5.4 What To Do After Approaching A Teacher

If you find a teacher that has all of the qualities described so far, what should you do? Serve him with humility and have affection towards him. Don't find fault with him. Make his greatness heart felt and expect your good fortune from him. In this manner, orient the teacher towards you with your service and affection.
 
Then, it is not the case that he will teach you when he feels like it. In the tradition of devotion, it is alright that whenever he feels gracious he should teach. But in the tradition of knowledge, it is a mistake to think in this manner, and demonstrates a lack of alertness. For the one who has intense longing for liberation and its knowledge, his heart will begin to tear unless he knows that knowledge. Until the intense longing for knowledge of liberation does not arise, it is not considered as liberation in its true sense.
 
When the teacher is pleased, one should approach him humbly and ask him questions. (Gita 4.34).
 
"Know that essence from the knower of the essence". How? By the means, in other words, by dropping all ego, through service, and through inquiry.
 
The topic of the inquiry should be "the self". Ask : "O Lord! 'I am', this I experience but 'what am I, who am I, where have I come from, where will I go, why have I come' - all this I cannot fathom. Please tell me 'who am I'? I have heard that the lord of the universe is brahman. What is that brahman. Where does he stay, what is my relationship with him, I do not know this. Please tell me who is that? The scripture says that without the knowledge of brahman, one does not attain liberation. What is the identity of that knowledge of brahman? If I am in bondage, how will my liberation happen?".
 
When asking these question, you need to keep four points in mind : (1) The question should be about that topic of which you are ignorant. Don't ask about that which you already know about. When you do not know something or know a little of something or you are not satisfied with its grasping, information or belief, then only should you ask the question. Do not make fake questions just for the sake of asking something that you do not have curiosity about. (2) Do not ask questions for the sake of argument. It will not solve any issues. The question of a seeker and the answer of a teacher should not become a debate. First ask the question, then hear the answer, then contemplate upon the answer and then if there is a doubt then ask the question again. (3) If you do not want to understand it or having understood it, you do not want to accept it then do not ask a question. (4) Do not ask a question just so you can negate what the teacher says. This is frivolous behaviour.
 
It could be possible that the teacher tests your real situation. Seekers sometimes get deluded into thinking that they have reached a particular stage when in reality, this is not the case. The scriptures call this "alambha bhoomikatva". When you think you have reached a certain stage when in fact you have not, it becomes an obstacle in your journey. That is why the teacher assesses our stage and sometimes makes some statements that cuts our fake pride. The student should withstand this with honour. And he should carry out the teacher's command. If a student cannot bear the harsh words of his teacher, how will he develop the fortitude the bear the harsh words of the world?
 
What will be the first words that the teacher will utter to one who has taken his refuge? He will say : My child, do not fear. The teacher will begin from there where the result of Vedanta lies. The result of Vedanta is : "O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness". (Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad 4.2.4). It is not the case that there will be no more association-disassociation, coming-going in this world, that the body will not drop - all this will stay and let it stay, but become fearless, this is the result of Vedanta.
 
Shree Shankaraachaarya Bhagavaan says that it befits a teacher to immediately bestow fearlessness to the student. (Vivekachoodamani 43). In reality, all sorrows in this world are not sorrows at all, they are only fear. There is no sorrow in death, there is only the fear of death, because no one has ever experienced their death. The fear is not of death, the fear is of the annihilation of one's created world. That household created by us, our parents, our children, our spouse, what will happen to all of them? This is the fear. Nothing will happen, these were not yours before, and these will never be yours in the future, you are taking them to be yours in the middle and are crying. He whose mind has renunciation-dispassion, non-attachment, for him there is no fear, death or sorrow. For him, death is a natural state. The entire world is an appearance in his self. It feels sweet due to the ignorance of the self, and then, there is sorrow of its loss.
 
In reality, there is no such thing called sorrow. "I am sad". This thought flow in itself is the identity of sorrow. Lament is also sorrow, that is why it is fear. The recollection of a prior sorrow is called lament. So then everything is fear. The one who makes fearlessness out of fear is the teacher. He is your foremost well-wisher.
 
The teacher does not think of the right of the student to take his refuge. He does not first consider whether or not the student will gain knowledge or liberation! Without any thought, and solely out of compassion, he places his hand on the student's head and says do not fear my child! The vision of the teacher towards everyone is that of ever-pure-aware-free. And the statement of the student of his fear, ignorance and sorrow is only an appearance of ignorance from the standpoint of the teacher. It cannot stand in front of one ray of knowledge. What is left is the right of the student. Whoever takes the refuge of the teacher has the foremost right. If he did not have the qualification then how would he come to the teacher to begin with? Emotional obstacles do not have a place in the teacher's vision, since at all times, the teacher is only looking at the brahman-identity in everyone.
 
The student should take the refuge of the teacher, should be a mumukshu, should listed to the word of the teacher and his mind should be serene, in other words there should not be too much running around in his mind that he has to go here or there, do this or that. This will only happen when there is no modification (vikaara) in the mind. Such a student is qualified to receive the teaching of the essence from the teacher.

5.2 How Should One Take The Refuge Of A Teacher?

"To know that brahman as the self, that fully qualified mumukshu should take firewood and take refuge of one who has listened to the Vedas and who is established in brahman only". (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12). Here the qualifier "only" should be applied to everything. Only for the knowledge of brahman, only taking firewood, only the refuge of a teacher, and definitely take refuge. He should surrender himself totally, this is what is meant by taking refuge. If his words indicate that the teacher means everything to him, but in his mind the word is everything, then this is not taking refuge in the teacher.
 
One should have complete devotion for the teacher. In other words, the teacher, the beloved, the self and the teaching, all these should be aligned, they should become one.
 
The first point in taking refuge in the teacher is that one who does not have faith cannot take refuge of a teacher. One who has doubt in the heart, will give sorrow to that very same heart. If there is not one person upon which you have unshakeable faith in this world, then the state of your mind is extremely sorrowful and pitiable.
 
One who does not understand and also does not have faith in someone else, such a person of doubt is destined for destruction (Gita 4.40). If one does not have doubt and lack of faith in the mind, then this is purity of mind.
 
The second obstacle in taking refuge in the teacher is self pride (abhimaana). The supreme self is without pride (maana shoonya), it means it is without measure (maapa shoonya). It does not have distinctions of space, time and object, it is self complete. And we have pride in us. When do we have pride? When we make our pride or measure that we are a brahmin, a scholar, Hindu, wealthy, good at penance, and so on. This body measuring three and a half hand lengths becomes our measure. But the shruti says that one who considers brahman different from himself becomes degraded. How can a mountain fit in a sack of rubber? Similarly, if one wants to capture Ishvara with pride, then he will never come. If Ishvara is to be met, he will be met with the removal of pride. Pride is ostentation. This will be removed only through the refuge of he teacher.
 
The Shreemad Bhaagavad prescribes specific medicines for specific mental conditions. For instance, lack of will kills lust and renunciation cures desires. But later it says that devotion to the teacher is the panacea for all mental conditions.
 
That is why taking refuge of the teacher is necessary. A seeker of the essence of the self should take the refuge of the teacher for the knowledge of brahman which frees all bonds and liberates.
 
"Upaseedet" means face to face, this is how he should approach the teacher. In other words, not surreptitiously, not secretly, this specifies the behaviour. When the teacher is sitting in good health, at that time. Not when you are free but the teacher has gone to the bathroom. Your attitude should be "I will do what the teacher says". Your convictions, your beliefs may possibly be incorrect. If you are not planning to heed to teaching of the teacher, why go to the teacher in the first place?
 
"Upaseedet" means being face to face with the teacher while following the proper decorum. One must not go empty handed to the teacher. One should go to the teacher with something that symbolically represents one's faith, as well as with something that is of use to the teacher. If there is a ritual fire or a kitchen in the house of the teacher, the student should present firewood to the teacher. If the teacher is a monk, the student should take something that is useful or some food to the teacher. The meaning is that whatever is useful to the teacher should be presented to him in a spirit of service.
 
The second aspect of "upaseedet" is that the goal should be clear and without taint. I remember one thing now. Prior to becoming a monk, I had gone to Swami brahmaanandaji Mahaaraaj in order to request him to initiate me into monkhood. At that time he had told me "do this, stay like this, eat this, do not eat this" and so on. Then, after two or three years, I reached a place while walking. When I reached the Kumbha Mela (fair) and saw a sign board, I did nto care for anything and immediately rushed inside and said to him "I am here now!". So then, "upasanna" means that "To attain freedom from bondage, to free myself of the inferiority of inertness, to free myself of death, to gain the knowledge of the essence, now I have come!". "Upaseedet" means "I have now come, I am ready".
 
"Guru upasadana", "guru upasatti", all these phrases mean the same thing : presenting oneself in front of the teacher in order to gain freedom from bondage.

5.3 Qualities Of A Teacher

The question is : how should a teacher be? Shreeshankaraachaarya Bhagavaan has said that one must take refuge in a "praajnya" or wise teacher. There are those great souls who are extremely detached, they are fakirs. Beholding them and serving them is a great merit in itself. But they are not conscious. They will not help you in removing your ignorance. This liberation cannot be gained through anyone's grace, shakti paat (energy transmitted through touch) or by other means. Take the mind which firtsly has the thought flow of its identity of ignorance and individuality. When the thought flow of the identity of the self and brahman, born of the great statements, arises, then that brahman-shaped thought-flow will destroy the individuality-shaped thought flow, and will become non-separate from its basis, the essence of the self. This is liberation. Therefore, the one desirous of liberation should a great souled teacher who is wise - in other words - a knower of the essence, be conscious to the world, and also, one who can, with his words, fix the identity meaning of the self and brahman, born of the great statements, in our mind. Subsequently, he should also have the capability to make our thought-flow shaped as brahman (brahmaakaara). This is the identity of the grace of the teacher. When this grace comes upon someone, it takes a form and comes. Like the grace of the formless supreme self comes by taking on a form of an avatar, so does the formless grace take a form and come into our lives. The rise of the brahman-shaped thought-flow is the descent of the grace of the teacher. If the grace of the teacher cannot generate knowledge, then that grace is barren.
 
