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Dual knowledge relates to worship and non-dual knowledge to realisation. Dual knowledge is manifold because it depends on the concept of duality and manifests as worship, prayer, incarnation, meditation etc., all of which are due to nothing more than mental imagery.
Worship of Abstract Intelligence in a concrete form is not only useful but essential for non-dual realisation. For how can one be made fit for it without Her benediction. The Self is Abstract Intelligence free from thought. The knower, knowledge and the known are not real as different entities. When differentiation among them is destroyed, their true nature is evident in the resulting non-dual consciousness, which is also the state of emancipation. Intense devotion signifies mental abstraction as the devotee loses himself in the desired object. It will mean emancipation itself. For such unwavering devotion must certainly succeed and success is only a question of time – which may be days, months, years, or even the next birth, according as the predispositions are light or dense. Evil Propensities - The intellect is ordinarily befouled by evil propensities and so nothing good flourishes there.
Stages of Jnanis –
Experience of Pleasure and Pain – Pleasure and pain are apparent to the least among the Sages, but do not leave any mark on them as they do on the ignorant.
The jnani of the middle order or the highest order has no tinge of karma left in him because he is in perfection and does not perceive anything apart from the Self. Accomplishment of Wisdom – Of all the requisites for wisdom, Divine Grace is the most important. He, who has entirely surrendered himself to the Goddess of his own Self is sure to gain wisdom readily. An intense devotee, though endowed with only a little discipline of other kinds (e.g. dispassion), can readily understand the truth though only theoretically, and expound it to others. Bhakti yoga (the way of devotion) is the best of all and excels all else. Dispassion, meditation, prayer etc. remain natural to the sage whose mind is pure and unsophisticated. He whom honour and insult, loss or gain, cannot affect, is the sage of the best class. Contentment and purity abide in him. Even the most critical situations do not disturb his peace of mind. Self-Realisation & Perfect Sage - Self-realisation differs from all accomplishments in that the fear of death is destroyed once for all. He who, though engaged in work, does not look upon anything as non-self, is the perfect sage. He who, even while doing his work remains as if asleep, is perfect sage. He who is not influenced by happiness or misery, by pleasure or pain, by desires, doubts or fear, is a perfect Sage. He who realises pleasure, pain and every other phenomenon to be in and of the self, is a perfect sage. He who feels himself pervading all – be they ignorant or emancipated – is a perfect Sage. He who, knowing the trammels of bondage, does not seek release from them and remains in peace, is a perfect sage.
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These are the latent impressions or subconscious mental footprints left by past experiences, thoughts, and actions. They are the deepest layer of pre-disposition. They drive a person's immediate reactions, desires, and habitual behaviour, creating a cyclical pattern of action and experience. Overcoming these Vasana is essential for liberation.
Pre-dispositions acquired by Past Karma - The pre-dispositions are roughly classified into three groups – Aparadha (Fault), Karma (Action) and Kama (Desire). The first group is diffidence towards the teachings of the Guru and the holy books. Persons of such group have illusion; for how can knowledge make a person help his emancipations? They have many doubts and wrong notions. The second group – victims of past actions, unable to enter the stage of contemplation necessary for annihilating the vasanas. Their minds are too much cramped with the predispositions to be susceptible to subtle truths. The third group is the most common, consisting of the victims of desire who are obsessed with the sense of duty (i.e. the desire to work for some ends). Desires are too numerous to count, since they rise up endlessly like waves in the ocean. Each desire is too vast to be satisfied, because it is insatiable; too strong to be resisted; and too subtle to be eluded. That person who is shielded by desirelessness (dispassion) and safe from the wiles of the monster of desire, can alone rise to happiness. A person affected by one or more of the aforesaid three dispositions cannot get at the truth although it is self-evident. The first of them (i.e. fault) comes to an end on respectfully placing one’s faith in holy books and the Master. The second (i.e. action) may be ended only by divine grace, which may descend on the person in this birth or in any later incarnation. There is no other hope for it. The third must be gradually dealt with by dispassion, discrimination, worship of God, study of holy scriptures, learning from the wise, investigation into the Self and so on. Those are best who are free from all of the vasanas, and particularly from the least trace of that of action. If free from the fault of mistrust of the teachings of the Master, the Vasana due to desire, which is not a very serious obstruction to realisation, is destroyed by the practice of contemplation. Disposition need not be very marked in this case. Such people need not repeatedly engage in the study of the scriptures or the receiving of instructions from the Master, but straightaway pass into meditation and fall into Samadhi, the consummation of highest good. They live evermore as Jivanmuktas (emancipated even while alive). Sages with subtle and clear intellect have not considered it worthwhile to eradicate their desire, etc. by forcing other thoughts to take place, because desires do not obstruct realisations. A man only slightly affected by the two vasanas – mind clings to the ignorance of the necessity of work and person who has the fault of marked indifference to or misunderstanding of the teachings, and much more so by desires or ambitions, will by repeated hearing of the holy truth, discussion of the same, and contemplation on it, surely reach the goal, though only with considerable difficulty and after a long lapse of time. The last class and the least among Sages are those whose practice and discipline are not perfect enough to destroy mental predispositions. Their minds are still active and the Sages are said to be associated with their minds. They are barely Jnanis and not Jivanmuktas as are the other two classes. They appear to share the pleasures and pains of life like any other man and will continue to do so till the end of their lives. They will be emancipated after death. Desire for Emancipation – The most important of the qualifications is the desire for emancipation. The desire must be strong and abiding, in order that it may bear fruit. Aspirant must run after emancipation to the exclusion of all other pursuits. Such an effort is fruitful and is preceded by indifference to all other attainments. Association with the wise, divine grace and dispassion are the prime factors for attaining the highest aim of life. The aspirant’s accumulated merits, reinforced by association with the wise and by divine grace, make him persist in the course, and gradually take him step by step to the highest pinnacle of happiness. Steps to attain Emancipation – Proportionately slight effort is enough for erasing slight vasanas. He whose mind has been made pure by good deeds in successive past incarnations, gain supreme results quite out of proportion to the little effort he may make (as with Janaka). Person with dense vasanas accumulated in past incarnations, does not suffice to override one’s deep-rooted ignorance. Such a one is obliged to practice nidhidhyasana or control of mind and contemplation in successive births for effective and final realisation. Differences in quality of mind – The mind is the soil in which the seed, namely Parabdha, sprouts into pleasures and pains of life.
