#Upadesa Undiyar

[shinymoonbird]

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalaramanaya

🕉️

True love is giving, not taking. If we truly love someone, we will not be concerned about what we can take or gain from them for ourself but only about what we can give to them. So long as we seek to gain anything from God for ourself, our love for him is still impure. If our love for him is pure, we will want nothing but to give ourself entirely to him. Therefore pure bhakti is heart-melting and all-consuming love to give ourself completely and unreservedly to God. Few of us have such bhakti in its fullest form, but if we are following the spiritual path this is what we should be aspiring for and working towards. Complete surrender of ourself to God, the one infinite and eternal reality that always exists and shines in our heart as our own being, ‘I am’, alone is the true and ultimate goal of bhakti.

When we start on the path of bhakti, God seems to be something other than ourself, so we try to express our love for him through actions of body, speech and mind, namely pūjā (worship of him), stōtra (singing his praises) or japa (repetition of his name) and dhyāna (meditation on him) respectively, and by the love with which we do such actions our mind is gradually purified, meaning that it is cleansed of all its inclinations to seek happiness in anything other than love for God, as Bhagavan explains in verses 3, 4-5-6-7 of Upadēśa Undiyār. As our mind is thereby purified, we gain the clarity to recognise that we cannot actually be anything other than God, the one infinite whole, the fullness of being, the only thing that actually exists, so since we have thereby come to understand that he alone is what we actually are, we cease seeking him outside ourself and instead begin to seek him only in the depth of our own heart. That is, instead of meditating on him as something other than ourself, as we were doing previously, we start to meditate on him as none other than ourself, with the clear understanding that he is I.

Since the nature of ourself as ego is to rise, stand and flourish by attending to things other than ourself, we will subside and sink back into the depth of our heart only to the extent to which we attend to ourself alone, as Bhagavan makes clear in verse 25 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, so by meditating on ourself we are surrendering ourself to God, and hence in verse 8 of Upadēśa Undiyār he says that ananyabhāva, meditating on nothing other than ourself, is ‘அதனத்தினும் உத்தமம்’ (aṉaittiṉum uttamam), ‘best among all’, implying that it is not only the best practice of bhakti and most effective means to purify the mind but also the only means by which we can eradicate ego and thereby surrender ourself completely to God. Since we as ego will subside back into our being to the extent to which we attend to ourself, when by persistent practice our self-attentiveness becomes strong and stable enough, we will thereby be firmly fixed in our true state of being (sat-bhāva), which transcends all mental activity, so being in this state is para-bhakti tattva, the true state of supreme devotion, as Bhagavan says in verse 9 of Upadēśa Undiyār, because it is the state in which we have given ourself wholly to God and therefore do not rise as ego to know anything other than ourself.

The path of bhakti is therefore a gradual progression towards this state of complete self-surrender, as also is the path of jñāna, so the goal of both these paths is identical, even though the followers of each may describe it in different terms. What is called complete self surrender in the path of bhakti is what is called eradication of ego and consequent removal of avidyā in the path of jñāna. If we go deep in following either of these paths, the superficial differences that others see between them will dissolve and disappear, and we will clearly recognise that they are one and inseparable, not only in their ultimate goal but also at deeper levels in their practice.

~ Michael James, in ✨Ramana Maharshi’s Forty Verses on What Is✨ ✨- The ultimate truth on being as you actually are -✨ A compilation of the writings and talks on 𝖴ḷḷ𝖺𝖽𝗎 𝖭āṟ𝗉𝖺𝖽𝗎 by Michael James. Compiled and edited by Sandra Derksen ✨🔱✨

[dimensional-tourist]

Therefore, in order to subside permanently, the thinking mind (the first thought 'I') must not only cease thinking of any other thing, but must also vigilantly focus its attention upon its own essential consciousness of being, 'I am'. As Sri Ramana says in verse 16 of Upadesa Undiyar: The mind knowing its own form of light [its essential light of self-consciousness, 'I am'], having given up [knowing] external visayas [objects or experiences], alone is true knowledge.

That is, since this mind, our primal thought 'I', is an illusion, a false form of consciousness, it can be destroyed only by true knowledge of our real T, so to destroy it permanently we must focus our entire attention upon ourself — our true 'form of light' or self-luminous consciousness, 'I am' — thereby withdrawing it completely from all other things (which are only thoughts or figments of its imagination).

Therefore keen and vigilant self-attentiveness is the only effective means by which we can truly abide in silence, our natural state of 'just being', shikantaza or summa iruppadu.

