Atma Dharma

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/006713/1

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V= -SELECTIONS FROM= "ATMA-DHARMA 3.5 OF RAHMACHARI SITAL PRASADJI BY CHAMPAT RAI JAIN Allababad PRINTED AT THE INDIAN PRESS, LTD. 1920

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-SELECTIONS FROM= "ATMA-DHARMA" OF BRAHMACHARI SITAL PRASADJI BY CHAMPAT RAI JAIN Allababad PRINTED AT THE INDIAN PRESS, LTD. 1920

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Printed by Apurva Krishna Bose, at the Indian Press, Ltd., Allahabad.

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PREFACE The little pamphlet in the reader's hands does not pretend to be a literal translation or even wholly and purely a translation of the original Hindi work. It contains, as its title indicates, some choice selections from the brahmachariji's useful book, together with my own musings interspersed, without distinction, here and there. Part II is, however, a faithful rendering into English of the precious gems collected by the author from different sources, all of which are highly suitable for meditation. HARDOI: 28th April, 1920. S CHAMPAT RAL JAIN,

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PART I SELECTIONS AND MUSINGS.

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OM zrIparamAtmane namaH ATMA-DHARMA Whomsoever we might look at-even at our own selves if we like-it is apparent that every one abhors pain and misery and likes happiness* and peace. The inner craving always is that we should have no bodily pain or mental trouble-ailment, lassitude, laziness-also weakness of every kind should keep away from the physical body, which should always remain fit, healthy, strong, and energetic. Similarly, no one wants his mind to be troubled with anxiety, worry, grief, pain, or disturbance of any kind; but every one loves mental serenity, cheerfulness, intellectual keenness and strength of will. We all also wish that our internal atmosphere should not be affected by passions, such as angert * Cf. "This soul is always afraid of pain and longs for happiness; for this reason, I shall also impart the lesson which shall destroy pain and lead to happiness."-Atmanushasana, by Gunabhadra Swami. + Cf. "Anger leads one to do harm to one's father, mother, friends, etc., and ill to one's well-wishers; it is destructive of bodily health as well as of the resolutions formed. Anger

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( 2 ) and the like, which disturb mental serenity, destroy thoughtfulness, ruin bodily health and, generally, produce a feeling of misery and pain ; but we desire that tranquillity, equanimity and thoughtfulness should become the chief attributes of our souls and that there should arise no such cause or causes which might rob our minds of peace and replace it with disquietude. Therefore, if we reflect on the matter, no one can deny that he desires peace and happiness. Whether we consider the case of a king or a beggar, a wise man or a fool, an ascetic or a householder (layman), of a healthy person or of one suffering from ill health and disease--they all long for happiness every moment of their life. Similarly, whether one belong to India or hail from some distant land, e.g., Germany, China and the like, whether one be handsome or ugly, whether one possess a dark complexion, or yellow, or white, whether one be born in a high family, or in one that is low, whether one imbibe the Jaina or Hindu faith or any other-in each and every soul there resides the one desire that he should have peace and happiness. strengthens hatred, destroys friendship, affects beauty, brings discredit on the intellect, increases ill luck, and obscuros fame. For this reason there is no enemy equal to anger. Excellent men desirous of salvation do not suffer anger to have mastery over them."-Subhasita Ratnasandona, by Amitgati Swami.

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3 If we now turn away from humanity to look at animals, birds and the like, it will be observed that they also desire peace and happiness; none of them likes hunger, thirst, excessive heat and cold, ill-treatment, harsh speech and ill health; nor is there an animal that regards himself as happy when in distress, trouble, pain, worry or grief. Fear and worry are not liked by any one either. It may be that the animals are not able to express their feelings to us on account of their inability to speak; but it is certain that peace and joy are as dear to them as they are to human beings. Even petty insects that are too small to be easily visible, feel happy when left to themselves. It is a matter of observation that when one disturbs one of these tiny creatures with one's finger, it runs about here and there in evident distress. This shows that it is then agitated with a sense of danger for its tiny life. We also observe that the cessation of fear is accompanied by peace and tranquillity on the part of the insect, and are entitled to infer from this that it is comparatively happier now that it is left undisturbed. The fact is that fear, anger and other such passions operate as causes of misery even in the case of those that stand so low in the scale of life; so that the greater the influence of these

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passions, the greater the unhappiness for the living being concerned and vice versa. The case with plants is not much different. It has now been demonstrated scientifically that they are endowed with life. The great Indian scientist, Prof. Sir J. C. Bose, has successfully transplanted large trees from one place to another by the use of suitable anaesthetics. This shows that trees are susceptible and sensitive to shock and are adversely affected by it, some even dying of it. The fact is that even the vegetable kingdom does not furnish an exception to the rule that living beings dislike and dread pain, and like peace and happiness. Introspection reveals the fact that passions-- greed, anger, worry and the like--rob us of our mental peace and tranquillity which are regained as soon as the passions become quiescent. Our thoughts and language are also affected by our moods, happiness accompanying purer emotions alone. What is happiness then? The very attribute of one's soul! It can be nothing else. If you ponder over this, you will find happiness to have its abode in your very self, and not outside you. Later on we shall see what wonderful powers the soul is invested with ; but it must be clear to every one that we are not mere automatons of clay or of some unconscious material, because we exer

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( 5 ) cise the functions of perceiving, knowing, understanding, thinking and desiring, because we are subject to the sway of passions and emotions, because we are capable of showing forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness and contentment, and, lastly, because we are liable to experience pleasure and pain. This very soul of ours, which is endowed with all these attributes, is also the repository of happiness and peace ! If you will ponder over the matter, you will soon realize that the pleasure resulting from such things as food, dress, agreeable company, travel, drama, feminine society and the like, is in reality purely imaginary on the part of the soul. For this reason, it is called imaginary or paradhin (dependent upon external things). Whatever a man regards as the source of pleasure will give him pleasure, and whatever as the source of pain will cause him pain. For this very reason the pleasures of the world are our mental products. These are paradhin, because they are dependent upon our association with things that are desirable and on the avoidance of the undesirable ones.* *Cf. " The happiness that is enjoyed through the senses, is dependent on another than one's own self for its experiencing; it is full of trouble, terminable, the cause of inauspicious karma and transient ; in reality, it is only a form of pain."Parvachansara, by Kundkundacharya.

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(6 ) To illustrate the point, suppose a certain man is very fond of milk, while a certain other person detests it whole-heartedly; suppose further that these men are so situated that they have to live on milk for a certain period of time. It is obvious that the first man would be very happy in those very circumstances which will be utterly distasteful to the second. Milk, then, is neither happiness nor misery in itself ; but only the external cause which gives rise to different kinds of experiences of pleasure and pain in different individuals, according to their own individual desires and temperaments. The same is the case with the other objects in the world outside ourselves, whether we enjoy them through the sense of taste, or touch, or any other. Mind, too, plays a very important part in our personal joys and sorrows. If I regarded a certain person as my enemy and would like to see him ruined, it would cause me no little mental pain to find him prosper and flourish. "The happiness that transcends the senses and springs from the soul's own being itself, is such as cannot be compared with anything else in the world. It is beyond the mental reach of the ignorant, it is the giver of eternal life, indestructible, unabating, free from the impurities of private loves and hatreds ; it is not accompanied by senility or disease ; it does not lead to further transmigration, nor involve the idea of dependence on any external object; it is without an end, without trouble, and, because it originates in one's own self, also, ( indestructible ).". Ibid.

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Worry, jealousy, peevishness and the like are indications of intense mental pain and disquietude which cannot be said to appertain to the soul. They all have their origin in the mind, and are, in some form or other, connected with our individual desires. Deception also leads to mental agitation when it fails to secure its end, and the same is the case with greed. The happiness which is temporarily experienced when deceit is successfully practised or when pelf is amassed, is also the product of imagination. All these forms of happiness are unreal because they depend on the acquisition, preservation, or destruction of things external to one's own self, and because the very existence and conditions of existence of such things are not within one's control. Suppose a man is very fond of his wife and loves her with all his heart : he will, no doubt, experience great happiness in her company ; but since the conditions of her life are beyond his control, his happiness is liable to be marred by her infidelity. ill-health, death and the like. This is tantamount to saying that his happiness is paradhin (c.e., depends not on himself but on the being of others), and is, therefore, more imaginary than real. This unreal happiness never yields satisfaction* * Cf." This soul is not satiated even with things which it enjoys for a long time. Without satisfaction the mind remains disturbed and wanders from one thing to another. As fire

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( 8 ) to any one ; for no sooner is one desire gratified than there arises another in the mind. This goes on throughout life, with the result that when the senses are impaired by senescence, or disease, and can no longer extract pleasures from their surroundings, death is welcomed as a happy termination to the misery of an existence that sees nought but the embitterment of dissatisfaction and disappointment before it. The usual forms of happiness being found to be unreal and false, the question arises : what is real happiness ? This question being raised, it must be pointed out that happiness is an attribute or property of the soul, and that peace, too, is present in it by nature. It is a matter of daily observation that when the mind is strongly agitated by anger, one feels unhappy, with the whole body shaking and the features distorted with fury ; but when the passion subsides the agitation disappears and one becomes directly conscious of a great relief as if a heavy painful burden were lifted off the soul. is not appeased with fuel nor an ocean with the thousand streams that pour into it, so is the wandering sonl not gratified with the pleasures of the senses. The pursuit of sensous lust leads to ruin, and is the cause of a lot of troubles ; but there is neither ruination nor trouble in the enjoyment of the true happiness appertaining to one's own self, intelligently enjoyed."-sivakoti.

