07 Upadesha Sara

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UPADESHA SARA
The Instructions of
Lord Shiva
“THE SANDEEPANY EXPERIENCE”
Reflections by
TEXT SWAMI GURUBHAKTANANDA
07
Sandeepany’s Vedanta Course
List of All the Course Texts in Chronological Sequence:
Text Text
TITLE OF TEXT TITLE OF TEXT
No. No.
1 Sadhana Panchakam 24 Hanuman Chalisa
2 Tattwa Bodha 25 Vakya Vritti
3 Atma Bodha 26 Advaita Makaranda
4 Bhaja Govindam 27 Kaivalya Upanishad
5 Manisha Panchakam 28 Bhagavad Geeta (Discourse -- )
6 Forgive Me 29 Mundaka Upanishad
7 Upadesha Sara 30 Amritabindu Upanishad
8 Prashna Upanishad 31 Mukunda Mala (Bhakti Text)
9 Dhanyashtakam 32 Tapovan Shatkam
10 Bodha Sara 33 The Mahavakyas, Panchadasi 5
11 Viveka Choodamani 34 Aitareya Upanishad
12 Jnana Sara 35 Narada Bhakti Sutras
13 Drig-Drishya Viveka 36 Taittiriya Upanishad
14 “Tat Twam Asi” – Chand Up 6 37 Jivan Sutrani (Tips for Happy Living)
15 Dhyana Swaroopam 38 Kena Upanishad
16 “Bhoomaiva Sukham” Chand Up 7 39 Aparoksha Anubhuti (Meditation)
17 Manah Shodhanam 40 108 Names of Pujya Gurudev
18 “Nataka Deepa” – Panchadasi 10 41 Mandukya Upanishad
19 Isavasya Upanishad 42 Dakshinamurty Ashtakam
20 Katha Upanishad 43 Shad Darshanaah
21 “Sara Sangrah” – Yoga Vasishtha 44 Brahma Sootras
22 Vedanta Sara 45 Jivanmuktananda Lahari
23 Mahabharata + Geeta Dhyanam 46 Chinmaya Pledge
A NOTE ABOUT SANDEEPANY

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya is an institution run by the Chinmaya Mission in Powai, Mumbai, teaching a
2-year Vedanta Course. It has a very balanced daily programme of basic Samskrit, Vedic chanting, Vedanta
study, Bhagavatam, Ramacharitmanas, Bhajans, meditation, sports and fitness exercises, team-building outings,
games and drama, celebration of all Hindu festivals, weekly Gayatri Havan and Guru Paduka Pooja, and Karma
Yoga activities.
This series is an effort to promote the learning of Vedanta; it does not replace Course, but hopes to
inspire young people to spend two years of their life for an experience that is sure to make a far-reaching
spiritual impact on their personal lives. Sandeepany is an all-round spiritual course that gives proper direction
to the youth and to those approaching retirement. Hinduism is in dire need of a band of systematically trained
teachers or Acharyas who can serve this Eternal Religion.
– The Editor, 1st June 2017 Sannyasa Day of Sri Swami Sivananda
Om Namah Shivaaya!
Text
07
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UPADESH SARA
“The Instructions of Lord Shiva”
Composed by
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Reflections
by SWAMI GURUBHAKTANANDA
on the 31 Lectures delivered by Swami Advayananda,
Acharyaji, 15th Batch Vedanta Course
at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai
December 29th 2011 – January 21st , 2012
Adi Shankaracharya Swami Sivananda Swami Tapovanji Swami Chinmayananda
SERVE  LOVE  GIVE  PURIFY  MEDITATE  REALISE

Copyright & Author’s Details
Author: Swami Gurubhaktananda, ex Krishna Chaitanya, born Bipin R. Kapitan
of Durban, South Africa.
Residence: Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
Email: gurubhakta.dls@gmail.com
© 2017 All Rights Reserved. Copyright held by Chinmaya International Foundation, Kerala.
About This Edition:

Web Edition: 1st June 2017 Sannyasa Day of Sri Swami Sivananda
Website: Chinmaya International Foundation: www.chinfo.org
Series Title : The Sandeepany Experience
Series Subject: Vedanta & supportive subsidiary texts.
Declaration by the Author: The material in this series is under inspiration of the Sandeepany
Vedanta Course, but largely consists of the Author’s reflections on the Course. He is
deeply indebted to the Chinmaya Mission for its excellent presentation of the Course
by their renowned and dedicated Acharyas.
Personal Dedication
1. To my Parents, Smt Sharadaben & Sri Ratilalbhai Kapitan
who inspired me to study in life, to stick to the path of Dharma and pursue the
highest ideals; and swamped me with their abundant Love;
2. To Pujya Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj

the President of the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, who
constantly encouraged and supported this effort;
3. To Pujya Sri Swami Tejomayanandaji (Guruji)

for his boundless vision and inspiration to create a vibrant organisation;
4. To Sri Swami Advayanandaji and Sri Swami Sharadanandaji

my Acharyaji and Upa-Acharyaji at Sandeepany, who imparted their bountiful
knowledge and wisdom with rare selfless Divine Love, just as the Rishis of yore
would wish to see them do.
*****
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UPADESH SARA

FOR SAMSKRIT TEXT WITH SANDHEES
Guide to Splitting Sandhees
Conventional Samskrit Format is used in the body of the book.
Split-Sandhee Samskrit Format is given at the end of the book, for the benefit of
beginners. Word-combinations (Sandhees) are highlighted in bold underline (as shown in
the table below) to help indicate the splitting of words. This is an original feature.
Purpose: To assist new students who are just finding their way in Samskrit to break
up the words (Pada Chheda). It is not intended for those already proficient in Samskrit.
How it Works: 1. Enables normal chanting. The bold underlined letters are Sandhees,
not words, and are needed only to join words for correct chanting.
2. Indicates splitting of words. To determine the words on either side of the
Sandhee, the following table may be used. [The table has been applied in the transliteration
within the body of the book, where individual words are used.]
Add to End Add to Front

SANDHEE
of Prior Word of Posterior Word
A (a) -AÉ- (aa) A (a)
C (i) -D- (ee) C (i)
E (u) -F- (oo) E (u)
elongated vowel -"x- short vowel
short vowel -x"- elongated vowel
elongated vowel -"x" - elongated vowel
A (a) -L- (e) C (i)

A (a) -Lå- (ai) L (e)
A (a) -AÉå- (o) E (u)
A (a) -AÉæ- (au) Lå (ai)
AÈ (ah) -AÉå (o) unaffected
C (i) -rÉç (y) unaffected
E (u) -uÉç (v) unaffected
È (h) -xÉç, -Uç, -zÉç unaffected
*****
UPADESHA SARA
CONTENTS
Hymn & Introduction 2
Brief Life Sketch of the Maharshi 3
Part I KARMA YOGA (Path of Action): 4

Verse 1: Action is Inert 4
Verse 2: Barrier to Progress 6
Verse 3: Means to Liberation 7
Part II BHAKTI YOGA (Path of Devotion) 10

Verse 4: Practice of Devotion 10
Verse 5: Worship (Pooja) 13
Verse 6: Repetition of Mantra (Japa) 15
Verse 7: Contemplation (Dhyana) 17
Verse 8: Contemplation Without Duality 18
Verse 9: Supreme Devotion 21
Verse 10: The Goal of All Paths 22
Part III ASHTANGA YOGA (Path of Yoga) 24

Verse 11: Restraint of Prana 24
Verse 12: The Source of Power 25
Verse 13: Two States of Mind 27
Verse 14: Means to Reach These States 28
Verse 15: State of Exalted Yogi 30
Verse 16: Vision of Reality 32
Part IV JNANA YOGA (Path of Knowledge) 34

Verse 17: What is Mind? 34
Verse 18: I-thought is Mind 36
Verse 19: Self-Enquiry 37
Verse 20: Destruction of Ego 39
Verse 21: The True Self 40
Verse 22: Absolute Existence 41
Verse 23: Existence-Consciousness Am I 43
Verse 24: Identity Between Individual & Total 44
Verse 25: Vision of Lord & Vision of Self 44
Verse 26: Abidance in Self is Realisation 45
Verse 27: Absolute Knowledge 46
Verse 28: Absolute Bliss 47
Verse 29: Rarity & Divinity 49
Verse 30: The Greatest Austerity 51
1
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UPADESHA SARA
4 Parts , 30 Verses
“The Advice of Lord Shiva”
Hymn to SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI:

Antara yashcha bahira vidhuta timiram, jyotirmayam saashwatam
Sthaanam praapya viraajate nimanataam, ajnaanam unmoolayam;
Pashyan vishwam ullasatiyo, vishwasya paare parah
Tasmai Sri Ramanaya loka gurave, shokasya hantre namah.
1 “He who has no trace of Ajnaana within or outside, is full of Consciousness and Eternal;
2 Who, having attained that state of Brahman, keeps dispelling the ignorance of others;
3 Seeing Brahman in this entire manifested world, even though he has crossed this ocean of
Samsara;
4 To that Guru of the world, Sri Ramana, who destroys the sorrows of others, we prostrate.”
INTRODUCTION
T HE ORIGINAL TEXT WAS written in Tamil and was called “Upadesh Undiyar”.
Undiyar means “sit and run”, and is a meter in poetry. The meter is also called “Shardula
Vikridita” (because its rythym and movement resembles a tiger cub romping around its
mother playfully, sitting and running all the while.
The poem was then translated into Malayalam, then Telugu, and then Samskrit (due
to a suggestion from one of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s disciples) by the Maharshi himself.
How did it originate? Murugunar, a Tamil scholar, was writing a book on the
Maharshi, Ramana Sannidhi Murai (“In the Presence of Ramana”). He was summarizing the
lives of Shiva found in various Puranas. In one of these stories, was a story of some Sadhakas
who were following the path of Poorva Meemamsa, which says “Action is the Supreme. It is
self-sufficient to give results”. They used to do many rituals to obtain their desired fruit of
enjoyment. There is no concept of God among these Meemamsakas. They believed that just
by “working hard” they could achieve whatever they wanted.
The story goes that Mohini and Shiva both came to destroy the Yagas of these
Meemamsakas. Their strategy was that Mohini would attract away the men, and Shiva
would draw away the women. The ploy worked perfectly. When the men realized what had
happened, they fell prostrate at the feet of Shiva, who then taught them the true purpose of
action. Lord Shiva’s Upadesh or “Teaching” has never been detailed in any Purana, only just
mentioned. The Puranas only say that these Meemamsakas realized the error of their
philosophy and became devout saints thereafter, attaining the ultimate goal of Vedanta.
2
It was in response to Murugunar’s appeal as to what the Upadesha of Shiva was, that
Sri Ramana Maharshi wrote the original Tamil poem, which is the subject of this book. In the
original, each of the 30 verses ended with “Undi-para”. The verses are addressed to the
Meemamsakas, that is, those who hold the materialistic view that acquiring the fruits of
action is the only thing worth striving for.
Brief Life Sketch of SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

(Extracted from our Textbook, by Guruji, Swami Tejomayanandaji)
Bhagavan was born on 30th December, 1879, in Tirucuzhi in Ramnad District, Tamil
Nadu. His father, Sri Sundaram Iyer, was a lawyer by profession. The boy’s name was Venkat
Ramana. Relations and close acquaintances report that from his early childhood he would
go into trance many a times. In reality he was only introspecting. His deep inborn devotion
was centred on Arunachala, which is worshipped as a Jyotirlinga, the very embodiment of
Lord Shiva.
At an early age, one day Venkat had the feeling that he was going to die. He stood
still and actually felt that he was “dying”. He lay down in preparation for it. If he was going
to die, he should remain still, which is what he did. While fully conscious, he went through
the experience of “dying”. It was a life-transforming experience, as he consciously went
through the various states of losing body consciousness.
Not much later, at the age of 17 he left home for good, leaving a note asking his
family not to waste any money “in search of this”. He reached Tiruvannamalai, threw away
whatever remaining money he had into the lake opposite the great Temple there, and
renounced all worldly ties with the words, “At Your command, I have come to You.” He
never left Arunachala.
He attained Mahasamadhi on 14th April 1950, at the age of 71.
For the first 5 months he lived at the temple premises at the foot of the Arunachala
mountain. He would go into long periods of self-absorption. Later, he shifted to the place of
Bhu-Samadhi of a Mahatma (where the Mahatma dropped his physical body), and still later
to a mango orchard. He lived in silence and solitude for years in two different caves of
Arunachala (Skandashram and Virupaksha) and in the final years near the place of the Bhu-
Samadhi of his mother, who lived with him from 1916 to 1922.
The early period of his life at Tiruvannamalai was spent in detachment, silence and
Self-enquiry. He was known to be a man of severe penance (a Tyagi), a saint (Maharshi) and
some even believed him to be a Divine Being (an Avatar). His fame spread far and wide, and
people from all parts of India and foreign lands became his ardent devotees.
Sri Ramana Maharshi was the very embodiment of divine virtues and his life
manifested them fully. To this day, he inspires hundreds of thousands of people,
irrespective of class, colour, gender and nationality.
*****
3
Part I
KARMA YOGA
The Path of Action
Verse 1: Action is Inert

MüiÉÑïUÉ¥ÉrÉÉ , mÉëÉmrÉiÉå TüsÉqÉç |
MüqÉï ÌMÇü mÉUÇ , MüqÉï iÉ‹QûqÉç ||1||
1 Kartuh aajnayaa, By the command of the Doer,

2 praapyate phalam; the fruits of action are gained.
3 Karma kim param, Then how is Action all-supreme? No, it is not –
4 karma tad-jadam. since Action is inert.
Mangalacharan: The first word of the text refers to the Creator – the word ‘Kartu’,
the Doer – and this remembrance is taken as an Invocation, an auspicious start to the text.
In the context of the origin of this poem, Lord Shiva is asking the group of
Meemamsakas the question, “Is Karma really Supreme?” The Meemamsakas have to be
taken to mean all who hold that their actions alone are sufficient to obtain whatever they
desire, implying that God does not need to enter into their world. God has no place amongst
those abiding by this philosophy.
The Philosophy of Materialism:

Most people in this world would fall into this category, even some very well-meaning
people who sincerely believe that just to do good acts is sufficient to obtain salvation.
The materialists say: “Whatever we want we can get through actions. What else do
we need in this world? If God is there or not there, so what? It does not affect me in any
way. Whatever I want I am getting by my action. If God is there, let Him be, we have no
problem with that. He can’t be there, because where does He come into the picture? [This is
what the Mimamsakas believe.] My world is centred in actions. The world is everything to
me. I do not feel the need for God.”
Even for those who may have a slight fear for God, they appease their conscience by
turning in a selfish way to God, asking Him to grant them their desires, etc.
The Maharshi addresses these words directly to such people. He proves here that
their root belief is a fallacy – that Action is not Supreme. Is the ruler supreme or the ruled?
This is the point being examined in this verse. Karma or action is ruled at both ends; by the
Lord at one end and by the Law of Karma at the other.
Who is the real Commander of the action? The verse declares that it is the Lord or
Creator, Ishwara. Only He can determine the fruits or results of actions, none else.
4
The Five Factors in Any Action:
Any action has the following five factors that make it happen:
i) Karta: this is the doer of the action.

ii) Karana: this is the instrument(s) needed to perform the action.
iii) Karma: the actual action itself.
iv) Karma Phala: this is the result produced by the action.
v) Kartu Agnya: this is the dispenser of the result.
Firstly, the Karana bears no responsibility for the action performed with it by the
Karta. If a knife is used to murder someone, the knife is not going to be arrested. It is only an
instrument. So we need not consider it anymore here.
Karma Is Inert and Powerless:

The Karma itself is inert, insentient, it is only an act, and has no power to control
anything. But, even if it is not the controller, it is still claimed by its votaries to be the only
means for obtaining their desires. Is this true? Even this is found to be false for the following
reasons:
a) It does not give the contentment we are searching for.
b) It is limited in its results.
c) It has to be created by a Karta, so it is not independent.
d) And finally, because it is not in control, it cannot control the results produced.
Hence, the Karma by itself is powerless to bring any result to us. We cannot say that
the result comes automatically. An inert thing cannot act automatically; sentiency is needed
for such a function, and Karma does not have it.
So how can we raise Karma to the status of being Supreme? We must be fools to
think we can. None of the visible factors above have the power to determine the results of
an action.
Karta Is Also Powerless:

Let us see the fallacy of believing that the ‘doer’ is supreme.
The Karta, the one who initiated the action, is usually held responsible for the action.
He has a certain result in mind which he desires, and for which he makes the effort to act. If
it were not for the result, he would have no motivation to act. So, the first candidate to be
considered as controller would be the doer. And invariably the doer takes upon himself this
role by presumption. That is what the Meemamsakas do. They simply appropriate to
themselves the ‘doer-ship’. This is the great error that is addressed in this opening chapter
of the text.
The Karta erroneously believes that he is in control of every aspect of the action, and
that he can demand a certain result for a specific action to satisfy his desire. Reality shows
that this is not the case. There are other factors that come into play, not the least of which is
the past Karma of the doer. He gets only what he deserves, not what he desires.
Under the belief “As you sow, so you reap”, the individual is led to believe that he is
in charge of the results. This may be true if we take into account all the unknown factors
5
about the doer, such as his past actions. Experience shows that since these are unknown, it
is impossible for the Karta to determine the results of his actions.
The only possibility left is that the Supreme Creator or Lord, who is aware of every
circumstance involved in the action, is the dispenser of all results. This is the most logical
conclusion. It would be the greatest folly to deny the existence of such a Controller.
Verse 2: Barrier to Progress

M×üÌiÉ qÉWûÉåSkÉÉæ , mÉiÉlÉMüÉUhÉqÉç |
TüsÉqÉzÉÉµÉiÉÇ , aÉÌiÉÌlÉUÉåkÉMüqÉç ||2||
1 Kruti mahaa udadhau, In the vast ocean of Actions,

