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Jnana Yoga Meditation: Vedantic Practice

Vedanta must enter your bones, nerves, cells and interior chambers of your heart. I do not believe in lip Vedanta. This is pure hypocrisy. Even a little of real practical Vedanta will elevate a man quickly and make him immortal and fearless. I believe in practical Vedanta. I believe in solid spiritual practice. I believe in thorough overhauling of worldly nature and worldliness of all sorts. We should become absolutely fearless. That is the sign of life in Atma. No more words. No more talk. No more arguments, heated debates or discussions. No more study. No more wandering. Live in OM. Live in truth. Enter the silence. There is peace. Peace is silence.

—Swami Sivananda
Sadhana

There are various Vedantic methods for realising the Self. All are based on the removal of limiting ideas, or upadhis, in regard to oneself and the universe. Just as a container creates the illusion that the space inside it is separate and smaller, so the mind creates its own walls, and hence, the illusion of separation from the Self. Removal of the limiting adjuncts is the very core of Vedantic meditation regardless of the mode used. In the practice of Jnana Yoga, one does not merely sit for meditation at a specific time, but one also applies the meditative process throughout the day. In this way, even though participating in the world, the Jnana Yogi is untouched by it.

Neti Neti: Not This, Not This

Neti Neti, meaning ‘Not this, not this,’ is the method of Vedantic analysis by negation. It is the keynote of Vedantic inquiry. It is a means of approach. By finding out what a particular subject is not like, one can move toward an understanding of what it is like. Through this process of negation, one can approach an understanding of real happiness by realising that it does not lie in wealth, power, fame or any other object of worldly pursuit. Through negation of everything that can be known via the senses, one exhausts the mental modifications and finds the answer within. Ultimately, direct experience is necessary, for it is not a matter of intellectual understanding. When the intellectual resources have been completely drained, the goal is 99.99% reached. The 100% mark is direct intuitive realisation.

A man is not his house nor is he his job, for these are subject to change but the man remains the same. It is useless to identify with clothing or hairstyle, yet all are subject to this form of illusion from time to time. The Self, which is one’s essential nature, is neither body nor senses; the body and senses are mere external qualities of the Self. The jnani negates identification with all things of this world which are not Atman. He negates the mind by saying, ‘I am not these desires,’ ‘I am not these fears,’ ‘I am not this personality,’ until eventually, all things within worldly experience are negated. Finally, worldly experiences are transcended for all has been negated and nothing remains but the Self.

In this kind of meditation, union with the Absolute is achieved by denial of body, mind, name, form, intellect, senses and all limiting adjuncts. The true ‘I’ remains, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. Meditate with full concentration, bringing the mind back when it wanders to externals. They are not the Atman or Self. Eventually the mind will become steady and will rest in thoughtless, motionless state of pure Bliss.

Sakshi Bhav: Witness State

The Sakshi Bhav method is the witnessing approach. One observes the play of life as though one were watching a movie but, again, does not identify with it. Whatever situations the aspirant experiences, his reaction is, ‘I am not involved in this; I am only watching it happen.’ It entails introspection and close awareness of the mental waves. The mind does not want to be watched and will soon slow down its activities, but it does not give up without struggle. In many ways it will deceive and persuade one to stop watching it. It is such a powerful force that it is capable of dragging the attention wherever it goes, unless extreme vigilance is practiced. Many, many times it will divert the attention from its focus. One must observe this with patience, then firmly return to the witness state, taking care not to fight the mind but only to gently guide it. With the repetition of OM sakshi aham (I am witness of all my actions), and continual disassociation from those actions, the individual ego eventually vanishes.

Abheda Bodha Vakya: Eliminating Name and Form

This method recognises that every sentient being and insentient object in the universe has five components—name, form, existence, knowledge and bliss. All things, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, have these attributes, but it is the names and forms that seem to differentiate them and set one thing apart from another. Name and form are impermanent and illusory, while existence, knowledge and bliss are permanent. Matter is the visible manifestation of spirit, and inseparable from it, but through the meditative technique of Abheda Bodha Vakya, name and form are discarded. Only man has the vehicle to realise that what remains is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, or Sat-Chit-Ananda, the eternal ‘I’ which continues through many changes of name and form.

