TERMS STARTING WITH
Jnana and vidya are closely similar, with perhaps the suggestion of intuitive intellectual cognizance expressed in jnana, and a more active and individualized activity expressed by vidya. Either word can stand for knowledge or wisdom; in theosophy jnana is often translated as innate or intuitive knowledge, and vidya as reflective or stored-up cognizance of intellectual and other values, or wisdom, though these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary. See also JHANA
Jnana Bhaskara (Sanskrit) Jñāna-bhāskara The sum of knowledge; a Sanskrit medical work; also “a work on Asuramaya, the Atlantean astronomer and magician, and other prehistoric legends” (TG 165).
Jnanabhumika: Step or stage or degree in the attainment of knowledge.
Jnanabhyasa: A term generally used for the Vedanta mode of Sadhana.
Jnanachakshu: Eye of wisdom or eye of intuition.
Jnana-darsana-suddhi (Sanskrit) Jñāna-darśana-śuddhi [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + darśana vision, teaching + śuddhi purity, truth, perfection] Purity or perfection in the vision (or teaching) of knowledge or wisdom.
Jnana-devas (Sanskrit) Jñāna-deva-s [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + deva god] Gods of knowledge or wisdom; the higher classes of gods or devas including the manasaputras, agnishvattas, and kumaras. In one sense these jnana-devas are our reincarnating egos; in another, the term is applied to high sages such as the mahatmas, with the implication that they have been successful in attaining, or are in training for attaining, self-conscious union with the god within.
Jnanagni: Fire of spiritual knowledge or wisdom.
Jnanakanda: The section of the Vedas dealing main with the eternal verities or the Absolute Truth; the Upanishads dealing with the Param Brahman.
Jnanakara: Of the form of wisdom; Brahman; sage.
Jnanakasa: The ether of knowledge; Brahman.
Jnana: Knowledge; wisdom of the Reality or Brahman, Absolute.
Jnana-marga: Sanskrit for path of knowledge. The approach to spiritual perfection through spiritual knowledge and understanding.
Jnanamarga: The path of Knowledge; Jnana Yoga.
Jnanamaya: Full of knowledge.
Jnananishtha: Established in the knowledge of the Self.
Jnana ::: Not a mere thinking and considering by the intelligence, the pursuit and grasping of a mental form of truth by the intellectual mind, but a seeing of it with the soul and a total living in it with the power of the inner being, a spiritual seizing by a kind of identification with the object of knowledge is Jnana.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 20, Page: 332
Jnana-sakti has the power or intrinsic faculty of movement of intelligence in the universe, which likewise expresses itself in man, a child of that universe; consequently it acts according to its own peculiarities or characteristics. The adept, knowing this through the power of his spiritual monad, can at any time select any one of these saktis of his constitution and use it alone or in combination with others to produce both interior or exterior phenomena. He does so by an expenditure of one or the other of the saktis that he is using, which are concentrated so to speak in his constitution. Hence their use is always followed by a corresponding reaction, much after the fashion of an electrical discharge; and a certain time is always required for the constitution to reestablish its normal equilibrium. Such equilibrium is a condition of health.
Jnanasakti: Power of knowing; the omnipotent universal force of knowledge.
Jnana-sakti (Sanskrit) Jñāna-śakti [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + śakti power, energy] Wisdom-power, the power of pure intellect which is a ray from the Logos, and therefore is the consciousness of the higher manas. Each of the saktis — whether jnana-sakti, ajnana-sakti, ichchha-sakti, or kriya-sakti — manifesting in the universe or in an individual being, is the expression of a force of nature; and therefore as each such force of nature is the emanation from a cosmic entity, each one of them has its own svabhava (individuality or essential characteristic) which differentiates it sharply from all other forces of nature.
Jnana: Sanskrit for knowledge or spiritual enlightenment.
Jnana (Sanskrit) Jñāna [from the verbal root jñā to know, have knowledge, understand] Intelligence, understanding, knowledge; the old philosophers said that parabrahman is not jnata (known), not jnana (knowledge), and not jneya (that which may be known), nevertheless parabrahman is the one source of which these three modes of understanding are manifestations.
Jnana: (Skr.) Cognition, knowledge, wisdom, philosophic understanding, insight, believed by some Indian philosophers to effect moksa (q.v.). -- K.F.L.
Jnanasphurti: Flash of knowledge.
Jnanasvarupa: Of the very nature or embodiment knowledge.
Jnanatantra: The Tantric text that treats of highe knowledge.
Jnana-vidya (Sanskrit) Jñāna-vidyā [from jñāna knoweldge + vidyā wisdom] Equivalent to Brahma-vidya or theosophy, the wisdom-tradition or gnosis. (BCW 11:271)
Jnanayajna: Dissemination of knowledge; the Sadhana for, and the attainment of, knowledge, conceived of as a offering or divine sacrifice; offering of the individual to the Supreme.
Jnana Yoga (Sanskrit) Jñāna-yoga The form of yoga practice and training where the attaining of union with the spiritual-divine essence within is by means of cultivating wisdom, spiritual insight, and intuition.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga ::: The Path of Knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual
reflection, vicara, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being and rejecting identification with each of them arrives at their exclusion and separation in one common term as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal Nature, creations of Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is able to arrive at its right identification with the pure and unique Self which is not mutable or perishable, not determinable by any phenomenon or combination of phenomena. From this point the path, as ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds from the consciousness as an illusion and the final immergence without return of the individual soul in the Supreme. But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one’s own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargement is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect and perception to the divine level, to its spiritualisation and to the justification of the cosmic travail of knowledge in humanity.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 23-24, Page: 38-39
Jnanayoga: The path of knowledge; meditation through wisdom; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the Guru.
Jnanayogi: One practising the scheduled discipline of the path of knowledge.
jnana bandhu. ::: a pseudo-jnani
jnana bhumika. ::: stage of Self-knowledge
jnanadharanasamarthyam ::: [capacity for receiving and sustaining knowledge].
jnanadipena bhasvata ::: with the blazing lamp of knowledge. [Gita 10.11]
jnana drishti. :::the "wisdom-insight" of remaining quiet
jnana guru. ::: one who initiates a disciple into jnana; one who grants true knowledge; the supreme Self that reveals its own Truth in every Heart; one who has realised the Truth
jnana kanda. ::: knowledge in the pursuit of Truth
jnanakanda ::: the section of knowledge [of the Veda], identified with the Upanisads. [cf. karmakanda]
JNaNA, Knowledge direct without the use of a medium ; supreme self-knowledge ; -a spiritual seizing by a kind of identifi- cation with the object of knowledge.
jnana ::: knowledge, wisdom; supreme self-knowledge; the essential aspect [cf. vijnana] of the true unifying knowledge, the direct spiritual awareness of the supreme Being. ::: jnanam [nominative]
jnanalipsa ::: [desire for knowledge].
jnanalipsa jnanaprakaso brahmavarcasyam sthairyam iti brahmatejah ::: see these words separately.
jnana marg&
jnanam brahma ::: the brahman as the self-existent consciousness and universal knowledge.
jnanam caitanyam jyotir brahma ::: [the brahman is knowledge, consciousness and light].
jnanam ::: see under jnana
jnanam trikaladrstih astasiddhih samadhih iti vijnanacatustayam ::: see these words separate]y.
jnana mudra. ::: the joining of the thumb and the forefinger of a raised right hand signifying the union of the Paramatman and the jivatman, hereby showing their identity
jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah ::: [they whose sins have been removed by knowledge]. [Gita 5.17]
jnana nistha. ::: firmly rooted unshakable Self-knowledge
jnanaprakasa (Jnanaprakasha) ::: [light of knowledge]. ::: jnanaprakaso[nominative, modified form]
jnana-sakti (Jnana Shakti) ::: power of knowledge.
jnana sakti. :::the power of knowledge
jnana siddha. ::: liberated or Self-realised being
jnana&
jnana swarupa. ::: the embodiment of spiritual wisdom; pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances
jnana vichara. ::: Self-enquiry; enquiry leading to true Self-knowledge
jnana-yajnena yajanto mam upasate ::: [they, sacrificing with the sacrifice of knowledge, worship Me]. [Gita 9.15]
JNANA YOGA. ::: The Path of Knowledge aims at the reali- sation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection, vicSra, to right discrimination, viveka.
jnana yoga. ::: the yoga of knowledge or wisdom is the most difficult path, requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect, which leads the aspirant to experience his unity with God directly by dissolving the veils of ignorance; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the Upanishads; one of the four paths of yoga &
jnanayoga ::: the yoga of knowledge; self-realisation and knowledge of the true nature of the self and the world.
jnanayogena sankhyanam ::: by the yoga of knowledge of the sankhyas. [Gita 3.3]
jnana yogi. ::: the one who uses his mind to enquire into its own nature through the path of knowledge
TERMS ANYWHERE
AbhidhammAvatAra. In PAli, "Introduction to Abhidhamma"; a primer of PAli ABHIDHAMMA attributed to BUDDHADATTA (c. fifth century CE), who is said to have been contemporaneous with the premier PAli scholiast BUDDHAGHOSA; some legends go so far as to suggest that the two ABHIDHAMMIKAS might even have met. The book was written in south India and is the oldest of the noncanonical PAli works on abhidhamma. It offers a systematic scholastic outline of abhidhamma, divided into twenty-four chapters called niddesas (S. nirdesa; "expositions"), and displays many affinities with Buddhaghosa's VISUDDHIMAGGA. These chapters include coverage of the mind (CITTA) and mental concomitants (CETASIKA), the various types of concentration (SAMADHI), the types of knowledge (JNANA) associated with enlightenment, and the process of purification (visuddhi, S. VIsUDDHI). The work is written in a mixture of prose and verse.
AbhidhAnottaratantra. [alt. AvadAnastotratantra] (T. Mngon par brjod pa'i rgyud bla ma). In Sanskrit, "Continuation of the Explanation [of the CAKRASAMVARATANTRA]"; an Indian text describing the invocation of numerous tantric deities together with their seed syllables (BĪJA) and ritual meditations. The work was originally translated into Tibetan and edited by ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA and RIN CHEN BZANG PO in the eleventh century.
*Abhidharmahṛdaya. (C. Apitan xin lun; J. Abidon shinron; K. Abidam sim non 阿毘曇心論). In Sanskrit, "Heart of ABHIDHARMA"; one of the first attempts at a systematic presentation of abhidharma according to the SARVASTIVADA school; the treatise is attributed to Dharmasresthin (Fasheng, c. 130 BCE), who hailed from the GANDHARA region of Central Asia. The text is no longer extant in Sanskrit but survives only in a Chinese translation made sometime during the fourth century (alt. 376, 391) by SaMghadeva and LUSHAN HUIYUAN. The treatise functions essentially as a handbook for meditative development, focusing on ways of overcoming the negative proclivities of mind (ANUsAYA) and developing correct knowledge (JNANA). The meditative training outlined in the treatise focuses on the four absorptions (DHYANA) and on two practical techniques for developing concentration: mindfulness of breathing (ANAPANASMṚTI) and the contemplation of impurity (AsUBHABHAVANA). The text is also one of the first to distinguish the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA), which involves the initial insight into the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS, and the path of cultivation (BHAVANAMARGA), which eliminates all the remaining proclivities so that the adept may experience the stage of the worthy one (ARHAT).
AbhidharmajNAnaprasthAna. (C. Apidamo fazhi lun; J. Abidatsuma hotchiron; K. Abidalma palchi non 阿毘達磨發智論). See JNANAPRASTHANA.
AbhidharmakosabhAsya. (T. Chos mngon pa'i mdzod kyi bshad pa; C. Apidamo jushe lun; J. Abidatsuma kusharon; K. Abidalma kusa non 阿毘達磨倶舎論). In Sanskrit, "A Treasury of ABHIDHARMA, with Commentary"; an influential scholastic treatise attributed to VASUBANDHU (c. fourth or fifth century CE). The AbhidharmakosabhAsya consists of two texts: the root text of the Abhidharmakosa, composed in verse (kArikA), and its prose autocommentary (bhAsya); this dual verse-prose structure comes to be emblematic of later SARVASTIVADA abhidharma literature. As the title suggests, the work is mainly concerned with abhidharma theory as it was explicated in the ABHIDHARMAMAHAVIBHAsA, the principal scholastic treatise of the VAIBHAsIKAABHIDHARMIKAs in the SarvAstivAda school. In comparison to the MahAvibhAsA, however, the AbhidharmakosabhAsya presents a more systematic overview of SarvAstivAda positions. At various points in his expositions, Vasubandhu criticizes the SarvAstivAda doctrine from the standpoint of the more progressive SAUTRANTIKA offshoot of the SarvAstivAda school, which elicited a spirited response from later SarvAstivAda-VaibhAsika scholars, such as SAMGHABHADRA in his *NYAYANUSARA. The AbhidharmakosabhAsya has thus served as an invaluable tool in the study of the history of the later MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS. The Sanskrit texts of both the kArikA and the bhAsya were lost for centuries before being rediscovered in Tibet in 1934 and 1936, respectively. Two Chinese translations, by XUANZANG and PARAMARTHA, and one Tibetan translation of the work are extant. The Kosa is primarily concerned with a detailed elucidation of the polysemous term DHARMA, the causes (HETU) and conditions (PRATYAYA) that lead to continued rebirth in SAMSARA, and the soteriological stages of the path (MARGA) leading to enlightenment. The treatise is divided into eight major chapters, called kosasthAnas. (1) DhAtunirdesa, "Exposition on the Elements," divides dharmas into various categories, such as tainted (SASRAVA) and untainted (ANASRAVA), or compounded (SAMSKṚTA) and uncompounded (ASAMSKṚTA), and discusses the standard Buddhist classifications of the five aggregates (SKANDHA), twelve sense fields (AYATANA), and eighteen elements (DHATU). This chapter also includes extensive discussion of the theory of the four great elements (MAHABHuTA) that constitute materiality (RuPA) and the Buddhist theory of atoms or particles (PARAMAnU). (2) Indriyanirdesa, "Exposition on the Faculties," discusses a fivefold classification of dharmas into materiality (rupa), thought (CITTA), mental concomitants (CAITTA), forces dissociated from thought (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAMSKARA), and the uncompounded (ASAMSKṚTA). This chapter also has extensive discussions of the six causes (HETU), the four conditions (PRATYAYA), and the five effects or fruitions (PHALA). (3) Lokanirdesa, "Exposition on the Cosmos," describes the formation and structure of a world system (LOKA), the different types of sentient beings, the various levels of existence, and the principle of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA) that governs the process of rebirth, which is discussed here in connection with the three time periods (TRIKALA) of past, present, and future. (4) Karmanirdesa, "Exposition on Action," discusses the different types of action (KARMAN), including the peculiar type of action associated with unmanifest materiality (AVIJNAPTIRuPA). The ten wholesome and unwholesome "paths of action" (KUsALA-KARMAPATHA and AKUsALA-KARMAPATHA) also receive a lengthy description. (5) Anusayanirdesa, "Exposition on the Proclivities," treats the ninety-eight types of ANUsAYA in relation to their sources and qualities and the relationship between the anusayas and other categories of unwholesome qualities, such as afflictions (KLEsA), contaminants (ASRAVA), floods (OGHA), and yokes (yoga). (6) MArgapudgalanirdesa, "Exposition on the Path and the [Noble] Persons," outlines how either insight into the four noble truths and carefully following a series of soteriological steps can remove defilements and transform the ordinary person into one of the noble persons (ARYAPUDGALA). (7) JNAnanirdesa, "Exposition on Knowledge," offers a detailed account of the ten types of knowledge and the distinctive attributes of noble persons and buddhas. (8) SamApattinirdesa, "Exposition on Attainment," discusses different categories of concentration (SAMADHI) and the attainments (SAMAPATTI) that result from their perfection. (9) Appended to this main body is a ninth section, an independent treatise titled the Pudgalanirdesa, "Exposition of the Notion of a Person." Here, Vasubandhu offers a detailed critique of the theory of the self, scrutinizing both the Buddhist PUDGALAVADA/VATSĪPUTRĪYA "heresy" of the inexpressible (avAcya) "person" (PUDGALA) being conventionally real and Brahmanical theories of a perduring soul (ATMAN). Numerous commentaries to the Kosa, such as those composed by VASUMITRA, YAsOMITRA, STHIRAMATI, and Purnavardhana, attest to its continuing influence in Indian Buddhist thought. The Kosa was also the object of vigorous study in the scholastic traditions of East Asia and Tibet, which produced many indigenous commentaries on the text and its doctrinal positions.
AbhidharmamahAvibhAsA. (T. Chos mngon pa bye brag bshad pa chen po; C. Apidamo dapiposha lun; J. Abidatsuma daibibasharon; K. Abidalma taebibasa non 阿毘達磨大毘婆沙論). In Sanskrit, "Great Exegesis of ABHIDHARMA," also commonly known as MahAvibhAsA; a massive VAIBHAsIKA treatise on SARVASTIVADA abhidharma translated into Chinese by the scholar-pilgrim XUANZANG and his translation bureau between 656 and 659 at XIMINGSI in the Tang capital of Chang'an. Although no Sanskrit version of this text is extant, earlier Chinese translations by Buddhavarman and others survive, albeit only in (equally massive) fragments. The complete Sanskrit text of the recension that Xuanzang used was in 100,000 slokas; his translation was in 200 rolls, making it one of the largest single works in the Buddhist canon. According to the account in Xuanzang's DA TANG XIYU JI, four hundred years after the Buddha's PARINIRVAnA, King KANIsKA gathered five hundred ARHATs to recite the Buddhist canon (TRIPItAKA). The ABHIDHARMAPItAKA of this canon, which is associated with the SarvAstivAda school, is said to have been redacted during this council (see COUNCIL, FOURTH). The central abhidharma treatise of the SarvAstivAda school is KATYAYANĪPUTRA's JNANAPRASTHANA, and the AbhidharmamahAvibhAsA purports to offer a comprehensive overview of varying views on the meaning of that seminal text by the five hundred arhats who were in attendance at the convocation. The comments of four major ABHIDHARMIKAs (Ghosa, DHARMATRATA, VASUMITRA, and Buddhadeva) are interwoven into the MahAvibhAsA's contextual analysis of KAtyAyanīputra's material from the JNAnaprasthAna, making the text a veritable encyclopedia of contemporary Buddhist scholasticism. Since the MahAvibhAsA also purports to be a commentary on the central text of the SarvAstivAda school, it therefore offers a comprehensive picture of the development of SarvAstivAda thought after the compilation of the JNAnaprasthAna. The MahAvibhAsA is divided into eight sections (grantha) and several chapters (varga), which systematically follow the eight sections and forty-three chapters of the JNAnaprasthAna in presenting its explication. Coverage of each topic begins with an overview of varying interpretations found in different Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, detailed coverage of the positions of the four major SarvAstivAda Abhidharmikas, and finally the definitive judgment of the compilers, the KAsmīri followers of KAtyAyanĪputra, who call themselves the VibhAsAsAstrins. The MahAvibhAsA was the major influence on the systematic scholastic elaboration of SarvAstivAda doctrine that appears (though with occasional intrusions from the positions of the SarvAstivAda's more-progressive SAUTRANTIKA offshoot) in VASUBANDHU's influential ABHIDHARMAKOsABHAsYA, which itself elicited a spirited response from later SarvAstivAda-VaibhAsika scholars, such as SAMGHABHADRA in his *NYAYANUSARA. The MahAvibhAsa was not translated into Tibetan until the twentieth century, when a translation entitled Bye brag bshad mdzod chen mo was made at the Sino-Tibetan Institute by the Chinese monk FAZUN between 1946 and 1949. He presented a copy of the manuscript to the young fourteenth DALAI LAMA on the Dalai Lama's visit to Beijing in 1954, but it is not known whether it is still extant.
abhidharmapitaka. (P. abhidhammapitaka; T. chos mngon pa'i sde snod; C. lunzang; J. ronzo; K. nonjang 論藏). The third of the three "baskets" (PItAKA) of the Buddhist canon (TRIPItAKA). The abhidharmapitaka derives from attempts in the early Buddhist community to elucidate the definitive significance of the teachings of the Buddha, as compiled in the SuTRAs. Since the Buddha was well known to have adapted his message to fit the predilections and needs of his audience (cf. UPAYAKAUsALYA), there inevitably appeared inconsistencies in his teachings that needed to be resolved. The attempts to ferret out the definitive meaning of the BUDDHADHARMA through scholastic interpretation and exegesis eventually led to a new body of texts that ultimately were granted canonical status in their own right. These are the texts of the abhidharmapitaka. The earliest of these texts, such as the PAli VIBHAnGA and PUGGALAPANNATTI and the SARVASTIVADA SAMGĪTIPARYAYA and DHARMASKANDHA, are structured as commentaries to specific sutras or portions of sutras. These materials typically organized the teachings around elaborate doctrinal taxonomies, which were used as mnemonic devices or catechisms. Later texts move beyond individual sutras to systematize a wide range of doctrinal material, offering ever more complex analytical categorizations and discursive elaborations of the DHARMA. Ultimately, abhidharma texts emerge as a new genre of Buddhist literature in their own right, employing sophisticated philosophical speculation and sometimes even involving polemical attacks on the positions of rival factions within the SAMGHA. ¶ At least seven schools of Indian Buddhism transmitted their own recensions of abhidharma texts, but only two of these canons are extant in their entirety. The PAli abhidhammapitaka of the THERAVADA school, the only recension that survives in an Indian language, includes seven texts (the order of which often differs): (1) DHAMMASAnGAnI ("Enumeration of Dharmas") examines factors of mentality and materiality (NAMARuPA), arranged according to ethical quality; (2) VIBHAnGA ("Analysis") analyzes the aggregates (SKANDHA), conditioned origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA), and meditative development, each treatment culminating in a catechistic series of inquiries; (3) DHATUKATHA ("Discourse on Elements") categorizes all dharmas in terms of the skandhas and sense-fields (AYATANA); (4) PUGGALAPANNATTI ("Description of Human Types") analyzes different character types in terms of the three afflictions of greed (LOBHA), hatred (DVEsA), and delusion (MOHA) and various related subcategories; (5) KATHAVATTHU ("Points of Controversy") scrutinizes the views of rival schools of mainstream Buddhism and how they differ from the TheravAda; (6) YAMAKA ("Pairs") provides specific denotations of problematic terms through paired comparisons; (7) PAttHANA ("Conditions") treats extensively the full implications of conditioned origination. ¶ The abhidharmapitaka of the SARVASTIVADA school is extant only in Chinese translation, the definitive versions of which were prepared by XUANZANG's translation team in the seventh century. It also includes seven texts: (1) SAMGĪTIPARYAYA[PADAsASTRA] ("Discourse on Pronouncements") attributed to either MAHAKAUstHILA or sARIPUTRA, a commentary on the SaMgītisutra (see SAnGĪTISUTTA), where sAriputra sets out a series of dharma lists (MATṚKA), ordered from ones to elevens, to organize the Buddha's teachings systematically; (2) DHARMASKANDHA[PADAsASTRA] ("Aggregation of Dharmas"), attributed to sAriputra or MAHAMAUDGALYAYANA, discusses Buddhist soteriological practices, as well as the afflictions that hinder spiritual progress, drawn primarily from the AGAMAs; (3) PRAJNAPTIBHAsYA[PADAsASTRA] ("Treatise on Designations"), attributed to MaudgalyAyana, treats Buddhist cosmology (lokaprajNapti), causes (kArana), and action (KARMAN); (4) DHATUKAYA[PADAsASTRA] ("Collection on the Elements"), attributed to either PuRnA or VASUMITRA, discusses the mental concomitants (the meaning of DHATU in this treatise) and sets out specific sets of mental factors that are present in all moments of consciousness (viz., the ten MAHABHuMIKA) or all defiled states of mind (viz., the ten KLEsAMAHABHuMIKA); (5) VIJNANAKAYA[PADAsASTRA] ("Collection on Consciousness"), attributed to Devasarman, seeks to prove the veracity of the eponymous SarvAstivAda position that dharmas exist in all three time periods (TRIKALA) of past, present, and future, and the falsity of notions of the person (PUDGALA); it also provides the first listing of the four types of conditions (PRATYAYA); (6) PRAKARAnA[PADAsASTRA] ("Exposition"), attributed to VASUMITRA, first introduces the categorization of dharmas according to the more developed SarvAstivAda rubric of RuPA, CITTA, CAITTA, CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAMSKARA, and ASAMSKṚTA dharmas; it also adds a new listing of KUsALAMAHABHuMIKA, or factors always associated with wholesome states of mind; (7) JNANAPRASTHANA ("Foundations of Knowledge"), attributed to KATYAYANĪPUTRA, an exhaustive survey of SarvAstivAda dharma theory and the school's exposition of psychological states, which forms the basis of the massive encyclopedia of SarvAstivAda-VaibhAsika abhidharma, the ABHIDHARMAMAHAVIBHAsA. In the traditional organization of the seven canonical books of the SarvAstivAda abhidharmapitaka, the JNANAPRASTHANA is treated as the "body" (sARĪRA), or central treatise of the canon, with its six "feet" (pAda), or ancillary treatises (pAdasAstra), listed in the following order: (1) PrakaranapAda, (2) VijNAnakAya, (3) Dharmaskandha, (4) PrajNaptibhAsya, (5) DhAtukAya, and (6) SaMgītiparyAya. Abhidharma exegetes later turned their attention to these canonical abhidharma materials and subjected them to the kind of rigorous scholarly analysis previously directed to the sutras. These led to the writing of innovative syntheses and synopses of abhidharma doctrine, in such texts as BUDDHAGHOSA's VISUDDHIMAGGA and ANURUDDHA's ABHIDHAMMATTHASAnGAHA, VASUBANDHU's ABHIDHARMAKOsABHAsYA, and SAMGHABHADRA's *NYAYANUSARA. In East Asia, this third "basket" was eventually expanded to include the burgeoning scholastic literature of the MAHAYANA, transforming it from a strictly abhidharmapitaka into a broader "treatise basket" or *sASTRAPItAKA (C. lunzang).
AbhidharmavijNAnakAyapAdasAstra. See VIJNANAKAYA[PADAsASTRA].
abhijNA. (P. abhiNNA; T. mngon shes; C. shentong; J. jinzu; K. sint'ong 神通). In Sanskrit, "superknowledges"; specifically referring to a set of supranormal powers that are by-products of meditation. These are usually enumerated as six: (1) various psychical and magical powers (ṚDDHIVIDHABHIJNA [alt. ṛddhividhi], P. iddhividhA), such as the ability to pass through walls, sometimes also known as "unimpeded bodily action" (ṛddhisAksAtkriyA); (2) clairvoyance, lit. "divine eye" (DIVYACAKsUS, P. dibbacakkhu), the ability to see from afar and to see how beings fare in accordance with their deeds; (3) clairaudience, lit. "divine ear" (DIVYAsROTRA, P. dibbasota), the ability to hear from afar; (4) the ability to remember one's own former lives (PuRVANIVASANUSMṚTI, P. pubbenivAsAnunssati); (5) "knowledge of others' states of mind" (CETOPARYAYABHIJNANA/PARACITTAJNANA, P. cetopariyaNAna), e.g., telepathy; and (6) the knowledge of the extinction of the contaminants (ASRAVAKsAYA, P. AsavakkhAya). The first five of these superknowledges are considered to be mundane (LAUKIKA) achievements, which are gained through still more profound refinement of the fourth stage of meditative absorption (DHYANA). The sixth power is said to be supramundane (LOKOTTARA) and is attainable through the cultivation of insight (VIPAsYANA) into the nature of reality. The first, second, and sixth superknowledges are also called the three kinds of knowledge (TRIVIDYA; P. tevijjA).
Abhijna (Sanskrit) Abhijñā [from abhi towards + the verbal root jñā to know, have special knowledge of, mastery over; Pali abhiñña] Inner perception; in Buddhism the five or six transcendental powers, faculties, or superknowledges attained on reaching buddhahood. Gautama Buddha is said to have acquired the six abhijnas the night he attained enlightenment. Generally enumerated as: 1) divyachakshus (divine eye) instantaneous perception of whatever one wills to see; 2) divyasrotra (divine ear) instantaneous comprehension of all sounds on every plane; 3) riddhisakshatkriya, power of becoming visibly manifest at will, intuitive perception; 4) purvanivasajnana (power to know former existences) also called purvanivasanu-smritijnana (recollection of former existences); and 5) parachittajnana (knowledge of others’ thoughts) understanding of their minds and hearts.
Abhiniskramanasutra. (T. Mngon par 'byung ba'i mdo; C.Fo benxing ji jing; J. Butsuhongyojukkyo; K. Pul ponhaeng chip kyong 佛本行集經). In Sanskrit, "Sutra of the Great Renunciation"; this scripture relates the story of Prince SIDDHARTHA's "going forth" (abhiniskramana; P. abhinikkhamana) from his father's palace to pursue the life of a mendicant wanderer (sRAMAnA) in search of enlightenment. There are no extant Sanskrit versions of the SuTRA, but the work survives in Tibetan and in several distinct recensions available in Chinese translation, one dating to as early as the first century CE. The best-known Chinese translation is the Fo benxing ji jing, made by JNANAGUPTA around 587 CE, during the Sui dynasty. The text claims to be a DHARMAGUPTAKA recension of the JATAKA, or past lives of the Buddha. (Franklin Edgerton has suggested that this text may instead be a translation of the MAHAVASTU, "The Great Account," of the LOKOTTARAVADA offshoot of the MAHASAMGHIKA school.) JNAnagupta's recension has sixty chapters, in five major parts. The first part is an introduction to the work as a whole, which relates how rare it is for a buddha to appear in the world and why people should take advantage of this opportunity. Reference is made to the various meritorious roots (KUsALAMuLA) that sAKYAMUNI acquired throughout his many lifetimes of training, in order to prepare for this final life when he would finally attain enlightenment. The second part enumerates the entire lineage of the buddhas of antiquity, a lineage that sAkyamuni would soon join, and the third part follows with a genealogy of the sAKYA clan. The fourth part describes the decisive stages in sAkyamuni's life, from birth, through his awakening, to the first "turning of the wheel of the DHARMA" (DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANA). The last part gives extended biographies (going even into their past lives) of his prominent disciples, of which the stories involving his longtime attendant, ANANDA, are particularly extensive. In 1876, SAMUEL BEAL translated this Chinese recension of the sutra into English as The Romantic Legend of sAkya Buddha.
AbhisamayAlaMkAravivṛti. (T. [Shes rab phar phyin man ngag gi bstan bcos] mngon rtogs rgyan gyi 'grel pa). In Sanskrit, "Commentary on the Ornament of Realization" by HARIBHADRA. The work in four bundles (T. bam po) is a digest (called 'grel chung, "short commentary") of his long detailed explanation of the AstASAHASRIKAPRAJNAPARAMITA ("Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines"), the AstASAHASRIKAPRAJNAPARAMITAVYAKHYABHISAMAYALAMKARALOKA (called 'grel chen, "long commentary"). The AbhisamayAlaMkAravivṛti gained considerable importance in Tibet after RNGOG BLO LDAN SHES RAB supplemented his translation of it with a summary (bsdus don) of its contents, beginning a tradition of PRAJNAPARAMITA commentary that spread from GSANG PHU NE'U THOG monastery into all four Tibetan sects. This tradition, which continues down to the present, uses the ABHISAMAYALAMKARA and ABHISAMAYALAMKARAVIVṚTI as twin root texts to structure wide-ranging discussions of abhidharma, right philosophical view and proper praxis. There are two subcommentaries to the work, Dharmamitra's PRASPHUtAPADA and DHARMAKĪRTIsRĪ's DurbodhAloka. PRAJNAKARAMATI, RATNAKĪRTI, and BuddhajNAna wrote summaries of the work, all extant in Tibetan translation. See also SPHUtARTHA.
abhiseka. (P. abhiseka; T. dbang bskur; C. guanding; J. kanjo; K. kwanjong 灌頂). In Sanskrit, "anointment," "consecration," "empowerment," or "initiation"; a term originally used to refer to the anointment of an Indian king or the investiture of a crown prince, which by extension came to be applied to the anointment of a BODHISATTVA as a buddha. Just as a wheel-turning monarch (CAKRAVARTIN) invests the crown prince by sprinkling the crown of his head with fragrant water from all the four seas, so too do the buddhas anoint the crown of a bodhisattva when he makes his vow to achieve buddhahood. The Chinese translation, lit. "sprinkling the crown of the head," conveys this sense of anointment. In the MAHAVASTU, an early text associated with the LOKOTTARAVADA branch of the MAHASAMGHIKA school, the tenth and last stage (BHuMI) of the bodhisattva path is named abhiseka, rather than the more commonly known DHARMAMEGHABHuMI, indicating that the bodhisattva has then been initiated into the lineage of the buddhas. Abhiseka is used especially in tantric literature, such as the MAHAVAIROCANABHISAMBODHISuTRA, to refer to an initiation ceremony that empowers disciples to "enter the MAndALA," where they are then allowed to learn the esoteric formulae (MANTRA) and gestures (MUDRA) and receive the instructions associated with a specific tantric deity. In ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA, a series of four initiations or empowerments are described, the vase empowerment (KALAsABHIsEKA), the secret empowerment (GUHYABHIsEKA), the knowledge of the wisdom empowerment (PRAJNAJNANABHIsEKA), and the word empowerment (sabdAbhiseka), also known as the "fourth empowerment" (caturthAbhiseka). The vase empowerment is the only one of the four that is used in the three other tantras of KRIYATANTRA, CARYATANTRA, and YOGATANTRA. A special type of consecration ceremony, called a BUDDHABHIsEKA, is conducted at the time of the installation of a new buddha image, which vivifies the inert clay, metal, or wood of the image, invests the image with insight into the dharma (e.g., through reciting some version of the formula concerning causality, or PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA), and transforms the image into a living buddha.
According to the Nyaya philosophy, all existing things possess 24 gunas or characteristic qualities: rupa (shape or form); rasa (savor); gandha (odor); sparsa (tangibility); sankhya (number); parimana (dimension); prithaktva (severalty); samyoga (conjunction); vibhaga (disjunction); paratva (remoteness); aparatva (proximity); gurutva (weight); dravatva (fluidity); sneha (viscidity); sabda (sound); buddhi or jnana (understanding or knowledge); sukha (happiness); duhkha (pain); ichchha (desire); dvesha (aversion); prayatna (effort); dharma (merit or virtue); adharma (demerit); and samskara (the self-reproductive quality).
Acintyastava. (T. Bsam gyis mi khyab par bstod pa). In Sanskrit, "In Praise of the Inconceivable One"; an Indian philosophical work by the MADHYAMAKA master NAGARJUNA written in the form of a praise for the Buddha. In the Tibetan tradition, there are a large number of such praises (called STAVAKAYA) in contrast to the set of philosophical texts (called YUKTIKAYA) attributed to NAgArjuna. Among these praise works, the Acintyastava, LOKATĪTASTAVA, NIRAUPAMYASTAVA, and PARAMARTHASTAVA are extant in Sanskrit and are generally accepted to be his work; these four works together are known as the CATUḤSTAVA. It is less certain that he is the author of the DHARMADHATUSTAVA or DHARMADHATUSTOTRA ("Hymn to the Dharma Realm") of which only fragments are extant in the original Sanskrit. The Acintyastava contains fifty-nine stanzas, many of which are addressed to the Buddha. The first section provides a detailed discussion of why dependently originated phenomena are empty of intrinsic nature (NIḤSVABHAVA); this section has clear parallels to the MuLAMADHYAMAKAKARIKA. The forty-fifth verse makes reference to the term PARATANTRA, leading some scholars to believe that NAgArjuna was familiar with the LAnKAVATARASuTRA. The second section describes wisdom (JNANA); the third section sets forth the qualities of the true dharma (SADDHARMA); the fourth and final section extols the Buddha as the best of teachers (sASTṚ).
AdAnavijNAna. (T. len pa'i rnam par shes pa; C. atuona shi/xiangxu shi; J. adanashiki/sozokushiki; K. at'ana sik/sangsok sik 阿陀那識/相續識). In Sanskrit, "appropriating consciousness" or "retributory consciousness"; an alternate name for the ALAYAVIJNANA, the eighth consciousness in the YOGACARA analysis of consciousness, which serves as a repository (Alaya) of the seeds (BĪJA) of past action (KARMAN) until they can come to fruition (VIPAKA) in the future. Because that consciousness thus links the present with the future life, the AlayavijNAna also serves as the consciousness that "appropriates" a physical body at the moment of rebirth, hence, its name AdAnavijNAna.
AdarsajNAna. [alt. mahAdarsajNAna] (T. me long lta bu'i ye shes; C. dayuanjing zhi; J. daienkyochi; K. taewon'gyong chi 大圓鏡智). In Sanskrit, "mirrorlike wisdom" or "great perfect mirror wisdom"; one of the five types of wisdom (PANCAJNANA) exclusive to a buddha according to the YOGACARA and tantric schools, along with the wisdom of equality (SAMATAJNANA), the wisdom of discriminating awareness (PRATYAVEKsAnAJNANA), the wisdom that one has accomplished what was to be done (KṚTYANUstHANAJNANA), and the wisdom of the nature of the DHARMADHATU (DHARMADHATUSVABHAVAJNANA). This specific type of wisdom is a transformation of the eighth consciousness, the ALAYAVIJNANA, in which the perfect interfusion between all things is seen as if reflected in a great mirror.
adhipatipratyaya. (P. adhipatipaccaya; T. bdag po'i rkyen; C. zengshang yuan; J. zojoen; K. chŭngsang yon 增上縁). In Sanskrit, "predominant" or "sovereign condition"; the fourth of the four types of conditions (PRATYAYA) recognized in the SARVASTIVADA-VAIBHAsIKA system of ABHIDHARMA and in YOGACARA; the term also appears as the ninth of the twenty-four conditions (P. paccaya) in the massive PAli abhidhamma text, the PAttHANA. In epistemology, the predominant condition is one of the three causal conditions necessary for perception to occur. It is the specific condition that provides the operative capability (kArana) for the production of something else. In the case of sensory perception, the predominant condition for the arising of sensory consciousness (VIJNANA) is the physical sense organ and the sensory object; but more generically even the seed could serve as the adhipatipratyaya for the generation of a sprout. The four primary physical elements (MAHABHuTA) themselves serve as the predominant condition for the five physical sensory organs, in that they are the condition for the sensory organs' production and development.
Adhyatma-jnana (Sanskrit) Adhyātma-jñāna [from adhi over, superior + ātman self + jñāna knowledge from the verbal root jnā to know, understand] Knowledge of the supreme self, equivalent to adhyatma-vidya.
Adhyatma-vidya (Sanskrit) Adhyātma-vidyā [from adhi over, above + ātman self + vidyā knowledge from the verbal root vid to know, perceive, learn] Knowledge of the supreme atman or self; used interchangeably with adhyatma-jnana.
Adibuddha. (T. dang po'i sangs rgyas/ye nas sangs rgyas; C. benchu fo; J. honshobutsu; K. ponch'o pul 本初佛). In Sanskrit, "original buddha" or "primordial buddha"; the personification of innate enlightenment. The term seems to appear for the first time in the MAHAYANASuTRALAMKARA, where the existence of such a primordial buddha is refuted on the grounds that the achievement of buddhahood is impossible without the accumulation of merit (PUnYA) and wisdom (JNANA). However, the term reemerges in tantric literature, most prominently in the KALACAKRATANTRA. There, the term has two meanings, based on the reading of the term Adi. According to the first interpretation, Adi means "first" such that the Adibuddha was the first to attain buddhahood. According to the second interpretation, Adi means "primordial," which suggests an eternal and atemporal state of innate buddhahood. However, when the commentators on this tantra use the term in this second sense, they appear to be referring not to a person but to an innate wisdom that is present in the minds of all sentient beings and which is the fundamental basis of SAMSARA and NIRVAnA. In Tibetan Buddhism, the term Adibuddha is often used to describe the buddha SAMANTABHADRA (according to the RNYING MA sect) or VAJRADHARA (for the GSAR MA sects); in East Asia, by contrast, the Adibuddha is typically considered to be VAIROCANA.
advaita jnana. ::: non-dual knowledge
Advaita: (Skr. "non-duality") The Vedantic (q.v.) doctrine of monism advocated by Sankara (q.v.) which holds the Absolute to be personal in relation to the world, especially the philosophically untutored, but supra-personal in itself (cf. nirguna, saguna); the world and the individual to be only relatively, or phenomenally, real; and salvation to consist in insight or jnana (q.v.) after dispelling the maya (q.v.) of separateness from the divine. -- K.F.L.
advayajNAna. (T. gnyis su med pa'i ye shes; C. bu'erzhi; J. funichi; K. puriji 不二智). In Sanskrit, "nondual knowledge"; referring to knowledge that has transcended the subject-object bifurcation that governs all conventional states of sensory consciousness, engendering a distinctive type of awareness that is able to remain conscious without any longer requiring an object of consciousness. See also WU'AIXING.
advaya. (T. gnyis su med pa; C. bu'er; J. funi; K. puri 不二). In Sanskrit, "nonduality"; one of the common synonyms for the highest teachings of Buddhism and one of the foundational principles of the MAHAYANA presentation of doctrine. Nonduality refers to the definitive awareness achieved through enlightenment, which transcends all of the conventional dichotomies into which compounded existence is divided (right and wrong, good and evil, etc.). Most specifically, nondual knowledge (ADVAYAJNANA) transcends the subject-object bifurcation that governs all conventional states of consciousness and engenders a distinctive type of awareness that no longer requires an object of consciousness. See also WU'AIXING.
AhAra. (T. zas; C. shi; J. jiki; K. sik 食) In Sanskrit and PAli, lit. "food," i.e., "nutriment" in the broadest sense, which nourishes everything associated with the body and mind. Four types of nutriment are commonly listed in mainstream materials: (1) food (AhAra; P. kabalinkArAhAra) of both coarse and fine varieties, which nourishes the physical body; (2) sensory contact or impression (SPARsA, P. phassa), which nourishes pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations (VEDANA; see PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA); (3) intention (CETANA; P. manosaNcetanA), which nourishes actions (KARMAN) performed via body, speech, and mind; and (4) consciousness (VIJNANA; P. viNNAna), which nourishes mentality and corporeality (NAMARuPA), specifically at the moment of conception in the next rebirth (see pratītyasamutpAda).
Ajita (Sanskrit) Ajita [from a not + the verbal root ji to conquer, triumph] The invisible, unsurpassed; in the Vayu-Purana, the highest of twelve gods, named jayas, who were created by Brahma to aid him at the beginning of the manvantara. But because they neglected his directives, Brahma “cursed” them to be born in each succeeding manvantara until the seventh, the Vaivasvata-manvantara (cf VP 1:15; n2, p. 26). These twelve jayas are the Hindu equivalent of the twelve great gods of Greco-Roman mythology. Because of their all-permeant character, on a lower scale these divinities are identical with the manasa, the jnana-devas, the rudras, and other classes of manifested deities. In these lower manifestations of their functions, they are identical with those dhyani-chohanic groups which “refuse to incarnate,” spoken of in The Secret Doctrine.
ajnana. ::: ignorance &
ajnana ::: Knowledge-Will; the operation by which the consciousness dwells on an image of things so as to govern and possess it in power. ::: ajnanam [nominative]
AJNANA. ::: Perception by receptive and central Will, implying a command from the brain; dwelling of the consciousness on an image of things so as to govern and possess it in form.
ajnanasambhutam hrtstham samsayam ::: [doubt born of ignorance stationed in the heart]. [Gita 4.42]
Ajnana (Sanskrit) Ajñāna [from a not + jñāna knowledge from the verbal root jñā to know, perceive, understand] More often absence of knowledge rather than ignorance. An ajnana is a profane, one who is outside the sanctum or inner temples of the Mysteries.
ajnanenavrtam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah ::: because Knowledge is veiled by Ignorance, mortal men [creatures] are deluded. [Gita 5.15]
AkiNcanyAyatana. (P. AkiNcaNNAyatana; T. ci yang med pa'i skye mched; C. wu suoyou chu; J. mushousho; K. mu soyu ch'o 無所有處). In Sanskrit, "sphere of nothing whatsoever," or "absolute nothingness," the third (in ascending order) of the four levels of the immaterial realm (ARuPYADHATU) and the third of the four immaterial absorptions (SAMAPATTI). It is "above" the first two levels of the immaterial realm, called infinite space (AKAsANANTYAYATANA) and infinite consciousness (VIJNANANANTYAYATANA), but "below" the fourth level, called "neither perception nor nonperception" (NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA). It is a realm of rebirth as well as a meditative state that is entirely immaterial (viz., there is no physical [RuPA] component to existence) in which all ordinary semblances of consciousness vanish entirely. Beings reborn in this realm are thought to live as long as sixty thousand eons (KALPAS). However, as states of being that are still subject to rebirth, all of these spheres remain part of SAMSARA. See also DHYANASAMAPATTI; DHYANOPAPATTI.
aklistAjNAna. (T. nyon mongs can ma yin pa'i mi shes pa; C. buran wuzhi; J. fuzen muchi; K. puryom muji 不染無知). In Sanskrit, "unafflicted ignorance," a form of ignorance that affects those who have destroyed the KLEsAVARAnA (afflictive obstructions) but not the JNEYAVARAnA (cognitive obstructions). The term is used specifically in the MAHAYANA tradition to refer to ARHATs, who have been liberated from rebirth (SAMSARA) but who are still presumed to possess this subtlest form of ignorance. These cognitive obstructions are considered to result from fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality and serve as the origin of the afflictive obstructions. The buddhas therefore encourage the arhats to overcome even this unafflicted ignorance and enter the BODHISATTVA path that leads to buddhahood.
akopya. (P. akuppa; T. mi 'khrugs pa; C. budong; J. fudo; K. pudong 不動). In Sanskrit, "imperturbable" or "unshakable"; used often in mainstream Buddhist materials in reference to the "imperturbable" liberation of mind (CETOVIMUKTI) that derives from mastering any of the four meditative absorptions (P. JHANA; S. DHYANA). The term is also deployed in treatments of mastery of the "adept path" (AsAIKsAMARGA) of the ARHAT: once the imminent arhat realizes the knowledge of the cessation (KsAYAJNANA) of the afflictions (KLEsA), and becomes imperturbable in that experience, the "knowledge of nonproduction" (ANUTPADAJNANA) arises-viz., the awareness that the klesas, once eradicated, will never arise again.
Aksobhya. (T. Mi bskyod pa; C. Achu fo; J. Ashuku butsu; K. Ach'ok pul 阿閦佛). In Sanskrit, "Immovable" or "Imperturbable"; the name given to the buddha of the East because he is imperturbable in following his vow to proceed to buddhahood, particularly through mastering the practice of morality (sĪLA). Aksobhya is one of the PANCATATHAGATA (five tathAgatas), the buddha of the vajra family (VAJRAKULA). There are references to Aksobhya in the PRAJNAPARAMITA sutras and the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra"), suggesting that his cult dates back to the first or second century of the Common Era, and that he was popular in India and Java as well as in the HimAlayan regions. The cult of Aksobhya may have been the first to emerge after the cult of sAKYAMUNI, and before that of AMITABHA. In the Saddharmapundarīkasutra, Aksobhya is listed as the first son of the buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu, and his bodhisattva name is given as JNAnAkara. His cult entered China during the Han dynasty, and an early text on his worship, the AKsOBHYATATHAGATASYAVYuHA, was translated into Chinese during the second half of the second century. Although his cult was subsequently introduced into Japan, he never became as popular in East Asia as the buddhas AMITABHA or VAIROCANA, and images of Aksobhya are largely confined to MAndALAs and other depictions of the paNcatathAgata. Furthermore, because Aksobhya's buddha-field (BUDDHAKsETRA) or PURE LAND of ABHIRATI is located in the East, he is sometimes replaced in mandalas by BHAIsAJYAGURU, who also resides in that same direction. Aksobhya's most common MUDRA is the BHuMISPARsAMUDRA, and he often holds a VAJRA. His consort is either MAmakī or LocanA.
akusala. (P. akusala; T. mi dge ba; C. bushan; J. fuzen; K. pulson 不善). In Sanskrit, "unsalutary," "unvirtuous," "inauspicious," "unwholesome," used to describe those physical, verbal, and mental activities (often enumerated as ten) that lead to unsalutary rebirths. An "unvirtuous" or "unwholesome" action generally refers to any volition (CETANA) or volitional action, along with the consciousness (VIJNANA) and mental constructions (SAMSKARA) associated with it, that are informed by the afflictions (KLEsA) of greed (LOBHA), hatred (DVEsA; P. dosa), or delusion (MOHA). Such volitional actions produce unfortunate results for the actor and ultimately are the cause of the unfavorable destinies (APAYA; DURGATI) of hell denizens (NARAKA), hungry ghosts (PRETA), animals (TIRYAK), and (in some descriptions) titans or demigods (ASURA). A list of ten unwholesome courses of actions (see KARMAPATHA) are listed that lead to apAya and are equivalent to the ten wrong deeds (P. duccarita) as enumerated in the NidAnavagga of the SAMYUTTANIKAYA. The first three on the list are classified as bodily wrong deeds: killing (prAnAtipAta; P. pAnAtipAta), stealing (adattAdAna; P. adinnAdAna), and sexual misconduct (KAMAMITHYACARA; P. kAmamicchAcAra). The next four in the list are classified as verbal wrong deeds: lying (mṛsAvAda; P. musAvAda), slander or malicious speech (PAIsUNYA; P. pisunavAcA), offensive or rough speech (pArasyavAda; P. pharusavAcA), and frivolous prattle (saMbhinnapralApa; P. samphappalApa). The final three on the list are classified as mental wrong deeds: covetousness (ABHIDHYA; P. abhijjhA), ill will (VYAPADA), and wrong views (MITHYADṚstI; P. micchAditthi).
aladr.s.t.i (vijnanamaya trikaldrishti) ::: time-vision in the vijñana.
aladr.s.t.i (vijnana trikaldrishti) ::: same as vijñanamaya trikaladr.s.t.i. vij ñanavan
Alambana. (P. Arammana; T. dmigs pa; C. suoyuan; J. shoen; K. soyon 所縁). In Sanskrit, "objective support," "sense object," or "object of cognition"; in epistemology, the object of any one of the six sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA), i.e., visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental objects. In the mainstream traditions, these objects were considered to be the external constituent in the cognitive relationship between subject and object, whereby the contact (SPARsA) between, e.g., an olfactory sensory object (e.g., gandha) and the olfactory sense base (GHRAnENDRIYA) produces a corresponding olfactory consciousness (GHRAnAVIJNANA). Sense objects thus correspond to the six external "sense-fields" or "spheres of perception" (AYATANA) and the six external "elements" (DHATU). The term Alambana is also used in instructions on meditation to describe the object upon which the meditator is to focus the mind. See also ALAMBANAPRATYAYA.
Alambanapratyaya. (P. Arammanapaccaya; T. dmigs rkyen; C. suoyuan yuan; J. shoennen; K. soyon yon 所縁縁). In Sanskrit, "objective-support condition" or "observed-object condition," the third of the four types of conditions (PRATYAYA) recognized in both the VAIBHAsIKA ABHIDHARMA system of the SARVASTIVADA school and the YOGACARA school; the term also appears as the second of the twenty-four conditions (P. paccaya) in the massive PAli abhidhamma text, the PAttHANA. This condition refers to the role the corresponding sensory object (ALAMBANA) takes in the arising of any of the six sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA) and is one of the three causal conditions necessary for cognition to occur. Sensory consciousness thus cannot occur without the presence of a corresponding sensory object, whether that be visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, or mental.
Alaya(Sanskrit) ::: A compound word: a, "not"; laya, from the verb-root li, "to dissolve"; hence "theindissoluble." The universal soul; the basis or root or fountain of all beings and things -- the universe,gods, monads, atoms, etc. Mystically identical with akasa in the latter's highest elements, and withmulaprakriti in the latter's essence as "root-producer" or "root-nature." (See also Akasa, Buddhi,Mulaprakriti)[NOTE: The Secret Doctrine (1:49) mentions Alaya in the Yogachara system, most probably referring toalaya-vijnana, but adds that with the "Esoteric 'Buddhists' . . . 'Alaya' has a double and even a triplemeaning." -- PUBLISHER]
alayavijnana. ::: "All-encompassing foundation consciousness" which induces transmigration or rebirth, causing the origination of a new existence; the storehouse-consciousness that accumulates all potential energy for the mental and physical manifestation of one's existence
Alaya-vijnana (Sanskrit) Ālaya-vijñāna [from ālaya abode, dwelling from ā-lī to settle upon, come close to + vijñāna discernment, knowledge from vi-jñā to distinguish, know, understand] Abode of discriminative knowledge; the cognizing or discerning faculty, the mental power of making distinctions, hence the higher reasoning. When used mystically as “a receptacle or treasury of knowledge or wisdom,” it corresponds very closely to the Vedantic vijnanamaya-kosa, the “thought-made sheath” of the human constitution, the higher manas or reincarnating ego.
AlayavijNAna. (T. kun gzhi rnam par shes pa; C. alaiyeshi/zangshi; J. arayashiki/zoshiki; K. aroeyasik/changsik 阿賴耶識/藏識). In Sanskrit, "storehouse consciousness" or "foundational consciousness"; the eighth of the eight types of consciousness (VIJNANA) posited in the YOGACARA school. All forms of Buddhist thought must be able to uphold (1) the principle of the cause and effect of actions (KARMAN), the structure of SAMSARA, and the process of liberation (VIMOKsA) from it, while also upholding (2) the fundamental doctrines of impermanence (ANITYA) and the lack of a perduring self (ANATMAN). The most famous and comprehensive solution to the range of problems created by these apparently contradictory elements is the AlayavijNAna, often translated as the "storehouse consciousness." This doctrinal concept derives in India from the YOGACARA school, especially from ASAnGA and VASUBANDHU and their commentators. Whereas other schools of Buddhist thought posit six consciousnesses (vijNAna), in the YogAcAra system there are eight, adding the afflicted mind (KLIstAMANAS) and the AlayavijNAna. It appears that once the SarvAstivAda's school's eponymous doctrine of the existence of dharmas in the past, present, and future was rejected by most other schools of Buddhism, some doctrinal solution was required to provide continuity between past and future, including past and future lifetimes. The alAyavijNAna provides that solution as a foundational form of consciousness, itself ethically neutral, where all the seeds (BIJA) of all deeds done in the past reside, and from which they fructify in the form of experience. Thus, the AlayavijNAna is said to pervade the entire body during life, to withdraw from the body at the time of death (with the extremities becoming cold as it slowly exits), and to carry the complete karmic record to the next rebirth destiny. Among the many doctrinal problems that the presence of the AlayavijNAna is meant to solve, it appears that one of its earliest references is in the context not of rebirth but in that of the NIRODHASAMAPATTI, or "trance of cessation," where all conscious activity, that is, all CITTA and CAITTA, cease. Although the meditator may appear as if dead during that trance, consciousness is able to be reactivated because the AlayavijNAna remains present throughout, with the seeds of future experience lying dormant in it, available to bear fruit when the person arises from meditation. The AlayavijNAna thus provides continuity from moment to moment within a given lifetime and from lifetime to lifetime, all providing the link between an action performed in the past and its effect experienced in the present, despite protracted periods of latency between seed and fruition. In YogAcAra, where the existence of an external world is denied, when a seed bears fruit, it bifurcates into an observing subject and an observed object, with that object falsely imagined to exist separately from the consciousness that perceives it. The response by the subject to that object produces more seeds, either positive, negative, or neutral, which are deposited in the AlayavijNAna, remaining there until they in turn bear their fruit. Although said to be neutral and a kind of silent observer of experience, the AlayavijNAna is thus also the recipient of karmic seeds as they are produced, receiving impressions (VASANA) from them. In the context of Buddhist soteriological discussions, the AlayavijNAna explains why contaminants (ASRAVA) remain even when unwholesome states of mind are not actively present, and it provides the basis for the mistaken belief in self (Atman). Indeed, it is said that the klistamanas perceives the AlayavijNAna as a perduring self. The AlayavijNAna also explains how progress on the path can continue over several lifetimes and why some follow the path of the sRAVAKA and others the path of the BODHISATTVA; it is said that one's lineage (GOTRA) is in fact a seed that resides permanently in the AlayavijNAna. In India, the doctrine of the AlayavijNAna was controversial, with some members of the YogAcAra school rejecting its existence, arguing that the functions it is meant to serve can be accommodated within the standard six-consciousness system. The MADHYAMAKA, notably figures such as BHAVAVIVEKA and CANDRAKĪRTI, attacked the YogAcAra proponents of the AlayavijNAna, describing it as a form of self, which all Buddhists must reject. ¶ In East Asia, the AlayavijNAna was conceived as one possible solution to persistent questions in Buddhism about karmic continuity and about the origin of ignorance (MOHA). For the latter, some explanation was required as to how sentient beings, whom many strands of MAHAYANA claimed were inherently enlightened, began to presume themselves to be ignorant. Debates raged within different strands of the Chinese YogAcAra traditions as to whether the AlayavijNAna is intrinsically impure because of the presence of these seeds of past experience (the position of the Northern branch of the Chinese DI LUN ZONG and the Chinese FAXIANG tradition of XUANZANG and KUIJI), or whether the AlayavijNAna included both pure and impure elements because it involved also the functioning of thusness, or TATHATA (the Southern Di lun school's position). Since the sentient being has had a veritable interminable period of time in which to collect an infinity of seeds-which would essentially make it impossible to hope to counteract them one by one-the mainstream strands of YogAcAra viewed the mind as nevertheless tending inveterately toward impurity (dausthulya). This impurity could only be overcome through a "transformation of the basis" (AsRAYAPARAVṚTTI), which would completely eradicate the karmic seeds stored in the storehouse consciousness, liberating the bodhisattva from the effects of all past actions and freeing him to project compassion liberally throughout the world. In some later interpretations, this transformation would then convert the AlayavijNAna into a ninth "immaculate consciousness" (AMALAVIJNANA). See also DASHENG QIXIN LUN.
Alaya Vynyana. See ALAYA-VIJNANA
amalavijNAna. (T. dri ma med pa'i rnam shes; C. amoluo shi/wugou shi; J. amarashiki/mukushiki; K. amara sik/mugu sik 阿摩羅識/無垢識). In Sanskrit, "immaculate consciousness"; a ninth level of consciousness posited in certain strands of the YOGACARA school, especially that taught by the Indian translator and exegete PARAMARTHA. The amalavijNAna represents the intrusion of TATHAGATAGARBHA (womb or embryo of buddhahood) thought into the eight-consciousnesses theory of the YOGACARA school. The amalavijNAna may have antecedents in the notion of immaculate gnosis (amalajNAna) in the RATNAGOTRAVIBHAGA and is claimed to be first mentioned in STHIRAMATI's school of YogAcAra, to which ParamArtha belonged. The term is not attested in Sanskrit materials, however, and may be of Chinese provenance. The most sustained treatment of the concept appears in the SHE LUN ZONG, an exegetical tradition of Chinese Buddhism built around ParamArtha's translation of ASAnGA's MAHAYANASAMGRAHA (She Dasheng lun). ParamArtha compares amalavijNAna to the perfected nature (PARINIsPANNA) of consciousness, thus equating amalavijNAna with the absolute reality of thusness (TATHATA) and therefore rendering it the essence of all dharmas and the primary catalyst to enlightenment. As "immaculate," the amalavijNAna emulates the emphasis in tathAgatagarbha thought on the inherent purity of the mind; but as "consciousness," amalavijNAna could also be sited within the YogAcAra philosophy of mind as a separate ninth level of consciousness, now construed as the basis of all the other consciousnesses, including the eighth ALAYAVIJNANA. See also BUDDHADHATU; FOXING.
AmitAbha. (T. 'Od dpag med/Snang ba mtha' yas; C. Amituo fo/Wuliangguang fo; J. Amida butsu/Muryoko butsu; K. Amit'a pul/Muryanggwang pul 阿彌陀佛/無量光佛). In Sanskrit, "Limitless Light," the buddha of the western PURE LAND of SUKHAVATĪ, one of the most widely worshipped buddhas in the MAHAYANA traditions. As recounted in the longer SUKHAVATĪVYuHASuTRA, numerous eons ago, a monk named DHARMAKARA vowed before the buddha LOKEsVARARAJA to follow the BODHISATTVA path to buddhahood, asking him to set forth the qualities of buddha-fields (BUDDHAKsETRA). DharmAkara then spent five KALPAS in meditation, concentrating all of the qualities of all buddha-fields into a single buddha field that he would create upon his enlightenment. He then reappeared before LokesvararAja and made forty-eight specific vows (PRAnIDHANA). Among the most famous were his vow that those who, for as few as ten times over the course of their life, resolved to be reborn in his buddha-field would be reborn there; and his vow that he would appear at the deathbed of anyone who heard his name and remembered it with trust. DharmakAra then completed the bodhisattva path, thus fulfilling all the vows he had made, and became the buddha AmitAbha in the buddha-field called sukhAvatī. Based on the larger and shorter versions of the SukhAvatīvyuhasutra as well as the apocryphal GUAN WULIANGSHOU JING (*AmitAyurdhyAnasutra), rebirth in AmitAbha's buddha-field became the goal of widespread Buddhist practice in India, East Asia, and Tibet, with the phrase "Homage to AmitAbha Buddha" (C. namo Amituo fo; J. NAMU AMIDABUTSU; K. namu Amit'a pul) being a central element of East Asian Buddhist practice. AmitAbha's Indian origins are obscure, and it has been suggested that his antecedents lie in Persian Zoroastrianism, where symbolism of light and darkness abounds. His worship dates back at least as far as the early centuries of the Common Era, as attested by the fact that the initial Chinese translation of the SukhAvatīvyuhasutra is made in the mid-second century CE, and he is listed in the SADDHARMAPUndARĪKASuTRA ("Lotus Sutra") as the ninth son of the buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu. The Chinese pilgrims FAXIAN and XUANZANG make no mention of him by name in their accounts of their travels to India in the fifth and seventh centuries CE, respectively, though they do include descriptions of deities who seem certain to have been AmitAbha. Scriptures relating to AmitAbha reached Japan in the seventh century, but he did not become a popular religious figure until some three hundred years later, when his worship played a major role in finally transforming what had been previously seen as an elite and foreign tradition into a populist religion. In East Asia, the cult of AmitAbha eventually became so widespread that it transcended sectarian distinction, and AmitAbha became the most popular buddha in the region. In Tibet, AmitAbha worship dates to the early propagation of Buddhism in that country in the eighth century, although it never became as prevalent as in East Asia. In the sixteenth century, the fifth DALAI LAMA gave the title PAn CHEN LAMA to his teacher, BLO BZANG CHOS KYI RGYAL MTSHAN, and declared him to be an incarnation of AmitAbha (the Dalai Lama himself having been declared the incarnation of Avalokitesvara, AmitAbha's emanation). ¶ The names "AmitAbha" and "AmitAyus" are often interchangeable, both deriving from the Sanskrit word "amita," meaning "limitless," "boundless," or "infinite"; there are some intimations that Amita may actually have been the original name of this buddha, as evidenced, for example, by the fact that the Chinese transcription Amituo [alt. Emituo] transcribes the root word amita, not the two longer forms of the name. The distinction between the two names is preserved in the Chinese translations "Wuliangguang" ("Infinite Light") for AmitAbha and Wuliangshou ("Infinite Life") for AmitAyus, neither of which is used as often as the transcription Amituo. Both AmitAbha and AmitAyus serve as epithets of the same buddha in the longer SukhAvatīvyuhasutra and the Guan Wuliangshou jing, two of the earliest and most important of the sutras relating to his cult. In Tibet, his two alternate names were simply translated: 'Od dpag med ("Infinite Light") and Tshe dpag med ("Infinite Life"). Despite the fact that the two names originally refer to the same deity, they have developed distinctions in ritual function and iconography, and AmitAyus is now considered a separate form of AmitAbha rather than just a synonym for him. ¶ AmitAbha is almost universally shown in DHYANASANA, his hands at his lap in DHYANAMUDRA, though there are many variations, such as standing or displaying the VITARKAMUDRA or VARADAMUDRA. As one of the PANCATATHAGATA, AmitAbha is the buddha of the padma family and is situated in the west. In tantric depictions he is usually red in color and is shown in union with his consort PAndarA, and in East Asia he is commonly accompanied by his attendants AVALOKITEsVARA (Ch. GUANYIN) and MAHASTHAMAPRAPTA. See also JINGTU SANSHENG; WANGSHENG.
