The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER II.—Rāma's Recapitulation of Vasishtha's
Lectures.
Argument. Performance of Daily Rites, and
Rāma's Reflection of
Vasishtha's Teaching at night.
Vālmīki continued his relation to Bharadwāja
and said:—After the
moon-bright princes had got to their
residence, they discharged their
daily services according to the diurnal
ritual.
2. Even Vasishtha and the other saints,
sages, and Brāhmans not
excepting the king and the princes, were all
engaged in their holy
services at their own houses.
3. They bathed in the sacred streams and
fountains, filled with floating
bushes of lotuses and other aquatic plants,
and frequented by the ruddy
geese, cranes and storks on their border.
4. After they had performed their ablutions,
they made donations of
lands and kine, of seats and beddings and of
sesamum grains, with gold
and gems, and food and raiments to the holy
Brāhmans.
5. They then worshipped the gods Vishnu and
Siva in their temples, and
made oblations to the sun and regents of the
skies in their own houses,
with offerings of gold and gems; which are
sacred to particular deities
and the planets. (Particular gems and metals
are sacred to their
presiding divinities).
6. After their offerings were over, they
joined with their sons and
grandsons, friends, and relatives, and their
guests also, in partaking
of their lawful food. (Unlawful food is
hateful to the faithful).
7. Shortly after this, the daylight faded
away at the eighth watch
(yamārdha) of the day; and the charming scene
of the city began to
disappear from sight.
8. The people then employed themselves to
their proper duties at the
decline of the day, and betook to their
evening service with the failing
beams of the setting sun.
9. They recited their evening hymn (Sandhyā),
repeated their
japamantras, and uttered their prayer for the forgiveness of sins
(agha marshana); they read aloud their hymns and sang their evening
song of praise.
10. Then rose the shade of night to allay the
sorrow of lovelorn
damsels, as the moon arose from the milky
ocean of the east, to cool the
heat of the setting sun.
11. The princes of Raghu's race then reclined
on their downy and flowery
beds, sprinkled over with handfuls of camphor
powder, and appearing as a
sheet of spreading moon-light.
12. The eyes of all men were folded in sleep,
and they passed the
live-long night as a short interval; but Rāma
kept waking in his bed,
meditating on all things he had heard from
the sage.
13. Rāma continued to reflect on the lectures
of Vasishtha, which
appeared as charming to him, as the cry of
the parent elephant, is
gladsome to its tender young (karabha).
14. What means this wandering of ours, said
he, in this world, and why
is it that all these men and other animals,
are bound to make their
entrances and exits in this evanescent
theatre?
15. What is the form of our mind and how is
it to be governed? What is
this illusion (Māyā) of the world, whence
hath its rise and how is it to
be avoided?
16. What is the good or evil of getting rid
of this illusion, and how
does it stretch over and overpower on the
soul, or is made to leave it
by any means in our power?
17. What does the muni say with regard to the means, and effect of
curbing the appetites of the mind? What does
he say regarding the
restraining of our organs, and what about the
tranquillity of the soul?
18. Our hearts and minds, our living souls
and their delusion, tend to
stretch out the phenomenal world before us;
and our very souls make a
reality of the unreal existence.
19. All these things are linked together in
our minds, and are weakened
only by the weakening of our mental
appetites. But how are these to be
avoided in order to get rid of our misery.
20. The slender light of reason is
over-shadowed, like a single crane in
the air, by the dark cloud of passions and
appetites; how am I then to
distinguish the right from wrong, as the
goose separates the milk from
the water?
21. It is as hard to shun our appetites on
the one hand, as it is
impossible to avoid our troubles here,
without the utter annihilation of
our appetency. Here is the difficulty in both
ways.
22. Again the mind is the leader to our
spiritual knowledge on the one
hand, and our seducer also to worldliness on
the other. We know not
which way to be led by it. The difficulty is
as great as a man's
mounting on a mountain, or a child's escaping
from the fear of a yaksha.
23. All worldly turmoil is at an end, upon
one's attainment of true
felicity; as the anxieties of a maiden are
over, after she has obtained
a husband.
24. When will my anxieties have their
quietism, and when will my cares
come to an end? When will my soul have its
holiness, and my mind find
its rest from acts of merit and demerit?
25. When shall I rest in that state of bliss,
which is as cooling and
complete in itself; as the full-moon with all
her digits, and when shall
I rove about the earth at large, free from
worldly cares and ties?
26. When will my fancy stop from its flight,
and concentrate into the
inward soul? When will my mind be absorbed in
the Supreme soul, like the
turbulent wave subsiding in the breast of the
quiet sea?
27. When shall I get over this wide ocean of
the world, which is
disturbed by the turbulent waves of our
desires, and is full of the
voracious crocodiles of our greedy avarice,
and get rid of this feverish
passion?
28. When shall I rest in that state of
complete quiescence and
unfeelingness of my mind, which is aimed at
by the seekers of
liberation, and the all-tolerant and
indifferent philosopher.
(It is the sullen apathy of stoicism, which
constitutes the true wisdom
and happiness of asceticism also).
29. Ah! when will this continuous fever of my
worldliness abate, which
has irritated my whole body by its inward
heat, and deranged my humours
out of their order!
30. When will this heart of mine cease to
throb from its cares, like the
light of the lamp ceasing to flutter without
the wind; and when will my
understanding gain its light, after
dispersion of the gloom of my
ignorance.
31. When will these organs and members of my
body, have their respite
from their incessant functions; and when will
this parched frame of mine
get over the sea (flame?) of avarice, like
the phoenix rising from its
ashes.
32. When will the light of reason like the
clear atmosphere of the
autumnal sky, dispel this dark cloud of my
ignorance, that envelopes my
heavenly essence under the veil of this sorry
and miserable form.
33. Our minds are filled with the weeds of
the mandāra plants of the
garden of paradise (i.e. desiring the enjoyments of heaven). But my
soul pants for its restitution in the Supreme
spirit.
34. The dispassionate man is said to be set
in the pure light of reason;
it is therefore that passionless state of my
mind which I long to
attain.
