Self-realization isn't merely an intellectual conviction ~ Swami Krishnananda

 Self-realization isn't merely an intellectual conviction

~ Swami Krishnananda

Mind is a materialisation of Consciousness, an expression or hardening of the all-pervading Self. Mind is the cause of egoism. Mind is Avidya itself. It has got the habit of always running outwards. The control of the mind and merging it in the Self is the purpose of all Sadhana. Mind is very fickle in its character and cannot exist without duality. It can be destroyed only through meditation.

Extract from Moksha Gita of Swami Si Amanda 

Commentaries by Swami Krishnananda

9. Destruction of Sankalpas is really destruction of the mind. It is only Sankalpas destroyed beyond resurrection that constitute the ineffable, imperishable and effulgent Brahmic seat.

The Sankalpas should be destroyed beyond resurrection. The resuscitation of Vasanas allows the tree of Samsara to grow once again and therefore, the purpose of all methods of Yoga is the utter removal of all the possibilities of further appearance of the mind. Calm, sure and steady should be the way of approach to Self-realization. There is no other way to attain Liberation than the Knowledge of what really exists, for the bondage consists in the forgetfulness of the Absolute which is here and now. Liberation cannot be attained by mere living in a forest and practising self-mortification. It is not even the renunciation of Karma that is required for the purpose of Self-realization. It is Knowledge that is wanted and nothing short of it. Knowledge consists in the conviction that Brahman is the only reality, that everything is Brahman, that nothing other than Brahman can exist, that Brahman is the very Self of all.

Jnana is a means for Self-realization and not merely an intellectual conviction. Scriptural study may help further Knowledge but by itself it is only in the realm of Maya. Jnana is not a philosophical creed but an intuitional comprehension of the entire being. The individual should expand into the Absolute and should live as the Absolute. Actual living in the Experience of Brahman, the Divine Being, is what is indicated by true Jnana.

The eradication of the mental function is not done in a moment like a magical trick. The attachment of the Jiva to its finitude has come since aeons. A mere intellectual grasping may make one believe in the illusory nature of the world, yet, the illusion does not thereby stop tormenting the individual. The cessation of Samsara takes place only through the actualisation of the undying Knowledge and practice of Yoga.

Annihilation of egoism, mind and vasanas ¬ Swami Sivananda

 

‘I’-ness and Atman o Kutashta or pure consciousness ¬ Swami Krishnananda

‘I’-ness and Atman o Kutashta or pure consciousness 

 ¬ Swami Krishnananda

The Self (Atman, Pure Consciousness) is set in opposition to the notion of all objectivity, because it is never objectified in experience. To it, everything objective is outside reality, as the feeling of ‘I’-ness in the individual regards all other things in the world as outside its reality. The sense of ‘I’-ness in the Jiva is falsely taken as a centre of consciousness, and all other things known by it are regarded as objects merely instrumental in bringing about experience in the former. Though ‘I’-ness assumes selfhood so far as its experiences are concerned and considers the world as an object to it, the ‘I’-ness itself is an object from the point of view of the Atman. The ‘I’-ness may falsely regard itself as a conscious principle, but from the standpoint of the Atman it is not consciousness-in-itself. The ego is objective to the Atman. ‘I’-ness and Self are different from each other, as silver and nacre are different in the analogy cited. This intrinsic superimposition, called Tadatmya-Adhyasa, between the Chidabhasa and Kutastha is responsible for the confused form of experience as conscious individuality. Avidya (Ignorance) is the cause of all these, and when Vidya (Knowledge) dawns Avidya is destroyed. However, the effect of Avidya may persist for sometime, though the cause is removed by Jnana.

THE DELIGHT OF SELF-REALISATION ¬ Swami Krishnanada

THE DELIGHT OF SELF-REALISATION

By the indirect knowledge received through a Teacher, the Jiva knows that the Atman is, and by the direct knowledge attained through realisation, it merges in the Atman. When knowledge of the Atman arises, the idea of Jivahood vanishes, and together with it the feelings of doership and enjoyership, etc., as well as the whole world of bondage and sorrow. On account of the complete removal of Samsara of the Jiva by the illumination of knowledge, there shines forth the experience of eternal freedom, and unfettered bliss which knows no end.

The realised soul is all the while happy, and is highly exhilarated due to the immense realisation that he has, the clarity of perception that he has attained, and the absolute bliss that he is experiencing. He sees with wonder the fancy of Samsara (world-existence) and the play of people around. He is delighted due to the majesty of his experience which is incomparable, and inwardly glorifies the scriptures which had helped him in gaining this knowledge, the Guru who has directed him to this experience, and the knowledge and the bliss which he now realises as his own nature. He has done what is to be done (Kritakritya), obtained what is to be obtained (Praptaprapya) and known what is to be known (Jnatajneya). Thus, does the liberated one rejoice in the indescribable ecstasy and rapture of Universal Experience, when in embrace with the glory of Brahman, the Absolute. (Verses 33-298)

The seven stages of God-realisation ~ Swami Krishnananda

The seven stages of God-realisation

The person who has realised God is called a God-realised soul. 

There are seven stages of God-realisation. These seven stages are mentioned in one way in the sutras of Patanjali, and in another way in the Yoga Vasishtha – especially the Yoga Vasishtha.

The first stage :"I want God only"

When a person is free from all desires to which ordinary people are accustomed, and thinks in the mind, "I want God only. My desire is to have God. I don't have a desire for anything else," this thought itself can be regarded as the first state or step towards God. You need not call it God-realisation; but nevertheless, it is a great thing even to be convinced that you want only that. Easily one cannot think like that; most people have got all kinds of ideas. But if you are convinced that this is the only thing that you want, it is the first step that you have taken towards God-realisation. I am mentioning something in the language of the Yoga Vasishtha. It is called subhechcha in Sanskrit: the desire to do the good thing, and the only thing being love of God, is the first step.

The second stage is vicharana.

You do not merely think, but you start analysing into the ways and means of moving still further: "How can I go? What steps am I taking? What are the sadhanas?" Going on thinking like this, going to Gurus and reading scriptures so that your mind becomes active in that direction is the second stage.

The third stage is tanumanasi

The third stage is that the mind is almost detaching itself from all objects. It is called tanumanasi. Tanu means thin, thread-like. The mind becomes thread-like in the third stage. It is as if it is breaking.

The fourth is sattvapatti

The fourth is the actual spiritual condition. The first three are the stages of a seeker, a sadhaka. The last four are the stages of an actual realised person. The fourth state is called sattvapatti which means the light of the cosmos will start flashing in your mind, like lightning. You see lightning flashes when there is a cloudy and rainy atmosphere. Like that you will feel lightning flashes, illuminations, etc., from inside. That is the fourth state, sattvapatti.

The fifth state is asamsakti

The fifth state is asamsakti. You will have no desire even to see a thing, let alone desire. Even the eyes do not have any interest in seeing things; the ears have no desire to hear anything; the nose has no desire to smell; the tongue has no desire to taste; the hands have no desire to touch. Even the desire to be conscious of the existence of something outside goes. This is called asamsakti, the fifth state.

The sixth is padartha-bhavana. 

The sixth is padartha-bhavana. You will begin to see matter itself shining like gold. Now it is all brick and mortar, iron and all kinds of things. It will all look like gold afterwards – shining. They will not look like material objects, but as if one thing only is pervading everywhere, as if the whole world is made up of gold – something like that. Now you see mountains, trees, people, things, but later everything will look like ornaments, like one gold. The True Reality will be seen at that time.

The seventh stage is the unity of the knower and known

The last stage is that you will actually merge into it. You will also become that very gold, and there will be no distinction between the knower of it and that which is known. These are the stages of God-realisation. There are differences, but in the last state there is no difference. You will merge into it.

HAPPINESS IS ALWAYS OF THE SOUL. ~ Swami Ktrishnananda

HAPPINESS  IS ALWAYS OF THE SOUL

"Even Sensual happiness (the happiness we experience when we enjoy the desired object), is not something imported from the object outside, but really belongs to the Atman (Soul, Consciousness) within."

Let see why

"When there is the feeling of the possession of a desired object, there is also a temporary cessation of that desire, and the quality of Rajas in the mind which propelled the desire outwardly comes to a cessation. The Rajas having ceased for the time being, there is a quick introversion of the mind and a revelation of the stability of Sattva brought about as a consequence, which occasions a sudden reflection of the Bliss of the Atman within, which makes one happy at the time.

Sensual happiness, therefore, is not something imported from the object outside, but really belongs to the Atman (Soul, Consciousness) within, though, on account of ignorance, the Jiva (individual) does not know that this is the fact. The object merely acts as an outward agent causing a temporary cessation of Rajas in the mind and an accidental manifestation of Sattva, wherein the Atman is reflected perspicaciously.

Thus, it becomes clear that every sensory happiness of the world is ultimately a distorted expression of Brahmananda (Bliss of Brahman).

Yet the mistake here lies in the Jiva’s wrong notion that the happiness has come from the object, and its consequent clinging to the object. It is this clinging that causes the sorrow of the Jiva, and itts transmigratory life is occasioned by its desires due to love for pleasure.

 In this world there are only sense-pleasures of various kinds, but the true Bliss of Brahman is never felt at any time except during the short duration of the interval lying between the cessation of a thought and the rise of another."
~ Swami Krishnananda

Of course the bliss of Brahman(Soul) is experienced permanently and effortlessly in Self-realization! In Self- realization there is complete dissolution of the ego together with all desires and tendencies (vasanas and samaskaras). Thus the mind becomes pure as the Self and reflects perfectly the bliss of the Self.

Variety in Happiness ~ Swami Krishnananda

Variety in Happiness  

by Swami Krishnananda

extract from his book "The Philosophy of the Panchadasi"

Happiness always derives from Atman within

 

by Swami Krishnananda

When there is the feeling of the possession of a desired object, there is also a temporary cessation of that desire, and the quality of Rajas in the mind which propelled the desire outwardly comes to a cessation. The Rajas having ceased for the time being, there is a quick introversion of the mind and a revelation of the stability of Sattva brought about as a consequence, which occasions a sudden reflection of the Bliss of the Atman within, which makes one happy at the time. Sensual happiness, therefore, is not something imported from the object outside, but really belongs to the Atman within, though, on account of ignorance, the Jiva does not know that this is the fact. The object merely acts as an outward agent causing a temporary cessation of Rajas in the mind and an accidental manifestation of Sattva, wherein the Atman is reflected perspicaciously. Thus, it becomes clear that every sensory happiness of the world is ultimately a distorted expression of Brahmananda (Bliss of Brahman). 