2 patina kaaranam; the cause for the fall (of man)
3 Phalam ashaashwatam, is impermanent Results;
4 gati nirodhakam. that is the barrier to progress.
In this verse it is shown that there is something even more harmful in holding the
materialistic view, and going on with our dependency on actions to bring us the results we
desire. Actions are not so innocent as we may think. They produce their results, and more.
What is meant here is that even if the desired results are produced for the
enjoyment of the doer, the hidden result of the action is its power to bind us. This is what we
examine in this verse – the stealthy way in which Actions have the power to trap us into a
vicious circle from which it appears impossible to escape.
What is this power of action?
Impermanent Results:
The very word ‘phala’ tells us that the result is impermanent. It means “that which
disappears”. The fruit, even supposing it is exactly as we ordered it, is temporary,
evanescent. It is only a bubble that will burst and disappear. When we have enjoyed what
we desired, DISCONTENT sets in.
Infinity cannot be obtained by finite things. That is the basic flaw of action as a
means to give us happiness. Any number of finite actions cannot bring us to the Infinite.
Analysing action in this way, we discover that actions alone can never enlighten us,
but thrust us into deeper ignorance. The problem becomes more vicious. The
impermanency of results is treacherous. We see that actions have the power to bind us
from “head to foot”.
The note of urgency is sounded here to the one who has not yet found a place for
God in his life. It is this: “Ishwara is the Controller, and the sooner we turn to Him, the
better. The alternative is to sink deeper and deeper into bondage from which we can never
escape.”
Addictiveness of Actions:
Some materialists would say, “So what is the problem with a temporary result? We
can do the action again and again to get the result.” Thus the seed of addiction is sown.
6
If the result brings us Sukha or happiness, it is repeated again and again. The only
way we think we can be happy is to repeat that action – ad infinitum! In this way Karma
becomes our Boss and rules over our life, enslaving us to it. This is the “barrier to progress”
that is given as the title of this verse. This is what is meant when we say Action is not so
innocent as it may appear.
The joy we get from our actions holds us captive to it. We are caught in the cocoon
of our own action, and are bound by its threads. It becomes the cause of our “fall” in the
ocean of worldliness. Ocean is the term used commonly for this state because the bondage
is vast and deep as the ocean, and difficult to cross over.
With repetition of an act comes firm attachment to it. The desire gets concretised. It
is now no longer superficial but has become a Vasana, an inborn tendency which we have to
live with until we heal ourselves of it through some spiritual means.
The “Fall” is Deeper Than We Think:

So far, we have come to realize that action is accompanied by attachment and
addiction. That is not the end. To gain our ends we need to compete for our objects of
desire. Many others wish to have the same thing. We are caught in a competitive world. The
stress and strain takes its toll on us. We spend more money to protect what we have,
besides spending it to acquire more. There is no end to our desires, as they get inflamed
every time they are satisfied.
When others want the same thing that we desire, especially if it is a person, then
jealousy rears its head. Competitiveness breeds malpractices. We compromise on our
standards of morality, becoming almost shameless in our quest. The rest is better left to the
imagination or, worse, to experience.
This feverish activity accompanied by equally feverish anxiety leads us deeper into
ignorance. The victim is truly and firmly bound from head to foot.
The tragedy is that this same scenario applies to our Sattwic enterprises as well, not
just the Rajasic or Tamasic ones. Every action has the same tendency to bind. No one is
spared who is in the arena of Action.
Is there a way out of this vicious circle?
Fortunately, there is, and the Maharshi spells it out in the next verse…
Verse 3: Means to Liberation

DµÉUÉÌmÉïiÉÇ , lÉåcNûrÉÉ M×üiÉqÉç |
ÍcÉ¨ÉzÉÉåkÉMÇü , qÉÑÌ£üxÉÉkÉMüqÉç ||3||
1 Eeshwara arpitam, Actions dedicated to the Lord, and

2 na icchhayaa kritam; done without any attachment (for the result),
3 Chitta shodhakam, purify the mind,
4 mukti saadhakam. and are a means to attain Liberation.
7
That which posed so threateningly as the Demon in our lives is here also seen to be
the Angel that will pull us out of our entrapped state. According to the Maharshi, all that is
required is for us to change our attitude towards our actions.
Two things are required of us in this regard:
i) Dedicating our actions to the Lord, whom we acknowledge to be the Supreme
Controller of the results of our actions.
ii) Accepting as His Prasad what He considers to be the just result of our action due
to us, when the whole circumstance is taken into account.
This in a nutshell is the Path of Karma Yoga that is taught by the Maharshi.
It may be summarized neatly in this equation:
Ishwararpana Buddhi + Prasada Buddhi = Karma Yoga

(Offering all to God) + (Accepting what comes) = (The Way to Liberation
Through Action)
Ishwararpana Buddhi:
In order to accomplish action in this manner, three points have to be borne in mind:
i) To Identify Our Duty: We must first determine our role and then perform it to
perfection. We need to note that no one is dispensable. Everyone has something to offer to
this world. We must know that we belong to God.
ii) To Act Without “I”-ness: We remove the ego notion, the Ahankara or “I”-ness.
Whatever means we possess to perform action comes from Him. Itcha Shakti, Kriya Shakti
and Jnana Shakti are the three powers needed to do action. They are the power to will or
desire an action, the strength to execute the action, and the knowledge to do it properly. All
three come from God. They are aspects of His nature, endowed to us. So, we should feel we
are just servants, using them for His work.
iii) To Act Without “Doer-ship”: What is left then that is ‘mine’? Nothing. So we
cannot even be called the doer. Doership is the Lord’s. Everything that accomplishes the
action comes from Him, and the result also is determined by Him. Actually God alone is
playing with Himself! We don’t come into the picture at all. This “I” becomes an instrument
in His hands. This is Ishwara Arpana. This removes the “Mama”-kara or “mine”-ness.
Prasada Buddhi:
The attitude of accepting the result that comes from action is most important. Here,
too, there are three key points to be borne in mind:
i) The Dispenser is Just and Compassionate: He who is dispensing the results does so
with full justice. He has all the knowledge He needs to make the right decision and give us
what we deserve. He will not do us an injustice, and He cannot be bribed in His duty.
He has each one’s welfare at heart. By surrendering the result to Him, we can rest
assured that we will not be cheated! He will give what is good for us.
Thus, the first bondage is eliminated – that of having the burden of responsibility for
the results on our shoulders. We become relieved and free of all stress. Karma Yoga is also
8
called Careful, Carefree living. “To be relaxed is the most serious work. To be happy is the
toughest business.”
ii) Mind Your Own Business: There is much wisdom in the motto, “Do your best, and
leave the rest to God.” Karma Yoga frees us from a huge burden. All the worry, tension, etc,
is due to insisting on how others should be. That is interference in God’s business. We
should not act in a manner that makes people tell us “Mind your own business” or “Give me
my space” (meaning “Get out of my way”). This can be achieved simply by not insisting on
what the result should be. To do so is extremely foolish.
iii) Act to Please God: The result will not trouble us if we act for God’s pleasure, not
ours. Then whatever comes to us as a result, we will accept as the Lord’s Prasad. We did not
do it for the result in the first place, but only to please Him. Secondly, if Bhoga (selfish
enjoyment) is not there, how can Vasanas be formed? When ego is not there, no new
Vasanas can build up, and old Vasanas have no power to exist.
iv) Significance of the Word “Prasad”: The word Prasad comes from ‘Prasannata’,
serenity or equanimity. When God is pleased He sends His Prasad to us. We should
graciously accept whatever it is. The Prasad we receive in temples has this lesson to teach
us. No one is allowed to comment on the Prasad distributed after a prayer. It is sacred. Thus
Prasad Buddhi is developed.
The Karma Yogi says, “God thinks this is good for me. Lord, I take it as your Prasad.”
How terrible would it be to refuse His Prasad! Prasad has come from the Lord’s feet – how
can we refuse it, or be dissatisfied with it? Therefore, never complain about Prasad. Such
should be our attitude towards the results of our actions.
The Science of Karma Yoga

The above two practices contain the art and science of Karma Yoga – how to act so
that the action does not affect us.
Praise and censure become powerless to move us. We are only interested in God’s
happiness. The ego is not there to grab the praise and repel the censure. Likes and dislikes
cannot thrive anymore; they are no longer in the driving seat.
Acting in this way we become trustees. We feel that we are just caretakers of the
Lord’s property, and are using them as His instrument under His direction, to please Him. No
personal expectation or motive is there. Such action is called Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga thus
purifies the mind of all its vices and makes us perfect for the next stages of Sadhana. It is
necessary for every Sadhaka to prepare him for the higher forms of Sadhana.
It is a very practical science, not just a theory; the benefit lies only in practicing it, not
just studying it! If we do not practise it, we would be like the monkeys who, when
garlanded, break it up and scatter the flowers on the ground.
One last point: How do we know that God is pleased with us? We will feel Him
smiling in our own heart! If that is not enough, ask someone. God often gives us a feedback
through other people.
*****
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Part II
BHAKTI YOGA
The Path of Devotion
General Introduction:
All the Yogas are connected; they are not independent pathways.
Karma Yoga is like the whole Stadium, packed with people.
Bhakti Yoga is the football field itself where only 22 players and the 3 referees play.
Raja Yoga is like the centre circle where only the referee and 3 players start.
Jnana Yoga is like the centre of that circle where only the ball is placed at the start.
This is how all the Yogas are related to each other. The subtler the path the smaller is
the point of focus.
Verse 4: Practice of Devotion

MüÉrÉuÉÉXçqÉlÉÈ, MüÉrÉïqÉÑ¨ÉqÉqÉç |
mÉÔeÉlÉÇ eÉmÉÈ , ÍcÉliÉlÉÇ ¢üqÉÉiÉç ||4||
1 Kaaya vaak manah, By the body, speech and mind,

2 kaaryam uttamam; actions done by these become a step better,
3 Poojanam japah, i.e. ritual worship, chanting the Name,
4 chintanam kramaat. and contemplation are in order of superiority.
We have three means to express ourselves: the body to express our actions, the
speech to express our words, and the mind to express our thoughts. These three can be
used to worship the Lord in the following manner, as described in this verse:
i) Pooja: by means of the body, we perform sacred worship of the Lord using a form.
ii) Japa: by means of the speech, we perform the repetition of the Lord’s Name.
iii) Dhyana: by means of the mind, we perform meditation or contemplation upon
the mental form of the Lord or His qualities.
Serially Superior:
What this means is that the succeeding instrument is more subtle and therefore
more effective or superior to the former. Superior to Pooja is Japa, and superior to Japa is
meditation.
In Pooja body, speech and mind are needed. In Japa, only speech and mind are
needed. And in Dhyana, only the mind is needed. This is a gradation from a grosser form to
a subtler form of worship. However, one has to practice the former to be prepared for the
latter.
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An Example: When we were kids we started moving about with a tricycle. As we
grew up and learnt how to balance, we moved on to a bicycle. With further perfection in
balance, we can move on to a single wheel, ‘monocycle’, which is the most difficult. It is the
same with these three grades of devotional practice.
We have to start from where we are. We must start with the easy and get to the
more difficult practices. We should never jump to the top rung without having completed
the lower rungs.
Pooja: Starting a Special Relationship with God

Pooja is by no means to be considered an “inferior” practice to be rejected. In fact, it
is the best preparation for Japa and meditation.
Pooja starts our relationship with God.
In life we have various relationships with different people. We ourselves are
different to different people. It is the same network whether we are at work or in social
circles. We take great pride in describing or designating what our role is to various people.
But do we often hear someone say he is a devotee of God? Have we even considered that as
a possible relationship? Can we not add God to our list of contacts!
All relationships with people have a beginning and an end. We are like waves to each
other. We have a wave-to-wave relationship with other people. Sometimes we see that a
big wave likes to ‘bully’ the smaller wave! Waves moving in different directions clash with
each other all the time. Those are hurtful moments to us.
But the relationship with God is entirely different – it is like the wave’s relationship
with the water. The wave-to-water relationship is primary; the wave-to-wave relationships
are secondary. Yet the former is the one single relationship that we forget to nurture. Is that
not something to think about? Why not make God a part of our life? Setting this one
relationship right could well settle all the others as well.
To sustain a relationship we need to make quality time (and even quantity time)
available. This relationship with God, being so intrinsic, we need to make special time to
build it up. Once we understand this, and work on it, we are well on our way to the most
satisfying, steady and rewarding relationship of our life.
Variety of Forms for God:

How we want God to appear to us is very much a personal choice. With form or
formless, it does not matter, but the human being has an inherent tendency to use a form to
begin with. People from other religions may criticize Hindus vehemently for being idolaters,
but that is the beauty of Hinduism – its liberality and freedom of choice.
Story: The ants had called up a meeting to discuss various ant-issues. They agreed on
just about everything, something we would rarely see in human meetings. They even agreed
on an ant-God, that there should certainly be one. What is more, they agreed unanimously
that their God must have two antenna like themselves. But then a strange thing happened –
they could not decide where the antenna should be positioned on God. There were various
opinions on this. It got to a stage where the meeting became rowdy, and it ultimately ended
in a physical fight amongst the ants. There were pieces of ant-legs and ant-heads all over the
boardroom!
Suddenly a large, very handsome ant stepped into the boardroom. He was magnetic.
All the surviving ants stood still in awe of him. Who was he? Could this be their ant-God?
11
They stared in admiration, some even fell prostrate. When they looked closer, they found
that he had no antenna!
That story was just to illustrate how humans behave on these matters. Hinduism has
any number of Gods, of all varieties. There is no escape from God!
A Rabbi was giving his sermon. With great force he said, “We are the chosen
people”. Someone from the congregation remarked, “I think it is better now if He chose
somebody else!”
Aspects of God:
This verse also serves to introduce us to the idea of different aspects of God.
i) Absolute Aspect: God as the Supreme Reality, as Brahman.
ii) Cosmic Aspect: God as playing a role in directing the functions of this world, e.g.,
as Creator, Preserver or Destroyer.
iii) Avatara: God as coming down on earth to perform a certain function amongst
mankind.
iv) Ishtha Devata: God as one’s favourite Deity.
v) Kula Devata: God as the family Deity or Goddess. This is very common in Hindu
society.
From the first to the fifth level, the circle is closing in on the individual. The choice is
his, according to his vision. He may start with the family Deity and as his vision expands and
he grows in spirituality, he learns to see God in His greater aspects, without having to give
up his former family Deity.
Symbolism in Human Endeavours:

In every human endeavour we find that symbols are used. This is not unique to
religion only, and certainly not to Hindus only. Flags, logos, T-shirts, emblems, anthems, etc
are all concretised versions of ideals we hold in life. Even a ‘thumbs-up’ sign or a wink is a
symbol aimed at getting a message across.
In Hinduism the point that stands is that religion is meant to help us. As long as it
does that it is serving its purpose.
The symbolism of Ganesha was explained in some detail. Culture is dynamic, and it
changes with time. It is not a dead thing. There may be a Ganesha with a guitar – if that
helps somebody to relate to God, it is okay. Lord Brahma’s four heads represent the 4
aspects of the Antahkarana (mind, memory, ego, and intellect). In this way culture has built
up around the knowledge of the times, the views of life, etc. These are dynamic things.
Symbols are used everywhere. +, -, %, , ∫, ∑, and so on are mathematical symbols.
H20, NaCl are symbols in chemistry. No one objects to them.
The Laughing Centipedes: We think a centipede is such a strange creature. To the
centipede, how strange will a two-legged man look! Two centipedes saw two men walking
towards them. They both laughed heartily at the sight. “Look, those two have got only two
legs. Can you imagine anyone having only two legs!” The two men heard the laughter and
turned to see where it came from. They spotted the centipedes. One man said, “Oh, look at
those funny centipedes. They are standing on just two legs, with 98 of them flying about in
the air as they laugh it out! Does that not look funny?”
12
Verse 5: Worship (Pooja)
eÉaÉiÉ DzÉkÉÏ- , rÉÑ£üxÉåuÉlÉqÉç |
A¹qÉÔÌiÉïpÉ×Sè , SåuÉmÉÔeÉlÉqÉç ||5||
1 Jagata eeshadhee, The attitude of worshipping the Lord through the world,
2 yukta sevanam; when accompanying one’s service,
3 ashta moorti bhrid, (is) – in His eightfold Form –
4 deva poojanam. the worship of the Lord.
Starting a Relationship with God

In the previous verse we only talked about the idea of a relationship with God. Now
we are ready to make a practical start to develop such a relationship.
Pooja is that which establishes us in a relationship with God. Pooja concretises a
natural human tendency of using symbolism to express things or to represent ideas.
In Pooja, we may start with an idol in our worship. This develops a bond with God; it
forms a connection with Him. That connection starts to change our life. We are then called
‘devotees’. As this relationship strengthens, the ‘devotee’ in us comes to the forefront of all
other relationships we may have. The ‘husband’, ‘wife’, ‘boss’ relation recedes to the
background, and the ‘devotee’ comes to the fore.
It is like a cook who loved music. He used to sing as he did his cooking. Very soon he
started becoming really good at singing. He performed at concerts, and soon became a
world famous musician. Then one day he had to do cooking at a friend’s home. The friend
introduced him to his other friends as the “musician who is doing the cooking”. So from the
‘Cook that was singing’ he became the ‘Musician that was cooking’! That is how it is with a
devotee who may first be ‘Husband who is a devotee’, and then ‘Devotee who is husband’.
The devotee who starts in a small way in his little Pooja room, grows and matures
into the great devotee for whom the whole world becomes his “Pooja Room”!
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a great patriot and servant of India, and worked day and
night for its freedom. His grandson one day complained to him, “I don’t see you doing any
Pooja, so I also will not do it.” The saintly grandfather told the boy, “Till you are able to do
Pooja of all the millions of people in this country, you have to continue to do your daily
Pooja in the prayer room.”
The Eight-Fold Forms of the Lord:

Ashta Moorti: the “eight-fold form” of the Lord. It represents the entire manifested
world, called Jagat. Here are two derivations for the word ‘Jagat’.
The eight forms of the Lord are: The five elements, namely, Space, Air, Fire, Water
and Earth; the two heavenly luminaries, namely, the moon and the sun; and the eighth is
the Jiva or the individual souls.
The first seven are considered to have no sentiency, the last is sentient.
The first seven cover the gross (elements), subtle (moon) and the causal (sun)
bodies; the eighth covers the spiritual element in us, the soul.
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1. The word Jagat can be crypted as “JA-GA-T”, and interpreted as:
JAGAT = JA (jayate – is born)
+ GA (gacchate – it goes away)
+ T (tishthate – it stays)
i.e. World = What is Born, what has to Go one day, and what Stays.
2. Another expression used for World is “TAD JALAAN”, which is broken up into:
JAGAT = TAD JA (born from That)
+ LA (Liyate, That into which it disappears)
+ AN (to breathe – That which sustains life).
i.e. World = It is Born from That, Sustained by That, and Disappears into That.
How to See God in All

The view that the world is the Lord Himself is something unique to Hinduism. There
is a delightful story illustrating this:
Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati, was playing with a little cat
when he was a child. He played rather roughly with the kitten, tossing it up now and again.
Soon his Mother called him into the house. When he saw Her, She had scratches all over Her
face. Without having to say anything, the little Ganesha understood intuitively what had
happened. That was Ganesha’s first lesson in Vedanta!
There is the following story from the Buddhist tradition. One cold night, a traveller
knocked at the doors of a monastery. After some time a junior monk opened it, and allowed
the visitor to spend one night. Feeling very cold, the visitor made a fire to keep himself
warm. The next day, the junior monk noticed that the wooden statue of the Buddha was
missing from the shrine. Thinking it to be a theft, he reported the matter to the High Priest.
The High Priest scolded the junior monk: “For you the dead Buddha seems to be more
important than the live Buddha!”
Love for God by seeing Him in all beings is true worship of Him – and there are no
exceptions!
Are All to be Treated the Same Way?

