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THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETYP. O. SHIVANANDANA G AP._149 192

Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Himalayas, Indiawww.sivanandaonline.org, www.dlshq. org

First Edition: 1958Second Edition: 1980Third Edition: 2000Fourth Edition: 2006Fifth Edition: 2Ol2

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Published by Swami Padmanabhananda forThe Divine Life Society, Shivanandanagar, and printed by

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SRI SWAMI SIVANANDABorn on the 8th September, 1887, in the illustrious

family of Sage Appayya Dikshitar and several other re-nowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had anatural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice ofVedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serveall and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind.

His passion for service drew him to the medical ca-reer; and soon he gravitated to where he thought that hisservice was most needed. Malaya claimed him. He hadearlier been editing a health journal and wrote exten-sively on health problems. He discovered that peopleneeded right knowledge most of all; dissemination of thatknowledge he espoused as his own mission.

It was divine dispensation and the blessing of Godupon rnankind that the doctor of body and rnind re-nounced his career and took to a life of renunciation toqualify for ministering to the soul of man. He settleddown at Rishikesh in 1924, practised intense auste-rities and shone as a great Yogi, saint, sage andJivanmukta.

In 7932 Swami Sivananda started theSivanandashram. In 1936 was born The Divine Life Soci-ety. In 1948 the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy was or-ganised. Dissemination of spiritual knowledge andtraining of people in Yoga and Vedanta were their aimand object. In 1950 Swamiji undertook a lightning tour ofIndia and Ceylon. In 1953 Swamiji convened a .\MorldParliament of Religions.' Swamiji is the author of over300 volumes and has disciples all over the world, belong-ing to all nationalities, religions and creeds. To readSwamiji's works is to drink at the Fountain of WisdomSupreme. On 14th July, 1963 Swamiji enteredMahasamadhi.

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PUBLISHERS' NOTEVedanta is the crest-jewel of all schools of

philosophical thought which preaches the Unity ofbxistence, or Oneness of Consciousness. It proclaimsthat all these innumerable beings are, in essence, oneand the sarne. It thrills and widens the heart, brightensthe intellect, and makes one experience the AbsoluteBeing, the Only Reality. Goodness of heart andintelligence of brain, which the whole world considers asa marvellous possession, is superseded by the Divinity ofAbsolute consciousness through direct intuitionalcognition of the Universal Soul!

"Essence of Vedanta" is a priceless jewel from thediadem of Sivananda Literature.

Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, unlike many otherVedantins, is a practical Vedantin. This gloriouscharacteristic runs through all his writings. Thiswonderful scripture bears witness to it.

We are confident that students of Vedanta, andseekers after Truth who have chosen the path of Jnana,will find in this volume a great practical guide toSelf-realisation.

THE DTVTNE LIFE SOCIETY

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FOREWORD6n P.C. Diwanj| Retd. Judge, Bombay)

Out of the six systems of philosophywhich admit theauthoritativeness of the Veda to a greater or less extentt!..r9 are only two, namely the Vedanta and the yoga,which attract the largest number of serious studentsfrom amongst the aspirants for spiritual advancement inthis country. Of them the doctrine of the Vedanta assystematically expounded in the Saririka Sutra has beeninteroreted by the commentaries ofvarious philosophicaland theological schools in diverse ways whiih have givenrise to the Kevaladvaita, Visishtadvaita and other Vadas,which have reference to differing views as to the nature ofthe ultimate realit5r sought to be established thereby. Butthe one thought which has been found in all the ages tolpn9at to the largest number of intelligent aspirants isthe first, whose exponent was the firsl Sankarachaqra.He being the earliest of the scholars to make acomprehensive effort to establish harmony between thethree great recognised sources of the Vedanta doctrinenamely the ten Upanishads of the Vedic ag, theBhagavadgita of the Epic age and the Saririka Sutra ofthe Darshana (systematic exposition) age, some holeswere picked in his line of reasonings by the exponents ofthe other schools particularly, Ramanuja and Madhva.They had met with suitable rejoinders from amongst thefollowers of Sankara's earlier interpreters of tlie twoschools of Suresvara and Vachaspati. The last of thosewho faithfully interpreted Sankara,s dicta in theParimala, a gloss on the Sariraka Sutra and composedan independent treatise a digest, embodying the reJult ofa study of the arguments of all the writers of theKevaladvaita school, named Siddhantaleshasamgrahawas Appayya Dikshit, a South Indian scholar, who diedat Banaras in i660 at the ripe age of 72 years. The

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revered Swami Sivananda is, by birth, a scion of thesame Dikshit family now a Sannyasin of the Anandaorder, which is one of the ten orders founded by Sankaraand also a faithful exponent of his Kevaladvaita Vada.

Next, philosophy is studied in India not as an intel-lectual pastime but as furnishing a reliable guide to therealisation of the true nature of the Self and to the deter-mination of the right attitude to be adopted towards thenon-selves, in which class fall not only the objects of theexternal world but also the sheaths enveloping the Self,such as the physical body, the vital parts, rnind, etc. Ac-cording to the Vedanta doctrine one must practise"Nididhyasana" (meditation or constant musing) of thequinteslence of the Vedanta teaching contained in one oft-he "Mahavalg/as" (great sentences)-the most of-ten-qrroted one out of which is that contained theChhindogra Upanishad of the Samaveda namely,Tat-tvam-asi' (Thou art That), meaning that you areidentical with the reality, Brahman. Thus, besides theknowledge derived from an external source such as aGuru or i scripture arld reflection over its meaning, med-itation on the truth contained therein forms part of themeans for the Self-realisation. The human mind hashowever a natural tendency to brood over the non-selves.Some of the Upanishad sages had therefore hit upon theexpedient of the constant repetition of the monosyllableOm, called the "Udgita" or "Pranava" and reflection overits meaning as the pure Brahman or the Self taken as anentire unite and as the qualified Brahman in its three as-pects of the presiding deities of the cosmic processes oflhe creation, sustenance and destruction or the qualifiedself in its three aspects of the Vaisvanara, Taijasa andPrajna, the individual soul in the states of waking,dreaming and sleeping. The said process of meditation it-self led in the Upanishad age to the state of "Samadhi"(perfect composure or self-integration) in the case_of as-pirants of a very high order if they lived in solitude andobserved celibacy and in the case of others when it wasfurther aided by the "Upasana" of the "Udgita". That wasan age in which life being simple there were few causes ofmental distraction so much so that some Kshatriyas

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could attain Siddhi even without outward renunciation.Gradually however life began to be more and more com-plex with the result that the task of concentrating on oneobject continuously for some time began to be found dif-ficult. This led to the invention of other devices as themeans for keeping the vagrant minds under control.Some of these were exclusively mental while others weremixed mental and physical ones. Such devices when sys-tematised by experience acquired the names of the differ-ent species of Yoga which have reference to the principalmeans employed for the attainment of the goal, the reali-sation of true nature of the Self which is identical in es-sence with the overself, the Paramatman, whotranscends the limitations of space, time and causationand is also the inner ruler of all beings. Such realisationputs an end to all mental worries, which are the result ofa false sense of the identification of the Self with thenon-selves and a false sense of values which results fromthe ignorance of the fact that the universe of which webecome conscious as consisting of diverse entities whenwe are in the states of waking and dreaming is also in es-sence the same as the Self within us, and brings in itstrain feelings of joy, contentment, perfect peace of mindetc. As however so long as the connection of the soulwiththe body and the senses becomes revived on return to thestate of waking the overself or the self feeling itself as ex-tended in space and time and acting in the world of cam-sation takes possession of the body, senses and mind,becomes inspired with the disinterested desire to makeas much contribution as one can, with the powers atone's command through the said purified body, sensesand mind, to the uplift of the other beings with whom onecomes in contact, to the same high spiritual level as one-self, so that the ideal of the realisation of the sole exis-tence of the unconditioned self even in the state ofwakingwhen the operation of the mind and the senses isnot suspended may be attained. Towards the fulfilmentof that objective, the Yogi has to remain engaged in di-verse activities at diverse levels in the outside world butunlike those engaged in pelfish activities he not onlymeets with no obstacles but on the contrary meets withseveral inconceivable facilities in respect of men, money

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and materials to the extent to which the objective con-ceived by him is in consonance with the preparedness ofhis field of action. Nor does such activity create any freshbonds for him because it is individual egoism which isthe cause of bondage and that he had cast off once for allbefore the desire was implanted in his mind. The univer-sal consciollsness, which did that, sees to it that he isonly guided by intuition as inspired by it and not by indi-vidual desires, passions and prejudices, although con-tinuing to have connection with a human body andremains indifferent to the results of his acts whether theyare or are not the same as humanly conceived. Howevereven though guided by intuition and remaining indiffer-ent to the results of his efforts he must, since he has towork on human material and accomplish a purpose inthe world of physical forms, have settled views on thephilosophical problems arising from the present-dayconditions in the'lvorld of concrete realit5r which the lead-ing thinkers of his age have been trying to solve by theuse of their intelligence and evolve a technique which allthose who. are prepared to accept his guidance can un-derstand, assimilate and act up to. It is easily under-standable that although the Self which every embodiedsoul can realise is the sarne irnrnutable one at all timesthe post-realisation activit5r of every Jivanmukta cannothave been moulded in the same pattern because such ac-tivity of each such soul must to a greater or less extent bedetermined by the knowledge of the empirical worldgathered.and assimilated by training and experience inthe anti-realisation period of his life, the problem orproblems to be tackled by each of them cannot be thesame and the method of tackling it or them must beadapted to the temperaments of the kind of people to bedealtwith and the prevalent conditions of life in each age.

