17 no prayers= self abidance
Thus we come to understand that fate and free will are not elements contradicting each other.
We are finally brought to the conclusion that unconditional Self-surrender in which no room is given even to any kind of prayers, is the best karma (action).
This is nothing but Self-abidance.
So long as a man experiences himself and the world as two separate entities,
each having a distinct individual existence,
he cannot in practice conceive even the mind transcending state of Parinirvana
to be anything but a third which is distinct from himself and the world.
....
The first and foremost need for us is to know our self, the first person.
,,\
What exactly happens to the power of attention in sleep is not correctly known to anyone except to those who have attained Self Knowledge.
. In this manner, from the moment of waking up till the moment of going to sleep, from birth till death, from creation till dissolution, all people - indeed all living beings -direct their power of attention only towards second and third person objects, and no one ever directs it towards the first person!
This great error is what is called the ‘original sin’.
All the ancient Sages of India realised the truth in the end only by knowing the real nature of this first person.
Therefore, if any of the people who have written heaps of books on psychology have not after all their research come to the same conclusion as that which is proclaimed by Vedanta, namely that ‘I’ alone is the absolute truth, and if they have not thereby attained the true experience of Self, we will have to conclude that their research was not a scrutiny of the correct first person. All that they have done was to attend to a second person object called ‘mind’.
Turning one’s attention towards oneself in order to find out ‘Who am I, who knows the mind?’ alone is the correct first person attention. Anyone who attends to himself in this manner, whoever he may be, will certainly attain the true Knowledge of Self.
Thus the principle teaching which He has given to the whole world is only the practice of Self-attention, which is the easy and direct path and which is so rational that is can be accepted and followed by all people.
The revelation or darsanam of Sri Ramana is only the absolute truth (paramarthikasatya) in which the path and the goal are found to be both one and the same. Since the eternal Self is non-dual and since there is no other path (to attain it) except (to attend to and thereby to abide as) Self, the goal to be attained is only Self and the path is only Self. Know them (the goal and the path) to be nondifferent. – Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 579
..After an ‘I’ rises, everything rises... - Ulladu Narpadu verse 23
If the ego comes into existence, everything will come into existence. If the ego does not exist, everything will not exist. The ego itself is everything. - Ulladu Narpadu verse 26
If the thought ‘I’ does not exist, no other things will exist.... – Sri Arunachala Ashtakam verse 7
39
When the mind is thus found to be ever non - existent, the world-appearance seen by it will also be found to be non-existent. Hence ajata alone is the absolute truth (paramarthika satya)
44 imp
If oneself is a form (the body), the world and God will be likewise (that is, they will also be forms); if oneself is not a form, who can see their forms, and how? Can the sight (that which is seen) be otherwise than the eye (the seer) ?... – Ulladu Narpadu verse 4
On account of the ego, the feeling ‘I am the body’, experiencing all the worlds, which are not other than consciousness, as if they were different from oneself, who is that consciousness, is a creation of the dense and expansive delusion (of ajnana or ignorance of one’s true nature). – Guru Vachaka Kovai verse 67.
imp
Having limited and transformed oneself into a body,
and having transformed the knowledge gathered through the five senses of that body into the world,
one sees that the world, which is nothing other than one’s own real Self,
as objects which are other than oneself, and one is thereby deluded with likes and dislikes for those objects.
Such confusion alone is what is called the world-illusion (jagat-maya).
– Sadhanai Saram verse 44.
When one always abides unswervingly in one’s own state without knowing (any differences such as) ‘oneself’ and ‘others’... who is there other than oneself?
–Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham verse 38.
There is no becoming, no destruction, no one in bondage, no one having desire to be released, no one making effort (to attain liberation) and no one who has attained Liberation. Know that this is the absolute truth (paramartha).
– Upadesa Tanippakkal verse 24
If we turn our power of attention towards “our own” Self, our limited sense of individuality will cease to exist, and hence the appearances of the world and God will come to an end.
..
Very Imp_
50
If an aspirant truly engages himself in the practice of Self-attention, he will often feel as if the state of Self-consciousness, which is his own true nature, is clearly known for some time and as if it is afterwards obscured.
