Doctrine of Avidya by Swami Sivananda Avidya is that portion of the primitive non-intelligent principle in which Sattva is subordinated to Rajas and Tamas. This is known as Malina Sattva, because it is impure on account of the predominance of Rajas and Tamas. It is the reflector of Jiva whereas Maya is the reflector of Isvara. Maya is called Suddha Sattva on account of the predominance of Sattva. This world of experience is due to the force of Avidya. It is the force of Avidya that plunges us into the ocean of Samsara. It is a negative power which makes us forget our divine nature. Avidya operates through the mind, and the mind functions through the time, space and causation. Avidya is an illusory power that disintegrates the Divine into a million different fragments. Pleasure, pain, desire, Karma, attraction, repulsion, delusion, pride, lust, egoism, anger, jealousy, the three bodies, five sheaths, are all effects of Avidya. Avidya is the source of all ignorance, sin and misery. Avidya is beginningless (Anadi) but it has an end. As soon as one gets knowledge of the Self, Avidya terminates. Brahman appears as the world on account of Avidya, just as the rope appears as snake in the dusk. If we bring a lamp, the snake disappears, but the rope alone remains. Even so, when we get knowledge of Brahman, the appearance of the world will vanish. Avidya is not negative, but is positive (Bhavarupa). It is absence of Knowledge. It is erroneous knowledge. Avidya or Ajnana which constitutes the causal body is the cause for the two bodies, gross and subtle. It is impossible to define the nature of Avidya. It is Anirvachaniya. It is not real, because it vanishes when knowledge of the Self dawns. It is not unreal, because we experience it unlike the horn of a hare or a barren woman’s son. It is not a non-entity as it is destroyed by Atma Jnana. It is through the force of Avidya that the ignorant Jiva has mistaken the impure mortal body for the pure immortal Self and says I am a Brahmin, I am a Pandit, I am a householder, I am beautiful, I am lean, I am a doctor, etc. No explanation is possible for the rise of this deluding Avidya. This has somehow come into phenomenal being. Although its origin and explanation are beyond our reach, its operation through the mental categories is clearly perceptible. The Avidya cannot be the Brahman’s because He is an embodiment of pure knowledge. How can there be darkness in the sun? It cannot belong to the souls, as they are not distinct from the Brahman. If Avidya were an essential property of the Atman, he could never get rid of it. Anyhow you are caught up within the clutches of Avidya. Do not rack your brain with the question: Whence comes Avidya? Kim Bhranti Jnanam? Yadi Bhranti Sa Kasya? Whose is Avidya? Why should there be Avidya? Try to get out of this fire of Samsara or this ocean of darkness. This is your duty. There are two ways to cross this ocean of Samsara. These are clearly chalked out by Rishis and Sages of yore. When you have attained knowledge of the Self, you will have a clear understanding of the nature, why and how of the formidable Avidya. Will a patient who is suffering from severe abdominal colic try to enquire from his friend when he gets some medicine, Where from did you get this medicine? What are its components? What is the price? Who gave the medicines? Will he not swallow it immediately? Will a man whose cloth is caught in fire run towards water immediately to cool himself or will he be philosophising How did this fire come? etc.

Doctrine of Maya by Swami Sivananda You must try to understand the right significance of Maya which is the chief characteristic of Vedanta or Kevala Advaita school of Sri Sankara. The term Maya appears in the Svetasvatara Upanishad and in the Gita, chapter VII-14, Mama Maya the divine illusion of Mine. Svetasvatara Upanishad IV-10 declares that Maya is the material cause of the world and the possessor of Maya is the great Lord. Maya is that portion of the primitive non-intelligent principle in which pure Sattva is not subordinated to Rajas and Tamas. In other words, that portion in which pure Sattva is predominant is called Maya. The world is regarded as Maya, as it cannot be accepted as real. Does Maya really exist or not? The Advaitin gives a reply: This inscrutable, indescribable Maya cannot be said either to exist or not to exist. It is a strange phenomenon which cannot be accounted by any law of nature. Maya is Anirvachaniya i.e., incapable of being described. It is neither Sat (real) like Brahman nor Asat (unreal) like a barren woman’s son or horn of a hare or a lotus flower in the sky. The phenomena produced by a magician do not really exist, because they vanish soon. The magician himself is fully aware that it is mere illusion. But we cannot say that they do not exist at all, because we are conscious of the phenomena, though only for a short time. We are never conscious of a thing which is altogether non-existent like the lotus flower in the sky. Similar is the phenomenon called the universe which is imagined to be distinct from Brahman. It is like the silver for which the mother-of-pearl is mistaken. It is difficult to conceive how the infinite comes out of itself into the finite. The magician brings out a mango tree before us from out of nothing. The tree is there, though we cannot explain it. So we call it Maya or illusion. If