Samadhi Tantra - Part III

                           

If blissful knowledge is the nature of soul then experiencing the same with the suppression of senses cannot be unpleasant:

52. The person who has just started practicing the contemplation of soul, he feels pleasures in the external subjects on account of past ordination and he feels unpleasantness in the contemplation of the soul. On the other hand the good practitioner knowing the nature of soul properly and contemplating upon it, feels unhappiness in external subjects only and feels happiness in contemplating upon the nature of soul. 

How should that contemplation be carried out ?

53. He should describe the nature of soul to others and enquire from other experienced gyani persons regarding the nature of soul. He should desire to attain that nature of soul and that should be his goal. With the objective of acquiring such purity of soul he should practice continuously such that the ignorance form Bahiratma nature is discarded and knowledge form Paramatma nature is realized.

‘ It is not possible for soul to be different from the speech-body, hence it is not proper to talk about it’ – to people who believe in this way, they are replied: 

54. The Bahiratma has delusion regarding the speech and body and without knowing their true nature, he presumes them to be same as his soul i.e. considers the speech, and body to be his own soul. But the Gyani person does not have delusion that  speech and body are his soul and knows them to be different from his soul.

The Bahiratma not knowing the nature of soul  is attached to various objects but none of them is beneficial to him :

55. In all the subjects of the five senses, there is not a single substance which may be beneficial to the soul. Even then the ignorant Bahiratma, out of ordination of eternal Mithyatva, keeps engaged in the subjects of those senses.

Due to the practice of eternal Mithyatva , the Bahiratmas of following types are existent:

56. These foolish ignorant Jivas , out of fruition of darkness of the form of Mithyatva, from eternal times are sleeping taking births in  Nitya Nigod etc. kuyoni (inferior life forms). Thus they are attaining insentient status. Even if by some chance they take birth in Sangyi (endowed with mind) life forms, and are awake then they start contemplating the  wife-son etc. to be ‘ they are mine’  and the body etc. to be ‘ I am them’, which are not their own soul forms.

Therefore one should discard the nature of Bahiratma form and view the bodies of self and others as follows:

57. The Antaratma should try to become stationary in the own soul and observe his body as ‘ this body is not my soul’- he should always consider it to be non soul and experience it so. The bodies of other people should also be observed as non souls of other people.

‘Then why don’t someone preach these ignorant souls, the nature of soul who has experienced it himself, so that they may also benefit ?’- To people who talk like this , they are answered:

58. The Antaratma contemplates being immersed in experiencing his own soul that these foolish ignorant people do not know the untold nature of my soul  and even after telling they do not know the same. Therefore my effort of telling these people is waste, fruitless.

Further :

59. The soul engaged in vikalpas or the body etc. whom I desire or wish to explain/teach, that is not me- not the real nature of the soul. Further the knowledge and blissful natured soul worthy of experiencing that I am, cannot be understood by other Jivas by preachment, that can only be experienced by themselves hence what can I preach to the other Jivas ?

Even after preaching them of the nature of soul, the Bahiratma does not  get interested in it and due to the fruition of Moha, he is attracted towards the external objects only- same is described:

60. The Bahiratma whose knowledge is internally obscured by the Moha, who does not have understanding of the self, remains satisfied with external body etc. subjects and is happy with them. But the Antaratma who has the understanding of the self, whose knowledge is unobscured by the fruition of Mithyatva; he remains desireless towards external body etc. subjects and remains satisfied with his own internal soul self-remains immersed in it.

Why does the Antaratma get detached towards the subjects favorable  or unfavorable to the body etc. :

61. The Antaratma contemplates that these bodies are corporeal and therefore do not know the pleasure or pains. Even then these Jivas who try to control the senses by means of severe fasting etc. or by decorating the body with various ornaments etc. thus trying to please it , they are foolish Bahiratma.

So long as there is tendency of oneness with the body of the soul , the world would exist. Its absence alone is the cause for salvation. This is described next:

62. So long as the body, speech and mind are considered to be the same as soul , the worldly state continues. When one practices the soul to be different from body, speech, mind then one attains liberation.

With the practice of  differentiating knowledge of the soul with the body etc., the Antaratma does not accept the strength of body as same as that of the soul. This is described in following 4 shlokas:

63. Just as by wearing thick cloth, the wise person does not consider himself to be fat. In the same way, with the body being healthy or strong, the Antaratma does not consider his own soul to be healthy or strong.

