The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER XXVII.
VANITY OF THE WORLD.
Rāma said:—O sage! this seemingly pleasing
but actually unpleasant
world, has nothing in it that is productive
of such a thing as can
afford tranquility to the soul.
2. After the playful boyhood is over, the
mind wastes itself in the
society of women like the deer fallen in a
cavern, then the body bends
down under old age, and the man has only to
grieve (for his folly).
3. As the body is stricken with the frost of
old age, its beauty flies
afar from it like the bloom of the fading
lotus, and then the fountain
of man's worldliness is at once dried up.
4. As the body gets towards its decline, so
much doth death rejoice in
it. The body grows lean with grey hairs upon
the head, just as a creeper
fades away with the flowers upon it.
5. All living creatures are borne away by the
stream of avarice, which
upsets the tree of contentment growing on the
bank and flows on for ever
in this world.
6. Human body is like a vessel covered with
skin; and glides over the
ocean of the world (without its helmsman of
reason). It is tossed about
by sensual pleasures, and goes down under the
water by the pressure of
its whale-like passions.
7. The world is a wilderness abounding in
creepers of avarice and trees
of sensuality, with hundreds of desires as
their branches. Our minds
like monkeys pass their time in roving about
this forest without getting
the fruits (they seek).
8. Those that do not yield to grief in
troubles, that are not elated
with prosperity, nor smitten at heart by
women, are rare in this world.
9. Those who fight boldly in the battle
fields and withstand the
war-elephants, are not so very brave in my
opinion, as those who
withstand the surges of the mind amidst the
streams of carnal appetites.
10. I see no such deeds in the world which
endure to the last (or final
emancipation) of men. Actions proceeding from
a desire of fruition in
fools, serve only for their restlessness on
earth.
11. Such men are rare in the world, that have
filled the corners of the
world with their fame and valour, who have
filled their houses with true
riches acquired by honest means and an
unwavering patience.
12. Good and bad fortune always overtake a
man, even if he were living
in an aperture of the rock or within the
walls of mountains, or even if
he were enclosed within an iron built closet.
13. Our sons and riches are mere objects of
delight to us. It is as
erroneous to suppose them to be of any good
to us at the end, as to
expect any benefit from the decoction of
poison.
14. Old people being reduced to calamitous
circumstances at the pitiable
state of the decay of their bodies and
decline of life, have greatly to
be tormented at the thoughts of the impious
deeds (of their past lives).
15. Men having passed their early days in the
gratification of their
desires and other worldly pursuits at the
expense of the acts of virtue
and piety, are as much troubled with
anxieties at the end, that their
minds are seized with a tremor like that of
the plumage of a peacock
shaken by the breeze. How then can a man
attain to tranquility at any
time?
16. Wealth whether forthcoming or
unattainable, whether got by labour or
given by fortune, is all as deceitful to the
worldly minded, as the high
waters of rivers (swelling only to subside).
17. That such and such desirable acts are to
be done, are the constant
thoughts of men, who desire to please their
sons and wives, until they
are worn out with age and become crazy in
their minds.
18. Like leaves on trees that grow to fall,
and falling make room for
others to shoot forth, are those men who
devoid of reason, die away
daily to be born again.
19. Men having travelled here and there and
far and near, return to
their homes at the end of the day; but none
of them can have rest by day
or night, except the virtuous few that live
by honest dealings.
20. After quelling his enemies and getting
enough of riches in his
clutches, the rich man just sits down to
enjoy his gains; when death
comes upon him, and interrupts his joy.
21. Seeing the vile trash of worldly gains
earned and accumulated by the
basest means to be but transitory, the
infatuated mob do not perceive
their approaching dissolution.
22. Men loving their own lives, and making
mouths at the demise of
others, are like a herd of sheep bound to the
stake, and staring at the
slaughter of their fellows, yet feeding
themselves to fall as fattened
victims to death.
23. The multitude of people on earth, is ever
seen to appear in and
disappear from it as fast as the passing
waves of the sea, but who can
tell whence they come and whither they
return.
24. Women are as delicate as poisonous
creepers, that with their red
petaled lips and garments, and their eyes as
busy as fluttering bees,
are killers of mankind and stealers of their
ravished hearts.
25. Men are as passengers in a procession,
repairing from this side and
that to join at the place of their meeting.
Such is the delusive union
of our wives and friends here (for our
meeting in the next world).
26. As the burning and extinguishing of the
lamp depend on the wick and
its moistening oil; so does our course in
this transitory world (depend
on our acts and affections only). Nobody
knows the true cause of this
mysterious existence.
27. The revolution of the world is comparable
with that of the potter's
wheel and the floating bubbles of rain water;
that appear to be lasting
to the ignorant observer only.
28. The blooming beauty and graces (of
youth), are destined to be
snatched away at the approach of old age. The
youthful hopes also of men
fly at a distance like the bloom of lotus
buds in winter.
29. The tree which is ordained to be useful
to mankind by the loads of
fruits and flowers that it bears upon its
body, is fated also to be hewn
down by the cruel axe at last. How then can
beneficent men expect to
avoid the cruel hand of death.
30. Society with relatives is (of all others)
as perilous as that of a
poisonous plant; it is pleasant for its
domestic affections, which are
in reality but delusions of the soul.
31. What is that thing in the world, which
has no fault in it; and what
is that which does not afflict or grieve us;
what being is born that is
not subjected to death, and what are those
acts that are free from
deceit?
32. Those living a Kalpa age are reckoned as short-lived, compared
with those living for many Kalpas, and they again are so in respect to
Brahmā. Hence the parts of time being all
finite, the ideas of their
length or shortness are altogether false.
33. Things that are called mountains are made
of rocks, those that are
called trees are made of wood, and those that
are made of flesh are
called animals, and man is the best of them.
But they are all made of
matter, and doomed to death and decay.
34. Many things appear to be endued with
intelligence, and the heavenly
bodies seem to be full of water; but
physicists have found out by
analysis that, there is no other thing any
where except (minutiae of)
matter.
35. It is no wonder that this (unreal world)
should appear a miraculous
(reality) to the wise, and seem marvelously
striking in the minds of
mankind; since the visions in our dreams also
appear so very fascinating
to every one in their state of dreaming.
36. Those that are corrupted in their
greediness (after worldly
enjoyments), will not even in their old age,
receive the sermons on
their eternal concerns, which they think to
be false chimeras as those
of a flower or a creeper growing in the sky.
37. People are still deluded in their minds
in wishing to attain the
state of their superiors; but they fall down
still lower like beasts
(goats) from the top of a hill, in wishing to
lay hold on the fruits of
a verdant creeper out of their reach.
