One Minus One = Paramatman

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

To try to know is Ignorance. Eyes are there but they cannot see themselves. When the Self is consicous of himself by his own sense, it is Self-luminance. It is of the nature of Self-experience. One who tries to know is in Ignorance. The Self is not an object of knowledge, as it is He who knows all things. All things are objects of "His Knowledge." Whatever there is to be known, is known by Him. Whatever is knows is called the object. That which cannot be known by any objects remains objectless. He is presiding over all. He is the first and primordial eye. Ge is the eye which sees all, which nobody or nothing in the world can shut. he is always awake. He does not forget. He is the sun who knows all. The sun is called Surya in Sanskrit, which also has the meaning that  "He is endless, limitless, and all-pervading." Knowledge is t\here without thought. It is fully pervading everywhere whether thoughts are present or not. It knows the emergence of thought, and if thought is not there, Knowledge remains.

It is foolish to try to see the sun with the light from a torch (flashlight). It is similarly foolish to try to see the "Sun of Knowledge with the torch of the mind and intellect. That Knowledge is "Pure Spotless Knowledge." But that is not "True Knowledge," it is not Reality. It is thought, or the focus of attention (vrutti). All people say that one day we will have to die, but nobody knows what "dying" is. You should die once in such a way that you will not have to die again. The Knowledge that is the fourth body, the "Turya State" (SatChitAnanda), is not "Pure Knowledge." It means that "you" remain. The Turya State is duality. Turya ends, it is not permanent, but Brahman does not end. Turya is Time, and Time implies ending. To end, is the nature of Time. Brahman has no end. Brahman alone is real. This is the "Pure Knowledge ." The Mahavakya is the "Great Statement," the "Ultimate Statement." It has a good meaning and it is truly great in itself. The great statement "Aham Brahmasmi" means "I am Brahman." Its utterance itself is very high, but you have to pursue its meaning, its experience. Mere repetition of  "I am Brahman" does not break the spell of Illusion. The meaning of the statement is not grasped by any other means except through the teaching of the Sadguru.

One who does not think at all is but a beast. He does not care to become acquainted with and understand the life that he is living, so he is the fool. It is useless if a man performs great feats of bravery in the world but does not know himself. It is just like a blind man going for a tour around the world, When one knows first hand his own life and gets experience in it, only then has he fruitfully used his life. To meditate on the great spiritual statement "I am Brahman" is an indication of wisdom. To gain oneself, by oneself, is like deducting one from one. What remains in the equation "one minus one" is the Supreme Self, Paramatman, who is without name and form. We have to die completely and yet remain, without dying. This is a rare state of wisdom. It is "Real Knowledge" when one meets "one's Self." All ties (bondages) are broken suddenly. Finally, when we think very keenly about it, it is revealed that this experience comes into being of its own accord. In Vedanta to know that the root of all the moving and unmoving creation is One, is called "Absolute Knowledge." There, all the various arguments are gone.

When we search into ourselves there is omniscience. We meet ourselves through fine perceptive thinking. Once you have gained the insight everything is only Brahman even though you may call it by any other name. Then you may call a snake as a snake, and a scorpion as a scorpion, but you know that it is only Brahman. When the observe gets "True Experience," The job is oever. When both the "field of knowledge," and the "knower of the field" are gone, only the Supreme Reality, the "Parama Purusha," remains. It is experiencing without the expriencer or the observer. You may perceive that the outward focus is turning back into itself. The evident meaning and the hidden meaning are both gone. Even the slight notion of saying, "I am someone," or "something" is also gone. A lamp in a painting does not dispel the darkness. For that, a real lamp must be lit. When the notion that "I Am" is gone, the complete withdrawal into "Oneself" is what remains. The notion that "I am a limited being," is a concept, a limited notion. It is but the narrow conceptual focus of Consciousness. "I Am" is a conceptual state. When it is dropped, only Brahman, the "Absolute," remains.

Be Not Attached to Dirt

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

Self-Knowledge is "Real Knowledge." There are two types of Knowledge. One is True Knowledge (Vidya), which is of the Self, and the other is false knowledge, which is of the nature of Ignorance. We should drop false knowledge and recognize the True Knowledge. When the sense of "me" and "mine" both go completely, the senses, logical thought becomes out of place. This is the mystery for which the mind and intellect are not required in order to understand. It is of the nature of Self-experience. The Self is self-evident. He knows other things, and of course, He knows himself.

What does it mean when we say He knows himself? It means He is already there. Only the one who is already there can know "other." How can one who is not existent, know any other thing? Just as when a man does not exist, how will he who is not there know whether anyone comes or leaves, or be able to tell about it? Who is there who says "I do not know?" This is the fact with the Self. We may well say that one is confused, but is it not true that he is there, and only then he can be confused? So, it is proved that before any confusion, the state of "non-confusion," or clarity was there. Actually, there is no existence to anything else except the Self. Those who are the  "Sons of the Guru" (Guruputras) need dwell no further on this point.

There is the term "I Am" (soham). "I Am" is continuously being repeated day and night. Without speaking a word, it is a constant awareness. The word "japa" in Sanskrit has one meaning as  "repetition," protect, or nurture. This is all automatic. In al the bodies of all creatures the repetition of the soundless sound "soham," and "hamsa," is continuous with the breathing. By understanding this a man is free of all bondage. In all creatures, the awareness of "I AM" is constant. The music of the term "I AM" is going on day and night. First it was the individual, or jiva, and then it became Shiva. Then both disappeared, and the term "I Am" remained as "Am-ness." No one gets and experience that "I am not." To say that, "I am not" is to say "I Am." A student wrote a note to his teacher, "I am not present today." The teacher smiled when he read it. He thought "This student writes by his own hand thar he is not present." A man said, "I have no mouth, I do not speak. I cannot speak." He was only able to say this by speaking. The experience of Being is beyond the origination of speech ('para' speech) without needing mention. The world of Knowledge is the vision of "understanding." How can one know "I am dead"? The truth is "I will not die. I am not dead." At the time of death the dirt is done, and what remains is pure. Let one thing that the death of the dirt has happened. The body is dirt. The intellect attached to body is dirt. Have no attachment to the dirt. If one is detached, who died? How did he die?

