Giving up the attitude of outwardly enquiring more and more, “Who are you? Who is he?”, it is best to always inwardly enquire with great interest about oneself, “Who am I?”
385
If one attends to the centre of oneself with a keen mind to know “Who am I?”, the identification ‘I am the body’ will die and the Reality will shine forth as ‘I-I’. Then all the illusory differences, which are like the blueness seen in the sky, will disappear.
386
All doubts and questions pertaining to duality and otherness will be destroyed by the question “Who am I?” This question, “Who is this ‘I’ who doubts and asks about other things?”, will itself turn out to be the
Brahmashtra, and will destroy the appearance of all otherness, which is nothing other than dark ignorance.
The Brahmashtra is the greatest and most powerful Divine Weapon.
387
By destroying the mischievous and frisky ego through the enquiry, “Who is this ‘I’ who sees the outside world through the deceitful senses?”, to remain permanently in
Mei-Jnana-Para-Nishta is truly the means for one to attain Liberation.
Mei-Jnana-Para-Nishta means the supreme abidance as the true knowledge.
388
The individual who enquires into his real nature, “Who am I?”, will die as the ‘I’-less Self.
Sadhu Om:This is like saying, “The river will die as the ocean”; i.e. the ego will die through enquiry, and That which will survive its death is the ‘I’-less Self.
389
Restraining the mind from going outside [through the senses], and fixing it always in its Source, Self, which is known as the Heart, so that the vain ‘I’-thought will not rise again, is the
Atma-Vichara [Self-enquiry].
Refer to Who am I? where it is said, “… Always keeping the mind fixed in Self – that alone is
Atma-Vichara …”
390
Will the mind which drowns in love for the Feet of the Lord start to dance in ecstasy, jumping as before into the delusion of married life and sexual pleasure?
A naked lamp will be extinguished on coming into contact with the water and will therefore not help one to find the missing person. Similarly, if One’s attention is towards second and third persons, it will not help one to find the Supreme Thing, which is the Reality of the first person.
Refer also to Sri Arunachala Ashtakam verse 4, where searching for God outside while ignoring Arunachala, who shines as Existence-Consciousness (i.e. Self) is likened to taking a lamp to search for darkness.
391
Self, which shines within the five sheaths, should be attended to within the Heart. Instead of doing so, to enquire for It in the scriptures is only scriptural enquiry – how can it be Self-enquiry?
Refer to Who am I? where it is said, “…Self is within the five sheaths; but the scriptures are outside the five sheaths. Therefore seeking Self in the scriptures when It is to be found within by negating the five sheaths, is futile…”
392
When mano-laya is gained by restraining the breath, one should keenly enquire, using such a peaceful mind which is now condensed from the scattered five [sense-knowledges] into the one ‘I’-consciousness, and know that
Sat-Chit which is not the body.
Sadhu Om: See also verse 516.
Mano-laya is a state in which the mind knows no objects, and it is of two kinds – sleep and
kevala-nirvikalpa-samadhi. In sleep the mind gets no light from Self, and in
kevala-nirvikalpa-samadhi, though the mind gets light form Self, it remains merely as the ‘I’-thought, and the
vasanas are neither allowed to function, nor are they destroyed. When one wakes up from either kind of
mano-laya, the vasanas start functioning as before, and so no progress is made in
laya, however long one many remain in it. Therefore it is said that it is not sufficient to stop with
mano-laya, even if it is kevala-nirvikalpa-samadhi.
Laya results because the mind is restrained from dwelling upon external sense-objects, but though the mind is not wandering and is therefore peaceful in this state, one cannot progress further. Whenever the mind wakes up from
laya, it will be quiet and peaceful [i.e. it will not be wandering towards
objects], and therefore one should make use of such a peaceful mind by directing it towards Self-attention;’
because only through Self-attention can mano-nasha [i.e. destruction of the
mind] be attained.
This verse clearly shows that Sri Bhagavan meant in
Upadesa Undiyar verse 14, where He wrote that the mind which has been stilled by breath-control will be destroyed if it is engaged in “the one path”
[“vazhi” in Tamil, “eka chintana” in Sanskrit]. This “one path” is nothing other than
Self-enquiry, as this verse makes clear, and so we can certainly conclude that all the other interpretations which are recorded in some other books are not correct.
