*ASHTAVAKRA GITA*- Give up meditation completely but don't let the mind hold on to anything. You are free by nature, so what will you achieve by forcing the mind? - Identification of the 'ZERO-STATION' within oneself is, 'Self-Realization' and 'Sahaja Samadhi~Swaathmaaraaman

*ASHTAVAKRA GITA*


Ashtavakra said:

While a man of pure intelligence may achieve the goal by the most casual of instruction, another may seek knowledge all his life and still remain bewildered.

Liberation is distaste for the objects of the senses. Bondage is love of the senses. This is knowledge. Now do as you wish.

This awareness of the truth makes an eloquent, clever and energetic man dumb, stupid and lazy, so it is avoided by those whose aim is enjoyment.

You are not the body, nor is the body yours, nor are you the doer of actions or the reaper of their consequences. You are eternally pure consciousness, the witness, in need of nothing -- so live happily.

Desire and anger are objects of the mind, but the mind is not yours, nor ever has been. You are choice less awareness itself and unchanging -- so live happily.

  Recognizeoneself in all beings, and all beings in oneself, be happy, free from the sense of responsibility and free from preoccupation with "me."

Your nature is the consciousness, in which the whole world wells up, like waves in the sea. That is what you are, without any doubt, so be free of disturbance.

Have faith, my son, have faith. Don't let yourself be deluded in this. You are yourself the Lord, whose very nature is knowledge, and you are beyond natural causation.

The body invested with the senses stands still, and comes and goes. You yourself neither come nor go, so why bother about them?

Let the body last to the end of the Age, or let it come to an end right now. What have you gained or lost, who consist of pure consciousness?

Let the world wave rise or subside according to its own nature in you, the great ocean. It is no gain or loss to you.

My son, you consist of pure consciousness, and the world is not separate from you. So who is to accept or reject it, and how, and why?

How can there be either birth, karma, or responsibility in that one unchanging, peaceful, unblemished, and infinite consciousness which is you?

Whatever you see, it is you alone manifest in it. How can bracelets, armlets and anklets be different from the gold they are made of?

Giving up such distinctions as "He is what I am," and "I am not that," recognize that "Everything is myself," and be without distinction and happy.

It is through your ignorance that all this exists. In reality you alone exist. Apart from you there is no one within or beyond samsara.

Knowing that all this is just an illusion, one becomes free of desire, pure receptivity, and at peace, as if nothing existed.

Only one thing has existed, exists and will exist in the ocean of being. You have no bondage or liberation. Live happily and fulfilled.

Being pure consciousness, do not disturb your mind with thoughts of for and against. Be at peace and remain happily in yourself, the essence of joy.

Give up meditation completely but don't let the mind hold on to anything. You are free by nature, so what will you achieve by forcing the mind?

The chapter on Self-Realization (Atma Sakshatkara) in an upa-agama text known as 'Sarvajnanottara', `The Pinnacle of all Knowledge', translated from the Sanskrit original into Tamil by 'Bhagavan Sri Ramana'. The color of milk is one, the colors of the cows many, So is the nature of knowledge, observe the wise ones.

'Atma Sakshatkara'

(Benedictory verse of Sri Bhagavan)
This is the Direct Awareness of the Self,
Graciously expounded to Guha by Ishvara Himself,
The foremost and first Lord, now teaching this in Tamil
Seated as the Self in my Heart.

That Siva further says:

1. Guha! I shall tell you about a different way
To reach that Reality which pervades part less in all,
Too subtle, though, to be grasped (by the mind).
2.By which the knowledge of Awareness is well-attained,
Knowing which is to become Siva Himself,
What has not been told to any by me,
Today, from me, that wisdom, hear!
3. Handed down by the lineage of gurus,
And beyond the ken of logicians,
This is for liberation from the bondage of the
birth-death cycle.
Its supreme vision shines at all places.

