"For the bhakta filled with devotion for an ideal that transcends the manifested universe, for whom there is no conflict between the many devas and Gurus here, everything becomes clear spontaneously. All meanings suggest themselves to him. Truth reveals itself to the great mind. Truth enlightens the great mind."
What is the ideal that generates, maintains and consummates the orderliness that pervades this universe?
Svabhavameke kavayo vadanti
Kalam thathanye parimuhyamanah
Devasyaisha mahimatu loke
Yenedam bhramyate brahmachakram
The wise men endowed with the power to empathize say that it is the innate nature of being. Others caught in the web of mundane existence sense it essentially as the manifestation of time. What one says depends on the standpoint from where he views the scheme. Whatever that may be, the scheme that operates the universe is indeed the expression of an ideal which is instrumental for the revolution of the wheel on which the creator moulds the entities in the manifested universe. Space and time are but the products of the movements of this wheel. The spirit which rotates the wheel is beyond space and time.
Yenavrutam nityamidam hi sarvam
Jnah kalakaro guneesarvavidyah
Temeshitam karma vivartateha
Pruthyaptejo/nilakhanichintyam
The process of knowing and the process of being are inseparable. That which embraces everything spontaneously is the ultimate receptacle of knowledge. It is the creator of time. All qualities that make manifestation possible reside in it. All branches of knowledge that give form to this universe reside in it. All actions emanate from its promptings. The basic elements – earthiness, the fluidity of sensibilities, the fires of passion, the wanderings of life forces and the emptiness of ether – evolved from its imagination.
Tat karma krutva vinivarta bhooya-
Statvasya tatvena sametyayogam
Ekena dvabhyam tribhirashtabhirva
Kalena chaivatmagunashcha sookshmaih
It is the performer of all karmas. It is also that which gets liberated from the entanglements of karmas. It operates by unraveling principles and combining them in multifarious ways. During the course of all these the undifferentiated unity gives way to the duality of ‘this’ and ‘that’. It becomes the three primary qualities – satva, rajas and tamas – that give form and content for all entities. It becomes the eight cosmic forces that provide the potential for movements.
Arabhya karmani gunanvitani
Bhavamshcha sarvan viniyojayedvah
Teshamabhave krutakarmanashah
Karmakshaye yati sa tatvato/nyah
Manifested beings generate the initiatives for actions in accordance with the relative levels of the three primary qualties in them. When one attains a state that transcends all qualities he is free from the bondage of karmas. No initiative emanates from him. He is free from the effects of any actions. He is liberated and he transcends all principles that create, sustain and consummate the manifested universe.
Adih sa samyoganimittahetuh
Parastrikaladakalopi drushtah
Tam vishvaroopam bhavabhootamedhyam
Devam svachittastamupasyapoorvam
He now precedes all things. He now is the cause of all combinations and coincidences that give form and content for the entities in the manifested universe. He now transcends time and is beyond the concepts of past, present and future. He now cannot be contained in any substantial manifestation. He is now a cosmic being worthy of being worshipped. His cosmic form now contains all that has happened and all that is going to happen. The installation of this cosmic form in one’s mind is the primary ideal that is to be pursued with devotion.
Sa vruksha kalakruibhih paro/nyo
Yasmat prapanchah parivartateyam
Dharmavaham papanudam bhagesham
Jnatvatmasthamamrutam vishvadhama
This cosmic form is beyond, and different from, the proliferations that make the significant emanations which constitute infrastructure, time and form. It transcends names and forms. But the manifested universe goes on transacting on account of it. It is the causative agent for dharma. It shows the road to perfection. It is the lord of all prosperity. It is the abode where manifested universe resides. By identifying with this cosmic principle one attains immortality.
Tameeshvaranam paramam maheshvaram
Tam devatanam paramamcha daivatam
Patim pateenam paramam parastad
Vidama devam bhuvaneshameedyam
This cosmic principle is the governor of all governors. It is the divine spirit residing in all ideals. It is the lord of all lords. It transcends all the distinct entities in the manifested universe. Know this cosmic principle, which is worthy of worship, as the governor of the universe to which one belongs.