Does that mean that we treat everything and everyone the same? It is wisdom to
treat everything according to its nature. Each creature has a specific nature and must be
respected for that and treated accordingly. Here is another illustration from Acharyaji.
A snake that used to bite all people passing a certain path in the forest, was asked
one day by a Mahatma not to do so. The snake thenceforth became so Sattwic that it would
refuse to bite anyone and became meek and submissive. One day some children, knowing
its nature, picked it up and gave it a good thrashing and hurled it into the bush. When the
Mahatma passed by the snake complained to it of the treatment it had received from the
boys. The Mahatma spoke to it firmly, “I only told you not to bite, I did not tell not to hiss!”
14
The meaning is that we have to treat fire as fire, a thief as a thief, and so on. There is
a practical aspect to this teaching. This does not violate the principle of “Seeing God in all”,
which is an inner attitude with which we approach others around us.
We cannot say God is outside, because outside is also in the world. We cannot God is
inside either, because that would mean the world was already there when He created it! So
God has to be the perceived world itself.
The essence of this verse is that if worship remains stuck to idols, then we have gone
wrong somewhere. Something is not right. It has to grow bigger and bigger and encompass
all humanity one day. This is worship of the “Eight-fold Form of the Lord.”
Verse 6: Repetition of Mantra (Japa)

E¨ÉqÉxiÉuÉÉSè- , EŠqÉlSiÉÈ |
ÍcÉ¨ÉeÉÇ eÉmÉ , krÉÉlÉqÉÑ¨ÉqÉqÉç ||6||
1 Uttama stavaat, It is good to glorify the Lord (sing His glories);

2 uccha mandatah; but superior to that is “loud” Japa (verbal repetition);
3 Chittajam japa, superior even to that is “mind-born” Japa (mental repetition).
4 dhyaanam uttamam. Mental Japa, indeed, is the best form.
In Verse 4, we were given a step-by-step approach to worship. In this verse we are

given a step-by-step approach to Japa, which itself is a step above worship. The progressive
stages in Japa are also from the gross external form to the purely mental repetition of the
Divine Name.
Once again, the same warning was given to us by Acharyaji – that this does not mean
that we are expected to practice the highest form just because it is declared to be superior.
The Sadhaka will not be able to practice the higher until he has perfected the previous
stages.
The Efficacy of Japa

Thoughts can meander from one to another very easily. That is their inborn nature.
Japa is a means to stop that from happening. It restricts the thoughts to just one type.
The Name chosen for repetitive chanting must have the power to connect the mind
to holy thoughts. We cannot take the name of a film actor. Pure thoughts need to be
generated by the Japa. The selection is therefore always the Name of one’s Deity or Guru.
Another tendency is that we get reactionary thoughts. An example of this is when a
person just returns home from work. He may start recollecting his working day and reflect
on what had been said; or what should have been said; or what he plans to say the next day
when he meets so-and-so; and so on. Much of our hate is produced in this manner in the
mind only. It is imaginary. In Japa we try to stop this tendency as well. We try to get the
mind to stick to one thought only.
Japa may also be done while working. Of course, while the mind is needed for the
work, it can be stopped, but as soon as it becomes available again, Japa can be started to
keep it engaged and focused.
15
The Four Stages in Japa:
i) Stava: A saint has beautifully written:
“If a huge mountain were crushed and made into ink powder,
and if that powder were mixed into the waters of all the ocean to be
made into ink, and then if the trees of heaven were to be used as the
pen, and this entire earth’s surface used as the paper, even then all the
glories of the Lord could not be written!”
Stava means “glorification of the Lord”. This includes the singing of Stotrams, praises
to the Lord, Bhajans, chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranam, the 1000 Names of Lord Vishnu,
etc. In this stage, there can be musical accompaniments also. One’s hands, ears, eyes, and
mind are engaged in the practice.
ii) Uccha Japa: In this form, everything remains as above, but the musical
instruments are removed as a way of narrowing down the attention of the devotee to fewer
senses. The hands are not used; only the ears, eyes and the mind are available for this form
of concentration on the Lord.
iii) Manda or Upamshu Japa: When the Japa is chanted very softly, as a whisper, the
sense of hearing is effectively removed from the practice; only the eyes and the mind are
available for the practice.
iv) Chintajam Japa: When the Japa is done only with the mind, with even the eyes
kept closed, another sense is withdrawn from the practice; now only the mind is available
for it. Having taken the practice into the mind, this becomes the subtlest form of Japa.
The whole objective is to get the practice into the mind. As far as Japa is concerned,
the last stage is the highest form of Japa, and is here given the status of “Dhyanam” or
meditation, even though meditation as described later is a different practice from repeating
the Lord’s Name mentally. [This is mentioned here so that there is no confusion in the mind
of the student about the proper definition of meditation.]
To clarify the point made, mental Japa is given the status of meditation here since it
is the “entry point” for the practice of deep meditation.
The Four Levels of Speech:

Closely related to the four stages of Japa mentioned above, are the following four
stages of “Speech”. These also are graded from gross to subtlest. They are:
i) Vaikhari: This is speech that is expressed outwardly. It is words that have
manifested from the mouth.
ii) Madhyama: The speech is at the level of the mind, just waiting to be expressed. It
is in the heart region, that is, it is felt as a thought, but not uttered. The words are being
assembled together and prepared for expression. All the effects of the words are seen on
the facial expression of the person; he has only to just express them. If it is a fear thought,
there will be fear manifested in the face, even though no words are used.
iii) Pashyanti: When the thought is first being created, it happens in the navel region
and is called Nabhi-Samsthita (Nabhi = navel). The thought is in the ‘womb’ as it were. The
words have not been formed. The thought cannot be ‘seen’ yet. An advanced Yogi can
detect even this form of speech from the subtle change of expression in the person.
16
iv) Para: This is silent ‘speech’. It is very subtle speech. It is speech only in seed form.
It has yet to manifest as a thought, let alone manifesting as the words that then go on to
manifest as speech. It is pure intention or will, and arises from the Causal or Unmanifest
part of our Being.
The four stages of Japa may be matched with the four stages of speech. There is a
close correlation between the four pairs.
Acharyaji quoted the above detailed analysis as an example of how thorough and
deep the ancient Rishis were in their thinking. Nothing went unnoticed to the “radar-like”
intellect of the Rishis. Thus they developed the science of metaphysics to perfection!
Verse 7: Contemplation (Dhyana)

AÉerÉkÉÉUrÉÉ , xÉëÉåiÉxÉÉ xÉqÉqÉç |
xÉUsÉÍcÉliÉlÉÇ , ÌuÉUsÉiÉÈ mÉUqÉç ||7||
1 Aajya dhaarayaa, Like a stream of ghee,

2 srotasaa samam; and like the flow of a river, respectively –
3 Sarala chintanam, are uninterrupted contemplation and
4 viralatah param. spasmodic contemplation, (the former being) the superior.
Meditation or Dhyana is a function that takes place entirely in the mind. The proper
definition of meditation is that it is a single thought-flow or stream directed to the Divine
within. To grasp clearly what meditation is, the Maharshi gives us two similes. When we
understand the similes, we will surely come to know more about what meditation is.
The 2 Similes: Flow of Ghee and Flow of Water:

Each simile has something to contribute towards the understanding of meditation,
and each one also has some disadvantages in doing so fully. Together, they combine well to
fully represent the true practice of meditation.
i) Aajya Dhaarayaa: “Flow of Ghee”. [Oil could also have been used here in place of
the ghee without affecting the meaning, but ghee has the advantage of having holy
connotations, as it is used in all rituals and havans.] When melted ghee flows from one
container to another, the special characteristic we note is that the stream is continuous,
unbroken. The stream may become very thin, but it will not break up. That describes
beautifully the steadiness with which the single thought has to be sustained during
meditation. The single thought must be maintained unbroken by any interruptions to it.
Success in meditation is measured by the duration one can maintain such a single-pointed
state of mind.
The disadvantage of the “ghee simile” when applied to meditation is that the
viscosity of ghee being quite high, there is a difficulty in the flow of the ghee; the flow is
sluggish and restrained to the extent that the ghee is viscous. As a simile, this lends the
following disadvantage: it suggests that meditation, too, is a somewhat sluggish and
difficult process, whereas in fact this is not the case.
This inaccuracy in representation is overcome by going to the next simile.
17
ii) Srotasaa Samam: “Flow of River”. In this simile, the medium chosen is water.
Water has a very low viscosity. Its flow therefore has a spontaneity about it, which is missed
in the flow of ghee. Meditation is very much a spontaneous process. There is a sense of
enjoyment, lightness, freshness and coolness about it that is captured well in the flow of
water in a river. However, the disadvantage of water is that its flow is not steady as ghee. It
flows noisily; splashing and spluttering along the way; and breaks up in continuity when it
arrives at a waterfall, becoming a spray of fine water drops like rain. It has a number of
other features which have no comparison to meditation, such as lots of air bubbles, a layer
of foam on the surface at times, waves or ripples on the surface, and sometimes even
whirlpools.
Thus we see that each simile illustrates different facets of the same process of
meditation. Together they illustrate its steadiness and unbroken thought flow as in ghee,
and its joy and spontaneity as in water.
Uninterrupted and Interrupted Meditation:

Now let us look at this differentiation made in the verse. The first is called Sarala
(uninterrupted) and the second is called Virala (interrupted). These are also described as
unbroken and broken respectively. Other Samskrit terms for them are Aviccheda and
Ccheda respectively.
The tricycle and bicycle example given earlier applies here as well. When a person
begins the practice of meditation, he is unlikely to be successful at it at first go. There will be
many breaks in his concentration, in his power to hold the single thought of the nature of
God for longer than a few seconds.
It is only with much effort and practice that he can succeed to increase the duration
of holding the thought for longer periods. Thus the broken or interrupted Dhyana is natural
for the beginner, and not to be looked down upon. Sadhana takes time and great effort. It is
only in the movies that change happens quickly – an actor has only 2-3 hours to progress
from villain to hero!
Pujya Gurudev used to say, “Hasten slowly”!
There was an anecdote that used to be recounted by the saint, Sadasiva
Brahmendra. He used to say, “In case one desires to get Samadhi at one shot, it is like the
one who sent his son to study the 4 Vedas. On the 5 th day, when his son had not yet
returned, he reasoned thus, ‘He has gone to study the 4 Vedas. It is already the fifth day,
why has he not returned?’
There can be no such rush in Sadhana.
Verse 8: Contemplation Without Duality

pÉåSpÉÉuÉlÉÉiÉç , xÉÉåÅWûÍqÉirÉxÉÉæ |
pÉÉuÉlÉÉÅÍpÉSÉ , mÉÉuÉlÉÏ qÉiÉÉ ||8||
1 Bheda bhaavanaat, Than contemplation with Duality,
2 sah aham iti asau; the “He is me” (Non-dual) type
3 Bhaavanaa abhedaa, of contemplation without Duality,
4 paavanee mataa. is considered by Sruti to be more purifying or holy.
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A word on the thought-flow so far: In verse 4, we began the discussion of Bhakti
Yoga in its most preliminary stage – Pooja – and identified three grades in it. Then in verse 6
we moved on to Japa, the stage just beyond Pooja, and identified three grades in its as well.
In verse 7, we moved on to the third level of Bhakti Sadhana, which is meditation, and dealt
with the external feature that differentiate it – duration of the single-pointed state.
Now, in verse 8, we move even deeper. We are still with meditational practice, but
we now move to the inner feature of the practice. We find that once again there is a factor
which differentiates the practice into two types – in Duality and in Non-duality, i.e. Saguna
and Nirguna meditation; or Bheda and Abheda Bhavana in meditation. This is the ultimate in
differentiating the stages in Bhakti Yoga. Once Non-duality is attained, there is no further
differentiation possible, since there is “other” that it can be compared with!
The overall context of this meditation is within Bhakti Yoga. So the student has to
remember that we are here speaking of meditation from the Bhakta’s perspective.
What is the “Single Thought” in Bhakti Yoga?

In the early stages of contemplation in Bhakti Yoga, the thought that the devotee
holds on to is: “O Lord, Thou art my mother and father. Please protect me!” The devotee at
this stage still feels separate from the Lord, and so he addresses Him in this manner. There is
a sense of the wave meditating on the ocean. The distinction is there. This distinction is
what classifies this stage to be “in Duality”.
But it is not for long…Soon the devotee goes beyond Duality and into Non-duality. He
moves from Bheda Bhavana to Abheda Bhavana, i.e. from seeing himself as different from
God to seeing himself as One with God.
The Culmination of Bhakti Yoga:

This stage of contemplation without Duality is well-known among all saints, and all
the scriptures, as being “sacred, pure, holy, superior, greater.”
The “single thought” changes as the devotee progresses from Duality to Non-duality.
It becomes the thought “SOHAM” – “I am He”, which is identical to the Mahavakyas of the
Upanishads. At this point, there is the merging of Bhakti Yoga Sadhana and Jnana Yoga
Sadhana.
If I am not one with the Lord, God is not in me. Then I have yet to grow further until I
become one. That is where the Bhakta knows he is heading. When the wave realizes that it
is water itself, it has arrived at the Truth. Truth is always respected as the highest Supreme.
This verse describes it as a purifier, very holy and worthy to be worshipped.
In ordinary human love the culmination is complete identity with the beloved. It is
the same in divine love also – the devotee loses himself and becomes one with the Supreme
Reality. As long as the distinction between Lord and the devotee is there, meditation has not
reached its culmination; it has not reached maturity.
The movement of devotion at this pinnacle of Bhakti is that of passing through very
finely defined states until the Para Bhakti stage is reached. To the lay observer, this would
seem like splitting hairs. In most accounts the person at this stage is already recognized as a
great saint. The finer distinctions that Sri Ramana Maharshi makes here is to assist the
student to grasp the fact that the ultimate state of realization of God is the same in all the
four Yogas. The student will see that the unity achieved is the same in quality, although it is
arrived at by a different route from Vedanta.
19
Verifying the Non-Dual State of Realisation
The non-dual state for a Vedantin is verifiable by referring to the scriptures. This
guides the Jnana Yogi in telling him when the peak has been reached. But what about the
Bhakta? How does he tell when he has reached the goal?
The general impulse of the devotee is to NOT want to be one with the Lord. There is
a strong tendency among Bhaktas to want to remain distinct from God as they can then
continue to enjoy the sweetness of loving God. But the Lord takes it as His duty to take His
devotee to the highest even if he does not wish to. He will create the right circumstances for
that to happen. Here is a classic example of how the Lord does this…
The Non-Dual Experience of Sri Ramakrishna:
We study the case of Sri Ramakrishna, the forerunner of the modern renaissance of
Hinduism. Sri Ramakrishna was completely absorbed in devotion to the Divine Mother Kali.
The moment he closed his eyes, he would behold only the Divine Mother. To him one day,
“God sent” the great Vedanta Guru, Sri Totapuri, who offered to take Sri Ramakrishna to the
highest non-dual experience.
Typical of Sri Ramakrishna, he went to the Mother Kali to get Her permission before
following Totapuri. The Mother said, “Yes, take it. I Myself have sent him to you.”
Ramakrishna began his tutelage under Sri Totapuri. Totapuri asked him to close his
eyes. What did he see? Ramakrishna could only behold the Divine Mother. In Vedantic
terms, it meant he was still stuck in form. Sri Totapuri was getting impatient and frustrated.
He picked up a sharp glass piece and pressed it on Sri Ramakrishna’s Trikuti (between the
eyebrows). “What do you see?” Sri Ramakrishna, recounting his experience, said, “I cut my
Mother with the sword of discrimination, and went into the Nirguna state at once!”
This was how God Himself ensures that His devotee is taken ultimately to the
highest non-dual experience.
More Examples:
Acharyaji now took us into example after example in a brilliant account of this most
enthralling state of non-duality or oneness.
A child calls his mother “Mummy”. But if she is also his teacher at school, he has a
problem calling her that. He has to say “Teacher” there – to the same person. In the same
way to change our relation with God to another level, we need not hesitate as there is no
difference. This readiness comes only if we understand clearly what we are doing at every
stage of our growth.
There was another small story of Sri Rama and Hanuman. Lord Rama once played a
game with Hanuman. He asked Hanuman to reply quickly to whatever He said.
Sri Rama started with: Soham – “I am He”.
Hanuman, without thinking, said: Dasoham – “I am Your servant”.
Sri Rama returned with: Sadasoham – “I am always He”.
Hanuman again promptly said: Dasadasoham – “I am the servant of That”.
Sri Rama took it further: Sadasadasoham – “I am always and eternally He”.
Again Hanuman had the same punchline: Dasadasadasoham!
Then Sri Rama said to Hanuman, “All right, I give up. You have won!”
God may give up, but the devotee will never give up God!
20
Verse 9: Supreme Devotion
pÉÉuÉ zÉÔlrÉxÉSè- , pÉÉuÉxÉÑÎxjÉÌiÉÈ |
pÉÉuÉlÉÉoÉsÉÉSè- , pÉÌ£üÂ¨ÉqÉÉ ||9||
1 Bhaava shoonya sad- Devoid of thought modifications, and in the Existence

2 bhaava susthitih; Principle being firmly established
3 Bhaavanaa balata, by the strength of the thought (“He am I”) –
4 bhaktih uttamaa. this is Supreme Devotion.
In the Para Bhakti stage, the devotee finally gets convinced that there is a stage
beyond duality. As much as he would always like to be only subservient to God, the devotee,
when he experiences the all-pervading nature of the Lord, says in exasperation, “How can I
be a broken piece separate from God? Indeed I have to be one with Him.”
The strength of the Soham thought (“I am He”) takes the devotee to that state. This
is the culmination of Bhakti. It is called by various names, but the most common is Para
Bhakti or, as used here, Uttama Bhakti. From Virala to Sarala and from Bheda to Abhedha,
the devotee has grown to the greatest height.
Uttama or Para Bhakti:

