Thursday, 28 October 2021

Oct 2021 notes Tripura Rahasya

 

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."

....



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."

15/...

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.

.......

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.
.........

"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!

...........

"But you have not yet understood my words because this is the first time you hear the truth.

.......

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."

.............

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.

.........

Ignorance is dispelled by pure intelligence, which is Samadhi, and this is the immediate cause of salvation.
........

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".

..

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.

..

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. 

..........

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.

....

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

.......

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.

....

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.

........

"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.

..........

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.

.......


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.

....

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.

..

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.
......
 If M still active...then mere Dnyani, not jivanmukta
....

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.


.....

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.

...

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.

..

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.

....

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.

......

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.
......

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."

......

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.
..........

That which is threading through these three states and even surpasses the sense 'I am' is what you are.

....

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.

....

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 learnedbecause they are incapable of investigating the Self with a steady mind, for that is diverted by its inherent disposition to go outward.

........

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.

.....

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.

................         ..................end............................................

Thursday, 14 October 2021

Oct 2021 notes: Kaivalya Navneetam, Dnyaneshwari etc.

 From Kaivalya navneetam:


Are you able to stay unshaken as a mere witness

Have all your doubts disappeared? 

Or, does the sense of differentiation creep in at times?

Tell me your condition

4. On this the disciple said: 

Master, how can the the phantoms of differentiation, 

(which can roam about only in the darkness of ignorance, 
in the wilderness of worldly life,) 

appear to the inner vision in the broad daylight of wisdom

 after the sun of your teaching has risen over the summit of your Grace?

5. Even after the devil is exorcized, just as the person who was possessed is further protected by a talisman against any return of the trouble, so also, though my ignorance has already been dispelled by your teaching, yet, Master, I seek more from you that I may be firmly fixed in the Self.

6. You said, “Know it from the scriptures (that the Self is Brahman), non-dual Brahman cannot be reached by speech (study or discussion). 

It must be realized in the Heart. 

Self shining Brahman cannot be reached by the miserable mind.” 

Please clear what seems to be the contraction of these two statements.


9. A girl says “not he”, “not he” of all others, and remains shy and silent when her lover is pointed out. In the same way, the Vedas clearly deny when is not Brahman, “not this”, “not this”, and indicate Brahman by silence.

20. Master: The annihilation of the mind is of two grades: namely, of the mind pattern and of the mind itself.

The former applies to Sages liberated while alive; the latter to disembodied Sages. Elimination of rajas and tamas, leaving sattva alone is the dissolution of the pattern of the mind.

When sattva vanishes along with the subtle body, the mind itself is said to have perished too.

...

28. Disciple: It is right that they alone can practice true wisdom who have deliberately discarded the joys of life here and hereafter? Can those who have turned away from worldly activities and rituals to tread the path of Liberation ever turn back to the old methods? Are not hearing, reasoning and meditation necessary to make the mind firm?

29. Master: They who do not know, must learn the Truth as taught by the scriptures and Masters. 

Those who have doubts must engage in reasoning. 

Those who are in the grip of wrong knowledge must practice meditation.


Can there be anything wanting for those who have become the real ethereal Being-Consciousness-Perfection?.

..\

33. Master: Activities end when prarabdha ends. 

Is not practice of samadhi or worldly work an activity of the mind? 

Being one with the transcendent Self, can he do anything different from It? 

Should he be practicing samadhi, he cannot be said to be established in the Self.

....

In the same manner, the jiva whose limitations are destroyed is withdrawn into its source, the Self, but the other jivas are not.

..

53. Master: 

My son, those of in-turned mind will realize the everlasting “That”. 


62. Now here is the vital point: 

Rebirths will be at an end for him who adopts with perseverance 

the way to Deliverance shown by God in the scriptures,

 follows the Sages,

 gives up his evil propensities,

 discriminates the Real from the unreal, 

rejects the illusion born of ignorance and 

gains Wisdom (by realizing the Self). 

Then and then only, will rebirths be at an end for him. This is the Truth.

...

63. This Wisdom can be gained by a long course of practice of unceasing enquiry into the Self. 

67. Likewise, enquiry alone can lead to the knowledge revealed in the Vedas, which only point to Brahman indirectly. 

Knowledge of the Self cannot be gained by a study of the Vedas, feeding the hungry, performing austerities, repeating mantras, righteous conduct, sacrifices and what not.

