SADBODHACANDRODAYA

|| SADBODHACANDRODAYA || Rise of the Moon of True Awakening  -by Acharya Padmanandi  -English translation by Manish Modi

1.
' Citta {self} is such that even learned preceptors, who know it well, are incapable of describing it in words. Just as the sky cannot be captured in the minds of mortals, citta cannot be expressed in words. Among those who remain immersed in their consciousness, very few attain insights into the true self. Those who do are certain to attain liberation. For this inner disposition is the key factor in attaining liberation. Victory to this unique phenomenon, the citta {self} '

2.
' Citta {self} is immortal as well as mortal. It is large as well as small. It is many and one. It exists as well as does not exist. Thus, the self is very deep. It is both, full and empty. Victory to the self! Even those who are learned in the realities of the universe, and have mastered the art of correctly knowing the true nature of everything are awed by the subject of citta. I pay obeisance to those who have internalized the substance of the soul.'

' NB The soul is immortal because the soul never dies. Its attributes are constant. It is mortal because its manifestations are changing constantly. It is large because it can pervade the entire universe at one go. It is small because it is intangible and cannot be perceived by the senses. The soul is one. But it has innumerable spatial points. It exists as a sentient entity. It does not exist as an insentient entity. It is full of its own attributes. It is void of the attributes of other substances.'

3.
' I bow in obeisance to that male swan who has given up the sensuous pleasures of the divine lotus pond and lives appropriately in the lake of equanimity. He focuses respectfully on the female swan of liberation. The swan has drunk the water of bliss by experiencing controlled senses. I bow to the swan who lives tranquilly in the lake of equanimity.'

4.
'That which manifests itself when the soul immerses itself in itself, and shedding all foreign dispositions (of attachment and aversion) enlightens the whole world, is the abode of bliss. It is full of the unmatched radiance and effulgence. I bow to that enlightened soul.'

5.
Victory to that enormous effulgence of knowledge, in front of which the endless collection of words which can explain every substance in the universe loses its radiance.

6.
' The citta{self} is free from all doubts and dilemma. It embodies knowledge. It cannot be comprehended by the mind. Can the body which is insentient, arises out of karmas and is caused by mistaken identification of self with the body be compared to the citta?'

7.
'Just because it cannot be imagined or described, do not doubt the existence of the citta {self}. It is not fictitious. It can be experienced by ascetics who have attained true insight.'

8.
' The mind wanders about the universe paying no heed to the soul because if it were to cease wavering and immerse itself in the transcendental self, its worldly journey would come to an end. And who does not fear death? (Therefore, the mind remains engulfed in the external world.)'

9.
' The essence of the citta {self} remains in itself. If you look for it outside, you are like the fool who, despite having the object in his palms, went looking for it in the forest.'

10.
' One who remains immersed in the citta {self} becomes capable of attaining the supreme nectar of yoga. It is well known that one who wanders about distracted by external factors do not attain such capability. It is known that those who choose other paths do not reach this destination.'

11.
' Poor deluded souls: They are so enmeshed in their attachments and aversions that they can never truly attain the goal of self-realization. They live in doubt. They are manipulated by their thoughts and desires. They are as helpless and devoid of free will as actors taking part in a play, who have to adhere to the script.'

12.
' Deluded ones draw wrong conclusions based on their false understanding of reality. Hence, they look at various body parts of an elephant and fail to look at him in totality. So they draw wrong conclusions from misguided opinions and keep reincarnating in this world. May all of us be protected by the indomitable effulgence of knowledge! '

13.
' The citta {self} is free from all karmas, despite being bound by them. It is pure, despite being associated with attachment and aversion. Despite its embodied form, it is free from the body. Truly, everything about the soul is amazing and wondrous! '

14.
' The Citta {self} is immortal as well as mortal. It is void and yet full. It is one yet many. It has all these contrasting qualities, without being self-contradictory.'

' NB The soul is being seen from the niscaya {absolute} and vyavahara {practical} viewpoints. From the absolute viewpoint, the self is immortal. From the practical viewpoint, its depositions are constantly changing and therefore it may be argued that it is mortal. The self is void when it is immersed in itself.It is full because it has the quality of knowledge, which has everything with in its ambit. The self is one, yet many, on account of its pradesas (invisible units/ space points}. The self has all these qualities, which become apparent when one sees the soul from different viewpoints. All these qualities exist in the soul at the same time, either in dormant or manifested state.'

