The Yoga Of Synthesis by Swami Sivananda Some maintain that the practice of Karma Yoga alone is the only means for salvation. Some others hold that devotion to the Lord is the only way to release. Some believe that the path of wisdom is the sole way to attain the final beatitude. There are still others who hold that all the three paths are equally efficacious to bring about perfection and freedom. Man is a strange, complex mixture of will, feeling and thought. He wills to possess the objects of his desires. He has emotion and so he feels. He has reason and so he thinks and ratiocinates. In some, the emotional element may preponderate, while in some others, the rational element may dominate. Just as will, feeling and thought are not distinct and separate, so also work, devotion and knowledge are not exclusive of one another. The Yoga of Synthesis is the most suitable and potent form of Sadhana. In the mind there are three defects, viz., Mala or impurity, Vikshepa or tossing and Avarana or veil. The impurity should be removed by the practice of Karma Yoga. The tossing should be removed by worship or Upasana. The veil should be torn down by the practice of Jnana Yoga. Then only is Self-realisation possible. If you want to see your face clearly in a mirror, you must remove the dirt in the mirror, keep it steady and remove the covering also. You can see your face clearly in the bottom of the lake only if the turbidity is removed, if the water that is agitated by the wind is rendered still, and if the moss that is lying on the surface is removed. So too is the case with Self-realisation. The Yoga of Synthesis alone will bring about integral development. The Yoga of Synthesis alone will develop the head, heart and hand and lead one to perfection. To become harmoniously balanced in all directions is the ideal of religion. This can be achieved by the practice of the Yoga of Synthesis. To behold the one Universal Self in all beings is Jnana, wisdom; to love this Self is Bhakti, devotion; and to serve this Self is Karma, action. When the Jnana-Yogin attains wisdom, he is endowed with devotion and selfless activity. Karma Yoga is for him a spontaneous expression of his spiritual nature, as he sees the one Self in all. When the devotee attains perfection in devotion, he is possessed of wisdom and activity. For him also, Karma Yoga is a spontaneous expression of his divine nature, as he beholds the one Lord everywhere. The Karma-Yogin attains wisdom and devotion when his actions are wholly selfless. The three paths are in fact one in which the three different temperaments emphasise one or the other of its inseparable constituents. Yoga supplies the method by which the Self can be seen, loved and served.

Hints For Aspirants by Swami Sivananda You can learn many spiritual lessons from the baby. The baby has a message to give to all. You will find in the baby the revelations of the Upanishads, the inspiring experiences of the seers, sages and Rishis. You will find in the baby a new practical religion. The baby imparts the message of yore, peace, harmony, freedom and bliss. Watch the baby carefully. Learn the spiritual lessons and become wise. A new-born baby is always in Samadhi or blissful union with the Lord. How steady are his eyes. He is Brahman himself. Maya enters in him only when he begins to look steadily at his parents, recognises them and smiles. Sin is expiated by auspicious acts, by publishing it widely, by repentance, by alms-giving, by penances, by sojourns to Tirthas or holy places of pilgrimage after renunciation of everything, by constant meditation on the scriptures. He who has practised renunciation is incapable of committing sins anew. “Those Brahmins who are superior to us-they should be comforted by thee with seats, etc. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with joy, with modesty, with fear, with kindness. Then if there be any doubts as to any action or conduct, in that case conduct thyself as Brahmins who possess good judgment conduct themselves therein, whether they are appointed or not, as long as they are not cruel, but devoted to duty. Then in respect of persons accused of sin, conduct thyself as Brahmins who possess good judgment conduct themselves therein whether they are appointed or not, as long as they are not cruel, but devoted to duty. This is the rule. This is the teaching. This is the purport of the Veda. This is the command. This should be followed-this verily should be followed.” This is real education. Even the most