The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
XII. The Tetrads or Quadruples of Om.
I. Tetrads of Om.
We have next to consider the tetrads or
quadruple divinities in the
quadrants or four fold divisions of the
circle of Om consisting of its
four letters a, u, or crescent of Om, and the circlet of entire Om
styled Chandravindu as given by Professor
Monier Williams from the
Nirukta of yaska. (Indian Wisdom p. 169).
II. In sciences.
1. The Om of
orthographers consisting of the four stages of speech;
namely, [**] and [**]
2. Of Grammarians; the four parts of speech,
nouns, verbs, prepositions
and particles.
3. Of Ritualists; The hymns, liturgical
precepts, Brahmanas and ordinary
language.
4. Of philologers or Sábdikas; the speech of
serpents, beasts, birds and
vernaculars.
5. Of Etymologists; The Rik, Yajur and Sáma
Vedas and current language.
6. Of Spiritualists; The language of beasts,
wild animals, musical
instruments and soul.
7. Of Manu (IV. 126). The Pranava and the
three Vyabrities. ( [**]).
8. Of Manu (IV. 124). The Rik sacred to the
gods, the Yajur relating to
mankind and the Sáma concerning the manes,
and its sound.
9. Of Smártas; The four stages;—of students, householders, mendicants
and ascetics.
10. Of Puránas. The four Ages;—Satya, Tretá, Dwápara and Kali.
The four castes &c.
III. In Divinity]
A for ávía or Vyápta—pervading all worlds, represents the divine
hypostasis of Viswa.
1. The 4 Conditions of Brahma.
U—for Utkarshat, i. e., more elevated than A; as the Taijas
than Visva. ( [**]).
M—for mána or measure, as the prajná like a
prastha measures the
above two. ( [**]).
Om—i. e., the
entire and without parts, is the fourth and perfect
condition of Brahma. ( [**]).
2. The 4 states of the Soul.
Á for the waking (Jágrat) state, when the soul is subject
to gross
senses.
U—for the swapna or dreaming state, when the soul is withdrawn from
visible objects.
M—the susupta or sound sleeping state, in which the soul is
unconscious of itself.
Om—the absolute and perfect state of the soul viewing all
in itself.
3. The 4 Manifestations of God.
A—is external manifestation of the Universal
soul in objects.
U—Internal manifestation perceived in the operations of
the soul in
dream.
M—unmanifested existence; or the self
consciousness of the soul.
Om—Unmanifest state of the soul, unmodified
and inactive state.
4. The 4 Titles of the soul.
A—Viswa or Vaiswánara who
abides manifest in the waking state.
U—Taijasa—abiding in dreams and knowing all without objects.
M—Prajná, the perfect wise abiding in deep sleep.
Om—Absolute Brahma called Turíya which is perfect and all knowing.
The Four fold Tetrads.
I.
A—Áptah, pervading.
U—Utkarsha, Exalted.
M—Mána, Measure.
Om—Brahma, Absolute.
II.
Jágrat, Waking.
Swapna, Dreaming.
Susupti, Sleeping.
Sthira, Calm.
III.
A—Vyakta, external state.
U—Antar, internal state.
M—Avyakta, unmanifested.
Om—Ananta, Infinity.
IV.
Viswa, the visible world.
Taijasa, the thinking soul.
Pragná, Consciousness.
Turíya, Omniscience.
XIII. The Pentads &c., of Om.
The Pentads of Om.
The quintuples of om are composed of five
letters or divisions of the
symbolical circle, standing for so many
different things each of which
forms a part of the whole, and is called an Om. The five parts are, A,
U, M, O and the náda—the nasal half circle above.
1. The Five Vital Airs. [**]]
Respiration, flatulence, circulation,
pulsation and assimilation,
commonly known by the names of prána, apána, vyána, udána and
samána.
2. The Five Caverns. [**]]
Pancha koshas or sheaths of the soul, folding one over the
other "like
the coats of an onion". 1. The sheath of
the intellect. 2. The sheath of
the mind. 3. The sheath of breathing. 4. The
subtle and corporeal
bodies. 5. The sheath of Supreme bliss, not
admitted by all. ( [**],
[**], [**], [**], [**])[** the last ':'
belongs to the Sanskrit
inside the bracket]
3. The Five Internal organs, senses and their
objects.
[**]]
The ear, eye, skin, nose and tongue, of
hearing, sight, feeling, smell
and taste. Their five objects—sound, colour,
touch, savour and smell.
( [**])
4. The Five external Do. [**]]
The voice, hands, feet, the organs of
generation and secretion are
organs of action. [**] [**]
5. The Five Elements. [**]]
Earth, air, fire, water and ether. [**]
6. The Five classes of Ignorance.
1. Obscurity ( [**]), 2. Illusion( [**]), 3.
Extreme illusion( [**]),
4. Gloom ( [**]), 5. Utter gloom ( [**]).
1. The six letters of Hexads or sextuples.
The sextuples of Om are composed of a, u, o, m, the Bindu,
cypher, and the náda; and according to another account, the Ardha
mátrá of Om is the fourth and the Bindu and náda the
fifth and
sixth aksharas. (Weber's Ráma Tapaníya pp. 292, 312. Cowell's Maitrí
Up. p. 271).
