DOCSLIB.ORG

The Ascent to Moksha

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Ascent to Moksha THE ASCENT TO MOKSHA SWAMI KRISHNANANDA The Divine Life Society Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India Website: www.swami-krishnananda.org CONTENTS Publisher's Note Discourse 1: The Art of Receiving Knowledge Discourse 2: Understanding and Exceeding Our Limitations Discourse 3: Our Place in the Cosmos Discourse 4: Self-Restraint is Self-Recognition Discourse 5: The Essence of Spiritual Life Discourse 6: Self-Control is the Essential Nature of Consciousness Discourse 7: The Essence and Importance of Morality in Sadhana Discourse 8: Bringing Consciousness to Rest in Meditation Discourse 9: The Creation of Pleasure and Pain Discourse 10: Satisfaction is a State of Consciousness Discourse 11: The Definition and Tests of Reality Discourse 12: Defining the Object of Meditation Discourse 13: Our Preparation for Meditation Discourse 14: The Importance of Having Clarity of Our Ideal Discourse 15: Evolving of Personality Through the Practice of Meditation Discourse 16: Entering the Realm of Impersonal Forces Discourse 17: The True Relation of Subject and Object Discourse 18: The Stages of Spiritual Yoga or Meditation PUBLISHER'S NOTE This is a series of discourses that Swamiji gave in the ashram's Bhajan Hall from April to September 1972. It is the first series that was recorded on tape. Some of these discourses were uploaded as individual talks, but now they have been put together into a single series. Discourse 1 THE ART OF RECEIVING KNOWLEDGE In the art of the reception of knowledge, we have to be prepared in the same manner as any good artist would equip himself or herself for the execution of the task. We are at the feet of Masters or Gurus, we are in institutions and in holy places for the reception of higher knowledge, and this process of the receiving of knowledge is an art which demands of the seeker an uncanny preparation and a suitable disposition of the mind. It is not possible to commence a work of art with either an intellectual or an emotional prejudice. Such an efficient work cannot be commenced when we are intensely tired, fatigued, or exhausted either physically or mentally, or when we are in a very exasperated mood. When we are not prepared to receive anything from outside, when the system is in an intense state of ebullition and activity, the function of art cannot be successful, nor can knowledge be received in such a condition. The precondition of the reception of knowledge is the capacity to receive. What is important is not the nature of knowledge that comes to us, but the state in which we are and the condition of the entry of knowledge into our personality. Under given conditions, we can either receive knowledge or repel it. Nature is abundant, full of resources, never poverty stricken at any time; still, with all this richness and plenitude of nature we can intensely suffer pangs and agonies of life when we cannot receive this abundance into ourselves. Knowledge is one aspect of the universal nature, and when it tries to gain entry into ourselves we have to be prepared to properly receive it. Most students of spiritual life who practise yoga are too enthusiastic, beyond the permissible limit. Overenthusiasm is not a virtue because anything that is beyond its limits is likely to come back to its original state, and when the heat subsides there will be no enthusiasm and no energy to move forward. The prejudice of the emotion and the intellect has to be avoided very carefully when we are eager to receive the knowledge that can save us from the pains of life. There is a vast difference between reception of knowledge in the schools and colleges of arts and science in the world, and the reception of knowledge in the school of life. We are likely to commit the error of entertaining the notion that we can gain the higher knowledge of life in the same way as we can learn the arts and sciences in institutions such as colleges and universities. There is a vast difference, a gulf of difference between the two processes. An inability to understand the difference between the two types of knowledge reduces even an