S. VENKATADHRI, a.c.a.

\ 1H, NEHRU STREET

COIMBATORE-641 009.

SRI RAMANASRAMAM - TIRUVANNAMALAI - S. INDIA

UPADESA SARAM
OR
(UPADESA UNDIYAR)
OF
SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI

With English Translation and Notes

BY
B. V. NARASIMHASWAMI
(Author of “Self Realisation”>

Revised & Enlarged

Published by
T. N. VENKATARAMAN
PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SRI RAMANASRAMAM
TIRUVANNAMALAI
S. India
 © Sri Ramanasramam, TiruvarmamaJai

Sixth Edition 1970

Pbice : Rs. 1.50

STfte Jupiter Press Private Ltd., Madras-18.

 CONTENTS
Page
. ft
PREFACE 1
SUMMARY 6-25
Right Attitude .. 8
Karma mdrga or Path ol Works .. 10
Hints on Meditation 11
The Four Paths 12
Path of Yoga .. 13
Misconceptions and Needless Fears 14
Path of Devotion 17
Path of Inquiry or Illumination .. 17
(a) Bars and Qualifications .. 17
(b) Discipline and Regimen .. 37
(c) The Graded Steps 18
Flash of Realisation 20
Hints for Practice 20
Prajapati teaches Atman to Indra 21
Varuna teaches Brahman to Bhrigu 22
Diving to the Core 24
Who am I ? Core of Personality .. 25
UPADESA SARAM 26-64
Karma, definition of 26
„ Doctrine, stated 27
„ „ goes with Transmigration 28
„ „ its use, not to curtail God’s
powers 29
„ inadequate as means to happiness 30
Happiness, What ? Levels of 30
„ Desire or Desirelessness : What leads
to— ? 31
Non-attached work, as service to God 31
God-ward Karma, what? Three classes 32
Worship God as all and all as God, the best S3
„ in images and saints 34
Soham: Non-difference, is best 36-37
Worship of Personal God, with non-difference 37
 ii
Page
“ Transcending ” Personality in God and
Worshipper .. .. 37
Bhakti is jnana and vice versa; End, the same .. 33
Common formula or slogan for all paths “ Seek thy
source. Be absorbed in the Heart ” .. 39-43
* Source 9, ‘ Heart ’—explained .. 40-43
Absorption (Samadhi) temporary and permanent .. 41
Pranayama yields only temporary lull .. 43
* Manonasha9 (permanent absorption) explained .. 43
Is there mind in Self-Realisation ? Mind and jiva
continue to the end. JnanVs mind .. 45
Pour classes of samadhi: .. 45-47
(1) Sushka or Yoga samadhi .. 45
(2) Savikalpa samadhi .. 46
(3) Nirvikalpa samadhi (a) Kevala .. 47
(4) Sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi or Jivan mukti 47
Has the Jivan Mukta any karma to go through ?
Bondage explained .. ., 48
The Technique of the Path of Inquiry .. 48-53
What is mind ? .. .. 51
What is personality, i.e., Who am I ? Whence ? .. 51-52
Loss or merger of Personality. No annihilation .. 51-52
The Residuary Self, Atman, “ I-I ” .. 53
Deep sleep state—Ego in it .. .. 55
The “ Neti-Neti ” or elimination of Not-I .. .56
The ultimate result of Inquiry—Sat Chit Ananda .. 58
Ultimate Unity of Being Consciousness and Bliss .. 58-59
All pairs of Opposites merge there, e.g., knowledge
and ignorance .. gy
Consummation of Devotion and Sacrifice are found
there .. 59
UPADESA SARAM in English verse by Allen Chadwick 60-64
SANSKRIT UPADESA SARA by Maharshi .. 65-68
APPENDIX A—Sources & Parallels 69
»» B—List of abbreviations t 70
C—Karma, classes & destruction of .. 71-74
INDEX •• .. 75-84
BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI
 PREFACE

When this work of Sri Ramana Maharshi is presented*

a few words of introduction about his life and works
may be expected. Born in December, 1879, the second
son of Sundaramier, a pleader of Tiruchuzhi in the Ramnad
District, he received his early education at Tiruchuzhi
and Dindigul and then proceeded to Madurai where he
studied in Scott’s Middle School and the American Mission
High School. His relatives and companions noticed
nothing extraordinary about him except perhaps his
occasional absent-mindedness during working hours. The
subject of this abstraction was a mystery to his companions
as he did not disclose it to anyone at the time. This
strange young man was proceeding, however, without
any guidance from books or men, to introspect into his
own personality and discover his nature. “ Who am I ? ”
“ What am I ? ” “ Whence am I ? ” were the queries
which, even as a boy, he had started ; and he had obtained
distinct realisation that he was hot the mere perishing
body but something deep, subtle and suffused with
awareness and Reality-feeling. Alongside of this un¬
taught mysticism and philosophy, he had a deep and
simple devotion that centred round “ Arunachala/9 With
that holy name, which haunted his memory from child¬
hood, he associated all ideas of God—omnipotence, omni¬
science, holiness and kindness. He had lost his earthly
father at an early age, and Arunachala was to him the
“ Father in Heaven.” He did not know where “ Aruna-
 2 UPADESA SARAM

chala ” was till 1895, when a relative arriving at Madurai

stated that he had just returned from Arunachala. “ From
Arunachala! ” cried the startled young man, “ where is
Tt ? ” The relative was surprised at his ignorance and
remarked, “ What! Do you not know Tiruvannamalai ?
That is Arunachala.” With such leanings, it is no wonder
that young Ramana or Venkatraman—that was his real
name—took little interest in most of his studies. Neglect
of studies brought on impositions and reprimands from
his elders; and these seem to have produced little effect.

On 29th August, 1896, he was writing an imposition

from Bain’s English Grammar. The work after some
time disgusted him ; and he bundled up Bain and the
imposition paper, and tossing them across the room, sat
up, closed his eyes and dived within himself. The elder
brother who was in the same room watched him in silence
for a while, and then broke out with a rebuke, intended
to chasten the young spirit, “ What business has a fellow
here, who behaves like this ? ” The rebuke Struck home.
“ True,” thought young Ramana, “ truly, I have no business
here. I-will leave home, relations and everything here,
for good.” Immediately he resolved on going away to
Tiruvannamalai—far from his old moorings—and remain¬
ing there totally unknown to his relations. He took three
rupees out of the money given to him to pay his brother’s
school fees and took train northward, leaving a note at
home which ran as follows : “ As I am going to seek my
Father by His command, and as the object is meritorious,
no sorrow need be felt for this absence and no money
need be wasted in searching for this 99 (SjgrogO ^he refer¬
ence in the third person to his body which others
regarded as Venkatraman, to the Father who com-
 PREFACE 3
xnanded him to quit home and seek Him, and the omission
to sign the note are significant of the stage of develop¬
ment he had already reached at seventeen.

While he was in the train, he passed almost the whole

of his time till he reached Villupuram, absorbed in his
own thought, and unattracted by his fellow-passengers*
chat or the variegated and picturesque scenery of Nature*
Finding his funds insufficient for the entire journey, he
alighted at Mambalappattu and walked the distance of
ten miles to Tirukkoilur where he pledged the only orna¬
ments he wore—a pair of gold ear-rings—and again took
train for Tiruvannamalai. As soon as he reached that
place, he proceeded straight to the temple of Arunachala
and there offered himself with these words, “Father, by
Thy command have I come here before Thee.** Since
then up to his Maha-Nirvana on the 14th of April, 1950
he remained, without any break, at Tiruvannamalai in
the presence of his “ Father,** for more than half a cen¬
tury. Here the hill itself is revered as Jyotir-Lingam,
i.e., God in the form of light.

Ramana spent the first six months in the temple pre¬

cincts and then moved to a saint’s tomb, a mango grove
on the outskirts of the town and later still to various
caves on the hill. He finally stayed at the foot of the
hill, near Paliteertha, by the side of the tomb of his mother
(who came and resided with him from 1916 till she passed
away in 1922). The first few years of his life at Tiruvan¬
namalai were characterised by mowna (silence), remark¬
able vairagya (non-attachment), and an almost perpetual
deep samadhi. His fame as an ascetic began to spread
and his relatives came to see him. They entreated him
hard and bade him return home. But he was adamant.
 4 UPADESA SARAM

and declined to leave Tiruvannamalai. He then began *

to get acquainted with many religious works in TamiL
and Sanskrit, and, as days progressed, obtained consider¬
able mastery in them. He wrote, a few original Tamil
poems, f which are marked alike by literary grace, passio¬
nate devotion and philosophic insight; and he rendered I
some standard Sanskrit works i into Tamil prose and
verse. His replies to disciples are embodied in Ramana
Gita, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by Day with
Bhagavan and Letters from Sri Ramanasramam. His
proficiency in other languages is evidenced by the fact
that he rendered his own Upadesa Undiyar (the original |
Tamil version of the present work) into Sanskrit, Mala-
yalam and Telugu verse.

THE GENESIS OF UPADESA SARAM *

There is an old legend that a group of Rishis once

lived in the forest together, practising rites by which they ’
acquired super-natural powers. By the same means they
hoped to attain final Liberation. In this, however, they
were mistaken, for action can only result in action ;
rites can produce powers but not the Peace of Libera¬
tion which is beyond rites and powers and all forms
of action. Siva determined to convince them of their {
error and therefore appeared before them as a wandering
sadhu. Together with him came Vishnu in the form of

t Five Hymns to Arunachala, Upadesa Saram or Undiyar

and Ullathu Narpathu and others.
t Sri Sankara’s Vivekachudamani, Hastamalaka Stotra, Dak-
shinamwrthi Stotra, Drik Drisya Viveka, Atma Bodha, Vichara
ManiMalat Atma Sakshatkara, Devikalottara. (Seethe ‘Collected
Works of Ramana MaharshiEd. by Arthur Osborne ; Sri Hama-
nasramam, Tiruvannamalai & Rider & Co., London.)
* Reproduced from * The Collected Works of Ramana
Maharshi
 PREFACE 5
a beautiful lady. All the Rishis were smitten with love
for this lady and thereby their equilibrium was disturbed
and their rites and powers were adversely affected.
Moreover their wives, who were also living with them
in the forest, all fell in love with the strange sadhu.
Incensed at this, they conjured up an elephant and a
tiger by magic rites and sent them against him. Siva,
however, slew them easily and took the elephant’s skin
for a robe and the tiger’s for a wrap. The Rishis then
realised that they were up against one more powerful
than themselves and they bowed down to him for instruc¬
tion. He then explained to them that it is not by action
but by renunciation of action that one attains to Libera¬
tion.

The poet Muruganar was writing this legend in Tamil

verse, but when he came to the instruction given to the
Rishis by Siva he asked Bhagavan, who was Siva Incar¬
nate, to write it for him. Bhagavan accordingly wrote
the instruction in thirty Tamil verses. He himself later
translated these into Sanskrit, and the Sanskrit version
was daily chanted before him together with the Vedas
and continues to be chanted before his shrine ; that is
to say that it is treated as a scripture. He refers to the
various paths to Liberation, grading them in order of
efficiency and excellence, and showing that the best is
Self-Enquiry.
 SUMMARY

Man wants happiness and to attain it seeks and

welcomes pleasures. These he gets by ‘ karma ’ *
activity of one sort or another. Hence to a superficial
view, it may appear that activity—one’s own—confers all
pleasures and happiness on one, and that there is no need
to look to any other or higher power. This view was
acted upon by some rishis (mimamsakds) of the Daruka
Forest, who trusted entirely to their sacrificial rites to»
obtain all that they wanted, and failed to honour God in.
His highest embodiments.t In consequence of such
failure, their sacrifices suffered shipwreck, and soon they
had to recant their heresy. Even the slightest examina¬
tion would serve to explode their theory. If they and
their ‘ karma9 (action) did not owe their power of
attaining and yielding fruit to any ulterior power, they
must be the First Cause, the Prime Mover, the Great
Creator, God Himself. The rishis did not claim Godhead
to themselves ; could it be ascribed to their action ? Man’s
* karma ’, being the product of his finite intelligence, is
but a feeble and unintelligent instrument. Its force is
like any other force, e.g-, that of a shell (discharged from
a cannon) which is marked by some power while it moves,
and reveals its full potentiality when it strikes an object

* Karma is the intentional action of one with a moral sense,

who under that sense acts as a free agent to produce a desired
result.
Lord Mahadeva and Lord Maha Vishnu.
 SUMMARY 7
—obeying therein, well-established laws—but is incapable
of reflection, choice, self-direction, self-development and
other features of personality, human or divine. Not
‘ karma ’, nor the man that performed it, but the Great
Creator who ordained the existence of man, his power to
act, and the law or force compelling such action to pro¬
duce its results, is to be revered.
It may be fancied, however, by some, that 4 karma ’
with its immediate and remoter * results can satisfy the
human heart. But does it ? 4 Karma * and the pleasures
it yields have an end and a very quick end ; they cannot
provide the lasting bliss that God alone bestows. God is
the goal or 4 Home ’ to which humanity is drawn.
‘Karma* or activity, as we find it in the world, i.e.,
desire-born activity, can never take us on to that goal.
On the other hand, it takes one in the opposite direction.
Its product, the short-lived pleasure followed by pain, far
from wiping off desire through satisfaction, gives it a fresh
lease of life, an increase of strength and a deeper and
firmer footing in the agent’s personality. Acts and atti¬
tudes tend to become habits which seize the agent with
an iron grip. Desire-born acts thus tend to perpetuate
themselves, not merely from day to day and year to year,
but also from life to life, endlessly, as the unreaped balance
of their fruit and the unexpended fund of desire —

* 1 Immediate' result is the vasana, i.e., the recoil of the

action back on the agent, leaving an impression on his nature,
character and tendencies.
‘ Remoter * result is the phala or fruit consisting of plea¬
sant rewards for good action, and painful punishments for evil
action. Such pleasure and pain generally take long periods to
come, and seldom come during the life in which the action
occurs. Sometimes, though rarely, they follow close on the
heels of action, e.g. where it is very highly virtuous or grossly
wicked.
 9 UPADESA SARAM

Samskaras *—remaining at the time of death force one

to take fresh birth.

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

What then should our attitude be towards ‘ karma1

er activity? Should we or can we! refrain from all
action ? No. Persons are always acting and impelled to
act in particular ways. Their body and mind alike are
bundles of vdsanas, resulting from the operation of well
established laws in respect of innumerable past acts, and
appearing to bind the individual with iron chains, f There
is no need, however, for any pessimistic collapse into
sluggishness. In each bundle we find intertwined, not
merely the operation of laws which man cannot control,
but also elements of freedom, which can use those laws
to reshape and rearrange the bundle. The law of karma,
for instance, that like produces like, and that individual
acts tend to become habits growing stronger with exercise,
is not a law to fear ; it is a neutral law. If acts performed
with desire for worldly objects develop such desire end¬
lessly, so do acts performed without such desire develop
desirelessness, vaimgya ; and so do acts performed with
love of God and in a spirit of surrender to Him develop
such love and spirit.

