Chidakasha Gita Verses 51-75

THE CHIDAKASHA GITA
OF BHAGAWAN NITYANANDA OF GANESHPURI
Verses 51-75 With Commentary by Kedarji

    1. The sense of equality is the greatest thing in this world. People go mad after shadows. Very few are mad after the invisible (the subtle). True madness is very rare, it being found only in one among a lakh or two. Other people run mad after sixteen things in a ghatika (twenty-four minutes). “I want this”, “I want that,” “This is different,” “That is different.” Such is their mad talk. Entertaining various motives is madness. Fickleness of mind is madness. Greatness is madness. Practicing and seeing the reality is the opposite kind of madness. Liberation from birth and death is Divine madness. Those who have not realized the truth are mad after the gross. Everyone has one sort of madness or another. Thousands of people possess houses, diamond-jewels, gold and property. They did not bring these with them at birth nor will they take these with them at death.

Commentary: The sense of equality is seeing God in everything and everyone, everywhere. It is the understanding and experience that all objects (people, places and things) are equal because all are the ONE indivisible Shiva. This sense of equality is the greatest thing in the world to have. People chase after the pleasure and pain of worldliness. This is madness. Entertaining an endless stream of desires, notions and fancies, these people cannot keep their minds quiet. People drive themselves crazy chasing after the illusion of this world-appearance and the objects in it.

Now there is another kind of madness. It is the madness that liberates you from the bondage of worldliness. It is mad love for God. This is Bhakti. Armed with this Bhakti, you are able to free yourself from the cycle of birth and death. With Bhakti you stop chasing after happiness, love, peace, joy and freedom where they are not and you find these right where they are — inside yourself. Everything that belongs to you already exists inside you. Possessions and people, places and things do not belong to you. You did not bring these with you at birth and you cannot take these with you when you die. You can be mad for the Truth or you can be mad after illusion. Being mad for the Truth leads to Equality Consciousness. To chase after that which you did not bring with you and cannot take with you is pure delusion.

  1. It is not the body that exists nor disappears. He is the ONE who is the supreme doer. It is the breath that man brings here at birth and it is the breath that man takes with him when he leaves this world. Property and fame are here only. There, everything is one. Duality exists here only. On the other side, there is no duality. A perfect man (Avadhoota) is the greatest of men. Yogis and Sanyasis want some Siddhi, i.e., power acquired through yoga or tapas. An Avadhoota does not want anything.

Commentary: There is only one Universal Experient. It is this same ONE God who comes and goes in the body and on the breath of every living creature. He alone is the one who experiences. This world-appearance is His play. There is no duality in this Supreme Doer. Property and fame do not exist in this Supreme Being who is the body of Supreme Consciousness on which the play of worldliness is superimposed. Duality and distinctions are manifestations of the limitation of the Ego. They are imaginary and, in fact, do not exist. Supernatural powers, the money, fame and power to dominate others, these are desires of one who is still tainted with the impurity of individuality. A perfected being has merged with the Truth and wants nothing else.

  1. When SAT unites with CHIT, Ananda (bliss) is the result. This Ananda is Paramananda, Sri Satchitananda. Paramananda is experienced in the head. In the head is in the Brahma-nadi. Brahmananda is Paramananda. Jiva enjoys this bliss when he is one with Paramatman. This bliss is also called Shivananda. Paramananda is experienced in the head. This state is eternal joy. This state is Jivanmukti.

Commentary: Sat-Chit-Ananda means Being-Awareness and Bliss. When your witnessing awareness unites with Chiti, the independent Shakti of Shiva, Bliss is the result. This Bliss is the ever-present Joy of the Self. When you allow your mind to turn in on itself in Meditation and there are no thoughts, this is the experience of your own sweet Bliss. When you continually direct that awareness to the Sahasrar, to Shiva Dvadashanta, the spiritual center that is reflected in the head, you become one with this Bliss. This is the Bliss of Shiva known as Shivananda. This is the Joy of the Absolute known as Paramananda. It is experienced in the Brahma-nadi, the heart center that is reflected in the head. A Jivanmukta, one who is Liberated, experiences this state of Jivanmukti all the time. It can be reached by the instruction of a Siddha.

