The Basic Concepts of Advaita Vedanta

The Advaita Vedanta focuses on the following basic concepts:

Brahman, atman, vidya (knowledge), avidya (ignorance), maya, karma and moksha.

(1) Brahman is the Ultimate, Supreme Reality. Brahman is eternal. Brahman is beyond words. It is beyond names and forms. Brahman can not be perceived nor could it be described by words. It is beyond senses and intellect. It is indefinable. However, if at all it has to be described; Brahman can be considered as Pure Consciousness.

In Vedanta philosophy, the svaroop of Brahman is referred to as Sachchidananda. Brahman is Sachchidananda i.e. Sat-Chitta-Ananda(Pure Existence-Pure Consciousness-Pure Bliss). Brahman is eternal, immutable, inexpressible and unthinkable pure-existence, but it is not the cause or the creator of the universe.

(2) Atman is the inmost Self or Spirit of man but different from the ‘empirical ego’. Atman is the fundamental, ultimate, eternal, immutable pure consciousness. Thus, it appears that Brahman is the ultimate reality behind all world-objects and Atman is pure spirit in all beings. Truly speaking, both Brahman and Atman are not different realities. They are identical. For practical purposes, they are referred to separately, which they are not. They are the eternal, all-pervading realities underlying all existence. They are two different ‘labels’ for one and the same reality behind all the objects, all matter, all beings of the universe.

(3) Maya is the unique power (shakti) of Brahman. Maya is trigunatmika; it has three gunas or attributes. But Shuddha Brahman is nirguna and is free from attributes. Shuddha Nirguna Brahman alone is the Supreme Reality. When Nirguna Brahman comes to acquiesce Maya and acknowledges the gunas of maya, it is known as Saguna Brahman. Saguna Brahman is God, the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world. Saguna Brahman is Ishvara or a ‘personal god.’ Man worships gods in different forms and names.

(4) Brahman manifests itself in the world with the help of Maya. The world and the world objects come into existence due to the power of maya. Maya and its creation is termed illusory. It does not mean that the world is not real. Unreality and illusion are different. An illusion may not be an unreality for an illusion is grounded in reality. Reality is that which exists on its own. Maya is dependent on Brahman. Maya has created the world of appearances. So the world is illusion. But this does not mean at all that the world is non-existent. The AdvaitaVedanta, with the help of the famous “rope–snake” illustration, maintains that ‘it is neither ultimately real, nor wholly unreal, illusory and non existent.’

(5) Avidya (ignorance) has its seat in the human intellect. Avidya means not only absence of knowledge, but also erroneous knowledge. A man trapped in Avidya does not know what is real and thinks that the appearances are real. An individual identifies himself with empirical self. He equates his existence with the physical body. Under the influence of Maya and Avidya, he dissociates himself from the Ultimate Reality. When the man acquires knowledge, the duality of the self and Brahman disappears. He realizes that the self is really one with Brahman. This realization of the self puts an end to the ignorance (avidya).

(6) Moksha is freedom from bondage of ignorance. Man suffers in the grip of incessant desires and ignorance. Upon realization of the self, one becomes free from the shackles of desires, aspirations, passions, karma and avidya. This is Moksha (kaivalya) or liberation. Moksha is to be attained here and now during this life-span only.

(7) Knowledge and truth are of two kinds: the lower one and the higher one. The lower, conventional knowledge and truth is referred to as vyavavahrika satya. It is a product of the senses and the intellect. The higher one is referred to the paramarthika satya. It is absolute. It is beyond words, thoughts, perception or conception. It is in no way, related to the senses and the intellect. It is non-perceptual and non-conceptual. It is a product of sublime intuition and "divine vision". The higher knowledge and truth brings about radical transformation in an individual so it is soteriological.

