liberation in life.
55. Sri Sureshvara says that one who pretends to be a knower of Brahman and yet lives without moral restraint is like a dog that eats unclean things. [Naiskarmyasiddhi-IV-62]
62. One who has understood intellectually the nature of the secondless Brahman and who is free from the defects of intellect,
should live in solitude and over a long period,
practise the Japa of Aum and thus control the vagaries of the mind.
205. As the fallen ones keep their minds ever concentrated on objects of enjoyment, such as garlands, sandal ointment, young women, clothes, gold and so forth, so an aspirant for liberation ought to keep his attention fixed on the Self and never falter.
209. As these people through perseverance increase their efficiency in their fields, so for the aspirant for liberation through continuous practice the idea of separateness of the Self from the body becomes stronger.
116. On the other hand, a meditator should always engage himself in meditation, for through meditation his feeling of identity with Brahman arises, as a devotee has it by meditating on Vishnu.
132. Those who are very fickle-minded and agitated do not have the knowledge of Brahman by the practice of enquiry.
Therefore control of the mind is the chief means for them. By it their mind becomes free from distractions.
133. For those whose intellects are no longer distracted nor restless but are merely covered by a veil of ignorance, the analytical system called Sankhya (intellectual enquiry) is prescribed.
It will quickly lead them to spiritual illumination.
134. ‘The state of spiritual balance is obtainable by both the Sankhyas (those who follow the path of enquiry) and the Yogis (those who practise meditation). He really knows the meaning of the scriptures who knows that the paths of enquiry and meditation are the same’.
151. The Atma Gita also clearly says that those who cannot practise discrimination should always meditate on the Self.
152. (The Self as if says): ‘Even if direct knowledge of Me does not seem to be possible, a man should still meditate on the Self.
In the course of time, he doubtlessly realises the Self and is freed’.
153. ‘To reach treasures deeply hidden in the earth, there is nothing for it but to dig.
So to have direct knowledge of Me, the Self, there is no other means than meditation on one’s Self’.
157. Destroying his idea that the body is the Self, through meditation a man sees the secondless Self, becomes immortal and realises Brahman in this body itself.
26. If you find the renunciation of all perceptible duality impossible, reflect on the intellect and realise the witness-consciousness as the one witness of all internal and external creations of the intellect.
104. ‘When by practice of Yoga, his mind is withdrawn and concentrated, the Yogi sees the Self by the Self and finds supreme satisfaction in the Self’.
107. ‘This science of separation from the painful association is called Yoga. This Yoga must be practised with faith and a steady and undespairing mind’
109. ‘The control of the mind can be achieved by untiring practice over a long period, even as the ocean can be dried up by baling its waters out drop by drop with a blade of grass.’
111. ‘As fire without fuel dies down and becomes latent in its cause, so the mind, when its modifications have been silenced, merges in its cause’.
113. ‘The mind is indeed the world. It should be purified with great effort. It is an ancient truth that the mind assumes the forms of the objects to which it is applied.’
114. ‘Through the purification of his mind a man destroys the impressions of his good and evil Karma and the purified mind abiding in Atman enjoys undiminishing bliss’.
127. As a Sati about to enter the fire considers the delay in putting on clothes and ornaments to be irritating, so also one devoted to the achievement of the bliss of Brahman, feels about worldly objects that obstruct the practice of meditation on bliss.
Tripura Rahasya:
It is the criterion of God's Grace that the mind should be rapt in the quest for truth, after becoming detached from sensual pleasures.
14. "Retire into solitude, analyse and see what those things are which are cognised as mine; discard them all and transcending them, look for the Real Self.
23-30. "Truly all these people are deluded!
No one of them knows even the fringe of the Self!
But all are active for the sake of their own selves. Some of them recite the scriptures, a few study them and their commentaries; some are busy accumulating wealth; others are ruling the land; some are fighting the enemy; others are seeking the luxuries of life.
When engaged in all this selfish activity they never question what exactly the Self may be; now why is there all this confusion?
Oh! When the Self is not known, all is in vain and as if done in a dream. So I will now investigate the matter.
realisation of that pure awareness is obstructed by other factors (pertaining to the non-self)
butting in
though the Self is always there, it is not recognised by you even with a controlled mind
because you are not conversant with it.
76. "Just as a yokel unacquainted with the system cannot understand the dazzling lights of the royal audience-chamber at night and so ignores its magnificence at first sight, so it is that you miss the Self.
83-85. "Effort towards Realisation is like the attempt to stamp with one's foot on the shadow cast by one's head. Effort will always make it recede.
"Although people understand space, they are not aware of it because they are taken up by the objects in space
Similarly also the fire of realisation will burn away all your sense of duty so that there will be nothing left for you to do.
Be strong, root out your thoughts and cut off the deep-rooted knots from your heart, namely, 'I will see', 'I am not this', 'This is non-Self', and such like.
91. "Realise that the Self is the self-contained mirror projecting and manifesting this world. The Self is pure unblemished consciousness. Be quick! Realise it quickly and gain transcendental happiness!"
Sada-shiva tattwa
62. "When the awareness of the 'exterior', combined with the 'I', encompasses the entire imagined space as 'I' it is called Sada-Siva-tattva.
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23. "The beneficent work of the self-inhering divine Grace is finished when the inward turning of one's mind increases in strength day by day
26. "True experience of the Self is the unawareness of even 'I am'. Can the world persist after such unawareness? Second-hand knowledge is no better than the recollection of a dream.
O youth, however clever a man may be, he will never know his own self by the mere teaching of others unless he realises it for himself. Otherwise he can never realise the Self if his mind is turned outward.
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26. "Realise it yourself by turning your sight inward. You are only pure abstract Consciousness. Realise it this instant, for procrastination is not worthy of a good disciple. He should realise the Self at the moment of instruction.
33. "The other perceptions require the two conditions, namely, elimination of others and concentration on the one. But Self-Realisation differs from them in that it requires only one condition: elimination of all perceptions.
Diversion of attention from other items is all that is necessary for Self-Realisation
47. "Realisation of Self requires absolute purity only and no concentration of mind. For this reason, the Self is said to be unknowable (meaning not objectively knowable).
48. "Therefore it was also said that the sole necessity for Self-Realisation is purity of mind. The only impurity of the mind is thought. To make it thought-free is to keep it pure.
50-51. "Or, how is it possible for the Self not to be found gleaming in the pure mind? All the injunctions in the scriptures are directed towards this end alone. For instance, unselfish action, devotion, and dispassion have no other purpose in view.
52. "Because, transcendental consciousness, viz., the Self, is manifest only in the stain-free mind."
Liberation is the direct result of unqualified Samadhi. The Self being pure intelligence, why does it not recognise itself and remain always liberated?
"Ignorance is dispelled by pure intelligence, which is Samadhi, and this is the immediate cause of salvation.
Commentary. -
An aspirant for wisdom first turns away from the pleasures of life and absorbs himself in the search for knowledge, which he learns from a master.
This is hearsay knowledge.
In order to experience it, he ponders over it and clears his doubts.
Then he applies the knowledge to himself and tries to feel his immortal being transcending the body, mind, etc., he succeeds in feeling his Self within.
Later he remembers the Vedic teaching imparted by his Guru that the Self being unqualified, cannot be differentiated from God and experiences his unity with the Universal Self.
This is in short the course of wisdom and liberation.
Because theoretical knowledge alone does not bear fruit; practical knowledge is necessary which comes through Samadhi alone.
Knowledge born of Nirvikalpa Samadhi generates wisdom by the eradication of ignorance and objective knowledge.
Inattentive people are simply fools who cannot understand the ever-recurring Samadhis in their lives. They are like a man ignorant of the treasure under the floor of his house who begs for his daily food.
50-52. "This alone can do it. God inherent as the self is pleased by meritorious actions which are continued through several births after which the desire for liberation dawns and not otherwise, even though millions of births may be experienced
How can these poor folk, held in the grip of Maya, extend their weak sight to the sublime
Truth of Oneness? People blinded by Maya cannot see this truth
They try to justify their practical actions by fallacious arguments which are simply a waste of time.
Inscrutable are the ways of Maya which denies the highest Realisation to them, it is as if they threw away the live gem in their hands thinking it to be a mere pebble.
61. "Only those transcend Maya with whose devotion the Goddess of the Self is pleased; such can discern well and happily.
62. "Being by the grace of God endowed with proper discernment and right-earnestness, they become established in transcendental Oneness and become absorbed.
63. "One learns true devotion to God after a meritorious life continued in several births, and then worships Him for a long time with intense devotion.
64. "Dispassion for the pleasures of life arises in a devotee who gradually begins to long for knowledge of the truth and becomes absorbed in the search for it.
65. "He then finds his gracious Master and learns from him all about the transcendental state. He has now gained theoretical knowledge.
Note. - This is Sravana.
66. "After this he is impelled to revolve the whole matter in his mind until he is satisfied from his own practical knowledge with the harmony of the scriptural injunctions and the teachings of his Master. He is able to ascertain the highest truth with clearness and certitude.
Note. - This is Manana.
67. "The ascertained knowledge of the Oneness of the Self must afterwards be brought into practice,
even forcibly, if necessary,
until the experience of the truth occurs to him.
Note. - This is Nidhidhyasana.
68. "After experiencing the Inner Self, he will be able to identify the Self with the Supreme and thus destroy the root of ignorance. There is no doubt of it.
69. "The inner Self is realised in advanced contemptation and that state of realisation is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
"Memory of that realisation enables one to identify the Inner Self with the Universal Self (as "I am That").
Note. - This is Pratyabhina Jnana.
Commentary. - Contemplation is designated in its progressive stages, as Savikalpa Samadhi (qualified Samadhi) and Nirvikalpa Samadhi (unqualified Samadhi). Dhyana (contemplation) leads to the repose consequent on the resolve that the mind in its absolute purity is only the Self. There are interruptions by thought obtruding in the earlier stages. Then the practice goes by the name of Dhyana. When the repose remains smooth and uninterrupted for some appreciable time, it is called Savikalpa Samadhi. If by its constant practice, the repose ensues without any previous resolve (i.e., effortlessly) and continues uninterrupted for some time, it is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The Inner Self glows in all its purity, in the last stage.