38. Young men spending their wealth in
personal gratifications, are as
useless as plants growing in the bowels of a
deep and inaccessible
cavern, which spread their fruits and
flowers, leaves and branches and
their shades to the use of nobody.
39. Men are found to resemble the black
antelopes (in their wanderings):
some of them roving about the sweet, soft and
beautiful sceneries of the
country, and others roaming in sterile tracts
and parts of boundless
forests. (i. e. Some living in the society of men, and others as
recluses from it).
40. The daily and diversified acts of nature
are all pernicious in their
nature; they appear pleasant and ravishing to
the heart for a time, but
are attended with pain in the end, and fill
the mind of the wise with
dismay.
41. Man is addicted to greediness, and is
prone to a variety of wicked
shifts and plots; a good man is not now to be
seen even in a dream, and
there is no act which is free from
difficulty. I know not how to pass
this state of human life.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MUTABILITY OF THE WORLD.
Rāma said:—
Whatever we see of all moveable or immovable
things in this world, they
are all as evanescent as things viewed in a dream.
2. The hollow desert that appears as the
dried bed of a sea to-day, will
be found to-morrow to be a running flood by
the accumulation of
rain-water in it.
3. What is to-day a mountain reaching the sky
and with extensive forests
on it, is in course of time levelled to the
ground, and is afterwards
dug into pit.
4. The body that is clothed to-day with
garments of silk, and decorated
with garlands and fragrance, is to be cast
away naked into a ditch
to-morrow.
5. What is seen to be a city to-day, and busy
with the bustle of various
occupations, passes in course of a few days
into the condition of an
uninhabited wilderness.
6. The man who is very powerful to-day and
presides over principalities,
is reduced in a few days to a heap of ashes.
7. The very forest which is so formidable
to-day and appears as blue as
the azure skies, turns to be a city in the
course of time, with its
banners hoisted in the air.
8. What is (to-day) a formidable jungle of
thick forests, turns in time
to be a table-land as on the mount Meru.
9. Water becomes land and land becomes water.
Thus the world composed of
wood, grass and water becomes otherwise with
all its contents in course
of time.
10. Our boyhood and youth, bodies and
possessions are all but transient
things, and they change from one state to
another, as the ever
fluctuating waves of the ocean.
11. Our lives in this (mortal) world, are as
unsteady as the flame of a
lamp placed at the window, and the splendour
of all the objects in the
three worlds, is as flickering as the
flashing of the lightning.
12. As a granary stored with heaps of grains
is exhausted by its
continued waste, so is the stock of life
spent away by its repeated
respirations.
13. The mind of man is as fluctuating as a
flag waving in the air and
filled with the dust of sin, to indicate its
wavering between the paths of heaven and
hell.
14. The existence of this delusive world, is
as the appearance of an
actress on the stage, shuffling her vests as
she trudges along in her
dancing.
15. It's scenes are as changeful and
fascinating as those of a magic
city; and its dealings as bewitching and
momentary as the glances of a
giggling girl.
16. The stage of the world presents us a
scene of continued dancing (of
the sorceress of deception), and the deceptive
glances of her eyes
resembling the fleeting flashes of lightning.
17. The days, the great men, their hey-days
and deeds (that are past and
gone), are now retained in our memory only,
and such must be our cases
also in a short time.
18. Many things are going to decay and many
coming anew day by day; and
there is yet no end of this accursed course
of events in this
ever-changeful world.
19. Men degenerate into lower animals, and
those again rise to humanity
(by metempsychosis), gods become no-gods, and
there is nothing that
remains the same.
20. The sun displays every thing to light by
his rays, and watches over
the rotations of days and nights, to witness
like time the dissolution
of all things.
21. The gods Brahmā, Vishnu and Siva and all
material productions, are
reduced to nothingness, like the submarine
fire subsiding under the
waters of the deep.
22. The heaven, the earth, the air, the sky,
the mountains, the rivers,
and all the quarters of the globe, are subject
to destruction like the
dry fuel by the all-destroying fire of the
last day.
23. Riches and relatives, friends, servants
and affluence, are of no
pleasure to him who is in constant dread of
death.
24. All these are so long delightful to a
sensible man, as the monster
of death does not appear before the eye of
his mind.
25. We have prosperity at one moment,
succeeded by adversity at another;
so we have health at one time, followed by
sickness soon after.
26. What intelligent being is there, that is not
misled by these
delusions of the world, which represent
things otherwise than what they
are, and serve to bewilder the mind?
27. (The world is as varying) as the face of
the skies; it is now as
black as dark clay, and in the next moment
bright with the golden hues
of fair light.
28. It is now over-cast by azure clouds
resembling the blue lotuses of
the lake, and roaring loudly for a time and
then being dumb and silent
on a sudden:
29. Now studded with stars, and now glowing
with the glory of the sun;
then graced by the pleasant moonbeams, and at
last without any light at
all.
30. Who is there so sedate and firm, that is
not terrified at these
sudden appearances and their disappearance,
and the momentary durations
and final dissolution of worldly things?
31. What is the nature of this world, where
we are overtaken by
adversity at one moment, and elated by
prosperity at another, where one
is born at a time, and dies away at another?
32. One that was something else before, is
born as a man in this life,
and is changed to another state in course of
a few days; thus there is
no being that remains steadily in the same
state.
33. A pot is made of clay, and cloth is made
of cotton, and they are
still the same dull materials of which they
are composed: thus there is
nothing new in this world that was not seen
or known before, and that
changes not its form. (i. e. all is but a formal and no material
change).
34. The acts of creation and destruction, of
diffusion, production, and
sustentation follow one another, as the
revolution of day and night to
man.
35. It happens sometimes, that an impotent
man slays a hero, and that
hundreds are killed by one individual; so
also a commoner becomes a
noble man, and thus every thing is changeful
in this varying world.
36. These bodies of men that are always
changing their states, are as
bodies of waters rising and falling in waves
by motion of the winds.
37. Boyhood lasts but a few days, and then it
is succeeded by youth
which is as quickly followed by old age: thus
there being no identity of
the same person, how can one rely on the
uniformity of external objects?
38. The mind that gets delighted in a moment
and becomes dejected in the
next, and assumes likewise its equanimity at
another, is indeed as
changeful as an actor.
39. The creator who is ever turning one thing
into another in his work
of creation, is like a child who makes and
breaks his doll without
concern.
40. The actions of producing and collecting
(of grains), of feeding
(one's self) and destroying (others), come by
turns to mankind like the
rotation of day and night.
