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Its about a multiple limbo.Greece is not a secular state.Greek Orthodox papas, Catholic priests, Rabbis and Imams are public servants and are payed by the State.The Thrace Region of Greece and its departmental subdivisions:The whole region has long been a disaster zone. Predominantly tobacco growing it witnessed a gradual collapse in crops’sales, while the Yugoslavia Civil War put an end to northward commercial exchanges. Lastly, neighbouring Bulgaria’s EU accession saw many companies relocating there due to cheaper labour and lower taxes. These economic events affected both Christian and Muslims : between 1950 and 1973, some 15% of the total Greek population emigrated, the largest subgroup being constituted by Northern Greece’s farmers.“There are 3 muftis, approximately 270 imams and around 300 mosques in Western Thrace. Two Islamic theological seminaries (funded by the state), one in Komotini, and one in Echinos (a small town in Xanthi regional unit inhabited almost exclusively by Pomaks) provide theology training for Imams and under Law 2621/1998, qualification awarded by these institutions has been recognised as equal to that of the Greek Orthodox seminaries in the country. Imams with required qualifications are jointly nominated by muftis and the Ministry of Education and religious Affairs.Apart from their strictly religious services Imams also perform registrar duties issuing official birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates.Thankfully, since the late 80s, citizen can also choose to go to their Town Hall and get their certificates from a non-religious civil authority.The next step up in the religious hierarchies provides legal arbitration services in terms of Family Law ( marriage, divorce, alimony, custody, guardianship, emancipation of minors, Muslim wills and inheritance disputes). Assimilated to judges, like in any country, muftis are nominated and paid by the State.A mufti (Arabic: مفتي‎) is an Islamic Jurist qualified to issue an opinion (Fatwa) on a point of Islamic Law (Sharia). The act of issuing fatwas is called iftāʾ. Muftis and their fatwas played an important role throughout Islamic history.They also supervise education and religious foundations. The law also provides for the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs to assume all operating expenses for the muftis in Thrace, under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.In 2018, Greek Parliament passed legislation requiring all Greek Orthodox priests, imams in Thrace, and rabbis to register in the same electronic database used for other registered religious communities. The same law requires mandatory retirement for muftis at the same age as other judicial officials.Due to the implementation of the Lausanne Peace Treaty -which only mentions a “Muslim minority”-, Muslim Greeks of Western Thrace are treated as the “Muslim Millet” where in terms of family and inheritance Law, Islamic Sharia applies, an oddity by European legal standards (aka concurrent legislation).In a ground braking decision, in 2018 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Greek Muslims could now freely choose their jurisdiction and apply to Greek civil courts if they so wished. Lawyers said that this was a big step since, from now on, minority's issues would be judged according to the Greek law, which gives equal rights to men and women, and not Sharia. Later that year, the Greek government passed a bill eliminating the mandatory enforcement of the Sharia Law, and limiting its powers, making it optional.In 1922, the Muslim minority left in Western Thrace, numbered approximately 86,000 people, and consisted of three ethnic groups: Turks, Pomaks (Muslim Slavs who speak Bulgarian), and Muslim Roma, each of these groups having its own language and culture.According to the Greek government, Turkish speakers represent approximately 50% of the minority, Pomaks 35% and Muslim Roma 15%. Unofficial estimates ranged up Greek Muslims to 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total Greek population, according to the United States Department of State.The minority is always represented in the Greek Parliament with 2 or 3 MPs, there are also approximately 250 Muslim municipal, prefectural councillors and mayors elected, and the elected Vice-Prefect of Rhodope is also a Muslim.”THE TURKS OF WESTERN THRACECONTINUING VIOLATIONS Denial of Ethnic Identity While many of the improvements that the Greek government has made are substantive and not merely cosmetic, the Turkish minority continues to face a number of serious problems. At the root of these problems is the Greek government’s attitude toward the Turkish minority as somehow alien to Greece, as an outside threat that must be minimized or isolated. The most obvious sign of this is the continued state policy of denying the ethnic identity of the minority, which, whether acquired by birth or through acculturation, is undoubtedly Turkish. Greece officially recognizes but one minority, the Muslim minority as defined in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. Consequently, it has adopted a militant fear of any group, whether Macedonian or Turkish, that claims otherwise. While it is indeed true that the minority is mixed on an ethnolinguistic basis, being made up of ethnic Turks, Pomaks (Muslim Slavs who speak a Bulgarian dialect), and Romas, the group overwhelmingly identifies itself as Turkish. 