Na tasya karyam karanashcha vidyate
Na talsamshchabhayadhikashcha drushyate
Parasya shaktirvvividhaivashruyate
Svavikeejnana balakriya cha
It is beyond all relationships of cause and effect. It is peerless. There is nothing that transcends it. If one listens carefully one can sense its manifestations everywhere. It is constituted of spontaneous awareness, potential and movement.
Na tasya kashchid patirasti loke
Na cheshita naiva tasya lingam
Sa karanam karanaddhipadhipo
Na chasya kashchid janita na chadhipah
There is nothing that can act as its husband. There is nothing that can act as its motivator. It is the primordial cause that governs all events. It is not sired by anything and it is not governed by anything.
yastantunabha iva tantubhih
prathanjaih svabhavato
deva ekah svamavrunot
sano dadhat brahmapyayam
A spider is surrounded by the threads of the web that emanated from it. Similarly the inner cosmic spirit is surrounded by the beings that came from it. This unique ideal is enveloped by the dualities that sprouted from it. Let this illustration provide the insights for understanding the nature of Brahman.
Eko devah sarvabhooteshu goodhah
Sarvavyapee sarvabhootantaratma
Karmadhykshah sarvabhootadhivasah
Sakshee cheta kevalo nirgunashcha
This unique ideal of Brahman remains in all beings as a subtle presence. It pervades everything as their inner essence. It resides in all beings presiding over their movements. It resides in all beings as a witness. It is the motivating force behind all happenings. It is abstract and is unaffected by the events caused by the interplay of qualities.
Eko vashee nishkriyanam bahunam
Ekam beejam bahudhayah karoti
Tamatmastham ye/nupashyanti dheera-
Stesham sukham sashvatam netaresham
It is a unique presence that attracts everything into it. It does not participate in any action. Just as a seed proliferates to be a tree it gives rise to the several things in the manifested universe. Those who actively connects with their intellect spontaneously recognize this as the essence residing within all things. Such intelligent persons alone can find lasting happiness. The happiness of all others who look outwards for satisfaction is short-lived.
Nityo nityanam chetanashchetanam
Eko bahoonam yo vidadhati kaman
Tat karanam sankhyayogadhigamyam
Jnatva devam muchyate sarva pashaih
It is the freshness in the things that remains fresh at all times. It is the principle of awareness in all living beings. This unique principle keeps distributing to the many manifestations whatever they desire. It is the primordial cause that can be realized only through the analytical approach of a sankhya yogi. By realizing this ideal one gets liberated from all bondages.
Na tatra suryo bhati na cha chandratarakam
Nema vidyuto bhati kuto/yamagnih
Tameva bhantamanubhati sarvam
Tasya bhasa sarvamidam vibhati
In it the sun loses its brilliance. So does the moon and stars. Even lightening loses its luster in it. The separate sources of energies, the minds that conceives names and forms using that energy, the exemplary presences, the flashes of insights that connects a being with the higher echelons of awareness – all these lose their significance against the backdrop of this cosmic principle. That being so, is there any need to talk about the fires of passion experienced by the separate entities. Everything that shines is only reflecting the brilliance of this cosmic principle. All that is perceived here come alive by its presence.
Eko hamso bhuvanasyasya madhye
Sa evagnih salile sannivishtah
Tameva viditvati mrutyumeti
Nanya panthat vidyate/yanaya
The celestial bird, hamsa, is the spirit of discrimination. This unique principle is a hamsa, the pure awareness that is the soul of discrimination, that sits in the midst of worldliness. This spirit itself is the fire of passion lying dormant in the water of sensibilities. One transcends death by identifying with this principle. This transcendence is the highest goal one can conceive in the manifested universe. The path leading to this goal is the only path that is worthy of pursuit.