enthusiastic seeker of Truth to a failure in life. It is not learning or information that we are trying to gather in holy places. It is not knowledge in the ordinary sense of the term. What is the distinction between the knowledge we are familiar with, and the saving knowledge for which we are cursing, for the sake of which we are at the feet of Masters, and in search of which we are hunting institutions in the world? What is the difference? It is all the difference conceivable. Learning does not save us, though it can help us in a limited purpose. We can be in various kinds of difficulties. There are degrees of problems of life, and it is only the outer crust of the difficulties of life that can be encountered by what we call learning or education in the modern sense of the term. But we have deeper problems that we can think of in times of leisure and satisfaction. We can be in pain from which no one can save us, and such catastrophes can befall us when it will look as if the whole world is of no utility to us. At that time it is that the higher knowledge will come to our aid. When the ground under our feet seems to give way, when the whole of life seems to lose meaning for us, when we do not know whether we are to live or to die – when we are face to face with such conditions, learning does not help us because learning will vanish like a wisp of wind when such excruciating pains of the spirit come and engulf us. We should not, therefore, commit the mistake of thinking that we can gain that wisdom of life which we can use in times of utter desolateness by giving mere lip sympathy to the benefits of life. Knowledge, in the true sense of the term – the knowledge which we are really after and which brings our mind to a permanent state of composure, giving it the final touch of satisfaction – can be had only if we pay the price for it. The price for this knowledge is high enough. All our time mostly goes in the preparation for the reception of this knowledge. Most of our efforts are in the direction of equipping ourselves for receiving this august guest, the illumination of knowledge, into our personal life. Just as when a distinguished guest comes to our house we are eager to make the place clean, sweep the cobwebs, dust the floor, decorate the seats, and so on, a sort of preparation is demanded of us for the reception of the higher illumination, the knowledge that we are seeking. It should be clear to us at the very outset that knowledge is not very much interested in us. We are interested in it. It is not too eager to thrust itself into us. It is we that cry for it from birth to death, and in order to receive it, we may have to prepare the ground in a proper manner. The cobwebs within us are the prejudices of personality, which hardly die in any individual. It is easy to imagine that we are well off in culture and the learning of the spirit. As long as we are contented with the achievements that we have made in life, knowledge is far off from us. A self-contented person is contented even with knowledge. That is the meaning of contentment. So if we are already filled, we cannot be filled again with something else: Empty thyself, and then only I can fill thee, not before that. This emptying of oneself is a very hard job. There have been honest seekers, sannyasins even, monks, sadhakas, brahmacharins, who have abandoned homestead and chattel and come in search of Truth; they have spent years in lonely places, secluded spots, and after maybe ten years, twenty years, fifty years of apparent effort in what they thought was the proper direction, dissatisfaction came down upon their heads like a dark cloud. If we study the lives of sadhakas, even honest seekers who are really enthusiastic about realising Truth, it would be really a psychological history of specific personalities. It is seen that in the end, years of effort appear to go in vain because while the effort was there, it was not properly directed. The enthusiasm was there, but the intelligence was lacking. Our intelligence should go together with our emotional upsurge. It is not enough if we merely weep and cry. We have also to understand. It is true that we have to weep. There are occasions