 

Yet the mistake here lies in the Jiva’s wrong notion that the pleasure has come from the object, and its consequent clinging to the object. It is this clinging that causes the sorrow of the Jiva, and its transmigratory life is occasioned by its desires due to love for pleasure. In this world there are only sense-pleasures of various kinds, but the true Bliss of Brahman is never felt at any time except during the short duration of the interval lying between the cessation of a thought and the rise of another. 

 

 Happiness of deep sleep

Broadly, we can classify happiness into three groups: 

1) Bliss of Brahman experienced in direct realisation; 

2) Impression or the Vasana, of it, experienced immediately after waking from deep sleep, etc; 

3) Sensory happiness which is the reflection of Brahman Bliss through the psychological organs. 

 

Other than these three types, there is no happiness anywhere. However, it does not mean that there are three independent kinds of happiness; the latter two are only manifestations of Brahmananda, or Absolute Bliss. The Bliss of Brahman is manifest in the state of deep sleep in the way explained, and the mind and intellect, working in dream and walking, distract it by the operation of Rajas, externally. The same thing, in fact, appears as the cause in sleep and as effect in the other two conditions. These changes in the states of the Jiva are due to the working of the Karmas of the past, lying hidden as latent forces ready to germinate when suitable circumstances are provided. During the waking state, Consciousness pervades the whole body and is said to be specially active in the right eye; in dream it operates in the region of the throat, and in deep sleep it resides in the heart. There is a gradual widening of the field of Consciousness as it moves from sleep to waking. It is due to the identification of Consciousness with the objects in the waking state that one begins to feel that one is a human being, and so on. Such feelings are connected with bodies and are not relevant to Consciousness as such. The individual is, accordingly, happy, or unhappy, or indifferent, as and when the forces of the Karmas begin to work differently in the different stages of evolution. When there is a complete cessation of both happiness and sorrow, it means that the Karmas are not actively operating. By contact with physical objects, and also by generating of imaginary ideas, happiness and sorrow are possible, but when there is neither of these experiences there is joy which is not born of sense-contact, and in this condition of silence of the mind true spiritual bliss is revealed.

On account of there being a generality of egoism (Ahamkara) in these experiences, the Jiva does not have actual experience of Brahman then, but only the inferential glimpse of it. 

 

Egoism is of two kinds, gross and subtle. 

 

1. The gross one is that by which one refers to oneself as “so-and-so”, meaning thereby that oneself is a body. 

2. The subtle ego is the simple feeling of “I am”, without any other association, such as the body, etc. 

 

The subtle ego-consciousness prevails even when there is an experience of spiritual happiness, when there are no thoughts of anything in particular, and there is silence of mental activity. Just as we can infer that cool water is in a pot by the feeling of coolness outside the wall of the pot, so can we infer that there should be an Absolute due to the very fact that there is cessation of thought and individuality-sense. In proportion to the forgetfulness of the ego by the practice of Yoga does one gain an insight into the spiritual happiness revealed through the development of a subtle vision within. 

SOURCE:http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/panch/panch_11.html

Discrimination of the Mahavakyas by Swami Krishananda

Discrimination of the Mahavakyas 
(the great statements of Upanishads)

extract from the book The Philosophy of the Panchadasi

by Swami Krishnananda

Swami Krishnananda

There are four Mahavakyas, or great statements in the Upanishads, which have a profound significance as pointers to Reality. They are: (1) Prajnanam Brahma – Consciousness is Brahman; (2) Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahman: (3) Tat Tvam Asi – That Thou Art; (4) Ayam Atma Brahma – This Self is Brahman.

These Mahavakyas convey the essential teaching of the Upanishads, namely, Reality is one, and the individual is essentially identical with it.
  

‘ Prajnanam Brahma’  / ‘Consciousness is Brahman’  /Aitareya Upanishad

In the sentence, ‘ Prajnanam Brahma’ or Consciousness is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given. The best definition of Brahman would be to give expression to its supra-essential essence, and not to describe it with reference to accidental attributes, such as creatorship etc. That which is ultimately responsible for all our sensory activities, as seeing, hearing, etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness does not directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these sensory operations without it. Hence it should be considered as the final meaning of our mental and physical activities. Brahman is that which is Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to which there is no second, and which is continuously present in everything, from the creator down to the lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in each and every individual. This is the meaning of Prajnanam Brahma occurring in the Aitareya Upanishad. 

‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ /  ‘I Am Brahman’ /  Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

In the sentence, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ or I am Brahman, the ‘I’ is that which is the One Witnessing Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect, different from the ego-principle, and shining through every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This Witness-Consciousness, being the same in all, is universal, and cannot be distinguished from Brahman, which is the Absolute. Hence the essential ‘I’ which is full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the same as Brahman. This is not the identification of the limited individual ‘I’ with Brahman, but it is the Universal Substratum of individuality that is asserted to be what it is. The copula ‘am’ does not signify any empirical relation between two entities, but affirms the non-duality of essence. This dictum is from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

‘ Tat Tvam Asi’  / ‘That Thou Art’ /  Chhandogya Upanishad

In the Chhandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya, ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ or ‘That thou art’. Sage Uddalaka mentions this nine times, while instructing his disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That which is one alone without a second, without name and form, and which existed before creation, as well as after creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and is the real ‘I’ of the student addressed in the teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a misconception, which is removed by the instruction that it is within one’s own self. The erroneous notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by the instruction that it is the same as Reality. 

‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ /  ‘This Self is Brahman’ / Mandukya Upanishad

The Mahavakya, ‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ or ‘This Self is Brahman’, occurs in the Mandukya Upanishad. ‘ Ayam’ means ‘this’, and here ‘thisness’ refers to the self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self, which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or ego down to the physical body. This Self is Brahman, which is the substance out of which all things are really made. That which is everywhere, is also within us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is called ‘Brahman’, because it is plenum, fills all space, expands into all existence, and is vast beyond all measure of perception or knowledge. On account of self-luminosity, non-relativity and universality, Atman and Brahman are the same. This identification of the Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing together two differing natures, but is an affirmation that absoluteness or universality includes everything, and there is nothing outside it.

SOURCE: http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/panch/panch_05.html

HIGHER OBSTACLES IN MEDITATION ~ Swami Sivananda

HIGHER OBSTACLES IN MEDITATION

Siddhis (psychic powers)

There are nine Riddhis and eight major Siddhis and eighteen minor Siddhis. The eight Siddhis are Anima (atomic size), Mahima (colossal size), Garima (excessive bulk), Laghima (extreme lightness), Prapti (attainment of whatever you desire), Prakamya (unhampered will), Isitva (Lordliness) and Vasistva (control over everything). Riddhi means affluence. It is inferior to Siddhi.

Do not think too much of psychic Siddhis. Clairvoyance and clairaudience are not worth having when far greater illumination and peace are possible without the Siddhis than with them.

Desire for powers will act like puffs of air which may blow out the lamp of Yoga that is being carefully tended. Any slackness in feeling it due to carefulness or selfish desires for Siddhis will blow out the little spiritual light that the Yogi has kindled after so much struggle and will hurl the student down into the deep abyss of ignorance. He cannot rise up again to the original height which he ascended in the hill of Yoga. Temptations are simply waiting to overwhelm the unwary student. Temptations of the astral, mental and Gandharva worlds are more powerful than the earthly temptations.

Various psychic Siddhis and other powers come to the Yogi who has controlled his senses, Prana and mind. They are stumbling-blocks. They allure the Yogic students. Sadhakas should be very careful. They should shun them ruthlessly as mere trifles or worthless things.

If you practise regular meditation and concentration, you are bound to get some psychic powers. You should not use these powers for base and selfish purposes, for gaining some material end or other. You will then face a downfall. You will be punished by Mother Nature. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. Every wrong action is bound to cause reaction. I again and again seriously warn you. Beware! Power, women, money and erudition act as powerful intoxicants. The possessor does not know what he is exactly doing. His intellect becomes turbid. His understanding gets clouded. You will not be tempted by these powers if you are established in the practice of Yama or Self-restraint.

There is no such thing as miracle or Siddhi. An ordinary man is quite ignorant of higher spiritual things. He is sunk in oblivion. He is shut up from higher transcendental knowledge. So he calls some extraordinary occurrences or events as miracles. To a Yogi who understands things in the light of Yoga, miracle is nothing. Just as a man of the village is astonished when he sees an aeroplane or a talkie picture for the first time, so also a man of the world is stunned when he witnesses an 'extraordinary' spectacle for the first time.

Moral and Spiritual Pride
As soon as aspirant gets some spiritual experiences or Siddhis, he is puffed up with vanity and pride. He thinks too much of himself. He separates himself from others. He treats others with contempt. He cannot mix with others. If any one has some moral qualifications such as spirit of service or self-sacrifice, or Brahmacharya, he will say: "I am an Akhanda-Brahmachari for the last twelve years. Who is pure like myself? I lived on leaves and gram for four years. I have done service in the Ashram for ten years. No one can serve like myself." Just as worldly people are puffed up with the pride of wealth, so also Sadhus and aspirants are puffed up with their moral qualifications. This kind of pride is also a serious obstacle in the path of God-realisation. It must be eradicated thoroughly. As long as a man boasts of himself, so long he is in the same little Jiva only. He cannot have Divinity.

Ambition and Desire

Whenever desires trouble you, try to attain Vairagya by looking into the defects of sensual life. Cultivate dispassion or indifference to sensual pleasures. Think that enjoyment produces pain and various troubles and everything is perishable. Withdraw the mind again and again from the objects and fix it on the Immortal Self or the picture of the Lord. When the mind attains a state of equanimity, when it is freed from distraction and Laya, do not disturb it.