34 Indeed many Pomaks and Romas will, especially to outsiders, even deny their ethnolinguistic origin in the belief that being called “Pomaks” or “Romas” is merely a state artifice to suppress them. 35 One commentator noted that, “Due to the uniform way in which Greek authorities and local communities have treated Gypsies and Pomaks, the latter tend to identify with the stronger elements of the minority in Thrace, who are, of course, the Muslim Turcophones.” 36 The government of Greece justifies its refusal to accept the Turkish identity of the minority on the Treaty of Lausanne, which only mentions a “Muslim minority.” Others within the government point to the fact that “Turkish” refers to state identification, rather than to an ethnicity. Mr. Yannos Kranidiotis, the deputy foreign minister, stated that, In Greece we do not speak of a Turkish minority; we call it Muslim minority. We feel this term, Turkish, gives them an ethnic character of Turkish while downgrading other elements that are not Turkish [such as Pomaks and Gypsies]. We have ratified the code of ethnic self-identity. We will wait for the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights....We have been tolerant and are becoming even more tolerant. Stricto sensus if one wants to interpret the Lausanne treaty they must be called Muslims...We are respecting however the different elements of the Muslim minority. We would like to see what the Commission and what the Court of Human Rights will say, if we should call them Turks. 37 Mr. Stavros Kambellis, the state-appointed secretary general for Thrace, argued that the term “Turkish” refers to the Republic of Turkey, not a specific minority. He stated that, A person is free to express himself in whatever identity he desires. No one has come to me to complain about the freedom to express one’s religious or linguistic identity. The problem is raised with the use of the term Turkish. According to all internationalhttps://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/greece/Greec991-06.htm“ Greek Law No. 2345 of 1920, regulated matters pertaining to the mufti and the vakiflar (private charitable foundations). Under Article 6 of Law No. 2345, the muftis were to be elected by the Muslim population after a list of candidates had been approved by both the head mufti, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the governor general and/or prefect of the region. The chief mufti was to be appointed by the state from three candidates nominated by all Greek muftis “appointed or acknowledged by the Greek government.” In addition to carrying out Islamic law, the duties of the muftis under the law also included supervision, in conjunction with community boards, of education and the vakiflar.In the past, the minority and the state had apparently worked out a modus vivendi, that, while not implementing fully Law No. 2345, generally respected the spirit of the Treaty of Lausanne. Minority leaders were consulted and nominated a candidate for mufti, which state authorities then confirmed in office.In 1984, however, at the height of state pressure against the Turkish minority, Komotini’s mufti , Hüseyin Mustafa Efendi, died of a heart attack after a long illness. In his place the Greek government appointed Mr. Rüstü Ethem as acting mufti, without consulting the minority. The minority objected to the appointment and, citing the 1913 Treaty of Athens and Law No. 2345, petitioned the governor, but to no avail.”Muslim minority of Greece - WikipediaMap of the Greek Prefectures according to the 1991 census with the minority highlighted. The Muslim minority of Greece is the only explicitly recognized minority in Greece . It numbered 97,605 (0.91% of the population) according to the 1991 census, [1] and unofficial estimates ranged up to 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total population, according to the United States Department of State . [2] Like other parts of the southern Balkans that experienced centuries of Ottoman rule the Muslim minority of mainly Western Thrace in Northern Greece consists of several ethnic groups, some being Turkish and some Bulgarian -speaking Pomaks , with smaller numbers descended from Ottoman-era Greek converts to Islam and Muslim Romas . The precise identity of these groups is in contention with Turkey insisting that most Muslims in Western Thrace are ethnically Turkish, and Greece claiming many are Pomak and others of local origin who converted to Islam and adopted the Turkish language and identity in the Ottoman period. These arguments have territorial overtones, since the self-identity of the Muslims in Western Thrace could conceivably support territorial claims to the region by Turkey. [3] The Muslims of Western Thrace and the Greeks of Istanbul were exempt from the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey when 1.3 million Anatolian Greeks or Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks were required to leave Turkey, and the 400,000 Muslims outside of Thrace were required to leave Greece, including the Muslim Greek speaking Vallahades of western Greek Macedonia . Consequently, most of the Muslim minority in Greece resides in the Greek region of Thrace , where they make up 28.88% of the population. Muslims form the largest group in the Rhodope regional unit (54.77%) and sizable percentages in the Xanthi (42.19%) and Evros regional units (6.65%). [4] In contrast to the steady number of Greece's Muslim minority since 1923, Turkey's Greek minority has shrunk considerably due to oppression and violence orchestrated by the Turkish state in particular the 1955 Istanbul pogrom . Nearly 3,500 Turks remain on the island of Rhodes and 2,000 on the island of Kos , as the islands were part of the Italian Dodecanese when the population exchange between Turkey and Greece happened (and so were not included in it). The Sharia law used to be mandatory among the Muslim citizens of Greece, as a result of the Lausanne Treaty which was signed between Greece and Turkey in 1923. [5] [6] However, according to a 2018 European Court of Human Rights ruling, applying Sharia law on the Muslim minority was considered a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights by Greece. The court ruled unanimously that the mandatory application of Sharia law in Greece violated Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Court also added that "Greece is the only country in Europe which had applied Sharia law to a section of its citizens against their wishehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_minority_of_Greece“Human rights Watch alleges that this is against Lausanne Treaty which grants the Muslim minority the right to organise and conduct religious affairs free from government interference (although it is unclear whether issues such as inheritance law are religious matters). As such, there are two muftis for each post, one elected by the participating faithful, and one appointed by Presidential Decree. The elected Mufti of Xanthi was Mr Aga and the government appointee Mr Emin Sinikoğlu; the elected Mufti of Komotini was Mr Şerif while the government recognised Mr Hafuzidris Cemali. According to the Greek government, the elections by which Mr Aga and Mr Şerif were appointed were rigged and involved very little participation from the minority.It must be noted that appointed Muftis are born in Greece, Theology Master graduates in Islamic studies at Thessaloniki and PhDs in Medina (Saudi Arabia) or Al Azhar (Egypt).The appointed mufti for Komotini, Mr. Cemali, told Human Rights Watch that “the old law on electing muftis was never applied. He stated that, one of the major problems is the ongoing controversy around the selection of the muftis. Law No. 2345 of 1920 relating to the selection of the muftis speaks about the election of all muftis. However, never in Greek history was a mufti elected. In fact since 1400 in the Islamic world no mufti was ever elected....The old system was not so good although the law was good, but it was never applied. On the contrary the new law is good precisely because it is being applied”.As pretension of (religious) authority is a criminal offence against the lawful muftis under the Greek Penal Code, both elected muftis were prosecuted and on conviction, both were imprisoned and fined. When, however, the case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights, the Greek government was found to have violated the right to religious freedom of Mr Aga and Mr Şerif.”As Alper Bilgin quoted in his answer:Ahmet Mete: The fake Pomak Mufti in Thrace who is paid to say he is Turkish(I despise “GreekCityTimes” but some elements they highlight here look truthful)Western Thrace Muslims and Turkish Rum : political hostages and pawns.More specifically, since 1955, Greek policies towards the minority of Western Thrace aimed at removing the possibility that Greek Thrace would become a “second Cyprus”.On the Europeanization of Minority Rights Protection: Comparing the Cases of Greece and Turkey . Mediterranean Studies. I. Grigoriadis Athens University / ELIAMEP“Greece of the early Cold War era was a procedural democracy, in which human rights did not enjoy full protection. Under these circumstances, minorities were among the most sensitive population groups. The existence of minorities other than the Muslim minority of Western Thrace was denied, as well as any ethnic identification of that minority. Besides, policies aiming at the numerical contraction, social and economic marginalization of its members were implemented.Greek authorities never came to the point of orchestrating a pogrom like that of 6–7 September 1955 in Istanbul. Nonetheless, it was thought that minorities comprised a national security threat, whose presence was a ‘necessary evil’ for Greece. It is no coincidence that the discriminatory Article 19 of the Greek Nationality Code was introduced in October 1955.The 1967–1974 military regime brought human and minority rights protection to the lowest point. In 1969, the junta withdrew the country’s membership of the Council of Europe shortly before