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In the same way, when the mind is possessed by pride, greed, or deceit, the soul is robbed of tranquillity and joy, which are regained on the re-establishment of the normal conditions. Fear, passion, grief, disgust and the like are also causes that destroy one's peace of mind and pollute the mental atmosphere. These conditions, therefore, do not appertain to the soul, and are foreign to it. That happiness really belongs to the soul will be fully realised by us if we reflect on the joy resulting from unselfish deeds of piety and philanthropy. The joy that we feel in doing good to others clearly arises from within our own being. This shows that happiness is the very nature of the soul. It is for this reason that every one feels happy when the desires and passions that deprive us of mental serenity and peace are rendered quiescent and subdued. Dispassion, then, is the harbinger of true joy. It will be seen that the happiness which is felt in the doing of good does not consist in any kind of sensations-visual, tactile and the like--but arises altogether independently of the senses, and, therefore, from within. It is not imaginary, that is to say, a mere product of the individual mind, but a real, genuine state of our being or consciousness that is directly felt by the soul. All this suffices to show that happiness is

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( 10 ) an original attribute or property of the soul substance. Grief and pain arise from causes external to the soul, and, for that reason, are temporary extraneous conditions of our life. If it were otherwise, that is to say, if pain and misery were the attributes of life, then they should have arisen in the soul in unselfish deeds; since whatever is a natural attribute of a thing always arises without a cause as soon as the obstacle which bars its way is removed from its path. Now, both pain and misery arise from extraneous causes which may be summed up under two general heads for the sake of brevity, namely, (1) the association with that which is undesireable, and (2) the dissociation with what is desireable and desired. They do not arise when we are left to ourselves, that is, without the one or the other, or both of the causes enumerated above. Indeed, so far as physical pain is concerned, it is the resultant of physical processes or of chemical action between different substances and elements going on in the body, and not a spontaneous growth from within the body or the soul. For the same and other similar reasons, grief and all other mental conditions of the unpleasant type are also foreign to the nature of the soul which is endowed with happiness as its natural attribute, as is clear from the instances analysed above. ww

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( 11 ) How is it, then, that this natural happiness is not always enjoyed by the soul ? The answer to this consists in the fact that our infatuations and ignorance have corrupted our happiness, which has consequently become vitiated in quality. To the extent to which these infatuations and ignorance are destroyed in us, our natural happiness becomes ours to be enjoyed by the soul. Verily shall the soul experience full perfect happiness only when the forces that obstruct its enjoyment are completely destroyed. Such is the nature of real happiness, which, without doubt, is an attribute of the soul. It will be now evident that peace and joy have to be brought out from within by attending to one's own being, i.e., the life or soul. But it is necessary that we should know the real nature, that is to say, the attributes and properties of the soul, before we can ever hope to realise the bliss that is our birthright or heritage, so to speak. For just as the mere knowledge of the word "mango" is not tantamount to the enjoyment of the sweet relish of the fruit, so is not the enjoyment of our real inborn joy obtainable by the formulation of the word "soul." The point is that if we wish to enjoy the real genuine natural bliss which appertains to the soul, we must make an effort to taste it, that is to say, in different words, that we must

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( 12 ) apply our mind to feel this unique substance or thing, termed the soul, which is the fountainspring of happiness. Do we not put our lips in contact with a mango fruit to enjoy its taste? Just so with the soul ! If you would experience the delight and bliss of the Immortals, then you must first place yourself in contact with your soul; with the lips' of attention you should extract the sweet nectar of joy from the divine life-giving fruit. But, in order to experience the true joy that is inherent in the soul, we must know how to distinguish it from other things in the world. This means that we should know some distinguishing feature that shall unmistakeably point to the soul. Now, such a distinguishing feature of souls is consciousness; so that, wherever you come across consciousness-the power to experience different kinds of sensations through the senses, thought, memory, inference, willing, emotional activity, passions and the like-there you may safely pre C *Cf. "There are two kinds of ajiva (non-living) substance; that which is endowed with sensible qualities-colour, smell and the like -namely, matter, and that which is devoid of such qualities; e. g., space. For this reason the quality of being amurtika (devoid of sensible qualities) is not regarded as a distinguishing feature of soul. The wise should always regard consciousness as the distinguishing mark of souls, for it is not found in anything else and is always present in them in some form or other."-The Samayasara Kalasha, by Amrita Chandra,

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( 13 ) sume the presence of a soul. The substance or thing which is the abode of consciousness is the soul itself, for attributes always inhere in substances* and cannot exist independently of them. How many kinds of substances are there in the universe ? Jivat (Life or the substance of Life) is, of course, one, with its special property or attribute of consciousness. Apart from it, we also perceive another substance which is not endowed with consciousness but which possesses sensible properties--touch, colour, smell, sound and taste. Any one can directly perceive this substance by observing the things--pen, ink, tables, chairs, clothes, hair, bones, nails, and the like-with which he is surrounded. These are all unconscious *Cf. "Existence is the hall-mark of substance, that is, what has always been, and always will be ; it exists in the form of origination, destruction and continuance; further, what rests on attributes and modifications, or forms, is what the all knowing masters (Tirthamkaras) have termed dravya (substance)." ---Kundkundacharya. | Cf." From one point of view, that is with reference to its infinite attributes, it is characterised by many-ness; looked at without distinction of attributes which never desert it, it is ever one; with respect to its changing modalities, it is evanescent and perishing; as regards its attributes and continuity of substance, it is enduring and eternal, being always manifest; as knowledge, it is all-pervading in so far as it knows all things; in point of form, it abides in its own extension or size ;-even such is the unique natural glory of this soul."-Amrita Chandra.

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( 14 ) and endowed with sensible properties. This gives us our second substance, which is termed pudgala (matter). Now, we observe four kinds of changes taking place in different bodies, namely, changes of place, changes of condition, and changes of movement and stationariness or rest. A thing is now here and again at another place: this is called a change of place. A thing may be now unripe and then ripe : this is change of condition. A thing is now in motion, and again comes to rest, or it may be now stationary and later on in motion: these are known as changes of movement and stationariness, respectively. But since these changes cannot be brought about except with the aid of certain helpful causes, we must presume the existence of these causes as separate substances. We thus have Space as the helpful cause of changes of place; Time as that of changes of condition; and two kinds of ether for the remaining two kinds of changes. These six substances are known as jiva, pudgala, dharma, adharma, kala and akasha. The jiva is to be dis *Cf. "The distinguishing features of jiva dravya (spirit or soul) are not found in akasha, kala, pudgala, dharma and adharma; for this reason, they are called unconscious, while the jiva has consciousness. That which is enjoyable through the senses, the senses themselves, the body, mind and karmas and all else that is endowed with sensible qualities, is pudgala (matter)." Panchastikaya, by Swami Kundkunda - charya, 11

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( 15 ) tinguished from the remaining five substances by its special attribute of consciousness. Our bodies, bodily organs and limbs-hands, feet, heart, spleen and the like our passions, emotions, loves and hatreds, our thoughts and words, even the very organ of our thought, namely, mind, and its chief vehicle or instrument, the physical brain, all these are composed of unconscious matter, and are, for that reason, different from our real self whose peculiar characteristic is consciousness. With respect to our infatuations* the soul is like a white crystal which reflects all colours, but is different from them. These modifications arise in the soul from its union with matter, because changes of function are inconceivable without the intervention of an external cause. In its own nature, the soul is the subject of pure perfect knowledge, and may be likened to a light that is absolutely pure and undefiled by any kind of *Cf. There is no blood relationship between me and infatuation. The faculty which perceives and knows, that I am. Those who have comprehended the nature of pure spirit know this faculty to be distinct from infatuations."Samayasara, by Swami Kundkundacharya. 3 ** All these attributes, colour, attachment, aversion, and the like, should be deemed to be assciated with the soul like the adultration of milk with water; they are not the properties af the soul for the soul with its specific functions of knowing and perceiving, is separate from them."-Amrita Chandra.