He is now free of all thought modifications. This state is so coveted that it is here
described with the auspicious prefix ‘Su’ as “Su-Sthiti” – meaning “the wonderful state, the
most auspicious state”. It is that state of FIRM abidance in the Self. Reaching That, there is
no fall. It is permanent.
This final state is free from all Bhavana or feeling or accompaniment of any
relationship with God. Bhavana is only possible when there is some thought or Duality still in
the mind. Here even that has dissolved, and the devotee is in total oneness.
Acharyaji gave a beautiful comparison of how this is achieved: It is like the thought “I
want to go to sleep” which we repeat when we go to bed. We go on repeating it, until we
finally fall off to sleep, and then that thought also disappears.
This example does not mean that Para Bhakti is some kind of a dreamy state! It is
very sharp, full of power, full of potential. Thought becomes very subtle. It is an all-powerful
state, not a dull state. In its culmination there is no thought, no feeling.
In Swami Chinmayanandaji’s words we have perhaps a unique way of expressing it:
“When the last thought has been thoughted, and no further thought is thoughting…”!
Everything comes step by step. We can be inspired by the great ones. Yes, they will
give us the banana, but we must not expect them to peel it for us as well! Effort will make
us relish it all the more. There is no fun in being spoon-fed.
What more is there to say about this ultimate state? Acharyaji answered this in his
own inimitable style: “Any question about how long it lasts, etc, is simply the ego’s input.
The ego is always very inquisitive, and relishes challenging something that it has no clue
about.”
The Poetic Genius of the Author:

The verse also illustrates the poetic genius and mastery of Sri Ramana Maharshi: The
juxtaposition of “Bhava-Shunya” and “Sad-Bhava” is interesting. There is a play of words
21
here. Bhava is on both sides of the two words that stand for Purity. In Bhavana there is still a
trace of thought, whereas purity and Truth in their absolute sense are beyond thought.
The placement of the words poetically seem to suggest a tussle between Thought
and Purity – for as thought thins out, purity gets established fully. The words are placed as if
Thought is teasing Purity by chasing around it. Although ‘cornered’ from both sides, it is
Purity that emerges victorious!
This was a very good instance of how much Acharyaji tried in his own special way to
inspire us to appreciate the beauty of Samskrit.
Verse 10: The Goal of All Paths

™ixjÉsÉå qÉlÉÈ , xuÉxjÉiÉÉ Ì¢ürÉÉ |
pÉÌ£ürÉÉåaÉ oÉÉå- , kÉÉ¶É ÌlÉÍ¶ÉiÉqÉç ||10||
1 Hrit sthale manah, In the heart, the mind

2 swa-sthataa kriyaa; is made to abide – (this is the goal) of the Path of Action
3 Bhakti yoga bo- the Path of Devotion, the Path of Yoga, and the
4 dhaah cha nishchitam. Path of Jnana. This is firmly shown to be so.
This verse is neither part of this chapter on Bhakti, nor an introduction to the next
chapter on Ashtanga Yoga. It gives the overall message of the entire text, which is to show
that all paths lead to the same goal of Oneness, in different ways.
Chap 1 Chap 2 THIS Chap 3 Chap 4

KARMA YOGA BHAKTI YOGA ASHTANGA YOGA JNANA YOGA
VERSE
The interesting point here is the positioning of the verse. It is a literary feature to
locate it at the very centre of the four parts of this book, with two parts on either side of it.
Located this way it is called “Deheli Deepa Nyaya” [which we have already come across in
Step 38 of Sadhana Panchakam]. In this literary form, it is as if a lamp is positioned at the
common doorway between two rooms so that it lights up both rooms. In this case this
whole verse is that lamp and it applies to the two Yogas before it as well as the two after it.
In other words, the verse “lights up” the entire text; it applies to all the four Yogas.
The comment indicates in a graphic way that all four Yogas lead one to the same goal.
Abidance in the Heart:
Philosophically, the “Heart” represents the original source of our being, our very
core – that is, our Self. Abiding in the Self is being pointed out as the common goal of all the
four Yogas discussed in this book.
The mind is always thinking. To get it to remain focused on one thing is a herculean
task. It is like a goat which can never eat properly because it is always hopping from tuft to
22
tuft without fully eating it. To tame such a mind and finally bring it to abide in the Self is the
achievement of a lifetime.
Swastathe: “abide in itself”. This is another significant word. It carries connotations
of being relaxed, contented, and being well established in the Self. This is referring to
abidance in the Self.
Nischittam: “firmly shown”. This word tells us that it is the considered opinion and
experience of all saints who have experienced this glorious state. The common goal of all
Yogas is something that is not arrived at theoretically but has been proven practically by
saint after saint, treading any of these paths. It is a conclusion well supported by the
accounts of all saints.
*****
23
Part III
ASHTANGA YOGA
The Path of Yoga
Introduction:
This Chapter is for the seeker who is interested in the control of the mind as the
means to attain the realization of the Self. He is the type that enjoys doing Asanas and
Pranayama, which are physical methods to bring the body and the Prana under control and
thereby bring the mind into control.
One who practises this Yoga should have a strong physical constitution, be in
excellent general health, and have a robust body. There is a lot of physical exertion involved
in this path of Yoga.
The type who will fit in very easily for this Yoga is someone who likes to bring his
mind under control. By doing so, he taps the full potential of the mind. The person
practising Raja Yoga – another name for this Yoga – has to have self-discipline to a higher
degree than most people.
The topics related to obtaining such control are discussed in this section of the book.
Ashtanga Yoga was systemized by the great sage Patanjali Maharshi, who has composed the
Patanjali Yoga Sutras describing this Yoga.
Verse 11: Restraint of Prana

uÉÉrÉÑUÉåkÉlÉÉsÉç- , sÉÏrÉiÉå qÉlÉÈ |
eÉÉsÉmÉÎYzÉuÉSè- , UÉåkÉxÉÉkÉlÉqÉç ||11||
1 Vaayu rodhanaat, By the restraint of the Pranas (breathing),

2 leeyate manah; the mind becomes absorbed (or dissolved).
3 Jaala pakshi-vat, Like the net used to ensnare birds,
4 rodha saadhanam. it is a means to keep the mind in check.
By the practice of Pranayama, the mind can be rendered quiet, calm, free from
restlessness, and fit for the practice of further spiritual Sadhanas prescribed for meditation
as per Ashtanga Yoga, or for the absorption in the Self as taught in Jnana Yoga. A quiet and
steady is the basis for such higher practices.
It must be noted especially what the culmination of Pranayama is. It is simply the
quietened state of the mind. It is not absorption in the Self. We will see later why this point
is being highlighted in this verse. There are stages of Ashtanga Yoga that take us further up
in spiritual practice.
“Jaala Pakshi Vat” – The Net for Ensnaring Birds:

The simile used here illustrates how Pranayama assists the Yogi on his path.
24
i) Difficulty in Controlling Mind: The mind is compared to a bird because of the
difficulty in catching it. It is very difficult to trap a bird, but by using a specially designed net,
this can be achieved. In the same way it is difficult to bring the mind under one’s control
because of its nature to jump about from one thought to another. It is much more restless
and difficult to trap than a bird. Pranayama is the net with which the ensnaring of the mind
is rendered possible.
ii) The Mind is Controlled Temporarily: The second aspect of this simile is that the
net ensnares the bird but does not kill it. It is the same with Pranayama. The mind is
rendered quiet, but not destroyed. In order to “destroy” it, which is a necessary part of the
process of the Sadhana, we shall explain later what has still to be done.
iii) The Nature of Mind Remains Unchanged: The third aspect of this simile is this.
When the restraining net is cut, the birds are free to fly away and have their freedom. So,
too, the mind “trapped” by Pranayama is only quietened by force for a particular purpose.
The nature of the mind is still unchanged. If it is given the chance, it will reassert its restless
nature. Nothing has changed in its nature. When the Pranayama is discontinued, the mind
returns to its original state, unless in the interim the Yogi uses the quiet mind to do more
intense Sadhana; for only Sadhana can change the mind’s inherent nature.
An Exercise in Pranayama – Prana Vikshana:

The Pranayama that Sri Ramana Maharshi recommends is called Prana Vikshana, or
“observation of the breath”. This is the King of all Pranayamas. The mind is made to just
observe the breath without enforcing any control over it. Starting by watching the flow of
the breath at the nostrils, one gradually learns to follow it into the lungs and out again. By
keeping the mind attentively focused on the route of the air flow, the mind is rendered calm
in a short space of time.
Other practices also exist, but require to be learnt under the personal guidance of a
qualified teacher as errors in doing them can be rather harmful to one’s physical health and
may even produce harmful results to the mind if done excessively. Briefly, the Pranayama
suggested is to inhale, retain, exhale and retain in the ratio 1:4:2:4.
Verse 12: The Source of Power

ÍcÉ¨ÉuÉÉrÉuÉÈ , ÍcÉÎi¢ürÉÉrÉÑiÉÉÈ |
zÉÉZÉrÉÉå²ïrÉÏ , zÉÌ£üqÉÔsÉMüÉ ||12||
1 Chitta vaayavah, The mind and the vital airs (Prana), respectively,
2 chit kriyaa yutaah; are endowed with knowledge and activising force.
3 shaakhayoh dvayee, These are two branches
4 shakti moolakaa. of the one basic power (of the Lord).
In this verse the connection between the breath and the mind is explained. The mind
is concerned with thinking, and the breath is physically the intake of air. How are the two
related? This close connection is taken up here.
Breathing brings vitality into every part of the human system, whether physical or
mental. If we do not breathe properly, the mind becomes dull very soon. Mental stamina is
25
reduced if our breathing is shallow. If we do a few rounds of deep breathing we feel
energized mentally as well as physically. The mind seems to wake up. This is due to the link
between the two.
How Are Mind and Breath Linked? The Branches Simile:

Sri Ramana Maharshi describes the link with a simile. If one is trying to reach for
fruits on a branch further away, it is usual to pull towards one the branch that is closer. Then
the far branch also gets pulled closer to one’s reach. This is because the branches are
connected at some point before the trunk.
In the same way mind and Prana are two ‘branches’ of a tree. If we cannot reach the
subtle mind, we can pull the grosser Prana-branch. This will have an influence on the mind-
branch as well. It is hard to tell the mind, “Stop, O Desire!” It is easier to tell the Prana,
“Stop, O Breath!”
[Here Acharyaji made some beautiful remarks of how this country is so full of such
wonderful teachings as this. He paid a glowing tribute to the wonder that is India. The
richness of its knowledge is unimaginable. India has a truly unique way of looking at life. It is
a deeply spiritual country, and will ever draw people from outside its borders to sit at its
feet and learn!]
The Mind Gets Its Own Back:

This control of the mind through the breath is very temporary. As mentioned earlier,
if the calm mind has not been put to effective use for spiritual progress, then, when it
regains its freedom, it binges. This means that it hits back at us with vengeance. It gives us a
backlash. Any person who has practised this control will vouch for this statement.
Hence, the spiritual seeker is forewarned not to pursue this practice with the wrong
aim. There are many people who bring their mind under control using the above means
simply to demonstrate this as a feat to a gullible public. They may do so, but the revenge the
mind gets will overcome them very soon.
An Example from the Life of Swami Sivananda: This incident was narrated by a
senior disciple of Swami Sivananda, by name Swami Chaitanyananda. Once the Master told
a group of his disciples: “I had been subsisting only on roti-dhal for months. When an old
man gave me five rupees, what do you think I did? I ran non-stop to Rishikesh, bought 3
seers (kilos) of jalebi (a sweetmeat), and gobbled up the whole thing! Such is the revenge
that the tongue wreaks on our self-control!”
In spiritual Sadhana, the aspirant is always advised never to neglect the purification
of his mind. For this reason Yama and Niyama have been prescribed as the first two steps of
Ashtanga Yoga. Indian spirituality has never been meant for aggrandizing the ego. Purity is
always emphasized at every step.
The Laya State:

Getting into these states through Pranayama is therefore not a sign of spiritual
progress. What we do with the mind in that state is more important. That determines our
progress. The quiet state that we get through doing Pranayama is called Laya. It is an inert
state. It is as good as sleep, the only difference being one still retains his consciousness, and
so Sadhana can be done in such a state if one chooses to.
26
The following verse throws more light on comparing the Laya state with that of a
genuine spiritually uplifting state.
Verse 13: Two States of Mind

sÉrÉÌuÉlÉÉzÉlÉå, EpÉrÉUÉåkÉlÉå |
sÉrÉaÉiÉÇ mÉÑlÉUç-, pÉuÉÌiÉ lÉÉå qÉ×iÉqÉç ||13||
1 Laya vinaashane, Absorption and destruction of the mind, occur respectively

2 ubhaya rodhane; by the restraint (control) of the Prana and of the mind.
3 Laya gatam punah, The mind in absorption once again
4 bhavati na-u mritam. comes back, but never indeed the mind that is ‘dead’.
In this verse the two states of mind as discussed in the previous verse are compared.
The first state, called Mano-Laya, is simply the mind that has been forcefully brought into a
quiet state by using the technique of Pranayama. The second state, called Mano-Nasha, is
when the inherent nature of the mind is overcome (destroyed) by practising spiritual
Sadhana. The former state is nothing in comparison with the latter.
Acharyaji gave an example of one Yogi who used to demonstrate the feat of going
into ‘Samadhi’ using the Pranayama technique. In that state he was ‘stone dead’ to the
world. People could lift him and hurl him as they would a rubber ball, and he would be
unaffected. When he came out of that state, what was his first thought? It was his fees for
performing the feat!
Another person who had asked for water, did not get it and did this Pranayama to
force the mind into the state of quietude. When he came out of that state, the first thing in
his mind was to ask for the water.
The Differences Between Mano-Laya and Mano-Nasha:

i) In Laya, the restless mind has been forcefully restrained into quietude. There is no
change in the nature of the mind. It simply returns to where it was before it went into Laya.
In effect it is as good as, if not worse than, sleep. In sleep there is little or no room for ego to
function. In Laya, the ego can have full play to promote itself. So it can be more harmful
than sleep if not used properly. The mind, upon return from Laya, can give us a backlash.
ii) In Nasha, the restlessness of the mind is removed by educating it not to seek
pleasure in worldly objects. The mind is trained wisely to forego its urge to seek pleasure. Its
inherent nature is altered. This ‘destruction’ of the nature of the mind places the seeker in a
position of advantage to establish himself naturally in the quietened state, without having
to take recourse to Pranayama. The mind, after destruction or partial destruction of its
habitual nature of restlessness, comes back so much the better for it. It has taken a few
more steps towards God. When the mind has been totally destroyed, then it brings the Yogi
to the brink of Self-realisation itself.
The Subjective and Non-Subjective Minds:

We now take a closer look at what is meant by the destruction of the mind.
27
i) The Subjective Mind: The subjective mind corresponds to the mind in the Laya
state, described above.
Firstly, the mind that takes itself to be the body is bound to Samsara or worldliness.
This is known as the subjective mind. When it gets an impulse of desire, it projects it as
Kama, Krodha, etc (the 6 negative qualities). At once, a subjective element is thrown into
the transactions of the mind. Everything is seen from the perspective of the ego-subject.
What is of advantage to it is promoted, and what diminishes its worth is rejected. That is the
standard way of the ego.
ii) The Non-Subjective Mind: The non-subjective mind corresponds to the mind in
the Nasha state described above.
The non-subjective mind does not add a subjective element to its transactions with
the world. It is therefore a non-reactive mind. Through Sadhana it has destroyed the first
level of bondage, namely, Samsara or this world with its objects of attraction and repulsion.
Based on that it goes further and destroys the mind at the next level, namely at the level of
Sukha-Duhkha or joy and sorrow. Then it also destroys the mind at the third level, that of
Raga-Dwesha or likes and dislikes. Then it reaches the fourth level, that of destroying
egoism itself. And finally it reaches the fifth level of destruction, which is the destruction of
Ajnana or Ignorance. The Nasha has to be seen as taking place at each of these levels. It is
quite an exhaustive process and eliminates every trace of the ego’s tendency to run
outwards. This is the detailed meaning of the Mano Nasha state.
Such a non-subjective mind, which has undergone all these changes at each level,
never returns to its old selfish desire state, it goes beyond joy and sorrow, it goes beyond
likes and dislikes, it goes beyond the egocentric personality, and it also transcends the mass
of Ignorance in which it was clouded. Such a mind has truly freed itself from all the chains of
bondage and become liberated.
The Essential Qualitative Difference:

Externally, both the above types appear to be the same. The man sitting in Laya
Samadhi and the man sitting in true Samadhi resulting from Mano Nasha, both appear to be
the same. But they are poles apart in quality.
The man in mere Laya state goes into Samadhi as a worm and comes out of it still a
worm. The man in the Nasha state goes in as a worm and comes out as a fluttering butterly,
liberated forever from the prison of his limited body and mind equipment.
There is an ocean of difference between these two states.
The next verse tells how to utilize the mind in Laya to make it into a mind in Nasha.
Verse 14: Means to Reach These States

mÉëÉhÉoÉlkÉlÉÉsÉç- , sÉÏlÉqÉÉlÉxÉqÉç |
LMüÍcÉliÉlÉÉlÉç- , lÉÉzÉqÉåirÉSÈ ||14||
1 Praana bandhanaat, By the restraint of the vital airs,

2 leena maanasam; the mind gets absorbed;
3 Eka chintanaat, By contemplation upon that One,
4 naasham iti adah. the same (absorbed) mind gets destroyed.
28
The Mind in Laya:
The state of Mano Laya is not to be criticized. It is a good thing to have attained a
quiet mind; it is no joke to achieve this. Most people find that impossible. They are
perpetually subjected to the captivity of the mind, except for the brief relief they get during
sleep. So to be freed from the mind’s captivity may in itself be a victory of some sort for
most people. However, having done that, the important thing is the next step.
We cannot waste the opportunity of having a quiet mind in our hands. We rarely get
this chance. Sri Ramana Maharshi tells us that such a mind is put to its best use by making it
contemplate on the Self. A quiet mind is meant for knowledge, so we must give it that.
The Laya mind does not possess the impulse to seek knowledge. It is an inert state.
The impulse comes from one’s desire to know and to realize God.
“Eka Chintanam” – The Contemplation on the One:

