The Realisation Of The Absolute - Swami-krishnananda
THE REALISATION OFTHE ABSOLUTESWAMI KRISHNANANDAThe Divine Life SocietySivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, IndiaWebsite: www.swami-krishnananda.org
ABOUT THIS EDITIONThough this eBook edition is designed primarily fordigital readers and computers, it works well for print too.Page size dimensions are 5.5" x 8.5", or half a regular sizesheet, and can be printed for personal, non-commercialuse: two pages to one side of a sheet by adjusting yourprinter settings.2
CONTENTSPublishers’ Note . 4Foreword . 5Preface . 7Chapter One: Introduction . 13Chapter Two: The Nature of the World . 26Chapter Three: The Need for Integral Knowledge. 53Chapter Four: The Nature of Reality . 66Chapter Five: The Process of Truth-Realisation .122Chapter Six: The Attainment of Liberation .163Chapter Seven: Conclusion .190Explanatory Notes .195Notes .207
PUBLISHERS’ NOTEThe primary issues of life are an expression of thepressing need for peace and happiness. When peace isbeing aspired after, the whole universe comes in there asthe factor that goes to form the vital current of this processof aspiration. It is vain to think that lasting peace orhappiness can be had through resorting to certain aspectsalone, while neglecting or opposing others in the universe.Only a Citizen of the Universe can be an enjoyer of Peace,the Peace that passeth understanding. It is the aim of thisbook to throw a powerful light on the art of growing into aUniversal Citizen, a Purushottama, a Being inhabiting thewhole cosmos; a Being that, in loving the Universe, lovesitself, in knowing itself, knows the All, and exists as the All.It is the Science of Perfection and the Practice of theMethod to attain it, Brahmavidya and Yogasastra, thatforms the core of this teaching of immortal value. Theauthor, a direct disciple of the Great Swami Sivananda,offers to the lovers of Truth, to those who have dedicatedtheir lives to the pursuit of Truth, this precious present, theresult of his deep study and experience. This treatise will befound to be of immense value to all aspirants after Selfrealisation, especially to those who tread the Path ofKnowledge.It is our earnest prayer that all Mumukshus may derivethe full benefit of imbibing this sacred Knowledge, handeddown by the ancient Seers, and of living their lives inconsonance with it.—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
FOREWORDThe Upanishads have always been acknowledged andacclaimed as veritable Mines of Transcendental Wisdom.They are fountain-sources and treasure-houses of DivineKnowledge. But they are something more, too. They alsoharbour within their precious bosom the key to gain accessthereunto. In them we have not only the revelation of theradiant realms of the Supreme Brahman-Consciousness, butalso the shining pathway that leads one to it—the secrets ofVedanta-Sadhana or Jnana-Yoga.In “The Realisation of the Absolute” of SwamiKrishnananda, we have a forceful and brilliant monograph onthis theme which forms the central core of the Upanishadictexts. He has presented us with a well reasoned-out, clear andilluminating analysis of the problem of the appearance ofpluralistic consciousness, and simultaneously given a bold andprecise picture of the practical method of shattering thisillusion and soaring into the empyrean of the UndifferentiatedAbsolute-Consciousness, the Reality, the nature of which hasbeen explained by him very elaborately. His treatment of thesubject of Vedanta is at once direct, inspiring and compelling,for the statements therein are such as have been tested by theauthor’s own practical personal experience. He is one who ishimself living the life of strenuous quest after Truth. Thoughquite young in age, Swami Krishnananda (whom I know verywell indeed) is a seeker of high attainments, full of fieryaspiration and a monk of a very high order. Himself anadvanced Sadhaka, nay, a seer-sage in the making, possessingintense renunciation, deep dispassion and keen aspiration, hehas indeed rightly emphasised these factors so indispensableto fit one for the path of Jnana-Yoga-Sadhana.
