Gist of Vedanta It is the nature of man to strive for happiness but all the happiness which he can gain by his actions is only of limited duration. The enjoyments of the senses are transient and the senses themselves are worn out by too much enjoyment; further, sin generally accompanies these enjoyments and makes man unhappy beyond comparison. Even if the pleasures of the world are enjoyed as much as their nature permits, if they are as intense, as various and as uninterrupted as possible, yet old age approaches and with it death. And the enjoyments of heaven are in reality not more enviable than these pleasures of senses; they are of the same nature although more unmixed and durable. Moreover they come to an end; for they are gained by actions and as these latter are finite, their effect must also be finite. In one word there is necessarily an end to all those enjoyments and what avails us to strive for pleasure which we know cannot sustain us beyond the moment of enjoyment. It is therefore in the nature of man to look out for an unchangeable, infinite happiness (Ananta Sukha) which must come from a ‘being’ in which there is no change if such a ‘being’ can be found, it is only from Him that man attains an unalterable happiness and if this be so, this ‘being’ must become the sole object of all his aspirations and actions. This ‘being’ is not very far. He resides in your heart. He is the Sakshi Chaitanya who witnesses the activities of your Buddhi. He is the Nirguna Brahman of the Upanishads who is highly eulogised in a variety of ways by the Rishis and seers of the Upanishads. Whatever it be, it is in reality one. There truly exists only one universal Being called Brahman or Paramatman, the Highest Self. This Being is of an absolutely homogeneous nature (Ekarasa). It is a pure Being or pure intelligence (Chaitanya Jnana). Intelligence is not to be predicated of Brahman as its attributes but it constitutes its substance. It is its Svarupa or essence. Brahman is not a thinking being, but thought itself. He is not all-knowing but knowledge itself (self-knowledge). He is not all-powerful but power itself. He is not all-beautiful but beauty itself. He is Bliss itself. Do you see the difference now? That is termed Svarupa or essence of everything. He is absolutely destitute of qualities; whatever qualities or attributes are conceivable, can only be denied of it. But if nothing exists but one absolutely simple Being, whence the appearance of the world by which we ourselves are surrounded and in which we ourselves exist as individual beings? Brahman is associated with certain power called Maya or Avidya to which the appearance of this world is due. Oh how deep, unfathomable and marvellous is this Maya, the inscrutable (Anirvachaniya) power of Brahman! Every human being, though in essence he is really Brahman, does not though instructed grasp the truth I am Brahman but feels convinced, without any instruction, that he is such a person’s son mistaking for the Atman and is only perceived like a stone or pot. Indeed, these worldly-minded persons wander in this miserable Samsara repeatedly deluded by the Maya of Brahman alone. The idea of Brahman, when judged from the viewpoint of intellect, is an abstraction, but it is concretely real for those who have the direct vision to see it (Aparoksha Anubhuti or Sakshatkara). Therefore, the consciousness of the reality of Brahman has boldly been described to be as real as the consciousness of an Amalaka fruit held in one’s palm. Even intellect can grasp only a little of the Truth. Brahman has positive attributes such as Sat-Chit-Ananda, purity, perfection, Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam, etc., They are not really attributes. They are all synonymous terms for Truth or Brahman. Sat-Chit-Ananda also is a mental Kalpana. These are the highest qualifications of Brahman which the human intellect can grasp, generally Brahman is described by negation of qualities such as Nirakara, Nirguna, Nirvikalpa, etc. Are we not driven to take the same course ourselves when a blind man asks for a description of light? Have we not to say in such a case that light has neither sound, nor taste, nor form, nor weight, nor resistance, nor can it be known through the process of analysis? Of course it can be seen but what is the use of saying this to one who has no eyes? He may take the statement on trust without understanding in the least what it means, or may altogether disbelieve it, even suspecting in us some abnormality. Does the truth of the fact that a blind man has missed the perfect development of what should be normal about his eye-sight depend for its proof upon the fact that a large number of men are not blind? The very first creature which suddenly groped into the possession of its eye-sight had the right to assert that the light was reality. In the human world there may be very few who have their spiritual eyes open, but in spite of the numerical preponderance of those who cannot see, their want of vision must not be cited as an evidence of the negation of the light. In the Upanishads we find the note of certainty about the spiritual meaning of existence. In the very paradoxical nature of the assertion that we can never know Brahman but can realise Him there lies the strength of conviction that comes from personal experience (Anubhava). The variety of experience is not real, nay even experience itself is nowhere from the point of view of the Absolute. To lead the life wherein the variety of experience does not affect, either our weal or woe, is the highest practical rule of conduct in accordance with the proper aim of existence. The variety of experience creates distinction and sets up false limits where there exists none. Pain and pleasure, good and