Let the Laya mind be used to reflect upon the Self. It is quiet. It has no disturbance.
That is the best time to do Self-contemplation. The instrument of the mind is as we would
want it to be – sharp and focused, with no distractions. What better use can we put it to?
A Laya mind has no Sajatiya-Vijatiya Bheda (differences with any object outside); nor
has it any Swagata Bheda (differences with any internal object). It has been stripped already
of all these disturbances. It is a meditator’s dream to have such an instrument available to
him for silent contemplation!
We keep the mind thus engaged and reflecting on the Self within. By prolonged
practice the individuality is bound to crack, dissolve and get destroyed. This is what the
verse holds out to us. Destruction of the mind should not alarm us; it is not something to be
feared. The aim is to destroy the restlessness of the mind, which has ever been the bane of
all human drama.
Chitta Ekagrata (one-pointedness of mind) is called Dharana in Ashtanga Yoga. In this
practice we bind the mind to something ennobling that will destroy ignorance. We should
destroy something worth destroying – something whose destruction would release us from
bondage once and for all. Otherwise we will come out of the Laya as the same “idiot” that
we went into it as.
The Maharshi is quite firm on the matter that there is no other way to destroy the
mind but the contemplation of the Self. This happens in all of the Yogas in their advanced
stage. Anything else we do with the mind in Laya would return us to the same old ‘fool’s
paradise that we are already in. That is not worth it.
The Mind in Mano-Nasha:

Although we have discussed this state in some detail in the previous verse, we can
summarise it here as follows:
i) No “Chain of Ignorance”: namely, attachment to worldliness or Samsara  Joy and
Sorrow  Likes and Dislikes  Egoism  Ignorance or Ajnana. This has been called the
Anartha Parampara, or the Inauspicious Lineage. It may also be termed the “Desire-lineage”
or “Lineage of Calamity”. We have come across it already in Atma Bodha.
ii) No Samsara: Worldliness no longer binds the mind – it is like a burnt rope.
iii) No Karma: Such a mind is freed from Karma. Karma is rendered “actionless”; it is
like drawing a line in water. Karma loses all its sting!
29
iv) The Mind is Pure Consciousness: Such a mind is nothing but consciousness. By
destroying the most essential part of the mind, i.e. its restlessness, such a mind cannot be
called a mind anymore; it is none other than the Self or pure consciousness itself.
v) The Mind is Destroyed: Just as sugar is not sugar when “sweet-ness” is removed
from it, mind is not mind when ‘mind-ness’ is removed from it.
vi) Utkrishta Yogi: A person, having destroyed his mind, becomes known by this
term in Ashtanga Yoga. The next verse describes him further…
Verse 15: State of the Utkrishta Yogi

lÉ¹qÉÉlÉxÉÉå- , iM×ü¹rÉÉåÌaÉlÉÈ |
M×üirÉqÉÎxiÉ ÌMÇü , xuÉÎxjÉÌiÉÇ rÉiÉÈ ||15||
1 Nashta maanasah, Whose mind has been destroyed,

2 utkrishta yoginah; for such an exalted (Utkrishta) Yogi or sage,
3 krityam asti kim, Is there anything further to be done? No, indeed,
4 swasthitim yatah. since he has already gained abidance in the Self.
The Yogi who has destroyed his mind becomes an Utkrishta Yogi. The one who
remains unchanged after the Laya state is called a Nikrishta Yogi. The main focus in this
verse is the Utkrishta Yogi, but before we describe more of him, let us see what the
Nikrishta Yogi’s life is like.
The Nikrishta Yogi:

If contemplation on the Self has not been this Yogi’s objective, then the achievement
of Laya becomes a mere exercise in mental gymnastics. The person carries the same old
mind with all its desires, now perhaps more intensified since ‘performing’ such feats as
pseudo-Samadhi is sure to attract a lot of attention towards him. This would intensify his
desire for name and fame. He will certainly not have the strength to ward off that attention;
for that strength comes only to one who applies his mind to contemplate on the Self.
In the Nikrishta Yogi, Ego is still not conquered. On top of that, power is now heaped
onto him, his access to superhuman powers gives him some recognition in society and so a
“divine power” is also there. All these three things are a terrible combination. If such a one
gets angry, he can be very hard to bear.
In the Nikrishta Yogi we see the full play of the “Lineage of Calamity”.
Such a Yogi gets caught in the trap of actions. He can use the Laya state to focus his
mind on various Chakras in the body and thus acquire Siddhis or super-sensory powers.
Using these powers he may, for instance, be able to interpret a conversation between two
squirrels. He may thrill people with that power, but of what spiritual benefit is that? It is well
said, “If you want Namaskar, do some Chamatkar!” [Chamatkar means ‘magic’.]
Such a Yogi may develop the power to know another’s name and many other things.
These are talents only. They do not reflect any spiritual growth. For that reason these
Siddhis can be enormously distracting to a sincere aspirant.
The advice given to an aspirant is to keep far away from such psycho-physical Siddhis
or supernatural powers. Have nothing to do with them. They are considered by the realized
30
saints as huge distractions. Once caught in their net, to get out of its clutches is a near
impossibility.
The Utkrishta Yogi:

This is the exemplary Yogi. For the sage who has annihilated his mind, and realized
that he is the Self, what is there for him to be done? The answer implied in Pada 3 is
“Nothing!”
In this world, doing nothing is frowned upon. People do not like to see anybody
‘doing nothing’, even if there is nothing to do! Worse still is the attitude towards someone
who has no duty. Such a person is criticized for being irresponsible and not contributing to
the progress of society. Let us therefore see what this ‘nothing’ actually means.
Where does the drive to act come from? – From discontent. The signature of
discontent is Desire. In the ordinary person, discontent makes him seek something fulfilling
to quench it. It arises from a sense of want, or incompleteness in life. Desire arises. In the
hunt to satisfy desire, arises the chain referred to earlier as the “Desire-lineage”.
In the Utkrishta Yogi, there is no discontent, hence no desire to act to feel fulfilled or
happy, because he is already happy. He has found the fountain of Happiness. There is no
urgency to act to get happiness. There is no compulsion to DO anything. If he does do
anything it is not part of the “Desire-Lineage”.
He may if he chooses, help others to attain the same state. He may even act to bring
happiness to others. But these actions are not done to find happiness, for happiness he has
already found.
Abidance in the Self brings one the greatest happiness. It is the nature of the Self to
be all-Bliss.
The Ajnani does FOR happiness;

The Jnani does FROM happiness!
The Sense of Duty:

The sense of duty comes from a role that society gives us. That role is based on
giving objective reality to what we are seeing in this world. To a Jnani who sees this world
differently, his sense of duty will certainly clash with ours. We may not like what he does out
of his sense of duty, because we do not understand life from his perspective.
Acharyaji used Dream to provide three analogies explaining this confusion:
i) Suppose someone has just woken up from a dream in which he was dealing with a
number of people. Upon waking, what is his duty towards those people?
ii) Suppose a person had a dream in which he married a girl that he knew. On waking
if he behaved as though that were a fact, he would receive the usual treatment – probably a
slap on his face.
iii) Suppose one made a to-do list in his dream. On waking, would he go about
executing that list?
The point is that the Jnani has a different relationship with the world than we do.
There is no sense of duty for him as we know it. We cannot judge such a great being from
our narrow standpoint.
31
Acharyaji quoted a delightful story of a child who was told by his parents that God
always watched what he did, and so he should do everything correctly. The child one day
could not resist opening the fridge to take some chocolate that was there. As he opened the
door, he heard a voice behind him: “I am watching you!” The boy got a fright and stood still.
The voice continued, “You see, I am always with you,.…… so please take two!”
The scriptural injunctions about duty are applicable to one who is bound by likes and
dislikes, who sees the world as a place to compete for objects of pleasure. For such a person
rules and regulations – called Vidhi & Nishidha – are necessary to keep a check on his greed.
In the case of a Jnani who has transcended this urge to seek pleasure in the world, these
rules are become superfluous. Even the scriptures cannot prescribe what he should or
should not do. The scriptures themselves give him the freedom to act ‘as he pleases’.
Needless to say, such a Mahatma never abuses this privilege. The way he acts out of
such a realization makes him the most fitting person to protect and uphold the scriptures.
He becomes an umbrella for the scriptures. Saints are truly selfless and hence the true
protectors of Dharma.
For one who is inherently good, free from Raga and Dwesha, who is naturally
upright, who is not sacred but sacredness itself – what is the need for duty and rules?
The very breathing of such saints purifies this earth!
Verse 16: Vision of Reality

SØzrÉuÉÉËUiÉÇ , ÍcÉ¨ÉqÉÉiqÉlÉÈ |
ÍcÉüÉSzÉïlÉÇ , iÉüÉSzÉïlÉqÉç ||16||
1 Drishya-vaaritam, Withdrawn from the ‘seen’ (the objects),

2 chittam aatmanah; the mind, as it were, of its own accord,
3 chittva darshanam, has the vision of the form of Consciousness;
4 tattva darshanam. this is the Vision of Reality!
The final stage of Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is described in this verse.
The mind that is ‘destroyed’, which does not run after objects, is itself declared to be
Consciousness. This is the revelation in this verse, which will turn many necks. That state of
total annihilation of the mind, requiring its withdrawal from the sense objects, is nothing
but Consciousness. Not only that, it is the ultimate vision of Reality or Self-realisation.
To understand this we first look at two very basic definitions:
i) What is the mind? – A flow of thoughts.
ii) What is a thought? – Only an awareness of an object.
In mathematical language, this is:
i) Mind = Thought + Thought + Thought ….

ii) Awareness + Object = Thought
iii) therefore, Mind = Awareness + (Objects + Object + Object …)
32
We can now understand more clearly the following four deductions that stem from
the last equation:
i) If object changes, thought will change; awareness remains the same. As we allow
the mind to jump from object to object, thoughts keep arising in it. To control the thought
we need to stop the objects from changing.
ii) If we remove the object from thought, only awareness remains. As we do this to
many objects one at a time, the mind only becomes a flow of Awareness!
iii) Looked at another way: Our mind goes out, ‘feeding’ on objects. We can ‘starve’
the mind of its food. Is it possible to do such a thing – to hold the mind objectless? If that is
done, then it has to abide in itself, which is Awareness!
iv) Drishya is the one who is seeing or experiencing. It is the consciousness in us.
When in partnership with the mind, the Drishya becomes the subject. When in partnership
with the world of names and forms, the Drishya becomes the object. Thus, consciousness
delimited by the mind is the subject; and consciousness delimited by the names and forms is
the object.
Subject and object are simply two waves in the ocean o consciousness. The whole
world play is a series of these subject/object relationships. It is an endless drama. The mind
that separates itself from these subject/object distinctions by de-focussing itself from both
these waves, becomes the experience of pure consciousness, that is, of Reality itself!
The Culmination of Ashtanga Yoga:

The Yogi, during the processes of Dharana and Dhyana, that is concentration and
meditation, does just that. He does not give reality to subject and object. The dichotomy
between subject and object is negated. When the Drishya has no subject or object to get
into partnership with, what remains is pure consciousness.
The search for the Reality ends in the mind itself. The mind, when freed from
restlessness by not permitting itself to have any relationship with either object or subject, is
found to be none other than pure consciousness. There is no ‘ego-consciousness’ left, since
the subject ‘I’ has been treated as just another ‘object’ and eliminated. The objectless mind
is pure Consciousness.
This – in theory, of course – is the culmination of Ashtanga Yoga. The Yogi becomes
firmly established in his real nature.
*****
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Part IV
JNANA YOGA
The Path of Knowledge
Verse 17: What is Mind?

qÉÉlÉxÉÇ iÉÑ ÌMÇü , qÉÉaÉïhÉå M×üiÉå |
lÉæuÉ qÉÉlÉxÉÇ , qÉÉaÉï AÉeÉïuÉÉiÉç ||17||
1 Maanasam tu kim, Now, “What is the Mind?” –

2 maargane krite; after having thus enquired,
3 Na eva maanasam, (we realize that) there is nothing called the mind.
4 maarga aarjavaat. There is a directness in this path.
The path of Jnana Yoga as described by Sri Ramana Maharshi is characterized by its
directness of approach. To the great Maharshi, the straight route, being the shortest, was
the preferred route. Here, in his characteristic fashion he introduces and concludes the
enquiry into the mind in the same sentence!
What Really Differentiates Jnana Yoga From Other Paths?

We have completed three Yogas and now come to the last to be discussed in this
text – Jnana Yoga. This was the Maharshi’s chosen path; it came to him naturally from the
age of 16. There are many approaches to arriving at the Truth, and we have seen how
Karma, Bhakti and Ashtanga Yogas differ in their manner of taming the mind.
All three paths discussed so far bring the mind into the focal point sooner or later
during the progress of Sadhana. In Karma Yoga Sadhana start by performing actions with the
right attitude so that clarity and purity of mind are brought about and eventually the
Sadhaka has a clear and clean mind to deal with.
In Bhakti Yoga, the starting point is external Pooja of an idol, which soon develops
and brings the devotee to Manasic Pooja or mental worship which we call Dhyana or
meditation. Once in the mind, the Sadhana takes the course of going to subtler levels of the
mind.
And in Ashtanga Yoga we see how the Yogi starts by attempting to bring his mind to
the Laya state of blankness through control of the breath, so that from that state he can
launch his practice of nullifying his negative tendencies (Vasanas) and begin to spend more
time in Self-abidance.
All three, in different ways, do more or less the same thing – they bring the mind to
the centre stage of the Sadhana process. In Jnana Yoga, there is a completely different
approach. It bears no resemblance to what has been attempted in these earlier Yogas. Its
approach is another class altogether.
34
The Path of Self-Enquiry in a Nutshell
The Maharshi takes one deep look at the mind, and concludes that it is unreal. Once
this is accepted by the seeker, the rest of the work is to make the ascent to the peak of
realization. There is a directness in the path which is rather stunning. Where is the service,
the worship, the mental struggle that we saw earlier? The intellectual path bypasses much
of these preparatory Sadhanas, which go as spirituality among the majority of mankind.
There is one very important pre-condition to this Yoga, and it is very significant. The
seeker that starts this enquiry into Truth has to be a qualified person. He has to have that
special quality of detachment, that spirit of bold enquiry which comes from courage to face
oneself, a high degree of purity and capacity to remain an independent observer of himself.
These are giant conditions, and the other three Yogas are where he would most
likely cultivate them. So clearly, there is an integration among all the paths discussed in the
book, with Jnana Yoga offered as the direct means, if the student is ready for it.
Swami Vivekananda was one such qualified student who took this path and
succeeded. Yet, in his speech at the Parliament of Religions, he gives credit to all paths of
approach to the Divine. “The Lord alone is to be reached, whatever the means to Him may
be; they are all rivers leading to the same ocean.”
There are many ways of handling an imaginary snake that comes to the house. We
may thrash it to death; we may tempt it away with food; we may threaten it away, etc. A
totally different category of approach is to give it a good stare! Ask the question: Is it really a
snake? Anything that is false cannot stand the glare of Truth. It simply vanishes.
This is the core difference in approach in Jnana Yoga. From the very outset, reality is
denied to the mind, and it is thus simply by-passed. Agreed, it has to be an exceptional
person who can achieve success in such an approach.
More on the Directness of Approach:

There is no insistence on the externals of religion and spirituality. Jnana Yoga takes
one straight to the core and crux of spirituality. By-passing the mind sounds an impossibility
but it has to be seen from the seeker’s angle. The seeker who is ready for such impassionate
treatment of himself, can do it, and his path becomes immensely shortened by the courage
he brings to the Sadhana.
If the mind is accepted, we get involved in a full-pronged attack on it. The mind is
then seen as an ‘enemy’. Much effort goes in taming, inducing and coaxing it to change its
ways; in quietening, purifying and subduing it to change its inherent nature. All this for
something which is unreal! – Is it worth all that trouble? That provides the basic impulse to
the Jnani to bypass it altogether.
In Jnana Yoga, we do not question the mind. We only ask, “What is the mind?” We
enquire deeply into its nature, its form, its status, and its very existence. “Is it there?”
The mind’s existence is taken for granted in the other paths, but not in Jnana Yoga.
An ant can get to the top of a building in various ways, struggling most of the way. A
monkey may get there quicker, but still he would have to do a lot of hopping around. But it
takes a bird to simply fly straight to the top. That ‘bird’ among Yogas is Jnana Yoga.
When faced with illusion, the Jnani looks at it straight in the face. It then fizzles out.
It cannot find a place to hide itself. When that is done, the Maharshi suggests the next step.
35
Verse 18: “I-thought” is Mind
uÉ×¨ÉrÉxiuÉWÇû- , uÉ×Ì¨ÉqÉÉÍ´ÉiÉÉÈ |
uÉ×¨ÉrÉÉå qÉlÉÉå , ÌuÉ®èrÉWÇû qÉlÉÈ ||18||
1 Vrittayah tu aham, Now know that all thoughts have the “I”,
2 vrittim aashritaah; they are dependent on the “I-thought”
3 Vrittayah manah, The mind is a bundle of thoughts.
4 viddhi aham manah. Thus, know the “I-thought” to be the mind.
We had come to this step in our discussion of Ashtanga Yoga. There we came to an
equation where we said Mind equals a stream of thoughts. There the procedure went on to
eliminate the objects and the subject from the equation so that the net result would be
Mind equals the Self.
In Jnana Yoga, taking the same starting equation, the Jnani identifies what the root
thought is and works on it – in its own characteristic manner, namely, giving it a good stare!
We shall see that in the next verse, but for now the concept of all thoughts hinging on one
single thought, called the “I”-thought, is examined.
Splitting A Thought into Its Two Components:

To understand “All thoughts depend on the I-thought”, we take a simple thought and
examine it: “I know a flower”. We divide this thought into its two components: one is the
object and one the subject:
i) Idam Vritti: This is the objective part. The flower is the object of this thought.
Thought centred upon a flower becomes “I know a flower”. This objective part is seen to be
the changeable aspect of thought. If the flower changes, for example to “sun”, the thought
also has to change, there is no choice in the matter. Even when the two are related, as in
“sunflower”, the thought produced becomes a third thought, different from the other two.
If the flower withers, the “withered flower” is a fourth thought.
One’s feelings also can change with the changing object. One may like a flower that
is fresh, but when it withers, the same object loses its hold on the mind, producing a
different feeling. The feeling produced by a thought is yet another new thought all its own.
It is simply related to the previous thought. Thus thoughts become interdependent and
increase in number and complexity.
ii) Aham Vritti: Independent of the object is another part of the thought – I know.
This is the subjective part. We find that such a thought exists all the time in the mind. We
can call it the “I am” thought (Aham = “I am”). This is the changeless aspect of the thought.
It is found attached to all our thoughts. Every thought that crosses the mind has this I-
thought attached to it as its subject. Nothing escapes this I-thought.
A very unusual case of the “I-thought” occurs in a sentence such as “I know the Self”.
As with a flower, the Self stands here as the object. But can it ever be the object? The Self is
the real “I” within, and is always the subject. The sentence is an example of how we
erroneously try to look for the Self as an object outside ourselves! The search for God is not
the search for an “object” outside.
36
Relating the Two Components
The two parts do have a relationship. ‘Idam’ cannot exist without the ‘Aham’. The
Aham helps us to connect to the Idam. The Aham is thus more subtle. All Idam rests on the
Aham. The Aham remains the quotient in all thoughts.
Thus, the statement “All thoughts depend on the I-thought” is explained. If we are to
make anything of the mind, we need to get to the root of the Aham Vritti of our thoughts.
The approach taken by Jnana Yoga is therefore direct :
Ignore the changing aspect or Idam Vritti, and try to get to the
bottom of the Aham-Vritti. Then we shall solve the riddle of Mind.
The process of doing this is called Self-enquiry, and we begin with it in the next
verse.
Verse 19: Self-Enquiry

