Self-Control
Divine Life
Society Publication: Kathopanishad – The Science Of The Inner
Life by Swami
Krishnananda
The senses are always
projected outward to their respective objects. Therefore, no individual has a
consciousness of the Self. By aspiring for immortality and turning the
consciousness to itself, within, the Atman is beheld. It is not possible to
have, at the same time, the consciousness of both the subject and the object.
The subject can know itself only when it does not cling to the object. When the
object is known fully, the subject is entirely forgotten. Because true bliss is
found in the subject alone, this bliss is never experienced as long as the
subject is not known, i.e., as long as there is consciousness of an object. The
whole universe is the object of the subject which is Consciousness. Self-realization,
thus, is the absorption of the consciousness of objectivity into the
Consciousness not infected by thought or affected by any object. The doors of
the senses and the intellect have to be closed if the light is to be beheld
within. The light of the Self is dissipated, ordinarily, because of external
consciousness. These rays of consciousness should be collected and centered in
one thought or one idea of one nature. This practice puts an end to external
awareness and makes the mind break its boundaries and expand itself beyond the
limitations of causation. Further, when concentration is practiced, all Rajas
is put an end to, and there is the revelation of Sattva through which the bliss
of Truth is reflected. Bliss always comes after knowledge, and knowledge is
always accompanied by power. This means that meditation is the way to perfect
knowledge, power and bliss, which know no decay.
Since it is evident that
worldly consciousness and Divine Consciousness do not co-exist, it is also
clear that sensuality is the opposite of Self-knowledge. Sense-knowledge is
natural to the individual, whereas Self-knowledge is extraordinary. This is the
reason why everyone is by force made to experience the Anatman or something
objective. They are children who follow the course of the objects of the
senses. They fall into the wide-spread net of destruction. Those who have
consciousness of the Immortal do not ever seek it among things impermanent. The
cause of destruction or death is wide-spread, i.e., it is everywhere. The
meaning is that the outward conditions necessary for the destruction of
something are made manifest by the corresponding conditions in the thing to be
destroyed. Since all desires are connected with their respective objects and
not with the entire existence, it is not possible for one who desires, to
escape death. Death is the process of the extension of one's consciousness by
casting off the obstructing factors, viz., limited experiences. The spiritual
heroes do not find Reality among shadows, because the Infinite Subject, viz.,
the Atman, never becomes an object of itself. This Self does neither increase
by good action nor decrease by bad action. Its glory is eternal, because it is
independent of all externals. The wise ones, therefore, have no desire for
anything at all, for they do not find anything as valuable as their own
essential consciousness. They experience every objective condition as an
intense opposition to what is absolutely Real, and cast it off as pain. In
short, absorption into the Self is the same as absence of sense-experience and
the negation of thought in pure awareness.
The Self has the knowledge of
every kind of existence. This knowledge, however, is not the pain-giving
temporary knowledge acquired through contact, but the knowledge of every fibre
of being, in essence. Every constituent of existence is known by it in the most
perfect manner, because all these constituents are parts of itself alone. Its
knowledge is knowledge of itself, and is not separative knowledge which is
possible only in terms of space, time and causation. Hence the Self is
omniscient and, therefore, absolutely perfect.
Whatever is here, is there;
and whatever is there, is here; he goes from death to death, who perceives
diversity here. The substance of immediate existence is the same as that of
remote existence. Persons move from place to place in search of things, because
of the ignorance of the fact that everything can be found everywhere. The
different forms of experience do not mean that they are really different. These
differences belong to the cognitive organs or the modes of knowledge, and not
to the objects of knowledge. The whole universe of creation is a gradual
unfoldment of one substance alone. Through meditation on the Reality of oneness
of substance, it is possible for one to actualize or make manifest anything, at
any place, in any form. Truly, there is no diversity here. Those who perceive
diversity due to the defects of the inner organs experience birth and death, as
they have to conform to what they believe in. What one intensely believes in,
that one experiences, because every belief pertains to an aspect of reality.
But, because individual beliefs are partial, the experiences corresponding to
these, too, are partial. This is the reason why desirers or perceivers of
duality and multiplicity do not have absolute experience, but are caught in the
meshes of the effects of their own desires. Meditation should, therefore, be
practised in the form of the affirmation of the divisionless being which is
full, and which includes everything. This is the same as meditation on one's
own Self.
Even as water that is dropped
by rain on the top of a mountain runs here and there, and is wasted, one who
perceives manifoldness and follows different paths runs to waste with them.
But, even as pure water poured into pure water becomes pure water alone, the
sage who knows the Self as one whole being becomes the whole being itself,
without dissipating his energy. Whenever there is a thought of something,
energy is at once sent to that thing, whereby the energy is spent out. Weakness
and distraction are caused by spending out energy in contemplation of external
objects and states. But, true withdrawal from thinking of externals means
complete conservation of energy and the dissolution of it in
Self-consciousness. The mind should not be allowed to follow diverse methods of
practice, as, thereby, it distracts itself and attains nothing substantially.
But, when it follows one method of practice, concerned with one goal, and
concentrates itself completely on this goal, it integrates itself and becomes
identical with the Absolute.
A person does not live by
Prana or Apana, but he lives by something on which Prana and Apana, also,
depend. The Pranas serve a purpose to another of which they are auxiliaries.
They are made up of parts, they are inert, they are actuated by another
conscious principle. A person lives by the conscious Spirit within. The Pranas
move the senses, because they themselves are moved by internal consciousness.
This means that all life belongs to the Atman, and all values also belong to
it. Even as fire which has only one form appears in form corresponding to the
media through which it burns, this Atman, which is one, appears in form
corresponding to the form through which it manifests. Even as the sun who is
the eye of all is not sullied by the defects of the eye, the one Atman, the
Self of all, is not sullied by the defects of the world, because it is
transcendental and unconnected with objective experiences. The Atman, the
controller of all, the Self of all, is really the essence of all the diverse
forms of existence. Happiness belongs to those who realize the Self within
themselves, not to anyone else, who is busy with the externals. The peace
belonging to those is eternal, who realize the Self within, the eternal among
all impermanent beings, the one consciousness beyond all ordinary
consciousness, and the one goal of all aspirations and desires. Peace does not
belong to anyone else. The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the
stars; these lightnings, too, do not shine; what to speak of this fire! Every
thing shines after Him who shines. This whole universe is illumined by His
Light – the Great Being.
Excerpts from:
Self-Control - Kathopanishad – The Science Of The Inner
Life by Swami
Krishnananda
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