The Supreme Question - 1 (Different Types of Knowledge) by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii - Agraháyańa Púrńimá 1957 DMC, Bettiah

The Supreme Question - 1 (Different Types of Knowledge) by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii - Agraháyańa Púrńimá 1957 DMC, Bettiah

The Supreme Question – 1

Agraháyańa Púrńimá 1957 DMC, Bettiah



Human beings have been drifting along through constant clash and cohesions amidst endless waves of physical and psychic diversities. It is natural that various questions arise in their minds about their surroundings. None of these questions can be ignored. A question is a kind of psychic hunger. If it goes unanswered one cannot find any mental rest.

The questions whose answers lie latent in the psychic sphere are called apará prashna or questions pertaining to the relative world. The persistent endeavour to find proper answers to them by probing into the psychic realm is called material science (jad́a vijiṋána) Human beings have been striving to gain more knowledge about the relative world, whose objects come within the periphery of the unit mind, through scientific advancement. Moreover, on the human structure grows in complexity, the human capacity to answer to questions also increases.



Does this increased capacity to find answers to mundane questions necessarily cause the expansion of mind? Some renowned scientists have harmed society to such an extent that they can best be described as “demons in human form.” In order to expand the psychic arena one will have to accept an entity beyond the psychic arena as one’s goal. This persistent endeavour will bring about actual psychic development, culminating in the attainment of Brahma. Any question which concerns the attempt to attain Brahma is called the supreme question or parama prashna.



The internal and external ideas of the unit mind can be understood from the following anecdote. Suppose you want to know what is lying in a particular corner of a particular house in Bettiah, a town you are quite familiar with. The quest for this type of knowledge is called apará prashna for it concerns the relative world. The answer one receives is aparottara, and the attempt to fulfill the desire to know is the pursuit of science. When you come to know everything there is to know about Bettiah you will still know nothing about Motihari town. If your psychic arena is likened to Bettiah then to know Motihari town you will have to expand your psychic arena. Now if we call the desire to know Motihari town parama prashna, then the acquisition of knowledge about Motihari town is paramottara, (the Supreme answer) In this case, the effort to know Motihari can be called spiritual pursuit.



Brahma is beyond the periphery of unit mind. So any question regarding Brahma is parama prashna, the attainment of Brahma is paramottara, and the endeavour to attain Brahma is spiritual practice. Both types of knowledge, pará (absolute knowledge) and apará (relative knowledge) operate within unit mind simultaneously. Hence any question regarding either pará and apará which arises in the human mind should not be ignored. But in this discourse I would like to discuss parama prashna, the supreme question.



The process of preparing rice from paddy comes within the scope of material science, and in thus a part of aparávidyá. But the question as to why rice was created in the first place is parama prashna, and comes within the domain of parávidyá, because the source from which it has emerged lies outside the periphery of paddy. The question who has infused the potentiality in rice, and why, is also beyond the psychic arena and hence parama prashna, too.

When the shadow of the moon is reflected on the earth a lunar eclipse occurs. This is a scientific fact. Through the science of astronomy human beings have discovered the reasons for an eclipse. Astronomy is part of aparávidyá. But who is the entity who causes the moon to cast its shadow on the earth? Astronomy cannot answer that question. It can tell us when the eclipse takes place, and how, but nothing more.



When knowledge concerns the mundane world you look upon objects as the subject; that is external objects are your psychic object. No matter how much you study the different stages of metamorphosis an object passes through, the Supreme subject of those objects will remain unknown to you. Likewise when you are the object, then your subject remains unknown to you. Therefore in aparávidyá you are the subject and the external physicalities are your psychic objects, but in parávidyá the position is reverse: you and the external physicalities are the objects of another subject. The endeavour to discuss that Subject, the Knower, the Witnessing Entity is the pursuit of parávidyá. You are not to look upon yourself as the knower or author of actions, but as the objective counter part of the Subjective Entity. The supreme entity is the final authority in the universal laboratory and you are just like a test tube in His hand.

Being His object, you must gradually identify your unit identity with the Macrocosmic identity – you must surrender totally to Him. Thus to get the proper answer to the supreme questions there is no alternative except complete surrender to Him. The effort to transform the unit identity into the Macrocosmic I is called sádhaná.



What is an object? That which is accepted or rejected by the indriyas, or that which is ideated upon, is called an object or pabulum. Brahma is thinking of you. His thought process causes the creation, preservation, and annihilation of all objects and entities. Hence you are His object and He is your subject; He is not your object. To know Him you are to throw yourself into the introversive flow of Macrocosmic imagination and bring about a union between the Entity which imagines and the entity which is imagined. To know Brahma means to become Brahma. As He is not you mental object you cannot see Him.