healthy, young man cannot get that sweet deep sleep for more than an hour. The Western psychologists also have agreed on this point. Sleep for six hours is quite sufficient for an adult. Go to bed at 10.00 p.m. and get up at 4.00 a.m. If two things are compared, they are so only with respect to some particular point or a particular feature they have in common. Examples illustrate on one point only. You cannot find entire similarity in all respects. Entire equality of the two can never be found. We need not be one another�s enemies because we have different ideas or different politics or different ideals or different opinions. When you write letters write legibly, giving long full space between lines. Do not be a great miser. If you write illegibly, if you scribble, if you write the contents of an envelope in a post card, you do a very bad Karma. The reader has to strain his eyes. He is annoyed. He has to waste much of his precious time. If you constantly think of the spirit, you will also become a ghost in accordance with the immutable law or theory that the future birth is determined by the last thought of a man when he leaves the body. The last thought is the resultant product of the strong thoughts he entertains in his life. Think of God or Brahman always, your last thought will be that of God or Brahman and you will attain immortality and freedom. Communication with the spirits and their messages have established the fact or truth that there is life beyond. But you will not gain much by trying to be in communication with departed souls. You can help the departed souls to enjoy peace and you can comfort them by your prayer and Kirtan by doing oblations and Sraddha. By your attempt to have communication with them you will make them earth-bound souls. You will not allow them to move to higher spiritual regions. They will get attached to you and you also will get attached to them. Further the thoughts of spirits will trouble you in your dream. The message of the spirits do not turn out to be true always. Try your level best to realise your own Self. All the worlds will rejoice. You will help the whole world. All your ancestors will get peace. He who purifies himself purifies the whole world and his forefathers. Do not run after the conch or shell. Get hold of the priceless Atmic pearl that is within you. The spring has come with all its beauties. Enjoy the spring of life. Let there be a spring in your life-a life of sweet communion with the Lord, with the flowers and fruits of Self-realisation, devotion, Brahma Jnana, freedom, immortality, peace and bliss. People do not throw away old things. Old sugar, old rice, old pickles, old sugar-candy, old ghee that is kept for fifty years are all highly valuable because they are of high potency. They can eradicate many diseases. So people keep them with perfect safety. Even so, an old wife is very dear to a husband with a Vedantic turn of mind who beholds the Self in all bodies, an old honest servant is dear to the sensible master; old sincere friends are very dear to some conscientious people. You are surrounded on all sides by microbes and germs. Your body is filled with microbes and germs. Yet you live. This is a great mystery. This is the greatest of all wonders. Individuality is different from personality. There is no harm in developing one’s individuality. A man of strong individuality is a fit person for practice of Vedanta or Jnana Yoga. “Aham Asmi”-I exist. This is individuality. It is Sattvic. Personality is one�s own mental creation. It is Rajasic. Personality is a great thing in the West. It is nothing for a Hindu. Titles, honours, position, rank, prestige, hang about one’s personality. Extinction of personality is a death-blow for a Westerner. Extinction of personality is a joy for a Hindu. A Hindu exerts himself to destroy his little personality to

