*Titiksha* Life is a great teacher. Life teaches us everything. It brings us everything to give us a lesson.

The best lesson is received when we donot complain but accept everything which comes our way. There are some qualities which are needed for on e to be established into the Self. Mind and sense organ control, always keeping this firm perception that I am the Self is the next, having faith on the Master is the third but among this, there is another very vital aspect of Sadhana and t hat is - titiksha which literally means accept the unacceptable without even com plaining. This is that quality within us which enhances our power and capacity o f mind to hold the ever flowing spiritual knowledge. Practice this Titiksha as m uch as you can. Whatever comes your way, don't react. Accept that as a gift of G od. Knowledge manifests itself into a character. This is the character - so stro ng so as to hold every eventualities still remaining calm and still. This will a lso help you in keeping your mind always on God or the Self. You are the Self, a lways. You are that Undifferentiated Universal Consciousness, the one without th e second, you are the Truth the absolute Existence. Know this and be free, you a re Freedom. With love always, Swamiji --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Conversation.* hello my very good friend how are you? J: Hello! I am good, and honored! How are you? Me : I am good as well, just a bit busy with the publications J: ;);) Me : where do you live? J : Oh, I am so far away! I am in Washington State in USA, the Northwest corner. Me : I am in Varanasi J : And you have a new school? Me : a new Ashram, yes, near the university J : Oh, that is good to be near the university, I would think. I so wanted to attend Bhagavan's birthday celebration. Me : please come whenever you want to J : I have really enjoyed the Vedanta Society. It is similar to mine, and is serious

work. Me : yes, quite serious and sincere J : Yes! Sincere! J : You know, India has contributed so much to spirituality, and she should be healt hier. How can I help? Me : lets work together to build a consciousness about spirituality which would be be yond any narrow mindedness or sectarianism J : Oh, yes! I am so for this! Shouldn't we all be learning about the same thing, re ally. We just have had different ways of coming upon it. Me : yes J : And then we need to be able to live it! Me : most of the spiritual worker gets struck to a particular form thereby loosing th e universal outlook J : Right. so true. then we actually fear the new news. Me : they infact harm humanity because in the process of preaching peace and love, th ey preach very dangerous sectarianism J : Yes, it usually still come with an accusal of some kind as well... Me : I want to work with everybody and help people , no matter he/she follows Jesus o r Buddha or Krishna or Allah J : So great, I have sensed that! Me : yes J : The more I learn the more I have appreciated that other sects have really concen trated on an area which is essential to fit with the whole puzzle. Me : yes, the puzzle which will never be solved till we are within the limitations of mind J :

Well, here in the U.S. the big challenge is to realize that we have one! Me : I can help you in this regard to realize J : Soon the consciousness of matter will need to pop out from under the microscope to say hello! Then we might learn what is in control. Me : it wont it cannot be felt through senses J : So far, it is hoping that the scientist will tell it something about itself. Me : we can come to a conclusion, but, its impossible to know that through senses we have to become that if we want to feel and the moment we transcend our senses, we start to realize J : This is true, the scientist would need to have their own developed consciousness to hear of course. Me : yes Judy : That will be the day! Me : when the medium of understanding disappears, then does the one beyond comprehens ion manifest J : This is why we have always had to have faith instead of full comprehension. Me : yes faith and then make efforts to make it a confirmed knowledge J : We just have to begin to try with faith, and then we may have confirmation. This is what most Christians have done. Since Christian Scientists prove their healt h with it, we have a lot of confirmation. Me : yes, faith is the basis of all religion J : You know, though, it is really love which is the required ingredient. Me : love comes from inside its the purest product of devotion and honesty J : Surely, and it needs to go out and be given.

Me : whatever comes from inside will definitely go out spontaneously J : Right. without honesty we have not much. Me : any effort in that regard will make it an intellectual exercise J : This is where I find that although we do need to learn self, love self and appre ciate what is there, we need to challenge the belief that others are not able, b ecause we will never have our own thoughts pure. Me : spirituality starts from the point where you stop bothering about others and con centrate within yourself the whole world you will find is within you separation is such an illusion J : This is true, we must make ourselves responsible for what we experience from oth ers. Me : that others is also the outcome of your own thought and actions there is no other J : It is God from which we can never be separated, and since God is with all, we ar e really not different. Me : there is only One seen or perceived differently into different names and forms God is not with all, God is all that is there is no other existence than God J : It does seem to all have similar concerns to us, I have even checked this! So that if we do not love these other things, and we do have the same God with u s, it is difficult to then think we will have support for this. Me : to love others, you have to love God only J : It is to love God first, and then all else. Me : love God only J : Well, then we have to be very inclusive and correct about what we are loving. Me yes, that's why discrimination is a must for aspirants J : Yes!!