Happiness of Being: Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana

[nurtureoneslife]

UPADESESA UNDIYAR :

V. 26. To be the Self that is to know the Self,

As there is no duality in Self.

This is Tanmaya-Nistha, or the state

Of absolutely being That in truth.

V. 27. That knowledge is true knowledge which transcends

Knowledge and ignorance both equally.

And this alone is truth. For there is no

Subject or object there that can be known.

V.28. If one can only realise at Heart

What one’s true nature is, one then will findThat it is Infinite Wisdom, Truth and Bliss,Without beginning and without an end.

V.29. Remaining in this state of Supreme Bliss,

Devoid of bondage and of freedom too,

Is found to be a state in which one is

Rapt in perpetual service of the Lord.

~Bhagavan Sri Ramana,Upadesa Undiyar,

Arunachala Ramana,p.189.

[bruxby]

By the strength of [such ananya] bhava [the attitude or conviction that God is not other than ourself], being [abiding or remaining] in sat-bhava [our natural state of being], which transcends [all] bhavana [imagination, thinking or meditation], is alone para-bhakti tattva [the true state of supreme devotion]. Since God exists as atma [our own real self or essential being], atma-anusandhana [selfcontemplation or self-attentiveness] is parama-isabhakti [supreme devotion to God].

As Sri Bhagavan says in verse 9 of Upadesa Undiyar and verse 15 of Upadesa Tanippakkal:

[shinymoonbird]

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalaramanaya

🕉️

O verdadeiro amor é dar, não receber. Se realmente amamos alguém, não nos preocuparemos com o que podemos tirar ou ganhar dessa pessoa para nós mesmos, mas apenas com o que podemos dar-lhe. Enquanto procurarmos ganhar alguma coisa de Deus para nós mesmos, o nosso amor por ele ainda será impuro. Se o nosso amor por ele for puro, não desejaremos nada além de nos entregarmos inteiramente a ele. Portanto, pura bhakti, devoção, é um amor que derrete o coração e que tudo consome, por nos entregarmos completamente e sem reservas a Deus. Poucos de nós temos tal bhakti em sua forma mais completa, mas se estamos a seguir o caminho espiritual é por isso que devemos aspirar e trabalhar. A entrega completa de nós mesmos a Deus, a única realidade infinita e eterna que sempre existe e brilha em nosso coração como nosso próprio ser, ‘eu sou’, é o único e verdadeiro objetivo de bhakti.

Quando iniciamos o caminho de bhakti, Deus parece ser algo diferente de nós mesmos, então tentamos expressar o nosso amor por ele através de ações de corpo, fala e mente, nomeadamente pūjā (ritual de adoração), stōtra (cantar seus louvores) ou japa (repetição do seu nome) e dhyāna (meditação sobre ele), respectivamente, e pelo amor com que realizamos tais ações, a nossa mente é gradualmente purificada, o que significa que ela é purificada de todas as suas inclinações para buscar a felicidade em qualquer coisa que não seja o amor por Deus, como Bhagavan explica nos versículos 3, 4-5-6-7 de Upadēśa Undiyār. À medida que a nossa mente é assim purificada, ganhamos clareza para reconhecer que não podemos realmente ser outra coisa senão Deus, o único todo infinito, a plenitude do ser, a única coisa que realmente existe, então, uma vez que passamos a compreender que ele é o que realmente somos, deixamos de buscá-lo fora de nós mesmos e começamos a buscá-lo apenas no fundo do nosso coração. Ou seja, em vez de meditar nele como algo diferente de nós mesmos, como fazíamos anteriormente, passamos a meditar nele como alguém não diferente de nós mesmos, com a clara compreensão de que ele é eu.