♦ Samskaras are the seed-forms or potentialities arising

from action, which after due time begin to germinate, as desires,
tendencies, aptitudes, etc. The term vasanas is generally used
as synonymous with samskaras.
t c.f. Bhagavad Gita, where we find both sets presented,
samples of which are given here. Those referring to the binding
effect of karma :—
B. G. m 5.
■T% ipftjeSSTOTJTftr I
srst: *fj? i
 SUMMARY 9
Hence to avoid the ever-lengthening chain of births
and deaths, samsara or the ocean of desire-born karmic
results, with its perpetual waves of pain and pleasure,

None is inactive even for a moment. All are moved to

act involuntarily, i.e. by their innate, ingrained and natural
qualities or tendencies.
B. G. Ill 33.
% wi: i
srf qffr ijgTft favs: i
Even the learned act in accordance with (i.e. under pressure
of) their natural and inborn tendencies. All creatures follow
their nature. What can (mere) interdiction do ?
B. G. XVIII 59.
«T I
ffisSfa sqcjtfTiretr I
If yielding to your ego (of the present moment) you think
that you will not engage in battle, you are mistaken. Your
nature (i.e. the accumulated vasanas of the past) will force
you (into battle).
Those referring to the elements of freedom:
B. G. VI 5 I
Let one raise oneself.
B. G. HI 34 I
Yield not to the sway of the two (Attraction and repulsion).
B. G. VII (14)
34T #<TT 3UTO?fT TNT TTRJ ...
Maya (prakrti) issuing from me, and composed of Gunas,
Is hard to transcend. But they transcend her, who surrender
themselves to me.
B. G. XVIII 63 TjSfr-gfa TJSIT $5 I
Think on all this and act as you choose.
B. G. XVIII 66.

Give up all (other) dharma, seek refuge in Me alone ; I

will save you from all sin. Grieve not.
 10 UPADESA SARAM

one should ceaselessly curb desire, confine oneself to

unavoidable acts and do these without attachment to their
fruit; and the best practical steps to secure non-attach¬
ment are (1) to turn one's love from worldly objects on
to God, (2) to surrender every object one has and even
oneself to Him, and (3) to maintain this spirit of love,
surrender and detachment throughout, i.e., alike before
and at the time of doing what one has to do and of reaping
its fruit. With increasing success in such endeavour, one
rises to one's fullest stature in God.
KARMA MARGA OR PATH OF WORKS
What are the acts generally performed for this pur¬
pose, i.e., to attain the Highest ? They are : (1) Worship
(with the body) termed pooja, consisting of ceremonial
worship accompanied by external activities ; (2) Worship
(with the voice) termed japa ; consisting of praise or
repetition of the holy name ; and (3) Worship (with the
mind) termed dhydna. External * and internal elements
are found in all these in varying degrees. * This classifi¬
cation based thereon, though a rough one, is still popular ;
and'Maharshi adopts it and makes a few remarks on each.
The advance of an aspirant in “ inwardliness ” is
often noticeable by his proceeding from a grosser to a
finer, from a somewhat external to a decidedly more inter¬
nal form. The higher and keener one's spirit, the finer
and simpler is his method of approach, his sddhana. In
the beginning of his turn from worldliness, an aspirant
may take to ceremonial worship, especially at holy places

♦The words ‘external9 and ‘internal* are based on the

supposition that the body is one's self and that the mind is
something spatial, inside the brain. Though these are un¬
warranted assumptions, they are of use in practice to the aspi¬
rant and mystic.
 SUMMARY 11
like Banaras or Rameswar, and be very keen on procur¬
ing numerous accessories of worship, e.g., silver images,
and baskets of sacred basil or ‘ bel \ But later, less em¬
phasis is laid on these, and more on the praise of God
with thrilling hymns and songs. Later still, even these are
left behind, and bare repetition of the sacred name (japa)
is felt to be distinctly more advantageous and efficient.
Next, this also drops off, and all the aspirant’s heart and
soul are poured out in a purely inward flow on God, draw¬
ing him more and more into God, and transforming his
indirect and mediate perception into immediate intuition
—through meditation (dhdrana), concentration (dhyana).
and absorption (samadhi). All this is tersely summed
up by Maharshi in his remark that the order of progress
is : pooja, japa, and dhyana which ends in sajnddhi,

HINTS ON MEDITATION

Early attempts at meditation are generally unsuc¬

cessful and result in short, broken, uneven, and taxing
spells of concentration. But with bold and unflinching
perseverance, one can reach the stage where meditation
will be a prolonged, continuous, even, unstrained and joy¬
ous flow—in fact, it would become as natural and unper¬
ceived as respiration. Early attempts at meditation, again,
are generally on some form of God—felt, at first, to be
other than the meditator, and far away. But with increas¬
ing intensity of devotion, the distance diminishes* ; and

* Four stages of advance typifying this diminution are clear¬

ly expressed in Sanskrit, thus:—First, salokya where the
devotee is ‘ co-sphered * with his object of worship; second
eameepya where the devotee is on the threshold of Divinity,
thirdly saroopya where the devotee takes on more and more
the form and attributes of that object; and lastly sayujya where
he unites with or merges in God.
 12 UPADESA SARAM

when God is literally seen everywhere and everything is

seen to be but God, He is felt to be near, very near, inside
oneself and finally identical with one’s Self. When the
idea of “ otherness ” vanishes, God Personal has become
Impersonal ; one’s ego or personal self also has become
impersonal; and both merge in “ The One ”, “ The Name¬
less ”, “ Boundless Being ”. This truth inculcated in the
schools of Advaitism or Monism is amply borne out by
mid realised in the actual experience of mystics*.

THE FOUR PATHS

As for ways and means to reach union with God or

the Real, there are said to be four paths styled, Karma,
Bhakti, Yoga and Juana, which may be roughly described
«as (1) the Path of works or activity ; (2) of devotion ;
(3) of mind control and union ; and (4) of inquiry,
wisdom or illumination. In practising any one of these
methods, elements of the other paths are often freely
mingled up. The paths coalesce. They all adopt, says

*The term ‘mysticism* is used in a number of senses. In

this book, it is used to denote the system wherein the aspirant
seeks to get and gets direct, immediate and blissful contact with
God or the Real, through intuition. As an example. Lord
Tennyson’s mystic experience may be cited He thus described
it in a letter to Mr. B. P. Blood:—
“. a kind of waking trance, I have frequently had,
quite up from boyhood, when I have been all alone. This has
generally come upon me through repeating my own name two
my/elf' s!lently- till all at once, as it were
d^Ut«H«utt^fltyi>f.c05-Sclc?lsness o£ individuality, the indivi-
^S?emed. t0 dtssolve and fade away into boundless
being; and this, not a confused state, but the clearest of the
utterly1’ b^on^tforda thehsurest- d»e weirdest of the weirdest,
imnossibm^ le t^’ There de^ was an almost laughable
lu of, Pers°nality (if so it were) seeming
feeble^MCTtotion1 ^a^fY rY?e YU*.1 am ashamed of my
word! ?.- H 1 * Said 016 ^e is utterly beyond
 SUMMARY 13>

Maharshi, the common formula ; “ Seek the Source, and

rest absorbed there.” +
THE PATH OF YOGA
Some observations have already been made about
Karma Marga or the path of works. One may next dis¬
pose of the Yoga path or at least of what is considered
by some to be its chief distinguishing characteristic i.e.r
the attempt to control mind through control of breath.
One may ask what breath has to do with the mind. But
it is the experience of many that an even breathing"
accompanies an even flow of thoughts, a ruffled breathing
accompanies mental disturbance, and that an attempt to
steady a ruffled mind by severe control and regulation
of breath is successful. And the reason is not far to seek.
The root of all spiritual success is a well developed aiid
unified or one-pointed will; and this development or
unification can be obtained by exercising the will either
about respiration or about any other matter which the*
will can influence. In the case of concentration on respi¬
ratory control, however, there is a great advantage.
Respiration, vegetative life and thought are the outflow
of one evolving life-principle ; and respiration is a matter
of urgent importance for the continuance of life. Any
checking or regulation of it must naturally draw the mind
away from all matters over which it may be fretting or
brooding. Whatever the explanation, there is the fact that
breath-control leads to mind-control. But this control is

t c.f. Brahma Sutra. I (i) which means

‘Brahman (or God) is that whence all this universe arises, in
which it is supported and into which it returns/ and Chandogya
Upanishad III 14-1 <d^Tf?rf% W which means
calmly worship That as the Source, the Stay and End of all this
Universe.*
 14 UPADESA SARAM

only temporary. It just lulls the mind lor a while, but

provides no permanent cure for the mind’s perpetual
restlessness, and until such a cure is effected, one cannot
onjoy permanent peace.

MISCONCEPTIONS AND NEEDLESS FEARS

What then is the step or expedient to be adopted ?

Before discussing it, one may note in passing, the term
employed to describe this permanent cure for restlessness.
It is often described as manonasa, i.e., destruction of the
roind, and of the ‘ ego ’ or ‘ personality9 ; and this has
created needless confusion and terror. The reader may
t>e assured that the aspirant is not called upon to become
crazy or lunatic or to commit mental or spiritual suicide,
frut rather.
«....».to hope, till hope creates,
From its own wreck, the thing it contemplates.”

The extract from Lord Tennyson on a previous page

will show that personality and consciousness are not lost
in the process of the highest realisation, but broadened,
deepened and transformed (on such a gigantic scale as
to produce at first a ‘ weird ’ impression) into the clearer
and broader life of Illumination,—“the only true life,”
where death is impossible. It is the * restlessness 9 and
other defects and limitations of the mind that are destroy¬
ed and not the mind itself or the person himself. Other
terms employed in describing this process of realisation,
which might shock some, are clear references to the dis¬
appearance of God Personal and of devotion to Him, and
to the apparently audacious claim of the individual wor¬
shipper to be He—nay more, to be the Impersonal
Brahman which absorbs and swallows up both the
 SUMMARY 15
worshipper and the God he worships. There is however,
no need to be shocked. Maharshi and all mystics fully
recognise that so long as the sense of duality, i.e. of one’s
being a separate individual, is retained, one must revere
and worship! God and that this worship itself is the means
for attaining the greatest benefit. It is the experience of
many mystics that the God Personal that they worship
takes them on to the Impersonal Brahman i.e. to the appa¬
rent loss of the individuality of themselves, and of Perso¬
nal God. What “ true life ” is (without personality, as we
know it) need not frighten or worry us, when we are
still in the dualist stage. Sufficient unto the day is the
work thereof. Having trusted to God and to the guru,
we are in safe hands—and if the guidance received takes
us to the Impersonal, we feel also fearlessness and Bliss
as part of that crowning achievement. That assurance
is given by Scripture and is confirmed by the actual
experience of Maharshi and other great men of light.
Spiritual guidance prepares the way to Impersonal reali¬
sation by gradation of steps which makes the change
almost imperceptible ; e.g. one is asked to worship God
not as existing in a single form or body or under a single
name, but in all the objects of the Universe ; and when
reverence is transferred to the entire universe and all
objects in it, one’s religion becomes impersonal.

Another example of the gradation of steps is furnish¬

ed by the life of Swami Vivekananda who was strongly
under the influence of Dualism and the need for a Per¬
sonal God, “ a hand-breadth off,” i.e. distinct from him¬
self—till the miraculous touch of his guru made him
realise that differences of individuality are not as certain
as they first appear and that the truth is that differences
 16 UPADESA SARAM

exist only to be swallowed up in a strange and mysterious

manner in the One Real. Vivekananda for sometime
clearly perceived that a cart, its horse and driver were
really one, that his leaf-plate, the food thereon and
himself, the eater, were one and wondered who it was
that was eating.

Loss of individuality, far from being a shock to devo¬

tees, is by no means an uncommon experience among
them. Many lose themselves daily in their meditation
on God. A Gopi’s* intense love carried her, as Sri
Krishna Chaitanya’s carried his devotion, to the point of
identification of the self with Sri Krishna (God). This
is neither shocking nor irreligious but the height of devo¬
tion ; and hence the loss of oneself in the Impersonal is
justly described by Maharshi as the perfection of
devotion.

Now for the method of securing permanent peace

for the restless mind : Frequent efforts to secure a tempo¬
rary lull have their use in preparing the mind for its final
course. But the coup de grace that completes the course
is chaining the mind or riveting it to That which knows
no change—God, Brahman, The Real or what other name
one may give to That ‘ Nameless/ The weak and finite
mind gets paralysed in gazing at that Infinite with awe,
and “ drops head foremost in the jaws ” of That Boundless
Being. This process termed by Maharshi eka chintanaf
takes different shapes with different mystics but the result
is the same.f

*A lady-devotee of Sri Krishna belonging to the cow-herd

caste.
tSee infra, verse 14 of the Sanskrit version, page 66.
t See pages 30, 46, 48.
 SUMMARY 17
PATH OF DEVOTION

As mentioned already, devotion is a powerful instru¬

ment, and in the case of vast masses, the only instrument
to take them on to their spiritual goal. Eka chintana, i.e.
concentration on the one, in the case of devotees is on
God Personal ; and this is quite as efficient as any other
method. Maharshi refers to it here, treating it as a very
good^preparation for the next path, that of inquiry, which
is his chief method or path.
And it is to the latter path that the main drift of
this poem and of other works of Maharshi is devoted.

PATH OF INQUIRY OR ILLUMINATION

(o) Bars arid Qualifications: Maharshi does not

regard any considerations of sex, age, caste, creed, race,
literacy or position as bars to one’s entering on this path.
The only qualification demanded is seriousness, an earnest
desire to learn and realise the Truth.
(b) Discipline and Regimen : Maharshi imposes no
disciplinary regulation on the aspirant, but recognises the
great value of Iswaropasana and dharmacharana, i.e.
devotion to God and ethical behaviour as valuable helps
to purify and strengthen the mind. When the aspirant
starts on this path, his first step is to sit quiet and draw
his senses and mind away from all worldly objects. The
Withdrawal of the body from physical contact is fairly
easy but the mind cannot be so easily withdrawn. It has
been running after desired objects and a mountain-load
of the consequent vdsanas or tendencies has accumulated,
the expulsion of which is no joke. One may close his eyes
end try concentration of mind, but it jumps outward all
2
 18 UPADESA SARAM

too soon, recalling familiar images of objects of desire.

In this arduous task, ardent devotion to God, supported
by strictly ethical conduct* is a great help, as it keeps
cut attractions of the external world and fixes the mind
on the one thing, pure and inspiring. This help is often
mysterious and is termed Iswara kripa, i.e. Grace of God.
It leads one also to seek and serve a Guru ; and Guru
Tcripaf i.e. grace of the Guru is a factor that greatly helps
or even accomplishes Self-Realization or God-Realization
which is the goal of this path and all other paths.

