ABANDON

To surrender ~ Webster’s

The mind abandons everything when the vision of the supreme is gained. Hence, one should resolutely renounce everything till the supreme vision is gained. Not till one renounces everything is self-knowledge gained: when all points of view are abandoned, what remains is the self. Page 282

It is the cessation of the awareness of action and of experience, the giving up of conditioning and thus the attainment of peace and the state of equilibrium that is known by the expression ‘abandonment of action’. Page 489

ACTION

What is done by the mind is action; what is done by the body is not action. Page 110

. . . all actions are based on consciousness which objectifies itself and thus generates actions. If this does not happen that itself is the supreme state. Page 488

AHAMKARA

The ego-principle. Page 189

ANXIETY (worry)

Remain well established in peace and tranquility, free from mental conditioning . . . when the reality of Brahman is realized, there is no room for worry and anxiety. Page 454

APPEARANCE

L. apparere ~ to show oneself

The infinite consciousness which alone appears as all this is undying, unchanging and eternal. The unmoving consciousness remains, appearing to be whatever notion arises in it here and there. What is truth and what is false? So let one experience bodies, actions, sorrow or pleasure as and when they arise ~ or let them all go. There is no meaning in all this. Let it be ‘this’ way or ‘that’ way, let it be or not be ~ give up this delusion and remain enlightened. Page 637

All this is the power of the omnipotent and the appearance is just the appearance. Page 222

O Rama, you have reached that state of satva and your mind has been burnt in the fire of wisdom. What is that wisdom? It is that the infinite Brahman is indeed the infinite Brahman; the world-appearance is but an appearance whose reality is Brahman. Page 328

APPROPRIATE

Ap à ad  L. ad = near

Proper L. proprius = one’s self

. . . when one inquires into it, the egosense ceases and there is pure, infinite consciousness. The mind is freed from objectification. Daily life is transmuted into divine life. Whatever you do, whatever you enjoy ~ all that becomes divine. Desireless and free from delusion, remain established in self-knowledge. Since there are no other motivations, let the scriptures guide your conduct. Page 524

One should work in this world as much as is needed to earn an honest living. One should live (eat) in order to sustain the life-force. One should sustain one’s life-force only for the sake of acquiring knowledge. One should inquire into and know that which frees him from sorrow. Page 504

(Engage) in the simple acts of eating and dressing and in such spontaneous and appropriate actions which are free from desire and mental activity. Page 504

ATIVAHIKA (Puryastaka)

At the end of the period following the cosmic dissolution the supreme being thinks of the subtle (ativahika) body which arises in the infinite consciousness. This subtle body thinks of itself as Brahma, Virat, Visnu, etc. Whatever the subtle body identifies itself with, that it appears to be. Though all these diverse entities seem to have been created, it is only an optical illusion. For nothing is ever created. Everything is but the pure void which pervades all. The beginningless Brahman alone exists. However, on account of the fact that this cosmic subtle body entertains the notion that it experiences this diversity, such diversity seems to be uncontradicted truth. Page 695

ATTACHMENT

Oe Staca  -- stake

Attachment is that, O Rama, which makes the conditioning of the mind more and more dense, by repeatedly causing the experiences of pleasure and pain in relation to the existence and non-existence of the objects of pleasure, thus confirming such association as inevitable and thus bringing about an intense attachment to the objects of pleasure. Page 321

Even while carrying on your activities here, if you do not abandon your awareness of the homogeneity of the truth, you are unattached. Page 322

AVIDYA (see Ignorance)

AWARENESS  -- See Consciousness

The awareness of the infinite consciousness of itself is the mind. This itself is samsara and bondage which lead to psychic distress. When the infinite consciousness remains itself as if unaware of itself, that is moksa or liberation. Page 513

BIRTH/DEATH

To one whose body is of pure consciousness there is neither birth nor death. Page 697

O Rama, you are not born when the body is born, nor do you die when it dies. To think that the space within the jar came into being when it was made and the space perishes with the jar is sheer foolishness. Page 294

BODY

When the ethereal nature becomes awakened, and when in its consciousness the ego-sense manifests itself, it gives rise to the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether), space-time continuum and all the rest of the material needed for physical birth and existence.  Page 69