Vedanta And Other Schools by Swami Sivananda According to Sankhya philosophy there is no Prana Tattva. Prana is combined function of all organs. Proposition, reasoning, example, application, conclusion are the five Avayavas or members of a syllogism in Nyaya philosophy (Indian logic of Gautama Rishi). There are three Vadas or doctrines viz., Parinama Vada of Sankhya Philosophers, e.g., like milk changing into curd, Vivarta Vada of Sri Sankaracharya, e.g., snake in the rope, and Ajati Vada, the theory of non-evolution of the universe of Sri Gaudapada. The first Vada is the lowest. Vivarta is in the middle. Ajati Vada is the highest. Dravya (substance), Guna (attribute), Karma (action), Samanya (severality), Visesha (particularly) and Samavaya (co-inherence) are the six categories of Vaisheshika philosophy of Kanada Rishi. There are no Pranas in Sankhya system. There is no Chitta also. That is the difference. Vedanta is only amplification and fulfilment of Sankhya. There are many Purushas in Sankhya, whereas there is only one infinite (Akhanda) indivisible Atman in Vedanta. In some states, the Prime Minister is all-in-all. He can do and undo things. The Maharaja is in name only. Even so, the Purusha of Sankhya is a nominal head only. His presence only is necessary. Prakriti is all-in-all. She does the whole creation. By the attributes, Sat-Chit-Ananda, you really understand that there is no Asat or untruth, Avidya or ignorance, Duhkha or pain in Brahman. The opposite attributes of Sat-Chit-Ananda cannot be found in Brahman. Similarly the attributes Ananta, Amritam, indicates that the opposites Anta (end), Mrityu (death) cannot be found in Brahman. This is known as Vyavritti in Vedanta. Satta-Samanya is another name for Nirguna Brahman. Turiyatita is that state in which the individual soul merges himself in Para Brahman and becomes identical with the highest Self. How can there be Parinama (modification) in Brahman? Brahman means the Great or Infinity or Absolute. Milk becomes curd. This is Parinama. There can be Parinama only in Saavayava substance. Saavayava means “with members” like the body of a man with hands, legs, feet, etc. Brahman is Niravayava (without parts or members). There cannot be any Parinama in Brahman. Understand this point well. You will be saved from many mental torments, anxieties and worries. The Kalyana Gunas of the Savishesha Brahman of Sri Ramanuja are only an Amsa of the Atanta Gunas or Nirvisesha Brahman of Sri Sankara. By Nirguna it does not mean that the Suddha Brahman or Para Brahman is totally bereft of Gunas. It means that Nirguna Brahman is the storehouse. Some followers of Sri Ramanuja out of ignorance and spite pass a remark: “Sri Sankara’s Nirguna Brahman is a mass of stone, a void. He is quite dry. There is no Rasa in such a Nirguna Brahman.” This is ignorance only. Sri Sankara’s Nirguna Brahman is ‘Raso Vaisaha-Anando vai saha’, full of Rasa and Ananda. He is not all-knowing. He is knowledge itself. He is not all-beautiful. He is Beauty itself. This is Svarupa. This is essence. He is an embodiment of all Rasas.

Vedantic Lore by Swami Sivananda The Infinite is Bliss. The Infinite only is Bliss. The Infinite is Brahman or Atman or the Supreme Self. The Infinite is the Absolute. The Infinite is Bhuma or the unconditioned that is beyond time, space and causation. The infinite is Immortality. Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else there is Infinity. The Infinite abides in its own greatness. The Infinite is Supreme Peace. The Infinite is fearlessness. The Infinite is Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute. The Infinite is all-full and indivisible. The Infinite is self-existent, self-contained and self-luminous. The Infinite alone is Real. The Infinite alone exists in the three periods of time. You must search, understand, and realise the Infinite. Whatever you see is Bhava Padartha. Padartha is a thing. That which exists is Bhava. When you say, “It is very, very big. It is very, very sweet. London is a very big city,” this ‘very’ indicates “Abhava Padartha.” It cannot be conceived by the mind. Brahman or the Absolute comes under the category of “Abhava Padartha” because it is Infinite. As there is no language to describe Brahman or the Self to aspirants, sages generally compare the quietude of the various states previously described, to Brahman, just as Akasa is compared to Brahman. They take examples from the worldly experience to explain the nature of Brahman to the aspirants. Brahman is Satchidananda. Brahman is self-luminous. Brahman is changeless and deathless. Brahman is not simply this, but something far higher and far different. It is something transcendental. Vedantins put it as “Vastu”. Brahman cannot be defined. The above is only a provisional definition. Because we experience Asat, Jada, Duhkha (unreality, insentience and pain) in this universe, we give the opposite attributes of Sat-Chit-Ananda to Brahman. This is Atadvya-vritti Lakshana in Vedanta. Srutis declare “Brahman is indeed below. Brahman is above. Brahman is in front. Brahman is behind.” “Brahman is all this.” “He who knows this Brahman attains Immortality.” “The blower of the Self crosses over grief.” Here is a conversation between Yajnavalkya and Sakalya: “Which deity art thou in the eastern quarter?” “The Sun.” “Where is the Sun located?” “In the eyes.” “Where has the eye its locality?” “in colours.” He said, “In the heart; for colours are produced by the heart; the heart (the Supreme Self) therefore is the locality of colours.” In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II-4. 