its suspension, due to gross human rights violations, including torture.Yiannis Kapsis, Socialist Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1982 to 1988, described the policy of metadimotefsi (breaking up the ghettos of Thrace and integrating Muslims) during an interview :This policy was my idea. My goal was to encourage the integration of Western Thracian Muslims into Greek society. The situation in Western Thrace was quite problematic not only because of discriminatory measures against Muslims -which Andreas Papandreou had already agreed with me to ban - but mainly due to the local mafias that were established over the years. These local mafias, consisting of both Christians and Muslims, were making enormous amounts of money through the continuation of discriminatory measures against Muslims.The only thing we could offer to people willing to settle in different parts of Greece was a government job. Nothing else. We never asked them to transfer their voting rights. Take for example the existing Muslim community in Drapetsona. To this day, most of them still vote in Komotini.Around 2000, the change of state was highlighted by an interview of Foreign Minister George Papandreou who on the question of the ethnic characterization of the minority of Western Thrace argued: ‘No one doubts that there are many Muslims of Turkish origin. Of course, the Treaties [of Lausanne] mention only Muslims. If no one contests the present borders, I could not care less if one calls himself a Muslim or a Turk, a Bulgarian or a Pomak.’Additional evidence of change was a discursive difference regarding the normative basis of minority rights protection. Respect for minority rights used to be seen not as an essential element of the democratic nature of the Hellenic Republic, but as a burden imposed by the Treaty of Lausanne, which was bound by the principle of reciprocity.In other words, respect for the rights of the minority of Western Thrace was conditional upon Turkey’s respect for the rights of its own Rum (Greek Orthodox) minority. It was to Turkey and not to its own citizens that Greece ‘owed’ respect for minority rights. Thus if Turkey did not fulfil its own obligations, namely respect for the rights of its own Rum minority, Greece was released from its obligation and could treat its own minority on par with Turkey.The decimation of Turkey’s Rum minority was used as irrefutable argument for the violation of the Treaty of Lausanne by Turkey, which allegedly relieved Greece from its own conventional duties and deprived Turkey of any right to complain about Greece’s treatment of its own minority.Under the Simitis government, this argumentation was replaced by arguments that emphasized Greece’s soft power as a force of democratization and Europeanization in the Balkans. This new role entailed respect for human rights not as a sovereignty concession but as an indispensable principle of Greece’s liberal democratic regime, which was also a sine qua non for the fulfilment of Greek strategic objectives in the region. Besides, rising tension with Turkey between 1997 and 1999 also meant that Greece wanted to minimize the possibility of being accused of violations of minority rights. These significant steps, however, did not mean the end of minority discrimination policies. Limitations to the right of ethnic self-identification, freedom of expression, association and religion and the problem of statelessness have remained and tarred Greece’s improved record in minority rights protection.”In conclusion:IMO, I think that minority discrimination is shameful and unworthy of a confidently sovereign state.Now regarding Muftis.Muftis are also judges, and judges are not elected by popular vote neither in Greece nor in Turkey.Muftis aren’t elected by popular vote in Turkey (nominated by Diyanet) nor are Bishops in Greece (nominated by the “Holy Synod”).Maybe a half way solution would be for the Greek State to nominate ‘Islamic judges’ and Thrace Muslims to choose their Muftis -stripped of their legal prerogatives- who will only have religious duties.After all, the NGO “Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe” remarked that: “although the elected Muftis are not officially recognised, the Greek State does not obstruct their religious or other activities. We would like to stress that Muftis (elected) do not use any legal judicial authority on civic issues and they are only serve religious services for members of the Minority.”It would be a great improvement if Greece reviewed its constitution and separated State from religion. But that would require a 3/4 majority in Parliament and probably a referendum...A rabbi, an imam and a priest walk into a bar, the bar tender then says : “is this a joke?”More to dwell upon :Western Thracian Muslims in Athens

