The ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam)

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The ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam)

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A friend recently asked me to talk in an online meeting about the ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam) that Sadhu Om refers to in chapter 6 of The Path of Sri Ramana (2023 edition, page 72), which is a translation of his Tamil original, ஸ்ரீ ரமண வழி [Śrī Ramaṇa Vaṙi] (2012 edition, page 78). Since the description he gave there of this ‘fourfold means’ (including the third one, śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti [the sixfold accomplishment beginning with calmness], which he described in a footnote) is a summary (in some places slightly paraphrased) of what Bhagavan wrote in the fifth paragraph of his Tamil adaptation of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi, I decided that it would be more useful to discuss that entire paragraph sentence by sentence, which I did in a meeting with a group of his devotees based in Chicago on 30th March 2025.

1. nityānitya-vastu-vivēka: ability to distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral
2. ihāmutra-phala-bhōga-virāga: freedom from desire for enjoyment of the fruit (of actions) either here or hereafter
3. śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti: the sixfold accomplishment beginning with calmness
   1. śama: calmness or tranquillity
   2. dama: restraint or subdual
   3. uparati: cessation or relinquishment
   4. titikṣā: fortitude or forbearance
   5. śraddhā: trust or confidence
   6. samādhāna (or samādhi): being steadily settled in deep contemplation
4. mumukṣutva: desire for liberation

In the fifth paragraph of his Tamil adaptation of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi, Bhagavan adapted verses 16 to 30, in which Adi Sankara discussed the ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam), as follows:

மேதாவியாய், சாரத்தைக் கிரகித்து அசாரத்தைத் தள்ளக்கூடிய சாமர்த்தியவானாய், சாஸ்திரங்களிற் கூறியுள்ள லக்ஷணங்கள் யாவும் தன்பா லமையப் பெற்றோன் ஆத்ம விசாரத்தில் அதிகாரி யாவன்.

mēdhāvi-y-āy, sārattai-g girahittu asārattait taḷḷa-k-kūḍiya sāmartthiyavāṉ-āy, śāstiraṅgaḷil kūṟi-y-uḷḷa lakṣaṇaṅgaḷ yāvum taṉbāl amaiya-p peṯṟōṉ ātma-vicārattil adhikāri y-āvaṉ.

Being mēdhāvi [one who is extremely intelligent (implying one who has the intelligence to clearly understand and appreciate extremely subtle truths)], being one who has the sāmarthya [skill or ability] to reject the inessential (asāra), grasping [just] the essential (sāra), one who has achieved to be settled in oneself all the lakṣaṇas [signs, characteristics or qualities] that are described in the śāstras is adhikāri [one who has fitness, worthiness or qualification] in ātma-vicāra [self-investigation]. [verse 16]

என்னை?

eṉṉai?

What [are those lakṣaṇas]?

விவேகியாய், விரக்தனாய், சமதமாதி சத்குண சகிதனாய், தீவிர முமுக்ஷுவா யுள்ள சாதன யுக்த அவ்வதிகாரிக்கே பிரஹ்ம விசாரம் செய்ய யோக்கியதை யுண்டாகும்.

vivēka-y-āy, viraktaṉ-āy, śama-damādi sat-guṇa sahitaṉ-āy, tīvira mumukṣu-v-āy uḷḷa sādhaṉa yukta a-vv-adhikārikkē birahma-vicāram seyya yōggiyatai y-uṇḍāhum.

Only for that adhikāri who possesses the means (sādhana) which are being vivēki [one who has the ability to distinguish, discern or discriminate], being virakta [one who is free of desire and attachment], being one who is endowed with sadguṇa [good qualities or virtues] beginning with calmness (śama) and restraint (dama), and being tīvra mumukṣu [one who has intense desire for liberation], will the fitness (yōgyatā) to do brahma-vicāra arise. [verse 17]

சாதனங்கள்: (1) நித்தியாநித்திய வஸ்து விவேகம், (2) இஹாமுத்திரார்த்த பல போக விராகம், (3) சமாதிஷட்க சம்பத்தி, (4) முமுக்ஷுத்வம் என நான்கு விதமாக மகான்களாற் சொல்லப்பட்டிருக்கின்றன.

sādhaṉaṅgaḷ: (1) nittiyānittiya vastu vivēkam, (2) ihāmuttirārttha phala bhōga virāgam, (3) śamādi ṣaṭka sampatti, (4) mumukṣutvam eṉa nāṉgu vidhamāha mahāṉgaḷāl solla-p-paṭṭirukkiṉḏṟaṉa.

The means (sādhanas) are said by sages to be of four kinds, namely: (1) nityānitya-vastu-vivēka [ability to distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral], (2) ihāmutra-phala-bhōga-virāga [freedom from desire for enjoyment of the fruit (of actions) either here or hereafter], (3) śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti [the sixfold accomplishment beginning with calmness] and (4) mumukṣutva [desire for liberation].

அவ்வதிகாரிக் கிவையிருந்தாலே பிரஹ்ம நிஷ்டை கிடைக்குமன்றி யின்றேற் சித்தியாது.

a-vv-adhikārikku ivai-y-irundālē birahma-niṣṭhai kiḍaikkum-aṉḏṟi y-iṉḏṟēl siddhiyādu.

