*Glimpses of Self-Realization* *HARI NAMA KEERTHANAM*- By 'Thunchathu Ezhuthachan' (Song of the name of Hari) Translation By P.R.Ramachander- (To those with ego, the only result will be sorrow and pain.The only solution is devotion to God.)

(Thunchathu Ezhuthachan was one of the greatest writers in Malayalam .His translation of 'Adhyathma Ramayanam Kili Pattu' and 'Maha Bharatham' are revered treasures in almost all houses in Kerala even today. He was supposed to have lived in the 14th century.He wrote the book called “Hari Nama Keerthanam.”(Song of the name of Hari).Either 'Narayanaya Nama' (salutations to lord Narayana) or 'Hari Narayanaya Nama' (Salutations to Narayana who is Hari) has been added to the 66 verses of this book. These are added to philosophical thoughts of Ezhuthachan.

My salutations to that Narayana,
Who is also the lord Hari,
For being the great teacher,
Who stood as a person , to make me know,
That truth which is revealed by the sound of Om,
Though split in to three forms of trinity,
As soon as it was born,
Is only an illusion created by my ego. 1

(This verse is the invocation by the author not to any God figure but to the Paramathma, whose clear vision to us is prevented by the veil of “Maya”)

My salutations to that Narayana,
With a request from humble self,
To make me see him as one reality,
For I was made sad extreme,
To see that the indivisible one,
Has been split in to two. 2
( Ezhuthachan continues to tell us that though the god is one , we are made to believe that we as persons(antharatma) we are different from the all pervading reality(Paramathma)).

My salutations to you Narayana,
Hey giver of my boons,
Hey Hari who is personification of joy,
Hey God who is darling of Gopis,
Let not mind be caught by the ego,
And let my thought make me know,
That this entire universe is really me. 3

(Ezhuthachan warns us all that, we should not be caught in the web of ego and start thinking that we are something different from the ultimate truth)

My salutations to that Narayana,
Who is also the Lord Hari,
Happiness of the soul can never be described,
When one knows that self is the truth,
And that there is an eye beyond the eye.
Which is the eye of the mind,
And which can only understand the truth,
Behind the sun and the fire. 4

(Ezhuthachan tells us that self realization not only makes all truths evident but also gives immense happiness)

My salutations to you Narayana,
Please bless me so that,
This writing of the song of Hari’s name,
Is with the blessings and grace of my teacher,
Also supported by Gods and the gods among men,
And let me be able to sing this,
Not only from birth to time of death,
But also while dying. 5

(Ezhuthachan prays for the grace of his teacher as well as the approval of god and the learned Brahmins for this great work. He requests God to make this work immortal)

My salutations to Narayana,
From the ultimate root of illusion,
Through several evolutions,
Stretches this vision called life.
Though several births are past,
There is no end to this ,
Attachment through several actions. 6

(This attachment to mortal life will go only with the realization of truth which can be achieved by unalloyed devotion)

Salutations to Narayana,
Like a bubble in water,
This being travels from ,
The life in the womb.
To death, again and again.
Only the end of births,
Is the ultimate end to this pain.
And only devotion to thee,
Leads to this end of births. 7

(Impermanence of life is highlighted and it is pointed out that our aim should be to get out of this cycle of births and deaths .The author feels that devotion to Him is the only way)

Salutations to Narayana,
Who is the lord of the lady of lotus,
Who is the primeval man,
Who loves his devotees,
Who does not have either end or start,
Be pleased Oh God,
Construct a play ground in my mind,
And play there. 8

(Ezhuthachan requests God to make the mind pray and think of only Him)

Salutations to Narayana,
Who is the lord Hari,
Who is of the colour of green, coral and whitish milk,
Who lives in the lotus with thousand petals,
Which is above the six different states,
Who is above the deluge of this universe.
And who is above the good, royal and base characters. 9

(The yogi tries to raise the Sushmna nadi from the base of Mooladhara, through Swadishatana, Manipooraka, Anahatha , Vishudhi chakra And Agna chakra and reaches
out to The sahasrara (thousand petal lotus) which is in the base of the brain. Once the sahsrara opens, it is believed all knowledge would be self evident. The realization of God then comes automatically)

Salutations to Narayana,
Realization of the truth,
That is ingrained in the philosophy,
Is possible only to him,
Who devotes himself to the worship,
Of the feet of his teacher,
Who will give him,
Suitable advice leading to salvation,
Which would lead to the end of births. 10

(The need to get guidance from a teacher for attaining salvation is emphasized here.)

Salutations to that Narayana,
Who is the Lord Hari,
Oh Lord with lotus eyes,
Please be kind enough to save me,
When the Lord of death judges me,
Based on the list of my sins,
Prepared by Lord Chithra Guptha,
And punishes me with suitable pains. 11

(The list of sins and good deeds committed by an individual is supposed to be maintained by ChitraGupta, the accountant of Lord Yama. This list is supposed to help him to determine the quantum of punishment to be given.)

Salutations to that Narayana,
Please save me , your slave,
Who elects to worship thee in your formless form,
(as against worshiping you as an idol)
For with the rise of Sun,
The glitter of stars and moon fade,
And with the coming of eagle,
Other birds fly low in salutation. 12

(Here Ezhuthachan brings out the need to worship and realize the formless god. Though other forms of worship of Gods like Vishnu, Shiva etc are practiced, they according to him are an inferior mode.)

Salutations to that Narayana,
Who is the Lord Hari,
To the one who decides,
That his soul and the God are one,
His body that houses the soul,
Becomes impermanent,
And the wife and wealth,
Are like things that he sees,
In his dreams and he knows,
That all these earth is but an illusion. 13

(Ezhuthachan emphasizes the fact that a realized soul would not take interest in the worldly wealth. To him they are like things he sees in his dreams. Up to the last stanza ,the first letters were those of the invocation, “Hari sree Narayanaya nama.”)

Salutations to that Narayana,
Who is that Lord Hari,
I praise with all my mind,
My spiritual teacher Neelakanda,
Like the Lord with lotus eyes,
And let his memory,
Be always in my mind,
And let each of the fifty one letters,
Of my language,
Be used properly in this work. 14

Salutations to Lord Narayana,
Since the Ultimate truth “Aum” started with,
The first letter of the alphabet,
And all the world started from this truth,
Please grant me a boon,
Capacity to write this work,
To start successively from this first letter. 15

(He realizes how difficult this job of making the new alphabets as first letters is going to be and prays God to help him. Hindus believe that the world was created by the sound “AUM” which echoed and reechoed in the entire universe. This holy sound also starts with the first alphabet Aa.)