4. He who is the One pervading all things,
He who has manifested as All,
He who has faces in all directions, who is beyond
thought,
Who remains Himself as all the verities and transcends
them too, is the Self.
5. He transcends all verities,
He is beyond the reach of speech, mind and name.
`I am That (Siva-Self)': thus you should meditate
With perfectly undifferentiated mind, on Siva.
6. Firmly established as the eternal entity,
Imperishable and undifferentiated,
The all-pervasive, part less Knowledge that cannot be
fathomed by the mind,
It shines, with nothing prior to compare.
7. Without stain, indestructible, the totally serene,
The knowledge transcending all objects,
Beyond the pale of thought, conception and doubt,
That (Supreme) I am -- no doubt about this.
8. That Supreme divinity, Siva, indeed am I,
Of the nature of all the mantras,
And transcending all the mantras,
Devoid of dissolution and creation.
9. What is visible, what is invisible, the moving and the
stationary -- all these are pervaded by me.
I am the Lord of this universe.
All shine because of me.
10. Filled with a variety of forms, one different from the
other,
Filled with a galaxy of worlds,
All this universe, from Siva down to the earth,
Are all established in me.
11. Whatever is seen in this world,
Whatever is heard in this world,
Whatever shines, conceptualized as inside and
outside,
All these are pervaded by me, the all-pervading One.
  Realizethis.
12. Though considering himself the Self,
He desires to attain that Siva, the Supreme Self, as one
apart.
Whoever contemplates on Siva thus in delusion,
Will not attain Siva hood by such contemplation --
know this.
13. `Siva is other than I; I am other than Siva' --
Uproot this attitude of differentiation.
`I indeed am that Siva' --
This conviction that is non-dual, ever practice.
14. Full of this non-dual conviction,
He who, everywhere, abides ever in the Self,
Shall see, in all things, in all bodies,
Only that Siva-self -- of this, there is no doubt.
15. Whoever has this conviction always, of the one Self,
Shall rid himself of delusion, and dual perception.
That yogi will attain to omniscience --
So it is said in the Vedas. This you should know.
16. He who is praised in all scriptures
As the unborn, the Ishwara,
That formless and attribute less Self,
He indeed am I -- there is no doubt about this.

17. Only he who does not know his true nature
Is the jiva [?] that is subject to the dharmas (characteristics)
of birth, death, and so on.
He who knows his true Self is one who is eternal,
He is the pure, He is Siva. Without doubt, know this.
18. Hence, what men of discrimination should inquire
carefully
And directly realize is the Self;
That itself shines twofold,
As the transcendental and the inferior divisions, the
gross and the subtle.
19. The Supreme nirvana is the higher,
The inferior is manifest as the creation,
Mantras are spoken of as its gross form,
What abides in changeless awareness is the subtle.
20. Shanmukha! Without realizing It (Atma),
What avails explanations thereof in endless ways?
Tell me!
All these are only a wonderful display of words,
The cause for the delusion of the mind.
21. All the dharmas (qualities) abide in the Self.
Whichever of them the jiva [?] imagines,
Whereby he concentrates his thoughts again and again
on it,
He will attain that object -- there is no doubt of this.
22. Thus has been told by me as the knowledge of the Self
What has been gathered succinctly in a condensed
form.
All, by any means, is of the nature of the Self.
  Realizingthis, may you ever be strengthened in the
thoughts of the Self.

23. The deities, the Vedas, the fire sacrifices,
The various gifts to priests in the course of their
performance --
None of this exists there (in the nature of the Self).
Be tuned to the blemish less, omni-faceted, steadfast
knowledge of the Self.
24. To the jiva [?] drowning in the vast ocean of the
birth-death cycle,
And seeking a refuge,
What affords refuge is only that knowledge of the Self,
Not anything else -- know this.
25. He who becomes of the nature of the Supreme
And realizes it as it really is,
Shall, though experiencing all changing states,
Attain liberation without effort -- be aware of this.
26. There is no greater blessing anywhere,
Apart from the gaining of the Self.
Meditate ever on the Self. He, who is the Self,
He indeed is the one all-pervasive Supreme Self --
be aware of this.
27. It is not the prana [?] (the vital air that circulates) nor
the apana [?] (the air that travels down) even,
Nor the instruments superior even to these, the senses,
mind and such.
Reach ever for the thought of the Self.
That is the omniscient and the perfect.
28. It is neither inside nor outside,
Not afar, nor nearby, nor does it fit in any place.
That Supreme is formless, all pervasive and effulgent,
Direct your thoughts ever to it.