Only if these are [present] for that adhikāri will brahma-niṣṭhā [the state of being firmly fixed as brahman] be obtained; if not, it will not be accomplished. [verses 18-19]

இவற்றுள்:

ivaṯṟuḷ:

Among these:

(1) பிரஹ்மமே சத்தியம்; ஜகத்து மித்யை யென்னும் நிச்சயமே நித்யாநித்ய வஸ்து விவேகம்.

(1) birahmamē sattiyam; jagattu mithyai yeṉṉum niccayamē nityānitya vastu vivēkam.

(1) Only the niścaya [ascertainment, conviction or certainty reached by careful consideration and investigation] that brahman alone is real and the world unreal is nityānitya-vastu-vivēka [ability to distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral]. [verse 20]

(2) தேகாதி பிரஹ்மா பரியந்த முள்ள அநித்திய போக்கிய வஸ்துக்களின் அநித்திய துக்க தோஷங்களைப் பிரத்தியக்ஷமாய்ப் பார்ப்பதாலும், சாஸ்திரங்களாற் கேட்பதாலும் அவைகளி லுண்டாகும் வைராக்கியமே இஹாமுத்திரார்த்த பல போக விராகம்.

(2) dēhādi birahmā pariyantam uḷḷa anittiya bhōggiya vastukkaḷiṉ anittiya duḥkha dōṣaṅgaḷai-p pirattiyakṣam-āy-p pārppadālum, śāstiraṅgaḷāl kēṭpadālum avaigaḷil uṇḍāhum vairāggiyamē ihāmuttirārttha phala bhōga virāgam.

(2) By seeing directly the defects of impermanence and suffering (anitya-duḥkha-dōṣas) of the impermanent objects of enjoyment (anitya-bhōgya-vastus) beginning with the body and extending to Brahmā, and by hearing [or learning] [about these defects] from śāstras, the vairāgya [desirelessness] that arises towards them [those objects of enjoyment] is ihāmutra-phala-bhōga-virāga [freedom from desire for enjoyment of the fruit (of actions) either here or hereafter]. [verse 21]

(3) (i) விஷயங்களிலுள்ள தோஷங்களை யடிக்கடி நினைத்துப் பார்த்தலால் அவைகளில் விரக்தியடைந்து மனத்தைத் தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலிருத்துவது சமம்;

(3) (i) viṣayaṅgaḷil-uḷḷa dōṣaṅgaḷai y-aḍikkaḍi niṉaittu-p pārttalāl avaigaḷil virakti-y-aḍaindu maṉattai-t taṉ lakṣyattil-iruttuvadu śamam;

(3) (i) fixing the mind on its target (lakṣya), having achieved detachment (virakti) from phenomena (viṣayas) by repeatedly considering and seeing the defects (dōṣas) in them, is śama [calmness or tranquillity]; [verse 22]

(ii) விஷயங்களிற் செல்லும் ஞான, கர்ம இந்திரியங்களைத் திருப்பி அதனதன் கோளக (ஸ்தான)த்திலேயே யிருக்கச் செய்வது தமம்;

(ii) viṣayaṅgaḷil sellum, ñāṉa, karma indiriyaṅgaḷai-t tiruppi adaṉ-adaṉ gōḷaka (stāṉa)ttilēyē y-irukka-c ceyvadu damam;

(ii) making the jñāna-karma-indriyas [the organs of knowing and doing (sense-organs and organs of action)], which flow towards phenomena (viṣayas), to be [or remain] only in their respective spheres (locations), having made them turn back [from flowing outwards], is dama [restraint or subdual];

(iii) மனது பூர்வ வாசனையால் மீண்டும் பாஹ்ய விஷயங்களை நினையாது தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமாய் நிறுத்தி இதர கர்மங்களை விட்டுவிடல் உபரதி;

(iii) maṉadu pūrva vāsaṉaiyāl mīṇḍum bāhya viṣayaṅgaḷai niṉaiyādu taṉ lakṣyattilēyē sthiramāy niṟutti itara karmaṅgaḷai viṭṭuviḍal uparati;

(iii) without thinking again of external phenomena (viṣayas) due to former inclinations (pūrva vāsanās), firmly fixing only on its target (lakṣya), the mind [thereby] giving up other activities (karmas) is uparati [cessation or relinquishment]; [verse 23]

(iv) எவ்வளவு துக்கங்கள் வரினும் தடைசெய்யாமலும் அவற்றிற்கா யேங்கி யழாமலும் தைரியத்தா லவைகளைச் சகித்தல் திதிக்ஷை;

(iv) evvaḷavu duḥkhaṅgaḷ variṉum taḍai-seyyāmal-um avaṯṟiṯkā y-ēṅgi y-aṙāmal-um dhairiyattāl avaigaḷai-c sahittal titikṣai;

(iv) however many miseries [or afflictions] come, without resisting [trying to prevent or oppose them] and without being perturbed and lamenting over them, enduring them with courage is titikṣā [fortitude or forbearance]; [verse 24]

(v) வேதாந்த சாஸ்திரமும், குரு வாக்கியமும் சத்தியம் எனக்கொள்ளும் நிச்சயம் பிரஹ்மசாக்ஷாத்காரத்திற் கேதுவான சிரத்தை;

(v) vēdānta śāstiram-um, guru vākkiyam-um sattiyam eṉa-k-koḷḷum niccayam birahma-sākṣātkārattiṯku ētu-v-āṉa śiraddhai;

(v) niścaya [ascertainment, conviction or certainty reached by careful consideration and investigation] that holds that vēdānta śāstras [the sacred texts of vēdānta] and the words of guru are true is śraddhā [trust or confidence], which is hētu [a cause, reason, motive, means or requisite condition] for brahma-sākṣātkāra [direct experience of brahman]; [verse 25]

(vi) சர்வ யத்தனங்களாலும், சஞ்சல சுபாவமாயுள்ள சித்தத்தைப் பரிசுத்தப் பிரஹ்மத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமா யிருத்துதல் சமாதானம்; அஃதன்றி மனம் போனபடி போகவிடுதல் ஸமாதி யன்று.

