The Essence of Yoga Vasishtasara.
an English translation from the original Sanskrit
4 addition 195
Published by t.n. venkatataman
pres. board of trustees
Sri Ramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai
Chapter One DISPASSION
1. Salutations to that calm effulgence which is endless and
unlimited by space, time etc, the pure consciousness which can be
known by experience
2. Neither on who is totally ignorant nor one who knows it (i.e.
Truth) is eligible to study this book. Only he who thinks' I am
bound; I must become free' is entitled to study it.
3. Until one is definitely blessed by the Supreme Lord he will not
find either a proper Guru or the right scripture
4. Just as a steady boat, O Rama, is obtained from a boatman, so also
the method of crossing the ocean of samsara is learnt by
associating with great souls.
5. Th great remedy for the long-lasting disease of samsara is the
enquiry "Who am I?", to whom does this samsara belong? which
entirely cures it.
6. Not a day should be spent in a place which does not possess the
tree of a wise knower of Truth with its good fruit and cool shade.
7. The sages are to be approached even if they do not teach. Even
their talks in a light vein contain wisdom.
8. The company of sages converts emptiness into fullness, death into
immortality and adversity into prosperity.
9. If sages were concerned solely with their own happiness with who
could those tormented by the sorrows of samsara seek refuge?
10. That which is imparted, O good soul, to a worthy disciple who has
become dispassionate, is the real wisdom; is the real wisdom; it is
the real purport of the sacred texts and is also the comprehensive
wisdom.
11. Following the customary method of teaching is only for preserving
tradition. Pure awareness results solely from the clarity of the
disciple's understanding.
12. The Lord cannot be seen with the help of the sacred texts or the
Guru. The Self is seen by the Self alone with the pure intellect.
13. All the arts acquired by men are lost by lack of practice, but
this art of wisdom grows steadily once it rises.
14. Just as an ornament worn around the neck is considered lost
through forgetfulness and is gained when the mistake is realized, so
also the Self is attained (when the delusion is removed) by the words
of the Guru.
15. He is indeed an unfortunate person who, not knowing his own Self,
takes pleasure in sense-objects, like one who realizes too late that
the food eaten by him was poisonous
16. That perverted man who, even after knowing that worldly objects
are deceptive, still thinks of them, is an ass, not a man.
17, Even the slightest thought immerses a man is sorrow; when devoid
of all thoughts he enjoys imperishable bliss.
18. Just as we experience the delusion of hundreds of years in a
dream lasting an hour, so also we experience the sport of Maya in our
waking state.
19. He is a happy man whose mind is inwardly cool and free from
attachment and hatred and who looks upon this (world) like a mere
spectator.
20. He who has understood well how to abandon all ideas of acceptance
and rejection and who has realized the consciousness within which is
with in the innermost heart - his life is illustrious.
21. On the dissolution of the body (consciousness) limited by the
heart (hrdayam) alone ceases to Exist. People lament needlessly that
the Self is extinct.
22. When pots, etc, are broken the space within them becomes
unlimited. So also when bodies cease to exist the Self remains
eternal and unattached.
23. Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is
Brahman alone appearing illusionary in the form of the world.
24. The Self is more extensive than space; it is pure subtle
undecaying and auspicious. As such how could it be born and how can
it die?
25. All this is the tranquil, One without beginning, middle or end,
which cannot be said to be existent or non-existent. Know this and be
happy.
26. O Rama, it is indeed nobler to wander begging abut the streets of
the outcastes (chandalas) an earthen bowl in hand; then to live a
live steeped in ignorance.
27. Neither disease nor poison nor adversity nor any other thing in
the world causes more suffering to men than such stupidity engendered
in their bodies
CHAPTER TWO UNREALITY OF THE WORLD
1. Just as the great ocean of milk became still when the Mandara
Mountain (with which it was churned by the Devas and the Asuras)
became still, even so the illusion of samsara comes to an end when
the mind is stilled.
