Commentary on the text “Ishvara Gita.” Chapter 11
We continue studying the text “Ishvara Gita,” which is a constituent part of the Kurma Purana. The first eleven chapters of the Kurma Purana are the “Ishvara Gita.” This text belongs to the tradition of non-dual Shaivism. For example, the Bhagavad Gita belongs to the Vaishnava tradition, since in it the presiding deity who expounds the Bhagavad Gita is Krishna, who is an avatar of Vishnu.
The yogin who is constantly content, self-restrained, steadfast, free from doubt, who has dedicated his mind and intellect to Me—such a devotee is dear to Me.
The Unity of Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga
Ishvara, God in the person of Shiva, who appeared before the rishis, expounds the qualities that are necessary in order to know God. Sometimes some people who study Advaita Vedanta believe that bhakti yoga contradicts the path of jnana yoga. That there is bhakti yoga and there is jnana yoga, and that these are different paths. This is usually what people in the West think. Sometimes, when dharma reaches people where there is no culture, and many teachers, certain fragments are often taken, and from these fragments various notions of spiritual life are formed.
For example, people read the books of Sri Ramana Maharshi on Advaita Vedanta. “Who are you?”, “who am I?”—the method of self-inquiry, Atma-vichara, and so on. They study philosophy and try to practice Atma-vichara. For them, the sadhu tradition, the tradition of jnana yoga, looks one way. Then they come to India and see that everything is different there. For example, in the Sri Ramana Ashram, bhajans were sung and worship was performed. This did not prevent jnana yoga from being combined with bhakti yoga. Jnana yoga and Advaita Vedanta always go together, both in the Vaishnava tradition and in the Shaivite tradition.
The Four Stages of Spiritual Life
There are four stages of spiritual life called padas. Pada means stage:
Charya-pada — the path of right conduct and karma yoga
Kriya-pada — the path of worship and devotion
Yoga-pada — the path of yoga, inner practice
Jnana-pada — abiding in non-duality, in the non-dual view and contemplation
All these four padas are like the four sides of spiritual life, the four steps of spiritual life. They do not contradict one another. All these four padas must be present in the spiritual life of a sadhu. If we take only one pada, it means that we have only one side of spiritual life.
For example, if there is a car, it has at least four gears. If a car has only one gear, such a car is very inconvenient to drive, or if it has only two gears. Why are there four? Because there are different situations on the road. Sometimes there is rough terrain, sometimes one needs to drive uphill. The driver shifts gears depending on place, time, and circumstance.
In the same way, a practitioner has four stages of spiritual life. Life itself is like a road. It is always uneven. Especially if you have little merit and many different karmas, it is always uneven. Sometimes in life you fly as if on a German autobahn. Everything is very smooth, you press down the gas pedal, and everything is wonderful, a wide lane. And sometimes the road ends, off-road terrain begins, a country road begins, and then some narrow path altogether, and you are walking somewhere among fir trees. This is no longer a German autobahn; this is some Ukrainian forest. Or the road between Kryvyi Rih and Kherson, impassable. Or you were driving downhill, or driving on level ground, and then there is some incomprehensible little hill.
It is the same in spiritual life. In spiritual life we also have the opportunity to shift different levels of practice. For example, if you are inclined toward jnana yoga, then in the best moments of your life you are guided by the view of Advaita described in Dattatreya’s “Avadhuta Gita,” by the contemplative practice of presence received from the Guru, and by actions united with contemplative presence. This is what is called view, contemplation, and conduct. In principle, this is enough to attain Liberation, if you are a yogi of good qualities, if your fate and merit are good.
There comes a certain period in life when certain denser energies enter your subtle body, and you feel that contemplation is not as effective, the view is somehow being lost, while the energy continues to act. The world of samsara is such an active, sometimes even brazen energy that constantly interferes in your life through the mass media, communication, through the subtle plane, from all sides. And you must somehow respond to this. You must have some strength, some tools for this. Then there is yoga-pada. Yoga-pada means that with the help of concentration, visualization, and pranayama you can generate this power. With the help of meditation and kriyas, you develop this power in order to move further along the path, since contemplation alone is not yet sufficient.
