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We shall discuss the hymns, Sukta wise & Mandala wise. Our focus is on the implicit meaning of the various hymns instead of literal translations of the hymns. These purported meanings are based primarily on the English translations by Swami Dharmanand Saraswati of the works done by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
Highlights – Sun and winds are important for life as well as death; happiness and sorrow. Knowledge of both is necessary for material prosperity as well as spiritual progress. For spiritual and secular happiness, company of the learned people and the knowledge of the science of the air and other elements are required. Knowledge of Prana Vidya and vital energy is essential for spiritual progress. Likewise, scientific knowledge of properties of energy and air is essential for material prosperity. God can be attained with this knowledge and then enjoy perfect bliss. Those people are always happy and long-lived who know well the means of Brahmacharya (perfect purity and self-control) and use them for the accomplishment of their works, who possess and utilises properly all necessary articles for suitable and regular diet and walk etc. The hymn wise, purported explanations – Mandala 1 – Sukta – 64
Mandala 1 – Sukta – 65
Mandala 1 – Sukta – 66
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The Bhagavad Gita outlines four primary paths (Yogas) to liberation (Moksha). These four paths cater to different human temperaments viz. action, emotion, intellect, and internal discipline respectively. The Four Paths (Yogas) to Liberation are Karma Yoga (The Path of Selfless Action with attitude of detachment of its fruits), Bhakti Yoga (The Path of Selfless Love & Devotion and complete surrender to Supreme Being), Jnana Yoga (The Path of Knowledge to destroy ignorance) and Raja Yoga (The Path of Meditation to achieve the state of Samadhi).
The philosophy of path of spiritual knowledge has been lucidly explained in Treta Yuga by Maharishi Visishta to Bhagwan Rama (Yoga Vasishta Scripture) and Bhagwan Dattatreya to Bhagwan Parashurama and outlined the various steps to attain liberation. In Kaliyuga, Adi Shankaracharya in 8th century and Ramana Maharshi in 20th-century explained the philosophy of spiritual wisdom. It is realisation that
1. The Self (Atman/Brahman): Self-Realization is simply the removal of the ignorance (the ego) that veils this ever-present truth. 2. Consciousness is the Only Reality: Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda) is the nature of the Self. The world, the individual soul, and God are all appearances that arise and disappear on the screen of Consciousness (like pictures appearing on a cinema screen, but the screen itself is the only reality). 3. Self-Inquiry is the practice of retaining the mind in the Self. 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. 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. |
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