Philosophy of Desire Desire is an impulse (conative) towards an object. It is kept alive by imagination of the object such as ‘Oh, how beautiful it is,’ etc. Desire is an earnest longing for attaining some object or goal. It is a wish to enjoy an object. An urge to attain something is desire. Desire to see has become the eyes; desire to hear has become the ears; desire to taste has become the tongue; desire to smell has become the nose; desire to touch has become the skin; desire to work has become the hand; desire to speak has become the organ of speech; desire to walk has become the feet; desire to copulate has become the organ of reproduction. Desire is the root cause for this mundane life. Desires are the conative tendencies of your instincts. An instinct is an involuntary prompting to action. In the light of Vedanta philosophy, desire is born of Avidya or ignorance. There are neither desires, nor cravings, nor longings in Brahman. It is ever pure and transcendent. It is not touched by even a trace of desire. It is absolutely free from Maya or Mala (impurities of desire). When you think of an object, you feel a sort of stirring within you. There is an impulse to action in order to achieve the desired object. A desire arises to attain the object. Then there is Cheshta or Prayatna (effort). You begin to think in a clear and definite form as to how to possess the object. by the force of mere thought of an object, a tendency or hidden subtle Vasana is stirred to action. The senses of action begin to work. You obtain the object and enjoy it. Vasana is a subtle form of desire. It is hidden desire. Vasanas assume the form of desire which is gross. Trishna is intense craving or hankering after sensual objects. Vasana is intermingled with Samskaras or impressions. Vasanas produce Samskaras (impressions) and Samskaras in turn generate Vasanas. The rotation of this never-ending wheel of Vasana and Samskara constitutes the Samsara Chakra which causes births and deaths. Impulses are of three kinds, viz., impulse of thought, impulse of speech and impulse of action. Impulse, instinct, desires, cravings, are all modifications of Prakriti or Gunas. Just as the iron pieces move in the presence of magnet, the impulses, instincts, etc., derive their force or Chetana Sakti from Brahman only, the source of everything. Abhinivesa is clinging to this earthly life. This is fear of death. This is one of the five afflictions according to Patanjali Maharshi. It is born of Avidya or ignorance. This is synonymous with Bergson’s ‘elan Vital,’ Schopenhauer’s ‘will-to-live’ or Jung’s Libido, or Trishna of Lord Buddha. This clinging to mundane life is the cause for rebirth. This clinging should be destroyed through dispassion, discrimination and enquiry of ‘who am I?’. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the objects of senses, you will have to shut out the three different compartments in the mind which perform the conative, the cognitive and the affective processes. The mind runs outside through conation, cognition and affection. Conation is activity. Cognition is perception. Affection is love towards objects. Conation is at the root of all actions. The process of conation is done through Kriya Sakti. The process of cognition is done through Jnana Sakti. The process of affection is done through Prema Sakti. Do not allow the mental energy to run in these directions. Through the practice of Japa, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dama, Sama, Atmic enquiry, meditation and devotion you can fix your mind on the Lord or the Atman. From the Avidya Sakti desire arises to enjoy the external objects of desire. As soon as man was enveloped by the veil of ignorance, he forgot his essential blissful nature and began to run after sensual objects to seek his pleasure through the avenues of the senses. He began to exert, to do selfish Karmas, to realise his objects of desire. He lost his original freedom and became bound. Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire) and Karma (action) are the knots or Hridaya Granthis that have tied the deluded Jiva to this Samsara or wheel of birth and death. Desire is strengthened by hope and anticipation and repetition. Desire consists of three parts, viz., attachment (Aasakti), longing (Kamana) and preference. If you remove attachment through dispassion, discrimination and enquiry, longing will die by itself. Preference may remain for some time. It will also perish through discrimination. Therefore remove attachment first. Cultivate dispassion and discriminate between the real and the unreal. Persist in your enquiry. There are three sorts of attachment, viz., attachment to a person, or an object or a place.You may have a preference to coffee or tea, brinjal or potatoes and the like. However nice may be a Hindustani food preparation, a Madrasi or a Bengali or a Punjabi will have preference to his own dishes. It takes a long time to destroy this preference. Every action is an outcome of some motive. Motive is nothing but some instinctive impulse or combination of two or more impulses. Any activity is an endeavour to attain a goal. There is a vital impulse or urge to action. The conative process works in man.There are the reproductive instinct, the pairing or sexual instinct, the instinct of self-preservation, the instinct of escape or shrinking from injury, instinct of combat, instinct of curiosity, herding instinct, instinct of repulsion, instinct of attraction, the parental instinct, instinct of assertion, instinct of laughter, the Bania or Vaishya instinct through which one exploits and amasses wealth for his own comforts, the instinct of lordliness through which man tries to lord or domineer over others, and the destructive instinct through which he tries to destroy others who are more powerful and influential than him. Man wishes to have children to maintain the race or line. This is reproductive instinct or Putra Ishana. Desire to copulate proceeds from the sexual instinct. The strength of the sexual desire