Sometimes such naive spiritual seekers say: why not make do only with awareness and contemplation, like Dattatreya, with contemplative presence. I say: go ahead and do so. Who is stopping you? It is the same as saying: why not become a billionaire? Then become one. As the saying goes, if you want to be happy, be happy. Who is stopping you? The point is that it is not because life is easy that we have all these methods, but because we live in samsara, we live in Kali Yuga, and there are many limitations in it. And in spiritual life one must not have one’s head in the clouds; in spiritual life one must be a very practical person, very pragmatic, I would even say. So that spiritual life bears fruit. One should not be a Manilov, a perfectionist; otherwise the years go by and there are no fruits. But if we soberly assess our life, we assess place, time, and circumstance, we understand that now this method is favorable, and now that one is. When it rains, we put on a raincoat; when it is hot, we put on a hat. We apply methods depending on place, time, and circumstances.
For example, you feel that you do not have enough inspiration and that the power of your yoga is running out. You meditated in retreat and reached your ceiling, where yoga-pada no longer bears fruit; then you can lower the pada, move to kriya-pada, to the path of worship, the path of mantra yoga, the path of invocation, the path of prayer. And one should not think that the nondual view and nondual contemplation contradict prayer and worship; all of this is done in Anuttara Tantra precisely in the spirit of nonduality. It is combined; this is called uniting contemplative presence with relative methods. One simply needs to learn how to do this correctly.
Absolute and Relative Truth
View and conduct are two parts of absolute truth on the spiritual path. There is absolute truth. Absolute truth concerns nondual Brahman. In nondual Brahman there is no subject, no object, no doer, no action, no fruits or results, no name, no form, no past, future, or present, no guru and disciple, no distinction between gods and asuras or demons, between hells and heavens. This is a transcendent, completely transcendent state. To the unenlightened mind it seems as abstract as possible, so that the mind cannot even rely on it. Nevertheless, this is the highest ideal of Advaita Vedanta: the knowledge of nondual Brahman. This is called the view.
However, we ourselves—this is called absolute truth, paramartha satya, the transcendent truth before which even the gods stand in awe. And this truth is what we will have to know throughout all the billions of future lives. They will undoubtedly be. After all, we are immortal beings, eternal. We will always be somewhere, always live somewhere, always have some energies at our disposal, some self-awareness. Everything will not end with this life. Billions upon billions of years will pass, googols of years, ten to the power of one hundred, and we will still be, and we will continue to know Brahman. This will never be exhausted; it is an infinite process. All of this is absolute truth.
Relative truth concerns our specific incarnation, the specific matter, the material energy in which we live. Our specific karmas of specific conditions. In relative truth, on the contrary, various limitations and rules operate, and there exists a hierarchical division of energies. In it, everything is different. Material energy is where we live most of our lives, in which we become aware of ourselves. The relative dimension requires the application of still other methods, other tools.
Therefore there is prajna, wisdom, transcendental wisdom, non-dual, empty, beyond subject, object, gunas, qualities, and categories. And method, a specific method, is applied by a specific being in a specific embodiment, in specific circumstances. It brings specific results. Prayer, mantra, upasana, worship, kriya, yogic techniques, the sankalpas of jnana-laya-yoga, methods of accumulating merit, karma yoga — all of these are upaya, method. Wisdom and method, prajna and upaya, are like the two wings of one bird. In the same way, relative and absolute truth are two sides of reality that a sadhu masters.