41. Neither adversity nor prosperity is of
long continuance in the case
of worldly people, but they are ever subject
to appearance and
disappearance by turns.
42. Time is a skilful player and plays many
parts with ease; but he is
chiefly skilled in tragedy, and often plays
his tragic part in the
affairs of men.
43. All beings are produced as fruits in the
great forest of the
universe, by virtue of their good and bad
acts (of past lives): and
time like a gust of wind blasts them day by day before their
maturity.
CHAPTER XXIX.
UNRELIABLENESS OF WORLDLY THINGS.
Thus is my heart consumed by the wild-fire of
those great worldly evils,
and there rises in me no desire of enjoying
them, as there rises no
mirage from a lake.
2. My existence upon earth gets bitter day by
day, and though I have got
some experience in it, yet its associations
have made me as sour as the
Nimba plant by its immersion in water.
3. I see wickedness on the increase, and righteousness
on the decline in
the mind of man, which like the sour Karanja (crab) fruit, becomes
sourer every day.
4. I see honour is eaten up every day by
mutual altercations of men,
using harsh words to each other as they crack
the nuts under their
teeth.
5. Too much eagerness for royalty and worldly
enjoyments, is equally
prejudicial to our welfare; as we loose our
future prospects by the
former, and our present happiness by the
latter.
6. I take no delight in my gardens nor have
any pleasure in women; I
feel no joy at the prospect of riches, but
enjoy my solace in my own
heart and mind.
7. Frail are the pleasures of the world, and
avarice is altogether
intolerable; the bustle of business has
broken down my heart, and (I
know not) where to have my tranquility.
8. Neither do I hail death nor am I in love
with my life; but remain as
I do, devoid of all anxiety and care.
9. What have I to do with a kingdom and with
all its enjoyments? Of what
avail are riches to me, and what is the end
of all our exertions? All
these are but requirements of self-love, from
which I am entirely free.
10. The chain of (repeated) births is a bond
that binds fast all men by
its strong knots of the senses; those
striving to break loose from this
bondage for their liberation, are (said to
be) the best of men.
11. These haughty damsels whom the god of
love employs to ravage the
hearts of men, resemble a group of elephants
subverting a lotus bed
under their feet.
12. The treatment of the mind with pure
reason being neglected now (in
youth), it is hard to heal it afterwards (in
age), when it admits of no
cure.
13. It is the worldliness of man that is his
true poison, while real
poison is no poison to him. It is the poison
of worldliness which
destroys his future life, while real poison
is only locally injurious to
him (in his present state).
14. Neither pleasure nor pain, nor friends
nor relatives, nor even life
and death, can enchain (affect) the mind that
has received the light of
truth.
15. Teach me, Oh Brāhman! that art the best
of the learned in the
mysteries of the past and future, teach me so
that I may soon become
like one devoid of grief and fear and worldly
troubles, and may have the
light of truth beaming upon me.
16. The forest of ignorance is laid over with
the snare of desire, it is
full of the thorns of misery, and is the
dreadful seat of destruction
and the danger (of repeated births and
deaths).
17. I can rather suffer myself to be put
under the jaws of death with
his rows of teeth like saws, but cannot bear
the dreadly pains of
worldly cares and anxieties.
18. It is a gloomy error in this world to
think that I have this and
have not the other; it serves to toss about
our minds as a gust of wind
disperses the dust of the earth.
19. It is the thread of avarice that links
together all living beings
like a chaplet of pearls; the mind serves to
twirl about this chain, but
pure consciousness sits quiet to observe its
rotation.
20. I who am devoid of desires, would like to
break this ornamental
chain of worldliness, hanging about me as a
deadly serpent, in the same
manner, as a lion breaks asunder the net
(which is laid to ensnare him).
21. Do you now, O most learned sage, scatter
the mist which has
overspread the forest of my heart, and the
darkness which has overcast
my mind, by the light of true knowledge.
22. There are no anxieties, O sage! which
cannot be put to an end by the
society of good minded men; the darkness of
night can be well removed by
moon-beams.
23. Life is as fickle as a drop of water
pending on a mass of clouds
blown away by the winds. Our enjoyments are
as unsteady as the lightning
that flickers in the midst of clouds. The
pleasures of youth are as
slippery as water. With these reflections in
my mind, I have subdued
them all under the province of peace and
tranquility.
CHAPTER XXX.
SELF-DISPARAGEMENT.
Seeing the world thus ingulphed amidst the
abyss of hundreds of rising
dangers and difficulties, my mind is immerged
in the mire of anxieties.
2. My mind is wandering everywhere and I am
struck with fear at every
thing; my limbs are shaking with fear like
the leaves of a withered
tree.
3. My mind is bewildered by impatience for
its want of true contentment,
just as a young woman is afraid in a desert
for want of the company of
her strong handed husband.
4. The thoughts of my mind are entangled in
my desire for worldly
enjoyments, as stags are caught in the pit
strewn with grass over it.
5. The senses of an unreasonable man, ever
run astray to the wrong and
never turn to the right way; so the eyes of a
blind man lead him but to
fall into the pit.
6. Human thoughts are linked to the animal
soul as consorts to their
lords. They can neither sit idle nor ramble
at liberty, but must remain
as wives under the control of their husbands.
7. My patience is almost worn out, like that
of a creeper under the
winter frost. It is decayed, and neither
lives nor perishes at once.
8. Our minds are partly settled in worldly
things, and partly fixed in
their giver (the Supreme soul). This divided
state of the mind is termed
its half waking condition.
9. My mind is in a state of suspense, being
unable to ascertain the real
nature of my soul. I am like one in the dark,
who is deceived by the
stump of a fallen tree at a distance, to think
it a human figure.
10. Our minds are naturally fickle and
wandering all about the earth.
They cannot forsake their restlessness, as
the vital airs cannot subsist
without their motion.
11. Tell me Oh sage, what is that state of
life which is dignified above
others, which is unassociated with the
troubles (incident to birth and
death), unqualified by the conditions of
humanity, and apart from
errors, and wherein griefs are unknown.
12. (Tell me also) how Janaka and the other
good men, who are
conspicuous for their ceremonious acts, and
distinguished for their good
conduct, have acquired their excellence (in
holy knowledge).
13. (Tell me likewise) Oh source of my honor,
how a man, who is
besmeared all over his body with the dirt of
worldliness, may yet be
cleansed and get rid of it.
14. Tell me what is that knowledge, by
resorting to which, the serpents
of worldliness, may be freed from their
worldly crookedness, and become
straight in their conduct.
15. Tell me how the foulness of my heart may
regain its clearness, after
it is so much soiled by errors and tainted
with evils, like a lake
disturbed by elephants and polluted with
dirt.