Now all those who have come in touch with SwamiSivananda the Kulapati of the Ashram at Ananda Kutir,feel convinced that his mind must have beenunintermittently occupied with thoughts and plans intu-itively conceived for the uplift of the souls of those whomhe deems worthy of being helped by him to come upto thesame level as his own in the best and as far as possible

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the easiest and quickest manner possible, regardless ofthe fact whether they do or do not come into physicaltouch with him, that he has not only carefully studiedbut also entered completely into the spirit of all the prin-cipal works on the Vedanta philosophy so as to be able tointerpret them correctly in a simple non-technical lan-guage which even the novices can follow without mr:cheffort and above all he being of the view that mere theo-retical knowledge is an intellectual pastime or a meansfor earning one's livelihood, has acquired such a masteryover all the different species of Yoga practice as to be ableto act as a very useful guide to the Sadhakas of all gradesof spiritual development at all the stages in their prog-ress towards their goal in any course of Yogic discipline,and warn them against possible pitfalls in their onwardmarch. He is known to be doing that in diverse ways.

In the first place, he has by the continued practice ofthe post-realisation course of Yoga acquired the powersto receive and transmit messages by telepathy, which areeffective in the case of those disciples of his who surren-der themselves completely to him for guidance along thespiritual path.

Secondly, he has such an inexhaustible fund of en-ergr that he is never tired of contributing articles on di-verse topics of practical utitity in the pursuit of the idealby the readers of the English and Hindi journals editedfrom his Ashram by some of his Sannyasi disciples underhis supervision and also by those of other journals de-voted to philosophical and religious subjects edited fromother places by other persons and of writing books, bigand small, calculated to assist their readers in under-standing the Vedanta doctrine considered from variousangles of vision, ancient and modern and in both its as-pects theoretical and practical. These books he presentsvery liberally to those whom he believes to be worthy ofsuch kindness and generosity.

Thirdly he solves the doubts of and gives instruc-tions by correspondence to those who address letters tohim for those purposes from any part of the world.

Fourthly, although he has a number of well-traineddisciples who can and do train newcomers who take up

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their abode in the Ashram either permanently or tempo-rarily for being trained in any species of Sadhana and inthe practice of the art of leading a divine life he himselfpays personal attention to all and sundry and supervisesthe work entrusted to each such disciple and wheneverfound necessary gives personal guidance and furnishesan excellent example of what is meant by leading a divinelife. The work of the Yoga-Vedanta Forest University,which he has founded has been placed on a systematicbasis and all its extra-curricular activities are given suffi-cient publicity through its Weeklyjournal which is pub-lished very regularly. The aim of introducing suchactivities seems to be the double one of giving opportun!ties to the eminent visitors to the institution to come intopersonal touch with the teachers and pupils at the Uni-versitSr and to the latter groups to the trend of thought ofthe persons outside the orthodox Hindu fold. Some of thecasual visitors also seek interviews with the Swamiji. Hegives them freely and causes the reports thereof to bepublished in the Universit5r Weeklg for the knowledge ofits readers residing outside Rishikesh.

Fifthly, although he himself is a firm believer in thetruth of the Vedanta teaching as expounded by Sankaraand in the efficacy of the means recommended by him forthe realisation of tJlat truth namely Dhyana Yoga, he notonly does not discourage those who have an admirationfor any other system of thought and an inclination topursue any other means for the realisation of truth buttries to interpret all the others in such a way as to bringabout a harmony between them and the others from thepractical point of view. Moreover he impresses upon theminds of his followers that the path of knowledge is re-quired to be supplemented by that of action, done with-out an eye to the acquisition of any material benefit out ofit, in the shape of disinterested service to the diseasedand disabled human beings believing it to be a servicerendered to the Almighty and that while doing so the atti-tude of mind to be adopted should be one of gratefulnessto Him for giving that opportunity and not one of confer-ring an obligation on the needy individuals. Dhyana yoga

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is a part of Jnana Yoga. But aspirants are not tempera-rnentally or constitutionally fitted to be able to be en-gaged in contemplation without any previouspreparation. The Swamiji therefore advises the supplementation of that Yoga by some physical or mental exer-cises, such as Asana, Pranayama and Pratyahara andeven some Mudras (special physical devices) which formpart of Hatha Yoga, in order that the mind can bebrought under control by first acquiring control over thevital breath and the nervous system, and to the others headvises being engaged in the process of repetition ofsome short or long Vaidic or Pauranic Mantras whichwhen done with reflection on the meanings of theMantras enables one to stop the operation of the subcon-scious mind which is responsible for causing distractionwhen one tries to be engaged in meditation. This combi-nation of the different species of Yoga he calls the Yoga ofs5rnthesis.

Lastly, for some yerrs past he has organised the per-formance at his Ashram of what is designated as the"Visvasanti Yajna", a sacrifice performed by some devo-tees who have dedicated their remaining lives to the self-less service of humanity, so that a reign of peace may beestablished in the universe as a whole.

The revered Swami Sivananda thus makes a solidcontribution to the development of Indian philosophy onnew lines suited to the requirements of the modern age,in which the duty of man is deemed not to end with se-curing the salvation of one's individual soul but to extendto rendering the best possible help to others as well ingetting relief from physical suffering and thereby en-abling to make the best possible use they can of theirlives on this planet for their own salvation, and in whichthe duty of securing the welfare of society is not deemedto he confined to the governing bodies but to, extend tothe members of the society, because the former sharetheir rights also with them. May the Almighty continue toconfer on him enerS/ and enthusiasm for many moreyears in order to enable him to give the benefit of his

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knowledge and experience to many more persons all overthis earth than he has been able to do so far personallyand through his trained disciples sent abroad for doingthe same beneficent work in other countries.

Note: this article was written in 1958.(14)

INTRODUCTTONTOWARDS PERFECTION

It is the need for the coordination of our thoughtswith the higher life, the communion of our ideas withhigher ideals, that is behind our love for spiritual values,our interest in religious matters our desire for holy asso-ciation and studies. This noble purpose consists in ouraspiration for moving towards a higher life which tran-scends and comprehends whatever we normally experi-ence in the material plane.

It is the aspiration to grow, to evolve, to direct one-self to a transcendental ideal which is at once real at thetime of its experience. It goes without saying, that wehave a background of our thoughts which decides ourmotives, and that background determines the nature ofour aspiration. It determines the nature of goal to whichour aspiration directs us.

To put it concisely, we have a consciousness of thedifference between the nature of our present conditionand the nature of the ideal which we have before us. Thisconsciousness of the distinction between the two levels oflife has arisen in us on account of various factors'Purvapunya or the results of the meritorious deedswhich we have done in previous births is one of the fac-tors which has caused the rise of this consciousness inus, the consciousness of the existence of a higher life andthe inadequacy of the Present life.

DISCRIMINATION AND DISPASSION

This we call in a technical term Viveka, a dissatisfac-tion with the superficial experience that we have in thematerial level and a glimpse indistinct though it may beof the presence of the higher life. Together with this con-

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sciousness of the presence of the higher ideal, this aspi-ration for living the higher life, a distaste is created in us,however temporary or unsubstantial for what is incon-gruous with the nature of that higher ideal. We call thisdistaste, Vairagra or dispassion.

An intense passion for the Real, a burning aspira_tion to realise the ultimately existent Being, includei thewithdrawal of the natural consciousness of the visibleobjects of this world. Viveka and Vaira$/a come together.The one is the natural concomitant of the other. W. hrr.made an unconscious analysis of experience with ourminds which has caused the rise of Viveka. When thisanalysis becomes conscious, it becomes a direct step inSadhana.

An unconscious spiritual urge is felt as the result ofconscious meritorious deeds which we have done in ourpast lives. We might have had some spiritual awarenessin our previous lives also, and we might have thoughtover the problems of life and aspired for a solution. Thepresent life is only a continuation of the past life. It is nota new life that we are leading now abmptly with a freshbeginning, but it is the continuation of a series. It is justone rung in the ladder of evolution.

CONSCIOUS ANALYSISThe purpose of the spiritual aspirant, therefore, is to

make this unconscious analysis a conscious one. Theconscious analysis begins with the perception and expe_rience of what is immediately presented to us. We under-stand what it is that is immediately brought before oursenses. we take for granted the reality of what our sensesperceive. We see this physical world. We see our ownselves as situated here as contents of this wor1d. We areparts of this cosmos, this universe, this world.

It does not require much time for you to understandthat you are in the midst of others, because that percep-tion which you have of yourself is immediate, non-rela_tional. This knowledge does not stand in need of any

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external proof. The proofofthe existence ofan object out-side is direct sense-perception. You say, "Here is a per-son sitting before me", because you see him directly,perceive him and observe him through your senseswhich carry great authenticity.

Our present life is based on sense-perception. Weare said to live, therefore, in a sense-world, a world thatis presented to us by our senses..We do not question theauthenticity of the experience that is brought to us by thesenses, because we have identified to such an extent ourconsciousness with the form of the perception in whichthe objects in this world are presented to us or withwhich they come to us, to our consciousness. This is thebasis of all philosophical and spiritual analysis, the anal-ysis of the experiencing consciousness.