Ambitious objects, desires and various disturbing thoughts are other obstacles. Destroy desires by Vichara, control of In-driyas, Vairagya, Viveka and Brahmacharya. Do not plan. Do not imagine. Do not try to fulfil them. Be indifferent. Annihilate emotion. Do not be attached to desires. Desires are powerless in the absence of emotions and attachment. They dwindle and die. Find out the causes of disturbing thoughts and remove them one by one. Watch the mind carefully. Dwell in solitude. Do not mix. Have patience, Utsaha and courage. If you find great interest and happiness in meditation, if you are progressing, stop study also for some time. Study also is a Vishaya. God is not in books. He can be reached only by constant meditation. Erudition is to gain applause in society. Avoid pedantry. Sometimes the mind feels tired. Then take complete rest. Do not strain the mind. Go in for evening stroll along the seaside, along the banks of Ganga or any other delightful spot. Chant OM. Feel OM. Hum Om. Reduce the period of meditation for a couple of days. Use your strong common-sense and hear the voice from within often. Observe the moods of the mind. The two currents, Harsha and Soka, are moving in the mind. When you are depressed, go in for a good walk. Close the books. Think of sublime thoughts. Feel you are all joy. Remember that these are all Dharmas of the Upadhi and they do not belong to the thing itself-ATMAN. They will pass away quickly.

Moral and Spiritual Pride

As soon as aspirant gets some spiritual experiences or Siddhis, he is puffed up with vanity and pride. He thinks too much of himself. He separates himself from others. He treats others with contempt. He cannot mix with others. If any one has some moral qualifications such as spirit of service or self-sacrifice, or Brahmacharya, he will say: "I am an Akhanda-Brahmachari for the last twelve years. Who is pure like myself? I lived on leaves and gram for four years. I have done service in the Ashram for ten years. No one can serve like myself." Just as worldly people are puffed up with the pride of wealth, so also Sadhus and aspirants are puffed up with their moral qualifications. This kind of pride is also a serious obstacle in the path of God-realisation. It must be eradicated thoroughly. As long as a man boasts of himself, so long he is in the same little Jiva only. He cannot have Divinity.

Religious Hypocrisy (Dambha)

There are as many fashions in Sadhus as there are in worldly persons. Just as hypocrisy prevails in the worldly persons, so also hypocrisy manifests in aspirants, Sadhus and San-nyasins who have not completely purified the lower nature. They pretend to be what they are not in reality. They pose as big Mahatmas and Siddha-Purushas when they do not know even the alphabet of Yoga or spirituality. They put on serious Sunday-faces which some Christian Missionaries sometimes assume on Sabbath days. This is a dangerous Vritti. They cheat others. They boast and brag too much of themselves. They do mischief wherever they go. They practise hypocrisy to get respect, honour, good food and clothing and to cheat credulous simpletons. There is no greater crime than trading in religion. This is a capital sin. Householders can be excused. But we cannot excuse the aspirants and Sadhus who are treading the path of spirituality and who have renounced everything for God-realisation. Religious hypocrisy is more dangerous than the hypocrisy of worldly persons. A long drastic course of treatment is needed for its eradication. A religious hypocrite is very far away from God. He cannot dream of God-realisation. Thick Tilakas, elaborate painting of the forehead, wearing of too many Tulasi and Rudraksha Malas on neck, arms, forearms and ears are some of the external signs of religious hypocrisy.

Elementals (Bhuta-Ganas)

Sometimes, these elementals appear during meditation. They are strange figures, some long teeth, some with big faces, some with big bellies, some with faces on the belly and some with faces on the head. They are inhabitants of the Bhuta Loka. They are the attendants of Lord Siva. They have terrifying forms. They do not cause any harm at all. They simply appear on the stage. They come to test your strength and courage. They can do nothing. They cannot stand before a pure, ethical aspirant. Repetition of OM will throw them at a distance. You must be fearless. A coward is absolutely unfit for the spiritual line. Develop courage by constantly feeling you are Atman. Deny and negate the body-idea. Practise Nidid-hyasana always.

Visions

Visions and experiences come and go. They are not in themselves the culminating point in the Sadhana. He who attaches much importance to these small visions does not march swiftly on the path. Therefore abandon the idea of these experiences. The final experience, intuitional and direct, of the Supreme alone is the true one.

Rise above the visions. The vision that you see in meditation is a hindrance in the path to Samadhi or God-realisation. When you see them, the mind will be fixed on these visions throughout the day instead of on God. Avoid these visions and the thought of them. Be indifferent. Substitute the thought of the Lord.

Kashaya

Kashaya is the subtle influence in the mind produced by enjoyment and left there to fructify in time to come and distract the mind from Samadhi. This is a serious obstacle in . meditation. It does not allow the Sadhaka to enter into Samadhi Nishtha. It induces the subtle memory of pleasures enjoyed. It is hidden Vasana. From the Samskaras, Vasanas originate. Samskara is the cause and Vasana is the effect. It is a king of Mala (impurity of mind).

Kashaya means colouring. Raga, Dvesha and Moha are the Kashaya or colouring of the mind. Constant Vichara coupled with Brahma-Bhavana is the only potent remedy to eradicate this dire malady, Kashaya.

Laya

Wake up the mind in Laya. Even though you have conquered Laya and distraction by repeated practice by Vairagya and Jnanabhyasa or Brahma-Chintana, yet the mind will not enter a state of perfect balance or serenity. It will be in an intermediate stage. The mind is still not freed from Raga or attachment which is the seed of all its activity in the direction of external objects. There is still lurking passion or hidden Vasanas or Kashaya. You will have to restrain the mind again and again by Vichara and do rigorous meditation and practise Samprajnata or Savikalpa Samadhi. Finally, you must rest yourself in Asamprajnata or Seedless Samadhi (Nirbija Samadhi).

Rasasvada (the bliss that comes from lower Savikalpa Samadhi)

Rasasvada is another kind of experience. It is bliss that comes from lower Savikalpa Samadhi. The Sadhaka who has experienced this supersensual bliss imagines that he has reached the final destination and gives up his Sadhana. Just as a man digs the earth very deep to find out the most precious treasure and gems, just as a man is not satisfied with petty things he has found out just beneath the surface of the ground, so also the Sadhaka should continue his Sadhana till he gets the unconditioned Bhuma, or highest goal of life. He should never be satisfied with Alpam or lower experiences. He should compare his experiences with the highest experiences of sages that are described in the Upanishads and find out whether they exactly tally with them or not. He should exert till he reaches the Jnana Bhumika, till he becomes a Brahma-Varishtha. He should struggle till he gets the inner feeling of Apta-Kama, Krita-Kritya, and Prapta-Prapya. "I have obtained all desires. I have done everything. I know everything. There is nothing more to be known. There is nothing more to be obtained."

This obstacle (Rasasvada) prevents the Sadhaka from enjoying the highest Nirvikalpa Bliss. Vichara, discrimination, prayer, Pranayama, further earnestness and struggle in meditation will remove the above obstacle.

Tushnimbhuta Avastha

Sometimes the mind remains quiet for a short time. You will find neither Raga nor Dvesha in the mind. This silent state of the mind is called Tushnim Avastha. It occurs in the Jagrat state. The aspirant mistakes this for Samadhi. This is a neutral state of the mind. This is an obstacle in the path of God-realisation. He should overcome this state of mind by careful introspection and vigorous meditation. A Sadhaka through experience and acute acumen can find out exactly the nature of the various states of the mind. He should adopt effective methods to control those states. Mere study of books will not help him much. Experience and practice will do him much real good.

Stabdha Avastha

Stabdha Avastha is another kind of mental state. It is stupefaction arising from fear or wonder. It is akin to Tushnim Avastha. This is also another obstacle in the path. When you experience some astounding news the mind gets stunned for some time. This is Stabdha Avastha. Tushnim and Stabdha Avasthas are Jada states. There is no perfect awareness. The mind remains like a log of wood in a state of inertia. It becomes unfit for active meditation. When these states prevail, there is heaviness of body. The mind is dull. There is lack of cheerfulness. The mind also becomes dull for the time being. The student can find out these states by these symptoms. An intelligent Sadhaka who practises meditation daily can easily find out the different states into which the mind passes. A beginner finds meditation dry in the beginning. But an advanced student who has an intelligent and comprehensive understanding of the nature of the mind and its operations and the laws of the mental plane will find meditation very interesting. The more he meditates, the more he gains control of the mind. He can understand the nature of the Vrittis and the different mental states. He can control them. He will actually feel that he is gaining inner spiritual strength and that he cannot be easily swayed by the mind now.

Avyaktam

When you practise Samadhi, many obstacles, such as sleep, laziness, break of continuity, confusion, temptation, infatuation, desire for worldly pleasure and feeling of blankness will assail you. You must be on the alert. You must be vigilant and circumspective. You will have to get over these impediments step by step through patient dauntless efforts. You will have to cross the void also. What appears to you as a void when all the Vrittis have perished is not really a void. This is Avyaktam. Cross this void also. It will try to overpower you. You are left alone now. You have nothing to see and nothing to hear. There is none to cheer you. You will have to depend on yourself. Presence of mind is needed at this critical juncture.

Draw courage and strength from within. Sage Uddalaka also encountered much difficulty in crossing this void.

Valediction

O My Dear Aspirants! I send you the thought-currents of Peace from the peaceful atmosphere of the sacred Himalayas, the abode of Rishis.

God is Santi Svarupa (Embodiment of Peace). Srutis emphatically declare: "Ayam Atma Santah-This Atman (Self) is Silence." Desire is the greatest enemy of Peace. Desire causes distraction of various sorts. There is no Peace for him who has no concentration. There can be no happiness for the unpeace-ful. In the Supreme Peace all pains, sorrows, miseries and tribulations vanish for ever.

Dear brothers! Children of Immortality! Plod on. Push on. Do not look backward. Forget the past. Forget the body and world. But forget not the centre. Forget not the source. A glorious brilliant future is awaiting you. Purify. Serve. Love. Give. Live in Om. Feel always and everywhere the Indwelling, All-pervading Presence. Realise the Self. Rest in the magnanimous Ocean of Peace, in the stupendous Sea of Stillness. Drink the nectar of Immortality. May the Indwelling Presence be your Centre, Ideal and Goal. May joy, Bliss, Immortality, Peace, Glory and Splendour abide with you for ever.

