Tripura Rahasya

by Sri Ramanananda

  “Inscrutable are the ways of Mâyâ which denies the highest Realization to them, it is as if they threw away the live gem in their hands thinking it to be a mere pebble.

  61. “Only those transcend Mâyâ with whose devotion the Goddess of the Self is pleased; such can discern well and happily.

  62. “Being by the grace of God endowed with proper discernment and right-earnestness, they become established in transcendental Oneness and become absorbed.

  “I shall now tell you the scheme of liberation.

  63. “One learns true devotion to God after a meritorious life continued in several births, and then worships Him for a long time with intense devotion.

  64. “Dispassion for the pleasures of life arises in a devotee who gradually begins to long for knowledge of the truth and becomes absorbed in the search for it.

  65. “He then finds his gracious Master and learns from him all about the transcendental state. He has now gained theoretical knowledge.

  Note: This is sravana.

  66. “After this he is impelled to revolve the whole matter in his mind until he is satisfied from his own practical knowledge with the harmony of the scriptural injunctions and the teachings of his Master. He is able to ascertain the highest truth with clearness and certitude.

  Note: This is manana.

  67. “The ascertained knowledge of the Oneness of the Self must afterwards be brought into practice, even forcibly, if necessary, until the experience of the truth occurs to him.

  Note: This is nidhidhyasana.

  68. “After experiencing the Inner Self, he will be able to identify the Self with the Supreme and thus destroy the root of ignorance. There is no doubt of it.

  69. “The inner Self is realized in advanced contemplation and that state of realization is called nirvikalpa samâdhi.

  “Memory of that realization enables one to identify the Inner Self with the Universal Self (as “I am That”). Note: This is pratyabhina jnana.

  Commentary: Contemplation is designated in its progressive stages, as savikalpa samâdhi (qualified samâdhi) and nirvikalpa samâdhi (unqualified samâdhi). Dhyana (contemplation) leads to the repose consequent on the resolve that the mind in its absolute purity is only the Self. There are interruptions by thought obtruding in the earlier stages. Then the practice goes by the name of dhyana. When the repose remains smooth and uninterrupted for some appreciable time, it is called savikalpa samâdhi. If by its constant practice, the repose ensues without any previous resolve (i.e., effortlessly) and continues uninterrupted for some time, it is called nirvikalpa samâdhi. The Inner Self glows in all its purity, in the last stage.

  After rising from it, the memory of the uncommon experience of the Self remains; it enables him to identify the transcendence of the one with that same One which is in all. (This is the sahaja state, as is often said by Sri Ramana. Translator.)

  70. “That is the Oneness of the Self, the same as the identification of the transcendence of the one with that same one in all the diversities of the world apparent to each individual. This destroys the root of ignorance, instantly and completely.

  71. “Dhyana has been said to develop into nirvikalpa samâdhi. Whereas modifications signify the many-sidedness of consciousness, nirvikalpa signifies its unitary nature.

  72. “When the mind does not create pictures due to thoughts it is the unmodified state which is its primal and pure condition.

  73. “When the pictures on a wall are erased, the original wall remains. No other work is necessary to restore its original condition.

  74. “Similarly, the mind remains pure when thoughts are eliminated. Therefore the unqualified state is restored if the present disturbance is ended.

  75. “There is indeed nothing more to be done for the most holy condition to be maintained. Nevertheless, even pandits are deluded in this matter, owing to the bane of Mâyâ.

  76. “The acutely intelligent can accomplish the purpose in a trice. Aspirants may be divided into three groups: (1) the best, (2) the middle class, and (3) the lowest.

  77. “Of these, the best class realize at the very moment of hearing the truth. Their ascertainment of truth and contemplation thereon are simultaneous with their learning.

  78-92. “Realization of truth requires no effort on their part. Take my case for instance. On a moonlit summer night, I was lying drunkenly on a downy bed in my pleasure garden in the loving embrace of my beloved. I suddenly heard the sweet nectar-like songs of invisible aerial beings who taught me the oneness of the Self of which I was unaware till that moment. I instantly thought over it, meditated on it, and realized it in less than an hour. For about an hour and a half I remained in samâdhi- the state of supreme bliss.

  “I regained consciousness and began to muse over my experience ‘Oh wonderful! How full of bliss I was! It was extraordinary. Let me return to it. The happiness of the king of the Gods cannot equal even to a fraction of my bliss.

  “Not even the Creator, Brahmâ, could have that bliss; my life had been wasted in other pursuits. Just as a man ignores the fact that he holds chintamani (the celestial gem capable of fulfilling one’s desires) in his hands, and goes begging food, so also people ignorant of the fount of bliss within themselves, waste their lives seeking external pleasures! For me such hankerings are done with! Let me always abide in the eternal, infinite source of bliss within me! Enough of such foolish activities! They are shades of darkness and vain repetitions of useless labor. Be they delicious dishes, perfumed garlands, downy beds, rich ornaments or vivacious damsels—they are mere repetitions, with no novelty or originality in them. Disgust for them had not arisen in me before because I had been foolishly treading the way of the world.