393
Those who take to the pure path of Self-enquiry are never derailed because, like the sun, this supremely direct path itself reveals to them its own unchallengeable clarity and uniqueness.
Sri Muruganar: Unlike karma, bhakti, yoga, etc., which critically analysed, have to yield to the other paths, changing their course and bending a bit,
Self-enquiry never has to yield and change its course, because of the uniqueness of Self. Hence Sri Bhagavan calls the path of
Self-enquiry the pure path and the direct one. Besides, since one has to take to at least a little Self-attention in order to reach the final Goal, even though one may have been advancing through some other path, this path is called the supreme path by Sri
Bhagavan.
Since this path is compared to the sun, we should take Self to be the sun, and
Self-enquiry to be Its ray.
394
Since death is nothing but pramada, those who want to conquer death should always ward off
pramada; and since this alone is essential, there is no rule prescribing a time or place to enquire into Self.
Sadhu Om: Pramada means inadvertence, i.e. giving up on the way what has been undertaken; here
pramada denotes slackness in Self-attention.
Like death, pramada may happen at any time or in any place, and therefore Self-attention should be vigilantly maintained at all times and in all places.
395
Since time, place, etc., which seem to exist, cannot have a real existence of their own apart from the undivided and perfect Brahman, none of them can be unsuitable for practicing self-enquiry.
The Tamil word for ‘unsuitable’ [vilakku] can also mean ‘target’, and so the following alternative meaning can also be taken: “… nothing bound by them
[i.e. time, place, etc.] should be taken as a target for meditation”.
While taking this alternative meaning, “time, place etc., which seem to exist,” should be understood to mean this whole universe of names and forms
[which are all second and third persons]. Hence we are told in this verse that we should not take as objects of meditation any second or third person such as: (a) a place for the heart on the right-hand side of the chest; (b) any
chakra or centre in the body; (c) any name or form of a God or Goddess; (d) any divine light or sound; etc. Refer also to verse 184, where the same idea is expressed.
396
One’s unceasing effort to turn the mind – which is always extroverted due to the force of habit [cultivated in past births] – towards Self by the
Self-enquiry “Who am I?” is [the significance of] the great war being fought between
devas and asuras [which is described in the
Puranas].
Sadhu Om: In India many stories are recorded in books known as the
Puranas, which tell of the wars being fought between devas
[gods] and
asuras [demons]. These wars should not be regarded as mere myths or events that happened only in the distant past, they are going on even today. They are the constant battle which is always being fought in the life of a
sadhaka between his liking to attend only to Self and the habitual outward-going tendencies of this mind.
397
Whenever a thought arises, instead of trying even a little either to follow it up or to fulfil it, it would be better to first enquire, “To whom did this thought arise?”
Sadhu Om: The ideas expressed in verses 397, 398 and 399 are also expressed in prose in
Who am I?
398
When one thus inwardly enquires, “Is it not to me that this thought has arisen – than who am I?”, the mind will return to subside in its Source, and the already risen thought will also vanish.
399
When one daily practices in this manner, since the impurities are being removed from the mind, it will become purer and purer to such an extent that the practice will become so easy that the mind will reach the Heart as soon as the enquiry is commenced.
400
Just as the creatures which come out of the bushes to save their lives, being unable to bear with the heat of the wild forest-fire, are surely burnt to death, so all the
vasanas hiding in the Heart will be destroyed, being unable to stand before the growing and blazing fire of the strength of Self-enquiry.
401
The thought “Who am I?”, after destroying all other thoughts, will itself finally die just like the stick which is used to stir the funeral pyre, and then the supreme Silence will prevail for ever.
Sadhu Om: Refer also to Who am I?
402
When the delusion which has veiled Self, the Light of Consciousness of unlimited Bliss
[Sat-Chit-Ananda], is destroyed by the clear enquiry “Who am I?”, one’s own Nature will shine forth gloriously as the
Atmakasha [i.e. Space of Self].
403
Just as an iron ball which is heated in fire will itself shine as fire, when the impure
jiva is burnt in the fire of self-enquiry, it will itself shine as Self.
404
By enquiring, “Who am I, the deluded one who suffers so much?”, the delusion will be dissolved, the Reality will be attained,
Jnana will dawn, Mouna will flow forth and the Bliss of Peace will prevail.
405
It is only due to the delusion which is caused by not learning the Truth of Self that
jivas are suffering. Therefore, always take to the practice of Jnana – the inward enquiry “Who am I that is suffering?”