AWûqÉrÉÇ MÑüiÉÉå , pÉuÉÌiÉ ÍcÉluÉiÉÈ |
AÌrÉ mÉiÉirÉWÇû , ÌlÉeÉÌuÉcÉÉUhÉqÉç ||19||
1 Aham ayam kutah, “From where does this ‘I-thought’

2 bhavati chinvatah; arise?” For one who enquires thus,
3 Ayi patati aham, the “I-thought” falls away.
4 nija vichaaranam. This process is called Self-enquiry.
Having decided to converge on the ‘I-thought’ with our enquiry, we are asked by the
Maharshi to enquire, “Where does it arise from?”
In ordinary life, we take it for granted that we are the doer (Karta), the enjoyer
(Bhokta) and the knower (Jnata). The Jnani goes deeper into this assumption. Who is this ‘I’
that acts, enjoys and knows? Where does it come from? By probing into the bottom of this
enquiry, i.e. to its logical conclusion, we discover that it cannot stand the glare of our
enquiry and dies off a natural death. This is the basis of the Unreality we gave to the mind in
the opening verse on Jnana Yoga, verse 17.
Establishing the Experience of I-Thought:

It may sound rather theoretical to experience the truth about the I-thought, but it is
not as difficult as it may appear. Anyone can experience it for a few minutes at least, just as
anyone can do one ‘push-up’ exercise. To do more ‘push-ups’ will require more practice.
Similarly, to extend the experience of seeing the I-thought alone will require more practice
or Sadhana, but a ‘taste’ of it can be had with a little effort.
The Idam and Aham Vrittis separate for us the two parts of our mind. The Idam Vritti
tells us of the superficial or outer part of mind; and the Aham Vritti tells us of the deeper,
inner or essential part of mind. This deeper mind or the core of the mind, being the Aham, is
the subjective mind. The Idam Vritti need not take up our attention any more as it will only
lead us deeper into the object.
37
Thus we see that the Maharshi’s instruction to know the ‘I-thought’ means going to
the core of our subjective mind. That is where our investigation should be directed. This is
what he directs us to in his famous instruction, “Who am I?”
Such an enquiry has to be made from personal conviction. We must make Sri
Ramana Maharshi’s question our question. Then alone would we have the intensity of
enquiry to get the answer he obtained. It has to be a life and death enquiry for us as it was
for the Maharshi.
This enquiry into the ‘I-thought’ should not become a mechanical process. It is not a
Japa that we just repeat to ourselves. It requires us to be fully alert of our state of mind.
Being alert is equivalent to being aware. We need to bring the greatest possible awareness
to this enquiry in order to detect the source of the ‘I’.
The Story of “Mani-Mama”: The Mysterious Wedding Guest

We now had the following beautiful story told to us to illustrate all this:
Preparations are being made for a wedding ceremony. Kamala is getting married to
Venugopal. Arrangements are to be made for so many things. The day before the wedding,
a man walks into the bride’s house and introduces himself as “Mani Mama”, the uncle. The
bride’s party welcomes him, taking him to be an uncle of the groom. Mani Mama asks for
the list of the arrangements, saying that he was just doing his duty to check if everything is
in order. He looked at the food list. Seeing that brinjal curry was missing, he added it to the
list. The bride’s party did not question it. They did not want to make an issue of a small thing
like that, so they included it in their last-minute shopping list.
Then Mani Mama went to the groom and introduced himself there in the same way.
There, too, the groom’s side took him to be a relative of the bride and welcomed him. Mani
Mama enquired about the sari gifts. He looked at the saris and said, “The red border is not
suitable, it should be pink.” The groom’s party thought it better to just accommodate the
strange suggestion although it would mean making last-minute changes. They also did it just
to avoid problems.
Mani Mama did this again with both parties. Mani Mama was having a good time
being entertained by the two families, and enjoying his influence in the proceedings. Both
parties however were uncomfortable having such a ‘nosey’ visitor around, bossing over
them.
On the wedding day, when the parties met, the subject of Mani Mama was
uppermost in their inquisitive minds. They made polite enquiries about him. No one knew
him. Then it was discovered that Mani Mama was a cheat. He did not belong to either party.
It goes without saying that he never turned up at the wedding!
The ‘I-thought’ is Mani Mama. When we pursue his identity, he cannot stand the
searchlight – because he is an IMPOSTER!
He does not come from the gross body, the bride’s party. And he does not come
from the subtle body either, the groom’s party. He cannot be the Self, creating so much
sorrow and stress everywhere. So who could he be? – Just an impostor, who flees when
hunted down by Self-enquiry!
This impostor called the ‘I-thought’ holds the Jiva to ransom, as it were. He has no
response when we ask him who he is. He is a coward when he is found out, and shows us a
clean pair of heels!
38
What is the greatest bluff in our lives? The Vedantin says, “It is the ‘I-thought’.” The
Ego thus masquerades as the Self. And to think that it is there in every thought – what fools
are we to allow him into our mind-home!
Verse 20: Destruction of Ego
AWûÍqÉ lÉÉzÉpÉÉeÉç- , rÉWûqÉWÇûiÉrÉÉ |

xTÑüUÌiÉ ™ixuÉrÉÇ , mÉUqÉmÉÔhÉïxÉiÉç ||20||
1 Ahami naasha bhaa- When the Ego (Ahamkara) is destroyed,

2 ji, aham-aham tayaa; then, as “I”, the sense of pure “I-ness”
3 sphurati hrit-swayam, shines forth of Its own accord,
4 parama poorna sat. the Supreme, Infinite, Existence.
When we enquired into the ‘I-thought’, we found that it had two parts to it, the
subject and the object. How did the ‘I’ get associated with these two parts, which are
opposite to each other? The answer: We were inattentive, and the ego crept into our life
and took over. Many problems in life arise because of lack of attention.
And so by turning on the searchlight on the ego and tracking it down, we have come
to a point where we discover that it has gone into ‘hiding’ or disappeared. This verse takes
up the thread of our evolution from this discovery onward.
“Aham Nasha-Bhaji” – When the Ego is Destroyed:

When we discover that Ego = Zero, we are not losing anything. To the ordinary
person, destruction of ego means death, death of his entire personality. It is a cause for
great fear to have to lose one’s personality. But, that is only in our limited view. The person
who has come up to this stage, welcomes the freedom he enjoys from being out of the
clutches of his ego. It is a great relief to him. In fact, the etymological meaning of the phrase
Aham Nasha Bhaji is, “when the ego has enjoyed its destruction”!
This can best be understood not from a theoretical standpoint, but by actually
feeling the hollowness of the ego. The destruction of the ego is only possible in one whom
the longing for God has intensified to a point where nothing else is desired but to be free.
Such a person would appreciate Aham Nasha Bhaji, and the step that follows…
The Self Shines Forth:

The pure Self is not a state of blankness or Shunya, which we may imagine because
there is no supporting ego. Likes and dislikes do not apply in that realm. The Self shines
forth (Sphurati). There is a sense in this description that we are now experiencing our real
Self, and enjoying its constancy.
The shine of the Self is uniform, not subject to the ups and downs experienced by
the ego. It is described here as “Parama Poorna Sat”, which is the Supreme Infinite
Existence. In Acharyaji’s words, “The Self shines to itself, by itself, for itself, from itself, and
in itself.” Life in the Self is unlimited, as there is no body, mind and intellect to restrain it.
39
More Light on “Ego-less Existence”:
To assist students to grasp the unusual state of being without an ego, Acharyaji
spent a great deal of time explaining the new situation, relative to our current experience.
Grasping ego-less existence intellectually can be quite demanding. The mind always
tries to understand by comparison, and here we have nothing to compare egoless-ness to.
However, if we give the matter a serious thought, we can grasp it.
To begin with, we accept that it is just the ‘I-thought’ that is very troublesome.
Removing it removes the self-centred nature of our existence. The expanded consciousness
of living in the Self welcomes that; indeed it can happen only when this narrow outlook has
been removed.
Knowledge of one’s surroundings is still present. If a thorn pricks a realized saint, he
will know of it. The normal channels of perception and feeling are still wide open, perhaps
now with greater intensity as the awareness has heightened considerably. The point is that
knowledge continues as before. Knowledge has never been a problem, only the ego-
centredness associated with it has been problematic. Without ego, the knowledge that we
receive from our senses can be used for higher purposes, for the greater good rather than
just to serve the interests of the ego.
The combination of subject to object is a problem to us only whilst we are in ego-
consciousness. Because of it, everything we observe becomes coloured with ‘I’ and ‘mine’.
Since we never question this colouring given by the ego, we never have a chance to grasp
the truth of how we are being misled. Society, too, always encourages this sense of
separation in us. The feeling of individuality becomes more strengthened by the society we
live in.
Thus, the ‘I-thought’ is rooted out from the mind, only when we refuse to give the
body, mind and intellect more than just what is its due. We simply refuse to give it reality
anymore. They are used as our instruments just to carry out the usual transactions in the
world, nothing more.
The “Parama Poorna” or all-full state of the Self is suggestive of total contentment in
the Self. These two words may be replaced by a hundred other epithets for the Self-realised
state, but they express the essential state very clearly. It is the natural outcome of a life in
tune with our True Self…
Verse 21: The True Self

CSqÉWÇû mÉSÉ- , ÅÍpÉZrÉqÉluÉWûqÉç |
AWûÍqÉ sÉÏlÉMåüÅmÉç- , rÉsÉrÉ xÉ¨ÉrÉÉ ||21||
1 Idam aham pada, aa- By the word ‘Aham’ this very Self is indicated –
2 bhikhyam anu aham; when the individual “I” is traced back to its source;
3 Ahami leenake api, then the total “I” also comes to an end; and
4 alaya sattayaa. the true “I” shines due to its indestructible nature.
40
What Are the Three ‘I’s?
As brought out by Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji in the commentary, there are three
‘I’s being referred to, and it is for clarity that we list these first:
i) The True “I” or Pure Self: This is the unchanging sense of ‘I’ we experience at all
times, from birth till death. It is the indestructible Presence of mind, or awareness that
makes us conscious of all experiences.
ii) The Individual “I” or Ego: This is the sense of ‘I’-ness felt as a result of our
association with our body, mind and intellect. It relates us in a limited way to all objects and
sense perceptions. It is also responsible for the sense of possession we feel in thoughts.
iii) The Total “I” or Ishwara or Cosmic “I”: Relative to the microcosmic individual,
there has to exist the macrocosmic Total ‘I’, which is the cosmic aspect of the same basic
Unreality as the individual. As Guruji puts it, “The Jiva and Ishwara enjoy the same degree of
reality.” The verse shows us how these three ‘I’s are related…
The Two Interpretations:

There are two interpretations, based on how the word Anvaham (Anu + Aham) is
translated:
i) As per our textbook, it means “following the merger (destruction) of the ‘I’”, i.e.
“tracing the ‘I’ back to its origin”;
ii) From the Tamil original, it can mean “daily”, i.e. “continuously”.
There is a subtle difference between these two:
i) The main point in the first becomes the result of the destruction of the individual
ego. The result is two-fold: a) the total ‘I’ or Ishwara also gets destroyed with it; and b) the
Self shines forth, implying that earlier it was overshadowed by the ego-‘I’.
ii) The main point in the second is that the true ‘I’, the Self, is always or continuously
present and shining as it is indestructible, whether or not the other two ‘I’s are present. In
deep sleep, for instance, the individual ‘I’ is not present, but still the Self shines, and this is
happening daily.
In either case, the point is made that the individual ‘I’ and the Total ‘I’ are inter-
related and dependent on each other, hence both get destroyed simultaneously. The
Totality is defined relative to the existence of the individual. If the individual ego is
destroyed, the total ‘I’ must also follow the same destruction at that very moment.
Also in both cases, the true identity of ‘I’ is shown to be the Supreme indestructible
Self. The only difference is that this fact comes through with differing emphasis in the two
interpretations.
Verse 22: Absolute Existence

ÌuÉaÉëWåûÎlSìrÉ , mÉëÉhÉkÉÏiÉqÉÈ |
lÉÉWûqÉåMüxÉiÉç , iÉ‹QÇû ½xÉiÉç ||22||
1 Vigraha indriya, The physical body and the sense organs,

2 praana dhee tamah; the Prana, the intellect and cosmic ignorance –
3 Na aham ekasat, I am not these, but the one Supreme Existence;
4 tat jadam hi asat. they are, indeed, inert and non-existent.
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We used the above statement to explain the destruction of the ‘I-thought’ earlier,
but it was not part of the text. Now, Sri Ramana Maharshi is stating it himself, for the first
time. He is now giving us the basis for saying the ‘I-thought’ disappears.
In Tattwa Bodha we used ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’ as evidence to conclude that these
bodies are not the Self. Here, Sri Ramana Maharshi comes to the same conclusion using
their inertness and non-existence as the evidence.
How we get to the root of the question “Who am I?” may differ, but the important
point is to get to it. This is the Maharshi’s standard question to all seekers who came to him
for spiritual guidance.
The Logic of Destroying the Ego Sense:

i) Its Changeability: The main reason is that the Ahamkara keeps changing. With
every association, the ego changes its colour like a chameleon. The Self, on the other hand,
is constant. It is always there, whether Ahamkara is there or not. Thus the Self is declared to
be the true ‘I’.
ii) Using Vedantic Logic: By pure logic also one can deduce the falsity of the Upadhis
(body, mind and intellect). The logic is contained in the statement: “One who is the seer of
something, cannot be that something.”
For example, Pranasya Drishtat, Pranaat Bhinnah – “the knower of the Pranas is
different from the Pranas.”
This is applied to each of the 5 sheaths, namely, the body, Prana, mind, intellect and
Ahamkara, as stated in the verse. Analysing in this way we find that the ego cannot be ‘me’.
That is when we can say that the ego should be vanquished or destroyed, because relative
to the Self or Existence, these Upadhis do not have any existence.
iii) Its Inertness: Inert usually means that which is material, dull, lacking in sentiency.
This is not how the word is being used here. In this verse, ‘inert’ is a philosophical term
which means “that which is not self-revealing”. That explains why even the mind and
intellect are described as inert. It is because they cannot reveal themselves. Only the
Consciousness can do that. Without the self-revealing principle, a thing has to be considered
to be inert.
This reminded Acharyaji of an anecdote about an old lady who could not hear
properly. She was sitting in church at the back. Keen to listen to the sermon, she crept
forward bit by bit, until she reached the front row. There she pulled out her hearing aid and
listened. The preacher felt inspired by her eagerness to listen to him. After a few minutes,
she pulled out the hearing aid, put it away in her handbag and just sat quietly, to the great
dismay of the preacher!
Why the Maharshi Uses the term ‘ASAT’ and not ‘MITHYA’:
The Maharshi systematically distances the Self from the gross, subtle and the causal
bodies, on the basis that they are inert and, in his view, Asat or non-existent. [In earlier texts
we have been used to using the word Mithya for these bodies, not Asat. Mithya is a milder
word than Asat.]
In the texts earlier we were looking at everything from our standpoint, that is, from
the standpoint of the ignorant man of the world. In Ramana Maharshi’s discussion he is
looking at the same thing from the standpoint of the realized sage. In the light of Truth,
these Upadhis do not even exist! It sounds harsh, but that is how he sees it.
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The example of a snake in the rope will help clarify this. An observer may see the
rope as if it is a snake due to his ignorance. But from the rope’s standpoint, does the rope
see the snake? There is no such thing as a snake from the rope’s perspective. The same logic
explains why to the Maharshi, these five Upadhis appear non-existent, i.e. Asat.
The spiritual implication of this verse is very significant to the

seeker. The verse tells us that we are really free; that our bondage is a
mere illusion. This will give great impetus to the seeker to forge ahead
in his Sadhana to drop the illusion.
Verse 23: Existence-Consciousness Am I

xÉüÉpÉÉÍxÉMüÉ, ÍcÉiYuÉuÉåiÉUÉ |
xÉ¨ÉrÉÉ ÌWû ÍcÉiÉç , ÍcÉ¨ÉrÉÉ ½WûqÉç ||23||
1 Sattwa bhaasikaa, The illuminator of Existence, which is