When the idea ‘I am the body’ becomes deeply ingrained, this same ethereal body develops the physical characteristics of a body. . .though all this happens only like vibrations or movements in air.  Page 69 

He sees the truth who is not deluded into thinking that he is the body which is subject to illness, fear, agitation, old age and death. Page 163

The physical body is only physical matter; yet the mind deems it as its own. Yet, if the mind turns towards the truth, it abandons its identification with the body and attains the supreme. Page 150

(The Sage) views the body as a spectator looks at a distant crowd . . . Even as a piece of wood and the water in which it is reflected have no real relationship, the body and the Self have no real relationship . . . The Self is ever untouched by pain and pleasure, but thinking itself to be the body, it undergoes the experiences of the body. The abandonment of this ignorant belief is liberation. Page 288

BOONS AND CURSES

Boons and curses are notions in consciousness, but they are non-different from it. Page 691

‘Just as you have made me think by your boon, so I am.’ Page 77

BONDAGE/LIBERATION

The ‘teacher’ and the ‘student’ are all Brahman existing in Brahman. To the enlightened there is neither bondage nor liberation. Page 699

BRAHMA  (See Creator)

BRAHMAN (See Infinite Consciousness)

BUDDHI

The discriminating faculty. Page 293

CAUSATION

In the beginning, creation had no cause whatsoever. Page 639

However, from there on, effects do not arise without a cause. Page 639

Creation takes place as a coincidence. Then niyati determines ‘this is this’ and ‘that is that’. Page 639

CONDITIONING (Vasana, also see Freedom)

Conditioning is sorrow. But conditioning is based on thoughts and notions (or sensual and psychological experiences). However, the truth is beyond such experience and the world is an appearance like a mirage! In that case, what is psychological conditioning, who conditions what and who is conditioned by such conditioning? Who drinks the water of the mirage? Thus, when all these are rejected, the reality alone remains in which there is no conditioning. Page 385-386

When the conditioning of consciousness drops away there is no sorrow, even as in sleep there is no sorrow. Page 516

Vasana (memory, subtle impressions of the past, conditioning) is the nature of this . . . mind. Page 448

If you remain unattached to them, unconcerned about them and without identifying yourself with them, through the strength of your intelligence (consciousness), these vasanas are greatly weakened. Page 449

CONSCIOUSNESS – Its evolution and dissolution

Infinite Consciousness  (See Infinite Consciousness)

The sole reality is the infinite consciousness which is omnipresent, pure, tranquil, omnipotent, and whose very body and being is absolutely consciousness (therefore not an object, not knowable): wherever this consciousness manifests in whatever manner, it is that.  Page 71

The infinite consciousness becomes aware of a part of its own being and thus awareness arises in it. This is followed by the notion of relationship, the word and its corresponding object. Since this awareness is endowed with the faculty to observe and examine what it observes, it is recognized as consciousness. Page 693  

Consciousness free from the limitations of the mind is known as inner intelligence:  it is the essential nature of no-mind and therefore it is not tainted by the impurities of concepts and percepts. That is the reality, that is supreme auspiciousness, that is the state known as the supreme self, that is omniscience ~and that vision is not had when the wicked mind functions. Page 265

Then. . .Mind

(See Mind, also called Brahma, cosmic person)

The individual is nothing more than the personalized mind. Page 338

The mind alone is all this: man, god, demon, trees and mountains, goblins, birds and worms. It alone becomes the infinite diversity that is seen here ~ from Brahma the creator to the pillar. Page 690-691  

The infinite self cannot possibly be squeezed into the mind, any more than an elephant can be squeezed into a wood-apple fruit. The consciousness that, through the process of self-limitation, is confined to finitude (and therefore to concepts and percepts) is known as the mind . . .  Page 270-271

Then. . .Turiya

It is when the mind becomes absolutely pure that it becomes pure consciousness, and therefore one with the infinite consciousness. Page 159

Evolution or involution has the one infinite consciousness as its source and its goal. Page 157

COSMIC

Greek – Kosmikos = universe

COSMIC FORM (Virat, cosmic being)