Brahmavid Brahmaeva bhavati



All the answers to question of what and why regarding creation terminate in Brahma. The endeavour to merge one’s individual authorship into Brahma is called nivrttimúlaka sádhaná (path of self-abnegation). The last what and the last why of all the whats and whys is the supreme question. The answer to this question is that Brahma is the Final Authority, the Supreme Knower, and all other entities are His finite expressions. This is called paramottara (supreme answer).



Human beings are animate beings, they are not animals. What is the difference between the two? Animals remain obsessed with the gratification of their crude propensities; they only try to satisfy their cruder kośas. That is why in the minds of animals, what to speak of the supreme question, even questions related to the mundane world do not arise. Human beings, however, are (and herein lies the main difference between them and animals) mind preponderant beings. They possess the capacity of subtle thought which helps them find answers to increasingly complex questions, answers which have helped them to increase their dominance over nature. The same subtle thinking power has helped humans to attain Brahma, the Source of all psychic thought, and the final answer to all queries. It is the characteristic of all animate beings to seek joy and composure. For animals, that means the fulfillment of the crude propensities, but humans, by virtue of their developed thinking power, seek the deeper joys of life through the constant perfection of the subtle branches of relative knowledge. In the process of self-abnegation they take their psychic thinking back to its Supreme Source and get established in eternal bliss. Those for whom the pursuit of the crude pleasures of life is the be-all and end-all of existence should never be categorized as human beings.



Áhára-nidrá-bhaya maethunaiṋca

Sámányametad pashubhirnaráńám

Dharmohi teśamadhiko visheśo

Dharmeńa hiináh pashubih samánáh



[Eating, sleeping, procreating and fearing are the characteristics of both humans and animals. But human beings have an additional characteristic – dharma – which, if unexpressed, makes the human beings no better than animals.]

The human structure has been created for the purpose of attaining the supreme answer through spiritual sádhaná. The proper utilization of human life can be evaluated according to the degree of progress achieved in sádhaná. If an animal does not perform Brahma sádhaná, it cannot be criticized, because it does not possess a sufficiently developed intellect. But if a human being does not practice sádhaná he or she can certainly be criticized. A destitute individual should not be blamed for not donating to charity but if a wealthy person does not donate a cent for a good cause it is highly reproachable, for he or she is being miserly. People averse to spiritual practice are worse than animals and birds, or even trees and stones. If people endowed with enormous potentialities do not cultivate the mind properly, it means they are not utilizing the vast treasure that has been bestowed upon them. Thakur Narottam Das wrote,



Krśna bhajabár tare saḿsáre áinu

miche máyá baddha hage brkśasama hainu.



[I came onto the world to worship Krśńa, but, deluded by Máyá, I have become as inert as a tree.]



I would rather say that such a person is even worse than a tree. Those who misuse their human treasure are greater sinners than those who do not utilize it at all.



Sádhaná is a constant struggle against non-spiritual forces, a struggle against Avidyá. Those who do not wage a war against these negative forces do not have the right to live – they are as good as dead.

It is a fact that the force of Avidyá disturbs a spiritualist more than it disturbs an ordinary person. Various situations arise in life such as material difficulties, family unrest, abundant wealth, tremendous reputation, acute financial distress, or extreme humiliation. Sádhakas will have to bravely confront these mundane situations as a test. They must never think in terms of retreat – it would be fatal, for the Avidyá force would stab them as soon as their backs were turned. In all circumstances one must continue the process of sádhaná to gradually enhance one’s latent psychic and spiritual power. Just as all-round physical exercise makes the body fit, similarly appropriate psychic and spiritual exercise (as a struggle against Avidyá) leads to one’s psychic evolution and spiritual elevation. If one is keen to advance, if one wants to attain expansion as well as bliss in life, one must continue to struggle. Brahma sádhaná is an all-round struggle leading to all-round progress and the ultimate goal of merging in the Supreme Source.



Life is a constant effort to restore an unstable equilibrium. Human beings endowed with enormous thinking power want to attain all-round development. To that end, along with the development of subtle thinking power, they will have to practice nivrttimúlaka sádhaná; they will have to strike a balance between the relative and subjective worlds. In the absence of such a balance, the process of thinking becomes disturbed again and again. There arises an irresistible desire in human beings to bring the unknown within the periphery of their knowledge, thus overcoming all obstacles. At that moment the supreme question arises. And when the supreme answer is understood their doubts and confusions are allayed.



