Crest Jewel of Wisdom
(Viveka-Chudamani)

Verses 251-300

Everything made of clay, such as pot, is always to be seen as purely clay. In the same way, everything deriving from this supreme Self must be simply recognised as pure Reality. Since there is no reality beyond that, it is truly one's very self, and you are that still, unblemished, non-dual, supreme Reality of God. 251

Just as the things like places, time, objects and observer imagined in a dream are unreal, so the world experienced in the waking state too is created by one's own ignorance. Since the body-creating forces, self-identification, and so on, are also unreal, you are that still, unblemished, non-dual, supreme Reality of God. 252

That which is mistakenly imagined to exist is recognised by wisdom to be That alone, and is thus undifferentiated. The colourful world of a dream disappears. What remains other than oneself on waking? 253

Beyond birth, creed, family and tribe, free from the distortion of attributes of name and appearance, transcending locality, time and objects, you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 254

That supreme Reality beyond the realm of anything that can be said, but the resort of the pure eye of understanding, the pure reality of Consciousness-Awareness-Mind, etc. - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 255

That which is unaffected by the six afflictions (of aging, death, hunger, thirst, desire and ignorance), which is meditated on in the heart of the devotee, unrecognised by the senses, unknown by the intellect - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 256

That basis on which the mistakenly imagined world exists, itself dependent on nothing else, devoid of true and false, without parts, and without mental image - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 257

That which is indestructible, free from birth, growth, development, decay, illness and death; which is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of everything - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 258

Free of parts, of an unchanging quality, undisturbed like a waveless sea, declared to be of an eternally indivisible nature - you are That, God ihimself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 259

Itself One but the cause of the many, the supreme Cause which does away with all other causes, itself devoid of distinctions of "cause" and "effect" - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 260

Without modification, great and unending, the supreme Reality beyond destruction and indestructibility, the eternal unfading, unblemished, fulfilment - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 261

That Reality which manifests itself as the many through the illusions of names, shapes, attributes and changes, but which, like gold is always itself unchanged (in different objects) - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 262

That, beyond which there is nothing, but which shines beyond everything else, the inner, uniform self-nature of being-consciousness-joy, infinite and eternal - you are That, God himself. Meditate on the fact within yourself. 263

One should meditate within oneself with the mind well controlled on the truth declared here. Then the truth will be disclosed free from doubt, like water in the palm of one's hand. 264

Realising one's true nature as pure consciousness, one should remain always established in oneself, like a king surrounded by his army, and should redirect all that is back into God. 265

In the cave of the mind, free from attributes of being and not-being, there exists God, the Truth, supreme and without a second. He who by himself dwells in that cave returns no more to a mother's womb. 266

Even when one knows the truth, there still remains the strong, beginningless tendency to think "I am the doer and the reaper of the consequences" which is the cause of samsara. It must be carefully removed by living in the state of observing the truth within oneself. The wise call that removal of this tendency liberation. 267

The tendency to see "me" and "mine" in the body and the senses, which are not oneself must be done way with by the wise by remaining identified with one's true self. 268

Recognising one's true inner self, the witness of the mind and its operations, and reflecting on the truth of "I am That", get rid of this wrong opinion about oneself. 269

Abandoning the concerns of the world, abandoning concern about the body, and abandoning even concern about scriptures, see to the removal wrong assumptions about yourself. 270

It is owing to people's worldly desires, their desires for scriptures, and their desires concerning their bodies that they do not achieve realisation. 271

Those who know about these things call these three desires the iron fetter that binds the feet of those who are seeking escape from the prison-house of samsara. He who is free from them reaches liberation. 272

The beautiful smell of aloe wood which is masked by a bad smell through contamination by water and such things becomes evident again when it is rubbed clean. 273

Desire for one's true self which is veiled by endless internal other desires becomes pure and evident again like the smell of sandalwood through application with wisdom. 274

When the mass of desires for things other than oneself obscuring the contrary desire for one's real self are eliminated by constant self-remembrance, then it discloses itself of its own accord. 275

As the mind becomes more and more inward-turned, it becomes gradually freed from external desires, and when all such desires are fully eliminated self-realisation is completely freed from obstruction. 276

When he is always poised in self-awareness the yogi's thinking mind stops, and the cessation of desires takes place as a result, so see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 277

Dullness (tamas) is removed by passion (rajas) and purity (sattva), desire is removed by purity, and purity when itself purified, so establishing yourself in purity, see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 278

Recognising that the effects of past conditioning will sustain the body, remain undisturbed and work away hard at seeing to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 279

"I am not the individual life. I am God." Getting rid of all previous misidentifications like this, see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self created by the power of desires. 280

Recognising yourself as the self of everything by the authority of scripture, by reasoning and by personal experience, see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self whenever they manifest themselves. 281

The wise man has no business concerning himself with the acquisition or disposal of things, so by adherence to the one reality, see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 282

Realising the identity of yourself and God by the help of sayings like "You are That", see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self so as to strengthen the adherence of yourself in God. 283

Eliminate completely your self-identification with this body, and with determination see that your mind is devoted to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 284

So long as even a dream-like awareness of yourself as an individual in the world remains, as a wise person persistently see to the removal of all ideas of additions to your true self. 285

Without giving way to the least descent into forgetfulness through sleep, worldly affairs or the various senses, meditate on yourself within. 286

Shunning the body which is derived from the impurities of your mother and father and itself made up of impurities and flesh as you would an outcaste from a good distance, become Godlike and achieve the goal of life. 287

Restoring the self in you to the supreme Self like the space in a jar back to Space itself by meditation on their indivisibility, always remain silent, wise one. 288

Taking up through your true self the condition of your real glory, reject thoughts of a divine universe as much as of yourself as a reality, as you would a dish of filth. 289

Transferring your present self-identification with the body to yourself as consciousness, being and bliss, abandon the body and be complete forever. 290

When you know "I am that very God" in which the reflection of the world appears, like a city in a mirror, then you will be one who has achieved the goal of life. 291

Attaining that Reality which is self-existent and primal, non-dual consciousness, and bliss, formless and actionless, one should abandon the unreal body taken on by oneself, like an actor doffing his costume. 292

All this experienced by oneself is false, and so is the sense of I-hood in view of its ephemeral nature. How can "I know everything" be true of something which is itself ephemeral. 293

That which warrants the term "I" on the other hand is that which is the observer of the thought "I" etc. in view of its permanent existence even in the state of deep sleep. Scripture itself declares that it is "unborn and eternal" (Katha Upanishad 1.2.18). That true inner self is distinct from both being and not-being. 294

The knower of all the changes in changing things must itself be permanent and unchanging. The unreality in the extremes of being and not-being is repeatedly seen in the experience of thought, dreaming and deep sleep. 295

So give up identification with this mass of flesh as well as with what thinks it a mass. Both are intellectual imaginations. Recognise your true self as undifferentiated awareness, unaffected by time, past, present or future, and enter Peace. 296

Give up identification with family, tribe, name, shape and status which depend on the putrid body. Give up physical properties too such as the sense of being the doer and be the very nature of undifferentiated joy. 297

There are other obstacles seen to be the cause of samsara for men. Of these the root and first manifestation is the sense of doership. 298

So long as one has any association with this awful sense of being the doer there cannot be the least achievement of liberation which is something very different. 299

Free from the grasp of feeling oneself the doer, one achieves ones true nature which is, like the moon, pure, consummate, self-illuminating being and bliss. 300

This page was published on Realization.org on May 16, 2000.