Salutations to that Narayana,
Hey God who is the eternal truth,
This universe with the Indra and devas,
Sun, moon and fire and the holy trinity,
Is due to you, who is the all pervasive one,
And so please give me the capacity,
To meditate upon thee always. 16

(Ezhuthachan here emphasizes the unity in diversity in the concept of God as propounded by Hindus)

Salutations to the Lord Narayana,
To get devoid of this illusion great,
There is no better way shown to me,
In the teachings of the world,
Except chanting your holy names,
Like Krishna, Govinda, Hari and Rama. 17

(Though the search for method of salvation is through the belief in the formless God, Ezhuthachan advocates meditation on the holy names as a method to get this belief.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana,
Even in the period when mind is full of heavy
Feelings of ego and competition,
Chanting of holy names in the mind ,
Is the only way for salvation. 18

(Chanting of holy names keeps the mind away from bad qualities like anger, jealousy,etc.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana who is Hari,
There is no need of pilgrimage to holy places,
There is no need of lot many things to buy,
There is no need to bathe in holy waters,
And there is no need of a virtuous wife for that,
But there is only the need of tongue,
To chant Narayana, Hari and Achyutha. 19

(Ezhuthachan here advocates pure Bhakthi and chanting of holy names, He says that there is no need for any other thing to be done.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana who is Hari,
The singing of the names of Hari,
Is never banned any time ,
For the lady who is in her periods,
For the one who begs,
For the one who observes an unclean time,
For the debased human being,
And for the Brahmin doing fire sacrifice. 20

(Here is Ezhuthachan talking like a modern day revolutionary against orthodox beliefs. Some researchers feel that he was not allowed to read the holy books in Kerala and had
to go to other states to learn religious books.)

Salutations that lord Narayana who is Hari,
Chant the holy names of Hari,
Acting as if we are ignorant of what they say,
When some one tells that we are pure idiots
And when some one calls us a great sinner. 21

(Ezhuthachan wants every one not to bother about the orthodox opinion and pray god as one wishes.)

Salutations that lord Narayana who is Hari,
There is no need to see which name matches,
For there is no name which is not suitable,
In the crores of crores of holy names of the god,
And certainly all the names are very good. 22

( He dispels another popular belief that chanting certain names of god are superior than others.)

Salutations that lord Narayana who is Hari,
Why this delay in the attainment of pure unalloyed devotion,
To the formless lord, I am asking you with folded hands,
Oh God, whom I imagine as Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. 23

(Though he has been saying about chanting of holy names as a method to approach to salvation,(stanzas 17-22) here he feels that it is not adequate and he needs to know the truth about the formless God.)

Salutations that lord Narayana who is Hari,
My mind is traveling in this path of solitude,
Aimed at getting the devotion of unalloyed saints.
Like the flock of crow following the path of swans. 24

(Ezhuthachan tells that his being a devotee and his desire to the path of the formless God is like a crow traveling in the path of swans.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana who is Hari,
Oh Lord who you are all pervasive in,
Five into five plus five, five into six,
Eight plus eight , eight into three, seven
And five and two plus one principles. 25

(Five Bhoothas, Five sense organs, Five aspects, Five action organs, Five airs, Five subsidiary souls, Five actions, Six bases, Eight egoistic aspects, Eight actions inside the body and mind, Three nadis, Three mandals, Three doshas, three bad characers, three good characters, Three aspects of life, Seven minerals, Five interior organs, and the three holy gods are the 96 aspects referred in the above stanza.)

I do not have the mental capability,
Of understanding the several Gitas that I read,
And so what I need is your grace,
And to get that grace,
The only way I know is devotion to you. 26

(Ezhuthachan rules over the several philosophical works whose meaning is not clear to the common man. He feels that the only option left to him is Bhakthi or devotion to him.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana
Unlike the insect inside,
A sweet fig fruit,
Which feels that there is no pleasure,
Greater than that,
Make me not think due to illusion,
By hiding your form,
That there is no pleasure
Greater than this body in this world. 27

(Maya or illusion hides the fact that God is only one and makes us feel that this entire universe is real. Ezhuthachan wants help from the God to see the real truth.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana
Thinking that even Lord Brahma,
Who originated from a lotus,
Was made to swim in the sea of illusion,
I am very much afraid,
That I wont able to reach you,
And so I salute your feet. 28

(Ezhuthachan prays God to keep him away from the hold of illusion.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana who is Hari,
I would like to bow before thee,
Like Ajamila who bowed before those four messangers,
Of Lord Vishnu and who prevented,
The servants of Yama ,the Lord of death,
Who were trying to drag him with ropes and sticks. 29

(Ajamila who was a Brahmin lead a sinful life. In his death bed he called out the name of his son, “Narayana, Narayana,.” Then the assistants of lord Vishnu appeared before him and prevented the assistants of Lord Yama from taking him to hell.)

Salutations to Lord Narayana who is Hari,
I am only able to remember,
That you made a crocodile bite the feet ,
Of the elephant who was a prince of Pandyas,
Cursed by sage Agasthya,
To give them both salvation. 30

(Indradhymna a Pandya prince was cursed by Sage Agasthya and became an elephant called Gajendra. Similarly a Gandharwa called Huhu was cursed by Devala to become a crocodile. You made the crocodile bite the elephant to give them both salvation Strange are your ways.)

Salutations to Narayana,
There is no end to the variety
Of your judgment,
For to the prince Dileepa,
You gave salvation, within an hour ,
And your actions leads to lot of such contradictions. 31

(While to get salvation Gajendra the elephant had to do thapas for 1000 years, to Dileepa (who was known as Gadwanga)the king within an hour.Why this contradiction in your actions)

Salutations to Narayana,
Though you had the strength to make,
The ocean of water boil,
Using the fire arrow,
You did not have the strength,
To stand and fight,
The proud Jarasandha. 32

(When the god of Ocean did not come before Lord Rama, he sent an arrow and made the entire ocean boil. But in case of Jarasandha, Lord Krishna was defeated and had to take
the help of Bhima to kill him.)

Salutations to Narayana,
Though you told your brother,
That the moon light divine,
Was as hot as the summer sun,
When you were away from Sita,
You made those deer eyed maidens,
Feel sorrow by going away,
And leaving their company in Brindavan. 33

(When Sita was abducted by ravana, once Lord Rama told Lakshmana that because Sita was not there, he even felt the full moon as hot as the sun. In Vrindavan he left thousands
of Gopis who were lovelorn and vanished.)

Salutations to Narayana who is Haari,
You were the one who cut of ,
The organ meant to read,
The five nasal sounding alphabets,
And you were the one who made,
A hunch backed servant maid,
In to an attractive lady. 34

(He cut off the nose of Surpanaka as Rama and made a Hunch backed lady in to a pretty one as Krishna)

Salutations to Narayana who is Haari,
You were the one who wore ,
The dress of a charioteer and held a whip,
And drove a chariot for Indra’s son,
And you were also the one.
Who hid himself and killed by an arrow,
Another son of Indra. 35

(He as Lord Rama killed Bali (son of Indra) hiding behind a bush and as Lord Krishna drove chariot for Arjuna (another son of Indra.))

