1. Bodha Sara of Narahari Surprise Awareness Jennifer Cover, Grahame Cover ......................................epub

Bodhasāra The surprise of awareness

An 18th century Sanskrit treasure translated by Jennifer and Grahame Cover

English Edition

Bodhasāra

The surprise of awareness, the English version

An 18th Century Sanskrit Treasure translated and introduced by Jennifer Cover and Grahame Cover

First Published 2014

Copyright C 2014 Jennifer Cover and Grahame Cover. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of Jennifer and Grahame Cover. For permission regarding publication, e-mail [email protected]

ISBN- 13 978-1493522781 ISBN-10 1493522787 (English) Cover illustration copyright BuddhaMuseum.com Cover illustration enhancement by Amber Ellis

www.bodhasara.com

Published 2010 Bodhasāra An Eighteenth Sanskrit Treasure by Narahari Translated by Jennifer and Grahame Cover (Sanskrit and English) ISBN 978-1453775677 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1456474324 (Hardcover) US Library of Congress eCO Registration 1-573601101

Published 2014 Bodhasara The surprise of awareness, the Sanskrit and English version. An 18th century Sanskrit treasure translated by Jennifer and Grahame Cover (Sanskrit and English) ISBN-13 978-1494202545 ISBN-10 1494202549

For Narahari, and all who dance to their own rhythm

शुद्धबोधसुघास्वादी प्रलपामि प्रमत्तवत्। तत्प्रलापनिगूढार्थं शोधयन्तु सतां घियः ॥१ ॥ śuddhabodhasudhāsvādī pralapāmi pramattavat | tatpralāpanigūdhārtham śodhayantu satām dhiyaḥ ||1||

Relishing the wine of pure awareness, I prattle like a crazy drunkard. The hidden meaning of this blabbering should be examined by the minds of temperate people. (Bodhasāra: Section 49, verse 1)

Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition

Foreword to the First Edition Preface to the First Edition

Introduction to the First Edition

Introductory verses Section 1: Praise of guru Section 2: Discernment of student Section 3: Inquiry into brahman Section 4: The underlying basis of dispassion (vairagya) Deception of the body Deception of livelihood Deception of desire Deception of Anger Deception of greed Deception of action Section 5: Inquiry into dharma Intention of austerity Keeping vows Contemplation on dress Investigation of silence Knowledge of giving True principle of tirtha (sacred place) Propriety in conduct Section 6: Consideration of the desire to renounce

Section 7: Observation of qualification Section 8: The nectar of the company of the wise Section 9: The sacred river of reconciliation

Section 10: Awakening Section 11: Sāmkhya, the eye-salve Section 12: The wish fulfilling jewel, the undertaking of yoga Patañjali's yoga Śaivayoga Mantrayoga Hațhayoga The splendour of Śiva's śakti Layayoga (yoga of absorption) Section 13: Elixir of devotion (bhakti) Section 14: Sun-light illuminating the steps in rajayoga

The steps of knowledge First step Second step Third step Fourth step Fifth step Sixth step Seventh step Consideration of the meaning of the steps Section 15: Distinction of states Section 16: Daily routine of the one best among sages 1: Consideration of morning awakening 2: Consideration of morning cleansing 3: Morning remembrance 4: Consideration of the time of bathing 5: Consideration of bathing 6: Putting on clothes 7: Consideration of wearing the means of purification etc 8: Consideration of acamana, sipping water 9: Consideration of morning juncture 10: Consideration of prāņāyāma 11: Giving a respectful offering of water 12: Consideration of chanting of gāyatri 13: Consideration of standing in the presence of the sun 14: Consideration of offering fire oblations 15: Consideration of brahmayajña 16: Consideration of refreshment

17. Consideration of worship 18. Consideration of the proper meaning of worship 19. Five great sacrifices 20. Consideration of additional sacrifices

18. Daily alms-giving 22. The midday juncture 23. The lord of the universe 24. Presentation of an offering 25. The rule for eating 26. Consideration of taking tāmbūla 27. Consideration of resting on the left side of the body 28. Consideration of listening to the Puranas 28.1. Consideration of listening to stories of the Bhāratas 28.2. Consideration of listening to the Bhagavata 28.3. Consideration of listening to Rāmāyaņa 28.4 Consideration of the eighteen branches of knowledge

28.4.1: Consideration of Purana 28.4.2: Consideration of the science of reason, nyāya 28.4.3: Consideration of vaiśeśika and the like

28.4.4: Consideration of sāmkhya 28.4.5: Consideration of works by Patañjali 28.4.6: Consideration of mimamsa - the science of rituals 28.4.7: Consideration of dharma texts

28.4.8: Consideration of the rituals śrauta and smarta 28.4.9: Limbs or auxiliary texts 28.4.9a: Consideration of phonetics (siksa) 28.4.10: Consideration of rules for rituals (kalpa) 28.4.11: Consideration of grammar ( vyākaraņa) 28.4.12: Consideration of the derivation of words (nirukta) 28.4.13: Consideration of meter (cchandas)

28.4.14: Consideration of astronomy (jyotis) 28.4.15. The Vedas

28.4.15a: Consideration of Rg Veda 28.4.16: Consideration of Yajur Veda 28.4.17: Consideration of Sāma Veda.

28.4.18: Consideration of Atharva Veda 28.4.19: Consideration of the science of medicine (ayurveda) 28.4.20: Consideration of the science of archery (dhanurveda) 28.4.21: Consideration of the science of music (gandharva) 28.4.22: Consideration of the science of wealth (arthaśastra) 29. Consideration of the evening juncture

30. Consideration of the night routine

31: Result of Consideration of daily routine of the best of sages Section 17: Fifty verses on the unpainted god Section 18: Eight verses on Yamuna Section 19: Six verses on stone

Section 20: Five verses on nidra

Section 21: Nine verses on experience Section 22: Nine verses on the strength of the wise Section 23: Ten verses on nirvāņa (extinction)

Section 24: Five verses on the lamp of awareness

Section 25: Sixteen guiding verses Section 26: Twenty verses of discussions on brahman Section 27: Four verses on free living Section 28: Three verses on the deflated ego (ahakāra) Section 29: Two pearls of question and answer Section 30: Three amusing verses Section 31: Eight playful verses on drinking mother's milk Section 32: Four wonders

Section 33: Worship with tulasi leaves of turiya Section 34: A string of diamonds, a garland of causes Section 35: The key to absolute oneness (kaivalya) Section 36: Praise of buddhi

Section 37: Three verses on the play of love Section 38: Four verses on the wonder of moon and moonlight Section 39: Five verses on a strange beheading Section 40: The sublime questions of teacher to self aware student Section 41: The student's answer

Section 42: Four verses on conduct

Section 43: Seventy nine waves of Ganga knowledge Section 44: Wonder of mind Section 45: Sacrificing the animal mind to Candi awareness Section 46: Eighteen verses on liberation while living (jivanmukti) Section 47: The roaring of the wise elephant Section 48: Six verses on Narahari Section 49: One hundred prattlings of the intoxicated Section 50: One hundred homages to Śiva

Section 51: Praise of Bodhasāra

Section 52: Contemplation of Bodhasara

To establish authority Appendices Glossary Epithets of Śiva Epithets of Krsna Epithets of Arjuna Other names

Bibliography The Translators

Introduction to the Second Edition

Bodhasära, an 18th century Sanskrit text by Narahari, though valued in earlier times, had almost been lost. The text has all the hallmarks of the renaissance thought scholars attribute to the 15-17th century and is a fine example of a modernity emerging in pre-colonial India. Discovered by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in a Calcutta book bazaar then passed on for translation, Bodhasara has been rescued. The initial 2010 translation, the first into English, was very much a work of discovery, there being no surviving scholarship about the work, other than Divakara's 1816 commentary. The work itself is a conundrum. On first reading it could be considered simply an orthodox expression of Vedänta tradition. But through brilliant use of Sanskrit language it creates imagery that clearly suggests something more immediate. The initial translation brought about valuable opportunities to discuss the work with traditional Sanskrit Pandits.1 These clarified many points of interpretation and further revealed the insights available in Divakara's commentary. What has unfolded is Narahari's vision of awareness, a very personal response to traditional Vedānta philosophy. This revised translation has evolved through a long process of becoming 'same hearted' with Narahari. It will enable access to Narahari's vision for those who are not necessarily familiar with its traditional Hindu origins.

In response to the initial translation those reading it as an artistic or poetic work, rather than a Vedānta reference text, confirmed its ability to convey an experience of sahrdaya, same heartedness, with Narahari. In this way the text has recently been successfully interpreted into 'new music' by five English speaking composers for concert performance and an expression of it through Indian Bharatanatyam and contemporary Australian dance is being developed. That the translation is facilitating the transplanting of Narahari's wisdom into other cultural and aesthetic forms is perhaps the best measure of its success.

Whilst Bodhasara will be read to understand its place in the evolution of non-dualistic Vedänta literature, this will most properly be done in its native Sanskrit. The purpose of the translation is to give English readers access to Narahari's rather unique celebration of awareness. While remaining true to the Sanskrit source it preserves its poetic and philosophic richness in language familiar to a 21st century readership.

This revision is the result of the many influences the text has had on us over a thirteen year period of textual study and reflection, including four complete translation renderings. Time spent with the text has yielded a clearer understanding of its purpose and this revision is an expression of that. This is a text that keeps on giving.

The revised translation is published in two forms: a Second Edition to the 2010 publication retaining the original Sanskrit text; and an English Only Edition for those who have no access to Sanskrit but who appreciate a smaller more convenient printing.

Bodhasāra, the surprise of awareness

Much of the Bodhasāra text contains insights and observations of traditional Hindu philosophical traditions and practices. However Narahari's real purpose evolves through his own poetic expression. For the discerning reader, intent on uncovering his true intent, Narahari gives a number of indications suggested in his stories, illustrations and personal observations.

One of these is the title itself, Bodhasära. Not such an easy term to decipher, it is a compound of two words, bodha and sāra, and could have several English renderings. Bodha is often translated as knowledge and sara usually means the essence or substance of things, so 'Essence of knowledge' or 'Knowledge which is the essence', would be linguistically acceptable translations. Yet such meanings do not truly fit Narahari's text.

In his commentary Narahari's student, Divākara, gives an analysis of the term bodhasāra. Bodha he says refers to the manifestations of consciousness cognised by the mind, as both separate objects and a totality; sāra refers to consciousness (cit), the source of the manifestations. Both words in the compound are in the same grammatical case, meaning they are of the same order.2 The word bodha comes from the root budh, meaning to wake up or recover consciousness, also suggesting an element of surprise. Hence we have consistently translated bodha as awareness, congruous with its root meaning and Divākara's illumination. Thus a better rendering of the title is 'Awareness which is the essence' or more poetically 'The surprise of awareness'.

The terms 'consciousness' and 'awareness' can be confusing, especially when used in proximity to each other. There are numerous definitions

distinguishing these terms and an equal number of sources which regard them as being synonymous. In Bodhasāra the Sanskrit words 'cit' and 'bodha' are used in ways that show Narahari makes a clear distinction between the two. Thus the rendered translations, 'consciousness' and 'awareness', mean quite different things, the distinction being demonstrated in the text.

Narahari's first person statements are also important indications. They are reserved for making seminal declarations.

One such statement gives an insight into consciousness.

Whether firm or melted, ghee remains ghee. The surprise is that consciousness is like this. Whether firm or melted, consciousness remains consciousness. When firm it is the mind and when melted, undifferentiated. Realising this truth, my discipline of absorption of mind by the effort of withdrawing the mind from external objects, was immediately abandoned. 3

And another gives an insight into awareness.

I have ground my observation with awareness. It has become a lens of consciousness. Wherever I look through that lens, I see myself. 4

In Bodhasāra, consciousness (cit) is understood to be that impulse of being which differentiates into human experiences such as intellect, observation or the feeling of existence. Undifferentiated it is pervasive and formless. Narahari's conclusion is that these two classifications of consciousness are one and the same.

Awareness (bodha) is the observation of consciousness which has been informed by knowledge. It changes the perspective of being. Consciousness might be experienced directly as objects in the mind, or as an ideal of the substratum of existence. Both can appear to be separate from myself. Endemic uncertainty about where I fit into this conceptual ideal leads to a condition of spiritual isolation and hence a quest for a realisation of my true nature, euphemistically referred to as liberation. Understanding that consciousness of external objects, the sense of self and the ideal of universal existence are one and the same is an awareness that changes the experience of being. As a lens

changes what is seen, without any change in seeing, so this awareness about consciousness changes perception of who I am, without any change in who I am.

To understand this further Narahari introduces multiple illustrations based around pairs of opposites. There are many such pairs: purușa and prakrti; brahman and māyā; Īśvara and māyā; satyam and mithyā; god and the world; dense consciousness and manifestations of consciousness; melted ghee and firm ghee; melted mind and firm mind; Ganga the goddess and Ganges the river. The image of Siva and śakti permeates Bodhasāra and personifies a primal pair. Śakti represents manifold appearances. Siva, is consciousness absolute. Śiva is powerless without śakti and śakti can accomplish nothing without Śiva.5

Advaita Vedānta seeks to resolve the appearance of duality. In Bodhasāra the duality of source and appearance, cause and effect, one and many, is seen as coexistent pairs, like left foot, right foot. One cannot exist without the other. They are one, but can be viewed as two for the joyous spectacle of living. Through a disposition of love there is a surprising awareness that objects in multiplicity have a singular reality. Duality is both celebrated yet understood as being unrepresentative of reality. In duality there can be absorption into love toward the divine. In oneness there can be transcendence into self. Both are found to be the same. The title Bodhasāra implies that this awareness about the states of consciousness is synonymous to consciousness itself. The surprise, implied in the term bodhasāra, is that through this awareness it is discovered that all existence, both worldly and universal, is saturated with myself.

The element of surprise

Many of Narahari's illustrations are quite unusual, even outrageous when considered within the context of traditional Hindu conservatism. In these sections the shock of the unexpected is used to awaken the reader. Section 48: Six Verses on Narahari, tells the story of the man lion Nrsimha (also called Nrhari), who destroyed the invincible demon Hiraņyakaśipu, representing delusional blindness, with surprise. Playfully the names Nrhari and Narahari are intermixed in the text so that at the climax of the story we read "this enemy Narahari killed with surprise." 6 It is one of only a few instances where Narahari refers to himself by name, indicating a pivotal statement. For Narahari, bondage to mundane life is like that of a domesticated work animal harnessed to a repetitive track. This

bondage is defeated by the surprise of awareness and in Bodhasāra surprise and awareness are never far apart. Having used it as an element in many of his illustrations, surprise is an important suggestion which is certainly meant to be followed.

Bodha from the root budh

The root budh, meaning to wake up or recover consciousness, is the source of the word bodha, but it is also the source of the words Buddha and bodhi, both Buddhist terms. Although Bodhasāra describes the Hindu rather than the Buddhist tradition, awareness, bodha, cannot be claimed by any particular tradition. Some assume Bodhasara is a Buddhist text because of the title. This may be Narahari's poetic mischief at play. The word buddhi, the intellect or discerning faculty of the mind, also comes from the same root, budh. The Vedanta understanding of mind needs consideration for full appreciation of Narahari's illustrations. Mind has four components: buddhi (intellect, discerning faculty), ahankāra (I-maker or ego), manas (sensory, processing mind) and citta (storage of impressions). Although commonly translated as intellect, buddhi is the faculty for all worldly decisions as well as for discernment of truth.7 A person with a developed buddhi may or may not be an 'intellectual' person. All four components of mind shape the person. Buddhi is a grammatically feminine word and, personified as a lady, is the leading star of Bodhasara. Consistent with Narahari's poetic humour, Bodhasāra is full of memorable metaphors about buddhi and her interactions with grammatically masculine characters, such as ahańkāra, ego. Bodhasara could be succinctly described as the awakening of this lady to awareness.

Suggestion and becoming same hearted

Narahari's avowed motivation for Bodhasāra is to 'Delight and benefit the wise' but its persistent topic is awareness and jīvanmukti, the state of liberation while living gained by living in unwavering awareness. Whilst the reality of this concept is debated in some philosophical circles, for Narahari it is his direct experience. The purpose of Bodhasāra is to enable the reader to become same-hearted with Narahari on this matter. The concept of same-heartedness, sahrdaya in Sanskrit, is worth exploring as it is central to the Bodhasāra text.

An important richness in any language is that of suggestion. Suggestion, dhvani in Sanskrit, is the link between the verbal world of

language and the non-verbal world of creative imagination. Sanskrit is particularly rich in its ability to suggest in this way. Integral to this is the concept of rasa. Originally rasas were modes of suggestion codified in forms prescribed for literature, dance, poetry and drama. Using these forms the author would suggest various pure emotions. When the reader or audience, following the suggestion, was able to experience the emotional purity, this was called rasa. In Sanskrit the word literally means taste. The eight rasas described in the Nāțyaśāstra, an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, are śrńgāra, karuņa, raudra, vīra, adbhuta, hāsya, bhayānaka and bībhatsa (erotic, pathetic, furious, heroic, wonderful, comic, terrifying and disgusting). They are linked with the emotional moods: love, pathos, anger, courage, wonder, amusement, fear and disgust. The subjective experience is enjoyed without being bound by it. We commonly see this in the theatre, where characters on stage or film enable us to experience all manner of emotions. We value and enjoy this experience, even if the emotion is one of fear or distaste.

Ānandavardhana8 and Abhinavagupta9, great Indian philosophers of the ninth and tenth centuries, redefined rasa to have, as well as an emotional element, a cognitive element in which there is an experience of knowledge that is not solely intellectual. An essential aspect of suggestion is that the thing being suggested is not overtly described. The suggestion is from the author but the response comes from the reader, from the reader's own experience. This response might come from established memory, or by subconsciously reclaiming something which had seemingly been forgotten. The joy associated with rasa comes about because the reader is experiencing something from within themselves, something from their own creative centre. When the reader experiences this transcendence, as the author has done before, they are said to be sahrdaya, same-hearted or equal to the author.

Ānandavardhana and Abhinavagupta went further and conceived of a ninth rasa, śānta-rasa, to be the basis of all the other rasas. Ānandavardhana declared:

The goal of men, defined as liberation, is regarded as the only higher goal in the śstras (sacred texts), while in poetry it is the rasa of peace (śānta-rasa), defined as the blossoming of happiness brought about by the quenching of thirst ... Since it is the main essence, its meaning can only be conveyed by suggestion (vyangyatvena) and not by literal means (vācyatvena). And indeed, the meaning of the main essence shines forth much more

beautifully when it is not conveyed literally, in (ordinary) words.10

Abhinavagupta likened this śānta-rasa to oneself (ātman) and explained that it assumes the shapes of all moods superimposed on it, like erotic love etc., but still flashes through them (vibhata) as soon as the awareness of it shines (bhāsamāna).11 Like śānta-rasa, ātman cannot be directly described but can only be suggested. In fact one of the principles of Advaita Vedänta teaching is that such an objective description of oneself is not possible. Self is merely suggested with the response coming from the reader.

Here the crux question is whether suggestion can connect the reader with something that has never been previously recognised. Vedānta's position is that self is self-evident, but may be hidden, denied or wrongly attributed due to false understanding. So by suggestion can self be brought into awareness of present experience? Narahari has written Bodhasära on the premise that this is in fact possible. He is confident that the aesthetic suggestion of words can bring to light self awareness, that is continually encountered but not recognised. When this happens there is śānta-rasa, a peaceful satisfaction, as the reader becoming same hearted recognises that the awareness suggested by the author and the awareness of themselves are one and the same.

We have been surprised by how easily this comes to life when Bodhasāra is read out loud by someone who understands it. How this aesthetic presence survives a translation from Sanskrit to English is somewhat of a mystery as is the translation into music which by retaining the element of surprise is also awakening.

The Dance of Siva

The Dance of Siva is used in Bodhasāra as a suggestive metaphor for the pure awareness of jivanmukti. It is the dance of life that spontaneously erupts when sages connect with awareness. It is also the involuntary and joyful homage by Siva to his beloved consort Pārvatī.

The highest lord always dances in the presence of Pārvatī. With such love radiant within her, how can he not dance? 12

In Indian philosophy this image is used to explain the symbiotic relationship between pure awareness (Siva) and its differentiated

qualities (śakti). As well as being his consort Pārvatī, śakti manifests in many other ways including speech (vac), nature (prakrti) and the discerning faculty (buddhi), all grammatically feminine words. Śiva wields the power, but this power resides in śakti; neither can function without the other.13 Bodhasära, exploring the relationship between Śiva and śakti, portrays living in the light of awareness as the dance of life.

Narahari, being a master of Sanskrit is also well aware of the other rendition of Siva's dance, as the foundation of Sanskrit language. In ancient India, Sanskrit, an oral language, was carefully studied by grammarians. They observed the characteristics of their language, connected them together with rules of grammar and from these deduced more general laws of the universe. Sanskrit grammar thus became a science in their hands, similar in nature to that of mathematics in the west. The science of grammar was a method for exploring the great spiritual world.

Pāņini (~500 BC), from a long line of India's great grammarians, perfected this enduring and sophisticated grammatical tradition in a work that overshadowed all predecessors. In less than 4000 sūtras (the grammatical equivalent of mathematical formulas), Pāņini completely described the Sanskrit language in his work called Āșțādhyāyī. The form of Panini's grammar was geared to oral transmission which cannot use coded symbols and typographical conventions. It is so brief it can be recited from beginning to end in a few hours and is so comprehensive and accurate it is the final authority on all questions of correct Sanskrit usage. In fact classical Sanskrit means the language codified by Pāņini. To use modern mathematical terminology, Pāņini created a recitable, recursive finite state machine of some 4000 rules; a masterpiece of grammar unparalleled in any other language.

The cornerstone of Panini's grammar is a sequence of sounds called the māheśvarāņisūtrāņi. This is so profound it is said to have resulted from the dance of Siva. In his dance Siva stomps on and suppresses the demon obscuring truth (äpasmara), by bringing into existence with his damaru (hand drum) the sounds of the 42 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet in a coded sequence. Utilising this arrangement of sounds Panini created a meta-language upon which he built his grammar. Composed more than two millennia ago the ingenuity of it is astounding. The word sanskrit (samskrita) means perfected, refined, complete and this name is given to the language based on the particular sequence of sounds which is said to be necessary to reveal the complete truth.

माहेश्वराणि सूत्राणि॥ māheśvarāņi sūtrāņi |

अइ उण् । ऋ ल क् । ए ओङ्। ऐ औ च्। हय व र ट्। ल ण। जम ङणनम्। झभञ्। घढ ध ष्। जब ग डद श्। खफ छठथचट त व्। कपय्। शषसर्। हल्।

aiun | rļk | eon | aiauc | ha ya va ra ț | la ņ | ña ma na ņa na m | jha bha ñ | gha dha dha ș | ja ba ga da da ś | kha pha cha tha tha ca ta ta v ka pa y |śa șa sa r | ha 1 ||

The connection of Siva's ancient dance, representing the rhythm of creation and destruction, with modern day quantum physics is recognised by western philosophy of science. On June 18, 2004, an unusual sculpture was unveiled at CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research, in Geneva. A 2m tall statue of the Indian deity Śiva Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, depicts Siva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction. It symbolises the connection of the metaphor of Siva's dance with the quantum dance of subatomic particles observed and analysed by CERN's physicists.

Ananda Coomaraswamy poetically describes the different functions of Śiva's dance.

In the night of Brahma, Nature is inert, and cannot dance till Śiva wills it; he rises from his rapture, and dancing sends through inert matter pulsing waves of awakening sound, and lo! matter dances appearing as a glory round about him. Dancing, he sustains its manifold phenomena. In the fullness of time, still dancing, he destroys all forms and names by fire and gives new rest. This is poetry; but none the less, science. 14

But the connection of Siva's dance with the science of language is not so well known by the 21st century west. In the ancient myth Siva dances into existence the objectified world of duality, which fully reflects the truth of itself because confusion obscuring the truth has been removed. In Bodhasāra, Narahari, a great devotee of Śiva, himself uses the metaphor of dance to reveal his understanding of awareness and jīvanmukti.

Many sections of Bodhasāra, such as The splendour of Śiva's śakti, 50 verses on the unpainted god, 79 waves of Gangā knowledge and The sublime questions of teacher to the self aware student, are full of the rhythm of awareness being used to convey a conscious exuberance. All use a rythmical foundation to suggest the sense of self. The self aware student is asked:

Your individuality has resolved and the world has become a singular reality, now like Mahādeva (Siva) dancing in the natural joy of himself, do you also dance? 15

Like Maheśa in the evening, gazing on his beautiful-limbed Pārvatī, at the sunset of the entire world, seeing your own power, do you dance? 16

In the ancient myth, Siva danced into existence the sound components of language that would eventually banish ignorance and confer freedom, by propagating knowledge of the state of awareful one-ness. Bodhasāra uses the same device. In Bodhasāra, living in awareness is not an introspective preoccupation with self-liberation, but rather unrestrainedly celebrates that awareness which is most essential. This spontaneous celebration, itself like a dance powered by adoration of oneself, is liberation while living. This is a wholly positive idea. Jīvanmukti can only be described as freedom from bondage by those for whom bondage is a reality. Such is not the case for Narahari.

Narahari

In the absence of any biographical information about Narahari, insights into the author can only be drawn from the text itself, with some additional suggestions from Divakara's commentary.17 From the text we see that Narahari has a masterful command of Sanskrit and is very knowledgeable about a broad range of Vedānta and Śaivite

traditions and rituals, as well as stories from the Puranas. The poetic references in the text point to an astounding range of Sanskrit literature from these traditions. A striking aspect of Narahari is his intimate knowledge about the most esoteric aspects of vairāgya (dispassion) and yoga. He clearly knows a great deal about the practice of yoga at the highest level. But having paid his respects to vairāgya and yoga, Narahari moves on.18

The whole of the text from the section, Sun-light illuminating the steps in rājayoga, to the end, Narahari tells us, is about Rājayoga.19 His understanding of Rājayoga is very broad, in a way similar to teachers like Vivekananda, who took Rajayoga to the west a century later. The philosophical lineage between 18th century Narahari and 19th century Vivekananda deserves further investigation.

Whilst clearly a bhakta (devotee), Bodhasāra documents Narahari's evolving focus of devotion. In earlier sections he tells how he took refuge in Krsna, whilst later he sees consciousness everywhere. Formerly he desired to see Visnu, but now the whole world consists of Vișnu.20 The main text ends with the enigmatic verse:

He who truly knows Śiva, knows worship of Siva. But who truly knows Śiva, and who knows worship of Śiva? 21

Narahari's stories and illustrations draw heavily on the life experiences of a householder and his poetic illustrations are rich in seductive female images. It would therefore be difficult to conclude that Narahari belonged to some reclusive or religious order. He has more the air of the independent 17th century Indian scholar.22 While carefully following tradition he is ruthless about exposing mistaken notions that have become part of the establishment. He is diligent in identifying doctrine that simplistically defines liberation as a spiritual object to aspire to, thus fuelling notions of inadequacy and bondage.

The relationship between Śiva (male) and śakti (female) is continually explored through poetic images involving the relationship between the masculine and the feminine. In fact Narahari turns himself into both male and female characters in order to explore each of these aspects from within themselves. His path leads between these two universal poles and points to where liberation becomes the servant of self, not the goal to be attained.

The only revelation about Narahari as author occurs in the final verses of Bodhasāra. In these verses his traditional background steeped in Upanișad wisdom is emphasised, probably to encourage others from his tradition to explore his vision. Once again there is a connection with śakti through the images of forest and flowers. The imagery of water and axe indicate that the forest needs restoration.

Having gathered one by one the fragrant-smelling flowers from the blooming mantra-trees in the Upanisad forest, the visionary mind of Narahari worships with these flowers in the form of words, by composing a lińga of awareness (Bodhasāra) that the same sweet essence may bloom.23 May this Bodhasara be read. It is of great benefit to the wise, follows tradition, is a repository of supreme happiness and the cause of liberation from delusion. Written by Narahari, Bodhasāra is water for the tree of awareness and an axe in the forest of foolish thinking.24

Jennifer and Grahame Cover Sydney, Australia December 2013

SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI

Foreword to the First Edition

Bodhasāra, true to its name, is the essence of all that is good to know in one's life. Written by one Narahari, who was a versatile scholar-poet, Bodhasāra covers not only the essential topics of Vedanta, in exquisite Sanskrit verses, but every other connected background topic. Endowed with a sense of humour, Narahari deals with all of them with ease, using striking similes and allegorical references.

This book, in the original Sanskrit, did not receive due attention from traditional pundits, much less from academic scholars. I happened to notice this book in so many small volumes, in a book shop of old books in Calcutta. When I read a couple of verses from the first volume, I knew the book deserved to be translated. Years later, when Jennifer Cover wanted to do an Honours degree and PhD, I suggested this book to her. Since then, Bodhasāra became part of her thought-life. While studying and translating the book, she could get the services of her husband, Grahame Cover, who was also drawn to this work of Narahari.

The varieties of topics covered, with so much ease, in the Bodhasara reveal the depth and vastness of Narahari's scholarship and vision. While wisdom pervades the whole book, which I happened to read in parts, thanks to Jennifer, one can find the presence of unabated literary skill throughout the work in the form of wit, irony, and satire imbued with a sense of humour. The culture of his time also finds its way through his pen.

Even though the translation of this work is a joyous undertaking, the difficulties come from the cultural and Puranic allegories. Jennifer did not leave any stone unturned to present an objective translation, capturing the spirit of the author. Being endowed herself with skills in poetic writing, Jennifer, with the help of her husband, has presented a translation which is as charming as the Bodhasāra. I congratulate her for this valuable contribution of love and reverence to the vast world of wisdom-literature of India.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

June 28, 2010

Preface to the First Edition by Professor Kanchan Mande

It is a privilege to introduce a text like Bodhasāra, which in every respect is a virgin text. In 2006 Jennifer Cover came to the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, where the Secretary, Professor Sarojā Bhāte, introduced me to her. Jennifer showed me the text of Bodhasära and we discussed some issues regarding its philosophical content. Though an eighteenth century text it was unknown to me, so it was Jennifer who first introduced me to Bodhasāra. I am therefore indebted to her, and grateful to Professor Sarojā Bhāte for the introduction.

Having submitted an analysis of Bodhasāra for her Ph.D. dissertation, Jennifer again came to India to speak to me about this project. I was already fascinated by the text and so immediately became very positive about a translation. We read the text together along with the only available aid, the Commentary by Divākara, the disciple of Narahari. Subsequently there were many long distance discussions, all the while Jennifer making painstaking efforts to translate the text as flawlessly as possible.

Bodhasāra belongs to the Advaita tradition. The title itself is suggestive of the subject matter, viz. the essence of understanding. This does not refer to empirical understanding, which one gets by knowing things as they appear. It refers to an experience of the Highest Reality, which presupposes a detachment from worldly life. While it is simple to hear about, it is difficult to realise and describe to others. Narahari has successfully taken up this challenge. The text is huge, containing more than 50 chapters with most of the verses in anusțubh meter. One of the peculiarities of the text is the ease with which Narahari quotes examples of a couple and their erotic behaviour. Perhaps he was conscious of the social risk he was taking. But perhaps he thought this an efficient way of understanding the union of the Highest Reality; to make a step from known to unknown. In Sanskrit tradition this technique is known as the 'branch moon maxim' (śākhācandranyāya). One can visualize a gross thing very easily and with the help of it link to something subtle. Such is the case here. Everyone naturally understands the behaviour of lovers. With the help of a guru you go beyond this understanding and reach the Highest Reality. Narahari, in lucid manner, explains the Highest

Reality using the metaphor of the husband - wife relationship.

I have chosen three verses to show Narahari's individual temperament. In the first verse I am quoting, the background of Indian tradition is helpful because the example mentions a most fortunate lady. It is understood that one who has a husband is a fortunate lady. This was the understanding in India, at least in the eighteen or nineteen century. Now the notion has changed and educated people no longer think in this way, so this verse also throws a light on the Indian tradition.

The young lady is unadorned, not of noble family, not scholarly or beautiful. But her husband delights in her so she is most fortunate. 25

The construction of the illustration also reflects the position of women in those days. It hinges on the masculine Sanskrit word standing for the individual and the feminine word representing the concept of Prakrti. So this very simple illustration is loaded with many interpretations.

In another verse Narahari, in a light vein, says:

If you are not able to give up the sense of 'me' and 'mine', spread that notion everywhere. 26

Enjoyment of an individual is important. Then, with only a shift of focus from worldly life to transcendental life, the enjoyment and the object of enjoyment automatically change.

A third interesting verse speaks of sleepiness. Although apparently speaking of sleepiness it is actually his awareness at play, because of which he enjoys the expanded bed of brahman, the Highest Reality, everywhere.

Where should I sleep? Wherever my sleepiness arises a large bed is found, brahman is soft and clean.27

This verse proclaims the omnipresent nature of the Highest Reality. It is a very beautiful analogy of one realising the Truth. This is the

mentality of Narahari. From examples of mundane life Narahari reaches to the Highest Reality through simple illustration. That is his aim. It is always said that only a knower of truth can be a witty person in any real sense of the term. Only he experiences the impermanent nature of life, devoid of the dominance of grief or pleasure.

To conclude I would like to draw attention to the chapter entitled Upadeśaşodaśī.28 It is a very fine poem. No matter how people interpret it, Narahari's incompatible literary brilliance is beyond question. I think when Bodhasāra is such a gorgeous text and so much effort has been put into its translation, scholars will certainly appreciate it.

Pune University August 2010

Introduction to the First Edition

In ancient forests in India learned Rishis asked themselves the fundamental spiritual questions of their day. They observed their world, inner and outer, and grappled with spiritual conundrums drawing on all the knowledge they had acquired from their Vedic tradition. The Upanisads, records of their meditations, have been a principal source of spiritual inspiration and enlightenment for thousands of years. Narahari in eighteenth century India, and on the eve of British Colonialism, repeated this age old process. Learned in traditions of Yoga, Vedānta, Śaivism, dualistic and non-dualistic teachings, he too considered the most pressing spiritual issues of his day: what is the world, how does one escape its limitations, what does man devote himself to? Like the ancient Upanisads, Bodhasāra is a record of these deliberations. Like the ancient Upanisads, Bodhasāra is driven by fundamental spiritual questions. Unlike the Upanișads, Bodhasāra speaks to us, not from the ancient past, but from a time not so distant from our own. Underpinning Bodhasāra are several millennia of tradition and culture, and Narahari draws on all this, but in a vision of modern clarity expressed in Sanskrit of the highest calibre.

Bodhasāra is without doubt a delight for the wise. In its verses you will find many questions, familiar to all spiritual seekers, answered with a liberality not usually seen in Indian texts. Narahari's pursuit of an answer is ruthless. He is a pursuer of questions not a purveyor of doctrine. But more so, in its pages, you will find Narahari himself. The irony about Bodhasara is that almost nothing is known about the man. Who he was, where he lived, what type of life he lived, are all complete mysteries. But the pages of his work introduce the man more thoroughly than any history could, and Narahari makes one all encompassing demand on the reader. Open your mind! The one who does this is guided along a path and invited always to look again. Narahari offers his eyes, we see what he sees. Anything that is learnt from Bodhasara is learnt not from teaching, but by seeing the world in a different way; in the way Narahari sees.

The subject scope of Bodhasāra is extensive, including reflections on Advaita, many types of Yoga, Śiva-śakti, Śāmkhya, daily ritual practices, the Vedas and Purānas, worship of Krsna and Siva, and more. On first reading it could be mistaken for an encyclopaedia of

Indian spiritual traditions. But this is not the case. It is rather an acknowledgement of the many valid paths that can be followed to Narahari's celebrated goal of jīvanmukti, not liberation from the world, but liberation while living. The principal concern of Bodhasāra and its readers is the understanding and achievement of this goal. Narahari demonstrates an extraordinary understanding of the many traditions that congregate under the collective identity of Hindu, and displays a first-hand sensitivity to the challenges and limitations contained in each of these systematic disciplines. But it is clear he is committed solely to jīvanmukti and not to any particular system. This position allows him to inject a certain spaciousness and playful irreverence into his writing, something that will be enjoyed by those who can share the intellectual freedom from which he speaks. For the end goal that Bodhasara speaks of is the same for all, regardless of tradition. It is the simultaneous engagement with the world and independence from it.

Bodhasära is a fine and clever work of Sanskrit literature that displays the full potency of the language. The Sanskrit verses are charming, full of memorable metaphors, word play and intentional conflicts of meaning that stimulate the intellect while charming the heart. The common use of words from the roots prakāś and sphur as well as āścarya and adbhuta fill this work with light and transcendental brilliance. However the work has had a perilous history and could easily have been lost. Nothing of Narahari the man or his life is known. At least eight handwritten copies of the text were made in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.29 The colophons of these manuscripts give a good indication of the date of the root text.30 The date of completion of the earliest manuscript found is noon on Monday 23 December 1789. Since the commentary was completed by Divākara on Wednesday 13 March 1816 31, and Divākara identifies Narahari as his teacher, it can be inferred that this manuscript is likely to be one of the first copied. Certainly it can be inferred that Bodhasāra is a late eighteenth century text.

In 1868 the Government of India approved a scheme for collecting and cataloguing manuscripts.32 Dr Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar collected a manuscript of Bodhasära in the Bombay Presidency during the years 1891 to 1895. Unfortunately, due to illness, he was unable to write his usual detailed report so it is not known where in the Bombay presidency. Professor Abaji Vishnu Kathavate compiled the report, but as he was new to the work, it lacked the detail of previous reports.33 This manuscript is now in the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, Maharashtra.34 A decade later Bodhasāra was

selected for publication as part of the Benares Sanskrit Series. In 1905 British scholars R.T.H. Griffith and G. Thibaut supervised the editing by pandits of the Benares Sanskrit College. This publication has been used for our translation.35 Translations into Bengali and Hindi followed the published edition in the early twentieth century.36

In the latter twentieth century one of the original Benares Sanskrit Series copies was discovered by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in a book bazaar in Calcutta. He was attracted by the title and the fine Sanskrit and sought for it to be translated into English. As a charming aside the original editor of the text for the Benares College was himself named Swami Dayanand. Via connections both coincidental and remarkable the translation was eventually undertaken by Dr. Jennifer Cover in Sydney with contributions from Professor Kanchan Mande in Pune. And so the work has successfully completed its voyage into English.

Few eighteenth century Sanskrit works have even been read, let alone translated into English, so as well as being a fine piece of Sanskrit literature in its own right, Bodhasāra is a valuable example of Indian thought immediately before Colonialism and shows that experienced scholars, able to delight in a text such as Bodhasāra, lived at this time. Until recently, little was known about Sanskrit knowledge systems in India immediately before colonialism. It was assumed by many that India at that time was in a state of chaos, and only earlier Sanskrit texts were worthy of study.37 The Sanskrit Knowledge Systems on the Eve of Colonialism (SKSEC) project initiated in 2001, together with Sheldon Pollock's own work, stimulated interest in this vital period of Indian history.38 This SKSEC project revealed that during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries Indian pandits from various disciplines began to value innovation. They returned to traditional sources for reconsideration, from the perspective of their present world, in some cases rejecting inherited doctrines.39 Sudipta Kaviraj advances a larger argument about a 'proto-modernity' in India during Mughal rule.40 He argues for the possibility of an indigenous Indian modernity, an awakening prior to the influx of colonial culture.41 Any such renaissance was overwhelmed by the influx of British rule but from this perspective Bodhasāra becomes a valuable example of what Indian modernity could have been like if Colonialism had not intervened.

Narahari's writing shines with an all-inclusive perspective, an eccentric sense of humour, confidence and passion. There is a compelling authority behind his words that indicates a deep personal

understanding. Clearly he has had a traditional upbringing and knows traditional texts and Hindu daily rituals well, as is evidenced by his use of traditional stories and characters as springboards to introduce his own ideas. He is clearly a scholar, a masterful Sanskrit writer and a good teacher. He uses his command of Sanskrit rasa and Indian poetics to turn words into a potent 'elixir' or rasayana to be tasted and imbibed by the reader. Through poetry he invites connection with a realm beyond the physical world but not separate from it. For Narahari the whole world is divine.

His name and his writing indicate that he was a householder and not a Swami. His freedom of speech demonstrates an individuality that is unlikely to conform to a particular school or sect. The image of Sheldon Pollock's 17th century intellectuals who were independent thinkers fits Narahari well.42 He presents his culture as something living in the present, rather than something to be unconditionally preserved.

In Bodhasāra the element of surprise is never far away, and surprise is itself surprising in the way it can dislodge preconceptions or assumptions. Narahari often intellectually ambushes his reader, who is lead along what looks like a familiar path only to find they have arrived at a totally unfamiliar place. These following examples are but two among many.

In the section 'Six verses on stone', a metaphor of a stone cow is used.43 Full of poetic imagery the statue 'made from the moonlight of countless moons ... a cow made of moonstone', is a metaphor both beautiful and captivating. It elicits an emotional response but then concludes with the invitation to become a stone calf and drink from the stone cow. The metaphor might be received as a devotional sentiment submerged in hyperbole. Or perhaps something else is intended; a step away from reason and a challenge to re-discover existence. The fact that reasoning does not bring about jīvanmukti is the constant theme of Bodhasara, and the discontinuity between reason and liberation is constantly explored. The literary creativity that Narahari uses to demonstrate this point exemplifies the treasure of Bodhasära. The prior study and reasoning that brings one to the limit of understanding is assumed to have been undertaken by the reader. Narahari announces in the first verse of Bodhasāra that this is a text for the wise. Instilling faith and confidence and sometimes sheer audacity in the pupil to abandon the safety of reason and adopt a totally new self awareness is the hallmark of this work. The sacred texts tell about awareness, but Bodhasāra surprises the reader with

immediate perceptions of saturated awareness, often in the most unusual places, even in a stone cow.

The section 'Four verses on free living' is a remarkably audacious metaphor.44 The name of the section, svecchācāra, literally means 'behaving as one likes' or 'loose-living', and is commonly used as a derogatory term to refer to those who don't follow the prescribed conventions. But in Bodhasära it describes free or enlightened living, living in the present, in the presence of brahman the universal, beyond prescribed rules and conventions. This section demonstrates a masterly use of language full of word play and contending meanings. To understand it, all levels of the text must be examined and none of the literal meanings in isolation is correct. Narahari creates a tension between these multiple apparent meanings and from this tension arises the intended meaning, which itself is unstated. The Sanskrit is brilliant in the way opposing meanings are constructed with the same words.

The first meaning, unthinkable in an Indian context, depicts a woman, Caturā, completely irresponsible and immoral, abandoning her home and husband to indulge herself with another man. The second depicts someone highly spiritual and pure who subjugates the ahankāra in order to join with paramatman. The conservative view rejects Catura's licentious behaviour; Catura will only gain liberation by being the perfect wife. But Bodhasāra invites a reconciliation of both meanings. Perfection of living comes from liberation; liberation does not come from perfection of living. The metaphor of Catura is hard to forget because it is so outrageous. The step away from worldly constraints to spiritual liberation is described as being as flagrant as abandoning a marriage for a lover. The tension between the two meanings of the metaphor is the same tension experienced by a spiritual householder. The coexistence between worldly responsibilities and spiritual union must be experienced. Mere adherence to prescript will not do.

Like other works written in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries Bodhasāra re-expresses Sankara's philosophy and the original Sāstras, including the Upanisads, Bhagavadgītā and Patanjali's Yogasūtras, in a 'new' but not revisionary way. For example Narahari builds on Śańkara's abstract concepts of vidyā (knowledge) and avidyā (ignorance), to arrive at a personal practical application.

