Self Knowledge 24nov09 Cur

Self-Knowledge
(tmabodh)
A modern translation of and commentary on tmabodh (Self-Knowledge) of Adi Shankara 788-820 AD)
By Patrick J. Brennan
Self-Knowledge Copyright 2002 by Patrick J. Brennan All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................1 DEDICATION..........................................................................................................2 GENESIS OF THIS TRANSLATION......................................................................3 SOME FOUNDATION PRINCIPLES......................................................................5 HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF TMABODH........................7 ABSORBING THE ESSENTIAL MESSAGE OF TMABODH...........................11 INVOCATION........................................................................................................13
Welcome to a treatise on Self-Knowledge..................................................................................................14 Self-Knowledge leads directly to liberation...............................................................................................14 Can action destroy Primal Ignorance?.......................................................................................................15 Due to Primal Ignorance, the Self appears finite......................................................................................15 Purify the lower self and Self-Knowledge arises.......................................................................................15 The world seems Real, but relative to the Self, it is unReal.....................................................................16 When does the world cease appearing Real?............................................................................................17 The universe is as transient as a bubble.....................................................................................................17 The phenomenal world is a projection on the Self....................................................................................18 The Self is non-dual but appears divided because of unReal factors......................................................18 Delusion imposes illusory differences on the Self......................................................................................19 Three conditionings are imposed on the Self: the gross, subtle and causal bodies. The first conditioning is the gross body.....................................................................................................................19 The subtle body: the second conditioning..................................................................................................20 The causal body; the third conditioning....................................................................................................20 Identification with the not-Self clouds awareness of the Self...................................................................21 By distinguishing between the Self and the not-Self, find the Self at the core of the five sheaths.......22 A clear intellect reflects the Self.................................................................................................................22
The Self is other than the body, senses, mind and intellect.....................................................................23 The mind and senses are active, but the Self is the immutable ground of all action.............................23 Because of the Self, the body, senses, mind and intellect are alive.........................................................24 Although the mind erroneously assigns qualities, the Self is without any qualities whatsoever..........24 The Self, being the mirror in which I-ness is reflected, has no sense of agency....................................25 Attachment, desire, pleasure and suffering are not found in the Self....................................................26 What is the nature of the Self?....................................................................................................................26 The mental concept I know is a product of the lower self....................................................................27 The delusion of the lower self......................................................................................................................27 Fear and fearlessness...................................................................................................................................28 The mind draws its sentience from the Self...............................................................................................28 The Self illuminates Itself............................................................................................................................29 The Self in you is identical with the Self in all..........................................................................................29 Realize Brahman by dropping all ephemeral conditionings....................................................................30 The whole world perceived by the senses is a mere projection on Reality. The following six verses present a mental process that can establish this conceptual understanding as existential knowledge, leading to an awakening to the Reality of Brahman................................................................................30 The Self is not subject to mental or physical constraints.........................................................................31 The Self is free of all qualities.....................................................................................................................31 The Self is all pervading yet transcends all...............................................................................................32 What is the nature of Brahman, the Self in all?........................................................................................32 The experience of I am Brahman destroys Primal Ignorance.............................................................33 Meditation on the Self..................................................................................................................................33 Merging the phenomenal world into the Self............................................................................................34 What is the effect of awakening to the Supreme?.....................................................................................34 The Self is of the nature of undifferentiated unity....................................................................................35 A discerning meditation prepares the way for Self-Knowledge..............................................................36 The destruction of Primal Ignorance reveals the Self..............................................................................36 Primal Ignorance alone obscures the Self..................................................................................................37
Through delusion, Brahman is perceived as an individual......................................................................37 Self-Knowledge destroys the illusory ideas of I and Mine...............................................................38 How does a Knower of the Self view the universe?...................................................................................38 Self and the universe are identical..............................................................................................................39 Characteristics of a Sage.............................................................................................................................39 The liberated Yogi shines from within.......................................................................................................40 The Sage in the world..................................................................................................................................41 How a Sage relates to the world..................................................................................................................41 The death of a Sage......................................................................................................................................42 Brahman is fullness, blessedness and omniscience...................................................................................42 Brahman is beyond seeing, becoming and knowing.................................................................................43 Brahman is Reality, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss............................................................43 The Vedantic path to Brahman..................................................................................................................44 Brahman is the embodiment of Infinite Bliss............................................................................................44 Brahman is present in everything...............................................................................................................45 Brahman has no outer characteristics........................................................................................................46 Brahman is That by which all things are made manifest.........................................................................46 Brahman animates the whole universe.......................................................................................................47 All is Brahman; all else is illusion...............................................................................................................47 Whatever is perceived is none other than Brahman................................................................................48 The eye-ofwisdom alone sees the Self.......................................................................................................48 Purify the conditioned mind and Self-Knowledge arises.........................................................................49 The Self rises in a purified heart................................................................................................................49 Self-Knowledge brings the infinite into the finite.....................................................................................50
GLOSSARY..........................................................................................................51 REFERENCES......................................................................................................55
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Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people who helped me fashion the translation of the text of tmabodh (Self-Knowledge). At an early stage, Pavani Marden and Maurelle Wyeth, who studied with Swami Chinmayananda, provided much needed corrections to some verses. My friend Peter Kirwin gave me good insight and suggestions. Thomas Burke read the Sanskrit text with me and checked it against the translation. He also helped to elucidate some subtle points in the Sanskrit script. Later, Aviva Keller, who had undertaken the Vedanta Course at the Sandeepany Sadhanalaya Ashram, gave the translation a very careful and exact reading that wrought some subtle changes and helped my understanding. Lastly, Carol Broderson looked at the translation with the eye of a modern poet and convinced me to make some final changes. Niamh Fleming edited the translation and commentary. Alaric Naiman and John Rodriguez proofread the complete text with me and their suggestions and comments were invaluable. Aviva Keller gave the complete text a reading and suggested some crucial updates. Carol Johnson proofread the complete text with a very discerning eye. Gabrielle Isenbrand proofread the complete text from a Zen Buddhist perspective, which for me was very useful. Irene Fairley read the complete text and helped me to clarify a few sections. Ruth Lepson brought the eye of a poet and the freshness of a child, which led to some deep interchanges.
Dedication
I dedicate this text to my teacher, Swami Chinmayananda (1916 1993 AD), who came from India with the gift of the Knowledge of Reality. In all the twenty years that I knew him, he never ceased to teach by example and daily lectures, never veering from the vision of the inner Truth to which he had awakened. He was a Sage who had crossed over an inner barrier from which one never returns. The present text of tmabodh (SelfKnowledge) is one of the texts that he used as teaching material. Some verses in tmabodh give a description of how he appeared to those who were fortunate enough to meet and study with him. Through his grace, I was led close to the edge of the bottomless depths of the Self, the Reality that is the core of each person. I cannot thank him enough for the blessings he showered on me, and yet he sought no thanks. He was like the sun shining on all who were willing to allow a beam of light to illumine the dark interiors of the mind. I continue to live with the memory of his piercing example. Before he died in August 1993, he saw an earlier version of this translation and gave it his wholehearted blessings.
Genesis of This Translation

Two English translations of Shankara's profound and beautiful work, tmabodh (SelfKnowledge) 1, 2 already exist. These translations are an excellent resource for seekers of Self-Knowledge who desire access to one of the most compact and precise expressions of the Vedantic philosophy 3 of liberation. Why, then, is a third translation necessary? The current translation of tmabodh and the commentary represent a conscious effort to present this material in a succinct and direct manner. I hope that this will help to pierce the mental confusions, which are dualistic in nature and centered in the lower self 4 that dominates the prevailing sensibility. The lower self apparently becomes an independent subject and defines the observed world of the senses as the objective world. This objective world appears to be the only reality that exists outside the individual. Thus, the lower self and the objective world define the only reality that the lower self can acknowledge. The text of tmabodh points to the Reality that is the foundation of the objective world and the lower self. In tmabodh, Shankara created a work of precision and conciseness. The present translation attempts to capture its essence in a clear and lucid manner. However, there cannot be a final translation for all time. Every language is embedded in the prevailing culture. Therefore, a translator must attempt to interpret the text clothed in the words and concepts of the present era. To do so, I have sought to lead seekers beyond the caverns of their own minds to find the Reality that all seek, knowingly or unknowingly. Where English is not rich enough in cultural associations, I have elaborated on terms (such as Self) necessary to the understanding and practice of Vedanta. The current translation maintains the verse form of the original Sanskrit text in an attempt to speak directly to a modern audience while remaining true to the original. Both the translation and the commentary present the ideas of tmabodh in the language of modern consciousness to make it more accessible to an audience that is new to Vedanta.
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Self-Knowledge (AtmaBodha) by Swami Nikhilananda, published by RamakrishnaVivekananda Center, New York. 1989. This text contains a long and valuable introduction and a translation of AtmaBodha with notes, but no commentary, on each verse.
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AtmaBodh by Swami Chinmayananda 1977, published by the Chinmaya Publications Trust and distributed by Chinmaya Mission West, P.O. Box 129, Piercy, CA, 95587. This text has a short introduction, and the translation has an extensive commentary on each verse.
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Literally, the conclusion of the Vedas. a system of philosophy and practice grounded in the Upanishads. Also called the Science of Life, which leads to Self-Knowledge. The lower self: the inner subject that I identify with and feel that I am.
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Accordingly, the use of Sanskrit terms is kept to a minimum. I hope that the current text will appeal to a Westerm audience who will find, in Vedanta, an inner teaching of the utmost subtlety that is firmly grounded in human experience. The translation was prepared with rigor and reference to prior translations and other relevant works, based on a multi-year exposure to one of the greatest modern exponents of Vedanta, Swami Chinmayananda, and a three-year traditional Vedantic training in India. The English translation was refined over a period of years with input from skilled readers, writers and practitioners of various spiritual practices. Intended more as an aid for sincere seekers of liberation rather than an academic treatise, this volume may prove valuable to those outside the Vedantic tradition who wish to gain greater insight into these teachings. In particular, it may appeal to those who have sensed the limitations of a purely intellectual approach to the inner search, yet who recognize that the intellect has a role to play. This text is offered as a call from beyond the reach of rational knowledge. Yet, it draws on the clarity of a long and sober tradition of investigation into the source of the mind. One can return to it as one returns to a great work of art. Each visitation can open up new insights that enable one to better navigate the outer reaches of the mind. In this way, the text can help lay the groundwork for a remaking of the hidden environment of the mind. When the unsensing sensation and unthinking thought are swept away, the inner landscape comes alive again. May you find the deep well of inspiration and joy that awaits those who open their hearts to the cleansing fire of Self-Knowledge.
Some Foundation Principles