Visto que a natureza de nós mesmos como ego é surgir, permanecer e florescer através da atenção a outras coisas além de nós mesmos, nós decresceremos e nos afundaremos de volta nas profundezas do nosso coração apenas na medida em que prestarmos atenção apenas a nós mesmos, como Bhagavan deixa claro no versículo 25 de Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, então, ao meditar no nosso ser, estamos a render-nos a Deus e, assim, no versículo 8 de Upadēśa Undiyār ele diz que ananyabhāva, meditar em nada além de nós mesmos, é ‘அதனத்தினும் உத்தமம்’ (aṉaittiṉum uttamam), ‘a melhor entre todas’, o que implica que não só é a melhor prática de bhakti e o meio mais eficaz para purificar a mente, mas também o único meio pelo qual podemos erradicar o ego e, assim, rendermo-nos completamente a Deus. Visto que nós, como ego, retornaremos e nos afundaremos no nosso ser na medida em que prestarmos atenção a nós mesmos, quando pela prática persistente a nossa auto-atenção se tornar forte e estável o suficiente, estaremos assim firmemente fixados no nosso verdadeiro estado de ser (sat-bhāva), que transcende toda a atividade mental, portanto, estar neste estado é para-bhakti tattva, o verdadeiro estado de devoção suprema, como diz Bhagavan no verso 9 de Upadēśa Undiyār, porque é o estado em que nos entregamos totalmente a Deus e, portanto, não nos elevamos como ego para conhecer outra coisa diferente de nós mesmos.

O caminho de bhakti é, portanto, uma progressão gradual em direção a este estado de completa auto-entrega, assim como é o caminho de jñāna, de modo que o objetivo de ambos os caminhos é idêntico, embora os seguidores de cada um possam descrevê-lo em termos diferentes. O que é chamado de auto-rendição completa no caminho de bhakti é o que é chamado de erradicação do ego e consequente remoção de avidyā no caminho de jñāna. Se nos aprofundarmos em seguir qualquer um destes caminhos, as diferenças superficiais que os outros vêem entre eles se dissolverão e desaparecerão, e reconheceremos claramente que eles são um e inseparáveis, não apenas em seu objetivo final, mas também em níveis mais profundos da sua prática.

~ Michael James, in ✨Ramana Maharshi’s Forty Verses on What Is✨ ✨- The ultimate truth on being as you actually are -✨ A compilation of the writings and talks on 𝖴ḷḷ𝖺𝖽𝗎 𝖭āṟ𝗉𝖺𝖽𝗎 by Michael James. Compiled and edited by Sandra Derksen ✨🔱✨

[shinymoonbird]

🔱  Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri ArunachalaRamanaya   🔱  

🕉️  

The Paramount Importance of Self Attention, by Sri Sadhu Om, As recorded by Michael James

Part Six - Mountain Path: July – August 2013 - Excerpt

Note of 7th January 1978 (Part 2)

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Ignorance is of two types: 'I know' and 'I don't know'. Both depend upon the rising 'I', and both disappear when that rising 'I' is scrutinised. In verse 9 of Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan says: 

Dyads [pairs of opposites such as knowing and not knowing] and triads [the three factors of objective knowledge: the knower, the knowing and the known] exist [only by] clinging always to 'one' [namely our mind or ego, which alone experiences such knowledge or ignorance]. If [anyone] looks within the mind [to discover] what that 'one' is, they [the dyads and triads] will cease to exist [because the ego on which they depend will be found to be non-existent]. Only those who have seen [this non-existence of the ego] are those have seen the reality. See, they will not be confused.

In the state of jñāna [knowledge] no 'I' can rise either to say 'I know myself' or 'I do not knοω myself'. This is the truth that Bhagavan teaches us in both verse 33 of Ulladu Narpadu and verse 2 of Sri Arunāchala Ashtakam:

Saying 'I do not know myself' [or] 'I have known myself' is ground for ridicule. Why? To make oneself an object known, are there two selves? Because being one is the truth of everyone's experience.

When within [my] mind I investigated who the seer is, [and] when the seer [thereby] became non-existent, I saw that which remained [namely beginningless, endless and unbroken being-consciousness-bliss]. The mind does not [now] rise to say 'I saw', [so] in what way can the mind rise to say 'I did not see'? Who has the power to elucidate this [by] speaking, when in ancient times [even] you [as Dakshinamurti] elucidated [it] without speaking? Only to elucidate your state without speaking, you stood shining [from] earth [to] sky motionlessly [or as a hill].

To say 'I knοω myself' is as absurd as saying 'I do not knοω myself'. In verse twelve of Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan says:

That which is completely devoid of knowledge and ignorance is [true] knowledge. That which knows [anything other than itself] is not true knowledge. Since it shines without anything that is other [than itself] to knοω or to make known, self is [true] knowledge. Know it is not a void.

