Upadēśa Sāraḥ verses 8 to 10

In a Zoom meeting with Ramana Kendra, Delhi, on 13th March 2022 Michael James discusses the meaning and implications of verses 8, 9 and 10 of Upadēśa Sāraḥ:

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भेद भावना त्सोऽह मित्यसौ ।
भाव नाऽभिदा पाव नीमता ॥ 8 ॥

bhēda bhāvanā tsō’ha mityasau
bhāva nā’bhidā pāva nīmatā

पदच्छेद: भेद भावनात् सः अहम् इति असौ भावना अभिदा पावनी मता.

Padacchēda: bhēda bhāvanāt saḥ aham iti asau bhāvanā abhidā pāvanī matā.

English translation: Rather than separating meditation, non-separating meditation, that as ‘he is I’, is considered purifying.

Explanatory paraphrase: Rather than separating meditation [meditation on God as if he were something separate from oneself], non-separating meditation [meditation on him as not separate from oneself], [in which it is recognised that] he is I, is considered [by sages and scriptures to be] purifying.

भाव शून्यस द्भाव सुस्थितिः ।
भाव नाबला द्भक्ति रुत्तमा ॥ 9 ॥

bhāva śūnyasa dbhāva susthitiḥ
bhāva nābalā dbhakti ruttamā

पदच्छेद: भाव शून्य सत् भाव सुस्थितिः भावना बलात् भक्तिः उत्तमा.

Padacchēda: bhāva śūnya sat-bhāva susthitiḥ bhāvanā balāt bhaktiḥ uttamā.

English translation: Standing firmly in the state of being, devoid of meditation, because of the strength of meditation, is the best devotion.

Explanatory paraphrase: Because of the strength of meditation [on God as not separate from oneself], standing firmly in sat-bhāva [the state of being], [which is] devoid of meditation [in the sense of mental activity], is the best [foremost, highest, greatest or ultimate] devotion.

हृत्स्थ लेमनः स्वस्थ ताक्रिया ।
भक्ति योगबो धाश्च निश्चितम् ॥ 10 ॥

hṛtstha lēmanaḥ svastha tākriyā
bhakti yōgabō dhāśca niścitam

पदच्छेद: हृद् स्थले मनः स्वस्थता क्रिया भक्ति योग बोधाः च निश्चितम्.

Padacchēda: hṛd sthalē manaḥ svasthatā kriyā bhakti yōga bōdhāḥ ca niścitam.

English translation: The mind standing as itself in the heart-ground is certainly kriyā, bhakti, yōga and bōdhā.

Explanatory paraphrase: The mind standing as itself in the ground [the place or source from which it rose], the heart, is certainly [the culmination of the paths of] kriyā [niṣkāmya karma or desireless action], bhakti [love or devotion], yōga [union] and bōdhā [jñāna, knowledge or awareness].

While discussing these verses, Michael also discusses the meaning and implications of various other passages from Bhagavan’s writings, including Upadēśa Undiyār and Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu.

This episode can also be watched as a video, 2022-03-13 Ramana Kendra, Delhi: Michael James discusses Upadēśa Sāraḥ verses 8 to 10, and a more compressed audio copy in Opus format (which can be listened to in the VLC media player and some other apps) can be downloaded from here.