we know the nature of the Brahman, all names and forms and limitations will melt away. The world is Maya as it is not the essential truth of the infinite reality of the Brahman. The world somehow exists and its relation to the Brahman is indescribable (Anirvachaniya). The illusion vanishes by attainment of knowledge of the Brahman. Sages, Rishis and Srutis emphatically declare that the Maya vanishes entirely as soon as the knowledge of the Supreme Self dawns. It is in this sense, in the sense that it vanishes when Atma-Jnana arises that this phenomenal universe is said to be unreal (Mithya), in contradistinction to the Self-existent and Self-luminous Brahman who never ceases to exist and shine. The Eternal always abides in its own nature. It rests in its own native pristine glory. Srutis declare: All indeed is Brahman. There is no such thing as diversity. This is the experience of liberated sages. The Sankhyas and the Tarkikas teach that emancipation is attained by a knowledge of the true nature of the Spirit and by discriminating spirit from matter. The world of names and forms vanishes entirely from the vision of a sage. It is only an illusion that can be removed by mere knowledge. It is the illusory notion of serpent which is removed when the rope that is mistaken for a serpent is recognised. Therefore it must be clearly admitted that the universe which is removed by knowledge of Self is also an illusion. If you give up entirely reading of newspapers and shut yourself up in a room for a month and if you plunge yourself in deep meditation, you will have a very light impression of the world in your mind. Gradually this light impression also will be obliterated. The world is nothing but a play of the two currents of Raga-Dvesha. If these two currents are destroyed, the world will vanish. Because the minds of the worldly people are filled with passions, attachment and delusion, this world appears to be real. Some philosophers state that this world is real because, if at the very outset, they declare, the world is unreal, the aspirants will be bewildered. It is only with a view to prevent this perplexity that the universe is spoken of as real.

Maya and Avidya by Swami Sivananda The reflection of intelligence is Maya which has no beginning, which is indescribable, which is the source of inorganic world, and which is connected only with the intelligence called Isa or the Supreme Being. The reflections in numerous small portions of that Maya, which are possessed of two powers of enveloping and projecting and which are known as Avidya are said to be Jivas. It may be noticed here that in this view Maya and Avidya are looked upon as one element, and are related with each other as the whole and its parts. The former is the adjunct (Upadhi) of Isa, the latter of Jiva (Prakartha Vivarana). In Tattva-Viveka, a chapter of Panchadasi, the matter is thus elucidated: The primitive non-intelligent principle (Mulaprakriti) which consists of three Gunas (Primordia rerum) has two forms, (1) Maya and (2) Avidya. According to the text, That non-intelligent principle divided itself into two forms named Maya and Avidya, which are the reflectors, as it were, of Isa and Jiva respectively. Maya is that portion of the primitive non-intelligent principle in which pure Sattva is not subordinated to Rajas and Tamas. In other words, that portion in which Pure Sattva is predominant is called Maya, whereas that in which the Sattva is subordinated to Rajas and Tamas and is consequently impure, is known as Avidya. Reflections of intelligence in Maya and Avidya are Isa and Jiva respectively. In some other places Maya and Avidya, the reflectors of Isa and Jiva, are thus distinguished: The primitive dead principle, which is essentially one, is called Maya, when we take into account the predominance of its projecting power, and is called Avidya when we take into consideration the predominance of its enveloping power. Thus the material principle of which the projecting power is superior to the concealing power is the limiting condition of Isa; and the same principle with its concealing power predominant is the limiting condition of Jiva. The Avidya which forms the limiting adjunct of Jiva is otherwise called Ajnana. That the projecting power is predominant in Isa follows from His being the creator of this great world. He is always conscious of His free state, and hence is untouched by the concealing power. Jiva, on the contrary, labours under ignorance of Brahman his true nature owing to the predominance of the concealing power of the material principle working in him. He is incompetent to create the great universe as he lacks the predominance of the projecting power. Vedanta-Siddhanta Bheda. Just as the mirror is rendered dim by a layer of dirt attaching to it, so also Knowledge is veiled by Avidya. Therefore all people are deluded. They cling to things unreal and mistake the body for the pure Atman. They think that this illusory world of names and forms is quite real. Mula Prakriti is the slumbering or latent state of the Universe called also Maha Sushupti when the Gunas are in a state of equilibrium. When the Gunas are disturbed, Mula Prakriti is called by the different names as Maya, Avidya, Tamas, etc. Brahman is beginningless and endless. Maya is beginningless but She has an end. She vanishes as soon as one gets the Knowledge of the Self.