The world is changing every moment and its appearance is new every moment and its appearance is new every moment and so it is born every moment. The universe is the aggregate of the matter – mobile and immobile. The atomists maintain that the universe is made up of five elements – earth, air, fire, water and ether which are permanent and of things like a pot, a cloth etc. are transient. It is absurd to say that the insentient atoms of the matter began creation when the equilibrium of the three forces Sattva, Rajas and Tamas was disturbed. But change is not possible without an intelligent cause. Hence none of the systems can satisfactorily account for creation. The universe must have a creator, and He must be an intelligent principle. Creation of the Universe & Consciousness The Lord play with the universe. Lord is unbounded consciousness. There is no place beyond consciousness. consciousness is the only existence, covering the whole universe. Universe cannot be conceived without consciousness. the supreme being is eternally existing even before the birth of the universe. His creation has been without any material aids. Therefore, God is supreme, perfect, pure and self-contained. The creation of universe is not an object apart, but has originated only as an image on the surface of the mirror of the Supreme Being. Mental creations of daydreamers are full of people, life and work, similar to this. Note how daydreams and hallucinations are clearly pictured in the mind even in the absence of any reality behind them. The place of the objects is taken by the peculiar imaginative quality of the mind. When such imagination is deep, it takes shape as creation; consciousness is pure and unblemished in the absence of imagination. Vishvamitra a great rishi, is reputed to have created a duplicate universe similar to the existing universe. Time and space are projected from consciousness. Time and space are the factors of division in the world. Truth can never change its nature, whereas untruth is always changing. So, world has changeful nature. The gross body is being mistaken for crystal clear consciousness by mere force of habit. The remedy lies in change of outlook. The Core Assertion Everything that exists is a direct expression of the Supreme Consciousness. consciousness is pure and self-contained; it does not require an external object to create the image. The world has no substance in them outside of the cognising factor, viz. Intelligence or consciousness. · Intelligence as the Substratum: The visible, phenomenal world (the Cosmos) is like a reflection or a moving image that appears on the surface of the perfectly pure, self-luminous mirror of Abstract Intelligence. · The Analogy of Reflection: Just as a reflection is inseparable from the mirror it appears in, the Cosmos is inseparable from the Intelligence that is its foundation. It does not require a separate material cause, as the Intelligence itself transforms, projects, and withdraws the universe. Eliminating Dualism The chapter systematically refutes the idea that the universe could be an inert, external creation: · The Causal Principle: Since any action must originate from an intelligent principle (a cause must be intelligent to produce a meaningful effect), the vast, organized universe cannot have an unintelligent, dead substance as its primal cause. · Consciousness is All: The text affirms that the Supreme Reality is a pure, eternal, and unlimited state of Self-luminous Intelligence. This Reality alone exists. The perceived variety is merely the dynamic aspect of this Intelligence (called Shakti or) unfolding itself. The Path of Realization The ultimate teaching derived from this chapter is that Self-realization is simple because the Reality is not distant or hidden.
The core teaching in the Tripura Rahasya to "kill the thoughts" is not about a forceful suppression, but about shifting your focus to the Source of the thoughts and realizing the non-reality of the mind itself. This is primarily done through Self-Enquiry (Vichara), a method highly valued in this text (and by Ramana Maharshi).
The text emphasizes that restraining the thoughts is the best way to achieve the highest state. This is accomplished not through battle, but through realization. The key instructions to the mind are:
The truth is that there is one reality which is consciousness in the abstract and also transcendental, irradiating the whole universe in all its diversity from its own being, by virtue of its self-sufficiency, which we call Maya or Shakti or Energy. Ignorance lies in the feeling of differentiation of the creatures from the creator. The individuals are only details in the same reality. Sleep is said to be the state of ignorance.