2. The 6 Organs.
The five organs of sense; viz the nose, tongue, the eye, ear, skin and
the mind. (Gotama Sutra I. 1, 12). But
according to others the mind is
not reckoned an organ.
3. Other Sextuples]
The six seasons ( [**]), the six flavours (
[**]), the six musical
modes ( [**]), the six Vedángas; but I never
met a passage of their
being preceded by Om.
1. The Heptads or Septuples.
The Septuples are formed by a, u, o, m, Vindu, náda and Sánta or
ultimate silence, and these are used to
symbolise the pantheistic form
of the god Viráj, in the following description
of him given by Sankara.
2. The 7 Parts of Viráj Body.
"His head—the heavens; his eye—the sun;
his breath—the wind; his
center—the ether; his urine—the water; his
feet—the earth; his mouth
the fire." Anquetil gives the five
senses, the mind and intellect as his
seven members. (Weber's Indian Studien. Vol.
II. p. 107).
3. The Other Heptads.
According to other accounts there is a
sevenfold septuples included in
the figure Om comprising the Universe. The
first trisaptaka or triplex
septuple comprises the seven spheres of
heaven, the seven pátálas or
infernal regions, and the seven Bhuvanas of earth. The second
trisapta consists of the sapta dwípas or seven continents of the
earth, the seven oceans, and the seven
planets; and lastly the sapta
swara or the seven notes emitted by the planetary motions.
The Octads or octuples.
The octuples consist of the aforesaid seven
parts and the sákti or
word namo added to them at the end, and are used as symbols of Viráj
for the five vital airs, or the five organs
of action and those of
intellect i. e. the mind, intellect and self consciousness or
chítta.
The Nonads.
These are nine cavities of the body [**] the
abode of Brahm.
The Decads.
These are the ten internal and external
organs of the ( [**] and
[**]) of the body—the seats of Brahm.
XIV. Philosophy of the Numerical Groups
Contained Under the Mystic
Syllable Om.
1. Inquiry into the numerical groups.
After the lengthy account we have given of
the various classes of words
contained under the different numbers and
divisions and subdivisions of
the mysterious letter Om, it must be asked by the inquisitive reader,
what do these clusters of concrete and
abstract terms which are
numerically jumbled together under the
unintelligible character Om
serve to mean, and of what use are they to
the contemplative Yogi in his
meditation on the attributes of his Maker by
that symbol?
2 (a). Enlargement of the understanding.
In answer to this query we are bound to
repeat the definition of yoga,
that it is the process of joining the ideas
in the mind, and practicing
the limited powers of the understanding to
rise by degrees from their
grasping the ideas of unities or single
objects at a time, to the
comprehension of dualities and pluralities
for the enlargement of the
intellect, till at last the mind is fraught
with a clear and distinct
idea of every thing in the universe comprised
under the several groups
or generalizations of particulars.
2 (b). Their Pantheistic view.
And also as we have more than once mentioned
in the preceding articles,
that God is aham bahushyám—one in many, to on to pan of the Greeks,
or the unity divided into and containing an Infinity of parts; so
His symbol the holy Om is one circle and
emblem of infinity, which for
the sake of our conception and convenience is
viewed in its Finite parts
of monads &c, and their ever increasing
multiples by all other numbers.
But the monad like the prime number one
whether multiplied or divided by
any number in arithmetic, remains still the
same simple one. Thus (1 × 2
= 2 × 1); (and 1/2 = 1 ÷ 2, or 1/2 = 1 ×
1/2). This is the root of the
pantheistic doctrine of the Vedánta. [**].
This One is all: and the
whole being taken from the whole the
remainder is whole. [**]
3. The Numerical Philosophy.
It was the oldest Sánkhya or numerical school of philosophy in India,
like the ancient Ionian school of Greece,
that first made a
classification of all objects in nature under
certain co-ordinate groups
for our contemplation of them under those
classes; which its later
development of the yoga system has converted to the objects of our
meditation as same with or pervaded by the
Deity; or in other words, has
recommended the meditation of nature's God in
nature itself as in
Natural Theology. It was the Tantra worship
of later ages that divided
the symbol of unity and infinity of the
divine om into a decad of
parts, as it is the custom of mathematicians
to divide the great circle
of infinity into 360 degrees, though it might
be divided into an
infinity of parts.