Me : love Him till you feel that whatever there is, is all but Him J : Yes, I like that idea. Me : this is Vedanta J : That is lovely. Me : thanks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Fear Not.* In Sankaracharyas Vivekachudamani we can see how a disciple after doing everythin g and by burning in the fire of this world comes to a master with folded hands a nd says Oh master, I have been bewildered by this realms of the world. Please tak e me to that peaceful state, to that calm state. I want to rest in peace. I want to liberate from this burnings. I want to liberate from the fire of this world. The first thing that the master tells is Dont worry. Fear not. The first word of th e Vedas, Upanishads, of the scriptures is this Fear not. Whatever happens to us we should know fear not, fear not whatever happens, just hold it till you realize t he self confirmly. Upnaishads means the knowledge by which we always stay near th e self with full confirmation. When a person realizes the self with this confirm ation he knows that this is the place where the self, the oneness, unity, bliss, joy, happiness of freedom, of knowledge, of truth, of infinity, of divinity, of eternity, this is the place. We are all moving towards that state. But the nega tive thoughts are coming and distracting us. So we have to know why these though ts are coming and from where they are coming. When we know that where do we stan d then only we see that from tomorrow, today, this moment itself it will not com e. It comes because of our weakness. This comes because we are always used to th ink in this way. We have been told that we cannot do anything. Nothing will happ en with us. Study, get a job, marry, have two or three kids, thats it. You cannot do anything more. This is the common dialogue everybody of us has heard. And by hearing this dialogue we grew up. People like Swami Vivekananda, Shankaracharya , all the great people said no. You have infinite capability within you. You have infinite strength within you. Believe in this. You are the sun of the bliss, yo u are the sun of the immortal. You dont have any death. Fear not. Go beyond death. Only by knowing that person, which person? In the Vedas it has been said that p erson, that man, that existence who is bright like the sun thousand suns. You kn ow this. I have known that Purusha. I have known that person who is referred in the Vedas as a person who is brighter than thousand suns. By knowing this man it self I can go beyond the truth. While knowing self there are many things which w ill come on our way and we have to go beyond that. Just by surpassing it we will see that we go to that place. Swami Vivekananada in one of his poems called the song of monks in every stanza he put one word leave the rope which is binding you towards the world. There is an undefined attachment with this world. We feel that if we leave this what will happen to me. No, nothing will happen. When these ro pes of thoughts try to take you with them to some unseen dark forest tell them j ust leave those ropes and say leave it and say Hari Om Tat Sat, You are truth. These thoughts have no power. They gain power because you are attaching with them. Th ere is a famous story of a saint and mouse. A mouse used to live in the ashram o f a saint. The saint used to love it very much. One day the saint saw that the m ouse is very frightened and moving here and there and the saint asked what happen ed . Mouse said there is a cat came to eat me. The saint by his power turned the mo use into bigger cat and that cat which came to eat it got frightened and ran awa y. Now this bigger cat is very happy as its no more a mouse its a cat and nobody w

ill come to it and eat. After some days the saint saw that this cat is again fri ghtened. He saw that there was a big dog standing on the door steps. Then the sa int transformed the cat into a bigger dog. The dog which was standing ran away. One day this saint saw that this dog is again frightened. The saint saw that at the door step there is a lion standing. Then the saint turned that dog into bigg er lion and the lion which came ran away. Now this bigger lion became the king o f that forest. One day that lion was sitting near the saint and the saint told t he lion to do something. Because now its a lion the king of the forest, it has eg o and its ego got hurt and it came to eat the saint. When it came to eat the sai nt, the saint said become mouse again. This is how we treat our thoughts. From mou se we take them up to lion. Its a very small thought which comes but we feed them and we grow them until it becomes lion. We cant make again into a mouse and that is why this lion comes and eats us. Why does it come to eat us? Because we dont know that we are the saint. We have given this power to this thought to become l ike this to think that its greater than me. The thought when it comes, it comes i n a very subtle way and we feed it and make it stronger and stronger and at one time it becomes so strong we get covered by its weight and we tend to die. In In dia we say Chintha chita samaan hai. Chintha means thought. Chita means the oven wher the dead bodies are burnt. These thoughts are like that oven which burns us. Th e thought always burns. What to do? Know that you are the saint. Only by knowing this then only you can make that into action. You can transform that lion into mouse. We have to know that we are that Brahman, we are not thoughts, we are not mind, we are not the ego, we are not the body, we are not this world. There is nobody in this world who can disturb me. Nobody can kill me because I am one wit hout second. Even the body dies but the Atman cannot be killed. This birth and d eath is only but imagination. The self or the soul is