When parts of the body are damaged, such as eyes, heart, kidneys, liver and blood, they may be replaced with spare parts from other beings. What then becomes of the body’s identity? What becomes of the individual’s identity? The consciousness of ‘I’ remains constant and cannot be taken from anything animate or inanimate. A tree may be destroyed to become a plank, or gold may become a ring, but only the name and form have changed. By identifying with the underlying, attributeless essence of all objects of the universe, the final stage of meditation is reached.

Laya Chintana: Absorption

The Laya Chintana method is one of involution or absorption. In this system, effect is absorbed into cause. Each cause is the effect of its preceding cause, so this process continues progressively. There are three avenues of this approach. First, one concentrates on merging into the understanding, buddhi, which is then merged into the unmanifest universe, avyaktam, that state where the three qualities of nature (sattwa, rajas, tamas) are in equilibrium. Finally avyaktam is merged into the Supreme Imperishable Brahman. In the second approach, the elements of the world merge with each other, starting with the grossest and proceeding to the subtlest. This is the reverse of the process by which the earth was formed, where a mass of swirling gasses gradually cooled and condensed to a solid planet. The focus is on manifestation of the five traditional elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. Earth is merged into its cause, water; water is merged into its cause, fire; air, which is the cause of fire, absorbs the fire and, in turn, is absorbed into ether. The ether is absorbed into the unmanifest, avyaktam, and that finally merges with Brahman. In the third path, the microcosm merges with the macrocosm. The individual merges with the universe; in other words, the jiva, soul, merges with Brahman. Thus all external attributes are gradually merged into their Source.

There are no qualities in the universe that are not in the human body. An atom is a complete replica of the solar system, with electrons encircling a nucleus just as planets revolve around the sun. The atom is a microcosm and everything that is happening in the microcosm of the human body is also occurring in the earth and in the universe. Individual cosmic creation and destruction are taking place all the time. Instead of identifying with the individual self, which is only a tiny fraction of the universal scheme, one can find his larger identity by merging with the Cosmos itself. It is matter in its most subtle state. Before the sun and earth came into existence, they were gas molecules, and before evolving into the molecular state, they existed in the etheric or energy state.

The water molecule is composed of the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen. When atoms were smashed in the cyclotron, it was discovered that this was not the end of matter. No matter how much scientists subdivide atoms, they continue to find smaller and smaller particles. If the earth and sun were suddenly blown to pieces, the matter would revert to ether. Ultimately it would return to the Supreme Mind, compared to which ether itself is gross. Mind is the last reduction of matter to its original source, Brahman. As such, it is the source of ether, which evolves into air or gas, and then condenses into fire, water and earth. It can evolve no further than that. Gross matter is thus the last stage of Cosmic Mind’s evolution. On this gross level, mind becomes physical nature.

In its most dense manifestation as gross matter, mind exhibits the least amount of consciousness. It is too far away from its Source to express itself. Take for instance a rock. It contains the potential for infinite energy and power, but unless put to intelligent use, it remains inanimate. The further matter moves from its Source toward gross evolution, the more limited is its effect.

A close look at these elements which we take for granted leaves one in awe of the guiding Cosmic Intelligence. Water, for instance, is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. When hydrogen by itself comes into contact with fire, it reacts with an explosion. Oxygen reacts with fire to make it burn more fiercely. Yet in combination, as water, they will quench fire and cool the body. What is the source of this intricate engineering? Only an intelligent power is capable of such creation.

All life is interconnected. Animals inhale oxygen, the byproduct of plants, and exhale carbon dioxide. In their bodies the oxygen combines with glucose to produce energy for the various bodily functions. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air which is then used by animals. They take nutrients from the soil and use the sunlight for photosynthesis. Man eats the plants for nourishment and when he dies, his body is returned to earth where it becomes food for the plants. This is but one small example of the complicated and interdependent relationships that exist among all things. It hardly seems possible that such a world could have been created by an accident of nature.

Relationships like this exist throughout the cosmos. Consider the size of the universe. It is impossible that these miracles occur only on earth. How many suns with planets can there be in our galaxy, and how many galaxies can there be? How large is this universe? Its size cannot be imagined, nor can the number of planets capable of supporting life be counted.