Nectar's Sons! I have placed before you in detail all obstacles that stand in the way of God-realisation and have suggested various effective methods to remove these obstacles. Stand up now like an undaunted spiritual soldier in the Ad-hyatmic battlefield. Become a spiritual hero of great intrepidity and unique chivalry. Get over the obstacles fearlessly one by one and manifest divine glory, splendour, purity and sanctity. Wait patiently with a calm and serene mind for results. Do not be hasty, rash and impetuous. Allow proper time for regeneration and renovation Nil desperandum-Never despair. Wear the Vairagya-coat of arms. Wield the shield of Viveka. Hold the banner of faith. March boldly and cheerfully with the band of BHUM BHUM BHUM; OM OM OM; RAM RAM RAM; SHYAM SHYAM SHYAM. Stop not till you drink the elixir of immortality to heart's content. Stop not, dear Sadhakas, till you enter the immortal realms of eternal sunshine, undecaying beauty, unfading ecstasy, supreme bliss, infinite joy, unalloyed felicity and unbroken peace. This is your final destination. You can take eternal rest now. This is your goal. This is your highest aim and purpose of life. Rest now in everlasting peace, friends! Goodbye unto you all. Clear yourselves. Share this rare panacea with your brothers. Elevate them. This noble and stupendous selfless work is awaiting you now in the grand plan. Fulfil the Divine Will and become a Buddha of undying fame. Salutations unto you all!

When a bee finds that its feet are stuck in the honey, it slowly licks its feet several times and then flies away with joy. Even so, extricate yourself from the mind's sticking and clinging to this body and children owing to Raga and Moha (attachment and attraction) through Vairagya (dispassion) and meditation. Fly away with joy from this cage of flesh and bone to the source, Brahman or Absolute!

No more words. Enough of discussions and heated debates. Retire into solitary room. Close your eyes. Have deep silent meditation. Feel His presence. Repeat His name OM with fervour, joy and love. Fill your heart with Prema (love). Destroy the Sankalpas, thoughts, whims, fancies and desires when they arise from the surface of the mind. Withdraw the wandering mind and fix it upon the Lord. Now, Nishtha, meditation will become deep and intense. Do not open your eyes. Do not stir from your seat. Merge in Him. Dive deep into the innermost recesses of the heart. Plunge into the shining Atman (Soul) within. Drink the nectar of Immortality. Enjoy the silence now. I shall leave you there alone. Nectar's sons, Rejoice! Peace, Peace! Silence! Glory, Glory!

The Origin of Bondage of Swami Krishnananda

The Origin of Bondage

 of Swami Krishnananda

The Brahma Sutra is a Moksha Sastra (Liberation treatise), dealing with the subject of the salvation of the soul. How did you get into bondage and how will you retrace your steps to the original liberated condition – that is the main subject of this wonderful scripture, the Brahma Sutra. How do you get into bondage? This subject is dealt with in the Chhandogya Upanishad and the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad under the chapter called the Panchagni Vidya.

When a child is born, it enters into bondage. Also, how does the child get into the womb of the mother? How does it become necessary for the child to enter the womb of the mother? How does it know who is the suitable parent? There is an endless number of parents in the world. Why does it choose only one particular set of parents?

When this subject is discussed, we must first of all know what we mean by the soul that takes birth. What is soul? What is it made of? We have a wrong notion of the word, generally speaking. People imagine that the soul is a kind of substance – a little ball, mercury-like – moving inside the body. All sorts of funny ideas everybody has about the Jiva, Atma, soul, and all that. It is nothing of this kind, really.

Jiva or soul, for the purpose of our subject, is a concentrated point of desire. The soul that we are discussing about here is not the Universal Soul; it is rather the bound soul and no one can be bound unless there is a concentralisation of desire at a spatio-temporal point.

It is desire that is born, not a child. The human being is a shape taken by a mass of desires. Every cell of our body is made up of desires. It vibrates with desires – any number of desires. But since any number of desires cannot be fulfilled through a single body, a certain set of desires is chosen intelligently for the purpose of fulfilling them through a single incarnation.

The desire of a person is infinite in its nature. It would like to swallow the whole world, if it is possible. That it is unable to do so is a different matter; but if it could be possible, it would do it. It would swallow the whole sky also! Such is the rapacious, insatiable nature of desire.

What is desire? It is a concentration of consciousness at a finite point. Just as we can centralise into a point of concentration sunlight by allowing the rays of the sun to pass through a lens, and make it appear that the sun is totally concentrated through the lens, in a similar manner, as it were, the Universal Consciousness arranges itself into a point of concentration and finitises itself. When it finitises itself, originally, it is said in the Upanishads, that it looked like a spark of fire. As from a huge conflagration several sparks may jet forth in all directions, so from this great conflagration of 'Brahma Fire', many little sparks shot out which are the individuals. So far so good. But creation did not end with that only.

The 'shot-off' sparks asserted individuality of their own, something like each appointed official in a centralised government assuming independence. This is called seceding. A district collector may say 'the whole district is mine only. Don't talk to me!' and so on. A patwari may say 'this village is mine'. Though they are all sparks of a central operation called the government, they can attempt to secede by an arrogance developed in themselves and wind themselves up on a cocoon of involvement in a little area of functioning – it may even be a littlemohulla – you may say 'I am the lord of this mohulla'. In a similar manner, tragedy has befallen the individual soul.

Desire is the nature of the soul that incarnates, but desire is nothing but a necessity to fulfil a need; an unfulfilled desire is a malady. Desire is an intensely concentrated onward march of a point of consciousness in some given direction, which is the eagerness to fulfil desire.

What happens? Fulfilment of desire is possible only if there is an object through which the desire can be fulfilled. The objects of the world are material in their nature. A mere spark of the flame cannot come in contact with material objects. So it assumes simultaneously a materiality of bodily encasement also, for which purpose it draws particles of matter – earth, water, fire, air and ether into itself – and here we are in this position, internally centralised points of desire for something or anything outside. This physical embodiment assumed is called the body.

The desire-ego

What are these physical embodiments? They are nothing but the segregated parts and formation of the five elements. The five elements are everywhere but particles of all these elements are drawn in and centralised around a point of concentration like a magnetic point. The desiring centre which is the individual soul is a point which is like the centre of the eye of the magnet. It pulls everything into itself. This centre is also called the ego. Its purpose is to pull everything into itself and reject everything else, which are the dual functions of desire – ego.

Having taken birth for the purpose of fulfilment of desires, the desiring centre forgets that the body cannot last long since it is like material out of which a house is built. How long will the house be standing? It will wear out one day. You whitewash it, cement it and decorate it by taking bath, dressing, washing and cleaning – so many things we are doing but how long? How long can you decorate a house? One day it collapses. This is called the death of the body.

The span of life, the length of the life of a person, depends upon the extent of the capacity of the body to tolerate the action of desire. This is very important to remember. A particular desire has a particular force attached to it and the body will continue to exist as long as the force continues, like the voltage of an electric current. If it is 'high voltage', the body will last longer; if it is 'low voltage', it will be less. But desire cannot be fulfilled merely by the breaking of the body; desire is not meant to come in contact with one object only. It wants everything. Inasmuch as this point of desire has lost everything by disconnecting itself from the Universal Being, now it artificially wants to possess everything. A person who has lost everything wants everything, in a negative way. One who has starved for months will have such ravenous appetite that he will try to eat even stone.

You have lost the Infinite and therefore now you want an infinite desire to fulfil itself through contact with numberless finite objects. This is a brief story of birth and death, an endless chain of metempsychosis – samsara. Numberless finites do not make the Infinite.

The experience of death

When death takes place, what is actually the experience? The Panchagni Vidya is very interesting. The body becomes weak; the house says 'I am going to collapse!'; the bricks are weak, plastering is falling down; there is leaking on the top – everything will be gone completely. 'I am sneezing', 'I have got joint-pain', 'Oh' – it will go on crying. These are the symptoms of the coming of a time when the body is to be shed.

What happens? When the impending time comes for passing, the hearing stops. The body and the individuality are constituted of the five elements. The elements withdraw themselves one by one. Hearing is connected with space. The divinity of space will withdraw itself and then the hearing stops. A person who is about to die will not hear what one is saying. But then, what remains? The next element of descent in the process of creation is vayu (air), the touch principle. The tactile sensation ceases. The hearing goes, the sensation also goes. Then the fire principle: the body becomes cold; the feet are chill, hands are chill; people say, 'Oh! he is going, he is going.' 'He is becoming cold.' Then the body shrivels; the water principle also gets dried up.

The prana which was connecting itself to all these layers of physical personality trembles inside. There is an agony all over. And the spark that was the individual now manifests itself once again as a little glow at the tip of the heart. That glow is not visible in ordinary life because of the cloud of desire covering it and the busy occupation of the person with all kinds of activities. The glow is covered over and we do not know it. Now when all embodiment is going to be shed, the glow sparks forth. At the tip of the heart, a glow illumines. That is the symbol of the jiva wanting exit from the body. With a jerk, the flame – the little spark – leaves this body; drawing the vital energies (pranas) with itself.

Is there pain at the time of death or is there no pain? This can be known only by judging the extent of desire that was sustaining the body. Desires also are of various kinds. Intolerable longings are one kind of desire. Normal longings are anther kind. A person who eats three times a day will feel greater agony when Ekadasi comes; a person who takes only two times will feel less agony of Ekadasi; a person who takes only one meal will feel still less. In a similar manner, the desires which are sattvika(pure), rajasika (distracted) and tamasika (dark) will determine the feelings at the time of passing.

The agony that is felt depends upon the intensity of the desire that is entertained through the personality during lifetime. Those who have been doing prayer, worship, meditation etc., throughout their lives and leading a holy life of goodness, compassion and servicefulness will not feel the agony of death as many others may feel. Those who are utterly corrupt, those who have swindled, smuggled, destroyed other peoples' peace and worked like dacoits and done the worst of things in the world will feel a terrible stroke on their head when they die.

Why should you feel like that? If you lead a really religious life of prayer, meditation, service, goodness and compassion and love of God primarily, that will act as a palliating influence at that time of passing.

Guru's Grace

If you have served your Guru, Guru's Grace will work at that time. It is said that if the sadhana that is practised is intense, expected tragedies may pass away in dream-experience, by the Grace of God or the Grace of Guru. Suppose a person has the prarabdha of falling from a tree and breaking one's leg, by the power of devotion, worship and prayer, and Guru's Grace, that event will take place in dream. In dream, you will fall down and break the leg; actually when you wake up, you will feel the imaginary pain also. Instead of actually breaking the leg, a symbolic breaking takes place due to the Grace of God, Grace of Guru and the power of sadhana. In a similar manner, the agony of passing will be mitigated if we have lived a good life, a God-loving life.

