The primal and unique Self – the Source and Heart without which
Para-Shakti, who functions in the form of mind, cannot have even the slightest existence – is the pure Shiva who shines in
Chidambaram.
202
The Eternal Bliss, after reaching which the mind will cease wandering
outwards, is Shiva, the mind-enchanter [mano-ranjitam] who is the
Heart that gives the ever-fresh experience of Jnana.
203
The chittams of well-ripened aspirants are themselves the gopikas who were charmed with love. Know that the Heart which removes the ego’s pride, just as the flame destroys the moth, is the
gopikas’ Beloved One [Sri Krishna].
The gopikas are the girls who lived and played with Sri Krishna on the banks of the
Jamuna.
A peaceful attitude, together with a ‘silent-flow’
of mind towards undeviating abidance in Self, Sat-Chit, is the best
worship of Shiva.
Sadhu Om:When the mind wanders outwards, away from the Source, it is actually disgracing Self, and so its undeviating abidance in the Self
[its ‘silent flow’] is here said to be the true worship of Self.
205
Saint Markandeya survived death by conquering even
Yama, and lived beyond his destined time. Know, therefore, that death can be overcome by worshipping Shiva, the death-killer.
In the story of Saint Markandeya, Shiva killed Yama, the God of death, and it is therefore said that by worshipping Shiva, death can be overcome. The true worship of Shiva is Self-abidance, as stated in verse 204 above, and since Self (Shiva) is beyond birth and death, by abiding as Self one conquers death and attains immortality.
206
Having obtained the non-dual view that all the eight
forms of the universe, which are [mere] mental conceptions, are forms of
God, to worship them properly is also a good Shiva-puja
Sadhu Om: The eight forms of the universe are space, air, fire, water, earth, the sun, moon and
jivas.
The non-dual view is obtained only after realising the oneness of Self, and until then an aspirant must rely upon his mental imagination to try and see and worship the eight forms as the forms of God. Such worship, relying upon the imagination, may be taken as good
Nishkama Karmas [i.e., desireless action], which helps to purify the mind and to thus point the way to liberation, as taught by Sri Bhagavan in verses 3 and 5 of
Upadesa Saram. However, since this worship is mere mental activity it cannot be counted as the highest and true Shiva
puja mentioned in verses 204 and 205 above. Only the
Jnani truly sees that the eight forms are not other than Self [God]. So, He alone can truly perform
Nishkama Karmas or Shiva-puja.
Refer to
Maharshi’s Gospel, Part I, chapter 3, where Sri Bhagavan states, “An
Atma-Jnani alone can be a good karma-yogi”.
The significance of the imperfect jiva’s Namaskaram [prostration], when he places his proud head beneath the feet of the Guru or God, is that his ego-sense, “I am the body”, is to be crushed by Self-Knowledge.
O you that ridicule idol-worship, having not discovered through heart-melting love it’s secret, how is that you [daily] worship the filthy idol of your body as ‘I’?
Sadhu Om: It is generally believed that idol worship is to mistake
the idol as God and to treat it accordingly, offering it a bath, cloth, food, and all hospitality; but to mistake a body as Self, and to treat it accordingly, is also a form of idol worship. Indeed to treat and love a body as ‘I’ is the primal mistake which leads to all other forms of idol worship. So it is clear that we are all idol-worshippers, even if we take pride in scorning those that worship temple idols. As long as one takes one’s body as ‘I’, there is no wrong in also worshipping an idol as God, and until one feels that it is wrong to treat one’s body as ‘I’, one should not be scornful and criticize others for treating an idol as God. If one first roots out and destroys the ‘I am the body’ notion, one is then in a position to criticize idol worship, if such criticism is necessary
[in the light of
Jnana such criticism will of course be clearly seen as unnecessary].
When the fictitious ego, who has accumulated tendencies from the beginningless past, is burnt by the Fire of
Jnana, that Reality which alone remains within is the Sacred Vibhuti. This you should know.
Sadhu Om: Vibhuti represents Self, which alone shines after the ego’s destruction.
210
The Supreme Lord having taken the form of the Guru, lights the Fire of
Jnana through His Supreme Speech [Para Vak], proclaiming without words the One Syllable, and thus burns the ego within the pure heart of His disciple. The
Vibhuti He gives is the restoration of Self.
