46-49. “Although I am not involved in any manner and am always free, I wield My power – called Maya; become covered with
ignorance, appear full of desires, seek their fulfilment, grow restless, project favourable and unfavourable environments, am born and
reborn as individuals, until growing wiser I seek a teacher and sage, learn the truth from him, put it in practice and finally become
absolved. All this goes on in My pure, uncontaminated, ever free absolute intelligence. This manifestation of the ignorant and the
free, and of others, is called My creation which is however, without any accessories – My power is too vast to be described. I shall
tell you something of it in brief. It is that the cosmos is only the obverse of the many details in them leading up to different results.
50. “Knowledge relating to me is complex but it can be dealt with under the two categories; dual and non-dual, of which the former
relates to worship and the latter to realisation. On account of their intricacies, there are many details in them leading up to different
results.
51. “Dual knowledge is manifold because it depends on the concept of duality and manifests as worship, prayer, incantation,
meditation, etc., etc.. all of which are due to nothing more than mental imagery.
52-53. “Even so, they are efficacious in contradistinction to day-dreams, for, the law of nature provides for it. There are degrees in
the efficacy of the methods, of which the most important concerns the aspect mentioned before (see above the concrete form of
Devi). The ultimate goal of all is certainly non-dual realisation.
Commentary. – Mental imagery cannot put forth tangible results either directly or in successive stages. But the one relating to God
differs from ordinary day-dreams in that it purifies and strengthens the mind in order to make it fit to realise the Self. Again the most
efficacious among the concepts of God is the one already mentioned, namely, the eternal couple. Although it will not directly remove
ignorance yet it will help its removal for the resurrection of the man as a full blown jnani.
54. “Worship of Abstract Intelligence in a concrete form is not only useful but essential for non-dual realisation. For how can one be
made fit for it, without Her benediction.
55. “Non-dual realisation is the same as pure Intelligence absolutely void of objective knowledge. Such realisation nullifies all
objective knowledge revealing it in all its nakedness to be as harmless as a picture of a pouncing tiger or of an enraged serpent.
56. “When the mind has completely resolved into the Self, that state is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi (the undifferentiated peaceful
state). After waking up from it, the person is overpowered by the memory of his experience as the one, undivided, infinite, pure Self
and he knows ‘I am That’ as opposed to the puerile I-thought of the ignorant. That is Supreme Knowledge (Vijnana or Pratyabhijna
jnana).
Note. – The advanced state of meditation is Savikalpa Samadhi, where the person is aware that he has turned away from objectivity
towards subjectivity and feels his proximity to the state of Self-Realisation. When he actually sinks within the Self, there is no
knowledge apart from the simple awareness of blissful existence. This is Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Waking up, he sees the world just as
any other man does but his outlook has become different. He is now able to know his pure Self and no longer confounds himself
with the ego. That is the acme of Realisation.
57. “Theoretical knowledge consists in differentiating between the Self and the non-Self through a study of the Scriptures, or the
teachings of a Master, or by one’s own deliberation.
58-62. “Supreme wisdom is that which puts an end to the sense of non-Self once for all. Non-dual realisation admits nothing
unknown or unknowable and pervades everything in entirety so that it cannot in any way be transcended, (e.g., a mirror and the
images). When that is accomplished, the intellect becomes quite clear because all doubts have been destroyed; (doubts are usually
with regard to creation, the identity of the Self and their mutual relationship) and then the predispositions of the mind (e.g., lust,
greed, anger, etc.) are destroyed though any remnants of these that may remain are as harmless as a fangless viper.
63. “The fruit of Self-realisation is the end of all misery here and hereafter and absolute fearlessness. That is called Emancipation.
Note. – There is an end of misery in sleep; but the potentiality of misery is not ended. Realisation destroys the cause of misery and
sets the man free for ever.
64-65. “Fear implies the existence of something apart from oneself. Can the sense of duality persist after non-dual Realisation, or
can there be darkness after sun-rise?
“O Rishis! There will be no fear in the absence of duality. On the other hand, fear will not cease so long as there is the sense of
duality.
66. “What is perceived in the world as being apart from the Self is also clearly seen to be perishable. What is perishable must
certainly involve fear of loss.
67. “Union implies separation; so also acquisition implies loss.
68-70. “If emancipation be external to the Self, it implies fear of loss, and is therefore not worth aspiring to. On the other hand,
moksha is fearlessnes and not external to the Self.
“When the knower, knowledge and the known merge into unity that state is totally free from fear and hence moksha results.
“Jnaana (Supreme Wisdom) is the state devoid of thoughts, will and desire, and is unimpeded by ignorance.
71. “It is certainly the primal state of the knower, but remains unrecognised for want of acquaintance with it. The Guru and sastras
alone can make the individual acquainted with the Self.
72-77. “The Self is abstract intelligence free from thought. The knower, knowledge and the known are not real as different entities.
When differentiation among them is destroyed, their true nature is evident in the resulting non-dual consciousness, which is also the
state of emancipation.
“There is in fact no differentiation among the knower, etc. The differences are simply conventions retained for the smooth working of
earthly life. Emancipation is eternal and, therefore, here and now, it is nothing to be acquired. The Self manifests as the knower,
knowledge and the known; the cycle of births and deaths endures with all the apparent reality of a mountain so long as this
manifestation lasts. As soon as the manifestation is realised to consist of the Self alone without any admixture of non-self, the cycle
of births and deaths comes to a standstill, and is broken down to fragments like clouds dispersed by strong winds.
78. “Thus you find that earnestness is the only requisite for emancipation. No other requisite is needed if the longing for
emancipation is intense and unwavering.
79. “What is the use of hundreds of efforts in the absence of a real and unswerving desire for emancipation? That is the sole
requisite and nothing else.
80-81. “Intense devotion signifies mental abstraction as the devotee loses himself in the desired object. In this particular instance, it
will mean emancipation itself. For such unwavering devotion must certainly succeed and success is only a question of time – which
may be days, months, years, or even the next birth, according as the predispositions are light or dense.
82-83. “The intellect is ordinarily befouled by evil propensities and so nothing good flourishes there. Consequently, the people are
boiled in the seething cauldron of births and deaths. Of these evil propensities, the first is want of faith in the revelations made by the
Guru and in the sastras; the second is addiction to desires; and the third is dullness (i.e., inability to understand the revealed truth).
This is a brief statement of them.
84-85. “Of these, want of faith is betrayed by one’s doubts regarding the truth of the statements and by failure to understand them.
The doubt arises whether there is moksha; and later misunderstanding leads to its denial. These two are sure obstacles to any
sincere efforts being made for realisation.
86. “All obstacles are set at nought by a determined belief in the contrary; that is to say – determined belief regarding the existence
of moksha will destroy both uncertainty and misunderstanding.
“But the question arises how this determined belief will be possible when faith is wanting. Therefore cut at its root. What is its root?
87-88. “Want of faith has its root in unfavourable logic. Give it up and take to approved logic as found in holy books and expounded
by a Guru. Then enlightenment becomes possible and faith results. Thus ends the first evil propensity.
