Panchadasi Mananam on Topic of Direct and Indirect Knowledge from Sastram

Introduction: Why this blogpost?

There is often discussion and confusion about whether the knowledge we gain by studying Vedanta Sastras (Prasthaana Trayam, Praakarana Grantha, Learning from Guru’s Pravachanam) will liberate us from suffering and/or qualify as Brahma Jnana. 

People ridiculing the approach of Sastra Sravanam, Svadhyayam, Mananam – label it as mere book knowledge etc. 

However people who are steeped in Advaitic tradition, encourage constant association with Brahma Vidya – both in the form of Satsangha and Sastram - because they lead to consistent Atma Vichara.

So to make things clear in this aspect, i.e. to underscore the importance of knowledge obtained from Sastram) AND to know certainly when knowledge from Sastra is called indirect and when knowledge itself is called Direct (i.e. immediately results in Brahma Jnana/Mukti), the following verses from Panchadashi by Sri Vidyaranyar, are quoted herewith for Manana.

Chapter IV: Dvaitavivekaḥ Chapter

parokṣā cāparokṣeti vidyā dvedhā vicārajā ।

tatrāparokṣa vidyāptau vicāro'yaṃ samāpyate ॥ 15॥

The knowledge arising from discrimination is of two kinds, indirect and direct. This process of discrimination ends in the achievement of the direct knowledge

Vicara, discrimination, is a process of enquiry and reflection, of deliberation and analysis regarding the Self

asti brahmeti cedveda parokṣajñānameva tat ।

ahaṃ brahmeti cedveda sākṣātkāraḥ sa ucyate ॥ 16॥

The knowledge that ‘ Brahman is ’ is indirect, the knowledge that 'I am Brahman ’ is direct.

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Chapter VII: Trptideepah Chapter

ayamityaparokṣatvamucyate cettaducyatām ।

svayaṃprakāśacaitanyamaparokṣaṃ sadā yataḥ ॥ 21॥

21. (Doubt): The term ‘this' in ‘I am this ’ refers to something knowable and that it cannot (apply to Brahman, who is unknown. (Reply): All right. Brahman as the Self is self-luminous and can always be directly experienced

parokṣamaparokṣaṃ ca jñānamajñānamityadaḥ ।

nityāparokṣarūpe'pi dvayaṃ syāddaśame yathā ॥ 22॥

22. The Self is ever cognized. We speak of Its being known directly or indirectly, being known or unknown, as in the illustration of the tenth man.

Notes: This refers to the well-known Vedic story. Ten ignorant men crossed a river and counted their number and found it was nine, for each left himself out. They hegan to cry. A wayfarer then came, counted and pointed to the last man "You are the tenth"

navasaṃkhyāhṛtajñāno daśamo vibhramāttadā ।

na vetti daśamo'smīti vīkṣyamāṇo'pi tānnava ॥ 23॥

23. The tenth man counts the other nine, each of whom is visible to him, but forgets himself the tenth, though all the time seeing himself.

na bhāti nāsti daśama iti svaṃ dahamaṃ tadā ।

matvā vakti tadajñānakṛtamāvaraṇaṃ viduḥ ॥ 24॥

24. Being Himself the tenth, he does not find him. ‘ The tenth is not visible, he is absent’, so he says. Intelligent people say that this is due to his presence being obscured by ignorance Or Maya.

nadyāṃ mamāra daśama iti śocanpraroditi ।

ajñānakṛtavikṣepaṃ rodanādiṃ vidurbudhaḥ ॥ 25॥

25. He is grieved and cries, because he believes the tenth to have been drowned in the river. The act of weeping a result of false superimposition, is due to illusion.

na mṛto daśamo'stīti śrutvāptavacanaṃ tadā ।

parokṣatvena daśamaṃ vetti svargādilokavat ॥ 26॥

26. When told by a competent person that the tenth is not dead, he believes by indirect knowledge that he is alive, just as one believes in the existence of heaven on the authority of the Sruti.