29. It is across, above, and below,
Inside and outside, which are divisions, ever estab-
lished firmly everywhere --
The void, the self-luminous Self.
Ever meditate on that more and more.
30. Not a void, not a non-void,
It is also the non-void, and the void,
Pervasive everywhere, but without predilections --
Ever think of this Self.
31. Affliction less, and without any support for itself,
Bereft of caste, name, and form --
That taint less, attribute less Self
You should unceasingly meditate upon.
32. With no refuge, with nothing to support it,
Beyond the range of comprehension, without parallel,
Faultless by nature, the eternal -- the
Self that is so, meditate upon it joyfully, forever.
33. Embracing dispassion and thus desisting from all
karmic activity,
Shying away from society,
One should, thereafter, ever meditate upon
The Self within oneself, in oneself, by oneself --
be aware of this.
34. Country and lineage, the traditional castes and style
of life,
Effacing various thoughts arising in the wake of these,
The wise man should meditate daily,
Upon his (real) nature.

35. `This is the mantra', `this is the deity',
`This is indeed what is called meditation',
`This indeed is tapas [?]'--
Casting afar all such thoughts,
Concentrate on the nature of your own Self.
36. The Self is without thought.
Make it impossible for the thought-oriented (mind) to
think at all.
Make the mind that thinks, to get settled on the Self.
Let not the mind think of anything else.
37. The Self is not something that can be thought of nor
is it something that cannot be thought of.
It is not thought itself,
It is indeed itself thought --
What does not lean towards any of the above,
The Supreme that is the Self, ever meditate upon it.
38. Meditate ever on that
Which is beyond the reach of the mind,
Allowing no refuge for the mind.
The joy that is attained in abundance in that Self,
That is beyond all verities and complete.
39. Without any differences, and beyond the reach of
thinking,
Without any precedent, without anything similar,
That which is the utmost frontier and extolled as the
supreme bliss,
Be immersed in it.
40. Discarding all desire for objects,
Destroying the modes of the mind,
The non-dual state of being the One,
When the mind ceases to be,
Is the one called supreme bliss.
41. All directions, all places, all times
Are conducive for the yoga of the Self, so say the
scriptures.
Differences of castes and orders of life and such,
Cannot cause any differences in the least to the nature
of knowledge.
42. The color of milk is one, the colors of the cows many,
So is the nature of knowledge, observe the wise ones.
Beings of various marks and attributes,
Are like the cows, their realization is the same;
This is an example we should know.
43. Brahman intimately pervades all,
It shines with faces in all directions.
Established in it without a pause,
Think not of differences such as regions and
directions.
44. In this world itself, there is no mark, lifestyle, or
tradition,
For the one who becomes of the nature of the Self.
He has nothing to gain by any action of his; no action
need he perform,
Nor any injunctions prescribing actions apply to him
-- know this.
45. Moving or standing or sleeping,
Waking or taking food or water,
In the face of the wind, the cold and the sun,
Unaffected will he be, in any state, at any time.

46. Fear, indigence, sickness, burning fever,
indigestion --
Even when all these affect,
One established in the Self,
Peaceful and shining full,
He is never at his wit's end on any count; he will
  savor the satisfaction of the Self.
47. Whether going forward or returning, I am not the one
that moves
Forward or back. When inquired into there is no going
or coming.
In the ever changing dharma of Prakrti, the cause of
illusive creation,
I never was immersed, nor am I now.
48. All activities prescribed are the work of Prakrti, the
illusion.
Prakrti, so spoken of, is the source of all action.
`I am the immaculate', `I am the action less', thus
indeed will reflect
The wise man, the knower of truth.
49. For him there is no bondage of Prakrti, the delusion.
He has earned the name of the liberated one.
He shall never be touched by the defects
Spoken of as the action of Prakrti.
50. The manner in which a lamp shines,
Destroying darkness with its light -- in like manner,
By destroying the enveloping darkness, arising from
inexplicable ignorance,
The Self, of the nature of the pure light of knowledge,
shines.