For example, absolute truth says that there is no difference between vegetarian food and meat. For Brahman all of this is insignificant; it is an illusion. But relative truth says that if you constantly eat meat, the body will become heavier, you will absorb the tamas and rajas of animals along with their fear, greed, and all negative karmas; meditating in such a state is very inconvenient. In addition, you are indirectly participating in causing suffering to living beings, helping all of this, which, of course, does not improve karma and does not create good karma-phala, good karmic results. It turns out that from the relative point of view, vegetarianism is more beneficial than meat-eating.
Absolute truth says that practicing or not practicing yoga is all the same, perfect and absolute. But in the relative sense, practicing is much more beneficial than not practicing. Because by practicing, we receive specific results and fruits. By not practicing, we remain a samsaric human being for whom absolute truth remains merely an abstraction. Through practice, one can experience absolute truth as a personal, living experience of non-duality, for example, samadhi.
View and Behavior
In the same way, on the spiritual path there are view and behavior. And between them is meditation. View means that we hold to absolute truth at the level of faith: for example, we have heard from the guru, read in sacred texts a description of Brahman, and we have been imbued with the view. But the view does not liberate. For example, you were told that it is possible to be rich. You believed that it is possible to be rich. But in fact you yourself are poor. But you believe that wealth exists, and that you are a potential billionaire. Yet you yourself live in nine square meters with your parents. This means that your view is transcendental, your ambitions are to be a very rich person, but in behavior everything is realized very weakly.
A common mistake when studying Advaita Vedanta is to confuse view and behavior. For example, when a spiritual teacher gives instructions on behavior, these instructions concern relative life; they do not concern instructions on Brahman. For example, instructions on mantra or on relationships, on daily practice. But the student thinks that these are instructions on the view. Or he does not know that there are also instructions on behavior, and prepares to listen only about the view. Then there will be no combination. Or, on the contrary, when the guru gives instructions on the view, and the student perceives these instructions in a relative sense, not feeling that they can be applied.
Here the teaching simply says: distinguish between view, jnana-drishti, and behavior, kriya. They must be harmoniously combined, but not mixed. A typical mistake of a beginning spiritual seeker is the attempt to mix view and behavior. For example, if a person has studied a little of the texts on Advaita, sees gods, methods of upasana, ritual worship, such a person asks: if everything is Brahman beyond name and form, then why worship, why gods, and so on? To such a question I answer: in order to realize Brahman, for happiness. For your happiness. Because at this stage you are not ready to live by view alone. You consist of energies; you have karmas. To live by view alone is a very high path, which one day you will realize, but there are very many relative tasks that must be solved. In relative tasks one must apply upayas, methods that help. But they must be applied in a non-dual state, uniting them with the non-dual view through contemplation.
Connecting with the nondual view through contemplation is a special, unique method of Anuttara Tantra. What does this mean? It is expressed in the words from the tantras, which sound as follows: shivam bhutvam shivam yajet—you can truly worship Shiva only when you yourself are aware of yourself as Shiva. In other words, invocation, prayers, bhajans, and ritual practices are performed in a state of nondual contemplation. When we unite nondual contemplative presence, the abiding of the mind, with a mantra, bhajan, or ritual worship. This is the basic principle.
When we have clarified the difference between absolute and relative truth, between view and behavior, between method and wisdom, we are ready to study the teaching of Anuttara Tantra. Until we have clarified this, we must continue clarifying it. Clarifying it until all obscurities and doubts are gone.
Qualities of a Yogin
The yogin who is constantly content.
A yogin is one who possesses the quality of contentment, santosha. Contentment is an emotional state in which we feel a certain fullness of life. When we feel that we are well in the place where we are, and we do not desire something else. This does not mean an enlightened state. But it does mean that we feel comfortable and happy enough to deepen our meditation, deepen contemplation, practice in retreat, live in an ashram, or live as a karma sannyasi. A dissatisfied mind simply cannot concentrate on any object, on meditation, or on a mantra.