2 chit kva vaa itaraa; Consciousness – where is It? Is It something else? (No!)
3 Sattayaa hi chit, Existence itself is Consciousness, and
4 chittayaa hi aham. Consciousness, indeed, am “I”.
We see the same rhetoric of Ramana Maharshi coming up again as he asks this kind
of question for the third time in the text, begging the answer “NO”.
In Verse 20, the “Parama Poorna Sat” or Infinite Existence is said to be self-revealed
when the ego is destroyed. In Verse 21 the sense of ‘I’-ness when freed from the ego is seen
to be the unchanging pure Consciousness itself. The doubt may have crept into the seeker
that Existence is different from Consciousness, due to the difficulty in accepting that the Self
is self-revealing.
To clear this doubt, the Maharshi has dedicated this verse.
There is only one Existence-Consciousness, they are not two different entities. If Sat
is not Chit, then it has to be Jada (inert) and therefore Asat. If Chit is not Sat, then it can only
be Asat. These are mutually self-contradictory statements.
Therefore, Sat has to be the same as Chit. Existence has to be Consciousness itself. It
is self-revealing. The statement “I am” unifies the two. The ‘am-ness’ represents Sat, and
the self-evident nature of ‘I’ represents Chit.
In order to make us ponder over these powerful statements, Acharyaji posed a
couple of riddles:
i) Someone lit a match to check if the candle had gone off!
ii) A shopkeeper put up a sign on his door: “Will be back in one hour”. When he
returned, he saw the sign, so he waited!
Are these possible? Do these riddles have answers? In the same way it is simply not
possible for Sat to be different from Chit. That answer solves the riddle of Realisation.
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Verse 24: Identity Between Individual & Total
DzÉeÉÏÌuÉrÉÉåUç- , uÉåwÉkÉÏÍpÉSÉ |
xÉixuÉpÉÉuÉiÉÉå , uÉxiÉÑ MåüuÉsÉqÉç ||24||
1 Eesha jeeviyoh, Between the Lord (Ishwara) and the individual (Jiva),
the difference is only from the standpoint of the body and
2 vesha dhee bhidaa;
intellect (the gross and subtle Upadhis).
3 Sat swa-bhaavatah, But from the standpoint of their true nature,
4 vastu kevalam. the Supreme Reality alone is.
This verse is virtually identical to the verse 16.2 in Tattwa Bodha which equates Jiva
and Ishwara. Hence, it will not be necessary to go into great detail here.
One difference between Tattva Bodha and Sri Ramana Maharshi’s treatment of the
same comparison is this: Tattva Bodha gives the gross and subtle body equipment the status
of Upadhis. The Maharshi regards them only as Vesha, i.e. “a costume”, giving it very little
importance. This shows us how riveted his mind was to the Self and how direct his approach
to it was. A costume gives the suggestion of something that is just put on for a show. There
is no other value to it. Costumes only make us ‘look’ different and give us a false identity;
they are not part of our being.
He says, “Remove the costumes over Jiva and Ishwara, and they are identical.”
We are used to conceiving God to be very remote from our reach. He is generally
presented as being so ‘high up’ and ‘great’ that we humans appear tiny in His eyes. This
concept of God is a mental construction of man. It is useful to a point, but has to be
transcended at a certain stage in our growth.
The Maharshi breaks that idea up in this verse when he establishes that in essence
we are identical to God, if we do not consider the costumes we are both putting on.
How far is the wave from the ocean? – so far is the Jiva from Ishwara, that is, the
individual soul from the Cosmic Being are not separate entities at all.
Verse 25: Vision of Lord & Vision of Self

uÉåwÉWûÉlÉiÉÈ , xuÉÉiqÉSzÉïlÉqÉç |
DzÉSzÉïlÉÇ, xuÉÉiqÉÃmÉiÉÈ ||25||
1 Vesha haanatah, To the one who gives up the Upadhis (conditionings),

2 swaatma darshanam; he beholds only his own true Self;
3 Eesha darshanam, The vision of the Lord (God-realisation),
4 swaatma roopatah. is the same as the vision of the Self (Self-realisation).
Removing the Conditionings

The conditionings refer to the ‘costumes’ of the previous verse. Once that is given
up, the Sadhaka gains enlightenment. This is the first part of this verse.
What are these costumes? They are everything that makes us feel our individuality –
our body, our mind and our intellect. These are the sources of the sense of separation and
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limitation that we have. They are the prime source of our feeling of incompleteness. Sri
Shankaracharyaji in Tattwa Bodha has given it the name Upadhis. Sri Ramana Maharshi has
not been so generous – mere ‘costumes’ is what they are to him.
Stripping ourselves of these vestures, what we gain is Self-realisation.
Self and God Are One

The second and more important part of the verse is to assure us that this experience
of our inner Self is no different from the much sought-after “Vision of the Lord” that
spiritual seekers aspire for all over the world. There is no other experience that can go by
this name.
It seems that it is purely intended to put the mind of the seeker at rest so that he
does not feel the restlessness of thinking that there is something greater still to be attained.
Self-realisation is the Vision of God – the final end of the spiritual journey.
What could have caused such a doubt to arise?
Visions of God:
What is usually conceived to be a ‘Vision” of God is the appearance of a form familiar
to the seeker, a form he has been worshipping for long, which is his personal favourite
Deity. It may be Lord Rama or Krishna, Jesus or Buddha, or one’s Guru or any other Divine
Being. Such experiences are not denied by this verse. They do happen in the spiritual realm.
But the Maharshi, in keeping with his characteristic of being direct and to the point, says
that the essential experience of the Vision of God is just what he has described here – Self-
Realisation.
The visions of these other forms are based on Bhava or the feeling of the seeker.
However desirous they may be, they are still in the realm of name and form (Naama &
Roopa). The personal God with a form is also a ‘costume’ that we have dressed our Lord in.
It is the ‘costume’ we have put over Consciousness itself. Some may like to see Him with
flute in hand and a peacock feather on His locks. Others may prefer to see Him on a cross,
and so on. These varieties are numerous, but they are in the realm of relativity.
The Maharshi directs us to the essence of such experiences which is seeing the
Divine in our own Self. He is focusing our mind on the universal aspect of the Vision of God,
the aspect that is common to all cultures and all religions.
Verse 26: Abidance in Self is Realisation

AÉiqÉxÉÇÎxjÉÌiÉÈ , xuÉÉiqÉSzÉïlÉqÉç |
AÉiqÉÌlÉ²ïrÉÉSè- , AÉiqÉÌlÉ¸iÉÉ ||26||
1 Aatma samsthitih, The abidance in one’s inner Self,

2 swaatma darshanam; is the “Vision of the Self”.
3 Aatma nir-dvayaat, Since the Self is non-dual,
4 aatma nishthataa. it can only be firm abidance in the Self, (nothing else).
The above verse has clarified that the ultimate goal as commonly conceived, namely,
the Vision of God, is no other than the vision of the Self or Self-realisation as it is commonly
45
called. The next step is then to clarify what exactly is this stage defined as Self-realisation.
How do we know that we have arrived at it? This is taken up in this verse.
The Maharshi makes bold to say, based on his own personal experience of the Truth,
that abidance in the Self is that very experience of “Vision of the Self”, the ultimate goal,
and that there is nothing further than that. Here again, he brings a relief to seekers who
may be prone to doubt the state of their spiritual growth.
Atma-Samsthiti: This is the state of abidance in the Self, which we have described
earlier as the state in which a person is directly aware of the Self, having thinned out and
‘destroyed’ his mind of all thoughts and most especially the ‘I-thought’. This abidance,
defined negatively, can be described as not considering oneself to be the “not-Self”.
The difficulty being addressed in this verse is that of knowing when we have reached
the goal. There may always be the tendency to feel that the Self has not yet been attained.
To remove this doubt, the Maharshi stipulates two conditions that have to be met:
i) Atma-Nir-Dvayaat: “Non-dual, consistent, unchanging”. The abidance in the Self
has to be consistent. It cannot keep changing, it has to be the same in nature every time.
ii) Atma-Nishthataa: “Firm, of long duration, all the time or continuous”. The
abidance has also got to be firm, i.e. for a long period of time or continuous. This is the
second condition to be met.
If these two conditions are fulfilled then the seeker need not doubt that Self-
realisation has been reached, and that such a realization is the “Vision of the Self” he is
aspiring for, and that such a vision is also the “Vision of God” as commonly known. This
makes everything clear to the aspirant.
Acharyaji stressed the following conclusion: There is no way that it is possible to
accept the Darshan (Vision) of the Self or the Lord literally as something that is “seen”. It has
to be considered as no different from abidance in the Self.
Uncover the blanket of Ignorance and see the Light – that is the
ultimate Vision.
Verse 27: Absolute Knowledge

¥ÉÉlÉuÉÎeÉïiÉÉ- , Å¥ÉÉlÉWûÏlÉÍcÉiÉç |
¥ÉÉlÉqÉÎxiÉ ÌMÇü , ¥ÉÉiÉÑqÉliÉUqÉç ||27||
1 Jnaana (vritti) varjitaa, Devoid of (the thought of) knowledge,

2 ajaana (vritti) heena chit; as well as of ignorance, is Consciousness.
3 Jnaanam asti kim, Could there be any knowledge
4 jnaatum antaram. other than It (Consciousness) to know the Self? No!
There are different ways of explaining the Truth to different types of people. There is
the person who is knowledge oriented. He may have the doubt: “Look, I am not interested
in any vision or Darshan or anything like that. I only came to this path of knowledge for
knowledge’s sake. I only want to know the Truth. What is the Truth about Knowledge?”
46
For such a person, the Maharshi has written this verse. It makes the clear distinction
between knowing in the ordinary sense in terms of objects, facts, concepts, and so on, and
knowing one’s own Self as Consciousness.
Thought-based Knowledge & Self-knowledge:

Thought-based knowledge is secondary; Self-knowledge is primary. Thought-based
knowledge is on a relative plane; whereas Self-knowledge is absolute.
Secular knowledge is thought-based. That does not mean that it is of no use; it has
its place in governing all our interactions in the world. It brings objects to our awareness. In
fact, we cannot conduct any business in the world without thought-based knowledge. And
until we attain Self-knowledge, it is all we have in our mind.
The question Vedanta is expecting us to ask is, “Where does thought get its power
from?” The answer given in this verse is – from Consciousness.
In the realm of thought-knowledge one can say, “I know what I know, and I know
what I do not know.”
Another aspect of thought-knowledge is that it changes. “What I know can become
what I do not know, and vice versa.” In other words, knowledge of objects is also time
dependent. It can be forgotten, or it can change with time. Knowledge can become invalid
under new conditions.
Thought-knowledge has another interesting feature: What we call knowledge today
can become ignorance tomorrow, and the other way, too. As our experience and factual
information changes, so do the thoughts change with regard to a particular object. A person
thought to be a criminal today, could be declared innocent tomorrow when more facts are
unearthed.
The point being made in the context of this verse is, “What is the worth of
knowledge in such a case? It is better that we don’t give it so much of importance. All that
we learn in books can be forgotten. That is not the knowledge we are after.”
In the case of Self-knowledge it can never become ignorance again. Its very nature is
knowledge. This is the difference between true knowledge of the Self and secular
knowledge. When we realize the Self, we truly know. It is not something that can be
forgotten. For it is not a thought; it is our very being. Our quest for knowledge is really a
quest for this permanent, unchanging basis of knowledge. It can never be satisfied with the
outer, thought-based knowledge.
Once again comes the standard rhetorical question posed by Sri Ramana Maharshi
which begs the answer, “No”: Is there any knowledge other than Consciousness? NO!
Because Consciousness is knowledge, and it is illogical for there to be two Consciousnesses.
The object is only a small component of knowledge, yet we give it all the importance.
The very conveyor of that knowledge is either ignored or given little importance. That is
Consciousness. That is what we should be calling knowledge, for it is primary.
Verse 28: Absolute Bliss

ÌMÇü xuÉÃmÉÍqÉiÉç- , rÉÉiqÉSzÉïlÉå |
AurÉrÉÉpÉuÉÉ , ÅÅmÉÔhÉïÍcÉixÉÑZÉqÉç ||28||
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1 Kim swaroopam iti, “What is my real nature?” thus enquiring,
2 aatma darshane; one realizes the Self as being
3 avyaya-abhava, “Undecaying, unborn,
4 aapoorna chit sukham. all-complete Consciousness-Bliss.”
There is a third type of individual to whom neither the truth about Existence nor
Knowledge is important. He is driven only by the desire for happiness. He is seeking a
happiness which cannot diminish or which does not depend upon anything else. What has
Sri Ramana Maharshi to say say to such a seeker?
The Maharshi here describes the state of Absolute Bliss which is indestructible,
which has no beginning and no end and which includes everything. This is what Absolute
Bliss is defined as – it is Infinite.
Upon completing a description of such a Happiness, the text completes the three
aspects – Sat, Chit and Ananda - which describe the nature of the Self. The term
Satchidananda is thus fully explained in all its three components.
What Is My Nature?
This is the all-important question raised by the spiritual seeker. Upon finding the
answer, one is said to have Atma Darshan or the “Vision of the Self”, or Self-realization.
The answer iss threefold, i.e. Sat, Chit and Ananda. The Maharshi now expands on
the last quality, namely Ananda or Bliss. He gives three conditions which have to be fulfilled
in order to experience Absolute Bliss. These are:
i) Avyaya: undecaying, or that which has no ending.
ii) Abhava: unborn, without beginning or end (birth or death).
iii) Aapoorna: all-complete, or full in each and every thing.
This means that the essential quality of Bliss is that one transcends time and space,
and sees the Lord in all of creation as its very basis. In short, the Lord is Infinite!
One who has raised his consciousness to this level is full of Bliss. This is Bliss, Ananda
or Sukha. In such a consciousness it is not possible for any pain or sorrow to exist. In such a
state one is experiencing that which is beginningless, endless and all-pervading. It has no
limitation whatsoever; it is Infinite or Anantam.
Self-knowledge is all-blissful. In comparison to it, Acharyaji illustrated how the
thought-based knowledge can be a source of pain. We can understand why ignorance can
cause pain, but even knowledge can bring pain. The example was given of someone who
was diagnosed as having cancer. Until that point in time he was unaware of it and at ease
with himself. When the knowledge of it came, he became full of worry and anxiety.
Bliss does not have these undesirable effects. It is of an absolute nature.
The Cause of Unhappiness

Discontent is traced to be the cause of all sorrow. Discontent means there is
something lacking in our life. We are not complete, and therefore we are unhappy. This
state of incompleteness has to be resolved in order that we can be happy all the time. Only
Infinity can satisfy incompleteness.
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Discontent is only possible under time and space limitations. Only the state of Self-
realization is beyond such limitations. There can no discontent in that state, and therefore
no pain and sorrow.
From the ordinary standpoint, one is always curious to know what kind of joy there is
in the Self. It sounds so abstract. Can there be joy in the Self? Yes. We can understand it by
first examining the ordinary joy we experience and seeing where it comes from. We know of
three degrees in which we experience this joy. They are:
i) Priya: the joy of merely thinking of the object of pleasure.
ii) Moda: the joy of obtaining the object of pleasure.
iii) Pramoda: the joy of actually enjoying (becoming one) with the object of pleasure.
These three forms of joy, which are the Like sparks, they come and go. The joy they
bring is evanescent, not permanent. After experiencing them, we return to our state of
discontent, which implies the unhappiness called pain and sorrow.
Ananda: “Absolute Bliss”. In the Self-realised state these are not experienced as
sparks, but one is experiencing his whole being as Bliss itself, with the full knowledge that it
is his real nature and it cannot be taken away from him.
This is the Divine Ananda described in this verse.
Verse 29: Rarity & Divinity

oÉlkÉ qÉÑ£çü-rÉç AiÉÏiÉÇ, mÉUÇ xÉÑZÉqÉç |
ÌuÉlSiÉç-D-Wû eÉÏuÉxÉç-iÉÑ SæÌuÉMüÈ ||29||
1 Bandha mukti atee- That which is beyond bondage and liberation,

2 tam, param sukham; which is the state of Supreme Happiness,
3 Vindati iha jee- is gained here itself by some individual,
4 -vah tu daivikah. a rare divine being indeed!
From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary!

Who is this individual with divine qualities and why is he so rare?
This verse emphatically contrasts the ordinary human nature to the divine
superhuman nature of saints. Two points of contrast are specifically brought into relief in
making this comparison. They are found in the second half of the verse:
i) The Rarity of Saints

The ordinary person is in the overwhelming majority; the saintly class forms the rare
minority. It is easy to find people who are entangled in the clutches of the world with all its
temptations. It is very to find a pure soul who has distaste for these so-called pleasures and
spurns the world in order to attain the Divine.
ii) The Divinity of Saints

Purity is very rare to see in people. There are a few very rare souls who have this
divine quality of being pure in all they think, speak and act. It is these divine souls who
become upholders of spirituality in society. They tower above the rest of humanity because
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they always adhere to righteousness, they are free from all blemishes in character, and they
live by the highest moral principles.
The Universal Search for Freedom & Happiness

The first half of the verse focuses our attention on two of the most common factors
that drive all activities amongst human beings. Whether a person is saintly or worldly, these
two form the driving force for all their endeavours.
i) Desire for Freedom:

Everyone wants to be free. To be in bondage is disliked universally. Most people
desire the freedom that gives them liberty to do as they like, to enjoy whatever their mind
desires. To have the freedom to acquire that by which they may enjoy the maximum
pleasure in life is what most people want. That is their concept of freedom.
The saint has a different view of freedom. To him, freedom is freedom from slavery
of the mind to sense pleasures. He considers himself to be free when he is in full control of
all his senses, not a slave to them.
Clearly there are not many takers for the latter type of freedom!
ii) Desire for Happiness:

Here again we have two distinct ideas about happiness. The worldly person, the
majority of mankind, want the happiness that is based on sensual pleasure. They spend
their entire lives in seeking happiness through objects which they consider to give them that
happiness.
The happiness of a sage, however, is not of that ilk. The sage seeks something more
lasting. He seeks a happiness that is independent of objects of the world. He has faith that
there is within him the fountain of all happiness, and strives to unlock this realm and enjoy
unlimited happiness directly from the fountain source.
The sage is not limited by such a narrow vision. His happiness is absolute. One
cannot compare it to what we experience in the relative world. This is emphatically seen in
this verse by contrasting the two types of happiness.
Beyond Mental Concepts

The verse may also be interpreted as pointing the way towards taking our minds
beyond mental concepts.
Both bondage and liberation belong to the Aham Vritti or the ‘I-thought’. Bondage
and liberation are only at the level of the mind. They are from the standpoint of the ordinary
mind. The impulse to strive for happiness in the ordinary man is also mind-driven. Man is
really only striving for some kind of fleeting happiness that frees him from his sorrows. That
is not the impulse that drives the sage. The sage has seen that the mind itself is an illusion,
and has raised himself beyond it to the Divine Consciousness. His joy is therefore beyond
the ideas of bondage and liberation.
“Divinity on Two Legs”!