(8) Advaita Vedanta recognizes the six pramanas (sources and criteria of valid knowledge) on the basis of the Mimamsa school of Kumarila Bhatta. They are as follows:
(1) Perception (pratyaksha) (2) Inference (anumana) (3) Testimony(shabda) (4) Comparison (upamana) (5) Postulation (arthapatti) (6) Non-cognition (anupalabdhi)

BHAGAVADGĪTĀ | 9.5 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA / SRI RAMANUJACARYA

|| CHAPTER 9 | THE SOVEREIGN KNOWLEDGE & MYSTERY ||

yatha akasa-sthitah nityam vayuḥ sarvatragah mahan
tatha sarvaṇi bhutani matsthani upadharaya || 9.6 ||

9.6 Understand thus that just as the voluminous wind moving everywhere is ever present in space , similarly all beings abide in ME .

|| BHASYA 1 || SRI SANKARACARYA ||

Upadharaya , understand ; iti , thus ; that yatha , just as ; in the world , the mahan , voluminous — in dimension ; vayuh , wind ; sarvatragah , moving everywhere ; is nityam , ever ; akasa-sthitah , present in space ; tatha , similarly ; ( sarvani , all ; bhutani , beings ; matsthani ) , abide in ME who am omnipresent like space — abide certainly without any contact .

|| BHASYA 2 || SRI RAMANUJACHARYA

yatha akasa-sthitah nityam vayuḥ sarvatragah mahan
tatha sarvaṇi bhutani matsthani upadharaya || 9.6 ||

9.6 As the powerful element air moving everywhere ever remains in the ether , know that so too all beings abide in ME .

The " powerful air " remains and moves everywhere in the ether ( Akasa ) without any perceivable support .

So it has necessarily got to be admitted that the powerful air is dependent on ME for its existence and is being upheld by ME alone .

Even so know that all entities abide in ME , who am invisible to them , and that they are upheld by ME alone .

The knowers of the Veda declare thus :

" The origin of clouds , the waters of the ocean remaining within bounds , the phases of the moon , the strong movements of the gale , the flash of lightning and the movements of the sun — all these are marvelous manifestations of the power of Visnu ( GOD ) " .

The meaning is that they are all the marvelous miracles which are unique to Visnu ( GOD ) .

The Srutis and other texts also declare likewise :

" Verily , O Gargi , at the command of that Imperishable One , the sun and the moon stand apart " ( BR UP 3.8.9 ) . . .

It has been declared that the existence and acts of all beings originate by the Will of the Lord , who is independent of all others

BHAGAVADGĪTĀ | 5.15 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

( + SWAMI KRISHNANANDA & SRI RAMANUJACHARYA )

|| CHAPTER 5 | WAY TO RENUNCIATION | SIN & VIRTUE ||

Na adatte kasyacit papam na ca eva sukrtam vibhuh ,
ajnanena avrtam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah || 5.15 ||

5.15 The Omnipresent neither accepts anybody's sin nor even virtue . Knowledge remains covered by ignorance . Thereby the creatures become deluded .

|| BHASYA 1 || SRI SANKARACARYA ||

Vibhuh , the Omnipresent ; na adatte , neither accepts ; kasyacit , anybody's — even a devotee's ; papam , sin ; na ca eva , nor even ; does the Omnipresent accept sukrtam , virtue offered by devotees .

Why then are such virtuous acts as worship etc , as also sacrifices , charity , oblation , etc offered by devotees ?

To this the Lord says : Jnanam , Knowledge , discriminating wisdom ; remains avrtam , covered ; ajnanena , by ignorance .

Tena , thereby ; jantavah , the creatures , the non-discriminating people in the world ; muhyanti , become deluded thus — " I do ; I make others do ; I eat ; I make others eat " .

|| BHASYA 2 || SRI KRISHNANANDA ||

Nadatte kasyacit papam na chaiva sukritam vibhuh ,
ajnanenavritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah || 5.15 ||

GOD does not take our sin or our merit , because merits and sins are meaningful only in individualised existence where consciousness works through the body and sense organs ; therefore , sin and merit cannot be attributed to consciousness that is not working through the sense organs and the individual apparatus of the mind .

Universal Existence does not think through the mind and does not perceive through the sense organs . Hence , the characteristics which are of the mind and the senses cannot be attributed to GOD .

