Dnyaneshwari july 2020

A chaste wife (with her husband living) feels abashed when she is called a widow, or when a handsome fellow suffering from leprosy feels as if he is in the throes of death or a respectable person feels the same, when he is accused of a shameful act. In the same way, he feels ashamed to live like a corpse, in the body three and half cubit long, to go through birth and death again and again or to pass his time in a womb, which is a mould of fat filled with blood and urine (176-180). 

In short, he does not think anything more disgraceful than to get into such a body and assume name and form. The nausea which a sinless person feels for such a loathsome body is known as humility, but a shameless person derives great pleasure in it. 

Just as the movement of a puppet comes to a stop with the snapping of the string (in the hand of the puppeteer), so his organs of action cease their activity, when he practises breath-control. Just as the rays of the sun cease after sunset, so his organs of sense cease to function with self-control. 

In this way, all the ten senses become feeble and this is known as ‘absence of fickleness’ (181-185).

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Spiritual Vigour

When a person longs to pursue the path of knowledge for God-realisation, he does not feel the lack of strength.

There is nothing so dreadful than immolation, but a chaste wife does not hesitate to enter the pyre of her dead husband.

In the same way, a person longing to attain his Lord, the Self, rejects sensuous pleasures like poison and treads the difficult path leading to the formless Brahman.

In this journey, he is not obstructed by precepts or prohibitions nor is he lured by the miraculous powers.

In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour

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austerity of the mind

The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence. Just as the salt, when dropped in water, which is its original state, becomes merged in it, so the mind, having realised the Self, loses its essential nature. How then could emotions and other tendencies arise in such a mind? How could his mind rush along the road of the senses and reach the town of sense-objects? Then the tendencies of the mind become pure, in the way the palm of a person is free from hair (231-235). O Arjuna, when the mind reaches this state, it is said to possess the austerity of the mind.

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 Just as the consumption of seeds puts a stop to further agricultural operation, so the relinquishment of the fruit of action, stops the future consequences of one’s action. Then the knowledge of Self dawns upon one, as a result of the purification of his mind and the ambrosial shower of the Guru’s grace, and it destroys the misery arising from the notion of duality. 

If the sun enters a cave in search of darkness, he can never see it there, so he who has realised the Self sees no distinction between the object seen and the seer (406-410).

Just as a thing which catches fire becomes fire, obliterating any distinction between one who burns and one who is burnt, so when the notion of the action as separate from the Self and of the attribution of its agency to the Self disappears, then what remains is the pristine state of the Self

 Will the Lord of this state ever think that he is the body? Will the flood of deluge identify itself with a brook? In the same way, how can one who has realised the Self identify himself with the body?

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.

Just as one sees one’s reflection in the mirror, so one who has attained the sattvic knowledge perceives the knowable, in the form of one’s knowledge.

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.

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Chd gita

dharana = clear understanding of the subject. By which one goes nearer to the atma.


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chp 2 

so this right-mindedness which leads to God-realisation is difficult to attain.

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When volition realizes that with the elimination of the sense-objects the activities of the senses are completely brought under control, it will die of a broken heart. When dispassion fills every pore of the body and mind, then volition stops functioning and the intellect dwells happily in the mansion of fortitude.

25. Gradually he should cease from action by means of his intellect sustained by steadiness; and fixing the mind on the self, he should think of nothing else.

26. From wherever the mind wanders, fickle and unsteady, by restraining it there from, he should bring it under his control.

If the intellect has the strong support of fortitude, it brings the mind gradually on the path of self-realisation and establishes it in the temple of the Supreme Self. 

If this cannot be done, then I shall tell you another easy way, please listen. 

We should first make a rule and resolve not to deviate from it (376-380). if the mind becomes steady by means of this rule, then it has served its purpose.

 If this does not happen, the mind should be left to itself. Wherever then this uncontrolled mind wanders, it should be arrested from there and brought back. In this way, it will gradually become steady of its own accord.

27. Supreme bliss comes to the yogi whose mind is at peace, whose passion has subsided and who is stainless and has become one with Brahman.

When the mind remains steady for a long time, it gets near the Self and when it perceives the true Self, becomes one with it.

 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 self-realisation without much effort.

28. Constantly applying his mind thus, the yogi who is free from stain, enjoys with ease the infinite bliss of contact with Brahman.

In this way, several persons have, by adopting this method of Yoga and renouncing desire, attained self-realisation and oneness with Brahman. 