406
By contact with the philosopher’s stone – proper and unceasing enquiry – the ghostly
jiva will lose the rust of mental impurities and will be turned into the supreme Shiva.
Sri Muruganar: Since enquiry is described as the philosopher’s stone and the mental impurities are described as mental rust, the
jiva should be taken to be the base material and Shiva to be the gold.
407
If the son of God, the jiva who has forgotten his real Nature [i.e. Self], eagerly enquires within, “Who am I that is lamenting over the miseries of life?’, he will realise his greatness, namely that he is truly One with his Father – Self.
This verse was given according to the doctrines of Christianity.
Sri Bhagavan here explained that Tapas means self-denial, and the true self-denial (ego-denial) is nothing but Self-abidance
(Atma-Nishta).
408
The purpose of Tapas is to know that the supreme
Atma-Jnana [Self-Knowledge] is graciously and naturally shining always in all creatures, and to experience It by being It; tapas is not to newly create or obtain
Jnana.
409
“To fix the stupid and egotistical mind as One with the pure Shiva [i.e. Self], by subduing it within the Heart so that it cannot wander out through the sense-organs, is alone the best
tapas,” say the true Tapasvins.
410
Uninterruptedly maintaining Atmakara-vritti [i.e. the flow of Self-attention], which swallows within itself the appearance of the universe with all its differences, is, when pondered over, the only mark of the unique
Tapas.
411
Alas, because of the delusion caused by not knowing that
tapas, which is one’s natural duty, should be done with love, people torture themselves in the fire of miserable
tapas, in spite of the fact that the Ocean of Bliss [the true Goal of
tapas] is always brimming over.
Sadhu Om: Tapas literally means scorching, or undergoing, self-inflicted tortures, but since these meanings seem to be inappropriate, Sri Bhagavan has given us a new definition for this word in
Upadesa Undiyar verse 30. In that verse we told that Atma-Nishta
[i.e. Self-abidance – which is the Ocean of Bliss] is the real
Tapas.
There are some people who, in the name of tapas, torture their bodies by engaging in austerities such as
panchatapagni [i.e. sitting for meditation surrounded by five fires – above and on four
sides], etc. These activities can be called
tapas in its literal sense, yet they are only performed for the fulfilment of desires, either in this world or in the next. Though these desires may be selfish
[i.e. for one’s own individual benefit] or unselfish [i.e. for the benefit of the whole
world], they are possible only so long as the ego survives. The aim of true
tapas, on the other hand, is Bliss, which can only be achieved when the ego is annihilated.
Therefore, highly discriminative people should perform the true
tapas of destroying the ego. The only path or tapas which will destroy the ego is Self-attention
[which is often known as self-enquiry]. Is this Self-attention a self-inflicted torture or a scorching experience? According to the divine saying ‘I am the Path and the Goal’, the path must be as blissful as the Goal, and since everyone knows from his own experience in sleep that the state of egolessness is blissful, it is clear that attending to Self, which is the nearest and the dearest to all of us, will also be blissful, and it will not be an experience of torture or misery. Thus, since Self-attention is to be undertaken with such love and pleasure, why should it be regarded as being
tapas in its literal sense? Therefore Sri Bhagavan declares that to think of
tapas as being a miserable experience is due to delusion and ignorance, and thus He introduces a revolutionary idea about
tapas.
Happiness is our true Nature, but through inattention born of ignorance, we leave it, come out and suffer. Hence our natural and happy duty is to lovingly restore Self-attention and to thus abide in our true Nature.
412
Silence – which is the experience of Shiva, the supreme
chit
[jnana] – is the true tapas by which Brahman [Tat or
Sat] is achieved.
413
Just as it is impossible to trace the path through which a bird flew in the sky and the path through which a fish swam in the water, so it is also impossible to trace the path by which
Jnanis have reached the Self.
The Path by which Jnanis reach Self is Self-enquiry, which is the real
Jnana-marga, but since the ego itself vanishes on this path, not only is no trace left behind, but also no one is left to find it.
When it is said that “it is impossible to trace the path”, it means that the path can neither be known or expressed because, although we are given clues to
it, such as Self-attention, when the ego attempts through practice to know what Self-attention exactly is, the ego itself is lost. Refer also to verse 999 and note.