India has had numerous such emperors but nobody probably had such an imact as Shih Huang Ti did in China . Even then Shih was not completely successful as the Confucian school of thought survived his rampages.Let us look at some Indian examples :With the coming of Buddhism and later a resurgent Hinduism , India was always considered a land spiritually united but temporally divided. The kings worshipped the same pantheon , the Budhha began as a reformer of Indic society ( the distinction into Buddhism and Hinduism was a much later result — in its land of birth till the extinction of Buddhism the two were sister faiths though they competed extensively for followers : the kings of the opposite faiths patronised the other faith system and the vajrayana form of Budhism arose by incorporating Hindu deities beside the Buddha ). The gods of the aboriginal tribes were incorporated and mercantile relations established connections between them and an exchange of ideas . The Goddess Durga is also called VindhyaBashini ( she who dwells in the Vindhyan range ) as one of the proto-goddess forms was a patron deity of the forest tribes of central India.The missionary activity of the Budhhists also led to a sense of cohesion . Even the Jains contributed though in this matter they were eclipsed by the other faiths . In a society where every development was subservient to the philosophical cause of realising the self , the cause of temporal unity was secondary to spiritual ones. The indian emperors of yore often returned the conquered land in return of loyalty and vassalage from the defeated king even though South India records stories of humiliations of the conquered party . The kings and the law-givers were careful not to trample on the local customs which could create factions in the empire and thus the idea of a solitary central state with one centre of power, one beaurocracy, one language was often missing in ancient India .Now we come to Ashoka .He unified nearly all of Greater India from Afghanisthan to Kerala bar a few extreme places. Much like Shih he too was an absolutist . His Dhammavijaya was carried out only after he had crushed the one legitimate challenge to his autocracy in the Kalinga War and by all accounts he spared neither man , woman or child in that conflict . His Dhammavijaya was carried under the covert threat of his return to the KalaAShoka form ( the Ashoka of Wrath ) from DharmAshoka ( The Ashoka of Dharma ). He appointed several arbiters of morality to guide people on the path of Dhamma which according to some modern commentators could amount to thought policing .The Guptas built a strong unified state and majorly enhanced revenue collection . However they were patrons of science and art . In fact the identification of Bharat as a Hindu rashtra is due to their benevolent rule that spanned nearly all of greater North India.The Rashtrakutas carried their empire all the way to North in the contest for Kanauj . Again a state with well developed beaurocracy which they inherited from their predecessors .The elimination of intellectuals was not looked upon with great favour in Indic society . Since the Indic society rose largely in a riverine background and was polytheistic in Nature , a diversity of viewpoints was incorporated by design into the Hindu-Buddhist-Jain schools of thought . On top of it the temples and the sanghas were also centres of learning besides being centres of worship and the fusion of the priestly class with the teaching class placed intellectuals in a high position of society . To attack them would be to lose legitimacy , risk rebellion.The overarching concept of Dharma as the basis of Indic society which placed the cultivation of philosophy and the realisation of self and consciousness as the ultimate goal of life made the intellectual society vibrant . This is a fertile ground for innovation in science , technology and art . The elaborate treatises on dance , plays , mathematics , surgery , medicine, economics are all in an attempt to create a stable society for the realisation of Dharma .Major engineering marvels can be witnessed in the great many wells and tanks built by the great kings . The elaborate step layering of wells in the North West , the reservoirs built in South India to store water sustained the village economy for centuries till the coming of imperialism which destroyed the self sufficient village economy . The temples , sanghas and viharas of India are also testament to engineering feats . Temples in south India are designed such that the rays of the setting sun pass right through them . The Kailashnatha temple in Ellora is a testament to monolithic architecture. The great city of Hampi in south India , the painted caves of Ajanta , the elaborate temples of Karnataka are all engineering marvels .History in ancient India had a fluid nature. The great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are called ‘itihasas’ roughly meaning ‘ it indeed was that way’ . Theyfunctioned as social commentaries , social prescriptions and records of bygone days all rolled into one . So the great epics kept changing form with each recession.The Puranas in India serve as historical sources as well for they relate the conditions and social norms of days gone by as well as the chronology of kings enmeshed with a rich background of mythology and creation myths . On top of it was the need to conform to the notion of Dharma . Thus history as series of dated and recorded events is hard to come by directly except as circumstantial findings from land or temple grants .The