On such occasion he will be able to understand very clearly from his own experience how the world-appearance vanishes and how it again comes into existence.
Because of the speed of forgetfulness or pramada by which he swerve from the state of Self-attention, it may be difficult in the beginning for an aspirant to notice exactly when he loses his hold on Self-attention.
In due course, however, because of the clarity and strength which he will gain by repeatedly practicing Self-attention, it will become possible for him to notice the exact moment when Self-attention is lost, and thus it will become possible for him to regain it immediately.
On all the occasions when he thus clearly cognizes the moment when Self-attention is lost and the moment when it is regained, the aspirant will be able to know very easily from his own experience how the world is created by his losing Self-attention and how it is then destroyed by his regaining Self-attention.
Thus the aspirant will come to know with absolute certainty that his giving room to slackness in Self-attention is the means by which the body and world are created, that his maintaining slackness in Self-attention on account of his lack of interest either to notice that such slackness had occurred or to put an end to it, is the means by which the world is sustained, and that his firmly abiding once again in his own real and, blissful state of pure Consciousness, which is devoid of the limitations of name and form, having vigilantly known the exact moment when slackness in Self-attention occurred and having thereby put an end to it, is the means’ by which the world is destroyed.
When the aspirant comes to know this truth from his own direct experience, he will realise himself to be the perfect Supreme Reality which transcends the three functions of creation, sustenance and destruction, and hence he will remain unshakably established in the state of absolute peace.
A person will feel no liking to take to the practice of Self-attention until he gains the proper discrimination whereby he can understand that the two states of creation and sustenance, which are merely a mixture of pleasure and pain, are not worthy to be cherished and pursued.
So long as he continues to give importance to these two states, which are nothing but mere appearances, he will be liable to build castles in the air by imagining that he can eliminate pain from this mixture of pleasure and pain, which is one of the many dyads, and that he can thereby make pleasure alone prevail in two states of creation and sustenance.
Though such a person may be very broad-minded, generous-hearted and compassionate, since he may even be deluded to the extent of believing that the miseries which we now see in the world would not have existed if, the functions of creations and sustenance had been performed in accordance with his own visionary ideas, and thus he will find fault even with God, who is now performing those functions and he will wistfully imagine that he must take responsibility for carrying out a reform in the present manner in which God is governing the world.
....But if the man described above really takes to the path of complete self-surrender in order to acquire from God the power which is necessary for him to bring about such a radical reformation in the creation, what will actually happen in the end?
If and when the surrender becomes complete, the mind or ego which had risen as ‘I am so-and-so’ and which had cherished all the wonderful notions mentioned above, will surely drown and perish in Self, the source from which it had risen, thereby losing its separate individuality.
Until and unless the ego is thus annihilated, the surrender cannot be said to be complete.
“Making one’s outlook of the nature of knowledge, one should see the world as Brahman”
drishtim jnanamayin kritva pasyet brahmamayam jagat.
...
For those who have realised, the reality shines as the nameless and formless substratum of the world. Know that this is the only difference between these two”
...But, to really experience the universe as God (which is really worshipping it) is possible only, after
realising the true nature of the Self, where the world and God will not remain as entities other than the Self.
“In the heart at first you see Him who is everywhere;
Only then that all exists as Him you’ll be aware.”
- Dhyanappattu - Sadanai Saram.
67
Both the purification of the mind and thereby its ability to discriminate rightly grow simultaneously in the aspirant.
Therefore, as his mind becomes purer and purer it gets the high clarity through which his power of understanding becomes sharper and sharper.
Now only, with this, he is able to understand the necessity of rightly knowing the Self, and how the appearance of the world and God is connected with Self knowledge and also, how purification of the mind is the sole aim of Karma Yoga, as it has been explained so far in this chapter. Indeed, what greater benefit than this clarity of mind is worthy to be attained through Karma Yoga? For, the aspirant is now really qualified for the science of Self by which the Supreme Truth will dawn in him!
It is this process that is pointed out in the verse 3 of ‘Upadesha Undiyar’ by Sri Bhagavan referred to previously.