Therefore , what happens to our punya karmas and sins , etc ? Is nobody punished for their sins ? People are punished by their sins . The sin itself punishes us ; somebody else , like a judge sitting in the court , does not punish us for our sins .

A sin is a peculiar dislocated , maladjusted situation that an individual occupies in this Cosmos ; this maladjustment itself is the sin . The sin itself punishes us , and there is nobody else from outside to strike a rod on our heads .

That is , a self-complete organism occupies a self-complete situation in itself , and its health and disease depend entirely upon the manner in which the components of the organism work . There is no third reality , no extra-physical reality coming and interfering with the wrong actions or the right actions of a person .

This is why it is said that the actions performed in the highest state of yoga cannot be called either merit or demerit .

Karma suklakrishnam : karmas are either black or white . But karmas are neither black nor white for the yogi . The blackness or the whiteness corresponds to the wrongness or the rightness of perception .

What we call sin is nothing but the solidification , condensation of wrong actions continuing for a long time ; and punya , or merit , is the condensation of good actions that we have performed .

To repeat once again what I said , a good action is that tendency in our consciousness which moves in the direction of larger and larger dimensions of itself , and a sin is a contraction of consciousness which moves more and more in the direction of the physical body ; and the worst sin is to have consciousness lodged in the body itself , and think that one is only the body .

Nadatte kasyacit papam na caiva sukritam vibhuh , ajnanenavritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah :

Due to a Cosmic ignorance , all individuals suffer . Their suffering or their pleasures are not products emanating from GOD .

The transcendence of GOD precludes all connections with the mutations of prakriti , though without GOD prakriti cannot move :

ajnanenavritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah .

|| BHASYA 3 || SRI RAMANUJACHARYA

Na adatte kasyacit papam na ca eva sukrtam vibhuh ,
ajnanena avrtam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah || 5.15 ||

5.15 The all-pervading One takes away neither the sin nor the merit of anyone . Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance . Creatures are thereby deluded .

Because , IT , the Atman is all-pervading , ie , is not limited to particular area or space included in the bodies of gods , humans etc ; IT is not the relative or the enemy of anyone .

For this reason IT does not take away or remove the evil or suffering of anyone such as an offspring who is related and therefore dear to one ; nor does IT take away , ie , remove the happiness of anyone whom IT deems with aversion .

All this is the effect of Vasanas or subtle impressions of Prakrti .

How then do these contrary Vasanas originate in the case of one whose intrinsic nature is a described above ?

In answer it is said that Knowledge is enveloped by the darkness of ignorance . The Atman's Knowledge is enveloped , ie , contracted by preceding Karmas which are opposed to Knowledge , so that a person may be qualified to experience the fruits of his own Karma .

It is by this Karma , which contracts Knowledge , and can join the Jiva with the bodies of gods etc , that the misconception that the bodies are the selves is produced .

Consequently there will originate the Vasanas or the unconscious subtle impressions born of such misapprehension of the self and the inclination to undertake actions corresponding to them .

Sri Krsna now brings into proper sequence what has been taught before in the following verses :

" You will completely cross over the sea of all your sins with the boat of Knowledge " ( 4.36 ) , and

" The fire of Knowledge reduces all Karmas to ashes in the same way " ( 4.37 ) , and

" For there is no purifier here equal to Knowledge " ( 4.38 )

ATMABODHA | VERSE 16 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

1. Just as husking the paddy exposes the grain within ( the rice ) , so also should one judiciously separate the pure Atman from the sheaths covering it .

2. One should , through discrimination , separate the pure and inmost Self from the sheaths by which it is covered , as one separates a rice kernel from the covering husk by striking it with a pestle .

3. Through discriminative self-analysis and logical thinking one should separate the Pure self within from the sheaths as one separates the rice from the husk , bran , etc , that are covering it

ATMABODHA | VERSE 15 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

1. Just as a clear crystal ( itself colourless ) appears red , blue , yellow , etc , according to the background , so also the Self , pure and untainted , seems to be identical with the body , the senses , the mind , intellect or blissful ignorance ( panchakosas ) when in contact with them .