Pseudo-Vedantic Student by Swami Sivananda A young aspirant says: I have taste for Vedanta only. I do not like either Bhakti or Karma Yoga. They are far inferior to Vedanta. Only Vedanta elevates me. Only Vedanta inspires me and raises me to the magnanimous heights of Divine Splendour and Glory. This foolish Vedantic student is like the greedy typhoid patient with ulcers in his bowels, who wants to eat and says, I have taste for sweetmeats. I want to eat them now. What will be the result if he eats Rasagullas and Laddus at this stage? The bowels will rupture and he will die of bleeding from the bowels or intestinal haemorrhage immediately. He is also like the patient who selects himself a medicine from the almirah, Liquor Arsenicalis or Tr. of Opium, and says, I like this medicine only. I want to taste this now. What will happen if he tastes this medicine without consulting the doctor? He will die of arsenical or opium poisoning. He does not know the dose of the medicine. Instead of taking a few drops he may take them in a large quantity and give up his vital breath at once. It is the doctor alone who can select the right medicine for the patient. Everybody cannot want to become a Commissioner or District Collector or Governor without possessing the necessary qualifications. Can anyone become an M.A., Ph.D., without undergoing the course for Matriculation, F.A. and B.A.? It is the Guru alone who can select the right type of Yoga for the aspirant and right kind of books for him. He knows the degree of evolution of the student and he alone can chalk out the right path for the aspirant. He will ask him to study first Atma-Bodha, Tattva-Bodha, Atma-Anatma-Viveka. But the raw self-willed student goes to the library and at once takes up the highly advanced books, Yoga-Vasishtha and Brahma-Sutras, for his study! He becomes a pseudo-Vedantin or lip-Vedantin within six months and enters into discussions with elderly aspirants. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. After studying Yoga-Vasishtha and the Karikas on Mandukya Upanishad for six months, he says: There is no world in the three periods of time. Aham Brahma Asmi – Sivoham – Sivah Kevaloham. He is puffed up with empty pride, vanity and hollowness, and walks in the streets with his head erect. He will never make any prostration to elderly Sannyasis and Sadhus, but chant the formula very often, Sivoham, Sivoham. Such aspirants are formidable Asuras on this earth. They are a great burden on this earth. They pollute the atmosphere and create dissensions and quarrels everywhere, by entering into heated debates with sincere devotees and Karma Yogis. They cannot prosper in the spiritual path. Vedanta in the hands of raw and unregenerate persons who lack purity and devotion and who have not removed the impurity of their hearts through untiring selfless service with Atma-Bhava and Kirtan and prayer, is perilous. It is like a sharp razor in the hands of a child. Instead of expanding their hearts the Vedantic study will thicken and fatten their egoism. They fall into the deep abyss of ignorance. There is no hope, for them, of being lifted up, as their heart is filled with foolish, Tamasic, obstinacy, false Vedantic pride and self-superiority and false Tushti (satisfaction).May this land be free from such impotent, pseudo lip-Vedantins! May this world abound with real Vedantins like Dattatreya, Yajnavalkya and Sankara!

Remove the obstacles by Swami Sivananda If you strain yourself in meditation and go beyond your capacity, laziness and inactive nature will supervene. Meditation should come naturally on account of serenity of the mind induced by the practice of Sama, Dama, Uparati and Pratyahara. When you practise Samadhi, many obstacles such as sleep, laziness, break of continuity, confusion, temptation, infatuation, desire for worldly pleasure, and a feeling of blankness will assail you. You must be on the alert. You must be vigilant and circumspect. You will have to get over these impediments step by step through patient, dauntless efforts. You will have to cross this void also. What appears to you as a void when all the Vrittis have perished is not really a void. This is Avyaktam. If you cross this void also, you will rest in your own Self. Terrible fear will try to overpower you when you come face to face with the void because you are left alone now. You have nothing to see, nothing to hear. There is none to cheer you. You will have to depend on your own self. Presence of mind is needed now at this critical juncture. Draw courage and strength from within. Sage Uddalaka also encountered much difficulty in crossing this void. No impediment can stand before a man of fiery determination and iron will. Some aspirants stop their Sadhana after reaching Avyaktam. They get false contentment. They have wrong imagination that they have reached the highest goal. This is a sad mistake. They get themselves merged in Avyaktam and become Prakritilayas. Prakritilayas are born again in this world with powers. You should try to go beyond this Avyaktam or the unmanifested Prakriti. Then you will reach the Bhuma or the unconditional Brahman. The Vasanas are very powerful. The senses and the mind are very turbulent and impetuous. Again and again the battle must be fought and won. That is the reason why the spiritual path is called the razor path in the Kathopanishad. There is no difficulty for a man of strong determination and iron will even in the razor path. Strength comes from within at every step. Extreme asceticism and self-torture are not necessary for the attainment of knowledge of the Self. You will have to adopt always the middle course. Too much fasting brings much weakness and retards vigorous spiritual Sadhana. You can have occasionally mild fasts. Live on milk and fruits on Sundays and Ekadasi. Ethical culture is of paramount importance. The curiosity for acquiring Siddhis must be abandoned. That man who thirsts for Siddhis is still within the dominion of Maya. Only when this thirsting dies, the student enters the borderland of Jnana or the spiritual kingdom. Every student should maintain daily spiritual diary. Then only defects can be rectified and the mind can be controlled. The spirit of service of humanity must be ingrained in the heart of every aspirant. Sattvic virtues such as mercy, generosity, tolerance, forgiveness and nobility must be developed to a high degree. Teachers of Yoga and sages lay great emphasis on the above points. Do not become despondent under any account. Walk like a spiritual lion. Overcome difficulties one by one. Be not afraid of public