birthless and deathless. O nly the body takes birth and dies. Death is only a fear. The first thing that a master or Guru or the scriptures says is Fear not. In Gita Krishna explains the tw enty four divine qualities of man. The first word is Abhi, fear not. So if you wan t to become divine you have to be always very fearless. Every time you have to f ace. One day Swami Vivekananda went to Vrindavan. There was one sacred lake and he took bath there. When he was bathing some monkeys has taken his clothes. Afte r coming back out of the lake he asked monkeys to give his clothes and the monke ys become very furious. They attacked Swamiji. Swamiji when he saw that the monk eys were attacking him, he started running. When he started running the monkeys were also behind him. Suddenly he heard a voice Dont run. Face it. He immediately s topped and turned around. When he turned around the monkeys got frightened. They left his clothes and ran away. This is the science by which we have to lead our life. Dont run away, stop and face it. See what is this. You will see there is n othing. It is only you that is standing. There is nothing that can ever scare yo u, harm you. Only one that harms you is you, yourself. We see ghosts, evil spiri ts. If you are always Brahman, how can a evil spirit catch you? If you are alway s divine can catch you? It catches you if you are weak. Now everywhere there are germs of many, many diseases. Why are we not getting all those diseases? Becaus e, our body has all that power to resist all those diseases. The moment this bod y looses that power to resist at that moment all kind of disease will catch us. The problem is not because the disease has caught you. Its because you have becom e weak. You have given a chance to them to act. Dont give chance. Always be like a warrior and fight. Swami Vivekananda said always keep the sword of discriminat ion with your pillow when you sleep, not only throughout your day. Even in the s leeping state no fear should come to you. You have to cut the roots of fear, ill usions, all weaknesses. Always keep the discrimination with you that I am that Br ahman. The scriptures which are eternal tell me this. The scriptures are also div ine because they talk about that divinity. The scriptures are nothing but the pr actical words of the enlightened soul. I should not have fear of anything becaus e I am the son of the immortal. The son of a lion doesnt fear, it knows that it i s a lion but the son of a deer will fear. It is trained to be fearful from the c hild hood. The first thing that his mother teaches is to how to run. The mother of a lion will teach how to hunt. Learn this how to make people run. Stand still in your place. Dont run away my dear. Whatever thoughts come to you are thoughts

of ignorance, these are not yours. This is Maya. You have to know that this is also within the system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*An Introduction to the BHRAMHA SUTRAS* (Classes of Swami Probuddhananda Puri.) Part 1. Today we start the Brahma Sutras. Its a very important text of Spirituality or V edanta. The Vedic religion or the religion prevalent in ancient India was depend ed on three texts or the three authoritative texts, one is the Sruti or the Veda s, the next is Smriti or the Bhagavat Gita, where Lord Krishna delivers His grea t teachings to Arjuna in the battle field, and the third one is the Vedanta Sutr a or Bhramha Sutras or Nyaya. Vedanta Sutras means - these are aphorisms, these short of very small words, wherein the whole essence of the Vedas or spiritualit y has been poured in. Its believed that this Vedanta sutras or the Bhramha Sutra s were composed by Vyasa because whenever we talk about these texts, we come acr oss a name called Vadarayana. Vadarayana is the other name of Vyasa, the same pe rson who has transcribed the whole Vedas, the Mahabharata epic including the Bha gavat Gita, the 18 Puranas where Bhagavatam also is one of them and Adhyatma Ram ayana. Because He had compiled the whole vedas into words, so, He is also known as Veda Vyasa. He is the unanimous Master of the Vedic Spiritual tradition. All the vedic school of thoughts regard Veda Vyasa as their Master. So Vedanta sutra s is the Authoritative texts because this is the Nyaya or the grammar of Vedanta . Today I chose to read this Vedanta Sutras to you, why? Because as I mix with you , or talk to you, I see two different thought process going on simultaneously in your mind. One thought or one force is very very very powerful force or thought , which is always pulling you towards the Self or the Knowledge, but the other o ne is a lot of confusion, doubts which creeps up into your mind and sometimes I see that you suffer. But these doubts are very normal because the mind is like a wave, sometimes it will be high, sometimes it will be low. Its like tides, so t heres nothing to worry. Because you don t have a very detailed understandings ab out the spiritual back grounds, what happens, why it happens, that is why you ge t confused and I have seen that you suffer a lot. But there is no reason to suffer at all. Because once you have come to this ques tion that I want to realize the self or God, it is very much evident that you wi ll know the truth. The first thing that I want to tell you is that to know the t ruth we need three qualifications, one is a human birth, a cow cannot have self realization, why? Because she doesn t have that mental level which she can trans cend her mind, she can go beyond the limits of the mind, she cannot discriminate . Any other creature in this world doesnt have that capacity to discriminate the ir mind which will take them beyond the realms of mind, beyond the limitations o f the mind. We all know mind, mind, a group of