Swami Sivananda
1 Sat-Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, VI. 2. 1 & 2, where Uddalaka instructs Svetaketu on the
nature of Existence.
In the beginning O son,
this was mere Existence, one only without a second. Regarding this some others
say at first this was mere non-existence, one alone without a second. From that
non-existence proceeds existence. But verily, O son, how can this be? How can
existence come from non-existence? Hence, O son, this was existence only in the
beginning, one alone without a second.
From non-existence
existence cannot come out, for, even non-existence is an existence, a being. As
regards the sentence in the Taittiriyopanishad which says that existence came
from non-existence, it is explained that here non-existence refers to the state
of Avyaktam where the manifold world does not exist and from which the
existence of the world is evolved. Meditation on Sat-Vidya enables one to
assert the reality of the Sat aspect of the Absolute whose essential nature is
Chit and Ananda. In continuation of this, Uddalaka asserts the great dictum of identity,
Tat Tvam Asi That thou art.
2 Bhuma Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, VII. 24, where Sanatkumara instructs Narada in the nature
of the Unconditioned Infinite Plenum or the Fullness of Being.
Where one sees nothing
else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else that is called the Infinite
Plenum. But where one sees something else, hears something else, understands something
else that is called the little finite. That which is Infinite is Immortal, and
that which is finite is mortal.
This is perhaps the
greatest of all the Upanishadic Vidyas, for it sums up the entire result of all
philosophies and Vedantic enquiries. It treats of the most exalted Absolute
State of unlimited bliss and immortal life after attaining which one returns
not to mortal existence. In continuation of this, Sanatkumara mentions that the
Infinite, the Self, the I are all identical and that this One Being alone is
the Truth. The knower of this Vidya becomes the Self-Emperor and exists as the
Infinite whole.
3 Maitreyi Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad, II. 4 and IV. 5. Sage Yajnavalkya instructs his Brahmavadini
wife, Maitreyi, on the nature of the Highest Self.
O Dear, not for the love
of this all, this all is dear, but for the love of the Self, this all is dear. This
Atman (Self), O Maitreyi, is to be seen, heard of, reflected upon and meditated
upon. O dear, through the seeing of hearing of reflecting upon and knowledge of
this Self, all this becomes known. Where there is duality as it were, there one
sees the other, smells the other, hears the other, speaks to the other, thinks
of the other, understands the other. But where one's Self alone exists
everywhere, then through what can one see what, through what can one smell what,
through what can one hear what, through what can one speak to what, through
what can one think of what, through what can one understand what? Through what
can one understand that by which everything else is understood? O dear, through
what can one understand the understander?
The Bhuma Vidya and the
Maitreyi Vidya form the culmination of the entire philosophy of the Upanishads.
The Absolute Reality is affirmed and declared in boldest terms in these two
Vidyas. The non-existence or the illusory nature of the world-phenomenon and
the truth of the One Indivisible Essence is asserted. When cause and effect are
different from one another there arises the concept of duality. When cause and
effect are blended into one, everything becomes One without a second. These two
Vidyas are useful for the highest Advaitic Meditation on the unconditioned
Absolute.
4
Sandilya Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, III, 1. This Vidya is ascribed to the sage Sandilya.
Verily all this is
Brahman; Tranquil, one must worship it as that from which this comes forth, as that
into which this will be dissolved, as that in which this lives. This, the Soul
of mine within the heart, is Brahman. Into Him I shall enter on departing
hence.
This Vidya further
extends its form of meditation by conceiving of the Self as smaller than an atom
and bigger than the universe, containing all works, desires, mind, life,
odours, tastes, as being unspeaking and unconcerned, etc. Thus the Vidya is
suited to Saguna Meditation, though by divesting it of such particular
attributes it may be used for Nirguna Advaita Meditation also.
5 Dahara Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, VIII. 1.
This abode, the small
lotus that is here within this city of Brahman, and the small space within that
lotus what is there within this space, that is to be searched out, that
certainly is to be known. Verily, as extensive as the external Akasa, is this
eternal Akasa. Within it are contained the heaven and the earth, both fire and
wind, both Sun and moon, lightning and stars, both what exists here and what
does not exist; everything here is contained within it.