Absolute Consciousness is dense and impenetrable but illumines the waking and dream states just as the mirror remains unaffected by the passage of different images. The consciousness displays externally as ego which manifests as Avidya (ignorance). Pure intelligence contaminated with inanimate excrescences is called Jiva or the individual, whose faculty for discrimination is consistent with its self-imposed limitations and is called mind. In the transition from the Absolute to the individual, space is the first veil cast off. The clear, concentrated Self becomes pure, tenuous, susceptible space in which hard, dense, crowded, or slender things are conceived. They manifest as the five elements of which the body is composed. The individual then encases himself in the body like a silkworm in its cocoon. Thus, the Absolute shines as awareness in the body (namely, I am the body’). Just as the light of the lamp spreads out through holes made in the cover, so also the light of intelligence extends from within, through the senses, to the external world. The rays of light are imperceptible in ether, but when they impinge on matter the objects become visible by the reflection of the light rays on their surface. Similarly, consciousness appears to disclose the presence of objects in space by unveiling them from the ignorance surrounding them. Realisation of the Self subdues the restless mind which is the dynamic aspect of consciousness. The sense of duality persists because there is the conviction of the purposefulness of the objective world. But such purposefulness and even durability is experienced in dreams. Insentient Part of Consciousness - Consciousness, the sentient is the unchanging subject/Witness/screen of all experience, while the Ego is a particular, changing, and limiting thought (the "I-thought") that operates within and is illuminated by that Consciousness. I-thought is Shakti Tattva and the consciousness is Shiva Tattva. After the differentiation is made manifest by “will force” the insentient parts (body, mind and objects) predominate. The insentient predominance is called Maya Shakti. Ego “I” is of two kinds - qualified and unqualified. Qualified means limitations. The insentient phase, Prakriti is tripartite according to its functions – ego, intellect and mind. It is influenced by the three qualities – Sattva (brightness), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (darkness). Sattva becomes five senses of perception; Rajas becomes five senses of actions and Tamas becomes earth, air, fire, water and ether. Realisation of Consciousness –
Consciousness - Self is ever-shining, unparticularized, unblemished, ordinary existence – self aware and self-sufficient. Self displays diversities of phenomena as a mirror its reflections. Self is alone and single and there is nothing beyond. Abstract Intelligence contracts at the stimuli to modification and becomes limited. Otherwise, it is infinite and unbroken. Being within, the universe cannot be different from consciousness. Abstract Intelligence, being only one, yet manifests as the diverse objects of creation. The two entities, the cogniser and cognised object, are distinct and separate. Of these, the cogniser, namely consciousness, may be self-luminous, illumining the objects. Mind divested of thoughts becomes pure and is identical with the Self and further, that alone destroys ignorance. Liberation and bondage are only attitudes of the mind, according as it is unmodified or modified, respectively. Note how the mind unmodified in sleep, remaining single and blank, is later modified by dream and manifests as the dream world. Consciousness is one and non-dual, but shines as if diversified like the clean surface of a mirror reflecting variegated colours. There can be no images in the absence of a mirror, for the images are not apart from the mirror. Just as the cogniser, cognition and the cognised are identical with the mind in dream, so also the seer, the sight and the phenomena are identical with the mind in the wakeful state. The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it.
One should abandon all habits and tendencies that are unrelated to what one wishes to achieve. One should learn to close the apertures in the body and also learn the practice of different postures. The diet should be pure. One should contemplate the meaning of holy scriptures. Right conduct and the company of holy ones are essential. Having renounced everything, one should sit comfortably. If one than practises pranayama for some time without allowing anger, greed etc. to rise within oneself, the life-force comes under one’s perfect control. Nadi & Kundalini - Deep within the body there is a Nadi known as the Antravestika. It rests in the vitals and it is the source of a hundred other Nadis. It exists in all beings – gods, demons and humans, animals and birds, worms and fish. It is coiled at the source. It is a contact with all avenues in the body, from the waist right up to the crown of the head. Within this Nadi dwells the supreme power. It is known as kundalini, because it is coiled in appearance. It is the supreme power in all beings and it is prime mover of all power. When the prana or life-force which is in the heart reaches the abode of the kundalini, there arises within oneself an awareness of the elements of nature. It is the kundalini unfolds and begins to move that there is awareness within oneself. All the other Nadi (radiating flow of energy) is tied to the kundalini, as it were. Hence the kundalini is the very seed of consciousness and understanding (or knowledge). Diversity in Creatures - Latent conditioning produces insentient beings; patent conditioning gives rise to gods, humans etc. In some there is dense conditioning conducive to ignorance; in others there is attuned conditioning conducive to liberation. Conditioning alone is responsible for the diversity in creatures. Movement of Life Force - As the Apana is constantly flows downward, as Samana it dwells in the solar plexus and as Udana the same life-force rises up. On account of these forces, there is balance in the system. If, however, the downward pull is excessive and the downward force is not arrested by appropriate effort, death ensues. Similarly, if the upward pull is excessive and it is not arrested by appropriate effort, death ensues. If the movement of the life-force is governed in such a way that neither goes up nor down, there is unceasing state of equilibrium and all diseases are overcome. Otherwise, if there is malfunctioning of ordinary (secondary) Nadi one is subject to minor ailments, and if the principal Nadi are involved there is serious ailment. By the practice of Puraka or inhalation, if the kundalini at the base of the spine is ‘filled’ and made to rest in a state of equilibrium, the body remains firm. When through the retention of the ‘breath’ all the Nadi are warmed up, the kundalini rises up like a stick and its energies flood all the