After rising from it, the memory of the uncommon experience of the Self remains; it enables him to identify the transcendence of the one with that same One which is in all. (This is the Sahaja State, as is often said by Sri Ramana. Tr.)
70. "That is the Oneness of the Self, the same as the identification of the transcendence of the one with that same one in all the diversities of the world apparent to each individual. This destroys the root of ignorance, instantly and completely.
106-107. "Wisdom is achieved in the course of many births by the lowest aspirants. As for the middle class, wisdom is gained in the same birth - but slowly and gradually according to the aforesaid scheme of (1) learning the truth, (2) conviction of the same, (3) meditation - qualified Samadhi and unqualified Samadhi, and (4) finally Sahaja Samadhi (to be unattached even while engaged in the activities of the world). This last state is very rarely found
108. "Why fall into Nirvikalpa Samadhi, without gaining the fruit of its wisdom! Even if he should experience it a hundred times it will not liberate the individual. Therefore I tell you that momentary Samadhis in the waking state are fruitless.
109. "Unless a man live the ordinary life and check every incident as the projection of the Self, not swerving from the Self in any circumstances, he cannot be said to be free from the handicap of ignorance.
110. "Nirvikalpa Samadhi is characterised by the experience of the true Self alone, namely, Pure Intelligence. Though eternal and resplendent even ordinarily, this Abstract Intelligence is as if it did not exist
111-112. "Abstract Intelligence is the background on which the phenomena are displayed,
and it must certainly manifest itself in all its purity,
in their absence, although its appearance may look new at first.
It remains unrecognised because it is not distinguished from the phenomena displayed by it.
On their being eliminated it becomes apparent.
"This in short is the method of Self-Realisation.
113. "O Brahmin! Think over what you have now learnt, and you will realise. With the wisdom born of your realisation, you will inhere as the Self and be eternally free."
88. "Hence the identity of space with the Self is not apparent to the learned, because they are incapable of investigating the Self with a steady mind, for that is diverted by its inherent disposition to go outward.
89-90. "Second-hand knowledge of the Self gathered from books or gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied to himself;
direct Realisation alone will do that.
Pure Intelligence contaminated with inanimate excrescences is called Jiva or the individual, whose faculty for discrimination is consistent with its self-imposed limitations and is called mind.
"Thus in the transition from the Absolute to the individual, space is the first veil cast off. The clear, concentrated Self becomes pure, tenuous, susceptible space in which hard, dense, crowded, or slender things are conceived. They manifest as the five elements of which the body is composed. The individual then encases himself in the body like a silkworm in its cocoon. Thus the Absolute shines as awareness in the body (namely, 'I am the body') - just as a candle lights the covering globe. The individual consciousness is thus found to be only the radiance of the Self reflected in the body, which it illumines like an enclosed lamp illumining the interior of its cover.
118-120. "Realisation of the Self subdues the restless mind which is the dynamic aspect of consciousness.
10-13. "What kind of effort can avail to disclose the eternally self-resplendent consciousness?
Being coated with a thick crust of infinite vasanas (dispositions), it is not easily perceived.
The incrustation must first be soaked in the running steam of mind control and carefully scraped off with the sharp chisel of investigation.
Then one must turn the closed urn of crystal quartz - namely, the mind cleaned in the aforesaid manner - on the grinding wheel of alertness and finally open the lid with the lever of discrimination.
"Lo! the gem enclosed within is now reached and that is all!
"Thus you see, Rama, that all efforts are directed to cleaning up the Augean stables of predispositions.
14-15. "Intellects are the cumulative effects of the predispositions acquired by karma.
Effort is necessary so long as the predispositions continue to sway the intellect.
Effort is necessary so long as the predispositions continue to sway the intellect.
"There are many more persons who cannot, however well-taught, grasp the teachings; their minds are too much cramped with predispositions to be susceptible to subtle truths.
30-33. "Therefore I tell you that all efforts are directed towards the eradication of these innate tendencies.
"The first of them (i.e., fault) comes to an end on respectfully placing one's faith in holy books and the master.
The second (i.e., action) may be ended only by divine grace, which may descend on the person in this birth or in any later incarnation. There is no other hope for it.
The third must be gradually dealt with by dispassion, discrimination, worship of God, study of holy scriptures, learning from the wise, investigation into the Self and so on.
35-37. "The most important of the qualifications is the desire for emancipation.
Nothing can be achieved without it.
38-40. "Again, Rama, a casual desire for emancipation is also vain.
Such desire often manifests on learning of the magnificence of the emancipated state.
It is common to all but never brings about any abiding results.
Therefore a passing desire is worthless.
"The desire must be strong and abiding, in order that it may bear fruit.
The effects are in proportion to the intensity and duration of the desire
41-43. "The desire must be accompanied by efforts for the accomplishment of the purpose.
Then only will there be concerted effort.
Just as a man scalded by fire runs immediately in search of soothing unguents and does not waste his time in other pursuits, so also must the aspirant run after emancipation to the exclusion of all other pursuits.
Such an effort is fruitful and is preceded by indifference to all other attainments.
44-46. "Starting by discarding pleasures as being impediments to progress he develops dispassion and then the desire for emancipation, which grows in strength.
This makes a man engage in the right efforts in which he becomes thoroughly engrossed. After these stages are passed, the most unique consummation takes place."
67-68. "The glimpse of jnana (realisation) gained by one whose mind is crowded with dense vasanas accumulated in past incarnations, does not suffice to over-ride one's deep-rooted ignorance. Such a one is obliged to practise samadhi (nidhidhyasana or control of mind and contemplation) in successive births for effective and final realisation.
"Thus there are seen to be different classes of sages.
87-90. "Rama, he whose mind clings to the ignorance of the necessity of work cannot hope for realisation even if Siva offers to instruct him.
113. "What is samadhi? Samadhi is being aware of the Self, and nothing else - that is to say - it should not be confounded with the Nirvikalpa (undifferentiated) state, for this state is very common and frequent as has been pointed out in the case of momentary samadhis.
Dnyani Samadhi...as opposed to a hatha yogi's Samadhi discussion
56. "When the mind has completely resolved into the Self, that state is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi (the undifferentiated peaceful state). After waking up from it, the person is overpowered by the memory of his experience as the one, undivided, infinite, pure Self and he knows 'I am That' as opposed to the puerile I-thought of the ignorant. That is Supreme Knowledge (Vijnana or Pratyabhijna jnana).
Note. - The advanced state of meditation is Savikalpa Samadhi, where the person is aware that he has turned away from objectivity towards subjectivity and feels his proximity to the state of Self-Realisation. When he actually sinks within the Self, there is no knowledge apart from the simple awareness of blissful existence. This is Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Waking up, he sees the world just as any other man does but his outlook has become different. He is now able to know his pure Self and no longer confounds himself with the ego. That is the acme of Realisation.
58-62. "Supreme wisdom is that which puts an end to the sense of non-Self once for all. Non-dual realisation admits nothing unknown or unknowable and pervades everything in entirety so that it cannot in any way be transcended, (e.g., a mirror and the images). When that is accomplished, the intellect becomes quite clear because all doubts have been destroyed; (doubts are usually with regard to creation, the identity of the Self and their mutual relationship) and then the predispositions of the mind (e.g., lust, greed, anger, etc.) are destroyed though any remnants of these that may remain are as harmless as a fangless viper.
63. "The fruit of Self-realisation is the end of all misery here and hereafter and absolute fearlessness. That is called Emancipation.
64-65. "Fear implies the existence of something apart from oneself. Can the sense of duality persist after non-dual Realisation, or can there be darkness after sun-rise?
"O Rishis! There will be no fear in the absence of duality. On the other hand, fear will not cease so long as there is the sense of duality.
66. "What is perceived in the world as being apart from the Self is also clearly seen to be perishable. What is perishable must certainly involve fear of loss.
67. "Union implies separation; so also acquisition implies loss.
"When the knower, knowledge and the known merge into unity that state is totally free from fear and hence moksha results.
"Jnaana (Supreme Wisdom) is the state devoid of thoughts, will and desire, and is unimpeded by ignorance.
71. "It is certainly the primal state of the knower, but remains unrecognised for want of acquaintance with it. The Guru and sastras alone can make the individual acquainted with the Self.
72-77. "The Self is abstract intelligence free from thought. The knower, knowledge and the known are not real as different entities. When differentiation among them is destroyed, their true nature is evident in the resulting non-dual consciousness, which is also the state of emancipation.
78. "Thus you find that earnestness is the only requisite for emancipation. No other requisite is needed if the longing for emancipation is intense and unwavering.
79. "What is the use of hundreds of efforts in the absence of a real and unswerving desire for emancipation? That is the sole requisite and nothing else.
82-83. "The intellect is ordinarily befouled by evil propensities and so nothing good flourishes there.
Of these evil propensities,
the first is :
want of faith in the revelations made by the Guru and in the sastras;
the second is :
addiction to desires;
and the third is :
dullness (i.e., inability to understand the revealed truth). This is a brief statement of them.
The third, known as dullness resulting from innumerable wicked actions in preceding births, is the worst of the series and hardest to overcome by one's own efforts.
Concentration of mind and understanding of truth are not possible when dullness prevails.
"There is no remedy for it other than worship of the Goddess of the Self (adoration, prayer, meditation, etc.). I remove the devotee's dullness according to his worship, quickly, or gradually, or in the succeeding birth.
100-102. "He who unreservedly surrenders himself to Me with devotion, is endowed with all the requisites necessary for Self-Realisation.
103-104. "Therefore, O Rishis! the chief requisite is one-pointed devotion to God.
The devotee is the best of aspirants.
The one devoted to abstract consciousness excels every other seeker.
Consummation lies in the discernment of the Self as distinguished from the non-Self.
115. Realisation differs according to the antecedent practice and, commensurate with the degree of purity of mind, may be perfect, middling or dull.
Note. - Realisation of the Self and eternal inherence as unbroken 'I-I' in all surroundings are the practices and the fruit.
124. "He who abides in the Self as 'I, I,' as spontaneously and continuously as the ignorant man does in the body, is again of the highest order.
89. Prince: "Ignorance is the cause of non-realisation. Self realises the Self; there is no external aid possible. Birth originated through the sense of doership."
91. Prince: "Ignorance is the sense of separateness from consciousness and false identification with the nonself. As for the Self, the question must be referred to the Self in you. The ego or the 'I-thought' is the root of action.
