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This is indeed the shortest and simplest work of Shankaracharya, perhaps just an hour of his thoughts written down. He has written a great deal: the Brahmasūtras, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā—which is very, very good—and a book called Vivekacūḍāmaṇi. What is that called in German? "A Small Place of Discernment." This book is very interesting, containing much wisdom, though it is difficult to understand. Those who can understand it find these jewels within themselves, within their own being. Knowledge, Jñāna, comes through Guru-Kripa. Otherwise, nothing comes. I say, the one in whom my grace rests will understand me. Others cannot. The work of Shankaracharya is Advaita Vedānta philosophy. Advaita means non-dualism. He proves there is no difference between Ātman, your true Self, and God. Where there is duality, there is change and an end. Where there is non-dualism, there is unity. Our body, mind, and soul are all impermanent, but our true Self, the Ātman, is unchanging. One should always think: Who am I? I am Ātman. So’ham. Oṁ So’ham. I am That. Shankaracharya begins his Āprokṣānubhūti with the Maṅgalācaraṇa: "Śrī Hariṁ Paramānandam Upadeṣṭāriśvaram Vyāpakam Sarvaloka Namaḥ Kāraṇaṁ Taṁ Namaḥ Yam." He then writes about the purpose of the book, followed by Sādhana: the four paths of Jñāna-Yoga, Karma, Bhakti, Rāja-Yoga, and then Ātman, the breath as the path. How is one to distinguish what is Ātman and what is not Ātman? We have the 23rd verse, which we have already covered. Now comes the form of knowledge, Jñāna-kāśa-rūpa. What is the form of knowledge? What is knowledge? What is the difference between reality and unreality? Today I will continue with only one mantra, translating it, as time flows. "Brahmaiva-haṁ sama-śānta-sacchid-ānanda-lakṣaṇa / Nāma-deha-yaśo-dravya-jñānaṁ mithyocyate buddhaiḥ" Earlier he spoke of what an ignorant person thinks; now he speaks of what a knower thinks. This is a very beautiful answer for all of us. Everyone can decide for themselves whether we are the knower or the ignorant, whether we are white or nothing. We can decide for ourselves whether we are ignorant or more ignorant. This is a very good method. We do not need proof from others. Brahmaiva-haṁ: I am Brahman alone. sama-śānta: I am equanimous and peaceful. sacchid-ānanda-lakṣaṇa: My characteristic, my Lakṣaṇa, is Sat-Chit-Ānanda. I am one. I am in unity with everyone—Samatva. There is no gap between you and me. There is no difference between me and a tiny ant. Your breath and my breath are one. Shame—all we ever speak of is peace, yet Śaṅkarācārya said within me there is no restlessness. All this despair, all these restless thoughts, everything is superficial. That is not who I am. The ocean is not the waves. The storm and high waves on the ocean are not the ocean. There is a difference. Thus, Śānātma, the divine Self who lives within you, who sees through your eyes, hears through your ears, speaks through your mouth, and exists in your heart—this Ātman is within you in the form of supreme peace, Param Śānti. My form, my qualities (Lakṣaṇa), is Satchidānanda, Svarūpa. The form of your divine Self is Sat-Chit-Ānanda, Svarūpa. This Sat-Chit-Ānanda cannot be disturbed and can withstand these tribulations in the void. Everything that attacks is only your body, mind, ego, attachments, and all of that, which then cause jealousy and everything else. Then nothing and no one can touch me. I am one. This is my true Self. So I am Brahman, the highest Self, the one Ātman. These are just a few waves. This soul is in a bubble—like water bubbles or air bubbles, like the carbonic acid when you open a mineral water bottle. He has no suffering, no pain. He is liberated; he does not need to be liberated. He is a master; he is a student. There is no birth and no death, no mother and no father. Cidānanda Rūpa Śivo’haṁ, Śivo’haṁ... I am the Satchidānanda Rūpa. That is the goal of our self-inquiry meditation. Breathe deeply. When we reach that point, our self-inquiry meditation will come to a complete end. Satchidānanda. Who is sick? I am not sick. The body is sick. Everything is that. I am not that. These are the superficial piles of dust. Away with the dirt. Get rid of it. Pure Satchidānanda, Nirañjana. Nirañjana means spotless, unblemished, without surface. I am not this unreal body. I am not this body. I am not this form. My Self is not that which is this body here. Buddhaiḥ means the knowers, the wise ones. The God, the Buddha, the Siddhārtha. Siddhārtha, because he attained enlightenment, then received his title, Buddha. Buddha means enlightened. His true name is not Buddha. After everyone started saying "Buddha, Buddha..." So, I don't know when the Buddha came to Budapest. Buddha Rest in Budapest. So Buddha is wiser. "I am not this body. I am not this mortal body." But the sages say that is knowledge: I am not the body; I am only Ātman. As long as we are bound to the body or identify with the body, we will have all kinds of problems. No matter what problem you have, you have these problems only because you still think you are this body, as if it were your feelings, relationships, emotions, intellect, attachments, possessions, your body. Everything is only so because you identify with this body. Therefore, "know thyself" is the answer to all your questions. "Know thyself" is salvation from all problems. And who strives that far? I always ask, please meditate, think: I am not this body. Just think for half a second, not even a whole second, and then the other thought comes in. Or at most a few minutes, and then the bones start to hurt, and it says, "Oh God, I am in pain." Most of the time it says, "You are not the body," and the student says, "It hurts me." So this is very difficult. When such an ignorant stream of thought is present, and this knowledge is present, then you can also master your body. Then your body will no longer cause you any pain. You are there, but nothing hurts you. It is like when you go to the doctor or the dentist—they give you an injection, and then they cut everything, but you don't feel anything at all. You are aware of it, but a certain part of your body, your consciousness, is distracted, numbed. So it is when you come into self-realization, on the higher plane, in time: you are beyond everything. "Know thyself" is the answer to all your questions. Therefore it is said: If you know the Self, you know Bhagavān. If you do not know the Self, you do not know God. If you know yourself, you know God, and if you don't know yourself, you don't know God. Then you only argue for religion—my religion, your religion, my belief, your belief, our belief, their belief, and no one’s belief. It is all meaningless. One dies with this conflict. One engages in conflict, war, complexes, and dualism only out of ignorance. We are all That: Cidānanda Rūpa, Śivo’haṁ, Śivo’haṁ, Śivo’haṁ. This is the form, or the way, how the wise one thinks. And what else does he contemplate? We will hear that tomorrow, very beautifully said. I am formless, without shape, beyond speech, O Hāmbhava. I am not the body, nor the form it takes. Knowledge arises in the intellect, and the mind dwells in the heart. O Bhagavān, who is the cause of all, who is this?