This is one of the
greatest of the Vidyas. The all-pervading and all-inclusive nature of the Self
is stressed upon in this Vidya. In this meditation, the meditator feels the
whole universe as his Self and excludes nothing from the One Self. This Vidya
further explains the identity of the external and the internal, the objective
and the subjective, the macrocosmic and the microcosmic, the universal and the
individual. Brahman and Atman.
6 Vaisvanara Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, V. 12 to 18. Asvapati Kaikeya describes the Vaisvanara
Vidya to Uddalaka and five other seekers after knowledge of the Vaisvanara
Self.
Its head is heaven, its
eye Surya, its breath Vayu, its trunk Akasa, the Apas its bladder, its feet the
earth, its breast the sacrificial altar, its hand the sacrificial grass, its
heart the Garhapatya fire, its mind the Anvaharyapachana fire (Dakshinagni),
its mouth the Ahavaniya fire.
Thus the Vaisvanara Self
is described as pervading the three worlds. The attainment of excellence affected
through this Vidya is proportional to the extensiveness or the inclusiveness of
the conception of the body of the Vaisvanara Self that is meditated upon. A
limited conception will bring limited results and a wider conception will bring
greater results, and an absolute conception will bring immediate salvation.
7 Panchagni Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, V. 3 to 10, and Brihadaranyakopanishad, VI. 2, and also in
Kausitaki briefly. In this Vidya of five fires five acts of the universe are
conceived of as sacrifices with their fire, fuel, smoke, flame, coals and
sparks. Thus are the respective sacrifices represented:
|
Fire
|
Fuel
|
Smoke
|
Flame
|
Coals
|
Spark |
1 |
Heaven |
Sun |
Light-rays |
Day |
Moon |
Stars |
2 |
Rain-wind |
Mist |
Lightening |
Thunder-hailstorms |
Cloud |
Bolts |
3 |
Earth |
Year |
Space |
Night |
Quarters |
Intermediate Quarters |
4 |
Man |
Speech |
Prana |
Tongue |
Eyes |
Ear |
5 |
Woman |
|
|
|
|
|
The soul on its journey
from heaven to be born again in a body has to pass through these five fires in
order to acquire its fresh body. Fire disintegrates as well as integrates the
body, it destroys and creates the body during death and birth respectively. The
soul acquires new and new bodies as it descends and ascends through these
fires. Each time the soul takes a body in each of these five planes an
Agnihotra is performed in order to get a body in each world. The organs of the
body in their relation to the soul are here the officiating priests of the
Agnihotra sacrifices. Each preceding sacrificial oblation has the succeeding
one produced as the food. One who has got the knowledge of the fires ascends to
Saguna Brahman through Devayana Path.
8 Udgitha Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, I, II. OM! Thus one should meditate on the Udgitha, for,
one sings the loud chant with OM! The essence of all things is the earth. The
essence of earth is water. The essence of water is plants. The essence of
plants is the person. The essence of the person is speech. The essence of
speech is the Rik (hymn). The essence of Rik is Sama. The essence of Sama is
Udgitha. This is the best essence of all essences, the highest, the supreme,
the eighth, the Udgitha.
This meditation on
Udgitha-Omkara is one of the best methods of Upanishadic Sadhana. OM is the
supreme essence of Sabda or Sound, and Sound is the source of the entire
universe. Hence OM is all the three worlds, past, present and future and even
what is beyond the threefold time. During chanting and meditation on
Udgitha-Omkara the processes of sound as determined by the Sama-Veda and
explained in the Chhandogyopanishad have to be adhered to. OM is the highest symbol
of Brahman, the Sabda-Brahman, from which proceed the Vedas and the worlds.
This meditation can be used both for Saguna and Nirguna Realisations.
9 Purusha Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, III. 16. Here a Person is described as a sacrifice.
Verily, a person is a
sacrifice. His first twenty-four years the morning oblation, the next
forty-four years are the midday oblation, the third forty-eight years (i.e.
until the age of 116) are the third oblation.