The shruti says that the teacher should be "shrotriya" or well versed in the scriptures, and be established in brahman. Well versed in the scriptures means he who understand the supreme and comprehensive secret of the shruti and guides his disciples on that path, not someone who has learned the scriptures. Only scholarship will not get the job done. He should have the capacity to resolve any number of questions, objects and doubts. Also, he should have firm resolve towards the identity of the self and brahman, which is the final essence, and is described in the shruti. In other word, that is where his recourse (gati), intellect (mati) and delight (rati) should lie in.
 
The Upanishads have categorized devotion in brahman (brahma nishthaa) as follows : "brahma vit", "brahma vidvara", "brahma vidvareeyan" and "brahma vidvarishtha".
 
"He who plays in the self, he who is happy in the self, he is the foremost among the knowers of brahman". (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.4). The teacher should be a foremost knower of brahman (brahma vittama). He is truly a supreme knower of brahman when other great knowers of brahman come to him for obtaining firm devotion in brahman. There is something known as knower of brahman (brahma vit). One among many such knowers of brahman is a foremost knower of brahman. One in a million is a foremost knower of brahman.
 
There are many clever people in this world. Taking advantage of words, there is a market now of teachers who are "scripturally versed and devoted to brahman". Simple and humble people get deluded. Therefore, we should examine some more qualities of a teacher. In the Vivekachoodaamani, Shree Shankaraachaarya Bhagavaan has said :
"A teacher should be well versed in the scriptures, without sin, with zero desires, a foremost knower of brahman, should revel in brahman, should be quiet like a fire without fuel, an ocean of compassion without any agenda, and a well wisher to those who have come to his refuge". (Vivekachoodamani 34-35).
 
1. Well versed in the scriptures : This has been described already.
2. Foremost knower of brahman : This has been described already.
3. Without sin (nishpaapa) : The sign of someone who is without sin is as follows : "I am sad", such a cognition will never come to him, even if his body is rotting, he is starving, he does not have clothes to wear, does not have anyone to accompany him. Sorrow is the result of sin, and "I am sad" is the thought flow of that result. This thought flow does not arise in one who is without sin. The causes of sorrow may come in all beings who have a body, but the pride of sorrow that "I am sad" is a mark of the sinner, not of the sin.
 
Besides this, the desire that "I should commit a sin" never stays in front of a teacher since the soership-enjoyership of sin does not reside within him.
 
He in whom there is no connection of prior sin and there is no desire to commit a sin in the future, he is without sin.
 
The biggest sin is mixing the ever-pure-aware-free self with the impermanent-impure ego. This is the root of all sins. This is removed in a knower.
 
4. Free of desire (akaamahata) : Those whose hearts have been injured with desires are "kaamahata". But the teacher is one whose heart has not been injured with desires. He is "akaamaahata". The desire to attain any object, person or situation that appears to be non-attainable is called desire or "kaama". Let me get what I do not have, this is desire. I have it and want more, this is freed. "I will kill he who becomes an obstacle in my attempt to attain" - this is anger. All these are forms of desire. "I should live for a thousand years" - this is desire for time. "I have lost this, I need to lose more" - this is also a desire. "There should be such a type of thought flow in my mind, and not of this kind" - this also has desire at its root. In a complete teacher, any thought flow that as non-attainment-related desire at its root is absent. But remember, this is the state of the teacher, not of the student. The student should give and take in a disciplined manner. The sign of a complete guru is that there is no objected called "another" anymore". In the fullness, the completeness of the self, no other object needs to be attained. That is why, there is no desire that can injure the knower of the essence.
 
5. Fulfilled in brahman (brahmanuparataha) : He should have retired from this world and have been established in brahman. A teacher should be one who has retired. The world is seen by him. But he does not revel in the world. He has retired from the world and is established completely in brahman which is the substratum. Now, the teacher could be busy in worldly transactions. Or he could be sitting in samaadhi, engrossed in the meditation of the beloved. Both these states are not amenable to a seeker, since there is no scope for teaching. He who is a teacher should be awake and not revel anywhere else.
 
6. Quiet like a fire without fuel : The teacher should be quiet. How should he be quiet? Like a fire without fuel. A teacher should be content. All his goals have been fulfilled. Neither is there any means to be employed through duties, nor is any state left to be attained. Then? Now, the quiet that is prevalent in his life is like the fire which is burning, but the fuel is extinguished. The fire will not burn by itself because wood, coal and stones are over, smoke does not arise. The fire is burning underneath the ashes. If the student blows into the fire then it will burn a bit, otherwise it has been extinguished. This is the thirst for liberation in the student that he can reignite even a dying flame and attain the knowledge of the essence. In this meaning, the teacher is quiet.
 
The teacher is quiet. In other words, his thought flow does not need a target object (vishaya). Telling the teacher that "O teacher, whatever you think is right, please tell me" is not right. In his mind, everyone is ever-pure-aware-free. He does not have any fancy that you should be like this or that. He knows that you are ever free. When you experience ignorance, sorrow, inertness, bondage in your self, and when you request him to save you, then he will say "Not so! You are brahman personified. There is not even a trace of ignorance, sorrow, inertness or bondage in you. This is the start of satsanga (company of saints) through question and answer.
 
7. An ocean of compassion without any agenda : Teachers are an ocean of compassion. But the donation of their compassion is not due to any goal. The sign of non-renunciation is their compassion. In their vision, everyone is their own true identity. They do not get influenced by anyone's qualities or actions due ti which they need to give compassion. What does a teacher care about the magnanimity of his student. What does it matter if someone is rich or poor? What if someone is a scholar or a fool? They are the same towards everyone. Whoever offers love to them, they respond with a flood of causeless compassion.
 
8. Respect for taking refuge : That wonderful person (student) who bows to a teacher, who takes refuge in a teacher when he arrives, who listens to what he says, who knows that he will benefit from his teacher, when the teacher accepts him and makes the student fearless, this is the sign of a teacher.

5.1 What Is The Need Of A Teacher?

First we have to examine the need of a teacher in Vedanta. A teacher is required in gaining any knowledge. But for the knowledge of brahman, there is no other way. Take an example. I have a friend from childhood. We have not met for years, but have corresponded via mail. I went to his house, but he did not recognize me. I don't tell my name and behave in a familiar manner with him, He is surprised with this. As soon as someone told him my name, he immediately hugged me. Now consider this. I was in front of him all this time. But it is one thing to be in front of the eyes, and it is another thing to recognize what is in front of your eyes.
 
Our self, which is brahman, is not out of sight (paroksha). It is not anywhere far from us. It is there with us all the time, while sleeping-waking sitting-standing. It is ever available. There is no possibility of its separation. But we are unable to recognize this ever available self. If we would have been able to recognize it while being established in it, then it would have happened in sleep or in samaadhi. We are unable to recognize it even though it is near, so we need someone who can reveal it to us. So long as someone does not tell us that "you are that brahman", we will not have knowledge of it.
 
The Ishvara who is out of sight can be attained through worship. You can sit and be one with him for a while. Through practice, you can attain samaadhi. By achieving your goals you can attain objects, or you can go to heaven. But none of these can get your the self. It will not happen even by learning the scriptures. Here, that which is searching is what is being searched. "Aapan khel aapahi dekhe". Therefore, without someone to reveal it, the immediate knowledge of the self cannot happen. The shrutis of the Chhandogya make it clear:
 
"He who has attained it from the teacher only knows it" (6.14.2)
 
"Science learned from the sages is prized" (4.9.3)
 
The self cannot be attained through discourses, memory, repeated listening or self-study. You need a teacher for this. In this manner, approaching the teacher is a requisite in Vedanta.

5.0 Approaching The Teacher (Guru Upasadana)

"The seeker of the essence of the self, endowed with all the means, should go unto the feet of a knowledgeable teacher, by which he can be liberated from his bondage" (Vivekachoodamani 33.34).

4.5 Some Doubts And Their Answers On The Topic Of Relationship (Sambandha)

1. Doubt: The contemplation, study and teaching of the science of Vedanta is useless. This is because (1) a qualified student endowed with the four fold qualification who desires liberation does not exists in this world. People do want removal of misfortune, but do not want such a removal through knowledge of brahman. Once can remove misfortune through action, worship and yoga and in that, the individual soul, who is a doer and enjoyer, continues to exist, while in liberation through knowledge of brahman, he is annihilated. (2) People want supreme bliss, but even that, they want through objects. But in the supreme bliss gained through brahman, there is no object. (3) Everyone wants the experience of happiness, but no one wants the experience of the happiness of brahman. So then, the desire for liberation does not arise in anyone. (4) Even if we accept that someone is a mumukshu, even then, it is extremely difficult for such a person to have the four fold qualification. In this manner, if there is no qualified student for the teaching of Vedanta, then a commentary of such a teaching is without meaning.
 
Answer: What is misfortune? That which is unreal, inert and of the identity of sorrow, is a misfortune. The real fortune (artha) is only the self. Therefore, so long as the self is not available as the fulfilled brahman, the seed of misfortune will never be eradicated. Not knowing the self as brahman is the biggest misfortune. That can only happen through the science of brahman. Action, worship and yoga can temporarily relieve sorrows. We know this because anything born out of action can only give temporary result. Alternatively, one can substitute sorrow with the thought flow containing imaginary happiness of worship, or one can block the thought flow that generates sorrow. But all of these are states that will end with time, therefore the sorrow is not addressed at its root. Then, neither is sorrow and its basis of its causes or its impact negated, nor is the self, the residence of happiness, known. And, even if this happiness is realized through Saankhya, then so long as the non-disconnectedness of the self is not realized and the illusory identity of Prakriti not concluded, even that happiness is limited in time. Vedanta addresses all of these limitations.
 
