Volume 3 : Collected notes & papers, Books: Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sat-darshana Bhashya and Men of God
Volume 3 includes collected notes & papers, Books: Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sat-darshana Bhashya and Men of God.
As the manuscripts intended for this collection were being put together for sending to the press, I came across, quite unexpectedly, some jottings of an important nature in certain note-books of Sastriar. They related to personal instructions received by him from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother from time to time. I was not sure whether it would be permissible to make them public. I thought over it deeply and wished Sastriar would guide me in the matter. That very night I saw myself in a boat over an expanse of calm, green waters; Sastriar was rowing the boat.
I had no further hesitation. The Introduction is the result. Next, I was led to the pile of his Diaries which somehow I had not opened all these years. And what I saw in them took my breath away. What a Quest! The extracts speak for themselves and I do not need to elaborate.1
29-6-1965
Sri Aurobindo Ashram, M. P. PANDIT Pondicherry.
I recall the circumstances in which Sri Kapali Sastriar first met Sri Aurobindo. It was in 1917 that he had been invited to deliver a lecture at Pondicherry and he took the occasion to seek an interview with Sri Aurobindo through a common friend Bharati, the poet. He had admired Sri Aurobindo as an effective political leader of the National Freedom Movement and later had been profoundly impressed by his writings in the Arya. And when he met Sri Aurobindo it was both a fulfillment of a longstanding wish as well as the commencement of a fresh pilgrimage. They talked of politics, religion and philosophy.
The next meeting was in 1923. It was a meeting that proved decisive both in his inner as well as outer life. For though he had met Sri Aurobindo six years earlier, he had not at that time sought to change his own line of spiritual seeking and take to Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga of the Super-mind. But a series of inner developments took place ever since he took leave of Sri Aurobindo, the most notable of which was the almost daily experience in sleep of being bodily lifted up, flown and brought down into a particular room which he later came to recognise when he met Sri Aurobindo again in 1923 in his new house. Secondly, as he told me once in intimate confidence, when things were very much near the culminating stage in the yoga he was practising, he realised that that was not the object of his inner-most soul in taking this birth. The choice of his being was to participate in the Divine Manifestation, not to withdraw from it.
Sastriar was not very communicative of what happened during this meeting except to say that he found Sri Aurobindo completely changed in his physical appearance; he had then a golden hue on his body which had become fair in complexion whereas it was brownish-dark when he had seen him last. He was amazed and mentioned it to Sri Aurobindo, who smiled. What was the talk about, what did he ask and what did Sri Aurobindo tell him? These were my questions. He answered always briefly and I did not press further. It was only recently that while going through his papers I found written on a page of an old, old note-book a few notes under the heading: His Instructions (personal to me) 1923 July.
These jottings, I find, fit in the general picture of the meeting he had given me. He had asked Sri Aurobindo in detail about this yoga for the Supermind, mentioned his own seeking for it. Sri Aurobindo explained things exhaustively and then told him:
"Only two can give you this Truth: myself or the Shakti.” Sastriar would always be moved whenever he recounted this gesture of trust and confidence by Sri Aurobindo. He would also describe, vividly, the parting at that time:
“Can I know that the help I would receive is Yours? ” he asked.
“Yes”, replied Sri Aurobindo and instantaneously there started a tremendous downpour of a Consciousness which never ceased thereafter.
Here are the notes:
*Faith in the Supramental Truth;
Faith in yourself, in your capacity to achieve ;
Faith in me (the Guru whose special help you would receive).*
The very first postulate is faith in the existence of that which you seek for. Unless you have the conviction that it is, a conviction that is not shaken by any movements of doubt or denial, you cannot walk long on the Path. You may set out on the assurance of someone else or on some impulse but the very first obstruction brings in doubt and weakens the will to proceed. There must be a deep faith not based on extraneous reasons. Faith that depends upon reasoning or proofs is no faith at all: it is a conclusion. Faith, Sri Aurobindo puts it, is the soul’s witness to something not yet glimpsed by the physical sense. It is based on the perception of the soul and grows as one proceeds. At first it may be located in one enlightened part, the heart or the pure reaches of the mind, but as one develops, it extends itself and becomes so to say the whole man. So, there must first be this faith, the faith that there is a Truth beyond the mind, a Divine Truth stationed in and as the World of Mahas above this triple world in Ignorance -the Truth Supramental; faith also that this Truth can be realised and made effective in yourself.
Faith in the existence of the Truth is not enough. You must have faith in yourself, in your readiness and capacity to reach to it and receive it in yourself. You must have confidence in your ability to brave all the countering elements and stick to the pursuit. You must also be sure that you have the strength of will and power in you to fulfil the demands of the Path and respond to the needs of the situation from moment to moment. A strong faith in your capacity is itself a sign that the strength is there, not fully expressed perhaps, but in potentiality waiting to be developed and brought out.
But the highest human capacity is not enough to realise the Divine Truth, especially the supramental formulation of it which is new for the human seeking on earth. It needs the help and guidance of one who has already established contact with it in himself. It is he, the guide, the Guru, who communicates to you something of his power, sakti, and leads you on the path through the link so established, that is more important than yourself in the sadhana. You must have faith in him, in the Guru. The faith is the channel through which you reach him without any special effort and his presence becomes active in you. No doubt the Guru is benevolent to all who come to him or look up to him. His Grace flows to all, helping them to fulfil their aspirations in whatever field. But for one whom he accepts as his disciple and allows to follow in his foot-steps, the Guru’s help is active in an individual way suited to his needs; it is a special concentration for a special end, unlike the general Grace which is open to all like the rays of the Sun.
This is the threefold faith which is indispensable at the outset. Equipped with this faith you enter the Path, take up the discipline, the sadhana, to realise the Truth in view. But no sadhana can be pursued effectively and with palpable results unless its immediate objectives are clearly defined, so that the effort may be channelled in those directions and progress measured in their terms.
*Peace, Power and Light are the threefold
aim of Sadhana.*
The first object of sadhana should be to rise above the normal conditions of restlessness in the being, movements of thought-activity and vital impulsions which hold you their prisoner, and to attain to a certain aloofness and calm. Calm is a condition in which the consciousness is at rest, free from disturbance, whatever be the movements on the surface. This calm can indeed be attained by the rigorous method of the traditional yoga of Patanjali —an incessant suppression of all thought-movements. But the method Sri Aurobindo gives is simpler and more natural. Here it is:
*There is a Silence behind every movement.
Be open to it. Instead of attempting to get
hold of the Silence, be open to it and let
it get hold of you.*
There is a background for everything. Every movement moves upon something. And that something is a Silence which upholds everything. It is not only a general background but it is there supporting and containing every individual movement. Conceive mentally, at first, of this Silence at the back of everything including your own mental activity. All the thoughts and mental movements come and go against a base that is ever stable. That is Silence. Suspend for a moment your thought-activity and you will become conscious of the presence of this Silence. This Silence is at the back of your head, your speech, your very being. Think of this Silence again and again and try to become aware of it. By a steady digging in of this idea in your consciousness, this fact will become a reality to you not merely for the mind but for the rest of the being also. Into this Silence you must learn to relax yourself. You cannot get it by force; what you may get by concentration does not usually last beyond the spell of that concentration. Instead of trying to get at it, simply relax, call and let yourself lie in the folds of the Silence. That will slowly come over you and claim you.
This is the first condition for an effective beginning in sadhana. There should be this calm. But know it that in its true nature it is not a mental calm which is perceived in between two thoughts or experienced when there is a suspension of thought-activity or a reduction of their momentum. It is a spiritual calm which is not dependent upon any outer circumstances and which grows into deeper and deeper intensities as one grows into the higher or deeper states of consciousness. The highest calm is totally different from the calm conceived by the mind.
*The Supramental Calm is different
from the mental calm.*
The Calm deepens into a Peace, a dynamic Peace, the Peace that bears all creative movement and makes it possible. All action proceeds from out of Peace because the Power that initiates and moves all activity is inherent in the Peace. This Peace is not an inert existence or state. It is dynamic; Power issues out of it and fulfils. You have to aspire for that Power, the Shakti, to take up and fulfil the Yoga in you when you have acquired the needed poise and stationed yourself in the Silence.
And when the Power begins to work on the bosom of this Silence, there is an ebullient joy, a delight of the Being which articulates itself through the psychic centre. Delight, Bliss is inalienable from the Divine Power. It is a mistake to think that sadhana is all struggle and strain. That may be so, in certain cases of tapasya. But in a sadhana in which you surrender yourself to the Guru and the Mahashakti that operates the Yoga of transcendence of Nature and its transformation, the movement proceeds on other lines. Struggle is only so long as you do not surrender fully but rely on your own effort. With progressive surrender there is also a progressive joy of self-giving, a movement of an Ananda which courses in the being without any apparent cause. It is different from the pleasure and happiness of the world which are caused by external factors. This is causeless, ahaituka.
As the sadhana proceeds, you will receive intimations of the progress registered, the distances covered and the heights you have scaled, in many forms, the most convincing of which is the revelation of Light. The Supramental Truth is bodied in Light; it is bharupa. It shines on its own plane, as a Sun, a Spiritual Sun of which our physical sun is a material symbol. From this Light emanate all lights, tameva bhantam anubhati sarvam; all forces of creation issue out of this Divine Savitr. And the radiations of this Truth are heralded by luminous flashes of Light.
The Supramental Truth descends in the form of Solar Light.
The Yoga of the Supramental necessarily implies the expansion of your consciousness beyond its physical confines. In the process of self-enlargement, in the spread of your being from plane to plane, it is possible, if not inevitable, that you come into contact with the forces and beings of other planes, for instance the subtle-physical, the vital and so on. And not all of them are favourable to your progress. They are not happy to see you pass beyond them. They try all methods to arrest your progress: they may allure by offers of powers or riches; should they fail to secure your acceptance, they may proceed to threaten you with dire consequences. But whatever they do, do not be afraid:
Keep to the Quiet and with the strong faith in you, you will surely get over the risks from the Astral in your progress towards the Supramental.
The Grace of the Guru, the protection of the Yoga-Shakti are there and they act unfailingly in the Quiet which should be a normal poise of your consciousness. The inner faith comes readily to the surface when you hold to this Quiet and are not lost in the passions of the moment. Not to fear is the first step. The next is:
Watch carefully the movements and forces and forms, meet them as forms or forces of the One Supreme Being above in the Supra-mental.
Not to be afraid is a negative step; the positive one is to face all whom you encounter as emanations from the One Divine whom you are seeking; and, indeed, it is so. For all forces, all forms are ultimately derived from the Divine; they are That essentially whatever may have been the deviation in the course of manifestation. Before a concentrated gaze which goes to the essential truth of their existence, these forces and forms are not able to stand for long.
The Yoga-Shakti does not work in one part of the being alone, say the heart, or the mind only. It may start that way but as soon as it comes into its own and the adhara is sufficiently open to its placings, the whole of the being is taken up and the work proceeds simultaneously on all fronts. Now more stress here, now less there, but all the while the pressure is constant. In this Yoga the sadhana does not proceed from centre to centre as in the Yoga of the Tantra, but all over at the same time. Different parts take the lead at different stages under the pressure of the Yoga Force.
The Supramental works through the body, the Prana, the Psyche, the mind, as the necessity of your system may require. Keep the gains separately. This is the key. This is the key to this Yoga.
Thus the mind, the prana, the psychic part, the very body are the fields for the operation of the Sadhana Shakti. Whichever is more ready is taken up as a starting point. But as the sadhana proceeds, all the parts share in the progress, each one develops. But this is not a haphazard’ movement. You are expected to follow the developments in each part, organise the gains in each for its further growth and of course relate it to others. Care should be taken to see that what obtains on one level of the being, in one part, is not mixed up with things on another. Thus for instance, dreams: a dream on the vital plane has a different meaning from a dream on the mental. A psychic dream has an altogether different significance and value. Again, each part of the being receives and formulates the Higher Consciousness in its own characteristic way. The Divine Consciousness expresses itself as Knowledge in the mind, as Love in the Psychic, as Power in the vital, as Beauty, Rhythm in the physical. Each part is to be built up into a perfect mould of the particular formulation of the manifesting Divine. In the analogy of the Four Bowls fashioned out of one bowl by the Tvashtri of the Veda, you have to endeavour to perfect each main part of your being into a separate personality, a body as it were, the mental, the psychic, the vital, the physical — all fusing together to form one Harmony of the perfected being natural to you.
Natural to you; because each one has his special type of perfection to build and manifest. The stress in each nature is different and the perfection of each nature is correspondingly different. This is a fact which should not be lost sight of.
You must grow conscious of your part, your special stream of consciousness.
Perfection brings in the question of the transformation of the physical being which is the crux of this yoga.
The perfection of the Yoga lies in transforming the physique in terms of the Supramental. Anything short of it may be useful in other lives.
The physical body, the base of Matter, is to be transformed. The body is as important in this Yoga as the mind or the soul. A spiritualisation or even a supramentalisation of the mind, the heart, the life-force is not enough to effect transformation of the human into a divine being. The physical body, the solid foundation of matter, representing as it does the utter concentration of Inconscience, is subjected to the work of the Yoga-force which has to break into this fortress of nescience and flood its corridors of subconscience, inertia, disease and death with the Light and Power of the Supramental in their undeflected and unmodified charge. This is the final step; but until that step is completed, all others remain incomplete. If it cannot be done in this life, it has to be attempted again in the next. You have to proceed further from where you leave or are obliged to leave and for that, what is achieved now can be the starting base.
II
Also found in the same note-book are the following Notes under the caption: Her Instructions (personal to me) on different occasions.
They refer, obviously, to the instructions received from the Mother from time to time. It will be recalled that ever since 1926 — the year when Sri Aurobindo went into retirement – The Mother has been in active charge of Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga and of those who are dedicated to it.
WHO IS THE MOTHER? This was Sastriar’s question in answer to which Sri Aurobindo sent him ’ The Four Powers of the Mother’ which was then still in a manuscript stage.2
Let us now turn to the Instructions:
(1)
When we accept, we put something concrete, call it an emanation, if you like. That guides and does the Sadhana.
Here is the essence of the relation between the Guru and the disciple. This is not a relation of the type that obtains between a teacher and his student, between a superior and a subordinate, but something sui generis. Even when the Rishi of the Veda speaks of the disciple as being reborn in the womb of the Acharya as a son, much still remains to be told. For in truth, the Guru is much more to the disciple than a father is to the son. As the Tantras put it, the father gives physical birth into the world of Ignorance; but the Guru gives a spiritual birth of deliverance in the realm of Light.
Once the Guru accepts someone as his disciple, he puts something of himself in him. This is not a mere metaphor or a way of saying that he extends his influence over him. It is a concrete relation that is established. A part of him, a special formulation of his consciousness and being, an emanation, goes forth and stations itself in the being of the disciple. Thenceforth, it is this projection of the Guru that leads and guides the disciple even without the necessity of physical attention and verbal guidance of the Guru. In fact it is this power of the presence of the Guru that does the sadhana. The disciple has only to allow it to function. He has to ’keep the temple clean’, make himself pliant to its workings and offer to it a constant support of faith, devotion and loyalty. He owes it to the Guru not to allow any movement in himself that might touch the Guru adversely.
For this relation has its bearings not only on the disciple but on the Guru also. In accepting the disciple as his own and taking up the burden of his seeking, the Guru takes upon himself the Karma of the disciple. Every movement in the life of the disciple has its own repercussions in the Consciousness of the Guru4
The Guru is always present in the disciple. His emanation, once it is lodged there, continues whatever the failings of the disciple in human eyes. As long as he has a fundamental faith in the Guru — whatever may be the temporary aberrations or deviations due to weaknesses of nature ---the sannidhya of the Guru is there unaffected. It is only if one turns traitor or loses faith and willfully walks away from the Guru, that this emanation withdraws and the relation ceases.5
(2)
The thought-movement covers; when the aspiration grows, the covering will go. The Heart opens.
Sadhana in this yoga does not proceed through mental deliberation, vicara. It is a Shakti whose origin is beyond the highest summits of the human mind, the Yoga sakti that is released into operation in the adhara by the will of the Guru, that works on the consciousness, prepares it, purifies it, enlarges it and effects the change gradually from the human state to a state that is increasingly divine. Man is a mental being and it is natural that he tries to follow these movements in the sadhana in a mental way. He applies his reasonings and interprets the workings of the Shakti in line with the samskaras of his mind. He anticipates developments in the way of his limited mind and when the actual workings do not fit into his conceptual mould, he is bewildered; or his thought-activity interferes with the natural movement of the Yogasakti and forms a sort of covering over it. This has to go. One has to recognise the limitations of the mind, perceive the interference of its habitual thought-activity and silence it. It is to be confined to its rightful role of discrimination and stopped from poaching into a field which is beyond its legitimate scope. This is done by the exercise of will, by aspiration for a higher light and deeper consciousness to replace the mental. As the aspiration grows, as the intensity of the seeking gains strength, the activity of the thought-mind thins. Instead of the mind, it is the Heart that comes into action. The Heart is the centre in the depths of which is situated the psychic being, the inner soul of man and when this centre is opened, the psychic influence begins to operate, the mental coverings dissolve and the sadhana gathers a new momentum.
(3)
The light must enter into all the corners.
The aim of this Yoga is to lift up the being of man out of its normal formula of body-life-mind in Ignorance and transform it into a divine being in terms of Knowledge, Power and Ananda. This involves a radical and thorough transmutation of every part from the highest to the lowest layers of the being. A general illumination in the mind, a certain universalisation of consciousness in the heart, a purification of the life-energies, are not enough. Every corner and level of each part of the being must be brought into the focus and treated to the charge of the Light and the Force of the Divine Consciousness active for the purpose. Many are the strategems of the falsehood and the ego in human nature to hold on to their fiefs. An uncompromising earnestness and sincerity alone can discover these veiling movements and expose every corner to the transforming Light.
(4)
You will receive help from me.
The Mother’s Help is comprehensive.
It makes no distinction between the spiritual and the mundane, the higher and the lower, but goes forth to meet and remedy the situation whatever it is. To Her all life is a manifestation of the Divine and every sphere of it is entitled to divine attention. Her sole criterion is what is good for the soul, good for the development of the person in evolution and not what he fancies to be his good or need. Her assurance of Help means a release from Her Consciousness of a Force missioned for the purpose and it is ever present with the person, ever awake and ever active even without his conscious awareness. The Mother’s Help does not simply meet the situations as they arise, solve the difficulties as they come up, but it is a conscious Agent which foresees, forestalls and fore-arranges the sequence of events.
1927
Forty-second year (i.e. ketudasa and vimsottari) is the year predicted for a great change in life: either life comes to an end or something tantamount to that or janmabhutyaga etc. i.e. sannyasa must occur. “மௌந தீக்ஷைப் பெறுவார்” was the prediction read in the Nadi by the Choolai man.6
25-1-1928
Blank in meditation; something else moving for a while, not continuously.
27-1-1928
Meditated on the beach7
28-1-1928
“Bande Mataram.”8
29-1-1928
“ Bande Mataram."
Night meditation – ‘watchful’-got glimpses.
1-2-1928
Meditated at Palm Grove.9
5-2-1928
Good dream: psychic. I was casting off the coverings; Mother was aside above to take me up.
Part of the night was a waking sleep.
6-2-1928
Meditation was short; the attitude was good. The vast, He above, myself at His feet.
7-2-1928
Went to Palm Grove. No meditation.
“Half to one hour of concentration is necessary,” that is the word of the Mother to S.D.
8-2-1928
Short meditation — good in a way.
11-2-1928
One hour meditation at Maharshi’s feet with A.
15-2-1928
Meditation obstructed.
16-2-1928
Strong feeling of the Mother’s influence.
18-2-1928
Morning at Pondy. Sent fruit basket through Am.
Mother was not going to see any of us till the 21st. Absolute calm and receptivity was enjoined on us.
19-2-1928
Darshan of the Mother at the Library.
20-2-1928
Good experience at the feet of the Mother at the Library. Later, tendency to tears.
21-2.1928
The Mother’s Day.
Between 10 and 11 a.m.:-Pranam to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Tears before and after.
23-2-1928
Calm, waiting for Heart’s intuition. Glimpse of the Heart’s poise.
26-2-1928 Read Karmayogin.10
1-3-1928
Night and next morning: ‘Calm and Delight’ — glimpses.
5-3-1928
Evening at Palm Grove. Meditated with S.D.
6-3-1928
Short meditation (night) at Palm Grove. Inspiring.
24-3-1928
Morning: Pondy. The Mother did not go through the routine work; not coming out.
25-3-1928
The Mother did not come out. “Kapali is come?", the Mother is reported to have remarked, “how unlucky he is! . . .let him wait."
26-3-1928
Am. says the Mother is sure to come out tomorrow.
27-3-1928
“It is good he stays till the end of the week”, the Mother said to Am. referring to me.
Met the Mother in the Library. She resumed the routine.
28-3-1928 Met the Mother in the Library.
The Mother remembers me and said to Am. that She was sure to see me before I left.
29-3-1928
Mother would see me Saturday morning.
30-3-1928
The Mother saw me. I meditated for 10 to 15 minutes.
31-3-1928
10 p.m. The Mother gave me 10 minutes at soup-time, She gave soup. Spoke to her, expressed desire to have a word.
“Sincere faith and constant aspiration, gets the answer was the Mother’s utterance.
Received Her blessings.
1-4-1928
Night: mild sleep. Visionary horses.
11-5-1928
The Mother called for soup.
14-5-1928
Break in Dhyana routine.
19-5-1928
The Mother stopped night meditation (general).
20-5-1928
The Mother does not come out.
21-5-1928
22-5-1928
23-5-1928
26-5-1928
The Mother is expected tomorrow.
Night: good, sensitive sleep.
Anandabrahman.11
27-5-1928
The Mother came out. Began common meditation. Did not come to the Library.
28-5-1928
Tagore visited Sri Aurobindo.
The Mother said to people there that there would be soup tomorrow night.
Noon: wept for Divine Love.
29-5-1928
The Mother began this night night-soup; ten minutes meditation before soup.
3-6-1928
The Mother came late at 9 o’clock as the car stopped at a distance of 7 miles.
4-6-1928
Living in a dreamy land as it were; perceiving the Truth in a direct and closer way.
Offered Jasmine to the Mother.
5-6-1928
Recd. The Prayers.12
Night: kept awake till 2 o’clock.
6-6-1928
Soup time (night): Mother seemed alive to my prayer.
8-6-1928
Throughout, prayer.
10-6-1928
Mother would see me on Wednesday.
Glimpses of Love’s manifestation in the face, in the chest.
Night dream: The Mother appeared. Saw Sri Aurobindo serene.
11-6-1928
Kept awake (night) till after 2 o’clock.
Some natural wideness and silence on the beach.
13-6-1928
The Mother was very smiling; gave her feet; meditated. All took nearly 30 minutes. Quite delightful, inspiring.
15-6-1928
Received before soup from the Mother’s hands, Book and Photos with signature. Mother serious at soup time. Good experience.
16-6-1928
Morning: Tiruvannamalai.
All with Sri Nayana13
Evening to Maharshi.
17-6-1928
Mani’s central question to Maharshi:\
சாகா நிலையென்ன ?14
Maharashi’s answer in 3 sentences unforgettable.
20-6-1928
Scorpion sting miraculous escape at Maharshi’s ashram.
26-6-1928
Some dull painfulness in the vital.
Meditation: body became a shadow. Experience wonderful. Night unusual.
2-7-1928
Effort at equilibrium in the vital.
9-7-1928
Evening meditation stopped for the day.
Night: meditated with P. for a while.
12-7-1928
Met S.D. who returned in the morning. Night: stayed at Palm Grove.
(Once the sadhak is accepted, Sri Aurobindo is in him and he is in Sri Aurobindo.
The Divine is rushing on all sides to get into every one of us.)
13-7-1928
Dull in meditation due to indisposition.
16-7-1928
Sleep: half-awakening with the inner eye opened flying with body in the air.
17-7-1928
Again like the previous night.
22-7-1928
Action of Divine Shakti.15
Meditation fine. In sleep had seen The Mother with her sight partly withdrawn.
23-7-1928
Meditation: laboured.
24-7-1928
Meditation: fairly good.
25-7-1928
Meditation: pleasant, powerful, good and satisfactory.
29-7-1928
Meditation: short but good.
Scorpion in the room.
30-7-1928
11-8-1928
Reached Pondy. Went to soup.
14-8-1928
Self and P. saw Mother in the Stores room.
Nayana and A. came to Pondy with S.D.
Night: N. was cogitating.
15-8-1928
The Great day. Self, P. and A. had Darshan.
16-8-1928
Nayana’s meeting with the Mother.
19-8-1928
Letter from A. at Pondy about himself and Nayana with the Mother.
N’s meeting the Mother.
21-8-1928
Letter from A. about Nayana’s interview with the Mother on Sunday, 19th.
3-9-1928
Sri Nayana returned from Pondy.
9-9-1928
S.D. returned from Pondy.
Encouraging news from Mother about Nayana.
24-9-1928
Meditation: very good. Descent of the Power and Peace; bathed in it.
25-9-1928
Meditation: good.
26-9-1928
29-9-1928
Meditative attitude in sleep.
1-10-1928
Night till 1 o’clock, meditation good; something vast above and around.
2-10-1928
With S.D. Talk. “The highest Supramental next to the lowest physical.”
3-10-1928
Morning: joy. Meditation: good.
4-10-1928
Meditation: good. Joy continues.
5-10-1928
7-10-1928
8-10-1928
Very short meditation.
9-10-1928
Meditation: fair, but vital disturbance persists.
10-10-1928
11-10-1928
14-10-1928
16-10-1928
Morning at Pondy.
Night at soup: wonderful colours and forms and scenes.
No tendency to sit quiet.
17-10-1928
Night soup: The Mother was half-smiling and kept the floral garland on her lap; very much pleased.
18-10-1928
Morning Pranam.
Mother gave: SINCERITY, RADHA’s Love (with) PEACE IN THE PHYSICAL MIND.16
20-10-1928
RADHA’S CONSCIOUSNESS.
27 21-10-1928
PSYCHIC DEVOTION, DIVINE MIND.
Morning Pranam: Forehead and head received Power from the Toe of the Mother. Good pressure in the head.
Evening soup: felt much devoted to the Mother.
-10-1928
LINK IN THE PLANES.
23-10-1928
RADHA’S LOVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFECTION, PEACEFUL AND PURE MIND, TRANSFORMATION.
22-10-1928
TAPASYA, RADHA’S LOVE, RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS, PSYCHIC DEVOTION, SUCCESSFUL FUTURITY.
26-10-1928
Morning: gathering flowers for the Mother.
Evening: The Mother came to A.’s house.
27-10-1928
INTUITIVE MIND, SUCCESSFUL FUTURITY.
Significant. Had interview — 1/2 hour.
Meditated for 20 minutes; 10 minutes talk.
Quite good and emotional at soup time.
28-10-1928
Movement of Call into the deep. Unusually peaceful and happy.
1-11-1928
Meditation making way for the Universal Shakti trying to take me up from below.
6-11-1928
Meditation satisfactorily getting on.
7-11-1928
No night meditation.
23-11-1928
Morning: Pondy. The Mother questioned A. about me, my stay and employment.
24-11-1928
The great event. Had Darshan.
25-11-1928
RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS, ASPIRATION.
Saw the Mother near the car.
26-11-1928
RADHA’s CONSCIOUSNESS, TRANSFORMATION.
27-11-1928
DIVINE SOLICITUDE, TRANSFORMATION, SURRENDER, RADHA’s INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS, SINCERITY, CHEERFULNESS.
Pranam.
28-11-1928
Morning: prayer, calm, hopeful of the Mother.
Evening: S.D. at Palm Grove. (Every one must know that the Mother is near and close to everybody.)
29-11-1928
Maintaining equanimity.
3-12-1928
Night: good experience.
4-12-1928
S.D. spoke about the Mother’s referring to me." There is something in him ", She said.
6-12-1928
Talked to A.M. about retirement. Told T.V.M. about the same.
24-12-1928
Morning: Pondy.
ASPIRATION FOR RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
25-12-1928
PSYCHIC DEVOTION, INTEGRAL TRANSFORMATION, RADHA’s INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN RADHA’S VITAL, SUCCESSFUL FUTURITY.
27-12-1928
The great opening to the most external material nature between 4-30 and 6 a.m. and the srutidarsana (like that of the Vedic sages).
INTEGRAL OPENING (special to me for the first time); ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION.
28-12-1928
The Mother came to A.’s room, meditated with us four (S.D., K.S.V., A.R.P., T.V.K.).
Night at Soup: our eyes opened — joy — the Mother was looking at us. (Myself 8 centuries back an astrologer?)
29-12-1928
A.R.P. saw the Mother in the Library; stood mute for 7-8 minutes.
30-12-1928
ASPIRATION FOR INTEGRAL OPENING.
S.D. learnt from the Mother that A.R.P. was very emotive.
31-12-1928
RADHA’S INTEGRAL C. THROUGH RADHA’S VITAL.
Night: a little before 12, below the Meditation Hall.
Thus the last quarter of the last hour of the last day of the year, had me at the stair-case leading to the Mother’s feet.
1-1-1929
With the Mother, at Her feet:
In the first minutes of the first hour of the first day of the year I was the third to offer fruit and garland. Received chocolate from the Mother.
Morning flower offering. Got RED LOTUS (SRI AUROBINDO).
3-1-1929
ASPIRATION FOR INTEGRAL OPENING, ASPIRATION FOR RADHA’s INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS, DESCENT OF THE SUPRAMENTAL TO THE MATERIAL (special flower to me).
4-1-1929
Throughout night, with the Mother in dream. She comes to some newly built house of mine, spends the night. P. helpful; my bed is given to Her. She reposes. Throughout, joy mingled with reverential awe.
5-1-1929
INTEGRAL OPENING; ASPIRATION FOR INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF RADHA.
The Mother interviewed; meditated; then she said: “ Sri Aurobindo says you may prepare to come.” Then she said, “ Yes, you may come for February and March also. You have said you would come. You may do so. You are coming here in May. Isn’t it?"
Night: very nice repose; throughout attitude good. Mental activity unnecessary for life. From the bottom to the neck warmth and good feeling.
6-1-1929
ASPIRATION FOR THE INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF RADHA.
Offered parting Pranam in the verandah near the stair-case and a rose. The Mother was full of smiles and nodded blessing on my taking leave of her for the present.
12-1-1929
Morning: good meditation in bed.
13-1-1929
Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo in a vivid dream — I was alone in the house — a sort of interested observer each enquiries from me of the other.
14-1-1929
Evening meditation good.
25-1-1929
The Mother, S.D. said, was not coming down since last Sunday.
21-2-1929
Sri Aurobindo received the token from me. The Mother stretches her fingers to receive it.
22-2-1929
The Mother saw A.R.P. at soup time.
23-2-1929
TRANSFORMATION; DEVOTION; Rose.
15-3-1929
Sri Nayana leaves for Gokarn and self for Pondy.
Sri Nayana blessed me saying ’ siddhayah parirambhayantu’.
16-3-1929
ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION: PATIENCE.
17-3-1929
ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION; READINESS OF THE PHYSICAL TO RECEIVE THE DIVINE.
18-3-1929
ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION; PATIENCE IN THE Psychic; OFFERING; PURE MIND; HIGHER VITAL ENTHUSIASM.
Just a glance at Sevenfold Ignorance (Chapter in Arya Vol. III) took me back to the older days of inspiration.
Mother delayed to receive cup and flower from me at Soup time: I had a half-lit wideness over and about me; there was an attempt on my part to give myself up to her.
19-3-1929
BEGINNING OF REALISATION, ASPIRATION, TRANSFORMATION PATIENCE.
Mother kept the Tulsi in her hand till I received the soup. This day also there was something good about me.
I felt myself a vessel and in the whole movement with so many vessels was simply afloat in the wide and all encompassing Mother backed by the Supreme. Others also were vessels like me.
20-3-1929
Domestic sanskaras in the morning tried a bit very subtly.
The spirit of calm and yesterday’s attitude give me watch-fulness.
21-3-1929
PHYSICAL CONSCIOUSNESS TURNED TO THE DIVINE; RADHA IN THE PHYSCIAL PERFECTION; ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION.
22-3-1929
Saw the Mother at 9 a.m., meditated in her room for 15 minutes. 4-45 p.m. Mother sends word enquiring if I was conscious of what happened during the morning meditation. She found ideas around about luxury as hindrance to yoga and also a strong mental will wanting to solve the doubt.
(A certain apathy for luxury formed part of my general attitude but I was not quite conscious of these ideas during meditation. But now I give myself up to the Mother. May she do what she is pleased to with me.)
23-3-1929
Leaving Pondy. ASPIRATION FOR TRANSFORMATION; Psychic PURITY.
25-3-1929
P. became ill. Ten minutes of meditation together gave wonderful relief-movement to her. Later, self unwell in the night.
7-4-1929
First Conversations Day.17
8-4-1929
Meditation: good control and surge of pure movement of Calm.
14-4-1929
Second Conversations Day.
21-4-1929
Third Conversations Day.
28-4-1929
Fourth Conversations Day.
29-4-1929
Morning at Maharshi’s feet; stayed day and night.
30-4-1929
At Maharshi’s.
1-5-1929
Morning: Pondy. Pondy — life begins. All the luggage, (parcel) trunk etc. had arrived.
2-5-1929
SURRENDER; Psychic DEVOTION; SERVICE.
Morning coffee stopped.
3-5-1929
Mother said, ’Good, ’ when I offered to do the quiet ’ work of supervising the lime-mortar preparation which allows’ meditation.
4-5-1929
First day of work in the evenings. The Mother saw.
Mother gave me the work of preparing the daily wages of workmen, muster roll call etc. and gave the quiet work to Doctor Babu.
ASPIRE FOR DETACHMENT AND THROUGH TAPASYA FOR RADHA’s INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
5-5-1929
Fifth Conversations Day.
ASPIRE PATIENTLY FOR INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF RADHA THROUGH RADHA IN THE VITAL. HAVE PATIENCE.
6-5-1929
ASPIRE FOR TRANSFORMATION OF THE PHYSICAL CENTRE THROUGH SERVICE AND THROUGH PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFECTION, WITH PATIENCE.
7-5-1929
SERVICE.
French commenced Self-Instructor two sentences nominal beginning.
9-5-1929
TAPASYA; PATIENCE; FIDELITY.
11-5-1929
FIDELITY; PATIENCE.
Mother gave me a black-lead pencil.
12-5-1929
Sixth Conversations Day.
PURE MIND.
13-5-1929
PATIENCE; PSYCHIC PURITY; REFINED SENSATION; PURE MIND.
14-5-1929
PSYCHIC PURITY.
15-5-1929
We had a lottery and gave 3 prizes to three of the workmen; the rest got plantain fruits from the Mother’s hands.
16-5-1929
FIDELITY.
18-5-1929
INTEGRAL PRAYER; PURE MIND THROUGH DETACHMENT.
19-5-1929
Seventh Conversations Day.
DESCENT OF THE INTEGRAL LIGHT TO THE PHYSICAL; PSYCHIC DEVOTION; PERFECTED MIND.
20-5-1929
REALISATION.
21-5-1929
PERFECT PURE MIND; INTUITIVE LIGHT IN THE PHYSICAL.
23-5-1929
SILENCE; REALISATION.
25-5-1929
CONVERSION OF THE VITAL.
The effect was seen in sleep at night especially the next morning.
26-5-1929
Eighth Conversations Day.
MENTAL PLASTICITY.
Morning: a strong sense of myself feeling different from the body.
27-5-1929
PERFECTED PURE MIND.
28-5-1929
SERVICE IN INTEGRAL TAPASYA.
29-5-1929
Night: after soup, snuff given up.
30-5-1929
REALISATION
Very good experiences at Pranam time.
31-5-1929
Wrote resignation letter and posted.
The Mother gave me two shirt-buttons.
Got Conversations (I-VII) typed.
Night: wakeful sleep; throughout extraordinary psycho-vital experience.
1-6-1929
DEVOTION; RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
Mother consented yesterday to take the Banana juice from me. Today was the first day. (Fig bark used). Night. Bamboo leaf and cinnamon bark, experiment successful.
Night: wakeful sleep.
2-6-1929
Ninth Conversations Day.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFECTION; TRUTHFULNESS.
Today’s banana juice (Bamboo leaf and cinnamon) was sent up. “Too rich a food, I shall give it to Sri Aurobindo" seems to be the Mother’s remark to Am.
Night: wakeful sleep. Very pleasant; also good vision of self.
3-6-1929
SURRENDER.
Banana juice sent today also.
4-6-1929
PSYCHIC PURITY IN PHYSICAL CENTRE.
Banana juice sent up today.
Today Banana juice stopped. The Mother told Am., “We don’t want to take such a rich food. It is too rich a food, not that we don’t like it."
5-6-1929
HEALTH; WEALTH; PSYCHIC VISION.
8-6-1929
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFECTION.
9-6-1929
Tenth Conversations Day.
ILLUMINED MIND; PERFECTED PURE MIND.
With S.D. (Allow the central Being the point of contact with the Divine -to dominate other parts of the being, so that they can receive the light and be transformed.)
10-6-1929
SERVICE IN PHYSICAL CENTRE.
11-6-1929
Many hostile waves to drag me out.
13-6-1929
TAPASYA; SERVICE.
14-6-1929
There was some strong sense of a liberated being or rather myself a silent being with an over-being which was universal watching and guiding me to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
15-6-1929
ILLUMINED MIND WITH INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF RADHA.
16-6-1929
Eleventh Conversations Day.
SUPRAMENTAL LIGHT IN THE PHYSICAL; LINK WITH PLANES.
Offered jasmine garland; The Mother accepted.
17-6-1929
RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN INTUITIVE LIGHT IN THE PHYSICAL.
18-6-1929
RADHA’S INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN INTUITIVE LIGHT.
S.D. narrated the Mother’s interpretation of fidelity.
19-6-1929
The Mother accepted my jasmine garland.
20-6-1929
PROSPERITY.
22-6-1929
INTEGRAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF RADHA IN INTUITIVE MIND.
Got the X Conversation typed copy.
23-6-1929
Twelfth Conversations Day.
Got the IV Conversation typed copy.
Got the Mother’s permission to go to Madras.
The Mother accepted my jasmine garland at soup time.
24-6-1929
TAPASYA; CALM AND PURE MIND.
25-6-1929
26-6-1929
Night: leaving Pondy.
Evening 7: Mother saw me in the Library. Gave me French ARYA. Meditated, talked, blessed; asked me when I was to return. Myself spoke to Her about attachment to Nayana and all that.
Meditation at Mother’s feet with her fingers on the back of my head and her happy smiles and questionings and was assured success and protection.
15-8-1929
Sri Aurobindo’s Day.
At His and Her feet — calm and collected.
Had a copy of XIII Conversation.
3-9-1929
9 to 12 (a.m.) sleep in meditation and prayer. (Birthday)
19-10-1929
Had fine talks, interesting and useful, with Maharshi.
24-11-1929
The Great Day. Wonderful phalasruti — Gita IX.31.
ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvat santim nigacchati kaunteya prati-janihi na me bhaktah pranasyati.
1-1-1930
With A.R.D.
Within man is the soul of the whole, The Wise Silence, the Universal Beauty to which every part and particle is equally related, the Eternal One18
1 2-2-1930
Resolve to be ’suspended in the air’, without support.
3-2-1930
Morning getting up with the thought in the central being (heart) without mental support.
21-2-1930
22-2-1930
Pranam in the room: I felt receptive in the middle of the eye-brow and at the back of the head.
INTEGRAL RADHA THROUGH RADHA IN THE VITAL.
May my every movement (from within) be guided by (...therefore one with) the Universal Divine Power”, was the prayer and attitude with an inkling into and craving for that experience. When the flower was given to me, I found that the movement (of Power shall be from Delight to Delight.
10-3-1930
Morning: at Maharshi’s feet.
21-3-1930
Na hi sarvah sarvam janati.
13-4-1930
Part of and one with the triple cosmic movement of nature; the part trying to identify with other parts, souls, instruments. .
Opening, remaining passive to the Influence of the Universal.
Self falling back on the Silence behind every movement.
The Mother’s feet press from above.
The being is exposed on all sides.
Trust to the action of the Divine Shakti in and from the Supreme Silence.
21-4-1930
For more than a week the attitude has been encouraging in spite of want of seclusion, necessary to intensify experience. The body becomes an empty tool around and into which light and life begin to pour.
24-4-1930
Night: heavy pressure and struggle continued till next midnight.
25-4-1930
Throughout the day: pressure and struggle; tension, head-pressure — throughout the body pressed and oppressed.
26-4-1930
Meditation attitude strong throughout, despite disturbances of the forces undercurrent.
1-5-1930
Meditation throughout good; inspired by the ‘Conversations with the Mother’.
4-5-1930
Morning: flashes regarding Time movement.
7-5-1930 Night throughout savasana; good.
8-5-1930
Night: savasana.
The one Shakti at work -within and without.
9-5-1930
Separation thins.
The whole being catches the flame for a while.
Form and sound sensed, bring into relief the background — overpowering infinitude of Space and Silence.
Ego is felt to be imposing on the working of the Divine Shakti.
10-5-1930
Sensation below the navel is offered for transformation into the aspiring flame.
11-5-1930
“Love with a sensation in the heart — to every being, form as a cloak over the Self-Divine” — this is the bent of the being after the morning’s meditation.
12-5-1930
A little dullness — perhaps time required for assimilation.
14-5-1930
16-5-1930
Evening meditation curious.
17-5-1930
Night meditation was good, though short.
20-5-1930
Pressure on the neck — right side downwards.
21-5-1930
Pain in the neck -right side, till 4 p.m. Then some great force of Prana felt from the neck (throat) below.
22-5-1930
Meditation good: evening.
Some strong good smell in the nostrils for some time.
23-5-1930
The ’smell’ continues quite often. It resembles Oodabatti.19
24-5-1930
The smell continues quite often.
25-5-1930
The smell continues.
26-5-1930
The smell continues wonderfully.
Entrance of power into the vital.
27-5-1930
The smell noted at 9-50 a.m. continued throughout. Evening meditation: strain and struggle, improvement on the previous day, by getting five clues for separation and detachment. Extending around, above, a little behind in the movement, in the living symbolic expression of the Subliminal; viewing the being that lives and moves from moment to moment as a result of Nature’s work (svabhavastu pravartate); offering the whole to the Divine; calling upon the Mother to get in and take charge; with a remembrance of Witness Silence backing the movement.
28-5-1930
A.R.D. came at night. He says he feels the smell. Tested many times. The flowing smell is not merely from within and subjective; it is sensible externally. Only today I was convinced that the smell was not sensed by breathing in and out and it came from within. In the very talk it came out and was felt.
At night it was much felt in the throat.
The whole thing — grand, wonderful.
29-5-1930
The usual Smell — noted at 7-50 a.m. — so pleasant, sweet, is an easy device for dull hours to be enjoyed. Continued till sleep.
Afternoon: so much of intoxication! It is sensed by others.20
30-5-1930
Smell noted on getting up.
Day-time till sunset, great hilarity, bodily pleasure; sound in the ear, smell gushing forth from the throat.
31-5-1930
The usual smell noted at 6-50 a.m.
Smell, at intervals only, not quite as frequent as on previous days; but just when the breath is retained in meditation and the sound rises to higher pitch, it is ready to come out.
1-6-1930
10 a.m. smell noted. Not as frequent as on previous days. It was very pronounced and frequent in the evening meditation.
2-6-1930
Day: smell less frequent than on previous days. Studies nil excepting ARYA.
Evening meditation: smell rather frequent but feeble.
3-6-1930
Some change in the kind of smell.
Night meditation: watched the smell. It was almost constant but not so strong and sweet.
4-6-1930
Different kind of smell. Not so strong or sweet; yet frequent.
5-6-1930
Smell almost constant; very feeble; different kind. There is some strain and struggle for meditation.
Kept quiet for hours. Still joy was wanting.
Night last quarter: a curious dream:
K’s house, I take in my right hand a vessel of butter with haridra with her knowledge and consent. She suggests and I take the white calf of the milch-cow that is off for grazing. On my way the calf sheds tears for separation from her mother. I realise the folly but say, ’You can see your mother’.
’How? Must I go or will she come?’ she speaks in despair. I am wakeful, the dream is vivid.
The calf does not think of going away from me despite her desire to be with her mother.
A dream symbolic of the current stage in the sadhana. Is the smell the butter?
The white calf is the inner soul.
The milch-cow black with streaks of brown light-yellow — is the Mother Infinite – Aditi -whose ’prasad’ – the butter — is the psychic essence yielded at the instance of the calf-child, the inner being.
The butter is not kept pure; the turmeric powder is the ego’s trick to conceal the pure nature of the butter. 6-6-1930
From morning — the smell quite frequent, yet not so sweet.
There is natural unstrained meditation since waking. Read Sri Aurobindo’s ’Isha’. It had an ennobling effect on the inner and outer being. (10.30-1.30)
7-6-1930
Morning: clear; the smell is there almost continuous through-out.
Evening: P. says it is sweet, something like the smell of the squeezed leaves of the turmeric plant — scent grass’.
8-6-1930
Morning good. The smell is almost constant. The inner being pressing forward in the face, head, forehead giving a strong sense of detachment.
Some Riks of Dirghatamas, Shakespeare, VIII Conversation — Psychic and the Divine Consciousness.
Fruit and flower smell ’says P.
9-6-1930
Morning good. The smell fine flow; throughout natural.
Gita II & III.
R.V. Agastya and Lopa.
Evening Meditation: The Mother on the top of the forehead overlooking the triple movement. Prayer for Silence and strength.
10-6-1930
Smell is now natural — even in sleep. Presents different sorts — fruit, flower, scented stick.
Gita IV. V. VI.
11-6-1930
Smell good, flowing ,constant, natural.
17-6-1930
Throughout these days, the smell has continued.
பசுமஞ்சள் இலை மணம்21
18-6-1930
20-6-1930
The smell changes at times into another kind.
21-6-1930
Smell
22-6-1930
Smell -quiet, external.
23-6-1930
Smell decisively changes to its original odour.
Read G.B.S. JOAN.
24-6-1930
Smell good, constant; quiet, external.
27-6-1930
Smell — dhupa (incense).
28-6-1930
Smell resembles dhupa.
29-6-1930
Smell.
30-6-1930
A.R.P. came noon. Left here letters to Barin.22
5-7-1930
For the last 2 days, sensation in the stomach; usual sign of disturbance.
For the last three days, the motive power of meditation:
’I live for the Divine.’ There is a strong wish to realise the how and why of these movements.
Smell is constant and natural (almost). Yet, the meaning is not revealed. It is in its intensity dhupa scent; initially fresh turmeric leaf, as P. once said.
6-7-1930
Slightly ill. A.M. came.
I live for the Divine.’ This is the central truth of Yoga, I said.
8-7-1930
Evening 5-45: getting clear of the clouds.
9-7-1930
Post Card that D. is coming here next week.
10-7-1930
Evening meditation: only for an hour.
The smell is a normal feature.
11-7-1930
There is a distinct change in the kind of smell since this morning to me, *DOST of y LDCOOT L).
P. says it is supremely sweet and different from the usual smell.
12-7-1930
The smell is so normal and very sweet.
Notre-dame finis.
13-7-1930
Found THE PRAYER (24-3-1930).
It gave inspiration. As I was reading slowly absorbing its spirit, the Presence was felt descending for a while.
Inner repetition of the Prayer many times.
The day marks the beginning of a new phase in the sadhana.
14-7-1930
Morning meditation. Inner repetition of the prayer. The bodily consciousness and feeling was peculiarly different. I think it is a descent of the calm more psychic than mental that made the body felt queerly.
The prayer gives the attitude: all that is necessary. I discover in it a synthesis of all the thoughtful moods and ideal views useful in and for meditation.
15-7-1930
Meditation during intervals in day also.
The Prayer is the governing principle.
The smell.
16-7-1930
Some struggle for meditation; a little depression.
The Prayer governs.
17-7-1930
Yet struggle in and for meditation.
The smell is all right. When there is flow, சாம்பிராணி தூபம்; ஸீஸா பொடி வாசனை, பசு மஞ்சள் இலை, மஞ்சம் புல் மணம். This is observed for some days.
18-7-1930
Still struggle. The ego is taught or hrater learns to lay no claim to decide any course of action.
20-7-1930
Meditation and Prayer. Still the struggle (between my will and Thine):
Evening: distinctly felt higher vital wave, flow of energy; spilt owing to weakness in Calm, yet Peace was present and responded to by the Mother when prayed for.
21-7-1930
Letter; D. not coming. Proof positive of the psycho-mental influence, for I trusted to the silent Power. She brought about the desired result in this case. (Vide 9-7-1930).
22-7-1930
Night movement in meditation good.
23-7-1930
Meditation: detachment, aloofness of the body felt for a while.
25-7-1930
The smell was feeble today.
Les Miserables I.
26-7-1930
The smell was strong and very sweet (sambrani).
Les Miserables I finis.
27-7-1930
The smell was good and sweet (sambrani strong).
Les Miserables II.
28-7-1930
The smell was counteracted by something unpleasant (physical disorders). But the usual thing was still there.
29-7-1930
The smell is very strong and sweet (sambrani strong).
Les Miserables finis.
30-7-1930
The smell was constant, but thin, subdued. (Orange fruit-skin).\
31-7-1930
Sambruni, very strong, sweet.
1-8-1930
Fruit and oodbatti smell. This is observed for the last two alternate days (noted as feeble or mild).
2-8-1930
*i w OUT 44 smell till night.
Night: some agitation (vital), some sort of attachment disturbed.
3-8-1930
Smell dhupa or seesapodi. Midnight: beautiful smell.
4-8-1930
Smell (fruit) — afternoon; till then mixed; on the whole mild.
14-8-1930
Pondy.
FIDELITY at Pranam. A smile of recognition. A smile of recognition. The smell was quite manifest at the Pranam time.
Night soup: She closed her eyes when I was drawing full breath from her foot. (It was significant). I felt the entry of something into me.
Night: a sort of trance in sleep. Clearly perceived at the time of waking some intense and vast mass of darkness in the centre of which there was dusk-red light, radiating.
15-8-1930
The Great Day.
Sri Aurobindo looked serious unlike in last February. The Mother was smiling.
When I was at Sri Aurobindo’s feet, there was a rushing forth of searing sound in the right ear just after he took his hand off my head.
This time, I felt a little bit emotional; stood before them for a minute.
Day sleep for 1/2 hour: very mild, it was a yogic sleep.
Night: vision of the Mother: Love — some symbol of it appeared.
16-8-1930
17-8-1930
Night: a vision. A lady. . .appeared; also a flower (Lotus ?). It lasted a few seconds.
The smell has been continuous and very strong these four days.
1-9-1930
Dream: Saw Sri Aurobindo. Got special permission to see him every day after bath, when he would see proofs. I plead for other sadhaks, each one to see him at that time by turns thus foregoing my privilege. That also is granted.
24-9-1930
Nasik – Godavari.
A few minutes meditation on the bank after bath showed the sacred atmosphere. Peace was spread about the chest.
27-9-1930
अनशनव्रत
Discussion with Daivarath on anasanavrata which he held to be essentially tapas.
29-10-1930
ASPIRATION at Pranam.
Interview SURRENDER.
7-11-1930
Saw Sri Maharshi in dream. He advises to work for Siddhi and the other thing (Jnana ?)
24-11-1930
The great Day of Darshan.
Sri Aurobindo nodded at the time of Darshan after my Pranam to him. “Nod of acceptance’ was felt. A broad smile from the Mother awaited when I turned to her.
25-11-1930
29-12-1930
Tiruvannamalai.
Morning: with all (4) to Maharshi.
At 3 went to the hills. We four at the Amraguha. Evening to Sri Maharshi.
30-12-1930
Sat with L.S. at his Ulladu Narpadu Sanskrit translation; found it difficult for recasting.
31-12-1930
Morning went to temple மூலை மண்டபம்
Ashram at about 2 p.m.
Prayed for help to finish the Ulladu Narpadu (Sanskrit). It was finished in 3 hours; never dreamt success. After dusk at Maharshi’s feet; tense atmosphere:
" रूपिण्यरूपिण्युभयात्मिकेति मुक्तिस्रिरूपास्ति शरीरबुद्ध या॥"
This was inspired by Maharshi. Throughout the evening Maharshi’s attention was directed to me.
A memorable incident. “A miracle”, says Sunder.
1-1-1931
Sri Maharshi hurried the copying of the Sanskrit verses by L.S. (himself dictating) for my taking it with me. He gave a broad smile full of Grace giving his Blissful consent at the parting time.
21-1-1931
Evening meditation: very fine experiences.
22-1-1931
Meditation: through the day. Felt vital largeness. Highly perfumed atmosphere; especially evening and night. Sandal essence.
26-1-1931
Didn’t come out of the room.
27-1-1931
The heart — the central being — is overshadowed by something powerful. Side by side, excitement.
28-1-1931
The bottom is shaken.
Profound thought and feeling. Side by side stirring of the vital. “ Mounting up” feeling.
29-1-1931
The vital is disturbed. Yet fine view all round. Chest ‘possessed’ as it were. Again ’sandal’ scent.
30-1-1931
Deep disturbance internal; result of the high forces invoked to come down.
31-1-1931
The disturbance is still there.
2-2-1931
Evening meditation: Time-consciousness ( ever now’); can’t live without the Divine. Inner disturbance subsides.
7-2-1931
M.C. came noon. Had the first experience.
24-2-1931
Anandashram23
Atmosphere about Nayana powerful; filled with nada.
Night meditation specially good to me.
25-2-1931
Shadow-like descent of waves perceived in the atmosphere.
26-2-1931
Nayana feels and perceives surrounded by a halo.
P. saw the descent and play of the light facing her.
Self feeling well. Atmosphere is getting rid of wrong movements of forces. Common meditation’ began.
27-2-1931
P.’s day: circular light like sun facing her entered into her chest and got down.
Night 10 to 12 sleep — dream somewhat psychic.
“Change the programme.”
2-3-1931
Night 8 p.m. ’ Lightning’ passed (direct) by my forehead, felt as sound by S.B. & D.
3-3-1931
G. present night meditation. Sees light within; bodily hilarity.
S.B. gets parimala (fragrance) in sleep. Sees light about P. in my room and three lights.
4-3-1931
Night: saw in the room two lights of the same kind. Atmosphere surcharged. S.B. sees light always in my seat.
6-3-1931
Nayana has slight temperature at night. “Due to clash.”
Night: dream Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
7-3-1931
P. something struck her on the head (in the day). At night something above and round the head and face getting into the heart.
9-3-1931
Nayana finished Indrani saptasati.
P. heard the ’thunder’ and saw the sparkles in the corner of the room. V. testifies.
Night meditation: रमणीयविलास
P. saw Maharshi in dream.
“Letter must have reached Maharshi today."
10-3-1931
Nayana begins Indra Sahasra.
Nayana’s I letter to Maharshi.
S.B. visioned "Maharshi in Light ".
Nayana says for the first time that he wants to write to Sri Aurobindo.
11-3-1931
Nayana read sat-darsana (of L.S.?). Decides to write it himself.
13-3-1931
Night: a lady (like G.) came with four big fruits in a plate. I felt it was something divine and good. I thought so in the dream itself. The consciousness continues on waking. It was about 2 a.m.
14-3-1931
Morning attitude good and serious, probably consequent upon the night’s symbolic dream. Head heavy. I am partly free.
Nayana’s sat-darsana finished.
15-3-1931
P. dreams: a man like. . .brings a 100 Rupees for me and hands to P.
Night experience good.
17-3-1931
Quite happy. Feeling of great presence and power.
Nayana’s II letter to Maharshi.
Night: began four lines — sat-darsana tika.
18-3-1931
Night: P. sat till 1-15 a.m. No sleep throughout; going up and up.
21-3-1931
There is some lull.
Night: largely awake.
22-3-1931
Lull. Night: largely awake.
23-3-1931
Awake; early hours of the next morning. Felt the deep movement.
Morning: Silence imposes itself upon me. Pray the Mother to settle and confirm.
Nayana’s III letter to Maharshi. (posted next day).
25-3-1931
Evening from 5 p.m. P.’s meditation: vigorous screw in the crown of the head, neck and down to the heart.
28-3-1931
P. went up and up and for the first time enjoyed distinctly the descent.
29-3-1931
The forces. P. itching sensation, pinpricks, pressure in the face, and head all round. V. reproduces P.’s unpleasant sensations.
30-3-1931
Night sleep, mild breaks. Heard a clear loud sound outside in the room. Simultaneously felt something on the crown of the head.
1-4-1931
Nayana’s IV letter to Maharshi.
4-4-1931
Noon: commenced sat-darsana-bhasya introduction — wrote three sentences.
Evening: descent of the powers (vibrant current).
5-4-1931
Vibrant current continues.
6-4-1931
Vibrant current — throughout since morning, after Dhyana till night. Head pressure continues.
Bhashya progresses.
7-4-1931
Vibrant current, head-pressure secondary. Behind neck, subtle touch and hold. Throughout night — wakeful lying, simple attitude.
Nayana’s V. letter to Maharshi.
8-4-1931
Evening: D. in meditation sees Ganapati and Light. I sat longer in common meditation.
9.4-1931
Meditation good. Extraordinary spontaneity.
10-4-1931
A. had a fine start — heart movement very cool.
14.4-1931
Nayana’s VI letter to Maharshi.
S. & Daivarath arrived.
Spoke about yoga to Su. for the first time: prana, manas; simple surrender to the Divine so as to enable the Divine Mother to get into us and transform.
18-4.1931
Nayana went to Gokarn.
20-4-1931
P. and D. concur Vision: the Mother, Peace.
21-4-1931
Nayana’s VII letter to Maharshi.
Night: Self went out in pranic body. Sat for long, felt heavy, cried for help in the dark. There was accompanying light on the left side (without lamp) — guiding light; significant.
22-4-1931
Night good: surcharged.
24-4-1931
The atmosphere has been surcharged in special for three days.
25-4-1931
Dream (during day): Women (rare purity) surround and accompany me.
Nayana and V. returned from Gokarn.
26-4-1931
The first two verses fully commented.
27-4-1931
S.B. Sorrowful at the thought of separation.
Evening meditation. “Peace” got into her; she became small’etc. A rare experience.
Headache.
28-4-1931
Evening meditation: thrill of Peace on the head and around. Headache vanished. Peaceful sleep throughout at night.
29-4-1931
Nayana’s VIII letter to Maharshi.
Sv. states her previous night’s experience of fire rising from the adhar and moving up.
Early in the morning: my attitude of surrender formed into a thought-vision; gave it in the evening to Sunder.
30-4-1931
Evening meditation: becoming lighter, growing taller; very good poise. Throughout night all (Sunder, S.B. & P.) had similar experience and Peace.
Su. for the first time went up; Power in the hand.
2-5-1931
Night: there was peace, thrill in the head, till midnight.
S.B. had Peace, cool white light. Going in the boat, water pouring on her head.
4-5-1931
1-30 p.m. Wave of dhyana began while lying down. Everybody had it. Sunder had a big thing getting into him while asleep.
Nayana had some great Power. .
Nayana’s dream: Sri Aurobindo.
5-5-1931
Wrote the Bhashya.
6-5-1931
Nayana’s IX letter to Maharshi.
P. had rare Peace and thought she had siddhi. Everyone felt good.
7-5-1931
Wonders.
Hand, feet, heart, head; movement fast progress for Su.
12-5-1931
Dream: Had Darshan of Sri Maharshi......and Sri Aurobindo.
Self embraced by a charming girl of high purity.
14-5-1931
The whole atmosphere good. Meditation: Peace.
Throughout night, P. had a wonderful night: going up and coming down.
18-5-1931
Evening, for hours, Peace reigned. S., flow from the crown of head to heart.
19-5-1931
Throughout day and until midnight: sensing and feeling the power, praying for Peace in the atmosphere as usual since Thursday last.
20-5-1931
Morning: revolving in the head — lifted up; form disappearing. This lasted for a few minutes.
24-5-1931
Night: thrice break in sleep. Rare coolness; Peace; vibrant movement from the right chest to the right ear.
3-6-1931
Read the commentary of 44th verse (sat-darsana) to Nayana. He is pleased.
Night: self-peculiar sound movement from the heart, wakefulness.
S.’s sound movements.
4-6-1931
S.B.’s dhyana advances.
5-6-1931
Sound in the room.
Light in sound; Mother’s figure before going to sleep.
6-6-1931
A. had good cool sensation in the trunk. Full Peace. Sound (peculiar).
7-6-1931
Sounds around peculiar.
8-6-1931
Sound peculiar.
11-6-1931
Night: the sound in the room.
14-6-1931
Wrote reply to M.C.
Queer experience; memorable night. The movement of separation from the physical-psychic, heart-beat getting deeper and ceasing.
We four woke up simultaneously at about 12-30 night. S. says Big Sound.
The effect of the previous night’s experience: sense of vigorous development and the faith that a certain firmness is sure to give the liberated conciousness. Firmness is wanting now because of the bhasya not yet finished.
16-6-1931
P. had extraordinary going up and liberated current and white light embracing her in the face. She says it is solar light.
20-6-1931
Meditation fine. Something else intervenes and takes up. Nada in the atmosphere itself.
Night: sleep निष्ठा
21-6-1931
Meditation: (night) trying to take me up.
Sleep.
22-6-1931
Sat-darsana-bhasya bhumika. Noticed by Sri Nayana. Satisfied.
24-6-1931
Since morning: sandalwood attar smell, cool.
25-6-1931
Sat-darsana-bhasya, finished dictation.
26-6-1931
Bhumika, final reading with Nayana.
27-6-1931
Morning: Sat-darsana last verse commentary finished, given to Nayana.
Smell: sandalwood attar.
29-6-1931
Evening: P. sees the Mother who says, ’I am with you ’. P.’s chest becomes stone-heavy.
Sambrani smell was clear.
1-7-1931
Sat-darsana-bhasya sent by Rgd. post to T. Malai.
4-7-1931
From afternoon 3 p.m. atmosphere good; strong tendency for meditation everywhere.
Night meditation very good; upward pressure to go up. Got up at 2 a.m.; did not go back to sleep.
16-7-1931
Night: powerful; some other force moves; quite distinct. Quiet sleep till 1-15 at night.
17-7-1931
Evening: movement good.
19-7-1931
Night: powerful (chest-head); the world around shows signs of disappearing
21-7-1931
Movement powerful. Pressure in the head, right side.
22-7-1931
Evening 8 p.m. sitting with J. in the verandah. Withdrawal — change in blood circulation distinctly felt without any fever. This tendency was there throughout the night. 1 to 4 a.m. kept sitting.
25-7-1931
Dhyana (fine with Maharshi). General atmosphere was specially surcharged since before meal.
29-7-1931
Left Sirsi, morning.
30-7-1931
Night 7-30 at the feet of Sri Maharshi. He said:
இப்பொழுது தான் ஸத்தரிசன பாஷ்யம் பாஷ்யம் படித்து முடித்தேன். நீயும் வந்தாய்”24
31-7-1931
Maharshi answered my questions. “We have to say the truth”. Re. Jagan-mithya-vada and varnasrama-adhikara.
1-8-1931
Bhumika read in the evening. R. Sastry, BVN, TKS, etc. present.
2-8-1931
Bhumika finished.
Maharshi referred to Arunachala Linga pratistha by Sambandha where he sat on his way to T. Malai, when he had jyotidarsana etc. Obviously he approved of what was referred to in the Bhumika (16th year etc.)
3-8-1931
உள்ளம் கவர் கள்வன் (the Thief who steals our hearts), he repeated on more than one occasion.
Evening: took leave of Maharshi. He gave a broad smile to S & V. To me, he gave a calm and significant leave to go. His right eye showed checked tears.
He kept on the desk his Life and (note-book Bhasya) for me. (Night Echammal brought us meal).
6-8-1931
Morning: pressure throughout the body, specially right side — foot to head; behind the heart, left-side back, creeping, powerful.
13-8-1931
Evening: Pondy.
Attended Soup. Saw Mother at Library for Pranam. Heavy pressure.
15-8-1931
16-8-1931
Morning: T. Malai (with Dr. Srinivasa Rao). Maharshi was very gracious to him. *"WIDG5OLD GOT GOT ? ” (What is the doubt?) was his reply to the doctor’s question: " Then one can meditate upon a Jnani as God?”
24-8-1931
Nidra-nistha for 1/2 hour at noon. Felt like two hours. A second before waking, sound in the chest loudly heard as in The Ananda Ashram.
2-9-1931
Night: wrote bhumikaparisistam.
6-9-1931
Kodaikanal: saw the Nabha Raja.
26-9-1931
Finished English version of Sat-darsana.
1-10-1931
Fine meditation in open-air sleep.
13-10-1931
Nayana (and party) came in the evening (T. Malai).
Grand reception at the station.
31-10-1931
First copy of Sad-darsana bhasya silk-bound, posted to Sri Maharshi.
Second copy given to Nayana.
28-11-1931
Night Dream: wonderful time and close move with Sri Aurobindo. He waited and took milk from me.
(Diary for 1932 is missing)
15-1-1933
Before dawn: symbolic dream.
My carriage ran away and recovered to sight. Second carriage brought (to wait) by D.D. goes to see my carriage and rolls and rolls, but I was sure, or was told, he recovered.
19-1-1933
Two batches. Self, V., L., S. on the platform. Their luggage with us. We got in; the train moves; suppose they have got into the other carriage of the same train.
20-1-1933
Evening. Different reckoning or. ....of time in different universes. Vivid and intense sense of Space and Time: the Vast white Light, diffused; the forehead and above, free and open.
Night (closing) dream: in the presence of Sri Aurobindo, I tell S.: samata is the basis on which this Yoga is built. There is a twofold samata. Here it is an active samata that is stressed.
24-1-1933
Night: got up suddenly at 2 o’clock.
25-1-1933 Suddenly got up at midnight.25
Last part of the night, dream: I was leaning on the Mother . . . It was beautiful.
28-1-1933
Night 1 to 4 wakeful.
The overtopping Vast Shakti of the triple power (in Light, blue and indistinct).
31-1-1933
Evening at 4 during meditation. Right above the head of Su. light (Sun).
Free opening (higher mind) of the vision-world in the presence of S.S. Lotus: solar and lunar rays.
3-2-1933
Happy and powerful.
4-2-1933
Night: with the Mother in the physico-vital. Her (detached) consciousness.
5-2-1933
Amma26
Evening: prayer. Calm; Her intervention effective.
8-2-1933
After midnight, no form, sheer. ... .; nothing objective.
10-2-1933
Beautiful in the evening meditation.
11-2-1933
Afternoon 3: bodily taken up while standing.
Evening meditation: new intuitive vision and the Vast — whole being taken up and down.
13-2-1933
14-2-1933
DIVINE PROTECTION.
15-2-1933
TRUE ACTION IN THE MATERIAL VITAL.
16-2-1933
SINCERITY.
18-2-1933
DEVOTION
19-2-1933
QUIET MIND.
Pressure. Dream: Moving in train — Sunder and A. A. dragged.
20-2-1933
NEW BIRTH.
Pressure.
21-2. 1933
22-2-1933
23-2-1933
PROTECTION.
24-2-1933
QUIT MIND.
25-2-1933
ASPIRATION IN THE PHYSICAL FOR DIVINE LOVE.
A new turn. . .to pierce the veil or to float on the surface.
26-2-1933
DIVINE SOLICITUDE.
27-2-1933
28-2-1933
ASPIRATION FOR PROGRESS.
1-3-1933
DEVOTION.
2-3-1933
Morning: Pranam time: prayed for intense divine consciousness. Mother answered.
3-3-1933
5-3-1933
RADHA IN THE VITAL.
7-3-1933
Significant smile and blessing.
8-3-1933
Mother blessed longest and pressed.
9-3-1933
10-3-1933
11-3-1933
DIVINE PROTECTION
12-3-1933 QUIET MIND.
13-3-1933
14-3. 1933
Morning 6-30: wrote to Mother. At 10 found great improvement. (Lot of visions).
15-3-1933
16-3-1933
17-3-1933
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFECTION
18-3-1933
19-3-1933
Beautiful night sleep.
Opening of physical consciousness. Wide subtle physical consciousness.
Mantra for Mithran.27
20-3-1933
21-3-1933
Tat savitur varam rupam.28
22-3-1933
Mother pressed long.
24-3-1933
PEACE IN THE VITAL.
25-3-1933
VITAL PLENITUDE.
26-3-1933
RESOLUTION.
27-3-1933
CONSCIOUSNESS TURNED TO THE LIGHT.
Night: after writing about the Vision and the Mantra, the gloom disappears. Night: visions begin, lotuses. . . .
28-3-1933
INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS.
Received from Sri Aurobindo “ The Mantra ".
14-4-1933
Good attitude. Liberated consciousness above the natural being here moved from the concentric Being.
15-4-1933
18-4-1933
OBEDIENCE.
Mother: five fingers and a wide blessing. Vast coming down in circular orb.
19-4-1933
Felt happy at Her feet; pressed very long.
25-4.1933
CORRECTED FALSEHOOD.
Love of Truth was the prayer in meditation at Pranam time.
26-4-1933
PATIENCE.
The day was a little disturbed.
27-4-1933
Strength began to be felt.
28-4-1933
FIDELITY Vedic joy — psycho-mental heights.
29-4-1933
Vedic Power — moving aloof within in the centre, light.
5-5-1933
DIVINE PURITY.
Evening: beautiful meditation.
10-5-1933
...OPENING OF THE VITAL TO THE DIVINE.
Change in the consciousness. Powerful atmosphere at Pranam time for the last few days.
11-5-1933
ASPIRATION FOR THE DIVINE LOVE.
12-5-1933
13-5-1933
FAITH; PSYCHIC FIRE.
Saw the Mother today. Mother decided to give me room in Z. house so that I might go to the terrace in the evenings (to stay there as long as She was on the terrace).
Spoke about skambha (Atharva Veda).29
I had meditation at the Feet, conversation and music; altogether not less than 30 minutes.
14-5-1933
The movement from the navel below upwards was persistent and distinct in some respects; above luminous, quiet mind with the Vast around.
15-5-1933
Removed to my room in Z. house.
19-5-1933
Dream at the close of the night before the next dawn:
The Mother was preparing in the air above, big size CHF large round பெருமாள் கோவில் தோசை. There was another beside me. She gave me one, I caught it on my lap.
20-5-1933
ASPIRATION FOR PURITY IN THE VITAL.
Morning: heavy pressure after returning from Pranam.
25-5-1933
DIVINE LOVE.
Dream: Sri Aurobindo sends a stamp (head, female figure) coin empowering me to wait on the Mother during nights after 11 (?) Something wonderful.
Day: the stream within.
12-6-1933
CONQUERING FERVOUR.
“ The truths of one plane are falsehoods in another. The struggle between light and darkness is not true in the Supermind.
To reach the summit, ascend the stairs each grade with firm steps etc." Meditation evening: wide opening and lofty heights.
15-7-1933
GRATITUDE.
Pranam: the lifting began today after a lapse of many weeks.
16-7-1933
Music day.
21-7-1933
Saw the Mother. She gave; AGNI; DIVINE SOLICITUDE; CONSCIOUSNESS. First, meditation and then long talk; 45 mts. on the whole.
20-7-1933
There was a new twinkle — significant — at Pranam from the Mother; so joyous.
7-8-1933
“The Mother Divine — the central Consciousness taking hold of the psychic being to put pressure upon the Nature.”
27-6-1933
Night: large opening, peace.
28-6-1933
Good meditation.
22-8-1933
The Mother to Dande:
The heart: far behind the emotional centre is the psychic being.
2-9-1933
VITAL PRAYER.
B. took a copy of Sri Aurobindo’s Gayatri and explanation etc.
3-9-1933
VITAL HARMONY.
Saw the Mother. Received: VITAL OFFERING; TRANSFORMATION; SURRENDER AND DIVINE SOLICITUDE.
Without vital opening, no yoga realisation is possible, all else will be in the air."
After meditation, she gave the flowers mentioned. Then music — ‘Mohana.’30
“This is the flower I searched for — TRANSFORMATION," She said while giving it.
8-9-1933
Day: pressure; evening meditation pressing; did not cope with it fully.
23-10-1933
Received a letter from Sunder. He says that something new has come upon him since I went there a month ago.
1-11-1933
RED Lotus (SRI AUROBINDO).
Took up cataloguing work in the Library.
13-11-1933
After a long time (in the morning) the flood was there.
21-11-1933
TRUST IN THE DIVINE.
Purchased The Riddle of this world.
21-12-1933
Night gate-watch from 9 to 10.
1-1-1934
Midnight: at Her feet. Received Her blessings.
Mother gave 1934 calendar in the evening.
24-1-1934
The Mother said after meditation:
So far as those that are here are concerned, there is no difference in the evolution of the psychic being. They are all in the same stage of evolution. The psychic is the house of the Divine, the temple of God. It is the product of evolution. The difference comes in the Involution. Some are more open to contact the involving being (coming from above). Some are less etc.
To be conscious of the Divine Presence is one thing. To become supramental is different.
Faith, intense Faith, a large opening enables one to become conscious of the Divine Presence.
Aspiration is the personal contribution to help the Involution (which is Supramental).
One cannot ask a personal question whether one has supramental capacity. The answer is to come spontaneously. A strong aspiration is necessary, every one that is here is given a chance.
I have given this Faith to you. This is FIRE that removes all obstruction. This is PROTECTION during your absence.
21-2-1934
Pleasant Sri Aurobindo’s look – slightly smiling.
24-6-1934
INTIMACY WITH THE DIVINE.
A.R.P. leaves for Madras.
Impressions gained from A.R.P’s talks (including H’s):
To get into us, She removes the coverings of thoughts that hover around us. These thoughts may not be ours, may come upon us from others.
Morning at Pranam time: interesting thoughts in the air move to Her, arranging themselves as if in a shelf; then one by one as the sadhak goes, his thoughts come out. . .She deals with them.
2-7-1934
ETERNAL SMILE.
Evening: vivid opening; standing and even while walking.
28-7-1934
Significant: Psychic PURITY; INTENSE ASPIRATION FOR AND THROUGH LOVE; OPENNESS AND REMOVAL OF THE COVERINGS.
1-9-1934 SWEETNESS OF THOUGHTS.
Mother gave Onward31
M. wrote a letter that Amma wants me to come. Sent it up and a letter about the same. Sri Aurobindo says: “It is not quite certain that your mother will last up to January as she is very old and the end may come now quite as well as later. Of your stay, it must be with the resolution that you will not mind if she goes in your absence.”
Night: I cannot express where I am. Put the resolution into me,’ was the prayerful request.
2-9-1934
Morning at Pranam: Mother significantly pressed my hand (palm) with Her fingers and looked into me sufficiently a little longer than usual.
3-9-1934
No Pranam day. Flowers from the roof stopped.
Saw the Mother. She gave SURRENDER; PEACE IN THE CELLS.
With the Mother: 11-10 to 11-55 a.m.
She was looking into me; I too was quiet with open eyes at Her for a few minutes and then I closed my eyes. She went within (eyes closed). Then, She asked me, ’How did you decide?’ I said “I prayed to the Mother, ‘Put the Resolution into me’ and She has granted it.” Then I explained.
She said many interesting things about Death and referred to Amma. “I love her much, she has been here; she is bound to come to me; of course since you are in the Force, you can be of help by calm, remaining peaceful and collected. That will go to help the soul. . . You can know it. If you close in and concentrate, the soul will come in a very concrete way in the invisible body this is no imagination — she will come close to you; you will know that, yes, you can know that. . . I have seen friends, brothers, relatives of those who are with me, coming to me for protection after leaving the material body. I cannot fail to know that. .
Generally it takes 8 days after the soul first departs, for the vital layers and other coverings to be removed. That is the most important period when quiet in the atmosphere is necessary.
It cannot be said that you are not to see her again.
Referring to S. Bai She said, “She is very receptive, there is opening, she can do sadhana. She looks like having had vision-experience..."
18-9-1934
ETERNAL SMILE
Morning blessings — a new turn, encouraging.
19-9-1934
SUPRAMENTAL INFLUENCE IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS. Blessings of the Mother; the turn continues — spreading — a letter press at the close.
20-9-1934
The turn progresses fairly.
21-9-1934
CONQUERING FERVOUR
The turn continues.
22-9-1934
MENTAL SINCERITY
Slightly different turn — in the morning.
29-9-1934
ASPIRATION IN THE PHYSICAL
Night: much pain the right shoulder, arm, from the right chest.
30-9-1934
GRATITUDE
Sent up a note to the Mother at 8-40 a.m.
At Pranam time, there was good meditation.
1-10-1934
SINCERITY
Mother gave Blotting Card and R...
28-10-1934/29th
VITAL PURITY
Longer meditation in the evening begins regularly.
1-11-1934
CONCENTRATION
Evening meditation (general) was very good and longer. (Transformation in Golden Rays.)
1-1-1935
At the feet of the Mother when the New Year was coming.
24-1-1935
Sirsi: R’s ’Baby’ collapsed between 7 & 8 p.m. and recovered by the intervention of Her Grace.
9-2-1935
CHEERFULNESS
Mother’s broad smile; later looking at me in half-trance.
11-2-1935
SWEET THOUGHTS
“Be ordinarily silent."
21-2-1935
The Mother’s Day
Calm and peaceful. Felt a closeness when Sri Aurobindo’s eyes met mine. Mother, as usual, gracious.
10-6-1935
The Change Vivid.
11-6-1935
The Mother looked pleased (significant); free opening.
9-7-1935
SERVICE
Resolved at 4 p.m. to throw the coverings from the environmental consciousness.
15-8-1935
Saranagata was the word uttered. He looked large. Mother gracious.
29-8-1935
FIDELITY
Mother was very very pleased.
Received Sri Aurobindo’s note in which he says amidst other things:
“As for how to deal with it, you will follow your inner feeling which will surely lead you right as in the answers you gave. (it refers to that part of H’s nature which is crude and unregenerated.)
3-9-1935
The Mother had me at Her feet for 50 minutes. Gave PROTECTION for Amma and SURRENDER for self, saying You will receive my help.’ The whole time was spent in conversation.
13-12-1935
INTEGRAL OPENING Mother was very pleased.
14-12-1935
VITAL HARMONY
The Mother was very very pleased.
17-12-1935
INTEGRAL OPENING
The Mother was very pleased.
24-12-1935
The Mother’s significant smile.
31-12-1935
At the Mother’s feet for the New Year 1936.
1-1-1936
At the first hour, at the feet of the Mother.
The Mother wore a crown in which there was ’SUN’— the symbol of the Supramental Truth.
Sunder was with me.
4-1-1936
Saw the Mother for 20 minutes. Mother said in the course of the talk, “ You have changed much since last year, especially after August.”
There was no meditation.
11-2-1936
The Mother looked very gracious.
19-2-1936
PROTECTION
3 to 4-44 p.m. long talk with Paul Brunton.
20-2-1936
Night with P. Brunton at K.S.V.
21-2-1936
Sri Aurobindo gave recognition smile. The Mother was gracious, putting a seal in His blessings.
22-2-1936
SURRENDER
Just for 15 minutes with P.B. re. the newness of the yoga here.
25-2-1936
RESOLUTION
Night gate-duty begins.
7-3-1936
Beautiful experience and poise in the evening & meditation.
21-3-1936
Twenty minutes at the feet of the Mother. Two minutes’ meditation. The Mother said in the course:
The cross is the symbol of transformation. The circle represents the New World.
The Light of the Mother: it is not all that see it. Those in whom the inner sense is developed see it; of course many here see it, not all. When one is physically near, the physical sense is very active, the inner sense does not perceive the Light. But some, when close, even here, see only the light, not the physical form at all.
The sense of wideness means that you get out of the ego into wider world. It is not a mental concept.
The symbolic forms have value, are significant; even if they are fixed mental formations, they have meaning.
You want to concentrate on a point? Not necessary. It comes when there is a necessity. Concentration must be free, not strained. That is the true way.
FAITH, PEACE IN THE CELLS, FIDELITY (bunch for the single flower I had lost in the morning.)
To Amma, SURRENDER. “I live with her, tell her”.
17-6-1936
Amma’s last hour on earth 1 p.m.
Immediately sent wire to the Mother.32
7-7-1936
Saw the Mother for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour.
She gave: PsychIC CENTRE WITH INFLUENCE OF THE SUPRAMENTAL LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIENT; SURRENDER.
Amidst other things, She said, Amma came consciously. Two days before the telegram was sent she came ’definitively’. She may have to take at least one birth. That depends on…..
Re. Mm. “Ask him to open his heart.’