Brahman alone is the cosmic being (Virat). Page 53

The cosmic form (Virat) is of the nature of pure consciousness. Page 53

COSMIC PERSON

The infinite consciousness which is devoid of time, space and causation playfully assumes these. Thus the cosmic person comes into being; this cosmic person is also the cosmic mind and cosmic life. Page 183

This cosmic person is the Brahma (mind). Page 183

The movement of energy that occurs in the infinite consciousness is known as the cosmic person who is endowed with a magnetic field and gravitational force. This creation arises in him like a dream. Creation is a dream. The waking state is a dream. Even though this creation or world-appearance is apparently seen and experienced, it is in reality the realization of the notions that arise in us, and they alone exist as the cosmic personality.  Page 673

CREATOR (Brahma)

The experience that arises in consciousness, as in a dream, is known as mind, Brahma the creator, the grandfather of all creation. This being is nameless, formless and immutable. In that, the notions of ‘I’ and ‘you’, etc. arise. Even they are non-different from the Creator. The pure consciousness in which all these notions arise is the great-grandfather of all creatures. Page 673

The creator Brahma is but an idea or notion. Page 455

CREATION

First:   A state of perfect equilibrium. Page 45

Then:

When the infinite vibrates, the worlds appear to emerge. Page 48

Then:

This universe is in fact the eternal effulgent infinite consciousness which generates within itself the knowable (which would be known as that which is to be) with an idea concerning its form (which is space), and with an enquiry concerning itself. Thus space is brought into being. When, after a considerable time the consciousness of creation becomes strong in the infinite being, the future jiva. . .arises within it: and the infinite abandons, as it were, its supreme state, to limit itself as the jiva. However, even then the Brahman remains the infinite and there is no real transformation into any of these. Page 50

Jiva and the mind, etc. are all vibrations in consciousness. Page 54

Just as both sleep and dream are aspects of one sleep, even so this creation and dissolution of the universe are two aspects of the one indivisible, infinite consciousness. Page 679

DEATH  (See Birth/Death)

The living being conjures up this world in his heart and while he is alive he strengthens this illusion; when he passes away he conjures up the world beyond and experiences it thus there arise worlds within worlds . . . Page 24

When the notion of reality is transferred from one substance to another that is known as death. Page 500

Even as when a statue is broken, no life is lost, when the body born of thoughts and notions is dead, nothing is lost. It is like the loss of the second moon when one is cured of (double vision). The self which is infinite consciousness does not die nor does it undergo any change whatsoever. Page 363

DEEP SLEEP (stage of consciousness)

In the fifth state (of yoga), only the ‘undivided’ reality remains. Hence it is likened to deep sleep. He who has reached this state, though he is engaged in diverse external activities, rests in himself. Page 480

DEPENDENCE

Dependence alone is bondage; non-dependence is freedom or emancipation. He who rests in what is indicated by the ‘All’, ‘Infinite’ or ‘Fullness’ does not desire anything. When the physical body is as unreal as the body seen in a dream, what will the wise man desire for its sake? Page 509-510

DESIRE

It is only by understanding the essencelessness of the objects of experience that one becomes free from the disease of desire. The arising of desire is sorrow and the cessation of desire is supreme joy; there is no sorrow and no joy comparable to them even in hell and in heaven. The mind is desire and the cessation of desire is moksa (liberation); this is the essence of all scriptures. Page 520

If you cannot overcome desire completely, then deal with it step by step. The wayfarer does not despair at the sight of the long road ahead but takes one step at a time. Page 520

DISPASSION

L. dis – not

Passio – acted upon

By resorting to dispassion (the unconditioned mind) and a clear understanding of the truth, this ocean of samsara (bondage to life and death) can be crossed: hence engage yourself in such endeavor. Page 326

DIVERSITY (See Dualism)

Diversity has no real existence except in one’s own imagination. ‘All this is indeed the absolute Brahman’ ~ remain established in this truth. Give up all other notions. Even as the waves, etc. are non-different from the ocean, all these things are non-different from Brahman. Even as in the seed is hidden the entire tree in potential, in Brahman there exists the entire universe for ever. Even as the multicolored rainbow is produced by sunlight, all this diversity is seen in the one. Page 152