Vedanta has its own technical terms with specialized meanings in Sanskrit. To clarify this subtle teaching I have used certain English words with specialized meanings rather than using the original Sanskrit terms. It would be useful to become familiar with these usages before beginning a perusal of the text. Brahman: The Supreme Reality that is identical with ones own Self and is the unseen foundation of the world of the senses. Causal body: The seed form of Primal Ignorance, which is the cause of the gross and subtle bodies. In deep sleep, the lower self is identified with the causal body. Gross body: The physical body that originated from the food eaten by the parents and is sustained by food. I: Refers to the Self, the Reality underlying the lower self. I: Refers to the lower self that appears to be Real but is unReal. Intellect: The entity that processes rational, logical decision-making for the lower self and performs the functions of willing and wishing. The dictates of the conditioned mind often overpower the intellect. Liberation or enlightenment: The state of complete peace and freedom leading to endless bliss, and the culmination of the path of Self-Knowledge. Lord of the universe or God: The presumed unseen presence in the universe, conceptualized as omnipotent and omniscient, that seems to play the role of the creator and overseer of the universe of the senses. The Lord of the universe is one logical explanation of the experience of existence and satisfies the minds need for a cause of the universe. The Lord of the universe is conceived as wielding the power of My or Primal Ignorance, which is the cause for the mans bondage. When Self-Knowledge arises, the Lord of the universe, like all other conceptualized entities, is recognized as a product of the mind and as such is part of the not-Self. My: When Primal Ignorance obscures the Reality of Brahman, My projects the world of multiplicity. Due to My, the undifferentiated world of Brahman is seen as the world of multiplicity perceived by the senses. Mind or conditioned mind: The entity that processes feelings and emotions for the lower self, and in turn, influences the self in its choice of actions. Subconscious impressions (vasanas) installed by prior mental and physical actions condition the mind, and current mental and physical actions strengthen these impressions.
Not-Self: Whatever can be experienced or known through the mind, intellect or imagination. Primal Ignorance or Ignorance: The existential, indescribable ignorance that gives rise to My (Primal Delusion), which conceals the Self and gives rise to the whole phenomenal world and the lower self. Primal Ignorance is beginningless and is destroyed by Self-Knowledge. Real: That which remains unchanged during the past, present and future. Sat-chit-ananda: Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute, which is how the Self is experienced in the deepest meditation. self or lower self: The inner subject that I identify with and feel that I am. When a person suffers, it is the lower self that suffers, and rises and falls with the emotions. The lower self thinks that it makes decisions and reaps their results. Ultimately the self recognizes that it is in bondage to the sense-objects in the finite world of attractions and repulsions. Then, the lower self awakens to Self-Knowledge on realizing that, beyond the disorientating flux of mental experiences, it is identical with the Self. Self or Supreme Self: The Essence or Reality immanent in each person that is identical with Brahman, the Reality behind the whole universe. Self-Knowledge: The Knowledge of the Self that destroys Primal Ignorance and leads to liberation from all suffering, opening the doors to unending Bliss. Subtle body: The entity that animates the gross body and underlies the individuals unique experience and personality. The subtle body directs diverse faculties: the five organs-of-action speech, hands, legs, anus and genitals; the five organs-of-perception ears, skin, eyes, tongue, nose; the physiological systems; the intellect and mind; Primal Ignorance, desire and action. Thus, the personality shines and the individual interacts with the world outside and gains experience, as the subtle body acts through the gross body. UnReal or real: That which changes with the passage of timethe whole world of the senses.
Historical Context and Significance of tmabodh

tmabodh (Self-Knowledge) is a short Sanskrit text traditionally attributed to Shankara (788-820 AD), summarizing in 68 verses the teachings of non-dualistic 5Vedanta. Vedanta is that unique outpouring of inner knowledge embodied in the Upanishads. The Upanishads comprise the latter parts of the four Vedas, which are the foundation of the sacred texts of the Hindu people. tmabodh presents the teachings of Vedanta in the compact form of a poem. Vedanta is a Science of Life that addresses the most basic questions for instance: Who am I?. Vedanta suggests that the answer to this question will make all other questions redundant. Its methods are scientific in their logic and rigor, and in their ultimate reliance on experiment. The experiment is a subjective one, carried out in the intellect and heart of each individual. Thus, Vedanta is democratic in its essence. Born of the living practice of great Sages, Vedanta encompasses the philosophy of the Upanishads and presents the clearest vision of the essence of spirituality. Vedanta is based on personal experience rather than on a creed. This ever-fresh teaching in pursuit of the Truth emphasizes personal effort, transformation and realization as the most efficacious path leading to an awakening to the Self. Vedanta also provides a mythic foundation that enlivens and sublimates other myths. It undergirds human values and engenders a purpose in the mind that will sustain ones deepest aspirations. With a continuum of teachings from the basic to the most sublime, Vedanta is unflinching in its teaching that each person is, in essence, identical with the Reality behind all appearances. The aim of life is to awaken to this great realization. The words of a text such as tmabodh can be the vehicle that enables the mind to leap beyond itself to this great realization. Vedanta also teaches that all spiritual paths lead to the same goal because all the major religions have pointers to the ultimate Reality . People of various faiths find that a study of Vedanta enhances their understanding of their own faith. They experience a heightened awareness and a deeper insight into their own beliefs. At the same time, Vedanta stands as a complete system by itself, including within its compass an all-consuming vision and the disciplines, maps, and methods required to realize that vision. Vedanta has the potential to provide an overarching teaching to bind together the disparate members of the human family, as we face a seemingly ever more complex future. Today, we live in a vastly different social, political, economic, and cultural epoch from that in which tmabodh was composed. However, an individual living at that time, or one living today, might experience a certain underlying feeling of uneasiness. Both epochs witnessed fundamental changes in the bedrock faith that holds a people together. At such times, various factions seek to impose their viewpoints on the populace. In India in 788 AD, Shankara wrote commentaries on the major Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita,
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Non-dualism: the teaching that Reality is undifferentiated and not describable in terms of difference, or subject and object, thus difference has no ultimate reality.
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systematized the teaching of Vedanta and set up four centers entrusted with preserving and teaching Vedanta. He appeared like a fast burning meteorite streaking across the firmament. In a short life of 32 years, he reinvigorated and restored the faith of the people in the perennial teachings of Vedanta. These teachings are universal in their appeal and in their application. They have provided the anchor that enabled India to maintain an unbroken inner tradition stretching from prehistoric times to the present. The teachings are as relevant today as when they first emerged in human consciousness, appealing to the individual to awaken to a higher life that lies dormant within each person. Each person glimpses this higher life fleetingly at random times, but forgets these awakenings and settles for a life of quiet desperation as mentioned by Thoreau. Vedanta reminds us of the source of our awakenings and shows us that the higher life is our birthright. By means of a subtle, inner, subjective journey, we trade the life of quiet desperation for inner peace and poise. The journey, spoken of by the Sages, has no outer signposts, but Vedanta offers pointers at various stages along this inner path that fuses the outer and the inner in an ever-unfolding present. The following text of tmabodh (Self-Knowledge) was inspired by a previous translation by my teacher Swami Chinmayananda. He believed that the soil of the modern rational mind, with its rigidly structured foundation, was prepared for a universal teaching. Science itself has found a need to transcend its own self-defined, logical categories and to accept demonstrable truths which are not logically consistent. Thus, based on experimental measurements, light is accepted as both a waveform and as composed of particles, which, according to our present scientific understanding, is not possible. Mathematics has proven to itself that knowledge will always extend beyond the realm of the logically provable. In addition, organized religions have found their dogmatic teachings questioned, with a resultant loss of teaching authority. In response to these seismic cracks in the public worldview, many people seek refuge in fundamentalist beliefs. tmabodh presents a worldview that complements the scientific findings and the religious faith of mankind by pointing the mind to the source of its own Reality. It speaks to the individual where all issues finally meet. All human actions originate in the heart and mind of each person. tmabodh points ones awareness to that hidden source. The West has not consistently investigated or prized this exercise in self-awareness. tmabodh is unflinching in its teaching that one lives in a world of shadows cast by ones identifications with the world of appearances. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify with the inner Witness of my thoughts and actions, and to disentangle myself from my identification with these thoughts and actions. This self-awareness can lead to a profound realization that my fears and mental sufferings spring from my identification with my thoughts and emotions. In reality, I am not these thoughts and emotions, I am their Witness. This realization has profound consequences in ones life. tmabodh leads us to an awakening, a baptism into a new world of living, where ones old life, of slavery to the whims and fancies of the mind, withers away. tmabodh draws its inspiration from a long tradition of enquiry into the Reality hidden by the projected world of the senses, and with the use of aphorisms, evokes this Reality that
is the essence of the Self6 within each person. It affirms the identity of the Self within each person and the Reality that lies hidden by the projected world of the senses. When accepted as a potential, experiential fact, this central affirmation opens the heart to a new relationship with the experiential world and a clear distinction between the inner Witness and the experienced world. This experienced world encompasses the phenomenal world of the senses, the sensate world of the body, the world of the mind with its emotions, passions, attractions and repulsions, and the world of the intellect with its memory, imagination, logic and search for meaning. In the tumult of everyday life, we forget our source in the Self so that the inner Witness becomes identified with the experienced world. Thus, the lower self7 is born to enjoy and suffer in its self-concocted world. The presentation of tmabodh in a poetic setting is typical of some Vedantic works, such as the much longer text of the Bhagavad Gita, which has more than seven hundred verses. The flexibility of the Sanskrit language enables each line in tmabodh to have the same number of beats. Traditionally, the text was chanted and committed to memory. Thus, it became implanted in the subconscious mind, giving the conscious mind a wonderful poetic playground within which to renew itself, again and again. The poetic rendering allows a certain non-conceptual knowledge to take root among the words of the conceptual ideas. The mind, drawn more and more to its inner playground, learns to become a witness to, but not a participant in, the swirling outer turmoil. This is the start of an inner pilgrimage to the shrine of the Self, and, paradoxically, an outer pilgrimage to a saner personal world than one ever thought possible. tmabodh, being a Vedantic text, uses ideas and concepts taken from the Samkhya philosophical system. This philosophical system is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy. Vedanta uses the Samkhya philosophy when describing the relative world where knowledge is gained through the medium of the senses and the mind. This knowledge is referred to as relative knowledge (apara vidya), as opposed to absolute knowledge (para vidya), which is Self-Knowledge8. The mind works with relative knowledge, which is dualistic (dvaita), while Self-Knowledge is non-dualistic (advaita). With dualistic thinking, there are three entities involved, the subject (the knower), the object (to be known), and the knowledge (of the object). However, these three entities are never apart. Where there is an object, there is a subject who knows the object. Where there is knowledge, there is the object of knowledge and a subject or knower. One cannot separate the knower, the known, and the knowledge (of the known). By following this clue to its source, the Vedantic Sages found that the ground of these three entities is the Self. When I awaken to the realization that I am the Self, the dualistic distinction between the knower, the known, and the knowledge (of the known) vanishes like an illusion. The three entities remain but they are not recognized as separate entities. The
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Self: The Essence or Reality immanent in each person that is identical with Brahman, the Reality behind the whole universe. Lower self: The inner subject that I identify with and feel that I am. Self-Knowledge: The Knowledge of the Self that destroys Primal Ignorance and leads to liberation from all suffering, opening the doors to unending Bliss.
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knower, the known and the knowledge are recognized as none other than the Self. The world of duality is subsumed by the world of non-duality. Psychological fear has its roots in duality. As long as something is separate from me, I may interpret it as a threat, and, thus, I am afraid. From fear spring the myriad psychological afflictions (samsra9) of everyday life in a world of change and becoming. Non-duality vanquishes psychological fear by annulling duality at the psychological level. Where there is no other, where is there room for psychological fear? Vedanta uses the concept of the embodied Self or lower self (jva10). The lower self is a limitation (updhi11), or illusory conditioning, imposed on the Self. The lower self lives in a world of duality and, thus, in a world of fear and attendant psychological afflictions. The lower self is composed of three bodies: the gross body12 (sthula sharra), the subtle body13 (suksma sharra), and the causal body14 (karana sharra). The gross body is the physical body formed from the food eaten. At a deeper level, it is composed of the gross qualities of the five great elements, space (akasha), air (vayu), fire (agni), water (apah), and earth (prithvi). The gross body occupies space, the breathing and respiratory system depend on air, the warmth of the body is akin to fire, and the physical body is composed of water and the plants of the earth. The gross body is the vehicle within which the lower self experiences pleasure and pain. It is acquired as a result of past actions and is subject to the six modifications (existence, birth, growth, maturity, decay, and death). Composed of the subtle form of the five great elements, the subtle body is a subtle form that gives life to the gross body, to all the physiological systems, and to the organs of action and perception. The subtle body is the instrument of experiences, while the gross body is the vehicle of experience. This is akin to electricity, which activates an electric motor. The electric motor is the vehicle; the electricity is the instrument through which the electric motor does useful work. The subtle body is the result of past deeds. When it departs, the gross body dies. The causal body is the cause of the existence of the gross and subtle bodies and is associated with a state of inexplicable Primal Ignorance15 (of the Self). In deep sleep, a
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Samsra: The relative world experienced through the senses. The world of change and becoming, the phenomenal world. Jva: The individual self, which is none other than the Self, illusorily conditioned by the body, mind and intellect. Updhi: A spurious limitation or superimposition imposed upon the Self, through Primal Ignorance. Gross body: The physical body that originated from the food eaten by the parents and is sustained by food. Subtle body: The entity that animates the gross body and underlies the individuals unique experience and personality. Causal Body: The seed form of Primal Ignorance, which is the cause of the gross and subtle bodies. In deep sleep, the lower self is identified with the causal body.
10 11 12 13
14
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Primal Ignorance: The existential, indescribable ignorance that gives rise to My (Primal Delusion), which hides the Self and gives rise to the whole phenomenal world
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person identifies with the causal body and, thus, is ignorant of both the subtle and gross bodies. Being ignorant of the gross and subtle bodies, which are the cause of the sense of duality, the deep sleeper is free from duality or division. Thus, the deep sleeper experiences a happiness or bliss due to being free from identification with the body and the mind. Yet, the deep sleeper resides in a state of nothingness or unknowing and, being Ignorant of the Self, cannot experience the full Bliss of the Self. On awakening from deep sleep a person identifies again with the constrictions of the subtle and gross bodies, and becomes aware of a lingering happiness or bliss from the deep sleep state. Self-Knowledge destroys the state of Primal Ignorance that gave rise to the causal, subtle, and gross bodies, and ends the cycle of rebirth. A seeker of liberation16 (moksha) needs to sharpen the intellect (buddhi) by distinguishing (viveka) between the eternal (nitya), or Self, and the ephemeral (anitya), or lower self. Brahman17, alone, is eternal; all else is bound by time. Brahman is the foundation of everything and the Reality behind all manifestations. Brahman is identical with the Self (Atman). One of the aims of the present translation of tmabodh has been to present it in a compact form that reflects some of the poetic beauty of the original. The original Sanskrit text is a marvel of brevity, in which compactness of form and beauty of expression are paramount, and in these respects, the original text has an austere beauty of its own. If one approaches it as a student approaches a beloved teacher, it will help to elevate the mind. However, to sense its more subtle suggestions, a study of the Vedanta Philosophy is recommended. This study should be pursued, if possible, under the guidance of a person who is a living example of the teachings and should be accompanied by an intense, inner, subjective analysis. A sincere effort to live in harmony with the Self, the ground of ones being and the psychic life, will reap a harvest of inner blessings. Then the full import of tmabodh will reveal itself. If this translation succeeds in any way, it is due to the intuitions inspired by my teacher and friend, Swami Chinmayananda. To labor in search of the Self Is to live already In the land of the free, While struggling courageously on.
Absorbing the Essential Message of tmabodh