  1. He is a Jnani who has given up worldly pleasures and, by practicing yoga, seen God. Ananda (bliss) is not in what you hear. Bliss is a matter of experience. Such a man is called a Mahatma. Those who have seen earthen and stone images do not become Mahatmas. He is a Mahatma who knows himself.

Commentary: A Jnani is a knower of the Self. One can only know the Self, one can only know God, by giving up all expectations of sense pleasures and worldly pleasures and by ending the mad search for these. Then, with steady spiritual practice, one sees God. The Bliss of Shiva cannot be experienced by listening to what others say they have experienced. It can only be experienced for oneself by going inside. It cannot be had from the worship of statues either. To know God, you have to experience That inside your own being. The one who does so continually is a Mahatma, a King of kings.

  1. An Avadhoota has conquered death and birth. He has no consciousness of the body. An Avadhoota has gone beyond all Gunas (qualities). He is the knower of the “Omniscient Light.” He has no consciousness of the “i.” Such is a Raja Yogi, not a Hatha Yogi. When he comes to a village, he feels glad, whomsoever he may see. He has no consciousness of duality though he moves here and there. He has no hunger. He eats plentifully if he gets plenty of eatables. If he does not get, he will not ask anybody.

Those who give to him poison and those who give to him milk are the same to him. Those who beat him and those who love him are the same to him. To an Avadhoota, the universe is the father, the mother, and the relation. He becomes the universe and the universe becomes he. The universe is merged in him. Note: At times, in his spontaneous talks, Bhagawan Nityananda would describe some of the qualities of a spiritually-perfected Love being so that people could understand how to recognize a such a Self-realized being. This is one of those moments.

Commentary: An Avadhoota is a Self-realized being, a perfected master of yoga. When we say Yoga, we are not talking about Hatha Yoga (the yoga of postures and stretching). Yoga is only that practice that causes you to be Liberated, Self-realized. Such a person is not attached to the body. And, although a Self-realized being may appear to be ordinary, he/she is only consciousness of Shiva and recognizes his body as the expression of that Shiva-Shakti power, not mere flesh. An Avadhoota is one who is no longer bound by the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas), having risen above virtue and vice, pleasure and pain. The activity of the Gunas does not affect such a being because she has given up the craving for sense pleasures. Such a person accepts what comes to him unsought.

His equilibrium is not affected by changes in his circumstances from good to bad or bad to good. An Avadhoota considers all people to be God, whether they are friend or foe. Such a being does not differentiate between those who beat her and those who love her. To such a Siddha, only God exists everywhere and God is the father, mother and all the relations. To an Avadhoota, the relationship between husband and wife does not exist. It is a relationship between Shiva and Shiva. To a Siddha, the relationship between father and son does not exist. It is a relationship between God and God. An Avadhoota is a Liberated being who has realized that the entire universe is contained inside himself and is reflected on his own inner screen. This state is the result of Raja Yoga practiced under the direct guidance of a living Master, and is not attainable by Hatha Yoga alone. Such a being is merged in God, regardless of his outward appearance and manner.

  1. In Pranayama, Pooraka is drawing up the breath. Kumbhaka is retaining the breath. Rechaka is exhaling the breath. These three kinds of breath are from within. Nothing is taken from outside. While thus the practice is going on, the Prana will move only in one nerve. We then feel the internal joy. Who can describe this Brahmananda? The outside world will then be forgotten. We will then be in the world beyond.

Commentary: Pranayama is a specific meditation technique that involves instruction in how to direct the breath into the central nerve, also known as the subtle body or Sushumna Nadi. This central channel is one of three, primary channels in the body. Pranayama is a technique that involves Pooraka, the inward/downward breath and, Rechaka, the upward/outward breath (also called Prana), and the retention of breath while focusing on the pause or space between the breaths. When instructed properly, this movement of breath is directed inside the Sushumna and, while continuing to move, remains in Sushumna Nadi. While the breath moves in the central nerve, no breath is taken from outside. In this way, Kundalini Shakti moves upward through all the Chakras in the subtle body and enters the heart space (Chidakasha) reflected in the head. When this occurs, the yogi experiences a profound sense of peace and joy and remains focused inside himself, with no consciousness of the outside world. This is the world beyond, the world of the Supreme Principle.