4. The Sánkhya and Pythagorean.
The Sankhya[** typo? previously Sánkhya]
system of evolution which is
closely allied to that of the Darwinian,
views the monad as the
elementary protozoa, which combined with other monads make up the
duads, triads &c. we have mentioned
before, and all which are resolvable
to the primary monad. Om is always 'one'
thing; nothing can destroy that
numerical existence, combine the thing in
every possible variety of
ways, and it still remains 'one.' It cannot be less than one, it
cannot be more. As (2 = 1 + 1 = II & 3 =
1 + 1 + 1 = III). Resolve it
into its minutest particles, and each
particle is one. As (1/2, 1/3,
1/4 &c). One is the only absolute number;
all others are but relations
to it. The Infinite therefore must be one,
and if you take infinity and
the infinitesimals from the infinite, there
remains also[** space]t the
same infinity; according to the Vedánta
paradox [**]; [**] and all
modes of existence are but finite aspects of
the Infinite.
5. Different aspects of the soul.
The soul being a self moved monad, is one,
whether it connects itself
with two or with three; in other words the
essence remains the same
whatever its manifestations may be. The one
soul may have two aspects,
Intelligence and Passion, as in brutes; or it
may have three aspects,
as in man &c. For more of this see Lewes'
History of Philosophy (Vol. I
pp. 33 and 34).
6. Query concerning Nature Worship.
There rises another question of some
importance in this place as, what
has the Yogi or worshipper of God to do with
the objects presented to
him in the different groups under the
partitions of Om, when his
business is solely to meditate on the nature
and attributes of the
Deity?
7. Spiritual Worship.
To this it may be answered that, the Hindu
Yogi or meditative sage is
enjoined to meditate on the Supreme Spirit in
Spirit, "átmá átmanyeva
chintayet". ( [**]). He does not adore any visible object,
but
contemplates his creator with all his
attributes as displayed in
creation, which he sums up abstractedly in
his own spirit and mind.
There can be no contemplation of the
inscrutable and incomprehensible
nature of God apart from the light we derive
from the abstract
meditation of all sensible and intellectual
natures. "Observe every
thing in thyself and so shalt thou behold the
Supreme." [**]
8. Self knowledge What?]
The old rule of self knowledge [**] or know
thyself [**], which was
believed to constitute highest wisdom, and
which has given rise to
different interpretations in various schools
of philosophy, does not
mean the knowledge of one's state and nature to
be sufficient for him;
but that of his soul which makes him truly
great. The wise Socrates
looked inwards, and there discovered the
moral and psychological truths
the world has derived from him. His pupil the
divine Plato looked within
him, and there found the eternal ideas of
which sense awakened
reminiscence.
9. Knowledge of the Soul.
The Hindu Yogi too looks inward and views
within the circle of his
cranium symbolized as Om, his soul seated as a ray and figure of the
Divinity, and encompassed by the abstract
ideas of all things whose
impressions he has received by sense and
mind. He then learns to
distinguish by his discriminative power
called the átmánátma viveka,
( [**]) the soul of the Universe from all the
representations which it
presents to his mind.
10. Of one in Many.
The Platonic system had also a sort of
classification in which the
search for One in Many and Many in One,
together with the detection of
the One in the Many was the constant aim,
consult for further
information on this head in Lewes' History of
Philosophy. (Vol. 1. pp.
237 and 405).
XV. The Unitarian Formula [**] One That
is</sc.
1. Om the one.
From all our investigation into the origin,
rise, and extent of meaning
of the word Om in its orthography, etymology and theology, it is
evident that the Indo-Aryan mind was early
infused with the idea of an
absolute Om corresponding with the Greek On and wn[**[Greek: ôn]],
and En and also Aeon of the
Gnostics, Latin Ens, Unum and
Entity, Romance On and un, and one in English, whose unity was the
source of all diversity in the plurality of
creation, agreeably to the
text aham bahu Syám = Ego multus sim of the
Sruti.
2. The Universal soul, = Vìswátman.
It was at first known as one and then as the self or soul by the
silent and innate intuition of the intellect,
as it is declared in the
Mandukya Upanishad II. 2, 5. [**], [**]
Max Müller says (A. S. Lit. p. 23 and 322):
"The Átman was next
conceived as the Spirit = air, átmá and anime."
"That one breathed
breathless by itself: other than it nothing
since has been." Thus says
the Sruti Müller p. 560). "This one
Átman (atmos) fills, animates and
pervades the whole"; as the poet sings
"spreads unspent" throughout the
infinity of worlds:
"Which are but parts of one undivided
whole
Whose body nature is, and God the soul."
(Pope).