DOERSHIP

You are not the doer of any action here, O Rama; so, why do you assume doership? When one alone exists, who does what and how? Do not become inactive, either; for what is gained by doing nothing? What has to be done has to be done. Therefore, rest in the self. Even while doing all the actions nature to you, if you are unattached to those actions, you are truly the non-doer; if you are doing nothing and are attached to that non-doership (then you are doing nothing) you become the doer!  Page 131

It is only the egotistic and ignorant person who thinks “I do this”, whereas all this is done by the different aspects of the one self or infinite consciousness. Page 398

For, it is the will to do or not to do that binds, and its absence is liberation. Page 487

DREAM ANALOGY

The state which endures is known as the waking state; and that which is transient is the dream state. During the period of even the dream, it takes on the characteristic of the waking state; and when the waking state is realized to be of a fleeting nature, it gets the characteristic of dream. Page 161

. . . the word ‘dream’ (is) used to illustrate the truth of the illusoriness of the world-appearance: there is no ‘dream’ in the infinite consciousness. There is neither a body nor a dream in it. There is neither a waking state, nor dream nor sleep. Whatever it is ~ it is void, it is OM. Enough of even such descriptions. Page 719

DUALISM  (diversity, the split) 

Only for the sake of instruction is dualism provisionally accepted; otherwise instruction is impossible. Page 116

As long as the egosense lasts, the same Brahman or the infinite consciousness shines as the diverse objects with different names. When the egosense is quieted, then Brahman shines as the pure infinite consciousness. The egosense is the seed for this universe. When that is fried, there is no sense in words like ‘world’, ‘bondage’ or ‘egosense’. When the pot is broken only the clay remains: when the egosense goes, diversity is dissolved. Page 491

EGO-SENSE

The mind and the ego-sense are not in fact two but one and the same: the distinction is verbal. The mind is the ego-sense and the ego-sense is the mind. Only ignorant people think that one is born of the other, even as ignorant people might say that whiteness is born of snow.  Thus of the mind and ego-sense~ if one ceases the other ceases to be. Page 296

Even as a mirror reflects an object held close to it, one’s behavior reflects as the ego-sense in one’s consciousness. However, if this behavior is ‘held at a distance’ from consciousness and there is no identification with such behavior, the ego-sense does not arise. Page 167

EVOLUTION

L. evolvere ~ to unroll

EXIST

L. e ~ away

Stare ~ to stand

Water in a mirage does not come into being and go out of existence; even so this world does not come out of the absolute nor does it go anywhere.  The creation of the world has no cause, and therefore it has had no beginning. It does not exist even now. . .  Page 49

If you concede that the world has not been created out of Brahman but assert that it is an appearance based on the reality of Brahman, then indeed it does not exist and Brahman alone exists. Page 49

EXPERIENCE

In a dream-like reality, the only touchstone is ‘experience’; whatever is experienced is experienced as real. What exists here is in accordance with the image that arises in the infinite consciousness. Page 718-719

Where the consciousness-particles shine, space manifests there; when this happens there is time; and the way in which it happens becomes action; whatever is experienced as existing becomes matter; the experiencer becomes the subject; the experiencing or the seeing of this matter is the sight; and that which is responsible for this seeing or experiencing becomes the object. Page 561

In the heart of infinite consciousness everything exists and one experiences what one sees in it. Page 411  

Experiencing is non-different from consciousness, the ego-sense is non-different from experiencing, the jiva is non-different from ego-sense and the mind is non-different from the jiva (non-different or inseparable) . . . All this (the world-appearance) is naught else but the self-experiencing of the infinite. Page 328-9

FREEDOM  (liberation, moksa, kaivalya) 

Total freedom is the attainment of pure being after all mental conditioning is transcended consciously and after a thorough investigation. Page 338

GOAL

When the mind is purified of its past by the arising of wisdom, it abandons its previous tendencies. The mind seeks the self only in order to dissolve itself in the self. This indeed is in the very nature of the mind. This is the supreme goal, Rama, strive for this. Page 124