Śańkara addresses the concepts of vidyā and avidyā with rational argument. He says, in his commentary on the Bhagavadgītā, chapter 18, verse 48, that he who knows the self has expelled avidyā through

vidyā, or wisdom, and no residue of what has been expelled remains.45 Narahari reshapes these concepts by personifying vidyā and avidyā, grammatically feminine words, as women. In the section, 'nine verses on the strength of the wise', Narahari looks at the interplay from the perspective of avidyā, the loser in Śankara's paradigm.

Ignorance (avidyā), like a woman shamed, does not come near. She thinks, "Having abandoned me who was formerly beloved, he now takes pleasure with knowledge (vidyā)."46

The sage knows that avidya won't return for she feels the shame of one rejected in favour of vidyā, personified as another woman. Knowledge and ignorance are taken out of the realm of abstract concepts and made real. When vidyā becomes the beloved, avidyā is not banished. She retreats, humiliated.

Using similar linguistic constructs, he addresses the traditional concept of the four states of being (waking, dream, sleep and turīya) presented in the Māndūkya Upanisad with these verses,

Waking, dream and sleep, unknown to each other, have been enjoyed by you like three women. Engage with beautiful turīyā!

You have been roaming between the three houses of waking, dream and sleep. Why do you not see that turiya, the fourth, is your own home.

Do not run around in search of happiness. Dear friend there is no happiness in pursuing. Remain happily in your innate self, which is happiness. Be happy! 47

The states of waking, dream and sleep are thought of as three separate women, who don't know each other. They are enjoyed one after the other, quite a scandalous image given the subject. Then having accepted this riske state of affairs, he says turīyā, the fourth, is your real wife. The feminine form turīyā is used to depict a beautiful spiritual lady. This is no philosophical concept, although here as in most cases, the reader is assumed to be learned in the philosophical underpinnings of the metaphor. Narahari is showing that the world of personal experience is not far from the experience of jīvanmukti, for

those who see clearly. The last verse is an elaborate play on the word 'sukha', happiness. Happiness in the three states of the world and happiness in your own self.

This eccentricity is ever apparent. He personifies grammatically masculine and feminine words as men and women, sometimes speaks as a woman, and at times even addresses the mind and desires as though they are people. Verses like his 'One hundred intoxicated prattlings' 48 are not usually seen in traditional texts. Narahari demands a spontaneous stepping out into the play of life that includes both the transcendent and the manifest. For him intent is everything, far more important than the observance of rules. For him the best austerity is:

When it arrives, make it welcome. Do not hinder it as it goes. As it comes, gladly accept all. 49

The rich poetic language of Bodhasāra, its word-play and multiple, even oppositional meanings, is ever present and often impossible to translate in any literal way. Is this style simply the author displaying his impressive mastery of language? Is the wordplay just that, play? If so then the loss in translation of this background scenery would be unfortunate but not detrimental to preserving the work's main thesis. However in our view this is not the case. Bodhasāra is poetry, not a philosophical treatise. The multiple layers in the text are essential to achieving Narahari's purpose. He frequently warns that jīvanmukti is not achieved and cannot be explained through reasoned discourse. jīvanmukti can only be experienced and the role of a guru is to bring the pupil to a position where that experience is possible. The key is sahrdaya50, being of one heart with the author and the multivalent structures of Bodhasāra, essential to its purpose. In many ways Bodhasāra is rather like music where multiple parts interact in harmony, syncopation, counterpoint and discord to produce an existential statement. The outcome is a higher order meaning which eludes simplistic statement. The question, 'What does Beethoven's Fifth Symphony mean?', would indicate that the questioner understood nothing of the music. Something similar applies to Bodhasāra.

The initial translation undertaken by Jennifer Cover and encouraged by Peter Oldmeadow, being a first translation into English, was a confusing and often frustrating exercise, as the work contains so many

intentional contradictions. Swami Dayananda Saraswati provided useful guidance during this early stage, revealing the real nature of the work. Kanchan Mande later provided much cultural insight and confidence, from a lifetime studying and absorbing Indian culture in her beloved Pune. With some familiarity with the text it became possible to 'hear' Narahari's voice in the words, and the translation became less mechanical. With some understanding of its content and intent, the entire work was translated a second time, this time with Grahame Cover working on the English expression.

While the translated text remains linguistically faithful to the original, the more we worked with the text the more it was possible to hear Narahari's voice rising out of the words. It is in this voice that the real meaning lies. What we have attempted is to restate this voice in English. Only the reader can judge if this has been successfully done. To the reader we can offer one recommendation. It would be a mistake to read Bodhasāra as a sequence of instructive homilies. In fact the quotation of a single verse, no matter how pithy, as being representative of Narahari's understanding would almost certainly be a mistake. When reading Bodhasāra it is always worthwhile to have a good sense of direction. Look back to see from where the text has come, look forward to see where it is leading. You may find Narahari delivers you to a place different to where you anticipated.

Bodhasära begins with an opening prayer for success of the work, which has remained potent for more than two centuries. May it continue to be successful!

Jennifer Cover & Grahame Cover Scotland Island (Sydney), Australia August 2010

Translators' Note

· As far as possible a Sanskrit word has been translated with the same meaning throughout.

. Small 's' for self and small 'g' for god have been used throughout. We did not feel the necessity to make any distinction.

· Only Sanskrit words which are proper names have been given a capital letter. Hence brahman, guru etc.

Several forms have been used in the translation of Sanskrit words.

· Proper names, of gods, sages etc. (eg Krsna, Īśvara) have been transposed directly in English and capitalised.

· Siva's epithets used by Narahari have been preserved in the translation to enable a larger view of Siva, and the epithets listed as an appendix. The name Krsna however has been substituted for his epithets for clarity.

· Many Sanskrit words commonly used in English, such as guru, moksa, dharma etc., have been preserved italicised in the translation and their meaning given in the glossary.

· Some Sanskrit words have complex meanings which cannot be translated into one or two equivalent English words. For the sake of retaining a visual structure to the text these Sanskrit words have been preserved italicised, with their meanings given either in footnotes or the glossary.

· Most Sanskrit words have multiple meanings. Where a word has been ascribed an English translation that inadequately portrays its full scope of meaning, the English word is followed by the original Sanskrit in brackets. Readers proficient in Sanskrit will thereby gain a fuller sense of the word.

· Footnotes have been included to help explain various illustrations, references and idioms. The balance between writing footnotes and writing a commentary can be a fine one

and in this we have simply exercised personal judgement. Footnotes have been included to inform the meaning of the text rather than to provide a complete cultural background.

Introductory verses

1.With an imaginative enthusiasm and wishing to delight those who know, having made a prayer for auspiciousness, Bodhasāra, awareness itself, presents.51

2.To remove obstacles we invoke Ganeśa within, the power of the highest self, full of endless force.

3.I recall within Saraswatī, the power of knowledge, steadfast in her own nature through insight and intelligence.52

4.I salute the blessed gurus, personifications of the highest bliss. Their grace, the fount of immortal brahman, dissolves the threefold affliction.53

Section 1: Praise of guru 54

5.My salutations to the guru Vișņu,55 who is the realm of the wealth of liberation,56 the slayer of cruel Madhu and Kaitabha, demons of pride and delusion.57

6. The three, Visnu, Brahma and Siva, are deified through the qualities of nature. Our guru is elevated beyond them since he goes beyond the qualities.

7.Rudra slays the body and death, Hari slays cruelty and vanity, Durga slays attachment and detachment, guru slays all pairs of opposites.58

8.Pleased deities give riches, long life, progeny and fame. But only the blessed guru can give knowledge.

9.Indeed even the trail of dust from the lotus feet of the blessed guru is superior. The three guņas, rajas, sattva and tamas, are slain by it alone. 59

10.We have to be taken across; awareness is the boat to cross the ocean of birth and death. Hence I turn to the guru, the helmsman, who guides with a flow of words to the ears.

11.Even Iśvara in Kāśī, by becoming guru, liberates through instruction of the tāraka mantra (Om or Rama). Therefore guru surpasses Iśvara. 60

12.Īśvara is by grace of guru. Guru is by grace of Iśvara. But seeing the guru is the cause of seeing Iśvara.

13.Iśvara, the cause of everything, causes both samsāra and release. Since guru is the cause of release alone there is no principle higher than guru.

14.The power of guru gives release anywhere, even without the influence of a sacred place. Whilst even in Kāsī, the most sacred of places, there is never release without guru.

15.Why the pleading, 'please be merciful', 'please bestow grace'? My guru is naturally full of compassion and grace.

Section 2: Discernment of student

1.It is said that instruction from the guru is the seed, and the one who wants to know is the field. But the tree of awareness sprouts from discernment and liberation is the fruit of that tree.

2.Though there can be no tree without both the field and the seed, the seed is said to be the material cause, the field the instrumental cause.

3.The tree springs from the seed, not from the field. Awareness springs from the guru, not from the student.

4.For the tree, being of the nature of seed, is not of the nature of field. Awareness, being of the nature of guru, is not of the nature of student.

5.The tree, being of the nature of seed, is implanted in the field by the seed. Awareness, being the nature of the guru himself, is implanted in the student by the guru.

6.The radiance of fire, existing in the wick of a lamp, dispels darkness and shines. The radiance alone, which is the nature of light, dispels darkness, not the wick of the lamp.

7.The radiance of the guru existing in the student dispels darkness and shines. The guru alone, whose nature is light, dispels darkness, not the immature student.

8.It is well known that Agni (the god of fire) leaps onto wood

and a town is reduced to ashes. The cause of the reduction to ashes is the fire not any power in the wood.

9.Having entered the student in the form of awareness, the guru instantly burns the perception of duality. Certainly this is the power of the guru, not that of the student.

10.At the rising of the sun the lotus blooms, but those made of wood, stone or clay cannot.

11.As the sun, the source of light, can open only the real lotus, so the guru, the awakener, can awaken only the true student.

12.The source of light is greater than that which is lit. I will describe the subtle distinctions of the guru-sun. Please listen!

13.Though different from himself, the guru-sun leads the student to oneness with himself, through reasoning based on Vedānta, endowed with dispassion and discernment.

14.The sun, though opening the lotus, cannot lead it to oneness with itself. For that reason the feet of the blessed guru should be honoured with mindfulness of universal oneness.

15.Truly, without a giver and receiver, giving is not possible. Still the receiver should be fit to receive and the giver the appropriate agent for giving.

16.From contact with a touch-stone, iron may transform to gold but not to that touch-stone itself. From contact with the guru touch-stone,

one instantly transforms into guru.

17.In this way, O learned one, both are significant for discernment. The student is the instrument alone, the role of guru most revered.

18.The advice beginning thus, "The process of instruction, O Rāma, is the observance of simple established practices," is but to increase the student's resolve.61

19.This certainty regarding teacher and student is the culmination of all doctrines. It instantly awakens trust and should be kept in mind at all times.

Section 3: Inquiry into brahman

1.Now inquiry into brahman.62 The non-dual brahman is to be uncovered; first through incidental description,63, then intrinsic description.64

2.The incidental description is given by sayings such as, 'Iśvara is the original cause of birth, sustenance and destruction; the knower of all; the one whose thought becomes a reality.' 65

3.The intrinsic definition is given in the Veda by sayings such as, 'That has the nature of sat, cit, ananda;66 self luminous; higher than the highest, not minute.' 67

4.Whatever is required as primary or secondary means of knowledge, all that is expounded by me under the guise of separate topics.

5.Within each given context the method of external practice is presented first, followed by the internal practice.68

Section 4: The underlying basis of dispassion (vairāgya)

1.O intelligent one, hear at the outset the underlying basis of dispassion. Without the rim there is no wheel.69

2.There is no sanctification by Vedic ritual70 in a śūdra,71 no oil in sand, and no hair on the palm of the hand. In the same way there is no deliverance in the passionate one.

3.Dispassion is difficult to comprehend and is of two kinds. The distinction between the two must be understood. One springs from the desire to know, the other springs from the desire to give up.

4.O contemplative one, 'the desire to give up mundane existence and the desire to know brahman', are the two kinds. While being one and the same, yet there is some distinction.

5.Those fallen from their kingdoms, those with long illnesses, those suppressed by another, and those impoverished, become dispassionate and perform austerities. That springs from the desire to abandon.

6.The wise, who are free from mental anxiety, fear of disease, distress, dependence on others and so on, seek liberation. Please listen! This is how they do it.

7.Kaśyapa and others, who keep the wish fulfilling cow in their home in the divine forest, practise austerity. 72 That is dispassion springing primarily from the desire to know.

8.On the other hand individuals afflicted with mental anxiety, fear of disease, distress, dependence on others etc,

seek deliverance. That springs primarily from the desire to abandon.

9.Having gained a human life, so difficult to attain, and with thought perfected by true teachings, if there is no abidance in brahman, what is the point?

10.Discerning people, having realised this, resolve to know. Apparently with no particular cause, like the fall of fruit from a tree,73 their dispassion springs primarily from the desire to know.

11.Virocana, the son of Krttavīrya,74 Bali, Blessed Räghava75 and others, those indifferent to royal amusements, exemplify that.

12.If the desire to know brahman is from intense dispassion towards samsāra, that dispassion in virtuous ones, is predominantly from the desire to abandon.

13.And O dear one, the one endowed with an ardent desire to know brahman is dispassionate towards visible objects predominantly from the desire to know.

14.For the one who has natural dispassion, is either preeminent for him? In the following verses misconceptions are explained. Dispassion arises from seeing these misconceptions.

15.O Sage, with focused mind, please listen. I now present the key aspects of these misconceptions, beginning with the body.

Deception of the body

1.This body,

which they adorn with gold, clothing and perfume, becomes desirable entirely through folly.

2.From where is the desirability of the body, which is food for beasts of prey, fuel for the pyre and emaciated with age.

3.A palace of strife, the embodiment of discord, this is the realm of the five elements. How could one be happy there?

4.The womb is a prison-house; infancy total confusion. There too, existence is difficult, with survival being dependent on another.

5.Afflicted by arrows of love, distraught by separation from a lover, overwhelmed by abundance of misdoings, youth is a forest of adversity.

6.Bent and bowed, old, stale and grey, like an old pumpkin, the body of the old is despised.

7.And what of death? There is fear of the spectre of death. In hell there is great suffering, and in heaven fear of coming back.

8.In rebirth too there is tribulation, whether high or low born. And then if one were to be born an animal or the like, what could one say of suffering?

9.Birth again, death again, sorrow again, fear again, a person lost on the ocean of ignorance does not know the way home.

Deception of livelihood

1.In the duty of a warrior (ksatriya) there is excessive violence, in living on alms (brāhmaņa) much humiliation, and in commerce (vaiśya) only deception. There is no greater downfall than lying.

2.In servitude (śūdra) there is extreme affliction and a tiller of the soil is an earthworm. In gambling there could be loss of all possessions. In fraud there is great fear of the authorities.

3.Wealth does not fall from the sky! How could making a living give happiness?

Deception of desire

1.Cunning silver-tongued men and women feed on each other's wealth even while living. After death they become demons and continue eating the flesh of corpses.

2.In cremation grounds, demons assuming human bodies dance about in the night. In houses, householders gyrate in all sorts of peculiar actions. 76

3.A person constrained to mundane duties, roaming about like a street dog, habitually tastes, touches, smells and eats again and again.

4.What sort of satisfaction comes from scratching an itch, if by scratching there is later great pain! The pleasure of the senses is like this.

5.A hunter with sharp arrows pierces a deer that is lured by sweet music. A woman with the knife of pleasure repeatedly pierces a man intent on an attractive body.

Deception of Anger

1.Every day the angry one consumes himself. He gesticulates in darkness. Not by a demon is the cruel angry one terrified, but by himself.

Deception of greed

1.Even ghosts, female imps, serpents or scorpions do not lead humans astray in the same way that greed, the enemy, leads the intellect astray.

2.In comparison to the dazzling conflagration of vain hopes, Mt Merus are no larger than globules of ghee. 77 How then could the greedy one be satisfied with innumerable objects?

3.From dawn to sleep, wandering in dream cities even while awake, he finds no peace. That is the prowess of greed.

4.Serpents, scorpions etc. surround and protect treasure with all effort, though they themselves neither eat or drink it. Parsimonious people are the preceptors of these spirits.

5.Those wealthy who do not use their wealth in charity to others or for enjoyment of themselves but bury it deep inside the earth are not offered even dust in their mouth when they die. 78

6.The deluded hoard wealth in a copper pot (pātra). Is such wealth, hidden in a pot, wealth at all? A worthy person (pātra) is a fine vessel. Wealth given to such a person brings good fortune. The vessel must be carefully assessed. 79

7.Wealthy people, blind with arrogance, are served with great physical effort just for the sake of money, the equivalent of crow droppings. This is a great folly.

8.The disease of greed cannot be treated by gemstones, mantras or herbs. Anyone who boasts of gemstones, mantras or herbs is resorting to greed.

9.Having imagined the gain of some wealth, you gaze at the face of a rich person and beg with flattering words, like a dog. Reflect upon the harm greed does!

10.It is called greed because it is a bondage of iron shackles that robs of all good. It is unstable so causes fear and tears away this world and the next.80

11.The lustful yearn for a lover, those free from desire long for liberation. Even the blessed lord is greedy for devotion. The one who is free from greed is extremely rare.

12.There is a bed shimmering, smooth as cream and a young lady to massage his feet. Yet the king cannot sleep because of the desire to conquer another's kingdom.

13.Thieves81 are met along the way, friendship with them grows. Having taken his wealth, they are gone. Then the slow-witted one laments.

14.The head of the family, as the owner of its wealth, guards his booty like a thief. Thieves such as wives, sons etc. enjoy it, as though owners. 82

15.Wealth is kept hidden even from sons, friends and wives. I consider that hoarding a sin. A good person doesn't keep wealth hidden.83

16.Shame on the hypocrite proclaiming dispassion yet coveting wealth! A passionate courtesan is preferable since she openly covets wealth.

17.A reciter of sacred texts, having taken money from the wealthy, boasts about himself. In the same way a courtesan, having coupled with many wealthy clients, boasts of herself.

18.The greedy one who preaches Vedanta does not shine. Just as, if he steals, the one with matted locks and smeared with ashes is placed in chains. 84

19.If the learned attain importance by acquiring wealth then please explain the difference between the learned and the courtesan?

20.O Lord, do not show me the face of the worldling, who says that wealth is impermanent, yet always worships it.

21.Having become enslaved to desires, the covetous ones are slaves of all. The one who has let go of greed, is no-one's slave.

Deception of action

1.Hundreds of pots of water cannot fill a bamboo basket. In the same way, O virtuous one, a multitude of actions does not bring fulfilment. So why does dispassion not arise?

2.Actions have been performed since the day of creation. Alas, the worldly one has not gained freedom from concern even for a moment. 85

3.For humans the dependence on offerings from another is extremely unfortunate. How can dependence on offerings by a son be called good fortune?

4.Having called, "O departed" on the day of death, a son will give offerings of rice. Is that Ok with you, or will immortality be better?

5.The Veda and authoritative texts for a transmigrating soul predict hunger, thirst, sorrow, delusion, old age and death. Don't be such a person eating the food of funeral rites.86

6.A long life leads to senility. Much wealth leads to constant concern. Children bring unhappiness due to strife. The sorrow in samsāra is beyond belief.

7.A rich person is charmed by the reflection of his body. Deluded by vanity, he enthusiastically partakes of a wife.87 He does not know Visņu's spell, māyā.

8.The comings and goings of animals, sons, daughters, spouses and all are met like unexpected meetings on a journey. They cannot be rationalised. Possessiveness is not recognised as a source of contentment.

9.Our teachers, who can substitute equanimity (samatā) for egotism (mamatā), are indeed the most accomplished grammarians. Turning mamatā into samatā, they have the best grammar.88

10.What is the difficulty in giving up those things, whose abandonment brings great happiness? After all they will certainly abandon you just as you will abandon them.

11.Praise and criticism is the order for those deluded about worldly dealings. But even that only lasts as long as the body. How long will that be?

12.Like a tug of war, people on one side pull the rope of worldly objects with all their strength. On the other side pulls time. Time alone, the most powerful, devours everything.

13.Indeed prosperity is transient, we are transient, objects and mental states are transient. Where is happiness when life itself is uncertain.

14.In short, the angst of grief, delusion, fear, helplessness, anxiety, disease, hunger and thirst, is manifold.

Section 5: Inquiry into dharma

1.Now the inquiry into dharma. 89 The four-fold dharma, nitya, naimittika, kāmya and prāyaścitta, is unfolded. 90

2.Those actions appropriate for class and stage of life, along with cleanliness, bathing etc., are nitya. They are necessary. Not doing them offends.

3.Those enjoined rituals occasioned by place and time, such as equinoxes, eclipses, ritual bathing, giving alms, offering gifts to ancestors, chanting of mantras etc., are naimittika.

4.Prāyaścitta dharmas consist of difficult fasts regulated by the waxing and waning of the moon91 etc. Kāmya, the ritual motivated by desire, is not prescribed for one seeking liberation (moksa).

5.But desire to gain the grace of the Lord, and desire for purity of heart and desire for liberation, are not considered desires.

6.Therefore with such desire there is ritual bathing, giving, invocatory prayers etc. The practice of pilgrimage, vows, love for austerity should be performed by those seeking liberation.

7.Krsņa declares in the Bhagavadgītā, the definitive ruling of actions in this way: obligatory actions (nitya) are never to be given up by one seeking liberation. 92

8.Even when knowledge arises,

for the benefit of others, actions are not to be given up. It is the renunciation of false notions that is the renunciation of action.

9.The renunciation of actions is not giving up actions per se. It is giving up the mind's obsession with action. For the wise, worship, gift and austerity are purifiers.

10.Through action there is purity of mind and through that, a strong desire to seek liberation. From seeking arises discernment and through discernment there can be liberation. So how can action be abandoned?

11.But dear one, those who through awareness have arrived at a state surpassing action, are not slaves of Vedic mandate. Therefore let them dance freely, according to their own rhythm.93

Intention of austerity

1.That austerity, performed ostentatiously at a fair or in the town square, by those given over to pretension and greed, is considered the lowest.

2.That austerity, performed with desire by one enduring cold and heat etc., according to the rules stipulated by the Veda and Sacred texts, is intermediate.

3.That austerity, performed without desire for the sake of restraint of the mind, by one aspiring to know reality, aiming at the highest truth, is considered the highest.

4.When it arrives, make it welcome. Do not hinder it as it goes. As it comes, gladly accept all.

This austerity is the best of all.

Keeping vows

1.The vow to renounce desires and aversions, to desist from another's spouse, another's property, from harming another, is the best of vows.

It is said in the Kāśīkhaņḍa

2.Even Ganga94 says, "When will someone, having turned away from another's spouse, another's property, from harming another, come to cleanse me. "95

Contemplation on dress

1.Liberation is not in long matted hair twisted on top of the head, not in orange robes or a shaved head, not in ashes smeared on the body, or ascetic's patched clothing, nor in a tilaka9% or an ascetic's water gourd.

2.A snake is beaten out of fear, but it is useless to beat an ant-hill. Shaving the head is also useless if there is no restraint of the mind.

3.If, free from passion, one wears matted locks, patched garments and so on, for the sake of quietening the agitations of mind, that is the finest.

Investigation of silence

1.Observance of silence is said to be fourfold. Silence of speech is restraint of speech, whereas silence of sense-perception is restraint of the senses.

2.And restraint of the organs of action97 is kāșțha (wooden) silence. These three kinds of silence are subordinate. Absorption of the mind is superior.

3.That silent one is not like a mute, nor like a baby, not even like one who has taken a vow. The silent one is the one whose mind is absorbed.

4.By definition, the nature of the silent one must be silence. When this is not the case, silence is meaningless.

Knowledge of giving

1.Giving is threefold; in ascending order: giving for fame, giving for desire, and giving with compassion. Better than these is giving to the Lord.

True principle of tirtha (sacred place)

1.This sacred place, then that sacred place, then a sacred place beyond that, then a sacred place further still. I have seen them all but you have not.

2.Those who wander about places of pilgrimage thinking, 'my reward from pilgrimage is large, your reward from pilgrimage is small,' are wanderers not pilgrims.

3.At a sacred place demerit is cleansed through ritual bathing. Meeting with good people is a sacred place. Discussion about dispassion takes place at a sacred place. Worship of Iśvara is a sacred place.

4.Endurance of heat and cold is a sacred place. Living without attachment is a sacred place. Indeed those who understand a sacred place in this way,

know the essence of sacred places.

Propriety in conduct

1.Improper conduct causes decadence, but irrational adherence to correctness is foolishness. The combination of deliberation and propriety is the mark of virtuous conduct.

Section 6: Consideration of the desire to renounce

1.Dispassionate people are not those who have renounced wealth, nor are they those who are naked ascetics. My view is that dispassionate people are those who have a special attachment to the abode of their own self.

2.Thieves leave their home impelled by danger, not through any realisation. Lovers leave their home impelled by desire, not through any realisation.

3.The angry man leaves his home because of conflict with opponents. The arrested man leaves his home because of constraint, not through any realisation.

4.Wise people, who have attained the happiness of non-attachment through some felicity of awareness, give up their home whether they remain in the house or retire to the forest.

It is said:

5. What would a fool renounce? What is the outcome of the renunciation of the one whose mind is filled with vanity? It does not matter whether the realised person performs actions or not, because he is not distracted by ideas of renunciation. The one who is resolved in this way, because of the teachings of Advaita, is intent neither on attachment nor on renunciation. Such a person of contemplation revels beyond the field of words.

6.For those integrated in yoga. this is the understanding regarding renunciation. Vedänta concludes that this understanding can only be reached through renunciation itself.98

Section 7: Observation of qualification

1.Many laws are given in the sacred texts for those living by dharma. Regarding moksa (liberation), the primary qualification is the intense longing for it.

2.For the one desiring heaven, there is a ceremony named jyotiștoma. For the one desiring a son, marriage is prescribed. For the ambitious, commerce is appropriate. Those who strive for moksa are qualified for moksa.

3.If there is an intense longing for moksa but a feebleness of understanding, this must first be overcome by discussion with those who know the sacred texts.

4.For the one not qualified for the rituals enjoined by the Veda, 99 if there is longing for moksa, there must be contemplation through listening to the Purāņa etc.

5.Whilst the conclusion in the Bhasya is 'the words of the Veda are not to be heard', what is told in the Veda is also in the Purāna. 100

6.An authorised action performed by one qualified succeeds. The same action performed by one not qualified might not succeed, and great harm could result. 101

Section 8: The nectar of the company of the wise

1.0 dear one, when by the sweet essence of wise company the mind becomes happy, then there is reassurance that 'I will be released from delusion'.

2.For once company with the wise is established, everything else is secured.

3.The wise are those: who are always devoted to the lord, who are free from passion, who look upon all as the same, who are proficient in the science of moksa (liberation). These wise should be followed.

4.By the mere visitation to the wise, love for moksa increases. By their exposition doubts are eliminated.

5. The company of the wise helps determine the intended meaning of the sacred texts through the six indicators of 'upakrama - opening statement' etc. 102 and the proper organisation of general and specific statements. 103

6.Entrance into the path of moksa, in accordance with Veda and Śāstra104 and the proper understanding of all traditional teaching, can be achieved through the company of the wise.

7.These wise, who are like helmsmen directing the flow of words in the ears,105 are to be followed. Understanding is gained from their exposition through the dialectic of argument and objection.106

The Bhagavadgītā concurs with this description:

8.Understand that, through prostration, appropriate questioning and service. The wise ones who have seen the truth will impart knowledge to you. 107

Section 9: The sacred river of reconciliation108

1.With precision, dive into the sacred river of reconciliation. By doing so there can be washing away of the mud of diverse opinions.

2.The efficient means for liberation are, in sequence, the word, the aim of the word, the aim of the sentence, the true principles, 109 command of the mind and understanding the import of the great statements.110

3.In these efficient means, all the traditional disciplines are put to good use. I will explain concisely how that is.

4.Maturity in understanding words arises through grammatical analysis and the knowledge of the import of words through the arguments of nyāya and vaiśeşika.

5.Insight into the meaning of the sentence becomes firm through mīmāmsā, clarity of true principles through sāmkhya and restraint of the mind through yoga.

6.Through Vedanta, through abidance in brahman, 111 there is understanding of the import of the great statements. Thus reconciliation of all the disciplines is in brahman alone.

Section 10: Awakening of congruence112

1.In the same vein the awakening of congruence is presented here. The presence of duality in worldly transactions is the same in the doctrines of Dvaitins and Advaitins.

2.And the notion of non-duality is consistent in both doctrines.113 But they quarrel again and again with elegant speeches. Let them dispute!

3. Yamas - self-restraints such as non-violence and truthfulness, niyamas - regulations such as cleanliness etc., 114 āsanas - sitting in a firm yet comfortable position and pratyāhāra - withdrawal of the senses from everything.115

4.Likewise dhāraņā - steadfastness of the mind, dhyana - meditation and samādhi - absorption of the mind, everyone accepts this yoga of seven limbs.

5.In laya yoga, in mantra, in hatha, in rāja, in bhakti yogas, in sāmkhya, in thinking of Krsna, in all this there is unity of thought for those awakened, who are on the path of liberation.

6. The effort of prāņāyāma is one more for those practising hatha yoga. In prāņāyāma there is steadfastness of mind so who would object to that?

7.Therefore there being deliverance for all adepts, there is no real contention. Still there is yet some distinction in the thinking of Vedāntins. 116

Section 11: Sāmkhya, the eye-salve

1.A dash of collyrium eliminates the eye disease timira, enabling vision of small things clearly.117 In the same way a mind perfected by Sāmkhya is able to discern the real from the unreal.

2.Kapila, the lord Mukunda, taught Devahuti the discernment of all principles.118 That is designated as Sāmkhya. 119

3.There is a principle called prakrti, ineffable, composed of three guņa. 120 All the modifications of gross and subtle, moving and non-moving, arise from it.

4.The seven effects arising from prakrti, mahatattva, ahankāra and the five tanmātras, 121 are both effect and subsequent cause.

5.They are effects of their own causes and causes of their own effects. Thus these seven plus the original prakrti make eight causes. All else are effects.

6.Five elements beginning with space, five sense organs and five organs of action together with the mind make sixteen.

7.The five elements are said to be space, air, fire, water and earth. The qualities of these are respectively sound, touch, form, taste and smell

8.The five sense organs are the ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose. The five organs of action the organ of speech, hands, feet, excretion and genitals.

9.There are said to be twenty four because the mind is the essence of both the sense organs and action. 122 The transformations of these are the entire three worlds.

10.Indeed everything is composed of three guņas because prakrti itself is composed of three guņas. The guņas, rajas, sattva and tamas, appear as red, white and black.

11.Rajas moves, tamas is lifeless, whatever is endowed with sattva shines. Indeed tamas is considered the lowest, rajas the middle and sattva the highest.

12.It is said that desire etc. are the states of rajas, insentience etc. the states of tamas, and happiness, clarity, awareness etc. the states of sattva.

13.It is said that the gods etc. are those with sattva, men etc. are those with rajas, and animals, spirits etc. are those with tamas. In this way everything can be distinguished.

14.The gunas are mutually incompatible yet mutually dependant, mutually cause and effect. They work in tandem to accomplish things but function in opposition.

15.The whole universe consists of guņas. Even the atman, alone free from guņas, being brilliant, appears to have entered it.

16.Just as the tongue, the knower of tastes exists among thirty two teeth, so the knower of oneself, the knower of reality, exists among the twenty four principles.123

17.The lord is solitary and innate. Māyā, desiring sense objects, plays the courtesan and entices him to take up multiple forms.124

18.Having inseparably entwined with purusa, the dancer appears to dance together with him a dance of surprisingly diverse guises.125

19.The lord is without deficiency, unchangeable. The spouse is deficient, capricious. For a marriage of purușa and prakrti there will certainly be shattering of happiness.126

20.If apprehended in isolation and with a defiled form, the spouse does not show her face but dies with shame.127

21.In summary, purușa, unchangeable, essentially pure and conscious, is not prakrti or its effects. Such is the understanding of sāmkhya.128

Section 12: The wish fulfilling jewel129, the undertaking of yoga

Patañjali's yoga

1.Now comes the wish fulfilling jewel (cintāmaņi), the undertaking of yoga, by which the wretchedness of absence of awareness is dispelled.

2.Śambhu is master of great yogis, Hari is master of great yogis, Brahmā is master of great yogis, and Bhavani, she is the perfected yogini.130

3.Those such as Sanaka, Vasiștha, Kaca,131 Datta, Śuka, 132 Arundhati 133, and others reached final perfection from yoga.134

4. Yoga is union of the individual and universal self through knowledge of ātman. Because they cause that union, many kinds of yoga are accepted.

5.In negative definition the auspicious is termed inauspicious. 135 So Krsņa declares that union (yoga) is separation (viyoga) from all sorrow. 136

6.Even for an excessively unstable mind, steadiness can arise from the power of yoga, as it did for the great Vindhya mountains. 137

And similarly, according to Bhuśuņda (a crow in the Yogavāsișțha). 138

7.Focusing the mind, merging to the sky, I remain free from the fever of thought whilst Brahma engages in the act of creation yet again. 139

8.The restraint of notions of mind is regarded as the main yoga of Patañjali, while the restraint of breath140 is a secondary aspect because it is the means of that restraint of mind.

The sūtra (of Patañjali): "yama, niyama, āsana, prāņāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraņa, dhyānam, samādhi are the eight limbs."141

9. Yama is honesty, truthfulness, non-violence, brahmacarya142, freedom from avarice. Niyama is cleanliness, contentment, discipline, study, surrendering to Iśvara.143

10.Sitting in sukhāsana and thereby keeping the body steady is considered āsana.144 Prāņāyāma is control of the prāņa145 by kumbhaka (stoppage), pūraka (inhalation) and recaka (exhalation). 146 147

11.Pratyāhāra is withdrawal of the fickle sense organs. 148 149 Dhāraņā is regarded as fixing thought in a specific direction.150

12.Dhyāna is said to be continuous uninterrupted thought on the object of meditation, 151 and samādhi, the eighth, is the mind fixed in the form of that object.152

13.There are five external parts: yama, niyama, āsana, prāņāyāma and pratyāhāra. Then the higher internal parts: dhāraņa, dhyānam and samādhi. Samādhi is two-fold: cognitive (samprajñāta) and non-cognitive (asamprajñāta). 153

14.Cognitive samādhi (samprajñāta) is fourfold: connected with reasoning, reflection, bliss and self-cognition.154

15.Non-cognitive samādhi (asamprajñāta)155 where nothing whatsoever is cognised,

is twofold: commitment to attain and surrender to a discipline. 156

16.Even for the uninformed, absorption of mind in prakrti157 can be accomplished from constant practise of austerity. This is samadhi of the commitment to attain. 158

17.For example, the body of Hiraņyakaśipu, who desired sovereignty of the three worlds, was eaten by worms and even covered by an ant-hill while meditating.159

18.However absorption of mind of the great sages, accompanied by faith, strength, memory, intelligence and abandonment of desire, is samādhi of surrender to a discipline.160

19.It is said that for those with highly excitable minds, who long for absorption, there should be austerity, study of the Veda and surrendering all actions to Hari (god).161

20.Untouched by afflictions162, action and fruition, and the countless tendencies that result in those, Iśvara is the unique purusa. 163 164

21.He is by nature the knower of all. He is expressed as om. Repetition of that (om), accompanied by contemplation of its meaning is a means to liberation. 165

22.Just as medical science is fourfold by the discernable difference of disease and its cause, cure and health,

23.so the science of yoga is fourfold by the discernable difference of sorrow of birth, ignorance, understanding and liberation. 166

24.The lack of discernment of purusa and prakrti is delusion, the cause of sorrow. It is dispelled by knowing the difference between purusa167 and the guņa in balance (prakrti).

25.For the one devoted to the practise of yoga, come powers (siddhi) giving enjoyment. Since they are considered hindrances, no respect should be given to them.168

26.What is spoken of in the yoga system of Patañjali are the different powers arising out of the amazing realm of meditation (dhyāna) and concentration (dhāraņa), but, being completely useless, this is not presented here.

Śaivayoga

1. Yoga derived from Śiva is presented. That yoga is four fold: mantra, laya, hatha and rāja yoga.

Mantrayoga

2.The eight syllables (saluting) Nārāyaņa, the twelve syllables (saluting) Vāsudeva and the Nrsimha, Rāma and Gopāla mantras are extolled in the Tāpinīya Upanișads.

3.The five syllabled Śiva mantra169 is very important, and also the Dakşiņāmūrti mantra. 170 But for seekers, the mahāvākya171 and the unique sacred sound om are their mantras.

4.Thus it is agreed by the wise that these great mantras, through traditional practices172 together with grace of the god,173 grant immediate liberation.

Hațhayoga

1.The young ascetic widow between Gangā and Yamunā should be forcefully embraced. That is the supreme abode of Vișņu (liberation).174

With respect to that, Goraksa (the first guru) said:

2.This is the ladder to liberation, rising above the hold of time. 175 The mind is turned away from sense pleasure and attached to the supreme self.

3.If dispassion is dominant food is taken as prescribed, 176 and if one always lives in a solitary place, hathayoga is not difficult to acquire.

4.Furthermore it is attained through instructions from teachers, but not otherwise. In by-passing the correct method there is great harm, excellence comes through the correct method.

5.Hatha yoga, of infinite expansion, is explained by Śiva. 177 Success is attained when the three main locks are firm. 178

6.Mūlabandha is in the base. 179 Udiyānaka is in the middle. 180 Jalandhara is in the throat. 181 Through this threefold lock the vital air (maruta) is mastered.182

7.The vital air traverses from Kundalinī into sușumņa and finally into brahmarandhra. The śakti stands in the position of the base (the mūlādhara); the SadaSiva in the position of brahmarandhra.183

8.The mantra in gāyatrī meter known as ajapa gives liberation for yogis. 184 By the mere conviction of that one frees oneself from all vice. 185

9.Ādhāra is the first cakra (power centre), svādhișțhāna (the second), manipūra is the third and anahata the fourth.

10. Viśuddhi is the fifth cakra and ajñā the sixth. The seventh is brahmarandhra for it is the secret abode for a humming bee. (The one humming om).

11.Having connected one heel with the perineum, then the other foot, restrained, should be placed firmly above the pubis. Having made the body straight like a tree-stump, the sense organs controlled, the unmoving eye looks between the eyebrows. This is called siddhäsana, that which bursts open the door to liberation. 186

12.Assuming firmly the siddhasana pose,187 folding the two cupped hands and pressing the chin firmly on the chest, then meditating in the mind, the air rises and falls again and again. Expelling and holding the breath gently rouses and frees the awakening śakti.188

13.Holding on to its tail, the wise can awaken the sleeping female snake. Abandoning sleep the rising śakti stands powerfully erect.189

14.The activity of the mastered prāna being completely absorbed through this union of Siva and śakti, 190 one's natural state191 spontaneously arises.

15.0 Goddess, 192 how can knowledge live in the mind while prāna is active and mind is not in abeyance? The person who causes both prāna and mind to become quiescent attains liberation. Another never does. 193

16.When the yogi looks intently, but with an inward focus, thus seeing without seeing, the eyes do not move, the breathing is held and the mind becomes quiet. This is sambhavī mudra, the gracious gift of the guru. It's quarry is reality, unqualified by existence (aśūnya) or non-existence (śūnya), the abode sacred to Śiva. 194

17.When movement of prāna stops, the activity of mind stops. Complete union of Śiva195 and śakti196 arises through hathayoga.

18.Indeed those like Goraksa and Carpati, 197 having cheated the spectre of time, wander about in the universe, through the grace of hathayoga.198

19.Having made the mind interior to śakti, 199 śakti interior to mind, hațhayogis unite Śiva and śakti.200

The splendour of Siva's śakti

1.Now, under the pretext of praise, I will unfold the splendour of Siva's śakti (power), in which, through the clarity of subtle vision, there is no more mystery.

2.I recollect that śakti of the supreme self. With characteristics of duality and non-duality, appearing as duality, it is itself non-dual.

3.What is this? Of what, from what, by what, for what, towards what, where, how or when. I praise this wondrous śakti, which is inscrutable.

4.Siva is the doer, Siva is the enjoyer, Śiva is the knower, Siva is the commander. I praise this wondrous śakti, the entire creative cause.

5.Its own agent, its own enjoyer, its own knower, its own ruler. I praise this wondrous śakti, of which Śiva is a mere witness.

6.In the great deity Siva, shining with his own attributes, śakti abides, displaying her own attributes.

I praise this wondrous śakti, known by her own attributes.

7.In the great deity Siva, displaying a form, śakti abides displaying a form. I praise this wondrous śakti, known by her form.

8.In the great deity Siva, devoid of attributes śakti abides without attributes. I praise this wondrous śakti, known without attributes.

9.Appearing as though insentient because consciousness cannot be objectified, śakti is the source of consciousness in the sentient. I praise this wondrous śakti.

10.Illumined by her own consciousness which upholds in itself all multiplicity. I praise this wondrous śakti, the source of consciousness in the sentient.

11.The one who has no śakti is powerless, what will he do? I praise this wondrous śakti, by which Siva has become powerful.

12.Sakti abiding in the powerful becomes capable of accomplishing things. When not settled in Śiva, śakti is powerless. I praise this wondrous śakti.

13.In absolute reality śakti and the one powerful with śakti do not exist. They have attained union in Śiva. I praise this wondrous śakti.

14.Thus do lovers of reality visualise the majestic power of the śakti of Śiva. The ocean of that bliss swells in one's own heart.

15.I meditate on the wonder that is the śakti of Siva, expressing itself as devotion in the devotee, the wildness in an animal, the knowledge in scholars, Brahma's impulse in creation, Hari's grace in existence, consciousness before time began, the drive in the individual, the stasis of the inanimate and the play of one's own bliss in the supreme abode that transcends one's own nature. 201

16.Those who want to acquire sense pleasures are dull-witted, they are constantly seeking. Having abandoned these trivial pleasures, I revere the blessed śakti, whose nature is bliss, who is the flow of the nectar of bliss, who is the pinnacle of the ultimate bliss expounded in the Upanisad that authenticates bliss.202

Layayoga (yoga of absorption)

1.The unsteady mind does not know the joy that arises with steadiness. To experience that joy, absorption is taught by the sages.

2.The beneficent one (Siva) told his consort (Parvatī) innumerable methods of absorption. How can they be known? How can they be described? I will reveal a few.

3.In the beginning of sleep when wakefulness ends, at the end of sleep in the rising of wakefulness, there is absorption (laya) of the mind. Reflection on atman is to be done at that time.

4.When, like a porter having abandoned his load, the individual relaxes, only then is worship of Siva to be performed with reverence.

5.Whenever the mind relaxes then the great lord is to be contemplated upon.

That alone is worship of Śiva.

6.Only in that mind free from desire and aversion, due to a disposition of love for everything, agreeable and disagreeable, can there be worship of Siva.

7.Pain is the highest pūjā (ceremonial worship), for instance pummelling the feet.203 Suffering is also the highest pūjā, just like the Ayurvedic oil bath of unpleasant paste.204

8.Sadness is the highest pūjā. When the mind is sad there is absorption of mind. Fear is also the highest pūjā because the Sruti says 'Fear of Him ... [makes the wind blow, the sun rise, etc]'.205

9.Giving is the highest pūjā if given to the supreme self. Non-giving is also the highest pūjā if it makes the mind quiet.