Nadi of the body. On account of this the Nadi are purifying and made light. Then the yogi is able to travel in space. When the kundalini arises through the Brahma-Nadi and reaches the spot known as dvadasanta (twelve finger-breaths from the crown of the head) during the Rechaka or exhalation. If the kundalini can be held there for a hour, the yogi sees the gods and perfected beings who travel in space. Ailments - What are Vyadi (illnesses), what are adhi (psychic disorders) and what are the degenerative conditions of the body? Physical malady is known as vyadhi, and psychic disturbance caused by psychological condition (neuroses) is known as adhi. Both these are rooted in ignorance and wickedness. They end when self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is attained. Physical ailments are caused by ignorance and is its concomitant total absence of mental restraint which leads to improper eating and living habits. other causes are untimely and irregular activities, unhealthy habits, evil company, wicked thoughts. They are also caused by the weakening of the Nadi or by their being cluttered or clogged up, thus preventing the free flow of the life-force. Lastly, they are caused by an unhealthy environment. All these are of course ultimately determined by the fruits of past actions performed either in the near of the distant past. All these psychic disturbances and physical ailments arise from the fivefold elements. Physical ailments are twofold: ordinary and serious. The former arise from day-to-day causes and latter are congenial. The former are corrected by day-to-day remedial measures and by adopting the proper mental attitude. But the latter (serious) ailments, as also the psychic disturbances, do not cease until self-knowledge is attained: the snake seen in the rope dies only when the rope is again seen as rope. Self-knowledge ends all physical and psychic disturbances. However, physical ailments that are not psychosomatic may be dealt with by meditation, prayers and by right action, as also by baths. All these have been described in medical treatises. There arise disturbances in metabolism, indigestion, excessive appetite, as also improper functioning of the digestive system. Food eaten turns into poison. The natural movement of food in and through the body is arrested. This gives rise to various physical ailments. Thus, psychic disturbance leads to physical ailments. Just myrobalan is capable of making the bowels move, even so certain mantra like ya, ra, la, va, can also remedy these psychosomatic disorders. Other measures are and auspicious actions, service of holy men, etc. By this mind becomes pure and there is great joy in the heart. The life-force flow along the Nadi as they should. Digestion becomes normal, diseases cease. The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it. In this world whatever is gained is gained only by self-effort; where failure is encountered it is seen that there has been slackness in the effort. Self-effort is that mental, verbal and physical action which is accordance with the instructions of a holy person well versed in the scriptures. It is only by such effort that Indra became the king of heaven, that Brahma became the creator, and the other deities earned their places. The fruit of the endeavours will be commensurate with the intensity of my self-effort and neither fate nor a god can ordain it otherwise. Indeed, such self-effort alone is responsible for whatever man gets here; when he is sunk in unhappiness to console him people suggest that it is his fate. Hence, renounce fatalism and apply yourself to self-effort. Every Jiva earns its own state by its own deeds. Every zealous effort is always crowned with fruition. Hence, do not abandon right effort. Weigh the worthiness of the end result. You will surely discover that self-knowledge alone is capable of utterly destroying all pain and pleasure. Self-Effort & Fate - Self-effort is of two categories: that of past births and that of this birth. The latter effectively counteracts the former. Fate is none other than the self-effort of the past incarnation. There is constant conflict between these two in this incarnation; and that which is more powerful triumphs. The lazy man is worse than a donkey. One should never yield to laziness but strive to attain liberation, seeing that life is ebbing away every moment. One should not revel in the filth known as sense-pleasure as worm revels in pus. As is the effort so being fruit. What is called fate or divine will is nothing other than the action or self-effort of the past. The present is infinitely more potent than the past. They indeed are fools who are satisfied with the fruits of their past effort and engage themselves in self-effort now. Righteous Self-Effort - One should free oneself from likes and dislikes and engage oneself in righteous self-effort and reach the supreme truth, knowing that self-effort alone is another name for divine will. That alone is self-effort which springs from right understanding that manifests in one’s heart which has been exposed to the teachings of the scriptures and the conduct of holy ones. One should, with a body free from illness and mind free from diseases, pursue self-knowledge so that he is not born again here. Self-effort is based on these three – knowledge of scriptures, instructions of the preceptor and one’s own effort. Fate (or divine dispensation) does not enter here. Hence, he who desires salvation should divert the impure mind to pure endeavour by persistent effort – this is the very essence of scriptures. Self-Effort & Past Incarnation - The tendencies brought forward from the past incarnations are of two kinds – pure and impure. The pure ones lead you towards liberation, and the impure ones invite trouble. You are not impelled to action by anything other than yourself. Hence you are free to strengthen the pure latent tendencies in preference to the impure ones. With a pure heart and a receptive mind and without the veil of doubt and the restlessness of the mind, listen to the exposition of the nature and means of liberation. Self-Control – He that is good and auspicious flows from self-control. All evils are dispelled by self-control. No gain, no pleasure in this world or in heaven is comparable to the delight of self-control. The delight one experiences in the presence of the self-controlled is incomparable. Everyone spontaneously trusts him. None (not even demons and goblins) hate him. He who even while hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and tasting what is regarded as pleasant and unpleasant, is neither elated nor depressed – he is self-controlled. He who looks upon all beings with equal vision, having brought under control the sensations of pleasure and pain, is self-controlled. He who, though living amongst all is unaffected by them, neither feels elated nor hates, is self-controlled led. The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it.