thoughts, group of all cloudy thoughts, is ta king us always into the external world. when this group of thoughts act upon us, we get distracted, but we also have the capacity within us by which we can cut this distraction and this faculty of ours is called discrimination. Because of t his discrimination, we can cut all the thoughts can we can go beyond the limitat ions of the mind. We can reach that unlimited Brahman and that is why human bein g is so much valuable. He is held equivalent to God. In the puranas if you see, you will see that the Lord residing in the heaven also cannot become enlightened , if they want to become enlightened, they have to take a human birth. So, here we have to know that though we remain amongst sufferings and miseries, we are su perior to any other creature in the whole scheme of creation. Why? Because it is only the human being who can get enlightened and liberated. so, the first thing that we need for enlightenment is a human birth, it doesnt say that you have to take birth in India or become a Brahmin, but it says you should have a human bi rth. Next is the extreme urge for freedom or enlightenment, I have to have this strong urge which will tend me towards enlightenment, liberation, freedom. Every body wants to be free. The first thing that every human being wants is to become

free, because he is always free by nature. But, he doen t know this. Why do we always want to become free, to sleep? Sleep is the only state which we love the most, whatever we do, we do that for a good sleep, why? Because the sleep gives us the taste of freedom, freedom from our thoughts, mental distractions and suff erings, from physical sufferings also. We get freedom in such a state about whic h we have no idea, we feel refreshed after we come back from sleep. Enlightenmen t or Samadhi, where there is a union with ourself or God, the highest state of a human being is Samadhi, that state is nothing but conscious deep sleeping. I am sleeping but I am conscious about the sleep. We sleep but we dont know what hap pens, but the man who is conscious about his sleep is an enlightened man. We are all talking about freedom, enlightenment, how to achieve that? We have to eleva te ourself to such a plane of consciousness where we remain conscious in the sle ep. This urge to realize God will take us upto that point, so the next quality r equired is the urge to liberation. The third factor is a contact with an able Ma ster. It says if you have these earlier two qualities, the human birth and un ur ge for liberation, then only you will come in contact with an able Master. When these three conditions are fulfilled, you get liberated. You go beyond your mind , the cycle of birth and death, time, space and casualty. A man who goes beyond the limitations of his mind goes beyond birth and death. Now we have to see ourselves. When we come together, practice vedanta, take clas ses, where do we stand? We have seen that we have this urge to know the Self. Ev erybody of us who are present here today have a genuine urge to know the Self an d we are working very hard for that. Now we have to see what the scriptures tell us about this state of ours, where do we stand, where a man stands when this se lf search comes to him? Where does the man stand when this question comes to him that I want to know myself , O my Lord, tell me, tell me. We have to study Sank aracharyya also. We have to know the Vivekchudamani where we will find that the disciple comes to a Master and prays to be taken away from the realms of this wo rld because he is bewildered by the fire of this world. He wants to get that pea ceful state, wants to get liberated from these burnings. The first thing that th e Master tells Him is -don t worry. Fear not. The first words of the Vedas or th e Upanishads is this- Fear not. whatever happens to us, everytime we should know , fear not, there is way, there is way. So when this opposite thoughts comes to us, I know that in everybody s mind, this is very obvious, till you know the Sel f confirmedly , hold on, fear not. Upanishads means remaining near the self with full confirmation. It means that he is totally confirmed that there is the Self , that He is the Self, the unity, the oneness, the abode of peace, bliss, joy, h appiness , freedom, of knowledge, of truth of infinity, of divinity, of eternity . This is the place, he knows it.Upanishads means the knowledge by which we stay near the truth with full assurance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*More thoughts on Brahma Sutras* Brahman or God or Self, Truth, Consciousness or Existence or whatever you call i s not an object perceivable to our senses, mind or intellect. We cannot see it t hrough our physical eye, neither can we taste or hear or smell or even think of Him. Thus, the first approach always has been of negation- not this, not this. H e is that, what is not. For example, in the Upanishads, the Masters says- That w hich cannot be seen, smelt, heard etc but by whose presence the senses or mind w orks is Brahman.That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worsh ip. If you think: "I know Brahman well," then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as conditioned by man or by the gods. Therefore Bra hman, even now, is worthy of your inquiry.Thus Tatastha laksana becomes a must. In the katha upanishad also, we see the reference of a constellation Arundhuti. This constellation being very very far from us is like a dot in the night sky. T o reach(see) it,we take the help of other bigger constellations near to this and thus reach the desired Arundhuti. That which helps us in the Self Inquiry in th e very outset but looses its relevance once the goal is reached might be defined as the Tatastha laksana.