3. Called as Tat = that]
The inherent one of all ones "to on onton", the unit of unities, the
Ens of entities, the soul of the wo
rld "Viswátman" was yet without a
name, nor did they know how to call him, than
by the designation of
tat = "that," which they say is expressive of the
idea of Brahma
[**]. Because says Váchaspati, the nature of
the one Om, was unknown
even to the learned [**]; and therefore it
was specified by the
demonstrative pronoun that "tat," which sometimes preceded
the
[**] as [**] &c. (Greek to on). The necessity of pronouncing Om
with tat sat in the beginning of every Vedic rite, is strictly
enjoined in Bhágavad-Gítá. [**]
4. The Impersonal and Personal God.
The word "tat" in the neuter gender, was used for the one self,
which
as an element or material cause, had evolved
all things out of its
immaterial essence, and expressed an
impersonal God, which the creed of
the early philosophers had established in the
Vedas. It was at a much
later period that the belief of a personal
God, is said to have been
introduced by the sage Sándilya in the
Ch'hándogya and Swetás[**space
here?]vatara Upanishads, where the self [**]
is used in the masculine
gender, and the masculine pronoun Sa and tam (Greek
"ho and ton,"
Lat "is"), was substituted for tat (Greek to Lat id) in the
subjective mantra [**]; but in the objective mantra it is neuter as
[**].
5. Of the Bráhma Samája.
The Bráhma Samáj has preserved both the
formula of the Impersonal God
( [**]) as their motto, as well as addressed
their prayers to the
personal God by use of the masculine pronoun sa and tam instead
of
tat. Thus in the opening hymn of Ram Mohun Roy's Prayer Book
[**] So
in Devendra Natha Thákur's hymn [**] This is
in accordance to the
creed of all civilized nations to apply the
masculine pronoun to the
Deity. The Koran has "ho=he" in its
formulas of "Ho'lahad"
"Ho'lghani" &c., and so also the ho of the Bible. Tat like On
is sometimes used alone and by itself for
God, at the opening of books
and chapters, and upon the tops of pages with
the Sat following it as
[**].
6. Ditto in the Feminine Gender.
But those who have heard the preachings of
Keshab Chandra Sen, may well
remember his exclamations as [**], [**], in
imitation of the Roman
idolatrous philosopher's acclamation to God,
"tu pater, tu mater, tu
mas, tu femme" &c., in Cudworth's
Intellectual System. There is no
masculine or feminine representative of the
pronoun tat or any other
pronoun in the vernaculars, where they are
all of the common gender,
hence [**], [**], [**], [**] &c, used for
tat by the Heathen
Hindus, are applied alike to their gods and
goddesses, while the
Sanskrit sah = ho in Greek, Arabic and Hebrew designates the masculine
Deity only. Mohammed says in the Koran,
"ye are ashamed of your female
children, but not of assigning female
attributes to the Deity."
7. Ditto in the Neuter Gender.
The following passages will serve to show the
early creed of the
impersonal God, from the application of the
neuter pronoun tat to him
in the Mándukya Upanishad. (11. 2)
Meaning:—"The sun, moon and stars what
are they? But a glimpse of light
caught from That (Tat)." &c.
XVI. Ontology of the Self Existent Sat = Being .
1. Philology of Sat.
The last word of the formular motto of
Vedánta is sat, which derived
from the root asa, Lat. esse—to be, makes the present participle
Sat and means a being, like the Latin ens and Greek On, the
participial noun of eimi meaning a being. Thus the knowledge of sat
which is Satyam = reality, is the doctrine of On—the real being,
which as said before is to on onton—the being of beings and prime
cause of all existences, and forms the main
subject of Ontology. This
primary and fundamental truth of the
existence of a first cause, led the
Rishi a priori to deduce all other existences from it by the text
[**] Ego in multis et pluribus—the one in many: or in other words,
when the Bráhman believes in but one real
being in the Universe, he
believes also that this being constitutes the
Universe. (M.W. Indian
Wisdom p. 36).
2. Etymology of Sat.
The noun Sat in its verbal form is equivalent to asti, corresponding
with Lat. est, Gr. esti,
Persic ast and hast, Bengali—áchhe,
Uria achchhe &c. Eng. is, Ger. ist and the like. And tat sat
together makes the Greek to estin, Lat. Id est French Il est &c.;
Arabic alast, Persic ost, and Hindi Ohihae. The Om Tat Sat is
either an identic proposition, meaning the
"Being that is" or a
definitive one, expressing Om that (is) existent.
3. The Ontology of Sat or Being.
The Ch'hándogya Upanishad says: "In the
beginning there was the mere
state of sat—being (to on)—the one only without a second." Some
however say that, "in the beginning
there was a state of asat—not
being; (Lat. non est, Gr. to mi on), the one without a second. Hence
out of a state of non-being would proceed a
state of being. But how can
this be? How can sat = being, proceed out of asat not being?" It is
logically absurd by the well known maxim Ex nihilo nihil fit of
Lucretius. "Hence in the beginning there
was a mere state of being (the
om). One only without a second. (om eka meva dvitíyam [**]). He
willed and became many" (Chánd. VI. 2.
M. W. Ind. Wisdom p. 41).
4. A Priori Argument of Vedánta.
The Original text runs thus.
[**]
The above cited passage and numerous other
texts of the Vedánta such as
the following, [**] and [**] &c.,
unanimously prove a priori and
by deductive reasoning that Brahma is the
primary cause from which all
others are derived and deduced by reason.
