BOW down to Him [Reality], to Sri Hari,
the destroyer of ignorance, the supreme bliss, the first Teacher,
Ishwara, the all-pervading One and the cause of all the universes.
2. Herein is expounded the means of attaining Self-realisation
[Aparokshanubhuti] for the acquisition of final liberation. Only the
pure in heart should constantly and with all effort meditate upon the
truth herein taught.
3. The four preliminary qualifications
necessary for attaining true knowledge, such as dispassion and the like,
are acquired by men by propitiating the Lord, through austerities and
the performance of duties pertaining to their social order and stage in
life.
4. The indifference with which one treats the excreta of a
crow – such an indifference to all objects of enjoyment from the realm
of the Creator [Brahma] to this world, in view of their perishable
nature, is verily called pure dispassion.
5. The seer [Self] in
itself is alone permanent, the seen is opposed to it, transient – such a
settled conviction is truly known as discrimination.
6. Abandonment of desires at all times is called sama and restraint of the external functions of the organs is called dama.
7. Turning away completely from all sense-objects is the height of
uparati, and patient endurance of all sorrow or pain is known as
titiksha, which is conducive to happiness.
8. Implicit faith
in the words of the Vedas and the teachers who interpret them is known
as shraddha, and concentration of the mind on the one Reality [Brahman]
is regarded as samadhana.
9. When and how shall I, O Lord, be
free from the bonds of this world [birth and death] – such a burning
desire is called mumukshuta.
10. Only that person who is in
possession of the said qualifications as means to true knowledge should
constantly reflect with a view to attaining knowledge, desiring his own
good.
11. Knowledge is not brought about by any other means
than enquiry [vichara], just as an object is nowhere perceived without
the help of light.
12. Who am I? How is this world created? Who
is its creator? Of what material is this world made? This is the way of
that enquiry.
13. I am neither the body, a combination of the
five elements of matter, nor am I an aggregate of the senses; I am
something different from these. This is the way of that enquiry.
14. Everything is produced by ignorance and dissolves in the wake of
true knowledge. The various thoughts must be produced by the Creator.
Such is this enquiry.
15. The material cause of ignorance and
thought is the One without a second, subtle [not apprehended by the
senses] and unchanging Existence [Sat], just as the earth is the
material cause of the pot and the like. This is the way of that enquiry.
16. As I am also the One, the Subtle, the Knower, the Witness, the
Ever-Existent, and the Unchanging, so there is no doubt that I am That.
Such is this enquiry.
17. Self is verily One and without parts,
whereas the body consists of many parts; and yet people see these two
as one! What else can be called ignorance but this?
18. Self is
the ruler of the body and is internal, the body is the ruled and is
external; and yet people see these two as one! What else can be called
ignorance but this?
19. Self is all consciousness and holy, the
body is all flesh and impure; and yet people see these two as one! What
else can be called ignorance but this?
20. Self is the supreme
Illuminator and purity itself; the body is said to be of the nature of
darkness; and yet people see these two as one! What else can be called
ignorance but this?
21. Self is eternal, since it is Existence
itself; the body is transient, as it is non-existence in essence; and
yet people see these two as one! What else can be called ignorance but
this?
22. The luminosity of Self consists in the manifestation
of all objects. Its luminosity is not like that of fire or any such
thing, for in spite of the presence of such lights darkness prevails at
night.
23. How strange is it that a person ignorantly rests
contented with the idea that he is the body, while knowing it as
something belonging to him and therefore apart from him, even as a
person who sees a pot knows it as apart from him!
24. I am
verily the ultimate Reality, being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature
absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss. I am not the body which is
non-existence itself. This is called true knowledge by the wise.
25. I am without any change, without any form, free from all blemish
and decay. I am not the body which is non-existence itself. This is
called true knowledge by the wise.
26. I am not subjected to
any disease, I am beyond all comprehension, free from all alternatives
and all-pervading. I am not the body which is non-existence itself. This
is called true knowledge by the wise.
27. I am without any
attribute or activity, I am eternal, ever free, and imperishable. I am
not the body which is non-existence itself. This is called true
knowledge by the wise.
28. I am free from all impurity, I am
immovable, unlimited, holy, undecaying, and immortal. I am not the body
which is non-existence itself. This is called true knowledge by the
wise.
