A nice story of Adi Shankaracharya teaching his students how to empty and free their mind:
"Adi Sankara was walking through the market place with his disciples.
They saw a man dragging a cow by a rope.
Sankara told the man to wait and asked his disciples to surround them.
“I am going to teach you something” and continued...
“Tell me who is bound to whom? Is the cow bound to this man or the man is bound to the cow?"
The disciples said without hesitation “Of course the cow is bound to the man!. The man is the master. He is holding the rope. The cow has to follow him wherever he goes. The man is the master and the cow is the slave.”
“Now watch this”, said Sankara and took a pair of scissors from his bag and cut the rope.
The cow ran away from the master and the man ran after his cow. “Look, what is happening”, said Sankara
“Do you see who the Master is? The cow is not at all interested in this man. The cow in fact, is trying to escape from this man.
This is the case with our MIND.
Like the cow, all the non-sense that we carry inside is not interested in us. WE ARE INTERESTED IN IT, we are keeping it together somehow or the other. We are going crazy trying to keep it all together under our control.
The moment we lose interest in all the garbage filled in our head, and the moment we understand the futility of it, it will start to disappear. Like the cow, it will escape and disappear.”
Feeling Free and Relaxed is a Choice!!!
https://www.lifepositive.com/who-is-the-master/
Padmapada was one of the four disciples of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. The other three being Hastamalaka, Totaka and Suresvara.
Padmapada's original name was Sanandana.
This story is one of my favorites and illustrates the great Guru Bhakti of Sanandana.
One day when Sankara was staying in Kashi, he and Sanandana happened to be on the opposite banks of river Ganges. The disciple was drying his masters clothes.
Sankara wished to let the world know about the great bhakti of his disciple. Shankara bathed in the river and after the bath wearing his wet clothes called out to his disciple to get the dried clothes.
Sanandana, impelled by his devotion for his guru, thought to himself, " if my master asks me to do something, I must do it at once" It pained him that his master was wearing wet clothes. He was now like the one possessed, possessed of love and devotion to his guru. There was no time for rational thinking.
It did not occur to him that he should take a boat to cross the river, he was oblivious of the turbulence of river Ganga. The only thought that possessed him was that his Guru asked him to get bring his clothes.
So as if he were walking on firm earth, he just walked!!! He walked on the river without any thought that he might by drowned or that his guru's clothes would get wet again.
When there is such devotional fervor in the disciple will not God exalt it to the plane that it deserves ? That's exactly what happened the very moment Sanandana started walking.
A miracle happened ! As Sanandana walked on the river, Gangadevi placed lotuses for him to walk upon. In other words lotuses bloomed underfoot as he took each step. He himself was not aware that he was walking on the lotuses.
People stood agape with wonder over Sanandana's guru bhakti as he crossed the big river and brought his guru's clothes.
Shankara asked him in jest " how did you, my boy, cross Ganga? " Even then it did not occur to Sanandana to turn back and look. He just replied .."by merely thinking about you, the vast ocean of samsara is reduced to knee deep water. When you had bidden me to do something what was so remarkable about my crossing the Ganga "
It was then that Shankara showed him the lotuses and since they had borne Sanandana's feet he called him "PADMAPADA"
One should know oneself to be of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss [Sat-Chit-Ananda].
The company of the good weans one away from false atttachments; when attachment is lost, delusion ends; when delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady. An unwavering and steady mind is merited for Jeevan Mukti ( liberation even in this life).
Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of everything.
One should become aware of oneself, indivisible and perfect like Space itself, when free from identification with such things as one’s body, senses, functions, mind and sense of doership, which are all the products of one’s own ignorance.
Blessed indeed are those virtuous persons who at first have this consciousness of Brahman and then develop it more and more. They are respected everywhere.
Who am I?
I am the Lord, Creator of all the appears & disappears.
I am Ever Free from ignorance, sorrow, attachment & fear.
I am devoid of all opposites & conditions such as time & space.
I am Unchanging, Imperishable, Limitless & Eternal.
I am non-dual, single, I am Complete Oneness Alone.
I am the Consciousness of the Inner Self.
I am full of Knowledge & the Realization of the Self.
I am the Knower, Knowledge & the Known.
I am full of Absolute Compassion.
I am the Living Heart of Love.
I am full of Infinite Bliss.
I am the Supreme Self.
The witness of the three states of consciousness [waking, dream and deep sleep] and of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss is the Self.
But the jiva [living being] is endowed with ego and his knowledge is limited, whereas Ishwar is without ego and is omniscient.
Do not look at anybody in terms of friend or foe, brother or cousin; do not fritter away your mental energies in thoughts of friendship or enemity. Seeking the Self everywhere, be amiable and equal-minded towards all, treating all alike.
Liberation is achieved not by observances or by analysis, nor by deeds or learning, but only by the realisation of one's oneness with God, and by no other means.
Though without riches, yet ever content; though helpless, yet very powerful, though not enjoying sense objects, yet eternally satisfied; though without an exemplar, yet looking upon all with an eye of equality—such is the jivanmukta.
Human birth, the desire for salvation and the company of holy men are rare things on this earth. Those who are blessed with all three are the most favoured of men.