  1. “This world” means Jivatman. The “next world” means the union of Jivatman and Paramatman.

Commentary: The Jiva or Jivatman is the individual bound soul who creates endless karmas out of ignorance of the Truth. This world-appearance is the realm or plane of the Jiva. It exists for the sport of Shiva that is a Play of Divine Consciousness in which these karmas are being worked out as part of the free evolution of beings. The “next world” is the world in which the Jiva becomes Shiva by merging her individual, limited identity with the Divine Consciousness of Shiva-Shakti, with the Absolute that is Paramatman or Paramashiva. This union is the “next world.”

  1. Just as small rivers enter the sea, our attention must be fixed on the internal breath.

Commentary: Every river eventually merges with the ocean. In the same way, every person will, eventually have to retrace his/her steps back to God. The internal breath is the means. The internal breath is the movement of Prana inside the Sushumna Nadi. Through internal breathing or “Sushumna breathing,” Kundalini Shakti is channeled into the Sahasrar. When our attention is focused on internal breathing, individual consciousness is united with God and, just as the small rivers enter the sea, our limited identity is merged in the ocean of Divine Consciousness.

  1. What is visible is transient. It is perishable. When the mind is merged in “Bindu” and “Nada,” Nirvikalpa Samadhi is attained. Our attention is then entirely towards Ananda (eternal joy). Fixing the attention between the eyebrows, the Prana should enter the holy Brahmarandhra. Here the light of lights becomes visible to the divine eye. This is Mukti. This is eternally supreme joy. This is the place where the Manas ought to dwell. This is the eternal being whence the Vedas have sprung. This is seeing Paramatman in all. This is the real place of Jivatman.

Commentary: This world-appearance is transient and temporary. It is perishable because it is an illusion of Maya. When the mind is merged in Bindu-Nada, the firm point of sound that is the Vibration of Divine Consciousness in the Crown Chakra, all thoughts cease, the notion of a world is erased and Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the result. Our attention is then turned entirely within and we experience our own Bliss, our own eternal Joy.

By fixing one’s attention on the command center of the third eye, known as Ajna Chakra, with the proper instruction from a Sadguru, one can direct the exhalation of the breath (Prana) upward into the Crown Chakra in the head. Here there is the light of a thousand suns that is visible inside one’s own being. This is Liberation. This is where endless Supreme Joy can be tasted. A yogi should keep his mind one-pointed on this inner Light and sound. It is from this perfect state that the Vedas and all sacred texts have been realized. This is the state where one sees God in everything and everyone, everywhere. This is where the Jiva should travel and roam.

  1. The real place of Jiva is formless, indivisible. God pervades all things movable and immovable. He is the ONE without a second. God is the origin of Vedas. He is the Lord of the body. He is the Lord of Jivanmukti. Man, to be man, must meditate upon God.

Commentary: In truth, the Jiva does not exist. Jiva is an illusion since it is Shiva, the formless God himself, who takes the form of the Jiva. Nothing exists anywhere that is not Shiva. God pervades all things sentient and insentient. Shiva is the ONE without a second. He is the origin of the Vedas and all other scriptures and sacred texts. All forms belong to Him, including the body that is on loan from that Supreme Being. Shiva is the Lord of Liberation, the place of deliverance. Human Beings, to be human, must meditate on Shiva.

  1. He who meditates on the Reality is a sanyasi. He is a yogi. The distinction of “Pariah” exists in the external. Internally, all is one without distinction. What is “Pariah” is not after death. A “Pariah” is he who has envy and pride, who holds vain discussion about religion, who talks ill of others behind their backs. Sewing is not stitching thread and cloth, but stitching Manas and Buddhi, i.e., merging Manas in Buddhi. Now the distinction of male and female: A true female is one who is merged in the external. A true male is one who is merged in the internal. One whose Buddhi is firm is male. One whose Buddhi is fickle is a female. This distinction of male and female is external only. Internally such a distinction does not exist at all. When the Manas and Buddhi are merged in the Atman, one who is physically a woman becomes spiritually a “man.”