The Theory of Creation by Swami Sivananda SOME hold that the universe was created out of nothing by a feat of God and that it will again lapse into nothing at the period of deluge. This dogma of creation ex-nihilo is not endorsed by the scientists. They say emphatically that what exists now should have existed always and will continue to exist always in some form or other. In Sankhya philosophy also you will find, That which is cannot come out of that which is not. (Sankhya Sutra 78). Gita also states: There can be no existence out of non-existence nor can the existent cease to be. The truth about both has been perceived by seers. (Chap. II-16). According to the Nebular theory, even solar system was in the beginning a huge mass of gaseous matter in its own axis. As ages rolled on, the gaseous matter attained the igneous stage. The central portion contracted. The mass rotated very rapidly and threw off rings on the outer side which gradually cooled down and formed into planets. These planets were in a molten or liquid condition for a protracted period. Gradually they cooled down and became solid. You will find in the Brahmananda Valli of Taittiriya Upanishad: From this Atman was born the Akasa; from Akasa, Vayu; from Vayu, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth, the herbs; from herbs, food; from food, man, and this man is made of the essence of food. (Chap. I-i). In Brahman there was a Spandan or vibration before the world was projected. This is the Sankalpa of Brahman. He thought or willed: Ekoham bahushyamiI am One, may I become many. This vibration corresponds to the bulging of the seed within the ground when it is soaked in water. Then the whole world was projected. Srishti or creation is of two kinds, viz., Yugapat Srishti and Krama Srishti. In Yugapat Srishti, the five elements, Mahat, Ahamkara, etc., and other objects of the universe come into being at one time or simultaneously. In Krama Srishti, the elements come out one by one. From Akasa, Vayu is born; from Vayu, fire, etc.; and from Avyakta, Mahat; from Mahat, Ahamkara, etc. There is creation in succession. Vasishtha tells Rama in Yoga-Vasishtha: At one period, Siva creates all the universe; at another period, Brahma; at another period, Vishnu; then Munis and so on. Sometimes Brahma is born in a lotus; sometimes in water; sometimes in the mundane egg; sometimes in Akasa. In one creation, the powerful trees will alone exist in this universe; in another, the earth alone; in another, stone alone; in another, flesh alone; and in another, gold alone. Thus will it be in diverse ways. During the several creations, the foremost in sometimes Akasa, sometimes Vayu, sometimes Agni, sometimes Apas and sometimes Prithvi. Herein I have but briefly described to you the creation of one Brahma. The order of evolution will not be the same in all Yugas, but will vary with different Yugas. Krita and other Yugas will again and again recur. There is no object in this world which does not again and again cycle round many times. Maya is Abhinna Shakti of Brahman. Abhinna means inseparable. Maya cannot be separated from Brahman. Just as heat is inseparable from fire, so also Maya is inseparable from Brahman. Avyakta, Maya, Mulaprakriti, Pradhana (the chief or first), Gunasamya, are synonymous terms. Avyakta is the unmanifested state of Maya. Just as the tree exists in the seed in a subtle state, so also this world exists in a seed-state in Avyakta during Pralaya. Avyakta and Pradhana are terms of the Sankhya philosophy. Mulaprakriti is a compound of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, like a three-stranded rope of white, red and black colours. In the Gunasamya Avastha or state, the three Gunas are in a state of equilibrium. This is the state of Pralaya or Maha-Sushupti. Just as men go everyday into the state of deep sleep, so also the world goes into the Sushupti state during Pralaya. In Pralaya, countless Jivas get absorbed in Mulaprakriti with their Samskaras, like particles of gold that adhere to a ball of wax. The Karmas of the Jivas ripen at the end of Pralaya. Ishvara has to give the fruits of their Karmas. So he again projects this universe by mere willing. From Avyakta or the unmanifested (Maya), the Mahat Tattva comes out first, just as the sprout shoots out from the seed in the ground. From Mahat proceeds Ahamkara. Then come mind, senses, Prana, Tanmatras. From the quintuplication or mixing of the five Tanmatras, the five gross elements come into being. Then the whole external universe is created out of the five gross elements. 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 and begins to feel ‘Aham Jiva – 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. No Guna can exist by itself. The three Gunas exist in a state of combination. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas cannot be separated like grains from one another. Sometimes, one Guna is in excess. If Sattva Guna is predominant, then it is called Sattva Guna Pradhana.’ If Rajas is predominant, it is called ‘Rajoguna Pradhana.’ If Tamas is predominant, it is called ‘Tamoguna Pradhana.’ There is excess of pure Sattva in Maya. The reflection of Para Brahman in Maya is Ishvara. Maya is the Upadhi of Ishvara. It is the causal body of Ishvara. Ishvara has Maya under his control. Ishvara is also called by the names, Avyakrita and Antaryamin. Ishvara is the instrumental cause of the universe (Nimitta Karana). He becomes the material cause by commingling himself with the Tamas, just as the spider produces the web out