Introduction to Vedanta by Swami Sivananda Vedanta is the culmination of the Vedas. It is entering into the study of Brahman. It is the science which raises man above the plane of worldliness. It is the rational method of meditating on the Supreme Absolute, the Eternal, the Infinite. Vedanta is the culmination of human experience and is the end of the faculty of thinking. It is the greatest and the highest knowledge. This wisdom was revealed to the ancient sages. The Rishis and sages of yore have made experiments and researches in meditation and given to the world their spiritual experiences. These are all authoritative. You must not spend much time in making the preliminary experiments once more. Your whole life-time is not sufficient for making these experiments and researches. The experiences of sages are like ready-made compressed tablets. You will have to simply follow their instructions implicitly with perfect, unswerving faith and devotion. Then alone can you make any progress in the spiritual path and attain the goal of life. In order to practise Sadhana for the attainment of absolute freedom, you should know in the beginning itself its technique and method. You should know the nature of bondage, the cause of bondage and the way of getting rid of bondage. You have to make a searching study of life and know its mysteries. Karma You are born on this earth-plane on account of your Karmas (actions) done in previous births. This body and this condition of mind are both the results of effects of past Karmas. What is Karma? A Vasana or desire arises. Then you exert to possess the object. This is Karma. Thought itself is the real Karma. Physical action is only its manifestation. Then you enjoy the object. This is Bhoga. This Bhoga strengthens and fattens the Vasana. The Chakra or wheel of Vasana, Karma, Bhoga, is ever revolving. Give up Bhoga. Practise renunciation, discrimination and dispassion. Destroy the Vasanas by eradicating ignorance (Ajnana) through Brahma-Jnana, the Knowledge of the Imperishable. Then alone the wheel which binds a man to this Samsara will stop revolving. Then alone you become an Atmavan or Knower of the Self. Who is a Killer of Atman? Forgetting the Self by indulging in sensual pleasures, is killing of Atman. Even after somehow getting this rare human birth, with an innate tendency for Nivritti, he who does not strive for the liberation of his soul, is a killer of Atman. He is not an Atmavan but an Atmaha. Renunciation The Atman can be realised only through renunciation. You have enjoyed sensual objects in millions of births. You have enjoyed sensual objects for so many years in this birth. If there has not come satisfaction in you till now, when will it come, then? Do not run after the mirage of sensual objects. The senses are deluding you. Develop dispassion and renunciation. Realise your Atman. Then only you will get eternal satisfaction, everlasting peace and immortal bliss. Wake up from your slumber of ignorance, O worldly fool! If your body-clothes catch fire, with what celerity you want to run towards water for cooling you? You must feel like this from the burning fire of Samsara. You should feel that you are roasted in the fire of Samsara. Vairagya (dispassion) and Mumukshutva (strong yearning for liberation) should dawn in you. You should run to the Guru for saving you. Enjoyment of objects strengthens the Vasanas or Trishnas (cravings) and makes the mind more restless. Enjoyment cannot bring satisfaction of desires. Further, Trishna drains the energy and weakens the senses. When you dream, you see the events of fifty years within an hour. You actually feel that fifty years have passed. Which is correct, the time of one hour of waking consciousness or the fifty years of dreaming consciousness? Both are correct. The waking state and the dreaming state are of the same quality or nature. They are equal (Samana). The only difference is that the waking state is a long dream or Deerghasvapna. It will be realised that this life on earth is only a fantastic dream of the mind when the Supreme Absolute or Para-Brahman is realised. Upasana Practise Upasana for acquiring concentration of mind. Upasana is of various kinds, viz., Pratika Upasana, Pratima Upasana (worship of idol), Panchakopasana (worship of the five deities: Ganesha, Siva, Vishnu, Durga and Surya), worship of Avataras like Rama and Krishna, and Ahamgraha Upasana. Ahamgraha Upasana is Nirguna Upasana. The aspirant meditates on his own Self as Brahman. He identifies his individual self with the Supreme Self or Brahman. He tries to take out the Self that is hidden, within the body of five sheaths. Hence the significant name, ‘Ahamgraha’ Upasana. ‘Food is Brahman’. ‘Akasa is Brahman’. ‘Surya (Sun) is Brahman’. ‘Mind is Brahman’. ‘Prana is Brahman’. – All these are Upasana-Vakyas of the Upanishads. These are all Pratika Upasanas. Pratika is a symbol of Brahman. All these are symbols of Brahman. You can realise Brahman through worship of these Pratikas. You will have to feel that Brahman is hidden in these Pratikas. You will have to think that the Adhishthana or substratum of these Pratikas is Brahman. These are some of the ways of doing the Upasana of Brahman. Control of the Senses The senses should be perfectly controlled in order to be able to concentrate on Brahman. The eyes and ears also are as much turbulent and mischievous as the tongue. The eyes always want to see new forms, new scenes, new pictures and new places which the mind has heard of during conversation with other people. If you have not seen Kashmir, if you hear from those who visited Kashmir, Kashmir is a lovely place. The springs and sceneries are wonderful, the eyes helped by the mind will agitate you again and again till you actually see Kashmir. The eyes and the ears should cease from desiring. The two most troublesome of the senses are the tongue and the genital. One who