The question is how to acquire such contentment and make it permanent. Usually all living beings are dissatisfied, because the material world is precisely the place where dissatisfied souls incarnate. All the dissatisfied have gathered here, on earth; all the contented live in the heavens. There is a saying: all decent people live in the higher worlds. And here are gathered those who are not content. Plus, one must also make allowance for Kali Yuga. In Kali Yuga the energies are dense. Therefore they say: do not be surprised if someone experiences difficulties in spiritual life, begins spiritual life or receives diksha, and then gives it up. Do not be surprised; this is normal. What is surprising is when they do not give up spiritual life, when a person continues, progresses, and obtains results. Holy sages from the higher planes, observing people, are even surprised in such a case. They look and think: imagine, in Kali Yuga, in these human bodies, they are still meditating on something, still reciting mantras—imagine that. The gods are surprised that mortal people, amid all these sinful, obscured energies, harsh energies in Kali Yuga, still manage to perform tapas, to practice, to do seva. This is worthy of astonishment. Everything else is not surprising. It is normal. In the modern world it is normal. Unfortunately, very unfortunately.
To attain contentment, a yogin must constantly educate himself, free his mind from unnecessary desires, take saints as an example, live being satisfied with little in the external material world, subordinate his life to God, and gradually cultivate inner contentment within himself. This is santosha. “Self-restrained” means that the senses are subordinated to reason.
One who does not doubt, who has surrendered mind and reason to me. Such a devotee is dear to me. One by whom the world is not disturbed, and who is not disturbed by the world, free from joy, impatience, fear, and agitation—he is dear to me.
The world disturbs everyone. The external material world has a very strong influence on every soul. But it does not influence a sadhu in this way. It influences experienced practitioners. Sometimes it may influence them, but sometimes it may not. And the enlightened, one could say, are almost unaffected or not affected at all. It does not affect holy souls, because they attain independence from the material world. Independence from the material world is Liberation.
The Fivefold Formula for Attaining Independence
How can such independence be attained? How can one develop one’s consciousness so that external objects do not influence, so that relationships and connections do not influence, so that words heard do not influence, political news does not influence, events and the weather do not influence? How can it be arranged so that wealth and poverty do not influence, blame and praise do not influence, love and hatred do not influence, anger and joy do not influence, pain, suffering, and bliss do not influence?
There is an answer in the teaching. It is a universal five-part formula. It says: the entire world must be reduced to the mind. What does this mean? One must observe one’s mind and see how external objects are perceived by the mind. Outside the perception of the mind, the external world does not exist. According to Vedanta, the external world exists thanks to attention, to the illumination of certain objects. By illuminating certain objects, the mind activates the external world. When the mind stops illuminating any objects, then external objects either reduce their effect or completely lose their influence.
The one who investigates the interconnection between the external world and the mind is doing great work. To reduce the external world to the mind means, for example, to perform the practice of the Sleep sankalpa, regarding the world as an illusion. Or to perform the practice of Atma-vichara, concentration on the feeling of “I.” When you practice the Sleep sankalpa or Atma-vichara, you can see the interconnection between the external world and consciousness, how consciousness very subtly, very imperceptibly sustains the influence of this world, and how, by controlling consciousness, one can control the world’s influence on oneself.
The first part of this formula is: reduce the external world to the mind.
The second part of this formula is as follows: reduce the mind to emptiness, shunya. This means that when we perform Atma-vichara or Mahashanti meditation, we must discover the emptiness of consciousness, of our own consciousness, then discover the emptiness of all external objects. And then one must discover the emptiness of the connection between external objects and consciousness. When these three kinds of emptiness are discovered, all of this will be discovered as illusory, essenceless, and will not be able to influence our consciousness.
The next part of the five-part formula is as follows: reduce emptiness to the experience of pure light. When we investigate our own empty consciousness in meditation, we discover various levels of luminous spaces. They have always been there, they are inherent in us, but we did not know this; we did not know that our consciousness is like a magical casket containing luminosity, light, luminous spaces.