Hints on Vedantic Sadhana By Swami Sivananda The Nature of Truth or Brahman 1. Truth is simple, it is made to appear complex by the distractive intellect. The sublimest things are always the most simple. 2. Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. 3. Truth can never be defeated by untruth. Truth shall always win victory over untruth. When the path of Truth is trodden, everything else also is done. When the root is watered, all the branches are automatically watered. 4. The path of Truth is a precipitous one. It is slippery and all that is disagreeable. Hard it is to tread that, difficult a path it is. Giants among spiritual men walk over it to the city of Perfection. 5. The Absolute is All. Truth is Absolute. You are that. This is the essence of spiritual teaching. 6. Truth is utterly public. It cannot be hidden even if one would try to do so. Truth persists and is expressed even in the extreme of untruth. The extreme of Truth is the Absolute. Untruth is a shadow of Truth. The world is untruth and the Absolute is Truth. The world is represented by sex and ego; the Absolute is represented by the Noumenal Gnostic Being. 7. His head shall break who acts against Truth and practices untruth. Truth is Being. Untruth is non-being, a mere naught. 8. Truth is not expressed even by Existence-Consciousness-Joy! It is only the nearest relative of Truth. But Truth is even greater, grander, mightier, truer! 9. All is well with him whose heart is turned towards the Truth. No disease, physical or mental can assault him. 10. The mover towards the Truth is mighty, lives long, knows everything and is ever delighted. for he is nearing the Almighty Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. 11. Even to talk of Truth aid think of Truth realises one to the height of immense satisfaction. What could be the experience of Its Realisation! 12. Truth is; untruth is not; hence it is wrong even to say that Truth is One, for Truth is Existence Itself and is neither one nor not one. Truth is Absoluteness. 13. The Absolute baffles the mind of even the greatest scholar. It eludes the grasp of even the mightiest intellect. It is experienced as Pure Cons�ciousness, where intellect dies, scholarship perishes and the entire being itself is completely lost in it All is lost, and all is found! 14. Air rushes into where there is vacuum. The Absolute rushes into where there is no ego. 15. No time is necessary for the Absolute to reveal Itself. In the flash of a moment, like a stroke of lightning, the world will merge into Pure Being. 16. When will the Absolute-Experience take place cannot be said. It may be just immediately, now or millions of births afterwards. Hence one should be always eagerly waiting for Its arrival. It will come unexpected at any time. 17. Truth is immense; Truth cannot be spoken; truth can only be experienced. 18. Truth is eternal. Truth is immense. Truth cannot be spoken. Truth is beyond speech. Truth is changeless and speech is change. Everything that changes itself is untruth. Hence Truth is Infinite. Truth alone endures, while everything else perishes. Everyone, right from Brahma down to a blade of grass, moves towards Truth, some consciously, some unconsciously. They differ only in the degree of consciousness or the extent of mental purification or subtlety of condition. Every leaf that flies in the air, every breath that flows from us, in other words, every act of universal life, is a step taken nearer the Truth for, Truth is the eternal Home of all beings. Into It they all enter and find permanent satisfaction and peace. It is the ego-sense that shuts us off from Infinite Life and hence the realisation of Truth is the dissolution of individual consciousness in Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss! 19. The Absolute is perfectly scientific, logical, symmetrical, balanced, systematic, reasonable rational! It is not irregular and haphazard. It is not a supra-natural mystery but the natural fact of life. The Infinite and Indivisible nature of existence is not a wonder, it is the actual condition of being even as brilliance is of fire, liquidity of water, weight of lead. It is the Highest Perfection of Eternal, Immortal, Real Life. 20. The Highest Reality is Sat-Chit-Ananda where there is not even the slightest tinge of activity. That is why those who go near It become inactive. 21. Reality is the Perfected Embodiment of Existence, Knowledge, Power and Bliss. These four are only the aspects of the One Being which is Indivisible and changeless. These different aspects of Existence cannot be separated even as the Suns flames, heat and luminosity cannot be distinguished. 22. Truth is Eternity, Infinity and Absoluteness, Intelligence, Consciousness and wisdom, beauty, love and joy! Sringara-Rasa, Madhura-Bhava, or the erotic taste of the world is a shadow of the Supreme Reality of loving beauty and bliss. Aesthetic enjoyment is a reflection of Brahmananda or Absolute Bliss. 23. Infinity, Eternity, Immortality and Absoluteness are the characteristics of the Limitless Existence-Knowledge-Bliss! 24. All that appears here as the extensive manifold world is the One Uniform Reality existing in this form! As the bright light of the Sun appears as tantalising mirages, so does the One Light of Consciousness appear as many. To appear like this is the very nature of the Reality. These mountains, these rivers, this earth, this vast etherall these are nothing but the One Pure Undying Spirit! Just as an uneven mirror presents an ugly and corrugated reflection of the face, so does this One Mass of Eternal Existence appear as many due to wrong imagination! All the things of this world are really the One Whole Indivisible Being! The one Ether of Consciousness appears as the concrete many! All this is One, Partless, Divisionless, Beginningless, Endless, Absolute, Brahman! The origin, the growth, the enjoyment and the involution of the world, are entire illusion! The network of the worlds is Brahman! The ten directions are Brahman! Time, space, things, activities, cause, effect, actor, birth, death, existence, all are Brahman Itself appearing in Brahman by

