Philosophy and Religion / Select works of Sri Sankaracharya

Select works of Sri Sankaracharya

Hymn to Hari

I praise, with devotion, the All-pervading (Vishṇu), Who, Himself without origin, is the origin of the universe, in Whom this wheel of samsâra ¹ revolves in this wise, and, on realising Whom, this wheel of samsâra is destroyed—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (1)

Him, from a single aspect of Whom this whole universe has sprung into existence, by Whom again it is held together in this manner, by Whom it is pervaded, and by Whom it is illumined through pleasure and pain,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (2)

Him, Who is all-knowing, Who is indeed all and perfect, Who is bliss itself, Who resides in the qualities ² and has therefore endless attributes, Who is the Unmanifest that differentiates the undifferentiated, and Who is both the real and the unreal,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (3)

There is naught else than Him; yet, this universe is not his real nature. He is not the objective world, for He is of the nature of nonobjective consciousness. And though He is devoid of the distinction of the knower, knowledge and the known, He is nevertheless always the knower,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (4)

Him Who is realised as the Supreme Lord by those who, having learnt from proper preceptors the extremely subtle nature of the Immutable, are engaged in the contemplation of the ultimate Unity with the help of renunciation, constant meditation and firm devotion,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (5)

Him Who is realised as "I am the self-resplendent Self" when, by the control of the life-forces, the mind is confined within the heart amidst the repetition of the sound Om and, all other memory being excluded, is merged therein and is finally dissolved,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (6)

Him Whom the knowers of Brahman realise by meditation as the Supreme Lord within themselves known as Brahman, as the second-less, infinite, unborn, subtle, inscrutable Resplendence residing in the heart and attainable only by devotees,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (7)

Him Who is understood as the unsurpassable bliss realisable only by the spirit by those who perceive within their own hearts That which is beyond the senses, being realisable only by the expansion of the individual self, and beyond the cognisable, being cognition itself,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (8)

Him Whom, the Unborn, sages like Sanaka meditate upon by understanding that every object of perception has an underlying reality and is identical with Brahman and by realising "I am That",—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (9)

Him Whom the knowers of the Self know as the Supreme Lord "in whom I am" by eliminating as not-I whatever is perceptible, and by realising that bliss which is self- resplendent consciousness,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (10)

Him in Whom the devotees of the Immutable, forsaking their bodies, merge themselves by realising Him as the pure self-resplendent Self, infinite like space, as That which alone remains when all that is cognisable and differentiated is eliminated step by step,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (11)

Him Who is in all, Whose body is this all, and yet Who is not this all, Who knows all, but Whom none knows at all, and Who, as stated above, holds all this together, being the inner spirit thereof,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (12)

Him Who is realised as "I am the One that is the All" by those who see, by their reason, all this universe as existing within themselves and their own self as the Unborn residing in the heart of all beings,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (13)

Him Who is described by some as the One in all beings that sees and smells and tastes and touches and hears and knows, and by others as the witness that is the seer in all doers,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (14)

Him Who is realised as the Supreme Lord, the Self that is the knower of objects, Who sees and hears and tastes and smells and knows and holds this body together as the individual self therein,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (15)

He Who sees objects of gross matter in the waking state, illusion in dream, and blissful repose in deep sleep and Himself in the fourth state and is happy,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (16)

Him Who, though pure, imperishable, one and unborn, nevertheless imposes upon Himself ³ different qualities and different shapes and, like a crystal ⁴, shines variegated, differentiated and hidden by the fruits of action—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (17)

Him Who is the one Reality, but Who owing to the diversity of intellects, is conventionally spoken of in various ways as Brahman, Vishṇu, Rudra, Fire, the Sun, the Moon, Indra, Vâyu (the God of Wind), and sacrifice,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (18)

Him, the Unborn, Whom, at the beginning of the Taittirîya-Upanishad, Varuṇa explained to Bhṛigu ⁵ as being uncontradictable, conscious, pure, imperishable, transcendental, unperturbed, unperceivable, without parts, blissful, and without a second,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (19),

Him Whom, as stated at the end of the Taittirîya-Upanishad, Bhṛigu, taught by his father, realised as the witness in everything after having determined within. himself "I am the Brahman beyond these five sheaths of taste, etc. ⁶",—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (20)

Him by Whose inspiration, by Whose power, ⁷ and on Whom depending, the knower of the field ⁸ directs the active principle in all creatures, and by Whose power ⁹ is impelled the self that is the doer and enjoyer in this world,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (21)

Him, the one Supreme Self, Who created all this indescribable universe and Who fully permeates every part of that creation, being identical therewith, and thus becomes all that is manifest and unmanifest,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (22)

Him Whom, by the help of the Vedântas, the sciences treating of the self, the Purânas, the cults of Vishnu-worship and other sciences, many have realised as the Supreme Lord within their own selves and, knowing thus, have merged themselves into Him,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (23)

