Thus, there is no abolition of personality, at any time, throughout the processes or
series of births and deaths of the individual. But it ceases only at one time—when
time itself ceases to exist. In the timeless awareness of the purusha, the self-sense
ceases to exist. It expires in the experience of the purusha; it overcomes itself in a
larger recognition of a higher self, where this lower self gets absorbed and consumed
with no residuum whatsoever. As camphor burns and exhausts itself with no
residuum, this self-sense, or individuality, gets consumed in the fire of the flame of
the purusha-consciousness and it does not exist any more. There is only one self,
which is the Self of the purusha, and not the many selves, or individuals.
When the individual self-sense recognises the existence of this purusha, it at once
directs itself towards the purusha. Visesa darsi, a peculiar term used in this sutra,
means one who has the awareness of the difference between the true subject and the
object. The true subject is the purusha who appears to be involved in world
perception through the mind, which is the cause of bondage; and when the
knowledge arises in oneself as to the true nature of the ultimate subject, which is
infinite in nature and not empirical, then all empiricality or objectivity gets resolved
into its original cause. Then this self-sense, or atmabhava bhavana—‘I exist’
consciousness—ceases, and there is an utter annihilation of every experience that
follows from the existence of the self-sense, namely, bondage of every kind. Then
what happens?
When the mind is directed in this way towards the annihilation of self in the
realisation of the purusha, there is an inclination towards moksha. It is almost the
same thing; the inclination towards purusha and the inclination towards moksha
mean the same thing, because purusha is moksha and moksha is purusha.
Therefore, the two sutras, which go together, almost convey the same meaning.
Viśeṣadarśinaḥ ātmabhāva bhāvanānivṛttiḥ (IV.25) and tadā vivekanimnaṁ kaivalya
prāgbhāraṁ cittam (IV.26). These two sutras have an almost identical meaning,
making out that when the mind is inclined towards the discrimination between
purusha and prakriti, when there is the rise of right understanding in respect of
things, the mind gravitates towards liberation.
Kaivalya pragbharam cittam is a very significant term which means the mind is
laden heavy with the consciousness of liberation. It is inclined towards liberation,
while now it is inclined towards objects of sense due to the gravitation or the force
exerted by objects towards the mind. When this gravitational pull ceases or is
diminished in its intensity, the mind is able to move in the other direction and feel
the pull of the purusha. Vivekanimnam—inclined towards understanding. The
understanding that is spoken of here is not the understanding we have in this world.
In a sense, we can all be said to be endowed with a sort of understanding. Everyone
has some understanding. But here, we speak of a different type of understanding
which is a superior knowledge of the higher nature of the individual, which is
different from the understanding which is associated with the lower nature
connected with objects. The inclination of the citta, or the mind, towards right
understanding means the inwardisation of consciousness, an introversion of the
spirit towards its own self, and an awakening which follows, compelling the mind to
incline towards the purusha.
All this is hard stuff for us to understand, because we cannot understand what it
means—how the mind can incline towards the purusha when it is now inclined