There is sorrow in finitude. The Self is beyond time, space and objects. It is infinite and hence of the nature of absolute happiness.
The Soul appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.
Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.
All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.
Though he lives in the conditionings (Upadhis), he, the contemplative one, remains ever unconcerned with anything or he may move about like the wind, perfectly unattached.
He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.
Let my idle chatter be the muttering of prayer,
my every manual movement the execution of ritual gesture,
my walking a ceremonial circumambulation,
my eating and other acts the rite of sacrifice,
my lying down prostration in worship,
my every pleasure enjoyed with dedication of myself,
let whatever activity is mine be some form of worship of you.
Who but the Atman is capable of removing the bonds of ignorance, passion and self-interested action?
Advice for spiritual aspirants: “If, indeed, thou hast a craving for liberation, shun sense-objects from a good distance as thou wouldst do poison, and always cultivate carefully the nectar-like virtues of contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straight-forwardness, calmness and self-control.
Darkness and the mass of evils produced by darkness no longer exist when the sun has risen. Similarly, when one has tasted undifferentiated bliss, no bondage or trace of suffering remains.
He who is enlightened to the Truth achieves liberation from bondage, and he who is truly liberated experiences eternal joy.
Renunciation does not lie in external appearance, but in inward thought, attitude and feeling.
Childhood is busy with playthings; youth is busy with romance and family; old age is busy with sickness and worries: Where is the man who is busy with God?
The pleasures and riches of worldly life are deceptive appearances. Understanding that they are all but a passing-show, be detached and dispassionate, cultivate renunciation and seek Brahman.
In solitude live joyously. Quieten your mind in the Supreme Lord. Realise and see the All-pervading Self every where. Recognise that the finite Universe is a projection of the Self. Conquer the effects of the deeds done in earlier lives by the present right action. Through wisdom become detached from future actions (Agami). Experience and exhaust “Prarabdha” the fruits of past actions. Thereafter, live absorbed in the bhav – “I am Brahman” !
Know that death quickly overtakes the stupid man who walks along the dreadful ways of sense-pleasure; whereas one who walks in accordance with the instructions of a well-wishing and worthy Guru, as also with his own reasoning, achieves his end – know this to be true.
While practicing Samadhi there appear unavoidably many obstacles, such as lack of inquiry, idleness, desire for sense-pleasure, sleep, dullness, distraction, tasting of joy, and the sense of blankness. One desiring the knowledge of Brahman should slowly get rid of such innumerable obstacles.
My soul is your temple, O Lord,
My actions are your handmaids,
My body is your home,
My senses witness only you,
My sleep is pure meditation on you,
These walking feet are your journey,
Whatever falls from my mouth is prayer to you,
Oh Lord, everything I say and do are worship.
When the force of the desire for the Truth blossoms, selfish desires wither away, just like darkness vanishes before the radiance of the light of dawn.
For one who has realised the essence of Brahman, there is no reaching out for sense-objects any more. If there is, then one has not realized Brahman because the senses still have an outgoing tendency.
Purifying your food purifies your memory. When your memory is purified , your consciousness is purified. When the consciousness is purified , all the blessings of life are showered on you.
Just as the person who regards a rope as a snake is overcome by fear, so also one considering oneself as the ego (Jiva) is overcome by fear. The ego-centric individuality in us regains fearlessness by realising that It is not a Jiva but is Itself the Supreme Soul.
I am free from changes such as birth, thinness, senility and death; for I am other than the body. I am unattached to the objects of the senses, such as sound and taste; for I am without sense-organs.
In the dream state, even though there is no contact with the external world, the mind alone projects the entire dream-universe of enjoyer etc. Similarly, the waking-state is no different. All this (world of myriad phenomena), is but a projection of the mind.
I am full of Bliss, Knowledge and the realization of the Self. I am far aloof from any thought of the objective. I am delighted at heart by that which is not objective.
The ignorant long for results and engage in action with the idea of doership and enjoyership. The ignorant are deluded and think, 'I act', 'I cause others to act', 'I enjoy', 'I causes others to enjoy', and so on.
Who is never touched by any danger? He who follows the words of the wise and has his senses under control.
What brings happiness? The friendship of the holy.
What is happiness? Detachment.
Who is Awake? He who practices discrimination.
Who is revered by the wise? He who is humble.
Who is a holy man? He who is forever blissful.
Who is most lovable? The knower of Brahman.
Who is a guru? He who has found the truth of Brahman and is always concerned for the welfare of his disciples.
Surrender yourself to the Lotus Feet of the Teacher; with your senses and mind disciplined, and freed from the shackles of Samsara you will behold the Lord who is seated in your heart.
What is the tree that fulfills all wishes? The teachings of the Guru.
Wherein lies strength? In patience.
For one who has achieved human birth, what is the most desirable objective? To realize that which is his ultimate good and to be constantly engaged in doing good to others.
When is one established in the ideal of renunciation? When one knows that Atman and Brahman are one.
To have the gift of speaking sweet words with compassion, to be learned without pride, to be heroic and also forgiving, to be rich without attachment to riches - these four are rare.
