Aparokshanubhuti: Direct Knowledge Of The Self

Aparokshanubhuti means the Direct Knowledge of the Self. As opposed to paroksha, or indirect knowledge, aparoksha jñana is the self-revealing nature of the Self. You know, the one you always and already have.

But through this riff on yogic practices, Adi Śankara (the attributed writer) leads us through the true meaning of the self-liberation of our nature - beyond cause and effect.

Transcript

Sri Sankaracharya's Aparoksha Nuputi Translated by Swami Vimuktananda Shloka 100 Now, For the attainment of the foresaid knowledge, I shall expound the fifteen steps by help of which one should practice profound meditation at all times. The Atman that is absolute existence and knowledge cannot be realized without constant practice, So one seeking after knowledge should long meditate upon Brahman for the attainment of the desired goal. The steps, In order, Are described as follows. The control of the senses. The control of the mind. Renunciation. Silence. Space. Time. Posture. The restraining root. The equipoise of the body. The firmness of vision. The control of the vital forces. The withdrawal of the mind. Concentration. Self-contemplation. And complete absorption. The restraint of all the senses by means of such knowledge as, All this is Brahman, Is rightly called Yama, Which should be practiced again and again. The continuous flow of only one kind of thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts is called Niyama, Which is verily the supreme bliss and is regularly practiced by the wise. The abandonment of the illusory universe by realizing it as the all-conscious Atman is the real renunciation honored by the great. Since it is of the nature of immediate liberation. The wise should always be one with that silence wherefrom words together with the mind turn back without reaching it, But which is attainable by the yogins. Who can describe that whence words turn away? Or if the phenomenal world were to be described, Even that is beyond words. This, To give an alternate definition, May also be termed silence, Known among the sage as congenital. The observance of silence by restraining speech, On the other hand, Is ordained by the teachers of Brahman for the ignorant. That solitude is known as space, Wherein the universe does not exist in the beginning, End, Or middle, But whereby it is pervaded at all times. The non-dual Brahman that is bliss indivisible is denoted by the word time, Since it brings into existence in the twinkling of an eye all beings, From Brahman downwards. One should know that to be the real posture in which the meditation of Brahman flows spontaneously and unceasingly, And not any other that destroys one's happiness. That which is well known as the origin of all beings and the support of the whole universe, Which is immutable and in which the enlightened are completely merged, That alone is known as Siddhasana. That which is the root of all existence, And on which the restraint of the mind is based, Is called the restraining root, Which should be always adopted since it is fit for Raja Yogins. Absorption in the uniform Brahman should be known as the equipoise of the limbs, Otherwise mere straightening of the body, Like that of a dried up tree, Is no equipoise. Converting the ordinary vision into one of knowledge, One should view the world as Brahman itself. That is the noblest vision, And not that which is directed to the tip of the nose. Or one should direct one's vision to that alone, Where all distinction of the seer, Sight, And the seen ceases, And not to the tip of the nose. The restraint of all modifications of the mind by regarding all mental states like the citta as Brahman alone is called pranayama. The negation of the phenomenal world is known as rijaka, Breathing out. The thought, I am verily Brahman, Is called puraka, Breathing in. And the steadiness of that thought thereafter is called kumbhaka, Breath restraint. This is the real course of pranayama for the enlightened, Whereas the ignorant only torture the nose. The absorption of the mind in the supreme consciousness by realizing Atman in all objects is known as pratyahara, Withdrawal of the mind, Which should be practiced by seekers after liberation. The steadiness of the mind through realization of Brahman wherever the mind goes is known as the supreme tarana, Concentration. Remaining independent of everything as the result of the unassailable thought, I am verily Brahman is well known by the word dhyana, Meditation, And is productive of supreme bliss. The complete forgetfulness of all thought by first making it changeless and then identifying it with Brahman is called samadhi, Known also as knowledge. The aspirant should carefully practice this meditation that reveals his natural bliss until being under their full control, It arises spontaneously, In an instant when called into action. Then they, The best among yogis, Having attained to perfection, Becomes free from all practices. The real nature of such a person never becomes an object of the mind or speech.