To me : ‘Even if you want to go, I won’t let you go.’
25-7-1936
Evening: telegrams about Nayana’s illness.
Expired at 3 p.m. at Kharagpur (learnt the next day).
3-9-1936
50th birthday.
1 to 1-45 p.m. at the Mother’s feet. She gave me meditation and called me by putting a finger on the crown of the head.
Amidst other things, She said:
You invoked Mahalakshmi and she came there (above and a little behind) first in her true (over-mental) form, then in the traditional, last in a three-faced figure with a crown on.
It was only after the Mother mentioned it, I remembered that I had repeated from the heart ‘medhasi devi. : . ’33
Mother said: That she appeared is a blessing. She came to bless you. It is very good, very happy.
Re. Nayana: I looked for him, waited, searched — no. He was in the conceptual world (of ideas) about death. . .He did not go to Maharshi either. Well, he can take care of himself.
Re. Amma: O, it is the happiest of deaths, unusual death. She is all right, quite happy.
Yes, I will give you the (conciousness). When you get to the psychic world, you can see her; but it is not advisable; her condition should not be disturbed. You can know when she takes a body.
10-9-1936
KRISHNA’S ANANDA
A good evening.
“The mother saw a Force of intense white light coming down which She had never known to come down before.”
24-11-1936
He was supremely calm and stared into me as it were.
1-1-1937
The year opens at the Mother’s feet.
Sunder with me.
9-1-1937
Night: enveloping stillness with a vast extension above and play of Light overhead.
10-1-1937
Meditation: good. Stillness contacting the head, fairly surrounds.
There is a repeated glimpse of true’ Vairagya’.
11-1-1937
Meditation: the sound of Silence begins. There is in the end (trance-like) withdrawn Dhyana. Plenty of light-play.
12-1-1937
Meditation: 25 minutes passed like a minute. The force was filling in; play of light from above; larger control from behind the head, which was almost hollow as it were.
16-1-1937
Meditation: the same time (?) habit and effort comes again — to drop concentration, to fall upon the One exposing to the Light en masse the being vertical — Heart and Above — straightly.
There seems as in the past, a simultaneous ascent and descent, resulting from or as if leading to a still Equilibrium.
23-1-1937
Meditation only for 10 minutes: intense; a solidity in the outer being.
A page or two in the VI Chap. in the night gave an inspiration (DIVINE WORKS).
25-1-1937
Meditation: about 15 mts. Something overhanging first came down into the outer being; there was a satisfaction in the middle surface chest and down in the navel region.
’Is it the involution?’ I thought. "Why not from below the Matter?’ was the query. Some secrets of motions in the ’consciousness of the Vast’ are grasped by the wakeful frontal intelligence it seems just a tact.
30-1-1937
Morning meditations — beginning.
21-2-1937
The Mother looked long into me with a very benign smile and blessed me longer while my right side (cheek) rested on Her lap. Sri Aurobindo, majestic as usual, but not serious.
23-3-1937
வேண்டல் வெறுத்தல் இல்லாமை ஈசாவாஸ்யமிதம் ஸர்வம்
This is the morning inspiration. It continues in every meditation.
24-3-1937
Saw the Mother:
About the interview: I used to see you every day and Sri Aurobindo also would be there, when you came in the evenings to the Ashram. You would say, ’Won’t you call me?’ I would answer:. . .first’. .. It is not that I do not think of you; I do not forget you.
Yes, she (Amma) is all right; resting. I do not want her to come now, until the conditions are ready here. Those that are taking rest here, in the atmosphere, shall not have to struggle when they come back here, taking a material body.
Work there is in the B.S. You need not do too much. Speak to N. If the afternoon gate-work is taken by some one, you can work at B.S. Speak to K.
She gave FAITH; ASPIRATION IN THE PHYSICAL; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS.
27-4-1937
Mother saw me for 40 minutes, all conversation. Topic: about the Nada, its utility and cure. Etc. Etc.
CONQUERING FERVOUR; SURRENDER; INFLUENCE OF THE SUPRAMENTAL LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS.
8-6-1937
Saw the Mother with rose and tulsi and SOLICITUDE. The same was given to me. 45 mts. About 20 mts. meditation.
6-7-1937
I Anniversary of Amma.
Saw the Mother (12-20 to 12-35).
First meditation, afterwards the Mother broke the silence:
Your mother is in a very nice state. I wanted to show you and take you to her; and so took a part of you (not the whole) and showed you -her beautiful condition luminous, gold pink; and even told you to remember.
But the connection is not sufficient; so when you returned, the body-idea came in and you turned (?) and you do not retain the full impression. But the wideness luminous you remember is the psychic world in which you saw her...
The Psychic world belongs to the universe, it has space and time, it is organised by the Divine; it is not like the mental and the vital in the Ignorance.
Once you get free passage into it, by habit, you can study and explore that world as you would do any country. But for that you must become free, independent.
Gold-pink is the colour of the psychic; the beings have forms.
Mm. saw her because she is in my atmosphere; but his seeing is a mental translation of her psychic form.
7-8-1937
Saw the Mother about ten minutes. Silence. ’I have nothing to ask, I said.
When a powerful force is descending, it (to remain silent) will be more effective said the Mother.
CONSCIOUSNESS TURNED TO THE DIVINE; SILENCE; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIENT :
15-8-1937
Almost a self-forgetful approach — offering of myself (Love) to Sri Aurobindo. He patted on my head in his lap.
Gracious, smiling.
3-9-1937
Birthday. Interview; 35 to 40 minutes.
The Mother gave AGNI. After meditation, She spoke of conversion of consciousness”, (pointing to me, She said, ’It is there’) inner realisation of the Divine, transformation of the nature.
Pandit’s child’s horoscope discussed. At Her bidding data given to Pavitra, She said She would give the name on seeing the influence causing the birth of the child.
26-10-1937
Saw the Mother 35 mts. Meditation for half an hour. No talk after meditation.
ASPIRATION IN THE PHYSICAL; AGNI; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIENT; SWEET THOUGHTS.
26-12-1937
Saw the Mother — 15 to 20 minutes. She said:
Since August a movement is started and what you say is much more than faith; after November 24, it is going on still more nicely. Those who are open will grow conscious ...
How is your brother? . . .I see, that is good. When he had that vision, he got an opening, I spoke to Sri Aurobindo; since then, he is keeping it.
LOVE THE VICTOR & SOLICITUDE; AGNI.
28-1-1938
Interview with the Mother.
Mother gave UNSELFISHNESS and UNION WITH THE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS after a short meditation and She herself told me the significance of the flowers.
She opened the door late (1-45). (The Rani of Gondal and the Mysore Maharani had interviewed the Mother).
Mother said: “It is late today and this was unexpected ’. Then she said that she would give me meditation when I told her to give me flowers as it was rather late and inconvenient for Her.
’No’, she replied and detained me and gave directions as regards the Sanskrit tuition for N. Then Meditation for 7 or 8 minutes.
30-1-1938.
Sent an article (Sanskrit) to V. for special Issue of Nandini on the 8th Feb.
18-3-1938
Mother gave a forty minute interview. Ten minutes of meditation, the rest talk: about sadhak’s responsibility.
20-4-1938
Saw the Mother for 10 mts. No talk; silent meditation.
FAITH; CONSCIOUSNESS TURNED TO THE LIGHT; SWEET THOUGHTS; INFLUENCE OF THE SUPERAMENTAL LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIOUS; CONQUERING FERVOUR.
25-6-1938.
Saw the Mother for 35 mts.
Something enveloping, surrounding 66 is exact result of the descending light which is of a colourless colour — ‘ mauve ’ — in a way”, said the Mother. I said it was yellowish white which was corroborated by the Mother.
The meditation was given to remove the vital deficiencies and give a deeper opening ’.
Amma is in a ’blissful rest’. (today her anniversary).
Mother will give the name to the child (Pandit’s) on the completion of 1 year on 25th August.
Faith; AGNI; CONQUERING FERVOUR; PROGRESS.
26-7-1938
Saw the Mother for 45 mts. Long talk.
PHYSICAL CONSCIOUS TURNED TO THE DIVINE; PEACE IN THE CELLS; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBSCONSCIENT; SURRENDER.
3-9-1938
52nd birthday. At the feet of the Mother for half an hour. Silence.
UNION WITH THE DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS; FIRE; HUMILITY; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIENT; FIDELITY.
3-9-1939.
53rd birthday.
Evening: offered Pranams to the Mother.
She had put on crown. Blessed: then placed flowers on my palm and kept her palm over mine for a while with significant look and smile.
SACCIDANANDA; TRANSFORMATION; FAITH; DETAILED SURRENDER; INFLUENCE OF THE LIGHT IN THE SUBCONSCIENT.
2-9-1940
Wrote my birthday prayer to the Mother.
“May Thy light enter into all the corners of my being that is determined to be lit and fit for Thy work"
3-9-1940
Mother wrote sending ’Our Love and special Blessings ’, on the occasion of my birthday.
11-5-1941
Wrote to Mother about translating in Telugu) of The Words of the Mother and about Sanskrit verses (rendered from) THE MOTHER
12-5-1941
Mother blesses my undertaking of the translation of the Words of the Mother and says that Sri Aurobindo finds my translation (Sanskrit) good.
Started translation. (Telugu)
9-4-1942
Saw the Mother before meditation at 7 p.m.
She was gracious, gave me SILENCE. Before parting I asked "This is silence; I have to talk there.’ ’Oh, you can do. This is inner silence’.
So, this will back me?’ I asked.
’Yes’ She said, with a gracious broad smile.
Started for Tiruvannamalai by night-train.
10-4-1942 Morning: T. Malai. Train late.
Maharshi welcomes. Pranam.
11-4-1942
Noon 1-50 train leaving for Villupuram.
Saw the Mother after meditation.
5-1-1944
प्रार्थना १९४४ – अनुष्ष्टुप्त्रयेणानुवादः संस्कृते कृतः ।
’Very well done’, was the remark of Sri Aurobindo.
20-3-1949
Night extraordinary
Extraordinary event in the Dream-state. There was a mixture in the grasping of the form, the Personality. But the idea was definite.
When I was muttering to his hearing, kayena vaca etc, he seemed to break the usual silence, beaconed to me, closely embraced; through the long kiss put the substance and later — there is a void.
The subsequent happening is shrouded in Mystery. But the central fact dwells in the Memory: wait and watch and look ahead —fixed and brother K, also behave.
21-4-1949
Definite, guided to the appointed hour of Consummation by the over-enveloping, higher and permanent Individual K. The physico-vital disturbances are tackled alternately. Re. samskaras are weakened. The ailment shows disappearing symptoms.
“O Thou, sole Reality, Light of our light and Life of our life, Love supreme, Saviour of the world, grant that more and more I may be perfectly awakened to the awareness of Thy constant presence. Let all my acts conform to Thy law; let there be no difference between my will and Thine. Extricate me from the illusory-consciousness of my mind, from its world of phantasies; let me identify my consciousness with the Absolute Consciousness, for that art Thou.
Give me constancy in the will to attain the end give me firmness and energy and the courage which shakes off all torpor and lassitude.
Give me the peace of perfect disinterestedness, the peace that makes Thy presence felt and Thy intervention effective, the peace that is ever victorious over all bad will and every obscurity.
Grant, I implore Thee, that all in my being may be identified with Thee. May I be nothing else any more than a flame of love, utterly awakened to a supreme realisation of Thee.”
( Prayers and Meditations of the Mother)
The Divine is addressed, invoked to hasten the perfect awakening of the inner soul, the psychic being, to speed up the gradual unfolding of the hidden consciousness which is in direct communion with the eternal Presence, Satchidananda.
For the Divine Mother is the absolute Truth, the Sole Reality, Sat, from which all existences are derived. She is Consciousness and its force, Cit Sakti, consciousness formed in the supreme Light of which our light is a derivation and force of consciousness expressed in the deeper Life of which our life is a surface activity. She is also supreme Love which is the central manifestation of Delight, Ananda, the supra-ethical essence, Rasa, the very substance of the Divine, Paramam Vyoma. Thus she is Sat-Chit-Ananda, Absolute. Yet is she related to this world of ignorance and falsehood and suffering, for this is only an imperfect manifestation of Her own true existence. She is the saviour of the world by bringing it back to its own original purity and power and light and life by a fuller and diviner manifestation for which it is being moulded through the ordeal of suffering and darkness.
This consummation is possible under an initial condition of Her own. There must be a readiness somewhere in the earth-consciousness—the physical consciousness—to open to the influence of the psychic being, the inner soul…
“Complete surrender" is a consummation that is aimed at and results in the course of a disciplined life definitely turned towards God-realisation. It does not come in the beginning except perhaps in the cases of a rare few who are chosen in spite of themselves, as it were, for a catastrophic change of outward and wordly life turned inward and Godward. Even then, the suddenness of the change is just apparent and may be the rapid result of long preparation going on within, though obscure to the outward mind.
’Surrender’ as a mental attitude, as a dominant idea in the mind may remove the mental obstacle to the building of the “inner life”, but that is not enough. By itself it can neither contribute positively to the growth of the inner life, nor even give the assurance felt within that the being gives itself to something larger, and deeper, and more knowing and feeling than itself and to which it really belongs.
Surrender, then, is not primarily a mental idea; it is an inward act of feeling; though the mental attitude may be a translation, an expression in terms of the mind of an inner movement, in the consciousness that grows more and more drawn to the deeper truths of the spirit.
Does not surrender tend to induce slackness?
No, is the answer. When surrender is accepted as the ruling principle of life, the whole life and its activities are not really given up or offered in a moment to the God within, the Higher and Inner self; up to the point when one feels the Guide within and there is some awakening to a deeper Being or Consciousness, the feeling that I am the agent, am responsible for my acts, will be there, and is necessary also. But when the inner life is built, the sense of egoistic independence gives way, and something higher and larger slowly takes charge of the being, introduces different values which may quite often supersede the accepted set of moral values, and in the end completely takes away all sense of responsibility. In this way, the questions of Karmic law, self-deception etc. do not arise.
The Upanishads are known as the Vedanta, the concluding section close, anta, of the Vedas. They are the last word, the crown and summit of the Vedas in their entirety handed down from mouth to mouth for ages and held in high esteem by the votaries of the Vedic lore. An attempt at a study of the Upanishads, to be correct and fruitful, however general, must proceed with a correct evaluation of the nature and import of the Vedas inasmuch as the Upanishads purport to present the conclusion, the secret truth and essentials of the main body of the Vedas. All are not agreed on the meaning and significance of the Vedas proper nor on the relative importance of each of the constituent parts of the Veda, VIZ. the Mantras, hymns of seers recorded in the Samhitas (collections), the Brahmanas, prose treatises dealing largely with the technique and course of the rituals enjoined by them, Aranyakas which are the penultimate portions of the Brahmanas dealing in a general way with philosophical truths and finally the Upanishads where we find flights of high philosophical thought side by side with records of deep spiritual experience indeed, some of these important texts are part of the Aranyakas.
Orthodox Vedists hold the view that the Veda consisting of the Mantra and the Brahmana, provides man with the one sure means for achieving the goal of life, to attain all that is desirable and to ward off all that is unwelcome and harmful. The Veda is the source of Dharma. Knowledge of this Dharma can be got from the Vedas alone and it is in the form of injunctions. The observance of such Dharma achieves the ends of life and works out the good of man here on earth in this life and elsewhere beyond, after death. To adhere to this Dharma one must faithfully perform all the ritual sanctioned and enjoined by the Vedic authority. Thus the Vedic Dharma is sustained by its observance. Therefore, Karma, Works (rituals) is the meaning and purpose of the Veda. The Brahman as naturally come to occupy the main part in the Vedas inasmuch as they lay down the forms and procedure and minutiae of the Ritual. Of course the Mantras are there and they have their use too. They are meant to be recited and used as directed during the rituals; they subserve the rituals. As for the Upanishads, they are after all particular portions of the Aranyakas or are themselves part of the Brahmanas. They are the last remnants of the commanded Rituals (vidhi-sesa). They are in the nature of appendices to the Brahmanas and do not have an independent existence as such.
But this position of Mimamsakas formulated and established by Jaimini is not accepted by all. There are others who oppose this assertion. Some seek to establish the position that the Veda provides an equal basis for both Ritual and Knowledge. The Veda consists of two sections, kandas, the one of the ritual, karma kanda, and the other of knowledge, jnana kanda. The Brahmanas comprise the former, the Karmakanda, and the Upanishads constitute the other, Jnanakanda. The Karmakanda lays down rituals for reaping fruits of enjoyment in this and other worlds; the other shows the Knowledge which leads man to the Supreme Object of life which is not temporal like the fruits of the former, but is eternal and the highest end possible for him. Hence the Veda establishes Dharma by means of the Brahmanas and Knowledge of the Brahman by means of the Upanishads. Badarayana who collected, systematised and gave a definite shape to the floating speculations and perceptions forming this Jnanakanda in his Vedanta Darshana is the chief protagonist of this movement.
We need not concern ourselves here with the merits of the respective standpoints. For our purpose it is enough if we note certain facts which are evident on a careful perusal of the Vedas. The Mantras are not mere poetical compositions left for posterity by poets and authors. They are the seeings of Rishis, which they got as a result of their tapas and gave expression to in inspired words which we find embodied in the compilations called Samhitas. These hymns are found in all the four Samhitas—the Rik, the Yajus, the Sama and the Atharva Samhitas. These perceptions are perceptions of deep spiritual truths and occult phenomena observed in the realm of their inner life by the Rishis. The Brahmanas however put such interpretations on these Mantras as are convenient for their avowed ritualistic purposes and proceed to use them therefor. The Upanishads occasionally mention these Mantras but to use them is not their main occupation. They are concerned with establishing the Supreme Truth. And in the line of this their endeavour, they may and do refer to these Mantras by way of illustration to find support for their own conclusions, comment on them whenever necessary and make a rightful use of them for purposes of propagation of spiritual knowledge to their disciples and truth seekers. And that is possible because the Mantras have a definitely spiritual content and their true significance rarely turns out to be other than spiritual, occult and mystic. That is why such an able commentator like Sayana who has commented on the four Samhitas — a gigantic task in itself — though set out to comment on the hymns for purposes of the ritual, finds it difficult to proceed in that line when he comes across certain hymns which are manifestly spiritual in import and is constrained to admit that there is spiritual knowledge in some hymns, as for instance while dealing with the hymn of Dirghatamas (I.164): “Thus are these (riks) and others ahead to be commented upon in the spiritual sense. . . still, we do not proceed in the matter as it is not of use to our purpose i.e. for the purpose of rituals.” Naturally, for those to whom Karma is supreme and there is nothing besides Karma’, karmanah anyat nasti, such portions are devoid of excellence and even much sense for the simple reason that they carry no utility for purposes of the external rituals. The spiritual is indeed a far cry for those to whom Ritual is the sole refuge.
There is however a general measure of agreement regarding the nature and purport of the closing portions of the Vedas viz. the Upanishads. To ascertain the Truth is the one keynote, of all the Upanishads. But the sages of the Upanishads did not proceed in their search for Truth in the modern intellectual way. Sages like Yajnavalkya may strike the casual reader as having set about their quest with the aid of reason and intellect alone. But it was not so. Reason had a place, quite an important one, but the main road-builder was their power of tapas, the inner discipline of the soul, mind and body and the inner vision which came naturally to a mind purified and prepared by tapas. And their ultimate standard of confirmation was experience and direct perception, the mantra drsti of the Vedic Rishis. To that they referred as the confirming authority. So, frequently do we come across in the Upanishads statements like: "That is said by the Rik’, ’That is uttered by the Rishis’, ’So also says the verse’ ‘ Here are the Mantras’, ’Concerning this the Rishi said ’. . Lines such as these simply show how the Upanishads drew support from the quotation of the Mantras and the authority of the Rishis to strengthen and confirm the conclusions that they quite often arrived at independently. Riks of Vamadeva, Dirghatamas and others come in for frequent citation viz., hamsah sucisat, aham manura-bhavam,, dva suparna etc.
There are more than a hundred treatises that go by the name of the Upanishad. There is even a recent one entitled the allopanisad! The ancient Upanishads however are only twelve or thirteen. The authenticity of the ten well-known Upanishads and also of the Kousitaki and the sevetasvetara is enhanced by reason of their forming the subject matter of the famous Badarayana Sutras and most of them are commented upon by Acharya Shankara, the first among the later Acharyas. Of these the Brihadaranyaka, Chhandogya, Aitareya and Kaushitaki are the Upanishads of the Brahmanas; only the Ish opanishad forms a direct part of the Vajasaneyi Samhita. The rest of the major Upanishads are, according to tradition, as authentic as the above mentioned ones.
*35
Not all the Upanish ads proceed on identical lines and even in the same Upanishad it is not always one line that is sketched. Indeed all the statements in the Upanishads find their reconciliation in the ultimate Brahman. Yet, there are to be found scattered in the different Upanishads statements which form the bases, the starting points for the later mutually opposing philosophies like Dualism, Monism, Samkhya and Yoga etc. Thus: “Here one sees as if it is dual ”, yatra dvaitamiva pasyati, a line with obvious advaitic import in the Brihadaranyaka;“ Two unborn, sovereign and not sovereign’ dvau ajau isavanisau, in the Svetasvatara, explaining the dual nature of the Atman; “ The one unborn, white, red and black" ajam ekam lohita sukla krisna. . .touching upon the gunas, in the Svetasvatara; “But beyond the threefold Prakriti is He”, prakrteh parastu sah in the Katha, are instances to the point. To our mind these statements appear to be contradictory, cancelling each other. But we cannot presume to detract or dismiss them as such by our modern intellectual standards because the origin of these declarations lies not in mental reasonings and inferences about them, but it lies beyond the range of the senses, in the perception of the seers and what is more, because they have worn well for ages and could be verified by competent seekers with the necessary equipment.
What then is the supreme Object to be known as laid down in the Vedanta ? It is the Brahman. Its svarupa, nature and character to the seeker is Satya, Jnana and Anantam, Truth, Knowledge and Endless (Imperishable). That is the Existence, One-without-second, the Brahman from which flow all this that is born, in which all this stays and to which all this returns. That becomes the self of all beings. Even in the Brahmasutras, a later work of the Sutra period in the famous ubhayalinga topic (Brahman with the double sign) we learn that the all-powerful and all-knowing Brahman is endowed with attributes and is also devoid of attributes (saguna and nirguna). Union with the Lord of All is possible for man. A man of knowledge on leaving this body does not simply die. Either by reason of the fructification of the merits of his action in the past, punya, or by the conjoint resultant action of his Karma and Jnana, he has developed an individuality which transcends the body and acquired for himself a freedom of movement and action and with that he ascends the other planes of existence, the other worlds above the earth, like the steps of a staircase and attains in the order of liberation, union with the saguna Brahman. But this is not the only kind of liberation possible. There is what is called the instantaneous liberation, sadyo-mukti. “He attains to immortality even from here”, ihaiva tisthan amrtattvam eti. He is a mukta even while in this body, living, jivan-mukta. The Self the atman is self-existent and free from all attributes. Starting from this immediate perception within himself the seeker arrives at a realisation, a Knowledge, and a life lived in that Knowledge, that the Nirguna Brahman — the Brahman without attributes is the sole Truth, the sole Knowledge, the One, the Immortal.
But one can attain to such a state of liberation, to a state of readiness of the being to receive such liberation only as a result of strenuous endeavours during one’s life-time. There are special disciplines leading to special realisations and they are pointed out in the Upanishads. If their actual working details have not been described, it is because they are too sacred to be communicated to anyone except by the Guru to his accepted disciple of proved competence. They are called the sadhanas, vidyas. Well known among them, to name a few, are the Udgitha Vidya, Shandilya Vidya, Samvarga Vidya etc. Of these the Dahara Vidya is by far the most important one for through it is one enabled, to feel and contact and realise the Dynamic Purusha seated within oneself, in the heart, and to one who has thus gained his atman, the knowledge of the Brahman comes as a matter of course.
Success in the sadhana cannot be achieved as a result of personal effort alone. Knowledge of the Brahman cannot be won by means of the intellect however sharp or learning however wide. It is the Grace of the Ishwara that gives the secret of the sadhana initially and also effects the culminating release. That is why it is said, "He whom the self chooses, by him alone is He to be attained ” yam eva esa vrnute tasya esa labhyah. And this Grace is always resplendent, glistening and active in the person who has realised the true svarupa of his Self. He is the Guru, the Acharya who is capable of reaching his realisation to others, who can lift up his disciples, in the measure of their self-giving, to his particular realisation. “One having an acharya indeed knows ”, acaryavan puruso veda.
The sad-gati, the state of freedom from life of Ignorance is not a thing, as we have pointed out earlier, to be got at only after one leaves this body. If it has not been achieved or prepared for here, it cannot be got at hereafter. “ If he knows It here, then alone there is the Truth for him”, iha cet avedid atha satyam asti; if he does not know It (here) there is indeed a great loss, "na cet iha avedid mahati vinastih.
What is the nature of the fulfilment, the sad-gati aspired for by the seeker? The answer to this question is beautifully epitomised in the Upanishadic prayer:
Lead me from falsehood to Truth, asato ma sad gamaya,
Lead me from darkness to Light, tamaso ma jyotir gama ya,
Lead me from death to Immortality, mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya.
Rendered from the original in Sanskrit, written for a young correspondent.
The object of this paper is to study in brief the manifestation Nara-Narayana in the form of Sri Krishna and Arjuna.
The first question that arises is, who are Nara and Narayana ? Many are the answers given. The Spiritualists (Vedantins) say that Nara-Narayana are the Jivatma and the Paramatma. Theogonists have it that Indra is Nara and his younger brother Upendra), Vishnu, is Narayana. Historians hold that Nara and Narayana are the two celebrated Rishis who were great tapswin and had acquired legendary fame as “ Ancient Men” in the age of the Mahabharata. To those who are in the know of the mystery of avatars, all these views are not contradictory. They opine: Rishi Nara himself is God Indra. It is he who in course of time was born to Kunti as a portion of Indra. Rishi Narayana is Vishnu himself who is celebrated as Narayana the primal creator. He was born to Devaki by Vasudeva. Even in the Mahabharata it is mentioned in many places that Nara and Narayana are Rishis, eternally together, companions in tapas, born of Divine Element. The very first laudatory verse in the Mahabharata offers obeisance to Nara and Narayana:
Bow to Narayana, bow to Nara the best among men;
Bow to Goddess Sarasvati and read the Jaya.
The suggestion is very happy. At the very beginning of the epic the term Nara-Narayana denoting Indra-Upendra, JivaIshwara, suggests Sri Krishna and Arjuna who are like the main roots of the Tree of Dharma, the chief characters in the story.
A question arises: the manifestation of Vishnu, the primal Doer, as Narayana is for the purpose of uplifting the world. Then what is the purpose of the avatar of the Jiva (or Jishnu) as Nara? The reply is this. Though the divine Supreme Lord is the abode of all Knowledge, Action and Power, still for the purpose of promoting the world of his creation, he carries the burden of activity as the Jiva which is really another nature of his own, himself poised in Knowledge and making the Jiva his eternal portion fronting the world, poised in Activity. The Gita also declares: “Know it to be my higher Nature that has become the Jiva, She by whom is borne this world.’ That is why all the Puranas declare Nara-Narayana to be the Leaders of the world:
The two Naras, leaders of the pinda (microcosm) and brahmanda (macrocosm) are the Jiva and the Ishwara. And because of leading them, even Para Brahmam is called Nara37
Produced from the Waters born of Nara, the brahmanda (universe) is called Nara; he whose abode is this Nara, is the Lord Narayana, etc.38
This from the spiritual standpoint, adhyatmika. Now to consider from the standpoint of the classification of the Gods, adhidaivika.
This Jiva which is an eternal Portion of the Supreme Purusha rules the worlds and is the Lord of all the Gods that are placed as functionaries in the workings of the cosmos. This Portion is what is called Indra in the terminology of the Veda. It is this Jishnu who carries the entire burden of activity, and is ever engaged, that descends into manifestation with Vishnu during periods of Descent. This is the process of the descent of both. Not only that. It is also possible for all the other Gods subservient to Indra to manifest. Of all creations, mobile and immobile, He is the Supreme Lord. “He is the Atma, other Gods are the limbs ",39
It is to be remembered that though it is true that all Gods are one because all the Gods are but forms of the One Atman, still the Gods, have their own personalities and relative capacities corresponding to their functions. Let us leave aside the subject of Indra and Upendra — denoted by the terms Jiva and Ishwara, Nara and Narayana — being manifest in the persons of Sri Krishna and Arjuna. How can it be said that they are Rishis? Even before the times of the Epic of Kauravas and Pandavas, the two Rishis Nara and Narayana were celebrated for their greatness. The Ashrams in the Himalayas were Centres for their tapas. Yudhishthira had been to visit the place which had become famous as a centre of pilgrimage. Those who know the truth of births aver that it is of these two ancient Rishis that Rishi Nara was born as Arjuna and Rishi Narayana as Sri Krishna. So it is said in the Mahabharata, “ Nara whose companion is Narayana shall be the son of Indra’40
To take two or three of such truths in illustration:
Creation of the world is by sacrifice; you stand as the entire base in Sacrifice; Yajna is the highest. These truths are common to both the hymns of the Rig Veda and the Gita.
It is declared in the Veda that the Four Classes, varnas e.g. Brahmana etc. came into being through the Head, Arms, Thigh and Feet, limbs of the Cosmic Person signifying specific qualities and actions. The Gita also declares that it is the Lord who created the Four Classes in accordance with the divisions of qualities and activities, guna and karma.
The Rik “All this that is born and to be born is the Purusha himself”, posits all becoming’s in the present, past and future in Him. The utterances of the Lord in many places in the Gita elaborate upon this truth, especially in the chapter of Vishvarupa where things are made still more explicit.
He who sees the Mantra is the Rishi and what is celebrated in the Mantra is the Deity. Thus it is that the Rishi who realised directly the All-ensouling Purusha Deity who revealed Himself to him in a mutual oneness of identity, came to acquire the name of Nara-Narayana, the Supreme Purusha. It is enough to know that just as the Supreme Person came to be known as Vasudeva, son of Vasudeva, similarly, he came to be called by the name of Narayana, the Seer of the Mantra.
We have given the derivation of the word narayana in the way of the Puranas. If we follow the etymological derivation; the succeeding progeny of Rishi Nara may itself be said to be Narayana. Rishi Nara is the Seer of the 2 Riks whose Deity is Indra, in the Sixth Mandala of the Rig Veda. Both were associates doing tapas in the Himalayan ranges. One of them adored Indra, obtained union with him and in course of time was born as Pandava to Kunti. The other one must be presumed to have attained realisation of the Supreme Person, and taken birth as Vasudeva in some subsequent birth. In that case a doubt may arise as to what is the basis for so presuming that the very Rishis who were Seers of the Mantras were born in course of time as Krishna and Arjuna.
Says the Lord: “Many are my births that are past and so too yours’. If once it is admitted that many births of Sri Krishna and Arjuna have passed by, then is it not possible that in one of these past births they were these Vedic Rishis or some other Nara and Narayana ?
This much is clear. The special personality of the Supreme Person that was manifest as Rishi Narayana took incarnation as Sri Krishna in the age of Mahabharata. So too did Rishi Nara incarnate as Arjuna. It is certainly not wrong to predicate many births of the Supreme Person who is imperishable and unborn.
The same individual engaged in a variety of occupations is known by different designations by reason of different relationships, different conditions. So too is Sri Krishna, in keeping with his original Form, the Lord of Universe; an avatara for the purpose of the world-manifestation; a celebrity as the premier of the clan of the Yadus; Rishi Narayana due to relationship across the births.
Rendered from a Kannada translation of the original in Sanskrit which is lost. —Ed.
By Vasishtha Ganapti Muni, with Commentary Prabha, by Sri T. V. Kapali Sastriar. (Ist edition published in 1943 by S. V. Bhadi, Sirsi).The book is currently running its second edition and has been published by M. P. Pandit, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, with the aid of Govt. of India by (1962).
[The Prabuddha Bharata of March 1944, published the following review by Sri Dinesh Chandra Guha:
Umasahasram or thousand verses in praise of the Goddess Uma by the late poet Ganapathi Muni is a masterpiece of Poetry. Ganapathi Muni was a natural poet; gifted with sublime poetic imagination and penetrating inner vision. He was a poet of devotional temperament, and these thousand verses unambiguously prove his deep devotion to the Goddess Uma whom he worshipped as his ideal. The poet was a philosopher of no mean order as his philosophical insight can well be imagined from a perusal of these thousand verses.
The commentary on Umasahasram is lucid and faithful to the original work. Expositions by direct disciples generally become reliable, and the commentator who is a direct disciple of the poet may be relied upon in his exposition of the philosophical view-points of his preceptor. Subtle points of philosophical interest have been aptly justified by the commentator. This fact clearly demonstrates his wide range of study and mastery over the various philosophical systems.
Both the Umasahasram and its commentary can be whole-heartedly recommended to the poetry-loving public in general and the scholars of philosophy in particular. But here and there, there are some observations which cannot be justified from an orthodox standpoint of Indian philosophy. Of course if the work claims to establish a new system of philosophy, nothing can be said against it from that point of view.
Supreme Cit (consciousness) has been divided into three forms, e.g., wish, activity, and knowledge (10th verse, 2nd stabaka, 1st sataka). This division is arbitrary and is not supported anywhere in the authoritative orthodox philosophical treatises. The maya of the Advaita system of Vedanta philosophy has been assumed as sakti (11th verse, 3rd stabaka, 1st sataka), which is unwarranted. It has been argued that if sakti cannot create a sportive body (lilatanu) for her, she is not omnipotent (13th verse, 3rd stabaka, 1st sataka). A little reflection will expose the hollowness of this argument. God, though omnipotent, cannot indeed deduce five from two plus two. This sort of incapacity does not in any way affect his omnipotence, for certainly God should not be expected to break all the laws of truth and consistency to establish his omnipotence before his critics. If consciousness is the only supreme entity, which it certainly is according to the scriptures, God can never make it otherwise. The body of sakti has been described as deathless (amrtam) and that of God as pranava (Om) (17th verse, 3rd stabaka, 1st sataka). Evidently some sort of difference between the two bodies has been imagined. This is also unauthoritative. Is then pranava perishable? If by the term amrtam the author means nectar, then also the question may be put to him to explain what he exactly means by nectar. Mythological explanation will never be accepted in a philosophical treatise. The world manifestation, as it is experienced by us during our waking stage, is conceived as the transformation of the aggregate consciousness (17th verse, 1st stabaka, 10th sataka). This view cannot be justified by argument. Strictly speaking, there can be no parinama of consciousness in the technical philosophical sense of the term. The example furnished to establish the view-point has rendered the cause weaker. Is dream ever conceived in any authoritative philosophical treatise as the coarse form of the subtle consciousness?
In some places the commentator also has tried to convince his readers with fallacious arguments. Transitoriness (nasvaratvam) has been supposed to be the argument to prove the instability (anityatvam) of the body (commentary on the 8th verse, 3rd stabaka, 1st sataka), and in so doing the commentator has, clearly committed the fallacy of begging the question. Feminine and masculine forms of God have been inferred from the same argument (commentary on the 15th verse, 3rd stabaka, 1st sataka), which is impossible. Can two contrary terms be ever predicated of the same subject by the same argument?
In spite of all these drawbacks, the work with its commentary is on the whole agreeable. The reader will simply be charmed with the poetic imagination of the author. The tone of devotion is predominant in the entire work. The poet-philosopher Ganapati Muni was a real lover indeed. He had unshakable faith in the name of the Lord, and hence temperamentally he did not like to enter into rituals and logical discourses (16th verse, 3rd stabaka, 8th sataka). It must also be admitted that the poet had an inventive capacity and the Sanskri knowing world will surely be sorry to think that a poet of such an eminence is no more on this earth. It is to be expected that all other works of the poet will be published without delay.
We whole-heartedly recommend the book under review to the Sanskrit-knowing world in general and to the poetry-loving public in particular.]
A monthly magazine in English, even it be of front rank as Prabuddha Bharata undoubtedly is, cannot be the right forum for sastraic discussions which involve the use of Sanskrit terms with their English equivalents, quite often inadequate without long explanations. But there is no help but to crave the indulgence of the Editor to do us bare justice by allowing a short space for a brief reply to the misconceived observations made in the otherwise noble and good review of the critic.
Let me draw the attention of the reviewer to the following points about Umasahasram. The author was known for his saintly life a life quite often of inspiration; and in the tapasya he adopted, he had certain realisations, which were at the back of the philosophic concepts imbedded in this poetic utterance of the hymnodist. If the work is understood in this spirit, the question whether it claims to establish a new system, whether it is supported by orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy or not will not arise. Certainly, there are many ideas here that are either renewals of the Vedic, Upanishadic and Agamic thought which have no use for the dialectician, or fresh interpretative seeings of old truths which were of an age prior to the birth of the so-called orthodox systems of philosophy. The poet’s conception of Uma was a mental representation of his vision of the source, support and substance of all existences; it is a presentation of his outlook, rather inlook.
Umasahasram was not meant to be a battlefield for dialectics. That is why the commentary closely follows the original, giving explanations wherever necessary to elucidate the text in a manner more literary than philosophical. More space is given in the commentary to the sadhana or practical, as well as to the literary, poetical and rhetorical — aspects than to the theoretical and metaphysical. Even in the few places where controversy could have been raised, and discussion carried on in favour of the position presented by the text, the commentary resists the temptation and confines itself to the minimum that is necessary to throw light on the words of the text. This is so, because the commentator knows the simple truth that no system of philosophy, at any rate in India, has silenced the voice of rival systems or convinced those other than itself of its perfection. If your starting premises are not granted, there is no controversy; if they are granted then you carry the day, if you are clever, with the aid of your logic to guard you against error.
Referring to Umasahasram, the first dissentient note of the critic is that There are some observations which cannot be justified from an orthodox standpoint.” We are at a loss to know what pattern of orthodoxy the critic has in his mind. There are so many schools which are rightly recognised to be orthodox inasmuch as they are not outside the ambit of Vedic influence, vedabahya. It is interesting to note that the critic forgets that there are other orthodox schools which will oppose his statement that “ Consciousness is the only supreme entity . . . God cannot make it otherwise..." I am not concerned with the correctness or incorrectness of this bold assertion which implies that God is either different from or subordinate to Consciousness. Perhaps, he means there is really no God but Consciousness.
Reference numbers to some verses are given in the review to prove the absurdity of the author’s position. No care seems to have been taken to study the subsequent or preceding verses to those on which he depends for refuting the statements of the poet-philosopher. In the very beginning of the work, verses 2 and 3 of the First stabaka, if not the whole stabaka, the poet has said enough of Uma the Mahashakti and the character of Her embodiment. If the third stabaka is studied against this background, it will be quite intelligible. The poet says that God and the Shakti assume ’embodiment ’, for purposes of their own, though ’body’ does not mean “like our body’ (I.3.16,17). Once you admit the Omnipotence, then you have to admit also that God can be with form or without form. You have no right to put a limitation on his Will. To bring home this truth, the poet says “You will be attributing incapacity to the Godhead, if you say, He or She is always formless". On this the critic makes the following observation, perfectly missing the import of the verse, fancying at the same time that the author’s argument is hollow. “A little reflection will expose” – to adopt his expression — that he is open to the retort of his own remark that “ God should not be expected to break all the laws of truth and consistency to establish his omnipotence before his critic. ” Well said! That is what poet-philosopher says. Only this much is to be added: God is not expected to be confined to formlessness, to the formless omnipotence of my conception, in order to prove his capacity to be featureless or beyond features to the logical mind which revels in abstractions and to which things of subtler existences, of mind and spirit are sheer concepts.
The poet says that to explain creation etc. the orthodox Advaitin has to assume an inexplicable’ Maya’ which is neither negative nor positive. Shakti, positive, in its place, will be intelligible and there is no necessity to assume a Maya. The poet certainly equates his Shakti with the Maya of the Advaitin, but does not say that she is identical with Maya. Such an attempt at reconciliation was done long ago by the Tantriks, even by the author of Anandalahari — of course not by any orthodox philosophy, for which resaon, the critic calls this reconciling statement ’unwarranted’. The Iccha, Jnana, Kriya saktis — these three are well known to the Agamas and Puranas -are traced by the poet to their source in the Supreme Consciousness. The Three Shaktis or forces of Will, Activity and Knowledge are facts, and not fancied by the poet nor has he divided the Indivisible Consciousness into three Shaktis.
By Pranava (see Com. I.3.17) the undifferentiated Primordial Sound or Vibrant Voice (avyakta nada is meant, not the letter OM which is just a symbol of it used in the mystic paths with which logic and criticism have nothing to do. Soma is clearly explained; it is the Vedic pavamana, the rasa, the essential delight of all existence, the causal akasa, the substance of all existences in the core. The character of pranava and soma which is amrta is clearly stated in the text and the commentary also gives explanatory notes.
I will state one glaring example of the criticism where this mind eager to grasp at what to it appears a weak point, refuses to read the whole line, and stops with that portion of the line which, it is convinced, is sufficient to convict the commentary of falling into the fallacy of begging the question. In 1.3.8, a close rendering of the line in the commentary that is at issue will be thus:
“The body that is visible is non-eternal because of the perishability; for to predicate eternality of a body that is conditioned by space, time, and causation is opposed to Nature (as we know her of course)", desakala nimittapeksasya sarirasya nityatvoktih svabhava viruddha.
The italicised portion is the English of the Sanskrit which is given to explain nasvarattva. The critic takes it as a syllogism, probably because of the fifth case nasvarattavat, but ignores the explanatory part of the line, and presses the phrase to mean (by a convenient English rendering something absurd, fallacious. Nitya means steady, dhruva, also; but here anitya is deliberately used in the sense of what is not eternal. Nitya vastu is not steady or unshaky substance, it is the Eternal Something that exists. The commentary explains to the reader that what is subject to space, time and causation is perishable, and therefore, not Eternal. Strictly speaking, this is not a thing to be proved at all; only when there is doubt, there is paksa possible according to Indian logicians. It is an axiom that is explained here. It is like the stock argument in western logic about the mortality of Socrates which has no place in the Indian System of syllogistic reasoning, as no doubt is entertained of his mortality.
Again, the import of the verse 1:3.15 is thoroughly missed by the learned reviewer. The substance of the verse is this: there are some who would say that God has form, but not his Shakti; the poet tells them if it is reasonable to suppose a male form, it would be equally reasonable to accept a female form also. (Note that anumeya in the verse is not used in the technical sense at all). This simple verse does not offer any difficulty to a straight understanding. It is amazing to see that the erudite critic finds material here to charge the commentator with predicating two contrary terms of the same subject by the same argument.
There is no question of inference anywhere raised. That it is possible for God and Shakti to be with or without form is an assertion that is made by the poet from the beginning. The contrary terms are there only in our petty logic which cannot conceive of the Supreme Truth or God as the supreme reconciling Factor of all apparent contradictions that characterise the world phenomenal existence. To the mind of metaphysical bent, riddled with conceptual constructions, the Supreme Truth is only an abstract idea, it is all It, not He or She.
But to the man who has built an inner life, call him a mystic , if you like — It, He and She are complementary aspects, realities concrete in their own way, because seen and experienced in other dimensions of space, other states of being, other fields of consciousness, than those the normal human mind clings to in its refusal to be calm and look beyond itself. The poet-philosopher, the author of Umasahasram was not inventive and fanciful; he was an inspired Poet endowed with a seeing intelligence, pasyanti prajna. A mystic, he was in his presentation quite logical, not mythological. In spite of what in the book did not appeal to the reviewer, he has showered high praise on the work and its author; that is his large-heartedness to which we, in all humility, bow.
Yatindramatadipika43
Now about the translation: the book opens with a brief but illuminating Foreword from Prof. P.N. Srinivasacharya, a wellknown authority on the subject. The translator’s Introduction covers many pages in which an accurate statement of the position of Visishta-advaita philosophy in regard to Jiva, Ishwara, Nitya-vibhuti, Dharmabhuta Jnana etc. is given and the date of Srinivasadasa is shown to be somewhere in the 17th century. There is a valuable conspectus for each section followed by the text with English translation on the same page. One notable feature in the translation is that every important term which requires explanation is numbered in each section and is explained at the end of the book in ‘Notes and References’ which alone cover 54 pages. Swami Adidevananda’s plan is admirable. The Notes and Explanations cover a vast field of knowledge and give precious information obtained from a study of many authors and from discussions with living authorities on Southern Vaishnavism in which tradition sampradaya counts so much. For though the Sanskrit text is not at all difficult, in many places explanation is necessary. In the olden days when there was no printing, the student had necessarily to sit at the feet of the teacher to learn the implications and references made in certain passages of the text. I shall give a simple illustration of the point. In the sixth Avatara, the author uses the word astra-bhusana adhyaye i.e. in the chapter on weapons and ornaments’. Now, what the author means is this; the City of Vaikuntha, Sesha the serpent, gate-keepers, the weapons and ornaments of the Lord are all symbolic and these symbolisms can be learnt from that chapter in the Vishnu Purana which deals with the subject. This and many more explanations are to be found in the Notes and References. The Chaturvyuha theory, as far as we know, emanates from the Pancharatra school which must have been a living creed before the Brahmasutras were written as it is referred to in II.2.42-45, and it is an important element in the Sri Vaishnava cult.
A word about this religious system. We can very well understand the instinct of self-preservation and zeal of any sectarian religionist. But all the same, it carries with it a certain offensive element that provokes other sects to retort; in this way the story of Vaishnavism and Shaivism in South India has not been free from blemish, as is evidenced in the life of Sri Ramanuja himself who was subjected to untold hardships from religious persecution. When one reads in this excellent compendium such petty excuses for reasonings as “the system of Shaivas is rejected owing to its acceptance of Pashupati as the end to be attained and smearing of ashes etc., opposed to the Vedas as the means ", we are dumfounded. It is remarkable that such statements ignore the possible, why, the actual retort, coined in the same mint from the other side. It is a wonder how great devotees and teachers gave support to such religiosities in the name of the Supreme Godhead. We can very well appreciate the intensity and single-minded devotion of the devotee addressing his Deity ’Lord, thou alone art the God, my Sole Refuge, I know none other’. That is a faith that is admirable and leads towards the Godhead. But to proclaim and argue that others are doomed is a different matter. And that certainly is not the teaching of the Alwars, God-men who form the backbone of religious worship in Southern Vaishnavism.
Apart from such offensive elements that have encrusted the framework of this institution of Sri Vaishnava Religion, it is an excellent form for worship, and contains many occult truths which it has incorporated into it from the Pancharatra.
As for Philosophy, it affords a sound basis for practical and personal religion. In the words of the Foreword, ’God is defined as the Saririn, Self of souls and matter, as these two live and move and have their being in Him...Bhakti and Prapatti form the chief means of liberation or Mukti, Prapatti as absolute surrender to God is available to all souls. ..” We may note in passing that the philosophy of Sri Ramanuja does not admit ’knowledge by identity’at all and holds that the triputi — the riplicity of knower, known and knowledge — is there to establish the impossibility of the subject in any state or condition, being or becoming the object. This is a much debated and debatable question, and the verdict is to be obtained by appeal to the yogic consciousness and spiritual experiences as recorded in the Upanishads, or the statements of saints and sages, past and living. How are we to understand straightly the spirit of the famous verse of the most revered Godman among the Alwars, Nammalwar, which describes the state of liberation and liberated consciousness, "VIDU’?44
“A million faces wears her knowledge here
And every face is turbaned with a doubt.”
This book is a suitable textbook for beginners and a very good introduction to the study of Visishtadvaita. Swami Adidevananda’s skill, industry and scholarship are patent, while the translation, never an easy task, has been faithfully done. In some places, the translation of some Sanskrit terms or passages may be done differently. But then, such alternative suggestions can always be made by an intelligent reader, even in the works of best known authorities. It is meet that we refrain from irrelevant suggestions. The broad sympathies that Swami Adidevananda has brought to bear upon the task are quite in line with the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, and this is a creditable performance.
The theory and practice or the science and art) of Bhakti, devotion to the Divine Lord, is the subject matter of this treatise entitled “ Bhagavad-Bhakti-Rasayanam ”45
Ram Misra, a Kashyapa Brahmin hailed from Kanauj and settled in Bengal, first resided in, Navadwip and later shifted to East Bengal His family and descendants lived for a long time in the village of Kotalipara in the Faridpur District. Purandaracharya was the sixth in lineage and Kamalanayana was the third son of his brother Yadavananda of whom the tenth descendant is Sjt. Chintaharana Chakravarti of Bethune College, Calcutta, who is naturally proud of his lineage and preserves the genealogical tree.
Now, Kamalanayana, after completing the usual course of studies, moved to Navadwip for advanced courses and there he studied under Sri Rama Tarkavagisha under whom also studied Gadadhara Bhattacharya of Neo-Nyaya fame, a senior contemporary. His remarkable brilliance in the studies and later in debating skill left its impress not only on the schools, but wherever he made his appearance. But, the supreme object of life had such an irresistible attraction for him that he left Bengal for good with the avowed object of renouncing the world i.e. worldly life and entering the monastic order under proper guidance. He visited Banaras and under Madhava Saraswati studied Vedanta, and got initiated into Sannyas, formal renunciation, by Vishweshwara Saraswati who gave him, on initiation into Sannyas, the name of Madhusudan Saraswati. All these facts are gathered from the author’s works. From a perusal of the detailed discussion of scholars about the date we can safely state his period to be 1495 1585 A.D. or 1490 – 1602 A.D. In any case he had a long life and record of service, apart from being the author of about 20 works of which at least ten are Vedantic and could be safely assigned to his authorship. King Pratapaditya, Emperor Akbar and celebrities in literary and devotional spheres known to history were his contemporaries among whom we shall mention one for the interest that attaches itself to this saint-author and the light it throws on his courage in the face of crisis and in a way on the dynamic personality of this great Vedantin. That name is none other than Akbar the Great Mogul.
In an article on "The organisation of Sannyasins of the Vedanta’ (1925 J.R.A.S.) Farquhar records an incident in the life of Madhusudan Saraswati which shows the mettle of the man in a critical situation. We shall briefly mention that episode here, as that spotlights the courage, broad sympathies and practical wisdom of this Sannyasin which aspect is not as much well-known and appreciated as Madhusudan the Vedantin, star of the first magnitude in the firmament of Advaita dialectics. The Fakirs of Islam were molesting the Sannyasins of the Vedanta, inflicting physical injury on the poor unarmed mendicants; while the former were all armed and conscious that they belonged to the same faith as the reigning emperor, the latter, precluded from being armed by their station in life i.e. Sannyasa, renunciation, had nothing but their bare bodies and tonsured heads inviting the villainous assaults of the crude and vulgar elements in the community of Fakirs. When the Sannyasins could no longer bear with the long and sustained attack of the brute forces and approached Madhusadan for advice, the latter made up his mind to put an end to the pitiable plight of the wretched Sadhus and immediately made a move towards the end. He went to the capital and sought an interview with the emperor. When Akbar gave him audience and Madhusudan explained to him the situation and the object of his visit, the emperor thought for a while and sought the inevitable Birbal’s advice.
As usual, the ready-witted wise man said: “The order of Sannyas among Hindus is entered into by Brahmins alone who could not carry any lethal weapon in accordance with their shastraic custom. Why not allow other castes also to enter the order of Sannyas and arm them with weapons lawfully? The Brahmin Sannyasins need not carry weapons, let them observe their custom and shastra, but the rest of the Hindu Sannyasins armed will be sufficient guarantee against temptation to do mischief from the wicked vagabonds among the Fakirs. Dharma Shastra can be properly interpreted, if Madhusudan Saraswati is so minded, he can find suitable means to amend, interpret, and regulate the shastraic customs and save the Sannyasins as a whole. In that case the emperor would be pleased to grant all legitimate requests in that direction etc. Akbar readily gave his assent to the proposal as far as he was concerned. Madhusudan appreciated the wise counsel of Birbal and accepted it with the approval of the emperor. The plan worked very well to the great relief of the aggrieved Sannyasins. He made the Hindu community accept his novel proposal that of the ten sub-orders of Sannyasins three must be reserved for Brahmins viz. Asrama, Tirtha and Saraswati, and the remaining seven, Bharati, Giri, Aranya etc. for others. Ever since, this has been observed in North India, though this system does not hold good in the South.
The liberal views of Madhusudan are quite manifest in some of his activities, much more so in his literary works. This fact is noteworthy in view of his uncompromising position as an Advaitin, the author of Advaita-Siddhi in which he has applied his unsurpassed debating skill on the lines of the Neo-Nyaya of Navadwip. India of those centuries considered it a great merit on the part of a scholar to vanquish his adversary in a debate. Madhusudan, in his famous dialetical work mentioned above, especially in the first two sections, employs highly technical terms, raises a number of alternative questions and negatives all the possible answers by confounding the other party or parties. The object is rather to confound than to convince. That was permissible in those days, though it is certainly not admissible in modern times. But it must be noted that while, on the one hand, he was an orthodox Advaitin for dialectical purposes and quite loyal to Shankaracharya, always conformed to rules as ordained in the Dharma Shastras, he was on the other hand a devotee of uncompromising type who upheld the Bhakti-view and strongly advocated the path of devotion, Bhakti Marga, for all seekers and taught by his own example that it was superior to the line of Jnana, Knowledge, in many respects and pointed out the difference between the two in the work under review which we shall mention presently. In this connection it may be mentioned that he sought to reconcile the Shruti, the Scripture for Brahma Vidya, with the Pancharatra, the Scripture for Bhakti, the Bhagavata cult. With this object he wrote a small treatise “ Ishwara-pratipatti-prakasha” throwing light on the correct grasp of the concept of Godhead in the two scriptures. He equates Virat, Hiranyagarbha, Ishwara and the Transcendental of the Shruti with Samkarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Vasudeva of the Tantra and concludes that these four are the same as the four parts of the Udgitha, and the turiya, the fourth, a secret knowledge of which, he says, is obtained through initiation and by the grace of the Guru.
His was a nature where the qualities of the heart vied with those of the head. In fact he upheld the view of the Bhakti school that to hear and utter God’s Name is more powerful and effective than the ceremonials ordained in the Smriti (expiatory rites, prayascitta). His innate devotion was nurtured on the soil of his birth; a land known for the free expression of Bhakti at least since Jayadeva’s time and famed for the exuberant radiance of Sri Krishna’s love since the appearance or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Doubt les. his friendship with Tulsidas of Ramayana fame while at Banaras was natural and temperamentally agreeable, a powerful stimulant for the activities in the field of devotional literature. He clearly saw that the orthodox way of propagating Vedantic knowledge and its practice was rigid and narrow and too restrictive while Bhakti, the devotional way was broad-based, inclusive and liberal and threw his weight on its side in the life he led as well as in his writings on the science and art of Bhakti. There are ten works of which the subject-matter is Vedanta, jnanamarga, some of them are independent works and the rest commentaries. Other works are devoted to Bhakti. Here again some are commentaries on Hymns like the Mahimna Stotra, some are independent works like Bhakti-rasayana. That he has written this work after writing many Vedantic works on the side of Knowledge is evident from his references to them in this work. For in his commentary on Karika 24 of Ullasa I, he says ’ all this process is expounded in detail in my Siddhanta Bindu’. In another place, “ The details are to be understood from my Vedanta-kalpalatika” (Com. on 1.20). He does not subscribe to the generally held opinion among the Vedantins that devotion and worship of Brahman with features, saguna-upasti, is a concession to human weakness and is meant for the common folk who are weaklings and not competent for Jnana, for manda-adhikarins. He drives home his argument and shows how Bhakti Yoga is superior to Jnana Marga for reasons stated in his gloss on the very first verse. We can very well understand Madhusudan when without mincing matters he categorically mentions the points of difference between Jnana and Bhakti. The difference pertains to four aspects of the question, he states: (1) Swarupa, nature, (2) Sadhana, means, (3) Phala, fruit, (4) Adhikara; competency of the seeker. As regards the first, he says, Bhakti is the state of the mindstuff sufficiently melted and modified so as to take the form of the Lord who is worshipped while still retaining the recognition of difference between the worshipper and the worshipped, Bhagavan and Bhakta. But Brahma Vidya is the state in which there is no recognition of any difference, no melting of the mindstuff, cittadruti, and there remains nothing but the consciousness of the Self, one-without-a-second.
2) As regards the means also there is a gulf of difference. The means of acquiring and developing Bhakti lies in hearing and constantly meditating upon the sublime qualities of the Lord, Bhagavan. Whereas the Sadhana of Brahmavidya lies in meditating upon “ That thou art ” and other sentences of the Vedanta.
3) The fruit of Bhakti, the culminating result of the practice is superb Love that has for its object the Divine Being, while that of Brahma Vidya is Kaivalya, the state Absolute.
4) And last as regards Adhikara, qualification, any living being, prani matra, can enter the path of Bhakti. Whereas the line of Brahma Vidya is open only to those who have renounced everything, Sannyasins, and are equipped with the well-known fourfold sadhana beginning with discrimination between the Eternal and transitory and ending with keen desire for liberation.
Madhusudan begins the work with a verse in which he proposes to expound Bhakti Yoga in the light of shastraic texts by which term he means not primarily the Vedantic texts which inculcate the Brahma Vidya, but mainly the Bhagavata and texts like the Gita. It can be put in brief this way. The scripture for the line of Knowledge — Brahma Vidya is the Shruti, the Upanishads: the canon for the Bhakti Yoga is Bhagavata. Therefore his commentary on the first of the three Ullasas of this work contains exhaustive quotations from that priceless scripture of the Vaishnava cult and every statement he makes in the Karika is well reasoned and supported by resort to pausages from the Bhagavata and in a few places by apt lines from the Bhagavad Gita. The commentary of this saint-author on the remaining two Ullasas of the work not being available, it is written by the erudite editor Sri Nambutirippad, following faithfully in the footsteps of the great scholar-saint with appropriate and copious quotations from the Bhagavata, Gita, and occasionally from other Puranic texts for comparative reference in support. The first section contains 37 Karikas; along with the author’s commentary and the editor’s annotation it covers half the volume of the work. There are 72 topics discussed here including the process of the development of Bhakti as Rasa, Bhakti as Sadhana, as means, and Bhakti as Sadhya, to be realised. If the first Section deals with Bhakti in a general way, the second expounds Bhakti in particular details, while the last establishes the theory of Bhakti as Rasa — as distinct from the traditional nine Rasas which he admits and respects. In his treatment of the subject of Bhakti-Rasa he does not move an inch astray from rules, the recognised forms of the constituent elements of Rasa as propounded by Alankarikas from the earliest times. Independent and bold thinker, yet a tenacious traditionalist; a towering intellect, yet an irrepressible ardour of the heart given without reserve to the Godhead Sri Krishna whose body is the Para Brahman, he knew how to meet the rival parties of his times in the field of religious philosophies and gave the lie direct to the general and loose accusation that the Advaitins — the Mayavadins — are atheists, Buddhists in disguise, by his personal example as much as by his writings.
We may sum up in the words of the scholar who writing the Foreword to the book puts the substance of Madhusudan’s life as he lived and the position he occupied as one who never forgot in all his writings on Bhakti that he was an Advaitin:
“If so, is it that Kaivalya, the realisation of the Absolute, does not arise from Knowledge alone? No, who says so? It is true that Knowledge being opposed to Ignorance, the former dispels the latter. But the Knowledge must be applied to the acquisition of Bhakti. Incidentally that knowledge is helpful for the purpose of Kaivalya. Who is there propounding a theory that God confers mukti, liberation, on the devotee without a knowledge of the Atman? The fact is this that the relation of cause and effect exists between Bhakti and Mukti, the former is the effect, while the latter is the cause. Therefore knowledge must be directed towards the acquiring of Bhakti. Bhakti achieves results which can not be done by knowledge or anything else. It is a fact that knowledge is the direct and immediate cause of Kaivalya which is a different matter altogether. Therefore it is that liberated souls assume embodiments and worship the Godhead, says Shankaracharya, who in a famous oft-quoted verse sings:
Even when the difference is blotted out, O Lord, I am thine, not Thou mine. For the wave is of the Sea, not the Sea of the wave.”
A word about Madhusudan’s beloved God is necessary before we close. To him Sri Krishna is not an incarnation of the Godhead, but is the Godhead who incarnates himself in the ten embodiments of the Puranas as is sung by Jayadeva in the opening verses of Gita Govinda, Daša kṛti-kṛte.
The vast erudition, care and industry of the editor are manifest on every page. The value of this publication is enhanced by the editor being a redoubtable champion of Vedanta doubled with being a devotee of intense ardour.
It deserves to be prescribed as text-book in all colleges and universities and Pathashalas of the old type where Shastras are being taught and prescribed for examination as such a step would inculcate Bhakti in the minds of the students of Vedanta which generally, not always, not without exception, dries up the heartsprings of the soul leaving the Vedantin dry.
Sri Aravinda Prakasam, by Swami Shuddhananda Bharati, gives us in brief compass, an account of the life-story of Sri Aurobindo, his many-sided learning, his letters to his wife, his idealism from early life, patriotic activities, Rabindranath’s namaskars to the Master, his last political testament, his spiritual realisations, the means and aims of his yoga, the Ashram, the activities of the ashramites, and short references to the many paths of Yoga, the triple path of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana, the Vedantic and Tantric methods.
In giving this account of Sri Aurobindo’s life, the author says in effect: Turn to any side of his life, a Himalayan loftiness arrests your view. Look at the Indian boy coming out of a foreign university in brilliant colours with a first class classical Tripos; look at the college Professor at the age of 21, winning the love and admiration of his pupils and the public around and the ruler of the State; turn to the linguist, the scholar either of the classical tongues Greek, Latin and Sanskrit or modern ones, European and Indian, French, German, Italian and English, Bengali, Marathi, Gujerati and Hindi; turn to the poet of patriotism with his life at the altar of the Mother, the political leader and journalist putting life and love for the Mother into her sons steeped in a mass of inertia and indolence; open your sealed ears to the famous Uttarapara speech, hearken to the Prophet of Nationalism preaching the true spiritual significance of the Nation’s awakening as revealed to him by Lord Vasudeva himself in Jail --everywhere you find something lofty, something extraordinary. Yet, all this colossal achievement refers but to the outer fringe of this magnificent personality, all this is " but a spray of the waves of this ocean Sri Aurobindo which is too deep, too vast for comprehension.
It is difficult for the reader to remain unmoved as he peruses the letter of Sri Aurobindo (30-8-1905) addressed to his wife. We shall present a portion of it summarised for the benefit of the reader:
I have three passions (madnesses) in my life.
Till now, I have kept 14 annas for myself and allowed 2 annas for God, thus I have been a thief commiting fraud upon God and concealing the true account; for whoever retains what is more than necessary for himself and his dependents is a thief of God’s gift. That is what our Shastras say. Henceforth, I have resolved to live a very ordinary life and devote the rest to God (God in the suffering humanity).
My second madness is this: If there is a God, there must be a way to discover him. The Hindu Shastras state that we can find him within us and suggest certain means. I am trying some of these methods. Already within the short period of a month since I began the attempt, I find encouraging results, leading me to conclude that Shastras are not untrue...
My third madness:
It is untrue to say that your good and artless (Sadhu) husband has been misled by wicked people. ...
This country is not to me a mere land, hills and rivers and valleys and fields. She is my Mother. This passionate love for the Mother was born with me when I came to the world. ...
The Seed was found sown even when I was 14 years old.
In another letter (1907) we find him saying: “I no longer move of my own accord. I am moved like a puppet.. I would go wherever He leads me, do whatever he bids me to do. I am no longer my master. He is the Master. I am the machine, yantra; He is the Mechanic, yantri”.
Then the preparation for a fuller and deeper life of yoga becomes complete and we find him leaving the British Raj for Pondicherry, the place of his Yoga Siddhi. It will be of great interest to know how he came upon the forgotten paths of our Vedic forefathers and recovered the lost light for a divine life. He says in the Arya: “I regarded the Upanishads as the most ancient source of Indian thought and religion, the true Veda, the first Book of Knowledge. The Rig Veda in the modern translations which were all I knew of this profound scripture, represented for me an important document of our national history, but seemed of small value or importance for the history of thought or for a living spiritual experience. My first contact with Vedic thought came indirectly while pursuing certain lines of self-development in the way of Indian Yoga, which, without my knowing it, were converging towards the ancient and now forgotten paths followed by our forefathers. At this time there began to arise in my mind an arrangement of symbolic names attached to certain psychological experiences which had begun to regularise themselves, and among them there came the figures of three female energies, Ila, Saraswati, Sarama, representing severally, three out of the four faculties of the intuitive reason-revelation, inspiration, intuition.”
Herein lies the secret of the Arya’s thousands of pages, which were but one expression of the Ideal, the Truth that came to live more and more in this great personality. Living in the Light, he applies it to all the subjects he handles, whether he unlocks the secret of the Veda, or writes upon the Upanishads and the Gita, whether he boldly expounds the divine possibilities of man in his Life Divine or constructs the Synthesis of Yoga. The vast learning of this versatile genius is but a human part and instrument of a higher Light, the true Spirit that expresses itself in the Psychology of Social Development, in the Ideal of Human Unity, in the Future Poetry, in the Defence of Indian Culture, and in many other kindred subjects. And The Mother presents the crowning of the Siddha.
Referring to the Ashram, the author says in part: while Sri Aurobindo has always maintained an attitude of ready help to be given to those who feel called to take up this Yoga, he has never cared nor permitted others to do any kind of propaganda, and therefore did not organise the Ashram. Yet the Ashram is a fact as an organic growth around him, an expression of the Spirit, the Truth, the Ideal of Sri Aurobindo.
With reference to the aims of this yoga, we may quote a few lines from the Master’s Message’ which serves the purpose of foreword to the book:
“The unfolding of the spirit, its light and its joy and oneness in man upon the earth, is an essential plan and the obvious purport of the terrestrial and human creation"..."The condition of immortality and freedom ... is to live not for ourselves in the ego, but for God in ourselves, and for God in man ... It is the possession of Satchidananda in oneself and the expression of him in the universe.”
For those who have an attraction for the deeper currents of spiritual thought in India, Sri Aurobindo is a name to conjure with. For, from the beginning, not only now in his seclusion, his has been the life of a Yogin and his activities, creative expressions of a high order of spiritual power whether they are in the subtle and mystic realm of the Spirit training and helping the disciple in the path of yoga, or in the field of thought and culture, poetry, philosophy, scholarship, or in any sphere not excluding his contribution to the making of India’s history in the twentieth century. The weight that is attached to his writings lies in the fact that here you get first-hand information of subtle and ultra-mundane truths from one who bases his teachings not on speculative thought and reasoning, but wields the powers of reasoning for translating into intelligible language of the mind truths of a higher vision that are confirmed facts of living spiritual experience.
Indeed the teachings of Sri Aurobindo can be understood in the right spirit only if one bears in mind the fundamental principle of philosophic thought in ancient India, that each philosophic founder (as also those who continued his work) was a metaphysician doubled with a Yogi’. Or, in his own words," those who were only philosophic intellectuals were respected for their learning, but never took rank as truth discoverers. And the philosophies that lacked a sufficiently powerful means of spiritual experience died out and became things of the past, because they were not dynamic for spiritual discovery and realisation.”
Apart from the bulk of his writings in the past on philosophical and spiritual subjects, embedded in the articles published seriatum in the Arya, there are a few books, published of late, affording an opportunity for the enquiring mind to get more and more acquainted with the object, the means and the distinctive features of the Yoga that he has adopted and undertaken to communicate to those who are drawn to the discipline of this line of spiritual life.
The latest book is Lights on Yoga comprising as it does extracts from his letters to disciples in answer to their queries and the matter is given in four sections, arranged so as to be of some help to aspirants for the understanding and practice of the Yoga.
Many extracts describing in detail the goal of the Yoga form the first section, followed in the second by a descriptive classification of principles of the being, a sort of analysis, for purposes of the Yoga, of the human being into its component elements and of the planes of which they are the derived parts, together with illuminating references to the cakras, inner centres, their significance, functioning and fixed psychological use in the Yoga. The rest of the book deals with a practical description of the method of the Sadhana in some of its phases notably the use of concentration for opening to the peace and all that it carries with it as well as of the way of worship by works dedicated to the Divine.
The reader will find in the book sufficient explanation of terms, such as Supermind, Overmind, Psychic Being, Mind, Life, Lower Vital, Higher Vital and many more that are used in this Yoga with definite connotations; and this is bound to be of great value to those who seek to understand the principles of the Yoga. The book, as the title implies, is a series of lights on the method of practice of the Yoga and may well take the place of a companion volume to the Riddle of this world where most of the matter, especially the last section, treats of what may be called the theory side of the Yoga which indeed is indispensable for an understanding appreciation of the truths upon which the Yoga is founded for the releasing of the Divine potentialities imprisoned in the mind, life and body of the Earth in her travail.
Though these writings have a special importance to the disciples who are already on the path, they are bound to be of great help to the aspirant in his preparation and also of immense interest to the seeker of spiritual truths, strengthening the faith in the powers and possibilities of Yoga. We shall here quote a few passages from Sri Aurobindo’s published letters where we find interesting reference to instances of the development of a higher consciousness and its powers.
“ As for Divine rapture,” he writes in the course of a letter to Dilip Roy, “ a knock on head or foot or elsewhere can be received with the physical Ananda of pain or pain plus Ananda or pure physical Ananda for I have often, quite involuntarily, made the experiment myself and passed with honours. It began by the way, as far back as in Alipore jail when I got bitten in my cell by some very red and ferocious-looking warrior ants and found to my surprise that pain and pleasure were conventions of our senses. But I do not expect that unusual reaction from others. And I suppose there are limits.
If in Yoga all works are to be done as sacrifice to the Divine, can one remember the Divine all the time he is working? It can be done, he says; and making some practical suggestions on the point he proceeds to give an instance of personal experience. “There is also another way which was mine for a long time, a condition in which the work takes place automatically and without intervention of personal thought or mental action, while the consciousness remains silent in the Divine."
One may ask — such a consciousness is indeed a spiritual gain, but how does it affect others? Is it not valid only as a subjective experience? If not, does it make its influence felt in the objective world? Can anyone in need of help who is not a yogin be affected by it?
Here is the answer:
“ Consciousness in its very nature could not be limited by the ordinary physical animal consciousness, it must have other ranges ... It is certainly possible to have consciousness of things going on at a distance and intervene."
Then how is it that the use of yogic powers is forbidden and what is the rationale of these powers ?
“ All yogins who have these powers do use whenever they are called on from within to do so. They may refrain if they think the use in a particular case is contrary to the Divine Will or see that preventing one evil may be opening the door to worse or for any valid reason but not from any general prohibitory rule. What is forbidden to any one with a strong spiritual sense is to be a miracle-monger, performing extraordinary things for show, for gain, for fame, out of vanity or pride.
“ As for those who can live in the true Divine consciousness, certain powers are not powers at all in that sense, not, that is to say, supernatural or abnormal, but rather their normal way of seeing and acting, part of the consciousness — and how can they be forbidden or refuse to act according to their consciousness and its nature ?"
And this explains how or why the Master helps and extends himself to the disciples seeking him; for “the master is one who has risen to a higher consciousness and being and he is often regarded as its manifestation or representative. He not only helps by his teaching and still more by his influence and example but by a power to communicate his own experience to others.”
We shall close this with a passage from Anami that strikes the keynote of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings in regard to the Divine Grace and the Divine Will constituting the light and life of this Yogic endeavour. When he speaks of the Divine Will, he does not mean an arbitrary monarch who has created’ and governs the world that is the crude, childish, inadequate popular notion. He means "something different something that has descended here into an evolutionary world of Ignorance, standing at the back of things, pressing on the darkness with its light, leading things presently towards the best possible in the conditions of a world of Ignorance and leading it eventually towards a descent of a greater power of the Divine — which will be not an omnipotence held back and conditioned by the law of the world as it is, but in full action and therefore bringing the reign of light, peace, harmony, joy, love, beauty and Ananda — for these are the Divine Nature. The Divine Grace is there ready to act at every moment, but it manifests as one grows out of the Law of Ignorance into the Law of Light, and it is meant, not an arbitrary caprice, however miraculous often its intervention, but as a help in that growth and a Light that leads and eventually delivers.”
The Message of the Gita (as interpreted by Sri Aurobindo) is the title of the work that has been prepared and recently brought out by Sjt. Anilbaran Roy of Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The specialty that attaches itself to Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation of the Gita lies chiefly in the spirit of his approach as well as in the object and method of his treatment of the subject. It will do well to refer to it at the outset in a few sentences taken from the introduction before considering what precisely Sjt. Roy has achieved in presenting the book under notice.
“We do not belong to the past dawns, but to the noons of the future. A mass of new material is flowing into us; we have not only to assimilate the influence of the great theistic religions of India and of the world and a recovered sense of the meaning of Buddhism, but to take full account of the potent though limited revelations of modern knowledge and seeking; and, beyond that, the remote and dateless past which seemed to be dead is returning upon us with an effulgence of many luminous secrets long lost to the consciousness of mankind but now breaking out again from behind the veil.” That Sri Aurobindo has made a very large and best use of the Gita by a liberal seeking in it for the basis of a divine life on earth to which his yoga leads could be seen from the following passage. “But just as the past syntheses have taken those which preceded them for their starting point, so also must that of the future, to be on firm ground, proceed from what the great bodies of realised spiritual thought and experience in the past have given. Among them the Gita takes a most important place.”
Therefore his object in writing the Essays on the Gita is not a scholastic or academical scrutiny of thought, nor to place its philosophy in the history of metaphysical speculation,” nor does he deal with it in the manner of the analytical dialectician. We approach it for help and light,” he says, “and our aim must be to distinguish its essential and living message, that in it which humanity has to seize for its perfection and highest spiritual welfare.”
Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita constitutes a standing monument of his luminous contribution to the literature extant on the subject. It enters into an elaborate discussion of the many lines of philosophic thought with their practical bearing on life that are dealt with in the Gita and vividly brings to light the great synthesis arrived at therein of the three major paths of yoga, viz., jnana, bhakti and karma — the lines of knowledge, devotion and action. The plan of the work is such that it has not admitted of the Sanskrit text with English translation of the verses finding a place in the body of the work.
Now let me mention the main features of Sjt. Anilbaran’s book, in order that the reader can judge its value to the student of the Gita in general, especially to the student who is interested in appreciating the Sanskrit text closely in the same spirit as underlies the Essays.
Here the Sanskrit text is printed in Devanagari script verse by verse with English translation, and the commentary follows in the manner of the ancient bhashyas. While the translation of the Slokas is rightly a free rendering quite in consonance with the spirit of the text in the light of the commentary, the latter is the result of a remarkable skill and diligence involved in the selection of relevant passages from the Essays on the Gita. The titles of the 24 articles which form the Essays are distributed in their proper order and arranged under each chapter and mentioned in the “ Contents” and this is followed by an illuminating synopsis of each of the 18 chapters of the Gita. There are three appendices following the body of the work — one on the story of the Gita, another on the historicity of Sri Krishna and a third on some psychological presuppositions. A glossary of important Sanskrit terms of the text and an index for ready reference are given in the end.
A word about the English rendering of the text is necessary. It is patent and pleasing to note that Sjt. Roy in preparing the translations of the Sanskrit Slokas into English has taken scrupulous care to employ the expressions of Sri Aurobindo used in his Essays on the Gita, not only to bring out the spirit of it. I may, in illustration of this fact, cite a striking instance. The word mithyacara in ch. 3. v 6 has gained currency in its mistranslation into English as ’hypocrite’. Sri Aurobindo, discussing the verse in question in his Essays, remarks in a foot-note, “ I cannot think that mithyacara means a hypocrite. How is a man hypocrite who inflicts on himself so severe and complete a privation? He is mistaken and deluded, vimudhatma, and his acara, his formally regulated method of self-discipline, is a false and vain method, ”
And this is Roy’s translation of the verse: “Who controls the organ of action, but continues in his mind to remember and dwell upon the objects of sense, such a man has bewildered himself with false notions of self-discipline.”
In the closing portion of the commentary, a few crowning sentences are given summing up the message of the Gita as interpreted by Sri Aurobindo: “Know then yourself; know your true self to be God and one with the self of all others; know yourself to be a portion of God.
“Live in what you know; live in self, live in your supreme spiritual nature, be united with God and Godlike.
“Offer first all your actions as a sacrifice to the Highest and the One in you and to the Highest and the One in the world; deliver all you are and do into his hands for the supreme and universal Spirit to do through you his own will and works in the world.”
THE GLORIES OF THE MOTHER46
॥१॥ हर्तारः शशिकीर्तेः कर्तारो नवभासाम् । भर्तारो मम सन्तु स्कन्दाम्बादरहासः॥
Of moon’s fame the despoilers, Of splendours new the creators, The subdued smiles of Skanda’s mother May they be my upholders.
॥२॥ दिग्वल्लीष्वतिशुभ्रां कुर्वन्तः कुसुमद्धिम् । भूयासुस्तव भूत्यै मन्मातुः स्मितलेशाः॥
Bestowing on the quarters, Floral wealth surpassing pure, The smile rays of mother mine, May they bring thee riches rare.
॥३॥ एकश्चेत्तव शक्तो ब्रह्माण्डस्य भवाय । भर्गप्रेयसि हासः किं स्तोत्रं तव भूयः॥
If single smile of Thine, Bharga’s beloved could suffice For birth of universe whole. Can other praise there be ?
॥४॥ उद्याने वियदाख्ये कालि त्वां विहरन्तीम् । गोलैः कन्दुककल्पैः-रल्पावाक्किमुभाति ॥
In the park of space Thou playest, The rolling spheres, Thy balls; Can meagre speech of mine, Kali, Thy being compass ?
खं क्रीडाभवनं ते कः कार्यालय ऐष। पृथ्वीयं बहुलाना मातर्भोजनशाला॥
The vasty space Thy house of sport, Yon orb of sun, Thy house of work, This earth replete with food Is Thy hall of banquet.
बुद्धीनामसि दात्री सिद्धीनामसि नेत्री। वीर्याणामसि पेटी कार्याणामसि धाटी॥ ॥६॥
Of wisdoms art Thou donor, To marvels art Thou urge and guide; Of valours bright, the casket, The whelming force for works.
॥७॥ विद्यानामसि भावो हृद्यानामसि हावः । देवानामसि लीला दैत्यानामसि हेला ॥
The sense in all the sciences, The grace in things that charm, In gods Thou art the sportive play, To Titans are disdain.
॥८॥ गन्तृणामसि चेष्टा स्थाणूनामसि निष्ठा। लोकानामसि मूलं लोकादेरसि जालम् ॥
In the mobile, Thou art movement, In the fixed, art Thou fixture; Root art Thou of all the worlds, Of birth of worlds, the magic cause.
देवी व्यापकतेजः शक्तिस्तत्त्वविचारे। अत्यन्तं सुकुमारी नारी मूर्तिविचारे॥
To eye that seeks discernment, Goddess, Thou art force of light; To eye that seeks a bodied form, Thou art woman’s frame, surpassing fair.
॥१०॥ क्व ज्योतिर्महतोस्मा दाकाशादपि भूयः। तत्सर्वं विनयन्ती तन्वङ्गी क्व नु नारी॥
Where the splendour of the light Larger than pervading space, And where this lady of slender limbs Who moves and rules all this?
॥११॥ देवेन्द्राय विभुत्वं सूर्यायोस्रसहस्रम् । ऊष्माणं दहनाय ज्योत्स्नामोषधिराजे॥
To lord of gods o’erlordship, To the sun his thousand rays, To Fire Thou givest ardour, Moonlight to lord of herbs.
॥१२॥ वातायामितवीर्य विस्तारं गगनाय । सान्द्रत्वं वसुधाय तोयाय द्रवभावम् ॥
Measureless might to god of wind, Boundless spread to the sky, To earth Thou givest denseness, And fluid state to water.
॥१३॥ माहाभाग्यमपारं कोटिभ्यो विबुधानाम् । चित्राः काञ्चन सिद्धी-लक्षेभ्यो मनुजानाम् ॥
To countless hosts of gods, Splendid parts Thou grantest, And to men unnumbered Wondrous powers and rare. .
स्थाणुभ्यो धृतिक्ति गन्तृभ्यो गतिशक्तिम् । कस्माच्चिन्निजकोशा देका देवि ददाना। ॥१४॥
To stable things the staying power, To mobile things their mobile force; From what treasure house of Thine, Single, such largess Thou grant?
॥१५॥ आश्चर्य विदधाना सर्व वस्तु दधाना। हन्त त्वं मम मातः काचित्कोमलगानी॥
Many a marvel achievest Thou, And sustainest substance all; Mother mine, ’tis cause for amaze Thou hast a frame so tender.