Commentary: A Sanyasi is not defined by orange robes and lectures on God. To be a Sanyasin, you have to be a Yogi. A Yogi is one who meditates on the Reality, on God. Many believe that certain people are of an inferior caste or class or have inferior genes. This is a political distinction that has nothing to do with the Truth. Those who are bound to the false notion of being just a person, out of which manifests the imaginary ego idea, are inferior. They are the ones who suffer. To remove this and all other useless conditions, one must merge Manas (the mind) in the Supreme Consciousness (Buddhi) of God. This is what should be sewn, and not crops of worldliness. When the Manas and Buddhi are merged in the Atman, one who is attached to the world of forms becomes spiritually “virile.”

  1. The body is the cave. In this cave dwells the Atman. Atman, dwelling in the body, must attain “Moksha” (liberation). The outward bodily parts are various. In the invisible (subtle) all is one, indivisible. OM is Pranava. Pranava pervades the form (body) . OM is bodylessness and formlessness.

Commentary: The physical body is a mere shell. Inside this shell is the indweller, the Witness known as Atman or the Self. Shiva becomes the Jiva in order to realize Shiva. This is the Play of Divine Consciousness here – that God plays at becoming the individual bound soul and then plays at developing amnesia, looking for God, until He realizes Himself by attaining Liberation. The body has many manifestations but the Self has only one indivisible quality. This quality is made up of Light and Sound and is embodied in the sacred Mantra, Om. Om is known as the Pranava Mantra. It is the very nature of Shiva. It is formless without any body.

  1. Bhakti in the beginning, is selfish. Afterwards, there is no selfishness in it. When a man attains perfection, the whole universe becomes to him, his guru.

Commentary: Love/Devotion (Bhakti) in the beginning, is selfish. Before we have the experience of the inner Self on a consistent basis, we give love with selfish aims and are engaged in the process of “buying and selling” where we barter attachment, attraction, words, affections and sensations for individual limiting desires and cravings, seeing each other as objects of the senses, as objects of desire and craving. Through the guidance of the living Master, and in keeping the company of such a Siddha, our Love/Devotion becomes pure and we come to understand that Bhakti is Love for the Self and Compassion for ourselves and others. We come to understand that Love has no distinctions, that it is unconditional. When a person attains this knowledge, he/she becomes perfect and the entire universe becomes his Teacher.

  1. What is called “Hatha Yoga” is selfishness. In Hatha yoga, a man seeks his own goodness. He seeks fame. He can stop the sunrise of tomorrow. He can create a mountain of gold. To say “I am Brahma” is not just. “Thou (O God!) art ALL; ALL art thou,” we must say. A yogi is one who thinks the whole universe to be a yogi. He should regard all as himself.

Commentary: Yoga is not a spa. In Hatha Yoga, one studies techniques for strengthening the body for a good meditation posture, stress relief and wellness. This is very useful. Some branches of Hatha Yoga also teach certain Siddhis or psychic/supernatural powers that can be used in conjunction with certain postures and mantras. Some use these powers to create wealth and fame for themselves. Other branches of Hatha Yoga place the entire focus on physical health/well-being and sexual vitality, missing the point of spiritual transformation altogether. The problem with these approaches is that they feed the ego idea of the aspirant and cultivate the senses, rather than helping the aspirant to rise above the senses and the false notion of individuality.

To say “I am greater, I am better than others because I have this strong body and these great powers” is unjust and deluded. A yogi should follow a path that will bring her to the realization and experience that she is not the body or the senses nor sense pleasures, and that God alone exists. The yogi’s practice should be one that leads to the realization that this world does not exist but is really a Play of Divine Consciousness that unfolds on his/her inner screen. That is the only true Yoga.

  1. If a man goes to a forest and there lives in a cave, it is just like a beast in a cave. Even the milestones are better than such a man because by the milestones, we can count the distance in miles. Such people are of no use whatsoever. A thoughtful man should gradually go on renouncing the world. When a man eats food, it is for his own benefit. Others are not benefited by it. It is not enough if we leave darkness. We must always live in the light. If we have a light on a dark path, we have no fear. There is fear in walking in darkness.