If there was happiness present in objects, it would require an enjoyer distinct from them. The illusory happiness that is perceived in objects is born out of ignorance. The self is happy by identity. This happiness contacts the desire in the heart of a desire-filled person. When this contact happens, the happiness of the self begins to appear in the object of desire, which is resident in the thought flow. Through ignorance, this happiness is thrust upon the object which follows from ignorance. In reality, the subject is the "enjoyer". The reflection of the happiness of the self and its knowledge, this is happiness born out of thought flow. This can happen through the medium of objects in the waking state and dream states, and can happen through absence of objects in the dream states. The self is of the identity of happiness, this knowledge is called supreme bliss, since it is only through the rise of such knowledge does every happiness become the bliss of the self.
 
People only want happiness of objects - it is incorrect to make such a statement. This is because in reality, people only want happiness. Otherwise, they would not consume sleeping tablets which give them happiness bereft of objects. People want happiness, but they are only used to experiencing the happiness of objects. That is why, upon hearing that the Upanishads would give them similar happiness, they will desire liberation. Everyone wants to obtain imperishable happiness, happiness everywhere, happiness from everything, without any effort and happiness while knowing. It does not matter whether happiness comes from objects or not! Therefore, in reality, everyone wants the happiness of liberation, but through ignorance, they chase imperishable, disconnected and self-separate happiness in objects. In this manner, from the point of view of Vedanta, everyone is a mumkushu, whether they know it or not.
 
That leaves the point about the one who has the four fold qualification. It is correct that such a person is rare, but it is not true that such a person does not exist. There are four kinds of people : object oriented, wicked, inquisitive and liberated. Object oriented people are those that enjoy the pleasures of this world and other worlds while performing actions as per legal injunctions. They are not interested in the result of Vedanta, therefore they are not qualified for Vedanta. Wicked people are interested in the consumption of objects regardless of whether the means are legal or not. These people are not qualified for Vedanta since they do not have the capacity. Liberated individuals have already attained the purpose of Vedanta, hence they are not considered. Now, the only ones left are the inquisitive ones. They are qualified for instruction in Vedanta.
 
The inquisitive person is not interested in happiness derived from enjoyment of objects. They see sorrow in the apparent joy of working for, acquiring and consuming objects. In their view, the body is the result of past legal and illegal actions. Without the cessation of attraction and aversion, the cycle of birth and death due to legal and illegal action will not end. The basis of attraction and aversion is differentiated thinking and the notion of doership and enjoeyrship in oneself. That is why without the knowledge of the identity of self and brahman, the permanent cessation of attraction and aversion will not happen. This is because the delusion of differentiation and doership-enjoyership is caused by the ignorance of the brahman-identity of the self. Therefore, those who are inquisitive become engaged in the science of Vedanta, therefore the study of brahman is important.
 
2. Doubt : The goal of the science of brahman is liberation. It happens through the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman. This is fine. But is that liberation permanent or temporary? If it is temporary then one should have dispassion towards what is temporary. No one desires temporary liberation. If liberation is permanent then it cannot be caused through any process or method. This is because no method is required to obtain that which is permanent. In this situation, all scripture sanctioned methods would become irrelevant. Only when bondage happens through ignorance does the knowledge of brahman become important. But when the self is brahman, then in that, the presence of ignorance and subsequently created delusion is laughable. In reality, the self is not brahman, this is the experience of every person. Even the scripture explains the difference of both. The individual soul is non-omniscient, disconnected, takes birth and dies, and the brahman is omniscient, non-disconnected, all powerful. Bondage also is the experience of every person. Therefore bondage is real, and the cessation of bondage cannot happen through knowledge. It required action, worship and yoga. Therefore the contemplation of brahman is unimportant.
 
Answer : Liberation is permanent. Even so, the methods for this which are prescribed in the scriptures are not for nothing. Liberation is the true identity of the self, not anything different. We are never bound. Ignorance is an imagination, an allusion. Think for a while and recollect this : Since birth, how many people we have bound ourselves to and freed ourselves from?
 
We tied ourselves to wealth, it went away. Woman, man, friend, you thought you were tied to all of these but everything changed. When these enter, there is an delusion of bondage, but they are as they are. No one can bind us. These come and go like a dream, but liberation is our natural state. That which is an obstacle to liberation which is our identity , the delusion of bondage, requires a method, and hence the importance of scriptures. Methods are not needed to create liberation. Otherwise even liberation will be temporary. Bhagavaan Shankaraachaarya says : health is our true identity but if we fall sick due to changes in weather, infection or any other reason, we need to take medicine to remove the sickness. We were healthy before the sickness and will be healthy after the sickness. In the same way, liberation is our natural state. The knowledge of brahman is needed to remove the delusion of bondage that has come to us. The knowledge of brahman requires the contemplation of brahman, and the scriptures are of the identity of contemplation of brahman, therefore scriptures are needed. All methods described in brahman are helpful in the knowledge of brahman, we have seen this before.
 
The simple question is – "are you sad or not?" If you do not think of yourself of sad, then no other method is required for you. A healthy person do not require medicine. Medicine is only required for a sick person. If you think that "I am sad" then no one has attraction to sorrow. Then you find out a method for removing sorrow. We should always be happy, sorrow should not come to us, this is everyone's feeling.
 
In any other field, if you want to know something, then you have to follow what is written or what has been said by someone else. But if you want to know about yourself then self-experience is the only means of knowledge. Now imagine that it is written somewhere that you are sad, that is why you think that you are sorrowful, or are you the witness of your own sorrow? The conclusion comes – you are sad because you are the witness of your own sorrow. But the rule is that if something is the witness of something else, that witness is different than the quality/action of that which is witnessed. Then if you the witness of your sorrow, how can you be sorrowful?
 
Without decay (vikaara), there can be no sorrow. Vikaara means decay, a change from one to the other. Whatever we had is not what it used to, that is what made us unhappy, didn't it? That which undergoes change is not the witness, and there is no transformation or decay in the witness. The mind changes its form thousands of times in a day. This loved-hated, joy-sorrow, mine-yours and so on keeps changing the form of mind. I am the witness of these thousands of forms. Therefore I am without decay. Then there is no decay in the witness, where will sorrow come from? This mistake, misunderstanding, ignorance deludes us into making up sorrow where there is none. That which we call sorrow is a crime committed by your intellect. It is a fault of our understanding.
 
If a trader only sees one day’s loss instead of his entire year’s performance and becomes sad, that is an error in his judgement. Similarly, instead of seeing our self which is beginningless, endless, the witness, which is the ever-pure-aware-free Brahman, we think just of our body as the entire statement of accounts. This is a fault in our understanding.
 
If sorrow was not created by ignorance, it would not have gone by knowledge. It is a law - if an object is created out of ignorance does not really exist, and that object which is removed by knowledge, that also does not really exist. A snake is seen on the rope due to ignorance of the rope and is destroyed by knowledge of the rope. Therefore the snake does not really exist.
 
Similarly, due to the ignorance of the brahman-identity of the witness, sorrow, disconnectednes s, non-omniscience and so on appear in the witness. And these are removed by the knowledge of its brahman-identity. Therefore sorrow and so on do not exist in reality, only their delusion occurs in us. Vedanta considers even delusion-removal knowledge to be imaginart. Just like ignorance is imagined, so too is the delusion-removal knowledge. Something which is imagined removes another something which is imagined.
 
Any time you try to describe an onject, you will have to say "it appears (prateeta) to me like this". There is no other language that this. The creation of the universe, the identity of dissolution, Ishvara, Prakriti, try to describe any of these, you will have to say that "it appears to me like this". Bondage also appears and liberation also appears. When we take this appearance to be real then we become happy or sad. We first take the knowledge of appearance of duality (bheda) as real, then as good or bad, then as something we love or hate, and then we try to grab it or leave it. In this manner, we are so submerged in the appearance of duality (bheda prateeti) that it becomes real for us, and we become firmly rooted in attraction and aversion. The lord of the self is always pure and of the identity of bliss.
 
Note down five points in connection with bliss : 1. There is no cause of bliss. Which means - bliss cannot be created. Any bliss which is created will be perishable. 2. There is no action of bliss. Which means - bliss is the result of everything, there is no other result of bliss. Bliss is unchanging, resultless. 3. Bliss does not have an opposite, like happiness has sorrow. In this meaning, bliss is completely different than happiness therefore bliss is non-dual, it is complete. There is no counterpart of bliss. 4a. There are no inherent variations in bliss, in other words, there is only one bliss everywhere, regardless of which adjunct (upaadhi) through which it expresses. You cannot have one bliss by eating bitter and one bliss by eating sweet. The duality of objects imposes a duality on bliss, but the underlying bliss is the same. 4b. There is no difference in quantity of bliss. Less bliss, more bliss, heavy bliss, light bliss, when such differences in proportion appear, they are of the thought flow, not of bliss. 5. Bliss is never indirectly experiences (paroksha). Bliss does not have the identity of ignorance.
 
In other words, bliss is never covered by ignorance. Bliss is the most beloved of everyone. Everyone loves bliss. That person whom you love the most is your bliss, and you only love yourself the most, no one else. The "Naarada Bhakti Darshan" defines love as "that in whose happiness you are happy". This indicates the self. Bliss is not something other. You yourself are bliss.
 
What is the object of human effort? You yourself are the object of human effort. You do not have to leave yourself to gain anything, and your own self is ever attainable, but we do not know this, this is the main mistake. Once you know this, sorrow vanishes, liberation comes. Knowledge makes us attain, as it were, that which was already attained.
 
You wear a bangle on your wrist but have forgotten. Now you search for it here and there. It was never lost, it was as if lost. You did not find it, you as if found it. You true identity is in the same boat. Its brahman identity has as if been lost, and as a result, you experience death, sorrow, ignorance and bondage. Through the statements of Vedanta, some great teacher out of his compassion tells you "that brahman is you yourself". That is it. This self has as if found brahman-ness and bondages have vanished. This is liberation.
 