2. Samsara rises when the mind becomes active and ceases when it is
still. Still the mind, therefore, by controlling the breath and the
latent desires (vasanas)
3. This worthless (lit. burnt out) samsara is born of one's
imagination and vanishes in the absence of imagination. It is certain
that it is absolutely unsubstantial.
4. The idea of a (live) snake in a picture of a snake ceases to be
entertained when the truth is known. Similarly samsara ceases to
exist (when the Truth is realized), even if it continues to appear.
5. This long-living ghost of a samsara which is the creation of the
deluded mind of man and the cause of his sufferings disappears when
one ponders over it.<br><br>
6. O Rama, Maya is such that it brings delight through its own
destruction, its nature is inscrutable; it ceases to exist even while
it is being observed.
7. Dear boy, wonderful indeed is this Maya which deludes the entire
world. It is on account of it that the Self is not perceived even
though it pervades all the limbs of the body.
8. Whatever is seen does not truly exist. it is like the mythical
city of Gandharvas (fata morgana) or a mirage.
9. That which is not seen, though within us, is called the eternal
and indestructible Self.
10. Just as the trees on the band of a lake are reflected in the
water, so all these varied objects are reflected in the vast mirror
of our consciousness.
11. This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up,
like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and
comes to an end when there is right knowledge.
12. Even though bondage does not really exist, it becomes strong
through desire for worldly enjoyment; when this desire subsides
bondage becomes weak.
13. Like waves rising up from the ocean the unstable mind rises out
of the vast and stable expanse of the Supreme Being.
14. It is because of that which always, of its own accord, imagines
(everything) quickly and freely that this magical show (of the world)
is projected in the waking state.
15. This world, though unreal, appears to exist and is the cause of
life-long suffering to an ignorant person, just as a (non-existent)
ghost (is the cause of fear) to a boy.
16. One who has no idea of gold sees only the bracelet. He does not al
all have the idea that is merely gold.
17. Similarly towns, houses, mountains, serpents, etc are all in the
eyes of the ignorant man, separate objects. From the absolute point
of view this objective (world) is the subject (the Self) itself; it
is not separate (from the Self).
18. The world is full of misery to an ignorant man and full of bliss
to a wise man. The world is dark to a blind man and bright to one who
has eyes.
19. The bliss of a man of discrimination, who has rejected samsara
and discarded all mental concepts, constantly increases.
20. Like clouds which suddenly appear in the sky and as suddenly
dissolve the entire universe (appears) in the Self and (dissolves in
it.
21. He who reckons the rays as non-different from the sun and
realizes that they are the sun itself is stated to be Nirvikalpa (the
undifferentiating man).
22. Just as the cloth, when investigated, is seen to be nothing but
thread, so also this world, when enquired into, is (seen to be) merely
the Self.
23. This fascinating world arises like a wave in the ambrosial ocean
of consciousness and dissolves in it. How then can it be different
from it (i.e. consciousness) in the middle (i.e.) when it appears)?
24. Just as the foam, the waves, the dew and the bubbles are not
different from water, even so this world which has come out of the
Self is not different from the Self.
25. Just as a tree consisting of fruits, leaves, creepers, flowers,
branches, twigs and roots, exists in the seed of the tree, even so
this manifest world exists in Brahma.
26. Just as the pot (ultimately goes back to mud, waves into water
and ornaments into gold, so also this world which has come out of
the Self (ultimately goes back to the Self.)
27. The snake appears when one does not recognize the rope. Even so
this world appears when the Self is not recognized; it disappears
when the Self is recognized.
28. It is only our forgetfulness of the invisible Self which causes
the world to appear just as (the ignorance of the ) rope (causes the
(snake to appear.
29. Just as the dream becomes unreal in the waking state and the
waking state in the dream, so also death becomes unreal in birth and
in death.
30. All these are thus neither real nor unreal. They are the effect
of delusion, mere impressions arising out of some past experience.
Chapter Three THE MARKS OF A LIBERATED PERSON (JIVAN MUKTA)
1. The knowledge of the Self is the fire that burns up the dry grass
of desire. This indeed is what is called samadhi, not mere abstention
from speech.