This is called the Púrva vat
or a priori reasoning in the Nyaya philosophy, which is shewn to be
the logical inference of the effect from its
cause. [**]
5. Evidences of the First cause.
The priori inference of a pre-existent cause
is supported by many other
modes of reasoning as we shall state below.
1. By the Cosmological
reasoning of Humboldt, Leibnitz and others,
it is evident that some
being was uncaused, or was of itself without
a cause. Therefore God is
the first cause of all things. (Leibnitz). 2.
By the Anthropological
reasoning founded on certain observed facts
or phenomena of human
consciousness, its knowledge of the
subjective ego and
objective non
ego &c. 3. By the Ontological, we find the existence in
the mind of a
clear and distinct idea of God, as a perfect
Being or Ens or
entity
(sat) perfectly eminent. 4. Psychological
Intuitive reasoning shows us
clearly that "we may form the idea of a
supremely perfect being of whom
we have a conscious proof. And as in the
exercise of our intellect we
become conscious of a subjective unity
underlying the external
diversity, so by the unvarying revelations of
reason, we are led to
recognize the existence of a Deity who,
amidst all the shifting
phenomena of the universe remains one and
Immutable." Vide Devendra Náth
Tagore's Ontology p. 14.
6. A Posteriori Argument.
The Vedánta philosophy pursues also a course
of inductive reasoning in
its aphorism of [**] [**], rising from the
creation to its maker.
This is the process of [**] or a posteriori reasoning of the Nyáya
philosophy, in its inference of the cause
fire from its effect the smoke
( [**]), or of the major term [**] from the
middle [**]. This
is the physical reasoning of modern inductive
science, which infers from
the facts of existence an author of these
facts. The Universe exists,
therefore it has a cause, which is prior to
all other causes. There are
some who attempt to prove the posteriori [**]
argument of the Veda
from a different construction of the Gáyatri
hymn, ascending from the
Vyáhritis or creation of the worlds ( [**]) to their creator [**];
but this mode of reasoning is not justified
by others, by reason of the
initial Om = God.
7. Ambiguity of the word Sat.
We shall now take notice of the other
meanings which the lexicons assign
to sat, beside the being and entity of God [**] we have so long
dwelt upon. It means the goodness and
excellence of a thing. [**]
In this sense the phrase Om tat sat would mean "God The Good", which
is quite correct on all hands. In English the
etymology of God is good,
and so the Sanskrit sat means both God and good; thus also all systems
of philosophy predicate the attribute of
goodness of the nature of God.
The Persian term Khoda though so nearly allied to God and sat in
sound, will be found to bear no affinity with
either; but to owe its
derivation to the sankrit[**Sanskrit] [**]
(from [**]) meaning
self-produced; swa [**] being invariably rendered into kha in
Persian, as swata [**] khod, swasri [**] khwahir &c.
8. Another sense of Sat.
Sat appears moreover in the sense of sitting in composition
with an
objective word preceding it, as diri-*shad a
clestical[**celestial][**really?], sabhásat a courtier. It is from the
root sad, Latin sedo—to
sit, with the suffix kwip. Thus
we have
in the Kathá Vallí: (V. 2.) [**]
"The Hansa, (God) sits above the
heavens, it dwells in the atmosphere,
as invokers it dwells in temples, and as
guests it is not afar from us.
It dwells in man, in truth, in the ether, in
water, mountains &c. &c."
XVII.— The Conclusive Lesson on the Practice
of Yoga.
After our long and lengthy discussion on the
subject of Yoga, and the
sacred and mysterious words wherewith it is
conducted, our treatise will
be deemed incomplete until we set a form or
praxis of the manner in
which it is to be conducted; and particularly
by those who are fully
persuaded of its efficacy, and prepared for
its practice, but are
prevented from it for want of proper guides
to initiate them into it, or
deterred by the arduousness of the rites
imposed upon them by false
Yogis, as to give up the exercise in disgust
and hopelessness of their
possibility ever to master it.
We shall set to these a short lesson from the
Upanishad with directions
from the Bhágavad Gítá, works which are
believed to be of the highest
authority and sanctity by every Hindu, and
which can never be suspected
of misleading any body; but on the other hand
universally acknowledged
as the only luminaries amidst the
intellectual gloom of superstition and
ignorance. The Kathopanishad says that the
light of truth is to be
gained by yoga only [**], and the Bhágavad
Gítá declares, that
knowledge, faith and practice are the only
means of its attainment
[**]. It directs all men of competence to
betake themselves to the
acquisition of learning, and the incompetent
to the practice of acts
thus: [**]
The Maitrí Upanishad gives the following
directions for the practice of
yoga. "In the same way (is declared) the
rule for the exercise of these
means (for the concentration of the mind).