2. On account of union with the five sheaths , the pure Atman appears to be like them , as is the case with a crystal , which appears to be endowed with such colours as blue or red when in contact with a blue or red cloth .

3. In its identification with the five-sheaths the Immaculate Atman appears to have borrowed their qualities upon Itself ; as in the case of a crystal which appears to gather unto itself colour of its vicinity ( blue cloth , etc ) .

Yati Panchakam – Adi Sankara Bhagavadpada

Yati Panchakam is a work which speaks about as to how a Yati or a person who has realized the ultimate reality of Brahman and is completely detached to the world would behave in the world. Once a person realizes the ultimate reality of Brahman, then he has known what is to be known & therefore he doesn’t require anything else. Realized saints can be of two types from the perspective of an ignorant seeker: one who keeps on doing actions at the empirical level for the welfare of the world and two who isn’t bothered about activities or the world in itself. Sankara here is speaking about the second type of realized saints who aren’t bothered about what is happening in the world or the welfare of the world because for them there is nothing but Brahman alone exists.

Vedanta vaakyeshu sadaa ramanthah
Bhiksha anna maatrena cha thustimanthah
Vishokavanthah karunaika vanthah
Kaupinavanthah khalu bhaagyavanthah ||1||

Ever reveling in the dictums of Vedanta,
Fully satisfied with the food got by alms,
Free from grief and full of compassion for others,
Blessed indeed are those who are loin-clothed.

Moolam taroh kevalam aashrayanthah
Paani dvayam bhokthum amatrayanthah
Kanthaamiva sreemapi kutsayanthah
Kaupinavanthah khalu bhaagyavanthah ||2||

Resorting to the foot of the tree alone (for rest and sleep),
Using the two hands as a bowl for food,
Looking upon even wealth as a old cloth,
Blessed indeed are those who are loin-clothed.

Dehaadibhaavam parimaarjayanthah
Aatmaanam atmani avalokayanthah
Na antar na madhyam na bahih smaranthah
Kaupinavanthah khalu bhaagyavanthah ||3||

Staying away from the possession (attachment) of body,
Always remaining in the experience of seeing oneself as Brahman,
Not remembering anything inside, middle or outside,
Blessed indeed are those who are loin-clothed.

Svaanandabhaave parithustimanthah
Samshaantha sarvendriya dristimanthah
Aharnisham brahmani ye ramanthah
Kaupinavanthah khalu bhaagyavanthah ||4||

Joyously absorbed in the blessed state of the Self,
Stilling all the operations of the senses,
Day and night immersed in Brahman,
Blessed indeed are those who are loin-clothed.

Panchaaksharam paavanam uccharanthah
Patim pashoonaam hridhi bhaavayanthah
Bhikshaashana dikshu paribhramanthah
Kaupinavanthah khalu bhaagyavanthah ||5||

Muttering the sacred pancha akshara,
Meditating in the heart on the Lord of all beings,
Moving about in all directions at will begging alms,
Blessed indeed are those who are loin-clothed.

Upanishad says Brahma vid brahmaiva bhavathi or a person who knows Brahman becomes verily Brahman. A realized saint is ever immersed in contemplation of Brahman thereby he knows Brahman. Thus such a saint is verily Brahman alone. Brahman is full in all aspects and thereby blissful. Since Brahman is blissful, a realized saint who has known his nature of Brahman will also be blissful. Blessed indeed is such an ascetic who revels and ever rejoices in thought and bliss of Brahman.

Sri Ramana Maharishi is the true yati who fits this sloka.

Advaitam Sathyam

Oneness

Oneness

Where there is separateness, one sees another, smells another, tastes another, speaks to another, hears another, touches
another, thinks of another, knows another. But where there is unity, one without a second, that is the world of Brahman. This is
the supreme goal of life, the supreme treasure, the supreme joy. Those who do not seek this Supreme goal live on but a fraction of this joy.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The reality

[I am] the nature of Pure Consciousness. I am always the same to beings, one alone; [I am] the highest Brahman, which, like the sky, is all-pervading, imperishable, auspicious, uninterrupted, undivided and devoid of action. I do not belong to anything since I am free from attachment. [I am] the highest Brahman... ever-shining, unborn, one alone, imperishable, stainless, all-pervading, and nondual-That am I, and I am forever released." -

Adi Shankara, The Upadesasahasri

Advaitam Sathyam

Brahman & Life

The Self is hidden in the lotus of the heart.
Those who see themselves in all the creatures go day by day into the world of Brahman hidden in the heart. Established in peace, they rise above body consciousness to the supreme light of the Self. Immortal, free from fear, this Self is Brahman, called the True. Beyond the mortal and the immortal, he binds both worlds
together. Those who know this live day after day in heaven in this very life.