Liberation is the realisation of total non-existence of the universe as such. Liberation is to realise that all this is pure consciousness. When objectivity in your consciousness, the latter become conditioned and limited: that is bondage. When objectivity is abandoned, you become mindless: that is liberation. Whatever terrible sufferings and calamities there are in the world are all the fruits of cravings. When this craving has ceased one’s life-force is pure and all divine qualities and virtues enter one’s heart. Ego-sense is the source of all sins. Cut at the very root of this ego sense with the sword of wisdom of the non-ego be free from fear. Bondage & Freedom - ‘I want this to be mine.’ When such craving arises in one’s heart, it gives rise to impurity. Such a craving should be abandoned by a wise person by all means at all times. Give up the desire that tends to bondage and the desire for liberation too. Remain still like the ocean. Knowing that the self is free from old age and death, let not these disturb your mind. When the whole universe is realised as illusory, craving loses its meaning. Fools are only interested in sexual pleasures and in the acquisition of wealth. We are unable to expound the path of rituals and routines which bestows all kinds of rewards in the shape of pain and pleasure. The following four types of feelings arise in the heart of man: 1. I am the body born of my parents, 2. I am the subtle atomic particle, different from the body, 3. I am the eternal principle in all the diverse perishable objects in the world, and 4. The ‘I’ as also the ‘world’ are pure void like space. Of these the first is conducive to bondage and the others to freedom. Attachment & Fear - One should become aware of one’s deluded notion in which one thinks ‘I belong to these objects of the world and my life depends upon them. I cannot live without them and they cannot exist without me, either.’ Then by profound enquiry, one contemplates ‘I do not belong to these objects, nor do these objects belong to me.’ He who acts without attachment merely with the organs of action, is not affected by anything, neither by joy or by sorrow. His actions are non-volitional. He sees not, through eyes sees; he hears not, through ears hear; he touches not, through the body touches. Surely, attachment (contact, association) is the cause for this world-illusion; it alone creates objects. Attachment causes bondage and endless sorrow. Therefore, holy ones declare that the abandonment of attachment is itself liberation. Abandon attachment and be a liberated sage. Attachment is that which makes the conditioning of the mind more and more dense, by repeatedly causing the experiences of pleasure and pain in relation to the existence and the non-existence of the objects of pleasure. If you rise beyond joy and sorrow and therefore treat them alike, and if you are free from attraction, aversion and fear, you are unattached. If you do not grieve in sorrow, if you do not exult in happiness and if you are independent of your own desires and hopes, you are unattached. By effortlessly remaining established in non-attachment, live here as a liberated sage. The liberated sage lives in the inner silence, without pride or vanity, without jealousy and with his senses fully under control. The liberated sage, who is free from cravings, is not tempted by them, but engages himself in mere natural actions. Whether he is subjected to great pain or he is appointed the ruler of heaven, he remains in a balanced state of mind. Attitude of non-attachment – Equip yourself with such attitude, remain unattached, endowed with the spirit of renunciation and with the realisation that whatever you do or you experience is an offering to the omnipresent being, Brahman. Then you will realise the truth, and that is the end of all doubts. He who is thus equipped with the spirit of non-duality (as if he is in deep sleep, though awake) is not disturbed though actively engaged in life. Such a person is liberated here and now. Egoism & Egolessness - Abandoning the ego-sense through intense contemplation, one should playfully engage oneself in the actions that happen naturally, but with the heart and mind ever cool and tranquil. Such an abandonment of the ego-sense and the conditioning is known as the contemplative egolessness. The desire that arises in the course of one’s natural functions devoid of craving is that of a liberated sage. But that desire which is bound up with craving for external objects is conducive to bondage. However, when all ego-based notions have ceased in one’s heart, the attention that is directed naturally is also the nature of the liberated sage. Realisation of Truth - The mind is but the movement of consciousness. the non-realisation of this truth is world-vision! Non realisation of the truth intensifies and aggravates the movement of thought in consciousness. thus, a cycle is formed. Ignorance and mental activity are perpetuated by each other. When the inner intelligence is awakened the craving for pleasure ceases; this is the nature of the wise. In him this cessation of craving for pleasure is therefore natural and effortless. He knows that it is the energy of the self that experience the experiences. He who, in order to please the public, refuses to experience what is to be experienced, he indeed beats the air with the stick! One attains self-knowledge by sometimes unsing appropriate means. Desire for liberation interferes with fullness of the self; absence of such desire promotes bondage! Hence, constant awareness is to be preferred. The sole cause for bondage and liberation is the movement in consciousness. awareness of this ends this movement. The ego-sense ceases the very moment one observes it, for it has no support any longer. Then who is bound by whom, or who is liberated by whom? Means of Liberation - By the diligent practice of the yoga method, by resorting to the company of the holy ones and the avoidance of evil company, the truth is clearly revealed. When thus one realises the supreme which is the only essence or truth beyond this ocean of samsara, he realises, ‘I am not the doer but God alone is the doer; not even in the past did I do anything.’ He abandons vain and meaningless words and remains inwardly and mentally silent. This superior non-attachment or freedom. Steps of Yoga -
They who desire liberation should engage themselves only in such actions which are free from defects, and desist from selfish and sinful actions. The Jiva is liberated when one contemplates, ‘I an that which is beyond the body, mind and senses’ when one is free from notions of ‘I am doer’ and ‘I am enjoyer’ as also from notions of pain and pleasure. Gatekeepers of Liberation -
The liberated sage who is disinterested in the events of the past, present and future looks at the state of the world with amusement. Enlightened men, though they be constantly engaged in activity, do nothing. It is not by means of inaction that they reach the state of non-action! This very fact of non-action frees you from experiences, for there is no harvest where there is no sowing. When thus both the notions of “I do” and “I experience” have ceased, there remains only peace; when that peace is firmly grounded there is liberation. Enlightened being do not exult in pleasure nor grieve in pain; they function non-volitionally. They are fully awake in self-knowledge, but they ae asleep, as it were, in relation to the world; they function in this world like children, without ego-sense and all the rest of its retinue. “This is pleasure”, ‘this is pain’, ‘this is’, ‘this is not’ – only the mind of the ignorant swings like this, not of the wise. “This is to be acquired” and “this is to be abandoned – such thoughts arise only in the minds of the ignorant. Liberation is of two kinds: ‘with body’ and ‘without body’. That state of liberation in which the mind is totally unattached to anything and in which there is no craving at all, is known as ‘liberation with body’. That itself is known as ‘libration without body’ when the body drops. In the case of ‘liberation with body’, all the tendencies and mental conditioning are like fried incapable of giving rise to future embodiment. The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it.