Delhi Sultanate came close to Shih’s ideal . It eclipsed and decimated the intellectual movement of India which was based on the fabric of a polytheist and varied society . With the monotheism of Islam and the condemnation of idolatry , anything derived from that background was criminalised and decimated . The universities of Takshashila , Nalanda and Odantapura were razed. Countless number of temples were laid to waste in the name of iconoclasm . Buddhism with its passive nature was nearly erased from India . Hinduism survived but at a great personal cost . The temples and sanghas were centres of learning and with them destroyed or bereft of patronage , the intellectual tradition fell apart . Some reprieve was found in the traditional strongholds of Benaras but even they were not enough . Countless manuscripts and books were burnt , scholars were killed with the growth of the Sulanate.As far as the concept of a single state is concerned , both the Mauryan and the Mughals had a well developed beaurocracy . The centres of the empire were consistently Pataliputra ( present day Patna ) and Delhi respectively . The mansabdari system came close to being a true civil service whereby promotions and demotions were allowed on merit till as long as Akbar was alive. By his death it degenerated and was infested with nepotism and corruption when Aurangzeb ruled. Of course Akbar’s successors had a large role to play in it . The mansabs ( after Akbar ) were awarded to loyalists to the throne who could even be nobles born in persia or central asia and had come to India to try their fortune .( Indeed many Afghan colonies in Delhi at the eve of British conquest were direct descendents of the Afghan mercenaries who had come to India in the middle ages.)This prevented centrifugal forces in the states especially the rebellious ones as the throne of Delhi could maintain a firm grip on them.The famed iconoclasm of the medieval rulers also had some resemblances to Shih’s diktats against confucian studies . Aurangzeb stopped Hindus from operating their traditional schools and razed multiple temples in the stronghold of Benares. Even the Dakhani Sultanates were no better.The last great spurt of intellectual growth in the Vijayanagara Empire was consumed by the combined armies of the 5 Deccan Sultanates . Many schools of art underwent a profound Islamic influence for the sake of survival and lost their polytheist traditions to submit to the will of islam .The coming of the Middle ages saw great many advances in the techniques of war . Gunpowder and canons, guerilla tactics became part and parcel of war strategies.Writing language also underwent unification at this time . Persian and became the accepted form royal and intellectual communication at the cost of Sanskrit which had hitherto enjoyed divine status . The coming of Persian and Arabic influence also shaped the growth of local languages but they never gained official status.

Try to have the knowledge of your SELF first. Everything will follow then.For you here is a translation of the book named 'Atma Bodha' (Knowledge of SELF) by Sri Adi SankaracharyaMEANS FOR EMANCIPATION1. I am composing the Atma-Bodha, this treatise of the Knowledge of the Self, for those who have purified themselves by austerities and are peaceful in heart and calm, who are free from cravings and are desirous of liberation.2. Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.3. Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.4. The Soul appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.5. Constant practice of knowledge purifies the Self (‘Jivatman’), stained by ignorance and then disappears itself – as the powder of the ‘Kataka-nut’ settles down after it has cleansed the muddy water.SAMSARA - THE WORLD6. The world, which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as it continues but appears to be unreal when one is awake (i.e., when true wisdom dawns).7. The Jagat appears to be true (Satyam) so long as Brahman, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not realized. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.8. Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of everything.9. All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence- Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.10. The All-pervading Akasa appears to be diverse on account of its association with various conditionings (Upadhis) which are different from each other. Space becomes one on the destruction of these limiting adjuncts: So also the Omnipresent Truth appears to be diverse on account of Its association with the various Upadhis and becomes one on the destruction of these Upadhis.11. Because of Its association with different conditionings (Upadhis) such ideas as caste, colour and position are super-imposed upon the Atman, as flavour, colour, etc., are superimposed on water.12. Determined for each individual by his own past actions and made up of the Five elements – that have gone through the process of “five-fold self-division and mutual combination” (Pancheekarana) – are born the gross-body, the medium through which pleasure and pain are experienced, the tent-of-experiences.VARIOUS SARIRA - VARIOUS EMBODYMENTS13. The five Pranas, the ten organs and the Manas and the Buddhi, formed from the rudimentary elements (Tanmatras) before their “five-fold division and mutual combination with one another” (Pancheekarana) and this is the subtle body, the instruments-ofexperience (of the individual).14. Avidya, which is indescribable and beginningless is the Causal Body. Know for certain that the Atman is other than these three conditioning bodies (Upadhis).15. In its identification with the five-sheaths the Immaculate Atman appears to have borrowed their qualities upon itself; as in the case of a crystal which appears to gather unto itself colour of its vicinity (blue cloth, etc.,). 