WISDOM OF ASHTAVAKRA (GITA )

Ashtavakra said:
1.2 To be free,shun the experiences of the senses like poison.Turn your attention to forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, simplicity, truth. 1.3 You are not earth, water, fire or air.Nor are you empty space.Liberation is to know yourself as Awareness alone the Witness of these. 1.4 Abide in Awareness with no illusion of person.You will be instantly free and at peace. 1.5 You have no caste or duties.You are invisible, unattached, formless.You are the Witness of all things. Be happy. 1.6 Right and wrong, pleasure and pain,exist in mind only.
They are not your concern.You neither do nor enjoy.You are free. 1.7 You are the Solitary Witness of All That Is,forever free.Your only bondage is not seeing This.1.8 The thought: “I am the doer”is the bite of a poisonous snake. To know: “I do nothing” is the wisdom of faith.Be happy. 1.9 A single understanding:“I am the One Awareness,”consumes all suffering in the fire of an instant.Be happy.1.10 You are unbounded Awareness—Bliss, Supreme Bliss--in which the universe appears like the mirage of a snake in a rope. Be happy. 1.11 It is true what they say:“You are what you think.”If you think you are bound you are bound.If you think you are free you are free. 1.12 You are Self—the Solitary Witness.You are perfect, all-pervading, One.You are free, desireless, forever still. he universe is but a seeming in You. 1.13 Meditate on this: “I am Awareness alone--Unity itself.”Give up the idea that you are separate, a person,that there is within and without. 1.14 You have long been bound thinking:“I am a person.” Let the knowledge: “I am Awareness alone” be the sword that frees you. 1.15 You are now and forever free, luminous, transparent, still.The practice of meditation
keeps one in bondage.1.16 You are pure Consciousness—the substance of the universe.The universe exists within you.Don’t be small-minded.1.17 You are unconditioned, changeless, formless.You are solid, unfathomable, cool.Desire nothing.You are Consciousness. 1.18 That which has form is not real.Only the formless is permanent.Once this is known,you will not return to illusion. 1.19 Just as a mirror exists both within and without the image reflected,the Supreme Self exists both within and without the body
1.20 Just as the same space exists both within and without a jar,the timeless, all-pervasive One exists as Totality As a pot returns to clay,a wave to water,a bracelet to gold,so will the universe return to Me.3.2 Having realized yourself as One,being serene and indestructible,why do you desire wealth?3.3 Having realized yourself as That in which the waves of the world rise and fall,why do you run around in turmoil? 3.4 Having realized yourself as pure Awareness,as beautiful beyond description,how can you remain a slave to lust? 3.5 It is strange that in a sage who has realized Self in All and All in Self
this sense of ownership should continue. 3.6 Strange that one abiding in the Absolute,intent on freedom,should be vulnerable to lust and weakened by amorous pastimes. 3.7 Strange that knowing lust as an enemy of knowledge,
one so weak and nearing deathshould still crave sensual pleasure. 5.1 You are immaculate,touched by nothing.What is there to renounce?The mind is complex—let it go.Know the peace of dissolution.5.2 The universe arises from you ike foam from the sea.Know yourself as One.Enter the peace of dissolution.
5.3 Like an imagined snake in a rope the universe appears to exist in the immaculate Self but does not.Seeing this you know: “There is nothing to dissolve.”5.4 You are perfect, changeless,through misery and happiness,
hope and despair,life and death.his is the state of dissolution. 8.1 When the mind desires or grieves things,accepts or rejects things,is pleased or displeased by things--this is bondage.8.2 When the mind does not desire or grieve,accept or reject,become pleased or displeased,liberation is at hand.
8.3 If the mind is attached to any experience,this is bondage.When the mind is detached from all experience,this is liberation. 8.4 When there is no “I” there is only liberation.When “I” appears bondage appears with it.Knowing this,it is effortless to refrain from accepting and rejecting.10.1 Give up desire,which is the enemy.Give up prosperity,which is born of mischief and good work. Be indifferent.10.2 Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, gifts-- and all apparent good fortune--as a passing show,as a dream lasting three to five days.10.3 Where there is desire, there is the world.
Be firm in non-attachment.Be free of desire.Be happy.10.4 Bondage and desire are the same.Destroy desire and be free.Only by detaching from the world does one joyfully realize Self.10.5 You are One—Awareness itself.The universe is neither aware nor does it exist.Even ignorance is unreal.What is left to know?
11.1Existence, non-existence, change--this is the nature of things.Realizing this,stillness, serenity and bliss naturally follow.11.2 One who knows for certain that “Self creates All and is alone”becomes still, desireless, unattached.11.3 One who knows for certain that adversity and success come and go in obedience to destiny becomes content.He neither desires nor grieves. 11.4 One who knows for certain that birth and death, happiness and misery, come and go in obedience to destiny sees nothing to accomplish. He engages in non-action, and in action remains unattached.11.5 One who has realized that only by caring is misery caused in the world becomes free, happy, serene, desireless. 11.6 “I am not the body, nor is the body my possession—I am Awareness itself.” One who realizes this for certain has no memory of things done or left undone.There is only the Absolute.
11.7 “From Brahma to the last blade of grass-- I alone exist.” One who knows this for certain becomes immaculate, serene, unconflicted. Attainment has no meaning. 11.8 One who knows for certain that this manifold and wonderful universe is nothing becomes desireless Awareness and abides in the stillness of No-thing.( courtesy -B.Marshal )