Salutations to Narayana who is Haari,
Though your power shines like a fireball,
And fills the world like lightning,,
The veil of illusion hides you from us,
And I feel that even the sages great,
Only praise you on whatever they see day to day. 36

(Maya , the illusion hides your shining resplendent forms even from sages)

Salutations to Lord Narayana,
Your relationship exists,
Fully , permanently and forever,
In all the beings of earth,
In the form of their complete soul,
And the difference between them,
Appears to me similar to the different colured beads,
Of a necklace of gems. 37

(The difference in appearance in different beings is only an illusion and they are like beads of a necklace.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
You are spread fully,
Like the royal splendour of music,
In the minds of great sages,
In the great works of Geetha,
In the ocean of milk,
And in the avenues of the sky,
As the soul of happiness. 38

(Here Ezhuthachan imagines God as the all pervading sound.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Let my mind get devoid of the illusions,
Due to attachment to self,
Of the two types of knowledge,
Which makes me think,
That I and the God are separate. 39

(Ezhuthachan states the premise of the philosophy of advaitha in very simple words.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
The path way of illusion,
Makes your form which is one,
And which is forever,
Appear as if half of your form holds,
A deer and axe in the hand,
And the other half holds the conch,
And the holy wheel in your hand. 40

(Ezhuthachan states here that saivism and Vaishnavism is caused by illusion. Lord Vishnu is supposed to hold the conch and Wheel and Lord Shiva, the deer and an axe.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
Like the several notes and beats,
And like the several lovely words,
Join together as a part,
Of a single lovely song,,
Your lightning power,
Forms a part of your universal self,
Because you are as formless as the sky. 41

(More emphasis is given in the formless aspect of the Hindu notion of God.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
You Helped me to get rid of those ,
Eight bad qualities including ego,
And made me sit in the lotus position,
And helped me to reach that ,
Lotus with thousand petals,
After crossing the six stages of yoga,
And made reach a stage, where there is no pain. 42

(After emphasizing a lot on the paths of Bhakthi and Gnana, in this verse, emphasis is given on the yogic approach to salvation.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
When I think of that ecstatic pleasure,
Of the beats of drum, Mrudanga, tin drum and metal clasps,
That I heard when my mind crossed the six stages ,
My mind is not keeping calm and at peace,
Like the Elephant which is tied and starving sees the tasty feed. 43

(It is believed that when one reaches the Lotus with thousand petals, one hears a remarkable musical sound which is a heavenly experience.)

Salutations to lord Narayana ,
Even if my meditation on you,
Is disturbed and stopped in the middle,
By the various duties in life,
Let those sentences born out ,
Of the great knowledge of Vedas,
Come to my mind and lead me to you. 44

(Ezhuthachan prays to God and asks him to bless him with the all pervasive knowledge of God, even if he is not able to complete his yogic search.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Though you shine in the middle,
Of the meaning of the words that abound in this world,
The path for salvation is in those words,
And the sentences which you have given us. 46

(He is in the middle of words as per stanza 38 but here it is emphasized that the search for him should be through the Vedic sayings.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
To those who think that,
There is nothing beyond the world that they see,
And argue and shout about this,
Which is their faith,
And also have faith in their own self only,
And try to suppress the opinion of all others,
You give them pangs of death. 46

(Ezhuthachan berates those ignorant people who are materialistic.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Some branches of the big tree of egotism,
Bears raw and ripe fruits of bad acts and sad effects,
And a great devotion to your holy feet,
Is the only one that avoids attachment to this tree. 47

(To those with ego, the only result will be sorrow and pain.The only solution is devotion to God.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
The thought that you are rich,
The thought that you are respected,
And the thought that you have done blessed deeds,
Are like the crowd of dark elephants,
In the dangerous forest of life.. 48

(Egoism is as dangerous as wild elephants in a dark forest.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
The rain of your grace gives rise,
To the germination and growth,
Of divine blessings great,
That the lotus with thousand petals in me ,
Which becomes the source of my devotion to you,
Oh great store house of mercy. 49

(It is the grace of God that leads to the success of Yoga in realizing Him.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
I wish my tongue engages in singing your names,
Instead of wasting the day by telling this and that,
For I hear that that is the only way to salvation,
In this age of Kali. 50

(Again emphasis shifts to devotion to realize him. )

Salutations to lord Narayana,
Without any reason and results,
Do not make mine in this world,
Her body which is a vessel of stool,
For several days of my life,
And do not waste this time of my life,
Without the sun rise of heavenly knowledge,
Which would be of immeasurable benefit. 51

(Ezhuthachan believes that the worldly family life is a waste of time and should better be devoted in search of God.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Do not make me like ,
A blind man seeing a mirror,
By not showing the principle of yours,
And drowning me in this world,
Of relations, wealth, house and sons. 52
(Here Ezhuthachan expresses his opinion that family life is not conducive to spiritual
life.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Alas, the god of death walks behind me ,
With a fully opened mouth,
Which is similar to a cave,
To swallow me,
Like the serpent with an opened mouth behind a frog. 53

(The impermanence of life and the need to get salvation urgently is highlighted.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
Let all those actions I did,
From the time I was born,
And also that I am likely to do,
With my words , mind and body,\
Result in happiness to my mind,
For always and always. 54

(Happy and contended frame of mind is necessary for a clear mind, which would lead to salvation.)

Salutations to lord Narayana Who is Hari,
Let all those I see be idols of Narayana,
Let all that I hear be news of Lord Narayana,
Let all that I do be worship to Narayana,
And let it always be like that for my mind. 55

(The need to do every action dedicated to God without any ego is emphasized.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
If you are going to take a shape in my mind,
Please hold the holy wheel with a luster of billions of Suns,
Please sit always on the king of serpents,
Please wear always the forest garland,
And the chain with the famous Kousthubha gem. 56

(Ezhuthachan , if he decides to worship a God with the form, makes it clear that he would like to worship Vishnu)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
From you were born,
The two effects great,
One of which is an illusion which hides,
And the other is that aspect,
Which creates, looks after and punishes,
In millions of ways. 57

(Both illusion and the power to create, look after and punish is ascribed to Lord Vishnu. This possibly is a justification for preferring to worship Lord Vishnu.)