2. He who realizes that the whole universe is really nothing but
consciousness and remains quite calm is protected by the armor of
Brahman; he is happy.
3. The yogi who has attained the state which is beyond everything and
remains always cook as the full moon is truly the Supreme Lord.
4. He who reflects in his innermost heart upon the purport of the
Upanishads dealing with Brahman and is not moved by joy or sorrow, is
not tormented by samsara.
5. Just as birds and beasts do not take shelter on a mountain on
fire; so also evil (thoughts) never occur to a knower of Brahman.
6. Wise men also, like foolish men, (occasionally) make others angry,
(but they do so only) in order to test their ability to control their
innate feelings (that is to say to see how far the anger of another
persons will affect them).
7. Just as the trembling (of the body) caused by the (imaginary)
snake persists (for some time) even after realizing that there is no
snake, so also the effect of delusion persists for some time) even
after getting rid of all delusions.
8. Just as the crystal is not stained by what is reflected in it, so
also a knower of truth is not really affected by the result of his
acts.
9, Even while he is intent on outward actions (the knower of Truth)
always remains introverted and extremely calm like one asleep.
10. Firmly convinced of non-duality and enjoying perfect mental
peace, yogis go about their work seeing the world as if it were a
dream.
11. Let death come to him (the knower of truth)today or at the end of
eons; he remains untarnished like gold buried in mire.
12. He may cast off his body at Kashi or in the house of an outcast
(one who cooks dogs flesh). He, the desireless one, is liberated
at the very moment he attains knowledge (of Brahman).
13. To one who is desireless the earth , ) Rama, is (as insignificant
as) the hoof-print of a cow, Mount Meru, space as much as contained
in a casket and the three worlds a blade of grass.
14. Like an empty vessel in space (the knower of truth) is empty both
within and without, while at the same time he is full within and
without like a vessel immersed in the ocean.
15. He who neither likes nor dislikes the objects seen by him and who
acts (in the world) like one asleep, is said to be a liberated person.
16. He who is free from the knots (of desires) and whose doubts have
been set at rest is liberated even when he is in the body (jivan
mukta). Although he may seem to be bound he is free. He remains like
a lamp in a picture.
17.He who has easily (lit. as if in sport) cast off all his egotistic
tendencies and has abandoned even the object of meditation, is said
to be liberated even when he is in the body.
18. He who does not, like one blind, recognizes (it.leaves far
behind) his relatives, who dreads attachments as he would a
serpent, who looks upon sense-enjoyments and diseases alike, who
disregards the company of woman as he would a blade of grass and who
finds no distinction between a friend and a foe, experiences
happiness in this world and the next.
19. He who casts away from his mind all objects of perception and,
attaining perfect quiescence, remains still as space, unaffected
by sorrow, is a liberated man; he is the Supreme Lord.
20. The noble-hearted man whos desires of the heart have come to an
end is a liberated man; it does not matter whether he does or does
not practice meditation or perform action.
21. The idea of Self in the non-Self is bondage. Abandonment of it is
liberation. There is neither bondage nor liberation for the ever-free
Self.
22. If, by perceiving that the objects of perception do not really
exist, the mind is completely freed (from those objects) there ensues
the supreme bliss of liberation.
23. Abandonment of all latent tendencies is said to be the best (i.e.
liberation by the wise; that is also the faultless method (of
attaining liberation).
24. Liberation is not on the other side of the sky, not is it in the
nether world, nor on the earth; the extinction of the mind resulting
from the eradication of all desires is regarded as liberation.
25, O Rama, there is no intellect, no nescience, no mind and no
individual soul. (jiva) They are all imagined in Brahman.
26. To one who is established in what is infinite, pure
consciousness, bliss and unqualified non-duality, where is the
question of bondage or liberation, seeing that there is no second
entity?
27. O Rama, the mind has, by its own activity, bound itself, when it
is calm it is free.
Chapter 4 DELUSIONS OF THE MIND
1. Consciousness which is undivided imagines to itself desirable
objects and runs after them.