What happens after death?

The Brahma Sutra, in the Panchagni Vidya discourse, goes on describing the story of the passage after death. Where does it go? We do not want to know it! We eat well, sleep well and have a joyous life in this world; who bothers about what happens afterwards?

The soul will go to that place or thing which it has been thinking in its mind throughout its life. Now, let each one find out what it is that you have been thinking throughout your life. You may say 'I am thinking many things'; even then there is an opinion about yourself; that will continue. Your soul will gravitate like a jet to that place and you will take birth there.

An Analysis of the Brahma Sutra
by Swami Krishnananda

 http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/brahma/brahma_04.html

The Process of Sadhana in Jnana Yoga - (M.G.) - Swami Sivananda

The Process of Sadhana -(in Jnana Yoga) 
by Swami Sivananda 

 Chapter 7 from the book Moksha Gita 
 which gives the essence of the Advaita Vedanta Philosophy

 commetary of Swami Krishananda

1. The Guru said: As fire is concealed by ashes, sword by the scabbard, sun by the clouds, foetus by the amnion, rubies by the earth, mattress by the bed sheet, so also, Brahman is concealed by flesh and bones.

The Eternal Brahman is concealed by flesh and bones. The appearance of the body hides away the Reality. Truth is covered by a golden vessel. The sun is very big in size, much bigger than the whole earth itself, but a finger over the eyes renders such a sun invisible. Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Infinity, but a tiny force of Avidya which covers the self makes the entire Brahman imperceptible and even makes it to be felt as non-existing. The removal of the finger makes one behold the glorious sun. The eradication of thought allows one to experience the Infinite Reality.

The perception of the unreality of the visible universe and everything which cannot be Brahman is one of the methods to seek the oneness of the self with Brahman or the Absolute. Everything being Brahman, there is nothing real in itself anywhere. When what is unreal is removed from the mind, then, what remains must be the Real. If all that is multiple, physical and dual is false, the remainder should be the unity of the Ekarasa-Satchidananda. Matter is perceived to be Spirit appearing and the perception of the duality of Prakriti ant Purusha is melted into the oneness of Kevala Asti alone where the One that is Santam, Sivam and Advaitam hails supreme. How can there be two entities, Prakriti and Purusha? Eternal duality of the Sankhyas is incorrect, far Prakriti is a shadow of the Substance of Brahman. What appears and what is are not two beings but only the One mistaken to be two. The Reality and its shadow are taken as one Chidghana, the aspirant after Brahman sees no shadow, he sees Brahman only.

Objects other than the Self are a non entity and the difference between the subject and the object is a falsity. The intellectual conviction is superseded by a tremendous touch of the supersensual light, and the dark corner of the earth is illumined by the splendour of the Divine Being. Denial of the creative force of the surface consciousness is a dissolving power which disintegrates individuality at a stroke.

2, 3, 4. If you remove the ash you can perceive the fire; if the clouds are dispersed you can cognise the sun; if you remove the scabbard you can behold the sword; if you remove the bed-sheet you can see the mattress. Even so, if the veil of ignorance which conceals the Brahman is removed by knowledge of Brahman, you can directly cognise the Self-luminous Brahman.
The veil of ignorance is to be pierced through and through, and this act consists in disbelieving limitation and finitude and dissolving them in the menstruum of Brahman which is the Freedom of Infinitude. The Spirit or the Self should be abstracted and separated from the objective factors of empirical experience and thus experienced its nature where the identity of the Atman and Brahman is affirmed. The Absolute Brahman transcends both objectivity and subjectivity, for both conceptions are interdependent and therefore involve relations. The Self is hence affirmed to be free from both subjectivity and objectivity. All desires, likes and dislikes, drop down from the personality and the individual melts into the Ocean of Ananta, Paripoorna, Satchidananda.

In the light of the all-ness of Brahman the great denial of the world ensues. The mind in its static aspect is Brahman itself, but in its dynamic aspect appears as the world. The knowledge of this fact withdraws the faith in the external universe into the Bhuma, where nothing else is. The citadel of individuality is broken by the invasion of the Absolute. The life of misery and risk in the world is stepped over only through the sacrifice of the separate self. One who gives away the all, gets the All. The charity of the self brings the fruit of Absoluteness and Immortality. The complete possession of everything that exists is possible only by effacing oneself completely. The person who ties his thoughts to that which is beyond the ego loses his ego. The self must be lost if the Self is to be gained. The removing of the veil is the removing of one's own personality, and the higher Truth is realised in proportion to the extent to which the lower individuality is suppressed. A veritable suicide of the ego is what is meant by the dissolution of personality in Eternity. It is like cutting the branch of a tree by sitting on that branch itself. The slow self-transcendence practised through Yoga and Wisdom leads the aspirant to the Heart of Bliss where his thirst is quenched for ever and the hunger of ages appeased!

5, 6. You cannot see the all-pervading butter in the milk, but if you churn it you can get the butter. Even so you cannot see Brahman by these physical eyes; but you can behold the All-pervading Brahman by the churning of meditation.

The churning of meditation brings the butter of Brahman. When the confused subjectivity is overcome, the nature of Brahman is revealed. The whole task of Sadhana is a very careful and vigilant process and it should not be undertaken at random. The physical eyes cannot see Brahman because Brahman which is Experience is different from perception. Perception which is a part cannot encompass Experience which is the Whole. The part is included within the Whole. Sense-activity is a method of the further sub-division of the act of psychic cognition and hence the senses by themselves are rendered impotent in trying to comprehend Brahman. The senses are automatically withdrawn into their dynamo of the mind which charges them with the power of action, when the moral restraints and ethical disciplines are rigidly observed.

The predecessor of the meditative condition is the steadiness of the psychic organ. The main factors which disturb right thinking are lust, greed and anger which give birth to infatuation, pride and jealousy. The generality of mankind fancies to think that lust is a passion for sex. But on careful investigation it will be found that it is an intense desire for self-expression in one way or the other. The aspirant should guard himself against falling a victim to this force by checking with fortitude the urge to materialise himself further, which urge manifests itself in countless ways, ununderstandable and unimaginable. The fire of clinging to life is the mother of all impulses for self-manifestation. When the will to live is pulled down by the root, the urge for expressing oneself is withheld. Anger is the outcome of unfulfilled desires and greed is the effect of love for life. These are the negative forces of the one strong desire to maintain the individuality and to increase the sense of diversity by adding to the number of the individuals. The job of Nature is distracting things, creating things and killing things. One who involves himself in the family of the creative Prakriti cannot practise Yoga. Yoga is swimming against the current of Maya, acting against the nature of the mind, against the formal law of the earth, against Pravritti and against everything that is pleasant to the being of the earth. Meditation or Yoga is the Sreyo-Marga, life on earth is the Preyo-Marga.

7,8. Purge your mind of all impurities. Sever mentally all your connection with visible objects. Destroy the weeds of desires. Abandon all Sankalpas. Eradicate the longings. Meditate on Brahman. You will attain soon the non-dual Brahmic seat of ineffable splendour.

The mind should be purged of the tendencies to materialisation. This can be done through the spiritual penances that prescribe the austere living of the individual. One of the potent methods of removing the impurities of the mind is acting against the habits and natural propensities of the mind. The mind has got certain main doors through which it throws out energy into the external world and attracts objects for the maintenance of the relations which it should keep with them for the sake of saving its skin. The moment the mind stops relating itself to things which are disconnected among themselves its life is at stake. The daily activity of man on the earth for acquiring food, drink, clothing and shelter from the oppression of nature is to guard his own ego from being presented with what is harmful to the endurance of personality for long. This activity is mainly for the purpose of Self-preservation. A fasting of the senses and the mind is very painful to the individual, because of its thereby nearing the danger of self-extinction through non-relation. The mind can either contemplate on outward objects, the egoistic pleasure-centres, or sleep by adjourning its activities. The beginner in spiritual Sadhana, therefore, observes fast and vigil in order to withhold the natural habits of the mind of taking pleasures in relational connections with the universe and falling into torpidity when it is unable to obtain sense-pleasure. This morbid state of the self is to be cured by severing oneself from all objects and asserting Self-independence. Mouna is another method which the aspirant adopts to check the habit of self-expression of the mind, for, speech is an extrovert-force which maintains relational existence. The world cannot exist even for a moment if things stop inter-relations and assert Independence. The force of Nature compels the individual to abide by its plan of the sustentation of diversity. Hence Yoga can be practised only after boycotting the Pravritti-tendency of Prakriti or Maya through Tapas, Ahimsa, Satya-Vachana, Brahmacharya and Dhyana. Such a rare hero alone can meditate on Brahman which is the climax of the grand Truth where the cunning relativeness is totally destroyed.

9, 10. Understand the right significance of the "Tat Twam Asi" Mahavakya. The knowledge relating to the identity of the individual soul and the supreme soul that arises from Mahavakyas like "Tat Twam Asi" (Thou art That) is the means to emancipation.
Tat-Twam-Asi is the Abheda-Bodha-Vakya of the Upanishad which is also the Upadesha-Vakya instructed on by the Brahma-Srotriya Brahmanishtha Guru to the Adhikari or the disciple. The consciousness of the nonseparateness of Jiva and Brahman is brought about by this great aphoristic precept which Sage Uddalaka repeated nine times to his son and disciple Swetaketu.

"Thou art That" is the meaning carried out by this declaration of the Sruti. It has got a superficial verbal meaning or Vachyartha and an essential indicative meaning or Lakshyartha.

The individual and the cosmic, Avidya and Maya, Jiva and Ishwara, Atman and Brahman are the aspects which correspond themselves to the meaning of the terms 'Twam' and 'Tat' or 'Thou' and 'That'. The identity of the two is brought out by an illustration.