when weeping is essential, but that is not the only thing that we are called upon to do. Our agony of the spirit, which is an emotional upsurge, has to be simultaneously illumined with the light of understanding. This is what is called the wisdom of life, quite different from what we call learning, education, or holding a degree. Wisdom is different from learning. There is an old saying: Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It will not come so quickly, because the prerequisites for the reception of this wisdom are awfully lacking in the majority of persons. The greatest defect in all of us is inadequate understanding of the circumstances in which we are placed. We may be good people who are honestly seeking redress from pains of every kind, and we may have spent years leading a holy and pure life.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Prashna Upanishad
    PRASHNA UPANISHAD Translated and interpreted by V.D.N.Rao, former General Manager, India Trade Promotion Organisation, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi now at Chennai 1 Other scripts by the same Author Essence of Puranas: Maha Bhagavata, Vishnu, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Narada, Padma, Shiva, Linga, Skanda, Markandeya, Devi Bhagavata, Brahma, Brahma Vaivarta, Brahmanda, Agni, Bhavishya, Nilamata, Shri Kamakshi Vilasa Dwadasha Divya Sahasranaama: a) Devi Chaturdha Sahasra naama: Lakshmi, Lalitha, Saraswati, Gayatri b) Chaturvidha Shiva Sahasra naama: Linga-Shiva-Brahma Puranas and Maha Bharata c) Trividha Vishnu and Yugala Radha Krishna Sahasra Naama from Padma-Skanda-Narada Puranas and Maha Bharata Stotra Kavacha-A Shield of Prayers Purana Saraamsha Select Stories from Puranas Essence Dharma Sindhu Essence of Shiva Sahasra Lingarchana Essence of Amarnath Yatra Essence of Paraashara Smriti Essence of Pradhana Tirthas Essence Brahma Sutras Essence of Dharma Bindu Essence of Upanishads: Aitareya, Brihadaaranyaka, Chhandogya, Katha, Isha,Taittiriya, Mundaka and Prashna [Note: All the above works released by kamakoti.org/news] 2 ESSENCE OF PRASHNA UPANISHAD Contents Page Preface 4 Sukesha, Bharadwaja, Satyakaama, Kaushalya, approach Pippalaada about Brahman 4 The First question: Creation of Universe and the sustaning power of Existence 5 Surya Deva as the bestower of Praana and Life 5 Two courses destined for Beings after death-the Southern and Northern paths 5 The Second Question: Prime supports of Life
    [Show full text]
  • Upanishad Vahinis
    Glossary This glossary contains Sanskrit words, people, places, and literature that appear in Upanishad Vahini. Some Sanskrit words have made their way into English and appear in English dictionaries. A few of them are used without definition in the text, but they are defined in this glossary. Among them areAtma , dharma, guru, karma, yogas, and yogi. The text uses standard spellings for Sanskrit, and this glossary provides the same spellings. But some of the Sanskrit compounds have been hyphenated between their constituent words to aid those who want to analyze the meanings of individual words. When compound words are broken, individual words are given. Aagama. That which has come or originated. The primeval source of knowledge. A name for Vedas. aapo-jyoti. Splendour of water. abhasa. Appearance, superimposition of false over real. a-bhaya. Fearlessness. a-chetana. Non-intelligent, unconscious, inert, senseless. a-dharma. Evil, unjustice. adhyasa. Superimposition. adi-atma. Pertaining to the individual soul, spirit, or manifestation of supreme Brahman. adi-atmic. Pertaining to adi-atma. adi-bhauthika. Pertaining to the physical or material world; the fine spiritual aspect of material objects. adi-daivika. Pertaining to divinity or fate, e.g. natural disasters. aditya. Sun. Aditya. Son of Aditi; there were twelve of them, one of them being Surya, the sun, so Surya is sometimes called Aditya. a-dwaitha. Nondualism or monism, the Vedantic doctrine that everything is God. a-dwaithic. Of or pertaining to a-dwaitha. agni. Fire element. Agni. God of fire. Agni-Brahmana. Another word for the Section on horse sacrifice. agnihotra. Ritual of offering oblations in the holy fireplace.