Only those who strive to gain self-knowledge, are worth gaining in this world, thereby putting an end to future births. To the unwise, knowledge of scriptures is a burden; to one who is full of desires, even wisdom is burden; to one who is restless, his own mind is a burden; and to one who has no self-knowledge the body (the life-span) is a burden. When the mind is at peace and the heart leaps to the supreme truth, when all the disturbing thought-waves in the mind-stuff have subsided and there are unbroken flow of peace and the heart is filled with the bliss of the absolute, when thus the truth has been seen in the heart, then this very world becomes an abode of bliss. Such bliss is possible only by self-knowledge not by any other means. The delusion that veils the self-knowledge is sevenfold: seed state of wakefulness, wakefulness, great wakefulness, wakeful dream, dream, dream wakefulness and sleep. There are seven states or planes of wisdom. Pure wish or intention is the first, enquiry is the second, the third is when the mind becomes subtle, establishment in truth is the fourth, total freedom from attachment or bondage is the fifth, the sixth is cessation of objectivity, and the seventh is beyond all these. Sages are able to cut egotism and cravings with the sward of self-knowledge. Self-enquiry subdues the ego sense. There have been countless beings in this world who have attained self-knowledge and liberation while yet living, like the emperor Janaka. Non-attachment to anything here is known as liberation. By right exertion, and by right self-enquiry strive to reach the perfection of self-knowledge. Ignorance or Mental Conditioning - The seed of this world appearance is ignorance. This ignorance or mental conditioning is acquired by man effortlessly and it seems to promote pleasure, but in truth it is the giver of grief. It creates a delusion of pleasure only by the total veiling of self-knowledge. thus, it was able to make the king Lavana experience less than an hour as if it were of several years’ duration. This ignorance or mental conditioning has but a momentary existence: yet, since it flows on. It seems to be permanent like a river. Because it is able to veil the reality. People sitting in a moving boat see the shore moving. The firm conviction the ‘I am not the absolute Brahman’ binds the mind; and the mind is liberated by the firm conviction that ‘everything is the absolute Brahman’. Ideas and thoughts are bondage; and their coming to an end is liberation. Do not let the foolish idea of the existence of ignorance take root in you; for if the consciousness is thus polluted, it invites endless suffering. Give up mental conditioning which alone is responsible for the perception of duality, and remain totally unconditioned. Then, you will attain incomparable pre-eminence over all. When mental conditioning is overcome and the mind is made perfectly tranquil, the illusion that deludes the ignorant comes to an end. In the self there is no desire: the world appears in it without any wish or intention on its part. They who says that this universe exists in a seed-state after cosmic dissolution are those who have firm faith in the reality of this universe! This is pure ignorance. It is appropriate to say that the tree exists in the seed, because both these have appropriate forms. But in that which has no form (Brahman) it is inappropriate to say that this cosmic form of the world exists. Wise man is not upset even when they are offended. Even as the silkworm weaves its cocoon and thus binds itself, the infinite being fancies this universe and gets caught in it. People pass through countless embodiments and through countless experience of pain and pleasure, wisdom and delusion. Sometimes born as cruel king, a greedy trader and wandering ascetic. But there is no pleasure. Only pure mind experiences liberation. Childhood is wasted in ignorance; youth is wasted in lusting after pleasures and the rest of one’s life is spent in family worries: what does a stupid person achieve in this life. Even if one performs great religious rites, one may go to heaven – nothing more. Weigh in the balance of your wisdom the sense-pleasures on one side and the bliss of peace on the other. The tree in a seed grows out of it after destroying the seed: but Brahman creates this world without destroying itself. Bondage & Wisdom - The surest sign of a man of the highest wisdom is that he is unattracted by the pleasures of the world, for in him even the subtle tendencies have ceased when these tendencies are strong, there is bondage; when they have ceased, there is liberation. He is truly a liberated sage who by nature is not swayed by sense-pleasure, without the motivation of fame or other incentives. In dream, the dream-body appears to be real; but when there is an awakening to the fact of dream, the reality of the body vanishes. Even so, the physical body which is sustained by memory and latent tendencies is seen to be unreal when they are seen to be unreal. At the end of the dream, you become aware of the physical body; at the end of these tendencies, you become aware of the ethereal body. When the dream ends, deep sleep ensues; when the seeds of thought perish, you are liberated. In liberation the seeds of thought do not exist. World experienced in the waking state is no more real than that experienced during sleep (dream). During sleep, the world does not exist; and during waking state, the dream does not exist. While living, death is non-existent, and in death, life is non-existent. Because, that which holds together either experience is absent in the other. No time during a dream a whole life’s drama is enacted. In reality, you are unborn and you do not die. To an immature and childish person who is confirmed in his conviction that this world is real, it continues to be real. The sole reality is infinite consciousness which is omnipresent, pure, tranquil, omnipotent, and whose very body and being is absolute consciousness (therefore not an object, not knowable): wherever this consciousness manifests in whatever manner, it is that. Because the substratum (the infinite consciousness) is real, all that is based on it acquires reality, though the reality is the substratum alone. This universe and all beings in it are a long dream. By persistent practice egotism is quietened. When the world-appearance is seen as an appearance it does not produce either elation or sorrow. When a truth that has not been personally experienced is expounded, one does not grasp it except with the help of an illustration. There are seven states or planes of wisdom. Pure wish or intention is the first, enquiry is the second, the third is when the mind becomes subtle, establishment in truth is the fourth, total freedom from attachment or bondage is the fifth, the sixth is cessation of objectivity, and the seventh is beyond all these.