AmoghapAsa (Lokesvara). (T. Don yod zhags pa; C. Bukong Juansuo; J. Fuku Kenjaku; K. Pulgong Kyonsak 不空羂索). A popular tantric form of AVALOKITEsVARA, primarily distinguished by his holding of a snare (pAsa); his name is interpreted as "Lokesvara with the unfailing snare." Like Avalokitesvara, he is worshipped as a savior of beings, his snare understood to be the means by which he rescues devotees. His worship seems to have developed in India during the sixth century, as evidenced by the 587 Chinese translation of the AmoghapAsahṛdayasutra (the first chapter of the much longer AmoghapAsakalparAjasutra) by JNAnagupta. Numerous translations of scriptures relating to AmoghapAsa by BODHIRUCI, XUANZANG, and AMOGHAVAJRA and others up into the tenth century attest to the continuing popularity of the deity. The earliest extant image of AmoghapAsa seems to be in Japan, in the monastery of ToDAIJI in Nara, dating from the late seventh century. There are many extant images of the god in northwest India from the ninth and tenth centuries; some earlier images of Avalokitesvara from the eighth century, which depict him holding a snare, have been identified as AmoghapAsa, although the identification remains uncertain. Tibetan translations of the AmoghapAsahṛdayasutra and the AmoghapAsakalparAjasutra are listed in the eighth-century LDAN DKAR MA catalogue, though it is later translations that are included in the BKA' 'GYUR, where they are classified as kriyAtantras. (The Tibetan canon includes some eight tantras concerning AmoghapAsa.) Numerous images of AmoghapAsa from Java dating to the early second millennium attest to his popularity in that region; in the Javanese custom of deifying kings, King Visnuvardhana (d. 1268) was identified as an incarnation of AmoghapAsa. AmoghapAsa can appear in forms with any number of pairs of hands, although by far the most popular are the six-armed seated and eight-armed standing forms. Other than his defining snare, he often carries a three-pointed staff (tridanda) but, like other multiarmed deities, can be seen holding almost any of the tantric accoutrements. AmoghapAsa is depicted in bodhisattva guise and, like Avalokitesvara, has an image of AMITABHA in his crown and is occasionally accompanied by TARA, BHṚKUTĪ, SudhanakumAra, and HAYAGRĪVA.
ana (ajnana; ajnanam) ::: ignorance; absence of jñana; "the forgetfulness of the high and true self", resulting in bondage to the three modes (trigun.a) of the lower Nature (apara prakr.ti). aj ñanam
ana (ananda-vijnana; ananda vijnana) ::: the principle of ananda reflected in the plane of vijñana. ananda-vij ananda-vij ñanamaya
anabuddhi (vijnanabuddhi; vijnana-buddhi; vijnana buddhi) ::: the intuitive mind, intermediate between intellectual reason (manasa buddhi) and pure vijñana, a faculty consisting of vijñana "working in mind under the conditions and in the forms of mind", which "by its intuitions, its inspirations, its swift revelatory vision, its luminous insight and discrimination can do the work of the reason with a higher power, a swifter action, a greater and spontaneous certitude". vij ñana-caksuh
ana-caks.uh. (vijnana-chakshu) ::: eye of vijñana. vij ñana ana catus catustaya . t.aya (vijnanachatusthaya; vijnana-chatusthaya; vijnana
anadipena bhasvata (jnanadipena bhaswata) ::: with the blazing lamp of knowledge. [Gita 10.11] j ñana-hasyam
ana (drashtri vijnana) ::: same as seer ideality, usually in the . t.r. vijñ sense of seer / revelatory logistis. dravyaj ñana
anadr.s.t.i (vijnanadrishti; vijnana drishti) ::: dr.s.t.i (revelation) acting in the vijñana free from mental accompaniment or limitation. vij ñana ana ghanat ghanata
ana (jnana; jnanam; gnana) ::: knowledge; "that power of direct and divine knowledge which works independently of the intellect & senses or uses them only as subordinate assistants", the first member of the vijñana catus.t.aya, consisting primarily of the application of any or all of the supra-intellectual faculties of smr.ti, sruti and dr.s.t.i "to the things of thought, ideas and knowledge generally"; sometimes extended to include other instruments of vijñana such as trikaladr.s.t.i and telepathy; also, short for jñanaṁ brahma; wisdom, an attribute of Mahavira; (on page 1281) the name of a svarga. j ñana ana atman
anakosa (vijnanakosha; vijnana-kosha) ::: the sheath (kosa) corresponding to vijñana, "the knowledge-sheath, the causal [karan.a] body", by living in which the human being "will be able to draw down entirely into his terrestrial existence the fullness of the infinite spiritual consciousness". vij ñana
analipsa ::: the urge towards knowledge, an attribute of the brahman.a. j ñanalipsa analipsa jñanaprakaso brahmavarcasyaṁ sthairyam iti brahmatejah. (jnanalipsa jnanaprakasho brahmavarchasyam sthairyam iti
anamaya anandamaya isvara (vijnanamaya anandamaya ishwara) ::: the all-knowing and all-blissful Lord.
anamaya (vijnanamaya; vijnanamay) ::: supra-intellectual; having the nature of vijñana, the principle that links saccidananda to mind, life and matter and is revealed through the faculties of smr.ti, sruti and dr.s.t.i; expressing the principle of vijñana involved in or subordinated to the principle of another plane, such as the physical or mental. The terms ideal, gnostic and supramental are almost interchangeable with vijñanamaya in the Record of Yoga up to 1920; in 1927, the word vijñanamaya does not occur, while "supramental" and "gnostic" refer to planes higher than ideality.
anaṁ brahma (jnanam brahma; gnanam brahma) ::: the realisation of "Brahman as self-existent consciousness and universal knowledge", bringing a perception of "all knowledge and conscious experience as the outflowing of that consciousness", the third member of the brahma ..84 catus.t.aya; the divine Reality (brahman) realised as "a consciousness in everything which is aware of all". j ñanam anaṁ, trikaladr.s.t.ir, as.tasiddhih., samadhir, iti vijñanacatus.t.ayam
ananda ::: delight, bliss, ecstasy, beatitude; "a profound concentrated ananda intense self-existent bliss extended to all that our being does, envisages, creates, a fixed divine rapture"; same as sama ananda, the universal delight which constitutes active / positive samata, "an equal delight in all the cosmic manifestation of the Divine", whose "foundation is the Atmajnana or Brahmajnana by which we perceive the whole universe as a perception of one Being that manifests itself in multitudinous forms and activities"; the highest of the three stages of active / positive . 12 samata, "the joy of Unity" by which "all is changed into the full and pure ecstasy" of the Spirit; the third and highest state of bhukti, consisting of the delight of existence experienced "throughout the system" in seven principal forms (kamananda, premananda, ahaituka ananda, cidghanananda, suddhananda, cidananda and sadananda) corresponding to the seven kosas or sheaths of the being and the seven lokas or planes of existence; physical ananda or sarirananda in its five forms, also called vividhananda (various delight), the fourth member of the sarira catus.t.aya; (especially in the plural, "anandas") any of these forms of ananda; same as anandaṁ brahma, the last aspect of the fourfold brahman; bliss of infinite conscious existence, "the original, all-encompassing, all-informing, all-upholding delight", the third aspect of saccidananda and the principle manifested in its purity in janaloka or anandaloka, also present in an involved or subordinated form on every other plane.
anandaṁ brahma ::: the formula expressing the realisation of the fourfold brahman, when one sees "all the universe as the manifestation of the One" (sarvaṁ brahma), "all quality and action as the play of his universal and infinite energy" (anantaṁ brahma), "all knowledge and conscious experience as the outflowing of that consciousness" (jñanaṁ brahma), and "all in the terms of that one Ananda" (anandaṁ brahma). sarvam anantaṁ jñanam anandaṁ brahma, iti brahmacatus.t.ayam (sarvam anantam jnanam anandam brahma, iti brahmachatushtayam)
ananda (vijnana ananda; vijnana-ananda) ::: same as vijñanananda. vij ñana ana bhava
anaprakasa (jnanaprakasha) ::: light of knowledge, "clearness of mind and its tendency to be easily illuminated by ideas and to receive the truth", an attribute of the brahman.a. j ñanaprakaso,
anaprakaso, jñanalipsa, brahmavarcasyaṁ, sthairyam (jnanaprakasho, jnanalipsa, brahmavarchasyam, sthairyam) ::: light of knowledge, the urge towards knowledge, spiritual force, steadiness (the attributes of the brahman.a). j ñanasamarthyam
ana-samadhi (vijnana-samadhi; vijnana samadhi) ::: samadhi transformed by the action of vijñana; a higher counterpart of the traditional savicara samadhi, replacing intellectual judgment and perception by their supra-intellectual equivalents. vij ñanasarathyupeta anasarathyupeta rathi rathi vidv vidvan
anasamarthyam (jnanasamarthyam; jnana samarthyam) ::: capacity for knowledge, "the power of the mind to receive and adapt itself to any kind of knowledge without feeling anywhere a limit or an incapacity", an element of buddhisakti. j ñani
ana (sanjnana) ::: sense-knowledge; "the essential sense" (see indriya) which "in itself can operate without bodily organs" and is "the original capacity of consciousness to feel in itself all that consciousness has formed and to feel it in all the essential properties and operations of that which has form, whether represented materially by vibration of sound or images of light or any other physical symbol". Saṁjñana, like prajñana, is one of the "subordinate operations involved in the action of the comprehensive consciousness" (vijñana); "if prajñana can be described as the outgoing of apprehensive consciousness to possess its object in conscious energy, to know it, saṁjñana can be described as the inbringing movement of apprehensive consciousness which draws the object placed before it back to itself so as to possess it in conscious substance, to feel it"...
anasiddhi (vijnanasiddhi; vijnana-siddhi; vijnana siddhi) ::: the perfection of the vijñana catus.t.aya. vij ñana ana suddha
anAsravadhAtu. (T. zag pa med pa'i dbyings; C. wulou jie; J. murokai; K. muru kye 無漏界). In Sanskrit, the "uncontaminated realm." According to those proponents of the MAHAYANA who assert that all beings will eventually become buddhas, ARHATs do not enter the NIRVAnA without remainder (ANUPADHIsEsANIRVAnA) at the time of death but instead enter the anAsravadhAtu. There, they abide in states of deep concentration until they are roused by the buddhas and exhorted to abandon their "unafflicted ignorance" (AKLIstAJNANA) by following the BODHISATTVA path to buddhahood.
anAtman. (P. anattA; T. bdag med; C. wuwo; J. muga; K. mua 無我). In Sanskrit, "no self" or "nonself" or more broadly "insubstantiality"; the third of the "three marks" (TRILAKsAnA) of existence, along with impermanence (ANITYA) and suffering (DUḤKHA). The concept is one of the key insights of the Buddha, and it is foundational to the Buddhist analysis of the compounded quality (SAMSKṚTA) of existence: since all compounded things are the fruition (PHALA) of a specific set of causes (HETU) and conditions (PRATYAYA), they are therefore absent of any perduring substratum of being. In the sutra analysis of existence, the "person" (PUDGALA) is said to be a product of five aggregates (SKANDHA)-materiality (RuPA), physical sensations (VEDANA), perception (SAMJNA), impulses (SAMSKARA), and consciousness (VIJNANA)-which together comprise the totality of the individual's physical, mental, and emotional existence. What in common parlance is called the person is a continuum (SAMTANA) imputed to the construction of these aggregates, but when these aggregates are separated at the time of death, the person also simultaneously vanishes. This relationship between the person and the skandhas is clarified in the MILINDAPANHA's famous simile of the chariot: a chariot is composed of various constituent parts, but if that chariot is broken down into its parts, there is no sense of "chariot" remaining. So it is with the person and his constituent parts, the skandhas. The Buddha is rigorously against any analysis of phenomena that imputes the reality of a person: when a questioner asks him, "Who senses?," for example, the Buddha rejects the question as wrongly conceived and reframes it in terms of conditionality, i.e., "With what as condition does sensation occur?" ("Sensory contact" [SPARsA] is the answer.) Buddhism thus rejects any notion of an eternal, perduring soul that survives death, or which transmigrates from lifetime to lifetime; rather, just as we can impute a conventional continuity to the person over one lifetime, so can this same continuity be imputed over several lifetimes. The continuum of karmic action and reaction ensures that the last moment of consciousness in the present life serves as the condition for the first moment of consciousness in the next. The next life is therefore neither the same as nor different from the preceding lifetime; instead, it is causally related to it. For this reason, any specific existence, or series of existences, is governed by the causes and conditions that create it, rendering life fundamentally beyond our attempts to control it (another connotation of "nonself") and thus unworthy as an object of attachment. Seeing this lack of selfhood in compounded things generates a sense of "danger" (ADĪNAVA) that catalyzes the aspiration to seek liberation (VIMOKsA). Thus, understanding this mark of anAtman is the crucial antidote (PRATIPAKsA) to ignorance (AVIDYA) and the key to liberation from suffering (duḥkha) and the continuing cycle of rebirth (SAMSARA). Although the notion of anAtman is applied to the notion of a person in mainstream Buddhism, in the PRAJNAPARAMITA scriptures and the broader MAHAYANA tradition the connotation of the term is extended to take in the "nonself of phenomena" (DHARMANAIRATMYA) as well. This extension may be a response to certain strands of the mainstream tradition, such as SARVASTIVADA (lit. the "Teaching That All [Dharmas] Exist"), which considered dharmas (i.e., the five skandhas and so on) to be factors that existed in reality throughout all three time periods (TRIKALA) of past, present, and future. In order to clarify that dharmas have only conventional validity, the MahAyAna posited that they also were anAtman, although the nature of this lack of self was differently understood by the YOGACARA and MADHYAMAKA schools.
ana (vijnana; vijnanam; vijnan) ::: "the large embracing consciousness . . . which takes into itself all truth and idea and object of knowledge and sees them at once in their essence, totality and parts or aspects", the "comprehensive consciousness" which is one of the four functions of active consciousness (see ajñanam), a mode of awareness that is "the original, spontaneous, true and complete view" of existence and "of which mind has only a shadow in the highest operations of the comprehensive intellect"; the faculty or plane of consciousness above buddhi or intellect, also called ideality, gnosis or supermind (although these are distinguished in the last period of the Record of Yoga as explained under the individual terms), whose instruments of knowledge and power form the vijñana catus.t.aya; the vijñana catus.t.aya itself; the psychological principle or degree of consciousness that is the basis of maharloka, the "World of the Vastness" that links the worlds of the transcendent existence, consciousness and bliss of saccidananda to the lower triloka of mind, life and matter, being itself usually considered the lowest plane of the parardha or higher hemisphere of existence. Vijñana is "the knowledge of the One and the Many, by which the Many are seen in the terms of the One, in the infinite unifying Truth, Right, Vast [satyam r.taṁ br.hat] of the divine existence". vij ñana ana ananda
antarAbhava. (T. bar do'i srid pa/bar do; C. zhongyin/zhongyou; J. chuin/chuu; K. chungŭm/chungyu 中陰/中有). In Sanskrit, "intermediate state" or "transitional existence," a transitional state between death (maranabhava) and rebirth (upapattibhava), distinct from the five or six destinies of SAMSARA (see GATI), during which time the transitional being (GANDHARVA) prepares for rebirth. The antarAbhava is considered one of sentient beings' "four modes of existence" (catvAro bhavAḥ), along with birth/rebirth (upapattibhava), life (purvakAlabhava), and death (maranabhava). The notion of an intermediate state was controversial. Schools that accepted it, including the SARVASTIVADA and most MAHAYANA traditions, resorted to scriptural authority to justify its existence, citing, for example, SuTRAs that refer to seven states of existence (bhava), including an antarAbhava. A type of nonreturner (ANAGAMIN), the third stage of sanctity in the mainstream Buddhist schools, was also called "one who achieved NIRVAnA while in the intermediate state" (ANTARAPARINIRVAYIN), again suggesting the scriptural legitimacy of the antarAbhava. There were several views concerning the maximum duration of the ANTARABHAVA. The ABHIDHARMAMAHAVIBHAsA, for example, lists such variations as instantaneous rebirth, rebirth after a week, indeterminate duration, and forty-nine days. Of these different durations, forty-nine days became dominant, and this duration is found in the ABHIDHARMAKOsABHAsYA and the YOGACARABHuMIsASTRA. Ceremonies to help guide the transitional being toward a more salutary rebirth, if not toward enlightenment itself, take place once weekly (see QIQI JI); these observances culminate in a "forty-ninth day ceremony" (SISHIJIU [RI] ZHAI), which is thought to mark the end of the process of transition, when rebirth actually occurs. The transitional being in the intermediate state is termed either a gandharva (lit. "fragrance eater"), because it does not take solid food but is said to subsist only on scent (gandha), or sometimes a "mind-made body" (MANOMAYAKAYA). During the transitional period, the gandharva is searching for the appropriate place and parents for its next existence and takes the form of the beings in the realm where it is destined to be reborn. In the Tibetan tradition, the antarAbhava is termed the BAR DO, and the guidance given to the transitional being through the process of rebirth is systematized in such works as the BAR DO THOS GROL CHEN MO, commonly known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Like several of the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS, the THERAVADA scholastic tradition rejects the notion of an intermediate state, positing instead that an instantaneous "connecting" or "linking" consciousness (P. patisandhiviNNAna; S. *pratisaMdhivijNAna) directly links the final moment of consciousness in the present life to the first moment of consciousness in the next.
anulomaNAna. In PAli, "conformity knowledge"; according to the VISUDDHIMAGGA, this is the ninth and last of nine knowledges (P. NAna, S. JNANA) cultivated as part of the purity of knowledge and vision of progress along the path (P. patipadANAnadassanavisuddhi). This latter category, in turn, constitutes the sixth of the seven purities (VIsUDDHI) to be developed along the path to liberation. "Conformity knowledge" refers to the last three so-called impulsion moments (javana) of consciousness that arise in the mind of the practitioner preceding his perception of the nibbAna element (NIRVAnADHATU). This knowledge is so named because it conforms itself to the preceding eight stages of knowledge, as well as to the immediately following supramundane path (P. AriyamAgga, S. ARYAMARGA) and the thirty-seven constituents of enlightenment (P. bodhipakkhiyadhamma, S. BODHIPAKsIKADHARMA). When the three moments are treated separately, they receive different names. The first impulsion moment is called "preparation" (P. parikamma), when adaptation knowledge takes as its object the compounded formations (SAMSKARA) as being something impermanent (ANITYA), suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself (ANATMAN). Immediately thereafter, the second impulsion moment arises, which takes the same formations as its object and is called "access" (upacAra). Immediately following that the third impulsion moment arises taking the same object, which is called "conformity" (anuloma). At this point, the practitioner is at the threshold of liberation (P. vimokkha, S. VIMOKsA), and, therefore, conformity knowledge is described as the final stage in what is called "insight leading to emergence" (P. vutthAnagAminivipassanA). This category includes the sixth, seventh, and eighth knowledges (NAna) in the ninefold schema: namely, "knowledge arising from the desire for deliverance" (P. MUCCITUKAMYATANAnA), "knowledge arising from the contemplation on reflection" (P. PAtISAnKHANUPASSANANAnA), and "knowledge arising from equanimity regarding all formations of existence" (P. SAnKHARUPEKKHANAnA).
anupadhisesanirvAna. [alt. nirupadhisesanirvAna] (P. anupAdisesanibbAna; T. phung po'i lhag ma med par mya ngan las 'das ba / lhag med myang 'das; C. wuyu niepan; J. muyonehan; K. muyo yolban 無餘涅槃). In Sanskrit, "the nirvAna without remainder"; one of the two kinds of NIRVAnA, along with "the nirvAna with remainder" (SOPADHIsEsANIRVAnA). After a buddha or, in some interpretations, an ARHAT has achieved awakening (BODHI), some Buddhist schools distinguish between the experience of nirvAna while it is still accompanied by a substratum of existence (upadhi = SKANDHA) and the nirvAna that is completely freed from that substratum. According to this view, at the time of his enlightenment under the BODHI TREE, the Buddha achieved the nirvAna with remainder, because he had destroyed all causes for future rebirth, but the "remainder" of his mind and body persisted. The anupadhisesanirvAna subsequently occurred at the time of the Buddha's death. It was achieved through having brought an absolute end to any propensity toward defilement (KLEsA) and of the causes that would lead to any prospect of future rebirth; it is therefore the total extinction of all conventional physical and mental existence. The nirvAna that is experienced at death is thus "without remainder" because there are no physical or mental constituents remaining that were the products of previous KARMAN; anupadhisesanirvAna is therefore synonymous with PARINIRVAnA. Since this type of nirvAna results from the complete eradication of the afflictive destructions (KLEsAVARAnA), MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS typically claim that it is accessible by sRAVAKAs and PRATYEKABUDDHAs. However, according to those proponents of the MAHAYANA who assert that all beings will eventually become buddhas, arhats do not enter anupAdisesanirvAna upon death but instead enter the uncontaminated realm (ANASRAVADHATU), where they remain in states of deep concentration until they are roused by the buddhas and exhorted to abandon their "unafflicted ignorance" (AKLIstAJNANA). In the YOGACARA school, anupAdisesanirvAna is one of the four kinds of nirvAna, which entails the cessation of any tendency toward delusion through the transformation of the eighth consciousness, the storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJNANA), into the mirrorlike knowledge (ADARsAJNANA).
anutpAdajNAna. (T. mi skye ba shes pa; C. wusheng zhi; J. mushochi; K. musaeng chi 無生智). In Sanskrit, "knowledge of nonproduction"; one of the two knowledges (along with KsAYAJNANA) that accompanies liberation from rebirth (SAMSARA). AnutpAdajNAna refers specifically to the knowledge that the afflictions (KLEsA), once destroyed, will never be produced again. See also ANUTPATTIKADHARMAKsANTI.
anvayajNAna. (S). See DHARMAKsANTI.
ArupyadhAtu. [alt. in S. and P. arupadhAtu] (T. gzugs med pa'i khams; C. wuse jie; J. mushikikai; K. musaek kye 無色界). In Sanskrit, "immaterial" or "formless" "realm"; the highest of the three realms of existence (TRAIDHATUKA) within SAMSARA, along with the sensuous realm (KAMADHATU) and the realm of subtle materiality (RuPADHATU). The heavens of the immaterial realm are comprised of four classes of divinities (DEVA) whose existence is entirely mental, no longer requiring even a subtle material foundation for their ethereal states of mind: (1) the sphere of infinite space (AKAsANANTYAYATANA); (2) the sphere of infinite consciousness (VIJNANANANTYAYATANA); (3) the sphere of nothing whatsoever or absolute nothingness (AKINCANYAYATANA); (4) the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA, see also BHAVAGRA). Rebirth in these different spheres is based on mastery of the corresponding four immaterial meditative absorptions (ARuPYAVACARADHYANA) in previous lives. Because they have transcended all materiality, the beings here retain only the subtlest form of the last four aggregates (SKANDHA). For a detailed description, see DEVA.
ArupyAvacaradhyAna. (P. arupAvacarajhAna; T. gzugs med na spyod pa'i bsam gtan; C. wusejie ding; J. mushikikaijo; K. musaekkye chong 無色界定). In Sanskrit, "meditative absorption associated with the immaterial realm"; equivalent to S. ArupyadhyAna (q.v. DHYANA) and synonymous with "immaterial attainment" (arupasamApatti). One of two broad varieties of DHYANA or meditative absorption; the other being RuPAVACARADHYANA (P. rupAvacarajhAna) or meditative absorption belonging to the realm of subtle materiality. In both cases, dhyAna refers to the attainment of single-pointed concentration of the mind on an ideational object of meditation. ArupyAvacaradhyAna is described as accessible only to those who have already mastered the fourth absorption of the realm of subtle materiality, and is itself merely a refinement of that state. In the immaterial absorptions, the "object" of meditation is gradually attenuated until the meditator abides in the sphere of infinite space (S. AKAsANANTYAYATANA; P. AkAsAnaNcAyatana). In the second immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside infinite space and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness (S. VIJNANANANTYAYATANA; P. viNNAnAnaNcAyatanta). In the third immaterial absorption, one sets aside the perception of infinite consciousness and abides in the sphere of nothingness (S. AKINCANYAYATANA; P. AkiNcaNNAyatana). In the fourth immaterial absorption, one sets aside the perception of nothingness and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (S. NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA; P. nevasaNNAnAsaNNAyatana). Mastery of any of the absorptions of the immaterial realm can result in rebirth as a divinity (DEVA) within the corresponding plane in the immaterial realm (ArupyAvacara or ARuPYADHATU); see ANINJYAKARMAN. See also KAMMAttHANA.
asaiksamArga. (T. mi slob lam; C. wuxuedao; J. mugakudo; K. muhakto 無學道). In Sanskrit, "the path of the adept" (lit. "the path where there is nothing more to learn" or "the path where no further training is necessary"); the fifth of the five-path schema (PANCAMARGA) used in both SARVASTIVADA ABHIDHARMA and the YOGACARA and MADHYAMAKA schools of MAHAYANA. It is the equivalent of the path of completion (NIstHAMARGA) and is synonymous with asaiksapatha. With the consummation of the "path of cultivation" (BHAVANAMARGA), the adept (whether following the sRAVAKA, PRATYEKABUDDHA, or BODHISATTVA path) achieves the "adamantine-like concentration" (VAJROPAMASAMADHI), which leads to the permanent destruction of even the subtlest and most persistent of the ten fetters (SAMYOJANA), resulting in the "knowledge of cessation" (KsAYAJNANA) and in some presentations an accompanying "knowledge of nonproduction" (ANUTPADAJNANA), viz., the knowledge that the fetters are destroyed and can never again recur. Because the adept now has full knowledge of the eightfold path (ARYAstAnGAMARGA) and has achieved full liberation (VIMOKsA) as either an ARHAT or a buddha, he no longer needs any further instruction-thus he has completed the "path where there is nothing more to learn."
asaMkhyeyakalpa. (P. asankheyyakappa; T. bskal pa grangs med pa; C. asengqi jie; J. asogiko; K. asŭnggi kop 阿僧祇劫). In Sanskrit, "incalculable eon" or "infinite eon." The longest of all KALPAs is named "incalculable" (ASAMKHYA); despite its name, it has been calculated by dedicated Buddhist scholiasts as being the length of a mahAkalpa (itself, eight intermediate kalpas in duration) to the sixtieth power. The BODHISATTVA path leading to buddhahood is presumed to take not one but three "incalculable eons" to complete, because the store of merit (PUnYA), knowledge (JNANA), and wholesome actions (KUsALA-KARMAPATHA) that must be accumulated by a bodhisattva in the course of his training is infinitely massive. Especially in the East Asian traditions, this extraordinary period of time has been taken to mean that practice is essentially interminable, thus shifting attention from the goal to the process of practice. For example, the AVATAMSAKASuTRA's statement that "at the time of the initial arousal of the aspiration for enlightenment (BODHICITTOTPADA), complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAMBODHI) is already achieved" has been interpreted in the East Asian HUAYAN ZONG to imply that enlightenment is in fact achieved at the very inception of religious training-a realization that renders possible a bodhisattva's commitment to continue practicing for three infinite eons. In YOGACARA and MADHYAMAKA presentations of the path associated with the ABHISAMAYALAMKARA, the three incalcuable eons are not considered infinite, with the bodhisattva's course divided accordingly into three parts. The first incalcuable eon is devoted to the paths of accumulation (SAMBHARAMARGA) and preparation (PRAYOGAMARGA); the second incalculable eon devoted to the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA) and the first seven bodhisattva stages (BHuMI); and the third incalculable eon devoted to the eighth, ninth, and tenth stages.
asaMskṛtadharma. (P. asankhatadhamma; T. 'dus ma byas kyi chos; C. wuweifa; J. muiho; K. muwibop 無爲法). In Sanskrit, "uncompounded" or "unconditioned" "factors"; a term used to describe the few DHARMAs that are not conditioned (SAMSKṚTA) and are therefore perduring phenomena (NITYADHARMA) that are not subject to impermanence (ANITYA). The lists differ in the various schools. The PAli tradition's list of eighty-two dharmas (P. dhamma) recognizes only one uncompounded dharma: NIRVAnA (P. nibbAna). The SARVASTIVADA school recognizes three out of seventy-five: space (AKAsA), and two varieties of nirvAna: "analytical" "suppression" or "cessation" (PRATISAMKHYANIRODHA) and "nonanalytical suppression" (APRATISAMKHYANIRODHA). YOGACARA recognizes six of its one hundred dharmas as uncompounded: the preceding three, plus "motionlessness" (AniNjya, [alt. aniNjya]), the "cessation of perception and sensation" (SAMJNAVEDAYITANIRODHA), and "suchness" (TATHATA). NirvAna is the one factor that all Buddhist schools accept as being uncompounded. It is the one dharma that exists without being the result of a cause (ahetuja), though it may be accessed through the three "gates to deliverance" (VIMOKsAMUKHA). Because nirvAna neither produces nor is produced by anything else, it is utterly distinct from the conditioned realm that is subject to production and cessation; its achievement, therefore, means the end to the repeated cycle of rebirth (SAMSARA). In several schools of Buddhism, including the SarvAstivAda, nirvAna is subdivided into two complementary aspects: an "analytical cessation" (pratisaMkhyAnirodha) that corresponds to earlier notions of nirvAna and "nonanalytical suppression" (apratisaMkhyAnirodha), which ensures that the enlightened person will never again be subject to the vagaries of the conditioned world. "Analytical cessation" (pratisaMkhyAnirodha) occurs through the direct meditative insight into the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (catvAry AryasatyAni) and the cognition of nonproduction (ANUTPADAJNANA), which brings about the disjunction (visaMyoga) from all unwholesome factors (AKUsALADHARMA). "Nonanalytical suppression" (apratisaMkhyAnirodha) prevents the dharmas of the conditioned realm from ever appearing again for the enlightened person. In the VAIBHAsIKA interpretation, this dharma suppresses the conditions that would lead to the production of dharmas, thus ensuring that they remain forever positioned in future mode and unable ever again to arise in the present. Because this dharma is not a result of insight, it is called "nonanalytical." Space (AkAsa) has two discrete denotations. First, space is an absence that delimits forms; like the empty space inside a door frame, AkAsa is a hole that is itself empty but that defines, or is defined by, the material that surrounds it. Second, as the vast emptiness of space, space comes also to be described as the absence of obstruction; in this sense, space also comes to be interpreted as something akin to the Western conception of ether, a virtually immaterial, but glowing fluid that serves as the support for the four material elements (MAHABHuTA). Space is accepted as an uncompounded dharma in six of the mainstream Buddhist schools, including the SARVASTIVADA and the MAHASAMGHIKA, as well as the later YOGACARA; three others reject this interpretation, including the THERAVADA. The YogAcAra additions to this list essentially subsume the upper reaches of the immaterial realm (ArupyAvacara) into the listing of uncompounded dharmas. AniNjya, or motionlessness, is used even in the early Buddhist tradition to refer to actions that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome (see ANINJYAKARMAN), which lead to rebirth in the realm of subtle materiality or the immaterial realm and, by extension, to those realms themselves. The "cessation of perception and sensation" (saMjNAvedayitanirodha) is the last of the eight liberations (VIMOKsA; P. vimokkha) and the ninth and highest of the immaterial attainments (SAMAPATTI). "Suchness" (TATHATA) is the ultimate reality (i.e., suNYATA) shared in common by a TATHAGATA and all other afflicted (SAMKLIstA) and pure (VIsUDDHI) dharmas; the "cessation of perception and sensation" (saMjNAvedayitanirodha) is not only "a meditative trance wherein no perceptual activity remains," but one where no feeling, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, is experienced.
Asanga. (T. Thogs med; C. Wuzhao; J. Mujaku; K. Much'ak 無著) (c. 320-c. 390 CE). a.k.a. Arya Asanga, Indian scholar who is considered to be a founder of the YOGACARA school of MAHAYANA Buddhism. In the Tibetan tradition, he is counted as one of the "six ornaments of JAMBUDVĪPA" ('dzam gling rgyan drug), together with VASUBANDHU, NAGARJUNA and ARYADEVA, and DIGNAGA and DHARMAKĪRTI. Born into a brAhmana family in Purusapura (modern-day Peshawar, Pakistan), Asanga originally studied under SARVASTIVADA (possibly MAHĪsASAKA) teachers but converted to the MahAyAna later in life. His younger brother was the important exegete Vasubandhu; it is said that he was converted to the MahAyAna by Asanga. According to traditional accounts, Asanga spent twelve years in meditation retreat, after which he received a vision of the future buddha MAITREYA. He visited Maitreya's abode in TUsITA heaven, where the bodhisattva instructed him in MahAyAna and especially YogAcAra doctrine. Some of these teachings were collected under the name MaitreyanAtha, and the Buddhist tradition generally regards them as revealed by Asanga through the power of the future buddha. Some modern scholars, however, have posited the existence of a historical figure named MAITREYANATHA or simply Maitreya. Asanga is therefore associated with what are known as the "five treatises of MaitreyanAtha" (the ABHISAMAYALAMKARA, the DHARMADHARMATAVIBHAGA, the MADHYANTAVIBHAGA, the MAHAYANASuTRALAMKARA, and the RATNAGOTRAVIBHAGA). Asanga was a prolific author, composing commentaries on the SAMDHINIRMOCANASuTRA and the VAJRACCHEDIKAPRAJNAPARAMITASuTRA. Among his independent treatises, three are particularly important. The ABHIDHARMASAMUCCAYA sets forth the categories of the ABHIDHARMA from a YogAcAra perspective. The MAHAYANASAMGRAHA is a detailed exposition of YogAcAra doctrine, setting forth such topics as the ALAYAVIJNANA and the TRISVABHAVA as well as the constituents of the path. His largest work is the compendium entitled YOGACARABHuMIsASTRA. Two of its sections, the sRAVAKABHuMI and the BODHISATTVABHuMI, circulated as independent works, with the former important for its exposition of the practice of DHYANA and the latter for its exposition of the bodhisattva's practice of the six PARAMITA; the chapter on sĪLA is particularly influential. These texts have had a lasting and profound impact on the development of Buddhism, especially in India, Tibet, and East Asia. Among the great figures in the history of Indian Buddhism, Asanga is rare for the breadth of his interests and influence, making significant contributions to philosophy (as the founder of YogAcAra), playing a key role in TATHAGATAGARBHA thought (through the RatnagotravibhAga), and providing significant expositions of Buddhist practice (in the YogAcArabhumi).
Ashta-vijnana (Sanskrit) Aṣṭa-vijñāna [from aṣṭa eight + vijñāna function of consciousness, discernment] Eight or eightfold faculties; used in mystical Mahayana Buddhist works to signify what in Hindu philosophy is called the jnanendriyas (organs of consciousness or of conscious existence in imbodied life). This group of inner faculties, functions, or powers of consciousness has direct reference to the skandhas of Brahmanical philosophy. While the skandhas range from the highest down to and including those of the astral-vital-physical vehicle, nevertheless when closely grouped together the ashta-vijnana may be considered as a unitary vehicle, the field of action of the spiritual ego; hence “One must see with his spiritual eye, hear with his Dharmakayic ear, feel with the sensations of his Ashta-vijnyana (spiritual ‘I’) before he can comprehend this doctrine fully . . .” (ML 200).
AsrayaparAvṛtti. [alt. Asrayaparivṛtti] (T. gnas yongs su 'gyur pa; C. zhuanyi; J. ten'e; K. chonŭi 轉依). In Sanskrit, "transformation of the basis" or "fundamental transmutation"; the transmutation of the defiled state in which one has not abandoned the afflictions (KLEsA) into a purified state in which the klesas have been abandoned. This transmutation thus transforms an ordinary person (PṚTHAGJANA) into a noble one (ARYA). In the YOGACARA school's interpretation, by understanding (1) the emptiness (suNYATA) of the imagined reality (PARIKALPITA) that ordinary people mistakenly ascribe to the sensory images they experience (viz., "unreal imaginings," or ABHuTAPARIKALPA) and (2) the conditioned origination of things through the interdependent aspect of cognition (PARATANTRA), the basis will be transformed into the perfected (PARNIsPANNA) nature, and enlightenment realized. STHIRAMATI posits three aspects to this transformation: transformation of the basis of the mind (cittAsrayaparAvṛtti), transformation of the basis of the path (mArgAsrayaparAvṛtti), and transformation of the basis of the proclivities (dausthulyAsrayaparAvṛtti). "Transformation of the basis of mind" transmutes the imaginary into the perfected through the awareness of emptiness. Insight into the perfected in turn empties the path of any sense of sequential progression, thus transmuting the mundane path (LAUKIKAMARGA) with its multiple steps into a supramundane path (lokottaramArga, cf. LOKUTTARAMAGGA) that has no fixed locus; this is the "transformation of the basis of the path." Finally, "transformation of the basis of the proclivities" eradicates the seeds (BĪJA) of action (KARMAN) that are stored in the storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJNANA), liberating the bodhisattva from the effects of any past unwholesome actions and freeing him to project compassion liberally throughout the world.
astavimoksa. (P. atthavimokkha; T. rnam par thar pa brgyad; C. ba jietuo; J. hachigedatsu; K. p'al haet'al 八解脱). In Sanskrit, "eight liberations"; referring to a systematic meditation practice for cultivating detachment and ultimately liberation (VIMOKsA). There are eight stages in the attenuation of consciousness that accompany the cultivation of increasingly deeper states of meditative absorption (DHYANA). In the first four dhyAnas of the realm of subtle materiality (RuPAVACARADHYANA), the first three stages entail (1) the perception of materiality (RuPA) in that plane of subtle materiality (S. rupasaMjNin, P. rupasaNNī), (2) the perception of external forms while not perceiving one's own form (S. arupasaMjNin, P. arupasaNNī), and (3) the developing of confidence through contemplating the beautiful (S. subha, P. subha). The next five stages transcend the realm of subtle materiality to take in the four immaterial dhyAnas (ARuPYAVACARADHYANA) and beyond: (4) passing beyond the material plane with the idea of "limitless space," one attains the plane of limitless space (AKAsANANTYAYATANA); (5) passing beyond the plane of limitless space with the idea of "limitless consciousness," one attains the plane of limitless consciousness (VIJNANANANTYAYATANA); (6) passing beyond the plane of limitless consciousness with the idea that "there is nothing," one attains the plane of nothingness (AKINCANYAYATANA); (7) passing beyond the plane of nothingness, one attains the plane of neither perception nor nonperception (NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA); and (8) passing beyond the plane of neither perception nor nonperception, one attains the cessation of all perception and sensation (SAMJNAVEDAYITANIRODHA). ¶ The ABHIDHARMASAMUCCAYA and YOGACARABHuMIsASTRA give an explanation of the first three of the eight vimoksas within the larger context of bodhisattvas who compassionately manifest shapes, smells, and so on for the purpose of training others. Bodhisattvas who have reached any of the nine levels (the RuPADHATU, the four subtle-materiality DHYANAs, and four immaterial attainments) engage in this type of practice. In the first vimoksa, they destroy "form outside," i.e., those in the rupadhAtu who have not destroyed attachment to forms (to their own color, shape, smell, and so on) cultivate detachment to the forms they see outside. (Other bodhisattvas who have reached the first dhyAna and so on do this by relaxing their detachment for the duration of the meditation.) In the second vimoksa, they destroy the "form inside," i.e., they cultivate detachment to their own color and shape. (Again, others who have reached the immaterial attainments and have no attachment to their own form relax that detachment for the duration of the meditation.) In the third, they gain control over what they want to believe about forms by meditating on the relative nature of beauty, ugliness, and size. They destroy grasping at anything as having an absolute pleasant or unpleasant identity, and perceive them all as having the same taste as pleasant, or however else they want them to be. These texts finally give an explanation of the remaining five vimoksas, "to loosen the rope of craving for the taste of the immaterial levels."
Atisa DīpaMkarasrījNAna. (T. A ti sha Mar me mdzad dpal ye shes) (982-1054). Indian Buddhist monk and scholar revered by Tibetan Buddhists as a leading teacher in the later dissemination (PHYI DAR) of Buddhism in Tibet. His name, also written as Atisha, is an ApabhraMsa form of the Sanskrit term atisaya, meaning "surpassing kindness." Born into a royal family in what is today Bangladesh, Atisa studied MAHAYANA Buddhist philosophy and TANTRA as a married layman prior to being ordained at the age of twenty-nine, receiving the ordination name of DīpaMkarasrījNAna. After studying at the great monasteries of northern India, including NALANDA, ODANTAPURĪ, VIKRAMAsĪLA, and SOMAPURA, he is said to have journeyed to the island of Sumatra, where he studied under the CITTAMATRA teacher Dharmakīrtisrī (also known as guru Sauvarnadvīpa) for twelve years; he would later praise Dharmakīrtisrī as a great teacher of BODHICITTA. Returning to India, he taught at the Indian monastic university of VIKRAMAsĪLA. Atisa was invited to Tibet by the king of western Tibet YE SHES 'OD and his grandnephew BYANG CHUB 'OD, who were seeking to remove perceived corruption in the practice of Buddhism in Tibet. Atisa reached Tibet in 1042, where he initially worked together with the renowned translator RIN CHEN BZANG PO at THO LING monastery in the translation of PRAJNAPARAMITA texts. There, he composed his famous work, the BODHIPATHAPRADĪPA, or "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment," an overview of the MahAyAna Buddhist path that served as a basis for the genre of literature known as LAM RIM ("stages of the path"). He spent the remaining twelve years of his life in the central regions of Tibet, where he formed his principal seat in Snye thang (Nyetang) outside of LHA SA where he translated a number of MADHYAMAKA works into Tibetan. He died there and his relics were interred in the SGROL MA LHA KHANG. Atisa and his chief disciples 'BROM STON RGYAL BA'I 'BYUNG GNAS and RNGOG LEGS PA'I SHES RAB are considered the forefathers of the BKA' GDAMS PA sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, he is commonly known by the honorific title Jo bo rje (Jowoje), "the Superior Lord."
atma jnana. ::: direct knowledge of the Self
atmajnana ::: knowledge of the Self.
AtthakanAgarasutta. (C. Bacheng jing; J. Hachijokyo; K. P'alsong kyong 八城經). In PAli, "Discourse to the Man from Atthaka"; the fifty-second sutta in the MAJJHIMANIKAYA (a separate SARVASTIVADA recension appears as SuTRA no. 217 in the Chinese translation of the MADHYAMAGAMA); preached by the Buddha's attendant ANANDA to the householder Dasaka of Atthaka at BeluvagAmaka near VesAlī (VAIsALĪ). According to the PAli recension, a merchant from the town (nAgara) of Atthaka named Dasaka approaches Ananda and asks him if there was any one thing that could lead to liberation from bondage. Ananda teaches him the eleven doors of the deathless, by means of which it is possible to attain liberation from bondage. These doors are made up of the four meditative absorptions (JHANA; S. DHYANA), the four BRAHMAVIHARA meditations, and the three immaterial meditations of infinite space (AKAsANANTYAYATANA), infinite consciousness (VIJNANANANTYAYATANA), and nothing-whatsoever (AKINCANYAYATANA). Ananda states that by contemplating the conditioned and impermanent nature of these eleven doors to liberation, one can attain arhatship (see ARHAT) in this life or short of that will attain the stage of a nonreturner (ANAGAMIN), who is destined to be reborn in the pure abodes (sUDDHAVASA), whence he will attain arhatship and final liberation.
Avajjana. In PAli, "advertence," that is, adverting the mind toward a sensory object, which is the first of seven functions in the cognitive process that ultimately lead to sensory consciousness (P. viNNAna, S. VIJNANA). When the unconscious mind (P. BHAVAnGASOTA) is interrupted by the presence of a sensory object, the mind first performs the function of "adverting" toward the object. Thereafter, the mind performs in sequence the functions of "seeing" (P. dassana), "receiving" (P. sampaticchana), "investigating" (P. santīrana), and "determining" (P. votthapana). Immediately after this, the mind generates six or seven "impulse moments" (P. javanacitta) associated with either wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral classes of consciousness, after which it reverts to the bhavanga.
Avarana. (T. sgrib pa; C. zhang; J. sho; K. chang 障). In Sanskrit and PAli, "obstruction," "obstacle," or "hindrance." In MAHAYANA literature, two types of Avarana are commonly described: "obstructions that are the afflictions," or "afflictive obstructions" (KLEsAVARAnA), and cognitive or noetic obstructions, viz., "obstructions to omniscience" (JNEYAVARAnA). sRAVAKAs and PRATYEKABUDDHAs can be freed from the afflictive obstructions, but only BODHISATTVAs are able to free themselves from the cognitive obstructions. In the YOGACARA system, the cognitive obstructions result from fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality. Because of the attachment that derives from the reification of what are actually imaginary external phenomena, conceptualization and discrimination arise in the mind, which in turn lead to pride, ignorance, and wrong views. Based on the mistakes in understanding generated by these cognitive obstructions, the individual engages in defiled actions motivated by anger, envy, etc., which constitute the afflictive obstructions. The afflictive obstructions may be removed by followers of the srAvaka, pratyekabuddha, and beginning bodhisattva paths by applying various antidotes or counteragents (PRATIPAKsA) to the afflictions or defilements (KLEsA); overcoming these types of obstructions will lead to freedom from further rebirth. The cognitive obstructions, however, can only be overcome by advanced bodhisattvas who seek instead to achieve buddhahood, by perfecting their understanding of emptiness (suNYATA) and compassion (KARUnA) and amassing a great store of merit (PUnYA) by engaging in the bodhisattva deeds (CARYA). Buddhas, therefore, are the only class of beings who have overcome both types of obstructions and thus are able simultaneously to cognize all objects of knowledge in the universe. The jNeyAvarana are therefore sometimes translated as "obstructions to omniscience." In the elaboration of the obstructions in the YogAcAra text CHENG WEISHI LUN (*VijNaptimAtratAsiddhi), there are ten types of Avarana that are specifically said to obstruct the ten types of suchness (TATHATA) correlated with the ten stages of the bodhisattva path (DAsABHuMI): (1) the obstruction of the common illusions of the unenlightened (pṛthagjanatvAvarana; C. yishengxing zhang); (2) the obstruction of deluded conduct (mithyApratipattyAvarana; C. xiexing zhang); (3) the obstruction of dullness (dhandhatvAvarana; C. andun zhang); (4) the obstruction of the manifestation of subtle afflictions (suksmaklesasamudAcArAvarana; C. xihuo xianxing zhang); (5) the obstruction of the lesser HĪNAYANA ideal of PARINIRVAnA (hīnayAnaparinirvAnAvarana; C. xiasheng niepan zhang); (6) the obstruction of the manifestation of coarse characteristics (sthulanimittasamudAcArAvarana; C. cuxiang xianxing zhang); (7) the obstruction of the manifestation of subtle characteristics (suksmanimittasamudAcArAvarana; C. xixiang xianxing zhang); (8) the obstruction of the continuance of activity even in the immaterial realm that is free from characteristics (nirnimittAbhisaMskArAvarana; C. wuxiang jiaxing zhang); (9) the obstruction of not desiring to act to bring salvation to others (parahitacaryAkAmanAvarana; C. buyuxing zhang); and (10) the obstruction of not yet acquiring mastery over all things (dharmesuvasitApratilambhAvarana; fa weizizai zhang). These ten obstructions are overcome by practicing, respectively: (1) the perfection of giving (DANAPARAMITA); (2) the perfection of morality (sĪLAPARAMITA); (3) the perfection of forbearance (KsANTIPARAMITA); (4) the perfection of energetic effort (VĪRYAPARAMITA); (5) the perfection of meditative absorption (DHYANAPARAMITA); (6) the perfection of wisdom (PRAJNAPARAMITA); (7) the perfection of expedient means (UPAYAPARAMITA); (8) the perfection of the vow (to attain enlightenment) (PRAnIDHANAPARAMITA); (9) the perfection of powers (BALAPARAMITA); and (10) the perfection of omniscience (jNAnapAramitA). See also KARMAVARAnA; NĪVARAnA.
avyAkṛtadharma. (P. avyAkatadhamma; T. lung du ma bstan pa'i chos; C. wujifa; J. mukiho; K. mugibop 無法). In Sanskrit, "indeterminate," "neutral," or "indifferent" dharmas. This term is used in contrast to dharmas that are wholesome (KUsALA) or unwholesome (AKUsALA); avyAkṛtadharmas are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, and therefore "neutral." Such "interdeterminate dharmas" include the KLIstAMANAS, ALAYAVIJNANA, and the results of KARMAN. The term is also used more generally for deeds that in themselves are neither virtuous nor nonvirtuous but may become so depending on the intention with which they are performed.
Ayatana. (T. skye mched; C. chu; J. sho; K. ch'o 處). In Sanskirt and PAli, "sense-fields" or "bases of cognition." In epistemology, these twelve sense-fields, which serve as the bases for the production of consciousness, are the six internal sense bases, or sense organs (the "faculties" or INDRIYA, i.e., eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) and the six external sense objects (the "objective supports" or ALAMBANA, i.e., forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and mental phenomena). The contact (SPARsA) between a sense base and its corresponding sense object would lead to specific sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA); hence, the Ayatanas are considered to be the "access" (Aya) of the mind and mental states. In the context of the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA), the Ayatanas are usually described as comprising only the six sense bases. The twelve Ayatana are subsumed as the first twelve of the eighteen elements (DHATU). The Ayatanas are one of the three major taxonomies of factors (along with SKANDHA and dhAtu) found in the SuTRAs, and represent a more primitive stage of DHARMA classification than the elaborate analyses found in the later ABHIDHARMA literature. In compound words like AKAsANANTYAYATANA, ABHIBHAVAYATANA, and so on, Ayatana means simply "stage" or "level."
bAhyArtha. (T. phyi don; C. waijing; J. gekyo; K. oegyong 外境). In Sanskrit, "external object"; referring specifically to sensory objects (AYATANA) that exist externally to the sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA) that perceive them; the term is sometimes also seen in Sanskrit as bahirdhArtha. Such objects are knowable because there is some feature or quality (AKARA) that is specific to that particular sense datum. In the MADHYAMAKA school, the conventional existence of external objects is sometimes upheld, although they are said to lack intrinsic nature (SVABHAVA). External objects are built up out of atoms (PARAMAnU), the smallest particles, sometimes compared to a mote of dust. These indivisible atoms serve as building blocks that coalesce to create an external object large enough to have an impact on a sensory faculty (INDRIYA). In his critique of individual atoms in his MADHYAMAKALAMKARA, sANTARAKsITA describes three basic assertions about how this process happens: (1) different atoms are connected with one another; (2) the atoms are surrounded by external atoms of the same class, with interstices in between, each grounding the others' potential; they cohere and do not drift apart because of a reciprocal energy but do not touch each other; (3) there are no interstices at all between the atoms. In the YOGACARA school, external objects are presumed not to exist prior to and separate from the sensory consciousnesses that perceive them, and thus lack any intrinsic reality of their own. VASUBANDHU's VIMsATIKA presents the YogAcAra view that indivisible atoms of any type cannot form gross objects. The YogAcAra refutation is part of a larger project to demonstrate that Buddhist notions of causality are tenable only in the absence of external objects. According to this view, the conscious experience of apparent external objects is in fact the result of residual impressions (VASANA) left by earlier, similar experiences on an eighth consciousness, the storehouse-like subconscious (ALAYAVIJNANA).
baifa. (S. satadharma; J. hyappo; K. paekpop 百法). In Chinese, the "hundred DHARMAs"; the standard YOGACARA classification of factors, classified in five major categories: (1) Eight dharmas concerning the mind (CITTA)-the five affective consciousnesses associated with the five senses, plus the mental consciousness (MANOVIJNANA), mentality (MANAS), and the "storehouse consciousness" (ALAYAVIJNANA). (2) Fifty-one forces associated with thought (CITTASAMPRAYUKTASAMSKARA), such as "applied thought" (VITARKA), "sustained attention" (VICARA), and "envy" (ĪRsYA); these are the mental concomitants (CAITTA). (3) Eleven "material" (RuPA) dharmas, including the eye organ and visual objects, and formal thought objects (dharmAyatanikarupa). (4) Twenty-four forces dissociated from thought (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAMSKARA); these are either subconscious or involuntary phenomena, such as "life force" (jīvitendriya) and the "meditative trance wherein no perceptual activities remain" (ASAMJNASAMAPATTI), or abstract notions, such as "possession" (PRAPTI), which are nonetheless classified as real existents. (5) Six "uncompounded" (ASAMSKṚTA) dharmas, such as "space" (AKAsA) and "suchness" (TATHATA), which are taken to be neither contingent on nor susceptible to causal forces, since they are unproduced by conditions and eternally unchanging. For the full roster of the hundred dharmas, see the List of Lists (s.v.).
bala. (T. stobs; C. li; J. riki; K. yok 力). In Sanskrit and PAli, "power" or "strength"; used in a variety of lists, including the five powers (the eighteenth to twenty-second of the BODHIPAKsIKADHARMAs, or "thirty-seven factors pertaining to awakening"), the ten powers of a TATHAGATA, the ten powers of a BODHISATTVA, and the ninth of the ten perfections (PARAMITA). The five powers are the same as the five spiritual faculties (INDRIYA)-faith (sRADDHA), perseverance (VĪRYA), mindfulness (SMṚTI), concentration (SAMADHI), and wisdom (PRAJNA)-but now fully developed at the LAUKIKAGRADHARMA stage of the path of preparation (PRAYOGAMARGA), just prior to the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA). A tathAgata's ten powers are given in both PAli and Sanskrit sources as the power of the knowledge (jNAnabala) of: (1) what can be and cannot be (sthAnAsthAna), (2) karmic results (karmavipAka), (3) the various dispositions of different beings (nAnAdhimukti), (4) how the world has many and different elements (nAnAdhAtu), (5) the higher (or different) faculties people possess (indriyaparApara), (6) the ways that lead to all destinations (sarvatragAminīpratipad), (7) the defilement and purification of all meditative absorptions (DHYANA), liberations (VIMOKsA), samAdhis, and trances (SAMAPATTI) (sarvadhyAnavimoksasamAdhisamApatti-saMklesavyavadAnavyavasthAna), (8) recollecting previous births (PuRVANIVASANUSMṚTI), (9) decease and birth (cyutyupapatti), and (10) the extinction of the contaminants (ASRAVAKsAYA). Another list gives the Buddha's ten powers as the power of aspiration (Asaya), resolution (ADHYAsAYA), habit (abhyAsa), practice (PRATIPATTI), wisdom (prajNA), vow (PRAnIDHANA), vehicle (YANA), way of life (caryA), thaumaturgy (vikurvana), the power derived from his bodhisattva career, and the power to turn the wheel of dharma (DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANA). When the MahAyAna six perfections (PARAMITA) are expanded and linked to the ten bodhisattva stages (DAsABHuMI), four perfections are added: the perfections of skillful means (UPAYA), vow, power, and knowledge (JNANA). Thus the perfection of power (BALAPARAMITA) is linked with the ninth bodhisattva stage (BHuMI). When the ten powers are listed as a bodhisattva's perfection of power, they are sometimes explained to be the powers of a tathAgata before they have reached full strength.
ba wu san er. (八五三二). In Chinese, "[teaching involving] eight, five, three, and two [dharmas]"; a numerical schema used in the Chinese FAXIANG ZONG (YOGACARA) to summarize key tenets of its analysis of factors (DHARMA). In this schema, "eight" refers to "eight consciousnesses" (the six sensory consciousnesses; the seventh consciousness, or KLIstAMANAS; and the eighth consciousness, or ALAYAVIJNANA); "five" refers to the "five [aspects of] dharmas" (WUFA); the "three" refers to "three natures" (TRISVABHAVA); and the "two" to "two kinds of nonself" (see PUDGALANAIRATMYA and DHARMANAIRATMYA).
benjue. (J. hongaku; K. pon'gak 本覺). In Chinese, lit. "original enlightenment"; also sometimes translated as "inherent" or "intrinsic" enlightenment. The term was apparently coined in China and explicated in many Buddhist APOCRYPHA, such as the DASHENG QIXIN LUN and the KŬMGANG SAMMAE KYoNG. The Dasheng qixin lun synthesized the earlier Indian theories of TATHAGATAGARBHA and ALAYAVIJNANA, which came to stand for two different aspects of the one mind (YIXIN). The Dasheng qixin lun also posited a difference between attaining awakening through a process of cultivation known as "actualizing enlightenment" (SHIJUE) and the inherent purity of the mind represented by the term "original enlightenment" (benjue). From the standpoint of the buddhas and sages, the mind of the ordinary sentient being is seen as being inherently endowed with the tathAgatagarbha, the embryo of buddhahood and thus intrinsically in a state of "original enlightenment" (benjue). From the standpoint of sentient beings, however, the foundation of that same mind is the AlayavijNAna, which, as a storehouse of a seemingly infinite number of seeds or potencies (BĪJA) of past unwholesome deeds, is defiled and thus in need of purification through a process of "actualizing enlightenment" (shijue). Once that actualization process is completed, however, one realizes that the enlightenment achieved through cultivation is in fact identical to the enlightenment that is innate, viz., "original enlightenment" (benjue). Hence, the difference between these two types of enlightenment is ultimately a matter of perspective: the buddhas and sages see the mind as the innately pure tathAgatagarbha and thus originally enlightened, while ordinary persons (PṚTHAGJANA) see the mind as defiled and thus needing purification through the process of actualizing enlightenment. See also HONGAKU.
bhAga. (T. cha; C. fen; J. bun; K. pun 分). In Sanskrit, "part" or "portion"; a term used in the YOGACARA school to describe the functioning of consciousness. As a seed (BĪJA) from the eighth storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJNANA) fructifies, it simultaneously produces both a moment of consciousness (VIJNANA) and a corresponding sensory object (ALAMBANA). The object, which is in fact not external to the mind, is called the "image portion" (nimittabhAga) or the "grasped" (grAhya). The perception of that object is called the "perceiving portion" (darsanabhAga) or the "grasper " (grAhaka). The awareness that perception has occurred is called the "self-witnessing portion" (svasaMvittibhAga).
bhAjanaloka. (T. snod kyi 'jig rten; C. qishijian; J. kiseken; K. kisegan 器世間) In Sanskrit, lit. "container world," referring to the wider environment, or the physical or inanimate world, whose function is to serve merely as a "container" for the lives of ordinary sentient beings (SATTVA). BhAjanaloka is used in contrast to and in conjunction with SATTVALOKA, the world of sentient beings, who are the inhabitants of that "container." Its ancillary production and cessation as well as its overall physical qualities were considered to be byproducts of the actions (KARMAN) of sentient beings. In the YOGACARA school, the physical world is viewed as a product of the storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJNANA).
Bhakti: (Skr. division, share) Fervent, loving devotion to the object of contemplation or the divine being itself, the almost universally recognized feeling approach to the highest reality, in contrast to vidya (s.v.) or jnana (s.v.), sanctioned by Indian philosophy and productive of a voluminous literature in which the names of Ramamanda, Vallabha, Nanak, Caitanya, and Tulsi Das are outstanding. It is distinguished as apara (lower) and para (higher) bhakti, the former theistic piety, the latter philosophic meditation on the unmanifest brahman (cf. avyakta). -- K.F.L.
bhangAnupassanANAna. In PAli, "knowledge arising from the contemplation of dissolution"; according to BUDDHAGHOSA's VISUDDHIMAGGA, the second of nine types of knowledge (P. NAnA) cultivated as part of the "purity of knowledge and vision of progress along the path" (PAtIPADANAnADASSANAVISUDDHI). This latter category, in turn, constitutes the sixth and penultimate purity (VIsUDDHI) that is to be developed along the path to liberation. "Knowledge arising from the contemplation of dissolution" is developed by observing the dissolution of material and mental phenomena (NAMARuPA). Having keenly observed the arising, subsistence, and decay of phenomena, the meditator turns his attention solely to their dissolution or destruction (bhanga). He then observes, for example, that consciousness arises because of causes and conditions: namely, it takes as its objects the five aggregates (P. khandha, S. SKANDHA) of matter (RuPA), sensation (VEDANA), perception (P. saNNA, S. SAMJNA) conditioned formations (P. sankhAra, S. SAMSKARA) and consciousness (P. viNNAna, S. VIJNANA), after which it is inevitably dissolved. Seeing this, the meditator understands that all consciousness is characterized by the three marks of existence (tilakkhana; S. TRILAKsAnA); namely, impermanence (anicca; S. ANITYA), suffering (dukkha; S. DUḤKHA) and nonself (anattA; S. ANATMAN). By understanding these three marks, he feels aversion for consciousness and overcomes his attachment to it. Eight benefits accrue to one who develops knowledge arising from the contemplation of dissolution; (1) he overcomes the view of eternal existence, (2) he abandons attachment to life, (3) he develops right effort, (4) he engages in a pure livelihood, (5 & 6) he enjoys an absence of anxiety and of fear, (7) he becomes patient and gentle, and (8) he overcomes boredom and sensual delight.
BharadvAja. [alt. BhAradvAja] (T. Bha ra dhwa dza / Bha ra dhwa dza'i bu / Rgyal mtshan 'dzin). In Sanskrit, "One Who Carries a Banner," or "Son of the One Who Carries a Banner"; found in the names PIndOLA BHARADVAJA and KANAKA BHARADVAJA (the Tibetan transcriptions do not always clearly differentiate between the two forms of the names), both counted among the sixteen ARHATs (sOdAsASTHAVIRA); also the name of one of the sixteen sons of the past buddha MahAbhijNA JNAnAbhibhu.
bhavAgra. (P. bhavagga; T. srid rtse; C. youding tian; J. uchoten; K. yujong ch'on 有頂天). In Sanskrit, the "summit of existence" or "apex of the universe"; one of the names for the fourth and highest level of heavens of the immaterial realm of existence (ARuPYADHATU), which is also known as the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA). As the highest level of existence, bhavAgra is also sometimes used in contrast to the lowest level of the hells, the AVĪCI.
BhAvanAkrama. (T. Sgom rim). In Sanskrit, "Stages of Meditation," the title of three separate but related works by the late-eighth century Indian master KAMALAsĪLA. During the reign of the Tibetan king KHRI SRONG LDE BTSAN at the end of the eighth century, there were two Buddhist factions at court, a Chinese faction led by the Northern Chan (BEI ZONG) monk Heshang Moheyan (MahAyAna) and an Indian faction of the recently deceased sANTARAKsITA, who with the king and PADMASAMBHAVA had founded the first Tibetan monastery at BSAM YAS (Samye). According to traditional accounts, sAntaraksita foretold of dangers and left instructions in his will that his student Kamalasīla should be summoned from India. A conflict seems to have developed between the Indian and Chinese partisans (and their allies in the Tibetan court) over the question of the nature of enlightenment, with the Indians holding that enlightenment takes place as the culmination of a gradual process of purification, the result of perfecting morality (sĪLA), concentration (SAMADHI), and wisdom (PRAJNA). The Chinese spoke against this view, holding that enlightenment was the intrinsic nature of the mind rather than the goal of a protracted path, such that one need simply to recognize the presence of this innate nature of enlightenment by entering a state of awareness beyond distinctions; all other practices were superfluous. According to both Chinese and Tibetan records, a debate was held between Kamalasīla and Moheyan at Bsam yas, circa 797, with the king himself serving as judge (see BSAM YAS DEBATE). According to Tibetan reports (contradicted by the Chinese accounts), Kamalasīla was declared the winner and Moheyan and his party banished from Tibet, with the king proclaiming that thereafter the MADHYAMAKA school of Indian Buddhist philosophy (to which sAntaraksita and Kamalasīla belonged) would have pride of place in Tibet. ¶ According to Tibetan accounts, after the conclusion of the debate, the king requested that Kamalasīla compose works that presented his view, and in response, Kamalasīla composed the three BhAvanAkrama. There is considerable overlap among the three works. All three are germane to the issues raised in the debate, although whether all three were composed in Tibet is not established with certainty; only the third, and briefest of the three, directly considers, and refutes, the view of "no mental activity" (amanasikAra, cf. WUNIAN), which is associated with Moheyan. The three texts set forth the process for the potential BODHISATTVA to cultivate BODHICITTA and then develop sAMATHA and VIPAsYANA and progress through the bodhisattva stages (BHuMI) to buddhahood. The cultivation of vipasyanA requires the use of both scripture (AGAMA) and reasoning (YUKTI) to understand emptiness (suNYATA); in the first BhAvanAkrama, Kamalasīla sets forth the three forms of wisdom (prajNA): the wisdom derived from learning (sRUTAMAYĪPRAJNA), the wisdom derived from reflection (CINTAMAYĪPRAJNA), and the wisdom derived from cultivation (BHAVANAMAYĪPRAJNA), explaining that the last of these gradually destroys the afflictive obstructions (KLEsAVARAnA) and the obstructions to omniscience (JNEYAVARAnA). The second BhAvanAkrama considers many of these same topics, stressing that the achievement of the fruition of buddhahood requires the necessary causes, in the form of the collection of merit (PUnYASAMBHARA) and the collection of wisdom (JNANASAMBHARA). Both the first and second works espouse the doctrine of mind-only (CITTAMATRA); it is on the basis of these and other statements that Tibetan doxographers classified Kamalasīla as a YOGACARA-SVATANTRIKA-MADHYAMAKA. The third and briefest of the BhAvanAkrama is devoted especially to the topics of samatha and vipasyanA, how each is cultivated, and how they are ultimately unified. Kamalasīla argues that analysis (VICARA) into the lack of self (ATMAN) in both persons (PUDGALA) and phenomena (DHARMA) is required to arrive at a nonconceptual state of awareness. The three texts are widely cited in later Tibetan Buddhist literature, especially on the process for developing samatha and vipasyanA.
bhAvanAmArga. (T. sgom lam; C. xiudao; J. shudo; K. sudo 修道). In Sanskrit, "the path of cultivation" or "path of meditation"; the fourth of the five stages of the path (MARGA) in the SARVASTIVADA soteriological system (also adopted in the MAHAYANA), which follows the path of vision or insight (DARsANAMARGA) and precedes the adept path where no further training is necessary (AsAIKsAMARGA). In the SarvAstivAda path schema, the path of vision consists of fifteen thought-moments, with a subsequent sixteenth moment marking the beginning of the path of cultivation (BHAVANAMARGA). This sixteenth moment, that of subsequent knowledge (ANVAYAJNANA) of the truth of the path (mArga), is, in effect, the knowledge that all of the afflictions (KLEsA) of both the subtle-materiality realm (RuPADHATU) and the immaterial realm (ARuPYADHATU) that are associated with the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS have been abandoned. As a result, the meditator destroys all causes for future rebirth as an animal, ghost, or hell denizen, but is not liberated from rebirth altogether and may still be reborn as a human or divinity. The more deeply rooted afflictions are destroyed over the course of the path of cultivation. For each of the nine levels of the three realms of rebirth-the sensuous realm (with one level), the realm of subtle materiality (with four levels), and the immaterial realm (with four levels)-there are nine levels of afflictions (KLEsA), from the most coarse to the most insidious, making eighty-one levels of affliction to be destroyed. As was the case with the path of vision, these defilements must be destroyed in a two-step process: the actual destruction of the particular affliction and the knowledge that it has been destroyed. There are therefore 162 "moments" of the abandoning of afflictions. This process, which takes place over the course of the path of cultivation, may occur over several lifetimes. However, when the 162nd stage is reached, and the subtlest of the subtle afflictions associated with the ninth level-that is, the fourth absorption of the immaterial realm-has been abandoned, the adept is then liberated from rebirth. The bhAvanAmArga is one of the "paths of the nobles" (ARYAMARGA) and one on this stage is immune to any possibility of retrogression and is assured of eventually achieving NIRVAnA. Reference is also sometimes made to the mundane path of cultivation (LAUKIKA-bhAvanAmArga), which refers to the three trainings (TRIsIKsA) in morality (sĪLA), concentration (SAMADHI), and wisdom (PRAJNA) as they are developed before the first of the three fetters (SAMYOJANA) is eradicated and insight achieved. In the MahAyAna path system, with variations between YOGACARA and MADHYAMAKA, the bhAvanAmArga is the period in which the BODHISATTVA proceeds through the ten BHuMIs and destroys the afflictive obstructions (KLEsAVARAnA) and the obstructions to omniscience (JNEYAVARAnA).
bhavangasota. In PAli, "subconscious continuum"; a concept peculiar to later PAli epistemological and psychological theory, which the ABHIDHAMMA commentaries define as the foundation of experience. The bhavangasota is comprised of unconscious moments of mind that flow, as it were, in a continuous stream (sota) or continuum and carry with them the impressions or potentialities of past experience. Under the proper conditions, these potentialities ripen as moments of consciousness, which, in turn, interrupt the flow of the bhavanga briefly before the mind lapses back into the subconscious continuum. Moments of consciousness and unconsciousness are discreet and never overlap in time, with unconsciousness being the more typical of the two states. This continuum is, therefore, what makes possible the faculty of memory. The bhavangasota is the PAli counterpart of idealist strands of MahAyAna Buddhist thought, such as the "storehouse consciousness" (ALAYAVIJNANA) of the YOGACARA school. See also CITTASAMTANA; SAMTANA.
BhAvaviveka. (T. Legs ldan 'byed; C. Qingbian; J. Shoben; K. Ch'ongbyon 清辯) (c. 500-570). Also known as BhAviveka and Bhavya, an important Indian master of the MADHYAMAKA school, identified in Tibet as a proponent of SVATANTRIKA MADHYAMAKA and, within that, of SAUTRANTIKA-SVATANTRIKA-MADHYAMAKA. He is best known for two works. The first is the PRAJNAPRADĪPA, his commentary on NAGARJUNA's MuLAMADHYAMAKAKARIKA; this work has an extensive subcommentary by AVALOKITAVRATA. Although important in its own right as one of the major commentaries on the central text of the Madhyamaka school, the work is most often mentioned for its criticism of the commentary of BUDDHAPALITA on the first chapter of NAgArjuna's text, where BhAvaviveka argues that it is insufficient for the Madhyamaka only to state the absurd consequences (PRASAnGA) that follow from the position of the opponent. According to BhAvaviveka, the Madhyamaka must eventually state his own position in the form of what is called an autonomous inference (svatantrAnumAna) or an autonomous syllogism (SVATANTRAPRAYOGA). In his own commentary on the first chapter of NAgArjuna's text, CANDRAKĪRTI came to the defense of BuddhapAlita and criticized BhAvaviveka, stating that it is inappropriate for the Madhyamaka to use autonomous syllogisms. It is on the basis of this exchange that Tibetan exegetes identified two schools within Madhyamaka: the SvAtantrika, which includes BhAvaviveka, and the PrAsangika, which includes BuddhapAlita and Candrakīrti. ¶ The other major work of BhAvaviveka is his MADHYAMAKAHṚDAYA, written in verse, and its prose autocommentary, the TARKAJVALA. The Madhyamakahṛdaya is preserved in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, the TarkajvAlA only in Tibetan. It is a work of eleven chapters, the first three and the last two of which set forth the main points in BhAvaviveka's view of the nature of reality and the Buddhist path, dealing with such topics as BODHICITTA, the knowledge of reality (tattvajNAna), and omniscience (SARVAJNATA). The intervening chapters set forth the positions (and BhAvaviveka's refutations) of various Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, including the sRAVAKA, YOGACARA, SAMkhya, Vaisesika, VedAnta, and MīmAMsA. These chapters (along with sANTARAKsITA's TATTVASAMGRAHA) are an invaluable source of insight into the relations between Madhyamaka and other contemporary Indian philosophical schools, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist. The chapter on the srAvakas, for example, provides a detailed account of the reasons put forth by the sRAVAKAYANA schools of mainstream Buddhism as to why the MahAyAna sutras are not the word of the Buddha (BUDDHAVACANA). BhAvaviveka's response to these charges, as well as his refutation of YOGACARA in the subsequent chapter, are particularly spirited, arguing that reality (TATHATA) cannot be substantially existent (dravyasat), as those rival schools claim. However, BhAvaviveka made extensive use of both the logic and epistemology of DIGNĂGA, at least at the level of conventional analysis. BhAvaviveka appears to have been the first Madhyamaka author to declare that the negations set forth by the Madhyamaka school are nonaffirming (or simple) negations (PRASAJYAPRATIsEDHA) rather than affirming (or implicative) negations (PARYUDASAPRATIsEDHA). Also attributed to BhAvaviveka is the Karatalaratna ("Jewel in Hand Treatise"; Zhangzhen lun), a work preserved only in the Chinese translation of XUANZANG. BhAvaviveka's MADHYAMAKARTHASAMGRAHA is a brief text in verse. As the title suggests, it provides an outline of the basic topics of MADHYAMAKA philosophy, such as the middle way (S. MADHYAMAPRATIPAD) between the extremes of existence and nonexistence, Madhyamaka reasoning, and the two truths (SATYADVAYA). The MADHYAMAKARATNAPRADĪPA is likely the work of another author of the same name, since it makes reference to such later figures as Candrakīrti and DHARMAKĪRTI.
bhayatupatthAnANAna. In PAli, "knowledge arising from the awareness of terror"; according to the VISUDDHIMAGGA, the third of nine knowledges (NAna; JNANA) cultivated as part of "purity of knowledge and vision of progress along the path" (PAtIPADANAnADASSANAVISUDDHI). This latter category, in turn, constitutes the sixth and penultimate purity (VISUDDHI) to be developed along the path to liberation. Knowledge arising from the contemplation of terror is developed by noting how all conditioned formations (sankhAra; SAMSKARA) or mental and physical phenomena (NAMARuPA) of the past, present and future have either gone, are going, or are destined to go to destruction. A simile given in the Visuddhimagga is that of a woman whose three sons have offended the king. The woman, who has already witnessed the beheading of her eldest son, witnesses the beheading of her middle son. And having witnessed the beheadings of her two older sons, the woman is filled with terror at the knowledge that her youngest son will likewise be executed. In the same way, the practitioner observes how phenomena of the past have ceased, how phenomena of the present are ceasing, and how those of the future are likewise destined to cease. Seeing conditioned formations as destined to destruction in this way, that is, as impermanent (anicca; ANITYA), the practitioner is filled with terror. Similarly, the practitioner sees conditioned formations as suffering (dukkha; DUḤKHA), and as impersonal and nonself (anattA; ANATMAN) and is filled with terror. In this way, the practitioner comes to realize that all mental and physical phenomena, being characterized by the three universal marks of existence (tilakkhana; TRILAKsAnA), are frightful.
bhrAntijNAna. (T. 'khrul shes; C. luanshi; J. ranjiki; K. nansik 亂識). In Sanskrit, "mistaken consciousness"; an epistemological term that is used to describe a consciousness that is mistaken with regard to its external sensory object, or "appearing object" (T. snang yul). Hence, according to the SAUTRANTIKA school, all conceptual consciousnesses, even those that are veridical, are mistaken in the sense that they mistake a generic image (arthasAmAnya) of an object for the actual object. YOGACARA schools say all consciousness of external appearance is mistaken, and some MADHYAMAKA schools say basic ignorance makes even nonconceptual sensory perceptions mistaken. In addition to mistaken consciousnesses that arise from such forms of ignorance (AVIDYA), there are also mistaken consciousnesses produced by superficial causes--inner and outer causes and conditions that distort the five physical senses and sixth mental sense. For example, jaundice may cause something that is white to appear yellow and summer sunlight and sand may cause a mirage, in which the mistaken consciousness sees water where there is none.
Bhutatathata: (Skr.) "So-ness", the highest state conceivable by the Vijnana-vada (s.v.) in which there is a complete coincidentia oppositorum of beings and elements of knowledge; directly identified with the Adi-Buddha, or eternal Buddha, in Vajrayana Buddhism. -- K.F.L.
Bhuta-vidya or Bhuta-vijnana (Sanskrit) Bhūta-vidyā, Bhūta-vijñāna [from bhūta has been, kama-lokic spooks + vidyā, vijñāna knowledge] The knowledge of evil beings, demonology; hence, the art of exorcising, treating, and curing demoniac possession — one of the branches of ancient medicine. Bhuta in ancient usage, while including what medieval Europeans called demons, refers to what in theosophy is called elementaries and other denizens of the astral realms — commonly of human origination, but sometimes astral rejects of the animal kingdom. See also AYUR VEDA
bīja. (T. sa bon; C. zhongzi; J. shuji; K. chongja 種子). In Sanskrit, "seed," a term used metaphorically in two important contexts: (1) in the theory of KARMAN, an action is said to plant a "seed" or "potentiality" in the mind, where it will reside until it fructifies as a future experience or is destroyed by wisdom; (2) in tantric literature, many deities are said to have a "seed syllable" or seed MANTRA that is visualized and recited in liturgy and meditation in order to invoke the deity. In the Chinese FAXIANG (YOGACARA) school, based on similar lists found in Indian Buddhist texts like the MAHAYANASAMGRAHA, a supplement to the YOGACARABHuMI, various lists of two different types of seeds are mentioned. (1) The primordial seeds (BENYOU ZHONGZI) and the continuously (lit. newly) acquired seeds (XINXUN ZHONGZI). The former are present in the eighth "storehouse consciousness" (ALAYAVIJNANA) since time immemorial, and are responsible for giving rise to a sentient being's basic faculties, such as the sensory organs (INDRIYA) and the aggregates (SKANDHA). The latter are acquired through the activities and sense impressions of the other seven consciousnesses (VIJNANA), and are stored within the eighth storehouse consciousness as pure, impure, or indeterminate seeds that may become activated again once the right conditions are in place for it to fructify. (2) Tainted seeds (youlou zhongzi) and untainted seeds (wulou zhongzi). The former are sowed whenever unenlightened activities of body, speech, and mind and the contaminants (ASRAVA) of mental defilements take place. The latter are associated with enlightened activities that do not generate such contaminants. In all cases, "full emergence" (SAMUDACARA, C. xiangxing) refers to the sprouting of those seeds as fully realized action. ¶ In tantric Buddhism the buddha field (BUDDHAKsETRA) is represented as a MAndALA with its inhabitant deities (DEVATA). The sonic source of the mandala and the deities that inhabit it is a "seed syllable" (bīja). In tantric practices (VIDHI; SADHANA) the meditator imagines the seed syllable emerging from the expanse of reality, usually on a lotus flower. The seed syllable is then visualized as transforming into the mandala and its divine inhabitants, each of which often has its own seed syllable. At the end of the ritual, the process is reversed and collapsed back into the seed syllable that then dissolves back into the nondual original expanse. Seed syllables in tantric Buddhism are connected with DHARAnĪ, mnemonic codes widespread in MahAyAna sutras that consist of strings of letters, often the first letter of profound terms or topics. These strings of letters in the dhAranĪ anticipate the MANTRAs found in tantric ritual practices. The tantric "seed syllable" is thought to contain the essence of the mantra, the letters of which are visualized as standing upright in a circle around the seed syllable from which the letters emerge and to which they return.
Jnana and vidya are closely similar, with perhaps the suggestion of intuitive intellectual cognizance expressed in jnana, and a more active and individualized activity expressed by vidya. Either word can stand for knowledge or wisdom; in theosophy jnana is often translated as innate or intuitive knowledge, and vidya as reflective or stored-up cognizance of intellectual and other values, or wisdom, though these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary. See also JHANA
Jnana Bhaskara (Sanskrit) Jñāna-bhāskara The sum of knowledge; a Sanskrit medical work; also “a work on Asuramaya, the Atlantean astronomer and magician, and other prehistoric legends” (TG 165).
Jnana-darsana-suddhi (Sanskrit) Jñāna-darśana-śuddhi [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + darśana vision, teaching + śuddhi purity, truth, perfection] Purity or perfection in the vision (or teaching) of knowledge or wisdom.
Jnana-devas (Sanskrit) Jñāna-deva-s [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + deva god] Gods of knowledge or wisdom; the higher classes of gods or devas including the manasaputras, agnishvattas, and kumaras. In one sense these jnana-devas are our reincarnating egos; in another, the term is applied to high sages such as the mahatmas, with the implication that they have been successful in attaining, or are in training for attaining, self-conscious union with the god within.
Jnana-marga: Sanskrit for path of knowledge. The approach to spiritual perfection through spiritual knowledge and understanding.