(vi) sarva yattaṉaṅgaḷāl-um, cañcala subhāvam-āy-uḷḷa cittattai-p pariśuddha-p birahmattilēyē sthiram-āyiruttutal samādhāṉam; aḵtaṉḏṟi maṉam pōṉapaḍi pōha-viḍudal samādhi y-aṉḏṟu.

(vi) by all efforts firmly fixing the mind, whose nature (svabhāva) is to be cañcala [fickle, unsteady and constantly moving], only on pariśuddha brahman [perfectly pure infinite being] is samādhāna [being steadily settled in deep contemplation]; except that, leaving the mind to go as it [formerly] went [namely out towards phenomena] is not samādhi. [verse 26]

இவ்வாறுங் கூடி சமாதி ஷட்க சம்பத்தி யெனப்படும்.

i-vv-āṟuṅ kūḍi śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti y-eṉappaḍum.

All these six together are called śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti [the sixfold accomplishment beginning with calmness].

(4) அனாதி யஞ்ஞானத்தால் வந்த அகங்காராதி தேகாந்தமாயுள்ள பந்தத்தை ஸ்வாத்ம ஞானத்தால் தொலைப்பதற்குள்ள இச்சையே முமுக்ஷுத்வம்.

(4) aṉādi y-aññāṉattāl vanda ahaṅkārādi dēhāntam-āy-uḷḷa bandhattai svātma-ñāṉattāl tolaippadaṟkuḷḷa iccai-y-ē mumukṣutvam.

(4) The icchā [will, wish, desire or inclination] to destroy by svātma-jñāna [self-knowledge, awareness of one’s own self] bondage beginning with ahaṁkāra [ego] and extending to the body, which came by anādi ajñāna [beginningless ignorance], is mumukṣutva [desire for liberation]. [verse 27]

அம் முமுக்ஷுத்வம் மந்தம் மத்திமமாயிருந்தாலும், வைராக்கியத்தாலும், சமதமாதிகளாலும், குரு வனுக்கிரகத்தாலும் கிரமமாய் வளர்ந்து பருவமுற்றுக் காலாந்தரத்திற் பலனைக் கொடுக்கும்.

a-m-mumukṣutvam mandam-maddhimam-āy-irundālum, vairāggiyattāl-um śama-damādigaḷāl-um, guru-v-aṉuggirahattāl-um kiramam-āy vaḷarndu paruvam-uṯṟu-k kālāntarattil phalaṉai-k koḍukkum.

Even if that mumukṣutva [desire for liberation] is manda [slow, sluggish, slack, dull, weak, feeble or slight] or madhyama [mediocre], growing gradually by desirelessness (vairāgya), by calmness (śama), restraint (dama) and so on, and by the grace (anugraha) of guru, reaching the proper time it will eventually bear fruit. [verse 28]

வைராக்கியத்தோடுங் கூடின முமுக்ஷுத்வம் எவனிடத்தில் தீவிரமாயிருக்கின்றதோ, அவனிடத்திற் கூடிய சமதமாதி சமீபத்திலேயே பலனைத் தரும்.

vairāggiyattōḍuṅ kūḍiṉa mumukṣutvam evaṉiḍattil tīviram-āy-irukkiṉḏṟadō, avaṉiḍattil kūḍiya śama-damādi samīpattilēyē phalaṉai-t tarum.

In whomever mumukṣutva [desire for liberation] combined with vairāgya [freedom from desire for anything else] exists intensely [as tīvra (strong, intense, severe, sharp or acute)], only in the proximity (samīpa) of calmness (śama), restraint (dama) and so on, which coalesce in him, will it give fruit. [verse 29]

ஆனால் எவனிடத்தில் மந்தமாயிருக்கின்றதோ அவனிடத்தில் சமதமாதி மரு பூமியில் ஜலம்போல ஆபாசமாகவே பொருந்தும்.

āṉāl evaṉiḍattil mandam-āy-irukkiṉḏṟadō avaṉiḍattil śama-damādi maru-bhūmiyil jalam-pōla ābhāsam-āhavē porundum.

But in whomever it exists feebly [as manda], in him calmness (śama), restraint (dama) and so on will occur only as ābhāsa [a semblance or false appearance] like water in a desert. [verse 30]

The ability to distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral (nityānitya-vastu-vivēka) is an essential prerequisite for following this path of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra), because all phenomena (viṣayas) are ephemeral appearances, and the only thing that is permanent (nitya) is ourself (ātman), the awareness in which not only all phenomena (viṣayas) but also the knower of them, namely ego (ahaṁkāra), appear and disappear. As ego we mistake ourself to be a certain set of phenomena, namely a body (or person) consisting of five sheaths (a physical body, the life that animates it, and the mind, intellect and will that operate within it), but since all of these appear in waking and dream but disappear in sleep, they are impermanent (anitya) and hence not what we actually are. Therefore, being able to distinguish the eternal from the ephemeral is essential if we are to effectively investigate what we actually are, because what we actually are is the only thing that is eternal (nitya), so in order to investigate ourself we need to clearly distinguish ourself from all the ephemeral phenomena that we now mistake ourself to be. If we do not distinguish ourself thus, instead of attending to ourself we will attend to something else that we mistake ourself to be, namely some ephemeral phenomenon (viṣaya).

