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7. One who
asks himself "Who am I?" and "Where am I?", though
existing all the while as the Self, is like a
drunken man who inquires about his own identity and
whereabouts.
8. Bliss is a thing which is always there
and is not something that comes and goes. That
which comes and goes is a creation of the mind and
you should not worry about it.
9. An 'I' rises forth with every thought and
with its disappearance that 'I' disappears too.
Many 'I's are born and die every moment. The
subsisting mind is the real trouble. That is the
thief according to Janaka. Find him out and you
will be happy.
10. During worldly activity, if your
attention is fixed on the fundamental Reality,
there is no difficulty. But ordinary people forget
the Reality and take the name alone to be real. The
different 'I's are not real. There is only one 'I'.
The separate 'I' is like a watchman in a fort. He
is like the protector of the body. The real owner
in everybody is only the one real 'I'. So, when the
separate 'I' surrenders to the real 'I', then
because the idea of a separate self who 'owns' the
body disappears, 'I' and 'mine' are eliminated. The
true state comes into existence when, after sorting
out what belongs to whom, the ego 'I' surrenders
itself to the real owner.
11. While in fact the body is in the Self,
he who thinks that the Self is within the
insentient body is like one who considers the cloth
of the screen which supports a cinema picture to be
contained within the picture.
12. Many fear that with the destruction of
the mind, they themselves will cease to exist. But
destruction of the mind is nothing to be feared.
What we conceive of now as mind is only a
combination of restlessness and dullness. By their
elimination, the mind becomes pure. Such a mind is
one's own real nature. The activities of one whose
mind has been purified by Self-attention will
continue to be done. He will even appear to do the
work with greater attention and involvement. Yet he
is unaffected and always stays in the felicity of
non-dual bliss.
13. If you remain in the "don't want" state,
everything will come to you. That is why both likes
and dislikes are not wanted.
14. Does an ornament exist apart from the
gold of which it is made? Where is the body apart
from the Self? He who considers the body to be
himself is an ignorant man. He who regards himself
as the Self is the enlightened One who has realised
the Self.
15. The one Self, the sole Reality, alone
exists eternally. When even the ancient Teacher,
Dakshinamurti, revealed It through speechless
eloquence, who else could convey it by speech?
16. Since past and future have never been
without the present, to know the eternal Now is to
know the Truth. The changeless, infinite Self
transcends time and space, which are relative to
the body and the mind. The sage who has realised
the Self transcends both freewill and destiny, with
which only the ignorant are concerned. To the
ignorant, the 'I' is the Self limited to the body;
to the wise, the 'I' is the infinite Self.
17. Though the non-dual knowledge
[Advaita jnana] is difficult to attain, it
becomes easy to attain when the true love for the
feet of the Lord becomes intense, since His grace,
the revealing Light which dispels ignorance, then
begins to flow.
18. If the agent, upon whom the karma
depends, namely the ego, which has come into
existence between the body and the Self, merges in
its source and loses its form, how can the karma,
which depends upon it, survive? When there is no
‘I’ there is no karma.
19. Only when the Self is gained is
permanent, perfect, blissful peace attained. In
this Self-sovereignty, non-dual, heaven-like,
all-pervasive, no desire and no fear can exist.
20. Beyond the reach of words extends the
sage’s greatness. None but he can know his
state of being, vaster than the sky and than the
mountain firmer. To experience it yourself, you
should first shed your own body-consciousness.
21. He who turns inward with an untroubled
mind to search where the consciousness 'I' arises,
realises the Self, and rests in That, like a river
when it joins the ocean.
22. To all deep thinking minds, the enquiry
about the 'I' and its nature has an irresistable
fascination. Call it by any name, God, Self, the
Heart or the seat of consciousness, it is all the
same. The point to be grasped is this, that Heart
means the very core of one's being, the centre
without which there is nothing whatsoever.