Jnana ::: Not a mere thinking and considering by the intelligence, the pursuit and grasping of a mental form of truth by the intellectual mind, but a seeing of it with the soul and a total living in it with the power of the inner being, a spiritual seizing by a kind of identification with the object of knowledge is Jnana.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 20, Page: 332
Jnana-sakti has the power or intrinsic faculty of movement of intelligence in the universe, which likewise expresses itself in man, a child of that universe; consequently it acts according to its own peculiarities or characteristics. The adept, knowing this through the power of his spiritual monad, can at any time select any one of these saktis of his constitution and use it alone or in combination with others to produce both interior or exterior phenomena. He does so by an expenditure of one or the other of the saktis that he is using, which are concentrated so to speak in his constitution. Hence their use is always followed by a corresponding reaction, much after the fashion of an electrical discharge; and a certain time is always required for the constitution to reestablish its normal equilibrium. Such equilibrium is a condition of health.
Jnana-sakti (Sanskrit) Jñāna-śakti [from jñāna knowledge, wisdom + śakti power, energy] Wisdom-power, the power of pure intellect which is a ray from the Logos, and therefore is the consciousness of the higher manas. Each of the saktis — whether jnana-sakti, ajnana-sakti, ichchha-sakti, or kriya-sakti — manifesting in the universe or in an individual being, is the expression of a force of nature; and therefore as each such force of nature is the emanation from a cosmic entity, each one of them has its own svabhava (individuality or essential characteristic) which differentiates it sharply from all other forces of nature.
Jnana: Sanskrit for knowledge or spiritual enlightenment.
Jnana (Sanskrit) Jñāna [from the verbal root jñā to know, have knowledge, understand] Intelligence, understanding, knowledge; the old philosophers said that parabrahman is not jnata (known), not jnana (knowledge), and not jneya (that which may be known), nevertheless parabrahman is the one source of which these three modes of understanding are manifestations.
Jnana: (Skr.) Cognition, knowledge, wisdom, philosophic understanding, insight, believed by some Indian philosophers to effect moksa (q.v.). -- K.F.L.
Jnana-vidya (Sanskrit) Jñāna-vidyā [from jñāna knoweldge + vidyā wisdom] Equivalent to Brahma-vidya or theosophy, the wisdom-tradition or gnosis. (BCW 11:271)
Jnana Yoga (Sanskrit) Jñāna-yoga The form of yoga practice and training where the attaining of union with the spiritual-divine essence within is by means of cultivating wisdom, spiritual insight, and intuition.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga ::: The Path of Knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual
reflection, vicara, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being and rejecting identification with each of them arrives at their exclusion and separation in one common term as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal Nature, creations of Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is able to arrive at its right identification with the pure and unique Self which is not mutable or perishable, not determinable by any phenomenon or combination of phenomena. From this point the path, as ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds from the consciousness as an illusion and the final immergence without return of the individual soul in the Supreme. But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one’s own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargement is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect and perception to the divine level, to its spiritualisation and to the justification of the cosmic travail of knowledge in humanity.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 23-24, Page: 38-39
bka' babs bzhi. (kabap shi). In Tibetan, "four instructional lineages" (bka' means words-of a buddha or enlightened master-and babs means to descend in a stream); a series of tantric instructions that the Indian SIDDHA TILOPA received from various masters, codified, and then passed on to his disciple NAROPA. These later became foundational teachings for the BKA' BRGYUD sect of Tibetan Buddhism and were incorporated into the six doctrines of NAropa (NA RO CHOS DRUG). Tibetan sources vary widely regarding the lineage and content of these four transmissions. According to a biography of Tilopa composed by MAR PA CHOS KYI BLO GROS, they are (1) the transmission of illusory body (T. sgyu lus kyi bka' babs) received from the siddha NAGARJUNA; (2) the transmission of dreams (T. rmi lam gyi bka' babs) received from the siddha CaryApa; (3) the transmission of clear light (T. 'od gsal gyi bka' babs) received from the siddha Lavapa; and (4) the transmission of inner heat (T. gtum mo'i bka' babs) received from JNAnadAkinī. According to other sources, these four may alternatively include the transmissions of MAHAMUDRA, the intermediate state (BAR DO), mother tantra (MATṚTANTRA), father tantra (PITṚTANTRA), and individual tantras such as the tantra of CAKRASAMVARA, HEVAJRA, and GUHYASAMAJA.
Bka' chems ka khol ma. (Kachem Kakolma). In Tibetan, "The Pillar Testament"; an early historiographic text, purportedly the testament of the seventh-century Tibetan religious king SRONG BSTAN SGAM PO. It is said to have been discovered in the hollow of a pillar in the JO KHANG Temple of LHA SA by the Indian master ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA in about 1049. The circumstances of both the author and revealer, however, have recently been called into question. The text details the reign of Srong bstan sgam po and likely served as a primary source for later accounts of the early royal dynastic period in Tibet.
Bka' gdams glegs bam pha chos bu chos. (Kadam Lekbam Pacho Bucho). In Tibetan, "The Book of Bka' gdams, Dharma of the Father and Sons" originating with the Indian master ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA a seminal work of the BKA' GDAMS sect of Tibetan Buddhism, being the primary text of the oral-instruction (man ngag) lineage organized into its present version by Mkhan chen Nyi ma rgyal mtshan (Kenchen Nyima Gyaltsen) in 1302. "Dharma of the Father" refers to Atisa's responses to questions posed by his foremost Tibetan student 'BROM STON RGYAL BA'I 'BYUNG GNAS (the two "fathers" of Bka' gdams); "Dharma of the Sons" refers to Atisa's responses to questions posed by RNGOG LEGS PA'I SHES RAB and Khu ston Brtson 'grus g.yung drung (Kuton Tsondrü Yungdrung), the spiritual sons of Atisa and 'Brom ston pa.
Bka' gdams. (Kadam). An early sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibetan, BKA' (ka) is the word of the Buddha or an enlightened master, and gdams (dam) means "to instruct"; traditionally the compound is parsed as "those who take all of the Buddha's words as instruction." Another etymology associates the word bka' with the words of ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA, whose followers began the early sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and in place of gdams "to advise" understands dam "to bind," hence, "those who hold his sacred words as binding." The origins of the sect are traced back to the founding of RWA SGRENG monastery in 1056 by Atisa's foremost disciple and interpreter 'BROM STON RGYAL BA'I 'BYUNG GNAS. The three main students of 'Brom ston pa are Po to ba Rin chen gsal (Potowa), Spyan mnga' ba Tshul khrims 'bar (Chen Ngawa), and Bu chung ba Gzhon nu rgyal mtshan (Bu chungwa), from whom originate the three principal Bka' gdams lineages (bka' babs): (1) the authoritative treatises (gzhung) lineage, (2) the essential instruction (gdams ngag) lineage, and (3) the oral instruction (man ngag) lineage, respectively. Po to ba's authoritative treatise lineage emphasized the close study of six paired fundamental Buddhist treatises: the BODHISATTVABHuMI and MAHAYANASuTRALAMKARA, the BODHICARYAVATARA and sIKsASAMUCCAYA, and the JATAKAMALA and UDANAVARGA. The teachings of the lineage of oral instructions are collected in the BKA' GDAMS GLEGS BAM PHA CHOS BU CHOS. The sect is probably best known for its strict discipline and austerity of practice, but the Gsang phu ne'u thog Bka' gdams lineage that is traced back to the founding of the monastery of GSANG PHU NE'U THOG in about 1073 by RNGOG LEGS PA'I SHES RAB, an immediate disciple of Atisa, and his nephew, the translator RNGOG BLO LDAN SHES RAB, gave the Bka' gdams a well-deserved reputation as a sect of great learning. Monks from Gsang phu ne'u thog like PHYWA PA CHOS KYI SENG GE wrote important works on PRAMAnA (logic and epistemology) and formalized debate (rtsod rigs). The Bka' gdams was responsible for the distinctive Tibetan BSTAN RIM (tenrim) ("stages of teaching") genre, based on Atisa's seminal work, the BODHIPATHAPRADĪPA. This genre was later adapted and popularized by TSONG KHA PA in his influential LAM RIM CHEN MO. Tsong kha pa idealized Atisa as the perfect teacher and his early DGE LUGS PA followers, first called Dga' ldan pa (Gandenpa) after the DGA' LDAN monastery he founded, were also known as the new Bka' gdams pa. After the rise of the Dge lugs sect, the Bka' gdams disappeared from Tibetan history, for reasons still not fully understood, with only the monasteries of Rwa sgreng and SNAR THANG retaining their original affiliation.
Blo sbyong don bdun ma. (Lojong Dondünma). In Tibetan, "Seven Points of Mind Training"; an influential Tibetan work in the BLO SBYONG ("mind training") genre. The work was composed by the BKA' GDAMS scholar 'CHAD KA BA YE SHES RDO RJE, often known as Dge bshes Mchad kha ba, based on the tradition of generating BODHICITTA known as "mind training" transmitted by the Bengali master ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA. It also follows the system laid out previously by Glang ri thang pa (Langri Tangpa) in his BLO SBYONG TSHIG BRGYAD MA ("Eight Verses on Mind Training"). Comprised of a series of pithy instructions and meditative techniques, the Blo sbyong don bdun ma became influential in Tibet, with scholars from numerous traditions writing commentaries to it. According to the commentary of the nineteenth-century Tibetan polymath 'JAM MGON KONG SPRUL, the seven points covered in the treatise are: (1) the preliminaries to mind training, which include the contemplations on the preciousness of human rebirth, the reality of death and impermanence, the shortcomings of SAMSARA, and the effects of KARMAN; (2) the actual practice of training in bodhicitta; (3) transforming adverse conditions into the path of awakening; (4) utilizing the practice in one's entire life; (5) the evaluation of mind training; (6) the commitments of mind training; and (7) guidelines for mind training.
blo sbyong. (lojong). In Tibetan, "mind training"; a tradition of Tibetan Buddhist practice associated especially with the BKA' GDAMS sect and providing pithy instructions on the cultivation of compassion (KARUnA) and BODHICITTA. The trainings are based primarily on the technique for the equalizing and exchange of self and other, as set forth in the eighth chapter of sANTIDEVA's BODHICARYAVATARA, a poem in ten chapters on the BODHISATTVA path. The practice is to transform the conception of self (ATMAGRAHA), characterized as a self-cherishing attitude (T. rang gces 'dzin) into cherishing others (gzhan gces 'dzin), by contemplating the illusory nature of the self, the faults in self-cherishing, and the benefits that flow from cherishing others. The training seeks to transform difficulties into reasons to reaffirm a commitment to bodhicitta. Dharmaraksita's Blo sbyong mtshon cha'i 'khor lo (sometimes rendered as "Wheel of Sharp Weapons"), translated into Tibetan by ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA and 'BROM STON, founders of the Bka' gdam sect, in the eleventh century; Glang ri thang pa's (Langri Thangpa) (1054-1123) BLO SBYONG TSHIG BRGYAD MA ("Eight Verses on Mind Training"); 'CHAD KA BA YE SHES RDO RJE's BLO SBYONG DON BDUN MA (Lojong dondünma) ("Seven Points of Mind Training"), and Hor ston Nam mkha'i dpal bzang's (1373-1447) Blo sbyong nyi ma'i 'od zer ("Mind Training like the Rays of the Sun") are four among a large number of widely studied and practiced blo sbyong texts. The Blo sbyong mtshon cha'i 'khor lo, for example, compares the bodhisattva to a hero who can withstand spears and arrows, and to a peacock that eats poison and becomes even more beautiful; it says difficulties faced in day-to-day life are reasons to strengthen resolve because they are like the spears and arrow of karmic results launched by earlier unsalutary actions. From this perspective, circumstances that are ordinarily upsetting or depressing are transformed into reasons for happiness, by thinking that negative KARMAN has been extinguished. The influence of tantric Buddhism is discernable in the training in blo sbyong texts like the Mtshon cha'i 'khor lo that exhorts practitioners to imagine themselves as the deity YAMANTAKA and mentally launch an attack on the conception of self, imagining it as a battle. The conception of self is taken as the primary reason for the earlier unsalutary actions that caused negative results, and for engaging in present unsalutary deeds that harm others and do nothing to advance the practitioner's own welfare.
Blo sbyong tshig brgyad ma. (Lojong Tsikgyema). In Tibetan, "Eight Verses on Mind Training"; a text composed by the BKA' GDAMS scholar Glang ri thang pa (Langri Thangpa, 1054-1123), based upon the instructions for generating BODHICITTA transmitted to Tibet by the Bengali master ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA. The work became famous in Tibet for its penetrating advice for the practice of compassion (KARUnA). It formed the basis for future influential works, including the often-quoted BLO SBYONG DON BDUN MA ("Seven Points of Mind Training"), by the Bka' gdams scholar 'CHAD KA BA YE SHES RDO RJE, written several decades later. The first seven verses teach the practice of conventional (SAMVṚTI) bodhicitta, and the last verse ultimate (PARAMARTHA) bodhicitta. The first training is to view sentient beings as wish-granting gems because it is only by feeling compassion for beings that bodhisattvas reach enlightenment; the second is to cultivate an attitude similar to a person of low status whose natural place is serving others; and the third is to immediately confront and counteract afflictions (KLEsA) (here understood specifically as selfishness, attachment to one's own interests, and hatred for those who oppose them). The fourth training is to treat people who are actually cruel as extremely rare and precious because they present an opportunity to practice patience and compassion, without which enlightenment is impossible; the fifth is the famous advice to "give all victory to others; take all defeat for yourself;" the sixth is to treat ungrateful persons as special gurus, and the seventh is to practice GTONG LEN (giving and taking), a practice of breathing out love and compassion and breathing in the sufferings of others. The eighth training is in a mind free from all conceptions.
bodhicitta. (T. byang chub kyi sems; C. putixin; J. bodaishin; K. porisim 菩提心). In Sanskrit, "thought of enlightenment" or "aspiration to enlightenment"; the intention to reach the complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAMBODHI) of the buddhas, in order to liberate all sentient beings in the universe from suffering. As the generative cause that leads to the eventual achievement of buddhahood and all that it represents, bodhicitta is one of the most crucial terms in MAHAYANA Buddhism. The achievement of bodhicitta marks the beginning of the BODHISATTVA path: bodhicitta refers to the aspiration that inspires the bodhisattva, the being who seeks buddhahood. In some schools of MahAyAna Buddhism, bodhicitta is conceived as being latent in all sentient beings as the "innately pure mind" (prakṛtiparisuddhacitta), as, for example, in the MAHAVAIROCANABHISAMBODHISuTRA: "Knowing one's own mind according to reality is BODHI, and bodhicitta is the innately pure mind that is originally existent." In this sense, bodhicitta was conceived as a universal principle, related to such terms as DHARMAKAYA, TATHAGATA, or TATHATA. However, not all schools of the MahAyAna (e.g., some strands of YOGACARA) hold that all beings are destined for buddhahood and, thus, not all beings are endowed with bodhicitta. Regardless of whether or not bodhicitta is regarded as somehow innate, however, bodhicitta is also a quality of mind that must be developed, hence the important term BODHICITTOTPADA, "generation of the aspiration to enlightenment." Both the BODHISATTVABHuMI and the MAHAYANASuTRALAMKARA provide a detailed explanation of bodhicitta. In late Indian MahAyAna treatises by such important authors as sANTIDEVA, KAMALAsĪLA, and ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA, techniques are set forth for cultivating bodhicitta. The development of bodhicitta also figures heavily in MahAyAna liturgies, especially in those where one receives the bodhisattva precepts (BODHISATTVASAMVARA). In this literature, two types of bodhicitta are enumerated. First, the "conventional bodhicitta" (SAMVṚTIBODHICITTA) refers to a bodhisattva's mental aspiration to achieve enlightenment, as described above. Second, the "ultimate bodhicitta" (PARAMARTHABODHICITTA) refers to the mind that directly realizes either emptiness (suNYATA) or the enlightenment inherent in the mind. This "conventional bodhicitta" is further subdivided between PRAnIDHICITTOTPADA, literally, "aspirational creation of the attitude" (where "attitude," CITTA, refers to bodhicitta), where one makes public one's vow (PRAnIDHANA) to attain buddhahood; and PRASTHANACITTOTPADA, literally "creation of the attitude of setting out," where one actually sets out to practice the path to buddhahood. In discussing this latter pair, sAntideva in his BODHICARYAVATARA compares the first type to the decision to undertake a journey and the second type to actually setting out on the journey; in the case of the bodhisattva path, then, the first therefore refers to the process of developing the aspiration to buddhahood for the sake of others, while the second refers to undertaking the various practices of the bodhisattva path, such as the six perfections (PARAMITA). The AVATAMSAKASuTRA describes three types of bodhicitta, those like a herder, a ferryman, and a king. In the first case the bodhisattva first delivers all others into enlightenment before entering enlightenment himself, just as a herder takes his flock into the pen before entering the pen himself; in the second case, they all enter enlightenment together, just as a ferryman and his passengers arrive together at the further shore; and in the third, the bodhisattva first reaches enlightenment and then helps others to reach the goal, just as a king first ascends to the throne and then benefits his subjects. A standard definition of bodhicitta is found at the beginning of the ABHISAMAYALAMKARA, where it is defined as an intention or wish that has two aims: buddhahood, and the welfare of those beings whom that buddhahood will benefit; the text also gives a list of twenty-two types of bodhicitta, with examples for each. Later writers like Arya VIMUKTISENA and HARIBHADRA locate the AbhisamayAlaMkAra's twenty-two types of bodhicitta at different stages of the bodhisattva path and at enlightenment. At the beginning of his MADHYAMAKAVATARA, CANDRAKĪRTI compares compassion (KARUnA) to a seed, water, and crops and says it is important at the start (where compassion begins the bodhisattva's path), in the middle (where it sustains the bodhisattva and prevents a fall into the limited NIRVAnA of the ARHAT), and at the end when buddhahood is attained (where it explains the unending, spontaneous actions for the sake of others that derive from enlightenment). KarunA is taken to be a cause of bodhicitta because bodhicitta initially arises and ultimately will persist, only if MAHAKARUnA ("great empathy for others' suffering") is strong. In part because of its connotation as a generative force, in ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA, bodhicitta comes also to refer to semen, especially in the practice of sexual yoga, where the physical seed (BĪJA) of awakening (representing UPAYA) is placed in the lotus of wisdom (PRAJNA).
Bodhicittavivarana. (T. Byang chub sems 'grel). In Sanskrit, "Exposition of the Mind of Enlightenment"; a work traditionally ascribed to NAGARJUNA, although the text is not cited by NAgArjuna's commentators BUDDHAPALITA, CANDRAKĪRTI, or BHAVAVIVEKA. This absence, together with apparently tantric elements in the text and the fact that it contains a sustained critique of VIJNANAVADA, have led some scholars to conclude that it is not the work of the same NAgArjuna who authored the MuLAMADHYAMAKAKARIKA. Nonetheless, the work is widely cited in later Indian MahAyAna literature and is important in Tibet. The text consists of 112 stanzas, preceded by a brief section in prose. It is essentially a compendium of MAHAYANA theory and practice, intended for bodhisattvas, both monastic and lay, organized around the theme of BODHICITTA, both in its conventional aspect (SAMVṚTIBODHICITTA) as the aspiration to buddhahood out of compassion for all sentient beings, and in its ultimate aspect (PARAMARTHABODHICITTA) as the insight into emptiness (suNYATA). In addition to the refutation of VijNAnavAda, the text refutes the self as understood by the TĪRTHIKAs and the SKANDHAs as understood by the sRAVAKAs.
bodhicittotpAda. (T. byang chub kyi sems bskyed pa; C. fa puti xin; J. hotsubodaishin; K. pal pori sim 發菩提心). In Sanskrit, "generating the aspiration for enlightenment," "creating (utpAda) the thought (CITTA) of enlightenment (BODHI)"; a term used to describe both the process of developing BODHICITTA, the aspiration to achieve buddhahood, as well as the state achieved through such development. The MAHAYANA tradition treats this aspiration as having great significance in one's spiritual career, since it marks the entry into the MahAyAna and the beginning of the BODHISATTVA path. The process by which this "thought of enlightenment" (bodhicitta) is developed and sustained is bodhicittotpAda. Various types of techniques or conditional environments conducive to bodhicittotpAda are described in numerous MahAyAna texts and treatises. The BODHISATTVABHuMI says that there are four predominant conditions (ADHIPATIPRATYAYA) for generating bodhicitta: (1) witnessing an inconceivable miracle (ṛddhiprAtihArya) performed by a buddha or a bodhisattva, (2) listening to a teaching regarding enlightenment (BODHI) or to the doctrine directed at bodhisattvas (BODHISATTVAPItAKA), (3) recognizing the dharma's potential to be extinguished and seeking therefore to protect the true dharma (SADDHARMA), (4) seeing that sentient beings are troubled by afflictions (KLEsA) and empathizing with them. The Fa putixinjing lun introduces another set of four conditions for generating bodhicitta: (1) reflecting on the buddhas; (2) contemplating the dangers (ADĪNAVA) inherent in the body; (3) developing compassion (KARUnA) toward sentient beings; (4) seeking the supreme result (PHALA). The Chinese apocryphal treatise DASHENG QIXIN LUN ("Awakening of Faith According to the MahAyAna") refers to three types of bodhicittotpAda: that which derives from the accomplishment of faith, from understanding and practice, and from realization. JINGYING HUIYUAN (523-592) in his DASHENG YIZHANG ("Compendium on the Purport of MahAyAna") classifies bodhicittotpAda into three groups: (1) the generation of the mind based on characteristics, in which the bodhisattva, perceiving the characteristics of SAMSARA and NIRVAnA, abhors saMsAra and aspires to seek nirvAna; (2) the generation of the mind separate from characteristics, in which the bodhisattva, recognizing that the nature of saMsAra is not different from nirvAna, leaves behind any perception of their distinctive characteristics and generates an awareness of their equivalency; (3) the generation of the mind based on truth, in which the bodhisattva, recognizing that the original nature of bodhi is identical to his own mind, returns to his own original state of mind. The Korean scholiast WoNHYO (617-686), in his Muryangsugyong chongyo ("Doctrinal Essentials of the 'Sutra of Immeasurable Life'"), considers the four great vows of the bodhisattva (see C. SI HONGSHIYUAN) to be bodhicitta and divides its generation into two categories: viz., the aspiration that accords with phenomena (susa palsim) and the aspiration that conforms with principle (suri palsim). The topic of bodhicittotpAda is the subject of extensive discussion and exegesis in Tibetan Buddhism. For example, in his LAM RIM CHEN MO, TSONG KHA PA sets forth two techniques for developing this aspiration. The first, called the "seven cause and effect precepts" (rgyu 'bras man ngag bdun) is said to derive from ATIsA DIPAMKARAsRĪJNANA. The seven are (1) recognition of all sentient beings as having been one's mother in a past life, (2) recognition of their kindness, (3) the wish to repay their kindness, (4) love, (5) compassion, (6) the wish to liberate them from suffering, and (7) bodhicitta. The second, called the equalizing and exchange of self and other (bdag gzhan mnyam brje) is derived from the eighth chapter of sANTIDEVA's BODHICARYAVATARA. It begins with the recognition that oneself and others equally want happiness and do not want suffering. It goes on to recognize that by cherishing others more than oneself, one ensures the welfare of both oneself (by becoming a buddha) and others (by teaching them the dharma). MahAyAna sutra literature typically assumes that, after generating the bodhicitta, the bodhisattva will require not one, but three "incalculable eons" (ASAMKHYEYAKALPA) of time in order to complete all the stages (BHuMI) of the bodhisattva path (MARGA) and achieve buddhahood. The Chinese HUAYAN ZONG noted, however, that the bodhisattva had no compunction about practicing for such an infinity of time, because he realized at the very inception of the path that he was already a fully enlightened buddha. They cite in support of this claim the statement in the "BrahmacaryA" chapter of the AVATAMSAKASuTRA that "at the time of the initial generation of the aspiration for enlightenment (bodhicittotpAda), complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAMBODHI) is already achieved."
Bodhipathapradīpa. (T. Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma). In Sanskrit, "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment"; a work composed by the Indian scholar ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA at THO LING GTSUG LAG KHANG shortly after he arrived in Tibet in 1042. Tibetan histories often note that Atisa wrote this text in order to clarify problematic points of Buddhist practice, especially TANTRA, which were thought to have degenerated and become distorted, and to show that tantra did not render basic Buddhist practice irrelevant. The Bodhipathapradīpa emphasizes a gradual training in the practices of the MAHAYANA and VAJRAYANA and became a prototype and textual basis first for the bstan rim, or "stages of the teaching" genre, and then for the genre of Tibetan religious literature known as LAM RIM, or "stages of the path." It is also an early source for the instructions and practice of BLO SBYONG, or "mind training." Atisa wrote his own commentary (paNjikA) (Commentary on the Difficult Points of the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment) to the text. The text says bodhisattvas must first follow one of the sets of PRATIMOKsA disciplinary rules; based on those precepts, they practice the six perfections (PARAMITA); with those perfections as a solid foundation, they finally practice Buddhist tantra.
bodhisaMbhAra. (T. byang chub kyi tshogs; C. puti ju/puti ziliang; J. bodaigu/bodaishiryo; K. pori ku/pori charyang 菩提具/菩提資糧). In Sanskrit, "collection" of, or "equipment" (SAMBHARA) for, "enlightenment" (BODHI); the term refers to specific sets of spiritual requisites (also called "accumulations") necessary for the attainment of awakening. The BODHISATTVA becomes equipped with these factors during his progress along the path (MARGA) leading to the attainment of buddhahood. In a buddha, the amount of this "enlightenment-collection" is understood to be infinite. These factors are often divided into two major groups: the collection of merit (PUnYASAMBHARA) and the collection of knowledge (JNANASAMBHARA). The collection of merit (PUnYA) entails the strengthening of four perfections (PARAMITA): generosity (DANA), morality (sĪLA), patience (KsANTI), and energy (VĪRYA). The collection of knowledge entails the cultivation of meditative states leading to the realization that emptiness (suNYATA) is the ultimate nature of all things. The bodhisaMbhAra were expounded in the *BodhisaMbhAraka, attributed to the MADHYAMAKA exegete NAGARJUNA, which is now extant only in Dharmagupta's 609 CE Chinese translation, titled the Puti ziliang lun. In this treatise, NAgArjuna explains that the acquisition, development, and fruition of these factors is an essentially interminable process: enlightenment will be achieved when these factors have been developed for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River (see GAnGANADĪVALUKA). The text also emphasizes the importance of compassion (KARUnA), calling it the mother of perfect wisdom (PRAJNAPARAMITA). The perfection of wisdom sutras stress that PARInAMANA (turning over [merit]) and ANUMODANA (rejoicing [in the good deeds of others]) are necessary to amass the collection necessary to reach the final goal.
bodhyanga. (P. bojjhanga; T. byang chub kyi yan lag; C. juezhi/qijuezhi; J. kakushi/shichikakushi; K. kakchi/ch'ilgakchi 覺支/七覺支). In Sanskrit, "branches of enlightenment," or "limbs of awakening"; seven qualities attained at the point of realizing the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA): mindfulness (SMṚTI; P. sati), investigation of factors (dharmapravicaya; P. dhammavicaya), energy (VĪRYA; P. viriya), rapture (PRĪTI; pīti), tranquility (PRAsRABDHI; passaddhi), concentration (SAMADHI), and equanimity (UPEKsA; upekkhA). In their roles as "branches of enlightenment," mindfulness, first, refers to the "four foundations of mindfulness" (SMṚTYUPASTHANA; P. SATIPAttHANA), where the practitioner dwells contemplating four types of objects: namely, the body (KAYA), sensations (VEDANA), the mind (CITTA), and mental objects (DHARMA). Investigation of factors refers to investigating, examining, and reflecting on the teachings and numerical lists of factors taught by the Buddha. Energy refers to firm and unshaken energy that arises in the mind of the practitioner while investigating factors, etc. Rapture refers to the supersensuous bliss that arises as a consequence of contemplating with energy. Tranquility refers to the tranquility that arises as a consequence of the mind experiencing rapture. Concentration refers to the mental absorption that arises as a consequence of tranquility. Finally, equanimity refers to the sense of complete composure that arises as a consequence of the mind being well concentrated on an object. These are called factors of "enlightenment," because they lead to awakening (BODHI) or more specifically to the attainment of the "threefold knowledge" (TRIVIDYA; P. tevijjA): "recollection of former lives" (S. PuRVANIVASANUSMṚTI; P. pubbenivAsAnussati), the "divine eye" (DIVYACAKsUS; P. dibbacakkhu), which sees the death and rebirth of beings occurring according to their actions, and the "knowledge of the extinction of the contaminants" (ASRAVAKsAYA JNANA; P. AsavakhayaNAna).
bodhyangīmudrA. (T. byang chub mchog gi phyag rgya; C. zhiquan yin; J. chiken'in; K. chigwon in 智拳印). In Sanskrit, "gesture of the branches of enlightenment"; a gesture (MUDRA) found primarily with images of VAIROCANA, the DHARMAKAYA buddha, the central figure of the esoteric traditions of Buddhism and the chief buddha of the TATHAGATA family (see PANCAKULA). The gesture is typically formed with the right fist clasping the raised left index finger at the level of the heart, although the hand positions may be reversed. (This gesture is known in Chinese as the zhiquan yin, or "wisdom-fist gesture" a rendering often found in English accounts.) Alternatively, the raised thumb of the left fist may be clasped by the four fingers of the right fist, symbolizing the MAndALA of the five buddhas (PANCATATHAGATA). The gesture is interpreted to indicate the unity in the DHARMAKAYA of the divergent experience of ordinary beings (PṚTHAGJANA) and buddhas, SAMSARA and NIRVAnA, ignorance (AVIDYA) and wisdom (PRAJNA), and delusion (MOHA) and enlightenment (BODHI). See also JNANAMUstI.
Bo dong. Name of a place in central Tibet and of a small, institutionally independent Tibetan Buddhist sect with its major seat at Bo dong E monastery. The sect was founded in about 1049 in the Shigatse region of Tibet by the BKA' GDAMS geshe (DGE BSHES) Mu dra pa chen po, who invited SthirapAla ('Bum phrag gsum pa), a contemporary of ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA, to stay in the monastery on his arrival from India. The monastery's earlier history is not well known, though it is compared by some to the more famous Bka' gdams monastery GSANG PHU NE'U THOG, founded by RNGOG LEGS PA'I SHES RAB. KO BRAG PA BSOD NAMS RGYAL MTSHAN, an abbot of Bo dong, is known for his teaching of the KALACAKRA sadangayoga practice, and for propagating a lineage of the LAM 'BRAS "path and result" teaching that was later subsumed into the SA SKYA tradition. The Bo dong sect, as it is now known, begins properly with BO DONG PHYOGS LAS RNAM RGYAL, who wrote a huge encyclopedic work De nyid 'dus pa ("Compendium of the Principles") in 137 volumes (in the incomplete published edition). The monastary of Bsam lding (Samding) overlooking Yam 'brog mtsho retains an affiliation with the Bo dong sect; it was founded for a student of Phyogs las rnam rgyal, the Gung thang princess Chos kyi sgron me (1422-1455). It is the only Tibetan monastery whose abbot is traditionally a woman; her incarnations are said to be those of the goddess VAJRAVARAHĪ (T. Rdo rje phag mo), "Sow-Headed Goddess."
brahmadarsana (brahmadarshana; brahma-darshana; brahma darshana; brahmadarshan) ::: the vision (darsana) of brahman in all things and beings; the perception of the fourfold brahman as "the impersonal Sarvam Anantam Jnanam Anandam" (also called "simple Brahmadarshana"), sometimes extended to the perception of "the Personal in & embracing the Impersonal", the latter perception including isvaradarsana and such specific forms of darsana as Narayan.adarsana, Kr.s.n.adarsana and Kr.s.n.akali darsana. The vision of "the one and indivisible eternal transcendent and cosmic Brahman that is in its seeming divided in things and creatures" is in its nature a "spiritual seeing of God and world" which is a "direct experience [upalabdhi] and as real, vivid, near, constant, effective, intimate as to the mind its sensuous seeing and feeling of images, objects and persons"
Brahmajnana Brahmajñāna (Sanskrit) [from brahman cosmic spirit + jñāna knowledge from the verbal root jñā to know] Divine, sacred, or esoteric knowledge concerning the cosmic Brahman as taught, for instance, in Vedantic philosophy; also spiritual wisdom per se.
brahmajnanam ::: [knowledge (jnana) of the brahman].
brahma jnana. ::: the realisation of Brahman; direct knowledge of Reality; divine wisdom
brahmavarcasya, (Brahmavarchasya) ::: the force of jnana working from within a man, which tends to manifest the divine light, the divine power, the divine qualities in the human being. ::: brahmavarcasyam [nominative]
Bruno, Giordano: (1548-1600) A Dominican monk, eventually burned at the stake because of his opinions, he was converted from Christianity to a naturalistic and mystical pantheism by the Renaissance and particularly by the new Copernican astronomy. For him God and the universe were two names for one and the same Reality considered now as the creative essence of all things, now as the manifold of realized possibilities in which that essence manifests itself. As God, natura naturans, the Real is the whole, the one transcendent and ineffable. As the Real is the infinity of worlds and objects and events into which the whole divides itself and in which the one displays the infinite potentialities latent within it. The world-process is an ever-lasting going forth from itself and return into itself of the divine nature. The culmination of the outgoing creative activity is reached in the human mind, whose rational, philosophic search for the one in the many, simplicity in variety, and the changeless and eternal in the changing and temporal, marks also the reverse movement of the divine nature re-entering itself and regaining its primordial unity, homogeneity, and changelessness. The human soul, being as it were a kind of boomerang partaking of the ingrowing as well as the outgrowing process, may hope at death, not to be dissolved with the body, which is borne wholly upon the outgoing stream, but to return to God whence it came and to be reabsorbed in him. Cf. Rand, Modern Classical Philosophers, selection from Bruno's On Cause, The Principle and the One. G. Bruno: De l'infinito, universo e mundo, 1584; Spaccio della bestia trionfante, 1584; La cena delta ceneri, 1584; Deglieroici furori, 1585; De Monade, 1591. Cf. R. Honigswald, Giordano Bruno; G. Gentile, Bruno nella storia della cultura, 1907. -- B.A.G.F. Brunschvicg, Leon: (1869-) Professor of Philosophy at the Ecole Normale in Paris. Dismissed by the Nazis (1941). His philosophy is an idealistic synthesis of Spinoza, Kant and Schelling with special stress on the creative role of thought in cultural history as well as in sciences. Main works: Les etapes de la philosophie mathematique, 1913; L'experience humaine et la causalite physique, 1921; De la connaissance de soi, 1931. Buddhism: The multifarious forms, philosophic, religious, ethical and sociological, which the teachings of Gautama Buddha (q.v.) have produced. They centre around the main doctrine of the catvari arya-satyani(q.v.), the four noble truths, the last of which enables one in eight stages to reach nirvana (q.v.): Right views, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. In the absence of contemporary records of Buddha and Buddhistic teachings, much value was formerly attached to the palm leaf manuscripts in Pali, a Sanskrit dialect; but recently a good deal of weight has been given also the Buddhist tradition in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese. Buddhism split into Mahayanism and Hinayanism (q.v.), each of which, but particularly the former, blossomed into a variety of teachings and practices. The main philosophic schools are the Madhyamaka or Sunyavada, Yogacara, Sautrantika, and Vaibhasika (q.v.). The basic assumptions in philosophy are a causal nexus in nature and man, of which the law of karma (q.v.) is but a specific application; the impermanence of things, and the illusory notion of substance and soul. Man is viewed realistically as a conglomeration of bodily forms (rupa), sensations (vedana), ideas (sanjna), latent karma (sanskaras), and consciousness (vijnana). The basic assumptions in ethics are the universality of suffering and the belief in a remedy. There is no god; each one may become a Buddha, an enlightened one. Also in art and esthetics Buddhism has contributed much throughout the Far East. -- K.F.L.
Buddhabhumisutra. (T. Sangs rgyas kyi sa'i mdo; C. Fodi jing; J. Butsujikyo; K. Pulchi kyong 佛地經). In Sanskrit, "Scripture on the Stage of Buddhahood," an important MAHAYANA scripture on the experience of enlightenment. The sutra begins with a description of the PURE LAND in which the scripture is taught and its audience of BODHISATTVAs, mahAsrAvakas, and MAHASATTVAs. The text goes on to describe the five factors that exemplify the stage of buddhahood (buddhabhumi). The first of these is (1) the wisdom of the DHARMADHATU, which is likened to space (AKAsA) itself, in that it is all-pervasive and uncontained. The next two factors are (2) mirror-like wisdom, or great perfect mirror wisdom (ADARsAJNANA), in which the perfect interfusion between all things is seen as if reflected in a great mirror, and (3) the wisdom of equality, or impartial wisdom (SAMATAJNANA), which transcends all dichotomies to see everything impartially without coloring by the ego. The scripture then describes (4) the wisdom of specific knowledge (PRATYAVEKsAnAJNANA) and (5) the wisdom of having accomplished what was to be done (KṚTYANUstHANAJNANA), both of which are attained as a result of the subsequently attained wisdom (TATPṚstHALABDHAJNANA); these two types of knowledge clarify that the dharmadhAtu is a realm characterized by both emptiness (suNYATA) and compassion (KARUnA). Finally, similes are offered to elucidate the nature of these wisdoms. The Chinese translation, in one roll, was made by XUANZANG and his translation team in 645 CE. In tantric Buddhism, these five wisdoms or knowledges (JNANA) are linked with the five "buddha families" (see PANCATATHAGATA).
buddhadhAtu. (T. sangs rgyas kyi khams; C. foxing; J. bussho; K. pulsong 佛性). In Sanskrit, "buddha-element," or "buddha-nature"; the inherent potential of all sentient beings to achieve buddhahood. The term is also widely used in Buddhist Sanskrit with the sense of "buddha relic," and the term DHATU alone is used to mean "buddha-element" (see also GOTRA, KULA). The term first appears in the MAHAYANA recension of the MAHAPARINIRVAnASuTRA, now available only in Chinese translation, which states that all sentient beings have the "buddha-element" (FOXING). (The Chinese translation foxing literally means "buddha-nature" and the Chinese has often been mistakenly back-translated as the Sanskrit buddhatA; buddhadhAtu is the accepted Sanskrit form.) The origin of the term may, however, be traced back as far as the AstASAHASRIKAPRAJNAPARAMITA, one of the earliest MahAyAna SuTRAs, where the fundamental substance of the mind is said to be luminous (prakṛtis cittasya prabhAsvarA), drawing on a strand of Buddhism that has its antecedents in such statements as the PAli AnGUTTARANIKAYA: "The mind, O monks, is luminous but defiled by adventitious defilements" (pabhassaraM idaM bhikkhave cittaM, taN ca kho Agantukehi upakkilesehi upakkilitthaM). Because the BODHISATTVA realizes that the buddha-element is inherent in him at the moment that he arouses the aspiration for enlightenment (BODHICITTOTPADA) and enters the BODHISATTVAYANA, he achieves the profound endurance (KsANTI) that enables him to undertake the arduous training, over not one, but three, incalculable eons of time (ASAMKHYEYAKALPA), that will lead to buddhahood. The buddhadhAtu is a seminal concept of the MahAyAna and leads to the development of such related doctrines as the "matrix of the tathAgatas" (TATHAGATAGARBHA) and the "immaculate consciousness" (AMALAVIJNANA). The term is also crucial in the development of the teachings of such indigenous East Asian schools of Buddhism as CHAN, which telescope the arduous path of the bodhisattva into a single moment of sudden awakening (DUNWU) to the inherency of the "buddha-nature" (foxing), as in the Chan teaching that merely "seeing the nature" is sufficient to "attain buddhahood" (JIANXING CHENGFO).
buddhaksetra. (T. sangs rgyas zhing; C. focha; J. bussetsu; K. pulch'al 佛刹). In Sanskrit, "buddha field," the realm that constitutes the domain of a specific buddha. A buddhaksetra is said to have two aspects, which parallel the division of a world system into a BHAJANALOKA (lit. "container world," "world of inanimate objects") and a SATTVALOKA ("world of sentient beings"). As a result of his accumulation of merit (PUnYASAMBHARA), his collection of knowledge (JNANASAMBHARA), and his specific vow (PRAnIDHANA), when a buddha achieves enlightenment, a "container" or "inanimate" world is produced in the form of a field where the buddha leads beings to enlightenment. The inhabitant of that world is the buddha endowed with all the BUDDHADHARMAs. Buddha-fields occur in various levels of purification, broadly divided between pure (VIsUDDHABUDDHAKsETRA) and impure. Impure buddha-fields are synonymous with a world system (CAKRAVAdA), the infinite number of "world discs" in Buddhist cosmology that constitutes the universe; here, ordinary sentient beings (including animals, ghosts, and hell beings) dwell, subject to the afflictions (KLEsA) of greed (LOBHA), hatred (DVEsA), and delusion (MOHA). Each cakravAda is the domain of a specific buddha, who achieves enlightenment in that world system and works there toward the liberation of all sentient beings. A pure buddha-field, by contrast, may be created by a buddha upon his enlightenment and is sometimes called a PURE LAND (JINGTU, more literally, "purified soil" in Chinese), a term with no direct equivalent in Sanskrit. In such purified buddha-fields, the unfortunate realms (APAYA, DURGATI) of animals, ghosts, and hell denizens are typically absent. Thus, the birds that sing beautiful songs there are said to be emanations of the buddha rather than sentient beings who have been reborn as birds. These pure lands include such notable buddhaksetras as ABHIRATI, the buddha-field of the buddha AKsOBHYA, and SUKHAVATĪ, the land of the buddha AMITABHA and the object of a major strand of East Asian Buddhism, the so-called pure land school (see JoDOSHu, JoDO SHINSHu). In the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEsA, after the buddha reveals a pure buddha land, sARIPUTRA asks him why sAKYAMUNI's buddha-field has so many faults. The buddha then touches the earth with his toe, at which point the world is transformed into a pure buddha-field; he explains that he makes the world appear impure in order to inspire his disciples to seek liberation.
buddhakula. (T. sangs rgyas rigs; C. rulai jia; J. nyoraike; K. yorae ka 如來家). In Sanskrit, "buddha family"; synonymous with GOTRA ("lineage"); buddhakula and gotra, like BUDDHADHATU and TATHAGATAGARBHA refer to the potential inherent in all sentient beings to achieve buddhahood. The RATNAGOTRAVIBHAGA describes a confluence of three necessary factors: the altruistic effort that buddhas make out of their great compassion (MAHAKARUnA) to disseminate their doctrines; the ultimate nature of beings that is purified of any essential defilement; and, last, buddhakula or gotra, i.e., belonging to a lineage that does not lead to endless rebirth or to a final end in the limited NIRVAnA of HĪNAYANA adepts, but rather to the royal state of a buddha. The defining mark of the buddhakula is the seed of great compassion (mahAkarunA). Because of the confluence of these three factors, all beings are said to have the TATHAGATAGARBHA, which in this interpretation of the compound means the womb or embryo of a tathAgata. In tantric Buddhism, there are typically five (but sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on the tantra) buddha families (see PANCAJINA, PANCATATHAGATA), the families of VAIROCANA, AKsOBHYA, RATNASAMBHAVA, AMITABHA, and AMOGHASIDDHI. These buddhas (regarded as the final purification and transformation of the five SKANDHAs) are the forms in which adepts with differing personality types, those in whom the five KLEsAs of delusion (MOHA), hatred (DVEsA), pride (MANA), desire (RAGA), and jealousy (ĪRsYA), respectively, predominate, reach the goal. The five buddha families are also connected with the five YOGACARA knowledges or wisdoms (JNANA) (see BUDDHABHuMISuTRA; PANCAJNANA).
buddhisaktih. (vishuddhata, prakasha, vichitrabodha, jnanadharanasamarthyam iti buddhishaktih) ::: purity, clarity, variety of understanding, capacity to hold all knowledge: these constitute the power of the thinking mind.
buddhi yoga. ::: the yoga of intelligence spoken of in the Bhagavad Gita which later came to be called jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge
Byang chub 'od. (Jangchup Ö) (late tenth century). Grandnephew of King YE SHES 'OD who successfully invited the Indian Buddhist monk and scholar ATIsA DĪPAMKARAsRĪJNANA to Tibet. During the second half of the tenth century, Ye shes 'od (also known as Song nge) became the king of Mnga' ris (Ngari), now the far western region of Tibet. He sent a number of Tibetans to Kashmir (see KASHMIR-GANDHARA) to study Buddhism, among them the translator RIN CHEN BZANG PO whose return to Tibet in 978 marks the beginning of the later spread of Buddhism (PHYI DAR). (Others date the beginning to the start of the second MuLASARVASTIVADA ordination line, which began at about the same period.) According to a well-known story, Ye shes 'od wanted to invite the foremost Indian Buddhist scholar of the day, Atisa, to Tibet and traveled to the Qarluq (T. gar log) kingdom (probably to KHOTAN in present-day Chinese Xianjiang province), to raise funds. He was captured by the chieftain and held for ransom. Ye shes 'od sent a letter to his nephew Byang chub 'od, saying that rather than use money for a ransom to free him, he should use any money collected for his release to invite Atisa. Ye shes 'od died in captivity, but Byang chub 'od succeeded in convincing Atisa to come to Tibet where he had a great influence, particularly on the earlier followers of the BKA' GDAMS sect. The history of this period becomes more important in later Tibetan history when TSONG KHA PA, the founder of the DGE LUGS sect, described Atisa as the perfect teacher in his seminal work the LAM RIM CHEN MO. In the seventeenth century, when the Dge lugs rose to political power under the fifth DALAI LAMA and his supporters, Byang chub 'od and Atisa were incorporated into a complex founding myth legitimating Dge lugs ascendancy and the DGA' LDAN PHO BRANG government.
caitta. [alt. caitasika] (P. cetasika; T. sems byung; C. xinsuo; J. shinjo; K. simso 心所). In Sanskrit, "mental concomitants" or "mental factors." In the ABHIDHARMA, the term encompasses those mental factors that accompany, in various combinations, the mind (CITTA) and its six sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA), viz., visual (lit. eye), auditory (ear), olfactory (nose), gustatory (tongue), tactile (body), and mental. The VAIBHAsIKA school of SARVASTIVADA abhidharma lists forty-six caittas, the PAli ABHIDHAMMA lists fifty-two (called CETASIKA), while the mature YOGACARA system of MAHAYANA abhidharma gives a total of fifty-one specific mental concomitants, listed in six categories. The first, mental concomitants of universal application (SARVATRAGA), includes the five factors of sensory contact (SPARsA), sensations (VEDANA), intention or volition (CETANA), perception (SAMJNA), and attention (MANASKARA). The second category, five concomitants that are of specific application (VINIYATA) in spiritual progress, includes mindfulness (SMṚTI), concentration (SAMADHI), and wisdom (PRAJNA). The third category, salutary (KUsALA) factors, includes nine positive mental states such as faith (sRADDHA), lack of greed (ALOBHA), lack of hatred (ADVEsA), and vigor (VĪRYA). The fourth category, the primary afflictions (KLEsA), includes six negative mental states such as sensuality (RAGA), aversion (PRATIGHA), pride (MANA), and doubt (VICIKITSA). The fifth category, secondary afflictions (UPAKLEsA), includes twenty lesser forms of negative mental states, such as envy (ĪRsYA), harmfulness (VIHIMSA), and carelessness (PRAMADA). The sixth and final category, mental concomitants of indeterminate (ANIYATA) quality, includes the four factors of remorse (KAUKṚTYA), torpor (MIDDHA), thought (VITARKA), and analysis (VICARA). See also CETASIKA.
caksurAyatana. (P. cakkhAyatana; T. mig gi skye mched; C. yanchu; J. gensho; K. anch'o 眼處). In Sanskrit, "visual sense base" or "base of cognition"; the visual sense base or eye sense organ (CAKsURINDRIYA) as it occurs in the list of the twelve sense fields (AYATANA). These Ayatanas are also called "bases of cognition," because each pair of sense base and sense object produces its respective sensory consciousness. In this case, the contact (SPARsA) between a visual sensory object (RuPA) and the visual sense base (caksurindriya) produces a visual consciousness (CAKsURVIJNANA).
caksurindriya. (P. cakkhundriya; T. mig gi dbang po; C. yangen; J. genkon; K. an'gŭn 眼根). In Sanskrit, "visual sense base" or "eye sense organ"; the physical organ located in the eye that makes it possible to see forms (RuPA). This sense base is not the eyeball itself, but a subtle type of materiality that is located within the eye and invisible to the naked eye. It is said to be shaped like the bud of a flax flower. If this sense organ is absent or damaged, vision is not possible. The visual sense base serves as the dominant condition (ADHIPATIPRATYAYA) for the production of visual consciousness (CAKsURVIJNANA). The visual sense base is counted among the six sense bases or sense organs (INDRIYA), the twelve bases of cognition (AYATANA), and eighteen sensory elements (DHATU).
caksurvijNAna. (P. cakkhuviNNAna; T. mig gi rnam par shes pa; C. yanshi; J. genshiki; K. ansik 眼識). In Sanskrit, "visual consciousness" or "eye consciousness"; one of the five types of consciousness of physical objects (along with those of the ear, nose, tongue, and body) and one of the six sensory consciousnesses (adding the mental consciousness, or MANOVIJNANA). The visual consciousness perceives forms (RuPA), i.e., colors and shapes. Like the other consciousness of physical objects, visual consciousness is produced through the contact (SPARsA) between a visual sensory object (RuPA) and the visual sense base or eye sense organ (CAKsURINDRIYA), and in dependence on three conditions (PRATYAYA): the object condition (ALAMBANAPRATYAYA), in this case, a form; a dominant condition (ADHIPATIPRATYAYA), here, the visual sense base (caksurindriya); and the immediately preceding condition (SAMANANTARAPRATYAYA), a prior moment of consciousness. The visual consciousness is counted as one of the six sensory consciousnesses (VIJNANA) and eighteen sensory elements (DHATU).
Candragomin. (T. Btsun pa zla ba). Fifth-century CE Indian lay poet and grammarian, who made substantial contributions to Sanskrit grammar, founding what was known as the CAndra school. A junior contemporary of the great KAlidAsa, Candragomin was one of the most accomplished poets in the history of Indian Buddhism. His play LokAnanda, which tells the story of the BODHISATTVA king Manicuda, is the oldest extant Buddhist play and was widely performed in the centuries after its composition. He was a devotee of TARA and composed several works in her praise. Tibetan works describe him as a proponent of VIJNANAVADA who engaged in debate with CANDRAKĪRTI, but there is little philosophical content in his works that can be confidently ascribed to him. Among those works are the "Letter to a Disciple" (sisyalekha), the "Confessional Praise" (DesanAstava), and perhaps the "Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Precepts" (BodhisattvasaMvaraviMsaka).
caturthAbhiseka. (T. dbang bzhi pa; C. disi guanding; J. daishi kanjo; K. chesa kwanjong 第四灌頂). In Sanskrit, "fourth empowerment"; the fourth of the four empowerments or initiations employed in ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA, the other three being the vase empowerment (KALAsABHIsEKA), the secret empowerment (GUHYABHIsEKA), and the knowledge of the consort empowerment (PRAJNAJNANABHIsEKA). After having engaged in sexual union with a consort in the third empowerment, in this fourth and final empowerment, the practitioner seeks to attain the state of innate bliss (sahajAnanda) with the mind of clear light (PRABHASVARACITTA), in a vision like the natural color of the autumn sky at dawn, free from moonlight, sunlight, and darkness. The initiation is also called the "word empowerment" (sabdAbhiseka) because the teacher will identify this state for the disciple.
Celestial Body Taken from Coleridge, who divined that in the human celestial body must be stored the memory of all preexistent experiences of the soul. The phrase is said to mean the thought-vehicle of the monad in devachan, through which functions the manasic ego (Key 137). The range of stored memory of experiences varies in extent according to the degree of sublimity of the different vestures. Ancient mysticism taught that the self has several vestures, each of which may be called a body or sheath through which the monad acts and by which it comes in contact with the particular worlds in which it may be functioning. “There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial” (1 Cor 15:40). For instance, the Vedantic classification of the kosas (sheaths of atman) gives annamayakosa (physical body), pranamayakosa (vital-astral body), manomayakosa (psychological or lower manasic body), vijnanamayakosa (higher manasic body), and anandamayakosa (buddhic body). In the Taraka Raja-Yoga system are the following upadhis or vehicles of atman: sthulopadhi (gross vehicle), sukshmopadhi (subtile vehicle), and karanopadhi (causal vehicle or self).
cetasika. In PAli, "mental concomitant" or "mental factor"; the PAli equivalent of the Sanskrit term caitasika (see CAITTA). Mental concomitants are factors associated with the arising of consciousness (CITTA or viNNAna; S. VIJNANA). According to the PAli ABHIDHAMMA, there are fifty-two mental concomitants, of which twenty-five are either karmically salutary or neutral, fourteen are karmically unsalutary, and thirteen are simply neutral. Out of the fifty-two types of cetasikas, seven are invariably associated with all moments of consciousness-viz., consciousness cannot arise without these seven all being present: (1) sensory contact or sense impression (phassa; S. SPARsA), (2) sensation or feeling (VEDANA), (3) perception or conception (saNNA; S. SAMJNA), (4) volition (CETANA), (5) concentration (SAMADHI), (6) vitality (JĪVITA), and (7) attention, viz., the advertence of the mind toward an object (manasikAra; S. MANASKARA). See also CAITTA; List of Lists.
cetoparyAyAbhijNAna. (S). See PARACITTAJNANA.
Cheng weishi lun. (S. *VijNaptimAtratAsiddhi; J. Joyui-shikiron; K. Song yusik non 成唯識論). In Chinese, "Demonstration of Consciousness-Only"; a magnum opus of Sino-Indian YOGACARA Buddhism and the foundational text of the Chinese WEISHI, or FAXIANG, school. The text is often cited by its reconstructed Sanskrit title *VIJNAPTIMATRATASIDDHI, and its authorship attributed to DHARMAPALA (530-561), but the text as we have it in Chinese translation has no precise analogue in Sanskrit and was never used within the Indian or Tibetan traditions. Its Chinese translator XUANZANG (600/602-664), one of the most important figures in the history of Chinese Buddhist scholasticism, traveled to India in the seventh century, where he specialized in YogAcAra doctrine at NALANDA monastic university under one of DharmapAla's disciples, sĪLABHADRA (529-645). At NAlandA, Xuanzang studied VASUBANDHU's TRIMsIKA (TriMsikAvijNaptimAtratA[siddhi]kArikA), the famous "Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only," along with ten prose commentaries on the verses by the prominent YogAcAra scholiasts DharmapAla, STHIRAMATI, Nanda, CitrabhAnu, Gunamati, Jinamitra, JNAnamitra, JNAnacandra, Bandhusrī, suddhacandra, and Jinaputra. After his return to China in 645, Xuanzang set to work translating this massive amount of new material into Chinese. Rather than translate in their entirety all ten commentaries, however, on the advice of his translation team Xuanzang chose to focus on DharmapAla's exegesis, which he considered orthodox, rather than muddy the waters in China with the divergent interpretations of the other teachers. As a foil for DharmapAla's interpretation, Xuanzang uses the commentaries by Sthiramati, Nanda, and occasionally CitrabhAnu, but he typically concludes any discussion with DharmapAla's definitive view. This decision to rely heavily on DharmapAla's interpretation probably comes from the fact that Xuanzang's own Indian teacher, sīlabhadra, was himself a pupil of DharmapAla. ¶ The Cheng weishi lun is principally concerned with the origination and removal of ignorance (AVIDYA), by clarifying the processes by which erroneous perception arises and enlightened understanding is produced. Unlike the writings of STHIRAMATI, which understood the bifurcation of consciousness into subject and object to be wholly imaginary, the Cheng weishi lun proposed instead that consciousness in fact always appears in both subjective and objective aspects, viz., a "seeing part" (darsanabhAga) and a "seen part" (nimittabhAga). The apparent dichotomy between inner self and external images is a supposition of mentality (MANAS), which in turn leads to the various afflictions (KLEsA), as the mind clings to those images it likes and rejects those it dislikes; thus, suffering (DUḤKHA) is created and the cycle of rebirth (SAMSARA) sustained. Both the perceiving self and the perceived images are therefore both simply projections of the mind and thus mere-representation (VIJNAPTIMATRA) or, as Xuanzang translated the term, consciousness-only (WEISHI). This clarification of the perceptual process produces an enlightened understanding that catalyzes a transmutation of the basis (AsRAYAPARAVṚTTI), so that the root consciousness (MuLAVIJNANA), or ALAYAVIJNANA, no longer serves as the storehouse of either wholesome or unwholesome seeds (BĪJA), thus bringing an end to the subject-object bifurcation. In the course of its discussion, the Cheng weishi lun offers an extensive treatment of the YogAcAra theory of the eight consciousnesses (VIJNANA) and especially the storehouse consciousness (AlayavijNAna) that stores the seeds, or potentialities, of these representational images. The text also offers an overview of the three-nature (TRISVABHAVA) theory of vijNaptimAtra as imaginary (PARIKALPITA), dependent (PARATANTRA), and perfected (PARINIsPANNA). Finally, the Cheng weishi lun provides such exhaustive detail on the hundred dharmas (BAIFA) taxonomical system of the YogAcAra that it has been used within the tradition as a primer of YogAcAra dharma theory.
cittamAtra. (T. sems tsam; C. weixin; J. yuishin; K. yusim 唯心). In Sanskrit, lit. "mind-only"; a term used in the LAnKAVATARASuTRA to describe the notion that the external world of the senses does not exist independently of the mind and that all phenomena are mere projections of consciousness. Because this doctrine is espoused by the YOGACARA, that school is sometimes referred to as cittamAtra. The doctrine is closely associated with the eight consciousness (VIJNANA) theory set forth in the "ViniscayasaMgrahanĪ" of the YOGACARABHuMIsASTRA and in the MAHAYANASAMGRAHA and ABHIDHARMASAMUCCAYA that are supplemental to that work. In East Asia, these texts are associated with the name of the MahAyAna writer ASAnGA and his quasi-mythological teacher MAITREYA or MAITREYANATHA. According to this theory, there are not only six consciousnesses (vijNAna), viz., the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile consciousnesses, and the mental consciousness (manovijNAna) well known to canonical Buddhism; there are two further consciousnesses, called the afflicted mind (KLIstAMANAS) and the storehouse consciousness (ALAYAVIJNANA). The AlayavijNAna is also known as the sarvabīja, or the consciousness that carries all the seeds or potentialities (BĪJA). The CittamAtra school holds that mental states leave a residual impression that is carried by the AlayavijNAna. These impressions (VASANA) literally "perfume" or "suffuse" this underlying consciousness, where they lie dormant as seeds. Among the many categories of seeds, two are principal: the residual impressions giving rise to a new form of life (VIPAKA) in the six realms of existence, and the residual impression that is basic ignorance causing all ordinary mental states to appear in a distorted way, i.e., bifurcated into subject and object. Vasubandhu, who is said to have been converted to the CittamAtra doctrine by his brother Asanga, argues in his TRIMsIKA (TriMsikAvijNaptimAtratA[siddhi]kArikA), the famous "Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only," that there could not possibly be an atomic basis for objects known by mind. In the absence of an atomic basis, only the ripening of the residual impressions left on the AlayavijNAna can account for the variety of mental states and experience, and only this doctrine of mind-only can properly account for the purification of mind and the final attainment of BODHI. The object and subject share the same mental nature because they both arise from the residual impressions left on the AlayavijNAna, hence the doctrine of cittamAtra, mind-only.
citta. (T. sems; C. xin; J. shin; K. sim 心). In Sanskrit and PAli, "mind," "mentality," or "thought"; used broadly to refer to general mentality, citta is the factor (DHARMA) that is present during any type of conscious activity. Citta is contrasted with the physical body or materiality (RuPA), and is synonymous in this context with "name" (NAMA), as in the term NAMARuPA. In this sense, citta corresponds to the last four of the five aggregates (SKANDHA), excluding only the first aggregate, of materiality (RuPA), i.e., sensation (VEDANA), perception (SAMJNA), conditioning factors (SAMSKARA), and consciousness (VIJNANA). (Where the correspondences on this list are further refined, the first three of these mentality aggregates correspond to the mental concomitants, viz., CAITTA, while citta is restricted to the last aggregate, that of consciousness, or vijNAna.) Citta in this broad sense is synonymous with both mentality (MANAS) and consciousness (vijNAna): mind is designated as citta because it "builds up" (cinoti) virtuous and nonvirtuous states; as manas, because it calculates and examines; and as vijNAna, because it discriminates among sensory stimuli. Mind as "consciousness" refers to the six consciousnesses (sadvijNAna): the five sensory consciousnesses of the visual (CAKsURVIJNANA), auditory (sROTRAVIJNANA), olfactory (GHRAnAVIJNANA), gustatory (JIHVAVIJNANA), and tactile (KAYAVIJNANA), along with the mental consciousness (MANOVIJNANA). In some strands of MAHAYANA thought, such as YOGACARA, mind is instead considered to encompass not only mentality but all dharmas, and the distinction between mentality and materiality is presumed to be merely nominal; YogAcAra is thus sometimes called the school of CITTAMATRA, or "mind-only." Citta as mentality serves as one of the four foundations of mindfulness (SMṚTYUPASTHANA) in Buddhist meditative training, and refers to various general states of mind, e.g., a mind (citta) that is depressed, distracted, developed, concentrated, or freed. Citta is also used to signify mind itself in distinction to various sets of mental concomitants (caitta) that accompany the basic sensory consciousnesses. The DHAMMASAnGAnI, the first of the seven books of the PAli ABHIDHAMMAPItAKA, classifies citta as the first of a fourfold division of factors into mind (citta), mental concomitants (P. CETASIKA), materiality or form (rupa), and NIRVAnA (P. nibbAna). In this text's treatment, a moment of consciousness (citta) will always arise in association with a variety of associated mental factors (P. cetasika), seven of which are always present during every moment of consciousness: (1) sensory contact or sense impression (P. phassa; S. SPARsA), (2) feeling or sensation (VEDANA), (3) perception or conception (P. saNNA; S. SAMJNA), (4) volition (CETANA), (5) concentration (SAMADHI), (6) vitality (JĪVITA), and (7) attention, viz., the advertence of the mind toward an object (P. manasikAra; S. MANASKARA). The SARVASTIVADA ABHIDHARMA instead divides all dharmas into five groups: mind (citta), mental concomitants (caitta), materiality (rupa), forces dissociated from thought (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAMSKARA), and the unconditioned (ASAMSKṚTA). In this system, ten specific factors are said universally to accompany all conscious activity and are therefore called "factors of wide extent" or "omnipresent mental factors" (MAHABHuMIKA): (1) sensation (vedanA); (2) volition (cetanA); (3) perception (saMjNA); (4) zeal or "desire-to-act" (CHANDA) (5) sensory contact (sparsa); (6) discernment (mati); (7) mindfulness (SMṚTI); (8) attention (manaskAra); (9) determination (ADHIMOKsA); (10) concentration (samAdhi). According to the system set forth by ASAnGA in his ABHIDHARMASAMUCCAYA, this list is divided into two sets of five: the five omnipresent (SARVATRAGA) mental factors (vedanA, saMjNA, cetanA, sparsa, and manaskAra) and the five determining (pratiniyama) mental factors (chanda, adhimoksa, smṛti, samAdhi, and prajNA). ¶ In the experience of enlightenment (BODHI), the citta is said to be "freed" from the "point of view" that is the self (ATMAN). The citta is then no longer subject to the limitations perpetuated by ignorance (AVIDYA) and craving (TṚsnA) and thus becomes nonmanifesting (because there is no longer any projection of ego into the perceptual process), infinite (because the mind is no longer subject to the limitations of conceptualization), and lustrous (because the ignorance that dulls the mind has been vanquished forever). Scriptural statements attest to this inherent luminosity of the citta, which may be revealed through practice and manifested in enlightenment. For example, in the PAli AnGUTTARANIKAYA, the Buddha says, "the mind, O monks, is luminous" (P. pabhassaraM idaM bhikkhave cittaM). Such statements are the strands from which the MahAyAna subsequently derives such concepts as the inherent quality of buddhahood (BUDDHADHATU; C. FOXING) or the embryo of the TATHAGATAs (TATHAGATAGARBHA) that is said to be innate in the mind.
cittavisuddhi. (S. cittavisuddhi). In PAli, "purity of mind"; according to the VISUDDHIMAGGA, the second of seven "purities" (VISUDDHI) to be developed along the path to liberation. Purity of mind refers to the eight meditative absorptions (P. JHANA; S. DHYANA) or attainments (SAMAPATTI) belonging to the subtle-materiality realm (rupAvacara) and the immaterial realm (ArupyAvacara). Meditative absorption belonging to the subtle-materiality realm (P. rupAvacarajhAna; S. RuPAVACARADHYANA) is subdivided into four stages, each of which is characterized by an increasing attenuation of consciousness as the meditator progresses from one stage to the next. Meditative absorption belonging to the immaterial realm (P. arupAvacarajhAna; S. ARuPYAVACARADHYANA) is likewise subdivided into four stages, but in this case it is the object of meditation that becomes attenuated from one stage to the next. In the first immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside the perception of materiality and abides in the sphere of infinite space (P. AkAsAnaNcAyatana; S. AKAsANANTYAYATANA). In the second immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside the perception of infinite space and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness (P. viNNanaNcAyatana; S. VIJNANANANTYAYATANA). In the third immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside the perception of infinite consciousness and abides in the sphere of nothingness (P. AkiNcaNNAyatana; S. AKINCANYAYATANA). In the fourth immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside the perception of nothingness and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (P. nevasaNNAnAsaNNAyatana; S. NAIVASAMJNANASAMJNAYATANA). To this list of eight absorptions is added "access" or "neighborhood" "concentration" (P. UPACARASAMADHI), which is the degree of concentration present in the mind of the meditator just prior to entering any of the four jhAnas.
Clairvoyance Clear-seeing; generally, the power to use the psychic sense of vision to see things on the astral plane, the imperfect shadows of things to come or the astral records of things past. But this faculty is of restricted scope and very apt to mislead; prematurely developed in an untrained person, it is more likely to lead to error than to benefit. True clairvoyance is the opening of spiritual vision, called in India the Eye of Siva and beyond the Himalayas the Eye of Dangma; a faculty which enables the seer to see the truth and to recognize it as such. Among the seven saktis (occult powers) is enumerated jnana-sakti, which in its higher aspects is the power of knowing, true clairvoyance, but which on lower planes becomes more or less perfect psychic clairvoyance. True clairvoyance enables the seer to discern the reality behind its veils, to know right action, and to see what is happening in worlds removed by distance or difference of plane from our own. Retrospective clairvoyance interprets the past through its indelible records in the akasa.
consciousness. See VIJNANA.