(c) The Graded Steps : The aspirant has to begin

his practice at a quiet, clean and solitary place, free from
troubles and distractions. Then he has to shut out con¬
tact of his senses with, and withdraw his mind from,
external objects. The next step is to bridle that mind,
totally overcoming its restiveness, and making it a docile
servant that will simply carry out the behests of the

* especially the development of the virtues known as

control of mind, and SJJT control of the senses.
forbearance. endurance. ^gj earnestness, faith,
and ^TJTT€JT*T equanimity and one-pointedness.
t Guru kripa (i.e. grace of the Guru) and grace of God
may appear to most people totally distinct. But to those who
have thoroughly identified their Guru with God, (and even the
Upanishads extol such identification) there is no distinction.
The Guru’s grace cannot but be God’s grace; and whatever
grace is received is immediately felt to be the boon of the God-
Guru or Guru-God. There are degrees of grace, e.g. by the
Guru’s grace, vices are checked, passions are cooled down, inte¬
rest in the world pales, and the mind gets sensitive enough
faithfully to reflect the Real. As the last, i.e. Realization of the
Real, is the highest point of Attainment, some confine the term
grace of the Guru ” to some visible or invisible act of the
Guru by which perfect Realization descends on the disciple.
The more implicit one’s belief in the divinity of one’s Guru,
Ihe quicker and surer one’s Attainment.
 SUMMARY 19
higher will. In practice, this is generally achieved by
fixing the mind on God, i.e., the form of Personal God
that makes the most forcible appeal to the aspirant. But
to another type of mind, the contemplation and meta¬
physical analysis of one’s self are found more suitable and
efficient. Maharshi deals with this type of mind here ;
and Jnana Vichara or “ Inquiry into Wisdom ” is the name
given to its progress along this line. To such a mind,
when it has withdrawn itself from external contact of
every sort, the most appropriate subject for contempla¬
tion is itself. Unless it is ceaselessly directed on to itself,
it will fly out to objects of desire. So engage it perpetually
on these questions “ Who ami?” “ Whence ami?”

These are very hard questions—which cannot be

answered off-hand. They require the most strenuous
attention of the concentrated mind. The attempt to face
an apparently insoluble problem has a definite psycho¬
logical benefit. The fore-consciousness would soon stop
working at it; but the sub-conscious would take it up and
spend its unseen and immeasurable force on it night and
day,—aided or lit up especially by faith in the declara¬
tions of Scripture confirmed by those of the Guru.

The Vedas and Vedanta have poured forth the reply

to these queries in their mahavakyas, literally “grand
utterances” or gems of speech, (1) sarvam khalvidam
Brahma : All this (universe) is Brahman ; (2) prajnanam
Brahma : Pure Consciousness is Brahman ; (3) Tat Kvoam
asi: That (Brahman) thou (individual soul, or aspirant)
art; (4) Aham Brahmasmi : I am Brahman ; (5) Ayam
atma Brahma: This Self (Atman) is Brahman. With
these ringing constantly in his ears and stored up in the
 20 UPADESA SARAM

chambers of the sub-conscious and gathering great

momentum there, an aspirant trying ceaselessly to explore
into his own nature is bound at some stage to pass into
“ a kind of waking trance ” with his fore-consciousness,
apparently arrested, Then will the truth come out with
its explosive force and make the aspirant see it, hear itr
feel. it, and be it. Faith* has turned them into sight,,
vision or Realization.

Such flashing forth of the Real is vouchsafed to very

few. The majority of learners are obliged to toil through
a prolonged and trying course. They have first to accept
the teachings of the Guru and Scripture on trust, though
to a soul without faith they may appear to be a hopeless
jumble of meaningless assertions, absurdities and self-
contradictions ; but as they go on gathering bits of
experience and wisdom, the jumble appears to be a system,,
the absurdity appears self-evident truth ; and all contra¬
dictions vanish in a blaze of wisdom.

HINTS FOR PRACTICE

How is one to set about this long and arduous course ?

What practical hints are available to help one on the
path ? Maharshi reminds most people of the universally
accepted truth that to a person totally unfamiliar with
the way, when no way is visible, or numerous and widely
divergent tracks puzzle the wayfarer, the safest course is
to ask one that knows and if possible secure him as
one’s guide for the entire journey, and that as such a

- 7“ac Swetaswatara Upanishad in its last stanza says: *—

who has perfect faith in God and equal faith in his
***To on inmost secrets of the Vedanta enshrined in the
g“SSh.<f»»
 SUMMARY 21

guide is termed the Guru* (or Marga darsaka—shower

of the path), the general run of people must early in their
course prepare for, seek and obtain a Guru in whom their
unwavering faith must be placed. The Guru knows
which path suits the aspirant and what directions should
be given and what steps taken at each stage.

If a person has heard that the Atman (or Self) is

some glorious and blissful substratum of all that lives,
moves or exists or has read about it in the Vedas or
Vedanta and wants to learn more about It and pick his
way to It, he goes to some one who, by repute or other¬
wise, is considered the most likely to know all about It
and impart his knowledge to the earnest seeker. Indra,f
a god and Virochana, an asura (demon) had this desire
to know and they approached their progenitor, Prajapati
who told them that Atman is the ‘ self ’ and made them
discover it for themselves. “ Do you not see your-setf
in a mirror when grandly and joyously attired ? ” was
the first direction given. The pupils were asked to see
if the “ Bodily Me,” the physical body, the annamaya
kosa (i.e., food-sheath) was the Self. The asura was
satisfied with the explanation and went his way. But the
god Indra found that the body was not a source of un¬
alloyed or permanent bliss and went back to the Guru
to seek a more correct solution. He was next asked to

* c.f. Ch. Up. 6 XIV 2. arquicng; He that has a

Guru has known,
Mund. Up. I 2 12. U 3«?iT3TlSr»T5&=iUfil?m1&r:
To realise that, one should approach with fuel in
hand, a Guru versed in Scripture, and steady in his realisation
of the Self.
t c.f. Ch. Up. Vm 7-12.
 22 UPADESA SARAM

try if the self in the dream-state was the Atman and

failing that, whether his mind, reason and personality
were the Atman ; and when he found all these unsatis¬
factory, he reached the real Atman as Being-
Consciousness-Bliss. The sage Bhrigu* was taught a
similar lesson by his father Varuna, when he asked the
latter, what that glorious, much talked of “ Brahman ”
was. The latter described it as the “ source and substra¬
tum, the stay, and ultimate goal or state of all that exists
in the universe,” and asked the pupil by tapas, i.e., the
austerity of severe thinking, to discover what that was.
Bhrigu first took food (matter) to be Brahman, and next
tried if life-breath, mind and intellect would be correct
solutions. Failing all these, it dawned on him, that there
was an indescribable state of Bliss, beyond all these four
rejected forms, transcending the manifested universe,
which consequently may be styled the source, stay and
end of the universe ; and that That must be Brahman.
Maharshi asks the earnest aspirant similarly to face
the questions “ Who am I ? ” “ Whence am I ? ” Almost
everyone, when asked who he is and where he is, points
to his body, even by touching it. The first answer then
is “ ‘ I ’ am the body.” Then he is asked to think further
about himself and verify the answer. Do we not find
outer sheaths or shells in nature covering (and therefore
serviceable to or connected with) the inner life, but by
no means to be identified with that life ? Are you not
feeling that you are something living and intelligent or
conscious ? The body, now alive, will be a corpse or a
cast off slough at some time. Can it be “ I ” then ? So
the first solution is shown to be faulty. Other solutions

* Talt. Up. in 1-0.

 SUMMARY 23
are then tried; and one pursues one’s quest of the “ I ”
or self by rejecting mere outer appendages and excre¬
scences, to reach its inmost reality, the essence. “ Am I
not the senses ? ” But the senses are part of and suffer
the same fate as the body. “Am I not the life-breath
or life ? 99 The pupil then is made to see that trees have
life and that he is more than vegetative life. “ Am I not
the mind, and intellect then ? ” the pupil might ask, and
fancy he has arrived at the truth of his self at last. But
the quest is not yet ended. The mind and intellect are
after all instruments wielded by something else. They
are possessions which are now held, now lost, and again
regained ; and they are not the possessor. Then the pupil
concludes that his soul jiva or personality is that possessor.
Then he is made to feel that his answer is right, if he
dives to the heart or core of personality* and identifies
himself or his “ Self ” therewith. He is That.

What is the core of one’s personality ? One discovers

by strenuous striving that his ultimate essense is
“ being ”. He cannot but be. At the same moment, he
feels that he is awareness or aware that he “ is99. “ I
am ” and “ I am conscious ” co-exist as two aspects of the
One. Awareness exists. Existence is self-conscious.
That which is, is also aware. So Being-Consciousness
(sat-chit) is the core of the soul or self. Internal analysis
and discovery cannot go beyond this.

Next starting to analyse the external, when one dives

into its core (the unity behind everything in the universe),
all names and forms are lost. The aspirant soul starts

* Atman (Pratyak Atman) is the name given to the core

of personality, the ultimate residuary Self that is arrived at by
internal analysis.
 24' UPADESA SARAM

with its devotion to God* and at that stage it feels that

there are three entities existing,—(a) one’s self, marked
by intelligence and powers circumscribed within very
narrow limits ; (b) one’s God marked by these attributes
in infinite proportion, i.e., without any such limits and (c)
the world or universe of inert unconscious matter.
“ Diving to the Core ” is not physical penetration or
chemical analysis ; it is a drive to reach the inner essence
or essential basis, by rejecting superficial adjuncts or attri¬
butes which are later developments and by that very fact
shown to be non-essential. The inert universe (i.e., the
universe of name and form, apart from its uncreated
essence) is first easily eliminated, as it is the creation or
manifestation of God. Its core is taken by the jiva to
be God Personal. Next the core (1) of this Jiva and (2)
of Personal God is sought and is found to be respectively
(1) the Atman and (2) Brahmanf or Impersonal God.
Then the inquirer who has gone so far sees the identity of
that Atman and that Brahman. This identity was express¬
ed by ancient seers by the Mahavakya qgf.
This Atman is Brahman. The One Real is that which
underlies the self within and all that is outside. The
inquirer has, at this stage, reached the realisation of unity
or Advaita and become really a jnani. God is the same
there as the individual worshipper. Being is felt to be
the same as Awareness. Self-Realization can be equally
described as God-Realization, as “ Being That ”, “ Know-

* God i.e., God Personal is the name applied to the empiri¬

cally perceived Power whose attributes are generally agreed to
be omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, kindness, love, etc.,
and who is pointed to as the highest from one's ethical and
aesthetic nature.
• t Brahman is the name given to the ultimate real arrived
at by analysis of the external universe.
 SUMMARY 25
ing That ” or merely 44 Being-Consciousness-Bliss That
is bliss, because in that state none of the pain that charac¬
terises sensation and ideas arising from the senses and
the unillumined mind can remain. It is thus sat-chit-
ananda. This is the end of the course which began with
attempts to answer the questions 44 Who am I ? ” “ Whence
am I ? ” : The mystic inspired with faith in the Vedas,
God and his Guru arrives at the same realisation without
all this ado by merely diving within himself, his 44 Heart ”
or core.*
The first effect of such mystic diving is generally
one or more temporary glimpses of that “ Boundless
Being ” or experiences wherein the usual prosaic and finite
features of the empirical self vanish for a time into
brilliant and blissful limitlessness ; but the aspirant comes
back to his previous state or “mentality” and retains
only a memory of his marvellous experience. The final
state is that Supreme state from which there is no
return,f where that 44 true life ” is the only life, and
always persists. There is no going back from that to the
old state ; and it is named sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi.t

* Maharshi has composed an inspiring Tamil song : “ Ayye

Athi Sulabham ” in which he points out that the aspirant need
not fear that the task of realising the Self is very hard and that
he can very soon have direct intuition of the Self, rendering
doubt impossible (of course, by the grace of the Guru).
t c.f. b. g. viii 21 ti ccncv ^ faster rigm m:flr jut
t For further details see pages 46-48 infra and Mary Anita
Ewer’s “A Survey of Mystical Symbolism” pp. 28, 29 which
describes four stages in their order of progress: — (a) Momen¬
tary mystic experience, e.g,t poets’ lyrical inspiration, (b) Mystic
growth and development, (c) The Divine Other, e.g., views of
Sunrise, flight of birds, etc., (d) Abiding mystic experience of
a self, unified in itself and with the Infinite.
 UPADESA SARAM
(s-uG^sf tisjSluJinr)

!• ««5tu)ld uujmtojeo ajfgpm <5fr&osnu/r/D

«66tlo/ej auQiGarfr
«65rU50 &Ut£>&fr gpj30L)fD.

1. Karma (Action) bears fruit; for, so the Creator

ordains. Is karma God ? It is not sentient.
Notes : The term karma has already been roughly
defined (see page 7). But a closer examination of its
import and implications and a fuller description are
called for when starting the philosophical discourse on
that subject in this poem. Does that term denote (1)
a state or condition of a creature or (2) the results or
forces visible or invisible, issuing out of the creature in
that active condition or (3) both ? Sometimes it is used
to denote both. Some confine it to one or the other. If
the result, i.e., rewards or punishments for the activity
be deferred for a long time, is it, i.e., (the result), to be
treated during that interval as a substance or thing which
is separable from and, at least to some extent, independ¬
ent of the agent as the mimamsakas among others regard
it ? The consequences of such a view e.g., that the fruits
of karma can be transferred by the person performing
it, (a) by means of a resolve (samkalpa) prior to the
performance of the ceremonial, to another, such as the
principal (yajamana) who ordered it to be done, or (b)
by a subsequent oral act or otherwise to any person at
the will and pleasure of the agent are freely accepted
by many persons of the Hindu and other communities
 UPADESA SARAM 27.

without regard to the theory implied in such acceptance.

A third question about karma is : “ Granting that God.
is the ultimate cause, the Prime Mover responsible for
any act producing its moral (or even physical) conse¬
quences, does God operate by individual exercise of wilL
in each instance, or only by general laws, and if the
latter, does He interfere with their operation in indi¬
vidual cases ? ” These and numerous other questions
arise, as the subject has nowhere been fully and syste¬
matically dealt with in any single work of the Hindu
sastras. Whatever the answer to these questions, we
may first consider what the doctrine of karma is and
how it is applied.

The doctrine of karma has thus been summed up* :

“ Every exercise of the will-power, in thought, speech
and action, acts as a moral cause, and confers on the
agent an amount of merit or demerit according to the
nature of the act performed; and this moral effect
influences the subsequent fate of the individual concemed.,r

“ The doctrine of karma ” is thus an ethical or

religious doctrine. It has no application to merely
“mechanical acts” which do not (or in so far as they
do not) involve moral considerations. Such “ mecha¬
nical acts ” bear fruit which is (a) visible (b) obviously
connected with the act (c) affecting, as a rule, other or
external objects, and not the agent (whether a person or
a creature) (d) independent of the intentions of that
agent, and (c) consequently involves no questions of

♦See H. D. Bhattacharya*s “Vicissitudes of the Karma

Doctrine” in the Malaviya Commemoration Volume, published
by the Benares Hindu University.
 28 UPADESA SARAH

moral judgement upon or reward or punishment to that

agent in future births. Maharshi uses the word karma
to denote only such acts as are ordained, sanctioned, or
forbidden by the scriptures. The doctrine of karma is
■chiefly used in Indian Philosophy to explain the other¬
wise inexplicable inequalities found in society, and the
.strange but by no means infrequent spectacle of good
men suffering apparently undeserved and inexplicable
pain and sorrow, and evil men enjoying apparently un¬
deserved pleasure or happiness. The explanation is given
by reference to acts said to have been performed in other
births. Thus the doctrine of transmigration is closely
-associated with the doctrine of karma.