If we know what is the impurity in the mind, the way in which it is removed by the practice of Karma Yoga will also be clearly understood; ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are the impurities in the mind or ‘Chittam’. If these impurities which form the ‘tam’ in ‘Chittam’ are removed,‘Chittam’ will remain as ‘Chit’ (Pure Consciousness) which it really ever IS.
“Just like a colourless prism appears to be red when near a red flower, Chit (Consciousness) appears to be chittam – the mind, when the impurities ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are superimposed on It. When these, which are caused by Maya, are removed it shines as ever as Chit”.
- Guru Vachaka Kovai - Verse No. 244
‘I’ and ‘mine’ are the root-impurities of all other innumerable impurities such as lust, anger and the like. Even out of these two, the possessive form ‘mine’ can have an existence only because of ‘I’. Where there is no ‘I’, there will be no ‘mine’. Though in its pure nature ‘I’ is the Self, it is taken to be impure because of its attributes which are alien to it and experienced as ‘I’ am-this, I am-this body, ‘I am-a man or I am-so and so’.
Hence, the attributes appended to ‘I AM’ alone, are the ‘root-impurity’.
Till this impurities are removed, Self, Existence-Consciousness (Sat-Chit) is called ego.
The true purpose of Yoga is only to remove this root-impurity.
The methods of removing the impurities vary according to the maturity of the aspirants.
Consequently different Yogas had to be framed.
To the aspirants who are very intent on removing their impurities, the impurity in the form of ‘mine’ being gross rather than the impurity in the form of ‘I’ which is subtle, come first within the range of their perception.
Then, one with sincere yearning, at once starts rejecting every thing saying, “Let it not be for me”. This leads to renunciation.
Another type of aspirant kindles within himself the feeling of sacrifice saying, “Let all these (of mine) be for others and not for me”*. Karma Yoga is framed having the principle of the second type of aspirant as its base!
Thus out of the two impurities ‘I’ and ‘mine’, as ‘mine’ is easily noticeable, it is no wonder that all good people with noble aspiration generally first try to tackle only the ‘mine-ness’. For, such a mind which is thus purified through the renunciation of ‘mine-ness’ another truth also will dawn :- “This ‘mine’ is just like the leaves and branches of a tree. No matter with what effort and how many times they are cut, the leaves and branches -‘mine-ness’ – will, under favourable conditions, keep on sprouting again and again in some form or other in their own time.
Therefore, the root ‘I’ should be traced out and annihilated”
Even for this truth to dawn, is it not necessary that the restless intensity of ‘mine-ness’ should be lessened to a very great extent?
Until this understanding comes to an earnest seeker through the proper discrimination of the purified mind that ‘I’ is the right root-impurity and that it has to be rooted out, service to humanity, sacrifice for others and similar unselfish activities in the line of Karma Yoga will be going on in his life making up the major part of his endeavour.
Then, according to his previous tendencies and tastes he steps into either the path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga) or the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga) which alone are directly concerned with the annihilation of the ego, the root-impurity.
Bhakti
78
So also, Love or Bhakti has different degrees of superiority or inferiority according to the different degrees of the purity of the mind of jeevas. In this manner, the love or Bhakti present in different jeevas can be classified into five classes. The fully purified love will shine as Shiva!
1st std vishaya bhakti
2nd std vishaya bhakti alone, but names and forms of god means to fulfil them
3rd std worshipping only 1 god
3A- love for objects not for god
3b love for god
4 - ripened love for guru. complete dispassion for worldly objects
5 love for guru replaced by Love for Self (pg 151 end )
95
The main point of Yoga is to collect the scattered thoughts into one and fix the mind on that one thought only. The worship of God is a means to focus the mind on one point, setting aside the other innumerable thoughts concerning one’s daily activities rising (in one) during the waking state.
In the Path of Love (Bhakti Marga) when such confidence in God:
“God will look after everything in my life;
why should I think and worry about it”
increases, thousands of unnecessary thoughts will depart.
But this alone is not sufficient. The important point in Bhakti Yoga is to fix the mind on one name and form of God, and not change the worship from one name and form of God to another and thereby allowing the mind to branch out into so many thoughts and waver.