Chandogya Upanishad

The Truth

Thus does the universe exist as both real and unreal; the divine, being free of duality, unites them, transcends them and is therefore both of them. Manifest consciousness is the universe, and the unmanifest universe is consciousness. By entertaining the notion ‘I am this’, consciousness is bound; by this very knowledge it is freed. Objectification (or conceptualization) leads to self-forgetfulness. However, even in the state of diversity and activity, consciousness is truly undivided. For it is only that supremely peaceful Brahman that is apparently manifest as the universe through the instrumentality of the mind and its three modes (satva, rajas and tamas, or waking, dreaming, and sleeping)

Yoga Vasistha

Advaitam Sathyam

Advaitam - Yoga Vasistha

Evam sarvamidam visvam paramatmaiva kevalam
Brahmaiva parakasam esa devah parah smritah
Tadetad pujanam sreyah tasmat sarvam avapyate
Tadaiva sargabhuh sarvam idam tasminnavasthitam
Akrtrimam anadyantam advitiyam akhanditam
Abahissadhanasadhyam sukham tasmad avapyate

The whole universe is one with Paramatma, i.e. the Universal Lord. Brahman is known as Parakasa, i.e. the Supreme Sky. Worshipping Him is beneficial. From Him comes everything. He is the Creator of everything. All things rest to Him. He is the Creation. He is without beginning and end. He has no peer. He is undivided and indivisible and full. He is sudha Advaita. He is not created by an agency outside Him. We get all bliss from Him.

Advaitam Sathyam

Three Gods

Our Sanathan Dharma provides for worship to a jiva in the most suitable way at every stage of life. Every jiva from jananam till mukti is protected and guided till the Sadhana (purpose of life) is fulfilled. Three Gods play the most crucial role in shaping the life of a jiva.
- Kula Devata
- Ishta Devata
- Siddhi Devata

Kula Devata

Kula Devata is by birth into a family. A jiva adopts the Kula Devata from the family as they worship that Ishwara over generations. This will come under samparadaya vazhipadu. Rakshanam and guiding jiva in right path to achieve salvation is done by Kula Devata. Kula Devata shows the direction to the family and is responsible for the wellbeing of the family. Kula Devata maintains the spiritual quest and fairness in the family. Kula Devata keeps an eye on the family and ensures that everything goes well.
It is important that every jiva worship Kula Devata daily as part of their puja.

Ishta Devata

Sanathan Dharma provides swathanthriyam for everyone. There is no stress or pressure that you need to worship only this particular Ishwara. As a jivan grow and develops consciousness towards Paramathma, that particular Ishwara Swarupa that attracts him / her becomes Ishta Devata. Attraction and Laya towards that murti grows in manifold as there is an involuntary affection towards that Ishwara Swaroopam. The bonding between Jiva and Ishwara thus become a free flow based on Bhakti.
Ishta Devata is an integral part of spiritual human life. Ishta Devata is the first step towards Sadhana for an Upasak. This Ishwara guides one to a right Guru.

Siddhi Devata

Upon being guided to a Guru, Jiva is introduced to a Ishwara by this Guru. This Ishwara is Siddhi Devata. This Devata through Upasana Margam give Siddhi by elevating a Jiva on the knowledge planes. Mukti is attainable only after Jnana is achieved. Siddhi Devata upasana is a lifelong process which will lead the Jiva not only in this life in any other janma as well till the final stage of realization of Brahman.

