||शवेताश्वतरोपनिषत्||

Shvetashvatara Upanishads- The triad of Brahman......
Chapter 4:The One God of the Manifold World
Mantra 1:THE ONE AND THE MANY

य एकोऽवर्णो बहुधा शक्तियोगाद् वरणाननेकान् निहितार्थो दधाति ।
विचैति चान्ते विश्वमादौ च देवः स नो बुद्ध्या शुभया संयुनक्तु ॥१॥

He, the One and Undifferentiated, who by the manifold application of His powers produces, in the beginning, different objects for a hidden purpose and, in the end, withdraws the universe into Himself, is indeed the self-luminous. May He endow us with clear intellect!

The world was inactive and unmanifest before creation. The Paramatman in His formless aspect is devoid of form and color, yet, in the beginning of creation for some unknown reasons assumes various forms and colors through His various powers (of maya) which are non-different from Him. In the end, this universe of all forms and colors merge in Him. He initiates this cycle of creation, maintenance and dissolution without any selfish purpose but for the ultimate good of the Jivas . That Supreme Lord is really one without the second. Apart from Him, there is nothing. May that Lord of self-luminosity, bestow auspicious intellect upon us? The purpose of creation is stated to be hidden meaning that we, the finite, cannot understand the reasons behind the creation by The Lord, The Infinite.
The gist of this Mantra is that the beginning and the end is unmanifest and only the middle state represents the manifest. The basic nature of things is the Unmanifest and the manifest is only a condition which appears for the time being in between the two states of the unmanifest. The grace and modesty of the manifest lies in not clinging to its existence and where it makes no effort to prolong its continuity. The manifest is only a passage from the unmanifest to the unmanifest.. In the passage one must move on and not settle down. Life is a bridge, pass over it, but do not build upon it. The inspiring teaching of this Upanishad is “The beginning and the end reside in Brahman, the world is only a passing phase of the Manifest

PRABODHASUDHAKARA | SEL049 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

|| 12 | SELF-LUMINOSITY | 139-142 ||

Although ( luminous bodies ) headed by the sun , the moon , fire and the lamp are lights to themselves and others , the Self is not at all illuminated by those ( objects ) anywhere .

Or else , there can be the perception of these ( luminous objects ) through the eyes , only on account of the Supreme Self . And even there , if the Self has not become the helper through the eyes , even those objects are not known by mere luster .

If it is not so , why does not a blind man see objects when there is light ? Even when there is the Self why is there no knowledge ( or cognition in the above case ) ?

Yet , that ( cognition ) can arise through a different sense-organ . For instance , there is the perception of objects in a blind man when there is the association of the hand .

Commentary by Samvid :

The Self is self-luminous , being Pure Consciousness . It is not made known by any other factor .

It is the light of Pure Consciousness of the Self , which makes the perception of even luminous objects possible .

External light is of no avail to a blind man in cognizing objects . But the light of the Self enables him to cognize objects through other sense-organs : eg the sense of touch .

The Self is the only self-luminous entity which illuminates everything in the Universe .

PRABODHASUDHAKARA | SEL050 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

|| 12 | SELF-LUMINOSITY | 143 ||

( There is ) the statement of the Upanisad-s thus :

" By which , possibly , can one know Him ( the Self ) , though whom he knows everything ?

Therefore , the Self is known by the Self .

Commentary by Samvid :

There reference is to the statement in the 5th section of the 4th chapter of Brhadaranyakopanisad . The cognition of all objects arises from the Light of Pure Consciousness . How could one know that by which he knows everything ?

The Self is verily one's real nature . One could only Be the Self . In other words , the Self knows itself

Guru Paduka stotram: By Adi Sankaracharya

Anantha samsara samudhra thara naukayithabhyam guru bhakthithabhyam,
Vairagya samrajyadha poojanabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.,

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which is a boat, which helps me,cross the endless ocean of life,
Which endows me, with the sense of devotion to my Guru,
And by worship of which, I attain the dominion of renunciation

Kavithva varasini sagarabhyam, dourbhagya davambudha malikabhyam,
Dhoorikrutha namra vipathithabhyam,, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.,

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which is the ocean of knowledge, resembling the full moon,
Which is the water, which puts out the fire of misfortunes,
And which removes distresses of those who prostrate before it.

Natha yayo sripatitam samiyu kadachidapyasu daridra varya,
Mookascha vachaspathitham hi thabhyam,namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.


Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which make those who prostrate before it,
Possessors of great wealth, even if they are very poor,,
And which makes even dumb people in to great orators.

Naleeka neekasa pada hrithabhyam, nana vimohadhi nivarikabyam,
Nama janabheeshtathathi pradhabhyam namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.,

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which attracts us, to lotus like feet of our Guru,
Which cures us, of the unwanted desires,
And which helps fulfill the desires of those who salute.

Nrupali mouleebraja rathna kanthi sariddha raja jjashakanyakabhyam,
Nrupadvadhabhyam nathaloka pankhthe, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which shine like gems on the crown of a king,
Which shine like a maid in the crocodile infested stream,
And which make the devotees attain the status of a king.

Papandhakara arka paramparabhyam, thapathryaheendra khageswarabhyam,
Jadyadhi samsoshana vadaveebhyam namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which is like a series of Suns, driving away the dark sins,
Which is like the king of eagles, driving away the cobra of miseries,
And which is like a terrific fire drying away the ocean of ignorance.

Shamadhi shatka pradha vaibhavabhyam,Samadhi dhana vratha deeksithabhyam,
Ramadhavadeegra sthirha bhakthidabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,
Which endows us, with the glorious six qualities like sham,
Which gives the students ,the ability to go in to eternal trance,
And which helps to get perennial devotion to the feet of Vishnu.

Swarchaparana makhileshtathabhyam, swaha sahayaksha durndarabhyam,
Swanthachad bhava pradha poojanabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.,

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru
Which bestows all desires of the serving disciples,
Who are ever involved in carrying the burden of service
And which helps the aspirants to the state of realization.

Kaamadhi sarpa vraja garudabhyam, viveka vairagya nidhi pradhabhyam,
Bhodha pradhabhyam drutha mokshathabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.,

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru
Which is the Garuda, which drives away the serpent of passion,
Which provides one, with the treasure of wisdom and renunciation,
Which blesses one, with enlightened knowledge,
And blesses the aspirant with speedy salvation.

BRHADARANYAKA UPANISAD | 2.5.19 | SRI SANKARACARYA

idaṁ vai tan madhu dadhyaṅṅ ātharvano' śvibhyām uvāca, tad etad ṛṣiḥ paśyann avocat: rῡpaṁ rῡpaṁ pratirῡpo babhῡva, tad asya rῡpam praticakṣaṇāya; indro māyābhiḥ puru-rῡpa īyate. yuktā hy asya harayaḥ śatā daśa iti. ayaṁ vai harayaḥ, ayaṁ vai daśa ca sahasrāṇi bahῡni cānantāni ca, tad etad brahmāpῡrvam, anaparam, anantaram, abāhyam, ayam ātmā brahma sarvānubhῡḥ, ity anuśāsanam. || 2.5.19 ||19 . This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadhyac , versed in the Atharva-Veda , taught the Asvins . Perceiving this the Rsi said , " ( He ) transformed Himself in accordance with each form ; that form of His was for the sake of making Him known . The Lord on account of Maya , ( notions superimposed by ignorance ) is perceived as manifold , for to Him are yoked ten organs , nay hundreds of them . He is the organs ; He is ten , and thousands‚ — many , and infinite . That Brahman is without prior or posterior , without interior or exterior . This self , the perceiver of everything , is Brahman . " This is the teaching .

|| BHASYA || : This is that meditation , etc , — is to be explained as before .

( He ) transformed Himself in accordance with each form , or ( to put it differently ) assumed the likeness of each form .

A son has the same form as , or resembles , his parents . A quadruped is not born of bipeds , nor vice versa .

The same Lord , in the process of manifesting name and form , " transformed Himself in accordance with each form " .

Why did He come in so many forms ? " That form of His was for the sake of making Him known . " Were name and form not manifested , the transcendent nature of this Self as Pure Intelligence would not be known .

When , however , name and form are manifested as the body and organs , it is possible to know Its nature . The Lord on account of Maya or diverse knowledge , or ( to give an alternative meaning ) the false identifications created by name , form and the elements , not in truth , " is perceived as manifold " , because of these notions superimposed by ignorance , although He is ever the same Pure Intelligence .

Why ? For to Him are yoked , like horses to a chariot , ten organs — called " Hari " because they draw — " nay , hundreds of them " , for the purpose of revealing their objects ; " hundreds " , because there are a great many beings . Since there are a large number of sense-objects ( the Supreme Self appears as manifold ) . It is to reveal them , and not the Self , that the organs are yoked .