Keneśitaḿ patati preśitaḿ mánah kena práńah prathamah praetiyuktah

Keneśitám vácamimáḿ vadanti cakśuh shrotraḿ ka u devo yunakti.



After rising above the level of animality a series of questions arose in the mind of the ancient humans: Why does the mind run after objects? Where does it gets its inspiration to run? And from whom? Whose inspiration causes the life force to be associated with objects?



Psychology can provide answers as to why and how the mind performs its actions, but it cannot give any clue as to the origin of the force which sustains the mind. When an indriya (sense organ) comes in contact with an object, the nerves are vibrated. If the vibrations are compatible with the nature of the saḿskáras, then the vibration creates pleasurable sensations in the mind. Learning by experience, living entities discover the objects from which they can derive pleasurable feelings. Endowed with this knowledge they run after objects of their choice, carefully avoiding those objects which produce painful sensations. This comes within the periphery of psychology. But the source from which the mind derives its capacity to run towards or turn away from objects is outside the domain of mind. Yet until it is fully discovered, it is not possible to understand the true nature of the mind.



The next question is, Who causes life or vital energy (práńah) to activate physical objects? The word práńa has various meanings. In the singular number it means “energy” (práńa), and in the plural number it means “life” or “vital energy” (práńah). It has yet another meaning: práńendriya – an intermediary state between the sensory organs and motor organs. The five motor organs keep the mind and body engaged in the action of externalization (the objects of the motor organs are called kárya or “doable”); and the five sensory organs keep the mind related to external objects through the action of internalization or subjectivisation (objects of the sensory organs are called jineya or knowable). The práńendriya is an indriya which is not included in the list of the sensory and motor organs, yet with the help of all the indriyas it assists in the process of subjectivisation (its objects are called dhárya or subjectivised). The expression of the práńendriya takes place through the five internal váyus and five external váyus. As the váyus themselves are included in the list of the five fundamental factors (as air), práńendriya cannot be treated as a separate indriya. Material science is unable to explain why práńendriya is engaged in the process of subjectivisation. Likewise, science can explain how a person speaks, but fails to explain from which source the vocal cord derives its capacity to utter sound.



Each sense organ can only receive a certain type of inference (tanmátra): the ears cannot receive the form inference, the eyes cannot receive the sound inference: the indriyas can only remain actively associated with their respective objects. Why this is the case and who has created this system is beyond the purview of material science. The supreme answer to this supreme question (parama uttara of parama prashna) cannot be given satisfactorily by science or philosophy.



Shrotrasya shrotraḿ manaso mano yadváco ha vácam sa u práńasya

Pránáshcakśuśashcakśuratimucyadhiirah pretyásmanllokádamrtá bhavanti.



The fundamental energy behind the gateway, the site, and the capacity of an indriya is radiated from the Supreme Entity. Concerning the universe, He is the supreme answer – He is the ear of ears, the eye of all eyes. He is the thinking power of the mind, the vocal power of the vocal cord, the visual power of the eyes, the life of all lives. To merge one’s individual authority into the Absolute Entity is what is called immortality. Wherever there is actional expression there is vibrational change – either death or life. The Absolute Authority, the Supreme Knower of the cycle of life and death, is established in the highest stance of immutability.



What sort of explanation can material science give regarding the auditory organs. At best it can explain how the sound vibration creates a congenial vibration in the auditory nerves, is transmitted to a particular point in the brain, and is heard as sound in the citta. But it cannot explain the fundamental cause of the sound. Moreover, not all vibrations created in the auditory nerve, or any particular kośa, will necessarily be heard as sound.

A noise made beside a corpse’s ear will vibrate the auditory nerves but will not be heard by the dead person. Why? A corpse does have ears, which have the capacity of hearing, but lacks the capacity to gain knowledge by hearing.

Any knowledge acquired by hearing has to be first substantiated by consciousness before it can be assimilated by the mind. The nature of consciousness can only be analysed by spiritual science, and the systematic endeavour to do that is called pará sádhaná.



Similarly, when the form tanmátras of an object are reflected on the eyes it does not necessarily mean that one will perceive the object. They eye-balls and optical nerves of a dead man may continue to function, but he will not be able to see anything, for he lacks the witnessing faculty. Without the support of the witnessing faculty, the visual power of the eye-organs is ineffective. Thus the cognitive faculty is the actual eye of the eyes.