23. Where can you find true consciousness?
Can you attain it outside yourself? You have to
find it internally. Therefore you are directed
inward. The Heart is the seat of consciousness. Or,
it is consciousness itself.
24. When the mind unceasingly investigates
its own nature, it transpires that there is no such
thing as mind. This is the direct path to Truth for
all.
25. The mind is merely thoughts. Of all
thoughts, the thought 'I' is the root. Therefore
the mind is only the thought 'I'.
26. Whence does this 'I' arise? Seek for it
within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of
wisdom.
27. Where the 'I' vanishes, there appears
another 'I-I' by itself. This is the infinite
Self.
28. This is always the true import of the
term 'I'. For we do not cease to exist even in the
deepest sleep, where there is no waking
'I’.
29. The body, senses, mind, life-breath and
ignorance are all insentient and not the real. "I
am" is the real. This was Moses' realisation: "I am
that I am". These [sheaths] I am not.
30. As there is no second being to know that
which is, "that which is" is consciousness. We are
That.
31. He who is forgetful of the Self,
mistaking the physical body as being it, and goes
through innumerable births seeking his Self, is
like one who wanders all over the world in a dream.
Thus, realising the Self would only be like waking
up from the dream-wanderings.
32. Where can I go? I am here.
33. While in fact the body is in the Self,
he who thinks that the Self is within the
insentient body is like one who considers the cloth
of the screen, which supports the cinema picture,
to be contained within the picture.
34. Reality must be always real. It is not
with forms and names. That which underlies these is
the Reality. It underlies limitations, being itself
limitless. It is not bound. It underlies
unrealities, itself being real. Reality is that
which is. It is as it is. It transcends speech. It
is beyond the expressions "existence,
non-existence", etc.
35. Give up the notion, "I am impure." The
Self is ever pure. All this is the work of the
mind. If you get at the basis of the mind all these
wrong notions disappear.
36. You are the mind, or rather you think
that you are the mind. But the mind is nothing but
thoughts. Now behind every particular thought there
is a general thought which is the 'I', that is
yourself. Let us call this ‘I’ the first
thought. Stick to this I-thought and question it to
find out what it really is. When this question
takes strong hold on you, you cannot think of other
thoughts.
37. What happens when you make a serious
quest for the Self is that the 'I'-thought as a
thought disappears; something else from the depths
takes hold of you and that is not the 'I' which
commenced the quest. That is the real Self, the
import of I. It is not the ego nor the mind. It is
the supreme being itself.
38. I do not say that you must go on
rejecting thoughts. If you cling to yourself, say
the 'I'-thought, and when your interest keeps you
to that single idea, other thoughts get rejected;
automatically they vanish.
39. Rejection of thoughts may be necessary
for a time or for some. You fancy that there is no
end if one goes on rejecting every thought when it
rises. No. There is an end. If you are vigilant,
and make a stern effort to reject every thought
when it rises, you will soon find that you are
going deeper and deeper into your own inner Self,
where there is no need for your effort to reject
the thoughts.
40. It is impossible for you to make an
effort beyond a certain extent. Now, it is
impossible for you to be without effort. When you
go deeper, it is impossible for you to make any
effort.
41. The very fact that you are possessed of
the quest of the Self is a manifestation of the
divine grace. It is effulgent in the Heart, the
inner being, the real Self. It draws you from
within. You have to attempt to get in from without.
Your attempt is earnest quest, the deep inner
movement is grace. That is why I say there is no
real vichara [enquiry] without grace, nor
is there grace active for him who is without
vichara. Both are necessary.
42. From the standpoint of the path of
knowledge it is the supreme state of the Self,
which is the Sadguru. It is different from the
ego-self, which you call your self.
43. The ego-self is the jiva
[individual]. It is different from the Lord
of all [the Absolute]. When through
disinterested devotion the individual self
approaches the Lord, He graciously assumes name and
form and takes the self into Himself. Therefore,
they say the Guru is none other than the Lord. He
is a human embodiment of the divine grace. The real
Guru is God himself in human form. Who can doubt
this?