What is Vedanta by Swami Sivananda VEDANTA is no creed, no ceremony or form of worship. It is the science of the Reality: It boldly proclaims with emphasis that you are the immortal, all-pervading Atman, the universal soul or supreme Brahman in essence, in reality. The preliminary qualifications for a student of Vedanta is an earnest desire to search for the Truth. He must always keep alive this desire for Truth. Then alone he will be able to tread the path of Truth easily. Man is in essence a soul. He is fundamentally a spirit. He has put on this body to find out the Atman who is hidden in the chambers of his heart, to attain eternal bliss and to serve humanity with Atmabhava. This body is like a cart or motor car. It is without intelligence. Atman is the real driver of this body. The all-wise Atman dwells in this body. So this body has been made intelligent by this Atman. This Atman or Brahman is pure, calm, self-luminous, invisible, imperishable, eternal and independent. He is bodiless, birthless and endless. He stands in his own greatness. He is without support. He shines in his own glory. The drift of the Srutis or Upanishads cannot be understood even in a hundred years by persons who are conceited and think themselves very learned. Therefore abandon conceit and become humble. Knowledge of Brahman or Brahma Jnana alone can free us from the clutches of ignorance and death. This knowledge should come to us as a direct realisation through meditation. Mere scholarship or intelligence or study of religious books cannot help us to attain the summum bonum. It is a matter for direct experience, not for argument or reasoning. The cave of the heart is to be sought after by every aspirant for Self-realisation. The Supreme Self which is full of bliss abides in the cave. ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ are the causes of this baneful worldly experience. But the pure Sattvic ‘I’ which is no other than the Atman is the goal of human life. Friend, for a little while, concentrate thy attention and fix thy mind and hearing on thy inner soul. Abandon all worldly pleasures. Take to the path which is trodden by the righteous. Live on milk and fruits for a week. Endure cold and heat, hunger and thirst. Do not injure any creature even to the slightest degree. Live contentedly. Regard censure and applause equally. Derive happiness from thy soul. Do not jeer at any one. Do not frown at anybody. Restrain all your senses. But cheerful always. Do not look back. Divest yourself of desire and wrath. Cast off pride. Turn your gaze inwards. Contemplate. You will enjoy true happiness. Break the bonds of desire. Preserve equanimity in success and failure. Do not manifest any liking for life or dislike for death. Do not wish evil to the man who beats you or good to the man who smears your body with sandal paste. Take as much food and drink as will barely keep up life. Purify the mind. Free yourself from all attachments. Tear off mentally all bonds and ties and live as free as the wind. You will surely attain eternal happiness. This wheel of life is continually turning like the wheel of a car. This worldly course of life is really a fleeting illusion although it looks real and eternal. It is afflicted by birth, death, decrepitude, disease, sorrow and pain. Live in God. Realise Him through worship and meditation. All miseries will come to an end. You will attain immortality. Attain the permanent and unchanging place. Then alone you will be happy for ever. You will find such a place in Atman or Brahman only. Tread the fearless path of wisdom. Restrain the senses. Be frank and simple. Abandon the desire of bettering your position by acquisition of wealth. Seek the company of sages. Remove the faults or taints of the mind. Meditate regularly on the immortal resplendent Self. You will attain the everlasting place of happiness. Brahman or the Supreme Self is beyond space, time and causation. He is limitless. He is tranquil and shines with 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 the 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. Adhyasa is the way of the mind to mistake one thing for another, the unreal for the real. It is not the cause of the appearance of this world. It is the cause of mistaking it as the real. It is born of ignorance. You mistake the body for the real Self. You identify yourself with the body. You are attached to it. You cling to it. This is Deha-adhyasa. Knowledge of the Immortal Self will destroy the Adhyasa. Start the anti-current and always try to identify yourself with the pure all-pervading Atman or Brahman. Identification with the body or attachment to the body is the cause for fear. Think constantly of the immortal, fearless Atman which is your innermost Self. This fear will take to its heels. Think of courage. Fear cannot stand. Positive always overcomes the negative. May you become fearless! May you attain that fearless Brahman! It is only when Deha-adhyasa vanishes by knowledge of the Self that one becomes fearless. Abhayam (fearlessness) is the highest fruit of Self-realisation. The state of illumination and realisation of that Infinite Bliss eludes your grasp by delusion set up by the vehicles and vestures in which the soul is encased and their activities with which it identifies itself through accumulated Vasanas of countless births. But constant meditation and enquiry will remove all obstacles and help you in attaining the summum bonum. If the mirror is dirty, you cannot see

Essence of Jnana Yoga What is Ajnana? To identify oneself with the illusory vehicles such as body, mind, Prana, senses, etc., is Ajnana. To say: I am the doer, I am the enjoyer, I am a Brahmin, I am a Brahmachari, this is mine, he is my son, is Ajnana. What is Jnana? Abheda Darshanam Jnanam. To know Brahman as one’s own Self is Jnana. To see: I am Brahman, I am pure, all-pervading consciousness, I am non-doer, I am non-enjoyer, I am always the silent witness, is Jnana. To behold the one Self everywhere is Jnana. The Brahman, the Supreme Self is neither the doer of actions nor the enjoyer of the fruits of actions. The creation, preservation and destruction of the world is not due to Him. They are due to the action of Maya or Avidya which is the Lord’s own energy that manifests itself as the world-process or Samsara. Just as there appear to be three kinds of space, viz., absolute space, space as limited by a jar and space as reflected in the water that is in the jar, so also there are three kinds of Chaitanya or intelligence, viz., Absolute Intelligence or Para Brahman, Intelligence or Chaitanya reflected in Maya or Isvara and Intelligence or Chaitanya reflected in Avidya or Jiva. The notion of the doer which is the function of intelligence as reflected in the