There are physical laws which cause the planets to rotate and to revolve around the sun in certain, precise ways. These same laws cause whole solar systems, indeed even galaxies, to hurtle through space at tremendous speeds—all in perfect coordination. These laws could not have come about accidentally without an originating cause. Only a guiding intelligence could be responsible.

Panchikarana: Doctrine of Quintuplication

Allied to Laya Chintana, which is meditation by thinking rather than stilling the thought waves, is the Doctrine of Quintuplication. It further develops the concept of absorption of the gross into the more etheric by breaking down the components of the body and its functions into the five basic elements called tanmatras. When it is seen that these are not Brahman, they may be either absorbed into each other as in Laya Chintana or discarded by negation as in Neti Neti. In either case, one arrives at the Self, which is beyond them all. To this end, the Doctrine of Quintuplication is applied.

According to this ancient theory, owing to ignorance one identifies with the physical body which is made up of five basic, pure elements: akasha, ether; vayu, air; agni, fire; apas, water; and prithivi, earth. These undergo permutation, and combine with each other in definite proportions. This is called quintuplication. Thus it is said that wherever there is hardness in the body, it is due to the portion of earth; wherever there is fluidity, it is due to the portion of water. Body warmth is due to the portion of fire, and movement, to air. The quality of space found in the body is attributed to the ether. These differentiations are also the basis of ayurvedic medicine.

The three most gross elements, earth, water and fire, can be easily experienced by the five senses. Although air cannot be seen, it can be sensed indirectly through smell and hearing, and directly through touch. Ether has two meanings, one of which denotes the sky. When used as an element, however, it signifies primordial energy, or the primordial cloud.

In the process of Creation, primordial energy came first, then matter on a subtle level, and then the world as we know it now. Behind it all is Shakti, the cosmic energy. It is also known as Maya, that power which is both veiling and projecting, for it veils the knowledge of Brahman and projects the illusion of this universe. Drawing energy from the Source, Shakti forms the various elements, resting only after reaching the grossest form.

In their subtle or pure form, the five basic elements combine in definite proportions to form gross elements. It is these gross elements upon which the existence of the earth depends. While this traditional Vedantic view may not seem to correspond exactly with modern science, by following the essence of the thought behind it, one gains insight into the intricate relationship between matter and spirit. According to the Doctrine of Quintuplication, each gross element is made up of one half of its corresponding pure element and one-eighth of each of the four other subtle elements. An example of this can be seen clearly in the chart for gross earth in which the earth is composed of one half subtle earth and one-eighth each of subtle ether, subtle air, subtle water and subtle fire.

Gross Earth

It can be seen that each element, when quintuplicated, is not pure, but contains a portion of each of the other elements. Each quintuplicated element produces a special effect according to its predominance. Each contains qualities of the others, and has a particular function in nature and in man.

Further, each of these elements has five properties. These properties are based upon the interaction of the subtle elements within the gross elements, and total twenty-five in number.

Quintuplicated Elements

In order to better understand this portion of the theory, let us examine the properties associated with quintuplicated ether. The five properties of ether are grief, desire, anger, delusion and fear, which are all generated in the ether which belongs to the space of the heart. Grief is the chief part of ether for with grieving the body feels empty like space. Desire is fleeting like the wind, therefore it belongs to that part of air found in ether. When anger arises, the body becomes hot. Anger belongs to that part of fire found in quintuplicated ether. Delusion is as pervasive as water and belongs to that portion of water found in ether. Finally, when we are frozen with fear, the body becomes inanimate and statue-like; thus, fear belongs to the earth principle. The remaining twenty properties can be understood in a similar manner.

Although the emotions are actually attributes of the astral body, they are treated as if they belonged to the physical body for this is where their influences are directly perceptible. Because the emotions belong to the ether portion of the quintuplicated elements, they cannot be the Self. They are negated and identification with them is not possible. ‘I am not these emotions. I am not this body. I am not these actions. I am the Self.’ The Jnana Yogi abandons the idea of I-ness and my-ness and identifies with the imperishable Atman, which is entirely different from the five elements. He is the knower, seer and witness of all these products.

The physical body is reduced to nothing as it is analyzed and all temporary qualities are removed. It is merely a product of the five elements and their twenty-five combinations. Modern scientists and doctors understand only the gross attributes of the body. The five elements and twenty-five properties are mere limiting adjuncts. When the body is stripped of them, that which remains is the Self.