16. How is it possible for one engaged in the
affairs of the world, to
be untainted with its blemishes, and remain
as pure and intact as a drop
of water on the lotus leaf.
17. How may one attain his excellence by
dealing with others as with
himself, and minding the goods of others as
straws, and by remaining
aloof from love.
18. Who is that great man that has got over
the great ocean of the
world, whose exemplary conduct (if followed)
exempts one from misery.
19. What is the best of things that ought to
be pursued after, and what
is that fruit which is worth obtaining? Which
is the best course of life
in this inconsistent world.
20. Tell me the manner by which I may have a
knowledge of the past and
future events of the world, and the nature of
the unsteady works of its
creator.
21. Do so, that my mind which is as the moon
in the sky of my heart, may
be cleared of its impurities.
22. Tell me what thing is most delectable to
the mind, and what most
abominable to it; as also how this fickle and
inconstant mind may get
its fixedness like that of a rock.
23. Tell me what is that holy charm, which
can remove this choleric pain
of worldliness, that is attended with
numberless troubles.
24. Tell me how can I entertain within my
heart, the blossoms of the
arbor of heavenly happiness, that sheds about
it the coolness of the
full-moon beams.
25. Oh ye good men! that are present and
learned in divine knowledge,
teach me so that I may obtain the fullness of
my heart, and may not come
to grief and sorrow any more.
26. My mind is devoid of that tranquility
which results chiefly from
holy happiness, and is perplexed with endless
doubts, that disturb my
peace as the dogs molest smaller animals in
the desert.
CHAPTER XXXI.
QUERIES OF RﾁMA.
Rāma said:—I have no reliance on the
durability of life, which is as
transient as a drop of water that sticks to
the point of a shaking leaf
on a lofty tree; and as short as the cusp of
the moon on Siva's
forehead.
2. I have no credit in the durability of
life, which is transient as the
swelling that take place in the pouch of a
frog while it croaks in the
meadow. Nor have I any trust in the company
of friends, which are as
dangerous as the treacherous snare of
hunters.
3. What can we do under the misty cloud of
error (overhanging our
minds), and raising our tempestuous desires
which flash forth in
lightnings of ambition, and burst out in the
thunder claps of
selfishness?
4. How shall we save ourselves from the
temptations of our desires
dancing like peacocks (and displaying their
gaudy train) around us; and
from the bustle of the world breaking in upon
us as thickly as the
blossoms of the Kurchi plant.
5. How can we fly from the clutches of cruel
Fate, who like a cat kills
the living as poor mice, and falls unwearied
and unexpectedly upon his
prey in the twinkling of an eye.
6. What expedient, what course, what
reflections, and what refuge must
we have recourse to, in order to avoid the
unknown tracks of future
lives?
7. There is nothing so trifling in this earth
below, or in the heavens
above, which ye gifted men cannot raise to
consequence.
8. How can this accursed, troublesome and
vapid world, be relished by
one unless he is infatuated by ignorance?
9. It is the fusion of desires, which
produces the milky beverage of
contentment, and fills the earth with
delights as the spring adorns it
with flowers.
10. Tell me O sage, how the mist of our
desires, which darkens the moon
of our intellects, is to be dispelled from
our minds, so as to make it
shine forth in its full brightness.
11. How are we to deal in this wilderness of
the world, knowing well
that it is destructive both of our present
and future interest?
12. What man is there that moves about in
this ocean of the earth, who
has not to buffet in the waves of his
passions and diseases, and the
currents of his enjoyments and prosperity.
13. Tell me, O thou best of sages, how one
may escape unburnt like
mercury (in its chemical process), when
fallen upon the furnace of the
earth.
14. (How can one get rid of the world) when
it is impossible for him to
avoid dealing in it, in the same manner as it
is not possible for
aquatic animals to live without their native
element.
15. Our good deeds even are not devoid (of
their motives) of affection
and hatred, pleasure and pain, similarly as
no flame of fire is
unaccompanied by its power of burning.
16. As it is not possible to restrain the
mind from thinking on worldly
matters, without the process of right
reasoning, deign to communicate to
me therefore, the dictates of sound reason
for my guidance.
17. Give me the best instruction for warding
off the miseries (of the
world), either by my dealing with or
renouncing (the affairs of life).
18. Tell me of that man of enlightened
understanding who had attained to
the highest state of holiness and tranquility
of his mind of yore, and
the deeds and manner by which he achieved the
same.
19. Tell me good sir, how the saints (of old)
fled out of the reach of
misery, that I may learn the same for suppression
of my erroneous
conceptions.
20. Or if there be no such precept (as I am
in need of) in existence, or
being in esse, it is not to be revealed to me by any body.
21. And should I fail of myself (by
intuition) to attain that highest
state of tranquility, then I must remain
inactive (as I am), and avoid
my sense of egoism altogether.
22. I will refrain from eating and drinking
even of water, and from
clothing myself with apparels; I will cease
from all my actions of
bathing and making my offerings, as also from
my diet and the like.
23. I will attend to no duty, nor care about
prosperity or calamity. I
will be free from all desires except that of
the abandonment of this
body.
24. I must remain aloof from all fears and
sympathies, from selfish
feelings and emulation, and continue to sit
quietly as a figure in
painting.
25. I will gradually do away with the
inspiration and respiration of my
breath and outward sensations; till I part
with this trifle—the seat
all of troubles—this the so called body.
26. I do not belong to this body, nor does it
belong to me, nor is any
thing else mine; I shall be null and void
like the oil-less lamp, and
abandon every thing with this body.
27. Vālmīki said:—Then Rāma who was as lovely
as the moon, and whose
mind was well fraught with reasoning, became
silent before the
assemblage of the eminent men, as the peacock
ceases from his screaming
before the gathering clouds in awe.
CHAPTER XXXII.
PRAISES ON RﾁMA'S SPEECH.
Vālmīki said:—When the prince Rāma (having
his eyes resembling the
petals of a lotus), had concluded his speech
calculated to remove all
ignorance from the mind.
2. All the men in the assembly had their eyes
beaming forth with wonder,
and the hairs on their bodies stood erect and
pierced through their
garments, as if wishing to hear the speech.
3. The assembly seemed for a moment to have
lost their worldly desires
in their eagerness after a stoic
indifference, and to be rolling in the
sea of nectar.
4. The audience remained (motionless) as the
figures in a painting,
being enraptured with internal delight at
hearing the sweet words of the
fortunate Rāma.
5. There were Vasishtha and Viswāmitra with
other sages, and the prime
minister Jayanta and other counsellors (of
the king) then seated in that
assembly.