A person Devadatta is seen by me in January at Delhi. I recognise him and say, "This is Devadatta." I go to Agra on another occasion and find the same Devadatta there in April and exclaim, "This is THAT Devadatta", "Soyam Devadattah", referring to the identity of the persons seen at two places at two different times. The superimpositions which appear in the 'January-Delhi-Devadatta' and the 'April-Agra-Devadatta' are ignored and only the real 'Devadatta' is taken into account. The references to Time and Space – January, April, Delhi, Agra – are only temporary and relative, for the Devadatta who was in Delhi during the month of January cannot be different from the Devadatta who came to Agra during the month of April, because the person is the same, though the place and the time are different. Thus the identity of the two Devadattas is determined.

The individual and the cosmic persons respectively limited by Avidya and Maya, namely, the Jiva and the Ishwara, are two personalities differentiated by space and time. When the verbal meaning or the Vachyartha of the Mahavakya is taken, the Jiva is asserted to be Ishwara himself in the Pindanda. The Vishwa, Taijasa and Prajna of the microcosm or the Pindanda correspond closely to the Virat, Hiranyagarbha and Ishwara of the macrocosm or the Brahmanda. Thus the Jiva is an exact copy of or is identical with Ishwara.

But the Lakshyartha or the indicative meaning of the sentence is brought out in the illustration by "Soyam Devadattah" or "This is that Devadatta". The limitations are cast off and the essence only is taken. Atman limited by Avidya is Jiva and Brahman limited by Maya is Ishwara. When the Avidya of Jiva is cast off and the Maya of Ishwara is ignored, what remains is Atman instead of Jiva and Brahman instead of Ishwara. Just as the Devadatta of Delhi was the same as the Devadatta of Agra, the Reality of Ishwara and the Reality of the Jiva are one and the same. Hence Atman is identical with Brahman. 'Thou' stands for the Atman and 'That' for Brahman, and the word 'Art' or 'Asi' signifies the identity of the two as the One Akhanda-Ekarasa-Satchidananda-Ghana.

11. The immaculate and supreme seat can be attained very easily if you possess equal vision, balanced mind and discrimination, if you associate with the wise persons and if you practise Vichara or enquiry constantly.

Equal vision and balance of mind are the fore-runners of the dawn of Pure Consciousness. Equal vision is the attempt to perceive the same thing in all beings. The beings of the universe are by their very qualities and actions, Guna and Karma, dissociated from one another, because of the predominant factors of their surface-consciousness, which manifest forces which begin to move in different directions. When a person or a thing is perceived with the physical eye, the consciousness-force of the object, whirling in a particular direction according to the nature of its will or tendency to exist, and the perceiver's consciousness which modifies itself into the form of the object are both influenced by the potentialities and the tendencies of the objectifying forces of each other, and this tendency being different in different individuals, equal vision on the part of the perceiving subject does not become an easy matter.

The aspirant who tries to practise equal vision, therefore, has to raise the level of his consciousness to such a height through self-denial and protracted meditation as to be able to overcome the variegated influences exercised upon it by the born tendencies of the objects perceived and the powers that surround it in the universe. The subjective consciousness of the aspirant pierces through this embodied tendency by the power of the intelligent will and beholds the common essence lying as the background of all forms. This method of the perception of Unity in diversity makes the mind balanced because of the want of agitating factors in the universe and the internal world which is already cleansed of its rusted matter through Vichara and meditation.

Association with the wise transmits such vibrations of light and harmony that the crude mind gets influenced by those vibrations and feels ease in the spiritual march. Even as the sun sheds his light wherever he be, the wise men, the Jnanis, shed wisdom and peace wherever they go. All who come in contact with them quickly get transformed, because the force which they vibrate around them is generated from Pure Consciousness which is Brahman Itself.

12. One soon becomes that on which he constantly meditates with great intensity in accordance with the illustration of the wasp and the worm.

The illustration of the Bhramara and the Kita is taken to explain the method of Vedantic Meditation. Even as the worm due to its fear from the sting of the wasp constantly meditates on the form of the wasp knowing not when the dreaded creature will come, and thus through self-hypnotisation becomes possessed of the form of the wasp itself, the spiritual aspirant, through unbroken meditation on the Eternal Brahman, possessed of immeasurable love for It, and not knowing when that blessed experience will take place, transforms himself into the being of Brahman Itself by thereby expanding himself to Infinite Existence and transcending individual life.

The feeling cultivated in this method of meditation is "Aham Brahma Asmi" – "I am Brahman," called the Anusandhana Mahavakya. The transformation of consciousness which takes place during this positive meditation is twofold. The first one is a feeling of "I am the Absolute Brahman" where the entire universe appears as the one mass of Supreme Intelligence and the meditator feels his being the centre of universal consciousness. This is the subjective method of approach where the "Infinite I" remains as an absolute individual. This is the step to another greater experience.

The second method is the objective approach where the affirmation takes the form of "Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahma" – "All this, indeed, is Brahman." The absolute transformation of consciousness which occurs here is of the highest type, where even the Brahmakara-Vritti generated by the meditation on "Aham Brahma Asmi" is transcended, and only "Asti-Bhati-Priya" remains. Mere "Be-ness" is the most exalted ultimate Truth of all truths. In this absolute meditation, even the consciousness of the "infinite I" is contradicted by the more expanded Experience of mere "Sat-Chit-Ananda" or "Existence-Knowledge-Bliss." The subjective melts itself into the objective and they both unite to excel as the Great Reality.

This method of Meditation is the highest step taken by the individual to dissolve finitude in the Infinite Existence.

13, 14, 15. Negate the five sheaths. Control the senses. Sit quietly. Meditate always "I am Sat-Chit-Ananda Swayamprakasha Brahman" which is the substratum for these five sheaths and the whole world. Keep up the Brahma-Bhava while walking, eating and bathing.

The method of meditation on Brahman always proceeds along two lines, the negative denial and the positive assertion. The not-self should be denied its reality and the true Self should be affirmed its existence.

The five sheaths of the body are the walls of the prison in which Consciousness is locked up. The "neti-neti" or the "not this, not this" method is employed in negating the sheaths one by one. The physical body is characterised by Tamas and is cut off by death. Hence, the body cannot be Brahman. The vital sheath is filled with Rajas and is Jada or insentient. It has no consciousness and therefore, it cannot be Brahman. The mental sheath is fickle and is constantly changing. It is an organ of cognition and Brahman cannot be of that nature. The intellectual sheath is full of distraction and is reduced to insentiency in sleep. Brahman cannot be the intellect. The causal sheath is the bosom of ignorance and it knows nothing at all inside or outside. Brahman which is absolute consciousness cannot be the causal sheath.

When the five sheaths are understood to be not the Reality the senses which form members in these sheaths are also swept away from all consideration. The sheaths of the body are not the Truth; the senses are not the Truth; then what is man after all? The personality of the human being is denied completely and he feels that he is the all-pervading Atman.

Convinced thus, let the aspirant sit in a corner secluded from the distractions of life. He must meditate on the Bhava "I am the Satchidananda, the Self-luminous Absolute" which is the Reality of all the sheaths and the senses and this entire world.

The Brahma-Bhava should be kept up when doing work and carrying on the activity of life. The life of the individual is one of involuntary action. Thinking and breathing are real actions which is very hard to control and stop. Hence the aspirant should practise the feeling of the Oneness of Brahman in all names, forms and actions, for "verily, the one Brahman appears in as many names, forms and actions." Advaita Bhava should be a constant habit of the mind.

16. You should ever be engaged in enquiry of Brahman, till you get Brahma-Jnana. You should practise right conduct also. You should have association with the sages.

The enquiry of the One Brahman is the sole duty of the aspirant who wishes to become the Absolute. The practice of Sadhana is not "one" of the duties of man, but the "only" duty for which he is born. The finitude of the self is the common disease in all human beings, and so, the end which the individual should direct his activities to should be nothing short of Brahman-Realization.

The aspirant should adopt the method of saturating his consciousness with the feeling of the Presence of Brahman in all things. In the beginning he should practise only Bhava-Advaita and not Kriya-Advaita. The feeling of oneness flooding his heart affects the mental being of others also around him and hence the individuals that are chanced to relate themselves to him get transformed into a state which is in tune with his consciousness, even in spite of their own idiosyncrasies. The aspirant after Brahman has no fear from any source. The beings of the universe are compelled by his integrating power to accede to the law of his movement towards the Absolute. The whole world supports him who walks on the path to Brahman. Brahman is the reality of everybody and hence everybody must act according to the necessities of the aspirant who expands his consciousness into Brahman.

The highest peak of meditative consciousness makes the aspirant take recourse to Kriyadvaita too, because he is no more of the world and, the fashions and the conventions of society do not attract his attention. He merges himself in a uniform consciousness which does not allow of distinction in thoughts and actions. Supreme Indifference and Silence take hold of the highest class of aspirants who glory in Self-Consciousness and do not feel the need for doing or undoing anything. For them there is nothing worth resorting to or worth avoiding.

This immaculate state is reached only after unbroken meditation which has to be practised until the dawn of Wisdom and perfect establishment in Brahman.

17, 18. Brahma-Jnana, the end of all Vedas, will dawn of itself in you, if you generate the Brahmankara-Vritti constantly from your Sattwic Antahkarana by meditating on the right significance of the Mahavakya "Aham Brahma Asmi".

The assertion "Aham Brahma Asmi" is the counterpart of the instruction "Tat Twam Asi". Both are sentences declaring the identity of the meditator and the meditated, the individual consciousness and the Absolute Consciousness. The Brahmakara-Vritti is generated through the Sattvik Antahkarana which slowly soars above the normal empirical consciousness by being impressed with the higher All-inclusive Consciousness which swallows up being and non-being in its existence.

The same meaning which was attributed to the Upadesha-Vakya is applicable to the Anusandhana-Vakya also. "Aham" and "Brahma" are the individual and the Absolute whose identity is brought out by the significance of the term "Asmi". "Asmi" and "Asti" are the two denotations of the subjective and the objective conceptions of the existence of the One Unity of the Absolute Whole. "Asmi" gives way to "Kevala Asti" or mere Being. Brahmakara-Vritti is the form taken by the mind when it is about to lose itself in Brahman. Even this Vritti is after all a psychosis, a mental transformation, though of the highest order of psychic modifications. All Vrittis should stop before the Glorious Satchidananda is realised, where the mind does not exist at all, not even the most supreme Vritti can exist there.