॥१६॥ श्रोणीभारनतायां कस्यांचित्तनुगान्याम् । ईदृक्षा यदि शक्तिः का वेतो ननु माया ॥
If potency such could be In woman of limbs to slender Bent with weight of hips, Magic this. What else is Maya? ?
॥१७॥ रूपं ते तनु गात्रं वाणी ते गात्रं वाणी ते मृदुनादा। चापं ते मधुरेक्षुः पाणिस्ते सुकुमारः॥
Thy figure is slight and fair, Thy speech is soft of tone, The sweet cane is Thy bow, Thy hands are passing tender.
॥१८॥ लोले लोचनयुग्मे भीरुत्वं प्रकटं ते। ब्रह्माण्डं त्वदधीनं श्रद्धत्तामिह को वा॥
The eyes ever tremulous A state of fear proclaim; The universe is in Thy hold: Who in this can credence feel ?
॥१६॥ भूभङ्गं कुरुषे चेन्मुग्धे गौरि मुखाब्जे। भूतान्यप्ययि बिभ्य त्येजेरन्नपि ताराः॥
Bend but Thy brow, O Lady fair, Gowri, in Thy lotus-face, The elements quake in fear then, And even stars do tremble.
॥२०॥ शुद्धान्तेश्वरिशम्भो रिच्छा चेत्तव काऽपि । घोरोग्निस्तृणगर्भा दोराग्नेरपि शैत्यम् ॥
If e’er a wish Thou feel, O Queen of Shiva’s heart, Frightful flames from grass-blade shoot, And coolness flows from fire.
॥२१॥ द्रष्टुं विश्वमपारं भारस्ते दयितस्य । कर्तुं कार्यमशेषं श्रीमातस्तव भारः॥
Thy Lord’s is the function That holds the world in vision, And Thine ’tis to fulfil Every work entire.
॥२२॥ साक्षी केवलमीशः कर्तुं भर्तुमुताहो। हर्तुं वाऽखिलमम्बं त्वं साक्षाघृततदीक्षा ।
The Lord is but witness, But Thou to vow hold’st fast Direct to make and sustain And even unmake the all.
॥२३॥ कारङकारमुमे यद् ब्रह्माण्डानि निहंसि । तन्मन्ये सुरमान्ये बालवाम्ब सदा त्वम् ॥
If making and ever making, Thou breakest the worlds thus made, God-adored, Thou art, methinks The eternal child in play.
॥२४॥ लीलोज्जीवितकामे रामे शङक रसक्ते । त्वत्पादार्चनसक्तं भक्तं मां कुरु शक्तम् ॥
With sportive ease, Thou didst Kama revive, Lady fair, to Shankara cleaving: : To worship of Thy feet I cling, Me, Thy devotee, with might endow.
॥२५॥ एताः पावनगन्धाः सर्वेशप्रमदे ते। हैरम्ब्यो मदलेखाः सन्तोषाय भवन्तु ॥
These verses, fragrant and holy, Of Heramba, in metre Madalekha, Fair Beloved of the Lord of all, May these be unto Thy joy!
॥१॥ प्रीतिविकासे स्वल्पतमो रोषविशेषे भूरितरः। अद्भुतहासो विश्वसुवो रक्षतु साधं हन्तु खलम् ॥
In expression of love extremely slight, In display of anger full and broad, The wondrous smile of Mother of worlds Protect the good and slay the wicked!
॥२॥ सज्जनचित्तानन्दकरी संश्रितपापव्रातहरी। लोकसवित्री नाकचरी स्तान्मम भूयो भद्रकरी॥
To the hearts of the good, giver of delight, Sins of devoted, remover in full, Mother of worlds, residing in heaven, May She give the good in excelsis!
॥३॥ अर्चनकाले रूपगता संस्तुतिकाले शब्दगता। चिन्तनकाले प्राणगता तत्त्वविचारे सर्वगता।
In hour of worship in image dwelling, In hour of praise Thou becomest the sound; In hour of thought Thou art one with life, In reflection’s hour Thou becomest the all.
उज्ज्वलरूपे नृत्यकरी निष्प्रभरूपे सुप्तिकरी। गोपितरूपे सिद्धिकरी गोचररूपे बन्धकरी॥ ॥४॥
In forms resplendent a dancer art Thou, Thou sleepest in forms of lustre void In forms concealed Thou workest miracles, In objects sensed dost bondage cause.
अम्बरदेशे शब्दवती पावकताते स्पर्शवती। काञ्चनवीय रूपवती सागरकाञ्चयां गन्धवती ।।
In space art Thou possessor of sound, In father of fire art owner of touch, In aural energy art owner of form In sea-girded earth art possessor of smell. .
॥६॥ अप्स्वमलासु स्पष्टरसा चन्द्रविभायां गुप्तरसा। संसृतिभोगे सर्वरसा पूर्णसमाधावेकरसा॥
In waters pure Thou art with manifest delight, In lustre of moon Thou art with delight concealed, In life’s enjoyments comprisest all delights, In trance complete art second-less joy.
॥७॥ चक्षुषि दृष्टिश्शाततमा चेतसि दृष्टिश्चित्रतमा। आत्मनि दृष्टिश्शुद्धतमा ब्रह्मणि दृष्टिः पूर्णतमा ॥
In eye art Thou vision piercing sharp, In mind art vision varied wondrous, In Self art vision surpassing pure, In Brahman art vision exceeding full.
।।८॥ शीर्षसरोजे सोमकला भालसरोजे शक्रकला। हार्दसरोजे सूर्यकला मलसरोजे वह्निकला।
In lotus of Sahasrar art digit of moon, In eye-brow lotus art Indra’s rays; In lotus of heart art splendour of sun, In lotus at root art light of fire.
॥६॥ स्थूलशरीरे कान्तिमती प्राणशरीरे शक्तिमती। स्वान्तशरीरे भोगवती बुद्धिशरीरे योगवती।
In body gross, Thou art possessed of light, In body of life, art possessed of power, Ownest enjoyment in body of mind, In intellect body, is yoga Thine.
॥१०॥ सारसबन्धोरुज्ज्वलभा कैरवबन्धोस्सुन्दरभा। वैद्युतवह्नरद्भुतभा भौमकृशानोर्दीपकभा॥
In friend of lotus, art blazing light, In lily’s friend, art lovely light, In lightning fire, art wonderous light, In earthly fire, art flaming light.
॥११॥ योधवराणामायुधमा योगिवराणामीक्षणभा। भूमिपतीनामासनभा प्रेमवतीनामाननभा ॥
Of warriors best, art flash of weapon, Of yogins best art light of vision, Of lords of earth, art splendour of throne, Of women in love, art lustre of face.
शस्त्रधराणां भीकरता शास्त्रधराणां बोधकता। यन्त्रधराणां चालकता मन्त्रधराणां साधकता। ॥१२॥
Of wielders of swords, the power to fight, , Of men of learning, the power to teach, Of bearers of folds, the power to move, , Of holders of mantra, power to achieve.
॥१३॥ गानपटूनां रजकता ध्यानपटूनां मापकता। नीतिपटूनां भेदकता धूतिपटूनां क्षेपकता॥
Of experts in music, the power of charming, Of men of reflection, measuring power, Of proficients in policy, the power of dividing, Of agitators skilled, the power of moving.
दीधितिधारा लोकयतां जीवितधारा वर्तयताम् । ज्ञापकधारा चिन्तयतां मादकधारा द्रावयताम् ॥ ॥१४॥
Of men that see, Thou art flow of light, Of men that live, art current of life, Of them that think, art memory’s flow, Hilarity’s flow, for men that distil. .
॥१५॥ मन्त्रपराणां वाक्यवलं योगपराणां प्राणबलम् । आत्मपराणां शान्तिबलं धर्मपराणां त्यागबलम् ।।
To votaries of mantra, strength of speech, To yoga votaries, life-breath force, Power of peace, to votaries of self, To those of virtue, art power of giving. .
॥१६॥ सूरिवराणां वादबलं वीरवराणां बाहुबलम् । मर्त्यपतीनां सैन्यबलं रागवतीनां हासबलम् ॥
Of best of scholars, strength of debate, Of best of warriors, might of arm, Of kinds of mortals, strength of troops, Of women of passion, the strength of smile.
वदिकमन्त्रे भाववती तान्त्रिकमन्त्रे नादवती। शाबरमन्त्रे कल्पवती सन्ततमन्त्रे सारवती। ॥१७॥
In Vedic mantra, Thou art present as sense, In Tantric mantra, as force of sound, In Sabara mantra, as ritual power, In constant mantra, as essence Thou art.
॥१८॥ ब्रह्ममुखाब्जे वाग्वनिता वक्षसि विष्णोः श्रीललिता। शम्भुशरीरे भागमिता विश्वशरीरे व्योम्नि तता॥
As goddess of speech, in Brahman’s lotus face, As Lakshmi fair, on Vishnu’s breast, In Siva’s body, Thou ownest a share, In cosmic body, art spread in space.
॥१६॥ भूग्रहगोलः कन्दुकिनी विष्टपधाने कौतुकिनी। यावदनन्तं वैभविनी प्राणिषु भूयस्सम्भविनी॥
Earth and planets, Thou usest as balls, In world sustaining, keenest Thou art; To the ends of space, Thy lordship extends, In living this, may births Thou take.
॥२०॥ कञ्जभवाण्डे मण्डलिनी प्राणिशरीरे कुण्डलिनी। पामरभावे सल्ललना पण्डितभावे मोदधना।
In cosmic being, in form of spheres, In the body of beings, Thou art Kundalini; In thought of unlearned, Thou art woman fair, In thought of learned, Thou art bliss intense.
॥२१॥ नार्यपि पुंसा मूलवती तन्व्यपि शक्त्या व्याप्तिमती। व्याप्तिमतीत्वे गुप्तिमती चित्रविचित्रा काऽपि सती॥
Woman Thou art, yet born of man, Through power pervasive, though slight in form. Even in pervasion, art concealed from view, Woman rare, a wonder of wonders!
॥२२॥ दीधितिरूपा चित्तमयी प्राणशरीराप्यद्वितयी। ब्रह्मशरीरं ब्रह्मविभा ब्रह्मविभूतिर्ब्रह्म परम् ।।
In shape of light, She is form of mind, , Life body She has, yet is undual. Body of Brahman, Brahman’s light, Brahman’s lordship, Brahman is She.
॥२३॥ विष्टपमाता भूरिकृपा विष्टपराज्ञी भूरिबला। विष्टपरूपा शिष्टनुता विष्टपपारे शिष्टमिता ॥
Thou art mother of world, with mercy abounding, Queen of worlds with power abounding, Form of world, by the good worshipped At the end of worlds, Thou art survivor. .
॥२४॥ दुर्जनमूलच्छेदकरी दीनजनातिवंसकरी। धोबललक्ष्मीनाशकृशं पुण्यकुलं नः पातु शिवा ॥
Evil men She severs at the root, The suffering of the poor She destroys in full; May the giver of good protect this fellowship holy, That is weak with loss of wisdom and wealth.
॥२५॥ चन्द्रकिरीटाम्भोजदृशः शन्तिसमृद्धं स्वान्तमिमे। सम्मदयन्तु श्रोत्रसुखाः सन्मणिबन्धाः सूरिपतेः॥
May these verses sweet to the ear, In metre manibandha, of the lord of the learned, Please the mind that is full of peace, Of the lotus eyed consort of Siva moon-crested.
Umā sahasram, Canto XX
Radha is the personification of the absolute love for the Divine, total and integral in all parts of the being from the highest spiritual to the physical, bringing the absolute self-giving and total consecration of all the being and calling down into the body and the most material nature the supreme Ananda.
SRI AUROBINDO
सम्मदघनसच्चिन्मयशिखरादन्नमयावधिसन्ततमुखारा। सकले पात्रेऽमृतरसधारा राधाऽऽराधनसुगमा जयति ॥ निखिलाधारनिवेदनमभयं नितरामात्मसमर्पणमुभयम् । साधयतीयं त्रिजगद्धात्री मूर्ता प्रीतिः परमे पुरुषे ॥ बहिरिह जन्तोर्बोधविहीने जडतमभागे जर्जरदेहे। अवतारयति स्थिरमानन्दं प्रेममयीयं परमा जननी॥
Some give their soul to the Divine, some their life, some offer their work, some their money. A few consecrate all of themselves and all they have — soul, life, work, wealth; these are the true children of God.
-THE MOTHER
स्वात्मानं ददतीशे केचिज्जीवितमन्ये । कर्म स्वीयमथके स्वं तस्मै वितरन्ति ॥ एके सन्ति तु धीरा निश्शेषार्पणशूराः। कर्म स्वं ददते ये सात्मीयं च समस्तम् ॥ ईदृक्षं खलु धन्यं सत्यं सत्यतनूजम् । देवस्य स्वयमाह श्रीमाता स्वमनर्घम् ।।
Night is darkest before dawn and the coming of dawn is inevitable. But the new world whose coming we envisage is not to be made of the same texture as the old and different only in pattern. It must come by other means, from within and not from without.
पूर्व प्रत्यूषतः सान्द्रतमा व्याप्ता तमस्विनी। प्रत्यूषोऽपरिहार्यस्तु भविष्यति न संशयः॥ जगदालोक्यतेऽस्माभिर्यन्नवाभ्युदयाञ्चितम् । प्राग्वन्न तस्य विन्यासः प्रतिमान्या न केवलम् ॥ उपायान्तरतः साध्यं न तद् बाह्यविधानतः॥ अन्तरुल्लासविधिना निष्पाद्यं खलु नान्यथा ॥
GLOSSARY
Ability सामर्थ्यम्
Abnormal विलक्षण; नियमविरुद्ध
Abolish निरस् ; उत्सद् ; उच्छिद्
Absolute कूटस्थ ; केवल
Absorb विलयंकुरू
Absorbed (is) लीयत
Abstract सार ; भाव ; धर्म ; अस्थूल ; सारभाव ; धर्मवाचक ; गुणवाचक
Abstraction पृथक्करणम् ; पृथक्कृतभाव:
Abstraction (mental) मानसः पृथक्कृतभावः
Accent स्वरः
Accompaniment सहायता
Accidental आगन्तुक ; यादृच्छिक ; आकस्मिक ; आहार्य
Accurate याथातथ्थेन ; याथार्थ्य
Acquiscence अनुमतिः
Action क्रिया
Activity क्रियाशीलता, प्रवृत्तिमत्ता; कृतिः
Acutal यथार्थ
Adventure साहसकर्म
Adventure in time काले साहस कर्म
Aesthesis सौन्दर्यबोधः
Aesthetic सौन्दर्यसम्बन्धि
Aesthetic appeal सौन्दर्यप्ररोचना
Aesthetic effect सौन्दर्यफलितम्
Aesthetic faculty सौन्दर्यसामर्थ्यम् ; सौन्दर्यरसन-सामर्थ्यम्
Aesthetic idealism रामणीयक (सौन्दर्य) आदर्शकल्पना
Aesthetic perception सौन्दर्यप्रत्यक्षम्
Aesthetic sense सौन्दर्यज्ञानम् ; सौन्दर्यप्रज्ञा ; सौन्दर्यरसज्ञानम्
Aesthetic touch सौन्दर्यस्पर्शः
Affirmation प्रतिज्ञा ; दृढवचनम् ; दृढोक्तिः ; उदीरणम् ; उदाहारः
Affirmation (self) स्वात्मदृढीकरणम्
Agent साधनम् ; कर्त ; करणम्
Aggrandisement आप्यायनम्
Agnostic अविज्ञेयतावादिन्
Agony तीव्रवेदना
Aim लक्ष्यम्
Allegory गूढाख्यानम् ; गूढार्थाख्यानम्
Ambition उच्छपदवांछा
Amoral नैतिकतटस्थ ; धर्म-उदासीन
Amplitude विस्तारः ; महत्त्वम् ; प्राचुर्यम्
Analysis विवेचना
Analytic विवेचक; विभजक; व्यवच्छेदसम्बन्धिन्
Annul विलुप्
Antipathy विद्वेषः वैरम्
Apathy उदासीनता
Apparent स्पष्ट ; आभास
Appearance प्रतिभास ; प्रतीत ; प्रतिभासमान; दृश्यमान
Appetite स्पृहा
Appreciation बहुमानम् ; गुणग्रहणम् ; गुणरसिकता
Apprehension ग्रहण ; ज्ञानम् ; प्रज्ञानम् ; परामर्शः
Approximation समीपवर्तनम् ; उप-इ-गम्य
Arbitrary अनियन्त्रण ; स्वच्छन्द ; उद्दाम
Ardent तीव्र
Arrangement विन्यसनम् ; रचना
Art कला
Art (fine) ललितकला
Artificial कृत्रिम
Artist कलाकुशलः ; कलाज्ञः
Artistic कलाविधिसम्बन्धिन् ; सुन्दर ; कलासुभग
Artistic aim कलालक्ष्यला ; क. गतिः ; कला. उद्देशः
Artistic creation कलासृष्टि:
Artistic effect सौन्दर्यफलितम्
Artistic intellect कलारसिकबुद्धिः ; कलाज्ञबुद्धिः
Artistic intelligence कलाप्रज्ञा
Artistically sound कलाकौशलपेक्षाया
Artistry कलाचमत्कारः ; कलाकौशलम्
Ascend अधिरोह
Ascent आरोहः ; अधिरोहः
Ascertained व्यवसित ; निरुपित
Ascetic यतिः
Aspects रूपम् ; निरीक्षणम् ; अंशाः ; पक्षाः
Aspiration आकांक्षा
Assimilation स्वीकरणम् ; सात्करणम्
Association संमिलनम् ; संसर्गः ; सङ्गः
Assonance अनुप्रासः; वर्णमैत्री
Atmosphere वातावरणम्
Attention अवधानता
Attraction रागः ; आकर्षणम्
Austere उग्र; कृच्छ
Authentic प्रामाणिक
Authentic perception of things प्रामाणिक (प्रत्यक्ष) वस्तुदर्शनम्
Autocratic अनियन्त्रिताधिकार
Automatic स्वयंचालित (नियंन्त्रित); यन्त्रप्राय
Automatic knowledge स्वयंनियत्रितज्ञानम्
Automatically अन्यनिमित्तानपेक्षम्
Automatism स्वयंनियन्त्रणा
Awakening प्रबोधः
Awareness संज्ञा ; संवित् ; बोधः
Awareness (self-) स्वबोधः
Awareness of things वस्तुबोधः
Background अधारभूमिः ; पश्चात्प्रदेशः
Baffling परामू
Balance तुल्
Balanced सुसंहत
Balanced (ill-) बन्धवैषम्यम्
Balanced (well-) बन्धसमता
Barrier अन्तरायः; प्रत्यूहः
Basic आधारभूत
Beautiful सुन्दर
Beauty सौन्दर्यम्
Becoming सम्भूतिः
Being सत्ता ; सत्त्वः ; सचेतन ; पुरुषः ; भूतम् ; प्राणः ; देहः
Being (active) प्रवर्तकः ; पुरुषः ; प्रवृत्तिमान् पुरुषः
Being (inner) आन्तरः पुरुषः
Being (mental) मनोमयः पुरुषः
Being (outer) बाह्यः; पुरुषः
Being (vital) प्राणमयः पुरुषः
Blank verse अनुप्रासरहितं पद्यम्
Blind grouping अन्धान्वेषणम
Blind necessity अन्धं (अप्रज्ञ) नियतत्वम्
Blunt कुष्ठितः ; मन्द
Borderline सीमान्तः
Break विच्छेदः ; भङ्गः
Bright प्रकाश
Brilliant उज्ज्वल ; तेजस्वि ; भास्वत्
Burdened भाराक्रान्त
Cadence स्वरावरोहः ; आरोह-अवरोहणम्
Catholic सार्वलौकिकः ; उदार; विशाल
Centre केन्द्रम् ; मध्यम् ; प्रधानम् ; स्थानम्
Central मध्यम
Chance
Channel प्रणालिः
Chaos संकुलम्
Character पात्रम्
Charm रामणीयकम्
Charm (imaginative) काल्पनिकचारुता
Charming रमणीय
Cheerful प्रसन्न ; हृष्ट
Circumscribes संवृणुते
Circumspection पर्यवेक्षणं ; पर्यावलोकनम् ; समीक्षाकारित्वम्
Claim स्वीयत्वम्
Clamour आक्रोशः
Clash समाघातः
Classic प्रमाणभूत ;प्रामाणिक
Classicism प्रामाणिकवादः
Clear विशद
Climax पराकाष्ठा ; उत्तरोत्कर्षः
Clouded अप्रकाशीकृत ; कलुषीकृत
Coarse स्थूल ; ग्राम्य ; अश्लील
Coexistence समानाधिकरणम् ; सहवर्तनम् ; समवृत्तित्वम्
Coexistent correlatives समानाधिकरण-इतरेतर-सम्बन्धः
Cognition उपलब्धिः ; ज्ञानम्
Cold आदरशून्य
Coloured (highly) अतीवचित्रित
Colourful रागबहुल
Colours वर्णा:
Comedy हास्यप्रदाननाटकम् ; तोषान्तनाटकम्
Commensurate अनुगुण; अनुरूप
Communion साक्षात् व्यवहारः; सङ्गमः; सङ्गः
Compact घन; गाढ
Compact with निबिड ; सान्द्र
Complementary पूरक ; समोक
Complex बहुल ; श्लिष्ट ; संमिश्र ; जटिल
Complexity of emotions भावशबलता
Composite समनुगत ; समन्वित ; संयोजित
Comprehending (all) सर्वग्राहक ; सर्वव्यापक
Comprehension व्यापकज्ञानम् ; (ग्रहणम्); परिज्ञानम्
Concentration एकाग्रता ; एकत्र समाहरणम्
Concentration (exclusive) अनन्यैकाग्रता
Concept प्रत्ययः; भावना
Conception विभावना ; भावना ; अवधारणा
Conceptual भावनासम्बन्धि
Conclusion उपसंहार :
Concomittant सहचर ; साहचर्यम्
Concord संवदि
Concrete घन ; स्थूल ; धर्मि (गुण) वाचक
Conflict विरोधः ; अभिसंपातः
Confused व्यामिश्र : विप्रतिपन्न
Confusion व्यामिश्रः
Conquest जयः
Conscience हृदयाभ्यनुज्ञानम्
Conscious (ly) बुद्धिपूर्वक
Consciousness चित् ; चिति :; चैतन्यम्
Consciousness (body-) देहस्य चित्
Consciousness (cosmic) ब्रह्माण्डचैतन्यम्
Consciousness (direct) साक्षात् चैतन्यम्
Consciousness (higher) परं चैतन्यम्
Consciousness (individual) व्यक्तिचैतन्यम
Consciousness (inner) अभ्यन्तरचैतन्यम्
Consciousness (intimate) आत्यन्तिक चैतन्यम्
Consciousness (integral) समग्रचैतन्यम्
Consciousness (mental) मनःस्था चितिः
Consciousness (overhead) अधिशिर : चैतन्यम्
Consciousness (physical) शारीरक (भौतिक) चितिः
Consciousness (transcendent) सर्वातीतचैतन्यम्
Consciousness (vital) प्राणस्थचितिः
Conscient सचेतन
Conscient (in-) जड
Conscient (sub-) अधोगतचेतन
Conscient (super-) ऊर्ध्वस्थ चेतन
Conscientious ऋजु ; निर्व्याज
Conscientious execution निर्व्याजनिर्वतन
Consecration निवेदनम् ; पवित्रीकरणम् ; पावनम्
Consent संमतिः
Conservative पूर्वाचारानुसारिन् ; स्थितिसंरक्षक
Constitute निर्मा; संस्था
Construction निर्माणम् ; निर्मितिः ; रचना ; विरचनम्
Construction (mental) मानसिकरचना
Constructive criticism उपकारकविमर्शः
Constructive imagination सर्जनात्मक कल्पनाशक्तिः
Consummation समापनम् ; निष्पत्तिः ; सिद्धिः
Contact सम्पर्क:
Continent आधारः ; आश्रयः
Contradictory परस्परविरुद्ध ; विसंवादि
Contrary प्रतिपक्ष; विपक्ष
Control वशः; अधिकार:
Controlled संयतः ; वशीकृत
Contrast वैलक्षण्यम्
Conversion परिवर्तः ; भावान्तरप्रापणम्
Conviction हृदयाभ्यानुज्ञानम्
Corresponding संवादिन् ; सदृश
Corruption कालुष्यम् ; भ्रष्टता
Cosmic (supra-) विश्वातीत ; अधिविश्व
Cosmic consciousness विश्वज्ञानम् ; सर्वज्ञानम्
Cosmic existence विश्वसत्ता
Cosmic godhead विश्वाधिदेवता
Cosmic ignorance विश्व-अविद्या
Cosmic insensibility विश्वजडता
Cosmic intelligence विश्वचैतन्यम्
Cosmic mind (logos) विश्वमनः
Cosmic movement विश्वगतिः
Cosmic self विश्वात्मन्
Cosmos विश्वम् ; ब्रह्माण्डम् ; जगत्
Covert गूढ ; प्रच्छन्न ; गुप्त
Craft शिल्पकला
Craftsman कर्मकार ; कारु ; शिल्पिन्
Craving लालसा
Creation सृष्टि: ; सर्जनम्
Creative सर्जनपर (समर्थ) ; स्रष्ट ; निर्मातृ
Crisis संकटम्
Critical गुणदोषविचारसम्बन्धि
Critical appreciation गुणदोषरसनम्
Critical faculty गुणदोषविचारसामर्थ्यम्
Critical intellect गुणदोषविचारबुद्धिः
Criticism गुणदोषविचारः
Crude असंस्कृत ; अपक्व
Crudities ग्राम्यताः
Culmination परिसमाप्ति ; अन्तः
Cultivated संवर्धित ; कृष्ट
Dark तिमिरावृत ; अन्धकारावृत ; अस्पष्ट
Decadence अस्तमयः
Decay क्षयः
Decisive निर्णायक
Deep अगाध ; गाढ; गभीर
Deeper law गाढतरो नियमः
Defiance of tradition पारम्पर्यावज्ञा
Definite निष्कष्ट
Definitive निर्णायक ; नियत
Deformed व्यंग ; विकलांग
Degree अंश
Degrees (by) क्रमशः
Delicate कोमल ; सुकुमार
Delicately coloured ललितविन्यस्तवर्ण
Deliverance मोचनम् ; निस्तारः ; उद्धारः
Delivery अर्पणम् ; प्रतिपादनम् ; व्याहरः ; उच्छारणम्
Delusion मोहः
Demand बलात् प्रार्थना ; बलात्कारेण ; प्रार्थनम्
Denial प्रत्याख्यानम् ; प्रति (नि)षेधः
Denoument वस्तु (कथा) निर्वाहणम् ; वस्तुउद्धाटनम्
Dependence अधीन ; आयत्त
Dependent अन्याधीन
Depreciation गुणापकर्षः ; लघूकरणम्
Depths of the abyss अगाधगर्त उदरम्
Depths to the surface आगभीरबाह्यतलम्
Derivative उद्भूत ; व्युत्पन्न
Descent अवतरणम्
Descent (entire) समग्रथावतरणम्
Design संविधानम् ; विधित्सा
Desire वांछा
Desperate निराश
Desperate solution गत्यन्तरभावेण उपपादनम्
Determinate निर्दिष्ट ; नियत
Determinate in character नियतस्वभाव (गुण)
Determinism अन्यनियन्त्रणवादः
Development वस्तुपोषणम्
Development of plot वस्तुरचना
Differentiated विशेषित
Differentiation भेदाभिव्यक्ति
Difficult दुष्कर
Diffuse विक्षेप
Diluted संसर्गतनूकृत
Dimension मानम् ; विस्तारः
Diminished अपचित
Dimmed मन्दप्रभ ; अस्पष्टीकृत
Direct साक्षात् ; प्रत्यक्ष
Directness of speech वागृजुता
Disappearance अन्तर्धानम् ; तिरोधानम् ; अदर्शनम्
Discerning सूक्ष्मदर्शि
Discernment सूक्ष्मदर्शनम्
Discipline शिक्षा ; शिक्षणम्
Disciplined will शिक्षित (विनीत) संकल्पबलं
Discord अपस्वरः ; विसंवादि
Discovery अधिगमः ; अवगतिः उपलब्धिः
Discrimination विवेकः
Discriminative विवेचक
Disequilibrium वैषम्यावस्था
Disfigured विकृताकार ; विरुपीकृत
Distorted विरुपित ; विकृत
Disguise आकारगोपनम् ; छमन्
Disharmony विरोधः; विसंवादः
Disinterested निर्व्याज
Disorder अव्यवस्था ; व्यतिक्रमः
Disparagement अवमाननम्
Disposition प्रवणता
Dissolution प्रलयः ; विलयनम्
Dissolve विद्रुः ; वियुज्
Distinction व्यत्यासः
Distraction विक्षेपः ; व्याकुलता
Divergent विभिन्न
Diverse अनेक ; विविध
Divine ईश्वरः ; भगवान्
Divine (absolute) केवलः ; (अद्वितीय) ईश्वरः
Divine (cosmic) विश्वाध्यक्ष (विश्वभूत) ईश्वर :
Divine (individual) ईश्वरव्यक्तिः ; व्यक्तिरूप ईश्वरः
Division विभजनम्
Domain भूमिः
Domain of being सत्वभूमिः
Domain of intellect विचारभूमिः
Dominant प्रभविष्णु ; प्रबल
Dominated अधिष्ठित ; अध्यासित
Dormant निद्रित : निलीन
Drab नीरस ; नीराग
Drama नाटकम्
Dramatic (melo-) अवरनाटकीय
Dramatic poetry नाटकीयकाव्यम्
Driving force आदान (आकर्षण) बलं (शक्तिः)
Dubious सन्दिग्ध
Dynamic क्रियाप्रवृत्त ; शक्तिमत् ; प्रवृत्तिमत् प्रभाववत् ; ऊर्जस्वि
Dynamic consequences ऊर्जस्वीनि कार्याणि (फलितानि)
Dynamic descent प्रभावत् अवतरणम्
Dynamic movement स्वप्रभावा प्रवृतिः
Dynamic yoga शक्तिमान्योगः ; वीर्यवत् योगः ; प्रवृत्तिमान्योगः
Dynamis प्रवर्तकशक्तिः
Dynamis (diminished) अपचिता (न्यूनीकृता) प्रवृत्तिः
Dynamis (modified) विक्रियगता प्रवृत्तिः
Dynamis (original) मूलभूता प्रवृत्तिः
Dynamism प्रवृतिपूर्णा शक्ति :
Eager लालस ; लोलुप ; अत्यासक्त
Earnest उत्सुक
Ebullient उत्सेक
Eccentric विषमः विपथगामिन् ; उत्क्रान्तमर्यादः;
Ecastasy हर्षावेशः
Effacement उच्छेदनम् ; उन्मूलनम्
Effect फलितम् ; कार्यम्
Effect (aesthetic) सौन्दर्योपयोगि-फलम्
Effect (artistic) कलोपयोगि-फलम्
Effect (emotional) भावोपयोगि-फलम्
Effect (sound) श्रवणोपयोगिफलितम्
Effect (thought) बुद्धयुपयोगिफलितम्
Effective निष्पादक ; सम्पादक; फलोत्पादक
Effective cause निमित्तकारण
Effectuation निष्पादनम्
Ego अहन्ता
Elegance लालित्यम्
Elegant ललित ; सुभग
Element भूतम् ; बीजम् ; अंशः ; मूलवस्तु
Elements महाभूतानि ; तन्मात्राः ; अंशाः
Elementary प्रारम्भक ; निरवयव
Elimination निस्सारणम्
Embodiments गुणाः ; देहबद्धाः ; मूर्ताः
Embracing (all) सर्वाश्लेषक
Emerge निगम् ; निष्क्रम्
Emergence निगमः
Emerging निगच्छत्
Emotion भावः
Empirical अनुभावाधार ; प्रयोगज्ञानमात्र
Ends लक्ष्याणि ; अग्राणि
Energetic तेजस्वि ; प्रतापवत् ; वीर्यवत्
Energism प्राणव्यापारः
Energy तेजः ; प्रतापः ; वीर्यम्
Energy (vital) प्राणवीर्यम्
Englobes गोलवत् आवृणुते
Enigma गूढप्रश्नः
Enlargement विस्तरणम् ; प्रपञ्चः
Enlightenment ज्ञानागमः ; प्रबोधः ; ज्ञानोद्दीपनम्
Entangled संलग्न ; परिलग्न
Enterprise उद्यम ; दुष्करकर्म ; व्यवसायः आरम्भः
Entity सद्भाव:
Entity (independent) स्वतन्त्रसत्ता
Entity (spiritual) आध्यात्मिकसत्ता
Enveloped आवृत
Enveloping आवरक
Environment परिसर ; पर्यन्त ; उपान्त
Epic आदिकाव्य
Epilogue उपसंहारः
Equilibrium साम्यावस्था
Essay व्यासः ; निबन्धः
Essence सारः
Essential सारभूत ; आवश्यक
Ethical धार्मिक ; नीतिविषयक
Ethical ideas धार्मिक-आशयाः
Ethical revolt धार्मिकशासन उल्लंघः
Ethical standard धार्मिकप्रमाणम्
Evasion परिहरणम्
Evil पापम् ; असत् ; अधर्म ; असाधु ; अहित ; अनिष्ट ; अशुभम्
Evolution निष्क्रमणम्
Evolution (physical) भौतिकपरिणामः
Evolution (spiritual) आध्यात्मिकपरिणामः
Evolutionary ascent परिणामक्रमप्राप्तः ; अधिरोहः
Evolutionary form परिणामनिष्पन्नं रूपम्
Evolutionary manifestation पारिमाणिक अभिव्यक्ति:
Evolutionary nature परिणामक्रमवत् प्रकृतिः
Evolutionary transformation परिणामक्रमेण परिवर्तनम्
Evolutionary urge पारिणामिक चोदना
Exaggeration अतिशयोक्तिः ; अत्युक्तम्
Exaltation उन्नयनम् ; उन्नतिः ; उत्कर्षः
Excitation प्रकोपः ; उद्दीपनम्
Excited reception आवेगग्रहणम्
Excited (evocation) आवेग उद्बोधनम्
Execution निर्वर्तनम् ; निर्वहणम्
Execution (careful) सावधान निर्वहणम्
Execution (exquisite) उत्कृष्ट-निर्वहणम्
Execution (neat) शुद्ध (सुनिहित)-निर्वहणम्
Executive निर्वाहक
Existence सत्ता
Existence (mental) मनोमय सत्ता
Existence (physical) अमय (भौतिक) सत्ता
Existence (real & basic) वास्तविक-आधार-सत्ता
Existence (self-) स्वतः सत्ता
Existence (super-conscient) अतिप्रज्ञा-सत्ता
Existence (vital) प्राणमय सत्ता
Expansion विजृम्भणम् ; विततिः ; विस्तृनिः
Experience अनुभवः
Experience (mystic) अतीन्द्रिय (गुप्त) अनुभवः
Experience (normal) सामान्य ; साधारण ; लौकिक अनुभव:
Experience (spiritual) आध्यात्मिक अनुभूतिः
Experience (supernormal) अतिसामान्य ; अलौकिक अनुभूतिः
Experiment प्रयोगः ; परीक्षणम्
Explicit सुप्रकाश ; परिस्फुट
Express (adj.) स्पष्ट ; असन्दिग्ध
Express (verb) वच
Express itself आविष्कृ
Expression आविष्करणम्
Expression (creative self-) सर्जनपरं स्वाविष्करणम्
Expression (self-) स्वात्माविष्कृतिः
Expressive image विवरणक्षमबिंबम् ; भावनाबिंबम्
Exquisite उत्कृष्ट ; उत्कर्षावह
Extension विततिः ; विस्तारः
External tendency बाह्योन्मुखता
Extinction निर्वाणम् ; निर्वापणम्
Extraction सारादानम्
Extravagant अमित
Extrinsic सांसर्गिक
Extrovert बहिर्मुख
Exuberance प्राचुर्यम्
Exuberant प्राचुर्य ; प्रचुर
Exultation प्रहर्षः ; प्रमोदः
Fabricated मिथ्याविरचित
Fact भूतार्थः
Factors अंशाः
Faculty सामर्थ्यम् ; वृत्तिः
Faculty (aesthetic) रामणीयक (सौन्दर्य) ग्रहण-सामर्थ्यम्
Faculty (intellectual) धीसामर्थ्यम्
Faith श्रद्धा
Faith (fire of) श्रद्धाग्निः
Faithful portrayal याथातथ्यन वर्णनम्
Fall पातः
Falsehood अनृतम् ; असत्यम्
Fanatical धर्मोन्मत्त
Fanciful कल्पनोत्पादित ; कल्पनाकल्पित ; मनोरथसृष्ठ
Fancy वितर्कः
Fancy (poetic) उत्प्रेक्षा
Fancy (quaint) विलक्षणवितर्क
Fantastic असम्भवकल्पाक
Fascination मोहनम् ; आकर्षणम् ; वशीकरणम्:
Fashion रीतिः; प्रकार:
Feeling संवेदनम् ; अनुभव :
Felicitous direction उचितसाक्षात्वाम्
Fervent तीक्ष्ण ; सोत्साह
Field क्षेत्रम्
Field (intellectual) विचारभूमिः
Field of endeavour उद्यमभूमिः
Field of existence सत्ताभूमिः
Field of realisation साक्षात्कार (अनुभव) भूमिः
Figure आकारः ; रूपम् ; मूर्तिः ; आकृतिः ; बिम्बम्
Fine सूक्ष्म ; चारू
Flexible नम्य ; नमनशील
Flippant लौल ; चञ्चल ; निस्सार
Fluid द्रव
Force बलम् ; शक्तिः ; सामर्थ्यम् ; प्रभावः ; वीर्यम् ; ऊर्जस् ; प्रतापः
Force (conscious) प्राज्ञं बलम् ; चिच्छक्तिः
Force (Consciousness-) चिच्छक्तिः
Force (creative) सृष्टिशक्तिः
Force (idea-) भावप्रतापः
Force (life-) प्राणशक्तिः
Force (material) अन्नमयशक्तिः
Force of personality मूर्तिबलम्
Forced बलात्कृत्
Forceful शक्तिमत्
Foreground पुरोभूमिः (भागः) (देशः)
Form रूपम् ; आकृतिः ; आकारः
Formal गौण ; आचारानुगुण
Formalism नियताचारानुवर्तनम् ; बाटंकप्रधानम्
Formations घटनाः ; घटितानि; रचनाः
Formations (inspired) प्रत्यवभासिताः घटनाः
Formations (mind-) मानसरचनाः
Formations (sense-) इन्द्रियरचनाः
Formations (supramental) विज्ञानस्य घटनाः
Formative रूपाधानक्षम; रूपाधायक
Formula विधिः ; सूत्रम् ; कल्पः
Formula (cosmic) विश्वविधिः
Formula (physical) भौतिकविधिः
Formula (terrestrial) भूलोकव्यवस्था
Formulate व्यवस्थाप्
Fragmentary खण्डशः ; अपूर्ण ; अंशिक
Freak of nature विकृतिः ; कामचारिता ; चापलम्
Freedom स्वतन्त्रता ; अवशता; मोक्षः
Fresh अभिनव ; नूतन ; प्रत्यग्र
Frivolous लघु ; चपल
Frustrated भग्न ; मोघीकृत
Fulfilment साधनम् ; निर्वाहम् ; सिद्धिः ; निष्पत्तिः
Fulfilment (self-) स्वात्मसिद्धिः
Fulfils साध्नोति ; सम्पूरयति
Full-blooded पुष्ट ; पुष्टियुक्त ; पुष्टिमत्
Fundamental मूलतत्वसम्बन्ध
Fusion विलयनम्
Futility आनर्धक्यम् ; मोघता
Genius प्रतिभानवान्
Glamour विलोभनम् ; व्यामोहः
Global सर्वतोमुख ; विश्वतोमुख
Gloomy उद्विग्न ; विषण्ण ; दीन ; तमोवृत्त ; तिमिरावगुण्ठित
Glorify श्लाघ् ; प्रशंस
Grace चारुता
Graceful चारु
Gradation अनुक्रम
Grades श्रेणी ; क्रम ; परम्परा
Grades of being सत्वक्रमः
Grand गम्भीर ; महत् ; बृहत्
Graphic सुचित्रित
Grief शोकः
Gross स्थूल
Hallucination भ्रमः
Harmonious construction निर्विरोध निर्मितः
Harmonisation समन्वयापादानम् ; सामरस्यसमादानम् ; समन्वयः
Harmonised सामरस्यसम्पन्न
Harmony सामरस्यम् ; स्वरसंगतिः
Heavily गुरुतर
Hedonism भोगतत्परतावादः
Heightened उन्नतिगत (प्राप्त)
Higher पर; उच्च ; उत्तर
Hierarchy उत्तरोत्तर अधिकारवर्ग:
How (the) विधानक्रम
Human terms मनुष्यव्यवहारः
Humanism मानवार्थपारम्यवादः
Humanistic मानुषप्रधान
Humour हास्य
Hypothesis संकेतः; प्रतिज्ञा
Idea भावः; आशयः
Idea-force भावशक्तिः
Ideal लक्ष्यम् ; आदर्श:
Idealism भावसत्यवादः
Idealistic view भावनमयत्वपक्ष
Ideation भावना
Identification अभिज्ञानम् ; अनन्यता निरुपणम्
Identity तादात्म्यम् ; अनन्यता
Idyllic लघुवर्णनपर
Ignorance अविद्या
Ignorance (cosmic) विश्वगता अविद्या
Illimitable अपरिच्छेद्य
Illumine उद्भास्
Illusion माया
Image बिम्बम् ; प्रतिमा ; रूपम्; मूर्तिः
Image (mental) चित्तस्थ (गत) बिम्बम्
Image (poetic) काव्यकल्पितरूपम्
Image (sound) शब्दमूर्तिः
Image (visual) चाक्षुषबिम्बम्
Imaged rendering बिम्बितम् प्रत्यर्पणम् ; प्रतिरूपतया उपकल्पितम्
Imagery कल्पना
Imagination कल्पनाशक्तिः ; कल्पना ; भावना ; उत्प्रेक्षा
Imagination (creative) सर्जनकल्पना
Imagination (objective पराचीनकल्पना
Imagination (spiritual) आध्यात्मिककल्पना
Imagination (subjective) प्रतिचीनकल्पना
Imaginative काल्पनिक
Imaginative charm कल्पनाचारुता
Individualistic व्यक्तिपरता (प्रधानता) सम्बन्धि ; व्यक्तित्वसम्बन्धि
Individuality व्यक्तित्वम्
Indivisible अविभाज्य
Indubitable असंदिग्ध
Indwelling अन्तर्वासि
Inferior अवर
Infinite अनन्त ; अखण्ड
Infinitesimal अनन्तांश
Influence (n) शक्तिप्रसारः
Influence (v) प्रेरय; प्रवर्तय
Informed with उद्भासित
Ineffable अनिर्वचनीय
Inevitable अपरिहार्य ; अवश्यंभावि
Inexpressible अवाच्य
Inherent निष्ठित ; समवेत
Initiation दीक्षा; उपक्रम :; प्रारम्भ:
Innate सहज ; निज ; निसर्गज
Inrush प्रसभप्रवेशः
Insecure सशंक
Inseparable अवियोज्य
Insistence आग्रहः
Insoluble अद्राव्य ; अभेद्य ; अविलयनीय
Inspiration आवेशः ; प्रत्यवभासः
Inspiration (fountain of) आवेशप्रस्रवणम्
Inspired आविष्ट
Inspired (hearing) श्रुतिः
Instinct अशिक्षितबोधः ; सजहप्रवृत्तिः
Instinct with गर्भित
Instinctive अशिक्षितबोधात्मिक
Instrument साधनम् ; उपकरणम्
Integral समग्र
Integrality समग्रता
Intellect घी:
Intellectual धीमय ; धीगत ; धीसम्बन्धि
Intellectual thinking बुद्धिविचारणा
Intellectual (supra-) बुद्ध्यतीत
Intellectuality धीसम्बन्धित्वम्
Intelligence मतिः ; प्रज्ञा ; बुद्धिः ; चैतन्यम्
Intelligence (cosmic) विश्व (ब्रह्माण्ड) गतबुद्धिः
Intelligence (individualised) व्यक्तिभूतचैतन्यम्
Intelligence (limited) परिमितं चैतन्यम्
Intelligible सुगम ; सुबोध ; सुग्राह्य ; सुबोधगम्य
Intelligible (un-) अनुपपाद्य ; अग्राह्य ; दुर्ग्रह
Intense तीव्र ; तीक्ष्ण ; गाढ
Interdependence इतरेतराश्रय
Interest रु चि
Interference परकार्यप्रवेशः
Interlude विष्कम्भकम्
Inderpenetration परस्परान्तप्रवेशनम्
Interplay अन्योन्यविलसितम्
Interpretation अर्थविवरणम्
Interpretative vision विवरण (व्याख्यायक) दृष्टि:
Intervention अभ्यन्तर प्रवेशः (प्रवृत्तिः)
Intimate आत्यन्तिक
Intimation सूचना ; सन्देश ; उपक्षेप
Intrinsic नैसर्गिक
Introspection अन्तरवलोकनम् ; अन्तःपरीक्षणम्
Introvert अन्तर्मुखि
Intrusion अनिष्टप्रवेश
Intuition स्फूर्ति ; अन्तर्ज्ञानम् ; सहजावबोधः ; अन्तस्फुरणम् ; स्वतःस्फुरणम् ; स्वतोबोध; सहजोपलब्धि
Intuitive discernment अन्तः सूक्ष्मदर्शनम्
Intuitive mind स्फुरणात्मकं मनः
Intuitive movement अन्तर्ज्ञानप्रवृत्तिः
Intuitive perception आन्तरप्रत्यक्षम् ; आन्तर्ज्ञानलब्धि-प्रत्यक्षम्
Intuitive seeing अन्तर्ज्ञानदृष्टिः
Involved अन्तर्गत
Involution अन्तर्निधानम् ; अनुप्रवेशः
Involutionary descent अनुप्रवेशनिमित्तं अवतरणम्
Irrational अयुक्तिसिद्ध ; युक्तिविरुद्ध अव्युत्पन्न ; ज्ञानशून्य
Irreconcilable असन्ध य ; परस्पराहत
Irresistible दुर्निवार
Irresponsive उद्वोध अक्षम (हीन)
Imaginative vision कल्पनादृष्टिः
Vitality कल्पनाप्रणवत्त्वम्
Imitative अनुकरण
Immanent अन्तर्यामि
Immediate अनन्तर; तत्क्षण
Immobile अचल
Immoral अधर्म
Immutable अक्षर
Impact संघदृः ; समाघातः
Impartial निष्पक्षपात
Impediment अन्तरायः ; उपरोधः
Imperative आज्ञापक ; आदेशक
Impersonal अपौरुषेय ; निराकार ; भावस्वरूप
Implicit अन्तर्गत ; अवितर्क
Implied अन्तर्गत ; प्रतीत ; उपलक्षित
Implied in the essence of things वस्तुसारांतर्गत
Impression मुद्रणम्
Impulse प्रेरणा ; चोदना; प्रवर्तनम् ; बोधनम्
Impulsion प्रयोदनम् ; प्रोत्साहः
Impulsive साहसशील ; प्रेरणावशित प्रवर्तनपर
Inattention अनवधानता
Incalculable अगण्य
Incident सम्भवः
Incommunicable अव्यवहार्य
Inconceivable अचिन्त्य
Inconscience अचित्
Inconsequential असम्बद्ध
Increasing उपचीयमान
Indefinable अनिर्देश्य
Independent स्वतन्त्र
Indeterminate अनियत
Indicative figures सूचकानि (निर्देश्यानि) रूपाणि
Indispensable आवश्यक
Individual व्यक्तिः ; व्यष्टिः
Ignorance व्यक्तिगता अविद्या
Individualism व्यक्तित्ववादः
Isolation विश्लेषणम् ; पृथक्करणम्
Issue फलम् ; परिणामः ; उत्तरफलम्
Joy हर्षः
Joy and grief हर्षशोको
Justified न्याय्य
Knowledge-will ज्ञानात्मिक शक्तिः
Labour प्रयासः
Labour of speculation विचारप्रयासः
Language of passion भावाभिधायकभाषा
Lapse भ्रंशः ; स्खलनम्
Lapse (recovery from) भ्रंशात् पुनः प्राप्तिः ; स्वास्थ्यलाभ: स्खलितात
Last word अनुत्तरम् वचनम्
Latent निलीन ; अप्रकट
Latest अर्वाचीनतम
Level समतलम् ; समसूत्रः
Life-spirit सारांशगुणम्
Light (adj.) मृदुल ; लघु
Light comedy लघुहास्यप्रधाननाटकम्
Light & shades प्रभाः छायाश्च
Limit अवधि:; परिमितिः
Limitation परिमितत्त्वम् ; परिमितता : परिच्छेदः
Limited परिमित ; परिच्छिन्न
Literateur साहित्यसम्पन्न
Literature साहित्य
Literary साहित्यसम्बन्धि
Literary culture साहित्यव्युत्पन्नता
Literary taste साहित्यरुचि
Lively उल्लसित
Logic of the process युक्तिनियमित क्रमः
Logical conclusion युक्तिनियमितनिगमनम्
Loose शिथिल ; विरल
Lucid शोभन ; उज्ज्वल; प्रसन्न; विशद
Luminous भासुर ; दीप्रिमत् ; उज्ज्वल ; प्रकाश
Luxuriant अतिस्फीत ; अतिसमृद्ध
Lyric गीतकाव्यम्
Lyrist गीतकविः
Magnificent महाप्रभ; महाप्रताप
Magnified उपचित ; बृहित ; स्फीत
Mainspring आधारभूततन्त्रविशेषः
Majestic उज्ज्वल ; अतिप्रौढ
Major भूरि ; गुरु
Manifest (v) विशदीकृ; व्यञ्ज; प्रकाश
Manifest (will to) अभिव्यञ्जनसंकल्पः
Manifest विस्पष्ट
Manifestation अभिव्यक्तिः
Manifestation (withdrawal from) अभिव्यक्तः निवृतिः (निवारणम्)
Manifested अभिव्यक्तम्
Manifested Existence अभिव्यक्ता सता
Manner आचारः
Many-sided बहुमुख ; बहुपक्ष
Margin तटम् ; प्रान्तवतिन्
Mask वर्णकः ; वर्णिका
Masked कपटवेशिन
Material force भौतिकशक्तिः ; जडशक्तिः ; अन्नमयशक्तिः
Material inconscience भौतिकजडता
Material world भौतिको लोकः
Matter जड: ; अन्नम् ; भौतिक ; भूतम् ; भूतसंघात
Measure मात्रा
Mechanical यन्त्रप्राय
Mechanical law यन्त्रप्रायनियतिः
Medium द्वारम् ; मध्यवर्ति
Melancholy साधनम् ; मार्गः चिन्ताकुल ; दीनमन ; वैमनस्य ; सदा विषदिन्
Melody माधुर्यं ; स्वरबलम्
Mental मानस ; मनोमय
Mental Abstraction मानसं भावमात्रम्
Mental construction मनोनिर्माणम्
Mental idealism मानसि आदर्शकल्पना
Mental image चित्तस्थितरूपम्
Mental man मनोमयो मनुष्यः
Mentality मनोभावः
Mentality (inferior)) अवरमनोभावः
Mentality (normal) साधारणमनोभावः
Mentality (physical) भौतिकमनोभावः
Metaphysician परमार्थविचारकः
Method प्रकारः; उपायः ; मार्गः
Metre छन्दस्
Mind (bent of) मनः प्रावण्यम्
Mind (higher) परं मनः
Mind (higher reaches of) मनसः उत्तरभूमयः (विस्ताराः)
Mind (illumined) सप्रकाशं मनः
Mind (intellectual) बुद्धिरूपमनः
Mind (intuitive) स्फूर्तिमनः
Mind (over-) अधिमनस्
Mind (spiritual) आध्यात्मिकमनः
Mind (super-) विज्ञानम्
Mind stuff मनोवस्तु
Minor कनीयस् ; लघु ; अल्प
Misery क्लेशः ; वेदना
Misfortunes अनर्थाः
Mixed मिश्रित
Mobile चल
Modern आधुनिक
Modified रूपान्तरम् प्रापित (परिणमित)
Momentary क्षणिक
Mood दशा ; मनोभावः
Moral धर्म्य : नैतिक
Moral idealism नैतिक आदर्शकल्पना
Morbid विकृत ; दूषित ; उद्भ्रान्त
Motif (motive) उद्देशः
Motor चालक
Mould (n) आकारः ; रूपम्
Mould (v) संस्कृ
Moulding संस्करणम् ; रूपरचना
Movement चालिता; गतिः; चलनम्
Movement (complex) संमिश्रो गतिविशेषः
Movement of manifestation अभिव्यक्तेर्गतिः
Multiform बहुलरूप
Mutable विक्रियाक्षम ; अस्थिर; क्षर
Mutation विक्रिया ; चांचल्यम्
Mute मूक
Mutual modification अन्योन्यविक्रिया (परिणामः ; परिवर्तनम्)
Mutuality इतरेतरभावः
Mystic गूढदर्शिन् ; गूढार्थवादि
Mysticism गूढार्थवादः ; गूढदर्शनसमय:
Mysterious गहन ; गुह्य ; रहस्य ; दुर्बोध
Natural सहज ; स्वाभाविक ; अकृत्रिम
Neat शुद्ध ; सुनीत
Negation प्रत्याख्यानम् ; निषेधः; प्रतिषेधः ; नेतिवचनम्
Negative aspect अभावपक्ष
Negative line व्यतिरेकपद्धतिः
Negative term अभावार्थक
Nescience अविद्या; माया
Norm प्रमाणम्
Normal सामान्य; साधारण; यथाक्रम
Normal reach साधारण अधिगम
Normative प्रमाणविधायक ; प्रमाणाधायक
Notion प्रत्ययः ; प्रतीतिः
Novel (adj) नवीन
Novel (n) आख्यानम्
Nullify निमृज् ; अवविलुप्
Objective पराक्; विषयगत
Objective knowledge पराचीनं ज्ञानम्
Objective observation पराचीनपर्यवेक्षणम्
Obscurantist प्रकाशनविरोधि
Obscure तमस्विन् ; निष्प्रभ ; अप्रसिद्ध ; अविज्ञात
Obscured तमोवृत ; नष्टप्रकाश
Observation निर्वर्णनम् ; पर्यवलोकनम्
Obstacle प्रतिष्ठम्भः; विधातः
Obstructed निरुद्ध ; प्रतिरुद्ध ; प्रतिबद्ध
Obstruction प्रतिरोधः ; प्रतिबन्धः
Occult गहन ; गूढ
Oddity लक्षण्यम् ; असंगतत्वम् ; असाधारणत्वम्
Opening उन्मीलनम् ; विकसनम्
Operation कार्यम् ; प्रवृत्तिः ; व्यापारः
Opposite प्रतिद्वंद्वि ; विरुद्ध
Opposition प्रत्यवस्थानम्
Optimism स्वन्तवाद
Optimistic स्वन्तप्रवणता
Opulence समृद्धिः ; श्रीमत्
Order क्रमः ; परिपाटि: ; विधिः ; नियमः
Organ इन्द्रियम् ; करणम्
Organic प्राणवत्
Organic growth प्राण्यभिवृद्धिः
Orgainse विन्यस् ; व्यवस्था
Organism प्राणिः ; अवयवः
Orientation निर्देशः ; दिशान्तरप्रवर्तनम्
Original आदिम : मौलिक
Origination उद्भवः ; उत्पादनम्
Ornamental आलंकारिक
Orthodox शिष्टाचारानुसारिन् ; सम्प्रदायानुरोधिन्
Outcome पर्यवसानम्
Outflowing उत्सवः
Outline स्थूलवर्णनम्
Outlook अवेक्षा
Outpouring उत्सर्गः
Outward बाह्य
Outward instrument बाह्योपकरणम्
Out-of-the-way असाधारण
Overborne अभिभूत
Overhanging ऊर्ध्वं लम्बमान
Overwhelming आक्रमण ; आकुलीकरण ; अभिभूत
Overt स्पष्ट ; व्यक्त
Pain दुःख
Paradox असत्याभासः ; अयुक्ताभासः
Partial असंपूर्ण ; आंशिक ; पाक्षिक ; पक्षपाति
Partner भागहारः
Passion रागः; भावः
Passionate रागोद्रिक्त; राजस
Patent प्रकट
Pathos करुणा
Pathos (exciting) करुणावह
Pattern प्रतिमानम्
Percept प्रत्यक्षप्रतिपत्तिः
Perception प्रत्यक्षम्
Perceptual प्रत्यक्षप्रतिपन्न
Perfection सिद्धिः ; परिपूर्तिः
Permanent participation शाश्वतः सहभोगः
Person पुरुषः
Personal पुरुषविशेषगत ; पुरुष-सम्बन्धि ; साकार
Personality आकृतिः ; मूर्तिः
Personality (divine) देवताव्यक्तिः (मूर्तिः) ; ईश्वरस्य मूर्तिविशेषः
Personality psychic चैत्यमूर्तिः
Personality (force of) मूर्तिबलम्
Perspection याथातथ्यन वीक्षणम्
Pervading व्यापि
Pervasive व्यापक
Perverse वाम ; कुटिल ; विपर्यस्त; विपरीत
Perversion विपर्यासः ; विपर्ययः ; विकृतिः
Perverted विकृत ; विपर्यासित
Pessimism दुरन्तवाद
Pessimistic दुरन्तप्रवणता
Phenomenal व्यावहारिक
Phenomenon सम्भवः; व्यवहारः
Physical भौतिक
Picturesque चित्रितप्राय
Plan युक्तिः ; उपायः
Planes भूमिकाः
Plastic इष्टाकृतिक्षम
Play नाटकम्
Play of individuality व्यक्तित्वविलासः
Play-wright नाटकरचयितृ
Pleasure & pain सुखदुःखे
Plenitude बाहुल्यम् ; प्राचुर्यम्
Plot वस्तु
Plunge गाढमज्जनम्
Poetic images काव्यकल्पित रूपाणि (आकृतयः)
Poetic&artistic intelligence काव्यकलारसिकप्रज्ञा
Poignant तीक्ष्ण; निशित
Poise भारतुल्यता
Poles अवधि:
Portrayal आलेखनम् ; वर्णनम्
Pose (n) प्रदर्शनभंमिः; निरुत्तरीकरणम्
Possession प्राप्तिः ; लाभ:
Possession of truth सत्यलाभः
Positive aspect भावपक्षः
Positive line अन्वयपद्धतिः
Possible साध्य
Potential (adj.) शक्तिगर्भ (गर्भित)
Potential (n) शक्तिगर्भः
Power बलम् ; शक्तिः ; प्रभावः
Power (dynamic) वीर्यवत् शक्तिः
Powerful बलवत् ; शक्तिमत्
Practical application आचरण (योग्य) प्रयोगः
Practical view व्यवहारदृष्टि:
Pragmatic व्यवहार्यतासम्पादक अनुष्ठान (आचरण) योग्य
Precarious अनियत ; अनिश्चित ; संशयग्रस्त
Precipitation सन्निपातः; सहसा पातनम् साहसिकम् पातनम्
Precise नियत ; याथातथ्य
Preoccupy निमज्
Prescription विधः; योगः; कल्पः
Presence उपस्थितिः
Presence (central) मुख्य उपस्थितिविशेषः
Presentation प्रदर्शनम्
Pressure संपीडनम् ; संघट्टः
Pretty शोभन; कमनीय
Primary आदिम ; मुख्य
Probable सम्भाव्य
Procedure विधि :; व्यवहारः
Process विधिः ; विधानं ; रीतिः ; पद्धतिः ; अगाध ; गहन ; सूक्ष्म ; गाढ
Profound दुर्ग्रह ; गभीर ;
Prohibition निषेधः ; प्रतिषेधः
Projection प्रलम्बता; आभोगः; उत्सेदः उदग्रता ; निर्योहक्षेपः
Prologue प्रस्तावना
Promise (full of) भाव्यभ्युदयसूचक (द्योतक)
Promising वर्धिष्णु
Promptings प्रबोधनानि
Proportion प्रमाणम् ; परिमाणम्
Proportioned प्रमाण (परिणाम) अनुगुण (अनुरूप)
Prospect दृग्गोचर
Psychic being चैत्यः
Psychic transformation चैत्यपरिवर्तनम्
Psychic will चैत्यसंकल्पः
Psychologist अन्तःकरणतत्त्वज्ञ
Psychology अन्तःकरणशास्त्रम्
Push प्रक्षेप
Radical समूल ; आमूलम्
Range विस्तारः
Ratiocination तर्कः
Rapture प्रकर्षः ; आत्मानन्दः
Reaction प्रतिव्यापारः
Real परमार्थ
Real idea सत्यरूपात्मकभावः
Realisation साक्षात्कारः
Realisation (psychic) चैत्यसाक्षात्कारः
Realisation (spiritual) आध्यात्मिकसाक्षात्कारः
Realisation (static) नैश्चल्यसाक्षात्कारः
Realise साक्षात् कृ
Realism विषययाथार्थ्यवादः (वास्तववादः)
Realistic तद्रूपतासम्पादक ; याथार्थ्यसम्पन्न
Reality सत्यम्
Reality (inneffable) अनिर्वचनीयम् सत्यम्
Reality (primary) आदिसत्यम्
Reason बुद्धिः ; हेतु;
Reason (enquiring) विचारणा बुद्धिः
Reason (logical) तार्किकबुद्धिः
Reason (limitation of) बुद्धेर्मितत्त्वम्
Reason (supra-rational) विचारातीत बुद्धिः
Receptive ग्रहणसमर्थ
Reconciling vision संघटनदृष्टि : ; विरोधपरिहारः
Reflective thought पर्यालोचनमतिः
Refusal प्रत्याख्यानम् ; निराकरणम्
Regions भूमयः ; प्रदेशः ; विषयः; देश:
Rejection निषेधः ; निरसनम् ; प्रत्यादेशः
Relative सापेक्ष ; सम्बन्धाश्रय (श्रित); अकेवल ; अन्यसापेक्ष
Remoulding पुन रूपादानम् ; आकृतिसंस्करणम्
Represents निरूपयति
Representations निवेदनानि; प्रदर्शनानि; प्रतिरूपाणि; निरूपणानि
Representative प्रतिनिधि
Repulsion विरागः ; निस्सारणम्
Reserve strength मूलबलम्
Resistance प्रतिरोधः ; प्रतिबन्धः
Resplendent समुज्ज्वल
Response उद्बोधः
Responsive उद्बोधक्षम
Resurgent उत्तरङ्गित
Restrained निगृहीत ; अवरुद्ध
Restricted नियत ; नियन्त्रित ; निबद्ध
Retrospect सिंहावलोकनम्
Revelation प्रकाशनम् ; श्रुतिः
Revealing speech रहस्यविवरणवाक्
Revelatory प्रकाशक
Revelatory constructions प्रकाशकरचनाः (निर्मितयः)
Revelatory vision प्रकाशकदर्शनम्
Reverse प्रतिलोम ; विपर्ययः
Revolt against tradition सम्प्रदाय-उल्लंघनम्
Revolutionary स्थितिपरिवर्तन
Revolutionary urge परिवर्तनप्रचोदना
Rhyme अनुप्रासः
Rhythm लयः
Rhythmic लयानुगत
Riddle प्रहेलिका
Rigid कठिन ; दृढ
Rigidity अधृष्यता
Rigorous कठिन ; अशिथिल ; दृढ ; निष्कष्ट
Robust वीर्यवत्
Romance अद्भुतकल्पना
Romantic अद्भुतप्रधान
Romanticism अद्भुतप्रधानसाहित्यसमय
Rudiment मूलम् ; मूलतत्त्वम् ; बीजम्
Rudimentary प्राथमिक; मौलिक
Rupture भंग; विच्छेद
Sad दुःखित
Satire आक्षेपगर्भ
Scale सोपानक्रमः
Scale of consciousness चैतन्यक्रमः
Scale of sounds स्वरक्रमः ; स्वरावरोहक्रमः
Scepticism नास्तिकता
Scheme उपायः; कल्पना; प्रयोगः
Scope भूमिः ; अवकाशः
Scrupulous धृढ ; श्रद्धायुक्त ; अनुल्लंघ्य
Sectional भागयुक्त ; परिच्छेदयुक्त
Segmentation विच्छेदः ; खण्डनम्
Selective उद्धृत ; संग्रहीत ; न समस्त
Self आत्मा
Self (cosmic) विश्वात्मा
Self (external) बाह्यात्मा
Self (personal) प्रत्यगात्मा
Self (static) निश्चल आत्मा; अक्षर आत्मा
Self (subliminal) गूढ आत्मा
Self (vast, static & silent) बृहत् अक्षर अकर्तृ आत्मा
Self-abnegation आत्मत्यागः
Self-affirmation स्वात्मदृढीकरणम्
Self-assertion दृढोक्तिः ; स्वप्रतिपादनम् ;
Self-conscious स्वसंवेदनम् (स्वप्रतिज्ञानम्
Self-consciousness चित्
Self-contained स्वान्तर्गत
Self-delight स्वानन्द
Self-determining स्वनिर्णायक; स्वनियमन
Self-discovery स्वात्मप्रतिपत्तिः
Self-effective स्वसमर्थ ; स्वनिष्पादक ; स्वसम्पादक
Self-effectuation स्वनिष्पादनम् ; स्वसम्पादनम्
Self-effacement अहंकार उच्छेदनम्
Self-executing स्वात्मनिर्वाहण
Self-existence सत्
Self-existent स्वयम्भु ; स्वतः सत्ता
Self-expression स्वाविष्करणं
Self-extension स्वात्मविस्तरम्
Self-formation स्वव्यवस्थापनम् ; स्वरूपेण रचना
Self-knowldege स्वबोधः
Self-lessness स्वार्थत्यागः
Self-possession आत्मलाभः; आत्मवशः
Self-revelation स्वात्मप्रकाशनम् ; स्वतः प्रकाशनम्
Sensation संवेदनम्
Sense बुद्धिः ; प्रज्ञा ; इन्द्रियम्
Sense (aesthetic) सौन्दर्यप्रज्ञा ; सौन्दर्यरसज्ञानम्
Sense (spiritual) आध्यात्मबुद्धिः (सौन्दर्यरसग्राहि
Sense organ इन्द्रियम्
Sensitive तीव्रसंवेदनवत्
Sensory संवेदक ; ग्राहक
Sensual विषयसम्बन्धि ; भोगसम्बन्धि
Sensuous इन्द्रियार्थसम्बन्धि (इन्द्रियसम्बधि
Sensuous imagery इन्द्रियार्थसम्बोधकबिम्बाः
Sensuous poetry इन्द्रियार्थप्रज्ञोचनकाव्यम्
Sentient चेतनः
Sentient (in-) अचेतन
Sentient (dimly) मन्दचेतन
Sentient (half-) ईषचेतन
Sentiment रागः; भावः
Sentimental भावरतः ; भावासक्तः ; रागरत
Sentimentality भावरतत्वम् (रागासक्त
Sentimentalism रागासक्तिवादः ; भावासक्तिवादः
Separation वियोजनम् ; भेदनम्
Separative विच्छेदक; वियोजक
Series परिपाटि: ; परम्पराः; पंक्तिः ;
Series (horizontal) दिगन्तसमपरम्पराः (आनुपूव्यम्
Series (vertical) लम्बरूपपरम्पराः ; ऊर्ध्वायः परम्पराः
Serious गुरुत्वर्भित ; अनुपेक्ष्य
Serious topic गुर्वर्थ
Set दृढ
Severe कठिन ; उग्र
Shadow छाया
Shallow गाध ; अनिम्न
Stock आघातः संघट्ट
Significant अर्थवत् ; साकूत
Simple सरल ; केवल ; सामान्य
Sincere ऋजु ; निष्कपट ; अमाय
Sincerity of speech आर्जवं वाचः
Skill कौशलम्
Slack मन्द ; शिथिल
Snare जालम्
Soliloquy स्वगतम्
Sombre मन्दप्रभ
Soul जीवः ; आत्मा
Soul (desire-) ईषणात्मको जीवः; इच्छामयः पुरुषः
Sound effects शब्दकार्याणि ; शब्दफलितानि
Sound images शब्दमूर्तयः
Specious आपातरमणीय
Speculation अप्रवर्तको विचारः; काल्पनिको विचारः;
Spirit पुरुषः ; चेतनः ; आत्मा
Spiritual आध्यात्मिक
Spiritual consciousness आध्यात्मिकज्ञानं (चित्)
Spiritual development आध्यात्मिक-अभिवृद्धिः
Spiritual discipline आध्यात्मसाधनम्
Spiritual dynamis आध्यात्मिकः प्रवृत्तिमान् बलविशेषः
Spiritual experience अध्यात्मिक-अनुभवः
Spiritual mind आध्यात्मिक-मनः
Spiritual power आध्यात्मिकप्रभावः ; (विभवः) (शक्तिः) (सामर्थ्यम्)
Spiritual realisation आध्यात्मिक-साक्षात्कारः
Spiritual sense आध्यात्मबुद्धिः
Spiritual transformation आध्यात्मिकपरिवर्तनम्
Spiritual urge आध्यात्मिकप्रेरणा
Spiritual view आध्यात्मिकदृष्टि:
Spirituality आध्यात्मिकता
Spirituality (dynamic) शाक्तिमत् प्रवृत्तिमत् आध्यात्मिकता
Spirituality (introspective) अन्तःप्रेक्षक-आध्यात्मिकता
Spirituality (kinetic) विजृम्भितशक्ति आध्यात्मिकता
Spirituality (objectivised) गोचरकृता आध्यात्मिकता
Splendid सुशोभ ; सुप्रभ ; शोभमान ; प्रभावत्
Splendour प्रभा; शोभा ; प्रभावः
Spontaneous स्वतःप्रवृत्त (प्रवर्तमान); अयत्नप्रवृत्त ; स्वेच्छातः प्रवृत्त
Spontaneous knowledge निमित्तानपेक्षं ज्ञानम् ; स्वेछातः
Sprightly सोल्लास ; उल्लसित (सिद्धं ज्ञानम्
Stabilise स्थिरीकृ
Stable स्थिर
Stage of evolution परिणामक्रम (दशा)
Stairs in the ascension of mind मानसाधिरोहसोपानानि
Standard प्रमाणम्
Standpoint पक्षः
Starting point आरम्भस्थानम्
Static निश्चल ; निवृत्तिमत्
Status पदवी ; पदम् ; स्थितिः
Stimulant उद्दीपनवस्तु
Stimulation उद्दीपनम्
Stimulus उद्दीपनम् ; उद्दीपकसामग्रिः
Strained आयासित
Strenuous सोद्यम ; अविश्रान्त
Stress (accent) स्वरितम्
Stress (pressure) भार; गुरुत्व; बलम्
Strife विवादः ; कलिः
Ştriking characteristic विशिष्ठगुणः
Striking colours प्रबलरागाः
Structure बन्धः ; रचना
Struggle प्रयासः ; युद्धम्
Stuff वस्तु ; द्रव्यम्
Style शैली; रीतिः
Style (emotional) भावमयी शैली
Style (imaginative) कल्पनाप्रधानशैली
Style (intellectual) धीप्रचुरा शैली ; मतिप्राचुर्यवती शैली
Style (laboured) क्लिष्टाशैली
Style (ornamental, rhetorical) आलंकारिक शैली
Style (perfection of) रीतिनिर्दोषता ; निर्दुष्टा शैली
Style (chiselled perfection of) शिल्पितप्रायरीतिः सिद्धिः
Style (rough, rugged) कर्कशरीतिः
Style (simple) निराडम्बरा (निवशिष्टा, सामान्या,
Style (vigorous) प्रबलरीतिः (केवला) रीतिः
Style (smooth) मृदुलरीतिः
Style (vital) प्राणवती शैली
Subject विषयः ; प्रकरणम्
Subjective अन्तर्मुख ; विषयिगत ; प्रत्यक्
Subjective approach प्रत्यग् दृष्टिः
Subjugation दमनम्
Sublimation उत्कर्षणम् ; उन्नति प्रापणम्
Sublime अत्युत्कृष्ट
Submerged निमग्न
Submission वशता ; अनुवर्तनम्
Subordinate अप्रधान ; अमुख्य ; गौण ; अन्यायत्त
Substance तात्पर्य ; वस्तु ; द्रव्यम्
Substance of nescience अविद्यास्वरूपम्
Substance of supercon-science विज्ञानसामग्रिः
Succession अनुक्रमः ; परम्परा ; आनुपूर्व्यम्
Successive अनुक्रमशः
Suffering दुःखानुभवः
Suffused with परिप्लुत ; आप्लुत
Suggestive सूचक ; व्यंजक ; द्योतक ; गमक
Superconscient अधिप्रज्ञाचैतन्यम् ; अधिप्रज्ञम्
Superconscient cosmic mind प्रज्ञातीतब्रह्माण्डमनस्
Superficial बाह्य ; बहिस्थ ; उपरितल ; बाह्यतल;
Superficial play बहिर्व्यापारः (बहिस्तल
Superficial response स्थूल उद्वोधः
Supernormal अतिसाधारण ; अलौकिक
Supervision गोपनम् ; निग्रहम् ; नियन्त्रणम्
Supra-intellectual way बुध्यतीतः उपायः (मार्गः)
Supra-physical भूलोकातीत
Supreme truth परमम् सत्यम्
Surface तलम् ; पृष्टम्
Surge कल्लोलः
Symbol संज्ञा ; संकेतम्
Symbolic सांकेतिक
Symbolism सांकेतिकपद्धतिः
Symmetrical shape सौष्ठवसम्पन्न-आकृतिः
Symmetry सौष्ठवम् ; अवयवसंगतिः
Sympathy समसंवेदनः
Synthesis संयोजनम्
Synthetic संयोजक ; संयोग-संबन्धिन्
System पद्धतिः; रीतिः ; शास्त्रम् ; व्यवस्था ; विन्यासः ; व्यूहः
System of thought शास्त्रविशेषः
Systematic क्रमानुगत ; यथाक्रम
Systematise व्यवस्थाप्
Tact प्रयोगः
Talent बुद्धिः ; बुद्धिकौशलम्
Taste अभिरुचिः
Technician कलातन्त्रवित् ; परिभाषावेदिन्
Technique परिभाषा ; क्रियातन्त्रम् ; कल्पतन्त्रम्
Temper शीलम्
Temperament भावः; स्वभावः
Temptation प्रलोभनम् ; आकर्षणम्
Tendency उन्मुखता
Tentative तात्कालोपयुक्त; परीक्षानिमित्तक
Term पदम् ; शब्दः
Terms of consciousness ज्ञानवाचकाः
Terms of duality (in) द्वन्द्वभावेन
Terrestrial level भूतलम्
Theatrical रङ्गस्थलीय
Theme वस्तु; विषयः
Theory of things प्रदार्थविषयकं कल्पनामूलं मतम्
Thought-effects धीवृत्तिफलितानि
Total समस्त; सकल
Totality साकल्यम्
Totality of effect फलसमग्रता
Tragedy विषादान्तनाटकम्
Training विनयनम् ; अभ्यासः
Transcendence सर्वातीतता
Transcendent सर्वातीतम्
Transcription लेखनम् ; प्रतिशेखः
Transfer स्थानान्तरप्रापणम्
Transform परिणम्
Transformation परिणामः ; रूपान्तरेण परिवर्तनम्
Transient विनश्वर
Transition संक्रमः; परिवर्तः
Translation अनुवादः ; भाषान्तरेण विपरिणामः
Transmission प्रापणम्
Transmutation परिवर्तनम्
Trenchant तीक्ष्ण ; गाढ ; निशित ; खण्डित
Trend of thought मनोगतिः
Trivial अल्प; लघ्वर्थ
Truth सत्यम्
Truth (cosmic) विश्वसत्यय
Truth (divine) ऐश्वरं सत्यम्
Truth (dynamic) शक्त्यात्मकं सत्यम्
Truth (static and immutable) निश्चलाक्षरं सत्यम्
Truth-consciousness सत्यात्मकचैतन्यम्
Truth-feeling सत्यसंवेदनम्
Truth-sense सत्यप्रज्ञा ; सत्यबुद्धिः
Truth-sight सत्यदृष्टिः
Truth-thought सत्यग्राहिबुद्धिः
Truth-vision सत्यदर्शनम्
Truthful सत्य
Truths (half-) असमग्रसत्यानि
Turn of fate देवस्यगतिः
Type आदर्शः ; प्रतिमानम्
Ulterior पर; उत्तर
Ultimate पर; परम ; अन्तिम
Ultimate truth पर ; परम् सत्यम्
Uncertain सन्दिग्ध
Unchanging अविक्रिय
Underlying आधारभूत
Undecipherable स्पष्टीकरण -अक्षम
Unfolding विकार; विवरण
Unideal आदर्शदूर
Uniform एकरूप
Uninspired आवेशशून्य
Unitarian एकेश्वरवादः ; एकत्ववादः
Unintelligible दुर्ग्राह्य
Unity एकत्वम् ; एकभावः
Universe विश्वम् ; ब्रह्माण्डम्
Universal सार्वलोकिक; विश्वसम्बन्धि
Universal forces समष्टिशक्तयः
Universal life विश्व (समष्टि, सर्व) प्राणः
Universalise समष्टि कृ
Universality सार्वलोकिकत्वम् ; सर्वगतत्वम्
Universe विश्वम् ; समष्टिः
Universe (beyond the) विश्वातीत
Unrolling अपावरणम्
Unsurpassed intensity अनुत्तमगाढता (तीव्रता)
Unvariable अविभेद्य
Upsurge उत्तरंग
Urge प्रेरणा ; चोदना ; प्रचोदना ; अपरिहार्यप्रवर्तनम्
Urge (evolutionary) परिणामक्रमचोदना
Urge (spiritual) आध्यात्मिकप्रचोदना
Urge to manifest अभि व्यक्त्यर्थं अपिरिहार्यचोदना
Urge towards victory विजयोत्मुखी चोदना
Utilitarianism पुरुषार्थपारम्यवादः
Vague अस्पष्ट
Valuation मूल्यनिर्णयः ; मूल्यनिरूपणम्
Value अर्थः ; मूल्यम्
Value (emotional) भावप्रयोजनम्
Value (thought) धीवृत्तिप्रयोऽजनम्
Values (higher) परे अर्थाः
Values (lower) अवर (अपर) अर्थाः
Vast विपुलम्
Vehicle वाहनम्
Vehement प्रचण्ड
Vehement response उग्र-उद्बोधः
Veil तिरस्करणम् ; अवगुण्ठनम्
Veil (transparent) प्रकाशभेदयतिरस्करणम्
Veiled (half-) अपूर्णाच्छादित
Verge प्रान्तः
Vertical लम्बरूपः
View दृष्टिः
Viewpoint पक्षः ; दृष्टिः
Vigorous प्रबल ; वेगवत्
Vigour प्राबल्यम्
Violences चण्डताः
Violent passions उद्रिक्तभावाः
Virile वीर्यवत्
Vision दर्शनम् ; दृष्टि:
Vision (creative) सर्जनदृष्टिः
Vision (field of) दृग्पथः ; दृग्गोचरः
Vision (imaginative) कल्पनादृष्टिः
Visual images चाक्षषबिम्बाः
Vistas of thought धीवीथयः
Vital प्राणिक ; प्राणमयः ; प्राणप्रेरित ; प्राणप्रधान ; जीवितप्रधान
Vitality प्राणतत्त्वम्
Vivid परिस्फुट
Vogue व्यवहारः; प्रचारः
Voluntary यादृच्छिक
Vulgar नीच ; ग्राम्य ; अश्लील
Warmth आदरः; सादरता
Why (the) हेतुः ; प्रयोजनम्
Will संकल्पः
Will of the cosmic divine विश्वेश्वरेच्छा
Will of the transcendent divine सर्वातीत-इश्वरेच्छा
Wit बुद्धिकौशलम् ; धीचातुर्यम्
Withdrawal प्रतिसन्तारणम् ; प्रत्याहरणम्
World (material) जड (भौतिक, अन्नमय) लोकः
World-formula (mental) मनोलोकव्यवस्था : मनोलोकविधि:
World-formula (physical) भूलोकव्यवस्था ; भूलोकविधिः
World-formula (vital) प्राणलोकव्यवस्था ; प्राणलोकविधिः
Zeal उत्साहः
Zone मण्डलम्
Zones of darkness अन्धकारभूमयः
(First published in 1955; reprinted in 1967)
With the kind permission of Sri Ramanashramam
It is not the purpose of this Foreword either to commend the book or to recommend it to the public. The first would form an act of impertinence and the second an act of supererogation. Its victory and prosperity wait upon the combination yatra yogeswarah krsnah yatra partho dhanurdharah. So where the theme is Bhagavan Sri Maharshi to the writer, there is bound to be feast of intellect and flow of soul. I write merely to express my own personal satisfaction that these fragmentary writings of Sri Sastriar found scattered in periodicals and private diaries are here brought together and presented to the world.