Culasaccakasutta. In PAli, "Shorter Discourse to Saccaka"; thirty-fifth sutta contained in the MAJJHIMANIKAYA (two separate recensions appear, but without title, in the Chinese translations of the EKOTTARAGAMA and SAMYUKTAGAMA); preached by the Buddha to the wandering ascetic Saccaka in the MahAvana forest outside the city of VesAlī (S. VAIsALĪ). Saccaka maintained that that the five aggregates (P. khandha; S. SKANDHA) of materiality (RuPA), sensations (VEDANA), perception (P. saNNA; S. saMjNA), conditioning factors (P. sankhAra; S. SAMSKARA), and consciousness (P. viNNAna; S. VIJNANA) are one's self (P. attan; S. ATMAN), and that it was this self that experienced the results of good and bad deeds (P. kamma; S. KARMAN). The Buddha refutes this view by pointing out that all of the aggregates are impermanent (P. anicca; S. ANITYA), unsatisfactory or suffering (P. dukkha; S. DUḤKHA), nonself (P. anatta; S. ANATMAN) and beyond one's control.
cyutyupapAdAnusmṛti. (S). See CYUTYUPAPATTIJNANA.
cyutyupapattijNAna. [alt. cyutyupapAdAnusmṛti] (P. cutupapAtaNAna; T. 'chi 'pho ba dang skye ba rjes su dran pa; C. shengsizhi; J. shojichi; K. saengsaji 生死智). In Sanskrit, lit., "recollection of the disappearance [in one life] and rebirth [in another]," viz., "insight into the future rebirth destinies" of all other beings, a by-product of the "divine eye" (DIVYACAKsUS), or clairvoyance, and the second of the "three knowledges" (TRIVIDYA). This recollection comes as a by-product of the enlightenment experience of a "worthy one" (ARHAT), and is an insight achieved by the Buddha during the second watch of the night of his own enlightenment. Through his enlightenment, the adept realizes not only that himself and all beings have been governed by the association between past actions (KARMAN) and their fruitions (VIPAKA) throughout all their past lives; but through this insight, he also realizes that all other beings continue to be governed by their actions, and he is able to observe where beings will be reborn in the future as well. Specifically, one who possesses this insight sees the disappearance and arising of beings as low or noble, beautiful or ugly, etc., according to their good and evil deeds (KARMAN) performed through body, speech, and mind. Those who revile the noble ones (ARYAPUDGALA), hold perverse views (MITHYADṚstI), and act in accordance with perverse views are observed to be reborn in lower realms of existence, e.g., in baleful destinies (APAYA; DURGATI) such as the hells. Those who honor the noble ones, hold right views, and act in accordance with right views are observed to be reborn in higher realms of existence, e.g., in pleasant destinies such as the heavens. This ability is also listed as one of the superknowledges (ABHIJNA).
dAkinī. (T. mkha' 'gro ma; C. tuzhini; J. dakini; K. tojini 荼枳尼). In Sanskrit, a cannibalistic female demon, a witch; in sANTIDEVA's BODHICARYAVATARA, a female hell guardian (narakapAlA); in tantric Buddhism, dAkinīs, particularly the vajradAkinī, are guardians from whom tAntrikas obtain secret doctrines. For example, the VAJRABHAIRAVA adept LAlitavajra is said to have received the YAMANTAKA tantras from vajradAkinīs, who allowed him to bring back to the human world only as many of the texts as he could memorize in one night. The dAkinī first appears in Indian sources during the fourth century CE, and it has been suggested that they evolved from local female shamans. The term is of uncertain derivation, perhaps having something to do with "drumming" (a common feature of shamanic ritual). The Chinese, Japanese, and Korean give simply a phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit. In Tibetan, dAkinī is translated as "sky goer" (mkha' 'gro ma), probably related to the Sanskrit khecara, a term associated with the CAKRASAMVARATANTRA. Here, the dAkinī is a goddess, often depicted naked, in semi-wrathful pose (see VAJRAYOGINĪ); they retain their fearsome element but are synonymous with the highest female beauty and attractiveness and are enlightened beings. They form the third of what are known as the "inner" three jewels (RATNATRAYA): the guru, the YI DAM, and the dAkinīs and protectors (DHARMAPALA; T. chos skyong). The archetypical Tibetan wisdom or knowledge dAkinī (ye shes mkha' 'gro) is YE SHES MTSHO RGYAL, the consort of PADMASAMBHAVA. dAkinīs are classified in a variety of ways, the most common being mkha' 'gro sde lnga, the female buddhas equivalent to the PANCATATHAGATA or five buddha families (PANCAKULA): BuddhadAkinī [alt. AkAsadhAtvīsvarī; SparsavajrA] in the center of the mandala, with LocanA, MAmakī, PAndaravAsinī, and TARA in the cardinal directions. Another division is into three: outer, inner, and secret dAkinīs. The first is a YOGINĪ or a YOGIN's wife or a regional goddess, the second is a female buddha that practitioners visualize themselves to be in the course of tantric meditation, and the last is nondual wisdom (ADVAYAJNANA). This division is also connected with the three bodies (TRIKAYA) of MahAyAna Buddhism: the NIRMAnAKAYA (here referring to the outer dAkinīs), SAMBHOGAKAYA (meditative deity), and the DHARMAKAYA (the knowledge dAkinī). The word dAkinī is found in the title of the explanation (vAkhyA) tantras of the yoginī class or mother tantras included in the CakrasaMvaratantra group.
darsanamArga. (T. mthong lam; C. jiandao; J. kendo; K. kyondo 見道). In Sanskrit, "path of vision"; the third of the five paths (PANCAMARGA) to liberation and enlightenment, whether as an ARHAT or as a buddha. It follows the second path, the path of preparation (PRAYOGAMARGA) and precedes the fourth path, the path of meditation or cultivation (BHAVANAMARGA). This path marks the adept's first direct perception of reality, without the intercession of concepts, and brings an end to the first three of the ten fetters (SAMYOJANA) that bind one to the cycle of rebirth: (1) belief in the existence of a self in relation to the body (SATKAYADṚstI), (2) belief in the efficacy of rites and rituals (sĪLAVRATAPARAMARsA) as a means of salvation, and (3) doubt about the efficacy of the path (VICIKITSA). Because this vision renders one a noble person (ARYA), the path of vision marks the inception of the "noble path" (AryamArga). According to the SarvAstivAda soteriological system, the darsanamArga occurs over the course of fifteen moments of realization of the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS, with the sixteenth moment marking the beginning of the BHAVANAMARGA. There are four moments of realization for each of the four truths. The first moment is that of doctrinal acquiescence (DHARMAKsANTI) with regard to the sensuous realm (KAMADHATU). In that moment, the afflictions (KLEsA) of the sensuous realm associated with the truth of suffering are abandoned. This is followed by a moment of doctrinal knowledge (DHARMAJNANA) of the truth of suffering with regard to the sensuous realm, which is the state of understanding that the afflictions of that level have been abandoned. Next comes a moment of realization called subsequent acquiescence (anvayaksAnti), in which the afflictions associated with the truth of suffering in the two upper realms, the realm of subtle materiality (RuPADHATU) and the immaterial realm (ARuPYADHATU) are abandoned; there is finally a moment of subsequent knowledge (anvayajNAna) of the truth of suffering with regard to the two upper realms. This sequence of four moments-doctrinal acquiescence and doctrinal knowledge (which are concerned with the sensuous realm) and subsequent acquiescence and subsequent knowledge (which are concerned with the two upper realms)-is repeated for the remaining truths of origin, cessation, and path. In each case, the moments of realization called acquiescence are the time when the afflictions are actually abandoned; they are called uninterrupted paths (ANANTARYAMARGA) because they cannot be interrupted or impeded in severing the hold of the afflictions. The eight moments of knowledge are the state of having realized that the afflictions of the particular level have been abandoned. They are called paths of liberation (VIMUKTIMARGA). An uninterrupted path, followed by a path of liberation, are likened to throwing out a thief and locking the door behind him. The sixteenth moment in the sequence-the subsequent knowledge of the truth of the path with regard to the upper realms-constitutes the first moment of the next path, the bhAvanAmArga. For a BODHISATTVA, the attainment of the path of vision coincides with the inception of the first BODHISATTVABHuMI (see also DAsABHuMI). The ABHIDHARMASAMUCCAYA explains that the bodhisattva's path of vision is also a direct perception of reality and is focused on the four noble truths; unlike the mainstream account, however, all three realms are considered simultaneously, and the sixteenth moment is not the first instant of the path of cultivation (bhAvanAmArga). The YOGACARA system is based on their doctrine of the falsehood of the subject/object bifurcation. The first eight instants describe the elimination of fetters based on false conceptualization (VIKALPA) of objects, and the last eight the elimination of fetters based on the false conceptualization of a subject; thus the actual path of vision is a direct realization of the emptiness (suNYATA) of all dharmas (sarvadharmasunyatA). This view of the darsanamArga as the first direct perception (PRATYAKsA) of emptiness is also found in the MADHYAMAKA school, according to which the bodhisattva begins to abandon the afflictive obstructions (KLEsAVARAnA) upon attaining the darsanamArga. See also DHARMAKsANTI; JIEWU; DUNWU JIANXIU.
darsana. (P. dassana; T. mthong ba; C. jian; J. ken; K. kyon 見). In Sanskrit, lit. "seeing," viz., "vision," "insight," or "understanding." In a purely physical sense, darsana refers most basically to visual perception that occurs through the ocular sense organ. However, Buddhism also accepts a full range of sensory and extrasensory perceptions, such as those associated with meditative development (see YOGIPRATYAKsA), that also involve "vision," in the sense of directly perceiving a reality hidden from ordinary sight. Darsana may thus refer to the seeing that occurs through any of the five types of "eyes" (CAKsUS) mentioned in Buddhist literature, viz., (1) the physical eye (MAMSACAKsUS), the sense base (AYATANA) associated with visual consciousness; (2) the divine eye (DIVYACAKsUS), the vision associated with the spiritual power (ABHIJNA) of clairvoyance; (3) the wisdom eye (PRAJNACAKsUS), which is the insight that derives from cultivating mainstream Buddhist practices; (4) the dharma eye (DHARMACAKsUS), which is exclusive to the BODHISATTVAs; and (5) the buddha eye (BUDDHACAKsUS), which subsumes all the other four. When used in its denotation of "insight," darsana often appears in the compound "knowledge and vision" (JNANADARsANA), viz., the direct insight that accords with reality (YATHABHuTA) of the three marks of existence (TRILAKsAnA)-impermanence (ANITYA), suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself/insubstantiality (ANATMAN)-and one of the qualities perfected on the path leading to the state of "worthy one" (ARHAT). Darsana is usually considered to involve awakening (BODHI) to the truth, liberation (VIMUKTI) from bondage, and purification (VIsUDDHI) of all afflictions (KLEsA). The perfection of knowledge and vision (jNAnadarsanapAramitA) is also said to be an alternate name for the perfection of wisdom (PRAJNAPARAMITA), one of the six perfections (PARAMITA) of the bodhisattva path. In the fivefold structure of the Buddhist path, the DARsANAMARGA constitutes the third path. The related term "view" (DṚstI), which derives from the same Sanskrit root √dṛs ("to see"), is sometimes employed similarly to darsana, although it also commonly conveys the more pejorative meanings of dogma, heresy, or extreme or wrong views regarding the self and the world, often as propounded by non-Buddhist philosophical schools. Darsana is also sometimes used within the Indian tradition to indicate a philosophical or religious system, a usage still current today.
darsana (vijnana darshana) ::: vision of brahman on the plane of vijñana. vij ñanadrsti
dasabhumi. (T. sa bcu; C. shidi; J. juji; K. sipchi 十地). In Sanskrit, lit., "ten grounds," "ten stages"; the ten highest reaches of the bodhisattva path (MARGA) leading to buddhahood. The most systematic and methodical presentation of the ten BHuMIs appears in the DAsABHuMIKASuTRA ("Ten Bhumis Sutra"), where each of the ten stages is correlated with seminal doctrines of mainstream Buddhism-such as the four means of conversion (SAMGRAHAVASTU) on the first four bhumis, the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (CATVARY ARYASATYANI) on the fifth bhumi, and the chain of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPADA) on the sixth bhumi, etc.-as well as with mastery of one of a list of ten perfections (PARAMITA) completed in the course of training as a bodhisattva. The list of the ten bhumis of the Dasabhumikasutra, which becomes standard in most MahAyAna traditions, is as follows: (1) PRAMUDITA (joyful) corresponds to the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA) and the bodhisattva's first direct realization of emptiness (suNYATA). The bodhisattva masters on this bhumi the perfection of giving (DANAPARAMITA), learning to give away those things most precious to him, including his wealth, his wife and family, and even his body (see DEHADANA); (2) VIMALA (immaculate, stainless) marks the inception of the path of cultivation (BHAVANAMARGA), where the bodhisattva develops all the superlative traits of character incumbent on a buddha through mastering the perfection of morality (sĪLAPARAMITA); (3) PRABHAKARĪ (luminous, splendrous), where the bodhisattva masters all the various types of meditative experiences, such as DHYANA, SAMAPATTI, and the BRAHMAVIHARA; despite the emphasis on meditation in this bhumi, it comes to be identified instead with the perfection of patience (KsANTIPARAMITA), ostensibly because the bodhisattva is willing to endure any and all suffering in order to master his practices; (4) ARCIsMATĪ (radiance, effulgence), where the flaming radiance of the thirty-seven factors pertaining to enlightenment (BODHIPAKsIKADHARMA) becomes so intense that it incinerates obstructions (AVARAnA) and afflictions (KLEsA), giving the bodhisattva inexhaustible energy in his quest for enlightenment and thus mastering the perfection of vigor or energy (VĪRYAPARAMITA); (5) SUDURJAYA (invincibility, hard-to-conquer), where the bodhisattva comprehends the various permutations of truth (SATYA), including the four noble truths, the two truths (SATYADVAYA) of provisional (NEYARTHA) and absolute (NĪTARTHA), and masters the perfection of meditative absorption (DHYANAPARAMITA); (6) ABHIMUKHĪ (immediacy, face-to-face), where, as the name implies, the bodhisattva stands at the intersection between SAMSARA and NIRVAnA, turning away from the compounded dharmas of saMsAra and turning to face the profound wisdom of the buddhas, thus placing him "face-to-face" with both the compounded (SAMSKṚTA) and uncompounded (ASAMSKṚTA) realms; this bhumi is correlated with mastery of the perfection of wisdom (PRAJNAPARAMITA); (7) DuRAnGAMA (far-reaching, transcendent), which marks the bodhisattva's freedom from the four perverted views (VIPARYASA) and his mastery of the perfection of expedients (UPAYAPARAMITA), which he uses to help infinite numbers of sentient beings; (8) ACALA (immovable, steadfast), which is marked by the bodhisattva's acquiescence or receptivity to the nonproduction of dharmas (ANUTPATTIKADHARMAKsANTI); because he is now able to project transformation bodies (NIRMAnAKAYA) anywhere in the universe to help sentient beings, this bhumi is correlated with mastery of the perfection of aspiration or resolve (PRAnIDHANAPARAMITA); (9) SADHUMATĪ (eminence, auspicious intellect), where the bodhisattva acquires the four analytical knowledges (PRATISAMVID), removing any remaining delusions regarding the use of the supernatural knowledges or powers (ABHIJNA), and giving the bodhisattva complete autonomy in manipulating all dharmas through the perfection of power (BALAPARAMITA); and (10) DHARMAMEGHA (cloud of dharma), the final bhumi, where the bodhisattva becomes autonomous in interacting with all material and mental factors, and gains all-pervasive knowledge that is like a cloud producing a rain of dharma that nurtures the entire world; this stage is also described as being pervaded by meditative absorption (DHYANA) and mastery of the use of codes (DHARAnĪ), just as the sky is filled by clouds; here the bodhisattva achieves the perfection of knowledge (JNANAPARAMITA). As the bodhisattva ascends through the ten bhumis, he acquires extraordinary powers, which CANDRAKĪRTI describes in the eleventh chapter of his MADHYAMAKAVATARA. On the first bhumi, the bodhisattva can, in a single instant (1) see one hundred buddhas, (2) be blessed by one hundred buddhas and understand their blessings, (3) live for one hundred eons, (4) see the past and future in those one hundred eons, (5) enter into and rise from one hundred SAMADHIs, (6) vibrate one hundred worlds, (7) illuminate one hundred worlds, (8) bring one hundred beings to spiritual maturity using emanations, (9) go to one hundred BUDDHAKsETRA, (10), open one hundred doors of the doctrine (DHARMAPARYAYA), (11) display one hundred versions of his body, and (12) surround each of those bodies with one hundred bodhisattvas. The number one hundred increases exponentially as the bodhisattva proceeds; on the second bhumi it becomes one thousand, on the third one hundred thousand, and so on; on the tenth, it is a number equal to the particles of an inexpressible number of buddhaksetra. As the bodhisattva moves from stage to stage, he is reborn as the king of greater and greater realms, ascending through the Buddhist cosmos. Thus, on the first bhumi he is born as king of JAMBUDVĪPA, on the second of the four continents, on the third as the king of TRAYATRIMsA, and so on, such that on the tenth he is born as the lord of AKANIstHA. ¶ According to the rather more elaborate account in chapter eleven of the CHENG WEISHI LUN (*VijNaptimAtratAsiddhi), each of the ten bhumis is correlated with the attainment of one of the ten types of suchness (TATHATA); these are accomplished by discarding one of the ten kinds of obstructions (Avarana) by mastering one of the ten perfections (pAramitA). The suchnesses achieved on each of the ten bhumis are, respectively: (1) universal suchness (sarvatragatathatA; C. bianxing zhenru), (2) supreme suchness (paramatathatA; C. zuisheng zhenru), (3) ubiquitous, or "supreme outflow" suchness (paramanisyandatathatA; C. shengliu zhenru), (4) unappropriated suchness (aparigrahatathatA; C. wusheshou zhenru), (5) undifferentiated suchness (abhinnajAtīyatathatA; C. wubie zhenru), (6) the suchness that is devoid of maculations and contaminants (asaMklistAvyavadAtatathatA; C. wuranjing zhenru), (7) the suchness of the undifferentiated dharma (abhinnatathatA; C. fawubie zhenru), (8) the suchness that neither increases nor decreases (anupacayApacayatathatA; C. buzengjian), (9) the suchness that serves as the support of the mastery of wisdom (jNAnavasitAsaMnisrayatathatA; C. zhizizai suoyi zhenru), and (10) the suchness that serves as the support for mastery over actions (kriyAdivasitAsaMnisrayatathatA; C. yezizai dengsuoyi). These ten suchnessses are obtained by discarding, respectively: (1) the obstruction of the common illusions of the unenlightened (pṛthagjanatvAvarana; C. yishengxing zhang), (2) the obstruction of the deluded (mithyApratipattyAvarana; C. xiexing zhang), (3) the obstruction of dullness (dhandhatvAvarana; C. andun zhang), (4) the obstruction of the manifestation of subtle afflictions (suksmaklesasamudAcArAvarana; C. xihuo xianxing zhang), (5) the obstruction of the lesser HĪNAYANA ideal of parinirvAna (hīnayAnaparinirvAnAvarana; C. xiasheng niepan zhang), (6) the obstruction of the manifestation of coarse characteristics (sthulanimittasamudAcArAvarana; C. cuxiang xianxing zhang), (7) the obstruction of the manifestation of subtle characteristics (suksmanimittasamudAcArAvarana; C. xixiang xianxing zhang), (8) the obstruction of the continuance of activity even in the immaterial realm that is free from characteristics (nirnimittAbhisaMskArAvarana; C. wuxiang jiaxing zhang), (9) the obstruction of not desiring to act on behalf of others' salvation (parahitacaryAkAmanAvarana; C. buyuxing zhang), and (10) the obstruction of not yet acquiring mastery over all things (fa weizizai zhang). These ten obstructions are overcome by practicing, respectively: (1) the perfection of giving (dAnapAramitA), (2) the perfection of morality (sīlapAramitA), (3) the perfection of forbearance (ksAntipAramitA), (4) the perfection of energetic effort (vīryapAramitA), (5) the perfection of meditation (dhyAnapAramitA), (6) the perfection of wisdom (prajNApAramitA), (7) the perfection of expedient means (upAyapAramitA), (8) the perfection of the vow (to attain enlightenment) (pranidhAnapAramitA), (9) the perfection of power (balapAramitA), and (10) the perfection of knowledge (jNAnapAramitA). ¶ The eighth, ninth, and tenth bhumis are sometimes called "pure bhumis," because, according to some commentators, upon reaching the eighth bhumi, the bodhisattva has abandoned all of the afflictive obstructions (KLEsAVARAnA) and is thus liberated from any further rebirth. It appears that there were originally only seven bhumis, as is found in the BODHISATTVABHuMI, where the seven bhumis overlap with an elaborate system of thirteen abidings or stations (vihAra), some of the names of which (such as pramuditA) appear also in the standard bhumi schema of the Dasabhumikasutra. Similarly, though a listing of ten bhumis appears in the MAHAVASTU, a text associated with the LOKOTTARAVADA subsect of the MAHASAMGHIKA school, only seven are actually discussed there, and the names given to the stages are completely different from those found in the later Dasabhumikasutra; the stages there are also a retrospective account of how past buddhas have achieved enlightenment, rather than a prescription for future practice. ¶ The dasabhumi schema is sometimes correlated with other systems of classifying the bodhisattva path. In the five levels of the YogAcAra school's outline of the bodhisattva path (PANCAMARGA; C. wuwei), the first bhumi (pramuditA) is presumed to be equivalent to the level of proficiency (*prativedhAvasthA; C. tongdawei), the third of the five levels; while the second bhumi onward corresponds to the level of cultivation (C. xiuxiwei), the fourth of the five levels. The first bhumi is also correlated with the path of vision (DARsANAMARGA), while the second and higher bhumis correlate with the path of cultivation (BHAVANAMARGA). In terms of the doctrine of the five acquiescences (C. ren; S. ksAnti) listed in the RENWANG JING, the first through the third bhumis are equivalent to the second acquiescence, the acquiescence of belief (C. xinren; J. shinnin; K. sinin); the fourth through the sixth stages to the third, the acquiescence of obedience (C. shunren; J. junnin; K. sunin); the seventh through the ninth stages to the fourth, the acquiescence to the nonproduction of dharmas (anutpattikadharmaksAnti; C. wushengren; J. mushonin; K. musaengin); the tenth stage to the fifth and final acquiescence, to extinction (jimieren; J. jakumetsunin; K. chongmyorin). FAZANG's HUAYANJING TANXUAN JI ("Notes Plumbing the Profundities of the AVATAMSAKASuTRA") classifies the ten bhumis in terms of practice by correlating the first bhumi to the practice of faith (sRADDHA), the second bhumi to the practice of morality (sĪLA), the third bhumi to the practice of concentration (SAMADHI), and the fourth bhumi and higher to the practice of wisdom (PRAJNA). In the same text, Fazang also classifies the bhumis in terms of vehicle (YANA) by correlating the first through third bhumis with the vehicle of humans and gods (rentiansheng), the fourth through the seventh stage to the three vehicles (TRIYANA), and the eighth through tenth bhumis to the one vehicle (EKAYANA). ¶ Besides the list of the dasabhumi outlined in the Dasabhumikasutra, the MAHAPRAJNAPARAMITASuTRA and the DAZHIDU LUN (*MahAprajNApAramitAsAstra) list a set of ten bhumis, called the "bhumis in common" (gongdi), which are shared between all the three vehicles of sRAVAKAs, PRATYEKABUDDHAs, and bodhisattvas. These are the bhumis of: (1) dry wisdom (suklavidarsanAbhumi; C. ganhuidi), which corresponds to the level of three worthies (sanxianwei, viz., ten abidings, ten practices, ten transferences) in the srAvaka vehicle and the initial arousal of the thought of enlightenment (prathamacittotpAda) in the bodhisattva vehicle; (2) lineage (gotrabhumi; C. xingdi, zhongxingdi), which corresponds to the stage of the "aids to penetration" (NIRVEDHABHAGĪYA) in the srAvaka vehicle, and the final stage of the ten transferences in the fifty-two bodhisattva stages; (3) eight acquiescences (astamakabhumi; C. barendi), the causal incipiency of stream-enterer (SROTAAPANNA) in the case of the srAvaka vehicle and the acquiescence to the nonproduction of dharmas (anutpattikadharmaksAnti) in the bodhisattva path (usually corresponding to the first or the seventh through ninth bhumis of the bodhisattva path); (4) vision (darsanabhumi; C. jiandi), corresponding to the fruition or fulfillment (PHALA) level of the stream-enterer in the srAvaka vehicle and the stage of nonretrogression (AVAIVARTIKA), in the bodhisattva path (usually corresponding to the completion of the first or the eighth bhumi); (5) diminishment (tanubhumi; C. baodi), corresponding to the fulfillment level (phala) of stream-enterer or the causal incipiency of the once-returner (sakṛdAgAmin) in the srAvaka vehicle, or to the stage following nonretrogression before the attainment of buddhahood in the bodhisattva path; (6) freedom from desire (vītarAgabhumi; C. liyudi), equivalent to the fulfillment level of the nonreturner in the srAvaka vehicle, or to the stage where a bodhisattva attains the five supernatural powers (ABHIJNA); (7) complete discrimination (kṛtAvibhumi), equivalent to the fulfillment level of the ARHAT in the srAvaka vehicle, or to the stage of buddhahood (buddhabhumi) in the bodhisattva path (buddhabhumi) here refers not to the fruition of buddhahood but merely to the state in which a bodhisattva has the ability to exhibit the eighteen qualities distinctive to the buddhas (AVEnIKA[BUDDHA]DHARMA); (8) pratyekabuddha (pratyekabuddhabhumi); (9) bodhisattva (bodhisattvabhumi), the whole bodhisattva career prior to the fruition of buddhahood; (10) buddhahood (buddhabhumi), the stage of the fruition of buddhahood, when the buddha is completely equipped with all the buddhadharmas, such as omniscience (SARVAKARAJNATĀ). As is obvious in this schema, despite being called the bhumis "common" to all three vehicles, the shared stages continue only up to the seventh stage; the eighth through tenth stages are exclusive to the bodhisattva vehicle. This anomaly suggests that the last three bhumis of the bodhisattvayāna were added to an earlier srāvakayāna seven-bhumi scheme. ¶ The presentation of the bhumis in the PRAJNĀPĀRAMITĀ commentarial tradition following the ABHISAMAYĀLAMKĀRA uses the names found in the Dasabhumikasutra for the bhumis and understands them all as bodhisattva levels; it introduces the names of the ten bhumis found in the Dazhidu lun as levels that bodhisattvas have to pass beyond (S. atikrama) on the tenth bodhisattva level, which it calls the buddhabhumi. This tenth bodhisattva level is not the level of an actual buddha, but the level on which a bodhisattva has to transcend attachment (abhinivesa) to not only the levels reached by the four sets of noble persons (ĀRYAPUDGALA) but to the bodhisattvabhumis as well. See also BHuMI.
Devasarman (Sanskrit) Devaśarman Author and quasi-sage (5th century BC) said to have written the Vijnana-kaya-sastra. “He wrote two famous works, in which he denied the existence of both Ego and non-Ego, the one as successfully as the other” (TG 99).
Dhyana ::: There are two words used in English to express the Indian idea of Dhyana, "meditation" and "contemplation". Meditation means properly the concentration of the mind on a single train of ideas which work out a single subject. Contemplation means regarding mentally a single object, image, idea so that the knowledge about the object, image or idea may arise naturally in the mind by force of the concentration. Both these things are forms of dhyana; for the principle of dhyana is mental concentration whether in thought, vision or knowledge. There are other forms of dhyana. There is a passage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts, let them occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them & see what they are. This may be called concentration in self-observation. This form leads to another, the emptying of all thought out of the mind so as to leave it a sort of pure vigilant blank on which the divine knowledge may come and imprint itself, undisturbed by the inferior thoughts of the ordinary human mind and with the clearness of a writing in white chalk on a blackboard. You will find that the Gita speaks of this rejection of all mental thought as one of the methods of Yoga and even the method it seems to prefer. This may be called the dhyana of liberation, as it frees the mind from slavery to the mechanical process of thinking and allows it to think or not think as it pleases and when it pleases, or to choose its own thoughts or else to go beyond thought to the pure perception of Truth called in our philosophy Vijnana. Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest in its results; contemplation more difficult, but greater; self-observation and liberation from the chains of Thought the most difficult of all, but the widest and greatest in its fruits. One can choose any of them according to one’s bent and capacity. The perfect method is to use them all, each in its own place and for its own object.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 36, Page: 293-294
Djnana. See JNANA
Dzyan (Senzar) Closely similar to the Tibetan dzin (learning, knowledge). Although Blavatsky states that dzyan is “a corruption of the Sanskrit Dhyan and Jnana . . . Wisdom, divine knowledge” (TG 107), there is also a Chinese equivalent dan or jan-na, which in “modern Chinese and Tibetan phonetics ch’an, is the general term for the esoteric schools, and their literature. In the old books, the word Janna is defined as ‘to reform one’s self by meditation and knowledge,’ a second inner birth. Hence Dzan, Djan phonetically, the ‘Book of Dzyan’ ” (SD 1:xx). This term then is connected directly with the ancient mystery-language called Senzar, with Tibetan and Chinese mystical Buddhism mostly of the Mahayana schools, and thirdly with the Sanskrit dhyana of which indeed it was probably originally a corruption.
formless mysticism ::: A peak experience of oneness with phenomena (or lack thereof) in the causal state. Can also refer to meditative formless absorption, nirvikalpa samadhi, jnana samadhi, the Void, the Abyss, Ayin, Urgrund, etc.
gata-sangasya muktasya jnanavasthitacetasah ::: [of ] the liberated man, freed from attachment, with mind, heart and spirit (cetas) firmly founded in self knowledge. [see the following].
gata-sangasya muktasya jnanavasthitacetasah yajnayacaratah karma samagram praviliyate ::: [all the works of the liberated man, freed from attachment, with mind, heart and spirit (cetas) firmly founded in self-knowledge who acts for the sake of sacrifice are dissolved]. [Gita 4.23]
Gnana-Devas, Gnan-Devas. See JNANA-DEVAS
Gnana, etc. See: Jnana, etc.
Gnana, Gnanam. See JNANA
Gnanasakti. See JNANA-SAKTI
Gnosis (Greek) [cf Sanskrit jnana knowledge] Knowledge; used by Plato and the Neoplatonists to signify the divine knowledge (gupta-vidya) attained through initiation; and means for the student the active penetration into and going beyond the veils of mind, by which process a true vision of reality is to be obtained.
Gnostic Being ::: In the supra-intellectual consciousness, dominated by the Truth or causal Idea (called in Veda Satyam, Ritam, Brihat, the True, the Right, the Vast), Atman becomes the ideal being or great Soul, vijnanamaya purusa or mahat atman.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 17, Page: 33
Gnyana. See JNANA
Gotra-Bhu-Jnana (Sanskrit) Gotra-bhū-jñāna [from gotra race, family + bhū earth + jñāna knowledge, wisdom] Wisdom of the races of the earth.
Gyan (Persian) Also Gian-ben-Gian, Gyan-ben-Gian. According to the Persian legend, Gyan was king of the peris or sylphs. He had a wonderful shield which served as a protection against evil or black magic — the sorcery of the devs. Blavatsky remarks that Gyan might be spelled Gnan (which corresponds to the Sanskrit jnana), meaning true or occult wisdom. His shield, “produced on the principles of astrology, destroyed charms, enchantments, and bad spells, could not prevail against Iblis, who was an agent of Fate (or Karma)” (SD 2:394).
Gyn. See JNANA
I get the supramental knowledge best by becoming one with the truth, one with the object of knowledge; the supramental satisfaction and integral light is most there when there is no further division between the knower, knowledge and the known, jnata, jnanam, jneyam. I see the thing known not as an object outside myself, but as myself or a part of my universal self contained in my most direct consciousness.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 23-24, Page: 831-32
inferior ideality ::: a term used mainly in May-June 1918 for the lower plane of ideality, that which "takes up the whole intellectual action and transforms it into vijnana"; cf. the logistic ideality of 1919-20.
In Mahayana Buddhism, alaya-vijnana has acquired a somewhat larger and higher significance: alaya (an abode, in the sense of focus of activity), the prepositional prefix a (meaning position or limitation) with the verb li (to dissolve) signifies solution or coalescence in unity. Used much as the term human monad is in theosophy, equivalent to the higher manas or even buddhi-manas, it therefore signifies the focus or interior organ of consciousness into which is collected at the end of each incarnation the aroma of the higher experiences during that lifetime, thus forming a kind of treasury.
Intuition (revelation, inspiration, intuitive perception, intuitive discrimination) is Vijnana working in mind under the conditions and in the forms of mind.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 17, Page: 71
isita (Ishita) ::: [one of the astasiddhis]: the perfect control over the powers of nature and over things inert and intelligent; effectiveness of will acting not as command or through the thought, by ajnanam, but through the heart and temperament (citta) in a perception of need or pure lipsa.
Jainism: An Indian religion claiming great antiquity, the last of the great teachers (tirthankara) being Mahavira (6th cent. B.C.), embracing many philosophical elements of a pluralistic type of realism. It rejects Vedic (q.v.) authority and an absolute being, gods as well as men partaking of mortality, and holds the mythologically conceived world to be eternal and subject only to the fixed sequence of six ages, good and bad, but not periodic creation and destruction. There is an infinitude of indestructible individual souls or spiritual entities, each possessing by nature many properties inclusive of omniscience, unlimited energy and bliss which come to the fore upon attaining full independence. The non-spiritual substances are space and time, rest and motion, and matter composed of atoms and capable of being apprehended by the senses and combining to form the world of infinite variety. Matter also penetrates spiritual substance like a physician's pill, changing to karma and producing physical attachments. The good life consists in the acquisition of the three gems (triratna) of right faith (samyag-darsana), right knowledge (samyag-jnana), right conduct (samyag-caritra). Salvation, i.e., becoming a kevalin (cf. kevala), is an arduous task achieved in 14 stages of perfection, the last being bodiless existence in bliss and complete oblivion to the world and its ways. -- K.F.L.
janma karma ca me divyam ::: My divine birth and work. [see the following] ::: janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah ::: tyaktva deham punarjanma naiti mam eti sorjuna, ::: He who knoweth thus in its right principles My divine birth and My divine work, when he abandons his body, comes not to rebirth, he comes to Me, O Arjuna. [Gita 4.9] ::: vitaragabhayakrodha manmaya mam upasritah ::: bahavo jnanatapasa puta madbhavam agatah ::: Delivered from liking and fear and wrath, full of Me, taking refuge in Me, many purified by austerity of knowledge have arrived at My nature of being. [Gita 4.10]
Jhana Bhaskara. See JNANA BHASKARA
Jivanmukta: A Sanskrit term, denoting one who has attained salvation while in this present life: all but a remainder of prarabdha karma has been neutralized and no new karma is accumulated in virtue of the person’s having gained insight, jnana (q.v.).
Jlvanmukta: (Skr.) One who has attained salvation while in this present life: all but a remainder of prarabdha karma (q.v.) has been neutralized and no new karma is accumulated in virtue of the person's having gained insight, jnana (q.v.). -- K.F.L.
jnana bandhu. ::: a pseudo-jnani
jnana bhumika. ::: stage of Self-knowledge
jnanadharanasamarthyam ::: [capacity for receiving and sustaining knowledge].
jnanadipena bhasvata ::: with the blazing lamp of knowledge. [Gita 10.11]
jnana drishti. :::the "wisdom-insight" of remaining quiet
jnana guru. ::: one who initiates a disciple into jnana; one who grants true knowledge; the supreme Self that reveals its own Truth in every Heart; one who has realised the Truth
jnana kanda. ::: knowledge in the pursuit of Truth
jnanakanda ::: the section of knowledge [of the Veda], identified with the Upanisads. [cf. karmakanda]
JNaNA, Knowledge direct without the use of a medium ; supreme self-knowledge ; -a spiritual seizing by a kind of identifi- cation with the object of knowledge.
jnana ::: knowledge, wisdom; supreme self-knowledge; the essential aspect [cf. vijnana] of the true unifying knowledge, the direct spiritual awareness of the supreme Being. ::: jnanam [nominative]
jnanalipsa ::: [desire for knowledge].
jnanalipsa jnanaprakaso brahmavarcasyam sthairyam iti brahmatejah ::: see these words separately.
jnana marg&
jnanam brahma ::: the brahman as the self-existent consciousness and universal knowledge.
jnanam caitanyam jyotir brahma ::: [the brahman is knowledge, consciousness and light].
jnanam ::: see under jnana
jnanam trikaladrstih astasiddhih samadhih iti vijnanacatustayam ::: see these words separate]y.
(jnanam, trikaldrishtir, ashtasiddhih, samadhir, iti vijnanachatusthayam) ::: jñana, trikaladr.s.t.i, as.tasiddhi and samadhi: these constitute the vijñana catus.t.aya. j ñanaprakasa
jnana mudra. ::: the joining of the thumb and the forefinger of a raised right hand signifying the union of the Paramatman and the jivatman, hereby showing their identity
jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah ::: [they whose sins have been removed by knowledge]. [Gita 5.17]
jnana nistha. ::: firmly rooted unshakable Self-knowledge
jnanaprakasa (Jnanaprakasha) ::: [light of knowledge]. ::: jnanaprakaso[nominative, modified form]
jnana-sakti (Jnana Shakti) ::: power of knowledge.
jnana sakti. :::the power of knowledge
jnana siddha. ::: liberated or Self-realised being
jnana&
jnana swarupa. ::: the embodiment of spiritual wisdom; pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances
jnana vichara. ::: Self-enquiry; enquiry leading to true Self-knowledge
jnana-yajnena yajanto mam upasate ::: [they, sacrificing with the sacrifice of knowledge, worship Me]. [Gita 9.15]
JNANA YOGA. ::: The Path of Knowledge aims at the reali- sation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection, vicSra, to right discrimination, viveka.
jnana yoga. ::: the yoga of knowledge or wisdom is the most difficult path, requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect, which leads the aspirant to experience his unity with God directly by dissolving the veils of ignorance; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the Upanishads; one of the four paths of yoga &
jnanayoga ::: the yoga of knowledge; self-realisation and knowledge of the true nature of the self and the world.
jnanayogena sankhyanam ::: by the yoga of knowledge of the sankhyas. [Gita 3.3]
jnana yogi. ::: the one who uses his mind to enquire into its own nature through the path of knowledge
Kah-dum-pas (Tibetan) bka’ gdams pa (Ka-dam-pa) The first “reformed” school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by the Indian Buddhist teacher Dipamkara Srijnana or Atisa (982-1048), who came to Tibet in 1042. Tshong-kha-pa is viewed as a successor to Atisa, and the Gelukpa order is sometimes called the “New Kadampa.”
kalottara jnana. ::: the knowledge to be revealed at the final stage of maturity
kamais tais tair hrtajnanah ::: [those whose knowledge is carried away by various desires]. [Gita 7.20]
Kanya (Sanskrit) Kanyā Virgin; the sixth zodiacal sign, Virgo, which may represent mahamaya or sakti. The saktis or six primary forces in nature (parasakti, jnanasakti, ichchhasakti, kriyasakti, kundalinisakti, and mantrikasakti) together are represented by the astral light, called the heavenly or celestial Virgin by Kabalists and Hermetic philosophers.
karmakanda ::: the section of (ritual) works [of the Veda], identified with the hymns. [cf. jnanakanda]
Karma, Karman: (Skr.) Action, movement, deed, a category e.g. in the Vaisesika (q.v.). In Indian philosophy generally thought of as a metaphysical entity carried by the individual along in samsara (q.v.). As law, karma would be identical with physical causation or causality while working with equal rigor in man's psychic and thought life. As such it is the unmitigated law of retribution working with equal precision in "good" and "evil" deeds and thoughts, thus determining the nature and circumstances of incarnation. Karma is classified into prarabdha (effects determining the unavoidable circumstances of man's life), samcita (effects able to be expiated or neglected, e.g., through jnana), and agami (effects currently generated and determining the future). Jainas (q.v.) enumerate 148 kinds of karma. -- K.F.L.
KNOWLEDGE (WAV OF), t'ide Jnana Yoga.
Kosa: Sanskrit for sheath. One of the envelopes of the soul or self concealing its real nature, which is pure consciousness. The Vedanta knows three: the anandamaya, vijnanamaya, and annamaya kosas, i.e., the sheaths of pleasure, intellect, and food, composing respectively the karana, suksma, and sthula sharira, meaning the causal, subtle, and gross frame or body.
Kosa: (Skr.) "Sheath", one of the envelopes of the soul or self concealing its real nature, which is pure consciousness. The Vedanta knows three: the anandamaya, vijnanamaya, and annamaya koias, i.e., the sheaths of pleasure, intellect, and food, composing respectively the karana, suksma, and sthula larira, meaning the causal, subtile, and gross frame or body. -- K.F.L.
"Krishna as a godhead is the Lord of Ananda, Love and Bhakti; as an incarnation, he manifests the union of wisdom (Jnana) and works and leads the earth-evolution through this towards union with the Divine by Ananda, Love and Bhakti.” Letters on Yoga
“Krishna as a godhead is the Lord of Ananda, Love and Bhakti; as an incarnation, he manifests the union of wisdom (Jnana) and works and leads the earth-evolution through this towards union with the Divine by Ananda, Love and Bhakti.” Letters on Yoga
Krsna (Krishna, Srikrishna) ::: a godhead, the Lord of ananda, Love and bhakti, [considered to be one of the ten incarnations of Visnu], as an incarnation he manifests the union of wisdom (jnana) and works and leads the earth-evolution through this towards union with the Divine by ananda, Love and bhakti. ::: Krsnah [nominative]
ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam ::: knowledge of the field and its knower. [Gita 13.3]
Lamrin (Tibetan) lam rim. Stages of the path; the name for a genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature. The most famous such work is Tsong-kha-pa’s Lam rim chen mo, which claims to be based on the earliest such work, the Bodhipathapradipa by Atisha (Dipamkara-shrijnana).
mahavakya &
Mahayana Buddhism: "Great Vehicle Buddhism", the Northern, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese form of Buddhism (q.v.), extending as far as Korea and Japan, whose central theme is that Buddhahood means devotion to the salvation of others and thus manifests itself in the worship of Buddha and Bodhisattvas (q.v.). Apart from absorbing beliefs of a more primitive strain, it has also evolved metaphysical and epistemological systems, such as the Sunya-vada (q.v.) and Vijnana-vada (q.v.). -- K.F.L.
Mahayana Buddhism: “Great Vehicle Buddhism,” the Northern, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese form of Buddhism (q.v.), extending as far as Korea and Japan, whose central theme is that Buddhahood means devotion to the salvation of others and thus manifests itself in the worship of Buddha and Bodhisattvas (q.v.). Apart from absorbing beliefs of a more primitive strain, it has also evolved metaphysical and epistemological systems, such as the Sunya-vada (q.v.) and Vijnana-vada (q.v.).
Marga: Sanskrit for path; used in the sense of method or approach in the endeavor to attain spiritual enlightenment. (See bhakti-marga, jnana-marga, karma-marga.)
Maya: (Skr.) The power of obscuring or state producing error and illusion; the "veil" covering reality, the experience of manifoldness when only the One is real; natura naturans; appearance or phenomenon, as opposed to reality and noumenon. A condition generally acknowledged in Indian philosophy and popular Hindu thinking due to the ascendency of the Vedanta (q.v.) which can be overcome principally by knowledge or insight. See Jnana. -- K.F.L.
mental tapas ::: mental will-power, whose working takes the form of "perceptions realising themselves if vijnanamaya, acting as forces, if pranamaya"; same as intellectual tapas.
Mind and life in the body are in the state of Death because by Ignorance they fail to realise Sachchidananda. Realising perfectly Sachchidananda, they can convert themselves, Mind into the nature of the Truth, vijnana, Life into the nature of caitanya, Body into the nature of sat, that is, into the pure essence. When this cannot be done perfectly in the body, the soul realises its true state in other forms of existence or worlds, the sunlit worlds and states of felicity, and returns upon material existence to complete its evolution in the body. A progressively perfect realisation [of Sachchidananda] in the body is the aim of human evolution.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 17, Page: 41-42
Mohism: See Mo chia and Chinese philosophy. Moksa: (Skr.) Liberation, salvation from the effects of karma (q.v.) and resulting samsara (q.v.). Theoretically, good karma as little as evil karma can bring about liberation from the state of existence looked upon pessimistically. Thus, Indian philosophy early found a solution in knowledge (vidyd, jnana) which, disclosing the essential oneness of all in the metaphysical world-ground, declares the phenomenal world as maya (q.v.). Liberation is then equivalent to identification of oneself with the ultimate reality, eternal, changeless, blissful, or in a state of complete indifference either with or without loss of consciousness, but at any rate beyond good and evil, pleasure and pain. Divine grace is also recognized by some religious systems as effecting moksa. No generalization is possible regarding the many theories of moksa, its nature, or the mode of attaining it. See Nirvana, Samadhi, Prasada. -- K.F.L.
na buddhibhedam janayed ajnanam karmasanginam ::: he should not create a division of their understanding [buddhi] in the ignorant who are attached to their works. [Gita 3.26]
Nidana (Sanskrit) Nidāna [from ni down, into + the verbal root dā to bind] That which binds, to earth or to existence, philosophically speaking. Originally meaning bond, rope, halter — that which binds. From this arose the implication of binding cause, or bonds of causation, and hence in Buddhist philosophy it signifies cause of existence, the concatenation of cause and effect. The twelve nidanas given as the chief causes are: 1) jati (birth) according to one of the chatur-yoni, the four modes of entering incarnation, each mode placing the being in one of the six gatis; 2) jara-marana (decrepitude) and death, following the maturity of the skandhas; 3) bhava, which leads every sentient being to be born in this or another mode of existence in the trailokya and gatis; 4) upadana, the creative cause of bhava which thus becomes the cause of jati, and this creative cause is the clinging to life; 5) trishna (thirst for life, love, attachment); 6) vedana (sensation) perception by the senses, the fifth skandha; 7) sparsa (the sense of touch) contact of any kind, whether mental or physical; 8) shadayatana (the organs of sensation) the inner or mental astral seats of the organs of sense; 9) nama-rupa (name-form, personality, a form with a name to it) the symbol of the unreality of material phenomenal appearances; 10) vijnana, the perfect knowledge of every perceptible thing and of all objects in their concatenation and unity; 11) samskara, action on the plane of illusion; and 12) avidya (nescience, ignorance) lack of true perception.
“No system of Yoga should ever be practiced unless under the direct teaching of one who knows the dangers of meddling with the psycho-mental apparatus of the human constitution, for dangers lurk at every step, and the meddler in these things is likely to bring disaster upon himself, both in matters of health and as regards sane mental equilibrium. The higher branches of Yoga, however, such as the Raja-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga, implying strict spiritual and intellectual discipline combined with a fervid love for all beings, are perfectly safe. It is, however, the ascetic practices, etc., and the teachings that go with them, wherein lies the danger to the unwary, and they should be carefully avoided” (OG 183).
Panchakosa (Sanskrit) Pañcakośa [from pañca five + kośa sheath] Five sheaths; according to the Vedantic classification of human principles there are five sheaths which enclose the divine monad or atman, which makes the sixth. The highest is the anandamaya-kosa, closely corresponding to the spiritual soul or buddhi; second is the vijnanamaya-kosa, the higher manas; third, the manomaya-kosa, lower manas with kama, making the human soul; fourth, the pranamaya-kosa, the vital-astral soul or prana and linga-sarira; and fifth, the annamaya-kosa, the physical body or sthula-sarira.
Paramita (Sanskrit) Pāramitā [from pāram beyond + ita gone from the verbal root i to go] Gone or crossed to the other shore; derivatively, virtue or perfection. The paramitas vary in number according to the Buddhist school: some quoting six, others seven or ten; but they are the glorious or transcendental virtues — the keys to the portals of jnana (wisdom). Blavatsky gives these seven keys as (VS 47-8): 1) dana “the key of charity and love immortal”; 2) sila (good character), “the key of Harmony in word and act, the key that counterbalances the cause and the effect, and leaves no further room for Karmic action”; 3) kshanti, “patience sweet, that nought can ruffle”; 4) viraga, “indifference to pleasure and to pain, illusion conquered, truth alone perceived”; 5) virya (strength, power), “the dauntless energy that fights its way to the supernal TRUTH, out of the mire of lies terrestrial”; 6) dhyana (profound spiritual-intellectual contemplation, with utter detachment from all objects of sense and of a lower mental character), human consciousness in the higher reaches of this state becomes purely buddhic, with the summit of the manas acting as vehicle for the retention of what the percipient consciousness experiences; once the golden gate of dhyana is opened, the pathway stretching thence leads towards the realm of “Sat eternal”; and 7) prajna (understanding, wisdom), that part of the mind that functions when active as the vehicle of the higher self; “the key to which makes of man a god, creating him a Bodhisattva, son of the Dhyanis.”
physical siddhi ::: the siddhi of the sarira catus.t.aya or of any of its members; any of the siddhis of the body which "although belonging to the dharma of the vijnana . . . act in the body and are strictly part of the physical siddhi", forming the basis of utthapana.
pracetas ::: conscious thinker (seems to correspond to the Vedantic prajnana). [Ved.] ::: pracetah [nominative, feminine], she who has the perceptive knowledge.
prajnana ::: apprehending consciousness; the consciousness that cognizes all things as objects confronting its observation; in the divine mind it is knowledge regarding things as their source, possessor and witness.
prajnanam brahma. ::: "Consciousness is Brahman"; "Brahman is the supreme knowledge";
Prajnana: Sanskrit for intelligence.
Prajnana: (Skr.) Intelligence. -- K.F.L.
prakasho, vichitrabodho, jnanasamarthyam) ::: purity, clarity, variety of understanding, capacity for all knowledge (the elements of buddhisakti).
pratibodha ::: realisation; jnana of experience.
Sadhya (Sanskrit) Sādhya [from the verbal root sādh to finish, complete, subdue, master] To be fulfilled, completed, attained; to be mastered, won, subdued. As a plural noun, a class of the gana-devatas (divine beings), specifically the jnana-devas (gods of wisdom). In the Satapatha-Brahmana of the Rig-Veda their world is said to be above the sphere of the gods, while Yaska (Nirukta 12:41) gives their locality as in Bhuvarloka. In The Laws of Manu (3:195), the sadhyas are represented as the offspring of the pitris called soma-sads who are offspring of Viraj; hence they are children of the lunar ancestors (pitris), evolved after the gods and possessing natures more fully unfolded; while in the Puranas they are the sons of Sadhya (a daughter of Daksha) and Dharma — hence called sadhyas — given variously as 12 or 17 in number. These various manners of describing the ancestry of the sadhyas originated in different ways of envisioning their origin. In later mythology they are superseded by the siddhas, the difference between sadhyas and siddhas being in many respects slight. Their mythological names are given as Manas, Mantri, Prana, Nara, Pana, Vinirbhaya, Naya, Dansa, Narayana, Vrisha, and Trabhu. Two of the names are two of the theosophic seven human principles — manas and prana; while Nara and Narayan, are other aspects of man, human or cosmic. Blavatsky terms the sadhyas divine sacrificers, “the most occult of all” the classes of the dhyanis (SD 2:605) — the reference being to the manasaputras, those intellectual beings who sacrificed themselves in order to quicken the fires of human intelligence during the third root-race. “The names of the deities of a certain mystic class change with every Manvantara” (SD 2:90); thus they are called ajitas, tushitas, satyas, haris, vaikuntas, adityas, and rudras. The key to the various names given to these higher beings lies in the composite nature of each one of them. In every manvantara and in each minor cycle of a manvantara, every being unfolds another aspect of itself, just as mankind unfolds new but latent powers and senses in each age. Special names were often given to each of the sevenfold, tenfold, or twelvefold aspects of these high beings.
sakti (vijnana shakti) ::: the sakti acting on the plane of vijñana.
samadhi (sushupta samadhi) ::: the state of profound samadhi . upta samadhi that is compared to dreamless sleep. It is not an unconscious state, but "the Yogic sleep of the mind with wakefulness of the vijnana", which "is the gate of union with the supreme state of Sachchidananda". sus susupta-svapna
samjnana ::: essential sense; contact of consciousness with its object; the inbringing movement of apprehensive consciousness which draws the object placed before it back to itself so as to possess it in conscious substance, to feel it.
Sampa-jnana (Sanskrit) Sampa-jñāna [possibly from sam + the verbal root pat to fall or fly, to rush together (sometimes given as śampā, lightning) + jñāna, wisdom] “Wisdom acting with lightning swiftness,” and hence a power of internal illumination.
samyagjnanam ::: integral knowledge.
SANJNANA. ::: Contact of consciousness with its objects; inbringing apprehensive consdousness which contacts objects so as to possess them in conscious substance.
sanjnana ::: see saṁjñana.
Sankaracharya did this in three ways: first by writing commentaries on the great Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita which revealed the original message of these old writings; secondly, by himself composing a series of original works, such as Ata-bodha, Ananda-lahari, Jnana-bodhini, and Mani-ratna-mala, as well as catechisms and manuals for students wishing to follow the path of wisdom; thirdly, by a system of reform and discipline within the Brahmin order itself, which if accepted and faithfully followed would so purify and clarify the mind and body, that his disciples finally became fit to receive his precepts.
Sankhya-sara (Sanskrit) Sāṃkhya-sāra A work on the Sankhya philosophy by Vijnana-bhikshu.
sarva ananta jñana ananda Kr.s.n.a (sarva ananta jnana ananda Krishna) ::: Kr.s.n.a as the fourfold brahman in its personal aspect. sarva ananta jñana
sarvajnana-samarthya ::: [capacity for all knowledge]; integral capacity of the thinking intelligence.
sarva-jnana-vimudhan nastan acetasah ::: [the insensible, bewildered in all knowledge and (fated to be) destroyed]. [Gita 3.32]
sarvam anantam jnanam anandam brahma iti brahmacatustayam ::: see these words separately
sarvani vijnana-vijrmbhitani ::: all things are self-deployings of the Divine Knowledge. [cf. Visnu Purana 2.12.39]
satyadharma ::: the Law of the Truth; the carrying out of jnana in bhava and action.
satyasya drstih srutih smrtih pratibodha iti jnanam; vrtte tu karmani ca satyadharma eva jnanam ::: [the seeing, hearing and remembering of truth, and realisation, these are jnana; and in conduct and action the Law of the Truth is jnana].
Sheath Used as a translation of the Sanskrit kosa in the Vedantic enumeration of the human principles or five sheaths of atman. After atman (the essential self) comes anandamaya-kosa, corresponding to buddhi; vijnanamaya-kosa (buddhi-manas); manomaya-kosa (kama-manas); pranamaya-kosa (prana and linga-sarira); and annamaya-kosa (sthula-sarira). This system expresses the idea that a human being is not a string or group of separate principles, but one self manifesting in and through a succession of veils or vehicles.
Shruti: “Vijnana maya purusha. The angel who holds and brings forth the occult mysteries of life, the mysterious truths of existence, the occult laws of Nature, the level of being. Hiranyagarbha, the golden embryo is also the Angel of mysterious ecstasies. He is also the man who has attained the state of Vijnana where he is now Mind, Life, Matter.”
Shruti: “Vijnana or Gnosis. The region of Sacchidananda where one becomes pure Truth Consciousness.”
siva jnana. ::: the mind-free natural state
Skandhas (Sanskrit) Skandha-s Bundles, groups of various attributes forming the compound constitution of the human being. They are the manifested qualities and attributes forming the human being on all six planes of Being, beneath the spiritual monad or atma-buddhi, making up the totality of the subjective and objective person. They have to do with everything that is finite in the human being, and are therefore inapplicable to the relatively eternal and absolute. Every vibration of whatever kind, mental, emotional, or physical, that an individual has undergone or made, is derivative of and from one of the skandhas composing his constitution. Skandhas are the elements of limited existence. The five skandhas of every human being are: rupa (form), the material properties or attributes; vedana (sensations, perceptions); sanjna (consciousness, abstract ideas); sanskara (action), tendencies both physical and mental; vijnana (knowledge), mental and moral predispositions. Two further, unnamed skandhas “are connected with, and productive of Sakkayaditthi, the ‘heresy or delusion of individuality’ and of Attavada ‘the doctrine of Self,’ both of which (in the case of the fifth principle the soul) lead to the maya of heresy and belief in the efficacy of vain rites and ceremonies; in prayers and intercession”; “The ‘old being’ is the sole parent — father and mother at once — of the ‘new being.’ It is the former who is the creator and fashioner, of the latter, in reality; and far more so in plain truth, than any father in flesh. And once that you have well mastered the meaning of Skandhas you will see what I mean” (ML 111). The human skandhas are the causal activities which by their action and interaction attract the reincarnating ego back to earth-life. The exoteric skandhas have to do with objective man; the esoteric with inner and subjective man.
&
sraddhavan labhate jnanam ::: the one who has faith attains to knowledge. [Gita 4.39]
*(Sri Aurobindo: "And finally all is lifted up and taken into the supermind and made a part of the infinitely luminous consciousness, knowledge and experience of the supramental being, the Vijnana Purusha.” The Synthesis of Yoga*) ::: Angel of the House. The guardian spirit of the home.
sthairya ::: [steadiness]; the capacity of fixity (in jnana) . ::: sthairyam [nominative]
sthairya (sthairya; sthairyam) ::: steadiness; constancy; "the capacity of fixity in jnana", an attribute of the brahman.a; a term in the second general formula of the sakti catus.t.aya.
Sthavira or Sthavirakaya (Sanskrit) Sthāvira, Sthāvirakāya [from sthāvira old; an old and venerable bhikṣu] The school of the elder, president, or chohan; one of the earliest philosophical contemplative schools, founded in 300 BC, distinctly Buddhist in character. In 247 BC, it split into three divisions: the Mahavihara (dweller of the great monasteries); Jetavaniyah; and Abhaya-giri-vasinah. It is one of the four branches of the Vaibhashika school founded by Katyayana, one of the disciples of Gautama Buddha and author of the Abhidharma-Jnana-Prasthana-Sastra. All these schools are highly mystical, although frequently stated to be materialistic, which may be the fact in later times when they had degenerated and literalism took the place of the original mystical intent and significance of their teachings. See also ABHAYAGIRI
suddha ananta (vijnana shuddha ananta) ::: pure infinite delight (suddha ananta ananda) experienced on the plane of vijñana. vij ñana
suddhata ::: purity. suddhata suddha-vij suddha-vij ñanananda anananda (shuddha-vijnanananda; suddha vijnanananda)
tattva jnana. ::: knowledge of Reality or Self
tattvajnana ::: knowledge of the essential principles of Being or essential modes of self-existence [tattvas].
Ten-brel Chug-nyi (Tibetan) rTen-hBrel hchu-gnis. In philosophy, the twelve interdependent contributories to the origination of all phenomena, equivalent to the Sanskrit nidanas. As each one of these twelve originants or causes is dependent upon its predecessor, from which it is emanated, owing to a process of reaction the predecessor is karmically also dependent for its manifestation on its successor, and thus the twelve are not simultaneous in origination but occur in a certain regular sequence; because of this inseparable interdependence they also of necessity coordinate in action. They are rendered in the Pratitya-samutpada as: 1) ma-rig-pa (Sanskrit avidya) nonwisdom; 2) hDu-bYed (Sanskrit samskara) aggregative forces; 3) rNam-Ches (Sanskrit vijnana) will, consciousness; 4) rMin-gZugs (Sanskrit nama-rupa) name-form; 5) Skye-mched (Sanskrit shadayatana) the six sense organs; 6) sparsa (Sanskrit sparsa) contact (for mind or senses); 7) tShor-ba (Sanskrit vedana) feeling; 8) sRed-pa (Sanskrit trishna) desire, thirst; 9) len-pa (Sanskrit upadana) sensual enthrallment; 10) sird-pa (Sanskrit bhava) being; 11) che-ba (Sanskrit jati) birth; and 12) rGa (Sanskrit jaramarana) old age and death.
There are four Vedas: the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, this last commonly supposed to be of later date than the former three. The Laws of Manu always speaks of the three Vedas. The Rig-Veda is the original work, the Yajur-Veda and Sama-Veda in their mantric portions are different arrangements of its hymns for special purposes. The Vedas are divided into two parts, the Mantra and Brahmana. The Mantra part is composed of suktas (hymns in verse); the Brahmana part consists of liturgical, ritualistic, exegetical, and mystic treatises in prose. The Mantra or verse portion is considered more ancient than the prose works; and the books in which the hymns are collected are called sanhitas (collections). More or less closely connected with the Brahmanans (and in a few exceptional cases with the Mantra part) are two classes of treatises in prose and verse called Aranyaka and Upanishad. The Vedic writings are again divided into two great divisions, exoteric and esoteric, the former called the karma-kanda (the section of works) and the latter the jnana-kanda (section of wisdom).
There are several types of yoga such as karma yoga, hatha yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, and jnana yoga. “Similar religious aspirations or practices likewise exist in Occidental countries, as, for instance, what is called ‘Salvation by Works,’ somewhat equivalent to the Hindu Karma-Yoga, or, again, ‘Salvation by Faith — or Love,’ somewhat similar to the Hindu Bhakti-Yoga; while both Orient and Occident have, each one, its various forms of ascetic practices which may be grouped under the term Hatha-Yoga.
The Secret Doctrine (1:49) mentions Alaya in the Yogachara system, most probably referring to alaya-vijnana, but adds that with the “Esoteric ‘Buddhists’ . . . ‘Alaya’ has a double and even a triple meaning.”
“The Vedanta may briefly be described as a system of mystical philosophy derived from the efforts of Sages through many generations to interpret the sacred or esoteric meaning of the Upanishads. . . . The Hindus call the Vedanta Brahma-jnana” (OG 181).
Thus when an adept for some noble object purposes to use his inner powers, it is rare indeed that a single one of these saktis is employed alone. First there may be an evocation from his constitution of the sakti of ideation or high mentation giving the picture of what must be done, thus directing the flow of the will; then follows the evocation of ichchha-sakti or desire to perform the object in view. This combines with kriya-sakti or mental power guiding the desire and the will along the proper path to the end desired. Other saktis may or may not be called into function as needed. The saktis most commonly having a phenomenal effect or repercussion on the physical plane are ichchha-sakti, combining with kriya-sakti, guided by jnana-sakti.
Trijnana (Sanskrit) Trijñāna [from tri three + jñāna knowledge] The threefold knowledge, consisting of three degrees: knowledge based on faith or inner conviction, on theoretical knowledge, and on personal and practical knowledge.
trikaladrsti (Trikaladrishti) ::: the vision of the three times, a special faculty of jnana by which that general power is applied to the actuality of things, their details of event, tendencies etc. in the past, present and future of the world as it exists, has existed and will exist in Time. ::: trikaladrstih [nominative]
trimarga ::: the triple path of Knowledge [jnanayoga], Devotion [bhaktiyoga] and Works [karmayoga].
Two opposite errors have to be avoided, two misconceptions that disfigure opposite sides of the truth of gnosis. One error of intellect-bounded thinkers takes vijnana as synonymous with the other Indian term buddhi and buddhi as synonymous with the reason, the discerning intellect, the logical intelligence. The systems that accept this significance, pass at once from a plane of pure intellect to a plane of pure spirit. No intermediate power is recognised, no diviner action of knowledge than the pure reason is admitted; the limited human means for fixing truth is taken for the highest possible dynamics of consciousness, its topmost force and original movement. An opposite error, a misconception of the mystics identifies vijnana with the consciousness of the Infinite free from all ideation or else ideation packed into one essence of thought, lost to other dynamic action in the single and invariable idea of the One. This is the caitanyaghana of the Upanishad and is one movement or rather one thread of the many-aspected movement of the gnosis. The gnosis, the Vijnana, is not only this concentrated consciousness of the infinite Essence; it is also and at the same time an infinite knowledge of the myriad play of the Infinite. It contains all ideation (not mental but supramental), but it is not limited by ideation, for it far exceeds all ideative movement.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 23-24, Page: 476-77
Unfortunately, however, physical practices of various kinds seem to be particularly attractive to the average person because apparently within the sphere of easy performance. One does not know the dangers lurking there; but actually, to achieve even the minor results that come from perfect performance, greater effort and larger difficulties have to be encountered than in raising one’s eyes to the nobler forms of yoga. It is always safe and indeed requisite for a disciple to practice the higher branches of yoga: jnana yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga, and karma yoga, which means the yoga of unselfish action in daily life. Consequently, when considered apart from the nobler forms of yoga there is not a particle of spirituality in all these hatha yoga practices.
.V.A ::: abbreviation of "Vijnana Ananda" (see vijñanananda).
vaijnanika ::: [of the vijnana].
Vedanta(Sanskrit) ::: From the Upanishads and from other parts of the wonderful cycle of Vedic literature, theancient sages of India produced what is called today the Vedanta -- a compound word meaning "the end(or completion) of the Veda" -- that is to say, instruction in the final and most perfect exposition of themeaning of the Vedic tenets.The Vedanta is the highest form that the Brahmanical teachings have taken, and under the name of theUttara-Mimamsa attributed to Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas, the Vedanta is perhaps the noblest ofthe six Indian schools of philosophy. The Avatara Sankaracharya has been the main popularizer of theVedantic system of philosophical thought, and the type of Vedantic doctrine taught by him is what istechnically called the Advaita-Vedanta or nondualistic.The Vedanta may briefly be described as a system of mystical philosophy derived from the efforts ofsages through many generations to interpret the sacred or esoteric meaning of the Upanishads. In itsAdvaita form the Vedanta is in many, if not all, respects exceedingly close to, if not identical with, someof the mystical forms of Buddhism in central Asia. The Hindus call the Vedanta Brahma-jnana.
Veda(s)(Sanskrit) ::: From a verbal root vid signifying "to know." These are the most ancient and the most sacredliterary and religious works of the Hindus. Veda as a word may be described as "divine knowledge." TheVedas are four in number: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda, thislast being commonly supposed to be of later date than the former three.Manu in his Work on Law always speaks of the three Vedas, which he calls "the ancient triple Brahman"-- sanatanam trayam brahma." Connected with the Vedas is a large body of other works of variouskinds, liturgical, ritualistic, exegetical, and mystical, the Veda itself being commonly divided into twogreat portions, outward and inner: the former called the karma-kanda, the "Section of Works," and thelatter called jnana-kanda or "Section of Wisdom."The authorship of the Veda is not unitary, but almost every hymn or division of a Veda is ascribed to adifferent author or rather to various authors; but they are supposed to have been compiled in their presentform by Veda-Vyasa. There is no question in the minds of learned students of theosophy that the Vedasrun back in their origins to enormous antiquity, thousands of years before the beginning of what is knownin the Occident as the Christian era, whatever Occidental scholars may have to say in objection to thisstatement. Hindu pandits themselves claim that the Veda was taught orally for thousands of years, andthen finally compiled on the shores of the sacred lake Manasa-Sarovara, beyond the Himalayas in adistrict of what is now Tibet.
vicetas ::: (one) completely conscious, (one) wide in consciousness: (a Vedic word corresponding to the Vedantic vijnana) .
Vidya (Sanskrit) Vidyā Wisdom in spiritual things; also occult science. See also JNANA
Vienna Circle: See Scientific Empiricism I. Vijnana: (Skr.) Consciousness; the faculty of apprehension or individualization of experience, and as such perhaps equivalent to ahamkara. -- K.F.L.
Vignanamaya Kosa. See VIJNANAMAYA-KOSA
vijnanabuddhi ::: supramental reason.
vijnana-catustaya (Vijnana-Chatushtaya) ::: [the catustaya of vijnana]. ::: vijnanacatustayam [nominative]
vijnana ::: ideal mind; the free spiritual or divine intelligence; causal Idea; Truth; gnosis; supermind; the comprehensive aspect [cf. jnana] of the true unifying knowledge; the large embracing consciousness, especially characteristic of the supramental energy, which takes into itself all truth and idea and object of knowledge and sees them all at once in their essence, totality and parts or aspects. ::: vijnanam [nominative] ::: vijnanani [nominative plural], ideas.
Vijnana is the knowledge of the One and the Many, by which the Many are seen in the terms of the One, in the infinite unifying Truth, Right, Vast of the divine existence.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 23-24, Page: 414
vijnana-kosa ::: knowledge sheath.
vijnanaloka ::: [the world of vijnana, the supramental world].
vijnana marg&
vijnanamaya ::: [composed of or full of vijnana], gnostic.
Vijnanamaya-kosa (Sanskrit) Vijñānamaya-kośa [from vijñāna intelligence, understanding, discernment + maya built of, formed of, illusory manifestation from the verbal root mā to measure, form + kośa sheath] The sheath formed of knowledge or discernment, the manasaputric soul. According to Vedantic classification of the human principles, the second of the panchakosa (five sheaths) which enwrap the divine monad or atman. This sheath corresponds to the higher manas.
Vijnanamayakosha ::: In respect to some Hindu traditions' view of the soul, this is the higher Mental Body and the sheath of self corresponding with the transpersonal and transcendental functions of ego.
vijnanamaya purusa ::: the gnostic purusa; the Spirit poised in gnosis.
vijnanamayi sakti ::: [the gnostic sakti].
vijnanam ::: see under vijnana
vijnanani ::: see under vijnana
Vijnana ::: Original comprehensive consciousness which holds an image of things at once in its essence, its totality.
Ref: CWSA Vol. 18, Page: 51
VIJNaNA. ::: Original comprehensive consciousness which holds an Image of things in its essence, totality. The higher knowledge,
vijnanapadma ::: [the lotus of the vijnana, the centre of the gnostic consciousness in the individual].
vijnana. ::: perfect knowledge of the Self; primary consciousness; Final Reality; pure intelligence
vijnana purusa (Vijnana Purusha) ::: Supramental being.
Vijnana: Sanskrit for consciousness; the faculty of apprehension or individualization of experience, and as such perhaps equivalent to ahamkara (q.v.); intellectual, not intuitional, knowledge.
Vijnana (Sanskrit) Vinnana (Pali) Vijñāna, Viññāṇa [from vi-jñā to know exactly, perceive clearly from the verbal root jñā to know] Mental powers; the perfect knowledge of every perceptible thing and of all objects in their concatenation and unity; the faculty of the higher manas. The tenth nidana or causes of existence; and the fifth skandha, “an amplification of the fourth — meaning the mental, physical and moral predispositions” (ML 111).
vijnanavada. ::: "Doctrine of Consciousness"; one of two major schools of Mahayana buddhism which holds that Reality is consciousness only and all that exists are minds and their experiences
Vijnana-vada: Sanskrit for theory of consciousness; specifically that consciousness is of the essence of reality; also the Buddhist school of subjective idealism otherwise known as Yogacara (q.v.).
Vijnana-vada: (Skr.) Theory (vada) of consciousness, specifically that consciousness is of the essence of reality; also the Buddhist school of subjective idealism otherwise known as Yogacara (q.v.). -- K.F.L.
vijnanavadin. ::: a follower of Vijnanavada; one who regards mental activity as itself the Final Reality
vijnanavijrmbhitani ::: self-deployings of the Divine Knowledge [vijnana]. [Visnu Purana 2.12.39]
vijnanesvara (Vijnaneshwara) ::: [the Lord of the vijnana].
vijnanesvari (Vijnaneshwari) ::: [the isvari of the vijnana].
Vinnana. See VIJNANA
visuddhata prakasah vicitrabodhah jnanadharanasadmarthyam iti buddhisaktih ::: see these words separately
viveka (viveka; vivek) ::: intuitive discrimination, one of the two components of smr.ti, a faculty of jñana; its function is "to seize on our thoughts & intuitions, arrange them, separate their intellectual from their vijnanamaya elements, correct their false extensions, false limitations, misapplications & assign them their right application, right extension, right limitation".
Yogacara: A Mahayana (q.v.) Buddhist school which puts emphasis on Yoga (q.v.) as well is acara, ethical conduct. Believing in subjective idealism, it is also designated as Vijnana-vada (q.v.). Since we know the world never apart from the form it has in consciousness, the latter is an essential to it. All things exist in consciousness, they cannot be proven to exist otherwise. -- K.F.L.
Yoga(Sanskrit) ::: Literally "union," "conjunction," etc. In India it is the technical name for one of the sixDarsanas or schools of philosophy, and its foundation is ascribed to the sage Patanjali. The name Yogaitself describes the objective of this school, the attaining of union or at-one-ness with the divine-spiritualessence within a man. The yoga practices when properly understood through the instructions of genuineteachers -- who, by the way, never announce themselves as public lecturers or through books oradvertisements -- are supposed to induce certain ecstatic states leading to a clear perception of universaltruths, and the highest of these states is called samadhi.There are a number of minor forms of yoga practice and training such as the karma yoga, hatha yoga,bhakti yoga, raja yoga, jnana yoga, etc. Similar religious aspirations or practices likewise exist inOccidental countries, as, for instance, what is called salvation by works, somewhat equivalent to theHindu karma yoga or, again, salvation by faith -- or love, somewhat similar to the Hindu bhakti yoga;while both Orient and Occident have, each one, its various forms of ascetic practices which may begrouped under the term hatha yoga.No system of yoga should ever be practiced unless under the direct teaching of one who knows thedangers of meddling with the psychomental apparatus of the human constitution, for dangers lurk atevery step, and the meddler in these things is likely to bring disaster upon himself, both in matters ofhealth and as regards sane mental equilibrium. The higher branches of yoga, however, such as the rajayoga and jnana yoga, implying strict spiritual and intellectual discipline combined with a fervid love forall beings, are perfectly safe. It is, however, the ascetic practices, etc., and the teachings that go withthem, wherein lies the danger to the unwary, and they should be carefully avoided.
Yoga: (Skr. "yoking") Restraining of the mind (see Manas), or, in Patanjali's (q.v.) phrase: citta vrtti nirodha, disciplining the activity of consciousness. The object of this universally recommended practice in India is the gaining of peace of mind and a deeper insight into the nature of reality. On psycho-physical assumptions, several aids are outlined in all works on Yoga, including moral preparation, breath-control, posture, and general toning up of the system. Karma or kriya Yoga is the attainment of Yoga ends primarily by doing, bhakti Yoga by devotion, jnana Yoga by mental or spiritual means. The Yogasutras (q.v.) teach eight paths: Moral restraint (see yama), self-culture (see niyama), posture (see asana), breath-control (see prandyama), control of the senses (see pratyahara), concentration (see dharana), meditation or complete surrender to the object of meditation (see samadhi). See Hathayoga. -- K.F.L.
yoga. ::: "union"; union with the Reality; fusion of individual self with the universal Self; spiritual practice designed to purify one's mind and bring one closer to Self-realisation; the practice of stilling the mind, whereby thoughts, memories, emotions, associations and perceptions are refocused onto the Reality and where a natural disgarding takes place; there are four main paths of yoga &
Yoga Vidya (Sanskrit) Yoga vidyā [from yoga union + vidyā knowledge, science] Spiritual knowledge, the attaining of liberation, moksha, or initiation. Practically identical with jnana-vidya.
KEYS (10k)
24 Sri Ramakrishna
14 Swami Vijnanananda
10 Sri Aurobindo
9 Sri Ramana Maharshi
1 Sri Ramana Maharshi
1 Robert Adams
NEW FULL DB (2.4M)
20 Sri Ramana Maharshi
20 Sri Aurobindo
10 Frederick Lenz
3 Swami Vivekananda
2 Sri Ramakrishna
1:Jnana-Yoga means communion with God by means of knowledge. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
2:The highest path of jnana has no thinker left to think at all. Nobody is home. There is a total blank. ~ Robert Adams, #KEYS
3:Jnana-Yoga is exceedingly difficult in this age, the Kali-Yuga (Iron Age). ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
4:Jnana is said to be ekabhakti (single-minded devotion). ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 650, #KEYS
5:Come to my Divine Mother and you will receive not only Bhakti, but also Jnana. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
6:Bhakti, Jnana, Yoga are names for Self Realization or mukti which is our real nature. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Day by day with Bhagavan, #KEYS
7:Control over breath is yoga. Elimination of the mind is Jnana (Self-Knowledge). ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
8:In the heart of the Jnana, all is like a dream -- one remains absorbed in his own self. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
9:The Self is all shining and only pure jnana. So there is no ajnana in his sight. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
10:Awareness is jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural, ajnana is unnatural and unreal. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
11:Bhakti Yoga and not Jnana Yoga or Karma Yoga is the Yuga-Dharma, the adequate path of this age. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
12:The Jnana Yogi longs to realize Brahman, God the impersonal, the absolute, and the unconditioned. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
13:Some extraordinary people get unshakable jnana [Knowledge] after hearing the truth only once. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
14:Arunachala! Thou blazing fire of Jnana! Deign to wrap my mother in Thy light and make her one with Thee. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
15:Bhakti and Karma cannot be perfect and enduring unless they are based upon Jnana. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - I, Bhawani Mandir, #KEYS
16:If one remains in the frying pan of the world after attainment of Jnana, one may acquire from it a little taint. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
17:The Jnana Yogi says "I am He." But so long as one has the idea of the Self as the body, this egotism is injurious. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
18:One is safe to live in the world if one has Jnana and non-attachment, and along with these, intense devotion to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
19:When I am blessed, Lord Rama, with Tattva-Jnana, true knowledge -- I see, I realize that "I am Thou and Thou art I." ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
20:One is safe to live in the world, if one has Jnana and non-attachment, and along with these, intense devotion to God. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
21:Practice devotion and live alone for some time in a quiet place. Enter into the world after gaining Jnana and Bhakti. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
22:From the point of view of Jnana (Knowledge), the pain seen in the world is certainly a dream, as is the world. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
23:In the state of jnana, the jnani sees nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure jnana. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
24:34. O Thou that lovest, strike! If Thou strike me not now, I shall know that Thou lovst me not.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
25:Being in it, why search for it? The ancients say: Making the vision absorbed in jnana, one sees the world as Brahman. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
26:The more attachment to the world, the less likely is one to attain Jnana. The less attachment, more likely is one to attain Jnana. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
27:The Bhakta does not long for Brahma-Jnana, the realization of the impersonal, but remains content with realizing the divine mother. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
28:To a Bhakta, the Lord manifests in various forms. To one who reaches Jnana (Samadhi), he is the formless Nirguna Brahman once more. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
29:The heart is Jnana, discrimination between the real and the unreal, leading up to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the total effacement of the self. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
30:The jnana yogis say that, first of all, the heart must be purified, hard religious practice must be gone through, then jnana will come. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
31:The intellectual conclusion the Jnana has come to is: "I am not the body. I am one with the Universal Soul, unconditioned and absolute." ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
32:The light of incarnations such as Chaitanya Deva, distinguished by both Jnana and Bhakti, is like the blended light of the sun and moon. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
33:Jnana, discrimination of God from the unreal universe, and Karma, work without attachment, are far more difficult than Bhakti in this age ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
34:Let a Bhakti pray to God and it will be given to him to realize the impersonal God in samadhi and thus reach the goal of Jnana Yoga also. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
35:The light of incarnations such as Chjaitanya Deva, distinguished by both Jnana and Bhakti, is like the blended light of the sun and moon. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
36:The Jnana-Yoga will attain Jnana and Bhakti. It will be given to him to realize Brahman and, the Lord willing, the personal God of Bhakti. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
37:44. If God draw me towards Heaven, then, even if His other hand strive to keep me in Hell, yet must I struggle upward.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
38:43. If God assigns to me my place in Hell, I do not know why I should aspire to Heaven. He knows best what is for my welfare.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
39:26. When I see others suffer, I feel that I am unfortunate, but the wisdom that is not mine, sees the good that is coming and approves.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
40:Yoga is a sadhana. It will not be necessary after jnana is attained. All the sadhanas are called yogas, e.g., Karma yoga; Bhakti yoga; Jnana yoga; Ashtanga yoga. What is yoga? Yoga means 'union'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi #KEYS
41:To know God is to love God, therefore the paths of jnana and bhakti (knowledge and devotion) come to the same. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Teachings of Ramana-Maharshi in his Own Words, Ch 6, #KEYS
42:42. They say that the Gospels are forgeries and Krishna a creation of the poets. Thank God then for the forgeries and bow down before the creators.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
43:Know me as the true essence of jnana that shines uninterruptedly in your Heart.