Salutations to lord Narayana,
Let my mind be filled with your form,
To whom the face is the fire,
To whom the dawn, noon and dusk are cloths,
To whom ocean is his abdomen,
To whom his house is the fourteen worlds,
And his eyes are the day and night. 58

(Further Ezhuthachan describes his Vision of Vishnu in His mega form, which is the universe itself.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Help me Decide on the path ,
Depending on my strength,
And leave out the strong faith,
That the body is the real soul,
Make me pray within my means,
And with devotion catch your holy feet.,
And thus attain salvation. 59

(Ezhuthachan clearly brings out the fact that the worship of the formless God is not for every one. For people who cannot understand this concept he advocates the path of Bhakthi.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Hey God who is the form of truth,
Please do not allow my lotus like mind,
As a stage for my six enemies to play,
And please make it a point,
To sit there once in a day. 60

(Passion, anger, miserliness, longing, exuberance and competitive spirit are the six enemies. He requests God to make him remember daily.)

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
I am telling the truth,
I would give away my wife, son,
Home , riches , servants,
And everything I have to you,
And I would salute you ,
By falling at your feet. 61

(He says that he would give all his worldly possessions to Him, so that he can attain Him.)

Salutations to lord Narayana ,
Even the Lord Brama and Lord Shiva,
As well, as Indra the king of devas,
Do not understand your greatness in full,
And so God please be kind enough,
To be in my mind always,
As the basic truth which shines,
In the minds of all beings. 62

(Ezhuthachan talks here about Lord Vishnu )

Salutations to lord Narayana who is Hari,
Like the weak “la” is a part of the strong “la”,
Your form which I imagine in my mind,
Is a part of your philosophical formless form,
Oh God, who always lives in my mind,
Like the lit golden lamp. 63

(He tells us that the formless form, as far as he was concerned is only a concept which is the end result of his concept of Lord Vishnu)

Salutations to lord Narayana ,
Experts tell the first alphabet “Aa”,
Is the basis and given rise to,
All the vowels,
And the seven groups of consonants,
And these too are ignorant of the meaning of “Om”,
But please make my mind understand its meaning. 64

(Ezhuthachan talks about the greateness of “Aum”, which he says is very difficult to understand even by great scholars.)

Salutations to lord Narayana ,
Let my teacher who is the ocean of mercy,
Edit this prayer and correct all errors,
And let this prayer become a boat,
To cross the sea of Sorrow,
For those who are struggling in this sea. 65

(Ezhuthachan shows his reverence to his teacher and also tells us that this great work, is going to help people cross the sea of births and deaths.)

Salutations to lord Narayana ,
Those who read this,
Prayer which sings of the religion,
Without pride and jealousy,
Would surely attain salvation,
And also will lead the poet to salvation.
All those who hears this prayer being sung,
And even those who read one word of this poem,
Would not fall in the ocean of birth and deaths. 66

(The great work is concluded with a "Phala Sruthi".

*PANCHADASI* - By 'Sri Vidyaranya Swami' Translated by 'Swami Swahananda' - 'Before realization one has many duties to perform in order to acquire worldly and celestial advantages and also as an aid to ultimate release; but with the rise of knowledge of Brahman, they are as good as already done, for nothing further remains to be done'. Blessed am I, blessed, for I have the constant vision of my Self ! Blessed am I, blessed, for the bliss of Brahman shines clearly to me !

THE BLISS OF KNOWLEDGE


1. Now is being described the bliss of knowledge experienced by him who has realised the bliss of Brahman through Yoga, discrimination of the Self and thinking of the unreality of duality.

2. Like the bliss arising from the contact of the mind with external objects, the bliss arising from the knowledge of Brahman is a modification of the intellect. It is said to have four aspects, in the forms of absence of sorrow etc.

3. The four aspects of the bliss of knowledge are: absence of sorrow, the fulfilment of all desires, the feeling 'I have done all that have to be done', and also the feeling 'I have achieved all that have to be achieved'.

4. Sorrow is twofold, that of this world and that of the next. The cessation of the sorrow of this world has been described in the words of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

5. 'When a man (Purusha) has realised the identity of his own Self with That (Paramatman), desiring what and to please whom should he allow his body and mind to be afflicted ?'

6. The Self is spoken of as of two types: the individual Self and the supreme Self. The consciousness, through identification with the three bodies, thinks itself as the Jiva and becomes an enjoyer.

7. The supreme Self, who is by nature existence, consciousness and bliss, identifying itself with names and forms becomes the objects of enjoyment. When by discrimination it is disidentified from the three bodies and names and forms, there is neither the enjoyer nor anything to be enjoyed.

8. Desiring the objects of enjoyment for the sake of the enjoyer, the Jiva suffers, being identified with the body. The sufferings are in the three bodies, but there are no sufferings for the Self.

9. The diseases due to the disequilibrium of the bodily humours are the suffering of the gross body; desire, anger etc., are the suffering of the subtle body; and the source of the sufferings of both the gross and subtle bodies is the suffering of the causal body.

10. The knower of the supreme Self, while discriminating about it as mentioned in the Chapter on the 'Bliss of Non-duality', sees no reality in any object of enjoyment. What then should he desire ?

11. When the individual Self is determined (to be identical with the immutable) through the methods mentioned in Chapter 12 on the 'Bliss of the Self', there remains no enjoyer in this body. So how can there be sufferings which are the result of identification with the body ?

12. Anxiety regarding virtue and vice are the sufferings of the future life. It has already been told in Chapter 11 that such anxiety cannot affect the illumined man.

13. As water does not stick to the leaves of a lotus so after realisation future actions cannot stick to the knower.

14. Just as the cotton-like flowers of the Ishika reed are burnt by fire in a moment, so the accumulated past actions of the knower are burnt up because of realisation.

15. Sri Krishna says: 'Just as a blazing fire reduces the fuel to ashes, so, O Arjuna, the fire of knowledge burns up all actions'.

16. 'He who has no notion of I-ness and whose mind is not tainted by desire for results of action is not really a killer even if he kills people; he is not bound by his actions'.

17. In the Kausitaki Upanishad it is said that killing of parents, stealing, causing abortion and such other sins do not affect his illumination, nor is the colour (serenity) of his countenance marred.

18. It has been said in the Aitareya Upanishad that like the cessation of all sorrows, the knower achieves all the desired objects also: 'He becomes immortal, achieving all the desired objects'.

19. In the Chandogya Upanishad it is said that the knower of Truth may be seen laughing, playing, rejoicing with women, vehicles and other things but he does not remember the body. The vital breath, impelled by his fructifying actions keeps him alive.

20. 'The knower of Brahman attains fulfilment of all his desires'. For him unlike others, there are no enjoyments through rebirths and actions. His bliss is unqualified and immediate and devoid of sequence or degree.

21-22. Whatever bliss is attained by a satisfied king who is young, handsome, learned, healthy, strong of mind, who has suitable army and rules over the whole world full of wealth and as such is endowed with the totality of all human enjoyments, even that bliss the knower of Brahman achieves.

23. For both the king and the knower there is no attraction for worldly enjoyment and so their happiness and contentment are comparable. One has desirelessness because of enjoyment, the other because of discrimination.

