7rcTIX1xP

Part V: Renunciation.1425
in the bonds of desire of rewards for actions are troubled and filled with
unrest and dissatisfaction.
“The wise man, setting himself free, mentally, from actions and their results,
dwelleth in the Temple of the Spirit, even that which men call the Body,
resting calmly therein, at peace, and neither desiring to act, nor causing to
act, and yet always willing to play well his part in action when Duty calleth
him. For he knoweth that although his body, senses, and mind may engage
in action, yet the Real Self remaineth forever undisturbed. For the Real Self
acteth not in these ways—such belong to the lower nature of man, through
the qualities of such nature. The Real Self performeth neither good nor evil
actions; it remaineth above these distinctions and their manifestations.
“The Light of Wisdom is oft obscured by the Smoke of Ignorance; and
man is deluded thereby, and seeth the smoke for the flame, knowing not
what lieth behind the smoke. But, they, who are able to pierce behind the
pall of smoke, perceive the bright Flame of the Spirit, shining like unto an
infinity of suns, free and undimmed by the smoke which hath shielded it
from the eyes of the majority of men.
“Meditating upon the Real Self—blended into the Real Self—seated firmly
in the knowledge of the Real Self—loving with fierce devotion the Real
Self—the wise are freed from their bonds. Their eyes are cleared from the
smoke which filleth the eyes of men, blinding them; and they pass into those
higher states, from which none return to these lower planes of existence.
Blessed beyond measure are such.
“He whose eyes have been freed from the smoke of error and illusion, looks
with equal feeling and respect upon the revered, learned and enlightened
leader of men and the veriest outcast among men. For, know you, Arjuna,
that the eyes so freed from illusion see the Personalities of forms of life as
so unreal when compared with the Real Self, that even very great worldly
distinctions disappear when viewed from such a height. Those whose minds
are able to dwell in this realization, gain the Life above Illusion even in this
life, for in this realization is the realization of the Real Self.