"There is no doubt that a man realises the Self only after purging himself of all thoughts, and that he is then released from bondage, once for all
27. "O Prince! How can there be any residue of past karma in a Jnani? Does not Jnana burn away all karma as fire does a heap of camphor?"
1. Jnani has the root of misery cut off at the instant of realising the Self. It is immaterial for him if he dies in a holy spot, or in foul surroundings, remaining aware, or overtaken by coma, just before death. He is emancipated all the same.
"Just as the shining mirror is clear when images no longer appear in it, and the same mirror remains untainted even when the images are reflected in it, so also Pure Intelligence subsists pure and untainted whether the world is seen or not.
The Sage Harithayana concluded:
107-111. "The man who knows it rightly will never be overtaken by misery. O Narada! Such is the section on Wisdom, recondite with reason, subtlety, and experience. Should any one not gain wisdom after hearing or reading it but continue to wallow in ignorance, he should be put down as nothing more than a stock or a stone. What hope is there for him?
"Hearing it even once must make a man truly wise; he is sure to become wise.
Sin or obstruction to wisdom is destroyed by reading it; wisdom dawns on hearing it.
Writing, appreciating and discussing its contents respectively destroys the sense of duality, purifies the mind and reveals the abiding Truth.
112. "She goes by the name of Emancipation when clearly and directly realised by investigation as the one undivided Self of all;
otherwise,
She goes by the name of Bondage.
She is the one Consciousness threading the three states of being, but untainted and unbroken by them. She is the sound, word and the significance of Him."
.............................................. ..........................
235: Through Vedanta They Scale the Heights of Siddhanta
When the Light of Vedanta dawns, from Karma are they freed;
Then, up the path to the Light of Nadanta they scale;
When thus they reach the Lord of Bodanta Light,
Salvation they attain--the Nadanta-Siddhanta Grand Finale.
236: They Seek Merger in Lord
When 'You' and 'I' merge in one and the truth they see,
Then seek they the Lord triumphant, seated firm, serene,
Past all babbling words of sweet-sounding praise;
Such alone the true, worshipful grace attain.
273: Love Hara and See Him
They, of intense love, Hara surely see,
They, of the compassionate heart, see the Holy Feet to praise;
The world-burdened see only life's revolving wheel,
And, in Horror's mazes lost, enter Hell's trackless ways.
290: True Learning Leads to Liberation
The meaning I knew of life and body in union knit;
In the depth of my being I knew of the Lord of Devas untold;
Denying naught, He stept straight into my yearning heart;
Thus I gained the Learning Great, freeing us from fleshly fold.
291: Illumined Souls Get the Inner Eye
When the Learned-wise in deep meditation sat,
In their deep, illumined souls was as Inner Eye;
What in contemplation they saw and spoke,
In turn opened others' eyes leading to Wisdom high.
On rod of Vairagya lean, and away fly the Birds of Desire;
And yet, men to Ignorance clinging, in stupor ever lie.
306: Faith Intense Gives Bliss Eternal
They of intense faith Heavenly Bliss secure,
But the aimless and drifting with mind unfixed on clear goal,
Neither their own self know nor the Bliss attain,
Like children at play content wwith the mimic rice of sand.
310: The Unlearned are they Who hold not to Truth
Even the unlearned, if blessed with the vision of Truth Supreme,
Them the Lord approves with His benign Eye of Grace;
But if the learned seeming fail to hold the truth,
Unlearned are they indeed, blind to True Love's divine rays.
311: Unlearned Realize not God's Pervasiveness
The truly learned live pursuing the one and only path,
But others say, "Many the paths of knowledge are,"
The God Supreme is in all places present;
They the unlearned are, of God's pervasiveness unaware.
312: God Abides not in the Hearts of Unlearned
Things transitory you fix in heart as abiding joys,
This mortal body frail you deem as enduring stuff;
Though the Lord God all life pervades,
Absent is He and His Light from the hearts of the unlearned.
313: Unlearned Descend to Hell
Of all power bereft, I fell into Karma's griefs,
Learning not Hara's ways, into dark abysmal depths I fell;
I learnt not to stamp the Great Benefactor in my heart,
I learnt only to dance down the primrose path to hell.
314: Unlearned Sport in Carnal Pleasures
Knowing full well that life is a fleeting, vaporous mist,
The truly learned seek the path of Dharma and penance strict,
But the not-learned, in truth, this world's sordid knaves,
Sport in carnal joys, with Karmic misery mixt.
316: Unlearned Do Not See Him
Without knowing the 36 tattvas and their scope
It is not possible to have a vision of the supreme,
Only by knowing the tattvas wisdom can dawn,
Only those are educated who go to the limits of the tattvas and have a vision of reality.
317: Avoid The Unlearned
The fools, of learning devoid, unfit for us even to see
The fools, of learning devoid, their words unfit to hear
The fools, of learning devoid, in fools find their friends,
The fools, of learned devoid, to wisdom come no near.
318: The Truly Learned Have Vision Of Sivajnana
Though learned, fools are they if with Sivajnana they're not acquainted,
If kith and kin they give not up nor strike at root of ignorance
As their eyes turn not to quarters
They alone truly reckon who, wise in love, win the truth.
320: Middle Path Is Wisdom
Unless you in middle path stand, wisdom you have not,
To those who in middle path stand, hell opens not its gate,
Those that in middle path stand, heavenly beings are they;
In the noble fellowship of the just, I too walked in their way.
334: Divine Nectar Leads to Siddhis
All Tattvas and egoity past, Truth of self realised,
In truest joy immersed, of false penances void,
Rid of worldly lure, drunk full of Heavenly Bliss,
This indeed is Siddhi true and Sivananda unalloyed.
336: Drink Divine Nectar in Samadhi
Open and drink deep the nectar that gushes from the spring;
Unfold the petals of the Holy Master's Lotus Feet;
Lead the Yoga-breath through the spiring channel up
And thus in Samadhi ascending,
Reach the Divine Good in holy meet.
431: He is Within You Yet You Know Him Not
He is the One within; He is the Light within;
He moves not a wee bit from within
He and your heart are thus together,
Though, the heart His Form knows not.
440: The Eye Sees Not Itself
One clay, many the receptacles
One God, pervades species all;
The eye sees things several
Yet itself it sees not;
Thus it is, we see not the God in us.
he Kundalini that serpent-like coils,
The life breath twelve-finger breadth long,
--If these, the Divine Charioteer drives not in,
Verily may the infant be less than human (say, pig).
497: Stages of Attainment in Mala Riddance
They who are of five malas hard rid,
Themselves Siva become;
They blemishless become,
They become Siddhas,
Attain state of Mukti Finale,
They uproot Jiva's bondage,
End cycle of births;
They alone are,
Who truth of peerless Tattvas realised.
And Constant striving thus,
Gain wisdom perennial
And in the end Siva Himself become.
Vainly do they roam hill and dale,
Witless men of confused mind they are!
510: Lord Abides in Jnana Thought
To them who love Him dear,
The Lord will appear delicious cool;
To them steeped in worldly pleasures,
He will appear never;
To Yogis who breath control;
But sure does He
In thoughts abide,
Of Jnanis, who doubt-free see.
511: Men of False Faith do not See Lord Within
The Lord is within them,
Yet they know Him not,
They of faith false;
Limitless the flow of their evil deeds;
Down down the deep drain it goes,
Never its destination to know.
526: Abuse of Siva Brings Misery
Those who have Jnana attained,
Rid of all doubts in their thoughts
Seek Him in love intense
Shall reach the World of Celestials;
If the low-born think any the less of Him,
Dismal indeed is their fate--
Unto the parrot in cat's claw.
527: Adore Lord and Attain Jnana
The Devas and Asuras wasted their lives
And finally died;
They attained not Jnana true;
They alone can attain Truth
Who adore Primal Lord in devotion intense.
545: Holy Company Leads You to Bliss
The Jnanis seek the Lord of Celestials;
They who seek the Company of Jnanis
Will attain Siva Truth;
They indeed Walk in the Path of Virtue
And are truly blessed;
To consort with such
Is indeed Bliss Supreme.
551: Ashtanga Yoga Leads to Samadhi and to Jnana
Waver not, this way and that
Follow the way of eight-limbed Yoga
And reach Samadhi State;
They who tread that blessed path
Shall reach Jnana's peak;
No more are they in this vile flesh born.
578: Blessings of Mind Withdrawal
Step by step, practise mind's withdrawal
And look inward;
One by one many the good you see within;
And may you then meet the Lord,
Now and here below
Whom the ancient Vedas still searches
Everywhere.
579: Retain Breath Below Navel Region
They know not the divine art
Of fixing breath twelve matra long,
Below the navel region;
Once they learn that art
The Lord enters within, shouting in joy.
580: Where Kundalini Is
Two finger length above the anus,
Two finger length below the sex organ
Four finger length below the navel visible,
There within is Kundalini
A flaming fire lambent.
581: Breath Control for Maha Siddha Yoga
If below the nose-tip
You look twelve-finger length,
And then concentrate and meditate (on navel centre),
The mighty Siddha yoga shall yours be
And imperishable shall your body be.
582: When Light Appears
If thus meditating,
Luminescence you glimpse at the Eye-brow centre
Know you are destined for bliss unalloyed;
If at the Throat's Center
Lunar light you behold,
Then will your body,
In divine joy intoxicated be.
583: What Kundalini Yoga is
Close the Muladhara orifice below
Center your thought on Sahasrara orifice above
And on that meditate in oneness;
Fix your dagger like vision on that Void Vast;
Thus practising Yoga,
You shall vanquish Time.
584: Kundalini Yoga Destroys Birth
Two finger length above the anus
Two finger length below the sex organ,
Lies the Kundalini Fire
If you can meditate on the light
That burns there,
You shall be one with Lord,
Who all births destroys.
585: Pratyahara
By thought concentrated,
Know clearly apart
Pasa and Pati Luminescent,
Then destroy that Pasa;
Melt in your heart for Lord,
Attain and contemplate on Jnana,
And look inward toward Him;
These the precious Ways of Pratiyahara are.
586: Pranayama Helps Pratyahara
If breath that is exhaled
Is contained within
The thoughts too are contained there
And the Lord shall leave you not.