Buddhi or intellect together with the notion of Jiva or the individual soul is superimposed on the limitless, pure Brahman, the silent witness, by the foolish. The illustration of space Absolute, space as limited by a jar and space as reflected in the jar is given to convey the idea that in reality Brahman is one but appears or expresses to be threefold owing to Maya. The reflection of the intelligence is an erroneous belief or notion. It is due to Anadi Avidya or beginningless ignorance. Brahman is without limitations. Limitation is a super-imposition (Adhyasa or Kalpana) on Him. The unity of the Supreme Self with the reflected self or Jiva is established through the saying or the great sentence of the Upanishads, Thou art That (Tat Tvam Asi). When this Knowledge of the identity of the two selves arises through the great saying, Thou art That, then Avidya or ignorance with all its offshoots and the world problems are destroyed. Thus there is no doubt at all. Self-realisation or direct intuitive perception of the Supreme Self is necessary for attaining perfection or freedom. Mere study of scriptures even through hundreds of births will not confer the final emancipation. Maya is also called Prakriti, Prarabdha, Avyaktam. It is said to be neither existence nor non-existence. It is neither Sat nor Asat. It is indescribable (Anirvachaniya). It is Sat-Asat-Vilakshana, Anadi Bhavarupa Anirvachaniya. For a sage or Jivanmukta, there is neither joy nor sorrow, neither birth nor death. He has crossed the ocean of Samsara or worldly course of life and reached the other shore of fearlessness and immortality. He has become Brahman himself. Brahmavit Brahmaiva Bhavati. The Knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. This is the emphatic declaration of the Srutis or Upanishads. The aim of Jnana Yoga is the destruction of the notion of duality and the establishment of the unity of the individual self with the Supreme Self. This is a compendium of all the Vedanta. This is a great purifier and destroyer of all sins. This is a great secret. He who attains Self-realisation is worshipped by all gods. He attains the status which even Yogis cannot attain.

Foundations for Education Education is the process of the gradual and systematic summoning of the tendency in the human being to the realisation of perfection. As the concept of perfection is unclear in the initial stages, the approach to the mind of the public, in this direction, has to be initiated with immense patience and care. When we deal with persons, we are really concerned with minds, and hence all successful approach in life is psychological. We have, first of all, to place ourselves in a position where we can appreciate sympathetic thoughts and feelings of people. For this purpose, we may classify society into three categories: (1) the student, who includes the child and the adolescent; (2) the man of the world or the active in society, including the youth and the middle-aged man; (3) the retired person, including all those who do not lead an active life but are in the evening of their age. Social regeneration has to keep in view all these stages of life and provide for their respective inner demands. For the present we may confine ourselves to the minds of the budding generation, viz. the student population, for we have to begin the work of reformation and the regeneration of society at the stage of the student, when the mind is flexible and amenable to the educational process. Here we have to start from the standpoint of the taught and not merely of the teacher. Education is not a process of merely emptying out the mind of the teacher by pouring its knowledge into the minds of students, but a feeling of their needs and supplying them with the proper thing, at the proper time, in the proper manner. A teacher, thus, has to be a good psychologist and should not regard teaching as a kind of business with the students. The teacher should have the capacity to make himself liked by the minds which need teaching. This pleasant process of the imparting of knowledge is education. In these days, neither the students nor the teachers are happy with the educational process, because it has been forgotten by the authorities concerned that education has to be physical, intellectual, emotional, moral, active and spiritual, all at once, in a way beautifully fitted to the conditions in which one is placed. The technique of education should take into consideration the average of the intelligence-quotient, health, social conditions, etc. of the students. It should also concentrate itself on methods for bringing about and effecting (1) the development of personality, (2) an adequate knowledge of the world, (3) an adjustment of self with society, and (4) a realisation of the permanent values of life. By development of personality what is meant is the wholesome building up of the individual, not only with reference to the internal states of body, mind and intellect, but also in relation to the external world reaching up to the individual through the different levels of society. In this sense, true education is both a diving inward and a spreading outward. Knowledge of the world is not merely a collection of facts or gathering information regarding the contents of the physical world but forms a kind of insight into its inner workings as well, at least in so far as one’s inner and outer life is inextricably wound up with them. With this knowledge it becomes easy for one to discover the art of adjusting oneself with society. This adjustment is not possible in any appreciable degree for one who has not acquired some amount of knowledge of the spiritual implications of the structure of human society. The aim of the education of the individual in society is the realisation of life’s values, personal, social, civic and even universal; all mutually related and determined by a common goal to which these are directed. Above all, we cannot start teaching students without our understanding the purpose of education. Many a Hindu, for example, has allowed himself or herself to be proselytised for different reasons. One such reason consists in