One who knows this Vidya
lives for 116 years without sickness or disease. The Upanishad says that
Mahidasa Aitareya who knew this Vidya said, Oh! Why do you afflict me with
sickness? I cannot be destroyed by thee. And he lived for 116 years. Even so anyone
who knows this.
The details of this Vidya
are given in the Mantras 1 to 7 of the sixteenth section of this Prapathaka.
This is a method of meditation on one's own life as a sacrifice in order to
live a healthy long life.
The first part of the
life is devoted to study, the second to household life and the third to spiritual
practices. The universalisation of one's conception of life leads to immediate
liberation.
10 Paryanka Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Kausitaki Upanishad, I. This describes the Vidya called Paryanka or the couch
of Hiranyagarbha or Brahma. Chitra Gargyayani instructs Uddalaka and Svetaketu
on this beautiful Vidya.
The soul, when it
becomes desireless, passes beyond the moon. Then it goes to the world of lightning.
Then the Guru meets him. To him the disciple should say, I am thyself'. Then he
is allowed to move further. Then the soul passes through worlds of Agni, Vayu,
Varuna, Indra, Prajapati and lastly Brahma. In the last world, the world of Hiranyagarbha,
there in the centre of the Hall is seated on his couch Brahma. And to Him he
should say, you are everything, and I am yourself', and then he is allowed in
and meets Brahma.
Before Brahma is reached
the soul passes through various stages of consciousness which are described in
detail in the Upanishads. The throne of Brahma called Vichakshana in the Hall called
Vibhu-Pramita is described as of immeasurable radiance and splendour. One who
reaches this, becomes filled with infinite power and glory. In the
Brahma-Sutras it is said that one who goes to this place gets even the power of
creating, preserving and destroying the worlds if he gets in tune with the one
who is seated on the throne. This meditation leads to Saguna-Brahman.
11 Akshara Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad III. 8. Yajnavalka instructs Gargi on the Akshara-Vidya
or the Knowledge of the Imperishable Being.
That, O Gargi, Brahmanas
call the Imperishable. It is not coarse, not fine, not short, not long, not
glowing, not adhesive, not shadowy, not dark, not airy, not space, not sticky,
odourless, tasteless, without eye, without ear, without voice, without wind,
without energy, without breath, without mouth, without measure, without inside,
without outside. It eats nothing. No one eats it.
This Vidya is the
corollary of the neti-neti method of Vedantic Meditation. All phenomenality and
relatedness are denied their validity and after negating every conceptual
attribute, what remains is that which is, the Eternal, Akshara.
12 Samvarga Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, IV. 2, 3. Sage Raikva initiates Janasruti on this Vidya.
Cosmically, Vayu is the
ultimatum of all. Fire, Sun, Moon, Parjanya, merge into Vayu only. Individually,
Prana is the ultimatum of all. In sleep, speech, eye, ear, mind merge into
Prana only. Vayu and Prana are the two Samvargas or absorbents. Earth, water
and fire merge in Vayu.
This is one of the most
important Vidyas which elucidates the supremacy of the Prana or the Vital Air
both in its cosmical and individual aspects. The atonement of the Prana and the
Vayu enables one to reach the Maha-Prana or Hiranyagarbha, the Life-Principle
of the universe. This process of Meditation on the Life-Principle lies through
the harmonising of the Prana and concentration on the unity of the phychic
beings of the individual and the universe. It is told in this Vidya that
denying food to a guest at the door is denying food to the Cosmic Life-Principle
for it exists in all equally. To one who knows this, all this world comes to
light and he becomes the cosmic consumer of food, the Hiranyagarbha.
13 Madhu Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, III. 1 to 11. Verily, the Sun is the honey of the gods. The
cross-beam for it is the Sky. The atmosphere is the honey-comb. The light-rays
are the eggs. The eastern rays are the eastern honey-cells. The Rig verses are
the bees. Rig-veda is the flower. Honey is produced thus:
The Rig-verses, brooded
upon the Rig-veda. From it, when it had been brooded upon, there was produced
as its essence, splendour, brightness, power vigour and food. It flowed forth.