RAMA THE DIVINE MAN ON EARTH

Lord Rama  was a legendary king of Ayodhya in ancient India. In Hinduism, he is considered to be an Incarnation  of  God  as described in the great epic poem  Ram Charit Manas by Tulasidas great Hindi poet .

Lord Rama is one of the most popular figures and deities in Vaishnavism . The original details concerning Rama come from the Ramayana, one of the two great epics of India ,written originally by great Sanskrit poet Valmiki  most probably the contemporary of Lord Rama .Born as the eldest son of Kaushalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Rama is referred to as Maryada Purushottama, ( The best among men with perfect moderation ) .Rama is the husband of Sita,  the embodiment of perfect womanhood.

Lord Rama's life and journey is one of perfect adherence to dharma  / righteousness ,despite harsh tests of life and time. For the sake of his father's words and honour , Rama gave up  his claim to Kosala's throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest.His wife, Sita and brother, Lakshmana decided to join him, and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together. This leads to the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka. After a long and arduous search that tests his personal strength and virtue, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravana. In a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry and battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned King in Ayodhya and  becomes Emperor of Ayodhya ,an era of perfect happiness, peace, prosperity and justice known as Rama Rajya.( Dream of M.K.Gandhi to be established in India ).

Lord Rama's courage in searching for Sita and fighting a terrible war to rescue his wife and their honour is complemented by Sita's absolute devotion to her husband's love, and perfect chastity despite being Ravana's captive. Rama's younger brothers, Lakshmana, Shatrughna and Bharata strongly complement his piety, virtue and strength, and they are believed by many to belong to the Mariyada Purshottama . Rama's piety and virtue attract powerful and devoted allies such as Hanuman and the Vanaras of Kishkindha, with whose help he rescues Sita. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent and across South East Asia ,now in the whole world . Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty.Had  God wished to be a man on Earth  ,He would have been 'Rama'. And Rama was 'HE'.