It is needless to point out the unique qualifications of Sri Sastriar for interpreting Sri Maharshi’s personality and teachings. He first came into the circle of Sri Maharshi’s light in 1911, as a disciple of Sri Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastrigal, the foremost of Sri Maharshi’s disciples at the time. By the ripeness of his soul, which had been mellowed by years of previous sadhana, he soon came closer to an understanding of Sri Maharshi’s Upadesha (Sat Darsana and Hrdaya Vidya) than anyone else. Even after, under the imperative urge of an inner development, he took the sadhana of Sri Aurobindo, he retained his reverential attachment to Sri Maharshi. This he could do without sacrifice of principle or compromise with conscience for he saw, appreciated and assimilated the realised truth that these two greatest teachers of the age have given to the world. Small men, with their little egos, boast of their teachers, as they boast of their material possessions, feel needless jealousies, and stir up passion and discord in a realm where harmony should reign. But Sri Sastriar could be loyal to Sri Aurobindo without being disloyal to Sri Maharshi or his still earlier guru Sri Ganapati Sastrigal.
It is not without significance that Sri Kapali Sastriar’s outstanding contributions to the propagation of Sri Maharshi’s teachings, Sat Darsana Bhasya and its English rendering, and the Ramana Gita Prakasa were written after he had definitely accepted Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy and adopted his sadhana. It shows his reverence for those authentic utterances of Sri Maharshi’s message and his feeling that their pregnant teachings should be expounded through commentaries in the traditional style. Critics who would like to fit Sri Maharshi’s teachings neatly into the framework of a previous system may disagree here and there with Sri Sastriar’s exposition, but Sri Kapali Sastriar had the benefit of direct instruction from Sri Maharshi and his commentaries were submitted to Bhagavan and were accepted by him. It has to be remembered that Sri Maharshi is not a system-builder but a seer and his words are revelatory and not expository. Naturally, as in the case of the pregnant utterances of the Upanishads, even in his time, there emerged different interpretations of his philosophy. There is no need to question the bonafides of any commentator. But it will be conceded that Sri Sastriar brought to the work a combination of qualifications equalled by none and approached by few — learning, intuition and initiation. It could be claimed for him that for everything he wrote he had authority — na amulam likhyate kincit. In the precious Talks prefixed to Sri Sastriar’s rendering of Sat Darsana Bhasya, pointed questions are put to Sri Maharshi on diffcult points of doctrine of sadhana and his clear and trenchant answers are recorded. The Bhashya is an elaboration of those answers. One of the most luminous chapters in the Ramana Gita also contains Sri Maharshi’s answers to Sri Sastriar’s significant questions. We may be sure that Sri Maharshi’s feeling towards Sri Sastriar was not unlike that of Yama to Nachiketas (in Katha Upanishad) when he exclaims “ Truly thou art steadfast in the Truth. Even such a questioner as thou art may I meet with always.” The relation between the two may be summed up in the words of the same Upanishad. “A miracle is the man that can speak of Him wisely or is skilful to win Him, and when one is found, a miracle is the listener who can know Him even when taught of Him by the knower.”
आश्चर्यो वक्ता कुशलोऽस्य लब्धा। आश्चर्यो ज्ञाता कुशलानुशिष्टः॥
The essays that form Section One appeared in the Sunday Times. Of the two items in Section Two, the Introduction to Ramana Gita Prakasa is Sri Sastriar’s own translation of the Sanskrit original. The dedication of Ramana Gita Prakasa is in effect, an interesting chapter from the life of Sri Sastriar that throws a stream of light on the personal relation between him and Sri Maharshi. The Third Section, a few leaves from Pandit’s Diary, though short, is one of the most valuable. Sri Sastriar’s weighty utterances about points in Maharshi’s life and teachings will repay study and reflection.
In offering this sheaf gleaned from Sri Sastriar’s writings, I cannot avoid a personal note. The present writer humbly walked the same road as Sri Sastriar, Sri Kavyakantha, Sri Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo, but miles and miles behind. Junior in years only by a few years, he has looked upon Sri Sastriar from their first meeting early in 1908 as a pujya pada. Sri Sastriar might call him friend, but he always looked up to Sastriar as a teacher. The story of how Sri Sastriar loved him, befriended him and helped him with counsel and guidance is not to be told here, but it may be pertinent to mention just one thing: understanding of Sri Maharshi’s and Sri Aurobindo’s teachings, little as it is, he owes to Sri Kapali’s luminous commentaries in books and in personal talks. In mystic teachings like theirs, there will always be depths which one cannot fathom with the help of the printed word alone, and here the guidance of an apta, an initiate, will be invaluable. It is in that conviction that this slender volume of weighty content is offered to the world.
A. R. PONNUSWAMI IYER (Rtd. Principal, P.R. College, Kakinada.)
अरुणाद्रितटे दिशो वसानं परितः पुण्यभुवः पुनः पुनानम् । रमणाख्यमहो महो विशेष जयति ध्वान्तहरं नरात्मवेषम्48
चरितेन नरानरेषु तुल्यं महसां पुञ्जमिदं विदाममूल्यम् । दुरितापहमाश्रितेषु भास्वत् 49
ज्वलितेन तपःप्रभावभूम्ना कवलीकृत्य जगद्विहस्य धाम्ना। विलसन् भगवान् महर्षिरस्म - त्परमाचार्यपुमान् हरत्वघं नः॥३॥
प्रथमं पुरुषं तमीशमेके पुरुषाणां विदुरुत्तमं तथाऽन्ये । सरसीजभवाण्डमण्डलाना- मपरे मध्यममामनन्ति सन्तः॥४॥
पुरुषत्रितयेऽपि भासमानं यमहंधीमलिनो न वेद जन्तु । अजहत्तमखण्डमेष50
I. On the slopes of Aruna Hill, robed but by spaces around, Sanctifying once more the environs sacred, Reigns a Splendour, in human form, Dispelling darkness, Ramana called.
II. Among men and others moving equal, This splendour compact, to sages priceless, Luminous, expelling evil in those that seek, Mercy bodied sublime, him they call Maharshi.
III. By his flaming effulgence, the plenitude of tapas puissant, Making the world a morsel, he laughs; Yet he shines forth, the Lord Maharshi, Our teacher’s teacher — May he destroy our sins!
IV. Him the Lord some call the Primal Being, Others see Him as Being Supreme, Yet others proclaim Him the Being Centred in the orb of worlds and spheres.51
V. Him who shines forth in all the Three, The creature ego-soiled perceives not; But ever unsevered from Him, the Infinite, Lives aglow the Maharshi, model unto men.
मृदुलो हसितेन मन्दमन्दं दुरवेक्षः प्रबलो दृशा ज्वलन्त्या। विपुलो हृदयेन विश्वभोक्ता गहनो मौनगृहीतया52
गुरुराट् किमु शङकरो53
बहुधेति विकल्पनाय विद्भि58
औपच्छन्दसिकरौर्बन्धं नीतः स्तवाञ्जलिः। उपहारायतामेष महर्षिचरणाब्जयोः॥१॥
गुणोऽत्र रमणे भक्तिः कृतवित्ता च शाश्वती। रम्यो रमणाम्नोऽयं ध्वनिश्च हृदयङ्गमः॥२॥
VI. Tender is he with gentle smiles, Mighty is he with blazing eyes that none can meet, Vast with a heart which delighteth in all, In movement deep from Silence sprung.
VII. Is he another Shankar, Prince of Preceptors, Is he Kumara, Shankar’s offspring? Is he the self-same boy, Kundina-born, Or else, Lord Shambhu with Shakti indrawn?
VIII. Thus beams thy life with many a side And leaves the learned guessing, O Silent one, But ever in our hearts thou joyest to dwell With certitude, O Ramana, Teacher of teachers!
This offering of hymned praise In Aupacchandas metre set, May it in worship rest At Maharshi’s lotus feet.
The merit59
महर्षेमौ निराजस्य यशोगानमलङकृतिः। तदयं ध्वन्यलङकारगुणैरेवं नवोज्ज्वलः॥३॥
रमणस्य पदाम्भोजस्मरणं हृदयङ्गमम् । इक्षुखण्डरसास्वादे को वा भृतिमपेक्षताम् ॥४॥
अयं रमणपादाब्जकिङकरस्यापि किङकृता। काव्यकण्ठमुनेरन्तेवासिना वाग्विलासिना ॥५॥
रमणाङघ्रिसरोजातरसज्ञेन कपालिना। भारद्वाजेन भक्तेन रचितो रमणाञ्जलिः॥६॥
॥श्रीरमणाञ्जलिः समाप्तः॥
5-6. This offering of reverent praise, Is made by bhakta Kapali, of Bharadvaja line, Disciple of Kavyakantha Sage, And servant of him who served at Ramana’s lotus feet, By Kapali of resplendent speech, Who savoured in full the nectar In the lotus feet of Sri Ramana.
THE Bible teaches the Ten Commandments, the bible of every great Faith teaches the same essentials; but men go on sinning merrily not that there is dearth of teachings of ethical and religious value, not that all the so-called sinning men have no sense of sin or no fear of hell and fire and no attraction for heaven and joy, not that they are all (even when they do not believe in Life beyond) absolutely unaware of the social convenience and ethical necessity of a well-behaved and orderly life. Fraud, falsehood, violence, murder and the rest of the multitude of ills have not been the monopoly of any individual or group, primitive and unlettered or learned and civilised. If men err, it is because they cannot help being what they are.
All the same, high ideals and teachings have not been altogether lost upon mankind, for they have been found to be a great incentive and strength and signposts to those who have had a natural bent for them, whose natures have already taken the inevitable turn towards high ideals of ethical and religious import for their actual expression in life. Even then, the ideals which in themselves are mental representations of truths in abstract terms, have a forceful attraction only when they find living vehicles for personal manifestation influencing the environment. If this is true of principles of common virtues necessary for ordinary life in the world, much more true is it in the realm of spiritual ideals, in the sphere of mystic life.
Who has not heard of the ages-old mystic teaching ’Know thyself’ that has come down to mankind from immemorial time? Seers and sages of different countries and ages have lived and taught this truth of self-knowledge and left their impress in varying degrees upon their contemporaries, passing on their life-messages as heritage to posterity. Still if the common run of mankind is proof against the light they brought to the world and gets on well quite unconcerned, treating such things as irrelevent to its life’s purpose, certainly it is not because there is want of stimulating thought and information on these profound subjects or of living exponents of the ancient teachings, but obviously because there in the bulk of mankind’ no need felt, no necessity arisen, no inward turn warranted; in other words, Nature is not yet ready to turn round to the Mechanic of whom she is the mechanism. It is this last fact that one has to bear in mind when one finds that a few alone receive tangible benefit, out of a thousand that come in contact with a great soul.
Ever since Sri Ramana Maharshi — the sage of Arunachala stepped into Tiruvannamalai forty years ago,63
But how are we to recognise that here is the Guru, the Siddha, the perfected soul that can transmit the truth to others? Well, how do we recognise a leader who is singled out from thousands of men that he leads? Or again, as Douglas Ainslie would put it straightly — “How do I see the Sun on looking out of the window? By the use of my eyes and incidentally of all my other senses collaborating." This is indeed the root of the matter. The fact is this: that the self-evident Truth makes itself clear to the vision of the inner man that presents itself as an unflinching faith throwing with certitude, as it grows, the whole being of the earnest seeker into a consuming zeal for the discovery and consummation of the supreme aim. Thus it is faith and not reason that opens the doors of the soul’s chamber to the Truth, God or Guru, the faith that determines the trend of reasoning, getting itself verified and strengthened by experience, while reason simply collaborates.
The Guru then is the living fire that warms the logs of wood around in general while the dry ones catch the fire. And as I have elsewhere stated, no method suggested by the Shastra alone, no book however sacred it be, can give the initiating touch that opens the third eye in us. The Guru gives the method, not the written instruction, not necessarily the spoken word even. The word, the real initiation, upadesha or diksha, is a silent one, a power, an influence issuing from the being and consciousness of the Guru, the Jnanin, who has realised the Lord, the Self of all existences, in his own being and so knows him in other beings, in the All. And in the language of the Bhagavad Gita, the Jnanin knows that all is in Vasudeva and all is Vasudeva. Therefore Sri Krishna says ’The Jnanin is myself’. ’The Jnanins are there to initiate’, upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninas-tattvadarshinah. The Jnanin alone is the real Guru, for none else but God is the Teacher, and He revealing Himself in the Jnanin initiates the soul, faithful, chosen, fit and devoted.
That the grace of the Guru, the Divine representative and his personal touch occupy a central place in the scheme of spiritual life is the general rule, exception being found occasionally and once in an age when a rare soul — here the Maharshi is an instance requiring no help from a human source is directly receptive to the Divine Grace and gets into immediate touch with the Sole Initiator, the Supreme Self.
As one who has come under his influence and known him for well-nigh a quarter of a century, I may here refer to the central teaching of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi that can always bear repetition and may act as a stimulant for those who are interested in the life of the spirit and who have the faith to follow up the Truth that the Maharshi’s life unfolds.
He had completed his sixteenth year and a few months had passed when one afternoon fear of death took possession of him driving him to seek refuge somewhere. He was soon convinced, not by mental reasoning, but by an inner movement, we can call it Grace now, but he did not know it to be such then that when the body perishes, with it the ’l’ does not perish. This ‘I’ this ego-self of Venkataraman64
Since then it is this Supreme and Real Self within, that has taken charge of the personal self and outer being, of the mental activities, of his very bodily movements. “My Sadhana! The whole work was finished in twenty minutes, in less than half an hour,” said the Maharshi.
Hence he lays stress upon this Sadhana of searching for the Self within one’s own being, in the heart and often mentions this as the direct method and as superior to other Vedantic Sadhanas such as ’I am He’, ’I am Brahman’, ’All is Brahman’, ‘All this is not self’ neti neti, etc., etc.. “Go deep to find Thy Self that is the real ’I’, everything else can wait. Other problems can be solved afterwards if they arise,” is often his exhortation.
"Liberation, mukti, lies in the loss of ego’. An egoless Selfconscious life is the life of the Jivanmukta, the liberated soul, who lives and acts from the depths of the Truth, the Heart, unaffected by the shocks of the world in ignorance. He, the Jivanmukta, has been the ideal of mankind as conceived by the ancient Indian spirit, and is the fruit of the human race, the highest result of all true human culture that has so far been possible for the Spirit in man. Therefore he is the Godman who, while he is well aware of the divergent ways taken by the intelligence of others in ignorance of the One Supreme Truth, has his own life on earth guided by the Lord of All, by the Self behind all selves, by the One Allcontrolling and Independent, Eternal and Supreme Being. He, the liberated man, in short, is an effulgent manifestation of the Atman, and here or in the next, regardless of embodiment, is firmly settled in the ineffable Permanence, ever radiating his uplifting influence upon those around. Long live the Maharshi!
THE Mahapooja, or the samadhi anniversary of the mother of Sri Ramana Maharshi, is celebrated every year in summer, on the ninth day of the dark half of the solar month Vaikasi; for on that day, came the solemn hour, the final samadhi, for the mother. There are two main items in the programme of this annual celebration; one is the feeding of the visitors and the poor on a large scale, the other is the special worship of the Lingam that is installed over the masonry work sealing the interred remains of the blessed soul.
Here we may make mention of a few facts suggesting a line of thought that may throw light on the meaning of the samadhi and the worship of the Lingam and the general feeding and may prepare the enquiring mind that has faith in spiritual life and its possibilities for a change in the sense of values.
First about feeding. Generally, food is given as a matter of charity, as service of the poor, i.e. as service of God in the poor. When the feeding is associated with a great name, a saint or a religious institution, the religious man who does not believe in this form of charity learns to tolerate it! Now let us see if the feeding in Sri Ramanashram is undertaken as a matter of pity for the poor, or if there is anything else behind actuating this way of charity. Even on ordinary days, it is difficult for the visitor to return from the Ashram without the impression that the Maharshi evinces keen interest in feeding not only the hungry stomachs, but looks pleased to see that the visitor, whatever his status, avails himself of the opportunity of taking a meal at the Ashram; and this is so, notwithstanding the impersonal character of his dealings with men and things, of his general outlook on life, which is the inevitable expression of the intense deep life of the Truth he is centred in. Those who visit the Ashram frequently or have made a few days’ stay have often testified to the unusual appetite for food they experience which is a special feature of the Ashram atmosphere; and most of the devotees, even when they are on flying visits, would not forego the privilege of having a meal at the Ashram as The Maharshi 203 it is consecrated, sanctified by the very air of the Ashram, permeated by the Maharshi spirit.
If these facts are borne in mind, it will be easy to understand the significance of a number of people daily fed and of larger numbers on special occasions. Indeed the ashramites and devotees of Sri Maharshi take so much interest in such feedings because there is the common belief, a general understanding, that food in the Ashram is prasad in a truer sense of the word, an active symbol of the spiritual gift, a material vehicle of the awakening influence and gracious glance emanating from the presiding Spirit Sri Maharshi.
Let us next turn to the Samadhi and the worship of the Lingam, and look at the question in the light of known facts about the environmental changes in the life of Sri Maharshi before and after his mother came to live with him in 1916. There are good people who are satisfied that the mother of Maharshi was great because she gave birth to a great spiritual figure, and became greater after the close of her earthly life, deserving a place of worship, almost for the same reason. There is nothing essentially wrong in such a notion; for, a genuine faith of this kind is not objectionable and such beliefs of unsophisticated minds have got a value of their own, yielding good results always in the measure of the sincerity behind, governing and determining the course of conduct that is expressive of the conviction.
But such beliefs are no bar to others looking at the question from a different angle.
To make a proper study of the question is to learn as far as possible the attitude of Sri Maharshi towards this Samadhi, to know something of the part he has played, to see how far the expressive element in him has been stimulated in this connection.
Looking back to earlier years, we can note certain landmarks in the story of his environmental life that have been the stimuli for drawing him out, to be responsive to those that have sought him for help and guidance. Thus after 11 years of deep and intense mounam (silence in every sense of the word), his long-sealed voice opened in 1907 to give instructions to Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastrigal who afterwards became his great disciple. This was indeed the beginning of a new period in which he not only regained gradual control over the vocal cords and power of speech which had been, by long disuse, almost lost, but has been to this day answering questions and clearing doubts of earnest seekers and devotees who approach him.
Another period began in 1916 when his mother came to live with him to the end. Within a short period of her advent, culinary arrangements were made, regular kitchen was started, and visitors and devotees got lodging and boarding. In this period (19161922) i.e., the six closing years of her life, Sri Maharshi began to pay increasing attention to her needs. Gracious and sympathetic, he allowed her to have her share of his love and sympathy. Such was his spiritual stature that he would not mind the conventional shastra that a saint must keep himself aloof from his relatives. He was preparing her for the supreme consummation, the true samadhi. Apart from the silent spiritual way of helping her to build the inner life, he gave her useful instructions, narrated helpful anecdotes, corrected some of her world-old common notions of religious virtues in bathing and eating, of the kitchen religion, but never coerced her, always allowed her to have her orthodox way. For instance, he would remark in a jocose style, "O your cloth is touched by somebody, madi is gone, polluted, O religion is gone. ... Yes, this onion, drumstick,...great obstruction to Moksha!"
When the end came, the blessed lady completely resigned herself to the sage, making room for his proximity to be effective. On the last day of her life (May 19, 1922), from morning to about 8 in the evening, the great sage sat by the side of the gasping mother, placing his right hand on her heart and the left on her head until life in her body became extinct and the soul got absorbed into the Spirit, into the Peace that passeth all understanding.
Some time after the event, when some one referred to the passing away of his mother, the sage corrected with a curt remark "No, not passed away, *LDALLS, OLİSL absorbed.”
On another occasion referring to the same subject, he stated, “Yes, in her case it was a success; on a previous occasion I did the same for...when his end was approaching, but it was a failure, he yawned, passed away.”
Further explaining in part what was happening during those ten or twelve hours when his hands were on the head and heart of his mother, he said: "Innate tendencies, vasanas or subtle memory of past experiences leading to future possibilities, became very active; scene after scene rolled before her in the subtle consciousness, as the outer sense had already gone; the soul was passing through a series of experiences that might possibly have required many births of her, but for the quickening process worked by the special touch given on the occasion; the soul was at last disrobed of the subtle sheaths before it reached the final destination, the supreme Peace, Nirvana, Samadhi from which there is no return to Ignorance."
Utterances to this effect regarding his mother are aphorisms for which a plain commentary is to be found in the general atmosphere and his attitude to the Samadhi and the temple constructed after the event.
From Skandashram on the hill, he was for about six months daily visiting the Samadhi at the foot of the hills where her remains were interred, until one day he suddenly sat and has coniinued to stay there to this hour.65
“Not of my own accord I removed from Skandashram...” he said, “Something placed me here and I obeyed; it is not due to my will, sveccha, it is pareccha, the will of others or of the Lord.”_"Lord, I have no will of my own. Thy will is my will, *5 roof L.Li Toro L.Li’ is one of the oft-quoted passages of the Maharshi.
What has been so far stated is enough to show how he looks upon this Samadhi with which, one may say, commenced a new period in the history of his life and the Ashram. The fact is wellknown that from 1922 onwards, the Ramanashram has been steadily growing, the teachings and the influence of the sage are increasingly recognized and spread; especially in the last half-a-dozen years the name of Sri Ramana Maharshi has touched some of the earnest hearts of Europe and America.
On one occasion Sri Maharshi is said to have remarked, "Where is she gone? She is here.” This was taken to mean that she, his mother, as a freed spiritual being, lived with him in his atmosphere. If so, it may be that the principle of female Energy, Shakti, was required to extend and spread the influence of Sri Maharshi and that was supplied by his mother effectively after her Samadhi. This need not be discussed further here, as it can be best understood only by students of occult tradition and knowledge of the East as well as of the West.
The greatness then of Sri Maharshi’s mother rests much more upon other factors than on the fact of her great good luck of having been a good and pious-minded mother of a spiritual personage of a rare type. Her greatness lay in her capacity to receive his help and influence in the closing hours of her life and thereby to shuffle off the subtle coils of mortal ignorance before she could get liberated into the eternal station of the Supreme Peace. Above all, her worth and greatness are manifest in the increasingly felt influence of the spirit and teachings of the Maharshi, spreading across the shores and entitling her to take the place of the Madonna in the institution of Sri Ramanashram where the Lingam Matrbhuteswara (the Lord who has taken her into Himself) is installed and offered daily workship.
Of the hundreds that have come in closer contact with the great sage of Tiruvannamalai, there have been some, easily to be counted among the cultured, some brilliant in their own way, very up-do-date in modern thought and culture, others occupying high positions, lawyers, doctors, journalists, judges, scholars, yet quite unassuming, with a quiet devotion while approaching the Maharshi for guidance, for help, for peace and enlightenment. In the minds of the Maharshi’s devotees one name stands and has always stood foremost; indeed he is an ornament to the circle of disciples or devotees of the sage and will ever be remembered for having recorded the views of the Maharshi on some very intricate questions related to spiritual life in book-form entitling it the RAMANA GITA.
He is Vasishtha Ganapati Muni (Kavya Kantha Ganapati Sastri). Students of the growing literature about Sri Ramana Maharshi are well aware of the Sastri’s devotion to the Maharshi and of his high ideals and extraordinary brilliance and scholarship. But mention may be made here of some aspects of the personality, before we give an English rendering of his Hymn to the Guru-sung in praise of his spiritual preceptor, the Maharshi, long ago.
He is a master of Sanskrit literature, and though rhetoric and poetry was his special field, he had studied the shastras before he came to the feet of the sage to learn the secrets of tapas. A brilliant personality—some one in a conference remarked his fore-cut resembles a Roman statue’ --with a bewitching voice holding the hearers in thrall, when reciting the Sanskrit verses; an extempore poet who can address an audience in Sanskrit prose or verse, creating an atmosphere for the assembly to breathe and soak their being in the melting melody and sweetness of the spiritual force emanating from him; an ardent son of the land with love and admiration for the saints and sages of ancient India, yet an uncompromising critic of meaningless conventions that have eaten into the vitals of the society; a good thinker, with frequent inspired thoughts illumining the passages of the hymns of the Rig Veda to the earnest seeker in him; of extraordinary intellectual independance, yet ever bowing to the authority of Revelation, of scripture, of the word of the Guru, of the utterance of one to whom are revealed truths that transcend the normal reason.
It is this last trait that is most remarkable,-true humilitythat came to the forefront of this magnificent man when he sought the great seer’s feet for enlightenment.
“It was the 9th day of the Krittika festival (Monday 18th Nov. 1907),” as the Sastri has told us, “when I fell at the feet of the Maharshi, with both my hands clasping his feet, the right hand grasping the right foot, the other, the left.” He considered it an unholy act to touch the Master’s right foot with his left hand!
Is it a wonder that such a rare scholar, thinker, poet and critic -all in one and much more—with remarkable gifts, falling at the feet of one who was practically uneducated or a little educated in the parlance of the so-called cultured, has had a moving effect upon those of the learned people who were not indifferent to a life beyond the confines of their narrow rounds of daily life?
The Sastri is the author of many works the most important of which are all in manuscript, but there are a few of them connected with the Maharshi’s teachings that have been published. His commentary on the Upadeshasara of Maharshi, his translation of Ulladu Narpadu, SATDARSHANA and the RAMANA GITA are all now available and so very useful to those interested in the teachings of the great seer. But among the devotional poems of the Sastri there are many devoted to his Guru, the Maharshi, and of these only one hymn is published finding a place in the GITAMALA, entitled the Gurugita.66
We give below an English rendering of this “Hymn to the Guru” not as a specimen of the Sastri’s poetic compositionto that none can do justice in a translation into a foreign tonguebut because the devotion and fervour of this great disciple has an example for us, and associating overselves with the author of the hymn, we pay our homage to the great sage, on this auspicious day of his Jayanti67
The Unmanifest from which all this manifestation takes birth, which sustains it, into which it resolves itself—That the Eternal is:
In which support, in which matchless Strength, this cosmos (this Brahma’s Egg) with its myriads of globes firmly abides:
Which is the Splendour concrete, the source of all lights, of the sun, of the planets; which, yea, is the power that is there for the power of Brahma and the rest of the gods:
By whose Light, the desireless knowing the truth are delighted; by whose magic, the little minds have a dual vision cast on the All (the One Sum Total, samaste) :
On which by meditation men have become immersed in the Delight of Atman (Self); Where to stay is liberation, to Which even an inclination has the same purport:
That Brahman, called the Primal Sound, Pranava, unwearied let it reign supreme bearing the Ramana-name, so pleasing to me, for my meditation:
It holds fast to the root (at the bottom; (but) its abode is in the Heart’s lotus; (yet) it flows (upwards) for the lotus of the head, and from behind for the energy of the senses:
With the outward eye it makes for the body’s illusion, with the eye inward for the experience of the Self’s oneness:
Seeing the multitude of objects, or retired from it, it stands (the same ever) for mukti, release, by the inner movement, by the realisation of oneness:
This Light of Atman, the Pure, bearing the Ramananame for me-may it ever throb in my heart’s lotus:
(The Light) from the lamp named Ramana, penetrating the walls of Ganapati’s speech nurtures the wondrous elegance of (Ramana’s) Gita:
That, which by its rays dispels the darknesses of the ignorant-let that truth dawn upon you in concentration and meditation of Tara, the Original Sound:
By going up, by going down, by the movements in the adhars (inner centres) and in the head, it fixes movements and what more, itself pervades moving everywhere.
(Yet) It is devoid of support; it resembles the sky (infinite space), Full, Silent, let that Brahman in Guru’s form swell itself in me:
Of whose truth on hearing, knowledge indirect comes, but whose contact in particular causes that direct knowledge.
That Brahman, named Ramana, whose thought (leads to) liberation, permanent encompassing, let That deposit me in the Delight.
In accordance with his view, lovingly, Vasishtha, urged by the Delight of the primal sound of Silence, Tara, gave out this ’Hymn to the Guru’, deep and lucid.
Sri Sastriar wrote his commentary on the Ramanagita in 1941 and paid a visit to Sri Maharshi to dedicate the work to him. And on his return, in response to the pressing request of this editor for a full account of the trip, he gave a rapid narration which was recorded. When the typescript was ready and shown to him, Sri Sastriar prefaced it with a note:
“The following was dictated in response to Madhav’s request that I must narrate to him as closely as possible all about my trip to T. Malai"
Naturally, this personal and intimate account was not meant for publication and as such was not revised by him. However, some extracts from it are included in this section as they would be of special interest to the reader.
He had intended to render the Ramana-Gita-Prakasa in English. In fact he even translated the Introduction —the Pithika—but somehow did not proceed further. The draft of this translation of the Introduction, though not revised is included in this section, as it stands, for its value in awakening the interest of the reader in the work proper, Ramana-Gita-Prakasa. — Editor.
It was on the morning of the 10th of October, 1941 that I started for Tiruvannamalai taking the 7.40 a.m. train. Fortunately I got a compartment all to myself and after arranging my things I took the manuscript in order to check up and correct the possible slips therein; for when I was writing out the commentary I did not look back at what I wrote and so there were likely to be some slips... The train reached T. Malai in time, perhaps a few minutes before time; I took a Jutka68
I stood at the threshold of the Hall), one foot outside; somehow my legs would not move forward; the head hung down; feelings overpowered me, perhaps pent up for ages they now found their vent; I muttered something, with effort raised my head, moved forwards and saw the figure of Sri Maharshi reclining on the sofa as usual. Our eyes met. He nodded and said “Hm. Hm.", as if to say, “Why so much, why so much!” I prostrated myself and as I was doing so, he said to an attendant close by, "This is Kapali Sh...”. When I heard my name being uttered by Maharshi my mind jumped back to the old moments and there were corresponding emotional experiences. I spoke not a word and stood up; he asked me if I had taken food. "Yes", I replied, "I will take a little rice with butter-milk.
The train came just now? he asked.
Yes.
Come so soon?
I got the Jut69
You were expected. Then, just take food—you can have whatever you like.
There was a feeling of satisfaction and peace. I came out; to Echhamma who was waiting there I was not in a condition to speak.
It was now 3.5 P.M. when I went before Sri Maharshi. I handed the manuscript and prostrated myself before him, then approached him close, explaining to him how unlike in Sat-DarshanaBhashya I had closed the concluding portions with a conspectus of the work and an epilogue, in all twenty couplets. I further stated that in one of the couplets I had stated that my commentary is the lustre of the pearls which are the composition of Ganapati strung together on a thread which is the import of Sri Maharshi’s teachings. He graciously smiled; looking into that particular verse70
Then he asked me about the colophon; I told him I had left space to write a few words there.
“Yes, I shall write,” he said, "You can call it Bhashya.” “Anyway, as the Maharshi pleases," I replied.
But in the Introduction I had written the title as Ramana-Gita-Prakasha-Pithika. He immediately saw that and said “Then as you have already named it, you can call it so." Then he turned to the end of the book and wrote after Kapalinah krtih, prakashakhya vyakhya and filled up the world samapta. Then the Maharshi audibly read out the twenty couplets and significantly accented the last line: matrbhutamaheshaya Ramanaya namo namah. It looked from the manner of his reading as if he had read it before.
Just at the time when we were talking about the closing verses, a gentleman was standing outside whom the Maharshi could see through the side window. Addressing him he said, “Come in, here is come” (showing the book in his hand). In a minute I saw him entering the hall, coming closer to me. Pointing to him the Maharshi asked me, “Do you recognise who it is?” I looked at him scrutinisingly. "Ah, is it J...?” I exclaimed, for, with difficulty, I recognised him to be the same boy who used to come twenty-eight years ago at the Virupaksha cave when we were meeting at the feet of Sri Maharshi. Afterwards he went out, studied Vyakarana and specialised in Vedanta; later he became Pundit in the Shankara Mutt at Kumbhakonam. Later, once I saw him sitting mute in a corner of the hall at the Maharshi’s, but that was only for a few minutes in a crowded gathering ten years ago. We had no opportunity even then to converse. It seems he had to leave the Mutt due to some misunderstanding and a few months back he came to Tiruvannamalai and is making a temporary stay. Sri Maharshi’s question to me was significant; the significance was lost upon me at that time. Later I came to know it when people told me about the extraordinary crisis which would have easily led to a fatal end.
How is it he looks so weak? I asked.
“He is very healthy and strong now," Maharshi replied, "If you had seen him a fortnight ago... Oh! Everyone thought he would not live. There was only bone and skin. Now, somehow he is there."
Sri T. K. Sunderesha Iyer and Sri A. R. Duraiswami gave me some details about the crisis. There was a general talk and every one was saying that it was an extraordinary thing that J. was alive today. A few months back he was seriously laid up in bed with complicated illness including temperature. Later it was found to be cancer in the abdomen; and, as is well known, medical science has not definitely succeeded in finding a cure for cancer and he was given up for lost. He was taken to the hospital from his lodgings, doctors were changed and one of the doctors, a local man who seems to be a devotee of the Maharshi, is reported to have said that it was not a question of days but of hours being counted and humanly speaking there was no hope; but of course if he was to come back to life at all from his death-bed, then it could be only by the Maharshi’s help. Sri Maharshi kept quiet but asked them, significantly, to do something. Immediately, the doctor got unusual courage, did something which might mean anything and which proved that the advice of the Maharshi was not in vain and meant much more than what was said. Naturally, the boldest among the unbelievers pauses, bewildered.
My book was still in Sri Maharshi’s hands; he was glancing through the pages and as already said, read aloud the twenty verses concluding the book. Then he kept it on the shelf; J. who was sitting there wanted to see it. The Maharshi hinted that it was not ready to be seen; in fact he said to J. “He has yet to go through them once.” J. kept quiet for a minute, again he asked, “I shall just see only the Pithika.” Sri Maharshi found him obviously to be a little insensible; he looked at me, I was waiting to hear what he (M) would say, for that was an interesting situation; but J. came to the rescue of the Maharshi by almost removing the manuscript from the shelf repeating what he said a minute earlier. Sri Maharshi had to gracefully say “Yes”. Then J. took it and began to read.
He went on reading, then and there expressing his opinion or raising some objections, pausing and looking at me questioningly... On one or two occasions I met the objections as they apparently merited an answer. Later I directed him to go on whenever he stopped and I found his questions meaningless...While starting, I had a presentiment that some obstruction might present itself and I was determined not to give way to impatience and it is this attitude that helped and reminded me also of the significance of the flower Divine Solicitude which the Mother blessed me with when I took leave of her.
It was not J.’s fault if he could not follow the sense of certain passages. It is due to the unthinking habit of many of these people in cramming the standard works of Shastras. I had stated that the Sciences, in the world, were imperfect, continuously changing, developing, while the Science of the Atman is asserted by its sponsors to be not so. This idea was quite foreign to his culture. I would not say all Pundits are like that; my own Guru71
After the Veda Parayana, conducted by Sri Raju Sastri in the evenings, was over, he (R) came to me; both of us were taken by the Saravadhikari to his office. Ordering the door to be bolted he looked around cautiously to see if there was any one who was not in his confidence; I believe there was none else excepting one or two other than we four, including T.K.S. Having assured himself that we were safe, he requested Raju Sastri to take out the thing; I was wondering what he was going to do. From the mandahasa (medium sized cupboard in which household idols are kept for worship), Raju Sastri took out a plate and handed it to him and he in turn placed it in my hand. It was a few inches square, but its weight betrayed to me the metal even before I saw it scrutinisingly; it was solid gold. The diagram was Sri Chakram; I saw the whole thing, it was neatly done. It cost a thousand rupees. Then there was another, a smaller plate; that too was taken out. The third one contained letters inscribed in the diagram; it was Subrahmanya Yantra. He spoke to me how he was able to get it all done, why so much care for safety had to be taken etc. We all came out and he took us to another hut where I was shown Meru in sila (solid rock). The workmanship was indeed quite fine. I do not remember to have seen such a big sized Meru in rock though I have myself worshipped one made of gold (small size).
October 11:
J. was reading the Fifth Chapter by now.
This is a chapter in which Maharshi gives a discourse on the subject of hrdaya of his own accord—not in answer to any question from any one—and this is a very important chapter, as the distinctive features of Sri Maharshi’s realisations are expressed in unequivocal terms. When a particular passage came, Maharshi asked me:
M: But is it called hrdayakasa or merely hrdaya (referring to anahata)?
K: I have written hrdayakasa for anahata also. My impression is that the anahata is also called hrdayakasa in some of the Tantric works.
Maharshi paused and looked at the meaning "Are you quite sure?"
K: Anyhow I shall note and find out; if necessary I shall quote the text.
M: Yes, that will be better.
After a minute, the full significance of Maharshi’s questioning became evident to me and then I said:
K: I think it is better, when there is so much doubt, to remove the akasa and simply call it hrdyam.
M: Yes, that is right.
Immediately, I took the manuscript from J. and removed the word akasa leaving it as hrdayam. Just here, there had to be a halt in the reading of the manuscript for the Maharshi began to speak about the ’Heart’ and there was general discussion in which he was the main speaker; he quoted many of the ancient texts from Tamil and Sanskrit to show that the hrdaya which he speaks of is the seat of the self. Located on the right side of the chest is the hrdayam of the Upanishads and it is recognised to be such by Appar and other Tamil saints whereas the hrdayam in the middle of the chest anahatam is called hrdayam by Tantrics and some of the yogins. But it is not hrdayakasa, it is only hrdayam, the Maharshi continued. He took out a manuscript of Rajayogasara of Nayana72
"I made enquiries about it to get the whole article and that particular number of the journal and I think somebody also wrote to that address which I have noted here (pointing to the notebook in his hand), but nothing has been heard. Some one from Lahore said that he would try to get that number so that one could see the whole article and the means by which the experiment was carried out leading to the definite conclusion that the centre of the self or heart is located on the right side of the chest.”
In this connection I reminded Sri Maharshi of what some people once talked about this in light vein ridiculing the idea of hrdayagranthi. Indeed they, L and N, almost in the hearing of the Maharshi once asked me in 1931 “What your chest is not burst as yet?” The Maharshi replied, now in a jovial tone reminiscent of olden days"சொல்லட்டுமே பட்டால் தெரியும்” [They can afford to talk; but if one is hit (or caught in the net) then he can know.]
A.R.D. came and asked me to give him details of what went on in the hall when my manuscript was being read. I spoke tohim. He asked me to tell him more about Sri Maharshi’s remarks; whatever I had to say I did. When he asked me to give my impression, I frankly told him that the Maharshi was really gracious as usual but behind it a certain aloofness was visible throughout. "I do not know how long things have been going on this way,” I added.
A.R.D: It has been so far the past one year and a half.
K: What do you think it is due to?
A.R.D: Somehow there is withdrawal into himself, he is more and more indrawn. He does not turn to the side of the temple or look into other constructions. Formerly it was not so.
K: Yes I too observed it; he is in the hall practically always.
A.R.D: Did he make any personal enquiries when he first saw you?
K: Of course he did and very graciously asked me to take my food first and that is all. And afterwards when I was speaking to him about the work he very kindly heard me and made his very gracious remarks especially when I referred to my handwriting in Nagari script; he said, “Yes, you are not as much accustomed to wiite Nagari; if it were Telugu it would be diffcrent; even now it is quite all right, clear and legible, quite good. As for slips, it is always the case. We go on thinking that we have written letters and words which are quite often left out.
A.R.D: When the manuscript was being read, did he make any remark?
K: Quite many. In fact, he kept a copy of the text while closely giving his ears to the commentary being read and whenever there was variance in reading he drew our attention to it and wonderingly expressed: "How is it that such readings have crept in!’ In fact I had two different editions when I wrote the commentary. Sri Maharshi had two newer-one in Telugu and the other in Nagari, in addition to which he had by his side the original manuscript written by Nayana in 1917.
A.R.D: This is quite interesting and pleasing to me. But it is no wonder that he is so kind to you; in fact none of us has moved as you have done with him.
K: It is not exactly that; many may have done. What you say is perfectly true so far as I am concerned; I did move very closely with him and I have always considered myself to have received his special blessings. But what to do? I was destined for another way.
A.R.D: That is why I ask you if there was any talk between Sri Maharshi and yourself reviving old memories.
K: No. Even when there was occasion for it he kept simply quiet. It is from that I felt that there was a sort of aloofness. But I do not say that by his treatment of me he made me feel his aloofness.73
October 12:
There was nothing important to note till I entered the hall... All who could follow Sanskrit were present. When all of them had come the Maharshi looked into my face as he knew already that I was to start and proceed with the reading. J. was previously informed about the propriety of leaving the author to read before the Maharshi for which purpose he had specially come. I had to take this course that day. I had given the word to the Mother that I would try to finish on Sunday itself. Now I questioned myself, have I tried ? Friday passed, so did Saturday and seven hous of Sunday have already passed; at best I could read to-day for five to six hours without disturbing the Ashram routine and regulations in the hall. In the previous three sittings J. was able to finish less than one-third of the whole. How to finish or even try to finish the remaining thirteen chapters? Moreover, there were portions where Sri Maharshi, I thought, might say something. I myself might have something to say. However, this train of thought passed by me and I did not think of it again. There was an unusual certainty that everything would go on all right...
I explained in Tamil what I had written about the value of contacts with great men...I tried to give the gist then and there... At one stage N, an old acquaintance, finding that to appeal to me might not be fruitful implored the Maharshi that I might be asked to expound it in Tamil also as so many were waiting in earnest. But Sri Maharshi smiled and said "Now! It will be already a great thing if he finishes even the Sanskrit reading.” Facing me he added, "How is it possible!” Then I said turning to the Maharshi, at the same time addressing N, that I would try to give a resume in the evening. Then they were satsified.
I was in the twelfth chapter and had read the first ten verses with the commentary. It was my chapter74
At night I had a long talk with A.R.D. His health by the way, looked far better than what it was when I last saw him at Pondicherry. Sri Maharshi himself was not looking as old as one would expect; in fact there was very little change in his body —I saw him after an interval of ten years—if at all, there was some improvement in his health.
October 13:
Sri Maharshi knew that I was to leave that day, as I had the previous evening informed him about my programme and I purposely retained the last chapter for this morning. Then I started reading (8 a.m.) and finished it by 90’clock. When I came to the verse nilaravinda76
It is very significant that Sri Maharshi who had been silent so far, quoted here approvingly the opinion of another that this should be considered a verse appropriate to describe the Maharshi himself77
Now one remarkable fact is when I started reading, it should have taken easily fifteen hours to finish the portion, at a modest rate. I do not know how it was done in six hours. The tone was loud; the throat was not affected and the pauses for rest were the minimum. All this—one can easily see, if he has eyes-is due to three factors: (1) the Maharshi understood that I was to finish and go; (2) I had the will and (3) the Mother was present--as she later confirmed.
The Lord of all the worlds, One is He, in the Heart abides.
He the Self, is also She the Supreme Gaze, other than That is nothing else.
Disunion She brooks not, of the Powerful the sole Power is She, the wakeful.
Of the countless worlds visible, the birth and the rest She holding shines.
Whom she has closely held as the she-cat her catling, He seeks her clinging as the baby monkey does the mother.
Victorious is he, the Bhagavan Ramana; Victorious is the teacher Ganapati, master of speech; Victorious, yea, his speech is Running close to Ramana’s import.
Now then, this Ramana-Gita of eighteen chapters is commented upon; and Ramana is the great sage dwelling in the holy place Arunachala. The Gita is the Shastra comprising his instructions.
(Here is a doubt) Let there be the instructions of the Maharshi, seer of Truth. Let the work hold sway as authentic over the hearts of those who have the faith. But why is it titled Gita? Is not the term Gita renowned as Lord Vasudeva’s instructions? Well, there are works which deal with Truth-instructions whose position is admittedly that of the Gita. For instance, there are the Gitas of Rama, Hanuman, Ganesha and others. Some call the narrative of Dharmavyadha as Vyadha Gita. Even so, Sri Ramana’s instructions devoted to spiritual knowledge occupy the position of a Gita and in this sense appropriate is the title which is suggestive also of the authenticity of the Shastra.
Authentic or not,—the question is not one to be decided by the mere title. It depends upon the instructor with competency to instruct. Hence it is that we see in the world authenticity recognised of utterances being trustworthy, of seers who have realised the Dharma—the truth and character and law of being.
Is it, then, that a statement is to be accepted as an authority, without deliberation on the ground that it is revelation or received text? Not so-one must think over and understand; but the range of critical thought has a limit. How far is the limit? In order to understand the sense of a received text, attempt must be made at a reasoned appreciation of the meanings of trustworthy statements by means of perception and inference (which include observation, reflection and deliberative scrutiny and reconciling of apparent contradictions) and not question the statement of the authentic text itself.
If this be the restriction on deliberative thought, very little is the use for perception and inference. No. Great is the use for them. For in the world the sense of any statement is determined only by perception and inference. Be it done so in the world; how can they-perception and inference—be of use in understanding trustworthy statements which refer to trans-sensuous objects?
We say: just as in the world, in the field of sense-objects, so in the trans-sensuous. How? We reply: in the world a person desirous of knowing a particular thing which he does not know understands as much of it as he can in the measure of his intelligence and general refinement or culture, and by so doing, he gains new impressions. Similarly, in the trans-sensuous realm also by grasping the trustworthy word, knowledge comes in the measure of the intellectual refinement. Such a refinement in the matter of understanding the trans-sensuous is a gain-useful in the inquiry into the subtle truths. Whoever has it ripens pure by such subtle inquiries.
If this be so, then belief alone is the refuge, and not perception and inference, in accepting the revealed text or trustworthy statement? Not so; where other means of knowledge is not or is not contradicted, there faith in the trustworthy utterance alone is the refuge. Just as a person who has not seen, but who is desirous of seeing, a particular object in a remote place, puts faith in the words of one who has seen it and in order to arrive at a defnite understanding makes an attempt to investigate the truth of the statements through reflection by means of perception and inference, and as the investigation proceeds new impressions are gained resulting in a newer refinement useful to the realisation of the object in view, so also here.
Moreover, this is a settled fact observed in the world. By experience developed from childhood onward there is an increasing gain of newer and newer impressions by which, in certain cases previous ones are removed, in certain others refined and modified, there is an anticipation of things which are to be seen but not seen, in certain other cases rejections of what is known or acceptance of it, spontaneous renouncing of certain things and acceptance of certain others. Thus it is seen from experience that perception and inference themselves reveal their limitations. And to a person getting to know things trans-sensuous the insufficiency of perception and inference is patent.
Therefore trustworthy statements are authoritative in understanding the trans-sensuous. To cherish the trans-sensuous as something worthy of attainment a certain culture is necessary which does not find place in one who is possessed of contrary culture. But a disposition to the necessary culture makes for competency (to enquire into the trans-sensuous).
Here some one objects: we do not doubt the authenticity of a trustworthy statement if by that is meant the Shruti, the revealed scripture. Further he makes the position clear.
However trustworthy and respectable great men may be, after all they, being human, how can their experiences and utterances based upon them be decided to be devoid of error or delusion? But Shruti, the scripture, is Veda, beginningless, is of no human origin, is exhalation of Parabrahman, the supreme truth of All-exsitence. While sentences in the Veda, as in the world, are intelligible to human understanding, how is it possible to hold that it is not of human origin or has no beginning? This doubt need not be entertained; it is beginningless because it is there from immemorial time, or nobody knows the author or the time.
This is extraordinary reasoning: it is beginningless because the author or the time is not known; and because it is beginningless it is not of human origin and because it is not of human origin it is authentic, free from error, delusion.
And more he says—the objector.
If it be said that the mantras which are truth-visions of Madhucchandas etc., make it clear that they are composed by human beings, we reply in the negative. For they by the power of askesis, tapas, visioned and not composed what was there self-existent in the supreme or causal Ether, akasa—the exhalation of Brahman. Having so seen they gave them out to the world for us; therefore they could not be the makers of mantras. Thus our position is well grounded. For we hold that the eternal Veda is the supreme authority that cannot be equalled.
Here we reply: a difference is to be admitted between what is self-existent in the supreme akasa and the same as transferred to the realm of speech through the seeings of the seer. If difference is not admitted, your argument falls down—the one that the human being, however great he may be, is not free from delusion. If difference is admitted, the argument you raised strengthens our position, for we hold that the great man in whom the inner sight is open need not be prone to error or delusion. Therefore it is that the mantras which are revealed to the seers who are face to face with Dharma, the state or character or law of being, occupy the place of authority.
And if delusion or error is likely even in the case of great souls, then .the mantras that are seen got and chanted cease to be authentic. As for the human element it is common to all seers whose greatness is of varying degrees, high and low.
Therefore, what is seen and got is authentic because it is revelation and not because it is beginningless or is of non-human origin. As for the statement that the Vedas are authentic because they have no beginning and are not man-made, that depends on the description of the character of the Mantras and the Brahmanas. In that matter there is a lot of confusion due to varying statements. We do not investigate it here as it is of little use for our present purpose.
Then, there is another objection: from time immemorial Shastras have been handed down to us beginning from the Rig Veda. There are the mantra revelations of the early seers beginning with Madhucchandas. By studying them, repeating them in low tones, or using them in rituals according to prescribed rules, the desired object is gained, or the state of union is realised with the Self of any or all the Gods. Similarly, there are explanatory utterances of Yajnavalkya and other Upanishadic seers which pertain to the realisation of the Self pointed to by many sadhanas or disciplines called Vidyas. Besides, there are smrtis of Dwaipayana Vyasa elucidating the sense of the authentic Shruti, revelation. Thus, the instructions of teachers ancient as well as of those of later times are there reigning supreme.
While there are thus so many Shastras being well understood, what is the use of this new one? For great are these seers whose words are quite sufficient and of supreme authority to us. If it be thus argued, we reply:
It is doubtless that the authenticity of the revealed texts is most respectable because they are the instructions of Truth-seers, coming down to us from a long past. Even though this is so, it must be remembered that Truth remains invariable, unaffected by place and time. Even as in the world the natural functions of the bodily senses etc. are unexceptionable, and the senses’ contacting with their objects does not vary with time and place, even as the sciences like mathematics etc. have their methods regulated and are verifiable, even so the spiritual truths are instructed as verifiable by experience irrespective of time and place).
And then, in the world, for instance, the sciences are imperfect and step by step develop and there is no fixity about them. But in the Science which deals with the supreme purpose of life, everything that has to be said has been already said by the ancients and it is not possible for any one to say what is left unsaid. Therefore, this work as an authority is of lesser importance and is of little use because of the absence of anything special about it. If this be the objection we reply:
It is not that Parashara and other seers did not sing in praise of Agni because the seer Madhucchandas sang. It is not that sages of the other branches of the Veda according to their school ceased to acclaim the discipline or sadhana that goes by the name of Pranavidya, because the Samavedins cited it. The enquiry into Brahman made by the Taittiriyakas is done by the Atharvanikas also and for that reason no wise man deems it to be futile or less authoritative. Indeed, even though all the teachings of the Upanishads find their harmony in the Brahman, yet it is a fact that the method of instructions varying according to the different schools in the matter of discipline and means of attainment has a use all its own.
Moreover, it is doubtful that the ancient teachers have exhausted all that is to be taught. There is no objection whatever to the view that the principle of the supreme truth was essentially seen and largely explained. Also, it is not wrong to hold that the character of the experience of the supreme truth is essentially one. But even though the experience of the nature of the Infinite Self is at all times and everywhere the same, and without difference, yet it is manyfaceted through individuals of different times realising it who differ in their explanation, understanding and exposition. And it is thus useful and necessary to the seekers of varying tastes and capacity of different ages.
Therefore, time after time, appear great souls and by the strength of their spiritual opulence, the Brahmavidya—the art of the knowledge of Brahman-continues without interruption among mankind.
In this Shastra, then, which goes after the name of Sri Ramana, the Maharshi is the instructor of whom and of whose teachings whatever has to be stated has been stated in the commentary on the Sat-Darsana and the Introduction thereof. Hence, it is not repeated here. But whatever is desired necessary for the present work, useful to the seekers, is mentioned in brief.
The fourfold object of man’s life is well known. (These are the four: Dharma, the true character or law or state of being; Artha, ordinarily “object, here the ’meaning or purpose’; Kama, desire; Moksha, release from bondage).
The realisation of the true nature of one’s own self is the supreme meaning or purpose of any one’s existence. But because of weakness and of the lack of ripeness in persons, Dharma, Artha and Kama (ordinarily morality, wealth and desire for enjoyment) are commonly called objects of life, and are found indispensable and have utility of their own. Therefore, even prior to the acquisition of ripeness, the person desirous of getting at the Good must direct his attempt at the threefold object (Dharma, Artha and Kama) in a such way that it becomes favourable to the attainment of the supreme object of life—Moksha or liberation. While Artha, wealth or possession, Kama, desire, and Dharma, the moral principle that exercises a restraining influence over these two are unavoidable in life until the attainment of the supreme Good, these (the three objects Dharma etc.) have to be so disciplined that they transform themselves into limbs of the Sadhana or discipline that leads to the achievement of the supreme purpose.
Therefore, if a person has faith in the Spiritual i.e. in the sphere of the Self or Spirit, even though he may be, for the time being, after Dharma, Artha and Kama, with non-attachment or dispassion not yet come upon him, even though his aspiration for knowledge is not yet quite keen, to such a one great will be the help of Sri Maharshi’s teachings. For persons who are yet after Dharma, Artha and Kama, of whatever caste or no caste, of whatever stage or no stage in the four recognised stages of life, men or women, could assume the spiritual attitude, getting on in life favourable to the spiritual discipline.
We stated that Sri Maharshi is the instructor in this Shastra; but the instructed are many who are the questioners. While questions were put and the answers given, or while the Maharshi of his own accord gave discourses (which are recorded here) the teacher Ganapati Muni, Vasishtha, foremost among his disciples, was present; by him this work in the form of questions and answers was composed then and there.
And then, whatever instruction the Maharshi gives, it is from personal experience or by seeing within to give the Word, and not by considering the Shastras for the purpose. Even though his words of reply to questions or his spontaneous utterances come independently of the Shastras, yet to the thoughtful mind it would be clear that the Shastraic principles fit in with his utterances. And wherever there is contrariety to convention or deviation from the Dharma Shastras that are in vogue for the time being, even there, it will be a priceless treasure to those who have for their aim the realisation of the supreme purpose of life. For here all the questions are considered from the point of view of spiritual truth. Therefore, here, in matters mundane or spiritual, it is the spiritual point of view that is instructed for adoption by all. Even though the questioners are many and their questions and competency differ, yet all the answers to the questions are shown to be harmonised in the spiritual view.
Hence, the subject matter of the work is, in main, enquiry into the attainment of one’s own true nature, of the self, as other subjects such as the social ones and the four stages in life, are affirmed as subsidiary to it. The connection is the relation between what is to be known and what causes the knowledge. He is competent who is endowed with faith in the spiritual life. The supreme purpose of human life is the use, the purpose.
The sole object, the meaning of man, is to be understood as the sole Supreme Truth. The other objects of life, Dharma and others, are in reality unified therein. And the knowers of Shastra say “That in which the principle of being is not destroyed is Bhava, being, Dharma, what holds firmly.” That being so,
As the Self abides in being as existence, to be settled in that is the supreme Dharma of man or law of his being.
As the meaning of Self is ’I’ whose character is Consciousness, to know that is the supreme
Artha, the meaning of man, the purpose of his life. As the self being blissful, is the dearest (to every one the love of it is the supreme
Kama, the desire of man.
Thus, Dharma, Artha and Kama appearing as three distinct objects of life have for their aim only one object, one import: that is the realisation of Brahman as the self shining in the heart, as the "l’eternal, pure, conscious and free in his nature; he is to be sought for, he is to be known by subtle enquiry. This is the heart of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi’s teachings.
How this is the sense of all the teachings of Sri Ramana, will be shown clearly in this Gita of 300 verses.
The Editor had maintained, for sometime, a diary Tusharakoti, recording Sri Sastriar’s observations and remarks on men and things. It is hoped that it will be possible some day to publish the contents in full. The following collection bearing on Sri Maharshi is culled from this journal.
SRI MAHARSHI’s path and the path of Sri Aurobindo differ in this way. In the former, apparently, it is you who are to work out your sadhana. In the latter, you count for little, as it were; you cannot do anything much; it is they78
But we must also note that when the Maharshi says, “It is you who have to look within yourself and work out your sadhana,’ he puts in the needed influence, anugraha, to help you proceed and do the sadhana.
Similarly, here, when Sri Aurobindo and the Mother say, “Surrender everything of you to the Divine and be free", they put in you the necessary force which enables you to carry out your indispensable individual effort for surrendering all that you have and are.
In the Maharshi’s teaching, as indeed in all yogas of ancient India, the problem to be solved is the problem of the individual. In Sri Aurobindo’s teaching, it is the problem of man in his total being and the meaning of his existence on the earth that is sought to be discovered and worked out. The problems are different and so are the solutions. 17-11-1948.
The Maharshi’s position is simply this: the Divine is, indeed, everywhere. But, you must first find your own self, your own centre in the Divine who is everywhere. Once you find it, you are no longer yourself in the usual sense; you are in His hands. What you call yourself is nothing, does not count; it is that, the Self, the Real ’l’that matters. There is no longer any problem for you; your problems are His ‘problems’. If He wants any transformation to be effected in your body, it is His will that will effect it. Manifestation, non-manifestation etc. are all His look-out, not yours. 28-12-1948.
The Maharshi used to say that only a Jnanin can be a true Bhakta. For he knows the Ishwara, His real glory. 28-12-1948
People complain of imperfections, defects and other undesirable tendencies among the inmates of this Ashram and that. Let us take it for granted that the persons complained against are imperfect, bad. But why do people go all the way to the Ashrams to spot out and concentrate on defects in others ?
The Maharshi used to say: "Where are these defects not found ? They are everywhere. If we look to our own object, our own aim in life, these things will not detract us.”
Not to take too much notice of the failings in others but to have, on the other hand, our sole attention directed to the main object in view is an excellent rule. If that is done, all these disturbances fall into their just proportions. They are mere pinpricks of our own making.
Obstructions and rough elements in the environs of great and saintly personalities are to be treated more as tests of one’s sincerity and will to brave the roughest impediments in order to reach the Ideal. (In light vein he added,) in the Puranas, we hear of Vasudeva with a huge serpent for his bedstead. Shiva has Nandi before him obstructing the passage of the devotee. No rose beautiful is found without a cluster of thorns around it. 2-1-1949.
Buddha has been the greatest in history as a spiritual personality. Whenever I think of this tall, noble figure striding majestically forward with his disciples trailing his footsteps I somehow come to remember the stature, the dynamic personality of Sri Rama. It is silly to compare Buddha or Christ with any political leader. Jesus was actually the Son of God. When he spoke of the “Kingdom of Heaven within” he spoke of a direct personal experience. Christ had that consciousness. As the Maharshi used to say, Christ moved and acted as he did because of his direct realisation, saksat anubhuti. 19-1-1949
Nrinam nidarsanamayam Ramano Maharshih, that is how Nayana79
It is remarkable how the Maharshi has been able to live all these seventy years. Sri Shankara lived only for 32 years while Jnana Sambandha passed away in his sixteenth year. To have lived so long after the Realisation and that after allowing unrestricted access to all people at all hours is a unique phenomenon. Sri Maharshi is a dynamo. Some twenty years back a devotee wrote of him that rays of light emanate from him and do their work on the devotee. Sri Maharshi corrected it to say, “He emanates and directs the rays.” That is a correct statement of the truth; for he meant to say that he was not passive in cases which required his intervention, but active and directed the rays of Grace.
A single look from him breaks through many coverings of one’s ego, however thick, and reaches and feels the core of the being. For spiritual seekers his is the rarest type of realisation of the kind. 16-2-1949
As a man Sri Ramakrishna was simple and childlike. But, he could at will go into Mother-consciousness and commune with Her; or he was thrown into that consciousness in spite of himself. It was during such states of Mother-consciousness that he spoke words of spiritual authenticity and acted as one God-inspired. When these states were not there, he was again his usual (normal) childlike self.
In the case of the Maharshi, this state of God-identity, the realised state of consciousness, is continuous; it knows no interruptions. Ever since he realised the Self when he was sixteen, he has lived in that state of identity with the Self i.e. the One Infinite.
He once described to me this state of consciousness, saying, “Even if the Trimurtis appear before me and give me darshan and ask me to choose a boon, I would tell them: ’Be pleased, let me have no more darshan." That is to say, even the clear distinction between the seer and the seen which is implied in the darshan of the Lord can find no place in that state of Self-realisation. 26-2-1949.
Some say that Siddhas of old are still alive. In the days when the Maharshi was on the hill, he used to take a few of us with him for the Giri Pradakshina (going round the hill). This used to last from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Once while I was going with him he pointed his face towards the sky and said: “Look, there perhaps are the Siddhas. They (people) say they are nakshatras (stars) and pass them by!” As we walked on, he observed that the very stars were beneath his feet.
It was during one such round in May 1922 that we got word that Supervisor Ramaswami Iyer was taken ill suddenly and was dying. The Maharshi went down to the place on the hill itself where Ramaswami Iyer was lying. The latter had violent palpitations of the heart. Sri Maharshi sat near him, placing his hand on his head. Within five minutes, Ramaswami Iyer got up and looked quite normal. But the Maharshi sat on; he did not get up even after an hour. We were perplexed. I had some almond oil brought with me from Madras for Nayana and it was rubbed on Sri Maharshi’s head. Soon after, he got up and we returned to the ashram. Later when I asked him what had happened, he said: “Well, Ramaswami Iyer got up and I sat down. I was conscious when the oil was rubbed; it was pleasant and I sat on.”
The Maharshi is certainly not a pashana vedantin (poltroon philosopher). He it was who said: “There is an eternal ’I’ which moves the all, itself unmoved and it is that we have to reach within ourselves and not the external ego-self which dissolves at the initiation of ceaseless quest that lapses in the ’I’."
Vasishtha Ganapati Muni–Nayana as we called him—was of course my Guru. In fact, I looked upon him as my God. I looked to him for help and he always responded. But when it came to giving me the needed turn for delving into the depths of the spirit, he directed me to the Maharshi. I hesitated because I feared advice of renunciation etc. But after repeated hints from Nayana for four years, I approached the Maharshi (1911-1912) and what a meeting it was! The very first day wrought a remarkable change in my being and no amount of tapas or japa would have given me the indubitable knowledge of spiritual consciousness and correct appreciation of the truth of spiritual life that the Maharshi gave me. In fact, I could not have come to Sri Aurobindo if I had not got the faith awakened in me in the spiritual life which I got from seeing Sri Maharshi. 26-4-1949
The idea behind the Samadhi of Sri Maharshi’s mother and the construction of the temple of Matrbhuteshwara later on, is that it is to be a centre of spiritual Force. The Maharshi said as much and would not have come down the hill and stayed where he has been staying, if he did not intend it to be so. That is why he took such keen interest in the construction of the temple and in the Sri Chakra, which he specially asked me to see when I had been there in 1941 in connection with my writing of the commentary on the Ramana Gita 26-4-1949
When, in 1930, I had been to Tiruvannamalai with Sunder80
Later, Sunder told me what a magnificent and inspiring sight it was to see the Maharshi sitting with his blazing eyes transfixed on me all the while. He added that the Maharshi’s face and head looked inordinately big during the time. But I was not aware that the Maharshi had focussed his attention on me so outwardly. So when I came to the last portion, I looked up and the Maharshi asked me, with an exclamation of joy, “So, it is finished ?" I answered in surprise, “Yes, but the last verse does not come off in this particular metre.” “Does not come in that metre?" queried the sage and sank into silence. Within a moment a strong upward movement gushed up from beneath the navel, somewhere from the root of the spine, and involuntarily a verse came out like a cry from my mouth. It was a verse in the required metre! 26-4-1949
The Maharshi did not attain realisation after so many years of tapasya in Tiruvannamalai as is stated in some books. The fact is, his realisation started, indeed, took place suddenly, in his house itself and the eleven years of solitude and silence he observed later were the years required to normalise and stabilise the realisation under all conditions. 27-4-1949.
The Maharshi was very particular that visitors to the Ashram should take food there. In fact, on the Jayanti day, he did not take his meal till the last man had had his food. When I asked him about this, he said in effect, that when, in his early boyhood, he set out from his house to Tiruvannamalai, he had actually to starve for days together.
In those days, one Muslim family refused to give him food as he was a “kafir’. Then when he was in the Patala Lingam cave, he subsisted mainly on plantains and pancamrta that were thrust down into the cave. He lived on these things for years and his body suffered for want of food. Things took an opposite turn thereafter and it had been his experience that wherever he went some one or other greeted him with food. At one time when he was in the deeps of the forest, some ten people were waiting for him each with separate food! And so he has been very particular that nobody should suffer the pangs of hunger as he did.
It is also a fact that food in Sri Maharshi’s ashram is not merely food. It is definitely something more; people get better appetite there and the food does not lie heavy.
Once, when the Maharshi was living on the hills, a hunter was about to kill a peacock. Sri Maharshi asked him not to kill it; but the hunter brushed aside his words, saying “Go, Swami, who is asking you?” and went on with his game. The next day, it would appear, the man had an accident and the very hand (arm?) with which he did the fell deed had to be cut off. "I felt sorry for him," said the Maharshi speaking of it, “but what is to be done? People have to go through these things before they would learn.” 3-5-1949
After the Buddha, the Maharshi. This phenomenon of living in the physical body for more than fifty years after Realisation has no parallel in history. Buddha lived for fifty years (from his 36th to his 86th year) after the liberation and worked. Sri Maharshi has so far lived for more than fifty-four years. It is a great wonder.
We do not precisely know the Realisation that is his. His body houses an effulgence that can be certainly relied upon to do what is necessary in his present bodily ailment. Nothing can happen which is not God’s will. 9-7-1949.
Sri Maharshi has always shown a remarkable capacity for enduring physical pain and suffering. Years ago when roaming in the depths of the forest in search of the seat of the Siddha Arunagiri, reputed to reside in the heart of the hill according to the Purana, wild bees attacked his thigh; he quietly resigned himself to them until they themselves left him of their own accord. “Did it not pain you?" I asked him. “Why not?" he replied. "It was like the bite of ants.” If one’s consciousness is turned differently, things are not the same as they appear. The same capacity was seen when he was reported to have stretched forth his arm to be operated upon without anaesthetic.
Sri Ramakrishna’s explanation of his fatal disease, cancer, as the result of the accumulated sins of his visitors which they "put upon him” is not to be dismissed lightly. It is a matter of experience that sickness and disease of one can be taken over by another and either worked out or thrown off. The Guru has been known to do this for his disciples and devotees. When he takes these things upon himself, he consciously throws them away; retirement for a few minutes on such occasions is helpful. But this depends upon the spiritual stature of the Yogi or Guru. If it (retirement) cannot be availed of for any reason, there is always the danger of the body of the Guru having to undergo certain physical suffering. 28-12-1949.
The Maharshi is unique in the history of the world’s saints. To have lived for full fifty-four years after Realisation, to have influenced so many from his seat in one place, to have been accessible to all at all hours, to have stemmed the tide of scepticism as he did, is something truly unprecedented. 2-4-1950.
The Maharshi told me-over forty years ago — that whenever he wanted and attempted to go on the paths of the Siddhas, the siddha-marga, he was pulled back, something telling: "That is asat, here alone (pointing to the heart) is the Thing. Who is it that goes up and down the siddha-marga, find him.” 18-4-1950.
The Consciousness that was Maharshi’s was something unique. That he lived in that Consciousness for so many years is something that has no parallel. And that Consciousness was not dumb. Once or twice words escaped his lips to the effect: “What does it matter, if it is a hundred miles or a thousand miles ? It acts." 26-9-1950
The Maharshi was scrupulous about neatness and order. When anybody kept a book upsidedown or turned inside out, he would closely note it, (and in those days) walk up to the spot and put it in proper position. "He was not mindful”, he would remark in his usual indulgent way. 21-1-1951 I seriously took to mantra japa when I was eight. By the time I was twenty, I had completed many courses of various mantras. When there was no palpable result, I cried my heart out to the Divine. Sri Nayana then came on the scene and he gave me the eye.
Next I met the Maharshi. The personal attraction was irresistible. But I found his teaching too direct, immediate, seemingly simple, having no steps in between i.e. the starting point and the goal, at any rate not practicable to people circumstanced like myself. It was only after I started reading the Arya81
It was an ordeal to come away to Pondicherry cutting through my loyalty to Sri Nayana and attachment to Sri Maharshi. But I was compelled from within. 4-2-1951
I have observed that great spiritual figures do not usually discourage devotees announcing their (Guru’s) avatarhood. They may not, themselves, proclaim it; but they defend the action of the believers. The Maharshi, for instance, never objected when it was said of him that he was the avatar of Skanda. He always allowed it to be said. Recently, some ten years ago, it is reported a visitor to the Ashram complained that devotees described him as Skanda’s avatar. The Maharshi replied: "Who am I to object or assent to what people may say?" And after he left, the Maharshi commented that the visitor was at great pains to save him (M) from danger!
१. अव्यक्ताद्यत एतद् व्यक्तं जातमशेषम् । यद् धत्ते तदजस्रं यत्रान्त लयमेति ॥
२. आधारे खलु यस्मिन् गोलानां सह लक्षः। ब्रह्माण्डं प्रतितिष्ठत्येतन्निस्तुलसत्वे ॥
३. सूर्यादिग्रहभासां यन्मूलं घनतेजः। यद् ब्रह्मादिसुराणां शक्त्यै शक्तिरुताहो ॥
४. ज्ञात्वा तत्त्वमसङ्गा भासा यस्य रमन्ते । यज्जालेन समस्ते द्वैतेक्षाऽल्पमतीनाम् ।
५. यद्ध्यानेन भवन्ति स्वात्मानन्दनिमग्नाः । यनिष्ठा खलु मुक्तिर्यच्छन्दोऽपि तदर्थः॥
६. तद् ब्रह्म प्रणवाख्यं चित्ते ध्यानकृते मे। अश्रान्तं रमणाख्यां बिभ्रद् भातु मदिष्टाम् ॥
७. आधारे धृतमूलं हार्दाब्जे कृतवासम् । शीर्षाब्जाय वहद्यत्पश्चादिन्द्रियशक्त्यै ।।
८. दृष्टयां तत्र पराच्यां यद्देहभ्रमकारि। आवृत्तं तु पुनर्यत् स्वात्मक्यानुभवाय ॥
९. पश्यद्वा विषयौघं विश्रान्तं यदुताहो। मुक्त्यै संस्थितमन्तव॑त्यैक्यानुभवेन ॥
१०. आत्मज्योतिरिदं मे बिभ्राणं रमणाख्याम् । अश्रान्तं स्फुरतात् तत् शुद्धं हार्दसरोजे॥
११. यद्दीपाद्रमणाख्याद् व्याप्तं गाणपतीषु । वाणीभित्तिषु धत्ते गीताचित्रविलासम् ॥
१२. यद् हन्ति च्छविजालैरज्ञानां तिमिराणि। तत्तत्त्वं स्फुरताद्वः तारध्यानसमाधौ।
१३. यातायातविहारैराधारेषु च शीर्षे । संचारं विदधानं कि चाशेषविसारि॥
१४. आलम्बेन विहीनं व्योमाभं परिपूर्णम् । निश्शब्दं गुरुरूपं तद् ब्रह्म स्फुरतान्मे ॥
१५. ज्ञानं भाति परोक्षं यत्तत्त्वश्रवणेन । यत्साङ्गत्यविशेषो हेतुः स्यादपरोक्षे॥
१६. यच्चिन्ता स्थिरमुक्त्यै ब्रह्मतद्रमणाख्यम् । मामावृत्य समन्तादानन्दे निदधातु॥
१७. तारानन्दनियुक्तः प्रोत्या तस्य मतेन । आधाद्दीप्तगभीरं वासिष्ठो गुरुगीतम् ॥
The "Talks with Sri Maharshi” are mainly selected from conversations that D has had with him since 1912. Some of these were later incorporated into the Ramana Geeta and one or two booklets. These talks are given with a view to introduce the general reader to the main work, the philosophy of Sat-Darshana. The conversations with Sri Maharshi have been generally in Tamil, intermixed with a few English and Sanskrit words. We do not say ’you’ in talking to him, nor does he refer to himself as ’I.’ They are used here for the purpose of the English version. The name of D is not mentioned as it is considered unnecessary for the importance of the subject.
The translation of the Sat-Darshana slokas is in free verse. The English rendering of the Bhoomika (introduction) as well as the Bhashya (commentary in Sanskrit) is faithful to the spirit of the original. But in some places it is interpretative and amplified in order to make the English appear not a translation but a work readable without reference to the Sanskrit original. The English translation of the commentary on the 44th, the last verse, is not given as the one important subject dealt with therein, namely, the higher value of the revealed word or scripture is to be found substantially in the closing pages of the Bhoomika.
The rules of transliteration of Sanskrit words in Roman script had to be overlooked because of printing inconvenience; but wherever a Sanskrit word occurs it is preceded by its English equivalent.
In the closing part of the book is printed the original Tamil *2TOTS DUS of Sri Maharshi, of which Sat-Darshana is the Sanskrit version, in order to be of use to the Tamil knowing reader. K.
Initial doubts
Rejection of thoughts
Vichara and the Grace
The Sad-Guru
The self within waits for you
Vichara, inward and subtle, not intellectual
Jnana Siddhi, no inactivity
Samadhi, Nirvikalpa and Sahaja Trance and normal
Is Brahman beyond mind?
The retiring abode in the body
What is myself now?
The secret locus of the Self
Jnana or realisation and bodily experience
The Siddhis (powers) and the Muktha Purusha, the liberated soul
Keep your burden to the Lord’s trust
The Ashramas and the social rule
Society and the goal of mankind
The equality of the Jnanin
Shakti and Shakta, the Eternal Power and the Immutable Presence. \
VIII. Sat-Darshana: (How the work was given to the world)
The great soul
Note :-on the individual soul
VERSE God Impersonal, subject of self-absorption God Personal, Sole Refuge for self-offering The Supreme truth as God, world and soul Religion begins with the triple Truth, transcends it The Exalted State, beyond intellectual discussions Infinite Self—The One limitless Eye Bodily self apprehends world of name and form The world—the mind Existence Real, the source of world and mind. Truth perception described Dualities and trinities; their source Knowledge and ignorance, relative; True Knowledge, their source Absolute The support of the trinity, knower, knowledge and known True knowledge luminous, no void The One Self, Consciousness; manifold its form The unborn Self and the notions He, Thou and I Time-Spirit, the Eternal Present The Self: Space and Time The ignorant and the wise-difference in bodily consciousness The ignorant and the wise the world Phenomenal and the world Real Fate and Free-will The Supreme poise of the Self—the real seeing See thy Self: See the Lord See the Lord, turn within The ’I’ rising, rises All The ego, neither Spirit nor Matter The ego, its character Conquest of the ego, condition for all conquest No ego in the Real State Deep dive for the Self Calm mind, the real quest for the Self The jivan-mukta one with the Supreme The ways of jivan-mukta inscrutable Long discussions, weakness of thought The Self, ever the seer The Maya’s play Attainment of the Real, the supreme achievement, Siddhi The meditation ’I am He’ some help The truth is One, non-dual, known or not Release from the triple karma Bondage and liberation relate to ego, not to the Supreme Self Discussions on post-release states, no means; Loss of ego, Release Real 43 & 44. Concluding stanzas of the Sanskrit version of Sat-Darshana
VERSE
God Impersonal, subject of self-absorption
God Personal, Sole Refuge for self-offering
The Supreme truth as God, world and soul
Religion begins with the triple Truth, transcends it
The Exalted State, beyond intellectual discussions
Infinite Self—The One limitless Eye
Bodily self apprehends world of name and form
The world—the mind
Existence Real, the source of world and mind.
Truth perception described
Dualities and trinities; their source
Knowledge and ignorance, relative; True Knowledge, their source Absolute
The support of the trinity, knower, knowledge and known
True knowledge luminous, no void
The One Self, Consciousness; manifold its form
The unborn Self and the notions He, Thou and I
Time-Spirit, the Eternal Present
The Self: Space and Time
The ignorant and the wise-difference in bodily consciousness
The ignorant and the wise the world Phenomenal and the world Real
Fate and Free-will
The Supreme poise of the Self—the real seeing
See thy Self: See the Lord
See the Lord, turn within
The ’I’ rising, rises All
The ego, neither Spirit nor Matter
The ego, its character
Conquest of the ego, condition for all conquest
No ego in the Real State
Deep dive for the Self
Calm mind, the real quest for the Self
The jivan-mukta one with the Supreme
The ways of jivan-mukta inscrutable
Long discussions, weakness of thought
The Self, ever the seer
The Maya’s play
Attainment of the Real, the supreme achievement, Siddhi
The meditation ’I am He’ some help
The truth is One, non-dual, known or not
Release from the triple karma
Bondage and liberation relate to ego, not to the Supreme Self
Discussions on post-release states, no means; Loss of ego, Release Real
43 & 44. Concluding stanzas of the Sanskrit version of Sat-Darshana
Let us open the "Talks with prayer to the Divine Lord, Arunachala, (the glowing Peak of Light) hymned by the great seer82
“Cast Thy glance, fix Thine attention, give the touch, ripen me for the Grace of Thy Rule.” "To be silent like a stone without blossoming, —can it be Silence true, my Lord ?” "I thought of Thee and was caught in Thy grace; and like the spider in his web, didst Thou keep me captive to take me in at Thine hour.” “Like the bee Thou stoodest face to face uttering: Ah, you are not yet opened into blossom.” “Take me in union; or in the river of tears must I perish with body melted into water." "Speechless Thou didst utter ’stay there mute’ and Silence Thou wert." In the Heart is the Conscious Light, the one Real; That art Thou. Not apart from Thee is there a marvellous Power. Of this, an Atom, prolific of shade-with awareness endued, Itself in the whirl of the unceasing present, is formed in the mirror of its own Thought-light. Thus the Atom’s image is the wondrous world within; And so is the outer world of senses. O, Hill of Grace on Thee the canvas, yet not separate from Thee, Falls and glides the moving shade through mind the lens; but unmoved Thou art there."83
“Cast Thy glance, fix Thine attention, give the touch, ripen me for the Grace of Thy Rule.”
"To be silent like a stone without blossoming, —can it be Silence true, my Lord ?”
"I thought of Thee and was caught in Thy grace; and like the spider in his web, didst Thou keep me captive to take me in at Thine hour.”
“Like the bee Thou stoodest face to face uttering: Ah, you are not yet opened into blossom.”
“Take me in union; or in the river of tears must I perish with body melted into water."
"Speechless Thou didst utter ’stay there mute’ and Silence Thou wert."
In the Heart is the Conscious Light, the one Real; That art Thou.
Not apart from Thee is there a marvellous Power.
Of this, an Atom, prolific of shade-with awareness endued,
Itself in the whirl of the unceasing present, is formed in the mirror of its own Thought-light.
Thus the Atom’s image is the wondrous world within;
And so is the outer world of senses.
O, Hill of Grace on Thee the canvas, yet not separate from Thee,
Falls and glides the moving shade through mind the lens; but unmoved Thou art there."83
Devotee You say one can realise the Self by a search of it. What is the character of this search? Maharshi — You are the mind or think that you are the mind. The mind is nothing but thoughts. Now behind every particular thought there is a general thought which is the “I”, that is your Self. Let us call this “I” the first thought. Stick to this I-thought and question it to find out what it is. When this question takes strong hold on you, you cannot think of other thoughts. D. When I do like this and cling to my Self i.e., the I-thought, other thoughts do come and go, but I say to myself ’Who am I?’ and there is no answer forthcoming. To be in this condition is the sadhana or practice of atma-nistha, the exalted state of the Self. Is it so? M. —This is a mistake that people often make. What happens when you make a serious quest for the Self is that the Ithought as a thought disappears, something else from the depths takes hold of you and that is not the ’I’ which commenced the quest. D. What is this something else? M. – That is the real Self, the import of I. It is not the ego. It is the Supreme Being itself.
Devotee You say one can realise the Self by a search of it. What is the character of this search?
Maharshi — You are the mind or think that you are the mind. The mind is nothing but thoughts. Now behind every particular thought there is a general thought which is the “I”, that is your Self. Let us call this “I” the first thought. Stick to this I-thought and question it to find out what it is. When this question takes strong hold on you, you cannot think of other thoughts.