Among things conducive to liberation, devotion alone holds the supreme place; (and) the search for one’s real nature is designated as devotion.
As long as you are fit to make an earning, so long will your kith and kin be solicitous about you, but no sooner your limbs become infirm and your earnings cease, none will care for you, not even your own home-folk.
Samsara is full of likes and dislikes and other opposites. Like A dream, it seems real for the time being; but, on waking, it Vanishes because it is unreal.
That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman — that thou art.
If one doesn’t heed the message “ Be A Master ” that’s one’s own choice. One has to bear the consequence , to be born again and again. The two routes are crystal clear. One can either postpone spirituality and come back again and again, or take up spirituality and make the current birth the final birth. The choice is crystal clear. There is no ambiguity whatsoever ! If we want to be a ‘ Disciple ’ or a ‘ Devotee ’ we have to come back again and again ! But if we choose to be a Master, this would be the last birth ! The two ways are crystal clear !
A master is such a pleasure to see, to hear, to be with ! A master is one with Everybody and Everybody is one with the Master!
1.
Study the Vedas daily.
Perform diligently the duties (karmas) ordained by them.
Dedicate all those actions (karmas) as worship unto the Lord.
Renounce all desires in the mind.
Wash away the hoards of sins in the bosom.
Recognise that the pleasures of sense-objects (samsar) are riddled with pain.
Seek the Self with consistent endeavour.
Escape from the bondage of ‘home’.
2.
Seek companionship with Men of Wisdom.
Be established in firm devotion to the Lord.
Cultivate the virtues such as Shanti etc.,
Eschew all desire-ridden actions.
Take shelter at a Perfect Master (Sat-Guru).
Everyday serve His Lotus feet.
Worship “Om” the Immutable.
Listen in depth, the Upanishadic declarations.
3.
Reflect ever upon the meaning of the Upanishadic commandments, and take refuge in the Truth of Brahman.
Avoid perverse arguments but follow the discriminative rationale of the Sruti (Upanishads).
Always be absorbed in the attitude (bhav) – “I am Brahman”.
Renounce pride.
Give up the delusory misconception – “I am the body”.
Give up totally the tendency to argue with wise men.
4.
In hunger diseases get treated.
Daily take the medicine of Bhiksha-food.
Beg no delicious food.
Live contentedly upon whatever comes to your lot as ordained by Him.
Endure all the pairs of opposites: heat and cold, and the like.
Avoid wasteful talks.
Be indifferent.
Save yourself from the meshes of other peoples’ kindness.
5.
In solitude live joyously.
Quieten your mind in the Supreme Lord.
Realise and see the All-pervading Self every where.
Recognise that the finite Universe is a projection of the Self.
Conquer the effects of the deeds done in earlier lives by the present right action.
Through wisdom become detached from future actions (Agami).
Experience and exhaust “Prarabdha” the fruits of past actions.
Thereafter, live absorbed in the bhav - “I am Brahman” !
http://www.sankaracharya.org/sadhana_panchakam.php
3. Scorched by the blazing sun of the three miseries, a student – dejected with the world and restless for release, having cultivated all the means of liberation especially such virtues as self-control etc. – enquires of a noble teacher.
6. Direct knowledge of that total identity between the individual-Self and the Universal-Self, stemming forth from the Vedic statements such as “Thou art that”, etc., is the immediate means to liberation.
12. “Give up the intellectual misconception that the Self is the body, etc., and always meditate upon and think yourself to be the eternal Knowledge-Bliss – the Witness of the intellect – a sheer mass of Pure Knowledge”.
16. “Similarly be sure in yourself that you, the seer of the senses, are not the senses themselves, and ascertain that you are neither the mind, not the intellect, not the vital air (Prana).”
22. “’He am I’, the One Consciousness which is the Changeless Self that is directly cognised, that illumines the three states of waking, dream, and deep-sleep, and that which illumines appearance and disappearance of the intellect and its functions – ‘He am I’ (So’ham).”
23. “Know yourself to be the One Self, a homogenous mass of Consciousness, which is the illuminator of the body and therefore quite distinct from it – just as a lamp that illumines a pot is always different from the pot illumined. ‘I am a mass of Consciousness’ (Aham bodhavigraha).”
26. “The Consciousness, the Self, which appears as the Witness, is that which is meant by the word ‘thou’. Being free from all changes even the witnessing is nothing but the illumining-power of the Self.”
30. “Having no greater Bliss than Itself, a pure embodiment of External Consciousness, and having ‘existence’ for its specific definition, is the All-Pervading Being – is the meaning indicated by the term ‘that’; so, the scriptures declare in their songs.”
36. “That which the Upanishads declare as the sole paymaster for all action, and as the very agent (prompter) in all actions, performed by each individualised ego – make sure of that Brahman in your understanding.”
38. “What is meant by the sentence (commandment ‘That thou art’) is not arrived at, either through its ‘sequence-of meaning’ or as ‘qualified-by-something’. An indivisible Being, consisting of Bliss only – this alone is the meaning of the sentence, according to the wise.”