Destroy the objectifying awareness of the ego-mind that arrogantly cavorts as 'I'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Padamalai,#KEYS
44:The end of the path of knowledge (jnana) or Vedanta is to know the truth that the 'I' is not different from the Lord (Isvara) and to be free from the feeling of being the doer. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
45:21. God had opened my eyes; for I saw the nobility of the vulgar, the attractiveness of the repellent, the perfection of the maimed and the beauty of the hideous.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
46:Jnana does not come gradually, little by little, day by day.
It blazes forth all at once in all its fullness,
when the practice has matured to perfection.
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Gita, ch 17, v3,#KEYS
47:77 - Genius discovers a system; average talent stereotypes it till it is shattered by fresh genius. It is dangerous for an army to be led by veterans; for on the other side God may place Napoleon. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana, #KEYS
48:May divine wisdom open to you, through the Lord's grace! To make all mankind your own by loving all — that is the real Jnana, the real Bhakti of this age. Work and serve with all your heart, and thus you will receive Bhakti, Moksha, Jnana, and Vijnana. ~ Swami Premananda, #KEYS
49:Take everyone where he or she stands, without blaming them for their worldly or spiritual poverty & ignorance, & help them on until each one realizes the highest Jnana, Bhakti, eternal freedom & bliss - in fact, until each one realizes the supreme goal. ~ Swami Ramakrishnananda, #KEYS
50:Renunciation and realization are the same. They are different aspects of the same state. Giving up the non-self is renunciation. Inhering in the Self is Jnana or Self Realization. One is the negative and the other the positive aspect of the same single truth. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #KEYS
51:47. When I was asleep in the Ignorance, I came to a place of meditation full of holy men and I found their company wearisome and the place a prison; when I awoke, God took me to a prison and turned it into a place of meditation and His trysting-ground.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
52:68-The sense of sin was necessary in order that man might become disgusted with his own imperfections. It was God's corrective for egoism. But man's egoism meets God's device by being very dully alive to its own sins and very keenly alive to the sins of others.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#KEYS
53:You partake of the nature of him on whom you meditate. By worshipping Siva you acquire the nature of Siva. A devotee of Rama meditated on Hanuman day and night. He used to think he had become Hanuman. In the end he was firmly convinced that he had even grown a little tail. Jnana is the characteristic of Siva, and bhakti of Vishnu. One who partakes of Siva's nature becomes a jnani, and one who partakes of Vishnu's nature becomes a bhakta. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #KEYS
54:I was speaking of your experiences of the higher consciousness, of your seeing the Mother in all things - these are what are called spiritual realisations, spiritual knowledge. Realisations are the essence of knowledge - thoughts about them, expression of them in words are a lesser knowledge and if the thoughts are merely mental without experience or realisation, they are not regarded as jnana in the spiritual sense at all.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - III, Transformation of the Mind,#KEYS
55:If mankind only caught a glimpse of what infinite enjoyments, what perfect forces, what luminous reaches of spontaneous knowledge, what wide calms of our being lie waiting for us in the tracts which our animal evolution has not yet conquered, they would leave all and never rest till they had gained these treasures. But the way is narrow, the doors are hard to force, and fear, distrust and scepticism are there, sentinels of Nature, to forbid the turning away of our feet from her ordinary pastures.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana, [6], [T5],#KEYS
56:Jnanaprakasha:: Jnana includes both the Para and the Apara Vidya, the knowledge of Brahman in Himself and the knowledge of the world; but the Yogin, reversing the order of the worldly mind, seeks to know Brahman first and through Brahman the world. Scientific knowledge, worldly information & instruction are to him secondary objects, not as it is with the ordinary scholar & scientist, his primary aim. Nevertheless these too we must take into our scope and give room to God's full joy in the world. The methods of the Yogin are also different for he tends more and more to the use of direct vision and the faculties of the vijnana and less and less to intellectual means. The ordinary man studies the object from outside and infers its inner nature from the results of his external study. The Yogin seeks to get inside his object, know it from within & use external study only as a means of confirming his view of the outward action resulting from an already known inner nature.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Record Of Yoga - I,#KEYS
57:Jnana Yoga, the Path of Knowledge; :::
The Path of Knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection, vicara ¯, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being and rejecting identification with each of them arrives at their exclusion and separation in one common term as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal Nature, creations of Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is able to arrive at its right identification with the pure and unique Self which is not mutable or perishable, not determinable by any phenomenon or combination of phenomena. From this point the path, as ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds from the consciousness as an illusion and the final immergence without return of the individual soul in the Supreme. But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one's own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargement is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect and perception to the divine level, to its spiritualisation and to the justification of the cosmic travail of knowledge in humanity.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Conditions of the Synthesis, The Systems Of Yoga, 38,#KEYS
58:34
D: What are the eight limbs of knowledge (jnana ashtanga)?
M: The eight limbs are those which have been already mentioned, viz., yama, niyama etc., but differently defined:
(1) Yama: This is controlling the aggregate of sense-organs, realizing the defects that are present in the world consisting of the body, etc.
(2) Niyama: This is maintaining a stream of mental modes that relate to the Self and rejecting the contrary modes. In other words, it means love that arises uninterruptedly for the Supreme Self.
(3) Asana: That with the help of which constant meditation on Brahman is made possible with ease is asana.
(4) Pranayama: Rechaka (exhalation) is removing the two unreal aspects of name and form from the objects constituting the world, the body etc., puraka (inhalation) is grasping the three real aspects, existence, consciousness and bliss, which are constant in those objects, and kumbhaka is retaining those aspects thus grasped.
(5) Pratyahara: This is preventing name and form which have been removed from re-entering the mind.
(6) Dharana: This is making the mind stay in the Heart, without straying outward, and realizing that one is the Self itself which is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
(7) Dhyana: This is meditation of the form 'I am only pure consciousness'. That is, after leaving aside the body which consists of five sheaths, one enquires 'Who am I?', and as a result of that, one stays as 'I' which shines as the Self.
(8) Samadhi: When the 'I-manifestation' also ceases, there is (subtle) direct experience. This is samadhi.
For pranayama, etc., detailed here, the disciplines such as asana, etc., mentioned in connection with yoga are not necessary.
The limbs of knowledge may be practised at all places and at all times. Of yoga and knowledge, one may follow whichever is pleasing to one, or both, according to circumstances. The great teachers say that forgetfulness is the root of all evil, and is death for those who seek release,10 so one should rest the mind in one's Self and should never forget the Self: this is the aim. If the mind is controlled, all else can be controlled. The distinction between yoga with eight limbs and knowledge with eight limbs has been set forth elaborately in the sacred texts; so only the substance of this teaching has been given here. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Self-Enquiry, 34,#KEYS
59:64 Arts
1. Geet vidya: art of singing.
2. Vadya vidya: art of playing on musical instruments.
3. Nritya vidya: art of dancing.
4. Natya vidya: art of theatricals.
5. Alekhya vidya: art of painting.
6. Viseshakacchedya vidya: art of painting the face and body with color
7. Tandulakusumabalivikara: art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers.
8. Pushpastarana: art of making a covering of flowers for a bed.
9. Dasanavasanangaraga: art of applying preparations for cleansing the teeth, cloths and painting the body.
10. Manibhumikakarma: art of making the groundwork of jewels.
11. Aayyaracana: art of covering the bed.
12. Udakavadya: art of playing on music in water.
13. Udakaghata: art of splashing with water.
14. Citrayoga: art of practically applying an admixture of colors.
15. Malyagrathanavikalpa: art of designing a preparation of wreaths.
16. Sekharapidayojana: art of practically setting the coronet on the head.
17. Nepathyayoga: art of practically dressing in the tiring room.
18. Karnapatrabhanga: art of decorating the tragus of the ear.
19. Sugandhayukti: art of practical application of aromatics.
20. Bhushanayojana: art of applying or setting ornaments.
21. Aindrajala: art of juggling.
22. Kaucumara: a kind of art.
23. Hastalaghava: art of sleight of hand.
24. Citrasakapupabhakshyavikarakriya: art of preparing varieties of delicious food.
25. Panakarasaragasavayojana: art of practically preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color.
26. Sucivayakarma: art of needleworks and weaving.
27. Sutrakrida: art of playing with thread.
28. Vinadamurakavadya: art of playing on lute and small drum.
29. Prahelika: art of making and solving riddles.
30. Durvacakayoga: art of practicing language difficult to be answered by others.
31. Pustakavacana: art of reciting books.
32. Natikakhyayikadarsana: art of enacting short plays and anecdotes.
33. Kavyasamasyapurana: art of solving enigmatic verses.
34. Pattikavetrabanavikalpa: art of designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows.
35. Tarkukarma: art of spinning by spindle.
36. Takshana: art of carpentry.
37. Vastuvidya: art of engineering.
38. Raupyaratnapariksha: art of testing silver and jewels.
39. Dhatuvada: art of metallurgy.
40. Maniraga jnana: art of tinging jewels.
41. Akara jnana: art of mineralogy.
42. Vrikshayurvedayoga: art of practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs.
43. Meshakukkutalavakayuddhavidhi: art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds.
44. Sukasarikapralapana: art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female cockatoos.
45. Utsadana: art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes.
46. Kesamarjanakausala: art of combing hair.
47. Aksharamushtikakathana: art of talking with fingers.
48. Dharanamatrika: art of the use of amulets.
49. Desabhashajnana: art of knowing provincial dialects.
50. Nirmitijnana: art of knowing prediction by heavenly voice.
51. Yantramatrika: art of mechanics.
52. Mlecchitakutarkavikalpa: art of fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry.
53. Samvacya: art of conversation.
54. Manasi kavyakriya: art of composing verse
55. Kriyavikalpa: art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy.
56. Chalitakayoga: art of practicing as a builder of shrines called after him.
57. Abhidhanakoshacchandojnana: art of the use of lexicography and meters.
58. Vastragopana: art of concealment of cloths.
59. Dyutavisesha: art of knowing specific gambling.
60. Akarshakrida: art of playing with dice or magnet.
61. Balakakridanaka: art of using children's toys.
62. Vainayiki vidya: art of enforcing discipline.
63. Vaijayiki vidya: art of gaining victory.
64. Vaitaliki vidya: art of awakening master with music at dawn.
~ Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Sexual Secrets,#KEYS
*** WISDOM TROVE ***
1:Jnana teaches that the world should be given up, but not on that account to be abandoned. To be in the world but not of it-is the true test of the sannyasin. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove 2:I teach Zen, tantric mysticism, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, Tibetan mysticism, occultism and psychic development. I also teach poetry and literature, film and many other different things. ~ frederick-lenz, @wisdomtrove 3:Jnana, bhakti, yoga and karma - these are the four paths which lead to spiritual freedom. One must follow the path for which one is best suited. But in this age, special stress should be laid on karma yoga. ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove 4:Realisation of love can never come so long as there is the least desire in the heart, or what Shri Ramakrishna used to say, attachment for K√¢ma-K√¢nchana (sense-pleasure and wealth). In the perfect realisation of love, even the consciousness of one's own body does not exist. Also, the supreme Jnana is to realise the oneness everywhere, to see one's own self as the Self in everything. That too cannot come so long as there is the least consciousness of the ego (Aham). ~ swami-vivekananda, @wisdomtrove *** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:Bhakti is Jnana Mata, i.e., ~ The Mother, #NFDB
2:Jnana yoga is practical. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
3:Life does not mean mere karma or mere bhakti or mere jnana. ~ Vinoba Bhave, #NFDB
4:In Jnana we have to lose sight of the variety and see only the Unity. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
5:Jnana is said to be ekabhakti (single-minded devotion). ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talks, 650, #NFDB
6:Jnana yoga is the yoga of kindness and compassion - serving the self that is everywhere. ~ Amit Ray, #NFDB
7:Control over breath is yoga. Elimination of the mind is Jnana (Self-Knowledge). ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
8:One who practices jnana yoga has practiced the other yogas for many, many lifetimes. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
9:The Self is all shining and only pure jnana. So there is no ajnana in his sight. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
10:Awareness is jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural, ajnana is unnatural and unreal. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
11:If you practice a little jnana yoga in your daily life, it will help you tremendously. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
12:So long as the cloud of ego hides the moon of jnana, the lily of the Self will not bloom. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
13:Some extraordinary people get unshakable jnana [Knowledge] after hearing the truth only once. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
14:Arunachala! Thou blazing fire of Jnana! Deign to wrap my mother in Thy light and make her one with Thee. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
15:Perfect purity is the most essential thing, for only "the pure in heart shall see God". ~ Swami Vivekananda from Jnana Yoga IX, #NFDB
16:To practice jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge and discrimination, it's necessary to have a highly developed mind. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
17:From the point of view of Jnana (Knowledge), the pain seen in the world is certainly a dream, as is the world. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
18:Bhakti and Karma cannot be perfect and enduring unless they are based upon Jnana. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Bande Mataram - I, Bhawani Mandir, #NFDB
19:Jnana yoga is a very demanding practice. It's necessary for you to become conscious of the fact that you're not human. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
20:In the state of jnana, the jnani sees nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure jnana. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
21:The Upanishads told 5,000 years ago that the realisation of God could never be had through the senses. ~ Swami Vivekananda from Jnana Yoga, #NFDB
22:Being in it, why search for it? The ancients say: Making the vision absorbed in jnana, one sees the world as Brahman. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
23:Of the four major pathways to self-realization, jnana yoga, from the point of view of the beginner, is the most difficult. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
24:Only by so transcending the world of sense, can he reach his true Self and realise what he really is. ~ Swami Vivekananda from Jnana Yoga VI, #NFDB
25:When the mind is examined, its activities cease automatically. This is the method of jnana. The pure mind is the Self. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
26:34. O Thou that lovest, strike! If Thou strike me not now, I shall know that Thou lovst me not.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
27:Until you've reached that point where you've perfected your lower nature and cleansed your emotional being, jnana yoga will have to wait. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
28:Satyam jnanam, anantam Brahma: Knowledge is truth and Brahman is eternal, was what he proclaimed, and the Upanishads were the source of his jnana. ~ Pavan K Varma, #NFDB
29:44. If God draw me towards Heaven, then, even if His other hand strive to keep me in Hell, yet must I struggle upward.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
30:43. If God assigns to me my place in Hell, I do not know why I should aspire to Heaven. He knows best what is for my welfare.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
31:Jnana teaches that the world should be given up, but not on that account to be abandoned. To be in the world but not of it-is the true test of the sannyasin. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
32:26. When I see others suffer, I feel that I am unfortunate, but the wisdom that is not mine, sees the good that is coming and approves.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
33:Sometimes, as we practice jnana yoga, we feel that life has no meaning, no purpose. We feel that there is no reason to try, that life is empty. This is another illusion. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
34:Innumerable are the ways that lead to God. There are the paths of jnana, of karma, and of bhakti. If you are sincere, you will attain God in the end , whichever path you follow. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #NFDB
35:42. They say that the Gospels are forgeries and Krishna a creation of the poets. Thank God then for the forgeries and bow down before the creators.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
36:Know me as the true essence of jnana that shines uninterruptedly in your Heart.
Destroy the objectifying awareness of the ego-mind that arrogantly cavorts as 'I'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Padamalai,#NFDB
37:I teach Zen, tantric mysticism, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, Tibetan mysticism, occultism and psychic development. I also teach poetry and literature, film and many other different things. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
38:Ramakrishna says, “One who has merely heard of fire has ajnana, ignorance. One who has seen fire has jnana. But one who has actually built a fire and cooked on it has vijnana.” In ~ Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, #NFDB
39:There are different pathways - be it Zen, tantra, karma yoga, or jnana yoga. Different ways have been devised to do the same thing for different types of people according to their temperament. ~ Frederick Lenz, #NFDB
40:21. God had opened my eyes; for I saw the nobility of the vulgar, the attractiveness of the repellent, the perfection of the maimed and the beauty of the hideous.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
41:Jnana does not come gradually, little by little, day by day.
It blazes forth all at once in all its fullness,
when the practice has matured to perfection.
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Gita, ch 17, v3,#NFDB
42:The yogi is greater than body-disciplining ascetics, greater even than the followers of the path of wisdom (jnana yoga), or of the path of action (karma yoga); be thou, O disciple Arjuna, a yogi! ~ Paramahansa Yogananda, #NFDB
43:Jnana, bhakti, yoga and karma - these are the four paths which lead to spiritual freedom. One must follow the path for which one is best suited. But in this age, special stress should be laid on karma yoga. ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
44:77 - Genius discovers a system; average talent stereotypes it till it is shattered by fresh genius. It is dangerous for an army to be led by veterans; for on the other side God may place Napoleon. ~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana, #NFDB
45:Lady with fair countenance! Understand that one who is not able to realise the Truth in his Heart by this knowledge of spiritual wisdom known as Kala Jnana, can never attain it even by studying countless crores ofsastras (scriptures) spread out like the sky. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
46:Till you reach the state of jnana and thus wake out of maya you must do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it. But even then you must do it without ahankara, i.e., without the sense of 'I am the doer', but with the feeling 'I am the Lord's tool'. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
47:That which is worth taking up is the self-enquiry that reveals jnana; that which is worth enjoying is the grandeur of the Self; that which is worth renouncing is the ego-mind; that in which it is worth taking refuge, to eliminate sorrow completely, is one’s own source, the Heart. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
48:47. When I was asleep in the Ignorance, I came to a place of meditation full of holy men and I found their company wearisome and the place a prison; when I awoke, God took me to a prison and turned it into a place of meditation and His trysting-ground.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
49:In fact, yogic and Ayurvedic texts mention knowledge (jnana), scientific knowledge (vijnana), restraint (samyam), mindfulness (smriti) and concentration (ekagrata) as the antidote and treatment for mental afflictions caused by imbalanced mental humours. Each of these five strengthens sattva. ~ Om Swami, #NFDB
50:68-The sense of sin was necessary in order that man might become disgusted with his own imperfections. It was God's corrective for egoism. But man's egoism meets God's device by being very dully alive to its own sins and very keenly alive to the sins of others.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana,#NFDB
51:The pure mystic wishes to approach his God only in the all-embracing love. The yogi, too, walks toward one single aspect of God. The bhakti-yogi keeps to the road of love and devotion, the raja and hatha yogi choose the path of self-control or volition, the jnana yogi will follow that of wisdom and cognition. ~ Franz Bardon, #NFDB
52:Know that the eradication of the identification with the body is charity, spiritual austerity and ritual sacrifice; it is virtue, divine union and devotion; it is heaven, wealth, peace and truth; it is grace; it is the state of divine silence; it is the deathless death; it is jnana, renunciation, final liberation and bliss. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
53:Note: Some aspirants indulge in severe austerities and arduous practices, mastering several techniques and incidentally attaining extraordinary supernatural powers as well. All these are to be shunned as they do not lead to ultimate peace and joy. On the other hand, the path of Kala Jnana described here is a direct path to mukti. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
54:Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah - (Yoga is to check the mind from changing) - which is acceptable to all. That is also the goal of all. The method is chosen according to one's own fitness. The goal for all is the same. Yet different names are given to the goal only to suit the process preliminary to reaching the goal. Bhakti, Yoga, Jnana are all the same. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
55:Because of the grades in misery and happiness, the released ones, the jivanmuktas and videhamuktas, may be spoken of as belonging to four categories — Brahmavid, Brahmavara, Brahmavariya and Brahmavarishtha. But these distinctions are from the standpoint of the others who look at them; in reality, however, there are no distinctions in release gained through jnana. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
56:You partake of the nature of him on whom you meditate. By worshipping Siva you acquire the nature of Siva. A devotee of Rama meditated on Hanuman day and night. He used to think he had become Hanuman. In the end he was firmly convinced that he had even grown a little tail. Jnana is the characteristic of Siva, and bhakti of Vishnu. One who partakes of Siva's nature becomes a jnani, and one who partakes of Vishnu's nature becomes a bhakta. ~ Sri Ramakrishna, #NFDB
57:Realisation of love can never come so long as there is the least desire in the heart, or what Shri Ramakrishna used to say, attachment for Kâma-Kânchana (sense-pleasure and wealth). In the perfect realisation of love, even the consciousness of one's own body does not exist. Also, the supreme Jnana is to realise the oneness everywhere, to see one's own self as the Self in everything. That too cannot come so long as there is the least consciousness of the ego (Aham). ~ Swami Vivekananda, #NFDB
58:I was speaking of your experiences of the higher consciousness, of your seeing the Mother in all things - these are what are called spiritual realisations, spiritual knowledge. Realisations are the essence of knowledge - thoughts about them, expression of them in words are a lesser knowledge and if the thoughts are merely mental without experience or realisation, they are not regarded as jnana in the spiritual sense at all.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Letters On Yoga - III, Transformation of the Mind,#NFDB
59:If mankind only caught a glimpse of what infinite enjoyments, what perfect forces, what luminous reaches of spontaneous knowledge, what wide calms of our being lie waiting for us in the tracts which our animal evolution has not yet conquered, they would leave all and never rest till they had gained these treasures. But the way is narrow, the doors are hard to force, and fear, distrust and scepticism are there, sentinels of Nature, to forbid the turning away of our feet from her ordinary pastures.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine And Human, Jnana, [6], [T5],#NFDB
60:The artist, the poet, the musician and the philosopher show in their gifts throughout their lives the heritage of the jinn. The words genius and jinn come from a Sanskrit word Jnana, which means knowledge. The jinns. Therefore, are the beings of knowledge; whose hunger is for knowledge, whose joy is in learning, in understanding, and whose work is in inspiring, and bring light and joy to others. In every kind of knowledge that exists, the favorite knowledge to a jinn is the knowledge of truth, in which is the fulfillment of its life's purpose. ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan, #NFDB
61:Jnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. It can be realised by each and everyone in his own Heart. The jnana Guru of everyone is only the Supreme Self that is always revealing its own truth in every Heart through the being-conciousness 'I am, I am.' The granting of true knowledge by him is initiation into jnana. The grace of the Guru is only that Self-awareness that is one's own true nature. It is the inner conciousness by which he is unceasingly revealing his existence. This divine upadesa is always going on naturally in everyone. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, #NFDB
62:The major idea of jnana yoga is to gain greater knowledge of who you really are. What does that mean? Take the first two steps of jnana yoga—shama and dama. They talk about training the mind to internalize and the sensory organs to ‘centre’ themselves so that they can determine what one truly feels or is experiencing. The next natural step in this process is called uparati, which is the practice of not thinking about the senses and going deeper into the consciousness. This is followed by titiksha, which if you think about it, would follow from not being a slave to your senses; it is the idea that no matter whether faced with happiness or sorrow, adulation or insult, one accepts and embraces it without reaction. The mind is consistently calm as if nothing happened. Then comes shraddha or faith, followed by samadhana or the exercise to constantly focus the mind on divinity and finally mumukshutva, the desire to be free from the ties of the world. ~ Hindol Sengupta, #NFDB
63:Jnanaprakasha:: Jnana includes both the Para and the Apara Vidya, the knowledge of Brahman in Himself and the knowledge of the world; but the Yogin, reversing the order of the worldly mind, seeks to know Brahman first and through Brahman the world. Scientific knowledge, worldly information & instruction are to him secondary objects, not as it is with the ordinary scholar & scientist, his primary aim. Nevertheless these too we must take into our scope and give room to God's full joy in the world. The methods of the Yogin are also different for he tends more and more to the use of direct vision and the faculties of the vijnana and less and less to intellectual means. The ordinary man studies the object from outside and infers its inner nature from the results of his external study. The Yogin seeks to get inside his object, know it from within & use external study only as a means of confirming his view of the outward action resulting from an already known inner nature.
~ Sri Aurobindo, Record Of Yoga - I,#NFDB
64:There are two Sanskrit words that are used for 'path': marga, which also carries the sense of 'way, method or means' and upaya, that by which one reaches one's aim. In reality, it must be the case that we are already who we really are. Who else could we be? It is the illusory ego that believes that we are in some way limited and that wants to become eternally happy. Whilst this state of affairs continues, the search is doomed to failure. Paths and practices are therefore needed not in order that we may find something new but in order that we may uncover what is already here now.
The reason why different paths are needed is that minds, bodies and egos function differently. All paths aim effectively to remove the obscuring effect of this ego. This can be done through the practices of devotion and surrender to a God, for example, in the case of bhakti yoga. It can also be achieved in simple day to day life of working, at whatever may be our particular job, by doing the work for its own sake and giving up any claim to the results, in the case of karma yoga. And it can be achieved by enquiry and reason, using the mind and intellect to appreciate the truth of the non-existence of the ego, in the case of jnana yoga. ~ Dennis Waite,#NFDB
65:Jnana Yoga, the Path of Knowledge; :::
The Path of Knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection, vicara ¯, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being and rejecting identification with each of them arrives at their exclusion and separation in one common term as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal Nature, creations of Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is able to arrive at its right identification with the pure and unique Self which is not mutable or perishable, not determinable by any phenomenon or combination of phenomena. From this point the path, as ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds from the consciousness as an illusion and the final immergence without return of the individual soul in the Supreme. But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with a less individual aim, the method of Knowledge may lead to an active conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine no less than to a transcendence. The point of this departure is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one's own being but in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspects of the world as a play of the divine consciousness and not something entirely alien to its true nature. And on the basis of this realisation a yet further enlargement is possible, the conversion of all forms of knowledge, however mundane, into activities of the divine consciousness utilisable for the perception of the one and unique Object of knowledge both in itself and through the play of its forms and symbols. Such a method might well lead to the elevation of the whole range of human intellect and perception to the divine level, to its spiritualisation and to the justification of the cosmic travail of knowledge in humanity.
~ Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis Of Yoga, The Conditions of the Synthesis, The Systems Of Yoga, 38,#NFDB
66:34
D: What are the eight limbs of knowledge (jnana ashtanga)?
M: The eight limbs are those which have been already mentioned, viz., yama, niyama etc., but differently defined:
(1) Yama: This is controlling the aggregate of sense-organs, realizing the defects that are present in the world consisting of the body, etc.
(2) Niyama: This is maintaining a stream of mental modes that relate to the Self and rejecting the contrary modes. In other words, it means love that arises uninterruptedly for the Supreme Self.
(3) Asana: That with the help of which constant meditation on Brahman is made possible with ease is asana.
(4) Pranayama: Rechaka (exhalation) is removing the two unreal aspects of name and form from the objects constituting the world, the body etc., puraka (inhalation) is grasping the three real aspects, existence, consciousness and bliss, which are constant in those objects, and kumbhaka is retaining those aspects thus grasped.
(5) Pratyahara: This is preventing name and form which have been removed from re-entering the mind.
(6) Dharana: This is making the mind stay in the Heart, without straying outward, and realizing that one is the Self itself which is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
(7) Dhyana: This is meditation of the form 'I am only pure consciousness'. That is, after leaving aside the body which consists of five sheaths, one enquires 'Who am I?', and as a result of that, one stays as 'I' which shines as the Self.
(8) Samadhi: When the 'I-manifestation' also ceases, there is (subtle) direct experience. This is samadhi.
For pranayama, etc., detailed here, the disciplines such as asana, etc., mentioned in connection with yoga are not necessary.
The limbs of knowledge may be practised at all places and at all times. Of yoga and knowledge, one may follow whichever is pleasing to one, or both, according to circumstances. The great teachers say that forgetfulness is the root of all evil, and is death for those who seek release,10 so one should rest the mind in one's Self and should never forget the Self: this is the aim. If the mind is controlled, all else can be controlled. The distinction between yoga with eight limbs and knowledge with eight limbs has been set forth elaborately in the sacred texts; so only the substance of this teaching has been given here. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, Self-Enquiry, 34,#NFDB
67:64 Arts
1. Geet vidya: art of singing.
2. Vadya vidya: art of playing on musical instruments.
3. Nritya vidya: art of dancing.
4. Natya vidya: art of theatricals.
5. Alekhya vidya: art of painting.
6. Viseshakacchedya vidya: art of painting the face and body with color
7. Tandulakusumabalivikara: art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers.
8. Pushpastarana: art of making a covering of flowers for a bed.
9. Dasanavasanangaraga: art of applying preparations for cleansing the teeth, cloths and painting the body.
10. Manibhumikakarma: art of making the groundwork of jewels.
11. Aayyaracana: art of covering the bed.
12. Udakavadya: art of playing on music in water.
13. Udakaghata: art of splashing with water.
14. Citrayoga: art of practically applying an admixture of colors.
15. Malyagrathanavikalpa: art of designing a preparation of wreaths.
16. Sekharapidayojana: art of practically setting the coronet on the head.
17. Nepathyayoga: art of practically dressing in the tiring room.
18. Karnapatrabhanga: art of decorating the tragus of the ear.
19. Sugandhayukti: art of practical application of aromatics.
20. Bhushanayojana: art of applying or setting ornaments.
21. Aindrajala: art of juggling.
22. Kaucumara: a kind of art.
23. Hastalaghava: art of sleight of hand.
24. Citrasakapupabhakshyavikarakriya: art of preparing varieties of delicious food.
25. Panakarasaragasavayojana: art of practically preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color.
26. Sucivayakarma: art of needleworks and weaving.
27. Sutrakrida: art of playing with thread.
28. Vinadamurakavadya: art of playing on lute and small drum.
29. Prahelika: art of making and solving riddles.
30. Durvacakayoga: art of practicing language difficult to be answered by others.
31. Pustakavacana: art of reciting books.
32. Natikakhyayikadarsana: art of enacting short plays and anecdotes.
33. Kavyasamasyapurana: art of solving enigmatic verses.
34. Pattikavetrabanavikalpa: art of designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows.
35. Tarkukarma: art of spinning by spindle.
36. Takshana: art of carpentry.
37. Vastuvidya: art of engineering.
38. Raupyaratnapariksha: art of testing silver and jewels.
39. Dhatuvada: art of metallurgy.
40. Maniraga jnana: art of tinging jewels.
41. Akara jnana: art of mineralogy.
42. Vrikshayurvedayoga: art of practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs.
43. Meshakukkutalavakayuddhavidhi: art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds.
44. Sukasarikapralapana: art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female cockatoos.
45. Utsadana: art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes.
46. Kesamarjanakausala: art of combing hair.
47. Aksharamushtikakathana: art of talking with fingers.
48. Dharanamatrika: art of the use of amulets.
49. Desabhashajnana: art of knowing provincial dialects.
50. Nirmitijnana: art of knowing prediction by heavenly voice.
51. Yantramatrika: art of mechanics.
52. Mlecchitakutarkavikalpa: art of fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry.
53. Samvacya: art of conversation.
54. Manasi kavyakriya: art of composing verse
55. Kriyavikalpa: art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy.
56. Chalitakayoga: art of practicing as a builder of shrines called after him.
57. Abhidhanakoshacchandojnana: art of the use of lexicography and meters.
58. Vastragopana: art of concealment of cloths.
59. Dyutavisesha: art of knowing specific gambling.
60. Akarshakrida: art of playing with dice or magnet.
61. Balakakridanaka: art of using children's toys.
62. Vainayiki vidya: art of enforcing discipline.
63. Vaijayiki vidya: art of gaining victory.
64. Vaitaliki vidya: art of awakening master with music at dawn.
~ Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Sexual Secrets,#NFDB
132 Integral Yoga
22 Yoga
1 Philosophy
1 Occultism
1 Buddhism
157 Sri Aurobindo
13 Sri Ramakrishna
7 Sri Ramana Maharshi
5 Swami Vivekananda
4 Swami Sivananda Saraswati
4 A B Purani
3 Nolini Kanta Gupta
2 Patanjali
2 Mahendranath Gupta
118 Record of Yoga
12 The Synthesis Of Yoga
12 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
12 Talks
7 Essays On The Gita
4 Hymns to the Mystic Fire
4 Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo
3 Vedic and Philological Studies
3 Letters On Yoga II
3 Bhakti-Yoga
3 Amrita Gita
2 Patanjali Yoga Sutras
2 Kena and Other Upanishads
2 Isha Upanishad
2 Essays Divine And Human
0.00 - INTRODUCTION, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
The path of the Vedantic discipline is the path of negation, "neti", in which, by stern determination, all that is unreal is both negated and renounced. It is the path of Jnana, knowledge, the direct method of realizing the Absolute. After the negation of everything relative, including the discriminating ego itself, the aspirant merges in the One without a Second, in the bliss of nirvikalpa samadhi, where subject and object are alike dissolved. The soul goes beyond the realm of thought. The domain of duality is transcended. Maya is left behind with all its changes and modifications. The Real Man towers above the delusions of creation, preservation, and destruction. An avalanche of indescribable Bliss sweeps away all relative ideas of pain and pleasure, good and evil. There shines in the heart the glory of the Eternal Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Knower, knowledge, and known are dissolved in the Ocean of one eternal Consciousness; love, lover, and beloved merge in the unbounded Sea of supreme Felicity; birth, growth, and death vanish in infinite Existence. All doubts and misgivings are quelled for ever; the oscillations of the mind are stopped; the momentum of past actions is exhausted. Breaking down the ridge-pole of the tabernacle in which the soul has made its abode for untold ages, stilling the body, calming the mind, drowning the ego, the sweet joy of Brahman wells up in that superconscious state. Space disappears into nothingness, time is swallowed in eternity, and causation becomes a dream of the past. Only Existence is. Ah! Who can describe what the soul then feels in its communion with the Self?
Even when man descends from this dizzy height, he is devoid of ideas of "I" and "mine"; he looks on the body as a mere shadow, an outer sheath encasing the soul. He does not dwell on the past, takes no thought for the future, and looks with indifference on the present. He surveys everything in the world with an eye of equality; he is no longer touched by the infinite variety of phenomena; he no longer reacts to pleasure and pain. He remains unmoved whether he — that is to say, his body — is worshipped by the good or tormented by the wicked; for he realizes that it is the one Brahman that manifests Itself through everything. The impact of such an experience devastates the body and mind. Consciousness becomes blasted, as it were, with an excess of Light. In the Vedanta books it is said that after the experience of nirvikalpa samadhi the body drops off like a dry leaf. Only those who are born with a special mission for the world can return
1.01 - Prayer, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
It is not given to all of us to be harmonious in the building up of our characters in this life: yet we know that that character is of the noblest type in which all these three knowledge and love and Yoga are harmoniously fused. Three things are necessary for a bird to fly the two wings and the tail as a rudder for steering. Jnana (Knowledge) is the one wing, Bhakti (Love) is the other, and Yoga is the tail that keeps up the balance. For those who cannot pursue all these three forms of worship together in harmony and take up, therefore, Bhakti alone as their way, it is necessary always to remember that forms and ceremonials, though absolutely necessary for the progressive soul, have no other value than taking us on to that state in which we feel the most intense love to God.
There is a little difference in opinion between the teachers of knowledge and those of love, though both admit the power of Bhakti. The Jnanis hold Bhakti to be an instrument of liberation, the Bhaktas look upon it both as the instrument and the thing to be attained. To my mind this is a distinction without much difference. In fact, Bhakti, when used as an instrument, really means a lower form of worship, and the higher form becomes inseparable from the lower form of realisation at a later stage. Each seems to lay a great stress upon his own peculiar method of worship, forgetting that with perfect love true knowledge is bound to come even unsought, and that from perfect knowledge true love is inseparable.
1.01 - Tara the Divine, #Tara - The Feminine Divine, #unset, #Zen
AYU PUNYE Jnana PUTRIN KURU SOHA.
White Tara is also called Chintamattra Chakra, the
1.02 - SADHANA PADA, #Patanjali Yoga Sutras, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
yogangganushthanad ashuddhikshaye Jnanadiptira
vivekakhyateh
1.03 - YIBHOOTI PADA, #Patanjali Yoga Sutras, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
vip rakrishta Jnanam
By making Samyama on that effulgent light comes
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ncibhichakre kayavyooha Jnanam
On the navel circle (comes) the knowledge of the
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kshannatatkramayoh sanyamadavivekajam Jnanam
By making Samyama on a particle of time and its
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cheti vivekajan Jnanam
The saving knowledge is that knowledge of
1.04 - Hymns of Bharadwaja, #Hymns to the Mystic Fire, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(vA\ vDEt E"ty, pET&yA\ (vA\ rAy uByAso Jnanam^ .
(v\ /AtA trZ
1.04 - The Gods of the Veda, #Vedic and Philological Studies, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(14) The Veda proper is karmakanda, not Jnanakanda; its aim is not moksha, but divine fulfilment in this life & the next. Therefore the Vedic Rishis accepted plenty & fullness of physical, vital & mental being, power & joy as the pratistha or foundation of immortality & did not reject it as an obstacle to salvation.1
(15) The world being one in all its parts every being in it contains the universe in himself. Especially do the great gods contain all the others & their activities in themselves, so that Agni, Varuna, Indra, all of them are in reality one sole-existent deity in many forms. Man too is He, but he has to fulfil himself here as man, yet divine (that being his vrata & dharma) through the puissant means provided for him [by] the Veda.
1.05 - Bhakti Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
7. Para Bhakti and Jnana are one. Bhakti melts into wisdom in the end. Two have become one now.
8. Bhakti grows gradually just as you grow a flower or a tree in a garden. Cultivate Bhakti in the garden of your heart gradually.
1.06 - Hymns of Parashara, #Hymns to the Mystic Fire, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
tA Jnanam^ .
-Eqn -t;
1.07 - Jnana Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
object:1.07 - Jnana Yoga
class:chapter
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14. Ignorance is the cause for pain and sorrow. Annihilate this ignorance through Brahma Jnana. All miseries will come to an end.
15. This Atman is beyond time, space, causation. Time, space, causation are mental creation.
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23. Destroy the Vasanas, subtle desires, and Trishnas, cravings. This will lead to the annihilation of the mind. Destruction of the mind will lead to the attainment of Brahma Jnana or wisdom of the Self.
24. This world is illusory. Brahman alone is real. You are identical with Brahman. Realise this and be free.
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THUS ENDS Jnana YOGA OR
THE YOGA OF THE WISDOM OF THE SELF
1.07 - THE MASTER AND VIJAY GOSWAMI, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
MASTER: "Yes, one may reach Him by following the path of discrimination too: that is called Jnanayoga. But it is an extremely difficult path. I have told you already of the seven planes of consciousness. On reaching the seventh plane the mind goes into samdhi. If a man acquires the firm knowledge that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory, then his mind merges in samdhi. But in the Kaliyuga the life of a man depends entirely on food. How can he have the consciousness that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory? In the Kaliyuga it is difficult to have the feeling, 'I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the twenty-four cosmic principles; I am beyond pleasure and pain, I am above disease and grief, old age and death.' However you may reason and argue, the feeling that the body is identical with the soul will somehow crop up from an unexpected quarter. You may cut a peepal-tree to the ground and think it is dead to its very root, but the next morning you will find a new sprout shooting up from the dead stump. One cannot get rid of this identification with the body; therefore the path of bhakti is best for the people of the Kaliyuga. It is an easy path.
"And, 'I don't want to become sugar; I want to eat it.' I never feel like saying, 'I am Brahman.' I say, 'Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant.' It is better to make the mind go up and down between the fifth and sixth planes, like a boat racing between two points. I don't want to go beyond the sixth plane and keep my mind a long time in the seventh. My desire is to sing the name and glories of God. It is very good to look on God as the Master and oneself as His servant. Further, you see, people speak of the waves as belonging to the Ganges; but no one says that the Ganges belongs to the waves. The feeling, 'I am He', is not wholesome. A man who entertains such an idea, while looking on his body as the Self, causes himself great harm. He cannot go forward in spiritual life; he drags himself down. He deceives himself as well as others. He cannot understand his own state of mind.
1.07 - TRUTH, #The Perennial Philosophy, #Aldous Huxley, #Philosophy
What follows is a summary by an eminent scholar of the Indian doctrines concerning Jnana, the liberating knowledge of Brahman or the divine Ground.
Jnana is eternal, is general, is necessary and is not a personal knowledge of this man or that man. It is there, as knowledge in the Atman itself, and lies there hidden under all avidya (ignorance)irremovable, though it may be obscured, unprovable, because self-evident, needing no proof, because itself giving to all proof the ground of possibility. These sentences come near to Eckharts knowledge and to the teaching of Augustine on the Eternal Truth in the soul which, itself immediately certain, is the ground of all certainty and is a possession, not of A or B, but of the soul.
1.08 - Adhyatma Yoga, #Amrita Gita, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
22. All actions culminate in Jnana or wisdom. Bhakti also terminates in wisdom. Without Bhakti, Jnana is impossible.
23. Knowledge of Atman burns all actions. There is no purifier in this world like Brahma- Jnana.
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58. Think of Brahman. Meditate on Brahman. Be devoted to Brahman. Get merged in Brahman. Get established in Brahman, This is Brahma-Abhyasa or Jnana-Abhyasa, or Vedantic Nididhyasana or Ahamgraha Upasana.
THUS ENDS ADHYATMA YOGA
1.08 - The Gods of the Veda - The Secret of the Veda, #Vedic and Philological Studies, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
But in the last century a new scholarship has invaded the country, the scholarship of aggressive & victorious Europe, which for the first time denies the intimate connection and the substantial identity of the Vedas & the later Scriptures. We ourselves have made distinctions of Jnanakanda & Karmakanda, Sruti & Smriti, but we have never doubted that all these are branches of a single stock. But our new Western Pandits & authorities tell us that we are in error. All of us from ancient Yajnavalkya to the modern Vaidika have been making a huge millennial mistake. European scholarship applying for the first time the test of a correct philology to these obscure writings has corrected the mistake. It has discovered that the Vedas are of an entirely different character from the rest of our Hindu development. For our development has been Pantheistic or transcendental, philosophical, mystic, devotional, sombre, secretive, centred in the giant names of the Indian Trinity, disengaging itself from sacrifice, moving towards asceticism. The Vedas are naturalistic, realistic, ritualistic, semi-barbarous, a sacrificial worship of material Nature-powers, henotheistic at their highest, Pagan, joyous and self-indulgent. Brahma & Shiva do not exist for the Veda; Vishnu & Rudra are minor, younger & unimportant deities. Many more discoveries of a startling nature, but now familiar to the most ignorant, have been successfully imposed on our intellects. The Vedas, it seems, were not revealed to great & ancient Rishis, but composed by the priests of a small invading Aryan race of agriculturists & warriors, akin to the Greeks & Persians, who encamped, some fifteen hundred years before Christ, in the Panjab.
With the acceptance of these modern opinions Hinduism ought by this time to have been as dead among educated men as the religion of the Greeks & Romans. It should at best have become a religio Pagana, a superstition of ignorant villagers. Itis, on the contrary, stronger & more alive, fecund & creative than it had been for the previous three centuries. To a certain extent this unexpected result may be traced to the high opinion in which even European opinion has been compelled to hold the Vedanta philosophy, the Bhagavat Gita and some of the speculationsas the Europeans think themor, as we hold, the revealed truths of the Upanishads. But although intellectually we are accustomed in obedience to Western criticism to base ourselves on the Upanishads & Gita and put aside Purana and Veda as mere mythology & mere ritual, yet in practice we live by the religion of the Puranas & Tantras even more profoundly & intimately than we live by & realise the truths of the Upanishads. In heart & soul we still worship Krishna and Kali and believe in the truth of their existence. Nevertheless this divorce between the heart & the intellect, this illicit compromise between faith & reason cannot be enduring. If Purana & Veda cannot be rehabilitated, it is yet possible that our religion driven out of the soul into the intellect may wither away into the dry intellectuality of European philosophy or the dead formality & lifeless clarity of European Theism. It behoves us therefore to test our faith by a careful examination into the meaning of Purana & Veda and into the foundation of that truth which our intellect seeks to deny [but] our living spiritual experience continues to find in their conceptions. We must discover why it is that while our intellects accept only the truth of Vedanta, our spiritual experiences confirm equally or even more powerfully the truth of Purana. A revival of Hindu intellectual faith in the totality of the spiritual aspects of our religion, whether Vedic, Vedantic, Tantric or Puranic, I believe to be an inevitable movement of the near future.
1.097 - Sublimation of Object-Consciousness, #The Study and Practice of Yoga, #Swami Krishnananda, #Yoga
Svrthasayamt puruajnam (III.36). Here is the secret of yoga, or true meditation, from the spiritual point of view. Purusha Jnana, or knowledge of the purusha, arises by svartha samyama samyama on svartha, meditation on ones own essential nature, or the purpose of the spirit. This is the meditation prescribed. The purpose of the spirit, the character of the spirit, is the object of meditation. We cannot once again go into all the details of this subject, inasmuch as we have covered it in the Samadhi Pada. But suffice it to say that the contemplation of the nature of the spirit, or its purpose, is equivalent to a precondition of a grasp of the nature of the spirit by viveka shakti, or analytic understanding. It is enough for the mind to understand and appreciate that the purusha is consciousness in nature. And consciousness has to be indivisible, by the very nature of it, which means that it is infinite, unconditioned by objects, space and time. Therefore, any experience in terms of space and time or objects is contrary to the nature of the purusha. Hence, there should be an effort exercised upon the mind to sublimate object awareness into spiritual awareness.
Spiritual contemplation is a process of sublimation of objectivity into universality. This kind of meditation is what is introduced in this sutra, and when this is practised, purusha Jnana arises knowledge of the purusha comes. But this is a hard task because the conception of the purusha is not provided to the mind usually, in ordinary world experience. The nature of the purusha does not mean the nature of the individual self. It is the nature of the Universal Self. Purusha is a name that we give to the Absolute itself that which comprehends all things. Therefore, there is the need for the practice of those conditions mentioned in the Samadhi Pada, meaning the conditions which are designated as vairagya and abhyasa.
Da nuravika viaya vitasya vakrasaj vairgyam (I.15). A complete absence of taste for things which are seen as well as unseen has been described as vairagya. This meditation cannot come to a person who has a taste for things which are outside. It is not merely an absence of sense-contact; it is an absence of taste itself. Vitrishnasya is the term used. A dislike arisen on account of the non-cognition of value in things which are external this is called vairagya. And a persistent practice of this condition, the maintenance of this awareness, called vashikara samjna that is called abhyasa. All these we have studied in the Samadhi Pada. This is the technique.
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But here, there is knowledge of all conditions of the objects even those conditions which the object has not undergone and are yet to come. They also will be known at one stroke that is sarvatha visaya. Sarvaviaya sarvathviaya all knowledge, and knowledge of every condition of everything, every state through which one passed, through which one passes and through which one has to pass all these will become contents of this awareness. How, in what manner, does it become a content of awareness? One after another, successively? No. Akramam. Akramam means not successive, but simultaneous. Instantaneous awareness of all conditions that are possible, at any period of time this is called viveka Jnana.Traka sarvaviaya sarvathviaya akrama ca iti vivekajam jnam (III.55).
These are only stories to the mind which is sunk in the mire of world-consciousness. One cannot even dream of what this state of affairs is. What can be meant by simultaneous awareness of all things and simultaneous awareness of every condition of all things? This is called sarva jnatritva; this is omniscience. And this is designated by the term vivekajam Jnanam, knowledge born of discriminative understanding, which is a peculiar term used in the yoga psychology. It is also called taraka, the saving knowledge. This information is given to us in these sutras to give us a comfort spiritually, that we are not merely entering into a lions den where we find nothing but death, but that we are entering into a new type of life altogether, where eternity embraces us with a new life which is durationless and, therefore, deathless. This contemplation is the only technique, the only method, the only means of the salvation of the soul.
Sattva puruayo uddhi smye kaivalyam iti (III.56). Kaivalya, or ultimate independence of the spirit, arises when there is equanimity of the structural character of sattva and the purusha. Sattva means the mind, or we may call it prakriti; purusha is the consciousness. When there is similarity established between the two, then the one does not remain as an object of the other, nor is one a subject in relation to the other. When the two become one on account of the intense purity of the experiencing consciousness, infinity enters into experience. This is kaivalya, this is moksha sattva puruayo uddhi smye kaivalyam iti (III.56). These sutras have given us, in a concise manner, the principles of spiritual contemplation.
1.10 - The Secret of the Veda, #Vedic and Philological Studies, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Is this, then, the last word about the Veda? Or, and this is the idea I write to suggest, is it not rather the culmination of a long increasing & ever progressing error? The theory this book is written to enunciate & support is simply this, that our forefa thers of early Vedantic times understood the Veda, to which they were after all much nearer than ourselves, far better than Sayana, far better than Roth & Max Muller, that they were, to a great extent, in possession of the real truth about the Veda, that that truth was indeed a deep spiritual truth, karmakanda as well as Jnanakanda of the Veda contains an ancient knowledge, a profound, complex & well-ordered psychology & philosophy, strange indeed to our modern conception, expressed indeed in language still stranger & remoter from our modern use of language, but not therefore either untrue or unintelligible, and that this knowledge is the real foundation of our later religious developments, & Veda, not only by historical continuity, but in real truth & substance is the parent & bedrock of all later Hinduism, of Vedanta, Sankhya, Nyaya, Yoga, of Vaishnavism & Shaivism&Shaktism, of Tantra&Purana, even, in a remoter fashion, of Buddhism & the later unorthodox religions. From this quarry all have hewn their materials or from this far-off source drawn unknowingly their waters; from some hidden seed in the Veda they have burgeoned into their wealth of branchings & foliage. The ritualism of Sayana is an error based on a false preconception popularised by the Buddhists & streng thened by the writers of the Darshanas,on the theory that the karma of the Veda was only an outward ritual & ceremony; the naturalism of the modern scholars is an error based on a false preconception encouraged by the previous misconceptions of Sayana,on the theory of the Vedas [as] not only an ancient but a primitive document, the production of semi-barbarians. The Vedantic writers of the Upanishads had alone the real key to the secret of the Vedas; not indeed that they possessed the full knowledge of a dialect even then too ancient to be well understood, but they had the knowledge of the Vedic Rishis, possessed their psychology, & many of their general ideas, even many of their particular terms & symbols. That key, less & less available to their successors owing to the difficulty of the knowledge itself & of the language in which it was couched and to the immense growth of outward ritualism, was finally lost to the schools in the great debacle of Vedism induced by the intellectual revolutions of the centuries which immediately preceded the Christian era.
It is therefore a Vedantic or even what would nowadays be termed a theosophic interpretation of the Veda which in this book I propose to establish. My suggestion is that the gods of the Rigveda were indeed, as the European scholars have seen, masters of the Nature-Powers, but not, as they erroneously theorise, either exclusively or even mainly masters of the visible & physical Nature-Powers. They presided over and in their nature & movement were also & more predominantly mental Nature-Powers, vital Nature-Powers, even supra-mental Nature-Powers. The religion of the Vedic Rishis I suppose on this hypothesis to have been a sort of practical & concrete Brahmavada founded on the three principles of complex existence, isotheism of the gods and parallelism of their functions on all the planes of that complex existence; the secret of their ideas, language & ritual I suppose to rest in an elaborate habit of symbolism & double meaning which tends to phrase & typify all mental phenomena in physical and concrete figures. While the European scholars suppose the Rishis to have been simple-minded barbarians capable only of a gross & obvious personification of forces, only of a confused, barbarous and primitive system of astronomical allegories and animistic metaphors, I suppose them to have been men of daring and observant minds, using a bold and vigorous if sometimes fanciful system of images to express an elaborate practical psychology and self-observation in which what we moderns regard as abstract experiences & ideas were rather perceived with the vividness of physical experiences & images & so expressed in the picturesque terms of a great primitive philosophy. Their outward sacrifice & ritual I suppose to have been partly the symbols & partly the means of material expression for certain psychological processes, the first foundations of our Hindu system of Yoga, by which they believed themselves able to attain inward & outward mastery, knowledge, joy and extended life & being.
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But the ritualistic interpretation of the Rigveda does not stand on the authority of Sayana alone. It is justified by Shankaracharyas rigid division of karmakanda and Jnanakanda and by a long tradition dating back to the propaganda of Buddha which found in the Vedic hymns a great system of ceremonial or effective sacrifice and little or nothing more. Even the Brahmanas in their great mass & minuteness seem to bear unwavering testimony to the pure ritualism of the Veda. But the Brahmanas are in their nature rubrics of directions to the priests for the right performance of the outward Vedic sacrifice,that system of symbolic & effective offerings to the gods of Soma-wine, clarified butter or consecrated animals in which the complex religion of the Veda embodied itself for material worship,rubrics accompanied by speculative explanations of old ill-understood details & the popular myths & traditions that had sprung up from obscure allusions in the hymns. Whatever we may think of the Brahmanas, they merely affirm the side of outward ritualism which had grown in a huge & cumbrous mass round the first simple rites of the Vedic Rishis; they do not exclude the existence of deeper meanings & higher purposes in the ancient Scripture. Not only so, but they practically affirm them by including in the Aranyakas compositions of a wholly different spirit & purpose, the Upanishads, compositions professedly intended to bring out the spiritual gist and drift of the earlier Veda. It is clear therefore that to the knowledge or belief of the men of those times the Vedas had a double aspect, an aspect of outward and effective ritual, believed also to be symbolical,for the Brahmanas are continually striving to find a mystic symbolism in the most obvious details of the sacrifice, and an aspect of highest & divine truth hidden behind these symbols. The Upanishads themselves have always been known as Vedanta. This word is nowadays often used & spoken of as if it meant the end of Veda, in the sense that here historically the religious development commenced in the Rigveda culminated; but obviously it means the culmination of Veda in a very different sense, the ultimate and highest knowledge & fulfilment towards which the practices & strivings of the Vedic Rishis mounted, extricated from the voluminous mass of the Vedic poems and presented according to the inner realisation of great Rishis like Yajnavalkya & Janaka in a more modern style and language. It is used much in the sense in which Madhuchchhandas, son of Viswamitra, says of Indra, Ath te antamnm vidyma sumatnm, Then may we know something of thy ultimate right thinkings, meaning obviously not the latest, but the supreme truths, the ultimate realisations. Undoubtedly, this was what the authors of the Upanishads themselves saw in their work, statements of supreme truth of Veda, truth therefore contained in the ancient mantras. In this belief they appeal always to Vedic authority and quote the language of Veda either to justify their own statements of thought or to express that thought itself in the old solemn and sacred language. And with regard to this there are spoken these Riks.
In what light did these ancient thinkers understand the Vedic gods? As material Nature Powers called only to give worldly wealth to their worshippers? Certainly, the Vedic gods are in the Vedanta also accredited with material functions. In the Kena Upanishad Agnis power & glory is to burn, Vayus to seize & bear away. But these are not their only functions. In the same Upanishad, in the same apologue, told as a Vedantic parable, Indra, Agni & Vayu, especially Indra, are declared to be the greatest of the gods because they came nearest into contact with the Brahman. Indra, although unable to recognise the Brahman directly, learned of his identity from Uma daughter of the snowy mountains. Certainly, the sense of the parable is not that Dawn told the Sky who Brahman was or that material Sky, Fire & Wind are best able to come into contact with the Supreme Existence. It is clear & it is recognised by all the commentators, that in the Upanishads the gods are masters not only of material functions in the outer physical world but also of mental, vital and physical functions in the intelligent living creature. This will be directly evident from the passage describing the creation of the gods by the One & Supreme Being in the Aitareya Upanishad & the subsequent movement by which they enter in the body of man and take up the control of his activities. In the same Upanishad it is even hinted that Indra is in his secret being the Eternal Lord himself, for Idandra is his secret name; nor should we forget that this piece of mysticism is founded on the hymns of the Veda itself which speak of the secret names of the gods. Shankaracharya recognised this truth so perfectly that he uses the gods and the senses as equivalent terms in his great commentary. Finally in the Isha Upanishad,itself a part of the White Yajur Veda and a work, as I have shown elsewhere, full of the most lofty & deep Vedantic truth, in which the eternal problems of human existence are briefly proposed and masterfully solved,we find Surya and Agni prayed to & invoked with as much solemnity & reverence as in the Rigveda and indeed in language borrowed from the Rigveda, not as the material Sun and material Fire, but as the master of divine God-revealing knowledge & the master of divine purifying force of knowledge, and not to drive away the terrors of night from a trembling savage nor to burn the offered cake & the dripping ghee in a barbarian ritual, but to reveal the ultimate truth to the eyes of the Seer and to raise the immortal part in us that lives before & after the body is ashes to the supreme felicity of the perfected & sinless soul. Even subsequently we have seen that the Gita speaks of the Vedas as having the supreme for their subject of knowledge, and if later thinkers put it aside as karmakanda, yet they too, though drawing chiefly on the Upanishads, appealed occasionally to the texts of the hymns as authorities for the Brahmavidya. This could not have been if they were merely a ritual hymnology. We see therefore that the real Hindu tradition contains nothing excluding the interpretation which I put upon the Rigveda. On one side the current notion, caused by the immense overgrowth of ritualism in the millennium previous to the Christian era and the violence of the subsequent revolt against it, has been fixed in our minds by Buddhistic ideas as a result of the most formidable & damaging attack which the ancient Vedic religion had ever to endure. On the other side, the Vedantic sense of Veda is supported by the highest authorities we have, the Gita & the Upanishads, & evidenced even by the tradition that seems to deny or at least belittle it. True orthodoxy therefore demands not that we should regard the Veda as a ritualist hymn book, but that we should seek in it for the substance or at least the foundation of that sublime Brahmavidya which is formally placed before us in the Upanishads, regarding it as the revelation of the deepest truth of the world & man revealed to illuminated Seers by the Eternal Ruler of the Universe.
1.17 - God, #Initiation Into Hermetics, #Franz Bardon, #Occultism
The pure mystic wishes to approach his God only in the all-embracing love. The yogi, too, walks toward one single aspect of God. The bhakti- yogi keeps to the road of love and devotion, the raja and hatha yogi choose the path of self-control or volition, the Jnana yogi will follow that of wisdom and cognition.
Now let us regard the idea of God from the magic standpoint, according to the four elements, the so-called tetragrammaton, the unspeakable, the supreme: the fiery principle involves the almightiness and the omnipotence, the airy principle owns the wisdom, purity and clarity, from which aspect proceeds the universal lawfulness.
1.17 - The Divine Birth and Divine Works, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
tyaktva deham punarjanma naiti mam eti so'rjuna. vtaragabhayakrodha manmaya mam upasritah., bahavo Jnanatapasa puta madbhavam agatah..
1.18 - The Divine Worker, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Gata-sangasya muktasya Jnanavasthita-cetasah., yajnayacaratah. karma samagram pravilyate.
1.200-1.224 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
This is Jnanagni (Fire of Wisdom) which is neither hot nor cool.
Achala = a hill.
1.20 - Equality and Knowledge, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The sacrifice of knowledge, says the Gita therefore, is greater than any material sacrifice. "Even if thou art the greatest doer of sin beyond all sinners, thou shalt cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowledge. . . . There is nothing in the world equal in purity to knowledge." By knowledge desire and its first-born child, sin, are destroyed. The liberated man is able to do works as a sacrifice because he is freed from attachment through his mind, heart and spirit being firmly founded in selfknowledge, gata-sangasya Jnanavasthita-cetasah.. All his work disappears completely as soon as done, suffers laya, as one might say, in the being of the Brahman, pravilyate; it has no reactionary consequence on the soul of the apparent doer. The work is done by the Lord through his Nature, it is no longer personal to the human instrument. The work itself becomes but power of the nature and substance of the being of the Brahman.
It is in this sense that the Gita is speaking when it says that all the totality of work finds its completion, culmination, end in knowledge, sarvam karmakhilam jnane parisamapyate. "As
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But knowledge comes to its persistent seeker and removes the natural self-ignorance; it shines out like a long-hidden sun and lights up to our vision that self-being supreme beyond the dualities of this lower existence, adityavat prakasayati tat param. By a long whole-hearted endeavour, by directing our whole conscious being to that, by making that our whole aim, by turning it into the whole object of our discerning mind and so seeing it not only in ourselves but everywhere, we become one thought and self with that, tad-buddhayas tad-atmanah., we are washed clean of all the darkness and suffering of the lower man by the waters of knowledge,1 Jnana-nirdhuta-kalmas.ah..
The result is, says the Gita, a perfect equality to all things and all persons; and then only can we repose our works completely in the Brahman. For the Brahman is equal, samam brahma, and it is only when we have this perfect equality, samye sthitam manah., "seeing with an equal eye the learned and cultured Brahmin, the cow, the elephant, the dog, the outcaste" and knowing all as one Brahman, that we can, living in that oneness, see like the Brahman our works proceeding from the nature freely without any fear of attachment, sin or bondage. Sin and stain then cannot be; for we have overcome that creation full of desire and its works and reactions which belongs to the ignorance, tair jitah. sargah., and living in the supreme and divine Nature there is no longer fault or defect in our works; for these are created by the inequalities of the ignorance. The equal Brahman is faultless, nirdos.am hi samam brahma, beyond the confusion of good and evil, and living in the Brahman we
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Always in this sense of a supreme self-knowledge is this word Jnana used in Indian philosophy and Yoga; it is the light by which we grow into our true being, not the knowledge by which we increase our information and our intellectual riches; it is not scientific or psychological or philosophic or ethical or aesthetic or worldly and practical knowledge. These too no doubt help us to grow, but only in the becoming, not in the being; they enter into the definition of Yogic knowledge only when we use them as aids to know the Supreme, the Self, the
Divine, - scientific knowledge, when we can get through the veil of processes and phenomena and see the one Reality behind which explains them all; psychological knowledge, when we use it to know ourselves and to distinguish the lower from the higher, so that this we may renounce and into that we may grow; philosophical knowledge, when we turn it as a light upon the essential principles of existence so as to discover and live in that which is eternal; ethical knowledge, when by it having distinguished sin from virtue we put away the one and rise above the other into the pure innocence of the divine Nature; aesthetic knowledge, when we discover by it the beauty of the Divine;
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Finally, we must have a faith which no intellectual doubt can be allowed to disturb, sraddhavan labhate Jnanam. "The ignorant who has not faith, the soul of doubt goeth to perdition; neither this world, nor the supreme world, nor any happiness is for the soul full of doubts." In fact, it is true that without faith nothing decisive can be achieved either in this world or for possession of the world above, and that it is only by laying hold of some sure basis and positive support that man can attain any measure of terrestrial or celestial success and satisfaction and happiness; the merely sceptical mind loses itself in the void. But still in the lower knowledge doubt and scepticism have their temporary uses; in the higher they are stumbling-blocks: for there the whole secret is not the balancing of truth and error, but a constantly progressing realisation of revealed truth. In
Equality and Knowledge
1.22 - ADVICE TO AN ACTOR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
ACTOR: "We have holidays for three months, during the rainy and harvest seasons. It is our good fortune to be able to visit you. On our way to Dakshineswar we heard of two persons-yourself and Jnanarnava."
MASTER: "Be on friendly terms with your brothers. It looks well. You must have noticed in your theatrical performance that if four singers sing each in a different way, the play is spoiled."
1.240 - 1.300 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
Drishtim Jnanamayim kritva, Brahma mayam pasyet jagat - Make your outlook right. The Creator knows how to take care of His Creation.
D.: What is the best thing to do for ensuring the future?
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M.: Ravi marga (Sun marga) is Jnana. Moon marga is Yoga. They think that after purifying the 72,000 nadis in the body, sushumna is entered and the mind passes up to the sahasrara and there is nectar trickling.
These are all mental concepts. The man is already overwhelmed by world concepts. Other concepts are now added in the shape of this Yoga. The object of all these is to rid the man of concepts and to make him inhere as the pure Self - i.e., absolute consciousness, bereft of thoughts! Why not go straight to it? Why add new encumbrances to the already existing ones?
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A question was asked regarding the position of one whose Jnana is weak in the scheme of things. The doubt was if that manda Jnani had stopped short of kevala nirvikalpa.
M.: Kevala nirvikalpa happens even in the tanumanasi stage (of attenuated mind).
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Kevala nirvikalpa is in tanumanasa. Where does one whose Jnana is weak fit in?
M.: He comes in sattvapatti (realisation) - whereas the middling and the superior ones come in asamsakti and padarthabhavini respectively. This division as dull, middling, and superior is according to the momentum of prarabdha. If it is strong he is weak; if it is middling he is middling too; if prarabdha is weak he is superior; if it is very weak he is in turyaga.
There is no difference in the samadhi state or the Jnana of the jnanis.
The classification is only from the standpoint of the observer.
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The Seven Jnana bhumikas (stages of knowledge) are: (1) Subhechcha
(desire for enlightenment); (2) Vicharana (hearing and reflection);
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M.: The difference 'He' and 'I' are the obstacles to Jnana.
D.: But it cannot be denied that Bhagavan is of a high order whereas we are limited. Will Bhagavan make me one with Him?
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M.: Yes it is. A madman clings to samskaras, whereas a Jnani does not. That is the only difference between the two. Jnana is madness of a kind.
D.: But saktipata is said to occur in karmasamya, i.e., when merit and demerit are equal.
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Mano-nasa, Jnana, and chittaikagrata (annihilation of the mind, knowledge and one-pointedness) means the same.
241
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Reality lies beyond these. Memory or oblivion must be dependent on something. That something must be foreign too; otherwise there cannot be oblivion. It is called 'I' by everyone. When one looks for it, it is not found because it is not real. Hence 'I' is synonymous with illusion or ignorance (maya, avidya or a Jnana). To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is Jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural.
A Jnana is unnatural and unreal.
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Some extraordinary persons get drdha Jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
Because they are krthopasakah (advanced seekers), whereas the
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Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi akrthopasakah (raw seekers) take longer to gain drdha Jnana
(unshaken knowledge). People ask: "How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all?" We have to say to them: "Ignorance never arose. It has no real being. That which is, is only vidya (knowledge)."
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D.: But that is the experience of the jnanis. Differentiation persists until Jnana dawns. So there is samsara for me.
M.: Samskara (predisposition) is samsara (cycle of births and deaths).
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Is it Jnana?
M.: A man under chloroform or under the influence of drink does not feel it. Is he a Jnani? Is Jnana inconsistent with that feeling?
261
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D.: There is seer, seen and sight. They are not characteristic of Jnana.
M.: In sleep, in trance, in absent-mindedness, there is no differentiation.
Do you call it Jnana? What has happened in these states? Is that which then was, absent now? That which is exists for ever. The difference is due to the mind. The mind is sometimes present at other times absent.
There is no change in the Reality. Reality is always Bliss - Ananda.
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(akasa) it gives rise to Jnana (knowledge) whose seat is the brain. vayu (air) gives rise to manas (mind) tejas (light) gives rise to buddhi (intellect)
jala (water) gives rise to chitta (memory etc.) prthvi (earth) gives rise to ahankara (ego).
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M.: That Peace is the Real nature. Contrary ideas are only superimpositions. This is true bhakti, true yoga, true Jnana. You may say that this peace is acquired by practice. The wrong notions are given up by practice. This is all. Your true nature always persists.
These flashes are only signs of the ensuing revelation of the Self.
1.240 - Talks 2, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
Drishtim Jnanamayim kritva, Brahma mayam pasyet jagat Make your outlook right. The Creator knows how to take care of His Creation.
D.: What is the best thing to do for ensuring the future?
--
M.: Ravi marga (Sun marga) is Jnana. Moon marga is Yoga. They think that after purifying the 72,000 nadis in the body, sushumna is entered and the mind passes up to the sahasrara and there is nectar trickling.
These are all mental concepts. The man is already overwhelmed by world concepts. Other concepts are now added in the shape of this Yoga. The object of all these is to rid the man of concepts and to make him inhere as the pure Self - i.e., absolute consciousness, bereft of thoughts! Why not go straight to it? Why add new encumbrances to the already existing ones?
--
A question was asked regarding the position of one whose Jnana is weak in the scheme of things. The doubt was if that manda Jnani had stopped short of kevala nirvikalpa.
M.: Kevala nirvikalpa happens even in the tanumanasi stage (of attenuated mind).
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Kevala nirvikalpa is in tanumanasa. Where does one whose Jnana is weak fit in?
M.: He comes in sattvapatti (realisation) - whereas the middling and the superior ones come in asamsakti and padarthabhavini respectively. This division as dull, middling, and superior is according to the momentum of prarabdha. If it is strong he is weak; if it is middling he is middling too; if prarabdha is weak he is superior; if it is very weak he is in turyaga.
There is no difference in the samadhi state or the Jnana of the jnanis.
The classification is only from the standpoint of the observer.
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The Seven Jnana bhumikas (stages of knowledge) are: (1) Subhechcha
(desire for enlightenment); (2) Vicharana (hearing and reflection);
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M.: The difference He and I are the obstacles to Jnana.
D.: But it cannot be denied that Bhagavan is of a high order whereas we are limited. Will Bhagavan make me one with Him?
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M.: Yes it is. A madman clings to samskaras, whereas a Jnani does not. That is the only difference between the two. Jnana is madness of a kind.
D.: But saktipata is said to occur in karmasamya, i.e., when merit and demerit are equal.
--
Mano-nasa, Jnana, and chittaikagrata (annihilation of the mind, knowledge and one-pointedness) means the same.
Talk 276.
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Reality lies beyond these. Memory or oblivion must be dependent on something. That something must be foreign too; otherwise there cannot be oblivion. It is called I by everyone. When one looks for it, it is not found because it is not real. Hence I is synonymous with illusion or ignorance (maya, avidya or a Jnana). To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is Jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural.
A Jnana is unnatural and unreal.
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Some extraordinary persons get drdha Jnana (unshaken knowledge) even on hearing the Truth only once (sakrchhravana matrena).
Because they are krthopasakah (advanced seekers), whereas the
Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi akrthopasakah (raw seekers) take longer to gain drdha Jnana
(unshaken knowledge). People ask: How did ignorance (avidya) arise at all? We have to say to them: Ignorance never arose. It has no real being. That which is, is only vidya (knowledge).
--
D.: But that is the experience of the jnanis. Differentiation persists until Jnana dawns. So there is samsara for me.
M.: Samskara (predisposition) is samsara (cycle of births and deaths).
--
Is it Jnana?
M.: A man under chloroform or under the influence of drink does not feel it. Is he a Jnani? Is Jnana inconsistent with that feeling?
D.: There is seer, seen and sight. They are not characteristic of Jnana.