44. In the case of certain great souls God
reveals himself as the Light of their light from
within.
45. Whatever I do or consider myself doing
is really the Lord's doing.
46. Nothing really belongs to me.
47. I am here for the service of the
Lord.
48. The spirit of surrender and service is
really supreme devotion, and the true devotee sees
the supreme being as the Lord immanent in
everything. Worship of Him by name and form leads
one beyond all name and form. Complete devotion
culminates in supreme knowledge.
49. Even when in the beginning devotion
[bhakti] is actuated by worldly desires, it
does not cease when the desires are fulfilled. It
increases by an unshakable faith growing perfectly
into a supreme state of realisation.
50. Stripped of the ego he establishes
himself naturally in supreme
Self-awareness.
51. Both
knowledge and devotion lead you to a state of
supreme peace that passeth all understanding.
52. The quest for the self I speak of is a
direct method, indeed superior to the other
meditation; for, the moment you get into a movement
of quest for the self and go deeper and deeper, the
real Self is waiting there to take you in; and then
whatever is done is done by something else and you
have no hand in it. In this process, all doubts and
discussions are automatically given up just as one
who sleeps forgets, for the time being, all his
cares.
53. When one is a sufficiently developed
soul he becomes naturally convinced.
54. Really, no theory is necessary for the
man who seriously desires to approach God or to
realise his own true being.
55. Vichara [the inner quest] begins
when you cling to your Self and are already off the
mental movement, the thought-waves.
56. To stick to a position unassailed by
thoughts is meditation or concentration; you are
watchful. But the condition grows more intense and
deeper when your effort and all responsibilities
are taken away from you; that is the state of focus
of attention.
57. The ego’s phenomenal existence is
transcended when you dive into the Source wherefrom
arises the limited feeling of 'I-ness'
[aham-vritti].
58. The jnani appreciates all distinctions,
but he always perceives and experiences the one
Reality in all of them. That is why he has no
preferences. Whether he moves about, or talks or
acts, it is all the one Reality in which he acts or
moves or talks. He has or sees nothing apart from
the one supreme Truth.
59. The transcendental awareness I speak of
is the natural state [sahaja samadhi]. For,
here you are naturally poised, you remain calm and
composed even while you are active; you realise
that you are moved by the deeper real Self within.
You have no worries, no anxieties, no cares. Here
you realise there is nothing belonging to you, the
ego, everything is done by Something with which you
get into conscious union.
60. Natural being or natural abidance itself
is without concepts. For, in this state the mind is
free from doubts. It has no need to swing between
alternatives of possibilities and probabilities. It
has no active predispositions [vikalpas] of
any kind. It is sure of the Truth. It feels the
presence of the real. Even when it is active, it
knows it is active in the Reality, the Self, the
supreme being.
61. The Self makes itself felt in the pure
mind so that even when you are in the midst of
thoughts you feel the Presence, you realise the
Truth that you are one with the deeper Self and
that the thought-waves are there only on the
surface.
62. The mind gets clear of impurities and
becomes pure enough to reflect the Truth, the real
Self. This is impossible when the ego is active and
assertive.
63. What you call your self now is not the
real Self which is neither born nor dies.
64. The body is matter, insentient; it never
knows, it is always the known.
65. The moment the ego-self tries to know
itself, it changes its character; it begins to
partake less and less of the insentient, in which
it is absorbed, and more and more of the
consciousness of the Self.
66. The ego-self, when it feels the
necessity to know its own origin or feels impelled
to rise above itself, takes the suggestion and goes
deeper; and there discovers the true source and
reality of itself. So the ego-self, beginning to
know itself, ends in perceiving the Self, its true
Self.
67. The Heart is the one supreme centre of
the Self. You need have no doubt about it. The real
Self is there in the Heart behind the ego-self.