Where did this ignorance come to us from? Due to this duality-prone phenomenal world (prapancha). Prapancha means a ruckus (bakheda) of five things. The net cast by the five senses is the prapancha. This prapancha, though different from us, appears real and in us. And what is the self? It is the "I". Wherever you experience the delusion of "I", there you will see the meaning of the word self. "I" typically means our visible body. But sometimes we also refer to the body as "mine". When you think of the dream state then the visible body will become mine. When you think of the sleep state then the dream body will become mine. When you think of the pure "I" (witness) then the causal body will become mine. There are four definitions of the self:
 
That which pervades all objects, that which is the illuminator of all objects, imbibes all objects, which stores (eats) all objects and that whose quality is always maintained, that is known as the self.
 
Where one has to take in bliss that is separate form oneself, then an instrument and sense organs are needed. But to experience the bliss that is inherent in oneself, no instrument is needed. Silent, agitated, with object, without object etc - such thought flows are also not needed. All thought flows are illuminated by the self. Therefore, the bliss of the self does not require any instrument. That is why, no effort is required for any instrument.
 
In such a self, any sorrow or bondage is simply out of ignorance, out of misunderstanding. Not out of a misunderstanding of the self, but of the human. This human being has become an ignoramus who takes pride in the body. If he removes his misunderstanding and delusion, then he will himself become of the identity of bliss.
 
"This attraction, this absence, this death is something different than me, and these are destroying something of me or can destroy" - considering "something" different than oneself is an delusion. This is the apprehension of duality (dvaita prapancha). This should be alleviated.
 
The method exists only for its removal. Once removal happens, you will regain your health. You do not need a method for creating your true identity.
 
Therefore, the non-dual knowledge of our self is the goal of the teaching of Vedanta.
 
Alleviation of the apprehension of the world (prapancha) through action, worship, yoga and other methods cannot be possible since the non-dual world is the creation of ignorance, therefore teaching will cause its alleviation.
 
Sorrow is of two kinds: One is of the increase or decrease of objects, and the other is caused by changes in mental states. Even in this, contemplative people agree that an object does not cause joy or sorrow. Through ignorance, that object with which we establish a relationship, gives us joy or sorrow.
 
Sound, touch, form, taste and smell - these are five sense objects. These neither cause joy or sorrow. Earth, water, fire, wind and space - these are the causes of the five sense objects. Even these neither cause joy or sorrow. Their cause, the taamasic ego (ahankaara) also does not cause joy or sorrow. Neither do the sense organs such as nose and ear cause joy and sorrow. The five vital forces (praanaas) also do not cause joy or sorrow. Even their organizer, the ego, does not cause joy or sorrow. These are all a product of prakriti. In this manner, even prakriti does not give joy or sorrow. When neither prakriti nor its products cause sorrow, where does sorrow come from? The answer is : from ignorance, lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, foolishness. When we don’t understand something clearly, we become sad.
 
The sense of ego (ahamtaa), also known as praakrita ahankaara, remains in deep sleep as well. In that state the breath flows, flood flows, nails and hair grow, food is digested. In other words, the ego also remains active in deep sleep. This ego does not cause sorrow. The cause of sorrow is I-ness or asmitaa. The self is of the identity of awareness and is also the witness, and on the other hand, the ego is born of prakriti. When we cannot differentiate properly between the witness and the seen, and when we take the ego born of prakriti as our true identity though we are of the identity of awareness, this is called I-ness.
 
In reality, attraction and aversion give us sorrow. Just like a flower sprouts-grows-blossoms in identity (prakriti), so does a child become born and grow. In that was thrust my-ness, then from that the feeling of favourable-unfavourable, then attraction-aversion came, and then joy from attraction and sorrow from aversion. Then we became so drowned in attraction and aversion that we took the body, children, house and so on as non-different from our self. This is called affection or abhinivesha. In this manner, the cause of our sorrow is our lack of understanding. We become so lost in lack of understanding that we forgot our true identity as liberated and witnessing.
 
 
Ignorance, I-ness, attraction, aversion and affection - these five are considered the causes of sorrow per the Yoga philosophy. The yogis say that one should destroy this family of five through discrimination. This will happen through the cessation of thought flow (chitta vritti nirodha). When the witness will become established in true identity, then in this elevated state, he will realize that he does not have any relationship with any object of identity. It does not matter whether the object comes or goes. The Yoga philosophy says that the suffering of sorrow is caused by ignorance. So then, if you remove ignorance, then your suffering will end. However, the world is made out of prakriti, therefore it will remain as it is. The world make of prakriti neither gives joy nor sorrow.
 
Vedanta philosophy says that there are two kinds of creation (srishti) : individual soul creation (jeeva srishti) and Ishvara creation (Ishvara srishti). Five elements such as earth and water, tanmaatraas such as sound and touch, the senses, the mind, man, woman etc - this is all Ishvara creation. Ishvara creation does not give sorrow. But "I am this, this is mine" and "I am not this, this is not mine" - this is the individual soul creation. The Taittireeya Upanishad says : all materials are made out of bliss. So then, the material (upadaana) of the Ishvara creation is bliss.
 
The creation has come out of bliss, remains established in bliss, will dissolve in bliss. In other words, the creation is of the identity of bliss. But what has happened is that "this much is mine, that much is yours" is what the individual soul has accepted. This creation of the individual soul has created sorrow. The human being never thought about this. Not thinking about this is lack of knowledge, it is ignorance.
 
This ignorance of Vedanta is different than the ignorance of Yoga philosophy. In the Yoga philosophy, Ishvara, individual soul, prakriti, ignorance etc are considered without beginning. But in Vedanta philosophy, creation does not occur due to prakriti or atoms. The creation is made out of something else - in order to negate this statement, it says that creation is made from Ishvara. That creation is made of Ishvara is just an attribution (adhyaaropa), it does not mean that it has actually happened. It is meant to negate other theories of causation (kaarana vaada). From the standpoint of essence (tatta drishti), creation has never occurred at all.
 
If you accept that creation comes out of action, then the question arises, does action come first or does the body come first? Without a body, there can be no action. If action came first, then where did it come from? If the body came first, how did that happen without action? If both came simultaneously, then they would not have a cause-effect relationship. If you think that they are without beginning, then also they would not have a cause-effect relationship. Therefore, they are imagined since the beginning of time. The beginningless brahman is real and the beginningless cause-effect identity is imaginary. This has to be accepted.
 
Saankhya and Yoga say that the creation gives sorrow due to ignorance, but Vedanta says that creation itself is born of ignorance. We are imagining creation, which is different than our self, due to lack of knowledge about the substratum (adhishtaana, brahman). Once the self is known as the identity of brahman, there is no more creation remaining. That there is a creation different than our self, this thought is due to not knowing the brahman identity of the self.
 
With regards to time, the conclusion follows that the past is without beginning, and the future is without end. In the middle of this beginningless-endless time, your lifespan of a few 50-100 years remains. Which part of time is that? It has to be said that this lifespan of 50-100 years is only an appearance, in the beginningless-endless time. In this manner, the space that your body has occupied, which part of the endless space is that? From the highest standpoint, even the millions of galaxies in the infinite space are an appearance (prateeti maatra).
 
If you examine from the standpoint of causal existence (kaarana sattaa), then whatever is the complete existence (poorna sattaa), in that, there cannot be a disconnected existence (parichhinaa sattaa) contained within it. This is because wherever there is one disconnected existence, it will even make a complete existence disconnected. So then, due to the ignorance of that endless existence, we accept millions of galaxies!
 
Now look at another thing! Eyes are the means to access form. Mind is the means to access the eyes. Intellect is the means for the mind, and the self is the means for the intellect. I am the witness of the presence and absence of the intellect. Space, time, object, the experience of all of these happens through the mind. Therefore, the intellect and all experiences of the intellect are what is seen. And what is seen is like a dream, it appears but is illusory. In this manner, space-time-object does not have a real existence (sattaa). In samaadhi, in the quietened mind, the creation does not appear. If someone experiences something in a state of madness, would that be considered real?
 
That is why, just by creation being absent in samaadhi and deep sleep, only appearing in an agitated mind, by being something that is seen, by being something that always transforms, by being disconnected, by being invalidated by knowledge, creation cannot be proven. It is not real from the standpoint of existence, neither through the vision of knowledge, and neither from the beginningless-endless perspective. It is not even made of the invisible (adrishta), since the invisible does not appear. All this is only through the vision of ignorance. And the imagination of ignorance (avidyaa) exists only by sitting in ignorance. From the perspective of brahman, ignorance is not in three stages of time. Even by being ignorant, a person has to imagine his ignorance on the basis of the experience of being ignorant.
 
Brahman is of the identity of knowledge. Knowledge-identity (jnyaana svaroopa) means that which can know itself as well as knowing others. But if there is no other, then who will brahman know? It will know itself. But brahman is endless. If it knows itself completely, then it will find its end. The identity of brahman is knowing and the identity of endlessness is of not being known. It is like this : the identity of the eyes is to see and the identity of the sky is to not be completely visible. The result of this is that we see the sky as blue or we see a horizon. In the same manner, the identity of brahman is knowledge, as well as not being visible. By being knowledge-identity it cannot be known as an object, and it remains without being seen. Since its real identity cannot be grasped, something else is perceived, like the blueness in the sky. In this manner, by not being able to see itself, that one, non-disconnected, awareness begins to appear as many, disconnected and inert. It sees itself as something else.
 
This is the identity of the supreme self. That is why seeing such a sight is not a crime. Knowledge is the opposite of ignorance, of delusion. Only from this does the appearance of this prakriti and the prapancha born of prakriti appear even after their knowledge (which Saankhya and Yoga accept as permanent). Only the delusion of reality that this is different than the self, that is erased.
 
There is a reason for defining the world (prapancha) as illusory. Wherever there is coming and going in the knowledge-oriented brahman, that becomes an delusion. When "knowledge sits on the thought flow of the mind and goes into the land of the object" is accepted, then it is an delusion. Roaming (bhramana) is delusion (bhraanti) since knowledge is not disconnected from space (desha parichhinaa). Knowledge is also not disconnected from time such that one moment is here and another moment is somewhere else. Knowlesge is also not disconnected from object form (vastu), that is why it cannot stay in the object and become "this", and reside in the body and become "I". That is why whenever you accept knowledge to go here and there, that is an delusion.
 
