Amrita-anubhava
Preghiere al Signore Shiva e a Madre Parvati
di Jnanesvara

Amritanubhava consist of ten chapters of verse. I have presented only the first six chapters here.

INVOCATORY VERSES


1. I take shelter in the deity, who is well known as the glorious
Nivrittinatha, who is indestructible, indescribable, the bliss itself,
unborn and imperishable.

2. I pay homage to the very Divine Wisdom who showers blessing, who is
known in the world as Guru, whose command is ever victorious and who
overflows with compassion.

3. Siva and Sakti are identical but frequently appear as two. So it is
not possible to know whose half part is united with the half part of the
other.

4. I bow to the parents of the worlds, who reveal their essential unity
to each other, so that I may understand the same.

5. I respectfully salute the Perfect Shambhu who is the cause of the
beginning, the preservation and the end of the world, who is the
manifestation of the beginning, the middle and the end, and who is also
the dissolution of the three.

Chapter I - The Union of Shiva and Shakti

1. Thus have I paid homage to the God and Godess who are the limitless
primal parents of the universe.

2. On the charming spot, the Lover Himself, out of overflowing love,
becomes the Beloved, who is made up of the same flesh, and who eats the
same food.

3. Out of deep longing they swallow each other, and again emit each
other because they like to be two.

4. They are neither completely identical nor completely different. We do
not know their real nature.

5. How strong is their desire to enjoy themselves ! They become one
through it and never allow their unity to be disturbed even in jest.

6. They are so afraid of their seperation that although they have given
birth to the child in the form of the universe their duality is not
disturbed.

7. Even though they perceive the animate and inanimate nature emananting
from them, they do not allow any third object to touch them.

8. They are seated on the same ground ( existence ) and they wear the
same ornament of light ( knowledge ). From time immemorial they dwell
happily in union.

9. The difference itself that tried to discover duality for enjoying it,
was abashed to see their intimacy merged itself in their sweet union.

10. It is through God that the other is Goddess and without Her the Lord
is nowhere. As a matter of fact their existence is due to each other.

11. Oh ! How sweet is their union ! The great world is too small for
them to live in, while they live happily even in the smallest particle.

12. They treat each other as their very life and they do not create even
a blade of grass without mutual help.

13. These are the only two inmates in the home of the universe. When the
Lord goes to sleep, the mistress remains awake and plays herself the
part of both.

14. If either of them happens to wake up, the whole house is swallowed
up and nothing is left behind.

15. Each became a half part of the whole for the process of diversity.
Both are trying to melt their forms into one.

16. Both of them are objects to each other. Both are subjects to each
other. Both are happy in each other's company.

17. Shiva alone lives happily in the nominally different forms of the
male and female. The whole universe is due to the coupling of the half
part of each.

18. Two lute produce one musical note. The flowers are two but the
fragrance is one. Though the lamps are two the light is one.

19. Two lips utter but one word and two eyes give but one vision. In the
same way the two ( Siva and Sakthi ) create one world.

20. So the eternal couple manifesting duality is enjoying the dish of
the same flavor.

21. The chaste and well devoted Sakti cannot live without her Lord.
Without Her the all doer has no existence.

22. The two cannot be distingushed because the appearance of her Lord is
due to her while her existence is due to him.

23. We cannot distinguish sugar and sweetness, camphor and fragrance.

24. While trying to gather the rays we get hold of the flame itself. We
get Siva while trying to catch hold of her essence.

25. The sun shines on account of his lustre, but the essence of his
nothing but the sun. So the One Supreme Beauty shines swallowing all the
difference.

26. An object is the cause of its reflection. The reflection is the
cause of the inference of the object. ( The one object appears as an
object and its reflection ). In the same way one Reality shines as two.

27. The essence of all void became Purusha through her, while the Sakti
got her peculiar existence through the Lord.

28. Siva Himself formed His beloved without whom Siva loses His own
personality.

29. Her form is the cause of God and His glory manifested in the process
of the world. But Her form itself is created by Him out of Himself.

30. Blushing at her formless husband and her own graceful form, she
adorned him with the ornament and names and forms as great as the
universe.

31. There was scarcity even of unity. But she, the fortunate one,
playfully presented the rich manifold of the world.

32. She manifested the glory of her Lord by melting own body, while by
belittling himself he made her wellknown.

33. He assumes the form of a seer through his love to see her. If he
fails to see her he throws himself away.

34. He assumes the form of the universe through her importunities and he
is left naked without her.

35. He is so subtle that he is not visible though manifest. He assumed
the form of the universe through her grace.

36. The Siva awakened by her, is satisfied when he eats the dishes in
the form of the objects that are perceived as well as one who serves him.

37. When her husband is asleep she gives birth to all the things living
and non-living. When she takes rest the husband himself vanishes.

38. When the husband hides himself, he is not discovered without her.
Both of them are like mirrors to each other.

39. Siva enjoys his own bliss by embracing her. Though he is all enjoyer
he enjoys nothing without her.

40. She is his form while her beauty is due to him who is her lover.
They are enjoying the feast by intermingling with each other.

41. Siva and Sakti make up one whole just like air and its motion, gold
and its lustre.

42. Sakti is inseperable from Siva just like the musk and its fragrance,
fire and its heat.

43. If night and day would go to the abode of the sun both of them would
vanish. In the same way their duality would vanish in their real essence.

