Guru continues: During nirvikalpa samādhi (explained here – 1 and 2), you get ātmadarśan (in literal sense it is ‘seeing of soul’.) At this point, everything related to ajñāna and thought processes arising out of it are completely destroyed. I, you, this etc. arise out of tamo and rajo guṇa-s, influence the buddhi. During ātmadarśana, all such dualities are completely destroyed as you remain with Brahman. The one who pursues spiritual path, controls his mind and senses and completely stays away from the material world. With exemplary patience, he practices nirvikalpa samādhi (which dawns on him due to his perseverance and patience) and experiences omnipresence of Brahman. Ultimately, he becomes one with Brahman and lives in perpetual blissful state. Only those who actually experience oneness with the Brahman alone are liberated. Those who simply explain and discourse on Self-realization are not the ones who are blessed to have ātmadarśan. This is to be personally experienced and any amount of reading and listening will not help; only experience counts. Everyone is surrounded by upādhi-s (discriminative appellation; discrimination; unlimited things appear as limited like sky appearing as limited). If one is able to destroy all his upādhi-s, he shines, as he stays in nirvikalpa samādhi (most of the time). There is an example for this. A bee worm always lives in fear that the mother bee would sting it. Ultimately the bee worm is stung by mother bee and the worm becomes bee itself. Similarly, the one who aspires for liberation always thinks about the Self, finally becomes Self. Principle of Brahman is extremely subtle and cannot be understood by looking at the material world. Brahman can be realized only through purest mind and only through nirvikalpa samādhi (if mind is afflicted even by 1%, nirvikalpa samādhi cannot be attained.) Gold attains purity, after putting it repeatedly in fire. Similarly, one’s mind is purified from the afflictions of guṇa-s and through intense meditation, he understands ātma tattva. His mind becomes purer with practice over a period of time he attains Brahman. He moves from savikalpa samādhi to nirvikalpa samādhi and finally remains in the state of perpetual bliss.
“Because of remaining in nirvikalpa samādhi, all his vāsanā-s are destroyed. Soon after all his vāsanā-s are destroyed, internally, externally and in all the places, he sees only the illumination of his Ātma, without any effort (without any practice). It is better to ponder over tattva-s rather than listening to discourses on Vedānta. It is better to practice nididhyāsana (profound and repeated meditation) rather than pondering over tattva-s, which is several times better than pondering over tattva-s. Nirvikalpa samādhi is infinite times better than nididhyāsana. Brahma tattva can be understood only through nirvikalpa samādhi and not by any other means. Only in nirvikalpa samādhi, mind is fixed on Brahman steadfastly. Otherwise, waves of thoughts arise in the mind, which will pull you down from your spiritual path. Therefore, my dear disciple, by controlling your indriya-s and by steadfastly fixing your mind on Brahman, destroy darkness arising out of avidyā. Silence, ignoring all those that are not essential for our living (aparigraha - any possession besides the necessary utensils of ascetics), vairagya, lack of desires and by remaining in seclusion are the first steps towards yoga. If you live in seclusion, it helps you to stay away from indriya-s. If you control your indriya-s, your mind is controlled automatically. If your mind is controlled, ego is discarded. Only after this, you experience essence of brahmānanda (Bliss). Therefore, it is important that you control your mind to realize Brahman and attain peace. This is the state of saccidānanda.
“Vairagya (indifference to worldly objects and to life) is very important for spiritual life. It is only the vairagya, which is the cause of internal and external renunciation and leads to liberation. The one with vairagya, does not associate himself with the material world and his antaḥkaraṇa (mind, intellect and ego) and gets ready to renounce. My dear disciple! Listen. For a bird, its two wings are important. Similarly, for the one who wants to pursue spiritual path, vairagya and viveka (the power of separating the invisible Self from the visible world) are like two wings to a bird. One wing alone will not be of any use to a bird and similarly either one of them (vairagya and viveka) will not be of any use in the path of liberation. One can enter into samādhi only if he has vairagya. Ultimate knowledge will be imparted only during samādhi. Because of these reasons, detach from everything for the sake of your liberation, always fix your mind only on the Self. Listen to my advice. Viṣaya-s (anything perceptible by the senses, any object of affection or concern or attention, any special worldly object or aim or matter, sensual enjoyment, etc.) are like poison. Get rid of attachment on viṣaya-s. Desires lead to death. Shed your ego and go beyond your religion, caste and creed. Fix your consciousness only on Brahman. In reality you are only a witness, because you are that immaculate Brahman.
“Brahman is the ultimate goal of meditation. Fix your mind on That only. Keep your body firm and steady. Do not give any importance to pampering of your body. By continuously meditating on the Self, you will experience bliss. You have to work towards this goal and everything else is waste of time. Any thought that is not related to the Self is impure and is the cause for all sorrows. Shed all those thoughts and always meditate on the ever illuminating Self. Your only goal should be attaining Brahman through perpetual meditation.”
