Preface - part - 4

You can get doubt - is there anything other than the outside world and if so, how to prove it?

You will easily accept the scientific experiments; theorems etc and accept the basic fundamental scientific principles which go on changing day by day.

But, we do not accept this fact about ourselves that we are Brahman – Tripura Sundari; we ask for proof.

Actually, it is shameful for us, because, we don’t know ourselves and we want to know everything else.

We want to control many others, without knowing ourselves.

We want to control other’s mind, without knowing our own mind.

But in fact, this is more simpler than that; Due to our wrong conclusions arrived at or due to our Bahirmukha [extrovertedness] trend, or due to the sense organs strongly tuned to outer world, without thinking this simple thing of the reason behind this whole world of objects.

This requires antarmukha method [introvertedness] and not Bahirmukha. This approach we can get, by various means – the means may be different, but the goal is the same. Just like we can go to a place by any means – namely, by train, by foot, by scooter, by car, by bus , by air or by ship etc. But the destination is the same.

Soundarya Lahari also will take us to the same destination, like saastras, ultimately taking us to the correct conclusion or knowledge removing your avidya, or ignorance, wrong notions about this world and about ourselves slowly and steadily.

Whatever be your method, ultimate goal should be clear; then only you can achieve permanent success in life.

There are many temporary goals for all the people, may be-

Study well get multiple degrees,
Get a job – or get promotions,
Get married and get children,
Serve parents, and children and partner,
Serve the relatives,
Serve the society,
Serve the country,
Earn by business, build houses,
Purchase houses, cars,
Commanding others, etc., and so on.
But the permanent goal is the same for all – i.e.,
get permanent happiness.

But this is not in the outside world of objects, whether it is hell or heaven; Because, these objects of the world are insentient and dependent or impermanent. The people around you are also [if you consider the body-mind-intellect complex] impermanent. If you depend upon any of these for getting permanent happiness, it is as good as leaning on a very beautiful cardboard easy chair, which is excellent to look at, but you know the danger if you want to sit or lean on that chair.

Man is under the delusion of ignorance or avidya or mayaa which is anadi and unclear as referred in Gita –

Daivee hyesha gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa
Maameva ye prapadyante maayaam etaam taranti te.

Our vision is to be corrected; the wrong knowledge is to be removed; then the right knowledge will come; the method is given by the Tamil quote –
Mullai mullal edukka vendum;

To take a thorn, use another thorn; then throw away both the thorns.

Ajnaana is the thorn, to remove it, take the jnaana thorn, acquire jnaana, once you acquire jnaana, you don’t need anything- you are full of love, and the jnaana thorn also is thrown away.

We need not lose anything or gain anything; temporarily we have forgotten our real nature. We can come back to it any time we want. But we should identify that our conclusion was wrong and try to correct it ourselves. Anyway, when we complete Soundarya Lahari we will definitely be benefited; even if we already know the principle, we will come to know that even with the devotional slokas, we can get into the path of self realization and achieve realization.

Because, all people cannot read, and understand the meaning of the Sanskrit stotraas, but may slowly go through these slokas and lift their standard unknowingly and they may reach to the level of first hearing and then reading the sastras and follow the path of sravana – manana – and nidhidhyasana and enjoy full bliss gradually.

We know the proverb - better late than never; if anybody feels he is aged, or does not know the language etc, he need not worry, it is not at all late – God, Guru, and his Atman will come to his rescue quickly, the moment he turns his attention inwards, without changing his style of working in world.

During the states of jagrat and dream state, we enjoy the dvaita state, happiness and unhappiness both mixed.
In sleep state, we experience advaita state, perfect happiness devoid of sorrow..

Out of these two, which is our natural state and which is not – is the factor which counts for our happiness – Tripura Sundari.