This section presents a translation and a short commentary on each of the verses of the Sanskrit text tmabodh (Self-Knowledge). It is a text that is studied at the beginning of a Vedantic training. In a traditional setting, the teacher comments on each verse in turn. tmabodh was also chanted daily and in so doing, parts of it were slowly committed to memory. The student also chanted portions to prepare for meditation.
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Liberation: The state of complete peace and freedom leading to endless bliss, and the culmination of the path of Self-Knowledge. Brahman: The ultimate reality that is identical with the Self.
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A traditional training in Vedanta follows a logical process: 1) Listening to and studying a series of Vedantic texts with a teacher. 2) Ruminating on the themes of the texts and resolving any doubts by questioning the teacher. 3) Constantly meditating on the teachings, as doubts are resolved. This process gradually leads to the removal of all existential doubts, and the seekers mind, like the sphinx in the desert, looks out, unruffled by the broiling sea of human affairs. With this inner equilibrium as a base, the mind is now free to open itself to the deepest insights of Vedanta. A modern seeker without a Teacher can attempt to follow the traditional process as far as possible. Read tmabodh slowly at least once. Read each verse, including the commentary, and quietly consider its meaning and its import for you. Let it speak to you at a profound level and savor its deep message. Ask yourself if, at some level, within you, you can give your assent to it. If not, proceed to the next verse, but continue to ruminate upon the prior verse. Return to this verse later and read it again, pondering its deeper implications and remembering that although words by their nature are limiting they can unlock the door to the infinite. In time, as your ability to distinguish between ever more subtle shades of meaning grows, you will invoke a deeper wisdom within, which will encompass the subtle import of the verse. Continue as long as it takes until you have embraced each verse of tmabodh. Let your mind ponder the underlying themes of tmabodh in your quieter moments. Return to read the verses when your mind needs a refreshing rest from the stresses of worldly living. At the time of meditation, let the mantle of Self-Knowledge descend upon you. Slowly read a few verses of tmabodh, savoring each word as your mind settles down, calmed by the great themes of the Self. Slip into meditation, enfolded by the Self, to awaken to the Reality of the Self.
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Invocation
At dawn, I remember the Reality of the Self experienced within the cave of the heart, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The supreme state of peerless clarity. The ultimate plane of Consciousness that eternally illumines the worlds of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. I am that part-less Brahman, not this assemblage of becomings.
This invocation is a remembering, from deep within, of the immediate experience of the Self in meditation. Any experience of the Reality of the Self differs from other experiences which are indirect, mediated and other than the Self. This brush with Reality pierces the cleavage of duality upon which the world of phenomena is projected. Never again can duality have complete power over the mind. The waves of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep emerge from the ocean of that Reality. Inexplicably, I experience myself as that Reality, and this world of phenomena is but a shadow on the screen of Reality. When I meditate and the mind slows down, the Reality of the Self rises to replace the flickering world of phenomena.
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Self-Knowledge 24Nov09 Draft Not for public dissemination Copy as of : 3/12/201319:45:12 a3/p3 File Self_Knowledge_24Nov09_Cur.doc tmabodh Translation and Commentary
Welcome to a treatise on Self-Knowledge.

1 This treatise of Self-Knowledge is for those seekers of liberation who have purified the mind by disciplines and are peaceful and free from cravings. This treatise of Self-Knowledge is for those individuals who have committed themselves to the search for inner freedom and those who are open to the idea of a discipline that leads to complete inner freedom. We are bound by inner fetters that constrain us more securely than outer constraints ever can. These inner fetters are invisible to the outer eye, but are visible to the eye-of-awareness. When the light of awareness brings these inner limitations to the notice of the conscious mind, the search for inner freedom can begin. The disciplines of Vedanta purify the mind of extraneous disturbances and help to open the eye-of-awareness. Such a mind is a haven of peace that removes cravings as light abolishes darkness.
Self-Knowledge leads directly to liberation.

2 Just as fire is essential for cooking, so Self-Knowledge is necessary for liberation. Indeed, compared with other spiritual practices, Self-Knowledge is the direct path to liberation. The search for inner freedom reaches its resolution in the Self-Knowledge that is both the path and the ultimate goal. Self-Knowledge is independent of the spiritual tradition followed and is the essence of all inner traditions. In cooking bread, fire is the immaterial but essential ingredient that transforms inedible dough into the edible bread. Just so, as Self-Knowledge arises, the mental gaze turns from the outer world of objects to the inner world of Reality that I am. All spiritual disciplines are finally efficacious to the extent that they lead to Self-Knowledge. Inner disciplines lie fallow until seeded with SelfKnowledge, and the burgeoning sprouts overpower the remaining weeds of selfimportance. Self-Knowledge is the essential discipline that destroys Primal Ignorance18 and leads to complete liberation.
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Primal Ignorance: The indescribable, beginningless ignorance that gives rise to My (Primal Delusion) and the lower self. Primal Ignorance hides the Self and is destroyed by Self-Knowledge.
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Can action destroy Primal Ignorance?

3 Self-Knowledge destroys Primal Ignorance of our true nature, just as light vanquishes darkness. Yet action cannot destroy this Primal Ignorance because action is not opposed to it. All actions, mental and physical, are finite acts that lead to finite results at the mental or physical level. Can any finite act lead to Self-Knowledge and complete inner freedom? Vedanta answers the question in the negative. A finite act, no matter how intricate or compelling, cannot destroy Primal Ignorance, which is beginningless. As knowledge destroys ignorance, so Self-Knowledge destroys Self-Ignorance or Primal Ignorance. Vedanta is a compendium of teachings in the inner knowledge tradition, which when practiced and embraced leads to Self-Knowledge.
Due to Primal Ignorance, the Self appears finite.

4 Because of Primal Ignorance The Self appears finite. When Primal ignorance is destroyed, the undivided, pure Self reveals Itself, like the sun when clouds pass away. Each individual has the common experience of feeling limited and finite. Indeed, at the level of the mind and body, each individual is limited and finite. However, I am not my mind or my body; I am The Self without which there could be no mind or body. The clouds gather and hide the sun and clothe the sky in a dreary dullness; later the wind scatters the clouds and the sun reveals itself. Primal Ignorance hides the Self and clothes me in a mind and a body and I think that I am my mind and my body. Later, SelfKnowledge arises and disperses the darkness of Primal Ignorance and the Self reveals Itself. Then I discover myself as none other than the Self, identical with the Supreme Self.
Purify the lower self and Self-Knowledge arises.

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Constant practice of inner, subjective discernment purifies the lower self that is stained by Primal Ignorance. When Self-Knowledge arises, inner discernment ceases by itself, just as Kataka nut powder, sinking down through muddy water, cleanses it. The mind automatically distinguishes among the myriad sense perceptions. Intelligence is based upon this ability to discern ever more subtle categories. Inner, subjective discernment, between the Self and the not-Self19, lies at the heart of the spiritual discipline leading to Self-Knowledge. Perceptions, feelings and emotions perturb the conditioned mind and hold it in a dualistic trance. Inner discernment allows the mind to interrupt this deadening trance and to identify with the Witness of the perceptions, feelings and emotions. When the mind becomes the non-attached Witness of the inner world, one awakens to Self-Knowledge. Thus, conscious inner discernment, having accomplished its mission and being no longer necessary, ceases by itself. This is like Kataka nut powder used in India to cleanse dirty water. Sprinkle the powder on the water surface in a jar and it sinks to the bottom, taking the dirt with it. Having completed the cleansing process, it rests on the bottom.
The world seems Real, but relative to the Self, it is unReal.

6 The world, full of attachments and aversions, is like a dream that appears to be Real while it lasts. On waking up to Self-Knowledge, this world appears unReal. Sense objects act as poles of attraction and aversion, pulling the conditioned mind hither and thither in its frenzied search for fulfillment in the sense world. The conditioned mind responds to sense objects according to where they lie along the gradient from attraction to aversion. These sense objects seem to be Real20, exerting a mesmerizing and confusing power over the conditioned mind. Yet sense objects in themselves are powerless. The conditioned mind, dominated by Primal Ignorance, invests them with power. In bestowing
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Not-Self: Whatever can be experienced or known through the mind, intellect or imagination. The Self is the Reality without which the not-Self could not manifest.
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Real: That which remains unchanged during the past, present and future.
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this power upon the sense objects, the conditioned mind loses its inner integrity, degrades its ability to discern, and becomes a slave of the not-Self. When Self-Knowledge arises sense objects lose their power over the conditioned mind; to the awakened mind, they seem unReal21, like objects in a dream.
When does the world cease appearing Real?

7 If you do not know Brahman as the underlying Reality in all things, the world appears Real, like the illusion of silver in mother-of-pearl. The world as experienced at the physical, mental and intellectual levels appears Real to the conditioned mind. The sense stimuli seem to corroborate the reality of the perceived world whereas, in reality, the perceived world is a result of the sense stimuli. This is the condition of a mind that takes the world as Real and searches for happiness in it, but is easily deceived even at the level of the seemingly objective, acute sense of sight. The sheen in the mother-of-pearl is mistaken for silver. The conditioned mind projects the illusory silver onto the non-metallic substrate in the mother-of-pearl, taking the illusion as Real. At night, a white sheet on the clothesline billowing in the breeze may be mistaken for a phantom or a ghost. Similarly, the conditioned mind, ignorant of Brahman, takes the ever-changing, ever-elusive world of the senses as Real. This cycle is broken when Brahman is recognized as the non-dual ground of the world of the senses.
The universe is as transient as a bubble.

8 In the Supreme Self, the foundation and support of all things, worlds arise, exist, dissolve and pass away, like bubbles in the ocean. The world seems to be solid, permanent and Real, but astronomy reveals the constant rise, evolution and destruction of galaxies. The universe presents the spectacle of an everchanging profusion of forms. Nothing remains constant; all things are in a continual process of change. Creation and destruction are nothing but changes of form. The biological cell, the organ, the human body, a house, a mountain, a star, each rises into
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UnReal: That which changes with the passage of time.
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form, manifests for a time and eventually returns to a more elemental state. In a larger sense, the whole universe arises from, exists in and dissolves back into the Supreme Self. Yet the Supreme Self remains unaffected, like the ocean, remaining unchanged while bubbles arise, exist, dissolve and pass away. The Supreme Self is the foundation on which all forms manifest.
The phenomenal world is a projection on the Self.

