Bondage and freedom ¬ Vivekachudamani

Bondage and freedom

Extracts from Vivekachudamani

164. Identification with the body alone is the root that produces the misery of birth etc., of people who are attached to the unreal; therefore destroy thou this with the utmost care. When this identification caused by the mind is given up, there is no more chance for rebirth.

139. This veiling power (Avriti), which preponderates in ignorance, covers the Self, whose glories are infinite and which manifests Itself through the power of knowledge, indivisible, eternal and one without a second – as Rahu does the orb of the sun. 

140. When his own Self, endowed with the purest splendour, is hidden from view, a man through ignorance falsely identifies himself with this body, which is the non-Self. And then the great power of rajas called the projecting power sorely afflicts him through the binding fetters of lust, anger, etc.,

142. As layers of clouds generated by the sun’s rays cover the sun and alone appear (in the sky), so the ego generated by the Self, covers the reality of the Self and appears by itself. 

143. Just as, on a cloudy day, when the sun is swallowed up by dense clouds, violent cold blasts trouble them, so when the Atman is hidden by intense ignorance, the dreadful Vikshepa Shakti (projecting power) afflicts the foolish man with numerous griefs.

Mind is the casue for bondage and liberation

172. Clouds are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and Liberation too is caused by that alone. 

173. It (first) creates an attachment in man for the body and all other sense-objects, and binds him through that attachment like a beast by means of ropes. Afterwards, the selfsame mind creates in the individual an utter distaste for these sense-objects as if they were poison, and frees him from the bondage. 

174. Therefore the mind is the only cause that brings about man’s bondage or Liberation: when tainted by the effects of Rajas it leads to bondage, and when pure and divested of the Rajas and Tamas elements it conduces to Liberation. 

175. Attaining purity through a preponderance of discrimination and renunciation, the mind makes for Liberation. Hence the wise seeker after Liberation must first strengthen these two.

181. Therefore the seeker after Liberation must carefully purify the mind. When this is purified, Liberation is as easy of access as a fruit on the palm of one’s hand.

136. By means of a regulated mind and the purified intellect (Buddhi), realise directly thy own Self in the body so as to identify thyself with It, cross the boundless ocean of Samsara whose waves are birth and death, and firmly established in Brahman as thy own essence, be blessed.

145. Of the tree of Samsara ignorance is the seed, the identification with the body is its sprout, attachment its tender leaves, work its water, the body its trunk, the vital forces its branches, the organs its twigs, the sense-objects its flowers, various miseries due to diverse works are its fruits, and the individual soul is the bird on it. 

146. This bondage of the non-Self springs from ignorance, is self-caused, and is described as without beginning and end. It subjects one to the long train of miseries such as birth, death, disease and decrepitude. 

147. This bondage can be destroyed neither by weapons nor by wind, nor by fire, nor by millions of acts – by nothing except the wonderful sword of knowledge that comes of discrimination, sharpened by the grace of the Lord. 

148. One who is passionately devoted to the authority of the Shrutis acquires steadiness in his Svadharma, which alone conduces to the purity of his mind. The man of pure mind realises the Supreme Self, and by this alone Samsara with its root is destroyed.

What Is Brahman? Swami Sivananda

What Is Brahman?
by Swami Sivananda

Brahman or the Supreme Self is beyond time and space, causation. He is limitless. He is tranquil. He shines with equal effulgence in all bodies. He cannot be any particular thing. He is Chaitanya or pure consciousness. Atman or Brahman or the Supreme Self is the hidden treasure. It is the jewel of jewels. It is gem of gems. It is the imperishable, inexhaustible supreme wealth, which no dacoit can rob. It is Chintamani of Chintamanis that will give man whatever he wishes.

Brahman is known also by the names Atman or Purusha. Purusha is so-called because of His lying in the body, or because He is full in Himself, or because all that we see is pervaded by Him.

Brahman is the soul or Atman of man. He is the soul of the Universe. Brahman alone is the Infinite.

Look within. Within is the fountain of bliss. That is the real life. What is the real 'I'. That is soul. That is Atman. That is Brahman. That is pure consciousness.