criticism. People are still abusing Lord Mahadeva, Sri Sankaracharya, Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. They will continue to do so from eternity to eternity. The world abounds with Tamasic people. Sattvic people are very rare. Discipline your mind. Stand adamant under all conditions and at all times. Keep a cool balanced mind. Serve the world with redoubled force and energy. May you prosper gloriously! May you attain the state of Kaivalya! When the mind is Sattvic you will get glimpses, flashes of intuition. You will compose poems. You will understand the significance of the Upanishads beautifully. But this stage will not last long in neophytes. Tamas and Rajas will try to enter the mental factory. In the beginning stage, progress may be like the frog’s, never steady and continuous. You may think that you have almost reached the goal and experience for the next 6 or 20 days nothing but disappointment. It will be a jump from position to position but not a continuous development. Have sustained, intense Vairagya and do intense protracted Sadhana. Be under the guidance and close contact of your Guru for some years. You will have steady and continuous progress. O Ram! Thou art Satyakama, a lover of Truth. Thou art very dear to me, because thou art treading the path of Truth or the path of Self-realisation though with faltering steps. You are bound to succeed. All obstacles will vanish like mist before the sun. Be not troubled. Be not anxious if there is a little delay in the descent of divine light. March boldly in the spiritual path. O Beloved Ram! You are within a strong spiritual fortress now. No temptation can influence you. You are absolutely safe. You can do vigorous Sadhana now without fear. You have a strong spiritual prop to lean upon. Become a brave soldier. Kill your foe, the mind, ruthlessly. Wear the spiritual laurels of peace, equal vision, contentment. You are already shining with Brahmic splendour on your face. The All-merciful Lord has given you all sorts of comforts, good health and a Guru to guide you. What more do you want? Grow, evolve, realise the Truth and proclaim it everywhere.

Philosophy of the Mind Bhoomirapo analo vayuh kham mano buddhirevacha, Ahamkara itiyam me bhinna prakritirashtadha. According to Sankhya cosmology, mind is the fourth principle that has emanated from the self-asserting principle Ahamkara or egoism or Asmita. Prakriti or Avyakta (matter in an unmanifested state) is styled as ‘Ashtangi’ or eightfold Prakriti (Prakritirashtadha). Mind is one of the eight limbs or Ashtanga. Mind is itself a word whose meaning is extremely vague, one incapable of being clearly defined except in terms of some questionable and speculative hypothesis. No one can point to a mind and say: That is what I mean the word mind shall denote. Mind consists of a bundle of faculties, as the faculties of cognition or perception, volition or will, imagination, judgment, reason, understanding, memory etc. Character concerns the affective or conative organism of the mind. Knowledge concerns the cognitive organism. There are different channels of communication through which the cognitive and conative faculties are directed. There is only one mind which has diverse names according to the plane on which it functions, viz., the subjective mind, the objective mind, the universal mind (cosmic consciousness), or the superconscious mind, the subconscious mind, the instinctive mind, the spiritual mind. The Vishaya or function of the mind is cognition (Sankalpa-Vikalpa or will, thought, doubt). The ‘doubting mind’is collective aggregate of all Jnana-Indriyas or organs of sensation or perception. Mind is below Will and above Prana or energy or matter. Mind is a relative manifestation of the Absolute. Mind is positive to Energy and Matter, but negative to Will, which is again positive to mind, but negative to Atman. Mind when purified becomes your real Guru. You will hear the voice of silence. You will get answers for your unsolvable problems. A pure mind is no longer subtle matter but the Brahman itself. The original home for the mind is Omkara in the Sahasrara or thousand-petalled lotus. Mind has become impure by your own desires. How the pure Brahman has become the impure Jiva is a life problem that has baffled all human efforts for a clear, correct and satisfactory solution. This is a question which has no answer. This is the mystic side of nature. You cannot solve celestial, divine problems that belong to supramental planes, with the finite intellect of the physical plane. Develop intuition. Acquire transcendental wisdom. Look within through cosmic consciousness. Then you will get a real solution. Through the searchlight of the concentrated mind, you will have to behold the treasures of the Soul or Atman. Just as rays permeate solid bones or blocks of wood, the concentrated mental rays of a focussed mind will pass through the different forms of matter and reveal their real nature. During cosmic consciousness, you are aware of the oneness of life. You will find that there is no such thing as dead matter, but that all is alive, vibrating and intelligent. You will see the universe as all-Atman, which is the essence or background of this sense universe, of this world of Dvandvas or opposites, of this world of mere conceptions or ideas, of this world of names and forms. In Svarga or paradise or heaven, you are in the ‘thought world’. You feel or experience no pain. Why? Because you get whatever you think or imagine. Your desires are immediately gratified. Your thought matter instantaneously materialises, crystallises and precipitates before you. You are satisfied. But this is not real.The science of Raja Yoga or mental Yoga deals with the methods of controlling the ever oscillating mind under the command of the will, which is in the centre of Atman. Manoyama is superior to Pranayama; but the Adhikaris or qualified persons for practice of Manoyama should be very intelligent with bold understanding and tremendous will. Sit on Padma or Siddha Asana facing east or north. Make Trataka or Dharana on Trikuti, the space between the two eyebrows with closed eyes. Control the force of thought by meditation on Pranava or Om and its meaning. Practise regularly from 1 1/2 to 2 or 3 hours daily. You will become a Yogi and an Atma Jnani soon.