414
Union with the Feet of the Lord as the form of Love
[Bhakti], in which all the ego’s activities die, is the Path of
Siddhanta. The loss of the ego by abiding in Self [Atma-Nishta], which is the supreme
Jnana and Bliss, is the Path of Vedanta.
Sadhu Om: Since the annihilation of the ego is stressed in both the paths,
Siddhanta marga [i.e. Bhakti-marga] and Vedanta marga
[i.e.
Jnana marga] are not different but one and the same.
415
Knowing Para [i.e. Self – the Supreme] through Self-enquiry, by discriminating between
Para and apara [i.e. non-Self], by attaining inward dispassion towards
apara, and by remaining where the notions ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are completely lost, is the way of life of
Jnanis.
416
Know that the following is the right way by which the suffering
jiva can revel in Shiva: reject God, world and soul as being false appearances in
Brahman, just like the appearance of silver on a shell.
The Tamil word for knowledge is ‘arivu’, which not only means true knowledge, i.e. pure consciousness
(Chit), but can also mean mind, the knowledge of sense-objects, the knowledge of the arts and sciences, etc; in this work it is therefore translated each time according to the particular sense in which it is used.
417
Shiva shines in the golden Heart-temple of Knowledge [i.e. Consciousness] as Knowledge Itself. Only those who know Him by the pure Eye of Knowledge are truly worshipping the Truth, because Knowledge Itself is the true Supreme Thing.
418
The highest Jnana, which is knowing the
perfect Reality is knowing the Knowledge by Knowledge itself. Until the
Knowledge is thus known by the Knowledge Itself, the mind will have no
peace.
419
Just as the ornaments are known to be many and different but the gold is known to be one, so the sense-objects are known to be many and different. Here the gold signifies the one absolute Being-Knowledge which results from the destruction of the
chittam [i.e. the store of vasanas], and which is devoid of the qualified and objective sense knowledges.
420
To know the sense-objects as true instead of knowing the truth of the seeing-knowledge [i.e. the seer] is due to ignorance born of false delusion. The True Knowledge is not learning all the arts which you want to know, but losing the imaginary relative knowledge in Self-Knowledge.
Sadhu Om: Refer to Ulladu Narpadu verse 12: “The knowledge which knows (objects) cannot be True Knowledge …”
421
Only the pure Knowledge of Sat-Chit [i.e. the Consciousness ‘I am’] truly exists. All other [sense or mind]
knowledges, which function in It as if true, are nothing but dark and fictitious ignorance; [hence] it is dangerous to believe them.
Sadhu Om: The plain and simple Knowledge ‘I am’, which is experienced by everyone in deep sleep, is the perfect Knowledge. Refer to
Maharshi’s Gospel, Part I, Chapter I; “Sleep is not ignorance, it is one’s pure state; wakefulness is not Knowledge, it is ignorance. There is full awareness [i.e. knowledge] in sleep and total ignorance in waking…”
[8th edition, 1969, p. 11].
422
All other knowledges are defective and petty; the experience of Silence [i.e. Self-Knowledge] is alone Perfect Knowledge. The different objective knowledges are merely superimposed on Self, the Pure Knowledge, and hence they are not true.
423
Will those Great Ones who have the pure Jnana-drishti [i.e. the outlook of
Jnana] consider the objective outlook of the petty ego to be Knowledge at all? The Knowledge is only That which knows the Pure Knowledge, and not that which knows other things.
Sadhu Om: “…That which knows the Pure Knowledge…” is the Self-Knowledge which shines as ‘I am’.
424
Though one has known many subtle, rare and wonderful things, can one be a
Jnani until one comes to know the knower of them? Know that one cannot be.
Sadhu Om: Refer to Atma-Vidya verse 3: “Without first knowing our Self, of what avail is it then to know anything else, for what else is there to know after Self is known?”
425
Tell me, O mind that madly rushes outwards, can there be any source from which all this universe springs forth other than that Knowledge which is never born out of another?
426
Why is knowledge often said to be the only base for anything and everything? Because Knowledge, which is the base for everything which rises [i.e. which comes into existence], remains as the sole base even for Its own existence.
Sadhu Om: Read verse 428 along with this verse. Refer also to
Upadesa Undiyar verse 23; “…there is no Consciousness [Chit] other than Existence
[Sat] Itself to know Existence …”.