16. Through discriminative self-analysis and logical thinking one should separate the Pure self within from the sheaths as one separates the rice from the husk, bran, etc., that are covering it.17. The Atman does not shine in everything although He is All-pervading. He is manifest only in the inner equipment, the intellect (Buddhi): just as the reflection in a clean mirror.18. One should understand that the Atman is always like the King, distinct from the body, senses, mind and intellect, all of which constitute the matter (Prakriti); and is the witness of their functions.19. The moon appears to be running when the clouds move in the sky. Likewise to the non-discriminating person the Atman appears to be active when It is observed through the functions of the sense-organs.ADYASA - SUPERIMPOSITION20. Depending upon the energy of vitality of Consciousness (Atma Chaitanya) the body, senses, mind and intellect engage themselves in their respective activities, just as men work depending upon the light of the Sun.21. Fools, because they lack in their powers of discrimination superimpose on the Atman, the Absolute-Existence-Knowledge (Sat-Chit), all the varied functions of the body and the senses, just as they attribute blue colour and the like to the sky.22. The tremblings that belong to the waters are attributed through ignorance to the reflected moon dancing on it: likewise agency of action, of enjoyment and of other limitations (which really belong to the mind) are delusively understood as the nature of the Self (Atman).23. Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc., are perceived to exist so long as Buddhi or mind functions. They are not perceived in deep sleep when the mind ceases to exist. Therefore they belong to the mind alone and not to the Atman.24. Just as luminosity is the nature of the Sun, coolness of water and heat of fire, so too the nature of the Atman is Eternity, Purity, Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.25. By the indiscriminate blending of the two – the Existence-Knowledge-aspect of the Self and the thought-wave of the intellect – there arises the notion of “I know”.AHAMKARA - THE EGO26. Atman never does anything and the intellect of its own accord has no capacity to experience ‘I know’. But the individuality in us delusorily thinks he is himself the seer and the knower.27. Just as the person who regards a rope as a snake is overcome by fear, so also one considering oneself as the ego (Jiva) is overcome by fear. The ego-centric individuality in us regains fearlessness by realising that It is not a Jiva but is Itself the Supreme Soul.28. Just as a lamp illumines a jar or a pot, so also the Atman illumines the mind and the sense organs, etc. These material-objects by themselves cannot illumine themselves because they are inert.29. A lighted-lamp does not need another lamp to illumine its light. So too, Atman which is Knowledge itself needs no other knowledge to know it.30. By a process of negation of the conditionings (Upadhis) through the help of the scriptural statement ‘It is not this, It is not this’, the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, as indicated by the great Mahavakyas, has to be realised.THE DOCTRINE OF NETI, NETI31. The body, etc., up to the “Causal Body” – Ignorance – which are objects perceived, are as perishable as bubbles. Realize through discrimination that I am the ‘Pure Brahman’ ever completely separate from all these.32. I am other than the body and so I am free from changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death, etc. I have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for I am without the sense-organs.33. I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for “HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.”, is the Commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.34. I am without attributes and actions; Eternal (Nitya) without any desire and thought (Nirvikalpa), without any dirt (Niranjana), without any change (Nirvikara), without form (Nirakara), ever-liberated (Nitya Mukta) ever-pure (Nirmala).35. Like the space I fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times I am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.36. I am verily that Supreme Brahman alone which is Eternal, Pure and Free, One, indivisible and non-dual and of the nature of Changeless-Knowledge-Infinite.SADHANA - EFFORTS37. The impression “I am Brahman” thus created by constant practice destroys ignorance and the agitation