44. As a matter of fact, Siva and Sakti (because of their duality) are
antagonistic to the state from which the sprout of Pranava (Om) springs.

45. Jnanadeva says, "I show my respect to the couple of Siva and Sakti
who by swallowing the sweet dish of name and form, enlighten the
underlying essence."

46. By embracing each other both of them merge into one unity, just as
the darkness of night is transformed into light at the break of day.

47. Para with Vaikhari remains silent in the process of discovering
their real nature, just as the ocean merges along with the Ganges into
the waters of Pralaya.

48. The air with its motion merged in the sky. The sun with its lustre
is merged in the light of Pralaya times.

49. In the same way while trying to see them, the seer and his sight
vanish. I pay homage to the inmates of the universe again and again.

50. Both of them are like a stream where not only the knower cannot
drink its water in the form of the known but also throws himself away.

51. Under these circumstancesif I remain separate to pay my homage, it
would be a meaningless verbal separation.

52. But my salutation is like that of an ornament which is not different
from gold and yet worships it.

53. Where the word 'tongue' is uttered by the tongue, is there any
difference between the word and the object meant by it ?

54. The Ocean and the Ganges intermingle and though their names are
different, would there be any difference in their waters ?

55. The Sun shows in himself the object as well as the subject of
illunination, yet he does not lose his singleness.

56. If moonlight brightens the surface of the moon, or if a lamp is
enmeshed in its rays, is there any degradation ?

57. When the lustre of a pearl plays upon it, its beauty and purity are
enhanced.

58. Is Pranava divided into different parts because it containd three
components ? Or is the letter 'N' divided into three parts because it is
formed of three lines.

59. If the capital of unity is not lessened and the advantage of
gracefullness is obtained, why should not water smell the buds of
flowers in the form of its own ripples.

60. Therefore, without differentiating Siva and Sakti, I proceed to bow
to them in this manner.

61. By giving up the mirror, the image merges in its object. A ripple
vanishes when the air is still.

62. A man comes to his own as soon as he wakes from his sleep. In the
same way I have bowed to the God and Goddess by giving up my ego.

63. The salt giving up itself becomes the ocean, so giving up my ego I
am united with Siva and Sakti.

64. I have paid my homage to Siva and Sakti by uniting with them just as
the inner empty space of the plantain tree is unites with the outward
one.