39. “What appears (anjati) as the Witnessing-Consciousness within, (the individual-Self), is of the nature of Bliss, One-without-a-second; and the one that is the Bliss within is none other than the individualised-Self the Witnessing Consciousness within.”
49. “Until the direct personal experience of ‘I am Brahman’ is gained, we must live values of self-control, etc., and practice listening to teachers, or reading scriptures, and doing daily reflection and meditation upon those ideas.”
50. “Through the grace of a spiritual teacher when a seeker gains a clear and direct experience of the Supreme Self as expounded in the scriptures, he, the realised, becomes free from all ‘ignorance’, which is the foundation for the entire experience of this world of plurality.”
51. “No more conditioned by his gross and subtle bodies, free from the embrace of the gross and subtle elements, released from the charm of actions, such a man gets immediately liberated.”
52. “The liberated-in-life, due to the compelling force of those actions that have begun to produce their results (Prarabdha), remains for some time to exhaust them”.
53. “The liberated-in-life comes to gain the State of Absolute Oneness, the never-ending immeasurable Bliss, called the Supreme Abode-of-Vishnu, from wherein there is no return.”
http://swamij.com/shankara-vakya-vritti.htm
Whoever is indeed not adorned by this Question-Answer-Gem-Necklace, memorised for ready reference and which is the foremost means to obtain the seen and the unseen goals (of life)!
Who is the wise (man) ?
One who discriminates.
Who is the pure (person) here ?
One whose mind is pure.
What is the essence of life ?
This alone is to be reflected on repeatedly.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated for one's and others' welfare.
Who are thieves ?
Objects of sense.
Who is the foe ?
It is but idleness.
Who is brave ?
One who is not shaken by the shafts of amorous glances of women.
What is unintelligence ?
Not repeating what is learnt.
What is sleep ?
The stupidity of the living being.
What is hell ?
Being in another's control.
What is dear for creatures ?
Life.
Where is effort ordained ?
In learning, good medicine, charity.
Where is indifference to be shown ?
Towards bad people, another's wife, another's property.
Who is blind ?
One who enjoys wrongdoing.
Who is deaf ?
One who does not heed the good advice.
Who is dumb ?
One who does not know how to speek the kind words at the right moment.
Who is a friend ?
One who saves from sin.
What do those who have destroyed dark ignorance specially urge repeatedly ?
Charity along with sweet words, knowledge with humility, courage with patience, wealth with renunciation. These four auspicious things are hard to attain.
Who is to be revered by the learned ?
One who by nature is always humble.
In whose control is this world ?
In his, whose speech is sweet and soothing, and who is wedded to righteousness.
What is that which fascinates the hearts of the wise ?
Ennobling poetry and the lady called knowledge.
Whom does disaster not overtake ?
One who follows the advice of the elders and has controlled his senses.
Whom does the Goddess of Wealth love ?
One who is industrious without lethargy and is just in conduct.
And whom does she (Goddess of Wealth) desert all at once ?
One who slanders the Brahmana, the Preceptor, and the Gods and is lazy besides.
Where is one to live ?
In the nearness to good people or in Kasi.
Which place is to be shunned ?
One abounding in wicked people and ruled by a greedy king.
Who is to be grieved over in this world ?
One who is not a giver even when there is wealth.
What is the foremost place of pilgrimage ?
That which removes the impurities of mind.
What is to be remembered by people ?
Always the Name of Hari; not the jargon of the unregenerate.
What is to be earned by people ?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities ?
Greed.
What is dearer even than life ?
One's duties followed hereditarily and the company of virtuous.
What is to be well protected ?
Good name, devoted wife and discernment.
What indeed is strength ?
That which is courage.
What is fearlessness here ?
Non-attachment.
What too is fear?
For everyone it is wealth only.
What is rare for people to get ?
Devotion to Hari.
Who, verily, is dear to the Lord?
One who causes no pain to others and is not lost in worries.
Where is intelligence found?
In the Brahmana.
Whence intelligence ?
By serving intimately the elders.
Who are the elderly ?
Those who know the duty and the truth.
Who will be happy in the world?
The rich person.
And what, indeed, is richness?
By which there is fulfilment of wants.
Who grows?
The humble.
Who degenerates?
The conceited person.
Who is not to be trusted?
One who as a rule utters lies.
On what occasions, is even a lie sinless?
That which is uttered for the sake of protecting righteousness.
What is rigteousness?
That which has been practised by the virtuous elders of the family.
What is the strength of the good?
God.
Who is good?
One who is always contented.
What is divine?
The good deeds.
Who is the doer of good deeds?
One who is praised by the virtuous.
Who is the friend of a householder?
His wife.
And who is a householder?
One who performs sacrifices.
What is sacrifice ?
That which is ordained by the scripture and is for the welfare of people.
Who is the refined?
One who has accepted the Vedas as authority.
Who is the one that gets killed?
One who has fallen from his religious duties.
Who is the blessed?
One who i as renounced.
Who is esteemed ?
One who is wise and good.
Who is to be worshipped?
One who gives freely.
Who is the giver freely ?
One who gives satisfaction to the needy.
For whom is there no sin ?
For one who recites holy syllables.
Who is the complete person?
One who has progeny.