    [Show full text]
  • Tathagata-Garbha Sutra
    Tathagata-garbha Sutra (Tripitaka No. 0666) Translated during the East-JIN Dynasty by Tripitaka Master Buddhabhadra from India Thus I heard one time: The Bhagavan was staying on Grdhra-kuta near Raja-grha in the lecture hall of a many-tiered pavilion built of fragrant sandalwood. He had attained buddhahood ten years previously and was accompanied by an assembly of hundred thousands of great bhikshus and a throng of bodhisattvas and great beings sixty times the number of sands in the Ganga. All had perfected their zeal and had formerly made offerings to hundred thousands of myriad legions of Buddhas. All could turn the Irreversible Dharma Wheel. If a being were to hear their names, he would become irreversible in the unsurpassed path. Their names were Bodhisattva Dharma-mati, Bodhisattva Simha-mati, Bodhisattva Vajra-mati, Bodhisattva Harmoniously Minded, bodhisattva Shri-mati, Bodhisattva Candra- prabha, Bodhisattva Ratna-prabha, Bodhisattva Purna-candra, Bodhisattva Vikrama, Bodhisattva Ananta-vikramin, Bodhisattva Trailokya-vikramin, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva Maha-sthama-prapta, Bodhisattva Gandha-hastin, Bodhisattva Sugandha, Bodhisattva Surpassing Sublime Fragrance, Bodhisattva Supreme matrix, Bodhisattva Surya-garbha, Bodhisattva Ensign Adornment, Bodhisattva Great Arrayed Banner, Bodhisattva Vimala-ketu, Bodhisattva Boundless Light, Bodhisattva Light Giver, Bodhisattva Vimala-prabha, Bodhisattva Pramudita-raja, Bodhisattva Sada-pramudita, Bodhisattva Ratna-pani, Bodhisattva Akasha-garbha, Bodhisattva King of the Light
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting the UPANISHADS
    Interpreting the UPANISHADS ANANDA WOOD Modified version 2003 Copyright 1996 by Ananda Wood Published by: Ananda Wood 1A Ashoka 3 Naylor Road Pune 411 001 India Phone (020) 612 0737 Email [email protected] Contents Preface . v ‘This’ and ‘that’ . 1 Consciousness . 6 Consciousness and perception . 11 Creation Underlying reality . 21 Cosmology and experience . 23 Creation from self . 26 The seed of creation . 27 Light from the seed . 29 The basis of experience . 30 Creation through personality . 35 Waking from deep sleep . 48 The creation of appearances . 51 Change and continuity Movement . 59 The continuing background . 60 Objective and subjective . 67 Unchanging self . 68 Continuity . 75 Life Energy . 81 Expression . 82 Learning . 84 The living principle . 89 The impersonal basis of personality ‘Human-ness’ . 93 Universal and individual . 96 Inner light . 103 Underlying consciousness . 104 The unborn source . 108 The unmoved mover . 112 One’s own self . 116 The ‘I’-principle . 117 iv Contents Self Turning back in . 119 Unbodied light . 120 The self in everyone . 135 The rider in a chariot . 138 The enjoyer and the witness . 141 Cleansing the ego . 144 Detachment and non-duality . 146 Happiness Value . 152 Outward desire . 153 Kinds of happiness . 154 One common goal . 158 Love . 160 Desire’s end . 162 Freedom . 163 The ground of all reality . 166 Non-duality . 167 The three states . 169 The divine presence God and self . 176 The rule of light . 181 Teacher and disciple Seeking truth . 195 Not found by speech . 196 Learning from a teacher . 197 Coming home . 198 Scheme of transliteration . 201 List of translated passages .