68. Self cannot be known with your mind. You
cannot realise it by imagination, when I tell you
here is the centre [pointing to the right side
of the chest]. The only direct way to realise
it is to cease to fancy and try to just be
yourself. Then you realise, or you automatically
feel that the centre is there. This is the centre,
the Heart of being, spoken of in the scriptures as
the cavity of the Heart.
69. It is perhaps more proper to say that
the Self is the Heart itself than to say that it is
in the Heart. Really, the Self is the centre
itself. It is everywhere, aware of itself as
'Heart', the Self-awareness. Hence I have said,
"Heart is Thy name."
70. The liberated or Self-realised man lives
in the Heart. When he moves about and deals with
men and things, he knows that what he sees is not
separate from the one supreme Reality, the Brahman
which he realised in the Heart as his own Self, the
real.
71. The ordinary man sees things as outside
himself. He is separate from the world, from his
own deeper Truth, from the Truth that supports both
him and what he sees. The man who has realised the
supreme Truth of his own existence realises that it
is the one supreme Reality that is there behind
him, behind the world. In fact, he is aware of the
One, as the real, the Self in all selves, in all
things, eternal and immutable, in all that is
impermanent and mutable.
72. When you go deeper within yourself you
lose yourself, as it were, in the abysmal depths,
then the Reality which is the Atman, the true Self
that was behind you all the while, takes hold of
you. It is an incessant flash [or current]
of 'I' consciousness, you can be aware of it, feel
it, hear it, sense it, so to say; this is what I
call 'aham sphurti'
[Self-manifestation].
73. The real form or nature of realisation
[swarupa] is existence-consciousness
[sat-chit].
74. In direct knowing, you can feel yourself
one with the One that exists. The whole body
becomes a mere power, a force-current. Your life
becomes a needle drawn to a huge mass of magnet;
and, as you go deeper and deeper, you become a mere
centre and then not even that; for you become a
mere consciousness. There are no thoughts or cares
any longer, they were shattered at the threshold.
It is an inundation. You are a mere straw, you are
swallowed alive, but it is very delightful. For you
become the very thing that swallows you. This is
the union of the individual with the Absolute, self
with Reality, the loss of ego in the real Self, the
destruction of falsehood, the attainment of
Truth.
75. That in which all these worlds seem to
exist steadily, that of which all these worlds are
a possession, that from which all these worlds
rise, that for which all these exist, that by which
all these worlds come into existence and that which
is indeed all these – that alone is the
existing reality. Let us cherish that Self, which
is the Reality, in the Heart.
76. If you are destined or chosen to do a
particular thing, it will be done.
77. The Lord of the Universe carries the
whole burden. You imagine you do. You can hand all
your burden to his care. Whatever you have to do,
you will be made an instrument for doing it at the
right time. Don't think that you cannot do it
unless you have the desire to do it. Desire does
not give you the strength to do. The strength is
the Lord's.
78. You are a limb of society. Society is
the body, individuals are its members, its limbs.
Just as the various limbs help and cooperate with
one another, and thus are happy, so each must unite
with others in being helpful to all, in thought,
speech and action.
79. Real equality and fraternity form the
true goal, for then supreme peace may reign on
earth, and the earth herself can be a single
household.
80. I have often said that Self-attainment
is the greatest good to society.
81. Conscious death is the purpose of
evolution and conscious immortality whilst in the
flesh. If you do not make Atma Vichara,
[Self-enquiry] then Loka Vichara
[deliberation about worldly affairs] will
creep in.
82. Maharshi does not criticise any of the
extant methods. All are good for the purification
of the mind. The purified mind alone is capable of
grasping his method and sticking to it in
practice.
83. Does sleep lead to liberation? It is
wrong to suppose that simple inactivity leads one
to liberation. Absence of mental operations is
solitude. Mind control is not one's birth right.