tvameva daśamo'sīti gaṇayitvā pradarśitaḥ ।

aparokṣatayā jñātvā hṛṣyatyeva na roditi ॥ 27॥

27. When each man is told: ‘ You are the tenth’ and he counts himself along with the others he stops weeping and grieving owing to the direct knowledge of the tenth, that is, himself

Chapter VII: Indirect Knowledge   culminates in Direct Knowledge

ajñāna avṛtivikṣepa dvividhā jñāna tṛptayaḥ ।

śokāpagama ityete yojanīyāścidātmani ॥ 28॥

28. Seven stages can be distinguished in. respect of the Self : ignorance, obscuration, superimposition, indirect knowledge, direct knowledge, cessation of grief and the rise of perfect satisfaction

asti kūṭastha ityādau parokṣaṃ vetti vārttayā ।

paścātkūṭastha evāsmītyevaṃ vetti vicārataḥ ॥ 31॥

31. From the teacher he comes to know of the existence of Kutastha indirectly. Then, by means of discrimination, he directly realizes ‘I am Kutastha’

Notes: - kūṭastha - The Soul standing immovable in the midst of the moving multitudes of body, mind. 

The immutable Self which is the witness-consciousness, unchanging, flawless, and eternal. Like the anvil in the smith’s shop which serves as the basis for beating the metal into various shapes, without itself changing, the Self remains as the immutable witness of changes in the physical and the psychical orders; hence it is called the kūṭastha.

Just as the canvas is that whereon the various painted figures appear, both of inanimate things like mountains and animate beings like men and animals, so also on the consciousness which is the immutable Self, the variegated world appears. Consciousness cannot be negated, even as the basic canvas cannot be dispensed with. Consciousness can never experience its own non-existence: it is eternal.

adhiṣṭhānatayā dehadvayāvacchinnacetanaḥ ।

kūṭavannirvikāreṇa sthitaḥ kūṭastha-ucyate ॥ 6.22॥

The consciousness which is conditioned by the gross and subtle bodies, on which they are superimposed and which knows no change, is known as Kutastha.

kūṭasthe kalpitā buddhistatra cit pratibimbakaḥ ।

prāṇānāṃ dhāraṇājjīvaḥ saṃsāreṇa sa yujyate ॥ 6.23॥

On the Kutastha is superimposed by imagination the intellect (buddhi). The reflection of Kutastha in the intellect is animated by vitality and is Called the Jiva. It is subject to transmigration.

ajñānasyāśrayo brahmetyadhiṣṭhānatayā jaguḥ ।

jīvāvasthātvamajñānābhimānitvādavādiṣam ॥ 43॥

43. The ancient teachers said of Brahman, as the support of ignorance as a substratum, but ignorance is attributable to Jiva because he identifies himself with it, and feels ‘ I am ignorant’

jñānadvayena naṣṭe'sminnajñāne tatkṛtāvṛtiḥ ।

na bhāti nāsti cetyeṣā dvividhāpi vinaśyati ॥ 44॥

44. By the two kinds of knowledge ignorance is negated, and with it, its effects, and the ideas ‘ Brahman does not exist ’ and ‘ Brahman is not manifest’ also perish

parokṣajñānato naśyedasattvāvṛttihetutā ।

aparokṣajñānanāśyā hyabhānāvṛttihetutā ॥ 45॥

45. By indirect knowledge the misconception that Kutastha does not exist is negated. Direct knowledge destroys the result of the obscuring of reality expressed in the idea that Brahman is not manifest or experienced.

abhānāvaraṇe naṣṭe jīvatvāropasaṃkṣayāt ।

kartṛtvādyakhilaḥ śokaḥ saṃsārākhyaḥ nivartate ॥ 46॥

46. When the obscuring principle is destroyed, both the idea of Jiva, a mere superimposition, and the grief caused by the worldly idea of agent ship are destroyed.

nivṛtte sarvasaṃsāre nityamuktatvabhāsanāt ।

niraṅkuśā bhavettṛptiḥ punaḥ śokāsamudbhavāt ॥ 47॥

47. When the world of duality is destroyed by the experience of one’s being ever released,, there arises, with the annihilation of all grief, an unrestricted and everlasting satisfaction.

ayamityaparokṣatvamuktaṃ taddvividhaṃ bhavet ।

viṣayasvaprakāśatvāddhiyāpyevaṃ tadīkṣaṇāt ॥ 49॥

49. The direct knowledge of the reality referred to in the Sruti as ‘this’ (in ‘This is the Self’) is of two kinds: Atman is self-luminous, and the intellect perceives it as self-evident.