6. There were also king Dasaratha and his
subordinate rajas, with the
citizens and foreign delegates, the
chieftains and princes, together
with Brāhmans and men learned in the Vedas
and divine knowledge.
7. These accompanied by their friends and
allies, with the birds in the
cages and the royal antelopes and steeds of
sport (about the palace),
listened to Rāma with fixed and mute
attention.
8. There were likewise the queen Kausalyā and
other ladies adorned with
their best jewels, and seated at the windows,
all mute and motionless.
9. Besides these the birds on the trees and
creepers of the princely
pleasure garden, were listening to Rāma
without fluttering their wings
or making any motion or sound.
10. There were the Siddhas and aerial beings,
and the tribes of
Gandharvas and Kinnaras, together with
Nārada, Vyāsa and Pulapa the
chiefs of sages (present at that place).
11. There were also some of the gods and
chiefs of gods, Vidyādharas and
the Nāgas, who heard the speech of Rāma which
was full of meaning and
clearness.
12. As Rāma whose eyes were beautiful as the
lotus, whose face was as
lovely as the moon, and who likened the
nocturnal luminary in the
atmosphere of Raghu's family, held his
silence.
13. Flowers were cast upon him from heaven in
showers by the hands of
the divine personages with their loud cheers
and blessings.
14. The people in the assembly were highly
regaled with the sweet scent
and beauty of these flowers of paradise
fraught with humming bees in
their cells.
15. These flowers when blown in the air by
the breeze of heaven,
appeared as they were clusters of stars,
which after their fall
brightened the ground with their beauty as
with the beaming smiles of
heavenly maids.
16. They appeared in the form of rain drops
falling from the clouds, and
blazing by the light of mute lightenings, and
scattering about like
balls of fresh butter.
17. They resembled also as particles of
snow-balls, or as the grains of
a necklace of pearls or as beams of
moon-light, or as the little billows
of the sea of milk, or like drops of
ice-cream.
18. There were also borne by the loose and
sweet winds of heaven, some
lotuses with long filaments, and attended by
clusters of bees humming
and flying about them.
19. There were also to be seen heaps of ketaki and Kairava, Kunda
and blue lotus flowers, falling and shining
brightly among them.
20. These flowers covered the court hall and
the roofs of houses and
their courtyards. The men and women in the
city raised their heads to
behold them falling.
21. The sky was quite unclouded when the
flowers fell incessantly from
above. A sight like this that was never seen
before struck the people
with wonder.
22. The shower of flowers fell for quarter of
an hour, but the Siddhas
from whose hands they fell were unseen all
the while.
23. The falling of the flowers having ceased
after the assembly was
covered with them, they heard the following
words, coming to them from
the divine personages in the sky.
24. "We have been travelling every where
in whole bodies of the Siddhas
from the beginning of creation; but never
have we heard any where so
sweet a speech as this.
25. "Such a magnanimous speech of
indifference as has been just now
spoken by Rāma—the moon of Raghu's race, was
never heard even by gods
like ourselves.
26. "We account ourselves truly blessed
to hear this highly charming and
wondrous speech from the mouth of Rāma
himself to-day.
27. "Indeed we are awakened and edified by
attending diligently to this
truly excellent speech, delivered by Rāma on
the ambrosial bliss of
asceticism, and leading to the highest
felicity of men".
CHAPTER XXXIII.
ASSOCIATION OF AERIAL AND EARTHLY BEINGS.
The Siddhas said:—
It behoves us to hear the decision of the
great sages, in reply to the
holy sermon, already delivered by the chief
of Raghu's race.
2. Come forward you great chiefs of the
sages, you Nārada, Vyāsa, Pulaha
and all ye great sages, and be ready (to
hear).
3. Let us descend to the full open court of
Dasaratha, which is as
bright as gold and free from stain, in the
manner of bees alighting on
the aureate and immaculate lotus.
4. Vālmīki said:—
So saying, the whole company of divine sages
alighted themselves in that
court from their aerial abode.
5. There Nārada the chief of sages, sat
foremost playing on his lute,
and in the midst was Vyāsa, with his dark
blue complexion resembling a
rainy cloud.
6. It was more over adorned with the presence
of the chief sages Bhrigu,
Angiras, Pulastya and others, with Chyavana,
Uddālaka, Usira, Saraloman
and many more about them.
7. Their garments of deer skins hang loosely
down as they embraced one
another. Their beads of rudrāksha moved in one hand, and their water
pots shook in the other.
8. Their bodies shed a lustre in the
Court-hall, resembling the yellow
light of the stars in the sky, and like the
beams of so many suns
blazing upon one another.
9. They appeared as a shower of moon beams or
as a halo about the full
moon, or as a circle about the orb of the sun
out of its season.
10. They looked like a circlet of gems of
varied colors, or like a belt
of pearls of great lustre.
11. Vyāsa appeared at the place where he sat,
to be as a dark cloud
amidst the stars; and Nārada was beheld upon
his seat as the white orb
of the moon amongst the starry group.
12. Here Pulastya shone as Indra among the
gods, and there Angirā blazed
as the sun amidst the heavenly bodies.
13. On seeing the body of Siddhas descending
from the sky on earth, the
whole court of king Dasaratha rose up (to
greet them).
14. There was a promiscuous assemblage of the
aerial and earthly sages,
whose commingled glory spread a lustre to the
ten sides of the Court.
15. Some of them held bamboo sticks in their
hands, and others had
lotuses in theirs. Some had put the sacred
grass in their crests, while
others had inserted some gems to the braids
of their hair.
16. Some had matted and tawny brown hairs on
their heads, and others
wore garlands of flowers on theirs. Some had
strings of beads for their
bracelets and others wore wristlets made of
the jasmine flowers.
17. Some were clothed in tatters, and others
wore garments made of bark,
while there were others who wore raiments of
silk. Some were girt with
girdles of grass and skin about their waists,
and others wore waist
bands with pendant strings of pearl.
18. Vasishtha and Viswāmitra honoured the
aerials one by one; with
respectful offerings and water and courteous
address.
19. The great body of the etherials also
honored Vasistha and Viswāmitra
in their turn, with water and offerings
worthy of them and with polite
speeches.
20. The king also honoured the gods and the
body of the Siddhas, who in
return greeted the monarch with inquiries
about his welfare.
21. Then the heavenly and earthly saints
interchanged their greetings
with one another with cordial welcomes and
gestures, and were all seated
afterwards on seats made of the kusa grass.
22. They next honoured Rāma, who lay bowing
before them, with gentle
words and congratulations accompanied with
shedding of flowers.
