The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER XII.
GREATNESS OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE.
Vasishtha said:—
Rāma! I honor you as one of a perfect mind.
You know what to ask, and
understand what is spoken to you. I will
therefore go on speaking
respectfully to you.
2. Be still to attend to knowledge by keeping
your mind fixed in
yourself, and being freed from pride and
passions, incline yourself to
pure truth.
3. You are possessed of all the qualities of
an enquirer, and I those of
the speaker, in as much as there are gems in
the ocean.
4. You have gained my son the insouciance which is cognate with
reason, like the humidity of the moonstone
bearing its correlation with
the gentle beams of the moon.
5. Rāma! your long and early practiced pure
virtues and good qualities,
have raised your fame, as the long stretching
white fibers of the stalk
exalt the spotless lotus.
6. Now hear the words I tell you Rāma; for
you alone are fit to receive
them, as the moon only is able to open the Kumuda petals.
7. Whatever business or investigation is
undertaken by any body, it must
be brought to a happy close, tending to his
peace and tranquility (or to
his rest and quiet).
8. Had not there been the solace of philosophy
for men of good
understanding, what rational being could dare
to bear the misery brought
on in this world by ignorance.
9. All the faculties of the mind are absorbed
in the contemplation of
the Supreme, like the dissolution of the
rocks of boundary mountains by
the solar heat at the end of the (Kalpa) world.
10. Rāma! the intolerable cholic pain caused
by this venomous world, is
healed only by yoga meditation, as the poison of snake-biting is
removed by Garuda incantations.
11. The capacity of yoga is obtained by discussion of the Sāstras in
the company of good people, which alone can
furnish us with the great
charm of spiritual knowledge.
12. It must be owned that we lessen our woes
by acting with reason:
therefore reasonable men are never to be looked
upon with disregard.
13. The reasoning man gets released from his
worldly sickness, and quits
his frame which is full of diseases, as a
snake casts off his time worn
slough; and looks with a placid mind and calm
composure upon the magic
scenes of the world. Hence the fully wise man
is not subject to the
misery of the imperfectly wise.
14. The rough and uneven pleasure of the
world is but a disease to men,
and stings them like a snake. It cuts them as
a sword, and pierces them
as a spear. It binds them fast as by a rope,
and burns them as with the
fire, and blindfolds their understanding as
in the darkness of the
night. It makes them as prostrate and dull as
a slab of stone. It
destroys one's prudence and lowers his
position. It casts them into the
pit of error, and torments them with avarice.
Thus there is almost no
kind of trouble which does not betide worldly
minded men.
15. Worldliness is as dangerous a disease as
cholera, which unless it is
healed in time, is sure to trouble its
patient with the torments of
hell:—
16. Such as those caused by the eating of
stones, wounds of swords and
spears; being pelted with stones, burnt by
fire, and numbed by frost;
loosing of limbs, besmearing the body with
blood as with sandal paste;
by being bored by worms as worm-eaten trees,
and pricked in the body by
pikes and broomsticks, or pierced by the
fiery shafts and bolts
continually falling in battle. By toiling and
moiling in the sun and
working in cold and rain as in a summer
fountain house; or remaining
dumb and deaf and without rest or sleep, and
finally by loosing the head
(in war or penalty).
17. Under thousands of such intolerable pangs
of worldly life, no one
should remain negligent of his release from
this state; but ought to
think that it is his reflection in the
Sāstras only, that can produce
his real good.
18. Look here Rāma! on these great sages and
Rishis, these Brāhmans and
princes, who having fortified themselves by
the armour of wisdom, and
being liable to no pain or grief; have yet
engaged themselves to the
arduous affairs of this world with minds as
placid as yours.
19. Moreover there are many of the best of
men, who with their spiritual
light and pure understandings, reside in this
world as the gods Hari,
Hara and Brahmā, who were above all concerns
and fluctuating desires of
life.
20. The journey of this world is delightful
to one, who after the
removal of his errors and dispersion of the
cloud of his ignorance, has
come to the knowledge of truth.
21. That the serenity of the mind and calm
repose of the heart being
secured, all the senses are subjected to
peace, and every thing is
viewed in an equal light; and this knowledge
of the truth gives a
delight to our journey in this world.
22. Know also that, this body of ours is the
car, and these organs are
its horses, our breathings are the winds
blowing upon it, and the mind
is the driver that feels the delight of
driving; the atomic soul is the
rider who is conscious of wandering about the
world. The knowledge of
this truth makes our earthly journey a
pleasant one.
CHAPTER XIII.
ON PEACE AND TRANQUILITY OF MIND.
Intelligent men that have seen the spirit,
fix their sight upon it, and
rove about in the world as persons of great
and elevated souls.
2. They (that are liberated in this life),
neither grieve nor wish nor
ask for aught of good or evil (in this
world). They do their works as if
doing nothing (i. e. with indifference).
3. Those that rely on theirselves, remain
both quietly, as well as act
their parts with a calm serenity (of their
minds); and take no concern
either for what is noxious or delectable to
them.
4. Their coming and not coming, going and not
going, doing or not doing,
and speaking or not speaking are alike
indifferent to them.