Expositions on pure philosophy there are a good many.Works touching on the broad aspects of Jnana-Yoga, more orless upon the conventional orthodox lines, too, are there. Buthere you have an erudite consideration of the graduatedanatomy of the structure of the practical process throughwhich to realise the FACT about which philosophies butspeculate. “The Realisation of the Absolute” is a practicalSeeker-Sannyasin’s revelation of Jnana and Jnana-Sadhana. Itis replete with the sublimest conception of the Vedanta. It is adazzling light focussed upon the true essence of VedantaSadhana and meditation and valuable hints and clues thatreveal the pathway to Self-Realisation. In producing thisprofound treatise the one supreme urge in the author appearsto be to fire the reader with a thirst for the TranscendentExperience of Reality, Brahma-Sakshatkara. I am glad to saythat he has succeeded commendably in this purpose. Thework is powerful and rousing. One who studies these pageswill definitely find himself or herself transformed both in theattitude to life and in aspiration. The sincere reader cannotbut feel with the author that “the quest for the Absoluteshould be undertaken even sacrificing the dearest object, evencourting the greatest pain It is a mistake to be interested inthe different forms of perception Nothing is worthconsidering except the realisation of Brahman.”I wish this work the reception, acceptance andapprobation it richly deserves.8th September, 1947.Swami Sivananda6
PREFACEIt is always with a full preparation to face thecontingency of being caught in vicious circles and to comeout of them victoriously that one can attempt to explainanything concerning the Absolute or the Infinite. It is anextremely difficult task, and it many times appears idle toengage oneself in trying to understand the nature of eternalverities ranging beyond the intellect. Man is nothing if he isdivested of the intellect, and yet this intellect is a veryinadequate means of ascertaining Truth. But, howevermuch imperfect, it is the only human faculty of knowledgenearest to Reality. We can either know Reality imperfectly,or not know it at all. Anyhow, fully to know Reality througha process is an impossibility, for Reality is not a process. Itis not expected, however, that in these pages will be foundstatements not open to further consideration anddiscussion. It is not possible to enunciate anything withoutbeing set in opposition to something. To express what iscomplete is not within the capacity of the knowing process.All knowing is a process, and all process is imperfection. Toknow the perfect is to be the perfect, and not to express it.Expression involves relations, and nothing that is related iscomplete in itself. Intuition, however, is said to becomplete; but, then, no philosophy is complete, forphilosophy is intellectual judgment. Intellect is not arevelation like intuition, though even intellect is animperfect revelation. By true revelation is meant theintegral vision, not a relational understanding. Intellect isnever free from subject-object-relationship, and every suchrelation falls short of Reality. We can never expound a
philosophy which can stand before the light of intuition, forall relations are transcended in intuition. The declaration inthe Mandukya Upanishad on the nature of Reality strikesterror into the heart of all speculative philosophy, whichvainly tries to know Reality through transitory categories. Ifthe philosopher is not prepared to accept that, until SelfExperience, he simply glories in shadows, he cannot at leastdeny that his statements are not self-sufficient and selfexistent truths. Philosophy appears to be an apology forTruth-realisation, and it fulfils itself when it meets therequirements of intuition.Let us accept that the intellect is imperfect. But withoutthis imperfect instrument, we do not seem to be better thanmere instinctive animals. There are some universalstandards of intellectual ascertainment of the Realitybehind forms. Positive affirmation of and meditation onsuch universal truths will not go without leading themeditator to what is real in the absolute sense. We can riseabove the intellect through the medium of the intellect itselfbacked up by faith in and devotion to the Ideal. As long asthe highest Reality is not experienced, universalascertainments through philosophical enquiries should notbe allowed to battle with one another. It is true that all realphilosophy ends in Absolutism, but the intellectualcategories do not go without creating forms of Absolutism,which seem apparently to rival with each other. The wisecourse would be to consider each form as the highestlogical, as long as its sphere is the Absolute, and enough tolead man to the Transcendental Being. To mention oneinstance, Saguna-Brahman and Nirguna-Brahman, the8