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shadow or shade whatsoever. For this reason, it is called Parabrahman (God), Paramatman (the Supreme Soul), and the like. In addition to being the subject of knowledge and blissful by nature, the soul is also immortal, because it is a substance by itself, and because only forms and modes of substances but never the substances themselves, are liable to be destroyed. Being immortal, the soul passes on from life te life, taking births, in different bodies, according to its karmas, successively. The sizes of the numerous bodies which it organises for itself in the course of its transmigration, no doubt, vary from time to time; but the soul is endowed with the unique property of expansion and contraction which enables it now to be ensouled in the body of an ant and again in that of an elephant. It is evident that the soul fills its whole body, since otherwise it would be impossible for it to feel pleasure or pain in those of its bodily limbs and parts where it was not; and it is also evident that the body has not a constant size of its own during its growth. These two facts taken together suffice to show that the soul expands with its body as it grows during childhood. According to the ancient rishis, the soul may expand to fill the whole universe, without leaving its physical body. It is this property or power of the soul which explains the

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mysterious phenomena occurring at the closing moments of life in certain cases, when the soul of the dying man is known and observed to have conveyed an intimation of its impending death to those dear and near to it at a distance of thousands of miles. These phenomena have baffled the modern investigator who is mostly ignorant of the soul's special attributes and powers; but the ancients knew that the ego had the power to annihilate distance and could expand out even without leaving its physical body to reach the remotest part of the universe. A soul expanding outwards without leaving its physical body is said to perform samudghata. Every soul is an individual by itself. The supposition that there is only one soul in existence is contradicted by facts of observation. Knowledge and experience demonstrate this to a certainty ; for if there be only one soul in common between a teacher and his pupil, how account for their relationship ? As for experience, suppose there are a hundred men present at a feast of whom ten are attending upon the rest who are partaking of different kinds of delicacies. It is obvious that each and every one of these only relishes the morsel that he eats himself, and has no idea of the taste of what the others eat. And, so far as those who are serving are concerned, they have certainly no

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( 18 ) experience of the taste of the food, though they might be longing to enjoy it. All this shows that the being of every soul is self-contained and quite independent of the being of any other soul in existence. The error of those who propound the doctrine of there being only one soul in existence is due to their failure to distinguish between a genus or class and the individuals that are included in it. Their error is exactly like that which we should commit were we to confound manhood with humanity, i.e., human beings. It is true that with respect to manhood all human beings are alike, and that existence is common to all; but manhood and existence are purely mental abstractions invented for facility of human discourse and not concrete realities or things. There never was such a thing as manhood in nature which could be said to have subsequently given birth to, or to have been split up into, individuals. Nor shall the individuals be ever rolled up into their species at any time in the future. The fact is that manhood and existence are but qualities found in common among individuals and have no existence independently of them. Qualities are either general or special. The general qualities are those that are found in common in all the six substances, while the special ones appertain to some specific substance, but not

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( 19 ) to any other. The soul is also endowed with both these kinds of qualities. The six general qualities which it enjoys in common with matter and other existing substances are : existence, function, knowability, form and the attribute of being the abode of changing accidents or states. To these is to be added the general property which maintains all substances in their own nature and prevents their becoming transforraed into one another. This may be called the attribute of non-transformability. The special qualities of the soul are consciousness, joy, will, faith and conduct, since none of them is found in any other substance. Every soul is independent of every thing else with reference to these qualities, which is tantamount to saying, that it has them all within its own self and has not to seek them outside its own being. Neither is the supply thereof liable to be exhausted, because a substance and its attributes are eternal and inseparable + from one another, though * Cf. " That which exists by itself is never destroyed; the non-existent is never produced ; what is a thing in itself always persists in its own attributes, sabject to origination, destruction and continuation at one and the same time."-- Kundkundacharya. Cf. " There is no substance devoid of attributes ; attribates must reside in substances ; for this reason there is no real distinction between a substance and its attributes.". Kundkundacharya.

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( 20 ) subject to the fluctuations or changes of accidents, i.e., modes. Accidents are of two kinds, namely, svabhavik (natural) and vibhavik (extraneous). Natural accidents imply the changes of modes that take place in a substance without the intervention of any external agent or cause. The vibhavik accidents arise in compounds where two or more substances or things existing in a state of combination are concerned. The difference between the two types is that while the svabharik changes imply no loss, limitation or curtailment of the natural attributes of a substance, the vibhavik are always associated with the idea of qualitative deterioration or change. Vibhavik modes only occur in souls and matter. but not in any other substance. Our passions, emotions, likes, dislikes, loves, hatreds, thoughts, desires, longings, feelings, sensations, and the like, are all vibhavik in nature. They are not to be found in a pure soul, and arise by virtue of its association with matter. The innumerable changes of form which matter undergoes at different times are, similarly, all vibhavik modes of the different kinds of atoms arising from their ever-renewing, ever-varied combinations and groupings. It must be now obvious that the soul is different from the vibhavik accidents or modes

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( 21 ) which occur in it. It is a self-contained, self-dependent substance, different from matter and all other existing substances. In combination with matter, it is subject to all kinds of passions, emotions, thoughts, feelings, longings and desires, also to physical birth and death. ; otherwise it is a reality endowed with perfection in knowledge, happiness, energy, faith, immortality and purity of conduct, as Jainism clearly points out. Because of its innumerable natural perfections and especially of its divine excellence with respect to knowledge, which in its completeness implies nothing short of full perfect omniscience, and to its pure inborn joy that is unchanging and unabating as well as unexcelled in the three worlds, ---- it is because of these divine and Godly attributes residing within it that it is termed Paramatman, Parameshvara, Paramprabhu, Bhagwan and the like, all of which terms are expressive of our most exalted conceptions of Divinity and Godhood. Our shortcomings, errors, defects, disbeliefs, wrongful actions, ignorance and sins are due to the impure condition of our souls which are being constantly corrupted and defiled by the pernicious association with and the influence of matter. The subtle compound resulting from the union of soul or spirit and matter is known as the karana

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( 22 ) (causal) or karmana sarira (karmic body), and is a very fine, invisible ethereal fabric underlying the gross physical body of matter. It is this inner ethereal vestment of the soul which is the source of our troubles, for in it and through it are developed those powerful forces of evil which rob us of our exalted divine attributes and curtail our godly powers. These powers, however, are never destroyed, though their suspension is more or less complete, according to the quality and quantity of the power-robbing material actually in union with the soul. As gold always remains pure gold, notwithstanding that it may be embedded within a thick coating of mud, so is the soul never actually deprived of its natural attributes, however much it might be loaded with impurities. And as a white cloth that has been discoloured by the contact of dirt always regains its spotless purity by washing, so does the soul attain to its inborn glory the moment it is rid of the unholy material filth adhering to it on account of its evil karmas. The wise always know the soul to be distinct and separate from matter and from the modifications due to the influence of matter. As the expert eye at a glance recognises the precious gem even in its unhewn crude state so does he who is gifted with discrimination, distinguish the living divinity even when lying buried beneath deposits

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( 23 ) of accumulated filth and rubbish. He knows that the natural divine attributes of the soul are inseparable from its being, and only need careful guidance to be developed into perfection. The main thing is to acquire a desire for self-knowledge, that is to say, a longing for the direct realization of the soul as the repository of knowledge and bliss. One must evolve out a strong unshakable faith in the virtues of the soul towards that end. And the faith to be acquired should be grounded on reason as far as possible, though the word of qualified Teacher, if fully acquiesced in, would also do. Those who retire for a little while every day to meditate on the virtues of the soul directly perceive its glorious nature and speedily reach the certainty of its being different from all its passions and emotions and a perfect embodiment of knowledge and bliss.* a Meditation leads to the strengthening of faith. If the soul's being be directly perceived but once, it will create a longing for self-knowledge, since such direct perception will be replete with pure joy * Cf. "What shalt thou obtain by puzzling thy brain over dry logic; meditate on the virtues of the soul with dispassion for six months, and why will not the radiance of thy effulgent soul be reflected in the unruffled purity of thy heart? (that is, it will, of a surety, be reflected therein).--The Samayasara Kalasha, by Amrita Chandra.