the prospects of economic upliftment and raising of social status which the converters promise to these poor souls who have been unfortunately relegated to the unwanted section of Hindu society, by somehow depriving them of the facilities to improve themselves economically. The second reason is the baneful practice of untouchability and pollution by touch, which certain orthodox groups cultivated for a long time and which has not completely died out even today. Now the question arises: Why should have these things happened? Why should there be suppression and untouchability etc. in human circles? The answer is: lack of proper education. But what is proper education? Bearing in mind the essentials of the process enumerated above, it should be added that though education should be an immensely practicable affair, we should not think that the practicability of a thing consists in what is called ‘succeeding’ in life in any political sense of the term, because one may manoeuvre to succeed for some time, as one does in business, for instance, but be extremely unhappy within, in spite of the so-called ‘practical’ success. This happens because here we have only a soulless practicality of affairs, bereft of the sap of life which sustains it. Though, when we occupy a house, we are not always conscious of its foundation, nor is the foundation visible to the eyes, it goes without saying that the whole edifice stands on the foundation. Likewise, human success in life may look beautiful like a decorated and furnished building, but it cannot stand if it is not firmly fixed on a strong base. Our purpose here would be to have some idea as to w hat could this foundation of life’s education be. Education is for living life and not to suffer it. It is a wrong concept of the basis of life that has led to the defective structure of the present educational system. It is not necessary that religion in the

Knowledge as a Means to Freedom If our search is for freedom, knowledge is regarded as an endeavour towards the achievement of this freedom. The institutions of the world, whether they are educational, social or political, are instruments for the implementation of this endeavour towards the attainment of human freedom. From this point of view, it is difficult to believe that mankind has different ideals before itself. There seems to be a convergence of ideals, inspite of the diversity of approaches which appear to characterise the efforts of people. An investigative analysis into the structure of the human mind and its longings, would certainly reveal that there is a basic similarity of character in the needs of people and the effort on their part to gain greater and greater mastery over the techniques of the achievement of this freedom. This may be also regarded as an advancement in knowledge. So, the increase in knowledge is in a way equivalent to the increase in the capacity of a person to achieve freedom. But freedom from what, is the basic question. If this question cannot be answered, we cannot also know what knowledge is, and impliedly what education is, because education is the process of the acquisition of knowledge. So one thing hangs on the other. If we cannot know what we are asking for, what we are in search of and what is the sort of freedom that we expect in our lives, we cannot also know what is the knowledge that we seek in life. Consequently, we cannot know what should be the educational process. Everything will topple down, if the central aim is not clear to our minds. If we have a concept of an Academy in this Ashram, it is certainly not going to be an institution of a social kind, because we have many of such kind in the world. It is not going to be a series of studies, in the fashion of the age-old system of the several branches of learning. While all these learnings, arts and sciences, which we gain in the educational institutions of the world, are good in themselves and necessary as far as they go, because they help us to get on in life in some way or the other, we must know that the intention of mankind is not merely to get on in life. Because many can get on beautifully in life on the surface level and yet be very unhappy at the core of their heart. Our intention, in consonance with the intention of Sri Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj and masters of that calibre, has not been certainly to tread the beaten track of social tradition or even personal idiosyncrasy or sentiment, but to find out some ways and means of unfolding the mysteries that seem to be at the background of the longings of mankind, and to provide them with a true enlightenment, which is perhaps a better word than knowledge. For this purpose, we may have to proceed from one degree of reality to another degree, gradually. It has to be reiterated, at the outset, that we are not to interpret knowledge as information of some particular subject. Truly speaking, knowledge is a percentage or degree of absorption of one’s life into the character of one’s knowledge. Knowledge is valuable to that extent alone which can be accommodated in one’s personal life and remains as a basic foundation for one’s search for the ultimate purpose which one is apparently longing for. It is very easy to be comfortable in life. But it is difficult to be happy in life. Society can deceive us into the notion that we are well off. When we conform to the standards of social ethics and idiosyncrasies, naturally we are supported by society. But society is only one segment in the vast circle of human endeavour. It is not the whole of the reality that is pictured before bur minds. What we call institutions, academies, societies, universities, colleges, etc., are certain convenient forms introduced to educate people to acquire the true knowledge of life which will make them really free and happy even when they are absolutely alone. These institutions have utterly failed to achieve this purpose. It is no use being free to move in society with the help of an army or a band of policemen. That is not freedom. Freedom is a kind of fearlessness that comes out of the acquisition of the wisdom of life, which again is