Acharyaji gave us the following thrilling and inspiring account of the sage who
possesses divine qualities:
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Acharyaji first compared the sage’s divine state with a few other states that give one
a taste of oneness with the Divine. There are, for instance, the states of Salokya, Saroopya,
Samipya and Sayujya which are experienced by the Bhakta. These are not the highest
experiences. At best they are states of elevated pleasure, where the devotee experiences a
divine experience of oneness with his Deity. They are associated with many attributes –
which is what gives them the above differentiating names. The devotee returns from these
states (i.e. he comes back to the cycle of births and deaths), despite their quality of being
out of the ordinary, as they are not the final state which the Self-realised sage attains.
Only one with divine qualities attains this supreme happiness. A person who has
experienced the pure Self becomes a divine person with divine qualities. Divinity pulsates
through such a person, flows right through him without any obstruction. All noble virtues
become part and parcel of him.
There is not a trace of hatred for others in him, as there is no ‘other’ for him! He has
a purity that transcends worldliness. His actions are spontaneous, not artificial.
The personality of the sage has a special beauty that is not seen in ordinary humans.
When we do not find the usual human weaknesses in a person, we call him divine.
The entire Cosmos takes care of him. Everything is taken care of for him. His needs
are met in a mysterious manner. His work is taken care of by the Lord Himself. One observes
a remarkable co-operation from cosmic forces which seem to lie at his disposal, eagerly
waiting to be at his service. It is as though the whole universe is working in his favour!
To understand what is divinity, the only way is to see it in action in such a saintly
person. He stands as Divinity on two legs!
Verse 30: The Greatest Austerity

AWûqÉmÉåiÉMÇü , ÌlÉeÉÌuÉpÉÉlÉMüqÉç |
qÉWûÌSSÇiÉmÉÉå , UqÉhÉuÉÉÌaÉrÉqÉç ||30||
1 Aham apetakam, To one devoid of the ego-sense,

2 nija vibhaanakam; this is a revealer of the Self,
3 Mahat idam tapas, such is this great penance (called Self-enquiry).
4 ramana vaak iyam. This is the utterance of ‘Ramana’.
The Upanishadic definition for Tapas or austerity is “that which is opposed to sin.”
Self-enquiry is described as the greatest Tapas as it removes the ego. All other forms of
Tapas have the grave danger of adding to the ego. Self-enquiry, being totally opposed to
ego, is directly opposed to the sin tendency. The penance of rooting out the ego, roots out
all sins.
Other forms of Tapas may put an end to sin;

but Self-enquiry puts an end to the sinner.
That is why it is called the greatest of all Tapas.
51
The Story of Pandora’s Box (Greek Mythology)
Acharyaji recounted the ancient story of “Pandoras’s Box” from ancient Greek
mythology. The story is about one Prometheus and his bad relationship with Zeus, the King
of the Gods. The enmity started because one day, without the permission of Zeus,
Prometheus gave out Fire to the world, and the people prospered as a result. Zeus sought
revenge. He plotted this through Prometheus’s brother.
Prometheus had a brother named Ephimetheus. Zeus offered Ephimetheus the most
beautiful woman named Pandora provided he also accepts a gift box with it. Ephimetheus
was tempted to accept it for the sake of the woman. The pure-minded Prometheus advised
his brother not to open the box as it had come from the evil-minded Zeus. The brother took
the advice and never opened the gift box.
However, Pandora, having the curiosity of a woman, could not resist knowing what
was inside the box. One day, when her husband was out for a few days, she opened it. And
Zeus had his revenge: Out came all the worst things from inside the box. Greed, jealousy,
hatred, lust, anger, vanity, and so on – all these came out of the box and spread to the ends
of the world. All the good done by Fire was being reversed.
But one good thing also came out of the box at the end – it was HOPE. Hope came
out and declared, “All these horrible things would end one day.”
Acharyaji said he felt that this box was the Ego. Without going into those details, the
point made here is that Pandora’s Box was opened and the ego began to have its full play.
And to work towards destroying the ego became man’s only hope of salvation.
Once the Ego is destroyed, the road to the revelation of Self-knowledge is opened,
and with it the road to supreme Happiness. A single-pointed mind and perfect control of the
senses are pre-requisites for the dawn of such a consciousness in man.
Om Tat Sat !
*****
52
UPADESH SARA
by Sri Ramana Maharshi
Split-Sandhee Samskrit Format

(to Assist Beginners in Identifying the Words)
MüiÉÑï-Uç AÉ¥ÉrÉÉ , mÉëÉmrÉiÉå TüsÉqÉç |

MüqÉï ÌMÇü mÉUÇ , MüqÉï iÉeÉç eÉSqÉç ||1||
M×üÌiÉ qÉWèû-AÉå-SkÉÉæ , mÉiÉlÉ MüÉUhÉqÉç |

TüsÉqÉç AzÉÉµÉiÉÇ , aÉÌiÉ ÌlÉUÉåkÉMüqÉç ||2||
DµÉUç-AÉ-ÌmÉïiÉÇ , lÉç-L-cNûrÉÉ M×üiÉqÉç |

ÍcÉ¨É zÉÉåkÉMÇü , qÉÑÌ£ü xÉÉkÉMüqÉç ||3||
MüÉrÉ uÉÉXçqÉlÉÈ , MüÉrÉïqÉç E¨ÉqÉqÉç |

mÉÔeÉlÉÇ eÉmÉ-zÉ , ÍcÉliÉlÉÇ ¢üqÉÉiÉç ||4||
eÉaÉiÉ DzÉkÉÏ , rÉÑ£ü xÉåuÉlÉqÉç |

A¹ qÉÔÌiÉï pÉ×Sè , SåuÉ mÉÔeÉlÉqÉç ||5||
E¨ÉqÉ xiÉuÉÉSè , EŠ qÉlSiÉÈ |

ÍcÉ¨ÉeÉÇ eÉmÉ , krÉÉlÉqÉç E¨ÉqÉqÉç ||6||
AÉerÉ kÉÉUrÉÉ , xÉëÉåiÉxÉÉ xÉqÉqÉç |

xÉUsÉ ÍcÉliÉlÉqÉç , ÌuÉUsÉiÉÈ mÉUqÉç ||7||
pÉåS pÉÉuÉlÉÉiÉç , xÉç-AÉå AWûqÉç CiÉç-rÉç AxÉÉæ |

pÉÉuÉlÉÉ ÅÍpÉSÉ , mÉÉuÉlÉÏ qÉiÉÉ ||8||
pÉÉuÉ zÉÔlrÉ xÉSè , pÉÉuÉ xÉÑÎxjÉÌiÉÈ |

pÉÉuÉlÉÉ oÉsÉÉSè , pÉÌ£ü-Uç E¨ÉqÉÉ ||9||
™iÉç xjÉsÉå qÉlÉÈ , xuÉxjÉiÉÉ Ì¢ürÉÉ |

pÉÌ£ü rÉÉåaÉ oÉÉå- , kÉÉ-zÉç cÉ ÌlÉÍ¶ÉiÉqÉç ||10||
uÉÉrÉÑ UÉåkÉlÉÉsÉç , sÉÏrÉiÉå qÉlÉÈ |

eÉÉsÉ mÉÎYzÉ uÉSè , UÉåkÉ xÉÉkÉlÉqÉç ||11||
ÍcÉ¨É uÉÉrÉuÉ-zÉç , ÍcÉiÉç Ì¢ürÉÉ rÉÑiÉÉWèû |

zÉÉZÉrÉÉå-Uç ²rÉÏ , zÉÌ£ü qÉÔsÉMüÉ ||12||
sÉrÉ ÌuÉlÉÉzÉlÉå , EpÉrÉ UÉåkÉlÉå |

sÉrÉ aÉiÉÇ mÉÑlÉ-Uç , pÉuÉÌiÉ lÉ E qÉ×iÉqÉç ||13||
mÉëÉhÉ oÉlkÉlÉÉsÉç , sÉÏlÉ qÉÉlÉxÉqÉç |

LMü ÍcÉliÉlÉÉlÉç , lÉÉzÉqÉç LiÉç-rÉç ASÈ ||14||
53
lÉ¹ qÉÉlÉxÉç-AÉå-iM×ü¹ rÉÉåÌaÉlÉÈ |
M×üirÉqÉç AÎxiÉ ÌMÇü, xuÉÎxjÉÌiÉÇ rÉiÉÈ ||15||
SØzrÉ uÉÉËUiÉÇ , ÍcÉ¨ÉqÉç AÉiqÉlÉÈ |

ÍcÉüÉ SzÉïlÉÇ , iÉüÉ SzÉïlÉqÉç ||16||
qÉÉlÉxÉÇ iÉÑ ÌMÇü , qÉÉaÉïhÉå M×üiÉå |

lÉç-Lå-uÉ qÉÉlÉxÉÇ , qÉÉaÉï AÉeÉïuÉÉiÉç ||17||
uÉ×¨ÉrÉ-xÉç iÉç-uÉç AWÇû , uÉ×Ì¨ÉqÉç AÉÍ´ÉiÉÉÈ |

uÉ×¨ÉrÉç-AÉå qÉlÉç-AÉå , ÌuÉ®è-rÉç AWÇû qÉlÉÈ ||18||
AWûqÉç ArÉÇ MÑüiÉç-AÉå , pÉuÉÌiÉ ÍcÉluÉiÉWèû |

AÌrÉ mÉiÉiÉç-rÉç AWÇû , ÌlÉeÉ ÌuÉcÉÉUhÉqÉç ||19||
AWûÍqÉ lÉÉzÉ pÉÉeÉç-rÉç , AWûqÉç AWÇû iÉrÉÉ |

xTÑüUÌiÉ ™iÉç xuÉrÉÇ , mÉUqÉ mÉÔhÉï xÉiÉç ||20||
CSqÉç AWÇû mÉSè-AÉ-ÍpÉZrÉqÉç AlÉç-uÉç AWûqÉç |

AWûÍqÉ sÉÏlÉMåü , ÅmÉç-rÉç, AsÉrÉ xÉ¨ÉrÉÉ ||21||
ÌuÉaÉëWèû-L-ÎlSìrÉ , mÉëÉhÉ kÉÏ iÉqÉÈ |

lÉç-AÉ-WûqÉç LMü xÉiÉç , iÉeÉç eÉSÇ Wèû-rÉç AxÉiÉç ||22||
xÉüÉ pÉÉÍxÉMüÉ , ÍcÉiÉç YuÉ uÉçÅ-L-iÉUÉ |

xÉ¨ÉrÉÉ ÌWû ÍcÉcÉç , ÍcÉ¨ÉrÉÉ Wèû-rÉç AWûqÉç ||23||
DzÉ eÉÏÌuÉrÉÉå-Uç , uÉåwÉ kÉÏ ÍpÉSÉ |

xÉiÉç xuÉpÉÉuÉiÉç-AÉå , uÉxiÉÑ MåüuÉsÉqÉç ||24||
uÉåwÉ WûÉlÉiÉÈ , xuÉÉiqÉ SzÉïlÉqÉç |

DzÉ SzÉïlÉÇ , xuÉÉiqÉ ÃmÉiÉÈ ||25||
AÉiqÉ xÉÇÎxjÉÌiÉÈ , xuÉÉiqÉ SzÉïlÉqÉç |

AÉiqÉ ÌlÉ²ïrÉÉSè , AÉiqÉ ÌlÉ¸iÉÉ ||26||
¥ÉÉlÉ uÉÎeÉïiÉÉ , Å¥ÉÉlÉ WûÏlÉ ÍcÉiÉç |

¥ÉÉlÉqÉç AÎxiÉ ÌMÇü , ¥ÉÉiÉÑqÉç AliÉUqÉç ||27||
ÌMÇü xuÉÃmÉqÉç CiÉç-rÉç , AÉiqÉ SzÉïlÉå |

AurÉrÉç-AÉ-pÉuÉçÅ , AÉmÉÔhÉï ÍcÉiÉç-xÉÑZÉqÉç ||28||
oÉlkÉ qÉÑ£çü-rÉç AiÉÏ- , iÉÇ mÉUÇ xÉÑZÉqÉç |

ÌuÉlSiÉç-D-Wû eÉÏ- , uÉ-xÉç iÉÑ SæÌuÉMüÈ ||29||
AWûqÉç AmÉåiÉMüqÉç , ÌlÉeÉ ÌuÉpÉÉlÉMüqÉç |

qÉWûSè CSÇ iÉmÉç-AÉå , UqÉhÉ uÉÉaÉç CrÉqÉç ||30||
*****
54
UPADESH SARA
by Sri Ramana Maharshi
Split-Sandhee English Transliterations

kartu-r ¡j²ay¡ , pr¡pyat£ phalam |
karma ki¯ para¯ , karma taj jadam ||1||
k»ti mah-µ-dadhau , patana k¡ra³am |

phalam a¾¡¾vata¯ , gati nirµdhakam ||2||
§¾var-¡-rpita¯ , n-£-cchay¡ k»tam |

citta ¾µdhaka¯ , mukti s¡dhakam ||3||
k¡ya v¡±mana¦ , k¡ryam uttamam |

pÀjana¯ japa-¾a , cintana¯ kram¡t ||4||
jagata §¾adh§ , yukta s£vanam |

a½¿a mÀrti bh»d , d£va pÀjanam ||5||
uttama stav¡d , ucca mandata¦ |

cittaja¯ japa , dhy¡nam uttamam ||6||
¡jya dh¡ray¡ , srµtas¡ samam |

sarala cintanam , viralata¦ param ||7||
bh£da bh¡van¡t , s-µ aham it-y asau |

bh¡van¡ :'bhid¡ , p¡van§ mat¡ ||8||
bh¡va ¾Ànya sad , bh¡va susthiti¦ |

bh¡van¡ bal¡d , bhakti-r uttam¡ ||9||
h»t sthal£ mana¦ , svasthat¡ kriy¡ |

bhakti yµga bµ- , dh¡-¾a ca ni¾citam ||10||
v¡yu rµdhan¡l , l§yat£ mana¦ |

j¡la pak¾i vad , rµdha s¡dhanam ||11||
citta v¡yava-¾ , cit kriy¡ yut¡h |

¾¡khayµ-ra dvay§ , ¾akti mÀlak¡ ||12||
laya vin¡¾an£ , ubhaya rµdhan£ |

laya gata¯ puna-r , bhavati na u m»tam ||13||
pr¡³a bandhan¡l , l§na m¡nasam |

£ka cintan¡n , n¡¾am £t-y ada¦ ||14||
55
na½¿a m¡nas-µ-tk»½¿a yµgina¦ |
k»tyam asti ki¯, svasthiti¯ yata¦ ||15||
d»¾ya v¡rita¯ , cittam ¡tmana¦ |

cittva dar¾ana¯ , tattva dar¾anam ||16||
m¡nasa¯ tu ki¯ , m¡rga³£ k»t£ |

n-ai-va m¡nasa¯ , m¡rga ¡rjav¡t ||17||
v»ttaya-s t-v aha¯ , v»ttim ¡¾rit¡¦ |

v»ttay-µ man-µ , viddh-y aha¯ mana¦ ||18||
aham aya¯ kut-µ , bhavati cinvatah |

ayi patat-y aha¯ , nija vic¡ra³am ||19||
ahami n¡¾a bh¡j-y , aham aha¯ tay¡ |

sphurati h»t svaya¯ , parama pÀr³a sat ||20||
idam aha¯ pad-¡-bhikhyam an-v aham |

ahami l§nak£ , :'p-r, alaya sattay¡ ||21||
vigrah-£-ndriya , pr¡³a dh§ tama¦ |

n-¡-ham £ka sat , taj jada¯ h-ya asat ||22||
sattva bh¡sik¡ , cit kva v:'-£-tar¡ |

sattay¡ hi cic , cittay¡ h-y aham ||23||
§¾a j§viyµ-r , v£½a dh§ bhid¡ |

sat svabh¡vat-µ , vastu k£valam ||24||
v£½a h¡nata¦ , sv¡tma dar¾anam |

§¾a dar¾ana¯ , sv¡tma rÀpata¦ ||25||
¡tma sa¯sthiti¦ , sv¡tma dar¾anam |

¡tma nirdvay¡d , ¡tma ni½¿hat¡ ||26||
j²¡na varjit¡ , :'j²¡na h§na cit |

j²¡nam asti ki¯ , j²¡tum antaram ||27||
ki¯ svarÀpam it-y , ¡tma dar¾an£ |

avyay-¡-bhav:' , ¡pÀr³a cit-sukham ||28||
bandha mukt-y at§- , ta¯ para¯ sukham |

vindat-§-ha j§- , va-s tu daivika¦ ||29||
aham ap£takam , nija vibh¡nakam |

mahad ida¯ tap-µ , rama³a v¡g iyam ||30||
*****
56

07 Upadesha Sara

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07 Upadesha Sara

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EmÉSåwÉ xÉÉU

“THE SANDEEPANY EXPERIENCE”

A NOTE ABOUT SANDEEPANY

Adi Shankaracharya Swami Sivananda Swami Tapovanji Swami Chinmayananda

SERVE  LOVE  GIVE  PURIFY  MEDITATE  REALISE

About This Edition:

2. To Pujya Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj

3. To Pujya Sri Swami Tejomayanandaji (Guruji)

4. To Sri Swami Advayanandaji and Sri Swami Sharadanandaji

“The Instructions of Lord Shiva”

Add to End Add to Front

A (a) -L- (e) C (i)

C (i) -rÉç (y) unaffected

E (u) -uÉç (v) unaffected

È (h) -xÉç, -Uç, -zÉç unaffected

Part I KARMA YOGA (Path of Action): 4

Part II BHAKTI YOGA (Path of Devotion) 10

Part III ASHTANGA YOGA (Path of Yoga) 24

Part IV JNANA YOGA (Path of Knowledge) 34

“The Advice of Lord Shiva”

Hymn to SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI:

Brief Life Sketch of SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

Verse 1: Action is Inert

1 Kartuh aajnayaa, By the command of the Doer,

The Philosophy of Materialism:

i) Karta: this is the doer of the action.

Karma Is Inert and Powerless:

Karta Is Also Powerless:

Verse 2: Barrier to Progress

1 Kruti mahaa udadhau, In the vast ocean of Actions,

The “Fall” is Deeper Than We Think:

Verse 3: Means to Liberation

1 Eeshwara arpitam, Actions dedicated to the Lord, and

Ishwararpana Buddhi + Prasada Buddhi = Karma Yoga

The Science of Karma Yoga

Verse 4: Practice of Devotion

1 Kaaya vaak manah, By the body, speech and mind,

Pooja: Starting a Special Relationship with God

Variety of Forms for God:

Symbolism in Human Endeavours:

Starting a Relationship with God

The Eight-Fold Forms of the Lord:

How to See God in All

Are All to be Treated the Same Way?

Verse 6: Repetition of Mantra (Japa)

1 Uttama stavaat, It is good to glorify the Lord (sing His glories);

In Verse 4, we were given a step-by-step approach to worship. In this verse we are

The Efficacy of Japa

The Four Levels of Speech:

Verse 7: Contemplation (Dhyana)

1 Aajya dhaarayaa, Like a stream of ghee,

The 2 Similes: Flow of Ghee and Flow of Water:

Uninterrupted and Interrupted Meditation:

Verse 8: Contemplation Without Duality

What is the “Single Thought” in Bhakti Yoga?

The Culmination of Bhakti Yoga:

1 Bhaava shoonya sad- Devoid of thought modifications, and in the Existence

Uttama or Para Bhakti:

The Poetic Genius of the Author:

Verse 10: The Goal of All Paths

1 Hrit sthale manah, In the heart, the mind

Chap 1 Chap 2 THIS Chap 3 Chap 4

Verse 11: Restraint of Prana

1 Vaayu rodhanaat, By the restraint of the Pranas (breathing),