This concentration (yoga)
has six parts:—restraint of the breath (pránáyáma), restraint of the
senses (pratyáhára), meditation (dhyána), attention (dháraná);
self examination (tarka), and absorption (samádhi). When beholding
by this manner of contemplation, he beholds
the golden coloured, the
doer, the lord, the spirit, Brahman, the
cause; then the seer abandoning
his merits and sins, reduces every thing to
unity in the Supreme
indestructible (soul). Thus says the
Sruti:—As beasts and birds
approach not a blazing mountain, so faults
never approach those who know
Brahman". (18).
"It has been also said elsewhere when
the sage, conditioned as prána,
has obtained the mastery over his mind, and
left outside all the objects
of the senses, then let him remain void of
all volition. Since the
individual soul called prána springs from the non-prána (Supreme
Intelligence); hence let the (apparent) prána fix itself in the fourth
stage (of pure intelligence). Thus saith the
Sruti:—"That which is
itself apart from intellect, which yet abides
in the midst of intellect,
the inconceivable, the supremely secret, on
this let him fix his
intellect (chitta); thus this subtile body having no object, is merged
(in the Supreme)." (19).
"It hath also been said elsewhere: there
is yet a higher exercise of
attention (dháraná) for the sage; after pressing the end of his tongue
against his palate and restraining his voice,
mind and breath, he
beholds Brahman by contemplation. When thus
by the annihilation of the
mind, he beholds the self-manifesting soul,
the less than the least, as
identified with the supreme soul, then having
seen the soul thus
identified, he becomes divested of self.
Being thus divested, he becomes
unlimited, destitute of material support,
only an object of pure
thought. This is the great secret,—final
emancipation. Thus saith the
Sruti:—By the serenity of the intellect he
destroys all action, good or
bad; with serene soul, abiding in the Divine
Soul, he enjoys undying
bliss." (20).
"It hath been said also: the artery,
called sushumná, which supplies
the passage for the vital air, rises upward
(from the heart) and is
interrupted in the middle of the palate. By
means of this artery,
conjoined with the prána (brought under subjection), the mind merged
by contemplation into its object Brahman, and
the repetition of the
mystic syllable Om, let him rise upwards turning the end of his tongue
on the palate, and uniting the senses (with
the prána and mind). Let the
absence of limitation contemplate itself (i. e. let him contemplate on
the unlimited Brahman). Then he attains
freedom from all organs; and
becomes no longer capable of pain or
pleasure. He gains absolute unity."
Thus saith the Sruti:—"First having
mastered prána, then
having fixed
it on the palate, having crossed the state of
limitation, let him in the
crown of his head, merge (the soul) in the
unlimited Brahman." (21).
"Thus he may contemplate Om as the sound and non-sound &c. (22 and
23). Then Om as light, and all other significates of Om." (24 &c).
Those who may think the English version of
the lesson on Yoga as not
very explicit, will do well to consult the
subjoined text in the
original.
[**]
XVIII.— Symbolical Yoga Cult of Mudra or
Chakra Diagrams.
Om the object of Yoga meditation, being already described in
sections
IX. &c. of this article as symbolical of
Divine nature, and its
different divisions as emblematical of the
eternal attributes or
hypostases of the Self—same Unity, they are
as shown before,
represented by the component letters of that
mystic syllable, and
meditated upon by the mental arithmetic of
the speculative theosophist,
the vedántist and yogi. But as the majority
of people of grosser
understandings are more dependant on ocular
and sensible symbolism than
abstract idealism, the Tantras have purposely
contrived many a figure
and diagram (Mudras and Chakras) for
their guidance, of which we
will give a few below with their geometrical
names and notations.
It will appear from the diagrams described
hereafter that Om the
symbol of Brahman the Universal Sat or existence, serves to show us as
a chart of the world, or representation of
the cranium, everything
existing in the physical and intellectual
world, which is expressed by
the word Om ( [**]), in its different
divisions and partitions for our
meditation and contemplation. The pious and
religious spiritualist may
employ them in Divine contemplation, but the
majority are at liberty to
use them in the meditation of every other
subject which comes to be
comprised within the compass of their
thought, in the groups of
significations which the letters are said to
convey. Hence the Yoga of
old, meant only an intense application of the
mind to all subjects of
thought and knowledge. Thus the end of our
Yoga philosophy is not only
the abstruse meditation of Divine attributes,
but the mental reflection
of every thing besides.
XIX.— Mathematical Investigation Into the
Diagrams of Om.
Correctness of the Diagrams.
We have seen from the diagrams given in the
following section, that the
Tántrika formulists have spared no pains to
divide the great circle of
the Universe, filled by the omnipresence of
Brahma and represented by
the figure om, into several parts for the purpose of meditating His
different hypostases, and contemplation of
the various orders of
creation. We are now to inquire as to whether
these several divisions of
a mathematical circle of 360 degrees are
geometrically correct, or mere
arbitrary partitions made by ignorant priests
for their own amusement
and deception of their proselytes.
The Heptagon and Nonagon.