The comrnon man with his common-sense takes forgranted the validity of his experience in this world. I seethis world. Well; here is the object. The world is here, andI have to make use of it. I have to live in the world by ad-justing and adapting myself to the environments, so thatI may fulfil the purpose which is in my mind, as the idealto be realised. Different people have different conceptionsof the ideal of life. But this is gross perception whichtakes the sense-world as ultimately real. It is the lowestform of perception that we have, because it is the percep-tion of the gross physical universe of which our body is apart, a content.

SPIRITUAL ASPIRATIONThe spiritual aspirant is endowed with a special

higher consciousness of the existence of something, ab-solutely real which is above this experience which we re-ceive through our senses. This aspiration for the Real isingrained in the consciousness of the spiritual aspirant:only it gets intensified when he approaches the Guru, aspiritual preceptor, and receives the higher initiationfrom him but it is present there in him even before he ap-

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proaches the Guru. Else, he would not have had the in-clination to go to the spiritual Guru at all.

He feels the need for a higher knowledge. He feels theneed for his being guided by a spiritual teacher. Thatmeans that he has already had within himself the rise ofthis consciousness of a trans-empirical life. It is in theseed state. It has to come to the state of a sprout, a plantand a tree later on, through the grace of the spiritualteacher, and through the grace of God.

Now with this aspiration, with this consciousness ofthe existence of a higher spiritual ideal, the aspiraht be-gins his analysis in the light of the teachings of the Guru.It is the spiritr.ral teacher who guides him in the processof this analysis. What is the form which this analysistakes ? It is the analysis of his own self because the oneobject which is said to have doubtless existence is one'sown self.

One may doubt anything in this world, but one can-not doubt about one's existence. All philosophical specu-lation, all aspiration, all endeavour, begin with thisconscioushess of the existence of one's self. But here co-mes the distinction between the awareness which a spiri-tual aspirant has ih regard to his existence and the onewhich the ordinar5r man has in regard to himself.

PERCEPT!ON

The objects which are seen in the world are consid-ered by the common man to be existing outside his bodyand senses, and he feels that a copy, as it were, of the ob-jects is experienced by hirn in his mind. The object itselfdoes not enter his eye or the ear, but there is a transmis-sion of vibration from that object, which his conscious-ness becomes aware of, which becomes a content of hisconsciousness and on account of which he happens toknow ttre existence of the physical object.

It is only the spiritual aspirant endowed with ahigher discrimination that can question the validity ofthis form of experience. You see a person. But how do

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you do this? You may say that because you have got eyes.An aspirant will not be satisfied with that answer, if onlyhe has that higher intellect, because he wishes to knowwhat actually is the process by which he is enabled to beaware of another's existence. One may say that there is avibration, as it were, emanating from the object outsideand becoming a content of one's consciousness, but onemust go deeper into these problems, for even the possi-bility of such a vibration has to be explained.

You see so many objects in the world, so many formsbut how are you to be sure of their existence? No oneputs this question to himself, becamse he is already cer-tain as to the nature of experience. It is only the spiritualaspirant who doubts this situation. Is it true one has aconsciousness of real existence?

SUBJECT.OBJECT RELATIONNow, take for granted that you are having a con-

sciousness of real things. How do you know these to bereal things? The obvious answer is: through the senses.What is the connection that the senses have with the ob-jects outside? Nobody seems to know this, because thereappears to be no relation at all, no contact between thesense organs and the objects outside.

If there is no sense-contact at all, how can you beaware of your existence here? You may see a person sev-eral feet apart from you, and you are aware of his exis-tence, without your coming in contact with him in anyway. You may say that light waves travel from you andcontact the retina of the other person's eyes. That is true,but the object is not brought and kept in your eyes. Theobject is outside. Even to have an image of the object inyour consciousness, you must have some kind of intrin-sic relation with that object.

No one will think for a moment that it is possible tohave contact with an external object without involving inthat contact a subtle relation, whatever the nature ofthat relation be. It is true that we have some kind of con-

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tact with the external world, though it may not always bea physical contact. There is a kind of relation which is in-telligible in its nature. Otherwise the object cannot be-come a content of your intelligent nature.

You know that objects which have dissimilar char-acteristics cannot commingle each other and becomeone. For example, a rod of steel cannot be mixed withmilk, for the two are possessed of dissimilar characteris-tics. Water and milk get mixed with each other, becausethey have a similar character. What is the nature of yourconsciousness which becomes aware of the presence ofthe objects outside? It is spiritual.

It appears to be ethereal, pervasive; otherwise it can-not comprehend the object outside; and if your spiritualnatrlre, the intelligent nature, should be aware of the ex-istence of the object outside, there should be somethingin the object which is similar to the consciousness thatyou have in you. In other words, there should be a spiri-tual element in the object that you see outside.

CONNECTING LINKIf you deny the existence of any spiritual element in

the object perceived, you must admit that my conscious-ness, too, is physical in nature. That means your physi-cal being is coming in contact with the physical object.You are not physically in contact with whom you see atall, and yet you are aware of his presence. It is anon-physical relation that enables you to be aware of theother's existence. It has to be accepted that there is anon-physical relation in knowledge. This non-physicalrelation is psychological, empirically, but ultimately spir-itual.

Even from the empirical viewpoint, we have to definethe word'psychological'. What is meant by'psychologicalrelation? You may say: 'mental relation'. And what is thenature of the mind? Is it physical? If it is physical, itshould be inert, and it cannot be then conscious of the

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existence of the world outside. The mind should be en-dowed with an intelligent nature.

Here we are concerned only with the intelligent na-ture of the person, for all perception refers to an intelli-gence. This intelligence is responsible for the perceptionof the world outside. The intelligent nature should bepresent in the object also; else your intelligent naturecannot be in contact with it and you may not be aware ofthe existence of the outside world.

Now the question would arise: Taking for grantedthat there is a spiritual or intelligent element in the out-side object also, where is the need for positing a relationbetween the seer and the seen? The need is felt when webecome aware of the fact that perception is impossiblewithout a relation, and if perception is a fact relation is afact, and if relation is a fact, it must be intelligent, spiri-tual.

When we see objects in the world we understandthat there seems to be a spiritual relation between theexperiencer and the experienced. But what is this rela-tion? Does it belong to only a few or to all, or does it notbelong to anybody at all? Now, if it does not belong toanyone, it must be hanging, as it were, loosely in space.And if it is thus hanging loosely, it will not be in contacteither with one or with another. So a third relation has tobe brought in to connect that relation with onesell thesubject. It means then that the spiritual relation betweenone and another is not disconnected from one or from theother, but it is homogeneous with both. It is in oneself, itis in another, and it is between both. Otherwise therewould be no objective consciousness.

Now, this explanation of the nature of perceptiongives a clue to the understanding of the nature of thewhole world itself, because the world consists ofexperiencers and objects that are experienced, and noth-ing but these two, and if the relation between these two isa spiritual one, then there is a spiritual relation subsist-ing ever5rwhere in the world. In other words, there is a

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Spirit present everywhere in the world' Without it, expe-rience is impossible. This analysis is made in the wakingstate. There is a spiritual consciousness present in ev-erybody and it is not limited to the sense-organs, be-cause the sense-organs are there even in that state ofdream, when they do not function, and one is aware ofone's existence even then.

TNDEPENDENT PRINCIPLEThat means to say that consciousness which is the

perceiver and experiencer, is an independent principle,different from these fleshy organs which are seen out-side. There is what is called blank-look'. The eyes will beopen, but one will not see an5rthing. In ShambhaviMudra it is possible for one to withdraw one's conscious-ness from the external objects and yet keep the eyesopen. It is found here that consciousness is differentfrom the eyes. The experience is different from the organsthrough the instrumentality of which he perceives andexperiences external objects.

Now, this explanation holds good in the state ofdream also, because as far as the structure of experienceis concerned, there is no difference between waking anddream, though there is difference in the quality thereof,becamse one has a purified, clear consciousness in thewaking state, and there is a dull hazy consciousness inthe dreaming state. Apart from this fact, the structure isthe same. There are space, time and objects in dream.There is the difference between the seer and the seen. Ev-ery blessed thing that one experiences in the wakingstate is experienced in the dream also.

So the question of the relation between the seer andthe seen which has been answered in relation to the wak-ing state is applicable to dream also. There is a spiritualentity, if at all one can call it an entity, which is existentever5rwhere in the ttniverse, in all objects, in seer and inseen, in the waking as well as the dreaming state. Howmany states does one experience daily? One would find

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that everybody is either waking, dreaming or sleeping. Inwhat other state can one be? Swoon or insensibility is nota special state of consciousness. It is said to be a statemidway between waking and death. If one understandsthe nature of the three states of experience, one will haveanswered a very great question of life itself.

CONTINUlTY OF EXISTENCE

What is life? This question can be answered by an-swering the question relating to the three states of con-sciousness. When one understands the nature of thethree states, one would have understood all forms of ex-perience. The waking life manifests the Eternal Spirit inits phases. So does dream which is similar to waking ex-perience in form. Now, what happens in the state ofsleep? In sleep one has no awareness at all. There is nei-ther the seer nor are there objects seen. It is a blank,static, inert, darkness-nothing but this. But one existsin deep sleep. One knows this because one wakes up thenext morning and becomes aware of one's previous expe-rience. We are aware of the survival of the same individu-alit5r. When I wake up and say, "Yesterday I slept, today Ia.rn aware of it," I do not forget the continuity of my per-sonality.