15.
 Just as one searches diligently for something one has forgotten, one who effortlessly seeks the help of one's consciousness eventually finds oneness with the soul and most definitely succeds in immersing himself in his true nature.

16.
' One gradually gives up all one's desires and wants. Thus, after all passions are voluntarily given up, the supreme state (of self-realization) is attained.'

17.
 The substance of soul that is achieved after conquering the senses, mastering the mind and attaining the supreme treasure of equanimity, is the raging fire that destroys the forest of transmigration.

18.
' Do not assume that you are free from all karmas. And do not think that you are bound by them. When you attain a state imperturbable equanimity, the restrained ones attain the ultimate achievement - liberation.'

19.
' Rebirth is caused by assuming that you are one with karmas. But assuming that you are free from all karmas is not completely correct (from the practical point of view). This is because this assumption too arises from delusion and results in the same duality. In truth, the soul is beyond the reach of all external factors. The soul cannot be compared to any external substance, nor is it affected by any external influence.'

20.
' The soul that is completely still, unperturbed by any thought or confusion, and has ceased to identify with any external factor, deeply yearns for liberation. It has come closer to attaining the flawless, pristine state of the paramatma {transcendental self}.'  On the other hand, yearning for worldly pleasures causes the inflow of attachment and aversion and consequently, rebirth in samsara..

21.
' The learned yogi has luminescent vision of true knowledge and always perceives his karmas to be different from his true self. He remains unaffected by joy and sorrow, realizing that both are the result of karmas.'

22.
 Just as the sun unfailing moves all across the sky each day, the wise ones who walk on the path of independence are forever free from the darkness of ignorance.

23.
' Even when clouds appear in the sky, they remain completely distinct from the sky. Similarly, I am the soul. I have always been and shall always be different from the body. I am free from disease, worry and other things, for they happen to the body. '

24.
' When a home is gutted by fire, the space contained by the home cannot be burnt. Similarly, disease may hurt the body but cannot affect the soul which is a personification of true knowledge. '

25.
' The soul, which is of the nature of pure knowledge, is free from all the qualities and attributes of external factors. The soul is mine. Apart from my own soul, no other entity can play a role in my liberation. This is the basic axiom of the path of liberation. '

26.
' The path of yoga is difficult indeed. It may lead to worldly bondage or to liberation. Hence, those who desire liberation should learn it from their guru {spiritual preceptor}.'

27.
' The true nature of the soul is pure knowledge. One must immerse oneself totally in its purity. It is delusion-induced indolence to immerse oneself in external objects and except happiness from them. '

28.
' The knowledge of the soul is a unique tirtha {port of liberation}. O learned ones, bathe yourself in auspicious disposition. The filth of attachment and aversion, which cannot be washed by visiting millions of other tirthas {places of pilgrimage} can be washed away by visiting the tirtha of self-realization.'

29.
 One who keeps diving undaunted in the ocean of true knowledge is bound to find gems of wisdom which shall wipe out his spiritual as well as temporal poverty which is fundamental cause of his sorrows.

30.
' Complete faith in the supreme soul, complete knowledge of the supreme soul and immersion in the supreme soul, are three gems from the practical point of view. From the absolute viewpoint, they are one with the soul.'

31.
 One who has strung the bow of intellect with the string of scriptural knowledge and targeted the human fallibility of being distracted by external objects is certain to win the war of self-awareness by destroying karmas- the enemy within.

' NB Self-awareness requires complete immersion in the self and staying away from all external distractions. Human frailty causes us to lose focus on the internal and chase after external objects of desire.'

32.
' From the absolute point of view, the conduct of a monk does not include activities of the mind, speech and body that cause violence and hence he does not attract inflow of karmas. But if the same monk becomes indolent he attracts a great deal of karmic inflow and tarnishes his conduct.'

33.
' When the full moon of true self-immersion arises, the ocean of the mendicants' unblemished knowledge rises in tandem. And the whole world, with all its living and non-living entities, seems but a tiny part of this cosmic consciousness.'

34.
' Karmas are like an enormous haystack. All it takes is the fire of true realization, impelled by the wind of self-immersion, to enter the soul of the mendicant - and this haystack is incinerated immediately.'