24. The knower of Brahman knows through his knowledge of the Vedic scriptures the defects of the objects of enjoyment. King Brihadratha gave examples of those defects in some songs.

25. Thus Brihadratha described the defects pertaining to the body, the mind and the objects of enjoyment. As no one has liking for porridge vomited by a dog, likewise the man of discrimination also has no liking for the body etc.

26. Though there is similarity between the king and the knower of Truth in desirelessness, there was misery for the king in accumulating the objects of enjoyment and the fear of losing them in future follows him.

27. Both these miseries are absent for the knower; so his bliss is more than that of the king. Besides, the king may have desire for the bliss of the Gandharvas, but the knower has none.

28. One who has become a Gandharva, because of the particular result of his meritorious actions as a man in the present cycle, is called a 'human Gandharva'.

29. If one becomes a Gandharva in the very beginning of the cycle, because of his meritorious actions in the earlier cycle, he is called a 'celestial Gandharva'.

30. The Agnisvattas and others who dwell for a long time in their region are called the Pitris. Those who have achieved the state of deities in the beginning of their cycle are called Ajana-devatas.

31. Those who obtain the glorious position and are fit for worship by the Ajana-devatas by performing the Asvamedha sacrifice and other good actions, are the Karma-devatas.

32. Yama and Agni are foremost among the gods. Indra and Brihaspati are well known (and superior to them). Prajapati is mentioned as Virat and Brahma is called the Sutratman or Hiranyagarbha.

33. From the king to Brahma each desires the joy of the one higher than himself; but the bliss of the Self which is beyond the grasp of the mind and the senses, is superior to that of all others.

34. As the knower of the Vedas has no desire for all those coveted pleasures, the bliss of all creatures are his.

35. This is described as 'achieving all the desired objects'. Or it may be explained as the witness-consciousness of the knower experiencing the enjoyments of all the bodies, like those through his own body.

36. (Doubt): Being the witness-consciousness, even the ignorant man has this (universal enjoyment). (Reply): No, being devoid of the knowledge of himself as the witness he does not experience satisfaction. The Shruti says that he who knows the truth achieves all the desired objects.

37. Or he enjoys everything because he becomes all, as that famous passage which expresses his all-pervading selfhood sings: 'I am the food as well as the eater of the food'.

38. Thus are established the nature of both the absence of misery and the fulfillment of desires (experienced by the knower of the Self). His other experiences, viz., the satisfaction of having done all that was to be done and of having achieved all that was to be achieved may be seen elsewhere.

39. Both the topics have properly been dealt with in Chapter 7 on the 'Lamp of Perfect Satisfaction'. These verses quoted below should be meditated upon for the purification of the mind.

40. Before realization one has many duties to perform in order to acquire worldly and celestial advantages and also as an aid to ultimate release; but with the rise of knowledge of Brahman, they are as good as already done, for nothing further remains to be done.

41. The Jivanmukta always feels supreme self-satisfaction by constantly keeping in view his former state and present state of freedom from wants and duties.

42. Let the ignorant people of the world perform worldly actions and desire to possess wives, children and wealth. I am full of supreme bliss. For what purpose should I engage myself in worldly concerns ?

43. Let those desirous of joy in heaven perform the ordained rituals. I pervade all the worlds. How and wherefore should I undertake such actions ?

44. Let those who are entitled to it, explain the scriptures or teach the Vedas. I am not so entitled because all my actions have ceased.

45. I have no desire to sleep or beg for alms, nor do I do so; nor do I perform the acts of bathing or ablution. The onlookers imagine these things in me. What have I to do with their imaginations ?

46. Seeing a bush of red gunja berries from a distance one may suppose that there is a fire, but such as imaginary fire does not affect the bush. So the worldly duties and qualities attributed to me by others do not affect me.

47. Let those ignorant of the nature of Brahman listen to the teachings of the Vedanta philosophy. I have Self-knowledge. Why again should I listen to them ? Those who are in doubt reflect on the nature of Brahman. I have no doubts, so I do not do so.

48. He who is subject to erroneous conviction may practice meditation. I do not confuse the Self for the body. So in the absence of such a delusion why should I meditate ?

49. Even without being subject to this delusion, I behave like a human being through the impressions and habits gathered over a long period.

50. All worldly dealings will come to an end when the fructifying Karma wears out. If it does not wear out, thousands of meditational bouts will not stop the dealings.

51. To bring to an end your worldly dealings, you may practice contemplation as much as you like, but I know the worldly dealings to be perfectly harmless. Why should I then meditate ?

52. There is no distraction for me, so for me there is no need of Samadhi too. Both distraction and absorption are states of the changeable mind.

53. I am the sum of all the experiences in the universe; where is the separate experience for me ? I have obtained all that was to be obtained and have done all that was to be done. This is my unshakeable conviction.

54. I am association less, neither the doer nor the enjoyer. I am not concerned with what the past actions make me do, whether in accordance with or against the social or scriptural codes.

55. Or, there is no harm if I engage myself in doing good to the world following the scriptural injunctions even though I have obtained all that was to be obtained.

56. Let my body worship God, take bath, preserve cleanliness or beg for alms. Let my mind recite 'Aum' or study the Upanishads.

57. Let my intellect meditate on Vishnu or be merged in the bliss of Brahman, I am the witness of all. I do nothing nor cause anything to be done.

58. As he has achieved all that was to be achieved and nothing else remains for him to do, he feels satisfied and always things thus:

59. Blessed am I, blessed, for I have the constant vision of my Self ! Blessed am I, blessed, for the bliss of Brahman shines clearly to me !

60. Blessed am I, blessed, for I am free from the sufferings of the world. Blessed am I, blessed, for my ignorance has fled away, I know not where.

61. Blessed am I, blessed, for I have no further duty to perform. Blessed am I, blessed, for I have now achieved the highest that one can aspire to.

62. Blessed am I, blessed, for there is nothing to compare with my great bliss ! Blessed am I, blessed, blessed, blessed, again and again blessed !

63. O my merits, my merits, how enduringly they have borne fruit ! Wonderful are we, the possessors of this great merit, wonderful !

64. O how grand and true are the scriptures, the scriptures, O how grand and great is my teacher, my teacher ! O how grand is this illumination, this illumination, O how grand is this bliss, this bliss !

65. This fourth chapter of the section called the 'Bliss of Brahman' describes the 'Bliss of Knowledge'. Until that bliss is attained a man should engage himself in the practice of the contemplation of Brahman.

*Glimpses of Self-Realization* - Gleanings from "MAITREYA-UPANISHAD" of 'SAMAVEDA'.