Sadhu Om: Vibhuti is prepared by burning cowdung in an airtight oven. In Saiva Siddhanta the jiva is generally known as the ‘cow’, so the cow-dung used here symbolises the jiva’s vasanas, which when burnt to ashes, leave only Self.
211
Those who wear such Vibhuti are unequalled in all respects in this world. Such
Vibhuti, which is Reality, the thought-free and wonderful Jnana, is eternal divine wealth.
212
Those who love and worship this Vibhuti, which is Reality, will become this
Vibhuti itself. Therefore, having destroyed the ego, ever remain as this
Vibhuti, which is Self.
213
When the insentient ego turns inwards through Self-attention and dies, the Fire of
Jnana burns in the Heart and consumes all the three worlds in its blazing red flame, which is the significance of the red
kumkum.
The three worlds are heaven, earth and the nether regions.
The reason why the Puranas describe the bull taken by Shiva as His vehicle and similar creatures [taken by other Gods] is to gradually cultivate in us a habit of viewing all manifest forms as God, their Substratum.
Nothing is impossible for Power of Self, which is
the power of the Almighty’s Grace. Some people say “It is possible
only through the power of sword and shield”, because of the dirty
nature of Maya, the notion “I am the filthy body”.
Sadhu Om: This verse explains the success achieved through the divine power of non-violence during India’s fight for freedom.
216
Those that say that Power and Peace are different do not know them rightly. What prevails internally as Peace is expressed externally as Power.
B6
What is experienced as Peace while [the mind is] inward turned, is experienced as Power while [it is] outward turned. Only
Jnanis who have deeply enquired and realised [the true nature of Self prevailing during both introversion and extroversion] know that Peace and Power are one and the same.
Sadhu Om: There is a saying, “Which is more difficult, to build a dam and control the flood, or to breach the dam and release the flood?” To arrest the mind, which by habit wanders outside with great force, and to keep it peacefully within the Heart, the Supreme Power of Grace is needed; but to release the mind, and so allow it to create
[i.e., to conceive] and see innumerable worlds externally, only a slight allowance of that Supreme Power is needed. Therefore, the powers of creation and sustenance are but a tiny reflection of that Supreme Power of Peace within. If an aspirant can understand this, he will surely no longer feel any delight or wonder in acquiring the eightfold
siddhis and the power to create and sustain whole universes.
217
The power to punish others in many ways can be found in one who has cultivated a noble character and virtuous
behaviour; but having the greatest forbearance is the only true sign of having really achieved Godhood.
Sadhu Om: Rather than possessing outward powers to punish others, the true and greatest power is to be inwardly at Peace, and thus to be able to bear with and forgive others. Thus this verse confirms the ideas of the previous verse.
When the opposite poles of a large magnet and a small one are joined, the small one, by gaining the greater power of the large one, becomes one with it and shares the same properties.
Sadhu Om: In this verse a simile is used, without it being explained. The large magnet is a simile for
Mahat [i.e., God or Self], the small one is a simile for
Anu [i.e.,
jiva or ego], and their opposite poles are God’s feet and the
jiva’s head. Joining their opposite poles, therefore, means that the
jiva bows down and places his head beneath the Feet of God, and thus loses his individuality by merging in God, and becomes God Himself. That is, when the petty ego merges with Self through self-surrender it shines as the Supreme Self Itself.
To greedily beg for petty siddhis from God,
who is ready to give Himself, the All [Sarva], is just like
begging for stale gruel from a philanthropist who has the heart to give
everything that is asked for.
220
One who longs for siddhis after arriving in the world of Atma-Siddhas, the unlimited Space of Self-Consciousness, is just like the one who wants sour and stale gruel after reaching Heaven, which provides divine elixir, the food of immortality.
Sadhu Om: The phrase ‘Atma-Siddha-Loka’
[the world of
Atma-Siddhas] may be interpreted in a number of ways; it’s principle meaning must be Self, as all
Atma-Siddhas are Self and nothing but Self, and in their view there is certainly no
loka or world other than Self.
It may also mean the physical presence of the Guru or
Atma-Jnani, in which case this verse is a reference to those unfortunate souls who, despite being blessed with the company of Bhagavan Ramana, left Him due to their greed for
siddhis. “After arriving in
Atma-Siddha-Loka” may alternatively mean, “though the ego dwells under the mercy of the ever-attained
[Nitya-Siddha] Self”.