587: What Pratyhara Can Lead to
In the act of concentrated meditation
All world will be visioned;
Be rid of the despicable darkness
And seek Lord,
If your thoughts be centered firm
You shall Divine Light see
And immortal thereafter be.
588: How to Practise Dharana
Let unswerving be your thought
Bind it to Muladhara fast
Look into the Void Inside through spinal shaft
See and yet see not;
Hear and yet hear not;
Thus in meditation sit;
That the sure Way to bar death's way.
589: Lord Dances in Sahasrara
From the peaks of Cranium ranges
The heavenly waterfall
Unceasing cascades
Coursing prana through the spinal channel;
There on the stony arena (of Mount Meru within)
The Lord performs His timeless dance;
That unending Bliss Light,
I witnessed.
590: Kundalini in Reverse
She is the Damsel of the Vedas;
She belongs to the astral land of Cranium;
He is the bridal lord;
He sleeps in the land of Muladhara;
Gently rouse Him,
And make Him meet Her,
You shall then be forever young
Upon lordly Nandi I avow,
This true forever and ever.
591: Practice of Kundalini Yoga
Bind the Muladhara
Raise the Prana breath upward
Through the spinal hollow course it
And within in aptness retain,
And like a stork at stream's head
Sit calm
In singleness of thought;
Well may you live forever and ever.
593: Practise Breath Control in Silentness
A bull there is,
In the thoughts of those
Who silentness observe;
They who open their mouth wide
Drive it away wind-ward;
But they who are in silentness wrapped
Drive it to the Lunar Peak;
There with its horns it knocks;
And if the Gates of the Cave do not open,
It turns tail in fear.
595: Mind Control Through Breath Control
If of the ten Vayus that fill the body
Five by exhalation leave,
What avails you fool!
What though you wake and pray?
They who control breath in measure ordained,
Will sure imprison mind-monkey
Within the body-fortress.
600: In Dhyana Can Be Seen the Jnana Form of Siva
In the undistracted gaze
Appears the Light
Gaze and gaze to heart's content
And mingle one with it;
The Heavenly Stream will then surge
To the spaces infinite of Void Vast;
Then may the Uncreated Being witnessed be.
601: Alas! They Perform not Dhyana
Even for once they meditate not
On the mystery of Jiva within body;
Even for once they meditate not
On Siva within Jiva;
Even for once they meditate not
On Divine Jnana within Siva;
Even once they meditate not
On the Lotus within the Lunar Sphere.
602: Dhyana Brightens All Lamps Within
Light the Lamp of Mind
And dispel the Darkness of Egoity;
Extinguish the Fire of Wrath
And brighten all lamps within
Thenceforth alike,
The Mind's Lamp is an undying Lamp indeed.
603: Look Within in Dhyana
Well may they practise Yoga eight-thousand year
Still they see not Lord,
Sweet as ambrosia
And dear unto apple of eye;
But if within you seek Him enlightened
He within you is,
Even unto reflection in the mirror.
604: Fruits of Dhyana
If your eyes twain are
On nasal point fixed,
No sorrows befall you;
Perishes not your body;
Agitation none shall you have;
Feelings none;
Seekings none;
None that is "I";
You and Siva one become.
605: Dhyana Leads to Cessation of Birth
Fixing the gaze on nasal point
Retaining the roaming breath within
They who can thus still the nadis,
Will sure reach the Goal
No fear of birth to be for them.
606: Varied Sound Experiences in Dhyana
Bell, sea, elephant, flute, cloud
Bee, dragon-fly, conch, drum, and lute
The subtle sounds of these ten are heard
For them alone
Who have stilled their mind in God.
608: Fruits of God-Realization
Those who realize God,
They alone get qualities godly;
They join company of immortals;
Pasa vanishes;
They become immanent in all life
They hear sounds subtlest,
That emanate
Unto fragrance out of flower.
611: The Way to Ascension to Void lies through Meditation
The mystic bed-chamber is day-light eternal
No darkness invades;
There is a way
This body to fire-chamber consigned not be;
The light of this knowledge
Is by meditation prolonged;
The Chamber of Void
Knows not end of Light ever.
612: Perfect Meditation Leads to Immortality
Having abated not in the rules of vows,
The Yogi that has to meditate learned,
Coursing Kundalini through spinal column,
And passing Mandalas Three with felicity equal
He in fleshly body forever lives.
614: To Transcend Mandalas is to be Exalted
In the dark chamber of the drooping heart
Are the Mandalas Three,
He who becomes one with them
And peirces Pasas
Shall know weariness none;
To transcend the three stages of heart
Is exaltation exceeding indeed.
615: Immortality Through Dhyana Yoga
Uprooting the gunas three
He who controlls breath in Muladhara
And courses it alternate
Through nadi left and right,
In time measure prescribed
Will be immortal made
By Him that is King of Beings Heavenly.
616: Deep Meditation on Centers Leads to God
Four finger-length above the tremulous Navel-Center
Is the petalled Heart-Center;
Two finger length still above is the Throat-Center;
Those who can meditate on it in sea-like depth
Sure knew Him;
Him the Lord of Body Corporal.
617: Grace Comes From Dhyana
Transcending Tattvas six and thirty unreal,
Destroying Maya's layers thick,
Transformed into Jnana Pure by Grace
Themselves that Grace inseparable Becoming
They who achieved thus
Were the goodly souls
The Way of Dhyana knew.
619: Vision of Light Resplendent in Samadhi
When in the Meru Peak of Sahasrara
Bindu and Nada flourish
In their union will Samadhi be;
And the Light Resplendent of Endless Jnana
Will then visioned be!
620: In Samadhi Mano-Laya is Reached
Where there is mind absorption,
There life's breath is;
Where there is mind absorption none,
There life none is;
They who, in rapture, sit in mind absorption
Are verily fixed in Yoga of absorption.
621: Mystic Vision in Samadhi
They who sit in Samadhi of Pure Consciousness
Vision the Mystic Woods and the Blooming Pond;
They roam in the royal expanse of Void Vast
And there at the foot of Fertile Mountain Meru,
They bridled their Horse of Breath to a stop.
622: In Samadhi They Vision the Void
On top of Spinal Column in the Center
Is built a habitation unique;
Three the compartments it has
Four the doors;
Within these they sit (in Samadhi);
When through the door on top
They vision the Void
No more the word Death, aye, not even in dream.
623: Vision Lord's Dance in Samadhi
Five the Mystic Regions,
Eight the Mountain Ranges,
Six the Adhara tribes that hold them;
With thought centered on Him
They well see Him there stand;
Partaking of the Grace of His Dancing Feet
They shall immortal be.
624: Samadhi Leads to Siva
Within the locked body
Is trapped the life-breath;
Course it to the Land
That no desire knows;
They who fix their gaze on Goal True
Will reach the Mango Fruit
That in the garden there hangs.
625: Ambrosia in Samadhi Leads to God
There is a way to vision the Lord,
The Celestial Beings churned
But with the mountain dark,
And partook of ambrosia;
But they climbed not
The heights of the Mystic Mountain
And partook not of ambrosia there flows,
For, they possess not
The unwavering mind
That soars in Samadhi high.
626: In Samadhi Oneness in God is Attained
He is our Own
He is the Primal One
He taught the Vedas Four
He is the light that glows within the purest gold
They adored Him in love
They approached Him all desires devoid
And climbed the Mystic Tree High;
Their breath halted in Samadhi
They with Him became One.
629: Tranquility in Samadhi
Samadhi attained, Siva is attained;
Sakti too will be caught in its fold;
Distracting passions will be dispelled;
In equanimity perfect,
Like unto a balance
Will be the mind
All this, for those who in Samadhi sleep.
645: Twelve Years for Eight Siddhis
On the Moon's nadi to the left (Idakala)
The breath of Prana measures units twelve;
Of this, exhale four;
If the eight saved is within retained,
And that for twelve years continuous practised,
Then shall Siddhis Eight ever abide.
695: Nectar Flows When Breath Pervades Body
Inside the head ambrosia flows like a river
In nadi channels a thousand three hundred and five in number
The adharas are the Way to the thousand petalled Sahasrara;
The twin breaths Idakala and Pingala shows the Way.
712: Yoga Leads to Divine Nectar
The Lord of the Fore-head-eye
That showed the path of Love Divine;
Seek Him in love intense;
The Ganga in cranium will in grace flow;
And in love exceeding, He your saviour will be.
714: Way to Steady Kalas
Straight through Sushumna
The Prana stood unwavering
As a steady flame
And unto a still stone;
They who know
How the Lord stood commingled with Kalas
Know the Way True;
Even those in despair
Will espouse that Way.
595: Mind Control Through Breath Control
If of the ten Vayus that fill the body
Five by exhalation leave,
What avails you fool!
What though you wake and pray?
They who control breath in measure ordained,
Will sure imprison mind-monkey
Within the body-fortress.
717: Perform Yoga Penance and Reach Lord
Thus toward that goodly state
Practise yogic penance;
If you succeed in coursing breath
Into the lotus in cranium,
You shall gain the Lord
That remains hidden in Vedas.
718: Stages of Prana's Ascending Course
The breath has stages three
As Prana it courses upward
In single stream through spinal nadi;
And then spreads into cranial space
For the lotus there to blossom
And finally merges into the Divine Flame there.
719: Kundalini Yoga Turns the Body into Temple of Siva
The Kundalini Sakti that thus arose
Made her way aloft through the fleshly coil
And yet within me remained;
And She who created the worlds of Devas
Churned the mystic ambrosia within;
Drinking deep of it
This body became Siva's temple.
720: Know the Mystery of Prana Merging in Nada
The breath that glows within
None knows how it merges
When you know how it merges
Then can you reach the region
Where Nandi holds His sway.
721: Treasure Guru's Guidance for Yoga
As through breath you pierce the adharas
You shall vision clear;
Prana leaving the Kundalini Sakti
On its upward journey through Sushumna;
That you gain through the Guru guiding;
Take that as treasure precious gained.
722: Immortality Through Samadhi Yoga
The breath that arose twelve matras long,
If you control and absorb within,
Well may you live a thousand years on land and sea;
The body perishes not;
True this is,
Upon Lord Nandi I declare.