To the extent to which we are able to clearly distinguish ourself as the only permanent thing from all other things, which are ephemeral appearances, we will thereby lose the desire to enjoy any of the petty pleasures (bhōgas) that seem to be obtainable from phenomena, whether here (iha) in this material world or there (amutra) in any heavenly world, because we will clearly see from our own experience not only the impermanent nature of all such pleasures, which are the fruit of actions (karma-phala), but also the fact that they are inevitably accompanied by suffering (duḥkha). Such freedom from desire for enjoyment of the fruit (of actions) either here or hereafter (ihāmutra-phala-bhōga-virāga) is also an essential prerequisite for following this path of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra), because to the extent to which we have any inclination (vāsanā) or desire to enjoy any kind of phenomenon (viṣaya), we will thereby be inclined to go outwards to engage in actions (karmas) of mind, speech and body in order to enjoy such phenomena, and hence we will lack the requisite intense love (tīvra bhakti) to know and to be what we actually are.

To the extent to which we have the requisite love (bhakti) and desirelessness (vairāgya), we will also have the ‘sixfold accomplishment (or prosperity) beginning with calmness’ (śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti), namely śama (calmness or tranquillity), dama (restraint or subdual), uparati (cessation or relinquishment), titikṣā (fortitude or forbearance), śraddhā (trust or confidence) and samādhāna or samādhi (being steadily settled in deep contemplation), and to the extent to which we strive to achieve these six sadguṇa (good qualities or virtues), we will thereby cultivate the requisite love (bhakti) and desirelessness (vairāgya). The essence and culmination of all these six good qualities is self-investigation (ātma-vicāra), which is the simple practice of fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone and thereby withdrawing it from all other things, namely all objects or phenomena (viṣayas), as we can see by considering each of them:

The first of these six saṁpatti (‘accomplishments’ or ‘prosperities’) or sadguṇa (good qualities or virtues) is śama (calmness or tranquillity), which Bhagavan describes as being ‘விஷயங்களிலுள்ள தோஷங்களை யடிக்கடி நினைத்துப் பார்த்தலால் அவைகளில் விரக்தியடைந்து மனத்தைத் தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலிருத்துவது’ (viṣayaṅgaḷil-uḷḷa dōṣaṅgaḷai y-aḍikkaḍi niṉaittu-p pārttalāl avaigaḷil virakti-y-aḍaindu maṉattai-t taṉ lakṣyattil-iruttuvadu), ‘fixing the mind on its target (lakṣya), having achieved detachment (virakti) from phenomena (viṣayas) by repeatedly considering and seeing the defects (dōṣas) in them’. What he implies by ‘மனத்தைத் தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலிருத்துவது’ (maṉattai-t taṉ lakṣyattil-iruttuvadu), ‘fixing the mind on its target (lakṣya)’, is the practice of fixing our mind firmly on ourself, because we alone are what is eternal (nitya) and hence real (satya), so we are the most suitable (and ultimately the only suitable) dhyāna-lakṣya (‘meditation-target’ or target for meditation, meaning what is to be meditated on), since any other dhyāna-lakṣya would be a viṣaya (object or phenomenon) of one kind or another, so it would be ephemeral (anitya) and hence unreal (asatya).

To the extent to which we allow our mind (meaning our attention) to flow out through the jñānēndriyas (sense-organs or organs of knowing) and karmēndriyas (action-organs or organs of doing) towards phenomena (viṣayas), we are thereby not fixing it on ourself, so the second saṁpatti is dama (restraint or subdual), which Bhagavan describes as being ‘விஷயங்களிற் செல்லும் ஞான, கர்ம இந்திரியங்களைத் திருப்பி அதனதன் கோளக (ஸ்தான)த்திலேயே யிருக்கச் செய்வது’ (viṣayaṅgaḷil sellum, ñāṉa, karma indiriyaṅgaḷai-t tiruppi adaṉ-adaṉ gōḷaka (stāṉa)ttilēyē y-irukka-c ceyvadu), ‘making the jñāna-karma-indriyas [the organs of knowing and doing (sense-organs and organs of action)], which flow towards phenomena (viṣayas), to be [or remain] only in their respective spheres (locations), having made them turn back [from flowing outwards]’. Here the term ‘ஞான, கர்ம இந்திரியங்கள்’ (ñāṉa, karma indiriyaṅgaḷ), ‘the sense-organs and organs of action (jñāna-karma-indriyas)’, is a metonym for the mind, which flows out through them towards phenomena, so ‘அதனதன் கோளக (ஸ்தான)த்திலேயே யிருக்கச் செய்வது’ (adaṉ-adaṉ gōḷaka (stāṉa)ttilēyē y-irukka-c ceyvadu), ‘making [them] to be [or remain] only in their respective spheres (locations)’, is a metaphorical way of saying ‘making to mind to be (or remain) only in its proper place, namely the heart’, because only when we turn our mind back within to face ourself alone and thereby make it subside and remain in the heart (the core or essence of ourself) will all the sense-organs and organs of action remain subsided, each (metaphorically) in its respective location (meaning that the sense-organs will remain without being used as windows through which the mind perceives sensory phenomena, and the organs of action will remain without being used as instruments by which the mind seeks to acquire phenomena), as Bhagavan implies in the sixth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