You Are the Self

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

In short, it is but a matter of concept, or your attitude, that there is either duality or non-duality. Who is there to say that there is non-duality? This is where the problem of Illusion and Brahman is solved. When I say that "I am not," then the connection of Illusion to Brahman is broken. It is the mind that conceives of Illusion and Brahman. When mind is no more, everything is just Brahman. There is a saying that when a swan left for a journey, a crow became the Prime Minister. When the swan again became the Prime Minister, then all the religions were protected. Religion means natural function. Our own religion is beneficial, another's religion is fearsome. What exists devoid of any imagination is pure Brahman, which is experienced by the Knowledgeable Ones, the jnanis. When Brahman is understood there is no "other thing" remaining to be known. When one sets out to know Brahman, the Consciousness plunges into nothingness. In the mind, one doubts "nothingness", because one cannot experience it. How can experience take place without being there as an experiencer? It is necessary to wipe out separateness before experiencing Brahman. Can the Sun ever meet himself? If there is separateness, Brahman cannot be experienced. With no separateness, then all is Brahman. If anyone experiences "all," how can he do so, except by becoming the experience?

Experience means the "other" enters Consciousness. The "other" means something else. We have to know what that other is. The imprint of that which is, excluding oneself, is to be fixed in Consciousness. When the "other" is understood, it implies that we also understand that we are. Realization is to understand. What else? To say that "I agree," that "I am convinced about Realization," is Illusion. The very nature of the Self is Realization. Because He is there, there is Realization. If He is not, there is no realization. If it is conceived that the experiencer is other than the Self, that concept should be immediately burnt, otherwise, it is will decay and smell. You must understand Paramatman as not being the body, and that it is "That" which realizes. You have to merge in its unity, and see from there. That is the correct way of seeing. Those who say that they have known Him, are far from Him. That is the puzzle, for solving which, the Sadguru is necessary.

I tell you with decisive certainty that if you see as a separate observer, you will fall into nothingness, the darkness of Ignorance. If one considers that "void" to be Brahman, and then returns, take it from me that void can never be Brahman. The void, or nothingness, is the quality of a particular state of Consciousness. Brahman is beyond that. Because the observer has not gained anything, the observer should be observed, and then experience Brahman as Brahman. So be 'That' and stay as Self, which is 'self-evident.' The Saints say that you are the Self, so who is it that says you are the mind? By whose word did you understand? To have faith in the seer's advice is itself the experience. It is the natural urge of the mind that it should know Him, but int hat effort the mind becomes blind, because the mind has no capacity to know Him. We are ourselves that thing which we have tried to experience. How can the flowers enjoy their own fragrance? When identification with the body ceases, one is Brahman. One's self is actually always only Brahman. When this is understood, Knowledge has done its job. Thus, the portion of Dasbodh on Knowledge is completed.

No Mind No Duality

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Pure Brahman is experienced as Pure Consciousness. It is called Nirguna, or the "Attributeless Absolute." Illusion (Maya) is within it with attributes, and is visible. What should be called Maya and what should be called Brahman? I will tell you. It is only the mind that thinks about Brahman and Maya. Not to make any statement in the mind is Brahman, and to make a statement is Maya. To be identified with Brahman is a thought. To imagine anything "other" is also a thought. That which is natural, is attributeless. Even if you say, "I am not," it is a concept as the basis of your statement. Is it the case that it will be Brahman only if you declare it as such, and not otherwise? No! Even without any statement about it, it is there. It simply is, as it is. Whether you say so or not, it simply is, as it is.

To know that "This" is Brahman and "that" is Maya, is called the fourth body or "Turya State," which is also called the "all-seeing" state. Turya means to know all, but when "all" is non-existent, what is thre to be known? Right thought is Brahman and Maya is false thought, imagination. The "Witness", the "Life-Force", the "Power." are all only impositions on Brahman. The quality of witnessing comes without cause. Why? Because there is contradiction in duality, the quality of observer comes into being. The "Power of Chaitanya," the Life-Energy, is also a false imposition. The space within the pot, the space int he room, and the space outside, are names that are unnecessarily used. As Maya is felt to be real, all these innumerable shapes and names have come into use.

In deep sleep there is no time and no space. The waking state is but a long dream. As long as the Illusion appears real, the witnessing seems true. Mind is witness to all, but if it has nothing to say, it becomes "no-mind," or "beyond mind." Mind now has no complaint, and it has no desire for anything more. By realization of our own Being, desire becomes quiet. Only by this realization is the mind peaceful. That means it has nothing to say. The desiring mind is no more. It is "no-mind," or unmani. These are all scientific terms. This world is Illusion. All the words and laws exist only in Illusion. When there is duality, everything is there. When duality goes, everything goes. All the laws, science, rules, everything, is gone. It is like a thing without any owner that is confiscated by the government, and is then owned by the government. The government is all-powerful. In this Illusion, you are your possessions. A moneylender lost ten thousand rupees. He became poorer by that much, as his wealth was lessened to that extent. The princess was married to a pauper, and she became a pauper. Had she been married to a price, she would have became a queen. a piece of sandalwood was given to a cobbler and it was used daily to beat the hide of animals. One who keeps the company of the great becomes a great man himself. Then he is the owner of this entire world. When mind disappears the knowledge contained at the level of the fourth body (I Am), the Turya state disappears, and the duality of the individual and God (Jiva and Shiva) also disappears. Duality and non-duality are both gone.