It means, therefore, that I existed in the state of deepsleep. One more question is left to be answered-theproblem of the nature of experience in deep sleep. Wehave earlier examined that when we are awake, we are ina spiritual world; when we are in dream, we are again in aspiritual world, because experience is impossible with-out the existence of a cosmic spiritual connection. Doesthis spiritual being exist during deep sleep? We do notknow. We have no consciousness at all, then. But whenwe wake up from sleep, do we remember sleep? Yes. Nowwhat is remembrance? Remembrance always follows anexperience. We have a memory of what we have experi-enced previously. If there were no experience at all, therewould be no memory.

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Memory always should be preceded by experience,and there is no experience unless it is attained with con-sciousness. One does not have \rnconscious'experience.If there is experience there must be consciousness at-tending it. If there were no experience, there would haveno memory. Therefore, there must be experience even insleep. But what is the reason for one's inability to experi-ence one's consciousness during sleep? This inability toexperience one's conscious existence during sleep is afactor which can be known and removed only by thepractice of Yoga.

This is the fundamental principle, the teaching of allYogas, the removal of the obstructing principle, some-thing covering the consciousness which does not allowone to have any experience at all. The obstructing ele-ment is called Avarana, nescience, ignorance and thepresence of this ignorance it is that makes one incapableof any kind of experience in deep sleep. But it is sure thatthere ought to have been a consciousness; only on ac-count of the presence of this Avarana one does not havethe opportunity to verify it during sleep. The presence ofspiritual element in all the three states becomes, how-ever, an established fact.

INSTRUMENT OF PERCEPTIONThe ignorance in deep sleep state is conceded. There

is no clearness of consciousness in dream state. There-fore, one can understand why one is not aware of the Selfin these states but why is one ignorant of the Self in thewaking state also? It can be logically concluded thatthere would be a spiritual entity eveqrwhere in the world,but this logical knowledge is not sufficient. Though thisanalysis has brought about this conclusion, one does nothave any direct knowledge of it.

Why is it so? The reason is this: We perceive thisworld through the rnind and the senses. The mind andthe senses are the instruments of our knowledge. With-out those instruments we cannot experience anything in

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this world. And every instrument has got a make up, ostructure, a forrn. The mind also has a form. The sensesalso are made up in certain forms, certain shapes. Every-thing has got a manner of functioning. There is a smallexample to illustrate the conditioning of knowledge.

Keep a lens before your eye. Let it be convex or con-cave, but not plain glass. When you look at the objectoutside through the lens you see a distortion of the ob-jects. You do not see the object properly, because thelens plays a part in your perception. The constitution ofthe lens is responsible for the perception of a distortedform outside. If it is a plain glass, you will see the objectas it is. So there is any kind of a special construction ofthe instrument through which you see, the nature of theobject will be very much influenced by the constitution ofthe instrument.

The constitution of the mind and the senses verymuch influences the nature of the object that we experi-ences outside. One can know another as an existing be-ing only in so far as that existence is a content of one'smental consciousness. To the extent the mind allows oneto have a consciousness of one's existence, one can knowanother. More than that he cannot know. The mind has aconstitution, a special make-up. What is that constitu-tion? It can know things only in space and time and re-late one object to another object in a casual series. Wesee that one thing is caused by another thing. This is onaccount of the categories of space, time and causation.These three are the characteristics of the frame-work ofour mental perception.

CORRECTION OF ERROR IN PERCEPTTONWe cannot know anything without presuming that

objects exist in space and time. Shutyour eyes and thinkof an object. It is in space. It is in time. It is one a.rnongthe many objects. It is outside of you. These ideas comeeven if you shut all the senses. This is the cause of man'sfinite perception. The mind is forced to experience things

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only in a particular way. This particular, specialised con-stitution of the mind and senses is limiting our percep-tion. We have to polish the lens of this mind and make itclear, a plain glass, so that there may be correct percep-tion of the object outside.

Why should one experience objects only in spaceand time? If there is a spiritual relation between the sub-ject and the object, why is not one allowed to see it? Be-cause of the intervention of space and time. Time andspace are great factors in creating a chasm between oneand another. So there is an error in perception. One in-nermost intelligence and consciousness tells us thatthere is a unitary principle pervading the world withoutwhich perception is impossible, but our sense-percep-tion does not admit it. There is a division for the senses.That division is camsed by a peculiar make-up of themind.

It is by the process of Yoga that one has to transcendthese limitations imposed upon one by space and time,and by the forms of the mind itself. The inability of thernind to perceive things as they are is caused by the in-tervention of space and time in perception. Yoga gives thetechnique to polish the mind, make it very clean and al-low in it a clear reflection, an image of things as they are,objects in their true essence. The real perception of realobjects can be had therefore, only when the instrumentis perfected. The instrument is the mind, which workswith the aid of the senses. Yoga, therefore, is a techniqueof training this mind, polishing this instrument to perfec-tion.

Patanjali, the author of Raja Yoga, in his second Su-tra says, Yogas-chittavritti-nirodhah. Yoga is the processof the inhibition of the functions of the mind-stuff. i.e.,fryrng up of the raw material of the psychological organs.The mind, the intellect, the principle of egoism, the sub-conscious mind, all these are included in what is calledthe rnind-stuff. And this is to be purified. This purifica-tion of the mind-stuff is the first and the last thing that

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has to be done in the practice of Yoga. This purification isreally the cessation of the mind as the mind; it is its de-struction.

In the state of Suddha Sattva, which is purit5r in it-self, the mind becomes absolutely transparent, and thenthere is clear perception of things. Now we have a jaun-diced perception of things. We do not see things in theirtrue colour. The true colour of things is spiritual. Butnow we see their disjoined existence. When themind-stuff is purified, there will be the perception ofunity, for then there is no need for us to take the help of alimited instrument of perception. Then the difference be-tween the seer and the seen will not be hindering knowl-edge. Division is caused by the intervention of space andtirne. When the defect is rernoved, the spatio-temporalrelation will not be there at all. Then there will be an im-mediate communion of the object and the spiritual es-sence of the subject.

AIM OF YOGAAfter the cessation of the rnind, there is the estab-

lishment of the Self in itself. The real Self is the all-per-vading being. We have to be established in that spiritualBeing which is the ultimate relation among things here.That is the aim of Yoga. And this is the aim not only of theYoga, which Patanjali described in his Sutras, but tl-eaim of all Yogas. In truth, there is one Yoga, and notmany Yogas. The many narnes which we give to Yoga arewith reference to the various temperaments which indi-viduals possess. When we look at Yoga from one point ofview it appears to go by the name of Karma Yoga, fromanother point of view it is Bhakti Yoga, from a third pointof view it is Jnana Yoga. The names differ in accordancewith the form in which Yoga presents itself before us.

We look at Yoga from our own standpoint, from thestandpoint of the make-up of our minds, and our prac-tice of Yoga is based on perception of the constitution ofour minds. That means to say, our perception is identical

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in one sense with the constitution of the mind. So withthat instrument alone we look at Yoga. A person who hasgot an active temperament, takes to the Yoga of Action. Itis meditation on the spiritual reality through action.Yoga may also be meditation through love of God, or itmay be meditation through will (Raja Yoga), or it may bemeditation through wisdom (Jnana Yoga). But all Yogasare processes of meditation, meditation on the ultimatespiritual reality which is everywhere without which wecannot exist, without which we cannot think. Nothing ispossible without its existence.

A direct, immediate, non-instrumental experience ofthat Reality is the goal of Yoga. You can, therefore, prac-tise any Yoga suited to your temperament, and all thesewill lead to the same goal. You will also find that an ad-vancement along any particular path of Yoga involves aparallel advancement along all other paths also. There isno one-sidedness or lop-sidedness in Yoga. One cannotbe a Karma Yogin alone to the exclusion of all otherYogas. Impossible. Yoga is not movement to any partialaspect of being, but to the total being itself. So thereshould be a transformation or discipline of the total beingthrough Yoga.

INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENTOne should practise PurnaYoga. All sides of our per-

sonality should be disciplined, transmuted and subli-mated. We are active, emotional, psychic, andintellectual. All these aspects in us have to be trainedproperly. Otherwise what will happen? There will be a re-volt of that particular side which has been neglected infavour of certain others. If you neglect emotion, it will re-bel against intellect. If intellect alone is taken as the pre-dominant aspect, there will be the revolt of emotionagainst it. There should therefore be complete transfor-mation of our personality through the practice of theYoga of Synthesis. It is synthesis of the essential ele-ments of all Yogas. It is therefore, a march of the total be-

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ing of the individual to Godhead, the flight of the alone tothe Alone, as Plato put it.

Alone you have to fly to the Alone. Of course, you willhave help from the teacher in the beginning, but after-wards, it will be an independent flight to the Eternal. Asthe great lawgiver, Manu, said, you are born alone. Youwill go alone. You will take nothing from this world, and,therefore, even when you live here, you are alone. Re-member, O man, your social relationships are only tem-porary. They are only aids in exhausting certain Karmas,nothing but these. This experience of social life which wehave in this world is a stage in our development to Eter-nal Life. It is a particular stage in the evolution of our in-dividual being to Godhead. So you rnust make anall-round effort, not a one-sided effort. You should notlean to any one particular side. A simultaneous disci-pline of all the aspects must be there.