2. From this omnipresent and omnipotent Supreme Lord arose, like
ripples in water, the power of imagining separate objects.
3. Just as fire born out of wind (fanned into flame) is extinguished
by the same wind, so also that which is born of imagination is
destroyed by imagination itself.
4. The mind has come into existence through this (imagination) on
account of forgetfulness. Like the experience of one's own death in
a dream it ceases to exist when scrutinized.
5. The idea of Self in what is not the Self is due to incorrect
understanding. The idea of reality in what is unreal, O Rama, know
that to be the mind (chittam). 6."This is he", I am this" "That is mine", such ideas constitute the
mind; it disappears when one ponders over these false ideas.
7. It is the nature of the mind to accept certain things and to
reject others; this is bondage, nothing else.
8. The mind is the creator of the world; the mind is the individual
(purusha); only that which is done by the mind is regarded as done,
not that which is done by the body. The arm with which one embraces
the wife is the very arm with which one embraces the daughter.
9. The mind is the cause of (i.e. produces) the objects of
perception. The three worlds depend on it. When it is dissolved the
world is also dissolved. It is to be cured (i.e. purified) with
effort.
10. The mind is bound by the latent impressions (vasanas). When there
are no impression it is free. Therefore, O Rama, bring about quickly,
through discrimination, the state in which there are no impressions.
11. Just as a streak of cloud stains (i.e. appears to stain) the moon
or a blotch of ink a lime-plastered wall, so also the evil spirit of
desires stains the inner man.
12. O Rama, he who, with inturned mind, offers all the three worlds,
like dried grass, as oblation in the fire of knowledge, becomes
freed from the illusions of the mind.
13. When one knows the real truth about acceptance and rejection and
does not think of anything but abides in himself, abandoning
everything, (his) mind does not come into existence.
14. The mind is terrible (ghoram) in the waking state, gentle
(santam) in the dream state, dull (mudham) in deep sleep and dead
when not in any of these three states.
15. Just as the power of the kataka seed, after precipitating the
dirt in water, becomes merged in the water, so also the mind (after
removing all impressions) itself becomes merged (in the Self).
16. The mind is samsara; the mind is also said to be bondage; the
body is activated by the mind just as a tree is shaken by the wind.
17.Conquer your mind first, by pressing the palm with the palm,
grinding the teeth with the teeth and twisting the limbs with the
limbs.
18. Does not the fool feel ashamed to move about in the world as he
pleases and talk about meditation when he is not able to conquer the
mind.
19. The only god to be conquered in the mind. Its conquests leads to
the attainment of everything. Without its conquest all other efforts
are fruitless.
20. To be unperturbed is the foundation of blessedness (Sri). One
attains liberation by it. To human beings even the conquest of the
three worlds, without the conquest of the mind, is as insignificant
as a blade of grass.
21. Association with the wise, abandonment of latent impressions,
self-inquiry, control of breathing - these are the means of
conquering the mind.
22. To one who is shod with leather the earth is as good as covered
with leather. Even so to the mind which is full (i.e. undivided) the
world overflows with nectar.
23. The mind becomes bound by thinking. "I am not Brahman"; it
becomes completely released by thinking " I am Brahman".
24. When the mind is abandoned (i.e. dissolves), everything that is
dual or single is dissolved. What remains after that is the Supreme
Brahman, peaceful, eternal and free from misery.
25. There is nothing equal to the supreme joy felt by a person of
pure mind who has attained the state if pure consciousness and
overcome death.
Chapter Five THE DESTRUCTION OF LATENT IMPRESSIONS
1. O Rama, this enquiry into the Self of the nature or "Who am I?" is
the fire which burns up the seeds of the evil tree which is the mind.
2. Just as the wind does not affect the creepers in a picture, so
also afflictions do not affect one whose understanding is fortified
by firmness and (always) reflected in the mirror of enquiry.
3. The knowers of truth declare that enquiry into the truth of the
Self is knowledge. What is to be known is contained in it like
sweetness in milk.
