Tripura Rahasya

by Sri Ramanananda

  84-86. “Sages with subtle and clear intellect have not considered it worthwhile to eradicate their desire etc., by forcing other thoughts to take their place because desires do not obstruct realiza- tion. Therefore their desires continue to manifest even after realization as before it. Neither are they tainted by such vasanas. They are said to be emancipated and diverse-minded. They are also reputed to be the best class of jnanis.

  87-90. “Rama, he whose mind clings to the ignorance of the necessity of work cannot hope for realization even if Siva offers to instruct him. Similarly also the person who has the fault of marked indifference to or misunderstanding of the teachings cannot attain. On the other hand, a man only slightly affected by these two vasanas, and much more so by desires or ambitions, will by repeated hearing of the holy truth, discussion of the same, and contemplation on it, surely reach the goal though only with considerable difficulty and after a long lapse of time. Such a sage’s activities will be small because he is entirely engrossed in his efforts for realization.

  Note: His activities will be confined to the indispensable necessities of life.

  91. “A sage of this class has by his long practice and rigorous discipline controlled his mind so well that predispositions are totally eradicated and the mind is as if dead. He belongs to the middle class in the scheme of classification of sages and is said to be a sage without mind.

  92-94. “The last class and the least among the sages are those whose practice and discipline are not perfect enough to destroy mental predispositions. Their minds are still active and the sages are said to be associated with their minds. They are barely jnanis and not jivanmuktas as are the other two classes. They appear to share the pleasures and pains of life like any other man and will continue to do so till the end of their lives. They will be emancipated after death.

  95-96. “Prarabdha (past karma) is totally powerless with the middle class, who have destroyed their minds by continued practice.

  “The mind is the soil in which the seed namely prarabdha sprouts (into pleasures and pains of life). If the soil is barren, the seed loses its sprouting power by long storage, and becomes useless.

  97-103. “There are men in the world who can carefully attend to different functions at the same time and are famous as extraordinarily skilful; again some people attend to work as they are walking and conversing; while a teacher has an eye upon each student in the class-room and exercises control over them all; or you yourself knew Kartaviryarjuna, who wielded different weapons in his thousand hands and fought with you using all of them skilfully and simultaneously. In all these cases, a single mind assumes different shapes to suit the different functions at the same time. Similarly the mind of the best among jnanis is only the Self and yet manifests as all without suffering any change in its eternal blissful nature as the Self. They are therefore many-minded.

  Note: Kartaviryarjuna was the chief of the Haihayas who were the sworn enemies of Parasurâma. He was himself a devotee of Sri Dattatreya and had received the most wonderful boon from his Master, namely, that his name should be transmitted to posterity as that of an ideal king unparalleled in legend or history. His reign was indeed remarkable and his prowess was unequalled, much less excelled. Still, as destiny would have it, he was challenged by Parasurâma and killed in battle.

  104-05. “The prarabdha of jnanis is still active and sprouts in the mind but only to be burnt up by the steady flame of jnana. Pleasure or pain is due to the dwelling of the mind on occurrences. But if these are scorched at their source, how can there be pain or pleasure?

  106-08. “Jnanis of the highest order, however, are seen to be active because they voluntarily bring out the vasanas from the depth of the mind and allow them to run out. Their action is similar to that of a father sporting with his child, moving its dolls, laughing at the imagined success of one doll over another, and appearing to grieve over the injury to another, and so on; or like a man showing sympathy for his neighbor on the occasion of a gain or loss.

  109-12. “The vasanas not inimical to realization are not weeded out by the best class of jnanis because they cannot seek new ones to crowd the old out. Therefore the old ones continue until they are exhausted and thus you find among them some highly irritable, some lustful and others pious and dutiful, and so on.

  “Now the lowest order of jnanis still under the influence of their minds know that there is no truth in the objective universe. Their samâdhi is not different from that of the rest.