Now for instance, the problem of inscribing a
heptagon or a nonagon in a
circle will at once startle a student of
Euclid as altogether
impossible, and identical with that which was
celebrated among Greek
geometricians as the problem of the
trisection of the angle. If treated
algebraically, it leads to a cubic equation
with three real roots, the
arithmetical value of which can be found only
approximately.
The Lílávatí's solution.
The author of the Lílávatí has solved the
problems, but given no account
of the way in which he got the numbers stated
by him; if they had been
obtained by solution of the above mentioned
equation, they would
probably have been more accurate than they
are. He only lays down an
arbitrary rule, that the side of the heptagon
is 52055/120000 of the
diameter, and that of the nonagon
41081/120000 of the same. Neither of
these is very far from the truth. The accurate
value of the side of the
heptagon lies between 82/182 and 105/242. The
side of the nonagon lies
between 13/38 and 105/307.
Commentators on Lílávatí.
Among the commentators on Lílávatí,
Rámakrishna, Gangádhara, and
Ranganátha have not attempted any demonstration
of the problems in
question, and have contented themselves with
merely repeating the
figures contained in the text. Ganesa
confesses that the proof of the
sides of the regular pentagon, heptagon and
nonagon cannot be shown in a
manner similar to that of the triangle,
square and octagon.
The Pentagon.
But this is untrue of the pentagon; its side
can be geometrically found
as shown in Euclid Book IV. Prop 11; and the
admission of Ganesa serves
only to prove, that he was unacquainted with
the Sanskrit translation
of Euclid which contains a solution of this
problem. Ganesa cannot mean
only that the side of the pentagon is
incommensurable with the diameter;
for that is equally true of the triangle,
square and octagon, inscribed
in a circle.
THE FIGURES.
Of Om (On or En) of Hindu Ontology.
I. Mudrá, Madawar, Sphere or Sphaira.
A Symbol of the Universe and Universalia.
A System of the Universal Religion.
[**]
II. The circle O, An Emblem of infinity and
Eternity.
A Type of the Catholic Theism of Hindus.
[**]
III. The convexity of O. A Type of the
Extramundane,
Unknowable and Absolute Supreme Brahma.
Significant of Agnoism and Agnosticism.
[**]
IV. The concavity of O. Emblem of
Intramundane
Immensity of knowable Nature and its God
Brahmá.
And Indicative of Gnosticism and Pantheism.
[**]
V. The circle with the Central point or
Monad.
A Symbol of the Definite and known world and
its God.
And signifying the Monotheism of all nations.
[**]
1. The circle with the central A, [**] Alif
or Unit.
Emblematical of the unity of a Personal God.
And the Primary unity of all things in
Nature.
And significant of unitarianity or Advaila matam.
[**]
2. The two Semicircles of O. Symbolical of
Duad or Duality.
In the dualism of Persons in the God-head as Dvaitam.
And the Duads of Co-ordinate Principles in
Nature.
And signifying the Ditheism of all Dualistic
creeds.
[**]
3. The Trisected circle of Om. A symbol of the Triad or Trinity.
Indicative of a Triality of Persons in the
God-head as Traitam.
And the co-ordinate Triples of the Principles
in Nature.
And signifying the Tritheism of
Trinitarianity.
[**]
3. (a) The Tripartite circle. With the Inscribed Triangle Euclid (IV.
2).
A symbol of the Holy Trinity (Trimúrti on the three sides).
And the Triangular female emblem of
God-mother in the midst.
And Indicating the Materialistic
Trinitarianism of Hindus.
[**]
4. The Four Quadrants of the circle of Om or a square.
Emblematical of the Tetrad of the Divinity.
And the co-ordinate Quadruples of Things.
And signifying the Quaternity of certain
creeds.
[**]
5. The Pentagon Inscribed in the circle.
Denoting the Pentad.
The Angular Points A. B. C. D. & E.
Meeting at the Centre O (Euclid IV.
11).
Indicative of the Quintuple Hypostases of the
Deity.
The Quintessence and the Five fold
co-ordinates of Elementary bodies.
[**]
6. The Hexagon in the Circle. Significant of
the Hexad.
The Angular Points A.B.C.D.E.F. Meeting at
the centre (Euclid IV. 15).
Denotative of the sextuple Evolutions of the
Monad O.
And Indicative of the Six Internal and
External Organs of sense.
[**]
7. The Heptagon. Inscribed in the circle O.
Indicates the Heptad.
The Angular Points A. B. C. D. E. F. G.
Meeting at the centre O.
According to the Process of Lílávatí
mentioned below.
Indicates the septuple Hypostases of Divine
Essence, viz;
The Five External senses, mind and intellect.
(Anquetil).
And the seven fold co-ordinate bodies in
creation, viz; the seven
Worlds, seven Planets, seven Continents and
Oceans.
[**]
8. The Octagon (A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H).
Inscribed in the circle O.
By Bisection of the Quadrants (in Figure 4).
Indicative of the Octad or Octuple states of
Spirit and Body.
viz, the five Vital airs or the five external or five
Internal senses with the Mind, Intellect and
consciousness (Chittam).