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( 24 ) compared with which all that the senses of man can produce in the shape of a pleasurable feeling is absolutely worthless and insipid. This will, in its turn, induce the will to cling to its own pure self with greater tenacity, and, finally, also, in due course of time, establish it in the perfection of Knowledge and Bliss. To acquire the habit of meditation, it is necessary to court the company of men who are interested in the investigation of the soul, and of books that deal with the subject of self-realisation. But more important than these is the cultivation of the habit of thinking for one self and of applying the mind to feel the being of the soul directly by an effort of one's will. The place for meditation should be a quiet retreat--a forest, a garden, the top of a mountain, a cave, an unoccupied house, and the like--where there is no danger of interruption by women, children, or animals, and which is not exposed to danger, nor characterised by extremes of heat and cold. Such a place is necessary for sustained mental concentration and it is the mental concentration that is to be developed. As for time, any moment is suitable for meditation when the mind can be concentrated with ease. Those who are best qualified to speak on the subject, however, recommend the three periods of morning, noon and evening as the most

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( 25 ) suitable for the purpose. The best time for meditation, no doubt, is the period of two hours in the early morning before sunrise. The posture for meditation should be such as is calculated to afford steadiness and ease and to prevent lethargy and somnolence. The postures that are specially suitable for the purpose are the two which are characteristic of the images of Holy Tirthamkaras in a Jaina Temple. Of these the sitting posture is known as padmasana and the standing one as thargasana. It is not necessary to practise retention of breath or any special exercises for breathing (pranayama), all that is needed being that breath should flow not violently or spasmodically, but gently, smoothly and evenly, which it always does when the mind becomes absorbed in meditation dispassionately. The bodily distortions, known as Hatha yoga, are also to be rejected as not being necessary for meditation. It is to be remembered that meditation and not posture is what is to be practised. Hence, it is permissible to change the prescribed asana (posture) also when found to be irksome or inconvenient. Of course, the body is not to be employed in any other way while performing meditation. With respect to the part to be played by speech or language, only such text, sacred formulas, recitations or words are to be recited or uttered as are

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( 26 ) helpful in meditation. Certainly, one should not hold converse with another at the time. When reciting aloud, you should be careful not to be too loud to interfere with the meditations of others, if any happen to be in your vicinity. If whatever you read or recite is not intelligently grasped and understood by you, it means only a waste of valuable time. The mind should be withdrawn from all other pursuits and occupations and applied with determination to the acquisition of self-knowledge. But the mind is a very fickle thing; its very nature foredooms it to vacillation and unsteadiness. One should not suffer oneself to be distressed when it begins to play its pranks or goes off after undesirable things. If you remain cheerful at the time and maintain an attitude of indifference towards the subjects which it alights upon, it will soon cease to play the truant. In this way, serenity, equanimity and mental equipoise will be obtained and meditation itself will become easy. The physical body, too, is not to be ignored or neglected by the aspirant for spiritual progress. It must ever be kept attuned to vitality and health. An indolent, unwieldy, cumbersome body is an obstacle to the practising of holy communion between the mind and the soul. Neither is one afflicted with cough, fever, asthma or any other

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( 27 ) disquieting disease a lesser hindrance to the fixing of attention on the being of the soul. The object of meditation is not merely to become engaged in metaphysical speculation on the subject of the soul, but to realise the inner meaning of Life by directly feeling its pulsation in one's own self. Every movement, every tremour, every breath of this mysterious substance, must, therefore, be brought under direct personal observation and minutely analysed. But this can only be accomplished by keeping the attention fixed steadily upon the soul, exclusive of every thing else. The mind is, however, so constituted that it will attend to anything but the soul if left to itself; and even when deliberate effort is made to bring it under some sort of control, it is inclined to break loose on the very first shadow of an excuse--bodily discomfort, sensual excitement and the like--that might present itself. For this reason, the curbing of passions and desires and the mortifying and subjugation of the physical body are absolutely essential and have been prescribed as the necessary preliminary steps to meditation. It is not that intellectual ratiocination is not possible without their acquisition, though their observance is necessary if the quality of work even in that department of knowledge is not to be third rate and low, but that it is impossible to bring the elusive substance of Life under direct

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( 28 ) personal observation or to feel and be benefited by its powerful joyous vibrations, except with an unruffled, undisturbed, dispassionate mind, associated with a body that is healthy, lithe, energetic and fully under control. A well-regulated life with pure wholesome light food is, therefore, absolutely necessary, if real progress is to be made on the path." The use of meat and wine is forbidden, as they tend to disturb mental equanimity, excite the passions and coarsen those finer "threads" and nervous filaments which connect the soul with the mind, preventing thereby the turning of attention inwards in the direction of the Self. So much for the external helpful causes of meditation : the inner, internal, or mental causes consist of certain thought-forms, which have been found to be highly useful as aids to self-realisation. Of these, a very simple form of mental exercise is to iraagine a pure Effulgent Divinity, of a size slightly smaller than the physical body, a partless embodiment of pure intelligence, pure happiness and peace residing within the outward self. This is to be visualised by closing the eyes and by fixing the attention on the "inside." If it is found necessary to employ words with reference to this embodiment of pure knowledge and joy, it should only be meditated upon with the aid of such words as are descriptive of the true nature of the soul

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( 29 ) Om, Sohan, Arhun, Siddha Paramatman (God), Niranjan (pure), and the like. The following sloka will also be found to be highly helpful in this connection : eko'haM niramalaH zuddho jJAna harzana lakSaNaH zeSA me bAhirA bhAvA sarve saMyoga lakSaNaH // This is to the effect that I am one ; I am free from impurities; I am divine; I am pure; I am invested with the attributes of knowledge and perception; all else is outside me; is not me; and is the product of karmas. In this way, one should meditate on one's own self. As the power of steady meditation increases, a time comes when there is a coalescence of the subject and object of contemplation, when he who contemplates finds himself merged in the being whom he contemplates upon; the apparent is absorbed in the Real. The lover and the beloved here become one; the devotee now realises his oneness with his God. This dissolution of the personal in the Real, of the temporary in the eternal, as it might be termed, is a process so full of life and joy that those, who have experienced its thrilling ecstasy, even for the brief space of a second, have been " filled" with it. This is what is known as entering into life; and he who does so, necessarily perceives nothing

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( 30 ) but Life and Light* all round. Let the novice do this daily for 10 or 15 minutes in some quiet place, and he will soon learn what untold and unique joy the knowers of the soul have enjoyed in the past and enjoy to-day Another simple method of self-realisation is to imagine the soul as a luminous effulgent fluid filling the body, which is to be conceived as a receptacle or jar. The soul might also be visualised as the mono-syllable. (Om), of glowing splendour, located in the region of the solar or the cardiac plexus and shedding an effulgent radiance all round from its seat in the body. The following method is also recommended by the adepts as a highly efficacious one: imagine a white lotus of sixteen petals placed facing upwards in the plexus at the navel with the sixteen Hindi Vowels, 7, and the like inscribed on its sixteen petals * *Cf. "When the Light of the Soul compared with which all other lights are only so many forms of darkness, is perceived, then there is an end to nayavad, that is to say, the system of standpoints ; pramana (abstract metaphysical knowledge) has disappeared; the current methods of nomenclature of the learned-nama (naming without attaching any special significance to the name), sthapana (investing a thing with certain specific qualities in naming it) and the like--are gone, no one can say where, and there is no need to say anything else except that then the soul knows no second besides its own self."--Samaya sara Kalasha, by Amrita Chandra Suri.

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( 31 ) and the syallable as Om) or (of nga arhanta) on the pericarp ; imagine, similarly, a black lotus of eight petals in the plexus of the heart, and suspended face downwards above the white lotus in the navel ; now imagine flames of fire to emanate from the ass or it in the centre of the white lotus, burning and destroying the other one whose eight petals represent the eight principal kinds of karm which keep the soul tied to the everrevolving wheel of transmigration; imagine also these flames of fire to spread all round till they cover the whole body in the shape of a triangle, consuming the inner subtle and the outer gross bodies from within and without and reducing them to ashes. Imagine also the soul as seated in tranquillity and peace within the conflagration, while its bodies are being consumed and destroyed. Next imagine this great conflagration to subside, and to be succeeded by powerful winds which blow away the ashes of the bodies from the soul. These are followed by downpours of water which wash off all that might still be there of the ashes adhering to the self. Now, finally, imagine this purified Self as pure Divine Effulgence, free from all kinds of impurities and limitations and the object of worship and veneration on the part of all excellent beings, devas (angels) and men. The method especially recommended for self