Commentary: There are many who believe and teach that the world must be renounced in order to realize God. These people give away all their belongings, dress in a worn out sac, and flee to forests and caves. What they don’t realize is that they take all their karmas, all their limiting/binding notions, all their useless attitudes, all their useless beliefs and psychological problems and all their limiting cravings and desires with them. These limitations cannot be removed by a change of clothes or location, nor by a change in outer behavior. Such a person is just like a beast in a cave who is a victim of the fickleness and fluctuations of nature, having no control over itself. A person who makes gradual, recognizable progress on the spiritual path that is sustainable, that is permanent, is much better than a one who specializes in this kind of outward renunciation.

When you drive a road that has mile-makers (milestones), at least you know you are making progress because, with the mile-markers, you are able to measure the distance you are travelling to know how far you have travelled, and when you have arrived at your destination. Following the instruction of a Sadguru is just like this. You are able to make lasting progress that is measurable. Bad habits, useless attachments and poor thinking can be given up gradually as one becomes stronger in Sadhana. Don’t try to change the world. What you practice and do is like the food you eat. That food only benefits you, not others. So, if you want to see change in the world, become the change you wish to see in the world by changing yourself and transforming your own vision.

Changing your environment because it appears to be ‘negative’ is not enough. You create the world you live in. Merge your identity and consciousness in the Self. Then, even if you live in the most difficult of circumstances, you will have no fear and no worries. Fear is a state of mind created by the notion of separation from God and the notion that you are imperfect and different/separate from others. When you change by the inner experience of the Self, your outer circumstances and environment will naturally change without struggle.

  1. If you perform tapas for thousands of years with the desire for results, it is of no avail. But if you perform tapas for one ghatika (twenty-four minutes) without any desire for “fruits,” you will see ALL in God and God in ALL.

Commentary: Tapas is intense penance. And, in Yoga, penance is ardent and vigilant spiritual practice and worship done regularly. Once a man asked Gurudev, “When will I attain Siddhahood and what practice can I do to acquire it quickly,” to which Gurudev replied, “There is no such thing as Siddhahood.” Intent is everything. Motive is everything. Gurudev used to say, “Spirituality is not a field to grow crops in.” On the spiritual path, the best intention is the simple longing for the Supreme Principle, the Self. If you do your practices with a burning Love and Devotion for your own Self and the living Master, this is enough to secure the goal. In fact, after understanding that the goal of Yoga is Liberation or Self-realization, it is best to forget about Liberation and simply focus on the joy of daily practice. God responds to pure Love, not the tainted qualities of limiting desire that are the trademark of the false notion of individuality. Armed with this Love without distinctions, God comes looking for you and you see ALL in God and God in ALL.

  1. Hatha yoga is duality. The most excellent is Raja Yoga. No man should think he is the doer. Everything is ordained by the great Self. Salt is obtained from sea water. When it is mixed with water, it becomes one with it. Similarly, Maya springs from Paramatman and finally merges in him.

Commentary: Due to its focus on the body, Hatha Yoga can promote the notion that you are the doer and that you own your body and possess its attributes. This becomes an obstacle on the path to Liberation. The most excellent is Raja Yoga which is the path or approach that embodies Shaktipat, the spiritual leadership of the living Master, and spiritual practices focused on merging one’s individual identity in God. In such an approach, the focus is on realizing that you are not the body or the senses and that God alone acts through you.

Through the focus of rooting out the Gunas and the Malas, and the practices taught to attain that goal, one comes to acknowledge that the body is on loan from God and that it is the Shiva-Shakti principle or God-principle that ordains and does everything. Just as salt comes from the sea and dissolves in seawater, this illusion of Maya that we call world is a manifestation of the Absolute and finally merges back into the Absolute.

  1. Vedanta means Prana (breath). To be entirely merged in Prana, is Vedanta. Vedanta is one indivisible. It is unbreakable. What is called Veda recitation is not from the tongue. Veda recitation should be from the throat. Those who know this secret are Brahmins. Veda is the one letter OM. It is the fire of inspiration. Vedanta is formless and changeless; indivisible. Light is caused by Veda. What is called Dharana in yoga is the real recitation of Veda.

Commentary: True Vedanta is not the recitation of the Vedas, but the firm realization and awareness of That which the Vedas point to. Practice of Vedanta is attained through the awareness of the space between the breaths. It is the awareness of ajapa japa, the Hamsa mantra that sounds on its own with each inhalation and exhalation. To merge with that Consciousness experienced between So’ and Ham is true Vedanta and nothing else. Dharana is the act of remembering God at all times. That is true yoga and the real recitation of the Vedas.