35. But my restless mind has made me a prey
to the dragon of despair,
and I cry out in my sorrow, O my father and
mother! help me to get out
of this difficulty.
36. I exclaim also saying:—O my sister
understanding! condescend to
comply with the request of thy poor brother;
and consider well the words
of the wise sage for our deliverance from
misery.
37. I call thee also, O my good sense to my
aid, and beg of thee, O
progeny of thy virtuous mother! to remain
firm by my side, in my
struggle of breaking the bonds of the world.
38. Let me first of all reflect on the
sayings of the sage on
Resignation (Vairāgya), and then on the
conduct of one who longs for his
liberation, and next about the creation of
the world, (in the Srishti
Prakarana).
39. Let me remember afterwards all that he
has said on the Existence of
the universe (Sthiti Prakarana), together
with its beautiful
illustrations; all of which are replete with
sound wisdom and deep
philosophy.
40. Although a lesson may be repeated a
hundred times over, it proves to
be of no effect, unless it is considered with
good understanding and
right sense of its purport. Otherwise it is
as the empty sound of autumn
clouds without a drop of rain.
CHAPTER III.—Description of the Royal Assembly.
Argument. The Meeting of the next morning,
and the concourse of
attendants.
Vālmīki continued:—Rāma passed in this manner
the livelong night, in
his lengthened chain of reflection; and in
eager expectation of dawn, as
the lotus longs for the rising sun at day
break.
2. Gradually the stars faded away at the
appearance of aurora in the
east, and the face of the sky was dimly pale,
before it was washed over
with the white of twilight.
3. The beating of the morning and the alarm
of trumpets, roused Rāma
from his reverie; and he rose with his
moonlike face, blooming as the
full-blown lotus in its leafy bed.
4. He performed his morning ablution and
devotion, and joined with his
brothers and a few attendants, in order to
repair to the hermitage of
the sage Vasishtha.
5. Having arrived there, they found the sage
entranced in his meditation
in his lonely solitude; and lowly bent down
their heads before him from
a respectful distance.
6. After making their obeisance, they waited
on him in the compound,
until the twilight of morning brought the
day-light over the face of the
sky.
7. The princes and chiefs, the saints, sages
and Brāhmans, thronged in
that hermitage, in the manner of the
celestials meeting at the empyrean
of Brahmā.
8. Now the abode of Vasishtha was full of
people, and the crowds of the
cars, horses and elephants waiting at the
outside, made it equal to a
royal palace in its grandeur.
9. After a while the sage rose from his deep
meditation, and gave
suitable receptions to the assembled throng
that bowed down before him.
10. Then Vasishtha accompanied with Viswāmitra,
and followed by a long
train of munis and other men, came out of the hermitage, and ascended
and sat in a carriage, in the manner of the
lotus-born Brahmā sitting on
his lotus seat.
11. He arrived at the palace of Dasaratha,
which was surrounded by a
large army on all sides, and alighted there
from his car, as when Brahmā
descends from his highest heaven to the city
of Indra, beset
by the
whole host of the celestials.
12. He entered the grand court hall of the
king, and was saluted by the
courtiers lowly bending down before him; as
when the stately gander
enters a bed of lotuses, amidst a body of
aquatic birds (all staring at
him).
13. The king also got up, and descended from
his high throne; and then
advanced three paces on barefoot to receive
the venerable sage.
14. Then there entered a large concourse of
chiefs and princes, with
bodies of saints and sages and Brāhmans and
hori, potri priests.
15. The minister Sumantra and others came
next with the learned pandits
Saumya and others; and then Rāma and his
brothers followed them with the
sons of royal ministers.
16. Next came the ministerial officers, the
ministerial priests
(hotripotris), and the principal citizens,
with bodies of the Mālava
wrestlers and servants of all orders, and
townsmen of different
professions.
17. All these took their respective seats,
and sat in the proper order
of their ranks, and kept looking intently on
the sage Vasishtha, with
their uplifted heads and eyes.
18. The murmur of the assembly was hushed,
and the recitation of the
panegyrists was at a stop; the mutual
greetings and conferences were at
an end, and there ensued a still silence in
the assembly.
19. The winds wafted the sweet fragrance from
the cups of full blown
lotuses; and scattered the dulcet dust of the
filaments in the spacious
hall.
20. The clusters of flowers hung about the
hall, diffused their odours
all around; and the whole court house seemed,
as it were sprinkled over
with perfumes of all sorts.
21. The queens and princesses sat at the
windows, and upon their couches
in the inner apartment, which was strewn over
with flowers, and beheld
the assemblage in the outer hall.
22. They saw everything by the light of the
sun, which shed upon their
open eyes through the net work on the
windows; and also by the radiance
of the gems, which sparkled on their delicate
persons. The attendant
women remained silent, and without waving their
fans and chowries (for
fear of the sounding bracelets on their
arms).
23. The earth was sown with orient pearls by
the dawning sun-beams, and
the ground was strewn over with flowers
glistening at the sun-light. The
lightsome locusts did not light upon them,
thinking them to be sparks of
fire, but kept hovering in the midway sky as
a body of dark and moving
cloud.
24. The respectable people sat in mute
wonder, to hear the holy lectures
of Vasishtha; because the agreeable advice,
which is derived from the
society of the good, is beyond all
estimation.
25. The Siddhas, Vidyādharas, saints,
Brāhmans and respectable men,
gathered from all sides of the sky and
forests, and from all cities and
towns round about Vasishtha, and saluted him
in silence, because deep
veneration is naturally mute and wanting in
words.
26. The sky was strewn over with the golden
dust, borne by the
fluttering bees from the cups of farinaceous
lotuses; wherein they were
enclosed at night; and the soft airs blew
sonant with the tinkling
sounds of ringing bells, hanging in strings
on the doorways of houses.
(The Gloss says: it is usual in Nepal and at Deccan,
to suspend strings
of small bells over the gate ways).
27. The morning breeze was now blowing with
the fragrance of various
flowers, and mixing with the perfume of the
sandal paste; and making the
bees fly and flutter on all sides, with their
sweet humming music.