With this negation comes the right perception of that which IS and which cannot be expressed. This brings us a step further where we can have the benefit of the Swarupa laksana. Within this time, because of a continuous search, our mind als o has become much clear where we can hold the idea of that which is transcendent al. The Upanishads holds the knowledge of the Self or God within it. But, there is l esser references of the means to attain the Absolute. Hence, the Br. Su. is an e ffective tool by which our search gets translated into attainment. The first Sut ra starts with a question- Athata Brahmajignyasa and ends with a confirmationAnabritti Sabdat Anabritti Sabdat - ( liberation from the cycle of birth and death, complete liberation from attachment and aversion, worldly happiness and s adness, fame and defame and from all conflicts and confusions and attainment of the eternal supreme peace while immersed into the ocean of bliss forever. Now, why does the scriptures specially the Br. Su, advocate guided practice in a ccordance with the shruti or the Vedas? Once, I came across a reference made in the Vedas thus- Navedbin Manute Tam Brihantam - ( one who doesn t meditate the Brahman according to the hymns of the Vedas, cannot know Brahman . I was very s hocked initially because that suggested only a very narrow minded approach. But, now, my experiences say how correct and perfect those words are of the Vedas. H ere, I include all the spiritual texts available in the world when I refer to as the Vedas. When we approach something which cannot be seen or heard or touched or thought of, its the Master and the words of the scriptures which are our only guidelines. We cannot create our own path according to our wish when we reel wi thin the limitations of time, space and casualty. As to your idea of individual soul, I have to say, the Soul is one and thus infi nite but is reflected in every being in equal proportion. The sun falls on a bea utiful rose and also on wine bottle. But, there is no two. And while reflecting through the wine bottle, the sun doesn t become impure. Hence, there is one soul . Another example, there are ten pots of water. And within those ten pots, we wi ll see ten suns, but they are one and indivisible. When we break one pot, there remains nine.....eight...seven....then ultimately, one reflected sun and one sun . When the last pot is broken, the one who remained earlier remained thereafter, unchangeable. Gone are the reflections, but the true object remained. That is t he Existence, the substratum of every being. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Topics of Brahma Sutras* Before going into the detailed study of the Sutras, we should learn something ab out Adhikaran or topic. The literal meaning of topic is the subject discussed . For example, in the 1st Sutras the word Jignasa or questioning was widely used and the subject matter also was about questioning. Thus the 1st Aphorism is cal led Jignasa Adhikaran . This topic consists of only one sutra. Similarly, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sutras are also of independent topic and their naming has been done with respect to the subject discussed. In other topics, there are more than one sutras. There is an arithmetic arrangement in the no. Of sutras and its top ics. Br. Su are called the Uttar Mimansha because of the fact that they talk aout B rahman being the only object of knowledge and attainment unlike the Purva Mima nsha where attainment of heaven is the prime objective. According to Sankara, t here are in all 555 sutras and 191 Adhikarana or topics which are divided into 4 adhyaya or sections and each section into 4 padas or sub sections. The topic consists 5 basic points viz. 1) the subject 2) confusion raised 3) jus tification of confusion with reference to the Shruti 4) justification against th e confusion with reference to Shrutis 5) Conclusion. To derive the actual essenc e of the sutras, these five basic points has to be discussed in details and with out the same, the conclusion derived will be considered invalid. Brahma Sutras are the testimony and explanation of the Upanishads. Thus, in each topic, the definite meaning of the Shruti is discussed. Those words of the Shru tis are the topic heads of the respective topics in Br. Su. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------* Lakhshana used in Brahma Sutras* Now, when we have already started our journey into the Brahma Sutras quite serio usly, let us be acquainted with some of the technical terms used in the Br. Su. ( Brahma Sutra). To have a better understanding of the Brahma Sutras, we have to know a word - La ksana and its significance. The literal meaning of Laksana is the identifying fe atures or attributes or very close to an analogy. For example, while explaining the address of someone named Ram, we say, Ram s house is in the Ganga. We all kn ow that Ganga being a river cannot be a place where someone could build a house. It means that Ram s house is in the banks of the river Ganga. This is known as the Tatastha Laksana. Tatastha Laksana is that expression by which we express a certain character of an object which is distinct from its real nature. The defin ition of an object that helps temporarily to identify the object, but which is d iscarded later for a better definition is called incidental qualification or Tat astha Laksana; So, in the second Ap.