4. To one who has realized the Self by enquiry Brahma, Vishnu and
Siva are objects of compassion.
5. To one who is fond of inquiring (constantly,) "What is this vast
universe? And "Who am I?" this world becomes quite unreal.
6. Just as in a mirage the idea of water does not occur to one who
knows (that it is a mirage), even so latent impressions do not arise
in one whose ignorance has been destroyed by realizing that
everything is Brahman.
7. By the abandonment of latent impressions or by the control of
breathing mind ceases to be the mind. Practice whichever you like.
8. O pure soul, cherish the association of sages and the true
scriptures; you will attain the state of Supreme Consciousness not in
the course of months but days.
9. Latent impressions cease to be active when one associates with
sages, discard all thoughts of samsara and remembers that the body
has to die.
10. O Raghava, even the ignorant persons convert, by the firmness of
their conviction, poison into nectar and nectar into poison.
11. When this body is taken to be real it serves the purpose of a
body; but when it is seen to be unreal it becomes like space (i.e.
unsubstantial).
12. O Rama, while lying on a soft bed you wander about in all
directions with a dream body, but now (in this waking state) where is
that body?
13. Just as a respectable man avoids contact with an outcast woman
carrying dog's flesh, so also one should discard the thought 'I-am-
the-body', even if everything were to be lost.
14. When the aspirant (sadhu) thinks only of Brahman and remains calm
and free from sorrows his egoity dies of itself.
15. If one realizes the unity of things everywhere, one always
remains tranquil, inwardly cool and pure like space without the sense
of "I".
16. If inwardly one is cool the whole world will be cool, but if
inwardly one is hot (i.e. agitated) the whole world will be a burning
mass.
Chapter 6 MEDITATION ON THE SELF
1. I, the pure, stainless and infinite Consciousness beyond Maya,
look upon this body in action like the body of another.
2. The mind, the intellect, the senses, etc. are all the play of
Consciousness. They are unreal and seem to exist only due to lack of
insight.
3. Unmoved by adversity, a friend of all the world in prosperity,
without ideas of existence and non-existence, I live free from misery.
4. Inactive am I, desireless, clear as the sky, free from hankering,
tranquil, formless, everlasting and unmoving.
5. I have now clearly understood that the five elements, the three
worlds and I myself are pure Consciousness.
6. I am above everything; I am present everywhere; I am like space; I
am that which really exist: I am unable to say anything beyond this.
7. Let imaginary waves of universes rise or fall in me who am the
ocean of infinite Consciousness; there is no increase or decrease in
me.
8. How wonderful that in me, the infinite Ocean of Consciousness,
waves of jivas (individual souls) rise, sport for a while and
disappear according to their nature.
9. The world which has come into existence on account of my ignorance
has dissolved likewise in me. I now directly experience the world as
supreme bliss of Consciousness.
10. I prostrate to myself who am within all being, the ever-free Self
abiding as inner consciousness.
Chapter 7 METHODS OF PURIFICATION
1. O Raghava, be outwardly active but inwardly inactive, outwardly a
doer but inwardly a non-doer, and thus play your part in the world.
2. O Raghava, abandon all desires inwardly, be free from attachments
and latent impressions do everything outwardly and thus play your
part in the world.
3. O Raghava, adopt a comprehensive view, characterized by
abandonment of all objects of contemplation, live in your innate Self,
liberated even while alive (jivan-mukta), sand thus play your part in
the world.
4. Burn the forest of duality with the fire of the conviction, 'I am
the one Pure Consciousness' and remain happy.
5. You are bound firmly on all sides by the idea "I am the body'. Cut
that bond by the sword of knowledge 'I am consciousness' and be happy.
6. Discarding the attachment to non-Self, regarding the world as a
partless (whole), concentrated and with attention turned inward,
remain as pure Consciousness,
7. Remain always as pure Consciousness which is your constant (i.e.
true) nature beyond the states of waking, dream and deep sleep.