23. There were seated in that assembly the
sages:—Viswāmitra,
Vasishtha, Vāma Deva and the ministers of
state.
24. There were also Nārada, the son of
Brahmā, Vyāsa the greatest of
sages, Marīchi, Durvāsa and Angirā.
25. There were Kratu, Pulastya, Pulaha,
Saraloma, the great sage
Vātsāyana, Bharadwāja, Vālmīki the great bard
and sage.
26. There were also Uddālaka, Richika,
Sarjati as well as Chyavana.
27. These and many others versed in the Vedas
and their branches, and
knowing all things worth knowing, were the
leading members (of the
assembly).
28. Then Nārada and others joined with
Viswāmitra and Vasishtha in
addressing Rāma, who was sitting silent with
his face turned downwards;
and said:—
29. We admire the blest and graceful speech
of the prince which is
dignified with the spirit of stoicism that
breathes through the whole of
it.
30. It is full of thought, perspicuous,
elegant, clear, dignified, sweet
and worthy of noble minded men, by its lucid
style and wants of faults.
31. Who is there that is not struck with
admiration at the speech of
Rāma? It is well expressive of his thoughts,
correct in its diction
plain and sweet and agreeable to all:
32. It is rare to find one man among a
hundred who is so eloquent as to
combine dignity and force with a clearness
and sweetness, that may
command the admiration of all.
33. Who has such a clear head as our prince,
a head which is as
penetrating as the best pointed arrow, and as
fruitful and beauteous as
the creeping plant.
34. He is truly a man whose intellectual
light like that of Rāma's,
burns as the flame of a lamp within himself
and enlightens all about
him.
35. Man's blood, flesh, and bones with other
(parts of his body) serve
as machines to supply him with sensations of
external object; but there
is no intelligence in them.
36. Life and death, old age and troubles,
repeatedly overtake every man;
but they are beasts who are so infatuated as
never to think of these.
37. There is scarcely any man to be seen, who
is of so clear an
understanding as Rāma (the destroyer of his
enemies), who is able to
judge of the future by the past.
38. Rāma is the most excellent, admirable,
useful, and well shaped
person amongst men, as is the mango tree (in
the vegetable world).
39. It is only to-day that we see that a man
of Rāma's age has acquired
so much experience of the world, and such
extraordinarily mature an
understanding.
40. There are many such trees found growing
in every place as are
beautiful to see, easy of ascent, abundant in
flowers and leaves; but
there is no tree of paradise growing on
earth.
41. There may grow in every forest, trees
with goodly flowers and
leaves; but the extraordinary and fair clove
tree is not always to be
met with.
42. Rāma has displayed the wonder of his
knowledge, as the moon displays
her cooling beams and good trees their
clusters of blossoms, and as the
flowers diffuse their fragrance all about.
43. It is very difficult to get the essence
of true knowledge in this
accursed world, which is constructed by the
ungovernable and dominant
predestination (of our past acts for
misleading us to error and misery).
44. Those only are reckoned the best of men,
and leaders of the good,
who try their best to gain the essence of
truth, and whose minds are
fixed on glory as their best treasure.
45. We do not see any one in all this world,
who is equal to Rāma in
discrimination and magnanimity; nor shall
there be one like him in
future. This is our firm conviction.
46. If this speech of Rāma, which has filled
every one here with
admiration, fail to get its reply to the
satisfaction of Rāma's mind, it
is certain that all of us here, must pass for
senseless sages (on
earth).
YOGA VﾁSISHTHA.
BOOK II.
MUMUKSHU KHANDA
OR
THE MEANS OF FINAL LIBERATION.
CHAPTER I.
LIBERATION OF SUKADEVA.
After Rāma had delivered his speech in an
audible voice before the
assembly, he was tenderly accosted by the
sage Viswāmitra who sat before
him; saying:—
2. Rāma! that art the best of the most
intelligent, and hast nothing
more to learn besides all that thou hast come
to know by thy nice
observation.
3. Thou hast an understanding clear as the
mirror by its own nature
(reflecting every image within itself); and
yet thy queries about the
same, serve as the cleansing of the reflector
(in order to refract its
light to others).
4. Thou hast a mind like that of Suka—the son
of the great Vyāsa, who
knowing the knowable by intuition, was yet in
need of some precepts for
confirmation of his belief.
5. Rāma said: How was it sir, that Suka—the
son of the great Vyāsa—who
did not rest assured at first of his
knowledge of the knowable, came to
be settled in his belief afterwards.
6. Viswāmitra answered: "Hear me relate
to thee Rāma, the narrative of
Sukadeva, whose case was exactly like thine,
and the narration of which
is a preventive of future births (in this
world).
7. There is the great Vyāsa sitting on his
seat of gold by thy father's
side, swarthy in his complexion like a
coal-black hill, but blazing as
the burning sun (by his brilliancy).
8. His son was named Suka, a boy of great
learning and wisdom, of a
moon-like countenance, and a stature sedate
as the sacrificial altar.
9. He reflected in his mind the vanity of
worldly affairs like thyself,
and became equally indifferent to all its
concerns.
10. It was then that this great minded youth
was led by his own
discriminative understanding to a long
inquiry after what was true,
which he found out at last by his own
investigation.
11. Having obtained the highest truth, he was
still unsettled in his
mind, and could not come to the belief of the
certainty of his
knowledge.
12. His mind grew indifferent to its
perceptions of the transitory
enjoyments of the world, and like the Chātaka thirsted only after the
dew drops of heavenly bliss.
13. Once upon a time the clear sighted Suka
finding his father the sage
Krishna-Dwaipāyana—Vyāsa, sitting quietly
alone by himself, he asked
him with reverence; saying:—
14. Tell me, O sage! whence this commotion of
the world had its rise,
and how it may subside. What is its cause,
how far is it to extend, and
where is it to end?
15. The sage Vyāsa who knew the nature of the
soul, being thus asked by
his son, explained to him clearly all that was
to be said (on the
subject).
16. Suka thought that he already knew all
this by his good
understanding, and did not therefore think
much of his father's
instructions.
17. Vyāsa understanding the thoughts of his
son, replied to him saying
that, he knew no better the true nature of
these things.
18. But that there was a prince named Janaka
in this land, who well knew
the knowledge of the knowable, and from whom
Suka could learn every
thing.
19. Suka being thus directed by his father,
repaired to the city of
Videha at the foot of mount Sumeru, which was
under the rule of Janaka.
20. The club-bearer (door keeper) informed
the high minded Janaka of his
coming, telling him that Suka the son of Vyāsa
was waiting at the gate.