It rested in the Sun. That is the red appearance of the Sun.
The Sun is described
here in this Vidya as motionless and remaining alone with neither rising nor
setting. From the standpoint of the Sun the sky is described as a cross-beam of
the honey-comb because the three worlds are like eggs, the higher expanding
beyond the lower, and from the second world (atmosphere) which is between the
Sun and the earth, the third world would appear like a cross-beam. The Sun is
the honey or the Self of the second world, even as the Soul is the honey of the
body. The Devas or the gods have this honey which they do not drink but are
satisfied at the mere sight of it. The metaphorical meditation on the Sun as
the honey implies the meditation on the world-soul which is the centre of the
worlds and the planes of consciousness existing external to it. This meditation
leads to Saguna Brahman and to reach the Nirguna Brahman one has to transcend
the central essence of the Sun where Brahman is said to be with His Mayaic
splendour. One who knows this Vidya, to him the Sun does never set. It is always
day for him, the Light of the essential Soul. The Upanishad says that the whole
earth with its treasures is nothing before this Vidya.
14 Prana Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, I. 11, and Kausitaki Upanishad, II, III.
Verily, all beings here enter
into Prana and depart from it.
In this Kausitaki
Upanishad Prana is called the Paryanka of Brahma with indescribable splendour.
And here Prana is identified with Brahman itself. Prana is Mukhya, the most supreme.
Mind is its messenger, ear its door-keeper, speech the true woman, the wife of
Prana, the deity of deities. The meditator should rise to the meditation on
Brahman from this Mukhya-Prana, which is the starting point of super physical
life.
15 Upakosala Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, IV. 10-15. Upakosala, the disciple of Satyakama Jabala instructed on this Vidya by
the three fires.
Prana is Brahman.
Happiness is Brahman. Ether is Brahman. Happiness and Ether are one.
The Garhapatya, Dakshinagni
and Ahavaniya fires instruct Upakosala on their being the Purushas in the Sun,
moon and lightning respectively. Those who meditate upon these pass beyond the world
of Agni to which the soul passing through the Devayana is led by the Amanava
Purusha. Collective meditation on these leads the Upasaka to Prana and Akasa
which reflect the bliss of Brahman. The meditator on these three goes beyond
earth, fire, food, Sun, water, quarters, stars, moon, breath, space, sky,
lightning, which are the bodies of the fires, and reaches the Centre of Joy
through the Devayana Path, when these are conceived of as subjective and not objective.
16 Akshi Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, IV. 15. Satyakama instructs Upakosala.
That person who is seen
in the eye, He is the Self. That is Immortal, Fearless. That is Brahman. If
anyone pours ghee or water on that, it passes away.
Here meditation in an
internal process and not objective. Hence sacrificial oblations with ghee, water,
etc., are fruitless in this case. The meditation is not on the eye but the
Purusha within it which is the essential Soul functioning in the waking condition.
A meditator on this goes beyond the waking state and is led to the Saguna
Brahman. The knower of this Vidya accrues all that is excellent and becomes
effulgent. One who reaches this Brahman returns not to mortal coil.
17 Antaraditya Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad, V. 5. 2.
This Sun is the same as
that real. The person who is there in that orb and the Person who is herein the
right eye, these two abide in each other. Through his rays that one abides in
this one; through his vital airs this one in that. When one is about to quit
the body, he sees that pure orb. The rays do not come to him again.
This is the counterpart
of the Akshi Vidya, the cosmic representation of the same, through the combination
of which two the meditation becomes complete or integral; and there is effected
the conscious revelation of the Real through the merging together of the
subjective and the objective manifestations of the Purusha.
18 Aditya Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, I. 6. 6. 7.
Sa is the white shining
of the Sun. Ama is the dark, the ultra-black. This is Sama. That golden person
who is seen within the Sun has a golden moustache and golden hair and is golden
even to the fingernail tips. His eyes are even as Kapisa-lotus. His Name is the
High'. He is above all evil and sin. He who knows this goes beyond all evil.
One who realises the
Aditya-Purusha through this Vidya goes above sin and reaches Saguna Brahman.