  “As soon as I had decided on and attempted to turn my mind inward, another bright idea struck me:

  93-95. “What confusion I am in! Although I am always in the perfection of Bliss, what is it I want to do? What more can I acquire? What do I lack? When and whence can I get anything? Even if there were anything new to be gained, would it endure? How can I who am Infinite Consciousness-Bliss know effort?

  96-98. “Individual bodies, their senses, minds, etc., are similar to visions in a dream; they are projected from me. Control of one mind leaves all other minds as they are. So what is the use of controlling my mind? Minds, controlled or uncontrolled, appear only to my mental eye.

  99. “Again, even if all minds are controlled, mine remains free. For my mind is like infinite space, the receptacle of all things. Who is to control it and how?

  100. “How can samâdhi be brought about when I am already in the perfection of bliss, for the Self is Bliss-Consciousness, even more perfect than infinite space?

  101. “My own light manifests diverse activities all about the world which is again my own manifestation.

  102. “What matters it if one should manifest as action or inaction? Where is the gain or loss in such manifestation?

  103. “Similarly what matters it for the perfect blissful Self if it fall into nirvikalpa samâdhi? Samâdhi or no samâdhi, I am the same Perfection and eternal Peace.

  104-105. “Let the body do what it likes. Thinking thus I always abide in my own Self as the Perfect fountain-head of Bliss and pure uninterrupted consciousness. I am therefore in the state of perfection and remain unblemished.

  “My experience is typical of the best aspirants.

  106-107. “Wisdom is achieved in the course of many births by the lowest aspirants. As for the middle class, wisdom is gained in the same birth—but slowly and gradually according to the aforesaid scheme of (1) learning the truth, (2) conviction of the same, (3) meditation—qualified samâdhi and unqualified samâdhi, and (4) finally sahaja samâdhi (to be unattached even while engaged in the activities of the world). This last state is very rarely found.

  108. “Why fall into nirvikalpa samâdhi, without gaining the fruit of its wisdom! Even if he should experience it a hundred times it will not liberate the individual. Therefore I tell you that momentary sam
adhis in the waking state are fruitless.

  109. “Unless a man live the ordinary life and check every incident as the projection of the Self, not swerving from the Self in any circumstances, he cannot be said to be free from the handicap of ignorance.

  110. “Nirvikalpa samâdhi is characterised by the experience of the true Self alone, namely, Pure Intelligence. Though eternal and resplendent even ordinarily, this Abstract Intelligence is as if it did not exist.

  111-112. “Abstract Intelligence is the background on which the phenomena are displayed, and it must certainly manifest itself in all its purity, in their absence, although its appearance may look new at first. It remains unrecognised because it is not distinguished from the phenomena displayed by it. On their being eliminated it becomes apparent.

  “This in short is the method of Self-Realization.

  113. “O Brahmin! Think over what you have now learnt, and you will realize. With the wisdom born of your realization, you will inhere as the Self and be eternally free .”

  Dattatreya said:

  114-15. “After giving these instructions to Ashtavakra, Janaka sent him away. Ashtavakra reached his own place and put the lessons into practice. Very soon he too became a jivanmukta (liberated while yet alive).”

  Thus ends the seventeenth chapter.

  Chapter XVIII

  1. Dattatreya continued: “Thus pure intelligence, free from objective knowledge, has been proved to exist; it can be felt on many occasions in ordinary life.

  2. “However, it goes undetected because people are in the meshes of Mâyâ and not conversant with it. Alertness alone will reveal it.

  3-5. “Why say so much about it? The long and short of it is this. Objective knowledge is gained by the mind; the mind cannot be objectified. Still it follows that there must be mind even in the absence of objects. Such pure mind entirely divested of all objective knowledge (or thoughts) is pure intelligence. Awareness is its nature. Therefore it is always realized, for no other knower beside itself can ever be admitted.

  6-7. “Do you think, O Bhargava, that the Self is not aware when objects are seen? If not aware, the Self cannot be. If the Self is not, how can you raise this question! Can you seek any good for yourself if the Self be a myth like a flower in the sky? How can I establish the Self for you? Consider and tell me.

  8-9. “Or do you mean to say that there is ordinarily an awareness of the Self but it cannot be particularised? If so, know it to be the unending awareness which is perpetually existing. That is your Self. The Self is free from particulars. How strange that knowing it, you are still ignorant!

  10. “At the time of cognising of an object, the pure intellect assumes its shape and manifests as such. Of itself it is pure and has no form. Objective knowledge is thus a particularised section of pure intelligence. The Self is ever-shining, unparticularised, unblemished, ordinary existence—self-aware and selfsufficient.

  11-13. “If you say that the body, etc., usually appear as the Self, I tell you that they are only the play of thoughts and nothing more. For, think well and observe carefully. When you see a pot, are you aware that it is your Self like the body? (No, your body is no less a thought and appearance in consciousness, than the pot.) Then why should the body alone be confused with the Self?