71. A man who has forgotten where he left his things in the house cannot recover them by weeping even for a hundred years. 

But he will get them only if he thinks the matter over and finds out.

 The Self is realized directly by Knowledge which destroys forgetfulness (ignorance),

 the root-cause of all misery, 

but it cannot be realized by any amount of hard work, though extended over several aeons (Yugas).

...

Meditation such as “I am Brahman” is certainly different from Knowledge obtained by enquiry. To formulate one thing as another is forced yoga.

 Direct Knowledge (gained by experience) can alone be true. Do not be deceived by fanciful ideas.

imp=83 

83. Knowledge is the result of direct experience, whereas meditation is mere mental imagery of something heard. 

That which is heard from others will be wiped off the memory, but not that which is experienced. Therefore that which is experienced is alone real, but not those things that are meditated upon. 

Know that knowledge, but not karma, is the destroyer of ignorance at sight. 


..............///////////////////////.........................................../////////////


From Dnyaneshwari:

11. Constant pursuit of knowledge of Self, 

and insight into the aim of true wisdom, 

all these are known as (the means of) knowledge. 

Everything else is ignorance.


He is firmly convinced that the knowledge through which one experiences the Supreme Self, is true knowledge and that the knowledge which leads to worldly prosperity and heaven, is nothing but ignorance.

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


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

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

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

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

When his knowledge of Self becomes impressed on his mind, he becomes one with Me. 

When a person has just sat down, you cannot say that he is seated, the same is the case with knowledge, unless knowledge becomes firmly implanted in his own mind, one cannot call him a man of wisdom. 

Then he sets his sight on the fruit of that knowledge, which is the knowable (Brahman) (621-625).

 If one does not realise the knowable, then he cannot be said to have attained knowledge.


 Of what use is a lamp in the hand of a blind man? 

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

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

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

The development of his intellect keeps pace with the development of this knowledge. Then it does not need to be said in so many words, that he has become knowledge incarnate.

 He, whose intellect comes into contact with this knowledge, experiences the touch of God. Is there any wonder if I say that he has become of the very nature of knowledge? Is it necessary to point out the sun as the sun?

........

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

...


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 (381-385). 

Even the smallest wave is not different from the sea; so the Self is not distinct from God.

 If one attains this blissful state of vision of one’s identity with God, it is the highest form of devotion.

 This vision is the quintessence of knowledge and Yoga. 

Just as the mutual relation between the sea and the cloud has a continuous flow, so his mental attitude remains the same. 

Just as there is no joint connecting the mouth of the well with the sky, similar is his oneness with the Supreme Self (386-390).

.................


chp 15

....The main purport of the Gita is to demonstrate the unreality of the world and to impart the knowledge of the real nature of the Self.


3.     ..................Did not this tree become strong, because of man’s ignorance of his true Self? 

One should therefore, fell it by means of Self-knowledge.

If you make use of remedies other than this knowledge, you will become more and more entangled in this tree.

 How long can you go up and down the branches of this tree? 

So cut down the branches of this tree and cut down its root, which is ignorance, by true knowledge of the Self (246-250). 

Otherwise it would be like gathering sticks to kill the (illusory) serpent, imagined in a rope or getting drowned in a real forest stream, while running in search of a boat, to cross the mirage.


 Oh warrior, while one devises means for destroying this world-tree, one deprived of Self-knowledge becomes possessed of the notion, that the world affairs are real. 


O winner of wealth, just as the waking state is the only way to get rid of a wound caused in a dream, so one needs the sword of knowledge to cut the root of world-tree, which is ignorance.

In order to wield this sword of knowledge without effort, the intelligence needs the constant support of non-attachment (251-255).

When this non-attachment becomes firm, 
it goes beyond righteousness, acquisition of riches and passion, 
in the way a dog vomits foul food consumed by it. 


O Arjuna, when one forms a loathing for every object, this non-attachment grows strong. 

Then one should take out the sword of knowledge from its sheath, in the form of body-consciousness and hold it firmly in the hand, in the form of intellect, 
which is looking inwards.

 Then after rubbing this sword on the whetstone of discrimination, it should be sharpened and cleaned, on the notion ‘I am Brahman’.

 Then holding this sword in one’s firm grip of resolve, one should brandish it once or twice and then balance it in his hand on the strength of reflection (256-260).