9 Just as different ornaments are formed from gold, so the manifested universe in all its diversity is a projection on the eternal, all-pervading Self, of the nature of Being-Consciousness. The mind perceives forms and objectifies them. From the one mass of gold, various forms emerge as ornaments. Yet the substance of the gold has not changed. The mind perceives these forms and assigns a reality to each. In time, the ornaments are melted to form another ingot of gold. Forms arise from the gold ingot, persist for a time and merge back into it. So, too, the whole universe of forms perceived by the mind is projected on the allpervading Self, persists for a time, and returns to the Source whence it arose.
The Self is non-dual but appears divided because of unReal factors.

10 Like space, the omnipresent Self, associated with limited conditionings, appears divided. On the removal of the limiting factors, the Self shines alone. Space is an unbounded medium in which everything exists. Stars and planets move continually within space. An object seems to occupy space; when the object is removed, space replaces it. Space appears divided into parts due to the presence of objects (the kitchen space, the dining room space, the hall space, etc.), but space remains unaffected by the temporary presence of objects and phenomena. Without space, there could be no objects; space remains when objects are gone. Similarly, the Self, the Reality behind all disparate phenomena, appears to be divided into parts when the limited mind perceives It as the pluralistic world. In the depths of
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meditation, the Self is seen as That from which these parts emerged, but which Itself is undifferentiated and undivided. On the rise of Self-Knowledge the pluralistic world is seen as none other than the Self.
Delusion imposes illusory differences on the Self.

11 Just as taste and color are ascribed to water so such different life conditionings as birth, race and circumstance are projected onto the Self. The Self has no qualities. Due to delusion caused by Primal Ignorance, the conditioned mind feels separate from the Self and, in this delusion, conjures up a separate reality of various forms and qualities. The conditioned mind, ensconced in a body, assumes the qualities of the body as its own qualities. Thus the Self, the Reality behind the conditioned mind, has the qualities of mind and body projected on it, just as taste and color are ascribed to water due to impurities in it.
Three conditionings are imposed on the Self: the gross, subtle and causal bodies. The first conditioning is the gross body.
12 The gross body is the medium for experiencing pleasure and pain. Formed by the admixture of the five great elements, the gross body is fashioned by ones past actions. We are lodged in a physical body and spend a lifetime bound by its limitations. This body mediates all the pleasures and pains of life. Just as our past actions and their mental imprints lead us to choose the house we live in, so, too, our past actions fashion our current physical body. When the body dies, it disintegrates and returns to the five great elements from which it came: space, air, fire, water and earth. At death, the body rapidly loses heat (fire). It slowly releases gases (air) into the atmosphere and as the liquids (water) separate out, the body returns to the earth, releasing the space that it once occupied. The mutable body, formed by the cumulative effects of past mental and physical actions, is a temporary vehicle in which each person charts a course, however tortured it may be, towards the inevitable awakening to Self-Knowledge. On recognizing this truth, a person
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naturally uses the body to prepare for this inner awakening. Thus, our present mental and physical actions lay the groundwork for our future inner evolution. The disciplines of Vedanta are a guide to the ultimate goal of Self-Knowledge.
The subtle body: the second conditioning.

13 The subtle body, the instrument of experiences, is the life-force, mind and intellect, including the organs of action and the senses. The subtle body is formed from the subtle elements. The life force (Prana) is manifested in five different life activities named as follows: (1) Prana energizes the mind to perceive through the sense organs and directs the life force in the body. (2) Apana energizes the excretory system to rid the body of toxins. (3) Vyana is active in the digestive system preparing the ingested food to be assimilated. (4) Samana distributes the nutrients in the food as needed by the organs. (5) Udana activates the capacity for new knowledge. Thus, the life force generates all the activities of life in the body, just as electricity from a power station lights and heats the homes in a city and is named differently, as light in a bulb or as heat in an electric heater. The human body needs the life force to produce meaningful thought and action. The life force activates the various energy systems in the body and energizes the sense organs, organs of action (speech, hands, legs, the anus and the genital organ), and mind and intellect. Fashioned from the subtle form of the five great elements (space, air, fire, water and earth), the subtle body is the life force energizing the mind and intellect to perceive through the senses organs, and to act through the organs of action. The subtle body is the instrument through which the lower self experiences the world of sense objects. It operates from within the confines of the gross body.
The causal body; the third conditioning.

14 The causal body is beginningless, indescribable Primal Ignorance. Know that the Self is other than the gross, subtle or causal bodies.
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Through the causal body, Primal Ignorance manifests as an individual human being22 by projecting the illusion of the gross and subtle bodies onto the Self. Although the act of conception initiates the manifestation of the physical body, it is merely the final act in a chain of events stretching back into unknown time. Science tells us that the Big Bang, a vast, primal explosion, is the origin of the universe. Through successive stages of gaseous matter, supernovae, galaxies, and stars and planets, the universe has evolved to its present state. The planet earth supported the evolution of life forms, culminating in the conception of animals and human beings. Thus, even at the purely physical level, conception is not the autonomous act that creates the human being; it is but a link in the chain of cause-andeffect stretching back into endless time and culminating in the present moment. Time is a concept of the conditioned mind and Primal Ignorance is the cause of the mind. Thus, Primal Ignorance is independent of time and is beginningless. Since Primal Ignorance is the cause of the mind, and concepts are a product of the mind, Primal Ignorance is prior to and indescribable by mental concepts. The causal body cannot be understood by the conditioned mind but can be surmounted by awakening to SelfKnowledge, just as darkness is banished by the appearance of light. The Self is other than the gross, subtle, or causal bodies.
Identification with the not-Self clouds awareness of the Self.

15 By identification with the five sheaths, the spotless Self is experienced as identical with them, like a blue cloth which lends its color to a nearby crystal. Just as an onion is wrapped in concentric layers, so the Self is encased in the five sheaths (kosa, see glossary): the food, vital-air, mental, intellectual and the bliss sheaths. During the brief interlude between birth and death, the question Who am I? rarely surfaces in the conscious mind. Yet, at the subconscious level, my identity is intertwined with five layers of my personality. I am carried along by my reactions to the distracting phenomena of daily living and take myself to be the finite, vulnerable entity of the five sheaths. These sheaths seem so close to me that I identify myself with them, just as the perfectly transparent crystal borrows the color of a nearby cloth. The Self that I am is forgotten. I take myself to be the body and the amorphous set of sensations, feelings, emotions, concepts and imaginations thrown up by the food, vital-air, mental, intellectual and bliss sheaths.
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Jva: The individual self, which is none other than the Self, illusorily conditioned by the body, mind and intellect.
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By distinguishing between the Self and the not-Self, find the Self at the core of the five sheaths.
16 By subtle, inner discernment, we distinguish between the pure, inner Self and the five outer sheaths, just as rice is separated from the husks by threshing. I experience myself pulled in different directions. My senses run after sense objects: colors, sounds, an arresting fragrance, a silken touch, or a heavenly taste. My mind follows the senses as the hound follows the fox. My feelings are pulled hither and yon with likes and dislikes, attachments and fears. By identifying with the sheaths: body, vital-air, mental, intellectual and bliss sheaths, I abandon the anchor of the Self and find myself prey to the sharks of desire, fear and anger. By assiduous cultivation of an inner, discerning awareness clothed in a spirit of calm detachment, I begin to recognize the debilitating nature of these distractions. I also realize that each distraction can be traced back to its source in one of the sheaths. By subtle, inner discernment, I begin to peel back the sheaths, one by one, to reveal the ever-increasing presence of Self. Yet, the sheaths have deep roots in the mind and can only be peeled back as the subtle practice of discernment weakens the bonds of identification with them. This is accomplished by discerning the differences between the Self and the myriad parts of the not-Self: the sensations of the body; the movements of energy in the physiological system; the emotions, desires, and fears of the mind; the logic, ideas and imaginations of the intellect; and even the joy and happiness of the bliss sheath. As the practice of discernment becomes established, the presence of Self becomes more abiding and one finds an increasing tranquility of peace in the Self.
A clear intellect reflects the Self.

17 The Self is all pervading but does not appear everywhere. The Self only appears in the purified intellect, like a reflection in a clear mirror.
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Only a highly reflective surface shows my bodys reflection. Just so, a seeker finds that the Self is an elusive quarry, even though Self is said to be all-pervading. In fact, the Self is present in the cognition of objects though the conditioned mind does not register this truth. The Consciousness of the Self reflected in the mind and intellect gives rise to human consciousness leading to cognition and knowledge. The intellect, schooled in objective inquiry, looks outward, missing the Self, the innermost Ground of all things. When the intellect drops its attachment to external entities and turns inward, entering the sacred realm of devotion to the Self, the purified intellect rises above the dry bones of objectivity. As one leaves behind all traces of attachment to objective distinctions, one finds the Self in the innermost regions always there beyond all distinctions reflected in the purified intellect.
The Self is other than the body, senses, mind and intellect.
18 The Self is set apart like a King, from the body, senses, mind and intellect that constitute the workings of nature. The Self is the Witness of their functions. The King in his court is set apart from his courtiers, both psychologically and socially, yet, at the same time, he is a witness to their activities. The mere presence of the King energizes and confers legitimacy on the court. Similarly, the Self, by its mere presence, animates the body, senses, mind and intellect, yet remains always distinct from them. Enfolded in the garments of nature, the Self appears to be the lower self, which knows only the workings of nature and is thus ignorant of its source in the Self. From within this experienced universe there is no escape for the lower self, as long as the individual identifies with nature in all its multitudinous variety. By identifying with the Witness of my actions (physical and mental), I am identifying with That which lies beyond the realm of nature, and That is the Self.
The mind and senses are active, but the Self is the immutable ground of all action.
19 As the moon appears to be moving when clouds pass across the sky, so, for those lacking in discernment, the Self appears to be active when the sense-organs are functioning.
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Perceptions can easily deceive the mind. On a moonlit night when clouds race across the sky, the moon is perceived to be moving due to a perceptual illusion. At a deeper level, when an individual is awake and the sense organs are active, she sees the phenomenal world and believes it is Real, thus attributing the perceptual activity to the Self, when it is merely the mind that is active. When perceived by the sense organs and mind the Self appears to be active, but this is an illusion. When the mental agitations have ceased, a seeker realizes the Self as the foundation upon which the moving world of phenomena is projected. The Self alone is Real; the sense world is unReal23, a world of form forged in the expanding, space-time continuum. The mind mediates all knowledge before it is accepted, but the mind is fallible, accepting as true that which is false, and that which is false as true. Yet the mind is the final arbiter of truth for the lower self. No wonder, then, that the Self that is Truth Itself is taken as illusory, and nature that is illusory is accepted as true.
Because of the Self, the body, senses, mind and intellect are alive.
20 The body, senses, mind and intellect depend on the Consciousness of the Self to function. Likewise, men act, sustained by the energy of the sun. All life on the earths surface depends on the suns energy. Without the daily input of solar energy, the earth would revert to a lifeless state. Each of the myriad plants and animals draws its energy from the sun, and each engages in its own unique activities. The sun supplies light and energy freely to all, yet remains unaffected by their activities. Just so, the body, senses, mind and intellect function in their unique ways, each activated by the mere presence of the Self. The actions of the body, the sensations of the senses, the feelings of the mind, and the thoughts of the intellect depend on the blessing of the Self, which flows freely like the rays of the sun. Yet the Self remains undisturbed by these effects: the rise and fall of emotion and the resulting joys and sorrows.
Although the mind erroneously assigns qualities, the Self is without any qualities whatsoever.
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UnReal: That which changes with the passage of time.
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Just as the sky seems blue, so the person lacking in discernment projects the qualities of the body and senses on the stainless Self, whose nature is Being-Consciousness. The ball of matter that is the earth glides endlessly through space. The thin band of atmosphere that we call the sky hugs the earth closely. This formless, colorless sky, caught in the glow of the suns rays, appears to have color and form. Just so, the Self, viewed in the minds distorted prism, seems to partake of the qualities of the body and the senses. The Self, which cannot be conceived by the mind or perceived by the senses, cannot have such qualities. The conditioned mind, infused with the disorienting flux generated by the lower self, mistakes the body and the senses for the Self and assigns their qualities to the Self. This is, in essence, Primal Ignorance.
The Self, being the mirror in which I-ness is reflected, has no sense of agency.
22 Due to Ignorance, agitations on the waters surface are transferred to the moon reflected in it. So, the agency of action and enjoyment, originating in the mind, is attributed to the Self because of Primal Ignorance. The sense of being the agent of action or enjoyment is a hidden component of the conditioned mind. Yet the sense of agency is an illusion. Action is merely action. However the illusory ego projects itself as agent but is only part of the passing scenery. This confusion draws the ego deeper into the morass of egotism and folly and binds it more fully to the manifested world. From this vantage point, the Self is nowhere to be found. Only by shifting our attention from the body, senses, mind and intellect back to their source, do we find the Self. There is no point in looking in a bucket of water to find the moon. To see the moon as it really is, we must shift our gaze from the delusory reflections on the waters surface and look directly at the moon.
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Attachment, desire, pleasure and suffering are not found in the Self.
23 Attachment, desire, pleasure and suffering arise while the mind is functioning. On the minds suspension in deep sleep, they are absent, being of the mind and not of the Self. Attachment, desire, pleasure and suffering seem so real. They are among the great instigators of the psychic life of the conditioned mind. They arise in the conditioned mind when the world of phenomena is filtered through the lens of the subconscious impressions. While the mind is functioning in the waking or dream states these phantoms, camouflaged in the garb of emotions and thoughts, cast their spell by distracting the mind from the Self. They draw the mind into a vortex of illusion. As the conditioned mind subsides in deep sleep, these phantoms of the mind fade from the screen of awareness, being mere products of the mind, while the Self remains unaffected.
What is the nature of the Self?