The golden Purusha within the Sun is the shining Self adorned with attributes
and hence the Highest Brahman itself conceived of qualitatively.
19 Satyakama Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, IV. 4. 9. Sage Haridrumata's disciple, Satyakama Jabala is
instructed by a Bull, Fire, a Swam and a Bird.
The four quarters are
the first Pada of Brahman called shining'. The earth, the atmosphere,the sky,
the ocean, is the second Pada of Brahman called Endless'. Fire, Sun, Moon,
Lightning are the third Pada of Brahman called Dazzling'. The breath, the eye,
the ear, the mind, is the fourth Pada of Brahman called Having-Abode.
This Vidya makes one
shining, endless, dazzling and with an abode or support. The meditator reaches
the Saguna Brahman by passing beyond the quarters and reaching the Whole
consisting of four quarters through gradual transcending of the Padas in the
process of meditation on the symbols that represent the manifestations of the
one Brahman.
20 Akasa Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, I. 9, 1-2.
Verily, all things here
arise out of space. They disappear back into space, for space alone is greater
than all these. It is the great goal. This is the most excellent Udgitha. This
is endless. The most excellent belongs to him, the most excellent worlds does
he win who, knowing it thus, meditates on the most excellent Udgitha. Verily,
what is called space is the accomplisher of name and form. That within which
they are is Brahman. That is Immortal. That is the Self. I shall attain the
abode and assembly-hall of Prajapati.
Akasa is the highest of
all Tattvas and is the great receptacle. Vayu is the great consumer. The Akasa
is Udgitha for sound is the Tanmatra of Akasa. Space or ether is the producer
of the name-and-form-world and Brahman is beyond the two. This Brahman is
Saguna Brahman. Ether is the highest and subtlest principle and hence nearest
to Brahman.
21 Bhrigu-Varuni Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Taittiriyopanishad, third Valli.
He realised that Bliss
is Brahman. From Bliss, indeed, are all beings born, in Bliss, when born, they
live, into Bliss, in the end, they enter.
Whoever transcends the
five Kosas and realises that Bliss is Brahman gets established in Brahman. He
becomes great in splendour, great in Knowledge great in fame, one who knows
this.
This Vidya aims at the
innermost seat of Bliss, on a small part of which other creatures are living.
22 Anandamaya Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Taittiriyopanishad, second Valli, eighth Anuvaka.
The Bliss of one good
youth well versed in the Vedas, firm, strong, healthy, quick, to whom the whole
earth with all its wealth belongs, is one kind of bliss. Hundredfold and
hundredfold greater in bliss in the order of succession are the states of
Manushya-Gandharvas, Deva-Gandharvas, Pitris, Ajnanaja-Devas, Karma-Devas,
Devas, Indra, Brihaspati, Prajapati, Brahman.
The bliss of Brahman is
not to be considered as equal to a result mathematically arrived at by multiplying
human joy by many hundred folds but it is the Bliss that is indescribable and
infinite, the eternal the only existence. Every time it is asserted that the
Veda-knower enjoys all these degrees of Bliss provided he is untainted by
desire and passion.
23 Ushasta-Kahola Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad, III, 4. 5.
Rishi Yajnavalkya instructs
Ushasta and Kahola. He (Brahman) is your Soul, which is in all things, breathes
in with your breathing in is the Soul of yours, which is in all things. He who
breathes out with your breathing, out is the Soul of yours, which is in all
things. He who breathes about with your breathing about is the Soul of yours, which
is in all things. He who breathes up with your breathing up is that Soul of
yours, which is in all things. He is your Soul which is in all things. You
cannot see the Seer of seeing. You cannot hear the hearer of hearing. You
cannot think the Thinker of thinking. You cannot understand the Understander of
understanding. He is your Soul, which is in all things. Everything else than Him
is wretched.
He who is beyond hunger
and thirst, beyond sorrow and delusion, beyond old age and death, knowing Him
who is the Soul, Brahmanas renounce the desire for sons, desire for wealth, desire
for worlds, and live the life of mendicants. Let a Brahmana, therefore, become
disgusted with learning and desire to live like a child. When he has become
disgusted both with the childlike state and learning, then he becomes silent.