The next part of the formula is: reduce light to non-duality. Investigating this light, we discover that it is non-dual. This is a very paradoxical experience. We have never encountered anything like it before, because we are used to dealing with duality. But when you touch this light, your mind is shocked; you cannot express it. You understand how mistaken you were about reality. It is impossible to express, but it is possible to hint at it. Because in this light there is no subject and no object.
Finally, the experience of non-duality should be reduced to bliss, joined with energy, joined with the manifested world of experiences.
This five-part formula is a universal key to Liberation that the siddhas have bestowed upon us. In different schools it is expressed somewhat differently. In another tradition it is expressed as follows: dissolve the external world into the indriyas, the sense organs; dissolve the indriyas into manas, the mind; dissolve manas into buddhi, the spiritual intellect; dissolve buddhi into Atman. It is the same thing, only in slightly different words.
We must deeply reflect on the five-part formula in order then to make it the guide of our spiritual life. This is precisely the path of not being disturbed by the world. Ultimately, such practice should lead us to the discovery of the nature of the mind and immersion in contemplation, the contemplation of non-duality. Such immersion is called nididhyasana.
Qualities of a True Devotee
Carefree, pure, skillful, cool-headed, undaunted, having renounced all undertakings—such a devotee of mine is dear to me.
From nididhyasana, devotion is possible. Someone might think that nididhyasana is already contemplation. Devotion, perhaps, should come earlier. In fact, devotion can come earlier, but devotion before nididhyasana, upasana before nididhyasana, will always be dualistic; it will always be based somewhere in the mind. True devotion is born from the state of continuous nididhyasana, continuous contemplative presence in God, continuous immersion in God.
Carefreeness arises from this. Because when you abide in the natural state of awareness, all your hopes, all your cares dissolve. From this, carefreeness appears. Worldly people are always preoccupied. They have a great many problems: in the family, at work, loans taken and not repaid, in relationships. A sadhu has no problems. Even if there are some material tasks and difficulties, in his mind he has no problems. Because he always contemplates God; he entrusts his problems to God. He does not live in the eight worldly dharmas.
What are the eight worldly dharmas? Hope for gain and fear of not obtaining it. Hope for fame and fear of losing it. Hope for praise and fear of blame. When we live in the eight worldly dharmas, we are constantly preoccupied; we cannot live without cares. A sadhu who abides in continuous contemplation gives all his hopes, attachments, and fears to God, entrusting them to Him. Therefore he is always carefree. He always abides in ananda, bliss.
We gathered at eleven o’clock; we have singing, singing in praise of God, and we abide in joy. We have no other cares. This means that we have enough merit to live fairly carefree. Listening to the dharma is a luxury, in fact. To listen to the absolute truth in the morning, to sing for God. A sadhu lives this way always. He lives this way constantly. This is a luxurious pastime.
Sometimes people do not understand this. They say: one must work, one must work. The purpose of the soul is to work, but in spirit, not physically. Physical work is also sometimes necessary, but it is not the main thing; the main work must be done in spirit. And work in spirit differs from work at a machine. It is joyful work; it is no longer work, but like play. It is work as surrender to God, work as contemplation, work as non-work, work as non-action, without the sense of doing and of a doer, without attachment to the fruits and results. It is already play.
The closer you are to God, the less there is of this notion of work as a duty, and the more you draw near to the dance with Shiva. This is called “vilasa.” Vilasa is a term indicating a luxurious and leisurely pastime. But it is a term of tantric sadhana, which indicates that you abide in bliss, in unity with God and in contemplative presence; you abide in the state of play. You are not a slave to cause-and-effect relationships, karma, conventions, and various desires and limitations.
Indifferent to praise and blame, silent, content with whatever comes, unattached to home, steady in mind—such a devoted person attains Me.