  1. Just as a tire of a bicycle is filled with air by a pump, the Nadis (nerves) should be filled with “Vedanta discrimination.” Prana should be raised to Brahmarandhra, the highest point in the brain. The nerves should be purified and such purification should be done step by step. Buddhi and Manas should become one with Paramatman. You should play with him. You should sit in the upper story and look around downwards. Buddhi’s place is above. Buddhi must become one with Jnana. You should always drink the water of eternal joy. You must be one with the nectar of Ananda. You must know those who are always merged in this eternal joy. You should know the very secret of this Ananda. Truly, the Kundalini must be awakened. Just as we rock a child in a cradle, we should fix our attention in the head and examine what takes place there. Paramananda (supreme bliss), Sadananda (eternal bliss) are there in the head. Shiva Linga is also in the head which should be one.

Commentary: A bicycle needs firm tires to move and those tires are filled with air. In the same way, the true understanding of Vedanta is experienced when the yogi directs Prana (the breath) into the Sushumna and raises the breath to the Crown Chakra at the top of the head. Then the outlook of the sages that is expressed in the Vedas can be experienced for oneself. Pranayama purifies all the nerves of the body step-by-step. In order to experience the Absolute, the individual intellect (Buddhi) and the Manas or mind (along with the ego) must be merged in Shiva Consciousness through Meditation. You should play with the Lord in this way by identifying with Him. Have the outlook of Shiva by experiencing this world from the upper story, the highest point of existence.

Buddhi’s place is being absorbed in Shiva-Shakti, in the Divine Will. In this way, Buddhi becomes the storehouse of true knowledge. Drinking the nectar of Self-awareness in this way is eternal joy. Become one with this nectar, with this eternal Bliss. Keep the company of those who have attained Liberation. The secret to the constant rapture of this Bliss is Shaktipat, the awakening of Kundalini Shakti that is imparted by a Siddha. This is the secret to attaining uninterrupted Ananda. After receiving Shaktipat from a Shakta adept, practice, practice, practice. Just as we rock a child steadily and gently in its cradle so that it can experience peace, we must meditate on the Crown Chakra in the head and examine what takes place there (Bindu-Nada). The Bliss of the Self, the Bliss of Shiva Consciousness is experienced in the head, in that spiritual center. Shiva dwells there in his fullness where Buddhi becomes one with the Shiva-Shakti power.

  1. When you rub a match to the side of a box, you obtain fire. You should cook everyday. You should avoid all distinctions. When the recipient is fit, he should be initiated. That person who has the power of discrimination should be initiated.

Commentary: When you rub a match to the side of a box, you obtain fire. Likewise, when you receive Shaktipat initiation from a Shakta adept, the inner fire is ignited and the intellect, ego, mind and the senses are cooked in the knowledge and experience of the Self. Therefore, you should cook everyday. Avoid all distinctions of high and low. This is the way to prepare yourself for the descent of God’s Grace. When you are ready, the Master appears and you should receive Shaktipat. You should take it by your stubborn desire to experience God. This is the kind of discrimination that makes you worthy of initiation.

  1. If food is given to a man who has no hunger, it will cause indigestion in him. Those whose belly is full have no hunger. Those who are well dressed feel the cold, the greater.

Commentary: For God to be experienced, desire to know God must be present. To become Liberated from the bondage of ignorance, you have to want to know the Truth. Yoga cannot be taught to those who have no longing for it, just as feeding someone who is not hungry is a waste. Also, to receive what a Sadguru has to offer, you have to empty yourself so that the Master can fill you with God’s Grace. People who only want sense pleasures cannot be taught Yoga. Just as putting on the wrong clothing in winter makes you feel the cold even more, engaging in sense pleasures only increases the desire for them. For this reason, a seeker has to be willing to set aside worldliness and sense objects in favor of learning the path to God.

  1. One must go to Kashi by train. One must reach the town of “Shivanandapuri.” One must go to the country of “peace.” One must stop his journey at “Brahmanandapuri.”