D. When I do like this and cling to my Self i.e., the I-thought, other thoughts do come and go, but I say to myself ’Who am I?’ and there is no answer forthcoming. To be in this condition is the sadhana or practice of atma-nistha, the exalted state of the Self. Is it so?
M. —This is a mistake that people often make. What happens when you make a serious quest for the Self is that the Ithought as a thought disappears, something else from the depths takes hold of you and that is not the ’I’ which commenced the quest.
D. What is this something else?
M. – That is the real Self, the import of I. It is not the ego. It is the Supreme Being itself.
D. But you have often said that one must reject other thoughts when he begins the quest, but the thoughts are endless; if one thought is rejected, another comes and there seems to be no end at all. M. – I do not say that you must go on rejecting thoughts. If you cling to yourself, say the I-thought, and when your interest keeps you to that single idea, other thoughts get rejected, automatically they vanish. D. -And so rejection of thoughts is not necessary. M. No. It may be necessary for a time or for some. You fancy that there is no end if one goes on rejecting every thought when it rises. No. There is an end. If you are vigilant and make a stern effort to reject every thought when it rises, you will soon find that you are going deeper and deeper into thine own inner Self, where there is no need for your effort to reject the thoughts. D. — Then it is possible to be without effort, without strain! M. Not only that, it is impossible for you to make an effort beyond a certain extent. D. --I want to be further enlightened. Is it that I should try to make no effort at all? M. -Here it is impossible for you to be without effort. When you go deeper, it is impossible for you to make any effort.
D. But you have often said that one must reject other thoughts when he begins the quest, but the thoughts are endless; if one thought is rejected, another comes and there seems to be no end at all.
M. – I do not say that you must go on rejecting thoughts. If you cling to yourself, say the I-thought, and when your interest keeps you to that single idea, other thoughts get rejected, automatically they vanish.
D. -And so rejection of thoughts is not necessary.
M. No. It may be necessary for a time or for some. You fancy that there is no end if one goes on rejecting every thought when it rises. No. There is an end. If you are vigilant and make a stern effort to reject every thought when it rises, you will soon find that you are going deeper and deeper into thine own inner Self, where there is no need for your effort to reject the thoughts.
D. — Then it is possible to be without effort, without strain!
M. Not only that, it is impossible for you to make an effort beyond a certain extent.
D. --I want to be further enlightened. Is it that I should try to make no effort at all?
M. -Here it is impossible for you to be without effort. When you go deeper, it is impossible for you to make any effort.
D. Then I can dispense with outside help and by mine own effort get into the deeper truth of myself. M. True. But the very fact you are possessed of the quest of the Self is a manifestation of the Divine Grace, FG. It is effulgent in the Heart, the inner being, the Real Self. It draws you from within to get in. You have to attempt to get in from without. Your attempt is vicara, the deep inner movement is Grace, *9166it. That is why I say there is no real vicara without Grace, nor is there Grace active for him who is without vicara. Both are necessary.
D. Then I can dispense with outside help and by mine own effort get into the deeper truth of myself.
M. True. But the very fact you are possessed of the quest of the Self is a manifestation of the Divine Grace, FG. It is effulgent in the Heart, the inner being, the Real Self. It draws you from within to get in. You have to attempt to get in from without. Your attempt is vicara, the deep inner movement is Grace, *9166it. That is why I say there is no real vicara without Grace, nor is there Grace active for him who is without vicara. Both are necessary.
D. -You have elsewhere stated that without the grace of the sad-guru one cannot get at the Self. How do you mean? What is this Guru ? M. -From the standpoint of the path of knowledge it is the supreme state of the Self, which is the sad-guru. It is different from the ego-self, what you call yourself. D. Then if it is the supreme state of my own self, how do you mean that I can’t get at it without the grace of the sad-guru? M. -The ego-self is the jiva. It is different from the Lord of all, sarvesvara. When through disinterested devotion the jiva approaches the Lord, the gracious Lord assumes name and form and takes the jiva into himself. ....... Therefore, they say the Guru is none other than the Lord. He is a human embodiment of the Divine Grace, *2(66T 250LD “ज्ञानित्वात्मैव मे मतम् ” says the Gita. The real Guru is God himself. What doubt is there? D. But there are some who seem to have had no human guru at all. M. True. In the case of certain great souls God reveals Himself as the Light of their light, from within. D. Then what is true bhakti ? M. --Whatever I do or consider myself doing is really the Lord’s doing. Nothing really belongs to me. I am here for the service of the Lord. This spirit of service really is परमभक्ति * 9MM Um 15 mo..........and the true devotee sees the Supreme Being as the Lord immanent in everything. Worship of Him by name and form leads one beyond all name and form. Devotion complete culminates in knowledge supreme. Even when bhakti, devotion, is actuated by worldly desires in the beginning, it does not cease when the desires are fulfilled. It increases by an unshakable faith growing perfect into a supreme state of realization. D. — Then what is the path of jnana ? M. – One becomes stripped of the ego and naturally settles himself in a supreme self-awareness. D. How can we say that both bhakti and jnana lead to the same goal ? M. Why not? Both the paths lead you to a state of supreme Peace, maunam, that passeth all understanding. Note. [All must accept that there is a Lord of all the jivas. It quite fits in with truth to take it this way if one is serious to make haste to get into what is called the sayujya state, the state of conscious union. c. f., Instructions to Natananand Swami.]
D. -You have elsewhere stated that without the grace of the sad-guru one cannot get at the Self. How do you mean? What is this Guru ?
M. -From the standpoint of the path of knowledge it is the supreme state of the Self, which is the sad-guru. It is different from the ego-self, what you call yourself.
D. Then if it is the supreme state of my own self, how do you mean that I can’t get at it without the grace of the sad-guru?
M. -The ego-self is the jiva. It is different from the Lord of all, sarvesvara. When through disinterested devotion the jiva approaches the Lord, the gracious Lord assumes name and form and takes the jiva into himself. ....... Therefore, they say the Guru is none other than the Lord. He is a human embodiment of the Divine Grace, *2(66T 250LD “ज्ञानित्वात्मैव मे मतम् ” says the Gita. The real Guru is God himself. What doubt is there?
D. But there are some who seem to have had no human guru at all.
M. True. In the case of certain great souls God reveals Himself as the Light of their light, from within.
D. Then what is true bhakti ?
M. --Whatever I do or consider myself doing is really the Lord’s doing. Nothing really belongs to me. I am here for the service of the Lord. This spirit of service really is परमभक्ति * 9MM Um 15 mo..........and the true devotee sees the Supreme Being as the Lord immanent in everything. Worship of Him by name and form leads one beyond all name and form. Devotion complete culminates in knowledge supreme.
Even when bhakti, devotion, is actuated by worldly desires in the beginning, it does not cease when the desires are fulfilled. It increases by an unshakable faith growing perfect into a supreme state of realization.
D. — Then what is the path of jnana ?
M. – One becomes stripped of the ego and naturally settles himself in a supreme self-awareness.
D. How can we say that both bhakti and jnana lead to the same goal ?
M. Why not? Both the paths lead you to a state of supreme Peace, maunam, that passeth all understanding.
Note. [All must accept that there is a Lord of all the jivas. It quite fits in with truth to take it this way if one is serious to make haste to get into what is called the sayujya state, the state of conscious union. c. f., Instructions to Natananand Swami.]
D. -You often say, ’the whole world exists not without you, ’everything depends upon you’, ’what is there without you’? etc. This is really baffling. The world was there before my birth. It will be there after my death even as it has survived the deaths of so many who once lived as I am living now. M. — Did I ever say that the world is there because of you? But I have put to you the question ’what is there without thy self’? You have to know that by the self, the body, subtle or gross, was not meant. Besides, the idea is put to you that if you once know the Self in which all the ideas move, not excluding the idea of yourself, of others like yourself and of the world, you can realise the truth that there is a Reality, a supreme Truth which is the Self of all the world you now see, the Self of all the selves, the one Real, which is the parama atman, the supreme Eternal as distinguished from the jiva, the ego-self which is impermanent. You shall not mistake the ego-self or the bodily idea for the atman. D. — Then you mean the atman is God? M. – You see the difficulty. The vicara ’to know thy self’ is different in method from the meditation "sivo’ ham" or "so’ ham" “Lord Shiva I am” or “He I am". I rather lay stress upon self-knowledge, for, you are first concerned with your Self before you proceed to know the world and its Lord. The "so’ ham” meditation or ’I am Brahman’ meditation is more or less a mental thought. But the quest for the Self I speak of is a direct method, indeed superior to the other meditation; for, the movement you, get into a movement of quest for the Self and go deeper and deeper, the real Self is waiting there to take you in and then whatever is done, is done by something else and you have no hand in it. In this process all doubts and discussions are automatically given up just as one forgets for the time all his cares when he gets to sleep. D. What certainty is there that something else waits there to welcome me? M. When one is sufficiently developed, pakva, he naturally gets the conviction. D. How is this development possible? M. Various answers are given. But whatever the previous development, vicara, earnest quest, quickens the development. D. — It is arguing in a circle. I am developed and so am strong for the quest. The quest itself gives me development. M. — The mind has always this sort of difficulty. It wants a certain theory to satisfy itself. Really no theory is necessary for the man who seriously desires to approach God or realise his own true being. Various means are enjoined in the sastras .......... It is true that contact with great men, exalted souls, is one effective means. सहवासेन महतां सतामरूढ चेतसाम् ।। (Ramana Gita VI: 1 )
D. -You often say, ’the whole world exists not without you, ’everything depends upon you’, ’what is there without you’? etc. This is really baffling. The world was there before my birth. It will be there after my death even as it has survived the deaths of so many who once lived as I am living now.
M. — Did I ever say that the world is there because of you? But I have put to you the question ’what is there without thy self’? You have to know that by the self, the body, subtle or gross, was not meant.
Besides, the idea is put to you that if you once know the Self in which all the ideas move, not excluding the idea of yourself, of others like yourself and of the world, you can realise the truth that there is a Reality, a supreme Truth which is the Self of all the world you now see, the Self of all the selves, the one Real, which is the parama atman, the supreme Eternal as distinguished from the jiva, the ego-self which is impermanent. You shall not mistake the ego-self or the bodily idea for the atman.
D. — Then you mean the atman is God?
M. – You see the difficulty. The vicara ’to know thy self’ is different in method from the meditation "sivo’ ham" or "so’ ham" “Lord Shiva I am” or “He I am". I rather lay stress upon self-knowledge, for, you are first concerned with your Self before you proceed to know the world and its Lord. The "so’ ham” meditation or ’I am Brahman’ meditation is more or less a mental thought. But the quest for the Self I speak of is a direct method, indeed superior to the other meditation; for, the movement you, get into a movement of quest for the Self and go deeper and deeper, the real Self is waiting there to take you in and then whatever is done, is done by something else and you have no hand in it. In this process all doubts and discussions are automatically given up just as one forgets for the time all his cares when he gets to sleep.
D. What certainty is there that something else waits there to welcome me?
M. When one is sufficiently developed, pakva, he naturally gets the conviction.
D. How is this development possible?
M. Various answers are given. But whatever the previous development, vicara, earnest quest, quickens the development.
D. — It is arguing in a circle. I am developed and so am strong for the quest. The quest itself gives me development.
M. — The mind has always this sort of difficulty. It wants a certain theory to satisfy itself. Really no theory is necessary for the man who seriously desires to approach God or realise his own true being.
Various means are enjoined in the sastras .......... It is true that contact with great men, exalted souls, is one effective means.
सहवासेन महतां सतामरूढ चेतसाम् ।। (Ramana Gita VI: 1 )
D. If I go on rejecting thoughts can I call it vicara? M. It may be a stepping stone. But really vicara begins when you cling to your self and are already off the mental movement the thought-waves. D. Then vicara is not intellectual ? M. No, it is antara vicara, inner quest. D. -That is dhyana ? M. – To stick to a position unassailed by thoughts is abhyasa or sadhana, you are watchful. But the condition grows intenser and deeper when your effort and all responsibilities are taken away from you; that is arudha, siddhi state.
D. If I go on rejecting thoughts can I call it vicara?
M. It may be a stepping stone. But really vicara begins when you cling to your self and are already off the mental movement the thought-waves.
D. Then vicara is not intellectual ?
M. No, it is antara vicara, inner quest.
D. -That is dhyana ?
M. – To stick to a position unassailed by thoughts is abhyasa or sadhana, you are watchful. But the condition grows intenser and deeper when your effort and all responsibilities are taken away from you; that is arudha, siddhi state.
D. — Can a man move about, act, and speak, who has attained the siddhi as is now described ? M. — Why not? Do you mean to say that realisation of Self means to be like a stone or to become nothing ? D. I do not know, but they say to withdraw from all sense activity, from all thoughts, all life-experiences i.e., to cease to be active, that is the highest state. M. If so, what is the difference between this state and deep sleep? Besides if it is a state, however exalted it be, that appears and disappears and therefore, not natural and normal to the self, how can that represent the eternal presence of the supreme Self, which persists in all states and indeed survives them? It is true that there is such a state indispensable in the case of some. It is a temporary phase of the sadhana or a state that persists to the end of the life if that be the Divine will or the prarabdha. In any case you can’t call it the highest state. Great men, muktas, siddhas are said to have been very active and are indeed active; why, Ishwara, the Spirit who presides over this world directing activities is obviously not in this supremely inactive state. Then you will have to say God as well as the muktapurusas have not attained the highest state. D. -. But you have always laid great stress on maunam silence.. M. Yes. I do. But silence does not mean negation of activity or a stagnant inertness. It is not a mere negation of thoughts but something very positive more than you can imagine. D. If it is unthinkable, .. M. Yes. As long as you run with the running mind you cannot have it. The silence of the Self is ever there. It is a supreme Peace, maunam, immutable like a rock that supports all your activities, in fact, all movements. It is in this maunam that God and the muktapurusas are rooted.
D. — Can a man move about, act, and speak, who has attained the siddhi as is now described ?
M. — Why not? Do you mean to say that realisation of Self means to be like a stone or to become nothing ?
D. I do not know, but they say to withdraw from all sense activity, from all thoughts, all life-experiences i.e., to cease to be active, that is the highest state.
M. If so, what is the difference between this state and deep sleep? Besides if it is a state, however exalted it be, that appears and disappears and therefore, not natural and normal to the self, how can that represent the eternal presence of the supreme Self, which persists in all states and indeed survives them? It is true that there is such a state indispensable in the case of some. It is a temporary phase of the sadhana or a state that persists to the end of the life if that be the Divine will or the prarabdha. In any case you can’t call it the highest state. Great men, muktas, siddhas are said to have been very active and are indeed active; why, Ishwara, the Spirit who presides over this world directing activities is obviously not in this supremely inactive state. Then you will have to say God as well as the muktapurusas have not attained the highest state.
D. -. But you have always laid great stress on maunam silence..
M. Yes. I do. But silence does not mean negation of activity or a stagnant inertness. It is not a mere negation of thoughts but something very positive more than you can imagine.
D. If it is unthinkable, ..
M. Yes. As long as you run with the running mind you cannot have it. The silence of the Self is ever there. It is a supreme Peace, maunam, immutable like a rock that supports all your activities, in fact, all movements. It is in this maunam that God and the muktapurusas are rooted.
D. --Then what is samadhi ? M. In yoga the term samodhi refers to some kind of trance and there are various kinds of samadhi. But the samadhi I speak to you of, is different. It is sahaja samadhi. For, here you have samadhana, you remain calm and composed even while you are active; you realise that you are moved by the deeper and the Real Self within and you do or think unaffected by what you do, speak or think. You have no worries, no anxieties, no cares. For here you come to realise that there is nothing belonging to you, the ego. And everything is done by Something with which you get into conscious union. D.-If this is sahaja-samadhi and the most desirable condition there is no need for nirvikal pa samadhi? M. The nirvikal pa samadhi of Raja-yoga may, have its use. But in jnana this sahaja sthiti, or sahaja nista itself is nirvikalpa state. For in this state the mind is free from doubts. It has no need to swing between alternatives of possibilities and probabilities. It has no vikalpa of any kind. It is sure of the Truth. It feels the presence of the Real. Even when it is active, it knows it is active in the Reality, the Self, the Supreme Being.
D. --Then what is samadhi ?
M. In yoga the term samodhi refers to some kind of trance and there are various kinds of samadhi. But the samadhi I speak to you of, is different. It is sahaja samadhi. For, here you have samadhana, you remain calm and composed even while you are active; you realise that you are moved by the deeper and the Real Self within and you do or think unaffected by what you do, speak or think. You have no worries, no anxieties, no cares. For here you come to realise that there is nothing belonging to you, the ego. And everything is done by Something with which you get into conscious union.
D.-If this is sahaja-samadhi and the most desirable condition there is no need for nirvikal pa samadhi?
M. The nirvikal pa samadhi of Raja-yoga may, have its use. But in jnana this sahaja sthiti, or sahaja nista itself is nirvikalpa state. For in this state the mind is free from doubts. It has no need to swing between alternatives of possibilities and probabilities. It has no vikalpa of any kind. It is sure of the Truth. It feels the presence of the Real. Even when it is active, it knows it is active in the Reality, the Self, the Supreme Being.
D. This seems to contradict the statements that the Self is beyond the mind, that the mind cannot know Brahman, that it is beyond thought and speech, avan-manasa-gocara. M. That is why they say that mind is twofold; there is the higher and pure mind as well as the lower and impure mind. The impure mind can’t know but the pure mind does. It does not mean that the pure mind measures the immeasurable Self, the Brahman. It means the Self makes itself felt in the pure mind so that even when you are in the midst of thoughts you feel the Presence, you realise the truth that you are one with the deeper self and these thought-waves are there only on the surface. D. That means the mano nasa or the ahankara nasa, the destruction of the mind or of the ego you speak of is not an absolute destruction. M. It means the mind gets clear of impurities and becomes pure enough to reflect the truth, the real Self. This is impossible when the ego is assertive and active.
D. This seems to contradict the statements that the Self is beyond the mind, that the mind cannot know Brahman, that it is beyond thought and speech, avan-manasa-gocara.
M. That is why they say that mind is twofold; there is the higher and pure mind as well as the lower and impure mind. The impure mind can’t know but the pure mind does. It does not mean that the pure mind measures the immeasurable Self, the Brahman. It means the Self makes itself felt in the pure mind so that even when you are in the midst of thoughts you feel the Presence, you realise the truth that you are one with the deeper self and these thought-waves are there only on the surface.
D. That means the mano nasa or the ahankara nasa, the destruction of the mind or of the ego you speak of is not an absolute destruction.
M. It means the mind gets clear of impurities and becomes pure enough to reflect the truth, the real Self. This is impossible when the ego is assertive and active.
D. — Whenever a question is put to you, you say “Know first who it is to whom the doubt occurs." "Does anybody doubt the doubter ?” “Know thyself before you proceed to speak of others” etc. This is a veritable brahmastra, a supreme weapon at your hands to deal with the questioner and I, .... M.-Yes. What are you driving at? D. You will be pleased to come to our level and remove our doubts. You can understand our position. We cannot yours. You are far above and we are far below. So if you care you can come to us, we can’t go up to you. M. – What do you want? D. — They say the Self is everywhere; Brahman is omnipresent. It is beyond and it is also the Self. If my self is Brahman, I should be everywhere. But there is the feeling that I am in this body or confined to this body; even if I am distinct from the body I am inseparable from it. Even so, I am inseparable from the mind, even the ’I’ seems a part of the mind. Where is the mind without the brains ? Surely, I cannot imagine that I can be without the mind or the brains which is a part of this body. M. You have finished. Doubts never end. If one doubt is removed another takes its place. It is like removing the leaves of a tree one by one. Even if all the leaves are clipped off, new ones grow. The tree itself must be uprooted. D. — What is to be done? Is it wrong to think and have doubts? M. No. The only sure remedy is to know him who gets the doubt. No one doubts the doubter... D. This is what I feared. I am gagged.... M. — No. I am coming. Suppose I give you an answer, would it set at rest all your doubts?........you said you are the body, the mind and so on. What is this mind, which, you say, is your self? You say, it is all thoughts including the so many faculties...... The “I” is a part of the mind. The mind is a part of the body, is it not? D. — I don’t say it is the Truth; but I feel like that. M. — Yes, then let us proceed from there. You are the mind. The mind is either located in the brains or identical with it. You concede it is located in the brains. At the same time you said you are distinct from it though not separate from it. Is it not? Then let us locate in the body all our thoughts, emotions, passions, desires, attachments, impulses, instincts, in short, all that we are, feel, think and know. Where would you locate the “I” whether the “I” is an idea, thought or feeling ? D. — Feelings, emotions, etc., are all located, that is, said to arise in the trunk of the body, in the nervous system; but the mind seated in the brains is aware of them. They call it reflex action. M. So if you take the “I” as a part of the mind, you would locate it in the brains. But I tell you this "I” is a part indeed but a very radical part of the mind, feeling itself as distinct from the mind and using it. D.-I concede. M. — Then this "I" is a radical thought, an intimate feeling, a self-evident experience, an awareness that persists even in deep sleep when the mind is not active as in the waking state. According to yourself then, “I” the radical part must have a locus in the body. D. Where is it? M. — You have to find it out yourself. But you can’t find it by dissection of the body. D. -Then how? By a dissection of the mind ? M. Yes, as you are the mind, you have to dissect yourself where you (the "I") are. That is why I say, “know thyself.” D. — But is there really a centre, a place for this "I”? M. There is. It is the centre of the Self to which the mind in sleep retires from its activity in the brains. It is the Heart, different from the blood vessel, nor is it the anahata cakra in the middle of the chest, one of the six centres spoken of in books on Yoga. D. Then where is it? I shall know it later. If there is in the body a centre of the self like that, why should they say that brahman is atman, it is all pervasive and so on? M.-First confine to the Self which is located in the body and find it out. Then you can think of Brahman, the All-Presence.
D. — Whenever a question is put to you, you say “Know first who it is to whom the doubt occurs." "Does anybody doubt the doubter ?” “Know thyself before you proceed to speak of others” etc. This is a veritable brahmastra, a supreme weapon at your hands to deal with the questioner and I, ....
M.-Yes. What are you driving at?
D. You will be pleased to come to our level and remove our doubts. You can understand our position. We cannot yours. You are far above and we are far below. So if you care you can come to us, we can’t go up to you.
M. – What do you want?
D. — They say the Self is everywhere; Brahman is omnipresent. It is beyond and it is also the Self. If my self is Brahman, I should be everywhere. But there is the feeling that I am in this body or confined to this body; even if I am distinct from the body I am inseparable from it. Even so, I am inseparable from the mind, even the ’I’ seems a part of the mind. Where is the mind without the brains ? Surely, I cannot imagine that I can be without the mind or the brains which is a part of this body.
M. You have finished. Doubts never end. If one doubt is removed another takes its place. It is like removing the leaves of a tree one by one. Even if all the leaves are clipped off, new ones grow. The tree itself must be uprooted.
D. — What is to be done? Is it wrong to think and have doubts?
M. No. The only sure remedy is to know him who gets the doubt. No one doubts the doubter...
D. This is what I feared. I am gagged....
M. — No. I am coming. Suppose I give you an answer, would it set at rest all your doubts?........you said you are the body, the mind and so on. What is this mind, which, you say, is your self? You say, it is all thoughts including the so many faculties...... The “I” is a part of the mind. The mind is a part of the body, is it not?
D. — I don’t say it is the Truth; but I feel like that.
M. — Yes, then let us proceed from there. You are the mind. The mind is either located in the brains or identical with it. You concede it is located in the brains. At the same time you said you are distinct from it though not separate from it. Is it not? Then let us locate in the body all our thoughts, emotions, passions, desires, attachments, impulses, instincts, in short, all that we are, feel, think and know. Where would you locate the “I” whether the “I” is an idea, thought or feeling ?
D. — Feelings, emotions, etc., are all located, that is, said to arise in the trunk of the body, in the nervous system; but the mind seated in the brains is aware of them. They call it reflex action.
M. So if you take the “I” as a part of the mind, you would locate it in the brains. But I tell you this "I” is a part indeed but a very radical part of the mind, feeling itself as distinct from the mind and using it.
D.-I concede.
M. — Then this "I" is a radical thought, an intimate feeling, a self-evident experience, an awareness that persists even in deep sleep when the mind is not active as in the waking state. According to yourself then, “I” the radical part must have a locus in the body.
D. Where is it?
M. — You have to find it out yourself. But you can’t find it by dissection of the body.
D. -Then how? By a dissection of the mind ?
M. Yes, as you are the mind, you have to dissect yourself where you (the "I") are. That is why I say, “know thyself.”
D. — But is there really a centre, a place for this "I”?
M. There is. It is the centre of the Self to which the mind in sleep retires from its activity in the brains. It is the Heart, different from the blood vessel, nor is it the anahata cakra in the middle of the chest, one of the six centres spoken of in books on Yoga.
D. Then where is it? I shall know it later. If there is in the body a centre of the self like that, why should they say that brahman is atman, it is all pervasive and so on?
M.-First confine to the Self which is located in the body and find it out. Then you can think of Brahman, the All-Presence.
D. -I want to know, what the Heart is and where it is and all that. But I want to have this doubt cleared first. I am ignorant of mine own truth, my knowledge is growing, limited, imperfect. You say “I” means the self, atman. But the atman is said to be always self-aware whereas I am unaware.... M. People always allow this confusion. What you call your self now is not exactly the real Self which is neither born nor dies. D. — Then you admit that what I call my self is the body or part of this body? M. --But the body is matter jada, it never knows, it is always the known. D. — Then if I am neither the atman, the self nor the anatman, the not-self,........ M. I am coming. Between spirit and matter the self and body, there is born something which is called the ahamkara, the ego-self, jiva, the living being. Now what you call your self is this ego-self which is different from the ever-conscious Self and the unconscious matter but which at the same time partakes of the character of both spirit and matter, joda and cetana. D. -Then when you say “know thyself” you want me to know this ego-self? M. But the moment the ego-self tries to know itself, it changes its character; it begins to partake less and less of the jada, in which it is absorbed and more and more of the Consciousness of the real Self, the atman.
D. -I want to know, what the Heart is and where it is and all that. But I want to have this doubt cleared first. I am ignorant of mine own truth, my knowledge is growing, limited, imperfect. You say “I” means the self, atman. But the atman is said to be always self-aware whereas I am unaware....
M. People always allow this confusion. What you call your self now is not exactly the real Self which is neither born nor dies.
D. — Then you admit that what I call my self is the body or part of this body?
M. --But the body is matter jada, it never knows, it is always the known.
D. — Then if I am neither the atman, the self nor the anatman, the not-self,........
M. I am coming. Between spirit and matter the self and body, there is born something which is called the ahamkara, the ego-self, jiva, the living being. Now what you call your self is this ego-self which is different from the ever-conscious Self and the unconscious matter but which at the same time partakes of the character of both spirit and matter, joda and cetana.
D. -Then when you say “know thyself” you want me to know this ego-self?
M. But the moment the ego-self tries to know itself, it changes its character; it begins to partake less and less of the jada, in which it is absorbed and more and more of the Consciousness of the real Self, the atman.
D. — Then whom do you address when you say ’know thyself’? M. To whatever you are; to you is given the suggestion ‘know thyself’. The ego-self when it feels the necessity to know its own origin or impelled to rise above itself, takes the suggestion and goes deeper and there discovers the true source and reality of itself. So the ego-self beginning to know itself ends in perceiving its Self. D. Now, you were telling me that the Heart is the centre of the Self. M. Yes, it is the one supreme centre of the Self. You need have no doubt about it. Only the Real Self is there in the Heart behind the jiva the ego-self. D. Now will you be pleased to tell me where it is? M. You cannot know it with your mind. You cannot realise it by imagination, when I tell you here is the centre (pointing to the right side of the chest). The only direct way to realise it is to cease to fancy and try to be yourself. Then you realise, automatically feel that the centre is there. This is the centre, the Heart spoken of in the scriptures as hrt-guha, cavity of the Heart, *2. Girou, Ullam. D. -In no book have I found it stated that it is there. M. Long after I came here I came across a verse in the Malayalam version of Astangahrdayam, the standard work on Ayurveda, wherein the ojas sthana is mentioned as located in the right side of the chest and is called the seat of consciousness, samvit. But I do not know any other work. D. — Can I be sure that the ancients meant this centre by the term ’Heart? M. -Yes, that is the experience. But do not go on trying to locate an experience; try to have the experience. A man need not go to find out where his eyes are located when he wants to see. The Heart is there ever open to you if you care to get into it, ever supporting all your movements even while you are ignorant of it. It is perhaps more proper to say that the Self is the Heart itself than to say that it is in the Heart. Really, the Self is the Centre itself. It is everywhere aware of itself as ’Heart’ the Self-awareness. Hence I said "Heart is Thy name” हृदयं ते नाम’. D. Has anyone else addressed the Lord this way naming him the Heart? M. When I said so I did not know. Long after, one day, I came across a hymn in St. Appar’s Thevaram, where he mentions the Lord by the name of ullam which is the same as the Heart. D. If you say that the Heart is the supreme centre of the purusa, the atman, you mean it is not one of the six yogic centres ? M. The yogic chakras from the bottom to the top are various centres in the nervous system. They represent various steps manifesting different kinds of power or knowledge leading to the sahasrara the thousand-petalled lotus where is seated the supreme sakti. But the Self that supports the whole movement of sakti is not involved in it, but it supports it from the Heart-centre. D. Then it is different from the sakti manifestation ? M. — Really there is no sakti manifestation apart from the Self. The Self has become all this sakti.... When the yogin goes up to the highest centre in trance samadhi, it is the self in the Heart that supports that state whether he is aware of it or not. But if he is aware in the Heart, he knows that whatever states or whatever centres he is in, it is always the same truth the same Heart, the one Self, the Spirit that is present throughout, eternal and immutable. The Tantra Shastra calls the Heart suryamandala or the solar orb, and the sahasrara, candramandala or, the lunar orb. These symbols present the relative importance of the two, the ahmasthana and the sakti sthana.
D. — Then whom do you address when you say ’know thyself’?
M. To whatever you are; to you is given the suggestion ‘know thyself’. The ego-self when it feels the necessity to know its own origin or impelled to rise above itself, takes the suggestion and goes deeper and there discovers the true source and reality of itself. So the ego-self beginning to know itself ends in perceiving its Self.
D. Now, you were telling me that the Heart is the centre of the Self.
M. Yes, it is the one supreme centre of the Self. You need have no doubt about it. Only the Real Self is there in the Heart behind the jiva the ego-self.
D. Now will you be pleased to tell me where it is?
M. You cannot know it with your mind. You cannot realise it by imagination, when I tell you here is the centre (pointing to the right side of the chest). The only direct way to realise it is to cease to fancy and try to be yourself. Then you realise, automatically feel that the centre is there.
This is the centre, the Heart spoken of in the scriptures as hrt-guha, cavity of the Heart, *2. Girou, Ullam.
D. -In no book have I found it stated that it is there.
M. Long after I came here I came across a verse in the Malayalam version of Astangahrdayam, the standard work on Ayurveda, wherein the ojas sthana is mentioned as located in the right side of the chest and is called the seat of consciousness, samvit. But I do not know any other work.
D. — Can I be sure that the ancients meant this centre by the term ’Heart?
M. -Yes, that is the experience. But do not go on trying to locate an experience; try to have the experience. A man need not go to find out where his eyes are located when he wants to see. The Heart is there ever open to you if you care to get into it, ever supporting all your movements even while you are ignorant of it. It is perhaps more proper to say that the Self is the Heart itself than to say that it is in the Heart. Really, the Self is the Centre itself. It is everywhere aware of itself as ’Heart’ the Self-awareness. Hence I said "Heart is Thy name” हृदयं ते नाम’.
D. Has anyone else addressed the Lord this way naming him the Heart?
M. When I said so I did not know. Long after, one day, I came across a hymn in St. Appar’s Thevaram, where he mentions the Lord by the name of ullam which is the same as the Heart.
D. If you say that the Heart is the supreme centre of the purusa, the atman, you mean it is not one of the six yogic centres ?
M. The yogic chakras from the bottom to the top are various centres in the nervous system. They represent various steps manifesting different kinds of power or knowledge leading to the sahasrara the thousand-petalled lotus where is seated the supreme sakti. But the Self that supports the whole movement of sakti is not involved in it, but it supports it from the Heart-centre.
D. Then it is different from the sakti manifestation ?
M. — Really there is no sakti manifestation apart from the Self. The Self has become all this sakti.... When the yogin goes up to the highest centre in trance samadhi, it is the self in the Heart that supports that state whether he is aware of it or not. But if he is aware in the Heart, he knows that whatever states or whatever centres he is in, it is always the same truth the same Heart, the one Self, the Spirit that is present throughout, eternal and immutable. The Tantra Shastra calls the Heart suryamandala or the solar orb, and the sahasrara, candramandala or, the lunar orb. These symbols present the relative importance of the two, the ahmasthana and the sakti sthana.
D. Then what is the difference between the baddha and the mukta, the bound man and the one liberated ? M. From the Heart, the Self-centre, there is a subtle passage leading to the sahasrara, the sakti sthana. The ordinary man lives in the brain unaware of himself in the Heart. The Jnana Siddha lives in the Heart. When he moves about and deals with men and things, he knows what he sees is not separate from the one Supreme Reality, the Brahman which he realises in the Heart as his own Self, the Real. D. What about the ordinary man? M. – I just said he sees things outside himself. He is separate from the world, from his own deeper truth, from the truth that supports himself and what he sees. The man that has realised the surpeme Truth of his own existence realises that it is the one supreme Reality that is there behind him, behind the world. In fact, he is aware of the One, as the Real, the Self in all selves, in all things, Eternal and Immutable, in all that is impermanent and mutable. D. You speak in very high terms of knowledge, I began with body. Is there any difference between the jnanin and the ajnanin in bodily experience ? M. There is. How can it otherwise be ? I have quite often repeated it. D. Then the vedanta jnana as spoken of and discussed is perhaps one different from what is practised and realised. You often say that there is the real meaning of “I” in the Heart,..... M.— Yes, when you go deeper you lose yourself in the abysmal depths as it were, then the Reality which is the atman that was behind you all the while takes hold of you. It is an incessant flash of I-consciousness, you can be aware of it, feel it, hear it, sense it, so to say; this is what I call ‘aham sphurti.’ D. -Then, you said the atman is immutable, self-effulgent, etc. But, if you at the same time say that there is the incessant flash of I-consciousness, this ‘aham sphurti,’ does it not imply movement, which cannot be complete realisation, in which there is no movement? M. – What do you mean by complete realisation? Does it mean you become a stone, an inert mass ? The aham vrtti is different from aham sphurti. The former is the activity of the ego, and is bound to lose itself and make way for the latter which is an eternal expression of the Self. In Vedantic parlance this aham sphurti is called urtti jnana. Realisation or jnana is always a vrtti. There is a distinction to be understood between the vrtti jnana or Realisation and the svarupa, the Real. Svarupa is jnana itself, it is Consciousness. Svarupa is Sat Cit, which is omnipresent. It is always there self-attained. When you realise it, the realisation is called vrtti jnana. It is only with reference to your existence, you talk of realisation or jnana. Therefore when we talk of jnana, we always mean vrtti jnana and not to the svarupa jnana for svarupa itself is jnana Consciousness always. D. I understand it so far. But about the body? How would I feel it in the body, this vrtti jnana ? M. — Yes. You can feel yourself as one with the one that exists; the whole body becomes a mere power, a force-current: your life becomes a needle drawn to a huge mass of magnet and as you go deeper and deeper, you become a mere centre and then, not even that, you become a mere consciousness, there are no thoughts or cares here they were shattered at the threshold, it is a big inundation; you are a mere straw, a broken reed; you are taken in, swallowed alive, but it is pleasant, very delightful, you become the very thing that takes you in; this is the union of jiva with brahman, the loss of ego in the real Self, the destruction of falsehood, the attainment of Truth.
D. Then what is the difference between the baddha and the mukta, the bound man and the one liberated ?
M. From the Heart, the Self-centre, there is a subtle passage leading to the sahasrara, the sakti sthana. The ordinary man lives in the brain unaware of himself in the Heart. The Jnana Siddha lives in the Heart. When he moves about and deals with men and things, he knows what he sees is not separate from the one Supreme Reality, the Brahman which he realises in the Heart as his own Self, the Real.
D. What about the ordinary man?
M. – I just said he sees things outside himself. He is separate from the world, from his own deeper truth, from the truth that supports himself and what he sees. The man that has realised the surpeme Truth of his own existence realises that it is the one supreme Reality that is there behind him, behind the world. In fact, he is aware of the One, as the Real, the Self in all selves, in all things, Eternal and Immutable, in all that is impermanent and mutable.
D. You speak in very high terms of knowledge, I began with body. Is there any difference between the jnanin and the ajnanin in bodily experience ?
M. There is. How can it otherwise be ? I have quite often repeated it.
D. Then the vedanta jnana as spoken of and discussed is perhaps one different from what is practised and realised. You often say that there is the real meaning of “I” in the Heart,.....
M.— Yes, when you go deeper you lose yourself in the abysmal depths as it were, then the Reality which is the atman that was behind you all the while takes hold of you. It is an incessant flash of I-consciousness, you can be aware of it, feel it, hear it, sense it, so to say; this is what I call ‘aham sphurti.’
D. -Then, you said the atman is immutable, self-effulgent, etc. But, if you at the same time say that there is the incessant flash of I-consciousness, this ‘aham sphurti,’ does it not imply movement, which cannot be complete realisation, in which there is no movement?
M. – What do you mean by complete realisation? Does it mean you become a stone, an inert mass ? The aham vrtti is different from aham sphurti. The former is the activity of the ego, and is bound to lose itself and make way for the latter which is an eternal expression of the Self. In Vedantic parlance this aham sphurti is called urtti jnana. Realisation or jnana is always a vrtti. There is a distinction to be understood between the vrtti jnana or Realisation and the svarupa, the Real. Svarupa is jnana itself, it is Consciousness.
Svarupa is Sat Cit, which is omnipresent. It is always there self-attained. When you realise it, the realisation is called vrtti jnana. It is only with reference to your existence, you talk of realisation or jnana. Therefore when we talk of jnana, we always mean vrtti jnana and not to the svarupa jnana for svarupa itself is jnana Consciousness always.
D. I understand it so far. But about the body? How would I feel it in the body, this vrtti jnana ?
M. — Yes. You can feel yourself as one with the one that exists; the whole body becomes a mere power, a force-current: your life becomes a needle drawn to a huge mass of magnet and as you go deeper and deeper, you become a mere centre and then, not even that, you become a mere consciousness, there are no thoughts or cares here they were shattered at the threshold, it is a big inundation; you are a mere straw, a broken reed; you are taken in, swallowed alive, but it is pleasant, very delightful, you become the very thing that takes you in; this is the union of jiva with brahman, the loss of ego in the real Self, the destruction of falsehood, the attainment of Truth.
D. Hitherto I had great fear of mukti, my conception of it was very horrible till now, now I see, it is a very agreeable state. But they talk of powers, siddhis, are they possible? Are they opposed to mukti ? M. The highest siddhi is realisation of the Self, atma-saksatkara; for, here once you realise the truth you cease to be drawn to the path of ignorance. D. -_Then are the siddhis, .? M. There are two kinds of siddhis; one kind may well be a stumbling block to realisation. It is said that by mantra, by some drug of occult virtues, by severe austerities or by samadhi of a certain kind powers can be acquired; but these are no means of Self-knowledge; even when you acquire them, you may well be in ignorance. D. — What is the other kind ? M. There are manifestations of power and knowledge quite natural to you, when you realise the Self. They are siddhis, products of the normal and natural tapas of the man who has the self-attainment. They come of their own accord, they are God-given; they come according to one’s own karma so to say, whether they come or not the Siddha of the Real, settled in the supreme peace is not worried. For, he knows the Self and that is the unshakable siddhi. But these do not come by your attempt. When you are in the state of Realisation, you will know what these powers are (cf. Ramana Gita. Ch. 11) D. --You have said a mukta in the long run by his natural tapas, can become intangible, invisible, can assume any form ... M. -Yes: it is the mukta that is most competent for such developments. But you can’t judge the jnanin by these developments, as these are not the signs of true knowledge, which essentially consists in possessing eye of equality samatva drsti, ज्ञानिनः समशिनः। सर्वभूतसमत्वेन लिङ्गेन ज्ञानमूह्यताम् । cf. Ramana Gita. I:16 D. I have finished. But only this doubt. M. What? D. You said ’Heart’ is the one centre for the ego-self, for the Real self, for the Lord, for all. M. Yes, the Heart is the Real’s centre. But the ego is impermanent. Like everything else it is backed by the Heartcentre. But the character of the ego is a link between spirit and matter; it is a knot, granthi, the knot of radical ignorance in which one is steeped. This granthi is there in the ’hrt the Heart. When this knot is cut asunder by proper means you find that this is the Self’s centre. D. You said there is a passage from this centre to Sahasrara. M. -Yes. It is closed in the man in bondage; in the man in whom the ego-knot the hrdaya granthi is cut asunder, a force-current called amrta nadi rises and goes up to the Sahasrara, the crown of the head. D. -Is this the susumna? M. No. This is the passage of liberation moksa. This is called atma nadi, brahma nadi or amrta nadi. This is the nadi that is referred to in the Upanishads. शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्यः तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतका तयोर्ध्वमायन्न. मृतत्वमेति। When this passage is open, you have no moha, no ignorance. You know the Truth even when you talk, think or do anything, dealing with men and things. D. — Hearing all this I am puzzled. I do not know how can one get such great experiences by simply bearing in mind the sayings "see the Seer", "know thyself," "I am Brahman," etc. M. It is difficult indeed, but not impossible once you are earnest about it ..... That is why they say you must have the touch of the Grace அருளும் வேணுமே. The influence of a jnanin steals into you in silence.... He need not talk.
D. Hitherto I had great fear of mukti, my conception of it was very horrible till now, now I see, it is a very agreeable state. But they talk of powers, siddhis, are they possible? Are they opposed to mukti ?
M. The highest siddhi is realisation of the Self, atma-saksatkara; for, here once you realise the truth you cease to be drawn to the path of ignorance.
D. -_Then are the siddhis, .?
M. There are two kinds of siddhis; one kind may well be a stumbling block to realisation. It is said that by mantra, by some drug of occult virtues, by severe austerities or by samadhi of a certain kind powers can be acquired; but these are no means of Self-knowledge; even when you acquire them, you may well be in ignorance.
D. — What is the other kind ?
M. There are manifestations of power and knowledge quite natural to you, when you realise the Self. They are siddhis, products of the normal and natural tapas of the man who has the self-attainment. They come of their own accord, they are God-given; they come according to one’s own karma so to say, whether they come or not the Siddha of the Real, settled in the supreme peace is not worried. For, he knows the Self and that is the unshakable siddhi. But these do not come by your attempt. When you are in the state of Realisation, you will know what these powers are (cf. Ramana Gita. Ch. 11)
D. --You have said a mukta in the long run by his natural tapas, can become intangible, invisible, can assume any form ...
M. -Yes: it is the mukta that is most competent for such developments. But you can’t judge the jnanin by these developments, as these are not the signs of true knowledge, which essentially consists in possessing eye of equality samatva drsti, ज्ञानिनः समशिनः। सर्वभूतसमत्वेन लिङ्गेन ज्ञानमूह्यताम् । cf. Ramana Gita. I:16
D. I have finished. But only this doubt.
M. What?
D. You said ’Heart’ is the one centre for the ego-self, for the Real self, for the Lord, for all.
M. Yes, the Heart is the Real’s centre. But the ego is impermanent. Like everything else it is backed by the Heartcentre. But the character of the ego is a link between spirit and matter; it is a knot, granthi, the knot of radical ignorance in which one is steeped. This granthi is there in the ’hrt the Heart. When this knot is cut asunder by proper means you find that this is the Self’s centre.
D. You said there is a passage from this centre to Sahasrara.
M. -Yes. It is closed in the man in bondage; in the man in whom the ego-knot the hrdaya granthi is cut asunder, a force-current called amrta nadi rises and goes up to the Sahasrara, the crown of the head.
D. -Is this the susumna?
M. No. This is the passage of liberation moksa. This is called atma nadi, brahma nadi or amrta nadi. This is the nadi that is referred to in the Upanishads.
शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्यः तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतका तयोर्ध्वमायन्न. मृतत्वमेति।
When this passage is open, you have no moha, no ignorance. You know the Truth even when you talk, think or do anything, dealing with men and things.
D. — Hearing all this I am puzzled. I do not know how can one get such great experiences by simply bearing in mind the sayings "see the Seer", "know thyself," "I am Brahman," etc.
M. It is difficult indeed, but not impossible once you are earnest about it ..... That is why they say you must have the touch of the Grace அருளும் வேணுமே. The influence of a jnanin steals into you in silence.... He need not talk.
D. When I am here I am convinced; I am impressed. But when I go out and think of the society or the country and I remember your answer ’know thyself’. M. – What can you do to society or country when you are weak? You must become strong first. But I would tell you Self-attainment is the supreme strength. Don’t have the fear that you will lose the strength to act when you become a jnanin. D. I have that fear. M. You need not. If you are destined or chosen to do a particular thing, it will be done. D. — Then should I resign everything? Can I not perform tapas and ask God to grant my desires ? M. — You can. But, for tapas or for your prayers to reach God there must be some abhyasa, you must do some sadhana. When you are in the sadhana whether it is meditation or prayer, will you be thinking of your desires or of God? D. — If I think of my desires in meditation, it is no dhyana at all. M. Then take it that there is the same dhyana, the same tapas, the same meditation, for both, sakama or niskama, whether it is actuated by desire or is disinterested. Even when your desires are fulfilled, the tapas grows. It does not cease. That is the true character of tapas. It is the same in the case of bhakti also. Now I put a question to you. When a man with luggage gets into a Railway carriage where does he keep it? D. He keeps it in his compartment or luggage-van. M. And so he does not carry it on his head or keep it on his lap. D. – No fool does it. M. If you call him a fool who keeps it on his head, a thousand times more foolish is it to bear your burden when you get into the spiritual life, whether it is vicara-marga, path of knowledge or bhakti-marga, path of devotion. D. But can I throw off all my responsibilities, all my commitments? M. Now, look at the temple tower, gopura. There are many statues in it and there is a big statue, one on each corner. Have you seen them? D.-Yes. I have. M. — Now I tell you this. The big and tall tower is borne by these statues. D. How can it be? How do you mean? M. I mean if I take this view, it is not more foolish than your attitude when you say that you have to carry and are carrying all cares, burdens, responsibilities, etc..... The Lord of the Universe carries the whole burden. You imagine you do. You can keep all your burden to his trust. Whatever is to be done by you, you will be made an instrument for doing it at the right time. Don’t think you can’t do it unless you have the desire to do it. Desire does not give you the strength to do. The strength is the Lord’s. D. Am I to understand that you are giving me the essence of karma yoga. M. It is the essence of karma yoga, of bhakti yoga why, even of jnana yoga for even though the paths in the beginning may differ, they all after a certain distance lead to this position.
D. When I am here I am convinced; I am impressed. But when I go out and think of the society or the country and I remember your answer ’know thyself’.
M. – What can you do to society or country when you are weak? You must become strong first. But I would tell you Self-attainment is the supreme strength. Don’t have the fear that you will lose the strength to act when you become a jnanin.
D. I have that fear.
M. You need not. If you are destined or chosen to do a particular thing, it will be done.
D. — Then should I resign everything? Can I not perform tapas and ask God to grant my desires ?
M. — You can. But, for tapas or for your prayers to reach God there must be some abhyasa, you must do some sadhana. When you are in the sadhana whether it is meditation or prayer, will you be thinking of your desires or of God?
D. — If I think of my desires in meditation, it is no dhyana at all.
M. Then take it that there is the same dhyana, the same tapas, the same meditation, for both, sakama or niskama, whether it is actuated by desire or is disinterested.
Even when your desires are fulfilled, the tapas grows. It does not cease. That is the true character of tapas. It is the same in the case of bhakti also.
Now I put a question to you. When a man with luggage gets into a Railway carriage where does he keep it?
D. He keeps it in his compartment or luggage-van.
M. And so he does not carry it on his head or keep it on his lap.
D. – No fool does it.
M. If you call him a fool who keeps it on his head, a thousand times more foolish is it to bear your burden when you get into the spiritual life, whether it is vicara-marga, path of knowledge or bhakti-marga, path of devotion.
D. But can I throw off all my responsibilities, all my commitments?
M. Now, look at the temple tower, gopura. There are many statues in it and there is a big statue, one on each corner. Have you seen them?
D.-Yes. I have.
M. — Now I tell you this. The big and tall tower is borne by these statues.
D. How can it be? How do you mean? M. I mean if I take this view, it is not more foolish than your attitude when you say that you have to carry and are carrying all cares, burdens, responsibilities, etc.....
The Lord of the Universe carries the whole burden. You imagine you do. You can keep all your burden to his trust. Whatever is to be done by you, you will be made an instrument for doing it at the right time. Don’t think you can’t do it unless you have the desire to do it. Desire does not give you the strength to do. The strength is the Lord’s.
D. Am I to understand that you are giving me the essence of karma yoga.
M. It is the essence of karma yoga, of bhakti yoga why, even of jnana yoga for even though the paths in the beginning may differ, they all after a certain distance lead to this position.
D. -They speak of the four Ashramas or prescribed vocations in life. What is their significance ? M. It is a social rule intended for the generality to go by stages. But if one is a pakva, a well developed being, he need not or does not mind this rule. Young or old, man or woman, Brahmin or outcaste, if one is paripakva, ripe, he or she can and does go straight to the goal, without minding the stages. D. Then, Ashramas have no use for spiritual life. M. The first three Ashramas are there for the conduct of worldly affairs in life गतये लोककार्याणां and are regulated in such a way as not to clash with the ideal of spiritual knowledge न ज्ञानप्रतिकूलता. D. What about the fourth, Sannyasa ? M. -Oh, Sannyasa does not lie in taking to the begging bowl, or having a clean bald-headed shave, or putting on an orangecolored robe. न काषायो न मुण्डनम्. When the Brahmacharin, the student with his purity exalted by celibacy, becomes an ideal house-holder for the service of others, of the society in a spirit of detachment, the Light naturally flashes forth. Then for the purpose of Tapas, for concentrated effort, the third Ashrama वानप्रस्थ is intended. When by ardent tapas, the tapasvin becomes crystal-pure and fit, the fourth asrama automatically comes. As I said it is not an external thing that one assumes.
D. -They speak of the four Ashramas or prescribed vocations in life. What is their significance ?
M. It is a social rule intended for the generality to go by stages. But if one is a pakva, a well developed being, he need not or does not mind this rule. Young or old, man or woman, Brahmin or outcaste, if one is paripakva, ripe, he or she can and does go straight to the goal, without minding the stages.
D. Then, Ashramas have no use for spiritual life.
M. The first three Ashramas are there for the conduct of worldly affairs in life गतये लोककार्याणां and are regulated in such a way as not to clash with the ideal of spiritual knowledge न ज्ञानप्रतिकूलता.
D. What about the fourth, Sannyasa ?
M. -Oh, Sannyasa does not lie in taking to the begging bowl, or having a clean bald-headed shave, or putting on an orangecolored robe. न काषायो न मुण्डनम्.
When the Brahmacharin, the student with his purity exalted by celibacy, becomes an ideal house-holder for the service of others, of the society in a spirit of detachment, the Light naturally flashes forth.
Then for the purpose of Tapas, for concentrated effort, the third Ashrama वानप्रस्थ is intended. When by ardent tapas, the tapasvin becomes crystal-pure and fit, the fourth asrama automatically comes. As I said it is not an external thing that one assumes.
D. – What is my duty to Society? What should be my relation to it? M. You are a limb of the society. Society is the body, individuals are its members, its limbs. Just as the various limbs help and co-operate with one another and are happy, so each must unite with others in being helpful to all in thought, speech and action. ... One may see to the good of one’s own group, i. e., the group that is immediate to him, and then proceed to others. D. – Some speak high of santi, Peace; some praise sakti, Power. Which of the two is good to society? M. For the individual, ’Peace’ is absolutely essential; power is necessary for the upkeep of society. By Power one has to uplift society and then establish peace therein. शक्त्या सङ्घ विधायोच्चैः शान्तिं संस्थापयेत्ततः (Ramana Gita. X: 8) D. What is the goal towards which mankind on earth is moving? M. -Real equality and fraternity (समत्वं सौभ्रातं) form the true goal; for then, the Supreme Peace may reign on earth, and the earth herself can be a single household. तदेयं शोभते सर्वा भुमिरेकं गृहं यथा (Ramana Gita X: 11) D. — The ideal is grand. But if great men, jnanins are quiet in the caves, how can society be helped ? M. I have often said that Self-attainment atmalabha is the greatest good to society. And.. [The subject was not pursued further, as M. always maintains that the jnanin is not an inert mass vide infra page 268]
D. – What is my duty to Society? What should be my relation to it?
M. You are a limb of the society. Society is the body, individuals are its members, its limbs. Just as the various limbs help and co-operate with one another and are happy, so each must unite with others in being helpful to all in thought, speech and action. ... One may see to the good of one’s own group, i. e., the group that is immediate to him, and then proceed to others.
D. – Some speak high of santi, Peace; some praise sakti, Power. Which of the two is good to society?
M. For the individual, ’Peace’ is absolutely essential; power is necessary for the upkeep of society. By Power one has to uplift society and then establish peace therein. शक्त्या सङ्घ विधायोच्चैः शान्तिं संस्थापयेत्ततः (Ramana Gita. X: 8)
D. What is the goal towards which mankind on earth is moving?
M. -Real equality and fraternity (समत्वं सौभ्रातं) form the true goal; for then, the Supreme Peace may reign on earth, and the earth herself can be a single household. तदेयं शोभते सर्वा भुमिरेकं गृहं यथा (Ramana Gita X: 11)
D. — The ideal is grand. But if great men, jnanins are quiet in the caves, how can society be helped ?
M. I have often said that Self-attainment atmalabha is the greatest good to society. And..
[The subject was not pursued further, as M. always maintains that the jnanin is not an inert mass vide infra page 268]
D. — You have said that the jnanin can be and is active, and deals with men and things. I have no doubt about it now. But you say at the same time, that he has no difference भेदभाव ; to him all is one, he is always in the Consciousness. if so, how does he deal with differences, with men, with things which are surely different? M. — He sees these differences as but appearances, he sees them as not separate from the Truth the Real, with which he is one. D. — The jnanin seems to be more accurate in his expressions, he appreciates the differences better than the ordinary man.. If sugar is sweet and wormwood is bitter to me, he too seems to realise it so. In fact, all forms, all sounds, all tastes, etc., are the same to him as they are to others. If so, how can it be said that these are mere appearances? Do they not form part of his life-experience ? M. I have said that equality is the true sign of jnano. The very term equality समत्व implies the existence of differences. It is a unity that the jnanin perceives in all differences, which I call equality. Equality does not mean ignorance of distinctions. When you have the Realisation, you can see that these differences are very formal, they are not at all substantial, or permanent, and what is essential in all these appearances is the one Truth, the Real. That I call unity . . . You referred to sound, taste, form, smell, etc. True the jnanin appreciates the distinctions, but he always perceives and experiences the one Real in all of them. That is why he has no preferences, whether he moves about, or talks, or does, it is all the one Real in which he does or moves or talks. He has nothing apart from the one supreme Truth.
D. — You have said that the jnanin can be and is active, and deals with men and things. I have no doubt about it now. But you say at the same time, that he has no difference भेदभाव ; to him all is one, he is always in the Consciousness. if so, how does he deal with differences, with men, with things which are surely different?
M. — He sees these differences as but appearances, he sees them as not separate from the Truth the Real, with which he is one.
D. — The jnanin seems to be more accurate in his expressions, he appreciates the differences better than the ordinary man.. If sugar is sweet and wormwood is bitter to me, he too seems to realise it so. In fact, all forms, all sounds, all tastes, etc., are the same to him as they are to others. If so, how can it be said that these are mere appearances? Do they not form part of his life-experience ?
M. I have said that equality is the true sign of jnano. The very term equality समत्व implies the existence of differences. It is a unity that the jnanin perceives in all differences, which I call equality. Equality does not mean ignorance of distinctions. When you have the Realisation, you can see that these differences are very formal, they are not at all substantial, or permanent, and what is essential in all these appearances is the one Truth, the Real. That I call unity . . . You referred to sound, taste, form, smell, etc. True the jnanin appreciates the distinctions, but he always perceives and experiences the one Real in all of them. That is why he has no preferences, whether he moves about, or talks, or does, it is all the one Real in which he does or moves or talks. He has nothing apart from the one supreme Truth.
D. — The trinity (triputi) of knower, known and knowledge is an appearance; you say that there is a unity behind it, supporting it. What is this unity, is it a powerful one? M. – It is an All-powerful existence, सर्वशक्तम D. -You have often said, and the books also say, that Brahman is immobile. Now you say, it is all powerful. Does it not then move? M. Power implies movement. Though Ishwara moves by his power sakti, which is movement, He transcends the movement, He is acala, atita. D. Is there no difference between sakti and sakta, the Power and the Powerful? M. – No. That depends upon your attitude. There is only one Truth. Looking at the movement, one calls it sakti Power; settling himself in the support of the movement, asraya, another calls it सद्वस्तु acala. If the former is activity, vyapara, the latter is its support, asraya, substance. sakti and vastu, force and substance, are inseparable, are indeed two aspects of one and the same Truth. Only without the sakti, vyapara or the movement of the power, the substance Real वस्तु स्वरुप is not apprehended. ‘बिना शक्तिं नरश्रेष्ठ स्वरूपं न प्रतीयते’ (Ramana Gita. XII: 20) D. What is the true character of sakti ? M. It is eternal with the eternal Ishwara, it has no existence apart from him. It is the eternal activity vyapara of Ishwara, creating the myriads of worlds. D. Worlds are created and they perish. How can you say that this activity vyapara is eternal ? M. Supposing all the worlds in course of time are dissolved still they persist in the activity in the movement, lying latent, लीनवत That is to say, the sakti does not perish. After all what is all this movement, every moment there is creation, every moment there is destruction? There is no absolute creation or absolute destruction. Both are movement, and that is eternal. D. Then shall I take it that the sakti and vastu vyapara and asraya, both are aspects of the same Truth? M. -Yes, but this whole movement, the creation, called a play of sakti is a formulation kalpana of the Lord ईशकल्पना. If this kalpana is transcended, what remains is svarupa.
D. — The trinity (triputi) of knower, known and knowledge is an appearance; you say that there is a unity behind it, supporting it. What is this unity, is it a powerful one?
M. – It is an All-powerful existence, सर्वशक्तम
D. -You have often said, and the books also say, that Brahman is immobile. Now you say, it is all powerful. Does it not then move?
M. Power implies movement. Though Ishwara moves by his power sakti, which is movement, He transcends the movement, He is acala, atita.
D. Is there no difference between sakti and sakta, the Power and the Powerful?
M. – No. That depends upon your attitude. There is only one Truth. Looking at the movement, one calls it sakti Power; settling himself in the support of the movement, asraya, another calls it सद्वस्तु acala. If the former is activity, vyapara, the latter is its support, asraya, substance. sakti and vastu, force and substance, are inseparable, are indeed two aspects of one and the same Truth. Only without the sakti, vyapara or the movement of the power, the substance Real वस्तु स्वरुप is not apprehended. ‘बिना शक्तिं नरश्रेष्ठ स्वरूपं न प्रतीयते’ (Ramana Gita. XII: 20)
D. What is the true character of sakti ?
M. It is eternal with the eternal Ishwara, it has no existence apart from him. It is the eternal activity vyapara of Ishwara, creating the myriads of worlds.
D. Worlds are created and they perish. How can you say that this activity vyapara is eternal ?
M. Supposing all the worlds in course of time are dissolved still they persist in the activity in the movement, lying latent, लीनवत
That is to say, the sakti does not perish. After all what is all this movement, every moment there is creation, every moment there is destruction? There is no absolute creation or absolute destruction. Both are movement, and that is eternal.
D. Then shall I take it that the sakti and vastu vyapara and asraya, both are aspects of the same Truth?
M. -Yes, but this whole movement, the creation, called a play of sakti is a formulation kalpana of the Lord ईशकल्पना. If this kalpana is transcended, what remains is svarupa.
84
Note:-[The world is a formation of the substance which is termed pure Existence, pure in the sense of its absolute independence of the particular forms in which it finds a certain expression. "All this therefore is Brahman, the one Existence-in-Substance; and this Existence, the substantial truth Brahman, is not without relation to its own forms of expression. It is Purusha, the Spirit, the Conscient, that is all this, what has become and what has yet to become.] Again88
Note:-[The world is a formation of the substance which is termed pure Existence, pure in the sense of its absolute independence of the particular forms in which it finds a certain expression. "All this therefore is Brahman, the one Existence-in-Substance; and this Existence, the substantial truth Brahman, is not without relation to its own forms of expression. It is Purusha, the Spirit, the Conscient, that is all this, what has become and what has yet to become.]
Again88
So then, the sole Purusha being the efficient source and substance of all that is and can be, there can be no real opposition between the two forms of existence, variously designated by the pairs, the Outer and the Inner, World and Soul, Matter and Spirit, This-ness and I-ness. In fact this biune existence termed duality dvandva, inter-related, inter-dependent, and co-existent, is the presentation of an inseparable twofold aspect of the Supreme Truth, the thing as it is and as it becomes, the One Reality in being and in becoming. The Upanishads tell us that the One is expressed in a manifold form and the twofold existence, world and soul, jagat and jiva, is formed by the boundless energy of the dividing and differentiating conscious force variously called tapas, creative incubation, cit-sakti, conscious force, kama, desire to become many, iksa, the gaze of the eternal wide-awake self-awareness of the Indivisible Limitless sat, Purusha. Therefore world and soul, idam-bhava and aham-bhava, This-ness and I-ness, form an inseparable twofold aspect, a biune presentation of the Supreme Reality and are the primal modification parinama implied in the ceaseless change of the forms of consciousness which sees in its unlimited being a movement of limitations, a becoming of its own substance, a formation of its own eternal movement. This original substance which is of the nature of a supreme consciousness, intense and infinite, does not lose itself in its own self-becoming, in its own modifications into a variety of forms effected by its inherent conscious force. It is to be noted that this modification is not-as is thought in scholastic circles-of the nature of milk becoming curds, in which the former is lost and irrecoverable, but is of the character of gold formed into ornaments, in which gold the substance not merely persists but reveals its potentiality for formation into an endless variety. The forms change but the substance endures and it is the identity of the persisting substance that is stressed as the central truth by the Chandogya Upanishad analogy of gold in ornamental forms. The Purusha sat is not affected in his character as substance, the material for all this formation of endless worlds and numberless souls which are but his countless parts, thus manifest in virtue of his conscious force tapas. It is clear then that Brahman is one substance, svarupa, in all its forms and conditions90
The truth of the one substance, the Reality, revealed in experience to the supra-sensual consciousness as one-without-a-second, becomes to the sense-mind in experience the many full of duality. And finding opposition between the One and the Many, certain schools of philosophic thought, by way of recognising the higher sanction of the superconscious experience in which the One alone is felt, have hastened to affirm the One by a denial of the Many, as this latter is manifest only to sense experience which is indeed not to be relied upon for getting at the Reality, for realising the truth that transcends the sphere of the senses. But since we find in the scriptures oft-repeated passages that the One has become the Many and is expressed or veiled in the Many, it is reasonable to conclude that the One and the Many are not really opposed to each other, and the contradiction has no place in the Reality but is a figment of the enquiring mind. Hence it is preferable to solve the problem of the Many by reducing the contradiction, if at all there is any, to a reconciliation in the Truth itself. Let us take the instance of a pot. When the form of the pot is perceived without the knowledge that the pot is made of clay, no one denies the truth of this form or the validity of its perception on the ground that he has no knowledge of the substance of which it is made, and thus of the true character of the pot. Similarly we do not deny the form or its perception when we gain knowledge of the true nature of the pot, viz, that it is made of clay. Both the statements that the material of the pot is clay and that it is of a particular shape, can be truly made of the pot. The knowledge that the pot is of clay neither contradicts nor is incompatible with the knowledge that it has a particular shape. Nor does the predication that the pot has a particular form negate the substantial truth that the pot is of clay. Therefore it has to be admitted that the truth of the thing is twofold according to the view-point and understanding capacity of the enquiring mind. That the pot is made of clay may be termed the substantial truth of the pot and that it has a particular shape, its formal truth. Both are true and together give the whole truth of the pot. That clay is the substance of the pot is the substantial or the primal truth. The form assumed by the substance is the formal truth. Since form depends upon substance and substance refers to the essential character of the thing, the one is the substantial and primary truth, and the other is the formal or attributive and secondary truth of the same, especially in view of the fact that the same thing is apprehended differently by the different sense-organs. But the understanding of the form and other aspects of substance as distinct and apart from substance itself is entirely dependent on sense-mind and intelligence and its development. Thus the distinct apprehension of these two aspects, the substantial and the formal, not only does not lead to error, but there is a great gain in it, for then the synthetic truth is apprehended in its integrality . Similarly, dealing with the subject of the triune existence, God, world and soul, we are to recognize that the sole Reality, Brahman, presents two aspects, the substantial and the formal. Brahman, the one existence, becomes the Lord, isvara, in relation to its own modes of being as world and soul, as it is the substance and support and directing intelligence of its own formation in the shape of World and Soul. It is the Brahman that is really present in and signified by the various modes of its own existence, by the numberless selves and the countless worlds; these are the signifying factors and their Lord is the One signified in all of them. So then, it is as a relation of substance to form that we are to understand the relation of God to world and soul, the world with all that is included in it and the soul with all its limitations and developThese modes of Brahman are formed and constituted in Brahman itself and are variously termed in philosophic parlance, according to the type and temperament of the enquiring mind or the viewpoint of the vision that gave birth to the religio-philosophic system. Thus they are called modes prakaras, particulars visesas, parts or aspects kalas, qualities or attributes gunas; all these refer to the formulated existence presented to the intuitive philosophic mind as an intellectual translation of a supra-intellectual truth. Like a particular form of substance, say the pot-shape assumed by clay, this world in which we live and move and have our being is really a mode of Brahman, an aspect of it expressive of its omnipotence, a quality of the Unqualified, a form of the supreme Substance which in itself is formless and beyond forms. And for this reason, this world of name and form as we understand it is the qualitative and formal truth, a partial truth, of Brahman the one Reality. But like the clay of the pot it is the Divine Existence, nameless and formless in itself, that is the material, the rootsubstance, of which all this (idam sarvam) is a form, and hence that is the substantial and primal truth of ’all this’. Thus there is no real opposition between these two aspects, the substantial and the formal, of the same truth. It is evident then that it is both futile and false to affirm that the substantial truth alone of the world-being, Brahman, is real and that the formal aspect of Brahman as the world is unreal. Both the aspects nirguna and saguna, the formless Brahman and the Brahman of forms, are not only not contradictory but together give a complete understanding of the truth of existence as it is. By the terms nirguna and niskala, "absolved of qualities and parts”, it is meant that Brahman is beyond qualities and parts or aspects and not that it is devoid or incapable of qualities and parts. Besides, when Brahman is described as greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest, it is clear that Brahman as a quantitative existence is transcendental in either direction. It follows that the Infinite Brahman, while manifesting countless finite parts in definite qualities and quantities, transcends these and thus continues to be infinite. It must be borne in mind that though it is the Infinite the omnipotent Brahman, that by its creative gaze brings these myriads of worlds into existence out of a part of its own being, and having created these enters into them for their sustenance, yet it does not lose itself in them. Hence the wise hold that while Brahman is beyond and not limited by space and time, it is pervasive of all space and enduring in all time. Everywhere, in everyone of its parts great or small, Brahman is full. This is the profound significance of the comprehensive Advaita revealed in the scripture,91
The truth of the one substance, the Reality, revealed in experience to the supra-sensual consciousness as one-without-a-second, becomes to the sense-mind in experience the many full of duality. And finding opposition between the One and the Many, certain schools of philosophic thought, by way of recognising the higher sanction of the superconscious experience in which the One alone is felt, have hastened to affirm the One by a denial of the Many, as this latter is manifest only to sense experience which is indeed not to be relied upon for getting at the Reality, for realising the truth that transcends the sphere of the senses. But since we find in the scriptures oft-repeated passages that the One has become the Many and is expressed or veiled in the Many, it is reasonable to conclude that the One and the Many are not really opposed to each other, and the contradiction has no place in the Reality but is a figment of the enquiring mind. Hence it is preferable to solve the problem of the Many by reducing the contradiction, if at all there is any, to a reconciliation in the Truth itself.
Let us take the instance of a pot. When the form of the pot is perceived without the knowledge that the pot is made of clay, no one denies the truth of this form or the validity of its perception on the ground that he has no knowledge of the substance of which it is made, and thus of the true character of the pot. Similarly we do not deny the form or its perception when we gain knowledge of the true nature of the pot, viz, that it is made of clay. Both the statements that the material of the pot is clay and that it is of a particular shape, can be truly made of the pot. The knowledge that the pot is of clay neither contradicts nor is incompatible with the knowledge that it has a particular shape. Nor does the predication that the pot has a particular form negate the substantial truth that the pot is of clay. Therefore it has to be admitted that the truth of the thing is twofold according to the view-point and understanding capacity of the enquiring mind. That the pot is made of clay may be termed the substantial truth of the pot and that it has a particular shape, its formal truth. Both are true and together give the whole truth of the pot. That clay is the substance of the pot is the substantial or the primal truth. The form assumed by the substance is the formal truth. Since form depends upon substance and substance refers to the essential character of the thing, the one is the substantial and primary truth, and the other is the formal or attributive and secondary truth of the same, especially in view of the fact that the same thing is apprehended differently by the different sense-organs. But the understanding of the form and other aspects of substance as distinct and apart from substance itself is entirely dependent on sense-mind and intelligence and its development. Thus the distinct apprehension of these two aspects, the substantial and the formal, not only does not lead to error, but there is a great gain in it, for then the synthetic truth is apprehended in its integrality .
Similarly, dealing with the subject of the triune existence, God, world and soul, we are to recognize that the sole Reality, Brahman, presents two aspects, the substantial and the formal. Brahman, the one existence, becomes the Lord, isvara, in relation to its own modes of being as world and soul, as it is the substance and support and directing intelligence of its own formation in the shape of World and Soul. It is the Brahman that is really present in and signified by the various modes of its own existence, by the numberless selves and the countless worlds; these are the signifying factors and their Lord is the One signified in all of them. So then, it is as a relation of substance to form that we are to understand the relation of God to world and soul, the world with all that is included in it and the soul with all its limitations and developThese modes of Brahman are formed and constituted in Brahman itself and are variously termed in philosophic parlance, according to the type and temperament of the enquiring mind or the viewpoint of the vision that gave birth to the religio-philosophic system. Thus they are called modes prakaras, particulars visesas, parts or aspects kalas, qualities or attributes gunas; all these refer to the formulated existence presented to the intuitive philosophic mind as an intellectual translation of a supra-intellectual truth.
Like a particular form of substance, say the pot-shape assumed by clay, this world in which we live and move and have our being is really a mode of Brahman, an aspect of it expressive of its omnipotence, a quality of the Unqualified, a form of the supreme Substance which in itself is formless and beyond forms. And for this reason, this world of name and form as we understand it is the qualitative and formal truth, a partial truth, of Brahman the one Reality. But like the clay of the pot it is the Divine Existence, nameless and formless in itself, that is the material, the rootsubstance, of which all this (idam sarvam) is a form, and hence that is the substantial and primal truth of ’all this’. Thus there is no real opposition between these two aspects, the substantial and the formal, of the same truth. It is evident then that it is both futile and false to affirm that the substantial truth alone of the world-being, Brahman, is real and that the formal aspect of Brahman as the world is unreal. Both the aspects nirguna and saguna, the formless Brahman and the Brahman of forms, are not only not contradictory but together give a complete understanding of the truth of existence as it is.
By the terms nirguna and niskala, "absolved of qualities and parts”, it is meant that Brahman is beyond qualities and parts or aspects and not that it is devoid or incapable of qualities and parts. Besides, when Brahman is described as greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest, it is clear that Brahman as a quantitative existence is transcendental in either direction. It follows that the Infinite Brahman, while manifesting countless finite parts in definite qualities and quantities, transcends these and thus continues to be infinite. It must be borne in mind that though it is the Infinite the omnipotent Brahman, that by its creative gaze brings these myriads of worlds into existence out of a part of its own being, and having created these enters into them for their sustenance, yet it does not lose itself in them. Hence the wise hold that while Brahman is beyond and not limited by space and time, it is pervasive of all space and enduring in all time. Everywhere, in everyone of its parts great or small, Brahman is full. This is the profound significance of the comprehensive Advaita revealed in the scripture,91
पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ।। “This is full and that is full; out of fullness, fullness is lifted up. Fullness being taken from fullness, fullness alone remains." To sum up: To know the world as it appears to my imperfect understanding is a partial knowledge which ignores the substance. A knowledge of the world of name and form without knowing its substantial reality is imperfect knowledge. Partial knowledge, as such and in itself, is only imperfect but not false. It is the mistaking of the partial truth for the whole that is false knowledge. As this partial knowledge is an imperfect understanding, too gross to penetrate to subtler truths, it is almost like ignorance. Since it moves in a futile circle, apprehending only the formal without getting at the substantial truth, and often leads to error and mischief, it is referred to by the disparaging term, ajnana ignorance. It is when Brahman, the root-substance of all existence, is realised that there is clear realisation of the whole truth that Brahman, the Self of all existence, is not different from its own formation as world-existence and soul-existence. That alone is complete knowledge, that alone is integral truth.
पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ।। “This is full and that is full; out of fullness, fullness is lifted up. Fullness being taken from fullness, fullness alone remains."
To sum up: To know the world as it appears to my imperfect understanding is a partial knowledge which ignores the substance. A knowledge of the world of name and form without knowing its substantial reality is imperfect knowledge. Partial knowledge, as such and in itself, is only imperfect but not false. It is the mistaking of the partial truth for the whole that is false knowledge. As this partial knowledge is an imperfect understanding, too gross to penetrate to subtler truths, it is almost like ignorance. Since it moves in a futile circle, apprehending only the formal without getting at the substantial truth, and often leads to error and mischief, it is referred to by the disparaging term, ajnana ignorance. It is when Brahman, the root-substance of all existence, is realised that there is clear realisation of the whole truth that Brahman, the Self of all existence, is not different from its own formation as world-existence and soul-existence. That alone is complete knowledge, that alone is integral truth.
We have said, and the truth cannot be too often repeated or too much stressed, that the Original Substance, the source and support of all the worlds with all their beings, is the one Existence Consciousness, the Infinite Self whose gaze iksa, or creative fervour tapas, or force of consciousness involves an eternal movement of activity forming this world, and that this in its turn, by an ordered difference in development, brings into existence all these beings, or rather becomings, in a variety of species, with striking differences in the nature of their embodiments such as physical, vital and mental and with remarkable variations in their capacity to develop the organs of vital, mental and spiritual or divine functions. Really, Brahman is equal in all these beings. Still there is a vast difference in their capacities for vital activity, sense perception and general experience. They do not come into being simultaneously and at the same place. Differences among the created are the result of the functioning of the creative power in terms of space and time. Conditioned in space, which is full, intense and immobile, in the Self as Extension, there arise and endure the endless distinctions among perceptible objects. The endless distinctions among internal processes, ceaselessly arising in the one continuous flow of activity, the phenomena of remembrance and expectation, and all the differences in condition everywhere, even outside, these exist conditioned in Time, which like an intangible void is only the Self as eternal change and ceaseless movement. Thus there is no creation without the all powerful Consciousness of the Self assuming spatial and temporal terms of existence. In the absence of created existence, the question of my existence and of other existences does not arise. It is in creation, whose reality is established to our experience, that our own individual existence is founded. It is to be noted then that all these objects, sentient or otherwise, are subject to space and time which are the terms of Existence-Consciousness assumed by the eternal force-movement inherent in it for the sustenance of creation. Therefore in the all-pervading Existence-Consciousness thus formulated into spatial and temporal existence making countless distinctions possible, there manifest various species, and in each, innumerable forms. And in each of the numberless kinds thus manifest in this physical world of ours, there are countless individual objects. Among rocks and rivers, among trees and plants, among birds, beasts and other creatures, while there are common features binding each to its kind, there are endless differences characterising the particular appearances in each kind or species. Thus in the human kind also numberless are the individual forms, each distinct from every other. Therefore X is different from Y in form or character. Individual variations in mankind can be seen in general capacity and experience, in assimilation, action and the instruments of these, in receptivity and application. This indeed is the wonder of creation that countless divisions and finites are formed from and in the one Indivisible Infinite. In this unending differentiation into numberless finites and divisions of the undifferentiated Infinite Self, the abode and support of all, the question occurs to man, ’What is the character of the world in which this body lives? Whence are these creatures whose appearance and disappearance are common phenomena? Who again am I, to whom occurs this enquiry?’ The man with the spirit of enquiry awakened becomes gradually possessed of a sense of bondage and a keen sense of bondage develops a desire for liberation. Therefore it is they say that whoever has a straightforward desire for freedom is an advanced being. Such a development is sufficient qualification for the knowledge of the Self, adhyatma vidya. Here the intelligent critic is struck with a doubt. "If it is established that the Infinite Self, eternally free and conscious, is also the Self of all that it has become, who is it that is in bondage from which release is desired? What is the true character of this bondage? What again is the nature of the development by which one becomes competent for freedom?" Let us pause for a moment and consider. The birth of the worlds from the all-powerful Supreme Brahman reveals a principle of bifurcation in the Infinite Consciousness itself. The created world called the inconscient jada and the creating consciousness isvara are the two bifurcated parts of the really indivisible. The One Infinite Self is absolute, absolved of all the finites or relatives that are derived from it. Hence while remaining free and absolute the Infinite Consciousness assumes in relation to the creative movement the double form or aspect of the knower and the known, the conscient and the inconscient, cetana and jada. It must be borne in mind that it is the limitless Indivisible itself that is thus limited in the form of Subject and Object. Though it is the One Existence-Consciousness which is the substantial truth in both the created world and the Creator-Lord, in both the Object and the Subject, yet the Creator-Lord being the illuminator is termed the Self, the knower and the created world being the illuminated is termed the not-self, the known, as distinguished from the knower. Through a subtle activity or movement of its own light, this illuminating consciousness with its unlimited capacity for infinite divisibility throws out particular forms of itself, which in the subtler states are of the character of knowledge and activity and are termed mind-stuff and life-force citta and prana, and which in the grosser state become modified into what is called the inconscient world, jada. Therefore the wise state that in ultimate truth there is no real difference between the Subject and the Object, between the Lord and His creation, as both are of the same substance and endure in a relation of identity tadatmya92
We have said, and the truth cannot be too often repeated or too much stressed, that the Original Substance, the source and support of all the worlds with all their beings, is the one Existence Consciousness, the Infinite Self whose gaze iksa, or creative fervour tapas, or force of consciousness involves an eternal movement of activity forming this world, and that this in its turn, by an ordered difference in development, brings into existence all these beings, or rather becomings, in a variety of species, with striking differences in the nature of their embodiments such as physical, vital and mental and with remarkable variations in their capacity to develop the organs of vital, mental and spiritual or divine functions.
Really, Brahman is equal in all these beings. Still there is a vast difference in their capacities for vital activity, sense perception and general experience. They do not come into being simultaneously and at the same place. Differences among the created are the result of the functioning of the creative power in terms of space and time. Conditioned in space, which is full, intense and immobile, in the Self as Extension, there arise and endure the endless distinctions among perceptible objects. The endless distinctions among internal processes, ceaselessly arising in the one continuous flow of activity, the phenomena of remembrance and expectation, and all the differences in condition everywhere, even outside, these exist conditioned in Time, which like an intangible void is only the Self as eternal change and ceaseless movement.
Thus there is no creation without the all powerful Consciousness of the Self assuming spatial and temporal terms of existence. In the absence of created existence, the question of my existence and of other existences does not arise. It is in creation, whose reality is established to our experience, that our own individual existence is founded. It is to be noted then that all these objects, sentient or otherwise, are subject to space and time which are the terms of Existence-Consciousness assumed by the eternal force-movement inherent in it for the sustenance of creation. Therefore in the all-pervading Existence-Consciousness thus formulated into spatial and temporal existence making countless distinctions possible, there manifest various species, and in each, innumerable forms. And in each of the numberless kinds thus manifest in this physical world of ours, there are countless individual objects. Among rocks and rivers, among trees and plants, among birds, beasts and other creatures, while there are common features binding each to its kind, there are endless differences characterising the particular appearances in each kind or species. Thus in the human kind also numberless are the individual forms, each distinct from every other.