Jnana Yoga teaches the aspirant not to identify with these quintuplicated elements that make up the five sheaths. The body is a fictitious play of illusion and ignorance (Maya and avidya). Attachment to it is bondage. By negating the ideas of possessiveness and attachments to its illusory qualities, one can achieve emancipation.

Mahavakyas or the Great Proclamations

Where there is true knowledge, knowledge of the immortal Self, there is no trace of causal ignorance. The scriptures, the Vedas and the Upanishads exist to impart knowledge to humanity. Scriptural declarations can be grouped under three heads: injunctions, prohibitions, and proclamations of the highest truth.

The first two, injunctions and prohibitions, give the aspirant a glimpse of the Truth and raise him to the proper level of understanding and receptivity. They are similar to the yamas and niyamas of Raja Yoga or the Ten Commandments in that they give basic spiritual instruction. The third, the proclamations, is a set of four Upanishadic statements which express the highest truth of the identity between the individual soul and the supreme Soul. They are only for those who have purified their minds and are capable of sublime understanding. They are known as the Mahavakyas. Understanding them enables the individual soul to identify with the Supreme Soul. There are four Mahavakyas, one contained in each of the four Vedas. They are:

1. PRAJNANAM BRAHMA (Consciousness in Brahman)—The nature of Brahman is existence, or absolute knowledge, or cosmic consciousness.

2. AHAM BRAHMA ASMI (I am Brahman)—This is the idea on which the aspirant fixes his mind during meditation, Identification is with the Supreme, not with limiting adjuncts.

3. TAT TWAM ASI (That Thou Art)—Tat represents Brahman, Twam is the individual, and Asi is union. This is the Mahavakya through which the teacher instructs the spiritual aspirant.

4. AYAM ATMA BRAHMAN (This Self is Brahman)—This expresses the inner intuitive experience of the meditator.

Of these four declarations, TAT TWAM ASI is the most important. The guru initiates the disciple into the knowledge of Brahman through this declaration, for it is the one that gives rise to the other three. The disciple reflects and meditates on it, and eventually experiences samadhi, or superconscious state. He is then able to give expression to the other three statements.

The words Tat Twam Asi must be dissected carefully, for they are pregnant with meaning. They can be repeated to different people and interpreted in different ways depending on the person’s evolution. When right understanding is reached, the aspirant is better able to disown all actions, reactions and attributes. He can lead a worry-free life.

To begin with, one must have a basic understanding of the relationships of the Absolute, the world and the individual. Brahman, the unmanifest Absolute, projects itself as Prakriti, the world as we know it. Prakriti is made up of the three qualities of nature: purity, activity, and inertia (sattwa, rajas and tamas). In turn, it manifests into two aspects as Maya, the phenomenal world, and avidya, identification with the individual self.

In the phenomenal world, Brahman reflects through sattwa, purity, as Maya, and it is called Ishwara. Ishwara is a name meaning God with qualities, God with attributes. Ishwara has full control over the world, and can appear as Jesus, Rama, Siva, and the Holy Mother. Ishwara appears as any aspect of divinity to which one relates in a personal sense. In its other projection, Prakriti’s natural purity is adulterated and overbalanced by the qualities of action and inertia (rajas and tamas). These produce the impure state of ignorance, avidya. Brahman reflecting through it results in individual souls who are colored by the same ignorance.

As both are reflections of the same unqualified Brahman, there is no basic difference between Ishwara and the individual soul, or jiva. However, the clarity of the reflection differs. When a clean mirror and a dirty mirror are placed in the sun, more light reflects from the clean mirror. The amount of Divine Reflection that a being projects depends upon his degree of purity.

The only real distinction is that Ishwara has full control over Maya, while the individual is caught in the web of Maya. Just as a spider weaves a web for itself, Brahman has projected the world. The spider can move anywhere within the web and is not affected by the threads of its own creation. When a fly gets caught in it however, it becomes entangled. We are like flies caught in the web of Maya.