29. O you ignorant one! Why do you assert the blissful,
ever-existent Self, which resides in your own body and is evidently
different from it, which is known as Purusha and is established by the
sacred scriptures as identical with Reality, to be absolutely
non-existent?
30. O you ignorant one! Try to know, with the
help of the scriptures and reasoning, your own Self, which is different
from the body, [not a void but] the very form of Existence, and very
difficult for persons like you to realise.
31. The supreme Self known as 'I' is but One, whereas the gross bodies are many. So, how can this body be the Self?
32. 'I' is well established as the subject of perception whereas the
body is the object. This is learnt from the fact that when we speak of
the body we say, "This is mine". So, how can this body be the Self?
33. It is a fact of direct experience that the 'I' is without any
change, whereas the body is always undergoing changes. So, how can this
body be the Self?
34. Wise men have ascertained the real nature
of the Self from the scriptures which says, "There is nothing higher
than He [Self]". So, how can this body be the Self?
35. Again,
the Scripture has declared in the Purusha Sukta that, "All this is
verily the Self". So, how can this body be the Self?
36. So,
also it is said in the Brihadaranyaka that, "The Self is completely
unattached". How can this body wherein inhere innumerable impurities be
the Self?
37. There again it is clearly stated that, "The Self
is self-illumined". So, how can the body which is inert, insentient and
illumined by an external agent be the Self?
38. Moreover, the
Karma Kanda also declares that the Self is different from the body and
permanent, as it endures even after the fall of the body and reaps the
fruits of actions performed in this life.
39. Even the subtle
body consists of many parts and is unstable. It is also an object of
perception, is changeable, limited and non-existent by nature. So, how
can this be the Self?
40. The immutable Self, the substratum of
the ego, is thus different from the body and the subtle bodies, and is
identical to Reality, the Lord of all, the Self of all; It is present in
every form and yet transcends them all.
41. Thus, the
enunciation of the difference between the Self and the body has
indirectly asserted, indeed, after the manner of the logic and
reasoning, the reality of the phenomenal world. But what end of human
life [virtuous deeds, attaining prosperity, satisfying desires or final
liberation] is served thereby?
42. Thus, the view that the body
is the Self has been denounced by the enunciation of the difference
between the Self and the body. Now is clearly stated the unreality of
the difference between the two.
43. No division in
Consciousness is admissible at any time as it is always One and the
Same. Even the individuality of a living being must be known as false,
like the delusion of seeing a snake instead of the rope.
44. As
through the ignorance of the real nature of the rope, the very rope
appears in an instant as a snake, so also does pure Consciousness appear
in the form of the phenomenal universe without undergoing any change.
45. There exists no other material cause of this phenomenal universe
except the supreme Reality. Hence, this whole universe is but the
changeless, absolute Reality and nothing else.
46. From such a
declaration from a Scripture as, "All this is Self", it follows that the
idea of the pervaded and the pervading is illusory. This supreme Truth
being realised, where is the room for any distinction between the cause
and the effect?
47. Certainly the Scripture has directly denied
manifoldness in the Reality. The non-dual cause being an established
fact, how could the phenomenal universe be different from It?
48. Moreover, the Scripture has condemned the belief in variety with the
words, "The person who sees variety in This, goes from death to death."
49. Inasmuch as all beings are born of Reality, the absolute Self, they must be understood to be verily Reality.
50. The Scripture has clearly declared that Reality alone is the substratum of all varieties of names, forms and actions.
51. Just as a thing made of gold ever has the nature of gold, so also a being born of Reality has always the nature of Reality.
52. Fear is attributed to the ignorant one who rests after making even
the slightest distinction between the individual spirit [jivatman] and
the absolute Self [Paramatman].
53. When duality appears
through ignorance, one sees another; but when everything becomes
identified with the Self, one does not perceive another even in the
least.
54. In that state when one realises all as identified
with the Self, there arises neither delusion nor sorrow, in consequence
of the absence of duality.
55. The Scripture in the form of the
Brihadaranyaka has declared that the Atman, which is the Self of all,
is verily the one Reality.