Therefore X is different from Y in form or character. Individual variations in mankind can be seen in general capacity and experience, in assimilation, action and the instruments of these, in receptivity and application. This indeed is the wonder of creation that countless divisions and finites are formed from and in the one Indivisible Infinite. In this unending differentiation into numberless finites and divisions of the undifferentiated Infinite Self, the abode and support of all, the question occurs to man, ’What is the character of the world in which this body lives? Whence are these creatures whose appearance and disappearance are common phenomena? Who again am I, to whom occurs this enquiry?’ The man with the spirit of enquiry awakened becomes gradually possessed of a sense of bondage and a keen sense of bondage develops a desire for liberation. Therefore it is they say that whoever has a straightforward desire for freedom is an advanced being. Such a development is sufficient qualification for the knowledge of the Self, adhyatma vidya.
Here the intelligent critic is struck with a doubt. "If it is established that the Infinite Self, eternally free and conscious, is also the Self of all that it has become, who is it that is in bondage from which release is desired? What is the true character of this bondage? What again is the nature of the development by which one becomes competent for freedom?"
Let us pause for a moment and consider. The birth of the worlds from the all-powerful Supreme Brahman reveals a principle of bifurcation in the Infinite Consciousness itself. The created world called the inconscient jada and the creating consciousness isvara are the two bifurcated parts of the really indivisible. The One Infinite Self is absolute, absolved of all the finites or relatives that are derived from it. Hence while remaining free and absolute the Infinite Consciousness assumes in relation to the creative movement the double form or aspect of the knower and the known, the conscient and the inconscient, cetana and jada. It must be borne in mind that it is the limitless Indivisible itself that is thus limited in the form of Subject and Object.
Though it is the One Existence-Consciousness which is the substantial truth in both the created world and the Creator-Lord, in both the Object and the Subject, yet the Creator-Lord being the illuminator is termed the Self, the knower and the created world being the illuminated is termed the not-self, the known, as distinguished from the knower. Through a subtle activity or movement of its own light, this illuminating consciousness with its unlimited capacity for infinite divisibility throws out particular forms of itself, which in the subtler states are of the character of knowledge and activity and are termed mind-stuff and life-force citta and prana, and which in the grosser state become modified into what is called the inconscient world, jada.
Therefore the wise state that in ultimate truth there is no real difference between the Subject and the Object, between the Lord and His creation, as both are of the same substance and endure in a relation of identity tadatmya92
दृश्यते विषयाकारा ग्रहणे स्मरणे च धीः । प्रज्ञाविषयतादात्म्यमेवं साक्षात् प्रदृश्यते ।। > न चेत्समष्टिविज्ञानविभूतिरखिलं जगत् । विषयव्यष्टिविज्ञानतादात्म्यं नोपपद्यते ।। > (उमासहस्रम्) . And for this reason, the text is acceptable to reason, that refers to the all-becoming of the Brahman, "All this is Brahman." Therefore, consciousness in the subjective being is the illuminating cause karana and the gross world which forms the objective existence is the illumination effect. Between these two, between the world, characterised as objective existence, gross (sthula) and inconscient (jada) on one side and the conscient subjective being, the causal (karana), the Supreme self on the other, there is ever active a play of the conscious force, manifested as a movement of knowledge and activity and called mind and life-force, citta and prana and this is termed the subtle, suksma. This subtle movement of knowledge and activity, of mind and life force, at once divides and links the world and its Lord, the inconscient and the conscient. In the macrocosm it is called the world of life-force pranc-loka and other worlds still subtler. In the microcosm, the same is termed the subtle body, the suksma-deha including the sheaths of life-force and mind, pranamaya-manomaya-kosas. The relation of the inconscient and the conscient is that of the illuminator and the illuminated, and the same in terms of action becomes that of the developer and the developed, the force that works up and the thing that is worked up. When the created world is illuminated by the Conscient, the inconscient is stirred to change and development; and in the course of its development it manifests an individuation of life and mind’ resulting in the appearance of human beings. What are called ’life and mind’, though differing functionings, are really a twofold branch from the same root, viz., the conscious force which forms into a dual movement of knowledge and action, represented by mind and life. In the words of Upadesha Sara "The mind-stuff and life-force functioning as knowledge and action are twin branches from one root-source, sakti.
दृश्यते विषयाकारा ग्रहणे स्मरणे च धीः । प्रज्ञाविषयतादात्म्यमेवं साक्षात् प्रदृश्यते ।। > न चेत्समष्टिविज्ञानविभूतिरखिलं जगत् । विषयव्यष्टिविज्ञानतादात्म्यं नोपपद्यते ।। > (उमासहस्रम्) . And for this reason, the text is acceptable to reason, that refers to the all-becoming of the Brahman, "All this is Brahman."
Therefore, consciousness in the subjective being is the illuminating cause karana and the gross world which forms the objective existence is the illumination effect. Between these two, between the world, characterised as objective existence, gross (sthula) and inconscient (jada) on one side and the conscient subjective being, the causal (karana), the Supreme self on the other, there is ever active a play of the conscious force, manifested as a movement of knowledge and activity and called mind and life-force, citta and prana and this is termed the subtle, suksma.
This subtle movement of knowledge and activity, of mind and life force, at once divides and links the world and its Lord, the inconscient and the conscient. In the macrocosm it is called the world of life-force pranc-loka and other worlds still subtler. In the microcosm, the same is termed the subtle body, the suksma-deha including the sheaths of life-force and mind, pranamaya-manomaya-kosas.
The relation of the inconscient and the conscient is that of the illuminator and the illuminated, and the same in terms of action becomes that of the developer and the developed, the force that works up and the thing that is worked up. When the created world is illuminated by the Conscient, the inconscient is stirred to change and development; and in the course of its development it manifests an individuation of life and mind’ resulting in the appearance of human beings. What are called ’life and mind’, though differing functionings, are really a twofold branch from the same root, viz., the conscious force which forms into a dual movement of knowledge and action, represented by mind and life. In the words of Upadesha Sara "The mind-stuff and life-force functioning as knowledge and action are twin branches from one root-source, sakti.
Because of the difference in development among human beings who are all alike subject to conditions of space, time and causation, some are stung by a sense of bondage while others are not. The man with a sense of bonds is already on the way to freedom. Such a man is better developed than he who like a brute is unaware of his bonds, and he that has release from bondage is still better developed than one with a mere sense of bondage. The course of all this development through a gradation of stages is all a play of the Conscious Force, cit-sakti. Thus development takes place in the inconscient objective existence as well as in the subtle movement called ’knowledge and action’, vrtti, both being illuminated and thereby acted upon by the illuminating Conscient, the cause of all differentiated existence. Therefore development paripaka refers to both the subtle suksma and the gross sthula, the subtle movement of mind and life vrtti and the gross objective existence visaya. Now the nature of the bondage bandha is quite clear. The link between the subject and the object, between spirit and matter, is itself the binding element denoted by the term suksma sarira, the subtle body. Though this subtle body presenting the principle of knowledge and action is a composite of both mind and life, yet since the mind with its greater subtlety is closer to and more easily receptive of the light of Consciousness, the mind alone is sometimes called the suksma sarira, the subtle body. This subtle body is the link between matter and spirit and it binds the soul or self to the body. The self or soul then becomes lost in the bodily consciousness and hence arises the feeling and sense that the body is the self, and conversely the self is thought to have the bodily attributes of birth etc. Now then, let us see who is in bondage. The indwelling consciousness in all (sarvantaryami) which is the support of all existences presides over all that exists, over the universal and the individual, over the great and the small; therefore there is room everywhere for the subtle movement of knowledge and action, covert and overt.’ It must not be forgotten that there is an inexhaustible power inherent in this intra-cosmic spirit that presides over and resides in everything. Shakti and Shakta, the power and the powerful, are inseparable and can be separated only in mind and speech, never in fact or in experience. And this power is of the nature of a Supreme Capacity. On the smallest as on the biggest, on the collective as on the individual, the presiding and directing consciousness confers by a natural poise the capacity needed for their formation, sustenance and dissolution. It is the wonderful Shakti of the All-Conscious Supreme Lord of creation that by its very nature constitutes the capacity of the presiding veiled Intelligence to enter, hold and direct the formation, endurance and disappearance of countless finite objects. These finite objects are of endless variety, the objects of the material world having an embodiment purely physical, the objects of the vegetable kingdom with an embodiment physical-vital, and the beings of the human kind possessed of an embodiment physical-vital-mental. But on the ground that the self is limited to the body, or the spirit is bound to matter through the link of what is called the suksma sarira, the subtle movement of mind and life, it should not be mistaken that the presiding spirit is in bondage. The spirit is self-existent and eternally free and can never be in chains. Nor can it be said that because it presides, to that extent it is affected and bound. The presiding poise of the Supreme Self or Spirit is eternal and inherent in its very being, since it relates to its own becomings. The Self or the free Spirit is not fettered, nor is bondage for the body which has no sense or feeling. Who then is it that is bound and feels chained? There must be in the bondage itself, in the suksma sarira, some element that experiences the bondage, something by which the presiding Spirit is signified. That element is called the ego, ahamkara. It is a persistent though impermanent form of atman, the self, formed and centred in the vital-mental subtle body with which it identifies itself. By drawing upon the power of becoming, inherent in the gaze of the self-aware atman, it imposes itself upon thoughts and things and makes them its own; ever dependent for support, it yet poses itself as free and figures as the spirit itself. This apparent self, born in forms ever shifting from form to form, finding its mainstay in forms, itself without form, this is termed jiva or soul, in the sense that it is born and perishable and not the real self, atman. By this identification of the bondage with the bound, of the support with the supported, of the ego with the bondage which it has woven round itself, this apparent self with its central principle of ahamkara is both the bondage and the bound. This ego, which is the apparent self, a reflection of the Real Self in the vital-mental stuff called the subtle body appropriates the latter to itself, becomes it as it were, and as a consequence the subtle body is subjected to the sanction of the ego which is its immediate centre, so to speak. Like the light of the lamp, the activity of the ego extending out from this centre is imposed primarily on the subtle body which is its main domain. For the reasons thus briefly stated, a number of terms with varying connotations emphasising different aspects are used to denote this ego. It is the subtle body itself, the jiva or soul in the making, the apparent self, the mind, the link between the self and the body. It is clear then that it is this apparent self or soul-formation in the subtle body, that is stung by a sense of bondage and is actually in chains. Therefore liberation and bondage are used with reference to the ego, with its pose as self. In the undeveloped condition, it becomes active in the subtle or the gross and is then absorbed in the world of forms. That is bondage. In a developed state, it gets into a single movement of search for its source, the real self in the depths and thus becomes withdrawn or released from all subjective movements vrtti and all objects visaya which constitute the not-self. This is release. Both the power that binds and the power that releases lie latent in a germinal state in this very subtle body dominated by the ego or the apparent self. The Conscious Force directed to the creative movement brings about in the indivisible infinite Self distinct forces and finite forms, separates them from their root-source so as to produce in consciousness an experience of their distinctness, and throws them into an outgoing movement directed to grosser forms. This differentiating movement proceeding from the creative Conscious Force throws a veil of self-forgetfulness over the innumerable finite forms of Existence-Consciousness (Sat-Cit) for their definite formation. This veil of self-forgetfulness, cast over all that is formed, limited and distinct, is a function of what is called the tirodhaua sakti, the screening power over all formations in the free, eternal and infinite Self. It is this power of veiling that creates the knot between matter and spirit, causes the subtle stuff of mind and life to assume and be absorbed in grosser forms and constitutes itself as the suksma sarire, which is at once the power and property of the ego as well as its bondage. Again in this subtle body of bondage itself, there is another movement succeeding and superseding the power of self-veiling or tirodhana. This is the self-revealing power anugraha, which is but the reverse of tirodhana. By a covert and close following it holds and educates the ego which covering up the light of the conscious self poses as its figure and impels it to further development. Thus propelled, the apparent self is forced to advance through experience of pain and pleasure, through wandering about in a seemingly unending and apparently ever repeating movement of mind and life or by getting absorbed in grosser forms, only to find at the end the futility of its endless revolution in its own prison-house. Then it is the anugraha sakti that directs the egoidea to a single movement leading to the deeper and real self, and thus cuts asunder the knot of ego and dissolves the bond of the jiva or the apparent self. Thus there are two movements of the Supreme Conscious Force in creation, the one preceeding and throwing a veil over the finite formations in the infinite self, the other succeeding, with an intimate hold on them for the unfolding of the infinite in them. The self-veiling power tirodhana first envelops the ego with the covering of the subtle movement of mind and life called vrtti, and then develops it to a diffusion and loss in the objective world of forms. The tirodhana sakti, this power for bondage, is reversed and transformed into a power for release by the anugraha, which succeeds and gets a close grip on the ego or the apparent self. Then the outstreaming activity of the subtle body, mind and life’, is relaxed or withdrawn from the external and the gross, all its widespread, diffused and disorderly movement is gathered up and fixed in a single movement on the ego-sense to find its source in the self, thus involving correction or transformation of the ego which is but an impermanent and distorted figure of the eternal Self. Therefore this twofold power in the creative movement of the conscious force is ever active in the ego as well as in the subtle body which is here called the cord binding spirit to matter, the knot linking the self to the body. Such in brief outline is the true character of bondage and the bound, and of the development leading to release.
Because of the difference in development among human beings who are all alike subject to conditions of space, time and causation, some are stung by a sense of bondage while others are not. The man with a sense of bonds is already on the way to freedom. Such a man is better developed than he who like a brute is unaware of his bonds, and he that has release from bondage is still better developed than one with a mere sense of bondage. The course of all this development through a gradation of stages is all a play of the Conscious Force, cit-sakti. Thus development takes place in the inconscient objective existence as well as in the subtle movement called ’knowledge and action’, vrtti, both being illuminated and thereby acted upon by the illuminating Conscient, the cause of all differentiated existence. Therefore development paripaka refers to both the subtle suksma and the gross sthula, the subtle movement of mind and life vrtti and the gross objective existence visaya.
Now the nature of the bondage bandha is quite clear. The link between the subject and the object, between spirit and matter, is itself the binding element denoted by the term suksma sarira, the subtle body. Though this subtle body presenting the principle of knowledge and action is a composite of both mind and life, yet since the mind with its greater subtlety is closer to and more easily receptive of the light of Consciousness, the mind alone is sometimes called the suksma sarira, the subtle body.
This subtle body is the link between matter and spirit and it binds the soul or self to the body. The self or soul then becomes lost in the bodily consciousness and hence arises the feeling and sense that the body is the self, and conversely the self is thought to have the bodily attributes of birth etc. Now then, let us see who is in bondage. The indwelling consciousness in all (sarvantaryami) which is the support of all existences presides over all that exists, over the universal and the individual, over the great and the small; therefore there is room everywhere for the subtle movement of knowledge and action, covert and overt.’ It must not be forgotten that there is an inexhaustible power inherent in this intra-cosmic spirit that presides over and resides in everything. Shakti and Shakta, the power and the powerful, are inseparable and can be separated only in mind and speech, never in fact or in experience. And this power is of the nature of a Supreme Capacity.
On the smallest as on the biggest, on the collective as on the individual, the presiding and directing consciousness confers by a natural poise the capacity needed for their formation, sustenance and dissolution. It is the wonderful Shakti of the All-Conscious Supreme Lord of creation that by its very nature constitutes the capacity of the presiding veiled Intelligence to enter, hold and direct the formation, endurance and disappearance of countless finite objects. These finite objects are of endless variety, the objects of the material world having an embodiment purely physical, the objects of the vegetable kingdom with an embodiment physical-vital, and the beings of the human kind possessed of an embodiment physical-vital-mental.
But on the ground that the self is limited to the body, or the spirit is bound to matter through the link of what is called the suksma sarira, the subtle movement of mind and life, it should not be mistaken that the presiding spirit is in bondage. The spirit is self-existent and eternally free and can never be in chains. Nor can it be said that because it presides, to that extent it is affected and bound. The presiding poise of the Supreme Self or Spirit is eternal and inherent in its very being, since it relates to its own becomings. The Self or the free Spirit is not fettered, nor is bondage for the body which has no sense or feeling. Who then is it that is bound and feels chained? There must be in the bondage itself, in the suksma sarira, some element that experiences the bondage, something by which the presiding Spirit is signified. That element is called the ego, ahamkara. It is a persistent though impermanent form of atman, the self, formed and centred in the vital-mental subtle body with which it identifies itself. By drawing upon the power of becoming, inherent in the gaze of the self-aware atman, it imposes itself upon thoughts and things and makes them its own; ever dependent for support, it yet poses itself as free and figures as the spirit itself. This apparent self, born in forms ever shifting from form to form, finding its mainstay in forms, itself without form, this is termed jiva or soul, in the sense that it is born and perishable and not the real self, atman. By this identification of the bondage with the bound, of the support with the supported, of the ego with the bondage which it has woven round itself, this apparent self with its central principle of ahamkara is both the bondage and the bound.
This ego, which is the apparent self, a reflection of the Real Self in the vital-mental stuff called the subtle body appropriates the latter to itself, becomes it as it were, and as a consequence the subtle body is subjected to the sanction of the ego which is its immediate centre, so to speak. Like the light of the lamp, the activity of the ego extending out from this centre is imposed primarily on the subtle body which is its main domain. For the reasons thus briefly stated, a number of terms with varying connotations emphasising different aspects are used to denote this ego. It is the subtle body itself, the jiva or soul in the making, the apparent self, the mind, the link between the self and the body. It is clear then that it is this apparent self or soul-formation in the subtle body, that is stung by a sense of bondage and is actually in chains. Therefore liberation and bondage are used with reference to the ego, with its pose as self. In the undeveloped condition, it becomes active in the subtle or the gross and is then absorbed in the world of forms. That is bondage. In a developed state, it gets into a single movement of search for its source, the real self in the depths and thus becomes withdrawn or released from all subjective movements vrtti and all objects visaya which constitute the not-self. This is release. Both the power that binds and the power that releases lie latent in a germinal state in this very subtle body dominated by the ego or the apparent self. The Conscious Force directed to the creative movement brings about in the indivisible infinite Self distinct forces and finite forms, separates them from their root-source so as to produce in consciousness an experience of their distinctness, and throws them into an outgoing movement directed to grosser forms. This differentiating movement proceeding from the creative Conscious Force throws a veil of self-forgetfulness over the innumerable finite forms of Existence-Consciousness (Sat-Cit) for their definite formation. This veil of self-forgetfulness, cast over all that is formed, limited and distinct, is a function of what is called the tirodhaua sakti, the screening power over all formations in the free, eternal and infinite Self. It is this power of veiling that creates the knot between matter and spirit, causes the subtle stuff of mind and life to assume and be absorbed in grosser forms and constitutes itself as the suksma sarire, which is at once the power and property of the ego as well as its bondage.
Again in this subtle body of bondage itself, there is another movement succeeding and superseding the power of self-veiling or tirodhana. This is the self-revealing power anugraha, which is but the reverse of tirodhana. By a covert and close following it holds and educates the ego which covering up the light of the conscious self poses as its figure and impels it to further development. Thus propelled, the apparent self is forced to advance through experience of pain and pleasure, through wandering about in a seemingly unending and apparently ever repeating movement of mind and life or by getting absorbed in grosser forms, only to find at the end the futility of its endless revolution in its own prison-house. Then it is the anugraha sakti that directs the egoidea to a single movement leading to the deeper and real self, and thus cuts asunder the knot of ego and dissolves the bond of the jiva or the apparent self.
Thus there are two movements of the Supreme Conscious Force in creation, the one preceeding and throwing a veil over the finite formations in the infinite self, the other succeeding, with an intimate hold on them for the unfolding of the infinite in them. The self-veiling power tirodhana first envelops the ego with the covering of the subtle movement of mind and life called vrtti, and then develops it to a diffusion and loss in the objective world of forms. The tirodhana sakti, this power for bondage, is reversed and transformed into a power for release by the anugraha, which succeeds and gets a close grip on the ego or the apparent self. Then the outstreaming activity of the subtle body, mind and life’, is relaxed or withdrawn from the external and the gross, all its widespread, diffused and disorderly movement is gathered up and fixed in a single movement on the ego-sense to find its source in the self, thus involving correction or transformation of the ego which is but an impermanent and distorted figure of the eternal Self. Therefore this twofold power in the creative movement of the conscious force is ever active in the ego as well as in the subtle body which is here called the cord binding spirit to matter, the knot linking the self to the body.
Such in brief outline is the true character of bondage and the bound, and of the development leading to release.
The Upanishads use the third person in stating the nature of Brahman as the Supreme Sole Reality, as for instance in texts93
When like sparks from the flaming fire the innumerable soul forms or jivas get differentiated from the Brahman, it is the sole Self, the basis of the notion of ’l’ that is signified in the various individuals. For Brahman is the Self that has become the self in and of all created beings. And this self is really the Supreme Self parama atman, the Lord of all, one without a second. It is the self, the basis of ’I-notion,’ that is really signified in the various individuals, in X and in Y. Free and Supreme in itself, it becomes the basis and support of the distinct experience of the separate egos formed in the different individuals. As it is the one unmanifest Infinite that becomes the support of all manifested beings, the self in them is not different from but is the same as the One Infinite Self. And this is the essential sense of the philosophic teaching that there are not many selves but only one Self. Now then, the paramartha, the supreme sense of ’I’ is the Supreme Self, unmanifest and infinite, the Purusha. At the same time, as the inner self and support of all individual manifestations, He is the real significance of ’T’ its laksyartha, the ’l’ really signified in the individuals. The immediate and apparent sense of ’I’ is the ego, as even this is a derivation from and figure of the Inner Self, by whose covert support it poses as the self on the surface, identifying itself with, and appropriating to itself, the subtle stuff of ’mind and life’ that links the spirit with matter, the self with the body. As the ego, which is the direct and immediate sense of ’l’ is centred and figured in each of the distinct and separate individuals in a subtle movement of life-force and mind-stuff, it is termed jiva here. This sense of l’ is separate in each individual being and preserving the distinctness of the individual behaves in a manner that would strengthen the individual’s distinct character. But such a movement of the ego or the apparent self has its root and support in something that is the real basis of individuality and that does not move with or lose itself in the movement of the apparent self, a something that is a continuous conscious principle related to the past, present and future; that is the Real Self signified, the laksyartha, in the individual, of which the ego is the apparent self. This latter is different in different individuals and is loosely called the jiva atman. But atman the self is really one; the self of all individuals as of all existence is one. But jivas or living beings are many, as many as the individuals that are formed. These are soul-formations that are dissoluble in time, unlike their supporting self which is eternal, being identical with the Infinite Eternal which maintains its many-centred existence in an endless movement of formation and dissolution. Thus we see that there are three distinct senses in which ’I’ is used. The supreme meaning of ’I’, its paramartha, is the Purusha who becomes the laksyartha the signified sense in the individual, as it is the same self that presides over individual existence and the immediate or apparent sense of ’I’, vacya artha, is the ego or the apparent self formed temporarily for purposes of individuation. Threefold then is the sense of the Self, the ’I’ and in this threefold sense is it to be understood.
When like sparks from the flaming fire the innumerable soul forms or jivas get differentiated from the Brahman, it is the sole Self, the basis of the notion of ’l’ that is signified in the various individuals. For Brahman is the Self that has become the self in and of all created beings. And this self is really the Supreme Self parama atman, the Lord of all, one without a second. It is the self, the basis of ’I-notion,’ that is really signified in the various individuals, in X and in Y. Free and Supreme in itself, it becomes the basis and support of the distinct experience of the separate egos formed in the different individuals. As it is the one unmanifest Infinite that becomes the support of all manifested beings, the self in them is not different from but is the same as the One Infinite Self. And this is the essential sense of the philosophic teaching that there are not many selves but only one Self.
Now then, the paramartha, the supreme sense of ’I’ is the Supreme Self, unmanifest and infinite, the Purusha. At the same time, as the inner self and support of all individual manifestations, He is the real significance of ’T’ its laksyartha, the ’l’ really signified in the individuals. The immediate and apparent sense of ’I’ is the ego, as even this is a derivation from and figure of the Inner Self, by whose covert support it poses as the self on the surface, identifying itself with, and appropriating to itself, the subtle stuff of ’mind and life’ that links the spirit with matter, the self with the body.
As the ego, which is the direct and immediate sense of ’l’ is centred and figured in each of the distinct and separate individuals in a subtle movement of life-force and mind-stuff, it is termed jiva here. This sense of l’ is separate in each individual being and preserving the distinctness of the individual behaves in a manner that would strengthen the individual’s distinct character. But such a movement of the ego or the apparent self has its root and support in something that is the real basis of individuality and that does not move with or lose itself in the movement of the apparent self, a something that is a continuous conscious principle related to the past, present and future; that is the Real Self signified, the laksyartha, in the individual, of which the ego is the apparent self. This latter is different in different individuals and is loosely called the jiva atman. But atman the self is really one; the self of all individuals as of all existence is one. But jivas or living beings are many, as many as the individuals that are formed. These are soul-formations that are dissoluble in time, unlike their supporting self which is eternal, being identical with the Infinite Eternal which maintains its many-centred existence in an endless movement of formation and dissolution.
Thus we see that there are three distinct senses in which ’I’ is used. The supreme meaning of ’I’, its paramartha, is the Purusha who becomes the laksyartha the signified sense in the individual, as it is the same self that presides over individual existence and the immediate or apparent sense of ’I’, vacya artha, is the ego or the apparent self formed temporarily for purposes of individuation. Threefold then is the sense of the Self, the ’I’ and in this threefold sense is it to be understood.
Release is said to be a liberation of the soul or jiva from the bondage in which it is lost. This bondage has been described as a knot tying spirit to matter. It has been also stated that the real nature of this bondage consists in the play of the ego or the apparent consciousness. Hence the Shastras lay down that liberation is nothing but the dissolution of the ego, and show the means of such dissolution. Elsewhere is discussed the difference between the bound man and the liberated. It is sufficient here to note what is common to both in order to clear a possible misapprehension that with the dissolution of the ego individuality also is dissolved. When the ego is dissolved or reformed individuality is not destroyed. The self that supports the individuality is a continuous conscious principle that survives the appearance and disappearance of the ego and does not depend upon the ego for the preservation of its individuality. This self, as has been already noted, is none other than the infinite self which, in maintaining a manifold individuality in its own movement of all-becoming, becomes the self of each individual, in which, however, there is a play on the surface of a figure of the self, called the ego or the apparent self. This latter is a temporary formation and like every formation is dissoluble in time. The individual in whom the bondage is shattered and the ego is dissolved retains his individuality even after the release mukti. He can recall in his liberated state the experiences of his former life in bondage and thus connect the past of his distinct individuality in an unbroken continuity with the present. The individuality persists in spite of the withdrawal of the ego, and it is a mistaken notion that the ego is a permanent mark or eternal expression of individuality. Perhaps a real and more enduring individuality commences only from liberation, in the absence of the disfiguring ego and its interference. Therefore the liberated life of the jivan mukta is an ideal realised in the individual. So then, whether a soul is in bondage or released from it, the individuality persists, because it is the direct concern of the Infinite and not at all of the ego. Certain truths about the mukta or the liberated soul are stated in the Ramana Gita (Ch. VII, IX, XIV) to which we shall later make reference. Though experience alone can verify their truth and one must have taken to spiritual life and have had some kind of personal experience before one can understand and appreciate them, the true state of the liberated man, mukta purusa, is described there with many details regarding the wonderful development that comes upon his body, life and mind, in order to strengthen the faith of the intelligent critic of earnest enquiry, and to infuse interest and spirit into him. As bondage and release refer to the jiva or the apparent self, the doubt arises if the means of release lies with the jiva or not. An answer is possible either way. It may be argued that if the jiva be the cause of bondage then the means of liberation also lies with him. In that case, since the jiva is a formation in the suksma deha, the subtle stuff between the self and the body, he is bound in matter and freed in spirit. The element of jada, the inconscient in him, causes the bondage and that of consciousness works for release. On the other hand, it may be urged that since in reality the jiva himself is said to be a formation identified with bondage he is not the cause of his own imprisonment. finds himself there as the apparent self bound to a movement of the subtle body which he has made his own by a sort of identity. So then, if we remember that this bondage is the work of the selfveiling power tirodhana in the creative movement itself and that release is the result of a succeeding movement of the conscious force called anugraha, the Grace, we are led to conclude that mukti or liberation is a matter of development. The power of grace of He Sat-darshana Bhashya 301 the supreme Lord of all existence, the Infinite Self, chooses the developed jiva, the pakva, removes the deflection of the apparent self in him, and transforms the ego into a true reflection of Himself, ever signified as the free and the real ’I’ in the individual. The Upanishad is clear upon this point and will bear quotation.95
Release is said to be a liberation of the soul or jiva from the bondage in which it is lost. This bondage has been described as a knot tying spirit to matter. It has been also stated that the real nature of this bondage consists in the play of the ego or the apparent consciousness. Hence the Shastras lay down that liberation is nothing but the dissolution of the ego, and show the means of such dissolution. Elsewhere is discussed the difference between the bound man and the liberated. It is sufficient here to note what is common to both in order to clear a possible misapprehension that with the dissolution of the ego individuality also is dissolved. When the ego is dissolved or reformed individuality is not destroyed. The self that supports the individuality is a continuous conscious principle that survives the appearance and disappearance of the ego and does not depend upon the ego for the preservation of its individuality. This self, as has been already noted, is none other than the infinite self which, in maintaining a manifold individuality in its own movement of all-becoming, becomes the self of each individual, in which, however, there is a play on the surface of a figure of the self, called the ego or the apparent self. This latter is a temporary formation and like every formation is dissoluble in time. The individual in whom the bondage is shattered and the ego is dissolved retains his individuality even after the release mukti. He can recall in his liberated state the experiences of his former life in bondage and thus connect the past of his distinct individuality in an unbroken continuity with the present. The individuality persists in spite of the withdrawal of the ego, and it is a mistaken notion that the ego is a permanent mark or eternal expression of individuality. Perhaps a real and more enduring individuality commences only from liberation, in the absence of the disfiguring ego and its interference. Therefore the liberated life of the jivan mukta is an ideal realised in the individual. So then, whether a soul is in bondage or released from it, the individuality persists, because it is the direct concern of the Infinite and not at all of the ego. Certain truths about the mukta or the liberated soul are stated in the Ramana Gita (Ch. VII, IX, XIV) to which we shall later make reference. Though experience alone can verify their truth and one must have taken to spiritual life and have had some kind of personal experience before one can understand and appreciate them, the true state of the liberated man, mukta purusa, is described there with many details regarding the wonderful development that comes upon his body, life and mind, in order to strengthen the faith of the intelligent critic of earnest enquiry, and to infuse interest and spirit into him.
As bondage and release refer to the jiva or the apparent self, the doubt arises if the means of release lies with the jiva or not. An answer is possible either way. It may be argued that if the jiva be the cause of bondage then the means of liberation also lies with him. In that case, since the jiva is a formation in the suksma deha, the subtle stuff between the self and the body, he is bound in matter and freed in spirit. The element of jada, the inconscient in him, causes the bondage and that of consciousness works for release. On the other hand, it may be urged that since in reality the jiva himself is said to be a formation identified with bondage he is not the cause of his own imprisonment. finds himself there as the apparent self bound to a movement of the subtle body which he has made his own by a sort of identity. So then, if we remember that this bondage is the work of the selfveiling power tirodhana in the creative movement itself and that release is the result of a succeeding movement of the conscious force called anugraha, the Grace, we are led to conclude that mukti or liberation is a matter of development. The power of grace of He Sat-darshana Bhashya 301 the supreme Lord of all existence, the Infinite Self, chooses the developed jiva, the pakva, removes the deflection of the apparent self in him, and transforms the ego into a true reflection of Himself, ever signified as the free and the real ’I’ in the individual. The Upanishad is clear upon this point and will bear quotation.95
We have already stated that it is a double movement of the creative conscious force which by the play of her Maya manifests as a self-veiling power constituting itself as bondage and also as a revealing power moving towards release. As we have seen that it is the jiva or the apparent self that is chained and released, it is clear that the jiva in the individual is born and disappears. At the same time it must be borne in mind that the self of the individual jiva is free from the temporary character of the jiva and is not subject to the changes attendant on the formation of the soul called jiva.
If it is the Grace that causes the dissolution of the ego and founds in the jiva a true reflection of the self, a consummation which is called self-attainment atmclabha, the doubt may arise that human effort can be safely omitted and that the Shastras that point to the jiva the means and methods for his liberation are purposeless and futile. But the doubt is groundless. The egostruck jiva, as the apparent self posing himself as free, cannot stand still and refrain from effort until he realises his freedom in the Self. Human effort is inevitable and has its purpose so long as one experiences the sense of bondage and dependence. The Grace of the Conscious Light upon the apparent self jiva fulfils itself in an impulsion from within or compulsion from without for human effort. And effort takes various forms, such as meditation and concentration upon the true nature of the Self, absolute submission to a Higher Will and surrender to Him of all that one is and all that one has, as the only proper course for a human soul to take, and other disciplines or sadhanas, well-known or ill-known enjoined or unenjoined by the Shastras, or it may adopt any other method such as Raja yoga, Mantra yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Karma yoga, the last three constituting the triple path of devotion, knowledge and disinterested action. Human effort adopts any or all of these means either for the Realisation of the Self, or for the attainment of the Nishkala, Impersonal, or of the Sakala, Personal God, the goal of all religions. Therefore human effort is not opposed to Divine Grace; on the other hand it is an instrument of the latter. The great Advaita Acharya Shri Shankara and Shri Maharshi Ramana agree upon the central teaching of the Upanishads, the oneness of the self with Brahman. But there are certain points of difference between them. The passages stating the world as false, unreal or illusory do not leap to the eye in the Upanishads but are discoverable only by a close search and they are taken as affirming the illusory character of the world by some sort of interpretation; after all they do not affirm the illusoriness of the world in clear categorical terms. Maharshi holds that the statement of the illusory nature of the world is but a means of creating disgust for what is impermanent in the world, thus driving you home to search for thy Self, for what is permanent in you. Again in the authoritative works of Acharya Shankara’s school certain truths are either omitted or slightly touched, and if mentioned at all, they are expounded in such a way as to give room to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. In the works96
If it is the Grace that causes the dissolution of the ego and founds in the jiva a true reflection of the self, a consummation which is called self-attainment atmclabha, the doubt may arise that human effort can be safely omitted and that the Shastras that point to the jiva the means and methods for his liberation are purposeless and futile. But the doubt is groundless. The egostruck jiva, as the apparent self posing himself as free, cannot stand still and refrain from effort until he realises his freedom in the Self. Human effort is inevitable and has its purpose so long as one experiences the sense of bondage and dependence. The Grace of the Conscious Light upon the apparent self jiva fulfils itself in an impulsion from within or compulsion from without for human effort. And effort takes various forms, such as meditation and concentration upon the true nature of the Self, absolute submission to a Higher Will and surrender to Him of all that one is and all that one has, as the only proper course for a human soul to take, and other disciplines or sadhanas, well-known or ill-known enjoined or unenjoined by the Shastras, or it may adopt any other method such as Raja yoga, Mantra yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Karma yoga, the last three constituting the triple path of devotion, knowledge and disinterested action. Human effort adopts any or all of these means either for the Realisation of the Self, or for the attainment of the Nishkala, Impersonal, or of the Sakala, Personal God, the goal of all religions. Therefore human effort is not opposed to Divine Grace; on the other hand it is an instrument of the latter.
The great Advaita Acharya Shri Shankara and Shri Maharshi Ramana agree upon the central teaching of the Upanishads, the oneness of the self with Brahman. But there are certain points of difference between them. The passages stating the world as false, unreal or illusory do not leap to the eye in the Upanishads but are discoverable only by a close search and they are taken as affirming the illusory character of the world by some sort of interpretation; after all they do not affirm the illusoriness of the world in clear categorical terms. Maharshi holds that the statement of the illusory nature of the world is but a means of creating disgust for what is impermanent in the world, thus driving you home to search for thy Self, for what is permanent in you. Again in the authoritative works of Acharya Shankara’s school certain truths are either omitted or slightly touched, and if mentioned at all, they are expounded in such a way as to give room to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. In the works96
One of such truths is the necessity of Upasana.97
Such is the unconventional and rational attitude revealed in the works as well as in the life of Shri Maharshi. Again just as there are98
Such is the unconventional and rational attitude revealed in the works as well as in the life of Shri Maharshi.
Again just as there are98
The conventional interpretation of dahara vidya is this: Since the Supreme Brahman is impersonal, nirguna, and beyond mind and speech, for purposes of meditation one has to form by the imaginative mind a concept of the Saguna Brahman or Personal God, and fixing it in the space called hrd-guha, the cavity of the Heart, meditate upon it. Of course this Saguna Brahman is meant for the weak, manda adhikarin, who cannot realise the supreme Brahman who is Nirguna, Impersonal. The HridayaVidya that Shri Maharshi teaches is different from the Dahara Vidya thus understood. Here is not indispensable an intellectual knowledge either of the Personal or of the Impersonal Brahman. Nor is it necessary to conceive a spatial symbol of the Purusha, or any cavity as the dwelling place of the Purusha. Nor is it suggested that the Saguna Brahman should be fixed in the imagined dahara akasa, the cavity of the Heart-centre and there meditated upon. As Brahman the All-Existence has become the self in every one’s being in the centre called hrdaya, Heart, and is there effulgent as the imperishable I-conciousness, a serious quest for the origin and support of one’s own being naturally impels the lifebreath or inspires the mind to move towards the origin of its own movement. And in this deeper movement of search for the Self, the root knot of ignorance in the Heart, the hrdaya granthi is automatically loosened, if not cut asunder; the soul is liberated from the bodily tangle and restored to the self in the Heart; and the origin and support of the I-thought or the ego-sense is realised in the Heart as one’s own real self. This self-attainment leads to the realisation of the truth that it is Brahman, the Self, of All-Existence, that is ablaze in one’s heart as the Self of the jiva and thus results in the experience of conscious union of the jiva with Brahman. Hence the secret of this Sad-Vidya or Hridaya Upasana is the truth that self-realisation culminates in the conscious union of jiva with Brahman Great are the results of success or perfection in this Upasana. The knot of ignorance in the heart is untied, the soul is released from the hold of the body, there is a settled state, natural and unstrained, of the equipoised mind in the self, and there is an intimate realisation in the heart of the oneness of jiva and isvara. Therefore it is that in the exposition of the nature of sat-darsana we find it stated, “To live settled in the Reality (Existence as it is) by realising one’s identity with it is Sat-darshana, Realisation of Truth or Perception of Reality.” Again in describing the nature of atma-darsana or Perception of Self this Shastra states that the finite self or jiva must become the food99
The conventional interpretation of dahara vidya is this: Since the Supreme Brahman is impersonal, nirguna, and beyond mind and speech, for purposes of meditation one has to form by the imaginative mind a concept of the Saguna Brahman or Personal God, and fixing it in the space called hrd-guha, the cavity of the Heart, meditate upon it. Of course this Saguna Brahman is meant for the weak, manda adhikarin, who cannot realise the supreme Brahman who is Nirguna, Impersonal. The HridayaVidya that Shri Maharshi teaches is different from the Dahara Vidya thus understood. Here is not indispensable an intellectual knowledge either of the Personal or of the Impersonal Brahman. Nor is it necessary to conceive a spatial symbol of the Purusha, or any cavity as the dwelling place of the Purusha. Nor is it suggested that the Saguna Brahman should be fixed in the imagined dahara akasa, the cavity of the Heart-centre and there meditated upon. As Brahman the All-Existence has become the self in every one’s being in the centre called hrdaya, Heart, and is there effulgent as the imperishable I-conciousness, a serious quest for the origin and support of one’s own being naturally impels the lifebreath or inspires the mind to move towards the origin of its own movement. And in this deeper movement of search for the Self, the root knot of ignorance in the Heart, the hrdaya granthi is automatically loosened, if not cut asunder; the soul is liberated from the bodily tangle and restored to the self in the Heart; and the origin and support of the I-thought or the ego-sense is realised in the Heart as one’s own real self. This self-attainment leads to the realisation of the truth that it is Brahman, the Self, of All-Existence, that is ablaze in one’s heart as the Self of the jiva and thus results in the experience of conscious union of the jiva with Brahman. Hence the secret of this Sad-Vidya or Hridaya Upasana is the truth that self-realisation culminates in the conscious union of jiva with Brahman
Great are the results of success or perfection in this Upasana. The knot of ignorance in the heart is untied, the soul is released from the hold of the body, there is a settled state, natural and unstrained, of the equipoised mind in the self, and there is an intimate realisation in the heart of the oneness of jiva and isvara. Therefore it is that in the exposition of the nature of sat-darsana we find it stated, “To live settled in the Reality (Existence as it is) by realising one’s identity with it is Sat-darshana, Realisation of Truth or Perception of Reality.” Again in describing the nature of atma-darsana or Perception of Self this Shastra states that the finite self or jiva must become the food99
Thus the state of Realisation, the fruit of success in Hridaya Vidya, can be viewed from two different standpoints as Kaivalya and as Sayujya, setting in the Self as the sole Reality and the attainment of conscious union with Brahman. And because of this dual aspect of Truth-Realisation, we find Sat-Darshana explained in one place and Atma-Darshana in another. Since the state of the jivan-mukta, of one who lives released from bondage can thus be understood and described in two ways, in the two opening verses of benediction, mangala slokas, Shri Maharshi mentions the niskala Brahman for nistha and the sakala Brahman as the sole refuge and subject of conscious union, sayujya. Again, in the account of the difference between the bound man and the liberated, there is a remarkable verse revealing profound truths about the liberated life in the bodily existence. Referring to the Siddha, the perfected man who has his life and being in the Heart and who has learnt to live normally in and move and act from it, the verse says, “In his body, the self is awake and aglow in the Heart; by its own light it pervades, possesses, and overpowers the body, the environment and the world at large, and lives full.” When development comes upon the man in bondage and under its stress his bonds are shattered, the effulgence of consciousness of the supreme essential life-breath srestha or mukhya prana which moves covertly in the body like salt dissolved in water withdraws from the body and the bodily consciousness, and turns to the source of its own movement, the hrdaya, which is the seat of the ’I’. consciousness. Entering and retiring into the Heart, it is caught up in the grip of its Lord, the Lord of all existence, seated there as one’s own deepest being, the Self; and directed thence by Him it takes a different course in its movement and abandoning the habitual passage for bondage takes the path for freedom. As the light of the lamp pierces through the enclosure of the chimney, this conscious light of life streams out from the Heart through what in yogic parlance is called amrta nadi, atma nadi, brahma nadi, or mukhya prana nadi, and sweeping aside all obstruction overpowers the body and permeates the environment and the world. In lucid and unmistakable language it is stated in the Ramana Gita that though the Self has no motion the splendour of its light is an eternal active movement; itself of the nature of development, it hastens the development of others and it is not at all a stone-like inertness like the apparently static Inconscient. “No torpor in the natural poise of the Self, sahaja sthiti.” “Settled State in the Self, that alone is tapas unshakable." “By that unremitting tapas (the ardour of creative energy) development takes place moment after moment." “Whoever sees knowledge Jnana as divorced from power sakti, such an one knows not." "sahaja nistha, natural settled state in Self yields a development by which powers saktis manifest. “That state is the Supreme Power, that peace is the Supreme Calm." “He is a jivan-mukta who in embodied existence lives liberated.” "By the development in tapas, the jivan-mukta in course of time becomes intangible even while embodied, and still in the course of further development he becomes invisible, and that perfected one, Siddha, now but a sublime centre of consciousness goes about free in his movements." Passages such as these from the teachings of Shri Maharshi throw light upon the greatness of the soul liberated alive, jivanmukta.
Thus the state of Realisation, the fruit of success in Hridaya Vidya, can be viewed from two different standpoints as Kaivalya and as Sayujya, setting in the Self as the sole Reality and the attainment of conscious union with Brahman. And because of this dual aspect of Truth-Realisation, we find Sat-Darshana explained in one place and Atma-Darshana in another.
Since the state of the jivan-mukta, of one who lives released from bondage can thus be understood and described in two ways, in the two opening verses of benediction, mangala slokas, Shri Maharshi mentions the niskala Brahman for nistha and the sakala Brahman as the sole refuge and subject of conscious union, sayujya.
Again, in the account of the difference between the bound man and the liberated, there is a remarkable verse revealing profound truths about the liberated life in the bodily existence. Referring to the Siddha, the perfected man who has his life and being in the Heart and who has learnt to live normally in and move and act from it, the verse says, “In his body, the self is awake and aglow in the Heart; by its own light it pervades, possesses, and overpowers the body, the environment and the world at large, and lives full.” When development comes upon the man in bondage and under its stress his bonds are shattered, the effulgence of consciousness of the supreme essential life-breath srestha or mukhya prana which moves covertly in the body like salt dissolved in water withdraws from the body and the bodily consciousness, and turns to the source of its own movement, the hrdaya, which is the seat of the ’I’. consciousness. Entering and retiring into the Heart, it is caught up in the grip of its Lord, the Lord of all existence, seated there as one’s own deepest being, the Self; and directed thence by Him it takes a different course in its movement and abandoning the habitual passage for bondage takes the path for freedom. As the light of the lamp pierces through the enclosure of the chimney, this conscious light of life streams out from the Heart through what in yogic parlance is called amrta nadi, atma nadi, brahma nadi, or mukhya prana nadi, and sweeping aside all obstruction overpowers the body and permeates the environment and the world. In lucid and unmistakable language it is stated in the Ramana Gita that though the Self has no motion the splendour of its light is an eternal active movement; itself of the nature of development, it hastens the development of others and it is not at all a stone-like inertness like the apparently static Inconscient.
“No torpor in the natural poise of the Self, sahaja sthiti.”
“Settled State in the Self, that alone is tapas unshakable."
“By that unremitting tapas (the ardour of creative energy) development takes place moment after moment."
“Whoever sees knowledge Jnana as divorced from power sakti, such an one knows not."
"sahaja nistha, natural settled state in Self yields a development by which powers saktis manifest.
“That state is the Supreme Power, that peace is the Supreme Calm."
“He is a jivan-mukta who in embodied existence lives liberated.”
"By the development in tapas, the jivan-mukta in course of time becomes intangible even while embodied, and still in the course of further development he becomes invisible, and that perfected one, Siddha, now but a sublime centre of consciousness goes about free in his movements."
Passages such as these from the teachings of Shri Maharshi throw light upon the greatness of the soul liberated alive, jivanmukta.
There is a great secret mentioned in the 100
Hence this Shastra ’Sat-darshana’ represents the teaching of the Supreme and Original Teacher of mankind who has given it to the World through Shri Maharshi Ramana in whom he is verily incarnate with one of His parts, nijakala.
(How the work was given to the world) This work was first written by Shri Maharshi in Tamil stanzas, forty-two in number including the first two benedictory verses, to give intellectual satisfaction to the earnest devotee of a metaphysical bent. It was rendered into Sanskrit, verse for verse, by his great disciple, the well-known scholar and genius Vasishtha Ganapati Muni. As the title of the work shows, it is a discourse on the perception or realisation of Truth. Sat-darsana is a compound word formed of Sat and Darshana, Sat meaning primarily existence and secondarily the real and the true, and darsana meaning perception. It is direct perception of Truth that is here meant by the term. Indeed this work is based upon the Maharshi’s perception of Truth, and from this it derives its title “Truth-Perception’. But Darshana’ also means a system of philosophy, such as the Nyaya and other Darshanas of the post-shruti period. Even in this sense, the work is a darshana, a philosophy of the Real. For the epigrammatic verses packed with profound thoughts yield a wealth of philosophic concepts furnishing sufficient material for the metaphysical basis of a philosophy that is involved in an intellectual statement of the Maharshi’s attitude to life and earthly existence. As there is nothing that is really unreal, a fact that is often stressed by Shri Maharshi, this system may be appropriately called a ’True Realism’ or ’Ideal Realism’. It is needless to say that this Shastra is not intended either to refute or to support the current systems such as the Saivite and the Vaishnavite, the Dvaita and the Advaita. It does not follow the method of metaphysical speculation, such as characterises the Nyaya and other systems of the Sutra period. Nor does it purport, like the two Mimamsas of Jaimini and Badarayana to harmonise and to remove doubts or misconceptions in scriptural texts or other authoritative utterances of great souls. Like the sacred words of the Tamil Veda of Saint Nammalvar or of Manikka Vachaka, and like the texts of the Upanishads, the words of the Maharshi are an original and independent utterance based upon personal experience, and though they support and elucidate authoritative pronouncements both of the scriptures and of exalted souls, they have really an independent origin and validity coming as they do directly from himself.
(How the work was given to the world)
This work was first written by Shri Maharshi in Tamil stanzas, forty-two in number including the first two benedictory verses, to give intellectual satisfaction to the earnest devotee of a metaphysical bent. It was rendered into Sanskrit, verse for verse, by his great disciple, the well-known scholar and genius Vasishtha Ganapati Muni. As the title of the work shows, it is a discourse on the perception or realisation of Truth. Sat-darsana is a compound word formed of Sat and Darshana, Sat meaning primarily existence and secondarily the real and the true, and darsana meaning perception. It is direct perception of Truth that is here meant by the term. Indeed this work is based upon the Maharshi’s perception of Truth, and from this it derives its title “Truth-Perception’. But Darshana’ also means a system of philosophy, such as the Nyaya and other Darshanas of the post-shruti period. Even in this sense, the work is a darshana, a philosophy of the Real. For the epigrammatic verses packed with profound thoughts yield a wealth of philosophic concepts furnishing sufficient material for the metaphysical basis of a philosophy that is involved in an intellectual statement of the Maharshi’s attitude to life and earthly existence. As there is nothing that is really unreal, a fact that is often stressed by Shri Maharshi, this system may be appropriately called a ’True Realism’ or ’Ideal Realism’.
It is needless to say that this Shastra is not intended either to refute or to support the current systems such as the Saivite and the Vaishnavite, the Dvaita and the Advaita. It does not follow the method of metaphysical speculation, such as characterises the Nyaya and other systems of the Sutra period. Nor does it purport, like the two Mimamsas of Jaimini and Badarayana to harmonise and to remove doubts or misconceptions in scriptural texts or other authoritative utterances of great souls. Like the sacred words of the Tamil Veda of Saint Nammalvar or of Manikka Vachaka, and like the texts of the Upanishads, the words of the Maharshi are an original and independent utterance based upon personal experience, and though they support and elucidate authoritative pronouncements both of the scriptures and of exalted souls, they have really an independent origin and validity coming as they do directly from himself.
In his sixteenth year, the great Acharya Shankara, according to tradition, completed his matchless Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras, and fulfilling the work of the Supreme Teacher, the karana Guru, by establishing the identity of Atman with Brahman rose to the position of Jagad-guru or world-teacher. In his sixteenth year, the great devotee, Saint Jnana Sambandha, an ornament to the famous quartette of Acharyas of Shaivaism, completed his earthly career and reached the abode of the Lord whom he worshipped and recognised as his own Father and whose commission he carried out in his earthly life. Just on the completion of his sixteenth year, the great seer and sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, from fear of death sought in himself the protection of the Conqueror of Death, experiencing his inner being the Self in the Heart, as something distinct from the body; and feeling the urge of a supreme impulse recognised the Father of the universe as his own Father, and by His command quitted the post of his ego-self and reached, here and now in this earthly life, the Abode of his father, which he describes in his hymns as the immutable rock of Peace, the ambrosial ocean of Grace the Supreme Love, the ineffable Delight, the Ananda of the Real. His life throws a flood of illumination on the great mystic teaching of the Upanishad, “Great is your loss if you do not realise; but if you realise it here, then there is Truth for you.” Ever gracious to come down to those in need of help in ways best suited to them, scattering ennobling ideas and radiating uplifting influence constantly shedding all around in external life the splendour and glory of the inner life, here indeed is a divine life incarnate on earth, a Shankara in giving by precept and practice the gift of Self-knowledge to the world of earnest souls aspiring for liberation, a Sambandha in the spirit of devotion to the Father of the universe, a life-celibate unseized by the lure of sex and worldly possession, a soul liberated from Maya, illusion, a son of Maya, the Divine Mother, such is the great seer and sage, Shri Ramana Maharshi.
In his sixteenth year, the great Acharya Shankara, according to tradition, completed his matchless Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras, and fulfilling the work of the Supreme Teacher, the karana Guru, by establishing the identity of Atman with Brahman rose to the position of Jagad-guru or world-teacher.
In his sixteenth year, the great devotee, Saint Jnana Sambandha, an ornament to the famous quartette of Acharyas of Shaivaism, completed his earthly career and reached the abode of the Lord whom he worshipped and recognised as his own Father and whose commission he carried out in his earthly life.
Just on the completion of his sixteenth year, the great seer and sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, from fear of death sought in himself the protection of the Conqueror of Death, experiencing his inner being the Self in the Heart, as something distinct from the body; and feeling the urge of a supreme impulse recognised the Father of the universe as his own Father, and by His command quitted the post of his ego-self and reached, here and now in this earthly life, the Abode of his father, which he describes in his hymns as the immutable rock of Peace, the ambrosial ocean of Grace the Supreme Love, the ineffable Delight, the Ananda of the Real.
His life throws a flood of illumination on the great mystic teaching of the Upanishad, “Great is your loss if you do not realise; but if you realise it here, then there is Truth for you.” Ever gracious to come down to those in need of help in ways best suited to them, scattering ennobling ideas and radiating uplifting influence constantly shedding all around in external life the splendour and glory of the inner life, here indeed is a divine life incarnate on earth, a Shankara in giving by precept and practice the gift of Self-knowledge to the world of earnest souls aspiring for liberation, a Sambandha in the spirit of devotion to the Father of the universe, a life-celibate unseized by the lure of sex and worldly possession, a soul liberated from Maya, illusion, a son of Maya, the Divine Mother, such is the great seer and sage, Shri Ramana Maharshi.
The subject of the ’individual soul’ jivavyakti has been given here quite an unconventional treatment. In some places, the jiva is mentioned as the ego; in others, it refers to a fixed form of consciousness and action; in still others it is taken as signifying individuality. In the commentary on the second half of the 26th verse it is stated that terms ahamkara ego, granthi knot, vibandha bondage, suksma sarira subtle body, cetas mind, bhava or samsara the cycle of birth and death and jiva living being, though referring in a way to the same thing, are not synonymous and interchangeable but signify the different functions of the something that is formed between spirit and matter, between the self and the body. It is also stated that with the destruction of the ego there is no dissolution of individuality. In order that these terms might be understood in their right senses and true relation to one another, and not confounded one with another, reasoned explanations are adduced in the Bhashya as well as in the Bhoomika to elucidate them then and there, helping the earnest mind in search of truth to find harmony amidst the differing conclusion of the different philosophic systems. To set all doubts at rest, it is proposed to recapitulate here briefly the essence of the discussion on the individual soul, jiva-vyakti. In the Upadesha Sara of Shri Maharshi, mind-stuff and lifebreath are mentioned together as a twin branch growing out of the same root, the conscious force, suggesting that this is the jiva or the living being, with the ego formed in it for its centre of activity. And this stuff of mind and life is termed the subtle body in this Shastra. As long as there is this subtle body there is individuality, as the latter requires a form of some kind, subtle or gross, for its manifestation. Since this subtle body is a formation, and as such subject to space and time, it is dissoluble. But the dissolution of individuality into the unmanifest, like its emergence (manifestation) from it, is not determined by its own choice but is absolutely dependent on the Unmanifest Infinite, avyakta akhanda. This subtle body, called upadhi by some, is the basis for mental and vital activity in the mundane life of the man in bondage as well as of the liberated soul. When this suksma sarira is not sufficiently developed, it remains a factor of bondage, a knot between matter and spirit, a prison-house of the self in the body. By the force of the inconscient, which is the preponderant element in it, the subtle body is partly absorbed or submerged in matter jada, directed of course by a distorted reflection of the self, a posing figure, formed in it as the ego ahamkara. In an advanced state of development, this individual living being gets freed from the bondage of the body, by the preponderance of the element of conscious force which relcases it from the hold of matter. Thus, as the subtle body develops, it absorbs in a larger measure the conscious force which eliminates or transforms the element of the inconscient jada in the subtle body, and the ego yields to the pressure of the force of Self-consciousness. As the ego thus dissolves, being but the apparent self, the immediate sense of ’l’ it is reborn as it were into the Real ’I’ that has been all along signified by it. What really happens in this process of liberation is this. When through the development of the subtle body in which it is firmly rooted posing as the Real self this ego is stung by a sense of its own weakness and falsity, the wide-awake self-awareness of the Purusha, the spirit seated in the Heart, finds a true reflection in the subtle body, thus displacing the ego or transforming it into the pure ’I’, suddha ahambhava. And in consequence of the birth of the pure ’I’, the real soul, the subtle body undergoes a remarkable change making it a true vehicle of the soul so formed. Thus freed from the hold of the material body, this subtle stuff becomes a true expression of individuality faithful to the Original Self, and an individual centre to its supreme consciousness. Hence we find such statements as: “Then flashes forth another ’l’, ego that is not; perfect is that, the Supreme itself.” “The Supreme is not different from the Heart, from the Self in the Heart". “He shines having devoured the ego ... Whatever he sees, he sees not separate from his self.” Therefore the person liberated alive from bodily bondage does not fall into the separative movement nor yields to the allurement of the apparent diversity, but perceives diversity in unity and experiences unity in diversity. And though he is well aware of the divergent way taken by the intelligence of others living in ignorance, his own individual life on earth is guided by the Supreme Lord of all, by the Self, all-controlling and independent, eternal and ever unmanifest, and thus it is an effulgent manifestation of the Heart, the secret centre of the Spirit in man. Such a liberated soul, whether here or there, and regardless of the possession of the material body, is firmly settled in the Infinite Self.
The subject of the ’individual soul’ jivavyakti has been given here quite an unconventional treatment. In some places, the jiva is mentioned as the ego; in others, it refers to a fixed form of consciousness and action; in still others it is taken as signifying individuality. In the commentary on the second half of the 26th verse it is stated that terms ahamkara ego, granthi knot, vibandha bondage, suksma sarira subtle body, cetas mind, bhava or samsara the cycle of birth and death and jiva living being, though referring in a way to the same thing, are not synonymous and interchangeable but signify the different functions of the something that is formed between spirit and matter, between the self and the body. It is also stated that with the destruction of the ego there is no dissolution of individuality.
In order that these terms might be understood in their right senses and true relation to one another, and not confounded one with another, reasoned explanations are adduced in the Bhashya as well as in the Bhoomika to elucidate them then and there, helping the earnest mind in search of truth to find harmony amidst the differing conclusion of the different philosophic systems. To set all doubts at rest, it is proposed to recapitulate here briefly the essence of the discussion on the individual soul, jiva-vyakti.
In the Upadesha Sara of Shri Maharshi, mind-stuff and lifebreath are mentioned together as a twin branch growing out of the same root, the conscious force, suggesting that this is the jiva or the living being, with the ego formed in it for its centre of activity. And this stuff of mind and life is termed the subtle body in this Shastra. As long as there is this subtle body there is individuality, as the latter requires a form of some kind, subtle or gross, for its manifestation. Since this subtle body is a formation, and as such subject to space and time, it is dissoluble. But the dissolution of individuality into the unmanifest, like its emergence (manifestation) from it, is not determined by its own choice but is absolutely dependent on the Unmanifest Infinite, avyakta akhanda.
This subtle body, called upadhi by some, is the basis for mental and vital activity in the mundane life of the man in bondage as well as of the liberated soul. When this suksma sarira is not sufficiently developed, it remains a factor of bondage, a knot between matter and spirit, a prison-house of the self in the body. By the force of the inconscient, which is the preponderant element in it, the subtle body is partly absorbed or submerged in matter jada, directed of course by a distorted reflection of the self, a posing figure, formed in it as the ego ahamkara. In an advanced state of development, this individual living being gets freed from the bondage of the body, by the preponderance of the element of conscious force which relcases it from the hold of matter.
Thus, as the subtle body develops, it absorbs in a larger measure the conscious force which eliminates or transforms the element of the inconscient jada in the subtle body, and the ego yields to the pressure of the force of Self-consciousness. As the ego thus dissolves, being but the apparent self, the immediate sense of ’l’ it is reborn as it were into the Real ’I’ that has been all along signified by it. What really happens in this process of liberation is this. When through the development of the subtle body in which it is firmly rooted posing as the Real self this ego is stung by a sense of its own weakness and falsity, the wide-awake self-awareness of the Purusha, the spirit seated in the Heart, finds a true reflection in the subtle body, thus displacing the ego or transforming it into the pure ’I’, suddha ahambhava. And in consequence of the birth of the pure ’I’, the real soul, the subtle body undergoes a remarkable change making it a true vehicle of the soul so formed. Thus freed from the hold of the material body, this subtle stuff becomes a true expression of individuality faithful to the Original Self, and an individual centre to its supreme consciousness. Hence we find such statements as:
“Then flashes forth another ’l’, ego that is not; perfect is that, the Supreme itself.”
“The Supreme is not different from the Heart, from the Self in the Heart".
“He shines having devoured the ego ... Whatever he sees, he sees not separate from his self.”
Therefore the person liberated alive from bodily bondage does not fall into the separative movement nor yields to the allurement of the apparent diversity, but perceives diversity in unity and experiences unity in diversity. And though he is well aware of the divergent way taken by the intelligence of others living in ignorance, his own individual life on earth is guided by the Supreme Lord of all, by the Self, all-controlling and independent, eternal and ever unmanifest, and thus it is an effulgent manifestation of the Heart, the secret centre of the Spirit in man. Such a liberated soul, whether here or there, and regardless of the possession of the material body, is firmly settled in the Infinite Self.
सत्प्रत्ययाः किनु विहाय सन्तं? हृद्येष चिंतारहितो हृदाख्यः । कथं स्मरामस्तममेयमेकं ? तस्य स्मृतिस्तत्र दृढव निष्ठा॥ Without something that exists, can there be notions of existence? Free of thoughts, it is there, the Inner being, named the Heart. How then to conceive it is the question --It, the one inconceivable. To conceive it is but to be it, in the Heart. Commentary. “Without something that exists can there be notions of existence?" From the question itself the answer is clear that without existence there can be no notions of it. Many are the notions of existence that are formed, having as their basis and pressupposition existence which is one. Existence is the common basis of all the varying and contradictory notions which are occasioned by objects without or thoughts within. Themselves varying, they unite in suggesting the one that exists. In order that ’existence’ satta may not be mistaken for a class concept signifying a class of existences in this world of name and form full of various groups or objects the singular ’existence and the plural ’notions’ are used to suggest that this world of name and form with its numberless groups and endless species of objects has for its source and support something which is variously called the Real, the one Existence, the Self, the Infinite, the Brahman, that which is the essential truth of the Vedas and the subject of intimate experience. It is because of this sumething that is present everywhere, within and without, that whatever is visible, whether real or not, occasions and suggests the notion of ’Is’. This something that exists and that we call Brahman forms the basis of all existences and therefore is present everywhere. Though its presence is everywhere, yet the Heart hrdayam is stressed as its special seat. “Free of thoughts it is there in the heart, the inner Being named the Heart”. How is it that Brahman is said to be present in the Heart while it is really omnipresent? Though it is really present everywhere, it is luminous in the Heart of every living being as its own Self. And every one is concerned with his own self first before he proceeds to consider existence outside himself. Since it is direct, natural and easy to realise this Allpresence, the Brahman, in one’s own self through the I-notion of which it is the basis, it is taught that Brahman is present in every being as one’s own self. By one’s own self is meant the subject of the intimate experience and awareness ’I am’. Where there is this experience that is called the Heart. Therefore when we find in the second line "It is there, the Inner Being", the sense is clear that the Real Existence or omnipresent Brahman of the first line is the inner being in every one, everyone’s own self. In a piece of focussing glass, the solar rays which are free and everywhere are focussed into an intenser light and heat. On this analogy is to be understood the special luminous appearance of the omnipresent Brahman in the Heart as one’s own self, in the form of the experience and awareness ’I am.’ The Sanskrit term hrdayam connotes that it is a centre, a locus of the soul. Literally it means ’the self is here. If then a centre is affirmed of the self in the bodily existence, such a centre is necessarily spatial and apprehended by the intelligence as subject to space. The doubt may then arise if the self is limited by and dependent on anything but itself. To remove such a doubt, the self itself is named the Heart. The self is not merely in the Heart but it is the Heart itself. For it is the free eternal self which is centred in the living being as the Heart, the real ’I’, the self-being, and is rightly viewed as located there unattached to his selfbecomings as mind, life and body. This unattachment means freedom from the movement while giving support to it. Therefore it is stated that Brahman the Real Existence is the Heart itself, the centre of the self, but it can also be viewed by the external mind as self in the Heart-centre. Thus the sense is clear that the Heart and the self in every individual are identical, for the reason that both refer to the same intense root-consciousness of self-being, to the same supreme awareness. From the universal view-point also, Brahman is the Heart, the Self-centre, as it is the self of all that it has become. Brahman is the essence and secret of all existence and hence may be truly called its Heart. Again men who have realised the Self hold that the Self is the basis of the I-notion, the root source of mental movement such as that of the knower and the known, and is hence termed the Heart. Really the I-thought is the root of all thoughts. Then the doubt arises that since all thoughts spring from a common centre, the root-thought ’I’ and are thus intimately related to the self, the latter undergoes modification in its mental becomings and being thus subject to ceaseless change is liable to ultimate disappearance. To obviate such a doubt it is stated that He in the Heart is free of thoughts, cinta-rahita. Here the word cinta connotes all mental becomings. The Self in the being’s centre, the Heart, while it is the support and source of all mental movement retains its radical unchangeability as the Self; and because it is Brahman that is glowing in the Heart as the radical I-consciousness, its persistent continuity which supports the notion of personal identity remains unaffected by the ceaseless flow of thoughts arising from it as part of a general movement of its becoming which is of the character of incessant change. Therefore the statement is unexceptionable that the Self which is in the Heart and which is also the Heart is eternal and not at all subject to the mutations of mental movement. Even as the source of all mental becoming it remains the eternal and changeless Self. Here a difficulty presents itself. If the Self, the Heart is beyond thoughts i.e., does not admit of being approached by thought, how can we have any conception of it? "How to conceive it is the question.” It must be admitted that it cannot be conceived. It is inconceivable. Itself the source of mind, it is not to be measured by mind, for it is subtler than the mind to which it gives rise. In the first place it was stated by implication and suggestion that the Real Existence, the Brahman of the Upanishads, is omnipresent and is the basis of all existence, subjective and objective, giving birth to the basic notion of ’Is’ both in the inner and in the outer world-being. In the next line it was affirmed that as that Brahman or Reality has become the Heart of all beings, shining as their distinct self, it is to be discovered as one’s own self in the Heart, as the innermost being. To impress the idea that though there are so many distinct individual beings the Self is really one in all of them, it is stated as ’the One, Inconceivable’. is the one Self that apparently has become the distinct selves of the individuals that are its formations. It is inconceivable in the sense that it cannot be thought of in terms implying a relationship such as that of the knower and the known, as it is the Absolute, absolved of all the relatives, which however result from its own power to become. If then the One Supreme Self of all our selves dwells in our own inner being, the Heart, and yet is beyond, though behind, all our thoughts, how are we to contemplate it? The fourth line gives the answer, "to conceive it is to be it, in the Heart.” To be in a settled poise in the Heart, the Self-centre, which needs no outside support and does not depend upon any thought or object for its self-awareness is the only way to contemplate it. Obviously such a state cannot be connoted by the term conception. The suggestion is that conceptual thought must deepen and reduce itself into a direct perception in order to become a true mould and reflection of the real self-awareness. It must be borne in mind that just as objective existence is the basis and support of all the objects therein, and in the subjective being the I-thought is the root of all thoughts, even so the Self’s experience ’I am’ is the root of all experiences, while yet it is unseized by the movement of thoughts of which it is the basis. Therefore when the diverse thought-forms are forged into a homogeneous unity and assume the form of a single movement, that of the Ithought which is the persistent basis of all thoughts, the uncreated Self-awareness that is always there giving birth and support to the I-thought in the Heart-centre becomes a living experiences to the mental movement itself. Meditation upon or contemplation of self lies then in a single ceaseless thought-movement directed to the self, a movement, steady and constant, strengthened by the idea that the Self is there as a radical awareness in the Heart, as one’s own innermost being from which all thoughts arise and to which they all return. This is called the “Spiritual art of the Heart,’ Hridaya Vidya. Thus this verse, after affirming that Brahman the Reality is the Heart of all and is in the Heart of everyone as the self, beyond the range of the senses and independent of the mind and other instruments, to be realised only by direct experience, proceeds to point out the path of meditation which is of the nature of awareness—an awareness which in graded terms is a union of the diverse thought-movements with the single I-thought, of the mind with the self, of the self with Brahman, the Supreme Being. Thus of the four sentences in the verse, the first asks a suggestive question to create interest in the search for the Truth, the Real that is present everywhere; the second gives the answer that the mental search for it in the external is both tedious and futile, that it is here in the self, is one’s own inner being named the Heart and that the search for it there is easy, natural and direct. That third sentence raises the question, "If the mind cannot reach or compass it, what is the way to know it?" And the fourth gives the answer that the divergent thoughts must be turned to a single thought-movement directed to the idea of the self and thus by what is called hrdaya vidya, the training and moulding of the mind to harmonise with the real nature of the self, true knowledge of the self is gained. In this connection it is appropriate to give an English rendering of the Sanskrit verse of Shri Maharshi which puts in a nutshell the substance of the hrdaya vidya, the mystic path of the Heart. 101
सत्प्रत्ययाः किनु विहाय सन्तं? हृद्येष चिंतारहितो हृदाख्यः । कथं स्मरामस्तममेयमेकं ? तस्य स्मृतिस्तत्र दृढव निष्ठा॥
Without something that exists, can there be notions of existence? Free of thoughts, it is there, the Inner being, named the Heart. How then to conceive it is the question --It, the one inconceivable. To conceive it is but to be it, in the Heart.
Commentary.
“Without something that exists can there be notions of existence?" From the question itself the answer is clear that without existence there can be no notions of it. Many are the notions of existence that are formed, having as their basis and pressupposition existence which is one. Existence is the common basis of all the varying and contradictory notions which are occasioned by objects without or thoughts within. Themselves varying, they unite in suggesting the one that exists. In order that ’existence’ satta may not be mistaken for a class concept signifying a class of existences in this world of name and form full of various groups or objects the singular ’existence and the plural ’notions’ are used to suggest that this world of name and form with its numberless groups and endless species of objects has for its source and support something which is variously called the Real, the one Existence, the Self, the Infinite, the Brahman, that which is the essential truth of the Vedas and the subject of intimate experience. It is because of this sumething that is present everywhere, within and without, that whatever is visible, whether real or not, occasions and suggests the notion of ’Is’. This something that exists and that we call Brahman forms the basis of all existences and therefore is present everywhere.
Though its presence is everywhere, yet the Heart hrdayam is stressed as its special seat. “Free of thoughts it is there in the heart, the inner Being named the Heart”. How is it that Brahman is said to be present in the Heart while it is really omnipresent? Though it is really present everywhere, it is luminous in the Heart of every living being as its own Self. And every one is concerned with his own self first before he proceeds to consider existence outside himself. Since it is direct, natural and easy to realise this Allpresence, the Brahman, in one’s own self through the I-notion of which it is the basis, it is taught that Brahman is present in every being as one’s own self. By one’s own self is meant the subject of the intimate experience and awareness ’I am’. Where there is this experience that is called the Heart. Therefore when we find in the second line "It is there, the Inner Being", the sense is clear that the Real Existence or omnipresent Brahman of the first line is the inner being in every one, everyone’s own self. In a piece of focussing glass, the solar rays which are free and everywhere are focussed into an intenser light and heat. On this analogy is to be understood the special luminous appearance of the omnipresent Brahman in the Heart as one’s own self, in the form of the experience and awareness ’I am.’
The Sanskrit term hrdayam connotes that it is a centre, a locus of the soul. Literally it means ’the self is here. If then a centre is affirmed of the self in the bodily existence, such a centre is necessarily spatial and apprehended by the intelligence as subject to space. The doubt may then arise if the self is limited by and dependent on anything but itself. To remove such a doubt, the self itself is named the Heart. The self is not merely in the Heart but it is the Heart itself. For it is the free eternal self which is centred in the living being as the Heart, the real ’I’, the self-being, and is rightly viewed as located there unattached to his selfbecomings as mind, life and body. This unattachment means freedom from the movement while giving support to it. Therefore it is stated that Brahman the Real Existence is the Heart itself, the centre of the self, but it can also be viewed by the external mind as self in the Heart-centre. Thus the sense is clear that the Heart and the self in every individual are identical, for the reason that both refer to the same intense root-consciousness of self-being, to the same supreme awareness.
From the universal view-point also, Brahman is the Heart, the Self-centre, as it is the self of all that it has become. Brahman is the essence and secret of all existence and hence may be truly called its Heart. Again men who have realised the Self hold that the Self is the basis of the I-notion, the root source of mental movement such as that of the knower and the known, and is hence termed the Heart. Really the I-thought is the root of all thoughts.
Then the doubt arises that since all thoughts spring from a common centre, the root-thought ’I’ and are thus intimately related to the self, the latter undergoes modification in its mental becomings and being thus subject to ceaseless change is liable to ultimate disappearance. To obviate such a doubt it is stated that He in the Heart is free of thoughts, cinta-rahita. Here the word cinta connotes all mental becomings. The Self in the being’s centre, the Heart, while it is the support and source of all mental movement retains its radical unchangeability as the Self; and because it is Brahman that is glowing in the Heart as the radical I-consciousness, its persistent continuity which supports the notion of personal identity remains unaffected by the ceaseless flow of thoughts arising from it as part of a general movement of its becoming which is of the character of incessant change. Therefore the statement is unexceptionable that the Self which is in the Heart and which is also the Heart is eternal and not at all subject to the mutations of mental movement. Even as the source of all mental becoming it remains the eternal and changeless Self.
Here a difficulty presents itself. If the Self, the Heart is beyond thoughts i.e., does not admit of being approached by thought, how can we have any conception of it? "How to conceive it is the question.” It must be admitted that it cannot be conceived. It is inconceivable. Itself the source of mind, it is not to be measured by mind, for it is subtler than the mind to which it gives rise. In the first place it was stated by implication and suggestion that the Real Existence, the Brahman of the Upanishads, is omnipresent and is the basis of all existence, subjective and objective, giving birth to the basic notion of ’Is’ both in the inner and in the outer world-being. In the next line it was affirmed that as that Brahman or Reality has become the Heart of all beings, shining as their distinct self, it is to be discovered as one’s own self in the Heart, as the innermost being. To impress the idea that though there are so many distinct individual beings the Self is really one in all of them, it is stated as ’the One, Inconceivable’. is the one Self that apparently has become the distinct selves of the individuals that are its formations. It is inconceivable in the sense that it cannot be thought of in terms implying a relationship such as that of the knower and the known, as it is the Absolute, absolved of all the relatives, which however result from its own power to become.
If then the One Supreme Self of all our selves dwells in our own inner being, the Heart, and yet is beyond, though behind, all our thoughts, how are we to contemplate it? The fourth line gives the answer, "to conceive it is to be it, in the Heart.” To be in a settled poise in the Heart, the Self-centre, which needs no outside support and does not depend upon any thought or object for its self-awareness is the only way to contemplate it. Obviously such a state cannot be connoted by the term conception. The suggestion is that conceptual thought must deepen and reduce itself into a direct perception in order to become a true mould and reflection of the real self-awareness.
It must be borne in mind that just as objective existence is the basis and support of all the objects therein, and in the subjective being the I-thought is the root of all thoughts, even so the Self’s experience ’I am’ is the root of all experiences, while yet it is unseized by the movement of thoughts of which it is the basis. Therefore when the diverse thought-forms are forged into a homogeneous unity and assume the form of a single movement, that of the Ithought which is the persistent basis of all thoughts, the uncreated Self-awareness that is always there giving birth and support to the I-thought in the Heart-centre becomes a living experiences to the mental movement itself.
Meditation upon or contemplation of self lies then in a single ceaseless thought-movement directed to the self, a movement, steady and constant, strengthened by the idea that the Self is there as a radical awareness in the Heart, as one’s own innermost being from which all thoughts arise and to which they all return. This is called the “Spiritual art of the Heart,’ Hridaya Vidya. Thus this verse, after affirming that Brahman the Reality is the Heart of all and is in the Heart of everyone as the self, beyond the range of the senses and independent of the mind and other instruments, to be realised only by direct experience, proceeds to point out the path of meditation which is of the nature of awareness—an awareness which in graded terms is a union of the diverse thought-movements with the single I-thought, of the mind with the self, of the self with Brahman, the Supreme Being.
Thus of the four sentences in the verse, the first asks a suggestive question to create interest in the search for the Truth, the Real that is present everywhere; the second gives the answer that the mental search for it in the external is both tedious and futile, that it is here in the self, is one’s own inner being named the Heart and that the search for it there is easy, natural and direct. That third sentence raises the question, "If the mind cannot reach or compass it, what is the way to know it?" And the fourth gives the answer that the divergent thoughts must be turned to a single thought-movement directed to the idea of the self and thus by what is called hrdaya vidya, the training and moulding of the mind to harmonise with the real nature of the self, true knowledge of the self is gained.
In this connection it is appropriate to give an English rendering of the Sanskrit verse of Shri Maharshi which puts in a nutshell the substance of the hrdaya vidya, the mystic path of the Heart.
101
Into the Heart enter thyself, with mind in search or in deeper plunge; Or by restraint of lifemovement be firmly poised in the Self.”