    [Show full text]
  • Upanishad Vahinis
    Upanishad Vahini Stream of The Upanishads SATHYA SAI BABA Contents Upanishad Vahini 7 DEAR READER! 8 Preface for this Edition 9 Chapter I. The Upanishads 10 Study the Upanishads for higher spiritual wisdom 10 Develop purity of consciousness, moral awareness, and spiritual discrimination 11 Upanishads are the whisperings of God 11 God is the prophet of the universal spirituality of the Upanishads 13 Chapter II. Isavasya Upanishad 14 The spread of the Vedic wisdom 14 Renunciation is the pathway to liberation 14 Work without the desire for its fruits 15 See the Supreme Self in all beings and all beings in the Self 15 Renunciation leads to self-realization 16 To escape the cycle of birth-death, contemplate on Cosmic Divinity 16 Chapter III. Katha Upanishad 17 Nachiketas seeks everlasting Self-knowledge 17 Yama teaches Nachiketas the Atmic wisdom 18 The highest truth can be realised by all 18 The Atma is beyond the senses 18 Cut the tree of worldly illusion 19 The secret: learn and practise the singular Omkara 20 Chapter IV. Mundaka Upanishad 21 The transcendent and immanent aspects of Supreme Reality 21 Brahman is both the material and the instrumental cause of the world 21 Perform individual duties as well as public service activities 22 Om is the arrow and Brahman the target 22 Brahman is beyond rituals or asceticism 23 Chapter V. Mandukya Upanishad 24 The waking, dream, and sleep states are appearances imposed on the Atma 24 Transcend the mind and senses: Thuriya 24 AUM is the symbol of the Supreme Atmic Principle 24 Brahman is the cause of all causes, never an effect 25 Non-dualism is the Highest Truth 25 Attain the no-mind state with non-attachment and discrimination 26 Transcend all agitations and attachments 26 Cause-effect nexus is delusory ignorance 26 Transcend pulsating consciousness, which is the cause of creation 27 Chapter VI.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jama Gazette
    Vol XVI. No 3 MARCH 1920. Whole No. 177 The Jama Gazette. Nature hath assigned Two sovereign remedies for human grief; Religion, sweetest, firmest, first, and best, Strength to the weak, and to the wounded balm ; And strenuous action next. « —Southey. Jaina Logic BY Prof A. Chakravarti M A., LT. * UNDER this head’ we have to consider the following three points:— 1. Pramana 2. Naya 3. Saptabangi Pramana and Naya refer to understanding. (Pramananayai- radigamcilia) Knowledge is through Pramana and Naya. Pramana refers to the apprehension of reality or valid knowledge. Naya refers to the different asDects of considering things. These are the two means of enriching knowledge/ Sapl^bangi refers to the theory, of predication which is peculiar to Jaina System. Pramana is of two kinds, Pratyaksha Pramana and Parok- sha Pramana,—Immediate Apprehension of reality and Mediate Apprehension of reality. Ordinarily the term Pratyaksha refers to sense perception. This ordinary meaning of the word is consi­ dered secondary and sub-ordinate by Jaina. thinkers. They* call 50 .THE JAIN A GAZETTE. it Vy^vaharika Pratyaksha. The real Pratyaksha is known as Paramartika Pratyaksha or that which is apprehended by Atma immediately and directly. According to tliis view sense perception is indirect and mediate, for the sensory object is apprehended by Atma only through the medium of sense organs. PramSnas in general are fife,—Mati, Sruti, Avadhi, Manah- paryaya, and Kevala. These five are already explained in con­ nection with cognition. * Of these Mati and Sruti are consider­ ed Paroksha Pramanas. The other three are considered to be Pratyaksha Pramanas.
    [Show full text]
  • Brahma Sutra