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( 32 ) contemplation with reference to recitation of mantras (holy texts or formulae) consists in visualising in the central region of the chest of a white lotus of eight petals dotted with yellow spots, of which there are 108, distributed in a row of 6 on each of the two sides, right and left of every petal with the remaining 12 placed in the centre in the form of a ring. This will become fixed in the mind after a little practice. When this is done, the aspirant after immortality and joy should recite some mantra, e.g., Om Arhan Siddha," "Soham,' Paramatmane namah," or any other suitable one, 108 times, that is, once on each yellow spot, contemplating himself all the time as a full and perfect embodiment of knowledge and bliss and all other divine attributes. 33 66 "" 66 We shall describe only one more method here which consists in imagining the universe as a huge ocean of the Living Essence, comprising an infinity of souls, each full and perfect in itself. The yogi should imagine himself as one such perfect soul in this all-pervading ocean of Life and joy. These are some of the most helpful forms of holy contemplation which should be practised with a one-pointed mind. Should distractions occur, recourse is to be had to hymns, books, and the like, always remembering that any aid is welcome that tends to strengthen the belief in the divinity of the soul. Amongst the books to be recommended CL

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( 33 ) for the purpose are to be mentioned the Paramatma Prakasha, the Adhyatma Tarangini,the Atmabodha, and the like, all of which are highly useful for * meditation. Devotion is also a potent means for fixing the mind on one's own self. The adoration of those great souls that have risen to the Eminence of perfection in Self-knowledge and Realisation, through duly consecrated images, deemed to be invested with the Godly attributes of their divine originals, is fully calculated to inspire the worshipper's mind with confidence and courage and to impress him with the glorious nature of his own soul. Just as the likeness of a great king is exhibited and becomes the recipient of the homage and fealty of his subjects, during his absence, on certain ceremonial occasions, so are the images of those Holy Ones who have entered nirvana and who are, for that reason, not living with us now, fit and proper objects of devotion on our part. By devotion to the Holy Ones, the devotee is led to recognize his own soul as equal to Theirs, with respect to its natural properties and attributes, and soon evolves out a longing to become like Them. The above, briefly, are some of the principal means laid down for self-realization. Their aim is always one-to place the soul in concord with its own inner perfection. As a bee resorts to various

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( 34 ) flowers for its drop of honey, so should the seeker after divine bliss utilise them all, according to his own temperament and the need of the moment. The thing is to acquire a longing or passion for the Self, for no one who is not possessed by a longing for self-knowledge is likely to seek out his own soul. And, as a lover feels happy only when he is with his sweetheart, so is the true seeker after immortality and bliss constantly engaged in the contemplation of his self. It is this longing for self-realization that is the most auspicious thing in the universe; it is the harbinger of the highest perfection, the bestower of the most exalted status and the source of the most excellent and ecstatic joy. And there is this great thing about it, that it is not confined to any caste, community, or tribe of men. It is as open to a resident of Europe, or Africa, as it is to one who belongs to Bharatvarsha (India); there is no dis tinction of black or white with it; it may even be acquired by a sweeper. Not concerned with the artificial conventionalities of men, its tranquillizing and purifying influence is directly felt by the * Cf. "Whatever the mind is attracted by, faith or desire springs up within it for that thing; similarly, in whatever does one place one's faith, one's mind becomes absorbed in its contemplation."-Samadhi Sataka, by Pujyapada Swami.

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1 35 ) soul, whenever and wherever it arises in the heart. Good and evil vanish at the merest contact with the self; likes and dislikes disappear from the heart even in the din and fury of a battlefield, if one becomes conscious of his true being for as much as the fractional part of a second. No need to dwell any further on the point; self-knowledge, when it ripens into a firm belief in the existence of the soul as separate and distinct from the body, as that body is from the clothes in which it is clad, is the source of all conceivable kinds of good to him who also meditates on his own being as divine and godly in every way. The forms of meditation that have been recommended by us, it is to be noticed, are only helpful secondary causes to which the mind might cling for support when wavering or unsteady. They are not needed when the soul can feel its being directly and without recourse to any such mental device. Passing on now to a consideration of some of the accessories to self-realisation, we have seen that every soul is a Paramatman in potency, a being who is to be perfected, or a god that is to be deified. How this deification of the individual soul is to be brought about ?-is the one theme of religion. Dhyana (meditation), culminating ultimately in pure self-contemplation, is the main cause of success ; but a number of minor points have to be

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( 36 ) observed and daily brought into practice, before anything approaching steadiness in meditation can be attained. Mental and physical equilibrium is necessary as an accompanying cause to meditation, if one's efforts are intended to bear the desired kind of fruit; and attachment and aversion are the chief disturbers of that equilibrium. The beginner should, therefore, proceed by eliminating attachment and aversion from his soul. To make a real beginning, hatred is to be eliminated from one's life. How is this to be accomplished ? By love, service and mercy for all that is living, --for every form of life. One should be a well wisher of all living beings, but a hater of none. : 'Serve all, injure none,' should be the motto in life of the aspirant for perfection. This is ahimsa, the true service of our fellow-beings, the giving of a full chance to every manifestation of life to develop itself. limsa (injuring others), whether in sport, or for food, trade, and the like, only spells ruination for its author and the victim both. "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"-is the noble message of every true Christos. But if himsa, i.e., the taking of life, is cruel and calls for the exercise of mercy when practised as a sacrifice to a god or gods, should it be otherwise when indulged in for any other, especially a more selfish, purpose ? In different

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( 37 ) language, if the destruction of life is condemned as cruel when done in the name of one's god once a year or so, does it cease to be cruel when done in one's own name every day of the year ? As Tolstoy maintains "if a man's aspirations towards a righteous life are serious. . . if he earnestly and sincerely seeks a righteous life, his first act of abstinence will be abstinence from animal food, because, not to mention the excitement of the passion produced from such food, its use is plainly immoral, as it requires an act contrary to moral feeling--i.e., killing --and is called forth only by greed." The shedding of blood is condemnable alike in sport and trade, as well as for science and medicine. What right have we to destroy innocent life, so that we ourselves might live? The survival-of-the-fittest theory is a heartless doctrine. Whoever conceived it was not a scientist in truth. It ignores the most precious thing in nature, the soul, and does not take into account the undesirable consequences that result from a disregard of the great fundamental principle govering life, namely, ahimsa parmo dharmah (ahimsa is the highest religion). Is the killing of living beings necessary for food ? No, no, most emphatically no. Here is the testimony of science on the point : "To-day there is the scientific fact assured that man belongs not to the flesh-eaters but to the fruit-eaters

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( 38 ) . To-day there is the chemical fact... ...which none can gainsay that the products of the vegetable kingdom contain all that is necessary for the fullest sustenance of human life. Flesh is an unnatural food, and, therefore, tends to create functional disturbance...... Flesh-eating is one of the most seri. ous causes of the diseases that carry off ninety-nine out of every hundred people that are born." This is the opinion of Dr. Oldfield, D. C. L., M. A., M. R. C. S., L. R. C. P. Dr. G. Sims Woodhead, M.D., F. R. C.P., F. R. S., Professor of Pathology at the Cambridge University, also holds : " Meat is absolutely unnecessary for perfectly healthy existence, and the best work can be done on a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians have done a great deal in a quiet way to make possible that simpler life for which a great number of people are crying out very loudly without any definite idea of what they mean." Those also who have given up meat and taken to a vegetarian menu have nothing but praise for a non-flesh diet. "I have abstained," writes Mr. S. Saunders, in the Herald of the Golden Age, for July 1904, "I have abstained from fish, flesh and fowl for 62 years, and I have been observant of the rules of health. I have never had a headache, never been in bed a whole day from illness or suffered pain except from trivial accidents. I have led a very happy, and I hope somewhat useful life, and now in my 88th year I am as light and lissom and as capable of receiving a

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( 39 ) new idea as I was 20 years ago." This is sufficient to show that meat is not only not necessary as an article of food, but positively harmful to health as well. As for vivisection which is the perpetration of endless horrors in the name of human good and science, it is well to know that the ancients studied their anatomy and physiology direct by internal concentration. The moderns have yet to learn the greatness of their remote ancestors in these sciences, but the powers of a yogi in the healing art have always been regarded as astonishing by all who have had an opportunity of observing their manifestation. But even were it otherwise and vivisection could be regarded as the only source or means of scientific knowledge, what good would it do to purchase a day or two's respite here from death and then to pay for it with perennial suffering in the most undesirable surroundings in the life to come? No need to repeat what has already been said about the evil undesirable consequences that 66 in the hereafter from himsa; suffice it to say that if you want to study the future welfare of your soul, then you should know that the best motto in life is-love all and injure accrue none. 39 And one may see if one has eyes to see, that the Message of the Gods on the Victory-banner of

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(40 ) Truth is the joyous Gospel of Mercy and Love, preached unceasingly to all through the three simple but sweetest of words, -ahimsa parmo dharmah.

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PART II CASKET OF GEMS.