Bhagavan once told Muruganar: "It is not only that self does not know other things, it does not even know itself as 'I am this'." In verse 26 of Upadesa Undiyar he says: 'Being self alone is knowing self, because self is devoid of two. ...'. That is, there are not two selves so that one could be known by the other. Since self is indivisibly single, it can know itself only by being itself. And since being conscious of itself is its very nature, its being itself is itself its knowing itself. In verse 8 of Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan says:

Whoever worships [it] in whatever form giving [it] whatever name, that is the way to see that [nameless and formless] substance [the absolute reality or God] in name and form. However, knοω [that] knowing the reality of oneself [by] subsiding in and becoming one with the reality of that true substance is seeing [it] in reality.

Here 'knowing the reality [or truth] of oneself' may mean either knowing the non-existence of the ego or knowing what we really are. However, 'knowing the non-existence of the ego' fits better in this context, considering the phrase 'subsiding in the reality of that true substance', though both meanings amount to the same thing. Whichever way it is taken, 'the reality of oneself' can be correctly known only by our subsiding in and becoming one with the reality of that true substance, which is our real self.

Worshiping that true substance (which is also called 'the supreme reality' or 'God') in any name or form may be a means to see visions of it in that name and form, but it cannot be a means to experience knowledge of the true nature of that reality, which is devoid of any name or form. In order to knοω the true nature of the reality one must know the true nature of oneself, the knower. Therefore in verse 1073 of Guru Vachaka Kovai Bhagavan says:

Since the many [forms of] God that are obtained [as visions or other such dualistic experiences] by clear [pure-hearted] worship undergo appearance and disappearance and [thus] perish, only one's own [true] nature, which always exists with clarity [or certainty], is the true form of God that exists immutably.

If God is experienced or known as other than the knower, he becomes an object of knowledge and as such he depends for his existence upon the knower. Since the knower is unreal, so too is whatever it knows. Therefore, the absolute reality or God can only be known truly by the knower being one with it. When the knower and the known are both resolved into the one reality, that is true knowledge.

ARUNACHALA - Photo  by Markus Horlacher

[shinymoonbird]

🔱  Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri ArunachalaRamanaya   🔱  

🕉️  

A Importância Suprema da Auto-Atenção, por Sri Sadhu Om, conforme registado por Michael James

Parte Seis - O Caminho da Montanha: Julho – Agosto   de 2013 - Excerto

Anotação de 7 de Janeiro 1978 (Parte 2)

🕉️  

A ignorância é de dois tipos: 'eu sei' e 'eu não sei'. Ambos dependem do 'eu' que se eleva e ambos desaparecem quando esse 'eu' que se eleva é examinado. No versículo 9 de Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan diz:

Díades [pares de opostos como saber e não saber] e tríades [os três fatores do conhecimento objetivo: o conhecedor, o conhecimento e o conhecido] existem [somente por] se agarrarem sempre a 'um' [ou seja, a nossa mente ou ego, o único que experimenta tal conhecimento ou ignorância]. Se [alguém] olhar dentro da mente [para descobrir] o que é esse 'um', elas [as díades e tríades] deixarão de existir [porque o ego do qual eles dependem será reconhecido como não-existente]. Somente aqueles que viram [essa não-existência do ego] é que viram a realidade. Veja, eles não ficarão confusos.

No estado de jñāna [conhecimento] nenhum 'eu' pode se elevar para dizer 'eu me conheço' ou 'eu não me conheço'. Esta é a verdade que Bhagavan nos ensina tanto no versículo 33 de Ulladu Narpadu como no versículo 2 de Sri Arunāchala Ashtakam:

Dizer 'eu não me conheço' [ou] 'eu me conheço' é motivo de ridículo. Porquê? Para tornar-se um objeto conhecido, existem dois eus? Porque ser um é a verdade da experiência de todos.

Quando dentro de [minha] mente eu investiguei quem é o vidente, [e] quando o vidente [por essa razão] se tornou não-existente, eu vi aquilo que permaneceu [ou seja, ser-consciência-bem-aventurança sem começo, sem fim e ininterrupto]. A mente [agora] não se eleva para dizer 'eu vi', [então] de que maneira a mente pode se elevar para dizer 'eu não vi'? Quem tem o poder de elucidar sobre isto falando, quando nos tempos antigos [mesmo] vós [como Dakshinamurti] [o] haveis elucidado sem falar? Apenas para elucidar vosso estado sem falar, haveis ficado brilhando [da] terra [para] o céu imóvel [ou como uma colina].

