Thoughts of Vedanta
VEDANTA is that sublime
philosophy which teaches that the individual soul is identical with the Supreme
Soul and removes the illusion of the Jiva. Vedanta is the science of Atman that
helps the aspirants to eradicate fear, sorrow, grief, delusion and to realize
the Self. Vedanta is that magnanimous philosophy which raises the ignorant Jiva
to the sublime heights of Brahmanhood. Mere theorizing of Vedantic principles
will not do. You should live in the spirit of Vedanta. You should become a
practical Vedantin. You should realize this Atman which Vedanta treats of. Then
only you will become a liberated sage.
Brahman or Atman or the
Supreme Self is self-luminous. Brahman cannot be manifested by anything else.
Brahman manifests everything. The doctrine of self-luminosity is one of the
foundational tenets of Vedanta. Atman gives light to the sun, moon, stars,
lightning, fire intellect and senses. By the light of the Atman all these shine
but they cannot illumine the Atman.
The ultimate principle or
Atman or Brahman which is formless, colorless, fearless, timeless, spaceless,
limitless, attributeless, endless and beginningless shines eternally and
everywhere behind the names and forms. Vedanta treats of this ultimate Truth or
Supreme Principle.
This world of names and forms
is constantly changing. At the back of the ever-changing objects there is the
changeless, eternal, immortal Brahman or the Supreme Self. He who realizes this
Brahman attains Immortality, Freedom and Eternal Bliss.
Naturally the mind runs
towards objects of the world. You will have to turn the mind inwards towards
the Self (Atman) through Vairagya and Abhyasa (dispassion and practice). Constant
practice is necessary to make the mind rest in the Self for ever.
Tear into pieces the veil of
ignorance. Catch the fickle deer 'the mind' with the snare of enquiry and
Brahma Chintan. Mount on the elephant of Self-knowledge and roam about freely
in the hilly tracts on the highest peak of Supreme Wisdom of the Self.
Shake off the bonds of Karma
through discrimination, dispassion and non-attachment. Know the secret of true
bliss through concentration and meditation. Root out the passion. Embrace
Peace. Enjoy the glory of Self-Bliss. Delight in the Self within.
Abandon thoughts of this little
body. Rise above the worldly thoughts. Live always in the All-blissful Self.
Thou art the sun, fire, sky, stars, mountains, oceans and rivers. The whole
world is your body. The whole wealth of the world is yours. The whole world is
your Lila. Maya is your illusory power. Exercise your power of Sat-Sankalpa.
She is ever ready to fulfil your wishes. Thou art immortal, beginningless and
endless. Death, sickness, sorrow, sin, old age, cannot touch thee. Feel the
majesty of thy real nature. Feel, feel that thou art the all-pervading,
imperishable, diseaseless, fearless Atman. Rest in that stupendous ocean of
peace. Be perfectly happy.
Learn to discriminate between
the permanent and the impermanent. Behold the Self in all beings and in all
objects. Names and forms are illusory. Therefore sublate them. Feel that there
is nothing but the Self. Share what you have, physical, mental, moral, or
spiritual, with all. Serve the Self in all. Feel when you serve others that you
are serving your own Self. 'Love thy neighbor as thyself'. Melt all illusory
differences. Fix the mind on the Self when you work. This is practical Vedanta.
Put these things in practice in the daily battle of life. You will shine as a
dynamic Yogi or a Jivanmukta.
OM is a symbol of Brahman. Meditate
constantly on OM with Bhava and Meaning and realize the Self.
The illumined sage whose mind
is merged in his true nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda, who has conquered the enemy
'ignorance', who is destitute of 'I'-ness and 'mine'-ness, who has rooted out
pride, selfishness, love, envy and hatred, rejoices in the ocean of boundless
bliss.
A Jivanmukta or liberated sage
sees only Brahman everywhere. All names and forms vanish. A worldly man beholds
the illusory forms only.
The Jivanmukta has his upper
shoulder as his pillow, the sky as his covering, the earth as his bed. He
embraces renunciation and sleeps fearlessly anywhere without any anxiety and
enjoys the supreme bliss of the Self or the unalloyed felicity of the Atman.
Feel your oneness with all.
Feel your oneness with the sun, sky, wind, flowers, trees, buds, animals,
stones, rivers and ocean. Realize the oneness of life, unity of consciousness.
Behold the one homogeneous Self everywhere, in all beings, animals and plants.
Rise above the conventional
distinctions of mundane life. Abandon the lower nature. Assume your true nature
of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Meditate on the true principle of Brahman. Dispel the cloud
of ignorance by the dawn of Jnana-Surya, the sun of knowledge. Extricate
yourself from the three bodies and the five sheaths. Dwell in the abode of
Supreme Peace. Revel in the ocean of boundless joy, O Ram!
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