The Search for Truth by Swami Krishnananda The world we live in is mostly utilitarian, for, to it, utility has been the test of truth. If something is workable and useful, it is also meaningful and, therefore, real. This is sometimes identified with the pragmatic viewpoint, a purely working hypothesis on the basis of sensibility akin to animal perception. The subhuman instinct seen in animals functions upon the logic of pure utility; – whatever satisfies hunger and sex and guards the instinct for life is real. But in man there is an additional factor: ego; – whatever satisfies it, also, is real. Satisfaction of these urges is finally a factor of utility, and they have to be real in order that their satisfactions and their counterparts be real. But, what is meant by being real? Tentatively speaking, for a thing to be real it has to persist in time and space as judged by a centre of experiencing consciousness. Now, this drags the factor of time and space also into the issue of reality. But what is the reason behind this judgment that to be real is to persist in space and time? We have to conclude that this is the only way in which the experiencing consciousness can decide the nature of reality. This position seems to land us in a question that we shall be discussing shortly. It was realised by some that pure utility cannot always be the test of truth. Perception of mirage water under the notion that it is real water may bring to the mind of the thirsty man a sense of comfort. But, though the comfort may be real, the cause of it is unreal. A lunch served in dream may appease the hungry man in dream. A false news of having won a victory or earned a lottery may bring a satisfaction whose cause is unreal. An untrue news of the death of the only son of a mother may even kill her and while her heart-break is real its cause is unreal. Occurrences of this kind and the usual commonsense view of life have made people hold that truths have to correspond to facts. Beyond utility is correspondence. Now, the idea that correspondence to fact is the test of truth implies that we are capable of knowing fact, and, hence, truth. But what is fact? Again, we stumble upon our criterion of persistence in space and time. This sounds almost like a vicious circle from which we cannot escape. Even a phantom can persist in space and time, such as mirage water. There seems to be, in the end, no criterion of knowing truth, if we are to rely merely on the utility theory or the correspondence theory of truth. Thinkers have held that the test of truth, ultimately, is coherence. The parts should organically fit themselves into the whole. Utility and correspondence do not satisfy this test because while they seem to satisfy one part of the knowledge-process, they conflict with the other parts. The process of knowing is a self-related, organic whole in which the parts are mutually consistent with one another. There should be no contradiction within its constitution and it should not be transcended by any other experience. Else, it would not be truth but its opposite. Facts should not only be satisfying to the senses, mind, intellect and feeling, thus serving the purpose of utility, but also correspond to existent facts. But the existence of the fact should not be merely tentative; it should also have been existent in the past and should continue in the future. The mirage water, for example, does not exist in the future, for when one approaches it, it recedes from one’s contact and then vanishes at the particular point of difference in the circumstances that caused its appearance. It should also be self-consistent and consistent with the experience of which it forms a part. We say that waking experience is real because we see the same things throughout our life and the objects of waking life have been seen to be workable to our personality as also stand uncontradicted in the past, present and future of our span of life. They satisfy ‘me, you and everyone else,’ at the same time. They are coherent to the practical system of our judgment of truth, viz., they are not self-discrepant and are true for all persons, at all times and in every way. This analysis would amount to saying that there can be no other standard of judgment of truth than what is provided in waking life, We usually forget that there is a subtle snag even in this relative truth of coherence (Vyavaharika Satta). That objects are mutually consistent with others’ experience of them in terms of persistence in space and time is the conclusion of a particular observer to whom everything else stands in the position of the observed. How does one feel sure that others exist and that space and time do exist except by reference to oneself, to one’s bodily conditions, set-up of the sensory organs, mental state and emotional reactions? Often we hear of objective facts, objective reference, and extramental realities. This is a great prejudice of what is known as scientific way of thinking, which is slowly getting blasted by serious thinkers in the field of science itself, who have latterly come to realise that no scientific observation or conclusion can be regarded as final, so long as they are the outcome of approaches made by the consciousness which works in terms of the sensory and mental conditions of the scientist’s personality which acts like a prism through which the consciousness gets deflected, diversified, mutilated and given a highly artificial structure and form. This would mean that truth as such cannot be known either by science or by philosophy, so long as the methodology employed by these techniques cannot be extricated from the terms and conditions of the psycho-physical organism which limits consciousness and prevents

