Anandamayi Ma

He who by gradual development has acquired knowledge and been progressively enlightened, he, as you say, is established in vritti jnana.

Words, arguments, language, and the like, are of the mind; whereas in the state that has just been referred to, there, language has no place. This body respects whatever anyone may say, because each person’s point of view depends on the particular stairway by which he ascends.

Whatever idea may be held - be it on a high or low level - it is all the same, so far as this body is concerned.

For this reason, whether anyone is of the opinion that the body can or cannot exist without or advances a theory from whatever point of view, everything is right on its own plane. 

Anandamayi Ma

Yet, beyond words and all expression, where there is manifestation and non-manifestation, duration and non-duration, space and spacelessness - there, nothing holds good.

Even the essence of the things of this world cannot be spoken about; but the essence of Transcendental Being is something far more remote. Then, there is also what is known as ‘merging’. 

But from that into which one is said to have merged, a yogi may be able to extricate one again; this also is a possibility mentioned by you people, is it not? Yet in the state of which this body tells, there it is not so - and ‘not so’ does not express it either. 

By reasoning and discrimination, one may arrive at the conclusion that a small portion of the mind remains so long as physical existence continues. But this body speaks of a state where there is not even the possibility of a trace of the mind.

Swami Sivananda

SELF-REALISATION

Behind this world-show, behind these physical phenomena, behind these names and forms, behind the feelings, thoughts, emotions and sentiments there dwells the silent witness thy immortal friend and real well-wisher-the Purusha or world teacher, the unseen governor or master, the unknown Yogi, the indivisible power of consciousness or hidden sage. 

That is the only permanent reality and living truth. That is Brahman or the Supreme Being or the Absolute. That is Atma. That is Self. 

The goal of human life is to realise the reality behind the changing phenomena. The summum bonum of human aspiration is to attain Self-realisation. Self-realisation alone can make you absolutely free and independent. 

Trust not your body, mind and senses. Have inner spiritual life. Attain knowledge of the Self through steady devotion and discipline. Drink the nectar of immortality, quench the flames of Samsara and allay its tortures, miseries and sorrows.

Friends! Is there not a higher mission in life besides eating, sleeping and talking? Is there not any higher form of eternal bliss than these transitory and illusory pleasures? Is there not a dignified life than the sensual life? How uncertain is life here! How insecure is our existence in this earth-plane with various kinds of fear! How painful is this mundane life? 

Should we not attempt diligently now to reach a place-the immortal abode, our original sweet home of pristine purity and divine splendour-where there is eternal sunshine, absolute security, perfect peace and where there is neither disease, nor death, nor war?

Come, come! Become a Yogi. Come out of your narrow holes or ruts. Crush all sorts of superstitions. Aim high. To become an advocate, or a doctor, or an engineer, or a professor, is the height of your ambition. Can this give you freedom? Can this give you eternal bliss? Can this give you everlasting peace? Can this make you immortal? 

Do you not like to attain perfection or immortality? Do you not wish to achieve the summum bonum of existence-Kaivalya or independence-Atma Svarajya? Then come, struggle for higher things. Be bold! Look not back. March forward! Enquire: "Who am I?" Hear, reflect, meditate and realise the Atmic splendour!

Om is Sat-Chit-Ananda. Om is Infinite. Om is Eternal. Om is Immortality. Sing Om. Chant Om. Feel Om.

Santi! Santi! Santi!

Peace! Peace! Peace!

Essence of Vedanta - Part 21

Dear All,

Let us recapitulate the disciples answers in the Ekasloki verse which we read couple of days in the previous post on the current theme

• Sun is the light in the day and at night lamp is the light.
• Eye is the light which enables one to see sun in the day and Lamp in the night.  (Here eye means not literally eye but it includes all the sense organs, i.e., the senses.)
• Intellect is the light which lights up the eyes / the senses.
• Me, the SELF, is the source which illumines my intellect.

Earlier, with a story of King Janaka, we dealt with the 3 states of consciousness.

In waking state, our body, mind, intellect- all are awake

In dream state, Our body is at rest but our mind and the source that illumines our mind, the intellect, are both active.