24 Just as the nature of the sun is brightness; of water, coolness; and of fire, heat; so the nature of the Self is timelessness, purity, Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute. The conditioned mind naturally identifies the salient qualities in each thing it surveys, categorizing and organizing our store of knowledge. Similarly, the mind tries to understand the Self, yet the Self is timeless and cannot be understood in terms of the world of phenomena. The Self is pure in that It is unaffected in any way by the imperfections or qualifications of the phenomenal world. The Self is beyond the reach of qualities, yet Vedanta supplies the mind with the experientially based terms, Being-Consciousness-Bliss (sat-chit-ananda). The conditioned mind needs these reminders to learn to leap beyond itself to the limitless world of Self. In coming to grips with these terms, the mind eventually abandons the attempt to catch the Self in the net of qualities.
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The mental concept I know is a product of the lower self.

25 Through lack of inner, subjective discernment, the thought forms of the intellect and the Being-Consciousness-Essence of the Self blend and produce "I know." Among the sentient life on earth, the human being generates the startling belief, I know. Vedanta postulates that the Being-Consciousness essence of the Self, reflected in the thoughts in the intellect, gives rise to this assertion due to the lack of discernment. Thus, a mischievous belief launches the lower self into the world of names and forms and leads to the delusion of a separate entity, the lower self as subject distinct from objects. This is the prime agent of Primal Ignorance, around which adhere all the mental constructs of duality. Primal Ignorance ushers the lower self into the world of difference, leading to estrangement and suffering.
The delusion of the lower self.

26 The Self is not subject to change, and the intellect by itself lacks Consciousness, but the lower self embraces delusion, thinking, "I am the knower, I am the seer." The Self is the ground upon which change takes place and is not subject to change. The light of Consciousness imbues the intellect with the attributes of knowing, comprehending, and willing. Without the light of Consciousness the intellect reverts to the state of insentient matter. The lower self, arising from the reflection of Consciousness in the conditioned mind, assumes the mantle of knower and seer of the sense world of phenomena. Yet all phenomena are nothing but waves in the ocean of the Self, and the waves are nothing but the ocean. When the lower self realizes that the knower and the seer are none other than the Self in disguise, Self-Knowledge arises.
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Fear and fearlessness.

27 Fear overcomes a person who mistakes a rope for a snake, or the higher Self for the lower self. Fearlessness is re-established by Knowing, "I am not the lower self, I am the higher Self." The root of fear is Primal Ignorance. When I am ignorant of a rope in the grass at dusk, my mind projects a snake on the rope and I shrink back in fear. I apparently see the snake in all its imagined detail; a host of reactive thoughts races through my mind. How can I escape? Will the snake bite me? Will I die? The snake, which in reality does not exist, nevertheless strikes fear into my heart. Thus, an unreal snake engenders real fear in me. Primal Ignorance conceals the Self from me; consequently, my mind projects the illusions of the lower self and the sense world in place of the Self. The lower self requires the whole sense world to provide a field for its activities. All my fears stem from taking these sensory illusions of the lower self to be Real. Destroy Primal Ignorance and recognize the lower self as nothing but a phantom of the mind. Fear now has no basis.
The mind draws its sentience from the Self.

28 As a lamp illuminates objects in a room, so the Self illuminates the mind and sense-organs, which are inert matter and cannot illuminate themselves. The spark of life in a human being manifests through the intellect, mind and sense organs and illuminates all the affairs of life, whether good, bad or indifferent, just as a lamp in a room illuminates all the activities, whether joyful or sorrowful. This spark of life is a reflection of the Consciousness of the Self in the intellect, mind and sense organs, which, in themselves, are merely forms of matter. At the death of an individual, these faculties revert to being nothing but insentient matter. Objects in themselves are not self-illuminating, but require a light to illuminate them. Similarly, the intellect, mind, and sense organs in themselves are insentient matter. They draw their spark of life from the Self, from which all life flows.
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The Self illuminates Itself.

29 Just as a lamp has no need of another lamp to illuminate it, so the Self, whose nature is Knowledge, has no need of another knowledge to know Itself. In the outer world of the senses, light is the medium that enables objects to be perceived. However, when the normally extroverted mind turns inwards, another light is needed to illuminate all our experiences. This light is none other than the Consciousness of the Self reflected in the inner world of the mind. The mind is thus redirected from the outer world of phenomena to the inner world of ever more subtle discernment, between the Self and the not-Self. When the inner world of the mind subsides in the fuller awareness of deep meditation, the light of Self-Knowledge shines out of the fullness of the non-dual Self.
The Self in you is identical with the Self in all.

30 By negating all identification with outer conditionings using the Upanishadic directive, "It is not this. It is not this." realize that the Self in each person and the Supreme Self are identical, as indicated by the Great Sayings. There are four Great Sayings (Maha-Vakyas) from the Vedic scriptures: (1) Pure Consciousness is Brahman, (Pragnanam Brahma); (2) That Thou art (Tat-tvam-asi); (3) This Self is Brahman (Ayam Atma Brahma); and (4) I am Brahman (Aham Brahmasmi). When correctly understood, these striking assertions affirm that the individual self and the Supreme Reality, however conceived, are identical. Brahman is the ground of both. The perceived world of duality is none other than the non-dual Brahman. This meaning is found by divesting the terms Thou, That, lower self, Supreme Being, Self, and not-Self of the meanings projected upon them by the mind. The methodology of awakening to Self-Knowledge presented in this verse is one of negating the illusory conditionings projected on Reality by the conditioned mind. At an existential level, the mind must come to know that the Self cannot be identified with any entity. We realize this by continually watching the minds activities. The mind, like a bee in
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search of pollen, alights on one object after another, searching among the objects of sense for the Bliss that is the Self. Each time the mind alights, remember the great injunction, It is not this, and interrupt the stultifying trance of the mind. The mind at last learns to exist, like an albatross in its long flight, floating above all phenomena, and suspended in a silence of the senses. In that suspension, the mind comes to know that the Self cannot be found in the passing panorama of the sense world. Slowly, the mental gaze can be turned away from the world of phenomena to the source of the Self, to awaken to the knowledge that the Self in each person is identical to the Supreme Self.
Realize Brahman by dropping all ephemeral conditionings.

31 The gross, subtle and causal bodies, being objects perceived, are perishable like bubbles. By subtle discernment realize: "I am the unsullied Brahman, ever separate from these." Primal Ignorance engenders the perception of the food, vital-air, mental, intellectual and bliss sheaths and the gross, subtle and causal bodies. Yet whatever is perceived is as perishable as the thoughts in the mind or the bubbles in the ocean. In the rush of mental activity, perceptual entities dominate the landscape with their apparent reality and objectivity. The conditioned mind is impressed with the apparently causal nature of the objective world. We forget our source in the Self and settle for a life lived in the shadows of mortality, fear and grief, relieved with random bursts of joy. The Self, being identified with the gross-body, apparently becomes the lower self in the waking state; being identified with the subtle-body, becomes the dreamer in the dream state; being identified with the causal body, becomes the deep-sleeper in the deep sleep state. Yet, the Self merely illuminates these three states of consciousness and like the sun remains ever independent and free. It is the lower self that becomes embroiled in the daily round of waking and dream activities and loses consciousness in the deep-sleep state. The Self is the Witness of these states. As the Upanishads never tire of reminding us, I am Brahman, ever separate from these ephemeral attachments.
The whole world perceived by the senses is a mere projection on Reality. The following six verses present a mental process that can establish this conceptual understanding as existential knowledge, leading to an awakening to the Reality of Brahman.
32 Being other than the body,
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I am not subject to birth, disease, senility or death. Having no sense-organs, I have no contact with sense objects, such as sound, taste, touch or sight. Attachment to my own embodiment in flesh and bones brings me a little joy and a torrent of sorrows. Could I but dispense with this attachment, a flood of awakening would descend upon me. I am not this body, thus I suffer none of the afflictions of the body. When the umbilical cord of attachment to the body is snapped, the qualities of disease, senility and death follow the body, being inherent in it, while I remain free in the fullness of Self. Bound inextricably to the body, the sense organs also depart with the body. Being thus unattached to the objects of the senses of sound, taste, touch, or sight, I exist beyond the body and sense organs, ever free, ever the endless Source of all.
The Self is not subject to mental or physical constraints.

33 Being other than the mind I am free from sorrow, attachment, aversion and fear. The Upanishads teach that the Self is pure, without breath or mind. The mind is with me during my waking hours, moderating all sensory experience. My inner experience is also a product of the mind, yet I am not the mind. I am the Witness of the mind. However, because I feel that I am the lower self, I inherit the sorrows, attachments, aversions and fears of the lower self. I, who am the Self, being other than the mind, am free of all mental debilities, such as sorrow, attachment, aversion or fear. The Upanishads aim to pierce the shell of this mental fixation by ceaselessly reminding us that the Self is ever untouched by phenomena. As an individual, my body depends on breath and my mind is limited in understanding. When the minds fixation with the sense world is negated by discernment, I am none other than the Self that is independent of breath and mind.
The Self is free of all qualities.

34 I am changeless, without attributes or form, unsullied, free of doubt or agitations.
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Without actions am I, ever free, pure, eternal. Matter has myriad attributes and is the substance of the world of the senses. The Self that I am is without attributes, It is the foundation without which matter could not manifest. The sense world is full of changing forms and actions; I am changeless, without form or actions. The mental world is full of doubts and agitations; I am unsullied, without doubts or agitations. I may feel bound, inwardly tainted and mortal; I am ever free, pure and eternal. This verse offers a glimpse of the Self in words and ideas, yet we must allow the mind to go beyond the import of words, which by their nature are limiting. However, in the search for the Self, the limitation inherent in each word can become a trigger to soar beyond the finite. Never let the mind be bound by a limitation, seek always beyond, ever beyond all confinements. Thus, the mind is free to identify with the Self that is forever beyond all limitations.
The Self is all pervading yet transcends all.

35 Like space I pervade all things, both within and without, always the same in all, changeless, pure. I am unattached, stainless, beyond motion. The same invitation to push the mind beyond itself continues in this verse. Anything that exists perforce exists within the bounds of space. Space encompasses all things within its folds, yet remains unaffected by them. Like space, the Self enfolds all. Nothing exists without the Self, not even space. Yet the Self, although all pervading, remains forever untouched. The world of the not-Self, encompassing the phenomenal world perceived by the senses and the inner world of the thoughts, emotions and imaginations, is pervaded by Self. Yet the Self remains unaffected. I am that Self, ever unattached; I cannot disassociate myself from the Self. I am stainless, yet I am burdened by the physical needs of the body, the mind with its likes and dislikes, and the intellect with its lack of clarity. I am dependent on these peripheral activities, yet I am the still center. I am dependent on motion, yet I am that upon which motion manifests.
What is the nature of Brahman, the Self in all?