 When the wielder of the weapon becomes one with the weapon, there is nothing in the world which can withstand its onslaught. 

That sword of the Self-knowledge, will then, by means of its splendour of non-dualism, not allow the world-tree to exist anywhere. 

Just as at the start of autumn, the wind clears the sky of all clouds or as the rising sun destroys all darkness, or as the waking state ends the confused state of the mind in a dream, so the sharpened edge of the sword of knowledge, does its work.

 Then as the mirage disappears in the moon-light, the upper and lower roots of the world-tree and the expansion of its branches cease to exist (261-265).

Therefore, O best of warriors, you should cut down this top-rooted Ashvattha tree by means of the sword of Self-knowledge.



4. .....Then they should realise the Self which cannot be referred to as ‘this’ or ‘that’ and which destroys the ego.

 But you should refrain from the notion of duality, which the fools entertain by looking into the mirror.


You should view this Self, in such a way, as the water springs remain intact, even when the well is filled up

 or as the sun’s reflection returns to the original disc, when the water in which it is reflected dries up,

 or as the space in the earthen pot merges in the sky when the pot breaks (266-270) 

or as the fire becomes extinguished, when the fuel is burnt up.


One should scrutinize one’s Self, as the tongue tastes itself 

or the eye sees its eye-ball. 

Just as splendour merges in itself, as the sky rolls on itself, 

or the water remains in water, 

I declare that one should view oneself with a non-dual vision.


4......The Vedas describe him with the help of limiting conditions (upadhis) and raise a noisy clamour in vain, that he has name and form. 

But those who are tired of heavenly and worldly pleasures, take a vow that they would never return to this world. 

They resort to Yoga and knowledge.

 Then, becoming indifferent to the world, they lay a wager to turn their back on mundane existence and even go beyond the abode of god Brahma, which is attainable through the way of action (276-280).
.........

It is only those who are completely saturated with the knowledge of the Self, 

-similar to the world being brimful with water at the time of the deluge- 

attain to the Supreme Self.

..............

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).

..........


These thoughtful persons are like swans, that consume the milk of Self-knowledge, after separating it from the water, in the form of not-Self. 

.........

Just as the sun sends showers of rain to the earth and absorbs it through his rays (by the process of evaporation), so the Supreme Self, which had seemingly become scattered into different directions, becomes consolidated into the vision of Self.


Their thoughts become firmly grounded in the Supreme Self, as the flow of the river Ganga becomes merged in the sea.

............

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.

..........


In this way the states of wakefulness and dream, which spring from false knowledge, become dissolved in ignorance. 

Like fire which is extinguished after burning firewood, this knowledge, after destroying ignorance, experiences the Supreme Self and vanishes.

 That which remains behind after knowledge ceases to exist, is the Supreme Person.

 This is the third purusha different from the other two purushas.

This is the ultimate truth of the doctrine of purusha.

.......

Through this knowledge of Self, one attains union with the Supreme Self (581-585) and all activity comes to a stop, knowing that its life’s work is fulfilled. 

O great warrior, just as with the recovery of the missing article, the search comes to an end, so when the dome of knowledge is built on the temple of activity, all actions cease. 

chp 16

3.  ....Disinterested activity and discrimination of the mind are the signs of external and internal purity.

................

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


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

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


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

 In this way, his mind is directed, of its own accord, towards the Supreme Self and this is known as spiritual vigour (186-190).

.............

To sustain courage and stand steadfast on occasions of extreme perturbation of the mind, is what is known as fortitude.

.........

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.

........

When an elephant in rut comes face to face with a roaring lion, he forgets to put his foot down, which he had raised (to attack an enemy). 

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

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

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

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

 It then keeps them shut up there and prevents them from succumbing to any temptations, until it delivers them to their Lord, the Supreme Self. 

That is the sattvic steadiness,

.........

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 the highest perfection, 
 through renunciation (of the fruit of action,) ....
which is freedom from action.

As the wind is not entangled in a net, he is not entangled in the snares of mundane existence, such as the body. 

Just as when the fruit becomes ripe, it does not cling to the stem, nor the stem remains attached to the fruit, so his attachment to the worldly life, diminishes. 

Even though his son, wealth and wife act according to his wishes, he does not call them his own.

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

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

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

Just as the smoke is smothered by the dust covering the fire, his desire for sense-enjoyment in this and the next world, is destroyed.