M.: In sleep, in trance, in absent-mindedness, there is no differentiation.
Do you call it Jnana? What has happened in these states? Is that which then was, absent now? That which is exists for ever. The difference is due to the mind. The mind is sometimes present at other times absent.
There is no change in the Reality. Reality is always Bliss - Ananda.
--
(akasa) it gives rise to Jnana (knowledge) whose seat is the brain. vayu (air) gives rise to manas (mind) tejas (light) gives rise to buddhi (intellect)
jala (water) gives rise to chitta (memory etc.) prthvi (earth) gives rise to ahankara (ego).
--
M.: That Peace is the Real nature. Contrary ideas are only superimpositions. This is true bhakti, true yoga, true Jnana. You may say that this peace is acquired by practice. The wrong notions are given up by practice. This is all. Your true nature always persists.
These flashes are only signs of the ensuing revelation of the Self.
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Sphurana. This is natural to the Jnani and is itself called Jnana by jnanis, or bhakti by bhaktas. Though ever present, including
Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi in sleep, it is not perceived. It cannot be known in sleep all at once. It must first be realised in the waking state, for it is our true nature underlying all the three states. Efforts must be made only in the jagrat state and the Self realised here and now. It will afterwards be understood and realised to be continuous
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M.: The former is Pratyaksha vritti (direct experience), whereas the latter is Paroksha Jnana (indirect knowledge). The first begins with the realisation of Aham (I), whereas the later starts with the hearsay Brahman which cannot be apart from the Self, if the same has been realised.
Talk 310.
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Kingdom of Heaven and all are included in your true Self. They are concepts arising after the ego has arisen. Drishtim Jnanamayeem krtva pasyet Brahmamayam jagat (Direct your look within and make it absolute). With that absolute awareness realised, look without and you will realise the universe to be not apart from the realised Absolute.
Because your outlook is externally directed you speak of a without. In that state you are advised to look within. This within is relative to the without you are seeking. In fact, the Self is neither without nor within.
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Again, sleep is said to be a Jnana (ignorance). That is only in relation to the wrong Jnana (knowledge) prevalent in the wakeful state. The waking state is really a Jnana (ignorance) and the sleep state is pra Jnana (full knowledge). Pra Jnana is Brahman, says the sruti. Brahman is eternal.
The sleep-experiencer is called prajna. He is pra Jnanam in all the three states. Its particular significance in the sleep state is that He is full of knowledge (pra Jnanaghana). What is ghana? There are Jnana and vi Jnana. Both together operate in all perceptions. Vi Jnana in the jagrat is viparita Jnana (wrong knowledge) i.e., a Jnana (ignorance). It always co-exists with the individual. When this becomes vispashta Jnana (clear knowledge), It is Brahman. When wrong knowledge is totally absent, as in sleep, He remains pure pra Jnana only. That is Pra Jnanaghana.
Aitareya Upanishad says pra Jnana, vi Jnana, a Jnana, sam Jnana are all names of Brahman. Being made up of knowledge alone how is He to be experienced? Experience is always with vi Jnana. Therefore the pure I of the transitional stage must be held for the experience of the
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Ekamevadwiteeyam = Only one without a second, representing Karma, Yoga, Bhakti and Jnana convey the same meaning.
They are only the single Truth presented in different aspects.
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In the course of an informal conversation Sri Bhagavan pointed out that Self-Realisation is possible only for the fit. The vasanas must be eliminated before Jnana dawns. One must be like Janaka for Jnana to dawn. One must be ready to sacrifice everything for the Truth.
Complete renunciation is the index of fitness.
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The Sastri then prayed for guidance. I am a samsari unfit for Jnana marga. The affairs of the world are distracting me. Please instruct me what I should do.
M.: Think of Bhagavan. How will the affairs of the world distract
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M.: Does Jnana consist in being unaware of the pain of injury?
D.: Should he not remain unaware of pain?
M.: Major operations are performed under anaesthetics, keeping the patient unaware of the pain. Does the patient gain Jnana too, at the same time? Insensibility to pain cannot be Jnana.
D.: Should not a Jnani (a sage) be insensible to pain?
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LEARNING WONT DO: Sri Sankara opens the theme by observing that it is hard indeed to attain human birth, and one should (having attained it) strive for the realisation of the bliss of liberation, which is verily the nature of ones being. By Jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and Jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry. In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru, and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation ones own individual effort is an essential factor. Mere book-learning never yields this bliss which can be realised only through enquiry or vichara, which consists of sravana or devoted attention to the precepts of the Guru, manana or deep contemplation and Nididhyasana or the cultivation of steady poise in the Self.
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(1) Some say that Jnana and upasana are the two wings with which to fly to mukti. What is Jnana? What is upasana? Jnana is ever present. That is the ultimate goal also. When an effort is made the effort is called upasana; when it is effortless it is Jnana, which is the same as mukti.
(2) After some discussion among themselves, a visitor said: Some
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The answer is that the understanding is wrong. Sthula dristi on the physical plane is absurd. Jnana dristi (subtle understanding) is necessary. That is why Arjuna was given divya chakshuh (divine sight). Can such sight be gross? Will such interpretation lead you to a right understanding?
Sri Krishna says Kalosmi, I am Time. Does Time have shape?
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D.: What is Jnana-marga?
M.: I have been saying it for so long. What is Jnana? Jnana means realisation of the Truth. It is done by dhyana. Dhyana helps you to hold on to Truth to the exclusion of all thoughts.
D.: Why are there so many Gods mentioned?
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D.: Are they not so in the path of Jnana?
M.: May be. There is no definiteness about it. It depends on the nature of the individual. Individuality entirely lost, these cannot find a place. Even the slightest trace of it being present, these symptoms become manifest.
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Again for Jnana:
Yato yato nischarati manas chanchalam asthiram
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The scriptures say that Jnana is the fire which burns away all karma
(sarvakarmani). Sarva (all) is interpreted in two ways: (1) to include prarabdha and (2) to exclude it. In the first way: if a man with three wives dies, it is asked. can two of them be called widows and the third not? All are widows. So it is with prarabdha, agami and sanchita.
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- the one cannot exist without the other. Maybe that the one class predominates. Good tendencies (suvasana) are cultivated and they must also be finally destroyed by Jnana.
A young prodigy was mentioned. Sri Bhagavan remarked that latent impressions of previous births (purva janma samskara) were strong in him.
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Until you gain Jnana you cannot understand the state of a Jnani.
There is no use asking about the work of Isvara and the rest. Some ask why Siva went naked in Daruka forest and spoiled the chastity of the rishis wives.
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D.: Is Jnana the same as arudha?
M.: So it is.
D.: What is the relation between bhakti and Jnana?
M.: Eternal, unbroken, natural state is Jnana. Does it not imply love of Self? Is it not bhakti?
D.: Idol worship does not seem good. They worship the formless
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Self to be formless by your Jnana, should you not concede the same amount of Jnana to God and understand Him to be formless?
D.: But there is the world for God.
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Swami Lokesananda, a sannyasi: What is meant by Jnana and vi Jnana?
M.: These words may mean differently according to the context.
Jnana = samanya Jnana or Pure consciousness. Vi Jnana = Visesha Jnana. Visesha may be (1) worldly (relative knowledge); and (2) transcendental (Self-Realisation).
Mind is necessary for visesha; it modifies the purity of absolute consciousness. So vi Jnana represents intellect and the sheath composing it, i.e., relative knowledge. In that case Jnana is common
(samanya) running through vi Jnana sam Jnana, pra Jnana, a Jnana, mati, dhirti - different modes of knowledge (vide: Aitareyopanishad,
Chapter 3) or Jnana is paroksha (hearsay) and vi Jnana is aparokska
(direct perception) as in Jnana vi Jnana triptatma, one perfectly content with Jnana and vi Jnana.
D.: What is the relation between Brahman and Isvara?
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M.: The Kundalini of Jnana marga is said to be the Heart, which is also described in various ways as a network of nadis, of the shape of a serpent, of a lotus bud, etc.
D.: Is this Heart the same as the physiological heart?
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Knowledge - Jnana; (2) Mind - Manas; (3) Intellect - Buddhi; (4)
Memory - Chitta; and (5) The ego - Ahankara; some say only the latter four; others say only two, namely (1) Manas, mind and (2)
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M.: The yoga marga speaks of the six centres each of which must be reached by practice and transcended until one reaches sahasrara where nectar is found and thus immortality. The yogis say that one enters into the paranadi which starts from the sacral plexus whereas the jnanis say that the same nadi starts from the heart. Reconciliation between the seeming]y contradictory statements is effected in the secret doctrine which distinctly states the yogic paranadi is from muladhara and the Jnana paranadi is from the Heart. The truth is that the paranadi should be entered. By yogic practice one goes down, then rises up, wanders all through until the goal is reached; by Jnana abhyas one settles down directly in the centre.
D.: Is not para followed by pasyanti, etc.?
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This is Jnana-marga.
All these are however on the assumption that the jiva is separate from the Self or Brahman. But are we separate? No, says the
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Guru. Such is Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent; the disciples appeared before him. He maintained silence, the doubts of the disciples were dispelled, which means that they lost their individual identities. That is Jnana and not all the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together. These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
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To be reborn is to become children over again. One must be reborn before gaining Jnana, i.e., recovering the natural state.
Talk 415.
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(10) Devotion is Jnana:
The mind losing itself in Sivas Feet is Devotion. Ignorance lost!
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M.: Jnana is beyond knowledge and nescience. There can be no question about that state. It is the Self.
Talk 433.
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The method is chosen according to ones own fitness. The goal for all is the same. Yet different names are given to the goal only to suit the process preliminary to reaching the goal. Bhakti, Yoga, Jnana are all the same. Svasvarupanusandhanam bhaktirity abhidheeyate
(Self contemplation is called bhakti).
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What is it then? Even if not sat nor asat, It must be admitted to be sat only. Compare the term Jnana. It is the state beyond knowledge and ignorance. Yet Jnana is not ignorance but knowledge. So also with Sat-chit-ananda.
D.: It favours the one aspect.
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D.: You seem to speak Jnana yoga. This is Jnana yoga.
M.: Yes, it is.
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D.: Raja yoga realises through the body, senses, etc., and Sri Bhagavan advises realisation by thinking. This is Jnana yoga.
M.: How can you think without the body?
1.24 - PUNDIT SHASHADHAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
Three yogas explained by Master "Innumerable are the ways that lead to God. There are the paths of jnna, of karma, and of bhakti. If you are sincere, you will attain God in the end, whichever path you follow. Roughly speaking, there are three kinds of yoga: Jnanayoga, karma yoga, and bhaktiyoga.
"What is Jnanayoga? The Jnni seeks to realize Brahman. He discriminates, saying, 'Not this, not this'. He discriminates, saying, 'Brahman is real and the universe illusory.' He discriminates between the Real and the unreal. As he comes to the end of discrimination, he goes into samdhi and attains the Knowledge of Brahman.
"What is karmayoga? Its aim is to fix one's mind on God by means of work. That is what you are teaching. It consists of breath-control, concentration, meditation, and so on, done in a spirit of detachment. If a householder performs his duties in the world in a spirit of detachment, surrendering the results to God and with devotion to God in his heart, he too may be said to practise karmayoga. Further, if a person performs worship, japa, and other forms of devotion, surrendering the results to God, he may be said to practise karmayoga. Attainment of God alone is the aim of karmayoga.
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"To follow Jnanayoga in this age is also very difficult. First, a man's life depends entirely on food. Second, he has a short span of life. Third, he can by no means get rid of body-consciousness; and the Knowledge of Brahman is impossible without the destruction of body-consciousness. The Jnni says: 'I am Brahman; I am not the body. I am beyond hunger and thirst, disease and grief, birth and death, pleasure and pain.' How can you be a Jnni if you are conscious of disease, grief, pain, pleasure, and the like? A thorn enters your flesh, blood flow from the wound, and you suffer very badly from the pain; but nevertheless, if you are a Jnni you must be able to say: 'Why, there is no thorn in my flesh at all. Nothing is the matter with me'
"Therefore bhaktiyoga is prescribed for this age. By following this path one comes to God more easily than by following the others. One can undoubtedly, reach God by following the paths of jnna and karma, but they are very difficult paths.
1.25 - ADVICE TO PUNDIT SHASHADHAR, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"Both bhaktiyoga and Jnanayoga are paths by which you can realize God. Whatever path you may follow, you will certainly realize Him. The path of bhakti is an easy one. The path of knowledge and discrimination is very difficult. Why should one reason so much to know which path is the best? I talked about this with Vijay for many days. Once I told him about a man who used to pray, 'O God, reveal to me who and what You are.'
"The path of knowledge and discrimination is difficult indeed. Parvati, the Divine Mother, revealed Her various forms to Her father and said, 'Father, if you want Brahma Jnana, then live in the company of holy men.'
1.2 - Katha Upanishads, #Kena and Other Upanishads, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
a=;:mA/, p;zqo_ trA(mA sdA Jnana\ dy
h m;0jAEdv
1.300 - 1.400 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
Sphurana. This is natural to the Jnani and is itself called Jnana by jnanis, or bhakti by bhaktas. Though ever present, including
278
--
M.: The former is Pratyaksha vritti (direct experience), whereas the latter is Paroksha Jnana (indirect knowledge). The first begins with the realisation of Aham ('I'), whereas the later starts with the hearsay Brahman which cannot be apart from the Self, if the same has been realised.
Talk 310.
--
Kingdom of Heaven and all are included in your true Self. They are concepts arising after the ego has arisen. Drishtim Jnanamayeem krtva pasyet Brahmamayam jagat (Direct your look within and make it absolute). With that absolute awareness realised, look without and you will realise the universe to be not apart from the realised Absolute.
Because your outlook is externally directed you speak of a without. In that state you are advised to look within. This within is relative to the without you are seeking. In fact, the Self is neither without nor within.
--
Again, sleep is said to be a Jnana (ignorance). That is only in relation to the wrong Jnana (knowledge) prevalent in the wakeful state. The waking state is really a Jnana (ignorance) and the sleep state is pra Jnana (full knowledge). Pra Jnana is Brahman, says the sruti. Brahman is eternal.
The sleep-experiencer is called prajna. He is pra Jnanam in all the three states. Its particular significance in the sleep state is that He is full of knowledge (pra Jnanaghana). What is ghana? There are Jnana and vi Jnana. Both together operate in all perceptions. Vi Jnana in the jagrat is viparita Jnana (wrong knowledge) i.e., a Jnana (ignorance). It always co-exists with the individual. When this becomes vispashta Jnana (clear knowledge), It is Brahman. When wrong knowledge is totally absent, as in sleep, He remains pure pra Jnana only. That is Pra Jnanaghana.
Aitareya Upanishad says pra Jnana, vi Jnana, a Jnana, sam Jnana are all names of Brahman. Being made up of knowledge alone how is He to be experienced? Experience is always with vi Jnana. Therefore the pure 'I' of the transitional stage must be held for the experience of the
--
Ekamevadwiteeyam = Only one without a second, representing Karma, Yoga, Bhakti and Jnana convey the same meaning.
They are only the single Truth presented in different aspects.
--
In the course of an informal conversation Sri Bhagavan pointed out that Self-Realisation is possible only for the fit. The vasanas must be eliminated before Jnana dawns. One must be like Janaka for Jnana to dawn. One must be ready to sacrifice everything for the Truth.
Complete renunciation is the index of fitness.
--
The Sastri then prayed for guidance. "I am a samsari unfit for Jnana marga. The affairs of the world are distracting me. Please instruct me what I should do."
M.: Think of Bhagavan. How will the affairs of the world distract
--
M.: Does Jnana consist in being unaware of the pain of injury?
D.: Should he not remain unaware of pain?
M.: Major operations are performed under anaesthetics, keeping the patient unaware of the pain. Does the patient gain Jnana too, at the same time? Insensibility to pain cannot be Jnana.
D.: Should not a Jnani (a sage) be insensible to pain?
--
LEARNING WON'T DO: Sri Sankara opens the theme by observing that it is hard indeed to attain human birth, and one should (having attained it) strive for the realisation of the bliss of liberation, which is verily the nature of one's being. By Jnana or Knowledge alone is this bliss realised, and Jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry. In order to know this method of enquiry, says Sri Sankara, one should seek the favour of a Guru, and proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his sishya and how the latter should approach and serve his master.
He further emphasises that in order to realise the bliss of liberation one's own individual effort is an essential factor. Mere book-learning never yields this bliss which can be realised only through enquiry or vichara, which consists of sravana or devoted attention to the precepts of the Guru, manana or deep contemplation and Nididhyasana or the cultivation of steady poise in the Self.
--
(1) Some say that Jnana and upasana are the two wings with which to fly to mukti. What is Jnana? What is upasana? Jnana is ever present. That is the ultimate goal also. When an effort is made the effort is called upasana; when it is effortless it is Jnana, which is the same as mukti.
(2) After some discussion among themselves, a visitor said: Some
--
The answer is that the understanding is wrong. Sthula dristi on the physical plane is absurd. Jnana dristi (subtle understanding) is necessary. That is why Arjuna was given divya chakshuh (divine sight). Can such sight be gross? Will such interpretation lead you to a right understanding?
Sri Krishna says Kalosmi, 'I am Time'. Does Time have shape?
--
D.: What is Jnana-marga?
M.: I have been saying it for so long. What is Jnana? Jnana means realisation of the Truth. It is done by dhyana. Dhyana helps you to hold on to Truth to the exclusion of all thoughts.
D.: Why are there so many Gods mentioned?
--
D.: Are they not so in the path of Jnana?
M.: May be. There is no definiteness about it. It depends on the nature of the individual. Individuality entirely lost, these cannot find a place. Even the slightest trace of it being present, these symptoms become manifest.
--
Again for Jnana:
Yato yato nischarati manas chanchalam asthiram
--
The scriptures say that Jnana is the fire which burns away all karma
(sarvakarmani). Sarva (all) is interpreted in two ways: (1) to include prarabdha and (2) to exclude it. In the first way: if a man with three wives dies, it is asked. "can two of them be called widows and the third not?" All are widows. So it is with prarabdha, agami and sanchita.
--
- the one cannot exist without the other. Maybe that the one class predominates. Good tendencies (suvasana) are cultivated and they must also be finally destroyed by Jnana.
A young prodigy was mentioned. Sri Bhagavan remarked that latent impressions of previous births (purva janma samskara) were strong in him.
--
"Until you gain Jnana you cannot understand the state of a Jnani.
There is no use asking about the work of Isvara and the rest. Some ask why Siva went naked in Daruka forest and spoiled the chastity of the rishi's wives.
--
D.: Is Jnana the same as arudha?
M.: So it is.
D.: What is the relation between bhakti and Jnana?
366
--
M.: Eternal, unbroken, natural state is Jnana. Does it not imply love of Self? Is it not bhakti?
D.: Idol worship does not seem good. They worship the formless
--
Self to be formless by your Jnana, should you not concede the same amount of Jnana to God and understand Him to be formless?
D.: But there is the world for God.
--
Swami Lokesananda, a sannyasi: What is meant by Jnana and vi Jnana?
M.: These words may mean differently according to the context.
Jnana = samanya Jnana or Pure consciousness. Vi Jnana = Visesha Jnana. Visesha may be (1) worldly (relative knowledge); and (2) transcendental (Self-Realisation).
Mind is necessary for visesha; it modifies the purity of absolute consciousness. So vi Jnana represents intellect and the sheath composing it, i.e., relative knowledge. In that case Jnana is common
(samanya) running through vi Jnana sam Jnana, pra Jnana, a Jnana, mati, dhirti - different modes of knowledge (vide: Aitareyopanishad,
Chapter 3) or Jnana is paroksha (hearsay) and vi Jnana is aparokska
(direct perception) as in Jnana vi Jnana triptatma, one perfectly content with Jnana and vi Jnana.
D.: What is the relation between Brahman and Isvara?
--
M.: The Kundalini of Jnana marga is said to be the Heart, which is also described in various ways as a network of nadis, of the shape of a serpent, of a lotus bud, etc.
D.: Is this Heart the same as the physiological heart?
--
Knowledge - Jnana; (2) Mind - Manas; (3) Intellect - Buddhi; (4)
Memory - Chitta; and (5) The ego - Ahankara; some say only the latter four; others say only two, namely (1) Manas, mind and (2)
--
M.: The yoga marga speaks of the six centres each of which must be reached by practice and transcended until one reaches sahasrara where nectar is found and thus immortality. The yogis say that one enters into the paranadi which starts from the sacral plexus whereas the jnanis say that the same nadi starts from the heart. Reconciliation between the seeming]y contradictory statements is effected in the secret doctrine which distinctly states the yogic paranadi is from muladhara and the Jnana paranadi is from the Heart. The truth is that the paranadi should be entered. By yogic practice one goes down, then rises up, wanders all through until the goal is reached; by Jnana abhyas one settles down directly in the centre.
D.: Is not para followed by pasyanti, etc.?
--
This is Jnana-marga.
All these are however on the assumption that the jiva is separate from the Self or Brahman. But are we separate? "No", says the
--
Guru. Such is Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent; the disciples appeared before him. He maintained silence, the doubts of the disciples were dispelled, which means that they lost their individual identities. That is Jnana and not all the verbiage usually associated with it.
Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together. These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.
1.3.2.01 - I. The Entire Purpose of Yoga, #Essays Divine And Human, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Consciousness in Chit is luminous, free, illimitable & effective; that which it is aware of as Chit ( Jnanashakti) it fulfils infallibly as Tapas (Kriyashakti); for Jnanashakti is only the stable & comprehensive, Kriyashakti only the motional and intensive form of one self-luminous Conscious Being. They are one power of conscious force of God (Chit-Shakti of Sat-Purusha).
But in the lower hemisphere, under the conditions of mind, life
1.400 - 1.450 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
To be reborn is to become children over again. One must be reborn before gaining Jnana, i.e., recovering the natural state.
Talk 415.
--
(10) Devotion is Jnana:
The mind losing itself in Siva's Feet is Devotion. Ignorance lost!
--
M.: Jnana is beyond knowledge and nescience. There can be no question about that state. It is the Self.
Talk 433.
--
The method is chosen according to one's own fitness. The goal for all is the same. Yet different names are given to the goal only to suit the process preliminary to reaching the goal. Bhakti, Yoga, Jnana are all the same. Svasvarupanusandhanam bhaktirity abhidheeyate
(Self contemplation is called bhakti).
--
What is it then? Even if not sat nor asat, It must be admitted to be sat only. Compare the term Jnana. It is the state beyond knowledge and ignorance. Yet Jnana is not ignorance but knowledge. So also with Sat-chit-ananda.
D.: It favours the one aspect.
--
D.: You seem to speak Jnana yoga. This is Jnana yoga.
M.: Yes, it is.
--
D.: Raja yoga realises through the body, senses, etc., and Sri Bhagavan advises realisation by thinking. This is Jnana yoga.
M.: How can you think without the body?
--
D.: Beginningless predisposition makes one do wrong. Without Jnana this predisposition cannot vanish. But Jnana looks almost impossible. Expiation alone cannot undo all the karma; for how much expiation will be needed! Look where we will! Everything looks difficult, even impossible. Association with the wise seems to be the only cure of all ills.
M.: What is to be done? Reality is One only. How can It be realised?
--
D.: Karma, bhakti, yoga and Jnana and their subdivisions only confuse the mind. To follow the elders' words seems to be the only right thing to do. What should I hold? Please tell me. I cannot sift the srutis and smritis; they are too vast. So please advise me.
(No answer.)
--
The discussion about illusion is due to the difference in the angle of vision. Change your angle of vision to one of Jnana and then find the universe to be only Brahman. Being now in the world, you see the world as such. Get beyond it and this will disappear: the
Reality alone will shine.
1.439, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
D.: Beginningless predisposition makes one do wrong. Without Jnana this predisposition cannot vanish. But Jnana looks almost impossible. Expiation alone cannot undo all the karma; for how much expiation will be needed! Look where we will! Everything looks difficult, even impossible. Association with the wise seems to be the only cure of all ills.
M.: What is to be done? Reality is One only. How can It be realised?
--
D.: Karma, bhakti, yoga and Jnana and their subdivisions only confuse the mind. To follow the elders words seems to be the only right thing to do. What should I hold? Please tell me. I cannot sift the srutis and smritis; they are too vast. So please advise me.
(No answer.)
--
The discussion about illusion is due to the difference in the angle of vision. Change your angle of vision to one of Jnana and then find the universe to be only Brahman. Being now in the world, you see the world as such. Get beyond it and this will disappear: the
Reality alone will shine.
--
D.: The knowledge of the Supreme Being is after transcending the individual self. This is Jnana. Where is the need for surrender?
M.: Quite so. There is no difference between Jnana and surrender. (Smile).
D.: How is the questioner satisfied then? The only alternative left is association with the wise or devotion to God (satsanga or Isvara bhakti).
--
A large group of Punjabis arrived here in a pilgrim special. They came to the Ramanasramam at about 8-45 a.m. and sat quiet for a long time. At about 9-20 one of them said: Your reputation has spread in the Punjab. We have travelled a long distance to have your darsan. Kindly tell us something by way of instruction. There was no oral reply. Sri Bhagavan smiled and gazed on. After some time the visitor asked: Which is the best - the yoga, the bhakti or the Jnana path? Still Sri Bhagavan smiled and gazed as before.
Sri Bhagavan left the hall for a few minutes. The visitors began to disperse. Still a sprinkling of them continued to sit in the hall. A long standing disciple told the visitor that Sri Bhagavan had replied to his questions by His Silence which was even more eloquent than words.
--
Someone remarked: It is said that they get mukti unasked who live or die within a radius of 30 miles round Arunachala. It is also admitted that only by Jnana is liberation obtained. The purana also remarks that Vedanta Vi Jnana is difficult to get. So mukti is difficult. But life or death round about the Hill bestows mukti so easily. How can it be?
M.: Siva says, By My command. Those who live here need no initiation, diksha, etc., but get mukti.. Such is the comm and of Siva.
--
M.: Chitta samvit is Atma Jnana i.e., Knowledge of the Self.
Talk 484.
--
M.: Jnana will wash them clean.
D.: Gandhiji is often perplexed finding his intimate disciples going wrong. He wonders how it could happen and thinks that it is due to his own defects. Is it so?
--
M.: Read the life and you will understand. Jnana and a Jnana are of the same degree of truth; that is, both are imagined by the ignorant; that is not true from the standpoint of the Jnani.
D.: Is a Jnani capable or likely to commit sins?
--
You see the jnanis body and not his Jnanam. One must therefore be a Jnani to know a Jnani.
M.: The Jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in his sight.
In the ignorant state one superimposes his ignorance on a Jnani and mistakes him for a doer. In the state of Jnana, the Jnani sees nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure Jnana. So there is no a Jnana in his sight. There is an illustration for this kind of allusion or super-imposition. Two friends went to sleep side by side. One of them dreamt that both of them had gone on a long journey and had strange experiences. On waking up he recapitulated them and asked his friend if it was not so. The other one simply ridiculed him saying that it was only his dream and could not affect the other.
So it is with the ajnani who superimposes his illusive ideas on others.
Regarding a Jnana in early youth and Jnana at the present time, Sri
Bhagavan said: There is no Jnana as it is commonly understood.
The ordinary ideas of Jnana and a Jnana are only relative and false.
They are not real and therefore not abiding. The true state is the non-dual Self. It is eternal and abides whether one is aware or not.
--
Jnana chakshus does not mean that it is an organ of perception like the other sense-organs. Jnanameva chakshuh. Television, etc., are not functions of Jnana chakshus. So long as there is a subject and also an object it is only relative knowledge. Jnana lies beyond relative knowledge. It is absolute.
The Self is the source of subject and object. Now ignorance prevailing, the subject is taken to be the source. The subject is the knower and forms one of the triads whose components cannot exist independent of one another. So the subject or the knower cannot be the ultimate Reality. Reality lies beyond subject and object. When realised there will be no room for doubt.
--
English. Sri Bhagavan was explaining its meaning. Brahmaloka may be interpreted subjectively or objectively. The latter meaning requires faith in the sastras which speak of such lokas, whereas the former meaning is purely of experience and requires no external authority. Brahmaloka would mean Brahma Jnana (Knowledge of
Brahman) or Self-Realisation (Atma-Sakshatkara). Parantakala as opposed to aparantakala. In the latter the jivas pass into oblivion to take other births. Their oblivion is enveloped in ignorance (avidya).
Para is beyond the body. Parantakala is transcendence over the body, etc., i.e., Jnana (knowledge). Paramritat prakriteh = beyond prakriti. Sarve implies that all are qualified for knowledge and liberation (moksha). yatayah = yama niyama sametah sat purushah
= good men well disciplined. The whole passage implies passing into the real beyond the unreal. na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh parena nakam nihitam guhayam, vibhrajate yadyatayo visanti vedanta vi Jnana sunishchitarthah sanyasayogadyatayah shuddha satvah te brahmaloke tu parantakale paramritat parimuchyanti sarve dahram vipapam paravesmabhutum yat pundarikam puramadhya samstham tatrapi dahram gaganam visokastasmin yadantastadupasitavyam yo vedadau svarah prokto vedante cha pratishtitah tasya prakritilinasya yah parah sa Mahesvarah
--
M.: The vasanas are of two kinds: bandha hetu (causing bondage) and bhoga hetu (only giving enjoyment). The Jnani has transcended the ego and therefore all the causes of bondage are inoperative. Bandha hetu is thus at an end and prarabdha (past karma) remains as bhoga vasana (to give enjoyment) only. Therefore it was said that the sukshma sarira alone survives Jnana. Kaivalya says that sanchita Karma (stored
Karma) is at an end simultaneously with the rise of Jnana; that agami
(Karma now collecting) is no longer operative owing to the absence of the sense of bondage, and that prarabdha will be exhausted by enjoyment (bhoga) only. Thus the last one will end in course of time and then the gross body also falls away with it.
--
He thus became one of the most famous bhaktas and was much sought after. He led a vigorous and active life; went on pilgrimage to several places in South India. He got married in his sixteenth year. The bride and the bridegroom went to have darsan of God in the local temple soon after the marriage ceremonies were over. A large party went with them. When they reached the temple the place was a blaze of light and the temple was not visible. There was however a passage visible in the blaze of light. Jnanasambandar told the people to enter the passage. They did so. He himself went round the light with his young wife, came to the passage and entered it as the others had done earlier. The Light vanished leaving no trace of those who entered it.
The temple again came into view as usual. Such was the brief but very eventful life of the sage.
--
You are a dense mass of Jnana, capable of removing the I-am-thebody idea from Your devotees! Herds of gazelles, of boars and of bears come down Your slopes in the night to search for food on the plains. Herds of elephants go from the plains to Your slopes where they may rest. So different herds of animals meet on Your slopes.
Sri Bhagavan continued: So this Hill must have been a dense forest
--
M.: If I am Bhagavan then there is no one apart from me to whom Jnana should arise or to whom I should speak. If I am an ordinary man like others then I am as ignorant as the rest. Either way your question cannot be answered.
Talk 560.
--
Being? Being is the core - the Heart. How then is the Supreme Being to be contemplated and glorified? Only to remain as the Pure Self is the auspicious beginning. This speaks of attributeless Brahman according to the Jnana marga (method of knowledge).
2. The second stanza is in praise of God with attri butes. In the foregoing, to be as one Self is mentioned; in the present one, surrender to the Lord of all.
--
Ether = Jnana
Kantham
--
M.: Srimad Bhagavad Gita says that a Jnani is the true yogi and also a true bhakta. Yoga is only a sadhana and Jnana is the siddhi.
D.: Is yoga necessary?
M.: It is a sadhana. It will not be necessary after Jnana is attained.
All the sadhanas are called yogas, e.g., Karma yoga; Bhakti yoga;
--
That is the whole content of nishkama Karma (unselfish action). It means true renunciation. If the giving nature is developed it becomes tyaga. If anything is willingly given away it is a delight to the giver and to the receiver. If the same is stolen it is misery to both. Dana, dharma, nishkama Karma are all tyaga only. When mine is given up it is chitta suddhi (purified mind). When I is given up it is Jnana.
When the nature to give away is developed it results in Jnana.
Again a little later, a young boy came all alone, unescorted by his parents.
--
M.: The enquiry into the Self is inclusive of all, faith, devotion, Jnana, yoga and all.
D.: A man sometimes finds that the physical body does not permit steady meditation. Should he practise yoga for training the body for the purpose?
--
given. If they are followed the result will be Jnana having those
lakshanas. They are not meant for testing others.
--
Meditation needs effort: Jnanam is effortless. Meditation can be
done, or not done, or wrongly done, Jnanam is not so. Meditation is
described as kartru-tantra (as doers own), Jnanam as vastu-tantra
(the Supremes own).
--
is Jnanam. It is being aware of That which always is.
13th February, 1939
--
Vritti Jnana alone can destroy a Jnana (ignorance). Absolute Jnana
is not inimical to a Jnana.
--
vritti that is the same as Jnanam. Without it a Jnanam will not cease.
The puriashtaka also will not be found associated with anything
--
ignorance must be removed by Jnanam.
Why and to whom did this suffering come? If you question
--
That is Jnanam.
D.: But why should there be suffering now?
--
notion I am the body. Getting rid of it is Jnanam.
Talk 634.
--
M.: The former is vichara - Who am I? (Koham?) It represents Jnana.
The latter is dhyana - Whence am I? (Kutoham?) This admits a
--
and Jnana marga separate and independent of each other? Or is the
Karma marga only a preliminary which after successful practice
should be followed by Jnana marga for the consummation of the aim?
The Karma advocates non-attachment to action and yet an active life,
whereas the Jnana means renunciation. What is the true meaning of
renunciation? Subjugation of lust, passion, greed, etc., is common
--
D.: Sri Sankara emphasises the Jnana marga and renunciation as
preliminary to it. But there are clearly two methods dwividha
mentioned in the Gita. They are Karma and Jnana (Lokesmin
dwividha nishtha...).
--
to abuse all other methods. He used to vilify Jnana and the jnanis.
At night, after supper, Sri Bhagavan spoke of one Govinda Yogi, a
--
the jnanis. For Jnana does not cease to exist with age.
It is true that in the Yoga Vasishta, Vasishta says to Rama in the
--
is admirable. But he did not say that Jnana cannot be had in old
age. There is nothing to prevent it in old age.
--
The Jnana method is said to be vichara (enquiry). That is nothing but
supreme devotion (parabhakti). The difference is in words only.
--
without anything else to know, it is Jnana. Jnana is said to be ekabhakti
(single-minded devotion). The Jnani is the finality because he has
1.450 - 1.500 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
D.: The knowledge of the Supreme Being is after transcending the individual self. This is Jnana. Where is the need for surrender?
M.: Quite so. There is no difference between Jnana and surrender. (Smile).
D.: How is the questioner satisfied then? The only alternative left is association with the wise or devotion to God (satsanga or Isvara bhakti).
--
A large group of Punjabis arrived here in a pilgrim special. They came to the Ramanasramam at about 8-45 a.m. and sat quiet for a long time. At about 9-20 one of them said: "Your reputation has spread in the Punjab. We have travelled a long distance to have your darsan. Kindly tell us something by way of instruction." There was no oral reply. Sri Bhagavan smiled and gazed on. After some time the visitor asked: "Which is the best - the yoga, the bhakti or the Jnana path?" Still Sri Bhagavan smiled and gazed as before.
Sri Bhagavan left the hall for a few minutes. The visitors began to disperse. Still a sprinkling of them continued to sit in the hall. A long standing disciple told the visitor that Sri Bhagavan had replied to his questions by His Silence which was even more eloquent than words.
--
Someone remarked: It is said that they get mukti unasked who live or die within a radius of 30 miles round Arunachala. It is also admitted that only by Jnana is liberation obtained. The purana also remarks that Vedanta Vi Jnana is difficult to get. So mukti is difficult. But life or death round about the Hill bestows mukti so easily. How can it be?
M.: Siva says, "By My command." Those who live here need no initiation, diksha, etc., but get mukti.. Such is the comm and of Siva.
--
M.: Chitta samvit is Atma Jnana i.e., Knowledge of the Self.
477
--
M.: Jnana will wash them clean.
D.: Gandhiji is often perplexed finding his intimate disciples going wrong. He wonders how it could happen and thinks that it is due to his own defects. Is it so?
--
M.: Read the life and you will understand. Jnana and a Jnana are of the same degree of truth; that is, both are imagined by the ignorant; that is not true from the standpoint of the Jnani.
D.: Is a Jnani capable or likely to commit sins?
--
You see the jnani's body and not his Jnanam. One must therefore be a Jnani to know a Jnani.
M.: The Jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in his sight.
In the ignorant state one superimposes his ignorance on a Jnani and mistakes him for a doer. In the state of Jnana, the Jnani sees nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure Jnana. So there is no a Jnana in his sight. There is an illustration for this kind of allusion or super-imposition. Two friends went to sleep side by side. One of them dreamt that both of them had gone on a long journey and had strange experiences. On waking up he recapitulated them and asked his friend if it was not so. The other one simply ridiculed him saying that it was only his dream and could not affect the other.
So it is with the ajnani who superimposes his illusive ideas on others.
--
Regarding a Jnana in early youth and Jnana at the present time, Sri
Bhagavan said: There is no Jnana as it is commonly understood.
The ordinary ideas of Jnana and a Jnana are only relative and false.
They are not real and therefore not abiding. The true state is the non-dual Self. It is eternal and abides whether one is aware or not.
1.4 - Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad, #Kena and Other Upanishads, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
tad es.abhyukta - satyam Jnanam anantam brahma -
yo veda nihitam guhayam - parame vyoman -
1.550 - 1.600 Talks, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
M.: If I am Bhagavan then there is no one apart from me to whom Jnana should arise or to whom I should speak. If I am an ordinary man like others then I am as ignorant as the rest. Either way your question cannot be answered.
Talk 560.
--
Being? Being is the core - the Heart. How then is the Supreme Being to be contemplated and glorified? Only to remain as the Pure Self is the auspicious beginning. This speaks of attributeless Brahman according to the Jnana marga (method of knowledge).
2. The second stanza is in praise of God with attri butes. In the foregoing, to be as one Self is mentioned; in the present one, surrender to the Lord of all.
--
Ether = Jnana
Kantham
--
M.: Srimad Bhagavad Gita says that a Jnani is the true yogi and also a true bhakta. Yoga is only a sadhana and Jnana is the siddhi.
D.: Is yoga necessary?
M.: It is a sadhana. It will not be necessary after Jnana is attained.
All the sadhanas are called yogas, e.g., Karma yoga; Bhakti yoga;
--
That is the whole content of nishkama Karma (unselfish action). It means true renunciation. If the giving nature is developed it becomes tyaga. If anything is willingly given away it is a delight to the giver and to the receiver. If the same is stolen it is misery to both. Dana, dharma, nishkama Karma are all tyaga only. When 'mine' is given up it is chitta suddhi (purified mind). When 'I' is given up it is Jnana.
When the nature to give away is developed it results in Jnana.
Again a little later, a young boy came all alone, unescorted by his parents.
--
M.: The enquiry into the Self is inclusive of all, faith, devotion, Jnana, yoga and all.
D.: A man sometimes finds that the physical body does not permit steady meditation. Should he practise yoga for training the body for the purpose?
17.11 - A Prayer, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 05, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Thus in the path of Tantra, widely extended as it is through the long tradition of its preceptors; the meditative concentration on the image, the repetition of the sacred formulas, Mantra-Japa, and other various methods mentioned in different scriptures are meant to provide easy ways suited to the sadhaks of the different natures. They make no difference to the fundamental Truth and principle which remains always the same. And this is called Sri Vidya which is the essential substance of all the sacred Scriptures, the essence of the four great steps of Tantra (Charya, Kriya, Jnana and Yoga) expounded in all its precepts.
This High Knowledge (Vidya) has been very secretly taught by the different branches of Yajurveda in their hymns and their Upanishadic versions. It has been mysteriously revealed by the various branches of Rigveda in their hymns or their Upanishadic versions. It is mystically awakened through a certain subtle duct in the body, evoked by manifold metrical hymns of the Sarna Veda. This Vidya is commonly found in all the Vedas. It is the essence of all Vedic mantras, Brahmanas and Upanishads. It is the Queen of the Shaktichakra, a wave of supremely great light, a form or embodiment of supreme consciousness. This is a mystic truth inherited from a tradition of Gurus.
2.01 - On Books, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Swami Jnanananda's[1] book contains the following points.
The material world is made to answer, or suit, our senses.
--
Disciple: Jnanananda says that the sense-world is created by the sense-ego. The so-called real world is created by the Super-ego. This Super-ego has a personality which has to be dissolved.
Sri Aurobindo: So, it is not the cosmic consciousness or the Purusha or the Over-soul.
--
Disciple: Through one of the four Yogas: Raja, Jnana, Karma and Bhakti. One has to see this sense-world and the Super-ego-world in the light of the Absolute Divine.
Disciple: He believes this is the spontaneous Purna Yoga.
--
[1] Swami Jnanananda was originally the son of a Zamindar in Andhra. After Sannyas he went to North India and became a scientist. He went to Prague and Liverpool and was in the National Physical Laboratory, Delhi.
***
2.01 - The Object of Knowledge, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
2:The traditional systems, whatever their other differences, all proceed on the belief or the perception that the Eternal and Absolute can only be or at least can only inhabit a pure transcendent state of non-cosmic existence or else a non-existence. All cosmic existence or all that we call existence is a state of ignorance. Even the highest individual perfection, even the blissful cosmic condition is no better than a supreme ignorance. All that is individual, all that is cosmic has to be austerely renounced by the seeker of the absolute Truth. The supreme quiescent Self or else the absolute Nihil is the sole Truth, the only object of spiritual knowledge. The state of knowledge, the consciousness other than this temporal that we must attain is Nirvana, an extinction of ego, a cessation of all mental, vital and physical activities, of all activities whatsoever, a supreme illumined quiescence, the pure bliss of an impersonal tranquillity self-absorbed and ineffable. The means are meditation, concentration excluding all things else, a total loss of the mind in its object. Action is permissible only in the first stages of the search in order to purify the seeker and make him morally and temperamentally a fit vessel for the knowledge. Even this action must either be confined to the performance of the rites of worship and the prescribed duties of life rigorously ordained by the Hindu Shastra or, as in the Buddhistic discipline, must be guided along the eight-fold path to the supreme practice of the works of compassion which lead towards the practical annihilation of self in the good of others. In the end, in any severe and pure Jnanayoga, all works must be abandoned for an entire quiescence. Action may prepare salvation, it cannot give it. Any continued adherence to action is incompatible with the highest progress and may be an insuperable obstacle to the attainment of the spiritual goal. The supreme state of quiescence is the very opposite of action and cannot be attained by those who persist in works. And even devotion, love, worship are disciplines for the unripe soul, are at best the best methods of the Ignorance. For they are offered to something other, higher and greater than ourselves; but in the supreme knowledge there can be no such thing, since there is either only one self or no self at all and therefore either no one to do the worship and offer the love and devotion or no one to receive it. Even thought-activity must disappear in the sole consciousness of identity or of nothingness and by its own quiescence bring about the quiescence of the whole nature. The absolute Identical alone must remain or else the eternal Nihil.
3:This pure Jnanayoga comes by the intellect, although it ends in the transcendence of the intellect and its workings. The thinker in us separates himself from all the rest of what we phenomenally are, rejects the heart, draws back from the life and the senses, separates from the body that he may arrive at his own exclusive fulfilment in that which is beyond even himself and his function. There is a truth that underlies, as there is an experience that seems to justify, this attitude. There is an Essence that is in its nature a quiescence, a supreme of Silence in the Being that is beyond its own development and mutations, immutable and therefore superior to all activities of which it is at most a Witness. And in the hierarchy of our psychological functions the Thought is in a way nearest to this Self, nearest at least to its aspect of the all-conscious knower who regards all activities but can stand back from them all. The heart, will and other powers in us are fundamentally active, turn naturally towards action, find through it their fulfilment, -although they also may automatically arrive at a certain quiescence by fullness of satisfaction in their activities or else by a reverse process of exhaustion through perpetual disappointment and dissatisfaction. The thought too is an active power, but is more capable of arriving at quiescence by its own conscious choice and will. The thought is more easily content with the illumined intellectual perception of this silent Witness Self that is higher than all our activities and, that immobile Spirit once seen, is ready, deeming its mission of truth-finding accomplished, to fall at rest arid become itself immobile. For in its most characteristic movement it is itself apt to be a disinterested witness, judge, observer of things more than an eager participant and passionate labourer in the work and can arrive very readily at a spiritual or philosophic calm and detached aloofness. And since men are mental beings, thought, if not truly their best and highest, is at least their most constant, normal and effective means for enlightening their ignorance. Armed with its functions of gathering and reflection, meditation, fixed contemplation, the absorbed dwelling of the mind on its object, sravana, manana, hididhyasana, it stands at our tops as an indispensable aid to our realisation of that which we pursue, and it is not surprising that it should claim to be the leader of the journey and the only available guide or at least the direct and innermost door of the temple.
4:In reality thought is only a scout and pioneer; it can guide but not comm and or effectuate. The leader of the journey, the captain of the march, the first and most ancient priest of our sacrifice is the Will. This Will is not the wish of the heart or the demand or preference of the mind to which we often give the name. It is that inmost, dominant and often veiled conscious force of our being and of all being, Tapas, shakti, Shraddha, that sovereignly determines our orientation and of which the intellect and the heart are more or less blind and automatic servants and instruments. The Self that is quiescent, at rest, vacant of things and happenings is a support and background to existence, a silent channel or a hypostasis of something Supreme: it is not itself the one entirely real existence, not itself the Supreme. The Eternal, the Supreme is the Lord and the all-originating Spirit. Superior to all activities and not bound by ally of them, it is the source, sanction, material, efficient power, master of all activities. All activities proceed from this supreme Self and are determined by it; all are its operations, processes of its own conscious force and not of something alien to Self, some power other than this Spirit. In these activities is expressed the conscious Will or Shakti of the Spirit moved to manifest its being in infinite ways, a Will or Power not ignorant but at one with its own self-knowledge and its knowledge of all that it is put out to express. And of this Power a secret spiritual will and soul-faith in us, the dominant hidden force of our nature, is the individual instrument, more nearly in communication with the Supreme, a surer guide and enlightener, could we once get at it and hold it, because profounder and more intimately near to the Identical and Absolute than the surface activities of our thought powers. To know that will in ourselves and in the universe and follow it to its divine finalities, whatever these may be, must surely be the highest way and truest culmination for knowledge as for works, for the seeker in life and for the seeker in Yoga.
2.01 - The Preparatory Renunciation, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
When the human soul draws back from the things of the world and tries to go into deeper things; when man, the spirit which has here somehow become concretised and materialised, understands that he is thereby going to be destroyed and. to be reduced almost into mere matter, and turns his face away from matter, then begins renunciation, then begins real spiritual growth. The Karma-Yogis renunciation is in the shape of giving up all the fruits of his actions; he is not attached to the results of his labours; he does not care for any reward here or hereafter. The Raja-Yogi knows that the whole of nature is intended for the soul to acquire experience, and that the result of all the experiences of the soul is for it to become aware of its eternal separateness from nature. The human soul has to understand and realise that it has been spirit, and not matter, through eternity; and that this conjunction of it with matter is and can be only for a time. The Raja-Yogi learns the lesson of renunciation through his own. experience of nature. The Jnana-Yogi has the harshest of all renunciations to go through, as he. has to realise from the very first that the whole of this solid-looking nature is all an illusion. He has to understand that all that is any kind of manifestation of power in nature, belongs to the soul, and not to nature. He has to know, from the very start, that all knowledge and all experience are in the soul, and not in nature; so he has at once and by the sheer force of rational conviction to tear himself away from all bondage to nature. He lets nature and all that belongs to her go, he lets them vanish and tries to stand alone!
Of all renunciations, the most natural, so to say, is that of the Bhakti-Yogi. Here, there is no violence, nothing to give up, nothing to tear off, as it were, from ourselves, nothing from which we have violently to separate ourselves; the Bhaktas renunciation is easy, smooth, flowing, and as natural as the things around us. We see the manifestation of this sort of renunciation, although more or less in the form of caricatures, every day around us. A man begins to love a woman; after a while he loves another, and the first woman he lets go. She drops out of his mind smoothly, gently, without his feeling the want of her at all. A woman loves .a man; she then begins to love another man, and the first one drops off from her mind quite naturally. A man loves his own city, then he begins to love his country; and the intense love for his little city drops off smoothly, naturally. Again, a man learns to love the whole world; his love for his country, his intense, fanatical patriotism drops off without hurting him, without any manifestation of violence. An uncultured man loves the pleasures of the senses intensely; as he becomes cultured, he begins to love intellectual pleasures, and his sense-enjoyments become less and less. No man can enjoy a meal with the same gusto or pleasure as a dog or a wolf; but those pleasures which a man gets from intellectual experiences and achievements, the dog can never enjoy. At first, pleasure, is in association with the lower senses; but as soon as an animal reaches a higher plane of existence, the lower kind of pleasures becomes less intense. In human society, the nearer the man is to the animal, the stronger is his pleasure in the senses; and the higher and the more cultured the man is, the greater is his pleasure in intellectual. and such other finer pursuits. So, when a man gets even higher than the plane of the intellect, higher than that of mere thought, when he gets to the plane of spirituality and of divine inspiration, he finds there a state of bliss, compared with which all the pleasures of the senses, or even of the intellect, are as nothing. When the moon shines brightly, all the stars become dim; and when the sun shines, the moon herself becomes dim. The renunciation necessary for the attainment of Bhakti is not obtained by killing anything, but just comes, in as naturally as in the presence of an increasingly stronger light, the less intense ones become dimmer and dimmer until they vanish away completely. So this love of the pleasures of the senses and of the intellect js all made dim and thrown aside and cast into the shade by the love of God Himself. That love of God grows and assumes a form which, is called Para-Bhakti, or supreme devotion. Forms vanish, rituals flyaway, books are superseded, images, temples, churches, religions and sects, countries and nationalitiesall these little limitations, and bondages fall off by their own nature from him who knows this love of God. Nothing remains to bind him or fetter his freedom. A ship, all of a sudden, comes near a .magnetic rock; and its iron bolts and bars are all attracted and drawn out, and the planks get loosened and freely float on the water. Divine grace thus loosens the binding bolts and bars of the soul, and it becomes free. So in this renunciation, auxiliary to devotion, there is no harshness, no dryness, no struggle, nor repression or suppression. The Bhakta has not to suppress any single one of his emotions, he only strives to intensify them and direct them to God.
2.01 - The Two Natures, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Nature. There is then nothing else here left to be known, because all is that Divine Existence. It is only because our view here is not thus integral, because it rests on the dividing mind and reason and the separative idea of the ego, that our mental perception of things is an ignorance. We have to get away from this mental and egoistic view to the true unifying knowledge, and that has two aspects, the essential, Jnana, and the comprehensive, vi Jnana, the direct spiritual awareness of the supreme Being and the right intimate knowledge of the principles of his existence, Prakriti,
Purusha and the rest, by which all that is can be known in its divine origin and in the supreme truth of its nature. That integral knowledge, says the Gita, is a rare and difficult thing; "among thousands of men one here and there strives after perfection, and of those who strive and attain to perfection one here and there knows me in all the principles of my existence, tattvatah.."
2.01 - The Yoga and Its Objects, #Essays In Philosophy And Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
God by the full light of self-knowledge, Jnanadpena bhasvata, dispels all further chance of self-delusion.
The danger of tamogun.a is twofold, first, when the Purusha thinks, identifying himself with the tamas in him, "I am weak, sinful, miserable, ignorant, good-for-nothing, inferior to this man and inferior to that man, adhama, what will God do through me?" - as if God were limited by the temporary
2.02 - The Ishavasyopanishad with a commentary in English, #Isha Upanishad, #unset, #Zen
essence of true Jnana. For this reason perfect love, by which I
do not mean the mere sensual impulse of man towards woman,
--
reaches Brahman by the way of Jnana, not only soars to Him
on the wings of Bhakti, but becomes He through God-devoted
--
This is true, but he also says that Jnana is superior to all
things and there is nothing equal to it.
--
Nor is there; for Jnana is indispensable. Jnana is first &
greatest; works without Jnana will not save a man but only
plunge him deeper and deeper into bondage. The works of which
--
There was a reason for what Shankara said and it was necessary in his age that Jnana should be exalted at the expense of
works; for the great living force with which he had to struggle,
--
mouths of Shankara and other Jnanamargis. It may mean that
Karma in the sense of Vedic rites & ceremonies are not the way
--
Mukti which lies through Jnana. But if you say that works in
the sense of kt&y km are not a path to Mukti, then I demur;
for I say that Karma is not different from Jnana, but is Jnana, is
the necessary fulfilment and completion of Jnana; that Bhakti,
Karma and Jnana are not three but one and go inseparably
together. Therefore Srikrishna says that Sankhya ( Jnanayog) and
--
of Bhagavan himself have combined Jnana and En;kAm km as
one single path to mukti.
--
Eternal? Without some Jnana, some knowledge & feeling of the
Spirit within you, your work cannot be great; and the deeper
your Jnana the greater your work. All the great creators have
been men who felt powerfully God within them, whether they
--
the Titanic type like Napoleon; only the Asura, his Jnana being
limited and muddied, is always confusing the Eternal with the
--
There are two ways of attaining to Jnana, to the Vision. One
is the way of Insight, the other the way of World-Sight. There
--
even the learning of the Universities, but Jnana, the perception
& realisation of truth, is the eternal enemy and slayer of sin;
--
swiftly to this condition is due to the obstinate refusal of Jnana,
Religion, true enlightenment, maimed & wounded tho' it be, to
2.03 - Karmayogin A Commentary on the Isha Upanishad, #Isha Upanishad, #unset, #Zen
becoming one with Jnana and Bhakti. Karma, Bhakti, Jnana,
- Action, Love, Knowledge, are the three paths which lead out
--
beginning of Jnana, the beginning of Bhakti, the beginning of
Karma. so_h\. He is the true & only I.
--
Consciousness, Bliss with whom the Jnanayogin seeks to unite
himself in Samadhi; it is the Eternal in His aspect as Ruler of the
--
to His worshippers. The Jnanayogin loves to worship Him as
Shiva, the Master of utter Samadhi; to the Bhakta He appears
--
to immortality; this is the gate of salvation. The Jnanamargin
envisages only one reality, the Brahman, and by turning away
--
after the days of Buddha, when the power of the Jnanamarga
was the strongest on the Hindu consciousness. The language of
--
the Karmayogin also Jnana is necessary and solitude is the nurse
of knowledge. You may sit by the Ganges or the Narmada near
--
stress on Jnana & Bhakti, he will by no means banish Karma
nor relegate it to an inferior place; the most significant portion
--
of its nature & principles. Jnana, of course, is indispensable;
Jnana is first & best. Works without knowledge will not save a
--
you have got this Jnana that all is the One Brahman and your
actions are but the dramatic illusions unrolled by Prakriti for
--
infuse his Jnana with Bhakti, yet eventually it is the way of Jnana
he must take and no other. For that is his swabhava or nature, his
--
him, he will be drawn into Jnana; if the Kshatriya, into works; if
the Sudra or Vaisya, the child or woman, to Bhakti. If he is born
--
right that Jnana should be exalted at the expense of works. The
great living force with which he had to deal, was not the heresies
--
bhakti and Jnana, which alone bring us to God. As soon as either
of these takes him by the hand, karma must leave him, just as
--
or that Jnana leads to adoration of the Eternal and devotion
of all one does to him, therefore bhakti and works without
desire alone bring the soul direct to God and Jnana is only a
preliminary means. Or if it is said that works must cease at a
certain stage while Bhakti and Jnana do not cease, this too is
inconsistent with experience. For Janaka and others did works
--
Bhakti or Jnana.
Shankara indeed says that when we have got Jnana, we
necessarily cease to do works, for Jnana makes us one with the
Eternal who is actionless aktA. Yet Janaka knew the Eternal
2.03 - On Medicine, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Disciple: The Jain books speak of Trikal Jnana, practical omniscience. If one has this power one can know how a thing happened. One can know how the accident happened to you.
Sri Aurobindo: It is a question of changing the Subconscient, for it holds everything in itself. All diseases, all habits, in fact everything we call 'Nature' resides in it. It is the basis of all these things.
2.03 - The Naturalness of Bhakti-Yoga and its Central Secret, #Bhakti-Yoga, #Swami Vivekananda, #Hinduism
Those who with constant attention always worship You, and those who worship the Undifferentiated, the Absoluteof these who are the greater Yogis?Arjuna asked of Shri Krishna. The answer was: Those who concentrating their minds on Me worship Me with eternal constancy, and are endowed with the highest faiththey are My best worshippers, they are the greatest Yogis. Those that worship the Absolute, the Indescribable, the Undifferentiated, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the All-comprehending, the Immovable, and the Eternal, by controlling the play of their organs and having the conviction of sameness in regard to all things, they also, being engaged in doing good to all beings, come to Me alone. But to those whose minds have been devoted to the unmanifested Absolute, the difficulty of the struggle along the way is much greater, for it is indeed with great difficulty that the path of the unmanifested Absolute is trodden by any embodied being. Those who, having offered up all their work unto Me, with entire reliance on Me, meditate on Me and worship Me without any attachment to anything else them, I soon lift up from the ocean of ever-recurring births and deaths, as their mind is wholly attached to Me. JnanaYoga and Bhakti-Yoga are both referred to here. Both may be said to have been defined in the above passage. JnanaYoga is grand; it is high philosophy; and almost every human being thinks, curiously enough, that he can surely do every thing required of him by philosophy; but it is really very difficult to live truly the life of philosophy. We are often apt to run into great dangers in trying to guide our life by philosophy. This world may be said to be divided between persons of demoniacal nature who think the care-taking of the body to be the be-all and the end-all of existence, and persons of godly nature who realise that the body is simply a means to an end, an instrument intended for the culture of the soul. The devil can and indeed does quote the scriptures for his own purpose ; and thus the way of knowle.dge appears to offer justification to. what the bad man does. as much as it offers inducements to what the good man does.
This is the great danger in Jnana-Yoga. But Bhakti-Yoga is natural, sweet, and gentle; the Bhakta does not take such high flights as the Jnana-Yogi, and, iherefore, he is. not apt to have such big falls. Until the bondages of the soul pass away, it cannot of course be free, whatever may be the nature of the path that the religious man takes. Here is a passage showing how, in the case of one of the blessed Gopis, the soul-binding chains of both merit and demerit were broken. The intense pleasure in meditating on God took away the binding effects of her good deeds. Then her intense misery of soul in not attaining unto Him washed off all her sinful propensities; and then she became free. (Vishnu-Purna).
In Bhakti-Yoga the central secret is, therefore, to know that the various passions, and feelings, and emotions in the human heart are not wrong in themselves; only they have to be carefully controlled and given a higher and higher direction, until they attain the very highest condition of excellence.
2.04 - The Secret of Secrets, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
One has to grow into it, one has to become it, - that is the only way to verify it. It is only by an exceeding of the lower self that one can become the real divine self and live the truth of our spiritual existence. All the apparent truths one can oppose to it are appearances of the lower Nature. The release from the evil and the defect of the lower Nature, asubham, can only come by accepting a higher knowledge in which all this apparent evil becomes convinced of ultimate unreality, is shown to be a creation of our darkness. But to grow thus into the freedom of the divine Nature one must accept and believe in the Godhead secret within our present limited nature. For the reason why the practice of this Yoga becomes possible and easy is that in doing it we give up the whole working of all that we naturally are into the hands of that inner divine Purusha. The Godhead works out the divine birth in us progressively, simply, infallibly, by taking up our being into his and by filling it with his own knowledge and power, Jnanadpena bhasvata; he lays hands on our obscure ignorant nature and transforms it into his own light and wideness. What with entire faith and without egoism we believe in and impelled by him will to be, the God within will surely accomplish. But the egoistic mind and life we now and apparently are, must first surrender itself for transmutation into the hands of that inmost secret Divinity within us.
2.06 - WITH VARIOUS DEVOTEES, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"And about the chatak bird. He will not drink anything but rain-water. And about Jnanayoga and bhaktiyoga."
MASTER: "What did I say about them?"
2.06 - Works Devotion and Knowledge, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
of knowledge they come to the adoration of the Purushottama, Jnana-yajnena yajanto mam upasate. This is a comprehension filled with Bhakti, because it is integral in its instruments, integral in its objective. It is not a pursuit of the Supreme merely as an abstract unity or an indeterminable Absolute. It is a heartfelt seeking and seizing of the Supreme and the Universal, a pursuit of the Infinite in his infinity and of the Infinite in all that is finite, a vision and embracing of the One in his oneness and of the One in all his several principles, his innumerable visages, forces, forms, here, there, everywhere, timelessly and in time, multiply, multitudinously, in endless aspects of his Godhead, in beings without number, all his million universal faces fronting us in the world and its creatures, ekatvena pr.thaktvena bahudha visvatomukham. This knowledge becomes easily an adoration, a large devotion, a vast self-giving, an integral self-offering because it is the knowledge of a Spirit, the contact of a Being, the embrace of a supreme and universal Soul which claims all that we are even as it lavishes on us when we approach it all the treasures of its endless delight of existence.3
The way of works too turns into an adoration and a devotion of self-giving because it is an entire sacrifice of all our will and its activities to the one Purushottama. The outward Vedic rite is a powerful symbol, effective for a slighter though still a heavenward purpose; but the real sacrifice is that inner oblation in which the Divine All becomes himself the ritual action, the sacrifice and every single circumstance of the sacrifice. All the working and forms of that inner rite are the self-ordinance and self-expression of his power in us mounting by our aspiration towards the source of its energies. The Divine Inhabitant becomes himself the flame and the offering, because the flame is the Godward will and that will is God himself within us. And the offering too is form and force of the constituent Godhead in our nature and being; all that has been received from him is given up to the service and the worship of its own Reality,
2.07 - The Release from Subjection to the Body, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This being said, we must add that in the movement of the path of knowledge perfection of the mind and body are no consideration at all or only secondary considerations. The one thing necessary is to rise out of Nature to the Self by either the most swift or the most thorough and effective method possible; and the method we are describing, though not the swiftest, is the most thorough-going in its effectivity. And here there arises the question of physical action or inaction. It is ordinarily considered that the Yogin should draw away from action as much as possible and especially that too much action is a hindrance because it draws off the energies outward. To a certain extent this is true; and we must note farther that when the mental Purusha takes up the attitude of mere witness and observer, a tendency to silence, solitude, physical calm and bodily inaction grows upon the being. So long as this is not associated with inertia, incapacity or unwillingness to act, in a word, with the growth of the tamasic quality, all this is to the good. The power to do nothing, which is quite different from indolence, incapacity or aversion to action and attachment to inaction, is a great power and a great mastery; the power to rest absolutely from action is as necessary for the Jnanayogin as the power to cease absolutely from thought, as the power to remain indefinitely in sheer solitude and silence and as the power of immovable calm. Whoever is not willing to embrace these states is not yet fit for the path that leads towards the highest knowledge; whoever is unable to draw towards them, is as yet unfit for its acquisition.
At the same time it must be added that the power is enough; the abstention from all physical action is not indispensable, the aversion to action mental or corporeal is not desirable. The seeker of the integral state of knowledge must be free from attachment to action and equally free from attachment to inaction. Especially must any tendency to mere inertia of mind or vitality or body be surmounted, and if that habit is found growing on the nature, the will of the Purusha must be used to dismiss it. Eventually, a state arrives when the life and the body perform as mere instruments the will of the Purusha in the mind without any strain or attachment, without their putting themselves into the action with that inferior, eager and often feverish energy which is the nature of their ordinary working; they come to work as forces of Nature work without the fret and toil and reaction characteristic of life in, the body when it is not yet master of the physical. When we attain to this perfection, then action and inaction become immaterial, since neither interferes with the freedom of the soul or draws it away from its urge towards the Self or its poise in the Self. But this state of perfection arrives later in the Yoga and till then the law of moderation laid down by the Gita is the best for us; too much mental or physical action then is not good since excess draws away too much energy and reacts unfavourably upon the spiritual condition; too little also is not good since defect leads to a habit of inaction and even to an incapacity which has afterwards to be surmounted with difficulty. Still, periods of absolute calm, solitude and cessation from works are highly desirable and should be secured as often as possible for that recession of the soul into itself which is indispensable to knowledge.
2.08 - ALICE IN WONDERLAND, #God Exists, #Swami Sivananda Saraswati, #Hinduism
Knowledge or Jnana is not equal to Bhakti, says Ramanuja, the great propounder of the doctrine and philosophy called Visishtadvaita. And Acharya Sankara says that Jnana is superior to Bhakti. It may appear that they are quarrelling. They have some emphasis laid on different aspects of the same question. Why does Bhagavan Sri Krishna say that nothing can make you fit to see the vision of God, to behold Him, except Bhakti? It would seem that He speaks like Ramanuja and not like Sankara. But they are only speaking in different languages the same thing. There is no contradiction between them. Knowing, seeing and entering into signifies the process of contacting God by degrees. There is, in the parlance of Vedanta, two types of knowledgeParoksha Jnana and Aporkasha Jnana. Paroksha Jnana is direct knowledge. God exists is indirect knowledge. Now, we do not feel that we are inseparable from Gods being. That knowledge has not come to us. So we have not entered such a height of religious consciousness as to be convinced that we are inseparable from Gods existence. But we are convinced enough to feel that God exists.
At least the people seated here are perhaps convinced that God must be. He is.
Circumstances compel us to feel confidently that God must be, that God is. But we have not gone to such an extent to feel that we are inseparable from Him. That is a little higher stage. We have known in an indirect way. Jnana has come, but darshana or vision of God has not come. We have not seen Virat in front of us, notwithstanding the fact that we are seeing Virat. This whole cosmos is that, but somehow we have segregated our personality from Virat consciousness. A cell in the body is seeing the body as if it is outside it.
The way in which we are seeing the universe now is something like the possibility of a particular organism, called the cell in the body, separating itself in motionnot really of coursefrom the bodily organism and looking at the body. What would be the condition or the experience of a cell in our own body notionally isolating itself from the organism to which it belongs and considering the body as a world outside it? You can imagine the stupidity of it. This is exactly what we are doing. We think that the world is outside us. We can fly into space, drive in a motor car on a road, because a peculiar notion has become a reality in our mind, that the world is outside us though we are a part of the world. So, the idea that the Virat is an of perception, that the world is external to us, is notional and not realistic. All our difficulties are notional in the end. They have no reality or substance in themselves. We are bound by our minds, our thoughts, our feelings and our willings. So when Acharya Sankara says that Jnana is superior and Ramanuja says that Bhakti is superior, they are saying the same thing.
By Bhakti, Ramanuja means that love of God which supersedes intellectual activity or a mere knowing that God exists. And when Sankara says that Jnana or knowledge is superior, he means knowledge which is identical with being and which is same as Para Bhakti or the love of God where the soul is in communion with the Being of God.
The highest devotion is the same as the highest knowledge. Jnana and Para Bhakti are the same. The Gauna Bhakti or secondary love of God, which is more ritualistic and more formal, is inferior. But Ramanujas Bhakti is the surging of the soul and the melting of personality in God-experience. It is to become mad with God-love as we hear in the case of Spinoza, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Mirabai and Tukaram. Their Bhakti was not simply love of God as that of churchmen or templemen. It is a kind of ecstasy in which the personality has lost itself in God-love and God-being. That is Jnana and that is Bhakti. So, there is no difference between Ramanuja and Sankara in the ultimate reaches. And Bhagavan Sri Krishnas dictum is also of a similar character.
So now, when we are discussing the final point in our studies, we are gradually losing attachments to his obsessional notion that we are this little Mr. and Mrs. Body and that we are located in a part of the physical world called India or America, Japan or Russia. And we are slowly trying to become citizens of a larger dimension which is wider than this earth, perhaps larger than even the solar system and this physical cosmos.
2.08 - AT THE STAR THEATRE (II), #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"What is the meaning of Jnanayoga? It is the path by which a man can realize the true nature of his own Self; it is the awareness that Brahman alone is his true nature.
Prahlada sometimes was aware of his identity with Brahman. And sometimes he would see that God was one and he another; at such times he would remain in the mood of bhakti.
2.1.02 - Combining Work, Meditation and Bhakti, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
In spite of your disclaimer you practically come to the conclusion that all my nonsense about integral Yoga and karma being as much a way to realisation as Jnana and bhakti is either a gleaming chimaera or practicable only by Avatars or else a sheer laborious superfluitysince one can bump straight into the Divine through the open door of Bhakti or sweep majestically in on him by the easy high road of meditation; so why this scramble through the jungle of karma by which nobody ever reached anywhere? The old Yogas are true, are they not? Then why a new-fangled, more difficult Yoga with unheard talk about the supramental and God knows what else? There can be no answer to that; for I can only answer by a repetition of the statement of my own knowledge and experience that is what I have done in todays answer to Xand that amounts only to a perverse obstinacy in riding my gleaming and dazzling chimaera and forcing my nuisance of a superfluity on a world weary of itself and anxious to get a short easy cut to the Divine. Unfortunately, I dont believe in short cutsat any rate none ever led me where I wanted to go. However, let it rest there.
I have never disputed the truth of the old Yogas I have myself had the experience of Vaishnava Bhakti and of Nirvana in the Brahman; I recognise their truth in their own field and for their own purpose the truth of their experience so far as it goesthough I am in no way bound to accept the truth of the mental philosophies founded on the experience. I similarly find that my Yoga is true in its own fielda larger field, as I think and for its own purpose. The purpose of the old is to get away from life to the Divineso, obviously, let us drop karma. The purpose of the new is to reach the Divine and bring the fullness of what is gained into life for that, Yoga by works is indispensable. It seems to me that there is no mystery about that or anything to perplex anybody it is rational and inevitable. Only you say that the thing is impossible; but that is what is said about everything before it is done.
2.10 - THE MASTER AND NARENDRA, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
M. (smiling): "He's practising Jnanayoga!"
MASTER: "No, it's not that. The other day he promised to send me in his carriage to the theatre to see a play about the life of Prahlada; but he didn't send the carriage. Perhaps that is why he doesn't come."
2.18 - January 1939, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
Realisation is something very precious and one should guard it and live in it like in a fortress. One can go on adding whatever knowledge one wants or gets but always guarding ones realisation. For instance, it is not at all necessary to give up Bhakti to get Jnana.
I found it difficult to go through his commentary on the Gita. It is more intellectual, it lacks the life and the heart. Otherwise, it was always a pleasure to read his writings. He seems to have lost the intensity of mental vision, the seeing mind which he had, but I thought that it was due to his turning towards Knowledge.
2.21 - Towards the Supreme Secret, #Essays On The Gita, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
A completest inner quietism once admitted as our necessary means towards living in the pure impersonal self, the question how practically it brings about that result is the next issue that arises. "How, having attained this perfection, one thus attains to the Brahman, hear from me, O son of Kunti, - that which is the supreme concentrated direction of the knowledge." The knowledge meant here is the Yoga of the Sankhyas, - the Yoga of pure knowledge accepted by the Gita, Jnana-yogena sankhyanam, so far as it is one with its own Yoga which includes also the way of works of the Yogins, karma-yogena yoginam. But all mention of works is kept back for the moment. For by Brahman here is meant at first the silent, the impersonal, the immutable. The Brahman indeed is both for the Upanishads and the Gita all that is and lives and moves; it is not solely an impersonal Infinite or an unthinkable and incommunicable Absolute, acintyam avyavaharyam. All this is Brahman, says the Upanishad; all this is Vasudeva, says the Gita, - the supreme Brahman is all that moves or is stable and his hands and feet and eyes and heads and faces are on every side of us. But still there are two aspects of this All, - his immutable eternal self that supports existence and his self of active power that moves abroad in the world movement. It is only when we lose our limited ego personality in the impersonality of the self that we arrive at the calm and free oneness by which we can possess a true unity with the universal power of the Divine in his world movement. Impersonality is a denial of limitation and division, and the cult of impersonality is a natural condition of true being, an indispensable preliminary of true knowledge and therefore a first requisite of true action. It is very clear that we cannot become one self with all or one with the universal Spirit and his vast self-knowledge, his complex will and his widespread world-purpose by insisting on our limited personality of ego; for that divides us from others and it makes us bound and self-centred in our view and in our will to action.