CHAPTER IV.—Inquiries of Rāma.
Argument. Dasaratha's Praise of Vasishtha's
speech, and Rāma's
Queries by behest of the sage.
Vālmīki continued:—Then king Dasaratha made
this speech to the chief of
sages, and spoke in a voice sounding as a
deep cloud, and in words
equally graceful as they were worthy of
confidence.
2. Venerable sir, said he, your speech of
yesterday bespeaks of your
intellectual light, and your getting over all
afflictions by your
extremely emaciating austerities.
3. Your words of yesterday, have delighted us
by their perspicacity and
gracefulness, as by a shower of enlivening
ambrosia.
4. The pure words of the wise, are as cooling
and edifying of the inward
soul; as the clear and nectarious moon-beams,
serve both to cool and
dispel the gloom of the earth.
5. The good sayings of the great, afford the
highest joy resulting from
their imparting a knowledge of the Supreme,
and by their dispelling the
gloom of ignorance all at once.
6. The knowledge of the inestimable gem of
our soul, is the best light
that we can have in this world; and the
learned man is as a tree beset
by the creepers of reason and good sense.
7. The sayings of the wise serve to purge
away our improper desires and
doings, as the moon-beams dispel the thick
gloom of night.
8. Your sayings, O sage, serve to lessen our
desires and avarice which
enchain us to this world, as the autumnal
winds diminish the black
clouds in the sky.
9. Your lectures have made us perceive the
pure soul in its clear light,
as the eye-salve of antimony (collyrium
antigoni nigrum); makes the
born-blind man to see the pure gold with his
eyes.
10. The mist of worldly desires, which has
overspread the atmosphere of
our minds, is now beginning to disperse by
the autumnal breeze of your
sayings.
11. Your sayings of sound wisdom, O great
sage! have poured a flood of
pure delight into our souls, as the breezy
waves of nectarious water, or
the breath of mandāra flowers infuse into the
heart.
12. O my Rāma! those days are truly
lightsome, that you spend in your
attendance on the wise; otherwise the rest of
the days of one's
lifetime, are indeed darksome and dismal.
13. O my lotus-eyed Rāma! propose now what
more you have to know about
the imperishable soul, as the sage is
favourably disposed to communicate
everything to you.
14. After the king had ended his speech, the
venerable and high-minded
sage Vasishtha, who was seated before Rāma,
addressed him saying:—
15. Vasishtha said:—O Rāma—the moon of your
race, do you remember all
that I have told you ere this, and have you
reflected on the sense of my
sayings from first to the last.
16. Do you recollect, O victor of your
enemies? the subject of creation,
and its division into the triple nature of
goodness &c.; and their
subdivision into various kinds?
17. Do you remember what I said regarding the
One in all, and not as the
all, and the One Reality ever appearing as
unreality; and do you retain
in your mind the nature and form of the
Supreme Spirit, that I have
expounded to you?
18. Do you, O righteous Rāma, that art
deserving of every praise, bear
in your mind, how this world came to appear
from the Lord God of all?
19. Do you fully retain in your memory the
nature of illusion, and how
it is destroyed by the efforts of the
understanding; and how the
Infinite and Eternal appears as finite and
temporal as space and time?
(These though infinite appear limited to us).
20. Do you, O blessed Rāma! keep in your
mind, that man is no other than
his mind, as I have explained to you by its
proper definition and
arguments?
21. Have you, Rāma! considered well the
meanings of my words, and did
you reflect at night the reasonings of
yesterday in your mind? (As it
behoves us to reflect at night on the lessons
of the day).
22. It is by repeated reflection in the mind,
and having by heart what
you have learnt, that you derive the benefit
of your learning, and not
by your laying aside of the same in
negligence.
23. You are then only the proper receptacle
of a rational discourse and
a holy sermon, when you retain them like brilliant
pearls in the chest
of your capacious and reasoning breast.
24. Vālmīki said:—Rāma being thus addressed
by the sage—the valiant
progeny of the lotus-seated Brahmā, found his
time to answer him in the
following manner. (Vasishtha's valour is
described in his services to
king Sudāsa).
25. Rāma replied:—you Sir, who are acquainted
with all sāstras and
creeds have expounded to me, the sacred
truths, and I have, O noble Sir,
fully comprehended their purport.
26. I have deposited every thing verbatim
that you said in the casket of
my heart, and have well considered the
meaning of your words during the
stillness of my sleepless nights.
27. Your words like sun-beams dispel the
darkness of the world, and your
radiant words of yesterday, delighted me like
the rays of the rising
sun.
28. O great sir, I have carefully preserved
the substance of all your
past lectures in my mind, as one preserves
the most valuable and
brilliant gems in a casket.
29. What accomplished man is there, that will
not bear on his head the
blessings of admonitions, which are so very
pure and holy, and so very
charming and delightful at the same time?
30. We have shaken off the dark veil of the
ignorance of this world, and
have become as enlightened by your favor, as
the days in autumn after
dispersion of rainy clouds.
31. Your instructions are sweet and graceful
in the first place (by the
elegance of their style); they are edifying
in the midst (by their good
doctrines); and they are sacred by the
holiness they confer at the end.
32. Your flowery speech is ever delightsome
to us, by the quality of its
blooming and unfading beauty, and by virtue
of its conferring our
lasting good to us.
33. O sir, that are learned in all sāstras,
that art the channel of the
holy waters of divine knowledge, that art
firm in thy protracted vows of
purity, do thou expurgate us of the dross of
our manifold sins by your
purifying lectures.
CHAPTER V.—Lecture on Tranquillity of the Soul and Mind.
Argument. The existence of the world in
ignorant minds, and
tranquillity of the spirit.
Vasishtha said:—Now listen with attention the
subject of quietism for
your own good, wherein you will find the best
solutions (of many
questions adduced before).
2. Know Rāma, this world to be a continuous
illusion, and to be upheld
by men of rājasa and tāmasa natures,
consisting of the properties of
action and passions or ignorance, that
support this illusory fabric, as
the pillars bear up a building.