No "I", No World

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

In a dream, the short period of five minutes may contain a prolonged period of life. When one is in deep sleep, neither the waking life, nor the dream life are present. There one enjoys a certain bliss. In that, there is the Self, but the body is not there, but the subtle ego is still there. Birth and death are also false. As soon as the Self is forgotten, the "me" comes into being, and that makes us see and experience birth and death. The entanglement in worldly life makes life extremely difficult and it has become very hard to go beyond it. One who becomes something is deceived by Maya. The lust for enjoyment of self-objects becomes powerful in the individual, and by that, Maya's energy and strength are increased. They say that the image of Ganapati (Ganesha) should not be touched without first taking a bath. But who sees that the little son of the potter was passing urine into the clay before it was used for the making of the idol? In short, as soon as the jiva has limbs, arms and legs, they are bound to grow. However, when they are not there, or are broken from the beginning, how can one break them? How can there be any destruction?

Another example is there of a man who gives one paise (pai-se; a fraction of a rupee) in charity with a hope that he will get one hundred paise in the future. This is sheer ignorance. Maya is of this nature. To find it out and use some means to discard it is like an activity of a ghost. It is dissolved only by the teaching and advice of the Sadguru. Is the activity in the dream true or false? Will it ever be possible to find out which is false? There was a town that was never built. To whom should one ask why the town was not built? It is senseless to make such enquiries. You must understand that Maya is only imagination. Everything that appears is false. All is dreamlike. It is very hard to go beyond this Maya for those who take her to be true. Many people say, "All this happened," or, "I said all this, and then I was awakened." While one utters "I am," repeatedly, they say that "I have done everything." While I was calling myself either "happy" or "unhappy," I am now awake by the blessing of Sadguru. Say, "I am liberated, and it is by the grace of the Guru that this Knowledge arose." Otherwise one thinks that Maya is true and real, and becomes caught in the cycle of births and deaths.

To say, "I am my body" means birth through a womb, but to say that "I am Brahman" is to be without that process at all. One who says this is the "Son of the Guru." To have this sense of "I" in Brahman is to be the individual, a jiva. But, when "I" is nothing, then all is Brahman. We should see what is the structure of the "I". If "I" does not have any structure or shape, it is automatically proved to be false. When it does not have its own structure, how can we prove its existence? Therefore, any statement should be made after we observe the structure of the "I". When "I" is gone, the whole world is gone, because the entire world together with the "I" is Illusion, it is false. Therefore, there is the saying, "When we die the world is drowned into nothingness." One who has dropped the sense of "I" becomes the real "Knower of Brahman."

What is Maya?

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

What is the meaning in all of this, after all? It means that "all of this" is false. Maya wears the bangles of determination, and doubt. The ego, the jiva, is dancing to the tune of the jingling of the bangles. The son-in-law is given the mind as a dowry. She has expanded solely on the base of the three qualities (Gunas). This false Maya's nature is such that she affects the ignorant. How can we say that she is actually existing? With the "inner-vision" of Knowledge, she is not there at all. How can we say that she is? We cannot say that she is. In order to go beyond this Maya, many have let their hair grow, and undergone many austerities. They know the Panchakshari Mantra which shows that Maya is such that we should not ask any question about her. She is indescribable. We should not use words to describe her, as she is not even fit for that. She was not there in the past, nor will she be there afterwards. To think that this world is real, is Maya.

The Vedas were asked what is Maya? They remained silent. What can we tell about the beginning of the river in the mirage? Its beginning is in the Ignorance of the fools and her end is in Knowledge. She appears because we conceive of something. We hear our own footsteps, and look to see who is following us. Whatever a man thinks and imagines, is what is true for him. He is confused and he is afraid there. All of this is the play of the imagination. The original imagination is called the "Primal Illusion," or Moola-Maya. When man forgot Reality, the concept of Maya arose. Then man thought it to be true. Maya means "me." The wrong concept about ourselves here is the great error, nothing else. When a little piece of cotton is placed under a lens, and the sun's rays pass through the lens, the cotton burns. In "Pure Brahman," the "me" is not. In the chains of ego, the worldly life starts. This "me" is something of the neuter gender. The concept creates a ghost out of nothing and by concept only it disappears. We construct by our imagination, try to digest it, and when we cannot do so, we are afraid. There is no worldly life in the body, nor is it in the Self. Desire and body identification create the feeling that the world exists.

Eknathi Bhagwat

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Videhi Janaka (Janaka was an ancient king; videhi means he was without a body while having a body) asked, "What is this Maya which is so fearsome? Please tell how we can be free of this." At that time, the Sage Antariksha said, "Your question is futile, because you are asking about that which is not. That which is not, has made all the world mad. All this is Illusion. The entire world is merged in this Illusion. The time, sign of Zodiac, the name of the son of the barren woman is futile to ask about." Similarly, you are asking this. Illusion is like that. Is it possible to crush the head of your shadow? The daughter in law of a barren woman has delivered a son. The wife of Bheeshma (who never married) is having breast milk. The wind is being put into a mill and pulverized. The grandchildren of a eunuch went to hide in the house of a sun. Those who take these things to be true consider Illusion as real. Illusion means that whatever activities we do, whatever we experience, all active happenings, and even we ourselves, are meaningless. To prove that all experience in duality is false is the meaning of the word Maya. 