    BRAHMA SUTRA CHAPTER 1 1st Pada 1st Adikaranam to 11th Adhikaranam Sutra 1 to 31 INDEX S. No. Topic Pages Topic No Sutra No Summary 5 Introduction of Brahma Sutra 6 1 Jijnasa adhikaranam 1 a) Sutra 1 103 1 1 2 Janmady adhikaranam 2 a) Sutra 2 132 2 2 3 Sastrayonitv adhikaranam 3 a) Sutra 3 133 3 3 4 Samanvay adhikaranam 4 a) Sutra 4 204 4 4 5 Ikshatyadyadhikaranam: (Sutras 5-11) 5 a) Sutra 5 324 5 5 b) Sutra 6 353 5 6 c) Sutra 7 357 5 7 d) Sutra 8 362 5 8 e) Sutra 9 369 5 9 f) Sutra 10 372 5 10 g) Sutra 11 376 5 11 2 S. No. Topic Pages Topic No Sutra No 6 Anandamayadhikaranam: (Sutras 12-19) 6 a) Sutra 12 382 6 12 b) Sutra 13 394 6 13 c) Sutra 14 397 6 14 d) Sutra 15 407 6 15 e) Sutra 16 411 6 16 f) Sutra 17 414 6 17 g) Sutra 18 416 6 18 h) Sutra 19 425 6 19 7 Antaradhikaranam: (Sutras 20-21) 7 a) Sutra 20 436 7 20 b) Sutra 21 448 7 21 8 Akasadhikaranam : 8 a) Sutra 22 460 8 22 9 Pranadhikaranam : 9 a) Sutra 23 472 9 23 3 S. No. Topic Pages Topic No Sutra No 10 Jyotischaranadhikaranam : (Sutras 24-27) 10 a) Sutra 24 486 10 24 b) Sutra 25 508 10 25 c) Sutra 26 513 10 26 d) Sutra 27 517 10 27 11 Pratardanadhikaranam: (Sutras 28-31) 11 a) Sutra 28 526 11 28 b) Sutra 29 538 11 29 c) Sutra 30 546 11 30 d) Sutra 31 558 11 31 4 SUMMARY Brahma Sutra Bhasyam Topics - 191 Chapter – 1 Chapter – 2 Chapter – 3 Chapter – 4 Samanvaya – Avirodha – non – Sadhana – spiritual reconciliation through Phala – result contradiction practice proper interpretation Topics - 39 Topics - 47 Topics - 67 Topics 38 Sections Topics Sections Topics Sections Topics Sections Topics 1 11 1 13 1 06 1 14 2 07 2 08 2 08 2 11 3 13 3 17 3 36 3 06 4 08 4 09 4 17 4 07 5 Lecture – 01 Puja: • Gratitude to lord for completion of Upanishad course (last Chandogya Upanishad + Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
    [Show full text]
  • Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy
    Essays on Indian Philosophy UNIVE'aSITY OF HAWAII Uf,FU:{ Essays on Indian Philosophy SHRI KRISHNA SAKSENA UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS HONOLULU 1970 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78·114209 Standard Book Number 87022-726-2 Copyright © 1970 by University of Hawaii Press All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America Contents The Story of Indian Philosophy 3 Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy 18 Testimony in Indian Philosophy 24 Hinduism 37 Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy 51 The Jain Religion 54 Some Riddles in the Behavior of Gods and Sages in the Epics and the Puranas 64 Autobiography of a Yogi 71 Jainism 73 Svapramanatva and Svapraka!;>atva: An Inconsistency in Kumarila's Philosophy 77 The Nature of Buddhi according to Sankhya-Yoga 82 The Individual in Social Thought and Practice in India 88 Professor Zaehner and the Comparison of Religions 102 A Comparison between the Eastern and Western Portraits of Man in Our Time 117 Acknowledgments The author wishes to make the following acknowledgments for permission to reprint previously published essays: "The Story of Indian Philosophy," in A History of Philosophical Systems. edited by Vergilius Ferm. New York:The Philosophical Library, 1950. "Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Are There Any Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy?" in The Philosophical Quarterly. "Testimony in Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Authority in Indian Philosophy," in Ph ilosophyEast and West. vo!.l,no. 3 (October 1951). "Hinduism," in Studium Generale. no. 10 (1962). "The Jain Religion," previously published as "Jainism," in Religion in the Twentieth Century. edited by Vergilius Ferm.