GURU

Surely, direct inquiry into the movements of thought in one’s own consciousness is the supreme guru or preceptor, O Rama, and no one else. Page 98

HOLOGRAM

The entire universe exists in an atom of the infinite consciousness; hence an atom itself is the universe. Page 690

. . . all notions appear in every atom of existence and these atoms exists independent of one another. The totality is known as the Absolute Brahman. Page 158

HOMOGENEITY

Infinite consciousness simultaneously pervades the three periods of time and experiences the infinite worlds. It envelops all, it sees all, and because it is undisturbed and unmodified, it alone remains at all times. This consciousness experiences simultaneously what is sweet and what is bitter; it is tranquil and at peace. Because this consciousness is in itself free from all modifications (concepts and percepts) and because it is subtle and experiences all things at the same time, it is ever at peace and homogeneous, even while apparently experiencing the diversity of diverse phenomena. Page 242-243

IGNORANCE  (Avidya)

In short, avidya is the belief that ‘There exists a reality which is not Brahman or cosmic consciousness’; when there is the certain knowledge that ‘This is indeed Brahman’, avidya ceases. Page 339

All prosperity and all adversity, childhood, youth, old age and death, as also suffering, what is known as being immersed in happiness and unhappiness and all the rest of it: all these are the extension of the dense darkness of ignorance. Page 335

Know that all that you experience in the name of mind, egosense, intellect, etc. is nothing but ignorance. Page 496

IMAGINATION

All . . . takes place in the light of consciousness. In this there are gods who are created within the twinkling of an eye by the creator Brahma; and there are beings who are destroyed by the very act of Brahma closing his eyes . . . However, all these are but imagination which is a manifestation of ignorance. Page 335

INFINITE CONSCIOUSNESS (Brahman)

Whatever there is and whatever appears to be the world-jugglery, is but the pure Brahman or the absolute consciousness and naught else. Consciousness is Brahman, the world is Brahman, all the elements are Brahman, I am Brahman, my energy is Brahman, my friends and relatives are Brahman, Brahman is the three periods of time, for all these are rooted in Brahman.  Page 340 

Brahman is an indescribable mass of cosmic consciousness. Page 547

INQUIRY (Vicara)

What is inquiry? To enquire thus: “Who am I? How has this evil of samsara (repetitive history) come into being?” is true inquiry. Knowledge of truth arises in oneself; and from such knowledge there follows tranquility in oneself; and then there arises the supreme peace that passeth understanding and the ending of all sorrow. Inquiry is not reasoning or analysis; it is directly looking into oneself. Page 33

JIVA (See Mind)

JNANA (Self-Knowledge, Wisdom)

Jnana or wisdom is self-knowledge; other forms of knowledge are but its pale reflections.  Page 504

Self-knowledge . . . is the realization of the unreality of the ego-sense. Page 491

KARMA

When (the) diverse jivas arise in the infinite space of consciousness, seemingly composed of the elements, into each of the bodies consciousness enters through the aperture of life-force, and thence forms the seed of all bodies, both moving and unmoving. Thence, birth as individuals takes place, each individual being accidentally brought into contact with different potentialities whose expression gives rise to the law of cause and effect, etc. and thence to rise and fall in evolution. Desire alone is thereafter the cause of all this.  Page 115

Whereas pure movement in consciousness is action without an independent doer, when it pursues the fruition of such action, it is known as karma (action). Page 118

KRIYA

I once asked my grandfather, “Which is superior, kriya (action, the practice of a technique) or jnana (self-knowledge)?” And, he said to me: “Indeed, jnana is supreme for through jnana one realizes the one which alone is. On the other hand, kriya has been described in colorful terms, as a pastime. If one does not have jnana then one clings to kriya: if one does not have good clothes to wear, he clings to the sack. Page 440

KRTANTA

Yet again there is another aspect of the Time, known as krtanta ~ the end of action, its inevitable result or fruition.  Page 16

LIBERATION (See freedom)

LIGHT (Physical)

Light is experienced only in relation to another. Since in the beginning there was no such division or duality, let this light be experienced within yourself. Page 702

MATTER

The natural movement that arises in consciousness is also known as smrti. When that movement occurs repeatedly it is seen externally as matter. Page 672