10.Illness is the highest pūjā because the purging of sin is through illness. Health is also the highest pūjā. Freedom from disease is the means of liberation.

11.Action wholly done for the sake of Śiva is the highest pūjā. Inaction without movement, manifesting as meditation, is also the highest pūjā.

12.Company of the wise is the highest pūjā. Wise company is the means of liberation. Company of the wicked, in which delusion is put to the test, is also the highest pūjā.

13.Courage is the highest pūjā because the courageous person attains immortality. Cowardice is also the highest pūjā because the person is discharged from duty,

14.Praise is the highest pūjā. A god is satisfied by praise. Censure is also the highest pūjā like the harsh words from a friend.

15.Greed is the highest pūjā if one incessantly longs for the divine. Contentment is also the highest pūjā because contentment symbolises god.

16.Pilgrimage is the highest pūjā because in pilgrimage you circumambulate god. Sitting is also the highest pūjā because the best yoga is sitting with oneself.

17.Eating is the highest pūjā, if it is partaken as an offering to god. Fasting is also the highest pūjā, for Hari loves fasting.

18.Standing firm is the highest pūjā as it takes one into the presence of oneself. Prostration is also the highest pūjā, in the form of namaskāra.

19.Speech is the highest pūjā because all words praise Hari. Silence is also the highest pūjā. because that silence is the exposition of god.

20.Activity is the highest pūjā, because all activity originates from the brilliance of Śiva. Stillness is also the highest pūjā. 'Be quiet' is the message of the Veda.

21.Birth is the highest pūjā. It is the incarnation of Hari. Life is also the highest pūjā. Many things can be accomplished while living.

22.Long life is the highest pūjā. Yogis have long lives.

A short life is the highest pūjā for there is immediate release.

23.Death is also the highest pūjā. It is the abandonment of stale remains. Grief is the highest pūjā because grief brings dispassion for the world.

24.Bliss is also the highest pūjā. Hari is always blissful. Robustness is the highest pūjā for the robust one is settled in mind.

25.Emaciation is also the highest pūjā for yogis have thin bodies. Profit is the highest pūjā because profit is the cause of contentment.

26.Loss is also the highest pūjā because through that one is released from wealth. Strength of character is the highest pūjā. The noble ones respect the one with character.

27.Failing is also the highest pūjā, since it is a state free from egotism. Honour is the highest pūjā. The supreme Iśvara is honoured.

28.Disrespect is also the highest pūjā because a yogi gains his goal by facing disrespect. Wealth is the highest pūjā, for wealth facilitates dharma.206

29.Poverty is also the highest pūjā because brahman is gained by the penniless. Vigilance is the highest pūjā because success comes through vigilance.

30.Intoxication is the highest pūjā. When intoxicated, duties are forgotten. Deep sleep is also the highest pūjā for that is union for yogis.

31.Karmayoga is the highest pūjā because action is surrendered to Hari. Bhaktiyoga is the highest pūjā because whoever is my devotee is dear to Me.207

32.Jñānayoga is the highest pūjā. From knowledge, absolute oneness is attained. Turīya is also the highest pūjā because turīya is oneself realised.208

33.Listening to the scriptures is the highest pūjā because the glory of the supreme Iśvara is heard. Reflection is also the highest pūjā because reflection is the prerequisite for meditation.

34.With instruction of a special teacher, such as my teacher, every form of absorption (laya) becomes worship of the divine.

35.Among all the absorptions, meditation on the unsounded sound is the best, because it helps remove thoughts of the world. The unsounded sound is indeed the supreme absorption (laya).

36.As a bee drinking the nectar of flowers does not desire fragrance, so the mind intent on the unsounded sound does not desire sense objects.

Section 13: Elixir of devotion (bhakti)

1.Now hear about the elixir of devotion the prime purport (of all the sacred texts). This elixir of devotion, is the remedy for birth, death, old age and disease.

2.Devotion is the foremost potency of dharma, artha, kāma and mokșa, 209 also of knowledge, dispassion, and purity of mind.

3.With love, an individual fervently embraces his perception of brahman.210 Previously mastered by sages such as Sanaka, this love is called bhakti.

4.All accomplishment is the fulfilment of disciplined effort but if there is no devotion, then this effort is mere labour, like threshing husks.

5.If there is no other discipline, but there is devotion to Maheśvara, then dispassion, knowledge and liberation are each gradually mastered.

6.For no-one can be liberated without the grace of Iśvara. 'Liberation comes only from the grace of Iśvara,' is the final word.

7.Being complete, Iśvara expects nothing. Pleased by nothing more than love, Īśvara instantly bestows the highest grace.

8.In a world of non-discernment, may that constant love

from remembrance of you not retreat from my heart!

9.If there is devotion (bhakti) expressed as love towards the lord of the universe, the universal self, then everything to be done is perfected. Nothing is left.

10.The direct experience of the highest reality presented in the Vedāntas, is the consequence of devotion alone expressed as love.

11.When there is love for the great lord, complete understanding arises; the purport of the sacred texts. With the blossoming of the bliss of love, duality, forgotten, vanishes.

12.All this is Vāsudeva. The world is nothing other than Vasudeva. For the one who thus savours the world, what remains to be known.

13.Väsudeva is known as the supreme brahman, the universal self, that which surpasses all. Pervading all that is within and without, he exists as Nārāyaņa. 211

14.The worshipper of Visnu with the beautiful hair, celebrates him with titles such as, 'subtle, vast, fine, gross, upholding qualities, without qualities, mighty.'212

15.Siva is the agent, Siva is the enjoyer, Śiva is Iśvara, the lord of all, Śiva is ātman, Śiva is the individual. There is nothing other than Siva.

16.The devotee of Śiva thus praises the beneficent Siva of eight forms, space, air, fire, water, earth, embodied spirit,213 sun, moon.

When matured, this love is indeed knowledge alone.

Now another rationale

17.The child repeatedly calls to his father 'daddy, daddy', but he knows nothing about the meaning of the word 'daddy'.

18.That child gradually grows in understanding of the meaning of the word 'daddy'. Then he arrives at the truth of father with conviction.

19.In the same way a devotee worshipping god through traditional Vedic practices, having attained the highest understanding, gradually becomes liberated.

20.What individual characteristics lead to the essential difference between devotees and knowers? Distinguishing characteristics of devotees and knowers of themselves are not apparent in the sacred texts.

21.The characteristics of both (devotee and knower) are the same: dispassion, deliberation, purity, restrained senses, and predominate love for Veda.

22.In the chapter in the Bhagavādgīta called Bhaktiyoga, the characteristics of devotion are given. 214 What is expressed in these eight verses, I also see in those who know the self.

23.One worships saying, 'I am yours,' while another worships saying, 'I am you.' While there is some difference, the outcome is the same for both.215

24.When the devotee of god, witnesses god within and without, then even as he contemplates 'dāso'ham' (I am a devotee), he forgets the first syllable 'dā' (offering)

and becomes 'so'ham' (I am him).

25.This culmination of bhakti, is seen in faithful devotees like Nārada. I will now point to a subtle distinction. With focused mind please listen.

26.The devotee enjoys the bliss of Iśvara just like the knower. Nevertheless, even though they both enjoy the same bliss, there is a small difference.

27.In the case of the knowers of self everything other than the bliss of awareness becomes tasteless. In the case of devotees, who are filled with the bliss of abundant love, that never occurs.

Now, a question.

28.Is it not so, without knowledge there is no liberation even with a hundred meditations? Similarly without devotion there is no knowledge even with a hundred potent means.

29.Whilst Vasistha etc. are knowers of self, and Nārada etc. are devotees, they share a common understanding: knowledge arises from devotion and from that knowledge comes liberation.

30.How does this situation come about? In this discussion learn the surprising reason.

31.I will use an illustration by which the reason will become obvious. Bathing in the Ganges can dissolve both heat and sin.

32.For the one who desires relief from heat there can be removal of sin. And for the one who desires cleansing from sin,

heat is removed.

33.The trio, bathing, relief from heat and removal of sin, is the same for each. Even so, one desires cooling and the other desires cleansing.

34.By virtue of their motivation a different name is used. In the case of knowers, they take refuge in god for the sake of liberation.

35.Having attained knowledge by devotion they are liberated and are called knowers of the self. In the case of devotees, they have developed dispassion for a baneful world and take refuge in Hari.216

36.Hence through the potency of devotion, knowledge naturally arises. Having gained that knowledge they are liberated and are called devotees.

37.For both (knowers of the self and devotees) detachment, devotion, understanding and liberation are the same. Even so, because of different motivations, there are different names for each.

38.The primary outcome for the knower of the self is liberation, and devotion is the underlying agency of that liberation. For the devotee, devotion is foremost and liberation is the inevitable consequence.

39.In this way, O wise one217, devotion to Iśvara is best.

Now another greatness of devotion

The form of the highest bliss, the highest self, is Hari (Vişņu) himself.

40.Even he enjoys the elixir of devotion by demonstrating devotion to Siva. Sanaka, Vasişțha, Nandi, Skanda, Suka and all,

41.having attained the state of the undivided self within, still enjoy the elixir of devotion. But how can there be devotion without duality? Here is the reply regarding that. Please listen.

42.Duality in common knowledge deludes, but when awareness is attained with wisdom, duality, imagined for the sake of devotion, is even more beautiful than non-duality.

This is corroborated in the Bhagavata.

43.Sages who delight in the self and are unencumbered, freely embrace devotion of the one who measured the universe with three steps.218 Such is the grandeur of Hari.

44.When the bliss of oneness arises, even the duality of individual and universal self for the sake of devotion, is nectar, as is the duality of husband and wife or loving friends.

45.The young bride living with love in her heart is always blissful and full of wonder. Yet she behaves shyly according to the custom of the world.

46.When duality is adopted for the sake of devotion, this devotion surpasses a hundred liberations. In reality this is oneness.

47.A lover may play in the heart of her beloved, being one with him, or she may massage his feet. In the same way a wise person may enjoy absorption where there is no division or may enjoy the duality of devotion. Both are one and the same.

48.When the universal lord is worshipped through a heart filled with devotion, for the knower of self, difference falls away. Just as when her lover is looked at through a discreet veil, the self aware woman is fused in love.

Now verses having recourse to the bliss of devotion

49.The path of yoga is not for me, nor is the way devoid of attributes, which I can't even imagine. My indifferent mind has shunned both this world and the next. An inscrutable cowherd became our refuge.219 Even though there are doubts about his constant attraction to all sorts of women, the sages strive to acquire our state. Can there be anything more surprising than this?

50.Our hair stands on end, our mind is filled with devotion, our face is decorated with tears of love and our throat voices garbled sounds. We are worshipping Krsna and time stands still. The four-fold liberation220 is waiting at the door. Why is she so anxious to serve us?

51.Our intense desire is to worship you, there is no interest in anything else. We bow down to your feet with immeasurable love. The lady Mukti (the four-fold liberation personified), who has no desire for one with desire, instantly desires to follow our feet and serves us with love. O Hari, this is your glory.

Section 14: Sun-light illuminating the steps in rājayoga

1.Beginning with illumination of steps (bhūmikā) until the end of the text, as part of this bodhasāra of fathomless awareness,221 rājayoga is presented.222

2.This sun-light illuminating the steps should be taken into the heart. By the resultant quietude of mind darkness of the heart dissolves.

3.There are seven steps of ignorance and seven steps of knowledge. Seed of Waking state, Waking state, Intense Waking state,

4.and the states of Waking Dream, Dream, Wakefulness of Dream and Sleep are the seven kinds of ignorance. Listen to their description.

5.As every seed stored in the granary becomes a plant, so the world is stored before manifestation.

6.The state of Waking stored as a seed, is called the Seed of Waking. This first state of samsāra is great delusion.

7.This Seed of Waking state is said to be ignorance because it vanishes with awareness of oneself. When that stored seed is sown in the field

8.and becomes ready to sprout, it is called Waking state. By those who know sāmkhya this is defined as 'mahatattva - great principle'.

9.According to the Upanișads, this Waking state is witnessed by Īśvara. It is called universal ego (sāmānyāhańkāra)

and also the causal sheath of personal happiness (ānandamayakośa).

10.Individual egoity, which is like the subtle sprout, is the basis for worldly interactions. Called Intense Waking state (mahājāgrat) by scholars, it is one of the three states of the individual self.

11.Within the context of these three states of the individual, known as waking, dream and sleep, this Intense Waking state is usually called Waking state. Even while awake, the individual engages in fancies of the mind.

12.He sees things as in a dream (daydream). This is the state called Waking Dream. Ordinary dream, well-known to everyone, is called Dream state.

13.Even after waking, due to the impressions of the earlier dream, the individual continues to see dream objects, as though they are real. This is called Wakefulness of Dream.

14.When all these six states are given up, the seventh step called Sleep state remains. These are the steps of ignorance. Now listen to the steps of knowledge.

The steps of knowledge

1.The first six steps are: the desire to know; contemplation; delicate mind; entrance into being; non-attachment; and repudiation of name and form. 223

2.The seventh is called turya. Beyond turya is the supreme.224 Other names for the steps are: the desire for liberation; clear vision; self-examination; invisible knowledge;

3.visible knowledge; total commitment; and the great door to the highest reality. These are the seven steps of knowledge. The first of these steps is gaining entrance, the second acquiring knowledge by listening,

4.the third deliberating, the fourth contemplating, the fifth experiencing, the sixth maturing,

5.the seventh is the supreme climax, called turya. In the first, one seeks knowledge, in the second, one investigates meaning, 225

6.in the third, one becomes free from doubt, in the fourth, one becomes learned, in the fifth, one experiences, in the sixth, one becomes submerged in bliss,

7.in the seventh called turya, one has risen to natural awareness.226 Beyond turya is the supreme227 The first three steps are regarded as 'waking state,'

8.because the worldly domain remains as before for the seeker. The fourth is dream, it is said, because the world is as though a dream.

9.Sleep is of two kinds, light and deep. The fifth is light sleep. The sixth is deep sleep. The seventh is said to be turya.

In this context, a question.

10.The one who knows only the world does not know the path to liberation. For that person, how does the desire for liberation arise in the first place?

11.Whatever the nature of one's predilections that will be the nature of ones desires. For the one with mental impressions of worldly life, how does the desire for liberation arise?

12.In liberation there is no object, and without objects no pleasure. So for the one lost among worldly objects how can there be the desire for liberation in the first place?

The reply.

13.Devotion to Vișņu or Śiva, with or without desire, but with love in the heart, causes the desire for liberation to arise.

14.At some time austerity was performed on the bank of the Ganga with pure intent. Due to the ripening of that merit, the desire for liberation arises for good people.

15.For knowledgable people who are calm, while accepting hospitality, while meeting special people and through maturing friendship, the desire for liberation can suddenly arise for no tangible reason.

Regarding that, it is said,

16.Among thousands of men, few strive for perfection. Even among those who strive and are perfect, few truly know me.228

Also in the work called Yogavāsișțha,

17.Just like the head of a struggling turtle finally surfaces into a calm in the midst of innumerable turbulent waves, so a person finally becomes discerning after many births.229

18.The consequence of action performed with reverence is known to be purity of mind. But desire for knowledge and knowledge itself also result. The way of action is surprising.

First step

19.Therefore even in the Upanișads action is mandated for the one longing for awareness. The first step (jijñāsā) is gaining the wealth of the means for liberation: faith, peace of mind, restraint of sense organs and cessation of desire-inspired action.

20.Firstly the one desiring liberation should respectfully approach a teacher. "One should appropriately approach a teacher for the sake of understanding", says the śruti.230

21.The one with steadfast disposition thinks; O lord, for me may there be only liberation, never the gazing on worldly illusion. This is a characteristic of the desire for liberation (jijñāsā).

22.Visiting holy places, longing for sacred shrines and rivers, faith in the qualities that lead to liberation. This is a characteristic of the desire for liberation.

23.Pouring over works of knowledge brought from somewhere or other and contemplating their meaning, this is a characteristic of the desire for liberation.

24.With great perserverance, having placed one's forehead on their lotus-feet, one should communicate with the learned.

25.One should ask those questions embedded in the mind which reveal its ignorance. The purport of their answers should be contemplated in the heart.

26.The one who is averse to adharma, who always loves dharma, and who has no faith in rituals impelled by desire, such a one characterises the desire for liberation.

27.The one who is disgusted with his innate nature as it appears in thoughts of desire, aversion, vanity, anger, greed and envy, such a one characterises the desire for liberation.

Illustrations.

28.A young girl, her marriage arranged, does not dare to look, but her mind urges her to look. The resolution for marriage does not dispel bashfulness. Assuredly this is the transition into adolescence. 231

29.The young wife, going hesitantly to the house of her husband, is distressed. She weeps. Entering her new home, she takes the threshold step, which is contemplation.232

Second step

1.This is a characteristic of prakrti, this is a characteristic of modification (vikrti) and this is the true essence of purusa. Such is the characteristic of contemplation (vicāra).

2.This is true and this is false. This is the objectified thing and this is consciousness. This is brahman and this is māyā. Such is the characteristic of contemplation.

3.Where does this visible world abide? From what did it arise? What is it? Who made it? How does it resolve? Such is the characteristic of contemplation.

4.Who is the lord and who is the individual? What is liberation and what is bondage? What is duality? How can there be non-duality? Such is the characteristic of contemplation.

5.By consideration of permanent and transitory things, reality and unreality are discerned. Reality is discerned in the permanent.

Non-reality is discerned in the impermanent. Such is the characteristic of contemplation.

6.In this way, through practise of yoga in consultation with wise scholars, discussion of brahman arises. Such is a mature contemplation.

7.When someone addresses you, as a visible form, with the question 'who are you?', the response really should be 'I am uncertain. I do not know myself. Who am I?'

8.Why should this be so? Only in the presence of self awareness is it possible to say 'I do not know'. If I really did not know myself I would be insentient.

9.Insentient objects like pots etc. are not self aware. Therefore the conclusion is this self does know itself.

10.But, even though this visible form is self aware, it does not know its individual distinction. Therefore this visible form is as if ignorant of its own nature.

11.In dense consciousness expression of individual distinction is impossible. Words turn back. 233 Let's allow here that individual distinction is known in non-differentiation,

12.and because objective knowledge is trusted, there is contemplation on its attributes. What is achieved by that contemplation? The true nature of non-differentiation is known only by being that.

13.If this is known, awareness is complete and all enquiry is meaningless. What is its name; how does it behave; what are its attributes; to which category does it belong;

14.what are its manifestations; what is its shape; what are its modifications; all this you may ask? The answer is, for the attribute-less self, there is no name, no category, and it is unmoving.

15.If the self is said to have no categories and no form and is changeless, it must be contemplated as; existence, consciousness and bliss (sat cit ānanda).

16.Indeed it is realised as existence, consciousness and bliss.

To clarify all that.

Does this self know itself or not?

17.Tell me, does self know 'I am' or not? First know 'I am', then later understand self.

18.Of its own accord self meets dharma, artha, kāma and moksa. 234 Because of this there is no ignorance of self's existence.

19.'I am sentient, I know pots etc.' Whoever declares thus is not uncertain of their own consciousness.

20.All love is for love of oneself therefore the most beloved is oneself. 235 Because of that the bliss of self is very clear and is embraced.

21.The conclusion of all this is that existence, consciousness and bliss of self is self evident. Therefore in this self-shining self, which is existence, consciousness and bliss,

22.the blue of the sky, water in a mirage and darkness in water are perceived and wrongly comprehended to be characteristics of those things. In a similar way ignorance is wrongly comprehended as a characteristic of consciousness.

23.This disposition of confusion projects a world of multiplicity. When that confusion is destroyed by knowledge the projection no longer appears.

24.Thoughts are brought to light in individual consciousness. When the thought resolves, its content also resolves. From the resolution of thoughts, desires, aversions etc. are no longer evident.

25.Since individual consciousness still exists as before the individual self, illuminating the thought life, is not lost.

26.Thus, upon the resolution of confusion appearing in individual consciousness, the confusion alone disappears as it were and self continues to shine as before.

27.For instance, when the light of a lamp reaches black and white cloths, both are illuminated. Later, when both cloths are eliminated, the light remains as it was.

28.In the same way when the shining self approaches knowledge and ignorance, both are illuminated. Following the elimination of both, self remains as it was.

29.Through contemplation of the Upanisads, the experience of self is considered together with experience of the opposite.

30.That experience of the opposite

disappears in this 'Second Step' and the sharpness of vision improves. 'Self is directly seen by the sharpened intellect.'236 Such an intellect arises for the one in the second step.

31.When gold is purified by caustic cleaning in the presence of fire, the dross is eliminated and pure gold remains.

32.When awareness of brahman is purified by cogent arguments in the presence of awakening, spiritual uncertainty vanishes and brahman alone remains.

Third step

1.After practice of the second step, the third called tanumānasā (delicate mind) is the way of thinking differently. Listen to its characteristics.

2.Just as ordinarily a person can, after a while see in the dark, so for the contemplative person in the third step the subtle objective becomes evident.

3.As the twice-born state comes for the child regarded as a śudra, by initiation into gāyatri, 237 so another birth comes for the contemplative person.

4.Having looked upon the capricious state of the world, he is perplexed by its seeming reality. Having looked within himself he becomes despondent. That is a characteristic of the third step.

5.The day has gone. The night has gone. Vigour has gone. Youth has gone. When will I find stability, where confusion does not harass?

6.When the day has gone, he laments again and again,

"the day has gone, what have I accomplished?" Likewise when the night has gone he repeatedly laments, "the night has gone, what has been accomplished?"

7.When permitted enjoyments come by chance, he sees them as though illicit. This is tanumānasā, a delicate state of mind.

8.He is embarrassed by praise from a worldly person, since to him it is like scorn. It is the praise of a wise person that pleases him.

Illustrations

9.The lover always longs to give himself to his beloved lady. and she is anxious to accept. Still she holds back, not knowing how to accept.238

10.The lady is ready for the pleasure of union. Her lover offers that pleasure. Nevertheless due to inexperience there is some hesitation. 239

11.The lady anxiously longs to be with her beloved. She constantly asks 'how much longer will it be?' [But when he arrives] she repeatedly gives sideways glances, sometimes amorous and sometimes cantankerous. 240

Fourth step

1.Through practise of the third step, rajas and tamas have vanished. The fourth step called sattvāpatti (entering into sattva), is characterised by meditation (nididhyāsana).

A commonly held misconception is:

2.Attaining the realm of the gods through sattva is for enjoyment not for liberation.

Attaining sattva does not deliver liberation because in the realm of the gods there is no desire for it. Thus sattvapatti does not deliver liberation.

3.That argument is wrong. Some gods, such as Sakra (Indra), Kubera, Varuņa etc., desiring liberation attained it. Is this implausible?

Now the characteristics of sattvapatti:

4.In solitude he sings songs of liberation. In solitude he sheds tears of joy. His hair stands on end. Sounds are caught in his throat. These are characteristics of sattvāpatti.

A characteristic particularly close to the author's heart:

5.The Upanisads have been studied well, now Īśvara can be meditated on. When a bee has arrived at an exceptional fragrance, drinking the nectar is exceedingly sweet.

6.I am eternal! I am pure! Where is uncertainty and where is bondage? The expression of this type of astonishment is a characteristic of sattvāpatti.

7.He listens to expositions from the Upanisads as if they are descriptions of himself. He listens to talk about worldly life as he would to stories about somebody else.

8.Having observed body, senses, mind, life-force, intellect, ego, memory, manifold actions, the sage is amazed that he exists.

9.The sense of knowership, doership, enjoyership, birth, death, old age etc., he experiences as belonging to another.

The being of self is totally different to these.

10.Having escaped from the net of illusion, as if a bird from a snare, he resumes flying and finds good fortune.

11.A poor person finding treasure is amazed. Similarly a person gaining Iśvara's grace dances and rejoices.

12.The one who is no longer excited by the sense pleasures: sound, touch, smell, form and taste, even though they are beloved, has arrived at blissful sattva.

13.Seeing self as though distinct, even when among objects, not touching worldly objects as though they are untouchable, he remains as though far away.

14.The one who looks at the world in the waking state with indifference, as though it is a dream, that is said to be a characteristic of maturity in sattvāpatti.

Illustrations

15.A young woman impelled by feelings of love has accepted her beloved and adorned herself with jewels, ready for love. But the union is yet to take place.241

16.I am a maiden, unmarried, not looking for suitors. I will choose this one alone as my husband. Who would ridicule me. 242

17.The lover, smitten by a side-glance from a doe-eyed female, becomes captivated. In the same way this person with arisen sattva, slain by a glance from beloved liberation, is captured.243

18.The larva in a mud cocoon hears the sound of a buzzing wasp. It starts buzzing itself and becomes a wasp.244 Similarly the person with arisen sattva, having heard the chant 'I am brahman', remaining in the cocoon of his own body, hums that to become brahman.

Fifth step

1.Through practising the fourth step, the fifth, asamsakti (non-attachment), is the first hint of deep sleep; a fresh sprout of intuitive perception.

2.This is not a step into the invisible or into darkness.245 Listen to its description. First the surprise of yourself suggests the bliss of your true nature.

3.This step indeed brings remembrance of brahman and forgetfulness of individuality. It is the death of uncertainty, it is immortality.

4.Once this perception is apparent, it can never disappear. The aimless wandering has gone. How can one go astray again?

5.As stones dislodged from a mountain summit shatter into oblivion, in the same way, in the fifth step, mental aberrations (likes, dislikes etc.) when dislodged, are no more.

6.A contemplative person fleetingly glances at a mental aberration. It instantly falls away and is no more. 246

7.For the one in the fifth step, harmony does not satisfy nor discord distress. Daily chores he completely forgets. He plays in himself by himself.

8.Impelled by past impressions, irrationally as though possessed, he may or may not perform the duties of class and stage of life.

9.As in the world, the means of knowledge are eyes etc., so it is agreed, in the realm of brahman, the means of knowledge are the Upanisads.

10.The evidence of these means of knowledge leads to certainty. Giving up slavery to mandates he dissociates himself from action.247 The one in the fifth step acquires and thinks of nothing.

11.Like a sheet of ice on a Himalayan mountain, when assailed by the heat of the sun, he is complete within and without, and does not give up his coolness.

12.A crystal knows only the state of a crystal, water the state of water, and the sky the state of sky. If this is so, the person in the fifth step knows only consciousness.

13.As a person of discrimination cannot be swayed, even in a house with copious charming things, so this person in the fifth step would not deviate, even in a prolific, charming world.

14.A yogi plays, sleeps, laughs, and speaks with outgoing, worldly people. In the same way Sankara (Siva) plays, sleeps, laughs and speaks with sprites (piśāca).248

15.Even the chief of the Vasus (Indra) can not be equated with the one who has perceived the highest truth. While Indra longs to be all perceptive the person in the fifth step is not attracted to Indra's position.

16.As cooked meat remains on the bone but does not bond to it, so the sage remains with his body

but is not attached to it.

Poetic Illustrations

17.Retreating, she turns to her husband with a look serene with love. Adolescence has arrived. 249

18.She does not play with companions, she has no interest in domestic tasks, in seclusion, she looks at her loveliness (breasts, nails etc.). Clearly she has been embraced by her beloved husband.250

19.She wears no fine clothes nor uses clever speech. It is her boundless, unbroken love that entices her beloved.

20.The young lady is unadorned, not of noble family, not scholarly or beautiful. But her husband delights in her so she is most fortunate.

21.In a certain country a particular sweet does not exist. One born in that country will not know its taste. Only he who has tasted it knows its sweetness.

22.Having abandoned desire for worthless things, the contemplative person has attained freedom from the thorns of life. Content with the elixir of self-delight, day by day his happiness increases.

Sixth step

1.Through practice of the fifth step comes padārthābhāvinī, the flashing of truth about name and form. This sixth step is firm sleep, the great commitment.

2.It is called 'the great nidrā', in which there is the pervasiveness of bliss. It is said to be realisation of the truth about name and form, the transformation into self.

Characteristics of the sixth step:

3.As kings are transported, while sleeping, carried in a palanquin with drawn curtains, so it is for that person in the sixth step, while asleep in his own bliss.

4.Just as Rantideva's meal attracted the unrelenting demands of the hungry, 251 for the person in the sixth step, while in the practise of meditation, 252 the senses naturally present themselves.253

5.Mind, intellect, sense organs etc. are limited. When awareness arises they are fulfilled. The fullness of this person in the sixth step is always complete.

6.Whatever he eats and drinks becomes nectar for that person in the sixth step. Wherever he stands is sacred.254 Whatever he speaks is a sacred chant.

7.Wherever he roams becomes a pilgrimage. Wherever he sleeps is samādhi. Whoever he sees, that person is the lord of the universe. Whatever he listens to becomes the Upanisad.

8.He drinks the nectar of love, he embraces the highest ideal. 255 He enjoys the supreme bliss that is available to the Yogi but not to those who seek enjoyment.

9.Once supreme bliss is attained there is no regret about life gone by. Past, present and future, all are full of bliss.

Seventh step

1.Then, having crossed the sixth, one attains the seventh, turīya. This is called the secret sleep, the great door.

2.Called yoganidrā, it is considered the supreme culmination, abiding in one's own being, matchless and spontaneous.

3.Nevertheless this step, in which Hari (Visnu), Harā (Siva) etc. abide and remain silent, is not able to be depicted in any form at any time.

4.By chance a thorn of ignorance snares the tender mind. Having removed that thorn with the thorn of knowledge, this one, in the seventh step, remains happy.

5.The great sage is like an ocean of nectar, in the depths of which there is not even a hint of fish and waves, nor any type of diversity. That great sage, whose thoughts dissolve into the singular bliss of brahman and whose flame of duality is spontaneously extinguished, he shines.

6.When awareness bursts forth, impelled by intense inquiry and the longing for elimination of bondage, the dominion of the senses is annulled and brahman is known. This enlightened one, free from the restless waves of knower, known and knowing, naturally shines. An ocean of awareness and bliss, he is the Lord of rivers. Seekers in the prior six steps pour into him.

7.The one who has transcended the path of gunas, so difficult to transcend, how can his life experience be described? Speech is silence, 256

movement is staying,257 waking is sleep, sleep is awakening, night is day and day is night, 258 anything is no-thing. Action is brahman259 and the world is formed of bliss.

8.My dear one, only he, utterly devoid of conceit, devoid of riches, devoid of physical strength and determination, prevails over enemies260 that cannot be killed even by those such as the great Indra.

9.When the knower of brahman, becomes a child in Bhavānī (Pārvatī), she who is knowledge of brahman, then Sadāśiva, the supreme self, causes this one in the seventh step to play in his own body.

Consideration of the meaning of the steps

1.The first three steps261 are said to be the waking state, the fourth262 the dream state. For those in the first four steps there is a gradation of proficiency.

2.But from the fifth step onwards there is a three-fold state of completion. 263 Presented here is an illustration of these three stages.

3.Happiness is attained in the first 'unsteady' stage (fifth step) of sleep. That same happiness is in the 'dense' stage (sixth step) of sleep.

4.And this happiness in the 'dense' stage is the same as the happiness in the 'deep' sleep of the seventh step, turya. The experience of bliss is the same for all three.

5.Thus the bliss of brahman,

which is in the fifth step, is also in the sixth and in turya, the seventh.

6.Because of difference in practice there is difference in the stability of abidance. But in the direct realisation of the truth there is no difference at all.

7.So long as candied sugar has not been tasted, its taste remains unknown. But once tasted, there is no question of not knowing its taste.

8.Once direct experience arises, it can never be denied. When misconception has gone it can never return.

Now some distinction.

9.Turīya shines, first like flashes of lightning, then like a flickering lamp, then like a steady lamp.

10.In the seventh step, it is like the radiance of the sun, free from rising and setting for days, months, seasons and years.

11.The beautiful supreme bliss is abundant, changeless and full.

12.For those with such direct experience, the bundles of activities and desires are resolved in a small pot of meditation. With a side-glance of compassion they instantly gain liberation.

13.For those settled in the fifth, sixth or seventh,

there is no turning back even in millions of eons.

14.Those settled in the first four steps, having given up the body, will gain another body. They will come back and continue to make efforts to reach brahman.

15.Those who have slipped away from yoga are said to still gradually reach brahman. 264 Ascetics such as Datta and kings such as Janaka are Yogins accomplished in self-knowledge.

16.In recent times, other folk have gained the grace of Iśvara. Seeing for themselves their own reality, they are all liberated.

17.Some are in unsteady sleep (fifth step), some are in dense sleep (sixth step) and some are in deep sleep (seventh step). But for them all, the bliss of freedom is the same.

Section 15: Distinction of states

1.Now a small chapter called distinction of states. Please listen. When this is examined properly, nothing further remains to be examined.

2.Waking, dream, sleep, samādhi of illusion, fainting, death and turīya are the seven well known states.

3.Waking, dream and sleep are evident in daily life. Samādhi of illusion, fainting, death and turīya are revealed as and when they happen.

4.Another name for samadhi of illusion is bhavapratyaya, a bodiless state where only impressions remain. Long ago it was delineated as that category of samādhi called asamprajñāta.265

5.Having mastered that samādhi, Indra etc, attained the supremacy of heaven. Fainting and death are well-known. So now turīya is considered.

6.According to the tradition of Vedānta, the fourth (turiya) is said to be absorption of the mind in the supreme self, from mature and constant meditation (nididhyāsana).

7.Brahman, the remover of the foundation of ignorance, is realised in that turīya.

A question regarding that.

O sage, the noise of life is the same in dream and waking.

8.If that is so then why are they given different names? The reply. O dear one, first understand the difference between oblivion and awareness.

9.Later you will know the difference between dream and waking. Please listen. Oblivion cannot reveal any meaning. Awareness is certainty about the unreal.

10.Following the waking state there is sleep, in which dreams occur. In dream, perceptions from the waking state appear, but there is no awareness of the waking state.

11.This is an imaginary waking world. There is no discernment in the dream state. Oblivious to the waking state, only dream objects are seen.

12.This is the true state of dream. Now listen to a description of the waking state. O dear one, when waking after a dream,

13.the unreality of the dream state is cognised so there is awareness of the nature of dream. In other words, In dream O dear one, the waking state is forgotten,

14.whereas in the waking state, the nature of dream is not forgotten. When awake the unreality of the dream is apparent.

15.But in dream the waking state is not remembered and the unreality of the vision is not apparent. With this enormous difference between waking and dream they are counted as different states.

Now another question.

16.In each of samādhi of illusion, fainting, death, sleep and turīya,

the radiance of the world is absent. How can they be distinguished?

The reply.

17.Severe austerity (samādhi of illusion) is performed by those who desire powers. The body, forgotten, is eaten by ants, worms etc.266

18.This is clearly not fainting, not mortal death, not sleep devoid of the bliss of deep sleep, not even infirmity.

19.It is not turiya because this state of illusion is separate from the experience of one's own self. In all of these five states267 the world is not perceived, so the mere absence of the world is not the indication of eternal contentment.

20.After coming out of samādhi of illusion, fainting, sleep and death, samsāra continues. There being no cognisance of self, samsāra is not annulled.

21.I will give an illustration. Please listen with a focused mind. In dream the waking state is forgotten but it is not annulled.

22.Therefore after dream the waking world continues as before. On the other hand in the waking state, dream is annulled, not just forgotten, therefore its unreality is certain.

23.In the same way in samādhi of illusion the whole world is forgotten but not annulled. Therefore after awakening from this oblivion, everything continues as before.

24.But in turīya the world is annulled, so its unreality is realised. When the sage comes out of turiya, O dear one,

that which is unreal does not become real.

25.Someone, tricked by the illusion of a snake-like rope, travels to another place. When the experience is repeated, that person is again afraid.

26.But if he, having known 'It is not a snake', travels to another place, when the experience is repeated he is not afraid.

27.In the same way entering into samadhi of the ignorant, one is oblivious of samsāra. But on rising up fear from samsara268 returns.

28.In entering samādhi of the enlightened, one is also oblivious of samsāra. But on rising up fear does not return because samsara has been annulled.

29.If from oblivion alone a person is liberated, then why would daily sleep not liberate?

30.Therefore turiya is distinct and best of all. The six states are not worth a sixteenth part of turīya.

31.If the divine eagle Garuda glided swiftly for the entire cycle of creation still he would not reach turīya, which without a means of knowledge would remain far away.

32.If there is faith in Vedānta, the desire for liberation is strong and practise of meditation is firm, then turiya can be easily attained everywhere.

33.Death, fainting and sleep are not austerity, therefore give no result. The samadhi gained by an ignorant person is severe austerity and gives great results.

34.But the samādhi gained by the enlightened

is knowledge and gives certain liberation. This is the distinction of the seven states.

35.These seven states are only of mind, not of consciousness. The mind is the home of the states, consciousness is the witness of the states.

36.If the distinction of these states is contemplated again and again then one becomes their witness and sees the states clearly and directly as they are.

Section 16: Daily routine of the one best among sages

1: Consideration of morning awakening

1.I clarify my discourse by describing the daily routine of the one best among sages using creative expression and poetic illustrations for clarity.

2.Maheśvara (Śiva) confided to Gaurī (Pārvatī) the fullness of the bliss of consciousness. Now I tell some of Siva's insights, through the illustrative guise of a daily routine.

3.With the arrival of awakening, there is no more sleep. The dawn awakening of the one best among sages is auspicious.

2: Consideration of morning cleansing

1.Impurity in body, sense organs, mind, vital force, intellect, ego and memory is the cause of impurity of one's nature.

2.Fully alert, one washes with the water of reflection on what is seen and the soap of dispassion, to remove odour and stain.

3.By this process of morning washing, everything acquires auspiciousness. 269 This is the morning cleansing of the one best among sages.

4.Desire for liberation is like the face of those who are tranquil in knowledge. Cleansing with the water of faith is washing the face. 270

3: Morning remembrance

1.Every morning the sages mindfully recall: 'That great splendour of the sun god (Savitr), is also in the intellect as witness. I am that alone.'

2.By acknowledging the awareness permeating the states of waking, dream and sleep, and the distinction of each state, I conclude that I am that single undivided awareness. I am that alone.

3.That by which knowledge and ignorance, and the objects and identities in both, are illuminated. I am that awareness. I am that alone.

4.I am not situated in the waking state (viśva), the dream state (taijasa), or the state of deep sleep (prājna).271 I am that which illuminates them. I am not other than that.

5.When the distinction of knowing and unknowing is annulled through the resolution of knowledge and ignorance in awareness, only that awareness, which is the undivided brahman, remains. I am that. Remember there is nothing other than that.

4: Consideration of the time of bathing

1.Seeing the East engulfed by the red rays of the sun, it is the time to bathe, the wise declare.

Illustrations

2.When the sleep of delusion passes, darkness slips away. The sun of knowledge rises on the summit of the mountain of discernment.

3.As the world becomes visible, confusion of direction fades,

the owl of uncertainty takes flight and awareness dawns like the sun.

5: Consideration of bathing

1.The one who bathes, immersed from toe to head, in the pure water of Gańgā-knowledge, by means of recitation of a principle mantra,272 is always pure.

6: Putting on clothes

1.Then the sage, putting on the two garments representing devotion and serenity, turns to face the East, where the sun of awareness rises.

7: Consideration of wearing the means of purification etc.

1.Kuśa is green grass with sharp tips, the greenness representing ever-freshness and the sharpness the subtle meaning of the sacred texts. Kuśa purifies by cutting off the impediments.273

2.The sage, with an atharva tuft of hair 274 having become pure-handed from those kuśas, 275 places from left to right the sacred thread, which is the sacred thread of Vedānta.

The Vedic ritual, brahmakarma, begins in the desire to know by making a long mark (tilaka) on the forehead. 276

8: Consideration of ācamana, sipping water 277

1.When the best among yogis sips water held in the palm of the hand, as though he were Agasti drinking the ocean, that is the best ācamana. 278

9: Consideration of morning juncture

1.Now a useful consideration of the morning juncture.279 The rising of the mind is the creation of the world and the setting of the mind the disappearance of the world,

2.because for the person in samādhi, when he opens and closes his eyes, creation and disappearance takes place. Due to past impressions in the mind the person established in the practise of samādhi 3. comes out of samädhi and there is a juncture filled with the truths taught by gurus.280

4.That unbroken contemplation is the juncture, the wise declare.

10: Consideration of prāņāyāma

1.The vital air inside the body is inhaled and exhaled. It moves in different ways so has ten different names. 281

2.The primary movement of that vital air is up and down as a moving pair Prāņa moves upward and apāna downward.282

3.Apāna draws prāņa and prāņa draws apāna. Both form a chain of life in the body and because of this the individual is not steady.

4.When the vital air moves the mind moves, when the air is motionless the mind becomes quiet. When the mind is unstable, prāna moves unsteadily, when the mind is settled, prāņa is steady.

5.By mastering prāņa alone one can attain steadiness of mind. By mastering the mind alone one can attain steadiness of prāņa.

6.By mastering them both together one can attain steadiness of both. Thus for accomplished yogins this is the triple means.

7.According to hațhayogins the mind is mastered by means of prāņa, and according to vijñānayogins, the mind is mastered by the mind alone.

8.Those who master both mind and prāņa are considered the best. But those who are obsessed with harsh vain practices have gone astray and are mere entertainers, not yogins. 283

9.Those yogins who aim for trivial accomplishments are called semi-yogins. Among the energy channels three are considered major. They are called pingalā, idā and sușumņā.284

10.Idā is on the left, pingalā on the right and sușumņā between. The vital air naturally moves continually through the left and right openings.

11.When a good yogin blocks both of these prāna openings, then the prāna, like a serpent, of its own volition enters the susumņā opening in-between.

12.Kuņdalinī, the unsurpassed power of a living being, resides in the base cakra. Awoken by the blocking of the prāna openings, she enters the susumnā, along with the prāņa.

13.When the prana flowing through the susumņā enters into the brahmarandhra, 285 and attains steadiness there, the mind becomes steady.

14.But if the mind alone can be restrained by a practitioner of jñānayoga, then with annihilation of mind prāņa and apāna instantly perish.

15.Therefore the conclusion is the same for both the hathayogin and the vijñānayogin. Having understood what is said in the sacred texts, my conclusion regarding prāna and mind is that

16.the discerning sage should undertake both prāņāyāma and absorption of mind together.

11: Giving a respectful offering of water

1.Gańga water, symbolising contemplation, is taken in both hands and offered three times to the witnessing sun for the removal of all impurity. 286

2.The first respectful offering of the discerning is: 'All this is seen and I am the observer.' Then the second and better respectful offering is: 'Existence is real and what is seen is unreal (dependent).'287

3.The third and best respectful offering is: 'This appearance is not, I alone am'. By giving such respectful offerings the sun of consciousness is pleased.

12: Consideration of chanting of gāyatrī

1.The Vedantasūtra stipulates that after initiation, repetition should be done as instructed.288 Remembering the one self-shining god, appearing as the radiant solar orb,

2.one should stand and recite the gāyatrī mantra three times one hundred and eight. It is known as gāyatrī because it protects the chanter.

3.In the orb of the sun-god (Savitr), 289 the splendour of the purport of the gāyatrī mantra is to be meditated on by one's inner self, setting in motion all the functions of the intellect.290

4.By the twenty four syllables of gāyatrī, holding knowledge of brahman, the twenty four principles of sāmkhya 291 are resolved in himself and the brāhmana becomes pure.

13: Consideration of standing in the presence of the sun

1.Having extended upright his two arms, garlanded with kuśa grass,292 signifying sāmkhya and yoga, the sage stands in the presence of the sun.