identical with the reality of life. Thus, whatever groups we form in the social pattern such as institutions, academies or universities, they are not going to serve their purpose as long as they satisfy only the instincts and the sentiments of the groups of people we call society, but do not cater to the needs of the soul. The soul is not a department of the body. Likewise, I should say, the Academy here is not a department of the Divine Life Society, but it is the soul that works as the incentive behind every kind of activity, which you call a department, and is the vitality which supports the entire structure. It is not one branch of learning. Here it is that we have to draw a distinction between the concept of an academy here and similar concepts that may be elsewhere. We are not going to teach physics, chemistry, mathematics or any particular branch of approach in the line of education, though these branches can be accommodated into the curriculum, provided they are conducive to the development of its ideal, the wholeness which we call Knowledge. From this point of view, it will be difficult to find either teachers or students, because the whole approach is quite novel and unique. If this approach is not going to be understood and implemented, it would be of no use; for, we would then be starting another high school or college, as any one else may start. Well-to-do people

The Best Part of Knowledge The whole of the spiritual life is an acquiring of spiritual knowledge. The guru is a source of spiritual knowledge: Scriptures are the source of spiritual knowledge. Special books on specific topics or aspects of the spiritual life and sadhana are also a source of spiritual knowledge. The function of knowledge is to remove ignorance. We replace ignorance by knowledge. It is knowledge itself that does this function of getting rid of ignorance and taking its place. It removes darkness and brings light. But, apart from its function of getting rid of ignorance, let us ask a different question about knowledge itself. What is the best part of knowledge? Have you ever considered this? We have knowledge, but what is the best part of this knowledge that we have acquired? We may say that knowledge by itself is undivided – it is one integrated thing – but there are parts of knowledge in relation to us When we consider knowledge and ourselves, when we consider knowledge and its relationship to ourselves, it is dual. We are related to knowledge, and knowledge is related to us. Therefore, the question of what is the best part of knowledge acquires a certain relevance. It also acquires an importance. The first part of knowledge is that we now know something that we did not know before we acquired this knowledge, before we were blessed or graced with this knowledge. The guru gives blessings in the form of the knowledge that has the power to gradually liberate us. Thus, you did not know, and when you got the knowledge, you knew. So knowing is a quintessential part of knowledge – enabling us to know things that we did not know until it came into our experience. Knowing, therefore, is the essence of the matter. However, what is the difference between a person who does not know and a person who knows? Is there any difference at all? That is the next part of knowledge – when the knowing of the knowledge makes a difference in the person. The person is more perceptive, more understanding, more tolerant, more sympathetic. They act with a greater spirit of give and take. Knowledge can do all these things, but there is a big IF. That big IF is that knowledge can do all these things only if the person allows this knowledge to have a transforming effect upon their being. They become a better person because before they got the knowledge they committed many errors. After they acquired this knowledge they begin to avoid all those errors. They act in a different way, a better way, a nobler way. So, knowledge is knowing, and when this knowing brings about a change for the better in us, it also becomes being. Knowledge first becomes knowing when previous to that we did not know. But then, if we are satisfied with keeping it at that level, and it does not bring about any change, then there is only one part of knowledge that is present – not a better part of knowledge. The second part of knowledge is becoming someone different in a positive and creative way because of the knowledge. The second part of knowledge is being. And there is still a better part of knowledge. This change must become a social asset. It must become a value that has an effect in terms of other people’s well-being. It is here that the third part of knowledge comes into our consideration. Out of becoming a knowing person and then a changed person, we turn this knowledge and its knowing and being into a social asset, a value in human relationship – a value not only to our own self-culture, self-evolution and ethical and spiritual progress, but a value also in terms of the well-being and happiness of others. Perhaps this is the best part of knowledge – the doing part of knowledge – bringing knowledge into actual manifestation in a creative pattern of human relationship, behaving with others so that every act that you do becomes a source of benefit to others, every act is, as it were, a seed for the well-being of others, the good of others, bringing into their lives something positive, something helpful, something for which they feel grateful. That is the third part of knowledge, the best part of knowledge. Knowing is good; it is a wonderful part of knowledge. Being is better. It is really a very praiseworthy part of knowledge, a very, very valuable part of knowledge. But doing is best because it affects in a positive, creative and beneficial way all other lives whom you touch as you move about in this world and live your life. It becomes a benediction, a boon, a blessing, a great desirable value in your life with others – all others, all of God’s creation. Therefore the best part of knowledge is knowledge in practice, the transforming effect of knowledge upon your being being a source of auspiciousness, good and benefit to others.