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June 11, 2016 02:55 PM
Does here upadi refer to the notion that we are limiting the soul, in other words we get confused that soul is different from Brahman but in fact soul does not exist and everything is Brahman?
Hence the difference that we perceive because of ego (Maya) which makes us to understand that the world is different and the person is different and ego is different from each other. Forgetting that all are the manifestations.
Also can you please explain what do you mean by a khaki with proper knowledge with be able to understand the difference/relation between himself and the universe? What does it actually mean
June 11, 2016 03:22 PM
Sorry typo error for jnani instead of khaki
June 11, 2016 05:56 PM
Krishna talks about the various stages of consciousness citing differentiation between a jnani, a yogi and a devotee. Gita deals with material, astral and spiritual planes corresponding to body, mind and soul. Every word used by Krishna has deeper meanings. Great scholars have labored to bring out the hidden treasures in each word. The word of the Brahman obviously is difficult to interpret. We have been discussing about ‘karma’ frequently. Krishna’s interpretation of karma and its effect on the soul is beyond comprehension. The superior relationship between the Brahman and soul is also explained. If one wants to deliberate on Gita beyond its gross meaning, there is no end to it and possibly nobody can find an end. It will be an eternal unanswered question. For every word of Krishna, there are gross and subtle meanings. Gross meaning can be understood by a devotee and subtle meaning can be understood by jnanis and yogis. An ordinary devotee can progress to the stage of jnani and yogi, if he is able to cleanse his consciousness by discarding the bad master of a man called ego. When you say ‘I’ it indicates your ego and when you say ‘I am That’ it indicates your jnani status. When ‘I am That’ is dissolved and merged with cosmic consciousness, it is self-realization, the stage of yogi. For a yogi nothing exists except the Brahman and he will not for a moment use ‘I’. If at all he uses ‘I’ it will mean to refer the Brahman. A yogi is a self-realized person.
A jnani (wise man), though a realised man has to follow the law of Nature as long he exists in human form. He is also bound by the adversities of senses such as likes and dislikes as the entire living beings act due to the sensory influences. There is no purpose of exercising external influence to control the effects of sensory perceptions, as the law of Nature is bound to defeat any such move. But, the law of karma can make a person immune to perceptions. The law of karma is a powerful force to reckon with, as the karmic account is built over several births and the influences (vasana) of the earlier births are adhered, to cast significant effects during this birth. Even in the case of a jnani, he has to undergo the effects of karma. But the difference between a jnani and an ordinary man is that jnani is aware that he is not responsible for his actions, whereas an ordinary man is influenced by ego takes credit for his actions, thereby accumulating further karmas. It must be remembered that both good karmas and bad karmas cause rebirths. The difference between the two is that the one with good karmas does not suffer and the one with bad karmas undergoes sufferings and miseries. But none of them merge with the Brahman. The merger with the Brahman bechances only if one is able to surrender the effects of all his actions to the Brahman. In the case of a jnani, he is not concerned about his pleasure and pain, as they are one and the same for him. He acts according the prescribed sastras or righteousness, thereby sets an example for others to follow. Krishna calls likes and dislikes as the impediments to one’s spiritual quest.
(Source: My Bhagavad Gītā book)
June 11, 2016 06:22 PM
Sorry one more question. The last few articles talk about faith about the Self, but how can one achieve such highest level of faith, as the nature of the Self once when we remove all type of kosha's and Maya it is so inert and has no existence at all , the intellect will question on who I am or what is the point (may be the ego is talking here as it does not want to lose identity but not sure as I do not find a logical answer)?
Sorry but if I'm Brahman after removing everything and also even Maya(ego and material world) is also Brahman as these arise out of Brahman. Then who or what am I , in both gross and subtle sense? So logically as everything is Brahman, so why is this round about journey. Apologies for such basic question coming at this stage.
June 11, 2016 06:35 PM
The concept of surrendering is a very interesting doctrine. The initial step of surrender is the faith in the Brahman. This faith is difficult to repose as the Brahman is not visible and has to be only perceived. Based on this fact, the theory of self-realization is prophesied, looking for the source of creation within.
You are Brahman. Here comes the confusion. Material world is also Brahman and we can say it is due to His Power. You are both gross and subtle. If you move from your gross body to subtle body and then to causal body, you will find Brahman in effulgent form. That Brahman who is within you pervades the entire universe. We have to meditate on this and knowledge will be revealed to you in your samadhi. It is not a round about journey. One can make a statement that he is Brahman. One can say "I am Brahman". But this is not realization. As Brahman is pure, all impurities have to be shed. Only then, we can attain our goal. Knowledge is the sole factor for realization and this knowledge is imparted to us through Vivekachudamani.
June 11, 2016 06:58 PM
Thank you very much Guruji