2.A bow to Savitr, who is the eye of the world for everyone, without whom the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world would not exist, who is the essence of the threefold Veda, who holds the three qualities in himself, 293 who is the inner controller of creator, sustainer and destroyer. (This is Narahari's own prayer)

14: Consideration of offering fire oblations

1.Thus, having completed the morning juncture according to the proper procedure, the sage, knowing the right time for fire oblations, enters the room where oblations are offered.

2.The place for fire oblations represents the third step, delicate mind (tanumānasā). (Sitting before the fire) he arranges objects to the right and left as required and proceeds in the proper way, so an atonement will not be necessary later.

3.The oblation is difficult to perform. If a mistake is made he must identify the atonement and immediately perform it.294

4.'When there is an omission or mistake, atonement must be performed immediately.' This is the instruction regarding atonements.

Atonements

5.Anger should be overcome with endurance, untruth with truthfulness, disbelief with faith, miserliness with gifts.

6.These four bridges described in the Sama Veda are strong. But they are just indicators, others should also be overcome.

7.Sleep should be overcome by arising, desire should be overcome by resolution, greed should be overcome by contentment, confusion should be overcome by the vision of awareness.

8.Faults such as vanity and jealousy should be overcome by contemplation of the same self in all beings. All other failings should be overcome by considering the permanent and impermanent.

9.One should awaken the mind merged in deep sleep. One should calm the distracted mind. One should know when the mind is tinged with desire. One should not disturb the mind when equanimity is attained.295

10.In that state of equanimity one should not be indulgent. With wisdom one can be detached. With single-pointed intellect one can penetrate. In this way one can attain perfection. 296

Associated fire oblations

11.When the fire is brought out and the oblation is made ready, the householder, himself pure being, joined by his wife symbolising his faith, performs the mandated ritual.297

12.The house represents the body, the husband the individual. The fire is covered with the ashes of delusion, which must be removed for the the fire to burn well. This is the real bringing out of the householder's fire.

13.Through the ritual of Agnihotra two oblations should be offered. Firstly offer the sense of mine, then offer the sense of me.

14.For those living as householders desiring liberation together with a wife as faith, if these two oblations are offered, all is offered. This agnihotra must be performed daily. If not, one offends.

15: Consideration of brahmayajña 298

1.The true hand named yama has five fingers: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-accumulation.

2.The true hand named niyama also has five fingers: purity, contentment, study of the sacred texts, austerity and contemplation of the lord.

3.Having brought together the two hands, yama and niyama, with all ten qualities, the sage should praise brahman. That is the real brahmayajña.299

According to Patañjali. (In the Yājñavalkya Smrti)

4.After study of self through sacred texts, one practises yoga. After practise of yoga, one contemplates the study. Through the accomplishment of both yoga and study the highest self shines.

5.By doing this kind of brahmayajña one gains the outcome greater than all the meritorious results described in the Vedas, sacred works and Purāņas.

16: Consideration of refreshment

1.Water cupped in the hands is offered to gods, ancestors and beings. Offering that with the mantra 'I am brahman' is the real refreshment. 300

17. Consideration of worship

1.Meditating a little on the shining inner self, the inconceivable essence which is dense consciousness, the singular being delighting in itself, who magically plays in innumerable worldly forms by the power of māya, I will now describe the method of worship of the universal self through the bliss of oneself alone, that final aim of all the Upanisads. 301

2.Firstly the invocation is the honouring of the conscious awakening arising from Vedic declarations heard from the guru. The purified seat is the settled conviction of that all-pervasive awareness. My awareness of nothing other than you sanctifies the water for washing your feet. May my thought remain in you alone without straying. O Lord, may this respectful offering please you.

3.Sweet offerings have a mixture of tastes: hot, cold, bitter, spicy, sour, sweet, pungent, all associated with dispositions of the mind. If that offering becomes the offering of equanimity, it is the foremost offering with the best taste. May this equanimity always be offered with reverence to the highest god, the most worshipped of all those worshipped.

4.Bathing is immersion again and again in the pure ocean of the nectar of awareness. It gives comfort to all parts of the body and completely purifies. Ah! Teachers declare that what appears as other, should be taken in. Ācamana is holding that vision in the mind while sipping water from the hand.

5.The qualities, faith, non-possession, dispassion, cleanliness, non-attachment, contentment, devotion, love, kindness, blissfulness etc., are the clothes and ornaments

offered by the wise to the upholder of the universe. Whatever is offered by the mind lost in the disposition of so'ham (that I am) is pleasing.

6.Fine sandalwood paste is lovingly smeared on the body of the god, honouring the recognition of the non-dual self, made even more fragrant with equanimity. Whole grains of rice are offered, pure, unhusked and unbroken. They are offered as peace, patience, steadiness, simplicity, lack of jealousy etc. They represent the pure, unviolated and complete purport of the sacred texts.

7.Flowers offered to the great god are the beautiful impressions of self, naturally pure and full-bloomed. With this offering the pure-minded, like the flowers, find fulfilment. Incense is always beloved by the god if it is fragrant with the burning of the daśānga, the ten organs of action and knowledge thrown into the fire of detachment. 302

8.When the lamp is lit, the outer and inner darkness is no more. Make the lamp of knowledge blaze intensely! The best food should be offered in abundance. The most satisfying food is duality in its entirety, the god's favourite.

9.Immediately after food, drinking water is offered. The water sipped from the hand to restore purity is the nectar of contentment. Tambūla should be offered to the god to cheer the mouth. 303 According to the sages it signifies four things, friendship, compassion, delight and disregard, as described in Patañjali's Yogasūtras. 304

10.Fruit is offered to the feet of the god. It is devotion, the result of many lives

of desirelessness and enthusiasm for dharma. A donation is offered to complete the procedure of worship. It is the gem of my own mind, the creator of the entirety of my wealth.

11.To the extent that dust, which covers millions of worlds, is immeasurable, your qualities cannot be measured by that multitude of dust. Though you have such qualities, still you are praised by the sages as the one devoid of qualities. O lord Siva how can I praise you whose being and form are far removed from the realm of thought?

12.The sun illumines white and black, but does that mean it holds the whiteness and blackness? Like that the self appears to be different in the ignorant and knowledgeable. Salutations to the god, who is beyond the net of notions of duality and non-duality, who is pure self, whose splendour shines as one's extraordinary experience of awareness.

13.Having come to the place at the lotus feet of those well-versed in non-duality, we have spent all our time in the bliss of oneness but we have not merged in brahman. We are liberated from delusion and our hearts are filled with the presence of the same essence yet we have this one huge blemish. O powerful one, may we be forgiven.

14.In homage to conscious awakening I offer to the god a handful of flowers, made of the wonder of my heart together with tears of joy, choked words and hair standing on end. The self alone is this bliss of solid, endless awareness, spontaneously free. What is the bondage? What is binding? How can self be bound or released?

18. Consideration of the proper meaning of worship

1.Give up worship founded on delusion, and practice worship founded on awareness. Śamkara (Śiva) should be worshipped with fine sandalwood, not with a muddy paste.

2.First become acquainted with god, then engage in worship. If you don't know god, how can there be worship?

3.While there is no consideration about worship, there will be no engagement. But when there is engagement, god does not expect worship.

4.It is apparent that in both cases worship of god is problematic. For the one who knows, the division of worshipper and worshipped does not exist, and the worship of the ignorant one is negated by his ignorance.

5.Where do the incense, lamp and rice grains go? I don't know. In our worship of god only god remains.

6.When, in the enthusiasm of contemplation of god the sequence of worship is forgotten, that failure of worship is the outcome of worship in its fullness.

7.As the worship of Govinda, personified bliss, is about to begin, awareness flashes, and lo! the worshipper, the product of delusion, has vanished.

19. Five great sacrifices

1.For enlightened souls steadiness in knowledge, endurance, truth, discernment and fullness of heart are regarded as the five great sacrifices.305

20. Consideration of additional sacrifices

1.From time to time, for the one initiated into Vedic rituals, the daily routine should also include additional sacrifices (naimittikā). 306

2.Such sacrifices are to be performed to please the chief of the gods. The mind constrained by conformity calculates time and in its own time is offered like the rice cake to the fire of knowledge and consumed.

3.When the best of sages performs the Vedic ritual called suparnacit, the two birds, god and the individual, merge and become one and the benefit of one hundred sacrifices is gained. 307

21. Daily alms-giving

1.While bathing in the sacred river of samādhi and during the eclipses of sun and moon, 308 gold resembling luminous awareness is given to the Almighty, the one worthy of sacrifice.

22. The midday juncture

1.At the midday juncture the sage observes the spectacle of life 309 while seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and hearing.

23. The lord of the universe

1.The ritual named Vaiśvadeva is for the atonement of all violence. The self as lord of the universe, is worshipped by offering the universe itself as the oblation.

24. Presentation of an offering

1.The compassionate should give an offering

in the form of food, drink and so on to those beings who dwell in the city of nine gates.310

25. The rule for eating

1.Accompanied by teachers, colleagues and students, the best nectar of knowledge, delicious and tasty, should be eaten.

26. Consideration of taking tāmbūla 311

1.Speech discussing brahman, which is truthful, loving and beneficial, is taken like Tāmbūla, so that the organ of speech shines.

27. Consideration of resting on the left side of the body 312

1.Until it falls the body is provided for by past actions. Don't worry about acquisition and possession. The one who knows himself is free from all concerns.

2.After a momentary rest in sound sleep on the beautiful bed of samādhi, one listens to the Purāņas.

28. Consideration of listening to the Purāņas

28.1. Consideration of listening to stories of the Bhāratas

1.Listen to the Mahābhārata, the essence of all the Upanisads, in which are told the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavadgītā.

2.The sage Vyasa elaborated the stories in the Bhārata, through which it is apparent that this universe is a mere story.

3.When the Bharata composition was finished,

the section on peace was presented.313 By this it was demonstrated that all sacred works culminate in peace.

4.Through charming stories the dharma for liberation is presented. By them it is made known that of all dharma, the prescribed practices for liberation are considered the highest.

28.2. Consideration of listening to the Bhāgavata

1. The best Bhāgavata, is that in which Gopāla, the self within, playing with the dairy maids, his mental impressions, does not lose his celibacy of self.

2.Pūtana, a frightening eater of children, symbolises an evil propensity. Even she was conveyed to the abode of the undivided self by Krsna, who drank her blood.314

3.For the liberation of the helpless under his protection Krsna beat the black serpent of time, Kāliya. The whole world was pleased.315

4.Just as some cows grazing on the banks of the Yamuna were swallowed by a boa, brāhmaņas, swallowed by delusion, were retrieved from the jaws of bondage by Krsna.316

5.Powerful Kamsa, that incarnated ego, having been produced and supported by Krsna himself, was killed by Krsna.317

28.3. Consideration of listening to Rāmāyaņa

1.Ahilya, turned to stone, was restored to consciousness with dust from Rāma's foot. 318 In the same way, all bodies, insentient, become conscious by the dust of his radiance.

2.The vanara crossed over the ocean by the grace of Srī Rāma. 319 With that same grace how can a man not cross over the ocean of worldly existence?

3.While crossing the ocean by a bridge of motionless stones, Räma said, 'crossing the ocean of worldly illusion is possible by motionless samādhi'.

4.Sīta, the peace, is recovered and deluded Rāvaņa is killed by Rāma, the one who delights in himself. That is the best Rāmāyaņa.

5.May Rama, the brahman ferryman, in whom yogins delight and who delights in the heart of yogins, delight in my heart.

28.4 Consideration of the eighteen branches of knowledge

From the sayings of Yājñavalka:

1.'The Vedas320 together with Purāņa, Nyāya, Mīmāmsa, Dharmaśāstra,321 and auxiliary texts, 322 are the fourteen supports of lore and dharma. ' 323

2.'Plus Āyurveda, Dhanurveda, Gāndharva and Arthaśāstra324 make the eighteen branches of knowledge.'

28.4.1: Consideration of Purāņa

1.If one doesn't fall completely in love with the purusa325 of the Purana, 326 then what is the use of listening to the Purāna with its eighteen parts?

2.The Purana, although ancient is ageless, but it has not been assimilated by listening to the Purāna.327 While you've been listening your body has become old, so what is the use of listening to the Purāna?

28.4.2: Consideration of the science of reason, nyāya

1.When there is resolution of thoughts in the clarity of self the wise call that nyāya reason. All else is mere logic.

2.A sage who knows nyāya knows it is beyond the forms of logic. How can the one devoted to the method of mere logic understand the science of nyāya?

3.The logician himself, 328 said that logic is the scissoring of the opponents argument. But this isn't the desired goal, for by his logic, how can the desired result be attained?

4.The highest reality cannot be deduced by the intellect through sharp logic, so the rigorous logic of this deficient thinker is useless.

5.0 logician, if you create arguments around sixteen forms of logic, 329 then there is no resolution to your logic. Focus your mind beyond the realm of logic!

28.4.3: Consideration of vaiśeśika and the like 330

1.Now using the same logic the conclusion regarding vaiśeșika, sāmkhya and pātañjala follows.

Firstly consideration of vaiśeşika.

1.A scholar of vaiśeşika defines the particular characteristics of all things.331 But the highest brahman is without characteristics, so what is the use of vaiśesika?

2. Understanding the principle that transcends similarity and difference leads to liberation.

Knowledge about principles deduced from similarity and difference is not relevant for liberation. 332

3.Śruti states that by disregarding name and form there is liberation, so what is the use of considering all these categories recognised by vaiśeşika?

4.How can similarity and difference be the means of knowledge about the true principle? There is neither similarity nor difference in the non-dual supreme self.

5.If you say, 'By discernment of the vaiśesika categories, the supreme self is revealed,' then, O wise one, this has my approval.

6.In reality there are not distinct individuals in the bound and liberated state. But the sage Gautama said, 'even in the highest reality gradations of individuals exist.'

7.Only the logician's excessive intellectual imagination is at fault. 333 On the other hand a little poetic imagination is clever and is pleasing to me.

28.4.4: Consideration of sāmkhya

1.O scholar of Sāmkhya, there are countless principles yet you enumerate only a certain number. What is the use of this Sāmkhya enumeration? Consider brahman beyond enumeration. 334

2.You preach knowledge of the principles. I accept that. However, for me, the understanding of that beyond principles is the principle of knowledge about liberation.

3.0 Sāmkhya, if you say, as I do, that Sāmkhya is for discovering the purusa,

then I agree.

4.Nothing is higher than purusa. That goal is the culmination. O deluded Sāmkhya, behold purușa! What is the point of your enumeration?

28.4.5: Consideration of works by Patañjali

1.The effort in Patañjali yoga comes from attachment to gaining the powers of yoga. This is just a practical skill and not steadiness of being.

2.Clever you who have acquired the Yogic power of living in different bodies for enjoying different pleasures. This is not difficult. Living in different bodies is not an accomplishment. The real accomplishment is liberation from the bondage of the body.

3.You who have acquired Yogic power, you know how to enter into other bodies, but you do not know entry into the highest self.

4.Spirits etc. also know how to enter into another body. That is not an accomplishment. That is bondage.

5.Death is inevitable, so what does longevity achieve? Drink the nectar of understanding, the destroyer of birth, death and old age.

6.You know the thoughts of another. So what! Behold brahman resident in your own mind.

7.If there is no direct perception, through contemplation of the self, which is very close, what is accomplished by the Yogic power of seeing and hearing that which is far away?

8.Birds, such as crows, can fly from the time of birth. That is not achieved by acquired Yogic powers. What is the necessity of Yogic powers?

9.A Yogic power helps gain physical strength, prowess etc., but not liberation. The Vedāntasūtras refute yoga because of this.335

10.If the one who knows yoga says, 'Awakening to oneself is the real accomplishment, but Yogic powers are hindrances,' we accept that.336

28.4.6: Consideration of mīmāmsā - the science of rituals

1.When the principle, 'ritual action involves hardship,' is held by a mīmāmsaka, 337 then he himself has accepted his own hardship.

2.The mīmāmsaka speaks truly when he says 'ritual action is hardship', for he knows the science of ritual action. Therefore he should also inquire into brahman to eliminate the suffering of an unwanted result.

3.Because of ritual action there is a propitious birth and because of birth there is ritual action, so for the one under the spell of ritual action how can there be liberation from birth?

4.Liberation is key for those who put awareness first. A propitious birth is key for those who put ritual action first.

5.The mīmamsaka himself, under the spell of ritual action, tells us that the one who lacks desire for ritual action is unfit to perform oblations and cannot be purified by actions without desire. So how can he become pure?

6.He should tell us to inquire into desireless action which does purify. The inquiry into ritual action for a desired result

is mere hardship.

7.If a person devoted to ritual action says, 'Through actions the mind is purified and with purity gains understanding,' then that agrees with my view.

28.4.7: Consideration of dharma texts

1.By inquiry into Dharmaśāstra338 one comes to Moksadharma, the dharma of liberation, the ultimate goal. In this undertaking of Moksadharma any effort bears fruit and there is no risk of adverse effect.339

This is confirmed by the Yājñavalkya smrti:

2.When engaging in the activities of performance of ritual, good conduct, self-control, non-violence, charity and study of the sacred texts, that alone which brings realisation of self is the highest dharma.

28.4.8: Consideration of the rituals śrauta and smārta

1.The wise say, the ritual of śrauta is essentially listening (śravana) and the ritual of smārta recollecting (smaraņa). 340 For the one who knows, this is all there is to śrauta and smārta.341

2.That listened to from the mouth of the blessed guru is śrauta and what is remembered and not forgotten is smārta. This is the only śrauta and smarta says the one who knows.

28.4.9: Limbs or auxiliary texts

1.Phonetics, rules of ritual, grammar, derivation of words, meter and astronomy are the six auxiliary texts.342 Now consideration of them.

28.4.9a: Consideration of phonetics (śiksa)

2.With proper training pronunciation becomes pure because it is undisturbed by the physical body. If that pure pronunciation is not attained, then what has been learnt by śiksa?

28.4.10: Consideration of rules for rituals (kalpa)

1.If nirvikalpa343 is not foremost among kalpa, what is accomplished by the kalpasūtras when the only remaining options are resolution (samkalpa) and doubt (vikalpa)? 344

2.If the kalpa does not make the performer of the ritual fit to become one with brahman, the kalpasūtra is useless. 345

28.4.11: Consideration of grammar (vyākaraņa)

1.The derivation of words is to be studied for discernment of the spirit of the great statements.346 If these are not understood, then what is the use of grammar?

2.If that, by which this universe is embellished, is not recognised in its rich detail, then, not knowing it's greatness, what is the use of grammar?347

3.If, through repetition of words perfected from the science of grammar, what is to be accepted and rejected is not discerned, what is the use of grammar?

28.4.12: Consideration of the derivation of words (nirukta)

1.Abidance in consciousness is beyond words and awareness of consciousness is the purport of nirukta. If that beyond words is not known, what is the use of the science of nirukta?348

28.4.13: Consideration of meter ( cchandas)

1.If the rhythm of one's own natural behaviour is not known, what is the use of meters designated by ya, ra, sa, ta, ja, bha, na, ma?349

28.4.14: Consideration of astronomy (jyotis)

1.If that light, by which the sun and all else shines, is not known, what is the use of the text on astronomy?

28.4.15. The Vedas

28.4.15a: Consideration of Rg Veda

1.We worship you, our own self, the giver of the highest bliss. If that universal self is not invited, then what is the use of the Rg mantras uttered by the hautri priest? 350

28.4.16: Consideration of Yajur Veda

1.In the sattra ritual of brahman, if the birthless śakti, the cause of creation depicted as red (rajas), white (sattva) and black (tamas), is not sacrificed then what is the purpose of the Yajur mantras of the adhvaryu priest? 351

28.4.17: Consideration of Sāma Veda.

1.If the glory of brahman is not sung through the sama mantra of the Chandogyopanisad with words caught in the throat because of love, then what is the purpose of the sāma mantras sung by the udgātr priest? 352

28.4.18: Consideration of Atharva Veda

1.If the wisdom of brahman in the Atharvaveda, which flowed from the mouth of the sage Pippalāda353 is not celebrated in the heart, what is achieved by the Atharva mantras?

28.4.19: Consideration of the science of medicine (āyurveda)

1.If the nectar of knowledge is not drunk, immortality is not attained and death comes again, then medicine is useless.

28.4.20: Consideration of the science of archery (dhanurveda)

1.If the target brahman is not pierced by the arrow of awareness using the bow of om, then archery is useless.354

28.4.21: Consideration of the science of music (gāndharva)

1.If the self is not sung with a melodious sound, through the gāndhāra note, like a divine musician, what is accomplished by music? 355

28.4.22: Consideration of the science of wealth (arthaśāstra)

1.Really all goals are meaningless, except the true goal, which is realising the whole truth. If that truth is not seized, the science of wealth is useless.

29. Consideration of the evening juncture

1.In this way, the whole day having passed with the amusement of knowledge and entertainment from Vedas and sciences (śāstras) the evening juncture arrives.

2.After focusing on worldly pleasures for a time, he again returns to the subject of samādhi. That is the evening juncture according to the wise.

30. Consideration of the night routine

1.When the day of worldly pleasure has passed

and the evening juncture has been enjoyed, with the coming of the night, having bolted the doors of the mind and full of vigour, having partaken to his heart's content of the pure, sweet milk of awareness, he lies down in the bed of beautiful samādhi and enjoys the astonishing beloved.

2.Embracing this beloved at play in his own breast, who is of himself, delicate-limbed, young, suggestively playful, who shining as arisen love astonishes his mind and gives only happiness as the playful embodiment of bliss, that crest jewel of yogis, an ocean of joy, becomes the best of enjoyers because of that union.

31: Result of Consideration of daily routine of the best of sages

1.This daily routine of the one best among sages is to be thoughtfully considered every day. By this consideration, a person can soon attain freedom from anxiety.

2.When this daily routine of the one best among sages is understood by assimilating the aim, the means, the relation between them, the fruit and the lasting impressions in the mind, nothing further remains to be known.

3.This daily routine of the one best among sages is difficult to explain, even by the great sages. O Lord of Pārvatī (Śiva), please pardon my loquacity.

Section 17: Fifty verses on the unpainted god

1.The god presented in Bodhasāra is the unpainted self, revealed by the Upanisads and the direct experience of the enlightened.356

2.'I am ignorant; I do not know myself; Who am I?' This thinking is born of ignorance. Self (ātman) is pure, unpainted by ignorance.

3.That notion, which takes brahman as an object to be meditated on, is a mistake. Self is pure, unpainted by this mistake.

4.'Bound by the three guņas I wander through the world.' Views such as this are born from the magical play of nature (prakrti). Self is pure, unpainted by bondage.

5.Discursive mind, intellect, ego and memory are born from the inner functions of mind. Self is pure, unpainted by these four functions.

6.Resolution and doubt are recurrent states that arise in the discursive mind. Self is pure, unpainted by discursive mind.

7.This is as it appears but this is not, is a discernment of the intellect. Self is pure, unpainted by intellect.

8.Being the knower, doer, enjoyer, killer, victim etc. are ideas born of ego. Self is pure, unpainted by ego.

9.Remembering past experience and recognising the already known are states arising in memory. Self is pure, unpainted by memory.

10.The material world, the mental world and the mystery of the soul357 are born out of the different states called waking, dream and sleep. Self is pure, unpainted by these states.

11.Sleep, dullness, carelessness, confusion and despair are dispositions of mind arising from tamas. Self is pure, unpainted by tamas.

12.Composure, discrimination, coolness, radiance and serenity are dispositions of mind arising from sattva. Self is pure, unpainted by sattva.

13.Greed, caprice of senses and initiating grand plans are dispositions arising from rajas. Self is pure, unpainted by rajas.

14.Prescriptive and proscriptive, righteous and unrighteous, pious and impious are dispositions of mind arising from doership. Self is pure, unpainted by doership.

15.Action, object of action and instrument of action, 358 found in diverse activities, are the associates of doership. Self is pure, unpainted by the agents of action.

16.Sound, touch, form, taste and smell, are the five senses arising from the five elements. Self is pure, unpainted by the five senses.

17.Space, air, fire, water and earth, are the five elements. Self is pure, unpainted by the five elements.

18.Ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose, are the five sense organs. Self is pure, unpainted by the five sense organs.

19.Speech, hands, feet, anus and the generative organs, are the organs of action. Self is pure, unpainted by the five organs of action.

20.Natural and articulated sound, which may be vibrational or unmanifest 359 are categorisations of sound. Self is pure, unpainted by sound.

21.The notes, nişāda, rsābha, gāndhāra, șadja, madhyama, dhaivata, pañcama, 360 form the musical scale arising from the division of tones. Self is pure, unpainted by the division of tones.

22.Cold, hot, soft, hard, sharp, rough etc .; the sense of touch occurs in many forms. Self is pure, unpainted by the sense of touch.

23.Red, yellow, white, black, green and variegated, are modifications of colour. Self is pure, unpainted by modifications of colour.

24.Pungent, fragrant, sweet, salty, sour and bitter, are varieties of taste. Self is pure, unpainted by taste.

25.Perfumes are many and varied. Fragrant, sweet, foul etc., are just some of the varieties of smell. Self is pure, unpainted by smell.

26.Womb-born, egg-born, dirt born, seed born and so on, are different life forms. Self is pure, unpainted by the variety of life forms.

27.Gods, demons, gandharvas (celestial musicians), yakşas (worldly demons), raksas (cruel demons),

humans and the like, are the echelons of life. Self is pure, unpainted by variety of births.

28.Devotees of Siva, Vişņu, Savitra, 361 Śakti,362 Ganapati363 and the like, are drawn to their favourite god. Self is pure, unpainted by choice of personal god.

29.Descendants of Vasişțha, Garga, Śāņdilya, Bhrgu, Angirasa and the like, arise from clans and lineages. Self is pure, unpainted by the branches of lineage.

30.Reciters of the ancient stories, chanters of Vedic hymns, astronomers, doctors and the like, are the professions arising from the livelihood of knowledge. Self is pure, unpainted by these branches of knowledge.

31.Officials at the eastern, northern, western or southern ritual gates, originate from differences in the practice of rituals. Self is pure, unpainted by differences in ritual.

32.Painter, scribe, carpenter, crier, student and the like, arise from the action performed. Self is pure, unpainted by actions.

33.Golden, large-eyed, lion-statured and the like, arise from the beauty of the body. Self is pure, unpainted by bodily beauty.

34.Dumb, blind, lame, deaf, one-eyed, squint-eyed and the like, are states arising from bodily deformity. Self is pure, unpainted by bodily deformity.

35.The netherworld, earth and the various levels of heaven, arise from different locations. 364 Self is pure, unpainted by difference in locale.

36.Lion, tiger, boar, bear, deer, monkey and the like,

arise from different forms of animal. Self is pure, unpainted by differences of form.

37.Skin, blood, flesh, fat, and others such as bone, marrow, semen and the like, arise from difference in bodily elements. Self is pure, unpainted by bodily elements.

38.Inward breath, downward breath, circulating breath, upwards breath and breath diffused are the five vital airs. Self is pure, unpainted by the vitality of life.

39.The life impulses which open the eyes, close the eyes, sneeze, yawn and nourish the body are the secondary vital airs. Self is pure, unpainted by the secondary vital airs.

40.Fever, epilepsy, leprosy, wind, bile, phlegm and the like, arise from disturbance of the elements. Self is pure, unpainted by these disturbances.

41.Left nostril, right nostril, that between the two, gāndhārī and hastika energy channels and so on, 365 arise from division of channels (nādī). Self is pure, unpainted by these energy paths.

42.Death, going to the other world and coming back, which present heaven and hell to the soul, arise from differences in the subtle body. Self is pure, unpainted by differences of the subtle body.

43.Brāhmaņa, kșatriya, vaiśya, śūdra and the like, are modifications arising from division of caste. Self is pure, unpainted by division of caste.

44.The succession of student, householder, retiree, renunciate are states arising from stages of life. Self is pure, unpainted by changes in stage of life.

45.Skull carrying ascetics, violent ascetics, self-indulgent ascetics, heretical naked ascetics are groups arising from multiple codes of sin. 366 Self is pure, unpainted by sinful codes.

46.Possession is esteemed by the foolish but scorned by those established in equanimity. The sense of mine arises from the sense of me. Self is pure, unpainted by the sense of me and mine.

47.O discerning one, the sense of me and the sense of mine have the same mother. They promote each other. Therefore do not touch either one.

48.That state, when arisen, in which all modifications dissolve, is in the form of self-knowing. Self is pure, unpainted by self-knowing.

49.That state, when arisen, in which self-knowing does not exist, is a void (śūnya). Self is pure, unpainted by that void.

50.There is that in which existence and non-existence are coexistent. O enlightened one you are that. Self is pure, unpainted.

51.By contemplation on these fifty verses on the unpainted god, one can attain the unpainted abode of pure self.

Section 18: Eight verses on Yamunā

1.Consciousness is like the Yamunā; sparkling, sweet, cool, purifying. Examining it, the blackness I see367 is an illusion. 368

2. You say the goddess, who is consciousness, has no form. How can she be sparkling? Look! She has washed my heart which now shines.

3.You say the goddess, who is consciousness, is beyond the realm of sense. How could she be sweet? Śankara, and others with discerning taste, always taste her sweetness.

4.You say the goddess, who is consciousness, is free from the sense of touch, so how could she be cool. Look, my threefold burning torment has vanished by her favour. 369 Therefore she must be cool.

5.You say the goddess, who is consciousness, is free from attributes, so how could she be purifying? Look at those purified by her, Kaca, Datta, Suka and others. 370

The student objects:

6.0 teacher, why do you give only metaphorical indications? Master, reveal what is to be known with its characteristics so I will be able to see.

The answer:

7.(Normally) the thing to be known has inherent properties but in this case there are no discernible characteristics. This thing to be known is without characteristics; the description here is only an indicator.

8.In water, which is deep and pure, blackness is an illusion. 371 Also in brahman, which is pure and fathomless, ignorance is an illusion.

Section 19: Six verses on stone

1.Formed by the moonlight of countless moons? What is this? The very nature of refreshing delight, I see, a cow made of moon-stone. 372

2.She does not run, nor harm, eat nor drink. naturally pure, full of delight and contentment, she sits.

3.Myriads of worlds have whirled in her fine crevices.373 Eternally she sits, the cow made of crystalline moonstone. 374

4.Reflections of her, as living beings come, go, run, dance and laugh but she, as before, sits.

5.Her divine milk, though tasteless is sweet, though without attributes prized by the good, though without form, the most desired. To me she is seen and not just heard of.

6.Having become a calf made of stone, with a tongue that is the knowledge of brahman, drink the moon-stone cow that ceaselessly flows with the milk of immortality.375

Section 20: Five verses on nidrā 376

1.In nidrā, the three states, waking, dream and sleep, do not exist, because it is free from all pairs of opposites.

2.Being beyond the three guņa, in nidrā there is no trace of tamas.377 Indeed because it is self-shining there is no lack of light.378

3.For the attainment of nidrā, ascetics with great merit undergo austerities and the learned contemplate statements of Vedānta.

4.The enjoyment of happiness is not the goal here for nidrā is itself bliss. 379 Being the highest human goal, it is not a waste of time. 380

5.For those whose awareness is clear, nidrā is easily attained. For those obsessed by objects of pleasure it is difficult to attain. For the Madhavas381 and so on382 it is innate. But for them all, that nidra is the real reward.

Section 21: Nine verses on experience

1.Teachers, who are great through their own blissful awareness, have declared my true nature to be that same saturated awareness. By some indescribable aspect of this blissful awareness I have experienced the saturated awareness as my own self.

2.When yogis, full of faith383 and devotion, 384 knowledgable385 and learned, abandon the false notion of the real in the unreal and arrive at stable renunciation, then truth shines constantly as truth. Hari,386 whose nature is unsurpassed bliss beyond imagining, spontaneously explodes in their surprised mind. 387

3.Withdraw from longing! Withdraw from the senses! Having withdrawn from all actions, withdraw the mind. Withdraw from other. Become more subtle than space. Enter the realm of the self within. When that state is attained even a little, a firm disposition will remain, capable of breaking down all the doors of ignorance.

4.0 Sage, with your mind full of devotion, why do you ask me the method of samādhi? Surely the darkness of delusion has gone and the great light has arisen. When the lamp of awareness has become a wick saturated with the oil of self-love, all notions rising up in me rapidly fly, to be consumed like moths.

5.Whether firm or melted, ghee remains ghee, O sage. The surprise is that consciousness is like this. Whether firm or melted, consciousness remains consciousness. When firm it is the mind and when melted, undifferentiated. Realising this truth, my discipline of absorption of mind

by the effort of withdrawing the mind from external objects, was immediately abandoned.

6.Through the grace of the wise natural bliss arrives, and with increasing disinterest skilled practitioners leave behind the forced effort of yoga. Just as welcomed deep sleep arrives without force, so comes firm samādhi, revered by the sages. It is a marvel.

7.When this truth about consciousness is discerned by the fine intellect fully submerged in the ocean of joy of contemplation, a natural saturated awareness is embraced. All things are seen with the disinterest of one standing on the shore watching.388

8.Because this knowledge is endowed with sweetness sweetness is seen everywhere. 389 The plentiful sweetness is seen in my own body, the sun and trees. 390 391

9.'May there be seeing of Visnu' was my heart's desire. Now, through Visnu's grace, the whole world consists of Visnu. 392

Section 22: Nine verses on the strength of the wise

1.Described here is that true existence, in which all other things vanish. O dear one, listen to nine verses on the strength that brings spontaneous happiness.

2.The wise one, having abandoned petty desires and so on, remains aloof; although he sees them occasionally, they never reach him.

3.Notions of duality do not present to the one who knows that true existence. Recognised as corrupt, how can they show their face?

4.The apparition of unreality, instigator of all forms, is recognised as such and vanishes never to return. The wise one remains unaffected.

5.The myriad objects of the world have been pushed away. They do not return because he will take the life from them.

6.Having abandoned desire for worthless things, the contemplative person has attained freedom from the thorns of life. Content with the elixir of self-delight, day by day his happiness increases. 393

7.Ignorance (avidyā), like a woman shamed, does not come near. She thinks "Having abandoned me who was formerly beloved, he now takes pleasure with knowledge (vidyā)." 394

8.An extremely dull person does not know how to describe brahman. To the same degree, the one no longer an observer, whose very self is absolute awareness, cannot describe brahman. 395

9.The vice of idleness can rob even Indra of his wealth. Nevertheless as idleness increases, so the one who knows grows.

Section 23: Ten verses on nirvāņa (extinction)

1.While it is not possible to describe this, for you my dear child, with compassion and through certain insights, I will relate ten verses on extinction.

2.In that extinction there is no slumber of delusion therefore it is great wakefulness. But objects (pots etc.) do not appear, therefore it cannot be wakefulness.

3.A quite new reality appears, therefore it is the greatest dream. But no visible object appears in it, therefore it cannot be a dream.

4.There are no objects, therefore it is sleep in the form of joy. But in it there is no ignorance and no darkness. Hence it cannot be sleep.

5.Free from the three states (waking, dream and sleep) it is celebrated as turiya (the fourth state). But the cognition of one, two or three is not there, so in relation to what is it called the fourth?

6.It is the innate nature of life, therefore it is called 'individual'. But in it there is no activity of the individual, therefore no individuality is apparent.

7.You may say it is brahman because it consists of sat, cit, ananda396 but that may not be so. For he who knows says nothing and what is the use of words of the one who does not know.

8.Therefore the Śruti declares it is a truth

not available to speech and mind. In whatever way it is experienced by the wise, it is that. Of that there is no doubt.

9.Sacred texts have this as their end. An ascetic has this end. Instruction has this end. Discernment has this end.

10.You have heard 'All this is brahman' by listening to the Śruti. Since you must be brahman, then be brahman.

Section 24: Five verses on the lamp of awareness 397

1.It needs no base, does not depend on oil, nor rely on a wick, nor produce even a little soot.

2.It never radiates heat, does not flicker with wind, and cannot be extinguished. It removes all darkness.

3.By its light all things appear as one. In its presence the shadow of unreality, māyā, does not appear.

4.It is not perceivable by the eyes, has no form and colour, is not evident to the mind, yet causes all forms and colours to appear.

5.0 dear one, at certain times and places, for some reason that lamp of awareness shines in the temple of the heart of those who know themselves.

Section 25: Sixteen guiding verses

1.Empty the mind-pot, filled with thoughts and logic. 398 O dear one there will be no difficulty whatsoever in filling it with brahman.

2.O great intellect, give up anxieties. Accept happiness free from concern. Pray tell who else can abandon the anxieties you have acquired?

3.Contemplate reality, the remedy for the disease of worry. Or rather, O dear one, give up the mania of rampant worry.

4.Worry indulged grows strong, given up it instantly vanishes. The weak-minded have even died with such a disease.

5.Give up your wife Desire, the fiery one. She is harsh, contentious, barren and always inauspicious. Replace her with beautiful liberation.

6.The accolade of 'pandit' (scholar), makes you very happy. Resolve to really become a scholar in thought, action and speech.

7.You are always the shining one because your nature is consciousness. This embodied world shines with just a little of your consciousness.

8.'My nature is nothing but radiance.' When this is understood and confusion has ceased where is a second, where is the cycle of birth and death, where is worldly illusion, what is created by that?

9.Knowing, doing and enjoying are scenes in consciousness, merely scenery. Become the jewel of self-shining radiance and observe.

10.Waking, dream and sleep, unknown to each other, have been enjoyed by you like three women. Engage with beautiful turīyā! 399

11.You have been roaming between the three houses of waking, dream and sleep. Why do you not see that turiya, the fourth, is your own home.

12.Do not run around in search of happiness. Dear friend there is no happiness in pursuing. Remain happily in your innate self, which is happiness. Be happy!

Some illustrations.

13.O beautiful one, you are ready for marriage. You will not be without a husband. You should choose a husband who is not old and who will not die.400

14.O fortunate one, while your marriage is being arranged and your husband unknown, your mind will be agitated. When the marriage celebrations begin you will embrace him with great rejoicing.401

15.Dear friend follow my advice. Today amuse yourself with this special one. Later your mind will be naturally drawn to surpassing happiness.

16.Young lady, you are in the bloom of youth. The past day will not come again. Abandon modesty and accept the one to whom you are betrothed. When you unite with this special one the comforts of your father's home are as nothing

and the promise of heaven even less.

Section 26: Twenty verses of discussions on brahman

1.Discussion of the highest self is said to be better than one hundred thousand acts of worship. Hence to awaken the student, discussion of brahman is presented.402

2.Brahman is the basis of all things, nothing is the basis of brahman. If brahman is truly without basis then where could it exist?

3.An effect cannot exist without its basis. How can brahman, the basis of everything, not exist anywhere?

4.One cannot say that brahman is distinct from everything. How can brahman, the essence of the whole world, exist separately from everything?

5.Nor is it proper to say that brahman is not distinct from everything. This brahman is experienced by the great sages to be distinct.

6.If by this logic your conclusion is that this brahman being discussed is ātman, then there can be nothing other than ātman.403 So be it! This brahman is yourself.

7.You cannot conclude that brahman is known as an object of knowledge. Since brahman is essentially knowledge, how can it be an object of knowledge?

8.If you conclude that brahman is essentially knowing devoid of the objects of knowledge, what kind of knowing is that?

9.If it is supposed that brahman is essentially the knower, and given that brahman is self-evident, how can it be the possessor of knowledge?

10.Who could say that brahman takes the multiple forms of the world. That brahman is always the same because it is said to be immutable.

11.It cannot be said that brahman is one because brahman has no attributes, and oneness is an attribute.

12.It is also inappropriate to say that brahman is devoid of attributes, because its infinite qualities are endlessly sung.

13.Who can say that brahman does not exist since all this shines because of the existence of brahman alone? Yet we cannot say that brahman exists, because existence is not distinct from brahman.

14.How would the one who knows describe that brahman, which is devoid of form? He would say, brahman is directly experienced as the real form of myself.

15.But if it is said that brahman is the real form of myself that is not correct. What then would be the meaning of 'myself' for which brahman is the pure form?

16.If 'myself' is said, it distinguishes from another. When there is no distinction of myself and other, such as in sleep and samādhi do you mean there is no brahman?

17.From the Śruti 'I am brahman,'

'I' must be brahman. But how can I be that brahman which is devoid of the sense of 'I'? 404

18.The Sruti says 'You are brahman' so you must be that brahman. But how can you be that brahman which is devoid of the sense of 'you'?

19.From the Śruti 'That is brahman' it cannot be concluded that some special state is brahman . For how could a distinct 'that' be hidden in the limitless, non-separate brahman?

20.When the slumber of ignorance has gone and the sage's mind is resolved, what remains is brahman inaccessible to words and mind.

21.Intelligent people should engage afresh with this fitting discourse. May they discourse on brahman, find satisfaction and rejoice. 405

Section 27: Four verses on free living 406

1.Now, O Noble One, to be heard by a fine, focused mind, 407 four verses on free living, the totality of the truth.

2.Disregarding her husband, even while remaining in his house, a wife strays to cavort with another lover. Called Catura, she is a shrewd, wanton, unchaste woman. 408

3.Separating from her husband, from pride in family and lineage, flirtatious, besotted, every day she cavorts with another lover.409

4.Finally, unable to oppose, the husband is defeated by his wife. At the time of her consummation, giving up his home, he leaves.410

5.But with this kind of behaviour, what becomes of the marriage? After some time free living evolves.411

6. The meaning is that for those who experience their true self, even in the presence of the deflated ego, the profound union is not disturbed.

Section 28: Three verses on the deflated ego (ahankāra)

1.A child, seeing a painted snake, recoils. Another child says, 'It is just a painted snake.' 412

2.Thenceforth that child, knowing about the snake, plays with it. In the same way, the deluded one, hearing of the ego present in himself, retreats.413

3.In this case, he is told by a good teacher that there is only consciousness and nothing else. From then on that previously deluded one, knowing the truth about ego, plays with it.

Section 29: Two pearls of question and answer

The lingering impressions of sense said:

1.O (Jīva,) you big fool, do not play with this snake, do not think about self (ātman.) This will be the death of you.

He replied:

2.Those bitten by this snake have not died. The fangs are full of the nectar of immortality, therefore I will play with this snake.414

Section 30: Three amusing verses

1.Some desires, love and so on, were asked: O honoured ones, why do you no longer shine? You do not play as before! You do not laugh as before!

The desires replied:

2.Our mother, who nurtured us has died. 415 Our father, desiring happiness, has taken some other wife.416

3.She, our step-mother, never feeds us, she only hates us. We will soon leave.

Section 31: Eight playful verses on drinking mother's milk

The blessed teacher said

1.O child, your wet-nurse and your mother are both mothers. The milk from the breast of the nurse can be pungent, sour, sweet or bitter.

2.The one associated with old age and death is formed from this strange tasting duality. But I speak of the majesty of your natural mother.

3.She alone is mother, she alone is father and she is supreme ruler of the worlds. She is the refuge, she is the supreme reality. Nothing is superior to her.

4.Your nurse is of common lineage, your mother of refined lineage. Having abandoned the common, resort to your refined mother.

5.Breast milk from your natural mother is a shower of the nectar of non-duality, the disperser of birth, disease and old-age, and once drunk is even the antedote to death.

6.The difference between these two, nurse and mother, is not known by a deluded disposition. Now, having known the difference, drink from the breast of your natural mother.

7.When you wean from her breast, the nurse, shrivelling up, will perish. Then engagement with a common lineage can be eliminated, and the good will remain.

8.O dear one, why mix the natures of brahman and māyā?

Abandoning māyā, be full of pure brahman.