What is difficult for human beings?
The constant control of the mind.
Who is a Brahmacarin?
One who has sublimated his life-energy instead of wasting it.
Who is the protector of the world?
The Sun.
Who is brave ?
One who protects those in fright.
Whence knowledge ?
Only from Siva.
How can one get release ?
By devotion to Mukunda (Vishnu).
Who is Mukunda ?
One who takes us across ignorance.
And what is ignorance ?
The non-manifestation of the Self.
For whom there is no sorrow ?
For one who has no anger.
What is happiness ?
Contentment.
Who is king ?
One who makes others happy.
Who is a dog ?
One who serves the lowly.
Who wields Maya ?
The Supreme Lord.
What is the divine Magic ?
This world.
What resembles a dream ?
The activities of our waking life.
And what is real ?
Brahman.
What is indeterminable as either real or unreal?
Maya.
What is it that is superimposed (imagined) ?
Duality.
What is ultimately real ?
Non-duality.
And what is the sustainer of the body ?
The actions that have started yielding results.
Who is to be contemplated by the Brahmanas?
Siva who is seen in the Gayatri, Sun and fire.
What is there in the Gayatri, Sun, fire and Siva?
That is the Reality.
Who is the perceptible Goddess ?
Mother.
And who is the Preceptor to be honoured ?
Father.
What is the cause of the decadence of a family?
That which one does to produce heartburn in good people.
Whose words never fail ?
Those, of course, who observe truthfulness, silence and control of the mind.
What is birth ?
Attachment to sense-objects.
What is unavoidable ?
Death.
Where is the foot to be placed ?
Where purity is perceived.
Who is the fit recipient of the gift of food ?
The hungry.
Indeed who is to be worshipped ?
Incarnation of God.
Who is the Lord ?
The Supreme Lord who is both Narayana and Sankara.
And what is the result of devotion to the Lord?
The immediate realization of His Abode and one's own Nature.
And what is release ?
Indeed, it is the setting of ignorance.
What is the origin of the Vedas ?
And then, Om.
Those for whom the Question-Answer-Gem necklace is ready to quote from memory shine in the assembly of noble people like the necklace of pearls by dint of their purity.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/60354578/Prasnottara-Ratna-Malika-Skt-English
http://www.scribd.com/doc/167616257/Adi-Shankara-Prasnotthara-Ratnamalika-English
2. Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.
3. Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.
7. The Jagat appears to be true (Satyam) so long as Brahman, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not realized. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.
12. Determined for each individual by his own past actions and made up of the Five elements – that have gone through the process of “five-fold self-division and mutual combination” (Pancheekarana) – are born the gross-body, the medium through which pleasure and pain are experienced, the tent-of-experiences.
13. The five Pranas, the ten organs and the Manas and the Buddhi, formed from the rudimentary elements (Tanmatras) before their “five-fold division and mutual combination with one another” (Pancheekarana) and this is the subtle body, the instruments-of-experience (of the individual).
14. Avidya, which is indescribable and beginningless is the Causal Body. Know for certain that the Atman is other than these three conditioning bodies (Upadhis).
18. One should understand that the Atman is always like the King, distinct from the body, senses, mind and intellect, all of which constitute the matter (Prakriti); and is the witness of their functions.
21. Fools, because they lack in their powers of discrimination superimpose on the Atman, the Absolute-Existence-Knowledge (Sat-Chit), all the varied functions of the body and the senses, just as they attribute blue colour and the like to the sky.
23. Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc., are perceived to exist so long as Buddhi or mind functions. They are not perceived in deep sleep when the mind ceases to exist. Therefore they belong to the mind alone and not to the Atman.
24. Just as luminosity is the nature of the Sun, coolness of water and heat of fire, so too the nature of the Atman is Eternity, Purity, Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.
29. A lighted-lamp does not need another lamp to illumine its light. So too, Atman which is Knowledge itself needs no other knowledge to know it.
32. I am other than the body and so I am free from changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death, etc. I have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for I am without the sense-organs.
33. I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for “HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.”, is the Commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.
34. I am without attributes and actions; Eternal (Nitya) without any desire and thought (Nirvikalpa), without any dirt (Niranjana), without any change (Nirvikara), without form (Nirakara), ever-liberated (Nitya Mukta) ever-pure (Nirmala).
38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.
47. The Yogi of perfect realisation and enlightenment sees through his “eye of wisdom” (Gyana Chakshush) the entire universe in his own Self and regards everything else as his own Self and nothing else.
51. The self-abiding Jivan Mukta, relinquishing all his attachments to the illusory external happiness and satisfied with the bliss derived from the Atman, shines inwardly like a lamp placed inside a jar.
54. Realise That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to be attained, the blessedness of which leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.
57. Realise that to be Brahman which is Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum, realised after the negation of all tangible objects.
60. Realise that to be Brahman which is neither subtle nor gross: neither short nor long: without birth or change: without form, qualities, colour and name.
65. Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.
66. The ‘Jiva’ free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.
68. He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.
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3. These are three things which are rare indeed and are due to the grace of God – namely, a human birth, the longing for Liberation, and the protecting care of a perfected sage.