What Maya is, is told by the Vedas and the Guru. It is up to you to accept or not to accept what is told. In short, Maya means, "That which is not existing." Maya, which says, "I," is a very great Illusion. Not to understand is Maya. Maya simply means Ignorance, or misunderstanding. Misunderstanding leads to misleading results. You like to feed the body because you say that "I am the body." Accordingly, Maya appears to be real but is only Ignorance. What else is Maya? The individual, or jiva, who is a monkey, is not ready to drop his limited existence as jiva unless he is subjected to some great upheaval or change. Only after suffering great misery and calamity, does he feel that all is false. Then he knows that there is no happiness as such in worldly things. He then comes to know what Maya is. Maya herself says that she does not exist at any time. Maya means wrong knowledge.

The cause of Maya is delusion, and by the water of delusion, the tree of Maya grows. Foolishness is its branches, and sense-enjoyments are its fruits. Brahman and Bhrama have a very small difference in spelling. It is Bra or Bhra. Bhrama is Illusion. People say, "I realize the Self," or "I did not realize Brahman." It is only on the "Reality" of Brahman, the all of these innumerable offspring has been born. Objects of the senses are tied like rope by desire which has its youth in the sense of "I." Pearls from the waters of the mirage are taken to knit nets to ensnare. Maya has given birth to ego, her first-born son. "Mine" and "attachment" are her other children. "Moha," or the identification with the body, is the son-in-law resident in her own home. The son-in-law is the one who goes "waya," or useless.

Real Cannot Be Described

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

It is said, "The tongue of the holy serpent on whom Lord Vishnu is reclining was split." because Reality cannot be described. Words cannot express Reality. The tongue remains useless. The Vedas have stopped trying to describe it by saying, "Neti, Neti" (not this, not this). The word Shruti (Veda) means "Knowledge which is accepted after hearing." After listening, one decides "This is so," and accepted it as true. But this is not the knowledge born out of actual experience. A logical conclusion is not Self-Knowledge, nor "Direct Realization." That Knowledge which the Vedas postulate is believed to be so, and it is conjectured that it may be so, but to simply trust in this concept is not Self-Knowledge.

What is Self-Knowledge? To realize by our who being, to actually feel it within us, as our Self, is the "Knowledge of the Self". "Not other" means that state that has no experience of the "other". Self-Knowledge is not knowledge of anything "other". The state, the nature, the enjoyment of Reality, is the Self. That is the Reality of Self-Knowledge. What is the point of keeping up your adamant attitude when you have Realized? Samartha Ramdas says, "I am false. Everything mine is false. I have no place, no status." Everything is deceptive. Manifestation, Prakruti, speaks and that is deceptive. The Formless, Purusha, is also deceptive. He is also discarded in Reality. Prakruti and Purusha are artificial, false. They are futile. They are not real. Even their names are false. Where nothing remains, to say, "I have known" is false. You may be "knowing", there s nothing wrong in it, but do not say, "I am now having nothing remaining, "because the "I" is still a remnant.

Unattached, Complete and Silent

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Peerless, without an equal, without a second, means only One. It is "That" which is spread out evenly everywhere. We are That, not anything other. If you kiss a dog, you kiss only Brahman. The dog is also Brahman. To remain like Shiva, as Shiva, is samadhi, and he who maintains Brahman-hood is truly wise. How can one call the toilet as Brahman? How can one call one's wife as Brahman? This question arises only through  a kind of ego identity. If you see it by physical eyes, it is Illusion, which means the ignorance as to the "True Nature" of it. If you see with the "inner sight", it is Brahman. To pluck Tulasi leaves is considered a sin, but to offer Tulasi leaves is auspicious! Whatever the scriptures may say, to the truly wise it has no meaning. In short, one who does not know oneself is a great sinner. The Self is, naturally, as it is. The quality of "being the Self is not the possession of the Self. This means that the sense of "Me" is not the Self. The sense of "this" and "I" as separate things is not correct. That there is One alone, is correct. There is not any other, therefore we should not use "me". "Pure Perception", or that which is experienced without any effort is correct, but to say so implies an "object" and "I" who experiences it. This is to be avoided.

That the Self is alone is the sign of detachment. Attachment means in company with something "other". Unattached means no company, no other. Company means "other". It implies duality. Companion means together.  Unattached means it is not with "other". The Self is One, alone, and unattached. This is the sign of experience. One who knows that he has known, or understood something, and knowingly remains as he is, is the one who has understood. One who has understood is satisfied, and becomes silent. One who has rightly understood is clear, he has no complaint now, and there is no further talk. When we hav no complaint, what is the necessity to speak? He who has a complaint will surely talk. One whose complaint is gone, remains quiet. Absence of talk indicates "greatness". There s no reason left for talking. "I know it" is a wrong statement, as the need for words disappears. While describing Brahman, all adjectives are accompanied with "non" as a prefix.