Right Significance of ”TAT TVAM ASI’ by Swami Sivananda A Mahavakya in an Upanishad is a transcendental phrase or a great saying which establishes identity or oneness of the individual soul with Brahman. There are altogether four Mahavakyas in the Upanishads. Each Veda contains one Mahavakya. The four Mahavakyas are: Prajnanam Brahma (Consciousness is Brahman): This is contained in the Aitareya Upanishad of the Rigveda. This is the Svarupa-Bodha-Vakya that explains the nature of Brahman or the Self. Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman): This is contained in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of the Yajur Veda. This is the Anusandhana-Vakya or sentence for enquiry. Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art): This is contained in the Chhandogya Upanishad of Sama Veda. This is Upadesha Vakya uttered by the Guru to disciple. Ayam Atma Brahma (This Atman is Brahman): This is contained in the Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharva Veda. This is the Anubhava-Bodha-Vakya that gives expression to the inner intuitive experience of the innermost Self by the aspirant through meditation or Nididhyasana. Out of the four Mahavakyas we are concerned here with the Upadesha Vakya Tat Tvam Asi for Pada-Artha-Sodhana or an examination into the real meaning of it. In the Chhandogya Upanishad it is stated that the sage Uddalaka sends his son Svetaketu to Gurukula for learning the Vedas. Svetaketu accordingly spends twelve full years in learning the scriptures and thus returns home with the vanity of being learned. His father asks him: My dear, why are you so conceited? Have you learnt that, by learning which the unheard becomes heard, the unknown becomes known, the unperceived becomes perceived. How is it? asks Svetaketu, and the father gives the reply: It is just as by knowing one clod of clay all that is made of clay is known: for whatever the modifications of the effects are, they are only names, and have their origin in speech. One who knows the cause knows all its effects, since the cause and its effects are non-different. Then Uddalaka gives various examples for ascertaining the cause of the universe. His instructions may be summed up as follows: The effect is nothing but the cause. Hence the body is nothing but food, food is nothing but water, water is nothing but fire, fire is nothing but Sat. Sat alone is true, and That thou art. When a man sleeps he becomes one with Sat and hence in his case it is said Svapiti, which means he attains his own Self in sleep. This Sat is the real cause of the universe. When a man dies his speech is dissolved in the mind, the mind is dissolved in the Prana, the Prana is dissolved in fire, fire is dissolved in Sat. This Sat is thy Self – That thou art. Sage Uddalaka gives nine examples and repeats the Mahavakya Tat Tvam Asi, with each of them, to bring home to Svetaketu the real significance of the great sentence. Evidently the qualifying pronoun That refers to Sat or God, the creator, and Thou refers to the individual soul. Art or Asi connects them both, indicating thus an identity between the two, which is the subject matter of consideration in this present essay. Objection 1: But in what way can Godhood be attributed to an individual? They both have antagonistic qualities. They can never be identical. But as Vishnu is read in an image, or as Aditya, Agni, etc., are worshipped as Brahman, in the same way Godhood can be attributed to the Jiva. Reply: No, it cannot be. ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ has a totally different signification. The word ‘etc’ in the above objection signifies that Aditya, Agni, and the like are not themselves Brahman. Similarly an image itself is not Brahman. But this is not the case with the Mahavakya. Objection 2: This may be used in the case of Stuti or glorification, just as it is said: thou art Indra, Varuna etc.Reply: No, Svetaketu cannot be glorified by his father, who is superior to him in position and knowledge. Objection 3: It may be used in a secondary sense, just as someone may say: ‘Thou art a lion,’ meaning thereby ‘thou art as brave as a lion.’ Reply: Secondary sense has no place here since the instruction of Uddalaka is on the knowledge of the cause, vide for example, as by knowing a clod of earth one can know all its effects. Objection 4: If Svetaketu is Sat, there is no necessity of knowing himself, and the instruction is of no avail. Reply: No; due to illusory identification with the body, mind, etc., the Self which is Sat is not known. When the illusion vanishes, Sat shines by its own light. The instruction that the unheard becomes heard etc. signifies that Sat is not known by the senses and the intellect. On the other hand it is known by direct perception or intuition. Thus we proceed with our enquiry into the real meaning of ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ which establishes non-duality, cutting off the tree of Samsara. Samanadhikaranya This is the relation of abiding in a common substratum, as for instance, the ether in a pot (Ghata) and the ether in a temple (Matha) have a common substratum. Being limited by pot and temple they differ apparently; yet by negating the limiting adjuncts, viz., the pot and the temple, we find the same ether undifferentiated. Pot-ether (Ghatakasa) is not equal to Temple-ether (Mathakasa). But, Pot-ether minus Pot is equal to Temple-ether minus Temple. Ether is equal to Ether. This is the case of Samanadhikaranya. The same holds good in the case of ‘Tat’ and ‘Tvam,’ which we will prove by considering their indicative meaning. In order to know the meaning of a sentence one must know the meaning of each ‘Pada’ or word. Every word is related to its meaning. This relationship is called exposition or Vritti. There are two Vrittis: Sakti-Vritti (Force) Lakshana-Vritti (indication) Sakti Vritti: It is the potency inherent in the word by which one