8. O mighty-armed, be always free from mental concepts like the heart
of a rock though not insentient like it.
9. Do not be that which is understood, nor the one who understands.
Abandon all concepts and remain what you are.
10. Eliminate one concept by another and the mind by the mind and
abide in the Self. Is this so difficult, O holy man?
11. Sever the mind, which has on account of its cares become red hot,
with the mind which is like iron sharpened by the study of scriptures.
12. O Raghava, what have you to do with this inert and dumb body? Why
do you feel helpless and miserable by joys and sorrows on account of
it?
13. What a vast difference between flesh, blood, etc. (composing the
body) and you, the embodiment of consciousness! Even after knowing
this why do you not abandon the idea of Self in this body?
14. The mere knowledge that this body is like a piece of wood or a
clod of earth enables one to realize the Supreme Self.
15. How strange that, while the real Brahman is forgotten by men, the
unreal called avidya (nescience) appears very real to them (lit.
strongly confronts them).
16. It is again strange that while the Supreme Brahman is forgotten
by men the idea 'this is mine' called avidya is firmly held by them
(lit. strongly confronts them).
17. When you do your work do it without attachment even as a crystal
which reflects the objects before it (but is not affected by them).
18. The conviction that everything is Brahman leads one to
Liberation. Therefore reject entirely the idea of duality which is
ignorance. Reject it entirely.
Chapter 8 WORSHIP OF THE SELF
1. If you separate yourself from the body and abide at ease in
Consciousness you will become one (the sole Reality), everything else
appearing (insignificant) like grass.
2. After knowing that by which you know this (world) turn the mind
inward and then you will see clearly (i.e. realize) the effulgence of
the Self.
3. O Raghava, that by which you recognize sound, taste, form and
smell, know that as your Self, the Supreme Brahman, the Lord of lords.
4. O Raghava, that in which beings vibrate, that which creates them,
know that Self to be your real Self.
5. After rejecting, through reasoning, all that can be known as 'non-
truth' what remains as pure Consciousness - regard that as your real
Self.
6. Knowledge is not separate from you and that which is know is not
separate from knowledge. Hence there is nothing other than the Self,
nothing separate (from it).
7. 'All that Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Indra and others always do is done
by me, the embodiment of Consciousness' -think in this manner.
8. 'I am the whole universe. I am the undecaying Supreme Self. There
is neither past nor future apart from me' -reflect in this manner.
9. 'Everything is the One Brahman, pure Consciousness, he Self of
all, indivisible and immutable' -reflect in this manner.
10. 'There is neither I nor any other thing. Only Brahman exists
always full of bliss everywhere.' meditate on this calmly.
11. The sense of perceiver and perceived is common to all embodied
beings, but the Yogi worships the One Self.
Chapter 9 EXPOSITION OF THE SELF
1. When this assemblage of body, senses, etc. acts of its own accord
there arises an idea 'I am this.' This is the jiva (ego) stained by
the dirt of ignorance.
2. When the conviction that everything is the space-like (i.e. all
pervasive) Consciousness becomes firm the jiva comes to an end like a
lamp without oil.
3. Like a misguided Brahmin, who abandons his own nobility, and adopts
the life of a Sudra, the Lord assumes the role of jiva.
4. Just as a child sees an apparition (created by its own fancy), so
also the stupid jiva creates, on account of delusion, this unreal
body and sees it (as separate from him.)
5. A child superimposes a (real) elephant on a clay elephant and
plays with it; even so, an ignorant man superimposes the body, etc,
on the Self and carries on his activities.
6. The picture of a snake does not cause fear of a snake when it is
realized to be only a picture. Similarly when the jiva-snake is
clearly understood there is neither misery not the cause of misery.
7. The snake superimposed on a garland merges in it; so also the
sense of separateness rising from the Self merges in the Self.
8. Although bracelets, etc. appear to be many, as gold they are one.
Similarly although the adjuncts are many, the Self is really one.
9. Like the organs of the body and modifications of clay (i.e.
vessels of clay) non-duality appears as duality (i.e. multiplicity)
in the form of the moving and unmoving objects.