51. Even as the lamp, with the fuel of ghee spent, attains
nirvana (peace),
The yogi, continuously contemplating on the Truth of
the Self,
Will be at peace in the Self.
Nothing greater is there to be attained than the Self --
this is the truth.
52. When the pot is carried, the space within the pot,
Though conceived of as carried,
Is it not the pot only that is carried?
The Self too, like Space, remains motionless.
53. When the pot breaks, the space in the pot
Merges one with the great Space.
When the inert body passes away, the Self, seemingly
in the body,
Becomes immediately one with the Supreme Self.
54. Thus, the Lord who is omniscient
Spoke with authority then:
`One who is liberated, severed from all bondage, Becomes all pervasive, endless,
With absolute Awareness'.
55. Discarding totally all the agamas,
Attaining the pure samadhi of Atma yoga, Realizing, by due inquiry, there is nothing else greater than this,
Destroy all wrong ideas, in the mind, of differences.
56. Meditating continuously on the great Knowledge thus,
That yogi who attains ever the bodiless nature,
That pure jnani [?] whose dharma [?] is the dharma [?] of That
(bodiless nature) alone,
Is the liberated one, shining inside and out, reaching
across to every place.
57. Omniscience and bliss, and mature wisdom,
Remaining independent, limitless strength -Attaining all these, he shines ever, the Self without afflictions.
With an immaculate body, he, as the Self, merges in siva.
58. Japa of the name, worship, bathing in holy waters,
ritual sacrifices,
None of these or others are needed.
The fruits of dharma [?] and adharma,
Water oblations to forefathers,
None of these are for him.
59. No injunctions for observance, no fasts,
Nothing required by way of getting into or out of
(any action),
No vows of celibacy for him, know this.
60. Not having any recourse to falling into the fire or water,
Or falling from the mountain top,
Enjoy the feast of the Knowledge of Siva, eternal and
pure.
Rid of the rules applying to all creation, move about
as you please.
61. I tell you this is the Truth, the Truth, the Truth, thrice over.
There is nothing greater than this,
Nothing greater is there to be known,
Nothing at all, nowhere ever.
62. Rid of any blemish, rid of ignorance, with pure
intellect, being the pure Self,
By the pure conviction that all that is seen is pure,
Meditating on the immaculate nature,
He shall attain Awareness.

'Forty verses on Reality' by 'Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi'- If the first person, I, exists, then the second and third persons, you and he, will also exist. By inquiring into the nature of the I, the I perishes. With it 'you' and 'he' also perish. The resultant state, which shines as Absolute Being, is one's own natural state, the Self. The State of non-emergence of 'I' is the state of being THAT. Without questing for that State of the non-emergence of 'I' and attaining It, how can one accomplish one's own extinction, from which the 'I' does not revive? Without that attainment how is it possible to abide in one's true State, where one is THAT? If one inquires 'Who am I?' within the mind, the individual 'I' falls down abashed as soon as one reaches the Heart and immediately Reality manifests itself spontaneously as 'I-I'. Although it reveals itself as 'I', it is not the ego but the Perfect Being, the Absolute Self.

Invocatory


i. If Reality did not exist, could there be any knowledge of existence? Free from all thoughts, Reality abides in the Heart, the Source of all thoughts. It is, therefore, called the Heart. How then is one to contemplate it? To be as it is in the Heart, is Its contemplation.

ii. Those who know intense fear of death seek refuge only at the feet of the Lord Who has neither death nor birth. Dead to themselves and their possessions, can the thought of death occur to them again? Deathless are they.

Verses

1. From our perception of the world there follows acceptance of a unique First Principle possessing various powers. Pictures of name and form, the person who sees, the screen on which he sees, and the light by which he sees: he himself is all of these.