64. Just as by wearing  torn or worn clothes the wise person does not consider his own body to be worn or torn, in the same way, with the body being worn out, the Antaratma does not consider his own soul to be worn out.

65. Just as with destruction of the clothes the wise person does not consider his own body to be destroyed, in the same way, with the destruction of his body, the Antaratma does not consider his own soul to be destroyed.

66. Just as by wearing red coloured clothes the wise man does not consider his own body to be red coloured, in the same way with the body being red coloured, the Antaratma does not consider his own soul to be red coloured.

In this manner with the spirit of sensing soul as different from body etc. and viewing body etc. to be same as wood etc., he becomes eligible for salvation. This is told next:

67. The Gyani jiva, who starts feeling  that the bodies etc. form this world indulging in various activities is insentient like wood or stone without having consciousness and  devoid of blissful experiences , that person experiences the peaceful happiness in totally detached form wherein there is no activity of mind-speech-body nor enjoyments of sensual pleasures. The Bahiratma jiva cannot enjoy such peaceful experience at all having a different nature.

Why does the Bahiratma not attain soul as different from body etc. in the same manner? It is explained:

68. The Bahiratma does not know the true nature of soul since his knowledge form body is obscured by the karmana body form skin. Due to such ignorance he traverses in the world for very long period.

If the Bahiratma does not know the soul as of the nature of soul, then what do they believe  as the nature of soul to be ? That is described:

69. Masses of  permanus (atoms) keep entering the body and coming out of it. Even then the shape of the body remains the same. Due to this,  with spatial colocation as well as consistency over a period of time, the ignorant Bahiratma is deluded into believing  the body and soul to  be the same.

Therefore those desirous of realising the true nature of soul should experience the soul as different from the body- this is said:

70. ‘I am fair, fat or thin’. Without considering the body and soul to be the same in this manner, one should always consider the soul to be of the form of omniscience, devoid of colors etc. having upayoga as the body.

Those who contemplate upon the soul in this manner with concentration, attain salvation, and none else:

71. The person who has realized the nature of soul in his mind clearly, he definitely gets liberated. The person who does not have proper knowledge of the nature of soul he definitely does not get liberated. 

The stationary state of the mind is attained by giving up  the contact with worldly people and experiencing the nature of soul ; there is no other way:

72. In the company of people, there is exchange of words and the minds get perturbed. Due to wandering of minds, different types of thoughts are generated in the mind, and it becomes agitated. Hence the Antaratma Sadhu engaged in yoga should discard the company of worldly people and should not practice yoga in such places where there is presence or movement of worldly people.

Should they give up company of those people and stay in the forest? Such doubts are dispelled:

73. Those who have not realized the nature of soul and do not have the belief or the experience of soul- for such people ‘ this is village and this is forest ’, such two types of places to stay are imagined. But those who have experienced the nature of soul – for such Gyani people the only place to stay is within the pure, raga etc. free soul in unperturbed stationary state.

The fruition of those who realize the soul as soul and those who do not realize is described:

74. The consideration of soul within the body acquired on account of fruition of karmas- accepting body itself as the soul – that alone is the cause for attainment of another body in transmigration. The contemplation of soul only within the soul – that is the cause for the total liberation from the body.

Towards those who say that there must be some Guru who would help in achieving salvation – Acharya says :

75.  Soul only makes soul transmigrate in the world in the form of births and deaths due to his strong sense of oneness with the body and soul only attains Moksha by acquiring the highest order of knowledge of the soul. Therefore definitely the soul only is the Guru of the soul and no one else is Guru.

What does the Bahiratma having sense of oneness with the body do when the time approaches for his death ? That is described:

76. The Bahiratma who has strong sense of oneness with the body etc. of the soul, he is extremely scared of death  in the form of discarding of the body and separation from the friends and relatives.

But those who have sense of oneness with the soul only ; what do they do ? :

77. The Antaratma who has strong sense of oneness with his own soul ; he considers the destruction of body or its manifestations in the form of child or adult states as different from that of the soul – he does not believe the generation-destruction of the body as the generation- destruction of his soul and therefore at the time of death he is fearless as if he is changing one garment to another.