As all living
beings desire to be happy always, without misery, as in the case of everyone
there is observed supreme love for one's self, and as happiness alone
is the cause for love, in order to gain that happiness which is one's
nature and which is experienced in the state of deep sleep where there
is no mind, one should know one's self. For that, the path of knowledge,
the inquiry of the form "Who am I?", is the principal means.
1 . Who
am I ?
The gross body which is composed of the seven humours (dhatus), I am not;
the five cognitive sense organs, viz. the senses of hearing, touch, sight,
taste, and smell, which apprehend their respective objects, viz. sound,
touch, colour, taste, and odour, I am not; the five cognitive sense-organs,
viz. the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion, and procreation,
which have as their respective functions speaking, moving, grasping, excreting,
and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform
respectively the five functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not; even
the mind which thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only
with the residual impressions of objects, and in which there are no objects
and no functioning's, I am not.
2. If
I am none of these, then who am I?
After negating all of the above-mentioned as 'not this', 'not this', that
Awareness which alone remains - that I am.
3. What
is the nature of Awareness?
The nature of Awareness is existence-consciousness-bliss
4. When
will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization
of the Self which is the seer.
5. Will
there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there (taken
as real)?
There will not be.
6. Why?
The seer and the object seen are like the rope and the snake. Just as
the knowledge of the rope which is the substrate will not arise unless
the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of
the Self which is the substrate will not be gained unless the belief that
the world is real is removed.
7. When
will the world which is the object seen be removed?
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition's and of all actions,
becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
8. What
is the nature of the mind?
What is called 'mind' is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes
all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as
mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there
is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no
thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there
are thoughts, and there is a world also. Just as the spider emits the
thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself,
likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves
it into itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears.
Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear;
and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear. When one
persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving
the Self (as the residue). What is referred to as the Self is the Atman.
The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross; it cannot
stay alone. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul
(jiva).
9. What
is the path of inquiry for understanding the nature of the mind?
That which rises as 'I' in this body is the mind. If one inquires as to
where in the body the thought 'I' rises first, one would discover that
it rises in the heart. That is the place of the mind's origin. Even if
one thinks constantly 'I' 'I', one will be led to that place. Of all the
thoughts that arise in the mind, the 'I' thought is the first. It is only
after the rise of this that the other thoughts arise. It is after the
appearance of the first personal pronoun that the second and third personal
pronouns appear; without the first personal pronoun there will not be
the second and third.
10. How
will the mind become quiescent?
By the inquiry 'Who am I?'. The thought 'who am I?' will destroy all other
thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will
itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.
11. What
is the means for constantly holding on to the thought 'Who am I?'
When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire:
'To whom do they arise?' It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As
each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, "To whom has this
thought arisen?". The answer that would emerge would be "To me". Thereupon
if one inquires "Who am I?", the mind will go back to its source; and
the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in
this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When
the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs,
the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names
and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in
the Heart is what is called "inwardness" (antar-mukha). Letting the mind
go out of the Heart is known as "externalisation" (bahir-mukha). Thus,
when the mind stays in the Heart, the 'I' which is the source of all thoughts
will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does,
one should do without the egoity "I". If one acts in that way, all will
appear as of the nature of Siva (God).
12. Are
there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means. If through other means
it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled,
but will again go forth. Through the control of breath also, the mind
will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath
remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again
start moving and will wander as impelled by residual impressions. The
source is the same for both mind and breath. Thought, indeed, is the nature
of the mind. The thought "I" is the first thought of the mind; and that
is egoity. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also originates.
Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled,
and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent. But in deep
sleep, although the mind becomes quiescent, the breath does not stop.
This is because of the will of God, so that the body may be preserved
and other people may not be under the impression that it is dead. In the
state of waking and in samadhi, when the mind becomes quiescent the breath
is controlled. Breath is the gross form of mind. Till the time of death,
the mind keeps breath in the body; and when the body dies the mind takes
the breath along with it. Therefore, the exercise of breath-control is
only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not
destroy the mind (manonasa).
Like the practice of breath-control. meditation on the forms of God, repetition
of mantras, restriction on food, etc., are but aids for rendering the
mind quiescent.
Through meditation
on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes
one-pointed. The mind will always be wandering. Just as when a chain is
given to an elephant to hold in its trunk it will go along grasping the
chain and nothing else, so also when the mind is occupied with a name
or form it will grasp that alone. When the mind expands in the form of
countless thoughts, each thought becomes weak; but as thoughts get resolved
the mind becomes one-pointed and strong; for such a mind Self-inquiry
will become easy. Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking
of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing this
rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful
to Self-inquiry.
13. The
residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear wending like the waves
of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will
get destroyed.
14. Is
it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come from beginningless
time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as the pure Self?