The Four Sources of Knowledge Inspiration, revelation, insight, intuition, ecstasy, divine sight and the supreme, blissful state are the seven planes of knowledge. There are four sources of knowledge: instinct, reason, intuition, and direct knowledge of Brahman (God) or Brahma-Jnana (knowledge of God). Instinct When an ant crawls on your right arm, the left hand automatically moves towards the right arm to drive the ant away. The mind does not reason here. When you see a scorpion near your leg, you withdraw the leg automatically. This is called instinctive or automatic movement. As you cross a street, how instinctively you move your body to save yourself from the cars! There is no thought during such kind of mechanical movement. Instinct is found in animals and birds also. In birds, the ego does not interfere with the free, divine flow and play. Hence the work done by them through their instinct is more perfect than that done by human beings. Have you ever noticed the intricate and exquisite work done by birds in the building of their beautiful nests? Reason Reason is higher than instinct and is found only in human beings. It collects facts, generalizes, reasons out from cause to effect, from effect to cause, from premises to conclusions, from propositions to proofs. It concludes, decides and comes to final judgment. It takes you safely to the door of intuition and leaves you there. Belief, reason, knowledge and faith are the four important psychic processes. First you have belief in a doctor. You go to him for diagnosis and treatment. The doctor makes a thorough examination of you and prescribes certain medicines. You take them. You reason out: “Such and such is the disease. The doctor has given me some iron and iodide. Iron will improve my blood. The iodide will stimulate the lymphatics and absorb the exudation and growth in the liver. So I should take it.” Then, by a regular and systematic course of these drugs, the disease is cured in a month. You then get knowledge and have perfect faith in the efficacy of the medicine and the proficiency of the doctor. You recommend this doctor and his drugs to your friends so that they too might benefit from his treatment. Intuition Intuition is personal spiritual experience. The knowledge obtained through the functioning of the causal body (Karana Sarira) is intuition. Sri Aurobindo calls it the Supermind or Supramental Consciousness. There is direct perception of truth, or immediate knowledge through Samadhi or the Superconscious State. You know things in a flash. Professor Bergson preached about intuition in France to make the people understand that there was a higher source of knowledge than the intellect. In intuition there is no reasoning process at all. It is direct perception. Intuition transcends reason but does not contradict it. Intellect takes a man to the door of intuition and returns. Intuition is Divya Drishti (divine vision); it is the eye of wisdom. Spiritual flashes and glimpses of truth, inspiration, revelation and spiritual insight come through intuition. The mind has to be pure for one to know that it is the intuition that is functioning at a particular moment. Brahma-Jnana (knowledge of God) is above intuition. It transcends the causal body and is the highest form of knowledge. It is the only Reality.

Follow the Wise The Rishis and the Seers tapped the source through living the Truth. They had deep penetration into the Truth through the eye of wisdom or intuition in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. They did rigorous Tapas and intense meditation. They disciplined the outgoing senses and led a virtuous life. They were absolutely moral and righteous. They developed all the qualities of the heart. They practised dispassion and renunciation. They had no attachment for mundane things. They kicked off ruthlessly all wealth, relatives, wife, family, children, position and status. They embraced poverty, purity and austerity. They lived in forests. They ate fruits and roots. They breathed pure air. They lived on the banks of the Ganga amidst Himalayan scenery, which had, and has, high spiritual vibrations. They did not live in Mount Road or the Mall. Desirelessness is the flower-bunch in the tree of contentment and quiescence. Desirelessness is the axe with which the forest of this Samsara is cut down. A desireless man is totally free from all weakness of the heart. For a man of absolute desirelessness the whole universe is but a straw. You cannot practise Yoga living in the Wall Street or Piccadilly or Esplanade, Mount Road or the Mall, breathing the contaminated air of these places, eating unnatural, heavy foods, attending cinemas, theatres and ball-rooms, wasting much vital energy, with nerves under high tension and with ears dinned by the sounds of motor cars and machinery. In enjoyment there is fear of disease; in social position, the fear of falling off; in wealth, the fear of enemies; in honour, the fear of humiliation; in power, the fear of foes; in beauty, the fear of old age; in scriptural erudition, the fear of opponents; in virtue the fear of traducers; in body, the fear of death. All the things of this world pertaining to men are attended with fear; renunciation alone stands for fearlessness. Shun honour, respect, degrees, name, fame, power, position and titles. They are absolutely worth less. They will not give you eternal satisfaction. They will only intensify your vanity. They are all intoxicants of the mind. They bring misery and mental disturbance. That is the reason why Raja Bhartrihari, Raja Gopichand and Lord Buddha gave up kingdoms, riches, honour and fame. In the Bhagavadgita you will find: Humility, unpretentiousness, harmlessness, forgiveness, rectitude, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control, dispassion towards the objects of the senses, and also absence of egoism, insight into the pain and evil of birth, death, old age and sickness, unattachment, absence of self-identification with son, wife, or home, and constant balance of mind in wished-for and unwished-for events, unflinching devotion to Me by Yoga, without other objects, resort to sequestered places, absence of enjoyment in the company of men, constancy in the wisdom of the Self, understanding the object of essential wisdom; that is declared to be real Wisdom; all else is ignorance (Ch. XIII: 8-12). Demoniacal men know neither right energy, nor right abstinence; nor purity, nor even propriety; nor is truth in them. ‘The whole universe is without Truth, without basis,’ they say, ‘without a God, brought about by mutual union, and caused by lust and nothing else.’ Holding this view, these ruined selves of small understanding, of fierce deeds, come forth as enemies for the destruction of the world. Surrendering themselves to insatiable desires, possessed with vanity, conceit and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they engage in action with impure resolves. Giving themselves over to unmeasured thought whose end is death, regarding the gratification of desires as the highest, feeling sure that this is all, held in bondage by a hundred ties of expectation, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by unlawful means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyments (Ch. XVI: 7-12). In the Vishnupurana it is said: If the deluded fool loves the body, a mere collection of flesh, blood, pus, faeces, urine, muscles, fat and bones, he will verily love hell itself! To him who is not disgusted with the nasty smell from his body, what other argument need be abduced for detachment? It is need less and useless to say more. All men and all buildings will be destroyed in the twinkling of an eye if only a dreadful epidemic is to break out or an earthquake to shake up the earth without mercy. Yet people want to build bungalows in Simla and Mussoorie and attain Immortality there! How foolish these people are! Poor self-deluded souls! Pitiable is their lot! They are earthworms only as they revel in filth. I pray for them. May God bestow on all Viveka, Vairagya and devotion! May all attain soon Eternal Bliss and Perennial Joy!

