On Adhyātma-yoga in Katha 1.2.12

The wise sage, who, by means of the meditation on the inner Self, recognises the Ancient, who is difficult to be seen, who is unfathomable and concealed, who is hidden in the cave of the heart, who dwells in the abyss, is lodged in the intelligence and, seated amidst miserable surroundings indeed – renounces joy and sorrow.

~Katha 1.2.12 (tr-Chinmayananda)

taṁ durdarśaṁ gūḍhamanupraviṣṭaṁ guhāhitaṁ gahvareṣṭhaṁ purāṇaṁ, adhyātmayogādhigamena devaṁ matvā dhīro harṣaśokau jahāti.

Tam, Him - the Self that you want to know; which is durdarsam, hard to see, because of Its extreme subtleness; gudham anupravistam, lodged inaccessibly, i.e. hidden by knowledge that changes in accordance with worldly objects; guhahitam, located in the intellect- because It is perceived there; gahvares- tham, existing in the midst of misery-in the body and senses which are the sources of many miseries. Since It is thus lodged inaccessibly and located in the intellect, therefore, It is seated in the midst of misery. Hence It is hard to see. Matva, meditating on, that puranam, old (everlasting); devam, Deity- the Self; adhhatmavogadhigamena- concentration of the mind on the Self after withdrawing it from the outer objects is adhyatma-yoga--through the attainment of that; dhirah, the intelligent man; jahati, gives up; harsasokau, happiness and sorrow-since there is no excellence or deterioration for the Self.

~Shankara on Katha 1.2.12 (tr-Gambhirananda)

Adhyātma-yoga (the technique of meditation) – This is the only place where this word appears in this Upaniṣad and so it is very difficult to ascertain what Yama meant by it. As a matter of fact, this is the first occasion in the entire literature of the Upaniṣads we have the mention of ‘Yoga’ as a term. ‘Yoga’ the word, comes from the root ‘yuj’ to join or unite. Earliest usage of this root was in the sense to yoke horses, bulls and so on. It is later on that the word developed into a complete śāstra and today it has a meaning of exertion of disciplined activity of the body; and with reference to the mind, it means concentration or control through meditation. Śaṅkarācārya, therefore, combines both these meanings and says ‘yoga’ is deep meditation (samādhāna) with thoughts withdrawn from external objects.

...

Meditation is the process by which a purified mind, and therefore, a highly concentrated mind, is brought to contemplate exclusively upon the nature of the Ᾱtman through a total avoidance of the mind wandering into any other object of contemplation. This process of making the mind think solely through an appointed channel of thinking, to the total effective exclusion of all dissimilar thought currents eroding in to disturb and muddy the planned channel of thought, can be successful only when the meditator is weaned away from all its gross negativities.

...

Though the ordinary means and methods of getting our day-to-day objective knowledge are not available in seeking or knowing or realising Truth, there is a special method by which we can develop our powers of intuition, which are now lying dormant in us beneath the thick layers of our own fattened encrustations and by which we can experience the Ᾱtman. This technique of communion with the Self is the exact significance of the word ‘adhyātma-yoga’ here.

~Chinmayananda on adhyātma-yoga in Katha 1.2.12

Adhyaatma Yoga: There is a scientific means to realize the Self. This means is summarised by Adhigamena, which refers to the process of meditation on the Self. Since the meditation is on the Self, the Self is referred to as a Deva or ‘Deity’ being worshipped during meditation. The intellect is repeatedly brought to a focus on the inner Being. The process is well-known as just meditation, or sometimes as transcendental meditation. 

~from the Sandeepany Katha

footnote

Nisargadatta on 'Atma-yoga'

There are any number of Upanishads and yogas like hatha-yoga, Patanjali yoga, and others. But I know only atma-yoga, which is Self-knowledge and nothing else.

That is why I say my process is atma-yoga, which means Abidance in the Self. When the “non-being” state became the being state, the world, along with so many things, came into existence. As per my guru’s directive, I became one with the beingness. Beingness means having the vision that one is the entire dynamic universe. When one transcends individuality, one is the manifest beingness only. In this process the Unmanifest reveals itself.