In this process of spiritual advancernent, you will begreatly helped by the spiritual teacher, who has got a di-rect knowledge of the nature of the spiritual path. Thespiritual path is super-sensible. It cannot be seen with-out eyes. It cannot be even heard of properly, because itis connected with Spiritual Reality. Even to get trainingin any particular branch of learning in this world you re-quire a teacher, because you have no experience regard-ing the subject. More difficult is the spiritual subject, thesubject of Yoga. The Yogi attempts to merge his personal-ity in the cosmic, spiritual being, which is existent; ev-er5rwhere eternally. It is not going to be achieved in thefuture, because without its existence, even our presentexistence would be impossible.

OUR RELATION WITH REALTTYThe universe has been existing since aeons and it is

going to exist for many millions of years, whereas theperception of this world by individuals is varying. Thisapparently perpetual existence of the universe makes usbelieve that the spiritual being must be eternal. If it has a

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beginning and an end, it will be the basis of eternal expe-rience. Brahman must be eternal. Then alone can therebe justification for our eternal aspiration for perfection.We have ayearning to be perfect; nobodywishes to be im-perfect in anyway. There is a longing to become completein every way, in knowledge, power and experience of hap-piness. Everybody wants to have the utmost possibleknowledge, the greatest power and consequently, thegreatest freedom and happiness.

We want to exist for ever. Who wants to die? There isa desire in every one to live for ever, eternally; all have adread of death. One wants to be the most intelligent be-ing, filled with cosmic consciousness, and wants to befully free unrestricted by the things of this world. Wewant unlimited bliss. We have an aspiration forSatchidananda. We want to have an eternal experience ofexistence-absolute, an eternal experience and absoluteknowledge, absolute bliss and absolute power. We wanteverything complete and infinite. And according to theanalysis that we have made, infinite bliss or infiniteknowledge would be irnpossible unless we intimately re-late ourselves with the spiritual being, with the Infinite.In other words we must become the Infinite.

To know the Infinite is to become the Infinite, and wecannot know It through the senses. For the moment welook at it through the se; rses, it would appear like theworld. After all what is this world? This world itself isGod. God is not somewhere outside the world. But He isnot seen, not recognised. He is recognised in'a wrongway. We think He is the body, He is the matter, He isspace, He is tirne, He is the gross world. No. This is notcorrect perception. Human perception does not corre-spond to Reality. Reality consists in the experience ofChit. knowledge uncontracted. This is the only thing thatis eternal, and when it is objectified and looked atthrough the mind and the senses, it becomes the physi-cal universe.

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So, the purpose of Yoga is to withdraw the mind fromobjective perception and centre it in Chit. It is the restingof the seer in his own Self. Now, in this world the con-sciousness is in a state of tension. It is moving outside insearch of pleasure. It has to be brought back from thisfruitless quest and made to rest in itself. Only when itrests in itself there is experience of pleasure. Pleastrre isnot the result of contact of a person with an object. It isthe result of the cessation of 'desire. As long as a desiredobject is not possessed, there is unrest, but when the de-sire is quenched, there is happiness. Happiness has notcome from the object. It has come from the extinction ofthe particular forrn of the mind which was moving out-side in search of peace. Therefore, bliss is in the heart ofconsciousness. It is everywhere, because without it noperception is possible.

YOGA IN DAILY LIFEThus the process by which we endeavour to unite

ourselves with that eternal spiritual being for the sake ofexperiencing eternal bliss is Yoga. Yoga is the goal as wellas the process. It means joining or uniting the individualwith the Supreme, or according to another et5rmologicalmeaning, it means meditation. Yoga is meditation, andalso union of the soul with Godhead. When it is taken inthe sense of the means, it is meditation, and when it istaken in the sense of the goal, it is absorption in God-head. And to attain this goal we practise meditation.Yoga can be practised in one's daily life. It is possible forone to be a Yogi every moment of one's life, if only one un-derstands the technique of Yoga.

It is possible, as Krishna has said, for one to be aYogi every moment of one's life, whatever be the actionthat he may be doing. Every act can be turned into Yoga(Karma Yoga), every feeling into Yoga (Bhakti Yoga), everyvolition into Yoga (Raja Yoga) and every thought intoYoga (Jnana Yoga). Whatever you feel, or understand, or

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will, or do, can be converted into a step in the practice ofYoga.

How? It can be done only by giving it the magicaltouch of the consciousness of the presence of the Eternalin all things. Karma Yoga is the worship of the SupremeBeing in the form of action. It is service done to the Eter-nal through our limited limbs, organs. Every act that wedo volitionally or intellectually, can be converted intoYoga. When the process of ratiocination is made the in-strument in the practice of Yoga, it becomes Jnana Yoga,which is a peculiar rnethod of directly coming into con-tact with the Eternal in its essential nature of Knowledge.And all other Yogas are aids to the realisation of this eter-nal consciousness itself.

What is our duty in this life? A11 our duties, theso-called duties, are aids to the fulfillment of the su-preme duty of Self-realisation, the realisation of the exis-tence of the Supreme Being in our own self. The existenceof that Being in other persons cannot be realised unlessit becomes a part and parcel of experiencing conscious-ness. If you objectify that Eternal Being, you see it in theframe-work of external beings. Then it becomes a physi-cal body. So, one should have an experience of the Eter-nal in oneself in order that its spiritual realisation can bepossible. And that experience in our Self becomes vastlike the ocean, an infinite exparlse of consciousness. Itoverflows with the knowledge of the Supreme. In otherwords there is no difference between one's essential na-ture and the essential nature of the Divine Being.

PERFECT ART OF LIFEWith this meditation you have to act in this world.

There should be no despondency at any moment in yourlife. This is an important thing which every aspirantshould remember. No grief should be felt at any time, be-cause the moment you are disturbed, upset or grieved,you must understand thatyou have not properly graspedthe technique of Yoga. For, if you have properly under-

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stood the technique of Yoga, you will know how to trans-form every situation into Yoga. Ignorance is the cause ofpain. We cannot be in a state of pain or sorrow if we havea proper conception of Yoga. Yoga is not confined to agroup of people in the world. Yoga is the art of life, thescience of life. Who does not want life? Everybody wantsto live and know the art of living correctly, wisely, at itshighest and the best. That is called Yoga.

Everybody can be a Yogi at some stage of life. yoga isnot confined to monks and Bhikshus alone, living incaves. It is the art of living an intelligent, perfect life. Any-one who is aYogi lives a happy and perfect life, and a per-son who is not at all in any stage of Yoga is a miserablebeing. He suffers in this world. By Yoga'I do not meanhere the ultimate Realisation, but the process of attain-ment. It is any step taken towards the realisation of thatend. Of course, to the best of your ability you must act.You must not be slack in your meditation. All yourknowledge and power you must put in a state of equilib-rium. There should be equilibrium and dexterity, bothtogether. Yogah karmasukausalam Yoga is equilibriumof mind. Yoga is skill or dexterity in action.

You must be adept in action. What is the meaning ofbeing an adept? You must fulIil your duty, be active insuch a way that you are not disturbed by any thing inthis world and you are ever in tune with the Absolute.That is dexterity in action. This dexterity is the conse-quence of an equilibrated mind. SamatuamYogaUchyate.So the two practices should go together-internal tran-quillity of mind and external ability to transform everyaction into Yoga. Only he who has understood this tech-nique can be a real aspirant. He alone can tread the pathto the Spirit, without undergoing any difficulty and therewill be no difficulty if there is direct guidance from theGuru.

The ancient teachers have stressed that a spiritualaspirant should undergo training for at least twelve yearsunder a spiritual teacher. Only then can there be real

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progress, because the correct technique of Yoga can betaught only by the Guru. After understanding, oneshould practise Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana.There is first hearing the nature of Truth from the Guruand then contemplation and meditation. This meditationshould go on every moment of our life. Meditation shouldnot be confined only to a particular part of the day. It isnot enough if one carries on meditation for a part of theday, and then absolutely forgets it at other times. Else,there will be a fall. Here comes the importance of KarmaYoga.

YOGA OF ACTION

You should not make a sharp distinction betweenmeditation and Karma Yoga. Otherwise, you will find itvery diflicult to act in the world. But if you transform ev-ery action by the power of meditation, then you will frndthere will be no difficulty in living in the world a peacefuland happy life. Life will be a happy process of spiritualprogress if the power of meditation gives strength to theaction that you do. Action is an external expression, anoutward manifestation of an internal aspiration or reali-sation. I have used the two words: aspiration and realisa-tion. Karma Yoga is the external expression of anaspiration or a realisation. In the case of SiddhaPurushas it is the manifestation of an internal realisa-tion, but in the Sadhakas it is the manifestation of an in-ternal aspiration.