221
In the heart in which the flame of Supreme Devotion blazes forth, all
siddhis unite together. But such a Devotee, whose mind has completely become a prey to the Lord, will never feel a liking for them.
222
If an aspirant treading on the path of Liberation develops a liking for siddhis, his ego will wax and hence his bondage will become denser.
B7
Absolute stillness of mind alone is the attainment of Liberation. This being so, tell me how can those who yoke their mind to
siddhis which are unobtainable without mental efforts, drown in the Bliss of Liberation which is the complete cessation of mental activities?
Sadhu Om: Refer also to
The Call Divine, vol. IV p. 401. This verse is in
Collected Works as verse sixteen of
Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham.
This verse reveals that without ‘chitta-chalana’
[i.e., mental activities] no
siddhis can be performed. However, the
siddhis which are apparently performed by a
Jnani, whose mind is dead, are different because they are caused by the Will of God, and the
Jnani therefore feels no sense of doership [i.e., He does not feel that He Himself performs
them]. Hence, we should know that a
Jnani performs
siddhis without any mental activities, and that one who, on the other hand feels “I am doing, I will do, or I can do
siddhis” is certainly not a
Jnani.
223
O man, the most wonderful siddhi is that you, who are really pure formless Self-Consciousness, take the body with its legs and hands as ‘I’ and go dancing about as if real, [compared to this] even the eight kinds of
siddhis are no real wonders.
Sadhu Om: “ …go dancing about as if real…” refers to the ego thinking that it performs karmas and undergoes many births and deaths.
By referring to man as “pure”, it is pointed out that he is not any of the impure attributes such as mind; by referring to him as “formless”, it is pointed out that he is not any form such as the body; by referring to him as Self-Consciousness it is pointed out that he is not some inert matter such as the corpse-like body. But since We are able to apparently change ourselves into all these things
[i.e. ego] which are directly opposed to our true nature, this is said by Sri Bhagavan to be the most wonderful of
siddhis. This
siddhi is made still more wonderful since We, the motionless Self, having become an ego then perform actions and undergo many births and deaths. Thus, Sri Bhagavan points out that, more wonderful than any of the eightfold
siddhis, is this
siddhi by which the ever-flawless Self appears to become the defective ego.
224
The attainment of Self, which is the Primal Thing, and the Knowledge of Liberation, is alone the true
Jnana-Siddhi. All the other eight types of siddhis belong merely to the wavering mind and its power of imagination.
Immortality is reserved only for those who have died into their ego, the filthy empty sense “I am the body”, which veils their immortal nature of
Sat-Chit-Ananda, the only beloved Thing.
Sadhu Om: Some misguided aspirants take to various kinds of
yogas to prevent the body’s death, or at least to lengthen its life, in the false belief that that is immortality. Taking pity on such people, Sri Bhagavan here clearly defines true Immortality.
226
Because of the delusion that the alien body is ‘I’, birth and death seem to befall us. Therefore, immortality, our true nature, is achieved only when this delusion is completely removed.
Sadhu Om: Birth and death only befall the body, but taking the body to be ‘I’ we feel “I am born, and I will die”. If we wish to become immortal we therefore merely have to cast off this illusory identification with the body, and we will then realise that we are the Ever-Unborn and Ever-Immortal Self.
227
Death is nothing but the delusion that “I am the alien body”, and Immortality is nothing but the Bliss that is gained when that delusion dies through the knowledge of the non-dual Self.
228
Can immortality be obtained unless the one who takes this body as ‘I’ dies as Self, having become afraid of this body’s death and having, therefore, enquired “Who is this I?” [No.]
229
Know and accept that Immortality is only the shining of the true Clarity [i.e. pure Consciousness], without the delusion of mental modifications. Death cannot be overcome by anything other than that Pure Consciousness.
Sadhu Om: As death is the result of ignorance, it is said in this verse that it can be overcome only by Knowledge, the Pure Consciousness of Self.
To name a transient and illusory thing which is born to die, as
Kaya is simply a polite mockery. Only Self-Consciousness, which is found to be the Ultimate Truth, is permanent
[Kaya].
Kaya literally means permanent, but it has come to mean in common usage the body.
231
The real, unique Self-Knowledge, which is distilled and obtained when the repeatedly rising ego merges into its Source is the true
Kalpa [medicine].
Yogis generally use the word
Kalpa to mean the elixir for lengthening the body’s life, but Sri Bhagavan points out with this verse that the true
Kalpa is Self-Knowledge.