723: Experiences of Yogi When Prana Ascends
When Prana and Sakti their departure take
One from the other,
The yogi knows it this way;
Seven sounds he hears
Five colors he sees
Three odors he smells,
Two tastes he knows
Thus has the Lord of Light
The symptoms indicated.
728: Yoga Leads to Imperishable Body
Three the coils of serpent Kundalini
Ten the Vayus that agitate the body;
Twelve finger-length the Prana breath;
When the two bags of spiration
Are tight controlled,
And you sit in meditation unwavering
The body perishes not ever.
730: Divine Music in Yoga Practice
In the body-temple where Sakti is seated
If you practise transference of breath from right to left and vice versa,
You can hear the mystic sounds from Forehead Center
And Lord Siva will Himself reveal
Dancing to rhythmic music;
This we declare true
In the name of Sadasiva.
732: Course Prana and Apana Through Meditation
Rouse the Prana that resides in the Navel Center
By meditating and chanting Siva mantra;
Retain that breath in the Ajna frontal
Then rouse the apana breath by meditation;
That way you Siva become.
733: Center Thy Thoughts on Muladhara
Two finger length above the anus
Where faecal matter leaves not;
And below the male organ
Is the Linga in Muladhara;
Meditate on that Center;
There resides the Lord of the six adharas;
This my upadesa, rare revealed;
Do take it and vision the Lord.
735: Continence Leads to God-hood
If the seminal seed thickens by sexual absention
It shall never be destroyed;
If the body is lightened by austere discipline
Long shall the life be;
If food is eaten sparingly
Many the good that flow;
You may verily become
The Lord of Dark-Hued throat.
748: Practise Yoga in Time and Order Stated
Thus if in succession and stages
The yogi aspires not
Impossible it be for him to become God;
Much less to near Him;
No other secret the Vedas hold
Trumpet this not;
But in meekness accomplish it.
749: Kindle Kundalini Lamp Within
They who know not this Way to the goal
And try other Ways
Are but fools;
They search with blazing torch
While within them is the hand-lamp
They who can kindle the Kundlini Fire within
Will abide ever in this fleeting world.
756: God Vision at the End of 33 Days of Yoga
Countless are the gains that flow
From single-minded meditation;
Hear yet;
And thus if for Three and thirty days
You well and deep meditate
The Dancer on top of the Mountain of Gold
Will appear,
And You one with Him become.
760: Worldly Thoughts do not Lead to Sakti
Some seek to exalt themselves
Pursuing ways worldly;
Some seek the fruits of enjoyment
Knowing not what they do;
Some strive after action
With no thought of goal whatsoever;
But none of them will see
The Sakti of lovely eyes.
761: Worldly Wealth is Perishable
They who see Her not
Wasted away their lives;
They who seek not
Spent away in artful talks;
The riches and possessions of those who see not
Vanished away unseen and untraced.
762: Treasure Within is Imperishable
They who do not see the Treasure that surpasses all,
But seek the treasures that perish,
If within their melting heart they seek inside
They will see the Treasure that dies not.
766: Know Lord Within and Become One With Him
None know where the Lord resides;
To them who seek Him
He resides eternal within;
When you see the Lord
He and you one become.
768: Vision the Lord in the Seven Adharas
You know not how to reach His abode;
Transfixing your thoughts within you in the yogic way
The seven circles inside will open
And you shall see the abode of Lord
Sweet as sugar-lump.
771: Transcend Nada and Realize God
Nada and God are one in Consciousness
Only they who transcended Nada
Will on God centre;
God appears in the heart
Of them who Nada transcend
This the truth I realized
And so merged in Nada.
772: Course Breath Upward and See Light of Jnana
The breath that is in vain spent
If turned upward to flow
Will give the good that of fixity of mind comes;
The Jnana that comes from cranial spaces will beam;
And the yogi becomes Lord of earth.
773: Importance of Nadi Suddhi for Longevitiy
None there the Jiva who practices Nadi Suddhi,
Breathing from left to right and right to left;
He who does it visions Sakti;
The senses five his way come;
To a hundred years, he sure lives.
786: Greatness of Kundalini Yoga
None knows Kundalini that spans high
None knows the science of breath control
They who know it not perish away
I knew the truth that none know.
796: Choose Appropriate Time for Piercing Adharas
The Lord that you search
Is on the Flower Above seated;
Sixteen the Ways of breath control;
The Breath coursing upward in strength
With mind in concentration united,
Pierce the adharas;
The days apt for thus reaching the Centers
And the hour apropriate, know you well.
800: Technique of Kecari Yoga
On the square plank of Muladhara,
Where Jiva the washerman performs the cleansing act,
Erect bunds that the sluices leak not (apana);
And then let in the heavenly stream for the lake to fill;
Thus sit looking skyward
Be thou rid of impurity, all.
801: Immortality in Yoga Way
Alternating breath's course from left to right and vice versa,
They who can force breath through spinal Sushumna
Shall know tiring none;
They can abolish sleep for ever
And attain God-awareness;
They die not;
Immortal they shall be.
804: Transform Fleshly Stream Into Heavenly Stream
From the lofty peaks of the cranium
Flows the stream that is of the flesh;
It is a heavenly stream;
They know not how to make it so;
They who know that art
Will swill the divine nectar
And be forever, doubt free.
810: A Cave Temple Within
Knowing way appropriate
Those who worshipped thus within
Will receive shower of Grace
That is Jnana ripe;
If they but know how to bolt the door within
And check the flowing stream,
Well then may they become
Abiding cave temples within.
818: Practise Uddiyana Bandha
As Prana stand in Mystic Moon's Region
Practise Uddiyana Bandha,
And dam the course of downward Apana;
819: When to do Uddiyana Bandha
The exhaling breath will inside retained be;
The retained breath will from escape prevented be;
In due time,
From the Moon's Region starts ambrosial flow;
When it ceases,
Undo the Uddiyana Bandha.
821: Inexplicable Experiences of Kecari Yoga
Course Prana upward
And retain breath through Kumbhaka
In the mystic regions of Fire and Sun
Around navel and throat;
And there be fixed in thought
What stood there, how possible to say?
825: Pleasures of Sex Union Will Abide
If Breath Control is Properly Practiced
If Breath Control is Properly Practiced
Anointing her body with unguents diverse
Bedecking her tresses with flowers fragrant
Do you enjoy the damsel in passion's union;
If you but know how to shoot
Prana breath through the Spinal Cavity
Your enjoyment never ceases.
838: Freedom From Sexual Union is Attained by Pariyanga Yoga
This body that melts like wax over fire
(By sexual union)
Will no more indulge in it,
When wisdom dawns;
To those who have attained Wisdom of Void
The liquid silver no exit knows.
839: Vision of Void in Pariyanga Yoga
When You know the Void
And the light in that Void
Your mind shall be strong as a chistle of bronze;
After having tasted of the nectar
I saw the Void
With goodly Nandi guiding;
Beyond, I knew not.
955: Mukti is When Aum Appears in Garland of Letters Within
Course breath through central Sushumna,
And be in the center within of the Garland of Letters;
When in the Center of that garland
The Primal Mantra AUM, Vedas speak of appears,
Then is Mukti, sure indeed.
959: "Aum" Mantra Sustains Life
"Hamsa" Mantra chanted within
In directions all spreads;
It is the Mantra of life, sustaining breath;
It is the Mantra in the lotus of heart;
When constant chanted,
That Mantra in life's center
Is verily unto a mahout's goad,
That elephantine passions control.
967: Chant His Name; He Beckons to You
They who continuous chant Lord's Holy name,
In desire high,
For them Karma's miseries fleet away;
The Lord says: "Come unto me"
--He of Matted Locks.
992: I Chanted Nama and Lord Appeared
And Lo! within the lotus of my heart,
I beheld Him
And as I saw Him, I rose and met Him;
I then lost my sense of Self,
Betaking to gracious way of Lord Eternal;
In endearment undiminished,
Do chant "Nama."
1007: Constant Worship in Mansion of Mind
Even when other men's wives approach them,
They touch them not,
They have mastered passions all,
Their mind is preoccupied perpetually
With offer of oblation diverse,
They worship prostrating low,
Constant chanting Mantra
Thus in the Mansion of Mind they abide.
1009: Seek God the Jnana Way
They know not to reach Him by Jnana Divine;
They seek Him by ways of senses, in vain;
If within you, you constant seek Him in right way,
You shall indeed be in Nadanta.
1010: Jnana Dispels Heart's Darkness
Light and Darkness together are in heart;
So does it seek Grace and Ignorance at once;
The knowledge within of Jiva is bereft of Light;
Except those who have Divine Jnana attained,
The rest despair of dispelling Darkness.
1035: Seek Him Through Inner Fire
He is Mukti; He is Light goodly,
In the thoughts of fully learned
He is the Light fulsome;
They who seek Him, desires severed,
Through Light within
Reach the goal
And remain blemishless, ever after.
1042: Tender Kundalini Fire and Live Long7The Fire that rises and spreads everywhere
They seek not in truth and know not;
Those who have tendered it within their body,
Live long, long,
For ten million aeons, as it were.
1077: Meditate on Her and Become Light Radiant
The Three Gods are there contained;
They who meditate on Her
Will not go the way of fleshly Jivas, Tattva bound;
They radiant become, the blessed ones
Who on Tiripurai meditate.
He who thus firm in meditation stands
Becomes Siva Himself.
1119: Truth is Bliss
Dark is Sakti, Space is Lord,
Truth is Union in God,
Bliss it is for the Holy Ones,
Thus in doubt-free mind,
Adore Lord;
The Primal One,
Will sure bless you.
Meditate on Her in Muladhara, where She is
Success indeed shall be
Your yogic feat in breath control.
1144: Lotuses of Sakti
That Lotus in folds several is Primal Sakti's abode;
The Lotus that lifts soul is in the heart;
When the Lotus in Muladhara is roused,
The Lotus in Sahasrara blossoms.
1145: Sakti Pervades All Adharas
The Spark that arose in triangular Chakra (Muladhara)
Flew and spread in the rest of Adhara Chakras;
And piercing Sahasrara shone bright;
Thus She pervaded in Chakras all.
1154: 2Siva and Sakti Together Grant Grace and Liberation
"This" and "That", they say, is God,
They Know Him not, the True One
They know not,
Who ultimate liberation grants,
They know not
Lady Great of honeyed-flower bedecked tresses,
That Grace confers;
Of muddled thinking they are.