36 I am forever pure, free,
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of uninterrupted Bliss, non-dual. I am that Supreme Brahman, the nature of changeless Truth-Knowledge-Absolute. The Self is forever free and present everywhere. This is the wonder of the Self, which lies always beyond being contained or described. Uninterrupted Bliss arises not from anything conditioned by space or time, but from the Self from which nothing can escape and yet nothing can touch. The Self is the Supreme Brahman that is the beginning and the end of all manifestations and imaginings. I am the Self. By continual meditation on the nature of the Self, the lower self begins to emerge from the chains of existence: the tyranny of the conditioned mind, the dark passions and the brooding fears of the unknown that fester in the recesses of the mind. A reflection of the Consciousness of the Self in the mind can illuminate the Changeless Truth for an instant and allow a potent infusion of Self-Knowledge that changes the mind in an instant.
The experience of I am Brahman destroys Primal Ignorance.

37 Constant practice of the affirmation I am Brahman leaves an imprint that dissolves Primal Ignorance and the attendant mental agitations, just as medicine eradicates disease. Each thought leaves an impression (vasana) in the mind. A repeated thought leaves a deeper impression. The affirmation I am Brahman, when correctly understood and repeated silently, leaves a unique imprint, which is the antidote to the elemental misunderstanding caused by Primal Ignorance. When I destroy this Ignorance, I wake up to the reality that I am Brahman. This is not a new knowledge but a removal of Primal Ignorance, so that the Reality of ones own essence shines as Brahman. Self-Knowledge destroys Primal Ignorance, the barrier that stands between the lower self and liberation.
Meditation on the Self.

38 Seated in a solitary place,
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free from desires, with senses subdued, meditate with unwavering attention on the boundless Self, the One-without-a-second. Here we have a succinct description of a meditative practice. Outer peace and quiet aid meditation that in turn fosters inner peace and quiet. When the desires lie dormant, neutralized by a discerning awareness as they arise in the intellect, the flood of the emotional mind calms down. The mind which normally rushes out through the senses to contact sense objects remains dormant. The senses now rest in their respective abodes, undisturbed by inner promptings. The mind, focused and directed to the inner boundless land, has no place to alight. It remains unattached and unidentified with any mental activities, searching deep within the boundless realms of the Self. Devotion to the Self, the One without a second and the purest of the Pure, develops naturally as the mind and intellect are cleansed of the taint of finitude. The lower self finally awakens to the realization that I am the Self in all.
Merging the phenomenal world into the Self.

39 The wise seeker, having merged all that is seen into Self, should constantly reflect on the Self alone, ever untainted like the sky. When Primal Ignorance hides the Self, the manifested universe appears in its stead. Therefore, a meditator should assimilate the whole world of objects back into the Self alone, just as the dream merges back into the dreamer upon awakening. Thus, the distracting world of transient phenomena is removed from the mental firmament. The purified mind, freed from this powerful distraction, is ready to pursue the peerless search for the Self. In this search, the mind finally learns to release the last vestiges of mental attachment to the manifested universe, so that I can meditate with unswerving discernment on the Self that I am.
What is the effect of awakening to the Supreme?

40 One who has realized the Supreme discards all identification
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with names and forms, becoming established as an embodiment of Infinite Consciousness-Bliss. When unceasing meditation erases the last vestiges of Primal Ignorance, Self-Knowledge appears. On waking to the reality of the Self always there, though hidden by Primal Ignorance all attachment to the ephemeral world of the senses drops away. The phenomenal world merges into Brahman. With this unseen, inner change, the tendency of the lower self to identify with body and emotions, names and forms vanishes. The mind now remains unperturbed by the limitations of the world of duality. The world of manifestation fades away like a dream, and the fullness of the Self dawns. In that awakening, the heart finds a peace unknown in the world of duality. The finite world folds into the non-dual world, where limitations are not to be found. The Infinite reigns supreme: infinite Consciousness and infinite Bliss.
The Self is of the nature of undifferentiated unity.

41 Distinctions such as knower, knowledge and object known do not exist in the Supreme Self that shines by Its own light, being of the nature of Consciousness-Bliss. The world of duality is characterized by the triad: knower (the subject), known (the object) and knowing (of the object). Each of these three elements is taken to be a separate entity. Yet, none can exist independent of the other two. An experiencer (the subject) is necessary to have an experience in this world of duality; an object is needed to complete the experience. The relationship between these two is called experiencing, leading to knowledge of the object. In this world of duality, knower, known and the knowledge (of the known) are inextricably bound together. When Consciousness of the Self pierces the shadow of Primal Ignorance, all differences between knower, known and knowledge of the known are obliterated. In the world of non-duality, all differences appear as an illusory support to hold the world of duality intact. The world of duality is a divided world of separate entities and relationships. In the world of divided entities, there is no ultimate freedom; one is always dependent on the other. The world of the non-dual Self shines by Itself, subsuming this world of difference between the knower and the known. When Self-Knowledge arises, the knower and all
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objects revert to the Self from which they never left, and the Self remains undifferentiated as ever. In the Self, there is ultimate freedom from duality.
A discerning meditation prepares the way for Self-Knowledge.

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When the higher Self and the lower self are churned together in a discerning meditation, the flame of Knowledge springs up, consuming the fuel of Primal Ignorance. In ancient times, a fire was started by rubbing pieces of wood together. In India, a cylindrical rod was inserted between two shaped pieces of wood, an upper and a lower bearing, which were pressed together. The rod was then rotated, using a rope wound around it. In time, due to friction, enough heat was generated to start a fire. A metaphor based on this process is used to illustrate a practice of meditation. The higher Self like the upper piece of wood, and the lower self like the lower piece of wood, are to be churned together in meditation. The meditation is carried out in the subjective environment of a discerning enquiry into the nature of the lower self. It is a meditation on the nature of the Reality of ones own essence. The lower self is dissected into its constituent parts: the body, life force, mind, intellect and bliss aspects. Each of these is discarded as being a mere conditioning, and the Self is found as the foundation upon which all phenomena are projected.. By assiduous practice of awareness during this meditation, an inherent Self-Knowledge arises that stabilizes the wavering intellect. Identification with the body, senses, mind and intellect, which sustain the lower self, diminishes. At an unpredictable moment, an inner conflagration bursts forth, and a lifetime of suffering in the prison of the lower self is obliterated in the fire of Self-Knowledge. The fuel of Primal Ignorance that gave rise to the lower self has been spent. The Self is recognized as none other than Brahman.
The destruction of Primal Ignorance reveals the Self.

43 The early dawn has already dispersed the enveloping darkness when the sun rises. Likewise, true understanding
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has already expunged Primal Ignorance when the Self appears. At dawn, the sun does not suddenly appear like the stunning illumination after a total eclipse. The rise of the sun is heralded with an ever more radiant horizon and a heightened sense of majesty. So, too, Self-Knowledge does not appear suddenly in a barren heart. Rather, the subtle knowledge of the Self, received from the teacher, supplemented by continual study and meditation, and cradled in the heart of the seeker, diffuses an inner, self-confirming conviction. The subconscious impressions (vasanas), which bind the lower self to the world of fear, grief and sorrows, are slowly dissolved. The prepared mind turns inwards in meditation to awaken to Self-Knowledge, which supplants the last vestiges of Primal Ignorance. Then the lower self finds the Self everywhere, finally recognizing that there is nothing else but the Self.
Primal Ignorance alone obscures the Self.

44 The Self is always present though not realized due to Primal Ignorance. Destroy Ignorance and the Self is rediscovered, like a missing necklace found on ones own neck. How is it that the Self always present and truly Real is not perceived, while the transient world of phenomena is perceived? This question plagues the most sincere seeker. The problem is that we are engulfed in Primal Ignorance of the Self, which leads to the projection of the whole phenomenal world in place of the Self. This projection has a mesmerizing power over us that conceals even what is closest to us. How often have I sought for the key to my house all around me, only to find it in my own pocket? We search for the Self in the world of the senses, forgetting that the world of the senses is a projection foisted on the Self. The Self is found by searching within. Attachment to the senses must be dropped in order to find that which is beyond the senses. The Self is present at all times and places, shining in its own light, waiting to be found by those who look beyond the shadows of the mind.
Through delusion, Brahman is perceived as an individual.

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Because of delusion, Brahman appears as an individual, just as a post can appear as a man. This individuality ends when the Real nature is recognized as none other than the Self. The conditioned mind reacts to a perceived stimulus. When the stimulus is vague or unclear, the mind conjures up a response based on its accumulated past experiences. The response may have no valid connection to the stimulus. The mind at dusk can project a man on the path where nothing but a post exists. In the clear light of morning the man is recognized as nothing but a post. Similarly, due to delusion the mind projects a sense of individuality on Brahman. This individuality consorts with the conditioned mind in the projected world of phenomena to produce the existential sense of living. On the rise of Self-Knowledge, the world of phenomena subsides and the Real nature of the individual is realized as none other than the Self.
Self-Knowledge destroys the illusory ideas of I and Mine.

46 Just as right knowledge abolishes ignorance of ones directional orientation, so the Knowledge of the true nature of the Self destroys the Ignorance inherent in the concepts of I and mine. Once the sense of individuality is entrenched in the conditioned mind, the concepts I and mine appear as right and natural. A person rarely, if ever, stops to ask How did I ever begin to consider myself as a separate entity? This individuality is covered by a mask of forgetfulness and protected by the concepts I and mine. As these concepts take root, the inner life congeals, constricted within ever-narrowing walls of I and mine. No wonder that the Self seems far removed for one locked in the grip of individuality. However, just as a compass reading corrects an error in direction, Self-Knowledge exposes the phantoms of I and mine as unReal and illusory. Stripped of these empty concepts, the lower self collapses in upon itself and the seeker awakens to her essence and true nature in the Self.
How does a Knower of the Self view the universe?
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47 The Yogi of perfect vision sees with her eye of wisdom the whole universe in her own Self, and recognizes everything as none other than the Self. The Sage has no attachment to individuality or concepts. A sincere seeker meeting such a Teacher has a unique and startling experience, and may ask the question, Who is this person? The Sage appears as a normal human being, yet there is something indefinable about her actions. As one comes to know her, it becomes increasingly difficult to state anything factual about who she is. She seems to be completely present and yet entirely absent at the same time. By interacting with such a person, the conditioned mind may falter and be brought to a stop. In that instant, the eye of wisdom can open to receive an intimation of the Self-Knowledge described in the saying: She sees all things in the Self, and nothing other than the Self. The seeker now has an anchor to hold onto in the continuing struggles to rise above the bondage of the phenomenal world.
Self and the universe are identical.

48 The whole universe is the Self. Other than the Self, nothing exists. The Yogi sees everything as Self, just as one sees in clay-pots nothing but clay. The whole universe is nothing but Self in disguise. The Self is the enduring foundation of everything; nothing can stand aside. Clay pots are, in their essence, nothing but clay. The pots are made from clay, exist as clay and return to clay. The pots are clay with names and forms, but when the names and forms are removed, what is left is nothing but clay. All things are nothing but names and forms, apparently imposed on the Self. When the names and forms are removed, what is left is nothing but the Self.
Characteristics of a Sage.
49 When the liberated Sage
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endowed with Self-Knowledge relinquishes her former personality traits and realizes her nature as sat-chit-ananda24, she verily becomes Brahman, just as a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. The liberated Sage embodies the immediate Reality of Self-Knowledge that comes from abandoning all former self-perceptions as illusory projections due to Primal Ignorance. Thus, the beliefs I have a body, I have senses, I have personality traits, etc., are false. My nature is sat-chit-ananda, Being-Consciousness-Bliss; the body, senses and personality traits are misapprehensions of the conditioned mind in the dreamlike world of the senses. On realizing her true nature as sat-chit-ananda, the Sage recognizes these misapprehensions as illusory. She continues to function in the world as long as the momentum of the residual subconscious impressions holds the body-mind complex intact. She no longer has any identification with or attachment to the body, mind or intellect or to any mental or physical actions. She lives in total awareness of Brahman and verily becomes Brahman, like a bud transformed into a daffodil.
The liberated Yogi shines from within.

50 Having subdued the demons of attraction and repulsion and crossed the ocean of delusion, the liberated Yogi endowed with peace, shines, reveling in the Self. For a human being, the most potent psychological reflexes may be those of attraction and repulsion. They pervade the conscious and subconscious life and mold the character and the personality in diverse ways. The Sage neutralizes the subconscious effects of these reflexes by spiritual disciplines and acts without their distorting reactions. He has immediacy in the present moment, as if, in all his actions, there is no one acting. His inner awakening is registered not by the senses, but by congruence deeper than words can express. He has overcome the existential delusion of the cause and effect world. Emerging triumphant from this inner struggle, he is beyond description. Personality and character have been left behind with the lower self. He has become peace itself, shining from within, reveling in the boundless Self, ever a haven of peace.
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Sat-chit-nanda: Being-Consciousness-Bliss
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The Sage in the world.