13 you will find, “Then by what should he see whom?” This clearly indicates that Atman is not an object of perception. It is always the knowing subject. There is neither an agent nor an object of action, nor an instrument. In the physical plane only there is the Triputi or the triad, viz., seer, sight and seen. Who can know the knower? How should one know Him by whom He knows all this? You could not see the seer of sight; you could not hear the hearer of the hearing; you could not perceive the perceiver of perception; you could not know the knower of knowledge. There are six Padarthas or categories in Vaiseshika philosophy. They are Dravya (substance), Guna (quality), Karma (activity), Samanya (genus), Visesha (difference) and Samavaya (intimate relation). The Antahkarana is made of subtle matter. The subtle elements or rudiments of matter, viz, the Tanmatras go to constitute the mind. The mind is formed out of the Vayu Tanmatra and so it is wandering like air. The intellect is formed out of the five Tanmatras. Chitta is constituted out of the water-Tanmatra. Ahankar is formed out of the earth-Tanmatra. Ullam is made of the Akasa-Tanmatra. Indra killed many Sannyasins who were ignorant. Their killing does not affect him at all. He had the fire of knowledge, to destroy the Karmas. He knew he was Akarta, Abhokta, Asanga (non-doer, non-enjoyer and unattached). Raja Janaka put many learned persons in jail, when they were unable to answer his question on Brahma Vidya. He was not in the least affected. He was a Jnani. That is the reason why the Gita says: “He who is free from the egoistic notions, whose reason is not affected, though he slays these people, he slayeth not. nor is bound.” Everybody has got a world of his own. The monkey or the dog has got its own world. A deaf man, a blind man, a mad man, a savage, a fashionable man, a child, an aspirant, a rogue, a thief, a king and a peasant-all have their own respective worlds. ‘Trial or luck’ ‘Purushartha or Prarabdha’ ‘Free will versus Necessity’, ‘Tagdhir or Tagdhil’ are synonymous. The man who is bitten by the serpent of ignorance will be cured by the Garuda-mantra called Jnana, or knowledge of Brahman. The real ‘I’ is the eternal soul. The real ‘I’ is destitute of change, whereas the body is constantly changing. The body is full of impurities. How can then the body be the ever pure Atman? Just hear this wonderful story. Having bathed in the waters of the mirage, crowned with a garland of sky flowers, this son of barren woman is going, armed with a bow made of hare’s horn. How true it is! This world also is as real as this story. There is neither absolute good work nor absolute bad work, the Gita says, “All undertakings indeed are clouded by defects as fire by smoke” (Chapter XVIII�48). Aham is of two kinds viz., Samashti Aham or collective egoism and Vyashti Aham or individual egoism. The collective egoism is Ishvara and the individual egoism is the Jiva or the human being. The Jiva develops egoism first-begins to feel ‘Aham Jivam-I am Jiva’ and then only he begins to cognise the world and the Ishvara. But for the Vyashti Aham, there cannot be any Samashti Aham or Ishvara and the world. As soon as you realise that you are not this body you become free from matter and death, you are free from the bondage of Karma, from the fetters of desires, from the mirage

Nature of Brahman by Swami Sivananda Ananta, Nirakara, Nirguna, Nirvisesha, Adrishta are His negative attributes. Satchidananda, Satyam, Santam, Jnanam are His direct, positive attributes. This is a description of the nature of Atman in Isavasya Upanishad “Atman pervades all, is resplendent, bodiless, scatheless, having no muscles, pure, untouched by sin; far-seeing, omniscient, transcendent, self-sprung; he duly allotted to the various eternal creatures their respective functions”-Mantra 8. Objects with forms only have origin and destruction (Utpatti and Nasa). It is absurd to say that Chaitanya or Brahman without form has origin and destruction. He is Nirakara (formless). It is pure consciousness. You may ask any boy the following