In the case of the Siddhas there is no question ofself-transformation or self-purification. Every action thatthey do is cosmic process. It is not individual action donethrough the limbs. It is a universal movement, which isan end in itself. The Karma Yoga of the Sadhaka is ameans to such a state of cosmic realisation. The aim ofthe Sadhaka is, therefore, to become a cosmic being, tobe a Purushottama, the Lord of the Universe, pervadingthe whole universe. This is the goal of all processes ofYoga. I want to stress the point that Yoga is not some-

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thing queer; extraordinary or other-worldly. It is themost useful, most necessary thing, because it is the artof the perfect life. Rernember this. It is the art of livingwisely and it is the technique of the realisation of the su-preme bliss and beatitude.

This is the goal of life. This you have to remember atall times of your life, and you should try your best to putthis into practice every day, every moment, as long asyou are conscious living beings. Supterutthagasuptyantam Brahmaikam prauichintyatam. A great sagehas said: "Remember God alone, the Supreme Beingalone, throughout the day." Do not forget this. The mo-ment you get up from the bed in the morning you muststart thinking of God, and this thinking must be there tillyou are overpowered by sleep. Every action that you doshould be charged with your remembrance of God. Thisis the technique of Yoga. This should be learned under aspiritual teacher and then one must enter into deep med-itation for the sake of th6 supreme Realisation.

Life on earth is a gradudl.process of unfolding of tJ:eDivine Consciousness which'inan essentially is. It is toset one's own individuality in tuhe with the working ofthe Eternal Nature, to harmonise orleself with the Pleni-tude of Being. The earth is the arerra where we expandthe finite into the Infinite. The purpose of life here is tolive the existence of the Absolute Brahman! A life dedi-cated to this supreme End is the one of an earnest Seekerthrough Vedanta.

In the misery of the transient world the ignorantman dies every moment of his life. He is whirled round inthe storm of life's turmoil; he is tormented by the imaginary substanceless appearances of the universe. Tons ofthe loads of life seem to be pressed upon his weak shoul-ders and he sits forlorn crying. He is gripped by fear, de-sires, worries and anxieties. Ever5rthing flows; today it isand the next moment it is not. Man has mistaken the loveof life for the eternal joy of existence. The sorrow of phe-nomenal life is rooted in the clinging to relational living

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fed by the misbelief in separative independence and mul-tiple permanence of beings. The joy of immensity of eter-nal life is partaken of by cutting the root of the tree of lifewith the axe of wisdom acquired through spiritual re-nunciation and meditation.

Meditation is the crowning edifice of spiritual prac-tices. That is to be started the moment you start studyingthis book. Lay the foundation now and build the wallswith assiduity of will. Equip yourself with theSadhana-Chatushtaya. Put on the armour of ethical dis-cipline and moral excellence. Load the gun of the intellectwith the explosive of wisdom and shoot the dark demonof ignorance which is the cause of untold suffering.

Life in the Highest Divinity implies the transcendingof the conditions that are inconsistent with Its naturaland essential characteristic. The Divine Attainment isthe realisation of the integrity of Life as a whole and,hence, life as an earthbound individual which is basedon devotion to negativity and falsehood cannot go handin hand with the plenitude of the Real. A thorough-goingabandonrnent of the clinging to multiple realities has tobe cast off before the region of Truth is stepped into. Thisabandonment consists in the renunciation of thoughts,destruction of the ego, annulment of the lower self, anni-hilation of the sense of separateness, emptying andcleansing the heart of its passions and desires in order toexist as the Transcendent-Divinity! When thought is re-nounced, one exists as Awareness- Supreme; when theego is destroyed, the Realisation of the Truth takes place;when the lower self is annulled, one exists as the Immor-tal Self when this sense of separateness is annihilated,one beholds the Essence of Existence, the One Reality ev-er5rwhere; when the heart is emptied and cleansed, one isfilled with the Pure Delight of the Bhuma-Experience.

Amritasya Putrah! For your own Eternal Good, livethis life of the true seeker of the Final Beatitude, the joy-ous living of Eternal Felicity! Come, come! O Bold ones!Delay is perennial perdition. Tornorrow will never come.

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Hurry up, soon! Tarry not! Practise this. You will get in-stalled in the empire of the Spirit. The Truth shall dawn.Knowledge shall follow. The Sun of Joy shall rise.Bliss-rays shall be radiated. You become That. The intel-ligence gets fixed on the spotless Light of Truth, whennothing remains save the simple Truth in all its naked-ness and pristine purity, when the mind majesticallywalks into the stainless supreme fathomless depth of si-lence untouched by the ceaseless din and bustle of thephenomenal world. Objective consciousness gets meltedin the menstruum of Eternal Peace. The passionate lovefor life is dissolved in the Immortal. The tenacious cling-ing to the egoistic self is merged in the dazzlingluminouswaters of the everlasting ocean of Existence. The DivineBeing, the Vast Expanse is revealed, the ultimate ex-treme of the Reality, beyond the beyonds, the one Su-preme Goal of life is reached and realised. The thinkerhails as the Thought. The individual self is annulled andall is forgotten in the majesty of the Great All.Brahmasamstho Amritatvarneti-one established inBrahman attains Immortality. This is the Essence ofVedanta.

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GONTENTS

Publishers,Note *"*,";

Foreword VlIntroduction. (15)

Ghartet I

HINTS ON VEDAI{TIC SADHANAThe Nature of Truth or Brahman 47What Is Jnana Yoga? 50The Path of the Vedantic AsPirantHints on Vedantic SadhanaPhilosophy.Annihilation of the EgoInternal SadhanaObstacles in the PathWisdom and Realisation .

Chaptcr IIVIDYAS IN THE UPANISHADS

Introduction .Sat-VidyaBhuma VidyaMaitreyi VidyaShandilya VidyaDatrara VidyaVaishvanara Vidya.Panchagni Vidya.Udgitha VidyaFurusha Vidya.Paryanka Vidya

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Akshara VidyaSamvarga VidyaMadhu VidyaPrana VidyaUpakoshala VidyaAkshi VidyaAntaraditya VidyaAditya VidyaSat;rakama VidyaAkasha VidyaBhrigu-Varuni Vidya.Anandamaya VidyaUshasta-Kahola VidyaUddalaka-Aruni VidyaShvetaketu VidyaJyotisham Jyotir-VidyaSatya-Jnana-Ananta VidyaShodasakala VidyaConclrrsion

Ghaptct lll

SIVANANDA-VIDYANature of BrahmanContradictions Reconciled .Vision of a Sage and a Worldly ManSuperimposition (Adhyasa)Happiness Is in Atman Only.One Brahman Is Both Material and Eflicient CauseBrahrnan Is Unattached .Qualifications of an AspirantKaivalyamMethod of MeditationIntroduction .Nature of ElrhrnanContradiction Reconciled

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Chapter IVTHE WAY OF MEDITATION

Withdrawal From MultiplicityFitness for WisdomGuide to MeditationUnitySubtle and Most SubtleRemove the Colouring of the MindSamgraha Vedanta Prakaranam .Tat Tvam Asi.Equal Vision. 130Glory of Pranava 131

Ghaptet V

THE GREAT REALITY AND ITS NATURE

The Vision of a Sage and a Worldly Man .Superimposition (Adhyasa)Happiness Is in Atman Only.Brahman Is Both Material and Efficient CauseBrahman Is Unattached .Qualifications of an AspirantKaivalyam .Method of Meditation

The Struggle for the InfiniteThe First ObservationAnalysis of the SelfApplication to LifeWaking Experience Is As False As Dream Experience

Chaptet VI

UPANISHAD SADHANA

The Message of the Upanishads

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Upanishads on FoodEating Is a Sacrifice

Chaptet Yll

CATEGORIES IN VEDANTAIntrodutionCategories in Vedanta .

Chapter VIII

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN VEDANTA

Chalttct IXTHE SD( KHYATIS

IntroductionSatkhyatiAkhyatiAnyathakhyatAtmakhyatiAsatkhyatiAnirvachaniya Khyati

Chaptet X

VEDANTA IN DAILY LIFEIntroductionWhat Is Vedanta?Vedanta Solves All Problems.Vedanta for Health.Vedanta for World-peace.Vedantin's Brahman.Snake-in-the-Rope AnalogrThere Is Only One SoulPractise Complacency .Share With All

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Take the EssenceRemember Sankara's WordsBe a Witness.Know ThyselfWatch the Breath : . .Study These BooksVedantic FormulaeBe Balanced .Possess These MeansAntaranga SadhanaEnquire "\Mho Am I?'.Separate and IdentifyNegate the Body and the Mind.AsSert and Realise.Chant and Sing OrnSong of OmVedantic SadhanaThe State of a Jivanmukta.Song of a Vedantin 209Song ofChidananda. 2lOFour Mahavakyas 2lOMantras for Ahamgraha Upasana 2lO

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ChaptetXI

uIoRLDLY MAN, IIIAKE UP!Human Birth Is for God-realisationWaste not Precious LifeRenunciation Is a Glorious ThingSense-life Is a Terrible BondageSensual Life Is Sharneful LifeYour Wretched StateReal Svarajya Is Atma SvarajyaTyaga Is True HeroismMoney Is a Source of Misery .How Rotten Physical Beauty Is

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The Fleeting Nature of ThingsThere Is Only Suffering in This WorldPleasure Is Purely IllusiveThis Disgraceful Modern AgeWorldly Man!Wake Up! .Follow the Wise

Choptat, XIISTORIES AND FORMULAE

Prince or Fisherman?The Distant InheritanceThe Parable of the Millionairet SonFormulae for Nirguna MeditationAPPENDIX

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8wq\ZEDANTTA

Chapter I

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANAThe Nature of Truth or Brahman

1. Truth is simple, it is made to appear complex bythe distractive intellect. The sublimest things are alwaysthe most simple.

2. Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood.3. Truth can never be defeated by rrntrr.th. Truth

shall always win victory over untruth. When the path ofTruth is trodden, everything else also is done. When theroot is watered, all the branches are automaticallywatered.

4. The path of Truth is a precipitous one. It isslippery and all that is disagreeable. Hard it is to treadthat, difficult a path it is. Giants arnong spiritual menwalk over it to the city of Perfection.

5. The Absolute is All. Tryth is Absolute. You arethat. This is the essence of spiritual teaching.

6. Truth is utterly public. It cannot be hidden evenif one would try to do so. Truth persists and is expressedeven in the extreme of untruth. The extreme of Truth isthe Absolute. Untruth is a shadow of Truth. The world isuntruth and the Absolute is Tmth. The world isrepresented by sex and ego; the Absolute is representedby the Noumenal Gnostic Being.

7. His head shall break who acts against Truth andpractices untruth. Truth is Being. Untruth is non-being,a mere natrght.

8. Truth is not expressed even bYExistence-Consciousness-Joy! It is only the nearestrelative of Truth. But Truth is even greater, grander,mightier, truer!

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9. All is well with him whose heart is turnedtowards the Truth. No disease, physical or mental canassault hirn.

10. The towards the Truthr.u. lne mover towards the Truth is mighty, liveslong, knows everything and is ever delighted. for he isnearing the Almighty Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

1 1 . Even to talk of Truth aid think of Truth realisesone to the height of immense satisfaction. What could bethe experience of Its Realisation!

12. Truth is; untruth is not; hence it is wrong evento say that Truth is One, for Truth is Existence Itself andis neither one nor not one. Truth is Absoluteness.

13. The Absolute baffles the rnind of even thegreatest scholar. It eludes the grasp of even the mightiestintellect. It is experienced as pure Consciousness, whereintellect dies, scholarship perishes and the entire beingitself is completely lost in it All is lost, and all is found!

14. Air rushes into where there is vacr.trm. TheAbsolute rushes into where there is no ego.

15. No time is necessary for the Absolute to revealItself. In the flash of a mbment, like a stroke of lightning,the world will merge into Pure Being,

16. When will the Absolute-Experience take placecannot be said. It rnay be just irnrnediately, no-w orrnillions of births afterwards. Hence one should bealways eagerly waiting for Its arrival. It will comeunexpected at any time.

17. Truth is immense; Truth cannot be spoken;truth can only be experienced.18. Truth is eternal. Truth is immense. Truth

cannot be spoken. Truth is beyond speech. Truth ischangeless and speech is change. Everything thatchanges itself is untruth. Hence Truth is Infinite. frutnalone endures, while everything else perishes. Everyone,right frorn Bratrrna down to a blade of grass, rno.restowards Truth, some consciously, some unconsciously.They differ only in the degree of consciousness or tlieextent of mental purification or subtlety of condition.

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANA

Every leaf that flies in the air, every breath ttrat flowsfrom us, in other words, every act of universal life, is astep taken nearer the Truth for, Truth is the eternalHome of all beings. Into It they all enter and Iindperrrranent satisfaction and peace. It is the ego-sensethat shuts r.ls off frorn Infinite Life and hence ttrerealisation of Truth is the dissolution of individualconsciousness in Absolute Existence-Knowledge- Bliss!

19. The Absolute is perfectly scientific, logical,s5rmmetrical, balanced, systematic, reasonable rational!It is not irregrrlar and haphazard. It is not asupra-natural rnystery but the natural fact of life. TheInfinite and Indivisible nature of existence is not awonder, it is the actual condition of being even asbrilliance is of fire, liquidity of water, weight of lead. It isthe Highest Perfection of Eternal, Irnrnortal, Real Life.

2O. The Highest Reality is Sat-Chit-Ananda wherethere is not even the slightest tinge of activity. That iswhy those who go near It become inactive.

21. Reality is the Perfected Embodiment ofExistence, Knowledge, Power and Bliss. These forrr areonly the aspects of the One Beingwhich is Indivisible andchangeless. These different aspects of Existence cannotbe separated even as the Sun's flames, heat andluminosity cannot be distinguished.

22. Truth is Eternity, Infinity and Absoluteness,Intelligence, Consciousness and wisdorn, beauty, loveand joy! Sringara-Rasa, Madhura-Bhava, or the erotictaste of the world is a shadow of the Supreme Reality ofloving beauty and bliss. Aesthetic enjoyment is areflection of Brahmananda or Absolute Bliss.

23. Infinity, Eternity, Irnrnortalit5r and Absolutenessare the characteristics of the LimitlessExistence -Knowledge-Bliss !

24. All that appears here as the extensive manifoldworld is the One Uniform Reality existing in this form! Asthe bright light of the Sun appears as tantalisingmirages, so does the One Light of Consciousness appear

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as many. To appear like this is the very nature of theReality. These mountains, these rivers,.(his earth, thisvast ether-all .these are nothing but the One PureUndying Spirit! Jtrst as an uneven mirror presents anugly and corrugated reflection of the face, so does thisOne Mass of Eternal Existence appear as many due towrong imagination! All the things of this world are reallythe One Whole Indivisible Being! The one Ether ofConsciousness appears as the concrete rnany! A11 this isOne, Partless, Divisionless, Beginningless, Endless,Absolute, Brahman! The origin, the growth, theenjoyment and the involution of the world, a.re entireillusion! The network of the worlds is Brahman! The tendirections are Brahrnan! Tirne, space, things, actiwities,carrse, effect, actor, birth, death, existence, all areBrahman Itself appearing in Brahman by the powers ofBrahman!The world is the dazzlingof Consciousness!Allthat is seen below, here, upwards or crosswards, all thatexists in the rnany creatrtres or within a straw, isBrahrnan only! There is nothing but That!

25. The Supreme Truth is Oneness! Separateness isfor devotion. Manifoldness is not true. There is only OneInfinite, Eternal, Nameless and Formless Essence orPrinciple, in reality, which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss,and That I arn!

26. Tlre essence of the Truth of Existence is Beauty,Love and Bliss.

What ls Jnana Yoga?27. Jnana Yoga is cessation frorn thinking of

particulars, annihilation of the feeling of separateness orindividuality, existing as One and unified with All.

28. Yoga is the dissolution of thought in EternalAwareness, Pure Consciousness without objectification,Knowing without thinking, rnerging finitrrde in Infinit5r.

29. Yoga is the transformation of the ego-senseconsisting of thinking, feeling, willing, understanding,determining and arrogating, into Infinite Consciousness.

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANA 5I30. Yoga is union or identification with the Essence

of Absolute Existence.31. Yoga is intense affirmation of or profound

Meditation on the Absoluteness of Being.32. Yoga is of four types: (1) Service and

self-sacrifice, (21 devotion and self-surrender, (3)corrcentration and rneditation, and (4) discrirninationand wisdom.

The Path of the Vedantic Aspirant33. Do not imitate the Jivanmuktas; you are still a

Sadhaka. Vasishtha had a wife, br.t tre was a bornSiddha. Janaka ruled the kingdom after severe Tapasand realisation of Truth. Krishna lived a princely life butHe was One with the Infinite. You are not expected tobehave like them. You must do Sadhana.

34. Do not think that you are very wise and that youhave understood eveqrthing; you know nothing, myfriend; you are deceived. There is an ocean yet, and youhave not tasted even a fulldrop!

35. Every breath of yours flows towards untmth;you live in the mire of falsehood and repeat "Truth alonetriurnphs!" Can you deceive Reality? Therefore, be true toyourself.

36. O crooked heart! You think one thing, speakanother thing, and do a third thing. Do you want God? O,how bold you

rre to claim the Seat of Bliss! Do not cheatyorrrself; be straightforward.

37. These so-called active spirited people of theworld who work for material gains and carnal pleasuresare the most deluded creatures. They have forgottentheir Real Self. Sages pity these people who are engagedin the external play of life.

38. Those who think that they are doing injustice tothe world through their Self-realisation, have not yetgone above the credulity of childhood. For, they do notknow that the Self which is Absolute includes the wholerrniverse, and is far beyond that.

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39. The world can be saved only by those who havealready saved themselves. A prisoner cannot liberateother prisoners. Therefore perfect yourself, save yourself.

40. If He begins to give with His Infinite Hands, howmuch will you be able to receive with your two hands?And if He begins to take away with His Infinite Hands,how much will you hide away from Him with your twohands?

41. If the aspirant takes one step nearer to It, It willcome in a hundred leaps and bounds nearer to him.Such is the nature of the Eternal Being. For every bit ofaction that is done for Its sake, you receive a million foldin return! This fact is beautifully illustrated in theworkings of Bhagavan Sri Krishna for the good of Hisdevotees.

42. Sadhana is practiced in order to attain the Goal,the object or the Ideal. The object is sought because itallays misery and showers peace and bliss. The Absoluteor the Brahman, the Infinite Light, the One Goal of all, isItself Eternal Peace and Irnrnortal Bliss. That is why It isthe True Ideal that is to be realised by each and everybeing. There is nothing else to be achieved either in thislife or the other. If That is gained everything is gained; ifThat is lost, everything is lost. That Supreme Being isTruth, God, Infinite, and everything that you mayconceive of. That is What exists and That mere[r Is.