ātmānaṃ cedvijānīyādayamasmīti pūruṣaḥ ।

kimicchankasya kāmāya śarīramanusaṃjvaret ॥ 7.1 Panchadasi॥

ātmānaṁ ced vijānīyād ayam asmīti pῡruṣaḥ

kiṁ icchan, kasya kāmāya śarīram anusaṁjvaret – 4.4.12 Brih Upanisad

Ref: Brihadaranyaka Upanisad: IV-iv-12: If a man knows the Self as ‘I am this’, then desiring what and for whose sake will he suffer in the wake of the body ?

51. Indirect knowledge, which is the -cognition ‘Brahman exists ’ and not the cognition ‘I am Brahman’, is not erroneous ; because in the state of direct knowledge this indirect knowledge is not contradicted but confirmed

Notes: Direct knowledge of Brahman is ‘ This (Atman) is Brahman.’ Indirect knowledge of Brahman is ‘ There is Brahman.’ This indirect knowledge establishes the possibility of Brahman—Brahman is a hypothetical entity, but for whose existence certain incongruities in our explanation of the world would not be solved. But this does not make Brahman an object of discursive knowledge, which would have contradicted the Smrti statement that it is beyond speech and mind. When one says ‘There is Brahman’, ‘there’ in this sentence is ‘introductory’, it does not mean ‘out there’.  So it does not contradict ‘This (Atman) is Brahman.’ From the mere statement ‘There is Brahman ’ we, in fact, are not entitled to call it direct or indirect knowledge. Still because it does not give us a positive idea of Brahman being Atman, which is direct cognition, we call it indirect. Hence there is no contradiction between this kind of indirect knowledge and the direct experience of Atman-Brahman. It does not say that the direct know¬ ledge is impossible. The Western idea of the Absolute being unknown and unknowable ’ is, of course, contradictory to ‘ This (Atman) is Brahman’

ātmā brahmeti vākyārthe niḥśeṣeṇa vicārite ।

vyaktirullikhyate yadvaddaśamastvamasītyataḥ ॥ 58

58. By a thorough analysis of ‘Self is Brahman ’ the direct knowledge “I am Brahman” is achieved, just as the man after having been told that he is the tenth comes to realize it through reflection.

Notes: From scriptural texts comes indirect knowledge and from reflection on the great sayings of the texts arise direct knowledge. There are different views regarding the primacy of Dhyana and Mahavakya. The consensus of opinions among the Advaitins is that reflection is only a help, the great Saying is the direct cause of illumination.

sadevetyādivākyena brahmasattvaṃ parokṣataḥ ।

gṛhītvā tattvamasyādivākyādvyaktiṃ samullikhet ॥ 61॥

61. The Vedic texts, such as ‘ Before the creation Brahman alone existed’, give indirect; knowledge of Brahman ; but the text ‘ That thou art ’ gives direct knowledge.

janmādikāraṇatvākhyalakṣaṇena bhṛguḥ purā ।

parokṣeṇa gṛhītvātha vicārāt vyaktimaikṣata ॥ 63॥

63. The sage Bhrgu, in ancient times., acquired indirect knowledge of Brahman by reflecting on Brahman as the cause of the origin, sustenance and dissolution of the universe. He acquired direct knowledge by differentiating the Self from the five sheaths.