~from Nectar of Immortality (tr-Powell)

Grokking the Katha

1.

let's talk upanishads.

this autumn, i'm grokking (aka sravana) on the mantropanisads.

these are the verse upanishads. i'm currently grokking the katha.

where nachiketa talks to yama the lord of death. 

using nikhilananda, chinmayanada, and gambhirananda for trans and comms.

2.

let's talk translators. i basically trust:

nikhilananda and gambhirananda from the ramakrishna-vivekananda school.

chinmayananda and tejomayananda from the tapovan & sivananda merger.

and their prodigal son, dayananda*

3.

let's talk dayananda*

nobody does deep diving in the sanskrit than this guru.

but there are two dayanandas:

those works published before his mahasamadhi and those after*.

those published before are sublime edits. those published after are faithful transcripts of his lectures.

(dayananda's kena and mundaka are commentarial masterpieces deserving of a 20th century shankara. but based on my experience with drg drsya viveka, i'm not intending on grokking the taitiriya and mundakya soon.)

4.

to recap. i always want gambhirananda for his translation of shankara's commentaries. period.

i always want nikhilananda for his succinct footnotes and spare lightning-like commentary. he doesn't say a lot but what he says is earth-shattering.

dayananda for the kena and mundaka. triangulating with chinmayananda for the remainder he did and my intent is using tejomayananda for the svetasvatara which he didn't.

(i should also mention the sandeepany series which are free as pdf downloads. these are always worthwhile, and often contain useful charts and tables. they also are good for their emphasis on the sanskrit.)

5.

btw the mantropanisads are isa, kena, mundaka, katha, svetasvatara, and sometimes gaudapada's karika on the mandukya counts.

Nonduality Comics 231111: A Brahman Odyssey

One. (Ron Burgundy Was Here)

a.

awareness is never not awareness.

unawareness is still awareness.

ignorance of that fact is no excuse.

b.

just because you’re just a dream doesn’t mean you’re nothing—

it just means surrender to the dreamer that is you.

c.

i started off on eckhart.

but soon i hit advaita stuff.

Two. (Advaita Stuff)

a.

i am is the genesis.

i am the light is the apocalypse.

b.

i am x is the fall.

i am not x is the resurrection.

c.

aham brahma asmi is

our gospel.

Three (The Walrus was the Carpenter)

a.

light, nuclear, atomic, we are devo.

molecular and egocentrical samsara.

b.

vegetable, animal, krishna,

atman is brahman.

c 

aham brahma asmi.

goo goo g'joob.

Four. (untitled)

a.

o pratibodha vidatam

city of brahman

lotus of my heart

b.

i am is

the genesis.

i am the light is

the apocalypse.

i am x is

the fall.

i am not x is

the resurrection.

aham brahmasmi is

my gospel.

c.

y'all my guru.

It's Brahman Time

What appears to be something is really nothing and what appears to be nothing is all there is—there is no nothing.

For Maya is the expression of Brahman through and through. Not only is love its letter, self-awareness is its word.

And as one comes to nirvana through samsara, awareness is aware of awareness through unawareness.

Such is the arc of this reflexive universe. Light is devolving into the molecular and evolving into self-realization. Aum.

Nonduality Cartoons 2023

a.

As consciousness is the reflection of awareness, living is the reflection of existence. As happiness is the reflection of ananda. 

As reflection is another word for manifestation, a happy conscious life would be the character of a true god, it would appear.

b.

As i = nirguna brahman and i am = saguna brahman, i am x = samsari.

As nirguna means no guna (either tamas, rajas, or sattva (like yin, yang, or te)), nirguna brahman is tao.

As saguna brahman means brahman with gunas like a god.

c.

As tamas is failing to see the rope clearly, and tamas is seeing a snake instead, sattva is seeing through this superimposition to the substrate of parabrahman.

As gravity is the one within the many, and inertia is the changeless in the changing, kensho is ananda in the limited.

d.