3. Men born with the sātvika nature of goodness like yourself, easily
lay aside this inveterate illusion, as a
snake casts off its time-worn
skin (slough).
4. But wise men of good dispositions (or
sātvika natures), and those of
the mixed natures of goodness and action
(rājasa-sātvika), always think
about the structure of the world, and its
prior and posterior states
(without being deluded by it).
5. The understandings of the sinless and
which have been enlightened by
the light of the sāstras, or improved in the
society of men or by good
conduct, become as far sighted as the glaring
light of a torch.
6. It is by one's own ratiocination, that he
should try to know the soul
in himself; and he is no way intelligent, who
knows not the knowable
soul in himself.
7. The intelligent polite, wise and noble
men, are said to have the
nature of rājasa-sātvika (or the mixed nature
of goodness and action) in
them; and the best instance of such a nature
is found, O Rāma! in thy
admirable disposition.
8. Let the intelligent look into the
phenomena of the work themselves,
and by observing what is true and untrue in
it, attach themselves to the
truth only.
9. That which was not before, nor will be in
being at the end, is no
reality at all but what continues in being
both at first and last, is
the true existence and naught besides.
10. He whose mind is attached to aught, which
is unreal both at first
and at last, is either an infatuated fool or
a brute animal, that can
never be brought to reason.
11. It is the mind that makes the world and
stretches it as in its
imagination; but upon a comprehensive view (or
closer investigation) of
it, the mind is in its nothingness.
12. Rāma said:—I am fully persuaded to
believe, sir, that the mind is
the active agent in this world, and is
subject to decay and death (like
the other organs of sensation).
13. But tell me sir, what are the surest
means of guarding the mind from
illusion, because you only are the sun to
remove the darkness of Raghu's
race.
14. Vasishtha replied:—The best way to guard
the mind from delusion, is
first of all the knowledge of the sāstras,
and next the exercise of
dispassionateness, and then the society of
the good, which lead the mind
towards its purity.
15. The mind which is fraught with humility
and holiness, should have
recourse to preceptors who are learned in
philosophy.
16. The instruction of such preceptors, makes
a man to practice his
rituals at first, and then it leads the mind
gradually to the abstract
devotion of the Most-Holy.
17. When the mind comes to perceive by its
own cogitation, the presence
of the supreme spirit in itself; it sees the
universe spread before it
as the cooling moonbeams.
18. A man is led floating as a straw on the
wide ocean of the world,
until it finds its rest in the still waters
under the coast of reason.
19. Human understanding comes to know the
truth by means of its
reasoning, when it puts down all its
difficulties, as the pure water
gets over its sandy bed.
20. The reasonable man distinguishes the
truth from untruth, as the
goldsmith separates the gold from ashes; but
the unreasonable are as the
ignorant, incapable to distinguish the one
from the other.
21. The divine Spirit is imperishable after
it is once known to the
human soul; and there can be no access of
error into it, as long as it
is enlightened by the light of the holy
spirit.
22. The mind which is ignorant of truth, is
ever liable to error, but
when it is acquainted with truth, it becomes
freed from its doubts; and
is set above the reach of error.
23. O ye men! that are unacquainted with the
divine spirit, you bear
your souls for misery alone; but knowing the
spirit, you become entitled
to eternal happiness and tranquillity.
24. How are ye lost to your souls by blending
with your bodies, expand
the soul from under the earthly frame, and
you will be quite at rest
with yourselves.
25. Your immortal soul has no relation to
your mortal bodies, as the
pure gold bears no affinity to the earthen
crucible in which it is
contained.
26. The Divine Spirit is distinct from the
living soul, as the lotus
flower is separate from the water which
upholds it; as a drop of water
is unattached to the lotus-leaf whereon it
rests. My living soul is
crying to that Spirit with my uplifted arms,
but it pays no heed to my
cries.
27. The mind which is of a gross nature,
resides in the cell of the
body, like a tortoise dwelling in its hole;
it is insensibly intent upon
its sensual enjoyments, and is quite
neglectful about the welfare of the
soul.
28. It is so shrouded by the impervious
darkness of the world, that
neither the light of reason, nor the flame of
fire, nor the beams of the
moon, nor the gleams of a dozen of zodiacal
suns, have the power to
penetrate into it.
29. But the mind being awakened from its
dormancy, begins to reflect on
its own state; and then the mist of its
ignorance flies off, like the
darkness of the night at sun-rise.
30. As the mind reclines itself constantly on
the downy bed of its
meditation, for the sake of its
enlightenment; it comes to perceive this
world to be but a vale of misery.
31. Know Rāma! the soul to be as unsullied by
its outer covering of the
body, as the sky is unsoiled by the clouds of
dust which hide its face;
and as the petals of the lotus are untainted
by the dew-drops, falling
upon them at night. (No liquid is attached to
the oily surface of
lotus-leaves).
32. As dirt or clay clinging to the outer
side of a gold ornament,
cannot pierce into the inside; so the gross
material body is attached
outside the soul, without touching its
inside.
33. Men commonly attribute pleasure and pain
to the soul; but they are
as separate from it, as the rain drops and
the flying dust, are afar and
apart from the sky.
34. Neither the body nor the soul is subject
to pain or pleasure, all
which relate to the ignorance of the mind;
and this ignorance being
removed, it will be found that they appertain
to neither. (The mind
alone is subject to both through its
ignorance; but the philosophic mind
knows all partial evils sarvārti, to be
universal good).
35. Take not to your mind O Rāma! the pain or
pleasure of either; but
view them in an equal light, as you view
things in the tranquillity of
your soul.
36. All the outspreading phenomena of the
world, which are beheld all
about us, are as the waves of the boundless
ocean of the Divine Spirit;
or as the gaudy train of the peacock,
displayed in the sphere of our own
souls. (So the mind displays its thoughts in
a train).
37. The bright substance of our soul,
presents to us the picture of
creation, as a bright gem casts its glare to
no purpose; but by its own
nature. (And so the mind deals with its
dreams in vain).
38. The spirit and the material world, are
not the same thing; the
spirit is the true reality, and the duality
of the world, is only a
representation or counterpart of the Spirit.