annaprāṇādi koṣeṣu suvicārya punaḥ punaḥ ।

ānandavyaktimīkṣitvā brahmalakṣāpyayūyujat ॥ 65॥

65. Bhrgu considered carefully the nature of the food-sheath, the vital-sheath and so forth. He saw in the bliss-sheath the indications of Brahman and concluded: ‘ I am Brahman’.

satyaṃ jñānamanantaṃ cetyevaṃ brahmasvalakṣaṇam ।

uktvā guhāhitatvena kośeṣvetat pradarśitam ॥ 66॥

66. The Sruti first speaks of the nature of Brahman as truth, knowledge and infinity. It then describes the Self hidden in the five sheaths.

pārokṣyeṇa vibudhyendro ya ātmeyādilakṣaṇāt ।

aparokṣīkartumicchaṃścaturvāraṃ guruṃ yayau ॥ 67॥

67. Indra acquired indirect knowledge of Brahman by studying Its attributes. He then went to his teacher four times with a view to gaining direct knowledge of the Self.

Ref: Chandogya Up. 8.7-9 (Segment where Indra and Virochana approach Brahma for AtmajnAna. But unlike Virochana who comes back satisfied thinking the body is Atman, Indra perseveres till he attains direct knowledge of the Kutashtha Chaithanya)

ātmā vā iadamityādau parokṣaṃ brahmalakṣitam ।

adhyāropāpavādābhyāṃ prajñānaṃ brahma darśitam ॥ 68॥

68. In the Aitareya Upanisad an indirect knowledge of Brahman is imparted by such texts as ‘There was only Atman before creation’. The Upanisad then describes the process of superimposition, and negating it shows that consciousness is Brahman.

avāntareṇa vākyena parokṣabrahmadhīrbhavet ।

sarvatraiva mahāvākyavicārāttvaparokṣadhīḥ ॥ 69॥

69. An indirect knowledge of Brahman by the intellect can be gained from other Sruti passages also; but direct knowledge is achieved by enquiring upon the great Sayings of the Sruti.

70. In Vakyavrtti it is said that the great Sayings are intended to give direct knowledge of Brahman. There is no doubt about this fact.

71. In ‘That thou art’ ‘thou’ denotes the consciousness which is limited or circumscribed by the adjunct the inner organ and which is the object of the idea and word ‘I’.

Notes: The real element in Isvara and Jiva is consciousness; the rest are accidental and hence unreal and could be ignored, for realizing the identity.

saṃsargo vā viśiṣṭo vā vākyārtho nātra saṃmataḥ ।

akhaṇḍaikarasatvena vākyārtho viduṣāṃ mataḥ ॥ 75॥

75. The relation between the two substantives (‘thou’ and ‘that’) should not be taken as that of one qualifying the other or of mutual qualification, but of complete identity, of absolute homogeneity. That is, the meaning of the expression, according to competent persons is “what is thou” is wholly and fully “that” and that which is “that” is wholly and fully “thou”—both the terms indicate absolute homogeneous consciousness.

pratyagbodho ya ābhāti so'dvayānandalakṣaṇaḥ ।

advayānandarūpaśca pratyagbodhaikalakṣaṇaḥ ॥ 76॥

76. What appears to be the individual conscious Self is of the nature of non-dual bliss; and non-dual bliss is no other than the individual conscious Self (so Brahman is Self and Self is Brahman).

Note: A remarkable observation by Sri Vidyaranyar is that the direct knowledge of Self as “I am” is irrefutable and it’s the infinite nature of this “I am” which is brought to the attention & knowledge of the seeker with Sruti Mahavaakya(s). So knowing “I as the internal awareness am infinite, unlimited by time, space etc and nature of bliss” is not contradicted by what get’s illumined by consciousness via the sense organs. So Sruti Mahavaakya’s give direct knowledge of our infinite nature and this is not contradicted by sensory knowledge.

antaḥkaraṇasantyāgādavaśiṣṭe cidātmani ।

ahaṃ brahmeti vākyena brahmatvaṃ sākṣiṇīkṣyate ॥ 88॥

88, (Doubt): If the idea of “I” is given up, how is the knowledge “I am Brahman” possible ? {Reply): It is the false parts of ‘I’ which are to be given up and the true part retained, following the logical rule of partial elimination.