An Analysis of Experience – The Portal of Enquiry by Swami Krishnananda To aspire for the higher, to yearn to know more, not to be satisfied with the first view of things, is a distinguishing characteristic of the developed human being. This aspiration arises from a careful observation and study of the nature of experience. Experience is a term used to denote the totality of the conditions of consciousness, in which it becomes aware of its contents. Experience is said to grow when one gains an increasing knowledge of the contents of one’s consciousness. The grosser the contents and the more distant they are from the consciousness which apprehends them, the lesser is their knowledge which one is said to have, and the more meagre is the experience gained. Much is implied in our life, and this can be known only by the critical and reflective consciousness. Most of the individuals gain no access to the deeper implications of experience, because they are shackled in the network of relations that constitute the superficial shell of individuality and personality. Being confined to the realm of sense, they float on the surface of, and do not delve deep through, experience. Experience is not merely knowledge obtained through the senses. Sense-experience is a pointer to the existence of factors, which are more fundamental. Even ordinary mental experience cannot fathom the basic principles of life, for the knowledge received by the mind is only a synthetic product manufactured out of sense-experience. There is something greater and more essential, which is discovered by the trained faculty of understanding, freed from passions and prejudices. This enterprise of the study of the implications of experience is the main task of philosophy. Philosophy is the rational and systematic investigation and study of the truths comprehended in the wide range of experience. Experience reveals the presence of a twofold factor constituting it; – truth and error. Truth is generally defined as the uncontradicted and the complete. And that which is not capable of being transcended by any other experience is considered to be the Ultimate Truth. That experience which, though it appears to be real at the time of its being a form or process of consciousness, is capable of being contradicted aid transcended by another experience is regarded as an error. It is not true, however, as it is testified in life, that all errors are of the same kind, or that they manifest the same degree of inconsistency with truth. An experience may be of an error, but it may be of a lesser or a greater error, i.e., of something which is less distant or more distant from truth. There are degrees of error, which means that there are degrees of truth. That which contains more of truth is a lesser error than that which contains less of truth. The different judgments which we make in our conscious states pertain to reality in its different degrees, which may be less or more in extent, in accordance with the richness of their contents. The lesser the truth in a judgment of experience, the more is the error that characterises it; and the greater the truth contained in the judgment, the lesser is the error present in it. The Groundwork of Analysis Knowledge of error implies the knowledge of truth and vice-versa. A correct understanding of the nature of erroneous perception requires a deep analysis and study of the nature of all our experiences. Experience, as it is in itself, is not fragmentary, but a whole. It is a coherent system of partial phases, pointing to the existence of an Absolute-Experience. The Absolute may be described as the reality which consists in the consciousness of not an isolated content or object, but of its own infinitude suffused with eternity. In this undifferentiated experience all those factors, which go by the name of objects, are existent as its very constitutive essence. This is the grand fullness or plenitude in which no trace of lack or want or imperfection of any kind can be found. In this experience error finds no place, for, here, no distinction can be made between the subject and the predicate of a judgment. In fact, there is no such thing as judgment in the Absolute, for every judgment presupposes a conscious relation based on a dualistic ground. All judgments are intellectual in their nature, and hence there can be no judgment without the isolation of content from consciousness. But as long as this isolation is capable of being made, there can be no experience of the Absolute. In the Absolute, all substantives and adjectives exist as inseparable and equally real and valuable elements, forming its very being. A lesser truth is also a kind of error, though it may be a lesser or a greater error. Error really commences with the rise of the individual consciousness. The moment Pure Consciousness is disintegrated into a constitution of fragmentary experiences, one such experience which arrogates to itself all the value of a true conscious experience begins to consider the rest of the whole as an objectified content of its thought. The consequence of this error is the perception of the Absolute through the senses as a material universe of disconnected elements, changing in nature, capricious in behaviour, and regardless of the intentions and wishes of the individual. The universe appears to be heedless to our desires, because it follows the law of the Absolute, which works independently of the erroneous notions of the separated individuals. The universe never goes wrong, but the truth contained in the way in which it works is not visible and understandable to the separated consciousness, for this latter is imprisoned within the walls of its own limited constitution. The individual begins to perceive the universe with the senses in a manner in which it does not really work. This is error. Error, therefore, belongs to the individual, and is not absolutely valid or existent. The values and natures superimposed by the