39. But Brahma, is the whole totality of
existence, and know the
universe as the expansion of the universal
soul; therefore O Rāma! give
up your error of the distinction of one thing
from another (lit.: such
as I am this one, and the other is another).
40. There can be no distinction, Rāma, in the
everlasting and all
extensive plenum of Brahma; as there is no
difference in the whole body
of water of the wide extended ocean.
41. All things being one and alike in the
self-same substratum of the
Supreme Soul, you cannot conceive of there
being any other thing (a
duality) in it, as you cannot imagine a
particle of frost to abide in
the fire.
42. By meditating on the Supreme Soul in
yourself, and by contemplation
of the intelligent Spirit in your own
intellect, you will find the glory
of the Supreme Spirit, shining brightly in
your pure spirit.
43. Therefore ease your mind, O Rāma! and
know that there is no mistake
nor error in your believing the all as one;
and that there is no new
birth or a new born being (in the world), but
all that is or has come to
existence, is ever existent in the Supreme.
44. Ease yourself, O Rāma! by knowing that
there is no duality (save the
Unity of God); and that there is no
contrariety of things (as that of
heat and cold), except their oneness in the
Divine monism. Then knowing
yourself as a spiritual being, and situated
in the purity of Divine
essence, you shall have no need of devotion
or adoration (in order to
appease or unite yourself with the Deity).
And knowing also that you are
not separated from God, forsake all your
sorrow (to think of your
helpless state).
45. Be tolerant, composed and even-minded;
remain tranquil, taciturn and
meek in your mind; and be as a rich jewel,
shining with your internal
light. Thus you will be freed from the
feverish vexations of this
worldly life.
46. Be rational and dispassionate and calm in
your desire; remain sober
minded and free from ardent expectations; and
rest satisfied with what
you get of your own lot, in order to be freed
from the feverish heat of
worldliness.
47. Be unimpassioned and unperturbed with
earthly cares; be pure and
sinless, and neither be penurious nor
prodigal, if you will be freed
from the fever heat of this world.
48. Be free from all anxiety, O Rāma! by your
obtaining of that good
which the world cannot give, and which
satisfies all our earthly wants.
Have this supermundane bliss, O Rāma, and be
as full as the ocean, and
free from the feverish cares of this world.
49. Be loosened from the net of thy loose
desires, and wipe off the
unguent of delusive affections from thy eyes:
let thy soul rest
satisfied with thyself, and be freed from the
feverish anxieties of the
world.
[Sanskrit: bikalpajāla nirmmukta
māyānjanārbbrjitah |
atmanātmanitthaptātmavijbarobarāghava || 46
||]
50. With your spiritual body reaching beyond
the unbounded space, and
rising above the height of the highest
mountain, be freed from the
feverish and petty cares of life.
51. By enjoyment of what you get (as your
lot), and by asking of naught
of any body anywhere; by your charity rather
than your want or asking of
it, you must be free from the fever of life.
52. Enjoy the fulness of your soul in
yourself like the sea, and contain
the fulness of your joy in your own soul like
the full moon. Be
self-sufficient with the fulness of your
knowledge and inward bliss.
53. Knowing this world as unreal as a
pseudoscopic sight, no wise man is
misled to rely in its untruthful scenes. So you
Rāma, that are knowing
and a visionary, and are sane and sound
headed, and of enlightened
understanding, must be always charming with
your perfect ease from
sorrow and care.
54. Now Rāma! reign over this unrivalled
sovereignty, by the direction
of your sovran Sire, and manage well
everything under your own
inspection. This kingdom is fraught with
every blessing, and the rulers
are all loyal to their king. Therefore you
must neither leave out to do
what is your duty, nor be elated with your
happy lot of royalty.
CHAPTER VI.—Lecture on the Discharge of Duty.
Argument. Effect of Acts, Transmigration of
souls and their
Liberation in Life time.
Vasishtha continued:—In my opinion, a man is
liberated who does his
works from a sense of his duty, and without
any desire of his own or
sense of his own agency in it. (Here
subjection to allotted duty, is
said to be his freedom; but that to one's own
desire or free choice, is
called to be his bondage and slavery).
2. Who so having obtained a human form, is
engaged in acts out of his
own choice and with a sense of his own
agency, he is subjected to his
ascension and descension to heaven and hell
by turns (according to the
merit or demerit of his acts, while there is
no such thing in the doing
of his duty).
3. Some persons who are inclined to unduteous
(or illegal) acts, by
neglecting the performance of their destined
(or legal) duties, are
doomed to descend to deeper hells, and to
fall into greater fears and
torments from their former states.
4. Some men who are fast bound to the chain
of their desires, and have
to feel the consequences of their acts, are
made to descend to the state
of vegetables from their brutal life, or to
rise from it to animal life
again.
5. Some who are blessed with the knowledge of
the Spirit, from their
investigation of abstruse philosophy, rise to
the state of monism
(Kaivalya); by breaking through the fetters
of desire. (Kaivalya is
the supreme bliss of God in his solity, to
which the divine sage aspires
to be united. Or it is the complete unity with
oneself irrespective of
all connections).
6. There are some men, who after ascending
gradually in the scale of
their creation in former births, have
obtained their liberation in the
present life of rājas-sātvika or active goodness.
7. Such men being born again on earth, assume
their bright qualities
like the crescent moon, and are united with
all prosperity, like the
Kurchi plant which is covered with blossoms
in its flowering time of the
rainy season. (The good effects of former
acts, follow a man in his next
birth).
8. The merit of prior acts follows one in his
next state, and the
learning of past life meets a man in his next
birth, as a pearl is born
in a reed. (A particular reed is known to
bear pearly seeds within them,
well known by the name of Vansalochana).
9. The qualities of respectability and
amiableness, of affability and
friendliness, and of compassion and
intelligence, attend upon these
people like their attendants at home. (I.e. he becomes master of
them).
10. Happy is the man who is steady in the
discharge of his duties, and
is neither overjoyed nor depressed at the
fruition or failure of their
results. (Duties must be done, whether they
repay or not).