This and some other purposes, within very definite

limits, are served by the doctrine of karma. But there
are some* who ignore these limits, greatly exaggerate
the power of karma, and in fact make a fetish of it. As
mentioned already certain mimamsaka rishis, hankering
after certain temporal benefits, hoped to attain them
merely by the adoption of the prescribed Vedic rites in
a spirit of self-sufficiency. God (or Mahadeva and
Maha-Vishnu) came down and prevented the proper per¬
formance and completion of the proposed sacrifices, and
thus taught them the truth (of B.G. XVIII, v. 14) that
beyond present human effort, there is an element of
Divine control (^ej) in all affairs to account for their
success or failure.

* Among these, as one may naturally expect, are atheists

and agnostics such as the adherents of some schools of Buddhism.
But Maharshi is not addressing such persons in this poem. The
persons intended to be benefited by it (ie., the Adhikaris) are
-thelsts with belief in God and* the Vedas.
 U P A D E S-A, S A R A M 29
Attempts to limit God’s Omnipotence and depict
karma as superior to God are ludicrous. Maharshi
strikes at this delusion with a simple question. Is this
power of karma inherent in itself ?—in which case, it
will be God itself. Is it contended that karma is God
itself ? Why, karma is one of the states or attributes
of God’s creatures and consequently karma is created by
God.* Surely it is ridiculous to implore superiority to
creation over the Creator.

2. oSIStesniSlfiSr gS&tt&j

eff® iq^up.

2. The results of karma (Action) pass away, and

yet leave seeds that cast the agent into an ocean of
karma. Karma yields no salvation.

* q^nejfa; ^jfofts?qq sfaitq ¥»fqqq: I

qqq i
q? w: q*ri: gttare qtjnqffi: i
8r%q qqfosqeqqq i
StqTmiqqqT^rq % ^tt q: i
qiqq^q: %q; qtqqT^qq d
CgraM*v qt q^rnfaqi: i
qqtnqqqT^qt q> *%q qq q: 1
b. g. m 9-12
These verses mean that Karma is God’s creation; that
Yajna (Karma) i.e., action after surrender alone is safe as it
does not result in bondage, that such (Yajna) Karma should
be performed to please the gods (who are the organs Of the
One God) who will bless the sacriflcer with the enjoyments
prayed for and that enjoying these after Yajna frees one from
Karma.
 30 UPADESA SARAM

Notes: One may agree with the view stated in

verse 1 that action (karma) is not God and is insentient
and yet feel that (without worshipping action) one may
.get all the pleasure or happiness that one naturally longs
for, by appropriate action. To such a person this verse
gives the answer.
Such a person is called upon to pause and reflect on
the experience of himself and others. One must think
clearly, accurately define the terms used and give oneself
correct self-direction. Do pleasures come unalloyed ?
Do they last long ? Are pleasures—or even a good
number of them massed together, the same as human
happiness ? Is happiness the same at all levels of deve¬
lopment ? Pondering over these questions, with the help
of the experience of numerous persons, one sees that
pleasures are ever alternating with pains and are* all too
brief. Pleasures satisfy or seem to satisfy man at his
lower or animal level, but soon he sees that they are
the result of titillation of senses that wear out, that they
sooner or later pall upon the taste and yet leave a sense
of unsatisfied, perhaps insatiable hankering, and that
happiness is distinct from pleasure, and has various
grades,*—rising from the lowest human unit, through
various angelic grades to Divine Bliss—which is the
“One.divine event to which the whole creation
moves.”
Increasing experience shows that yielding to the love
of pleasure and taking active steps to grasp it are not
the way to real happiness, that sacrificing the desire,
(especially in an effort to benefit others) often yields

•For a fuller statement of this, see the Ananda Mimamsa

in Tait Up. 2 VIII and Bri. Up. in 33.
 UPADESA SARAM 31
more pleasure and happiness, that higher grades and
forms of happiness involve greater and still greater
sacrifice of desires, and that perfect selflessness aka-
mahatatva* is the highest happiness one can attain.
Hence Maharshi says that active pursuit of pleasure
(which after all is short-lived) endlessly multiplies the
seeds of desire in one’s soul, entirely corrupts it and takes
it away from the grand goal of selfless Divine Bliss to
which all sentient creation tends.
4 Seeds ’ are vasanas, i.e.
tendencies to repeat the
action of the same or similar sort, (i.e., to do fresh
karma) generally appearing as habit, instinct, pre¬
disposition, aptitude, etc.

3. afr«(g/@Ll (Sb/tlSoj d&OTnnny

$®£<gllJo0o $llj><gUfD

3, But acts performed without any attachment and

in the spirit of service to God, cleanse the mind and point
the way to salvation.
Notes: In the previous verse, the low level of
allowing oneself to be engrossed in desires has been
pointed out, as also the high goal accessible only to those
who have escaped the tyranny of desires. But from
desire to desirelessness (vairagya) is too steep a precipice
for human frailty to scale. Hence Maharshi points out
in this verse the steps which will render the transition
easier and safer. Desires and tendencies to seek and
work out their gratification are deeply ingrained in the
body and mind with which each one is born ; and man

♦ For a fuller statement of this, see the Ananda Mimamsa

in Tait. Up. 2 VHI and Bri. Up. 4 HI 33.
 32 UPADESA SARAM

as a gregarious and social creature has a certain love-

nature ; and for both these reasons some activity and
love or desire of somethings are inevitable. The aspirant
then should proceed on the lines of least resistance and
turn his love on to God and serve Him either directly
or through His creatures (including one’s fellow human
and sub-human creatures) in a spirit of altruism and
love. The effect of activity on such lines will be gra¬
dually to diminish and finally to wipe off all selfishness,
the mark of the brute-level and lead one Godward. As
man identifies himself with his desires and the object of
his desires, these form his self at each stage. So by
following the directions given here,
“Men may rise on stepping stones
Of their dead selves, to higher things ”•—
and to the Highest.
This is progressive self-realization ending in realiza¬
tion of God, Atman, or Brahman.
4. y,6&><sp QfrUQpjB <£(Lirr6or
(Lpud)6urr<i (8j6tr&Q&fTt£l gyj50ujD
afiuifQjir® Qll!T6St f£IQ6V(T66r g]jh0urD>
4. This is certain, Pooja, japa and dhyana are
performed (mainly) with the body, the voice and the
mind : and they excel each other in the ascending order.
Notes: Pooja is any ceremonial act of worship.
Japa is the repeated utterance of God’s name or holy
mantras, and is here used to include praise (stotra).
Dhyana is meditation ; the order is explained on
pages 11-13.
5. srsosrgspJ® ujrra/ u06D)/ddl/0 aj/r0u)6ar
Qajswrtfrcfl oj^Iuu @fi00up)
eS&ajrp y^Stor tL/pgup.
 UPADESA SARAM 33
5. Viewing this eight-fold universe as the expression
or manifestation of God, whatever worship is performed
is excellent worship of God.
Notes : « Eight-fold the universe is said to con¬
sist of eight parts, viz., of the five “ elements ” (ether,
air, fire, water and earth), the Sun, the Moon and the
jivas (i.e., individual souls). God manifests Himself as,
in or through the universe. The purist or iconoclast, in
his anxiety to think of God as Pure Spirit, ile., as the
exact opposite of matter or form, tries to avoid in his
Worship, any thought of the material universe and its
forms. But what is the result? He thinks of God in
terms of light, in the form of a dove, or of a person
under a crown of thorns (typical of pain and sorrow), or
as a powerful and benevolent father. Why? Spirit is
known to us only through matter and its forms. The
seeing spirit can only see through its own spectacles.
Thought can issue out only in and through moulds of
fatter; and symbolism and anthropomorphism are
nievitable. Human brains cannot escape the employment
forms in thinking of the formless spirit; and hence
the universal use (acknowledged or unacknowledged) of
forms in worship. Indiscriminate condemnation of such
Use betrays only ignorance and intolerance. Humanity
Ueeds forms and symbols for self-expression, especially
in the field of religion, and the Deity in Its omnipresence,
omniscience and kindness is sure to accept the devotion
so expressed. The wise teacher, guide, or controller
s ould only see to it that in the act or process of worship,
e devotee’s mind is made to rise from a perception of
e narrow limitations, and petty features of the form or
object used for worship, to a perception of God’s spiritual
Mature, freedom from limitations, and other grand attri-
3
 UPADESA SARAM

butes. Processes employed vary widely; but, almost

invariably, they include the invocation (avdhana) or
“ Practice of the Presence of God ” in the object or place
of worship. To the pious, that object (which others may
view only as a piece of matter) is really Spirit, is fe
to be God.
The earnest devotee thinks and must think,
xuot God is immanent m the
carrying on such worship, tha G u he actuaUy
entire universe and ev«y partj • entire universe
realises His presence the worshtp^ ^ ^ ^ ^
(uimt rupa) or par ’ d form 0, WOrship) of
undoubtedly worship (and a
God.° Himself. In order that the worship should be real
®d such as to reach God, there must be the actual feel-
£ God.s presence with its usual concomitants or
consequences, e.g., awe and reverence (mystenum tre-
mendens), or love, etc., which, at their intensity, result
in absorbed (or “infused”) contemplation. By such
absorption, man becomes what he adores and loves. He
1S in the ultimate analysis, himself but an idea or state
of consciousness. So also is the object of worship. Intense
contemplation and absorption assimilate and fuse,
i.e., merge the two in one. And the object of all worship
is to merge in the Blissful One.

6. 6u/r«s<3><#^ Q&u&$d)
6fil(ipUULC>tr LDIT&frgi
e&anbt-jjB $tuirarri£l
6. The repetition aloud of His name or mantra is
better than praise. Next comes faint mutter. But the
best is the repetition within the mind—and that is medi¬
tation, above referred to.
 UPADESA SARAM 35
Notes : The repetition of His name or mantra is
more helpful to concentration than elaborate praise which
distracts at some stage. As concentration advances, the
voice gradually sinks within. Then silence crowns it all.

‘ Meditation ’ may be on God,Personal or Impersonal,

as a separate being or as the inmost core of oneself.

7♦ <s(5£6S) <§a)§iQfitu eS{fi4^Guira)

sStll4«_(T glOTTOT-Go) ILffi0UfD
eSlQ^i-Lorr (ipsar earQsu iqjjs^Lup.

7. Better than broken thought (meditation) is its

steady and continuous flow like the flow of oil or of a
perennial stream.

8. 'SfarfkfUfr oj<5<g «jTQj«jr<s toir®

LD63T StsfllU UraiSlL tL]liid>UJD
(LpggLD (LpjB<gUfl)‘

, 8. The lofty attitude “ He is I ” is preferable to the

attitude “ He is not I ”.

Notes: In the Sanskrit version of this poem, com¬

posed by Maharshi, he uses the phrase “is considered
purifying ” in place of “ is preferable.” * The Sanskrit

* C.f. Bri. Up. (4) 10. IT ^ ^ ^4

wgf?T. MS’! cfaTSJ |^1%. STRUT ^TT* ^
^Ttswri ^ ^err
T^.
He who knows himself as Brahman, becomes all this Uni¬
verse. Over him the gods have no lordship. He is their very
Atma. He who worships any other (except the Self) regarding
himself as different from that, knows not. He is but an animal
(of sacrifice) to the gods.
36 UPADESA SARAM

Soham, which means “ He is I ” is a well-known

expression. It is used by the Advaitin to denote the
unity and identity of that which is spoken of in the first
person (I) and that in the third (He). Naturally, the
second person and everything in the universe is also con¬
sidered to be ‘ He ’ or ‘ That ’—terms which the Advaitin
uses frequently to denote Brahman—the Reality under¬
lying everything. Soham thus in Advaitic practice, is
the key mantra, constant meditation on which will help
the individual to identify himself with the universal soul
or Brahman, which identification or merger is the Advaitic
conception of muJctz (release) or salvation.

Sdham : or “ He is I ” and Hamsah or “ I am He ”

are used by Dvaitins (Dualists) to express the intensity
of Devotion which leads the devotee completely to forget
himself or herself in intimate union with God, like the
water of a river when it reaches the sea, or like salt in
water_and this is the dualistic conception of mukti. A
Gopi passionately loving Krishna forgot her identity for
a time and declared that she was Krishna. So did Lord
Gauranga.
Comparisons are often declared to be odious—*
especially if they are between the tenets and favourite
practices of different sects. It may therefore be pointed
out that Maharshi is hitting neither at the Dvaitins nor
at the retention of the element of personality in worship.
H/Tahnrfihi himself began with devotion to Arunachala, the
Hill of Light and has composed several devotional poems.
Logical analysis of personality no doubt implies elements
that differentiate the person from all else. Yet there are
ways of treating personality in worship so as to minimise
or abolish those differences, c.f. Aksharamanamalai (The
 UPADESA SAHAM 37
Marital Garland of Letters) * Dualists also have a very-
high place for “ non-difference ” as may be seen from the
examples given above. The objections to some lower
forms of personal worship are that they involve (1) inter¬
ruption, (2) adulteration and (3) condition. Where none
of these objections apply, the worship even by dualists
is in the form of non-difference and is excellent.

The attitude, “ He is not I ” is that of the ordinary

worshippers, who are almost always Dualists, in fact,
whatever creed they may profess. Their mental consti¬
tution at their early stage leads them to value personality
in God and in themselves. But some of these, by force
of heredity and Guru’s teachings, keep the Advaitic goal
at the back of their minds, even from the beginning ;
and by force of suggestion, at long last, they move from
their original Personal God to impersonal worship, i.e.,
transcend personality in their God and in themselves.
This process is dealt with in the next verse.

9, LifT&J UfTQJ(g)
U(T6U0 0^0^60 tL\00UjD

9, Remaining in the Real Being, transcending all

thought, through intense devotion is the very essence of
Supreme Bhakti.

Notes: 4 Bhakti9 is faith or devotion. Thought

involves a subject to think, the object of thought and
the thinking process, perceived as three distinct factors
known as the triputi. The highest reach of abstraction

* The first of the Five Hymns To Arunachala composed by

Maharshi at the request and for the use of devotees.
 38 UPADESA SARAM

gets beyond these three and beyond the two (created

soul and the creator) into the One. Maharshi in this and
the previous stanza is connecting the two, bhakti and
jnanai i.e., devotion and illumination. As they are seen
to be the same at the end of one’s course, Maharshi often
says that bhakti is jnana and jnana is bhakti—a truth
clearly brought out by Sankaracharya’s definition of
bhakti.

Vivekachudamani 32 & 33.

which means :

Concentration on the nature of the Self is said to

be bhakti by some ; others say it is concentration on the
truth of the Atman.
In these two stanzas, Maharshi shows how one who
starts with devotion with a sense of difference between
himself and God, loses the difference, in the intensity of
his mood, and arrives at non-difference. That is jnana
and that is the essence of the highest devotion.