Waking Experience is as False as Dream Experience by Swami Sivananda I Both in waking and in dreamObjects are ‘perceived’ or ‘seen’ As different from the subject.The character of ‘being seen’ Is common to both kinds of experience.There is subject-object-relationshipIn waking as well as in dreamThis is the similarity between the two.Something is seen as an object meansSomething is other than the Self.The experience of the not-self is illusory.For, if the not-self were real,The Self would be limited and unreal.The illusory experience of the not-selfIs common to both waking and dream.In waking, the mind experiences through the senses;In dream, the mind alone experiences.In both the states, the mind alone experiencesWhether externally or internally.Dream is transcended by waking;Waking is transcended by Turiya.Hence, both dream and waking are contradicted.Waking contradicts dream,And dream contradicts waking.When the one is, the other is not.Neither of the two is continuously existent.This proves the unreality of both. II Duality is not real,Because duality is the opposite of eternity.Without duality there is no perception.Hence, anything that is perceived is unrealWhether in dream or in waking.Dream is real when there is no waking.Waking is real when there is no dream.Hence, both are unreal experiences.They depend on one another for their existence.Come cannot say whether he is dreaming or wakingWithout referring one state to another state.Desires are the rulers of all experiencesIn waking and also in dream.Waking is physical functioning of desires,Dream is mental functioning of desires.The senses are moved by desires in waking,The mind is moved by desires in dreaming.Both the states are like flowing streamsThey do not persist for ever in one stateThat which persists for ever is real.Dream and waking have a beginning and an end.Change is the character of all perceived objects.Change implies nonexistence at the beginningAnd also at the end.That which does not exist at the beginningAnd does not exist at the endDoes not exist in the middle also.Therefore waking is unreal like dream. III It may be objected by some thatWaking is real, because it is the cause of dream,And dream is not the cause of waking.But this objection is without support.If waking is a cause, It must be real;If it is real, It must exist for ever.Waking itself is without reality,For it does not exist always.If the cause itself is unreal,How can it produce a real effect?Both these are unreal states.One who eats bellyful in waking stateMay feel hungry in the dream stateAnd vice versa.Things appear to be real onlyIn a particular condition.They are not real always.That which is not always real,Is an appearance and so unreal. IV Anything that has got a formIs unreal.Forms are special modes of cognition and perception.They are not ultimate.In waking there are physical forms.In dreaming there are mental forms.Anyhow all are forms onlyLimited in space and time.A form lasts only so longAs that particular mental condition lasts.When there is a different mental conditionThe forms of experience also change.This is why the form of the world vanishesWhen Self-realisation is attained. Both in dreaming and wakingExternal perceptions are considered as realAnd internal functions as unreal (i.e., they are ignored).If in waking we make a distinctionBetween real and unreal,In dream also we do the same thing.Dream is real as long as it lasts,Waking also is real as long as it lasts.Dream is unreal from the standpoint of waking,And equally so is waking to the dreamer.From the standpoint of the highest Truth,Waking is as false as dream. VI It may be said that objects in waking stateServe some definite purposeAnd those of dream do not serve a purpose.This argument is incorrect.Because, the nature of serving a purposeWhich is seen in objects in wakingIs contradicted by dream and vice versa.The utility and objective worthOf things, states, etc., in wakingAre cancelled in the dream state,Even as the conditions and experiences in dreamAre invalidated in waking.Objects act as means to endsOnly in a particular conditionAnd not in all conditions.The causal relationship of wakingIs rendered nugatory in dream and vice versa.The logical sequence of wakingIs valid to itself alone and not to dreaming.So is dream valid to its own state.Waking and dreaming have their own notions of propriety,And each is stultified by the other,Though each appears to be real to itself.Thus the validity of both the statesIs rejected. VII It may be contended thatObjects of dream are queer, fantastic and unnatural,And, hence, waking cannot be like dream.But the experiences in dream,However grotesque or abnormal,Are not abnormal to the dreamer.They appear fantastic only inA different state, viz., waking.One cannot say what is really fantasticAnd what is normal and real.The mind gives values to objectsAnd its conception of normality and abnormalityChanges according to the state in which it is.There is no permanent standardOf normality, beauty or decorum,Either in waking or in dreaming,Which may hold good for all times;The dreamer has his own conceptionOf space, time and causation,Even as the waking one has his own notions.One state is absurd when compared to the other.This shows that both states are illogicalAnd, therefore, absurd from the