ahaṃ brahmeti vākyārthabodho yāvaddṛḍhībhavet ।

śamādi sahita stāvadabhyasecchravaṇādikam ॥ 97॥

97. From the great Sayings a direct knowledge of Brahman is obtained, but it is not firmly established all at once. Therefore Sri Shankaracharya emphasizes the importance of repeated hearing, reflection and meditation.

bādhaṃ santi hyadārḍhyasya hetavaḥ śrutyanekatā ।

asambhāvyatvamarthasya viparīta ca bhāvanā ॥ 98॥

98. “ Until the right understanding of the meaning of the sentence ' I am Brahman ’ becomes quite firm, one should go on studying the Sruti and thinking deeply over its meaning as well as practicing the inner control and other virtues.”

śākhābhedātkāmabhedācchrutaṃ karmāṇyathānyathā ।

evamatrāpi māśaṅkītyataḥ śravaṇamācaret ॥ 99॥

99. The causes of the lack of firmness in the direct knowledge of Brahman are: the occurrence of apparently contradictory texts, the doubt about the possibility of such a knowledge and radically opposed ways of thinking leading to the idea of doership.

samanvayādhyāya etatsūktaṃ dhīsvāsthyakāribhiḥ ।

tarkaiḥ sambhāvanārthasya dvitīyādhyāyaḥ īritā ॥ 101॥

101.  ‘Hearing ’ is the process by which one becomes convinced that the Vedas in their beginning, middle and end teach the identity of Jiva and Brahman, and this is the gist of Vedanta

bahujanmadṛḍhābhyāsāddehādiṣvātmadhīḥ kṣaṇāt ।

punaḥ punarudetyevaṃ jagatsatyatvadhīrapi ॥ 102॥

103. The Jiva, as a result of the firm habit of many births repeatedly, moment by moment, thinks that the body is the Self and that the world is real.

viparītā bhāvaneyamaikāgryātsā nivartate ।

tattvopadeśāt prāgeva bhavatyetadupāsanāt ॥ 104॥

104. This is called erroneous thinking. It is removed by the practice of one-pointed meditation. This concentration arises out of worship of lsvara, even before the initiation regarding attributeless Brahman.

taccintanaṃ tatkathanamanyonyaṃ tatprabodhanam ।

etadekaparatvaṃ ca brahmābhyāsaṃ vidurbudhāḥ ॥ 106॥

106. ‘ The practice of meditation on Brahman, the wise consider, means reflection on It, talking about It, mutually producing logical arguments about It—thus to be fully occupied with It alone.’

tameva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṃ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ ।

nānudhyāyādbahuñchabdānvāco viglāpanaṃ hi tat ॥ 106॥

107. ‘The wise man, having known Brahman beyond doubt, ought to generate a flow of unbro¬ ken thought-current on It. He should not engage in much discussion, for that has but one effect—it tires the organ of speech.’

tam eva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṁ kurvīta brāmaṇaḥ

nānudhyāyād bahῡn śabdān, vāco viglāpanaṁ hi tat iti.

Ref: IV-iv-21: The intelligent aspirant after Brahman, knowing about this alone, should attain intuitive knowledge. (He) should not think of too many words, for it is particularly fatiguing to the organ of speech – Brih Upanisad.

Ref: Mu. Up 3.1.4 ~ vijānanvidvānbhavate nātivādī

प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति विजानन्विद्वान्भवते नातिवादी ।
आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावानेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥ ४ ॥

praṇo hyeṣa yaḥ sarvabhūtairvibhāti vijānanvidvānbhavate nātivādī |
ātmakrīḍa ātmaratiḥ kriyāvāneṣa brahmavidāṃ variṣṭhaḥ || 4 ||

This is, indeed. Prana, i.e., Isvara, shining variously with all living beings. Knowing him, the wise man becomes not a talker regarding anything else. Sporting in self, delighted in self and doing nets (enjoined), this man is the best of those who know the Brahman.

ananyāścintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate ।

teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyaham ॥ 108॥

108. The Gita says; “Those who one-pointedly concentrate their mind on Me and meditate on Me as their own Self, I give what those ever-devoted ones need and protect what they have”.