2. All religions postulate the three fundamentals, the world, the soul, and God, but it is only the one Reality that manifests Itself as these three. One can say, 'The three are really three' only so long as the ego lasts. Therefore, to inhere in one's own Being, where the 'I', or ego, is dead, is the perfect State.

3. 'The world is real.' 'No, it, is a mere illusory appearance.' 'The world is conscious.' 'No.' 'The world is happiness.' 'No.' What use is it to argue thus? That State is agreeable to all, wherein, having given up the objective outlook, one knows one's Self and loses all notions either of unity or duality, of oneself and the ego.

4. If one has form oneself, the world and God also will appear to have form, but if one is formless, who is it that sees those forms, and how? Without the eye can any object be seen? The seeing Self is the Eye, and that Eye is the Eye of Infinity.

5. The body is a form composed of the five-fold sheath; therefore, all the five sheaths are implied in the term, body. Apart from the body does the world exist? Has anyone seen the world without the body?

6. The world is nothing more than an embodiment of the objects perceived by the five sense-organs. Since, through these five sense-organs, a single mind perceives the world, the world is nothing but the mind. Apart from the mind can there be a world?

7. Although the world and knowledge thereof rise and set together it is by knowledge alone that the world is made apparent. That Perfection wherein the world and knowledge thereof rise and set, and which shines without rising and setting, is alone the Reality.

8. Under whatever name and form one may worship the Absolute Reality, it is only a means for realizing It without name and form. That alone is true realization, wherein one knows oneself in relation to that Reality, attains peace and realizes one's identity with it.

9. The duality of subject and object and trinity of seer, sight, and seen can exist only if supported by the One. If one turns inward in search of that One Reality they fall away. Those who see this are those who see Wisdom. They are never in doubt.

10. Ordinary knowledge is always accompanied by ignorance, and ignorance by knowledge; the only true Knowledge is that by which one knows the Self through inquiring whose is the knowledge and ignorance.

11. Is it not, rather, ignorance to know all else without knowing oneself, the knower? As soon as one knows the Self, which is the substratum of knowledge and ignorance, knowledge and ignorance perish.

12. That alone is true Knowledge which is neither knowledge nor ignorance. What is known is not true Knowledge. Since the Self shines with nothing else to know or to make known, It alone is Knowledge. It is not a void.

13. The Self, which is Knowledge, is the only Reality. Knowledge of multiplicity is false knowledge. This false knowledge, which is really ignorance, cannot exist apart from the Self, which is Knowledge-Reality. The variety of gold ornaments is unreal, since none of them can exist without the gold of which they are all made.

14. If the first person, I, exists, then the second and third persons, you and he, will also exist. By inquiring into the nature of the I, the I perishes. With it 'you' and 'he' also perish. The resultant state, which shines as Absolute Being, is one's own natural state, the Self.

15. Only with reference to the present can the past and the future exist. They too, while current, are the present. To try to determine the nature of the past and the future while ignoring the present is like trying to count without the unit.

16. Apart, from us where is time and where is space? If we are bodies, we are involved in time and space, but are we? We are one and identical now, then, and forever, here, and everywhere. Therefore we, timeless, and space less Being, alone are.

17. To those who have not realized the Self, as well as to those who have, the word 'I' refers to the body, but with this difference, that for those who have not realized, the 'I' is confined to the body whereas for those who have realized the Self within the body the 'I' shines as the limitless Self.

18. To those who have not realized (the Self) as well as to those who have the world is real. But to those who have not realized, Truth is adapted to the measure of the world, whereas to those that have, Truth shines as the Formless Perfection, and as the Substratum of the world. This is all the difference between them.

19. Only those who have no knowledge of the Source of destiny and free-will dispute as to which of them prevails. They that know the Self as the one Source of destiny and free-will are free from both. Will they again get entangled in them?

20. He who sees God without seeing the Self sees only a mental image. They say that he who sees the Self sees God. He who, having completely lost the ego, sees the Self, has found God, because the Self does not exist apart from God.

21. What is the Truth of the scriptures which declare that if one sees the Self one sees God? How can one see one's Self? If, since one is a single being, one cannot see one's Self, how can one see God? Only by becoming a prey to Him.