The entity which discharges the function of thinking is called mind. The mind-stuff gives proof of its existence through perception and knowledge, but psychic thought cannot occur without His witness-ship. An object of knowledge can only be substantiated in the presence of that I-feeling. Without the I-feeling no object of knowledge can be perceived. Thus, in the absence of the final substantiating authority, the vocality of the speech organ remains unsubstantiated. When the expression of the vitality of an object wanes the entity gradually loses its vocal power. So in spite of the existence of the vocal cord and the mind, one’s mental feelings remain unexpressed at the time of death. The tears in the eyes of a dying man indicate that what he wanted to communicate remained unsaid.

The five internal váyus which sustain the sensory organs and give them the power of expression are the objective expressions of Átman – the aerial manifestation of Átman. Hence Átman is called the life of all lives. Just as the perfect state of pause of the vital airs (váyus) enhances the perceptive capacity of the indriyas, similarly intuitional practice increases the degree of the state of pause of the vital airs. Thus the rśi says that the Entity which is the embodiment of perfection is the only imperishable entity, whereas the indriyas and their power are all subject to perishability.



Na tattra cakśurgacchati na vággachanti no mano na vidmo na vijániimo yathaetadanushiśyát

Anyadeva tadviditádatho aviditádadhi iti shushruma púrveśám ye nastad vyácacakśire.



“The eyes cannot see the Supreme Entity. Why can’t they see Him? The subject can only see its object. The eyes, as the subject, receive the form tanmátras as their object. But where the eye-organ is the object, the Supreme Entity is their subject, and thus remains unseen.”



The object cannot perceive the subject. If the eyes want to transform their subject into their object, they will have to fully identify themselves with their subject. Only then will the eyes be able to visualise the Supreme Entity. That, in effect, will be tantamount to seeing one’s own self. The knower, knowledge and knowable will then be fused into one.

The Supreme Entity is beginningless and endless. Only if all the light-waves emanated from His infinite Body strike your eyes can you clearly see Him. But even if the Supreme Entity could be the object of your eyes, you do not have the capacity to receive His entire form tanmátra. You cannot see the entire Himalayan range at the same time because of its vastness. And this range of mountains is only an infinitesimal part of the Supreme Entity. How can you hope to ever see His vast Macrocosmic Body? The human sense organs can only perceive tanmátras within a very limited range. Anything outside that range remains beyond the scope of perception.

Waves of very high or very low frequencies cannot be received by the sense organs. So, being handicapped by such a limited capacity, how can you grasp that entity which is unlimited in all respects? Owls and moles cannot see anything in broad daylight because their eyes do not have the capacity to receive the brightness of the day. If these creatures were to deny the existence of the day simply because they cannot see it we would call it totally ludicrous. It would be equally ludicrous for ordinary people to deny the existence of the Supreme Entity because they are unable to perceive Him with their limited sense organs.



That which comes within the periphery of mind is its object or pabulum. And the means by which the mind is related to its object is termed sense perception. The faculty of knowing is the faculty of consciousness, and not the faculty of mind. Whatever people say they “know” about an object is only their sense perception, and not real knowledge. And that sense perception remains unsubstantiated in the absence of I-feeling.

Human beings cannot explain the Supreme Entity with their vocal power because that vocal power is His own objective expression. The seed of the vocal power, with all its latent possibilities, lies in Him. When that vocal power gradually unfolds into a sprout, a sapling and finally a tree, it is expressed through words. Even then it is only a minute expression of His Supreme power.



In the initial stage, one’s vocal power lies latent as paráshakti (primordial desire) in múládhára cakra. Paráshakti is an undeveloped state of verbal expression. When the internal desire of speech arises, paráshakti is awakened and starts its upward journey.



At svádhiśt́hána cakra we visualise the next form of material speech called pashyanti shakti. Pashyanti shakti permits people to visualise an idea according to their inherent saḿskáras. That is, people mentally visualise what they are going to articulate. At anáhata cakra, madhyamá shakti transforms pashyanti shakti into mental language, which seeks to find expression through dance, gestures or speech. This inner urge to vocalise the mental language is externalized through dyotamáná shakti, which operates between anáhata cakra and vishuddha cakra. Finally, with the help of vaekharii shakti, dyotamáná shakti takes the form of language. Where vaekharii shakti does not function properly, we say that the ideas are there but the person cannot find the right words to express them. In the case of mute people, vaekharii shakti cannot function properly due to a defect in their vocal cords. Inspite of the proper functioning of paráshakti, pashyanti shakti, madhyamá shakti and dyotamáná shakti, mute people are unable to give vocal expression to their mental ideas.



