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