Like the spider, Ishwara can move in his own creation on any level and in any manifestation. He can be incarnated on any plane and can withdraw the incarnation. As Vishnu, Rama and other avatars, Ishwara’s manifestations remain unaffected by Maya. In such stories as the Ramayana in which Rama is shown as experiencing emotions, God has had human traits and responses superimposed upon Him. He is not really subject to human emotions, however. Just as the spider must follow its own threads, Rama cannot interfere with the karmic laws of his own creation. The game must be played out. To sum up, when Brahman reflects through Maya the reflected consciousness is called Ishwara and it controls the universe. Reflected through avidya the consciousness is the individual soul. No matter what the name, Brahman is One, just as milk is milk whether produced by a French, German or Indian cow. The brand name and the container are irrelevant. Maya is the container inside of which is only one Ishwara. The reason one is unable to feel THOU ART THAT is because his reflection is tarnished by the veil of ignorance.

When Christ said, ‘I and my father are One,’ He was in effect saying, ‘Aham Brahma Asmi,’ ‘I am Brahman.’ Moses had the same revelation with the burning bush: ‘Jahweh—I am that I am.’ ‘I and my Father are One’ could be added to the Mahavakyas. Jesus was a highly developed Jnana Yogi, but he was crucified because his contemporaries could not understand his statements. If He were to appear today, He would still be crucified. People look for a Messiah who fits their own preconceptions. They are not interested in proclamations of truth.

Avidya, ignorance, is the cause of conflict. Why do Protestants and Catholics fight in Ireland? They are not fighting for God, because God already exists. Why do Hindus and Muslims fight? Ignorance is responsible for all misunderstanding and dissention. Only true spiritual aspirants can transcend it by long, hard discipline and practice.

Because of ignorance, the common man could not understand when Christ said, ‘The Truth shall make you free.’ Although Jesus was a highly advanced Advaita Vedantin, He used Bhakti Yoga (i.e. the Path of Devotion) to encourage worship of the Father, and a little Raja Yoga in the form of yamas and niyamas. He could not take them beyond that even though He had the highest knowledge. Vedanta was never meant for the masses. When Jesus said, ‘I and my Father are One,’ He meant Aham Brahma Asmi—I am Brahman—eliminating body, name and external qualifications. The disciples assumed that these words applied only to Christ and not to themselves. Jesus did not find a single person who actually understood his meaning.

Bhagatyaga Lakshana

The Bhagatyaga Lakshana method of Jnana Yoga explains the proclamation TAT TWAM ASI, That Thou Art. In Vedanta, the word Tat represents unqualified Brahman and Twam, the individual soul; Asi represents union. Meditation on these words is a process of de-hypnotisation. One negates all the qualifications and attributes that limit the individual soul which is then realised as Brahman.

To explain in more detail, the meaning of a word or phrase can be approached in three ways:

1. Vachyartha—Primary meaning, conveyed directly by the word

2. Lakshyartha—Implied meaning

3. Vyangartha—suggested meaning, hinted at by the words associations.

A word and its meaning are linked by a vritti, mind wave. When the word ‘fire’ is pronounced the corresponding mind wave is energised and there is visualisation of the concept. The reverse also takes place. When one sees a fire, the mental image gives rise to the corresponding verbal utterance, ‘Fire.’ This relationship between word and meaning can be simple or complex. It is simple when it generates the word’s primary meaning. ‘The sun is hot,’ is an example of Vachyartha, for ‘hot’ is directly related to ‘sun.’ If a child is asked to draw a leaf, he copies it from nature, but an artist will draw it indirectly. Similarly, Lakshyartha is based on an indirect relationship between word and meaning. In the statement, ‘It is hot today,’ the implied meaning is that the sun is hot. Indirect relationships between word and meaning fall into three categories: Jahallakshana, Ajahallakshana and Jahadajahallakshana.

When the direct meaning of a word is dispensed with and only the implied meaning is taken into account, it is called Jahallakshana. The statement, ‘The house is on the river’ does not mean that there is a house on the surface of the river, but on the bank of the river. The direct meaning of a flowing river is discarded and the implied meaning ‘on the bank’ is substituted. Although the river and its bank are quite different things, one being water and the other earth, there is a spatial proximity which creates a relationship. The implied meaning is based on the direct meaning, which is then discarded.