highest standpoint. VIII The world of waking experience is unreal,Because it is the imagination of the cosmic mind.The fact that in Self-realisationThere is absolute cessation of phenomenal experienceShows that all phenomena are unreal.Eternal forms are the expressionsOf the internal Sankalpas or willings.Therefore, external objects have no real value.They appear to exist onlyAs long as the Sankalpas exist.The senses externalise the internal ideasAnd present them in the forms of objects.When the Sankalpas are drawn withinThe world of objective experience vanishes in toto.The Infinite Subject, viz., the Self alone remains.There is no such thing asExternality and internality in reality.The ego and the non-ego,The subject as well as the object,All are imaginations of the mind alone. IX It may be said thatObjects seen in waking are notMere mental imaginations,Because the objects of waking experienceAre seen by other people also,Whether or not one’s mind cognises them.But it is seen thatIn the dream state alsoObjects of experience are open toThe perception of other people,Though the people as well as the objects;Are all subjective imaginations.It may be said that

Get Experiences by Swami Sivananda Of course much depends upon the practice. You know that practice makes the man perfect. Feel the thrill of extreme joy that dawns when you are nearing the goal. You will experience a wonderful calm now. Drink the nectar in the deep silence. In the profound silence the mysterious Atman will be revealed unto you like an Amalaka fruit in the palm of your hand. Avidya and Maya and their effects Moha, fear, etc., will take to their heels. There will be light, knowledge, purity and bliss only everywhere. Some experience glimpses of the transcendent wonders of Atman. Some are on the borderland of the vast dominion of Atman. Some like Dattatreya, Jada Bharata, Vama Deva and Sadasiva Brahman had plunged deep in the ocean of bliss. The more the thinning of the Vasanas, egoism, Moha and Adhyasa, the greater the bliss of the Self. The more the Sadhana, the more the experience of joy of the soul.

Purity by Swami Krishnananda Purity is achieved by freedom from desire, and desire should be distinguished from necessity. When one is hungry, one should eat, when one is thirsty one should drink, when one is fatigued, one should sleep. These absolute necessities cannot be called desires because without these necessities one cannot even survive. Desire is a destructive form of longing which innervates the whole system, longing for things which are not necessary for the maintenance of the body. Every kind of luxury should be considered as desire. One has to judge for oneself whether this particular thing is absolutely necessary, or one can be comfortable even without that. Each one is one’s own judge. If one can comfortably live happily without certain things, asking for those things once again is called desire. It will disturb the mind. There are levels of desire, of a lower category and a higher category, etc. You may feel like having a cup of tea, it is a minor desire, have it. You may like to go for a walk – go, go for a walk. Any object that brings about tumult in the emotion, that is an object of desire by which you either want it intensely or hate it intensely. Intense wanting and intense hating will affect the emotions. The test of good health is freedom from emotion, correct understanding without any kind of ebullition, burning desire of any kind. This is briefly the definition of desire. There are two kinds of desires, anabolic and catabolic. Anabolic desires are constructive, helpful and necessary for maintaining health and peace of mind. Catabolic desires are destructive in their nature. They throw the energy out. Any procedure by which we can conserve our energy is anabolic. Any process by which we deplete our energy and then become weak, that is catabolic. One must be able to very carefully distinguish between one and the other. Understanding is the judge, it is called Viveka-Shakti, capacity to distinguish between what is absolutely essential for living a normal life and what is irrelevant. This is a preliminary definition to the question “What is purity?”. So purity is not like an apple that falls from a tree, it has shades of definition. You will not find any such clear description of this subject in any book, each one has to use one’s common sense. It is necessary to save life. Suppose you find a snake is wriggling encircled by forest fire, you would like to save it but you do not go and catch hold of its neck. So even a good desire like wanting to save the snake should not be fulfilled in a reckless way. People generally take a long stick and throw it like this, etc. etc. There are desires of a different type, like sexual desire. It is neither good nor bad, like fire. Do you consider fire as a good thing or a bad thing? You cannot say anything about it. It can destroy or it can cook your food. So, likewise, sexual desire is a conservative process of maintaining a balance in the system, it is not capable of definition in a cut-and-dried manner. It is, as any desire is, relative to circumstance. But if it is a passion, you may distinguish between desire and passion. Passion is voluptuous, tumult-like, and makes one sick afterwards. Great discrimination has to be exercised here. There is a famous passage called Kama Gita in the Mahabharata. The desire says, “People try to conquer me, but they do not know that even the desire to conquer me is a desire, they don’t understand that, so I am behind all their attempts.” Desire for God sublimates all other mortal desires. The higher absorbs the lower, the lower should be transmuted to the higher by meditation. by Swami Krishnananda