Even if vaekharii shakti functions properly, linguistic expression does not take place if vaekharii shakti does not come in contact with the fundamental factor (ether) carrying the sound waves. The energy which makes sound audible to other people is called shrutigocará shakti.



Thus, if paráshakti is the subject, pashyanti shakti is its actional expression. If pashyanti shakti is the subject, madhyamá shakti is its actional expression. Similarly, the actional expression of madhyamá shakti is dyotamáná shakti, that of dyotamáná shakti is vaekharii shakti, and that of vaekharii shakti is shrutigocará shakti. When the vocal power established in vaekharii or shrutigocará shakti is so limited, how can one aspire to describe the Supreme Knowing Faculty.

Scholars, with the help of vaekharii shakti, waste a great deal of time and energy in debates and discourses. By virtue of vaekharii shakti one can never find the supreme answer to the supreme question. Ácárya Shauṋkarácárya also said,



Vák vaekharii shabdajharii shástra vyákhyána kaoshalam.

Vaeduśyáḿ viduśáḿ tadvat bhuktaye na tu muktaye.



[The vocal cord and vaekharii shakti produce many words which are but tools for scriptural interpretation, a pedantic expression of the scholars. This may lead to personal satisfaction, but not to liberation.]



The external object or the mental object which people normally construe as Brahma and worship in a crude form as an idol, cannot be the Supreme Entity.



Yanmanasá na manute yenáhurmano matam

Tadeva Brahmá tvaḿ viddvi nedaḿ yadidamupásate



Brahma is that Entity whom the mind cannot think of, but from whom the thinking power of mind originates. That entity which is within the periphery of the mind, whom sense perception can grasp, is a limited entity. A limited entity in the form of an image or a idol cannot be regarded as Brahma.

Brahma is your Knowing Entity, Brahma is knowledge personified. His witness-ship, His knowing faculty, is beyond sense-perception. To suspend sense perception in spiritual realization is actual knowledge, which finally leads one to the Supreme spiritual stance, that is, Puruśottama. Bodhakriyá or knowledge is of two types: conceptual knowledge (parokśa bodha) and spiritual knowledge (aparokśa bodha). Conceptional knowledge is also of two types: perceptional knowledge (mati jiṋána) and spontaneous intuitional knowledge (sphúrtta jiṋána). Perceptional knowledge is again of two types: sensory knowledge (indriyaja bodha) and acquired knowledge (saḿskáraja bodha).



Sensory Knowledge



Sensory knowledge is of two types: direct sensory knowledge (sarala saḿyukti) and indirect sensory knowledge (tiryak saḿyukti). Direct sensory knowledge occurs when an indriya directly receives an inferential vibration and conveys it straight to the citta, thus bringing the same kind of experience in the unit mind. Suppose an elephant is standing before you. Your seeing the elephant is perception, and not knowledge, and is thus called perceptional knowledge. It is a case of direct sensory knowledge because it is acquired as a result of direct inferential contact between the indriya and its object. The second type of sensory knowledge is called indirect sensory knowledge. In this case the indriyas receive inferential vibrations indirectly. For example, by hearing a description of an elephant, or by seeing its picture, one can get an idea about how it looks. Similarly, many of you have acquired a lot of knowledge about London, even though you have never been there, through indirect perception.



Acquired Knowledge



Acquired knowledge also is of two types: knowledge acquired through habitual instinct (siddha saḿskáraja jiṋána) and knowledge acquired through inborn instinct (sahajáta saḿskáraja jiṋána). Knowledge acquired through habitual instinct occurs when one receives the same piece of information again and again. For example, when you see the elephant a second time, you conclude that this second image resembles the first image, and must obviously be an elephant. When the previous knowledge is acquired by your mind a second time, it is called knowledge through habitual instinct. One’s power of memory depends on this type of knowledge.

Children have certain instincts which can be called inborn instincts. Inborn instinct is actually the habitual instinct carried over from one’s previous life. A baby mammal learns spontaneously how to suck its mother’s breast – it does not need to be taught that there is milk in the breast, or the method of sucking. It is a kind of inborn instinct. The animal-like propensities of human beings come within the category of instinct. When monkeys quarrel they make grimaces – a habit which is found in human beings. When monkeys are frightened they cling to a branch of a tree with a firm grip frightened human beings clasp their palms and start trembling.