5. Whatever acts or sights may appear
pleasant or disgusting to any
body, cease to affect them in any way after
they have come to know their
God (as the Author of all good).
6. The mind getting rid of its desires feels
a sweet composure
associated with a bliss as if descending from
the heavenly orb of the
moon all about it.
7. By being unmindful of worldly affairs and
regardless of all its
excitements, the soul is filled with a
felicity resembling the ambrosial
waters in the moon.
8. He who ceases to act his magical parts (in
this playground of the
earth), and desists from following his
inclinations and childish pranks,
shines forth in his spiritual light.
9. Such are the powers gained from spiritual
knowledge, and by no other
means whatever.
10. Therefore should a man try to seek and
know and adore the Supreme
soul, by means of his reasoning powers during
life.
11. It is the concordance of one's belief
with the precepts of the
Sāstra and his instructor, joined with his
constant meditation, that can
give him a full view of the Supreme spirit.
12. The fool slighting the Sāstra and its
instructions, and disregarding
the counsels of great men, are exposed to
difficulties and dangers from
which they can have no release.
13. There is no disease nor poison, nor
trouble nor affliction, so
painful to one in this earth, as the
ignorance which is bred in himself.
14. Those whose intellects are a little
purified, will find this work to
be of greater efficacy to dispel their
ignorance than any other
Sāstra.
15. This Sāstra with its beautiful examples
and pleasing lessons and
want of discordance, should be diligently
attended to by every body who
is a friend to good sayings and their senses.
16. Want of dignity, inextricable
difficulties, baseness and degeneracy,
are all offsprings of ignorance, as the
thorns are the offshoots of the
prickly Ketaki plant.
17. It is far better, O Rāma! to rove about a
begging with a pot in hand
to the abodes of the vile Chandālas, than
lead a life deadened by
ignorance.
18. Rather dwell in dark dismal cells or dry
dreary wells, and in the
hollow of trees, or remain as solitary blind
worms (under the ground),
than labour under the miseries of ignorance.
19. The man receiving the light leading to
his liberation, will never
fall into the darkness of error or gloom of
death.
20. So long will chill frost of penury
continue to contract the lotus of
humanity, as the clear light of reason does
not shine upon the mind like
the sun.
21. One must know the true nature of the soul
both from his preceptor
and the evidence of the Sāstras, as also from
friends like ourselves,
for the sake of liberating himself from the
misery of the world.
22. Try O Rāma! to imitate those that are
liberated in their life time,
who are free to roam about like the gods
Hari, Hara, and others, and as
the holy sages among Brāhmans.
23. Here (on earth) our miseries are as
endless as atoms, and our
happiness as little as a drop of water on the
stalk of a straw;
therefore do not fix your sight upon that
little happiness which is
beset by misery.
24. But let the intelligent man diligently
apply himself to the
attainment of that state of endless happiness
which is free from pain
and constitutes his highest consummation.
25. They are reckoned the best of men and
deserving of consummation,
whose minds are freed from the fever (of
worldly cares), and attached to
the transcendental state (of ultimate
beatitude).
26. Those base minded mortals that are
satisfied with their enjoyments,
eating and drinking, and the pleasures of
their worldly possessions, are
reckoned as stark-blind frogs (in a well).
27. All who are attached to the company of
imposters and wicked men, as
of those that are addicted to the practice of
evil deeds, and are
enemies in the garb of friendship, and are
given up to gluttony:—
28. Such foolish men of mistaken and stupid
minds fall into the hardest
of hardships, to the misery of miseries, and
the horror of horrors and
the hell of hells.
29. Happiness and misery destroy and succeed
each other by turns, and
are as fleeting as flashes of lightnings.
Hence it is impossible to be
happy for ever.
30. Those great souls who are indifferent and
well judging like
yourself, are known as the most honourable of
men, and worthy alike both
of temporal enjoyments and spiritual
emancipation.
31. By reliance upon right reasoning joined
with a habit of
dispassionateness, men are enabled to get
over the dark and dangerous
torrents of this world.
32. No man of reason should allow himself to
sleep (in negligence)
amidst the illusions of the world, well
knowing their noxious property
to derange the understanding.
33. Whoso remains neglectful in his
worldliness, resembles a man
sleeping negligent on a grassy bed when his
house is on fire.
34. What being arrived at, there is no
returning from it; and what being
gained, there is no cause of sorrowing; that
state is undoubtedly
attainable by divine knowledge only; and is a
certain truth.
35. Should there be no such future state, yet
there is no harm to
believe in it; but if there be such a state,
its belief will save you
from the (dreadful) ocean of this world.
36. Whenever a man is inclined to think on
the means of his salvation,
he is sure to be soon entitled to his
liberation.
37. The undecaying, unerring and fearless
state of tranquility, is no
where to be had in the three worlds, without
one's union (with the
Supreme).
38. Having gained that best of gains, no one
is liable to the pain from
which no wealth, friend or relation can save
any body.
39. Neither the actions of one's hands and
feet in his offerings and
pilgrimage to distant lands, nor the bodily
pains of asceticism, nor his
refuge in a holy place can serve his
salvation.
40. It is only by means of one's best
exertions and the fixing of his
mind to one object, as also by the subjection
of his desires, that the
ultimate state (of bliss) can be arrived at.