10. sSIl.&& QeoirGmiS u3©<S0

eugiaeoriuh u@$ili QpjBguiD
6Ugl(otUir& (6^rT6tJTQfi

10. “ Absorption into the source ,f or core of exist¬

ence (or the Heart) is what the paths of Karma, Bhakti
Yoga and Jnana teach.
Notes: This maxim is found in Ch. Up. Ill 14, I and
Brahma Sutra I (1) 2. See footnote to page 14 ante.
 UPADESA SARAM 39
The four paths are not mutually exclusive. Stanzas 1 to
9 deal with karma and bhakti; 10 to 15 with yoga; and
16 to 28 with jnana:
In Srimad Bhagavata only three paths are said to
exist viz., jnana, bhakti and karma.

q>R[ =q || Sk. XL

Some go further and deny that the path of karma is

anything more than a step to the other paths.
“ Be absorbed in the Source .” The devotional mind
of the bhakta easily finds the Personal God as the un¬
doubted source of himself and of everything else and
endeavours to get wholly absorbed in Him and thus he
attains his goal. The analytical introverted jnani with
his strong leaning for metaphysics proceeds to inquire into
the source and nature of himself and all other things in the
universe, and arriving at the ultimate Real underlying
both, (Atman-BraKman) seeks to realise himself as That,
i.e., to merge or lose his finite individuality in That. The
Yogi with a practical bent of mind turns to the details
of Sadhana enabling the devotee or inquirer to concen¬
trate on the Personal God or 'the impersonal Atman-
Brahman and chalks out a course of self-discipline, the
breathing exercises and other physical and mental steps
that enable the mind to attain steadiness and absorption
(samadhi) in God or Atman-Brahman. The votary of
the path of Karma also aims at that ultimate absorption
and absorbs himself meanwhile in the performance of
various acts that will take him to that goal. All these
paths prescribe the formula—‘ Search and find the origin
of yourself, and be absorbed in that.’ Stanzas 11 to 14
 40 UPADESA SARAM

deal with absorption ; and 19 to 21 deal with search for

the source.

Source : This term denotes the ultimate Real, the

Brahman from which metaphysicians deduce the exist¬
ence of everything. The definition of the term “Brah¬
man ” by Varuna to explain it to his son Bhrigu in order
to enable him to discover it for himself with the help of
such definition, ran thus : “ Brahman is that whence all
these creatures in the universe have issued, that whereon
they are sustained and that into which they return (i.e.,
source, stay and goal of the universe) Mostly this
definition is regarded as indicating the Impersonal Abso¬
lute, the Real, Pure Consciousness and That alone. Some
regard it as applying to Personal God ; some apply it to
both. After all, these slide into each other.*

For this term, Source, Maharshi uses the word

“ Hridaya ”, i.e., ‘ Heart1 in his Sanskrit version of this
verse. But that term is nowhere used in this Tamil
poem. Yet on account of its frequent use in religious
(especially mystic) literature, we shall briefly deal with
it here. ‘ Hrit ’ or 4 Hridaya ’ is a Sanskrit word having
different senses and the transition from one sense to the
other is obviously due to the belief in their identity or
close connection. The first sense of the word Hridaya is
the organ known to Physiology as the blood propeller.

z*e. Knowers of the Vedas call the non-dual Consciousness,

which alone exists, the Real or the Truth. That is also termed
Brahman, (by the Vedantins), Paramatma (by the Yogis and in
Smritis) and Bhagav&n (by the devotees).—Srimad Bhagavata.
 UPADESA SARAM 41
This was (and even now is) identified with the central
and essential activities of human existence and was treat¬
ed as the central source of nerves radiating therefrom
to all parts of the body. So another sense of the term
Heart or Hridaya is that which is the essence of Human
existence, i.e., the Atman-Brahman, the ultimate and only
Heal of Advaitic Metaphysics [see Ch. Up. VHI (3) 3
and verse 20 of Sanskrit Up. Sara]. Thus the term has
one use in physiology and another in metaphysics.
Various thinkers and mystics have had a variety of
experiences in their efforts to realise the bliss of merging
themselves in the ultimate Real. For their mystic pur¬
poses they fixed and do still fix their attention on some
spot in their chest, as the ultimate or temporary resting
place of their ego. They have recorded their experience
that, alike in deep sleep and samadhi,* the Jiva or

* Deep sleep and samadhi strongly resemble each other ?n

a very important particular, i.e», the disappearance (entire or
practically entire) of the Ego consciousness, with the consequent
blissful feeling of repose. In Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad they
are described in the same or almost the same phrases. Passages
II (1) 17 to 19 say that in deep sleep the Jiva, previously full,
of conscious activity, passes [along with Prana (life), sight,
hearing and mind] into the 72,000 nerves, which pass from the
Heart and its pericardium and connect them with all parts of
the body, and through those nerves into the Ether of the
Heart, and blissfully rest there like a boy or a monarch or a
Maha Brahmana. Ch. Up. VIII (6) 3 refers to the resting of
the Jiva during deep sleep in those nerves, (i.e., really in the
heart to which they lead, see B.S. Ill (2) 7 to 9.)
Tait. Up. I (6) ; Kath. Up. VI 17. IV 12 6; in 12, Mund.
Up. HI (1) 5, among numerous texts, describe Brahman as
residing in the ether of the heart or in the cave or in the body
generally.
In many treatises it is stated that Jiva resides, in the waking
state, in the brain and proceeds to the heart in deep sleep and
joins with Brahman there in samadhi: c-f. B.G VIII 12. 10 & 13 *
X 20; XIII 31 & 33 ; XV 14 & 15; XVI 18; XVII 6 and XVIII 61.
The Bible (Ecclesiastes Ch. 10 verse 2) states that “ A Wise
man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.”
 42 UPADESA SARAM

empirical ego was felt to sink into the central spot of

the chest which they termed the heart.

11. aJ6ifliL/6rr oiSsou© qilGurr

gi/OTftp (LpJB^UfD
Qsu/r®«6b GijurrujLB gijBdjujD*

11. As birds are caught with nets, so by holding

the breath, the mind is restrained and absorbed. This
(breath-regulation) is a device for effecting absorption.

" The Sufi Mystics (says Mr. Shushtery in his recent

Islamic Culture, Vol. II p. 474) “ are agreed in their view that
Qalb or hearts are three, one physical on the left side, another
called the animal soul, on the right side; and a third between
ttie two, praised by sufis as a spiritual faculty—a kind of mirror
in which the Supreme Will is reflected. It is by keeping this
heart pure from worldly attachment that a human being can
approach the Creator. The real knowledge is God’s illumina¬
tion of this heart. The divine revelation to the Prophet is
impressed on this heart. As is said in the Quran. 4 The faithful
Spirit (i*e.f divine messenger) has descended with it (revela¬
tion), upon your heart that you may be of warners* Ch. XXVI
193-194.”
The Hindu Sastras do not assign any place to the source of
illumination. Yoga Vasishta says that there are two hearts—
one the gross which may be ignored, (by the seeker after illumi¬
nation) and the second, the Brahman which is taken by the
Jiva (for the mystic purpose of realising itself by contemplation
as the Blissful Real) as both inside and outside and neither
inside nor outside the human body, i.e-, which may be taken to
be either non-spatial or pervasive of all space, or residing at
any particular spot, (see Upasana Prakarana Ch. 78, 32-37).
Maharshi’s experience has been repeatedly stated by him, viz.,
that the ego is felt to sink into right side of the chest with
something like a jerk when samadhi begins and to re-emerge
from there at the cessation of samadhi, with a similar jerk.
Undue importance should not be attached to this location
of the 44 Heart ” or the variations therein. Each group follow¬
ing its own variation derives its usual and expected benefit.
The “Heart” as signifying Brahman is the only matter of im¬
portance; and that, though unconnected with space or the body,
is reached through mystic sadhana of some sort or other locating
the mind or self in particular parts of the body.

aa-—- -
 U PAD ESA SARAM 43

Notes : Prana.ya.ma (breath-regulation) is a means

and only one of the means adopted to secure a temporary
lull in the mind’s activity.

12. 8_ctt(ip (ipuSI® (Lp«5mT6iJ(gj

(ipOTQJ/rfEJ ^gfeiruSlirsTOr ®ibj£u/d
Qswt60tjDsuif) fimQpeo (xp^^u/D*

12. For, mind and life (Prana) expressed in thought

and action diverge and branch. But they spring from a
single root. f
Notes: This verse explains how breath-regulation
controls the mind. (See pages 13 & 14.)

13. Jg)60IU(ip fBfTiF ifllTSTOTI—^IT 0u)(r®««

i£l6uu24> gi®rQgi(tp (ipjb$u!D
QojtBirgi® u)iriu!&&G@ gi$£up.
13. Absorption has two forms, viz., laya and nasa.
That which is merely absorbed in laya revives ; if dead,
it revives not.
Notes: Laya is temporary absorption ; nasa is
permanent.
The absorption described in the 11th stanza is tem-
porary. The spiritual aspirant cannot rest content with
that. He must proceed to Manonasa, the permanent
absorption, described in the 14th & 15th verses.
Manonasa, i.e., literally death of the mind does not
really mean becoming insentient.
Manonasa means the loss of the present form of the
mind with its narrow, obstructed and distorted vision
preventing a person from seeing himself to be really the
 44 UPADESA SARAM

Atman and causing him to identify himself with the

body more or less completely. The loss of that form
is really a gain as it means the transformation of the
finite and distorting mind into Pure Consciousness, Per¬
fect Reality, the Atman or Brahman, embracing every¬
thing and leaving nothing outside Itself.
If the term consciousness in * Pure Consciousness *
is taken as necessarily implying the existence of “ mind ”
in some form, then it may be correct to say that in
the entire course from the noviciate to the state of reali¬
sation, a person is never without a mind.
In fact, we find in religious literature, expressions
referring to the mind of a jnani or Jivan Mukta. Great
saints themselves have given us personal hints oh this
matter that are of great value. They refer to their
enjoyment of bliss in the sat-chit-anarida state and
declare it to be ineffable. Sri Ramakrishna Parama-
hamsa explained, that the mind in that state was like
a thin line drawn on water, having a fugitive existence,
or like a rope burnt to ashes. Such a rope retains the
form and appearance of a rope ; but one cannot bind
anything with it. Such a mind is described as suddha
sattva. Even this perhaps requires a slight modification,
in view of the Gita statement* that there is nothing in
existence without the admixture of the three gunas.
The description of the saint’s mind as in suddha sattva
is right because therein the sattvic element preponderates
so overwhelmingly over the other elements as to drown
them or blot them out of view, if not out of existence.
The saint is so gentle (saraia), so sattvic. His will is
surrendered. He has no attachment or desire and his

•B.G. XVIII. 40. _~

 UPADESA SARAM 45
deeds do not produce any vosclucl or bondage like those
of worldly persons. There is a doctrine of u substantial
compliance ” in spirituality as in law. Neither religion
nor law takes note of trifles. Even in physical science,
what is substantially a.vacuum (e.p., that obtained by an
air pump) is treated as a vacuum and is found for all
practical purposes to be a vacuum. This parallel may
well be used in understanding the term “ sattvic mind of
the Jivan Mukta” and also perhaps the phrase “the
jiva that without suffering extinction, transcends per¬
sonality.”

14* QJofltfDUJ QtU/r@fcJ@

d3(B&&Gq] GtuirirQ]i£l tq^u/p
68(1-1 LD$i@)J0

14: When the mind can get absorbed, by breath!

restraint, then it will “die,” (i.e., its form will perish)
if fixed to a single point.

Notes: The aspirant should not be content with

Pranayama (breath-regulation) which stills the mind
only so long as the breath is held. He should proceed to
“ kill it.” That is done by unflinching perseverance in
concentration—on the Supreme.

“ Death ” of the mind (or even its temporary absorp¬

tion) is termed samadhi. The highest form of it is the
permanent merger or union of the individual in the
Brahman. All other forms are inferior. There is, how¬
ever, a gradation among them. (1) sushka, (i.e., bar¬
ren) samadhi and jado samdhi are terms applied to
certain types of voluntary trance or stupefaction of the
senses and the mind, produced by psycho-physiological
 46 UPADESA SARAM

or spiritual gymnastics, in which however Atman, Brah¬

man or Satchitananda is neither realised nor approached.
Even this, if properly utilised, may be a good prepara¬
tion for real and even the highest samadhi.
Absorption of the mind is a fine art. But its value
depends on what one is absorbed in. Absorption in a
mathematical problem, in music, or in love has its value
for the joy that it gives and for the preparation it affords
for absorption in the Supreme. Absorption in one’s Ishta
Devata or Personal God (achieved mostly with the aid
of images or other symbols such as light and fire) is
really absorption in love—a refined or sublimated love—
and is the next higher step. That is termed (2) savi-
kalpa samadhi. So long as the mind perceives things
other than itself it is having vikalpas or differentiating
processes. When these are narrowed down to a very few
objects, e.g., one’s God with some attributes or His
symbol, it is savikalpa samadhi. Many devotees are
enjoying this in the course of their worship or other
devotional exercises.
Very highly intense devotion, however, leads one to
lose his individuality in one’s God. Then it becomes (3)
nirvikalpa samadhi—one shoreless sea of undifferentiated
consciousness, which it is impossible to describe. We can
only try to hint at it by saying that there one’s Self has
become God, that the Personal God has easily passed into
TTTs essential nature that is termed Impersonal Brahman
and that the feeling at its threshold is that all differences
appear, merely to be consumed and absorbed in unity,
or do not appear at all.
When glimpses of such realisation are caught and
enjoyed for a time and there is a return to the previous
 UPADESA SARAM 47

or preparatory state or stages, these glimpses are termed

(3-a) kevala nirvikalpa samadhi.
There the vasanas (of the individual), though sub¬
dued for the time being, are still alive and they drag
him back into the lower stages, and will continue to do
so till they are thoroughly and completely extinguished.
After the exhaustion of the vasanas, the individual
(?) is in (4) the sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi. He is in
permanent realisation of the Self or Brahman, tanmaya
nishtha* and there is no return from that state. What
people call “ his body ” will remain living and active
with its senses and intellect, till the course of action for
which that body came into existence (prarabdha) is over.
But this is the view of the on-lookers. The realiser does
not any more identify himself with that body or its acti¬
vity and feels no attachment or concern with its activity
■or inactivity or the attendant pleasure or pain. This is
what the next verse states :

1 5. LOGST6l](ITj LD/nuSlDfL/LD LD6STg)]LD/r (SiLKTS

&6or&G&rrjr Q&tueSI&o
£60T6ofiuja) e-irfrjB&asr

15. The great yogi whose “mind is extinguished ”

and who rests in Brahman, has no karma, as he has
attained his true nature (Brahman).
Notes ; c.f. B. G. III. 17, 18 ; Bri. Up., IV. (iv) . 12,
He feels no need or desire for Karma. When it is per¬
formed, he does not feel that he is the actor. The results
do not affect him. So it is said that he has no Karma.
The bondage of Karma does not affect its creator God,

4 Literally means being established in Being That.

 48 UPADESA SARAM

Personal, or Impersonal, nor the Self-Realiser in his

tanmaya nishtha, state of realisation.
God's and Jivan Mukta’s acts may seem to be like
worldly persons' acts, but are really sui generis, and
produce no such results, nor do they recoil ; e.g.t the first
act of creation, subsequent acts of creation and incarna¬
tions (avataras) are not the result of any previous
Karma or vasana; nor do they produce any phala or
vasana affecting the freedom of God. c.f. B. G. IV 6r
13 & 24 ; IX 9 ; Y. S. I, 24. See Appendix C. The saint
who has entirely surrendered his will to the Supreme
says “ I, yet not I, but the Supreme in me " ; or in the
words of B.G.V, 7 to 14, he lies secure and happy within
yet aloof from the body, quite unmoved and untouched
by its vasanas and consequent activities—realising that
he is not the agent. Such a saint is referred to here as
one that has * lost his Ego or mind ' and has escaped
(mukta) karmic bonds.
The next and following verses proceed to show how
the wise escape such bondage.
Where any activity produces, beyond the immedi¬
ately intended results, ulterior results over-mastering the
agent's will, i.e., transforming him and subjecting him to
unintended and undesired fruits and penalties entailing
involuntary rebirth, it is termed bondage. Desire is its
cause.