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Sri Kundkundacharya :-- 1. This Pure Soul is free from the painful activity of mind, speech and body; being possessed of nothing other than the Self, He is devoid of duality; by the absence of delusion, attachment and aversion, He is above me and mine; He is body-less; dependent on none; detached from all ; faultless; wise and not troubled by any kind of fear whatsoever. 2. That Pure Soul, unencumbered with the burden of worldly goods, is possession-less; He is not attached to the world; He is devoid of deceit, ignorance, desire and all other kinds of longings; He is free from faults, desireless, and is not burdened with anger, pride or infatuation. 3. I am neither a child nor an old man, nor the cause of the states of childhood and old age; I am not their producer; I do not instigate others to produce them, nor do I encourage any one that way; I am not of the nature of attachment; I am not of the nature of aversion; I am not of the nature of delusion; neither am I the cause of these things, nor their doer, nor abettor, nor an instigator by subsequent encouragement; I am not of 4

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( 44 ) the nature of anger, nor of pride, nor of deceit, nor do I ever become transformed into greed; I am not the author of these passions, nor an abettor in their production, nor do I encourage those who indulge in them. 4. That which is of the nature of pure knowledge, which is pure perception by nature, which is an embodiment of the most excellent bliss and which is pure energy personified that I am: thus should the wise meditate. Who never loses his own nature, who never appropriates to himself the nature of another, but who sees and knows all--that I am : thus should the wise regard themselves. 5. My soul is one without a second; it is indestructible; it is characterised by knowledge and perception ; excepting the pure natural feelings pertaining to my soul all other feelings are external to myself and produced from the association with the not-self, as is evident from their distinguishing marks. 6. I regard all living beings with evenness of mind; hatred I cherish for none; by giving up all desires I attain to samadhi (self-contemplation). 7. The sadhu (saint or monk), who having destroyed all kinds of distractions, attaches himself to his Soul,-he has devotion indeed ; how can any one else have devotion ?

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( 45 ) 8. Like the man who gives up a thing which he knows to be another's property, the wise man gives up all those tendencies and inclinations that are not natural to his soul. 9. I am not tied down to infatuation by any bonds of relationship; knowledge and perception are my only functions ; those who are the knowers of the Self regard me as separate and distinct from this delusion-producing infatuation. 10. Verily, I am one; I am pure ; I am knowledge and perception personified; and I am always unperceivable by the senses ; apart from my own self, not even a shred of anything else belongs to me. 11. With respect to my real nature, I am one, free from all impurities, devoid of selfishness, and perfect in respect of knowledge and perception ; by establishing myself in my natural state and by becoming engaged in the contemplation of my true self, I destroy passion, anger and all other such feelings and emotions.. 12. As gold that has been purified by fire never goes back to the state of ore, so does the knowing soul who has acquired wisdom by meritorious work not have to lapse into ignorance again. 13. This soul obtains the status of a Pure Soul by contemplating upon himself as such; but if

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( 46 ) he regard himself as impure, he will always remain impure. 14. Whoso has the least tinge of attachment and aversion in his soul might know all the scriptures, but he does not know his own soul. 15. The wise reflect thus: this body, and these external objects, may be cut, pierced or stolen away or they may disappear from any other cause whatever; there may even be a general destruction of the world; assuming all this to happen, still that which is not one's own can never be considered worth acquiring. 16. Establish yourself in the contemplation of your self; let the knowledge of the soul always bring you contentment and satisfaction; you shall then certainly obtain excellent happiness. 17. Because the knower is eternal, for this reason the soul is to be known; the soul is the knower himself; that knowledge abides not elsewhere except in the knower is to be known. 18. Know the soul as free from taste, colour, smell, touch and sound; know it as subtle, marked by consciousness, unknowable by any external sign or mark, and having no concern with bodily forms. 19. [My] true function consists in seeing and knowing; it does not consist in anger and other like passions and emotions; only anger is pro

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( 47 ) duced from anger; it certainly does not reside in knowledge and perception. 20. Those who have acquired the true faith know that attachment' and aversion with their progeny, anger and the like, arise in consequence of the karma-born influence of matter on the soul; I may be conscious of anger et cetera, but they are not my natural states, as I am only pure knowledge by nature. 21. That self-conscious soul which should be known through discrimination and intellect, 1 myself am that; all feelings and states other than my own self-consciousness are not me: this is to be known. Sri Pujyapada Swami : 22. The wise think that whatever is perceivable by the senses is devoid of knowledge, because it is devoid of consciousness, and the soul that knows is not perceived through the senses, then whom should one talk to? [Therefore one should become engaged in the contemplation of one's own soul in silence.] 23. That which never longs for the undesirable not-self, that which never loses hold on the splendour appertaining to its own self, and that which fully knows all things in all ways, that very self which is to be known by the self himself I am. What the Paramatman (God) is that I am; 24.

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( 48 ) what I am is also Paramatman (God); there is no difference between my nature and God's; for this reason I am the only object of worship for myself, none else ; such is the nature of things! 25. He whose mind is unruffled by waves of passion can alone kuow the nature of the soul ; none else is qualified to realize it. 26. An unruffled mind is the essential thing; an unbalanced mind is the source of trouble ; there fore you should acquire mental equipoise; there is no good in clinging to passions. 27. Distinguishing the soul from the body and speech, apply thyself to understand its nature. The absorption of the mind in'studying the requirements of the material tabernacle or flowery speech is also to be checked. 28. This world appears beautiful and desirable to those alone who know themselves to be no different from the body of flesh; for those who perceive the Self in the Atman (self), how can it appear attractive to them, and how can they have apy attachments for it? 29. It is necessary for the knower of Truth that he should not allow any thought other than that of his soul to linger for a long time in his mind; he may engage himself in vocal and bodily concerns according to his need, but he should not become absorbed in them.

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49 ) 30. So long as man confounds the self with the mind, speech or body, so long is there transmigration for him; when he knows the soul as distinct from these three things, then does he obtain freedom from the sorrows arising from repeated births and deaths. 31. By the adoration of those other Souls who have become Paramatmans (Gods), one becomes a Paramatman oneself; by merging itself in the flame of the lamp the wick also comes to share its glory. 32. By worshipping one's own Soul does one attain to Grhood, in the same way as a tree transforms itselt fire by means of friction. 33. As the soul increases in excellence, in respect of self-realization and in the enjoyment of pure joy arising from self-knowledge, so does the feeling of detachment from even such worldly pleasures as are easily obtainable develop in its mind. 34. The yogi who stands aloof from the world and engages himself in the contemplation of his soul obtains the highest joy, whatever the form of self-realization that he may resort to. Sri Padmanandi Acharya : 35. Though the soul is not characterised by the sensible qualities of touch, taste, smell and colour, it nonetheless resides in its body; though it is not visible, yet it is always to be known by the term

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"I:" why, then, dost thou persist in the error ? Destroy thine delusions with the Teacher's Word, and turning thy senses inwards perceive thy true self with thy mind. 36. Whose mere thought vivifies the faculty of knowledge, destroys the darkness of ignorance and at once brings into manifestation a sense of freedom from all kinds of obligations and undertakings, together with a feeling of pure joy,--that divinity, the Living Soul, dwells in this very body; seek him there ; why are you running to other places in search of him ? 37. This supremely worshipful Light remains unchanged even when under the influence of anger and other kinds of karmas, as the sky remains unchanged in the midst of threatening clouds. 38. This very soul is the highest form of knowledge or truth; it is the one excellent form of belief; it is itself right action too ; and it is itself true asceticism. 39. This very soul is the only being to be worshipped ; it is the only auspicious object; the most excellent as well it is; and it is the only refuge for good men. 40. The illuminator of the whole of the literary sea, comprised in divine knowledge, the soul is the most precious gem; of all lovely things in the world, it is the loveliest.