41. So it is by means of discrimination,
reasoning and ultimate
ascertainment of truth, that a man may avoid
the snares of misery, and
attain his best state.
42. One sitting at ease in his seat and
meditating within himself (the
nature of the soul), attains the blissful
state, which is free from
sorrow and future birth.
43. All holy men are known to be situated
beyond the bounds of the frail
pleasures (of this life); their optimum
quiescence is reckoned the
ultimate bliss.
44. They have given up all thoughts both of
humanity and heaven (i.
e. of both worlds), which are devoid of true felicity as the
mirage is
void of water.
45. Therefore should one think of subduing
his mind, and resort to peace
and contentment as the means (to happiness);
these joined with an
unbounded equanimity produce true happiness.
46. It is not to be had by sitting (quietly
at home), or going up and
down (from place to place); and neither by
wandering (in pilgrimage),
nor prostrating (before the altar). It is not
to be acquired by the
Rākshasas, demons, deities or ignorant men.
47. That ultimate felicity is born of and
obtainable from the peace of
mind: it is the fruit of the high arbor of
reason from its blossom of
peace.
48. Those that are engaged in worldliness but
do not mix in it like the
all-illumining sun, are known as the best of
men.
49. The mind that is at peace and rest, that
is clear and free from
errors, and without any attempt or desire,
doth neither forsake nor wish
for the world.
50. Hear me tell you of the warders at the
gate of salvation in their
order, some one of which being secured, one
may have his entrance into
it.
51. Thirst after pleasure is a state of
protracted disease, and this
world is full of mirage (all parched and
dry). It is equanimity alone
that can cool this dryness as the moistening
beams of the moon.
52. It is quiescence which leads to all good
and is reckoned the best
state of being. Quietism is felicity, it is
peace and the preventive of
error.
53. The man who lives content with his quiet
and a calm clearness of his
soul, with a mind fraught with stoicism,
makes friends of his enemies.
54. Those whose minds are adorned with the
moon light of quietism, feel
a flux of the beams of purity rising in them
like the hoary waves of the
milky ocean.
55. Those holy men who have the lotus-like
flower of quietism growing
in the lotiform receptacle of their hearts,
are said to have a secondary
heart like the two pericardiums of the god Hari (holding Brahmā in one
of them).
56. They whose untainted faces shine as the
moon with the lustre of
quiescence, are to be honoured as the
luminaries of their families, and
ravishers of the senses of others by the
charming beauty of their
countenance.
57. Whatever is beautiful in the three
worlds, and in the shape of
imperial prosperity and grandeur, there is
nothing in them that can
afford a happiness equal to that of quietism.
58. Whatever misery, anxiety and intolerable
difficulty (may overtake a
man), they are lost in the tranquil mind like
darkness in the sun.
59. The mind of no living being is so
delighted with moon beams, as that
of the peaceful man from his heart-felt joy.
60. The virtuous man that is calm and quiet,
and friendly to all living
beings, feels the benign influence of highest
truths appearing of
themselves in his mind.
61. As all children whether good or bad, have
a strict faith in their
mother, so all beings here have a reliance on
the man of an even
disposition.
62. Neither does a cooling ambrosial draught
nor the kind embrace of
prosperity, afford such gratification to the
soul, as one's inward
satisfaction of the mind.
63. Whether afflicted by diseases or
disasters, or dragged by the rope
of avarice, do you bear up yourself, O Rāma,
by the equanimity of your
mind.
64. Whatever thou dost and eatest with the
calm coolness of thy mind,
all that is sweeter far to the soul than
anything sweet to taste.
65. The mind that is overpowered by the
ambrosial flavour of quietism
and desists from activity, may have the body
lacerated (for a time), but
it will be filled up shortly.
66. Neither imps nor goblins, demons or
enemies, nor tigers nor snakes,
ever annoy a peaceful man.
67. He who has his mind and body well guarded
by the invulnerable armour
of meekness, can never be pierced by the
shafts of adversity; but
remains as the thunder-stone impenetrable by
arrows.
68. The king seated in his palace is not so
graceful to sight, as the
quiet peaceful man is graced by his
equanimity and clearness of
understanding.
69. No one is so delighted at seeing a thing
dearer than his life, as by
the satisfaction which he feels at the sight
of a contented and peaceful
man.
70. He who lives a holy life with his gentle
and peaceful conduct, is
said to be truly living in this world and no
other.
71. The sober minded, meek and honest man
pleases every one by all that
he does, and as it were captivates all beings
to himself.
72. He is called the meek who neither feels
pleasure or pain at the
sight, touch or hearing and tasting of
anything good or bad (to the
senses).
73. He who is indifferent to all objects, and
neither leaves nor longs
for any thing; but keeps his senses and
appetites under subjection, is
called a saint.
74. Whoso knowing all things both internally
as well as externally with
a clear understanding, attends and looks to
his own concerns, he is
verily said to be a saint.
75. He whose mind is as calm as moon beams
both at the approach of a
feast or fighting, and even at the moment of
death, is said to be a
saint.
76. Who though present at a place, neither
rejoices nor murmurs at any
thing, but remains as if he were absent from
it, and conducts himself as
quietly as if he were fast asleep; such a one
is called a saint.