21. Janaka who understood that Suka had come
to learn from him, gave no
heed to the informant, but held his silence
for seven days afterwards.
22. The prince then ordered him to be brought
in the outer compound,
where he had to remain in the vexation of his
spirit for seven days more
as before.
23. Suka was then commanded to enter the
inner apartment, where he
continued a week more without seeing the
prince.
24. Here Janaka entertained the moon-faced
Suka with abundance of
eatables, perfumeries and lusty damsels.
25. But neither those vexations nor these
entertainments could affect
the tenor of Suka's mind, which remained firm
as a rock at the blasts of
wind.
26. He remained there as the full moon
(without any wane or increase),
tranquil in his desires, silent and contented
in his mind.
27. The prince Janaka having thus known the
(unalterable) disposition of
Suka's mind, had him introduced to his
presence, where seeing the
complacency of his soul, he rose up and bowed
down to him.
28. Janaka said: "You have accomplished
to the full all your duties in
this world, and obtained the object of your
heart's desire to its utmost
extent; what is it that you now desire for
which you are welcome at
mine".
29. Suka said: "Tell me my guide whence
sprang all this bustle (of
worldly life); and tell me also how it may
soon come to its
subsidence."
30. Viswāmitra said: Being thus asked by
Suka, Janaka spoke to him the
same things which he had learned from his
great souled father.
31. Suka then said: "All this I have
come to know long before by my own
intuition, and then from the speech of my
father in answer to my query.
32. "You sir, who are the most eloquent
of all, have spoken to the same
purport, and the same is found to be the true
sense of the Sāstras.
33. "That the world is a creation of
volition, and loses itself with the
absence of our desires; and that it is an
accursed and unsubstantial
world after all, is the conclusion arrived at
by all sages.
34. "Now tell me truly you long armed
prince, what you think this world
to be (whether a reality or unreality); that
my mind may be set at rest
by you from its wandering all about the world
(in search of truth)."
35. Janaka replied: "There is nothing
more certain, O sage! than what
you have known by yourself and heard from
your father.
36. "There is but one undivided
intelligent spirit known as the
universal soul and nothing besides; it
becomes confined by its desires,
and freed by its want of them.
37. "You have truly come to the
knowledge of the knowable, whereby your
great soul has desisted from its attachment
to objects of enjoyment and
vision.
38. "You must be a hero to have overcome
your desire in the lengthening
chain of attractive enjoyments from your
early youth. What more do you
want to hear?
39. "Even your father, with all his
learning in every science, and
devotedness to austerities, has not arrived
to the state of perfection
like you.
40. "I am a pupil of Vyāsa, and you are
his son; but you are greater
than both of us, by your abandonment of the
taste for the enjoyments of
life.
41. "You have obtained whatever is
obtainable by the comprehensiveness
of your mind; and as you take no interest in
the outer and visible
world, you are liberated from it, and have
nothing to doubt of."
42. Being thus advised by the magnanimous
Janaka, Suka remained silent
with his mind fixed in the purely supreme
object.
43. Then being devoid of sorrow and fear, and
released from all efforts,
exertions and doubts, he repaired to a
peaceful summit of the mount Meru
to obtain his final absorption.
44. There he passed ten thousands of rains in
a state of unalterable
meditation, till at last he broke his mortal
coil, and was extinguished
in the supreme soul like a lamp without oil.
45. Thus purified from the stain of
transmigration by abstaining from
earthly desires, the great souled Suka sank
into the holy state of the
Supreme Spirit, as a drop of water mixes with
the waters or merges into
the depth of the ocean.
CHAPTER II.
SPEECH OF VISWﾁMITRA.
Viswāmitra said:—
Rāma! it now becomes you to have your mind
properly purified from its
doubts, as it was done in the case of the son
of Vyāsa.
2. You see, O great sages! how perfectly the
knowable is known to Rāma,
whose good understanding has learnt to feel a
distaste for worldly
enjoyments, as if they were diseases unto
him.
3. You well know that the fixed principle in
the mind of one knowing the
knowable, is to have an aversion to all the
enjoyments of life.
4. It is the desire of fruition that chains
down a man fastly to the
earth; but the knowledge of the frailties
here serves to dispel his
darkness.
5. Know Rāma that it is the curtailing of
desires which the wise call
liberty, and the fastening of our desires to
earthly objects, is what is
termed our confinement here.
6. Spiritual knowledge is easily obtainable
by most men here, but a
distaste to (pleasurable) objects is hard to
be had (however painful it
is to procure them).
7. He who fully comprehends a thing, is said
to know it, and who so
knows what is knowable, is called a learned
man; no earthly enjoyments
can be delectable to such high minded men.
8. The mind that has no zest for earthly
pleasures, except the glory of
disinterested deeds, is said to be liberated
even in the present life.
9. As there grows no vegetable in a sterile
soil, so there grows no
disinclination to worldliness, until one
comes to know the knowable
reality (i. e. to say: neither the godly can be worldly, nor the
worldly be godly).
10. Hence know this supporter of Raghu's race
to have verily known the
knowable, which has made him disgusted with
his princely enjoyments.
11. I tell you great sages that, whatever Rāma
has come to know by his
intuition, requires to be confirmed by
Vasishtha for the tranquility of
his mind.
12. It is only a reliance in the Unity, that
Rāma now requires for his
repose, just as the beauty of autumn depends
on the clearness of the
firmament.
13. Let the venerable Vasishtha then reason
with the high minded Rāma,
and restore the peace of his mind.
14. For he is the master and family preceptor
of the whole race of the
Raghus; besides he is all knowing and all
seeing; and has a clear
insight (into all things) of the three times
(present, past and future).
15. Then addressing himself to Vasishtha he
said:—you well remember
sir, the instruction given us of old, for pacifying our
mutual enmity,
and promoting the welfare of the high minded
sages.
16. When our lord the lotus-born Brahmā,
seated on the table land of
Nishadha mountain, and shaded by the Sarala
trees, delivered his wise
lectures to us and the sages.
17. It is by means of that knowledge of
liberation that our worldly
desires are dispelled like the darkness of
night by sun-beams.
18. Please now, O Brāhman, to communicate
that rational knowledge of the
knowable to your pupil Rāma, whereby he may
gain the peace of his mind.
19. It will be no difficult task for you to
teach the spotless Rāma,
whose mirror-like mind is quite clear to take
the reflection.
20. The wisdom of the holy, their learning of
the Sāstras, and the
scholarship of the learned, are then only
praiseworthy, when they are
communicated to a good student, and those who
are disgusted with the
world.
21. But instruction given to one who is no
student nor disgusted with
the world, becomes as polluted as milk put in
a hide vessel.