  113. “What is samâdhi? Samâdhi is being aware of the Self, and nothing else—that is to say—it should not be confounded with the nirvikalpa (undifferentiated) state, for this state is very common and frequent as has been pointed out in the case of momentary samadhis.

  114-15. “Every one is experiencing the nirvikalpa state, though unknowingly. But what is the use of such unrecognised samadhis? A similar state becomes possible to the hatha yogis also. This experience alone does not confer any lasting benefit. But one may apply the experience to the practical affairs of life. Samâdhi can only be such and such alone. (Sahaja samâdhi is meant here.)

  Commentary: Samâdhi: Aspirants may be jnana yogis or hatha yogis. The former learn the truth from the scriptures and a Guru: cogitate and understand it clearly. Later they contemplate the truth and gain samâdhi.

  The wise say that samâdhi is the control resulting from the application of the experienced truth (i.e., the awareness of the Self) to the practical affairs of life. This samâdhi is possible only for jnana yogis.

  The hatha yogis are of two kinds: the one intent on eliminating all perturbations of the mind, starts with the elimination of the non-self and gradually of all mental vacillations. This requires very long and determined practice which becomes his second nature and the yogi remains perfectly unagitated. The other practises the six preliminary exercises and then controls the breath (prânâyâma) until he can make the air enter the sushumna nadi. Since the earlier effort is considerable owing to control of breath, there is a heavy strain which is suddenly relieved by the entry of air in sushumna. The resulting happiness is comparable to that of a man suddenly relieved of a pressing load on his back. His mind is similar to that of man in a swoon or a state of intoxication. Both classes of hatha yogis experience a happiness similar to that of deep slumber.

  A jnana yogi, on the other hand, has theoretical knowledge of the Self, for he has heard it from the Guru and learnt it from the Sastras, and has further cogitated upon the teachings. Therefore, the veil of ignorance is drawn off from him even before the consummation of samâdhi. The substratum of consciousness free from thoughts of external phenomena is distinguished by him like a mirror reflecting images. Furthermore in the earlier stage of samâdhi, he is capable of remaining aware as absolute consciousness quite free from all blemishes of thought.

  “Whereas a hatha yogi cannot remain in such a state. In the jnani’s samâdhi, both the veil of ignorance and perturbation of thoughts are removed. In the hatha yogi’s samâdhi, though the Self is naturally free from the two obstacles, yet it remains hidden by the veil of ignorance. The same is torn off by the jnani in the process of his contemplation.

  “If asked what difference there is between the samâdhi of a hatha yogi and sleep, it must be said that the mind overpowered by deep ignorance is covered by dense darkness in sleep whereas the mind being associated with satva (quality of brightness) acts in samâdhi as a thin veil for the self-effulgent principle. The Self may be compared to the Sun obstructed by dark and dense clouds in sleep, and by light mist in samâdhi. For a jnani, the Self shines in its full effulgence like the Sun unobstructed in the heavens.

  “This is how the sages describe samâdhi.”

  116-17. (Having spoken of the jnani’s samâdhi as approved by the sages, Dattatreya proceeds to prove its unbroken nature). “What is samâdhi? Samâdhi is absolute knowledge uncontaminated by objects. Such is the state of the best jnanis even when they take part in the affairs of the world.

  “The blue col
or of the sky is known to be an unreal phenomenon and yet it appears the same to both the knowing and the unknowing, but with this difference that the one is misled by the appearance and the other is not.

  118. “Just as the false perception does not mislead the man who knows, so also all that is perceived which is known to the wise to be false will never mislead them.

  119. “Since the middle class of jnanis have already destroyed their minds, there are no objects for them. Their state is known as the supramental one.

  120. “The mind is agitated when it assumes the shape of those objects which it mistakes for real; and unagitated otherwise. Therefore the latter state alone is supramental.

  Note: The mind of the highest order of jnanis though associated with objects, knows them to be unreal and therefore is not agitated as is the case with the ignorant.