Most of the people tune their minds and intellect and take the wrong factor as right and get trapped into the delusion of mayaa-
just as the ten foolish disciples of the Guru. Only few get out of this, and they are bold as referred by Swami Vivekanda thus – You give me ten intelligent [intellectual conviction] people, I will make the sea water drunk fully – the meaning is that there is no sea without water; the water in the ocean is -bodha because, without bodha no water; the other contents of the sea are foam, waves etc; they also form part of water.

Hence there is nothing other than bodha.
The examples given in upanishads are
rope in the snake and
mirage in the desert.

Actually, we need not achieve self realization; we are already realized; But we pose, for so many years and janmas that we are the B-M-I complex and not the aatman and get into the trap. We take the body – mind – intellect problems as pertaining to the atman. But the atman which is consciousness is aananda and that is ourselves and not any object in the world or the world itself.

This consciousness is the subject of all objects in the world including our own body, mind, intellect etc. If you have gone through the book drik – drisya viveka, these are all very simple to understand – if you have not, you may try now to get the book and read and share with others your happiness.This consciousness is not to be searched outside because it is not an object of the sense organs or mind as referred in Lalita Sahasra nama as Vano vaachaam agochara (She who is beyond names and forms).

Lalitaa Sahasra Nama refers about the supreme power as

Manovaacaamagocaraayai namah

Meaning consciousness – Tripura Sundari or I am beyond the reach of mind and words – the consciousness cannot be searched by the words and mind. It is only illuminating the body, mind, intellect and the whole world.

Don’t search for consciousness outside- it is within you and only within you and is yourself, the subject. Stop searching, you will get it, rather, you become it. If you be satisfied with what you have, you will get it early.

It depends on your desires – the desires are more, delay will be more to know that; if desires are less, delay will be reduced. If no desire, no delay, you get it quickly or immediately.

Don’t think desire is a problem, but check it, that desire be offered mentally at the feet of gods and guru first, [which does not require any effort or physical strain or expenditure or journey involvement but only mental surrendering] so that the grace will flow to you, giving an indication to you that, you need not worry for anything and your needs will automatically be taken care of. This is referred in Bhagavad Gita by the sloka,

ananyaascintayanto maam ye janaa paryupaasate

teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam yogakshemam vahamyaham

meaning – I the supreme God or consciousness protect and take care, the yoga and kshema of my devotee who does my upasana or pooja with unstinted devotion taking me only as the consciousness behind every action always.

This method is called method through bhakti or saranagati.

This is referred by the saastra quote, it is referred as –

jnana method Iswaro gururaatmeti –

[which ultimately takes you to the same level, as studying the sastras];

Iswara, guru and your atman are the same – they are represented by love and no hatred at all. For this three grace are required –
first of Iswara,
second - of the Guru, and
the third – self grace [of ourselves].

Out of these, the first two are already available for you any time, only thing is you have to tap it by bringing out your self grace, by turning your attention slightly from worldly affairs for a small time to start with and increase gradually to such an extent that you can act in the world without getting perturbed. This is achieved by Sraddha, which means faith in Guru’s words and sastras.

The quote in Malayalam says –

Taan paati deivam paati

This means that your part is 50 percent and God’s part is fifty percent; God’s part is always available for us, But our part is to be contributed; But we should be able to identify our part; Many people don’t know what is meant by this and meet with utter defeat.Here our actions – positive and negative will be taken care of – Plus mark for positive action and Minus mark for negative actions.
If you add consciousness or bodha and do anything, you will definitely be right and the question of + or – does not matter. Because, your ego will surrender to your own self or atman or guru or god, which will definitely be good for the welfare of the society and environment and for you also. Your negative marks pull you down. Only nishkama karmas give positive results. Nishiddha karmas will definitely give negative results. Kamya karma, nitya karma, naimittika karma and prayaschitta karma give mixed results, since you are part of the world of objects, where so many interactions are going on, and the results are not with you but decided by Deivam or God. This is only a rough proportion referred, we need not take it seriously. The topic of types of karmas are vicious and is not covered here; You may refer to the same in Tatwa Bodha or in Bhagawad Gita.