சூக்ஷ்மமான மனம், மூளை இந்திரியங்கள் வாயிலாய் வெளிப்படும் போது ஸ்தூலமான நாமரூபங்கள் தோன்றுகின்றன; ஹிருதயத்தில் தங்கும்போது நாமரூபங்கள் மறைகின்றன. மனத்தை வெளிவிடாமல் ஹிருதயத்தில் வைத்துக்கொண்டிருப்பதற்குத்தான் ‘அகமுகம்’ அல்லது ‘அந்தர்முகம்’ என்று பெயர். ஹ்ருதயத்திலிருந்து வெளிவிடுவதற்குத்தான் ‘பகிர்முக’ மென்று பெயர். இவ்விதமாக மனம் ஹ்ருதயத்திற் றங்கவே, எல்லா நினைவுகளுக்கும் மூலமான நான் என்பது போய் எப்பொழுது முள்ள தான் மாத்திரம் விளங்கும்.

sūkṣmam-āṉa maṉam, mūḷai indiriyaṅgaḷ vāyilāy veḷippaḍum pōdu sthūlam-āṉa nāma-rūpaṅgaḷ tōṉḏṟugiṉḏṟaṉa; hirudayattil taṅgumbōdu nāma-rūpaṅgaḷ maṟaigiṉḏṟaṉa. maṉattai veḷiviḍāmal hirudayattil vaittu-k-koṇḍiruppadaṯku-t-tāṉ ‘ahamukam’ alladu ‘antarmukham’ eṉḏṟu peyar. hrudayattilirundu veḷiviḍuvadaṯku-t-tāṉ ‘bahirmukham’ eṉḏṟu peyar. i-v-vidham-āha maṉam hrudayattil taṅgavē, ellā niṉaivugaḷukkum mūlam-āṉa nāṉ eṉbadu pōy eppoṙudum uḷḷa tāṉ māttiram viḷaṅgum.

When the subtle mind goes out through the doorway of the brain and indriyas [particularly the jñānēndriyas (sense-organs) but also the karmēndriyas (organs of action)], gross names and forms [the phenomena that constitute both the mental and the physical worlds] appear; when it remains in the heart [the core of oneself, namely one’s fundamental awareness, ‘I am’], names and forms disappear. The name ‘ahamukham’ [facing inside or facing I] or ‘antarmukham’ [facing inside] is only for [or refers only to] keeping the mind in the heart [that is, keeping one’s mind or attention fixed firmly on oneself, the fundamental awareness ‘I am’, which is the core or heart of ego, the adjunct-conflated awareness ‘I am this body’] without letting [it go] out [towards anything else whatsoever]. The name ‘bahirmukham’ [facing outside] is only for [or refers only to] letting [it go] out from the heart [that is, letting one’s mind move outwards, away from ‘I am’ towards anything else]. Only when the mind remains [firmly fixed] in the heart in this way, will what is called ‘I’ [namely ego], which is the mūlam [root, foundation, cause or origin] for all thoughts, depart and oneself, who always exists, alone shine.

Therefore dama (restraint or subdual) means restraining and subduing the mind by turning it back within to face ourself alone, thereby making it subside and remain in the heart, which is its proper place, without allowing it to flow out towards phenomena (viṣayas) through the sense-organs and organs of action.

Having turned our mind back within, we should keep it fixed firmly on ourself alone without allowing it to think again about external phenomena (bāhya viṣayas) under the sway of its former inclinations (pūrva vāsanās), and thereby we should give up all other activities (itara karmas), so the third saṁpatti is uparati (cessation or relinquishment), which Bhagavan describes as being ‘மனது பூர்வ வாசனையால் மீண்டும் பாஹ்ய விஷயங்களை நினையாது தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமாய் நிறுத்தி இதர கர்மங்களை விட்டுவிடல்’ (maṉadu pūrva vāsaṉaiyāl mīṇḍum bāhya viṣayaṅgaḷai niṉaiyādu taṉ lakṣyattilēyē sthiramāy niṟutti itara karmaṅgaḷai viṭṭuviḍal), ‘without thinking again of external phenomena (viṣayas) due to former inclinations (pūrva vāsanās), firmly fixing only on its target (lakṣya), the mind [thereby] giving up other activities (karmas)’. Here again what he implies by ‘மனது […] தன் லக்ஷ்யத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமாய் நிறுத்தி’ (maṉadu […] taṉ lakṣyattilēyē sthiramāy niṟutti), ‘the mind […] firmly fixing only on its target (lakṣya)’, is keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself alone.

In order to keep our mind fixed firmly on ourself alone without allowing it to think again about anything else, we need to be able to endure with fortitude and remain unperturbed by whatever miseries or afflictions may befall the person whom we mistake ourself to be, so the fourth saṁpatti is titikṣā (fortitude or forbearance), which Bhagavan describes as being ‘எவ்வளவு துக்கங்கள் வரினும் தடைசெய்யாமலும் அவற்றிற்கா யேங்கி யழாமலும் தைரியத்தா லவைகளைச் சகித்தல்’ (evvaḷavu duḥkhaṅgaḷ variṉum taḍai-seyyāmal-um avaṯṟiṯkā y-ēṅgi y-aṙāmal-um dhairiyattāl avaigaḷai-c sahittal), ‘however many miseries [or afflictions] come, without resisting [trying to prevent or oppose them] and without being perturbed and lamenting over them, enduring them with courage’.

