Towards the end of chp 14
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.
81. "The diversities in creation are solely due to qualifications limiting the consciousness; these qualifications (i.e., body, limiting of age) are the mental imagery of the creator (consistent with the individual's past merits); when the creative will-force wears away there is dissolution and complete undifferentiation results.
89. "O King! it shines in the manifest conscious Self within. Therefore what looks like the external world is really an image on the screen of the mind.
90. "Consciousness is thus the screen and the image, and so yogis are enabled to see long distances of space and realise long intervals of time.
92. "Therefore recognise the fact that the world is simply an image on the mirror of consciousness and cultivate the contemplation of 'I am', abide as pure being and thus give up this delusion of the reality of the world.
93-97. "Then you will become like myself one in being self-sufficient."
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Tr rhsya cont:
So you see, Bhargava, that the universe is only mental image, just as firm as one's will-power, and no more. It is not independent of the Self. Investigate the matter yourself, and your delusion will gradually lose hold of you and pass off."
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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
24-25. "What you have said so far is quite true; you have rightly understood the nature of consciousness but have not realised it. A knowledge of the property of a thing without actual experience of the thing itself is as useless as no knowledge.
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.
27. "Just as the accession of treasure in a dream is useless, so also is second hand knowledge.
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Hearing it a thousand times over will be useless unless one verifies the teachings by means of investigation into the Self with a concentrated mind.
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"If you infer its eternal light, then closely investigate whether the light is of itself or not.
Everybody falls in this investigation however learned and proficient he may be, because his mind is not bent inward but restlessly moves outward.
As long as thoughts crop up, so long has the turning inward of the mind not been accomplished.
As long as the mind is not inward, so long the Self cannot be realised.
Turning inward means absence of desire.
How can the mind be fixed within if desires are not given up?
"Therefore become dispassionate and inhere as the Self.
Such inherence is spontaneous (no effort is needed to inhere as the Self).
It is realised after thoughts are eliminated and investigation ceases.
Recapitulate your state after you break off from it, and then will know all and the significance of its being knowable and unknowable at the same time. Thus realising the unknowable, one abides in immortality for ever and ever.
"I have now finished. Salutations to you! Farewell!
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"But you have not yet understood my words because this is the first time you hear the truth.
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15-19.
What is not self-luminous can only fall within the orbit of intelligence
... and cannot be Intelligence itself.
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.
34. "I shall tell you the reason for this. Although consciousness is unknowable, it is still realisable by pure mind.
But since consciousness is the Self and not apart from the mind, concentration on it is not necessary for its realisation.
It is enough that other perceptions (namely, thoughts) should be eliminated from the mind and then the Self will be realized.
Diversion of attention from other items is all that is necessary for Self-Realisation.
46. "There can indeed be no moment or spot from which consciousness is absent.
Its absence means their absence also.
Therefore consciousness of the Self becomes manifest by mere diversion of attention from things or thoughts
47. "Realisation of Self requires absolute purity only and no concentration of mind.
(Sam: Zero concept = purity)
For this reason, the Self is said to be unknowable,
meaning not objectively known.
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. (concepts)
To make it thought-free (concept free) is to keep it pure.
(Sam: Free of concepts = Purity)
49. "It must now be clear to you why purity of mind is insisted upon for Realisation of Self.
How can the Self be realised in its absence?
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."
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Reflection can only be on a reflecting surface and not on all surfaces.
Similarly also, realisation of the Self can only be with an alert mind and not with a stupefied one.
New-born babes have no realisation of the Self for want of alertness.
Tarred mirror example.
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Ignorance is dispelled by pure intelligence, which is Samadhi, and this is the immediate cause of salvation.
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24-26. "I will tell you the secret. The cycle of births and deaths is from time immemorial caused by ignorance which displays itself as pleasure and pain and yet is only a dream and unreal. Being so, the wise say that it can be ended by knowledge.
By what kind of knowledge?
Wisdom born of realisation: viz., "I am That".
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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.
Then 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.
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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.
39-47. "Similarly, experience of casual Samadhi in the absence of theoretical knowledge does not serve the purpose either.
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61. "Only those transcend Maya with whose devotion the Goddess of the Self is pleased; such can discern well and be happy.
62. "Being by the grace of God endowed with proper discernment and right-earnestness, they become established in transcendental Oneness and become absorbed.
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69. "The inner Self is realised in advanced contemplation 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.
prati + abhinna
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"But pure Intelligence is absolute, shines by itself and feels its own existence, without any extraneous aids. Since it is self-radiant, it is self-contained. Such is the Perfect 'I' - the transcendental 'I'
- totally absent from and unassociated with insentient creation.
95. "Because the aggregate of all phenomena is of Pure Intelligence - the Supreme - and there is nothing beyond Her orbit, there cannot possibly be anything to divide Her into sectors and so She is unbroken and continuous like mirror reflecting images.