Chapter II - Paying Homage to Shri Nivrittinatha

1. Now I bow to Him who is the spring of the garden of spiritual
endeavours, an auspicious thread of Divine Command and though formless
the very incarnation of compassion.
2. I bow to him who mercifully runs to help the Pure Consciousness who
is experiencing the selfhood by wandering in the wilderness of Avidya.
3. I bow to the spiritual teacher Nivritti, who by killing the elephant
in the form of Maya, offers him the dish of pearls taken from its temple.
4. By whose glance the bondage is turned into liberation and the Knower
realizes himself.
5. He makes no distinction between great and small in distributing the
gold of liberation. He is the cause of the knower's vision.
6. As for his powers, he surpasses even the greatness of Shiva. He is
like a mirror in which the Atman sees its own bliss.
7. It is through his grace that the scattered digits of the Moon of
spiritual knowledge are brought together to form the play of full moon
night.
8. All the efforts of the spiritual aspirant cease as soon as he meets
him ( the spiritual teacher. ) He is like the sea where the Ganges in
the form of activity ceases to flow.
9. In his absence the seer wears the lovely ornament of appearance. All
the diversity disappears as soon as he appears.
10. The darkness of Avidya is transformed into the blessed daylight of
self-knowledge at the touch of the Sun of his grace.
11. By the water of his grace the individual self becomes so pure that
he regards even the state of Shiva as impure and does not allow himself
to be touched by it.
12. He gave up his greatness to save his disciple yet his real greatness
does not forsake him.
13. There is no happiness in being alone. So the pure consciousness sees
itself assuming the forms of a teacher and a disciple.
14. By the sprinkling of whose grace the poison of Avidya is turned into
the nectar of infinite knowledge.
15. His insight swallows the knower himself as soon as it embraces the
knowledge. Even so it does not become impure.
16. With his help the individual self attains the status of Brahman,
while if he is indifferent the Brahman becomes more insignificant than a
blade of grass.
17. Those who faithfully endeavour and regard his will as all in all,
gain the ripe fruit of their efforts.
18. Unless the spring of his graceful glance touches the garden of the
Vedas, the aspirant does not get his own fruit in his hand.
19. By casting his glance he causes the appearance to recede and vanish.
Though his conquest is great he does not call it his own.
20. He has attained the greatness of a spiritual teacher through the
unworthiness of his disciple. He is so fortunate as to destroy that
which does not exist.
21. He is like a solid substance which saves anyone from drowning in the
water that does not exist, and the individual thus saved remains nowhere.
22. The ordinary sky ( ether ) with its component parts cannot equal Him
who is like a spiritual sky that is ever full.
23. The moon with her cool rays is formed out of his light. The brilliance
of the sun is due to a ray of his light.
24. He is like an astrologer whom even Shiva, who is tired of assuming
the form of an individual self, asks for the auspicious moment to regain
his own status.
25. He is like the moon whose manifest form is not diminished by wearing
the apparel of her own light that enhances her lustre.
26. Though manifest he is not seen. He is light and yet does not
illuminate. He exists and yet is nowhere.
27. How many groups of inferences should I put forth by using the words
'He' and 'Who' ? He does not answer to any mode of proof.
28. He is indescribable in words which become silent in his oneness that
tolerates no duality.
29. The object of valid knowledge reveals itself when all kinds of
pramanas (means of valid knowledge) cease to exist. His liking for
non-existence is wonderful.
30. If we wish to have a little glimpse of Him at any time, the seeing
itself is a pollution in His Kingdom.
31. In these circumstances how can I enter His Kingdom by praising or
talking about Him ? He has merged his name by assuming it.
32. The Atman (Shri Guru) does not proceed towards Himself. How can he
recede either ? However he does not give up the illusory screen of his
name (i.e. Nivritti).
33. How can he destroy anything if there is nothing to be destroyed ?
How can he be called Nivritti ?
34. When did the Sun perceive the darkness ? Yet he is called the enemy
of darkness.
35. That which is illusory becomes real, that which is inanimate becomes
animate and impossible events become possible through his wonderful
sport.
36. (Oh Shriguru), Thou showest the appearances through thy wonderful
power and rejects them because they are mere appearances. Thou are
beyond appearances and art not the object of any kind of perception.
37. Ah ! Sadguru ! How should I treat thee who art so mysteriousness ?
Thou doest not allow thyself to be determined by any conception.
38. Thou hast raised so many names and forms and hast destroyed them
through the force of your power, yet thou art not satisfied.
39. Thou doest not allow thy friendly relation to any one without
sacrificing his individuality. It is not proper to say that the servant
loses himself and becomes a master.
40. If we try to give Him a particular designation he does not even bear
the name Atman. As a matter of fact He does not like to become any
particular object.
41. There is no night to the Sun; the salt is dissolved in water; sleep
vanishes when the person wakes up.
42. The objects of camphor do not remain in the presence of fire. In the
same way the name and form vanish in his presence.
43. When I try to bow to Him, He does not remain before me as the object
of my salutation. He is not persuaded by any mode of difference.
44. The sun does not cause its own rising. So He does not become the
object of my salutation.
45. By whatever means no one can place himself in front of him. In the
same manner he has taken away his state of being the object of worship.
46. No reflection is seen in the mirror of the sky. In the same way he
is not the object of salutation.
47. Let him not be an object of worship. Why should I feel it as
something uncanny ? But he does not leave any trace of the person who
goes to salute Him ?
48. When the outer end of the hem of any garment is unloosened the inner
hem is unloosened without any effort.
49. Or, as the reflection vanishes along with the relative objectivity
of the original object, so the personality of one who salutes is taken
away by him along with his own state of being the object of respect.
50. The sight is of no use where there is no form. We are placed in such
a state by the grace of His feet.
51. The burning flame of a lamp is sustained by the combination of the
wick and oil. It cannot be sustained by a piece of camphor.
52. As soon as the two (i.e. the camphor and the flame) are united both
of them vanish simultaneously.
53. In the same way as soon as I see Him both the worshipper and the
object of worship vanish like dreams in the state of waking.
54. In short, by using these words I have done away with the duality and
paid respectful homage to my dear companion in the form of Shri Guru.
55. Oh ! How wonderful is his friendship ! He has made conscpicuous the
duality of the master and the disciple where there is no room even for
one-ness.
56. How intimate is his relation to himself without the existence of any
other ? He is not and does not become different from Himself.
57. He becomes as great as the sky including within Himself the whole
universe. He bears the night in the form of non-existence.
58. The ocean is the ground of fulfilment yet it is diffficult to be
fulfilled. So in the residence of Guru contradictions live happily.
59. There is no intimacy between light and darkness, yet both of them
become one in the sun.
60. Difference arises even if we call it one. How can it be
differentiated in various forms ? Will the contradictory things
contradict themselves ?
61. Therefore, the words master and disciple mean but one Reality and
the master alone lives in both the forms.
62. Both gold and an ornament abide in the same gold or the moon and its
light abide in the same moon.
63. Or, the camphor and its fragrance are nothing but camphor, sugar and
its sweetness are nothing but sugar.
64. So, though master and his disciple appear as two, the master alone
enjoys himself under the guise of the two.
65. The face, knowing itself, recognizes that it alone is reflected in
the mirror and is itself the original object.
66. The person who is asleep in the place where there is no one else, is
alone without any doubt. He is both the awakened and the awakener.
67. Just as, in the above instance, the awakener and the awakened one
are the same, so in this case it is he who gets knowledge as well as he
who imparts it. In this way he upholds the relation of the master and
his disciple.
68. If without the aid of a mirror, the eye could enjoy its own meeting,
I would be able to describe this sport of the Guru.
69. Thus, He is nourishing the deep intimacy without causing duality or
disturbing unity.
70. Nivritti is His name, Nivritti is His splendour. Nivritti is the
glory of His kingdom.
71. This Nivritti is not like the word Nivritti which is used in
opposing the action and understanding the state of non-action.
72. The so called Nivritti is brought forth by Pravritti which
sacrificing itself brings forth the daylight. He is not like this
Nivritti.
73. He is the pure and supreme sovereign and not like a jewel whose
lustre shines with the help of the other substance.
74. When the moon pervades the whole sky by spreading its light, the
beauty of her own disk is enhanced by herself.
75. So Nivritti Himself is the cause of his being Nivritti. He is like a
flower turned into a nose to smell its fragrance.
76. Is it required to search for mirrors if the eyesight is able to turn
back and see the fairness of the complexion.
77. When the night is gone and the day comes to light is it necessary
for the sun to try to become himself ?
78. He is not like an object of knowledge requiring various proofs. He
is Guru without any doubt.
79. In this way I have paid my homage to the holy feet of the Guru whose
actionlessness is absolute without the slightest touch of action.
80. Now, Jnanadeva says that by this salutation to Shri Guru he has
discharged the debts of four kinds of speech (Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama
and Vaikhari).