Then like a vessel full to its brim in an ocean, he is full within and full without. Like a vessel void in the ether, he is void within and void without. Do not become (or differentiate between) the Āṭmā that knows or the Āṭmā that is known. Do become of the form of that which remains, after having given up all thoughts. Relinquishing with their Vāsanās the seer, the seen and the visual, worship Āṭmā alone, the resplendent supreme presence. That is the real supreme State wherein all Saṅkalpas (thoughts) are at rest, which resembles the state of a stone, and which is neither waking nor sleeping."

"I am "I" (the Self). I am also another (the not-Self). I am Brahman. I am the Source (of all things). I am also the Guru of all worlds. I am of all the worlds. I am He. I am Myself alone. I am Siḍḍha. I am the Pure. I am the Supreme. I am. I am always He. I am the Eternal. I am stainless. I am Vijñāna. I am the Excellent. I am Soma. I am the All. I am without honor or dishonor. I am without Guṇas (qualities). I am Śiva (the auspicious). I am neither dual or non-dual. I am without the dualities (of heat or cold, etc.) I am He. I am neither existence nor non-existence. I am without language. I am the Shining. I am the Glory of void and non-void. I am the good and the bad. I am Happiness. I am without grief. I am Chaiṭanya. I am equal (in all). I am the like and the non-like. I am the eternal, the pure, and the ever felicitous. I am without all and without not all. I am Sāṭṭwika. I am always existing. I am without the number one. I am without the number two. I am without the difference of Saṭ and Asaṭ. I am without Saṅkalpa. I am without the difference of manyness. I am the form of immeasurable Bliss. I am one that exists not. I am the one that is not another. I am without body, etc. I am with asylum. I am without asylum. I am without support. I am without bondage or emancipation. I am the pure Brahman. I am He. I am without Chiṭṭa, etc. I am the supreme and the Supreme of the supreme. I am ever of the form of deliberation and yet am without deliberation. I am He. I am of the nature of the Akāra and Ukāra as also of Makāra. I am the earliest. The contemplator and contemplation I am without. I am One that cannot be contemplated upon. I am He. I have full form in all. I have the characteristics of Sachchiḍānanḍa. I am of the form of places of pilgrimages. I am the higher Self and Śiva. I am neither the thing defined nor non-defined. I am the non-absorbed Essence. I am not the measurer, the measure or the measured. I am Śiva. I am not the universe. I am the Seer of all. I am without the eyes, etc. I am the full grown. I am the Wise. I am the Quiescent. I am the Destroyer. I am without any sensual organs. I am the doer of all actions. I am One that is content with all Veḍānṭas (either books or Āṭmic Wisdom). I am the easily attainable. I have the name of one that is pleased as well as one that is not. I am the fruits of all silence. I am always of the form of Chinmāṭra (Absolute Consciousness). I am always Saṭ (Being-ness) and Chiṭ (Consciousness). I am one that has not anything in the least. I am not one that has not anything in the least. I am without the heart-Graṇthi (knot). I am the Being in the middle of the lotus. I am without the six changes. I am without the six sheaths and without the six enemies. I am within the within. I am without place and time. I am of the form of happiness having the quarters as My garment. I am the emancipated One, without bondage. I am without the "no". I am of the form of the part-less. I am the part less. I have Chiṭṭa, though released from the universe. I am without the universe. I am of the form of all light. I am the Light (Jyoṭis) in Chinmāṭra (Absolute Consciousness). I am free from the three periods (of time past, present, and future). I am without desires. I am without body. I am One that has no body. I am Guṇaless. I am alone. I am without emancipation. I am the emancipated One. I am ever without emancipation. I am without truth or untruth. I am always One that is not different from Saṭ (Be-ness). I have no place to travel. I have no going, etc. I am always of the same form. I am the Quiescent. I am Purushoṭṭama (the Lord of Souls). There is no doubt that he who has realized himself thus, is Myself. Whoever hears (this) once becomes himself Brahman, yea, he becomes himself Brahman. Thus is the Upanishaḍ."

'HASTAMALAKA'- BY JAGAD GURU 'ADI SANKARACHARYA' Translated by E.B. Cowell

*Glimpses of Self-Realization*

Introspective contemplation on 'SELF' ( Truth - Being Existence - Consciousness and Bliss) or 'SELF-INQUIRY' (Who am I?), will result in instantaneous 'Self-Realization', 'Sahaja Samadhi' and 'Liberation-in-Life', just like 'Hastamalaka'.

-Swaathmaaraaman.


1. 'Who art thou, my child, and whose, and whither go-est thou? What is thy name, and whence art thou come? Tell me all this clearly to gladden me,--thou fill est my heart with gladness.'

2. 'I am not a man nor a god nor a demi-god, no Brâhman, Kshatriya, Vaišya, nor Šûdra; no student, nor householder, nor anchorite, nor religious mendicant; innate Knowledge am I.

3. 'That which is the cause of the action of mind, eye, and the rest, as the sun is the cause of the movements of living beings, but which itself is void of all conditioning disguises, like the infinite ether,--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

4. 'That which being itself one, unchangeable, and essentially eternal knowledge (as fire is essentially heat), is the substratum which bears, as they act, the mind, eye, and the rest,--which are mere Ignorance,--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

5. 'The reflection of the face seen in the mirror is nothing in itself as separated from the face, so is the personal soul in itself nothing, the reflection of Intelligence on the internal organ,--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

6. 'As the reflection vanishes when the mirror is not, and the face remains alone, apart from all delusion, so that Soul which remains without a reflection when the understanding is not,- that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

7. 'That which abiding aloof from mind, eye, and the rest, is itself mind, eye, and the rest to mind, eye, and the rest, and whose nature mind, eye, and the rest cannot reach,--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

8. 'That which, being one, shines forth self-manifested, possessing pure intelligence, and itself essential Light, and which yet appears as though variously modified in various internal organs, as the one sun shines reflected in the water of different vessels--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

9. 'As the sun, illumining countless eyes, illumines at the Same moment the object to each, so that Soul, the one intelligence, which illumines countless internal organs,- that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

10. 'As the bodily sense illumined by the sun grasps the form of the object, but when un illumined grasps it not, so that by which the one sun must be itself illumined to illumine the sense,--that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

11. 'As the one sun seems many in the agitated waters, and even when reflected in still waters must be yet recognized as really separate, so that which, though really one, seems many in the restless internal organs,- that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

12. 'As he whose eye is covered with a cloud thinks in his delusion that the sun is clouded and has lost its light, so that soul which seems bound to him whose mind's eye is blind,- that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

13 'That which being in itself one, is strung through all things and with which nothing ever yet comes in contact, and which, like the ether, is always pure and uncontaminated in its nature,- that Soul, essentially eternal perception, am I.

14. 'As the pure crystals appear different by the presence of a disguiser, so thou too appearest different by the diversity of individual minds; as the moon beams appear to be tremulous in the water, so thou too, O Vishnu, appearest to flicker in our world!'