“O Supreme! I am the foremost of those who do not have such excellent discrimination as to give up all worldly attachments and cling only to Thy Feet. Taking all my burden as yours, ordain the ‘mine’ in all actions to cease. What indeed can be a burden to Thee that sustaineth the whole universe? O Lord, enough of the trouble I have had by leaving Thee and by bearing the burden of this world on my head. O Arunachala, who art the Lord! Think no more of keeping me away from Thy Feet.”
– ‘Sri Arunachala Pathikam’- verse 9
“O Arunachala, as ice dissolves in water (and becomes water), dissolve me in Love, in Thee, the form of Love.”
–‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ - verse 101.
“From now onwards there is no such thing for me as a need in my life. Let anything take place in my life as you will ” “… all such sorts of ups and downs, happiness or misery, prosperity or poverty, honour or dishonour, fame or ill-fame…” The only need is You alone; fulfill that one need of mine, my Lord!
– Sri Ramalinga Swamy
111
“For Thee I am longing, but without the true knowledge, and I am weary! Do Thou grant me the Supreme Knowledge of Thee, so That my weariness may go, O Arunachala.”
– ‘Arunachala Aksharamanamalai’ – Verse 40
Knowing that the present pangs of separation of our Man are due to his love for Him (God) and this in turn is due to not having the right knowledge of His reality, (Real Nature)
and that the only remedy for this is to bestow upon him the Supreme Knowledge;
God withdraws from the sight of the Man His unreal aspects, the name and form.
The Man now wonders aimlessly like an insane; sometimes walking, sometimes stopping, endlessly and untiringly cries out in agony and calls “Krishna, O Krishna” in low or high pitch.
He has become God mad, having no thoughts for wife, children, house or work.
But he remains drowned in the meditation on his Beloved Krishna
Who has overwhelmed him even without his effort!
This Man who is now suffering from the pangs of separation, is just in the same state of mind as Saint Appar on his way to see Lord Shiva in Kailas;
Sri Ramakrishna who even tried to kill himself weeping for his Divine Mother Kali;
Sri Chaitanya who became mad for Sri Krishna; Sita who when imprisoned in Lanka (Ceylon) was longing for Sri Rama and Bharata who searched for Sri Rama in the forest.
Sometimes even some more lives (Janmas) may pass in this state of pangs of separation!
However much, one is able to get the company of one of the names and forms of God, that cannot be the state of permanent attainment of God; soon or later that name and form will have to vanish.
“… realizing one’s own truth in the truth of that True Thing (the Supreme) and being one with It, having been resolved into It, is the true Seeing (realization). Thus should you know”.
– ‘Ulladu Narpadu’ – Verse 8.
Realising the oneness of one’s own Self as the true nature of God
and to merge into It
without any residue of individuality,
alone is the true seeing and the true attainment of God.
Is it not?
117
It is to be noted here that, though Namdev recognised that every space (for second and third persons) are a place for the Shivalingam; the True Knowledge did not blossom in him, until his attention was drawn to his own SELF, the first person, by the action of placing the Feet on his own head. Only then the Truth was realised.
This clearly proves the ‘teaching of Sri Bhagavan Ramana that, unless one experiences one’s Self, the knowledge that everything is Brahman cannot be perfect and true;
although one accepts that everything is Brahman and tries to see the world as such; it will be only an imagination.
“...when the first person (ego) ceases to be, through enquiry into the truth of the first person, the second and third persons come to an end.
That state of Being in which all (I, II and III persons) shine as one, is the true nature of the Self”
–Ulladu Narpadu, - Verse 14.
The knowing of your Self (Sat) is spontaneously ever present, because you are Knowledge itself.
So also, even any feeling of love in you cannot be but you, because you are Love itself.
“Even though one may worship the Supreme in whatever form, giving (Him) whatever name, and even though it is the way to see the Supreme in that name and form,
realising one’s own Truth in the truth of that True Thing (the Supreme),
and being one with It having been resolved into It, is the only true seeing. Thus should you know.”
-‘Ulladu Narpadu’ - Verse 8*
144
Guru is the Self. Attaining the Self alone is to attain God or Guru.