There is Only Suffering in this World Birth is suffering; disease is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, grief, pain, lamentations are suffering; union with unpleasant objects is suffering; separation from the beloved objects is suffering; unsatisfied desires are suffering. O man! Is there any real pleasure or happiness in this world? Why do you cling to these mundane objects? Why do you stroll about here and there like a street-dog in search of happiness in this earth-plane? Search within. Look within and introspect and rest in the Supreme Abode of Peace and Immortality now. Never delay a second even. Plod on. March forward. Realise now and be free. Pain is the lot of deluded beings. Even the little pleasure that is experienced here is obtained after a lot of worry and troubles and is productive of much suffering. It is born in pain and ends in tears. Gratification of sensual pleasures only augments the craving. Lust invariably leads to extreme suffering on the impediment of senses in old age. Nobody has been benefited in this world by this Maya. People invariably weep in the end. Ask any grown-up householder whether he has got an iota of happiness in this world. The worldly man never comes to the senses although he gets severe knocks, kicks and blows from different corners. The strolling street-dog never stops visiting the houses even though pelted with stones every time. The whole world is a ball of fire though there are the so-called charming sceneries of Mayaic illusion. The whole world is a huge furnace wherein all living creatures are being roasted. Lord Buddha says: On the whole, life is a sorrow. Patanjali Maharshi in his Yoga Sutras says: Sarvam Duhkham Vivekinah, All indeed is pain to a person of discrimination. Just as a fish in its desire to eat flesh does not see the hook that lies beneath, so also man in his passionate desire to get sensual pleasure does not see the noose of death. Pleasure is not in the objects; it is in the imagination or inclination of the mind. Mango is not sweet but imagination makes it sweet. Woman is not beautiful, but imagination renders her so. An ugly woman appears very beautiful to her husband because his imagination is beautiful. There is a grain of pleasure in objects, but the pain that is mixed with it is of the size of a big mountain. Sensual pleasure is tantalising. There is enchantment so long as man does not possess the desired object. The moment he is in possession of the object, the charm vanishes. He finds that he is in an entanglement. The rich but childless man thinks he will be more happy by getting a son; he worries himself day and night to get a son, goes on pilgrim age to Ramesvaram and Kasi and performs various religious ceremonies. But when he gets a child, he feels miserable. The child suffers from epileptic fits, and his money is given away to doctors. Even then there is no cure. This is Mayaic jugglery. The whole world is fraught with temptation. The cause of pain is love of pleasure. The cause of death is love of sensual life. Death is a horrible thing to him who is intensely attached to sensual life. Words like cremation, murder, death, corpse, burial, make the sensualist shudder at heart; for he is extremely attached to the body and the objects of the senses. How to part with the sensual objects? is his great cause of misery. Pity! Pleasure is Purely Illusive Wealth and power promise to give you physical comforts, but they never give. They delude you and entangle you in the meshes of Samsara. They make you slaves. They shut out for you the doors of the illimitable domain of everlasting peace and the eternal bliss of the Atman. They have no value at all for the dispassionate aspirants. They kick them ruthlessly as mere bits of straw or broken glass-pieces. But they appear to be highly valuable in the eyes of the worldly-minded. They are their be-all and end-all. They spend their whole lives in the pursuit of these fleeting, worthless shadows. This world is a play of colours and sounds. This sense-universe is a play of nerves. It is a false show kept up by the jugglery of Maya, mind and senses. You enjoy the sensual pleasures for a period of twenty years when the senses are young and strong. What is this short evanescent period of twenty years in eternity? What is this despicable, jarring, monotonous, sensual life when compared with the eternal and peaceful life in the immortal Self within? You are always helpless. Why do you boast of your ability, capacity, independence and freedom? Why are you proud and egoistic? One anna of pleasure is mixed with fifteen annas of pain. Pleasure that is mixed with pain and fears no pleasure at all. If you begin to analyse this one anna of pleasure you will find that it is no pleasure at all. It is mere play or delusion of the mind. Milk gives pleasure to some and pain to others. Milk brings on retching in fever. The third cup of milk induces vomiting. What is this? This is play of Maya. This is Indrajala of Avidya Sakti. The Indriyas and the mind are deceiving you at every moment. Beware! Wake up! Open your eyes. Develop Viveka. If you suffer from cancer of the stomach, can you enjoy Rasagulla and other sweets, even though you are a multi-millionaire? The doctor will put you on a diet of pepper water only. If your wife dies, you are drowned in sorrow. You cannot expect happiness from finite, perishable objects that are conditioned in time, space and causation. Nitya, Nirupadhika, Niratisaya, Ananda, eternal, independent, infinite Bliss can only be had in the Atman that is hidden in your heart. Search, understand and realise the Atman within. To wear spectacles at the age of