Imprisoned in personality we can only get at a limited union by sympathy or by some relative accommodation of ourselves to the view-point and feeling and will of others. To be one with all and with the Divine and his will in the cosmos we must become at first impersonal and free from our ego and its claims and from the ego's way of seeing ourselves and the world and others.
2.22 - THE MASTER AT COSSIPORE, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
"Even after attaining Jnana, the jnani can live in the world, retaining vidyamaya, that is to say, bhakti, compassion, renunciation, and such virtues. This serves him two purposes: first, the teaching of men, and second, the enjoyment of divine bliss. If a jnani remains silent, merged in samadhi, then men's hearts will not be illumined. Therefore Sankaracharya kept the 'ego of Knowledge'. And further, a jnani lives as a devotee, in the company of bhaktas, in order to enjoy and drink deep of the Bliss of God.
"The 'ego of Knowledge' and the 'ego of Devotion' can do no harm; it is the 'wicked I' that is harmful. After realizing God a man becomes like a child. There is no harm in the 'ego of a child'. It is like the reflection of a face in a mirror: the reflection cannot call names. Or it is like a burnt rope, which appears to be a rope but disappears at the slightest puff. The ego that has been burnt in the fire of Knowledge cannot injure anybody. It is an ego only in name.
2.23 - THE MASTER AND BUDDHA, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
MASTER (smiling): "Yes, one proclaims everything to be maya, and still one goes to court! (To Rakhal) Mukherji of Janai, too, talked big. But at last he came to his senses. If I were well I should have talked a little more with Dr. Sreenath. Can one obtain Jnana just by talking about it?"
HALDAR: "You are right, sir. I have seen enough of Jnana. Now all I need in order to live in the world is a little bhakti. The other day I came to you with a problem on my mind, and you solved it."
MASTER (eagerly): "What was it?"
2.25 - AFTER THE PASSING AWAY, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
M: "Yes, he used to say that vi Jnana is the stage after Jnana. It is like going up and down the stairs after reaching the roof."
NARENDRA: "Kali has a craving for knowledge. I scold him for that. Is knowledge so easy to get? Let his bhakti first mature. The Master told Tarak at Dakshineswar that emotion and bhakti are by no means the last word."
--
NARENDRA: "What will you achieve by wandering about? Can one ever attain Jnana, that you are talking about it so much?"
A DEVOTEE: "Then why have you renounced the world?"
--
PRASANNA: "I have neither Jnana nor prema. What have I in the world for a support?"
TARAK: "It is no doubt difficult to attain Jnana; but how can you say you have no prema?"
PRASANNA: "I have not yet wept for God. How can I say I have prema? What have I realized in all these days?"
TARAK: "But you have seen the Master. And why do you say that you have no Jnana?"
PRASANNA: "What sort of Jnana are you talking about? Jnana means Knowledge. Knowledge of what? Certainly of God. But I am not even sure of the existence of God."
TARAK: "Yes, that's true. According to the jnani, there is no God."
2.25 - List of Topics in Each Talk, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
| 25-03-43 | Jnanananda on Raja Yoga and Super-ego |
| 27-03-43 | Jnanananda's Super-ego, paths of Yoga, plagiarism |
| 06-04-43 | Hopkins' Collected Poems |
--
| 19-01-39 | Problems of society, communes; propaganda, morality; psychic and evolution; saints and yogis; boons of Krishna and Shiva; Bhakti, Jnana, Buddhism |
| 20-01-39 | European politics and war. Western visitors and Ashramites |
2.4.02 - Bhakti, Devotion, Worship, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
It [an inner state of dryness] is because it is the analysing mind that is active that always brings a certain dryness; the higher mind or the intuition bring a much more spontaneous and complete knowledge the beginning of the real Jnana without this effect. The bhakti which you feel is psychic, but with a strong vital tinge; and it is the mind and the vital between them that bring in the opposition between the bhakti and the Jnana. The vital concerned only with emotion finds the mental knowledge dry and without rasa, the mind finds the bhakti to be a blind emotion fully interesting only when its character has been analysed and understood. There is no such opposition when the psychic and the higher plane knowledge act together predominantly the psychic welcomes knowledge that supports its emotion, the higher thought consciousness rejoices in the bhakti.
***
2 - Other Hymns to Agni, #Hymns to the Mystic Fire, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
p;zd;ho Eh E"tyo Jnana\ Et tFcFdhtAdrAtF, 1
1. O Fire, in our coming to thee become right-minded accomplishing our aim as a friend to a friend, as father and mother
--
dv2vo yo Jnanamsd^ vfF 3
3. The ten who throw the Light have brought to birth all
--
vsA\ rAjAn\ vsEt\ JnanamrAtyo En dD;m(y
q; .
--
dv\ rADo Jnanam^ 2
2. He yokes the two shining steeds that bring all enjoyments,
--
vs; hotA mdo Jnanam^ .
mDon pA/A TmAy-m
--
v-y m>A E2yA (vE`nmEtET\ Jnanam^ 5
5. The priest of the call of the pilgrim-rite with his manyhued chariot, in the brilliant ray of intuition of sacrifice on
--
Eq ho/m;t po/\ Jnana\ mDAtAEs dEvZodA -tAvA .
-vAhA vy\ kZvAmA hvF\Eq
3.04 - The Way of Devotion, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Bhakti in itself is as wide as the heart-yearning of the soul for the Divine and as simple and straightforward as love and desire going straight towards their object. It cannot therefore be fixed down to any systematic method, cannot found itself on a psychological science like the Rajayoga, or a psycho-physical like the Hathayoga, or start from a definite intellectual process like the ordinary method of the Jnanayoga. It may employ various means or supports, and man, having in him a tendency towards order, process and system, may try to methodise his resort to these auxiliaries: but to give an account of their variations one would have to review almost all man's numberless religions upon their side of inner approach to the Deity. Really, however, the more intimate yoga of Bhakti resolves itself simply into these four movements, the desire of the Soul when it turns towards God and the straining of its emotion towards him, the pain of love and the divine return of love, the delight of love possessed and the play of that delight, and the eternal enjoyment of the divine Lover which is the heart of celestial bliss. These are things that are at once too simple and too profound for methodising or for analysis. One can at best only say, here are these four successive elements, steps, if we may so call them, of the siddhi, and here are, largely, some of the means which it uses, and here again are some of the aspects and experiences of the sadhana of devotion. We need only trace broadly the general line they follow before we turn to consider how the way of devotion enters into a synthetic and integral Yoga, what place it takes there and how its principle affects the other principles of divine living.
All Yoga is a turning of the human mind and the human soul, not yet divine in realisation, but feeling the divine impulse and attraction in it, towards that by which it finds its greater being. Emotionally, the first form which this turning takes must be that of adoration. In ordinary religion this adoration wears the form of external worship and that again develops a most external form of ceremonial worship. This element is ordinarily necessary because the mass of men live in their physical minds, cannot realise anything except by the force of a physical symbol and cannot feel that they are living anything except by the force of a physical action. We might apply here the Tantric gradation of sadhana, which makes the way of the pasu, the herd, the animal or physical being, the lowest stage of its discipline, and say that the purely or predominantly ceremonial adoration is the first step of this lowest part of the way. It is evident that even real religion,--and Yoga is something more than religion,--only begins when this quite outward worship corresponds to something really felt within the mind, some genuine submission, awe or spiritual aspiration, to which it becomes an aid, an outward expression and also a sort of periodical or constant reminder helping to draw back the mind to it from the preoccupations of ordinary life. But so long as it is only an idea of the Godhead to which one renders reverence or homage, we have not yet got to the beginning of Yoga. The aim of Yoga being union, its beginning must always be a seeking after the Divine, a longing after some kind of touch, closeness or possession. When this comes on us, the adoration becomes always primarily an inner worship; we begin to make ourselves a temple of the Divine, our thoughts and feelings a constant prayer of aspiration and seeking, our whole life an external service and worship. It is as this change, this new soul-tendency grows, that the religion of the devotee becomes a Yoga, a growing contact and union. It does not follow that the outward worship will necessarily be dispensed with, but it will increasingly become only a physical expression or outflowing of the inner devotion and adoration, the wave of the soul throwing itself out in speech and symbolic act.
32.09 - On Karmayoga (A Letter), #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
In our spiritual discipline Karmayoga is the field of manifestation. By means of Jnanayoga you will build there the edifice of your higher life. The aim of sadhana is to establish the divine qualities in oneself and transform oneself. And for that one has first to change one's thought, mind and feeling. And thought is changed mainly by thought, by meditation, by will and Tapasya. The impact of active life may be of help in changing thought and feeling, but that would be only a help. Try to turn your eyes on your own life and activities. View the outside world with your inner thought and feeling. Try to observe what thought and feeling, what inner status gives rise to your work and governs your life. Is your work to be the effect of only your desires, your emotions and of your nervous excitements? If not, then see from your inner poise and feel from behind everybody and everything what divine urge, what inner divine impulse is trying to emerge. Get to know and nurse it into being. Remove all waste matter from all sides and be guided by the fulness of its light and force. To be at work, whatever its nature, and to remain self-poised in the light and force of knowledge - this is true Karmayoga. When you acquire this, at least a bit of it, then only there will come to light in the proper way what God wants to create with your collaboration.
***
3.2.09 - The Teachings of Some Modern Indian Yogis, #Letters On Yoga II, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The methods described in the account [of Ramana Maharshis technique of self-realisation] are the well-established methods of Jnanayoga(1) one-pointed concentration followed by thought-suspension, (2) the method of distinguishing or finding out the true self by separating it from mind, life, body (this I have seen described by him [Brunton] more at length in another book) and coming to the pure I behind; this also can disappear into the Impersonal Self. The usual result is a merging in the Atman or Brahmanwhich is what one would suppose is meant by the Overself, for it is that which is the real Overself. This Brahman or Atman is everywhere, all is in it, it is in all, but it is in all not as an individual being in each but is the same in allas the Ether is in all. When the merging into the Overself is complete, there is no ego, no distinguishable I, or any formed separative person or personality. All is ekkraan indivisible and undistinguishable Oneness either free from all formations or carrying all formations in it without being affected for one can realise it in either way. There is a realisation in which all beings are moving in the one Self and this Self is there stable in all beings; there is another more complete and thoroughgoing in which not only is it so but all are vividly realised as the Self, the Brahman, the Divine. In the former, it is possible to dismiss all beings as creations of Maya, leaving the one Self alone as truein the other it is easier to regard them as real manifestations of the Self, not as illusions. But one can also regard all beings as souls, independent realities in an eternal Nature dependent upon the One Divine. These are the characteristic realisations of the Overself familiar to the Vedanta. But on the other hand you say that this Overself is realised by the Maharshi as lodged in the heart-centre, and it is described by Brunton as something concealed which when it manifests appears as the real Thinker, source of all action, but now guiding thought and action in the Truth. Now the first description applies to the Purusha in the heart, described by the Gita as the Ishwara situated in the heart and by the Upanishads as the Purusha Antaratma; the second could apply also to the mental Purusha, manomaya praarra net of the Upanishads, the mental Being or Purusha who leads the life and the body. So your question is one which on the data I cannot easily answer. His Overself may be a combination of all these experiences, without any distinction being made or thought necessary between the various aspects. There are a thousand ways of approaching and realising the Divine and each way has its own experiences which have their own truth and stand really on a basis, one in essence but complex in aspects, common to all, but not expressed in the same way by all. There is not much use in discussing these variations; the important thing is to follow ones own way well and thoroughly. In this Yoga, one can realise the psychic being as a portion of the Divine seated in the heart with the Divine supporting it therethis psychic being takes charge of the sadhana and turns the whole being to the Truth and the Divine, with results in the mind, the vital, the physical consciousness which I need not go into here,that is a first transformation. We realise it next as the one Self, Brahman, Divine, first above the body, life, mind and not only within the heart supporting themabove and free and unattached as the static Self but also extended in wideness through the world as the silent Self in all and dynamic too as the active Divine Being and Power, Ishwara-Shakti, containing the world and pervading it as well as transcending it, manifesting all cosmic aspects. But, what is most important for us, is that it manifests as a transcending Light, Knowledge, Power, Purity, Peace, Ananda of which we become aware above and which descends into the being and progressively replaces the ordinary consciousness by its own movements that is the second transformation. We realise also the consciousness itself as moving upward, ascending through many planes physical, vital, mental, overmental to the supramental and Ananda planes. This is nothing new; it is stated in the Taittiriya Upanishad that there are five Purushas, the physical, the vital, the mental, the Truth Purusha (supramental) and the Bliss Purusha; it says that one has to draw the physical self up into the vital, the vital into the mental, the mental into the Truth Self, the Truth Self into the Bliss Self and so attain perfection. But in this Yoga we become aware not only of this taking up but of a pouring down of the powers of the higher Self, so that there comes in the possibility of a descent of the Supramental Self and nature to dominate and change our present nature and turn it from nature of Ignorance into nature of Truth-Knowledge (and through the supramental into nature of Ananda)this is the third or supramental transformation. It does not always go in this order, for with many the spiritual descent begins first in an imperfect way before the psychic is in front and in charge, but the psychic development has to be attained before a perfect and unhampered spiritual descent can take place, and the last or supramental change is impossible so long as the two first have not become full and complete. Thats the whole matter, put as briefly as possible.
***
36.08 - A Commentary on the First Six Suktas of Rigveda, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 08, #unset, #Zen
Atmasamyamayogagnau juhvati Jnanadipite.4
"And others offer all the actions of the sense and all the actions of the vital force into the fire of Yoga of self-control kindled by knowledge."
3 - Commentaries and Annotated Translations, #Hymns to the Mystic Fire, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
derived light of a higher knowledge; and direct Jnanam, satyam
or sattwam which is itself that light of higher knowledge. All
--
for the Jnanam breaks down and is replaced by worldly, practical
reason, the viryam breaks down and is replaced by lazy mechanical appliances for getting things done lifelessly with the least
--
very action of Agni, it brings viryam, it brings Jnanam, it brings
Ananda, it brings mukti. Hotaram means therefore the warrior,
--
guna, vritti or Jnanam to be obtained, it inevitably proceeds to
get actuality and to increase in substance and power from day
--
that person, not one of the Jnana\, but the Deva himself, eternal
and supreme.
--
aEB ; Jnanam^
In this world one can direct one's works by the self & with largeness towards thee shining in darkness & by light all man's days;
--
upv?tA Jnana\, the power in the heart that works, }Ed-pf\ 5t;\,
the impeller of action and movement, the divine guide of man
--
into Knowledge, kriyashakti into Jnanashakti? We can see dimly
this transmutation in our ordinary psychological experience;
4.03 - The Psychology of Self-Perfection, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This is the nature of spirit and its instruments. But to understand its operations and to get at a knowledge which will give to us a power of leverage in uplifting them out of the established groove in which our life goes spinning, we have to perceive that the Spirit has based all its workings upon two twin aspects of its being. Soul and Nature, Purusha and prakriti. We have to treat them as different and diverse in power, -- for in practice of consciousness this difference is valid, -- although they are only two sides of the same reality, pole and pole of the one conscious being. Purusha or soul is spirit cognisant of the workings of its nature, supporting them by its being, enjoying or rejecting enjoyment of them in its delight of being. Nature is power of the spirit, and she is too working and process of its power formulating name and form of being, developing action of consciousness and knowledge, throwing itself up in will and impulsion, force and energy, fulfilling itself in enjoyment. Nature is prakriti, Maya, shakti. If we look at her on her most external side where she seems the opposite of Purusha, she is prakriti, an inert and mechanical self-driven operation, inconscient or conscient only by the light of Purusha, elevated by various degrees, vital, mental, supramental, of his soul-illumination of her workings. If we look at her on her other internal side where she moves nearer to unity with Purusha, she is Maya, will of being and becoming or of cessation from being and becoming with all their results, apparent to the consciousness, of involution and evolution, existing and non-existing, self-concealment of spirit and self-discovery of spirit. Both are sides of one and the same thing, shakti, power of being of the spirit which operates, whether superconsciously or consciously or subconsciously in a seeming inconscience, -- in fact all these motions co-exist at the same time and in the same soul, --as the spirit's power of knowledge, power of will, power of process and action, Jnana-sakti, iccha-sakti, kriya-sakti. By this power the spirit creates all things in itself, hides and discovers all itself in the form and behind the veil of its manifestation.
Purusha is able by this power of its nature to take whatever poise it may will and to follow the law and form of being proper to any self-formulation. It is eternal soul and spirit in its own power of self-existence superior to and governing its manifestations; it is universal soul and spirit developed in power of becoming of its existence, infinite in the finite; it is individual soul and spirit absorbed in development of some particular course of its becoming, in appearance mutably finite in the infinite. All these things it can be at once, eternal spirit universalised in cosmos, individualised in its beings; it can too found the consciousness rejecting, governing or responding to the action of Nature in any one of them, put the others behind it or away from it, know itself as pure eternity, self-supporting universality or exclusive individuality. Whatever the formulation of its nature, soul can seem to become that and view itself as that only in the frontal active part of its consciousness; but it is never only what it seems to be; it is too the so much else that it can be; secretly, it is the all of itself that is yet hidden. It is not irrevocably limited by any particular self-formulation in Time, but can break through and beyond it, break it up or develop it, select, reject, new-create, reveal out of itself a greater self-formulation. What it believes itself to be by the whole active will of its consciousness in its instruments, that it is or tends to become, yo yacchraddhah sa eva sah what it believes it can be and has full faith in becoming, that it changes to in nature, evolves or discovers.
4.10 - The Elements of Perfection, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
All the gnostic evolution opens up into the divine principle of Ananda, which is the foundation of the fullness of spiritual being, consciousness and bliss of Sachchidananda or eternal Brahman. Possessed at first by reflection in the mental experience, it will be possessed afterwards with a greater fullness and directness in the massed and luminous consciousness, cidghana, which comes by the gnosis. The Siddha or perfected soul will live in union with the Purushottama in this Brahmic consciousness, he will be conscious in the Brahman that is the All, sarvam brahma, in the Brahman infinite in being and infinite in quality, anantam Jnanam brahma, in Brahman as self-existent consciousness and universal knowledge, Jnanam brahma, in Brahman as the selfexistent bliss and its universal delight of being, anandam brahma. He will experience all the universe as the manifestation of the One, all quality and action as the play of his universal and infinite energy, all knowledge and conscious experience as the outflowing of that consciousness, and all in the terms of that one Ananda. His physical being will be one with all material Nature, his vital being with the life of the universe, his mind with the cosmic mind, his spiritual knowledge and will with the divine knowledge and will both in itself and as it pours itself through these channels, his spirit with the one spirit in all beings. All the variety of cosmic existence will be changed to him in that unity and revealed in the secret of its spiritual significance. For in this spiritual bliss and being he will be one with That which is the origin and continent and inhabitant and spirit and constituting power of all existence. This will be the highest reach of self-perfection.
author class:Sri Aurobindo
4.1 - Jnana, #Essays Divine And Human, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
object:4.1 - Jnana
author class:Sri Aurobindo
4.22 - The supramental Thought and Knowledge, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The supermind knows most completely and securely not by thought but by identity, by a pure awareness of the self-truth of things in the self and by the self, atmani atmanam atmana. I get the supramental knowledge best by becoming one with the truth, one with the object of knowledge; the supramental satisfaction and integral light is most there when there is no further division between the knower, knowledge and the known, jnata, Jnanam, jneyam. I see the thing known not as an object outside myself, but as myself or a part of my universal self contained in my most direct consciousness. This leads to the highest and completest knowledge; thought and speech being representations and not this direct possession in the consciousness are to the supermind a lesser form and, if not filled with the spiritual awareness, thought becomes in fact a diminution of knowledge. For it would be, supposing it to be a supramental thought, only a partial manifestation of a greater knowledge existing in the self but not at the time present to the immediately active consciousness. In the highest ranges of the infinite there need be no thought at all because all would be experienced spiritually, in continuity, in eternal possession and with an absolute directness and completeness. Thought is only one means of partially manifesting and presenting what is hidden in this greater self-existent knowledge. This supreme kind of knowing will not indeed be possible to us in its full extent and degree until we can rise through many grades of the supermind to that infinite. But still as the supramental power emerges and enlarges its action, something of this highest way of knowledge appears and grows and even the members of the mental being, as they are intuitivised and supramentalised, develop more and more a corresponding action upon their own level. There is an increasing power of a luminous vital, psychic, emotional, dynamic and other identification with all the things and beings that are the objects of our consciousness and these transcendings of the separative consciousness bring with them many forms and means of a direct knowledge.
The supramental knowledge or experience by identity carries in it as a result or as a secondary part of itself a supramental vision that needs the support of no image, can concretise what is to the mind abstract and has the character of sight though its object may be the invisible truth of that which has form or the truth of the formless. This vision can come before there is any identity, as a sort of previous emanation of light from it, or may act detached from it as a separate power. The truth or the thing known is then not altogether or not yet one with myself, but all object of my knowledge: but still it is an object subjectively seen in the self or at least, even if it is still farther separated and objectivised to the knower, by the self, not through any intermediate process, but by a direct inner seizing or a penetrating and enveloping luminous contact of the spiritual consciousness with its object. It is this luminous seizing and contact that is the spiritual vision, drsti, -- "pasyati", says the Upanishad continually of the spiritual knowledge "he sees"; and of the Self conceiving the idea of creation, where we should expect "he thought", it says instead "he saw". It is to the spirit what the eyes are to the physical mind and one has the sense of having passed through a subtly analogous process. As the physical sight can present to us the actual body of things of which the thought had only possessed an indication or mental description and they become to us at once real and evident, pratyaksa, so the spiritual sight surpasses the indications or representations of thought and can make the self and truth of all things present to us and directly evident, pratyaksa.
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At first, at the beginning of the conversion into this greater status, the thought will continue to move for a shorter or a longer time to a greater or a less extent on the lines of the mind but with a greater light and increasing flights and spaces and movements of freedom and transcendence. Afterwards the freedom and transcendence will begin to predominate; the inversion of the thought view and the conversion of the thought method will take place in different movements of the thought mind one after the other, subject to whatever difficulties and relapses, until it has gained on the whole and effected a complete transformation. Ordinarily the supramental knowledge will be organised first and with the most ease in the processes of pure thought and knowledge, Jnana, because here the human mind has already the upward tendency and is the most free. Next and with less ease it will be organised in the processes of applied thought and knowledge because there the mind of man is at once most active and most bound and wedded to its inferior methods. The last and most difficult conquest, because this is now to his mind a field of conjecture or a blank, will be the knowledge of the three times, trikaladrsti. In all these there will be the same character of a spirit seeing and willing directly above and around and not only in the body it possesses and there will be the same action of the supramental knowledge by identity, the supramental vision, the supramental thought and supramental word, separately or in a united movement.
This then will be the general character of the supramental thought and knowledge and these its main powers and action. It remains to consider its particular instrumentation, the change that the supermind will make in the different elements of the present human mentality and the special activities that give to the thought its constituents, motives and data.
4.23 - The supramental Instruments -- Thought-process, #The Synthesis Of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The mental activity that can be most readily organised is, as has been already indicated, that of pure ideative knowledge. This is transformed on the higher level to the true Jnana, supramental thought, supramental vision, the supramental knowledge by identity. The essential action of this supramental knowledge has been described in the preceding chapter. It is necessary however to see also how this knowledge works in outward application and how it deals with the data of existence. It differs from the action of the mind first in this respect that it works naturally with those operations that are to the mind the highest and the most difficult, acting in them or on them from above downward and not with the hampered straining upward of the mind or with its restriction to its own and the inferior levels. The higher operations are not dependent on the lower assistance, but rather the lower operations depend on the higher not only for their guidance but for their existence. The lower mental operations are therefore not only changed in character by the transformation, but are made entirely subordinate. And the higher mental operations too change their character, because, supramentalised, they begin to derive their light directly from the highest, the self-knowledge or infinite knowledge.
The normal thought-action of the mind may for this purpose be viewed as constituted of a triple motion. First and lowest and most necessary to the mental being in the body is the habitual thought mind that founds its ideas upon the data given by the senses and by the surface experiences of the nervous and emotional being and on the customary notions formed by the education and the outward life and environment. This habitual mind has two movements, one a kind of constant undercurrent of mechanically recurrent thought always repeating itself in the same round of physical, vital, emotional, practical and summarily intellectual notion and experience, the other more actively working upon all new experience that the mind is obliged to admit and reducing it to formulas of habitual thinking. The mentality of the average man is limited by this habitual mind and moves very imperfectly outside its circle.
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Thus there is no discord, disparity or difficulty of adjustment in the complex motion of the supramental Jnana, but a simplicity in the complexity, an assured ease in a many-sided abundance that comes from the spontaneous sureness and totality of the self-knowledge of the spirit. Obstacle, inner struggle, disparity, difficulty, discord of parts and movements continues in the transformation of mind to supermind only so long as the action, influence or pressure of the mind insisting on its own methods of construction continues or its process of building knowledge or thought and will of action on the foundation of a primal ignorance resists the opposite process of supermind organising all as a luminous manifestation out of the self and its inherent and eternal self-knowledge. It is thus that the supermind acting as a representative, interpretative, revealingly imperative power of the spirit's knowledge by identity, turning the light of the infinite consciousness freely and inimitably into substance and form of real-idea, creating out of power of conscious being and power of real-idea, stabilising a movement which obeys its own law but is still a supple and plastic movement of the infinite, uses its thought and knowledge and a will identical in substance and light with the knowledge to organise in each supramental being his own right manifestation of the one self and spirit.
The action of the supramental jnarta so constitued evidently surpasses the action of the mental reason and we have to see what replaces the reason in the supramental transformation. The thinking mind of man finds its most clear and characteristic satisfaction and its most precise and effective principle of organisation in the reasoning and logical intelligence. It is true that man is not and cannot be wholly governed either in his thought or his action by the reason alone. His mentality is inextricably subjected to a joint, mixed and intricate action of the reasoning intelligence with two other powers, an intuition, actually only half luminous in the human mentality, operating behind the more visible action of the reason or veiled and altered in the action of the normal intelligence, and the life-mind of sensation, instinct, impulse, which is in its own nature a sort of obscure involved intuition and which supplies the intelligence from below with its first materials and data. And each of these other powers is in its own kind an intimate action of the spirit operating in mind and life and has a more direct and spontaneous character and immediate power for perception and action than the reasoning intelligence. But yet neither of these powers is capable of organising for man his mental existence.
9.99 - Glossary, #The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
Adhyatma Ramayana: A book dealing with the life of Rama and harmonizing the ideals of Jnana and bhakti.
advaita: Non-duality; a school of the Vedanta philosophy, declaring the oneness of God, soul, and universe.
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Jnana: Knowledge of God arrived at through reasoning and discrimination; also denotes the process of reasoning by which the Ultimate Truth is attained. The word is generally used to denote the knowledge by which one is aware of one's identity with Brahman.
Jnanayoga: The path of knowledge, consisting of discrimination, renunciation, and other disciplines.
jnani: One who follows the path of knowledge and discrimination to realize God; generally used to denote a non-dualist.
BOOK I. -- PART I. COSMIC EVOLUTION, #The Secret Doctrine, #H P Blavatsky, #Theosophy
(2.) JnanaSAKTI. . . . The power of intellect, of real Wisdom or Knowledge. It has two aspects:
The following are some of its manifestations when placed under the influence or control of material
r1912 01 13, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The last record covered the period from Dec 12th. 1911 to January 11th 1912.1 Liberated from anticipation, it was a pure record of fact and experience, but its correctness was sometimes vitiated by a misvaluation of the significance of the fact through over-appreciation or depreciation. It is intended that the present record should be free from this defect.Ananda has very fully established itself in the field of the indriyas. All sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, movements, actions, are now pleasurable or give pleasure; all carry with them the rasagrahana or appreciation of the beauty of the gunas which they are in expression, the joy of the vi Jnana in them (the basis of chidghana ananda), the joy of the heart in them (the basis of premananda), the joy of the body in them (the basis of the kamananda), the joy of the mind as indriya in them (the basis of the ahaituka ananda). All this joy is of the nature of bhoga from which the ananda is beginning to emerge. Joy of the spirit in the Ekam which expresses itself (the basis of shuddhananda, chidananda & sadananda together making kaivalyananda) is as yet obscure & involved in the lower anandas. Since yesterday, the ahaituka kamananda & today the sahaituka tivrananda are manifesting. Yesterday also the discomfort of heat & cold and pain were again exiled, though not entirely. Experiments made with the body show that below a certain intensity all pain now gives ananda of bhoga at the time of the feeling of pain, & pain beyond that degree brings it after the immediate acuteness has passed. Sometimes sahaituka raudrananda results. As I write ahaituka tivrananda, raudrananda & vaidyutananda (negative) are recommencing; also vishayananda sahaituka and ahaituka, begun yesterday, are becoming more definite. The bhoga of all these forms is already established. The greatest difficulty is found in the prolonged contact of intense heat with a sensitive part of the body, eg. the heated stone of the floor under the midday sun. The intensity of the heat to the sensation can be increased, lessened or inhibited by Will; the prolonged contact tends to remove the element of suffering unless the Will is made to increase or maintain it, or unless the stream of Will (chit-shakti) is kept tamasic suffering weakly the contact instead of meeting it. This daurbalyam has been created in order to bring about certain forms of intense ananda, chiefly viparita. It is possible, as is now clearly seen, to render it a great element of strong positive (not viparita) ananda, but in that case the daurbalyam must be merely a form of balam, in other words, it must be supported by dhairyam and anandadharanashakti.Ananda is now being extended to events. Even depression and sinking are met and claimed by a stream of ananda, and the place, necessity & delight of amangalam, its true mangalamaya nature is being impressed by the Jnanam not only on the buddhi but on the sanskaras of the manas, chitta, prana and material body.Pure varna manifested this morning in a form, (dense crude), so that all the material and possible variation of material for the crude forms is, in a way, ready and regularised; only the perfect crude forms have to be subjected to the same process. Other siddhis are in comparative abeyance awaiting the movement of the ananda.
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r1912 01 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Now that the period of uninterrupted siddhi has begun, there will be no relaxation of the karma and the siddhi, the karma only waiting for the effectiveness of the power, the siddhi perfecting its force as the tapas increases in the body. Today, the typical perfection of the remaining elements of the Jnanam throughout its whole range, the growth of lipi and drishti, the constant realisation of the Ishwara, the forward movement of the other siddhis.
Pain is being given in the body, so that the discomfort of pain may by the habit of bhoga pass away. Pain will continue to be given henceforth till this aim is effected.
r1912 01 15, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
According to prediction by the Vani there is a simultaneous movement of the Jnanam, lipi, trikaldrishti covering the whole range attended by a general manifestation of rupadrishti (akasha & chitra) rough, vague or blurred predicted by the lipis 3, (vague & indistinct), 2 & 1. The movement has begun by the activity of the inspiration and of the viveka rejecting false inspirations. By this means several successive movements of men & animals have been accurately though not completely predicted, a few suggestions of error being rejected in time. Some of the inspirations present themselves at a distance & not as trikaldrishti, but a vague suggestion. Few [of] these prove correct.
Collapse of the elementary utthapana with momentary disappearance of the tejas bringing about a cessation of the siddhi about 12.
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The rest of the day was marked only by the [?intrusion] of ordinary thought, the under-current, in the new Jnanam.
Justice Fletcher will be Chief Justice ("Justice Fl" is written below and cancelled.)Ed.
r1912 01 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The power of aisvaryam has greatly increased in the matters of siddhi, producing a much more rapid and spontaneous effect even in things physical than ever formerly. The satyadarshanam with regard to surrounding incidents, suspended for a time, has returned more powerful than when it was suspended but is still hampered by movements of buddha tapas, the one powerful obstacle now to the Jnanam, but the power is that of soulless matter, inert and obstructive. A similar suspension of the clear rupadrishti & to some extent of the lipi has been also removed; the prakasha rupas are of great perfection, though not always vivid, and of all kinds and in answer to the aishwaryam is showing colours, red, violet, blue etc. Chhayaprakasha is also often very perfect. Chhaya is becoming perfect, but still shows stability in imperfection, but some instability in perfection. Other rupas are rare and unstable.The mastery of the system by the Ishwara is now almost complete, though still of a moderate intensity & force. The second chatusthaya & the nature & realisation of the Shakti Jiva, marked by the appearance of the lipi 11 (Kali), are growing more rounded and permanently real to the consciousness. Sraddha is increasing but falters before anupalabdhi. The movements of the [ ]1 vani & thought, which have become one, of the perceptions & the lipi & drishti seem now to be justified by the event and more & more precise and accurate.
Standing & walking 6.35 to 7.35. and again from 9.20 to 11.20. Altogether 12 hours out of 16. Sleep from 3.10 to 6.40. Ananda in all outward things and the established sense of the one Personality in all. Certain defects in the thought perception appeared towards the close of the day. Safety was confirmed to the trikaldrishti, not by events.
r1912 01 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Exercise of elementary utthapana from 6.50 to 12.0 noon. Interval of about 10 minutes at 7.30standing twice for reading the papers, once for two or three minutes conversation. Some attempt at failure of utthapana about 10.15 removed entirely by the three minutes standing, and again after 11. removed of itself. The body is ceasing to be affected with depression by the defect of anima, itself now much reduced in its stress, even after discontinuation of activity. The lipi 8 is persistent and points to the early perfection of elementary utthapana by the removal of all nirveda, klanti or necessity of change of occupation for body or mind.The thought, expression & perception, are entirely liberated from interference of the mind or from watch by the mind except to a slight extent in the immediate trikaldrishti. Thought, trikaldrishti, vyaptiprakamya; all the elements of Jnanam, now act freely & rapidly and with a predominant, though not perfect accuracy. Even the general thought in the minds of others is perceived frequently & has been repeatedly proved. Sraddha in the Yoga is acquiring tejas because now supported by the activity of the Jnanam, but in the adesha is not yet existent, though prepared to emerge on the first decisive upalabdhi.Rati in all things except roga is now the rule, & is generally the rati of ananda.A dull nausea has been persistent all the morning, but does not interfere with the appetite or disturb the prana. More has been eaten today than ordinarily & with full rati of food. The lipi & rupas are preparing frequency.Sattwa has finally disappeared and now only touches from time to time as rajas did in its last stage. Tamas has been eliminated, except the asraddha, but still attacks though feebly & with a much diminished heaviness.False vi Jnanam persists, but is losing its insistence & activity.
Tamas, after a strong attack in the evening, was finally expelled, except in the body, and now survives only in ineffective touches; but the uncertainty of asraddha remains,eliminated with regard to the Yoga, occasionally reviving with regard to the rapidity of the siddhi, easily sliding into actual sanshaya with regard to the adesha. Exercise of utthapana from 2.25 to 3.55 and from 6 to 7.30. The defect of anima gives trouble still after rest, but, although constantly recurrent, is deprived of continuous persistence. Sleep seven hours
r1912 01 27, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Progress, unclouded resumed this morning. The results of the last few days, so far as yet ascertained, may now be summed up. The first chatusthaya, denied by the assault of the triguna, has gained in strength by the ejection of the remnants of lower tejas; pravritti, prakasha & shama are arriving at a perfect harmony. The dasyam is being rendered firmer and firmer and combined with ananda is perfecting the shama and divesting it of all tamasic elements, perfecting also the pravritti and divesting it of all rajasic elements. The only tamas left is the physical and the asraddha of the Adesha, the latter the result of insufficient prakasha, the former of the imperfect conquest of the physical being by the vi Jnanam. The manifestation of the Kalibhava, harmonising the bala, raudra (karali) & shiva Kali, has perfected the second chatusthaya in all but intensity. The remnants of general asraddha in God & swashakti are disappearing and the only province of asraddha is the Adesha and the rapidity of the siddhi. This defect prevents the intensity of kalyanasraddha, and ishwarabhava etc. necessary to the perfection of the second chatusthaya. Jnanaprakasha is now strong and the mithyadharanas (asadgrahas) relating to the Yoga and Lila are disappearing. The Kalibhava and the realisation of self in all and all in the self are growing strong and persistent. The Master of the Yoga is more and more manifest in each detail of experience, but half-veiled by the Prakriti in the surroundings. Sahitya is once more hampered by the refusal of the annam to obey or even contain the vi Jnanamaya movements of the vak. On the other hand artha becomes more & more full and clear, powerful and luminous. Jnanam & Anandam Brahma are steadily deepening.
The chief struggle is over the third & fourth chatusthayas where the annamaya obstruction has concentrated the best of its strength. Ananda has risen from the ratha of rasagrahana to the ratna of bhoga with a frequent emergence of rtha, which is especially strong in the sahaituka vishayabhoga & tivra & is spreading to the kama etc. Ananda, even ratha of the kamananda, is beginning definitely to emerge. The other bhogas (chidghana, prema, ahaituka, shuddha) are involved in the sharira and emerge out of it. It is here that the contradictions of ananda are occasionally strong. Ratha of the bhoga of events, conditions etc is prevailing. The contradictions are being overborne; pain & discomfort of heat & cold, contact etc are being dominated. The other field of struggle is the arogya; the sore throat was ejected after a struggle by siddhi. The rogas still capable of touching the surface of the system attack frequently, but cannot hold except for short intervals, coming, retiring, succeeding, failing without cause. The disturbances of assimilation are yielding perceptibly to the Arogya; when they come, they cannot hold or make only a brief & seldom violent visit. Three full days of avisrishti were attended with perfect ease and the remaining one and a half with only a vague tendency to disturbance. Two nominal visrishtis occurred on the fifth & sixth days, but with only parthiva pressure, no tejasic, vayavic or jalamaya. Only at the end of the sixth day (this morning) somewhat acute tejahkshobha produced a copious visrishti of the old type. The system, however, dismissed the kshobha in about fifteen minutes and it went leaving behind no acute results. The central arogya still advances slowly. Sarvasaundaryam is not yet continuously permanent.
Jnanam increases in force & exactness. The style of the vak rises to the inspired illuminative and is effective at its lowest level. The thought perception is now almost rid of false vi Jnanam in its material, but not in the arrangement of its material. Nevertheless accuracy of time is growing, accuracy of place has begun, accuracy of circumstance, chiefly, is defectiveall this in the trikaldrishti. Prakamya & vyapti are strong and more continuous, less chequered by error. The internal motions of animals & to a less extent of men, the forces working on them, the ananda & tapas from above, even the explicit thoughts are being more and more observed and are usually justified by the attendant or subsequent action. The siddhis of power work well & perfectly, in harmony with the trikaldrishti, not so well when divorced from it. The physical tone of the system is recovering its elasticity & with it elementary utthapana and bhautasiddhi are reviving. Samadhi improves steadily, but is much hampered by sleep which has revived its force during these last three or four days.
Time-prophecy. Arrival from the match predicted after 11.30, a little before 11.45. Actual arrival 11.43. Sahityasiddhi is being finally prepared.
r1912 07 04, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The siddhis of power progress steadily. One of the difficulties is now removed; the power hits its mark, & where unfavourable circumstances intervene, favourable circumstances have begun to appear to counteract them. But refusal, delay & perversion are still common. Those on whom the power is used for progress in Yoga (S. [Srinivasachari] Bh. [Bharati] Sn. [Saurin] Bj. [Bijoy]) give frequent proofs now of success of siddhi & especially of vyapti of the shakti & Jnanam in my or of my thoughts, but this siddhi is not yet decisively regularised.
Mental bhukti is now complete (with the exception of adverse events where there is more of samata than bhukti) & is invariable in rasagrahanam, usual in bhoga and, nowadays, occasional as ananda. But the shuddha ananda attended by the realisation of universal saundaryam often fails temporarily, owing to the loss of hold on the inner man and the dwelling on the physical appearance instead,when this happens, and it happens only with regard to human faces, there is a fall in the general tone of the bhukti which tends to lose hold of the second & third intensities of bhoga (ratha & ratna) and descend to the rati or lowest intensity or else even to go back from bhoga to mere rasagrahana. But the lapse is never long sustained.
r1912 10 27, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The tejas is the chief obstacle to the fulfilment in permanence and completeness of the vi Jnana-siddhi. The confused remnants of the tejas are being progressively expelled, & the trikaldrishti, Jnana and prakamya vyapti are growingsteadily & methodically, but without enthusiasm or any positive ananda,in precision, correctness & range. This misplacement of circumstance, due to the tejasic attempt in the manas tattwa to fix things instead of seeing them as they are, is diminishing in insistence & effect. In the body tamas, not tejas is the chief enemy, as the nature of the annamaya is tamasic, just as the nature of the manomaya is tejasic.
Anandasiddhi has been reconstituted, the shuddhi & mukti & bhukti with the samata, but the perfection of the second chatusthaya is still to seek. The reason is that although there is sraddha now in the Yoga and in God, there is not sufficient sraddha in the Lilamaya Purusha, & therefore none in the increasing rapidity of the siddhi or in the inevitable and perfect fulfilment of the Adesha.
r1912 11 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Rapidity only in the Veda- Jnana. The place is beginning to be accurate, but the arrangement is not yet perfect. eg. a bird flying is observed, all the turns of movement are accurately predicted, but not always in their proper order; one turn is omitted or another too soon expected etc. Occasionally a momentary impulse in the bird or in the force that is driving it, is taken for a destined movement, but this source of error, which used to be dominant, is now very weak in its incidence & occasional in its occurrence B [Bijoy] is now responding rapidly to the suggestions of the Power in the siddhiprayoga, but still needs too much the aid of speech. His purity & mukti from dwandwa is perfect except in the karmadeha & the preparation of mukti from ahankara is being completed. Vi Jnana in the intellect, Jnanam, in him is very strong, but not yet turned towards trikaldrishti. Prakamya & vyapti are well developed but not perfect. The other siddhis in him work fitfully. Samadhi is being prepared through dream. He gets sometimes the first stages of ahaituka & chidghana ananda
Strong perception that S. [Srinivasachari] Bh [Bharati] & A [Aiyar] would come in the evening, less strong about A than the others & only general; fulfilled. Other vyaptis fulfilled or proved, vyaptis of action, vyaptis of thought, vyaptis of feeling. Prakamya generally turns into a vyapti. Prakamya vyapti may now be said to be perfect,as perfect as it can be without perfection of the trikaldrishti. Clash of ahankaras over B; first sign of a fresh movement forward so far as he is concerned.
r1912 12 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This afternoon clear & vivid lipi finally emerged from the akasha and the rupa in the crude forms shows a tendency to established stability while the old forms of rupa, sthapatya, saurya, manasa are reemerging in their old perfection. Instantaneous developed rupa is becoming more frequent, but vanishes with the instant. Faith in the vani, lipi & rupa is established except for outside immediate events & the adesha siddhi, in which field faith in the trikaldrishti is not yet firm. Except in this field, tejasic will has separated itself from trikaldrishti & vyaptiprakamya of intention or tendency is no longer adopted as vyaptiprakamya of event or as trikaldrishti of the event. Therefore, if the unoccupied or rather ill-occupied field can be occupied, the perfection of trikaldrishti is within sight. Rapidity of progress promised in lipi & vani for some days past, is now beginning, not only in the Veda, but in the third chatusthaya also. Samata is perfect, tejas is establishing itself, Jnana is full & active.
***
r1912 12 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The lipi has definitely conquered in the Akash, but its invariable success of vividness & legibility is not yet allowed. The Jnanam has now an invariable correctness, but the trikaldrishti is still clouded by the relics of the twilit intellectual activity. Shakti of chitta & prana is now being finally perfected on the basis of the perfect samata, shanti, sukha & atmaprasada. Dasyam is taking entire possession of all the functions, attended by dasyabuddhi in the devatas, and the Master of the Yoga is now habitually manifest in his personal relation. The two sortileges are being progressively fulfilled. Physical activity10.45 to 11.45. Adhogati is strong and seeks to base itself on defect of anima. Pranic utthapana, complete in the pranakosha, is unable as yet to possess wholly the annakosha except in its pranic parts; hence, failure of mahima & a strong sense of weakness & incapacity in the karmadeha affecting the body. Again from 12.10 .. 1.5 & from 3.5 to 4.10 in the afternoon.
The afternoon has passed under Vritra, the power slow to act, the trikaldrishti & Jnana uncertain, the physical brain dull and overcast. The Maheshwari-Mahasaraswati shanti is giving place under such circumstances to the Mahasaraswati-Mahakali quietude based on a concealed Maheshwari pratistha. Nirukta is now acting under the rule of the vi Jnana normally & bhasha begins to follow suit; the intellect in the environment has recognised the necessity of passivity & the superior results of the vi Jnanamaya method. The frequency of Ananda (Kama) continues but is interrupted by Vritric periods.
The trikaldrishti has now (4.55) recovered possession and is acting with a considerable perfection in all its movements & entire perfection (except of right combination) in some of themie a movement or incident is seen in pieces of knowledge each of which would lead to an incorrect conclusion by itself, but taken together give a perfectly correct result. Their separate advent shows want of spontaneous combination in the knowledge; there is only collocation ending in combination. Power is still ineffective, except occasionally.
r1913 01 02, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Trikaldrishti.. In the beginning there was a series of outward suggestions which fulfilled themselves rapidly & accurately, although the mind denied them admission and saw no probability of fulfilment. Subsequently, this element of external suggestion was put in its place as prophetic vyapti from the thought of supramaterial beings that foresee; the Jnanam was then perfected and afterwards the trikaldrishti in its entirety brought up to the level of the same perfection. The difference between this new siddhi and all that have preceded it is, 1, that the first idea proves to be correct and has not to be replaced by a second, at most it has to be amplified and modified or enriched with suggestions of the right time and place & arrangement, 2, that even when it manifests in the intellect without being seen to descend from the vi Jnana, it is habitually correct, 3, that mistaken suggestion[s], except in small details of time, place & circumstance, tend to be more & more rare and already form the infrequent exception. In the thought-perception there is no falsity, but only appearances of it which turn out to be not falsity but aprakasha.
News today that yesterday (the 31) the Viceroy was for the first time entirely without pain from his wounds, (the result of the last extraction). Thus the first aishwarya & drishti has been amply fulfilled. A rapid cure of the wounds must now be effected.
r1913 01 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
There is a growing passivity in the intelligence and the physical struggle is being made the instrument for the renunciation of intellectual judgment, the remnants of which are at present the chief obstacle to the possession of the whole system by the vi Jnana. Trikaldrishti & Jnana are taking possession of the script, the vanis, the thought perceptions as well as the vangmaya thought, but the process cannot be completed owing to the excessive tapas, tejasic or tamasic, on the thing seen which converts a truth into a falsehood by overstressing it & so overprolonging its applicability in time or place or exaggerating its results. The perception of the locality of things or people not seen or their personality or nature is becoming stronger, but not yet sufficiently precise; e.g. a thing not found, it is at once known whether it is in the room or not and vaguely indicated that it is in such a place or in a place of such and such a nature, anyone knocking at the door, it is indicated who is at the door or else what class of person; in the morning, it is invariably indicated whether the girl is coming immediately, a little later or much later etc. If once the excess of tapas is removed, there is no reason why intellectual infallibility should not be established; for then the other obstacle of uncertainty will have nothing on which to feed its existence. The fulfilment of the powers of Knowledge & the accomplishment of the divine Satyam are therefore certain, although the time of fulfilment is not yet revealed; for after the general working of the power is established without defect, there will still remain its perfect application to Bhasha, Nirukta, Itihasa, Darshana, Kala, Dravya Jnana etc. The powers of Force, Kriyashakti, are less surely developed, although they are growing, & their success in particular instances is slow, often uncertain, in many things inoperative, especially in the objective world, but also in the subjective. It is this difficulty & opposition which has to be attacked in its centre by applying the Powers to the karma and to objective happenings and movements.
In yesterdays programme, only the first item was thoroughly fulfilled. In the second, there was a progress; the samadhi overcame the obstacle to continuity, but the continuity attained was slight; the rupadrishti succeeded only in the barest possible manner, the momentary stability of a perfect form, the longer stability of a form developed but not sufficient in material substance. Aishwarya began the movement towards generalising success, by trying to get rid of such willings as are not consonant with the central movement of the Supreme Will, but the process is not yet complete; the struggle continued in health, utthapana & kamananda, but they did not prevail, except in effecting an obscure, moderate & preparatory success & in streng thening the force of their sukshma vaja or subtle material substance, of which, however, shansa, the actual bringing out into material being has not yet been realised. Chitraratha and Madira still increase.
r1913 01 15, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
In the morning trikaldrishti passed rapidly through several stages, applying [itself]1 correctly with speed to a series of incidents, foreseeing a series of a single incident repeated beforehand, without any data and contrary to experience, assembling a mass of perceptions and arranging them with more or less accuracy. The process still continues. Aishwarya generalised success, but the success which comes slowly & with some effort, after some resistance. Rupadrishti was streng thened and kept in the akash forms perfect in all respects except a certain tenuity of material & a certain aloofness from the front layer of the sthula akash. The strongest movements were in samadhi and kamananda. In the antardrishta jagrat samadhi lipi organised itself & stable crude rupa, perfect in outline, completeness, clearness, stability, in all but steadiness of material & vividness, was manifested, as well as crude rupa deficient only in firm vividness. Lipi is not yet sure of stability. In the swapna samadhi images abounded and some showed continuity or both combination & continuity, eg a shaggy dog, lean & miserable-looking, trotting up to a wall & smelling it, the wall returning & remaining after eclipse, crude, the sound of a small silver piece falling & a stout man near a window looking for it & picking it up, the man becoming vague after eclipse, but the window remaining vivid. In both the rupa & lipi have today become organised for use, especially for trikaldrishti & the samadhi generally for Jnana & trikaldrishti. In the antardrishta symbolic colours are again returning, eg Ss [aura], green brilliant, blue black tending to be blue, but often dulled into grey, uncertain suffusion of red from a blood-red sun; also, symbolic images, eg, in the same connection an unhatched egg replaced by a crown. Kamananda was entirely triumphant flooding the sukshma deha, seizing the sukshma parts of the body & touching its sthula parts with an intenser ananda than has ever been experienced before, equal to the first movements of the actual maithuna ananda. In the morning this came repeatedly, thrice, with hardly any interval and was each time continued for some time, & in the afternoon the ananda has returned and although, not so intense, is more persistent. There are also touches of ahaituka rudrananda and ahaituka tivra, negative vaidyuta & vishaya. The ananda now comes & continues even when the mind is otherwise occupied.
Todays telegrams. The Viceroys health almost answered to the Aishwarya as within the first fortnight of [January],2 the time fixed, he was able to go out for a drive; but the premature exertion has brought back a return of restlessness at night & neuritis in the arm. The trikaldrishti is fulfilled in both the favourable & adverse movements, only the Aishwarya is slightly baffled. As foreseen, there is no result from the two witnesses summoned. Again, as foreseen to be willed by the Ishwara only recently, there have been fresh aviation accidents, more storms & wrecks and a serious railway accident all in the news of a single day; all occurred in England, but this was not foreseen. The revolt of Nature against machinery continues.
r1913 01 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Dasya of the fourth degree is now dominant; whenever the attention of the Chit follows the action, it is aware of the turiya dasyabuddhi, whether in motion, speech, emotion or thought, except for a slight intermixture of merely Prakritic impulse in the thinking powers. This is true even of such involuntary motions as the closing or blinking of the eyelids, nimishannapi or the direction of the gaze. The sixth or Brahma chatusthaya is similarly established; the general (samena samavasthita) sarvam anantam Jnanam anandam Brahma is seen everywhere, when the attention is awake. The nitya anusmaran is not established as yet, nor can it be established unless there is the capacity of multiple sanyama, ie naturally and normally dividing the tapas of the Chit between several things at a time. Kamananda tends to return dully or intensely with the smarana, but has not yesterdays continuity, force and spontaneity. This afternoon it will recover its hold.
Afternoon
r1913 01 31, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(7) Vi Jnana is complete in Jnana, established & effective in trikalsiddhi but still imperfectly organised, established in power but still imperfect in effectiveness and organisation, established in lipi but still weak in the richer varieties and not completely organised, established in rupa, but still poor and manifested with difficulty, except in chitra & sthapatya, established in samadhi but still hampered in continuity, poor in antardrishta jagrat, ill-organised and in jagrat shabdadrishti etc elementary & infrequent, established & effective in prakamya vyapti, but imperfectly organised, established in pranic mahima & laghima, but still resisted, deficient in anima.
(8) Ananda of the body is established, but not yet sovran. Arogya imperfect in assimilation and kamachakra, doubtful in phlegm centres & skin, otherwise established. Utthapana is established in the pranic basis, active in primary & secondary, but everywhere hampered by defect of anima; of tertiary there is as yet no sign. Saundarya is manifest only in the slow alteration of certain lines in the feet & the trunk and in its subjective basis of youthful feeling.
r1913 02 07, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Today the mists have begun to clear and show an advance,principally, towards the final removal of the false tejas & tamas in the knowledge which though expelled from the system still besiege it from the environment and occupy the outgoing and incoming paths of the thought perception. If the mind can be got to reject these false visitors, then there is a source of knowledge independent of all data which gives automatically the truth. That which learns from data, is also misled by data; this wrong suggestion of data has been for some time the besetting obstacle to the completion of the trikaldrishti & Jnana, the strong refuge of outgoing error. The Personality of the Master is now occupying the life in place of the more general personality of the Saguna Brahman. It is no longer Ishwara or Bhagawan only, but Srikrishna-Narayana. At present, however, it is only in the personal relations with the Master of the Yoga that the substitution has been established..
During the rest of the day, the parts of the Yoga which had been clouded, reemerged in full strength, with the exception of Rupa and Samadhi which did not yet manifest their full former strength. There are signs, however, in the swapna and jagrat samadhi of a more perfect manifestation approaching.
r1913 06 04, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
2) The defects of the second chatusthaya to disappear by the perfection of dasya & sraddha & Jnana (including general trikaldrishti). Invasion still possible.
3) Jnana to be finally active without obstruction or suspension in thought, trikaldrishti & prakamyavyapti, but not yet perfect in range & penetration
4) Aishwarya, ishita, vashita to become general, though still limited & subject to breach & obstruction
r1913 06 13, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
3) Jnana etc obstructed & suspended, but not entirely
4) Aishwarya powers momentarily breached
r1913 06 16a, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Vani, script & vangmaya have all been, apparently, delivered from the siege of their intrusive manomaya shadows. Only perception of actuality is still pursued by false suggestion of actuality. There is a strong & hitherto effective struggle to prevent Jnanam & Anandam Brahman from becoming the normal state of the consciousness. Henceforth this must be the object of the subjective siddhi. The Sarvam Brahman is already well-founded but must gain in power, depth, intensity & variety.
***
r1913 06 27, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
1) Subjective ananda; ahaituka alone was prominent before in the permanent constitution of the Ananda, prema, chidghana & shuddha are now firmly established on the ahaituka as a basis, and the whole subjective ananda stands in a saumya permanence with moments of intensity. Touches of the nirananda & tamasic depression seek to arrive, but are ineffective & at once repelled by the Jnana.
2) Personality & personal relation of the Master with Ananda-vani & dasya; perfect guidance of the Yoga.
r1913 07 03, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jnana and Trikaldrishti continue to grow in power and range, but are overshadowed by uncertainty. Revelatory knowledge is acting from above on the mind and the prakasha is not luminous. Aishwarya in the afternoon showed a considerable increase of force at the height of its action; but it easily falls back into a comparative quiescence. Kamananda more active & recovering its normal movement. Poetry (Ilion) was resumed; the power, though still sluggish and a little uncertain, seems freer from its baser & more inefficient elements.
***
r1913 09 07, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The morning began with a chequered movement. Afterwards, there came the lipi First God & liberty, then telepathy. The mind turned towards the perception of the Jnanam Anandam Brahma which has been increasing in force & persistence & perceived very powerfully the delight of Brahman in Avidya, limitation & suffering & the last knot of attachment to liberation was removed from the buddhi & the temperament. This liberation from mumukshutwa is the final step in mukti. It exists now in the buddhi & the soul, it has to be stamped firmly on the rest of the antahkaran. Afterwards, a very minute & brihat telepathy commenced the realisation in practical mentality of the Sarvam Anantam Jnanam Brahma. All the perceptions do not yet come at the right time, some revealing themselves after the thing perceived has passed out of the mind of the object. Nevertheless the movements of men & animals are now perfectly understood, their hesitations & rejected or modified ideas & impulses as well as those which eventuate in action. It is evident, now, out of what a complex mental tangle the single clear & decisive act proceeds. In the animals it is sometimes an obscure & sudden suggestion which contradicts all the previous thinking & tendency & often half consciously forces the action. But often also in them an impulse abandoned and forgotten by the mind remains in & dominates the subconscious pranic energy and dominates a subsequent action. The same is true but in a less degree of man. In the insects the mind counts for much less than this pranic energy. Subsequently the basis of the telepathic trikaldrishti was shown to reside in the perception of the movements of this pranic energy, Matariswan, which governs action, apo Matariswa dadhati. An ant was climbing up the wall in an upward stream of ants; there was no sign of its reversing its progress; but the trikaldrishti saw that the ant would turn & go down, not upwards. At first it made a movement of uncertainty, then proceeded upward, then suddenly left the stream and went steadily & swiftly downwards. Afterwards the source of the trikaldrishti was seen, a coming movement of pranic energy, prepared in the sat-Brahman, latent both to the waking consciousness of the ant & my own, but caught by the vi Jnanamaya drishti. In another instance the same movement of energy was perceived in another ant and followed by an indicative movement, but it was also perceived that this was not the eventual impulse, & as a matter of fact a strong contrary tension intervened & carried the insect upward. In all these cases, the perception of the impulse by prakamya vyapti is not enough; the vi Jnana distinguishing the nature & fate of the tapas is required to constitute trikaldrishti. All error now consists in the absence of this distinguishing perception or in the false mental stress which tends to replace its unerring accuracy.
***
r1913 09 13, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
One great result of the weeks progress has been the completion & permanent possession in perception of the fourfold Brahman. The only defect is a tendency to fall back from the Jnanam element, thereby losing the lilamaya personality of the Brahman. Otherwise vismriti is now only an inert & ineffective suspension of the siddhi, which has no longer to be reconstituted on resumption of the minds apramattata.
Intellectual work is now almost finally based, except for some defects in the poetical power, and all the various work fixed on is being pursued; but the regularity of brain-work on one subject & the simultaneity of brain work on different subjects is very deficient owing to the insubmission or incapacity of the physical brain. The former defect is being rapidly remedied. The force of kriti has a little increased,perceptibly in effectiveness.
r1913 11 11, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Trikaldrishti, telepathy, Jnana + aishwarya-ishita .. vashita
***
r1913 11 12, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The ritam in the Jnana is now assured. It must spread to telepathy & trikaldrishti
In the Ananda (bhukti) the pure discomfort of harsh sounds & ugly faces etc is removed; smell, taste, touch are all come into line, taste a little forward & possessing a superior perfection; only pain beyond a certain degree is empty of the ananda, although even sharp pain leaves behind it ananda as its physical result. Strong & persistent touches of hot & cold also create discomfort. This is the defect of the bhukti which prevents the addition of the third line.
r1913 11 13, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jnana
The Jnana is now perfectly established in the intellect. All the thoughts are perceived to be true and are assigned, oftenest initially, but sometimes by a corrective movement to their right place & form. The corrective movement itself is not so much purgative of error as adjustive of an incomplete or crooked placement. As soon as this corrective movement ceases to be necessary, the Jnana can be entirely lifted into the ideality and the fourth line, soon to be added to the Jnana, invested with the sign of completion.
Telepathy
r1913 11 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This record is now established in the satyam ritam, as is all script. The same authority must attach to lipi, telepathy, trikaldrishti. To the Jnana it already attaches. First, lipi and telepathy. Both are recognised as satyam; right interpretation must confirm them in ritam.
do
r1913 11 22, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
On the whole, the first chatusthaya is finally secure; the second & in the third Jnana & prakamyavyapti are firm in spite of waverings & temporary eclipses, to a less extent the trikaldrishti; similarly the lipi; rupa and samadhi are secure in their beginnings but fitful in their activity. Subjective ananda is perfect, but for occasional half obscurations. The powers are perfect in type, uncertain in application.
No definite advance during the day
r1913 11 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Brahmadrishti is now well-regulated, but still depends on smarana, the Sarva, Ananta & Ananda are more prominent than the Jnana Brahman.
MS siddhi
r1913 11 26, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
An extension of the Jnanam Brahma has brought into play a rich action of the telepathic trikaldrishti. Hitherto what was seen were the immediate forces of possibility & actuality in operation outside the living objects which act, pranad ejad, proceeding from elemental or other powers who people the universe; inside the living object were seen the mental states, feelings, impulses, tendencies, thoughts, nervous & physical states, proper to the conscious waking mind; now a fresh element enters with the clear perception of the dominant idea in the superconscious dream-mind (manomaya purusha), which dictates usually the ultimate action. Beyond this is the non-telepathic trikaldrishti which can alone perceive what is the unalterable eventuality actually destined. This perception is contained in the sleep mind of the manomaya purusha, where all beings know the past, present & future. The rest is a matter of range, arrangement & proper action of the knowledge. The perception is now goagram aswapeshasam.
Utthapana of the neck, raised position, maintained for a quarter of an hour; not yet at ease; laghima & mahima partially manifest, anima defective.
r1913 11 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
In the evening Jnana of perception & Jnana of vangmaya were reorganised with finality as well as lipi in all but material legibility. A movement was made to the same end in the rest of the vi Jnana, especially in swapnasamadhi where all the obstinate defects of the past broke down initially in type. Poetry resumed
***
r1913 12 01a, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The whole day has been devoted to a struggle, attended by revived asiddhi & relapse into all the circumstances of mentality, to establish the organisation of the ritam in trikaldrishti, telepathy etc on the basis of entire Brahmabodha including especially the Jnanam Brahma. The one positive result is the intensity of the Brahma bodha. Subjective ananda has ceased in the prema, except occasionally; the chidghana is assailed by obstructions which prevent the secure possession of its bhoga, & even in some habitual features of the ideal rasagrahana and priti.
Utthapana of the right arm for half an hour without difficulty in the horizontal position, and after an interval of three minutes for another half hour against an increasing pressure of an-anima. Advantage was taken of the muscular stress to confirm the ananda (rasa, priti & bhoga) of strong & insistent muscular pain.
r1913 12 01b, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Much was expected of yesterdays movement, but it has been followed up by a struggle, not a victory. The intensifying of the Brahmabuddhi is the one positive gain, & to this may be added the firm extension of the brihat in the Jnana with the mixed satya & anrita of trikaldrishti & telepathy. The difficulty is in the insufficient streng thening of the decisive viveka & the insufficient finality of the transfer of the intellectual movements to the vi Jnanabuddhi. The lipi announcing the finality of the transfer referred only to the completion of the process, not to the security of the results attained. The attack has destroyed the conditions of the vi Jnana manifestation and they have to be reconstituted in the active consciousness. There is as yet no finality of settled truth or settled effectiveness.
This is one side of the truth; the other is that the transfer has been finally secured, since it is only in appearance that the ideality has been disintegrated in the active consciousness. The disintegration is real to the intellectual judgment, not to the viveka.
r1913 12 04, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The passivity & sraddha are being established, first, without any demand, but always with the udasina lipsa. The tapas is not yet pure of the temperamental stress left by desire & preference. There is still a preference, but of tapas purely, not of Ananda. The full Mahakali Mahasaraswati Tapas cannot manifest without a greater power of vi Jnana. There must now emerge the determinative knowledge & the determinative aishwarya, forming the ritam of the Jnana & tejas, satyatapatya, satyadrishti.
Henceforth the tamas will be steadily eliminated from the pranic system & the body. The perceptions are real in themselves, not right in the mental impression produced.
r1913 12 11, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Strong attack on the first three chatusthayas, successful in disturbing samata & clouding sraddha, but resultant in confirmation of the Mahakali-Mahasaraswati form of the personality & the growth of the ugrata. Vi Jnana very full & active in Jnana in the morning, disturbed for the rest of the day.
***
r1913 12 22, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The third chatusthaya is chiefly advanced in vangmaya thought, in general Jnana where Jnana does not pass into telepathy (prakamya-vyapti). The main difficulty lies in the defects of the interpretative power, daksha & ketu, which, although transferred in type to the ideality whether of vi Jnanabuddhi or vi Jnana, alternates practically between vi Jnana, vi Jnanabuddhi and those parts of manasabuddhi which are either pseudo-intuitional in the nature of their activity or else attempt to preserve the fragments of the old intellectual reasoning or of the undercurrent of habitual mentality. This defect is now being steadily mended; ideal interpretation is being applied to the material of telepathy, lipi, rupa, samadhi etc; but until this process is complete, the positive defects of knowledge, as opposed to mere occasional inactivity, incompleteness or limitation of range, must continue. Meanwhile the range has begun to be extended. Occasional inactivity of knowledge will remain & be used for ananda & uddeshya, the purposes of life & the joy of life. Power acts with frequency, but not with full mastery; nevertheless it is now often rapid, instantaneous[,] effortless & persistent in its efficacy. Lipi is organising itself materially, but lacks habituality of vividness & spontaneous fullness in the akasha. Chitra & sthapatya of rupa is now almost perfect, the human figure, animal, landscape & group being rich, various & perfect in all; the isolated object or object group is still obstructed, but is moving towards the same variety & richness. Perfection is already not uncommon. Akasharupa is now persistent in manifestation, but cannot yet acquire a free stability. The vishayadrishtis have all an occasional perfect action, but are limited to a few habitual forms. Samadhi is still deficient in free combination and prolonged continuity of vision and experience.
Kamananda is now fixed in the body as of frequent daily occurrence, but only sometimes (on some days, that is to say) continuous or intense in its frequency. Ahaituka tivrananda has acquired a great intensity & some persistence; raudra has intensity. Vishaya & still more vaidyuta are only occasional & still imperfectly developed. Health is strongly combated, utthapana likewise; but both have now begun a settled movement of struggle towards progress and in no feature yield for long to positive reaction. Saundarya is successfully obstructed; it is only rudimentary in a few features & still subject in a few to successful positive reactions.
r1913 12 23, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The siddhi descended again to the intellectuality to mould the mental pratistha more entirely to the passive reception of the vi Jnanamaya movements. In these descents Jnana tends to keep its force & accuracy, receptive telepathy persists and sraddha in the yogasiddhi along with a provisional faith in the karma, recently imposed on the intellect. But trikaldrishti proper is much interrupted, & faith in the rapidity of the siddhi tends to be diminished, impaired or to disappear. Power increases without attaining at any time to definite mastery. Akasharupa cannot advance, being overmastered by the obstruction. Lipi grows in effective fertility, utility & just interpretation and is more often legible & vivid than before, but has not made the full material conquest of the Akasha. Samadhi keeps its gains, but fluctuates in its unestablished features.
The asterisk is Sri Aurobindo's; its significance is not known.Ed.
r1913 12 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The tapas siddhi shows signs of entering on a new stage. From the movements of this stage it is evident that there are four forms of arrangement of Chit-Tapas which enter into the eventuality of things; first; arrangement of potential possibilities and their event, proper to the imagination, which may be eventually fulfilled but usually are not, except in quite another space or time or under quite other circumstances; 2, arrangement of actual possibilities and their reasonable event, proper to the judgment & reasoning intelligence, which often are fulfilled, but quite as often frustrated by forces behind the scene or impossible to be properly estimated by logic & mental reason; 3, arrangement of actualities on the basis of actual forces in operation seen or unseen, perceptible by mind or inferable, proper to the telepathic & intuitional mind, vi Jnanabuddhi, which are usually fulfilled & always more or less, but need not be, or, if fulfilled, need not continue to be fulfilled; 4, arrangement of absolute actuality, proper to the pure vi Jnana, which is invariably fulfilled, being equivalent to the intentions of Fate and Providence. A great obstacle to the development of Power has been the desistence from its use when an event seemed fixed either in a favourable or hostile sense on the strength of the telepathic dristi or even of the reasoning perceptions. The latter difficulty is beginning to disappear with the transference of knowledge to the vi Jnanabuddhi, & the disappearance of the reasoning intellect, but the former persists & is likely to persist until the knowledge has been transferred from the intuitional mind to the pure vi Jnana. This is being done with Jnana; it has yet to be done with trikaldrishti.
Lipi satyatejas is being fulfilled. All the powers are gaining in strength; aishwarya with vashita, not invariably successful in event, yet succeeds now far oftener than it fails, at any rate in the sadhan-kshetra; ishita is less powerful, but exercises a visible pressure & often fulfils itself; aishwarya with ishita stands between the two in effectiveness; both aishwarya & [vashita]1 have also a field of exercise involved in ishita. But ill-ordered as is still the action of the Power, it is now recognised as satyatejas, always either producing some kind of effect or motion, if not the exact effect intended, and, if not at the time, in the object, under the circumstances intended, then at another time or place, or in another object or under other circumstances. There is delay, there is deflection, there is even final frustration, but never entire inutility. The ritam yet remains to be brought into this disordered mass of satyam.
r1913 12 28, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The telepathy is now beginning to work again in harmony with the pure vi Jnana, and, more important, the tapas of effectuality is beginning to distinguish itself from the tapas of knowledge, while at the same time looking forward to a higher fulfilment in which the two again become one. Forces are now perceived at work long before they are fulfilled and the old tendency to insist on their immediate or rapid fulfilment and in default of that satisfaction to dismiss the perception of them as error or the forces themselves as futile, is passing away. It is now seen that all forces are effectual and must produce their result; until that result is seen & determined, they must not be dismissed from consideration, nor from use. The Will therefore is now working with this knowledge of the forces as its medium, making use of those that are favourable to its intention, discouraging those that are adverse. In this working it is generally successful, sooner or later, except when the object passes out of the field of operation & the idea or hope of bringing it back or distinguishing it if it returns is abandoned. The ritam or right working of the power is not yet advanced beyond its former stage of initial & inchoate development. It is also now seen by the duller parts of manas that a force which seems to be prevailing & its victory inevitable & intended, need not prevail at all; some other force may intervene or the will of God may strike the object and drive it towards other ends; the movement of the once dominant force then takes its place in the history of the total motion & final event as one of the forces of variation that modified or advanced the course of their fulfilment. The way is therefore clear for the entire perception of Ananta Brahman (guna, constituent forces and determining force or will), for its union in the Sarvam Brahma with the Jnanam Brahma and for its perfection in the sarvam samam anandam Brahma.
Vishayananda (ahaituka) now manifests sufficient intensity & continuity when it enters the physical system in company with the other physical anandas. When it comes by itself, involving in itself the others, it tends, if the intensity is too sthula or prolongs itself, to pass into the others, especially raudra and tivra. For the rest, this conjunction of all the anandas is intended as the normal state of ecstasy, except in its more particular movements of vishesha-radhas. Vishaya is in its nature a saumya ananda, the rest in their nature chanda anandas; hence states of chandata tend naturally to pass out of vishaya into its fiercer fellows. It is noticeable also that the other anandas obstructed or denied tend more & more, instead of at once extinguishing themselves in avyaktam, to pass into the raudra. This circumstance throws a considerable light on the true nature of pain.
r1913 12 31, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The principal work of the [year] 1913 has been the reduction of asiddhi to a survival in the external environmental swabhava, the purification of that swabhava from the contradictions of the first & second chatusthayas, the sure foundation of the siddhi in the third, fourth & sixth & its preparation in the fifth. The finality of the first chatusthaya is perfect in itself, though not yet entirely absolute, touches still surviving as an occasional insistence from the outer nature. Fierce trouble & distress is obsolete, distress itself & even impatience only an occasional & momentary memorial return, but temporary discouragement & distrust with a tendency to indifference & weariness are still able to make a superficial impression. This insecurity of the sraddha & tejas & their incomplete hold in regard to the karmasiddhi & the necessary rapidity of Yogasiddhi prevents a complete & forcible finality of the shakti, retains the excess of the Mahasaraswati-Maheswari combination in the Mahakali Mahasaraswati temperament and hampers the expression & activity of the Mahakali tapas. The third chatusthaya is founded in all its parts, but insecure in the Jnana, unfinished in the trikaldrishti, wide & secure but still uncertain & variable in vyaptiprakamya, both imperfect & uncertain in the parts of Tapas and ill-developed in samadhi; nevertheless it is now powerfully & inevitably progressive. The fourth chatusthaya is somewhat advanced but insecure in physical ananda, growing persistently in arogya but obstinately haunted by the old mechanical recurrence of fragmentary defects, growing in secondary utthapana, merely initial & without force of progression in saundarya. The fifth is still in a state of preparation, seed-sowing & crude initial consistencies. The sixth is well advanced, but unable to hold its own without smarana except in the sarvam Brahma. The seventh is well advanced except in certain parts of the siddhi, especially in ritam.