6. Let people quote the Scriptures and sacrifice to the gods, let them perform rituals and worship the deities, but there is no Liberation without the realisation of one’s identity with the Atman, no, not even in the lifetime of a hundred Brahmas put together.
7. There is no hope of immortality by means of riches – such indeed is the declaration of the Vedas. Hence it is clear that works cannot be the cause of Liberation.
11. Work leads to purification of the mind, not to perception of the Reality. The realisation of Truth is brought about by discrimination and not in the least by ten million of acts.
13. The conviction of the Truth is seen to proceed from reasoning upon the salutary counsel of the wise, and not by bathing in the sacred waters, nor by gifts, nor by a hundred Pranayamas (control of the vital force).
15. Hence the seeker after the Reality of the Atman should take to reasoning, after duly approaching the Guru – who should be the best of the knowers of Brahman, and an ocean of mercy.
17. The man who discriminates between the Real and the unreal, whose mind is turned away from the unreal, who possesses calmness and the allied virtues, and who is longing for Liberation, is alone considered qualified to enquire after Brahman.
19. First is enumerated discrimination between the Real and the unreal; next comes aversion to the enjoyment of fruits (of one’s actions) here and hereafter; (next is) the group of six attributes, viz. calmness and the rest; and (last) is clearly the yearning for Liberation.
25. Acceptance by firm judgment as true of what the Scriptures and the Guru instruct, is called by sages Shraddha or faith, by means of which the Reality is perceived.
26. Not the mere indulgence of thought (in curiosity) but the constant concentration of the intellect (or the affirming faculty) on the ever-pure Brahman, is what is called Samadhana or self-settledness.
33. Who is versed in the Vedas, sinless, unsmitten by desire and a knower of Brahman par excellence, who has withdrawn himself into Brahman; who is calm, like fire that has consumed its fuel, who is a boundless reservoir of mercy that knows no reason, and a friend of all good people who prostrate themselves before him.
34. Worshipping that Guru with devotion, and approaching him, when he is pleased with prostration, humility and service, (he) should ask him what he has got to know:
38. It is the very nature of the magnanimous to move of their own accord towards removing others’ troubles.
39. O Lord, with thy nectar-like speech, sweetened by the enjoyment of the elixir-like bliss of Brahman, pure, cooling to a degree, issuing in streams from thy lips as from a pitcher, and delightful to the ear – do thou sprinkle me who am tormented by worldly afflictions as by the tongues of a forest-fire. Blessed are those on whom even a passing glance of thy eye lights, accepting them as thine own.
45. Reasoning on the meaning of the Vedanta leads to efficient knowledge, which is immediately followed by the total annihilation of the misery born of relative existence.
46. Faith (Shraddha), devotion and the Yoga of meditation – these are mentioned by the Shruti as the immediate factors of Liberation in the case of a seeker; whoever abides in these gets Liberation from the bondage of the body, which is the conjuring of Ignorance.
54. The true nature of things is to be known personally, through the eye of clear illumination, and not through a sage: what the moon exactly is, is to be known with one’s own eyes; can others make him know it ?
56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.
59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.
65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.
70. Then come hearing, reflection on that, and long, constant and unbroken meditation on the Truth for the Muni. After that the learned seeker attains the supreme Nirvikalpa state and realises the bliss of Nirvana even in this life.
77. Sense-objects are even more virulent in their evil effects than the poison of the cobra. Poison kills one who takes it, but those others kill one who even looks at them through the eyes.
81. Know that death quickly overtakes the stupid man who walks along the dreadful ways of sense-pleasure; whereas one who walks in accordance with the instructions of a well-wishing and worthy Guru, as also with his own reasoning, achieves his end – know this to be true.
86. Conquer the dire death of infatuation over thy body, wife, children etc., -- conquering which the sages reach that Supreme State of Vishnu.
90. Know this gross body to be like a house to the householder, on which rests man’s entire dealing with the external world.
97. Listen – this subtle body, called also the Linga body, is produced out of the elements before their subdividing and combining with each other, is possessed of latent impressions and causes the soul to experience the fruits of its past actions. It is a beginningless superimposition on the soul brought on by its own ignorance.
101. Blindness, weakness and sharpness are conditions of the eye, due merely to its fitness or defectiveness; so are deafness, dumbness, etc., of the ear and so forth – but never of the Atman, the Knower.
105. When sense-objects are favourable mind becomes happy, and it becomes miserable when the case is contrary. So happiness and misery are characteristics of egoism, and not of the ever-blissful Atman.
106. Sense-objects are pleasurable only as dependent on the Atman manifesting through them, and not independently, because the Atman is by Its very nature the most beloved of all. Therefore the Atman is ever blissful, and never suffers misery.
128. By which this universe is pervaded, but which nothing pervades, which shining, all this (universe) shines as Its reflection. – This is That
132. In this very body, in the mind full of Sattva, in the secret chamber of the intellect, in the Akasha known as the Unmanifested, the Atman, of charming splendour, shines like the sun aloft, manifesting this universe through Its own effulgence.
134. It is neither born nor dies, It neither grows nor decays, nor does It undergo any change, being eternal. It does not cease to exist even when this body is destroyed, like the sky in a jar (after it is broken), for It is independent.
