Question and answer 23

Disciple: Do the reflection and the immutable one, both of which shine in the word 'I', appear at one time or at different times?

Guru: Both appear in the very same moment. The reflection is an object to the witness; the witness alone is self-luminous. In the direct knowledge of outer things such as a pot, the mode of the inner instrument, together with the reflection, reaches out to the object and takes its form. Its part that is the mode, by its very nature, breaks the concealment of the pot and the other objects, which ignorance covers; and the reflected part then lights up those objects, which cannot shine of themselves, as a lamp lights up a thing hidden under a pot that does not shine of itself even when a stick has broken the pot. In the direct knowledge of Brahman, that is of the Self, it is otherwise. Like the knowledge 'I am the tenth', which arises from hearing the words 'You are the tenth', and like the knowledge of pleasure and pain, which arises with no outer means, the inner instrument takes the form of Brahman within itself, with no contact with the senses, through hearing with the ear the great saying 'That you are'. That mode breaks the concealment of the Self; the slight portion of ignorance in the inner instrument goes, as dirt goes with soap; and then Brahman shines of itself by its own radiance, as the vast light of the sun is seen as soon as the slight covering of the eye, a finger or the like, is taken away. A lamp that was covered by a pot needs no second lamp to shine once the pot is broken; in the same way Brahman needs no reflection in order to shine.

Disciple: The reflection and the immutable one, both shining in the word 'I', do they appear at one time? At separate times?

Guru: They appear in the very same moment. The reflection is an object to the witness; the witness itself is self-luminous. In the direct knowledge of outer objects such as a pot, the mode part, in the mode of the inner instrument together with the reflection, which goes up to the object, the pot and the like, and takes their same form, by its nature breaks the concealment of those objects, the pot and the like, concealed by ignorance; and as a lamp and the like lights what does not shine of itself, a thing without light covered by a pot, even when a stick breaks the pot, the reflected part illumines those objects that do not shine of themselves. In the direct knowledge of Brahman (the Self), like the tenth man's knowledge arising from the word 'You are the tenth', and like the knowledge of pleasure and pain arising without outer means, through the word that is the great saying 'That you are', connected with the ear, the inner instrument, without contact with the senses, taking the form of Brahman within itself, that mode breaking the concealment of the Self, the slight portion of ignorance in the inner instrument being removed like dirt by soap, as the cosmic sunlight appears as soon as the slight covering of the eye, a finger and the like, goes, Brahman too shines of itself by its own radiance. As a lamp covered by a pot, as soon as the pot breaks, does not need another lamp for its shining, so for the shining of Brahman there is no need of the reflection.