When continuous nididhyasana appears in you, a contemplative presence directed toward God and separated from the body, thoughts, emotions, and the material world, you are called steady in wisdom, sthita prajna. Sthita prajna, abiding in nididhyasana, means that in this life you can attain Liberation, provided that your nididhyasana develops to the level where it can break through into the causal body, and then into the transcendental dimension, turya.
Realization of the State of Turya
The first state of “turya” that must be experienced is called jagrat-turya. Jagrat means wakefulness; turya means the fourth, transcendental state. The yogin must first experience the transcendental state in the waking state. He should not try to experience it in svapna or in sushupti, in the subconscious or in the superconscious. That time has not yet come. One should not at any cost break through into the subconscious and strive for astral experiences while there is no experience of the enlightened state in wakefulness. At least, this is so in the tradition of laya yoga and in the tradition of jnana yoga.
In the tradition of kundalini yoga, it is a little different. There the yogin must awaken kundalini and accomplish astral kundalini-yoga samadhi, and then, with the help of kundalini yoga, enter the causal body, and then realize turiya. This is so. Having realized turiya, he, opening his eyes and returning to the waking state, tries to unite it. But such a path is suitable for a purna sannyasi, for those who have completely left this world, accepted the status of purna sannyasi, and live as a monk or as a hermit. For one who lives as a karma sannyasi, this is not suitable.
The first experience of the transcendent state of turiya is realized in wakefulness, jagrat. Jagrat-turiya means that in the waking state we experience the non-dual truth. Then, through contemplation, the yogin must bring this state into dream sleep, and this is called svapna-turiya, then into dreamless sleep, and this is called sushupti-turiya. Thus, turiya, the transcendent state, must be brought into all aspects of his consciousness.
Various Aspects of Concentration in Nididhyasana
Always performing all actions, concentrated on me, by my grace the mind attains the eternal supreme state.
Performing all actions, concentrated on me... What does “on me” mean? It is Shiva, Ishvara, God in the aspect of Brahman, Ishvara, and Atman. Whatever aspect of divine reality you are concentrated on in the process of nididhyasana, you receive the result. These concentrations have a slightly different hue, but they lead to one and the same thing.
Concentration on Nirguna Brahman
If the yogin concentrates on the aspect of nirguna Brahman, his nididhyasana will be very exalted, very detached. But certain powers will not manifest in him, such as jnana-shakti, iccha-shakti, and kriya-shakti. Most likely, he must be a purna sannyasi and lead only a renounced way of life. Because life in the material world requires powers, energy, interaction.
One who chooses nirguna Brahman for concentration in nididhyasana moves toward hermitage, mauna, silence, detachment and abandonment, abandonment, renunciation. He simply does not need these powers, not even siddhis, not even the astral world, not even magic, not even the fulfillment of desires by the power of intention, not even astrology, Ayurveda, not even communication with spirits. Complete renunciation, renunciation, renunciation. If you choose such a path, sannyasa will in any case come to you by itself. Your outer life will simply fall away. If you are ready, you can try. But for this one must be ready, one must know the consequences. What you meditate on, that you become.
I was told that one man in Yekaterinburg or in Chelyabinsk was reciting the Ganesha mantra, doing Ganesha sadhana. Ganesha appeared to him and asked: what blessings do you want? This man said: nothing. Ganesha said: all right, nothing, then nothing. Within a year and a half he lost his job, then his apartment, of course his wife also left, and he ended up with “nothing,” as he had asked.
When the yogin chooses the qualityless, the unmanifest, he renounces, separates himself from material energy. If he does not slide into the tendencies of pralaya-kala, hanging only on the unmanifest, he realizes the subtlest level, becoming one of the greatest saints, like Shukadeva, who walked naked, in transcendental consciousness.