The successful owe their success to
perseverance.
84. The more one does not forget the Self,
the more do elevating qualities become ours.
Through Self-enquiry the blooming of Self-knowledge
is immediate and quick.
85. If you seek God with your whole heart,
then you may be assured that the grace of God is
also seeking you. Mind is intangible. The surest
way of control is to seek it.
86. There is a class of people who want to
know all about their future and past births. They
ignore the present. The load of the past is the
present misery. Why recall the past? It is a waste
of time.
87. Forgetfulness of your real nature is the
real death; remembrance of it is true birth. It
puts an end to successive births. Yours is then
eternal life. The intellect always seeks to have
external knowledge, leaving knowledge of its own
origin.
88. The ego-ridden mind has its strength
sapped and is too weak to resist torturing
thoughts. The egoless mind is happy. As a matter of
fact the majority of people are asleep, because
they are not awake to the Self.
89. God is the same for those who say that
the world is real and their opponents. Their
outlooks are different. You need not enmesh
yourself in such disputations The goal is one and
the same. Look to it.
90. The Self is a powerful hidden magnet. It
draws us gradually to itself.
91. The mind resting in the Self is in its
natural state, but instead of that our minds are
resting in outward objects.
92. The wrong identification with the body
arises because we have lost our moorings and
swerved from our original state.
93. From whatever directions the pilgrims
foregather, they must enter the Kaaba [a
cuboid-shaped building in Mecca] only by one
passage.
94. For the worthy disciple the work is
within himself and not without.
95. The difficulty is that a man thinks he
is the doer; it is a mistake. It is the higher
power which does everything and man is only a tool.
If he accepts that position he is free from
trouble. Otherwise he courts it.
96. I have said that equality is the true
sign of realisation. The very term equality implies
the existence of differences. It is a unity that
the jnani perceives in all differences, which I
call equality. Equality does not mean ignorance of
distinctions. When you have the realisation, you
can see that these differences are very formal,
they are not at all substantial or permanent, and
what is essential in all these appearances is the
one Truth, the real. This, I call unity.
97. For
those who are open and ready to silently receive
the Truth in the Heart, it is easily 'heard',
quietly radiating from the supreme silence and
stillness.
98. Realisation is nothing to be gained
afresh, it is already there. All that is necessary
is to get rid of the thought "I have not
realised."
99. Stillness or peace is realisation. There
is no moment when the Self is not. So long as there
is doubt or the feeling of non-realisation, the
attempt should be made to rid oneself of these
thoughts. They are due to the identification of the
Self with the not-Self. When the not-Self
disappears, the Self alone remains.
100. There is no reaching the Self. If Self
were to be reached, it would mean that the Self is
not here and now but that it is yet to be obtained.
What is got afresh will also be lost. So it will be
impermanent. What is not permanent is not worth
striving for. So I say the Self is not reached. You
are the Self; you are already That.
101. The mind turned inwards is the Self;
turned outwards, it becomes the ego and all the
world. Cotton made into various clothes we call by
various names. Gold made into various ornaments, we
call by various names. But all the clothes are
cotton and all the ornaments gold. The One is real,
the many are mere names and forms.
102. This complete Wholeness pervades all
creation within and without like formless
space.
103. True knowledge [jnana] is given
neither from outside nor from another person. It
can be realised by each and everyone in his own
Heart. The jnana Guru of everyone is only the
supreme Self that is always revealing its own Truth
in every Heart through the being-conciousness "I
am, I am." The granting of true knowledge by him is
initiation into jnana. The grace of the Guru is
only that Self-awareness that is one's own true
nature. It is the inner conciousness by which he is
unceasingly revealing his existence. This divine
upadesa is always going on naturally in
everyone.
104. True knowledge essentially consists in
possessing an eye of equality for all.
105. The mind is nothing but the thought
'I'. Thoughts rise because of the thinker. The
thinker is the ego which if sought will
automatically vanish.