16. QsusfieSlL- tufhJ&8srr efilil®

0(60)6rflq© (Sajrrir&Gev tL/pgup
QJ60&T'60>LD tL/bd&T 0" 6F^UJfT fD*

16. When the mind withdraws from external objects

of sense and beholds (i.e., engages in mystic introspection
 UPADESA SARAM 49

of) its own effulgent form, that is true wisdom, (c.f. B.G.
VIII 12, etc.)

Learning should not be mistaken for wisdom. Much

learning is a weariness to the flesh and may, by its dis¬
traction, prevent peace of mind. Not so, wisdom. There
can never be a surfeit of wisdom. Learning is occupied
with study of things external to oneself. If a man should
study the whole world or even gain it, of what use is it,
unless he studies and masters himself ? Even to get real
knowledge of the world, one must know himself. Self¬
knowing is the chief duty and interest of man,—is
wisdom. This is commonsense and the wisdom of
philosophy.

This verse has a further significance. Maharshi is

not teaching here psychology and philosophy of religion,
ough what he teaches is connected with them. To
learn such science or philosophy, one must pursue the
we - own scientific methods of observation, experi-
men , framing of tentative hypotheses and checking the
result of their application with well known facts with a
vmw to correct or develop such hypotheses. Maharshi
on the other hand, is proceeding on different lines here’
The ancient mystics of this land, the Rishis, pursued their
^ ^ th6ir con^s to reach
Maha^l ^ S-"4 “• *>" sough. was bliss, .he
highest bliss welling up from within and forming .he
bottom iayer or rather essence of man ; and the method
adopted was mystic introspection-which was no doubt
based “rtam psychological and philosophical truths
about self, God and the universe. The highest bliss was
declared to be one’s reaching identity with the Real
substratum of the universe and of oneself, described as
4
 50 UPADESA SARAM

Sat-Chit-Ananda. The process of reaching involved the

affirmation of some positions of psychology and philo¬
sophy which were reached according to the science of
their days. The scientific accuracy of those positions may
be disputed and perhaps disproved. Yet still the mystic
and blissful result which the ancient seers reached can
be, is being, and will be reached exactly as it was in their
days. Verse 17 et seq. deal with some of the positions
taken or used in that process of mystic introspection.
While reading these, an ordinary reader will be well
advised, if he is anxious to secure the bliss of mystic
realisation, not to be puzzled about their relation to the
facts, and doctrines of modern psychology and philo¬
sophy and the question whether the latter corroborate,
or contradict the former or leave them untouched.* Even
if there should be any contradiction in the positions, that
does not and cannot affect the indubitable experience of
bliss resulting from the use of the old positions, accord¬
ing to the time honoured method. Even variations of
that method like that adopted by Tennyson (see page
14 supra) produce the same result. It is of the utmost
importance for learned readers to remember that we are
not now proceeding here to deal with the psychology or
philosophy of the Self according to modern methods ; but
only dealing with a peculiar art involving a single ele¬
ment of applied psychology and philosophy,—applied

* There is no suggestion here that the old positions embodied

in V. 17 et seq. have in fact been demolished or weakened by
modern science or philosophy. Nor is any competent scholar
or expert dissuaded here from examining the old positions in
the new light. The only point made here is that such examina¬
tion is not necessary for reaping the benefit of Maharshi’s
teaching (Upadesa) and, if made by all and sundry, might
unsettle the faith of some and prevent their deriving the full
benefit of that teaching.
 UPADESA SARAM 51
for the discovery of bliss, one’s real nature. That art
based on the fundamental nature of man and his environ¬
ment still holds good, and, so far as we can see, will hold
good for ever.

17. u>sor$$ @i06tnsu tD(D6)jir gJ^irsu

ix>6orG)LD6or Qsuir6ar0l8su iqiB^u/D
jrir|f<5@ifl gijbdjUfD.

17. When the mind unceasingly ponders over its own

nature, it transpires that there is no such thing as mind.
This is the straight course for all.

18. 6T6ooT60ormj35 Garmsorib luirsfilgpi jBir06or@i

Qtosror6aorSLD (tpeomir (Lpjb^up
ID IT(60) lD60rOll)60r

18. The mind is merely thoughts. Of all thoughts,

the thought “I” is the root. (Therefore) the mind is
only the thought “ I ”.
Notes : The thought“ I ” is also known as ego, self-
consciousness, ahankar, the feeling of one’s personality.
‘ Thoughts ’ means mental phenomena. When any thought
arises, seek its root by asking “To whom does this
thought arise ? ” “ Who thinks this ? ’’—The answer is
“ I ” a person. There is no thought without a thinker.
So the thinking person “ I ” is the root of thought.

19. /5ir06ur6$r Qjd(lpl0i_ (StoO^«jr pirt-Qjsm

(6tRJ)63riD&U ^ITILIjB^®
0ir6or §>j50uij).

19. * Whence does this “ I ” arise ? ’ Seek this

within. This “ I ” then vanishes. This is the pursuit of
Wisdom.
 52 UPADESA SAKAM

Notes: The next question to ask yourself is * Who

is this “I”?’ What sort of entity is it—(the caused
or uncaused, finite or infinite) ? Whence does it arise ?
By introspection, try to see how and where this thought
“I” begins. The result is that what formerly appeared
as a distinct individual person “ I ” who entertained the
thought, disappears and is seen no more.
Here a reader may suddenly rouse himself up and
ask ‘ \yhat is this harakiri that is going on ? ’ Dr.
Guillotin after getting innumerable victims’ heads chop¬
ped off by his all-devouring guillotine, himself fell a
victim/ to it. Are we suffering the same fate by following
the seemingly heartless advice of the English poet :—
«.Die,
If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek!
Follow where all is fled.”
or that of the sage who ordered 3x^51
i.e., give up or surrender that (mind or ego) with the aid
of which you have surrendered everything else ?
In the words of Maharshi, the stick (ego) which
helped in cremating various other bodies by pushing them
into the funeral blaze (jnana vichara or quest of wis¬
dom) is itself in the end burnt up in the same blaze.
Are we then ending in utter annihilation? Is that
possible 1
We find the answer to these questions in the follow¬
ing stanzas which reassure us of the truth proclaimed
in B G II. 15, that the one fundamental Real abides
ever, while all else, with a mere phenomenal existence,
must change and pass away, i.e., that he who wishes to
escape from the turmoils of earthly strife, or samsarck
 UPADESA SARAM 53
or succession of births and deaths must retreat into his
impregnable citadel by recognising or realising the truth
of his Being as the One Real, the Pure Atman or Brahman.

20. jpfrQ(gj)66rg)j fitrtgpQ&reir Qqgi&rjDgi

&fT(6S)<95<£ S^/T6OT^j(SU5 iqjb<$LJ(D
grrangi y,OTjpLDfr (tpfi^ujD•

20. Where the “ I ” vanished, there appears an “I,

I ” by itself. This is the Infinite (poornam).
Notes: Is there then a blank after the loss of the
feeling of one’s individual personality ? No. The one
supersensible Being that underlies this appearance, 11
and all other unreal appearances, i.e., Brahman (poor¬
nam) , appears in place of the 11 \ and covers not one
individual ‘ I ’ only, but all. Hence it is denoted by the
expression ‘ I, I ’ denoting the merger or absorption of
the individual and particular in the universal. Is this
annihilation ? No.

“ The dewdrop slips into the Shining Sea.

The tiny spark rejoins the Eternal Flame.”

21. ^frQssrgpjQj QfrirjbQufrqij srrrrLDgi jBfr(§j$(oLD

jBfrGsrfDfD (ipjfr^ufD
60)LD

21. This is always the true import of the term “I”.

For we do not cease to exist even in the deepest sleep,
where there is no waking “ I ”.
Notes : The term * I ’ as ordinarily used denotes one
with waking consciousness. However even in deepest
sleep there is continuity of consciousness, as on waking
up, a person remarks * I enjoyed sound sleep all these
 54 UPADESA SARAM

hours \ That proves the necessity for stretching the ‘ I ’

wider, i.e., beyond waking consciousness. Proceeding
thus, to see what “ I ” or personality is, one arrives at
the Atman-Brahman as its real basis or nature.
Here the argument of the poem is a little knotted as
the Upanishads themselves are when they treat of the
sushupti—deep sleep state. Some [e.g., Bri. Up. II (1)
—17 IV (3) 19, 21, 23] treat it ad identical with the state
of Pure Consciousness or Perfect Self-Realisation. But
most authorities [e.g., Ch. Up. VIII (3) 2*, Tait. Up.
II 8, III (10) 5 and Karikas v. 15 on Mand. Up. VII and
B S. in (2) 7-9], affirm that the deep sleep state is,
after all, one of the states of the individual soul in which
he is still clothed with ignorance—though that state
is the happiest of the three and makes the nearest
approach to Self-Realisation. In Self-Realisation, it is
all Pure Consciousness ; no ignorance can linger there.
In fact, it is a piece of unfortunate necessity to call it
a state at all, for Self-Realisation is the unique Self, the
Atman-Brahman, the one Real wherein no difference is
possible between a person or object and his or its state,
between attribute and substance, between knowing and
being —knower, knowing and known. In “ deep sleep ”
the jiva is very much dimmed and burns like a bed-room
light with wick low down, just twinkling and keeping
up minimum activity. It is hardly noticeable, still it
is there Touch it and like a snake it will uncoil itself
-nd spread out its flaming hood. It has power of enjoy¬
ment a bit of memory and a preference of its own, to

-...Tike nersons’that walk over the surface of a land under

... U £loeiir<» is buried, unaware of that treasure, people daily
which rld of Brahman, but do not get into it, being1
toorance."
 UPADESA SARAM 55

respond to some stimuli more readily than to others.

Assuredly deep sleep is below even the lowest samadhi,
wherein the soul is absorbed in some form leading to
the Real, and, of course, far below the highest Advaitin’s
samadhi, i.e., sahaja nirvikalpa., which is the same as
perfect realisation. Here the argument is that Brahman
is lurking behind the “ I ”, whenever people use that term
or thought denoted by it. It laughs from behind, so to
speak, when a waking individual talks of “I am doing
this or I thought that, or I won this battle” and some¬
times may demonstrate their error to the individuals or
gods concerned (See Kena Up. Ill 14-26). This applies
not merely to their waking use of the term. The I
occurs in their dreamy sleep—which is mostly a dis¬
orderly reproduction of waking and perhaps long forgot¬
ten experiences. Even there that “ I ” is but a mask for
the Brahman. In deep sleep, “I” still continues though
in a very attenuated form,—so attenuated as to account
for its being commonly, though inaccurately, described
as the state without the ego. And even that ego is a
pretender and not the real. It pretends to be bliss, but
its lack of illumination and its short life prove that it
is an Imposter and not the Real, Brahman-Atman. The
Atman knows that and everything ; but the deep sleep
«i ” knows next to nothing. So Maharshi sums all this
up and says in his first line, “the Reality that lurks
behind the ‘ 19 always, i.e., in all the three states, is this
11 the pure and perfect consciousness
A corollary has been drawn from the above stated
fact. In the Bri. Up., it is asserted that when an object,
e.g., a wife or a son attracts our love, the only reason
for it is that attraction and lovability are the nature of
the Atman-Brahman underlying, (See IV, 5J.
 56 UPADESA SARAM

22. £_t_dQurrrfjl iL/errerr Qpu5lfl(nj Oerrajeu/r^

gfrasrgir
&$$!rasr firreurwev q//5<£u/d.

22. The body, senses, mind, life (Prana) and igno¬

rance (avidya or sushupti) are all insentient and not
the Real. I am the Real (sat). These (sheaths) I am
not.

Notes : In stanza 19, the question of the origin (and

therefore the nature) of “ I ” is raised. Here the question
is pursued further. What am I ? There is a hazy feel¬
ing that any object perceived outside this 4 my body ’ is
not-I, and that ‘ 19 inheres in this body. Am I then the
limbs, the organs ? No. I exist without them after
amputation or when I lose (this food sheath) the whole
body in sleep or death. Am I the life-breath (Prana) ?
No. I survive that also, in cases of suspended breathing
or in death. Am I the mind and intellect regulating it
(manas and vijnanm) ? No. The personality survives
when madness or disease takes away the mind and reason.
Am I then the feeling of ease or bliss in deepest, i.e.,
dreamless sleep where all functions of body and mind
are at rest and where only the unillumined (i.e., igno¬
rant) components of the unconscious remain ? No. Not
even that. As I feel that I am and that I am conscious,
* I ’ cannot be ignorance or anything unillumined. What
then am I ? * I * am what remains after all these sheaths
are removed. I am that which is Being (sat) ; I am that
which is conscious, (chit). As happiness or (anandam) is
that which is beyond pleasure and pain and these inhere
in these rejected sheaths, ‘I’ am past all pleasure and
pain; ‘I9 am happiness (anandam).
 UPADESA SARAM 57

23. e-rirorr g/OTrjr QjflroriiQjSaj /5)6otot>ldu5I

gpierrerr ^ismrp’Qjrr^ Qpj&$ufD
Qj6ror|f(SaJ/B/r t^fri^crr Qpp$up.
23. As there is no second being to know that which
is, ‘ that which is9 is conscious. We are that.

24. i§0«0 LfltufDsrodBUjfr 65<sp<# ai|r«

Q6rr/T0Qurr0 (Soruj/raj 0£<$u/d
qju/t$ qsOTjjGajGsu gij&gjup)*
24. Creatures and Creator do both exist. They are
(alike and) one in Being. Their differentia are the
degrees of their knowledge and other attributes.

25. £>ottSs&t (Si_/ritajgjj sjfresf^eSr

fDsmSsar iLfmrifeug)ir
T(g) Qiufroflifai^fr @yj5<£u/D.
25. When the creature sees and knows himself
— without attributes, that is knowledge of the Creator, as
the Creator appears as no other than the Self.

