Dipavali (Deepavali) at the SAT Temple

Rows of lights . . . Dipavali

From the unreal to the Real lead me;

From darkness to Light lead me;

From death to Immortality lead me.

Om. Peace, Peace, Peace.

All set-up, awaiting Dipavali celebration at the SAT Temple.

 

“The demon Naraka who rules hell, the notion that I am this body, where is this demon?” inquiring thus with the discus of jnana, Narayana destroys the demon; and this day is Naraka-chaturdasi.

Shining as the Self in glory after slaying Naraka, the sinner vile who suffered much because he deemed as “I” the wretched home of pains, the body of flesh, this is the festival of light, Dipavali.”

– From Garland of Guru’s Sayings translated by K. Swaminathan (notes to verses 182 and 183)

 

 

Here, Nome prepares puja offerings for the evening event . . .

. . . while Jaden prepares the malas for Ramana.

 

Puja is offered, while readings and kirtans accompany.

  

A few of the many verses read aloud by Nome from A Thousand Teachings by Sri Sankaracarya
[Translation by Swami Jagadananda. This book is available through SAT.]

I bow down to that all-knowing One, which is pure Consciousness, all-pervading, all, residing in the hearts of all beings and beyond all objects of knowledge. 1:1

The aspirant cannot know that he is Brahman if it is different from the Self. But if he has the conviction that he, the Self, is Brahman, this is right Knowledge, which destroys ignorance. 3:1

As it is the object of pure Consciousness and exists for it, the ego is not the Self. Pure Consciousness is the universal Self when the object portion is rejected. 5:5

Just as I am the witness of all objects of my intellect, so, also, I am that of the objects of other intellects. I am not capable of being rejected or accepted. Therefore, I am the supreme Brahman. 7:2

Just as, in the presence of sunlight, colors such as red etc. are manifested in a jewel, so all objects are seen in the intellect in my presence. All things are, therefore, illumined by me like sunlight. 7:4

Objects of knowledge exist in the intellect as long as it is there, but they do not exist in the opposite case. The Knower is always the knower. Duality has, therefore, no existence. 7:5

The intellect supposed the nonexistence of the supreme Brahman before the discrimination between the Self and the non-Self, but, after the discrimination, there is no individual self different from Brahman, nor is there the intellect itself. 7:6

It is clearly understood that Brahman cannot be the object of knowledge, just as it cannot be the object of seeing etc. as it has no color, form, and the like. 9:9

I am the supreme Brahman, which is pure Consciousness, always clearly manifest, unborn, one only, imperishable, unattached and all-pervading like space, and non-dual. I am, therefore, ever free. Om. 10:1

I am unborn, deathless, devoid of old age, immortal, self-effulgent, all-pervading, and non-dual. Perfectly pure, having neither cause nor affect, and contented with the one Bliss, I am free. Om. 10:3

No perception whatever in waking, dreaming, or deep sleep belongs to me, but it is due to delusion, for these states have no independent existence or an existence depending on the Self. I am, therefore, the Fourth, which is the seer of all the three states and without a second. 10:4

Beginningless and devoid of attributes, I have neither actions nor their results. Therefore, I am the supreme One without a second. Though in a body, I do not become attached on account of my subtlty, like space, which, though all-pervading, does not become tainted. 10:7

Though I am the the Lord, always the same in all beings, beyond the perishable and the imperishable, and, therefore, the Supreme, the Self of all, and without a second, I am considered to be of a contrary nature on account of ignorance. 10:8

False conceptions of people such as, “mine,” “this,” “thus,” “this is so,” “I am so,” “another is not so,” etc. are all due to delusion. They are never in Brahman, which is Siva, the same in all and without a second. 10:11

I am Brahman, of the nature of pure Consciousness, without qualities, free from ignorance, and free from the three states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Living in all beings, like space, I am the witness, free from all their defects. 11:6

Ever free and different from names, forms, and actions, I am the supreme Brahman, the Self, consisting of pure Consciousness and always without a second. 11:7

I am Brahman, without attributes, ever pure, ever free, non-dual, homogeneous, like space, and of the nature of Consciousness from which the object portion has been negated. 12:11

The ideas “I” and “mine” are superimposed on the Self due to ignorance. They do not exist when the Self is known to be one only. How could there be an effect without a cause? 14:19

He is a knower of the Self to whom the ideas “I” and “mine” have become quite meaningless. 14:29

The one and the same Self is in all beings, and they are in it, just as all beings are in space. As everything is pervaded by space, so also everything is pervaded by the Self, which is considered to be pure and which consists of the Light of pure Consciousness. 15:9

Unlike the knowledge gained through the eye etc., the Knowledge of the Knower does not cease to exist. It is said that the “knowledge of the knower does not go out of existence.” The Knower, therefore, is always of the homogeneous nature of Knowledge. 15:18

One should discriminate thus: who am I? Am I a combination of the elements or of the senses or am I any one of them separately? 15:19

The Sun does not require any other light in order to illumine itself. Just so, Knowledge does not require any other knowledge except that which is its own nature in order to be known. 15:41

One who has fallen into the stream of births and deaths cannot save oneself by anything else except Knowledge. 15:52

The Sruti says that the knots of the heart are torn asunder, all doubts disappear, and one’s actions come to an end when the Self is seen. 15:53

I bow down to that all-knowing and all-powerful One who is of the nature of Consciousness and besides whom there is nothing else such as a knower, knowledge, or an object of knowledge. 17:88

I bow down to my most adorable guru, who is all-knowing and has, by imparting Knowledge to me, saved me from the great ocean of births and deaths filled with ignorance. 17:89

 

Ganesh, Dhanya, Sangeeta, and Raman lead chants during puja while Wimala and others meditate.

 

After puja, all those present share prasadam together in the Lotus Room.

 

The Light of Lights, by Adi Sankaracarya,
Translated by Y. Subrahmanya Sarma

Master: What is your light?

Disciple: The sun during the day, the lamp and other lights by night.

Master: It may be so, but please tell me what is the light by which you see the sun and lamp.

Disciple: It is the eye.

Master: When you close it or when you are not able to see through other causes?

Disciple: It is the mind.

Master: And what is the light by which you see the mind, itself?

Disciple: In that case, it is myself.

Master: So, then, you are the Supreme Light?

Disciple: Yes, Master. I am That.

 

Shatashloki

verse 95, translated by S. Venkataramanan

Tell me what is your light. You say, “The sun in the day and the moon, lamp, etc., at night.” It may be so, but by what light do you see the sun, the lamp, etc.? You say, “the eye.” But when that is closed, what brighter light is there? You reply, “the mind.” By what light is the mind revealed? “For that, I alone am the light,” you say. You are, therefore, that Supreme Light. “I am, my Master.”

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya!

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