Reality Cannot Be Known

 Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Th demon is the buffalo bull on whom the God of Death, Yama, rides. All those who hold on to their physical body as "I", are the bull buffaloes. Yama rides on them. Yama means punishment. Yama means sorrow, Yama means death, and death means fear. There is definite fear and punishment for those who hold on to bodily egoism. Even the entity which says "I am God, I am Brahman" is the same ego. When Paramatman says, "I am", or "I have experience," or "I have become Reality," this is also all ego. The ego, the sense of "I", undergoes change of outer form. This energy is the desire to enjoy. It is so skillful of this that it tries to deceive even God. It changes its form, its quality, very swiftly and very skillfully, but does not deviate from its desire, its lust, to enjoy. The ego very easily deceives the so-called "great pious sages". It enslaves even the various hosts of gods by inspiring desires in them. It only becomes subservient to those who remain in their "True Being", ever alert against any distraction. This cannot be understood except by minute subtle observation. While the urge or energy of the ego is based on concept and imagination, the Reality has no aim before it. The imagination cannot measure the immensity of Reality. This means that the concept of "I", cannot know the nature of Reality. It cannot know what is its length, breadth, how much it is, wherefrom and where are the states it pervades, etc. The sense of "I" is always incomplete, limited, and turned downward. So long as it is turned downwards, it goes on expanding, but when it turns upwards and ventures to grasp the immeasurable, it is dissolved automatically, and therefore cannot measure the end of the endless. 

The four stages of speech, Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari, are all destroyed in the Reality. Who should speak there? Who should tell anything there? If it is spoken about, then it is not Reality. To say that "I am Brahman" is not being Brahman. It is, as it is, without talking. It is, but it does not speak, which means it exists before the utterance of any speech. It is prior to any experience that takes shape, which means that it is there before awareness of the experiencing of the body and persists even in the awareness of the body. It started talking and utilizing other sense organs because there was experience of the body, but even then it is the same. When the body will be no more and only some words may remain, and afterwards when even those words come to an end, it is still there, as it was. The body came and it is gone. But there is no addition or subtraction in the Reality. The ego sense, which experiences the limited body, is the only thing that seems to be wrong in the Reality. When this is understood, everything is made right. Reality is there even if I say it is not. It does not change. Even though many things may be said about it, it is as it is. It remains always as it is. The nature of Brahman does not change. The Reality, which is, does not change. It is always only "That", whatever you may say about it. If you use bad words, they are all only names of Lord Shiva.

The Original Sin

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

To forget the Reality is the original sin. Thereafter, we function within the field of the apparent, the known, and show off. The mistake is forgetting Reality from the beginning. In this way, the individual respects that which appears and suffers many calamities. The Self is as He is, always brilliant. It is on Him that all appearances are recognized, and on Him that they are perceived. So as it is He, who knows others, He is always existing, always there. He is beyond all appearances. He who knows all is the greatest. He is the controller of all objects that appear. That which is seen are objects, and being objects by nature, means that they are perishable. The objects of the senses are produced by the sense-objects themselves. This is the mischievous nature of these objects. One who accepts them as real becomes miserable. If you persist in following the objects of the senses, you will surely be miserable, because you will only see that which is "seen". If you see with the eye of "inner experience", He, the Self, is everywhere, inside and out.

Nobody has been able to show up to now just what "the observer" is. Just as the sky, or space, is in each and everything, He is also all-pervading, permeating everything. It is only He, who is in everything in this world. All differences are due to ego. See what a strange thing has happened! God is sacrificed before the goat. In this, it is the ego that sees the difference. The difference means separateness is seen. Where only one exists, two are seen instead. To show that there are two, is the creation of difference, where one is made the owner and the other his slave. However, there was some trick in this. He by whose power experience takes place, the totality of the universe is experienced, and who is the essence of the experience of this cosmos, was made the slave, while the ego is actually not existing. It became an imagined entity and the "true experiencer" was threatened with the possibility that he will die. He was made to pay the penalty. Thus, he was made a scapegoat. The false entity had become "God", but his godhood was cut away by the advice of the Sadguru. This "God" was sacrificed before the goat (duality was dispelled) and "True God" was restored to His godhood. He is the self-existent God. This was the wonder seen.

Self is Always Awake

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

What is it that is called the Self, the Reality?  That which is not perceived is Reality. That which knows all things is Brahman. That which functions with the intellect is the individual consciousness, the Jiva. He understands through intellect. Brahman, is indestructible. Truth is its Reality. On that, all other things appear. The "Realized One," the Jnani, looks upon Reality. Whatever is, appears on the Reality, and all that appears, disappears. Its nature is to disappear. The Jnani's existence is not an appearance. It does not appear. Therefore it does not deteriorate. It will not diminish.This is understood by one's own intuition. No effort is necessary to understand this. The Reality, "True Nature" (Swaroopa), is natural. It is unbreakable and indestructible. The entire universe appears on "That." That is called Brahman. The Sun is sometimes called by the names Diwakar or Bhaskar. The Sun is also called SuryaNarayan. Brilliance, godliness, day-maker, and "divine quality" (Light) are his nature.Light means that which enlightens all. Light means that intellect which knows.

Who is God? God is He who sees all. The Sun is greater than the material thing that is illumined. But because our eye knows the Sun, the eye is greater than the Sun, and the mind knows the eye. Who knows the mind? The intellect knows the mind, but He who knows the intellect is not known by anybody. He is self-luminous. The eye does not know itself. The Sun does not know itself. The Self is the Atman, that knows others and knows himself. That is why a person who is asleep wakes up by himself. Otherwise, who is going to awaken him? The Self is always awake. There is no necessity of another to awaken him. He is the self-luminous god, who lends "divinity" to god and brilliance to the Sun. The Self is the one that properly places everyone in his right place, and gets the work done. He is not illuminated by any other. Everything is illuminated, or perceived, only by the Self. To know him once is enough. To try to know him again is sheer foolishness. It is not possible for the eye to know itself. Who else will venture to know that god? One who thinks that the apparent is real, insults Paramatman, and one who so insults Paramatman becomes miserable as he thinks what is apparent is God. He thinks that the Paramatman is the darkness of Ignorance, and becomes a devotee of, and worships all that appears to, the senses.