Personal Absolute and the Impersonal Absolute, should notbe considered as antagonistic, so long as they are notsubjects or objects of anything, for both are Absolute intheir own spheres, and do not involve relations, though thereasoning faculty tries to see a difference between the two.If hostile relations are developed between one absolute andanother absolute arrived at through forms of intellectualcomprehension, life will end in failure and misery. Theintellect should not be stretched beyond itself to thebreaking point. Otherwise, there is the danger of self-deceitand knowing nothing. Reason should always be aided bytolerance, and should not forget its own limitations.How far this work is a success in this direction is for theintelligent seeker after Truth to judge. This is not anattempt to present something new, but to suggest a methodto him who is blazing with an aspiration to realise theHighest. The purpose of this work is to provide a leaningstaff for those who are determined to plunge themselves inthe duty of the struggle for Self-realisation. The pure andthe sincere will certainly be benefited by this honest attemptto investigate Truth in the light of the Upanishads. It isimpossible for anyone with a penetrative thinking, coupledwith a dispassionate heart, to desist from the enterprise ofseeking the trans-empirical Reality, whatever worldly lossone may have to incur thereby. Those, however, who do notwant it, have to grow wiser and become truer men. Thebaser nature always finds joy in its aberrations and cannottolerate what it thinks to be destructive to its dear egoisticrelations.9
We can very happily console ourselves by admittingthat reason cannot determine the nature of Truth. Then, allphilosophy is only child’s play. Even the Upanishads aretruths expressed through words, and words cannot beunderstood without the intellect. It cannot, somehow, bedenied that, at least to some extent, we can convinceourselves, through a carefully guarded intellect helped byfaith, about the nature of Reality. The only condition,however, is that the aspiring intellect should be pure andunattached.The main problem that arises out of the Upanishadicphilosophy is regarding the validity of the rise of thought inthe Absolute. The universe is explained as the wish or willof Brahman. If wish cannot be attributed to Brahman, theuniverse has no reality. If wish is attributed to Brahman,Brahman becomes limited and temporal. Somehow, we seesomething as the universe. But, if we have to be faithful toourselves, we cannot be so by denying either our criticalintelligence or our practical experience in this world. Ourcommon sensory experiences, anyhow, are moreuntrustworthy than our deepest intelligence. Our senseexperiences are often meaningless, and even in daily life wecan see how unwisely we are led by our mistaken notionswhich cause experiences. Even death occurs through wrongbelief, and even life is saved through mere belief. Wecannot ask why, then, we see a world if there cannot bechange in Brahman. We have to simply admit that we are,somehow, befooled by the world-appearance like many ofour other daily weaknesses, in spite of the intelligenceascertaining something other than what we actually10
experience. Though the reason itself is ordinarilyinfluenced by our practical experiences in the world, itreveals a sort of independence when it is purified of thedross of desires, and then it gives reliable guidance. If theOne Brahman is the Undifferentiated Reality, there can beno world of differentiations and relativities. If weexperience something else, we have to reject it by force ofintelligence, without further deepening our ignorance byquestioning about the why and how of it. If, however,through the stress of experience, we admit the reality of aspatio-temporal world-manifestation, we have to denythereby the existence of the Eternal Reality. If we canascertain nothing, we have to resort to a static inertia,which, however, we are not willing to do, by our verynature.Experience tells us that it is always movement tendingtowards the unity of consciousness that shows signs ofgreater perfection and wider joy. Here reason andexperience coalesce and form one being. This directs us todraw the conclusion that undifferentiatedness andinfinitude of experience must be the nature of Reality.Further, this inference agrees with the sacred scriptures, theUpanishads. An idea cannot spring from eternal existence.And, we are here advised to take the creation-theory asonly figurative, meant for the understanding of the lessintelligent, and intended for leading their minds upwardsthrough the progressive process of relative reality. This,moreover, is suggested in the Upanishads themselves,though not quite explicitly. Our empirical experience is,somehow, to be taken as a kind of self-entanglement which11