Just as salt having come into contact with water cannot be separated from it, such is the state achieved by the embodied Self when he becomes one with Brahman. 

Then he feels as if the world is the temple of unity and the people are celebrating the festival of lights. 

In this manner, one should turn one’s face in the reverse direction towards one’s original state (the Self). But if you find this also difficult, then please listen; I shall tell you another way (386-390).

29. Absorbed in meditation, he sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self and sees the same everywhere.

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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.

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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.”

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chp 8

By practicing Yoga make your mind pure and strong, by adopting proper means even a cripple can climb a mountain. 

imp-

Then by this yogic practice direct your mind to the Supreme Self; then it matters not whether your body remains or departs. 

If the mind, which runs after different goals, is lost in the Self, then who will remember whether the body has remained or gone? 

When the river with its noisy currents joins the sea, does it come back to see what happened after it left? 

Never! It becomes one with the sea. So the mind also becomes one with Brahman, which is of the nature of bliss and which puts a stop to transmigration (8185).

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chp 13

10. Unflinching devotion to Me, through exclusive Yoga, resort to secluded spots and distaste for the company of men,

imp-

He is fully convinced that there is no other thing superior to Me in this world. He declares by body, speech and mind on oath, that there is no other goal in this world than Me (601-605). His mind is so enamoured of Me, that he has become one with Me. Just as a wife does not feel any reserve in approaching her husband, so he has dedicated himself to Me. Just as the river Ganga continues to join the sea, so even after he has become one with Me,

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.

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Very Imp: chp 13 point 11

He is firmly convinced that the knowledge through which one experiences the Supreme Self is true knowledge. 

And that the knowledge which leads to worldly prosperity and heaven, is nothing but ignorance. 

He does not long for heaven, neglects his worldly affairs and becomes engrossed in the thoughts about Self.

 Just as a wayfarer, makes careful enquiries at the crossroads and avoids the by-path, he fixes his mind and intellect on the knowledge of the Self (616-620).

Then his intellect becomes steady like the mountain Meru with the conviction, that the knowledge of the Self, is the only true knowledge and every other knowledge is delusive. 

Just as the pole star remains steady in the sky, he keeps his mind steady on the knowledge of the Self.

 There is no doubt that knowledge dwells in such a person.

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When his knowledge of Self becomes impressed on his mind, he becomes one with Me. When a person has just sat down, you cannot say that he is seated, the same is the case with knowledge, unless knowledge becomes firmly implanted in his own mind, one cannot call him a man of wisdom. Then he sets his sight on the fruit of that knowledge, which is the knowable (Brahman) (621-625).

 If one does not realise the knowable, then he cannot be said to have attained knowledge. Of what use is a lamp in the hand of a blind man? 

So if he acquires knowledge but does not realise the knowable, then his knowledge becomes worthless.

 If the intellect does not reach Brahman in the light of knowledge, then it is blind. 

He longs to attain that knowledge by which he sees the supreme Brahman everywhere and then he becomes endowed with that spotless knowledge by which he realises Brahman (626-630).

The development of his intellect keeps pace with the development of this knowledge. 

Then it does not need to be said in so many words, that he has become knowledge incarnate. 

He, whose intellect comes into contact with this knowledge, experiences the touch of God. 

Is there any wonder if I say that he has become of the very nature of knowledge? 

Is it necessary to point out the sun as the sun?

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very nice:

11.   ...His knowledge is like the eyes spread over the plumage of a peacock, none of which has vision. 

If one can secure even a small portion of the root of the Sanjivani plant, which restores the dead to life, of what use are the cartloads of other medicinal herbs?

 It is simply mockery to have auspicious marks on the palms without long life, to bedeck a headless body with ornaments or to start a marriage procession without the bride and the bridegroom. 

In that way, O Partha, all other lores with the exception of the one relating to the knowledge of the Self, lack authority.

So, O Arjuna, bear in mind that the body of the learned fool, who has not attained the true knowledge of the Self (836-840), has grown from the seed of ignorance and his learning is the plant of ignorance. 

What he talks, is the flower of ignorance, and the virtuous deeds which he performs, are the fruit of ignorance. 

Does it need to be said that one who has scant regard for spiritual knowledge is incapable of understanding its import? 

How can he, who returns without reaching the shore on this side, know anything of the other shore?

 How can he, whose head is caught in a niche at the very threshold, see what is inside the house (841-845)?