When the Brahmakara-Vritti is raised through meditation on Brahman, the Transcendental Knowledge will dawn of itself. The Antahkarana constituting the Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara and Chitta should first be rendered Sattwik through training thoughts and feelings by internal Tapas which must be practised for long. Only the Sattwik mind can reflect the Brahmic Light and a struggle to experience the Absolute when the heart is clogged with desires, cravings and ambitions will not end in success. The state of Pure Sattwa is the condition of the mind where the highest expression of Brahman, namely, Ishwara, is on a level with the individual consciousness which is raised above the region of the earth. The Brahmakara Vritti is generated when the perception of the material universe as such is brought to a cessation and only the Divine Existence is beheld everywhere. This Vritti destroys all ignorance and finally destroys itself too when Brahma-Jnana reveals itself.

19, 20. 'OM' is the symbol of Brahman. It is the word of power. It is the sacred mono-syllable. It is the essence of all the Vedas. It is the boat to take you to the other shore of fearlessness and immortality. Meditate on OM with Bhava and meaning.

OM is the highest symbolical expression of the absolute nature of Brahman. OM is the source of all power and knowledge. The pronunciation of the word "OM" includes all the processes of sound-production and word-formation. Hence this word-symbol is the highest and the subtlest expression of the Shabda-Tanmatra, and is the basis of all speech, even of the Vedas. All words and languages are, thus, produced from the eternal "OM."

When the word OM is repeated with the proper Bhava in the Hrasva, Deergha and Pluta forms of sound, the whole system of the body and the mind is charged with powerful vibrations of light, purity, peace and harmony. Constant repetition of OM in the proper manner itself will cure all diseases, balance the mind and remove distraction. The subtlest and the most original manifestation in the realm of duality is the Shabda-Brahman, the form of Brahman as can be cognisable through the highly purified sense of the soul. 'A' kara, 'U' kara' 'M' kara, "Ardhamatra," "Nada," "Bindu," and "Kala" are the different stages of the expression of the sound "OM". It should start from the 'Para' state of sound origination and then it should be gradually materialised through the "Pashyanti" and the "Madhyama" to the "Vaikhari" state where the sound is actually audible to the sense of hearing.

From the start in the "Para" to the finis in the "Vaikhari," the chanting of OM has got an equilibrating character and so powerfully spiritualises the being of the chanter. There is an occasion for the automatic Kumbhaka state of the Prana and the stability of thought during OM-chanting and hence the feeling of OM prepares the ground for the highest Nirguna Meditation where the absolute character of the object of meditation is conceived of and affirmed. OM is an absolute sound and is not of the distracting type of sound produced by speech. Chanting OM leads the mind to the common Ground of the Self where absolute harmony reigns supreme.

21. You should make Brahma-Vichara habitual in you by constant practice. Then only your mind will be under your perfect control. All the impurities of the mind will be washed away by Brahma-Vichara.

Brahma-Vichara should be the habit of every aspirant in his life. It is his identification with some particular aspect of the Infinite Whole that is his individuality. The life of circumscribed isolation and suffering is the fruit of affirming the Self to be something, for the moment one affirms something, the other aspects of the Absolute Whole are denied their unified existence and are neglected and treated as the not-self. The Whole can never be separated into parts and therefore there is a desire in every self to obtain the not-self. The number of these not-selves runs up to infinity and the self wants to have the entirety of things regarded as not-self. This possession of infinite things requites the self to pass through several births and deaths. Hence, the desire for the Infinite being uncontrollable, the state of Samsara will have to be continued till infinite objects are obtained, i.e., till the realization of the Infinite Whole as one's own Self is achieved.

How, then, is to cease from self-affirmation? The constant Vichara on the nature of Brahman as constituting all, even the not-self which is ignored and the self which is asserted, the earth and the heaven, and body, mind and soul, will negate the belief in parts and make the aspirant look on all beings with an equal eye. If at any time the aspirant is unable to deny his individuality, and it the self asserts itself persistently, then he should also affirm simultaneously that he is also all those that are denied as not-self, and thus be true to the Absolute Nature.

This sort of Brahmavichara will wash away all sins and impurities and the aspirant will be liberated from bondage even in this very life. He becomes a Jivanmukta.

22. Enquire unceasingly: "Who am I? Whence came this universe? How did birth and death come? What is bondage?" You will be able to attain the imperishable abode of eternal bliss.

Constant enquiries into the essential nature of the universe and Samsara, their origin, their unreality, the cause of birth and death, the nature of bondage and freedom from pain, will thin out the mind in due course.

Who is the Jiva? The Jiva cannot be truly an individual, for individuality is perishable. But the essence of the Jiva persists to exist. The sheaths of the body merge into their original elements. Earth merges in water, water in fire, fire in air, air in space, space in Mula-Prakriti, and Mula-Prakriti in Brahman. The elements of the body equally dissolve themselves. Hence all the effects are transient, only the eternal is true. The Jiva should cease from being too much occupied with a part of the whole and begin to cling to the Whole. The bodies are sustained only by the thoughts of them, and when the individual withdraws the thoughts, feelings and interests from the bodies, they can no longer be felt to be an item of Pure Consciousness.

Whence came this universe? The universe must either be a creation of the Absolute or of the Cosmic mind or of the individual mind. The Absolute does not create any universe, because the Absolute is secondless and unchangeable. The Cosmic mind must have projected the universe out of the stuff of its consciousness. But, then, how is it that the change in subjective consciousness changes the appearance of the forms of the objects? When the imaginative mind changes its mode of thinking, the object of its perception appears to exist only in relation to the subjective consciousness. Moreover, when the Jnani's mind rises high into the transcendental region, the universe vanishes from his view. Hence, the universe may be a creation of the subjective individual.

But, then, again, when the individual becomes a Jnani and when it realises the Infinite Being, the world still exists for the other individuals who have not realised the Truth. Hence the world cannot be the creation of the subjective imagination. It must have an objective reality. Thus, we come to the dilemma that the subjective and the objective aspects of consciousness are both creators as well as not creators of the universe. But the truth seems to be that both are partly true and partly incorrect. The universe is the production of the collective totality of all the individual minds put together. This totality is termed the cosmic Mind. When the individual realises Brahman, the world vanishes to it, for the nature of Brahman is contrary to that of the world. But the world exists to other individuals even after the Self-realization of an individual, for the world is sustained by the mental forces of the remaining individuals.

Thus the loss of an individual through its Self-realization must effect a great change in the universal force of creativity. The universe is thus the construction of thoughts that are interrelated. Birth and death are of such cause, individuality is due to such reason, as is the nature of the creation of the universe.

23. If you want to attain Brahman all longings for objects should perish. The more you are removed from objects, the more the effulgence of Brahman will radiate in you.

When the desire for Brahman is generated, the consequential attitude of the one who desires for it should be a distaste for the objects of the senses. The desire for the part cannot be cherished together with a yearning to gain the whole. The mortal and the Immortal are utter contradictions. When the shadow is run after, the substance is left behind. When there is love for the world, the love for the Infinite is cast aside. The mind cannot think of diversity and Unity at one and the same time. In fact, it cannot even think of two objects at a time. It cleverly manages to shift its centres of imagination from one object to another presenting a false appearance that it is centred on one idea. To rest on one idea is not in the scheme of mental activity. When it is forced to centre itself in the thought of Brahman, it must drop down all the clustering objective thoughts.

There are grades in reality. The more the mind is centred in Truth, the more is it detached from particularised thinking. The whole universe is a stage where different individuals in the different degrees of their consciousness are let to play their own parts. Each individual has its own thought-form or the imagined world based on its own degree of consciousness. From the highest Ishwara to the lowest straw things are arranged in the various orders of consciousness. This consciousness-order is due to the degrees of their connections with the plural universe. Thus the highest Ishwara is the least connected with the pluralistic reality of the universe. He is the nearest to the Absolute or Brahman. When even the dual consciousness which characterises the region of Ishwara is transcended, the individual is no more an individual, it is absolutely cut off from objective relation, it becomes Brahman, the Great!

24. You will never be able to go into Samadhi although you can sit in the Padma or Siddha Asana for six hours at a stretch, if you are not free from attraction and repulsion, anger, egoism and pride.

Samadhi or the Balance of Consciousness is not the outcome of formalistic practices. Formality is concerned with externality and externality is not the cause of the misery of Samsara. Asanas and breath-regulations alone cannot steady the consciousness of the individual. It is the regulation of thought-functioning that gives rise to higher experiences in the spiritual realm. In Vedantic Sadhana the physical body and the vital are not taken much into account. They being the products of subtler powers that control the life of the individual, the control of those internal forces implies the stoppage of the activity of all their manifestations. Therefore the Vedantic aspirant controls his mind and the intellect, subdues anger, egoism and pride, and thus gets control over the whole nature.

Attraction and repulsion are the main twin-powers which keep in tact the existence of the world. Love for a certain object automatically indicates indifference or hatred towards other objects. Here is created a difference in the undivided nature of Truth. Where there is difference, there is the seed of sorrow, pain, death, birth and all that is undesirable.

Pride is seated in the intellect. The sense of superiority which gives rise to pride creates a difference between things of the universe. Egoism and anger are very powerful agents which bring in sharp differentiation within the One Indivisible Brahman. Thus they are the creators of the appearance of untruth, and as long as these are not held in check, the state of Samadhi cannot be experienced, for Samadhi is an experience of utter Oneness of Consciousness.

The entire ideal of all Sadhanas for Self-realization is to root out differences in life. When this is done, it is immaterial whether one is sitting on Asana or not, practises Pranayama or not. When the sun rises, there is no need of lighting a candlestick. The stars shine only so long as it is not day-break.

25. Merge the speech in the mind; merge the mind in the intellect; merge the intellect in the witness of the intellect or Brahman and enjoy the Supreme Peace.

Speech is loud thinking. It is the manifestation of thought only. When speech is hushed, the activity of the mind is accelerated. Talking is a method employed by the mind to keep itself in touch with the external universe. Speech is, therefore, a desire to materialise. Hence if self-expression is to be checked and the same power directed inward, speech is to be checked and the energy that is spent in talking should be stored up in the internal mind.

The mind, again, is a gross form of consciousness. It is itself a materialisation or a self-expression of the higher intelligence. To effect self-withdrawal, the mind should be merged in the higher intellect which is the reflection of Brahman or Atman within.