Section 32: Four wonders 417

1.The blind sees all, the lame goes everywhere, the inanimate acts, the one without a tongue enjoys the taste.418

2.The unintelligent construes the meaning, the dispassionate turns to enjoyment, the one without senses touches brahman.419

3.The consumer of nothing eats everything, the fool enjoys scholarship, the silent one proclaims the final end.420

4.The meek prevails, the desireless is satiated, the wise one, while sleeping, is awake, the dead attains immortality.421

Section 33: Worship with tulasī leaves of turīya

1.Worship of Visnu with tulasi 422 leaves of turīya, is now portrayed. It has the savour of the erotic because the primary sentiment is love.

In the words of the gopi, 423

2.Just now I have been enchanted by the vision of Mukunda, who has stolen the hearts of all those who love him. When I contemplate him in my heart there is no happiness at home. Let me dwell with him in the forest!

3.I am a simple-minded milk-maid, reeking of milk, butter and curd. I don't know what to do. I want to meet Mukunda.

4.Alone, I go to the forest at midnight and concealed in a bower I enjoy the embrace of my beloved. I am wonderstruck and can't understand why I am surrounded by all my smiling companions.

5.What can I say? Indeed to whom can it be said? Who would I speak of? What would become of my tale? My friend, this story cannot be told. When kissed on the lower lip in the rapture of love, my limbs melt away with my skirt.

6.This must be because of my own good deeds since Krsna is desired by many loving women. Otherwise in the story there would be no reason for the sudden appearance of the consort of the goddess Laksmi (Krsņa) among us, the Gopi-women.

7.With these verses, which are tulasī leaves of turīya, we worship Krsna. In the forest, garlanded with them,

he gives the desired, sweet fruit.424

Section 34: A string of diamonds, a garland of causes

1.Awareness of self, gained by enquiry into that evidenced by the Śruti, has not previously been arranged in this unique setting. It is a priceless ornament.

2.The self aware sage realises existence is not what is called birth. Having become one with existence there is no birth.

3.The self aware sage has gained the immortal brahman. Having attained immortality how can he become mortal?

4.The self aware sage realises that death is just the abandonment of the body. Having already left the body, how can there be death of the already dead?

5.The self aware sage has given up the sense of doership and the sense of me. Therefore he is not contaminated by actions.

6.The self aware sage realises that his self is naturally pure. Since he did not become pure by good deeds, he is not contaminated by merits.

7.The self aware sage has a pure nature. Whatever he does is pure, because he is not contaminated by sins.

8.The self aware sage is innately blissful. Realising that exhilaration is unreal, for him excitement does not exist

9.The self aware sage cannot be harmed. Feeling no oppression he hates no-one.

10.For the self aware sage, what remains unattained? With nothing to gain or lose he never grieves.

11.The self aware sage by some means has gained brahman, which is everything. He desires nothing more.

12.For the self aware sage no other is powerful. Since there is no other he has no fear.

13.For the self aware sage, all that should be done has been done. Therefore he is not despondent.

14.The self aware sage is revered by the creator of the world, so when revered by the world he is unmoved.

15.The self aware sage is revered by the chief of the gods, so when ignored by people he is unmoved.

16.For the self aware sage, benefit and harm are impossible so friend and enemy are the same.

17.The self aware sage, going beyond virtue and vice, has reached the supreme state. He is the same in praise and censure.

18.For the self aware sage there is no ownership of house or family. He is said to be homeless, because at the end of the day his home is wherever he finds himself.

19.The self aware sage has attained that unattainable awareness, which does not diminish. Being self-possessed he is carefree about possession.

20.The self aware sage is always unmoved (by praise). Nevertheless my praise of him dispenses great benefit.

21.This string of diamonds, which is a garland of causes is worn like a necklace by those who know themselves. Awareness of self

has not previously been arranged in this unique setting. It is a priceless ornament.

Section 35: The key to absolute oneness (kaivalya)

1.O dear one, understand well the key to absolute oneness. Unlock the door and take the jewel of awareness in your hand.

2.Whatever presents through eyes, ears or experience, without delay separate in five ways.

3."It is, it shines, it is dear, it has form and it has name, are the five parts.425 The first three are characteristics of brahman, the next two, characteristics of māyā." 426

4.Name and form are not intrinsic. I will explain. Name is invented for the purpose of communication but is not fundamental.

5.The word ghata (pot) is not 'gha' and not 'ta' because both syllables rest in space.427 Furthermore 'gha' comes from the throat and 'ța' from the upper palate, so they cannot both occur at the same time.

6.All names are like this. Now, O dear one, consider form. Ghața (pot) is a particular shape of earth. That earth is inert and arises from water.

7.Water arises from fire, fire from air and air from space.428 All these elements arise from ahankāra429 and that arises from prakrti.430

8.Prakrti, consisting of guņa, is a deceptive appearance and is not intrinsic.

Thus in conclusion, name and form are not intrinsic. Now consider 'It is, it shines, it is dear (asti, bhāti, priyam)'.

9.Being (asti) is intrinsically existence (sat), manifestation (bhati) is intrinsically consciousness (cit) and love (priyam) reflects bliss (ānanda). What remains (after removing non-intrinsic name and form) is the intrinsic nature of existence, consciousness and bliss. That is absolute oneness.

10.By this method, penetration with the aid of an object, absorption in existence, consciousness and bliss, is practised. 431 But after that there is absorption by the method of penetration with the aid of words.432 I will explain.

11.I am unchangeable, I am pure, I am homogeneous consciousness. I am natural bliss. In me there is no ignorance or impurity.

12.I, who am dense consciousness, lend existence to this unreal world. Having withdrawn that existence I remain firm in my own being.

13.I am not the primary cause433 nor the effect through transformation434 Still if something arises in me, let it be so. It has appeared but is not real.

14.When I say to myself, 'O soul of the universe, withdraw,' this universe appears withdrawn. It does not stay.

15.Thus by reflection on the purport of words and statements of the Upanisads, absorption, known as penetration with the aid of words, happens for the sage.

16.Penetration with the aid of an object has been described, followed by penetration with the aid of words.

Having properly practised both, settle free from all penetration.

17.Just as writing om is practised after placing two small round stones, 435 so the two aids are repeatedly used to inscribe the substance of om in yourself.

18.But for an expert in writing om that practice is not necessary. And so, the one who has understood deeply the meaning of om, does not need the two types of absorption.

19.The self aware sage abides in the absorption in which there is no division.436 This key to absolute oneness is the means of unlocking the door.

20.Indeed this key to absolute oneness is the secret of secrets, the greatest treasure of treasures, the supreme means among all means.

21.This key is described in accordance with the method of Vasistha and Vyāsa. It came to us through the path of Sankarācārya, 437 who passed it on because his heart was filled with the nectar of compassion.

22.It was entrusted to Anandabodha and since then it has been continually passed on and kept by the wise. (Passed on to me, I pass it on to you.438) Use this key to absolute oneness reverently and with care.

Section 36: Praise of buddhi

1.Buddhi is the faculty for all worldly dealings. Buddhi alone is instrumental for cognition of truth.

2.If what is known is not cognised by buddhi, then that is not knowledge. But if it is cognised, in that moment awareness shines and it is never again unknown.

3.What is known by scholars in the world of duality is not cognised by buddhi. What is known by the wise through the witnessing cognition of buddhi, through buddhi, know that!

4.Awareness unrecognised is still awareness while awareness recognised cannot be known objectively. Whether recognised or unrecognised, awareness is the same. Whatever the state of recognition, awareness is experienced by buddhi as cognition. 439

Section 37: Three verses on the play of love

1.Painted with the colours of many charms, an enticing atmosphere of heart arises. But when unpainted, in the natural colour of oneself, pure love is born.

2.Now that the atmosphere of heart is natural and unpainted, the charming colours of love no longer adhere.

3.0 dear one, be aware of both plays of love. Give thoughtful consideration to love with and without colour.

Section 38: Four verses on the wonder of moon and moonlight

1.In other than the moon there is no moonlight nor is the moon without moonlight. How can the moon and moonlight be separated?

2.When the moon is forgotten, the moonlight is not enjoyed, but when remembered, it is. How can the moon and moonlight be separated?

3.Certainly you have experienced the spectacle of the moon and moonlight. Hence it is used here as a metaphor.

4.The glory of the moonlight is as great as that of the moon. This moon has no beginning and end, and its moonlight has no beginning and end.

Section 39: Five verses on a strange beheading

1.Repudiation of the mind is better than dispassion and discernment. Cutting off the head, which must eventually be cut, is more effective than cutting a minor limb.

2.If, even after cutting minor limbs, the head must be cut, then why not cut off the head first. Other actions are unnecessary.

3.Sages are innately compassionate. That empathy of the sage helps you cut the head, which is the mind, without the agony of cutting a limb.

4.'Cut my head at once,' my mind cries. I cannot endure the wretchedness of removing minor limbs.

5. The feelings and thoughts that arise from mind are countless. How can they be systematically removed? Therefore, O sage detach from that mind.

Section 40: The sublime questions of teacher to self aware student

1.Are you touched by the delight of experience, that elevated state constantly felt by the wise that cannot be described?

2.By direct perception, by worldly experience, by existing, knowing, enjoying by all this is Siva clearly perceived?

3.Like Krsņa, caressed into sleep by the sweet songs of Yaśoda 440 are you blissful, guided into self-absorption by the soothing words of Vedānta?

4.Like the child Krsna, beaming with butter balls in his mouth, do you frolic, satiated with the astonishing knowledge of your own self.

5. Your individuality has resolved and the world has become a singular reality, now like Mahādeva (Śiva) dancing in the natural joy of himself, do you also dance?

6.Like Maheśa in the evening, gazing on his beautiful-limbed Pārvatī, at the sunset of the entire world, seeing your own power, do you dance?

7.Like Hara (Siva), having drunk and digested the poison churned from the ocean of the visible world, do you revel as the conqueror of death.

8.Do you see your own essential nature in the unbroken rolling out of life, just as you see your face in a mirror placed before you?

9.Like Mārkandeya seeing the lord within and without, are you too, seeing the extraordinary world, utterly amazed in yourself.441

Section 41: The student's answer

1.Because of the grace and understanding of the illustrious sages, whose hearts are full of compassion, yes indeed O revered teacher, all this is easy.

Section 42: Four verses on conduct

1.The face is naturally fair and lovely. The natural beauty is not spoiled even if black eye-makeup is applied by the discerning.442 Allowing that the knower of brahman is not blemished by actions, even sinful actions, why is it said that rejection of desires is best? Far better is the joy of total detachment.

2.The one who knows has acquired knowledge full of the nectar of immortality. In this bliss he will remain, free from the evils of attachment. What kind of attachment could attract him again? Which is better for such a king: remaining seated on a kingly throne decorated with praise;443 or roaming about door-to-door seeking alms?

3.Is it possible to fully awaken to the self without following the traditional path of the learned? If it was, then the conventions of class and stage of life would always be given up by the wise. But the way of knowledge is strange, distinct from the conventions of conduct observed by people in worldly life. 444 The wise do not interfere with these actions.445

4.If you object that Datta, Rsabha, JadaBharata, Manki and Samvarttaka followed a path devoid of action, then, O good one, I will explain. 446 The prior verse refers to the wise who are engaged in the waking world. They see and hear worldly affairs. But these Rishis you speak of are blind to the world and do not see or hear the affairs of the world. There is no complaint against them.

Section 43: Seventy nine waves of Ganga knowledge

1.Now listen to seventy nine waves of Gańgā knowledge.447 Even by catching just one wave, one will become free from all burdens.

2.Indeed space, vibrant with speech, is everywhere, but for the dumb speech is difficult. Similarly consciousness, brahman itself, is everywhere, but for those without a means to knowledge, brahman is difficult. 448

3.A person in darkness may go to the east, or to the west or anywhere else, but he will not be able to see the sun. In the same way, a heart filled with dark uncertainty will not see the sun of consciousness that is everywhere.

4.Just as in the void of the universe there are galaxies of stars, so in the sphere of consciousness, which is one without a second, there are multitudes of universes.

5.While sleeping, the sage sees a dream world. In the same way, awake in the reality of consciousness, the sage settled in the fourth449 sees the world as a dream. What a wonder!

6.Your desire for liberation is a pretence. Your desire for liberation is not intense. If it was, there would not be this delay.

7.The waning moon became dimmer, and the new moon world was dark. Now as the waxing moon becomes brighter the full moon world has arisen. 450

8.A mustard-seed cannot stay on the horn of a cow.451 In the same way the mind cannot stay where those settled in contemplation are steady like mountains.

9.The natural disposition of the contemplating sage, remains constant and unbroken like a flow of water; far from the fourteen means of cognition.452

10.This is the state of contemplation, by which the sage becomes the self of the universe. He regains his natural state of absolute self, which because of uncertainty had slipped away .

11. Objects reflect in a clear mirror, but the mirror is not imprinted by the reflection. The reflecting person has this skill. He reflects the world but is not imprinted by it.453

12.'Begone', the dispositions of mind are commanded. 454 With his order they instantly glide away. This master of the mind is amazing.

13.By digesting the deadly poison of time, Śambhu (Siva) controlled his poisonous snakes. In the same way, by annulling thoughts and doubts the sage restrains his sense functions.

14.If you are not able to give up the sense of 'me and mine', spread that notion everywhere. 455

15.The one who is charming because of caste, stage of life, youth, dress, study, manners, but devoid of discernment and dispassion, is constrained by conformity (pasu)456 - there is no doubt!

16.For a seeker, with mind fired by ceaseless contemplation and dispassion, what is the use of other disciplines?

17.It grows by watering the root, it withers by drying out the root,

it is reduced to ashes by fire. Such is the condition of a tree.

18.It grows by sprinkling interesting things into the mind, it withers by withholding them from the mind, it is reduced to ashes by the heat of awareness. Such is the state of living.

19.For an observer by a river, a swan on the opposite bank reflects in the water appearing to be two. Like this, the one who sees reality knows the self is one, although it appears divided.

20.The seed which is roasted cannot sprout. Similarly the mind roasted by the heat of awareness soon loses its power of illusion. It is a wonder!

21.Senses have been made lame, they can no longer run away. I will also make them blind, so they do not see the world.457

22.For the living, brahman is life. This may or may not be known. If one knows, there is the greatest gain. For the one who does not know there is great fear.

23.The innate nature of the brahman cow is different from the divine wish fulfilling cow. The one who drinks the brahman milk, instantly becomes that. 458

24.If you have set your mind on yoga, then reach for the seventh level. Then when so established dive deep, you cannot fall. This is the advice of wise guides.

25.If not able to look directly at the noon sun, look through a veil or at the reflection in water.

26.In the same way if unable to look into the blazing sun of dense consciousness, look within at the inner controller or at the same light pervading all.

27.An archer should release millions of arrows, even when the target is small, so that at some time, by divine will, one will hit.

28.In the practise of meditation, the many movements of the mind should be kept directed, so that at some time, by benevolent grace, the target will be hit and the mind will become whole.

'A knower of brahman is always superior to brahman' is explained in two verses. 459

29.Sixteen thousand women of endless pleasure is the measure as it were of the ocean of play of Krsna. Such he enjoyed. Yet he was subdued by Bhama and loved her the most. Hence Satyabhāma alone is the treasure. 460

30.Brahman exists everywhere, but where or when is a knower of brahman to be found? brahman is common, but a knower of brahman is treasured.461

31.A woman, besotted with the pleasure of another, gives up imposed convention and delights in what she desires. In the same way the mind of a Yogi, smitten with the bliss of supreme communion, abandons worldly ends and revels in its own vision.

32.By repairing a leak, a reservoir becomes full and sparkles. In the same way, by correcting false notions, awareness becomes complete and shines. This is no surprise.

33.A clump of grass can conceal a great mountain. In the same way fancies of pleasure,

which are rootless, seedless, dry and insignificant, conceal one's own self.

34.A particular place or time will not give liberation, nor will age, yoga or scholarship. Only when erroneous fancies are given up is there liberation.

35.A pure seed is sown in a prepared field. If a god then brings rain, a huge harvest will not be surprising.

36.For the one who strives for the highest truth, 462 what is known to the world as the most venerable is foolishness, and what is known in the world as foolishness is the best knowledge.

37.You are like a commentary on the words of the Upanisads. You vanquish the dualists but you do not enter within. I think that commentary will be the death of you.

38.When asked by a friend if he is well, the one who knows himself, remembering his former state, rejoices - 'All is now well'.

39.An accomplished performer of rituals is like a copper pot, coated on the outside with gold but empty inside. Far better is a golden pot full of jewels, the one who knows.

40.Though similar, in the sense that they are both from plants, these two still differ; the one who knows is like sugar-cane, the conformist (paśu) is like a wooden stick.463

41.My husband delights in large eyes but not in small eyes. Please give me a spell that will make my eyes large.464

42.A foolish lady, seeing that someone is respectable, serves him and invites him to stay in her home. But she does not enjoy him. Perhaps she does not sleep with him, not recognising him as her husband.465 Or perhaps she does not ask him crucial questions, not recognising him as her guru. 466

43.The passionate lover is properly attired for pleasure. She spends the night sleeping so does not even touch her beloved. In the morning she cries. 467

44.The picture of a lady of extraordinary beauty is painted on a canvas. When the beautiful lady herself arrives all turn to her.468

45.A fabulous jewel capable of fulfilling all desires469 slipped from my hand. Do not be sad, my guru said, soon it will return.470

46.I doubt if I will ever see the face of god. In the meantime my mind, like an angel, encourages me.471

47.Krsna was said to have the beauty of millions of gods of love. All those gods of love472 fled before his brilliance.

48.Rādha shed tears longing for union with her absent Krsna. But Krsna was there all the time, hidden by his own magic. Suddenly he appeared and once visible, they united.473

49.Some bees wander in search of fragrance, while others look for nectar. But those who are already drunk with honey, do not search for fragrance and do not seek nectar.474

50.A wood-carter after much hardship is paid at the end of the day. A jeweler sitting in comfort

gains abundant wealth.475

51.A dancer by straining her limbs perhaps gains some small reward. A lady from a noble family with a mere side-glance commands her husband.476

52.It is well known that as a lamp is about to go out, it blazes intensely. The brilliance of your mind tells me your liberation is near.

53.Some mine the earth for gems, some sell the gems and others grind and polish them. The lucky one enjoys the gems. 477

54.Some are content with just buttermilk, while others prefer curds. Those who know the truth are not satisfied without ghee.478

55.Where should I sleep? Wherever my sleepiness arises a large bed is found, brahman is soft and clean.

56.I have ground my observation with awareness. It has become a lens of consciousness. Wherever I look through that lens, I see myself.

57.If even one person is swallowed, people admire the boa serpent. Why do they not admire me, who has swallowed millions of universes.

58.I say extraordinary things, but do not find fault with me. I say, 'I am brahman,' yet the Sruti does not find fault with me.479

59.I am like a king sitting on my throne.

Bards (such as the Upanisads) praise my glory. I kill the enemy (confusion) and rule free from trouble.

60.I have seen the vast compass of consciousness. Compared with that, this realm devoid of life is void, and insignificant.

61.For the hungry, food is loved. For the miser, wealth is loved. For the thirsty, water is loved. My beloved is consciousness.

62.Through the application of alchemy, copper is no longer copper. Similarly by the application of knowledge, ego is no longer ego.

63.Previously my ego was the cause of my distress. Now as an adversary it is dead and there is supreme bliss.

64.In the midst of a party of pleasure seekers, the young and beautiful are the stars. Likewise among those who strive for liberation it is the knower of the highest truth that shines.

65.The passionate lover revels in the pleasure of her beloved, even while doing household tasks. In the same way, for the one who knows himself, the mind is always happy in itself.

66.Seeing a blissful sage, the villager repeatedly says to him, 'Show me the treasure you have found.'

67.0 dear one, tell me who are not cheated by sense pleasures? Nevertheless those cheats are tricked by gurus, who are the invincibles.

68.Misguided people may pour water

from thousands of pots on their head.480 The knower of the self, like the icon of iva, rests in silence alone.

69.Gurus are they who contemplate. The most venerable gurus are dispassionate. Those who are dispassionate about their contemplation are indeed the gurus of gurus.

70.The foolish as well as those who seek understanding, abandon things that are troublesome. So for the wise, what is difficult in discarding likes and dislikes?

71.For people who have awakened to the self there will still be tales of the world, just as after waking people tell stories about dreams.

72.In the embrace of sleep the world vanishes. In the embrace of awareness, turīya remains.

73.If the world exists but not the sun, there would be only darkness. If the sun and the world coexist then there is worldly life.

74.If the sun exists but not the world, there would be only sunlight. Such is the situation in the world. Now my son, listen about the highest reality.

75.For us the sun of awareness always exists. It will never disappear. Even when everything is dark, the imperishable remains as witness of that darkness.

76.For a sage in meditation, the sun of awareness exists and the world does not. O honourable one, it is clear, at that time there is only light.

77.When the same sage looks at worldly things, the sun of awareness and the world both exist.

And when there is only darkness (as in sleep), it is as though neither exist.

78.Dear Son, even when objects are not visible, the sun of awareness never sets. For, when objects are not illuminated, what can the sun of awareness reveal?

79.The illuminated object may come and go according to its nature. My self shining sun never sets.

Section 44: Wonder of mind

1.O great sage ask, "O mind are you bound or free?" If it says "bound" then certainly you are bound.

2.If it says "a little free," then from delusion you are a little free. But if it says "free," then you are free.

3.Bound by the bound mind, free by the free mind, yet the conclusion of Vedānta is 'this self is neither bound nor free'.

4.All that is a wonder, that resonates throughout the three worlds, is an attribute of mind, because the mind is the source of wonder.

5.The powers of mind are aņimā (smallness), mahimā (largeness), laghimā (levity), garimā (gravity), prāpti (extension), prākāmya (uninhibited will), īśitva (lordship of peoples) and vaśitva (mastery of nature).481

6.Mind is the bow, mind is the bow-string, mind is the archer, mind is the target, mind pierces and the mind is pierced. The prize is liberation.

7.The mind of man is the cause of bondage and liberation.482 What greater than this can be spoken of? But in non-duality there is no mind.

Section 45: Sacrificing the animal mind to Candi awareness

1. The animal mind has four legs, memory, ego, intellect and discursive mind. Having sacrificed this mind with the sharp axe of awareness, he is possessed by the lotus feet of Candi awareness and receives the grace of oneness. All his powers wildly flail at his feet? Amazing! 483

Section 46: Eighteen verses on liberation while living (jīvanmukti)

1.The one bound by thought, having freed himself by himself, is content in himself with himself. Revelling thus he is Hari himself.

2.Oneness is one's own true nature; samsara is complete foolishness.484 O child, the state that persists for the one liberated while living, is extraordinary.

3.The self, ever-liberated, has accepted birth to attain the joy of liberation while living, but not the one who strives for worldly ends.

4.If this illusory drama of charades called ignorance does not exist, how can the inner self of all living beings attain the great festival of liberation while living?

5.Non-duality does not exist in the one with a body; duality does not exist in the one without a body. Only for the one who has attained liberation while living, and no other, is there this great festival of duality and non-duality.

6.The one embodied is not bodiless. The one without a body is not embodied. Both states exist in the one liberated while living.

7.If the embodied one cannot be without a body, then how is it that Janaka, who had a body, was described as free from his body?

8.If the bodiless cannot have a body then how is it that Janaka, who was free from his body,

lived in a body.

9.The sacred texts have validated final release after death and liberation while living is also firmly validated. But if liberation while living is not attained while living, there is no final release after death.

10.Without knowledge there is no oneness, and the one who is dead cannot gain knowledge. Knowledge of oneness can only be attained while living and that liberation while living is immortal.

11.If you think that liberation while living is a transient joy and has no use, consider this. How is it that those such as Sanaka are immortally resplendent in brahmaloka?485

12.Consequently this liberation while living is a play of Iśvara, an expression in part, of Iśvara's own form leading to the bestowal of the great release.

13.That liberation while living, experienced only by those who know themselves, in which the wise such as Nārada constantly play, is eternal.

14.Those sages such as Sanaka, having abandoned worldly interactions causing restlessness of mind, are settled in absorption.

15.Those sages such as Janaka, seemingly involved in interactions in the world, are full of inner awareness. They are settled in their own self.

16.For those who are not settled in themselves it matters not whether they live in a house or a forest. They are neither counted among those like Janaka, or those like Sanaka.

17.The gurus, holding their wisdom within, offer the nectar of immortality with few words, like the deep rumbling of clouds bringing the monsoon rain.

18.To attain the state of liberation while living, these fourteen verses on liberation while living should be thoroughly studied and cherished.486

Section 47: The roaring of the wise elephant

1.Flocks of birds come, play, settle, then spontaneously fly up and away. Like that, in me, various pleasant and unpleasant states come, play, dwell and go. Like the crown of a temple I am always pristine. 487

2.In the ocean countless waves, big and small, rise and fall, yet the ocean remains in its own greatness, undisturbed. In the same way by divine chance, the world in me emerges and resolves, yet I abide in my own greatness, undisturbed. Like the ocean my bliss is limitless.

3.Birth and death, like forest creatures, roam freely in me. Impressions rub against me like elephants in heat rubbing their foreheads against mountain rocks. In past, present and futures ages like the mountain I remain immovable.

4.The sage Agastya by a clever ruse caused the Vindhya mountains to bow down. Planting his foot firmly on their summit, he went on his chosen way and did not return. Like this, making the mountain of confusion bow low, I am Agastya, I move at will. 488

5.Today I saw someone falling from heaven. All the joy had drained from their face. Seeing the difference between this and their previous state, it occurred to me, 'Alas, heaven has a worse outcome than hell'.

6.Having climbed to the summit, then fallen, there is no rising again. Better is he who remains in his natural state. See, his limbs are not crushed, and in his mind there is no pain of falling or of ridicule.

7.If, having entered the suşumņā energy channel, (by practise of Hatha Yoga), one continues to live with even more fear and is finally consumed by death, what is the use of a long life? 489 If however, unidentified with the body, remaining in the self, one overcomes death, that is a long life.

8.The teachings and insights of the great sages and their countless paths have been examined. Now jettison feelings of inadequacy and be the accomplished one. If this is not done what is accomplished?

9.Like the rocky crags of the Vindhya mountain extending a vast distance, I do not expand or retract. I am complete. Having stretched my mind and fallen into dense consciousness, a state like sleep has arrived. All movement has been utterly quelled.

10.My father shines, king of the whole world. My youth is fresh with courage, intelligence and enthusiasm. My beautiful wife is this indescribably wise buddhi. Hence what happiness could be greater, no-one is more blessed than me.

11.Having put aside the unquenchable thirst for drops of spontaneous happiness, content with ceaseless contemplation on universal oneness, we sit on the royal throne knowing the treasure of innate happiness. Even while remaining embodied we see beyond time.

12.Of mortals, kings and high gods, fallen from a position of power, how many no longer revolve in the wheel of birth and death? We are wealthier than them. Holding onto the foot of the guru, 490 sitting in the boat of knowledge of brahman, we have crossed the ocean of samsāra.

13.The sky, untainted by that which moves within it, 491 is always vacant. The ocean, having swelled with the tide, ebbs again. 492 Though the golden mountain gives joy to others, it is not of itself joyful.493 I am not vacant, I do not ebb and I am not wanting in joy. My equal does not exist.

14.The morning and evening sky displays many colours but that sky is not constituted of those colours. In that sky clouds come and go, but they leave no mark. The clear sky is seen as blue. It is said of the sky, 'it is blue,' but I know the apparent blueness of the sky is false.

15.A discerning person recognises silver. A non-discerning person mistakes coloured metal as silver. Both are certain about their own understanding, but in the transactions of buying and selling the difference becomes apparent. One loses his poverty and the other remains poor.

16.Certainly the ocean is deep, but nevertheless the wind came from somewhere in the Vindhya mountains and made it turbulent with huge waves. Since it was agitated by the wind did it stop being an ocean? No, it remains what it is. This is how the ocean shows its greatness. 494

17.The sweet taste of milk is unreliable. When it ferments, milk becomes sour curds and all sweetness is lost. On the other hand the glory of gold is never lost. In the form of a necklace or an armlet, small like a nose-ring or large like a girdle, gold is adored in multiple shapes. Its splendour remains.

18.They are not clever if awareness is not awakened. They have not achieved their goal if they do not cross to the further shore. They are not of great lineage if reality is not discerned. They are not sages if preoccupied with the unreal.

19.0 Ahankāra! You have nothing whatsoever to do here. Be absorbed in stillness. That is your greatness. O mind! Come near! You are most splendid in the ocean of the bliss of self. We are not able to tolerate your petty behaviour.

20.My son, in that self, movements of mind do not come. If they do arise, remain silent and contemplate. If you want to abide in 'I am that', an ocean of bliss, tread softly and give up delusion.

21.The time is midnight. The darkness is intense. The place is full of thieves and the wall is weak. In this situation, if the owner of the house is awake, mindful of his wealth, thieves will fail. 495

22.The lord-protectors of the earth, wielding the great sharp sacred texts chase down wild animals, intent on taming them. But if the wild animals are not killed, they will kill others. So what is the value of such a useless lord? 496

23.When the perishable that had been desired was lost a sense of 'enough' arose. Abandoning sense pleasures, he became free from desire and easily attained that state inaccessible to mind and words, that skilled practitioners only achieve after great effort.497

24.If consideration is given to that which is in the heart, then there will be proper behaviour. Blindly following the actions of another is only engaging in anguish. When the blind are led by the blind they all fall into a concealed well.498

25.'Study!' one said to me. Then another said to retreat to a far away forest. Another said 'worship fire', and still another said 'behold the sun.' But I want that which is most beneficial so my venerable teachers advised, 'you are that.'499 My eyes revolved with wonder

when I perceived the inner reality. These blind people do not see.

26.A thunder-bolt jaw and a long tongue, are good for winning arguments and gaining celebrity. People with these qualities are demons for books. Let their story world be!500 O clear thinking one, ask me: What does meditation reveal? What is the focus of concentration? What is the truth, whereby the mind naturally resolves in the highest reality.

27.O Madam Tongue submit to silence now! You have talked enough. If resolve is fixed on the reality within, what is the use of your chatter? When the heart is immersed in the beauty of a wave in the ocean of nectar, silence is spontaneous. Yet you go on speaking harshly. Therefore O twisted tongue, I dislike you.

28.When brahman is seen, the whole world is like a divine grove filled with bountiful trees. All reservoirs become the water of Gangā. All actions are virtuous. All speech, refined and unrefined, is an utterance of the Vedas.501 The entire world is the city of Varanasi. To this person every state is a state of liberation.

29.This entire astonishing world is woven warp and weft in mind. That mind, in which this world day by day arises and dissolves like waves in water, arises and resolves in me alone. Please tell me, O LayaYogin, I am that 'me', so where do I resolve?502

30.A young girl confined by the world of mother-in-law and family,

casts her far-seeing eye to look intently at the youthful face seen at the doorway. Like her, the Yogi does not move. In a vision focused between the slope of the eyebrows, flash images of the beloved attired in the wealth of liberation.503

31.In the vast and fathomless ocean of consciousness, myriad worlds, like balls of mud, are submerged and unseen. To whom can I describe the sweet taste of that magnificent ocean of consciousness? What can be said? Who can speak of such things?

32.I will speak in the presence of Laksmi's consort (Vișņu) or Gauri's consort (Śiva), or the consort formed from words of the Veda504 (Brahmā), but for no-one else.505 I will tell of that realised when the mind is quiet, full of enthusiasm, open, and free from illusion. I will tell of that shining brilliantly and full of bliss.

33.When the wise person sees, free from illusion, his own splendour bursts into view. It slips away with desire, rises up with patience, opens with wisdom, sets with delusion, is disturbed by confusion, closes with doubts, retreats far from pairs of opposites, shines with awareness and plays with happiness.

34.Previously being celebrated as different and unique, it was not seen. What has happened? Now it is seen clearly. The astonished mind of the wise resolves in the deep sleep of awareness, the forest of bliss, the abode of the best of sages, the supreme brahman.

35.With pure awareness shining all around, the truth is seen like a jujube fruit lying in the hand. 506 Nothing remains to be done. The marks of mistaken notions have been washed away, the mind diminished, dispassion apparent and the bondage of circumstance cut asunder.

With duality broken and fictions left far behind, happiness is complete.

Section 48: Six verses on Narahari 507

1.O mind, that extremely wicked and powerful Hiraņyakaśipu, 508 is not torn apart by the mere name of Narahari.509 Therefore you must become Nrhari, the man-lion, to tear apart Hiraņyakaśipu, delusion itself.510

2.This internal enemy, in the form of greed, grabbed the kingdom of Indra, but was not satisfied. At that point, only his annihilation could save me. Nrhari, wisdom itself, brought about that annihilation.

3.The story tells that the chest of Hiranyakaśipu, delusion personified, is as hard as diamond. All weapons attacking it are blunted. But O Nrhari, Hiranyakaśipu himself was torn apart by your claws of wisdom. This strength of your wisdom is a great wonder.

4.Nrhari, his heart filled with the vision of the supreme self, held that enemy Hiranyakasipu in front of his blazing heart, and annihilated him.511 All the suffering he caused went with him to destruction. Hiraņyakaśipu's son, Prahlāda, the personification of the bliss of awareness, was elevated to supreme glory. 512

5.This one who couldn't be killed inside or outside, not by day nor by night, not by anything wet or dry, nor by man or animal, this enemy Narahari killed with surprise, which is itself a surprise.513

6.Narahari is ever present everywhere in the animate and inanimate, but unseen.514 Through divine power he manifested in a pillar of stone as Nrhari (or Narasimha), the man-lion, putting an end to Hiraņyakaśipu, attachment to the delusional world.

This entire spectacle was for the sake of Prahlāda, his own bliss. 515

7.Having restrained the six enemies, the five senses and the mind, when these six verses on Narahari are recited in the heart six times, the six deviations are dispelled.516

Section 49: One hundred prattlings of the intoxicated

1.Relishing the wine of pure awareness, I prattle like a crazy drunkard. The hidden meaning of this blabbering should be examined by the minds of temperate people.

2.Desire, anger, greed, infatuation, vanity and jealousy; these help cross the ocean of life. How can this be? Listen.

3.Desiring the bliss of union, lovers skilfully indulge in amorous play. They find rest in seclusion with the beautiful lady, samādhi, and attain liberation.

4.The yogin Narahari, full of anger, tore open the chest of the demon ignorance. 517 With that anger comes liberation.

5.His face, contorted with crooked eyebrows, repels feelings such as desire and greed, which cannot even look at him. That hostile one is dear to Krsna.518

6.0 dear one, smiling to the eternal, frowning to the transitory, for those who have such desire and aversion, liberation rests in the palm of the hand.

7.The sage because of greed buys the jewel of knowledge. In exchange he gives a glass trinket, which is the mind. With that greed comes liberation.

8.Because of infatuation with consciousness he forgets class, stage of life, behaviour, body, enjoyment, wealth and so on, That infatuation is the highest abode.

8.519 The vain one thinks 'Nothing is superior to me', 'I am god', 'I am the greatest.' With that vanity comes liberation.

9.Jealous of the prominence given to the visible world, the sage who vigorously promotes self-knowledge is light-years ahead of the sage without jealousy.

10.The impatient one cannot tolerate, even for a moment, the allure of glittering objects. All his conventional qualities of patience are squashed under the big toe of his left foot.

11.Desire and so on are great deceivers, by which the three worlds have been cheated. 520 The deceiver who cheats them with clever reason, is loved by Dhūrjați (Śiva).

12.Outwardly he tends the flowers of worldly objects which inwardly he has cut from the bush of desire. He is an enigma, outwardly indulgent but inwardly ruthless.

13.The rumour monger relentlessly whispers in the ear of the inner controller. He undermines all things considered good and enjoys liberation.

14.He who in his heart is always speaking ill of other, has attained a superior state. He is seen by me as the highest sage.

15.'This whole world is a lie', is the conviction of the lying mind. For those who tell lies, the world of those who speak the truth is difficult.

16."I do nothing at all" 521 thinks the one who does not act properly. Those who act properly do not go there.

17.Contemplation etc. are one's friends along traditional paths. Leaving them behind, the highest is attained. Disloyalty to friends is liberation.

18.Since the world, consisting of five elements, arises by magic, he alone who tricks that magic, is eligible for liberation.522

19.The world, made by one's own free will is destroyed by one's own free will. The grateful person accepts what comes to pass. More revered is the ungrateful person who destroys what has been made. He attains liberation.

20.It is extraordinary. A person preoccupied with himself thinks he is the Lord. That person goes to the rare place, difficult for a humble person to attain.

21.Those who see corruption in the good, who criticise the world and praise themselves, they go directly to Visnu's abode.

22.He who participates in worldly actions like ordinary folk, while knowing 'I do nothing', is a hypocrite.523 Awakened to his real self, he is the beloved of Śiva.

23.The murderer beheads the degenerate ways of the confused ego acquired in hundreds of former births. He uses the sharp sword of awareness.

24.'I am Vişņu, I am Brahmā, I am Śiva,' gaining its trust these convictions kill the ego. They are pious murderers. 524

25.The liberated one, wandering as he pleases, unconcerned by rules and prohibitions, is ineligible to even join the line

of those waiting to receive food. But for us, he is the one who purifies the line.525

26.Two kinds of people are censured (in Mīmāmsa): those who neglect duties; and those who sleep while the sun is rising and setting. But for me they are both holy. The former by renunciation of the fruits of action, the latter by awakening to the risen sun of awareness.

27.Keeping food to yourself is usually considered sinful.526 For us, the one who bolts the door to the world to enjoy the sweet delicacy alone, gains the supreme abode.

28.The serial killer invited to his home the assembled organs of sense and action. He lined them all up and murdered them. For us he is the pious one who purifies the line of people taking food.527

29.There is liberation for those averse to worldly life, who endure the destruction of their individuality in order to destroy the ephemeral world. That liberation is described in the sacred works. See for yourself.528

30.Gambling on awareness, the stakes 'I' and 'mine' are totally lost. That gambler, spoken of in the Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad, enjoys liberation.

31.The one who has no empathy for the senses that bring distress is greatly beloved by Krsna, friend of the down-trodden.

32.The king who delights in the enjoyment of the self, and pays no heed to the kingdom, is not tainted by sin. The Mundakopanişad is the authority.529

33.The enriched mind is strangled by the snare of self-knowledge and dispassion. For the trapper, who lays such snares, every step leads to Kāśī, liberation.530

34.The one who forcibly uses the young ascetic widow who resides between the Ganga and Yamuna, 531 who lusts after her, he is pure.

35.The one who deliberately lights the bush fire of awareness, which burns the dense forest of duality, he goes beyond virtue.

36.The one who starves the senses but nourishes the self, even while living in a body, frees himself from all sin.

37.The trader of spirits is wealthy. Oblivious of rules of prescription and prohibition he sells all kinds of liquor 532 and keeps his wealth in a knot tied in his dhoti.533

38.Mixed marriage between castes is undertaken by one whose self is the self of all. That one of mixed marriage (sankarī) is considered Śankara (Śiva) himself.534

39.The one who gives up reciting the Veda is liberated. He, by his own deliberation, has soaked up their meaning and overflows with both the Vedas and Upanisads.

40.Everything offered to Siva becomes Siva alone. The one who eats the offering left for Siva understands this and is pure within.535

41.Having become a celibate student (brahmacarya), he enjoys all the city courtesans and is not stained with sin.536

The vision of Vedānta is amazing.

42.Eating food that has come out of the mouth of another, he is liberated. He savours whatever emanates from the mouth of yogis such as Suka.

43.The one who destroys the livelihood of a brāhmana is virtuous. 537 He destroys the thoughts of his own mind and knows brahman.

44.For the sage who eats food that comes by chance, such as eggplant, burnt rice, garlic etc., Hari is very near.538

45.The intoxicated who relish liquor attain the highest state. It was Varuna who said to Bhrgu, awareness of brahman is called liquor (vāruņi 539).540

46.Drunkards who shun the company of others and withdraw within, addictively indulging in internal liquor, are not far from the highest state.

47.Those with uncontrolled senses are liberated. Having gazed on beautiful, adorable consciousness, the power of mind, which rules the senses, recedes.

48.Having attained the summit peak of yoga, he then plummets into oblivion. That one is pure, having fallen into the depths of brahman.

49.Through an understanding of consciousness I openly bathe in the river Karmanāśā. 541 Just a splash of its water washes away the bondage of all actions.

50.In Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Saurāștra and Magadha542, in all places, forbidden and legitimate, I am happily content, free from the repetition of purifying rituals.

51.The householder, disregarding his family house, delights in another home. He lives in the highest abode.543 The knowlegable know this.

52.Attached to the bliss of self he who detachs from good actions is good. The others, attached to the performance of good actions are bad.

53.Those for whom ignorance is knowledge, non-discrimination is discernment and multiplicity is unity, they are perfectly fulfilled.

54.Śańkara (Śiva) said, for those acting perversely who annihilate their self-focused mind, there is liberation.

55.Through recitation of Vedānta, I praise my own nature. Just from that celebration alone I step into intimate unity.544

56.A brāhmaņa has two wives. The senior wife is chaste and devout but he desires the charms of the younger. He abandons his older wife to enter a realm of sublime freedom.

The explanation of this verse

57.The two wives, are like pravrtti and nivrtti taught by the Veda.545 The first is devoted to action, and the latter abides in brahman.

58.Strict (karkashā) and loving (rasikā) are traditionally their other names.

The one devoted to the Karmakānda 546 is strict and the one who proclaims brahman is loving.

59.Strict and loving, even though both are devoted wives, the loving one enjoys life with her lord, the strict one is a troublesome tyrant.

60.The wife devoted to action, like a servant, is always doing household chores. The other abiding in awareness, like a great queen, is seated on the royal throne.

61.Day and night the strict wife must perform duties on account of her husband. She sleeps without embracing her lord. How can she give real happiness?

62.The strict wife mandates proper action. Ever the faithful wife she praises the name of her husband yet never knows the blissful course of love.

63.The loving wife, abiding in self-knowledge, with the adornments of peace and equanimity brings happiness to her husband. Embracing him as herself she plays.

64.In sitting, in sleeping, in travelling, in eating she is at one with her blissful self. Ardently desiring that bliss, her husband does not remain even for a moment away from her.

65.For the astute one, who sees the distinct difference between the two, how can life with the deluded wife bring joy. What happiness is there with a wife determined to dominate.

66.But the total fool, like an idiot obediently living in mindless conformity, is satisfied with the strict wife.

He does not even meet the loving wife.

67.With her he is miserable and forever quarrelling, repeatedly deferring to her. Such is his misfortune.

68.In this illustration of the two wives the conclusion is as follows: Forgoing the nivrtti wife, pravrtti leads one to hell.

69.Abandoning the pravrtti wife, and choosing nivrtti, one gains freedom. This illustration of the well-known teaching, although outrageous, is validated by Vyasa's words.547

Thus ends the illustration of the teaching about pravrtti and nivrtti.

Now something else.

70.When possessed by a demon one is lost. But Vyasa said that if that demon is Vișnu, the great pervasive, partless being, one is not far from the highest state.

71.By the precise intonation of the mantra of a powerful spirit one is instantly turned into that spirit.548 If the mantra is 'I am brahman' one instantly becomes that brahman.

72.A person who selfishly claims 'I found it - this is all mine' is deemed to be the greatest. What he gained was the highest state through the favour of guru and sacred texts.

73.Even with endeavours over hundreds of life-times he has not gained a thing. Gaining nothing, he is the one who has gained all.