When he has become disgusted both with the silent (Mouna) state and the
non-silent (Amouna) state, then he becomes a Brahmana.
In both of these
meditations the Self is to be meditated upon as identical with Brahman.
24 Uddalaka-Aruni Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad, III. 7. Yajnavalkya instructs Uddalaka Aruni.
Wind, O Gautama, is the
thread that ties together this world and the other world and all things.
Therefore, O Gautama, they say of a deceased person, his limbs become
united(because the Prana-Vayu has departed)'.
He who dwells in all
beings, and yet, who is other than all beings, who controls all beings from within,
He is your Soul, the Inner Ruler, the Immortal. There is no other seer but He,
there is no other hearer but He, there is no other thinker but He, there is no
other understander but He; He is your Soul, the Inner Ruler, the Immortal! All
else than Him is wretched.
In this Vidya meditation
is to be practised on the absolute identity of the Self and Brahman which is
One Fullness of Existence.
25 Svetaketu Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Chhandogyopanishad, VI. 8. Uddalaka instructs Svetaketu on the identity of the
Atman and the Brahman.
That which is the finest
Essence, the whole universe has That as its Self. That is the Reality. That is
the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu!
This is called the
Abheda-Bodha-Vakya or the Brahma-Upadesa-Vakya which asserts the one Unity of
Existence, the Unity of the subjective Self and the Infinite Brahman. This is
understood through its right and direct meaning or Lakshyartha which conveys
the truth of one's being the Highest Brahman Itself. The Lakshyarthas of That
and Thou are Brahman and the Kutastha-Chaitanya and the word Art signifies the
oneness of these two forms of Pure Consciousness.
26 Jyotisham Jyotir-Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Brihadaranyakopanishad, IV. 16.
This is the Vidya of the
Light of Lights.
That before which the
year revolves with its days, That the Devas worship as the Light of Lights and
Life Immortal.
Here the meditator is to
contemplate on Brahman as the Light of Lights, the Brilliant, Dazzling Consciousness.
Thereby the meditator, being already the Light of Consciousness, becomes the light
of the Brahman-Consciousness.
27 Satya-Jnana-Ananta Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Taittiryopanishad, II. 1. Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Infinity.
This is the
Svarupa-Lakshana or the essential nature of Brahman. Infinity is Bliss, Brahman
is Consciousness-Bliss these are the declarations of the Chhandogya and the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishads regarding the nature of Brahman.
Hence Truth-Knowledge-Infinity
means Existence-Knowledge-Bliss or Satchidananda.
28 Shodasakala Vidya
This Vidya occurs in the
Prasna Upanishad, VI. 4, 5.
He (Purusha) created
Prana; from Prana, faith, space, wind, light, water, earth, sense-faculty, mind,
food; from food virility, austerity, Mantras, sacrifice, the worlds; and in the
worlds, name(individuality). As these flowing rivers that tend towards the
ocean disappear, their names and forms are destroyed, and it is called simply the
ocean. Even so of this seer these sixteen parts that tend towards the Person,
on reaching the Person, disappear, their names and forms destroyed, and it is
called simply the Person.' That One exists without parts, Immortal!
This is a meditation on
the process of the highest Salvation of the self through merging in the highest
Imperishable Purusha, whereby the meditator gets immediate Liberation.
Conclusion
All the Vidyas lead one
from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, from mortality to Immortality.
They lead the soul from the Moola-Ajnana to the highest Brahman either through Krama-Mukti
or Sadyo-Mukti. Sri Sankaracharya says in his Brahma-Sutra-Bhashya that even
those who go to Saguna-Brahman (through Vidya-Upasanas) will ultimately go to
Nirguna-Brahman.
It is a settled matter
that those who through Perfect Knowledge have dispelled all mental darkness and
are devoted to the Eternally perfect Nirvana do not return. And as those also
who rely on the knowledge of the Saguna-Brahman in the end have recourse to
that Nirvana, it follows that they also do not return. (Brahma-Sutra-Bhashya:
IV. 4. 22).