Vedanta in Daily Life The Upanishads form the basis of Vedanta. Vedanta is the basic culture of India. It is the national philosophy of India. It is the Moksha Sastra or the Science of Emancipation. Absolutism is the pivot of Vedanta philosophy. Vedanta upholds the reality of the indivisible, immanent and transcendent Spirit. It does not exclude matter. It does not exclude anything. The oneness of all existence is the message which Vedanta teaches. It has kept Hindu society alive for the past several thousand years. Vedanta is the only bold philosophy which dares call man God, not merely the son of God, or His servant. It proclaims with emphasis that you are the immortal, all-pervading Atman, the Universal Soul or Supreme Brahman in essence, in reality. Boldness is the key-note of Vedanta. The message of Vedanta is fearlessness, soul-force and unity of consciousness. Vedanta does not ask for converts or proselytes, but a deeper reassessment of the divine-human equation, a return to the fundamental question of every being: “What am I really ? What is my real Self ?” Vedanta proclaims: “Man, in essence, is identical with the Supreme Being.” Vedanta denotes one’s identity with the rest of humanity. According to Vedanta, there is no stranger in this world. Everyone is related to one another in the kinship of the Spirit. In Vedanta, there is no ‘mine’ and ‘for me’; but ‘ours’ and ‘for us’; and ultimately, ‘His’ and ‘for Him’. If the Vedanta philosophy is rightly understood and acted up to, then it will obliterate all evils that emanate from factional and racial prejudices. Vedanta is no creed, no ceremony or form of worship. It is the science of right living. It is not the sole monopoly of the Hindus or the recluses. It is for all. Vedanta has no quarrel with any religion whatsoever. It preaches universal principles. Vedanta is the only universal, eternal religion. It is a great leveler. It unites all. It gives room to all. Vedanta encloses within its sphere all the religions of the world and is strong enough to make them all useful and enduring. Vedanta never interferes with forms. It concerns itself solely with the life of religions. The Christian need not renounce his Christianity, the Buddhist may stick to his Noble Eightfold path, the Muslim may stick to his Quran, and yet all these may follow the Vedanta and realize in practice all its high ideals and truths. Their love to their respective prophets and Bibles will become more sober, more enlightened, and more enduring. Religious animosity will vanish and the world will move on to its great end without any friction, with greater dignity and more goodwill among its denizens. Vedanta means no slavery. It gives freedom to all. It never condemns any man as beyond hope, never looks upon anyone as accused, but takes all mankind within its fold. Vedanta is extremely catholic and liberal in its outlook. Vedanta can offer to the modern society a common faith, a common body of principles, and a common moral discipline. It is highly scientific in outlook and has a real appeal to men and women of today. There is no philosophy so bold and sublime as the philosophy of the Vedanta. It is Vedanta alone that can eradicate totally human sufferings and can bring everlasting peace and happiness. Even a little understanding and a little practice of Vedanta can raise a man to magnanimous heights of Brahmanhood or God-consciousness and remove all sorts of fears, worries and anxieties of this mundane life. Some ignorant people only say that Vedanta preaches immorality, hatred and pessimism. This is a very sad mistake. Vedanta does not preach either immorality or even indifference to morality. Vedanta wants you to destroy Moha or selfish love and passion for the body, and develop pure, disinterested cosmic love or the magnanimous divine Love. Vedanta never preaches pessimism, but it preaches the pinnacle of optimism. Licentiousness is mistaken for a life of expansion. If a man can eat anything in any hotel in any part of the world, if he can move socially with any man or woman, that does not mean he is a Vedantin. There is much tall talk of Vedanta nowadays. People talk of unity, oneness and equality, but fight out for little, useless things. They are full of jealousy and hatred. I cannot imagine this. I am simply stunned. I believe in practical Vedanta. I believe in solid spiritual practices. I believe in thorough overhauling of worldly nature, worldliness of various sorts. You must be a practical Vedantin. You should live in the spirit of Vedanta. Mere theorizing and lecturing is only intellectual gymnastics and lingual warfare. This will not suffice. What is the use of reading too many books on Vedanta like Chit-Sukhi, Khandana Khanda Khadyam, etc. ? You must radiate love to one and all. The spirit of Vedanta must be ingrained in your cells, tissues, veins, nerves and bones. It must become part and parcel of your nature. You must think of unity, speak of unity and act in unity. The sun, the Ganga, the flowers, the sandal trees, the fruit-bearing trees, the cows – all teach practical Vedanta to the world. They live for serving the humanity in a disinterested spirit. The sun radiates its light alike over a cottage of a peasant and a palace of a king. The cool refreshing waters of the Ganga are drunk by all. The flowers waft their fragrance to all without expecting anything. The sandal tree wafts its aroma even to the man who cuts it with an axe. All fruit-bearing trees behave in the same manner. O selfish, ignorant man ! Learn lessons from these practical Vedantins and become wise. Vedanta does not preach a doctrine of negation of human effort. It wants you to have a changed mental attitude. It demands a changed angle of vision. Till now, the world was everything. Hereafter, the Reality alone is everything. Once there