III. Discharging the Debt of Speech

1. The sleep of the Atman is dispelled by their (i.e. of four kinds of
speech) calling aloud, but the debt is not fully discharged because the
waking itself is a kind of sleep.
2. As a matter of fact the four, i.e. Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and
Vaikhari, are useful for the salvation of the self. With the destruction
of Avidya these are also destroyed.
3. As hands and feet disappear along with the death of the body or as
the subtle senses depart along with the mind or as the rays disappear
with the sun.
4. Or again as the dream vanishes before the sleep comes to an end, so
these (four kinds of speech) disappear along with Avidya (with whom they
are intimately connected).
5. The iron that is burnt lives as Rasayana or as the burnt fuel lives as fire.
6. Salt is dissolved in water but lives as the taste, sleep is destroyed
but lives as wakefulness.
7. So, though the four kinds of speech are destroyed with Avidya, they
come to life in the form of knowledge of Reality.
8. These should light the lamp of knowledge by sacrificing themselves
but the knowledge is a futile exertion.
9. The sleep, when it comes, shows dreams and when it is gone, makes the
individual conscious of himself. It is sleep that causes both.
10. In the same way when living, Avidya is the cause of false knowledge
and when dead, it arises in the form of real knowledge.
11. But whether living or dead this Avidya entangles the individual by
binding him with the so called freedom or bondage.
12. If the freedom is a kind of bondage why should the word freedom be
applied to it.
13. A child is satisfied with the death of a bugbear. It does not even
exist for others. So how should they believe in its death ?
14. Can we call him wise who deplores the loss of breaking the jar which
does not exist ?
15. Therefore, if bondage is unreal, how can freedom arise ? But Avidya
makes room for it by its self-destruction.
16. And Sadashiva, in his Shiva-sutras, has said that knowledge itself
is a bondage.
17. It is not that we accept this because it is said by Shiva or
Shrivallabha (Krishna). It can be understood even if they had not said
it.
18. The wise one of Vaikuntha i.e. Shri Krishna has elaborately
explained how the quality of Sathwa binds one with the bonds of
knowledge.
19. If the Atman, which is pure knowledge itself, requires the help of
another knowledge, would it not be like the Sun thinking about another
light?
20. The Atman's state of being knowledge itself becomes meaningless if
its greatness is due to the knowledge other than itself.
21. Would it happen that a person ignorant of his own presence, would
wander accross various countries in search of himself ?
22. How can a person say that he was very glad to remember himself after
so many days ?
23. So, if the Atman, who is pure knowledge himself, thinks that He has
real knowledge of himself and says, "I am He," it would be a bondage.
24. Such knowledge, which is bondage, is very undesirable because the
original knowledge itself is merged and gives rise to the so called
freedom.
25. Therefore, the four kinds of speech, which are ornaments of four
bodies, vanish along with the Avidya when the egoism of the individual
self is destroyed.
26. When Avidya, being dejected, enters the fire of knowledge along with
her organs, the ashes of understanding only remain.
27. When the camphor is dissolved in water it is not visible but remains
as the fragrance of the water.
28. When the ashes are besmeared on the body its particles are brushed
away but it remains in the form of a white lustre.
29. The waters of a stream that has ceased to flow does not remain in
the form of a current but it existsin the form of the moisture in the
soil.
30. At the noontime the shadow of a person is not visible but it remains
under his feet.
31. So the understanding, that swallows everything other than itself, is
merged in the Ultimate Reality but remains in its own form.
32. The four kinds of speech are unable to fully discharge this debt
even by their self-sacrifice. I have discharged this debt by bowing my
head to the sacred feet of the Guru.
33. When the Para,Pashyanti,Madhyama and Bharati - the four kinds of
speech are destroyed, they cling to the knowledge which is a kind of
ignorance.