Dizer 'eu me conheço' é tão absurdo quanto dizer 'eu não me conheço'. No versículo 12 de Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan diz:

Aquilo que é completamente desprovido de conhecimento e ignorância é o conhecimento [verdadeiro]. Aquilo que conhece [qualquer coisa além de si mesmo] não é conhecimento verdadeiro. Uma vez que brilha sem nada para conhecer ou dar a conhecer que seja diferente [além de si mesmo], o eu é conhecimento [verdadeiro]. Saiba que não é um vazio.

Bhagavan disse uma vez a Muruganar: "Não é apenas que o eu não conhece outras coisas, ele nem mesmo conhece a si mesmo como 'eu sou isto'." No versículo 26 de Upadesa Undiyar ele diz: 'Ser o eu, o ser, é conhecer o eu, o ser, porque o eu, o ser, é desprovido de dois. ...'. Ou seja, não existem dois eu’s para que um possa ser conhecido pelo outro. Como o ser é indivisivelmente único, ele só pode conhecer a si mesmo sendo ele mesmo. E como ser consciente de si mesmo é a sua própria natureza, o seu ser ele mesmo é conhecer a ele mesmo. No versículo 8 de Ulladu Narpadu Bhagavan diz:

Quem quer que [o] adore, seja em que forma for, dando-lhe seja que nome for, essa é a maneira de ver aquela [sem nome e sem forma] substância [a realidade absoluta ou Deus] em nome e forma. No entanto, saiba [que] conhecer a realidade de si mesmo [por] se submergir internamente e tornar-se um com a realidade dessa verdadeira substância é ver [a ela] na realidade.

Aqui, 'conhecer a realidade [ou verdade] de si mesmo' pode significar conhecer a não-existência do ego, ou conhecer o que realmente somos. No entanto, 'conhecer a não-existência do ego' se encaixa melhor neste contexto, considerando a frase 'submergindo na realidade dessa verdadeira substância', embora ambos os significados sejam a mesma coisa. Seja como for, "a realidade de si mesmo" pode ser corretamente conhecida apenas por nos afundarmos e nos tornarmos um com a realidade dessa verdadeira substância, que é o nosso verdadeiro eu.

Adorar aquela substância verdadeira (que também é chamada de 'a realidade suprema' ou 'Deus') em qualquer nome ou forma pode ser um meio de ter visões dela naquele nome e forma, mas não pode ser um meio de experimentar o conhecimento da verdadeira natureza dessa realidade, que é desprovida de qualquer nome ou forma. Para conhecer a verdadeira natureza da realidade, deve-se conhecer a verdadeira natureza de si mesmo, o conhecedor. Portanto, no versículo 1073 do Guru Vachaka Kovai Bhagavan diz:

Uma vez que as muitas [formas] de Deus que são obtidas [como visões ou outras experiências dualísticas] por adoração clara [de coração puro] passam por aparecimento e desaparecimento e [assim] perecem, apenas a nossa própria [verdadeira] natureza, que sempre existe com clareza [ou certeza], é a verdadeira forma de Deus que existe imutavelmente.

Se Deus é experimentado ou conhecido como diferente do conhecedor, ele se torna um objeto de conhecimento e, como tal, depende do conhecedor para a sua existência. Uma vez que o conhecedor é irreal, assim também é tudo o que ele conhece. Portanto, Deus ou a realidade absoluta só pode ser conhecido verdadeiramente pelo conhecedor sendo um com ele. Quando o conhecedor e o conhecido são ambos fundidos em uma única realidade, isso é conhecimento verdadeiro.

ARUNACHALA - Fotografia de  Markus Horlacher

[shinymoonbird]

Bhikshanta Shiva - Supreme Naked Beggar

✨

A comprehensive description by Yogi Ananda Saraswathi:

BHIKSHATANA is a manifestation of Lord Shiva as the Supreme Naked Beggar. Bhikshatanar is the murti who asks for alms. He is smeared in white ash, forehead bears the Tripundra, the Shaiva tilaka composed as three horizontal lines with red dot in the middle; with good omen in eyes, fingers with grass to the right, with Trishula and Kapala in the left hands, nice paduka in feet, with dangling red matted hair, jatamandala or jatabhadra, disheveled matted locks, moon on head, patta, ornamental head band, deer-mrigam in the right hand, a vessel for alms in the left, with bulged belly, multiple necklaces, armlets, elbow bands, bracelets, snake tied around his waist, white yagnopavita worn across the chest, followed by love-sick women, so much describes Bhikshatana. Various Puranas describe the backdrop of Lord Shiva taking this manifestation. In the South, Bhikshatana has a different depiction. The front arm is stretched out and downwards. It is holding a bit of grass or another plant in the kataka gesture, near the mouth of a deer who is leaping playfully by his side. The back arm is raised holding a Damaru. The front left holds a Kapala for begging. The back left hand holds a Trishula decorated with peacock feathers. The left leg is firmly rooted in the ground while right is slightly bent. He wears the wooden sandals, the Paduka or is barefoot. His attendants, the ganas and women, often seven in number eager to embrace him, follow. These women are shown to have their cloths slipping from the loins symbolizing lust. This depiction shares much of Bhairava iconography and is linked to the forest legend. This begging iconography is also described in the Satarudriya. It is symbolic of a sustainer of the universe and life-sustaining food. Again this is uniquely from the ascetic Kapalika and Pashupata sects. Images of Bhikshatana are found throughout South Indian Shaivite temples and almost unknown in Northern Indian. Near naked, the phallus is covered either by a tiger skin loin cloth or heavily ornamented as a cover. UPADESA UNDHIYAR: Sri Muruganaar’s Tiruvundyar reached up to Verse 70. As Muruganar was translating this story to Tamil he stopped at the part where Siva is to teach the rishis. Since this portion was to be in the voice of Siva as the Mahaguru, he wanted Bhagavan Ramana to complete this portion. In Murguna’s eyes, Bhagavan was a manifestation of Siva Himself. Bhagavan was compassionate to write the remaining portions. These verses narrate Lord Siva enlightening the ascetics of the Daruka Forests. As such Verses 70-137 was sung by Bhagavan. This culminated as 37 verses in Upadesa Undihyar. It was later translated in sanskrit as Upadesa Saram. DARUKAVANAM FOREST: The background story of Daruka or Darukavanam Forests is this. While the Puranas describe the householder ascetics life, their tapas shows that they were following the path of ‘kamya karma.’ This mean one emphasizes on deeds and performing rituals. They were performing tapas for a long duration and prayed to Siva. They were staunch ritualists who believed that rituals karmas were the way to ultimate Bliss. They exhibited their ignorance by performance of various kinds of yagas and yagnas –sacrificial rites to obtain siddhis – powers for both this world and the next. They had become intoxicated by the use of mantras, yantras and tantras techniques. ‘Karma alone is of foremost importance; even God cannot prevent them from yielding fruits’ was their arrogant attitude. So they stopped worshiping God. They were not to realize that, whatever be the deeds, is there One Who provides the doer with the fruits? How can inanimate deeds automatically give fruits. Not realizing these facts, the rishis pursued their dogma of karma. These paths are prescribed by the Purva Mimamsa school which concerned with the interpretation and practice of Karma Kanda. This portion of Vedas relates to rituals and ceremonial rites. In all His compassion, Lord Siva appears to purify their minds by teaching the ultimate truth. This was to make them realise that actions are born out of ignorance of one’s own nature. Knowledge is the only way to the Ultimate Reality. So Lord Siva’s makes his advent as a Bhikshatanar-beggar. Vishnu accompanies as his wife, Mohini, glamorous girl. In this form the Lord is naked but quite enchanting. His appearance is Urdhvalinga, with an erect phallus. So was Mohini. The Naked Lord came to the street of the rishis to get alms and Mohini followed Him. The rishis are attracted to the enchanting Mohini and started following her. They forgot all about their karmas. On the other hand the rishi pathinis, the wives, are attracted to the robust-built Siva. They forgot what they were doing, allowed their clothes to fall off and followed Him. They were also dancing, singing and love-sick. The rishis get upset. They started to have double standards. While they were in pursuit