 In short, he attains to this plane of Yoga. 

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

Just as stored water gets exhausted by gradual use, so his accumulated karma from past lives gets expiated by being enjoyed in his present body and his mind does not feel like doing fresh deeds (961-965).

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

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

51........so his intellect, after being purified, becomes attracted to the Self.

Just as a woman from a good family leaves the homes of her parents and parents-in-law and follows her husband, so his intellect, discarding the notion of dualism, becomes absorbed in the meditation of the Self.

 He has eliminated the five sense-objects, which he had prized so long in the life, of acquiring the desired knowledge, in the same way as the withdrawal of the rays by the sun (at sunset) destroys the mirage.

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

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

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

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

......

After conquering body, speech and mind, he turns to the sky of concentrated meditation.

 Just as one sees one’s face clearly in the mirror, he then scrutinizes the nature of his Self, as instructed by his Guru.

......

Meditation ordinarily consists of the meditator, the state of meditation and the object of meditation. 

O Son of Pandu, one has to meditate until the object of meditation, the act of meditation and the meditation all become one. 

Therefore the seeker who is intent upon attaining the knowledge of Self, takes recourse to the Yoga of meditation (1031-1035).
 
.....

Then, pressing the heel of his right foot against the perineum between the genital organs and the rectum and contracting the lower region, he practices the three bandhas (physico-psychic postures) and he unites the life-breaths. 

With the control of breath, the Serpent Power wakes up and when the passage of Sushumna opens up, she ascends, by piercing all the six centers from the Muladhara to the Ajna. 

Then, the cloud in the form of thousand petalled lotus, in the brahmarandhra sends showers of nectar, which flows through the sushumna passages, until it reaches the Muladhara center. 

Then the Kundalini places in a broken piece of a pitcher, a hotch-potch of cooked rice and pulses, in the form of the mind and the breaths before the terrible deity (Bhairava) dancing on the mountain of Brahmurandhra (1036-1040). 

In this way, he practices the yogic discipline steadily for the attainment of Self-knowledge and in order to ward off obstacles in the way, he makes friends with non-attachment. 

This non attachment keeps him company, in all the yogic states. If one has a lamp in hand, why should there by any delay in seeing the desired thing? So long as the seeker has the company of non-attachment, how can he meet with obstacles in his yogic practice (1041-1045)? 

Therefore, that fortunate person who practices Yoga combined with non-attachment, becomes qualified for the attainment of Brahman. 

Such a one, who wears the armour of non-attachment and rides on the horse of raja yoga, arms himself with the sword of meditation, in order to slash any obstacles, big or small, which come in the way. In this way, as the sun enters darkness, he enters the battlefield in the form of worldly existence, in order to gain victory in the form of deliverance.
...


53.....   ....The holy Ganges slackens its speed, after it joins the sea or an amorous wife calms down after meeting her husband. A plantain stops its growth, after bearing fruit or a journey ends after reaching the destination. In the same way, after he knows that he is about to realise the Self, then he lays down slowly his arms in the form of spiritual practices. O Arjuna, when the time comes when he is to attain union with Brahman, then his yogic practice comes to an end. 

Then he attains perfect peace, which is the consummation of non-attachment, the end of the study of knowledge and the fulfillment of his yogic practice and becomes qualified to become Brahman (1081-1085

....

55. ....   ..... When he is awakened

he knows that he is all alone



that he is the sun, the light-giver, 

as well the object lighted 

and that these two are not different from each other.

 Since I am all-pervasive, all movements (of the devotee who is merged in Myself) stop and this absence of movement, becomes his pilgrimage to My non-dual state. 

...

When the object of knowledge disappears, only the knower remains and he realises that one who knows, is also Myself. 

..

He realises that this knowledge of non-dualism is also Myself, the Supreme spirit. 

Then the knowledge dawns upon him, that he himself is the Supreme Self, who is beyond dualism and non-dualism and then that knowledge turns into realisation (1201-1205).

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

In this way, the notions of ‘he’ and ‘I’ cease to exist, and he merges into My being (1205-1210). Just as when the camphor is burnt up, both the camphor and fire also vanish and only the sky beyond them remains or when one is deducted from one the remainder is zero, so what remains after subtracting what is and what is not, is Myself.

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

.............yyy

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.................................end...................