74.The vastness of what seems small, the nearness of what seems far

the intimacy of what seems other. Whatever gives this knowledge is the right knowledge.

75.What is perceived is deceiving. What is beyond perception is assured. This is confirmed by the principal Upanișads.

76.That person for whom the splendour of the entire diverse fabrication of the world is joyless, while alive is as though dead. He is praised in the Sruti as liberated while living.

77.A light shining in an empty house is a waste. 549 A person living only for himself seems to be useless, but his life of realisation of self is praised as full of purpose.

78.There is a light which does not illuminate worldly objects nor does it show difference. For us that is the light of awareness.

79.Only in the night, when others sleep in ignorance, am I awake. In the day, when others engage with the world, I sleep. But I am not sick nor does old age or death bother me.550

80.Discernment of good, middling and bad is a hallmark of the learned. But Krsna declared the highest learning to be equanimity, free of that discernment.

81.In fact Krsna told Arjuna that the one who correctly discerns is the idle person. He abandons both good and bad deeds.551

82.He further added, that useless person, devoted to pure liberation, has no need to act or not act and has no dependency anywhere.552

83.The one who does not know good and bad action, who does not know good and evil and who does not know joy and sorrow, he is the one who knows. This is the perspective of Krsna.553

84.Everywhere in the sacred texts it is told that only through meditation can there be liberation.554 But for us meditation on one's own self is not meaningful.555

85.Throughout all the sacred texts meditation is recommended. My recommendation is different. Meditation will never reveal the reality of oneself. When the reality of your own self spontaneously appears, instantly you are that.

86.He does not have even one good quality, let alone two or three? Yet Krsna praises his great qualities, because he is free of the three gunas (qualities). 556

87.The one who is unsuited to perform actions is highly qualified for liberation. His desirelessness is prasied by Krsņa.

88.The one who denies what is clearly evident is said to speak falsely. While seeing, hearing, touching, smelling etc., he says, "I do nothing at all". 557 Krsna declares him to be honest.

89.Those who know the true path do not show it to the lost, but instead encourage them on their deluded way. Krsna declares them to be kind.558

90.If one enters this path all future births will be taken from you. This is the only path for Yogins. Krsņa praised it.

91.For hațhayogins, suppressing spontaneous actions gives yogic powers. For us who practise the yoga of knowledge, spontaneous action is liberation.

92.Beware, he is a killer! He has slaughtered the whole world and is still on the loose. But in our view, association with him brings peace.

93.For the one born, death is inevitable, and for the one dead, birth is inevitable. But I think this inevitability is avoidable.

94.The one who has slipped from performing actions falls to a place of freedom. All his actions are reduced to ashes by the fire of knowledge. Such a place is not attainable by one who holds tight to action.

95.A person abandoning all action is said to be contemptible. Yet he alone is the achiever of the goal of all men and is declared the best.

96.I have studied the song of Krsna and have reached the conclusion that the one who has abandoned all dharma is freed from all sin. 559

97.This prattling is about the reality free from attachment. But by attachment to the repeated thinking about it the entirety of that freedom from attachment strikes home.

98.This intoxicated prattling of one hundred challenges to the customs of action, censure etc. is about the realm beyond the senses. The suggestion is clear.

99.0 dear one do not disparage the significance of these ravings.

Certainly their obvious meaning is difficult to comprehend by those distracted by the sensual world.

100.Hence they are called Intoxicated Prattlings. I am happy to have told them to you.

101.Now this intoxicated prattling is to be carefully considered, by the one who is settled as one, has a constantly focused mind, and a refined intellect.

102.Those who are widely regarded as intoxicated and out of their mind are in fact great thinkers. Their prattling is treasure to be kept safe in the temple of the heart.

Section 50: One hundred homages to Śiva560

1.Action as worship of Siva is able to uproot the bondage of action. The resolve to worship Siva relieves the suffering of all resolutions of mind.

2.Chanting the Śiva mantra, the five syllables (Om) namaḥ śivāya, is a dedication equivalent to dedication to the highest reality.561 The one steeped in that sound reaches the highest reality.562

3.Three lines of ash symbolise faith, devotion and dispassion. Devotees of Siva wear them to become eligible for worship of Śiva.

4.Garlands of rudrāksas, are worn as adornments of Śiva.563 'Worship the god by becoming the god' says the timeless Śruti. 564

Method of worship

5.Devotees worship a Sivalinga fashioned from formless clay, as an indicator of formless Śiva. 565 In the same way they regard all things, living and insentient, as shapes in formless brahman.

Acknowledgement of the clay with 'Salutations to Hari'.

6. Vessels566 made of clay are visualised as countless universes, the clay being satyam (the intrinsic reality). Holding clay, those with this discernment acknowledge it with 'Salutations to Hari (Śiva).'

Forming the linga with 'Salutations to Maheśvara'.

7.Moulded into the wholeness spoken of in the Upanisads, the linga is formed with 'Salutations to Maheśvara.'

Placing the linga with the invocation 'Salutations to Śūlapāni567'.

8.Having unseated negative and doubting thoughts, the discerning, while placing Sūlapani on the seat of worship, seat Siva in the place of their hearts.

The invitation, 'Salutations to Pinākadhrk568'.

9.Devotion to god, who is everywhere, is my invitation. Pinākadhrk is to be invoked with, 'I invite you with devotion.'

Now the meditation

10.May there always be meditation on Maheśa, who is like a silver mountain, who has the beautiful crescent moon on his head, whose body dazzles like a jewel, whose hands carry an axe, a deer, favour and removal of fear, who is smiling, who is seated on a lotus, who is praised from all sides by the assemblage of immortals, who is wearing a tiger-skin, who is the cause of the universe, who is praised by the universe, who takes away all fear, who is five-faced and three-eyed.

Explanation of that meditation in sixteen verses.

Explanation of 'May there always be meditation on Maheśa'

11.Those who discern the permanent from the non-permanent, who are always dispassionate towards the non-permanent and always firmly resolute towards the permanent, always meditate on Maheśa.

Explanation of 'Like a silver mountain'

12.Śambhu is a mountain of silver; he is the greatest wealth to his devotees. There is no poverty for those rich with that wealth.

Explanation of 'Crowned with a beautiful crescent moon'569

13.Pure natured, cool, charming and subtle; that sublime crescent of awareness is difficult to catch because of her cyclical movement. The one crowned with the moon wears her.

Explanation of 'His body dazzles like a jewel'

14.Śańkara wears dedication to yoga as gems of awareness. Hence his body dazzles like a jewel.

Explanation of 'The axe in his hand'

15.The sharp axe in the hand of Rudra is the awareness by which the forest of delusion is cut down and does not grow again.

Explanation of 'The deer in his hand'

16.The mind-animal, which cannot be restrained by the wise, and if caught escapes, is held playfully in the hand of Sambhu.

Explanation of 'The hand that gives favour'

17.Śankara, the worthy one, is worshipped by those who desire the highest favour. Because he gives that favour with his hand, he is known as the giver of favour.

Explanation of 'The hand that removes fear'

18.Death is a great fear, even Brahma is afraid of death. So immortality, which is fearless, resides in the hand of Mrtyuñjaya, conqueror of death.

Explanation of 'Smiling'

19.Even having attained a single accomplishment a person is pleased. Hara, the treasure-house of all accomplishments, is always smiling.

Explanation of 'Seated on a lotus'

20.Since Sadāśiva is seated in the lotus hearts of good people, he is described in the Vedas as, 'the one seated on a lotus.'

Explanation of 'Praised from all sides by the assemblage of immortals'

21.Men praise gods and gods praise their chiefs. The god of gods, Mahādeva, is praised by the chiefs of the gods.

Explanation of 'Wearing a tiger skin'

22.Sankara, living in the mountains, killed the tiger of delusion. Behold the skin on his hips as evidence of that.

Explanation of 'The cause of the universe, praised by the universe'

23.Girijapati is the creator of the universe, the form of the universe, the heart of the universe, the protector of the universe, the cause of the universe, praised by the universe and the ruler of the universe.

Explanation of 'The destroyer of all fear'

24.The Śruti declares that fear is really fear of another. For his devotees, Hara grants liberation from other and so takes away all fear.

Explanation of 'Five-faced'

25.To face devotees everywhere who meditate on him, he looks in the four directions. Another face looks upward to those turned elsewhere. Those are his five-faces.

Explanation of 'Three-eyed'

26.Action and contemplation are two eyes. The third eye, symbolised on the forehead, is knowledge. Because of these, Śankara is known as three-eyed.

Thus ends the explanation of the meditation.

Now the method of contemplation on Siva through his attributes

Contemplation on being like a clear crystal

27.This colourless lord, in whose purity the whole world reflects, resembles a clear crystal.

Contemplation on being camphor-white

28.The grace of natural cool emotion by which all bad impressions are removed is found in Śiva, known as Karpūragauratā. 570

Contemplation on being clothed by space

29.The true form of unconcealed knowledge is Hara. He wanders in life freely, wearing clothes woven from space.

Therefore he is called Digambara.571

Contemplation on being smeared with ash

30.It is said that the fire of knowledge reduces all actions to ashes. Therefore Dhūrjati, the one with matted locks, smears his body with ash.

31.Distinction of individual qualities is not visible in the ash. Because its nature is like his own, the ash is dear to Bharga.

Contemplation on being crested with the moon

32.All segments of the moon wax and wane, except the crescent in Siva's hair. 572 Hence that offered to Śiva with devotion is not lost and does not change. Hara is known as the one crested with the moon.

Contemplation on having matted locks

33.Hara, like an ancient Banian tree, is the resting place of the best among sages. The names Vedānta, Sāmkhya and Yoga are thought of as three of his matted locks.573

Contemplation on being supporter of Gangā

34.The cool water of Ganga, like the sușumņā, carrying the vision of brahman, flows to the top of his head. Hence Hara is known as Gangadhara, the one who holds Ganga.

Contemplation on being three-eyed

35.Śańkara through knowledge, using his three eyes: moon574, sun and fire, is the bestower of bliss, the dispeller of darkness

and the burner of sin.

Contemplation on being blue-throated

36.In the crystal like throat of Śiva, the reflection of the blue skies of the universe swallowed whole, gives him his blue throat.

37.Śiva's body is the universe. In his throat the blue sky resides. Hence Hara has a blue throat.

38.Śankara the compassionate one, who is white like a cloud, holds the poison churned from the ocean in his throat575 and becomes handsome like a deep-blue storm cloud.

39.Like clear crystal, Siva stood on the Mandara mountain. The reflection of the mountain, like a blue sapphire, gives him his blue throat.

40.Rāma is his great devotee and Śańkara is devoted to devotees. The blue gem of Rama worn about his neck, gives him his throat.

Contemplation on being adorned with snakes

41.Snakes, like yogins, settle in mountain caves and take air as food. Therefore Hara wears snakes as ornaments.

42.A certain power, Kuņdalinī, represented as a coiled snake, was mastered by Sańkara. Because of that power snakes decorate his body.

43.Two royal snakes Ananta and Vāsuki became ear-rings for Śambhu's ears. 576

Because of their prominence ordinary snakes are also known by the name Kundali.577

Contemplation on having a trident in his hand

44.The three-eyed Siva razed the three guna cities of gold, silver and iron, with the sharp trident of peace, dispassion and awareness. 578

Contemplation on having a drum in his hand

45.For the liberation of his devotees Śāmbhu's drum sounds again and again 'tan, taņ', 'not this, not this.'579

Contemplation on wearing a garland of skulls

46.Only Siva is able to put on the garland of skulls representing the infinite world of the dead, because his form has no beginning and no end.

Contemplation on having Nandi as his vehicle

47.In samādhi Śankara has reached the high state of dharmamegha, reached by no other gods including Brahma. 580 Because of that his mount is the bull Nandi.

Contemplation on Kailāsa

48.Rudra revels in isolation and so always do his devotees. Because of this Kailāsa is Sambhu's home.

Contemplation on Mandara

49.The mountain of knowledge, with which the ocean of worldly existence was churned for the jewel of liberation, is called Mandara.581

It is Śankara's home.

Contemplation on the cremation ground

50.Where ferocious death always plays, there in the cremation ground of passing lives, Śiva is seen everywhere.

Contemplation on Siva's followers

51.It is said that Sambu is the ocean of bliss, śakti is the fluidity of that and the drops of bliss, like ocean spray, are his followers.

52.Having no form, Śiva's nature is different to that of the world. His followers are also different to the world in which they move. This is no surprise.

Contemplation on Yoginīs

53.Through the practise of yoga the yogin's thoughts come into the presence of Sambhu. They are worshipful yoginīs.

54. These yoginis and bhairava, their male counterparts582 are friends of Śańkara. Regarded as ghosts, departed souls and demons by the dull-witted, they are really liberated while living.

Contemplation on his attendant called ferocious time

55.Time, whirling the worldly net, is the protector at Siva's door. The entire world is afraid of time so this attendant is known as Ferocious Time.

Contemplation on his attendants who hold sticks

56.Because they beat their mind into submission, they are known as those who hold sticks. Only such as these, with their mind under control, become attendants of Śiva.

Contemplation on his attendants called protectors of the realm

57.Sambhu is the highest self. His parts, living beings, are protectors of his realm. Because of the differentiation of the parts, Hara is surrounded by protectors.

Contemplation on Nandi

58.That awareness, like Nandi, manifesting as pure heartedness, is looked through to see the shining form of Śiva. That is praised as Nandikeśvara.583

Contemplation on his attendant called 'Bhrngi, (bee)'

59.A devotee, who became like a bee, is called Bhrńgi, an attendant of Khaņdaparaśu (Śiva). 584

Contemplation on his attendant called 'Great time'

60.The world is consumed by time and time is consumed by awakening. Awakening is the death of time. This Mahākāla, 'Great time', is another attendant.

Contemplation on Skanda

61.Siva's son, Skanda, because of his intelligence, was selected to lead a great army. With his army of awareness he destroyed the enemy delusion.

Contemplation on Ganeśa

62.The other son, leading the attendants, destroys a multitude of obstacles. He is expert in all branches of knowledge, has a belly bulging with bliss, and is the embodied bestower of success. Contemplation on Śivarātri 585

63.In the night of living beings, the self-controlled remains awake. Śiva favours the one awake during Sivarātri.

64.The five organs of action, the five senses, the threefold mind, ego, intellect and the discerning faculty make fourteen in all.

65.The devotees of Siva declare these to be the fourteen dimensions of Śivarātri. At that time, by starving these fourteen, a wise person becomes free from the very concept of them.

66.O son, in ancient times this is how Siva's devotees observed Śivarātri. It is very dear to Śiva and gives oneness with him.

67.The entire night is day. Midnight is midday. When nothing shines, Śiva shines.

Contemplation on his powerful dance

68.Narada etc. were transported by Siva's bliss, which erupted as the dance of life. This is the dance of Śiva. Discover that!

Contemplation on the destroyer of desire

69.By incinerating memory,

Śiva annihilated the memory of love and the six passions stemming from that.586 Because he annihilated the recollection of those passions Hara is the god who destroys desire. 587

Contemplation on Gaurī

70.Gaurī's beauty is beyond words. Fair, lovely and graceful, she shines resplendent on the left side of the handsome Vamadeva.

71.She is Bhavānī, Siva's wife, the most excellent of those who proclaim brahman. At a glance she takes in the entire universe as brahman, which she knows as Śiva.

72.Parvatī proclaims, 'Siva is my love, my lord, my soul, the master of my home.' For that daughter of the mountain, Śiva is her love. She is most fortunate.

73.She sees only him, she embraces only him, she enjoys only him, she worships only him. With her heart Parvatī thinks only on Śiva.

74.Pārvatī serves Śiva with love and fidelity. Hence her loveliness is sung in the world and the Vedas.

75.Bhavānī, the divine yoginī, is perfected in that yoga by which the highest lord is experienced. That is the yoga of those who have mastered yoga.

76.The highest lord always dances in the presence of Pārvatī. With such love radiant within her, how can he not dance?

77.They are one

though seemingly distinct. I praise Bhavānī (Pārvatī) and Śańkara (Śiva), distinguished as the knower of brahman, and brahman.

78.Parvatī is worthy of two fold praise: she loves Sankara as her husband in this world; and she loves Śankara as 'aham brahmāsmi' in the world beyond.588

79.Pārvatī should be worshipped even more than Sankara since she multiplies the bliss of he who personifies bliss.

80.It is beyond doubt that Pārvatī is the unique embodiment of the highest reality since Sadāśiva, the realisation of brahman, ardently loves her.

81.In Siva's forests there are wish fulfilling Mandāra589 trees. Around Siva's city the moat is an ocean of nectar. At Śiva's gates there are eight powers and collections of treasure. Pārvatī is in the inner palace. Siva's weapon is the trident, his dear friend is the bull, a human skull is in his hand, poison is his necklace, snakes are on his arms and he likes to colour his body with ash.

82.This image of Siva explodes before me. Glowing with a moon crest, which eclipses the light of hundreds of suns and moons, he holds Ganga in his matted hair, has three-eyes, is pure like the water of Gangā, has the daughter of the mountain ever-present on his left, is decorated with ashes, has a blue throat, and is content in himself. He is the destroyer of the three cities.590

Thus ends the method of contemplation on Siva through his attributes.

Consideration of washing Siva, saluting him as protector of the

deluded.

83.Siva, protector of the deluded, is washed with a stream of pure cool Gang knowledge, which washes away individual conformity.

Worship of Siva. Consideration of the mantra saluting Śiva.

84.Śiva is god, Śiva is individual, there is nothing other than Siva. With this devotion, Śiva is smeared with sandalwood paste.

Consideration of offering whole grains of rice.

85.Through devotion devotees become whole since the god himself is whole. Śiva is worshipped with whole grains, representing unbroken love.

Consideration of offering the flower of the arka shrub.

86.The arka shrub, named Pāśupata, like the god, Paśupati, is dear to Siva's followers, because it shines like the sun. 591 Hence the flower of the Pāsupata plant, is dear to Paśupati.

87.A devotee offered a plant with pungent, poisonous leaves to Giriśa, the mountain dweller (Siva). It became like the sun, shining brilliantly and dispelling darkness.592

88.The flower of that pungent bush was presented by a devotee of ambhu. Because it was accepted by Sambhu it has become Śiva's jasmine (śivamallikā).593

Consideration of offering the flower of the white thorn-apple (dhattūra).594

89.The world appears differently

under the influence of the lord. Having a potency like his own the white thorn-apple is dear to Siva.

90.Himself intoxicating like the Thorn-apple (unmatta), Śiva makes his devotees intoxicated.595 Hence this intoxicating flower is dear to Śiva.

91.The deceiver's deceit is that he pervades all but is touched by nothing. Hence this flower of deception (kitava) is dear to the deceiver (Śiva).596

92.Desire, anger etc. are great rascals, by which the three worlds have been swindled. Śiva swindles those rascals with deception .. Hence the dhūrta flower of deception is dear to Dhūrjați.597

93.A dhūrtta leaf offered to Śańkara brings merit like an offering of gold. That is why dhattūra is called gold (kanaka).598

Consideration of offering the thorny plant Kaņtakārika.

94.If the devotee offers to Sankara the commotion of mind, which is thorny, like the kaņtakārika plant, it becomes free of thorns.

Consideration of offering Bilva leaves.599

95.Śāņdilya, a great sage, was an ardent devotee of Śiva. 600 Because this leaf has the same name, Sandilya, it is dear to Śambhu.601

96.The great god himself, appearing in many forms, has the hallmarks of an actor. Hence he is pleased by worship with leaves of Śailūsa.602

97.By offering bilva leaves to Śiva life becomes beautiful and blessed. Hence the bilva tree is given the name Śrīphala, blessed fruit.

98.Incense, light, food offerings, fruit, betel nut and donations, all are offered with, 'salutations to Śiva.'

99.Among different branches of knowledge, Śruti is superior. In the Sruti, the eleven chapters on Rudra are superior. In those, the five syllabled Siva mantra is superior. That mantra pleases Śiva. 603

100.A three-leaved bilva branch represents the seer, seeing and seen. The first bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

101.A three-leaved bilva branch represents agent, action and means. The second bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

102.A three-leaved bilva branch represents the enjoyer, enjoyment and that enjoyed. The third bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

103.A three-leaved bilva branch represents earth, space and heaven. The fourth bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

104.A three-leaved bilva branch represents waking, dream and sleep. The fifth bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

105.A three-leaved bilva branch represents gross, subtle and causal.

The sixth bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

106.A three-leaved bilva branch represents ignorance, samsāra and the individual. The seventh bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

107.A three-leaved bilva branch represents creation, sustenance and destruction. The eighth bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

108.A three-leaved bilva branch represents Brahmā, Vișņu and Rudra. The ninth bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

109.A three-leaved bilva branch represents sattva, rajas and tamas. The tenth bilva leaf is offered to Śiva, the personification of consciousness.

110.A three-leaved bilva branch represents yourself, myself and itself. The eleventh bilva leaf is offered to Siva, the personification of consciousness.

111.These eleven bilva leaves described are sacred to Śiva. Worshipped with these, Śambhu gives immediate liberation.

Consideration of worship of the eight forms.

112.Śarva, Bhava, Rudra, Ugra, Bhīma, Paśupati, Mahādeva and Īśāna are the eight forms for worship.604

113.The eight forms of nature (prakrti) are troublesome for the embodied one. 605 The eight forms of Śiva

take away these troubles. 606

Consideration of circumambulation.

114.The great god Siva is unlimited. Even with hundreds of eons circumambulation of him is not possible. Therefore only a portion of Siva can be encompassed.607

Consideration of slapping the cheeks.

115.As the nature of the god is beyond words, therefore for Siva words of praise or slapping the cheeks are both the same.

Consideration of prostration, namaskāra.

116.Mahādeva is worshipped by falling to the ground like a stick. With the mind full of love the ego (ahańkāra) drops.

Consideration of apology.

117.Having attained a human form Maheśvara has not been worshipped as yourself. This is a great oversight. One should repeat again and again, 'Forgive me, forgive me.'

Consideration of the dismissal.

118.Being the knower, doer, enjoyer, individual etc., has been dismissed in this worship of Śiva. Now this worship itself is dismissed.

119.The worship of Siva is complete and the four-fold purpose of life608 streams forth eternally as Śiva. How can the greatness of this worship of Siva be described?

120.He who truly knows Śiva, knows worship of Siva. But who truly knows Siva, and who knows worship of Śiva?

Section 51: Praise of Bodhasāra

1.Bodhasāra, with praise of guru in the beginning, worship of Siva at the end and remembrance of Visnu in the middle, is most excellent.609

2.For ease of accomplishment 610 it is filled with many remarkable illustrations. O dear one a text such as this, has not, nor ever will again exist.

3.I do not praise or judge, I speak only appropriately for the purpose. The resolution of the final truth611 is declared in this text, verse by verse.

4.Just as the entirety of the world presents piece by piece so the entirety of the final truth is told verse by verse.

5.This Bodhasara is a spade for uprooting ignorance, a fire in the forest of ignorance, a tiger to the deer of ignorance, a lion to the elephant of ignorance.

6.Poison for a life of ignorance, a knife that cuts the throat of ignorance, water for the salt of ignorance, an ocean for the dissolution of ignorance.

7.A diamond for the mountain of ignorance, 612 benevolence for the blindness of ignorance,613 protection from the cruel tyranny of ignorance, 614 destruction of the wrath of ignorance. 615

8.The moon for the heat of ignorance, the sun for the gloom of ignorance,

waking for the sleep of ignorance. Thus is this Bodhasara.

Section 52: Contemplation of Bodhasāra

1.Bodhasāra is my teacher from whom there is the gift of knowledge for me. Bodhasāra is my student for the sake of whom I speak.

2.Bodhasāra is my master who always protects me. Bodhasāra is my servant who does a great service for me.

3.Bodhasāra is my ally who knows everything about me. Bodhasāra is my friend, who when seen is my happiness.

4.Bodhasāra is my home in which I dwell. Bodhasāra is my garden where I play.

5.Bodhasāra is my beloved, having embraced whom I sleep. Bodhasära is my mind by which understanding arises.

6.Bodhasāra is my buddhi which awakens to the supreme. Bodhasära is my reason by which I contemplate that reality.

7.Bodhasāra is my ego, for I am Bodhasāra. Bodhasāra is my body in which the sense of mine abounds.

8.Bodhasara is my breath in which the sense of mine abounds. Bodhasara is my soul by which I forever live.

9.Bodhasāra is my lord who confers my liberation. Bodhasāra is brahman, there is nothing greater than Bodhasāra.

To establish authority

1.Having gathered one by one the fragrant-smelling flowers from the blooming mantra-trees in the Upanisad forest, the visionary mind of Narahari worships with these flowers in the form of words, by composing a linga of awareness (Bodhasāra) that the same sweet essence may bloom.

2.May this Bodhasāra be read. It is of great benefit to the wise, follows tradition, is a repository of supreme happiness and the cause of liberation from delusion. Written by Narahari, it is water for the tree of awareness and an axe in the forest of foolish thinking.

3.For those instructed by a teacher all action is an offering to the lord. But this Bodhasāra is the very nature of the supreme lord.

Appendices Glossary advaita Not two, non-dualism ahaṅkāra Sense of self, self-image, ego antaḥkaraņa Inner organ, mind artha Wealth, security asamprajñāta Samadhi without difference - nirvikalpa aśunya Not empty, not void avidyā Ignorance ānanda Bliss, the true nature of happiness, wholeness. Often equated with ananta - limitless, eternal, infinite ātman Self, universal life principle (see paramātman) bhavapratyaya A bodiless state where only impressions remain. bodha Awareness bodhasāra Awareness which is the essence. brahmacarya The stage of life of the celibate student, celibacy, sense control brahman Truth of everything, that which is infinite and eternal, indivisible brāhmaņa brahmin - one of the four castes buddhi The discerning faculty, that which recognises truth; intellect - one of the 4 aspects of mind. cit Consciousness dharma Order, law, duty, morality, virtue gāḍha Deep gaņa A flock, troop, class, body of followers or attendants Gaṅgā Goddess of the Ganges river ghana Firm, dense

guņa Attribute, quality, constituents of prakrti/māyā (sattva, rajas, tamas) guru Spiritual guide, weighty hațha Violence, force Īśvara The divinity that in most religious traditions is said to rule over the world. jijñāsā The desire to know: the first of the seven steps of Rāja- yoga (jijñāsā, vicārā, tanumānasā, sattvāpatti, asamsaktiḥ, padārthābhāvinī, turyam).

jīva Individual jīvanmukta One who is liberated while living jīvanmukti The state of liberation while living kaivalya Absolute unity kāśi City of Varanasi, the shining city, city of light kșatriya Warrior caste

manana Thinking, reflection

manas Mind

mantra Sacred words, magical incantations māyā Illusion, the magic of the universe, the spirit with fancy mithyā Unreal, existing only as a dependent reality (Advaita Vedānta) - eg. a pot exists as dependent on clay mokșa Freedom, release, liberation mukti Freedom, release, liberation namaḥ Salutations namaskāra Prostration, salutations nididhyāsana Keen self-attentiveness or clear, thought-free self- conscious being. Constant deep meditation. nidrā Deep sleep nirvāņa Extinction, final emancipation nirvikalpa Free from change, unwavering nivrtti Complete rest, devoid of worldly activity om̧ Sacred sound: see Taittirīya Upanișad 1.8 paramātman The universal self. The individual self is ātman or jīvātman. In advaita philosophy ātman and paramātman are one and the same. In the Upanisads the relationship between ātman and paramātman is likened to two birds, inseparable companions, perched on the branches of the same tree. The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree; the latter, tasting of neither, calmly observes. pāpa Limitation, misfortune, evil paśu A person bound by conformity (like a domestic animal). paśu literally means a tethered or domestic animal. Narahari uses it to describe a person constrained by habit or rules. Kaishmir Śaivism describes such a person by relating a story of a bonded animal, such as an ox, going round and round in a circle pulling a threshing mill. piśāca Sprite, demon

prakrti Nature, cosmic essence, material cause of the universe prāņa Breath, energy, vitality pravrtti Active life pūjā Ceremonial worship puņya Meritorious, virtuous, good, right purāņa Ancient tales or legends

purușa Man, primeval man, spirit within all beings rajas Activity, passion - one of the three guņa rasa Essence, flavour, taste, often used in the sense of bliss or happiness sahaja Natural awareness sahrdaya Same-hearted samādhi Deep meditation, union, absorption sam̧dhyā Juncture, interval - such as between day and night and night and day (dawn and twilight) sam̧prajñāta Samadhi with difference - savikalpa saņsāra The course of worldly life, the purposeless insistence of worldly affairs, the 'run-around' sam̧sārī A living being bound to the course of life sāra Essence, best part. In the title Bodhasāra it refers to consciousness

sat Existence, that which really is, true, real sattva Goodness or purity - one of the three guņa satya Truth, reality, that which exists without dependence on another sușupti Sleep swāmī Master, owner (in recent times, a spiritual renunciate) śakti Power śāstra Sacred text, science śivalińga Phallic-shaped object worshipped as Śiva śudra Servant caste śunya Empty, void śruti Sacred knowledge orally transmitted tamas Inertia, darkness - one of the three guņa turīya The fourth (the state of completeness), awareness absolute that subsists the well-known three states of waking, dream and sleep turya The fourth. Narahari only uses this term when discussing the 7 steps of knowledge in section 14. It is the name of the 7th step as given in the Yogavāsiștha.

vaiśya Merchant caste

veda Ancient knowledge. The four Vedas are Rg, Yajur, Sāma, Arthava vedāntas Upanișads vidyā Knowledge vikrti Modification, transformation yoganidrā Meditation-sleep / the great sleep of Brahmā

Epithets of Śiva Bharga The one who burns the seed of the world Candracūda The one crowned with a moon Dhūrjati The one with matted locks Digambara Clothed with space (sky-clad) Gaṅgādhara The one who holds Gańgā Girijāpati Consort of the mountain-born (Pārvatī) Giriśa The mountain dweller Hara The remover of sorrow Hari Vișnu) (also The one who removes sorrow used for Karpūragauratā Camphor-white Khaņḍaparaśu The one who holds the axe for cutting ignorance Mahādeva Great lord Maheśa Great lord Maheśvara Great lord Mṛtuñjaya The conqueror of death Nandikeśvara The lord who causes joy Pañcavakra Five-faced Pārvatīpati The lord (husband) of Pārvatī Paśupati The lord of all living beings Pinākadhrk The one with a trident in his hand Rudra The 'Roarer or Howler' Sadāśiva Always auspicious Śambhu The beneficient one Śam̧kara The auspicious one Śūlapāņi The one with a trident in his hand Trilocana Three-eyed Trinetra Three-eyed

Vāmadeva The beautiful/handsome god Epithets of Govinda, Hari, Keśava, Janārdana, Lakșmīpati, Krsņa Lord of the Yadus, Madhava, Mukunda, Nandasūnu, Pārthasārathi (Arjuna's charioteer), son of Nanda, Vișņu Epithets of Pārtha, son of Krttavīrya Arjuna Other names Gaurī Pārvatī Bhavānī Pārvatī Janaka A great king of Mithila - used by Narahari to represent householders Nārada Divine sage, messenger between the gods and man Sanaka An ancient Rishi - used by Narahari to represent ascetics Savitr The sun god

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The Translators

Dr. Jennifer Cover Jennifer has been studying Sanskrit texts and Advaita Vedānta philosophy for many years. With a background in science and computer programming, she was introduced to Sanskrit through Pāņini grammar and Indian philosophy. Further study in both Australia and India culminated in her PhD from the University of Sydney, Australia. She is inspired by both the beauty of the Sanskrit language and the philosophical and cultural content of its literature. Bodhasara arrived serendipitously. The translation of Bodhasāra, the first ever into English, has been an extraordinary and eventful undertaking, especially refining the English with her husband Grahame. Saved from oblivion Bodhasāra continues to surprise and delight, now in music and dance. Their three sons look on in wonder.

Also by Jennifer Cover (2009): Understanding Bodhasāra: an eighteenth century Sanskrit treasure Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.

Grahame Cover Grahame Cover has had a long term involvement with Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta literature and is of the view that fine Sanskrit should always be translated into fine English, both languages being capable of great beauty. Guiding the poetic voice of Narahari into English has been challenging but a great delight. Much of the translation of Bodhasara was done with Jennifer on the veranda of their beloved Scotland Island home which overlooks the stunning estuary of Pittwater in Sydney, Australia.

Also by Jennifer and Grahame Cover (2010): Bodhasāra: An Eighteenth Century Sanskrit Treasure by Narahari. USA: Createspace. (Sanskrit and English)

Jennifer and Grahame Cover (2014): Bodhasāra The surprise of awareness, the Sanskrit and English version. USA: Createspace. (Sanskrit and English)

1 In particular we acknowledge Swami Tattvavidananda, who came and stayed with us in Sydney to discuss Bodhasāra. Swami Tattvavidananda is a samnyāsin with a PhD in both chemistry and Sanskrit, who was born into a practising Vedic family. 2 Divakara's commentary. Narahari 1905: 4, lines 2-5. 3 Bodhasara: Section 21: Nine verses on experience, v5. 4 Bodhasāra: Section 43: 79 waves of Gańga knowledge, v56. 5 Bodhasara: Section 12: The splendour of Śiva's śakti, v 11-12. 6 Bodhasara: Section 48: Six verses on Narahari, v5. 7 Bodhasāra: Section 36: Praise of buddhi. 8 Anandavardhana (ninth century), one of the founders of the so-called 'school of dhvani (suggested meaning)', is best known as the author of Dhvanyāloka (the light of dhvani (aesthetic suggestion)) (Isayeva 1995: 165). 9 Abhinavagupta (late tenth to early eleventh century), one of India's great literary critics and philosohers, was born in Kashmir. As well as philosophical texts and commentaries, he composed works on aesthetics, literary and dramatic theory. His commentary, Locana, on Anandavardhana's Dhvanyāloka and an extensive commentary, the Abhinavabharati, on Nātyaśāstra are his most famous works on aesthetical theory (Isayeva 1995: 137, 163). 10 Isayeva 1995: 177. 11 Isayeva 1995: 178. 12 Bodhasara: Section 50: One hundred verses of worship of Śiva, v76. 13 See Bodhasara: Section 12: The power of Siva's sakti, v11-12. 14 Coomaraswamy 1924, 66. Note: Nature here is the feminine prakrti. 15 Bodhasara: Section 40: The sublime questions of teacher to self aware student, v5. 16 Bodhasara: Section 40: The sublime questions of teacher to self aware student, v6. 17 Divākara explains that Narahari is his guru (Narahari 1905: 971, lines 10-11). 18 Bodhasara: Section 21: Nine verses on experience, v5. 19 Bodhasara: Section 14: Sun-light illuminating the steps in rajayoga, v1. 20 Bodhasara: Section 21: Nine verses on experience, v9. 21 Bodhasara: Section 50: One hundred verses of worship of Śiva, v120. 22 Sheldon Pollock 2001a: 5. 23 Bodhasara: To establish authority, v1. 24 Bodhasara: To establish authority, v2. 25 Section 14: The Fifth Step of Raja-Yoga verse 20 (Narahari 1905: 278, verse 20). 26 Section 43: Seventy nine waves of Ganga knowledge verse 14 (Narahari 1905: 664, verse 14). 27 Section 43: Seventy nine waves of Ganga knowledge verse 55 (Narahari 1905: 696, verse 55). 28 Section 25: Sixteen guiding verses (Narahari 1905:545-558) 29 (Cover 2009: 30-33; Appendix B: 215-228) 30 (Cover 2009: Appendix C: 229-231) 31 (Cover 2009: 231) 32 For more information on these collections see (Cover 2009: 26-28) 33 (Bhandarker Ramkrishna Gopal. 1894: Preface, Report page 1) (Kathavate 1898: 51) 34 Manuscript stored at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI), Pune, Maharashtra No. 531. No. 774 (1891-95) Size 12 1/8in. X 4 3/8 in. 87 leaves; 9 lines to a page; 30 letters to a line. Age: śaka 1711. Country paper thick, rough and dark grey. Devanāgarī characters; handwriting large, clear and uniform. Borders ruled with double red lines. Some Foll. Discoloured. Fol. 1 smeared with black pigment leaving white lettering of the trayodaśāksara mantra (Katre 1955: Vol IX Part II Vedānta: 145-146). 35 (Narahari 1905). For information of copies in University libraries see (Cover 2009: 33) 36 (Chaudhuri(1938): 482) cited in (Cover 2009: 33) (Cattopadhyaya 1929 (1336)) (Vidyābhāskara 1967). For excerpts see (Cover 2009: 226-228) 37 (Cover 2009: 1,4) 38 'Sanskrit Knowledge Systems on the Eve of Colonialism (Sksec) Web-Site', (updated Mar 31 2009) http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pollock/sks/, accessed August 16 2010. (Pollock 2003) (Pollock 2005)

39 (Cover 2009: 6-7; 35-41) 40 (Kaviraj 2005: 131) 41 (Kaviraj 2005: 138) 42 (Pollock 2001a: 5, 24) (Cover 2009: 17) 43 See "Section 19: Six verses on stone". For published edition with commentary (Narahari 1905: 509-513) 44 See "Section 27: Four verses on free living". For published edition with commentary (Narahari 1905: 572-577) 45 (The Bhagavadgita with the Commentary of Sri Sankarācarya 1979: 482) (Srīmad Bhagavadgītā Bhāşya of Sri Sankarācārya: 596-597) 46 See "Section 22: Nine verses on the strength of the wise", verse 7. For published edition with commentary (Narahari 1905: 531) 47 See "Section 25: Sixteen guding verses", verses 10-12. For published edition with commentary (Narahari 1905: 551,552) 48 Section 49: One hundred prattlings of the intoxicated. (Narahari 1905: 788-854) 49 See "Section 5: Inquiry intodharma - Intention of austerity", verse 4. For published edition with commentary (Narahari 1905: 74) 50 sahrdaya means the same-hearted one, equal to the poet (Isayeva 1995: 175). Natalie Isayeva explains this as an ontological communion between the poet and the listener. She writes: "The vibrating joy which accompanies aesthetical pleasure, is essentially not an emotional reaction but rather a moment of epiphany, the joyful amazement which comes with the successful solution of a complicated word-riddle." (Isayeva 1995: 173) 51 Traditional texts were expected to begin with a verse giving the aim, audience, subject and means. Divakara explains: Narahari's introductory verse introduces the four constituents: the aim is to express his bliss and to benefit the wise, the audience is the wise, the subject is bodhasāra and the means for understanding that subject are the words and sentences of Bodhasāra (Narahari 1905: 2-4). The word bodhasāra is a compound of the words bodha and sāra. Bodha refers to the manifestations of consciousness cognised by the mind, as both separate objects and a totality; sāra refers to consciousness (cit), the source of the manifestations. Both words in the compound are in the same grammatical case (Narahari 1905: 4, lines 2-5). 'Awareness which is the essence' is a suitable translation, or more poetically, 'The surprise of awareness'. 52 The Sanskrit words translated as insight (prakāśa) and intelligence (vimarśa) are technical terms in Kashmir Shaivism meaning respectively effulgent of one's own essence and discernment between the real and unreal. Juergen Hannedar, personal communication 2012. 53 Obstacles and distractions created within oneself, such as tiredness, an agitated or distracted mind; natural obstacles over which we have no control, such as storms, earthquakes, floods; obstacles created by one's surroundings, such as noisy neighbours, traffic, distractions caused by one's family (Narahari 1905: 6, line 23). 54 In the Manuscripts this section begins before the previous verse. 55 Divakara's commentary describes the superiority of Guruvișņu (Vișņu the guru) over the other Vişņu (Narahari 1905: 7-8) 56 The abode of Mokşalaksmī, the goddess who bestows the wealth of freedom. 57 Kaitabha and Madhu are demons representing pride and delusion. The Bhāgavata Purāņa tells that during the creation, the demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Brahma and deposited them deep in the waters of the primeval ocean. They are said to have sprang from the ear of Visnu as he lay asleep. As they were going to kill Brahmā lying on the lotus springing from Vişnu's navel, Vişņu killed them, and therefore, Vișnu is also called Kaitabhajī and Madhusūdana (slayer of Madhu) (Gupta 1973: 41). 58 Rudra is a god from the Rgveda. Because he was described as śiva (auspicious), the epithet Siva became a synonym for Rudra. In later times the two names were used interchangeably. Rudra is the great fear due to which the wind blows, the sun shines, the fire and other elements do their work (Gupta 1973: 73). Pura represents the three- fold city symbolising the gross, subtle and causal aspects of the body and Antaka represents death. Hari is another name for Visnu or Krsna; in this case Krsna (Gupta 1973: 34). The demon Kamsa represents cruelty and Keśi vanity. Durgā is a warrior goddess, a form of Devi and embodiment of śakti. The demons Caņda and Muņda represent attachment and detachment.