56. This world, though an object of
our daily experience and serving all practical purposes, is, like the
dream world, of the nature of non-existence, inasmuch as it is
contradicted the next moment.
57. The dream is unreal in
waking, whereas the waking experience is absent in the dream. Both,
however, are non-existent in deep sleep which, again, is not experienced
in either.
58. Thus, all the three states are unreal inasmuch
as they are the creation of the three fundamental operating principles
that make up the mind and physical manifestation [gunas]; but their
Witness, the underlying Reality, beyond all these operating principles
is eternal, One and Consciousness itself.
59. Just as after the
illusion has ended, one is no more deluded to see a jar in earth or
silver in the, so does one no more see an individual being in Reality,
when the latter is realised as one’s own Self.
60. Just as
earth is described as a jar, gold as an earring, and a mother-of-pearl
[iridescent nacre] as silver, so is Reality described as a living being.
61. Just as blueness in the sky, water in the mirage, and a human
figure in a post are but illusory, so is the universe in the Self.
62. Just as the appearance of a ghost in an empty place, of a castle in
the air, and of a second moon in the sky is illusory, so is the
appearance of the universe in Reality.
63. Just as it is water
that appears as ripples and waves, or again it is copper, that appears
in the form of vessel so it is the Self that appears as the whole
universe.
64. Just as it is earth that appears under the name
of a jar, or it is threads that appear under the name of a cloth, so it
is the Self that appears under the name of the universe. This Self is to
be known by negating the names.
65. People perform all their
actions in and through Reality, but on account of ignorance they are not
aware of that, just as through ignorance people do not know that jars
and other earthenwares are nothing but earth.
66. Just as there
ever exist the relation of cause and effect between earth and a jar, so
does the same relation exist between Reality and the phenomenal world;
this has been established here on the strength of scriptural texts and
reasoning.
67. Just as the consciousness of earth forces itself
upon our mind while thinking of a jar, so also does the idea of
ever-shining Reality flash on us while contemplating on the phenomenal
world.
68. Self, though ever pure to a wise man, always appears
to be impure to an ignorant one, just as a rope always appears in two
different ways to a knowing person and an ignorant one.
69.
Just as a jar is all earth, so also is the body all Consciousness. The
division, therefore, between the Self and non-Self is made by the
ignorant to no purpose.
70. Just as a rope is imagined to be a
snake and a mother-of-pearl to be a piece of silver, so is the Self
determined to be the body by an ignorant person.
71. Just as
earth is thought of as a jar, which is made of it, and threads as a
cloth, so is the Self determined to be the body by an ignorant person.
72. Just as gold is thought of as an earring and water as waves, so is
the Self determined to be the body by an ignorant person.
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73. Just as the stump of a tree is mistaken for a human figure and a
mirage for water, so is the Self determined to be the body by an
ignorant person.
74. Just as a mass of wood work is thought of
as a house and iron as a sword, so is the Self determined to be the body
by an ignorant person.
75. Just as one sees the illusion of a tree on account of water, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
76. Just as to a person going in a boat everything appears to be in
motion, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
77. Just as to a person suffering from jaundice white things appear as
yellow, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
78. Just as to a person with defective eyes everything appears to be
defective, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the
body.
79. Just as a firebrand, through mere rotation, appears
circular like the sun, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self
as the body.
80. Just as all things that are really large
appear to be very small owing to great distance, so does a person on
account of ignorance see Self as the body.
81. Just as all
objects that are very small appear to be large when viewed through
lenses, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
82. Just as a surface of glass is mistaken for water, or vice versa, so
does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
83. Just as a person imagines a jewel in fire or vice versa, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
84. Just as when clouds move, the moon appears to be in motion, so does a person on account of ignorance see Self as the body.
85. Just as a person through confusion loses all distinction between
the different points of the compass, so does a person on account of
ignorance see Self as the body.
86. Just as the moon when
reflected in water appears to one as unsteady, so does a person on
account of ignorance see Self as the body.
87. Thus through
ignorance arises in Self the delusion of the body, which, again, through
Self-realisation, disappears in the supreme Self.
88. When the
whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Self, and thus
the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to
say that the body is Self?
89. O enlightened one, pass your
time always contemplating on Self while you are experiencing all the
results of prarabdha [past karma which is responsible for the present
body]; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.