  “If you argue that there is no harm or mistake in identifying the body with the Self, because it is no worse than glorifying a part instead of the whole. I tell you: Do not confine such glorification to one part only to the exclusion of all others. Extend it right through and glorify the whole universe as the Self.

  14. “In that case, there will be no confusion of the object with the subject, and you will always remain as the subject.

  15. “For the Self is always self-resplendent and one without a second, and it displays diversities of phenomena as a mirror its reflections.

  16. “Therefore rule out creation as a mere thought or series of thoughts and realize the non-dual, residual, pure intelligence as the Self.

  17. “If the body and creation are transcended and the Self realized even once, there ensues that wisdom which will eradicate ignorance and override the cycle of births and deaths.

  18. “Moksha (liberation) is not to be sought in heavens or on earth or in the nether regions. It is synonymous with SelfRealization.

  19. “Moksha is not any thing to be got afresh for it is already there, only to be realized. Such realization arises with the elimination of ignorance. Absolutely nothing more is required to achieve the aim of life.

  20. “Moksha must not be thought to be different from the Self. If it is a thing to be acquired, its absence before attainment is implied. If it can be absent even once why should not its absence recur? The moksha will be found to be impermanent and so not worth while striving for.

  “Again if it can be acquired, acquisition implies non-self. What is non-self is only a myth like a hare growin horns.

  Note: Sri Ramana says that moksha is another name for ‘I’ or ‘Self.’

  21. “The Self is on the other hand all-round Perfection. So where else can moksha be located? If it were so, moksha would be like a reflection in a mirror.

  22-27. “Even the popular idea is that moksha is release from bondage, meaning destruction of ignorance. Ignorance is itself a form of thought: destruction is its absence; to bring about its absence is only another form of thought. So then on investigation the whole statement gets involved and becomes meaningless. For a thought cannot be destroyed and be a thought still. Dream is said to be real as well as unreal (in experience and in substance, respectively). Really speaking, dream too is not unreal. For, what is unreality? Impermanency. This again is recognised by the thought of the non-continuity of the dream, which implies the thought content to be dream. Is it truly noncontinuous then? The intellect being always continuous, there cannot be a moment of the non-existence of anything. So then, even at the moment of thinking the absence of a thing, that thing really exists in the mind and so it is real and not unreal. All objects are, however, non-existent when not contemplated by the mind. But reality is determined by the being or nonbeing which cannot be ascertained by the mind because its denial implies the formation of the mental image of the denied thing and it is absurd to deny its existence. In the absence of denial, the thing must be and so everything is.

  “Thus the existence of pure intelligence is proved by its manifestation, as all else, and thus moksha cannot be exterior to the Self, anything to be gathered, acquired or assimilated.

  28. “Moksha is defined as the steady glow of the Self in perfection. (The question arises whether the Self is imperfect at one time, i.e., in ignorance and perfect at another time, i.e., in moksha.) The non-modification of abstract intelligence into the objective phenomena is said to be the state of perfection. (So there is no contradiction.)

  29. “Abstract Intelligence contracts at the stimuli to modification and becomes limited. Otherwise, it is infinite and unbroken.

  30. “If you mean to suggest that such intelligence is broken up into segments by time, etc.—tell me whether the disintegrating influences are within the Self or without.

  31-32. “If beyond consciousness, they cannot be proved to exist; if within, consciousness pervades them and is not divided. The breaking up at intervals as seen in the world is perceived by consciousness as events (the broken parts) and time (the disintegrator), both of which are pervaded by consciousness. The consciousness is itself the time and the events.

  33-34. “If time be not pervaded by consciousness, how do intervals become evident? In the universal pervasiveness of consciousness, how is it to be considered broken up? Breaking up must be brought about by the agency of something external. But anything beyond the pale of consciousness cannot be even maintained or discussed.

  35. “Nor can it be granted the disintegrating factor is made visible by its effects of division, while it still evades intelligence, in its entirety. For that is to say that it exists so far as its effect is concerned and does not exist in
other ways—which is absurd.

  36. “Therefore even the concept of exterior must lie within the bounds of consciousness (cf., avyakt a in sleep or exterior in the scheme of creation). Similarly, all that is known and knowable must also lie within.

  37. “In view of this conclusion, how can the container be split up by the contained? Investigate the truth on these lines, Rama!

  38-41. “Being within, the universe cannot be different from consciousness. For you know that two things cannot co-exist within the same limits. If they do, intermingling is the result. However, the universe maintains its distinctness because it is like a reflection in the mirror of consciousness.

  “As regards the appearance of avyakta, or exterior in the scheme of creation which was traced to the root-cause of ignorance, how can manifestation in it be real? Their reality must be associated with the fact of their being of the nature of Consciousness, i.e., the Self. It is therefore proper to conclude that the Self is alone and single and there is nothing beyond.” When Dattatreya had finished, Parasurâma asked further:

  42-43. “O Lord, I find it difficult to follow your reasoning when you say that Abstract Intelligence, being only one, yet manifests as the diverse objects of creation. The two entities, the cogniser and the cognised object, are distinct and separate. Of these, the cogniser, namely consciousness, may be self-luminous illumining the objects.