Human Beings Born of Impurity - Some beings are born pure and enlightened (Satvik). Even in their own previous births they had turned away from the lure of sensual pleasures. But the nature of the others who are born merely to perpetuate the cycle of birth and death, is a mixture of the pure, the impure and the dark. There are others whose nature is pure with just a slight impurity; they are devoted to the truth and are full of noble qualities. Other people are enveloped by the darkness of ignorance and stupidity – they are like rocks and hills. Those beings in whom purity are preponderant with just a slight impurity (the rajas – Satvik people) are ever happy, enlightened and do not grieve nor despair. They are unselfish like trees, and like them, they live to experience the fruition of past actions without committing new ones. They are desireless. They are at peace without themselves and they do not abandon this peace even in the worst calamities. They love all, and look upon all with equal vision. They do not drown in the ocean of sorrow. Person who is intelligent, who is good natured and equal visioned, and who sees only what is good, is entitled to the vision of wisdom. Seemingly unending world-appearance is sustained by impure (rajas) and dull (tamas) beings, even as a superstructure is sustained by pillars. But it is playfully and easily abandoned by those who are of pure nature. Renunciation of Cravings - Austerity and penance, charity and the observance of religious vows do not lead to the realisation of the Lord; only the company of the holy men and the study of true scriptures are helpful, as that dispel ignorance and delusion. Even when one is convinced that this alone is real, one goes beyond sorrow, on the path liberation. Austerity or penance is self-inflicted pain. Of what value is charity performed with wealth earned by deceiving others – only they derive the fruits of such charity. Religious observances add to one’s vanity. There is only one remedy for ignorance of the Lord – the firm and decisive renunciation of craving for sense-pleasure. Craving for heaven and even for liberation arises in one’s heart only as long as the ‘I’ is seen as entity. As long as the ‘I’ thus remains, there is only unhappiness in one’s life. However, the higher form of ‘I-ness’ which gives rise to the feeling ‘I am one with the entire universe, there is nothing apart from me’, is the understanding of the enlightened person. Another type of ‘I-ness’ is when one feels that the ‘I’ is extremely subtle and atomic in nature and therefore different from and independent of everything in this universe: this, too, is unobjectionable, being conducive to liberation. But the ‘I-ness’ that has been described earlier on is one which identifies the self with the body: this is to be abandoned firmly. By the persistent cultivation of the higher form of ‘I-ness’. The lower form is eradicated. Self-Knowledge -
The book “The Supreme Yoga” is the teaching of the sage Vasistha imparted to Sri Rama. It contains true understanding about the creation of the world i.e. the world is nothing but the play of consciousness. the Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to the spiritual awakening and direct experience of Truth. Vasistha demands direct observation of the mind, its motion, its notions, its reasoning, the assumed cause and the projected result. The book is a translation into English by Swami Venkatesananda of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh India. The article is primarily based on it.
The mind is nothing but bundle of thoughts. Victory over this goblin known as mind is gained when, with the aid of one’s own self-effort, one attains self-knowledge and abandons the craving for what the mind desires as pleasure. This can be easily be achieved by the cultivation of the proper attitude. When the mind is thus conquered by remaining completely unagitated, you will consider even the conquest of the three-world worthless. Wisdom destroys egotism and generates fearlessness. The pure mind is free from latent tendencies, and therefore it attains self-knowledge. The impure mind sees a ghost where there is just a post and pollutes all relationship, creating suspicion among friends and making enemies of them, even a drunken man sees that the world is revolving around him. A distressed mind turns food into poison and causes disease and death. Conditioning of Mind - The conditioned mind creates bondage even in ascetics; the unconditioned mind is pure even in a householder. The mind that is thus conditioned is bondage; liberation is freedom from conditioning (inner contact, attachment or identification). Actions performed by the unconditioned are non-action. Conditioning is cause of sorrow. Conditioning can be illustrated by the following example: the Donkey is led by the master’s rope and, afraid, it carries a heavy burden. The adorable conditioning recognises ‘natural’ limitations. However, attachment implies division and duality which is limitation of the infinite and conditioning of the unconditioned. The mind which is unattached to anything, which is established in the peace of infinite expansion, is conducive to delight. At all times, the mind should not be attached to the action, the thoughts or the object. Neither should it be attached to the heavens above, nor what is below nor in the other directions. When the mind is dead and craving is dead, delusion has vanished and egoless-ness is born. The very nature of the mind is stupidity. Hence when it dies, purity and noble qualities arise. Desires, aversions and cravings are born out of attachment (liking or disliking for something) in the mind. Once desires are fulfilled, one feels pleasure and on not getting fulfilled, one feels pain. Pleasure is heaven and pain is hell. Deeper the pain, more intense is hell. Hence, strive to eradicate the desire for experience. Get rid of idleness. Free yourself from experiences. Neither idleness nor strong desires are good for peace and bliss. Lower the desires, better is the life. If you strive to destroy the conditioning (the concepts, notions, habits etc.), then in a moment all your errors and illnesses will vanish. Renounce the pursuit of pleasure and resort to: cessation of conditioning, movement of thought and realisation of truth, simultaneously. One should practise the abandonment of conditioning and the restraint of prana simultaneously. Prana is restrained by the practice of pranayama and yoga asana, as taught by the guru, or by other means. When desires, aversions and cravings do not arise in the mind even though their objects are seen in the front, then it is to be inferred that mental conditioning has weakened; thence wisdom arises, further weakening the conditioning. Then the mind ceases. It is not possible to ‘kill the mind’ without proper methods. Knowledge of the self, company of the holy men, the abandonment of conditioning and the restraint of prana are the means to overcome the mind. Ignoring these