Gita 9.22. Acarya Madhusudana says that God provides incentive and energy to all people and necessary things to the illumined ones.

iti śrutismṛtī nityamātmanyekāgratāṃ dhiyaḥ ।

vidhatto viparītāyā bhāvanāyāḥ kṣayāya hi ॥ 109॥

109. Thus both Shruti and Smriti enjoin constant concentration of the mind on the Self to remove the erroneous conviction concerning the Self and the world

yad yathā vartate tasya tattvaṃ hitvānyathātvadhīḥ ।

viparīta bhāvanā syātpitrādāvaridhīryathā ॥ 110॥

110. An erroneous conviction is ignorance of the true nature of an object, and taking it as the opposite of what it really is. It is like a son treating his father as an enemy

kathanādau na nirbandhaḥ śṛṅkhalābaddhadehavat ।

kintvanantetihāsādyairvinodo nāṭyavaddhiyaḥ ॥ 122॥

122. The mind cannot be chained like the body, so practice hearing about Brahman. The mind is entertained by many religious stories and other accounts, as by a dramatic performance.

       The whole purpose is to keep the mind in the Spirit; stories, anecdotes etc., reminding us of the real entity and helping us to forget the opposite, are, therefore, very useful

cidevātmā jaganmithyetyatra paryavasānataḥ ।

nididhyāsanavikṣepo netihāsādibhirbhavet ॥ 123॥

123. The purpose of such accounts is to realize that the nature of the Self is pure consciousness and that the universe is illusory. So they are not a hindrance to the one-pointedness of meditation

tattvavismṛtimātrānnānarthaḥ kintu viparyayāt ।

viparyetuṃ na kālo'sti jhaṭiti smarataḥ kvacit ॥ 126॥

126. Merely momentary forgetfulness of the truth is not disastrous; but the erroneous conviction is. As (in the former case) the recollection immediately returns, there is no time for intensification of the erroneous conviction

janakādeḥ kathaṃ rājyamiti ceddṛḍhabodhataḥ ।

tathā tavāpi cettarkaṃ paṭha yadvā kṛṣiṃ kuru ॥ 130॥

130. (Doubt): How then the ancient knowers like Janaka administered kingdoms? (Reply): They were able because of their conviction about the truth. If you have that, then by all means engage yourself in logic or agriculture or do whatever you. like.

mithyātvavāsanādārḍhye prārabdhakṣayakāṅkṣayā ।

akliśyantaḥ pravartante svasvakarmānusārataḥ ॥ 131॥

131. Once he is convinced of the unreality of the world, a knower, with mind undisturbed, allows his fructifying Karma to wear out, and engages himself in worldly affairs accordingly.

168. That which is not destined to happen as a result of our past Karma will not happen; that which is to happen must happen. Such knowledge is a sure antidote to the poison of anxiety; it removes the delusion of grief.

169. Both the illumined and the deluded suffer from their fructifying Karma; the deluded are subject to misery, the wise are not. As the deluded are full of desires, of impracticable unreal things, their sorrow is great.

170. The illumined man knows that the enjoyment of desires is unreal. He therefore controls his desires and prevents impossible or new ones from arising. Why should such a man be subject to misery?