 He who has not even a nodding acquaintance with the knowledge of the Self, cannot know the true import of that knowledge. 

It is not necessary to demonstrate to you mathematically, that such a person does not understand the real essence of knowledge.

12. I shall now declare to you the Knowable, by knowing which one enjoys immortality. It is the beginingless Supreme Brahman, which is said to be neither existent nor non-existent.

The Supreme is called Jneya, as it is not knowable by any other means than knowledge (861865), and as after knowing it, nothing remains to be known.

 With the attainment of this knowledge, a person becomes one with the Supreme and after renouncing the world, remains absorbed in eternal bliss.

 That knowable has no beginning and no end and so is known as the Supreme. If you say that it is non-existent, it becomes manifest in the form of the universe and if you say that the universe is the Supreme Self, it is only His Maya.

 It has no form, colour or shape. It is not seen nor does it see, so who can say that it exists and how (866870)?

 Well, if you say that it does not really exist, then how did the Great Principle (mahat) and the other evolutes come into being?

 Since no one could definitely say that it is or it is not speech, becomes dumb and the power of thinking too, comes to a dead halt. 

Just as clay appears in the form of a large earthen vessel, a pitcher and a dish, so the Supreme has become the universe and has completely pervaded it.

23. He who knows the purusha and the prakriti with its qualities, in whatever condition he may be, is not born again.

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Now, I shall tell you the various means by which this discrimination will dawn in your mind.

 Some see, through meditation, this Self in themselves by the Self (mind); others by the Yoga of knowledge and still others by the Yoga of action.

O best among the warriors, some burn in the crucible of reason the impure gold and by removing the alloy of impure thoughts through hearing, study, reflection and meditation, purify the gold in the form of Self. 

They determine the pure Self by the elimination of the impure thirty-six principles, which are entirely different from the Self and then see the Self in their own heart through the vision of meditation. 

Others, through good luck, meditate upon him through the Yoga of knowledge or the Yoga of action (1036-1040).

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............. that pristine state which is within us, from time immemorial, known as complete deliverance, is attained only through this knowledge. 

With the realisation of this knowledge, the thoughtful persons do not allow worldly existence to raise its head.

 By withdrawing the mind from the sense-objects, they become tranquil and do not come under the sway of the body, even though possessed of the body (46-50).

 Then, they cross over the hedge of the body and come up to the same level as Myself, with an equable mind.

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26. And he who serves Me exclusively with Yoga of devotion, goes beyond these qualities and qualifies to become Brahman.

26.  .... Just as there is no difference between the earth particles and earth or the snow particles and the Himalayas, so see the universe as abiding in Me (381385). 

Even the smallest wave is not different from the sea; so the Self is not distinct from God. If one attains this blissful state of vision of one’s identity with God, it is the highest form of devotion.

 This vision is the quintessence of knowledge and Yoga. Just as the mutual relation between the sea and the cloud has a continuous flow, so his mental attitude remains the same. Just as there is no joint connecting the mouth of the well with the sky, similar is his oneness with the Supreme Self (386-390).

 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. 

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. 

imp--

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. 

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Just as relations get tired of a poor and cruel person and desert him, they do not get into the clutches of emotions. 

Just as a plantain tree topples down after bearing bananas, so with the realisation of the Self, their activities slowly come to a stop. 

Just as birds fly away from a tree, which has caught fire, all fancies leave them and go away. 

They do not even become aware of the notion of duality, which produces sprouts of grass, in the form of shortcomings in the Field. 

Just as darkness disappears with dawn, their body-consciousness leaves them along with ignorance (286-290). 

Just as the body drops down with the expiry of the life span, so the notion of duality, which causes infatuation leaves them. 

Just as a philosopher’s stone cannot acquire iron or the sun cannot come across darkness, so there is total absence of the sense of duality in them.

The pair of opposites viz., pleasures and pain, which is seen in connection with the body, does not affect them.

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chp 17

16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-control and purity of the heart are called austerities of the mind.

Like the lake without waves, the sky without clouds, or the garden of sandalwood trees without serpents (221-225) or the full moon without its phases, or the king without anxiety or the Milky Sea without the Mandara mountain, his mind remains steady in the Supreme Self, free from entanglements.

He realises his own Self, like light without heat, food without fat or the sky without space. Just as the benumbed limbs are not afflicted by cold, so he is rid of his fickle nature. Then his mind becomes clear and full of love like the unchanging and spotless moon’s disc (226-230).