    [Show full text]
  • By Swami Vidyaranya
    By Swami Vidyaranya 1 S. No. Title No. of Verses Page No VIVEKA PANCHAKAM 1 Chapter 1 : Tattwa Viveka Prakaranam 65 Verses 4 2 Chapter 2 :Panchabuta Viveka Prakaranam 109 Verses 17 3 Chapter 3 :Pancha Kosha Viveka Prakaranam 43 Verses 30 4 Chapter 4 : "Dvaita Viveka" Prakaranam 69 Verses 49 5 Chapter 5 : Mahavakya Viveka Prakaranam 8 Verses 61 DEEPA PANCHAKAM 6 Chapter 6 : Chitra Deepa Prakaranam 290 Verses 104 7 Chapter 7 : Trupti Jeeva Prakaranam 298 Verses 118 8 Chapter 8 : Kootasta Deepa Prakaranam 76 Verses 130 9 Chapter 9 : Dhyana Deepa Prakaranam 158 Verses 143 10 Chapter 10 : Nataka Deepa Prakaranam 21 Verses 156 ANANDA PANCHAKAM 11 Lecture 13 : Chapter 11 – 15 429 Verses 170 a) Chapter 11 : Yogananda Prakaranam 134 Verses 175 b) Chapter 12 : Atmananda Prakaranam 90 Verses 181 c) Chapter 13 : Advaita Ananda Prakaranam 105 Verses 184 d) Chapter 14 : Vidyananda Prakaranam 65 Verses 185 e) Chapter 15 : Vishayananda Prakaranam 35 Verses 190 2 SUMMARY OF PANCHADASI Panchadasi - Introduction 1142 Verses Role of Yoga in last 5 chapters Chapter 1 – 5 Chapter 6 – 10 Chapter 11 – 15 Viveka Panchakam Deepa Panchakam Ananda Panchakam Tattwa / Kosha / buta / Chitra / Trupti / Kutasta / Yoga / Atma / Advaita / Dvaita / Mahavakya Dhyana / Nataka Vidya / Vishaya 2 Authors Chapter 1 - 10 Chapter 11 - 15 Guru : Bharati Teertha Vidyaranya (Author of Drk Drishya) 3 CHAPTER 1 TATTWA VIVEKA PRAKARANAM 65 VERSES 4 SUMMARY – CHAPTER 1 TATTWA VIVEKA PRAKARANAM 65 VERSES 5 Portions Verse 1 - 2 Verse 3 - 10 Verse 11 - 30 Verse 31 - 64 Verse 65 Upodgatha Vedanta Sara – Samsara Moksha Margaha Upasamhara Essence of Karanam Vedanta Means of Moksha 5 1) Introduction : - Namaskara to Srishankara Ananda Guru - Introduction to Tatwa Viveka - Book for easy understanding for beginners 2) Vedanta Sara : Jivatma / Paramatma – AIKYAM Jivatma – is also Atma Paramatma – is also Atma Atma = Satchit Ananda… Both experiencing - one Atma only.
    [Show full text]
  • Chandogya Upanishad 1.2.1: Once Upon a Time the Gods and the Demons, Both Descendants of Prajapati, Were Engaged in a Fight
    A Preview “… Dr. Prasad’s collections of the two largest and most difficult to understand Upanishads make an in-road and gives access to the magnificent conclusions left by the ancient sages of India. This book gives us a view of the information which was divulged by those teachers. It is easy to read and understand and will encourage you to delve deeper into the subject matter.” CONTENTS 1. Chāndogya Upanishad……..…….…. 3 1. The big famine…………………………….…..... 6 2. The cart-man…………………………….………13 3 Satyakama Jabala and Sevā………………… 14 4. Fire teaches Upakosala…………….………… 15 Chāndogya 5. Svetaketu: five questions……………………. 18 and 6. Svetaketu: nature of sleep…………………... 22 7. That thou art, O Svetaketu………………….…23 Brihadāranyaka 8. Indra and virochana……………………….….. 29 Commentary…………………………...……..... 31 Upanishads End of Commenrary……………………....….. 55 Two large and difficult Upanishads are presented 2. Brihadāranyaka Upanishad …….…56 (without original Sanskrit verses) in simple modern English for those advanced students who have 9. Dialogue: Ajtsatru-Gargya……………...…. 61 read Bhagavad-Gita and other 9 Principal 10. Yajnavalkya and maitreyi ……………....…..63 Upanishads. Simpler important verses are 11. Meditation taught through horse’s head.. 65 12. Yajnavalkya: The best Vedic Scholar…… 66 printed in underlined-bold; comm- 13. Three ‘Da’ …………………………….…….…78 entaries from translators, references&Glossary. Commentary…………………………….……... 84 14. Each soul is dear to the other………...……90 By 15. The Wisdom of the Wise (Yagnavalkya)… 91 16. Gargi and the Imperishable ……………..…94 Swami Swahananda 17. Janaka and Yajnavalkya 1 ……………..…..95 and 18. Janaka and Yajnavalkya 2 …………..……..97 Swami Madhavananda et al. 19. The Process of Reincarnation…… …..… 100 Editor: Ramananda Prasad End of Commenrary …………….…..……….105 A Brief Sanskrit Glossary On page 844 of 908 of the pdf: www.gita-society.com/108Upanishads.pdf INTERNATIONAL GITA ***** Editor’s note: Most of the materials in this book are SOCIETY taken from the above webpage which does not have a Copyright mark.