Only a general caution is given here, that we cannot compare our outputs with that of another, just as in school marks etc – this is altogether different. Upanishads say thus -
Yato vaco nivartante apraapya manasaa saha

The consciousness is beyond words and mind;
The consciousness is ourselves and everywhere.
The same consciousness is in us and in others and all over the world.
This is beyond names and forms.
It is nothing but the never ending love and happiness.

If you resort to asangasastra and remove the names and forms, mentally, you get the consciousness – Tripura Sundari alone shining with jubilance as referred by the Gita ch-15

Na roopamasyeha tatopalabdhate
Naanto nacaadir na ca sampratishtaa
Aswatthaenam suviroodhamoolam
Asangasastrena dridhena cchitwaa

If anybody searches for the world consisting of the tree of aswattha, which is upside down forming the world, but the roots are above (meaning the consciousness which we don’t see with our sense organs or mind or intellect except when we follow the saadhana catushtaya and get the three grace- self-guru’s-and god’s) as to where does this start, where is this ending and what is the substratum of this externally, he will never get the answer to any of these questions; don’t think – Lord Krishna has found it –

Lord Krishna says that –Nobody can get to it by seeing outside – but one who turns his attention inwards and controls his desires and judges himself instead of judging others and reducing his complaints day by day, and be happy with whatever he gets, gets involved with people who knows the truth can understand that this tree is nonexistent and seen due to delusion or maya which never was, just like a snake seen in a rope, in dim light. We have to understand that the snake is not to be driven off but understand that there never was the snake in the rope, even if seen by us, it is rope only.Or just like the water in the mirage, you see water from a distance, actually there is no water, but the water seen also is desert only.
Like that , Whatever you see as world of objects, whatever it may be, sun, moon, fire, pancabhootas, pancendriyas, men material, stone, tree, or anything, it is consciousness only as without consciousness, there is nothing.The nature of consciousness is perfect, permanent, aananda devoid of any unhappiness.

What do you gain by this nissangatwa or asangasastra ?

This is referred by Gita chapter 15 like this -

Na tad bhaasayate suryo na sasaango na paavakaha
Yad gatwaa na nivartante taddhaama paramam mama.

The consciousness cannot be illumined by sun-god or moon-god or fire-god.

If you mould your intellect and find out the meaning of this, you get realization or permanent happiness. You don’t get back into the samsara of birth and death.

Now, we may get a doubt – whether body will not come,
meaning that you get moksha – this is not true; you will be full of love, you wont find different bodies and objects – but only consciousness – love and hence – it is immaterial whether you will take rebirth or not].

Upanishads, describe the consciousness or Self like this –

Na tatra suryo bhaati, na candra taarakam,
Nemaa vidyuto bhaanti kutoyam agnihi
Tameva bhaantam anubhaati sarvam
Tasya bhaasaa sarvam idam vibhaati.

The sun-god or moon-god or nakshatras or god of lightning are nothing in front of the consciousness [just as the minnaminungu the insect projecting light is in the sunlight]; then how does the question of fire-god come into the picture?

Amma says in her song -

Arkkannu kannu kandeeduvaan
Neithiri kaattendatundo

Meaning – is it necessary for the sun to have the lamp lit?

Of course, the Soundarya Lahari in the last sloka gives this in a very scintillating manner, and we get the complete blessings of the iswara, guru and self grace also.Only consciousness alone shines by itself and illuminates all these. All the worldy objects are illumined by the self luminous consciousness.If you mould your intellect and find out the meaning of this, you get realization or permanent happiness.If you are asked where is America, you may generally say, it is in such and such part of the world; But, temporarily, for vyavaharic purpose, you can accept the answer. This will not get you any happiness.But actually, if you are asked – where is the world, what is the answer? If you know the saastras, you will answer,
America is in my or my consciousness or Bodha.

Because, if there is no bodha in you, there is no world.