Commentary: Just as you have to take a train to get to Kashi, you have to practice the Yoga of Meditation to get to the inner Self. The purpose of Meditation is to reach the other shore of Shivanandapuri, the abode of the Supreme Principle. This is the place of peace. Have no other goal but the journey to Sahasrar (the highest spiritual center), the union of Shiva-Shakti. This journey begins with the receipt of Shaktipat from a living Master and ends in complete absorption in the Self.

  1. A man must know himself. He who has conquered the mind is the man. He is the ascetic. He is the yogi. He sees the one Atman in all. Suppose you come into a dark room after wandering in the sun. What do you see? Look at the sun for five minutes and come into a dark room. You see nothing. This is as it ought to be. One must see with the inner (spiritual) eye.

Commentary: On the spiritual path, to know yourself means to know the Self, to know your Natural, Free State of Being that is the inner Witness. The person who conquers his mind by removing all thoughts and notions is a true man. One who accomplishes this is an Ascetic. She is a yogi and sees God in all. Experiencing God inside is like coming into a dark room after staring at the Sun. Your senses are blinded, your mind stops and all your habits are turned away. You are forced to see with the inner eye of true knowledge. This is as it ought to be.

  1. A ripe fruit is very sweet to the taste. The same fruit when it is unripe is astringent. Both are produced by the same tree. The difference between the two is caused by time. As soon as a coconut is planted in the ground, it does not grow into a plant. First, it sprouts, then it becomes a plant and finally it becomes a tree. A tender coconut tree can be easily plucked from the ground. But a fully-grown coconut tree cannot be easily plucked. So also, our mind must be unaffected, whatever people say to us or whatever they say about us. The mind must always be under our control. This is what a man must accomplish in life. This must be “the one object” in life. This a man must accomplish even if his head is to be struck off. We should give a blow with the mind itself, not with a cane or a hand or something. We should learn to tie a man without a rope. This is what a man should accomplish in life.

Commentary: Progress on the spiritual path takes time and requires tending to, just as one cares for a garden and does not harvest the vegetables or fruits before they are ripe. Make the mind your friend gradually, and with daily spiritual practice. The goal is Equality Consciousness. The goal is making your mind so pure and so positive that you experience every circumstance as a gift from God, whether the circumstance is favorable or unfavorable.

Make your mind immune to praise and blame. This must be your goal. Just as a clever man can outwit a person twice his size in a fight by being smarter (not necessarily stronger), don’t beat your mind up. Don’t try to take it by force. Woo the mind by cultivating Shakti through Meditation and spiritual practice. Witness your thoughts and allow them to pass like watching clouds pass in the sky, while remaining unmoved, unaffected by its ramblings. Tell your mind, “You are God. I love you because you are Chiti, that one who creates the entire Universe. You are my friend because you are going to reveal God to me.” Accomplish this in your life.

  1. The ‘mind’ is the seat of “sin.” It is the cause of action, good and bad. Mind is the cause of all these. ‘Mind’ is, itself, a condition superimposed on to the Self. If there is no mind there is no speech. Without the expression called ‘mind,’ nothing can come and nothing can go. But for the mind, nothing can be accomplished. Suppose one knows how to speak English but he does not know how to write it. Then we cannot say, he knows English fully. When he knows both, then only he can secure a passing grade in English.

Commentary: The ‘mind’ is the seat of all restlessness and the notions and ideas it weaves are responsible for the bondage of ignorance that we experience in our lives. The ‘mind’ is the obstacle to realizing God. However, nothing happens without the help of the mind. You need your mind to realize God also. So, purify the mind through the instruction of a Sadguru. Purification of the ‘mind’ means the direct experience that ‘mind’ does not exist separate from the Shiva-Shakti power. What we call mind is an energy that manifests when an object needs to be recognized in Consciousness. It is actually the Self that does the recognizing. Complete your study and “secure a passing grade” by steady spiritual practice that expands your awareness so that it becomes one with the witness to your mind and senses, that Pure Perceiving Awareness, once again. In this way, you will come to understand that the mind is God and not a mind at all.

Verses 1-25, Verses 26-50, Verses 51-75,

Verses 76-100, Verses 101-125, Verses 126-150,

Verses 151-175, Verses 176-200, Verses 201-225,

Verses 226-250, Verses 251-286.

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