    [Show full text]
  • SRI SATHYA SAI ASHTOTTARA SHATA NAMAVALI [55-108] 55. Om
    SRI SATHYA SAI ASHTOTTARA SHATA NAMAVALI [55-108] 55. Om Sri Sai Anantanuta Kartrine Namaha Ananta – Countless; Nuta– Verses; Kartrine – writer. Bala Sai composed hymns on Lord Panduranga and taught those songs to the children. They used to be called ‘Pandari Bhajans’. The glory of Panduranga, about Rukmayi, the consort of Panduranga, the Chandrabagha river that flows in Pandarpur and many such things were vividly described in those hymns. Even in those early ages, He had realistically picturised the emotional joy and thrill of devotees at the very sight of the temple and the exhilaration as they enter the shrine of Panduranga. They were indeed divine hymns sung by the Lord Himself in His own praise. These bhajans are sung even now by many devotees. On the 13th June 1965, Baba visited the Panduranga temple in Pandarpur, situated in Maharashtra. At the sanctum sanctorum, He materialized the sacred thread of Rukmayi and put it around the idol of Rukmayi. Sai! Composer of a number of hymns, to you I offer my salutations. Love is Joy; Love is Power; Love is Light; Love is God; If at all you want to label Me, then call me Premaswaroopa. SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU WWW.SSSBALVIKASTN.ORG BABA 56. Om Sri Sai Adi Purushaya Namaha Adi – the primordial; Purusha – Atma God is the primordial atma; Paramatma. He is Sathya, without any change. Whenever there is a decline of dharma, the Lord incarnates in human form. Arjuna told Lord Krishna, “Rishis and Munis have described that you are the primordial force, without birth and death, that you are omniscient and omnipresent.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bhagavad Gita, Or Song of the Blessed One
    THE BHAGAVAD GITA, OR SONG OF THE BLESSED ONE BY FRANKLIN EDGERTON CHAPTER III The Upanishads, and the Fundamental Doctrines of Later Hindu Thought THE Upanishads are the earliest Hindu treatises, other than sin- gle hymns or brief passages, which deal with philosophic sub- jects. They are formally parts of the Veda.®—the last offshoots of Vedic literature. The dry bones of the Vedic ritual cult rattle about in them in quite a noisy fashion at times, and seriously strain our patience and our charity. But they also contain the apotheosis, the New Testament, of Vedic philosophy. In them the struggling specu- lations which we have briefly sketched in the last chapter reach their highest development. They do not, be it noted, receive any final, systematic codification. That came much later. They are still ten- tative, fluid, and, one may fairly say, unstable ; they are frequently inconsistent with each other and with themselves. They contain no system, but starts toward various different systems. Later Hindu thought utilized these starts and developed them into the various systematic philosophies of later times—Sankhya, Vedanta, and the rest. In fact, there are few important ideas of later Hindu philo- sophical or religious thought which are not at least foreshadowed in the LTpanishads. They are the connecting link between the Veda and later Hinduism ; the last word of the one, the prime source of the other. In this chapter, I wish to deal with the Upanishads mostly from the latter point of view : to show how they reveal the early stages of the fundamental postulates of later Hindu thought.
    [Show full text]