Tat Tvam Asi Mahavakya by Swami Sivananda The sage Uddalaka gave instructions to his son Svetaketu on the significance of Tat Tvam Asi Mahavakya nine times. This comes in Chhandogya Upanishad VI-7. The identity of Jivatma and Paramatma, the individual soul and the Supreme Soul is realised by meditating on the right significance of this Mahavakya or great sentence of the Upanishads. The relation between sound and its meaning is the Vritti of the sound. This Vritti is of two kinds, viz., Sakti Vritti and Lakshana Vritti. There is a power in the sound to generate the knowledge of the meaning of the sound. The direct connection between a sound and its meaning is its Sakti Vritti. The Parampara relationship between sound and its meaning, through the meaning known through the Sakti Vritti is the Lakshana Vritti of the sound. The meaning that is understood through the Sakti Vritti is the Vachyartha of the sound. The meaning that is understood by the Lakshana Vritti is the Lakshyartha of the sound. There are three kinds of relations, viz.,Samanadhi Karanya: (appositional) or the relation between two words having the same substratum. Visheshana-Visheshya: (the definitive) or the relation between the two words qualifying each other so as to signify a common object and Lakshya Lakshana Bhava: (the connotive) or the relation between two words and an identical thing implied by them (here Brahman). Samanadhi Karanya is the relationship between two words having the same substratum. by way of illustration take the sentence, This is that Devadatta. The word that indicates Devadatta connected with the past and the word this indicates Devadatta connected with the present. Both refer to one and the same person called Devadatta. Likewise, in the sentence Thou art That, the word That indicates consciousness characterised by remoteness, and the word Thou denotes consciousness characterised by nearness. Both refer to one and the same consciousness viz., the Brahman. The second relation is Visheshana-Visheshya Bhava. In the sentence, This is that Devadatta, that meaning a person endowed with the attribute of having been seen before is a conception of the past. They are dissimilar ideas but still they qualify each other so as to indicate a common object. Likewise in the Vedic sentence Thou art That, the meaning of the word Thou is consciousness characterised by nearness. They are dissimilar ideas but they qualify each other so as to indicate a common object. The third relation is Lakshya-Lakshana Bhava. In the sentence This is that Devadatta, this endowed with the attribute of having been seen at a particular place or in a particular dress or a particular time cannot be entirely identical with that endowed with the attribute of being seen at a different place, in a different dress in a different time. To equate them, therefore, we must abandon the inconsistent attributes and see the identity of the individual who has those varying attributes. Similarly in the Vedic sentence, Thou art That, to equate That, the omniscient, unmanifested Atman with Thou, the little-knowing, manifested, Jiva, we must abandon the inconsistent attributes such as omniscience and little knowledge etc., associated with That and Thou respectively and take up the pure consciousness which is common to both. Though the words That and Thou may indicate distinct conceptions, they must be taken to connote the same underlying reality or common consciousness. There are three kinds of Lakshana: Jahallakshan: Here the direct meaning of a sentence is abandoned completely in favour of an indirect meaning. For example, Gangayam Gosha, The village is on the Ganga. The direct meaning of The village is on the Ganga is abandoned in favour of the indirect meaning near the Ganga. There cannot be any village on the Ganga. There can be a village near the Ganga only. This Lakshana is not suitable for explaining Tat Tvam Asi Mahavakya because if the Kutasta Chaitanya, the Lakshyartha of Tvam Pada is abandoned, there is no Svarupa for the aspirant. Ajahallakshan: Here the direct meaning of a sentence is not abandoned but amplified. As for example, The red is running. Here we have to add the word horse, and understand as The red horse is running, because, redness being but a quality cannot run. This Lakshana also is not suitable to explain the identity of Jiva and Brahman in Tat Tvam Asi Mahavakya. Jahadajahallakshan: This is also known by the name Bhaga Tyaga Lakshana. Here a part of the direct meaning of a sentence is abandoned and another part is retained. As for example, This is that Devadatta, the associations regarding time and place are abandoned, but the person called Devadatta is retained. Likewise, in the great saying Thou art That the inconsistent attributes of remoteness and nearness, omni-science and little-knowledge, etc., associated with That and Thou respectively are abandoned and