77. He whose complaisant look casts a
graceful nectarious radiance on
all around him, is said to be a saint.
78. Who feels a cool calmness within himself,
and is not disturbed or
immerged in any state of life, and who though
a layman is not worldly
minded, such a man is termed a saint.
79. He who takes not to his mind the
tribulations of this life, however
long or great they may be, nor thinks this
base (bodily frame) to be
himself, is known to be a saint.
80. The man of the world who has a mind clear
as the firmament, and not
tainted (by worldliness), is said to be a
saint.
81. The quiet Platonic shines forth among
sages and ascetics, among
priests and princes, and among the mighty and
learned.
82. Great and meritorious men, whose minds
are attached to Quietism,
feel a rest rising in their souls like the
cooling beams of the moon.
83. Quietism is the utmost limit of the
assemblage of virtues, and the
best decoration of manliness; it shines
resplendent in all dangers and
difficulties.
84. Do you now, O Rāma! follow for your
perfection in the way in which
high-minded men have attained their perfect
state, by holding fast on
quietism as an imperishable virtue, preserved
by the respectable, and
never to be lost or stolen by any.
CHAPTER XIV.
ON THE ASCERTAINMENT OF AN ARGUMENT.
It must be the duty of one, whose
understanding is cleared and purified
by a knowledge of the Sāstras, to argue
incessantly with a guide knowing
how to reason aright.
2. The understanding when sharpened by
reasoning, comes to view the
transcendent state. It is reasoning which is
the only best medicine for
the chronic disease of worldliness.
3. The world is of the form of a wood of
troubles, shooting in sprouts
of endless desires which being once felled
under the saw of reason, will
germinate no more.
4. O wise Rāma! our understandings are
shrouded under unconsciousness at
the loss of our friends, at times of danger,
and even of quiet. It is
reason that is our only companion (at these
times).
5. There is no expedient for the learned and
wise except reason; it is
by means of reason that the minds of good
people can avoid evil and
secure their good.
6. All our strength and understanding, our
valour and renown, and the
ends of our actions, result from our
reasoning with the intelligent.
7. Reason is the lamp to show us the right
and wrong, and the instrument
for accomplishment of our desires:—by
reliance on right reason, one
crosses over easily the wide ocean of the
world.
8. Pure reasoning like a strong lion, tears
asunder the elephants of
great error, which ravage the lotus beds of
the mind (or mental
faculties).
9. If ignorant men have at any time attained
a better state in life, it
was all owing to the light of the lamp of
their reasoning.
10. Know O Rāghava that, dominion and fair
prosperity, together with our
enjoyments and eternal salvation, are all but
fruits of the celestial
Kalpa plant of reasoning.
11. The minds of great men, which are
expanded by reasoning here, are
never liable to be immerged under the
currents of calamity (but float
above them) like gourds upon water.
12. Those who conduct themselves with their
intellects shining forth
with reason, become the recipients of its
most liberal gifts.
13. Want of reason is like the thorny and
sour plant of Karanja
sprouting forth with blossoms of woe, and
growing in the brakes of
ignorant minds in order to shut out their
hopes and prospects.
14. Do you, O Rāghava! shake off the lethargy
caused by your neglect of
reasoning. This torpor darkens your vision as
it were by the inky powder
of collyrium, and maddens your mind as it
were, by the ebriety of wine.
15. The man of right judgement is not liable
to fall into the long and
dangerous maze of error (like others); but
remains as a blaze of light
amidst the gloom (of ignorance).
16. The reasoning faculties shine, as a bed
of lotuses in the limpid
lake of the mind: whoso has such a reasoning
mind, exalts his head as
high as the Himālayan height.
17. The man having a dull mind and incapable
of reasoning (of reason) as
a flash of lightning, like boys, sees false
apparitions about him.
18. Rāma, you must shun at a distance the
base unreasonable man, who
grows as plump as a Khanda cane to cause sorrow and resembles the
spring season to grow fresh weeds of evil.
19. Whatever misdeeds, misconducts and
mischances present themselves to
man, they are all the effects of his want of
the light of reason, and
lay hold on him like ghosts appearing in the
dark.
20. O support of Raghu's race, do you shun at
a distance the
unreasonable man of the nature of a solitary
wild tree, which comes to
no good use (to mankind).
21. The mind that is fraught with reason and
devoid of the impatience
attendant on worldly desires, feels the light
of transcendent quietism
shining in the soul with the full lustre of
the moon.
22. When the light of reason shines in any
person, it imparts the
coolness and good grace of moon-beams to all
things around him.
23. The reasoning power of man accompanied
with the flag of divine
knowledge and the silvery flapper of good
understanding, shines as
moon-light in the darkness of night.
24. Men with the good grace of their reason,
throw a radiance like that
of the sun on all sides about them, and
dispel the gloom of worldliness.
25. Reasoning serves to destroy the false
apparitions of errors which
present themselves to the minds of boys like
ghosts in the sky at night.
26. All things in the world appear as
charming (as if they were
realities); but they are (in fact) but
unrealities, and liken the clods
of earth that are broken (to pieces) by the
hammering stone of reason.