Om Shanti 

Om! Desire and selfish tendencies - Atman Nityananda

Desire and selfish tendencies

With desire all other egoistic tendencies develop that are nothing more than modifications and extension of desire itself.

The greed for example is to want more and more of what we want, e.g. more money, more pleasure, more fame, etc. Gluttony is a desire and greed for more and more pleasure through eating, similarly lasciviousness is a desire and greed for more and more sexual pleasure. Ambition is a desire for fama o glory and it is also a greed for more and more glory, avarice is a desire for money and it is also greed for more and more money. Desire is transformed into jealousy because others have what we want, desire is transformed into anger when something or someone impedes the fulfilment of our desire, desire transforms into fear because we may not get or may lose what we desire, etc.. All the branches of the ego tree (selfish tendencies and inferior emotions) are basically modifications of desire.

Since desire is the root cause of our selfish tendencies and misery, it means that our freedom and happiness are acquired by the dissolution of desire.

"Out of desire comes suffering, out of desire fear. For one who is free from desire, there is neither suffering nor fear."

~ Buddha

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti ~ Dr. David Frawley

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti (Divine creative energy)

Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and awareness

The real power behind this manifest universe is Shakti or the energy of the Goddess, which is Brahman´s force of expression and manifestation. Shakti or the power of creation controls everything that occurs within her field. The formless Brahman beyond creation has no concern about this realm or anything that we do within it. It can neither help us nor hinder us in any way. From its point of view, there never has been any birth or death, individual or cosmos, bondage or liberation. Even our seeking of liberation has no meaning for it.

Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and awareness, through which we operate on all levels and can set in motion both our outer actions and inner sadhana or spiritual practice. Shakti controls the entire manifestation, just as electricity allows all appliances to work. She rules over the processes of birth and death and the unfoldment karma. She provides our souls with the bodies and minds and the worlds in which to experience life. All that we eat, breathe, perceive, feel or know consists of some portion of her energy and an aspect of Her dynamic processes that surround us on every side. All that we seek to acquire for sustenance, happiness, knowledge or growth is part of Her and comes from Her.

Yet Shakti also controls the way beyond manifestation, the return to Brahman. Even to seek Brahman, to seek what is beyond Shakti, we must work with Shakti. Shakti provides us the power of meditation and the discriminating insight through which we can transcend time and space. This means that the best means for both spiritual realization and for gaining all the other goals of life is to worship Shakti, to work with and for the Goddess. There is no other way as effective, if there is any other way at all. If the Brahman is the goal, the Shakti is both the path and the power to traverse it. We can awaken and follow her current to Brahman, or remain asleep and get caught in her outside streams that move in different directions.

Therefore, the issue is not Brahman, which is beyond everything, but Shakti that manifests everywhere. Shakti is all around us, flashing forth in everything, whether we recognize Her play or not. The issue is how to gain the grace of that Shakti - How to ally ourselves with the right Shaktis to facilitate our development as a soul.

extract from essay The Primacy of Shakti by Dr. David Frawley

The mind alone is the cause of our happiness or misery ~ Atman Nityananda

The mind alone is the cause of our happiness or misery

Most believe that it is the external conditions (persons, situations, environment, etc.) that prevent us from being happy here and now. So they strive to change the external conditions in order to feel good and happy.

However by focusing on the outside, they cannot comprehend that the obstacle is within them, that the obstacle to experiencing fullness, peace, love,and happiness but also pain and misery is their own mind, their own ego (the lower rajasotamasic ego).

On the one hand, the impure rajasotamasic mind, is anxious, distracted, extroverted, greedy, lustful, greedy, ambitious, fearful, angry, etc., it is a source of pain and misery and an impediment to experiencing the fullness of our Being (Consciousness)

On the other hand, the pure sattvic mind is dispassionate, calm, serene, luminous, harmonious, introspective and well-established source of Consciousness (which is our true nature, our spiritual Self) it is a source of harmony, joy, peace, contentment lasting happiness .

Therefore, the mind alone is the cause of our happiness or misery.