35.
 The intellect shall continue to chase scriptural knowledge, just as rivers rush towards the ocean, till the heart is not filled with the realization of the supreme self.

36.
 The wish-fulfilling tree of yoga shall definitely yield the fruit of liberation if it is not uprooted by the rutting elephant of the (wandering) mind and not reduced to ashes by the forest fire of delusion.

37.
' The lamp of true knowledge is flawless and radiates light. The storms of passion cannot even touch it. Cannot such a lamp destroy the darkness of delusion by illuminating everything.'

38.
' The jungle of worldly knowledge takes you away from the home of true wisdom. It offers several choices and creates confusion in the mind. A mind that keeps wandering thus (fixed on external objects) is like a woman of ill-repute rather than a lady from a good family.'

39.
 One who ponders over the heya, jñeya and upadeya gives up the heya {unworthy} and desires to make an all-out effort to attain the upadeya {worthy} shall certainly attain the highest stature (of a liberated soul) as long as he follows the teachings of his guru. guru - spiritual preceptor; heya - 'bad/sinful/demeritorious acts/words/deeds;  jñeya - ' acts/words/deeds worth knowing but not worth emulating; upadeya -  acts/words/deeds of kindness, courage, wisdom and forgiveness which ought to be emulated to the fullest extent.

40.
' When the mind is fast asleep in delusion it is overrun by flaws and shortcomings. It sees external living beings and objects as belonging to it. But when the mind shakes off its slumber on listening to the true preceptor, it realizes that all the external factors attached to its physical being are merely there on account of karmas and do not belong to it.'

' NB Here, the learned author is addressing the universal human failing of thinking of the body as belonging to one, and therefore, all the people and objects related to it are also seen as belonging to one. This false understanding of the reality of life leads to misery and greif as one expects others to behave as per one's own wishes; which never occurs.'

41.
' What more can be said? In order to achieve immaculate yoga, the wise ones take shelter in the self which is free from all the constantly changing identities imposed by karmas.'

42.
' Even reciting the name of the supreme soul leads to shedding of bad karmas bound many lifetimes ago. And if one is deeply interested in the true knowledge of the self, one can become the true spiritual master of the world.'

43.
' One whose mind is always immersed in true knowledge is yogisvara {Lord of yoga}. One must look upon all living beings as embodiment's of knowledge and protect them as one would protect oneself. '

44.
' Everything can be achieved through internal and external yoga. The yogi must constantly make an effort to consider others to be the same as himself (and ensure that all his activities do not harm any living being, however minute it may be.) '

45.
' Living beings have attracted karmas and suffered their consequences. Such consequences can never affect the non-living. Nor can they affect a true yogi.'

46.
' This world has slept the deep sleep of delusion for a long time. The author, Padmanandi, has composed this text so that there is awakening in the right direction. The rays of the words emanating from his moon-like face illuminate only a part of true nature of citta. Despite that they, attain glory in the skies of spiritual knowledge.'

47.
 The flawless yogi who has given up all possessions, attained the wealth of equanimity, is glorified by the three guptis {restrained mind, speech and body}, seeks only the shelter of the pure soul and is supremely detached is certain to attain liberation provided the fearsome enemy of delusion does not break him down.

48.
' In all the three worlds is there a god or human or animal whom I fear and who can provide infallible shelter in adversity? The supreme lord as explained by the guru, is capable of resolving all my doubts, desires and fears and illusions. It is none other than my own true self if I have awakened it.'

49.
' The full moon of true awakening lights up the mountain of self-realization, craetes large waves in the ocean of knowledge, shuts the petals of dilemma and delusion and opens the petals of the lotus of the truly wise ones who have attained true knowledge. Glory to that moon of awakening ! Also, Just as the moon shines forth behind the mountains, the moon rise of true awakening shines above and illuminates the mountain-like seekers and contemplative saints.'

50.
' The moon rise of true awakening is flawless, complete and illuminates everything. The moonbeams of true conduct dispel the darkness of delusion and true knowledge annihilates the darkness of ignorance. By its pleasant luster, the moon of true awakening spreads the bliss of self-realization in the minds and hearts of all good souls. '   VICTORY TO THE JINAS ! VICTORY TO THEIR TEACHINGS ! GLORY TO THEIR DHARMA !