When Shukadeva walked around naked, no one perceived him even as a human being. Once he was walking past a lake where naked girls were bathing. This was several thousand years ago in India. They were bathing naked; at first they saw that a man had come and became frightened, but then they saw: ah, it is Shukadeva. For them, Shukadeva was something like that—not even a man. When Vyasa came after him, looking for his son, they became frightened and began to dress. Vyasa asked: why were you not embarrassed before my son, but became embarrassed before me? They said: when we see your son, it is the same as if we see no one at all. He is so detached that he does not see any difference at all between a woman, a tree, and a cow. He is detached; he abides in another dimension. But you are still a human being, forgive us.
Concentration on Ishvara
If you choose Ishvara as the aspect of concentration in nididhyasana, then your nididhyasana will always be connected with self-surrender, devotion, and faith. From your nididhyasana you will manifest various energies inherent in Ishvara, because Ishvara is already Brahman with shakti, with energy. He possesses the power of omniscience, jnana-shakti; the power of divine will, iccha-shakti; the power of divine actions, kriya-shakti; the divine power of liberation, svatantrya-shakti; the power of eternity, nityatva; the power of omniscience, sarvajnatva; the power of omnipresence, vyapakatva; aishvarya, the power of divine omnipotence. And many other powers.
If your nididhyasana is colored by the spirit of devotion and worship of Ishvara, if you choose Guru yoga or ishta-devata yoga for nididhyasana, then these powers will also surround your contemplative practice. This is important for those who follow the path of seva, the path of service, the path of karma-sannyasi, the path of purna-sannyasi, for whom seva in the ashram is important, for those who love to interact with energies, who want to understand divine energies just as they understand God Himself.
Concentration on Atman
If your nididhyasana is colored by the investigation of the inner essence of Atman, you will be immersed within. Your own inner realization will intensify, but the external energies will not grow much. Different types of abiding in nididhyasana lead to different destinies, lead to the understanding of different energies. A yogin is one who has mastered all three aspects of nididhyasana in the absolute truth.
Always concentrated on me, by my grace he attains the eternal supreme state.
Whichever aspect you concentrate on during nididhyasana, as the fruit you receive divine mercy, the descent of grace, to put it in plain English. Shastra-kripa is the descent of grace through the study of sacred texts. Guru-kripa is the descent of grace through Guru yoga, through interaction with the Guru. Ishta-devata-kripa is the descent of grace from the chosen deity.
Complete Devotion to God
Renouncing with the mind all actions for my sake, becoming free of desires and ego, he surrenders to me alone.
A sadhu, abiding in nididhyasana, must surrender to God in any aspect. Devotion to God in any aspect means that whatever you are doing, you abide either in self-liberation, or in self-surrender, or in self-recognition.
Self-liberation means that our contemplative presence dissolves thoughts, just as a snowflake falls into the ocean.
Self-surrender means that we surrender to God at every moment against the background of experiencing emotions and thoughts, just as a child jumps onto his mother’s lap with complete trust.
Self-recognition means that the thought “Aham Brahmasmi” is brought into any aspect, into any act of contemplation, and divine greatness is maintained.
All these secret practices of the siddhas are very subtle, and in order to comprehend them, one must practice throughout one’s entire life under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. But they are the greatest, liberating practices; they should be regarded as a magical jewel, respected as a secret treasure bestowing all blessings. One who has the right attitude toward the teachings, over time, discovers them as a magical jewel that fulfills all wishes. One who preserves the spirit of faith, refuge, and samaya, over time, reveals all the powers contained in these treasures.
Liberation from Actions
He surrenders to me alone. Having abandoned attachment to the fruits of actions, constantly content, even while performing actions, he is not bound and is not bound by them. Whoever has no desire in the mind, has abandoned all attachments, knowing that this is only the body, attains that supreme state while performing actions.
Such practice dissolves three vasanas:
Deha vasana — attachment to the body
Shastra vasana — attachment to logic, thinking, to the conceptual teachings set forth in the scriptures
Loka vasana — attachment to dwelling, to habitation, to the material world, to everything that is called the social sphere, society, civilization
It is believed that these three main vasanas are what hold every person.