27. Men are their self tormenters by the
false imagination of their own
minds; it is reason alone that can drive away
this inveterate spectre
from the mind.
28. Know the fruit of the high arbor of
reason, to be the even,
unobstructed, interminable and independent
happiness called Kaivalya.
29. It is by means of reason and its evident
influence on the
deprivation of (physical) gratifications,
that there rises an unshaken
and exalted disinterestedness in the mind,
like the cooling beams of the
moon.
30. When the saint has reached his perfection
by means of the elixir of
judgement seated in his mind, he neither
desires for more nor leaves
(what he has).
31. The mind relying on that state of
equanimity and perceiving the
clear light (of truth within itself), has
neither its fall nor
elevation, but enjoys its inward expansion as
that of vacuum for ever.
32. One unconcerned with the world, neither
gives nor receives any
thing, nor feels himself elated or depressed
at any event, but views
every thing as an indifferent spectator.
33. He is neither torpidly cold nor does he
dwell on anything internally
or externally. He is neither inactive nor
merged in activity.
34. He slights the loss of anything, and
lives content with what he has;
he is neither depressed nor elevated; but
remains as full as the
(tideless) sea.
35. It is in this manner that the high-souled
and high-aspiring Yogis
conduct themselves in this world, with their
fullness (of joy) and
living as they are liberated in this life.
36. These saintly sages having lived as long
as they like (in this
earth), abandon it at last, and gain their
[Sanskrit: kaivalya] eternal
unity (after death).
37. The sapient man should intently consider
within himself, who and
whose he is, what is his family and by whom
he is surrounded, and think
on the remedy (of his worldliness).
38. It is the king, O Rāma! who well knows the
difficult and doubtful
state of the business (before him); and his
success or failure depends
solely on his right judgement and on nothing
else.
39. It is the dicta and data established
by the Veda and Vedānta
that form the grounds of our evidence, and
these are to be ascertained
by our reason as by the help of a lamp in the
gloom of night.
40. The bright eye-sight of reason, is
neither blinded by the darkness
(of night), nor dimmed by the full blaze (of
the day), even when it has
to view things (situated) at a distance.
41. He who is blind to reason is as one born
blind, and a demented man
is an object of universal pity; but the man
with a reasoning soul is
said to be possessed of divine eye-sight, and
becomes victorious in all
things (he undertakes).
42. The miraculous power of reason is
acknowledged to be a divine
attribute and an instrument to highest
felicity; wherefore it is not to
be lost sight of for a moment.
43. The man graced by reason is loved even by
the great, as the
delicious and ripe mango fruit is delectable
to all.
44. Men with their minds illumed by the light
of reason, are like
travellers acquainted with their way, and are
not liable to pit falls of
incessant danger and misery.
45. Neither doth the sick man nor one beset
by a hundred evils wail so
bitterly, as the ignorant man whose soul is
deprived of reason.
46. Rather leap as a frog in the mud, or
creep as a worm in the dirt,
rather lie as a snake in a dark cell or crawl
on the ground, than walk
as a man devoid of reason.
47. Therefore get rid of unreasonableness
which is the abode of all your
dangers, is reprobated by the wise (as the
bane of mankind), and is the
terminus of all your calamities.
48. Great men must always be in full
possession of their reasoning,
because those unsupported by their reason are
liable to fall into the
pits of darkness.
49. Let every one keep his soul under the
control (of his own reason),
and by this means, deliver the fawn of his
mind from falling into the
mirage of this world.
50. It is the province of reasoning to
consider logically in one's self,
whence the evil, known as worldliness, had
its rise.
51. The thick mist of error is only for the
continued misery of man, and
it prevails on the stony minds of those that
are demented by the loss of
reason.
52. The wise that hold fast on the truth and
forsake all untruth in this
world, are yet unable to discern their true
natures without the aid of
reason.
53. It is by means of reason that one comes
to the knowledge of truth;
and by means of truth that he gets the peace
of his mind; and it is the
tranquility of the mind that dispels the
misery of men.
54. Now Rāma, do you take delight in such
acts as may be productive of
utility to the world, and whereby you may
arrive to perfection. Weigh
all things with the clear eye of reason,
which will make you blessed for
ever.
CHAPTER XV.
ON CONTENTMENT.
Vasishtha continued:—Contentment is the chief
good; contentment is
called the (true) enjoyment; and the
contented man, O thou destroyer of
enemies, gets the best repose.
2. Those who are happy with their prosperity
of contentment, and possess
the calm repose of their souls, are as holy
saints, and think a
sovereignty no better than a bit of rotten
straw.
3. Whoever retains a contented mind amidst
all the affairs of the world,
he is never disturbed O Rāma, in adverse
circumstances nor ever dejected
(in his spirit).
4. The saints that are satisfied with the
ambrosial draught of
contentment, think the highest affluence and
enjoyments (of the rich)
but poison (to their souls).
5. Even the waves of liquid nectar fail to
afford that pleasure, which
the sweetest taste of contentment—the healer
of all evils; gives to its
possessor.
6. Abandonment of unfruitful desires and
calmness in those that are
obtained, feeling no pain at and having no
sense of pleasure (in any
thing), constitute what is called contentment
here below.