pure consciousness or Brahman, which is common to both is retained. The real meaning of the Vedic sentence is obtained by applying this Lakshana only. Identity of Jiva and Brahman is shown by applying this Lakshana. In the Vedic sentence, That art Thou or Thou art That, the direct significance of the word That is Maya plus the Brahman reflected therein, plus the pure Brahman, the substratum of Maya. The direct significance of the word Thou is Avidya plus the Self reflected therein plus Kutastha, the substratum of Avidya. The connotation or the real indicative meaning of the word That is pure Brahman. The connotation or the real indicative meaning of the word Thou is the Kutastha. The inconsistent attributes of Maya and Avidya have to be eliminated and the Kutastha whose nature is Existence, Knowledge and Bliss has to be identified with the pure Brahman whose nature is also Existence, Knowledge and Bliss. He who realises the identity through direct intuitive perception attains Moksha. He is a Jivanmukta. This is the emphatic unanimous voice of the Upanishads. Avidya and the Chaitanya that is at its back (Adhisthana Chaitanya, i.e., Kutastha), the individual subtle body that is the product of

Practical Aspect of Philosophy by Swami Sivananda Proper understanding of Vedanta and its principles, and practice of Vedanta in daily life is sure to bring peace, solace and happiness to a world distracted by war, communal strife, petty quarrels and religious fights. Atman the Self is the Ultimate Reality. It is the ultimate philosophical principle. It is the substratum for everything. It is the only living truth. It is the Brahman of the Upanishads. It is the Omkara of the Vedas. It is the foundation of society. It is the Support of this world. It is the prop of this body and Prana. It is the Impersonal Absolute. Supreme Peace or Parama Santi is the quest of your life. Peace, Moksha and Immortality are convertible terms (Paryaya Sabdas). Mental reaction to pleasure and pain will cease when you attain this state. All kinds of likes and dislikes (Raga-Dvesha) will vanish in toto, when you realise this state of absolute quietude. He who attains Knowledge of the Self is absolutely free from all desires because he knows that everything is in himself, and that there is nothing outside of himself to continue to desire. Aptakamasya ka spriha – What can he desire who has everything? Brahman is Paripurna (All-full), Nirapeksha (self-contained). How can desire arise in the mind of one who has realised the Self, who beholds the Self in all beings, and all beings in the Self? You have been given the key to unlock many of the secrets of life. That key is meditation. Meditate regularly in the morning between 4 and 6 and attain eternal bliss and immortality. Rigorous self-discipline and regular meditation will help you to fix your mind completely on the Eternal. Have self-confidence. Develop independent judgment. Cultivate the indomitable will. Practise self-control and self-mastery. You cannot attain freedom or peace without self-control. The man who is bitten by the serpent of ignorance will be cured by the Garuda Mantra called Jnana or Knowledge of Brahman.An ounce of spiritual experience is better than tons of theories, and study of spiritual books. A single glimpse of Brahman or the Immortal Soul will bestow on you illumination and remove the worldly intoxication of pride, delusion, pain and grief. Spiritual vision or Atmanubhava will stand out like a beacon light for you.Learn the principles of Divine Life and apply them to daily conduct in life. Become practical men in the spiritual path. The possession of Siddhis never brings one nearer to God. The development of psychic faculties does not itself imply any real spiritual progress. They tempt the aspirant and bring about his downfall. The attainment of cosmic consciousness is permanent in realised souls. It is like a glimpse in the beginning. Through steady meditation it becomes permanent or natural. The external world is the world of objects. The internal subjective world is the world of images created by the mind. Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes or attraction and repulsion) are not in the external objects of the senses. They dwell in the mind and in the internal images. Stop the wandering mind in the objective world through Trataka, Japa, Upasana, Pranayama. In the subjective world, wage a war against the image-producing mind either by Raja Yogic method of Chitta-Vritti-Nirodha (stopping all mental modifications) or the method of self-analysis and enquiry, the method of Jnana Yogins. The seed of this body is mind. There are two seeds for this mind, viz., vibration of Prana and Vasana. If Prana is controlled, the mind can be controlled. If Vasanas are eradicated through discrimination, Vichara, dispassion and meditation, the mind will be annihilated. The neem leaves are bitter when you are in normal health, but if you taste them when you are bitten by a cobra, they are sweet. Bitterness or sweetness does not lie in the leaves, but it lies in the subject. They are created by the mind. It is the mind that gives the qualities, shape, taste, etc., to the objects. Control this mind. Rise above this mind and be happy for ever. A doctor thinks that the advocate is happy. The advocate thinks that the businessman is happier. The businessman thinks that the judge is happier. The judge thinks that the professor is more happy. This is an illusion. This is a trick of the mind. No one is happy in this world. Real happiness can be had