When the thought flow of the eye (netra vritti) goes and hits an object, it gains knowledge of the object. But when knowledge sits on a thought flow, goes somewhere, hits an object, but does not return, the presence of the known is not registered in the intellect. Only after hitting the known and returning to the intellect does the presence of the known get registered. Now, this knowledge that comes out of hitting and returning is opposite knowledge. Opposite knowledge means that whatever we see, it is opposite to knowledge. This is illusory knowledge.
 
This world of duality is created out of ignorance, but appears as real. Now, with the knowledge of non-duality, there is no more an appearance of reality in this. The knowledge of brahman means - the knowledge of the endless (ananta). Having knowledge of the endless means this : We will know that the disconnectedness that we see between us and others is an delusion. There is no creation-destruction of any object, because neither a real object nor an unreal object undergo any creation-destruction. Bhaavaan Shri Krishna says :
 
The unreal has no existence, and there is no non-existence of the real. (Gita 2.16)
 
That object which exists is never destroyed, that object which does not exists was never created. In this manner, both birth and death have been respectively negated. Neither can the real come out of the unreal, nor can the unreal come out of the real. Without actually existing, this game of creation and destruction is seen. We take it to be real due to ignorance and get into bondage. So then, we should use knowledge to remove ignorance that in reality is ever removed, and gain liberation which was ever gained. This is the goal of Vedantic teaching. It establishes the identity between the individual soul and Ishvara.
 
3. Doubt : We should not contemplate upon brahman now. This is because contemplation is only performed where there is a doubt. The identity of brahman is clearly explained in the scriptures. Now if it is said that the contemplation is not of brahman, but of the identity of brahman and the self, even then, contemplation on brahman is not needed. The identity is clear, then what is the need for further contemplation? If it is said that the identity is there, but due to superimposition (adhyaasa) that the identity is not experienced, that is why contemplation is needed, then prove that superimposition exists. Then only can contemplation on brahman happen.
 
Answer : Alright, then listen! The appearance of one thing in another is called superimposition. Or : That which makes an object appear as it is not - this is superimposition. Knowing an object as something totally different because of not knowing it properly, superimposition happens. This is how superimposition or delusion happens. Not knowing the self as brahman is ignorance, and so then, knowing it as its opposite, an individual soul with actions and qualities, is termed as superimposition.
 
Superimposition occurs to everyone in the "I"-notion. This here is a book and I am its witness. I am different than the book, this is clear. But if the witness starts experiencing the notion that "I am the book", then wouldn't it qualify as an delusion? This very state has happened to us with the body made of bones, skin and muscle. This body is different than us, it is seen, and we are its witness, different than it. Everyone knows this, but everyone experiences that we are the body. The experience that happens opposed to knowledge is called superimposition, and it is proved by the "I"-notion. Then what is the harm in pursuing contemplation of brahman?
 
4. Doubt : No, we should not contemplate upon brahman now. Brahman is eternal, it was always there, it is there now, and will always be there. We (the self) are eternal, we were always there, we are there now, and will always be there. Brahman, the self, and their identity is clearly mentioned in the scriptures. Therefore, contemplation of brahman does not have any meaning.
 
Answer : We had said before that even though the scriptures describe all of these topics, there is a doubt in the reality of those descriptions due to superimposition (adhyaasa). The shruti says : Tat-tvam-asi which means you are the self which is non-disconnected from space-time-object, the non-dual brahman. But our immediate (pratyaksha) experience is different - we are the body, we are created, we grow, we are being rubbed, and we will die one day. We clearly know that we are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, someone is our enemy, our friend. We don't even realize that we are the self. Then how can we ever become brahman? Even if the shruti describes the identity of the self and brahman, but that identity goes counter to our immediate knowledge, because of which it is the topic of doubt. Therefore, contemplation of brahman is essential.
 
The sun is several times the size of the earth. Even when we know this, we see a small sun. On contemplation, we provide that the afore-mentioned counter experience is caused by the distance between the sun and the earth. In other words, this counter appearance is caused by the adjunct (upaadhi) of space. In the same manner, contemplation of brahman leads us to the knowledge that the negation to the appearance of the self and brahman is the mind (antahakarana) and the adjunct of its cause. This obstruction is not real. And if the entire cause-effected world is proven to be illusory, then this negation will be fully removed. Therefore, contemplation of brahman should definitely be undertaken.
 
The shruti says : you are the aware brahman. Religion oriented people say : You are Hindu, Muslim, Christian. Action-oriented people say : You are an individual soul, you are merit-sin-obtaining, you go and come to heaven and hell. Wordly people say : You are the body, the doer, the enjoyer. Finally, what are you? Is the description of the shrutis accurate or that of others? Removal of this doubt requires us to contemplate.
 
Leave the talk of shruti. Imagine a child comes to you and tells you that you are not the body, you are brahman. Now if his statement is counter to your experience, will you think about it or not? If some child comes and tells you that your food is poisoned, then will you eat the food without any thought? Therefore contemplation is required.
 
The shruti cannot provide a means of knowledge counter to what is perceptible. Shree Shankaraachaarya Bhagavaan himself says that even if hundreds of shrutis together proclaim that the pot which is in front of the eyes is not a pot but is a cloth, then the shruti cannot become a means of knowledge. But this reversal of logic clearly happens in the case of the brahman-ness of the self. Furthermore, there is no room for the proposition of an illusory philosophy in the shruti. Therefore we have to contemplate upon this - if the statement of the shruti is true then what are the implications, and if our immediate experience is true, then what are the implications.
 
It has already been said that the major goal of brahman knowledge is liberation. In other words, the removal of all sorts of misfortune and the attainment of supreme bliss. The root of all sorts of misfortune is the superimposition of the body (deha adhyaasa). After the birth of in a body, there is an absence of the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman. Also, the mind is considered as me and mine. The garbage filled in us caused by both of these, that very superimposition of the body is the root of all sorts of misfortune, the seed of all sorrow. This sorrow is destroyed with its root by the knowledge of brahman. Death, birth, association-disassociation, heaven-hell, all kinds of sorrow end with the knowledge of brahman. Challenges in life cause sorrow, and they are resolved through the knowledge of brahman. It is not the case that brahman knowledge removes the causes of sorrow. Rather, the capacity of the mind to assume inferiority-reaction-causing emotions of joy and sorrow due to those causes, ends. Therefore contemplation of brahman is required.
 
You have sorrow in your life because you are unable to leave any object. Like wealth, children, husband, body or place. Either the objects want to leave you, or you want to leave the objects, but are unable to leave. Somewhere, there is knot between you and them. This is the cause of sorrow. This is the "chijjada granthi", the knot between the aware and the inert, the know between the seer and the seen. All objects in the world are running into the past every minute, and you want to keep them in the present, this is the knot of our life. Even though you are aware, you refuse to give up inert objects, even though you are the seer, you are stuck in the greed for the seen, this is the main channel for sorrow in your life.
 
The knowledge of brahman is that barrier by which sorrow is not born, even when the causes of sorrow all come together. The knowledge of brahman is that sword that cuts all knots of ignorance, desire and action if man, and makes them knot-less and independent. "Having known hat highest supreme self, the heart-knots are cut, all doubts are resolved, and all actions are expended".
 
How does a knot come into existence? Through superimposition (adhyaasa), which is delusion, and delusion happens due to ignorance. Due to the ignorance of the bliss-identity of the self, the human being proceeds to seek bliss in other objects. That is why he first enters the heart (intellect) where he obtains samskaara-created (impression-created) inspiration, information and command about object-bliss. After that, he enters the mind and senses which are the instruments of illusory bliss. There obtains the capability to enjoy the impression-oriented object-bliss. This is the second step of the journey of bliss. After attaining the knowledge of consumption (bhoga) and the capability to enjoy consumption, he engages in action. He tries to attract and repel the objects of pleasure, after that he attains pleasure created out of right (adhikaara) and ego (abhimaana). This is the third step in the journey. The fourth step is of the identity of result. After the consumption of pleasure, the following impressions surround the consumer (bhogtaa) :
 
1. Happiness is found in objects of sense (vishaya), objects of sense are of the identity of happiness
2. Obtaining happiness from objects of sense is the true goal of human life. We have to have happiness from objects of sense
3. Whoever comes as on obstacle to the afore-mentioned happiness and objects of sense is an enemy, and whoever is a helper, a friend. In this manner, attraction and aversion (raaga-dvesha) are created
4. "I am the doer, the enjoyer, disconnected, dependent, samsaaree (one who is born and dies), the individual soul" - this delusion is created and strengthened. Not knowing the bliss-identity of the self is ignorance. But the journey from the self to the objects of sense, and from the objects of sense back to the self, is the wandering or "bhrama", and this bhrama is "bhram" or delusion. This is what causes the knot whose four fold identity was mentioned earlier.
 
The knots and their roots, both are destroyed by the knowledge of brahman. Due to the ignorance of the self, intellect, mind, senses, objects of sense, their association-disassociation, joy-sorrow, all of these appear in the self. But all these appearances are only seen where they are not. Perishable in the imperishable, inert in the aware, unreal in the real, other in the other-less and duality in the non-dual are all seen. Any space-time-object is only seen in the absence of its substratum, therefore all these appearances are illusory (mithyaa). The substratum of this appearance is the brahman, non-disconnected from space-time-object.
 
For the very knowledge of this substratum brahman, we conduct contemplation on brahman. Sitting quietly in one place is not contemplation on brahman. Silence is the ground for the awakening of contemplation, but is not contemplation. Ignorance is not destroyed by silence but by contemplation. And contemplation should be performed on the identity of the self and brahman.
 
The self does not become brahman, it is brahman. Its brahman-ness is covered only due to ignorance. This ignorance is destroyed by knowledge and the brahman-ness is revealed. That which is obtained by knowledge is ever attained, and that which cannot be obtained due to ignorance is also ever attained. Therefore the brahman-ness of the self is always established, only the delusion of its lack of attainment is removed through knowledge. This is the reason why brahman cannot be attained by action, worship or yoga samaadhi, but only through knowledge. Ignorance is not in the self in all three states of time, therefore ignorance of the self is ever removed. Knowledge can only remove that which is ever removed.
 
