Part 2 — DEEPA PANCHAKAM (Chapters 6–10)
Chapter list & verse counts (from the text):
6. Chitra Deepa — 290 verses
7. Trupti Jīva — 298 verses
8. Kūṭasta Deepa — 76 verses
9. Dhyāna Deepa — 158 verses
10. Nataka Deepa — 21 verses. Click Here To PDF.
Below I give for each chapter: aim → stepwise structure → practice pointers.
Chapter 6 — Chitra-Deepa Prakaraṇam — 290 verses
Aim: A detailed elaboration of how the light of consciousness (chitra = “variegated / pictorial”) illuminates objects. The chapter uses analogies and logical proof to show consciousness is self-luminous and not produced by the mind.
Study & practice steps:
- Understand self-luminosity (svaprakāśa): Consciousness illuminates itself and others; analyze the impossibility of consciousness being produced by insentient causes.
- Discriminate between light and lit: Practice seeing the difference between the seeing principle and the seen content.
- Contemplation: Use concrete meditations where you hold attention on the “I-awareness” and note the mode in which objects appear illuminated.
Result: Strengthening the intuitive recognition of pure awareness as the only coherent source of illumination. Click Here To PDF.
Chapter 7 — Trupti-Jīva Prakaraṇam — 298 verses
Aim: Investigate the notion of “satisfaction” (trupti) of the living being and show how the Atman’s satisfaction is different from sense gratification. It contrasts worldly ‘pleasure’ with abiding non-dual bliss.
Practice path:
- Observe appetite & satiation: See how objects satisfy for a time but do not remove the sense of lack.
- Contrast with ānanda: Discern the difference between conditional (object-borne) satisfactions and the unconditional bliss of the Self.
- Stabilize in satisfaction: Through vichāra, rest in the Self as the true source of fulfillment. Click Here To PDF.
Chapter 8 — Kūṭasta-Deepa Prakaraṇam — 76 verses
Aim: (Kūṭasta — the term in this context describes a specific light-analogy and a crystalline, unbroken lamp of awareness.) Develops subtleties of the “lamp” metaphor and how the mind can be made a steady reflector of pure consciousness.
Practice: Exercises to steady attention, remove flicker of vṛttis, and maintain continuous witnessing. Click Here To PDF.
Chapter 9 — Dhyāna-Deepa Prakaraṇam — 158 verses
Aim: Practical instructions and philosophical justification for meditation (dhyāna) as the means for transforming intellect and attaining abiding knowledge.
How to practice (stepwise):
- Adopt correct view (the Self alone is real).
- Employ disciplined meditation: one-pointedness → observation of thoughts → abidance in the witness.
- Use Mahāvākya vichāra as meditation seed (e.g., breathe with the thought “Tat…Tvam…”).
Result: Deepening of nididhyāsana and reduction of mental perturbations. Click Here To PDF.
Chapter 10 — Nataka-Deepa Prakaraṇam — 21 verses
Aim: Short concluding chapter that treats the world as a “play/drama” (nātaka) and explains how that play is to be known without getting entangled.
Practice: Maintain equanimity while acting in the world — perform duties (dharma) but rest as the non-doer witness. Click Here To PDF.
Part 1 — VIVEKA PANCHAKAM (Chapters 1–5)
Part 2 — DEEPA PANCHAKAM (Chapters 6–10)
Part 3 — ANANDA PANCHAKAM (Chapters 11–15, Lecture 13) — 429 verses total
Panchadasi – by Swami Vidyaranya Part-4
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