cannot be easily explained in the realm of appearances. It isexplained when the Absolute is realised. In this task, reasonshould be guided by a dispassionate heart, lest there shouldbe misrepresentation of facts.While expounding the philosophy of the Upanishadshere, portions with a theological and ritualistic bearinghave been omitted, as they are not essential to understandthe fundamental teachings of the Upanishads, though theymay be useful in the practice of certain specific upasanas.Such of those seekers as would be interested in theseupasanas, etc. are requested to study the Upasana-Kandawith a suitable commentary. The various lower vidyas ormeditations on the lower manifestations, also, are notincluded in this book, as they are outside its scope.The translation of the original Sanskrit passages is, forthe most part, literal. But where it was thought that a literalrendering would be unintelligible, and it would be better ifthe spirit of the passage is conveyed in a readable manner, aparaphrase or the main idea is given, either by supplyingcertain words which are needed for a correctcomprehension of the passage, or by omitting what is notrequired for that purpose.On account of certain unavoidable uncongenialcircumstances, a more detailed exposition of the subjectcould not be offered. However, some of the points whichhave been briefly stated in the book are explained further inthe Notes appended.1st August, 1947.Swami Krishnananda12
Chapter OneINTRODUCTIONIntegrality and AspirationThe Attainment of Perfection is the ConsciousIntegration of Being. This is the central theme of theUpanishads. The Upanishads are intuitional revelations,and intuition is integral experience. Their declarationscannot fail to include within themselves the absolute scopeof the diverse methods of approach to the one Reality, forintegrality excludes nothing. No two individuals think alike,for thinking, which is the objective movement of theSpiritual Force, differs in its mode and impetus in differentpoints of stress in integral existence. But, then, in spite ofthis separation of beings through their modes of mentation,all individuals have to aim at the attainment of a commonGoal, the achievement of a common purpose, for, the truthof them all is one, and all their paths must but meet at OnePerfection. Perfection or truth cannot be two, and therecannot be two absolutes. Hence, the methods of approachto Reality must all inherit certain fundamental natures orqualities which belong to the eternal nature of pureExistence. It is this undeniable fact that goes to prove thelogical consistency that must exist and that exists amongthe multitudes of the methods employed by the relativeindividuals to experience Truth as it really is.The one and the most important point to beremembered in all the processes of reasoning out the natureof Existence is that we cannot, with loyalty to reason, makein it such relative distinctions as subjective and objective,
since such differences in nature are based on mere arbitraryconception and perception. We separate in pure Being thesubject and the object only with concession to a belief ininternality and externality based on immediate empiricalexperience bereft of intelligibility. The objective world andthe subjective body are both in relation to the cognisingentity, and existence is a divisionless mass of cognition,which fact is proved by the inexplicability of objectiveexperience without our positing a conscious realityinclusive of both the subject and the object. The reality ofthe universe, both in its objective and subjective aspects, isin its existence, which cannot be known unless it becomes acontent of consciousness. Unless, again, this content itself isnon-different from consciousness, it will have no relation toconsciousness, and it cannot be known. Existence must bethe same as consciousness in order that existence may beknown. If it is not known, it itself is not. Existence is reallythe existence of consciousness. The cognitive organmodifying the basic consciousness follows existence. And,as consciousness is indivisible, such a distinction inexistence gets narrowed to identity of nature throughinseparability in undifferentiatedness which has neitherinside nor outside. Nothing that is related to another is real.Relation always means interdependence and not selfexistence. Existence is always absolute; nothing else.Common perception, however, is not the criterion of truth.The sun does not become non-existent even if all men andanimals have no eyes to see. Nor does he become an eternalbeing just because we perceive him. An unconscious unrestfelt by every individualised personality in its own state and14
the impossibility to rest eternally in the separativeconsciousness points to the Being of the Supreme State ofAbsolute Perfection. Desire, which, in common parlance, isunderstood as the force which attracts the individual torelational existence, is only a clear proof of the inability ofthe individualised being to pull on with its finitude, and ofits demand to have further experiences in the field ofconsciousness. There is no satisfaction in existing in arelative state of consciousness, however superior in thedegree of its extension it may be when compared with thelower states of consciousness. There is a craving inherent inevery individual to experience other states of consciousnessand to possess other varieties of objects of the universe.This cravi
THE REALISATION OF THE ABSOLUTE . SWAMI KRISHNANANDA. The Divine Life Society . Sivananda Ashra
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