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( 51 ) 41. For him whose heart is afflicted with the heat of the troubles and trials of the world, the soul is a water-palace, cooling and refreshing like ice. 42. He who is of the nature of pure intelligence, that I am without a doubt : whoso is free from this kind of musing even, is himself the Temple of the purest Bliss, unalloved by even a thought. 43. It is not in the bondage of its karmas at the same time as it is ; it is not robbed of its purity, though rendered impure by the tinge of love and hatred; it is independent of the body, even when it is seen to be depending on it, -such is the wonderful nature of the soul ! 44. Meditation on pure Paramatman (God) is the cause of the obtainment of the status of pure Paramatman ; impure thoughts lead to impure states, as golden ornaments are made from gold, and iron things from iron. 45. Disease causes affliction to the body, but not to the soul ; just as fire might destroy a house, but not the space it occupies. 46. Self-knowledge is an excellent and wonderful tirtha place of pilgrimage); O wisemen, you should bathe there; the internal impurity which is not got rid of by bathing at 10 million other holy places is removed by bathing at this holy place. 47. That which is not moved by the gusts

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( 52 ) of passion, and in which the pure flame of knowledge is burning steadily, cannot such a living lamp destroy ignorance and shine in the world? -Of a surety it can! 48. That intellect which, leaving its family house of pure intelligence incarnate, wanders about in the wilderness of scriptural text and is worried much, cannot be likened to a chaste wife : it is like a harlot. 49. He whose mind remains absorbed in his own intelligent self is the best of Saints; he perceives every soul as intelligence incarnate like himself. 3 50. Let merit and demerit produce their various effects; what have I, who am endowed with the utmost purity of nature, to do with them? Just as a mirror is not affected by the distortions of the face before it, so am I only a knower and perceiver. 51. I, even 1, am intelligence incarnate; embodied intelligence, that I am. I am only dependent on my own Self; on no other object do I depend, since they are all unintelligent; love is productive of good only when it is for those who are one's equal in nature. 52. That which knows is also that which perceives; it never loses its nature: that I, too, am; I am nothing else; this is my essential nature.

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53) Whatever anger and such other passions that are foreign to my nature are found in me, these are the results of good and bad karmas: I regard this to be the quintessence of the Sacred Word. Sri Devasena Acharya--: 53. That which is perception and knowledge incarnate, which possesses the power to fill countless points of space, which is not tinged with colour and other sensible qualities and is of the size of its body, that is to be known as soul. 54. Avoiding emotional states, e.g., attachment and aversion as well as physical and mental distractions, and overcoming all shortcomings, meditate on thy soul with a one-pointed mind. 55. He who is troubled neither with anger, nor pride, nor greed nor deceit; who has no changing mental states to impart their various tints to his being; and who is above birth, old age and death, that pure Soul I, too, am: thus has it been taught. 56. He who is not encumbered with the properties of touch, taste, colour, smell and sound, and who is characterised by pure Intelligence, that pure divinity I am thus has it been taught. 57. The fool is constantly afflicted through his senses, experiencing now pleasure, now pain: this is the fate of him who has abandoned himself

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( 54 ) to his passions and delusions; the wise act differently from this. 58. He who regards all the souls of the three worlds as like himself, that mentally balanced saint experiences neither pleasure nor pain. 59. He whose mental waters are not agitated with likes and dislikes, such a one alone perceives his soul : those who behave contrary to this cannot perceive it. 60. As a precious gern, lying at the bottom of a pond, can be seen when its waters are not disturbed, in the same way the pure soul can be perceived on the quiescence of the agitation of the mental sea. 61. He who has not chained the run away elephant of his mind with the rope of wisdom, is reborn again and again, experiencing much pain. 62. He alone whose passions have become quiescent is qualified to control his mind; by the cessation of the activity of mind, the soul attains to the status of God. 63. On the depopulation of the mansion of mind, on the winding up of the concerns of the senses, and on the coming into view of the natural attributes of the ego, does the soul become transformed into God. 64. I am bliss incarnate; I am one; I am a pure soul; I am perfect iu respect of knowledge

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55 ) and perception; other characteristics are all modifications brought about by the instrumentality of karmas. Sri Amrita Chandra Acharya :* 65. The soul is devoid of extraneous affections; it is full and perfect in its virtues; devoid of beginning and end, it is one pure existence that is not touched by passions and affections ;the discriminative faculty which perceives this pure truth arises in all the glory of the rising sun. 66. Replete with the sense of the soul's inborn delight in every way, I perceive my being myself this [sense-deluding] infatuation is no relation of mine I am like an occan of pure consciousness. ; 67. : This [diversely-tinted] colour and these loves and hatreds and the like, are all different from the soul inspired with this thought, when one turns one's gaze to one's own within," one truly perceives none of them; what is perceived "inside" is only the Supreme Self. 68. This discrimination or true perception of the real nature of things is acquired with great difficulty, after carefully testing and proving knowledge to be the function of a conscious entity or being, and infatuation to be the product of an unconscious thing; O good 66

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( 56 ) people ! detach yourselves from everything else and abandon yourselves to the joyous pulsations of your own self-conscious souls. 69. One should seek only that status which is not the abode of any kind of distresses, and compared with which all other positions of dignity are not worth looking at. 70. The one natural state of the intelligent soul is consciousness; all other states, such as attachment and the like, pertain to something else ; for this reason, only consciousness is to be developed and all other states and feelings to be avoided. 71. Not burdened with extraneous modifications, abiding firmly in the soul, constituting a thing in itself in nature, devoid of the spirit of grasping and rejecting, this pure intelligence is seated in its own identity (.e., without being transformed into something else ); having neither beginning, nor end, nor middle, shining in all its natural increasing splendour, and with pure, perfect knowledge as its glory, the Essence of Life is installed as the rising sun ( in its own wonderful nature ). 72. When with all the powers of one's being concentratrd on the self, the pure self is perceived in one's own self, then all that had to be given up is given up, and all that had to be acquired,

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( 57 ) acquired [ .e., then there is nothing left to be given up, and nothing to be acquired ]. 73. Victory to this Effulgence of pure Intelligence, in the splendour of whose allembracing knowledge the three worlds appear as a small object floating in an ocean, who, free from all kinds of affections, always retains his own nature, who having drunk to his satisfaction at the jogous stream of his own glory, is engaged in the enjoyment of undying bliss and who is like one blaze of supreme, unwavering brilliance. Sri Amitgati Acharya : 74. O my divine Soul! I have destroyed my sense of attachment for everything else but thee; may my mind be always at equilibrium, in pleasure and pain, among friends and foes, in gain and in loss, at home and abroad. 75. May that God of gods be enshrined in my heart who is the object of contemplation on the part of assemblies of ascetic-saints, who is adored by devas and kings of men, and whose glory is sung in the Vedas, Puranas and Scriptures. 76. He whose nature consists in knowledge and perception, who is blissfulness itself, who is free from all kinds of worldly imperfections, who is to be known by means of pure self-contemplation, and who is regarded as the Greatest

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( 58 ) Soul (Paramatman),--may such a God of gods be enshrined in my heart. 77. He whose purity cannot be defiled by the filth of karmas, who is not affected by masses of darkness like the sun, who is sinless, eternal, one (with respect to His virtues) and many (with respect to the number of souls in whom those virtues have been manifested), --in such a Supreme Lord (my own Soul) I take refuge. 78. By seeing whom the whole universe is clearly and distinctly seen, who is Pure, Blissful and All-Tranquillity, who is without a beginning and without an end-in such a Lord (my own pure Soul) I take refuge. 79. Like the wild fire that burns up a whole forest of trees, who has, in this manner, annihilated desire, pride, delusion, anguish, sleep, fear, sorrow and anxiety, in such a Supreme Spirit (my own Soul) I take refuge. 80. My Soul is ever. One, Eternal, Pure and All-knowing in its essence; all other conditions are not mine; they are not eternal, but the product of specific karmas (actions). 81. How can he, who is not the same as the body, be related to his son, wife or friends (whose relationship can only be traced through the body)? If the skin be removed from the body, where can the pores remain ?

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(59 ) 82. Destroy the meshes of doubt that would keep thee entangled in samsara (the transmigratory condition); perceive thy soul as separate from the bodily self, and give thy self up to the contemplation of Divinity. 83. The self-conscious soul is self-manifesting by nature, beyond the senses, faultless and nothing but pure self-dependent Intelligence. 84. The adepts in yoga perceive the soul as separate from the subtle inner body of karmas as well as from the outer gross body (no-karma), as devoid of sensible qualities, colour, taste, smell and touch, as unborn and indestructible, as inseparable from its attributes and as having no connection with the not-self substances and states. 85. Whatever is perceived or known through the senses, is all extraneous to the soul, destructible and unconscious. 86. Why should not the consciousness which reveals an object reveal itself also ? Why should not that which perceives the light perceive (its source) the lamp ? 87. He is unbound, detached from all, perfect, fully divine, unborn, blissful; notwithstanding these different terms by which He may be described, the Pure Sbul has no differences in Himself. 88. This inner Light that is unlike every thing else, unperishing and free from disease

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( 60 ) and other undesirable conditions, is the Supreme Soul; everything else besides this Essence is the source of trouble and pain. 89. That which remaining unperceived, all else remains dark, and which being perceived all things become revealed, so much so that the Light within shines even when the world is enshrouded in darkness, that is the Light of Intelligence of the Supreme Soul; by the light of Intelligence verily all things always scintillate in their true nature. 90. All objects naturally exist in their own natures; one object cannot change the nature of another object; the unconscious never becomes the conscious; the conscious never ceases to be conscious; in this way, the soul, too, like space, always remains pure, devoid of sensible qualities and imperishable, even when it exists in association with other things. Sri Padma Prabha Maladhari Deva :-- 91. The Realm of inborn Wisdom and in every part (that is, wholly) a light-like Effulgence of Intelligence, knowing my soul as such, I become freed from doubt. 92. I distinctly perceive myself in that state which is eternally pure, which is a mine of spiritual blessings and supreme, and which is not the abode of any kinds of troubles.