90. The
theory one hears of from the Scripture, that prarabdha does not lose its
hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Self, is
now being refuted.
91. After the origination of the knowledge
of Reality, prarabdha verily ceases to exist, inasmuch as the body and
the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.
92. That karma which is done in a previous life and which produces the
present life is known as prarabdha. But such karma is absent in a man of
knowledge, as he has no other birth being free from ego.
93.
Just as the body in a dream is superimposed and therefore illusory, so
is also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed
body, and in the absence of birth of the body where is the room for that
[prarabdha] at all?
94. The Vedanta scriptures declare
ignorance to be verily the material cause of the phenomenal world just
as earth is of a jar. That ignorance being destroyed, where can the
universe subsist?
95. Just as a person out of confusion
perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant
person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the Reality.
96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the
snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal
world disappears completely.
97. The body also being within the
phenomenal world and therefore unreal, how could prarabdha exist? It
is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the
Scripture speaks of prarabdha.
98. "And all the actions of a
man perish when he realises That which is both the higher and the
lower." Here the clear use of the plural by the Scripture is to negate
prarabdha as well.
99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily
maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two
absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic
conclusion. So, one should accept those scriptures alone from which
proceeds true knowledge.
100. Now, for the attainment of the
aforesaid knowledge, I shall expound the fifteen steps by the help of
which one should practice profound meditation at all times.
101. The Self that is absolute existence and true knowledge cannot be
realised without constant practice. So, one seeking after knowledge
should long meditate upon the Reality for the attainment of the desired
goal.
102-103. The steps, in order, are described as follows:
the control of the senses, the control of the mind, renunciation,
silence, space, time, posture, the restraining root [mulabandha], the
equipoise of the body, the firmness of vision, the control of the vital
forces, the withdrawal of the mind, concentration, self-contemplation
and complete absorption.
104. The restraint of all the senses
by means of such knowledge as "All this is Reality", is rightly called
Yama, which should be practiced again and again.
105. The
continuous flow of only one kind of thought to the exclusion of all
other thoughts, is called niyama, which is verily the supreme bliss and
is regularly practiced by the wise.
106. The abandonment of the
illusory universe by realising it as the all-conscious Self is the real
renunciation honoured by the great, since it is of the nature of
immediate liberation.
107. The wise should always be one with
that silence wherefrom words together with the mind turn back without
reaching it, but which is attainable by the yogins.
108-109.
Who can describe That whence words turn away? So silence is inevitable
while describing Reality. Or if the phenomenal world were to be
described, even that is beyond words. This, to give an alternate
definition, may also be termed silence known among the sages as
congenital. The observance of silence by restraining speech, on the
other hand, is ordained by the Teachers of Reality for the ignorant.
110. That solitude is known as space, wherein the universe does not
exist in the beginning, end or middle, but whereby it is pervaded at all
times.
111. The non-dual Reality that is bliss indivisible is
denoted by the word ‘time’, since it brings into existence, in the
twinkling of an eye all beings from Reality downwards.
112. One
should know That to be the real posture in which meditation on Reality
flows spontaneously and unceasingly, and not any other that destroys
one’s happiness.
113. That which is well known as the origin of
all beings and the support of the whole universe, which is immutable
and in which the enlightened are completely merged, that alone is known
as Siddhasana [eternal Reality].
114. That which is the root of
all existence and on which the restraint of the mind is based is called
the restraining root [mulabandha] which should always be adopted since
it is fit for raja-yogins.
115. Absorption in the uniform
Reality should be known as the equipoise of the limbs [dehasamya].
Otherwise, mere straightening of the body like that of a dried-up tree
is no equipoise.
116. Converting the ordinary vision into one
of knowledge one should view the world as Reality itself. That is the
noblest vision, and not that which is directed to the tip of the nose.
117. Or, one should direct one’s vision to That alone where all
distinction of the seer, sight, and the seen ceases and not to the tip
of the nose.
118. The restraint of all modifications of the
mind by regarding all mental states like memories as Reality alone, is
called pranayama.