of Mohini, they got upset with Siva as their wives have lost their virtue by following a Naked Beggar. So they uses all the mantras and ritualistic powers to destroy Siva. They performed abhichayagam which will produce bad effects. They directed snakes, demons, tigers, fire and drum that came out of the yagna fires against the Lord. Siva was beyond defeat and made them all as ornaments. He peeled off the skin of the tiger and wore it round his waist; caught hold of the ball of fire in his left hand and held it aloft and calmed the serpent and wore it round his neck as an ornament. By now, Lord Shiva had begun to dance in joy. This irritated the rishis because the wives started to enjoy the dance. So they set up the monster against him, He dwarfed the monster, stood on it on one leg and continued his dance. Vishnu and the others were charmed by this Ananda Tandava - Joyous Divine Dance of the Lord. Finally the forest dwellers realise Siva’s true nature when Anusuya, the wife of sage Atri enlightened the sages that the Beggar couple was none other than Shiva and Vishnu. PASHUPATA: Shiva later returned with Parvati and eventually revealed his Supreme form and exalted the Pashupata vow – by which a man restrains his passion, becomes celibate, and roams naked smeared with holy ash, declaring that such a lifestyle would lead to moksha. The forests prostrate at his feet and beg for knowledge. Lord Siva led the ascetics from their low level spiritual maturity. They had to be elevated gradually from the grosser methods of spiritual practice such as puja, japa, dhyana and pranayama towards the refined method of Self-enquiry. Siva takes His true form and taught that “there is only one thing here that is called the Self or God or Brahman. Whatever is seen in this dual world is only Consciousness and not different from it, and that perfect Blissful Consciousness You are. KURMA PURANA: Brahma declares that he is the Supreme Creator of the Universe in the council of rishis. Lord Shiva appeared as an infinite pillar of light and challenged Brahma. The council accepts Siva’s superiority. Brahma remains obstinate and upsets Siva. He transforms into a terrifying Bhairva and cut off one of Brahma’s heads with the flick of his fingernail. This form is depicted as Brahmashirascheda Murti. Brahma’s death is redeemed by his lifetime asceticism. Thereafter Brahma accepts Shiva’s superiority. The story does not end here. The Shiva Purana, Matsya Purana and Skanda Purana give different reasons for the decapitation. The reason given is Brahma’s lust and incest for his daughter. However all the Puranic versions point to Brahma’s head getting stuck to Bhairava Shiva’s left palm. KAPALIKA: It is also a sin to kill a Brahmin as this is Brahmahatya or brahamnicide. To expatiate the sin of brahmahatya, Shiva as Bhikshatana, had to perform the vow of a kapali, wondering as a naked beggar with the skull as the begging bowl. He wanders the three worlds begging from door to door accompanied by bhutas. Here again women are attracted to Bhikshatana despite his appearance, singing and dancing. He finally reaches the Daruka forest. There he shocked the sages with his ‘lewdness and nudity’ and also tempts the sage’s wives. But Bhikshatana-Shiva made them realize his greatness after they confronted them. There are various other plots related to his wanderings. After the Daruka forest encounters, Bhikshatana reaches Vishnu’s abode. The gatekeeper, Vishvaksena refuses entry. He is killed and the corpse is impaled on Shiva’s Trishul. This is an additional sin. Kankala Murti is the form of Siva with a corpse on the Trishula. He enters Vishnu’s abode to beg for food, where one version states that Vishnu offered his own blood. The other version is Vishnu cutting an artery on Bhikshatana’s forehead and a stream of blood spurting into the begging bowl. Vishnu then directed Bhikshatana to make a sacred trip to Varanasi to expatiate his sin. At Varanasi, Brahma’s skull falls off Bhikshatana at a place called Kapala-mochana. It means ‘liberating from the skull’ and Vishaksena’s corpse also disappears from the Trishula but he is revived to life by Shiva. Now Bhikshatana enters the sacred ponds of Varanasi. He then casts off the Bhikshatana form to return to Kailash. KAPALESHVARA: This legend in the Skanda Purana narrates that Bhikshatana appears as a naked, fierce Kapali beggar. In a sacrifice hosted by Brahma, Bhikshatana appears and begs for food. He is driven away by Brahmin because they find a begger unfit to attend sacrificial rites. Bhikshatana throws his skull begging bowl on the ground and the brhmins throw it out. But other skulls appear in its place. Consequently hundreds of skulls appear and pollute the sacrifice. This compels Brahma to promise that no sacrifice would be complete without invocation to Kapalshvara-Shiva, the Lord of the Skulls. Yogi Ananda Saraswathi