26. ajfr(gj) u90^£>(p6u £>63T&jr

prrarfliremr i-jbfD&ir gy/B^>u/D
gjSQTLDtU J@l1«DLu5

26. To know the Self is to be the Self,—as there

are not two separate selves. This (state) is thanmaya
nishta.
Notes : tanmaya nishta literally means 4 abiding as
That.’ That is Brahman or Real Being.

27. <SlrijlQJ(f)l ummmiq ld/d/d surfJKo&j

oj/61qj»i0 (jp^jbr60)LDii5
6U/06)j^/d Q&rrG&rffldsu iijn^u/D.
 58 UPADESA SARAM

27. That * knowledge7 is (real) knowledge which

transcends both knowledge and ignorance. There is no
object to be known 4 there/
Notes: In the state of realisation of Brahman, unity
prevails. The idea that * I know this ’ or * I am ignorant
of that/ cannot enter there. There is no second entity
to know in that realisation.

28. &(Q)0uj6b prr65rQn)fi SpiSIsir

6VT(6G)$ tUSGTJBtglJBjSutD
Qi<556MTL <$^/T63n5^

28. When one’s true nature is known, then there

is Being without beginning and end ;—It is unbroken
Awareness-Bliss.
Notes : ‘ There there is no difference and hence no
beginning nor end. What is realised may be described
as existence, consciousness and happiness (i.e., absence of
pleasure and pain as set out in the note to stanza 22)
sat-chit-anaridam.

29. L./D/D U[r&& (LfifbfD^Jfr

(5lj5@ jSSsojSjbfl) @pj5d>u(D
GSl6V)JDU60ofl J§ji)(D6Vir (LpJB^SufD*

29. Remaining in this state of Supreme Bliss past

all thoughts of bondage and release is abiding in the
service of the Supreme.
Notes : To those beginning with the path of bhakti,
this culmination may appear as self-surrender to the
Supreme. Any worship or service thereafter rendered
will be ego-less as the will or soul is absorbed in God
or Brahman. Among practisers (sadhakas), before reach¬
ing their goal or end, conflict of views arises sometimes.
 UPADESA SARAM 59

Some contend that bhakti by purifying the mind, intensi¬

fying concentration, and bringing about non-difference
(between jiva and Iswara or God) of one sort serves as
the means for jnana and is nothing more. Others contend
that jnana by revealing God's infinite beauty, power and
other lovable attributes is the means for strengthening
bhakti and is nothing more. Maharshi reconciles the com¬
batants by pointing to the end. Here, at the end, all
apparently divergent paths coalesce. The highest reach
of bhakti is the same as the highest realisation of jnana
as in both cases, the finite desire-bound ego has been
surrendered or destroyed and the only survivor is the
Imperishable Supreme.

39. lu/rsonj) fShuebsug] QeorgiQJgJ

<$ir6&np /D6uQ^<sdr© ^0ujD
$IT(6V)Lb (TLdG61JOTtf-
30. The Realisation of That which subsists when all
trace of “ I ” is gone, is good austerity (tapas). So sings
Ramana the Self of all.
The jnani may not appear to a superficial observer
as a tapasvi (a man of austerities) ; but in fact, he is the
greatest of tapasvis, as his tapas, as spontaneous Aware¬
ness of the Self, is constant, bereft of the least trace of
individual effort. The process of ridding oneself of the
ego also is very severe tapas—involving the sacrifice of
everything including the sacrificing self—an excellent

form of tapas. (c.f. (1) 5TC: (2) cTCflT 3U

(1) Austerity, in the form of jnana
or Self-Abidance. (2) Realise Brahman by austerity.
Austerity is Brahman. Tait. Up. Ill, (2).
 UPADESA SARAM
Rendered into Verse by

Major Allen Chadwick

1. Karma must ever yield its proper fruit,

For thus it is ordained by God, Himself,
Supreme Creator. Then is Karma God ?
No, for it is itself insentient.

2. Of Karma the results must pass away,

Yet it leaves seeds which, in their turn sprout fortn
And throw the actor back into the flood
Of Karma’s ocean. Karma cannot save.

3. But acts performed without attachment’s urge

And solely for the service of the Lord
Will cleanse the mind and indicate the way
Which leads at length unto the final goal.

4. Worship, reciting of God’s Holy Name,

And meditation, mainly are performed
By body, voice and mind, and they excel
Each other in the order here set down.

5. If we but recognize this Universe

Of eight-fold form as form of God, Himself,
And serve in adoration all the world,
This is of God most excellent worship.
 UPADESA SARAM 61
6. Constant repeating of the Holy Name
Is more than praise, at length the voice will sink
To silent repetition in the Heart,
And in this way is meditation learnt.

7. Better than meditation that recurs

In broken fits and starts is tlfot which is
A steady ceaseless flow, like to the course
Of falling, oil or a perennial stream.

8. Worship of God as in no way distinct

From him who worships, or in other words
Thinking that “ He is I ”, is better far
Than any other kind of worshipping.

9. To rest in the Real Being, that transcends

Our very thought, by reason of the strength
Of our devotion to something conceived ;
This of supreme devotion is the truth.

10. To be absorbed again into one’s Source

Is Karma, Bhakti, Yoga, Jnana, all
These things in truth. Or put in other words
Is Work, Devotion, Union, Wisdom, too.

11. As by the fowler birds are caught in nets

So by the holding of the breath within
The mind can be restrained. .This a device
Which will effect absorption of the mind.

12. For mind and life, expressed in thought and act

That is with thought and action as their function,
Diverge and branch like two boughs of a tree,
But both of them spring from one single stem.
 62 UPADESA SARAM

13. Suppression of the mind in two ways comes

Absorption and extinction; mind absorbed
Will live again, but mind which is destroyed
Will never more revive, for it is dead.

14. When, by the means of restraint of the breath,

The mind has been controlled, then make it flow
Along a single current, that achieved,
Its form will then entirely disappear.

15. For the Great Sage for whom all form of mind
Has disappeared and who is ever one
With the Reality, there is no Karma more,
For He, indeed, the True Self has become.

16. When mind has given the sense-objects up

Which are external and has drawn within,
And has perceived its own refulgent form,
Then verily alone True Wisdom is.

17. When pondering with constant vigilance

Upon the actual nature of the mind
One finds that there is no such thing as mind ;
This, of a truth, is the straight course for all.

18. The mind is nothing but a lot of thoughts,

Of all these many thoughts’t is the thought, * I *
That is the root. So we can see by that
The mind in truth is only the thought ‘ I \

19. Whence therefore, does this ‘I-thought’ have its

birth ?
With vigilant and ever active mind
Seek this, and crestfallen the 41 * becomes.
The search, itself, the quest of Wisdom is.
 UPADESA SARAM 63
20. This search pursued till 41 * has disappeared
There now shines forth the 4 I-19 all alone,
The quest is finished, there’s no more to seek,
For this is truly the Infinite Self.

21. This is eternally the true import

Of the term 41 \ For in the deepest sleep
We do not cease to be, we still exist
Even though here, there is no sense of 41.’

22. As I am Pure Existence, I am not

The body nor the senses, mind nor life.
Nor even ignorance, for all these things
Are quite insentient and so unreal.

23. As there is not another consciousness

To know Existence, it must follow that
Existence must itself be consciousness.
So we ourselves are this same consciousness.

24. In their real nature as Existence both

Creatures and the Creator are the same,
The unique Principle. In attributes
And knowledge only is a difference found.

25. Realization of the Self alone,

Eliminating all its attributes,
Is God-Realization of a truth,
As it is He that shines forth as the Self

26. To be the Self, that is to know the Self,

As there is no duality in Self ;
This is Thanmaya-Nishta, or the state
Of absolutely being That in truth.
64 UPADESA SARAM

27. That knowledge is true knowledge which

transcends.
Knowledge and ignorance both equally,
And this alone is truth. For there is no
Subject or object there that can be known.

28. If one can only realize at Heart

What one’s true nature is, one then will find
That ’t is infinite Wisdom, Truth and Bliss,
Without beginning and without an end.

29. Remaining in this state of Supreme Bliss,

Devoid of bondage and of freedom too,
Is found to be a state in which one is
Wrapt in perpetual service of the Lord.

30. By ardent search and shedding ego’s veil

Realize the Self, the One that’s ego-less,
And function thus ; the sole right penance this.
So teaches Bhagavan Sri Ramana,
Who is the Self of everything that is.

OM ! TAT ! SAT !
 ♦I* •** *1* •** *1* *t* *1* **• *♦* ‘H***hI» ^
<*
❖ *
| rqr^r %
i t
«$» <♦ <* *i* *;♦ •> *> •> *X*

qr 5TTc^rt >55* I
t% «rt n * ii

qcwq>rc°m l
s 'srai’sra nfaftfaq***. ii r ii
jwifia I
gfa ii 3. n
wwiwr: q;few^ i
siq fsRfi m\<i ii » ii

ii ^ ii

f%^T 5iq sqiqpn?^ || ^ ||

«Ti5wqr #cwr.*m^i
fq^l: II V3 II
5
66 UPADESA SARAM

inwrsfor qr^5t *ar n c 11

JTRifl^fgfoswr || ^ II

*rc.- *rerar foqr i

ftfeiq n \ ° II

9ig*tairc#i^ w: i
®nwli^«Rj|*rc^ n n ii

fwrafaftCTigar: i
gfaqs^T ii * vii
swfwRft &RRta3r i
559*13 gqfoft qt 333 ii t \ II

^^331511^9?: || {9 II

9E»TRflte?59lfal: I
5c*Wfe % ^3: II II

S399Tf?3 1%33R99: :
3t93RM^ II ? % II
 UPADESA SARAM 67

*TR« 1 f% affea I
% mas am stream; 11 ^ w

ffamfaar: i
saat aat to# aa: ii ii

3Tf<rq fat aafa f%ma: i

3?f?i qamt fasif^RR0^ H \ % n

3f|fa qi5W[5qfq|aqi I
*$?fa fr^q q^W ii ^ © ii
f5asq?rsfa^qa;a^ i
3fsfa5ta%s<R35qflaqr n r ? 11

faatf^qaroi^aa: i
^iffosasis umi ll RR II

Araaifapr i
^raaiftfa fefrai ll R} ii

f^qqfqqsftft^T I
*Raamat a*§ %a«* ll ^ii

Iqiraa: Rim#m; i
f*RKn simsqa: ii r,j> ii
68 UPADESA SARAM

3TRfMw?*TftgaT II II

fiqqfa i% ii ^ ii
$?sqfaqT?q^ i
3tsqqrsiq^iss<jaif%^^ 11 Rt II

sFqgqeqdft ii I
ii ^ II

3ipfta% fqsifqqiq^ I
n ^° n
 APPENDIX A

"Up. Sara Sources : Parallels ; other books, etc., deal¬

ing with the same topic.

Verses 1 & 2 B. G. Ill 9-12, 13 Rcff;

„ IV 13 q 37, 41.
3 „ IV 20, 24, 31. V 10. IX 27. XI 55.
II 47 to 51. XVIII 49.
5 B. G. VII 4. VI 30, 31. XVIII 61, 62.
VII 20, 21. XI 7, 47, 54 worship of
other gods, images, etc. IX 23, 24.

7 „ VI 19 qsjf iftq*
8 Bri. Up. I (4) 10.
Manasa Pooja by Sankara

Maharshi’s Aksharamanamala.
9 Vivekachudamani 32 & 33. B. G. XI 54.
10 Ch. Up. Ill (14) 1. Tait. Up. Ill (1)
B. S. I (1) 2 and all other references
quoted at page 49.
11 B. G. IV 29. VIII 10, 12.
14 „ VIII 14.
15 B. G. Ill 17, 18. IV 37. XVIII 17. Asht. G.
XVIII 25-29. Bri. Up. IV (iv) 12.
16 „ X 20. XVIII 61. VIII 12.
70 UPADESA SARAM

19 Yoga Vasishtha.
Annapoornopanishad I 49.
Mahoponishad IV 21.

22 Sankaracharya’s Atmabodha-V. C

24 sjsrqfqrfa^ SRq: q>]*oiWrfaftsTC: I

w^W°rat ft^r 11
27 & 29 Asht. G. XVIII 78, 72.
30 Tait, Up. Ill (2).

APPENDIX B
Asht. G. —Ashatavakra Gita.
B. G. —Bhagavad Gita.
B. S. —Brahma Sutras.
Bhag. —Srimad Bhagavata Puranam.
Bri. Up. —Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad.
Ch. Up. —Chandogya Upanishad.
Kath Up. —Katha Upanishad.
Ken. Up. —Kena Upanishad.
Mand. Up. —Mandukya Upanishad.
Mund. Up. —Mundaka Upanishad.
Svet. Up. —Svetasvatara Upanishad.
Tait. Up. —Taittiriya Upanishad.
Up. Sara. —Upadesa Saram.
Y. S. —Yoga Sutra.
Y. V. —Yoga Vasishtha.
 APPENDIX C
Karma, its sub-divisions; and how they are destroyed.

Karma produces its results, viz., phala and vasana (see

p. 7 ante). The vasana begins at once and runs on
till it is counteracted or destroyed. The phala, as a
rule, begins to operate, not in the same birth in
which the Karma is done, but in later births. Excep¬
tions to this rule are (a) where the agent is doing
nishkamya Karma and may have no future births
to face the phala or fruitin this case, the phala
is enjoyed or seems to be enjoyed (where the jiva
has no sense of being an agent) in the present body,
and (b) where the action is extremely wicked or very
highly virtuous, in which case the fruit is reaped in
the same birth and very quickly.

Karma has three sub-divisions :

(1) Kriyamana, is that which has been done, is
being done or is to be done in the present birth.
The phala or fruit of these is to be reaped in later
births though the resulting vasanas have to be
faced at once.
(2) Sanchita (i.e., accumulated), is the Karma done
in previous births—excepting prarabdha.
(3) Prarabdha is that portion of sanchita, which
has borne, is still bearing and is to bear fruit in
this birth.
Regarding the bearing or enjoying the fruit of prarabdha
most authorities say that it is exhausted only
 72 UPADESA SARAM

by reaping its fruit 5Rt«T?^3 (Rama

Gita X 10, 29). The arrow let loose from the bow must
run its course and cannot be recalled. For purposes
of practical sadhana and in the view of onlookers, this
is true. We shall see how this statement has to be
qualified.

Regarding destruction of Karma vasanas, the obvious

course is to counteract the same by directing the mind
and soul to an object (lakshya) e.g., God, which will
repel all vasanas. The force of past vasanas is thus
checked, and gradually may fade away—perhaps
after many births. But there is one step that must
act as a guillotine on all vasanas and phalas, viz.,
the extinction of the jiva or ego by merger in the
Supreme—which is done in (a) bhakti marga (path
of bhakti) by prapatti, i.e., surrender, leading to
union with God, i.e., sayujya ; and in (b) jnana marga
(path of jnana) by concentration and Atma jnana
or Brahma jnana. In both these cases, there is no
more ego for the Karma vasana or Karma phala to
act upon. These may affect the body of the devotee
or jnani till it drops off in videha mukti (liberation
after death). But the devotee ascribes the enjoyment
or path to Iswara, as the jnani, to nature (prakriti).
Both are actionless. Hence Bhagavad Gita says :

i.e., The fire of jnana burns up all Karma to ashes.