Chapter IV - Knowledge and Ignorance

1. Now by destroying the ignorance, knowledge reigns supreme like the
wakefulness that destroys sleep.
2. Or a face enjoys the knowledge of its own identity which was already
in existence but was due to its looking into a mirror.
3. In the same way the knowledge causes the understanding of the
identity of the world and the self. But it is like piercing a knife with
another knife.
4. Just as a person who on entering a cottage, sets it on fire and burns
himself along with the cottage or as a thief who enters into a sack and
fastens himself in it, gets bound himself.
5. Or as the fire in its effort to burn camphor burns itself, so the
knowledge attains the same condition by destroying ignorance.
6. When the support of ignorance goes away the knowledge spreads itself
to the extent of destroying itself.
7. When the wick of a lamp is almost burnt to the end, the flame is seen
more bright. But this brightness is nothing but the extinction of light.
8. Who knows whether there is the rise or fall of the breast of a woman
or whether it is the blooming or fading of a jasmine bud ? (They are so
instantaneous).
9. The rise of a ripple is but its calming down, the flash of lightning
is its disappearing.
10. In the same way knowledge drinks the water of ignorance and grows
large to the extent of its complete annihilation.
11. Just as the deluge of Pralaya engulfs both space and water and does
not allow anything to remain aloof.
12. Or when the disk of the sun becomes larger than the universe the
darkness and light are turned into pure light.
13. Or after destroying the sleep the wakefulness destroys itself and
remains in its pure form (where there is no consciousness of
wakefulness).
14. In the same way knowledge that shines by ignorance, is swallowed up
by the Absolute knowledge.
15. At that time the Absolute knowledge is like the moon whose
seventeenth digit remains constant without its light being enhanced by
the full moon night or lessened by the dark night.
16. The sun alone, who is never thrown into background by any lustrous
body and who can never be covered by darkness, bears comparison with it.
17. It is the Pure knowledge itself that is not enlightened by any other
knowledge or darkened by ignorance.
18. But can the Pure Consciousness be conscious of itself? Can the eye
ball perceive itself?
19. Can the sky enter into itself ? Can the fire burn itself ? Can any
person climb upon his own head ?
20. Will eye sight be able to see itself ? Can taste have its own taste
? Can sound listen to its own noise ?
21. Can the sun enlighten himself ? Can a fruit grow upon the fruit ?
Can a fragrance smell itself ?
22. Therefore, that which is Pure Consciousness itself without the
quality of being conscious, is not conscious of itself.
23. If the knowledge requires the aid of another knowledge, it is
nothing but ignorance.
24. What is light is not darkness. But is it a light to itself ?
25. (As in the above instance the light is neither darkness nor light).
So He neither exists nor non-exists. Now by saying this He appears as
non-existing.
26. Then if the situation is this that nothing exists, who knows that
there is nothing ?
27. But on what ground is the theory of Nihilism proved ? It is an
unjust imputation to the Ultimate Substance.
28. If the extinguisher of a light is extingushed along with the light,
who knows that there is no light ?
29. Or if a person gives up his life as soon as he goes to sleep, who
will know that sleep is nice ?
30. A pot appears as a pot. If it is broken the condition of breaking
also appears. But if it does not exist at all who would say,
unnecessarily, that it is not ?
31. Therefore, he who perceives that nothing exists does not himself
become nothing. The Atman has a unique existence, beyond existence and
non-existence.
32. The Ultimate Substance is neither an object to itself nor an object
to any other. Is it itself the cause of being regarded as not existing ?
33. A person asleep in a lonely forest was not perceived by any other.
He was also not conscious of himself.
34. Even so, he does not become lifeless. Pure existence (of the
Substance) is like this. It does not bear the discussion of existence or
non-existence.
35. When the sight is turned inward, the state of its perceiving the
objects does not remain, but it does not cease to exist and knows what
happens.
36. A person of a dark color stands in total darkness. Neither he
himself nor others are able to perceive him. But he knows himself
perfectly without any doubt.
37. His existence or non-existence is not like that of a person. He
exists in Himself in His own way.
38. The sky being clear (without any cloud), the appearance of its form
disappears. No form is seen by an observer but the sky stands as it is.
39. The water in a tank, being crystal clear, looks as if it has
disappeared. Though it appears in this way to others it exists perfectly
as it is.
40. Thus the Absolute exists in itself and is beyond the ordinary
conceptions of existence and non-existence.
41. It is like the wakefulness where there is no trace of the
consciousness of the sleep that has vanished and the consciousness of
its own existence.
42. When the jar is placed upon the ground it is called the ground with
a jar, and when it is taken away it is called the ground without a jar.
43. But when both these conditions do not exist, the ground exists in
its pure state. The existence of the Absolute is a pure existence like
this.