22. Again the instruction imparted by one
devoid of passions and
affections, fear and anger, pride and sin,
serves to infuse tranquility
into the mind.
23. At these words of Viswāmitra the son of
Gadhi, the assembled sages
Vyāsa, Nārada and others, honoured his saying
with the exclamation
"bravo", "well said"
&c.
24. Then the venerable Vasishtha brilliant as
Brahmā his father, and
seated by the side of the king, spoke in
reply:
25. O sage, I will perform without fail, what
you have commanded me to
do, for who, though mighty, can refuse to
perform the behests of the
good and wise?
26. I will destroy the mental darkness of the
princes Rāma and others by
the light of knowledge, as we dispel the
gloom of night by the light of
a lamp.
27. I well remember the instructions which
were given of yore by the
lotus-born Brahmā on the Nishadha mountain,
for dispelling the errors of
the world.
28. Having said so, the high-minded Vasishtha
made up his mind as one
girds up his loins, to deliver his lecture to
Rāma for dispelling his
ignorance, and showing him the state of
supreme felicity.
CHAPTER III.
ON THE REPEATED CREATIONS OF THE WORLD.
Vasishtha said:—
"I will now expound to you Rāma! the
knowledge that was imparted of old
by our lord the lotus-born (Brahmā), after
creation of the world, for
the peace of mankind."
2. Rāma said:—I know sir, you will expound to
me the subject of
liberation in full length; but remove first
my fallacy about the frailty
of this world.
3. And how it was that, the great sage
Vyāsa—the father and guide of
Suka, did not attain to disembodied
emancipation (after his death) with
all his omniscience, while his son did so.
4. Vasishtha said:—(Hear me Rāma), there is
no counting of the atoms
proceeding from the spirit and forming the
three worlds both before and
after the birth of the glorious sun.
5. There is no body even who can count the
millions of orbs which at
present form the three worlds.
6. Nor can any one say by calculation, what
numbers of creation will
rise from the (unlimited) ocean of divine
existence, like its
interminable waves (for ever).
7. Rāma said:—It is needless to talk of
worlds gone by or yet to come;
say what you will of the present (state of
existence).
8. Vasishtha said:—This world consists of
brute, human and heavenly
beings, whose lives when they are said to
perish in any part of it are
really existent in the same part.
9. The mind is called to be ever-fluctuating,
and gives rise to (all
things in) the three worlds in itself. It
resides in vacuity in the form
of the heart, and the increate (God) also
residing in the vacuous soul
(gives the mind the power to realize the
latent ideas of the soul).
10. The millions of beings that are dead,
those that are dying and will
die hereafter, are all to be reborn here
according to the different
desires in their minds.
11. The external world appearing as a
reality, is in truth but a
creation of our desires; it is an ideal
castle in the air, and a magic
view spread before us.
12. It is as false as an earthquake in a fit
of delirium, as a hobgoblin
that is shown to terrify children, as a string
of pearls in the clear
firmament, and as the moving trees on the
bank to a passenger in the
boat.
13. It is an illusion as the phantom of a
city in a dream, and as untrue
as the imagination of a flower growing in the
air. The unreality of the
world best appears to one at the point of and
after his death.
14. But this knowledge of (the unreality of
the world) becomes darkened
upon one's being reborn on earth, when the
shadow of this world falls
again on the mirror of his sentient soul.
15. Thus there is a struggle for repeated
births and deaths here, and a
fancy for the next world after one's death.
16. After one's shuffling off his body, he
assumes another and then
another form, and thus the world is as
unstable as a stool made of
plantain leaves and its coatings.
17. The dead have no sensation of the earth
and other elementary bodies,
nor of the course of the world; but they fall
again to these errors upon
their being reborn here.
18. There is an interminable ignorance
resembling an immense river
enveloping the face of creation, and breaking
into streamlets of
unfordable ignorance.
19. The Divinity like a sea shoots forth in
the various waves of
creation, which rise incessantly and
plentifully one after the other.
20. All beings here are but the waves of this
sea, of which some are
alike to one another in their minds and
natures, while others are half
alike, and some quite different from the
rest.
21. I reckon yonder sagely Vyāsa as one of
the thirty two of these
waves, on account of his vast knowledge, and
good looking appearance.
22. There were twelve of them possessed of a
lesser understanding, they
were the patriarchs of men, and endued with
equal energy. Ten of them
were men of subdued spirits, and the rest
were adepts in their family
duties.
23. There will be born again other Vyāsas and
Vālmīkis, and likewise
some other Bhrigus and Angirās, as well as
other Pulastyas and others in
different forms.
24. All other men, Asuras and gods with all
their hosts are repeatedly
born and destroyed either in their former or
different shapes.
25. Like this there are seventy two Tretā
cycles in a Kalpa age of
Brahmā, some of which have passed by and
others to follow. Thus will
there be other people like those that have
gone by, and as I understand,
another Rāma and Vasishtha like ourselves (by
the eternal rotation of
ideas in the Divine mind).
26. There have been ten successive
incarnations of this Vyāsa, who has
done such wondrous acts, and is famed for his
vast knowledge.
27. Myself and Vālmīki have been
contemporaries many a time, as also
born in different ages and very many times.
28. We have been many times, and there were
others also like myself, and
so was I born also in many forms (in many
ages).
29. This Vyāsa will again be born eight times
hereafter, and again will
he write his Mahābhārata and the Purāna
histories.
30. He having divided the Vedas and described
the acts of Bhārata's race
(in the Mahābhārata), and established the
knowledge of Brahm (in the
Vedānta), is to attain to his disembodied
liberation (after his final
termination).
31. This Vyāsa who is devoid of fear and
sorrow, and has become tranquil
and emancipate in himself after subduing his
mind and discarding the
worldly desires is said to be liberated even
in his present life time.
32. The living emancipate may sometimes be
associated by his relatives
and estates, his acts and duties, his
knowledge and wisdom, and all his
exertions like other men's, or he may forsake
them all at once.
33. These beings are either reborn a hundred
times in some age or never
at all (as in the case of divine
incarnations), and depending on the
inscrutable will (Māyā) of God.
34. There souls undergo the like changes by
repetition, as a bushel of
grain, which is collected to be sown
repeatedly, and to be reaped again
and again (in the same or some other field).
35. As the sea heaves its incessant surges of
different shapes, so are
all beings born incessantly in various forms
in the vast ocean of time.
36. The wise man who is liberated in his life
time, lives with his
internal belief (of God) in a state of
tranquility, without any doubt in
his mind, and quite content with the ambrosia
of equanimity.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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