मृत्युञ्जयं मृत्युभिया श्रिताना- महमति भृत्युमुपैति पूर्वम् । अथ स्वभावादमृतेषु तेषु कथं पुनर्म त्युधियोऽवकाशः॥ Those lose at once their selves who from fear of death Seek refuge in the Lord, Conqueror of death. Then by nature immortals are they. How then is thought of death to them? They are great and realise that nothing on earth could conquer death for them; and from this the most invincible of all fears, they seek the protection of the Lord. What happens when they seek refuge in the Lord from fear of death? "They lose their selves at once’. Obviously it cannot be the real self that dies, immortal as that is. It is the ego-idea aham-mati that is put out the moment it seeks the protection of Him from whom it has derived its being. It is the ego-self that is struck with fear. What is this ego? It is a persistent pose of the Real Self on the surface being reflected in the self; it is the apparent self, the immediate sense of ’I’. It identifies itself with the body and says ’I am independent and separate from other existences; I am this body, this body is mine’. It is primarily formed in the mind and helps it to lend its support to the separative movement and divided interests of bodily life on earth. And when we say that it is the ego-self that loses itself on our approach to the Lord, Conqueror of death, it follows that there is no formation of the ego in the Real Self, who is the Lord of all existence and who is seated in the Heart spoken of in the first verse. That is why it is stated to be the apparent and impermanent self, not in the depths but on the surface. It is clear then that what is fear-struck in man is the ego which being a dissoluble formation naturally dies. Now where does the ego-self seek the Lord’s protection? Evidently in the Heart itself. Even though the ego, circumscribed as it is in its own movement, may try to seek the Lord outside of itself, He is really in the Heart as its own ultimate Reality, the Self-being. Therefore when the ego seeks the Lord’s protection in earnest, the burden it carries and all its interests are either forgotten or automatically committed to the Lord’s hands. Then if the ego gets stripped of all its interests, its coverings, it ceases to be the ego. For it is the divided interests of the ego that spin around it a cobweb of notions, constructing a personal world of elusive and illusory forms of consciousness and strengthen it in its own fancy of a detached and exclusive personal existence with a false and wrong claim for the all that environs it. But it all its interests are focussed in and taken up into one supreme interest, then the ego is unwinged, as it were, dissolved or transformed into a true mould or reflection of the Real Self, the Lord in the Heart, ever one with Him, the Immortal without birth and death. So in the third line we find, "Then by nature Immortals are they.’ Those that have lost their ego-selves by seeking the Lord’s protection, gain their Real Self, and as this is immortal unlike the mortal ego-self, they are called immortals. From the divine and spiritual standpoint, to be immortal is natural; and to be mortal is also natural from the human and the mental view point. As it is the ego that identifies itself with mind, life and body that perishes at the Lord’s feet, it is stated ’they lose their selves at once’. That is their ego-selves. And they become immortals because of their conscious union with the immortal Lord who is seated in the Heart. Do they not all become one in God, their Supreme centre? Will it not be more proper to say they become the Immortal, as it is the One Lord that is the Real Self in and of all beings. No. It is true that it is the One Self atman that has become the support of the ego-selves of the many; but when the ego perishes, the individuality of the Lord as its Real Self does not dissolve with the ego. In fact, the immortality of the immortal Lord is not at all manifest in the individual as long as the mortal ego does not work itself out. And it begins to manifest in the individual in whom the purpose of the ego is fulfilled in its loss or transformation into a true mould of the Lord or the Real Self; as it thereby loses its character as the ego, this transformation is generally mentioned as the death or disappearance of the ego. This ego then discovers its original and the Real and becomes a true mould of distinct individuality of the self, and, thereby, the individual Soul of the Self Supreme. Hence the plural “immortals’ is used to denote the distinct individuality of such souls as are true moulds of the Self in conscious union with the Immortal Supreme seated in the Heart. Therefore in those holy beings who take refuge in the Lord of all existence, the ego which the ancients discovered to be a psychophysical knot, called granthi in their parlance is loosened or cut asunder, and with the dissolution of this radical knot all other ties of ignorance disappear. How then is it possible for such beings to be lost in bodily consciousness and led astray by the mortal ego when they are firmly established in the knowledge by identity, in the supreme expereience of their real self, the Immortal Divine. It is to be noted that this verse stresses the need and justification of the path of devotion Bhakti which consists in a spirit of surrender prapatti. But the surrender can be complete only in those that are in that exalted state of self-poise referred to in the first verse. Search for the Self in the Heart occasioned by some felt need or by fear of death, as in the case of Shri Ramana Maharshi, results in the giving up of all that one is and has to the care of the Lord. Indeed this verse of invocation throws light on Shri Maharshi’s inner life and personal experience, for it is a well-known fact that it was his search for protection from fear of death that initiated the process of building up his inner life and led him to the Father whom he describes as the one eternal Self cf all souls and of all existences. That is why he mentions fear of death as occasioning the surrender, instead of explicitly stating that surrender from love of God is the means that is right and natural, seeing that He is our own deepest self, the most Beloved and that indeed ’All are He’ as the next verse states. It may be remarked in passing that the fear of death is of all fears the hardest to bear and the most invincible and being most natural is the least unreasonable. From this dreaded mortality there is no protection from any source other than the One that itself has conquered it. Thus we see that settled state in the self nistha and surrender prapatti lead to the same end. Though the attitudes in the path of knowledge jnana and in that of devotion bhakti are different, because of the difference in temperament and development of the devotee and the seeker after Truth, the state of Self-realisation is consummated in the surrender of all that one is and has to the Supreme and conversely, surrender is fulfilled in knowledge of the Self. Thus the Maharshi does not see contradiction between the paths of knowledge and Devotion, jnana and bhakti. These two verses at the commencement of the work suggest the two-fold path of Knowledge and Devotion, affirming the Impersonal Brahman niskala as the subject of nistha and invoking the Grace of the Personal God sakala, the Supreme goal of self-offering. Incidentally such a commencement conforms to the sacred convention of beginning a work with a word of Prayer to one’s adored and chosen deity, ista devata.
मृत्युञ्जयं मृत्युभिया श्रिताना- महमति भृत्युमुपैति पूर्वम् । अथ स्वभावादमृतेषु तेषु कथं पुनर्म त्युधियोऽवकाशः॥
Those lose at once their selves who from fear of death Seek refuge in the Lord, Conqueror of death. Then by nature immortals are they. How then is thought of death to them?
They are great and realise that nothing on earth could conquer death for them; and from this the most invincible of all fears, they seek the protection of the Lord. What happens when they seek refuge in the Lord from fear of death? "They lose their selves at once’. Obviously it cannot be the real self that dies, immortal as that is. It is the ego-idea aham-mati that is put out the moment it seeks the protection of Him from whom it has derived its being. It is the ego-self that is struck with fear. What is this ego? It is a persistent pose of the Real Self on the surface being reflected in the self; it is the apparent self, the immediate sense of ’I’. It identifies itself with the body and says ’I am independent and separate from other existences; I am this body, this body is mine’. It is primarily formed in the mind and helps it to lend its support to the separative movement and divided interests of bodily life on earth. And when we say that it is the ego-self that loses itself on our approach to the Lord, Conqueror of death, it follows that there is no formation of the ego in the Real Self, who is the Lord of all existence and who is seated in the Heart spoken of in the first verse. That is why it is stated to be the apparent and impermanent self, not in the depths but on the surface. It is clear then that what is fear-struck in man is the ego which being a dissoluble formation naturally dies.
Now where does the ego-self seek the Lord’s protection? Evidently in the Heart itself. Even though the ego, circumscribed as it is in its own movement, may try to seek the Lord outside of itself, He is really in the Heart as its own ultimate Reality, the Self-being. Therefore when the ego seeks the Lord’s protection in earnest, the burden it carries and all its interests are either forgotten or automatically committed to the Lord’s hands. Then if the ego gets stripped of all its interests, its coverings, it ceases to be the ego. For it is the divided interests of the ego that spin around it a cobweb of notions, constructing a personal world of elusive and illusory forms of consciousness and strengthen it in its own fancy of a detached and exclusive personal existence with a false and wrong claim for the all that environs it. But it all its interests are focussed in and taken up into one supreme interest, then the ego is unwinged, as it were, dissolved or transformed into a true mould or reflection of the Real Self, the Lord in the Heart, ever one with Him, the Immortal without birth and death.
So in the third line we find, "Then by nature Immortals are they.’ Those that have lost their ego-selves by seeking the Lord’s protection, gain their Real Self, and as this is immortal unlike the mortal ego-self, they are called immortals. From the divine and spiritual standpoint, to be immortal is natural; and to be mortal is also natural from the human and the mental view point. As it is the ego that identifies itself with mind, life and body that perishes at the Lord’s feet, it is stated ’they lose their selves at once’. That is their ego-selves. And they become immortals because of their conscious union with the immortal Lord who is seated in the Heart. Do they not all become one in God, their Supreme centre? Will it not be more proper to say they become the Immortal, as it is the One Lord that is the Real Self in and of all beings. No. It is true that it is the One Self atman that has become the support of the ego-selves of the many; but when the ego perishes, the individuality of the Lord as its Real Self does not dissolve with the ego. In fact, the immortality of the immortal Lord is not at all manifest in the individual as long as the mortal ego does not work itself out. And it begins to manifest in the individual in whom the purpose of the ego is fulfilled in its loss or transformation into a true mould of the Lord or the Real Self; as it thereby loses its character as the ego, this transformation is generally mentioned as the death or disappearance of the ego. This ego then discovers its original and the Real and becomes a true mould of distinct individuality of the self, and, thereby, the individual Soul of the Self Supreme.
Hence the plural “immortals’ is used to denote the distinct individuality of such souls as are true moulds of the Self in conscious union with the Immortal Supreme seated in the Heart.
Therefore in those holy beings who take refuge in the Lord of all existence, the ego which the ancients discovered to be a psychophysical knot, called granthi in their parlance is loosened or cut asunder, and with the dissolution of this radical knot all other ties of ignorance disappear. How then is it possible for such beings to be lost in bodily consciousness and led astray by the mortal ego when they are firmly established in the knowledge by identity, in the supreme expereience of their real self, the Immortal Divine.
It is to be noted that this verse stresses the need and justification of the path of devotion Bhakti which consists in a spirit of surrender prapatti. But the surrender can be complete only in those that are in that exalted state of self-poise referred to in the first verse. Search for the Self in the Heart occasioned by some felt need or by fear of death, as in the case of Shri Ramana Maharshi, results in the giving up of all that one is and has to the care of the Lord. Indeed this verse of invocation throws light on Shri Maharshi’s inner life and personal experience, for it is a well-known fact that it was his search for protection from fear of death that initiated the process of building up his inner life and led him to the Father whom he describes as the one eternal Self cf all souls and of all existences. That is why he mentions fear of death as occasioning the surrender, instead of explicitly stating that surrender from love of God is the means that is right and natural, seeing that He is our own deepest self, the most Beloved and that indeed ’All are He’ as the next verse states. It may be remarked in passing that the fear of death is of all fears the hardest to bear and the most invincible and being most natural is the least unreasonable. From this dreaded mortality there is no protection from any source other than the One that itself has conquered it.
Thus we see that settled state in the self nistha and surrender prapatti lead to the same end. Though the attitudes in the path of knowledge jnana and in that of devotion bhakti are different, because of the difference in temperament and development of the devotee and the seeker after Truth, the state of Self-realisation is consummated in the surrender of all that one is and has to the Supreme and conversely, surrender is fulfilled in knowledge of the Self. Thus the Maharshi does not see contradiction between the paths of knowledge and Devotion, jnana and bhakti.
These two verses at the commencement of the work suggest the two-fold path of Knowledge and Devotion, affirming the Impersonal Brahman niskala as the subject of nistha and invoking the Grace of the Personal God sakala, the Supreme goal of self-offering. Incidentally such a commencement conforms to the sacred convention of beginning a work with a word of Prayer to one’s adored and chosen deity, ista devata.
सर्वैनिदानं जगतोऽहमश्च वाच्यः प्रभुः कश्चिदपारशक्तिः। चित्रेऽत्र लोक्यं च विलोकिता च पटः प्रकाशोऽप्यभवत्स एकः॥ Of myself and the world All the cause admit-a Lord of limitless power. In this world-picture, the canvas, the light, The seer and the seen-all are He, the One. We have commented on the first two verses of benediction. This verse really begins the Shastra. The cause of the world and myself is admitted by all as a Lord of limitless power. The world is what I see around me, the object of sense-perception. Myself is the apparently conscient, self-evident ’I’ called the jiva, the living being distinguished by personal identity. Both the world and myself are in perpetual change and this fact presupposes a cause which must be of such an illimitable power that this vast universe and myself and other beings are formed by it, live, move, and have their being in it. This cause is the Lord God, the Omnipotent. Then, in order that the triple truth of God, world and soul may not be taken to imply a denial of non-duality or advaita, the oneness of all existence, the analogy of artist and picture is given. This world of name and form is the picture, God is the supreme artist that draws the picture possessed of the limitless skill and power needed for it. He has also the capacity to see his own picture of the world, hence he is the seer. All the materials needed for a picture are different from the human artist while the skill and the sight alone are his, inherent in him and inseparable from him. But in the case of God, the Divine artist that creates the world-picture, the material for the world is inherent in Him. “All are He’, the canvas on which the picture of the world is painted, the picture itself which is the world of name and form and the light without which one cannot see even though one has the eye. Thus He, the one God is also the many and nothing is there which is not ’He’. Therefore the one Real, the Brahman of limitless power, becomes the subject, the object and the instruments and all these are various modes of His existence. He is the material as well as the efficient cause of all, of the world jagat as well as of the soul the jiva. It is in this sense that the Upanishad proclaims "All this is verily Brahman”. By this living self may I differentiate existence into name and form." If it is a fact that it is the One supreme existence that has become the triple truth of God, world and soul, how is it that the One Supreme Reality is not understood as such and that we are faced with the many?
सर्वैनिदानं जगतोऽहमश्च वाच्यः प्रभुः कश्चिदपारशक्तिः। चित्रेऽत्र लोक्यं च विलोकिता च पटः प्रकाशोऽप्यभवत्स एकः॥
Of myself and the world All the cause admit-a Lord of limitless power. In this world-picture, the canvas, the light, The seer and the seen-all are He, the One.
We have commented on the first two verses of benediction. This verse really begins the Shastra.
The cause of the world and myself is admitted by all as a Lord of limitless power. The world is what I see around me, the object of sense-perception. Myself is the apparently conscient, self-evident ’I’ called the jiva, the living being distinguished by personal identity. Both the world and myself are in perpetual change and this fact presupposes a cause which must be of such an illimitable power that this vast universe and myself and other beings are formed by it, live, move, and have their being in it. This cause is the Lord God, the Omnipotent. Then, in order that the triple truth of God, world and soul may not be taken to imply a denial of non-duality or advaita, the oneness of all existence, the analogy of artist and picture is given. This world of name and form is the picture, God is the supreme artist that draws the picture possessed of the limitless skill and power needed for it.
He has also the capacity to see his own picture of the world, hence he is the seer. All the materials needed for a picture are different from the human artist while the skill and the sight alone are his, inherent in him and inseparable from him. But in the case of God, the Divine artist that creates the world-picture, the material for the world is inherent in Him. “All are He’, the canvas on which the picture of the world is painted, the picture itself which is the world of name and form and the light without which one cannot see even though one has the eye. Thus He, the one God is also the many and nothing is there which is not ’He’. Therefore the one Real, the Brahman of limitless power, becomes the subject, the object and the instruments and all these are various modes of His existence. He is the material as well as the efficient cause of all, of the world jagat as well as of the soul the jiva. It is in this sense that the Upanishad proclaims "All this is verily Brahman”. By this living self may I differentiate existence into name and form."
If it is a fact that it is the One supreme existence that has become the triple truth of God, world and soul, how is it that the One Supreme Reality is not understood as such and that we are faced with the many?
आरभ्यते जीवजगत्परात्म- तत्त्वाभिधानेन मतं समस्तम् । इदं वयं यावदहमति स्यात् सर्वोत्तमाऽहंमतिशून्यनिष्ठा॥ God, world and soul, from this triple truth, all religions proceed. While the ego reigns, the three are apart. Transcending all states is the poise of Self where ego is lost. All religions begin with the three-fold truth, God world and soul, but they do not end there. Even the Absolute monist advaitin admits the trinity in the phenomenal existence. Then if the essential truth of all existence is one Supreme Reality, how is it that it assumes the three-fold form of God, world and soul? “While the ego reigns, the three are apart.” These three are separate from one another only as long as the ego endures. It is the ego that carves a three-fold category out of the One that exists, the Real. But there is a state in which it is outgrown and to live in it is the supreme poise of the Self. “Transcending all states is the poise of self where the ego is lost." There are many methods of spiritual discipline recommended in the scriptures and this one of keeping to the supreme poise of the Self is the highest of them all; for here as the result of the dissolution of the ego, Brahman, the Supreme Reality and source of the triple truth, reveals itself to direct perception, to immediate experience. It is the nature of the ego that through it the One undivided supreme Brahman presents itself as the triple truth, as the manifold existence. This ego is mentioned as a knot granthi, an obstruction to the apprehension of the truth of the Supreme Reality. As God, world and soul are not apprehended as three separate existences in the absence of the ego, the disputations and conclusions of religio-philosophic systems aiming at solving the riddle of the world, such as whether it is real or unreal, are not directly helpful to a knowledge of the Truth. So the next verse proceeds :
आरभ्यते जीवजगत्परात्म- तत्त्वाभिधानेन मतं समस्तम् । इदं वयं यावदहमति स्यात् सर्वोत्तमाऽहंमतिशून्यनिष्ठा॥
God, world and soul, from this triple truth, all religions proceed. While the ego reigns, the three are apart. Transcending all states is the poise of Self where ego is lost.
All religions begin with the three-fold truth, God world and soul, but they do not end there. Even the Absolute monist advaitin admits the trinity in the phenomenal existence. Then if the essential truth of all existence is one Supreme Reality, how is it that it assumes the three-fold form of God, world and soul? “While the ego reigns, the three are apart.” These three are separate from one another only as long as the ego endures. It is the ego that carves a three-fold category out of the One that exists, the Real. But there is a state in which it is outgrown and to live in it is the supreme poise of the Self. “Transcending all states is the poise of self where the ego is lost."
There are many methods of spiritual discipline recommended in the scriptures and this one of keeping to the supreme poise of the Self is the highest of them all; for here as the result of the dissolution of the ego, Brahman, the Supreme Reality and source of the triple truth, reveals itself to direct perception, to immediate experience. It is the nature of the ego that through it the One undivided supreme Brahman presents itself as the triple truth, as the manifold existence. This ego is mentioned as a knot granthi, an obstruction to the apprehension of the truth of the Supreme Reality.
As God, world and soul are not apprehended as three separate existences in the absence of the ego, the disputations and conclusions of religio-philosophic systems aiming at solving the riddle of the world, such as whether it is real or unreal, are not directly helpful to a knowledge of the Truth. So the next verse proceeds :
सत्यं मृषा वा चिदिदं जडं वा दुःखं सुखं वेति मुधा विवादः । अदृष्टलोका निरहंप्रतीति- निष्ठाऽविकल्पा परमाऽखिलेष्टा ।। ‘All this is the Real, the Conscient, the Delight.’ ’No, it is the reverse’. Such are quarrels vain. Agreeable to all, from uncertainty aloof, is the state exalted, Where the ego lives not, nor the world is seen. The philosophic disputations with reference to the reality or unreality of the world, or as to whether it is conscient or inconscient, sorrow or delight, are all futile, as the solution of the problem is not, by the way of intellect at all. It is only an exalted state of the Self that could remove all doubts and misconceptions. For in that state the world as we apprehend is not to be seen as an existence separate from ourselves, nor is the ego-sense active there. The doubts and uncertainties, as to whether all this is real or unreal, conscient or otherwise, delight or not, cannot then arise. Such a supreme state is not only acceptable to all but is held desirable by all, the dualist and the non-dualist alike. The various systems, even those that are opposed to each other, like the dvaita and the advaita, though they may disagree in certain fundamentals, are agreed upon the necessity of some kind of inner discipline, Bhakti Yoga or Jnana Yoga, the path of devotion or of knowledge, to realise their respective aims; and in no spiritual practice, in no Sadhana that is earnest, is there room for thought of the world or for the ego-self, as the discipline followed in any method lies in a concentrated reaching forth of the whole being towards the Ideal, the goal, whether it is Truth or Self or God. Hence it is stated that the exalted state of the self where the ego lives not, nor the world is seen in a state removed from all uncertainties which to the end beset the intellectual mind, which is trained or habituated to move between probables and possibles. In this verse, there are three sets of alternatives offered and the suggestion is but thinly veiled that the truth of the world is not nonexistence, but existence, is not inconscient but conscient, is no sorrow but delight. Thus the ultimate Truth, Sat-Chit-Ananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, is affirmed to be a matter of personal experience to be gained by nistha and not at all by an intellectual knowledge of Shastraic disputations. As it is implied that this world is not non-existent, nor inconscient, etc., it may be noted that the Samkhyan dualism and the Jain and Buddhistic Nihilism are not agreeable to Shri Maharshi. Because of the absence of difference between subject and object (seer and seen) in the Infinite Self in which the world, soul and God find their oneness, the next verse mentions the Infinite formless Self as the One limitless Eye.
सत्यं मृषा वा चिदिदं जडं वा दुःखं सुखं वेति मुधा विवादः । अदृष्टलोका निरहंप्रतीति- निष्ठाऽविकल्पा परमाऽखिलेष्टा ।।
‘All this is the Real, the Conscient, the Delight.’ ’No, it is the reverse’. Such are quarrels vain. Agreeable to all, from uncertainty aloof, is the state exalted, Where the ego lives not, nor the world is seen.
The philosophic disputations with reference to the reality or unreality of the world, or as to whether it is conscient or inconscient, sorrow or delight, are all futile, as the solution of the problem is not, by the way of intellect at all. It is only an exalted state of the Self that could remove all doubts and misconceptions. For in that state the world as we apprehend is not to be seen as an existence separate from ourselves, nor is the ego-sense active there. The doubts and uncertainties, as to whether all this is real or unreal, conscient or otherwise, delight or not, cannot then arise. Such a supreme state is not only acceptable to all but is held desirable by all, the dualist and the non-dualist alike. The various systems, even those that are opposed to each other, like the dvaita and the advaita, though they may disagree in certain fundamentals, are agreed upon the necessity of some kind of inner discipline, Bhakti Yoga or Jnana Yoga, the path of devotion or of knowledge, to realise their respective aims; and in no spiritual practice, in no Sadhana that is earnest, is there room for thought of the world or for the ego-self, as the discipline followed in any method lies in a concentrated reaching forth of the whole being towards the Ideal, the goal, whether it is Truth or Self or God. Hence it is stated that the exalted state of the self where the ego lives not, nor the world is seen in a state removed from all uncertainties which to the end beset the intellectual mind, which is trained or habituated to move between probables and possibles.
In this verse, there are three sets of alternatives offered and the suggestion is but thinly veiled that the truth of the world is not nonexistence, but existence, is not inconscient but conscient, is no sorrow but delight. Thus the ultimate Truth, Sat-Chit-Ananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, is affirmed to be a matter of personal experience to be gained by nistha and not at all by an intellectual knowledge of Shastraic disputations. As it is implied that this world is not non-existent, nor inconscient, etc., it may be noted that the Samkhyan dualism and the Jain and Buddhistic Nihilism are not agreeable to Shri Maharshi.
Because of the absence of difference between subject and object (seer and seen) in the Infinite Self in which the world, soul and God find their oneness, the next verse mentions the Infinite formless Self as the One limitless Eye.
सरूपबुद्धिर्जगतीश्वरे च सरूपधीरात्मनि यावदस्ति । अरूप आत्मा यदि कः प्रपश्येत् सा दृष्टिरेकाऽनवधिहि पूर्णा ॥ To him who holds the self as having form God has form and so has the world. But who is there to see in the formless Self? Itself is the Eye-limitless, one and full. If the seer is an embodied being, the world and the Lord that are the seen, have also an embodied existence; and embodiment is not necessarily physical, nor is it used to denote only what is visible to the eye. It is any or all of the five sheaths of which mention is made in the next verse. Thus having stated that God, world and soul have form presented to the seeing soul that is embodied, the verse proceeds to state that they are formless in the formless Infinite Self. The question is asked, “Who is there to see in the formless Self?’ If the seeing self is formless who is there to see? The infinite Self is itself the Eye, one, limitless and full. Here one is reminded of the Upanishad that refers to Brahman as that in which the Self has become all beings (existences). The Self is the all; it is that which has become all this; and there is nothing for the Self to see outside of itself or apart from it, as it includes (lit. devours), all forms and transcends them (lit. shines forth). Here, there is no knowledge of distinction between seer and seen; hence the Upanishad describes the character of the One, the Infinite, advaita, akhanda by putting the question ’whom to see and by what?’ tatkena kam pasyet. Here also the same question is put, ’Who is there to see? “The answer is obvious, there is none. "Why’? ’Itself is the Eye’. The Supreme Brahman is denoted by the third person ’Itself’. It is mentioned as the Eye to denote that it is Consciousness. It is ’One’, without a second, Infinite. It is ’limitless’ or endless, the full’, the all-pervasive. If it is mentioned as ’seer’, then the question may arise that there is the seen’ apart from the seer. To avoid it, the word ’Eye’ drsti is used in the sense of sight or awareness (consciousness) and not in the sense that there is a seer apart from the sight. When like incessant waves of the shoreless ocean, myriads of worlds are born of the Supreme Brahman and endure and are dissolved, the eternal Infinite Self, called here ’the Eye’, remains full and perfect and is not lost in the incessant change taking place in it, in its self-becomings, in the creative movement of its consciousness that brings into existence and supports the distinctions of God and world, individual and universal, seer and seen, supporter and supported. In the first half of the verse it was stated that the form of God and the world depends upon the seeing soul jiva that has form; in the latter half we find it stated in unmistakable terms that if the seeing self is realised to be formless then the truth can be understood that there is nothing that is really other than the Self which is Infinite, Eternal, the limitless Eye, the Full and Perfect. Thus though the formlessness of the Self is clearly stated to be the Supreme Truth, yet the seeing self that has form sees the Creator and His creation in form. How the self takes on this form, which impermanent as it is still clings to it for the time being, is elsewhere discussed. The Discourse upon the seeing selfs form or embodied existence raises the question of the nature of the embodiment itself. The next verse proceeds to state that five-fold is this embodied existence, and that consciousness of the world of forms is due to the self identifying itself with any of the five bodily sheaths.
सरूपबुद्धिर्जगतीश्वरे च सरूपधीरात्मनि यावदस्ति । अरूप आत्मा यदि कः प्रपश्येत् सा दृष्टिरेकाऽनवधिहि पूर्णा ॥
To him who holds the self as having form God has form and so has the world. But who is there to see in the formless Self? Itself is the Eye-limitless, one and full.
If the seer is an embodied being, the world and the Lord that are the seen, have also an embodied existence; and embodiment is not necessarily physical, nor is it used to denote only what is visible to the eye. It is any or all of the five sheaths of which mention is made in the next verse. Thus having stated that God, world and soul have form presented to the seeing soul that is embodied, the verse proceeds to state that they are formless in the formless Infinite Self.
The question is asked, “Who is there to see in the formless Self?’ If the seeing self is formless who is there to see? The infinite Self is itself the Eye, one, limitless and full. Here one is reminded of the Upanishad that refers to Brahman as that in which the Self has become all beings (existences).
The Self is the all; it is that which has become all this; and there is nothing for the Self to see outside of itself or apart from it, as it includes (lit. devours), all forms and transcends them (lit. shines forth). Here, there is no knowledge of distinction between seer and seen; hence the Upanishad describes the character of the One, the Infinite, advaita, akhanda by putting the question ’whom to see and by what?’ tatkena kam pasyet. Here also the same question is put, ’Who is there to see? “The answer is obvious, there is none. "Why’? ’Itself is the Eye’. The Supreme Brahman is denoted by the third person ’Itself’. It is mentioned as the Eye to denote that it is Consciousness. It is ’One’, without a second, Infinite. It is ’limitless’ or endless, the full’, the all-pervasive. If it is mentioned as ’seer’, then the question may arise that there is the seen’ apart from the seer. To avoid it, the word ’Eye’ drsti is used in the sense of sight or awareness (consciousness) and not in the sense that there is a seer apart from the sight.
When like incessant waves of the shoreless ocean, myriads of worlds are born of the Supreme Brahman and endure and are dissolved, the eternal Infinite Self, called here ’the Eye’, remains full and perfect and is not lost in the incessant change taking place in it, in its self-becomings, in the creative movement of its consciousness that brings into existence and supports the distinctions of God and world, individual and universal, seer and seen, supporter and supported. In the first half of the verse it was stated that the form of God and the world depends upon the seeing soul jiva that has form; in the latter half we find it stated in unmistakable terms that if the seeing self is realised to be formless then the truth can be understood that there is nothing that is really other than the Self which is Infinite, Eternal, the limitless Eye, the Full and Perfect. Thus though the formlessness of the Self is clearly stated to be the Supreme Truth, yet the seeing self that has form sees the Creator and His creation in form.
How the self takes on this form, which impermanent as it is still clings to it for the time being, is elsewhere discussed.
The Discourse upon the seeing selfs form or embodied existence raises the question of the nature of the embodiment itself. The next verse proceeds to state that five-fold is this embodied existence, and that consciousness of the world of forms is due to the self identifying itself with any of the five bodily sheaths.
यत्पञ्चकोशात्मकमस्ति देहं तदन्तरा किं भुवनं चकास्ति । देहं विना पञ्चविधं तदेतत् पश्यन्ति के वा भुवनं भणन्तु ॥ Five-fold is the bodily sheath. Apart from it, the world appears not. Can it? Without the five-fold body, Where are they that cognize the world? The form of the body is made up of five sheaths (five-fold) and they differ in kind. Beginning with the gross material existence, there are five sheaths, called the physical annamaya, the vital pranamaya, the mental manomaya, the sheath of Truth-knowledge vijnanamaya, and the sheath of Bliss anandamaya. And without embodiment of some kind there is no knowledge of world-existence. The apprehension of the world depends upon the embodiment of the apprehending consciousness. Therefore it is questioned “without the five-fold body, where are they that cognize the world ?” Every one that cognizes the world in any state is embodied in any of the five sheaths, and none that is not embodied in any of these has cognition of the world. It should be borne in mind that in this Shastra the connotation of ’body’ extends to the five-sheaths kosas, physical, vital, mental and others, and is not restricted to the narrow sense of the gross, visible and material body. The body is related to the world as the individual to the universal (lit. collective) and as part to the whole. The embodied knower is bound to, and identifies himself, with the embodiment without which he ceases to be the knower. In the absence of the bodily bondage there can be no such thing as a knower knowing. To whom then can the world as the seen present itself? As the seeing subject in man is a mental being and the seen object (the world) is of a mental form, the next verse deals zoith the subject of the identity of subject and object, of thought and world, of Vritti and Vishaya.
यत्पञ्चकोशात्मकमस्ति देहं तदन्तरा किं भुवनं चकास्ति । देहं विना पञ्चविधं तदेतत् पश्यन्ति के वा भुवनं भणन्तु ॥
Five-fold is the bodily sheath. Apart from it, the world appears not. Can it? Without the five-fold body, Where are they that cognize the world?
The form of the body is made up of five sheaths (five-fold) and they differ in kind. Beginning with the gross material existence, there are five sheaths, called the physical annamaya, the vital pranamaya, the mental manomaya, the sheath of Truth-knowledge vijnanamaya, and the sheath of Bliss anandamaya. And without embodiment of some kind there is no knowledge of world-existence. The apprehension of the world depends upon the embodiment of the apprehending consciousness. Therefore it is questioned “without the five-fold body, where are they that cognize the world ?” Every one that cognizes the world in any state is embodied in any of the five sheaths, and none that is not embodied in any of these has cognition of the world. It should be borne in mind that in this Shastra the connotation of ’body’ extends to the five-sheaths kosas, physical, vital, mental and others, and is not restricted to the narrow sense of the gross, visible and material body.
The body is related to the world as the individual to the universal (lit. collective) and as part to the whole. The embodied knower is bound to, and identifies himself, with the embodiment without which he ceases to be the knower. In the absence of the bodily bondage there can be no such thing as a knower knowing. To whom then can the world as the seen present itself?
As the seeing subject in man is a mental being and the seen object (the world) is of a mental form, the next verse deals zoith the subject of the identity of subject and object, of thought and world, of Vritti and Vishaya.
शब्दादिरूपं भुवनं समस्तं शब्दादिसत्तेन्द्रियवृत्तिभास्या। I सत्तेन्द्रियाणां मनसो वशे स्यात् मनोमयं तद्भुवनं वदामः॥ Sound and form, smell, touch and taste, these make up thy world. Upon these the senses let the light. In mind’s domain the senses move. Hence the world is but the mind. The appearance of the world as I have it is a collection of groups of sensations. The character of the world as it presents itself to my apprehension is such that I preceive it as something that is audible, visible, smellable, tangible and tastable. This world then, is a sum of sensations, presented apparently outside myself, that is, my embodied existence. These sensations or sense-activities manifest the quality of sound, form, smell, touch and taste, and are all in the ’domain of mind’. They form the sense-mind so to say, and are dependent upon mind and form part of mind itself. Indeed we can conclude that the world we cognize is but a projection or modification of the mind which throws the senses into activity resulting in the manifestation of the qualities of sound, form, etc., that make up the sum total of world-existence to me. Here the underlying idea is that the world is but a gross form of the mind, which is subtle. Then it is to be understood that world and mind, the gross and the subtle, different only in their states are of the same substance, of one Truth, and therefore are in a relation of identity, tadatmya, and these two, the subtle and the gross, are derived from the one causal substance, which is dealt with in the next stanza. Note. [When it is stated that the world is but the mind,’ by mind is meant a cosmic principle tattwa, manifest in the individual as well as in the Universal. It should be noted then that if the mind of X is withdrawn or dissolved, his world of mind alone disappears and not that of Y or of the Lord, the Universal]. It may be mentioned in this connection that it is an ancient conception that the world is a graded expansion and contraction made up of different systematic states and this fact is stressed by the statement that from the unmanifest avyakta comes the mahat (the Intelligent principle); from it the ‘ahamkara’ (the Ego), from this the tan-matras causal states of the senses that manifest or develop the qualities of sound, form, etc., which in their turn form the world. The world and mind are never apart from each other; still it is the mind that lights up the world.
शब्दादिरूपं भुवनं समस्तं शब्दादिसत्तेन्द्रियवृत्तिभास्या। I सत्तेन्द्रियाणां मनसो वशे स्यात् मनोमयं तद्भुवनं वदामः॥
Sound and form, smell, touch and taste, these make up thy world. Upon these the senses let the light. In mind’s domain the senses move. Hence the world is but the mind.
The appearance of the world as I have it is a collection of groups of sensations. The character of the world as it presents itself to my apprehension is such that I preceive it as something that is audible, visible, smellable, tangible and tastable. This world then, is a sum of sensations, presented apparently outside myself, that is, my embodied existence. These sensations or sense-activities manifest the quality of sound, form, smell, touch and taste, and are all in the ’domain of mind’. They form the sense-mind so to say, and are dependent upon mind and form part of mind itself. Indeed we can conclude that the world we cognize is but a projection or modification of the mind which throws the senses into activity resulting in the manifestation of the qualities of sound, form, etc., that make up the sum total of world-existence to me.
Here the underlying idea is that the world is but a gross form of the mind, which is subtle. Then it is to be understood that world and mind, the gross and the subtle, different only in their states are of the same substance, of one Truth, and therefore are in a relation of identity, tadatmya, and these two, the subtle and the gross, are derived from the one causal substance, which is dealt with in the next stanza.
Note. [When it is stated that the world is but the mind,’ by mind is meant a cosmic principle tattwa, manifest in the individual as well as in the Universal. It should be noted then that if the mind of X is withdrawn or dissolved, his world of mind alone disappears and not that of Y or of the Lord, the Universal].
It may be mentioned in this connection that it is an ancient conception that the world is a graded expansion and contraction made up of different systematic states and this fact is stressed by the statement that from the unmanifest avyakta comes the mahat (the Intelligent principle); from it the ‘ahamkara’ (the Ego), from this the tan-matras causal states of the senses that manifest or develop the qualities of sound, form, etc., which in their turn form the world.
The world and mind are never apart from each other; still it is the mind that lights up the world.
धिया सहोदेति धियास्तमेति लोकस्ततो धीप्रविभास्य एषः। धीलोकजन्मक्षयधाम पूर्ण । सद्वस्तु जन्मक्षयशून्यमेकम् ॥ Thought and world together rise and together set. Still by thought the world is lit. In Existence Real, thought and world are formed and lost. One and perfect, unborn is That, unending too. The world appears and disappears with the I-thought which is the root of all thoughts, and both the world and the mind (thoughts) may be said to co-exist, to be inseparable. Yet this world’ of the senses is lit by the ’I-thought.’ For, thought represents a conscious principle and illuminates the world, the object that is illuminated or made known. As the world itself is stated to be mental in its form and is nothing but a grosser form of ’thought which is subtle, if all the thoughts are withdrawn and traced to their origin and support, then one can perceive the truth that both thought and world, subject and object, inner and outer, which appear and disappear together are really of one existence, and have a common source. Thus the latter half of the verse states ’In Existence Real, thought and world are formed and lost. Then what is the character of this Existence Real that brings forth, sustains and dissolves the subjective thought and the objective world? It is ‘One and Perfect, perfect and therefore not affected by the subtle thought and the gross world. It is ‘unborn and unending too’, while the inner (mind) and the outer (world) begin and end in It. It is substance, the cause, the material for all the subjective and objective manifestations. It is eternal, permanent and persistent and does not lose itself in its manifestations as thought in the subtle state or as thing in the gross. Though the source of the Manifold of the All, of world-expression and soul-formation, yet it is one. NOTE:-In the commencement of the work meditation upon the existence Real, called niskala the Impersonal Brahman was enjoined and its character was suggested to be a normal supreme awareness of the self’s poise sahaja atma nistha. But the second verse suggested complete self-surrender to the Divine being, sakala brahman, the personal in a wide sense. A two-fold invocation was made in these two verses as the same Brahman can be viewed by our limited being as both Personal and Inpersonal. Then, in order to stress that really it is the one Purusha, the Spirit supreme, that becomes the world, the manifold existence, the third verse which is really the opening verse of the Shastra affirmed the cause to be a Lord of limitless power, ‘All are He’. The next verse, the fourth hastens to remove a possible misapprehension of the third verse by stating that the manifold is not the Absolute Truth of existence and that all religions begin with the triple truth of God world and soul, but find their culmination in a supreme reality, the ultimate Truth and thus reminds us of the Impersonal aspect. Thus the fifth verse proclaims that it is the exalted state of the Self alone which can transcend the ego and give us the Truth, and not all the intellectual gymnastics, the metaphysical speculations, the Shastraic disputations,—the whole dialectical machinery that is set to work to bring out the Truth for our realisation. Thus it appeals to the earnest mind and directs it to turn to the Self by means of nistha, some discipline of the inner life. In the next verse it is admitted that God, world and soul have all forms presented to the jiva; of whose existence each of us is directly and immediately aware, the soul that is embodied: but this is followed by the statement that these are really formless in the formless Ultimate Truth, the one supreme existence that transcends all forms. Thus this Shastra reminds us then and there of the truth that there is no real opposition between the Personal and the Impersonal, between saguna and nirguna and wherever the Personal, the iswara is mentioned, it is immediately suggested that the Impersonal aspect should not be lost sight of and that the Personal Brahman is an actual fact and must be admitted as tenable, and that the opposition between the Personal and the Impersonal aspects of Brahman, is not to be found in the One Indivisible which is both, but is a necessary creation of the analytical mind intoxicated with the pride of the subtle reasoning of its logic. Similarly in the 7th, 8th and 9th verses, the Shastra proclaims the identity of the Individual with the Universal and suggests that the five-fold sheath or body of the jiva or the soul, is its five-fold world and that the five-fold universe is the body of the Lord. Then discussing the true nature of the mind as one of the five sheaths or koshas and of the world as mental in its form, it reduces the world of form to mind and mind to the I-thought and this I-thought is further traced to its source in the Supreme Reality, the One that is unborn and unending. Here it may be noted that the converse truth also is made clear that the Supreme Reality brings forth the I-thought which becomes the mind and this in its turn becomes the world of name and form. Truth-Perception Sat-darshana is nothing but a stable poise in the Self, the Supreme Truth, by realisation of identity Tadatmya Nistha.
धिया सहोदेति धियास्तमेति लोकस्ततो धीप्रविभास्य एषः। धीलोकजन्मक्षयधाम पूर्ण । सद्वस्तु जन्मक्षयशून्यमेकम् ॥
Thought and world together rise and together set. Still by thought the world is lit. In Existence Real, thought and world are formed and lost. One and perfect, unborn is That, unending too.
The world appears and disappears with the I-thought which is the root of all thoughts, and both the world and the mind (thoughts) may be said to co-exist, to be inseparable. Yet this world’ of the senses is lit by the ’I-thought.’ For, thought represents a conscious principle and illuminates the world, the object that is illuminated or made known. As the world itself is stated to be mental in its form and is nothing but a grosser form of ’thought which is subtle, if all the thoughts are withdrawn and traced to their origin and support, then one can perceive the truth that both thought and world, subject and object, inner and outer, which appear and disappear together are really of one existence, and have a common source. Thus the latter half of the verse states ’In Existence Real, thought and world are formed and lost. Then what is the character of this Existence Real that brings forth, sustains and dissolves the subjective thought and the objective world? It is ‘One and Perfect, perfect and therefore not affected by the subtle thought and the gross world. It is ‘unborn and unending too’, while the inner (mind) and the outer (world) begin and end in It. It is substance, the cause, the material for all the subjective and objective manifestations. It is eternal, permanent and persistent and does not lose itself in its manifestations as thought in the subtle state or as thing in the gross. Though the source of the Manifold of the All, of world-expression and soul-formation, yet it is one.
NOTE:-In the commencement of the work meditation upon the existence Real, called niskala the Impersonal Brahman was enjoined and its character was suggested to be a normal supreme awareness of the self’s poise sahaja atma nistha. But the second verse suggested complete self-surrender to the Divine being, sakala brahman, the personal in a wide sense. A two-fold invocation was made in these two verses as the same Brahman can be viewed by our limited being as both Personal and Inpersonal. Then, in order to stress that really it is the one Purusha, the Spirit supreme, that becomes the world, the manifold existence, the third verse which is really the opening verse of the Shastra affirmed the cause to be a Lord of limitless power, ‘All are He’. The next verse, the fourth hastens to remove a possible misapprehension of the third verse by stating that the manifold is not the Absolute Truth of existence and that all religions begin with the triple truth of God world and soul, but find their culmination in a supreme reality, the ultimate Truth and thus reminds us of the Impersonal aspect. Thus the fifth verse proclaims that it is the exalted state of the Self alone which can transcend the ego and give us the Truth, and not all the intellectual gymnastics, the metaphysical speculations, the Shastraic disputations,—the whole dialectical machinery that is set to work to bring out the Truth for our realisation. Thus it appeals to the earnest mind and directs it to turn to the Self by means of nistha, some discipline of the inner life. In the next verse it is admitted that God, world and soul have all forms presented to the jiva; of whose existence each of us is directly and immediately aware, the soul that is embodied: but this is followed by the statement that these are really formless in the formless Ultimate Truth, the one supreme existence that transcends all forms. Thus this Shastra reminds us then and there of the truth that there is no real opposition between the Personal and the Impersonal, between saguna and nirguna and wherever the Personal, the iswara is mentioned, it is immediately suggested that the Impersonal aspect should not be lost sight of and that the Personal Brahman is an actual fact and must be admitted as tenable, and that the opposition between the Personal and the Impersonal aspects of Brahman, is not to be found in the One Indivisible which is both, but is a necessary creation of the analytical mind intoxicated with the pride of the subtle reasoning of its logic.
Similarly in the 7th, 8th and 9th verses, the Shastra proclaims the identity of the Individual with the Universal and suggests that the five-fold sheath or body of the jiva or the soul, is its five-fold world and that the five-fold universe is the body of the Lord. Then discussing the true nature of the mind as one of the five sheaths or koshas and of the world as mental in its form, it reduces the world of form to mind and mind to the I-thought and this I-thought is further traced to its source in the Supreme Reality, the One that is unborn and unending. Here it may be noted that the converse truth also is made clear that the Supreme Reality brings forth the I-thought which becomes the mind and this in its turn becomes the world of name and form.
Truth-Perception Sat-darshana is nothing but a stable poise in the Self, the Supreme Truth, by realisation of identity Tadatmya Nistha.
भवन्तु सद्दर्शनसाधनानि परस्य नामाकृतिभिः सपर्याः। सद्वस्तुनि प्राप्ततदात्मभावा निष्ठव सद्दर्शनमित्यवेहि ॥ For perception of the Truth, worship of the Supreme In name and form is means indeed. But the state of being that in natural poise of Self, That alone is perception true. Names of the Lord such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra and others, or his forms such as the Hiranmaya, the mystic gold-form of the Upanishad, or the eight-fold form Universal, asthamurti102
भवन्तु सद्दर्शनसाधनानि परस्य नामाकृतिभिः सपर्याः। सद्वस्तुनि प्राप्ततदात्मभावा निष्ठव सद्दर्शनमित्यवेहि ॥
For perception of the Truth, worship of the Supreme In name and form is means indeed. But the state of being that in natural poise of Self, That alone is perception true.
Names of the Lord such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra and others, or his forms such as the Hiranmaya, the mystic gold-form of the Upanishad, or the eight-fold form Universal, asthamurti102
And this is the nistha, the settled state in the Supreme Reality, in the one Substance, support and basis of the worshipper and the worshipped, in which is realised the identity of self with Brahman. In this verse, Truth-perception is described to be the highest poise of the self. In a subsequent verse (the 23rd), Self-perception or God-realisation is said to consist in the jiva or soul becoming food, i.e., object of enjoyment or experience to the Lord. So we have two descriptions of the one exalted state, sat-dorsana and atmadarsana, Truth-perception and Self-realisation. Similarly in the two invocatory verses commencing the work, this Supreme Brahman was described to be both Impersonal and Personal, Impersonal for purposes of kaivalya nistha the sole supreme poise, and Personal for sayujya, conscious union of the soul with Brahman. Thus we are reminded that the two aspects are presented for the two distinct paths of knowledge and devotion, that ultimately culminate in a Supreme Realisation, which, in view of the Oneness of the being in the jiva as well as in the Ishwara is mentioned as sat-darsana (nistha) and in view of the jiva’s relation in world-existence to Iswara is named atma-darsana sayujya. Then search is suggested as a means, a discipline helpful to an earnest enquirer of the discriminating mind.
And this is the nistha, the settled state in the Supreme Reality, in the one Substance, support and basis of the worshipper and the worshipped, in which is realised the identity of self with Brahman. In this verse, Truth-perception is described to be the highest poise of the self. In a subsequent verse (the 23rd), Self-perception or God-realisation is said to consist in the jiva or soul becoming food, i.e., object of enjoyment or experience to the Lord. So we have two descriptions of the one exalted state, sat-dorsana and atmadarsana, Truth-perception and Self-realisation. Similarly in the two invocatory verses commencing the work, this Supreme Brahman was described to be both Impersonal and Personal, Impersonal for purposes of kaivalya nistha the sole supreme poise, and Personal for sayujya, conscious union of the soul with Brahman. Thus we are reminded that the two aspects are presented for the two distinct paths of knowledge and devotion, that ultimately culminate in a Supreme Realisation, which, in view of the Oneness of the being in the jiva as well as in the Ishwara is mentioned as sat-darsana (nistha) and in view of the jiva’s relation in world-existence to Iswara is named atma-darsana sayujya.
Then search is suggested as a means, a discipline helpful to an earnest enquirer of the discriminating mind.
द्वन्द्वानि सर्वाण्यखिलास्त्रिपुटयः किञ्चित्समाश्रित्य विभान्ति वस्तु । तन्मार्गणे स्याद्गलितं समस्तं न पश्यतां सच्चलनं कदापि । Dualities and Trinities on something do hang. Supportless never appear they. That searched, these loosen and fall, There is the Truth. Who sees that never wavers. All dualities are interdependent,-Self and not-self, conscient and inconscient, seer and seen, subject and object, and the like; and their truth is to be found in something which lends them its support from behind. The trinities, such as knower, known and knowledge derive their existence from something that is their source and support. A search for this something behind the dualities and the trinities leads to their disappearance while what remains in them is the Reality, their supreme Existence. They that perceive it by a sort of apprehending consciousness do not waver as theirs is an unshakable position, a firm status, in the Supreme for whoever is single-minded in pursuit of the Truth becomes indeed the very functioning of the Truth-principle. It is elsewhere stated by Shri Maharshi in answer to the question whether Brahman the Truth becomes known to the knowing mind103
द्वन्द्वानि सर्वाण्यखिलास्त्रिपुटयः किञ्चित्समाश्रित्य विभान्ति वस्तु । तन्मार्गणे स्याद्गलितं समस्तं न पश्यतां सच्चलनं कदापि ।
Dualities and Trinities on something do hang. Supportless never appear they. That searched, these loosen and fall, There is the Truth. Who sees that never wavers.
All dualities are interdependent,-Self and not-self, conscient and inconscient, seer and seen, subject and object, and the like; and their truth is to be found in something which lends them its support from behind. The trinities, such as knower, known and knowledge derive their existence from something that is their source and support. A search for this something behind the dualities and the trinities leads to their disappearance while what remains in them is the Reality, their supreme Existence. They that perceive it by a sort of apprehending consciousness do not waver as theirs is an unshakable position, a firm status, in the Supreme for whoever is single-minded in pursuit of the Truth becomes indeed the very functioning of the Truth-principle. It is elsewhere stated by Shri Maharshi in answer to the question whether Brahman the Truth becomes known to the knowing mind103
Thus by a psychological search for the Self implying a rejection of all the mental forms involving dualities and trinities, the possibility is mentioned here that one can arrive at their root and support, which is none other than the Supreme Self that needs no other support and which being realised, no further search is possible or necessary for the human mind, as that is the unshakable state beyond which there is nothing to seek. Then from the 12th to the 21st verse, various kinds of meditation on subtle truths are mentioned as helpful to the enquiring mind.
Thus by a psychological search for the Self implying a rejection of all the mental forms involving dualities and trinities, the possibility is mentioned here that one can arrive at their root and support, which is none other than the Supreme Self that needs no other support and which being realised, no further search is possible or necessary for the human mind, as that is the unshakable state beyond which there is nothing to seek.
Then from the 12th to the 21st verse, various kinds of meditation on subtle truths are mentioned as helpful to the enquiring mind.
विद्या कथं भाति न चेदविद्या विद्यां विना कि प्रविभात्यविद्या। द्वयं च कस्येति विचार्य मूल- स्वरूपनिष्ठा परमार्थविद्या॥ If ignorance were not, how can knowledge be? If knowledge were not, how can ignorance be? Searching close the source of both, Settled state there is knowledge true. The dual terms of knowledge and ignorance are relative and one should discover their root in something, which is neither of them, by a kind of psychological examination of self. For instance, when I say ’I am aware,’ or ’I am ignorant, the quest that is suggested here is to find out who it is that knows or who it is that knows not. The quest, when serious, involves a close watchfulness bearing fruit in the discerning of a supreme awareness in the self, which is the source of all forms of consciousness. And this is real knowledge, for it is not a mental conception, or intellectual conviction but a revelation, a realisation, an experience, a consciousness that is supreme knowledge paramartha vidya. Thus after speaking of the search for the source of the duality of knowledge and ignorance, the Shastra proceeds to explain the subtler method of getting at the ultimate truth by direct experience and knowledge by identity, by meditating upon and comprehending the truth underlying the knower, knowledge and known.
विद्या कथं भाति न चेदविद्या विद्यां विना कि प्रविभात्यविद्या। द्वयं च कस्येति विचार्य मूल- स्वरूपनिष्ठा परमार्थविद्या॥
If ignorance were not, how can knowledge be? If knowledge were not, how can ignorance be? Searching close the source of both, Settled state there is knowledge true.
The dual terms of knowledge and ignorance are relative and one should discover their root in something, which is neither of them, by a kind of psychological examination of self. For instance, when I say ’I am aware,’ or ’I am ignorant, the quest that is suggested here is to find out who it is that knows or who it is that knows not. The quest, when serious, involves a close watchfulness bearing fruit in the discerning of a supreme awareness in the self, which is the source of all forms of consciousness. And this is real knowledge, for it is not a mental conception, or intellectual conviction but a revelation, a realisation, an experience, a consciousness that is supreme knowledge paramartha vidya.
Thus after speaking of the search for the source of the duality of knowledge and ignorance, the Shastra proceeds to explain the subtler method of getting at the ultimate truth by direct experience and knowledge by identity, by meditating upon and comprehending the truth underlying the knower, knowledge and known.
बोद्धारमात्मानमजानतो यो बोधः स कि स्यात्परमार्थबोधः। बोधस्य बोध्यस्य च संश्रयं स्वं विजानतस्तद्वितयं विनश्येत् ॥ The knower knowing himself not, Can knowledge such be awakening true? The self being seen, the support of both, Dissolves the duality of knower and known. The knowledge of the knowing subject who does not know himself is no true knowledge. But who ever knows the support of knowledge and known to be the knower himself realises that both, knowledge and known do not have separate existence apart from himself, the knowing subject, and as such they both (knowledge and known) perish, in the sense that they are lost to his perception as independent existence. We are to note the underlying idea here that the true character of the Real is such that it is the substance and support not merely of the knower but also of the knowledge and the known. And he that realises, that is, knows by experience, that he is not different from the Real, the Self supreme, the ultimate Being, perceives that knowledge and known also are not different from that Real of which he has knowledge by identity. That is why it is stated that on the knower’s realising his self, the other two of the trinity (knowledge and known) disappear and whatever is Real in them persists and that is the same as the one Reality of all existence, of the subject within and of the object without. Though all the members of the trinity have a common origin and have the same truth, knowledge of the subjective being, the knower is stressed because it is nearer the conscious light and the other two are its grosser modifications. It may not be out of place to mention here what the Maharshi states on the subject of triputi in the Ramana Gita (Ch. XII. Slo. 4,5). "The knower that knows himself as not different from the Real, swarupa, knows that known and knowledge are not apart from him.” “The knower that is cut off (in experience) from the Real, knows the known and the knowledge to be separate from himself”. Knowledge of the knower the subjective being, leads to the source, the Real. It is supreme knowledge; it is once again emphatically declared to be consciousness different from both knowledge and ignorance.
बोद्धारमात्मानमजानतो यो बोधः स कि स्यात्परमार्थबोधः। बोधस्य बोध्यस्य च संश्रयं स्वं विजानतस्तद्वितयं विनश्येत् ॥
The knower knowing himself not, Can knowledge such be awakening true? The self being seen, the support of both, Dissolves the duality of knower and known.
The knowledge of the knowing subject who does not know himself is no true knowledge. But who ever knows the support of knowledge and known to be the knower himself realises that both, knowledge and known do not have separate existence apart from himself, the knowing subject, and as such they both (knowledge and known) perish, in the sense that they are lost to his perception as independent existence. We are to note the underlying idea here that the true character of the Real is such that it is the substance and support not merely of the knower but also of the knowledge and the known. And he that realises, that is, knows by experience, that he is not different from the Real, the Self supreme, the ultimate Being, perceives that knowledge and known also are not different from that Real of which he has knowledge by identity. That is why it is stated that on the knower’s realising his self, the other two of the trinity (knowledge and known) disappear and whatever is Real in them persists and that is the same as the one Reality of all existence, of the subject within and of the object without. Though all the members of the trinity have a common origin and have the same truth, knowledge of the subjective being, the knower is stressed because it is nearer the conscious light and the other two are its grosser modifications. It may not be out of place to mention here what the Maharshi states on the subject of triputi in the Ramana Gita (Ch. XII. Slo. 4,5).
"The knower that knows himself as not different from the Real, swarupa, knows that known and knowledge are not apart from him.”
“The knower that is cut off (in experience) from the Real, knows the known and the knowledge to be separate from himself”.
Knowledge of the knower the subjective being, leads to the source, the Real. It is supreme knowledge; it is once again emphatically declared to be consciousness different from both knowledge and ignorance.
निद्रा न विद्या ग्रहणं न विद्या गृह्णाति किञ्चिन्न यथार्थबोधे । निद्रापदार्थग्रहणेतरा स्यात् चिदेव विद्या विलसन्त्यशून्या॥ Insensibility is no knowledge, nor is apprehension of objects seen. Nothing is seen in awareness supreme. Different from both is consciousness there. No void is that-the knowledge, luminous and true. Insensibility or a state of sleep in which there is no sense-activity is no knowledge. It is an established fact that in the consciousness of the self, nothing is seen as separate from or outside of itself, and an ignoramus may mistake such a state for perfect oblivion, a complete non-recognition of objects. To remove this misconception it is stated that Self-knowledge Atmajnana is no insensibility. Nor is it apprehension of objects seen. This is a knowledge indeed, but a knowledge of the known as differentiated from the knower. True knowledge is different from both of these, yet it is consciousness that lends its light to the duality of knowledge and ignorance. It is ’luminous’, not inert, or indifferent to the duality, dvandva, though it is different from the relational knowledge and ignorance. The next verse gives the analogy of gold in ornamental forms to make clear that Truth is consciousness and One alone, and that the different forms of it are not really separate from their original, the one Substance.
निद्रा न विद्या ग्रहणं न विद्या गृह्णाति किञ्चिन्न यथार्थबोधे । निद्रापदार्थग्रहणेतरा स्यात् चिदेव विद्या विलसन्त्यशून्या॥
Insensibility is no knowledge, nor is apprehension of objects seen. Nothing is seen in awareness supreme. Different from both is consciousness there. No void is that-the knowledge, luminous and true.
Insensibility or a state of sleep in which there is no sense-activity is no knowledge. It is an established fact that in the consciousness of the self, nothing is seen as separate from or outside of itself, and an ignoramus may mistake such a state for perfect oblivion, a complete non-recognition of objects. To remove this misconception it is stated that Self-knowledge Atmajnana is no insensibility. Nor is it apprehension of objects seen. This is a knowledge indeed, but a knowledge of the known as differentiated from the knower. True knowledge is different from both of these, yet it is consciousness that lends its light to the duality of knowledge and ignorance. It is ’luminous’, not inert, or indifferent to the duality, dvandva, though it is different from the relational knowledge and ignorance.
The next verse gives the analogy of gold in ornamental forms to make clear that Truth is consciousness and One alone, and that the different forms of it are not really separate from their original, the one Substance.
सत्यश्चिदात्मा विविधाकृतिश्चित् सिध्यत्पृथक्सत्यचितो न भिन्ना। भूषाविकाराः किमु सन्ति सत्यं विना सुवर्ण पृथगन लोके ॥ Consciousness, the Self alone is real. Manifold is its form indeed. Can they be real from the one apart? Separate are not the ornamental forms from gold, their Reality. Can they be? The character of the Self is Consciousness which is Truth. It is one. The various forms of Consciousness are not separate from it. These forms do not exist apart from the one Consciousness; just as various ornaments are formed of one substance, gold, and the gold persists in all its mutable forms, the one Consciousness persists in all subjective soul-being or in the objective world-existence. We have already noted that one substance, Swaroopa, manifests in a multiple form. Here the character of that substance is clearly affirmed to be the Supreme Consciousness, of which ourselves and the world about us are but subtler and grosser forms. The basis of the I-notion must be discovered by the discerning intelligence and that is surely an aid to the questing mind.
सत्यश्चिदात्मा विविधाकृतिश्चित् सिध्यत्पृथक्सत्यचितो न भिन्ना। भूषाविकाराः किमु सन्ति सत्यं विना सुवर्ण पृथगन लोके ॥
Consciousness, the Self alone is real. Manifold is its form indeed. Can they be real from the one apart? Separate are not the ornamental forms from gold, their Reality. Can they be?
The character of the Self is Consciousness which is Truth. It is one. The various forms of Consciousness are not separate from it. These forms do not exist apart from the one Consciousness; just as various ornaments are formed of one substance, gold, and the gold persists in all its mutable forms, the one Consciousness persists in all subjective soul-being or in the objective world-existence. We have already noted that one substance, Swaroopa, manifests in a multiple form. Here the character of that substance is clearly affirmed to be the Supreme Consciousness, of which ourselves and the world about us are but subtler and grosser forms.
The basis of the I-notion must be discovered by the discerning intelligence and that is surely an aid to the questing mind.
तयुष्मदोरस्मदि संप्रतिष्ठा तस्मिन्विनष्टेऽस्मदि मूलबोधात् । तद्युष्मदस्मन्मतिजितैका स्थितिवलन्ती सहजाऽऽत्मनः स्यात् ॥ The notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ are bound with ’I’. In the realised root of ’I’ vanishes the ’I’, in the inborn luminous state of Self, the Real ’I’ Free of the notions ’He”Thou’ and ’I’. The notion of tat, ’He’ which refers to the third personal pronoun and the notion of ’Thou,’ the second personal pronoun have meaning for me in so far as they are related to the notion of ’I’. The I-notion is the supreme significance of my being, and it is with reference to it that the other notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ have significance and they cease to be intelligible in the absence of the Inotion. Thus to understand the real character of the notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ one has to discern the basis of the I-notion and when one is awakened to its source the three notions ’He’, ’Thou and I are lost in the luminous state that is inborn of the Self the Real ’I’. It is normal supreme poise of the Self, sahaja atma sthiti, ever luminous, uncreated and one. Thus we have the assurance that such a normal state of a deeper consciousness of the Self is attained by the search for the source of the basic I-notion with which are bound up the other two notions of ’He’ and ’Thou’. The Purusha, the spirit that is beyond all space and time is yet pervasive of all space and enduring in all time. Hence one can get at the ultimate Truth by contemplating upon the true character of time and of space. This is the teaching of the next two verses.
तयुष्मदोरस्मदि संप्रतिष्ठा तस्मिन्विनष्टेऽस्मदि मूलबोधात् । तद्युष्मदस्मन्मतिजितैका स्थितिवलन्ती सहजाऽऽत्मनः स्यात् ॥
The notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ are bound with ’I’. In the realised root of ’I’ vanishes the ’I’, in the inborn luminous state of Self, the Real ’I’ Free of the notions ’He”Thou’ and ’I’.
The notion of tat, ’He’ which refers to the third personal pronoun and the notion of ’Thou,’ the second personal pronoun have meaning for me in so far as they are related to the notion of ’I’. The I-notion is the supreme significance of my being, and it is with reference to it that the other notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ have significance and they cease to be intelligible in the absence of the Inotion. Thus to understand the real character of the notions ’He’ and ’Thou’ one has to discern the basis of the I-notion and when one is awakened to its source the three notions ’He’, ’Thou and I are lost in the luminous state that is inborn of the Self the Real ’I’. It is normal supreme poise of the Self, sahaja atma sthiti, ever luminous, uncreated and one. Thus we have the assurance that such a normal state of a deeper consciousness of the Self is attained by the search for the source of the basic I-notion with which are bound up the other two notions of ’He’ and ’Thou’.
The Purusha, the spirit that is beyond all space and time is yet pervasive of all space and enduring in all time. Hence one can get at the ultimate Truth by contemplating upon the true character of time and of space. This is the teaching of the next two verses.
भूतं भविष्यच्च भवत्स्वकाले तद्वर्तमानस्य विहाय तत्त्वम् । हास्या न किं स्याद्गतभाविचर्चा विनकसंख्यां गणनेव लोके ॥ Past was present when that was current. The future coming will then be present. Unaware of the present in threefold time, Vain to discourse on future and past. Canst thou the numbers count, without the unit one? When it was occurring, past was current, i.e., present. Similarly the future, when it occurs will then be present. Thus one can see that the real character of the threefold time, past, present and future is one eternal flow, the present. It is an eternal now. In itself without a break, an unbroken continuity, itself indivisible, it gives room for the mind to relate it to what has happened and to what is yet to happen, and thus to divide it into past, present and future. Hence without knowing the true nature of the present, it is futile, if not impossible, to discourse upon past and future, or to think of having a true knowledge of them, just as numbers cannot be counted without the unit one. Counting not merely begins with ’one’ the unit, but it is the unit that swells the numbers and is present in every number. The true character of time is an eternal present; really, past and future are in themselves present. This eternal now is the Time-spirit kalatma which is but the becoming of Brahman, the Real, and is like the string in a garland, present in and as the whole indivisible time movement. One way to attain settled poise in the Self is by meditation upon Time. One can meditate upon Time by being closely watchful and thus becoming intimately aware of the interval between thoughts of the past and those of the future and can realise that the consciousness that backs the incessant thought-flow is really the eternal now which is not other than the Brahman itself, the ultimate Truth. We sense and feel that we are the body and our embodied existence is subject to space and time. But if our existence is traced to its source in the infinite Self, the ultimate Reality beyond space and time, then it would be clear that we are beyond space and time, and yet have a spatial and temporal existence.
भूतं भविष्यच्च भवत्स्वकाले तद्वर्तमानस्य विहाय तत्त्वम् । हास्या न किं स्याद्गतभाविचर्चा विनकसंख्यां गणनेव लोके ॥
Past was present when that was current. The future coming will then be present. Unaware of the present in threefold time, Vain to discourse on future and past. Canst thou the numbers count, without the unit one?
When it was occurring, past was current, i.e., present. Similarly the future, when it occurs will then be present. Thus one can see that the real character of the threefold time, past, present and future is one eternal flow, the present. It is an eternal now. In itself without a break, an unbroken continuity, itself indivisible, it gives room for the mind to relate it to what has happened and to what is yet to happen, and thus to divide it into past, present and future. Hence without knowing the true nature of the present, it is futile, if not impossible, to discourse upon past and future, or to think of having a true knowledge of them, just as numbers cannot be counted without the unit one. Counting not merely begins with ’one’ the unit, but it is the unit that swells the numbers and is present in every number. The true character of time is an eternal present; really, past and future are in themselves present. This eternal now is the Time-spirit kalatma which is but the becoming of Brahman, the Real, and is like the string in a garland, present in and as the whole indivisible time movement.
One way to attain settled poise in the Self is by meditation upon Time. One can meditate upon Time by being closely watchful and thus becoming intimately aware of the interval between thoughts of the past and those of the future and can realise that the consciousness that backs the incessant thought-flow is really the eternal now which is not other than the Brahman itself, the ultimate Truth.
We sense and feel that we are the body and our embodied existence is subject to space and time. But if our existence is traced to its source in the infinite Self, the ultimate Reality beyond space and time, then it would be clear that we are beyond space and time, and yet have a spatial and temporal existence.
क्व भाति दिक्कालकथा विनाऽस्मान् दिक्काललीलेह वपुर्वयं चेत् । न क्वापि भामो न कदापि भामो वयं तु सर्वत्र सदा च भामः॥ Where is space without me and where is time? The body exists in space and time, but no body am I. Nowhere I am, in no time I am. Yet am I everywhere in all time. Space and Time exist with reference to the subjective being which is a conscious principle. When the force of Consciousness manifests the mind, assuming spatial and temporal terms of existence, the subjective being becomes mental, manomaya, in its character. It is necessary here to recall to mind what was stated in the beginning of the Shastra, that "All are He...a Lord of Limitless power". The power to assume a manifold existence is inherent in the Spirit, the Purusha. And manifold form presupposes extension or space; and there is no movement without time, for time itself is movement. Thus the force of consciousness as movement and extension becomes time and space for mental comprehension. It must be borne in mind that space and time which are but the twin terms of the creative conscious force are inalienable from Existence-Consciousness itself sat-cit, which is the substantial Truth, Brahman. Brahman and His Shakti, Consciousness and Force are really in a relation of identity like light and its radiation. “In speech alone can one separate substance from its force, never in fact, never in experience.” Therefore when the Self whose character is Consciousness becomes mentalised, it becomes subject to space and time in an embodied existence. But the supreme truth of ourselves is the ultimate reality which is the basis of the spatial and temporal manifestation of the mental being. Hence it is easy to understand the statement that there is no space or time without me, the mental being. If I am embodied, then there can well be the talk of ’space and time’ which are but manifestations of the conscious force. But ‘nowhere I am’; my root-being is not subject to space; ’In no time I am’; nor is my self-being subject to time. Yet as the Real, my ultimate being has become all space and time; "I am everywhere, in all time.” Subject to space and time, the conscious self is mental; beyond space and time it transcends the mind. Thus the Existent, the Spirit, Purusha, is spoken of in his two-fold aspect, the dynamic and the static and here again we are reminded of the One Brahman that is at once sakala and niskala, Relative and Personal as well as Absolute and Impersonal, of which repeated mention has been made in the earlier part. Next the difference in experience between the ignorant and the man of Realisation is mentioned.
क्व भाति दिक्कालकथा विनाऽस्मान् दिक्काललीलेह वपुर्वयं चेत् । न क्वापि भामो न कदापि भामो वयं तु सर्वत्र सदा च भामः॥
Where is space without me and where is time? The body exists in space and time, but no body am I. Nowhere I am, in no time I am. Yet am I everywhere in all time.
Space and Time exist with reference to the subjective being which is a conscious principle. When the force of Consciousness manifests the mind, assuming spatial and temporal terms of existence, the subjective being becomes mental, manomaya, in its character. It is necessary here to recall to mind what was stated in the beginning of the Shastra, that "All are He...a Lord of Limitless power". The power to assume a manifold existence is inherent in the Spirit, the Purusha. And manifold form presupposes extension or space; and there is no movement without time, for time itself is movement. Thus the force of consciousness as movement and extension becomes time and space for mental comprehension. It must be borne in mind that space and time which are but the twin terms of the creative conscious force are inalienable from Existence-Consciousness itself sat-cit, which is the substantial Truth, Brahman. Brahman and His Shakti, Consciousness and Force are really in a relation of identity like light and its radiation. “In speech alone can one separate substance from its force, never in fact, never in experience.” Therefore when the Self whose character is Consciousness becomes mentalised, it becomes subject to space and time in an embodied existence. But the supreme truth of ourselves is the ultimate reality which is the basis of the spatial and temporal manifestation of the mental being. Hence it is easy to understand the statement that there is no space or time without me, the mental being. If I am embodied, then there can well be the talk of ’space and time’ which are but manifestations of the conscious force. But ‘nowhere I am’; my root-being is not subject to space; ’In no time I am’; nor is my self-being subject to time. Yet as the Real, my ultimate being has become all space and time; "I am everywhere, in all time.”
Subject to space and time, the conscious self is mental; beyond space and time it transcends the mind. Thus the Existent, the Spirit, Purusha, is spoken of in his two-fold aspect, the dynamic and the static and here again we are reminded of the One Brahman that is at once sakala and niskala, Relative and Personal as well as Absolute and Impersonal, of which repeated mention has been made in the earlier part.
Next the difference in experience between the ignorant and the man of Realisation is mentioned.
देहात्मभावे ज्ञजडौ समाना- वेकस्य देहे हृदि दीप्त आत्मा। आक्रम्य देहं च जगच्च पूर्णः परस्य मेयं तनुमानमात्मा ॥ Body is Self to the wise and the ignorant alike. To the body is limited the ignorant one’s self. The self effulgent in the Heart of the wise, Possesses the body and the world around, And stands limitless and perfect. The idea that the self is the body is common to the man that has realised the Truth and to him that has not. In the Heart of the man of realisation, in the centre of the Purusha and the seat of the Lord in man, the Supreme is effulgent as the Self, the supreme ’I’ ‘possessing the body and the world around, perfect and limitless’. But the ignorant, the undeveloped man has only the body itself for his self; for he feels and thinks that he is not separate from the body and that in fact he is the body. But the wise, the advanced man realises that he is a Self distinct from the body—and the Self itself is his body, the Self that is ever effulgent in the Heart as the incessant I-consciousness possessing the body and the world at large. This Self, the Infinite, the real and perfect ’l’ is experienced by the wise man, the man of realisation as his own body. Thus the difference between the wise and the ignorant lies in experience, which is dynamic in its character, and not in an intellectual conviction which is but the flower of philosophic reasoning. To put it briefly: to the man that knows, Existence Real that is the All, is the Self and this includes his particular embodiment. To the ignorant, his body alone is the Self. Because of the deficiency in understanding capacity of the unregenerate, his knowledge is imperfect and defective. To mistake his imperfect and, in this sense, faulty understanding for complete knowledge is false knowledge. It is not that the defective knowledge itself is false. In other words, the undeveloped man experiences the Self in his own body, while the developed, the wise man realises his Self in the universal body, in the world, and his Self is not limited to his particular embodied existence. The grand idea of this verse has been fully discussed in the Introduction. The difference between the wise and the ignorant as well as the element common to them has been thus discussed with reference to the individual body. The next verse takes up the world, the universal body; with reference to that it speaks of the difference between the wise and the ignorant.
देहात्मभावे ज्ञजडौ समाना- वेकस्य देहे हृदि दीप्त आत्मा। आक्रम्य देहं च जगच्च पूर्णः परस्य मेयं तनुमानमात्मा ॥
Body is Self to the wise and the ignorant alike. To the body is limited the ignorant one’s self. The self effulgent in the Heart of the wise, Possesses the body and the world around, And stands limitless and perfect.
The idea that the self is the body is common to the man that has realised the Truth and to him that has not. In the Heart of the man of realisation, in the centre of the Purusha and the seat of the Lord in man, the Supreme is effulgent as the Self, the supreme ’I’ ‘possessing the body and the world around, perfect and limitless’. But the ignorant, the undeveloped man has only the body itself for his self; for he feels and thinks that he is not separate from the body and that in fact he is the body. But the wise, the advanced man realises that he is a Self distinct from the body—and the Self itself is his body, the Self that is ever effulgent in the Heart as the incessant I-consciousness possessing the body and the world at large. This Self, the Infinite, the real and perfect ’l’ is experienced by the wise man, the man of realisation as his own body. Thus the difference between the wise and the ignorant lies in experience, which is dynamic in its character, and not in an intellectual conviction which is but the flower of philosophic reasoning.
To put it briefly: to the man that knows, Existence Real that is the All, is the Self and this includes his particular embodiment. To the ignorant, his body alone is the Self.
Because of the deficiency in understanding capacity of the unregenerate, his knowledge is imperfect and defective. To mistake his imperfect and, in this sense, faulty understanding for complete knowledge is false knowledge. It is not that the defective knowledge itself is false.
In other words, the undeveloped man experiences the Self in his own body, while the developed, the wise man realises his Self in the universal body, in the world, and his Self is not limited to his particular embodied existence. The grand idea of this verse has been fully discussed in the Introduction.
The difference between the wise and the ignorant as well as the element common to them has been thus discussed with reference to the individual body. The next verse takes up the world, the universal body; with reference to that it speaks of the difference between the wise and the ignorant.
अज्ञस्य विज्ञस्य च विश्वमस्ति पूर्वस्य दृश्यं जगदेव सत्यम् । परस्य दृश्याश्रयभूतमेकं सत्यं प्रपूर्ण प्रविभात्यरूपम् ॥ To the ignorant and the wise alike the world exists. To the former, the world observed alone is real. To the wise, the formless source of the visible Is the one world, Real and Perfect. The world is real to the ignorant and the wise, to the unregenerate and the regenerate; and both hold that the world exists. The ignorant man who is not aware of the source of the world he sees, takes the world as it appears to his superficial sense for ultimate truth; to him what appeals to his sense-mind sums up Reality, the whole truth. But the wise, he in whom is developed the capacity to apprehend the basic and therefore, the whole truth of the world that is visible, perceives the formless source of the world of form as the One and limitless Truth, the Real world that is luminous and perfect. The wise man sees the world of forms, but does not stop with it like the ignorant; he sees in it the formless Brahman that permeates all existence. Hence his knowledge takes the essential truth of the world as the Real world, which includes but is not confined to the world of forms. Hence it is knowledge, true and perfect. The knowledge of the ignorant is limited to the visible, to the surface, and does not reach down to its essential truth. Therefore it is imperfect, partial, defective. As in the previous verse here also it must be noted that this partial knowledge is no falsehood, but to mistake it for perfect and integral knowledge is illusion and falsehood, mithya. It would be futile arguing in a circle to discuss Fate vidhi and human effort prayatna, but they that know the origin of both are affected neither by karma nor by effort.
अज्ञस्य विज्ञस्य च विश्वमस्ति पूर्वस्य दृश्यं जगदेव सत्यम् । परस्य दृश्याश्रयभूतमेकं सत्यं प्रपूर्ण प्रविभात्यरूपम् ॥
To the ignorant and the wise alike the world exists. To the former, the world observed alone is real. To the wise, the formless source of the visible Is the one world, Real and Perfect.
The world is real to the ignorant and the wise, to the unregenerate and the regenerate; and both hold that the world exists. The ignorant man who is not aware of the source of the world he sees, takes the world as it appears to his superficial sense for ultimate truth; to him what appeals to his sense-mind sums up Reality, the whole truth. But the wise, he in whom is developed the capacity to apprehend the basic and therefore, the whole truth of the world that is visible, perceives the formless source of the world of form as the One and limitless Truth, the Real world that is luminous and perfect.
The wise man sees the world of forms, but does not stop with it like the ignorant; he sees in it the formless Brahman that permeates all existence. Hence his knowledge takes the essential truth of the world as the Real world, which includes but is not confined to the world of forms. Hence it is knowledge, true and perfect. The knowledge of the ignorant is limited to the visible, to the surface, and does not reach down to its essential truth. Therefore it is imperfect, partial, defective. As in the previous verse here also it must be noted that this partial knowledge is no falsehood, but to mistake it for perfect and integral knowledge is illusion and falsehood, mithya.
It would be futile arguing in a circle to discuss Fate vidhi and human effort prayatna, but they that know the origin of both are affected neither by karma nor by effort.
विधेः प्रयत्नस्य च कोऽपि वाद स्तयोर्द्वयोर्मूलमजानतां स्यात् । विधेः प्रयत्नस्य च मूलवस्तु सञ्जानतां नैव विधिन यत्नः।। Of Fate and Effort They are given to talk, that know not whence come forth the two. Those that know the source of both, Beyond the twin are they, by Fate untouched and by Effort too. The momentum of an unseen force, adrsta, working out certain results, the fruit of action karma commenced in previous states or lives prarabdha is called Fate vidhi, daiva. And purusakara is human exertion. Effort and fate are commonly considered as cause and effect, but really there is a First Cause, a Final Effect which is neither karma nor effort; and that is beyond the two. Whoever realises the source of these two is not subject to their influence. The theory of Karma is a puzzle to many. All that is done and experienced by me now, is the result of past action, the working of Karma, fate, and the effort that I now make, moved and sustained by a sense of freedom is also the working of fate, of an unseen Force that gives the momentum for my present exertion. Again Fate or Karma itself is the effect of a past effort, and present effort is an effect of past Karma. Effort as an effect is traced to its cause in fate and fate again is pushed back to its cause in an antecedent effort. This kind of viewing fate and effort as cause and effect leads to a regressus ad infinitum. Therefore one must look for something behind the two, behind this movement of vidhi and prayatna of Fate and human exertion. And once that something is known, these two change their colour, present an utterly different aspect and that is the only right solution of the problem of fate and freewill. This much may be stated here. Neither vidhi fate nor effort is free or independent. vidhi depends on effort as it is always considered the result of one’s own past exertion. And one’s exertion depends upon his desire and his tendency to do a particular act. Desire is natural to or co-exists with the ego-self called the jiva that poses or considers itself free. But real freedom of the jiva, the individual, is in the Self, the Lord that supports the individual existence. Thus both fate and effort are found to depend upon the free Self, the Lord who alone gives the momentum for action that inevitably yields its fruit. Therefore it is urged that the source of Fate and Freewill must be looked for in the Self which alone is really free and independent. Here reference may be made with profit to the discussion of human effort and Divine Grace in the Bhoomika. Then we find it stated in the next verse that knowledge of the Self is of the nature of a supreme poise of the Self.
विधेः प्रयत्नस्य च कोऽपि वाद स्तयोर्द्वयोर्मूलमजानतां स्यात् । विधेः प्रयत्नस्य च मूलवस्तु सञ्जानतां नैव विधिन यत्नः।।
Of Fate and Effort They are given to talk, that know not whence come forth the two. Those that know the source of both, Beyond the twin are they, by Fate untouched and by Effort too.
The momentum of an unseen force, adrsta, working out certain results, the fruit of action karma commenced in previous states or lives prarabdha is called Fate vidhi, daiva. And purusakara is human exertion. Effort and fate are commonly considered as cause and effect, but really there is a First Cause, a Final Effect which is neither karma nor effort; and that is beyond the two. Whoever realises the source of these two is not subject to their influence.
The theory of Karma is a puzzle to many. All that is done and experienced by me now, is the result of past action, the working of Karma, fate, and the effort that I now make, moved and sustained by a sense of freedom is also the working of fate, of an unseen Force that gives the momentum for my present exertion. Again Fate or Karma itself is the effect of a past effort, and present effort is an effect of past Karma. Effort as an effect is traced to its cause in fate and fate again is pushed back to its cause in an antecedent effort. This kind of viewing fate and effort as cause and effect leads to a regressus ad infinitum. Therefore one must look for something behind the two, behind this movement of vidhi and prayatna of Fate and human exertion. And once that something is known, these two change their colour, present an utterly different aspect and that is the only right solution of the problem of fate and freewill.
This much may be stated here. Neither vidhi fate nor effort is free or independent. vidhi depends on effort as it is always considered the result of one’s own past exertion. And one’s exertion depends upon his desire and his tendency to do a particular act. Desire is natural to or co-exists with the ego-self called the jiva that poses or considers itself free. But real freedom of the jiva, the individual, is in the Self, the Lord that supports the individual existence. Thus both fate and effort are found to depend upon the free Self, the Lord who alone gives the momentum for action that inevitably yields its fruit. Therefore it is urged that the source of Fate and Freewill must be looked for in the Self which alone is really free and independent.
Here reference may be made with profit to the discussion of human effort and Divine Grace in the Bhoomika.
Then we find it stated in the next verse that knowledge of the Self is of the nature of a supreme poise of the Self.
यदीशितुर्वीक्षणमीक्षितार- मवीक्ष्य तन्मानसिकेक्षणं स्यात् । न द्रष्टुरन्यः परमो हि तस्य वीक्षा स्वमूले प्रविलीय निष्ठा।II To see the Lord without seeing the seer, That is but seeing with the mind. Separate from the seer, the Supreme is not. Real sight is the poise supreme of the Self in the deep. If one sees the Lord without perception of one’s own Self which sees things other than itself, then this seeing of the Lord is but a mental seeing, a mental figure which however true in its own kind is only a mental image of the Lord, and not the highest and truest perception of Him. For real perception of the Lord is impossible without realisation of the self that sees. Thus Self-realisation is a condition precedent to God realisation. In order to impress the truth that Self-realisation consists of an intimate experience of God as one’s own deepest being, the Self, ever luminous as the supreme I-consciousness in the mystic centre called the Heart, it is suggested that the seeing self must first be realised before one can perceive the Lord. And in the realisation of one’s own self, the root of one’s existence is experienced as the source of all existences, the Lord, and nothing is there which is different from Him or which is not Himself, ’All are He’; and this is the true perception of the Lord. But the subjective self the visayi, the mental being manomaya can have a vision of the Lord and that is naturally a mental vision of God. But the Self behind the mental being does not perceive the Lord by means of the mind, but sees Him by itself without any means other than itself, and this is direct perception. There is a natural and supreme poise of the self, which is the source of mind and there the Lord is realised as one’s own deepest being, the Real Self. That is why it is stated ’separate from the seer is not the supreme.’ It is a fact that the jiva or the soul is identical with parama the supreme being in the sense that both are of the same consciousness. But this knowledge by identity presupposes or involves a consciousness which is not mental in its character, a consciousness which is the basis not only of one’s own being but of all-being as well as of God-being. This consciousness then is a settled natural state of the Self, a sublime and unshakable poise, and this is attained by the ego-mind or the mental being withdrawing itself from the outer and going deeper into its origin in the deepest being, the Self where the individual soul and the universal Lord are one and known by identity. Then we have a description of Self-perception atmadarsan.