 Chapter IX: Dhyanadeepah: (Direct and Indirect Knowledge)

vedāntebhyo brahmatattvamakhaṇḍaikarasātmakam ।

parokṣamavagamyaitadahamasmītyupāsate ॥ 14॥

14. After indirectly knowing the one indivisible homogeneous Brahman from the books on Vedanta, one should meditate on or think repeatedly ‘I am Brahman ’.

pratyagvyaktimanullikhya śāstrādviṣṇvādimūrtivat ।

asti brahmeti sāmānyajñānamatraṃ parokṣadhīḥ ॥ 15॥

15. Without realizing Brahman to be one’s own Self, the general knowledge of Him derived through the study of the scriptures, viz., “Brahman is” here called indirect knowledge, just as our knowledge of the forms of Visnu etc., is called.

caturbhujādyavagatāvapi mūrtimanullikhan ।

akṣaiḥ parokṣajñānyeva na tadā viṣṇumīkṣate ॥ 16॥

16. One may have knowledge of Visnu from scriptures as having four arms etc., but if one does not have a vision of Him, he is said to have only indirect knowledge, inasmuch as he has not seen Him with his eyes.

parokṣatvāparādhena bhavennātattvavedanam ।

pramāṇenaiva śāstreṇa satyamūrtervibhāsanāt ॥ 17॥

17. This knowledge because of its defect of indirectness is not false, for the true form of Visnu has been revealed by the scriptures which are authoritative.

saccidānandarūpasya śāstrādbhāne'pyanullikhan ।

pratyaṃcaṃ sākṣiṇaṃ tattu brahma sākṣānna vīkṣate ॥ 18॥

18. From the scripture a man may have a conception of Brahman as existence, consciousness and bliss but he cannot have a direct knowledge of Brahman unless Brahman is cognized as the inner witness in his own personality.

śāstroktenaiva mārgeṇa saccidānandanirṇayāt ।

parokṣamapi tajjñānaṃ tattvajñānaṃ na tu bhramaḥ ॥ 19॥

19. As the knowledge of Sat-cit-ananda has been acquired in the scriptural method, it, though an indirect knowledge, is not an illusory one.

brahma yadyapi śāstreṣu pratyaktvenaiva varṇitam ।

mahāvākyaistathāpyetaddurbodhamavicāriṇaḥ ॥ 20॥

20. Though Brahman has been described as being one’s own Self in the scriptures and the great Sayings, still, one cannot understand It without the practice of enquiry.

brahmamātraṃ suvijñeyaṃ śraddhāloḥ śāstradarśinaḥ ।

aparokṣadvaitabuddhiḥ parokṣadvaitabuddhyanut ॥ 22॥

22. As the perception of duality is not opposed to an indirect knowledge of non-duality, a man of faith, expert in the scriptures, can easily have the indirect knowledge of Brahman

sakṛdāptopadeśena parokṣajñānamudbhavet ।

viṣṇumūrtyupadeśo hi na mīmāṃsāmapekṣate ॥ 25॥

25. An indirect knowledge of Brahman can arise even through a single instruction by a competent teacher. It is like the knowledge of the form of Visnu which does not depend on intellectual enquiry.

brahmasākṣātkṛtistvevaṃ vicāreṇa vinā nṛṇām ।

āptopadeśamātreṇa na sambhavati kutracit ॥ 30॥

30. The direct realization of Brahman, however, is never possible only from the instructions of a competent teacher without the practice of enquiry. Vicara, enquiry, includes both critical reflection and also one-pointed meditation.

parokṣajñānamaśraddhā pratibadhnāti netarat ।

avicāro'parokṣasya jñānasya pratibandhakaḥ ॥ 31॥

31. Want of faith alone obstructs the indirect knowledge; want of enquiry is however the obstacle to the direct knowledge

vicārāpyaparokṣeṇa brahmātmānaṃ na vetti cet ।

āparokṣyāvasānatvādbhūyobhūyo vicārayet ॥ 32॥

32. If even by enquiry one does not get the direct knowledge of Brahman as the Self, one should repeatedly practice enquiry, for enquiry, it is prescribed, should continue until direct knowledge dawns.

garbha eva śayānaḥ sanvāmadevo'vabuddhavān ।

pūrvābhyastavicāreṇa yadvadadhyayanādiṣu ॥ 35॥

35.By virtue of the practice of spiritual enquiry in a previous birth, vAmadeva had realization even while in his mother’s womb. Suck results are also seen in the case of studies