On the other hand, so long as you see your God or Guru as different from your Self, you cannot know the Self which is the state of Perfect Freedom.
So long as there is the feeling of separateness, fear is bound to be there.
If you want to be free from fear (the state of fearlessness) be in the state of otherlesness, Self.
Your Love of the Self (Swatma Bhakti) i.e., your (ego’s) merging into the Self, is verily your true Love of the Guru (Guru-Bhakti).
imp-
The love that springs upon other things can never be poorna.
When love is full (poorna), the defect in the form of the movement of springing upon other things will not be there.
The fullness of love unbroken and all-pervading is ‘Not with another (Non-dual)’.
He alone who has love, but ‘Not for another’ (Ananya Bhakti) is one who has the Full Love (Sampoorna Bhakti).
147
When love abides as itself, it is the full and perfect Love.
When the Love takes the form of movement, it is fragmented and becomes desire which springs upon other objects.
It is Love when it is in the form of unbroken Existence;
it is desire when it is in the form of movement or fragmentation.
“...Remaining in one’s own real Beingness is the very truth of Supreme Love”
–‘Upadesha Undiyar’ - Verse 9
So long as you think that your Guru’s Divine Love towards you is a love that springs from one entity to an other, certainly this love (your Guru’s love towards you) is to be taken as a divided love.
Therefore, it is a lesser one than your love towards Self. “…
One who has such ‘Love for not another’ drowns in Thee, the Self the form of Bliss.”
–‘Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam’ Verse 5
Though one’s love for oneself is the greatest of all love towards any other objects in the world, when the true Love for the Guru (true Guru Bhakti) dawns, the love felt by the disciple towards the Guru is greater than even the love towards oneself, the ego.
But while experiencing the truth of the Self, the love towards the real Self is found to be greater than one’s love even towards one’s Guru.
Though his Guru is his Self and although his love towards his Guru is indirectly Self-love,
so long as he sees his Guru – his Self – as a second person,
his love towards his Guru is not fully refined into the Self Love,
until he experiences his Guru within as his Self.
..
125 aporakshanubhuti
125. The aspirant should carefully practice this (meditation) that reveals his natural bliss until, being under his full control, it arises spontaneously, in an instant when called into action.
132. Only those in whom this consciousness (of Brahman) being ever present grows into maturity, attain to the state of ever-existent Brahman; and not others who merely deal with words.
134. The aspirants after Brahman should not remain a single moment without the thought of Brahman,
142. Having reduced the visible to the invisible, the wise should think of the universe as one with Brahman. Thus alone will he abide in eternal felicity with mind full of consciousness and bliss.
reworded:
Realise that which is visible is non-existent. Dwell in the Atmic Bliss of bramha
144...Purity of the mind, again, is speedily accessible to those who are devoted to the teacher and the Deity.
reworded:
more the shraddha, quicker the purity.
..
the Man is promoted from the Love for the Guru (Guru Bhakti) to the Love for the Self (Swatma Bhakti) i.e., from IVth to Vth standard of our School.
The Man, being now freed from the confusion in the form of desire, fear and delusion which he had on account of the wrong outlook of seeing his own Self as multiplicity is well established in the Self through Self-attention.
This Self-abidance indeed is the acme of LOVE.
“When the mind remains permanently absorbed in its source whence it had its rising – it is Karma, Bhakti; it is Yoga and Jnana also.”
– ‘Upadesha Undiyar’ - Verse 10
“To say the truth, he who knows the Truth (Mei Dnyani) is different from he who knows of the Truth in the scriptures (Vijnani).
The only essential thing to do for those who want to cut the knot of the bondage of ignorance, is to quit those who know the scriptures and to join those who abide in the Self, the Knowers of Truth.”
–‘Guruvachaka Kovai’ - Verse 1158
“ Brahman alone shines directly as ‘I-I’, - the Atman” –Ulladu Narpadu, Supp. - Verse 8
Bhakti and Jnana pave the way to the Self. To be as the Self is Jnana; and without loving the Self how to be It?
So, if one is as Self, it is the state of fullness of Love.
If one has ‘Bhakti', one cannot but be as the Self.