What we actually are is the infinite clarity of pure awareness, so by keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself we are bathing in clarity, and hence this practice of being self-attentive is the most effective means to purify and clarify the mind. In other words, we imbibe clarity from deep within by keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself, and the more we thereby imbibe it, the clearer and more obvious the truth conveyed in the sacred texts (śāstras) of vēdānta and the words of guru will become to us. The firm conviction (niścaya) that is thereby born from clarity of heart and mind is the fifth saṁpatti, namely śraddhā (trust or confidence), which Bhagavan describes as being ‘வேதாந்த சாஸ்திரமும், குரு வாக்கியமும் சத்தியம் எனக்கொள்ளும் நிச்சயம்’ (vēdānta śāstiram-um, guru vākkiyam-um sattiyam eṉa-k-koḷḷum niccayam), ‘niścaya [ascertainment, conviction or certainty reached by careful consideration and investigation] that holds that vēdānta śāstras [the sacred texts of vēdānta] and the words of guru are true’, and which he says is ‘பிரஹ்மசாக்ஷாத்காரத்திற் கேது’ (birahma-sākṣātkārattiṯku ētu), ‘hētu [a cause, reason, motive, means or requisite condition] for brahma-sākṣātkāra [direct experience of brahman]’. Though this clear conviction called śraddhā is gained to some extent by means of śravaṇa (attentively listening to or studying either the sacred texts of vēdānta or the words of guru) and manana (thinking carefully and deeply about the meaning and implications of such texts and words in order to make sense of them, understand them correctly and imbibe them deeply), it can be gained fully only by means of nididhyāsana, which is self-investigation (ātma-vicāra), the practice of keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself alone.

Therefore, since the nature of our mind is to be cañcala (fickle, unsteady and constantly moving out towards viṣayas), we need to patiently and persistently make every effort to keep our mind fixed firmly on ourself. Keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself in this way is the sixth saṁpatti, namely samādhāna (being steadily settled in deep contemplation), also known as samādhi, which Bhagavan describes as being ‘சர்வ யத்தனங்களாலும், சஞ்சல சுபாவமாயுள்ள சித்தத்தைப் பரிசுத்தப் பிரஹ்மத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமா யிருத்துதல்’ (sarva yattaṉaṅgaḷāl-um, cañcala subhāvam-āy-uḷḷa cittattai-p pariśuddha-p birahmattilēyē sthiram-āyiruttutal), ‘by all efforts firmly fixing the mind, whose nature (svabhāva) is to be cañcala [fickle, unsteady and constantly moving], only on pariśuddha brahman [perfectly pure infinite being]’, and as not being ‘மனம் போனபடி போகவிடுதல்’ (maṉam pōṉapaḍi pōhaviḍudal), ‘leaving the mind to go as it [formerly] went [namely out towards phenomena]’. What ‘சித்தத்தைப் பரிசுத்தப் பிரஹ்மத்திலேயே ஸ்திரமா யிருத்துதல்’ (cittattai-p pariśuddha-p birahmattilēyē sthiram-āyiruttutal), ‘firmly fixing the mind only on pariśuddha brahman’, implies is firmly fixing our mind only on ourself, because brahman is ourself as we actually are. If we fix our mind on anything other than ourself, thinking that we are thereby fixing it on brahman, what we are actually fixing it on is not brahman but only an idea of brahman.

So long as we are aware of ourself as ‘I am this body, a person called so-and-so’, we are not aware of ourself as we actually are, and unless we are aware of ourself as we actually are, we do not know brahman as it actually is, so for us brahman is just an idea. Meditating on an idea of brahman is not meditating on brahman as it actually is, so to enable us to meditate on brahman as it actually is the upaniṣads teach us ‘तत्त्वमसि’ (tat tvam asi), ‘that you are’, meaning that we ourself are brahman, or in other words, that brahman is not anything other ourself. Therefore firmly fixing our mind on ourself is alone firmly fixing it on brahman.

Thus the essence of this śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti is clearly expressed by Bhagavan in verse 16 of Upadēśa Undiyār:

வெளிவிட யங்களை விட்டு மனந்தன்
னொளியுரு வோர்தலே யுந்தீபற
      வுண்மை யுணர்ச்சியா முந்தீபற.

veḷiviḍa yaṅgaḷai viṭṭu maṉantaṉ
ṉoḷiyuru vōrdalē yundīpaṟa
      vuṇmai yuṇarcciyā mundīpaṟa.

பதச்சேதம்: வெளி விடயங்களை விட்டு மனம் தன் ஒளி உரு ஓர்தலே உண்மை உணர்ச்சி ஆம்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): veḷi viḍayaṅgaḷai viṭṭu maṉam taṉ oḷi-uru ōrdalē uṇmai uṇarcci ām.

English translation: Leaving [or letting go of] external phenomena (viṣayas), the mind knowing i[or investigating] ts own form of light [namely the light of pure awareness, which is brahman, the real nature of ourself (ātma-svarūpa)] is alone real awareness.