Sanchita cannot take effect as a jnani has no future

births. Kriyamana does not arise as a jnani has no sense
of agency.
 APPENDIX-C 73

snifa auifo Wlp I

atN ita m f.«r ii
—:B. G. IV, 24.

i.e., The giving is Brahman. So is the oblation, the

fire, the sacrificer, and the goal to be obtained by action
and samadhi relating to Brahman.

The devotee is equally safe in the arms of Iswara

•who is beyond Karma or even time. Says God Krishna :

at 3^: II
—B. G. XVIII. 66.

i.e., Give up all ideas of duty. Seek refuge in Me

alone and I shall see to your salvation from all sin. . . .
Have no grief.

Hi *31% II

3 fara. swutfcra \\
—B. G. XII, 6 & 7.

i.e., Those who give up all action to Me and being

wholly devoted to Me, worship Me, meditating on Me
with unswerving attention, fixed on Me and Me alone,
I lift them up from the ocean of samsara and death.
 74 UPAUESA SARAM

There are numerous and thrilling assurances, similar

to the above in the Gita and Srimad Bhagavata, encourag¬
ing everyone to betake himself to God and surrender to
Him, or if one is so constituted, to surrender oneself into
the Impersonal Brahman. No sort of Karma can have any
operation after prapatti or Atma jnana.
 INDEX
A
PAGES-

Abhyasa—Place, surroundings, solitude, Breath control,

mind withdrawal, meditation on a Lakshya . 18-19

Absorption—(samadhi) a fine art 46

46
in music, love
,, in God, the aim of all sadhanas 46
11
the slogan of all the four paths ..
„ is above deep sleep: the difference 56
Absorption—(samadhi)—2 sorts (1) Temporary, l&ya and
(2) Peramanent, manonasha or infused con¬
34, 43
templation
45*
latter, the goal
Absorption is of 4 sorts (1) Sushka samadhi, (2) Saui-
kalpa, (3) Kevala nirvikalpa, (4) Sdhaja samadhi 45-47
Absorption, to—four stages—Salokya, sameepya, saroop-
11
ya, sayujya •• **
44
—Mind and ego, not totally lost in samadhi ..
14
—but attenuated, purified, expanded, transformed
Adhikaris, i.e., persons intended to be benefited by this
poem are theists believing in God and Vedas 28
19
Aham Brahmasmi—see Mahavakyas '
30, 31
Ananda—see under Happiness
Arunachala, Personal God of Tiruvannamalai, Maharshi’s
1, 2, 36
devotion to *•**•*
Atman is core of personality and is Brahman, core of the
Universe : taught by Prajapati to Indra and by
Varuna to Bhrigu 21
Austerity (tapas) : Jnana is tapas
Ayamatma Brahma—see Mahavakyas
 76 UPADESA SARAM

Bhakti Marga—Path of Devotion .. \ 17

u Bhakti ’—Ordinary meaning is devotion to personal God.
But extended to Atma vichara by Sankara Acharya 37, 38
personal and impersonal glide into each other 14, 15, 39
has same end (Divine Bliss) as jnana .. .. 58 59
is jnana and jnana is bhakti according to Maharshi 38, 59
—is means to jnana : according to Advaita .. .. 15, 59
—is the end of jnana according to dualists .. .. 59
—seeing God in every object (like seeing gold in all
ornaments), is best worship .. 15, 16
Bhrigu learns Brahman from Varuna .. 21
J31iss—see Happiness .. ^ 30 31
Brahman—is the name for the Core of the Universe .! 24
„ defined and taught by Varuna to Bhrigu .. 21

C
•Concentration—Eka Chintana .. .. .. 43
—the instrument for manonasha or extirpation of vasa-
nas and the mind—on what lakshya ?—Form, i*e..
Is war or formless Brahman ? .. .. 16
—or dne's self to find its core ? .. .. 19, 22
Core of Personality (Pratyag Atman)—What? .. 23
—Diving to the core to realise unity .. .. 24
-Self .. .. 25

D
Deep sleep—see sleep, how it differs from samadhi .. 54, 55
Desire—not gratification but selfless suppression is best
way to true happiness - •• 30
_sublimate and turn desire Godward
Devotion—see under Bhakti
Dhyana—(meditation) is the third sadhana—result ng
from pooja and japa •• •• •• 11» 32
unbroken, is better than broken .. .. 11, 35
on God as residing in everything •* •• 33
on God in the universe (Virat) .. . 34
on God in images and saints .; .. .. 34
 INDEX 77
PAGES.
Difference-less, is superior to worship of God as other 35-37
Diving to the core—mystic process, described .. 24, 40-41
Doctrine of Karma : stated, limited use .. 6, 27-29
♦> ,, its misuse .. .. .. 29
„ and Reincarnation .. .. 28
» of “ Substantial Compliance ” .. .. 45-
Dualists aim, mukti what .. .. •• 36
„ sadhana, is that of all at an early stage.
“ He is not I ” .. .. .. 37
»» idea of non-difference .. *• •• 37

E
Eka Chintana—i.e., Concentration as instrument for
manonasha .* .. •• 43
End of all worship, of all paths is same .. •* 34, 50

F
Faith (sTaddha)—absolutely essential—in Guru, God and
Vedas 18, 20
Formula for all four paths is same: “Be absorbed in
the Source ” 12

God (Iswara) —means Personal God, defined .. .. 24 fn.

>» —is same as jiva ultimately .. •• . 57
»» —seeing, means perfect realisation and not physical
sight .. .. •• 57
»» —knowing, is also Being God; i,e.. Perfect Reali¬
sation .■ •• •• 57
Grace (kripa)—of God •• •* .. 16
>» — of Guru—same as God's .. • • •• 18
Guru .. .. .. 18
—is raarga darsaka (shows the path) .. .. 18
—faith in Guru's divinity, effective in effecting and
accelerating Self-Realisation .. .. .. 20 fn.
 78 UPADESA SARAM

H
PAGES.

Happiness—different tram pleasure, has various levels

30, 31
from animal to Divine Bliss
—Akamahatasya, Desirelessness is the highest happiness 31

J Heart ’—meanings, location of, for mystic process 40-41

I
34
Image Worship
53, 54
• Infinite * or * Perfect1 underlies all
34
infused' contemplation is laya
Inquiry—Path of Inquiry—see 1 Vichara 22, 23

Intellect—Metaphysical drive to reach self 22, 23

24, 25
Intuition—Mystic dive into the self
Iswara—see under God

J
Japa, better than stotra and pooja; inferior to dhyana 34, 35
44
JHanl's mind, is in suddha sattva
58, 59
Jticwifl——Is same as hhakti at the end .
_is usually confined by Advaita to realising one’s
identity with God as nirgund, Impersonal, but is
applied to any union with Iswara or Personal
God, e.g., like that of river and the ocean, by
36-37
Dualists
51-56
Jnana Marga
51-52
is vichara or inquiry into oneself, i.ee.y “ Who am I ? ”
is metaphysical and mystic, i-e., involves intellect
22-25
and intuition
17-20
Adhikari, qualifications
17
„ Bars
18
Discipline and regimen, Guru

K
71
Karma—classified. How it is extinguished-App. C. ..
6
Karma—defined
27-28
doctrine of Karma stated .
 INDEX 79
PAGES.
Karma is jada, i.e., insentient .. .. .. 6, 26
» not a person, not God, but a creation and does not
override omnipotence of God .. .. 7, 28
Karma means desire-born activity .. .. 7
„ perpetuates itself through vasana (or samskaras)
entailing involuntary rebirth, i.e., samsara .. 7-8
„ bondage explained .. .. .. 47
„ bondage, how to escape .. 0, 10, 48
its results, are they separable and transferable by
the agent? .. .. .. .. 26-27
»» its results—two sorts, vasana, phala .. .. 7

M
Maharshi’s—name, birth, parentage, education .. 1, 2
„ early traits, sleep-walking, abstraction, introspection,
realises he is not the body .. .. .. 1
Maharshi’s—untaught mysticism .. .. .. 1
deep devotion to Arunachala (Tiruvannamalai) .. 2
neglects study, his brother scoffs at his samadhi .. 2
leaves home for Tiruvannamalai, and offers himself to
God .. .. .. .. 2, 3
fame as an ascetic for austerities .. .. 4
studies; and writes original works .. 4, 5
his poems and translations .. • 4, 5
his teaching is not affected by developments in science,
psychology or philosophy .. 40-50
bis teaching is an art, applying scientific truths for
obtaining bliss 40-50
Mahavakyas ,. .. .. 19
Manonasa—Removal of limits of the mind effected by
graded steps, e.g., (1) Worship all, i.e., seeing every
object as God, (2) Feeling that all differences are
caught up in unity, (3) Absorption in prayer and
devotion .. .. 15-16
” Sadharta, i.e., concentration on God .. 16
Manonasa—is extinction of vasanas or desires or desire
seeds that constitute the mind or jiva. Explained
as not destruction but purification and expansion.
Fears needless .. 14, 43
 80 UPADESA SARAM
PACES.

Meditation—(see Dhyana) Hints on

11, I2
Metaphysical to reach the self, its effect 22-23,I, 51-56
13, 42
Mind—controlled through Yoga, breath regulation
51
—analysed by Maharshi 51
is thoughts, i.e., mental phenomena 51
and therefore centered on ego or self 23-25
44 Dive to core of self or personality ” .. ■*
—not lost in jnani, but is attenuated or transformed 44
to pure sattva
—purification or 4 cleansing/ i.e., release from desire 31
(t? asanas) is the way to Bliss or Salvation
Mukti, is release from samsara by extinction of desire— 31
vasanas
12 P1*
Mysticism—(of Tennyson described) defined ^ •*
40, 41
—concentration on 4 Heart/ Experience of Maharshi • 25
Mystic drive to reach the self, its effect 34
Mysterium Tremendens

44 Neti Neti ”—Exclusion of 4 Not-Self ' in the inquiry into

23, 56
self to reach its core—rejecting its sheaths 46
Nirvikalpa (kevala samadhi) 47
„ (sahaja „ ) 36
Non-Difference in Meditation (soham) is best
Non-Difference (for Advaitis and Dvaitis)— see under
36
Personality

Object of all worship is to merge in the Blissful one

Objections to image and saint worship; to lower forms
of worship of Personal God for three reasons:
other forms, excellent worship

pancha kosha—see 44 Sheaths

.. 12, 39
paths or mtorgas, four
 INDEX 81

PAGES.
39
Paths or margas only three or two
—have a common slogan or formula “Be absorbed in
13
Source ”
38
—see Karma marga, bhakti, Yoga, jnana
24 fn.
Personal God (Iswara) : defined
—worship of ..
36
—union with, is Dualist’s goal (Ganga sagara sangama)
—leads to the Impersonal and so no need to fear loss
14
of personality
Personality in jiua and in God is stressed as the irreduci¬
36
ble minimum by Dualists, i.e., Theists
—is transcended, by Advaitis, in what sense .. 36, 45
53
—fear of its loss ; annihilation ? No •• **
—gets Infinite expansion, rather Transformation into
53, 54
God or Brahman 12» 15, 16,
29, 30
Pleasure (different from happiness) see Happiness
33, 34
Pooja—highest pooja is seeing God in all
Pranayama, induces temporary lull of the mind 13, 41, 42, 43
Psychology and Philosophy in Maharshi’s upadesa 49, 50

Qualification for Self-Realisation is merely sincere dasire

for Realisation
—Sadhana chathushtaya, not demanded
-but worship of God and ethical behaviour (six
virtues) required

Realisation is called seeing God, knowing God, being God. 57-59

„ is final surrender to God 59
„ is highest austerity 59
6
 82 UPADESA SAHAM

PACES.
Realisation of the Self-progressive; by gradual conquest
of desire .. ,. ## .. 31-32

S
Sagvma or savikalpa samadhi ,, .. 45, 46
Sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi—is final Self-Realisation .. 25
Sahaja .. .. #, ## t. 40
Salokya \
Sameepya I are the four steps to absorption
Saroopya j in God—see under Absorption
Sayujya )
Samadhi shatka, i.e., six virtues, samat etc. .. .. 17-18
tendencies, left by Karma .. .. .. 8
Sat Chit Ananda is I 22-23, 56, 57
Science and Philosophy : Changes in, do not affect Mahar-
shi’s method or upadesa .. .. .. 49-50;
Self—Ego, ahankar, personality or I, analysed as mind. 51
—is pratyag Atman .. #. .. 2&
—identified with Brahman .. .. .. 24
—by metaphysical inquiry, as Sat Chit Ananda .. 50, 55
—by Mystic 44 diving into the core ” .. 24
—by Mahavakya, Ayamatma Brahma .. 24r
Sheaths are “ Not-I.” So rejected, in quest of self .. 22, 23
Sleep—sushupti, Deep sleep. Here ego very faint, not
extinct .. .. .. .. .. 54:
Sleep—nearest approach to, but is much below samadhi.
What the difference is .. •• .* 54-55
Slogan or Formula same for all paths .. .. I2
Soham—i.e., difference—less meditation •• 36-37
Source—or Heart, is Brahman .. .. .• 40-41
4 Substantial compliance,” Doctrine of ■. 45
Suddha satva—jnani’s mind is in .. .. .• 44
Summary of Maharshi's teaching .. .. 6-25
Surrender 51-52, 59
Sushka samadhi .. .. .. .. 45
 INDEX 83
PAGES.

57
Tanmayanishtha is Perfect Realisation •• "
Theists alone are adhikaris of and appealed to by this
28
poem
2
Tiruvannamalai is Arunachala
3
—hill is God as Fire (jyotirlinga)
37, 45
Transcending Personality of jiva and Iswara

Unity is Perfect Realisation, no second, no Triputi 56

Upadesa Saram-used as a manual for contemplation .. 5
6-25
—its summary •• •• . “ .
Upadesa is not affected by progress in science, psycho-
49-50
logy, etc., or philosophy

Vosarm: i.e., the tendency to desire and to^ obtain gratifi¬

cation through Karma is cause of rebirths (samsara) 8, 48
—result immediately from Karma but go on 'j
endlessly
App. C
—extinction of, is manonasa is mokslta
„ how secured, i.e., by surrender in 14-16
bhakti, by enquiry in jnano
Vic liar a marga—i.e., path of inquiry and illumina ion^ is
the jnana marga of Advaities. Mahar 11 en
it with solving the problem “Vfho am . ^
“Whence?” •• *’ " 19 ’ 0
e.g., vichara or mahavakya .• •• ’‘ ’
how inquiry into “ Who am I ” proceeds 22-23, 56-57, 66 67

Who am 1 ? i-e., “ What is self ? ” 1, 22-23

“ Whence ? ” . 51, 52
Wisdom is more than learning 49
 UPADESA SAKAM

Worship of Virat, the Universe y

Practice of Presence of God SaiDtS (Wlth
Worship of fonns-symbolism Tnd a tl " ^ "
inevitable Dd anthropomorphism—

Yoga—explained as Hata Yoea i*

regulation of breath COntro1 of mind by