11. The defects of the dutiful and their pain
and pleasure, in the
performance of duties, are all lost under the
sense of their
duteousness; as the darkness of night, is
dispelled by the light of the
day, and the clouds of the rainy season, are
dispersed in autumn.
12. The man of a submissive and sweet
disposition, is liked by every
body; as the sweet music of reeds in the
forest, attracts the ears of
wild antelopes. (The deer and snakes, are
said to be captivated by music
of pipe).
13. The qualities of the past life, accompany
a man in his next birth;
as the swallows of the rainy weather, attend
on a dark cloud in the air.
(This bird is called a hansa or hernshaw by
Shakespeare; as, when it is
autumn, I can distinguish a swallow from a
hernshaw).
14. Being thus qualified by his prior
virtues, the good man has recourse
to an instructor for the development of his
understanding, who thereupon
puts him in the way to truth.
15. The man with the qualities of reason and
resignation of his mind,
beholds the Lord as one, and of the same form
as the imperishable soul
within himself.
16. It is the spiritual guide, who awakens
the dull and sleeping mind by
his right reasoning; and then instils into it
the words of truth, with a
placid countenance and mind.
17. They are the best qualified in their
subsequent births, who learn
first to awaken their worthless and dormant
minds, as they rouse the
sleeping stags in the forest.
18. It is first by diligent attendance on
good and meritorious guides
(or gurus), and then by cleansing the gem of
their minds by the help of
reasoning that the pure hearted men come to
the light of truth, and
perceive the divine light shining in their
souls.
CHAPTER VII.—On Attainment of Divine Knowledge.
Argument. Attainment of knowledge by
Intuition, compared to the
falling of a fruit from heaven.
Vasishtha continued:—I have told you Rāma,
the usual way to knowledge
for mankind in general; I will now tell you
of another method distinct
from the other.
2. Now Rāma! we have two ways which are best
calculated for the
salvation of souls, born in human bodies on
earth: the one is by their
attainment of heavenly bliss, and the other
by that of their final
beatitude (apavarga).
3. And there are two methods of gaining these
objects; the one being the
observance of the instructions of the
preceptor, which gradually leads
one to his perfection in the course of one or
reiterated births.
4. The second is the attainment of knowledge
by intuition, or by self
culture of a partly intelligent being; and
this is as the obtaining of a
fruit falling from heaven.
5. Hear now of the attainment of intuitive
knowledge, as that of getting
a fruit fallen from the sky, from the old
tale which I will now recite
to you.
6. Hear the happy and holy story, which
removes the fetters of our good
and evil deeds, and which the last born men
(now living), must taste
with a zest for their enlightenment, as
others relish a fruit fallen
from heaven for their entertainment.
CHAPTER VIII.—Song of the Siddhas or Holy Adepts.
Argument. Wandering of Janaka in a Vernal
garden, and hearing
the Song of Siddhas.
Vasishtha continued:—There lives the mighty
king of the Videhas
(Tirhutians) Janaka by name, who is blessed
with all prosperity and
unbounded understanding.
2. He is as the ever fruitful kalpa tree to the host of his suitors,
and as the vivifying sun to his lotus-like
friends; he is as the genial
spring to the florets of his relatives, and
as the god Cupid to females.
3. Like the dvija-rāja or changeful moon, he
gives delight to the
dvija—or twice born Brāhmans, as that
luminary gives the lilies to
bloom; and like the luminous sun he destroys
the darkness of his gloomy
enemies. He is an ocean of the gems of
goodness to all, and the support
of his realm, like Vishnu the supporter of
the world.
4. He chanced on a vernal eve to wander about
a forest, abounding in
young creepers with bunches of crimson
blossoms on them, and resonant
with the melody of mellifluous kokilas, warbling in their tuneful
choirs.
5. He walked amidst the flowery arbours,
resembling the graceful
beauties with ornaments upon them, and
sported in their bowers as the
god Vāsava disports in his garden of Nandana. (Eden or Paradise).
6. Leaving his attendants behind him, he
stepped to a grove standing on
the steppe of a hill, in the midst of that
romantic forest, which was
redolent with the fragrance of flowers borne
all about by the playful
winds.
7. He heard in one spot and within a bower of
tāmala trees, a mingled
voice as that of some invisible aerial
spirits (siddhā), proceeding from
it.
8. I will now recite to you, O lotus-eyed
Rāma! the songs of the
siddhas, residing in the retired solitudes of
mountainous regions, and
dwelling in the caverns of hills, and which
relate principally to their
spiritual meditations.
9. The siddhas sang:—We adore that Being
which is neither the
subjective nor objective (not the viewer nor
the view); and which in our
beliefs is the positive felicity, that rises
in our souls, and has no
fluctuation in it.
10. Others chanted:—We adore that Being which
is beyond the triple
states of the subject, its attribute and its
object; (who is neither the
sight, seeing and the seer). It is the light
of that soul, or spiritual
light which exists from before the light of
vision, which is derived
from the light of the sun. (Sruti: The light
of the Spirit shone before
the physical lights of the sun, moon, stars, lightning
and fire).
11. Others chanted:—We adore that Being,
which is in the midst of all
what is and what is not (i.e. between existence and non-existence);
and that spiritual light, which enlightens
all lightsome objects.
12. Some sang:—We adore that real existence
which is all, whose are all
things, and by whom are all made, from whom
have all sprung, for whom
they exist, in whom they subsist, unto whom
do all return, and into
which they are all absorbed.
13. Some caroled:—We adore that Spirit, which
begins with the letter
a and ends in h with the dot m (i.e. aham or ego); and which
we continually inspire and respire in our
breathings. (Aham) hansah.
14. Others said:—Those who forsake the
God—Isha, that is situated
within the cavity of their hearts (hrid), and
resort to others, that are
without them, are verily in search of trifles
by disregarding the gem
kaustabha (philosopher's stone); which is placed in their hands.
15. Others again declared:—It is by forsaking
all other desires, that
one obtains this object of his wish; and this
being had, the poisonous
plants of all other desires, are entirely
uprooted from the heart.