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( 61 ) 93. May that pure soul quickly protect me which is like an axe for the destruction of the forest of sin, which is above evil deeds, which is not liable to be transformed into anything else, which has drunk up the sea of attachment, which is filled with the spirit of detachment from the world, which is immune from the diverse kinds of changes (or affections) and which is like an ocean of true happiness. 94. I constantly adore that pure soul with mental equanimity which is free from pain, which is not liable to fall from its high status, which is immune from birth, death and disease, and which is the abiding place of the nectar of pure inborn joy. 95. Apart from the contemplation of one's own soul, all other thoughts are the causes of the dreaded transmigration; the kind of mental gymnastics which distinguishes between meditation and the object of meditation, is only seemingly attractive: knowing this, the wise man becomes engaged in the contemplation of his supreme soul alone, and is easily immersed in the ocean of the nectar of the most excellent joy, that is the innermost nature of the soul-substance. 96. Here and there a soul, whose accumulated merit is beginning to bear fruit, evolves out a longing to give up even the desire for doing good, and quaffing the nectar of its own pure inborn joy t

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( 62 ) which is not produced by any other object, which is beyond the pairs of opposites (heat and cold ; pleasure and pain; and the like), which nothing can mar or disturb, and which is unlike anything else and eternal, --quaffing such a nectar, be obtains the flaw-lens, matchless, priceless jewel that is known to gratify every wish of its possessor. . 97. I am Atman (spirit or soul), seeking my own happiness ; for this reason, I perceive again and again my own unborn, immortal soul by and through my own soul. 98. Destroying the force of desire which has been transforming itself into love and hatred throughout the unbroken chain of successive lives in the past, and establishing myself firmly in the delightful essence of Life by connecting my mind with It, through pure self-contemplation, and having acquired, at the feet of the venerable preceptor, the Faith that is pure and the bestower of joy, I merge myself in the Paramatman of the most supremely excellent form, breaking, at the same time, with the aid of Right Knowledge, through the allu rements of infatuation. 99. He whose interior is illuminated with the Light of wisdom, arising from the annibilation of all those external and internal longings of which the terrible meshes of transmigration are woven, and from the constant recollection of the tranquil on

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( 63 ) lity-producing splendour of his Effulgent Soul, such a worshipful one perceives something great on the destruction of his infatuations. Sri Shubhachandra Acharya : - 100. That is meditation, that is science, that the essence of meditation by whose auspicious instrumentality ignorance is destroyed and the mind led firmly to believe in the divinity of the soul. 101. He who longs to embrace the whole range of wisdom, that fortunate being destroys the enemy, constituted by his attachments, with the weapon of dispassion. 102. He alone whose mind is not deluded by intelligent and unintelligent objects as well as by desirable and undesirable things, attains to mental equanimity. 103. He who destroys the clouds of attachments with the piercing rays of dispassion, that Conquerer of the senses enjoys the divinity of Godhood in his own being. 104. The happiness enjoyed by those who regard things with dispassion, is equal to all sovereignty over the Empire of Wisdom : I believe it to be so. 105. When this atman (soul) believes himself to be different from all other substances as well as from their modifications, that very moment he attains to dispassion.

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( 64 ) 106. The knower of tattvas (ultimates of knowledge) should reflect thus : I am neither an angel, nor an animal, nor a man, nor one doomed to suffer in hell; but I am a pure Soul; all these conditions arise from the energy of karmas: my being consists purely in infinite power, knowledge, perception and joy; why should I not uproot this poisonous tree of karma that stands in my way, root and branches to-day? I shall now (to-day) display my power and instal myself in the Temple of Joy, that is, my Soul, and, giving up desire for all other objects, remain firmly seated in my own being; this very day I ought to destroy the eternal noose that my foe, ignorance, has thrown round my neck, and realize the real nature of my soul. 107. Because the Paramatman (God) is a reality and occupies space, He is sakara (having a form); because He is rid of the body that is murtika (endowed with sensible qualities), He is nirakara (having no form); He is devoid of action; He is the great imperishable One; He is not subject to change; He is immovable ; He is eternal; He is the abode of bliss. As the knower of the entire universe, He is all-pervading. He is not to be known by the ignorant; He is ever resplendent; He has nothing left to achieve or attain; He is auspicious, serene, unencum

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( 65 ) bered with any material bodies, and is beyond the senses; He is the fire that destroys the painful tree of successive births and deaths; He is pure, absolutely untouched by the taint of karma, and enthroned in the kingdom of Wisdom. He is surrounded by the doubly resplendent halo of glory, that is, like a reflected light in a clear mirror; He is, as it were, an Intelligent Flame in form; and He is the most powerful, perfect and ancient. He is not known by any manner of ratiocination about the outer self, but is instantly realized by inner concentration: the above is the description of the attributes of Paramatman (God). no 108. Without knowing whose nature belief in the divinity of one's own soul can be firmly established in the mind, and by knowing whom the ascetics have obtained the glory pertaining to His status, that, verily, is the Paramatman or Pure Soul. 109. He who cannot be described by words; who being beyond the reach of the senses is impersonal; who is infinite, who is not burdened with speech; who is unborn, immune from transmigration, and not assailable by doubt (or desire), meditate on such a God. 110. Thus meditating constantly on the attributes of Paramatman, the yogi attains to the identity of nature with Him; then there is an

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( 66 ) end to the distinction between the attainer and what is to be attained. 111. He who is known as Excellently Pure, Worshipful, Supreme Effulgence and Ancientthat very divinity I am; for this reason, I perceive that imperishable God in my own Soul. 112. This Soul is to be realized by means of the Soul in the Soul itself; distressing oneself in any other way for its attainment, is of no use. "That I am; that I am."-thus thinking, one instals oneself in the Soul by the strengthening of this belief. 113. 114. He whose interior has been purified from the impurities of loves and hatreds, understands himself well; none can know himself by any other means. 115. The wise knows that whatever comes through the senses, is different from his own self; [he muses thus:] "My being is, in reality, full of joy and is the inner Light of Intelligence embodied." 116. Dwelling upon the innumerable virtues of a Pure Soul, one by one, and then meditating upon his own self as a Pure Soul, at the same time withdrawing allegiance from all other [supposed] protectors, the wise becomes one in nature with a Pure Soul (God).

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( 67 } Additional Quotations. 117. Giving up the auspicious and inauspicious forms of infatuations connected with the body, speech and mind, and fixing his attention on his soul, the Yogi attains the state of Jivan-mukti (Liberation while still embodied in flesh), which knows nothing of metaphysical distinctions, which is untouched by evil and which is associated with the four infinities, i.e., with limitless perception, limitless knowledge, limitless happiness and limitless power, by destroying his sins, like fire that burns up a whole forest.-Sri Padmaprabha Maladhari. 118. Alone does the soul suffer the pleasant or unpleasant consequences of his actions; alone does be leave one body to re-appear in another. Subhachandra. 119. Led by powerful karmas, the soul undergoes transmigration alone; led by intense infatuations, it is deprived of its inborn joy and suffers the pleasant or painful consequences of its deeds, likewise, alone and by itself; and alone also it is that it obtains the knowledge of its own self from a preceptor, and becomes established in it.- Sri Padmaprabha Maladhari. 120. "That dharma (merit) increases at the instance of gods; therefore, everything should be offered to them: "-one should not indulge in 6

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( 68 ) himsa, led by such a foolish belief.--Subhachandrachieua. 121. Neither asceticism, nor study, nor longor short-term vows, nor anything else, can confer the joy and blessedness which ahimsa alone consers on the soul ; this ahimsa is a protector, like a mother, a source of delight like a wife, and a true guide, like the goddess Saraswati. O, brother ! grant thou the gift of life to all living beings ; love them in a praise worthy manner, regard thou all the moving and unmoving forms of life as thou regardest thyself. The greatness and blessings that accrue to the merciful cannot be fully described even by Saraswati. He who lovingly grants the gift of life to living beings, what form of asceticism is there which that Great soul can be said not to have performed, and what charity that he did not give ? As the principle of mercy takes root in the hearts of men, the Goddess of Wisdom begins to display Her Supreme affection for them. Know that the seed of whatever affliction, grief and fear that overtake living beings in the universe, and of illluck and all other misfortunes, is produced by himsa.-Subhachandracharya.

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