6 Dec 2025
Aparokshanubhuti 47
Verse No 140
Objection: “Let it be that through direct knowledge born of inquiry a sage becomes Brahman — but how can one possessing only indirectknowledge do so?”
Reply: Even a knower with only indirect knowledge attains Brahmanhoodthrough intense contemplation, as indicated by the term“intensely meditated upon”.
Though indirect knowledge removes the ignorance on the side of the knower, it does not dispel the veiling on the side of the known.Nevertheless, when a person endowed with firm conviction contemplatesBrahman day and night with a mind shaped by the form of Brahman, then that Reality soon becomes directly realized, and the contemplator becomes Brahman Himself.
Through meditation on Brahman as non-different from the inner Self, a person becomes Brahman — as is well-known among the wise.
The seeker, through unbroken contemplation on Brahman, becomesBrahman.
Verse 141
If, as shown in the previous verse, even an entity distinct by nature (like the worm) becomes another (the wasp) by the power of contemplation alone, then what need is there to assert that the universe — which is only an appearance of Brahman and not different from It — becomes Brahman through contemplation of Brahman?
With this intention, the text now prescribes sarvātma-bhāvanā— the meditation seeing all as the Self — beginning with “adṛśyam.”
The entire universe — whether unseen or seen, subtle or gross, seer or seen, subject or object — the whole triad of knower, knowledge, and known, though appearing through illusion as distinct from the Self, is in truth pure Consciousness alone, of the nature ofundifferentiated illumination, which is one’s very Self.
Verse 142
The text further clarifies (by the phrase “dṛśyām iti”) how the seen world is to be contemplated:
The objects of perception — pots and the like — should be mentally withdrawn from their state of visibility and objecthood, and recognized as being nothing but their substratum — the pure Consciousness that underlies them.
Thus, in the manner established among the wise, having dissolved the imagined limitations of name and form, one should contemplate all as the Infinite, Unbounded Brahman, vast in essence and beyond confinement.
Then — what is the fruit of such contemplation?
The wise one, with an intellect filled with the very essence of Consciousness — for Consciousness itself is the nectar, the bliss, the essence — abides ever in the Eternal, Imperishable Bliss,established in that fullness (pūrṇatā).
Verse No 143
Now, the author concludes his exposition of the Yoga that accords with his own teaching (svābhimata-yoga) as follows:
For those aspirants whose mental impurities such as attachment andaversion have been to some extent ripened and subdued, this Vedānta-taught Yoga — when combined with the well-known eight-fold Yoga of Patañjali, that is, with haṭha-yoga disciplines — becomes the complete means to realization.
The remainder (i.e., its compatibility and purpose) is self-evident fromwhat has already been explained.
Verse No 144
Thus, anticipating the question, “Who is truly fit for this Rāja-Yoga?”,the author concludes the entire treatise as follows:
This Yoga is suited only for those whose minds have purifiedof attachment, aversion, and other impurities.For such purified souls, the Vedānta-taught Yoga alone bestows realization and liberation through the direct experience of Brahman, the inner Self.
It is not meant for those whose minds are unripe. Yet, since mental maturity itself is difficult to attain, the text prescribes an inner aid (antaraṅga-sādhana):devotion to the Guru and God.Through such devotion, realization dawns swiftly. This path applies to all human beings, regardless of caste or social status.Hence, worship of the Guru and God, in harmony with one’s duties, is the highest good — parama-maṅgalam.
