Moment to Speak

Eternal is Ātman (Self) spiritual. Evanescent is psychophysical, or temporal-material world. Ātman represents the unchanging essence beyond birth and decay, separate from physical manifestations and unaffected by creation cycles. It embodies the eternal aspect of existence and the divine, striving to surpass the temporary universe. Every being exists, whether in a latent or manifest condition, with the light of Brahmān . The spiritual and material represent a dynamic interplay between the eternal and the transitory. The decision lies before humanity, as Yoga-Vasistha asserts that self-realisation is achieved through personal endeavor. Sage Vasistha teaches Sri Rāma that becoming free of the soul, whether it is in a body or not, means letting go of sensory objects. This implies that the emancipation of the soul from sensual pleasures results in its lack of awareness of physical objects. He asserts that, although we perceive the living, emancipated Sage Vyasa as a corporeal being, h...

B rahmavidyā , as the name indicates, is the wisdom to meditate upon Brahmān (the Ultimate Reality, or the Absolute Existence). It is initiated through a self-realised one through the yardsticks of truthfulness, equanimity, detachment, forbearance, honesty, sincerity, and willingness to learn, practice, and meditate upon Brahmān . It expounds on the teachings of Brahmān and of moksha , or liberation of Ātman from the cycle of reincarnation, or bondage from the body-mind-intellect complex. Thus, Brahmavidyā is the science of Brahmān, or the Cosmic Self. It is to awaken the consciousness of Self to be with the Cosmic Self (Brahmān) . It is a cognitive framework capable of encompassing the entirety of existence at any moment. To learn the Absolute necessitates the inclusion of all elements associated with the object of contemplation in our cognitive processes—not alone the intrinsic components of the object itself, but also the relationships it maintains with other objects. Factors ...

Sage Vasishta explains to Sri Rama in Yoga-Vasistha (2.7.1) that having obtained a body free from disease and a mind free from trouble, one should try to know the knowable (Brahmān, or Cosmic-Self) to get out of the cycle of reincarnation. The knowledge of the knowable is the ultimate goal of every being, either manifestly or unmanifestly. The momentum needs to build up to ratchet the mind from object-driven to subject-orientated. The inward movement is to realise self through Ātma Jñana, or self-knowledge, evolved through Vairagya , or detachment, Titiksha , or forbearance, and Samatva , or equanimity. The outcome is an automatic termination of all activities and their consequences. The individual no longer associates with the corporeal form, derives pleasure from material possessions, or succumbs to the vanity of this earth. Only when one firmly establishes their identification with Cosmic Self ( Brahmān ) can one achieve ultimate emancipation (Param Nirvāna). Sage Vasishta...

The frailty of this world lies in its vanities . Vanities are phenomenological experiences understood by the mind through sensory perception, which may not correspond to the thing-in-itself; they cannot be proven or disproven, nor directly perceived or interpreted, but can be inferred from the nature of experience. The individual ego, perceived as the "I," serves as a facade of ignorance, excluding the consciousness of Ātman , or Self, from seeing its unity within the continuum of the universal-particular. Through its misadventures, "I-ness" associates itself with the Ahamkara , or ego. This erroneous identification of Ātman with the body, mind, and cognitive sensory systems obfuscates a sense of "I-ness." Swami Sivananda asserts that this misidentification encompasses three deficiencies: Avarana , or obscuration; Vikshepa , or distraction; and Mala , or contamination. Karma Yoga is a method that cleanses the mind of impurities via altruistic service....

The vanity of the mind is synonymous with the vanity of the world. The more the mind modifies itself, the more it projects itself outside, and the more it becomes aware of the outside world. Vanity revolves around the display and appearance of all things worldly and earthly. Māyā , or illusion, is a veil that gives illusionary reflections to our sensual perceptions. The more one externalises through sense-perceived perceptions, the deeper one sinks into the whirlpools of Māyā . It is a conceit that displays distorted proportions in order to conceal the material beneath the ephemeral glitteration. The awareness of the outside world, according to Swami Krishnananda , is primarily due to the presence of Vrittis , or psychoses of the mind. This is caused by the multitude of thoughts that the mind generates in a matter of seconds. The mind, if it remains uncontrolled, has a tendency to move outward to savour the sense perceptual enjoyments emanating from the objective dimensions of the t...

Existence is Absolute, eternal, plenum, imperishable, and infinity of the infinitude. Limited adjuncts of space-time encapsulate the rest, if any, and are transient, evanescent, illusionary, and finite in finitude. This also applies to perception, cognition, and consciousness. Sage Vasistha, in his discourses with Sri Rama in Yoga-Vasistha  (3.64.1-3.64.2), says the Supreme Being is the all-pervading Spirit and the Supreme and Absolute in every respect. He is infinity and is identical to Himself in the boundless happiness of His transparent introspection. The living soul and the active mind, or mens, which formed the world, have their origins in this ultimate felicity and essentially intellectual essence, which is what existed before the creation of the universe. This is Brahma , the eternal and inert happiness. This state of supreme bliss, which is always tranquil and full of the pure essence of God, is completely indescribable and unfathomable, even for the most knowledgeable i...

Fate is preordained, fixed, and set by Supreme Being without any deviation whatsoever. Fate is preordained, immutable, and merely the consequence of our past actions without any variation, asserts Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.1). It is feasible to detach from it and liberate oneself from its constraints by engaging in virtuous companionship and the study of sacred scriptures. Simply put, destiny is the result of an already exercised freedom of choice, also known as free will (William Kingsland, Rational Mysticism, London, G. Allen & Unwin, 1924, p.353).Time along with space is a projection of Cosmic Self, states sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda . He goes on to say that the Absolute Existence, or the Cosmic Self, appears to be engaged—in an act of externalising itself—and space and time are only names for the force of externalisation. Time is an active potency in the past, present, and future as part of cyclic processes of creation, growth, decay, dissolution, and reincarnation as part ...