The two branches of spontaneous intuitional knowledge are: focused intuitional knowledge (aparokśábhása) and spirituo-intuitional knowledge (aparokśanubhúti).



Focused Intuitional Knowledge



All objectivities lie accumulated within the causal mind. However, they normally remain unseen since the causal mind has been darkened by static ignorance. The process to see some parts of the causal mind with the help of spiritual effulgence is called focused intuitional knowledge. I do not call it perceptional knowledge because it is only acquired through spiritual effulgence and not psychic probing. As the objectivities lie within the causal mind, I cannot logically call it the faculty of perceptional knowledge.



Spirituo-Intuitional Knowledge



One who is established in the Macrocosmic Mind is the knower of all objectivities. To such an entity knowing the entire Cosmic stance, all knowledge is spirituo-intuitional knowledge. When the perceiver, perceivable and perception; or the knower, knowable and knowledge become one; or when the deed and the “doable” become one with the doer, one attains non-dualistic self-knowledge, or becomes the embodiment of knowledge. Only this is real knowledge. All other knowledge is the shadow of knowledge… insubstantial knowledge. The pursuit of perceptional knowledge has no absolute value.



Yaccakśuśá na pashyanti yena cakśuḿśi pashyati

Tadeva Brahma tvaḿ viddhi nedaḿ yadidumupásate



“You should know as Brahma that Entity whom the eyes cannot see, yet from whom the capacity of sight originates.”



The crude finite entities which come within the scope of visual power cannot be treated as Brahma, the Source of visual power.



Yacchroteńa na shrńoti yena shrottramidaḿ shrutam

Tadeva Brahma tvaḿ viddhi nedaḿ yadidamupásate.



[You should know as Brahma that Entity whom the ears cannot hear, yet from whom the ears acquire the capacity to hear.]



Brahma is not a limited sonic expression. Even if microcosms could hear the totality of sound, they would still not be able to recognize the Cognitive Faculty. Sound, whether limited or unlimited, is an expression of the Cognitive Factor in His limited form. Hence sound cannot be the absolute factor. The divine sound, Oṋḿkára is not Brahma, but an expression of Brahma in the form of sound (Vák Brahma). We may also call Oṋḿkára the primordial phase of Saguńa Brahma (Brahma in His creative stance), but we can never describe it as being Non-attributional Brahma.



The ears of microcosms are not capable of receiving the entire world of sound. At best they can only receive a very limited part of that sonic world, a few waves of medium frequency.



Yat práńena na práńiti yena práńah prańiiyate

Tadeva Brahma taḿ viddhi nedaḿ yadidamupásate



Like all other actions, the flow of life (práńakriyá) is also systaltic. During the state of pause the object ideated upon comes within one’s sphere of knowledge. Vital energy (práńah), which is the coordinated functioning of the ten váyus, is an expression of Puruśa in the form of the aerial factor under static bondage. It is for this reason that vital energy, by its action, cannot attain Brahma as its object of ideation.



So through intellectual pursuit it is not possible to attain Brahma as one’s object. What is normally called the cultivation of knowledge is nothing but the acquisition of perceptional knowledge which produces a lot of vanity. Unfortunately nothing substantial is gained which could even begin to justify such inflated pride. In the mundane world there may be a vast difference between the greatest intellectual and the biggest fool regarding the acquisition of perceptional knowledge, but when it comes to real knowledge there is hardly any difference between them at all. To attain real knowledge one will have to probe deep within one’s self.



The lofty ideas of books and dry hay carry the same value. To acquire true knowledge, that is, self knowledge, one will have to ideate on the Supreme Faculty. There is no other way.

Thus intelligent people, instead of cultivating perceptional knowledge, will direct their minds towards Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Witnessing Entity, the Supreme Guide, the Supreme Answer to all questions, not as the object of knowledge, but as the Knowing Entity.



Tvamekaḿ smarámastavamekaḿ japáma tvamekaḿ jagat sákśirúpaḿ namámah

Tvamekaḿ nidhánaḿ nirálambamiishaḿ bhavámbodhipotaḿ sharańaḿ vrajámah.



[That Entity alone we remember. We repeat His holy name, we salute Him as the Witness of the entire universe. We take shelter in Him, who is the ship in the vast ocean of bhava (bundle of saḿskáras responsible for rebirth). You, the Supreme Lord, the one without shelter, are the Supreme Culminating Point of all the created beings in the universe.]





Agraháyańa Púrńimá 1957 DMC, Bettiah