  121. “Since a jnani of the highest order can engage in several actions at the same time and yet remain unaffected, he is always many-minded and yet remains in unbroken samâdhi. His is absolute knowledge free from objects.

  “I have now told you all that you want to know.”

  Thus ends the Chapter XIX on the different states of jnanis in Tripura Rahasya.

  Chapter XX

  Vidya Gita

  1-20. “I shall now relate to you an ancient sacred story. On one occasion very long ago there was a very distinguished gathering of holy saints collected in the abode of Brahmâ, the Creator, when a very subtle and sublime disputation took place. Among those present were Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata, Vasistha, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Brighu, Atri, Angiras, Pracheta, Narada, Chyavana, Vamadeva, Visvamitra, Gautama, Suka, Parasara, Vyasa, Kanva, Kasyapa, Daksha, Sumanta, Sanka, Likhita, Devala and other celestial and royal sages. Each one of them spoke of his own system with courage and conviction and maintained that it was better than all the rest. But they could reach no conclusion and so asked Brahmâ: ‘Lord! We are sages who know all about the world and beyond, but each one’s way of life differs from that of the others because the dispositions of our minds differ. Some of us are always in nirvikalpa samâdhi, some engaged in philosophical discussions, some sunk in devotion, some have taken to work, and others seem exactly like men of the world. Which is the best among us? Please tell us. We cannot decide ourselves because each thinks that his way is the best.’

  “Thus requested, Brahmâ seeing their perplexity answered: ‘Best of saints! I also would like to know. There is Parameswara who is the All-knower. Let us go and ask him.’ Collecting Vishnu on their way, they went to Siva. There the leader of the deputation, Brahmâ, asked Siva about the matter. Having heard Brahmâ, Siva divined the mind of Brahmâ and understood that the rishis were wanting in confidence and so that any words of his would be useless. He then said to them, ‘Hear me, Rishis! Neither do I clearly see which is the method. Let us meditate on the Goddess—Her Majesty Unconditioned Knowledge—we shall then be able to understand even the subtlest of truths by Her Grace.’ On hearing these words of Siva, all of them, including Siva, Vishnu and Brahmâ, meditated on Her Divine Majesty, the Transcendental Consciousness pervading the three states of life (waking, dream and sleep). Thus invoked, She manifested in Her glory as the Transcendental Voice in the expanse of pure consciousness.

  “They heard the Voice speak like thunder from the skies, ‘Speak out your minds, O Rishis! Be quick, the desires of my devotees will always be fulfilled immediately.’

  21-28. “Hearing the Voice, the exalted rishis prostrated and Brahmâ and the others praised the Goddess—namely Absolute Consciousness pervading the three states of life.

  “Salutations to Thee! the Greatest! the Best! the Most Auspicious! the Absolute Knowledge! the Consciousness of the three states! the Creatrix! the Protectress! the Dissolver in the Self! the Supreme One transcending all! Salutations again!

  “There was no time when Thou wert not, because Thou art unborn! Thou art ever fresh and hence Thou never growest old. Thou art all; the essence of all, the knower of all, the delighter of all. Thou art not all. Thou art nowhere, with no core in Thee, unaware of anything, and delighting no one.

  “O Supreme Being! Salutations to Thee, over and over again, before and behind, above and below, on all sides and everywhere.

  “Kindly tell us of Thy relative form and Thy transcendental state, Thy prowess, and Thy identity with jnana. What is the proper and perfect means for attaining Thee, the nature and the result of such attainment? What is the utmost finality of accomplishment, beyond which there remains nothing to be accomplished? Who is the best among the accomplished sages? Salutations again to Thee!

  29. “Thus besought, the Goddess of ultimate knowledge began with great kindness to explain it clearly to the sages:

  30. “Listen, sages! I shall categorically explain to you all that you ask. I shall give you the nectar drawn out as the essence from the unending accumulation of sacred literature.