96-97. "How are divisor and division possible for the Absolute. Such freedom from disintegration is Perfection; and the Self-radiance of such Perfectness is the unbroken 'I-I' consciousness - known as Self-repose; the eternal, immanent, unique and homogeneous essence.
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102.-103. "These seeming breaks in the continuum are said to be non-self - the same as ignorance, insentience, void, Nature, non-existence of things, space, darkness, or the first step in creation, all of which represent nothing but the first scission in pure intelligence.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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The study of philosophy in the absence of a longing for salvation, is like dressing up a corpse.
38-40. "Again, Rama, a casual desire for emancipation is also vain.
"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.
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.
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If M still active...then mere Dnyani, not jivanmukta
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95-96. "Prarabdha (past karma) is totally powerless with the middle class, who have destroyed their minds by continued practice.
"The mind is the soil in which the seed namely prarabdha sprouts (into pleasures and pains of life). If the soil is barren, the seed loses its sprouting power by long storage, and becomes useless.
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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.
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55. "Non-dual realisation is the same as pure Intelligence absolutely void of objective knowledge.
Such realisation nullifies all objective knowledge revealing it in all its nakedness to be as harmless as a picture of a pouncing tiger or of an enraged serpent.
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. (Triputi not real)
When differentiation among them is destroyed,
their true nature is evident
in the resulting non-dual consciousness,
which is also the state of emancipation.
The Self manifests as the knower, knowledge and the known; the cycle of births and deaths endures with all the apparent reality of a mountain so long as this manifestation lasts.
As soon as the manifestation is realised to consist of the Self alone without any admixture of non-self, the cycle of births and deaths comes to a standstill, and is broken down to fragments like clouds dispersed by strong winds.
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.
80-81. "Intense devotion signifies mental abstraction as the devotee loses himself in the desired object.
In this particular instance, it will mean emancipation itself. For such unwavering devotion must certainly succeed and success is only a question of time -
which may be days, months, years, or even the next birth, according as the predispositions are light or dense.
82-83. "The intellect is ordinarily befouled by evil propensities and so nothing good flourishes there.
Consequently, the people are boiled in the seething cauldron of births and deaths.
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.
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100-102. "He who unreservedly surrenders himself to Me with devotion, is endowed with all the requisites necessary for Self-Realisation.
He who worships Me, easily overcomes all obstacles to Self-Realisation.
On the other hand, he, who being stuck up, does not take refuge in Me - the pure intelligence manipulating the person - is repeatedly upset by difficulties so that his success is very doubtful.
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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.
105-112. "The Self is at present confounded with the body, etc., such confusion must cease and awareness of the Self must result as opposed to nescience in sleep.
"The Self is experienced even now; but it is not discerned rightly, for it is identified with the body, etc., there is therefore endless suffering.
The Self is not hidden indeed; it is always gleaming out as 'I', but this 'I', is mistaken for the body, owing to ignorance.
On this ignorance ceasing, the 'I' is ascertained to be the true consciousness alone; and that sets all doubts at rest.
This and nothing else has been ascertained by the sages to be finality.
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90. Spirit: "What is that ignorance of which you speak? What is again the Self? Whose is the sense of doership?"
91. Prince:
"Ignorance is the sense of separateness from consciousness and false identification with the non Self.
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.
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42. "The ignorant are not aware of the pure Self; they see it always blemished and hence they believe in the reality of objective knowledge and are therefore affected by the pleasures and pains of life.
"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.
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."
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77. "If once vichara takes root, the highest good has for all practical purposes, been reached in this life.
As long as vichara is absent from a human being, the most desirable form of birth, so long is the tree of life barren and therefore useless. The only useful fruit of life is vichara.
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That which is threading through these three states and even surpasses the sense 'I am' is what you are.
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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.
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26. "True experience of the Self is the unawareness of even 'I am'. Can the world persist after such unawareness?
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.
Diversion of attention from other items is all that is necessary for Self-Realisation.
3-5. "Why say so much about it? The long and short of it is this.
Objective knowledge is gained by the mind;
the mind cannot be objectified.
Still it follows that there must be mind even in the absence of objects.
Such pure mind entirely divested of all objective knowledge (or thoughts) is pure intelligence.
(Sam: I without attributes. I-I)
Awareness is it's nature.
Therefore it is always realised,
for no other knower beside itself can ever be admitted.
17. "If the body and creation are transcended and the Self realised even once, there ensues that wisdom which will eradicate ignorance and override the cycle of births and deaths.
18. "Moksha (liberation) is not to be sought in heavens or on earth or in the nether regions. It is synonymous with Self-Realisation.
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.
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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.
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Yoga Vasishta says:
"Even with hands clenched and teeth ground,
pressing the limbs and forcibly withdrawing the senses,
the mind must first be brought under control."
So the utmost effort must be made.
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