यदीशितुर्वीक्षणमीक्षितार- मवीक्ष्य तन्मानसिकेक्षणं स्यात् । न द्रष्टुरन्यः परमो हि तस्य वीक्षा स्वमूले प्रविलीय निष्ठा।II
To see the Lord without seeing the seer, That is but seeing with the mind. Separate from the seer, the Supreme is not. Real sight is the poise supreme of the Self in the deep.
If one sees the Lord without perception of one’s own Self which sees things other than itself, then this seeing of the Lord is but a mental seeing, a mental figure which however true in its own kind is only a mental image of the Lord, and not the highest and truest perception of Him. For real perception of the Lord is impossible without realisation of the self that sees. Thus Self-realisation is a condition precedent to God realisation. In order to impress the truth that Self-realisation consists of an intimate experience of God as one’s own deepest being, the Self, ever luminous as the supreme I-consciousness in the mystic centre called the Heart, it is suggested that the seeing self must first be realised before one can perceive the Lord. And in the realisation of one’s own self, the root of one’s existence is experienced as the source of all existences, the Lord, and nothing is there which is different from Him or which is not Himself, ’All are He’; and this is the true perception of the Lord. But the subjective self the visayi, the mental being manomaya can have a vision of the Lord and that is naturally a mental vision of God.
But the Self behind the mental being does not perceive the Lord by means of the mind, but sees Him by itself without any means other than itself, and this is direct perception.
There is a natural and supreme poise of the self, which is the source of mind and there the Lord is realised as one’s own deepest being, the Real Self. That is why it is stated ’separate from the seer is not the supreme.’ It is a fact that the jiva or the soul is identical with parama the supreme being in the sense that both are of the same consciousness. But this knowledge by identity presupposes or involves a consciousness which is not mental in its character, a consciousness which is the basis not only of one’s own being but of all-being as well as of God-being. This consciousness then is a settled natural state of the Self, a sublime and unshakable poise, and this is attained by the ego-mind or the mental being withdrawing itself from the outer and going deeper into its origin in the deepest being, the Self where the individual soul and the universal Lord are one and known by identity.
Then we have a description of Self-perception atmadarsan.
आत्मानमीक्षेत परं प्रपश्ये- दित्यागमोक्तेः सुलभो न भावः। नात्मैव दृश्यो यदि का कथेशे स्वयं तदनीभवनं तदीक्षा। ‘See thyself and see the Lord.’ That is the revealed word and hard is its sense indeed. For the seeing Self is not to be seen. How then is sight of the Lord ? To be food unto Him, that indeed is to see Him. The sense of the authoritative utterance ’See the Self and see the Lord’ is difficult to grasp. For if the Self itself cannot be seen, how can the question of seeing the Lord arise? Here it is the nature of ’seeing’, perception or realisation of the Self that has got to be understood. With the object of revealing its true character, the seeing of the Lord is described by an illuminating phrase as being ’food unto Him’. The seeing soul is never seen; it is always the seer, the subject never an object to be apprehended by anything other than itself. If this soul, the ego-self, the Jeeva, the subjective being, attempts to know its Lord, its own deepest being, it automatically withdraws itself from its pre-occupations with divergent thoughts in the subjective or divergent forms in the objective existence, and finds itself drawn to something deeper than itself and once it experiences its original being, its source, the deep Self in this manner, it ceases to be cut off in consciousness from its Supreme source to which it thus becomes a food, as it were, an experience and an enjoyment. And there is no dualism dvaita here, because of this relation between isvara and jiva, between God and Soul, as enjoyer and enjoyed. For this relation is one of identity realised in a conscious union of the soul with its Lord, of the ego with the Self in the one basic Consciousness. Even before the Self allows the ego to get merged in it, there is no dvaita in the sense that the ego-self has an absolutely separate existence apart from its real Self, as the ego is nothing but a temporary formation in the consciousness of the Self. It is the Self that is behind the ego and though the ego is not aware of it so long as it is in a state of ignorance or bondage, yet it becomes aware of it once it is free from its preoccupations and prepossessions. When it is thus aware, it feels drawn to the deeper being of which it is the surface or the apparent self. Thus we see that this description of Atma-Darshan or Selfperception does not contradict that of sat-darsan or Truth-perception (vide verse 10) as both refer to the same exalted state of the Self, nistha which can also be viewed as sayujya, with reference to the real Self holding the ego-self jiva in conscious union. In the next verse it is pointed out how perception of Self does not differ from God-perception.
आत्मानमीक्षेत परं प्रपश्ये- दित्यागमोक्तेः सुलभो न भावः। नात्मैव दृश्यो यदि का कथेशे स्वयं तदनीभवनं तदीक्षा।
‘See thyself and see the Lord.’ That is the revealed word and hard is its sense indeed. For the seeing Self is not to be seen. How then is sight of the Lord ? To be food unto Him, that indeed is to see Him.
The sense of the authoritative utterance ’See the Self and see the Lord’ is difficult to grasp. For if the Self itself cannot be seen, how can the question of seeing the Lord arise? Here it is the nature of ’seeing’, perception or realisation of the Self that has got to be understood. With the object of revealing its true character, the seeing of the Lord is described by an illuminating phrase as being ’food unto Him’. The seeing soul is never seen; it is always the seer, the subject never an object to be apprehended by anything other than itself. If this soul, the ego-self, the Jeeva, the subjective being, attempts to know its Lord, its own deepest being, it automatically withdraws itself from its pre-occupations with divergent thoughts in the subjective or divergent forms in the objective existence, and finds itself drawn to something deeper than itself and once it experiences its original being, its source, the deep Self in this manner, it ceases to be cut off in consciousness from its Supreme source to which it thus becomes a food, as it were, an experience and an enjoyment.
And there is no dualism dvaita here, because of this relation between isvara and jiva, between God and Soul, as enjoyer and enjoyed. For this relation is one of identity realised in a conscious union of the soul with its Lord, of the ego with the Self in the one basic Consciousness. Even before the Self allows the ego to get merged in it, there is no dvaita in the sense that the ego-self has an absolutely separate existence apart from its real Self, as the ego is nothing but a temporary formation in the consciousness of the Self. It is the Self that is behind the ego and though the ego is not aware of it so long as it is in a state of ignorance or bondage, yet it becomes aware of it once it is free from its preoccupations and prepossessions. When it is thus aware, it feels drawn to the deeper being of which it is the surface or the apparent self.
Thus we see that this description of Atma-Darshan or Selfperception does not contradict that of sat-darsan or Truth-perception (vide verse 10) as both refer to the same exalted state of the Self, nistha which can also be viewed as sayujya, with reference to the real Self holding the ego-self jiva in conscious union.
In the next verse it is pointed out how perception of Self does not differ from God-perception.
धिये प्रकाशं परमो वितीर्य स्वयं धियोऽन्तः प्रविभाति गुप्तः। धियं परावर्त्य धियोऽन्तरेऽत्र संयोजनान्नेश्वरदृष्टिरन्या॥ The Supreme gives the light to thought. Within it, Himself hidden, He shines. Hence to turn in the thought to unite within, that is to see the Lord. How else to see? The Supreme Lord, the Creator, is Himself consciousness; and when by the force that is inherent in and inseparable from the consciousness various forms of it are created, the light of the consciousness lends its support to them for their sustenance. But this consciousness being the cause of all causes, subtler than the subtle, it lies hidden in thought, i.e., the mind, at the same time supporting its movement. So if the diffused mind with its scattered thoughts, gathers itself up and gets in to discern the light that supports it, what remains is the consciousness of the Lord that has become the Self. Therefore to withdraw from the Outer and turn to the Inner is to see the Self and to unite with the Lord, whose light is the controlling and directing principle of the thought-mind. The next three verses discuss the character of the ego.
धिये प्रकाशं परमो वितीर्य स्वयं धियोऽन्तः प्रविभाति गुप्तः। धियं परावर्त्य धियोऽन्तरेऽत्र संयोजनान्नेश्वरदृष्टिरन्या॥
The Supreme gives the light to thought. Within it, Himself hidden, He shines. Hence to turn in the thought to unite within, that is to see the Lord. How else to see?
The Supreme Lord, the Creator, is Himself consciousness; and when by the force that is inherent in and inseparable from the consciousness various forms of it are created, the light of the consciousness lends its support to them for their sustenance. But this consciousness being the cause of all causes, subtler than the subtle, it lies hidden in thought, i.e., the mind, at the same time supporting its movement. So if the diffused mind with its scattered thoughts, gathers itself up and gets in to discern the light that supports it, what remains is the consciousness of the Lord that has become the Self. Therefore to withdraw from the Outer and turn to the Inner is to see the Self and to unite with the Lord, whose light is the controlling and directing principle of the thought-mind.
The next three verses discuss the character of the ego.
न वक्ति देहोऽहमिति प्रसुप्तौ न कोऽपि नाभूवमिति प्रवक्ति । यत्रोदिते सर्वमुदेति तस्य धियाऽहमः शोधय जन्मदेशम् ॥ No one says ’the body is self,’ Nor asserts ’I was not in the deeper sleep’. The ’I’ rising, rises all. With thy keen eye discern that ’I’. It is common experience, whatever one’s philosophy be, that the sense of ’l’ representing personal identity is distinct from the body and hence no one says ’I am the body’. Nor does any one deny that he existed in deep sleep when the world of his waking state was practically lost to him and he could not relate his waking state to whatever he was in sleep. Hence perhaps he believes after returning to the waking state that he was practically non-existent; but he cannot and does not assert that really he was not in sleep, for the simple reason that there is an unbroken continuity of self-consciousness in him, and that personal identity is maintained. Thus there is a persistent ’l’ in waking as well as in sleep, irrespective of the changing states. When this ‘I’ rises, the whole world presents itself to the mind. What is the source of this ‘I’? Explore the source of this I-notion by a keen and unrelaxing watchfulness. “Whoever incessantly watches the rise of ’I’, merges himself in the Supreme mahat.” (Uma Sahasra). Thus we have it that all phenomenal existence presents itself to the ego-consciousness. The next verse speaks of the ego-formation and mentions it by various names.
न वक्ति देहोऽहमिति प्रसुप्तौ न कोऽपि नाभूवमिति प्रवक्ति । यत्रोदिते सर्वमुदेति तस्य धियाऽहमः शोधय जन्मदेशम् ॥
No one says ’the body is self,’ Nor asserts ’I was not in the deeper sleep’. The ’I’ rising, rises all. With thy keen eye discern that ’I’.
It is common experience, whatever one’s philosophy be, that the sense of ’l’ representing personal identity is distinct from the body and hence no one says ’I am the body’. Nor does any one deny that he existed in deep sleep when the world of his waking state was practically lost to him and he could not relate his waking state to whatever he was in sleep. Hence perhaps he believes after returning to the waking state that he was practically non-existent; but he cannot and does not assert that really he was not in sleep, for the simple reason that there is an unbroken continuity of self-consciousness in him, and that personal identity is maintained. Thus there is a persistent ’l’ in waking as well as in sleep, irrespective of the changing states. When this ‘I’ rises, the whole world presents itself to the mind. What is the source of this ‘I’?
Explore the source of this I-notion by a keen and unrelaxing watchfulness.
“Whoever incessantly watches the rise of ’I’, merges himself in the Supreme mahat.” (Uma Sahasra).
Thus we have it that all phenomenal existence presents itself to the ego-consciousness. The next verse speaks of the ego-formation and mentions it by various names.
देहो न जानाति सतो न जन्म देहप्रमाणोऽन्य उदेति मध्ये। अहङकृतिग्रन्थिविबन्धसूक्ष्म- शरीरचेतोभवजीवनामा॥ The body is blind, unborn is the Real Self. The twain between, within the body’s limit, There a something else appears. That is the knot of matter and spirit, the Mind, the living soul, the body subtle, the egoself. That is Samsara the revolving wheel (of life and death). What is this ’I’ to which the whole world of phenomena presents itself? It cannot be the body which is insentient; nor can it be the unborn self which is perfect consciousness. Here we have the authoritative assertion of Bhagawan Maharshi that between the twain, something appears within the body’s limit. Between the unborn self which is the basis of the I-notion in all beings and the insentient jada the visible body, there crops up something which is called the ego-self distinct on the one hand from the unborn self and on the other from the body, and to this extent it is at once pervasive and limited. Thus, this ego-self partakes of the character of both the self and the body as it is formed betwixt the two and serves as a liaison between them. Then various names are mentioned to denote its various functions. It is the ahamkara the ego, which is a fleeting formation, a reflection, of the self with a certain fixity behind it. The conscious self is free, but this is limited and bound to the body. The statement that the ego is a formation between the self and the body and links them together, as it were, is quite peculiar to Shri Maharshi’s philosophic outlook and expressive of his personal experience. This fact is made clearer when he calls the ahamkara by the name of cit-jada-granthi, a psycho-physical knot connecting spirit with matter. It is true that the granthi-idea is at least as ancient as the Upanishads, but here it receives a special treatment with a significant stress. And because it is a knot, a tie between spirit and matter, it is called bandha, bondage. It lies between the causal and the gross, between the karana self and the sthula deha and so is subtle suksma. It is limited to the body and has bodily functions and hence is called the subtle body, suksma sarira. Of the two main elements of the subtle body, prana and manas (life force and mind-stuff), mind is nearer the conscious light. Hence with the stress falling upon this element the subtle body is called the mind. But it is the life-force in the living being that manifests the mind in which the ego poses itself as the Self. With the stress shifted to prana it is called the jiva, the living being. It is this jiva, the ego-self, the soul in the making, so to say, that turns round the wheel of birth and death; hence it is samsara. The other points bearing upon this subject of ego have been discussed in the Introduction. The play of the ego is described in the next verse.
देहो न जानाति सतो न जन्म देहप्रमाणोऽन्य उदेति मध्ये। अहङकृतिग्रन्थिविबन्धसूक्ष्म- शरीरचेतोभवजीवनामा॥
The body is blind, unborn is the Real Self. The twain between, within the body’s limit, There a something else appears. That is the knot of matter and spirit, the Mind, the living soul, the body subtle, the egoself. That is Samsara the revolving wheel (of life and death).
What is this ’I’ to which the whole world of phenomena presents itself? It cannot be the body which is insentient; nor can it be the unborn self which is perfect consciousness. Here we have the authoritative assertion of Bhagawan Maharshi that between the twain, something appears within the body’s limit. Between the unborn self which is the basis of the I-notion in all beings and the insentient jada the visible body, there crops up something which is called the ego-self distinct on the one hand from the unborn self and on the other from the body, and to this extent it is at once pervasive and limited. Thus, this ego-self partakes of the character of both the self and the body as it is formed betwixt the two and serves as a liaison between them.
Then various names are mentioned to denote its various functions. It is the ahamkara the ego, which is a fleeting formation, a reflection, of the self with a certain fixity behind it. The conscious self is free, but this is limited and bound to the body. The statement that the ego is a formation between the self and the body and links them together, as it were, is quite peculiar to Shri Maharshi’s philosophic outlook and expressive of his personal experience. This fact is made clearer when he calls the ahamkara by the name of cit-jada-granthi, a psycho-physical knot connecting spirit with matter. It is true that the granthi-idea is at least as ancient as the Upanishads, but here it receives a special treatment with a significant stress.
And because it is a knot, a tie between spirit and matter, it is called bandha, bondage. It lies between the causal and the gross, between the karana self and the sthula deha and so is subtle suksma. It is limited to the body and has bodily functions and hence is called the subtle body, suksma sarira.
Of the two main elements of the subtle body, prana and manas (life force and mind-stuff), mind is nearer the conscious light. Hence with the stress falling upon this element the subtle body is called the mind. But it is the life-force in the living being that manifests the mind in which the ego poses itself as the Self. With the stress shifted to prana it is called the jiva, the living being. It is this jiva, the ego-self, the soul in the making, so to say, that turns round the wheel of birth and death; hence it is samsara.
The other points bearing upon this subject of ego have been discussed in the Introduction.
The play of the ego is described in the next verse.
रूपोद्भवो रूपततिप्रतिष्ठो रूपाशनो धूतगृहीतरूपः। स्वयं विरूपः स्वविचारकाले धावत्यहड़कारपिशाच एषः॥ Born of form, rooted in forms, Living on forms, ever changing its forms, Itself formless, flitting when questioned, Such is the ego-ghost. The ego was stated to be a subtle formation moving between matter and spirit linking the self with the body. It was characterised as a psycho-physical knot in the material body of the individual. Its true character is described here in the statement that though it is a formation it has no form of its own. As has been already remarked, it is a figure of the Self formed in the subtle being of mind-stuff and life-force, here called the subtle body, and it is ever shifting from form to form, as it is ’born and rooted in forms of mind, which is nothing but an incessant thought-movement, a creation of the conscious-force. The ego is the apparent self, supported at its root by the light of the conscious self. It is drawn to external objects and is moved to and absorbed in them by the subtle body of ’mind and life with which it identifies itself. In fact it is formed and dissolved in the subtle stuff itself. Indeed this ego-self ahamkara is called jiva in the preceding verse; but the dissolution of the ego leads to the destruction of ego-life and ego-sense and not at all to that of individuality. The ego, plunging into the abyss of the Self in a serious quest to know itself, makes a deeper stratum of consciousness come to the surface and that is the Real ’I’, the ultimate reference of existence, the supreme significance of self-being, which is remotely reflected and temporarily represented on the surface by the ego or the apparent self, atmabhasa; (cf. 32nd verse. “Then flashes forth another ’I’). The search for the ego and its total abandonment is an indispensable condition of the conquest.
रूपोद्भवो रूपततिप्रतिष्ठो रूपाशनो धूतगृहीतरूपः। स्वयं विरूपः स्वविचारकाले धावत्यहड़कारपिशाच एषः॥
Born of form, rooted in forms, Living on forms, ever changing its forms, Itself formless, flitting when questioned, Such is the ego-ghost.
The ego was stated to be a subtle formation moving between matter and spirit linking the self with the body. It was characterised as a psycho-physical knot in the material body of the individual. Its true character is described here in the statement that though it is a formation it has no form of its own. As has been already remarked, it is a figure of the Self formed in the subtle being of mind-stuff and life-force, here called the subtle body, and it is ever shifting from form to form, as it is ’born and rooted in forms of mind, which is nothing but an incessant thought-movement, a creation of the conscious-force.
The ego is the apparent self, supported at its root by the light of the conscious self. It is drawn to external objects and is moved to and absorbed in them by the subtle body of ’mind and life with which it identifies itself. In fact it is formed and dissolved in the subtle stuff itself.
Indeed this ego-self ahamkara is called jiva in the preceding verse; but the dissolution of the ego leads to the destruction of ego-life and ego-sense and not at all to that of individuality. The ego, plunging into the abyss of the Self in a serious quest to know itself, makes a deeper stratum of consciousness come to the surface and that is the Real ’I’, the ultimate reference of existence, the supreme significance of self-being, which is remotely reflected and temporarily represented on the surface by the ego or the apparent self, atmabhasa; (cf. 32nd verse. “Then flashes forth another ’I’).
The search for the ego and its total abandonment is an indispensable condition of the conquest.
भावेऽहमः सर्वमिदं विभाति लयेऽहमो नैव विभाति किञ्चित् । तस्मादहरूपमिदं समस्तं तन्मार्गणं सर्वजयाय मार्गः॥ With the ego-self rising, all appear. On its setting, they disappear. Hence is all this but the ego’s form. The quest for it is the way to conquest. So much has been said of the ego, its character and origin, its pose and play that we are now in a position to appreciate the truth of the statement "The ego rising, all rises.’ But it should not be misunderstood that the world, whatever its real character, depends for its existence upon my ego or any other ego. It only means that the world as it presents itself to my ego-sense, that is, as a separate independent existence manifest in qualities and quantities, ceases to do so in the absence of a consciousness formed as the ego which uses the world of appearance as a suggestion from which it draws out its forms in qualities and quantities, in which it revels. If this ego is merged or outlived, the world of forms as we have it vanishes and in its place the world of Reality (vide verse 20) presents itself to the surviving persisting, supreme consciousness of the Self which is not the ego. Hence to search for the ego and conquer it (by abandoning it) is the indispensable condition for the conquest, and possession of the All-and this involves a control over the appearances that screen the Truth, the Real Self from the external and surface being, (cf. verses 5 and 6.) Nishtha the supreme poise of the Self results from the merging of the ego implemented by an earnest quest.
भावेऽहमः सर्वमिदं विभाति लयेऽहमो नैव विभाति किञ्चित् । तस्मादहरूपमिदं समस्तं तन्मार्गणं सर्वजयाय मार्गः॥
With the ego-self rising, all appear. On its setting, they disappear. Hence is all this but the ego’s form. The quest for it is the way to conquest.
So much has been said of the ego, its character and origin, its pose and play that we are now in a position to appreciate the truth of the statement "The ego rising, all rises.’ But it should not be misunderstood that the world, whatever its real character, depends for its existence upon my ego or any other ego. It only means that the world as it presents itself to my ego-sense, that is, as a separate independent existence manifest in qualities and quantities, ceases to do so in the absence of a consciousness formed as the ego which uses the world of appearance as a suggestion from which it draws out its forms in qualities and quantities, in which it revels. If this ego is merged or outlived, the world of forms as we have it vanishes and in its place the world of Reality (vide verse 20) presents itself to the surviving persisting, supreme consciousness of the Self which is not the ego. Hence to search for the ego and conquer it (by abandoning it) is the indispensable condition for the conquest, and possession of the All-and this involves a control over the appearances that screen the Truth, the Real Self from the external and surface being, (cf. verses 5 and 6.)
Nishtha the supreme poise of the Self results from the merging of the ego implemented by an earnest quest.
सत्या स्थिति हमुदेति यत्र तच्चोदयस्थानगवेषणेन । विना न नश्यद्यदि तन्न नश्येत् स्वात्मैक्यरूपा कथमस्तु निष्ठा । That is the Real state, where the ego lives not. Its birth-place sought, the ego dissolves. Nowise else can one attain The supreme state of one’s own Self. There is no formation of the ego in the state of supreme reality of the Self. This is a truth that survives the ego, even as it is always present behind the appearance of the ego. Though it is present in all states, even during the persistence of the ego, its presence is not felt in egoistic existence. When the ego-self feels the pressure of a need to know its own source, or feeling the urge of a supreme impulse gets into a movement of serious quest for its origin, it loses itself. Loss of ego results in the realisation of the oneness of the ego-self with the real ’I’ the deeper self in that exalted settled state called nistha (vide 32nd verse). Having pointed out many methods of quest, the Shastra now enjoins a different method, that of plunging in. This is really the essence of Hridaya Vidya, the mystic discipline that leads to the central seat of the Purusha, the Spirit in man.
सत्या स्थिति हमुदेति यत्र तच्चोदयस्थानगवेषणेन । विना न नश्यद्यदि तन्न नश्येत् स्वात्मैक्यरूपा कथमस्तु निष्ठा ।
That is the Real state, where the ego lives not. Its birth-place sought, the ego dissolves. Nowise else can one attain The supreme state of one’s own Self.
There is no formation of the ego in the state of supreme reality of the Self. This is a truth that survives the ego, even as it is always present behind the appearance of the ego. Though it is present in all states, even during the persistence of the ego, its presence is not felt in egoistic existence. When the ego-self feels the pressure of a need to know its own source, or feeling the urge of a supreme impulse gets into a movement of serious quest for its origin, it loses itself. Loss of ego results in the realisation of the oneness of the ego-self with the real ’I’ the deeper self in that exalted settled state called nistha (vide 32nd verse).
Having pointed out many methods of quest, the Shastra now enjoins a different method, that of plunging in. This is really the essence of Hridaya Vidya, the mystic discipline that leads to the central seat of the Purusha, the Spirit in man.
कूपे यथा गाढजले तथाऽन्त- निमज्ज्य बुद्धया शितया नितान्तम् । प्राणं च वाचं च नियम्य चिन्वन् विन्देनिजाहङकृतिमूलरूपम् ॥ As in a well of water deep, Dive deep with Reason cleaving sharp. With speech, mind and breath restrained, Exploring thus mayest thou discover the real source of ego-self. Just as one forgets all other thoughts and keeps aside all other cares, and holding breath and speech gets into the well and plunges deep to find the lost article; even so one has to forget for the moment all his responsibilities and cares and take a deep plunge into the deeper truth of himself holding calm his breath and mind which would otherwise dissipate his energy and divide his interests. Thus he gets into a movement of plunge that deepening and deepening with a vigilant and discerning eye develops into a supreme awareness. The methods hitherto suggested are all some sort of search with the mind and indeed they yield results of their own: and the earnestness of the search determines the measure of success. But in this verse the method called ’Plunge’ is suggested, and this is the real test of earnestness. For an earnest whole-hearted attempt involves the gathering up of all one’s divided interests and dissipated energy into a concentrated effort of the whole man, of his being in all its entirety. It is not a partial attempt by the mind or by means of controlling the life-breath. Here restraint of breath and speech are suggested as a means and an accompanying condition of the ‘Plunge’. Restraint of speech suggests a mind equipped for the attempt with preliminary calm. Restraint of breath also is spoken of here both as a means and as a necessary condition. It is easy to see that it naturally accompanies a serious attempt of this kind. but how is it a means ? The discipline of regulating the breath has a value to life-breath, as it clears away to a certain extent the impurities that are the heritage of a life that is divided in its interest. Besides, the discipline of regulating the breath, pranayama, gives a certain purity to life in the body and thereby helps the mind to have control over itself by getting clear of the arrogating advances of life upon it. An impure and weak mind is a slave of life which is ever out for the satisfaction of appetite—hunger and thirst—and is full of desire for enjoyment of sensual objects. The sadhana by which prana is purified goes a long way to purify and elevate the mind. [It must be noted that what is enjoined here is the adoption of any means, that will enable one to take a determined dive to find the Real in the deep. Though the Maharshi’s attitude to Sadhana may be summed up in one word nistha leading to or realised in prapatti, he has no predilection to any of the stereotyped yogas, for instance the Jnanayoga of neti (not this) or the Bhaktiyoga with its eight limbs of Shravana, Kirtana etc, or the Rajayoga that aims solely at the mind becoming entranced into a state undisturbed by the world.] Then Vichara or quest is described as a quest for the self by the calm collected and deepening mind.
कूपे यथा गाढजले तथाऽन्त- निमज्ज्य बुद्धया शितया नितान्तम् । प्राणं च वाचं च नियम्य चिन्वन् विन्देनिजाहङकृतिमूलरूपम् ॥
As in a well of water deep, Dive deep with Reason cleaving sharp. With speech, mind and breath restrained, Exploring thus mayest thou discover the real source of ego-self.
Just as one forgets all other thoughts and keeps aside all other cares, and holding breath and speech gets into the well and plunges deep to find the lost article; even so one has to forget for the moment all his responsibilities and cares and take a deep plunge into the deeper truth of himself holding calm his breath and mind which would otherwise dissipate his energy and divide his interests. Thus he gets into a movement of plunge that deepening and deepening with a vigilant and discerning eye develops into a supreme awareness.
The methods hitherto suggested are all some sort of search with the mind and indeed they yield results of their own: and the earnestness of the search determines the measure of success. But in this verse the method called ’Plunge’ is suggested, and this is the real test of earnestness. For an earnest whole-hearted attempt involves the gathering up of all one’s divided interests and dissipated energy into a concentrated effort of the whole man, of his being in all its entirety. It is not a partial attempt by the mind or by means of controlling the life-breath.
Here restraint of breath and speech are suggested as a means and an accompanying condition of the ‘Plunge’. Restraint of speech suggests a mind equipped for the attempt with preliminary calm. Restraint of breath also is spoken of here both as a means and as a necessary condition. It is easy to see that it naturally accompanies a serious attempt of this kind. but how is it a means ? The discipline of regulating the breath has a value to life-breath, as it clears away to a certain extent the impurities that are the heritage of a life that is divided in its interest. Besides, the discipline of regulating the breath, pranayama, gives a certain purity to life in the body and thereby helps the mind to have control over itself by getting clear of the arrogating advances of life upon it. An impure and weak mind is a slave of life which is ever out for the satisfaction of appetite—hunger and thirst—and is full of desire for enjoyment of sensual objects. The sadhana by which prana is purified goes a long way to purify and elevate the mind.
[It must be noted that what is enjoined here is the adoption of any means, that will enable one to take a determined dive to find the Real in the deep. Though the Maharshi’s attitude to Sadhana may be summed up in one word nistha leading to or realised in prapatti, he has no predilection to any of the stereotyped yogas, for instance the Jnanayoga of neti (not this) or the Bhaktiyoga with its eight limbs of Shravana, Kirtana etc, or the Rajayoga that aims solely at the mind becoming entranced into a state undisturbed by the world.]
Then Vichara or quest is described as a quest for the self by the calm collected and deepening mind.
मौनेन मज्जन्मनसा स्वमूल- चर्चेव सत्यात्मविचारणं स्यात् । एषोऽहमेतन्न मम स्वरूप- मिति प्रमा सत्यविचारणाङ्गम् ॥ The mind through calm in deep plunge enquires. That alone is real quest for the self. "This I am not ’mine is not this’. Ideas such help forward the quest. When the mind becomes calm, free from all thoughts other than the single thought of the Self and begins to search for it in silence, then alone real quest for the Self vicara may be said to begin. Shastraic discussions and intellectual discrimination leading to the conviction “I am the Self, the seer, am never the seen, this body is not I or mine” are indeed a help to the quest, but not the quest itself. As they can be of help, they are not to be despised. [There is a time-worn view in scholastic circles that Shastraic knowledge in this life or in a previous one is a condition of competency adhikara for Brahmavidya, knowledge of Brahman. This view receives no support here]. When as the result of the fading of the ego, the apparent self on the surface, one gets liberated from the bonds of ignorance, the Real T, the self as the basic consciousness and support of the individual in which the ego has its play, comes up to the surface. This ’I’ is not the ego, but an unceasing flash of the Supreme I-consciousness, of the Supreme Itself.
मौनेन मज्जन्मनसा स्वमूल- चर्चेव सत्यात्मविचारणं स्यात् । एषोऽहमेतन्न मम स्वरूप- मिति प्रमा सत्यविचारणाङ्गम् ॥
The mind through calm in deep plunge enquires. That alone is real quest for the self. "This I am not ’mine is not this’. Ideas such help forward the quest.
When the mind becomes calm, free from all thoughts other than the single thought of the Self and begins to search for it in silence, then alone real quest for the Self vicara may be said to begin. Shastraic discussions and intellectual discrimination leading to the conviction “I am the Self, the seer, am never the seen, this body is not I or mine” are indeed a help to the quest, but not the quest itself. As they can be of help, they are not to be despised.
[There is a time-worn view in scholastic circles that Shastraic knowledge in this life or in a previous one is a condition of competency adhikara for Brahmavidya, knowledge of Brahman. This view receives no support here].
When as the result of the fading of the ego, the apparent self on the surface, one gets liberated from the bonds of ignorance, the Real T, the self as the basic consciousness and support of the individual in which the ego has its play, comes up to the surface. This ’I’ is not the ego, but an unceasing flash of the Supreme I-consciousness, of the Supreme Itself.
गवेषणात्प्राप्य हृदन्तरं तत् पतेदहन्ता परिभुग्नशीर्षा । अथाहमन्यत्स्फुरति प्रकृष्टं नाहङकृतिस्तत्परमेव पूर्णम् ॥ Get at the Heart within by search. The ego bows its head and falls. Then flashes forth another. ’I’, not the ego that, but the Self, Supreme, Perfect. When by search one somehow gets the Heart, the ego-self at once drops, falls into abysmal depths as it were, never to return to the surface in its habitual manner of looking at itself and the world and other beings in it as separate existences. Does this mean that the ego-self is lost for ever? No, the ego is lost, but only to make way for its original, the Real Self, to come up to the surface by either using the regenerate ego-self as an instrument or by transforming it to a true reflection so as to make its presence felt on the surface, the effect of which is an experience, a feeling in the ego-self that it is one with its deeper and Real Self and that it is this deeper being that has assumed the form of the apparent self in the phenomenal existence. Hence it is stated that it is not the ego but the Supreme itself param eva vastu that flashes forth as the incessant ’l’, after the dropping of the ego into the all devouring silence of the Self. [The incessant flashing of the supreme ’I’ is mentioned as suddha ahambhava sphurti (vide, com. on the I verse. cf. Ramana Gita ch II)]. Then we have it stated that the real nature of the conduct in life of a Jeevanmukta, one liberated alive is incomprehensible to the external mind which can not get out of its rules of conduct.
गवेषणात्प्राप्य हृदन्तरं तत् पतेदहन्ता परिभुग्नशीर्षा । अथाहमन्यत्स्फुरति प्रकृष्टं नाहङकृतिस्तत्परमेव पूर्णम् ॥
Get at the Heart within by search. The ego bows its head and falls. Then flashes forth another. ’I’, not the ego that, but the Self, Supreme, Perfect.
When by search one somehow gets the Heart, the ego-self at once drops, falls into abysmal depths as it were, never to return to the surface in its habitual manner of looking at itself and the world and other beings in it as separate existences. Does this mean that the ego-self is lost for ever? No, the ego is lost, but only to make way for its original, the Real Self, to come up to the surface by either using the regenerate ego-self as an instrument or by transforming it to a true reflection so as to make its presence felt on the surface, the effect of which is an experience, a feeling in the ego-self that it is one with its deeper and Real Self and that it is this deeper being that has assumed the form of the apparent self in the phenomenal existence. Hence it is stated that it is not the ego but the Supreme itself param eva vastu that flashes forth as the incessant ’l’, after the dropping of the ego into the all devouring silence of the Self.
[The incessant flashing of the supreme ’I’ is mentioned as suddha ahambhava sphurti (vide, com. on the I verse. cf. Ramana Gita ch II)].
Then we have it stated that the real nature of the conduct in life of a Jeevanmukta, one liberated alive is incomprehensible to the external mind which can not get out of its rules of conduct.
अहङकृति यो लसति ग्रसित्वा कि तस्य कार्य परिशिष्टमस्ति। किचिद्विजानाति स नात्मनोऽन्यत् तस्य स्थिति भावयितुं क्षमः कः॥ What remains there for him to do who swallows the ego and shineth forth? Separate from the Self, there is nought to him. His condition to conceive, who is there so bold? A jeevan-mukta is he, who, liberated from the ego-grip, not merely ceases to be in the egoistic consciousness, but is firmly rooted in the deeper truth of himself, poised in the consciousness of the Real, the Self. Therefore ’What is there for him to do?’ from the egoistic standpoint? For, the purpose of the ego is fulfilled in the development of the deeper consciousness of the Self which is free to dissolve it ụtterly or to retain it as a transformed instrument for purposes of its own, for using it in a manner quite in consonance with the laws of the deeper Spirit known to the Real, the Self, ever free and eternal, the Divine. Hence we have it that the mukta the liberated ’swallows the ego and shines forth.’ It is not an utter loss of the ego-self. It is taken alive, so to speak, for use by the deeper Truth, the real and the divine Self. As the mukta realises his identity with his deeper truth, he is said to swallow the ego and shine forth. He realises that what is the self in him is the Brahman, the Divine. Though he sees the different appearances in the One Infinite he sees them as not different from the Self of which he is deeply aware by an inner intimacy. The ego is there, feels the presence, power and pressure of its own deeper self and is moved to act as guided by the Light behind. Hence it is said “There is nought to him separate from the self’. Such a condition is indeed inconceivable to the mind with its gaze turned to the external. The manifestation of higher powers and the change that comes upon the embodiment of the jivan-mukta have been mentioned in the Ramana Gita. (Vide Introduction.) Weakness of understanding gives rise to long discussions.
अहङकृति यो लसति ग्रसित्वा कि तस्य कार्य परिशिष्टमस्ति। किचिद्विजानाति स नात्मनोऽन्यत् तस्य स्थिति भावयितुं क्षमः कः॥
What remains there for him to do who swallows the ego and shineth forth? Separate from the Self, there is nought to him. His condition to conceive, who is there so bold?
A jeevan-mukta is he, who, liberated from the ego-grip, not merely ceases to be in the egoistic consciousness, but is firmly rooted in the deeper truth of himself, poised in the consciousness of the Real, the Self. Therefore ’What is there for him to do?’ from the egoistic standpoint? For, the purpose of the ego is fulfilled in the development of the deeper consciousness of the Self which is free to dissolve it ụtterly or to retain it as a transformed instrument for purposes of its own, for using it in a manner quite in consonance with the laws of the deeper Spirit known to the Real, the Self, ever free and eternal, the Divine. Hence we have it that the mukta the liberated ’swallows the ego and shines forth.’ It is not an utter loss of the ego-self. It is taken alive, so to speak, for use by the deeper Truth, the real and the divine Self. As the mukta realises his identity with his deeper truth, he is said to swallow the ego and shine forth. He realises that what is the self in him is the Brahman, the Divine. Though he sees the different appearances in the One Infinite he sees them as not different from the Self of which he is deeply aware by an inner intimacy. The ego is there, feels the presence, power and pressure of its own deeper self and is moved to act as guided by the Light behind. Hence it is said “There is nought to him separate from the self’. Such a condition is indeed inconceivable to the mind with its gaze turned to the external.
The manifestation of higher powers and the change that comes upon the embodiment of the jivan-mukta have been mentioned in the Ramana Gita. (Vide Introduction.)
Weakness of understanding gives rise to long discussions.
आह स्फुटं तत्त्वमसीति वेद- स्तथाऽप्यसंप्राप्य परात्मनिष्ठाम् । भूयो विचारो मतिदुर्बलत्वं तत्सर्वदा स्वात्मतया हि भाति ।। ’That Thou art, the scripture asserts clear. Yet missing the poise in supreme Self, Recurring discussion is but weakness of thought. Luminous is That always, as one’s own self. The truth behind the ego-self is Brahman denoted by the word "That’. That Brahman which is beyond all that you comprehend is the Real Self in you, the Acharya in addressing the disciple, the human soul, appeals to the ego-consciousness to trace its origin to the Brahman which is already there seated in the Heart as the Real Self of the individual. An unregenerate being with a weak understanding, not having the stern courage to give up his pre-occupations and make a bold venture to discern and realise the Truth in the deep and tranquil Self, raises questions and multiplies discussions. The Self is always there, aware of itself, and aware of the play of the ego, but the ego-self spins around itself a world of discussions that screen from it its own deeper truth. The moment it relaxes this effort and falls into silence it feels the presence of the Truth the ’Self’ that is ever luminous. Hence the state of bondage lies in the fact that the ego is not awakened to the presence of an eternal Self which is its own deeper truth. The ceaseless thought-movement forms a cover over the ego-self and hence is an obstruction to true awakening. The next verse gives encouragement to the apparent Self to find out its original self and calls upon it to dismiss the nightmare of ignorance and realise the truth that what it has to know is already one with it and is not different from it.
आह स्फुटं तत्त्वमसीति वेद- स्तथाऽप्यसंप्राप्य परात्मनिष्ठाम् । भूयो विचारो मतिदुर्बलत्वं तत्सर्वदा स्वात्मतया हि भाति ।।
’That Thou art, the scripture asserts clear. Yet missing the poise in supreme Self, Recurring discussion is but weakness of thought. Luminous is That always, as one’s own self.
The truth behind the ego-self is Brahman denoted by the word "That’. That Brahman which is beyond all that you comprehend is the Real Self in you, the Acharya in addressing the disciple, the human soul, appeals to the ego-consciousness to trace its origin to the Brahman which is already there seated in the Heart as the Real Self of the individual. An unregenerate being with a weak understanding, not having the stern courage to give up his pre-occupations and make a bold venture to discern and realise the Truth in the deep and tranquil Self, raises questions and multiplies discussions. The Self is always there, aware of itself, and aware of the play of the ego, but the ego-self spins around itself a world of discussions that screen from it its own deeper truth. The moment it relaxes this effort and falls into silence it feels the presence of the Truth the ’Self’ that is ever luminous. Hence the state of bondage lies in the fact that the ego is not awakened to the presence of an eternal Self which is its own deeper truth. The ceaseless thought-movement forms a cover over the ego-self and hence is an obstruction to true awakening.
The next verse gives encouragement to the apparent Self to find out its original self and calls upon it to dismiss the nightmare of ignorance and realise the truth that what it has to know is already one with it and is not different from it.
न वेम्यहं मामुत वेम्यहं मा- मिति प्रवादो मनुजस्य हास्यः। दृग्दृश्यभेदात्किमयं द्विधात्मा स्वात्मकतायां हि धियां न भेदाः॥ The statements ’I know not’ ‘no I do’, Discussions such ridicule invite. Is there a two-fold self, seeing and seen? The Self is one. That is the experience of all. What is called the state of Self-realisation implies that there are states in which the Self is not realised; it is in a state of ignorance that one says "I do not know myself or ’I know myself’. This statement provokes a smile because the Self is always the knower and is never the known; and one should do away with the idea that he can at any time see the Self just as with his mind he sees objects as separate from and other than himself. Seeing the Self is no mental apprehension, but is a true awakening, a deepened awareness of one’s own Self which is the real source of the ego that is ignorance, cut off from its root. Irrespective of differences in condition, place and time, the self in each individual continues to be the same, i.e., is always the seer and never the seen, and expresses itself to the ego-consciousness in the form of personal identity. Therefore the suggestion in this verse is that the surface self must help itself and the dim light in it is enough to start with and that it makes way for the larger and deeper consciousness of the Real Self. This is the spirit of the scriptural statements: "By the Self, one must uplift the Self.” "By the Self, one must attain the Self.” "Knowledge (imperfect) is the means of knowledge (Perfect).’ If it is a fact that my Real Self is already there, why then is it not attained independent of effort?
न वेम्यहं मामुत वेम्यहं मा- मिति प्रवादो मनुजस्य हास्यः। दृग्दृश्यभेदात्किमयं द्विधात्मा स्वात्मकतायां हि धियां न भेदाः॥
The statements ’I know not’ ‘no I do’, Discussions such ridicule invite. Is there a two-fold self, seeing and seen? The Self is one. That is the experience of all.
What is called the state of Self-realisation implies that there are states in which the Self is not realised; it is in a state of ignorance that one says "I do not know myself or ’I know myself’. This statement provokes a smile because the Self is always the knower and is never the known; and one should do away with the idea that he can at any time see the Self just as with his mind he sees objects as separate from and other than himself. Seeing the Self is no mental apprehension, but is a true awakening, a deepened awareness of one’s own Self which is the real source of the ego that is ignorance, cut off from its root.
Irrespective of differences in condition, place and time, the self in each individual continues to be the same, i.e., is always the seer and never the seen, and expresses itself to the ego-consciousness in the form of personal identity.
Therefore the suggestion in this verse is that the surface self must help itself and the dim light in it is enough to start with and that it makes way for the larger and deeper consciousness of the Real Self. This is the spirit of the scriptural statements:
"By the Self, one must uplift the Self.”
"By the Self, one must attain the Self.”
"Knowledge (imperfect) is the means of knowledge (Perfect).’
If it is a fact that my Real Self is already there, why then is it not attained independent of effort?
हृत्प्राप्य सद्धाम निजस्वरूपे स्वभावसिद्धेऽनुपलभ्य निष्ठाम् । मायाविलासः सदसत्सरूप- विरूपनानकमुखप्रवादाः॥ Unsettled in the Heart, in one’s own being, The unmade abode of the Real, To wrangle ’Real or unreal ‘formed or formless’ ‘many or one’ —All this verbal fight is but Maya’s play. Such a self, so close to me, so intimately related to me as my very Reality is indeed a fact; and yet it is not within my actual experience. Why? Myself, what is called the ego having come out of the centre, the Heart, am involved in doubts as to the real character of myself and the world about me. My forgetfulness or ignorance of the Truth, and my weakness are not my creations, for the Self is said to be ever luminous. Then what is it that has brought about this condition of mine? It is ‘Maya’s play.’ And what is Maya ? It is the illusion-causing power of the Shakti of the Lord of All (tirodhana, vide Introduction) which throws a veil avarana over the subjective being, and keeps it from the light, and also throws out a volume of energy from its own creative force, which is scattered and diffused and formed into objective existence viksepa in which the consciousness is absorbed. Self attainment is the Supreme Siddhi, the highest perfection.
हृत्प्राप्य सद्धाम निजस्वरूपे स्वभावसिद्धेऽनुपलभ्य निष्ठाम् । मायाविलासः सदसत्सरूप- विरूपनानकमुखप्रवादाः॥
Unsettled in the Heart, in one’s own being, The unmade abode of the Real, To wrangle ’Real or unreal ‘formed or formless’ ‘many or one’ —All this verbal fight is but Maya’s play.
Such a self, so close to me, so intimately related to me as my very Reality is indeed a fact; and yet it is not within my actual experience. Why? Myself, what is called the ego having come out of the centre, the Heart, am involved in doubts as to the real character of myself and the world about me. My forgetfulness or ignorance of the Truth, and my weakness are not my creations, for the Self is said to be ever luminous. Then what is it that has brought about this condition of mine?
It is ‘Maya’s play.’ And what is Maya ?
It is the illusion-causing power of the Shakti of the Lord of All (tirodhana, vide Introduction) which throws a veil avarana over the subjective being, and keeps it from the light, and also throws out a volume of energy from its own creative force, which is scattered and diffused and formed into objective existence viksepa in which the consciousness is absorbed.
Self attainment is the Supreme Siddhi, the highest perfection.
सिद्धस्य वित्तिः सत एव सिद्धिः स्वप्नोपमानाः खलु सिद्धयोऽन्याः। स्वप्नः प्रबुद्धस्य कथं नु सत्यः सति स्थितः किं पुनरेति मायाम् ॥ Attainment of the Real, that alone is Siddhi true. Other achievements are like dreams, impermanent. Can dreams be to the wakened real ? Who is stable in Truth can such relapse into Maya? The fruit of all human effort is realised in Self-attainment. That is true success, real perfection, supreme achievement parama siddhi. The liberated, mukta, is a perfected being, a great siddha; for, there is no further attempt to be made by him who has realised his truth, the Real Self that is present in all states of consciousness and hence permanent. It is the state immutable and eternal. All other achievements, powers siddhis, higher manifestations of power and light, not suited to conditions of life on earth, are great things indeed and are wonders to the ordinary human mind. But they are manifestations of sakti and in themselves do not represent the Real eternal state of the Self. They may appear and disappear under certain conditions. But under all conditions and in all states, the Real Self is present and immutable. Hence Self-attainment is the highest achievement. Other Siddhis are likened to dreams because they do not endure in all states or conditions. It must be borne in mind that the supreme importance of Self-attainment is stressed here for correcting popular misconceptions about Siddhis, or powers, and the craving of the human mind for ‘miracles that are supposed to be achieved by various means104
सिद्धस्य वित्तिः सत एव सिद्धिः स्वप्नोपमानाः खलु सिद्धयोऽन्याः। स्वप्नः प्रबुद्धस्य कथं नु सत्यः सति स्थितः किं पुनरेति मायाम् ॥
Attainment of the Real, that alone is Siddhi true. Other achievements are like dreams, impermanent. Can dreams be to the wakened real ? Who is stable in Truth can such relapse into Maya?
The fruit of all human effort is realised in Self-attainment. That is true success, real perfection, supreme achievement parama siddhi. The liberated, mukta, is a perfected being, a great siddha; for, there is no further attempt to be made by him who has realised his truth, the Real Self that is present in all states of consciousness and hence permanent. It is the state immutable and eternal. All other achievements, powers siddhis, higher manifestations of power and light, not suited to conditions of life on earth, are great things indeed and are wonders to the ordinary human mind. But they are manifestations of sakti and in themselves do not represent the Real eternal state of the Self. They may appear and disappear under certain conditions. But under all conditions and in all states, the Real Self is present and immutable. Hence Self-attainment is the highest achievement. Other Siddhis are likened to dreams because they do not endure in all states or conditions. It must be borne in mind that the supreme importance of Self-attainment is stressed here for correcting popular misconceptions about Siddhis, or powers, and the craving of the human mind for ‘miracles that are supposed to be achieved by various means104
The meditation ’He I am’ is of some help as long as one feels that he is the body.
सोऽहंविचारो वपुरात्मभावे साहाय्यकारी परमार्गणस्य। स्वात्मैक्यसिद्धौ स पुननिरर्थो यथा नरत्वप्रमितिर्नरस्य। To those who think that the body is Self, the meditation ’I am He’ is help indeed in the supreme search. Futile is that in the realised state of the Self, needless as man’s statement ’I am man’. So long as one is engrossed in the physical body or in the subtle being of life and mind, it does him some good to hold that ’I’, the human self, am ’He’, the Supreme Being. This meditation ’I am He’ so’ham involves the negation of the bodily idea and thus is helpful to some extent as an antedote. But no one in the realised state says ’I am He, the Brahman’. To do so is futile and provokes laughter. No man need say “I am man’. To says so will not make a man of any being which is not man. Only when a doubt arises whether one is or is not a man is the statement pertinent that he is a man, and no bird or beast. Even then to say that he is a man does not create or confer the man-nature, but is simply an assertion of fact or a reminder. Therefore the so’ham meditation (’I am He’) is of some help to remove the wrong idea that I am this body or mind. Shri Maharshi always accepts and appreciates the Upanishadic statements such as ’Brahman is Consciousness’ ’Brahman I am’ "That thou art This self is Brahman’. ’He I am’. But he holds that these are utterances of revealed Truth and therefore are valid. Neither vocal utterance nor mental repetition of these words can be real upasana, or sadhana, the discipline that builds up an inner life leading to the realisation of the ultimate Truth signified by these sacred utterances. Then the parable of the lost tenth man, Dasama drishtanta is quoted to affirm the truth of Advaita, non-duality.
सोऽहंविचारो वपुरात्मभावे साहाय्यकारी परमार्गणस्य। स्वात्मैक्यसिद्धौ स पुननिरर्थो यथा नरत्वप्रमितिर्नरस्य।
To those who think that the body is Self, the meditation ’I am He’ is help indeed in the supreme search. Futile is that in the realised state of the Self, needless as man’s statement ’I am man’.
So long as one is engrossed in the physical body or in the subtle being of life and mind, it does him some good to hold that ’I’, the human self, am ’He’, the Supreme Being. This meditation ’I am He’ so’ham involves the negation of the bodily idea and thus is helpful to some extent as an antedote. But no one in the realised state says ’I am He, the Brahman’. To do so is futile and provokes laughter. No man need say “I am man’. To says so will not make a man of any being which is not man. Only when a doubt arises whether one is or is not a man is the statement pertinent that he is a man, and no bird or beast. Even then to say that he is a man does not create or confer the man-nature, but is simply an assertion of fact or a reminder. Therefore the so’ham meditation (’I am He’) is of some help to remove the wrong idea that I am this body or mind.
Shri Maharshi always accepts and appreciates the Upanishadic statements such as ’Brahman is Consciousness’ ’Brahman I am’ "That thou art This self is Brahman’. ’He I am’. But he holds that these are utterances of revealed Truth and therefore are valid. Neither vocal utterance nor mental repetition of these words can be real upasana, or sadhana, the discipline that builds up an inner life leading to the realisation of the ultimate Truth signified by these sacred utterances.
Then the parable of the lost tenth man, Dasama drishtanta is quoted to affirm the truth of Advaita, non-duality.
द्वैतं विचारे परमार्थबोधे त्वद्वैतमित्येष न साधुवादः। गवेषणात्प्राग्दशमे विनष्टे पश्चाच्च लब्धे दशमत्वमेकम् ॥ “In the wakening, non-duality (Advaita) is the Truth. Prior to it duality (Dvaita) is true. To reason thus is to reason wrong. For truth is truth, whether known or not. Uncounted in the parable the tenth man was. Was he then lost and was the number nine ? Whether one is aware of the Truth or not, it remains the Truth. The One without a second, advaita is the ultimate truth even before it is manifest to me. To say that the truth is dvaita in my state of ignorance and advaita in a state of realisation is not valid. For, the state of ignorance that gives me a sense of duality affects only me—the egoistic consciousness, but does not affect the Truth. The truth is lost to me but is not lost to itself. I have to discover it and not to create it. At best, after discovering it I can relate it to my consiousness, the ego-self (what is called the surface being), as long as ’I’, the ego persists or is allowed to have its play in keeping with the truth of the deeper being. But this is no creation of a previously non-existent Advaita or non-dual state of the Self. By the external being it may be considered as a gain, but this gain is no addition to or alteration in the Truth itself. This is the parable of the lost tenth man, which is quoted to describe the discovery of the truth of advaita. Ten men got into the river and crossed it. On reaching the other side and counting only nine, the counter missed the tenth. At last he found that the tenth man thought lost was none other than the counter himself whom he forgot to count. Only the renouncing of the ego-sense that I do the work destroys the effects of karma (and this is called Karma nasha). The abandoning of work itself is not Karma-nasha.
द्वैतं विचारे परमार्थबोधे त्वद्वैतमित्येष न साधुवादः। गवेषणात्प्राग्दशमे विनष्टे पश्चाच्च लब्धे दशमत्वमेकम् ॥
“In the wakening, non-duality (Advaita) is the Truth. Prior to it duality (Dvaita) is true. To reason thus is to reason wrong. For truth is truth, whether known or not. Uncounted in the parable the tenth man was. Was he then lost and was the number nine ?
Whether one is aware of the Truth or not, it remains the Truth. The One without a second, advaita is the ultimate truth even before it is manifest to me. To say that the truth is dvaita in my state of ignorance and advaita in a state of realisation is not valid. For, the state of ignorance that gives me a sense of duality affects only me—the egoistic consciousness, but does not affect the Truth. The truth is lost to me but is not lost to itself. I have to discover it and not to create it. At best, after discovering it I can relate it to my consiousness, the ego-self (what is called the surface being), as long as ’I’, the ego persists or is allowed to have its play in keeping with the truth of the deeper being. But this is no creation of a previously non-existent Advaita or non-dual state of the Self. By the external being it may be considered as a gain, but this gain is no addition to or alteration in the Truth itself.
This is the parable of the lost tenth man, which is quoted to describe the discovery of the truth of advaita.
Ten men got into the river and crossed it. On reaching the other side and counting only nine, the counter missed the tenth. At last he found that the tenth man thought lost was none other than the counter himself whom he forgot to count.
Only the renouncing of the ego-sense that I do the work destroys the effects of karma (and this is called Karma nasha). The abandoning of work itself is not Karma-nasha.
करोमि कर्मेति नरो विजानन् बाध्यो भवेत्कर्मफलं च भोक्तुम् । विचारधूता हृदि कर्त ता चेत् कर्मत्रयं नश्यति सैव मुक्तिः॥ He is bound to reap the fruit Who is fixed in the I-do-thought, The sense of doer lost by the search in the Heart, Triple karma dies—and that is Release. That man is surely affected by his works who is possessed by the ego-idea that he is an independent being separate from others and the world and the Lord. And this idea of the ego is of course a mistaken notion. For, whatever it is in man that does the work, it does not really belong to him. His body, and his life are parts of the world, and his mind too, whatever philosophic view one may take of it, is not himself, or at least is something that is ever in movement, which is not the persisting himself. And whatever work is done, is done by a part in ourselves of the universal energy that ultimately belongs to something other than what I call myself now. One should realise the truth that the real impulse for work and the energy needed for it come from a source other than the ego-self. Therefore whoever seeks to discover who it is that is the worker in him giving the sanction for work or even actually doing the work, reaches the Heart, the centre of the purusa, the Spirit in him. Once the source of the ego-self is thus realised actions cease to bind the jiva, for he knows that it is something else that does the work. Egoistic actions are forbidden, for they form a bondage to the doer. The bonds of the triple Karma are cut asunder the moment the ego ceases to be the doer by giving up its false and wrong claim. [The triple Karma:1. The collective fruits sancita of past actions enjoyed, persist in the present as vasanas tendencies. 2. prarabdha is the effect experienced in the present of past actions. 3. agami is future action for which the seed is sown in the present through desires brought about by the force of the whole past.] Thus the triple Karma binds the ego-self, which does not realise the Self which is the Real doer. Hence the instruction that the ego-self must realise the Self in the deep to shake off the shackles of Karma. The Real Self that is the Ultimate truth is beyond the relatives of bondage and freedom to which the ego-self is subject.
करोमि कर्मेति नरो विजानन् बाध्यो भवेत्कर्मफलं च भोक्तुम् । विचारधूता हृदि कर्त ता चेत् कर्मत्रयं नश्यति सैव मुक्तिः॥
He is bound to reap the fruit Who is fixed in the I-do-thought, The sense of doer lost by the search in the Heart, Triple karma dies—and that is Release.
That man is surely affected by his works who is possessed by the ego-idea that he is an independent being separate from others and the world and the Lord. And this idea of the ego is of course a mistaken notion. For, whatever it is in man that does the work, it does not really belong to him. His body, and his life are parts of the world, and his mind too, whatever philosophic view one may take of it, is not himself, or at least is something that is ever in movement, which is not the persisting himself. And whatever work is done, is done by a part in ourselves of the universal energy that ultimately belongs to something other than what I call myself now. One should realise the truth that the real impulse for work and the energy needed for it come from a source other than the ego-self. Therefore whoever seeks to discover who it is that is the worker in him giving the sanction for work or even actually doing the work, reaches the Heart, the centre of the purusa, the Spirit in him.
Once the source of the ego-self is thus realised actions cease to bind the jiva, for he knows that it is something else that does the work. Egoistic actions are forbidden, for they form a bondage to the doer. The bonds of the triple Karma are cut asunder the moment the ego ceases to be the doer by giving up its false and wrong claim.
[The triple Karma:1. The collective fruits sancita of past actions enjoyed, persist in the present as vasanas tendencies. 2. prarabdha is the effect experienced in the present of past actions. 3. agami is future action for which the seed is sown in the present through desires brought about by the force of the whole past.]
Thus the triple Karma binds the ego-self, which does not realise the Self which is the Real doer. Hence the instruction that the ego-self must realise the Self in the deep to shake off the shackles of Karma.
The Real Self that is the Ultimate truth is beyond the relatives of bondage and freedom to which the ego-self is subject.
बद्धत्वभावे सति मोक्षचिन्ता बन्धस्तु कस्येति विचारणेन । सिद्धे स्वयं स्वात्मनि नित्यमुक्ते क्व बन्धचिन्ता क्व च मोक्षचिन्ता॥ Thought of liberation is bound with sense of bond. Attempt to know whose is the bond Leads to the unborn Self, one’s own, eternally free. Where then can arise thoughts of freedom and bond? He gets a sense of release who has a sense of bondage. It is the ego-self that is bound and tries to get liberated. The moment the ego enters into a quest for the Self, bondage loosens and the Real Self is attained which is eternally free and with reference to which there can arise no question of bondage or freedom. What is bound and feels the bondage has been already discussed. It is enough here to reiterate that bondage refers to the ego-self, called the jiva, the living being or the soul-formation in the subtle stuff of life and mind, with the apparent or surface consciousness cid-abhasa. But this is impermanent; it is for its dissolution, mergence or transformation into deeper or radical consciousness of the Self, the Real, that special means and methods and yogic disciplines are enjoined in the Shastras, in the works of men competent to speak on the subject. We come to the last verse of the shastra. Real Mukti liberation, is different from the three-fold Release and it is essentially the dissolution of the ego.
बद्धत्वभावे सति मोक्षचिन्ता बन्धस्तु कस्येति विचारणेन । सिद्धे स्वयं स्वात्मनि नित्यमुक्ते क्व बन्धचिन्ता क्व च मोक्षचिन्ता॥
Thought of liberation is bound with sense of bond. Attempt to know whose is the bond Leads to the unborn Self, one’s own, eternally free. Where then can arise thoughts of freedom and bond?
He gets a sense of release who has a sense of bondage. It is the ego-self that is bound and tries to get liberated. The moment the ego enters into a quest for the Self, bondage loosens and the Real Self is attained which is eternally free and with reference to which there can arise no question of bondage or freedom. What is bound and feels the bondage has been already discussed. It is enough here to reiterate that bondage refers to the ego-self, called the jiva, the living being or the soul-formation in the subtle stuff of life and mind, with the apparent or surface consciousness cid-abhasa. But this is impermanent; it is for its dissolution, mergence or transformation into deeper or radical consciousness of the Self, the Real, that special means and methods and yogic disciplines are enjoined in the Shastras, in the works of men competent to speak on the subject.
We come to the last verse of the shastra. Real Mukti liberation, is different from the three-fold Release and it is essentially the dissolution of the ego.
रूपिण्यरूपिण्युभयात्मिका च मुक्तिस्त्रिरूपेति विदो वदन्ति । इदं त्रयं या विविनक्त्यहन्धी- स्तस्याः प्रणाशः परमार्थमुक्तिः॥ ’In Release form is not’, ’Form is really there in release.’ ’Formless and formful both it is’. Thus the wise declare. Discriminating the threefold Release, the ego broods Loss of that is Release Real. Three kinds of liberation are spoken of by the wise. Some hold, like Badari, that the liberated soul has no form, no embodiment of any kind. Some, like Jaimini, maintain that the soul in release has a body of its own. But Badarayana asserts that both are possible, that the soul can have a form of its own or can dispense with it. Now Bhagawan Maharshi states that true liberation (Mukti) lies in none of these states, and that it consists in the loss of the ego that broods over the subject of the possible post-release states of the liberated soul. What is the suggestion here? Surely, a man, liberated or bound, must necessarily be in one of the three states viz., with body, with no body, or with capacity for both. Is it denied that these states are facts? Besides, the verse says that these views are held by the wise, that is, by men who are competent to opine. Moreover Shri Maharshi elsewhere states (vide Ramana Gita). “The jivan-mukta becomes intangible .... invisible .... He becomes a mere consciousness... freely moves about..." And in this verse if he asserts that true liberation is none of these states, he must mean that these are states of development coming upon the jivan-mukta, the liberated one, alive on earth or departed from it. These developments, the capacity to assume or dispense with a form at will or to become a mere centre of consciousness, one with the Supreme, refer to the dynamic condition of the human soul, in whatever stuff it may be embodied, physical and vital or purely mental and psychic, or spiritual, or still finer and diviner substance. Mukti then is an inner experience that is the Realisation of the Self. The state of Realisation of the Self is the same whether here on earth or there in the next, in embodied existence on the earth-plane or in other supra-physical spheres of existence105
रूपिण्यरूपिण्युभयात्मिका च मुक्तिस्त्रिरूपेति विदो वदन्ति । इदं त्रयं या विविनक्त्यहन्धी- स्तस्याः प्रणाशः परमार्थमुक्तिः॥
’In Release form is not’, ’Form is really there in release.’ ’Formless and formful both it is’. Thus the wise declare. Discriminating the threefold Release, the ego broods Loss of that is Release Real.
Three kinds of liberation are spoken of by the wise. Some hold, like Badari, that the liberated soul has no form, no embodiment of any kind. Some, like Jaimini, maintain that the soul in release has a body of its own. But Badarayana asserts that both are possible, that the soul can have a form of its own or can dispense with it.
Now Bhagawan Maharshi states that true liberation (Mukti) lies in none of these states, and that it consists in the loss of the ego that broods over the subject of the possible post-release states of the liberated soul. What is the suggestion here? Surely, a man, liberated or bound, must necessarily be in one of the three states viz., with body, with no body, or with capacity for both. Is it denied that these states are facts? Besides, the verse says that these views are held by the wise, that is, by men who are competent to opine. Moreover Shri Maharshi elsewhere states (vide Ramana Gita).
“The jivan-mukta becomes intangible .... invisible .... He becomes a mere consciousness... freely moves about..."
And in this verse if he asserts that true liberation is none of these states, he must mean that these are states of development coming upon the jivan-mukta, the liberated one, alive on earth or departed from it. These developments, the capacity to assume or dispense with a form at will or to become a mere centre of consciousness, one with the Supreme, refer to the dynamic condition of the human soul, in whatever stuff it may be embodied, physical and vital or purely mental and psychic, or spiritual, or still finer and diviner substance.
Mukti then is an inner experience that is the Realisation of the Self. The state of Realisation of the Self is the same whether here on earth or there in the next, in embodied existence on the earth-plane or in other supra-physical spheres of existence105
There are no distinctions of kind in mukti or Release which consists in the ego getting devoured by the Real, the Self giving itself wholly to the Supreme the Divine being. Whatever development takes place in virtue of the relentless tapas of the Real Self does not take away from or add to this radical liberation. It must be borne in mind that this is not a special effort, but is a normal state of the supreme Consciousness which by its nature is concentrated power, sahajam tapah. (Vide Ramana Gita and Introduction). There may be manifestations powerful and sublime, wonderful indeed to our common mind, but they do not affect the normality of the supreme state of the mukta, one in Consciousness with the Ultimate Truth, the Divine Being, called in this Shastra the Real Self to stress its significance and relation to the ego-self, the jiva. Therefore to brood over the possible states of the liberated soul is not at all a means of liberation which lies in the loss of the ego itself. Therefore, this Shastra once again in conclusion reiterates that the ego that is engaged in these discussions must withdraw from them and plunge itself into the Deep Self and that, that alone is real Release.
There are no distinctions of kind in mukti or Release which consists in the ego getting devoured by the Real, the Self giving itself wholly to the Supreme the Divine being. Whatever development takes place in virtue of the relentless tapas of the Real Self does not take away from or add to this radical liberation. It must be borne in mind that this is not a special effort, but is a normal state of the supreme Consciousness which by its nature is concentrated power, sahajam tapah. (Vide Ramana Gita and Introduction). There may be manifestations powerful and sublime, wonderful indeed to our common mind, but they do not affect the normality of the supreme state of the mukta, one in Consciousness with the Ultimate Truth, the Divine Being, called in this Shastra the Real Self to stress its significance and relation to the ego-self, the jiva.
Therefore to brood over the possible states of the liberated soul is not at all a means of liberation which lies in the loss of the ego itself.
Therefore, this Shastra once again in conclusion reiterates that the ego that is engaged in these discussions must withdraw from them and plunge itself into the Deep Self and that, that alone is real Release.
सद्दर्शनं द्राविडवाङनिबद्धं महर्षिणा श्रीरमणेन शुद्धम्। प्रबन्धमुत्कृष्टममर्त्यवाण्या मनूद्य वासिष्ठमुनिर्व्यतानीत् ॥ In the Tamil tongue, the great Seer Ramana Delivered Sat-darshan, the treatise pure. Of this poem sublime, Vasishtha, the sage. Has given this version in the language of the Gods.
सद्दर्शनं द्राविडवाङनिबद्धं महर्षिणा श्रीरमणेन शुद्धम्। प्रबन्धमुत्कृष्टममर्त्यवाण्या मनूद्य वासिष्ठमुनिर्व्यतानीत् ॥
In the Tamil tongue, the great Seer Ramana Delivered Sat-darshan, the treatise pure. Of this poem sublime, Vasishtha, the sage. Has given this version in the language of the Gods.
सत्तत्त्वसारं सरलं दधाना मुमुक्षुलोकाय मुदं ददाना। अमानुषश्रीरमणीयवाणी- मयूखभित्तिर्मुनिवाग्विभाति ॥ Thus shines forth the muni’s speech. The essence of truth it gives you with ease. Delight it gives to piners for release. For the rays of the trans-human words of Ramana great, Functioning as the wall reflecting, Thus shines the muni’s voice.
सत्तत्त्वसारं सरलं दधाना मुमुक्षुलोकाय मुदं ददाना। अमानुषश्रीरमणीयवाणी- मयूखभित्तिर्मुनिवाग्विभाति ॥
Thus shines forth the muni’s speech. The essence of truth it gives you with ease. Delight it gives to piners for release. For the rays of the trans-human words of Ramana great, Functioning as the wall reflecting, Thus shines the muni’s voice.
பகவான் ஸ்ரீ ரமண மஹரிஷிகள் அருளிய உள்ளது நாற்பது மங்கலம் வெண்பா உள்ளதல துள்ளவுணர் வுள்ளதோ வுள்ளபொரு ஹள்ளலற வுள்ளத்தே யுள்ளதா-லுள்ளமெனு முள்ளபொரு ளுள்ளலெவ னுள்ளத்தே யுள்ளபடி புள்ளதே யுள்ள லுணர். மரணபய மிக்குளவம் மக்களர ணாக மரணபவ மில்லா மகேசன் -சரணமே சார்வர்தஞ் சார்வொடுதாஞ் சாவுற்றார் சாவெண்ணஞ் பார்வரோ சாவா தவர். பத்தர்சனத்தின் மூல கிரந்த மிது. 370 உள்ளது நாற்பது நூல் 1. நாமுலகங் காண்டலா னானாவாஞ் சத்தியுள வோர்முதலை யொப்ப லொருதலையே-நாமவுருச் சித்திரமும் பார்ப்பானுஞ் சேர்படமு மாரொளியு மத்தனையுந் தானா மவன். 2. மும்முதலை யெம்மதமு முற்கொள்ளு மோர்முதலே மும்முதலாய் நிற்குமென்று மும்முதலு-மும்முதலே யென்னலகங் கார மிருக்குமட்டே யான்கெட்டுத் தன்னிலையி னிற்ற றலை. 3. உலகுமெய் பொய்த் தோற்ற முலகறிவா மன்றென் றுலகுசுக மன்றென் றுரைத்தெ-னுலகுவிட்டுத் தன்னையோர்ந் தொன்றிரண்டு தானற்று நானற்ற வந்நிலையெல் லார்க்குமொப் பாம். 4. உருவந்தா னாயி னுலகுபர மற்றா முருவந்தா னன்றே லுவற்றி-னுருவத்தைக் கண்ணுறுதல் யாவனெவன் கண்ணலாற் காட்சியுண்டோ கண்ணதுதா னந்தமிலாக் கண். 5. உடல்பஞ்ச கோச வுருவதனா லைந்து முடலென்னுஞ் சொல்லி லொடுங்குமுடலன்றி யுண்டோ வுலக முடல்விட் டுலகத்தைக் கண்டா ருளரோ கழறு. 6. உலகைம் புலன்க ளுருவேறன் றவ்வைம் புலனைம் பொறிக்குப் புலனாமுலகைமன மொன்றைம் பொறிவாயா லோர்ந்திடுத லோர்ந்திடுத லான்மனத்தை யன்றியுல குண்டோ வறை. 7. உலகறிவு மொன்றா யுதித்தொடுங்கு மேனு முலகறிவு தன்னா லொளிரு-முலகறிவு தோன்றிமறை தற்கிடனாய்த் தோன்றிமறை யாதொளிரும் பூன்றமா மஃதே பொருள். 8. எப்பெயரிட் டெவ்வுருவி லேத்தினுமார் பேருருவி லப்பொருளைக் காண்வழிய தாயினுமம்-மெய்ப்பொருளி னுண்மையிற்ற னுண்மையினை யோர்ந்தொடுங்கி யொன் [றுதலே யுண்மையிற் காண லுணர். உள்ளது நாற்பது 371 9. இரட்டைகண் முப்புடிக ளென்றுமொன்று பற்றி யிருப்பவா மவ்வொன்றே தென்றுகருத்தினுட் கண்டாற் கழலுமவை கண்டவ ரேயுண்மை கண்டார் கலங்காரே காண். 10. அறியாமை விட்டறிவின் றாமறிவு விட்டவ் வறியாமை யின்றாகு மந்த-வறிவு மறியா மையுமார்க்கென் றம்முதலாந் தன்னை யறியு மறிவே யறிவு. 11. அறிவுறுந் தன்னை யறியா தயலை யறிவ தறியாமையன்றி-யறிவோ வறிவயற் காதாரத் தன்னை யறிய வறிவறி யாமை யறும். 12. அறிவறி யாமையு மற்றதறி வாமே யறியும் துண்மையறி வாகா-தறிதற் கறிவித்தற் கன்னியமின் றாயவிர்வ தாற்றா னறிவாகும் பாழன் றறி. 13. ஞனமாந் தானேமெய் நானாவா ஞானமஞ் ஞானமாம் பொய்யாமஞ் ஞானமுமே-ஞானமாந் தன்னையன்றி யின்றணிக டாம்பலவும் பொய்மெய்யாம் பொன்னையன்றி யுண்டோ புகல் . 14. தன்மையுண்டேன் முன்னிலைப் டர்க்கைக டாமுளவாந் தன்மையி னுண்மையைத் தானாய்ந்து-தன்மையறின் முன்னிலைப் டர்க்கை முடிவுற்றொன் றாயொளிருந் தன்மையே தன்னிலைமை தான். 15. நிகழ்வினைப் பற்றி யிறப்பெதிர்வு நிற்ப நிகழ்கா லவையு நிகழ்வே நிகழ்வொன்றே யின்றுண்மை தேரா திறப்பெதிர்வு தேரவுன லொன்றின்றி யெண்ண வுனல் . 16. நாமன்றி நாளேது நாடேது நாடுங்கா னாமுடம்பே னாணாட்டு ணாம்படுவ-நாமுடம்போ நாமின்றன் றென்றுமொன்று நாடிங்கங் கெங்குமொன்றா னாமுண்டு நாணாடி னாம். 372 உள்ளது நாற்பது 17. உடனானே தன்னை யுணரார்க் குணர்ந்தார்க் குடலளவே நான்ற னுணரார்க்-குடலுள்ளே தன்னுணர்ந்தார்க் கெல்லையறத் தானொளிரு நானிதுவே யின்னவர்தம் பேதமென வெண். 18. உலகுண்மை யாகு முணர்வில்லார்க் குள்ளார்க் குலகளவா முண்மை யுணரார்க்குலகினுக் காதார மாயுருவற் றாருமுணர்ந் தாருண்மை யீதாகும் பேதமிவர்க் கெண். 19. விதிமதி மூல விவேக மிலார்க்கே விதிமதி வெல்லும் விவாதம் விதிமதிகட் கோர்முதலாந் தன்னை யுணர்ந்தா ரவைதணந்தார் சார்வரோ பின்னுமவை சாற்று. 20. காணுந் தனைவிட்டுத் தான்கடவு ளைக்காணல் காணு மனோமயமாங் காட்சிதனைக்காணுமவன் றான்கடவுள் கண்டானாந் தன்முதலைக் தான் முதல் போய்த் தான்கடவு ளன்றியில தால். காண 21. தன்னைத்தான் றலைவன் றனைக்காண (னைத்தான் லென்னும்பன் னூலுண்மை யென்னையெனின் றன் காணலெவன் றானொன்றாற் காணவொணா தேற்றலைவற் காணலெவ னூணாதல் காண். 22. மதிக்கொளி தந்தம் மதிக்கு ளொளிரு மதியினை யுள்ளே மடக்கிப் பதியிற் பதித்திடுத லன்றிப் பதியை மதியான் மதித்திடுத லெங்ஙன் மதி. 23. நானென்றித் தேக நவிலா துறக்கத்து நானின்றென் றாரு நவில்வதிலைநானொன் றெழுந்தபி னெல்லா மெழுமிந்த நானெங் கெழுமென்று நுண்மதியா லெண். 24. சடவுடனா னென்னாது சச்சித் துதியா துடலளவா நானொன் றுதிக்கு-மிடையிலிது சிச்சடக்கி ரந்திபந்தஞ் சீவனுட்ப மெய்யகந்தை யிச்சமு சாரமன மெண். உள்ளது நாற்பது 373 25. உருப்பற்றி யுண்டா முருப்பற்றி நிற்கு முருப்பற்றி யுண்டுமிக வோங்குமுருவிட் டுருப்பற்றுந் தேடினா லோட்டம் பிடிக்கு முருவற்ற பேயகந்தை யோர். 26. அகந்தை யுண் டாயி னனைத்துமுண் டாகு மகந்தையின் றேலின் றனைத்து-மகந்தையே யாவுமா மாதலால் யாதிதென்று நாடலே யோவுதல் யாவுமென வோர். 27. நானுதியா துள்ளநிலை நாமதுவா யுள்ள நிலை நானுதிக்குந் தானமதை நாடாம-னானுதியாத் தன்னிழப்பைச் சார்வதெவன் சாராமற் றானதுவாந் தன்னிலையி னிற்பதெவன் சாற்று. 28. எழும்பு மகந்தை யெழுமிடத்தை நீரில் விழுந்த பொருள்காண வேண்டி-முழுகுதல்போற் கூர்ந்தமதி யாற்பேச்சு மூச்சடக்கிக் கொண்டுள்ளே யாழ்ந்தறிய வேண்டு மறி. 29. நானென்று வாயா னவிலாதுள் ளாழ்மனத்தா னானென்றெங் குந்துமென நாடுதலே-ஞானநெறி யாமன்றி யன்றிதுநா னாமதுவென் றுன்னறுணை யாமதுவி சாரமா மா ? 30. நானா ரெனமனமுண் ணாடியுள நண்ணவே நானா மவன்றலை நாணமுறநானானாத் தோன்றுமொன்று தானாகத் தோன்றினுநா னன்று பொருள் பூன்றமது தானாம் பொருள். 31. தன்னை யழித்தெழுந்த தன்மயா னந்தருக் கென்னை யுளதொன் றியற்றுதற்குத்தன்னையலா தன்னிய மொன்று மறியா ரவர் நிலைமை யின்னதென் றுன்ன லெவன். 32. அது நீயென் றம்மறைக ளார்த்திடவுந் தன்னை யெதுவென்று தான்றேர்ந் திராஅ-தது நா னிதுவன்றென் றெண்ணலுர னின்மையினா லென்று மதுவேதா னாயமர்வ தால். 374 உள்ளது நாற்பது 33. 34. 35. 36. என்னைய றியேனா னென்னை யறிந்தேனா னென்ன னகைப்புக் கிடனாகு-மென்னை தனைவிடய மாக்கவிருதானுண்டோ வொன்றா யனைவரனு பூதியுண்மை யால். என்று மெவர்க்கு மியல்பா யுளபொருளை யொன்று முளத்து ளுணர்ந்து நிலைநின்றிடா துண்டின் றுருவருவென் றொன்றிரண் டன்றென்றே சண்டையிடன் மாயைச் சழக்கு. சித்தமா யுள்பொருளைத் தேர்ந்திருத்தல் சித்திபிற சித்தியெலாஞ் சொப்பனமார், சித்திகளே-நித்திரைவிட் டோர்ந்தா லவைமெய்யோ வுண்மைநிலை நின்றுபொய்ம்மை தீர்ந்தார் தியங்குவரோ தேர். நாமுடலென் றெண்ணினல நாமதுவென்றெண்ணுமது நாமதுவா நிற்பதற்கு நற்றுணையே-யாமென்று நாமதுவென் றெண்ணுவதே னான்மனித னென்றெணுமோ நாமதுவா நிற்குமத னால். சாதகத்தி லேதுவிதஞ் சாத்தியத்தி லத்துவித மோதுகின்ற வாதமது முண்மையல-வாதரவாய்த் தான்றேடுங் காலுந் தனையடைந்த காலத்துந் தான்றசம னன்றியார் தான். வினைமுதனா மாயின் விளைபயன் றுய்ப்போம் வினைமுதலா ரென்று வினவித்-தனையறியக் கர்த்தத் துவம்போய்க் கருமமூன் றுங்கழலு நித்தமா முத்தி நிலை. பத்தனா னென்னுமட்டே பந்தமுத்தி சிந்தனைகள் பத்தனா ரென்றுதன்னைப் பார்க்குங்காற்-சித்தமாய் நித்தமுத்தன் றானிற்க நிற்காதேற் பந்தசிந்தை முத்திசிந்தை முன்னிற்கு மோ. உருவ மருவ முருவருவ மூன்றா முறுமுத்தி யென்னி லுரைப்ப-னுருவ மருவ முருவருவ மாயு மகந்தை யுருவழிதன் முத்தி யுணர். 37. 38. 39. 40. உள்ளது நாற்பது முற்றிற்று.
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(First published in 1960; reprinted in 1971)
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