  31-40. “I am the abstract intelligence wherefrom the cosmos originates, whereon it flourishes, and wherein it resolves, like the images in a mirror. The ignorant know me as the gross universe, whereas the wise feel me as their own pure being eternally glowing as ‘I-I’ within. This realization is possible only in the deep stillness of thought-free consciousness similar to that of the deep sea free from waves. The most earnest of devotees worship me spontaneously and with the greatest sincerity which is due to their love of me. Although they know that I am their own non-dual Self, yet the habit of loving devotion which is deep-rooted in them makes them conceive their own Self as ME and worship ME as the life-current pervading their bodies, senses and mind without which nothing could exist and which forms the sole purport of the holy scriptures. Such is my Transcendental State.

  “My concrete form is the eternal couple—the Supreme Lord and Energy—always in undivided union and abiding as the eternal consciousness pervading the three phenomenal states of waking, dream and sleep, and reclining on the cot whose four legs are Brahmâ (the Creator), Vishnu (the Protector), Siva (the Destroyer) and Isvara (Disappearance) and whose surface is Sadasiva (Grace) which is contained in the mansion known as ‘fulfilment of purpose’ enclosed by the garden of ‘ Kadamba’ trees in the jewel island situated in the wide ocean of nectar surrounding the cosmos and extending beyond.

  ‘Brahmâ, Vishnu, Siva, Isvara, Sadasiva, Ganesa, Skanda, the gods of the eight quarters, their energies of her gods, celestials, serpents and other superhuman beings all manifestations of myself. However, people do not know ME because their intellect is shrouded in ignorance.

  41. “I grant boons to those who worship ME. There is no one besides ME worthy of worship or capable of fulfilling all desires.

  Commentary: All deities who receive worship and all conceptions of God are My manifestations, because I am pure intelligence which cannot under any circumstances be transcended.

  42. “The fruits of worship are put forth by Me according to the mode of worship and the nature of individual desires. I am indivisible and interminable.

  43. “Being non-dual and abstract intelligence I spontaneously manifest even as the smallest detail in the universe and as the universe.

  44. “Though I manifest in diverse ways, I still remain unblemished because absoluteness is My being. This is My chief power, which is somewhat hard to fully understand.

  45. “Therefore, O Rishis! consider this with the keenest of intellect. Though I am the abode of all and immanent in all I remain pure.

  46-49. “Although I am not involved in any manner and am always free, I wield My power—called Mâyâ; become covered with ignorance, appear full of desires, seek their fulfilment, grow restless, project favorable and unfavorable environments, am born and reborn as individuals, until growing wiser I seek a teacher and sage, learn the truth from him, put it in practice and finally become absolved. All this goes on in My pure, uncontaminated, ever free absolute intelligence. This manifestation of the ignorant and the free, and of others, is called My creation which is however, wi
thout any accessories—My power is too vast to be described. I shall tell you something of it in brief. It is that the cosmos is only the obverse of the many details in them leading up to different results.

  50. “Knowledge relating to me is complex but it can be dealt with under the two categories, dual and non-dual, of which the former relates to worship and the latter to realization. On account of their intricacies, there are many details in them leading up to different results.

  51. “Dual knowledge is manifold because it depends on the concept of duality and manifests as worship, prayer, incantation, meditation, etc., all of which are due to nothing more than mental imagery.

  52-53. “Even so, they are efficacious in contradistinction to daydreams, for the law of nature provides for it. There are degrees in the efficacy of the methods, of which the most important concerns the aspect mentioned before (Note: see above the concrete form of Devi). The ultimate goal of all is certainly nondual realization.

  Commentary: Mental imagery cannot put forth tangible results either directly or in successive stages. But the one relating to God differs from ordinary daydreams in that it purifies and strengthens the mind in order to make it fit to realize the Self. Again the most efficacious among the concepts of God is the one already mentioned, namely, the eternal couple. Although it will not directly remove ignorance yet it will help its removal for the resurrection of the man as a full blown jnani.