427
A support [i.e. a base] is needed only for an inert thing which is
asat [i.e. which is not real existence]. Why then does a necessity arise that WE,
Sat-Chit, should need some other Chit as our support? It is because of the delusion by which we think that we are the impure
chittam [mind].
There are two possible versions of verse 428:
428a
Because our real Nature is Itself Sat [Existence], unlike other things which are
asat, know that the base for the ever-existing Consciousness is that same Self-existing Consciousness Itself.
428b
Since ‘I’, our real nature, ever shines as Existence
[Sat], unlike other things which are non-existent [asat: i.e. which seem to exist at one time and not at another time], know that ‘I’ [Self], which shines of itself [i.e. without any other aid], is the base for the ever-existing Consciousness
[Chit].
429
Thus, while that Consciousness, the Reality itself, is you, instead of knowing with that Consciousness that you are Consciousness itself and remaining as It is, you know the world, which rises out of you, the Consciousness, and suffer very much. Alas, what can I say about this!
Though the world is seen outside, it is only an apparent manifestation rising from within.
430
Those who do not know through Self-enquiry what is the truth of their natural state [Self] mistake the alien body to be ‘I’ and see the world as different from themselves and hence suffer in delusion. All other things except that [‘I’], which shines as the one undeluded Existence-Consciousness-Bliss
[Sat-Chit-Ananda], are seen on account of the deceitful play of
maya.
431
To one whose attention is only upon the things known [the five sense-objects] but not even the least upon the knower – to such a lump of mud [the fleshy body] in the form of a human being, can any scripture teach true knowledge
[Jnana]?
432
Is it not because you are knowledge [i.e. consciousness] itself that you are able to know the world? If [instead of knowing the world] you turn your attention, taking that Consciousness alone as your target, It will Itself as the Guru reveal the Truth [i.e. Reality].
Sri Muruganar: ‘Turn your attention taking that Consciousness alone as one’s target’: This is the state in which one consciously remains, not knowing other things and not forgetting oneself. Since throughout the waking and dream states the mind was in the habit of attending to other things, the second persons
[i.e. the world, which is a mental conception], it can only conceive even God, who is in truth beyond mental conception, to be an object of perception. But now, when the mind attends to Self, Self destroys this illusory habit of the mind and makes it know: ‘I do not exist, only Self, the real God, truly exists’. Thus Consciousness, one’s target, itself as the Guru reveals the truth.
The mind’s longing to see God in the form of an object
[i.e. as a second person] is due to the forgetfulness of its true nature – Existence-Consciousness – and to its acting with doership as an individual. But when, giving up the objective attention, it remains as Consciousness itself, the aforesaid doership and forgetfulness are lost and the mind now understands that Self alone is the real God and thereby attains eternal Peace.
433
Only the truth of Self is worthy of being scrutinized and known. Taking It alone as the target, one should keenly attend to It and know It in the heart [i.e. within]. It can be known only by the silent and clear mind which is free from agitation and activity.
434
All kinds of knowledge [even the knowledge of all the arts and sciences] will completely merge into the Silence – the pure knowledge of Self. All other states [as well as knowledges] appear to exist only because of the play of
Chit-Sakti [the knowing power, i.e. the mind], which exists in Self, the supreme and natural state of Bliss.
‘All other states’ means all states of knowledge (consciousness) other than the Silence.
435
The natural consciousness of existence [I am], which does not rise to know other things, is the Heart. Since the truth of Self is clearly known only by this actionless Consciousness, which [merely] remains as Self, this [i.e. the Heart] alone is the supreme Knowledge.
Actionless Consciousness is the Consciousness which does not have the action of rising and knowing other things.
Sadhu Om: The word ‘Heart’ denotes Self and not a place. Being Self
[Atma Nishta] is itself knowing Self [Atma Jnana]. Consciousness
[Chit] knows existence [Sat] because existence is not other than consciousness.
436
All that is known should be known to be merely that knowledge [which knows them] and should merge into Knowledge – Self. One’s very reality which shines in such an intensity of Self-abidance, utterly destroying all differences, is Liberation – the unequalled state.
“that knowledge [which knows them]” is the mind.
437
Since the nature of Reality is non-dual [i.e. not
two], true Knowledge cannot be the knowing of an other. Therefore, when
the mind is absolutely free from delusion [i.e. does not know an other]
and abides unwavering in beatitude – that is the true Knowledge.