142. As layers of clouds generated by the sun’s rays cover the sun and alone appear (in the sky), so egoism generated by the Self, covers the reality of the Self and appears by itself.
147. This bondage can be destroyed neither by weapons nor by wind, nor by fire, nor by millions of acts – by nothing except the wonderful sword of knowledge that comes of discrimination, sharpened by the grace of the Lord.
153. He indeed is free who discriminates between all sense-objects and the indwelling, unattached and inactive Self – as one separates a stalk of grass from its enveloping sheath – and merging everything in It, remains in a state of identity with That.
161. O foolish person, cease to identify thyself with this bundle of skin, flesh, fat, bones and filth, and identify thyself instead with the Absolute Brahman, the Self of all, and thus attain to supreme Peace.
165. The Prana, with which we are all familiar, coupled with the five organs of action, forms the vital sheath, permeated by which the material sheath engages itself in all activities as if it were living.
169. There is no Ignorance (Avidya) outside the mind. The mind alone is Avidya, the cause of the bondage of transmigration. When that is destroyed, all else is destroyed, and when it is manifested, everything else is manifested.
170. In dreams, when there is no actual contact with the external world, the mind alone creates the whole universe consisting of the experiencer etc. Similarly in the waking state also; there is no difference. Therefore all this (phenomenal universe) is the projection of the mind.
172. Clouds are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and Liberation too is caused by that alone.
173. It (first) creates an attachment in man for the body and all other sense-objects, and binds him through that attachment like a beast by means of ropes. Afterwards, the selfsame mind creates in the individual an utter distaste for these sense-objects as if they were poison, and frees him from the bondage.
176. In the forest-tract of sense-pleasures there prowls a huge tiger called the mind. Let good people who have a longing for Liberation never go there.
196. The Jivahood of the Atman, the Witness, which is beyond qualities and beyond activity, and which is realised within as Knowledge and Bliss Absolute – has been superimposed by the delusion of the Buddhi, and is not real. And because it is by nature an unreality, it ceases to exist when the delusion is gone.
202. The cessation of that superimposition takes place through perfect knowledge, and by no other means. Perfect knowledge, according to the Shrutis, consists in the realisation of the identity of the individual soul and Brahman
205. When the unreal ceases to exist, this very individual soul is definitely realised as the eternal Self. Therefore one must make it a point completely to remove things like egoism from the eternal Self.
210. When all the five sheaths have been eliminated by the reasoning on Shruti passages, what remains as the culminating point of the process, is the Witness, the Knowledge Absolute – the Atman.
220-222. Similarly, discarding the body, the Buddhi and the reflection of the Chit in it, and realising the Witness, the Self, the Knowledge Absolute, the cause of the manifestation of everything, which is hidden in the recesses of the Buddhi, is distinct from the gross and subtle, eternal, omnipresent, all-pervading and extremely subtle, and which has neither interior nor exterior and is identical with one self – fully realising this true nature of oneself, one becomes free from sin, taint, death and grief, and becomes the embodiment of Bliss. Illumined himself, he is afraid of none. For a seeker after Liberation there is no other way to the breaking of the bonds of transmigration than the realisation of the truth of one’s own Self.
229. None can demonstrate that the essence of a jar is something other than the clay (of which it is made). Hence the jar is merely imagined (as separate) through delusion, and the component clay alone is the abiding reality in respect of it.
230. Similarly, the whole universe, being the effect of the real Brahman, is in reality nothing but Brahman. Its essence is That, and it does not exist apart from It. He who says it does is still under delusion – he babbles like one asleep.
234. If the universe be true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false, like dreams.
246. Neither this gross nor this subtle universe (is the Atman). Being imagined, they are not real – like the snake seen in the rope, and like dreams. Perfectly eliminating the objective world in this way by means of reasoning, one should next realise the oneness that underlies Ishwara and the Jiva.
254. That which is beyond caste and creed, family and lineage; devoid of name and form, merit and demerit; transcending space, time and sense-object – that Brahman art thou, meditate on this in thy mind.
255. That Supreme Brahman which is beyond the range of all speech, but accessible to the eye of pure illumination; which is pure, the Embodiment of Knowledge, the beginningless entity – that Brahman art thou, meditate on this in thy mind.
264. On the Truth, inculcated above, one must oneself meditate in one’s mind, through the intellect, by means of the recognised arguments. By that means one will realise the truth free from doubt etc., like water in the palm of one’s hand.
278. Tamas is destroyed by both Sattva and Rajas, Rajas by Sattva, and Sattva dies when purified. Therefore do way with thy superimposition through the help of Sattva
.
279. Knowing for certain that the Prarabdha work will maintain this body, remain quiet and do away with thy superimposition carefully and with patience.
281. Realising thyself as the Self of all by means of Scripture, reasoning and by thy own realisation, do away thy superimposition, even when a trace of it seems to appear.
285. So long as even a dream-like perception of the universe and souls persists, do away with thy superimposition, O learned man, without the least break.