All forms of the Spirit.
And the eight material forms of Earth
&c., treated of in the Ashta
Múrti.
[**]
9. The Nonagon A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I.
Inscribed in the circle O.
By Trisection of the three sections of a
Tripartite circle.
Symbolical of a nonad or nine fold nature of the Deity.
And the nine doors or organs of Animal
bodies.
[**]
10. The Decagon in a Circle. Emblematical of
the Decad.
The Decagon A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J. By
Bisection of the Pentagon.
Significant of the Five Internal and five
External Senses.
And the Ten Directions of space. All filled
by Divine Spirit.
[**]
These figures might be multiplied ad infinitum, as there is no
limit of created things and the attributes of
the Creator; but as
neither Infinity nor Immensity is
comprehensible by the limited
understanding of man, the Yogi takes some
definite ideas and
determinate objects for his meditation, as he
is directed by the
Natural Religion of mankind.
Note to Figure 7.
Solution of the Problem of inscribing a
heptagon in a circle, or
dividing the circle into seven equal parts.
According to Súryadása's
commentary on Lílávatí. [**]
"For the heptagon [**]: describe a
circle, and an equilateral heptagon
in it, then a line being drawn between the
[**] extremities of any two
sides—at pleasure, and three lines from the
centre of the circle [**]
to the angles indicated by those extremities
[**], an unequal
quadrilateral [**] is formed. The greater
sides and the least diagonal
[**] thereof are equal to the semidiameter[**
semi diameter?] [**]
The value of the greater diagonal, which is
assumed arbitrarily, is the
chord of the arc [**] encompassing the two
sides. Its arrow [**]
being deduced in the manner before directed,
is the side of a small
rectangular triangle [**]
Thus the greater diagonal [**], being
arbitrarily assumed to be
93,804, is the chord sought [**]; its arrow
found in the manner
directed is 22,579; this is the side, and
half the base or chord [**]
is the upright 46,902; their squares are
509711241 and 21997604; the
square root of the sum of which is the side
[**] of the heptagon or
52,055 [**]
These numbers are given from the copy of
Súryadása's commentary on the
Lílávatí in the library of the As. Society.
There are two obvious errors
in them, probably of the copyist [**]; viz. 22,579 should be 22.581,
and 21997604 should be 2199797604.
Note to Fig. 9.
To inscribe a nonagon in a circle, [**] i. e,
to divide it into nine
parts. "A circle being described as
before, inscribe a triangle [**]
in it. Thus the circle is divided into three
parts. Three equal chords
[**] being drawn in each of these portions, a
nonagon is thus
inscribed in it [**]; and three oblongs [**]
are formed within the
same; of which the base is equal to the side
of the (inscribed) triangle
[**] Then two perpendiculars [**] being drawn
in the oblong, it is
divided into three portions, the first and
last of which are triangles
[**]; and the intermediate one is a tetragon.
[**] The base in each
of them is a third part of the side of the
inscribed triangle [**](?).
It is the upright (of a rectangular triangle)
[**]; the perpendicular
is its side; and the square root of the sum
of their squares [**] is
the hypothenuse[** typo hypotenuse] [**]:,
and is the side of the
nonagon [**].
To find the perpendicular [**]; put an
assumed chord [**] equal to
half the chord [**] of the (inscribed)
tetragon; find its arrow in the
manner aforesaid, and subtract that from the
arrow of the chord [**]
of the (inscribed) triangle, the remainder is
the perpendicular. [**]
Thus the perpendicular [**] comes out 21,989:
it is the side of a
rectangular triangle. The third part of the
inscribed [**] triangle is
34,641: it is the upright. [**] The square
root of the sum of their
squares [**] is 41,031: and is the side of
the inscribed nonagon."
[**]
[Illustration: THE OM TAT SAT.
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
Translated by Vihari Lala Mitra
1891
Volume 1, and volume 2 (part 1 and 2).
[June 2011]
[In this revision vol. 1 and 2 have gone
through many rounds of proofreading and formatting, and
proofreading comments (like [** comments])
have been removed after editing. (Part 2 has been
further checked and improved since April).
Italics previously marked as _italics_ are
now proper italics. --
have been replaced by —.
The long vowels marked in the original book as ・ ・and ・are now marked in
the today more
common way: ā, ī and ū.
The introductory chapters—Preface and "Prolegomena"—have been published
separately.
,
and is made available as a preview here after
some processing .]
Contents
Chapter
Volume 1
Detailed Contents Volume
Book 1. Vairagya Khanda
Book 2. Mumukshu Khanda
Book 3. Utpatti Khanda
Conclusion [volume 1]
G enealog y
Volume 2
Detailed Contents of Volume 2, Part 1
Book 3. Utpatti K hand a
Detailed Contents of Volume 2, Part 2
Book 4. Sthiti Prakarana
Book 5. Upasama Khanda
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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