Without yielding to the doubt "Is it possible, or not?", one should persistently
hold on to the meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner,
one should not worry and weep "O! I am a sinner, how can I be saved?";
one should completely renounce the thought "I am a sinner"; and concentrate
keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed. There
are not two minds - one good and the other evil; the mind is only one.
It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and
inauspicious. When the mind is under the influence of auspicious impressions
it is called good; and when it is under the influence of inauspicious
impressions it is regarded as evil.
The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what
concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear
no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that
one gives to others one gives to one's self. If this truth is understood
who will not give to others? When one's self arises all arises; when one's
self becomes quiescent all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave
with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered
quiescent, one may live anywhere.
15. How
long should inquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry
"Who am I?" is required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then
and there in the very place of their origin, through inquiry. If one resorts
to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained,
that alone would do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress,
they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge,
the fortress will fall into our hands.
16. What
is the nature of the Self?
What exists in truth is the Self alone. The world, the individual soul,
and God are appearances in it. like silver in mother-of-pearl, these three
appear at the same time, and disappear at the same time. The Self is that
where there is absolutely no "I" thought. That is called "Silence". The
Self itself is the world; the Self itself is "I"; the Self itself is God;
all is Siva, the Self.
17. Is
not everything the work of God?
Without desire, resolve, or effort, the sun rises; and in its mere presence,
the sun-stone emits fire, the lotus blooms, water evaporates; people perform
their various functions and then rest. Just as in the presence of the
magnet the needle moves, it is by virtue of the mere presence of God that
the souls governed by the three (cosmic) functions or the fivefold divine
activity perform their actions and then rest, in accordance with their
respective karmas. God has no resolve; no karma attaches itself to Him.
That is like worldly actions not affecting the sun, or like the merits
and demerits of the other four elements not affecting all pervading space.
18. Of
the devotees, who is the greatest?
He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent
devotee. Giving one's self up to God means remaining constantly in the
Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that
of the Self. Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them. Since
the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without
submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as
to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not?
We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should
we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting
it down in the train and feeling at ease?
19. What
is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the
very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver
ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes
the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive
within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.
20. Is
it not possible for God and the Guru to effect the release of a soul?
God and the Guru will only show the way to release; they will not by themselves
take the soul to the state of release. In truth, God and the Guru are
not different. Just as the prey which has fallen into the jaws of a tiger
has no escape, so those who have come within the ambit of the Guru's gracious
look will be saved by the Guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should
by his own effort pursue the path shown by God or Guru and gain release.
One can know oneself only with one's own eye of knowledge, and not with
somebody else's. Does he who is Rama require the help of a mirror to know
that he is Rama?
21. Is
it necessary for one who longs for release to inquire into the nature
of categories (tattvas)?
Just as one who wants to throw away garbage has no need to analyse it
and see what it is, so one who wants to know the Self has no need to count
the number of categories or inquire into their characteristics; what he
has to do is to reject altogether the categories that hide the Self. The
world should be considered like a dream.
22. Is
there no difference between waking and dream?
Waking is long and a dream short; other than this there is no difference.
Just as waking happenings seem real while awake. so do those in a dream
while dreaming. In dream the mind takes on another body. In both waking
and dream states thoughts. names and forms occur simultaneously.
23. Is
it any use reading books for those who long for release?
All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the
mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should
be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need
for endless reading. In order to quieten the mind one has only to inquire
within oneself what one's Self is; how could this search be done in books?
One should know one's Self with one's own eye of wisdom. The Self is within
the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be
inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for
it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that
one has learned.
24. What
is happiness?
Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not
different. There is no happiness in any object of the world. We imagine
through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the
mind goes out, it experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled,
it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the Self.
Similarly, in the states of sleep, samadhi and fainting, and when the
object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind
becomes inward-turned, and enjoys pure Self-Happiness. Thus the mind moves
without rest alternately going out of the Self and returning to it. Under
the tree the shade is pleasant; out in the open the heat is scorching.
A person who has been going about in the sun feels cool when he reaches
the shade. Someone who keeps on going from the shade into the sun and
then back into the shade is a fool. A wise man stays permanently in the
shade. Similarly, the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave
Brahman. The mind of the ignorant, on the contrary, revolves in the world,
feeling miserable, and for a little time returns to Brahman to experience
happiness. In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the
world disappears, i.e. when there is no thought, the mind experiences
happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.
25. What
is wisdom-insight (jnana-drsti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to
resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future
happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight.
26. What
is the relation between desirelessness and wisdom?
Desirelessness is wisdom. The two are not different; they are the same.
Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object.
Wisdom means the appearance of no object. In other words, not seeking
what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness; not leaving
the Self is wisdom.
27. What
is the difference between inquiry and meditation?
Inquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self. Meditation consists
in thinking that one's self is Brahman, existence-consciousness-bliss.
28. What
is release?
Inquiring into the nature of one's self that is in bondage, and realising
one's true nature is release.