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Upadesa Sara

Sloka 15

State of Exalted Yogi

By patient and regular practice of contemplation on this one, non-dual Truth, man gains abidance in the Self. This is the goal of all spiritual seeking. Is there anything still left to be done thereafter?

nasta-manasotkrsta-yoginah,
krtyamasti kim svasthitim yatah

nasta-manaso – whose mind has been destroyed; utkrsta-yoginah – for the exalted Yogi (Sage); krtyamasti – anything to be done; kim – is there; svasthitim – he abides in the Self; yatah – how? or no;

What duty is there for the exalted Yogi whose mind has been annihilated? None, since he has gained abidance in the Self.

Mere practice of asanas and pranayama alone does not make a man a true Yogi. According to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, the best Yogi is the one who has destroyed the deep-rooted ignorance of the mind by contemplation on the Truth and who has gained firm abidance in the Self. For such a Yogi there is no compulsion to act, as there are no duties left to be performed.

Due to a feeling of incompleteness man desires objects. As long as these desires last, he has the feeling, ‘These are to be gained!’ This compels him to act. We act with a desire to enjoy the results of our actions and on enjoyment become happy and complete. Now, when a person realizes through direct experience that ‘I am Happiness itself’, what else is there left for him to gain? The false notion that I will become happy by gaining objects is destroyed. He has already gained the end result of all seeking-Happiness and owned it as his own nature. When there is nothing left to be gained, what is there left to be done? The Self-abiding exalted Yogi has no more duties. None can compel him to act.

That does not mean that such a Sage will not perform any actions. He may act. His actions, however, are not motivated by the desire to gain happiness as a result of action but are an expression of the joy and fulfillment he experiences within. Selfless actions pour out of him for the benefit of all beings. There is not an iota of selfishness left in his being, as his ego is destroyed. Seeing the Self in him, as the Self in all, he fills the world with his love which expresses as service to mankind.

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Upadesa Sara

Sloka 14

Means to Reach These States

The absorption of the mind by pranayama was earlier explained. The method of Yoga by which the problematic mind is destroyed (manonasa) is now elaborated upon.

prana-bandhanal-lina-manasam,
eka-cintanam-nasam-etyadah.

prana-bandhanal – by the restraint of the vital airs; lina-manasam – the mind gets absorbed; eka-cintanam – by contemplation of that One; nasam – goes to destruction; etyadah – this (absorbed mind);

This mind that gets absorbed by the restraint of the pranas gets destroyed by contemplation on that One (Reality).

Initially, by the method of pranayama or the observation of the breath, the mind is relatively quietened. When a quiet mind contemplates on the Reality, its own ignorance is destroyed. Here ‘One Truth’ does not mean contemplation on one of the innumerable objects of the world. Through our own direct experience, we know that brooding over objects results ultimately in sorrow and creates agitation in the mind. This is because our mind starts thinking about the qualities of the object and creates likes and dislikes, desires and aversions for the object. Also thinking about any object can be done only by maintaining the duality of the thinker and the object of the thought. Such thinking can result in an absorbed state of the mind but not in its destruction.

Contemplation on ‘One’ means that ‘One’, which does not become two, which is One without a second, which is the common denominator in all the apparent dualities and because of which alone, all objects gain existence. Now, objects outside our body are many, like a book, table, chair, and so on. Also, our body itself changes constantly, our mind has innumerable thoughts and the ideals that the intellect cherishes are many. But the knower of all these manifold objects, changes of the body, emotions, and thoughts is the one common illuminator, ‘I’, the Self. This Knowledge Principle or Knower remains the same. It neither changes to become another ‘I’ nor does it cease to be when the thoughts change or cease to be. Without ‘I’, the Pure Consciousness, no thoughts exist. For such contemplation a relatively quiet mind is necessary. Thereafter, the contemplation on the thought ‘I am pure Consciousness’ destroys the ignorance due to which the person considers himself as a sorrowful limited being.

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