Many scholars do not accept ignorance. They refute ignorance with great flourish. They put forward many inconsistencies such as those of aashraya, vishaya, nimitta, nivartaka and nivrutya. But by doing do they are further support non-duality, since even in the opinion of non-duality, ignorance is ever removed. It is only the immediate experience of everyone as "I am ignorant, I do not know brahman", which it confirms and proves the notion of ignorance, and in the absolute sense, by the non-experience of brahman, proclaims it as ever removed. That is why, the knowledge of brahman only removed the ignorance which was ever removed, and not of any true or real ignorance.
 
5. Doubt : Is there any place for action in knowledge or not?
 
Answer : The areas of knowledge and action are distinct. Action is not the means for the identity of the self and brahman. The one and only one means for that is the knowledge that arises from contemplation on brahman. But you cannot ban action from your life. By binding us to the laws of the scriptures, it gives holistic abundance to life. With this clarification, we will know explain their discrimination.
 
(1) Action is the section on creation, whereas knowledge is the section on means. If you want any change in yourself or in your situation, or if you want to experience the truth as per your mindset, then you have to take the refuge of action. As opposed to this, if you want to experience the truth as it is, then you should take the refuge of knowledge only.
(2) One who is influenced by desire is qualified for action, and one who is not influenced by desire is qualified for knowledge. They who want to change their enjoyment are qualified for work (dharma). They who want to change their mental thought flow are qualified for worship. They who want to stop all mental thought flow are qualified for yoga (samaadhi). In this manner, those who are qualified for work, worship and yoga are in reality qualified for action. As opposed to this, the mumukshu who has endowed with the four fold qualification is qualified for knowledge.
 
The key point is as follows. One who does not want to see the naked truth, but wants to see it clothed in the garb of his desires, he is qualified for action. And he who is himself intent to be naked to see the naked truth, he is qualified for knowledge. The knowledge of brahman only comes to he who becomes naked. Vaasanaa or desire is vasan or cloth, and nirvaasanataa or non-desire is nagnataa or nakedness.
 
(3) Action is caused by the following : A desire-influenced qualified person, the notion of doership, hope towards the result and faith and belief in action. Knowledge is caused by the following : A non-desire-influenced qualified person, the doubt arisen from the negation of immediate experience and shruti, and hope for the result which is of the identity of liberation. Since there is no action in knowledge, there is no doership, there is no faith or belief in action or its results. In this manner, there is clear opposition between the causes of knowledge and action.
 
(4) There is opposition in the identity (svarupa) of action and knowledge. (a) Action is dependent upon the doer, whereas knowledge is dependent upon the object. In other words, the doer is independent. He can perform action, not perform action, perform totally contrary action. This is called "kartum-akartun-anyathaakartum". But, in knowledge, the knower is not independent. Knowledge is not under the control of the knower, it is under the control of the object (the known). You can lift a watch, not lift a watch, or break the watch. You have freedom to do any of this. But if you do not know the watch as a watch and know it as a book instead, you are not independent in this. The knowledge of the watch is under the control of the watch, not under yours. In the same manner, you can perform work, worship or yoga, or not perform them, or do not perform them properly, in this you are independent. But the knowledge of the self resides in the self alone, not in any other knower distinct from it. Since there cannot be another knower of the self distinct from the self, therefore its ignorance is also ended through ignorance. The removal of this ignorance is called knowledge of the self.
 
(b) Action has its basis in faith, and knowledge in the means. If you want to go to heaven then you have to have faith in your ability, doership, rituals, mantras, priests and in heaven itself. But, to see a watch which is right in front of you, you do not need faith or belief. All you need is a clean pair of eyes. These eyes are the means.
 
(c) Repetition is needed in action because the result of action is impermanent. A mantra has to be repeated and in fact, it is said in the scriptures that you should repeat a mantra four times if it does not yield its effect. Worship has to be repeated for the feeling of devotion to arise. Practice or "abhyaasa" is important in yoga. Work (action) happens through the external body. Worship happens through the mind. The force of action in yoga is in the opposite direction to that of work or worship.
 
Work and worship entail a forward direction of action, whereas yoga entails a reverse direction. Both are action. But in knowledge, there is neither a forward nor reverse direction. There is no need of repetition in action since in one time, and in one time only, when the means are cleansed and the means and the end have united without any obstacle, knowledge of the object arises. Yes, if the knowledge is not established due to obstacles, then the repetition of the process of knowledge acquisition may be needed. Shree Shankaraachaarya Bhagavaan has said this point in the Brahma Sootra (4.1.1). But clear knowledge happens only once, it does not need to be repeated.
 
(5) The results of action and knowledge are also opposite to each other. Action created what is to be attained, but knowledge reveals what was already attained. The object attained through action is in accordance with the method used to create it, and is only one of these five : created, borrowed, modified, cleaned or destroyed.
 
"Utpaadya" or created means first there was nothing called a pot, but through one's actions, it came into existence. "Aapya" or borrowed means someone else created a pot with his actions, but we ended up using it. This is a transaction of borrowing and lending. "Vikaarya" or modified means that which changes. There was a pot which was created, and someone put some salt in it. As a consequence, the pot melted away. "Sanskaarya" or cleaned means that which can be corrected. If a pot is dirty then it can be cleaned with soap, or it can be painted upon. A painted pot has been made "sanskaarya". "Vinaashya" or destroyed means that which perishes. The pot was hit by a stick and it broke. The action is "hitting the pot" and the result is "destruction of the pot". The pot is perishable. In reality, the result of any action will fall in one of the afore-mentioned categories.
 
Now see this. What is the result of work, worship and yoga? Vedic actions such as rituals give heaven as result. Wordly actions give results that are either created, modified, cleaned or destroyed. The result of worship is samaadhi, which is of the identity of stable thought flow, which is created and destroyed.
 
On the other hand, that which is obtained through knowledge is already present. Knowledge does not create a new object, only the ignorance related to it is removed. So then, the result of knowledge is not created. Knowledge is always found in the present. Therefore knowledge is not borrowed. The object called knowledge does not undergo modification, not does it need cleansing. Knowledge does perish. Therefore the result of knowledge is not perishable. In other words, knowledge reveals that which is already ever attained.
 
If liberation was the result of an action, even it would be created and destroyed. It will be inert since it is "another" or "anya". Therefore, liberation is attained through knowledge only, and it is only available through the removal of the ignorance of the brahman-ness of the self.
 
(6) Doubt : Knowledge happens by action, and liberation happens through knowledge. Then should we not consider action as a cause of liberation?
 
Answer : That knowledge created though action and that knowledge which leads to liberation are different. Imagine that you have need to obtain knowledge about the beauty of Kashmir. For that, you need to visit Kashmir, perform this action. If that beauty stays with the mind then you will have to go to Kashmir again and again to experience it, and if the beauty does not stay with the mind, then it will get destroyed. In reality, any object-based knowledge goes through the same fate. That object which is different than you the knower is object-based, its attainment is through action, and even after the knowledge happens, it needs to be refreshed through more action.
 
But that brahman which is non-disconnected from space-time-object is the self of all. The identity of its knowledge is attained through the obstruction of all object-knowledge. It is non-object (nirvishesha) knowledge. You do not need to go anywhere (in anything other than the self) to get it. Once you know it, you do not need to know it again and again since object-less-knowledge does not create attraction or aversion.
 
Action is neither the means of self knowledge nor the result. The self also is not the doer neither the result of action.
 
If we say that the obstruction of object-knowledge is also an action, then that is not the case, since the self which is the substratum and witness of all is the refuge of both object-knowledge and object-less-knowledge. So then, the obstruction of object-knowledge is also of the identity of the self. Appearance (prateeti) and its removal happen on the same plane (adhikarana). Therefore knowledge that obstructs or negates, does not come in the category of action.
 
Action is before and also after object-knowledge. But there is no need for action before or after object-less-knowledge. The accomplishment of liberation happens only through knowledge, there is no need for action. This is clearly explained in the Brahma Sootras (3.4.25 and 3.4.26). The utility of action is only for purification of the mind, not for attainment of liberation.
 
Wherever action is found after knowledge in the scriptures, it is said so in the context of worldly dealings. If action resulted in knowledge then the Bhaamati school would ask "what kind of means is action?". This question is appropriate because knowledge only happens through means. What kind of means is action? Is it immediate, inferred, comparative, syllogistic, non-perception, historic, possibility (all logic terminology)? It is clear that no action is a means, it is a creator. Action does not illuminate, it created. Action is useful in the purification of the mind, it is a means to an end, but the only means that reveals the non-disconnected brahman is knowledge. The Bhaamati school says : "The attainment of object is through contemplation, never through millions of actions".

4.4 Relationship (Sambandha)

The attainment of liberation or the supreme self happens through the instruction pertaining to the knowledge of identity of the self and brahman. This instruction is the supject matter of the Upanishads. Therefore, Upanishads and liberation have a means-end relationship
 
The attainment of the supreme self happens through the knowledge of brahman, and the knowledge of brahman happens through the Upanishads. Therefore, the Upanishad is the tradition-method in the attainment of the supreme self. The instruction of brahman does not reside in any book, verse or statement, it resides only in the intellect. But, since it arises through books and so n, books are considered tradition-methods in the instruction of brahman.
 
Without the knowledge of brahman, misfortunes cannot be removed. Only through knowing that one supreme self can an individual soul cross over death. Only through the knowledge of brahman, not any other knowledge. Also, only through knowledge, not through action or worship or any other method. (Shvetaasharata Upanishad 3.8)
 
One can roll up the sky like leather, this could be possible. But, all sorrows end without the knowledge of that supreme lord, this is never possible (Shvetaashatara Upanishad 5.20)
 
Knowing that supreme lord, freedom from all bonds is achieved (Shvetaashatara Upanishad 1.8)
 
It is the loud cry of Vedanta that only knowledge leads to liberation. Knowledge of brahman happens only through the science of the Upanishads, and not anything else.