1183: She Drew Me into Divine Rapture
Deep in the core of my heart She stood,
And there dispelled the falsity of senses five,
And in me in union joined,
And into the rapture of tapasvin way
Entranced, drew me;
She, Lady of boundless Bounty.
1222: Sakti Blesses
The Mantra Aum that Jnana imparts within,
Is the way of union in God,
Thus does Siva (contriver) and Sakti (consort of the contriver)
Together in amity arise;
She, the Beloved of Siva, (Sivakami) blesses you.
1227: She Appears as Wisdom Subtle
She gave birth to Faiths several,
She is Manonmani, Mangali the Auspicious,
Rare is She for any to know,
To them that seek Her
United in word and thought,
She as Wisdom Subtle appears.
1228: Jnana Way is True Way
She is Wisdom Subtle
Of those with intellect subtle,
Behind it is Lord's Wisdom
That is Jnana;
That Way is the Holy Way,
For those who seek Siva-State,
The Way of Sanmarga (Jnana) is Way True.
1230: Source--Knowledge of Mukti Finite
None except Sakti, Siva and (I) Jiva know
The Source of Mukti Finite;
When you meditate constant on Sakti
That as Aum ripens,
That the Way sure
To enter the Center aloft Sahasrara.
1308: Meditate on the (Double) Triangular Chakra
This the truth if you but see,
This the true God, none other there is;
Listen, one thing I say
This triangle is great unto the ocean
Center your thoughts on it
Bliss and Mukti shall yours be;
You will Siva-form be.
1333: Chant Hrim Sakti's Name in Silentness With Flowers
They flourish at Her Holy Feet
Who chant Her name in silentness;
Who adore Her Feet with flowers
They know the way to reach Her Feet.
1338: You Will Master All Learning
Chant Aim mantra unceasing
All blessings shall follow;
You shall gain the understanding
That is beyond words and meaning of words;
With the blessing of Her, who is Queen of learning,
You shall a master of all Learning be;
No more enemies for you, here below.
1345: Blessings of Prosperity by Krimsakti (Parasakti)
When the luminous Parasakti
Within you takes Her abode,
Your heart dances in joy;
Clear vision fills your thoughts;
Rains copious fall,
Wealth and prosperity smile
Thus shall it be for those who meditate on Her.
1348: Ignorance Dies by Worship of Krim Sakti
Those who meditate on Her
Glow in fame in directions all;
They experience not the evils of searing Karma;
Their inner light spreads far and wide;
Their egotiy perished,
The light of differentiated knowledge
Forever snuffed out.
1355: Meditate on Amudheswari (Aum Sakti)
That Amudheswari do hold in your heart
Rouse Kundalini with your breath coursing upward;
Daily will you vision things newer and newer;
Listen to this, your body perishes never.
1433 Vision of Suddha Saivam Path
They fixed their thoughts on Perfection
And lost consciousness of Self's existence
They have reached the End of Vedas;
They followed the Twelve-Way route
To divine rapture
That their vision is,
Those of Suddha Saiva Way.
1434 Way of Jnani
He stills the incessant flow of thought
That even Yoga's severity stills not,
With Jnana he effaces the Self
And in Bhava identifies with Siva;
That in brief is worthy Jnani's story.
1438 Suddha Saivam Defined
They are not for outward form and attire,
They are not for pomp and ceremony,
Uprooting all bond and desire,
Abiding in the Immaculate Lord,
They bring to dire destruction
The Soul's egoity and its bondage beginningless
Thus they onward leap
With Siva's light suffused
They, of Suddha Saiva Way.
1440: Goal of Suddha Saivas is to be One With Siva
They tarry not in the Pure Maya Sphere of Siva Tattvas
There they but attain the status of Gods,
But that as a spring board
Their Soul reaches farther out to Siva Him-self
And merging in His union, Self-effacing,
Themselves become Immaculate Siva
They, forsooth, are Suddha Saivas.
1441: I and You Difference Effaced
I sought Him in terms of I and You
But He that knows not I from You
Taught me the truth, "I" indeed is "You"
And now I talk not of I and You.
1442: When This Truth Dawns Then is Union in Siva
When this Truth, beyond words, you perceive
The Siva Tattvas five bend below;
The light of Supreme Jnana dawns,
Illumines the Soul's path
To the Finite goal
Of Sayujya union in Lord.
1448: Worship in the Four Paths
Kriya is worship of Siva in Form,
Yoga of the Formless One,
Jnana is the advanced path in ripeness of time,
The adoration of the loving heart is Chariya,
Exalted indeed it is.
1451: God is Everywhere-Seek Him
The One God there is
He pervades the ten directions around,
In which direction can we say is He not?
So, do take refuge under His Holy Feet
Then shall you cross the roaring Sea of Karma,
And safe reach the Shores of Beyond.
Unless you shed your fleshly attachments
And realize Him in the depths of your heart
You shall never never reach His Holy Feet
That is unto flowers that shed honey dew.
1453: Bhakti Begets Grace
The Lord is your Guide,
Seek His feet as does the yearning calf,
He shall seat you amidst His children of Wisdom;
The Devas, the Beings of Heaven, bow low before Him;
Great is His love, as of the cow to her calf;
And bounteous His Grace, beyond beyond count.
1455: The Four Paths are the Steps in the Ladder to Siva Union
The Bhakta to begin with practises Chariya and Kriya,
Then blessed with grace takes to Yoga pure;
And that way reaches the path of Jnana
And in the end by Guru's grace becomes one with Siva.
1456: Daily I Beseech His Grace
The Lord is resplendent as pure gold
His Feet are unto the lotus bloom
At them I pray: "Lord, Grant me Your Grace!"
And in love I melt and daily adore;
And the Lord that is Light within my bones
Himself does reveal unto me.
1457: Yoga Way Leads to Realization
They course Kundalini through centers six,
To singleness of aim direct the mind,
Unto a wooden stake they sit immobile,
Impervious to tickle or to thrust,
To the wise yogins who thus set their purpose high,
Lord His Grace grants.
1458: God is Timeless Eternity
Unless you have realized Him as Timeless Eternity
You know Him not, albeit through aeons and aeons of time;
The Gods-Hari of the Ocean bed and Aya, the Creator-
In vain have sought Him through countless vista of Time
He is at the Pinnacle, beyond, beyond their reach.
1459: Yogi Realizes God Within
As from within the flower,
The hidden fragrance wakes to life,
So, out of Jiva blossoms
Siva's divine grace;
Sitting unmoved like painted picture
The yogi realizes Him within
Unto the planted pole is He,
Which the musk-cat embraces, its fragrance to shed.
1460: Seek God Within You
You say, "I have realized God"
Yet you have not seen Him that is but within you;
Nandi abides subtle as fragrance within flower;
Seek Him in singleness of your thought
Then shall your darkness of Impurities vanish
The darkness that is the seed of birth and rebirth interminable.
1461: Yoga Shows the Way
Neither mantra, nor song, nor arts four and sixty
Ever sunders birth and its accursed bonds;
Then did I take to Yoga's way,
And lo! I met the Sun, Moon and Fire on the way to Cranium
And they showed the Supreme Way!
1462: Fruits of Yoga
Do in devotion practise yoga
You shall a true tapasvin become;
You shall the True Word realize;
And of certain, one with Heavenly Beings be;
Yoga devoted is penance true.
1463: Do's and Don'ts in Yoga
Do with care practise yoga
You shall with Immortals be;
Within you shall you glimpse Him;
If you but waver,
Then shall you reach the World of Darkness
Verily, Kundalini Fire that Yoga kindles in thee
Is the Gracious Lord HimSelf.
1465: Sub-divisions in Yoga
The yogi has sub-divisions three in his path;
The yoga-kriya that helps him be the yogi;
The yoga-chariya that of desires deprives him,
And yoga-in-yoga that centers thought on Sun within;
This latter I fixed my heart on.
1466: Stages of Initiation in the Yoga Path
Samaya Diksha in yoga is initiation for diverse yoga efforts;
Visesha Diksha in yoga is for achievement of eight-limbed yoga;
Nirvana Diksha in yoga aids yogi glimpse the Divine;
And when he is granted Abhisheka Ordination
Then is he ripe for Siddha State.
1469: Stages of Attainment Through Jnana
Thus they say:
By devotion the Jiva first sojourns Lord's world;
Then comes to dwell in Lord's proximity;
Further on receives Lord's grace,
And in the end attains Jnana
In Sivohamic I and You union
Jiva shall himself Siva become.
1470: Unitive Attainment of Jnani
Brahmam shall be his impregnable abode,
Universe, his kith and kin;
Diverse paths the world presents
All, all shall be his;
For, verily he has realized
The pure Jnana, free of doubt.
1471: Jnana is Lifeboat
The Lord is of Infinite Grace,
In His Celestial City are Love, Light and Peace eternal,
To them that seek to know His Form
And understand His Attributes
And attain His Holy Feet
To them, this is the Path
This, this the boat to cross Life's turbulent waters.
1472: Jnani Becomes Light Divine
In whose thoughts Jnana ripens and swells,
In his path the Life-Boat appears and greets him;
And thus does he reach the surging waters
Of the Crescent Moon's sphere,
And there, rid of Impurities,
He himself the Effulgent Light becomes.
1477: San Marga
They glimpsed the Light of Holy Scriptures,
The revealed word of the Self-Existent Sivam.
They lost the sense of ego,
Became Siddhas of SivaYoga,
And over Death triumphed;
Only they that had thus evolved
Knew meaning inner of Sanmarga.
1480: Sanmarga Gives the Vision True
They that have true Vision none,
Shall never Siva know;
Nor shall even Jivas be;
Nor indeed Siva become;
Never, never their birth's bondage broken be.
1481: Sanmarga Leads to Supreme Grace-Bliss
When you scorch Impurities five
And listen to the Voice of Silence
You become a pure Mukta;
And I and You in one merge;
And by the unsullied Grace Jnana grants
You shall joy of the Bliss Divine;
Verily, then by Sanmarga Path
You become He indeed .