To the man of self-knowledge what the ignorant man thinks real (time, space, matter, etc.) are non-existent. Just as in the eyes of a brave man there is no goblin, in the eyes of the wise man there is no world.  Page 529

Matter and mind are identical; and both are false. Page 529

MEDITATION

The practice of contemplation in which the mind is restrained from undergoing any modification is as good as supreme inertia; on the other hand, when such modifications exist in the mind, it is the seat of diversity or samsara. By such contemplation a state of equanimity is not attained.  If it is claimed that liberation is attained when the mind is forcibly restrained from all modifications, then why is it not attained in sleep? Therefore, only when it is realized that there is no creation at all, does real self-knowledge arise which leads to liberation. Page 674

The Lord is not to be worshipped by material substances but by one’s own consciousness. Not by waving of lamps nor lighting incense, nor by offering flowers nor even by offering food or sandal-paste. He is attained without the least effort; he is worshipped by self-realization alone. This is the supreme meditation, this is the supreme worship: the continuous and unbroken awareness of the indwelling presence, inner light or consciousness.  Page 379

MEMORY (Kalpana)

What is kalpana?  It is only the egosense . . .  Memory is kalpana. Hence the wise say that non-remembering is the best . . . Abandon ‘remembering’ what has been experienced and what has not been experienced, and remain established in the Self. Page 486-7

Memory arises only in relation to the objective universe, thus providing the cause-and-effect sequence. When such an object of perception itself is non-existent, how and where does memory arise or exist? When the truth is that all this is indeed Brahman or the infinite consciousness, there is no room for memory. Page 672

MIND

The mind itself is Brahma the creator. It is in the very heart of this creation and it alone does everything and destroys everything. Page 675

The mind is the dynamic and aggressive form of infinite consciousness. Page 691

When (the) infinite consciousness considers itself as other than it really is, that is said to be self-destruction or self-experience. That self-destruction is the mind. Its very nature is the destruction (veiling) of self-knowledge. Page 456

It is the mind alone that perceives all this now, visualizes all this as if in the future, and remembers all this as if in the past. It is the mind alone that is experienced as dream, illusion, illness, etc. Page 263

Mind takes on the form of that which it intensely contemplates. Existence, non-existence, gaining and renouncing; all these are no more than moods of the mind. Page 161

The cessation of all thoughts and notions or mental images and the cessation of heavy psychological conditioning are the supreme Self ~ Brahman. Page 399

Only when one severs the very root of the mind with the weapon of non-conceptualization, can one reach the absolute Brahman which is omnipotent, supreme peace.  Page 130.

MOMENT

Live in the present, with your consciousness externalized momentarily but without any effort:  when the mind stops linking itself to the past and to the future, it becomes no-mind. If from moment to moment your mind dwells on what is and drops it effortlessly at once, the mind becomes no-mind, full of purity. Page 265

MOVEMENT (See Vibration)

. . . in the Self which is infinite consciousness there is no . . . movement at all.  Page 500

It was the movement of energy in the infinite consciousness that subsequently created earth and the physical elements, mind and other psychological categories, which were nothing but notions in consciousness. This movement of energy is like the inherent motion in air which takes place without mental activity or intention.  Page 675

Movement belongs to the life-force which is inert: intelligence or the power of consciousness belongs to the Self which is pure and eternally omnipresent. It is the mind that fancies a relationship between these two factors: but such fancy is false and hence all knowledge that arises from this false relationship is also false.  Page 214

Kalaratri (the divine mother) is to the Lord what movement is to air. Just as in empty space, air moves as if it has form, she moves in the infinite consciousness executing the will or the wish of the Lord, as it were.  When there is no such movement of the energy, then the Lord ‘alone’ exists. Page 575

NESCIENCE

~ignorance~   Webster's

NIRVANA (Emancipation)

He who . . . sees the universe, without the intervention of the mind and therefore without the notion of a universe, he alone sees the truth. Such a vision is known as nirvana. Page 455

Nirvana or liberation is the non-experience of the ego-sense. Page 527

NIYATI (Nature/Cosmic Order)