***
r1914 01 15, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The siddhi of the last few days has been directed mainly towards the removal in the natural mind of the obstacles to the right activity of the vi Jnana especially in trikaldrishti & the preparation of the general effective vi Jnanamaya tapas. The vi Jnanamaya action in the buddhi is now generalised, tending always, except for short intervals of relapse, to take the place of manasic perception, and by its very activity diminishing steadily, though it has not yet removed, the persistent recurrence of the manasic false response and distortion of vi Jnanamaya messages. In the light of this self-perfecting Jnana all the past vicissitudes of the sadhana are seen in their right light, their reasons, necessity, utility, essential cause & teleological purpose; for better impression on the natural mind, they recur in slight & fleeting instances, repeat their old action[,] are understood and dissolve themselves. This process, perfected in the Jnana, is being applied more & more powerfully & steadily to Veda, sahitya, trikaldrishti, telepathy. The mechanism of the tapas, its defects, causes, working & the teleological purpose of the defects arising from their essential causes, is also being exposed, the first effect being to remove the last remaining obstacles to faultless subjective persistence in the tapas even when it fails & is or seems hopeless of its purpose (the objective persistence is limited by physical fatigue or incapacity), and, secondly, to the ugrata of the tapas. It was formerly the minds habit to take failure as a sign of Gods adverse will & cease from effort, & as ugra tapas usually failed of its immediate purpose, unless very persistent & furious, it was thought ugra tapas was forbidden. The failure, however, was due to the immixture of effort & desire & anishata generally & the mental nature of the tapas and these again to the necessities, essential & teleological, of the process of the transition from the mental to the ideal being. The second chatusthaya is, therefore, nearing full completion, the third preparing it; the first now only suffers momentarily in samata by passing depressions & in ananda by general limitation of the second; the third is delayed by insufficiency of tapas in the second, the second held back in sraddha & tapas by insufficient light & effectuality in the third. These two chatusthayas must therefore for a little time longer move forward together helping each others fullness until the still watching intellect in the outer nature is sufficiently assured of its ground to allow fullness of tapas & sraddha. Samadhi has not moved forward except in the fullness & comparative frequency of the spontaneous sukshma ghrana & the increasing tendency of the other sukshma indriyas. The rupa drishti still struggles with the opposition in the material akasha to its combined perfection & stability; both perfection & stability have been carried separately in the jagrat to a high efficiency, but they cannot yet combine their forces. There are occasional images in which they meet, eg the reel of cotton thread, (1 degree), the card of d[itt]o (3 degree), the playing card in the ghana & developed forms (2 degree of stability); but this combined siddhi cannot yet generalise itself or even establish either frequency in the habitual forms or an initial freedom & variety of the higher forms. It is only in the crude forms that there is an initial freedom & variety accompanied with some stability. The physical siddhi has been for some time badly afflicted & depressed; the signs of progress are more subliminal than supraliminal. Karmasiddhi progresses rapidly in sahitya where the body alone is now a real obstacle, but is obstructed or attacked in dharma & kriti; especially in the latter there is violent negation & menace of destruction, eg, in the therapeutic pressure on N. [Nolini] etc.
***
r1914 03 17, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Lipi Tuesday, (14 March) is to some extent justified, as today the ritam in the Jnana seems to be firmly founded in the vi Jnana-buddhi by a[n] affirmative and discriminative action of the higher vi Jnana on the fallible mind. An attempt is being made to extend this advance to the trikaldrishti which is not yet entirely successful, as the overstress of the telepathic drishti continues in the environmental nature & prevents accuracy at the centre. Nevertheless the ritam is becoming remarkably powerful, even though unequal & false in its mental incidence in the trikaldrishti.
Veda is now taking a clear form & the objections to it breaking down; the definite interpretation has begun.
r1914 03 24, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Saguna Brahmadrishti has now practically taken the place of the Nirguna which is now perceived only as a foundation for the action of the Saguna. It is seen that the Sarvam Brahma is prominent when the Tapas of mental Chaitanya is fixed on Matter, all else being felt as undifferentiated consciousness & Matter alone as real to the mind, unreal to the drishti; Sarvam Anantam is felt when the Tapas is fixed on Matter & Life, all else being felt to be a sea of consciousness out of which Life & Matter proceed; Sarvam Anantam Jnanam when the Tapas is fixed on Life, Matter & Mind with Vi Jnanam felt behind vaguely as the source of Mind; but when the Jnanam increases & is sun-illumined, then the Anandam also appears & the Saguna Brahman becomes the Lilamaya Para Purusha. The Anantam has also two bhavas one in which the Infinite Force acts as if it were a mechanical entity, knowledge standing back from it, the other in which Life Force & Knowledge act together & the Infinite Force is an intelligent or at least a conscious force.
Hitherto the position of the Tapas has been that when strongly exerted, it has come to produce an effect against resistance, sometimes the full effect, sometimes a partial effect, sometimes a modified or temporary effect, sometimes a postponed effect, sometimes merely a struggle physical or mental towards the desired effect. In things physical & in things of the karma, the smaller effects are more common, full effect rare. When simply exerted, the force has often failed entirely, sometimes succeeded fully & at once, sometimes partly or with resistance, sometimes for a time only wholly or partially; sometimes only by producing a tendency or mental movement. Now the simply exerted will is becoming more effective, often perfectly effective, with no resistance or brief resistance or ineffective resistance. A month has been given in the trikaldrishti for the progress of this movement.
--
2) ie the value of the siddhi of knowledge is now the full faculty of Jnana & half the fullness (8 a[nna]s) of trikaldrishti. This is an exact description of the ordinary action of the illumined vi Jnanabuddhi at the present stage of the siddhi. 1 has long been in the lipi the sign of perfect Jnana & imperfect trikaldrishti, Jnana being symbolised by 1, trikaldristi by 2, Rupa by 3, Tapas by 4, Samadhi by 5, Health by 6, Ananda by 7, Utthapana by 8, Saundarya by 9, Kali by 10, Krishna by 11, Karma by 12, Kama by 13; so in succession with the 4 members of the Brahma-chatusthaya & the 4 of the Siddhi Chatusthaya making 21 in all.
3) . This refers to the persistent doubts of the sceptical intellect re the Karmasiddhi & points to increasing authority of the divine Vani, being Kali the Prakriti & the speaker the Deva or Purusha, Krishna, Master of the Yoga. It appears, however, that the doubts as to dehasiddhi, rapidity, exact fulfilment of knowledge & power are also included.
--
8) Flexibility of the intellectuality ie brought about now in a greater degree by the discouragement of the stress on the tapas & inertia; with this change has come a greater perfection both of Jnana & trikaldrishti.
9) The disgust of the asiddhihas to be got rid of entirely.
--
The difficulty formerly experienced in thought-telepathy was that there was a full or almost full perception, whenever there was even slight sanyama, of the chitta-mould of the living object and of his sensation mind in its status & acquired form accompanied with a clear perception of the contents of the temperament & character, also of the waves of feeling & sensation that arose in the manas & chitta & to a less degree of the thought sensations that arose in the manas, but not of the buddhi, except in its vague mould & acquired status, its outer shell only,not of either its general contents or of the particular ideas arising in it. These powers were gained long ago,early in the Pondicherry stay,& to some extent always existed in an inchoate form as they exist probably in all men; but they had to be discontinued for a long time; now with the growth of the Jnanam Brahma this difficulty is being overcome by the perception of the contents of the buddhi & the waves of idea that rise in it. This evening the old powers arose in a much more powerful & vivid form than before. This revival was heralded by a note in the lipi referring to the former intensity of the powers for a short period as between Bj & myself; but the full intention of the lipi was not understood; it was not realised that the revival of that intensity this very day was intended. Therefore the lipi was not recorded. There is still much to be done, but the foundations of complete knowledge, trikaldrishti & prakamya-vyapti are now being very firmly and very bountifully laid.
Proofs of the idea-perception are being multiplied; eg, a quarrel between two cats on the opposite terrace, a black tom & a white pet cat; almost all the movements could be followed & predicted; 1st the intention of the black to leap on the parapet of the stairs where the white had taken refuge, then, partly from discretion, partly in obedience to aishwarya, its slow departure,but this was not actually foreseen, the emotions of its retreat,sullen anger, pride, fear of attack (this was proved by the frequent look back, yet not too frequent, from pride), the half idea of returning & pursuing the quarrel, always abandoned, the intention to come on to our kitchen roof, the turning aside for the direct descent, (here there was a doubt whether the reading of the intention was correct, probably caused by a hesitation in the cat himself whether he should not deviate to another side[)], the final descent before the doubt could be solved.
r1914 03 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The perception of the one Jnanam Brahma in all is today very strong; but its grades & positions are still unstably harmonised, eg the general Manomaya Purusha in the Manastattwa taking the ananda of the various egos who know not themselves to be He, the same in the Anandatattwa of the Manas, the individual Manomaya Purusha watching the egoistic manas as the observing mind of an actor might watch his active mind on the stage, the Manomaya Purushottama in the cosmos & the same in the individual, the ego unconscious of its true self, the wider Manomaya aham conscious of it, yet differentiated. The Anandam Brahma is now beginning to be seen in the individual more frequently & vividly.
The restlessness & impatience & weariness of the environmental Prana with the contradictions, confusions & resistances that persist in the siddhi, still forces itself at times on the system, especially when the exiled intellectual devatas besiege & attack the city, no longer hoping to recover sway but to delay the perfect siddhi & revenge themselves for their expulsion.
r1914 03 26, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This is a very remarkable instance of the sortilege; for there is no connection between the Kathakopanishad & the Story of Trusts, yet a sortilege immediately taken from the latter after the interpretation of one from the former completes it & supplies precisely the thought needed for rounding off its unfinished suggestion. All the words are the exact words needed All mere representatives agents Standard[]. It is so, that all things in the world are now to be regarded in relation to the standard Being, the Sarva Ananta Jnana Ananda Krishna. Note that before taking the second sortilege, the book was pointed out & the indication given that the second sortilege would supply something still needed. All this shows an intelligent, omniscient & all-combining Mind at work which uses everything in the world as its instrument & is superior to the system of relations & connections already fixed in this world. It can use the most incoherent things harmoniously for one purpose. Nor is this an isolated instance & therefore classable as a mere coincidence,instances & proofs are now crowding on the mind.
Lipi is now again developing kaushalya; instances of tejomaya, jyotirmaya, varnamaya have suddenly come & are or tend to be, unlike the former rare instances, at once clear & stable.
r1914 03 27, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The mental powers of the higher Bhuvar expelled from control of the thought & perception & deprived of support from the higher Swar are now acting as a strong obstructional power and attempt to intercept and denaturalise every suggestion from the vi Jnana to the Swarvati buddhi. For this reason the Jnana & trikaldrishti in the thought are not able to manifest themselves & even the telepathy is much hampered. The Vani & Script, however, seem now to be beyond attack or obscuration. The Lipi suffers by its right (vi Jnanamaya) interpretation being intercepted or seized & distorted; this disability is shared by the rupa. Pseudo-vani still occurs, but is easily detected & carries with it no authority.
The truth of intuitional vi Jnana has now begun to be enforced & the task of discouraging & excluding the habit of mental interception or interpretation has been taken in hand. The mind is to be a passive recipient & channel, not an active rational & perceptional agent.
--
In the afternoon there was again an automatic recurrence of the confusion, ashanti & revolt of the last few days; it revived as a result of anritam in the savikalpa samadhi and persisted for some two hours or more while recurrent nirananda and sensitiveness to asiddhi & asatya and the absence of the assured & sunlit Jnana have been left behind as a deposit of this thrice repeated disturbance. The anger & revolt of the Prakriti at any pronounced & successful disturbance of finality in the first chatusthaya are caused by a sense of the total externality and want of justification in this wanton movement. It is no longer asatyam or other asiddhi that is the true cause of the self-identification by the Jiva with this movement of revolt. Ananda is being reestablished in the general bhavas, but continually contradicted & opposed in the detail; the nirananda is supported by the Jiva & hence lingers.
Morning Lipis. (Mostly Akasha)2
r1914 04 08, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Anandamaya Lilamaya Saguna is now being established in the conscious observation of persons & objects, although the Anandamaya Saguna is the usual bodha & there is a tendency of relapse to the mere Jnanamaya Saguna, but this is comparatively rare. Anandamaya Saguna tends to be the assured level (sanu) of the Brahmadarshana from which there is a steady tendency to rise to the Lilamaya. Formerly the sense of the Lilamaya Krishna or Narayana used to blot out the Jiva and, also, it used to be isolated without the background & continent of the Sarva Brahman or the pervasive content of the Sarva Ananta Jnana Brahman,it was divine Anandamaya personality concentrated in a single individual being. All the suspensions, relapses & retardations of the Brahmadarshana during the last few years have had for their object the removal of these & other defects and the development & harmonious unification of its various aspects, Saguna & Nirguna, Purusha-Prakriti, Ishwara-Shakti, Prajna-Hiranya-Virat, Sarva with Ananta, Sarva-Ananta with Jnana, Sarva-Ananta- Jnana with Ananda etc. The unification seems now to be approaching completion.
The interpretation of the lipi is also now acquiring a firmer sureness and quickness & with this movement there keeps pace a growing authority of the lipi. All intimations of knowledge are now accepted not only in theory & faith but in practice & perception as satya, & both the tendency of the mind & its capacity for discovering the true source & nature of all suggestions is increasing. Only the primary error of estimation & its subsequent uncertainties have to be got rid of, in order firmly to base the ritam.
r1914 04 11, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The 3d lipi of the group has been interpreted in Script as a .. direction to apply the fourfold Brahma-darshana to the things of life through the Sarvam Jnanam Brahma,& the systematic application has actually begun in the form of the brihat satya telepathy & trikaldrishti which was given in type this morning. But in this type the ritam is still hesitating & uncertain. Tapas which has been almost ineffective throughout yesterday & today, is once more active. It is the aim of the new personality to get rid of the gradual process, generalise the concentrated or even the involved & so ensure a triumphant rapidity; also to get rid of all the old ascetic conditions of Siddhi and Ananda.
Even violent & prolonged pain as well as violent & prolonged discomfort are now capable of Ananda; but this siddhi has yet to be generalised. If generalised it will be the first effectuality of the physical mukti. The other liberations are from the three tamasic doshas,weariness, sleep and physical depression; from the two rajasic, hunger & thirst, from the three cosmic, disease, death & physical limitation (eg gravitation etc). Of these only thirst is well advanced towards preparation of liberty, the others nearest being disease & physical depression which persist only from tamasic dhriti. Hunger has a less sure hold than in the average body. The rest are yet in full or almost full possession, except for the imperfect primary & secondary utthapana.
r1914 05 03, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Unable to bring back the Brahmadarshana to the mere Saguna or Sarva Brahma, the Asiddhi now presses on the NaraNarayana as a lower substitute for the Lilamaya Krishna. Meanwhile the perception of the Ananta Brahma is growing in intensity & fullness, but the contents of the Jnana Brahma are somewhat veiled. This defect aids the evolution of the Pranic steeds into luminous herds of enlightened conscious powers, but that evolution can only be complete when the contents of the Jnana Brahma become also full & intense to the consciousness.
Lipis
r1914 05 23, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
1) The Jnanam Brahma & Anandam Brahma will not be held continuously in the full active consciousness for some time yet.
2) The same with the fullness of activity of the vi Jnanamaya knowledge & power. There is much development yet to be done.
r1914 06 15, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The subjective Ananda, the Krishnadrishti & Drishti of the Jnana & Ananda Brahman, the confirmation & enlargement of the Satyam Brihat, the streng thening of the principle of Ananda are all now proceeding automatically towards their completion. So also the acceptance of all bhoga and the dasya. Only an uninsistent but sustained attention is needed for their generalised activity. For the generalised activity of the madhura relation with the personal Ishwara, smarana also is necessary; there is not the automatic smarana. The automatic generality of the ritam & the conquest of Time are as yet only envisaged.
Samadhi is progressing in stability. Dream was extremely coherent, free from ego but deformed by present associations.
r1914 06 18, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Brahmadarshana varies between the Krishna & Narayan Bhava & the impersonal Brahman in which Sarva predominates & Ananta & Jnana are insufficient. It is only the Krishnadarshan that brings the Ananda.
***
r1914 06 26, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jnanam Brahma is now adding itself to Sarva & Ananta as a constant manifestation in the consciousness. Ananda is behind.
Sat Brahman is always the base, but Ananta manifests normally in the Sat, Jnana now manifests less actively, but still normally in the Ananta. The Asat Brahma is behind & varies between Anandamay Asat in its purity, which is always anandamay, & the Negation of things in the mind & prana which is udasina or niranandamaya. The Asat in the body is Death.
***
r1914 06 28, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Affirmation of the Jnana Brahma is now sufficiently normal to provide a secure basis for the Ananda Brahman. Only it is the one Anandamaya in all who must be perceived constantly, not the Narayana imprisoned in the form. That must be only a subordinate movement in the One.
***
--
1) Today Jnanam Brahma becomes permanently normal
2) Today Ananda Brahman commences normality
--
The Anandam Brahma seems to be confirmed as the normal experience and its contradiction has suddenly become the exception. Jnanam Brahma is perfectly established. Lipi has now the capacity for stabilisation in longer phrases of variable intensity & legibility. Rupa has acquired a firmer tendency towards stability & efflorescence & a beginning of greater stability, chiefly in perfect dense forms.
***
r1914 07 17, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The vi Jnana is steadily preparing its finalities. There is finality of the vangmaya, finality of the vani, finality of the Jnana, finality of the two scripts. Finality of trikaldrishti & telepathy, of tapas, of rupa & samadhi is begun, but there is the question of rapidity, of process, of time, ie whether process & time are necessary or whether the involved & concentrated processes cannot now prevail in the subjective objectivity.
***
r1914 07 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The lowest power now possible is the Jnanam Brahma; but the normal vision is the second intensity of the Krishnadarshan. Jnanam with Ananda involved, Ananda without Krishna & the first intensity of the Krishnadarshana sometimes manifest, but are not static. The siddhi has rushed rapidly from the long-standing Sarvam & Sarvam Anantam through the Jnanam & leaped almost at once to the second intensity making the Ananda & the first intensity stepping stones lightly touched on only for a moment in the leaping. This is the concentrated method, with only a touch of the gradual left in it. The second intensity will now become the lowest power possible & the third intensity normal.
***
--
Now varies between an advanced second intensity & the third. The Jnanam Brahma, whenever it occurs, is immediately occupied by Krishna.
There is an immense extension of the satyam brihat by which all thoughts are seen as true & all forces & impulses as justified, useful & effective. At the same time things are seen not only in the terms of the physical universe, but in those of the nervous, mental & vi Jnanamaya & by implication in those of the three higher worlds.
r1914 07 21, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The second intensity is now so powerful that the first & the Ananda Brahman which sometimes manifest cannot persist except by a deliberate holding back of the normal perception. Jnanam Brahma appears by glimpses & disappears into Anandamaya.
The third intensity is now manifesting more frequently, but with a power of impersonality & formlessness which makes the man appear as a mask of God.
r1914 07 22, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
In the Darshana even there is a struggle between the full affirmation in fact & the inferior affirmation supported by the Nidah who base upon the alleged unreadiness of the general Swabhava. The Anandamaya Purusha is the lowest affirmation having still a tendency to stability; the lower intensities tend always to [ ]1 pass into the third & highest, the Jnanam & Ananda Brahman into the Anandamaya Purusha.
The two affirmations which have now to be worked out perfectly are the development of the Ritam in the satyam brihat & the conquest of the obstruction of Time by the three supplementary Affirmations.
r1914 07 23, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
4) The Ananda Atman is now firm in the place of the Jnana & the Krishnadarshan becomes continually more normal even in the external nature. If the identity of the Ananda Atman & Krishna is sometimes veiled, it is in order to admit of a more complex vision which is preparing.
5) This vision is now apparent. It is that of all the gods in man at one end & Krishna at the other.
r1914 07 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The prevalence of the lower intensities of the darshana is visibly working towards a more comprehensive organisation of the entire Krishnadarshana. The momentary prevalence of the Jnana Atman in the A Jnana form of the general Ego, has resulted in a perfect placing of the Ego & the greater strength of the Ananda Atman. With that there is a greater generality of the first intensity & a more powerful presentation of the third.
A strong telepathy also manifests, although the telepathy of thought is always obstructed & works in a lack of illumination.
These two movements are closely connected. It is the firm basing of the Jnanam Brahma which admits of a more & more complete telepathy.
The Anandatattwa is now very clear in its Powers behind all action & consciousness (in the Nrh & [Gnah]).1 There is a hesitation to manifest equally clearly the Sat & the Tapas
r1914 07 27, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Strong force of asiddhi; refusal of light, cloud in brain, lassitude in the nervous powers of the body. Samata & dasatya etc endure. Krishnadarshana of the first intensity correcting strong Jnanam Brahma which tries to cover the Ananda Brahma. The second & third intensity have more hold on the state of asiddhi than before. Tapas effective, but only, usually, after long resistance.
Lipi
r1914 07 28, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Since yesterday afternoon the second intensity has taken possession in place of the first & is itself preparing to give way to the third. Where the Jnanam Brahman of the Dwaitabhava does not interfere, it is general & very strong.
Faith etc
r1914 07 29, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
All is now in the third intensity, usually, except the ego, and, as a result of ego, sometimes the Jnana consciousness which is still in the first & second intensities or goes back to the mere Jnana Brahman.
Utthapana
r1914 07 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The difficult[y] is now the organisation of the Vi Jnana,for all the faculties do not act together. Telepathy, trikaldrishti, Jnana, power, Samadhi must cooperate & not give place to each other or conflict with each other.
Nor must karma when it is being done, monopolise as yesterday the vi Jnana, so that the rest of the siddhi seems to be arrested.
r1914 08 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Today shows a distinct advance in the normality of trikaldrishti; but as yet the obstruction to the direct luminousness of the thought perceptions is maintained and the powers of Jnana that are ready await the removal of this obstruction for their full activity.
***
r1914 08 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Organisation of Vi Jnana is now definitely proceeding by the combination of Vani, vangmaya thought and perceptive Jnana. All mental perceptions are being made luminous & the anritani of the trikaldrishti and telepathy steadily reduced to the luminous terms of the ritam. There is an incipient arrangement of ritam.
This carries with it a corresponding andha visvasa & bhakti for the Ishwara, with anandamaya submission, but not faith in particular kriti. Sense of responsibility is repelled and begins to disappear. Vak is being definitely renounced into the hands of the Ishwara. The demand for truth is disappearing in its remnants, also the idea that anything done can be wrong or have the wrong results.
r1914 09 11, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The thought with a little attention now always assumes automatically the vi Jnanamaya form, is always satya & increasingly rita. If there is any serious defect of rita it is that which still persists in trikaldrishti & affects the Jnana. The trikaldrishti & telepathy have now to go through their closing stages of organisation. The rest will be only extension.
Power is improving really, though not quite apparently. That is, the resistance even in kriti is becoming more & more difficult.
r1914 10 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
There is also the perception of the Jnanamaya ego as the Ishwara, spontaneous & without immediate smarana.
***
r1914 10 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The rest of the vi Jnana is still dull, except occasionally the Jnana.
***
r1914 11 10, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Darshana is now beginning finally to normalise the perception of the Parapurusha in the Anandam Jnanam Anantam Sarvam.
It begins with the perception of the Manomaya Purusha in the individual as identically the Parapurusha even in its apparent separateness & half-negative representation of Sachchidananda.
r1914 11 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Darshana has now a large & sure form of the Jnanam Brahma. Personality is therefore firm in the vision. But the Ananda Brahman, although always present, is not yet sufficiently strong & vivid.
***
r1914 11 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jnanaprakasho, Jnanalipsa, brahmavarchasyam, sthairyam.
Well-combined & now almost perfect; but full prakasha does not yet extend to action, & therefore brahmavarchasya is not yet perfect in effectivity.
--
Visuddhih, prakasho, vichitrabodho, Jnanasamarthyam.
Well-established, but not entirely complete in the active parts owing to lacunae in the vi Jnana.
--
There was also a movement of complete Jnana. The lifting of perceptive thought from the intuitional reason to the inspirational revelation is being prepared.
***
r1914 12 10, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Jnanam Brahma is now as strong as the Sarvam was previously & all beings are seen as personalities of that Brahman.
Anandam & Anantam are held a little back in order that there may be a full sense of weakness (defect) and depression, grief etc as movements of Anantam & Anandamself-constraining movements. This cannot be felt when there is too strong a sense of the Purna & Vaisva, for then the minor & constrained movement is overpowered by the major & free movement.
r1914 12 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Krishnabhava is often obscure in the mentality, although fixed. Ishwaradarshan (Anandamaya) is combated by the mental formation of the Jnanam Brahma and the perception of the udvigna Anandabhava. This disappears only by the recovery of Chidghanananda
***
r1914 12 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Great activity of the Jnana under the new conditions preparing a comprehensive Tapas & trikaldrishti on the basis of the Krishnabhava and Ishwarabhava.
***
r1914 12 19, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Anandam Jnanam Anantam Sarvam Brahma is now perfectly established everywhere. The object is no longer seen as other than That. The Anandam also carries with it the Nirguna Guni, the Impersonal Personality. But the sense of the Ishwara is still capable of drawing back into the super-conscious and being felt in the Brahman as its result rather than in itself. Definitely, it is now known & seen that the Ishwara is that from which the Brahman is born. Existence is the form of the Existent, Brahman is the mould of Parabrahman, & Parabrahman is Para Purusha. Purusha is the last word of the knowledge.
***
--
Subjective Ananda aided by Jnana is attempting to throw out the reversion to rajasic stress & reaction of Asamata. It appears, however, that this cannot be entirely done till Rudra-Vishnu is ready.
***
r1914 12 24, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
On the other hand Jnanam was almost full & luminous in ritam.
***
r1915 01 07b, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The trikaldrishti is acting with the ritam on broad lines, in large questions akin to the Jnana. The application in time & immediate circumstance does not yet take place.
Dream very coherent; a whole story read in dream lipi.
r1915 01 10, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
There is entire satyam and almost entire ritam & brihat of the Jnana & the telepathy in relation to outward event; decisive trikaldrishti is yet defective owing to defect of tapas siddhi and prakamya vyapti is not yet normally brihat, although it has all the necessary capacities.
***
--
The smooth development is now possible because the dasya is now complete and is taking the madhura into itself. The bhava is firmly founded on Jnana & state of being & the Ishwara is being felt in all thought, feeling & action. The distinction between Ishwara and Prakriti is not yet merged in the unity + difference, but the Prakriti is subordinate & more conscious of being a form of the Ishwara.
Mahalaxmi brings with her bhakti & prema, the stable permanence of which was so long denied.
r1915 01 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Jagrad rupa & vishaya are now the only parts of the Vi Jnana which are not well advanced; though none are yet finally perfect in their ordinary action, except pure Jnana.
***
r1915 01 24, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Ishwaradarshan is now securely normalised with the Krishna Kali Ananda, Guna & Jnana as its contents.
This is the first chatusthaya (Brahma) entirely satisfactory in its finality. Only intensity of bhava and fullness of detail have to be added, but this depends partly on the progress in other chatusthayas.
r1915 01 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
This is already being done today, the activity of the luminous mind being extended beyond the Jnana & literary work to the trikaldrishti, but as yet insecurely & incompletely.
***
r1915 05 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The generality of Sarvam Brahma, replaced by Sarvam Anantam, is now replaced by Sarvam Anantam Jnanam with the Anandam subdued but present in all the three. It is now in course of being replaced by the Krishna-darshana in the Jnanam Anandam; the Narayana-Vishnu Bhava persists, but as a past habit. The intensity of the Krishna-Narayana is now taking its place.
Karma.
r1915 06 08, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
A firm use of accurate and active telepathy, not yet entirely full nor entirely ritam, of vi Jnanamaya rita perception and of incipient positive and certain Trikaldrishti is now added to the action of vi Jnana which is meant to be constant. The trikaldrishti is not merely telepathic, but often pure vision. This movement however is not yet luminous, & in the whole knowledge, except in Jnana, there is only at best a subdued light.
Krishnadarshana is again general although still sometimes obstructed, but successfully only in regard to certain classes of animals.
r1915 06 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Ananda Brahman came to the front; this was followed by a lapse into Jnanam Brahma. Afterwards Anandamaya Ishwara took its place.
***
r1915 07 03, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Vi Jnanamaya satyam of the Jnana (complete) as opposed to manomaya satyam and, with less completeness & nearness, of the trikaldrishti in surrounding movements has been suddenly established
There is ritam of the Jnana, only partially of the trikaldrishti & force.
***
r1915 07 31, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
In Brahmadarshana Jnana is strong, Ananda Brahman vague & often only implicit. Krishnadarshana is no longer intense; although it is laying its foundations more solidly.
***
r1915 08 02, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Formerly the Brahmadarshan was of the impersonal Sarvam Anantam Jnanam Anandam, centred either in the Sarvam or Anantam or Jnanam or at the highest in the Anandam. Now this is a past state that recurs; it is the Personal in & embracing the Impersonal that is now the more normal, but this is most often in the Jnanam. From yesterday it begins to be more fixedly, more recurrently, for a longer time in the Anandam.
***
r1915 08 26, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Krishnadarshana is firm in the Jnanam Brahma, but Anandam Brahma is not yet sufficiently brought forward,therefore the full intensity is ordinarily absent.
***
r1916 03 08, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Krishnadarshana is again subject to fluctuations. It has descended into the Anantam & the Jnanam; but the Chidghana is now more normally informed & encompassed by the Ananda and perceives the Narottama in the Nara. Sometimes however it is more Anantam than Jnanam and then sees merely the Nara with only an implicit Ananda and the Chidghana prayas.
All is now being turned into Ananda in the mind & body. The old reactions returned for a long time in the morning, but were forced to be anandamaya, as are all discomfortable sensations in the body. Nor can they now disturb the calm of the being, but only suspend the hasyam with a minor contradiction of the sukham making itself an ananda of asukham & ashivam.
r1917 01 30, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Third chatusthaya is now complete, though imperfect. It is most advanced in Jnana where it is almost perfect in its more luminous movements.
Script
r1917 02 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
A higher ideality is now manifesting in the Jnanam and takes up a large part of the thought
T is developing, but still greatly hampered by overstress of telepathy and tejomaya intellectual tapasbuddhi
r1917 02 16, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
A great rush of ideality, jyotirmaya, higher, highest as well as lower taking up and transfiguring the intellect remnants into the light of truth. Mostly timeless idealities, in Jnana, not yet except slightly in trikaldrishti and then without reference to time.
***
r1917 03 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Large play of ideality in Jnana. All thought or thought-suggestion taken up into the ideality and its ideal truth luminously revealed. As yet this is only the action of the higher ideality acting on the intellect through the lower vi Jnana, not yet on its own plane.
The light does not yet become in the same way brihat in the T.
r1917 03 08, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The sixth chatusthaya of Sarvam Anantam Jnanam Anandam Brahma is now complete in itself. Its completeness of contents depends on the perfection of the third, fourth and fifth chatusthayas. Subjective bhukti may be now considered complete as well as subjective mukti. Subjective shuddhi is only defective in as much as the intellectual mentality still resists complete elimination by transformation into the ideality; but the separation & distinction of the two in knowledge is now complete. The full transformation is rather siddhi than shuddhi. Therefore only siddhi remains of the four elements of the seventh chatusthaya.
Physical shuddhi, mukti, bhukti though far advanced is not yet absolute, nor can be except by initial siddhi of the fourth chatusthaya.
--
The play of the old telepathies and tapas-telepathies continues with a view to their loss of all decisive force and reduction to their proper proportions. Meanwhile the action of higher ideality in T is suspended. It is in force only in the Jnana.
The direction is now for the ideality to act wherever it is free, Jnana-perception, vangmaya, lipi, reference etc and not to wait suspended for the T. This it is already beginning to do
***
r1917 03 11, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The difficulty of the tapassiddhi is still to combine it with trikaldrishti. The aspect[s] of will and idea in the telepathic mind,tapas and Jnana,are being now gradually harmonised; but the decisive trikaldrishti and the decisive tapas do not come together.
***
r1917 08 21, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The introduction of the dasya into the perceptive thought seems more difficult, but it is being easily done in the Jnana. The test will be in the trikaldrishti-tapas. All responsibility for action, physical, vital, mental must be left entirely to the Iswara, the Shakti is only an instrument and the Jiva their meeting-place.
All traces of the asamata, now only the occasional recurrence of an old habit, must be finally removed. This can be done by bringing forward the delight in the asiddhi.
--
1) Jnanam, 2) trikaldrishti, 3) rupa-siddhi, 4) tapas 5) samadhi, 6) arogya, 7) ananda, 8) utthapana, 9) saundarya, 10) Krishna, 11) Kali, 12) karma, 13) kama, 14) Sarvam Brahma, 15) Anantam, 16) Jnanam, 17) Anandam, 18) suddhi, 19) mukti, 20) bhukti, 21) siddhi.
This jyotih is not yet to be free from interruption and diminution, but it is founded and from henceforth bound to increase. It is jyoti not tejas, ideal light, not the mental. It is now trying to ally itself entirely with the Jnanam and Anandam Brahma.. These manifest usually each with a separate intensity in which the three others disappear from view; henceforth the quadruple intensity has set out to create its united effulgence.
***
r1917 08 22, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The siddhis established yesterday stand, except in vismriti, in which they are not so much denied as either unnoticed or in suspense. The tertiary dasya seems to be absolutely firm in the body, script, vani, and only suspended by vismriti in the perceptive Jnana and in the vangmaya for the change which is being operated. This change is the transference of the thought from the control of the inferior devatas to that of the Jiva-Prakriti receiving it direct from the Ishwara. The perceptive thought is being similarly transferred. Thought is to occur henceforth in the vi Jnana of the Jiva; not as suggestion, but as thought in action and the thought of the Ishwara in origin.
At present the perceptive thought is becoming impersonally vi Jnanamaya with a vague sense of the Ishwara behind. In telepathic trikaldrishti, when it is not vi Jnanamaya, its nature and descent as manasic suggestion from the mind-world through the rajas of the pranic is more and more often perceived in its fullness. This is the false trikaldrishti, which is in reality no more than telepathic suggestion of possibility. These suggestions come either from above or from around, from the mind and life-planes of the earth; in reality the latter derive rapidly from the former except when there is exchange on the earth plane itself; even then the derivation is eventually the same.
--
The jyotih of Jnanam Anantam is now taking into itself the Anandam.
***
r1917 08 26, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The containing Brahmadarshana is preparing to fix itself in the Ananda with the Jnana Ananta as content and Sarva as base.
Physical siddhi
r1918 02 14, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(6) Vi Jnana is at last taking firm possession not only of Jnana, but of the telepathic mind. This movement is as complete today as it can be without the development of ideal T. T has reached a certain relative completenessnot satisfactory and is making towards the satisfactory completeness and perfection which will turn it finally into T. Thought telepathy is still weak and all is obstinately obstructed. Rupasiddhi and Samadhi are successfully obstructed and get little play; what there is, is fragmentary and unsatisfactory.
(7) Physical Ananda is developing (ahaituka) against obstruction. Ahaituka kama promises to fix itself. Sahaituka tivra is well advanced, and only imperfect by a remnant of the habit of interruption when rapid continuous excitation takes place, but this interruption no longer amounts to a suspension, much less a relapse. The rest is slowly pushing its advance, but not yet with any large effect. Arogya is still in the struggle. Saundarya and utthapana still obstructed from manifestation except in details.
r1918 04 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(4) The hasyam of the first chatusthaya is developing the attahasyam of Mahakali into which is to be taken the Jnana-hasyam, sneha-hasyam and kautuka-hasyam of the three other powers. But with defect of perfect sraddha swashaktyam, of perfect samata in tapas and of perfect ishwarabhava, this cannot take possession of the temperament.
(5) Sraddha has an occasional perfection when it is sraddha in the Bhagavan and in the shakti as his executive power; but in the absence or defect of ideal tapas-siddhi, this also wavers. General habit of sraddha prevails, but is crossed by the intellectual uncertainty as to the intention of the Ishwara.
r1918 05 19, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The second chatusthaya is now complete, but in parts it is deficient in force, awaiting farther development of the Kalibhava and this again dependent on farther development of the ideality, that is the unification of the first three chatusthayas. Shama now contains in itself no longer a relaxed, but a concentrated tapas and relaxed prakasha, tapas an involved prakasha and a basic shama. By the unification of the three chatusthayas there will be the perfect unification of the three gunas. This is in the temperament, but the play of Jnana and T will bring it about also in the mentality. In the vi Jnana they are always united. There will then remain the body, but there too the siddhi is being made ready.
Ideality II is now acting upon the mental telepathy intuitive and manasic which still survives bringing about a greater light of vision and more efficacy of tapas, but without absolute certainty which only comes when there is the play of the ideal T; provisional certainty is however more frequent, but does not owing to the continued residuary action of the old intelligence always know its own proper limits.
r1918 05 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
There is a movement to apply finally the law of the ideality to the ideation as in the speech thought and the lipi. This is not difficult in the ideation of Jnana, but it is still difficult in the ideation of T, especially of tapas. Stress of tapatya and tapata have always been the chief obstacles; whenever removed, they have returned in a modified form; they now return as suggestions from the external physicality breaking down the defences of the intuitive mind. The Shakti has once more put them in their right place and discharged the intuitive mind of tapatya and even of unduly extended tapata. Decisive trikaldrishti and effective tapas are steadily increasing even in the intuitive mind; but until all tapas becomes ideal tapas, the perfection of the ideality cannot be thoroughly accomplished. This as yet has not been done. It can only be done by the satyam brihat ritam in the decisive trikaldrishti developing into its full amplitude. For that the rejection of the intellectual mind-stuff which clings to the ideation is a necessary preliminary.
In Samadhi still the same movement. At night a revival of dream incoherence.
r1919 07 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The month of June has been a period of the overcoming of difficulties in the central ideality, in the Ananda Ishwara Darshana and in the Kama Ananda, a combat with difficulties and slow varying progress in some elements of arira siddhi. The first two chatusthayas have enormously increased in breadth, power and finality, though not yet absolutely secure against superficial fragmentary and momentary disturbance. Brahma chatusthaya has enlarged in base and scope and taken on the supreme Ishwara, Purusha form. It has only to be thoroughly confirmed and filled in with the Jnana, etc by the gnosis.
The difficulty is almost eliminated in all the central ideality except the T. There it is being removed and has to be eliminated partially or wholly during the month of July. Perfection prepared by the last months work has to be initially founded in the highest logistic ideality. In Samadhi and rupa vishaya the obstacles have to be still overcome; in the former they have a diminished, in the latter a complete persistence. The difficulties of Ananda have to be obliterated and spontaneity, continuity and intensity fixed in the system. The difficulties of the arogya have to be attacked and brought to nothing; this is possible in July, but not yet certain. The utthapana and saundarya are likely to be longer hampered and are not likely to come to anything very considerable till the closing months of the year. Ananda Brahman has to be filled in with the guna and Jnana.
The attack of the rogas of cold, cough, eye-disease are now attempting to materialise in the night, taking advantage of the slightest exposure, because then owing to sleep the tapas is not active and the prana is more vulnerable. This night owing partly to previous tapas the attack was neither so successful nor so forcible. Eye disease is now operating in the sukshma showing there its symptoms and trying to impress them on the physical body by the sraddha in the disease; it is combated by tapas and by sraddha in arogya and is not so far successful except very superficial[ly], and this slight superficial result is now more easily removed by tapas as soon as the body rises. It is now quite evident that the source of disease is psychical, not physical; it is due to failure of tapas, idea of ill-health, weakness of the prana-shakti, faith in ill-health in the physical body. Faith with knowledge from the ideality is now powerful to combat it, though not yet entirely to eliminate; for the body is still subject to the mental suggestions from the outside forces.
r1919 07 07, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The highest ideality is now acting in Jnana frequently with a complete possession; only, when the thought tapas is relaxed or there is some other preoccupation, the older state of mixed intuitive mind and lower gnosis holds predominance. Very little remnant of intellectuality is left in existence; only some after effect of it is left in the lowest action of the intuitive perception.
Little samadhi; activity of clear crude rupa in antardarshi
r1919 08 25, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Lipi 13 3 6 These are the siddhis which have to be brought forward and on which, in addition to the gnosis of Jnana and T the Shakti is most tending to concentrate.There is an attempt also to redevelop or rather to remanifest and reestablish the once manifested stable basis of the K. Ananda.
K.A is reestablished, but not with a full force or continuity.
r1919 08 29, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
T this morning has made a large stride forward. A full free and normal thought or Jnana of tapas and trikaldrishti has now associated itself with the actual perceptions (vyapti prakamya) and this has enormously increased the rapidity of progress which is now returning to what used to be called the enthusiastic (ie the luminous or fiery or both) and anandamaya rapidity in lipi, Jnana and T, while it is partly active in samadhi.The Shakti has first converted into the seer logistis the constantly recurring remnants of the old actualistic telepathies of the intuitive mind, intuition, inspiration and inferior (semi-intellectual) revelation; then the dynamic telepathies and tapas thought on the basis of accurate possibility, sometimes but not always full and complete in its visionit is when some possibilities are ignored that error of stress becomes most tempting and facile; finally it is bringing out the telepathic decisions and relating them to and converting them into the nontelepathic or pure trikaldristic certitudes. The two first movements are now finally founded and the old errors can only recur by mechanical force of habit without any other justification, since there is no void of knowledge to justify their blinder seeking. The third is only just being founded with the final firmness, but the foundation is not yet complete.
No Samadhi in the afternoon. The other members of the siddhi are held back by the obstruction; but in antardarshi the force of lipi stability is increasing.
r1919 08 31, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The obstruction is now without being removed rendered null for the ideality. Lipi in the jagrat is moving forward, increasing the normality of the third degree of stability and its force of duration, bringing the rapid legibility in the stability and rejecting all unstable lipi. The ideal thought is enforcing its free, normal, pervading action and bringing it to the level of the thought speech in this normality and freedom. Trikaldrishtic thought shares in this new perfection. T is increasing with a remarkable rapidity in frequency of logistic certitude. The normal character is now that of the logistic seer ideality either with a strong dynamic and hermetic force, successful tapas enforced by Jnana, or of the same thing, but with full logistic revelation. The old inferior or middle seer logistis which was a correct adjustment of possibilities is giving way to this formit recurs but without sanction for endurancein which possibilities and certitudes are combined, but with the latter in domination. Tapas without knowledge is now being rejected and condemned to exclusion. The still existent defect arises chiefly from imperfection of vision of time, place and a certain and indisputable order and fullness of circumstance. These things can only be initially established in the seer logistis, since their sure fullness begins in the hermetic ideality.
Darshana which fluctuates between Ananda and mentality, is now increasing its insistence on the force of the vi Jnanamaya darshana, as only by fixity in the gnostic seeing can it get rid of the lapse to the defects of Ananda.
r1920 02 01, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Lipi, thought-speech, Jnana perfected on this level of vi Jnana
T perfected a little later, but rapidly all the same.
r1920 02 04, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Thought-speech, Jnana [and]1 primary T are being founded on the highest logistis
***
r1920 02 10, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Ideal Shakti is fixed in the body, lipi fixed in the vi Jnana, interpretative and revelatory of the two lower kinds. Thought-siddhi and T is partly formed in the same idealities, but revelatory logistis predominates for the time. There is however a mixture of intelligence. Sharira Ananda discontinued at night by sleep and recovered with some difficulty in the morning. Brahma chatusthaya complete in Sarvam Anandam Brahma, Anantam Jnanam in essence. The Brahma-vision has now to be filled in with the vi Jnana. Rupa and Samadhi are progressing; rupa is still in the first stability, occasionally on the border of the second, recurrent, not steady in appearance. Ideal Samadhi baffled at night by sleep and dream: present in daytime but assailed by nidra.
Today thought-siddhi + T ought to rid itself of the admixture. The psychic suggestions, telepathy, vyapti, prakamya, possibility, doubt, denial etc are all being rapidly changed into the form of the revelatory logistis. There is a strong tendency to the interpretative form.
r1920 02 20, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(3) Strong development of ideal thought-siddhi in all forms; rapid and continuous ideal thought-perception, Jnana
(4) Developing certitude in trikaldrishti, but much enveloped in idealised mind-matter.
r1920 02 21, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
(1) Idealisation of the intuitive (mental) thought-siddhi Jnana and T knowledge, dominant but not absolutely complete.
(2) Immediately (in the morning) the movement turned to the normalising of the interpretative revelatory vi Jnana in all the mind and supermind, and after certain fluctuations this came in the evening
r1920 03 02, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The action of outer mentality in a mass of all kinds turned into the lower and lesser ideal action. The object to get rid of the coating, penetration, mixture of the intuitive mental being in the thought-action, as has already been done in script and lipi. Also of the glamour of confused light in the uncentralised ideal action.. This seems to have been done, but not so as to absolutely exclude the potentiality of farther intrusion and necessity of farther suddhi. The success seems to be absolute in thought-speech; there is a mixture of stress and incertitude in trikaldrishti, Jnana thought-perception is held in doubt between the greater and lesser siddhi. Mind-cased confused perception and half-perception can still pursue the trikaldrishti. The higher vi Jnana acts with some difficulty and is not yet in free comm and of its highest forms, but it is growing in power to hold the adhara.
In the evening the thought-perception acquired the same freedom in the ideality as has already been attained by the other members; that is to say, without any watching, attention[,] concentration or use of will it acts rapidly and constantly without falling from the vi Jnana or being invaded by unideal suggestions. How far it will be able to cover at once all the T remains to be tested.
r1920 03 13, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The lipi has succeeded in establishing finally the full dominance of the drashtri vi Jnana. This is also accomplished in the script, though here there is a strong tendency still to an invasion by the inspirational intuitive thought-perception. The same siddhi seems also to be assured in the thought-speech in the vi Jnana; but there are still intrusions of the lower forms from the exterior atmosphere. The highest drishti may also be considered to be siddha in the Jnana, but not yet in the T thought-perception.
***
r1920 06 07, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
Vi Jnana. The conversion of the thought, Jnana, to the vi Jnana form is now complete. The base is still the revelatory intuition, but the representative logis[tis] has penetrated the major part of its action and the interpretative often intervenes and prepares the normality of the highest logistis. Telepathies are now idealised and of a great but not always perfect correctness. Telepathic tapas is now vi Jnanamaya. The decisive T at present emerges from the idealised telepathies (mental perceptions of event, force, tendency and possibility) and the idealised telepathic (old mental) tapas. At times there is the independent T of the supreme logistis. Telepathies are now a part of trikaldrishti and amount to a drishti of the present, and often imply or hold in their action the drishti of the immediate future. At the same time none of these things have an absolute perfection, and decisive tapas is not as yet very strong, organised or effective. Prakamya of feeling and sensation is strong, but incomplete and intermittent; prakamya of thought intermittent and feeble. Vyapti is more effective. Action and knowledge at a distance is still unorganised and imperfectly effective. Rupa is still obstructed in the physical akasha, but confirmed in a primary type stability; vishaya not yet restored to action; samadhi firmly idealised, but limited by fantasy, instability and nidra. There is still great incoherence in the sushupta swapna lipi.
Sharira progresses in the Ananda which after some intermission varied by an unstable but more spontaneous recurrence is recovering continuity dependent on smarana, but this continuity is now for the most part spontaneous and has not to be maintained, though sometimes assisted, by tapas. The fragmentary rogas persist and cannot yet be totally expelled from the system, but the action of the Tapas on them is growing stronger. Only the central rogas are obstinate in possession, the rest only in persistent recurrence. The digestive fluctuates between almost complete intermission and a virulent, but now much less vehemently effective recurrence. There is no visible action of utthapana or saundarya.
r1920 06 19, #Record of Yoga, #Sri Aurobindo, #Integral Yoga
The Jnana etc are affected in a similar direction. The system is invaded by a vague and confused idealised mentality which is turned to an imperfect revelatory ideality when it enters the system and its surrounding atmosphere. The vi Jnana thought and T occur, but do not closely hold the system as for a long time they have been doing. There is nothing left but to await the issue of the struggle.
Ananda during the time set apart for the samadhi insistent on possession of the sthula body, but a possession by penetration, not a reawakening of the hold on the sthula fibres.
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (text), #Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna, #Sri Ramakrishna, #Hinduism
140. Our so-called Pandits will talk big. They will talk of Brahman, of God, of the Absolute, of Jnana Yoga,
of philosophy, of ontology, and the rest. But there are very few who have realized what they talk about.
--
renounce it, I would say that the two are the same. Both of them have the same Jnana in common. But if
the Jnani is in the world, he has cause to fear; for life in the midst of sensual attractions is attended with
--
place. Enter the world after gaining Jnana and Bhakti. The best curd is formed when the milk is left quite
still; shaking, or even changing the pot, spoils it. Janaka was unattached; hence one of the epithets
--
A. That depends upon the spiritual state. In the path of Jnana it produces no harm. When a Jnani eats,
he offers the food as an oblation in the fire of Kundalini. But for a Bhakta, it is different. A Bhakta should
--
56l. Jnana never comes without renunciation of lust and possessions. With the dawn of renunciation is
destroyed all ignorance, all Avidya. Many things can be burnt by Means of a lens held in such a manner
--
Rama as an Avatara. God incarnates in the human form to teach man true Jnana and Bhakti.
Nara Lila1 = God has four distinct aspects of manifestation. One aspect of His is Isvara, the supreme
--
Bhakti (Love) and Jnana (Knowledge). Their case is like the sun and the moon appearing in the
firmament at one and the same time. The manifestation of Jnana and Bhakti in one and the same person
is as unique an occurrence as the phenomenon referred to above.
--
I. Path of Knowledge: What is Jnana Yoga-Method of Jnana Yoga-Difficulties of Jnana Yoga- II. Path of
Love: Bhakti and the conditions of its growth-Bhakti and Worldly love-Effects of Bhakti-Stages and
--
Bhakti and Jnana: Bhakti and Jnana the same in the end-How Bhakti leads to Jnana-Difference in the
temperaments of the Jnani and the Bhakta-IV. Path of Work:
--
What is Jnana Yoga?
Jnana, BHAKTI AND KARMA1 These Sanskrit words may roughly be translated into English as
--
Method of Jnana Yoga 197
732. Jnana Yoga is communion with God by means of knowledge. The Jnani's object is to realise
Brahman, the Absolute. He says "Not this," "Not this" and thus leaves out of account one unreal thing
--
735. Knowledge ( Jnana) varies in degree and kind from person to person. There is first the Jnana or
insight of men of the worldordinary mortals. This knowledge is not sufficiently powerful. It may be
compared to the flame of a lamp which illumines only the interior of a room. The Jnana of a Bhakta
(devotee) is a stronger light. It may be compared to the light of the moon which reveals things both
inside and outside a room. But the Jnana of the Avatara is still more powerful, and may be likened to the
sun. He is the sun of Divine knowledge whose light dispels the accumulated ignorance of ages.
Method of Jnana Yoga .
736. If a man knows his own self, he knows other beings and God. What is my ego? Is it my hand or foot,
--
Method of Jnana Yoga 199
741. Knowledge leads to unity; ignorance to diversity.
--
Difficulties of Jnana Yoga
743. Jnana Yoga is exceedingly difficult in this age of Kali. In the first place, our life in this age depends
entirely upon food (Annagataprana). Secondly, the term of human life now is much too short for this
--
'thorn' of body-consciousness has to be burnt into ashes by the fire of Jnana.
744. Very few persons are fit for the attainment of Jnana. The Gita declares: "One among thousands
desires to know Him, and even among thousands of those who are desirous to know, one perhaps can
--
one's Jnana (knowledge of God).
745. The Jnana Yogi says, "I am He." But as long as one has the idea of the Self as body, this egotism is
injurious. It does not help one's progress, and it brings about one's ruin. Such a person deceives himself
--
BHAKTI AND Jnana
Bhakti and Jnana the same in the end
791. Pure Knowledge and pure Love are both one and the same.
--
793. What is Jnana (Knowledge) in the highest sense? Says the Jnani, "O Lord, Thou alone dost act in all
this universe. I am but the smallest of tools in Thy hands. Nothing is mine. Everything is Thine. Myself,
--
794. A devotee: How can one know that one has attained Jnana, even while leading a family life?
The Master: By the tears and the thrill of the hair at the name of Hari. When, at the very mention of the
--
has attained Jnana.
795. Here is a Puranic story which reconciles Jnana and Bhakti. Once Ramachandra, God-incarnate, said
to his great devotee Hanuman, "My son, tell Me in what relation you regard Me, and how you meditate
--
How Bhakti leads to Jnana
797. Knowledge of Non-duality is the highest; but God should be worshipped first as a master is
--
800. The Jnana Yogi longs to realise Brahman-God the Impersonal, the Absolute and the Unconditioned.
But, as a general rule, a soul would do better, in this present age, to love, pray and surrender himself
--
devotee hungers and thirsts after it. Thus the Jnana Yogi will attain Jnana as well as Bhakti. It will be
given to him to realise Brahman; the Lord willing, he will also realise the Personal God of the Bhakta.
--
well as Jnana, and the realisation of God, Personal as well as Impersonal. For if a man can manage to
reach Calcutta, can he not succeed in finding his way to the Maidan, the Ochterlony Monument, the
--
811. The Master: Bhakti is the moon, while Jnana is the sun. I have heard that there are oceans in the
extreme north and south, where it is so cold that the waters in them freeze in part, forming masses of
--
false," the ice will thaw in the sun of Jnana, and what will remain? Only the formless water of that ocean
of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.
812. Jnana is like a man and Bhakti is like a woman. Knowledge has entry only up to the drawing-room of
God, but Love can enter His inner apartments.
--
the attainment of Jnana for themselves .
CHAPTER XVII THE DIVINE
--
Herein is the reconciliation between Jnana and Bhakti.
881. As water, when congealed, becomes ice, so also the visible form of the Almighty is the materialised
--
Paramatman and the other in seeing Him in His personal manifestation. The former is called Jnana, and
the latter Bhakti.
--
the light of Jnana illumines the Jiva, and dispels his age-long ignorance.
916. On being questioned as to whether he was conscious of the gross world in the state of Samadhi,
--
917. In true Jnana not the least trace of egotism is left. Without Samadhi, Jnana never comes. Jnana is
like the midday sun, in which one looks around but finds no shadow of oneself. So when one attains
--
926. Jnana is the realisation of the Atman by the elimination of all phenomena. By eliminating the
phenomena 'through the process of discrimination, one attains Samadhi and realises the Atman.
--
Ramachandra attained Jnana and refused to remain in the world, Dasaratha sent Vasishtha to instruct
him. Vasishtha said to Ramachandra:
--
higher things, your 'sect' will fall to pieces. In the state of Jnana, forming sects becomes meaninglessfalse as a dream."
944. When man attains true Jnana, he does not perceive God as a far-off being. He is no more felt
thereafter as 'He', but as 'This,' 'here within'as within one's own soul. He is within all; whoever seeks
--
much fear of woman!" When one attains to full Jnana, one's nature becomes like that of a little
child,one sees no distinction between male and female.
Talks 001-025, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
M.: Any asana, possibly sukha asana (easy posture or the half-Buddha position). But that is immaterial for Jnana, the Path of Knowledge.
D.: Does posture indicate the temperament?
--
D.: What is Jnana Marga?
M.: Concentration of the mind is in a way common to both Knowledge and Yoga. Yoga aims at union of the individual with the universal, the Reality. This Reality cannot be new. It must exist even now, and it does exist.
Talks 026-050, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
M.: Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga (prapatti) are one and the same.
Self-surrender leads to realisation just as enquiry does. Complete self-surrender means that you have no further thought of I. Then all your predispositions (samskaras) are washed off and you are free. You should not continue as a separate entity at the end of either course.
--
D.: The term Jnana is realised Wisdom. The same term is used for the method also. Why?
M.: Jnana includes the method also because it ultimately results in realisation.
D.: Is a man to engage in teaching his knowledge however imperfect?
--
A visitor asked Sri Bhagavan, You are Bhagavan. So you would know when I shall get Jnana. Tell me when I shall be a Jnani. Sri
Bhagavan replied, If I am Bhagavan there is no one besides the
Talks 051-075, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Sri Bhagavan said that sushumna is the name mostly mentioned in scriptures. Other names also occur; e.g., para, atma, amrita. It is also stated that sushumna becomes leena (merged in para). So it may be said that para is the terminology of Jnana, whereas sushumna is that of Yoga.
24th June, 1935
--
People anxious for siddhis are not content with their idea of Jnana and so want siddhis associated with it. They are likely to neglect the supreme happiness of Jnana and aspire for siddhis. For this they are going through the by-lanes instead of the royal path and so will likely lose their way. In order to guide them aright and keep them on the royal road alone the siddhis are said to accompany Jnana. In fact Jnana comprises all, and a Jnani will not waste even a thought on them. Let the people get Jnana and then seek siddhis if they so desire.
I have said: sarira samsrayah siddhayah (the siddhis relate to the body), because their outlook is concerning the body. A Jnani and siddha are not different. In varan datum (to bestow boons) the boons include atmalabha (the gain of Self) also. The siddhis are not merely of an inferior order but of the highest order.
--
Iswara Himself says so, what of others? In order to display siddhis there must be others to recognise them. That means there is no Jnana in the one who displays them. Therefore siddhis are not worthy of any thought. Jnana alone is to be aimed at and gained.
Sri Ramana Gita Chapter XVII, Verse 4, Translation in Tamil is inaccurate.
--
Vaidharbhas question was: In practice, the thoughts are found to manifest and subside alternately. Is this Jnana? Sri Bhagavan explained the doubt as follows:
Some people think that there are different stages in Jnana. The Self is nitya aparoksha, i.e., ever-realised, knowingly or unknowingly. Sravana, they argue, should therefore be aparoksha Jnana (directly experienced) and not paroksha Jnana (indirect knowledge). But Jnana should result in duhkha nivriti (loss of misery) whereas sravana alone does not bring it about. Therefore they say, though aparoksha, it is not unshaken; the rising of vasanas is the cause of its being weak (not unchanging); when the vasanas are removed, Jnana becomes unshaken and bears fruit.
Others say sravana is only paroksha Jnana. By manana (reflection) it becomes aparoksha spasmodically. The obstruction to its continuity is the vasanas: they rise up with reinforced vigour after manana. They must be held in check. Such vigilance consists in remembering = I am not the body and adhering to the aparoksha anubhava (direct experience) which has been had in course of manana (reflection).
Such practice is called nididhyasana and eradicates the vasanas. Then dawns the sahaja state. That is Jnana, sure.
The aparoksha in manana cannot effect dukha nivritti (loss of misery) and cannot amount to moksha, i.e., release from bondage because the vasanas periodically overpower the Jnana. Hence it is adridha
(weak) and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by nididhyasana (one-pointedness).
--
(brain) ends there. That experience is not complete. For Jnana, they must come to the Heart. Hridaya (Heart) is the alpha and omega.
4th July, 1935
--
D.: I have faith in murti dhyana (worship of form). Will it not help me to gain Jnana?
M.: Surely it will. Upasana helps concentration of mind. Then the mind is free from other thoughts and is full of the meditated form.
--
(2) lakshyartha = Jnana = Self = Swarupa = Secondary significance.
D.: With vritti one sees knowledge.
Talks 076-099, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Sushumna pare leena. Here sushumna refers to tapo marge whereas the para nadi refers to Jnana marga.
--- Talk 83.
--
may be in samadhi, still others may disappear from sight before death. But that makes no difference to their Jnana. Such suffering is apparent only to the onlooker and not to the Jnani, for he has already transcended the mistaken identity of the Self with the body.
--- Talk 88.
--
M.: By practice. A devotee concentrates on God; a seeker, follower of the Jnana-marga, seeks the Self. The practice is equally difficult for both.
D.: Even if the mind is brought to bear on the search for the Self, after a long struggle the mind begins to elude him and the man is not aware of the mischief until after some time.
Talks 125-150, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
Sreyo hi Jnanam abhyasat Jnanat dhyanam, dhyanat karmaphala tyagah.
Here Jnana stands for knowledge without practice; abhyasa stands for practice without knowledge; dhyana stands for practice with knowledge.
Knowledge without practice accompanying it is superior to practice without knowledge. Practice with knowledge is superior to knowledge without practice accompanying it. Karmaphala tyagah Nishkama karma as of a Jnani - action without desire - is superior to knowledge with practice.
--
(surrender), Jnana, etc.
Talk 130.
--
Can Jnana be lost after being once attained?
M.: Jnana, once revealed, takes time to steady itself. The Self is certainly within the direct experience of everyone, but not as one imagines it to be. It is only as it is. This Experience is samadhi. Just as fire remains without scorching against incantations or other devices but scorches otherwise, so also the Self remains veiled by vasanas and reveals itself when there are no vasanas. Owing to the fluctuation of the vasanas, Jnana takes time to steady itself. Unsteady Jnana is not enough to check rebirths. Jnana cannot remain unshaken side by side with vasanas. True, that in the proximity of a great master, the vasanas will cease to be active, the mind becomes still and samadhi results, similar to fire not scorching because of other devices. Thus the disciple gains true knowledge and right experience in the presence of the master. To remain unshaken in it further efforts are necessary.
He will know it to be his real Being and thus be liberated even while alive. Samadhi with closed eyes is certainly good, but one must go further until it is realised that actionlessness and action are not hostile to each other. Fear of loss of samadhi while one is active is the sign of ignorance. Samadhi must be the natural life of everyone.
Talks 151-175, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
M.: Pranayama according to Jnana is:
Na aham I am not this = out-breathing
Talks 176-200, #Talks, #Sri Ramana Maharshi, #Hinduism
D.: Which is the best of the different yogas, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti or Hatha?
M.: See stanza 10 of Upadesa Sara. To remain in the Self amounts to all these in their highest sense.
--
(1) By examining the mind itself. When the mind is examined, its activities cease automatically. This is the method of Jnana. The pure mind is the Self.
(2) Looking for the source of the mind is another method. The source may be said to be God or Self or consciousness.
--
Sakti, Consciousness, Yoga, Bhakti, Jnana, etc.
D.: Not clear yet.
Talks 225-239, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
M.: I have already answered it. Investigate the mind. It is eliminated and you remain over. Let your standpoint become that of wisdom then the world will be found to be God. dristin Jnanamayim kritva pasyet Brahmamayam jagat.
So the question is one of outlook. You pervade all. See yourself and all are understood. But you have now lost hold of your Self and go about doubting other things.
Talks 500-550, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Jnana chakshus does not mean that it is an organ of perception like the other sense-organs. Jnanameva chakshuh. Television, etc., are not functions of Jnana chakshus. So long as there is a subject and also an object it is only relative knowledge. Jnana lies beyond relative knowledge. It is absolute.
The Self is the source of subject and object. Now ignorance prevailing, the subject is taken to be the source. The subject is the knower and forms one of the triads whose components cannot exist independent of one another. So the subject or the knower cannot be the ultimate Reality. Reality lies beyond subject and object. When realised there will be no room for doubt.
--
English. Sri Bhagavan was explaining its meaning. Brahmaloka may be interpreted subjectively or objectively. The latter meaning requires faith in the sastras which speak of such lokas, whereas the former meaning is purely of experience and requires no external authority. Brahmaloka would mean Brahma Jnana (Knowledge of
Brahman) or Self-Realisation (Atma-Sakshatkara). Parantakala as opposed to aparantakala. In the latter the jivas pass into oblivion to take other births. Their oblivion is enveloped in ignorance (avidya).
Para is beyond the body. Parantakala is transcendence over the body, etc., i.e., Jnana (knowledge). Paramritat prakriteh = beyond prakriti. Sarve implies that all are qualified for knowledge and liberation (moksha). yatayah = yama niyama sametah sat purushah
= good men well disciplined. The whole passage implies passing into the real beyond the unreal. na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh parena nakam nihitam guhayam, vibhrajate yadyatayo visanti vedanta vi Jnana sunishchitarthah sanyasayogadyatayah shuddha satvah te brahmaloke tu parantakale paramritat parimuchyanti sarve dahram vipapam paravesmabhutum yat pundarikam puramadhya samstham tatrapi dahram gaganam visokastasmin yadantastadupasitavyam yo vedadau svarah prokto vedante cha pratishtitah tasya prakritilinasya yah parah sa Mahesvarah
--
M.: The vasanas are of two kinds: bandha hetu (causing bondage) and bhoga hetu (only giving enjoyment). The Jnani has transcended the ego and therefore all the causes of bondage are inoperative. Bandha hetu is thus at an end and prarabdha (past karma) remains as bhoga vasana (to give enjoyment) only. Therefore it was said that the sukshma sarira alone survives Jnana. Kaivalya says that sanchita Karma (stored
Karma) is at an end simultaneously with the rise of Jnana; that agami
(Karma now collecting) is no longer operative owing to the absence of the sense of bondage, and that prarabdha will be exhausted by enjoyment (bhoga) only. Thus the last one will end in course of time and then the gross body also falls away with it.
--
He thus became one of the most famous bhaktas and was much sought after. He led a vigorous and active life; went on pilgrimage to several places in South India. He got married in his sixteenth year. The bride and the bridegroom went to have darsan of God in the local temple soon after the marriage ceremonies were over. A large party went with them. When they reached the temple the place was a blaze of light and the temple was not visible. There was however a passage visible in the blaze of light. Jnanasambandar told the people to enter the passage. They did so. He himself went round the light with his young wife, came to the passage and entered it as the others had done earlier. The Light vanished leaving no trace of those who entered it.
The temple again came into view as usual. Such was the brief but very eventful life of the sage.
--
"You are a dense mass of Jnana, capable of removing the 'I-am-thebody' idea from Your devotees! Herds of gazelles, of boars and of bears come down Your slopes in the night to search for food on the plains. Herds of elephants go from the plains to Your slopes where they may rest. So different herds of animals meet on Your slopes."
Sri Bhagavan continued: So this Hill must have been a dense forest
Talks 600-652, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Jnana lakshanas are stated in the sastras to be an incentive to a seeker to get rid of misery and seek happiness. The methods are given. If they are followed the result will be Jnana having those lakshanas. They are not meant for testing others.
Talk 611.
--
Meditation needs effort: Jnanam is effortless. Meditation can be done, or not done, or wrongly done, Jnanam is not so. Meditation is described as kartru-tantra (as doer's own), Jnanam as vastu-tantra
(the Supreme's own).
--
What happens in the end? Karna was ever the son of Kunti. The tenth man was such all along. Rama was Vishnu all the time. Such is Jnanam. It is being aware of That which always is.
13th February, 1939
--
Vritti Jnana alone can destroy 'a Jnana' (ignorance). Absolute Jnana is not inimical to a Jnana.
There are two kinds of vrittis (modes of mind). (1) vishaya vritti
--
When these cease there remains the atma-vritti or the subjective vritti that is the same as Jnanam. Without it a Jnanam will not cease.
The puriashtaka also will not be found associated with anything outside, and the Self will shine forth uniform and harmonious.
--
You say the body suffers in this life; the cause of this is the previous life: its cause is the one before it, and so on. So, like the case of the seed and the sprout, there is no end to the causal series. It has to be said that all the lives have their first cause in ignorance. That same ignorance is present even now, framing this question. That ignorance must be removed by Jnanam.
"Why and to whom did this suffering come?" If you question thus you will find that the 'I' is separate from the mind and body, that the Self is the only eternal being, and that It is eternal bliss.
That is Jnanam.
D.: But why should there be suffering now?
--
M.: Quite so. What is happiness? Is it a healthy and handsome body, timely meals, and the like? Even an emperor has troubles without end though he may be healthy. So all suffering is due to the false notion "I am the body". Getting rid of it is Jnanam.
613
--
M.: The former is vichara - Who am I? (Koham?) It represents Jnana.
The latter is dhyana - Whence am I? (Kutoham?) This admits a jivatma which seeks the Paramatma.
--
An elderly, learned Andhra asked: "Are the two methods Karma marga and Jnana marga separate and independent of each other? Or is the
Karma marga only a preliminary which after successful practice should be followed by Jnana marga for the consummation of the aim?
The Karma advocates non-attachment to action and yet an active life, whereas the Jnana means renunciation. What is the true meaning of renunciation? Subjugation of lust, passion, greed, etc., is common to all and forms the essential preliminary step for any course. Does not freedom from passions indicate renunciation? Or is renunciation different, meaning cessation of the active life? These questions are troubling me and I beg lights to be thrown on those doubts."
Bhagavan smiled and said: "You have said all. Your question contains the answer also. Freedom from passions is the essential requisite.
--
D.: Sri Sankara emphasises the Jnana marga and renunciation as preliminary to it. But there are clearly two methods dwividha mentioned in the Gita. They are Karma and Jnana (Lokesmin dwividha nishtha...).
M.: Sri Acharya has commented on the Gita and on that passage also.
--
Later it was learnt that the man was an adherent of yoga and that he used to abuse all other methods. He used to vilify Jnana and the jnanis.
At night, after supper, Sri Bhagavan spoke of one Govinda Yogi, a
--
But here the mind is strong if it is free from thoughts. The yogis say that realisation can be had only before the age of thirty, but not the jnanis. For Jnana does not cease to exist with age.
It is true that in the Yoga Vasishta, Vasishta says to Rama in the
Vairagya Prakarana "You have this dispassion in your youth. It is admirable." But he did not say that Jnana cannot be had in old age. There is nothing to prevent it in old age.
The sadhak must remain as the Self. If he cannot do so, he must ascertain the true meaning of the 'I' and constantly revert to it whenever other thoughts arise. That is the practice.
--
The Jnana method is said to be vichara (enquiry). That is nothing but
'supreme devotion' (parabhakti). The difference is in words only.
--
Any kind of meditation is good. But if the sense of separateness is lost and the object of meditation or the subject who meditates is alone left behind without anything else to know, it is Jnana. Jnana is said to be ekabhakti
(single-minded devotion). The Jnani is the finality because he has become the Self and there is nothing more to do. He is also perfect and so fearless, dwitiyat vai bhayam bhavati - only the existence of a second gives rise to fear. This is mukti. It is also bhakti.
Talks With Sri Aurobindo 1, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
something like an epic. I hear Jnanadev wrote brilliantly but he died at an
early age: twenty-one. And jnaneshwar wrote his Gita at fifteen.
--
NIRODBARAN: Yes. Lokanath's Guru was Jnanamargi. Lokanath used to say,
"You, my Guru, are still bound while I your disciple am free. I feel very sad
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13507575-abhijnana-sakuntalam-a-sanskrit-drama-by-kalidasa
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15707628-brahmajnana-mattu-brahmavidye
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15707639-vicharavaada-vijnana-adhyatma
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19279986-knowledge-garland-of-reality-or-the-brahmajnanamala
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34961296-dasasloki---brahmajnanavalimala
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/827014.Jnana_Yoga
Goodreads author - Swami_Jnanamritananda
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Jnanasutra
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Luminous_mind#Citta_and_Alaya-vijnana
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana#Overlapping_Pali_terms_for_.22mind.22
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana#Overlapping_Sanskrit_terms_for_.22mind.22
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana#References
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Manas-vijnana#Various_descriptions_of_.22Manas-vijnana.22
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Mudra#Jnana_Mudr.C4.81
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Reality_in_Buddhism#ref_Sarvabuddhavishayavatarajnanalokalamkarasutra
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Talk:Manas-vijnana
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Vijnana
Kheper - Vijnanavada -- 47
Kheper - jnana -- 32
auromere - jnana-yoga-the-ego-blocks-that-have-to-be-dissolved
auromere - jnana-yoga-the-ego-blocks-that-have-to-be-dissolved
auromere - the-vijnana-bhairava-tantra
auromere - Tantraloka of Abhinava Gupta, with commentary by Rajanaka Jayarath
auromere - jnana-yoga
https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/04/science-of-soul-atma-vijnana-practical.html
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Atmaprajnananda Saraswati
Jnana
Jnanadabhiram Barua
Jnana Deepa, Institute of Philosophy and Theology
Jnanadhir Chandra Sarma Sarkar
Jnanananda Bharati
Jnanappana
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Maharashtriya Jnanakosha
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Parijnanashram I
Prajnananda Mahathera
Prajnanapada
Swami Atmajnanananda
Vijnanabhiksu
Vijnanakaya
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Vijnana Vihara
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