59 Impressions of the love of students adhere to the guru's feet like dust. Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 10, line 10-11). Play on the word rajas, meaning both dust and one of the three gunas of nature. The three qualities (guna) of nature (prakrti) are sattva - goodness, purity. rajas - activity, passion. tamas - inertia, darkness. 60 Kāśī is Varanasi: literally 'The shining city'. Hindus believe that death in Kāsī brings liberation. 61 This is a half line from the Yogavasiştha/ Laghuyogavāsiștha (Yogavāsiștha Book 6, 83:13 / LaghuYogavāsiștha Book 6, 9:35). Yogavāsiștha reads 'rāghava', and Laghuyogavāsișțha 'kevalā.' The full verse from the Yogavasistha reads:The process of instruction, O Rāma, is the observance of simple established practices. But real knowledge obtains only from the pure intellect of the disciple, O Rāghava. 62 This is the first sutra of the Brahmasutra (Sharma 1967: 36). 63 The incidental definition points to the nature, in the same way that a house is pointed out by saying it is the one on which the crow is sitting. The crow is not a part of the house even though it helps you recognise the house and once the house is recognised, the crow is not part of the understanding of the house. The incidental definition of brahman is that it is the cause from which everything has come, that by which everything is sustained and that into which everything resolves (Dayananda Saraswati 1999: Vol 2, 451). 64 The intrinsic definition reveals the essential nature. For example, the nature of water is H20; water is nothing but these atoms. The intrinsic definition of brahman is eternal truth and awareness (satyam jñānam anantam brahman) (Dayananda Saraswati 1999; Vol 2,451). 65 yato vā imāņi bhūtāni jāyante Taittarīya Upanișad 3.1.1 (Narahari 1905: 25, line 7). 66 Existence, consciousness, bliss. 67 Muņdaka Upanişad 3.2.8. Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 3.8.8. satyam jñānam anantam brahma, Taittarīya Upanișad 2.1.1, vijñānam ānandam brahma, Brhadāranyaka Upanişad 3.9.28.7, avāyam puruşa svayam jyotirbhavatī, Brhadāranyaka Upanișad 4.3.9 (Narahari 1905: 25, line13). 68 This occurs within each topic as well as throughout the book. Within the context of Vedānta there are three types of practice: external such as karmayoga (daily duties); internal such as dhyānayoga (meditation); immediate such as listening to and contemplating words of truth.Swami Tattvavidananda Sydney 2012. 69 Without dispassion there is no realisation. 70 Samskāras are rituals of the Vedic tradition that help individuals proceed through the stages of life. There are forty traditionally accepted samskāras. They help purify a person by removing inappropriate tendencies and by creating an inner disposition conducive to cultivating the eight virtues of the self: compassion; accommodation; absence of jealousy; purity of body and mind; inner leisure; pleasant disposition; absence of miserliness; and absence of attachment. Examples are jātakarma, birth ceremony, upanayana, thread ceremony where young boys and girls begin studying the Vedas, vīvaha, the marriage ceremony (Ramaswamy 1993: Vol 2, 189-196). 71 Śūdras are one of the four divisions (varna) of the Vedic society. Their duty is to serve. They provide the hands and legs, the manpower for the other divisions (Ramaswamy 1993: Vol 3, 90). śūdras are not sanctified by Vedic rituals. 72 There is a story about kāmadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow that stands for knowledge. This cow belonged to the well-known sage, Vasistha. One day Viśvāmitra, the king, accompanied by his huge retinue, came to the forest where Vasistha lived. They were all hungry and in only five minutes Vasistha served them all with food. When the king asked Vasistha how he had done this, the sage replied that he had a cow who gives everything. Vasistha also explained that the cow would only yield to a brahmarsi. This story is a metaphor, based on the real meaning of the word brahmarsi, one who has the knowledge whereby everything is gained. By knowing the whole, brahman, as oneself, everything is as well known. Having this knowledge, the person has everything because he or she is everything (Dayananda Saraswati 1999: Vol 1, 430). 73 Divākara's commentary kākatālīyanyāyena - unexpectedly, like the crow and the palm fruit. A reference to a fable in which a crow is killed by a ripe coconut that falls without apparent cause. The two unrelated events thus seem to be related in time and space,

though there is no causal relationship. See Yogavāsiștha 5:86:21. (Venkatesananda 2005: 213). 74 Arjuna 75 Rāma 76 While cooking, cleaning, talking, arguing and so on. 77 Mount Meru is a sacred mountain in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology. 78 Usually sacred water or sanctified food is placed in the mouth of the deceased. 79 Pun on the word pātra. It means a vessel and can be applied to a copper pot as well as a worthy person. Wealth hidden in a copper pot is useless, but wealth given to a worthy person is useful. 80 Poetic note: In Sanskrit each word in the first 2 quarter lines of verse 10 begins with the syllables 'lo' and 'bha' from the word lobha (greed). 81 Wives, sons and so on - Divakara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 54, line 7). 82 Eating, drinking and so on 83 Footnote in text: patre samarpanena | (Narahari 1905: 55, F/N in text) by placing it in a vessel such as a copper pot. 84 The one dressed for vairāgya, dispassion towards worldly objects. 85 A muhūrta also means a period of 48 minutes. 86 Śräddha is a ritual performed during the after-death rituals and also annually on the day of death. The son offers 'pinda' (a rice-ball) to his departed parent. 87 In the Hindu tradition a wife is needed to perform certain rituals. She also produces the son who will perform the śraddha ceremony. 88 The process of replacement effectively removes the original and brings into existence the replacement. It is using the grammatical trope of instituting a replacement (ādeśa) in the place of (sthāna) something. Patañjali defines the original (sthānin) as yaḥ bhūtvā na bhavati, and the replacement (ādeśa) as yah abhūtvā bhavati . Narahari is not referring to any actual grammatical rule that replaces 'ma' with 'sa', but is simply referring to the idea of replacement in the grammar. This verse is poetically calling the Gurus, who replace egotism (mamatā) with equanimity (samatā), the best of Grammarians. Madhav Deshpande, personal comment 2014. 89 This sentence is a sūtra from the beginning of the Karmakānda. The entire Veda is divided into two sections. The Karmakāņda (known as the Purva Mīmāņsā written by Jaimani (disciple of Vyāsa)) deals with rituals, right, wrong etc. The Jñānakāņda (Vedānta) (known as the Uttara Mīmāmsā written by Vyāsa) deals with knowledge of reality. 90 nitya (obligatory), naimittika (occasional), kāmya (to achieve a particular end) and prāyaścitta (for atonement) 91 Each day over the Luna cycle giving up one fifteenth of one's food until nothing is eaten, then increasing again by one fifteenth. Also chanting of Rudra. 92 Bhagavadgītā Ch3, v20-24. 93 Play on the word chandas, which means the science of meter used in sacred hymns, but also will or wish. 94 The one capable of purifying all. 95 Divākara's commentary sarvajanasangajanyapāpairmalinām Stained by the sins washed into me by ritual cleansing (Narahari 1905: 76, line 7-8). 96 A tilaka is a paste made from sandalwood, ashes (vibhuti), kumkum, sindhūr, clay, or other substances, applied to the forehead. It has a spiritual or cultural meaning. 97 Hands, legs, feet. 98 For example Bhagavadgītā 5.3, 5.21, 6.4. 99 śūdra etc. - Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 90, line 11). 100 Divākara's commentary explains that the Veda is only one among many teachings and is not the only means for liberation. The injunction in the Bhäsya, that the words of the Veda should not be heard by those unqualified should be respected (Narahari 1905: 91, lines 91-95). The sense is that Vedic rituals are complex and need to be performed

101 Qualification is about the success of the action, not about liberation. Liberation is not an properly.

action. 102 Upakramādi tāt parya lingaiḥ - The six indicators (șad linga) to determine the intended meaning (tātparya) of a work are: 1. Upakrama prakrama upasamhāra, consistency in

what is said at the beginning and end; 2. abhyāsa, repetition; 3. apūrva, the subject matter cannot be known by any other means; 4. phala, mention of a distinct result; 5. arthavāda, praise of the subject matter; 6. upapatti, the use of reason to show the validity of the subject matter (Dayananda Saraswati, personal communication August 2005). 103 The central message of the Veda is hard to elaborate so there are six indicators. The proper organisation of general and specific statements is crucial. 104 Works which may be scientific, religious, poetical etc. 105 The word karnadhara means helmsman, but also a stream (of words) for the ears (as the teaching) 106 pūrva pakșa : Rajiv Malhotra describes pūrva pakșa as the traditional dharmic approach to rival schools. He says it is a dialectical approach, taking a thesis by an opponent ('pūrva pakșin') and then providing its rebuttal ('khandana') so as to establish the protagonist's views ('siddhanta'). The pūrva pakșa tradition required any debater first to argue from the perspective of his opponent in order to test the validity of his understanding of the opposing position, and from there to realise his own shortcomings. Only after perfecting his understanding of opposing views would he be qualified to refute them. Such debates encourage individuals to maintain flexibility of perspective and honesty rather than seek victory egotistically. In this way, the dialectical process ensures a genuine and far-reaching shift in the individual. (Malhotra 2011: 48). 107 Verse 34 in chapter 4 of the Bhagavadgītā. Swami Dayananda explains this verse: "In this verse, Krsna says, 'Understand that', meaning 'Understand how this knowledge is to be gained, by what means it is to be gained.' Three other things are mentioned as the secondary means towards gaining this knowledge - prostrating to the teacher, asking proper questions and serving the teacher" (Dayananda Saraswati 1999: 160). 108 The first chapter of the Brahmasutra has the name samanvaya, which is the first part of the name of this section (samanvayasarasvati ). Since the next section of Bodhasāra begins with the name of the second chapter of the Brahmasūtra, it seems that Narahari has chosen these names to link them with the Brahmasūtras. 109 Puruşa, prakrti, mahatattva, ahankāra, the five tanmātras (subtle elements of sound, touch, form, taste, smell), the five gross elements, the five organs of perception, the five organs of action and the mind: a total of twenty five. (Narahari 1905: 96, line 17-19). 110 There are many important statements, but four of them, one from each Veda, are known as great statements, mahāvākya : prajñānam brahma 'Consciousness is brahman' (Aitareya Upanişad 3.3 of the Rg Veda); ayam ātma brahma 'This self (ātman) is brahman' (Māņdukya Upanișad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda); tat tvam asi 'You are that' (Chandogya Upanisad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda); aham brahmasmi 'I am brahman' (Brhadarāņyaka Upanișad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda). 111 Divākara's commentary: sahaja prema (natural awareness and love - not mere contemplation on the meaning of the Upanisads) (Narahari 1905: 98, lines 10-11). 112 The second chapter of the Brahmasūtra is named avirodha, which is the first part of the name of this section (avirodhabodhah). Since the previous section of Bodhasāra begins with the name of the first chapter of the Brahmasutra, it seems that Narahari has chosen these names to link them with the Brahmasūtras. 113 Dualists maintain that monism is a superimposition on reality. Non-dualists maintain the same, for reality is neither dual or non-dual. It is what it is. 114 Inner and outer cleanliness: purity, uprightness, honesty, virtue, cultivation of contentment, absence of greed, worship. 115 Pratyāhāra is emancipation of sensory activity from domination by external objects (Eliade 1975 (first pub 1962): 83). 116 advaita, viśişțādvaita, dvaita 117 Collyrium is an eye-salve. Dry collyriums are blown into the eye through a hollow pipe or stick, such as bamboo. Note: the Sanskrit word for collyrium, añjana, also means the black pigment applied to the eyes as makeup. Poets freely use this double-meaning. 118 Devahuti, Kapila's mother, is taught by Kapila in the Bhagavata Purāņa (rīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa: Book 3, Discourse XXVI). 119 Narahari's presentation of Samkhya is the non-dualist understanding of Vedānta, rather than the dualistic understanding of the original Kapila. Hence he says that Kapila is Mukunda (Vişnu - the giver of liberation). Swami Tattvanvidananda, personal comment

Sydney 2012. 120 sattva, rajas and tamas 121 Cosmic intelligence (mahatattva), cosmic ego (ahankāra) and the subtle elements of sound, touch, form, taste, smell (tanmātras). 122 The twenty four principles (tattvas) are: prakrti ; the seven modifications consisting of mahatattva, ahankāra and the five tanmātras (subtle elements of sound, touch, form, taste, smell); and, the sixteen effects consisting of the five gross elements, the five organs of perception, the five organs of action and the mind. 123 The imagery in verses 16-20 is unique. The underlying concepts are not new, but the images are new. Swami Tattvavidananda, personal comment, Sydney 2012. 124 Narahari presents purușa and prakrti as Īśvara and māyā, to bring out the non-dualistic understanding of Sāmkhya. In dualistic Sāmkhya, purușa and prakrti are both separate and both real. In non-dualistic Sāmkhya, Īśvara and māyā are distinct but māyā is illusory (dependent). 125 Karaoke is a modern example that fits well. 126 The sense is that the husband and wife are not of the same essence. Living together cannot be harmonius. rasabhanga is the shattering (bhanga) of a poetic sentiment (rasa). This is a blemish or impropriety in poetry. Narahari, the poet, is playing. Swami Tattvavidananda, Sydney 2012. 127 Māya cannot exist independently. 128 This is the conclusion of the exposition on purusa and prakrti according to Vedānta. See Bhagavadgīta 18.13. Swami Tattvavidananda, Sydney 2012. 129 The cintāmani, appearing as a jewel, gives what one deserves, when one deserves it. From Yogavāsișțha 6.1.88.1-27 (Yogavāsiștha of Vālmīki, with the Commentary Vāsișțhamahārāmāyaņatātparyaprakāśa 1984: 981-983), (Venkatesananda 2005: 307). 130 The first three are purusa in three different clothes representing the three guna (Sambhu - tamas, Hari - rajas, Brahmā - sattva). Bhavāni is prakriti. See the Sāmkhya section. Swami Tattvavidananda, verbal communication Sydney, May 2012. 131 Son of Brhaspati 132 Son of Vyāsa 133 Wife of Vasistha 134 These are special people chosen from the Purānas. 135 Not this, not this (neti, neti). See for instance Bodhasara Section 17: Fifty verses on the unpainted god. 136 From Bhagavadgītā 6:23. 137 The Vindhya mountains separate the Indian subcontinent into northern and southern India. Hindu legends say that the Vindhya mountains once showed a tendency to grow so high and conceited as to obstruct the usual trajectory of the sun. Through his yogic powers the sage Agastya persuaded them to bow low so he could cross, and never to

138 By introducing Bhuşunda, an immortal being, Narahari has emphasised the eternal grow higher.

nature of yoga. The story of Bhuuņda is from the Yogavāsișțha .. 139 The second line of Narahari's verse is taken directly from Yogavāsișțha Nirvāņaprakaraņam Book 6.1.21 .verse 21 (Yogavāsiștha of Vālmīki, with the Commentary Vāsișțhamahārāmāyaņatātparyaprakāśa 1984: 814). The first line of Narahari's verse is similar to the second half of the previous Yogavāsiștha verse (verse 20). This line says, suśuptāvasthayā tāvattiśțhāmyacalarūpayā || 20|| (Yogavāsișțha Nirvāņaprakaraņam Book 6.1.21.verse 20). So long, I remain unmoved, sleeping deeply. 140 prāņāyāma etc. 141 Restraint, discipline, posture, breath-control, withdrawal of senses, concentration, meditation, absorption. From Yogasūtras 2:29. 142 The stage of life of a celibate student, celibacy. 143 From Yogasūtras 2:30, 2:32. 144 From Yogasūtras 2:46. 145 Prana means the magnetic current of breath rather than the air taken in and breathed out (Svātmārāma 1972: 22 F/N). 146 Stopping the breath by shutting the mouth and closing the nostrils with the fingers of the right hand.

147 From Yogasūtras 2:49. 148 The senses, disjoined from their respective objects, assume as it were the nature of the mind itself (Leggett 1992: 278). Pratyāhara is emancipation of sensory activity from domination by external objects (Eliade 1975 (first pub 1962): 83). 149 From Yogasūtras 2:54. 150 From Yogasutras 3:1. 151 'Continuum of mental effort in order to assimilate the object of meditation' (Eliade 1975 (first pub 1962): 85). 152 From Yogasūtras 3:2-3. 153 See Kathopanisad 1.3.13 When speech is resolved in mind there is thought but no speech. Thoughts can be associated with the sense of ego. When thoughts are not associated with the sense of ego, this is cosmic intelligence. When thoughts resolve into consciousness this is called samādhi. Swami Tattvavidananda, personal communication, Sydney May 2012. 154 From Yogasutras 1:17. See (Leggett 1992: 101-102). 155 From Yogasūtras 1.18. 156 See Yogasūtras 1.19 and Yoga sūtras 1.20. 157 A state of equilibrium of the guņa. 158 A bodiless state where only impressions remain. Yogasūtras 1.19. 159 Hiranyakaśipu's severe asceticism was so intense that he became covered with ant-hills, grass and bamboo. Hiraņyakaśipu had been completely consumed by ants. Brahmā was amazed and granted him any boon he desired (Srīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa Book 7, Discourse 3) (Srīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāna (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 734-763). 160 From Yogasūtras 1.20. 161 From Yogasūtras 1.23. 162 There are five yogic afflictions (kleśa) - ignorance, egoism, desire, aversion, tenacity of mundane existence. 163 In contrast to sāmkhya, yoga asserts the existence of a deity, Iśvara (the lord). This god is not a creator, but Iśvara can help some attain samādhi more quickly. This divine succor is the effect of a 'metaphysical sympathy' between Iśvara and purușa (Eliade 1975 (first pub 1962): 86). 164 From Yogasūtras 1:24. 165 From Yogasutras 1:27-28. 166 No one will follow through practices and restrictions of yoga unless the goal and related means have been clearly set out. What is to be escaped is samsāra, full of pain. Its cause is conjunction of seer and seen, caused by ignorance. The means of release is unwavering knowledge that they are different. When knowledge appears, ignorance ceases. When ignorance ceases, there is release (kaivalya). Kaivalya (transcendental aloneness) here corresponds to the condition of health. (Leggett 1992: 51,52). The four noble truths of Buddhism are similar: 1. There is suffering; 2. There is a cause of suffering; 3. That suffering can be overcome; 4. There is a way to overcome it (Prabhavananda 1963, 1979: 174). 167 Divākara's commentary: purușa is by nature eternal bliss, non-dual, unattached. (Narahari 1905:133,line 14). 168 See Yogasūtras 3:38 169 (om) namaḥ śivāya. Salutations to Siva. 170 (om) namo bhagavate dakșināmūrtaye. mahyam medhām prajñām prayaccha svāhā. Salutations to the blessed Daksināmūrti. Please bestow on me intelligence and spiritual wisdom. 171 That which teaches the union of jiva and isvara (individual and universal), such as tat tvam asi (You are that) etc. (Narahari 1905: 136, line 13). 172 Such as chanting the mantra a particular number of times. 173 Each mantra is associated with a particular god. 174 This is the exact verse from Hathayogapradīpikā Part 3, verse 109. Kuņdalī is called Bālaraņdā Tapasvinī (The young ascetic widow), because she is supposed to have been born in separation from her husband Siva, and practises austerity so long as she does not meet Him whose abode is in the head (Svatmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: p. 118).

The goddess Gangā is idā, the left nādī (energy channel), the river Yamunā is pińgalā, the right nādī (energy channel) and Bālaraņda Tapasvinī (Kuņdalī) is between them (as the sușumnā) (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 118). The idā energy channel starts from the left nostril. Associated with the moon, its function is to cool. The pingalā energy channel starts from the right nostril. Associated with the sun, its function is to heat. Between them the suumnā needs to be forcibly awoken by the practice of Hathayoga. (Johari 2000: 34-38). The yogis believe that Supreme Realisation is attained when what they call prāna or Kundalinī reaches the brahmarandhra, the highest centre in the brain, said to be the spotless abode of brahman or Vișņu, the one supreme Reality (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: p. 117). See also Bodhasāra section 1 verse 5: " ... the guru Vișnu, who is the realm of the wealth of liberation." 175 It is time that holds one in the wheel of birth and death. 176 Divakara's commentary: two quarters filled with food, one quarter with water and the remaining quarter with air (Narahari 1905: 138, lines 15-16). 177 The enemy of the fortress. 178 A physical method of controlling prāna (Woodroffe 1973: 209). 179 The perineal region (mūlādhāra) . Through mūlabandha the prāņa and apāna unite and go into the sușumnā. 180 The umbilical region (svādhișțhāna) etc. In udiyāna the lungs are emptied by a strong expiration and drawn against the upper part of the thorax, carrying the diaphragm along with them, and prana is made to rise and enter the susumna (Woodroffe 1973: 209-210). 181 The hollow between the frontal sinuses (visuddha). Jalandharabandha is done by deep inspiration and then contraction of the thoracic region. The effect is to stop the upward course of the breath through all the nādis except the susumna (Woodroffe 1973: 210-211). 182 From Hathayogaprādīpika 2.46. 183 The merging of śakti and SadāSiva is the yoga. 184 so'ham, I am that: where the sound so is sakti and the sound ha is Siva. It is an undertaking without effort by spontaneously breathing in and out. 185 Divākara's commentary:likes, dislikes (rāga dveșa) etc (Narahari 1905: 141, line 2). 186 From Hathayogaprādīpika 1:35 (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 18). 187 Hathayogaprādīpika names this pose padmāsana. Narahari has substituted (either erroneously or because he was following a different system) the name 'siddhāsana' for the name 'padmäsana'. In keeping with the attention to detail of the rest of his work it is likely that Narahari has deliberately taken the name siddhasana to fit with the Tantric emphasis on siddha. 188 From Hathayogaprādīpika 1:48. 189 From Hathayogaprādīpika 3:107. 190 Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 143, lines 21-22). 191 Sahaja (natural awareness). Svātmārāma says it is the condition in which connection with the five yogic afflictions (kleśa) (ignorance, egoism, desire, aversion and tenacity of mundane existence) is severed; and its brood are laid to rest (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: p.132). Yogasūtras 4:11. 192 O Pārvati: Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 144, line 10). 193 From Hațhayogaprādīpika 4:15. 194 From Hathayogaprādīpika 4:37. 195 Standing firm in brahmarandhra. 196 Standing firm in mūlādhāra. 197 yogis who taught hathayoga. 198 From Hathayogaprādīpika 1:9. This verse shows Svātmārāma's belief that, after gaining immortality, the soul survives as individuals (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 4). 199 The word śakti is a synonym for Kuņdalinī and Kuņdalī (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 116). Here Svātmārāma translates śakti as Kuņdalī, which means the object perceived as rising up to the head along the back, generally called prāņa (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 151). 200 From Hațhayogaprādīpika 4:54 - but without mention of Siva and śakti.

201 Divākara's commentary: I contemplate aham brahmāsmi - I am brahman (Narahari 1905: p158, lines 14-15). 202 Taittirīya 2.8.1-5 (Narahari 1905: 159, lines 10-16). 203 Play on the word meaning pain. Pain from crushing the feet is relieved by more pressing of the feet (massage). 204 Applying amalaka paste to the body is rough and acrid and therefore painful. Later a bath relieves the irritation. 205 Taittiriya Upanişad 2.8.1 206 Practices that cause purity of mind. 207 Bhagavadgītā Ch 12.13-20. 208 turiya - consciousness that subsists the three states of waking dream and sleep. 209 The four goals of man: values, wealth (security), aesthetic pleasure and liberation (dharma, artha, kāma, mokșa). 210 Ranges from a form through to sat, cit, ananda (existence, consciousness and bliss free from the divisions of place, time and object). 211 See Nārāyaņa Sūktam (Tattvavidananda 2011: 176-200). 212 From Vişņusahasranāma v90. 213 Knower of the field (kśetrajña). 214 Bhagavadgītā 12.1-8. 215 This verse is used by Swami Vireswarananda in the introduction to his translation of Srimad Bhagavadgīta (Srimad Bhagavad Gita with the gloss of Sridhara Swami 1948: 24). 216 Hari (Krsna) takes away sorrow. 217 Addressing the one who has combined knowledge with devotion. 218 In a story from the Bhāgavata, Vișnu became Vamana, a small Brahmin boy, to restore order. He approached Bali and requested as much land as he could cover with three paces. Despite the warnings of his advisor, Bali granted this boon. Vamana then revealed his identity and enlarged to gigantic proportions to stride over the three worlds. He stepped from heaven to earth with the first step, from earth to the netherworld with the second. King Mahabali, unable to fulfill his promise, offered his head for the third. Vamana then placed his foot and gave the king immortality for his humility. See Srimad Bhāgavata 8.19. (Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 904-908). 219 Krsna 220 sāyujyasārșțisāmīpyasārūpya : absorption into, equality, nearness, sameness of form. This four-fold liberation represents cessation of the visible world. (Narahari 1905: 206, lines 12-16). These four liberations are not as great as the supreme liberation. 221 Divākara's commentary: bodhasāra (awareness which is the essence) is difficult to enter truly without direct experience (Narahari 2005: 208, lines 4-5). 222 This verse tells that the whole of the rest of the text is about rajayoga. 223 jijñāsā, vicārā, tanumānasā, sattvāpatti, asamsakti, padārthābhāvinī 224 Divākara's only explanation here is that beyond turya (turyātīta), the supreme, not touched by the seven steps, is the true reality (Narahari 1905: 214, lines 19-20). Turya literally means the fourth. Narahari only uses turya when discussing the seven steps in section 14. Elsewhere in Bodhasāra he uses turīya. Narahari's steps are the same as those given in section 3 of the Yogavasistha, with the exception that the first step in the Yogavāsistha is called śubhecchā. See Yogavāsișțha 3.118.1-16. In the Yogavāsistha, turya is described as the state of liberation while living (jīvanmukti) and turyātīta as liberation without a body (videhamukti) See Yogavāsișțha 3.118.15-16 (Yogavāsişțha of Vālmīki 1984: 403). But Jaideva Singh gives another possible meaning of turyātītā as transcending the fourth state. He says it is a state beyond turya. Turya is turiya (fourth) in relation to the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep; but in turyātītā, the three states as separate states disappear. Hence when the three states have disappeared, turya can no longer be called turya. It is called turyātītā in which the turya or fourth state has been transcended. It is a state where pure consciousness is like an ocean without any ruffle whatsoever, and is full of bliss. It is the consciousness of Siva himself or one who has reached that stage in which the entire universe appears as his Self. In turya, manas (mind) becomes attenuated; in turyātītā it is

dissolved in śakti. When the turya state becomes fully developed and reaches perfection, it is transformed into turyātīta state. In this state, everything appears to the individual as Siva or Self (Singh (1963 - reprint 2011), 146, F/N 127). 225 Such as tat, tvam (that, you), as expressed in the great statement tat tvam asi (Narahari 1905: 216, lines 8-20). 226 sahaja, one's own natural state, full of bliss (Narahari 1905: 217, lines 11-12). 227 Beyond turya (turyātīta), the supreme, not touched by the seven steps, is the true reality to be known (Narahari 1905: 217, lines 12-14). 228 Bhagavadgītā 7.3. 229 Yogavāsișțha (Nirvāņaprakaraņam Book 6.1 Section 126, verse 4) (Yogavāsiștha of Vālmīki 1984:1050) and Laghu Yogavāsișțha (Laghu-Yogavāsiștha 6.15.14). The sense here is that it is extremely difficult to become discerning. There are seven steps of knowledge, but even to begin on the first step takes effort, and possibly many births. The difficulty of a struggling turtle finally surfacing into a calm in the midst of innumerable turbulent waves, is a clear metaphor for the level of difficulty. Mark Allon has found a short sutra, for which this same powerful image is central, in the third of six texts written on scroll 22 ([recto]II. 31-56) of the Gandhāri texts preserved in the Senior collection of Kharosthī Buddhist manuscripts (Allon 2006). 230 See Muņdaka Upanișad 1.2.12. 231 The mind does not look at words of wisdom but is drawn to them. The resolution for liberation does not dispel hesitancy. This is the transition into maturity. 232 The buddhi, going hesitatingly to the abode of self is distressed and anguished because of former attachments. She takes the threshold step into awakening to self, which is contemplation (Narahari 1905: 230, line 6). 233 That from which words that stand for objects turn back .. Taittirīya Upanisad 2.4.1, 2.10.1. That which is not uttered by speech, that by which speech is revealed ... Kena Upanișad 1.5. 234 The four goals of man: values, wealth (security), aesthetic pleasure and liberation (dharma, artha, kāma, mokșa). 235 See Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 2.4.5 236 Kathopanişad 1.3.12 237 A Hindu child has no caste until initiated into the rank of brāhmaņah, kșatriyaḥ or vaiśyah through the gāyatri mantra. 238 The lover is self (ätman), the lady is intellect (buddhi). Awareness offers existence, consciousness and bliss to the intellect. Although anxious to receive it, intellect holds back 239 The intellect is ready for the union offered by self. But because of some uncertainty there is a reluctance to accept. 240 The intellect anxiously longs for communion with self, asking, 'how much longer will it be?' But at the point of union the intellect vacillates between love and rejection. 241 With the right disposition intellect (buddhi) is impelled towards acceptance of self. Having qualified itself with dispassion, discrimination etc., only the coalescence of intellect into self remains. 242 I am free thinking, not captured by delusions and with no intent to go after them. I will choose self alone as the only reality. How can there be ridicule? See Kathopanișad 1.2.23 243 Liberation is not of the person, but from the person. 244 Some wasps make a buzzing sound with their wings as they collect mud and make cocoons. They parallise spiders and seal them in the mud cocoon, together with the egg, as food for the growing larva. They make several cocoons side by side. 245 Bhagavadgītā 2.69 246 See Bhagavadgītā 3.28 and 5.8 247 For example Bhagavadgīta 5.8. naiva kincitkaromiti .... "I do nothing at all"; thus would the truth-knower think, steadfast, - though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking letting go, seizing, opening and closing the eyes, - remembering that the senses move among sense-objects. 248 But remains auspicious. 249 The buddhi is facing the world but turns toward the self with a look of love. The buddhi has matured. Note: The verbal root yu is a rare root with two opposite meanings:

coming together and separating. Thus yauvanam can have both meanings. Swami Tattvavidananda adds that she may have been married when very young. Such is an Indian custom. Swami Tattvavidananda, personal comment Sydney 2012. 250 For the buddhi there is no longer discipline or interest in worldly things. It remains aloof and observes its qualities (steadiness etc.). The mind has tasted the bliss of itself. 251 Rantideva, a virtuous king breaking a fast of forty eight days in a time of famine, was tested by the gods. The gods came in the disguise of a Brāhmana, then a Sudra and finally a Caņdāla (an outcaste of the lowest class). Each of the gods begged portions of the food that the king was about to eat. Finally they left him without even water to drink. Rantideva tolerated all this and so received the blessings of the supreme lord. 252 Literally, the procedure of the sacrifice, which is contemplation of ātman alone. (dhyānādhvaravidhau dhyānamātmacintanam tadevādhvaro yajñastasya vidhirvidhānam kriyā tasmin) Divakara's commentary (Narahari 1905, p283, 11-12) 253 He/she keeps giving to the senses. The senses do not disturb his meditation. 254 Kāśī (Vārāņasī), the city which liberates. 255 Thought is always divided into the cognised, the cogniser and the cognising. paramā kalā is the final cognition, in which the cognised, cogniser and cognising are fused into a single awareness. 256 See Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 4.3.26. Nor does he speak anything here, although he is quite capable of speaking, for the speaker's function of speaking can never be lost since it is indestructible. However there is not a second reality here that he could speak to. Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 4.3.31. When there is something else, as it were, then one can see something, one can smell something, one can taste something, one can speak something, one can hear something, one can think something, one can touch something, one can know something. 257 See Śvetāśvatara Upanisad 3.19. He moves swiftly, but has no feet; he grasps, but he has no hands; he sees, but he has no eyes; he hears but he has no ears. He knows what is there to know, but there is no one who knows him. 258 See BhagavadgIta 2.69. What is night to all beings, therein the self-controlled one is awake. Where all beings are awake, that is the night of the sage who sees. 259 See Bhagavadgīta 4.24. Brahman is the offering; brahman the oblation; by brahman is the offering poured into the fire of brahman; brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees brahman in action. 260 Desire, anger, greed, delusion (erroneous thinking), pride, jealousy (kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsara) . 261 Desire to know, contemplation, delicate mind (jijñāsā, vicārā, tanumānasā). 262 Entering into being (sattvāpati). 263 Non-attachment (asamsakti), repudiation of name and form (padārthābhāvinī), natural awareness (turya). 264 See Bhagavadgītā 6.37-45 265 No distinction of knower, known or knowing. See Yogasūtras 1:19. 266 Hiranyakaśipu's severe asceticism was so intense that he became covered with ant-hills, grass and bamboo. Hiraņyakaśipu had been completely consumed by ants. Brahmā was amazed and granted him any boon he desired (Srīmad Bhagavata Mahāpurāna Book 7, Discourse 3) (Srīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāna (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 734-763) 267 samādhi of illusion, fainting, death, sleep and turīya. 268 The purposeless insistence of worldly affairs. See glossary. 269 Reference in commentary to the fifth step of yoga. 270 Reference in commentary to the first step of yoga. 271 See Māņdūkya Upanișad 3-5. 272 Such as Om, aham brahmāsmi, so'ham, gāyatrī 273 Divākara's commentary: ku, bad or evil in the form of impediments; śas, to cut. Hence the name kuśa, that which cuts off the impediments (Narahari 1905: 342, lines 17-18). 274 A tuft of hair on the top of the head to protect the brahmarandhra, representing a mantra from the Atharva Veda. 275 Tied around the finger and wrist, kuśa is considered to have purifying and medicinal

276 brahmakarma also called brahmayajña, symbolises seeing everything as brahman. properties.

Oblations, which are brahman, are offered to brahman. See Bhagavadgītā 4.24. The act of

offering is brahman. The offering itself is brahman. The offering is done by brahman in the sacred fire which is brahman. He alone attains brahman who, in all actions, is fully absorbed in brahman. 277 "Acamana is the first step in performing any Vedic ritual. Through ācamana, one sanctifies oneself in order to be eligible to perform worship". (Ramaswamy 1993: Vol 2, 107). 278 It is said that Agasti or Agastya, the one born in a water-jar, drank the entire ocean in order to destroy the demons hiding there. 279 The interval between night and day: dawn. 280 The commentary refers to verse 3 in Section 12: Layayoga: In the beginning of sleep when wakefulness ends, at the end of sleep in the rising of wakefulness, there is absorption (laya) of the mind. Reflection on atman is to be done at that time. 281 Divākara's commentary: prāņa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, samāna, nāga, kūrma, krkara, devadatta, dhanamjaya (Narahari 1905: 348, line 24 - 349, line 1). Prāņa inward (takes in), apāna downward (eliminates), vyāna diffusing (disperses), udāna rising (releases), samāna circulating (digests), nāga burps, kūrma blinks, krkara sneezes, devadatta yawns, dhanamjaya opens and closes heart valves. 282 With inhalation: prana moves between navel and throat and apāna between navel and perineum. With exhalation: prana moves between throat and navel and apāna between perineum and navel. 283 Hathayoga without knowledge from a teacher. 284 The ida energy channel starts from the left nostril. Associated with the moon, its function is to cool. The pingala energy channel starts from the right nostril. Associated with the sun, its function is to heat. The susumņā is between. (Johari 2000: 36-38). 285 An opening at the top of the head. 286 The three offerings represent giving up the three guna. 287 "The self alone is real (satyam), everything else is recognised as having only apparent reality (mithya). That is how the whole world is. Time and place and the whole world within the time-space framework shine after the self (atma) and have their being in the self" (Dayananda Saraswati 2000: 32). 288 The gayatri mantra is traditionally whispered into the ear of a young boy in a ceremony called 'The Thread Giving Ceremony' (upanayana). Gayatrī is actually the name for a Sanskrit poetical meter that contains three lines of eight syllables each. There are, therefore, many gāyatrī mantras, but this particular one is the oldest and most well- known of all gāyatrī mantras. In Hinduism all Gods and Goddesses have a gāyatrī mantra associated with them. The deity associated with this gāyatri mantra is the sun, savitr Hindu Primer. www.sanskrit.org. 289 The object representing consciousness through the metaphor: the sun represents light, which represents knowledge, which represents consciousness. (Narahari 1905: 361, lines 2-4). 290 The mantra is: Om bhur bhuvah svah tat-savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt . A literal meaning is: Let us meditate on the light of the sun which represents god, and may our thoughts be inspired by that divine light. 291 Prakṛti, mahatattva, ahankāra, the five tanmātras (subtle elements of sound, touch, form, taste, smell), the five gross elements, the five organs of perception, the five organs of action and the mind. 292 Tied around finger and wrist. 293 sattva, rajas, tamas 294 Brahmakarma symbolises samādhi, which is difficult to perform. If the mind runs after thoughts, one must notice and immediately bring it back. 295 This verse is from Maņdūkyopanişad Kārikā 3:44. 296 This verse is a variation of Mandūkyopanişad Kārikā 3:45. The first line is the same except rasa has been substituted for sukha. The second line is different. 297 Gārhapatyāgnī is the householder's fire received from his father and transmitted to his descendants. It is one of the three sacred fires, that from which sacrificial fires are lighted. It should not go out. A small part of the fire is kept and buried in corn husks and dung cakes to keep the fire going. To use the fire again the dung and ashes are removed.

The fire represents discernment which should be brought out. The performance of oblations represents pure being, the wife represents intense faith. 298 "Brahmayajña is a ritual performed daily by offering oblations to the sages, known as kāņda-rsis, and to the Vedas. The Vedas, being the source of all knowledge, are worshipped through this ritual and through one's study"(Ramaswamy 1993: 192). 299 yama, restraint, and niyama, discipline are the first two steps in Patañjali yoga. See Yogasūtras 2.29. 300 Rice grains are offered with the water to the gods. Sesame seeds offered with the water to the ancestors. Plain water is offered to beings. Swami Tattvavidananda, personal comment Sydney 2012. 301 Narahari describes a 16 step pūjā (worship) in verses 2-14: invocation (the deity is invited to the ceremony), offering a seat, washing the feet, offering sweets, bathing, offering water for inner purification, offering clothes, offering sandalwood paste, offering whole grains of rice, offering flowers, offering incense, lighting the lamp, offering food (including food, drinking water, tāmbūla, fruit), offering a donation, seeking forgiveness, offering flowers. 302 Pun on the word daśanga, which means the ten organs (five of action and five of knowledge), but is also the name of a fragrant bark. 303 Tāmbūla is a mixture of fragrant substances such as cloves, cardamom, kankol, camphor, nutmeg, betelnut. It is kept in the mouth and chewed slowly. Added with chunam (lime), the mouth turns red, amorous, and the person feels inebriant, as though he has drunk ancient wine. According to āyurveda, 'Tāmbūla has a cleansing effect. It removes bad odour from the mouth. It has a tonic effect on the voice and is therefore useful for public speakers and singers. It increases pitta and neutralizes kapha. It promotes evacuation of the bowels and expulsion of the gases. Tāmbūla cheers up the spirits, when one feels lazy and tired' (http://www.healthepic.com/ayurveda/ s ... ly_chewing.htm). 304 Yoga Sūtra 1:33 maitrī karuņā mudita upekśānām sukha duḥkha puņyāpuņyā viśayāņam bhāvanātaścitta prasādanam By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind retains its undisturbed calmness. 305 The five Vedic sacrifices worship seers, gods, ancestors, living beings and humans (brahma (or rsi), deva, pitr, bhūta, manușa). 306 Such as at full moon and new moon. 307 Bird sacrifice - knowing the relationship between the two entities represented as birds. See Muņdakopanișad 3.1.1-2. 308 The sun symbolises radiance and the moon bliss. 309 caitanya 310 The city here means the city full of people, birds, animals etc. and also the body full of organs, bones, nerves etc. 311 Betel-leaf. 312 A technical term in Āyurveda 313 The santi-parva is the 12th and longest book in the Mahabharata, consisting chiefly of stories, discourses and episodes narrated for the tranquillising of the troubled spirit of Yudhisthira after the termination of the war and the slaughter of his relatives (Monier- Williams: 1064). 314 Bhagavata, Book X, Discourse 6, verse 1ff. The terrible demoness Putana, who practised the killing of young children, was sent by the evil king Kamsa to kill the infant Śrī Krsna. Having smeared her breasts with poison, she came to Krsna and offered him her breasts. The baby sucked her breasts, drinking up the poison. He continued drinking until he had sucked out the very life from her body. The demoness, roaring and groaning, collapsed dead on the ground with a great thud. 315 Bāgavata Purāņa Book 10, discourse 16. Kāliyā was a poisonous snake living in the Yamuna River, in Vrindavan. The water of the Yamuna for four leagues all around him boiled and bubbled with poison. No bird or beast could go near, and only one solitary Kadamba tree grew on the river bank. 316 Bhagavata, Book X, Discourse 12, verses 13-39, tells how the demon Agha assumed the form of a snake on the path of Krsna. His body stretched for miles, his lower jaw rested on the earth, and his upper jaw touched the clouds. He looked like a giant mountain

and his opened mouth appeared as a mammoth cavern. The curious villagers entered this cavern. The all-protecting Sri Krsna then entered the serpent's mouth but before Aghā could consummate his evil deed, the lord himself grew and grew in size until the serpent was choked, his eyes jumped out from their sockets, and his vital force passed out through a hole pierced in his head. All the villagers, along with their cattle, were saved. 317 Kamsa was told in a prophecy that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. A loving brother, he didn't want to kill Devaki, and so instead imprisoned both Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva. In the prison, Devakī repeatedly conceived, and an enraged Kamsa murdered the first six children. The seventh child, Balarama, was saved when he was moved to Rohini's womb. The eighth child was Krsna. Krsna was saved from Kamsa's wrath and raised by a cowherd couple, Nanda and Yaśoda. When Krsna had grown he returned to the kingdom and killed Kamsa as prophesised. 318 The Ramayana tells the story of how Rama released the beautiful Ahilya from a curse. The sage Gautama, discovering the adultery of the god Indra with his wife Ahilyā cursed her (although she had been tricked by Indra disguised as Gautama). He said to her, 'living on air, you shall stay here, unseen by anyone.' As years passed Ahilyā remained in the ashram as a stone idol overgrown with vegetation. One day Rāma, accompanied by Laksmana happened to pass the ashram on his way to Mithila. The moment Rama set foot in the ashram, the curse was lifted and Ahilya stood before them in all her beauty. 319 Vanara refers to a group of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Rāmāyana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. The most famous Vanara is Hanuman, a loyal devotee of lord Rama. Hanuman is strong, full of valour, has various skills and powers, is wise, a great jñani, a yogi, a brahmacari. He had the one thought only - that of serving his lord Rama with utmost humility and devotion. Hanuman and the Vanaras crossed the ocean to rescue Sīta. 320 Rgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda 321 Ancient tales (Purāna), science of reason (Nyāya), examination of Vedic texts (Mīmām̧sa), science of law (Dharmaśāstra). 322 Phonetics (śiksā), rules for rituals (kalpa), grammar (vyākaraņa), meter (chandas), astronomy (jyotis) and derivation of words (nirukta). 323 The verse is from the Yājñavalkasmrti (Narahari 1905: 421, lines 5-7). 324 Medicine (Ayurveda), science of archery (Dhanurveda), science of music (Gāndharva) and science of wealth (Arthaśāstra). 325 The whole, the undivided brahman, the atman within (Narahari 1905: 422, line 15). 326 Ancient tales attributed to Vyāsa. 327 Alternate reading - The Purana, although ancient has not been digested and made palatable through listening (Swami Dayananda personal communication Rishikesh March 2009) 328 Gautama, the composer of the Nyāya Sūtras. 329 Nyāya has sixteen classifications: pramāna (means of valid knowledge); prameya (objects of valid knowledge); samśaya (doubt); prayojana (purpose); drstānta (example); siddhānta (conclusion); avayava (the constituents of a syllogism); tarka (argumentation); nirņaya (ascertainment); vāda (debate); jalpa (disputations); vitaņda (destructive criticism); hetvābhāsa (fallacy); chala (quibble); jāti (refutations); nigrahasthāna (points of the opponent's defeat) 330 The six orthodox schools of thought are sāmkhya, yoga, nyāya, vaiśesika, mīmāmsa, vedānta. 331 Vaiśeşika lists six catergories: dravya (substance); guņa (quality); karma (activity); sāmānya (generality); viśeșa (particularity); samavāya (inherence). Later vaiśeșikas (Śrīdhara and Udayana and Sivāditya) added one more category abhāva (nonexistence). 332 Examining the similarity and difference between two entities is a common methodology of analysis in Indian thought. 333 Occams razor: The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than more complicated renditions. 334 The science of enumerating the true principles. 335 Brahmasūtra 2.1.3 etena yogah pratyuktaḥ Because of this Yoga is refuted. 336 See YogaSūtra 3.56. When the tranquil mind attains purity equal to that of self, there is

absoluteness. 337 An examiner of Vedic texts 338 Manusmrti etc 339 In the other dharmas if an action is started but not completed all accomplishment is lost, and actions performed incorrectly attract sin. The second line of this verse is the first line of Bhagavadgīta 2.40: There is no loss of effort here, there is no harm. 340 śrauta and śravana come from the root śru (to listen), as does śruti. smārta and smaraņa come from the root smr. (to recall), as does smrti. 341 śruti are listened to and smrti considered. 342 śiksā, kalpa, vyākaraņa, nirukta, chanda, jyotis . Note: jyotis here is astronomy rather than astrology. ie. the movements of sun, moon etc. rather than predictions. 343 Awareness free from thought as expressed by the mahāvākya : prajñānam brahma 'Consciousness is brahman' (Aitareya Upanişad 3.3); ayam ātma brahma 'This self (ātman) is brahman' (Māņdukya Upanișad 1.2); tat tvam asi 'You are that' (Chāndogya Upanișad 6.8.7); aham brahmāsmi 'I am brahman' (Brhadarāņyaka Upanișad 1.4.10). 344 Pun on the word kalpa. Poets love kalpa because it has so many meanings. Here it means rules for rituals and also options (alternatives). The three options are: free from thought (nirvikalpa); resolution (samkalpa); and doubt (vikalpa). 345 Kalpasūtras should lead to desireless action. eg.aham brahmasmi helps one become brahman. 346 Mahāvakyas such as tat tvam asi consisting of tat, tvam, asi (that, you, are). 347 Grammar is called Vyākaraņa (vi (variety), yā (expansive), karaņa (making)) because it takes a root or stem and expands it vertically and horizontally to make all words. In the same way the universe is a vyākarana of brahman. Existence is expanded to make all names and forms. 348 nirukta means beyond words as well as the derivation of words leading to their source meaning. 349 Meters use these symbols to designate the pattern of long and short syllables. For example ya means three syllables in the pattern short, long, long. 350 The one who invites. 351 The one who offers. 352 The one who chants. 353 Pippalada (Literally eater of the pippala or Ficus religiosa) is an ancient teacher of the Atharva-Veda, and a school of thought founded by him. He was known as Pippalāda, because he was placed under a pippala tree when his parents died. The pippala tree is renowned for its mystical significance. Gautama Buddha is said to have attained nirvāņa under a pippala tree. 354 See Muņdaka Upanişad 2.2.4. 355 The notes of the Indian musical scale, a natural scale, are nișāda, rsābha, gāndhāra, șadja, madhyama, dhaivata, pañcama. Or ni, ri, ga, șa, ma, dha, pa - resembling the notes of an elephant, bull, goat, peacock, curlew or heron, horse and koil (Monier-Williams 2002: 1285). The gandhara note is a reference to the natural scale. Most Western music uses an equally tempered scale. 356 Those who have attained jīvanmukti (liberation while living), Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 475, line 12). 357 viśva taijasa prājña 358 Divākara's commentary gives the example: the grass (object of action) is cut (action) by the hand (instrument) (Narahari 1905: 483, line 18). 359 Sounds are categorised as natural, for example thunder, or articulated, being any kind of voice such as human, musical instrument etc. Sounds are also categorised as vibrational, being any kind of physical sound, and unmanifest, being the sound heard intuitively in the mind. 360 Or ni, ri, ga, sa, ma, dha, pa - resembling the notes of an elephant, bull, goat, peacock, curlew or heron, horse and koil (Monier-Williams 2002: 1285). The Indian natural scale. 361 The sun. 362 Divine power - often Dūrga. 363 Gaņeśa. 364 These seven worlds are usually given as bhūr bhuvas suvo mahas tapo janas satyaḥ : earth,

sky, heaven, middle region, place of rebirths, mansion of the blest, abode of truth. 365 The ida energy channel starts from the left nostril. Associated with the moon, its function is to cool. The pingalā energy channel starts from the right nostril. Associated with the sun, its function is to heat. The susumņā is between. The gāndhārī and hasti-jihva channels are behind and in front of the idā: gandharī from the left eye to the big toe of the left foot and hasti-jihva from the right eye to the big toe of the left foot (Johari 2000: 36-39). 366 Divākara's commentary: kāpālika, with a bone in one ear; kşapanaka, Intent on killing others; svecchācāra, not in accordance with the sacred texts; digambara, sky-clothed (Narahari 1905: 499, line 24 to 500, line 5). 367 Refers to the appearance of the river as well as its association with Krsna. 368 The word bhramah also means wandering - wandering from the truth or wandering like the river. 369 adhibhautika - suffering arising from the immediate environment; adhidaivik a - suffering arising from divine or planetary influences; adhyātmika - suffering arising from my own state of mind. 370 Son of Brhaspati, Son of Atri, Son of Vyasa. 371 A wandering from the truth. 372 This verse is full of word puns. Moonlight in Indian culture means cooling, refreshing - because the sun is so hot. The moon also refers to the mind. 'Countless moons' implies the passing of time as well as the reflection of the one moon in countless pools of water. The word for cow is also meaningful. Dhenu comes from the root dhe, meaning to suck or drink, to take in nourishment. The stone the cow is made from is crystalised moonstone. The verse is referring to ideas creating the cow, which apart from the intrinsic beauty of the crystalised moonstone has cultural significance in its own right. The cow symbolises nourishment and plenty. 373 The natural lines in the stone that look like hairs. 374 From Kāsmīra. Spartika stone, white stone that shines. 375 This is an invitation to step away from reason and rediscover existence. It could also be a reference to Gīta Dhyanam verse 4. 376 The usual meaning of nidra is sleep. The meaning here is difficult to accurately translate. Narahari is talking about dense consciousness. In sleep the entire world resolves as it does in dense consciousness. 377 In ordinary sleep there is tamas . 378 In ordinary sleep there is absence of light. 379 It is not an object of experience like worldly pleasure. 380 It is mokșa, liberation. Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 516, line 1). 381 Descendants of Madhu. (Devotees of Krsņa, Vișņu etc.). 382 Includes Siva etc .. Divakara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 516, line 17). 383 Who view the Vedanta sentences as taught by a guru as a means of knowledge (Narahari 1905: 518, line 12). 384 Divakara's commentary gives nine forms of devotion - listening, remembering, worship of Vişņu, namaskāra, recitation, singing, meditation, friendship, surrender (Narahari 1905: 518, line 13-14). 385 Divākara's commentary - viśeşa ādhikyam (abundant/excessive) (Narahari 1905: 518, lines 20-21). 386 The one who removes all sorrow. 387 The implication is that they have now gone beyond their learnedness. 388 The commentary suggests the image of a fine, young lady called buddhi with her entire being submerged in the ocean of contemplation, regarding suitors around her with disinterest. 389 See Brhadāraņyakopanişad chapter 2.5. Brhadāraņyakopanișad chapters 1-2 are called the madhukānda (honey section) and explain the identity of individual and universal self. 390 The compound arkavrksa can be read as sun and trees but Swami Tattvavidananda explains that it can also can be read as a poisonous tree Calatropis Gigantia, a bush with poisonous gum, whose leaves and flowers are offered to Siva (See Bodhasara Section 50, 86-88). Swami Tattvavidananda, personal communication, Sydney 2012. 391 For the master of madhura, everything is madhura (sweet). See Madhurāstakam by