*Glimpses of Self-Realization*- For the seekers of 'Self-Realization' and 'Sahaja Samadhi' - "Guru Vachaka Kovai" is a Tamil work that contains over 1,200sayings of 'Ramana Maharshi' that were recorded in Tamil verse by 'Muruganar'( one of the early disciples of 'Ramana Maharshi) Selected verses on the Guru from *Guru Vachaka Kovai*

Who is the Guru?

The Guru, the benefactor of true jnana, who truly shines as the Self that possesses unlimited splendor, is the primal silence that puts to flight the perverse arguments that arise through the persistent stain of infatuation with the world.
Our Guru’s form is the reality that sleeps without sleeping in the Heart. He is the self-luminous effulgence that shines in the Heart like a beautiful lamp that needs no kindling. To those who have experienced merging in the Heart he is a luscious fruit full of the sweet clarity of the supreme bliss that, without a trace of aversion, causes an ever-increasing desire [for itself]. His grace indeed is the true wealth.
Only he who unifies the jiva, making it remain facing directly towards the Self, bestowing in this way the direct experience of supreme Self-knowledge, is extolled by the great ones as Iswara swarupa [the real form of God] and Atma swarupa [the true nature of the Self]. Accept him alone as the Guru, the Supreme.
The demeaning good and evil karma [of devotees] originates from activities prompted by the desire and aversion that arise through vasanas. He alone is the true Guru who dispels their suffering and bestows the bliss of liberation upon those who, dragged along by the power of their karma, seek refuge in him.
The Guru who abides as swarupa, the radiant light that illumines even the physical light that exists in this world, will reveal the deceptively real to be unreal to those who suffer by taking the unreal to be real.
The Guru is the power of the Self within
The Guru is the sat-bodham [being-consciousness] that shines abiding as all in all.
As the inner and the outer, as ‘I’ and ‘this’, as this world and the next, pervading all as the boundless radiance of consciousness, the Guru is the unmoving support, the jewel-like lamp that shines effortlessly in the Hearts of true devotees.
Following the destruction of the ‘I am the body’ idea, whatever body it may be, the radiance of being endures free of limitation, without any bondage, shining as the pure expanse. Dwelling in the hearts of all individuated jivas as attribute-free jnana, as wholly the Self, and as non-distinct from them, this radiance of being abides as the all-encompassing supreme power [akila-para-sakti].
Regard only him who possesses the rare attribute of radiating that supreme power [akila-para-sakti] as the Sadguru who has the enormous power to merge, through his causeless sweet grace, any jiva that comes to him with genuine love into the non-dual paramatma-swarupa, whose nature is attribute-free consciousness.
It is the very nature of the Atma-swarupa consciousness to shine as ‘I-I’. This form of natural awareness that remains forever as the soul of the soul in the Heart is the inner meaning of the statement that God, the Self which itself becomes the Guru, unceasingly and directly transmits jnana upadesa to the true disciples, the mature jivas.
The manner in which the Guru sits majestically in state on the Heart-throne of his devotees whom he has taken up, destroying their egos, is lofty like a mountain, splendid and glorious. Those who have experienced this do not talk about it. Those who talk about it have not experienced it. The abundant utterances of devotees [jnanis], which are sacred like the Vedas, bear witness to this.
The necessity of the physical Guru

An external Guru is needed because the desire-filled, infatuated mind rushes out without listening with love to the truth unceasingly proclaimed in the Heart by the Self, being-consciousness.
One may have acquired all the virtues and renounced all the vices; one may have renounced totally all one’s relationships and have no attachment; one may have completely performed all the many penances enjoined upon the virtuous by the scriptures; but however great one may be by virtue of one’s intellect and accomplishments, will one attain the experience, the state of kaivalyam [oneness] that is wholly bliss, until one obtains, as a result of meritorious karma, the good fortune of seeing the jnana-Guru?
For those who are suffering from samsara – to which they are yoked by the twin karmas [good and bad] that arise through ignorance, the powerful dense delusion – the devotion and longing they feel for the grace of the Guru, who has taken responsibility for them, is alone the medicine for dispelling their mental anguish.
It is impossible to experience the marvelous dance of true jnana in the Heart unless the antics of the unbridled monkey-mind cease through the grace-power of the valiant one who wields the divinely granted sword of true jnana, he who has already cut off and brought down [his own] mind demon.
Those who have realized the truth are alone the possessors of faultless virtues. Apart from these, everyone else is only base of nature. Hence, he who longs for the fortune of liberation must redeem himself only by resorting to those aforementioned meritorious ones who shine as reality through the knowledge of reality that is devoid of the world-delusion.
The grace of the Guru

Peace of mind, shanti, which is desired by everyone, is not attained by anyone, anywhere, though any means, except through the grace of the Guru. Therefore, those who want peace should continuously enquire and seek alone that grace in the Heart, with their whole mind.
The blessed grace of God, who has the eightfold form, will be impossible to secure except through the grace of the Guru. It will not come through learning or through any other means, but it will spontaneously arise through devotion.
Those of perfect and mature wisdom will declare: Reality, the consummation of jnana that shines in the perfectly pure state of mauna, the hard-to-attain vedantic experience, will, through the Guru’s grace, spontaneously flare up and shine as ‘I-I’ within the Heart.
Unless we first obtain the divine grace of a Guru, a jivanmukta in whose perspective the triputi-differences have ended and who shines as the undivided and single essence, it will be impossible to obtain the life of liberation and live illustriously under the shade of God’s twin feet, [a life] that is all bliss and the ultimate of all benefits.
Being a good disciple

If you want to attain liberation and redeem yourself by cutting asunder with the sword of jnana the false ignorance that has strongly bound you in the form of a jiva, let your mind spring up immediately with surging love and, without wasting a moment of your life, meditate constantly upon the golden lotus-like feet of the Lord who, in the form of the Guru, has taken you into his fold.
By taking the Sadguru as one’s sole refuge, one should know, through his grace, that the cause of the continuous and distressing confusion that nurtures births is the fragmented mind which regards itself as different from God, Atma-swarupa. One should also learn from him the means for ending it [the fragmented mind] and, adopting that means, one should steadfastly unite with the Self, the ego-free swarupa, and abide in mauna. This alone bestows eminence.
This state of being the best among the noble disciples is this: a constancy of mind whence gushes forth the feeling of supreme devotion [parabhakti] that manifests when the ‘I’ is lost in the radiance of the state of silence, the Supreme. Know and keep in your mind that this is itself the state of being the Guru.
Meditating in the way that one ought to meditate on the sweet and ineffable grace of the Supreme Guru, and remaining still without getting caught in illusion, the unreal and deceptive panorama that appears in front of us – this alone is bliss.