In the Ajahallakshana category, both the direct and implied meanings are operative. Imagine a man is at a horse show and asks, ‘Which horse is jumping?’ He might receive the reply, ‘The white is jumping.’ A color cannot jump, but in this case, the direct meaning ‘white’ refers to the implied meaning ‘horse,’ both of which are relevant to the sentence. The whole is understood to mean, ‘The white horse is jumping.’

Jahadajahallakshana, the third category, is also known as Bhagatyaga Lakshana. Here a portion of the direct meaning is retained and a portion is discarded. Assume that ten years ago a certain Dr. Smith lived in New York City and was last seen by a friend at the opera. Now imagine that this same friend sees him, ten years later, as a derelict on Skid Row in San Francisco. He exclaims, ‘This is that same Dr. Smith.’ There is a certain discrepancy in this statement because the word ‘this’ refers to the Dr. Smith that is seen here and now, associated with the idea of a derelict in rags is San Francisco. But the word ‘that’ refers to the Dr. Smith known before. It is associated with the idea of a successful professional man, dressed in a tuxedo and separated in time and space by ten years and three thousand miles.

Certain elements are contradictory and must be eliminated. A successful doctor is not an unemployed derelict. San Francisco is not New York and Skid Row is not the Metropolitan Opera House. Also, the period of ten years cannot be equated with the time at which the statement was made.

In the statement, ‘This is that same Dr. Smith,’ only a portion of the direct meaning of ‘this’ and ‘that’ is retained. The contradictory factors of time, space and external appearances are eliminated while Dr. Smith himself, the person, remains. It is only the idea of a Dr. Smith free of impermanent qualities which is non-contradictory. Only after the mind has gone through this complicated process—which it does in a flash—can ‘this Dr. Smith’ be identIfied with ‘that Dr. Smith.’ After the opposing associations of name and form have been set aside THIS IS THAT remains. Dr. Smith, the person common to both, stands as the implied meaning.

Tat Twam Asi can be understood only in light of this kind of reasoning. ‘That Thou Art’ does not refer to the direct meaning of the body. It asserts that each individual soul is in reality the Supreme Absolute. Such impermanent qualities as body, color, sex and religion are eliminated. Although we may now be in the garb of human beings, before being incarnated here on earth, each existed in the Brahmic state. Tat, That, refers to pure consciousness or Brahman; Twam, Thou, refers to reflected consciousness in ignorance, or the individual soul; Asi, Art, proclaims their unity, which alone exists, for all are projections of Brahman.

Thus, avidya leads the individual soul, jiva, to identify with his intellect, emotions and physical body, creating activity, suffering and pain. The upadhis give the appearance of individualisation and separation, although there is only one Brahman. In identifying with the various sheaths of the individual being, we fail to realise our true nature. An Olympic champion identifies with the physical sheath; a politician with the vital sheath; someone in love, with the emotional sheath; a college professor, with the intellectual sheath. One who is happy and pure all the time identifies with the bliss sheath. Who is closest to Self-Realisation? None of them for they are all prisoners; they are all at a distance. Even goodness is binding, for the bliss sheath is an upadhi as are all the others. Chains may be made of gold or of iron, nonetheless they are chains.

Once Indra, king of the Gods, and Virochana, king of the demons, approached Prajapati, the Creator, to learn knowledge of the Self. After thirty-two years of rigorous discipleship, they were told to look at themselves in a looking glass and report what they saw. After doing so, they replied, ‘We see ourselves as we are.’ Prajapati then asked them to put on their best clothes and to look again. On hearing the same reply, he told them, ‘That is the immortal Self.’

Virochana, satisfied, preached to his followers that the body alone is to be worshipped. Indra, however, was unconvinced that the body is the Self. After a second period of thirty-two years’ discipleship he decided that the dreaming self is the true Self. Still dissatisfied however, he underwent an austerity program of one hundred and one years, and learned that the real Self is above all individualistic implications.

Like Virochana, most people misunderstand the body to be the Self. They cannot understand TAT TWAM ASI, because they lack the patience to consider deeply the significance of the words. Words are double-edged weapons. If misunderstood, they will be detrimental to one’s progress; properly understood, they can carry one across the abyss of ignorance. The significance of TAT TWAM ASI can be grasped only after long, detailed and careful consideration. Then it will be apparent that if man was made in God’s image, it does not mean that God resembles a human being. Rather, one must look into man and realise the God nature enshrined therein.