in one�s own Atman alone. The Jivanmukta alone who has realised the Self is ever happy. Therefore attain Self-realisation and be ever happy. To be timid is the greatest sin. To be selfish is the greatest offence. To identify oneself with the body is the greatest crime. To forget one�s own Atman is the greatest sin. Therefore destroy timidity and selfishness. Abandon identification with the body and remember always your essential divine nature. That which elevates you is virtue (Dharma), that which pulls you down is vice (Adharma) or sin; that which takes you to the goal is virtue, that which makes you a worldly man is sin; that which helps you to attain Godhead is virtue, that which hurls you down in the dark abyss of ignorance is sin; that which gives you illumination is virtue, that which causes intoxication is sin; that which purifies your heart is virtue, that which taints your heart is sin; that which gives you peace, joy, satisfaction, exhilaration, expansion of heart is virtue, that which brings restlessness, dissatisfaction, depression and contraction of heart is vice. Therefore practise Dharma. From Dharma knowledge arises. The ears hear sounds through the intelligence of Atman or the Self. The eyes perceive the objects through the intelligence of Atman. The tongue tastes objects through the intelligence of Atman. Atman is the director of the five senses of knowledge. Atman is the Ear of ears, Tongue of tongues. Atman is the potent magnet. If you know the hidden, all-powerful, all-wise director, if you have direct intuitive perception of this Atman by the practice of meditation, you will cross the

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Tat Tvam Asi by Swami Sivananda The central truth of the Upanishads, the essence of the Vedanta, the goal of all wisdom and all spiritual practices, the reality of all realities, the quintessence of truth is that the individual self, the embodied soul, the Jiva, is identical with the Supreme, the Absolute, the Brahman, and this is what is meant by the great utterance of Self-revelation of the Upanishads: ‘Tat Tvam Asi’, That thou art. The nature of the inner essence of yourself and the nature of Brahman is one and the same, free from all change, impersonal and all-pervasive, infinite consciousness. You are not separate from Brahman: you are no other than the Brahman Itself and It alone you are, the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, and this indeed, is the final truth which the sages of Realisation declare through their lives and this is the culmination of all spiritual experiences of the soul. . . Tat Tvam Asi, That thou art. Tat Tvam Asi is the Abheda-Bodha-Vakya of the Upanishad which is also the Upadesa-Vakya instructed by the Brahma-Srotri Brahma-Nishtha Guru to the Adhikari or the disciple. The non-separateness of Jiva and Brahman is brought out by this great aphoristic precept which Sage Uddalaka repeated nine times to his son and disciple Svetaketu. ‘Thou art That’ is the meaning carried out by this declaration of the Sruti. It has got a superficial verbal meaning or Vachyartha and an essential indicative meaning or Lakshyartha. The individual and the cosmic, Avidya and Maya, Jiva and Isvara, Atman and Brahman are the aspects which correspond themselves to the meaning of the terms ‘Tat’ and ‘Tvam’, ‘That’ and ‘Thou’. That identity of the two is brought out by the following illustration. A person Devadatta is seen by me in January at Delhi. I recognise him and say ‘This is Devadatta’. I go to Agra on another occasion and find the same Devadatta there in April and explain, ‘This is that Devadatta’, ‘Soyam Devadattah’, referring to the identity of the person seen at two places at two different times. The superimpositions which appear in the ‘January-Delhi-Devadatta’ and the ‘April-Agra-Devadatta’ are ignored and only the real ‘Devadatta’ is taken into account. The references to Time and Space. . . January, April, Delhi, Agra. . . are only temporary and relative, for the Devadatta who was in Delhi during the month of January cannot be different from the Devadatta who came to Agra during the month of April, because the person is the same, though the place and the time are different. Thus the identity of the two Devadattas is determined. The individual and the cosmic persons respectively limited by Avidya and Maya, namely, the Jiva and the Isvara are two personalities differentiated by space and time. When the verbal meaning or the Vachyartha of the Mahavakya is taken, the Jiva is asserted to be Isvara himself in the Pindanda. The Visva, Taijasa and Prajna of the microcosm or Pindanda correspond closely to the Virat, Hiranyagarbha and Isvara of the macrocosm or the Brahmanda. Thus the Jiva is an exact copy of or is identical with Isvara. But the Lakshyartha or the indicative meaning of the sentence is brought out by the illustration in the story by ‘Soyam Devadattah’ or ‘This is that Devadatta’. The limitations are cast off and the essence only is taken. Atman limited by Avidya is Jiva; Brahman limited by Maya is Isvara. When the Avidya of Jiva is cast off and the Maya of Isvara is ignored, what remains is Atman instead of Jiva and Brahman instead of Isvara. Just as the Devadatta of Delhi was the same as the Devadatta of Agra, the Reality of Isvara and the Reality of the Jiva are one and the same. Hence Atman is identical with Brahman. ‘Thou’ stands for the Atman and ‘That’ for Brahman, and the word ‘art’ or ‘Asi’ signifies the identity of the two as the one Akhanda-Ekarasa-Satchidananda-Ghana.