10. Just as a single face is reflected as many in a crystal, in
water, or in ghee or in a mirror; so also the (one) Self is reflected
in the (many) intellects (or minds).
11. Just as the sky is (i.e.appears to be) stained by dust, smoke and
clouds, so also the pure Self in contact with the qualities of Maya
is (i.e. appears) to be soiled by them.
12. Just as metal in contact with fire acquires the quality of fire
(namely heat), so also the senses, etc. in contact with the Self
acquire the quality of the Self.
13. Just as the invisible Rahu becomes visible when it is seized by
the moon, (i.e. comes in contact with the moon), even so the Self is
known by experiencing objects of perception.
14. When water and fire come together they acquire the qualities of
each other. Even so when the Self and the inert body come together
the Self looks like the non-Self and the non-Self looks like the Self.
15. Just as fire thrown into a large sheet of water loses its
quality, so also Consciousness in contact with the unreal and inert
seems to lose its real nature and becomes inert.
16. The Self, is realized in the body only with effort, like sugar
from the sugarcane, oil from the sesame seeds, fire from wood, butter
from a cow and iron from stones (i.e. ore).
17. Like the sky seen in an unbroken crystal, the Supreme Lord of the
nature of consciousness is seen (i.e. exists) in all objects.
18. Just as a big lamp kept inside a vessel made of precious stones
illumines by its light both outside and inside, so also the on Self
illumines (everything).
19. Just as the sun's reflection in a mirror illumines (other
things), so also the reflection of the Self I n pure intellects
illumines (other things).
20. That in which this wonderful universe appears like a snake in a
rope is the eternal luminous Self.
21. The Self is without beginning or end. It is immutable Existence
and Consciousness. It manifests space, it is the source of the jiva
and higher than the highest.
22. The Self is pure Consciousness, eternal, omnipresent, immutable
and self-effulgent like the light of the sun.
23. The omnipresent Self, the substratum of all, is non-different
from the effulgent Consciousness like heat from fire. It can only be
experienced (not known).
24. Pure Consciousness without intellect, the Supreme Self the
illuminator of all, the indivisible; pervading (everything) within
and without, is the firm support of (of all).
25. The Self is absolute Consciousness. It is pure awareness,
undecaying, free from all ideas of acceptance or rejection and not
limited by space, time or genus.
26. Just as air in the universe pervades everything, so the Self, the
Lord, abides bodiless (in everything).
27. The Consciousness which exists in the expanse of earth, in the
ornaments, in the sky and in the sun, exists also inside worms lying
in their shells under the earth.
28. There is neither bondage nor liberation, neither duality nor non-
duality. There is only Brahman always shining as consciousness.
29. Awareness is Brahman; the world is Brahman; the various elements
are Brahman; I am Brahman; my enemy is Brahman; my friends and
relatives are Brahman.
30. The idea of a consciousness and an object of consciousness is
bondage; freedom from it is liberation. Consciousness, the object of
consciousness and everything else is the Self; this is the gist of
all systems of philosophy.
31. There is only consciousness here; this universe is nothing but
consciousness, you are consciousness; I am consciousness; the worlds
are consciousness - that is the conclusions.
32. That which exists and which shines (i.e. is known to exist) are
all the Self; anything else which seems to shine does not (really)
exist. Consciousness alone shines by itself. Ideas of knower and
known are idle postulates...
Chapter 10 NIRVANA
1. Supreme Bliss cannot be experienced through contact of the senses
with their objects. The supreme state is that in which the mind is
annihilated through one-pointed enquiry.
2. The bliss arising from contact of the senses with their objects is
inferior. Contact with the sense-objects is bondage; freedom from it
is liberation.
3. Attain the pure state between existence and non-existence and hold
on to it; do not accept or reject the inner or the outer world.
4. Depend always on that true reality between the sentient and the
inert which is the infinite space-like heart.
5. The belief in a knower and the known is called bondage. The knower
is bound by the known; he is liberated when there is nothing to know.