As the Katha Upanisad says , " The self-born Lord injured the organs by making them outgoing in their tendencies " ( IV . 1 ) .

Therefore the Self is known not in Its true nature as homogeneous Pure Intelligence , but merely as the sense-objects .

QUESTION : Then this Lord is one entity , and the organs another ?

REPLY : No ; " He is the organs ; He is ten and thousands — many and infinite " — because there are an infinite number of beings .

In short , that Brahman which is the self is without prior , ie cause , or posterior , ie effect , without interior or exterior , ie it has no other species within It or without It .

What is this homogeneous Brahman ? This self . What is it ?

The inner self that sees , hears , thinks , understands , knows ; the perceiver of everything , because as the self of all it perceives everything .

This is the teaching of all Vedanta texts — the gist of them . It leads to immortality and fearlessness . The import of the scriptures has been fully dealt with

PRABODHASUDHAKARA | SEL054 | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA

|| 13 | CONTEMPLATION ON THE SUBTLE SOUND | 147 ||

The more the mind goes to the state of immovableness ( or stillness ) on account of abstaining from sense-objects , the more is the ( subtle ) sound of long duration like that of the flute , heard .

Commentary by Samvid :

This and the previous verses would appear incomprehensible to the reader unacquainted with the methodology of Yoga .

But , such psychic experiences as the hearing of subtle sounds , the inner vision of lights or form patterns and subtle tactile sensations of a vibratory nature in the spinal column and elsewhere , during deep meditative states , are established facts repeatedly confirmed by advanced Yogin-s .

Such experiences widely vary according to the psycho-physiological structure of the practising Yogin and the methods of Yogic practice adopted by him .

But , it should be remembered that the ultimate goal is the transcend even these subtle " experiences " and be one with the source of all experiences , the pure undifferentiated Existence-Conciousness-Bliss

REDUCE TO ZERO OR EXPAND TO INFINITY

|| VERSION 1 ||

There is a famous saying in the Yoga-Vasishtha * , which is an instruction given by the great sage Vasishtha to his student Rama : " Dvau krumuu chitta nasasya , yoga jnanam cha Raghav " .

The sage says :

" There are two ways of controlling the mind . Either sever its connection with all things , or establish a connection of it with everything " .

These are the two ways by which one can control the mind . It is easy to understand something about the benefits that would follow from the withdrawal of the mind from all things . But , it is not so easy to know the advantage of connecting the mind to everything .

The result , however is the same in either case .

There is an anecdote about Acharya Sankara which is relevant here .

It is said that Acharya Sankara was in his Kutir , and the door was bolted from within . One of his disciples came and knocked .

" Who is that ? " asked the Master .
" I " was the answer .

" Oh I ! Either reduce it to zero or expand it to infinity ! "

retorted the Master from within .

This " I " in every individual should either be reduced to zero or expanded to infinity . Either way it is good .

In the one method , the modifications of the mind are restrained by a negative withdrawal of its operations from everything that appears as external .

The other method involves the philosophical visualisation of the mind's basic identity with all things .

The earlier method , namely , the restraint of the mind-stuff is the main instruction according to Patanjali .

|| VERSION 2 ||

There is a humorous anecdote in this connection . It appears , one of the disciples of Achārya Sankara came after bathing , but Sankara was inside the room and the door was bolted .

The disciple knocked at the door , whereon Sankara asked from inside ,

" Who is there ? " " I " was the answer .

" Oh , either expand it to infinity or reduce it to zero " , was the retort of Sankara from inside .

This " I " , either expanded to infinity or reduced to zero , is good . But it should not be left midway . The essential trouble with all human beings , the trouble with every created being , is this mid-positioning of the ego .

|| VERSION 3 ||

What is egoism ? The egoism is of three kinds .

According to Yoga Vasishtha , the three kinds of ahamkara are as follows .

" I am this body . " This is one kind of ahamkara .
" I am nothing . " This is another kind of ahamkara .
" I am everything . " This is a third kind of ahamkara .

The teacher of the Yoga Vasishtha tells us there is no harm if we feel that we are nothing .

There is also no harm if we feel that we are everything .

But if we feel that we are only something , then we are caught .

Sankaracharya was inside , and his disciple came and knocked at the door . Sankaracharya said ,

" Who is that ? "
" I " , replied the disciple .

" Let it either expand to infinity or let it annihilate itself . "

This is what the Guru spoke from inside .