IT Cannot Be Spoken About

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

There is only Oneness for the Gurus and his disciple. There is no difference there. "There is only One, and no other" is the great statement of the Vedas. Unless you postulate the primary premise (discernment of the Essence and non-essential), the latter, final statement (only Brahman exists) is not evident. First, we have to recognize what is false, and from that, we have to find out what is true. For this purpose, the qualification or definitions of fourteen Brahmans have been told (this is explained in detail in the book Dasbodh of Samarth Ramdas). The essence of the five elements is called the "all-pervading Brahman." To be the witness, is a quality, only a facet of Brahman. It is all qualified Brahman. The statement from scriptures is, "That which is permanent is Brahman, that which is impermanent is Illusion (Maya)." The "All-Pervading Brahman" is impermanent. The "Witnessing Brahman" is also impermanent. Qualified Brahman is impermanent. The Life-Energy, or "Chaitanya Brahman" is also not permanent.

Whatever has a name has no base. It is false. All names are false. Various names are used to indicate the "Attributeless Brahman," (Nirguna Brahman). In Brahman, there is no bliss, therefore bliss is also  false. Identification with Brahman is also a false name. "Indescribable" is a word used to indicate it, but that is also false. The rule is that we have not to speak about "It" at all. The word "unmana" (no-mind) is used to indicate That in which mind is not. Worry is merged and mind is dissolved. The entity that was saying "I", was the mind. When the structure (the mind) that is on the "thing itself" (Brahman) is gone, what remains is the "Natural State". He remains as He always is. The manifest Self (Atman), the Vedanta, and the formless Self (Shivatman) have remained One. Those who experience for themselves know this.

The Person is Imagined

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Remain where you are. Do not clean toilets when you are a king. Remain with yourself, fully aware of your Being. You are the unattached, self-existent Paramatman. It is for you to increase your power. The power of this Knowledge (vidya) is such that one can create a new universe. This Knowledge was used by kings. The royal teachers in the past were not imparting this to others. Those teachers were appointed to the kings alone, and they were dependent on the kings. The real saint does not care about this. This "Knowledge of Yoga" is great. Lord Krishna enjoyed its glory. No doubt, it is a great thing to attain the state of Brahman, but it is still greater to enjoy it. But alas, nobody enjoys it. What is the necessity of the means when the goal is achieved? You are the primordial everlasting Brahman! Drop the idea of an imagined person. You exist without being imagined. Those who underwent tremendous trouble, and even faced death in the name of spiritual efforts did not die after dropping the "me". However, people die every day in vain doing much hard work in their life, but do not enjoy the glory and the majesty of Brahman.

One whose pride is gone, is automatically Brahman. This is samadhi without a ripple of thought. This is also called unbroken, unhindered samadhi. Either with qualities or without qualities, there is only Brahman. There is nothing else. The man was unnecessarily holding on to some pauper, to the woman or man. It is not true that a brahmin's Brahman is pure and a shudra's Brahman is impure. All of the sadhus, saints, sages, monks that have ever been, and even the vedas sang in praise to You only. The entire world worships only You. Mahadev, Vishnu and all of the other gods come to worship You, and are merged in You. They have no other place. For all, there is only place of rest. To all, the resting place is Paramatman, your Swaroopa (True Nature; True Form). Brahman, Vishnu and all the gods praise only this God. The entirety of manifestation, Prakriti, is the servant of this God. She is trying hard to keep him in good mood. All glory is in God. The Almighty God is He. All the fame, all the greatness,and all the power vests in God. Therefore, the Vedas shout at the top of their voice that they are purified by having a glimpse of a Saint. All glory goes to God (Shiva), and povery comes to individual (jiva).

Jiva Goes, Shiva Remains

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj 

What is our attachment that is to be dropped? This means that when you see only "me", the sense of "my" and "mine" is to be dropped. "I" means the sense of "me". It is the sense of this separate "me" that is the state of the individual, the jiva. When you say, "I don't exist", the individual is finished. When you have actually seen that you are not, there is no necessity of a means and an end. When the individual (jiva) is gone, only God (Shiva) remains. The meaning of the end of the jiva, is the ending of "me". You have seen that you are not existent. There is a confirmed realization  that from top to bottom in the whole body, that "you" are not there. Even after this conviction, there is still experiencing of a body and of Consciousness. Now, this experience is of the nature of a gentle touch. It is but a slight touch for Pure Consciousness, Shiva. This means that Consciousness touches, or animates the covering that is the body. This is a simple sensation that is most natural. The quality of Pure Consciousness is what is called Shiva. That which is only an imagination without the base of actual experience or observation, is called Ignorance. The misunderstanding about that which is born as the body, as "me", is the essence of the state of the jiva, which is Ignorance. This is wrong knowledge. When the fact is one thing, and you think it to be something else, that is wrong knowledge. Ignorance means "not knowing". When you "know", when you understand, it is Knowledge. The gaining of Knowledge takes away the Ignorance, and "Supreme Knowledge", or Vijnana, takes away that Knowledge. After this, you do not have to study. You are simply Pure Brahman. "That" is an open experience. Bread that is already baked need not be baked again, and you do not boil rice that has already been boiled.