7. Until the mind can enjoy the contentment
rising spontaneously in the
soul of itself, so long will troubles
continue to grow in it as briars
and brambles in a bog.
8. The mind cooled by calm contentment, and
purified by the light of
philosophy, is always in its full bloom as
the lotus under sun-beams.
9. The ungoverned mind which is under the
subjection of desires and
devoid of contentment, does not receive the
light of knowledge, as a
soiled mirror takes no reflection of the
face.
10. The man whose mind is always bright with
the sunshine of
contentment, does not shrivel itself like the
lotus in the dark night of
ignorance (or adversity).
11. A man though poor, enjoys the happiness
of sovereignty, who is
devoid of diseases and anxieties, and whose
mind is contented.
12. He is called a contented man, who does
not long after what he is not
possessed of, and enjoys what he has in its
right manner, and is always
graceful in his manners.
13. There is a beauty shining in the face of
one, whose mind has the
satisfaction of contentment, the fulness of
magnanimity and the purity
of thoughts like that of the milky ocean in
it.
14. Let a man entertain his self-possession
within himself, and abandon
his craving of all things, by reliance on his
manly exertions.
15. He whose mind is full with the ambrosia
of contentment and a calm
and cool understanding, acquires a perpetual
composure within himself,
as it were by the cooling beams of the moon.
16. All great fortunes wait on him whose mind
is strengthened by
contentment, as if they were his servants,
and as they remain in
attendance upon a king.
17. One remaining content and composed in
himself, quells all his
anxieties and cares, as the rains set down
the dust of the earth.
18. Rāma! a man shines by the contentment of
his mind and the purity of
his conduct, as the cooling and spotless moon
when she is full.
19. No one receives so much delight from his
accumulation of wealth, as
he derives from the sight of the beautiful
placid countenance (of a
contented person).
20. Know, O thou delight of Raghu's race!
that the best of men who are
decorated with grace of equanimity (the only
quality that adorns the
wise), are more honoured both by gods and sages
than any.
CHAPTER XVI.
ON GOOD CONDUCT.
Vasishtha resumed saying:—
Know, O highly intelligent Rāma! that the
company of the virtuous is
everywhere of the greatest benefit to men for
their crossing over the
ocean of the world.
2. It is the arbour of virtuous company that
produces the fresh blossom
of discrimination; which being cherished by
high-souled men, yields to
them its fruits of prosperity.
3. The society of the learned makes solitude
appear as company, and the
evil of death as good as a festivity; and
converts a difficulty to ease.
4. It is the society of the virtuous which
wards off all disasters, that
like the frost, invade the lotus beds of our
hearts; and baffle the icy
breath of ignorance (which deadens our
souls).
5. Know the society of the virtuous to be the
best improver of the
understanding, the destroyer of the tree of
ignorance; and remover of
all our mental diseases.
6. The society of the virtuous produces the
light of reason, which is as
charmingly fair as a cluster of flowers after
its being washed by
rain-water.
7. It is the influence of virtuous company
that teaches us the best mode
of life, which is never impaired or
obstructed by anything, and is ever
full in itself.
8. Let no man ever keep himself from the
association of the virtuous,
though he is involved in utmost distress, and
cast in irremediable
circumstances.
9. The society of the virtuous, lends a light
to the right path. It
destroys the internal darkness of man, by the
rays of the sun of
knowledge.
10. Whoever has bathed in the cold and clear
stream of good company is
not in need of the merit derived from acts of
charity, pilgrimage,
austerity and sacrifice.
11. Whoever has the society of virtuous men,
and whose lives are free
from passions and sins, and doubts and the
knots (of scruples in their
hearts), of what use is (the observance of)
austerity, or (performance
of) pilgrimage (to him)?
12. Blessed are the peaceful in their minds,
who are viewed with as
great an ardour by people, as poor men fondly
dote upon gems and jewels.
13. The intelligent mind with its
gracefulness derived from good
company, shines always as the goddess of
riches in the company of fairy
nymphs.
14. Therefore that blessed man is renowned as
having attained the crown
of a clear understanding, who never abstains
himself from the company of
the holy.
15. Hence all unscrupulous believers, holy
men and those who are revered
by people, are to be served by all means for
crossing over the ocean of
the world.
16. Surely do they serve as dry fuel to
hell-fire, who neglect the
company of the saints, which is known as rain
water to extinguish the
flames of hell.
17. The medicine of holy association, serves
to allay entirely all the
afflictions consequent to poverty and death
and tribulations of worldly
affairs.
18. Contentment, society of the virtuous,
ratiocination and quietism,
are the several means for crossing over the
ocean of the world by
mankind.
19. Contentment is reckoned as the best gain,
good company the right
course, reasoning the true knowledge, and
quietism the highest bliss (of
man).
20. These are the four surest means to break off
the trammels of the
world, and whoever is practiced in these, has
surely passed over the
erroneous waters of the terrestrial sea.
21. Learn, O best of the intelligent! that
the practice of some one of
these pure virtues, leads to an assuetude of
all the four (cardinal
virtues).
22. Every one of these separately is a leader
to the others; wherefore
diligently apply yourself to one of these for
your success in getting
them all.
23. Association with the good, contentment,
right reasoning, and good
judgement, joined with peace and tranquility,
serve as cargo-ships in
the ocean of the world.