Advaitam Sathyam

|| THE HIGHER SELF || SRI SWAMI KRISHNANANDA

When the Higher Self does all your Magazine Department work , it is a cosmic action taking place . The whole world will throb when you go into the office . Actually you are not going to the office ; you are entering into yourself only . The office is your own self . . . ~ Sri Swami Krishnananda

~~~ * ~~~
SWAMIJI : When the drop dissolves in the ocean , at that time , what does the drop think ? That experience is the Higher Self . Do you understand ?



Malaya : But I am thinking that I am a drop only , Swamiji .



SWAMIJI : No . Who asked you to think like that ? Otherwise , what is will power ? A person has feeling , understanding , and also will . Do you know what will is ?



Will is determination : We determine that " it " is like " this " . You have sunk into the ocean , and this ocean is your Higher Self .



Malaya : The ocean cannot see itself ?



SWAMIJI : Why do you want to see ? How can you see what you are ? You can see somebody else . How will you see yourself ?



Malaya : The process of thinking is there , Swamiji .



SWAMIJI : There is no thinking . As long as you are a drop , thinking is there but the ocean doesn't think , because there is nothing to think . What is there to think ? Only " itself " is there . All the drops are inside it , so what will it think ? That is the Higher Self . The drop is the lower self ; the ocean is the Higher Self .



But it does not mean that the Higher Self is separate , just as the ocean is not separate from the drop . You are not applying your will . Perhaps you are not fully interested , also . The heart is not eager . Will is nothing but the application of interest .



Malaya : Understanding is there , but . . .



SWAMIJI : No , no . Interest , not understanding . There is a difference between understanding and interest . When you are interested in a thing , you will not forget it . If you are not fully interested , you will have so many excuses .



You cannot break a mountain . However much you may try , it will not break . But if you apply dynamite , it will split the mountain into pieces . That is , dynamite is the will , you have to acquire it . It will split the egoism ; the whole thing will break .



If you do not want it , that is a different matter . If you have a suspicion that it is perhaps not possible for you , then it will not be possible , also . But , if you say , " No , it is certainly possible for me " , then it will be possible .



What you feel you are , that you really are . You should not say it is difficult .



To carry yourself is not difficult ; to carry another person is difficult : Oh , he is a very heavy person ; who will carry him ? But you can carry yourself , whatever be the weight . Even stout people carry themselves , but they cannot carry another person . So , likewise , there is no problem in handling yourself .



Malaya : Swamiji , in practical life . . .



SWAMIJI : There is no such thing as practical life . You are unnecessarily creating differences . That " practical life " is an activity of the lower self , and the lower self is included in the Higher Self .



Thus , the activity also is of the Higher Self only . Then , who is telling me that there is practical life ? There is no such thing as isolated practical life . It is the Higher Self only doing all these things .



Do you understand the implication of it ?



Malaya : Yes , Swamiji .



SWAMIJI : When the Higher Self does all your Magazine Department work , it is a cosmic action taking place . The whole world will throb when you go into the office . Actually you are not going to the office ; you are entering into yourself only . The office is your own self .



Wherever you go , you find yourself only , just as in the ocean , wherever you go , you find the ocean . Whether you go to a station , or market place , or dining hall , you are actually entering into yourself only . You should not say that you are going to the dining hall , and all that . There is no dining hall .



You are entering into yourself , in various forms .



Malaya : There is no . . . . , Swamiji ?



SWAMIJI : That is entering of the self . The self enters into the Self . It is a metaphorical way of speaking . Everything is taking place within one thing only . You have to exercise a little bit of thinking on what it actually means .



Do not say that you are going to the market , etc . You are going to yourself only , even when you go to the market . The market is inside yourself .



You think over it ; a wonderful experience will come , and a miracle will take place . But , if you are doubting , then nothing will happen .



" God is somewhere , and daily life is something else " — this is the argument of everybody . This is a silly argument , because the mind is not catching the point . " Practical life is something else " , you are telling me . There is no such thing as practical life . It does not exist . It is your own self moving within itself .



The huge ocean is there , and tremendous waves are dashing over it . The ocean will not say , " I am sitting quiet , but the waves are practical life " . The waves are not the practical life of the ocean . There is no practical life for it . The ocean is itself the waves . The waves are the ocean . The Self itself is all this practical life .