Since the real Thing (Sat) is one and not many, the real Knowledge
(Chit) must also be one: the knowledge of one’s own existence, and it cannot be the knowing of many things. Hence, the Self-abidance in the form of ‘I am’, the feeling of mere first person singular, wherein the mind, the distorted Knowledge that many things, which everybody has now, has been put to an end, and its moving nature, i.e. knowing other things, has been stopped, alone is the true Knowledge.
438
Know that Knowledge is non-attachment, Knowledge is purity, Knowledge is union with God, that unforgettable Knowledge is fearlessness
[abhayam], Knowledge is the elixir of immortality, Knowledge alone is everything.
Here and in the following two verses Knowledge is used in the sense of pure consciousness.
Abhayam may alternatively mean: ‘the place of refuge’.
439
The Knowing of the breadth and length, the bottom and top – the depth and height – of Knowledge is nothing but the blissful stillness of mind; it is impossible for even gods to know that state of Knowledge.
Sri Muruganar: Since Knowledge transcends all limitations and measurements, it is beyond comprehension. The merging of the mind-knowledge in the non-dual Knowledge
[Kevala Arivu] and remaining there in Bliss alone is the knowing of the Knowledge.
440
Without Knowledge [Self] there is no world; without Knowledge there is no soul; without Knowledge there is no God. Therefore, the knowing of Knowledge [as defined in the previous verse] is the ultimate Goal.
‘Nirvana’ means unveiling, i.e. the shedding of the five sheaths. See also
Sri Arunachala Aksharamanamalai, verse 30.
441
Just as the snake sheds its skin without any suffering, it is our worthy duty to shed the five sheaths, which cause misery on account of fast attachment to them.
442
Jiva-nirvana is the state in which the attachments to the five sheaths has been removed in order to enjoy fully the silent Bliss born out of the Grace of the Lord, Self, who is the Consciousness-space.
Sadhu Om: This verse can also be interpreted in the following metaphorical and mystic way: The bride
[the
jiva], in order to be granted the full enjoyment of her bridegroom
[Self], has to shed her shyness in form of attachment to the five sheaths.
Since it is our common experience [for one and all] that we remain bodiless and shine alone even in a state of nothingness [i.e. sleep] where the world does not exist, losing permanently our identification as ‘I’ with the form of five sheaths, is indeed the attainment of Self [or Self-realization]. Thus should you be sure!
In the understanding of most aspirants, ‘Self-realization’ is the attainment of something – Self, which they believe they do not have as yet, while in fact ‘Self-realization’ is the loss of something – the ego, which is already there. “… To make room, it is enough that the lumber be removed; room is not brought in from elsewhere” says Sri Bhagavan in
Maharshi’s Gospel Part I, chapter 4 (see also Maha Yoga, 7th edition, page 121).
444
Since, when the ego is destroyed, the Self-sun shines as the sole Reality, putting an end to this dream, which is false, and bringing about the true awakening – the mere destruction of the ego, through
Self-enquiry, is the attainment of Self [or
Self-realization]. Thus should you know!
‘The dream which is false’ is this present waking state.
‘the true awakening’ is the state of Turiya or Jnana.
445
When ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are destroyed by the clear true Knowledge, which is free from the questionable knowledge [‘I am the body’], even while living in this illusory world, that is the state in which one abides as That.
‘free from the questionable knowledge’ may also be translated as ‘free from the five
sense-knowledges …’
The purpose of the two previous verses is to describe the true nature of the attainment of Self; since the
Mahavakya ‘I am That’ denotes this state of Self-attainment (Self-realization) the destruction of the ego is also the attainment of ‘I am That’, as is described in this verse.
446
Since the reality, the source [of ‘I’, the ego], shines so very subtle in the heart as to be known only to a very subtle attention, it is impossible for those whose mind is as gross and as blunt as the head of a pestle to attain the target!
Sadhu Om: Refer to Vichara Sangraham, chapter 8: ‘… Just as it is impossible to separate the fibres of a silk cloth with a thick crowbar and just as it is impossible to find out the nature of minute things with the help of a lamp flickering in the wind, the experience of Self cannot be gained by a mind which is gross and wavering due to the influence of dullness
[tamo-guna] and activity [rajo-guna]; because It [Self] shines very subtle and motionless…”