43. Sadhana is a conscious effort exercised for theachievement of an unattained goal or object. SpiritualSadhana is a conscious mental effort directed towardsthe realisation and experience of the Absolute Realit5r.Such a spiritual effort is called "Yoga" in Sanskrit.

44. How clean you keep your house when you invitethe ruler of your State! How much more clean and pureshould your heart be, O man, if you wish the ImmortalLord to enter into you!

45. It is not necessary that a spiritual giant shouldhave a muscular body. The greatest Jnani may also be

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANA

tubercular patient. There is no contradiction between thetwo.

46. Gold has to pass through fire before becomingbrilliant and lustrous. An aspirant has to pass throughuntold suffering before becoming the absolutely Great.

47. One has to tend the cow with care by dirtyinghis body with rnl.d and the refuses of the cow, in order totaste the sweet milk. The aspirant has to undergoextreme pains in order to realise the joy of the Spirit.

48. Fear is non-existent in Being. The spiritualaspirant is bolder than a soldier, bolder than a lion,bolder than a giant! In tmth, he is the source of allcourage and strength.

Hints on Vedantic Sadhana49. The spiritual aspirant is never helpless. The

entire existence is supporting hirn in his arduousstruggle, for he is searching for something which is trueto all. One may dislike a certain thing of the world, butTruth can be hated by none!

50. If all the fourteen worlds were to face him inbattle, the spiritual aspirant would count them for astraw! For he is the Immortal Spirit, the ruler of theheaven and earth, and the universes at large.

51. The road to the excellent Bliss is clothed withpiercing thorns. The road passes through a lonely denseforest haunted by terrific tigers. It is protected byimpregnable forts, and guarded by multi-hooded diaboliccobras. The road is hard to tread; the Bliss difficult toattain. The sincere spiritual aspirant is one who hasbecome immune from all afflictions and terrors. Noweapon that is cast against him shall prosper. Nothought directed against hirn shall ever fare well.

52. The Guru's contradictory statements andinsultive words are a challenge and a test for the disciple.The Guru sees whether the disciple is tempted andupset. The intelligent disciple should know how to actunder such circumstances.

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53. Never try to hide the bitter truth with a sweet lie'Be straightforward even if a sword is to pass throughyour heart! Cling to the naked Truth! If you try to saveyour "Iittle" self by hiding a fact, the "highest" Self willnever be reached. Even if your throat is about to be cut,remember that this sweet world of name and fame is onlya shadow, and thatTruth is Brahman, ffid nothing else!

54. Maya willr sit in your brain and intellect itself.Beware of trer snares! Do not try to protect yotrr ego. Forthe sake of Truth, you must be prepared even to cast oflthis body at any time. For what purpose are you here, onthis earth, if not for drowning yourself in the flood of theInlinite Existence? You must get yourself buried in God!Then only you shall live! You gain by losing. You live bydying.

55. All ttrese fourteen worlds with all their inhabitants and riches, beauty and grandeur, joy and happinesscannot be an adequate price for the Jewel ofSelf-realisation.

56. The aspirant has to cast off the sheaths, tear theveils and pierce illusion in order to errter the Absolute.The Realisation of the Absolute is the fine delicious fruitexisting at the top of a terribly thorny tree.

57. A person who has once tasted even a little of theBliss of spiritual meditation cannot give it up even for thesake of all heaven and earth put together!

58. O man fullof craving! Whenyou intensely desirefor anythinB, try your best to desire for everything andnot merely one thing. Do not exclude anything from yourobject of love. Let A11 be yours. For yours is this All.

59. "Wtren the rnind grapples wittr a great andintricate problem, it makes its advances, it secures itspositions step by step with but little realisation of thegains it has made, until suddenly, with an effect ofabrupt illumination, it realises its victory." So is the casewith Spiritual Experience in the qractice of Yoga.

60. A'dense cave darkened by the thick gloom ofages of sunless nights does not require any time to be

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANA

lighted up when the Sun pierces its innermost parts. It isinstantaneously brightened to the fullest extentimmediately when the Sun's rays enter it in spite of itsbeing dark for ages together. The terrible delusion andthe vilest ignorance of man is erased cut in toto by a flashof Supreme Intelligence attended with Bliss!

61. Sire! Do you, in your meditation, read anothers'minds? What do you mean! When we enter into the veryroot of life and existence, where is the question of readingdifferent rninds? In deep profound meditation yotr existas the Absolute Essence Itself. Do you think this foolishmind will persist even there? You go beyond the mentalstate and live in the Glorious Truth!

Philosophy62. A thing is only a force whirling in a particular

direction. One being is separated from the other due tothe difference in the method of whirling of the UniversalForce. Man is different from a tree because the two aredifferent processes of the movement of the Eternal Forceor Energr. This enerS/ is imperishable eternal! When twobeings have a slightly similar movement of these forcesor electrons or atoms, they become friends; when theyare identical in movement they merge into one anotherand form One Being. The whole universe is only a diversemovement of the One Enerry. When the whirling of thisForce becomes in a common way then the whole worldcollapses into Eternal Existence.

63. The whole universe is a gradual, systematic andprogressive process of the Self-realisation of theAbsolute. This is one view. The whole universe is adreamy and illusory misrepresentation of the indivisibleHomogeneous Absolute. This is another view. The formerview leads to the more advanced latter view. The formeris an intellectual judgment, the latter is the intuitionalexperience. The first view is beginning of knowledge, thesecond one is the end of wisdom.

64. "The whole universe is the Para-Brahman"; thisis the heart of the Advaita Metaphysics. The world itself

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is not an illusion, for the world is Brahman, but thediverse conception of the world is an illusion, fordiversity is not ultimate.

65. The world is the appearance of Sat or Truth. Theworld itself is Truth misrepresented.

66. Ignorance makes Existence appear asnon-existence (death), Consciousness asunconsciousness (nescience), and Bliss as misery (pain).It makes a phantom appear as the reality, foolishness asknowledge, and pain as joy!

67. We better love a scientific explanation than adogmatic assertion of facts. The former is like feeding aperson with the necessary daily dishes and allowing hirnto grow stronger and wiser; the latter would be likestuffing his belly with tons of food-stuffs at once in orderto give him ener$r. For example, "eve4rthing isBrahman" is a dogmatic assertion and is not intelligible,or, we may soy, is even dangerous. A scientihcexplanation of it will help in divinising humanity and theworld.

68. Idealism is of three kinds: Subjective, objectiveand Absolute. The first one says that the whole universeis an irnagination of the individual mind or subjectiveconsciousness. The second one says that the universe isan imagination of the Cosmic Mind or God, the objectivereality. The third one says that the universe is anappearance of the Absolute which includes as well astranscends the subject and the object. Naturally the firsttheory necessitates self-effort of the individual, thesecond grace of God and the third mere automatism orwisdom, which is neither self-effort of the individual norgrace of God. The Karma-Yogins will like the first theor5r,the Bhaktas the second and the Jnanis the third. Thethird is the view of the extreme Advaita Vedanta.

69. The world is ruled by ideas. Thought is thebeginning of practice. Thought begets action.

70. The individual entities of the universe are stepsin the ladder of progress towards Brahman-realisation.

HINTS ON VEDANTIC SADHANA

71. Rigorous discipline of the mind throughAbhyasa and Vairagla constitutes the method ofattaining freedom and happiness. Real freedom whichman so much hankers after is not derived from theego-sense! Man's present conception of freedom is a totalmisconception and utter wrong. He simply knows that heshould be free, but he does not know where lieshappiness. He wants to be happy but he does not knowwhere happiness lies. He wants to live for ever, but hedoes not know how to do so. He wants to know everythingbut he does not know how to get knowledge. This is thereflection of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, that man wantsto live, wants to know, and wants to be happy. Who doesnot want this? All striving of the world is to live, knowand enjoy. But the source of this great gain is life,consciousness and joy. Man is essentiallySatchidananda. He impotently struggles to get Thiswithout knowing It. His present state is a pitiable fallfrom the Glory of Existence-Knowledge-B1iss. If we wantto do anything in this world, it is because we cannot livewithout being the Absolute. We all,-nay, even theunconscious being-ignorantly striving to attain theImmortal State of Satchidananda, whether we know it ornot. Even a dry leaf flies only towards this Infinite. Everybreath that flows, every thought that is projected, everyword spoken, and even every action done, is towards theinstallation of ourselves in the State ofExistence-Knowledge-B1iss, for we are That only inreality. This is achieved through spiritual discipline,which is action against the ordinary current of the world,against pleasure and enjoyment, against indulgence andsleep, against attraction for the multifarious, againsteverything that gives us pleasure here.

72. Do you think that death is an evil? Why do yousay that blessed people only escaped death? On the otherhand the blessed men would have reached the Eternalquickly, while the deluded mortals are still clinging totheir bodies. Death is only a change of Consciousness. Itis neither good nor bad. It is a stage in the process ofevolution towards Eternit5r!

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73. None can tread the higher path without fulfillingthe requirements of the lower. The grossermanifestations have to be complied with their demandsbefore reaching the Metaphysical Being.

74. E,ac}r higher degree of truth is more concreteand inclusive than the lower one and theref