16. Some of them pronounced saying:—The
foolish man who knowing the
insipidity of all worldly things, attaches
his mind to earthly object,
is an ass and no human being.
17. Others said:—The sensual appetites, which
incessantly rise as
snakes from the cavities of the body, are to
be killed by the cudgel of
reason, as Indra broke the hills by his
thunderbolts.
18. At last they said:—Let men try to secure
the pure happiness of
quietism, which serves to give tranquillity
to the minds of the
righteous. The sober-minded that are situated
in their real and natural
temperament, have their best repose in the
lap of undisturbed and
everlasting tranquillity.
CHAPTER IX.—Reflections of Janaka.
Argument. Abstraction of Janaka's mind, from
the Vanities of the
World.
Vasishtha continued:—Upon hearing these
sonatas of the Siddhas (holy
spirits), Janaka was dejected in his mind,
like a coward at the noise of
a conflict.
2. He returned homeward, and conducted
himself in silence to his
domicile, as a stream glides in its silent
course under the beach trees,
to the bed of the distant main.
3. He left behind all his domestics in their
respective dwellings below,
and ascended alone to the highest balcony, as
the sun mounts on the top
of a mountain.
4. Hence he saw the flights of birds, flying
at random in different
directions; and reflected on the hurrying of
men in the same manner, and
thus bewailed in himself on their deplorable
conditions.
5. Ah me miserable! that have to move about
in the pitiable state of the
restless mob, that roll about like a rolling
stone (or ball), pushed
backward and forward by another.
6. I have a short span of endless duration,
allotted to my share of
lifetime; and yet I am a senseless fool to
rely my trust in the hope of
its durability.
7. Short is the duration of my royalty also,
which is limited to the
period of my lifetime only; how is it then
that I am secure of its
continuance as a thoughtless man.
8. I have an immortal soul lasting from
before, and to continue even
after my present existence, the present life
is a destructible One, and
yet I am a fool to rely in it, like a boy
believing the painted moon as
real.
9. Ah! what sorcerer is it that hath thus
bewitched me by his magic
wand, as to make me believe I am not
spell-bound at all.
10. What faith can I rely in this world which
has nothing substantial
nor pleasant, nor grand nor real in it; and
yet I know not why my mind
is deluded by it.
11. What is far from me (i.e. the object of sense), appears to be near
me by my sensation of the same; and that
which is nearest to me (i.e.
my inmost soul), appears to be farthest from
me (by my want of its
perception). Knowing this I must abandon the
outward (sensible objects),
in order to see the inward soul.
12. This hurry of men in their pursuits, is
as impetuous and transient
as the torrent of a whirlpool. It
precipitates them to the depth of
their dangers, and is not worth the pain it
gives to the spirit.
13. The years, months, days and minutes, are
revolving with succession
of our pains and pleasures; but these are
swallowed up, by the repeated
trains of our misery (rather than that of
happiness).
14. I have well considered everything, and found
them all perishable and
nothing durable or lasting; there is nothing
to be found here worthy of
the reliance of the wise.
15. Those standing at the head of great men
to-day, are reduced low in
the course of a few days; what worth is there
in giddy and thoughtless
greatness, which is deserving of our
estimation.
16. I am bound to the earth without a rope,
and am soiled herein without
any dirt (in my person); I am fallen though
sitting in this edifice. O
my soul! how art thou destroyed while thou
art living.
17. Whence has this causeless ignorance
over-powered my intelligent
soul, and whence has this shadow overspread
its lustre, as a dark cloud
overshades the disk of the sun?
18. Of what avail are these large possessions
and numerous relations to
me, when my soul is desponding in despair,
like children under the fear
of ghosts and evil spirits.
19. How shall I rest any reliance in my
sensual enjoyments which are the
harbingers of death and disease, and what
dependence is there on my
possessions, which are fraught only with
anxieties and cares?
20. It matters not whether these friends, the
feeders on my fortune, may
last or leave me at once; my prosperity is
but a bubble and a false
appearance before me.
21. Men of greatest opulence and many good
and great men and our best
friends and kindest relatives, that have gone
by, now live in our
remembrance only.
22. Where are the riches of the monarchs of
the earth, and where the
former creations of Brahmā. The past have
given way to the present, and
these are to be followed by future ones;
hence there is no reliance in
anything.
23. Many Indras have been swallowed up like
bubbles in the ocean of
eternity; hence the like expectation of my
longevity, is ridiculous to
the wise.
24. Millions of Brahmās have passed away, and
their productions have
disappeared under endless successions; the
kings of earth have fled like
their ashes and are reduced to dust; what is
the confidence then in my
life and stability?
25. The world is but a dream by night, and
the sensuous body is but a
misconception of the mind. If I rely any
credence on them I am really to
be blamed.
26. My conception of myself and perception of
other things, are false
imaginations of my mind. It is my egoism that
has laid hold of me, as a
demon seizes an idiot.
27. Fool that I am, that seeing I do not see,
how the span of my life is
measured every moment by the imperceptible
instants of time, and their
leaving but a small portion behind.
28. I see the juggler of time seizing on
Brahmās, Vishnus and Rudras,
and making playthings of them on his play
ground of the world, and
flinging them as balls all about.
29. I see the days and nights are incessantly
passing away, without
presenting me an opportunity which I can
behold the true imperishable
one.
30. The objects of sensual enjoyment, are
larking in the minds of men,
like cranes gabbling in the lakes, and there
is no prospect of the true
and best object in the mind of any body.
31. We meet with one hardship after another,
and buffet in the waves of
endless miseries in this earth; and yet are
we so shameless, as not to
feel ourselves disgusted with them.
32. We see all the desirable objects to which
we attach our thoughts, to
be frail and perishing; and yet we do not
seek the imperishable one, and
our everlasting good in the equanimity of the
Soul.
33. Whatever we see to be pleasant in the
beginning (as pleasures), or
in the middle (as youth), or in the end (as
virtuous deeds), and at all
times (as earthly goods), are all unholy and
subject to decay.