True Gurus and false gurus

The guru who instructs the disciple, who has taken complete refuge in him, by giving one more prescription for action, instead of directing him towards jnana, and who leads him into activities, saying ‘These should be done,’ is for the disciple [equivalent to] the coming of cruel Yama and Brahma [the gods of death and birth]. Only he who consummates disciples, transforming them into those who have done all that needs to be done, enabling them to attain the true benefit of this birth, is the grace-bestowing, divine Guru.
Know that the Heart-directed conduct in which one steadfastly holds onto jnana in the way one has been taught, and abiding there firmly as being-consciousness, without letting the mind stray towards the ignoble sense objects, is alone the true teaching [of the Guru].

The Guru’s look

Since his glance transforms the rusty iron that is the jiva into the gold that is the taint-free jnana-swarupa, the grace-bestowing eyes of the Guru-Lord are the potent alchemical substance that transforms by a mere glance. Therefore, search thoroughly to eradicate your impurity, and worship him to attain his glance.
With his twin eyes the Guru will instantaneously kill without killing the one who came into existence without actually existing in such a way that ‘that which is not’ vanishes as ‘that which is not’, leaving that which exists as the transcendental light shining as ‘that which is’.
The Guru abides as the silent benefactor and reveals the light that shines, remaining as the one and only enduring residue. If his eyes and the eyes of the disciple meet in total harmony, spoken words are redundant.
Beyond the reach of both mind and speech is the glory of those who have the good fortune, earned through past tapas, of becoming the target of the grace-bestowing glance of the Guru, he who has ripened into the para-swarupa through the excellence of the matchless experience of jnana, the Self.
Those who, through rare, intense and surging devotion exist by trusting solely in the Guru’s piercing glance of grace will live in this world like Indra [the king of the gods]. There will be no suffering for them.
The jnana-Guru actually abides as both the Atma-swarupa and the Siva-swarupa within the Hearts of devotees, although in their externalised view he appears and moves around as if he is different [from them]. True jnana will not dawn for anyone who has not known experientially, through investigation in the Heart, the essence of the upadesa ‘You are That’ which [the Guru] silently and unceasingly conveys to his devotees through the language of his gaze.
Like a deer caught in the jaws of a tiger, those who are trapped by the Sadguru’s jnana-bestowing glance of grace will never be abandoned. Rather, they are destined to lose their individuality, their restricted nature, and attain liberation.
  Worshipingthe feet of the Guru
For those who possess the quality of habitually meditating upon the feet of the Guru, the blazing flame of flawless true jnana, their devotion, dispelling their suffering, will elicit the grace of that Supreme One. Through that grace their minds will become clear and they will attain true jnana.
For those who have the good fortune of living a life in which they take the feet of the Guru, the Supreme, as the sole target of their attention, a longing to merge with Sivam will flourish. That true devotion will itself become the fire of jnana that will scorch to destruction the desires for the false, the non-Self.
As worship of the feet of the Guru simultaneously destroys the twin vasanas accumulated over endless aeons, and as it brings forth in the Heart the dawn of jnana that is the cause for our being unafraid of indescribable ignorance, that worship, performed with devotion and reverence, alone is the befitting true mantra for noble disciples in whom dispassion is strong.
One may, through body speech and mind, perform, without leaving any out, all the possible varieties of worship to the jnana Guru, he who is the walking Supreme Siva who has accepted with delight the disciple. However, [for the disciple,] losing the idea that he exists as a distinct entity, separate from that Guru who shines as the soul of his soul, completely dissolving, like ice in water, his individuality in his [the Guru’s] supreme swarupa, and becoming one with him as love alone – this is the perfect and complete worship that he should perform.
The mind that has settled in the radiance of the feet of the Guru, who is limitless jnana, effulgent like the sun, does not merge in the triple differences that are an imaginary appearance in swarupa, consciousness.

Guru puja

Bear in mind that the true puja to the jnana Guru is only the Self-abidance in which the vasana-free mauna surges once the disciple-consciousness that proclaimed itself as ‘I’ is destroyed by the raging fire of the consciousness of the jnana Guru, he who is God Himself.
The true puja performed to the Guru by worthy disciples is the complete destruction of the false ‘disciple-consciousness’ brought about by firm abidance in the state of ‘Guru-consciousness’, the experience of perfection that arises through the Heartward enquiry, ‘Who is the “I” who has been accepted as a disciple?’
Know clearly that the excellent conduct wherein the jiva-mind does not rise in the all-pervading supreme firmament, the sun of true jnana that shines as the real nature of the Guru, constitutes the only puja worthy of being performed to the Guru-Lord.
When the ice of the ego-consciousness that is limited to the form of the body melts into the ocean of Guru-consciousness, the expanse of the Self that exists and shines as the one savour of love, know that this is Guru-puja.
The polluting ego-view causes the fullness of the Guru, which knows no lack, to be limited. Only the behaviour in which this does not appear is the shining puja to the Guru who stands out like a mountain in a plain.
After surrendering one’s body and possessions to the jnana-Guru, to regard the body as ‘I’ and the possessions as ‘mine’ is to commit the sin of stealing back what has been given away as a gift. You should know that avoiding this fault is the authentic worship of the Sadguru.
To destroy the form of the mind, enquire into the ego, the delusion, and enter the Heart. This indeed is the puja to the lotus feet of the Guru’s holy form who abides in the mauna that is beyond the mind.
Like a cataract upon the eye, the ego-view plays tricks on us, masquerading as being-consciousness even as it moves about in the insentient body. To prevent its formation and growth is puja to the graceful twin lotus feet of the Guru who exists and shines as the transcendental firmament.
Abandoning the protection of the feet of the Guru-Lord, who has extinguished the burning fires of the triple miseries [tapatraya], the ego suffers, seeking water in the scorching mirage of the perceived sense objects. When this mischief of the ego is stilled and one becomes established [at those feet], that indeed is the
puja to be performed to the twin lotus feet of the Pure One.


-RAMANA MAHARSHI

*POINTS TO PONDER* - BHAGAVAN 'RAMANA MAHARSHI' ON JAPA WITH ‘I’. Through nama-japa, the person who owns the name is reached.

Question: Is not nama-japa (repetition of a divine name) helpful to attain jnana?
Bhagavan: Yes.
Question: Is not 'nishkama karma' yoga [action performed selflessly, with no interest in a reward] also helpful?
Bhagavan: That is also helpful
Question: What is the mutual relationship between name and form? Can one who does not have faith in nama-japa perform atma-vichara?
Bhagavan: They are not different in any way. This is the relationship. Name itself is form and form itself is name.
Through nama-japa, the person who owns the name is reached.
If a person does not have firm faith in any of any of the gods, but only has a longing to know himself, he can inquire into the word 'I’. For the thinking mind that is intent upon inquiring into the Self, ‘I’ is like a name. At this stage of practice, self-Inquiry is the thinking of a name or japa.

RAMANA MAHARSHI