There is no such thing as secular life and spiritual life . There is no distinction . People make a distinction between earth and heaven , God and world , spiritual and secular . These do not exist , really .



They are all tricks played by the mind , so that you may not do anything worthwhile . " I am working in a factory every day and I have no time to think " — you should not say that . You are not working in a factory ; you are working in yourself only . There is no factory outside yourself .



Is your mind catching what I am saying ?



Malaya : Yes . Swamiji .



SWAMIJI : You will be a different person in one day . You will not be what you are . For such a transformation to take place , it may take one day , or even less than one day . The whole earth will tremble , if you think like this .



Malaya : The mind has to . . .



SWAMIJI : There is no mind there . It is consciousness . You are not a mind , nor a body , because in the state of deep sleep you have no mind , and you have no body . So , your real nature is pure consciousness , as it is in the state of deep sleep .



So , don't say " mind " and all that . That is another " practical life " you are bringing in . There is no such thing . You have seen in the state of deep sleep that the body and mind are not there . Then , who was there ? It was not Malaya existing there . He , also , was not there . Who was there ? That thing you grasp and cogitate .



In sleep , you had no father , mother , relations — nothing was there . Just , you were there . And , the state of sleep brought you such a joy that you would not like to have any other joy compared to it . Even a king cannot be so happy as a person who has entered into deep sleep , because he has entered the Self , the ocean of Self . And , you had no relations , no property , no friends , no body , no mind at that time . What was there ? " You " were there .



This is what I call the ocean . Do not make a distinction between practical life and factory life , office life etc . There is really no such thing .



See , this is a very interesting and important point . You must be always happy , blissful — everything is fine ; nothing is wrong . Everything is good ; all is well with me . Why should it not be ? It must be . Nobody can create trouble for you . Who can create trouble ?



You are creating trouble for yourself , because you yourself are the trouble . So , why do you complain ? The mind is very subtle . It cannot think like this . If it starts thinking thus , it will become giddy , and you will fall into sleep , again .



This is the highest purificatory process that I am suggesting . Your mistakes and your sins are all completely washed off by this kind of meditation .



All the sins of many lives that you have lived are all cleansed , as hundreds of years of darkness vanish in one second when the sun rises .



The darkness might have been there for hundreds of years , but removing that hundreds of years of thick darkness requires only one minute of the rise of the sun .



So , whatever be the mistakes that you have made in many lives , they have no consequence before the light of this kind of experience . All your old karmas are like mountains of straw .



They can be burned into ashes by one matchstick

the bhasya from article SRI SWAMI KRISHNANANDA

shanti mantra om Purnamadah Purnamidam

Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnameva Vashishyate
Om shanti, shanti, shant

There are many translations and commentaries on this verse, each of which adds a different slant on the vast meaning. In some sense, a complete explanation of the nature of Reality and the entire wisdom of the path of Self-Realization is contained in this short summary. Here are several translations:

Om.
That is infinite, this is infinite;
From That infinite this infinite comes.
From That infinite, this infinite removed or added;
Infinite remains infinite.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
That is full; this is full.
This fullness has been projected from that fullness.
When this fullness merges in that fullness,
all that remains is fullness.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
Completeness is that, completeness is this,
from completeness, completeness comes forth.
Completeness from completeness taken away,
completeness to completeness added,
completeness alone remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
Brahman is limitless, infinite number
of universes come out
and go into the infinite Brahman,
Brahman remains unchanged.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
That is the whole, this is the whole;
from the whole, the whole becomes manifest;
taking away the whole from the whole,
the whole remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
That is the absolute, this is the absolute;
from the absolute, the absolute becomes manifest;
when the absolute is added to or taken away from the absolute,
the absolute remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
That is reality, this is reality;
from the reality, the reality becomes manifest;
adding or subtracting reality from reality,
only reality remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Om.
That is perfect,
This is perfect.
When perfection is taken from the perfect,
Perfect alone remains.
Om, peace, peace, peace