Him, the resplendent Lord, Who is speedily realisable even in this world by those who strive to seek him by means of faith, devotion, meditation, self-control and other expedients, but Who is hard to realise even through hundreds of lives for those who are devoid of those expedients,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (24)

Him, the indescribable glory . of Whose manifestation has been defined by the Vedic seers in the passage "All this indeed is Brahman", that is, all this, being born of Him, being in Him and dissolving in Him, is identical with Him, like the waves of the ocean,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (25)

Him Who is realised by intense devotion as the unborn and indestructible principle, the pure intelligence residing as Witness in the heart, and by meditating "I am in Him", as taught in the Gîta and in the manner laid down therein,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (26)

Him, the Infinite, Who, assuming the condition of the individual self and dwelling in nature, incessantly enjoys the objects of enjoyment through the five gateways of the senses, and Who, though one, appears as different in different bodies like the moon reflected in the waters,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (27)

Him Who is named Purusha and Who is realised, even in this world, as "He who is I is that Supreme Lord and I am verily He" by those who intelligently investigate the teachings of Vyâsa ¹⁰ and understand the distinction between the field and the knower of the field, ¹¹—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (28)

Him, the conscious principle residing in innumerable bodies, Whose oneness realising, men speedily become Himself in this very life, and; in Whom merged, they come no more to birth in this world,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (29)

Him Who is realised as "He that is the Supreme Lord is I and I am verily He" by those who understand the unity in duality taught by the passages of the Madhu-Brâhmaṇa ¹² and attain a supremacy that exacts veneration even at the hands of Indra,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (30)

Him Who is realised as the Supreme Lord by those who meditate on the unity of the Self, as "He that, dwelling in the mind, impels the body to action, He too that, residing in the sun, causes him to -radiate heat, I am verily He,"—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (31)

Him, the ultimate reality, a spark of Whose consciousness reflected in nature ¹³ cognises the objects of cognition outside the mind, but does not cognise Him that dwells within the mind and inspires the cognition,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (32)

Him Who is realised as "I am that conscious principle in this body" by those who intelligently enquire "Who is this Shining One in the body?" and determine that this Shining One is indeed the knower, the hearer and the thinker,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (33)

Who indeed can live, if He do not reside in the body? He alone, therefore, is the Supreme Bliss and He is the incoming and outgoing life. By such reasoning does the Scripture ¹⁴ declare that He is,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (34)

"Am I the vital energy ¹⁵? Or speech? Or the senses of hearing etc? Or the mind †? Or the intellect? ‡ Am I a particular entity or the collective whole?" Him Who, by thus meditating, is realised as "I am the conscious principle in this body",—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (35)

Him Who is realised as "I am not the vital energy ¹⁶, nor the body, nor the mind ¹⁷, nor the intellect ¹⁸, nor the ego ¹⁹, nor the understanding ²⁰, but am verily He that is the conscious principle in this body,"—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (36)

Him Whom, in the Upanishad of the Sâmaveda ²¹, the father ²² explains to his son ²³ as pure existence, pure consciousness, the unborn, the real, the transcendental, the eternal, the infinite, the first cause, and by declaring "That thou art",—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (37)

Him Who is realised as the ultimate reality by those who, through perfect absorption of thought ²⁴, attain to the knowledge of the conscious principle within themselves by first excluding all conditioned and unconditioned existence and then eliminating all that is perceptible as "Not this" "Not this,"—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (38)

Him Who is the warp and woof of the web of this universe including the undifferentiated ether, Who is established under the designation of the Indestructible in such passages as "It is not gross, It is not atomic etc.", Who can only be understood as "There is no knower but He", but Who is not the object of cognition,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (39)

Him, the Knower, without realising Whom within one's self as "I am He", all this appears as real, but, Who being realised, all this becomes unreal,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (40)

Him Who is realised as the consciousness that ultimately remains when the self that is not free from impurity is burnt in the fire of knowledge. kindled by eightfold Yôga ²⁵, like gold alloyed with iron in the furnace,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (41)

Him Who is the resplendent light of consciousness, the first cause, the praiseworthy, Who shines like lightning within the heart amidst the spheres of the sun, moon and fire, ²⁶ in Whom the sages, worshipping Him with devotion as the ultimate reality within their own selves, merge themselves even in this life,—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (42)

May He, the all-pervading (Vishnu), protect this devotee who is an individual self ²⁷ existing in Himself, considering "This devotee praises Me Who am the essence of all organs with constant devotion and single-mindedness and withdrawing himself within his own self"—that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsâra, I praise. (43)

He who recites or hears this. hymn of the venerable teacher, valuable to devotees and resembling the sun in dispelling the darkness of the fear of samsâra, attains the state of the All-pervading (Vishnu) and; becoming a seer, realises both knowledge and the object of knowledge ²⁸ within himself. (44)

Thus ends the hymn to Hari.

Footnotes

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