Amritanubhava - Chapter V

Existence, Knowledge and Bliss

1. The three attributes, existence, knowledge and bliss are incapable of
exhaustively determining the Ultimate Reality. Poison being itself
poison is not poison to itself.
2. Lustre, hardness and yellowness together constitute gold; viscosity,
sweetness and mellifluity together constitute nectar.
3. Whiteness, fragrance and softness, these three without being three
separate things are only camphor.
4. The color of camphor is white; that which is white is soft; or it is
not these two, but the fragrance only.
5. Just as the three qualities mean but one thing like camphor and do
not point to the existence of the triad, similarly the three i.e.,
existence and others, are merged in one Reality.
6. As a matter of fact the three words existence, knowledge and bliss
are different. But the triad is merged in one Bliss.
7. Is existence bliss and knowledge; or is knowledge existence and bliss
? This cannot be distinguished like the sweetness of nectar.
8. The sixteen Kalas of the moon appear as increasing night after night
in the first fortnight, but the moon is as it is in itself, perfect at
all times.
9. When the water is falling in the form of drops, we can count them.
But we cannot do so when there is water, without separate drops, on the
ground upon which it falls.
10. In the same way the Shruti calls It existence in order to ward off
Its non-existence. It is called knowledge to keep it away from
materiality.
11. The breath of the Lord i.e., the Vedas declare It to be bliss
because there is complete annihilation of pain.
12. Non-existence and others are counter-correlatives to existence and
others. The latter are used to different It from the former.
13. Thus the word Satchidananda applied to Atman, does not denote Its
nature but differentiates It from Its opposites.
14. Will the material objects that are enlightened by the Sun, be able
to enlighten the Sun himself ?
15. So, how can the organ of speech enlighten that by the light of which
the organ itself knows its objects.
16. What means of valid knowledge will be useful to the
self-illuminating Atman who is not an object to any one and has no
knowability ?
17. The means of valid knowledge is limited by the object of knowledge.
It is of no use in the case of the Substance that is self-evident.
18. Thus if we try to know the Substance, knowledge itself is, as a
matter of fact, the substance. How, then, can the knowledge and the
known remain different ?
19. So, the words; existence, knowledge and bliss; do not denote the
Substance, but they are the residues of our thought.
20. Thus, those well-known words (existence, knowledge and bliss) become
current, but when they are united harmoniously to the knower ---
21. ---they vanish like the clouds that shower rain, or like the streams
that flow into the sea or the paths that reach the goal.
22. A flower fades after giving rise to a fruit or a fruit is lost after
giving its juice and the juice itself does not remain after giving
satisfaction.
23. Or the hand of a sacrifice is drawn back after offering oblations;
or a melody ends after giving rise to a pleasurable sensation.
24. Or a mirror disappears after showing the face its own reflection or
a person goes away after awakening one who is asleep.
25. Similarly, the three terms knowledge, existence and bliss after
causing the Seer to see himself, become lost in silence.
26. He is not that whatever we may speak about Him. It is not possible
to speak about His real nature as it is impossible to measure the height
of one who measures, by the length of his shadow.
27. But when the person who measures becomes conscious of himself he
feels abashed and gives up the act of measuring his shadow.
28. Existence naturally cannot be non-existence. Can that existence,
then, be even called existence ?
29. And can that which has become intelligence by destroying the
non-intelligence be even called intelligence.
30. When there is complete wakefulness, then it is no sleep or
awakening. So there is no intelligence in the Pure Intelligence.
31. Being bliss itself there is no feeling of unhappiness. So, can that
be even called bliss.
32. Therefore, existence has vanished along with non-existence, the
intelligence along with the non-intelligence and bliss along with
misery. Nothing remains at last.
33. Now, renouncing the curtain of duality and pairs of opposite
conceptions, it remains alone in its own blessedness.
34. If it is counted as "One" it becomes other than the one who counts.
So it is one absolutely though not numerically.
35. One who remains outside the bliss can enjoy the bliss. Being bliss
itself, how can it enjoy itself ?
36. At the beating of the drum of the Goddess, she enters the body of
her worshipper. But when there is no worshipper she does not enter the
sound of the beating itself.
37. In the same manner He, being bliss himself, cannot experience His
bliss and for the same reason, He does not know that He cannot.
38. Without looking into a mirror the face is neither in front of it nor
behind it. In the same way He is not happiness or misery but pure bliss
itself.
39. Giving up all the so-called illuminating theories like irrelevant
talk in a dream, He conceals Himself even from His own understanding.
40. Before a sugar plant is planted the juice exists (in its own pure
state) but its sweetness is known to that juice itself.
41. Or before the Vina (musical instrument with strings) is struck, the
sound is dumb (i.e., inaudible). It is audible only to itself in that
state.
42. Or before entering the interior part of the flower, the fragrance
has to act as a bee to appreciate its smell.
43. The flavor of a food which is not cooked yet, cannot be known to the
others except to the flavor itself.
44. So can that, which feels bashful to enjoy by manifesting its
blissfulness, be tasted or experienced by others ?
45. When the moon is in the sky at noonday her presence is known only to
herself.
46. It is like beauty that has not yet assumed any form, youth without
the birth of the body, religious merit before the performance of any
ritual.
47. It would happen if the mind, before the springing of its sprout,
would be intoxicated by sexual desire in that condition.
48. Or the talk about the sound of the musical instruments that are not
constructed as yet and so invisible, would be understood by that sound
only.
49. Or the fire, utterly avoiding contact with any fuel, has contact
with itself only.
50. Those only would understand the secret of the self-evident Reality,
who are able to perceive their faces without the help of mirrors.
51. Talking in this way is as plain as talking about the harvest in
storage without even sowing the seeds.
52. So, the Pure Intelligence transcends generality and particularity,
ever enjoying itself.
53. Now, after this, that talk is wise that has drunk deep the draught
of silence.
54. In this way the various modes of proof have accepted their inability
to prove and analogies have solemnly declared their inability to
illustrate the Reality.
55. The various arguments have dissolved themselves because of their own
invalidity. The assemblage of definitions have also dispersed.
56. The various means have gone away becoming futile. The experience has
given up its object.
57. Here the thought along with the decision is extinct like a
courageous warrior in the cause of his master.
58. And the understanding, being ashamed of its quality of knowing,
caused its own destruction and there the experience being left alone
became as if crippled.
59. If the crust of a piece of talc is peeled of the talc itself disappears.
60. Or if the inner core of a plantain tree gives up the covering
because it is troubled by heat, how can it be made to stand errect ?
61. The experience is there because of the existence of its object and
the subject. When both of them vanish can the experience alone
experience itself?
62. Are words of any use where the experience dissolves itself in this way ?
63. How can words describe the Reality where the supreme speech itself
disappears and no trace is found of any sound ?
64. Why should there be any talk about waking a person who is already
awakened ? Does any one try to cook his food when he is satisfied by
taking his meals ?
65. When the sun rises the light of lamps fade. Do they use ploughs in
the field when there is no harvest ?
66. There is no cause of bondage and freedom. Nothing is left to be
accomplished. There is only the pleasure of expounding.
67. When a thing is lost to us or to others in forgetfulness, it is
regained by the word that reminds us of it.
68. If the word thus glorifies itself as a reminder, it has no other
merit beyond this.