( aphorism) of the Br. Su. ( Janmadhayashya Yatah), we find the use of Tatastha Laksana where the origin, sustenance and dissolution has be en referred or related to the world which has no relation what so ever with the eternal, changeless and birthless Brahman but the second Ap. indicates the natur e or characteristic of Brahman. There is another way of expressing an object. Its the direct expression. In the scriptures, we find the references about Brahman such as -" Truth, Knowledge, In finite is Brahman." This way of directly defining an object, here in case, Brahm an is known as Swarupa Laksana. Through Swarupa Laksana, we define an object in its true essence. Here, though these three words are distinctive to each other a nd carry separate meaning when referred to in a different context, yet they talk about the one indivisible Brahman. For example, we say, H2O, two atoms of hydro gen and one atom of oxygen. H2O means water. Though H , 2 and o are distinc t, yet, they express the nature of one water. Another example is, Ram is a good father, a good son, a good husband and a good king. Father, son, husband and kin g are different, but they all refer to the characteristics of one person- Ram. Why is the use of Laksana so important in Vedanta? It is because to understand a nd realize the depth of any given object and its definition, we should understan d and realize at length the basic or intrinsic qualifications of those that cons truct that said object. In the Br. Su, we will find the references and need to u nderstand the applications of such Laksanas often. Before going into the next Ap., we would like to discuss at length about Adyasa or super imposition which finds its relevance in almost all the texts of Vedan ta and in the Br. Su. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Adhyasa* Therefore, we can easily come to the conclusion that the identification of the S elf with the body,mind,intellect etc is only due to the superimposition or Adhya sa. All the miseries of finiteness and relativity starts with the perception tha t I am the body, mind etc. Our birth, death etc are all but due to this false no tion. Because of Adhyasa, one though omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent seem s to be bounded by the strings of time, space and causation. Hence, the only way to get liberated from the mundane existence is to get rid of the false notion o f I through true knowledge. The knowledge of oneness with the Absolute is the on ly way to pass beyond death and miseries. As the upanishads declare - ( Asabdam Asparsham Arupam Avyayam, Tatha Arasam..........Nicayya Tat Mrtyumukhat Pramucya te) - one becomes free from the jaws of death by knowing the one that is soundle ss, touchless, formless, undiminishing and tasteless. When the Self is realized, the phenomenal world disappears instantly. When by li stening to the Mahavakyas from the Guru and then engaged into the inquiry of the Self through comprehension and discrimination, one realizes the Self, He goes b eyond all modifications or superimpositions. This reverse process by which we be come one with our real nature leaving behind all the transitory existences is ca

lled Adhyaropa or Apavada. Thus Apavada is a process by which the existence of s nake completely dilutes into the existence of rope and remains as a rope hencefo rth. The explanation of Sankara that the world is maya or illusion has given thi s philosophy the name of Mayavada or Anirvachaniya Khyativada( the doctrine of a pparent modification of Brahman into the phenomenal world). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* First Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras* " Sankaram Sankaracharyam Keshavam Badarayanam Sutra bhasyou krito bande, Bhagavantou Punah Punah" ATTHATHO BRAHMA JIJNASA --- Now this quest of the Truth or the Self or Brahman o r the question of "Who Am I?" has arrived. The word Brahman has been derived from the root word (dhatu) Briha . Brahman means the Self. The word self is derived from that dhathu. In Sanskrit root word is called dhathu. From briha dhathu. Every word in Sanskrit has come from a roo t. Like Ram came from a root. When Ram came into this being he didn t have a name. His father brought Him to the sages to name him. When the sages saw that little child, they saw that he is attracting them in such a level that the sages feel the presence of that child in their mind. While they feel the presence of that c hild in their mind they get connected with the lord. So this child is a medium t o connect with that infinite lord. This wonder child is the one whom the yogis c an meditate upon spontaneously and that is why that child was named as RAM - Rama