4.3 Purpose (Prayojana)

The attainment of moksha is the purpose or goal of the Upanishads. The self is not brahman - this knowledge is ignorance. This leads to the illusion - "I am individual soul who is the doer, enjoyer, subject to birth, death and disconnectedness". This illusion disappears due to removal of ignorance, and the removal of ignorance happens through the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman. The self, which is of the form of brahman, immediately follows the removal of ignorance, and is called liberation. Having attained liberation, the entire stock of misfortune is depleted and supreme bliss is gained. This is also known by various names such as the attainment of the supreme self, attainment of Ishvara, attainment of the lord, realization of the self and so on. This is the goal of Vedantic instruction.

4.1 Qualified Student (Adhikaaree)

As it stands, every human being is qualified for the instruction of Vedanta. Even so, one whose mind has been purified by tradition-methods (sanctioned action, worship, yoga) and external-methods
(four fold qualification) is considered the primary qualified student. In this there is no difference between men and women, nor between castes, nor between life stages (aashramas). There is also no difference between wealthy and poor, between educated and uneducated.
 
Any one who wants the result of Vedanta instruction which is liberation, who has removed or wants to remove the dirt of action through performance of sanctioned action and selfless karma yoga, who has purified his desires through worship or has removed the agitation of thought flow through yoga, one who has discriminated between the permanent and the temporary and has attained dispassion towards the temporary, one who has gained the six fold wealth which is the maturation of dispassion, and is eager to hear the words of the teacher in order to attain liberation, who has all or some of these qualifications, all these are qualified students of Vedantic instruction.
 
Interest and capability together create qualification. There are several people who have a sharp intellect such as lawyers, judges, scientists, but they do not have any interest in liberation. And there are several devout people who want liberation after hearing and talking about it, but who neither have the capability of discrimination, nor of dispassion. Our Mimaamsakaas have listed the qualifications of action. If you need to decide whether someone is fit to perform a certain action, examine whether (1) does he want that action and its result (2) is he capable to perform that action (3) does he understand the science of that action (4) do the scriptures prohibit him from performing that action? If he is an "arthi" (wants it), "samarthi" (capable of it), "vidwaan" (knowledgeable), and is not under any restrictions, then that person is qualified to perform the action. But, in the context of knowledge, being an arthi and samarthi is sufficient. He needs to desire liberation and possess the capability of discrimination and dispassion.

4.2 Subject Matter (Vishaya)

The subject propounded by all Vedantas is the self-evident knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman. In this regard, two kinds of statements are found in the Upanishads : (1) Those statements that separately discuss the identity of the self and brahman. Such statements are called intermediate statements (avaantara vaakya). (2) Those statements that discuss the identity of the self and brahman. These are called great statements (mahaa vaakya). Upanishadic statements that discuss topics related to the body, or methods and results, or the creation-sustenance-destruction of the world are placed in the category of intermediate statements. This is because they aim to investigate the self (meaning of the term tvam, tvam padaartha) or Ishvara-brahman (meaning of the term tat, tat padaartha). Intermediate statements are useful in the attainment of the great statements.
 
The action section in the Vedas is called "karma vibhaaga". The statements pertaining to that section have been analyzed by Jaimini in his Poorva Mimaamsaa treatise. It contains instruction (shaasana) and discipline (anushaasana) as well as the reward for its observance and punishment for its disregard. Establishment of law (dharma) and worship (upaasana) in life is its goal. Thus, statements concerning action and worship are placed in the category of intermediate statements.
 
The section concerning knowledge in the Vedas is called Upanishad. The analysis of statements pertaining to knowledge is found in the Uttara Mimaamsaa treatise authored by Vyaasa. It is also called Vedanta philosophy (darshana). It contains a report (shamsana) of the real object (vastu). Knowledge also is of two types : thought flow knowledge (vritti jnyaana) and self evident knowledge (siddha jnyaana). Thought flow knowledge removes ignorance. Self evident knowledge cannot create or remove anything. So then, the knowledge arised out of the great statements removes ignorance in the form of the knowledge of difference of the self and brahman. And the self evident knowledge of the self, which follows the removal of ignorance, is liberation. Liberation is the ultimate result. There is no other result of liberation.

4.0 Four-fold Introduction To Vedanta (Anubandha Chatushtaya)

It essential to know the four fold introduction to any text if we want to understand it comprehensively. Who the fit student is (adhikaaree), what the subject matter is (vishaya), what the goal is (prayojana) and what the relation is (sambandha), this is the four fold introduction. So who is fit to study the Upanishads (Vedanta), what is their subject matter, what is the goal of Upanishadic instruction, and what is the relation of the text to that goal, it is important to critically examine all of these.

3.6 Purification Of The Mind (Chitta Shuddhi)

The seeker who has a purified mind is qualified for Vedanta. Let us now particularly discuss the methods of purifying the mind. The shruti says : purification of food (aahaar) results in purification of the mind (Chhandogya 7.26.2). Shree Shankaraachaarya Mahaaraaj says : That which is the object of enjoyment - sound, touch, form, taste and smell, the knowledge of all of these is food. The purification of the object knowledge is the purification of the mind. Thus, regulated intake of pure objects by the sense organs cleans the mind, this is the intent of Shree Shankaraachaarya Bhagavaan.
 
Shree Raamaanujaachaarya Mahaaraaj defines "aahaar" as edible food. Food requires three types of purity. First, the quality of the food, the identity of the food, should be pure. Meat, onions, garlic are impure by identity. Second, the process of making the food should be pure. The vessels should be pure, no impure thing should touch the food, it should have been already consumed by someone else. Third, the mental state of the person making the food should be pure. A highly raajasic or sad person, or one who has earned the food through deceit, should not make the food. Those who believe that the mind is created out of food insist that food should be pure in all ways. But, purity of the goal is the most important purity. One whose goal is pure makes everything pure. The purity created by washing with water is not purity.
 
Another opinion is that the mind is purified through purity of action. Action creates impressions (sanskaaras) and impressions create desires (vaasanaas). That is why, if our actions become pure, if we stop performing prohibited actions and only perform sanctioned actions, then our mind will be purified. These two opinions differ as follows. Those who abide in the food sheath (annamaya kosha) will give more importance to food-based purification, whereas those who abide in the vital force sheath (praanamaya kosha) will give more importance to action-based purification. Even in the realm of action, only those actions that do not cause regret, cause satisfaction and enable us to experience purity, should be performed.
 
The third opinion is that purifying the thought flow (vritti) of the mind purifies the mind. The mind is of the identity of knowledge, full of desires. It is purified with the rising of pure desires. Thus, in their opinion, worship results in purification of mind. Sanctioned action (dharma) removes fifty percent of the (prohibited) desires, and worship removes the rest, except the desire for Ishvara.
 
The fourth opinion is that samaadhi removes all selfish desires. This is the path of yoga. The mind should always remain without any objects. No object will enter mind, so no impurity will enter either. Faults happen only when the mind takes the form of objects. When there is the thought of a man or woman in the mind, desire arises. When there is money, there is greed. When there is an enemy, then there is hatred. If the mind is made object-less, then there is no desire, anger, greed or hatred. Virtue is objectless. Brahmacharya does not expect a man or woman, so it is objectless. In this manner, contentment, peace, lack of infatuation, all these are objectless. In reality, the purification of the mind happens with just one virtue - peace. It is this very peace that is called brahmacharya, contentment and other virtues. The various names of virtues have to do with their antidoes. Desire is removed by brahmacharya, and greed is removed through contentment.
 
The fifth opinion is quite different. The mind is neither food-born, nor action-born, nor vital force-born, nor desire-born. The mind does not exist at all. It is neither inside not within the heart inside. That is why there is no need to take any effort. The ascertainment (prateeti) of object is called mind only. When an object is ascertained as something different than it is, there awareness is called the mind. And when an object is ascertained as it is, then the mind is called awareness. Therefore, the pure object ascertainment of the mind is called purification of the mind. The impure object ascertainment of the mind is called impurity of the mind. We should only think about the pure. Pure means that which is not mixed with something else. In this manner, thinking about the non-dual brahman is the purification of the mind only.
 
Your mind is pure since the beginning. So long as you think about the supreme self, your mind remains pure, and when you think about the world, your mind becomes impure at that time. If you practice for a long time, your mind becomes pure - this is not the case. Engage in contemplation of the supreme self, that is all. The mind will be purified. The mind is nothing else but contemplation. In this manner, by the mere beginning of contemplation of the supremme self, you will gain a pure mind, and become fit for Vedanta hearing (shravana).

3.5 Discussion On Methods

The question is : What is the method by which the self can be known as brahman? What should we do to make that happen? What should we leave and what should we imbibe? What kind of meditation should we do? How should we enter into samaadhi? Do we even need all these methods or we do not?
 
One camp says : “Without performing any action, you cannot gain any state, situation or knowledge. You cannot gain the knowledge of brahman by mere discussion or contemplation”. Another camp says : “Any state, situation or knowledge gained by performing actions will be perishable. If the knowledge of brahman comes as a result of any action, then the liberation achieved out of that will also be temporary. Vedanta does not concern itself with temporary liberation. Therefore there is no other method for the knowledge of brahman. Knowledge is the only method”.
 
So what is the right conclusion here?
 
It is ok that liberation is the identity of the self, and the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman is not a result of any effort. But we ask this : “The self is not achieved through any method” - how did this knowledge arise in you? A proper readiness of the mind is required for this knowledge to arise. First, why don’t you understand the difference between what can a method get you, and what can knowledge get you?
 
A method gets you a result. The result has prior absence (praagaabhaava) and later absence (pradhvansaabhaava) also, since it is the identity of the result. But, that which is always present can only be acquired through knowledge. A method gets you a perishable result, while knowledge gets you that which exists already, this is the difference between method and knowledge. That which already exists is unavailable due to ignorance, ignorance is what makes it unavailable. The knowledge of that object just makes it available to the knower. Knowledge can only destroy ignorance, it cannot create anything from scratch.
 
