Upanishads

ADVAYATARAKA UPANISHAD

Shuklayajurveda
group of Upanishads – yoga

1. Now we wish to convey the secret instructions of non-dualism for the benefit of those yogis who have renunciation, control over the senses, and are endowed with worthy qualities such as serenity and calmness of mind.

2. He who constantly contemplates, abiding in the nature of awareness of the original "I", with his eyes closed or slightly opened, looking above the eyebrows, unites with the Supreme Source, which manifests itself in the form of many light visions, and attains the radiant Body of Light.

3. This path is known as Taraka Yoga, through which the yogi is freed from the great horror of rebirth, life and death. The yogi, practicing it, destroys all bondage to dualistic concepts, fully knowing that the difference between the "I" and the Absolute is nothing more than an illusion, and becomes one with the Great Source of Being.

4. By meditating in the manner of Taraka Yoga on the Great Source, let the yogi recognize the three Signs of Realization.

5. Within the body of the yogi is the canal Sushumna, the seat of the great Self, like the effulgence of the sun and the effulgence of the full moon. It starts from the muladhara and goes upward to the aperture of Brahma in the Brahmarandra. In the center of Sushumna is the Kundalini, worshiped by the yogis, subtle like the fiber of a lotus and shining like many flashes of light. If the yogi concentrates on it, he is freed from all impure karmas. By constantly keeping the fire of Kundalini in a certain part of the head by contemplating the shining light by the methods of Taraka Yoga, the yogi attains Awakening. At first, when he practices thus, by closing the openings of both the ears, the sound “phu” will be heard. At the next stage, the yogi should continuously contemplate the Primordial Pure Mind in the space of blue light between the eyes and looking inside himself. Then great bliss arises in the heart of the yogi. This is the Inner Sign that the sage seeks, striving for Liberation.

6. Following this, the experience of the Outer Sign arises. It is experienced as the glow of space of shining yellow light, which sometimes becomes blood-red, sometimes has a dark blue or light blue hue, at a distance of four, six, eight, ten and twelve fingers in front of the nose. If the yogi, practicing Taraka Yoga, looks into space with an unfixed gaze, then rays of light first appear in his field of vision. These visions indicate the correctness of contemplation. Deepening contemplation, the yogi sees with his peripheral vision at the edges or below rays of light, like molten gold. When this level of visions is reached up to twelve fingers from the head, the yogi attains immortality. If the yogi, continuing the practice, attains stability in continuous contemplation and visions of light, attains the vision of the luminous space inside the head, wherever he is, he is always liberated.

7. Then comes the vision of the Intermediate Sign. The yogi sees round spheres like the solar disk. They emanate a glow around their edges like the glow of a fire, or he sees the inner space filled with diffused light without any shades. Having discovered the Intermediate Sign, the yogi abides in inseparable unity with the visions. Due to the subtle contemplation of the luminous visions, he becomes one and like space without any qualities. When he deepens his contemplation, he becomes one with the Supreme Space (Param-akasha), which resembles absolute darkness enveloping the effulgent radiance of the original “I”. In the next stage, he becomes one with the great space of Maha-akasha, which blazes like the universal flame at the end of the kalpa. Thereafter, the yogi becomes one with the space of the primordial Reality (Tattva-akasha), which surpasses everything in its saturated brightness. Finally, he becomes one with the solar space (Surya-akasha), which resembles the radiance of a hundred thousand suns. These five spaces, opening outward and inward, are the Sign of Liberation. The yogi who has realized them is completely liberated from the law of karma and becomes like these spaces. Having become like space, he himself becomes the Liberating Sign of Taraka, bestowing the fruits of the transcendental Reality beyond the mind.

8. The realization of Taraka is twofold: first Taraka is realized, then the thoughtless state. Therefore, the texts say that this Taraka Yoga should be comprehended in two stages: first the comprehension of Taraka arises, then comes the state beyond thoughts.

9. In the body of the yogi, within the eyes, there is a copy of the sun and the moon. Through this body, the perception of the solar and lunar disks arises as if they were in the external universe. Within the head there are corresponding lunar and solar disks. Therefore, the external and internal sun and moon must be perceived through the body. For this, let the yogi contemplate with a calm mind the inseparability of the internal and external, since if there were no connection between these two, the senses could not act. Therefore, Taraka can be understood by understanding oneself.

10. Taraka is twofold: having a form, manifesting as images of the deity, and having no form. That which has an end in the senses has the form of the deities. That which is beyond the visible has no form. Whatever the experiences of the yogi, the yogi should not leave contemplation. Through Taraka Yoga, through the vision of what is beyond the senses, the yogi, deepening his contemplation, discovers the essence of the “I” as the unity of consciousness and bliss, the original Being in its original form (Svarupa). Following this, the absolute “I” manifests as a white radiance. The Absolute Being is perceived in contemplative presence through the eyes. The formless Taraka is also cognized. Thanks to the motionless mind, abiding in contemplation, many manifestations of light are perceived through the eyes. Inner perception and outer space are united when the yogi, contemplating, merges vision, consciousness and the natural state. Then the yogi abides in contemplation without distractions. Taraka manifests in his inner vision.

11. The gaze must be fixed between the eyebrows, then the Supreme Radiance becomes manifest - this is the essence of Taraka Yoga. Let the yogi unite subtle concentration and a still mind with Taraka, slightly raising the eyebrows. This is the first method of Taraka Yoga. The second method is beyond method and is called “that which is beyond the mind.” At the base of the sky there is a great channel filled with light. It is contemplated by great yogis. By this means the siddhis of reduction (anima) and others are attained.

12. When the vision of the Outer and Inner Sign is maintained, whether the eyes are closed or open, this is the true shambhavi mudra. The earth is purified by a single moment of the presence of that great saint who has mastered this mudra. Simply by contact with the minds of such saints, innumerable worlds in the universe are purified. He who serves such a great yogi with devotion is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

13. The bright light in the Inner Sign is the original form of the highest Reality, where there is neither subject nor object. Through the instructions of the True Guru, the Inner Sign manifests as the bright glow of the thousand-petalled lotus on the crown of the head, or the highest light of consciousness residing in the depth of awareness, or the transcendental fourth state of Being, achieved at the sixteenth stage.

14. The True Teacher is versed in the sacred texts, devoted to Vishnu, free from envy, his mind is always pure, he is an expert in yogic sadhanas and is always in the non-dual Nature of the Absolute, being absorbed in the contemplation of the space of the True Self.

15. He who has devotion to his Teacher, who has fully cognized his higher “I”, is worthy of being a Teacher.

16. The syllable “Gu” means “darkness”, “ignorance”, the syllable “ru” means “destruction of this darkness”. Because he destroys the darkness of the disciple’s ignorance, he is called Guru.

17. Only the Teacher is the transcendental Being itself. Only the Teacher is the Supreme Dharma and the Supreme Knowledge. Only the Teacher is the Supreme Refuge.

18. Only the Teacher is the Supreme Limit and the Supreme Treasure. Since such a Teacher is the non-dual Reality itself, he surpasses everything.

19. He who is fortunate enough to read this sacred text even once is freed from the terrible cycle of birth and death. In an instant, his sins committed in all previous births fall away and all his desires are fulfilled. Such a yogi attains the highest goal of all living beings. He who has known the essence of this text, realizes the essence of all secret Teachings.