In this state, he does not feel the hardship of dispassion, his mind becomes free from desire and fear, and there remains only the warmth of Self-knowledge.

The mouth which was used to give instruction on the scripture, does not now use the faculty of speech and observes silence. Just as the salt, when dropped in water, which is its original state, becomes merged in it, so the mind, having realised the Self, loses its essential nature. How then could emotions and other tendencies arise in such a mind?

How could his mind rush along the road of the senses and reach the town of sense-objects? Then the tendencies of the mind become pure, in the way the palm of a person is free from hair (231-235). O Arjuna, when the mind reaches this state, it is said to possess the austerity of the mind. Such are the characteristics of the austerity of the mind. I have explained to you, the three classes of austerities, viz., of body, speech and mind.

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chp 18

................So when the sattvic steadiness rises in the heart, all the activities of the mind, life-breath and senses come to a stop.

Then the bond between the senses and their objects automatically ceases and all the senses enter the womb of their mother i.e. the mind (instead of turning to their objects). 

The prana, which moves upward and upward, being blocked, along with the nine different vital airs, enters the sushumna nadi, and the mind being stripped of its garments, in the form of desires and fancies, the intellect remains quiet behind it (736-740)

In this way, that firm steadiness brings the functions of the mind, vital airs and senses to a standstill and confines them through the power of Yoga in the chamber of meditation. 

45...   ... This non-attachment is like the dawn, which heralds the sun-rise in the form of Self-realisation.

 It is the Divine collyrium, which shows him the buried treasure in the form of Self-knowledge and he applies it whole-heartedly to his inward eye. 

In this way, O Arjuna, by performing prescribed actions, he makes himself worthy for the attainment of liberation (901-905)

49. He whose intellect is unattached to all things, who is self-restrained and free from desire, attains through renunciation (of the fruit of action,) the highest perfection, which is freedom from action.

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Now his intellect, which had been scorched by sensual enjoyments, turns inward to the contemplation of the Self.

 Even if his mind wanders and comes into contact with sense-objects, he never forgets the oath he has taken, not to go after them (956-960). 

Then holding his mind in the grip of unity, he makes it cherish the Self.

Just as the smoke is smothered by the dust covering the fire, his desire for sense-enjoyment in this and the next world, is destroyed. In short, he attains to this plane of Yoga. 

With the cessation of false knowledge, he remains absorbed in the knowledge of the Self.

When the sun rises, light envelops darkness from all sides. When camphor comes into contact with lamp, it becomes a lamp (981-985). When a granule of salt is dropped in water, it becomes water. When a person wakes up from sleep, his sleep along with dream ends and he resumes his conscious state.

So if he hears the instruction of the Master through good fortune, his mind sheds the notion of duality and rests in the nature of Self

 Then can anyone say, that there remains any action to be performed by him?

 Is there anything like coming and going possible in the case of the all-pervading sky?

 Without doubt, there remains nothing for him to do.

51........so his intellect, after being purified, becomes attracted to the Self. Just as a woman from a good family leaves the homes of her parents and parents-in-law and follows her husband, so his intellect, discarding the notion of dualism, becomes absorbed in the meditation of the Self. He has eliminated the five sense-objects, which he had prized so long in the life, of acquiring the desired knowledge, in the same way as the withdrawal of the rays by the sun (at sunset) destroys the mirage.

52. Dwelling in solitude, eating sparingly, subdued in speech, body and mind, ever intent on the practice of meditation, and resorting to dispassion,

He dwells in solitude in a forest, far from the maddening crowd in company of his own body and organs.

 Restraint of the senses and self-control become his recreation and he observes silence.

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.

 He is not even conscious how his time passes in meditating, over the instruction of 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).

The end:

Thus, as the state which one attains, after waking up disappears, he does not know what state he has entered into, or as the gold ornaments appear as gold without their being melted, or when the salt is dissolved in water, the water acquires the salty taste and when that water becomes evaporated that salty taste too disappears, so when the term ‘he’ ceases to exist, how can the term ‘I’ subsist? 

In this way, the notions of ‘he’ and ‘I’ cease to exist, and he merges into My being (1205-1210). 

Just as when the camphor is burnt up, both the camphor and fire also vanish and only the sky beyond them remains or when one is deducted from one the remainder is zero, so what remains after subtracting what is and what is not, is Myself. 

In that state, all talk about Brahman, the Self and the Lord becomes meaningless and even refraining from speech, also has no scope there.

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