Moment to Speak

Fate is nothing other than a name for our past actions of the earlier state. It can be kept at a safe distance by extricating oneself from one's past fetters by Self-effort, Self-knowledge, Self-realisation, Satsanga , or association with sages, or virtuous people, and study of sacred scriptures, proclaims Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.1-8). Swami Sivananda, in his commentary on Yoga-Vasistha, highlights that all beings strive for liberation, or absolute freedom from phenomenal entrapment. He says that Shanti (quiescence of mind), Santosha (contentment), Satsanga (association with sages, or virtuous people) and Vichara (Self-enquiry) are the four sentinels who guard the gates of Moksha , or liberation. If one makes friendship with them, one will easily enter the kingdom of Moksha . Even if one keeps company with one of them, he will surely introduce you to his other three companions. The student should have an unshakable conviction that Brahman is the only Reality, that everything is Bra...

True knowledge is Self-knowledge. Self, or Atman , is independent, unattached, eternal, infinite, imperishable, uncaused, and not limited by limited adjuncts of space, time and causation. In that Self-knowledge sets enabling universal principles to reason, understand, be aware, be conscious and realise one's Atman , or true Self, an inseparable essence of Brahman , or Cosmic Self. True knowledge is to know respectfully what to ask, what to understand, what is to speak, what is to listen to, what is to introspect, what is to contemplate and what is to meditate upon (Yoga-Vasistha, 2.12.1). It is to orient the mind by exercising to achieve a state of tranquillity, calmness and quiescence as a primal goal seeking to realise Atman as true knowledge. It implies a deep, discerning, and often scenic, undisturbed quietude, a lack of agitation, noise, or motion, serene and lasting. This serene state enables one to delve deeper into the essence of existence, fostering an environment where w...

Sri Rama in Yoga-Vasistha (1.14.1), through his discourses with Sage Vasistha, dwells on the impermanence of human life processes. He says, "Human life is as fragile as a drop of water trembling on the tip of a leaf. It departs from the body unexpectedly, like a raving madman breaking loose from imprisonment." Yoga-Vasistha speaks of the impermanence of existence and the uncertainty of death. It says life is not guaranteed, as it is so delicate, like a dewdrop that can fall at any moment, urging the seeker not to waste time on worldly attachments but to pursue spiritual knowledge. In that context, Yoga-Vasistha urges for "true living", a living that is towards wholesomeness and completeness and in consonance with Self-living and Self-pathways. It may be living the life of transcendental tranquillity, quiescence, detachment, equanimity, forbearance and Jivanmukta, or living liberation.. The pathways are Self-knowledge, Self-consciousness, or Self-awareness, or Self-r...

He who pursues the path of spiritual ignorance and who uses clever techniques to master the illusions of the world, mistaking the pursuit of worldly pleasures or psychic powers for true happiness, Yoga-Vasistha (5.89.15) highlights, they are in temporal welfare, as they are blind to the salvation of Atman , or Self; no matter how advanced their techniques may appear to be, they are against the course of the holy sages and saints. In reality, they are not for Atmajnana , or Self-knowledge, and Ātmabodha , or Self-awareness. They, in spite of their mastery and fleeting skills of worldly experience of senses, remain immersed in Avidya , or ignorance. Those of the former are truly self-realised, contented, and maintain virtues of detachment, equanimity and forbearance.  They denote the realisation that one's true nature is the witness-conscious Atman , or Self, of Purusha , the eternal, imperishable and fundamentally one with Paramatma , or Brahman , or the Absolute Existence. It is di...

Ego, or Ahamkara , is a form of bondage to the body-mind complex that generates desires, attachment and possession to an insatiable level. It forges a knot of bondages as a separate personality, although transient, in that complex. Bondages, desires, attachments and possessions rooted in separateness are concubines of ego. It remains in two states of consciousness, Jagrat , or waking, and Svapna , or dreaming, to savour the sensual pleasures in the phenomenal dimension of the world. It is interwoven with ignorance, or Avidya . They complement each other. When Avidya rules, the ego of the self is not far behind. Vidya , or knowledge, perspicaciously discriminates between real and unreal, or eternal and ephemeral. It activates Self-enquiry to know 'who am I' for Self-knowledge and Self-realisation. Avidya strives to gloss over all these through the navigation of psycho-physical apparatus into the state of ignorance. Ego is the supreme enemy of Self, or Atman . It remains in its...

Vivarta vada , or apparent transformation, of Advaita Vedantic philosophy states that the Jagat , or the world, is Maya , an illusory manifestation of Brahman , or the Supreme Self, and not a real transformation. "brahma satyaṃ jaganmithyā jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ. anena vedyaṃ sacchāstramiti vedāntaḍiṇḍimaḥ" (Brahma Jnānavali Māla, verse 20) , a tersely phrased statement by Adi Shankaracharya. It stands for Brahman , or Supreme Self, the only Absolute Existence, behind all existence, which is not dependent on anything else. However, the world is an illusion, or an apparent reality; its existence is dependent on Brahman , and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and Jivatma , or the individual self. This means Supreme Consciousness is the Ultimate Reality; the material world is transient. Avidya , or ignorance, and Maya , or the illusion, veil Brahman and project the illusory world, creating the sensual perception of multiplicity, diversity, and duality from a ...