22. The Divine gives light to the mind and shines within it. Except by turning the mind inward and fixing it in the Divine, there is no other way to know Him through the mind.

23. The body does not say 'I'. No one will argue that even in deep sleep the 'I' ceases to exist. Once the 'I' emerges, all else emerges. With a keen mind inquire whence this 'I' emerges.

24. This inert body does not say 'I'. Reality-Consciousness does not emerge. Between the two, and limited to the measure of the body, something emerges as 'I'. It is this that is known as 'Chit-jada-granthi' (the knot between the Conscious and the inert), and also as bondage, soul, subtle-body, ego, samsara, mind, and so forth.

25. It. comes into being equipped with a form, and as long as it retains a form it endures. Having a form, it feeds and grows big. But if you investigate it this evil spirit, which has no form of its own, relinquishes its grip on form and takes to flight.

26. If the ego is, everything else also is. If the ego is not, nothing else is. Indeed, the ego is all. Therefore the inquiry as to what this ego is, is the only way of giving up everything.

27. The State of non-emergence of 'I' is the state of being THAT. Without questing for that State of the non-emergence of 'I' and attaining It, how can one accomplish one's own extinction, from which the 'I' does not revive? Without that attainment how is it possible to abide in one's true State, where one is THAT?

28. Just as a man would dive in order to get something that had fallen into the water, so one should dive into oneself, with a keen one-pointed mind, controlling speech and breath, and find the place whence the 'I' originates.

29. The only inquiry leading to Self-realization is seeking the Source of the 'I' with in-turned mind and without uttering the word 'I'. Meditation on 'I am not this; I am That' may be an aid to the inquiry but it cannot be the enquiry.

30. If one inquires 'Who am I?' within the mind, the individual 'I' falls down abashed as soon as one reaches the Heart and immediately Reality manifests itself spontaneously as 'I-I'. Although it reveals itself as 'I', it is not the ego but the Perfect Being, the Absolute Self.

31. For Him who is immersed in the bliss of the Self, arising from the extinction of the ego, what remains to be accomplished? He is not aware of anything (as) other than the Self. Who can apprehend his State?

32. Although the scriptures proclaim 'Thou art That', it is only a sign of weakness of mind to meditate 'I am That, not this', because you are eternally That. What has to be done is to investigate what one really is and remain That.

33. It is ridiculous to say either 'I have not realized the Self' or 'I have realized the Self'; are there two selves, for one to be the object of the others realization? It is a truth within the experience of everyone that there is only one Self.

34. It is due to illusion born of ignorance that men fail to recognize That which is always and for everybody the inherent Reality dwelling in its natural Heart-center and to abide in it, and that instead they argue that it exists or does not exist, that it has form or has not form, or is non-dual or dual.

35. To seek and abide in the Reality that is always attained, is the only Attainment. All other attainments (siddhis) are such as are acquired in dreams. Can they appear real to someone who has woken up from sleep? Can they that are established in the Reality and are free from maya, be deluded by them?

36. Only if the thought 'I am the body' occurs will the meditation 'I am not this, I am That', help one to abide as That. Why should we for ever be thinking, 'I am That'? Is it necessary for man to go on thinking 'I am a man'? Are we not always That?

37. The contention, 'Dualism during practice, non-dualism on Attainment', is also false. While one is anxiously searching, as well as when one has found one's Self, who else is one but the tenth man?1

38. As long as a man is the doer, he also reaps the fruit of his deeds, but, as soon as he realizes the Self through inquiry as to who is the doer his sense of being the doer falls away and the triple karma2 is ended. This is the state of eternal Liberation.

39. Only so long as one considers oneself bound, do thoughts of bondage and Liberation continue. When one inquires who is bound the Self is realized, eternally attained, and eternally free. When thought of bondage comes to an end, can thought of Liberation survive?

40. If it is said, that Liberation is of three kinds, with form or without form or with and without form, then let me tell you that the extinction of three forms of Liberation is the only true Liberation.

RAMANA MAHARSHI

*WORDS OF WISDOM*

For to him who is born death is indeed certain, and to
him who dies birth is certain. Therefore you should not grieve
for the inevitable.