questions. He will give answers that explain the true nature of the Imperishable Self. “Oh boy, what is your name?” “My name is Ram.” “Does this name belong to your body or your self?” Ram replies, “This name belongs to my body.” “Whose is this cap?” Ram says, “It is mine.” “If this cap is destroyed will you also perish?” Ram replies, “No.” If your body is destroyed will you also perish? Ram says: “No. Self or Atman is immortal.” “satyam, jnanam, anantam brahma-Truth, knowledge, Infinite is Brahman” (Tait. Upanishad II-1). This is very often quoted by Vedantins during discussion. Himalayas, ocean, expansive sky and the sun are the four representatives on earth of the infinite, unmanifested, hidden Brahman. Srutis emphatically declare about the nature of Brahman. “akasavat sarvagata nitya-like the ether, He is omnipresent, eternal.” Akasa and the ocean are the two objects in this world which can be compared to Brahman in a way with reference to His infinite nature, Akasa is subtle, all-pervading and without any support. Brahman, also is subtle, all-pervading and without any support (Niralamba). Hence the comparison between the Akasa and Brahman. Smile, laughter, singing, dancing, are expressions of one’s joyful condition. They give the clue that you are in essence an embodiment of bliss. They indicate that bliss is an attribute of the soul. They denote that Brahman is an embodiment of Ananda (Anandaghana). Brahman is a mass of intelligence-(Chidghana, Vijnanaghana, Prajnanaghana). He is destitute of any other characteristics. He is entirely without any sort of difference. In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Ch. IV. 13, you will find “As a mass of salt has neither inside nor outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, thus indeed has that Self neither inside nor outside, but is altogether a mass of knowledge.” Just as a lump of salt has inside as well as outside one and the same saltish taste, not any other taste, so also that Brahman has inside as well as outside one and the same intelligence. Inside and outside are mental creation only. When the mind melts in the silence, ideas of inside and outside vanish. The sage cognises one illimitable, homogeneous mass of consciousness only. The reflected image of the Sun expands when the surface of the water expands; it contracts when the water shrinks; it shakes when the water is agitated; it gets divided when the water is divided. It participates in all the qualities and conditions of the water, while the real sun is unchanging throughout. Even so, Brahman although never changing participates, as it were, in the attributes and conditions of the body and the other Upadhis or limiting adjuncts or vehicles within which He dwells, He grows with them, as it were, and so on, but not in reality. Brahman is destitute of all duality. He is without exterior or interior. He is one homogeneous, indivisible, immortal essence. He is free from the three states viz., Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti. He is neither round nor pointed. He is neither short nor tall, neither thick nor thin. Brahman is subtler than the subtlest. He is beyond good and evil. He is tranquil, eternal and immutable. He is free from motion and inertia. He is free as the space. He is immaculate and absolute. He is beyond existence and non-existence. Brahman is replete with Peace inherent in Himself. He is devoid of death. Death means departure of the vital breath from the body. This is possible only in the case of the Jiva who is associated with the vital air, not in the case of the Paramatman, who is not associated with the vital air. The Sruti says, “Brahman is without Prana, without mind, pure.” Atman has no connection with Karma. He is not an Anga or Karana. Atman is not an effect or product or modification. He is neither a thing to be attained nor a thing to be refined. He is neither a doer nor an enjoyer. He is always the silent witness or Sakshi. The eye cannot perceive Him. The mind cannot reach Him. The gross worldly intellect cannot grasp Him. The speech cannot describe Him. The speech returns back along with the mind, as it is not able to describe Him in adequate terms. Sages declare, “We are baffled in our efforts to describe Him. His glory is indescribable. To describe Him is to deny Him.” How can a finite mind grasp the infinite? But He can be directly realised by that aspirant who is equipped with the four means of salvation, who does constant meditation, who has sharp, subtle and pure intellect.