Whether we are aware of anything else (any phenomena or viṣayas), as in waking and dream, or not, as in sleep, we are always aware ‘I am’, so this awareness ‘I am’ is our fundamental awareness, whereas awareness of other things is secondary. However, though this awareness ‘I am’ is the ground, substratum or screen on which awareness of other things appears and disappears, we tend to neglect or overlook it because we are more interested in being aware of other things, so in order to know ourself as we actually are, all we need to do is to turn our mind or attention back towards this fundamental awareness, ‘I am’, thereby withdrawing it from all other things (all viṣayas), as Bhagavan implies in this verse by saying ‘வெளி விடயங்களை விட்டு மனம் தன் ஒளி உரு ஓர்தல்’ (veḷi viḍayaṅgaḷai viṭṭu maṉam taṉ oḷi-uru ōrdal), ‘Leaving external phenomena (viṣayas), the mind knowing [or investigating] its own form of light’.

Since we are always aware ‘I am’, keeping our mind firmly fixed on this fundamental awareness, which is ourself as we actually are, is not difficult, but it seems to be difficult because our viṣaya-vāsanās (inclinations to seek happiness in viṣayas) are stronger than our love to know and to be what we actually are. Therefore the fourth and last of the ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam) is mumukṣutva (desire for liberation), because without intense love to know and to be what we actually are we will not be able to fix our mind on ourself so firmly that we thereby cease to be aware of anything else (any viṣayas) whatsoever.

Though mumukṣutva means ‘desire for liberation’, it is not a desire like any other desire, because all other desires are desires to acquire something (even if it is to acquire relief from something that is troubling us), whereas mumukṣutva is the desire to lose everything, including ourself as ego, who are the one who desires to acquire other things. Only when mumukṣutva is intense (tīvra) will we have sufficient vairāgya to be able to let go of all viṣayas by fixing our mind unwaveringly on ourself alone. What is meant by vairāgya in its deepest and most practical sense is explained by Bhagavan in the eleventh paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

அன்னியத்தை நாடாதிருத்தல் வைராக்கியம் அல்லது நிராசை; தன்னை விடாதிருத்தல் ஞானம். உண்மையி லிரண்டு மொன்றே.

aṉṉiyattai nāḍādiruttal vairāggiyam alladu nirāśai; taṉṉai viḍādiruttal ñāṉam. uṇmaiyil iraṇḍum oṉḏṟē.

Not attending to anything other [than oneself] is vairāgya [dispassion or detachment] or nirāśā [desirelessness]; not leaving [or letting go of] oneself is jñāna [true knowledge or real awareness]. In truth [these] two [vairāgya and jñāna] are just one.

Not attending to anything other than ourself by not letting go of ourself is the intensity of vairāgya that we require in order to sink deep within ourself and thereby attain the pearl of true self-knowledge, as he indicates in the next sentence:

முத்துக்குளிப்போர் தம்மிடையிற் கல்லைக் கட்டிக்கொண்டு மூழ்கிக் கடலடியிற் கிடைக்கும் முத்தை எப்படி எடுக்கிறார்களோ, அப்படியே ஒவ்வொருவனும் வைராக்கியத்துடன் தன்னுள் ளாழ்ந்து மூழ்கி ஆத்மமுத்தை யடையலாம்.

muttu-k-kuḷippōr tam-m-iḍaiyil kallai-k kaṭṭi-k-koṇḍu mūṙki-k kaḍal-aḍiyil kiḍaikkum muttai eppaḍi eḍukkiṟārgaḷō, appaḍiyē o-vv-oruvaṉum vairāggiyattuḍaṉ taṉṉuḷ ḷ-āṙndu mūṙki ātma-muttai y-aḍaiyalām.

Just as pearl-divers, tying stones to their waists and sinking, pick up pearls that are found at the bottom of the ocean, so each one, sinking deep within oneself with vairāgya [freedom from desire to be aware of anything other than oneself], may attain ātma-muttu [the self-pearl, meaning the pearl that is one’s own real nature].

If our mumukṣutva and vairāgya are not so tīvra (strong, intense, severe, sharp or acute), they are described as either manda (slow, sluggish, slack, dull, weak, feeble or slight) or madhyama (middling or mediocre, meaning any degree between manda and tīvra), in which case they will gradually be intensified by the grace of guru. However, though the grace of guru is always available to us, we will be benefitted by it only to the extent to which we are willing to subside and thereby yield ourself to its inward-pulling influence, and to cultivate such willingness we must patiently and persistently try to fix our mind firmly on ourself alone, which is the true practice of both vairāgya (freedom from desire for anything that is impermanent) and śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti, namely śama (calmly fixing our mind on ourself by means of vairāgya), dama (making our mind remain in its proper place, having turned it back within, thereby subduing it and restraining it from flowing out towards phenomena through the organs of sense and action), uparati (cessation or relinquishment of other activities by fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone), titikṣā (enduring all afflictions with fortitude, without resisting or being perturbed by them), śraddhā (trust, confidence or firm conviction that the sacred texts of vēdānta and the words of guru are true) and samādhāna or samādhi (being steadily settled in deep contemplation by firmly fixing the mind only on brahman). If we patiently and persistently make every effort to practise these means with the support of guru’s grace, our mumukṣutva will gradually grow in intensity, and in due course it will eventually become so intense that, by fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone, we will subside and dissolve forever in the infinite clarity of pure awareness, which is ātma-svarūpa, the real nature of ourself.