34. Whatever objects are dear to the hearts
of men, they are all found
to be subject to the changes of their rise
and fall (i.e. their
growth
and decay).
35. Ignorant people are every where enclined
to evil acts, and they grow
day by day more hardened in their wicked
practices. They repent every
day for their sins, but never reprove
themselves for the better.
36. Senseless men are never the better for
anything, being devoid of
sense in their boyhood, and heated by their
passions in youth. In their
latter days, they are oppressed with the care
of their families, and in
the end thy are overcome by sorrow and
remorse.
37. Here the entrance and exit (i.e. the birth and death), are both
accompanied with pain and sorrow (for men
come to and go away from the
world with crying). Here every state of life
is contaminated by its
reverse (as health by disease, youth by age,
and affluence by poverty).
Everything is unsubstantial in this seeming
substantial world, and yet
the ignorant rely in its unreal
substantiality.
38. The real good that is derived here by
means of painful austerities,
are the arduous sacrifices of rājasūyā asvamedha and others, or the
attainment of heaven; which has no reality in
it, by reason of its short
duration of the small portion of a kalpa compared with eternity. (The
Hindu heaven is no lasting bliss).
39. What is this heaven and where is it situated,
whether below or above
us or in this nether world; and where its
residents are not overtaken by
multitudes of locust-like evils? (The Sruti
says: "Evil spirits infest
the heavens and they drove the gods from
it." So we read of the Titan's
and Satan's band invading heaven).
40. We have serpents creeping in the cells of
our hearts, and have our
bodies filled with the brambles of diseases
and dangers, and know not
how to destroy them.
41. I see good is intermixed with evil, and
pain abiding with pleasure;
there is sorrow seated on the top (excess) of
joy, so I know not whereto
I shall resort.
42. I see the earth full of common people,
who are incessantly born and
dying in it in multitudes; but I find few
honest and righteous men in
it.
43. These beautiful forms of women, with
their eyes like lotuses, and
the gracefulness of their blandishments, and
their charming smiles, are
made so soon to fade and die away.
44. Of what note am I among these mighty
beings (as Brahmā and Vishnu),
who at the twinkling of their eyes, have
created and destroyed the
world; and yet have succumbed to death at
last. (This last passage shows
that the Hindu gods were mortal heroes of
antiquity).
45. You are constantly in search of what is
more pleasant and lasting
than others, but never seek after that
highest prosperity, which is
beyond all your earthly cares.
46. What is this great prosperity in which
you take so much delight, but
mere vexation of your spirit, which proves
this vanity to be your
calamity only.
47. Again what are these adversities which
you fear so much, they may
turn to your true prosperity, by setting you
free from earthly broils
and leading you to your future felicity.
48. The mind is broken to pieces by its
fears, like the fragments of the
moon, floating on the waves of this ocean of
the world. Its selfishness
has tossed it to and fro, and this world
being got rid of, it is set at
perfect ease (from all vicissitudes of
fortune).
49. There is an unavoidable chance (necessity),
actuating our worldly
affairs and accidents; it is impudence
therefore to welcome some as
good, and to avoid others as evil.
50. We are prone to things that are pleasant
to the sight, but bear a
mortal flame in them, and consume us like
poor moths in the flames,
which it is bright to see but fatal to feel.
51. It is better to roll in the continual
flame of hell-fire to which
one is habituated, than rise and fall
repeatedly in the furnace of this
world, as from the frying pan into the fire.
52. This world is said by the wise, to be a
boundless ocean of woes
(vale of tears); how then can any body who
has fallen amidst it, expect
any happiness herein?
53. Those who have not fallen in the midst
and been altogether drowned
in woe, think the lesser woes as light and
delight, as one condemned to
be beheaded, is glad to escape with a light
punishment.
54. I am grown as the vilest of the vile, and
resemble a block of wood
or stone; there is no difference in me from
the ignorant clown, who has
never had the thought of his eternal concerns
in his head.
55. The great arbour of the world, with its
very many branches and twigs
and fruits, hath sprung from the mind and is
rooted in it. (The outer
world has its existence in the sensitive mind
only; because the
insensible bodies of the dead and inanimate
things, have no
consciousness of it).
56. It is the conception (sankalpa) of the
world, in my mind, that
causes its existence and presents its
appearance before me, I will now
try to efface this conception from my mind,
and forget this world
altogether. (This doctrine of idealism was
derived, by Janaka from his
own Intuition (Svena-Jnātena)).
57. I will no longer allow myself to be
deluded like monkeys with the
forms of things, which I know are not real;
mere ideal, but changeful
and evanescent. (Here also Janaka learns by
intuition not to rely on
concrete forms, but to have their general and
abstract ideas).
58. I have woven and stretched out the web of
my desires, and collected
only my woes and sorrows; I fell into and
fled from the snare of my own
making, and am now resolved to take my rest
in the soul.
59. I have much wailed and bitterly wept, to
think of the depravity and
loss of my soul, and will henceforth cease to
lament, thinking that I am
not utterly lost.
60. I am now awakened, and am glad to find
out the robber of my soul; it
is my own mind, and this I am determined to
kill, as it had so long
deprived me of the inestimable treasure of my
soul.
61. So long was my mind at large as a loose
and unstrung pearl, now will
I pierce it with the needle of reason, and
string it with the virtues of
self-control and subjection to wisdom.
62. The cold icicle of my mind, will now be
melted down by the sun-heat
of reason; and will now be confined in the
interminable meditation of
its Eternal Maker (from where it cannot
return. Sruti).
63. I am now awakened to my spiritual
knowledge, like these holy
Siddhas, saints and sages; and will now
pursue my spiritual inquiries,
to the contentment of my soul.
64. Having now found my long-lost soul, I
will continue to look upon its
pure light with joy in my lonely retirement;
and will remain as quiet
and still in contemplation of it, as a
motionless cloud in autumn.
65. And having cast away the false belief of
my corporeality (i.e. of
being an embodied being), and that these
possessions and properties are
mine, and having subdued my force by mighty
enemy of the Mind, I will
attain the tranquillity of my
soul by the help of my reason
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
Post a Comment