What Is Brahman? by Swami Sivananda Brahman or the Supreme Self is beyond time and space, causation. He is limitless. He is tranquil. He shines with equal effulgence in all bodies. He cannot be any particular thing. He is Chaitanya or pure consciousness. He is Vastu, Atman or Brahman or the Supreme Self is the hidden treasure. It is the jewel of jewels. It is gem of gems. It is the imperishable, inexhaustible supreme wealth, which no dacoit can rob. It is Chintamani of Chintamanis that will give man whatever he wishes. Who Himself sees all, Whom no one beholds, Who illumines the intellect, etc., but Whom they cannot illumine-that is Brahman. That is Atman. The self-shining pure being, Who is the support of this universe, Who is consciousness itself, Who is Bliss Absolute, Who is changeless is Brahman. A supreme principle exists. It is Atman. It is Para Brahman. It is imperishable, unborn, undecaying and undying. It is ancient. It is one. It is a mass of wisdom and bliss. Brahman is the biggest ocean of Satchidananda. Brahman is surrounded by an ocean of mind, an ocean of Prana and an ocean of ether and Tanmatras. That unheard hearer, that unseen seer, that unthought thinker, that unknown knower is Brahman. That unborn, undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless (Ajam, Ajaram, Amritam, Abhayam) essence is Brahman. That from which this world has come out, That in which this world exists, That in which it gets dissolved is Brahman. Atman is eternal (Nitya). It is unchanging (Nirvikara). It is one mass of knowledge (Prajnana Ghana, Chidghana, Vijnanaghana). It is imperishable (Akshara). Atman or the pure spirit is timeless, spaceless, placeless and endless. It is full of Jnana (Jnana Maya). It is Santa and self-luminous (Svayam Jyoti). It is Jyotirmaya (full of light). All students of Vedanta seek this Atman to get Brahmanubhava. It is called Parama Vastu (supreme thing). It gives immortality. That in which there is neither East nor West, neither light nor darkness, neither pleasure nor pain, neither hunger nor thirst, neither Harsha nor Soka, neither gain nor loss is Brahman. Atman is Niravayava (without limbs, without hands and feet). So He is Akarta (Akriya, Nishkriya). How can you attribute agency to Niravayava Atman? The Atman has no body. It is Atanu, Nirakara. How can there be then Jara (old age) and death for Atman? Atman is Ajara, Amara, Avinasi (undecaying, immortal and indestructible). The Soul (Atman) is not a product like mind, body or sugar-candy. Eternal intelligence constitutes its very nature. The individual soul is identical with the Highest Self (Brahman). Atman (Highest Self) is always the witnessing subject in all cognition, because it is infinite and self-luminous. It is not manifested either by itself or by anything else. It is known or revealed through direct perception or immediate intuitional knowledge, Aparokshatvat. The intellect can conceive of Brahman as Sat-Chit-Ananda. That is the reason why these attributes are ascribed to Him. But Brahman is different from Satchidananda also. This does not mean that Brahman is non-entity or zero, a negative concept or metaphysical abstraction. He is the only Reality or living Truth. He is Being. He is essence. Mind always runs after pleasure because it is born of Ananda (Brahman). You love a mango because it affords you pleasure. Amongst all things, you love your own Self most. This love of the Self gives the clue to the fact that Ananda or bliss must be the nature of the Self. That secondless Supreme Being who resides in the chambers of your hearts as Antaryamin or Inner Ruler or controller or Sutradhara or Sakshi (silent witness), Antaratma (inner Self) who has no beginning, middle or end, who is the source for this world, Vedas, body, mind, Indriyas and Pranas, who is All-pervading, who is unchanging, who is the One homogeneous Essence (Ekarasa), who exists in the past, present and future, who is Self-existent Svayambhu, who is Svatantra (independent) and who is self-luminous (Svayam Jyoti) is God or Atman or Brahman or Purusha or Chaitanya or Purushottama. Atman is different from the knowable. He is beyond the unknowable also. He is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is a non-entity or void or a negative concept or a metaphysical abstraction. He is a mass of knowledge or pure consciousness. Consciousness is more dense than stone or platinum or gold. He is the only real, living entity, the substratum for everything. Atman is the immortal substance or essence in man. Atman is the origin of thoughts, desires, reasonings. Atman is spiritual because it is beyond matter and mind. It must be immortal, because it is beyond time, space and causation, it is beginningless, endless and causeless and infinite. Soul or Supreme Self or Atman or Brahman is that abiding, constantly existing and imperishable entity which is the basis for this world, which is indivisible self-luminous, unchanging and all-pervading, which is the silent witness or Sakshi of the three states viz., waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The knower of this Soul or Atman attains immortality and enters the abode of bliss and nectar. Brahman is known also by the names Atman or Purusha. Purusha is so-called because of His lying in the body, or because He is full in Himself, or because all that we see is pervaded by Him. Atman or the Self is the ultimate Reality. It is the ultimate philosophical principle. It is the substratum for everything. It is the only living Truth. It is the Brahman of the Upanishads. It is the support of this world. It is the prop of this body and Prana. It is the Impersonal, Absolute. Brahman or Atman or the Supreme Self is self-luminous. Brahman cannot be manifested anything else. Brahman manifests everything. The doctrine of self-luminosity is one of the foundational tenets on which the entire edifice of Vedanta is constructed. Atman gives light to the sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning, the fire, the intellect and the senses. By the