1483: Sanmarga Path Purest
Alone of all paths
Sanmarga grants God-head through knowledge;
The rest of paths are for un-illumined;
Renouncing the ways of impurities
And transcending limits of Turiya
It merges I in You;
Verily, Sanmarga is Path Purest.
1484: Other Three Paths Open of Themselves
Unto that rare seeker in Sanmarga path
The rest of three paths, of themselves open;
That alone is True Path union with Siva seeks;
Seek that Path
As Guiding Word scriptures proclaim.
1487: Sanmarga is Only Path to Finite Goal
That alone is Path Divine
The Sanmargis for Goal ordain;
Other Path there is none,
Than this path to the One;
They that straight reach it not,
Through Yoga's Path may yet climb.
1492: Yoga Leads to Supreme Awareness
Through this path of Sahamarga
The Yogis pierce the Adharas
And the Nadis they purify;
Envision the Kalas sixteen,
And glimpse their heavenly radiance;
And then are they merged in Awareness Supreme
Their organs of sense, internal and external,
All atrophied.
1493: Siva is in Yogi's Thought
He harries and subdues the conflicting senses five
With the sharp sword of his determinate will;
In his thought emerges Lord
Whom the eighteen Ganas seek;
Verily, the yogi deserves our obeisance.
1494: Love Basis of Yoga
Even for the Yogi austere
Who attains the glossy hue of the rich ripe fruit
The Lord is hard of shell unto the wood-apple fruit,
But to them whose hearts ripe in love,
And taste the sweets of divine rapture,
He opens all of Himself
Unto a rich fruit mature.
1495: Path of Filial Piety Leads to Jnana
The Path of Filial Piety is the Way of Kriya true;
The Kriya Path leads to Yoga Path;
Transcending both,
And uniting in Sakti of Yoga State
Indeed is consummation of Sanmarga Path.
1501: Kriya Comes of Chariya
Hearken! You, worldly men
That stand in Chariya Path,
It leads to the Kriya Path,
That exalts you;
Then shall your primordial Pasas lie prostrate,
And you live in unending bliss for ever.
1506: Be of Love and See the Lord
What avails it
That you read holy scriptures,
Perform Pujas,
Gather flowers in cluster?
As long as your heart is unto a pebble
Dropped into a dark pool
Over-spread with moss of ignorance,
You can never realize the Lord;
Lord that is in your heart's love;
Lord that is blue-throated;
He, the Pure Light.
1507: Successive Stages to Finite Beatitude
The four stages of attainment
Saloka, Samipa, Sarupa and Sayujya
Are in gradation reached from Chariya;
The path of Chariya leads to Saloka;
And that in turn to Samipa;
And Samipa shows the way to Sarupa;
And ultimately to Para of Infinite Space (Sayujya)
Beyond which there is state none.
1509: Transformation of World-Knowledge
In Saloka Pasa Jnana (World knowledge) becomes Pasu Jnana (Spiritual knowledge)
In Samipa it becomes Arul Jnana (Grace-knowledge)
In Sarupa it is transformed into Pati Jnana (God-knowledge)
In Sayujya it is for ever dissolved.
1510: Only Jnana-in-Yoga Leads to Sarupa State
The State of Sarupa is, no doubt, reached
Through the eight-pronged yoga way;
But unless it be Sanmarga-in-Yoga,
The Sarupa state cannot be;
The yoga way but leads to bodily Siddhis diverse;
But for the Sarupa state to realize,
None these but the pure way of Jnana-in-Yoga.
1512: Stages in the Soul's Pilgrimage
In the Soul's Pilgrimage towards God
The Path of Saivam describes stages four;
It is Saivam, when the Self forges a kindred tie with Siva (in Saloka)
It is Saivam, when the Soul realizes itself and nears God (in Samipa)
It is Saivam, when it leaves Samipa (and reaches Sarupa)
It is Saivam when it enjoys the final bliss of Sivananda,
The inextricable union in Sayujya.
1516: Arul Sakti Helps Attain Liberation
The Primal Sakti releases Jiva from enveloping gloom,
Rows it across the sea of myriad births,
Grants the Grace Abiding;
And lands it on the shores of Truth's Bliss
United in the Lord of Heavenly Beings,
-Themselves as yet unfree
From Impurity's obscuration.
1513: Sayujyam
Sayujya is the state of Jagra-Atita-the Beyond-Consciousness
Sayujya is to abide for ever in Upasantha,
The peace that knows no understanding
Sayujya is to become Siva Himself,
Sayujya is to experience the infinite power of inward bliss,
Forever and ever.
1517: Grace Illumines
As when groping in a chamber enveloped in thick gloom,
A sudden shaft of light pierces and illumines,
Unto it into the gloom of bewildering Ignorance
Is the Presence of Lord and Lady of Grace,
Lord that is Nandi, worshipped in the blossom of heart.
1524: They That Adore Sakti Shall Be Granted Things Spiritual
She is the Damsel of the montane regions;
Of shapely breasts and delicate beauty;
If you in devotion adore Her,
She cuts the bonds of birth asunder;
Grants the prowess of mighty tapas;
Scorches the soul's forgetfulness;
And leads you to liberation path.
1527: When Grace Descends as Guru
When Jiva attains the state of Neutrality
To deeds, good and evil,
Then does divine Grace in Guru form descend,
Removes attributes all,
Implants Jnana that is unto a heavenly cool shade;
The Jiva thus rid of egoity,
And other Impurities Three,
Shall with Siva in union merge.
1531: Formal Faiths Know not God Within
He hides in your heart
Yet does He pervade all;
He is the Munificient One;
The Lord Supreme;
Of austere penance
He is seated on the lotus of our hearts;
The cunning Master-Thief
In stealth enters this hollow abode of human flesh
And then leaves it;
None knows His deep design.
1532: Existence of God is an Act of Faith
Say, Lord is within you and without you
Then sure my Lord is within you and without you;
To them they say,
He is neither within you or without you
Sure is He nowhere for them.
1534: God Can Be Reached Only by Devotion
Proclaim you this:
There is nothing except Siva
No tapas except it be for Him
The Six Faiths are nothing but a dreary waste;
Do seek Nandi of mighty penance;
You shall indeed be redeemed truly.
And when the One appears,
The triad Impurities that your destruction encompasses
Will, of themselves, meet their own destruction.
1538: Contending Faiths Do Not Help
The contending Paths are unto the braying asses:
The Pure Siva is all-pervasive;
They seek Him not by the right Path,
And so free are not from Impurities;
They shall grow insane
Forever entangled in whirl of birth and death.
1539: To Attain Finite Goal
Those who are assailed by doubts
And those who are freed from doubts
When together commingle,
Drive the wild beasts of Karma twine to caves,
And persevere in the pursuit
Then shall Finite Goal be reached;
They that are rid of the terrors of the wild
Shall see the Path that to Para leads.
1540: God is Distant and Near
He is far away,
He is near at hand
He is rid of ailments,
He is of immortal name Nandi;
Transparent to those that have unwavering vision;
Elusive to those who are tossed in doubt;
Such know not the mysterious purpose
For which the fleshly body is fashioned.
1541: The End of Seeking
To be born and to live again and again here below,
Verily is the curse of all;
It is the seed of Karma twain;
If you but listen to Him that knows
The origin of swirl that is birth and death,
No more shall you seek
The ways of the perishing men.
1542: Lord and Nandi are One
All the holy ones hail Him as Great God, the Supreme Lord,
He that is Nada and bears the name Nandi;
You too shall make no distinction,
But in prayer lift your hands to Him as Being Supreme;
And the Primal One shall as such reveal Himself.
1543: God is Within You; and Yet Far Away
He is Hara, Holy Father, Primal Lord
As implacable Truth He entered heart;
But if hearts of devotees sought alien paths
They know Him not;
Then is He far, far away.
1544: Precious is Hara's Path
The Heavenly Lord, He knows our goal
He is tender hearted;
He is the Effulgent Sun that guides the destiny
Of Heavenly Beings of wisdom great;
Do think of Him in thought unsullied;
He is of crystal pure hue;
Precious the path of Virtue
He for us has laid.
1546: True and False Faiths
That Path they took
The immortal Devas and the saintly tapasvins;
And so reached Goal True
And merged in one with Siva;
But they that followed froward faiths
Received not His grace;
They lost their way,
And forever wander.
1547: Definition of True Path
He is Light within you;
To know how to reach Him
Is True Path of Becoming;
If you know thus,
You know contradiction none;
That is Path Finite, your Goal's End;
They are but folks poor in spirit
That know not merging in Light Divine.
1548: Worldly Path is not True Path
There is a True Path for the Journey;
They that follow the swampy paths worldly
See but the mirage;
They that avoid the sorrowful path of swirling Karma
Cross evil safe;
And shall sure worship at Lord's Feet.
1549: True Path Leads Straight to Lord's Presence
Walking in the True Path
Your holiness consummates;
The host of thine Karmaic deeds scatters
And they flee away;
Leave you the tortuous path
Of the Karmaic ridden men of world
Onward you journey, straight inside;
Thou shall, for certain, stand
In the Presence of the Lord of Heavenly Beings.
But they that yearn not for Him in constant eagerness
Shall be in sorrow immersed,
1552: Worship Brings Immortal Life
Despair not!
You that thus sit and bewail
And you that have lost your better nature!
Seek Lord in penance true,
The Heavens' Lord shall wipe your tears away,
And grant you Greatness;
And you shall then know births no more.
1553: Lord is Unto Gentle Rain
Who seeks Finite Truth
They His friend are;
Who does not seek Him
They but know the Worldly Men's Misery-Way,
Enveloped in darkness of bondage
In vain shall they be born again and again;
Who seeks Path True
To them, the Lord is unto richly laden clouds
That drops gentle rain of Heavenly Grace.
1554: Lord Guides the Boat of Life
The Boat of Life
By Divine Wisdom guided
Discharges quick its cargo
At the City Ancient;
Having seen that unerring prospect
These wretched men of ignoble deeds
Think not of His Holy Feet,
In devotion replete.
1555: Lord is Within You
The Only Being, the Eternal Being
Within you He dwells;
When you say so,
These ignorant men laugh low;
Poor folk! if they but seek Him in prayer within
Then shall they meet Him-the Peerless One.
