Upanishads

Nirvana Upanishad

Rigveda
group of Upanishads – sannyasa

Om shanti shanti shanti.

1. So now (the Nirvana Upanishad will be expounded).

2. Paramahamsa (says): "I am He/Brahman" (i.e. "Soham" – the sacred mantra from the Isha Upanishad).

3. Mendicant monks, sannyasins – are those who have inner renunciation of the material world (i.e. whose renunciation is not showy). Only such people have the right to study this Upanishad.

4. They are the protectors of the field (kshetra) from which the I-thought (aham-vritti, i.e. the index of illusory egoistic separateness of the Self-Essence) is rooted out forever.

5. Their final conclusion (i.e. state) is the partless homogeneity of pure consciousness, – like ether.

6. Their heart is the river of immortal waves.

7. Their heart is the imperishable and unconditioned basis.

8. Their Guru is a realized (i.e. Self-realized) sage, free from doubts.

9. That Divine Essence which they adore and revere is the supreme bliss of Brahman.

10. Their life is free from family, children, and other samsaric problems.

11. Their Knowledge is infinite and unlimited.

12. (They study and/or teach) the highest Knowledge of the shastras (i.e. the holy scriptures).

13. (They form) an informal monastic community.

14. What do they devote their time to? They teach Brahma-vidya to a group of worthy disciples.

15. Their upadesa teaching is that nothing exists except Brahman and that the entire material world is an illusion.

16. This initiation (into true Knowledge) brings joy and purity (to capable students).

17. They shine like twelve suns.

18. Discrimination-viveka (of the real from the unreal) is their protection.

19. The flower of their compassion is play (i.e. their compassion is natural).

20. (They wear) a garland of happiness and bliss.

21. In the cave of one secluded place (i.e. the heart) is the seat of their happiness, free from the conditionings of Hatha Yoga.

22. (They) sustain their lives on food not specially prepared for them.

23. Their conduct is in accordance with the realization of the Unity of the Self-Essence (Atman) and Brahman (Hamsa).

24. They demonstrate to the disciples by their conduct that Brahman is present in all beings.

25. True conviction is their patched robe. Non-attachment is their loincloth. Reflection (on the truths of Vedanta) is their (symbolic) staff. The vision (realization) of Brahman (as non-different from the Self-Essence) is their yogic robe. (Their) sandals are avoidance of contact with worldly objects and worldly wealth. Their actions (activity) are the best example for others to follow. Their entire desire is limited only to the desire to direct their kundalini energy into sushumna. They are jivanmuktas, as they are free from the denial of the supreme Brahman. Oneness with Shiva is their sleep. True Knowledge (rejecting joy in avidya) or khechari-mudra is their highest happiness.

26. (The happiness, bliss) of Brahman is free from the (three) gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas).

27. Brahman is realized through discrimination (between the real and the unreal), and He is beyond the reach of mind and speech (and other material senses).

28. The phenomenal world is impermanent and unreliable, because it is a manufactured, created thing, and Brahman alone is real; it is like the world seen in a dream or an illusory elephant in the sky; and similarly, the totality of things (like the human body, etc.) is perceived by the network of many delusions – and it falsely appears (i.e. appears) to exist, like a snake in a rope (due to imperfect knowledge).

29. The worship of the Gods (Vishnu, Brahma, and a hundred others) culminates in Brahman.

30. The path is an incentive.

31. The path is not empty, it is conventional.

32. The power of the supreme God is a support on the path to Heaven.

33. Yoga accomplished by Truth is the monastery.

34. The heavens of the Gods do not constitute their true nature.

35. The primary (direct) source of Brahman is Self-realization.

36. The ascetic should contemplate on the non-difference (abheda) based on Gayatri, through the ajapa-mantra.

37. Restraint of the mind is a garment made of patches.

38. By means of yoga one can feel, realize the nature of eternal bliss.

39. Bliss is the alms he enjoys.

40. For a yogi, even a stay in a cemetery is like playing in a pleasure garden.

41. A secluded place is a monastery.

42. The state of perfect peace of mind is the practice of Brahmavidya.

43. He moves towards the state of unmani.

44. His pure body is the supportless abode of dignity.

45. His work/activity is the bliss of the waves of immortality.

46. The ether of consciousness is the great established conclusion (or: firm opinion).

47. The instruction in the liberating mantra leads to the effectiveness of bodily and mental efforts for the attainment of divine peace, restraint, etc., and to the realization of the Unity of the (so-called) higher and lower Self-Entities (i.e. Brahman and Jivatman).

48. The worshipable Deity is the eternal bliss of Advaita.

49. Observance of voluntary religious vows is the restraint of the internal senses.

50. Renunciation/tyaga is freedom from fear, delusion, grief and anger.

51. Renunciation of the results of action is the enjoyment of the Unity of Brahman and jivatman.

52. Intemperance is simply energy, shakti.

53. When the reality of Brahman shines in the jivatman (i.e. in the mind of the yogi), then the phenomenal world of maya-shakti, which envelops pure consciousness (i.e. Shiva), completely ceases to exist; thus the causal, subtle and gross bodies of man are burned/destroyed.

54. He/the yogi realizes Brahman as the substrate (support) of ether.

55. The blissful fourth state (Turiya) is the sacred thread; the topknot (on the head of the yogi) consists of this (i.e. these threads).

56. From the yogi's point of view, the created world (i.e. the totality of all immovable objects and other beings) consists of consciousness.

57. When there is a sincere desire (to attain Liberation), then it is not difficult to eradicate the consequences of karma; Brahman Himself burns to ashes illusions (maya), self-thoughts (asmita), and the ego (ahamkara).

58. The renounced sannyasin (parivrajaka) no longer identifies himself with the body and mind.

59. Meditation on the true Essence, which is beyond the three attributes of prakriti (gunas sattva, rajas and tamas), should be continuous; all illusions and delusions should be destroyed by the realization of the absolute Unity of jivatman and Brahman. It is also necessary to burn, destroy all passions, attachments (to the worldly), etc. The fabric of the loincloth should be rough and dense (so that the vital energy-prana rises up the sushumna of the ascetic-brahmachari). The ascetic should be naked as much as possible (i.e. have a minimum of clothing). The ineffable mantra (Om in the fourth state of Turiya) is performed while abstaining from worldly affairs (i.e. karmic influence). By acting of his own spontaneous volition (since he has reached the stage of being beyond good and bad, i.e. beyond all duality), he (the ascetic yogi) realizes his true, genuine nature, which is Nirvana, free from all material bondage.

60. His (i.e. the sannyasin's) renounced life is like a ship on which one has to cross the ocean of samsara and reach the transcendental Brahman; for this purpose one has to observe strict brahmacharya, one has to abstain from all material enjoyments, one has to cultivate being in a state of complete peace; at any stage of life (be it studentship, grihastha-ashrama, etc.) a person has the right to accept sannyasa and renounce everything worldly – only if he is established in the highest consciousness; and at last he merges in the indivisible homogeneous Brahman, eternal, beyond all error and doubt.

61. This Nirvanopanishad (i.e. the secret Doctrine leading to the highest bliss) should not be imparted to anyone except a disciple or a son.

Thus ends the Nirvana Upanishad of the Rig Veda.

Om shanti shanti shanti.