. . . the world-order (niyati), which includes the fundamental characteristic of the objects, arises in the infinite consciousness without any intention or mental activity whatsoever. Page 665

OBJECTS

The object is externalized mental activity and mental activity is the impression formed in intelligence by the object. Just as the same water flows in different streams with different names till it reaches the ocean, the same consciousness is both the diverse objects and the corresponding mental action. The object and the mind are thus non-different. Page 529

. . . one does not experience consciousness in the infinite in the absence of objectivity. Page 49

All the objects of consciousness in this world are just an idea; reject the error of ideation and be free of ideas; and remain rooted in truth, attain peace. Page 123

. . . when consciousness is objectified in an effort to experience the objects of the senses, the self is forgotten, as it were, and there arise thoughts concerning the creatures of the mind. Page 214

POLEMICS

Greek ~ polemikos ~ warlike, hostile   Argumentation, refutation  (Webster's)

They who are caught in the net of polemics, which are only productive of sorrow and confusion, forfeit their own highest good. Even in the case of the path shown by the scriptures, only one’s direct experience leads one along the safest way to the supreme goal. Page 170

PRANA (life-force)

. . . by the control of the life-force the mind is also restrained: even as the shadow ceases when the substance is removed, the mind ceases when the life-force is restrained. It is because of the movement of the life-force that one remembers the experiences one had elsewhere; it is known as mind because it thus experiences movements of life-force. The life-force is restrained by the following means: by dispassion, by the practice of pranayama (breath control) or by the practice of inquiry into the cause of the movement of the life-force, by the ending of sorrow through intelligent means and by the direct knowledge or experience of the supreme truth. Page 214

Movement belongs to the life-force which is inert . . . the power of consciousness belongs to the Self which is pure and eternally omnipresent. It is the mind that fancies a relationship between these two factors  ~ but such a fancy is false and hence all knowledge that arises from this false relationship is also false. Page 214

PURYASTAKA  (See Ativahika)

REALITY

Because the substratum (Infinite Consciousness) is real, all that is based on it acquires reality, though the reality is of the substratum alone. The universe and all beings in it are but a long dream. To me you are real, and to you I am real; even so the others are real to you or to me. And, this relative reality is like the reality of the dream-objects. Page 71

Whatever there is here which exists and functions here is real to the self and not to another who does not perceive it and is unaware of it. Therefore, all these creations and creatures that exist within the field of the energy of consciousness are true to the perceiving self and are unreal to the non-perceiver. All the notions and the dreams that exist in the present, past or the future are all real, because the self which is the self of all is real. Page 574

One can say that this world-appearance is real only so far as it is the manifestation of consciousness and because of direct experience; and it is unreal when it is grasped with the mind and the sense-organs. Wind is perceived as real in its motion, and it appears to be non-existent when there is no motion: even so this world-appearance can be regarded both as real and unreal. Page 88

REFLECTION

All this is the indivisible, illimitable, nameless and formless infinite consciousness. It is the self-reflection of Brahman which is of infinite forms that appears to be the universe . . . Page 455

REINCARNATION

Until we attain self-knowledge, we shall return again to this plain of birth and death to undergo childhood, youth, manhood, old age and death again and again, we shall engage ourselves in the same essenseless actions and experiences. Page 287

Even as the Jiva perceives and experiences dreams here, even so it fancies and experiences, as if real, a previous existence and karma in accordance with its own mental conditioning. Page 634

RELATIONSHIP

All beings are your relatives, for in this universe there does not exist absolute unrelatedness. The wise know that “There is nowhere where I am not” and “That is not which is not mine” ~ thus they overcome limitation or conditioning. Page 222

All relationship is therefore the realization of the already existing unity: it is regarded as relationship only because of the previously false and deluded assumption of a division into subject and object. Page 140 

SAMADHI

That is Samadhi (contemplation or meditation) in which one realizes that the objects of the senses are not-self and thus enjoys inner calmness and tranquility at all times. Page 278

The enlightened ones are forever in Samadhi even tho they engage themselves in the affairs of the world. On the other hand, one whose mind is not at peace does not enjoy Samadhi by merely sitting in the lotus posture. Page 284-285