The intellect is only a shadow of Consciousness. It acts like a projection of the Self-existent and Self-luminous Self. It has got the nature of distracting Self-awareness because it is characterised by the quality of Rajas. Hence, the intellect should be merged in the eternal Self, Atma or Brahman.

This is the progressive involutionary method of meditation. Those who cannot at once practise the deep affirmation of the One Reality may practise this gradual process of turning back objectivity into the inward Self.

The method of this withdrawing of external consciousness can be practised only when there is not much of disturbance from the outside world. The objective reality of the world is as much true as the subjective reality of the body, and hence it cannot be easily thought that because the world is an imagination of the individual, abstraction of senses can be practised amidst bustle, business and hurry. The influence of the external universe is terrible on the individual, because the individual is a part of the universe. The part cannot deny the whole of the world unless it has transcended worldly consciousness. Therefore, in the beginning, seclusion, silence, penance are all necessary for the disciplining of the brutal self.

26. Restrain the senses. Silence the bubbling thoughts. Drown the mind in Brahman, who is within. Now you can realise your identity with Brahman. 

The restraining of the senses is not done through forced suppression. No natural desire or instinctive impulse can be suppressed with might without allowing it to torment the individual at a later date. It is not punishing but coaxing the senses through discriminative understanding that can make them rest at peace. The senses are not the enemies, the mind that orders them to work is the real enemy of peace. The mind can never be killed by plucking the eyes or cutting the ears. It is by cutting the ears and plucking the eyes of the mind that true peace can be gained. There is nothing bad with things as such. It is the perceiving mind that is bad, that has to be taught lessons.

The bubbling thoughts can be silenced by tasting the bliss of the Atma. The mind throbs because it wants pleasures. Let it taste the bliss of the Self. Then it will work no more. When the mind is drowned in Brahman, when it becomes melted in Brahman, when it sports in the heart of Brahman, when it drinks deep the nectar of Brahman, when it is identical with Brahman, then it will cease to function, then it will crave not for pleasures any more. The drowning of individuality in Brahman is the supreme purpose of life. All activity is for this purpose. All bustle and business of life is for this purpose. If this is not achieved, nothing is achieved. If this is lost, all is lost. He is an unfortunate creature who dies without realising Brahman in this birth. For what other use is human life here? Nothing is great, nothing is noble, nothing is sacred before the act of the dissolution of oneself in the Supreme Brahman.

All aspirants for the ultimate Good aim at this end, whatever be the paths they may take, Glory to those people who have dedicated their lives for losing themselves in the Ocean of Brahman. Are there more blessed men than these fortunate, people?

27. Acquire the four means*. Control your speech. Annihilate all hopes. Hear the Srutis. Reflect on what you have heard. Then meditate. You will attain Self-realisation. 

NOTE: the four means*
A student who treads the path of Truth must, therefore, first equip himself with - the "four means of salvation" (Sadhana Chatushtaya).
1. discrimination, (Viveka)
2. dispassion, (Vairagya)
3. the sixfold qualities of perfection, (Shad-Sampat )
4. and intense longing for liberation, (Mumukshutva)

Read more about: The four means - Sadhana Chatushtaya 

Viveka or discrimination between the Reality and the shadow is the first of the four means to self purification. All objects which are seen or heard are unreal. The whole universe is a dream. The world is a mere show. Brahman alone is the Truth. Anything that is sensed by the organs, thought by the mind or understood by the intellect is unreal. What remains is the Real. The knowledge of this fact is Viveka.

Such a Viveka leads to complete disgust for the shadow or the unreal phantasm. The mind wants the Real Brahman only and nothing else that appears. Being filled with an overwhelming love for Brahman, there arises in the mind a total dispassion for the separative and differentiated things. This dispassion for or renunciation of the three worlds, for the sake of attaining Brahman is Vairagya, the second of the four means. Vairagya should be the outcome of the intense desire for the Real, and other forms of false temporary disgust should not be mistaken for spiritual Vairagya.

Because of the appearance of Viveka and Vairagya, the Shatsampat constituting Sama (tranquillity of the mind), Dama (restraint of the senses), Uparati (cessation from activity), Titiksha (patience and endurance), Sraddha (faith in the scriptures, Guru and God), Samadhana (one-pointedness of mind), follows as a corollary. This treasure of the sixfold virtues is the third of the four means.

The fourth is Mumukshuttwa or the fiery love for Moksha or Final Emancipation of the self. These qualities make a person fit for the practical courses of meditation – Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana.

All hopes for acquiring name and fame should be buried under the love for the Eternal. Casting aside the earth and the heaven as worthless, the aspirant should get initiation from a Guru into the mysteries of meditation on Brahman. The grace of God and the blessings of the Preceptor will elevate the mind of the aspirant and make it successful in its meditation. The process of Self-realization will not become very difficult if the prescribed method of Sadhana is correctly followed with care and vigilance.

28. Brahman can be clearly and definitely realised only through Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Samadhi ensues only when the purified mind is merged in Brahman.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the highest expansion of the mind into Brahman-Consciousness. It is existing as Pure Satchidananda. This state is reached through the integration of personality. The rays of consciousness which are scattered through objectification are withdrawn and centred in the Root-Noumenon. When the sun comes to the centre of the head, there is no perception of the shadow, for it becomes identified with its source, the substance. When the consciousness-rays centre themselves in their Substance, the Imperishable Self, the shadow of the universe vanishes, for it gets merged in the Source of Brahman.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi is not Infinite Perception as in the case of Savikalpa Samadhi, but Infinite Being. The Upanishad describes this State as the Fullness of Perfection where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else. It is called the Bhuma, the Great Plenum. It is without duality and hence without sense-cognition. It is the getting of everything, the fulfilment of all desires, the most supreme blessing, the only Ideal worth coveting. Nothing on earth or in heaven can give that joy. The joys of the fourteen worlds put together are a drop in the Ocean of Brahman-Bliss. The world cannot give that bliss, nor can it take it away. It is what is real in the absolute sense immutable, eternally existent, exempt from all change, all satisfying, undivided, Self-luminous, with neither good nor evil, neither past nor present nor future, disembodied, the glory beyond all grasp of thought, the peace that is the very purpose of all striving, nearer than the nearest, dearer than the dearest, the Self-Identical Existence, here and now. This is Brahman-realization experienced through the passage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Here the highly purified mind is dissolved in Brahman and individual reality and egoistic independence is lost in the splendid light of the Real.

29. When Brahman is realised by means of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, then the heart's knot viz., Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire) and Karma (action), is destroyed.

Avidya, Kama and Karma are the three knots of the heart. Avidya breeds Kama and Kama begets Karma. Avidya is the ignorance which makes the individual perceive pluralistic reality and dualistic truth and thus gives rise to Kama or desire to acquire the objects which are other than the self. Kama or desire puts forth effort or Karma to obtain the desired objects. Avidya goads Kama and Kama goads Karma. Karma perpetrates self-indulgence! This sinful activity of worldly life is kept up by the operation of Avidya, Kama and Karma.

The Hridaya-Granthi or the knot of the heart is cut asunder when the majesty of Brahman is beheld. All doubts are cleared. All Karmas perish. The experience of Samadhi is the identification of the Self with the natural Essence of Existence Here, the seed of Avidya is burnt beyond further appearance, and the darkness of unconsciousness is lighted up by the brilliance of Absolute Consciousness. Hence, Avidya being no more, the urge for desiring objects is brought to cessation, whereby the impulse for action is sublimated into its source.

Birth is overcome, death is negated. The joy of the completeness of Being cannot be had in a semblance of it appearing to reflect in a point of space. The thought-force is entirely sucked in by the Sun of Consciousness and together with it all its modifications. When the root is pulled out, the trunk and the branches and the leaves are all levelled down. Hence the physical body has to drop off of itself being not fed by thought-relations. In such an exalted condition the physical body cannot be retained for more than two or three weeks. All bodies are possessed by the same Consciousness and, therefore, one who has realised his identity with Absoluteness cannot be attached to any particular body in speciality.

30. You cannot have Samadhi without perfect dispassion; you cannot have Self-realization without Samadhi; you cannot have perfect freedom without Self-realization.

Samadhi is the equilibrium of Consciousness. Passion is the clinging to particularised consciousness. Hence Samadhi cannot be attained without dispassion.

Self-realization is the resting in the conscious equanimity of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. It cannot be attained without reaching the equilibrium of Samadhi.

Perfect Freedom is the existence in the state of Absolute Independence or Kaivalya. Absolute Independence is Self-rootedness, Self-existence and eternal Self-sufficiency which is possible only after realising the non-related nature of the Self through its realization.

Kaivalya-Moksha is Absolute Liberation. The soul is drowned in the sea of Joy. Timeless and incorruptible, spaceless and absolute, a cessation of all life and a losing of everything, and yet, it is the real Divine Life, the being of All at once! It is the Zenith of Intelligence and Strength, of Knowledge and Power, of Wisdom and Bliss. The pride of individual greatness is superseded by a magical touch, a trembling shock, and the soul enters the Hall of Eternity. An intoxication of All-Unity overpowers the persisting multitudinousness, and there Pure Consciousness without ever losing its Self-Identity gives itself to the torrential flood of Limitless Bliss and Infinite Light. The Light is satisfied only in the supra-essential Essence. It is the simple ground, the still waste, wherein is nothing, but which is everything. It is the state where no man dwells, the immovable static being, and yet by this Immovability are all things moved. It is the vacuous plenitude, the dynamic statis, the great fulfilment effected by great renunciation. It is the Goal of life!

~~~   ~~~   ~~~

8, 9. He who studies this Moksha-Gita daily with purity, devotion and one-pointed mind and practises the instructions contained therein will soon attain Immortality, Eternal Bliss and Supreme Peace (Moksha). 

One who studies this Moksha-Gita daily, observing Ahimsa, Satya and Brahmacharya, with devotion to God and Guru, considering God and Guru as one, not making any difference between God and Guru, with concentration of mind, and who practises the precepts of wisdom contained herein, shall break the knots of his heart, clear all doubts, destroy all Karmas, acquire Knowledge and attain Immortality! 

Thus ends “Moksha Gita” which gives the essence of the Advaita Vedanta Philosophy. 

Hari OM Tat Sat!

OM Santi! Santi!! Santi!!!