287. Shunning from a safe distance the body which has come from impurities of the parents and itself consists of flesh and impurities – as one does an outcast – be thou Brahman and realise the consummation of thy life.
289. Becoming thyself the self-effulgent Brahman, the substratum of all phenomena – as that Reality give up both the macrocosm and the microcosm, like two filthy receptacles.
295. The knower of all changes in things subject to change should necessarily be eternal and changeless. The unreality of the gross and subtle bodies is again and again clearly observed in imagination, dream and profound sleep.
309. Even though completely rooted out, this terrible egoism, if revolved in the mind even for a moment, returns to life and creates hundreds of mischiefs, like a cloud ushered in by the wind during the rainy season.
313. Through the increase of desires selfish work increases, and when there is an increase of selfish work, there is an increase of desire also. And man’s transmigration is never at an end.
320. Causing the external and internal universe, which are now perceived, to vanish, and meditating on the Reality, the Bliss Embodied, one should pass one’s time watchfully, if there be any residue of Prarabdha work left.
322. There is no greater danger for the Jnanin than carelessness about his own real nature. From this comes delusion, thence egoism, this is followed by bondage, and then comes misery.
330. Whenever the wise man sees the least difference in the infinite Brahman, at once that which he sees as different through mistake, becomes a source of terror to him.
361. As gold purified by thorough heating on the fire gives up its impurities and attains to its own lustre, so the mind, through meditation, gives up its impurities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and attains to the reality of Brahman.
364. Reflection should be considered a hundred times superior to hearing, and meditation a hundred thousand times superior even to reflection, but the Nirvikalpa Samadhi is infinite in its results.
367. The first steps to Yoga are control of speech, non-receiving of gifts, entertaining of no expectations, freedom from activity, and always living in a retired place.
369. Restrain speech in the Manas, and restrain Manas in the Buddhi; this again restrain in the witness of Buddhi, and merging that also in the Infinite Absolute Self, attain to supreme Peace.
413. After the body has once been cast off to a distance like a corpse, the sage never more attaches himself to it, though it is visible as an appearance, like the shadow of a man, owing to the experience of the effects of past deeds.
431. The absence of the ideas of "I" and "mine" even in this existing body which follows as a shadow, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.
439. He who through his illumination never differentiates the Jiva and Brahman, nor the universe and Brahman, is known as a man liberated-in-life.
447. Through the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman, all the accumulated actions of a hundred crore of cycles come to nought, like the actions of dream-state on awakening.
448. Can the good actions or dreadful sins that a man fancies himself doing in the dream-state, lead him to heaven or hell after he has awakened from sleep ?
492. I am neither, this nor that, but the Supreme, the illuminer of both; I am indeed Brahman, the One without a second, pure, devoid of interior or exterior and infinite.
497. Such ideas as gross (or subtle) are erroneously imagined in me by people through the manifestation of things superimposed – just as in the indivisible and absolute time, cycles, years, half-years, seasons, etc., are imagined.
509. The passing states of the Buddhi, such as agency, experience, cunning, drunkenness, dullness, bondage and freedom, are never in reality in the Self, the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute, the one without a second.
521. What wise man would discard that enjoyment of Supreme Bliss and revel in things unsubstantial ? When the exceedingly charming moon is thining, who would wish to look at a painted moon ?
527. The illumined sage, whose only pleasure is in the Self, ever lives at ease, whether going or staying, sitting or lying, or in any other condition.
531. The consciousness, "I am Devadatta", is independent of circumstances; similar is the case with the realisation of the knower of Brahman that he is Brahman.
535. Satisfied with undiluted, constant Bliss, he is neither grieved nor elated by senseobjects, is neither attached nor averse to them, but always disports with the Self and takes pleasure therein.
541. Sometimes a fool, sometimes a sage, sometimes possessed of regal splendour; sometimes wandering, sometimes behaving like a motionless python, sometimes wearing a benignant expression; sometimes honoured, sometimes insulted, sometimes unknown – thus lives the man of realisation, ever happy with Supreme Bliss.
543. Though doing, yet inactive; though experiencing fruits of past actions, yet untouched by them; though possessed of a body, yet without identification with it; though limited, yet omnipresent is he.
556. Let the body of the Sannyasin who has realised his identity with Brahman, wither and fall anywhere like the leaf of a tree, (it is of little consequence to him, for) it has already been burnt by the fire of knowledge.
557. The sage who always lives in the Reality – Brahman – as Infinite Bliss, the One without a second, does not depend upon the customary considerations of place, time, etc., for giving up this mass of skin, flesh and filth.
559. If a leaf falls in a small stream, or a river, or a place consecrated by Shiva, or in a crossing of roads, of what good or evil effect is that to the tree ?
565. As, when a jar is broken, the space enclosed by it becomes palpably the limitless space, so when the apparent limitations are destroyed, the knower of Brahman verily becomes Brahman Itself.
576. Hearing these words of the Guru, the disciple out of reverence prostrated himself before him, and with his permission went his way, freed from bondage.
577. And the Guru, with his mind steeped in the ocean of Existence and Bliss Absolute, roamed, verily purifying the whole world – all differentiating ideas banished from his mind.
-Adi Shankaracharya
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