51 Dropping all attachment to outer, transient pleasures, and ever contented with inner Bliss, the Sage radiates from within like a light placed in a jar. Life has its range of joys and pleasures, from the sensual to the aesthetic refinements of art. The sense world is the playground from which each person seeks her share of satisfaction from the enticing sense objects. While their qualities vary, all these are outer, transient joys and pleasures that depend on the availability of sense objects. These joys and pleasures invariably lead to an increase in attachment to the phenomenal world and a resulting increase in mental agitations. When mental agitations increase, suffering is not far behind. The Sage opens to an inner Bliss independent of the availability of sense objects. This immanent Bliss arises from Self, in whose reflection in the mind the outer pleasures have their source. This inner Bliss does not lead to attachment to the phenomenal world; it leads to a decrease in mental agitations and a consequent decrease in suffering. When the seeker finds this inner Bliss, outer pleasures lose their attractiveness. The Sage, having found this source, no longer depends on the availability of sense objects for her well-being. Her mind, being free of spurious mental agitations, is like a clear mirror that reflects without any distortions. Those who are inwardly aware are attracted to her by an unseen reflection of the Bliss of the Self.
How a Sage relates to the world.

52 Though abiding in the mind-body conditionings the yogi is untainted by them, like the sky. Appearing like a fool, the All-Knowing Sage remains ever unattached, moving like the wind. The yogi inhabits a body like everyone else, with a crucial difference: he is in union with the higher Self, while we are in union with the lower self. Inner mental conditionings have lost their power over him, while we are their slaves. He roams free, untouched by the
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fretful world of anguish and pain. Others struggle under the burden of grief, and identifying with the body and the senses, are drawn into the quagmire of fear and desire. The yogi may appear as an outcast or as a font of wisdom, but remains inwardly unaffected, just as the transparent sky may look gray or blue due to dust or sunlight. He navigates the waves of worldly life as Witness, and not as the terrified occupant of a mortal body. He moves through all activities and places, as unattached as the wind through the trees. He lives, like others, within the bounds of the sense world but does not identify with it. Therefore, he is not tainted by it.
The death of a Sage.

53 On the demise of the mind-body complex, the Sage is completely absorbed into the Supreme Self, like water into water, space into space, light into light. Death is the great fact that sets a finite life against the immensity of eternity. Were life unending, surely we would finally tire even of the seemingly infinite capacity of the imagination. What is this death that causes so much dread in the living? The death of a Sage exemplifies a liberating truth. Such a death is as if water taken from a river is returned to the river. The water, although taken from the river, remains always water, and when it is returned to the river, merges without trace. Similarly, the space in a bottle merges again with all of space, when the bottle is destroyed. The Sage returns to That from which she never left, the Self, leaving no trace. The Sage is the Self, while those lost in Primal Ignorance project the mind-body complex on the Self and take this illusory lower self to be Real. When the mind is taken as Real, suffering is part of ones reality. When the mind is recognized as an illusory projection on the Self, death is but an event in this illusory projection.
Brahman is fullness, blessedness and omniscience.

54 Realize That to be Brahman which, when attained, leaves nothing to be attained;
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after whose joy no other joy is sought; the Knowledge of which leaves no other knowledge to be known. The human being naturally seeks to acquire things, to experience happiness and to gain knowledge. Life can be seen as a search to fulfill these goals, which are never attained completely however far the mind travels in imagination. The world of matter and phenomena is by its nature finite in all things. It is futile to seek perfect fulfillment in such a world. There is no complete fulfillment as long as this world is taken as Real. A radical change in mind is necessary to seek Brahman, which is fulfillment itself. See that the lower self and the crumbling edifice of the sense world are subject to time and are therefore illusory. Recognize the potential to step beyond these finite bounds to realize Brahman Drop the finite and Brahman is found by directing ones attention beyond the reach of attaining, enjoying and knowing..
Brahman is beyond seeing, becoming and knowing.

55 Realize That to be Brahman which, when seen, leaves nothing else to be seen; which having become, there is no other becoming; which having known, leaves nought to be known. The experienced world is one of seeing, becoming and knowing. One sees the world through the senses as a world of becoming; everything is changing, becoming something else. The mind constantly seeks to see new things, to become something greater and to know new worlds. However, this mode of operation is tied to the finite world to which the mind is bound and from which it continually seeks to escape. By abandoning, in meditation, the urge to see something new, to become something different or to know something else, the mental agitations are calmed. When the mental agitations cease, Brahman is realized, leaving nothing else to be seen, nothing yet to become and nothing unknown to be known.
Brahman is Reality, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss.

56
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Realize That to be Brahman, which pervades space above and below, which is one, infinite, eternal, and non-dual, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute. As the known world of the senses is recognized as finite and transient, the mind becomes accustomed to searching for Brahman beyond the world of the senses, spending less and less time confined to the lonely, fearful world of the lower self. The mind makes daring flights into the infinite, eternal realm beyond the known and the unknown where duality is replaced by non-duality, opening the way to inner freedom. At this stage, the mind no longer needs to rely on finite props to sustain it, as the intimations of BeingConsciousness-Bliss surface within. It has arrived at the stage where nothing but the infinite will satisfy it and the infinite is Brahman.
The Vedantic path to Brahman.

57 Realize That to be Brahman which is one, indivisible, non-dual, Blissful; indicated by Vedanta as the Reality behind all appearances; which remains after the negation of all phenomena. All things in this phenomenal realm must finally be dropped as other than Brahman. While the mind clings to anything finite in the physical or mental realms, we lose the ability to discern the difference between what is Real and what is unReal. By negating each concept as it arises in the conscious mind the mind learns to stop identifying with objects at the physical level, and with thoughts at the mental level. Then, the mind begins to shift identification to the Reality beyond all finite phenomena, Brahman. As this process proceeds, the emptiness, that results when all concepts are dropped, is recognized as an undifferentiated wholeness, characterized by Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute.
Brahman is the embodiment of Infinite Bliss.

58 The Lord of creation
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and all creatures partake of only a particle of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman, and enjoy it in proportion to their capacity. All beings, from the Lord of creation25 to the lowest life forms, seek fulfillment according to their natures and capacities. Each person seeks joy according to their innate inclinations. The artist and the poet seek a rarefied joy; the mystic seeks the purest joy. No one escapes the gravitational pull of inner Bliss, whose finite reflections are our daily joys and pleasures. Each enjoys the inner Bliss to the extent that the mind is free of agitations. Everyone draws from the inexhaustible well of inner Bliss that surges to the surface when the mind is perfectly calm. Brahman is the source and totality of all Bliss. The Lord of creation and all creatures draw their joys and pleasures from a reflection of a particle of this Bliss.
Brahman is present in everything.

59 All objects are pervaded by Brahman and all actions are possible because of Brahman. Thus, Brahman permeates everything, just as fat permeates milk. Now and again one senses the pervasiveness of something indefinable permeating all things and actions. At such a time, the stark reality of the abiding mystery of even the most common sight overwhelms us. Once sensed, we never forget. The most common sights may catch the mind off-guard for an instant, as the stranglehold of Primordial Ignorance is loosened. A wave of awe flows over the body and the mind. The conditioned mind has been outflanked and the Reality of Brahman assumes a new immediacy and meaning. The objective boundaries of the conditioned mind are recognized as permeable to a non-conceptual flow, as concepts are dropped and the mind opens to a new understanding. One is brought closer to the insight that just as salt permeates seawater Brahman is in and through all things and perceptions.
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Lord of creation: The presumed unseen presence in the universe, conceptualized as omnipotent and omniscient, that seems to play the role of the creator and overseer of the universe of the senses. The Lord of the universe is one logical explanation of the experience of existence and satisfies the minds need for a cause of the universe. The Lord of the universe is conceived as wielding the power of My or Primal Ignorance, which is the cause for the mans bondage. When Self-Knowledge arises, the Lord of the universe, like all other conceptualized entities, is recognized as a product of the mind and as such is part of the not-Self.
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Brahman has no outer characteristics.

60 Know That to be Brahman which is not short or long, subtle or gross; which is without color, form or qualities; which is beyond change, nameless, unborn. The conditioned mind is tireless in its attempt to define, to characterize and to categorize everything that registers on the screen of consciousness. We assume that Brahman can be understood and proceed with a list of questions: Is it big or small, fine or gross? Has it color and form? What are its qualities? Is it changing? However, these questions miss the mark, as they lie within the realm of phenomena. Brahman, being the foundation of all phenomena, is unborn, uncreated; only that which lies within the world of form is born and created. Thus, Brahman is not subject to the conditioned mind, and, unlike the mind, is not subject to birth or death. Brahman is a word used by the conditioned mind. However, Brahman is not the name of Brahman; Brahman is nameless.
Brahman is That by which all things are made manifest.

61 Know That to be Brahman by whose light the heavenly bodies are illuminated but which is not illuminated by their light. Everything shines because of Brahman. Light illuminates the outer world of phenomena, while the inner world of the mind is illuminated by a subtler inner sentience. Both the outer and inner worlds draw their illumination from Brahman. Brahman showers the illumination of existence on the sun, the moon, and the stars, without which these heavenly bodies could not flood the world with light. Similarly, although the minds perception of the world comes through the senses, yet Brahman imbues the mind with the sentience necessary to perceive objects. Brahman is That which illuminates both the inner and outer worlds and their various layers of subtlety. Without Brahman, there is no illumination, and Brahman cannot be illuminated by either outer light or inner sentience; Brahman is the source of all knowledge, of all light, of all sentience.
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Brahman animates the whole universe.

62 Brahman alone shines through the whole universe, both inwardly and outwardly, like fire in a red-hot iron ball. An iron ball has just emerged from a furnace, glowing with the borrowed light of the fire. Just so, all existence borrows from the light of Brahman. Brahman alone supports all existence, pervading the universe both inwardly and outwardly. Nothing exists apart from Brahman, and Brahman pervades everything. The subjectively experienced world of phenomena is none other than Brahman known through the limited filter of the conditioned mind.
All is Brahman; all else is illusion.

63 Brahman is other than the universe. Apart from Brahman, nothing exists. What appears to exist apart from Brahman is an illusion, like a mirage in the desert. It is difficult to neutralize the conditioned minds response of attraction and repulsion to the sense objects of the world. However, these impulses bind us to that which is other than Brahman, just as we react to the illusory snake projected on the rope. Nothing exists apart from Brahman, just as the projected snake has no substance apart from the substance of the rope on which it is projected. The conditioned mind perceives phenomena and treats them as Real. The enlightened mind recognizes phenomena as unReal, and knows that, like a mirage in the desert, they are illusory and cannot satisfy the hunger for Reality. To the conditioned mind, the world is Real. The enlightened mind recognizes the distortions of the conditioned mind and sees that the world is Brahman. The conditioned mind seeks for the infinite in the finite; the enlightened mind looks beyond the finite and finds the infinite in Brahman.
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Whatever is perceived is none other than Brahman.

64 Whatever is seen or heard is none other than Brahman. When one attains the knowledge of this Reality, the universe is seen as the non-dual Brahman, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute. In itself perception is neutral. Yet, the conditioned minds interpretation of it leads to suffering. Perception plants a seed in the conditioned mind, which blossoms into an imagined universe separate from me. This separation leads to suffering. To the enlightened mind perception is accepted without interpretation or any inner reaction. Thus, perception does not contradict the abiding knowledge that the non-dual Brahman is the Reality behind all appearances, nor does it interrupt the abiding experience of BeingConsciousness-Bliss Absolute surfacing within. Recognize Brahman as the inner Reality of all phenomena, and see the whole universe as the non-dual Brahman.
The eye-ofwisdom alone sees the Self.