Besides the means of knowledge (pramaana), there is no need for any other method to know an object. For example, in order to gain knowledge of a form, we only need clear eyesight. Similarly, in order to know brahman, you only need a clear means of knowledge, which is the thought flow (vritti) born out of the great statements (mahaavaakyaas such as tat-tvam-asi). You do not need action, worship, yoga or samadhi.
 
However, if there is a disease in the eye, it needs to be cured with medicine. Medicine can only cure the eye, it cannot create the power of sight from scratch. Similarly, the means of knowledge (the thought flow) which arises in the mind, is rid of the faults of dirt and agitation through method (saadhana), which are caused by external actions and internal desires (vaasanaas).
 
The seeker of brahman should clearly understand this. The foundation of the thought-flow, which is the means of knowledge for liberation, is the mind. The purpose of all the scriptural methods is the removal of defects of the mind, not the creation of knowledge of brahman. Therefore, all methods have to be accepted like medicines, not as creators of health. Any method is discarded after the defect has been cured. Whatever you were before the method and after the method is the same. Only the ignorance of your true identity is destroyed, leading to the rise of knowledge.
 
The non-dual essence is never obtained through any method, it is always present, ever attainable. Removal of the illusion that something is unattainable, when in reality it is ever attainable, requires knowledge. If you are worried that you will get lost in the dense forest of knowledge, then find a way to remove this obstacle. The method does not reveal brahman, it improves the quality of the means.
 
Vedanta is not the acquirer of that which is non-acquirable. It says : "You are the complete brahman". This knowledge removes all the weaknesses. Health is your real identity. There are some reasons which have created insanity in you that "you are the body, you are the dweller of the body, you get cut and divided, you are sick". Remove all thoses causes. That is all! Nothing else is expected. Recognize the diamond that is with you. Using the methods under discussion, remove all obstacles that prevent you from recognizing it.
 
Many books and scholars know the methods under discussion. But only those experienced saints who have dedicated their lives to these methods can go into their depths. Therefore, the decision about the right method should only be done by such people.
 
There are four categories of methods in Vedanta. Our actions have an effect on our mind. Therefore, some methods deal with purifying our actions. These are called action-cleansers (karma shodhak). Some methods deal with purifying attraction and aversion of the mind, which are a result of the afore-mentioned actions. These are called instrument-cleansers (karana shodhak). Even after the decrease or removal of these desires (vaasanaas), the intellect contains ignorance, doubt and incorrect thinking about our self, the world and brahman. The methods used to correct the intellectual defects are called substance-cleansers (padaartha shodhak). Finally, even after knowing the substance accurately, until the thought of the identify of brahman and the self does not happen, we will not realize our fullness. So, the thought-flow that gives rise to this knowledge is called realization-method (saakshaat saadhana).
 
You can understand this through the illustration of the gun. The rule is that four points are necessary for proper use of the gun: 1. Cleaning the nozzle 2. Loading a bullet 3. Lining up the eye, nozzle and target and holding the trigger and 4. Firing the gun. Cleaning the nozzle = action-cleansers, Loading the bullet = instrument-cleansers, Aiming = substance-cleansers and Firing = realization-method.
 
These four methods are have other popular names. Action-cleanser methods are called tradition-methods (paramparaa saadhan), instrument-cleanser methods are called external-methods (bahiranga saadhan), substance-cleanser methods are called internal-methods (antaranga saadhan) and realization-methods are called supreme-internal-methods (parama antaranga saadhan). Let us examine each of these.
 
1. Tradition-methods (paramparaa / karma shodak saadhan)
The improper combination of objects and actions results in impediments in our lives such as : stealing, lying and so on. The traditional methods that are used to correct these impediments such as truth-speaking, non-hoarding and so on are called tradition methods. Proper action (dharma), worship (upaasanaa) and yoga are called tradition-methods.
 
Physical and mental control, as well as actions performed in a spirit of sacrifice, are called proper action (dharma). Performing one’s duty is called proper action. But the only foundation of proper action is scripture. Action performed in accordance with scripture is proper action, otherwise it is improper action. Observance of proper action destroys improper action. Proper action is the controller of our actions. It diverts our life from the path of selfish desires (vaasanaas). It puts us on the path of limited enjoyments and sanctioned cultured conduct. In every culture, there is a specific set of proper actions for everyone. In this manner, by being the cause of removal of improper actions, and by being the cause of purifying action, proper action (dharma) is the tradition-method of Vedanta.
 
Worship as a helper method is incorporated into proper action, and is also a standalone method in itself. Worship increases proper action and one who follows proper action spontaneously develops a liking for worship. Worship gives rise to saattvic desires in the mind, and reduces taamasic desires. Purification of desires automatically cleans actions. That is why worship, in addition to proper action, is also considered a tradition-method in Vedanta. But worship is more internal than action, since the basis of action is the body, but the basis of worship is the mind.
 
Yoga is a special type of worship. That is why it is also considered a tradition method in Vedanta. Worship restrains the desires, and yoga reduces the restlessness of mind, that is why yoga is more internal than worship.
 
External engagement is found in proper action, internal engagement in worship and disengagement in yoga. The actor (kartaa) is clear in proper action, secondary in worship, and unknown in yoga. Therefore, proper action, worship and yoga are action-oriented methods. The state obtained by all of these is also action-born, that is why it is natural for such a state to perish. That is why, in the knowledge of brahman, proper action, worship and yoga are only considered action-cleansers. Since these are of the nation of action, they are external, but their result accrues internally, in the mind.
 
2. External methods (Bahiranga saadhan, karana shodhak saadhan)
 
Discrimination, dispassion, six fold wealth and mumukshaa - these four fold qualification described earlier are called external methods. They are more internal than tradition methods but are external to hearing-contemplation-meditation. That is why they are counted as external methods.
 
These methods destroy lack of discrimination, attachment to sense pleasure and other defects residing in the mind. That is why the four fold wealth is called an instrument cleanser. The methods have to be present in the very place the defect is found - in the mind. There are no external substances, actions or feelings. This is of the identity of disengagement. Disengagement is not different that its basis. Even so, these only purify the mind, they do not reveal the essence of objects. That is why they are called external methods (external to the self).
 
3. Internal methods (antaranga sadhana, substance-cleaner method, padaartha shodhaka saadhana)
 
Hearing Vedanta from the mouth of the teacher, then its contemplation and meditation, these are called the internal methods. These indicate the true identity of brahman. In Vedanta, the meaning of a "pada" or term is called padaartha. For instance "tat tvam asi" is a Vedantic statement that means "you are that". Here, "tat" and "tvam" are two terms (padas). The padaartha of "tat" is Isvara, the cause of the world. The padaartha of "tvam" is the doer-enjoyer-worldly-disconnected individual soul (jeeva). The term "Api" indicates the identity of the two paraarthaas.
 
In this manner, hearing (shravana) refers to the Vedantic conviction regarding the identity of the afore-mentioned padignaarthaas heard from the mouth of the guru through tradition. Then, thinking upon brahman through logic that supports this non-distinction and negates the distinction is called contemplation (manana). Then, meditation (nidhidhyaasana) is the stream of intellectual thought flow towards the non-dual meaning (advaitaartha) and negation of opposite thought flow. The mature state of meditation is the samaadhi of Vedanta. The samaadhi of yoga is either a tradition-method or a external-method in the category of samaadhaana.
 
Hearing, contemplation and meditation are not methods of direct realization of knowledge. But, they are called internal methods because they indicate the object. Is the intent of the Veda to produce the indivisible brahman or the divisible? Such a kind of doubt regarding the means of knowledge (pramaana), the Veda, is removed through hearing. "The relationship that we have with brahman is that of difference, it cannot be one of non-difference". Such an impossiblilty in the mind is removed through contemplation. The Veda is the means of knowledge of the topic of brahman. That is why the Veda is the means of knowledge, and the knowledge of the identity of the self and brahman is the object of knowledge.
 
Therefore, the doubt regarding the means of knowledge is removed through hearing and the doubt regarding the object of knowledge is removed through contemplation. But, even if these are removed, the notion of reality ascribed to the body and other products of the world, as well as the illusion of the otherness of brahman, both of which are a result of repetition since time immemorial, comes back again and again. This is called "viparyaya" or contrary thinking. The defect of contrary thinking of the intellect removed through meditation.
 
The seeker who does not have any obstacles is fulfilled just by hearing. When the object is immediately perceivable (aparoksha), the knowledge of the immediately perceivable happens through mere hearing. When the object is not immediately perceivable (paroksha), knowledge reveals the object, but some other method is needed to attain the object. Brahman is always imeediately perceivable since it is our own self. There never was, is, or will be ignorance in the self. Hearing only removes the ignorance in the mind. Those seekers who have the faults of doubt and contrary thinking will not gain knowledge just by hearing. They need contemplation to remove doubt, and meditation to remove contrary thinking.
 
3.5.4 Realization-method (saakshaata saadhana)
 
Not knowing oneself as the non-dual brahman is ignorance. That knowledge which permanently removes this ignorance is the realization-method. It is the result of all methods. That thought flow of the intellect that can, without any indecision, imbibe the great meaning of the shrutis (those which reveal the identity of brahman and self), is called the realization-method of knowledge. It is also called the brahmaakaar vritti. This thought flow can occur in a qualified student through mere hearing, or in a student though the fruition of hearing, contemplation and meditation is thought flow destroys te thought flow of ignorance and merges with its refuge, the self luminuous brahman.
 
There are people who do not know Sanskrit, but listen to a teacher who is a knower of brahman. The knowledge that arises though the translation of the great Vedantic statements into the students' languages by that teacher is also known as the realization-method. Even so, the purification of action, mind and substance should be carried out as per the scripture.
 
In this manner, there are three tradition methods - action, worship and yoga. All these three can be called by one name - selfless action (nishkaama karma). The external methods are four - the four fold qualification. The internal methods are three - hearing, contemplation and meditation. There is one realization-method - knowledge born out of the great statement (mahaavaakyajanya prajnyaa). Here, selfless action and four fold qualification are associated with purification of the mind, and the rest are methods pertaining directly to knowledge.