End of Chapter V - Existence, Knowledge and Bliss

Source : The Philosophy of Jnanadeva
Author : Bahirat


Amritanubhava - Chapter VI : Innefficacy of the Word


1. Indeed, the word, well known as a reminder, is a useful thing. Is it
not a mirror that reflects the formless ?
2. It is no wonder that the visible is seen in a mirror; but, that which
is invisible is seen in this mirror of the word.
3. It is like a rising sun in the family of the descendants of the great
Avyakta (the unmanifested Reality). The sky comes to be what it is
through the quality of the word.
4. It itself is the flower of the sky, but it is the cause of the fruit
of the universe. There is nothing that cannot be measured by the word.
5. It is like a torch bearer that lights the path of right and wrong
actions. It is a judge that decides between bondage and freedom.
6. When it takes the side of Avidya, the unreal appears as real and the
real becomes worthless.
7. Like an excerciser this word makes the finite self-hood enter into
the body of Pure Shiva.
8. The word sets free the finite self entangled in the body. The Atman
meets Himself by means of the word.
9. When the sun causes the break of day, he becomes the enemy of the
night. Therefore, we cannot compare the word with the sun.
10. The path of action and actionlessness, though opposite are supported
at the same time by the word.
11. It sacrifices itself to help in acquiring knowledge of the Atman.
How should I describe the different merits of this word ?
12. In short, the word is well known as a reminder. But, here (Atman) it
can have no relation.
13. The word is absolutely useless in the case of the Atman that is self
luminous and stands in no need of any obligation.
14. There is no other thing besides the One Substance. Therefore it
cannot be the object of remembering of forgetting.
15. How can one remember or forget oneself ? Can the tongue taste itself ?
16. There is no sleep to one who is awake. But is there even awaking ?
There is no remembrance or forgetfulness to the Absolute.
17. The Sun does not know the night. How can he be conscious of the day
? There is no remembrance or forgetfulness to the Absolute.
18. What is the use of the reminder when there is no memory or
forgetfulness? The word is of no use in the case of the Absolute Reality.
19. Another good result is obtained by means of the word. But I am
afraid to think about it.
20. It is foolish to say that Avidya is destroyed by the word and then
the Atman becomes conscious of itself.
21. The Sun first destroys the night and then rises. These false words
are unworthy of being uttered in the assembly of the wise.
22. Where is sleep to the awakened one ? Is there awaking of one who is
already awake ?
23. There is no Avidya to be destroyed. There is no Atman that wants to
enter its own state.
24. Avidya is non-existent; like the son of a barren woman. What, then,
should the axe of right thinking cut into pieces ?
25. If the rainbow were as real as it seems an archer would have strung it.
26. I would vanquish Avidya by logical thinking if the water in the
mirage could quench the thirst of Agastya.
27. If Avidya were such a thing as to be destroyed by the word why
should not fire easily burn the imaginary city in the sky?
28. Darkness does not tolerate contact with a lamp. But is there really
anything to be destroyed before the lamp.
29. It is futile to light a a lamp in order to see the day.
30. The shadow is not there where it does not fall. I is equally not
there where it falls.
31. It is known in the waking state that the dream which was seen was
false. Avidya does not exist even though it appears to exist.
32. What is gained by storing ornaments created by the spell of a
magician or by plundering a person who is naked ?
33. If the person were to eat imaginary dishes for a hundred thousand
times, it would be nothing more than fasting.
34. The soil on which a mirage does not appear is dry; is the soil on
which it appears moistened ?
35. What necessity would there to be prepare the ink if one were able to
write by mixing up darkness ?
36. The sky appears to be blue though it is not. Avidya appears to be
real though it is nor.
38. Avidya declares, by its very name, that it does not exist.
39. And its indefinableness implies its imaginary nature. Thus, Avidya
proves its non-existence.
40. If it really exists why does it not tolerate the determination of
its nature by thought ? The earth appears to be marked if the jar really
exists upon it.
41. It cannot be said that the Atman is revealed after the destruction
of Avidya. It is like the knowledge of darkness being resident in the
sun (that is revealed after its destruction).
42. Avidya is illusive but it conceals its illusive nature. It proves
its own absence.
43. Thus, as it has been shown in various ways, Avidya is by its very
nature non-existence. Whom, then, should the word destroy ?
44. It is the ground that is struck when a shadow is struck. Nothing but
the arm is damaged by striking the void.
45 & 46. All efforts of a person who tries to drink the water in a
mirage, or embrace the sky, or kiss his reflection, are in vain. The
logic that tries to destroy Avidya is in the same situation.
47. One who yet entertains a desire to destroy this Avidya, may take the
skin off the sky.
48. Or milk the nipple of a he-goat; or perceive by means of his knees;
or form a tablet of an evening by drying it.
49. Or by crushing a yawn he may take out the juice from it, and mixing
it with indolence, pour it into the throat of a headless body.
50. He may turn the direction of flow of a stream, turn over the shadow
on the ground or make a rope using wind.
51. He may beat a bug bear, bind his own reflection in a garment, or
happily comb the hairs on his palm.
52. He may destroy the non-existence of a jar, pluck the flowers of the
sky or break with ease the horn of a hare.