65 The Self is Being-Consciousness and present everywhere, yet the Self is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone. Primal Ignorance obscures the inner eye and we do not see, like the blind man unaware of the brightness of the shining sun. The conditioned mind experiences the outer world of forms and the inner world of thoughts, emotions, feelings and imaginations. When the conditioned mind reacts to these experiences with desire, envy or anger a host of mental agitations is produced, which cloud the minds inner eye. A blind man is not conscious of the light of the sun; likewise, the inner eye, blinded by these agitations, is unaware of the Self shining in and through all phenomena. Mental agitations hold the conditioned mind in thrall to Primal Ignorance. A mind so engrossed cannot catch a glimpse of That which is its own foundation. The mind must learn to neutralize the reactive tendencies of the conditioned mind and turn inward, in meditation, to quell these agitations. In such a mind, the inner eye-of-knowledge develops and the Self appears spontaneously.
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Purify the conditioned mind and Self-Knowledge arises.

66 The lower self, liberated from all mental impurities by scriptural instruction, subjective reflection, and meditation, is thus kindled and heated in the fire of Knowledge, and shines of itself like gold. In the Vedantic path a seeker of Self-Knowledge is advised to find a qualified Teacher and become his student. The training follows three concurrent phases: (1) the seeker listens to the Teacher giving discourses in the Vedantic tradition on the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. (2) The seeker engages in subjective reflection on the teachings and clears doubts by discussions with the Teacher. (3) The seeker embraces ever-deeper meditations guided by the teachings. Thus, the seekers mind and character are molded by this intense cleansing of the intellectual and affective faculties. As these disciplines bear fruit and the lower self is purifies in the fire of spiritual practice, the seeker enjoys the harvest of a profound inner peace rising from the intimations of SelfKnowledge, and shines of herself like gold.
The Self rises in a purified heart.

67 Verily, the Self, the Sun of Knowledge, rising in the sky of the heart, dispels the darkness of Primal Ignorance, pervades and sustains all things and shines by Itself, making everything shine. Emerging from the camouflages of the sense-world, the Self infuses the heart with devotion, just as the sun, emerging from the mists of the morning, infuses the air with warmth. Moreover, just as the sun is the source of the light of day, so the Self is the source of all knowledge. The Self banishes Primal Ignorance from the vault of the mind. Everything shines in the light of the Self.
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Self-Knowledge brings the infinite into the finite.

68 Whoever transcends the limitations of time, place and direction and renounces all selfish activities, worshipping at the shrine of the ever present Self, which is eternal Bliss, pure, destroyer of the finitude of opposites, that person becomes all-pervading, all-knowing, immortal. The lower self is held captive by its own self-conceived limitations of time, place and the physical world, which have their source in the experienced world of the senses. A relationship of attachment to this world sows the seeds that bind the lower self to the evertenuous world of matter and time. When the lower self transcends these limitations through the practice of the inner disciplines of Vedanta, the conditioned mind comes to a stop in the clarity of the ever-present moment. Then the lower self finds its source and identity in the inner Reality of the Self. This inner Reality is unlimited, the source of all Knowledge, and is the anvil upon which I am formed, yet I neither exist nor do I not exist; I am.
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Glossary
chrya adhikari Advaita Agmi agni aham ahamkra ajnna ksha nanda nandamayakoa annamayakosa antakarana tman Avidy Bhagavad Gt A teacher or spiritual guide. A student of Vednta who has the requisite inner disciplines. Non-dualism; the teaching that reality is undifferentiated, and not describable in terms of difference, or subject and object, and that difference has no ultimate reality. The karmic effect of actions yet to come. Fire. The subject, I. The ego or I-consciousness. Ignorance, individual or cosmic. Primal Ignorance, which is responsible for the perception of multiplicity in the relative world, leading to bondage and suffering. See avidy Space. Bliss The bliss sheath. The food sheath. The inner equipment or organ, comprising the mind (manas), the intellect (buddhi), the ego (ahamkra) and the illuminating function (chitta). The Self, which is the ultimate Reality immanent in each person, is identical with, and is none other than Brahman. Ignorance or Primal Ignorance at the individual or cosmic level. It is responsible for the perception of multiplicity in the relative world, leading to bondage and suffering. The Song of the Lord. A Vedantic text in the form of a dialog between a divine incarnation Lord Krishna and Arjuna, the commanding general, on the battlefield as a dynastic battle is about to commence. This text is part of the Mahbhrata Epic. A spiritual student who studies with a teacher, and practices spiritual disciplines. Brahman viewed as the Creator in conjunction with Shiva as the destroyer and Vishnu as the Preserver. The ultimate Reality that is transcendent and identical with the Self. The decision-making and cognitive aspect of the mind, sometimes translated as intellect. See antakarana Consciousness. The reflection of consciousness that illumines the mind, intellect and ego. See antakarana The essential nature or function of anything, such as heat in fire, wetness in water and sweetness in sugar. Moral duty. The teaching that accepts difference as Real. See advaita or nondualism See dualism.
bramachri Brahm Brahman buddhi Chit chitta dharma dualism dvaita
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guna jva jvanmukta jnna karma kosa
manas manomayakosa My
moksha Nirguna Brahman Nirvna Nirvikalpa Samdhi non-dualism pakriti Prna prnamayakosa prrabdha karma Purusha rajas Real Rishi
Quality; The manifested cosmos has three underlying qualities (gunas) known as tamas (darkness, inertia, delusion), rajas (passion, activity, restlessness), and sattva (light, balance, serenity). The individual self, which is none other than the Self, illusorily conditioned by the body, mind and intellect. A person who has realized the Reality of the Self, and the contingent reality of the sense world. Self-Knowledge, Knowledge of Reality. All actions, both physical and mental, leave impressions on the mind, which emerge as mental tendencies at a future time. Sheath or covering. The five kosas of Vednta philosophy are as follows: annamayakosa (the food sheath), Prnamayakosa (vital air sheath), manomayakosa (mental sheath), vignanmayakosa (intellectual sheath), and nandamayakosa (bliss sheath). The mind; the faculty of doubt and volition, the emotional, doubting mind. See antakarana. The mental sheath. A Vedantic term denoting Primal Ignorance, which obscures the Self, as it were, from Itself. Sometimes thought of as cosmic illusion, on account of which Brahman is experienced as dualistic and divided. Also used to denote the shimmering, manifested universe of the senses; recognizing it as indescribable, constantly changing, undergoing apparent creation, preservation, and destruction. Liberation, enlightenment. Liberation from all suffering, following the awakening to Self-Knowledge Literal meaning: Brahman without attributes. A term used to describe the Absolute Reality as opposed to Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes). Literal meaning: blowing out of a flame. Liberation from desire, passion and ego leading to bliss and freedom. Completely focused meditation on the Self in which there is no distinction between subject and object, resulting in the non-dual experience of Reality. See advaita. The Primal Matter or the material substratum from which the universe has evolved. It has the three qualities or constituents (gunas), sattva, rajas, and tamas. See guna and purusha. The vital breath, which sustains life in all beings; the primal force or energy in the universe. The vital air sheath. The karmic effect of past actions bearing fruit in the present. Person, the Conscious Principle in Samkhya Philosophy. The universe evolves from the union of prakriti (Nature) and purusha. The quality of passion, activity, restlessness. See guna. Whatever persists in the three periods of time past, present and future. The Self that is identical with Brahman alone is Real. A seer of Truth; a revealer of the Knowledge of Vednta.
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Saguna Brahman
Samdhi Samkhya samsra Santana Dharma
Literal meaning: Brahman with attributes. Brahman conceived as the Creator (Shiva), Preserver (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva) of the universe corresponding to the Personal God or the Lord. See Nirguna Brahman. Completely focused meditation on the Self One of the six Orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy. Vednta uses some of the Samkhya ideas. The relative world experienced through the senses. The world of change and becoming, the phenomenal world. Literal meaning: the Everlasting Teaching or the Perennial Philosophy. It is the term used to describe Vednta, the teachings based on the Vedas and the Upanishads. The accumulated or stored karmic effect of past actions. The non-attached life. The quality of light, balance, serenity. See guna. Complete focused meditation on the Self as Lord in which distinction between subject and object still exists, resulting in a dualistic experience of Reality. The great teacher and organizer of non-dualistic Vednta (788-820 AD). Brahman viewed as the Destroyer in conjunction with Brahma as the Creator and Vishnu as the Preserver. A disciple of a Teacher. The Vedas, literally that which is heard. The principle of darkness, inertia and delusion. See guna. Literal meaning: the fourth. The fourth state that transcends and pervades the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. Whatever is changing with the passage of time. Thus, the phenomenal world of form is unReal. A spurious limitation or superimposition imposed upon the Self because of Primal Ignorance. The Upanishads form the concluding sections of the four Vedas, and contain the teachings upon which Vednta is based. The unconscious impressions left on the mind by past actions. These impressions define the character of the mind and its traits. Literal meaning: the end of the Vedas. A system of philosophy grounded in the Upanishads. See Upanishad. The sacred scriptures of the Hindu people, and the ultimate authority in religion and philosophy. They were arranged by the Sage-Poet Vysa into four books, namely, the Rig-Veda, the YajurVeda, the Sma-Veda, and the Arharva-Veda. The intellectual sheath. Brahman viewed as the Preserver in conjunction with Brahma as the Creator and Vishnu as the Destroyer. Philosophical discrimination or discernment, an essential discipline in the practice of Vednta.
sancita karma sannysa sattva Savikalpa Samdhi hankara Shiva sishya Sruti tamas Turya unReal updhi Upanishads vsan Vednta Vedas
vignanamayakosa Vishnu viveka
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Yoga
Literal meaning: the discipline by which Liberation is attained.
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References
For books by Swami Chinmayananda, Contact: Chinmaya Publications 1-888-269-7323 or Chinmaya Mission West P.O. Box 129 Piercy, CA, 95587 (707) 247-3488 www.chinmayamission.org The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words Published by Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, South India. 1977 I Am That By Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj Published By Chetana, Bombay 1973 The Zen Teachings of Hui Hai (on sudden illumination) Translated by John Blofeld Published by Rider and Company, London. Third impression July 1974 The Zen Teachings of Huang Po (On the Transmission of Mind) Edited and translated by John Blofeld Published by The Buddhist Society, London. Third Edition Reprinted 1977
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Self-Knowledge

Genesis of This Translation

Some Foundation Principles

Historical Context and Significance of tmabodh

Absorbing the Essential Message of tmabodh

Welcome to a treatise on Self-Knowledge.

Self-Knowledge leads directly to liberation.

Can action destroy Primal Ignorance?

Due to Primal Ignorance, the Self appears finite.

Purify the lower self and Self-Knowledge arises.

The world seems Real, but relative to the Self, it is unReal.

When does the world cease appearing Real?

The universe is as transient as a bubble.

UnReal: That which changes with the passage of time.

The phenomenal world is a projection on the Self.

The Self is non-dual but appears divided because of unReal factors.

Delusion imposes illusory differences on the Self.

The subtle body: the second conditioning.

The causal body; the third conditioning.

Identification with the not-Self clouds awareness of the Self.

A clear intellect reflects the Self.

UnReal: That which changes with the passage of time.

What is the nature of the Self?

The mental concept I know is a product of the lower self.

The delusion of the lower self.

Fear and fearlessness.

The mind draws its sentience from the Self.

The Self illuminates Itself.

The Self in you is identical with the Self in all.

Realize Brahman by dropping all ephemeral conditionings.

The Self is not subject to mental or physical constraints.

The Self is free of all qualities.

The Self is all pervading yet transcends all.

What is the nature of Brahman, the Self in all?

The experience of I am Brahman destroys Primal Ignorance.

Meditation on the Self.

Merging the phenomenal world into the Self.

What is the effect of awakening to the Supreme?

The Self is of the nature of undifferentiated unity.

A discerning meditation prepares the way for Self-Knowledge.

The destruction of Primal Ignorance reveals the Self.

Primal Ignorance alone obscures the Self.

Through delusion, Brahman is perceived as an individual.

Self-Knowledge destroys the illusory ideas of I and Mine.

How does a Knower of the Self view the universe?

Self and the universe are identical.

The liberated Yogi shines from within.

The Sage in the world.

How a Sage relates to the world.

The death of a Sage.

Brahman is fullness, blessedness and omniscience.

Brahman is beyond seeing, becoming and knowing.

Brahman is Reality, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss.

The Vedantic path to Brahman.

Brahman is the embodiment of Infinite Bliss.

Brahman is present in everything.

Brahman has no outer characteristics.

Brahman is That by which all things are made manifest.

Brahman animates the whole universe.

All is Brahman; all else is illusion.

Whatever is perceived is none other than Brahman.

The eye-ofwisdom alone sees the Self.