Vallabhācarya. 392 Divakara's commentary refers back to Narahari's earlier verse: My salutations to the guru Vișnu, who is the realm of the wealth of liberation, the slayer of cruel Madhu and

1905: 7-8). Kaitabha, demons of pride and delusion. (Section1: Praise of guru: verse 1) (Narahari

Divākara also quotes Gurustotram v3 (from the Gurugīta (v32), a part of the larger Skanda Purāna). Guru is Brahmā, guru is Vișņu, guru is Siva. Indeed guru is the limitless absolute. To that guru I offer my reverent salutations (Narahari 1905: 4-5). 393 This verse also appears as verse 22 in the fifth step of Rajayoga (section 14) 394 A woman called vidyā, knowledge (Narahari 1905: 531, line 22). avidyā (ignorance) and vidyā (knowledge), grammatically feminine words, are personified as two women. 395 Cannot see brahman as an object for description. 396 Existence, consciousness and bliss 397 This whole section is quoted in a manuscript, author and age unknown Kīrņecandanacampakaprabhrtiślokārtha, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Collection of Manuscripts No. 756 of 1891-95, Pune, India. 398 Divakāra's commentary: anvayavyatireka (A process that compares two things by looking at how they differ and how they are the same in order to arrive at the true meaning) (Narahari 1905: 545, line 14). 399 Turiya, usually grammatically masculine, is made feminine here to depict one's beautiful

400 As well as this meaning, Divakara's commentary gives a second meaning: O beautiful spiritual wife.

one, you are ready for brahman. You cannot exist without brahman. Chose only brahman who is free from aging and death. (Narahari 1905: 553-555). 401 As well as this meaning, Divakara's commentary gives a second meaning: O auspicious one, until you hear about the supreme brahman your mind will be unsteady. Later there will be great celebrations in your heart. You will embrace yourself, who is brahman. (Narahari 1905: 555-556). 402 Brahman can only be described as existence, consciousness and bliss (sat, cit, ānanda). This discussion has three parts: sat aspect, verses 2-5; cit aspect verses 6-13; ānanda aspect verses 14-20. 403 Individual awareness. 404 This question is from the standpoint of the individual. 405 A variation on Bhagavadgītā 10.9. 406 The name of the section, svecchacara, meaning 'behaving as one likes' or 'loose-living (licentious behaviour),' is commonly used as a derogatory term to refer to those who don't follow the prescribed conventions. Narahari has used this word to describe free or enlightened living. 407 A mind mature in understanding. For others these verses can be totally misleading 408 The wife is a personification of buddhi (the discerning faculty), a grammatically feminine word. The husband is a personification of ahankāra (ego), a grammatically masculine word. The 'other' lover is a play on the word para, meaning other and supreme. Thus it means another lover but also paramatman, the universal self. Divakara's commentary gives two meanings. First meaning: Disregarding her natural husband, even while staying in his house, she practices deceit. Called Catura, she is a shrewd, wanton, unchaste woman. She sports with another lover (Narahari 1905: 573). Second meaning: Disregarding her natural husband, ego (ahankāra), even while staying in the body, she deceives. Called Catura, the fourth, she goes everywhere with the discernment of a jīvanmukta (one liberated while living). She sports with another protector, the undivided brahman, the universal beyond means and end, by becoming one with her inner self (Narahari 1905: 573, from line 17). Caturā means shrewd but also the number four. She is in fact shrewd because she is able to discern turiya, the fourth state, and is able to move about in this state 409 Divakara's commentary gives two meanings. First meaning: Having separated from ego, from pride in her father, mother, family, lineage, every day she sports with another lover (Narahari 1905: 574). Second meaning: Having experienced ego as pride in body, caste, stage-of-life, family and lineage, the intellect established in the fourth state, who is united with the undivided brahman beyond cause and effect, continually sports with the universal self, her protector (Narahari 1905: 574, from line 12).

410 Divākara's commentary gives two meanings. First meaning: Then ego, unable to oppose her when she is united with another man, is defeated by his wife. Leaving behind his dwelling place, he leaves (Narahari 1905: 575). Second meaning: Finally Ego, unable to oppose her at the time of her inquiry into awareness, is defeated by intellect. Giving up the body, he withdraws (Narahari 1905: 575, from line 10). 411 Divākara's commentary gives two meanings. First meaning: But in such a situation in ordinary life, living in one's own house as if with a sister, what kind of marriage would it be? That union would always be mixed with sorrow. After some days a quite new, enlightened living arises. There is connection with the present (Narahari 1905: 576). Second meaning: But with the separation of intellect and ego how can intellect deal with the world? With the passing of some days and with the nature within contemplating ätman, a quite new, enlightened will arises in worldly dealings. The intellect ensures the ego goes beyond precept and prohibition and the intellect is restrained by the ego (Narahari 1905: 576, from line 12). A practical 'marriage of appearances'. 412 The point being made is that the snake exists, but is not harmful. The analogy is not quite the same as the rope/snake image, where the rope has quite a different function and is mistaken for a snake. Here it is the fear that is a mistake; play brings delight. In the same way the world exists and is not harmful as long as it is not taken to be real. The world is there to be played with. 413 Becomes absorbed in deep meditation through fear - Divākara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 578, lines 12-13). 414 The snake is really ätman. From the standpoint of the sense pleasures contemplation of ātman is dangerous. 415 Divākara's commentary: avidyā (ignorance) (Narahari 1905: 582, line 6). A grammatically feminine word in Sanskrit. 416 Divākara's commentary: vidyā (knowledge) (Narahari 1905: 582, lines 10-15). A grammatically feminine word in Sanskrit. 417 The description of these wonders can be found in many verses of the Upanisads, including Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 4.3.23-31, Śvetāśvatara Upanișad 3.19, Bhagavadgītā 2.69. 418 The self has no eyes, no legs, no body, no tongue but it illuminates all, pervades all, causes action and enjoys bliss. 419 The self, free from mind and senses, knows the ultimate. Through mind and senses it enjoys its embrace. 420 The self consumes, knows and speaks nothing, there being nothing other than itself. Yet it enjoys, knows and proclaims all. 421 The self has no need for aggression or desire, is seemingly asleep or dead, but is ever victorious, fulfilled, awake and immortal. 422 Indian basil. 423 Gopis are milk maids who frequently appear in the Purāņic stories of Krsna. Divākara's commentary explains: The gopi here symbolises buddhi (the discerning faculty). She begins identified with her station in life, then through her attachment to love of Krsna finds release. Mukunda symbolises the universal self, the giver of release. He suddenly and mysteriously appears as Krsna, accepting the gopi as his beloved. Home symbolises identification with the body. The forest symbolises communion with self. Alone, buddhi enters the brahman forest in darkness. Settled in the bower of undivided brahman she accepts the love of the bringer of bliss. In that bliss of being she is overcome with wonder, unmoved by thoughts that parade with pure faces. (Narahari 1905: 597-602). 424 The forest symbolises communion with self. The fruit is liberation (Narahari 1905: 607, line 18). 425 asti bhāti priyam rūpam nāma cetyamśapañcakam. Drgdrśyaviveka 15 verse 20. 426 Narahari uses the complete verse, Drgdrśyaviveka 15 verse 20, with only jagat changed to māyā. 427 Space is the realm of sound. 428 See Bhagavadgītā 7.4.

429 The sense of individuality on a cosmic level. It is like the personal identity we give to Nature. 430 The force of nature. 431 This can be an external or internal object. The name and form are separated from existence, consciousness and bliss (sat, cit, ānanda) (Drgdrśyaviveka: verse 27). The object is seen and the five parts recognised. 432 Savikalpa samādhi is divided into two: savikalpa associated with the seen and savikalpa associated with words (Drgdryaviveka: verse 23). 433 prakrti 434 vikrti 435 The two round stones are placed to facilitate writing the two semi-circles making up the shape of 35. Swami Tattvavidananda explains in another way. He tells that before slates were available, two handfuls of sand were poured onto the floor (one was not enough) to practice writing 35 with a finger. It was easily erased. Personal comment by Swami Tattvavidananda, Sydney 2012. 436 This is nirvikalpa samādhi . 437 A celebrated teacher and initiator of Advaita Vedanta who lived 7th-gth century AD. 438 Divakara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 630, line 17). 439 Divākara's commentary quotes Kenopanișad 2.3 (Narahari 1905: 633, lines 11-12). 440 Nanda's wife and Krsna's foster mother. 441 A story in brief from the Bhāgavata Purāņa tells that Mārkeņdeya was a great devotee of Vișnu. He prayed to Visnu day and night and was rewarded with a vision of Visnu's illusory power or māyā. Mārkaņdeya saw Vișnu in the fire, sun, moon, water, earth, air, space, his own self and everywhere else. One day while worshipping Visnu on the bank of the river Puspabhadra, a furious wind and monstrous storm sprang up. while he watched the whole universe was deluged such that he was the only living being left alive. Rolling about in the deluge he saw a banyan tree with a baby on its branch. The baby sucked him into his mouth and Mārkendeya saw the entire universe within as it was before the deluge. He saw the sky, heaven and earth, mountains and seas, gods, demons, forests, rivers, cities, people and everything else in worldly life and was amazed. Then the baby exhaled and Mārkendeya again saw Vișņu before him. Srimad Bhāgavata 12.9. (Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 2 1690-1693). 442 On the contrary it is beautifying (Narahari 1905: 19-20). Pun on the word kajjala, soot or collyrium, which is used to cure eye-disease as well as for make-up. See Bodhasāra Section 11: Sāmkhya, the eye-salve, v1. 443 As a jīvannmukta. 444 See Kațha Upanișad 1.2.14 (or 2.14 in some editions). 445 It doesn't matter whether the wise follow proper conduct or not. They are not blemished by actions, even sinful actions. But they perform properly as a model for others living in the world. 446 Datta (Dattatreya), Rşabha, JadaBharata (son of Rşabha), Manki and Samvarttaka are characters in the Puranas who detached themselves from worldly life and attained liberation. 447 Seventy nine verses that suit different types of understanding. 448 Kathopaņișad 1.2.21 (or 2.21 in some editions) conveys a similar meaning. 449 turiya - awareness absolute that subsists the three states of waking dream and sleep. 450 The mind filling with uncertainty made the world dark and unclear. Posts resembled people. Now the light of knowledge has dispelled uncertainty and the world is seen as it really is, as dense awareness. 451 Because it is very small, and the horn smooth. 452 Intellect, ego, discursive mind, memory (buddhi, ahankāra, manas, citta), five sense organs and five organs of action. 453 He is like a mirror, not like a camera. 454 Desire, anger, greed, delusion (erroneous thinking), pride and jealousy. 455 Because of the ambiguous structure this verse can be read in two ways: spread 'me' and 'mine' everywhere; or, spread the absence of 'me' and 'mine' everywhere. In the advaita understanding both meanings are valid, depending on the perspective of the observer. The first meaning reflects more clearly Narahari's delightful sense of humour. The

understanding is to make everything me and mine. One lacking this wisdom says this is me but the rest is not, some things are mine but the rest are not. 456 paśu literally means a domesticated animal. In Kashmir Shaivism paśu means constrained by conformity - see glossary . 457 The world of deception. 458 The brahman milk grants oneness, whereas the divine cow's milk merely gives pleasure. In Hindu mythology Kāmadhenu was a divine cow who could grant any wish for the true seeker. 459 Kabir story: If brahman (god) is angry the teacher will come to your rescue. If the teacher (the knower of brahman) is angry brahman cannot help you. Personal comment by Swami Tattvavidananda, Sydney 2012 460 Sixteen stands for an individual life (jīva) with its sixteen elements (five gross elements, five organs of perception, five organs of action and mind). Thousand symbolises countless jīvas. Krsna is awareness at play with them all. Satyabhāmā, one of Krsna's wives, represents the original, creative, pure buddhi, the one who sees the truth. Bhāma is her nickname. Only such a buddhi can win Krsna. Thus Satyabhāmā (the knower of Krsņa) is superior to Krsņa. 461 See Bhagavadgīta 7.3. 462 By contemplating the mahāvākya, great statements (such as tat tvam asi 'You are that') (Narahari 1905: 680, lines 22-23). 463 The sugarcane is flexible and every part is useful. A wooden stick is rigid. 464 My Lord delights in an open vision but not petty-mindedness. Please give me a mantra that will expand my vision. 465 Perhaps it had been an arranged child marriage so she had not seen her husband. 466 The unenlightened buddhi does not recognise her own self, within her all the time. She serves but does not enjoy because she doesn't know her own inner self. 467 The buddhi (lover) has gained the necessary qualities of heart and mind, but has spent her whole life in darkness. Not knowing the truth she misses out on unity with her beloved self. When she awakens to this, she laments. 468 Nature in all its beauty and variety appears on the canvas of brahman. A devotee looks at the canvas and is amazed by the beauty. Suddenly he recognises this as his own self and sees only that. 469 The cintāmani, appearing as a jewel, gives what one deserves, when one deserves it. From Yogavāsișțha 6.1.88.1-27 (Yogavāsișțha of Vālmīki 1984: 981-983). (Venkatesananda 2005: 307). 470 Awareness slipped away from the buddhi. Do not be sad, the guru said, the jewel is within you, it has not gone. It will arise again. 471 While uncertain about directly realising god, my mind, like a shining god, revives me. A story: A student doubted his devotion. The guru advised: Are you pleased with your devotion? If you are pleased, god will also be pleased. Swami Tattvavidananda, Sydney May 2012. 472 Symbolising all desires. 473 The intellect (buddhi) is unhappy with separation, she wants to be whole. But separation is merely a mirage. Self-knowledge dispels the illusion. 474 Some seek for heaven, while others work for self-knowledge. But those who are intoxicated with the bliss of the self, do not perform rituals for the joy of heaven nor meditation for the attainment of liberation. 475 The wood-carter is like the Hatha Yogi, who after great effort gains some small power. Someone sitting comfortably inquires into the self and gains the wealth of liberation. 476 A dancer is like a Hatha Yogi who bends and strains the body. After much effort she may or may not gain some small power. A wise person sitting comfortably contemplates the self and easily gains the wealth of liberation. 477 Those who inquire into the mind are like the miners. Those who teach for some reward are like the traders. Those who practise disciplines and contemplate are like the polishers. Those who abide in the self are the rich ones who wear the gemstones. 478 Some are satisfied just gaining small ends. Some want to achieve something great. Some are not content without the bliss of self-awareness. 479 It is often considered blasphemous to say 'I am god'. 480 Replicating the flow of Gangā onto Siva's head.

481 Yoga powers (siddhis). From the commentary on Patañjali's Yogasūtras 3:45: aņimā (minuteness), becoming small; laghimā (levity), becoming light; mahimā (magnification), becoming great in dimension like an elephant, mountain or town; prāpti (extension), all things become close at hand; prākāmyam (irrestistible will), any desire comes to be; vaśitvam (mastery) of all the elements earth, water etc., and products from them such as cows and water-jars; īśitvam (sovereignty) of growth, production and decay of the elements (Woods 1977: 278-279) (Leggett 1992: 348-349). Narahari includes garimā (heaviness), becoming heavy at will, instead of yatrakāmāvasāyitva (the perfection of will-power), the capacity to determine things through desire. 482 From Visņu Purāņa Bk 6, Ch 7 483 Candi is the ferocious deity of destruction, also called Durga. In temples in India animals are sacrificed to Candi and the consecrated flesh is taken as prasāda to cook and eat. Here the mind is sacrificed and the grace of awareness gained. Yogic powers are rendered useless. 484 The purposeless insistence of worldly affairs. See glossary. 485 The sense is that one should know that jivanmukti lasts forever - Divakara's commentary (Narahari 1905: 723, lines 18-19). 486 The title of the section says eighteen verses because verses 13-16, although not part of the discussion, have been inserted for further explanation (Narahari 1905: 727, lines 20-22). 487 This is the first roaring (Narahari 1905: 729, line 16). 488 The Vindhya mountains separate the Indian subcontinent into northern and southern India. Hindu legends say that the Vindhya mountains once showed a tendency to grow so high and conceited as to obstruct the usual trajectory of the sun. Through his yogic powers the sage Agastya persuaded them to bow low so he could cross. 489 This is directed to a Hatha Yogi, whose goal is to gain a long life by forcing prāna into the suşumņā energy channel. 490 For many Indians the tip of the foot is the centre of knowledge. Hence Indians touch their foreheads to the guru's foot. 491 Clouds etc. 492 For emphasis the ocean described in this verse is the great mythological milky ocean, the ocean that was churned to gain the nectar of immortal life. 493 Again for emphasis the golden mountain is the great Mount Meru, a sacred mythological mountain. 494 Like the ocean, the sage is inwardly firm like the ocean. There may be movement on the surface, but he doesn't change within. 495 The darkness represents ignorance, the night unawareness, the thieves the six enemies (desire, anger, greed, delusion (erroneous thinking), pride and jealousy), the weak wall lack of restraint (yama) and discipline (niyama). If the one who abides in the body keeps awake (sattva guņa) and focused then these thieves (sense organs attached to pleasures of the world) will not be able to rob his wealth (true self). 496 In ancient times kings were required to protect their subjects from wild animals, by hunting and killing them. Kings who merely tamed wild animals like lions for show did not properly protect. Teachers who advocate taming passions by merely teaching scriptures are similarly ineffective. 497 Change of meter to śālinī (11 syllables to the pāda). śālinī is a variety of the Vedic trișțubh used by later poets. 498 See Kathopanisad 1.2.5. Living in the midst of ignorance and considering, themselves intelligent and enlightened, the senseless people go round and round, following crooked courses, just like the blind led by the blind. 499 One of the great statements (mahavakya): tat tvam asi 'You are that' (Chandogya Upanișad 6.8.7). 500 Stories from books told by worldly teachers. 501 Sanskrit was, in earlier times, considered to be refined and vernacular languages unrefined. 502 Everything in the mind can be resolved, but not self. See Bodhasāra section 12 Layayoga (yoga of absorption). 503 This verse is in mandākrāntā meter (17 syllables to the pada). It is used by Kālidāsa in

Meghadūta, poetry known for its lyrical sweetness. Literally mandākrāntā means slowly advancing and gives a sense of gliding. 504 The goddess Gayatri is the personification of the gayatri mantra, words of the Veda. She is a consort of Brahmā. 505 Only they wil understand. 506 Dr Rani RamaKrishna (now Swami Tattvavidananda) explains that the jujube fruit from the wild tree badarah (botanical name Zizyphus jujube) is recognised in the Krsņa Yajurveda as a 'drug of the gods'. Once Indra was restored to full vitality by a medicine made from these fruits.The jujube fruits have a broad spectrum of medicinal capabilities including prevention of teeth disease and cancer. They also have sedative and hypnotic properties (RamaKrishna 1994: 95-98) 507 Narahari is the name of the author as well as the god Nrsimha/Narasimha. This section is based on the story of Hiraņyakaśipu, Prahlāda and Nrsimha from the Bhāgavata Purana Book 7: discourse 3-8. A short summary of the story goes as follows: Hiraņyakaśipu wanted sole sovereignty of the three worlds. He practised severe asceticism keeping his arms lifted up and his gaze fixed on the sky, while touching the ground with his toes. The smoky fire of asceticism sprang from his head. The rivers and oceans swelled, the mountains shook, stars and planets shot out of their orbits. The gods were greatly disturbed and pleaded with Brahmā to devise a remedy. Brahmā went to Hiraņyakaśipu's hermitage but couldn't see him because he was covered with ant-hills, grass and bamboo. Hiraņyakaśipu had been completely consumed by ants because of his intense practise. Brahma was amazed and granted him any boon he desired. Hiraņyakaśipu asked that his death not occur through any living being created by Brahmā, not from within or without, not by day or night, not through earthly or heavenly weapons, not by men, animals, animate or inanimate beings, gods, demons or serpents. Further he wanted undisputed lordship over all embodied beings, no adversary in battle, glory like that of Brahma, and unfailing mystic powers. Brahmā granted him all this, so difficult to attain. Hiranyakaśipu established himself in heaven in Indra's palace but, despite his sovereignty, was not content because he could not subdue his senses and mind. He caused havoc in the three worlds. Hiraņyakaśipu had a son Prahlāda, a natural devotee of Vișnu, who saw the world as full of Sri Krsna. His father was devastated and decided the boy had to be killed. He asked his son, "If the Lord of the universe is everywhere, why is he not in that stone pillar?" Hiraņyakaśipu hit the pillar with his fist and the Lord appeared as a strange man-lion with sharp claws. In the aura of Nrsimha, Hiranyakaśipu was overwhelmed, like a moth fallen into a flame. Nrsimha seized Hiraņyakaśipu and tore him apart with his claws (Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāna (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 734-763). 508 The name Hiranyakasipu literally means the one who hordes gold in his bed. 509 Parroting various names of god, or even mantras won't make any difference. 510 Play on the story of Hiraņyakaśipu and Nrsimha - see above. 511 The Bhägavata says that Hiranyakasipu fell into the aura of Nrsimha and vanished like a moth fallen into a flame (Srīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 762) 512 Prahlāda means delight (joy), but also Hiraņyakaśipu's son. Prahlāda and Prarāda are alternative spellings. 513 Delusion can't be destroyed by mind or body, in worldly interactions or samādhi, by devotion or logic or by pious living or sense pleasures. Such delusion is destroyed only by the surprise of awareness. By referring to the surprise of Nrsimha bursting out of the stone pillar, Narahari the author is announcing the way he dislodges ignorance with surprise. In the story Narasimha is not a human, god or animal because he is a form of Visņu incarnate as a part-human, part-animal. He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts the demon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp fingernails (neither wet nor dry) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon. (Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāņa (Sanskrit Text and English Translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: Vol 1 761-763) 514 Narahari is a living person from a worldly perspective and the all-pervasive purușa from

a spiritual perspective. See Śvetāśvatara Upanisad 3.15: This whole world is just the purusa, whatever there was and whatever there will be .... Muņdaka Upanişad 2.1.10: Purușa alone is all this ... Muņdaka Upanișad 1.1.6 The wise realise everywhere that which cannot be perceived and grasped. 515 Prahlada was a natural devotee of Visnu who saw the world as full of Srī Krsna. His father challenged this by asking "why is he not in that stone pillar?" prahlada also means natural born joy (pun on the word prahlāda). When Narahari manifests (appears) in the self aware mind delusion instantly vanishes. This surprising spectacle is for the sake of bliss alone. 516 Mental deviations: desire, anger, greed, delusion (erroneous thinking), pride and jealousy. Bodily deviations: birth, existence, growth, maturity, decline and death. 517 This is a reference to Narahari as Narasimha (man-lion) in the story from Bhāgavata Purāņa Book 7: discourse 3-8. See Bodhasāra Section 48: Six verses on Narahari. 518 See Brihadāraņyakopanișad 1.4.8. 519 Duplicate verse number. Editing error in source text. 520 Desire, anger, greed, delusion (erroneous thinking), pride and jealousy are usually regarded as the six treacherous passions that need to be destroyed. But in this verse they are described as cheats that can be double-crossed by skilful reason. In verse 2 of this section they are described as helpers to cross the ocean of life. 521 Bhagavadgītā 5.8. naiva kiñcitkaromiti .... "I do nothing at all"; thus would the truth- knower think, steadfast, - though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, letting go, seizing, opening and closing the eyes, - remembering that the senses move among sense-objects. 522 Divakara's commentary: Worldly lore decrees that a person who practices cheating goes to hell (Narahari 1905: 798, line 13). 523 Bhagavadgītā 5.8. naiva kiñcitkaromiti .... "I do nothing at all"; thus would the truth- knower think, steadfast, - though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, letting go, seizing, opening and closing the eyes, - remembering that the senses move among sense-objects. 524 Like Brutus or Machiavelli or the saying, 'He hides a knife behind a smile'. 525 Sadhus take food sitting in a line on the floor. At the beginning of the line a pious man (panktipāvanaḥ) sits. He purifies the line of people. Swami Tattvavidananda. 526 Bhagavadgīta 3.13.The sinful ones who cook food only for themselves, eat sin. 527 See footnote for verse 25. 528 Worldly lore says that those hostile to worldly life (birth, death etc.) are punished. They are not liberated (Narahari 1905: 805, line 16). 529 See Mundakopanişad 1.1.6 (By the higher knowledge) the wise realise everywhere that which cannot be perceived and grasped; which is without source, features, eyes and ears; which has neither hands nor feet; which is eternal, multiformed, all-pervasive, extremely subtle, and undiminishing; and which is the source of all. 530 Kāśī (Vārāņasī), the city which liberates. 531 The goddess Ganga is the left energy channel, the river Yamuna the right energy channel and the young ascetic widow (bālaranda tapasvinī) is between them as the sușumnā (Svātmārāma 1970, Second Edition 1998: 118). The yogi forces prāņa into the sușumnā. 532 In India food and drink should be given, not sold. 533 The meaning here is that the relish of the sense organs is given up for the wealth of awareness. That knowledge (I am) is kept in the knot of the heart. 534 Siva himself had a mixed marriage. He married Sati against her father's wishes. 535 Worldly lore declares that eating offerings left for Siva is a sin (Narahari 1905: 811, line 17). 536 The city represents the body and the courtesans the movements within the body. 537 Worldly lore says that destroying the livelihood (the traditional teaching) of a brāhmana leads to hell (Narahari 1905: 813, line 11). 538 Narahari's list of foods are prohibited by the Dharma Sastra. 539 Pun on word varuni, which can mean connected with Varuna or liquor. 540 See Taittitīyopanişad 2.7. Varuņa is a Vedic god associated with water. Bhrgu is his son. Bhrgu approaches his father Varuna in the Taittirīya Upanisad to find out about brahman. 541 Bathing in the river Karmanāśā is prohibited because it removes the results of virtuous

actions (acquired through rituals etc.). 542 Anga = Afghanistan, Vanga = Bengal, Kalinga = Orissa, Magadha = Biha. These districts are prohibited for living because they are considered impure. The Mahābhārata also describes some of these districts as strongholds of Duryodhana. They maintained a non-Vedic tradition and passages of the Mahabharata renounce the inhabitants as foreigners and barbarians. 543 Play on para meaning 'other' and 'highest'. The family house symbolises the body. 544 Worldly lore declares that praising oneself is not proper (Narahari 1905: 820, line 22). Also ritual actions must accompany Vedic recitation from the Karmakanda sections. 545 pravrtti is engagement with action, nivrtti is cessation of action. 546 The older part of the Veda teaching ritual action 547 See Bhagavadhgīta 18.66. Abandoning all righteous deeds, seek me as your sole refuge; I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve. 548 When bitten by a vampire, one becomes a vampire. The spirit in this verse is a dākinī, a tantric deity. 549 There is a Telegu proverb. A full moon shining in the forest is a waste. It needs a princess, a prince and a song. Swami Tattvavidananda, Personal comment Sydney 2012. 550 Doctrine says that sleeping in the day and being awake at night will make you sick. 551 See Bhagavadgītā 2.50. 552 See Bhagavadgīta 3.17-18 553 See Bhagavadgīta 2.57, 12:17. 554 For example Bhagavadgīta 5.17. 555 See Aştāvakragīta 12:7. Thinking of the unthinkable one unavoidably conjures thought. I choose no-thought and remain here. 556 The pun here is that the three gunas, sattva, rajas, tamas are the essential qualities of prakrti, the material cause of the world. Krsna is great because he is free from these guņa (qualities). 557 Bhagavadgītā 5.8. naiva kiñcitkaromiti .... "I do nothing at all"; thus would the truth- knower think, steadfast, - though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, letting go, seizing, opening and closing the eyes, - remembering that the senses move among sense-objects. 558 See Bhagavadgita 3.29. They do not unsettle those whose knowledge is imperfect. 559 Bhagavadgītā 18.66 560 Epithets of Siva are listed in appendix. 561 The five syllables constitute the mantra 'namaḥ śivāya' (na, ma, śi, vā, ya). Om is always sounded first, but is not counted as one of the five syllables. The Sivapancākșarastotra is a chant praising these five syllables saluting Siva. The first five verses of the chant (stotra) praise each syllable of the mantra, 'namaḥ śivāya'. The last verse gives the results obtained by the recitation. 1.My salutation to lord Siva, who is in the form of the syllable 'na', who wears the serpent king as a garland, who has three eyes, who has ashes smeared all over his body, who is the supreme lord, who is eternal and pure and whose clothing is the sky. 2.My salutations to lord Siva who is in the form of the syllable 'ma', who is bathed with waters of Ganga and sandalpaste, who is the supreme lord of Nandi and other leaders of the troop of attendants in Kailasa and who is elaborately worshipped with mandāra and many other flowers. 3.My salutation to lord Siva the blessed one who has a blue neck, who is in the form of the syllable 'si ', who is the sun to the cluster of lotuses that is likened to Parvati's face, who destroyed Daksa's sacrifice and who has the bull inscription on his banner. 4.My salutations to lord Siva who is in the form of the syllable 'va ', who is adored by the great sages including Vasistha, Agastya and Gautama as well as the gods, and whose eyes are the sun, moon and fire. 5.My salutation to lord Siva, who is in the form of the syllable 'ya ' who appeared once as a yaksa, who has a braid of matted locks, who holds the pinaka bow in his arm and who is the most ancient, the shining lord whose clothes are the four directions. 6.He, who recites this meritorious five-syllabled hymn in the shrine of the lord Śiva, gains the abode of Siva and rejoices with the lord. S. Ramaswamy op.cit.1993, Vol.2, pp.46, 113ff. 562 See Maitrayani Upanişad 6:22.

563 Rudrākșa literally means 'Rudra's (Siva's) eyes'. They are seeds traditionally worn as prayer beads by Siva devotees. 564 Narahari's 'devo bhutvā yajeddevam' appears in Śatapathabrāhmaņa14.6.10.4 / Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 4.1.2. The symbolism is one of divinising the worshiper to prepare him to 'approach the gods' in worship. It is also in Rudrayāmala 18.40: devo bhūtvā yajed devam tadā mokșam samāpnuyāt. Another similar statement repeatedly quoted by Sankara usually in the context of worshipping Iśvara is: tam yathā yathopāsate tad eva bhavati (How one meditates on/worships him, that indeed he becomes). Notes from Tim Lubin, Michael Slouber and Neil Dalal, October 2013. 565 Clay, collected from the river, can be pressed into any shape, then returned to the river. 566 Pots, jars, lingas etc. 567 The one with a trident in his hand. 568 The bearer of a bow 569 In Indian culture the moon symbolises the mind and the waxing and waning of the moon indicates the cycle of time. By wearing the crescent moon on his head Siva shows that he has control over mind and holds time. Seeing the crescent moon (the Siva moon) in the night sky is a beautiful sight, especially when it is near Venus. 570 The name invokes the colour and coolness of camphor .. 571 The name invokes the naked form of Siva. 572 In Indian culture the moon symbolises the mind and the waxing and waning of the moon indicates the cycle of time. The moon in Siva's hair does not change, showing his power over time. 573 A Banian (Fig) tree has countless matted roots. 574 Soma 575 To save the world Siva drank the poison arising at the churning of the ocean and his throat became blue. 576 Ananta and Vasuki are royal Nagas. There are various mythological stories about them, including using King Väsuki as the churning rope in the churning of the ocean to recover the nectar of immortality. Visnu rests on the five-hooded Ananta-śeșa. 577 Kundali means circular or ring-shaped. 578 These three cities also represent the gross, subtle and causal aspects of the body. 579 Not this, not this (neti, neti), is a philosophic device used to negate all that is not real. 580 Dharmamegha means the cloud of dharma. See Yogasutras 4.29: He who, due to his perfect discrimination, is totally disinterested even in the highest rewards remains in the constant discriminative discernment, which is called dharmamegha.Swami Satchidananda explains that "One gets into that state when even the desire to be high is gone." (Satchidananda 1990, 222-224) 581 Mandara is a sacred mountain, the residence of various deities, which served as the churning stick at the churning of the ocean for the recovery of the nectar of immortality and thirteen other precious things lost during the deluge. 582 Bhairavas are men associated with the yogini s. According to Agamic texts there are sixty- four bhairavas divided into eight groups and they are the counterparts of the sixty-four yoginīs (Deo 2001: 121) 583 Nandi is the name of the bull which serves as Siva's prime vehicle. In temples the bull Nandi is placed directly in front of and facing Siva. By looking through the gap in Nandi's horns, devotees get the best vision of Siva. The word nandi means happiness or bliss. 584 There are various stories about Bhrngi in the Puranas. In brief, Bhrngi was an ardent devotee of Siva but would not worship Parvati (Siva's consort). Bhringi regularly worshiped Siva at his abode in the Kailasa mountain and at the end of his worship would circumambulate Siva. Parvati having seen this ritual sat closer to Siva. Bhrngi then turned himself into a bee so that he could go around Siva alone. Parvati was enraged, so to teach Bhrngi that Parvati is an integral part of him and cannot be excluded, Siva merged himself with Parvati in his Ardhanārīśvara form (half female and half male). But Bhrngi was adamant he would go around Siva alone and tried to gnaw his way between the two. Parvati cursed him in fury to become thin and completely emaciated, so weak that he could not stand. Siva, however, moved by Bhrngi's plight, gave him a third leg for support and Bhrngi became a humble devotee of Siva. He was admitted into his force as a commander of his armies.

585 Śivarātri, literally Śiva's night (the darkness or stillness of Siva), is celebrated on the moonless night of the month of Mägha (February/March). This falls on either the thirteenth or fourteenth day of the waning moon, the krsnapaksa or dark half of the month. 586 The six passions are desire (kāma), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), delusion (moha), arrogance (mada), jealousy (matsara). The story about Siva incinerating the god of love (Kāmadeva) occurs in its most developed form in the Matsya Purāna (verses 227-255) but is also repeated with variants in the Saiva Purāņa and other Purānas. In brief, Indra and the gods are suffering at the hands of a demon, Taraka, who cannot be defeated except by a son of Siva. Brahmā advises that Parvati woo Siva so that their offspring will be able to defeat the demon. Indra assigns the god of love to break Siva's meditation. But when he awakens, Siva, furious, opens his third eye and incinerates him. 587 Play on word smara, which means both memory and love. 588 One of the great statements, mahāvākya. aham brahmāsmi 'I am brahman' (Brhadāraņyaka Upanișad 1.4.10). 589 Hibiscus. 590 The three-eyed Siva razed the three guna cities of gold, silver and iron, with the sharp trident of peace, dispassion and awareness.The three cities also represent the gross, subtle and causal aspects of the body. See Section 50: One hundred homages to Siva verse 44. 591 Pun on the word arka, which means the sun as well as the plant Calatropis gigantean (arka). It is a poisonous, bushy plant with small flowers. The leaves ooze white poison. The flowers are offered to Siva and the leaves to the sun. Pharmacological details of the arka shrub are given in RamaKrishna 1994: 70-73. 592 In the same way the mind offered to Siva with love becomes like the sun, shining brightly and dispelling darkness. 593 Similarly the harsh mind when offered to Siva with devotion becomes lovable and fragrant. 594 Datura Stramonium, also called Jimson Weed, Gypsum Weed, Loco Weed, Jamestown Weed, Thorn Apple, Angel's Trumpet, Devil's Trumpet, Mad Hatter, Crazy Tea, and Zombie's Cucumber is a common weed in the Nightshade Family. It is a valuable medicine but also poisonous. 595 unmatta, meaning intoxicated, is another name for dhattūra. 596 kitava, meaning a cheat, is another name for dhattūra. This is an example of vyājanindā, ironical censure: outwardly censoring but inwardly praising. 597 dhurta, meaning a deceiver, is another name for dhattūra. The name of Siva used here, Dhūrjati, is a play on the sound dhūr. 598 kanaka, meaning gold, is another name for dhattūra. 599 A tree with three pronged leaves, full of thorns. 600 Sāņdilya is author of the Bhaktisūtra. 601 The bilva leaf is also called sāņdilya, like the great sage. 602 Sailuşa, meaning an actor, is another name for bilva leaves. 603 (Om) namaḥ śivāya, salutations to Śiva. 604 The eight forms of Siva. Sarva annihilates the entire universe, Bhava manifests as the universe, Rudra makes you cry, Ugra is cruel, Bhīma frightens, Paśupati is protector of the deluded, Mahadeva is the great lord, Isana is the overlord. 605 Earth, water, fire, wind, ether, mind, intellect and ego. See Bhagavadgītā 7.4. 606 Divakara's commentary explains that Siva's eight forms correspond with the eight forms of nature - earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, ego (Narahari 1905: 949, line 21 - 950, line 14). 607 In temples devotees ambulate only half way around Siva and then return. 608 The purpose of life is divided into four parts: values, wealth, aesthetic pleasure and liberation (dharma, artha, kāma, mokșa). 609 It fulfils the mandate from Patañjali's Mahābhāșya: "Śāstras (holy works) which begin with auspiciousness, which have auspiciousness in the middle and which end with auspiciousness spread extensively. They illuminate the goal and turn readers towards the goal." (Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana (Sanskrit text and English translation by C.L. Goswami, M.A.Sastri) 1982: 22) (vyākaraņamahābhāśyam paspaśahnika 3 (siddhe

śabdārthasambandhe verse 70)). (Narahari 1905: 957, lines 12-14). 610 The self-evident goal of jīvabrahmaikya (Narahari 1905: 957, lines 20-21). 611 Oneness of individual and universal, jīvabramaikya (Narahari 1905: 968, line 12). 612 Indra's thunderbolt represents diamond. 613 Śankara (Siva) represents benevolence. The demon Andhaka represents ignorant blindness. 614 Govinda (Krsna) represents protection. The demon Kamsa represents cruel tyranny. 615 Caņdikā (Durgā), the great goddess represents the culmination of the power of śakti. The demon Canda represents attachment leading to anger and violence.