In this maya that is self-awareness, all creation is a means for deconstruction only.

Nothing is certain but existence and consciousness, death and taxes notwithstanding.

Existence says, I am. Consciousness says, I know. Holistic bliss infinity says ananda.

The Lotus of My Heart

It’s one thing to drop an old metaparadigm of materialism and pick up a new one of pure consciousness in which all material things appear, and another thing to identify that awareness as one’s self, Atman so to speak.

And it’s one thing to identify that pure consciousness as one’s invariable awareness through every thought and not in the City of Brahman, but it’s another thing to identify with that Brahman in the lotus of my heart.

The mind may be convinced Aham Brahman Asmi, but it’s up to Atman to let one know. Look, Brahman is saying ‘I am’ with every apparent breath. If you’re serious about self-awareness, don't just sit there—listen carefully.

The City of Brahman:Dayananda on Mundaka 2.2.7

Divye brahmapure vyomni hyeṣa ātmā pratiṣṭhitaḥ: this self-evident ātman abides in the space in buddhi, the city of Brahman. It does not mean that the buddhi is a location where ātman is seated. Buddhi is the place where ātman can be known, because ātman manifests there in the form of caitanya.

Buddhi is called brahma-pura, where Brahman exists, meaning, Brahman is recognised. Nowhere else one can recognise Brahman. Brahman exists in the buddhi as awareness in every thought as well as in the space of awareness that is free from thoughts...

Brahman is everywhere. How can one recognise it in a particular place? Where one recognises everything, there alone one has to recognise Brahman also. The buddhi is the place where everything else is recognised and Brahman also is recognised there.

~Dayananda on Mundaka 2.2.7

footnotes: 

1. Shankara on Brahmapure

pratisthital, seated: in the divye, luminous--illuminated by all the states of the intellect: brahmapure, in the city of Brahma-this being the place where Brahman is ever manifest in Its nature of Consciousness: so "the city of Brahman" means the lotus of the heart. 

Vyomni, in the space, that is within that heart: Brahman perceived as though seated there in that space within the lotus of the heart: for any going, coming, or staying, in any other sense, is impossible for One who is all-pervasive like space.

2. Chinmayananda on Brahmapure

Brahmapure – The term is to indicate the spot where Brahman or the total Self, resides. It is only figurative explanation in terms of the finite to indicate the palace of the Infinite. This land of the Self is described as luminous, because Consciousness is the very illuminator of all the objects and the illuminating principle in all the planes of consciousness.

This is considered to be located in the cave of the heart because it is there, among the vibrations of the intellect and the waves of thought, that a seeker can struggle to discover the pure Consciousness. Though seated in the heart, He is the very substance of all the activities of the body, the vital airs, the mind and the intellect.

From Denali to Parabrahman

i.

I is parabrahman.

I am is the conceptual reflection of pure consciousness, that I.

Omkara meditation is the invariable sea (C) immutable consciousness substrate.

If I equals C and I Am equals Wave, I Am Wave equals avidya (beginningless ignorance).

ii.

No one hikes a mountain; at some altitude the mountain hikes you.

In North America this mountain is Denali, the Big.

Tibetan for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, Mother of the World.

Nepali for Goddess of the Sky is Sagarmatha.

iii.

Neither north face nor south face, atman is deep face.

That deep unborn beginningless brahman is the substrate.

The world is just a dreamlike superimposition on the substrate of parabrahman.

Parabrahman is I.

iv.

Strawberry Pratibodha Forever—

Either identify with i or disidentify with x says i to i am.

I is the substrate but x is phenomenal. Timothy Leary's dead.

Nonduality is the Jesus. Advaita is the Brahman. Within without is the ouroboros, Paul.

Parabrahman In Excelsior

Awareness is unadulterated consciousness. Pure consciousness is parabrahman.

On the one hand, thought superimposed on satcitananda is the world of samsara.

On the other hand, disidentifying with some time-consuming stream of thought

naturally reveals the great substrate of unadulterated consciousness I really am.