Only those who do not know that the body is the root-disease which gives birth to all other diseases will perform
tapas to achieve bodily immortality, instead of trying to root out this disease; such people are like one who toils hard to water mere weeds.
233
Only those worthless people whose form is the poisonous and non-existent ego, which is the base of all terrible diseases, will untiringly perform
tapas to immortalize the body, like one who takes a medicine to aggravate his disease.
234
As a result of prolonged, worthy, and well-performed tapas, desiring to stabilize one’s individuality instead of ever-remaining in the Supreme Silence, is due to dense ignorance, like achieving poverty with great longing and struggling.
235
For those who see through perfect Jnana, this
bodily life is unreal and merely mental, and therefore know that there is
only misery and no benefit in jiva’s prolonging their jiva’s
lifetime.
Know that people who offer you praise and puja with worldly ambitions, to make your heart swell with joy, are only a golden bait offered by
Maya to entice you, who are doing
tapas with great vairagya.
Sadhu Om: If the praise offered by others gives one even the slightest joy, then like bait, it will cause one’s downfall. Such praise does not, of course, bind a
Jnana-Mukta, who has lost his individuality, and so Sri Bhagavan clearly addresses this verse to “you who are doing
tapas”.
Many aspirants, even before reaching the goal of Egolessness, are enchanted and deluded by the praise and worship of others, and forgetting the goal, they run after name and fame, and going from place to place, they give teachings, blessings, etc. To save them from such self-ruin, Sri Bhagavan graciously gives these instructions. Just as the bait, though golden, will kill it’s prey, so also name and fame, though seemingly worth achieving, will ruin the aspirant by strengthening his ego, and will hinder him from reaching the Goal.
237
Supreme Jnana dawns with ease only for those fortunate ones in whose hearts dispassion towards the pleasures of this world and the next springs forth naturally in this birth.
238
Know well that the experience of Bliss exists only in Self and never in this
life of delusion, and hence achieve Self-Knowledge, which is the Space of
Grace and the final state of Supreme Silence.
Since space is all-pervading, vast, abundant, and subtle, Sri Bhagavan uses the word ‘Space’ – as in ‘Space of Grace’, ‘Space of Consciousness’, ‘Space of Bliss’ etc., –
to denote the idea of all-pervading vastness, abundance, and subtlety, which are all qualities of Self.
239
O my dear friend Vairagya who is always enlightening me with Knowledge by destroying the dense delusion of desire, please do not abandon me who ever claim your friendship.
Sadhu Om: To stress the instruction that we should never give up
vairagya, it is nicely expressed here in the form of a prayer addressed to
Vairagya, which is personified as a friend, asking it never to forsake us.
240
O my virtuous friend Vairagya, when the proverb says, “Friendship, even with a wicket ghost, is difficult to break, once it is made”, if I break my friendship with you who has been protecting me from evil and leading me home during all my past lives, it would be worse than meeting me with the hostility of the whole world.
Sadhu Om: Since it is difficult to break a friendship, even when it is found to be harmful, it is nearly impossible to break one which is known to be beneficial. However, if a beneficial friendship were broken, especially with such a friend as
Vairagya, it would be the worst calamity that could befall one.
241
Whatever thought may rise, not to let it live or grow, but to destroy it then and there, without the least slackness, by merging it back into its Source, is powerful and intense
Vairagya.
Sadhu Om: Formerly, we were taught by the Scriptures that
Vairagya is to feel aversion for our desires and to reject them, but now Sri Bhagavan teaches us that true
Vairagya is to maintain a vigilant Self-attention by which every thought, instead of being allowed to rise and develop, is turned back and merged into its Source.
242
If, by the wonderful weapon of self-enquiry, you would continue destroying, one by one, all the innumerable foes – the
vasanas rising in the form of thought – as and when each of them comes out of the fort –
chittam – the enemy’s fort will finally be in your hands.
Sadhu Om: All the
vasanas, which have the collective name of
chittam, have their abode in the Heart [refer to
Ulladu Narpadu
Anubandham verse 19,
Arunachala Ashtakam, verse 7; and verse 249 of this work], so the enemy’s fort which we will capture is nothing but our own home, the Heart. The destruction of the enemy is nothing but
Mano-Nasha, the destruction of our own mind.
The above two verses are both to be found in prose form in
Who am I?