24. All prosperity attends on him who is
possessed of reason,
contentment, quietism and the habit of
keeping good company, like the
fruits of the kalpa tree (satisfying every desire).
25. The man possessed of reasoning,
contentment, quietude, and a
proclivity to keep good company, is attended
by every grace, as all the
digits unite in the full moon.
26. The happy mind which is fraught with
contentment, quietness,
reasoning power, and a tendency to good
company, meets with the
prosperity and success, as they attend on
kings (who are) guided by (the
counsels of) good ministers.
27. Therefore, O delight of Raghu's race! do
you bravely govern your
mind, and always practise with diligence some
one of these virtues (for
your conduct in life).
28. Exert your best manliness to subdue your
elephantine mind, and know
that until you have mastered one of these
cardinal virtues, you can make
no progress (in holiness).
29. It must be, O Rāma! that you shall have
to set your heart to work by
the exertion of your manliness and the
gnashing of your teeth, for your
success in meritorious deeds.
30. For whether you be a god or yaksha or a man or an arbor, you
cannot, O long-armed Rāma! have a better
course till then (i. e.
before mastering one of these qualities).
31. As soon as one of these virtues is
strengthened and made fruitful in
you, it will serve to weaken the force of the
faults of your
ungovernable mind.
32. The cultivation of virtues leads to their
full growth and
suppression of vice; but the fostering of
vice will (on the other hand)
conduce to the increase of vices and
suppression of good qualities.
33. The mind is a wilderness of errors, in
which the stream of our
desires is running with full force, amidst
its two banks of good and
evil whereon we hold our stand.
34. It bears away and throws the man on that
bank which he strives to
reach by his own exertion, therefore O Rāma,
do as you like to reach to
either shore.
35. Now try by degrees with all the exertion
of your manly force, to
turn the course of your desires towards the
happy shore in the forest of
your mind; and know, O high-minded Rāma; that
one's own disposition is
as a rapid current to him, which must not be permitted
to bear him away
(to the perilous coast).
CHAPTER XVII.
ON THE CONTENTS OF THE WORK.
Thus, O progeny of Raghu! it is the reasoning
soul that is worthy of
attending to the words of wisdom, as a prince
(is inclined to listen) to
a discourse on polity.
2. The clear and high-minded man, who has
renounced the company of
stupid folks, is capable of fair reasoning,
as the clear sky has the
capacity of receiving the moon-light.
3. You who are replete with the entire grace
of this quality, should now
attend to the words, that I say, to remove
the errors of your mind.
4. He, the arbour of whose merits is bending
down with the load of its
fruits, feels a desire to hear these words
for the sake of his
salvation.
5. It is the noble minded only and not the
base, that are receptacles of
grand and holy sermons conferring the
knowledge of their future state.
6. This collection consisting of thirty-two
thousand stanzas, is deemed
as containing the essence of the means
conducing to liberation, and
conferring the final annihilation (of our
being).
7. As a lighted lamp presents its light to
every waking man, so does
this work effect the ultimate extinction of
every person whether he
would like it or not.
8. One's knowledge of this work whether by
his own perusal or hearing of
it from the rehearsal of others, tends to the
immediate obliteration of
his errors and augmentation of his delight,
as it is done by the holy
river of heaven (Ganges).
9. As the fallacy of a snake in the rope is
removed by examining it, so
the fallacy of the reality of the world is
removed by perusal of this
work, which gives peace to one who is vexed
with and tired of the
world.
10. It contains six books all fraught with
sentences full of reason, and
each distinct from the other in its import.
It has many verses
containing chosen examples on all subjects.
11. The first book treats of Indifference,
and causes the growth of
apathy (in the mind) like that of a tree in
the desert soil.
12. It contains one thousand and five hundred
stanzas, which being well
considered in the mind, must impart a purity
to it like the lustre of a
gem after its polish.
13. The next book dwells on the conduct of
one longing after his
liberation, and contains a thousand slokas
arranged in judicious order.
14. It describes the nature of men desiring
their liberation. Then
follows the book on the creation of the
world, and filled with
narratives and examples (of various kinds).
15. It has seven thousand stanzas teaching
sound philosophy about the
spectator and spectacle of the world in the
forms of—I and thou,
designated the ego and non-ego.
16. It contains a description of the
production of the world from its
state of non-existence. A diligent attention
to this chapter will convey
a full knowledge of this world into the mind
of the hearer.
17. This ego and non-ego, and
this vast expanse with all the worlds,
space and mountains, are (to be viewed) as
having no form nor
foundation, and as there are no such things
(in reality).
18. There are no elements as the earth and
others which exist in our
fancy only, and are like phantoms appearing
in a dream, or as aerial
castles and chimeras of the mind.
19-20. They resemble the moving hills on the
shore to one passing in a
boat, without any actual movement in them; or
liken the hobgoblins
appearing to an unsound mind. Such is the
appearance of the world
without any seed or source or origin of its
own.
21. It is as the impression of a tale in the
mind, or the sight of a
chain of pearls in the sky, or taking a
bracelet for its gold or a wave
for the water (i. e. taking the appearance for its cause, or the
phenomena for the noumena).