119-120. The negation of the phenomenal world
is known as rechaka [breathing out], the thought, "I am verily
Reality", is called puraka [breathing in], and the steadiness of that
thought thereafter is called kumbhaka [restraining the breath]. This is
the real course of pranayama for the enlightened, whereas the ignorant
only torture the nose.
121. The absorption of the mind in the
supreme Consciousness by realising the Self in all objects is known as
pratyahara, which should be practiced by the seekers after liberation.
122. The steadiness of the mind through realisation of Reality,
wherever the mind goes, is known as supreme concentration [dharana].
123. Remaining independent of everything as a result of the
unassailable thought, "I am verily Reality", is well known by the word
dhyana [meditation], and is productive of supreme bliss.
124.
The complete forgetfulness of all thought by first making it changeless
and then identifying it with Reality is called samadhi, known also as
true knowledge.
125. The aspirant should carefully practice
this meditation that reveals his natural bliss until, being under his
full control, it arises spontaneously, in an instant when called into
action.
126. Then he, the best among yogis having attained to
perfection, becomes free from all practices. The real nature of such a
man never becomes an object of the mind or speech.
127-128.
While practicing samadhi there appear unavoidably many obstacles, such
as lack of enquiry, idleness, desire for sense-pleasure, sleep,
dullness, distraction, tasting of joy, and the sense of blankness. One
desiring the knowledge of Reality should slowly get rid of such
innumerable obstacles.
129. While thinking of an object the
mind verily identifies itself with that, and while thinking of a void it
really becomes blank, whereas by the thought of Reality it attains to
perfection. So, one should constantly think of Reality to attain
perfection.
130. Those who give up this supremely purifying thought of Reality, live in vain and are on the same level with beasts.
131. Blessed indeed are those virtuous persons who at first have this
consciousness of Reality and then develop it more and more. They are
respected everywhere.
132. Only those in whom this
consciousness of Reality being ever present grows into maturity, attain
to the state of ever-existent Reality; and not others who merely deal
with words.
133. Also those persons who are only clever in
discussing about Reality but have no realisation, and are very much
attached to worldly pleasures, are born and die again and again in
consequence of their ignorance.
134. The aspirants after
Reality should not remain a single moment without the thought of
Reality, just like the sages Brahma, Sanaka, Suka and others.
135. The nature of the cause inheres in the effect and not vice versa;
so through reasoning it is found that in the absence of the effect, the
cause, as such also disappears.
136. Then that pure Reality
which is beyond speech alone remains. This should be understood again
and again verily through the illustration of earth and the pot.
137. In this way alone there arises in the pure-minded a state of
awareness of Reality, which is afterwards merged into Reality.
138. One should first look for the cause by the negative method and then
find it by the positive method, as ever inherent in the effect.
139. One should verily see the cause in the effect, and then dismiss
the effect altogether. What then remains, the sage himself becomes.
140. A person who meditates upon a thing with great assiduity and firm
conviction, becomes that very thing. This may be understood from the
illustration of the wasp and the worm. [According to folk wisdom, when a
wasp catches an insect and takes it back to its hole, the insect
becomes so terrorized that it constantly thinks about its predator to
the point where it actually transforms itself into a wasp. The same
analogy applies to a person who meditates on Reality with all his mind
and eventually ends up becoming Reality.]
141. The wise should
always think with great care of the invisible, the visible, and
everything else, as his own Self which is Consciousness itself.
142. Having reduced the visible to the invisible, the wise should think
of the universe as one with Reality. Thus alone will he abide in
eternal felicity with mind full of consciousness and bliss.
143. Thus has been described Raja Yoga consisting of these steps
mentioned above. With this is to be combined Hatha Yoga for the benefit
of those whose worldly desires are partially attenuated.
144.
For those whose mind is completely purified this Raja Yoga alone is
productive of perfection. Purity of the mind, again, is speedily
accessible to those who are devoted to the Teacher and the Deity.
![Photo: To know that which is foreign [to one’s Self] without knowing the Self which is the knower of those things that are known — how can this be knowledge and not ignorance? Upon knowing the Self, which is the foundation both for knowledge and for its object [the world], knowledge and ignorance will indeed cease to exist.
Reality in Forty Verses by Sri Bhagavan](https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/t31.0-8/p600x600/1167485_420960538013437_152955009_o.jpg)