* Lord Ram is ,the Best among men on Earth in our history .He is our / man's ideal ;that a man could be The Best DIVINE-MAN whom even Gods obey ,salute and revere ;that all of us try to be more or less ,sooner or later if we want to outlive and survive . Now you worship His Form, you repeat His name; ignoring His orders. Without practicing the discipline laid down by Rama to purify the mind, all else is mere show, empty rituals.
Rama for you should mean the Path He trod, the ideal He held aloft, and the Ordinance He laid down. They are eternal and timeless. we all have "Ram" in us and need to develop to the,Ideal -Ram
* Ram &; Ravan , This is the Game Of Duality .The whole creation is made of twos of one pair ;as day-night ,life-death , good -evil , man -woman etc.,etc. Good and Evil both are instinctual to man (are dormant in man / say two potentials ). this way we have within us a Ram and a Ravan both together . we all know it . but the main thing is - to choose between the two . (we are free to make our choices) Ram is better श्रेय (shreya /difficult /laboursome ) , Ravan is worse प्रेय (preya=alluring /loving attractive ) :we are born good - now we are free to go to better or to worse , as worse is easier commons go to it ,wise choose the difficult * this is all applicable to human beings/ to us .To the WHOLE it makes no difference . you be a Ram or Ravan and reap the fruit of your choice ,weep or laugh ,win or loose The Big Game Goes On... . there can be no Ram without Ravan and amazing truth that none wants / aspires to be Ravan but it is difficult and costlier to be Ram .Thanks to the Supreme wit and unfailing wisdom of the Ring -Master . 

THE THEORY OF SELF - Yoga Vashishta, - 2

It is the nature of the mind to accept certain things and to reject others; this is bondage.The mind  creates the world, the mind is the individual; only that which is done by the mind is regarded as done, not that which is done by the body. The arm with which one embraces the wife is the very arm with which one embraces the daughter.
The mind is samsara / world ; the mind is bondage; the body is activated by the mind .The only God to be conquered is the mind. Its conquest attains everything. All other efforts are fruitless.To man even the conquest of the three worlds, without the conquest of the mind, is in vain.
Association with the wise, abandonment of latent impressions, self-enquiry, control of breathing — are the means of conquering the mind.
When the mind dissolves, everything that is dual or single is dissolved. What remains after that is the Supreme Brahman, peaceful, eternal and free from misery.There is nothing equal to the supreme joy felt by a person of pure mind who has attained the state of pure consciousness and overcome miseries of life.

I am the whole universe; the undecaying Supreme Self. There is neither past nor future apart from me’ — reflect in this manner. Everything is the One Brahman, pure Consciousness, the Self of all, indivisible and immutable’ think this manner. There is neither I nor any other thing, only Brahman exists always full of bliss everywhere.’ — meditate this way. The sense of seer and seen is common to all but the Yogi worships the One Self. The Self is pure Consciousness, eternal, omnipresent, immutable and self-effulgent like the light of the sun. The omnipresent Self, the substratum of all, is non-different from the effulgent Consciousness like heat from fire. It can only be experienced (not known).
Pure Consciousness, the Supreme Self, illuminates all, the indivisible, pervading (everything) within and without, is the firm support of all. The Self is absolute Consciousness. It is pure awareness, undecaying, free from all ideas of acceptance or rejection and not limited by space, time or genus.
Just as the air in the universe pervades everything, so also the Self,
The Consciousness which exists in the expanse of earth, in the ornaments, in the sky and in the sun, also inside the worms lying in their shells under the earth.There is neither bondage nor liberation, neither duality nor non-duality. There is only Brahman / Consciousness. Awareness is Brahman; world is Brahman, various elements are Brahman; I am ; my enemy is Brahman; my friends and relatives are. The idea of a consciousness and an object of consciousness is bondage; freedom from it is liberation. Consciousness, the object of consciousness and everything else is the Self; this is the gist of all systems of philosophy.
There is only consciousness here; this universe is nothing but consciousness; you are consciousness; I am; the worlds are consciousness - is the conclusion.
That which exists and that which shines are all the Self; anything else which seems to shine does not (really) exist. Consciousness alone shines by itself. Ideas of knower and known are idle postulates.Supreme Bliss cannot be experienced through contact of the senses with their objects. The supreme state is that in which the mind is annihilated through one-pointed enquiry. Abandoning the ideas of seer, seen and sight along with latent desires (vasanas) of the past, we meditate on that Self which is the primal light that is the basis of sight. The Self shines by itself as the one boundless ocean of consciousness agitated by waves of thought.
Just as the ocean is nothing but water the entire world of things is nothing but consciousness filling all the quarters like the infinite space.
Brahman and space are alike as to their invisibility, all-pervasiveness and indestructibility, but Brahman is also consciousness. All this is truly Brahman; all this is Atman. Do not cut up Brahman into ‘I am one thing’ and ‘this is another. As soon as it is realized that Brahman is all- pervasive and indivisible this vast samsara is found to be the Supreme Lord.
One who realizes that everything is Brahman truly becomes Brahman
After eliminating everything as ‘not this’, ‘not this’, the Supreme Being (lit. state) which cannot be eliminated remains. Think ‘I am That’ and be happy
When one thinks ‘I am pure consciousness’ it is called meditation and when even the idea of meditation is forgotten it is samadhi. Just as a pillar is said to be devoid of the statue , when it has not actually been carved out, so also Brahman is said to be void when it is devoid of the impression of the world.
Just as still water may be said to contain or not contain ripples, so also Brahman may be said to contain or not contain the world. It is neither void nor existence.

THE THEORY OF SELF - Yoga Vashishta, - 1

The wise men are to be approached even if they do not teach. Even their talks in a light vein contain wisdom
The truth of life cannot be seen with the help of the sacred texts or the Guru. The self is seen by the Self alone with the pure intellect. All the arts acquired by men are lost by lack of practice, but this art of wisdom grows steadily once it rises. He is a happy man whose mind is inwardly cool and free from attachment and hatred and who looks upon this (world) like a mere spectator.
When pots, etc. are broken the space within them becomes unlimited. So also when bodies cease to exist the Self remains eternal and unattached. Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of the world.
 The Self is more extensive than space; it is pure, subtle, undecaying and auspicious. As such how could it be born and how can it die?  All this is the tranquil, One without beginning, middle or end, which cannot be said to be existent or non-existent. Know this and be happy.
 This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and comes to an end when there is right knowledge. Even though bondage does not really exist, it becomes strong through desire for worldly enjoyments; when this desire subsides bondage becomes weak.
 Like waves rising up from the ocean the unstable mind rises out of the vast and stable expanse of the Supreme Self. It is because of that which always, of its own accord, imagines (everything) quickly and freely that this magical show (of the world) is projected in the waking state.This world, though unreal, appears to exist
and is the cause of life-long suffering to an ignorant. One who has no idea of gold sees only the bracelet.
He does not at all have the idea that it is merely gold. Similarly towns, houses, mountains, serpents, etc. are all in the eyes of the ignorant man, separate objects. From the absolute point of view; this objective (world) is the subject (the Self ) itself; it is not separate (from the Self ).
The world is full of misery to an ignorant man and full of bliss to a wise man. The world is dark to a blind man and bright to one who has eyes.
 Just as the foam, the waves, the dew and the bubbles are not different from water, even so this world which has come out of the Self is not different from the Self. Just as a tree consisting of fruits, leaves, creepers, flowers, branches, twigs and roots, exists in the seed of the tree, even so this manifest world exists in Brahman.
 Just as the pot (ultimately) goes back to mud, waves into water and ornaments into gold, so also this world which has come out of the Self (ultimately) goes back to the Self.
The snake appears when one does not recognize the rope; it disappears when one recognizes the rope. Even so this world appears when the Self is not recognized; it disappears when the Self is recognized. It is only our forgetfulness of the invisible Self which causes the world to appear just as (the ignorance of the) rope (causes the) snake to appear.
 Just as the dream becomes unreal in the waking state and the waking state in the dream, so also death becomes unreal in birth and birth in death.