1556: Who Pursued False Faiths
They wake not to Inner Light of Aum within;
And joy not in ego-effaced bliss ensuing
They wot not of approaching death,
They seek not end of recurring birth,
Lo! they pursued the unending path of contending faiths,
And stood forlorn, for ever lost in faith false.
1560: "You Are He"-Is the Teaching of True Path
Siva laid the divine path ancient
That leads to the Home Eternal
Seek Him that way;
And know you are He
You shall duly find Him within yourself.
1561: The True Path is Through Kundalini
The Six Faiths that profess the means to Becoming
Are by themselves but blind alleys all;
No good comes by following them alone;
The true path of Becoming for all life to pursue
Is but the path of divine Kundalini Sakti,
The blossom-vine that through Six centers courses.
1562: Lord Ever Guides
Now have I realized the Path of Hara;
In the past I sought Him in narrow paths
And strayed;
Lo! all the while He stood before me
Like a beacon light in firmament
Guiding my voyage
Across the sea of my Soul's longing.
1565: Vision Through Saiva Path
He that belongs to the Lady of Lightning Form
He that belongs to the Vedic Fire of Brahmins
He that belongs to them that think of Him
He, the Primal Lord
He, the tender shoot of Jnana,
When you glimpse His loving signs,
Then have you walked in Path of Siva.
1571: The Path of Siva Leads to Bliss
The immortal Beings, Devas and Vidyadaras,
Sought after Him, but knew Him not;
But pursuing the proven path of Siva
I reached His Feet of Grace to adore
And so realized the bliss of Here and Hereafter.
1578: Discerning Holy Guru
The Guru comes, purifies and grants Godhood,
They see this not,
The witless ones of vision faulty;
But the holy ones take to him
In endearment as unto kith and kin,
And worship him as Lord Himself.
1582: Think of Siva and Be Siva
Let all your thoughts be thoughts of Siva,
And the Lord by His Grace shall reveal all;
If your thoughts be Siva-saturated
In you shall He then close abide.
1585: Jnana Easy With Sakti's Grace
Bhakti and Resoluteness Spiritual (Vairagya)
Are the seeds of State Transcendental;
In turn, these lead to Sivoham;
And in Sivoham shoots the Jnana for Mukti,
And that shoot yours easy shall be
If Sakti but Her Grace bestows.
1587: Siva Jnana Leads to Sivananda
When you realize the Jnana of Siva
You shall achieve the Siddhis luminous
When you realize the Jnana of Siva,
You shall attain the Mukti resplendent;
When your Jnana of Siva reaches to Siva Supreme,
Then shall it yield the Bliss of Sivananda.
1590: Guru Blesses With His Hand on My Head
Rise in loving praise of Lord
And having risen, in piety melt for Him;
Then the godly Guru comes
-He who had scorned Pasa's fetters-
And lays his hand on your head,
And lo! in you wells up
The rapturous Grace of His Holy Feet.
1591: Grace of Feet is Kingdom Won
1593: Guru United Me in Sivam
There was neither speech, nor feeling
Neither self, nor Over-self;
Like unto a sea where no wave lashes,
He made me unite in Sivam;
And he granted me the Boundless Form
That transcends the states four, Nada and rest,
And lo! it was beyond all words.
1599: When True Enlightenment Comes
When the Master blesses you not thus
With the grace of His Feet on your crown,
The Karma of yore shall distort your thoughts;
Only when the resplendent Lord of milk-white brow
Places his blessed Feet on you,
Only then, arr you truly instructed.
1601: Grace of Feet Exceeds Kingly Greatness
The crowned monarchs at best may sway the worlds three;
But they who reached His Holy Feet
Their joy no bounds shall know;
Know this:
The heavenly beings attired in kingly diadems
But turned his vassals;
And thus became for ever blemishless free.
1602: Truth of Hallowed Feet is End of Vedas
I treasured His hallowed Feet
In the depths of my heart;
And so, shunned the deceitful course of scorching senses,
I swam past the dangerous swirls of twin Karma,
And I tasted the nectar of Truth
-The end of all Vedas.
1606: Knower-Knowledge-Known Relationship
To them that pursue the Object of Knowledge
Shall be vouchsafed Knowledge and its attributes;
The Subject that seeks the Object shall in the Object merge;
They that have cognised the Object of Knowledge
Through Knowledge
Have the Knowledge of union with the Object.
1607: You and He
The two categories-You and He
See them both in you and He;
Offer the flower "you" at the Feet of He;
Then no more be it proper to say: "You and He."
1610: Wonders Nandi Showed
"May you have," He said:
"The vision that eye has seen not,
The message that ear has heard not,
The rapture that cloys not,
The union that had been not,
The Nada that ceases not,
The Bodha that arises at Nada's End,
All these, may you have," He said,
He, the Nandi of immortal fame.
1613: In Jneya is the Primal Form of the Spirit
As he holds Mudras three of divine potent
The Jnani Supreme attains Higher Forms Three;
And in rapturous dance he enters Jneya
And himself the Primal Form of Spirit becomes;
The Jiva that is Jnathru (Knower).
1615: Renunciation Leads to Light
A myriad times are they born and dead,
In a million folly they forget this;
And in the darkness of Mala are close enveloped;
When at last the hidden Grace of Siva bursts forth,
And chases the Night away,
Then is the moment for the soul to renounce;
When it does then, a radiant Light it becomes.
1617: The Renunciate Shall Walk in the Straight Path
He laid the path, and planted the thorns along;
When you from the path deviate
The thorns of temptation shall prick you;
They that deviate not,
Them the thorns prick not.
1618: Stand Steadfast in the Goal of Tapas
Spotting my failings, demanding tribute of me,
The five senses in ambush held me;
That indeed is not of my seeking;
Firm in tapas, I stand;
Seeking the hallowed Feet of the dancing Lord,
That on the sacred bull rides.
1621: When Distractions of Senses Cease
One the serpent (Jiva), Five its hoods (Senses)
The Four (Antakaranas) fill the thorny hole of enjoyment;
In its twain body, subtle and gross
It raised its hoods and danced away;
Then into a single hood it merged (Kundalini)
Into the very body within.
1622: None Knows How He Comes
The Primal Lord is the first of Renunciates;
In that thought is little comfort
Not that easy may He come by;
Many, many lives may it take
For Siva's Feet to reach;
Who knows how and when
The Loved One comes?
1626: Tapasvin Ends Birth
The Tapasvins many that live by alms
Have no life hereafter;
On them shall be showered
All blessings of Spiritual wealth;
They that perform tapas incessant
Attain the power to end
All births to be.
1627: Tapasvins Remain Impervious to Temptations
Transfixed in mind and tortured in body
Stout of heart, they perform tapas splendorous;
Even though the Celestial King
And others, however mighty, descend to them,
And tempt them,
Their determined thought on Siva firm remains.
1628: Only Tapasvins Can Approach Lord
He hides and yet hides not;
He appears not to the naked eye;
He of the spreading matted locks;
The gold-hued;
None but they of hard tapas may near Him;
Do hasten and Him adore,
He, the mighty one of the white moon crest.
1630: Tapas Alone is Imperishable Wealth
Amidst the tumult of raging hatred, they perished,
The kings, their ministers and their elephantine hordes;
But fixing their sights on divine Jnana and universal love,
The tapasvins immortals became, their eyelids batting not.
1631: Inward Look of Tapas Ends Birth
Come apart from the clever argumentation of contending theology,
And for a brief brief while, look inward;
That one look shall drive the nail into the coffin of birth
And forever end its cycle recurring.
1632: When Tapas is Needed (when is tapa needed?)
Tapas you need, if Jnana you aspire;
Tapas you need not, when Jnana Samadhi you attain;
Tapas you need not, when you are in Sahamarga of Yoga;
Tapas they seek not, who the Self to transform
Know not.
1638: Light of Tapas is Light of Self
Unsheath your sword of Jnana from mind's scabbard,
Flash it across the bonds of pasa, hacking them twain;
And watch your Self, lest senses five run wild;
Then, shall light that is of tapas born
Become light of the Self.
1641: Tapas is Single-mindedness
To the devout tapasvins, who in dishevelled locks sit
Lord lets no harm happen,
He His Grace lends;
And you look at tapas
Of those that all trials overcame,
Know you, it is by their oneness of mind in tapas
They blocked the births to come.
1642: They That Shun Tapas Hunger Forever
In fear they ran from the croc' in the river
And on the bank they fell into the embrace of the bear
Thus are they the ignorant of scriptures,
Who from austere tapas run away
For food and in hunger roam for ever.
1643: Tapas is Control of Senses
Inside the body-sack
The tiny calf of senses jumps about
For the fruit to ripe and for the ripened fruit to eat;
They that can tether the lusty legged calf to the yard
Shall no more have pulls within;
Their thoughts will in oneness center.
1644: Tapas is Thought Becoming Siva
If your thoughts be all of Siva
You need no more penance perform;
If your thoughts find a kin
With those that have Siva Bliss tasted,
Then shall you be one with Siva;
Then is truly Siddhi and Mukti;
But your thoughts shall be of all Siva
Only by tapas intense.
1652 Tapasvins Will Receive Grace Even Hereafter
If born in body in the Other World
Tapasvins will pursue tapas there;
And will there reach Lord's Feet
And receive His Grace for sure.
Only by Truth of Jnana can tapas firm abide.
1674 Jnani is a class apart
The Siva Jnani that seeks deliverance through Jnana
Is a shrine unto himself, unique of status;
He observes mauna, and so is a Mukta and Siddha;
How can other tapasvins be like unto him?
1675 Stages in Liberation process
The annihilating of the Self
The Self becoming He
The identity in Siva
The Mudra setting the state ultra,
All these and the rest they had,
They who received deliverance at Feet of Nandi.
1680 Blind leading the Blind
They seek not the Guru that blindness cures
They seek the Guru that cures not blindness;
The blind and the blind in a blind dance shuffled
And the blind and the blind in a deep pit together fell.
1685 Tapas consumes Karma
They who stand in tapas
Consume away all Karma
In Siva they stand;
Even Celestials know this not;
They who know not Siva in tapas-standing,
Stood in tangle of births to endless sorrow condemned.
1687 Inner Vision ends Births
They glimpse not the Dawn,
Nor the Spaces Vast;
Nor the Vision in Spaces;
Close your inner eyes hard
And then see;
Behold, there is the Light
That brings not another day!