So Bhakti and Jnana are not two but the Self, like the two faces of the same coin.
..
The attainment of the Self is the highest aim of the Vedas; and that alone is the real teaching of Bhagavan Ramana. That Path of Knowledge, i.e., the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ which results in the dawning of Self-Knowledge is explained as ‘The Path of Ramana’ (Part One).
Now, as the love in its perfectly refined state shines as Self alone, the method of purifying the love up to Self-Love (Swatma Bhakti) is explained as ‘The Path of Ramana’ (Part Two).
..
162 bhakti ends 60%
..
Manickavachakar:--
“The very moment You took me as Your own, I lost my individuality! You may do good or wrong to me! Who am I to interfere, O my Lord!”
If we really have love and faith in God, we should unconditionally surrender ourselves to Him as it is said by Sri Bhagavan Ramana:
“O Annamalai... Can I have then any grievance? O my (real) Soul, do whatever Thou wilt; but grant me, O Beloved, only ever increasing love for Thy Feet.”
-‘Sri Arunachala Navamani Malai’ - Verse 7
“O Arunachala….O Bliss born out of Love! What is there for me to say? Thy Will is my will and Thy Will is Itself my happiness.”
-‘Sri Arunachala Pathikam’ - Verse 2
It is such devotee alone who, knowing this well and accepting it, was mentioned in the previous chapter as a qualified student in the IVth standard of our School.
And it is only to such student that the method of rectifying the two mistakes in using the ‘freedom to will and act’, mentioned above, can be explained.
Verily, only for the sake of such few devotees, who by experiencing the results of karmas through so many births have been maturing through dispassion towards karmas,
God comes in the form of a Guru! At first the individual thinks that the Guru in front of him is a man Iike himself.
But, as the Guru is really none other but his very Self - which is Love, it is no wonder that he feels such a natural, boundless. irresistable flow of love springing forth towards his Guru.
The Guru now instructs him how to handle his ‘original freedom to will and act’:- “Using your freedom to know the Reality, your Self, is the only right use. If you do not know or cannot do that, handover or surrender completely that freedom to God; so that He may use it on your behalf in any way He likes. That means, either know the right way of using it, or restore it to the hands of God, who knows how to use it”. Thus the Guru places in front of the disciple the path of Self-enquiry and the path of Self-surrender – the path of Knowledge and the path of Love (Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga).
From that time onwards the devotee, who takes to either Self-enquiry or Self-surrender, is able to understand that whatever happens in his life is only favourable to lessen the activities of his mind and make him turn Self-ward.
Not only that, he is also able to understand that whatever has happened to him in the past through his Prarabdha as ordained by God, before he took to his present spiritual path, were also incidents favourable to lessen the activities of his mind and make him turn Self-ward.
To the disciple who is now wondering about his new outlook on life, these loving words of Sri Ramana flash through his mind:-
“Know this to be by the Grace of your Guru who is acting from outside to push you within.”
Not only that, he is also able to understand that whatever has happened to him in the past through his Prarabdha as ordained by God, before he took to his present spiritual path, were also incidents favourable to lessen the activities of his mind and make him turn Self-ward. To the disciple who is now wondering about his new outlook on life, these loving words of Sri Ramana flash through his mind:-
“Know this to be by the Grace of your Guru who is acting from outside to push you within.”
183 imp
As soon as he gets this new outlook on life, he feels ashamed to pray any longer to his God or Guru to alter his destiny (Prarabdha);
because, he now finds that all the activities going on in his life are only to make him turn Self-ward.
In short, in the eyes of such a mature disciple, the Prarabdha becomes completely non-existent.
He does not use the word ‘Prarabdha’, but points out to it as ‘The loving Will of my Lord;
His Will is my pleasure!’. Now the surrender completes itself – the life has been changed into one immense Bliss, even the greatest tortures now appear to him,
[as sings Saint Appar:
* “(Where I was placed) under the shade of the Feet of my Lord,
I felt as if on the cool bank of a pond in the spring full moon,
under the pleasant touch of the southern breeze while the Veena is playing sweet melody”.
His mind so transformed is no longer a ‘mind’, It is Self – his very nature.