22. Or as the blueness of the sky is always
apparent to sight without
its reality, and evercharming to behold
without the existence of any
colour in it.
23. Thus whatever unreal wonders always
appear to us in our dreams or in
the sky, they are but the resemblances of a
fire in a picture, which
seems to be burning without having any fire
in it.
24. The word "jagat" or passing, is appropriately applied to the
transitory world, which passes like the sea
with its heaving waves,
appearing as a chain of lotus flowers in
dancing.
25. It is (as false) as one's imagination of
a body of waters at a spot,
from the sound of the ruddy geese (that live
by rivers); and (as
useless) as a withered forest in autumn, when
the leaves and fruits fall
off, and yield neither shade nor luscious
nutriment, (to the traveller).
26. It is full with delirious cravings as of
men at the point of death,
and as dark as caverns in the mountains.
Hence the efforts of men are
but acts of their phrenzy.
27. It is better to dwell in the clear sky of
the autumnal (atmosphere
of) philosophy, after subsidence of the frost
of ignorance, than to view
at this world, which is no more than an image
at a post or a picture
upon the wall.
28. Know all sensible and insensible things
to be made of dust (to be
reduced to dust again). Next follows the book
on Existence.
29. It contains three thousand stanzas full
of explanations and
narratives, showing the existence of the
world to be a form (or
development) of the essence of the Ego (in a subjective light).
30. It treats of the manner in which the
spectator (Ego) is manifest
as the spectacle (non-ego), and how the ten-sided sphere of the arbour
of the world is manifest both as the
subjective and objective (at the
same time).
31. It has thus arrived at its development
which is said to be
everlasting. Next follows the book on
quietude consisting of five
thousand stanzas.
32. The fifth is styled the book on holiness,
containing a series of
excellent lectures, and shewing the erroneous
conception of the world,
as I, thou and he (as distinct existences).
33. It is the suppression of this error,
which forms the subject of this
book; and the hearing of the chapter on
quietude, serves to put an end
to our transmigration in this world.
34. After suppression of the train of errors,
there still remain slight
vestiges of it to a hundredth part, as the
dispersed troops in a picture
afford us some faint idea of them.
35. Aiming at the object of another person is
as vain as looking at the
beauty of an imaginary city, and sitting in
expectation of an
unattainable object. It is as a noisy
fighting for something in sleep.
36. It is as vain as a man of unsubdued
desires, bursting into a roaring
like that of the loud and tremendous
thunder-claps, and as the raising
of a city on the model of one's effaced
impressions in a dream.
37. It is as vain as a would-be city, with
its garden and flowers and
fruits growing in it: and as a sterile woman
bragging of the valorous
deeds of her unborn and would-be sons.
38. Or when a painter is about to draw the
picture of an imaginary city
on the ground work of a chart, by forgetting
to sketch a plan of it
beforehand.
39. It is as vain as to expect evergreen
herbage and fruitage of all
seasons, and the breeze of an ungrown arbour;
or to it in a future
flowery parterre, pleasant with the sweets of
spring.
40. Then follows the sixth book entitled
annihilation, which is as clear
as the waters of a river after subsidence of
its billows within itself.
41. It contains the remaining number of
slokas, (i. e. 14500
Stanzas
of the aggregate number of 32000 Slokas
composing the entire work), a
knowledge of these is pregnant with great
meanings, and the
understanding of them leads to the chief good
of utter extinction and
pacification of desires.
42. The intellect being abstracted from all
its objects, presents the
manifestation of the soul, which is full of
intelligence and free from
all impurity. It is enveloped in the sheath
of infinite vacuity, and is
wholly pure and devoid of worldly errors.
43. Having finished its journey through the
world and performed its
duties here, the soul assumes a calmness as
that of the adamantine
column of the sky, reflecting the images of
the tumultuous world
(without changing itself).
44. It rejoices exceedingly at its being
delivered from the innumerable
snares of the world, and becomes as light as
air by being freed from its
desire of looking after the endless objects
(of its enjoyments).
45. The soul that takes no notice of the
cause or effect or doing of any
thing, as also of what is to be avoided or
accepted (i. e. which remains
totally indifferent to every thing), is said
to be disembodied though
encumbered with a body, and to become
unworldly in its worldly state.
46. The intelligent soul is compared to a
solid rock, compact and
without any gap in it. It is the sun of
intelligence which enlightens
all people, and dispels the darkness of ignorance.
47. (This soul) though so very luminous, has
become grossly darkened (in
its nature), by being confined to the vile
fooleries of the world, and
wasted by the malady of its cravings.
48. When freed from the chimera of its egoism, it becomes incorporeal
even in its embodied state, and beholds (the
glory of) the whole world
as it was placed at the point of one of the
myriads of hairs (on its
body), or like a bee sitting on a flower upon
the Sumera mountain.
49. The intelligent and vacuous soul contains
and beholds in its sphere
a thousand glories of the world, shining in
each atom, as it was in a
mirror.
50. It is not even possible to thousands of
Haris, Haras and Brahmās, to
equal the great minded sage in the extent of
his comprehensive soul;
because the liberated have their chief good
(of internal joy) stretched
to a far greater limit than any.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the collection)
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