" I — Let it either expand itself to infinity , or let it annihilate itself . But let it not identify itself only with something . Either you are nothing or everything , but not something . "

These are the three kinds of ahamkara according to the Yoga Vasishtha .

~ Swami Krishnananda

The greater the force with which this separative sense is suppressed to Nothingness or expanded to Infinity , the more extensive and deeper is the light and the joy realised and experienced .

~ Swami Krishnananda

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER : 55 56 *

You may adopt one or the other of the two attitudes :

( 1 ) I am the omnipresent being that does nothing , and
( 2 ) I am the doer of all actions in this world .

In both cases you will arrive at the same state of perfect equanimity , which is immortality .

You will be free from likes and dislikes , attraction and aversion .

You will be rid of foolish feelings like :

" Someone served me " , or " Someone else hurt me " .

Hence , you may feel , " I am not the doer , I do not exist " , or " I am the doer and I am everything " .

Or enquire into the nature of the self — " Who am I ? " — and realise " I am not any of this that is attributed to me " .

Rest established in the self which is the highest state of consciousness , in which the best among the holy men who know of this state ever dwell .

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER : 55 56

Even if you believe that this world and yourself are real , then be it so ; rest firmly in your own self .

If you think that this is both real and unreal , then adopt the appropriate attitude to this changing world .

If you believe that the world is unreal , then be firmly established in the infinite consciousness .

VASISTHA'S YOGA | SECTION IV | CHAPTER 45

See that " all this is unreal , including myself " , and there will be no sorrow in you .

Or , see that " all this is real , including myself " , and sorrow will not touch you either

Statues or Idol worship Best and easiest method of worship

Idol worship or worship using Statues, this is one of the biggest attacks which Santan dharma faces by anti Hindu forces. Although Hindus know that this is one of the many methods of offering devotional services but it appears some people from other religions either don't know the meaning of devotion or have evil intentions towards Sanatan dharma and that's why they are seen making such noises.

Many saints have already given very clear explanation for the same, and refence is given in Shrimad Bhagvat Gita itself.

Here is one explanation from Swami Vivekanand;
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All of you have been taught to believe in an omnipresent God. Try to think of it.How few of you can have any idea of what omnipresence means! If you struggle hard, you will get something like the idea of ocean, or of the sky, or of a vast stretch of green earth, or of a desert. All these are material images, and so long as you cannot conceive of the abstract as abstract, of the ideal as the ideal, you will have to resort to these forms, these material images. It does not make much difference whether these images are inside or outside the mind. We are all born idolators, and idolatry is good, because it is in the nature of man. Who can get beyond it? Only the perfect man, the God-man. The rest are all idolators. So long as we see the universe before us, with its forms and shapes, we are all idolators. This is a gigantic symbol we are worshipping. He who says that he is the body, is a born idolator. We are spirit, spirit that has no form or shape, spirit that is infinite, and not matter. Therefore any one who cannot grasp the abstract, who cannot think of himself as he is, except in and through matter, as the body, is an idolator. And yet how people fight among themselves, calling one another idolators! In other words, each says,his idol is right, and the others' are wrong.

(Swami Vivekanand)

There is direct refence in Srimad Bhagvat gita for the same.

Ch12:Sh5
Chlesho adhik tarastesham avyakta asakta chetsam,
avyaka hi gatirdukham deha va dvibharvapyate.

"Those devotees who have their fixed mind on the invisible(Unmanifested) have more difficulty becuase it is tough to retain the unmanifest."

(Lord Shri Krishna in Srimad Bhagvat Gita. Ch12:Sh5)
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It is very clearly said in above shloka that worship using any manifested (image, or stautes) is easier as human mind can not understnad unmanifest easly. Human mind is made to understand the facts with the help of associations. No worship is possible unless mind is able to associate with some figure of God. There is nothing better than Statue to associate God with, Idol or symbol/image worth thousands of words. Feeling of devotion generated by looking at the statue or idol of Lord is unparalleled. Looking at idol devotee immediately establishes its devotion with God and he needs nothing else. no words, no dictation is required.

Hence worshipping using Image or Idol makes the worship process very easy. In fact no worship is possible without using one or other kind of symbol. If something is possible without using sysmbol is only Yoga, meditation and Tapashya and everybody knows these are part of Sanatan Dharma only.

Therefore one should never have any doubts in using any symbol, image or statue to offer devotional services.