nthi yogina yasmin sa Ram, the one in whom the sages meditate and take refuse is RAM. Krishna was born and in the same way the sages came and they saw that the b oy was attracting them towards him. The one quality of the God is attraction. Th e world also attracts us but there is a sense of dis satisfaction and extreme de sire and unfulfillment. But with the attraction of God, we find peace and bliss and a natural flow of renunciation and fulfillment. We will see when we are medi tating and are moving towards the self, the vibrations of the mind is very less we feel the attraction coming from inside. Like somebody is attracting from insi de. Who is that? That is the Self. So when sages came to name Krishna they saw t hat Krishna is attracting them and that is why they named Krishna as Ya karshathi sa Krishna. Krishna has came from the word karshathi from "Krish" dhathu or the root word. In the same way Brahman came from the root Briha. Brahman doesnt mean th at somebody sitting in the heaven. Brahman means Me, You, Everybody and my Self. B riha denotes greatness to an infinite degree and therefore applicable to all obj ects which have the quality of greatness. But aptly to that object by nature and quality posses this greatness to an infinite degree. Hence the word Brahman pri marily denotes that supreme person who is the abode of all auspicious qualities to an infinite degree and who is free from all worldly taint. This supreme perso n is the only being, the knowledge of whose nature results in liberation. After knowing Brahman the person becomes the possessor of all divine qualities and tha t also to an infinite degree. Then denotes the immediate sequence and therefor e signifies that the antecedent fact necessarily leads to an inquiry into Brahma n. The word then means now the quest for truth has started, so when it says that Now means When? - when everything of this worldly activities have been finis hed and now we approach into the highest level where we come close to the realiz e the self and become free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Question and conclusion of the first aphorism of the Br. Sutra.* As it has been said in the first aphorism that the question of the Self or Brahm an has began. Now, the question is- why should we question about the existence o f Brahman? Does the world cease to exist after the knowledge of the Self is atta ined? The answer is an obvious NO . After the realization of the Self or Brahm an, which has been described in the Upanishads as the destroyer of the world phe nomena, liberator of the illusory world etc, we still continue to witness the re

lative existence or Samsara( world). So, why should we desire for Brahman or Sel f? Answer - It is true that even after the attainment of the knowledge of the Self where one becomes conscious of the world beyond this illusory world, the Self be yond this empirical Self, one experiences and dwells within the illusory world b ut this vision of the illusory world is not because of its( world) actual existe nce but because of the past impression or Sanskaras. For example, if we keep a p iece of onion in a bowl for seven days, the bowl will continue to smell onion fo r several more days even after withdrawing onion from the bowl. Though there is no onion present within the bowl, still, it would keep on smelling, thus, though the Self knowledge has already been attained, yet, we keep on witnessing and dw elling into this empirical Self which is better known as ego-consciousness but t here is a difference. We can understand this better if we see an event in the li fe of Swami Vivekananda when He was a wondering monk. Once during His journey in to the deserts of Rajasthan, He saw a village full of trees and lakes. Because H e was thirsty, so He ran towards the lake but within a moment understood that it was a mirage. There was no such village full of lake within the vicinity of a f ew kilometers. He kept walking and while He continued, He saw the same village a gain. This time He didn t run, He knew that though He have seen it, yet in reali ty, it doesn t exist, its a mirage. Thus, a wise after realization of the Self t hough sees and experiences this world, yet, He knows it very certainly that the world with its attributes doesn t exist. That it is false. Falseness doesn t mea n the nonexistence of the world, but, its not what it is seen. Thus, the Guru an d the scriptures repeatedly speaks about the non reality of this world and the e xistence of the Self. The world is seen real because of the super imposition of the non real entity into the real. Thus, reality has to be perceived first and t hen realized. Like in the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna says" Na tewaham jatu nasam na twam neme janadhipaha Na chaiba na bhavishyamah sarve vayamataha param" 2.12. - (But certainly its not a fact that I didn t exist at anytime nor you, nor thes e rulers of men. And surely it is not that we all shall cease to exist after thi s). Now, How do we exist eternally or how does the world exist eternally? It exists eternally because it is eternal by nature but because of delusion or ignorance i t is perceived to be a name and form and with attributes.We are consciousness ab solute but because of Maya or super-imposition, the Self is perceived and relate d to the three states viz conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious. This Self th ough perceived to be empirical and unreal is not so. We are the Real Universal s oul and thus, this reality should always be sought. Thus, Brahma Jignyasa(questi on) is valid. What do we know after the question is raised about the Brahman- The brahma Sutra gives us a very define answer to this question in the second aphorismJanmadhyasya Yatah. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*2nd Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras* anmadhyasya Yatah Janmadi ( birth or origination etc) asya ( of this world) yahat ( from where) The second Aphorism of the Brahma Sutras says- That from where the birth and dea th (origination, sustenance and dissolution) of this world happens. This 2nd sutra or Aphorism is considered to be the definition of Brahman. In the first sutra, the inquiry into the Self had began. But, then, it becomes necessa ry for an aspirant to know the characteristic of the one who is to be known or r ealized. Thus, Brahman is that from where we come, live and dissolute into. It i s our past, present and future and thus the most important knowledge to be known . We see a similar echo of this sutra in the Taitiriya Upanishads -

" Yato Va Imani Bhutani Jayante. Yena Jatani Jivanti. Yat Prayantyabhi Samvishan ti" - that from where the world has originated. That in which the world lives. T hat in which it dissolves is the Self or Brahman. But, the question is- in the first sutras when an inquiry had been made about Br ahman, why didn t the next aphorism talk about the means to attain that Knowledg e. Instead we see that, there is a direct reference of that which is non perceiv able or beyond all comprehensions. The answer to my mind might be thusThere are two aspects of spiritual world. One the means and the other the end. A lmost all the aspirant are been trained to follow the means to attain the end. T he mandatory practices such as meditation, self analysis and the like. But, it i s the Consciousness ( which comes out of constant perception) of the Self which the easiest, fastest and surest way to attain Self Knowledge and hence Liberatio n. Thus, with this second sutra, there is attempt to boost the endeavor of the a spirant so as to the real nature becomes clearer. We are the Self, the source of all sentient and insentient, ever unattached from all phenomena of Maya and its effect ignorance. Astavakra thus sings-- " Viswam sfurati yatredam taranga iva sagare....." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*3rd Sutra of Brahma Sutra* Sastra Yonitwat. Sastras (Scriptures) are the means of correct Knowledge. This sutra is a continuation, support and confirmation of the earlier Sutra that Brahman being the primal cause of the world is known only through the scripture s. Thus Brahman being the cause is not concluded by means of any analogy, estima tion or inference, but, is supported by the Scriptures which are but the first h and realization of the Seers of truth. This also documents that the Srutis alone are the evidence of the existence of Brahman. Now, the objection that has been raised was- "Brahman is an already existing ent ity like the pot etc and thus it can be known by other means of right knowledge also other than the scriptures." Answer: There are enough scriptural texts that testifies that Brahman is beyond comprehension and is not the object of knowledge perceptible unlike the pot etc. Any object which has a form, name, taste, smell etc can be defined by other mea ns apart from the scriptures. For example, in the first chapter of keno Upanisha ds it says thus(That Brahman is definitely unlike the one that is Known, and again, its beyond the unknown. Such are the utterances that we had heard of the ancient sages who explained the same to us). Keno Upanishad keeps on repeating the same characteristic of Brahman being non p erceivable to the different sense organs, the mind and the Prana( the five vital forces). Similar facts has been echoed in the Brhadaranyaka as- "He who control s the organ of speech from within" Br. III. vii 17. Or, in the Chandogya as, " O ne only; without a second", VI.ii.1 and "Where one doesn t see anything else", V II,xxiv.1. " Hence, the finite is that where one sees something else" Ch. VII.xx iv.1. Thus, an object which is completely non perceptible through direct experie nces of the senses and mind, intellect etc, cannot be established by inference a nd analogy. Therefore it can be known only through the scriptures. Earlier we ha d discussed, "One who is ignorant of the Scriptures cannot have right knowledge of the Brahman." The other means of knowledge does have a scope but only when Br ahman is established. They might be supplementary, not independent.