53. He may prepare ink from camphor, gather soot from the lamp of a
jewel, or happily marry the child of a barren woman.
54. He may nourish the Chakora birds with the nectar-like rays of the
dark moon, and may catch with ease the aquatic creatures in a mirage.
55. What more need be said ? Avidya is made up of non-existence. What,
then, should this word destroy ?
56. The word cannot be a pramana for destroying that which does not
exist, as darkness cannot determine the nature of darkness.
57. Avidya is never born. So, arguing about its non-existence is like
lighting a lamp at noon in the courtyard.
58. Those who go to gather the harvest without sowing the field gain
nothing but shame.
59. Resorting to a naked ascetic is not different from not doing anything.
60. What is the use of showering water upon water ? In the same way the
illumination of the word is of no use in destroying Avidya.
61. A measure may glorify itself as a measure so long as it does not try
to measure the sky. The birth of a light is futile if it can perceives
darkness.
62. If the tongue is able to taste the sky, its name Rasana
(that which is the cause of tasting) becomes meaningless.
63. Will the ornaments of a woman whose husband is alive be fit to be
worn when he is no more ? To eat the interior core of a plantain tree is
to eat nothing.
64. What object is there - small or big - that is not illuminated by the
sun ? But even the sun is of no use in the case of the night.
65. What is there that is not perceived by the eyesight ? But it cannot
perceive the sleep that does not exist in a person who is awake.
66. If the Chakora bird tries to search for the moon at day time, its
effort will be in vain.
67. The reader of a blank paper becomes dumb. The person walking in the
void becomes lame.
68. In the same way if words ready themselves to destroy Avidya, they
become meaningless prattle.
69. Does not the moon that is present on the new moon day spread
darkness ? The thought that tries to destroy Avidya is in the same
situation.
70. It is nothing but a fast to partake of the food that is yet to be
prepared. The person looking with eyes that have lost their sight is
blind.
71. In fact, the word would destroy itself if it tries to explain the
meaning of a thing that does not exist.
72. Now should I, indeed, say that Avidya does not exist ? Nothing
remains of the word that tries to destroy it.
73. If the thought stands in front of Avidya, it destroys itself along
with it (Avidya).
74. So this Avidya by its own non-existence prevents the word from being
a pramana for destroying Avidya.
75. And, that the word should rise to greatness by showing the Atman is
quite contradictory.
76. Is there, anywhere, a person who marries himself ? Is there any
eclipse where the sun eclipses himself ?
77. Will the sku set out to meet itself ? Will the ocean flow into
itself ? Will the palm touch itself ?
78. Does the sun illumine itself ? Does fruit bear fruit ? Can a
fragrance smell itself ?
79. We can enable all animate and inanimate objects to drink water in a
moment; but can we make water drink itself ?
80. Is there a single day in the year when the sun sees with his own eyes ?
81. If the God of destruction is angry he will burn the three worlds.
But will he burn the fire itself ?
82. Is it possible even for the Creator to stand in front of himself
without a mirror ?
83. It is certainly impossible for the eyesight to see itself, for taste
to taste itself, or for anyone to wake a person who is already awake.
84. How is it possible for sandal paste to smear itself, for a color to
color itself, or for a pearl to adorn itself with another pearl ?
85. Can gold be its own touchstone, a lamp its own illumination ? Can a
flavor enjoy its own sweetness ?
86. The almighty Sankara held the moon on His head. But can the moon
perch on her own head ?
87. In the same way the glorios Atman is pure and perfect knowledge
itself. So, how can knowledge embrace itself ?
88. Being knowledge itself He does not understand 'to know Himself.' It
is as difficult as the perception of the eye by itself.
89. Knowledge would be able to know itself if the mirror would be able
to reflect its own image.
90. A knife would be able to pierce a thing that is beyond all quarters
by moving towards it. But, can it pierce itself ?
91. The tip of the tongue is expert in tasting but can it taste itself ?
92. But does its existence as an organ of tasting cease on that account
? It is not so because tasting is immanent in it ?
93. So the Atman, who is knowledge, existence and bliss is self-evident.
How can the word offer him that which is already his ?
94. The Ultimate Substance does not prove or disprove itself with the
help of any means of knowledge. It is self-evident, self-existent and
beyond proof or disproof.
95. It is therefore groundless to believe that the word can gain
greatness by enabling the Atman to experience Itself.
96. The lamp lit at midday neither dispels darkness nor spreads light.
The condition of the word is the same (as it neither destroys Avidya nor
illumines the Atman).
97. Now Avidya, being non-existent, there is no question of destroying
it, and when the Atman is self-evident what is there to be proved by any
means ?
98. Thus being futile both ways, the word disappears like a stream that
is lost in the waters of the deluge.
99. Now, right thinking reveals that the word is no entrance to the Atman.
100. As it is meaningless to say that a bug-bear has come or that the
sky is hanging on the palm.
101. So the word with all its associates becomes meaningless prattle
like a picture with unnatural colors.
102. Now, knowledge and ignorance whose very life depends on the word,
are as real as the forests in a picture.
103. As a cloudy day vanishes when the clouds pass away, so when the
word vanishes in deluge it vanishes along with both knowledge and
ignorance.