Vijnana Nauka (The Boat of Spiritual Science) - by Adi Shankaracharya

Vijñāna Naukā

(The boat of spiritual science)

 

By Adi Shankara

 

tapo yajñadānādibhiḥ śuddhabuddhir-

virakto nṛpādau pade tuccabuddhyā

parityajya sarvaṃ yadāpnoti tatvaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||1||

 

By cleaning of our mind with meditation, sacrifice and charity,

By becoming disenchanted with even king like positions,

And by sacrificing everything, we attain that principle

Of the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

dayāluṃ guruṃ brahmāniṣṭhaṃ praśāntaṃ

samārādhya bhaktyā vicārya svarūpaṃ

yadāpnoti tatvaṃ nididhāsya vidvān

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||2||

 

By worshipping with devotion, the merciful and peaceful teacher,

Who is searching for Brahman and by researching on the form,

The scholar after repeated and profound meditation makes his own,

The divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānanda rūpaṃ prakāśa svarūpaṃ

nirasta prapañcaṃ pariccheda śūnyaṃ

ahaṃ brahmāvidyaikagamyaṃ turīyaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||3||

 

Forever having the form of joy which is full of splendor,

Forsaking the world that we see which does not have definition,

And Which can be attained only by constant search and a state full of bliss,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ājñanato bhati viśvaṃ samaṣṭaṃ

vinaṣṭaṃ ca sadyo yadātma prabodha

manovāgathīthaṃ visudhaṃ vimuktaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||4||

 

By that ignorance of this entire concept of the physical world,

By that realization of Atma (soul) , which leads to the loss of this concept,

Which is beyond mind and word ,and also pure and fully free,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

niṣedhe kṛte neti netīti vakyaiḥ

samadhiṣṭitānām yadābhāthi pūrṇaṃ

avasthāthrayāthītham advaitaṃ ekam

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||5||

 

By the negative action of the words “Not This, Not This”,

That which shines entirely in those, who enter the state of Samadhi,

That which is beyond the three states (sleep, dream and wakefulness), and which does not have any second,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānandalesaih samanandi viśvaṃ

yadābhāti satve sada bhāti sarvaṃ

yadālocite heyaṃ anyat samaṣṭaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||6||

 

That due to its bits of bliss makes this world pleasant,

That due to its splendour makes this world full of light,

And that by whose thought this physical world becomes nothing,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

anandaṃ vibhuṃ sarvayoniṃ nirīhaṃ

śivaṃ  saṅgahīnaṃ yad omkāragamyaṃ

nirākāramathyujvalaṃ mṛtyuhīnaṃ

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||7||

 

That which is endless, divine and controls everything,

That which is peaceful, alone and attainable through “Om”,

And that which is formless, has great luster and no death,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

yad ānanda sindhau nimagnaḥ puman sya-

dvidyavilasaḥ samaṣṭa prapañcaḥ

tadā na sphuratyatbhutaṃ yannimittam

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||8||

 

That sea of bliss in which the seeker drowns himself,

And that wonderful cause which forever makes it disappear,

The ignorance which makes the physical world appear,

Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

 

svarūpānusandhānarūpāṃ stutiṃ yaḥ

paṭhed ādarāl bhaktibhāvānmanuṣyaḥ

śṛṇotīha vā nityam udyukta citto

paraṃ brahmā nityaṃ tadevāham asmi ||9||

 

This prayer written in the style of the search of the form of the self,

If read by men with respect and devotional thought,

Or if heard would lead them forever to blissful freedom,

And Is the divine and perennial concept that we ourselves are Brahman.

 

Translated By P.R. Ramachander

A meeting with Mark West.

Wed 1-11-17.


I had a wonderful one-to-one meeting today with Mark West. Mark is an unassuming jnani (sage), well versed in aspects of the Advaita nondual teachings, and who quietly lives in the chaotic inner city area of Sydney.


Mark spent a good number of years in India, first as a sanyasi with Muktananda at Ganeshpuri, and later with Sri Nisargadatta in Bombay. Mark left India to return to Australia in the late 70s, and the final flowering and realization of that time spent with sages in India, then happened over the course of a decade. Mark is the author of the book "Gleanings From Nisargadatta", which details his notes and transcripts from his meetings with Nisargadatta in the late 70s.


Mark has a unique, fresh and spontaneous style of pointing (and satsang). Topics ranged from the approach that Nisargadatta took with his different disciples, to approaches from other nondual teachers such as Douglas Harding (Headless Way). There was some exploration and inquiry done, in the moment, with this direct, immediate presence.


It's a great blessing to have someone like Mark available to earnest seekers, considering Mark is one of the few living disciples of Nisargadatta (and others) still currently around. Mark's style of teaching/satsang is unique, and he has certainly gained his own understanding and way of presenting the message. One also gains a sense of the deep conviction that he has in terms of Who and What we really are.


DP.