In deep sleep, none of the three - Body, Mind and intellect are active. 

Now let us relate this deep sleep with the essence of the Eka sloki verse given above where we understood that it is the intellect which illumines our mind and through mind, our senses!!

So,
  
Intellect ----- illumines the mind/ senses

In deep sleep ------ Intellect is at rest and that is why, the mind and senses are not illumine and are not active.

Still, SOME THING IS ACTIVE  which, as we learnt in an earlier post, Illumines the intellect on the next day and we say (As king Janaka said),  that we had a deep sleep without disturbance.

Let us understand one thing here.

It is not possible that when we were in deep sleep, NOTHING WAS THERE, NOTHING EXISTED and when we got up next day, all of a sudden, our intellect became aware that we had a deep sleep yesterday night, as we have understood that in our deep sleep, our intellect was not active. 

So, what was active when we were in deep sleep?????

The answer is in the ekasloki verse when the disciple says- It is ME, THE SELF THAT ILLUMINES THE INTELLECT!!!!!!

So, readers, there is THIS SOURCE SELF OR AHAM OR I, which is there in Waking, Dream, Deep Sleep states which illumines our intellect (in deep sleep, the intellect is not there but still the SOURCE SELF IS THERE) !!!!

The author has taken up the otherwise impossible task of explaining / expressing the STATE OF REALIZATION which is almost impossible to express!!!!

Swami Chinmayananda in His commentary on a verse in Vivekachudamani pours a line- "WHEN I REACH THERE,  i DO NOT EXIST, WHEN I COME DOWN, i CANNOT EXPRESS".

When our little I or the ego is transcended, we reach THE STATE where the I ego is not there, but when we come down from that state and we return to our ego identity, the ego can never express or explain how we existed when we transcended our ego!!!

The state is explained in all the upanishads, all vedanta treatise which the author can easily explain verse by verse but all those explanations or commentary or verse by verse translation or transliteration can never give the actual experience of THAT INEXPRESSIBLE STATE.

If the author has to express  the experience of THAT STATE which SAI  granted to him (somewhere in  the beginning of 2011, perhaps February, exact date is not certain) out of SAI's infinite grace and compassion, then he can  pour thus:-

• The sense of body disappears.
• The mind never exists at all. 
• There is no chance of thought, because it is thought that prompts and activates the mind. 
• The intellect that illumines the body and the mind is not there, if the intellect is there, then how can the sense of body / mind disappear?
• The experience of Bliss/ Ananda/ Joy is transcended.
• Any experience, even the subtlest experience , that I am AWARE, I AM TRANSCENDING THE AWARENESS, I AM EXISTING AS PURE AWARENESS- these subtlest experience is also not there.
• So, I Exist, (without the awareness of my existence, no ecstasy, no joy, no bliss, no love......, beyond every possible experience that a human being can have)!!!
• However, I DO EXIST, it is not a vacuum, it is not like a state in anesthesia, it is not a state after the body had died, I EXIST, I EXIST , WITHOUT THE AWARENESS THAT I EXIST!!!!!!!!

Divyatman,

The above expressionless expressions some how captures the STATE where, one exists as the source that illumines one's intellect, but with no intellect, no mind, no body!!!!!!!!!!

This state of existence can be explained through the major and minor upanishads, through all Sankara's treatise on advaita, through Brahma sutra etc. etc., but all such explanations remain as theoretical knowledge gained!!!

WHEREAS, 

In the above expressionless expression, ONE EXISTS AS THE PURE KNOWLEDGE which later on is observed to be illumining one's intellect to gain all knowledge in this knowledge!!!!!!!!

So, any exposition of any advaita treatise, any elaborate lecture on Srutis (upanishads) would be very nice to speak or to listen but all of them are of no use unless one has gained the actual EXPERIENCE of the above EXPRESSION LESS EXPRESSION which the author has poured from within!!!!!!

Note:-

Though there may be few more posts on the theme to further explain the essence, if a reader is not able to relate to this single post in its entirety, then  reading of all further posts would be at intellectual level, at best!!!!!!

HARI AUM TATSAT.