The word Swayambhu becomes Shambhu (Shiva), by a slight change in pronunciation. That One who is Shambhu is Swayambhu, the self-existent One. Even if the body is cleansed by taking a bath, the Self is not cleansed by that process. Brahman is already pure. Why are you trying to bathe it? A tiger was advised that he should first take a bath and then kill animals. He followed the advise and began to die of hunger. A sage told him, "You did not follow your own religion (natural behavior) and therefore you are going hungry." If this Brahman does many unnecessary and wrong things, everything goes wrong. So, do not do anything. It is told of how Shiva left his abode in Mount Kailasa and went to the cemetery where he attained Self-Realization. You are Paramatman, enjoy your own glory. Others are going to be pure by simply looking at you. You will find that things will happen as you say.

Just Watch; Do Not Get Concerned

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

The spiritual life is a wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpataru). Whatever you wish for, it is ready. This spiritual life is the wish-fulfilling stone (Chintamani), and the wish-fulfilling cow (Kamadhenu). Make the best of this human birth that you have attained because of great merit in the past.  Let that which you aspire for become possible, and let that which is lost, be lost. Once you realize your own Self, anything may happen, but nothing will worry you. One must have Self-Realization and that which helps achieve it is called the Teaching. Talking continuously about various philosophical systems is futile. Is it of any use? You do not eat the husk and throw away the grain. The one who being born here in human form, listens to spiritual teaching and follows it, has really caught the core of life.

Who are the real "wise men"? Those who enjoy the peace and wisdom of Self-Realization are the real people worth congratulating. Please listen attentively to the explanation of what Self-Realization is. The ever-changing mind can never have peace. In the game of chess, the King is not to be over-powered by other men. Similarly, if you are over-powered, you are surely trapped, and your mind is useless. The one who has realized Brahman is not overpowered by anything. To renounce all activities is called meditation. And when the activities of the mind are stopped, it is Brahman. To empty the house means to take out everything that is in it. The house will then remain as it is. The King should not be over-powered. Illusion as a rule gives something, and then takes it back. We must learn to be free always. Somebody falls at my feet. Alright, he did it to the feet. How am I concerned with it? Somebody walks awkwardly, or behaves strangely. Let him do so! How am I concerned with it? We may only watch.

Nothing Has Ever Happened

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Since childhood, when some awareness of this life dawned, the fear of death was imposingly menacing. As the vast experience of the universe was before our eyes, there was a constantly increasing hope to achieve and possess something very great, some kind of property. It was felt that I must have an extraordinary possession in the present, and also for the future. For future births also, it was thought correct to have some great possession. So, a very strong desire was harassing me relentlessly. There was a firm conviction that this world is real, and that the next world that I am going to enter is also real. Now, all that has proved to be futile, and I realized that this seemingly real world is only a mirage. Therefore, not a single thing is to be possessed and accumulated by me. The worldly existence seemed to be an ocean but it proved that there was not even a drop of water. Now it is all right. The Illusion is dissolved. The one who was without birth was liberated from birth and death. The man thought that he had become a tiger, but when he was shown a real tiger, his illusion of being a tiger was gone. He, who was not a family man, was being possessed by a ghost of family life. That ailment was removed and he was released. He was always non-dual, but the false duality was broken. He was engrossed in the world of people, and then he was brought to his own "Aloneness". He was awake, and then he was awakened. He was deathless, and was made deathless. The fear that he had harbored in his mind was removed.

He whose very nature is wisdom, and He, who is the Self, was made the Self. The "Nectar of Immortality" (amrut) was given the quality of "deathlessness". One who does not die is the "Deathless Self". One who cannot die is the Immortal Nectar. Even then, he was obsessed with the idea that he is mortal, but that obsession was also destroyed. He was made immortal. Now he will never die. One who is free was given freedom. There is no necessity of having hope that I will free, because there is no trace of bondage. He was already united, but he was given unity. He was feeling that he was thrown out and therefore he was hanging, which made him afraid. In that place where he was banished to, he became convinced that he is not separated or estranged, that he is originally spread out everywhere, all-pervading, essentially One, alone. After many days, he met himself. The division of the undivided was gone. All the spiritual practices bore fruit.

God whose real place is in the "Shrine room", the inner sanctum of the temple, was properly placed there only. Ge was having a dream that he was wandering in a forest, but now he is convinced that he is properly in the Shrine room where he belongs. That which he was running after, although it was always near him, he now has. He was sorrowful because of a very bad dream. Although he was a Brahmin, of the highest caste, he had become a so-called untouchable. That is now gone and he has regained his quality of being a Brahmin, a "Knower of Brahman". He is convinced that nothing has ever happened.

Knowledge Beyond Words

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

The sun is the cause of day and night. Without the sun you cannot say, "This is day" or "This is night." Experience and reporting experience to others are only within the field of Illusion. Had it been the case that I am one thing, and Brahman is something other, then it would have been possible to tell somebody about the experience. See the wonder of this. He who was not born, was sleeping. In the dream, he saw another dream. In it, he achieved Knowledge by the blessings of the Guru, and then he disappeared. When there was nothing, what remained was his "Natural Essential Existence".  He was awakened while he was discussing what "Knowledge" means. If you can catch the meaning of this, you will also have similar contentment. There is unity without the intervention of speech. The entity saw a dream within a dream, and he became awake by having arisen from sleep.

Since you have not grasped this explanation, I will tell you again. You are the one without birth. It is your delusion that you are born. It is your feeling. The dream within the dream is your thinking about what is Essential and what is non-essential, and when you realize that you are the Self, Atman, then you have this experience. You felt that the world is illusory. You felt that you are awake and that it is your waking state. You felt that you have obtained "experience", but still your confusion, your illusion, is persisting as it was. You are yet talking about things in the dream. When there is true awakening, all the sense of "being" disappears. Even the sense that you are the Self, also dissolves. That is called "Knowledge Beyond Words". Now, have you understood what is beyond words? What remains? Only Brahman remains. The bondage that was false is cut. The ocean of worldly life is proved to be a mirage. 