Sa vishvakrudvishva vidatmayonirjnah
Kalakaro gunee sarvavidyah
Prathana kshetrajna patir guneshah
Samsaramokshasthitibandhahetuh
This unique principle created the universe. It holds the universe in its awareness. It is its own cause. It is its own knower. It is the causative agent for time. It is the essence of all qualities. It is the essence of all knowledge. It is the significant principle that knows the field in which it operates. It is the lord of all things. It is the governor of all qualities. It is the cause for the transactions in the universe. It is the cause for the liberation from the transactions. It is the cause for the sustenance of the manifested universe. It is the cause for all the bondages here.
Kincha sa tanmayo hyamutra ishasamstho
Jnah sarvago bhuvanasya gopta
Ya ishe asya jagato nityameva
Nanyo hetur vidyate ishanaya
It remains merged with all things as the eternal principle residing in them. It is the spark of divinity in all things. It is the knower that wanders freely everywhere. The universe thrives under its protection. It is the spontaneity that keeps the universe fresh. It is the transcendental cause for the lively existence of the universe beyond which human faculties cannot penetrate.
Yo brahmanam vidadhati poorvam
Yo vai vedamshcha prahinoti tasmai
Tam hadevaatmabudhiprakasham
Mumukshurvai sharanamaham prapadye
It is the primordial cause for the birth of Brahma, the creator himself. It provided the creator with the enlightenment about whatever is there to be known. It is the supreme ideal that illuminates the intellect. For liberation in the ultimate sense I depend only on that.
Nishkalam nishkriyam shantam
Niravadyam niranjanam
Amrutasya param setum
Daghendhanamivanalam
It is not attached to any artifact. It is not attached to any actions. It remains perfectly at peace. It cannot be contained by any description. It is not tainted by anything. It is the bridge that takes one from this world to the immortality that transcends this world. It is like the steady flame from properly ignited fuel.
Yada charmavadaksham
Veshtayishyanti manavah
Tada devamavijnaya
Dukhasyanto bhavishyati
Man cannot find happiness by surrounding himself with worldly things. While remaining attached to the worldliness his body is enveloped by gross things. His mind is enveloped by worldly desires. His intellect is engaged in worldly thoughts. When he gives up the worldly concerns and dresses himself up in the ethereal ideas of the inner sky he grows out from his ignorance. That is when the end of sorrows happens for him.
Tapah prabhavat devaprasadacha
Brahmaha shvetashvetaro/tha vidvan
Atyashramibhyah paramam pavitram
Provacha samyag rishi sanghajushtam
Shvetashvetara is one who has gone even beyond senses fine tuned for the perception of the fine essence in things. By distilling his awareness Shvetashvetara knows spontaneously the essence of all essences, which is Brahman itself. He transcends all ashramas. He is holy and is beyond all things in this universe. He reveals himself as an exposition of the principle of Brahman to the rishis who stand worshipping him.
Vedante parmam guhyam
Purakalpe prachoditam
Na prashantaya datavyam
Na putrayashishyaya va punah
This subtle knowledge that transcends all the worldly knowledge of the Vedas was distilled from the experiences of the past eons. It is not to be lightly imparted to those who are not ready for accepting it. It is to be given only to those in possession of a tranquil mind. It is to be imparted only to the sons of the Guru or those whom the Guru accepts in his mind as a son.
Yasya deve parabhaktir
Yatha deve thatha gurou
Tasyaiva kathitahyarthah
Prakashante mahatmanah
Prakashante mahatmanah
For the bhakta filled with devotion for an ideal that transcends the manifested universe, for whom there is no conflict between the many devas and Gurus here, everything becomes clear spontaneously. All meanings suggest themselves to him. Truth reveals itself to the great mind. Truth enlightens the great mind.
Om sahanavavatu
Sahanou bhunaktu
Sahaveeryam karavavahai
Tejasvinavadheetamastu
Ma vidvishavahai
Om shantih shantih shantih
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