For verily pratibodha viditam is parabrahman in excelsior!

footnote 1

Not to be vedantic, but it’s not a stream of consciousness; it’s a stream of conscious thought.

Beneath the stream of conscious thought is the immutable substrate of Brahman.

Thought in itself is inert because the mind is nonsentient without that reflection of unadulterated consciousness.

This reflection of pure consciousness is not as much a phenomenal reflection as it is a conceptual one: I am.

footnote 2

A wave acquires sentience from the unadulterated sea.

A wave is rising from the sea and falling back into the deep blue sea.

Like sparks returning to their bonfire, aham bonfeu asmi.

footnote 3

The Mundaka can be necessarily mundane at times but when it’s not it’s glorious. I’m using Dayananda as the main text and Chinmayananda for review. Gambhirananda is always in play because of Sankara’s bhasya. And Nikhilananda is always clear and bright.

Basically I’ve found Dayananda, Chinmayananda, Gambhirananda, and Nikhilananda speaking Nisargadatta’s language when it comes to the vastness of the upanisads. That’s paramount here. Ymmv.

Tolkien’s ents were trees without clothes, the i am without x. Again, the reflection of consciousness is more conceptual than phenomenal, more ‘I am’ than anything else.

footnote 4.

I is parabrahman.

I am is the conceptual reflection of pure consciousness (i).

Om is the invariable sea (c).

If i equals c and i am equals wave, i am wave equals avidya (beginningless ignorance).

footnote 5.

No one hikes a mountain; at some altitude the mountain hikes you.

In North America this mountain is Denali, The Big.

Tibetan for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, Mother of the World.

Nepali for Goddess of the Sky is Sagarmatha.

Neither north face nor south face, atman is deep face.

On Om

Dayananda on Om

The linguistic meaning of Om:

One looks at Om as a word with a specific linguistic derivation. In Sanskrit, one traces the derivation of a word from its root. Om is a derived word. It comes from the root ‘av, rakṣaṇe, to protect, to bless.’ Avati rakṣati iti Om, that which protects or sustains a person is Om.

To get the meaning of Om in the sense of agency, one adds a suffix ‘man’ to the root av. There is a rule in grammar which says that both the ‘a’ and ‘v’ of the root ‘av’ will be substituted by ‘ū’ when ‘man’ is added. Now we have ‘ūman’. When there is a ‘man’ suffix, ‘ū’ takes its guṇa form and becomes ‘o’-man. Now, ‘ṭi-lopa,’ dropping of the last syllable,’ takes place. Here, the ‘an’ in the ‘man’ drops off. What remains is Om, the protector.

how Om becomes a meaningful name for Brahman

In amātrā, there is no ‘a’ ‘u’ or ‘m,’ no waker, dreamer or sleeper. Amātrā, silence, is caitanya ātman, pure consciousness. When you chant ‘Om,’ caitanya ātman is manifest in the form of the whole creation; when you stop chanting, caitanya ātman is free of manifestation. The invariable is caitanya ātman, and that is the truth. The letters ‘a’ ‘u’ and ‘m’ and all that they represent are but superimpositions on ātman, which is why they can resolve in ātman. In the chant, Brahman is saguṇa with incidental attributes. When the chant ceases, Brahman is nirguṇa, free of all attributes, being its svarūpa, pure consciousness. It is how Om becomes a meaningful name for Brahman. It covers both aspects—the manifest and the unmanifest.

The meaning of Om is consciousness that is invariable in all thoughts. It is something you can straightaway see. Every thought that occurs in the mind has to be recognised as Brahman. Then the thought really loses its virulence, and your vision is only in Brahman, which is you. 

May you take the great bow of Om that is revealed in the upaniṣads and fix the arrow of mind that is sharpened by meditation. Then may you strike the target of Brahman with a mind that is committed to the meaning of Om by pulling the string of the bow.

~Mundaka 2.2.3 (tr-D.)

Oṁkāra is the bow, ātman indeed is the arrow and Brahman is said to be its target. It must be known without indifference. One should become one with that Brahman, like the arrow (with the target).

~Mundaka 2.2.4 (tr-D.)