Self-Enquiry Ensures Grace

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

You cannot describe contentment, or that which you call happiness. When a mute man eats sugar, he cannot describe its sweetness. Listen with extreme eagerness. It cannot be understood, and cannot be known, even if it is explained. It cannot be imagined. Words cannot communicate it. The Supreme Self, Paramatman, is absolutely hidden. It can be understood only through being near Saints, by being in their company. That happiness of Paramatman, that contentment, is very deep. If the experience is to be told by any sign or indication, it is unutterable. It cannot be described. Hand or facial symbolic signs are only the qualities of those limbs, and they are therefore limited, and inadequate. Even the deepest power of speech, which is called the "Para"speech, or the original energy, cannot show it by any indication, as it is indescribable. It cannot be known without the help of the Sadguru. Only one who searches oneself will receive the blessings of the Sadguru. 

What is the experience of the one who receives the blessing of the Sadguru? That one experiences that he himself is Paramatman. That is the result of one's Self-search. When you understand that you are nothing, then what remains is only one Brahman. This is called the "Natural State of Samadhi" or Sahaja Samadhi. If he walks and talks, it is called "Sairat Samadhi", this is a state of seemingly insane activities, but a resting in inner contentment. He is completely happy without doubt. People think he behaves abnormally, but he is not aware that he is behaving at all. The contention of some is that Paramatman is the witness to all, but those who know the Reality, the Siddhas, say that "witnessing all" is but a state of mind, and the Reality is devoid of any such state or hypothetical position. Paratmatman is beyond all the four bodies and all the four sheaths of consciousness (mind, intellect, thinking, and "I" or ego). When you realize that what you perceive is not an objective thing or any material, but that all is Brahman, the complex of "I" the ego will vanish. When the notion "I" is dropped then the idea of "you" also drops away. The disappearance of "I" is the sign of realization. "That" which is is. It is neither the individual (jiva) nor God (shiva). That duality does not appear there. We also cannot say that there is nothing. "That" is the indescribable Bliss. The speech, the word, is also illusory. The word conveys the meaning but it disappears as soon as the meaning is understood. The word ends. After giving the message, the word goes away. In Brahman, the word is false. Only its meaning should be taken. The word is different from what is seen, and what is beyond it is Brahman, the Reality. "Pure Experience" is incapable of being pointed at. Self-experience is without the factor of giving any attention to it. To give attention to it is a quality. When you try to look at it, the "other" comes into being. The nature of attention is such that automatically, very naturally, there is some production by it. To be capable of producing is its specialty. It is its nature, its inherent quality, which cannot be destroyed by anything. Only by the "Knowledge of Reality" does it disappear. It is said that the sky is filtered through a strainer and thus the core of the Life-Energy, chaitanya, is obtained, but that is also imagination. The "rule of experience" is that it is not possible without duality. Experiencing means duality. The mother of experience is the daughter of a barren woman who is the original Illusion, or Maya, which is a concept of imagination. This "Illusion", this imagination, is a vehemently uttered bad word. This is known only by those who know their own Self. Where there is the phenomenon of experience, there is duality. Therefore, in the "True Existence of Reality", there is no place for experience. In the wake of Self-Realization, duality shies away.

Adhyatma Vidya

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

In the dream, which is full of Ignorance, a man says everything belongs to him, but such men who say so are really like monsters.Those who simply enjoy the objects of senses are merely human beings, while the one who is extreme in relinquishing everything is like God Almighty. To talk without knowing anything is called an overflow of talk. When the "Sun of Knowledge" sets, the universe is filled by the darkness of Ignorance and even the star of piety is not visible. This confused mind does not see who he himself is. He has forgotten completely. The ego, who is the king on the throne of the body-consciousness, has had a dream. He was stranded in a dense forest, got tired, and became very sorrowful. There, he married a female. He used to cut wood and sell it to earn his living. He would eat the meat of various beasts and lived very miserably. Suddenly he awoke due to some extreme suffering. Similarly, you are experiencing this dream. This world is not real. That king ruled there for 17 years. The five sense organs, the five active organs, the mind, the intellect, and the five life forces (prANAs) make up 17. These are his 17 years. The ignorant individual, the jiva, has to suffer due to these. You are asleep, you are not awake. You are born in it, and you die in this sleep. In sleep, you wander indefinitely. Instead of realizing your own greatness, you have become a sufferer. Therefore, you must gain the Knowledge of your own Self. This "Spiritual Knowledge" is the greatest science. It is called Adhyatma-Vidya. 

What is existing from the beginning? Who is there from the first? "From the Beginning," and "The First," means before you experience something. "The First" is who we are. To know what is, how it is, and what its nature is, means to "Know," to have "Understanding." When that "Understanding" becomes fixed and definite, it is called Spiritual Knowledge, or Adhyatma-Vidya. Only the listener who listens with all the senses turned into one, is really worthy of this Spiritual Knowledge. He can understand all of this, while others should not even open this volume as they will not understand the meaning. Only one who says, "Let all else be lost. I don't care. I wish only to follow the spiritual path," can benefit from this path. Only such a one is considered to be truly spiritual. Lord Krishna says, "One who is totally concerned about Me gets all that is Mine with all My Glory. The whole world, all the objects are My Army." The devotees of God, choose only God. Paramatman is attained by his devotees without any discrimination between men and women. The yogi who talks on My path, is surely met by Me. That devotee becomes one with the Supreme Self, Paramatman, and is merged into the Absolute.