caused by it, just as medicine or Rasayana destroys disease.38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.39. The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world-of-objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self ever as contaminated by anything as the sky.SELF REALISATION40. He who has realised the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.41. There are no distinctions such as “Knower”, the “Knowledge” and the “Object of Knowledge” in the Supreme Self. On account of Its being of the nature of endless Bliss, It does not admit of such distinctions within Itself. It alone shines by Itself.42. When this, the lower and the higher aspects of the Self are well churned together, the fire of knowledge is born from it, which in its mighty conflagration shall burn down all the fuel of ignorance in us.43. The Lord of the early dawn (Aruna) himself has already looted away the thick darkness, when soon the sun rises. The Divine Consciousness of the Self rises when the right knowledge has already killed the darkness in the bosom.44. Atman is an ever-present Reality. Yet, because of ignorance it is not realised. On the destruction of ignorance Atman is realised. It is like the missing ornament of one’s neck.45. Brahman appears to be a ‘Jiva’ because of ignorance, just as a post appears to be a ghost. The ego-centric-individuality is destroyed when the real nature of the ‘Jiva’ is realised as the Self.46. The ignorance characterised by the notions ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is destroyed by the knowledge produced by the realisation of the true nature of the Self, just as right information removes the wrong notion about the directions.VISION OF KNOWLEDGE47. The Yogi of perfect realisation and enlightenment sees through his “eye of wisdom” (Gyana Chakshush) the entire universe in his own Self and regards everything else as his own Self and nothing else.48. Nothing whatever exists other than the Atman: the tangible universe is verily Atman. As pots and jars are verily made of clay and cannot be said to be anything but clay, so too, to the enlightened soul and that is perceived is the Self.49. A liberated one, endowed with Self-knowledge, gives up the traits of his previously explained equipments (Upadhis) and because of his nature of Sat-chit-ananda, he verily becomes Brahman like (the worm that grows to be) a wasp.50. After crossing the ocean of delusion and killing the monsters of likes and dislikes, the Yogi who is united with peace dwells in the glory of his own realised Self – as an Atmaram.51. The self-abiding Jivan Mukta, relinquishing all his attachments to the illusory external happiness and satisfied with the bliss derived from the Atman, shines inwardly like a lamp placed inside a jar.52. Though he lives in the conditionings (Upadhis), he, the contemplative one, remainsever unconcerned with anything or he may move about like the wind, perfectly unattached.53. On the destruction of the Upadhis, the contemplative one is totally absorbed in‘Vishnu’, the All-pervading Spirit, like water into water, space into space and light into light.NATURE OF SELF (BRAHMAN)54. Realise That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to beattained, the blessedness of which leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.55. Realise that to be Brahman which, when seen, leaves nothing more to be seen, which having become one is not born again in this world and which, when knowing leaves nothing else to be known.56. Realise that to be Brahman, which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, which is Non-dual, Infinite, Eternal and One and which fills all the quarters – above and below and all that exists between.57. Realise that to be Brahman which is Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum, realised after the negation of all tangible objects.58. Deities like Brahma and others taste only a particle, of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman and enjoy in proportion their share of that particle.59. All objects are pervaded by Brahman. All actions are possible because of Brahman: therefore Brahman permeates everything as butter permeates milk.60. Realise that to be Brahman which is neither subtle nor gross: neither short nor long:without birth or change: without form, qualities, colour and name.61. That by the light of which the luminous, orbs like the Sun and the Moon are illuminated.but which is not illumined by their light, realise that to be Brahman.62. Pervading the entire universe outwardly and inwardly the Supreme Brahman shines of Itself like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron-ball and glows by itself.63. Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman. If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.64. All that is perceived, or heard, is Brahman and nothing else. Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss- Absolute.65. Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.66. The ‘Jiva’ free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.67. The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.68. He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.