SAMSARA

Birth/death cycle  Page 14

 “O sage, your story of Rama shall be the raft with which men will cross the ocean of samsara (repetitive history). Page 4

The indwelling consciousness seems to come in contact with (notions of the desirable and the undesirable in relation to the body, mind and senses) even as travelers meet in an inn or logs of wood meet and part in a stream: meeting and parting do not cause happiness or unhappiness to the indwelling consciousness. Why then do people exult or grieve in these circumstances? Page 294

SAMSKARA

Mental impression    Page 676

SANYASI

Become a true sanyasi (renunciate) by firmly abandoning all thoughts and notions . . .  Page 399

Renunciation is renunciation of hopes and aspirations.  Page 399

SATVA

The liberated sages live with the help of the mind which is free from conditioning and which does not cause rebirth. It is not mind at all but pure light (Satva). Page 458

The state of mind of the liberated ones who are still living and who see both the supreme truth and the relative appearance is known as satva (transparency). Page 327

SELF-AWARENESS (see Awareness)

SELF-KNOWLEDGE

. . . the realization of the unreality of the ego-sense. Page 491

SENTIENT/INSENTIENT

There is no distinction between the sentient and the insentient, between the inert and the intelligent: there is no difference at all in the essence of substances, for the infinite consciousness is present everywhere equally. Page 81

SORROW

The awareness of 'I' and 'Mine' is the root of sorrow; its cessation is emancipation. Page 487

Man foolishly ascribes to the self the sorrow and sufferings that do not touch it in the least and becomes miserable. Page 287

By the vision of the Self is sorrow beheaded. Page 299

“O sorrow, salutations to you; you have spurred me on my quest for Self-Knowledge . . .” Page 311

THOUGHTS

Notions and ideas gradually cease to arise and to expand in one who resolutely refrains from associating words with meanings in his own mind ~ whether these words are uttered by others or they arise in his own mind. Page 517

Time as changing seasons is able indirectly to bring about changes in the trees and plants; even so, the mind makes one thing appear to be another by its powers of thought and ideation. Therefore, even time and space and all things are under the control of the mind. Page  124

When there is movement in the infinite consciousness, the notions of ‘I’ and ‘the world’ arise. These in themselves are harmless if one realizes that in fact they are non-different from the self or the infinite consciousness. But, when they are considered real in themselves and the world is perceived as real then there is great misfortune. Page 516

TRUTH

That is the only truth, that the self and the self alone is. But, just as the dream-experiences of two people sleeping side by side are not the same and one does not know what the other is dreaming about, one’s understanding and inner experience are personal and unique. Page 518

TURIYA (Witness Consciousness)

However, that consciousness which is awake even in deep sleep and which is also the light that shines in waking and dreaming is the transcendental consciousness, turiya. Page 161

You (Self) dwell in ‘me’ in a state of equilibrium, as pure witness consciousness without form and without the divisions of space and time. Page 248

It is the state of the liberated sage. It is the unbroken witness consciousness. Page 477

The realization  . . . that 'It is Brahman alone that shines as this world' is Turiya. Page 627

VASANAS (See Conditioning)

VIBRATION (See also Movement)

A periodic motion of particles . . . in alternately opposite directions from the position of equilibrium when that equilibrium has been disturbed.  Webster

Vibration and consciousness are inseparably one like the whiteness of snow, the oil in the sesame seed, the fragrance of the flower and the heat of fire.  Page 301

VISION

An experience of the mind and the senses. Page 392

VOLITION (See Doership)

WHY?

In the absence of a cause for any of this, do not inquire into the cause (‘why’). Then you will easily rest in the supreme, indescribable reality. Page 698

WITNESS CONSCIOUSNESS (see Turiya)

WORLD

There is no world in Brahman but Brahman sees or experiences a world. This perception is not a fact or reality but just a notion. Page 578 

The transcendental reality is eternal; the world is not unreal (only the limiting adjunct, the mind, is false). Therefore all this is the indivisible, illimitable, nameless and formless infinite consciousness.  Page 455

The infinite consciousness plus the appearance is known as the world; the world minus its form (appearance) is the infinite consciousness (appearance is illusory and illusion does not exist). Page 599