106. This world is not other than the mind
and the mind is not other than the Heart.
107. You are where you have always been.
108. When the wrong identification of
oneself with the body ceases, the Master will be
found as none other than the Self.
109. Unbroken 'I-I' is the ocean, infinite;
the ego remains only a bubble on it. The bubble too
is water; when it bursts, it only mixes with the
ocean. But when it remains a bubble, it is still a
part of the ocean.
110. If objects had an independent
existence, then it would be possible for you to go
away from them. But they do not exist apart from
you, they owe their existence to you, to your
thoughts. So where can you go to escape them?
111. Effort is meant as a way not to allow
oneself to be distracted by thoughts. Having once
experienced the bliss of peace, one will not engage
oneself otherwise.
112. Truly there is no cause for you to be
miserable and unhappy. You yourself impose
limitations on your true nature of infinite being,
and then weep that you are but a finite creature.
Then you take up this or that sadhana to transcend
the non-existent limitations. But if your sadhana
itself assumes the existence of such limitations,
how can it help you to transcend them? Hence, I
say, know that you are really infinite, pure being
– the Self absolute. The only way to be rid of
your grief is to know and be the Self. How can this
be unattainable?
113. Since you identify yourself with the
physical body, you speak of this world as being
physical and the other world as spiritual. Whereas,
that which is, is only spiritual. The realised
being does not see the world as different from
himself. When you are the Self, the world appears
as Reality.
114. Reality exists by Itself, reveals
Itself by Itself and is eternal and unchanging. Of
yourself you can say "I exist". That is, yours is
not mere existence, it is existence of which you
are conscious. The world neither exists by itself,
nor is conscious of its existence. Was the world
ever seen without the aid of the mind?
115. There could be no world without the
Self. If the world be taken as consciousness, it is
always real.
116. The only useful purpose of the present
birth is to turn within and realise the Self. All
that is required is to be still. There is nothing
else to do.
117. Stillness means "destroy yourself".
Every name and form is the cause of trouble. 'I-I'
is the Self. "I am this" is the ego. When the 'I'
is kept up as the 'I' only, it is the Self. When it
flies off on a tangent and says "I am this or
that", it is ego. Your duty is to be, and not to be
this or that. "I am that I am" sums up the whole
truth. The method is summarised in "be still".
118. One may be in the thick of the world
and yet maintain perfect serenity of mind; such a
person is always in solitude. Another may stay in
the forest, but still be unable to control his
mind. He cannot be said to be in solitude.
119. Solitude amounts to making the mind
still. Where is the forest and where is the way
unless they are in you? The screen does not move
when the picture moves. Similarly, you do not move
from where you are even when the body leaves home
and mixes in society. Your body, society, the
forest and the ways are all in you. If you remain
as pure Self, the body and its movements will not
affect you. The mind must be overcome whether at
home or in the forest. If you can do it in the
forest, why not at home?
120. If you really want liberation, cast
away the pleasures of sense objects as though they
were poison.
121. Our real nature is to be without a
body. What is death but giving up the body?
Deathlessness is our real nature.
122. I am forever here.
123. Man is guilty of theft, in thinking
himself to be a being separate from that pure
indivisible consciousness, which is the true nature
of the Supreme.
124. There is nothing to be seen in the
Real.
125. If you keep to the thought of the Self,
and intently watch for It, then even that one
thought which is used as a focus in concentration
will disappear and you will simply BE, with no 'I'
or ego.
126. Because you are accustomed to
identifying yourself with the body, and sight with
the eyes, you say you do not see anything. What is
there to be seen? Who is there to see? How do you
see? There is only one consciousness, which
manifests as the 'I'-thought, identifies itself
with the body, projects itself through the eyes and
sees the objects around. The individual is limited
in the waking state and expects to see something
different. The evidence of his senses will be the
seal of authority. But he will not admit that the
seer, the seen and the sight are all manifestations
of the same consciousness.