The Path of Spiritual Insight by Swami Sivananda Jnana Yoga is the path of knowledge. Moksha is attained through Knowledge of Brahman. Release is achieved through realisation of the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul or Brahman. The cause for bondage and suffering is Avidya or ignorance. The little Jiva foolishly imagines, on account of ignorance, that he is separate from Brahman. Avidya acts as a veil or screen and prevents the Jiva from knowing his real, divine nature. Knowledge of Brahman or Brahma-Jnana removes this veil and makes the Jiva rest in his own Sat-Chit-Ananda Svarupa (Essential Nature as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute). SPIRITUAL INSIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE The Jnana-Yogin realises that Brahman is the Life of his life, the Soul of his soul. He feels and knows that God is his own Self. He realises that he is one with the Eternal through spiritual insight or intuition, Aparoksha Anubhuti or divine perception, but not through mere study of books or dogmas or theories. Religion is realisation for him now. It is not mere talk. He plunges himself in the deep recesses of his heart through constant and intense meditation�Nididhyasana�and gets the wonderful pearl of Atman, a wonderful treasure much more valuable than all the wealth of the world. Jnana is not mere intellectual knowledge. It is not hearing or acknowledging. It is not mere intellectual assent. It is direct realisation of oneness or unity with the Supreme Being. It is Para Vidya. Intellectual conviction alone will not lead you to Brahma-Jnana (Knowledge of the Absolute). The student of Jnana Yoga first equips himself with four means, viz., discrimination (Viveka), dispassion (Vairagya), the sixfold virtues (Shat-Sampat)�viz., tranquillity (Sama), restraint (Dama), satiety or renunciation (Uparati), endurance (Titiksha), faith (Sraddha) and concentration (Samadhana)�and strong yearning for liberation (Mumukshutva). Then he hears the scriptures by sitting at the lotus-feet of a Guru, who is not only learned in the sacred scriptures (Srotriya), but is also one who is himself well-established in Brahman (Brahma-Nishtha). Afterwards, the student practises reflection, which completely dispels all doubts. Then he practises deep meditation on Brahman and attains Brahma-Sakshatkara. He becomes a Jivanmukta or liberated sage. He is released even while he is in this body. There are seven stages of Jnana or Knowledge: viz.; Aspiration for the Right (Subhechha), Philosophical enquiry (Vicharana), Subtlety of mind (Tanumanasi), Attainment of Light (Sattvapatti), Inner Detachment (Asamsakti), Spiritual Vision (Padarthabhavana) and Supreme Freedom (Turiya). THE ANALOGY OF THE TWO BIRDS There are two birds on the same tree. One is perched at the top and the other below. The bird which is sitting on the top is perfectly serene, silent and majestic at all times. It is ever blissful. The other bird, which is perching on the lower branches, eats the sweet and bitter fruits by turns. It dances in joy sometimes. It is miserable at other times. It rejoices now and weeps after some time. Sometimes it tastes an extremely bitter fruit and gets disgusted. It looks up and beholds the other wonderful bird with golden plumage which is ever blissful. It also wishes to become like the bird with golden plumage, but soon forgets everything. Again it begins to eat the sweet and bitter fruits. It eats another fruit that is exceedingly bitter and feels very miserable. It again tries to become like the upper bird. Gradually, it abandons eating the fruits, and becomes serene and blissful like the upper bird. The upper bird is God or Brahman. The lower bird is Jiva or the individual soul who reaps the fruits of his Karmas, viz., pleasure and pain. He gets knocks and blows in the battle of life. He rises up and again falls down as the senses drag him down. Gradually he develops Vairagya (dispassion) and discrimination, turns his mind towards God, practises meditation, attains Self-realisation and enjoys the eternal bliss of Brahman. It again tries to become like the upper bird. Gradually, it abandons eating the fruits, and becomes serene and blissful like the upper bird. The upper bird is God or Brahman. The lower bird is Jiva or the individual soul who reaps the fruits of his Karmas, viz., pleasure and pain. He gets knocks and blows in the battle of life. He rises up and again falls down as the senses drag him down. Gradually he develops Vairagya (dispassion) and discrimination, turns his mind towards God, practises meditation, attains Self-realisation and enjoys the eternal bliss of Brahman.