and resorting to violent practices like Hatha Yoga, austerities, pilgrimage, rites and rituals, is of little use. The illusory notion of existence of the mind etc. persists only as long as the sublime realisation of the truth is not experienced. Remain pure at heart like space, but outwardly engage yourself in appropriate action; in situations which could provoke exultation or depression, remain unaffected by them like a log of wood. He who is friendly even to one who is about to murder him, is seer of truth. He in whom all concepts and habitual tendencies have ceased has overcome all mental conditioning and bondage. Mind & Duality - In the case of one who is not attracted by pleasure, whose heart is cool because of its purity and who has shattered the cage of desires, cravings and hopes, the deluded notion of the existence of the mind ceases to be. When he sees even his body as the deluded experience of the non-entity, how can a mind arise? He who has the vision of the infinite and into whose heart the world-appearance has merged, does not entertain the deluded notion of a Jiva etc. Concepts of duality, unity or such others do not arise in them, for there are no tendencies in their heart. The very seed of ignorance is burnt in the state of sattva and it does not again give rise to delusion. The individual is nothing more than the personalised mind. Individuality ceases when that mind ceases; it remains as long as the notion of a personality remains. So long as there is a pot there is also the notion of a space enclosed within or confined to that pot; when it is broken, the infinite space time alone is, even where the pot-space was imagined before. Mind & Doership - The sense of doership (the notion ‘I do this’) which gives rise to both happiness and unhappiness. whatever the mind does, that alone is action: hence, the mind alone is the doer of actions, not the body. The mind alone is the world-appearance; this world-appearance has arisen in it and it rest in the mind. When the objects as well as the experiencing mind have become tranquil, consciousness alone remains. The wise declare that the mind of the enlightened is neither in a state of bliss nor devoid of bliss, neither in motion nor static, neither real nor unreal, but between these two propositions. Mind, Doership & Freedom - The sense of doership (the notion ‘I do this’) which gives rise to both happiness and unhappiness. whatever the mind does, that alone is action: hence, the mind alone is the doer of actions, not the body. The mind alone is the world-appearance; this world-appearance has arisen in it and it rest in the mind. When the objects as well as the experiencing mind have become tranquil, consciousness alone remains. The wise declare that the mind of the enlightened is neither in a state of bliss nor devoid of bliss, neither in motion nor static, neither real nor unreal, but between these two propositions. He who is wise, but who has not completely controlled the pleasure-seeking tendencies of his senses, sees the truth and sees the illusion. And, he who has clearly understood the nature of the world and the Jiva and who has firmly rejected the world-appearance as the reality, is liberated and is not born again. Bondage is bondage to these thoughts and notions: freedom is freedom from them. Give up all notions; even those of liberation. First, by the cultivation of good relationships like friendship, give up tendencies and notions which are gross and materialistic. There is no salvation without the total renunciation of all notions or ideas or mental conditioning. The sage of self-knowledge is not enamored of the gains or the pleasure of the entire universe. Cut down the mind with the mind itself – Even a terrible weapon is encountered and destroyed by a more powerful weapon, tranquillise the mind with the help of the mind itself. Forever abandon every form of mental agitation. Remain at peace within yourself like a tree freed from the disturbance caused by monkeys. Mind is but a product of ignorance; when ignorance wears out, then the mind wears out, too. O mind, I abandon you who are the source of sorrow. Hence, if actions are performed spontaneously without mental conditioning, their experience will be pure and free from memories of past happiness or unhappiness. When the mind has ceased to be because of the total absence of the notions of material existence, consciousness exists in its own nature as consciousness. that is known as pure being. When consciousness devoid of notions of objectivity merges in itself losing its separate identity, as it were, it is pure being. Mind & Self - In truth, there is no mind, no intelligence, no embodied being: the self alone exists at all times. Because it is extremely subtle it seems not to exist, though it exists. O mind: your intelligence is derived from infinite consciousness, why do you grieve? That is omnipresent, that is the all: when you realise it, you become the all. O mind, you are neither the doer nor the experiencer. O mind, you are the support of all our hopes and desires; when you cease to be, all these hopes and desire cease. One whose consciousness is extroverted experiences pleasure and pain; on the other hand, the yogi whose vision is introverted does not entertain ideas of pain and pleasure. You can punish the body; but you cannot punish the mind nor bring about the least change in it. If the mind is fully saturated with something, whatever happens to the body does not affect the mind. The mind alone is the seed for the body. The individualised consciousness (mind) has in it own manifold potentialities. The pure and infinite consciousness alone thinks of itself as the Jiva and as the mind and then believes itself to be the body. In the mind, the subject is believed to be sentient and the object is said to be inert. Thus, caught in delusion, the Jiva hangs around. In truth, this duality itself is the creation of mind. But when the mind enquires into its own nature, this division disappears. There is realisation of the one infinite consciousness, and one attains great bliss. Enlightened Mind - The characteristic of the enlightened one is purity of mind and absence of craving. He is devoid of confusion and delusion. Samsara has come to an end. And lust, anger, grief, delusion, greed and such disastrous qualities are greatly weakened in him. The pure and equanimous state which is devoid of ego-sense and non-ego-sense, of the real and unreal, and which is free, is known as turiya (the fourth state). It is the state of the liberated sage. It is the unbroken witness consciousness. It is different from the waking and dreaming states which are characterised by inertia and ignorance. When the ego-sense is abandoned, there arises the state of perfect equilibrium in which the turiya manifests itself. Waking, dream and sleep are states of the mind. Inwardly abandon everything; externally engage yourself in the appropriate action. |
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