BHAGAVAD GEETHA

'Brahma sutra Bhashya' by Sree 'Adi Sankaracharya'. The omnipresent, omnipotent, all-pervading , eternal and transcendental 'Brahman' - 'Truth- Consciousness and Bliss' - has to be realized as one`s own self ( Being- Consciousness and Bliss ), beyond space, time and causation~Swaathmaaraaman

But, it may be asked, is Brahman known or not known (previously to the inquiry into its nature)? If it is known we need not enter on an inquiry concerning it; if it is not known we can not enter on such an inquiry.

We reply that Brahman is known. Brahman, which is all-knowing and endowed with all powers, whose essential nature is eternal purity, intelligence, and freedom, exists. For if we consider the derivation of the word 'Brahman,' from the root brih, 'to be great,' we at once understand that eternal purity, and so on, belong to Brahman. Moreover the existence of Brahman is known on the ground of its being the Self of every one. For every one is conscious of the existence of (his) Self, and never thinks 'I am not.' If the existence of the Self were not known, every one would think 'I am not.' And this Self (of whose existence all are conscious) is Brahman. But if Brahman is generally known as the Self, there is no room for an inquiry into it! Not so, we reply; for there is a conflict of opinions as to its special nature. Unlearned people and the Lokâyatikas are of opinion that the mere body endowed with the quality of intelligence is the Self; others that the organs endowed with intelligence are the Self; others maintain that the internal organ is the Self; others, again, that the Self is a mere momentary idea; others, again, that it is the Void. Others, again (to proceed to the opinion of such as acknowledge the authority of the Veda), maintain that there is a transmigrating being different from the body, and so on, which is both agent and enjoyer (of the fruits of action); others teach that that being is enjoying only, not acting; others believe that in addition to the individual souls, there is an all-knowing, all-powerful Lord. Others, finally, (i.e. the Vedântins) maintain that the Lord is the Self of the enjoyer (i.e. of the individual soul whose individual existence is apparent only, the product of Nescience (avidya).

'Brahma sutra Bhashya' by Sree 'Adi Sankaracharya'.

*Glimpses of self-realization*

The "DIVINE PARTICLE"- BRAHMAN           (pure consciousness) is the substratum, for origin, subsistence and dissolution of the phenomenal world~ Swaathmaaraaman


Thus true knowledge of all existing things depends on the things themselves, and hence the knowledge of Brahman also depends altogether on the thing, i.e. Brahman itself.--But, it might be said, as Brahman is an existing substance, it will be the object of the other means of right knowledge also, and from this it follows that a discussion of the Vedânta-texts is purposeless.


This we deny; for as Brahman is not an object of the senses, it has no connection with those other means of knowledge. For the senses have, according to their nature, only external things for their objects, not Brahman. If Brahman were an object of the senses, we might perceive that the world is connected with Brahman as its effect; but as the effect only (i.e. the world) is perceived, it is impossible to decide (through perception) whether it is connected with Brahman or something else. Therefore the Sûtra under discussion is not meant to propound inference (as the means of knowing Brahman), but rather to set forth a Vedânta-text.--Which, then, is the Vedânta-text which the Sûtra points at as having to be considered with reference to the characteristics of Brahman?--It is the passage Taitt. Up. III, 1, 'Bhrigu Vâruni went to his father Varuna, saying, Sir, teach me Brahman ; up to 'That from whence these beings are born, that by which, when born, they live, that into which they enter at their death, try to know that. That is Brahman.' The sentence finally determining the sense of this passage is found III, 6: 'From bliss these beings are born; by bliss, when born, they, live; into bliss they enter at their death.' Other passages also are to be adduced which declare the cause to be the almighty Being, whose essential nature is eternal purity, intelligence, and freedom.

That Brahman is omniscient we have been made to infer from it being shown that it is the cause of the world.

'Brahma sutra Bhashya' by Sree 'Adi Sankaracharya'.

That alone is Real which exists by itself, which reveals itself by itself and which is eternal and unchanging. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi