Non-dual vision and practical behavior on the spiritual path

Commentary on the text “Song of the Awakened One”

View, Meditation, Conduct. Qualities of the Practitioner

The spiritual path means that, as we practice, we cease to identify with the gross parts of our “I.” By performing sadhana, we discover ever subtler parts of our “I.” When we detach ourselves from identifications with the gross parts of our “I” and seek the most subtle parts of our “I,” the level of our self-identification changes until we recognize ourselves as non-dual Brahman.

At first, we identify with the body and the external environment. Then we come to understand that the body and the external environment are transient. We understand that this body will die, that it is not immortal; therefore, devoting ourselves to the external environment and to material acquisition is meaningless and is worthy only of a fool. No complex religious theology is needed here; a little logical reasoning is enough.

For example, think about where everyone sitting here will be in a hundred years. And in two hundred years? And where will this hall be in five hundred years? And where will culture, nation, and civilization be in ten thousand years? Where are all the great civilizations: the Mughal Empire, Carthage, Ancient Rome? Where are the Incas, the Maya, the Aztecs? Where are all the great rulers: Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great? Only vague memories remain of all this. Ten thousand years, from the point of view of the vast universe, is a grain of sand. A hundred thousand years and even a billion centuries are merely an instant from the point of view of universal time. Billions of cycles of creation and destruction of the universe are also an instant. That is, even a simple logical analysis shows us the meaninglessness of samsaric aspirations, because all of this is impermanent. Impermanence is the main law of the material world, and if we do not see it, then we simply lack common sense. Consequently, the awareness of the law of impermanence should turn us inward and turn us away from false captivation by material conditions and material life. Until we have ended this captivation, it will be impossible to continue the spiritual path.

Practicing lay students should pay more serious attention to the basic practices, to the preliminary practices of reflection on impermanence, suffering in samsara, karma, and the preciousness of human birth. As long as we do not understand the principle of impermanence, we have a multitude of things that, it seems to us, we must manage to do. But when we have understood the principle of impermanence, it turns out that none of this exists; none of it is important.

The Ground, the Path, and the Fruition

Let us consider in more detail such principles of the teaching as the ground, the path, and the fruition. The ground is what is the foundation of our practice; it is the Supreme Source, deep awareness. The path is how we attain it. The fruition is how we realize it and what results from that realization. Using the example of the canonical text “Tripura Rahasya,” I will try to offer commentary in order to connect this with the teaching of Laya Yoga. This is a text in which the saint Dattatreya tells his disciples about the absolute Truth.

It begins with the holy sages, among whom were the most revered rishis, hermits, munis, and yogis, deciding to determine one another’s spiritual level, since some of them were continuously absorbed in nirvikalpa samadhi. Some behaved like ordinary worldly people, some performed rituals, some practiced yoga sadhanas, but they could not understand what their level was. When they turned to the gods, the gods, seeing that their minds were not sufficiently sincere and open, evasively said that someone else would give them the answer.

Then they turned to the supreme energy of non-duality, which is personified as the goddess Tripura.

“Having heard this request, the goddess of supreme knowledge graciously proceeded to give a clear exposition of what the sages had begged her to explain.

“Listen, sages! Now I shall clearly and unambiguously explain to you everything you ask about. I shall give you the nectar that is the very essence of the infinite collection of sacred scriptures. I am pure intelligence, from which the cosmos arises, in which it blossoms, and into which it dissolves, being like a reflection in a mirror. The ignorant know me as the gross universe, while the wise perceive me as their own pure essence, eternally shining within as “I.” Such realization is possible only in a state of deep tranquility of consciousness, free from thoughts, like the state of water in the depths of the sea, where there are no waves. The most zealous devotees worship me without any reason whatsoever and with the greatest sincerity, which is caused by their love for me.

And although they know that I am their own nondual essence, nevertheless the deeply rooted aspiration within them toward loving devotion to me compels them to imagine their own supreme Essence in my form, and to worship me as the life-giving current permeating their bodies.”

The Nondual Essence as the Basis

Thus, the basis is the nondual essence, which permeates everything and is the foundation of our consciousness. In our tradition, it is called sahajya, or sahajya prajnana (natural, self-born wisdom). Ultimately, all lectures, teachings and practices, world religions and forms of worship are reduced to and revolve solely around it. This nondual essence is not some God outside us who exists in heaven, has a certain number of arms or some particular form. It is not some theological, abstract Absolute that is derived through logic and theoretical judgments.

From the point of view of Laya Yoga, we say that this state, this experience of our own consciousness, is what is realized as inner understanding at the moment of samadhi. It is beyond thoughts, and therefore is intellectually incomprehensible (achintya). Even if you study many scriptures and succeed in logical debates, it will not help you in any way to truly know this state. Many people believe that absolute truth can be known through philosophical logic, terms, and so on. This is a misconception. It is useful to study philosophy, but one must not stop there. This is our own state, which is beyond concepts, beyond logic, beyond the four laws of formal logic.

This state is closer to an experience at the moment of absurdity, at the moment of paradox. One saint said: “God is not a dry pedant-philosopher; rather, He is a mad musician, artist, or dancer.”

Attempts at intellectually comprehending the Truth have led very many, even highly learned people, into the thickets of philosophy, without revealing realization in the slightest. Even if a person does not possess intellectual knowledge of a large number of philosophical texts, but possesses true experience, he is liberated; his realization is the most genuine.

The Supreme Source as Space

The basis is also described as the Supreme Source, which is like space. Saraha says: “Understand, your mind is like space. Your ‘I’ is in front and behind, above and below, to the left and to the right.” When you engage in self-inquiry, performing atma-vichara, after some time you come to see that your consciousness is essenceless, it is beyond the mind and thoughts, it is like space. Nevertheless, this is not a lifeless emptiness; there is light in it, there is the potential to manifest and create, an infinite potential of energy. This space possesses primordial perfection. Christians say: “God loves you.” If translated into the language of the Sahajayana teaching, this means that the space of our “I” is already perfect from the very beginning. That is, we may consider ourselves sinners, flawed beings; we may have a complex of guilt and sinfulness imposed by culture, parents, or religions. We may indeed be karmically flawed, possess low intelligence, and so on; nevertheless, our basis, our primordial potential, is always perfect, it is always favorably disposed toward us. The basis is always perfect by virtue of its being, its suchness. Even if we do not have capacities for yoga or meditation, nevertheless our potential, our basis, is spontaneously perfect, since this is inherent in it from the beginning. Nothing is required for this, because the fact of self-perfection existed from the beginning, even before our birth. We cannot improve it through spiritual practice; we cannot worsen or stain it with our own deeds or thoughts, even if we have committed a heap of sins. Even in a criminal, a thief, a murderer, a prostitute, or an animal, their potential is pure and perfect, holy and boundless, not to mention that it is fully perfect and developed in the souls of saints. Nevertheless, the stream of dualistic thoughts, when we identify with thinking and gross states, obscures this infinite potential. However, this obscuration is not real, but conditional. It is like clouds being unable to obscure the sky, or like atmospheric phenomena on Earth being unable to obscure the infinite cosmos. If a person looks at the sky, a few leaves hanging from a tree cannot obscure the infinite sky. It is simply that causes have coincided (the leaves and his eyes), and therefore it seems to the person that the sky is being obscured. But how can the infinite cosmos be obscured by leaves no more than three centimeters in size!?

In the same way, our infinitely pure and spontaneously perfect potential cannot be obscured by kleshas, sins, or accumulated karma; that is, it is inherently ours. The question is for us to recognize this infinite potential. Therefore the saints say that we are like a poor man who has a piece of gold buried at home. The poor man always has this piece of gold, yet he behaves as if he does not possess it; he simply has no idea of this potential. He has to work hard, he can barely make ends meet, but all he needs is to recognize that he possesses this enormous potential, this piece of gold, and then in an instant he realizes that he is a millionaire.

This boundless potential is spontaneously perfect, like space, incomprehensible, and beyond thought, mind, and logic. It is also always pure; it is called niranjana (unstainable). This means that whether we perform good or bad actions, our potential is never stained. Of course, one should perform only good actions and avoid bad ones; this is clear even to a schoolchild in the relative dimension.

Nevertheless, our primordial potential is beyond actions, beyond thoughts, beyond karmic results; that is, it is primordially perfect and pure. When we understand this principle of primordial purity, we should always recognize this nature and identify with it, even if we feel that at the superficial level some kleshas and obscurations arise from dualistic thoughts, emotions, or external situations. When we examine our consciousness in this way, it is said that we are examining the View. This is the foundation toward which we orient ourselves in practice. If we have not understood the foundation and do not know how to see it, then even if we perform yoga asanas, pranayamas, or the walking technique, everything will be as if in vain, because we will not understand the most important thing.

The View and Establishing Contact with the Foundation

The View is a way to establish contact with the foundation; that is, it is how we see this nondual foundation of our mind. In the simple terms of ordinary religions, the View is the relationship of the soul with God, or of the individual “I” with transcendental consciousness; that is, whether we have established contact with this foundation or have lost it. When we abide in ignorance, contact with this foundation is lost; we have turned away from it. And even if we inherently possess it, it is still as if we do not possess it, because we have turned our back on it. Even possessing boundless potential, we behave as though we do not have it. We become mired in the material, identify with the body, are seized by mercenary momentary things, and lose connection with this global mind. When we encounter the teaching and a spiritual Teacher, this connection gradually begins to be restored.

In Laya Yoga, to establish oneself in the View means to know the nature of this foundation, which is not connected with logical comprehensions or concepts. For the mahasiddhas, a nonconceptual understanding of shunyata is accepted. That is, the Teacher points directly to this state for you. You can enter it immediately, bypassing logic, philosophy, and anything else. Why can you enter it immediately? Because you have never left it, because entry and exit are in fact a convention, because you have always been in it. A disciple of the highest capacities grasps this instantly; a disciple of lower capacities needs time to understand it.

The direct realization of shunyata in the tradition of the mahasiddhas is connected with direct vision, when the Teacher explains directly: you have always been in this state, you have never left this ocean, you need to recognize this, to catch hold of it. When we become somewhat oriented in this, we turn toward this global mind that we have lost. It is discovered as an underlying current within our consciousness, which has always been there but which we did not notice.

“My manifested relative form is the eternal pair, the Supreme Lord and Energy, always abiding in inseparable union, as eternal awareness pervading the three manifested states: waking, dream sleep, and deep sleep. Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ishvara, Sadashiva, Ganesha, Skanda, the gods of the eight directions, the energies of their goddesses, of divine beings, celestial serpents, and other superhuman beings—all of this is a manifestation of myself. However, people do not know me, because their minds are shrouded in ignorance.”

The universal foundation of living beings, gods, humans, asuras, the multitude of living beings of other dimensions, gandharvas, guhyakas, kinnaras, rakshasas, pretas, bhutas—is one foundation, but people do not know it because of their ignorance.

“Although I manifest in diverse ways, I still remain pure and unclouded, for absoluteness is my essence. In this lies my principal power, which is very difficult to comprehend fully. Therefore, O rishis, consider this with all the sharpness and single-pointedness of your reason.”

The Authentic Spiritual Path

When we enter the authentic spiritual path, we are not interested in material benefits, we are not interested in self-assertion, we are not interested in concepts and theories. It is assumed that we have become satiated with these things. That is, the authentic spiritual path implies that we have become completely satiated with material things, self-assertion in society, status, intellectual concepts, and so on. Moreover, we are not even interested in pseudo-spiritual states, of which there are very many: visions, out-of-body experiences of the subtle body, various experiences, siddhis (magical powers). All of this is very interesting and may serve as a sign of spiritual progress; nevertheless, these things in themselves do not interest us, because we strive to know their single Source, their single foundation. If we become absorbed in seeking siddhis (temporary magical powers), we will have to spend a great deal of time acquiring them. We will become distracted and lose the time needed to realize this foundation.

Various experiences also arise, for example bliss, clarity, emptiness. All these experiences are nothing more than milestones on the path. By and large, genuine spiritual sadhana begins when we start to establish a connection with this foundation and become rooted in it. All other particular kinds of knowledge and magical powers are something temporary, impermanent, and unworthy of the attention of sages. Ramana Maharshi said: “If you seek siddhis, this is duality. It means that for you there are other people to whom you intend to demonstrate them. These are all yet more tricks for the ego. Those who possess siddhis desire jnana, the knowledge of the foundation. But those who possess jnana desire nothing.” This means that when we know the foundation, such things as siddhis, spiritual experiences, and intellectual knowledge are spontaneously inherent in the foundation and manifest by themselves.

Of course, we can use siddhis on the path of practice, and if they arise, this is a sign of spiritual progress; there is nothing bad in this. Nevertheless, any methods, theories, and siddhis are always subordinate to this single foundation. If we do not understand this principle, we will wander among various particular states; we will not be able to synthesize the single foundation of all phenomena.

“Although I am the abode of all and inherent in all, I remain pure and unstained. Although I am in no way involved in anything and am always free, I possess my power called maya; I become veiled by ignorance, seem full of desires, seek their fulfillment, grow uncontrollably and restlessly, generate favorable and unfavorable surroundings, being born and reborn in the form of separate entities. With the growth of wisdom, I seek a teacher and a sage, learn the truth from him, put it into practice, and ultimately become liberated.”

Maya as Illusory Energy

At first, living beings are veiled by maya. Maya is an illusory energy that ensnares the consciousness of a living being until it has attained liberation. Maya is when you think: “I am a man,” “I am a woman,” “this is mine,” “this is so, and that is otherwise.” When you think in terms of concepts, logic, space, time, the cardinal directions, life and death, dual categories (hot-cold, good-evil), when you are subject to emotions (anger, attachment, ignorance)—all this is the action of maya. In other words, whenever you are not in the nondual state, sahajya, these are various kinds of maya. The same happens when you undergo inner experiences, for example see the palaces of gods or angels, and come under the influence of subtle-material maya. Maya is the illusory energy that veils our primordial nondual consciousness.

When you try to meditate and drowsiness arises, when there is no clarity in your dreams, these are also varieties of maya. When you think, “Should I practice to attain liberation, or should I engage in worldly affairs?” this is also the action of maya. When you are in contemplation and then lose that contemplation, this is also the action of maya. In other words, ninety-nine percent of a living being’s life is maya, so one should not be deluded. Nevertheless, the state of maya can be dispelled when we are in true contemplation.

“All this takes place in my pure, unstained, and eternally free absolute mind. These manifestations of the ignorant and the free, as well as others, are called my creation, which, however, has no extraneous auxiliary means. My power is too vast to be described. I will tell you about it briefly. This cosmos is merely a small visible part of the multiplicity hidden within it, which leads to various manifestations and results.

The knowledge pertaining to me is complex, but in general it can be divided into two categories: dual and nondual, of which the former relates to worship and the latter to realization.”

Absolute and Relative Aspects of Truth

There are two aspects of the absolute Truth: the absolute aspect and the relative one. If you have not distinguished these two aspects, you may encounter many spiritual difficulties.

The absolute aspect is the aspect in which there is no duality. In it there is no subject and object, no men and women, no Teacher and student, no path to be realized, no fruit. There is no pure and impure, no sins and merits, no efforts that need to be applied. This is the absolute aspect.

The relative aspect is what we are more accustomed to dealing with. In the relative dimension there is a Teacher and a student, a senior and a junior, advanced and less advanced students. There is practice and a path that must be traversed. There are attainments that may be realized, or may not be realized. There are rules of discipline that may be observed, or may be violated. There is purity by which one can be purified, and there is impurity by which one can be defiled. There is the law of karma and other things. In the relative dimension all this exists; it cannot be denied. These two aspects should be clearly understood.

The absolute aspect relates to vision, to nonduality; the relative aspect relates to conduct. We must combine these two aspects in the soul and not ignore either of them.

If we do not understand the vision, then we simply move blindly in spiritual practice; our practice has no understanding beneath it. If we do not understand the principle of conduct, then we slide onto the path of frivolity (prakrita-sahajiya), when we think: “Everything is good, everything is pure and perfect, there is no need to do anything,” or “There is neither pure nor impure, neither sins nor merits. One can do whatever one wants.” Thinking in this way, we accumulate mountains of negative karma.

If we do not understand the principle of the absolute and the relative, confusion may arise in us. For example, you hear the words: “Truth is not attained by effort. You must be relaxed and spontaneous,” and so you think: “Wow! Without effort! Great!” But then you are immediately told: “Here is the first set of asanas, here is the second, here is pranayama. You need to undergo twelve years of training and practice in retreats.” Or you are told: “There is neither pure nor impure, neither sins nor merits,” and then you hear: “One must devote one’s entire life to accumulating merit; one must perform purification practices.” And then we think: “How can that be?”

But if you have understood this principle of the two truths (relative and absolute), then no questions arise for you. Another example: you are told, “Your state and the state of the buddhas are a completely equal state,” but at the same time you are told, “This is holy, and this is impure; these are the rules, these are the instructions that it is advisable to adhere to. One must study with saints and follow their prescriptions.” Confusion may arise in you; nevertheless, if you have understood the principle of combining the two truths, such confusion will never arise, because vision is one thing and conduct is another. Vision is the ideal toward which we orient ourselves and gradually open the heart. Conduct is the reality we are dealing with now, in which there is duality, pure and impure, all conventions, the laws of karma, the rules of the game, the rules of conduct, and everything else that we cannot completely ignore.

Extremes in Understanding the Two Truths

A person with low abilities is incapable of reconciling two truths. He rushes from one extreme to the other. Sometimes he blindly becomes obsessed with commandments or vows, with the formal side of the teaching, tries to observe everything as required and to be a kind of pseudo-saint, while failing to grasp the principle of awareness. And when attention is paid only to the formal side of practice, this is one extreme. The other extreme consists in thinking: “All this is an illusion, none of this exists, all this is unnecessary. I will take only this position, because everything is already self-liberated, everything is empty.” And this extreme is called nihilism.

The saints say that one must learn to reconcile these two extremes, and then there will be no problems. Knowing that everything is non-dual, we nevertheless take dualistic situations into account. Knowing that the Absolute is always pure, we nevertheless purify our consciousness, avoid impure actions, kleshas, and so on. Knowing that no efforts are needed for the truth of the genuine spirit in the heart, we nevertheless diligently make efforts in order to advance further. Padmasambhava said the following in this regard: “Even if your view is as vast as the sky, let your conduct be as meticulous as finely ground flour.”

By reconciling the two truths, the absolute and the relative, you will never go wrong. It is also said: “We descend by means of the view, that is, non-dual vision, and ascend by means of conduct.” That is, when it is necessary to manifest the absolute truth from above downward, we remember non-duality, and when it is necessary to rise from below upward, we remember practice. Such are the relationships between absolute and relative truth.

One monk, devoted only to the view, taught that everything is only emptiness. A Master came to him and listened as he spoke about emptiness. Suddenly he jumped up and struck him on the head with a stick. Then the monk cried out: “You fool! What are you doing?!” The Master said: “Venerable monk, you taught that everything is emptiness. If everything is emptiness, where did anger just arise from in your consciousness? Your head is empty, the stick is empty, and the whole situation is originally empty. Why, then, should you be so upset?” Then the monk realized that he was dealing with an even greater Master.

When we reconcile the two truths, the absolute and the relative, we do not make such mistakes.

Dualistic and Non-Dual Knowledge

“Dualistic knowledge is multifaceted because it depends on the concepts of duality and manifests as worship, prayer, mantra, meditation, and so on. But all this is conditioned merely by mental notions. Yet even in this case they are effective in comparison with empty daydreams, since the law of nature ensures it. It is precisely the varying degrees of effectiveness of the methods, the most important of which are connected with the aspect mentioned earlier, whose ultimate goal is, undoubtedly, non-dual realization. Worship of pure intelligence in a concrete form is not only useful but also necessary for attaining non-dual realization, for how can anyone become worthy of it without its blessing? Non-dual realization is the same as pure intelligence, absolutely free from objective material knowledge. Such realization nullifies all objective knowledge, revealing in all nakedness its nature, which is as safe as merely a drawing of a leaping tiger or an angry snake.”

Non-dual realization devalues all external manifestations. From the point of view of relative truth, it is very important to take into account the law of cause and effect, conduct, and so on. I hope you understand that rebirth awaits you. This rebirth will depend on your abilities in meditation, and the world in which you are reborn will depend on what karmas you have accumulated in your subtle body.

Suppose there is a person who translates sutras, sculpts statues, opens temples, speaks about the Dharma to others, makes donations, accumulates only merit, and therefore accumulates only positive samskaras. Of this person’s next life, it can surely be said that it will be a rebirth in a world consisting of Dharma, for example in the pure land of Dharma. And there is another person who fixes his consciousness on the information of the human world, on sensual attachment, sometimes experiencing jealousy, envy, or romantic attachments. Sometimes he is seized by despair, sometimes by despondency, and sometimes by dullness, tamas. Sometimes he does what is good for him, and sometimes he does what is bad for others. What do you think—what samskaras does he accumulate? These samskaras, which accumulate in him as subtle imprints in the body, will determine his next rebirth. By and large, all the actions we perform bring us nothing positive if they are not directed toward the Dharma. They will only be a heavy burden that will hold us back on the path to liberation.

Suppose a person, during his life, did one thing connected with the Dharma—for example, published a sacred text or donated toward a statue of a holy mahasiddha. After death, when the subtle manifestations of his consciousness began to determine the karmic balance, all his subtle states began to be analyzed. And then it turned out that in his entire life he had performed only this one positive deed, but the weight of even this single deed shifted the vector of karma toward a purer birth.

Behavior and outward actions influence us more than we think, even when we train in contemplation. Therefore, in the beginning it is very important to accumulate merit, to accumulate white karma. If we only contemplate, only perform practices, and do not accumulate such positive white karma, our spiritual progress is in question. Especially if we are not hermits in the mountains who meditate continuously, but are still compelled to perform certain karmic actions.

White karma means that our impure, karmic, samsaric vision must be completely purified and transformed into pure vision, when all our motivation ceases to be worldly, materialistic, egocentric, self-directed, and instead connects us with higher dimensions. This is called merit, or white karma. We are not taking into account a practitioner who is continuously immersed in the contemplation of non-duality, a jnani of the highest category, who lives like an intoxicated person or a child who does not know whether his mother fed him at night or not. We are not considering this category of practitioners at all, since it is not relevant. We are considering specific living beings in specific karmic circumstances.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Sahajya Samadhi

“When the mind has completely dissolved into the supreme Essence, such a state is called nirvikalpa samadhi, an undifferentiated peaceful state. After awakening from this state, a person is shaken by the memory of it as a single, infinite, undivided, pure Essence.”

Nirvikalpa samadhi is very important in yoga. To enter nirvikalpa samadhi, you must practice diligently. Having purified yourself, you should begin intensive practice under the guidance of the Guru. It is impossible to enter nirvikalpa samadhi if you have not purified yourself and begun intensive practice. The true non-dual “I” is known only in nirvikalpa samadhi. Until nirvikalpa samadhi has been experienced, you may think one way or another, but all of this will be a state of ignorance, since it is based on concepts. We do not attach great importance to knowledge through the intellect, although it is needed as supplementary knowledge, but your realization must come as a result of nirvikalpa samadhi.

If proper time is not devoted to sadhana, nirvikalpa samadhi will never happen. But if you enter nirvikalpa samadhi, then all your illusions dissolve. However, even nirvikalpa samadhi on the path of Laya Yoga is not desirable. Because in the post-meditative period, when you emerge from this state of samadhi, duality begins to affect consciousness again.

For us, the principle of sahaja samadhi is very important. The principle of sahaja samadhi means that from the very beginning we can try to enter it, even bypassing nirvikalpa samadhi. In every person’s life there are fleeting kinds of samadhi that he does not notice. When intense stress occurs, when you encounter a paradoxical concept, when joy suddenly overwhelms you for a short time, when a feeling of emptiness arises after work has been done, when a strong desire arises but there is no possibility of satisfying it, and then it is satisfied, the first moment before awakening—in all these moments the so-called fleeting kinds of samadhi are generated. But ordinary people are unable to recognize them, and therefore they are useless for them. A practitioner, however, receiving pointing-out instructions from the Guru, learns to recognize them and work with them.

Supreme Knowledge and Liberation

“He knows the meaning of the statement ‘I am That,’ unlike the ignorant person with his frivolous perception of ‘I.’ This is Supreme Knowledge (vijnana, or pratyabhijna jnana).

Theoretical knowledge consists in distinguishing between the supreme Essence and the non-Essence through the study of the sacred scriptures, the teachings of the Teacher, or one’s own reflection.

Supreme wisdom is that which once and for all eliminates the perception of the non-Self. Nondual realization recognizes nothing unknown or incomprehensible and fully pervades everything; therefore, it cannot in any way be surpassed. When this is accomplished, the mind becomes extremely clear, because then all doubts are destroyed; then the tendencies of the mind (such as lust, greed, anger, etc.) are destroyed, and even if some traces of them may still remain, they are as harmless as a viper deprived of its venomous fangs.

The fruits of self-realization are the cessation of all suffering both here and in the next world, and absolute fearlessness. This is called liberation.

Fear implies the existence of something different from oneself. Can the perception of duality remain after nondual realization, or can there be darkness after the rising of the sun?

O rishi! When there is no duality, there is no fear. On the other hand, fear will not disappear as long as the perception of duality exists.

That which is perceived in the world as different from the supreme Essence is also, quite obviously, transient. And what is transient must undoubtedly give rise to the fear of losing it.

Union implies separation; likewise, acquisition implies loss.

If liberation were external to the supreme Essence, it would imply the fear of losing it, and therefore would not be worthy of being sought.”

The supreme Essence is pure mind, free from thoughts. When duality regarding the knower and the object of knowledge is destroyed—that is, regarding us and what we must come to know as a result of practice—then the nondual nature is revealed. Consciousness is usually stained by past samskaras.

Three Types of Yogis

Everyone knows that there are three types of yogis. In the tantric tradition, there is a division of sadhakas into three categories: divine (divya), spiritual heroes (vira), who are slightly lower in class, and pashu, who are subject to anger, lust, envy, attachment, and so on—that is, who have many animal tendencies.

Who is a divya? It is one who from the very beginning aspires to a holy life, who from childhood is drawn to spiritual practice, has a karmic connection with the scriptures and with the saints, who is immersed in contemplation and makes no worldly plans, who from childhood reflects on questions of the meaning of life and death, who wants to attain liberation. A yogi of the divya category attains liberation simply by meeting a spiritual Teacher.

A yogin of the vira category (spiritual hero) is one who comes to spiritual realization somewhat later. But when he encounters the teaching, the Teacher, he devotes himself solely to zealous practice. For him, nothing exists except the spiritual path of liberation. He is capable of making tremendous efforts and showing willpower or asceticism in spiritual life. There is nothing he would not be able to do for the sake of liberation. Self-restraint, strict discipline, practice, and so on—all this is natural for him. Divya and vira attain liberation within one lifetime.

Yogins of the pashu level are unenterprising, indecisive, have weak faith in the Guru’s instructions, and cling to material things.