We can say that, what was previously called ‘mind’ is now destroyed
Thus we are able to understand that the experiencer ship (Bhoktrutva) is destroyed along with the doership (Kartrutva).
bhoktrutva, kartuttva destroyed = be Still
Having his two aspects thus destroyed, the jiva’s keeping quite is the ‘BE STILL’ (Summa Iru).
And THIS is the real teaching (Upadesha) of the Guru.
To BE so STILL is the real service to God and to the Guru.
And to BE so STILL is really to live in the Divine.
And THIS is the original Natural State.
To will to be so still, i.e., to like to be so still, or to will not to be so still, i.e., to do, is under one’s will. For, the ‘Perfect Freedom to will and act’ is one’s very nature – Brahman, the Self.
It is said above that the destruction of the doership is itself the destruction of the experiencership also.
The same power – our Perfect Freedom, which imagined a separate entity as a doer, when now, on the contrary, acts in the form of an intense Power to Will (Ichcha Shakti) and an intense Power to Act (Kriya Shakti) to BE STILL, this un-equalled Power - the DYNAMIC STILLNESS destroys the insignificant, false and imaginary ‘ichcha and kriya shakti’ used for the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe.
At this stage, the unnatural superimposition made by the aforesaid power of imagination to see the Self, (by the Self, in the Self )- as many, ceases!
Now, as the aspirant experiences the real Awakening into his True Nature which ever shines as ONE with no otherness – the Perfect SELF alone,
the sleep of ignorance in which the dream of birth and death of the individual (the doer) appeared, disappears!!
When the doership is thus destroyed, who stands there for
experiencership?
Hence, the heap or Sanchita, with its good and bad results of the karmas performed, disappears like a dream, just as both debts and gains in a dream disappear on waking-up.
It is what is mentioned in ‘Kaivalyam’.
“Just as a bundle of cotton is burnt to ashes, during the Great Fire of Dissolution, Sanchita, the wonderful seed of diversified fruits – innumerable births - is utterly burnt to ashes by the Fire of Knowledge.”
– ‘Kaivalyam’
- Chapter I -Verse 96.
and in Bhagavad Gita:--
“ ... The Fire of Knowledge burns ALL karmas to ashes.”
–‘Bhagavad Gita’ - Chapter IV - Verse 37.
It has already been said that there will be no more Agamya after the doership has been destroyed.
Up till now it has been said in scriptures, to pacify the questioners, that the Prarabdha which remains after Sanchita and Agamya have been destroyed is to be experienced, and that it will end only with the death of the body.
But, it is to be understood that this is not said for those fully mature aspirants who have a keen discrimination.
The aspirant who is on the path of Love (Bhakti) believes that there is a God or Guru and that He protects him, with the hope that He will do for him whatever is good.
Such an aspirant, while using his ‘original freedom to will and act’, surrenders his doership to Him; therefore he, no longer has to make efforts (Agamyas), and thus BEcomes STILL.
When the ‘freedom to will and act’ is applied to like and to make efforts to BE STILL, the doership is destroyed.
Along with the doership, the experiencership, which is necessary to experience all the three karmas, is also destroyed.
Only with this freedom can we reach the Goal; should this freedom not be there, there would be no hope.
This Freedom alone – which is nothing but GRACE – paves the way for us to be freed from karmas. This alone is the real secret of the karmas.
Thus should we know!
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If one turns one’s attention towards the first person (the subject) in the waking state,
the waking should come to an end,
leaving one in the State of Awakening.
This Self-ward turn is Being only, and not doing;
hence it is not a thought or karma
Only this kind of Self-effort is called the effort of destroying karmas.
This alone will lead to Liberation.
Verse 8 : “If one worships the Supreme in whatever form, giving Him whatever name, it is the way to see the Supreme in that name and form;
yet, realizing one’s own truth in the truth of that True Thing (the Supreme)
and being one with It, having been resolved into It,
is the True Seeing (Realization). Thus should you know!”
“The appearance of the world in dream, waking, our whole life, and the creation as well as the non appearance of the world in swoon, sleep, death and dissolution are not apart from Thee, the Self Awareness, O Arunachala, the Hill of Grace!”
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