[shinymoonbird]

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If one knows what one’s own nature is, then what will remain and shine is only the beginningless, endless and unbroken existence-consciousness-bliss [anadi ananta akhanda sat-chit-ananda]. 

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(verses 1-to-30)

[shinymoonbird]

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When one inwardly scrutinizes this root-thought ‘I’, the feeling ‘I am the body’, in order to find out from where (or from what) it rises, it will subside and disappear because, like the false snake which appears in a rope, it has no reality of its own and hence can appear to exist only when it is not keenly scrutinized. This vigilant inward scrutiny of the source of the thought ‘I’, alone is jnana-vichara, the enquiry which leads to true Self-knowledge.

The ‘rising-place’ denote the real Self, the existence-consciousness ‘I am’, which is the source from which the thought ‘I am this body’ rises, and do not denote any place limited by time and space, which are only thoughts which rise after the rising of this root-thought.

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(verses 1-to-30)

[shinymoonbird]

‘Realisation of the ever-present Self is the greatest attainment [siddhi],’ you clearly told me. Praise be to you!

‘That is the true attainment, that is liberation and that is jnana,’ you declared. Praise be to you!

~  Sri Muruganar  - ‘Upadesa Tiruvahaval’, 119-122

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UPADESA UNDIYAR (Tamil) or UPADESA SARAM (Sanskrit)

THE ESSENCE OF TEACHINGS - PART 18         (edited set)

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25. Knowing oneself having given up [one’s own] adjuncts [ upadhis ], is itself knowing God, because He shines as oneself [ as one’s own reality, ‘I am’ ].

Note:

Since that which exists and shines in one as ‘I am’ is the true nature of God, and since it is only one’s own adjunct-knowledge (upadhi-unarvu) that veils one’s knowledge of this ‘I am’, knowing this ‘I am’, which is one’s own real Self, without adjuncts (upadhis) is itself knowing God. 

Compare here verse 20 of Ulladu Narpadu, in which Sri Bhagavan says, 

‘… He who sees the [real] Self, the source of the [individual] self, alone is He who has seen God, because the [real] Self – [which shines forth] after the base, the [individual] self, has perished – is not other than God’.

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https://www.davidgodman.org/rteach/Upadesa_Undiyar.pdf

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ॐ Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalaramanaya  ॐ

Source of the photo: Sandra Maa

[shinymoonbird]

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Since we do not become non-existent even in sleep, where the mind (the feeling ‘I am the body’) does not exist, and since we are conscious of our existence in sleep as ‘I am’, that one reality which shines forth as ‘I-I’ or ‘I am I’ when the mind merges in its source and dies, is always – in all the three states (waking, dream and sleep) and in all three times (past, present and future) – the true import of the word ‘I’.

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(verses 1-to-30)

[shinymoonbird]

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That which truly exists is only ‘we’, the real Self or ‘I’ which shines forth spontaneously when the mind dies. Since this ‘we’ is the only true existence or reality, there cannot exist any consciousness other than it to know it, and hence it is itself the consciousness which knows itself. Therefore ‘we’, the reality (sat), are also consciousness (chit). In other words, our existence and the knowledge of our existence are not two different things, but are one and the same reality.

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ॐ  Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalaramanaya  ॐ

(verses 1-to-30)

[shinymoonbird]

You declared: ‘Unless one reaches the throne of the Heart, it is impossible to see the brilliant light of reality.’ Praise be to you!  ~  Sri Muruganar  - ‘Upadesa Tiruvahaval’, 89-90

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UPADESA UNDIYAR (Tamil) or UPADESA SARAM (Sanskrit)

THE ESSENCE OF TEACHINGS - PART 19         (edited set)

NUL - TEXT  

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26.  Being Self is itself knowing Self, because Self is that which is not two. This is abidance as the Reality (tanmaya-nishta).

Note:

Since we do not have two selves, one self to be known by the other self, what is called Self-knowledge is nothing but the state of being Self – that is, the state of abiding as we really are, as the mere existence-consciousness ‘I am’, instead of rising as ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’. 

This state of being Self is what is called ‘Self-abidance’ (atma-nishta) or ‘abidance as the reality’ (tanmaya-nishta).

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https://www.davidgodman.org/rteach/Upadesa_Undiyar.pdf

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ॐ  Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Arunachalaramanaya  ॐ

Photo by Bernd Kalidas Flory

[shinymoonbird]

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Since that which exists and shines in one as ‘I am’ is the true nature of God, and since it is only one’s own adjunct-knowledge (upadhi-unarvu) that veils one’s knowledge of this ‘I am’, knowing this ‘I am’, which is one’s own real Self, without adjuncts (upadhis) is itself knowing God.

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(verses 1-to-30)

[shinymoonbird]

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When the mind or ego, the feeling ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’, by inwardly investigating who am I, thus subsides and merges in its source, the real Self, the one true existence-consciousness shines forth spontaneously as ‘I-I’ or ‘I am I’, devoid of all superimposed adjuncts such as ‘this’ or ‘that’. 

This adjunctless ‘I-I’ is Reality, Perfection, the Substance of the Self.

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(verses 1-to-30)