127. Giving one's self up to God means
remaining constantly in the Self without giving
room for the rise of any thought other than the
Self.
128. Find out who is subject to free will or
predestination and abide in that state. Then both
are transcended. Discover That and be at peace.
129. Happiness is your nature. It is not
wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it
outside when it is inside.
130. The sense of body is a thought; the
thought is of the mind, the mind rises after the
'I'-thought. If that is held, the other thoughts
will disappear. There will then be no body, no
mind, not even the ego.
131. Have compassionate love for others but
keep it secret; do not make a display of it or talk
about it. If your desires are fulfilled, do not be
elated, and if you are frustrated do not be
disappointed. The elation may be deceptive; it
should be checked, for initial joy may end in final
grief. After all, whatever happens, you remain
unaffected, just as you are.
132. Activity of the mind is weakness and
consequently miserable; passivity is strength and
therefore blissful.
133. The flow of the river stops, once it
reaches the ocean and becomes one with the ocean.
Likewise, if one's mind is always meditating on the
Self, eventually it becomes Atmamayam [the same
nature as the Self].
134. Become angry with anger. Desire is the
root of anger. Desirelessness is absolute
happiness.
135. The natural name of every person is
'mukti' [liberation].
136. He is a real man who does not let go
his hold on the Self state while he is attending to
whatever problems come of their own accord and
without his desire.
137. He who thinks "I am the body" is
committing the sin of suicide. He who thinks "I am
the Self" is a person of very great fortune. A
moment of meditation on "I am the Self" will
destroy all accumulated past actions just as the
sun destroys darkness. How can karma remain
undestroyed in the one who constantly meditates
like this?
138. When sleep comes, be awake. Sleep when
you are awake. This is to sleep without sleeping.
To be free from worries is to sleep without
sleeping.
139. Desire is illusion. Desirelessness is
God.
140. The man who loves the all-supporting
God with the understanding that nothing can be
achieved by his own actions, and who expects
instead that all actions will be performed by God
alone, that man is led every minute by God along
the path of Truth.
141. Everyone is seeing himself everywhere.
One is in the same state that God and the world are
in.
142. Natural devotion is to know one's Self
and to remain permanently in that state without
forgetting it.
143. God is tinier than the atom and larger
than the cosmos. All are forms of God. Because of
our sense of difference we think that we are an
individual person. There is no mistake greater than
this in the world.
144. One
can only think of spoiling others after one has
spoiled oneself.
145. No one succeeds without effort. Those
who succeed owe their success to perseverance.
146. Perfect bliss is Reality
[Brahman]. Perfect peace is of the Self.
That alone exists and is consciousness. That which
is called happiness is only the nature of Self;
Self is not other than perfect happiness. That
which is called happiness alone exists. Knowing
that fact and abiding in the state of Self, enjoy
bliss eternally.
147. If a man thinks that his happiness is
due to external causes and his possessions, it is
reasonable to conclude that his happiness must
increase with the increase of possessions and
diminish in proportion to their diminution.
Therefore if he is devoid of possessions, his
happiness should be nil. What is the real
experience of man? Does it conform to this
view?
148. In deep sleep man is devoid of
possessions, including his own body. Instead of
being unhappy he is quite happy. Everyone desires
to sleep soundly. The conclusion is that happiness
is inherent in man and is not due to external
causes. One must realise the Self in order to open
the store of unalloyed happiness.
149. Every place is your place.
150. What is this? Who knows?
151. There is no other way to succeed than
to draw the mind back every time it turns outwards
and fix it in the Self.
152. When you give up thinking of outward
objects and prevent your mind from going outwards
and turn it inward and fix it in the Self, the Self
alone will remain.
153. The more you get fixed in the Self, the
more other thoughts will drop off by
themselves.
154. Every man is divine and strong in his
real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits,
his desires and thoughts, but not himself.
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