In the clear light of Bhagavan’s teachings I have explained here that the essence of the six sadguṇa (good qualities or virtues) called śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti (the sixfold accomplishment beginning with calmness) is self-investigation (ātma-vicāra), the simple practice of fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone and thereby withdrawing it from all viṣayas (objects or phenomena), but this is not how this śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti is generally understood and interpreted. For example, many people take ‘fixing the mind on its target (lakṣya)’ to mean fixing the mind on any suitable object of meditation such as a mantra or a name or form of God, and they believe that one much gradually progress from such meditation to meditating only on pariśuddha brahman (the perfectly pure brahman), though they do not have any clear idea about what meditation on brahman actually is.

However, the fact that the practice of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) is the essence of not only of the śamādi ṣaṭka saṁpatti but of all the ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam) is clearly indicated by Adi Sankara in the next verse of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi, namely verse 31, which is in effect a summary of the central import of all that he wrote in verses 16 to 30, and which Bhagavan translated as the sixth paragraph of his Tamil adaptation:

மோக்ஷமடைதற் கேதுவா யுள்ள சாமக்கிரி (சாதனங்)களில் பக்தியே மிகவும் சிரேஷ்டம்.

mōkṣam-aḍaitaṟku ētu-v-āy-uḷḷa sāmaggiri (sādhaṉaṅ)gaḷil bhaktiyē mihavum śirēṣṭham.

Among the means (sāmagrīs or sādhanas) which are hētu [a cause, means or requisite condition] for attaining liberation (mōkṣa), bhakti indeed is very much the best (śrēṣṭha).

ஸ்வ (ஆத்ம) ஸ்வரூபத்தின் அனுசந்தானமே பக்தி என்று மகாத்மாக்கள் சொல்லுகின்றனர்.

sva (ātma) svarūpattiṉ aṉusandhāṉam-ē bhakti eṉḏṟu mahātmākkaḷ sollugiṉḏṟaṉar.

Investigation (anusaṃdhāna) of one’s own (ātma) svarūpa [the real nature of oneself, meaning ourself as we actually are] indeed is bhakti say mahātmās.

The bhakti (devotion) that is referred to here, which is what is otherwise called mumukṣutva, is the love to know and to be what we actually are, and this is the purest form of bhakti, because in order to know and to be what we actually are we must forever cease rising as ego, and ceasing to rise as ego is what is otherwise called complete self-surrender, which is the ultimate goal and culmination of all other forms of bhakti. Since the nature of ego as revealed by Bhagavan is to rise, stand and flourish by attending to anything other than itself (which is what he describes as ‘உரு பற்றி’ [uru paṯṟi], ‘grasping form’, in verse 25 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu), but to subside and dissolve back into its source by attending to itself (as he indicates in the same verse by saying ‘தேடினால் ஓட்டம் பிடிக்கும்’ [tēḍiṉāl ōṭṭam piḍikkum], ‘If seeking [to know what it actually is], it will take flight’), the only means by which we can surrender ego is self-investigation, the simple practise of fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone, as he points out in the first sentence of the thirteenth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?:

ஆன்மசிந்தனையைத் தவிர வேறு சிந்தனை கிளம்புவதற்குச் சற்று மிடங்கொடாமல் ஆத்மநிஷ்டாபரனா யிருப்பதே தன்னை ஈசனுக் களிப்பதாம்.

āṉma-cintaṉaiyai-t tavira vēṟu cintaṉai kiḷambuvadaṯku-c caṯṟum iḍam-koḍāmal ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ-āy iruppadē taṉṉai īśaṉukku aḷippadām.

Being ātma-niṣṭhāparaṉ [one who is firmly fixed as oneself], giving not even the slightest room to the rising of any other cintana [thought] except ātma-cintana [thought of oneself: self-contemplation or self-attentiveness], alone is giving oneself to God.

This practice of ātma-cintana or self-attentiveness is what Adi Sankara refers to in this verse of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi as ‘स्वस्वरूपानुसंधान’ (svasvarūpānusaṁdhānam), ‘investigation of one’s own real nature’, in which स्वस्वरूप (svasvarūpa) means ātma-svarūpa (the real nature of oneself), as clarified by Bhagavan in his Tamil translation.

Though Bhagavan adapted verses 16 to 30 of Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi as he did in the sentences that I translated above, he generally did not talk much about adhikāra (fitness or qualification) for ātma-vicāra (self-investigation), because as he himself explained, if we are attracted to this path of ātma-vicāra and persevere in practising it, that indicates that we already have a sufficient degree of adhikāra, meaning that we have each of the three plus six qualities that constitute the ‘fourfold means’ (sādhanā catuṣṭayam) at least to an adequate extent to begin following this path. Moreover, as I explained above, and as Bhagavan implies in the following sentence of eleventh paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, if we persevere in trying to follow this path of fixing our mind firmly on ourself alone, we will thereby nurture each of these nine qualities in our heart, enabling them to grow and flourish until they eventually lead to our complete and permanent dissolution in our own real nature (ātma-svarūpa):

ஒருவன் தான் சொரூபத்தை யடையும் வரையில் நிரந்தர சொரூப ஸ்மரணையைக் கைப்பற்றுவானாயின் அதுவொன்றே போதும்.

oruvaṉ tāṉ sorūpattai y-aḍaiyum varaiyil nirantara sorūpa-smaraṇaiyai-k kai-p-paṯṟuvāṉ-āyiṉ adu-v-oṉḏṟē pōdum.

If one clings fast to uninterrupted svarūpa-smaraṇa [self-remembrance] until one attains svarūpa [one’s own real nature, namely oneself as one actually is], that alone is sufficient.

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