6. Abandoning the ideas of seer, seen and sight along with latent
desires (vasanas) of the past we meditate on that Self which is the
primal light that is the basis of sight.
7. We meditate on the eternal Self, the light of lights which lies
between the two ideas of existence and non-existence.
8. We meditate on that Self of consciousness, the bestower of the
fruits of all our thoughts, the illuminator of all radiant objects
and the farthest limit of all accepted objects.
9. We meditate on that immutable Self, our reality, the bliss of
which arises in the mind on account of the close contact between the
seer and the seen.
10. If one meditates on that state which comes at the end of the
waking state and the beginning of sleep he will directly experience
undecaying bliss.
11. The rock like state in which all thoughts are still and which is
different from the waking and dream states, is one's supreme state.
12. Like mud in a mud pot the Supreme Lord who is existence and space-
like consciousness and bliss exists everywhere non-separate.
13. The Self shines by itself as the one boundless ocean of
consciousness agitated by waves of thought.
14. Just as the ocean is nothing but water the entire world of things
is nothing but consciousness filling all the quarters like the
infinite space.
15. Brahman and space are alike as to their invisibility, all
pervasiveness and indestructibility, but Brahman is also
consciousness.
16. There is only the one waveless and profound ocean of pure nectar,
sweet through and through (i.e. blissful)
17. All this is truly Brahman; all this is Atman. Do not cut up
Brahman into "I am one thing' and 'this is another.'
18. As soon as it is realized that Brahman is all-pervasive and
indivisible this vast samsara is found to be the Supreme Lord.
19. One who realizes that everything is Brahman truly becomes
Brahman; who would not become immortal if he were to drink nectar?
20. If you are wise you would become this "Brahman" by such
conviction; if not even if you are repeatedly told it would be
(useless like offerings) thrown on ashes.
21. Even if you have know the real truth you have to practice always.
Water will not become clear by merely uttering the word kataka fruit.
22. If one has the firm conviction 'I am the Supreme Self called the
undecaying Vasudeva' he is liberated; otherwise he remains bound.
23. After eliminating everything as 'not this', 'not this' the
Supreme Being (lit. state) which cannot be eliminated remains.
Think 'I am That' and be happy.
24. Know always that the Self is Brahman, one and whole. How can that
which is indivisible be divided into 'I am the meditator' and
the 'the other is the object of meditation'?
25. When one thinks 'I am pure consciousness' it is called meditation
and when even the idea of meditation is forgotten it is samadhi.
26. The constant flow of mental concepts relating to Brahman without
the sense of "I" achieved through intense practice of Self Enquiry
(Jnana) is what is called samprajnata samadhi (meditation with
concepts).
27. Let violent winds which characterize the end of aeons (kalpas)
blow; let all the oceans unite, let the twelve suns burn
simultaneously), still no harm befalls one whose mind is extinct.
28. That consciousness which is the witness of the rise and fall of
all beings, know that to be the immortal state of supreme bliss.
29. Every moving or unmoving thing whatsoever is only an object
visualized by the mind. When the mind is annihilated duality (i.e.
multiplicity) is not perceived.
30. That which is immutable, auspicious and tranquil, that in which
this world exists, that which manifests itself as the mutable and
immutable objects - that is the sole consciousness
31. Before discarding the slough the snake regards it as itself, but
when once it has discarded it in its hole it does not look upon it as
itself any longer.
32. He who has transcended both good and evil dos not, like a child,
refrain from prohibited acts from a sense of sin, nor does he do what
is prescribed from a sense of merit.
33. Just as a statue is contained in a pillar (i.e. block) even if it
is not actually carved out, so also the world exists in Brahman.
Therefore the Supreme State is not a void.
34. Just as a pillar is said to be devoid of the statue when it has
not actually been carved out, so also Brahman is said to be void when
it is devoid of the impression of the world.
35. Just as still water may be said to contain or not contain
ripples, so also Brahman may be said to contain or not contain the
world. It is neither void nor existence.
the end