The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER LXXII.—A Lecture on the Nature of Liberation.
Argument. The subjection of the material body
to sorrow and
misery.
Vasishtha continued:—You are not born with
the birth of your body, nor
are you dead with its death. You are the
immaculate spirit in your soul,
and your body is nobody to you.
2. The analogy of the plum on a plate, and of
vacuum in the pot, which
is adduced to prove the loss of the one upon
loss of the other, is a
false paralogy; since neither the plum nor
the vacuum is lost, by the
breaking of the plate or pot. (So the soul is
not lost at the
dissolution of its containing body).
3. Whoever having a body, thinks that he will
perish with his perishable
frame, and is sorry for it; is verily blinded
in his mind, and is to be
pitied for his mental blindness. (So said the
Grecian philosopher, "it
is no wonder that the mortal should die, and
the fragile would be
broken").
4. As there is no sympathy between the reins
of a horse, and the riding
chariot; so there is no relation between the
organs of the body and the
intellect. (This is in refutation of the
argument, that the motion of a
part affects the whole, as the shaking of the
leaves and branches of a
tree shaketh the trunk also; whereas the motion
of body, makes no effect
on the intellect).
5. As there is no mutual relationship,
between the mud and clear water
of a tank; so O Rāghava! there is no
correlation between the members of
the body and the soul.
6. As the traveller retains no love nor
sorrow for the path he has
passed over, and the journey he has made
already; so the soul bears no
affection nor disaffection, towards the body
with which it sojourned and
which it has left behind. (Though some
departed ghosts, are said to
hover over their dead bodies).
7. As the imaginary ghost and fairy, strike
fear and love in some
persons; so the ideal world inspires pleasure
and pain, in the mind of
the idealist.
8. It is the assemblage of the five
elementary bodies, that has framed
all these different forms of beings in the
world; as it is the same
wood, whereof various images are carved and
made.
9. As you see nothing but the woody substance
in all timbers, so you
find nothing except the assemblage of the
five elements in all tangible
bodies (all of which are subject to change
and dissolution.)
10. Why therefore, O Rāma! should you rejoice
or regret at anything,
seeing that the quintuple elements are wont
to have their own course, in
joining and disjoining themselves, in the
formation and dissolution of
bodies?
11. Why should one be so fond of female
forms, and the forms of all
other beautiful things on earth? seeing that
men run after them like
flies, and then falling in fire only to
consume themselves (i.e. all
goodly forms in the world, being for the
delusion of men, we should
avoid to look upon them).
12. Good features and goodly shapes and
figures, are delightsome to the
ignorant; but to the wise they present their
real figures of the
combination of the five elements and no more.
13. Two statues hewn from the same stone, and
two figures carved of the
selfsame wood, bear no affection to one
another, however they may be
placed near to each other; so it is the case
with the body and mind.
(This sloka is also applied to the want of
fraternal affection, between
brothers born of the same parents).
14. As dolls made of clay and placed together
in a basket, form no
friendship by their long association with one
another; so the
understanding, the organs of sense, the soul
and mind, though so closely
united in the same body, bear no relation
with one another.
15. The marble statues though so fair and
closely kept in a maison
house, contract no acquaintance nor
friendship with one another; so the
organs of sense, the life, the soul and mind,
though they are so
sensible ones, and reside in the same body,
have yet no alliance with
one another.
16. As things growing apart from one another,
come to be joined together
for an instant by some accident, like the
reeds and rushes borne by the
waves of the sea; so are all beings, as men
and their bodily senses and
mind and the soul, brought to meet together
for a time only, in order to
be separated for ever.
17. As reeds and rushes are joined in heaps,
and again separated from
one another by the current of the river; so
the course of time joins the
elements, the mind and soul in gross bodies,
for their separation only.
18. The soul in the form of the mind, unites
the component parts of the
body together; as the sea in the form of its
eddies, rolls the reeds and
rushes with its whirling waters up and down.
19. The soul being awakened to its knowledge
of itself, relinquishes its
knowledge of objects, and becomes purely
subjective in itself; as the
water by its own motion, throws away its dirt
and becomes as pure as
crystal.
20. The soul being released of its objective
knowledge of the world,
looks upon its own body, as celestial deities
look upon this speck of
earth below the region of air (i.e. without concern).
21. Seeing the elemental particles quite
unconnected with the soul, it
becomes disembodied as a pure spirit, and
then shines forth in full
brightness, like the blazing sun at mid-day.
22. It then comes to itself by itself, as it
were without any check or
bounds set to it; and being then set free
from the giddiness of the
objective, it sees itself subjectively in its
own consciousness (as an
immeasurable and boundless space).
23. It is the soul which agitates the world,
rising of its own essence;
as the agitation of the particles of water,
raises the waves raging all
over the wide extent of the sea. (The soul is
the source and spring of
the motion of all bodies).
24. Thus the dispassionate and sinless men of
great understanding, who
have obtained their self-liberation in this
life, move about as freely,
as the waves in the great ocean of the
all-comprehending soul.
25. As the waves move freely in the sea, and
pour the gems and pearls
which they bear over distant shores; so the
best of men rove everywhere
free of all desire, but enriching mankind
with the treasure of their
knowledge.
26. As the sea is not soiled by the floating
woods it carries from the
shore, nor the face of the sky by the flying
dust of the earth; so men
of great minds and souls, are not perverted
by their conduct with the
world. (Or, worldly conduct).
27. Those that are masters of themselves, are
not moved to love or
hatred, in their behaviour with their comers
or goers; or with those
that are steady or fickle in their
friendship, and with such as are
vicious and ignorant.
28. Because they know, that whatever passes
in the mind relating to
worldly matters; are all its vagaries and
reveries of thought, which are
but airy nothing.
29. The knowledge of one's self and of other
things, belonging to the
past, present and future times; and the
relation of the visibles with
the sense of vision, are all the workings of
the mind.
30. The visibles depending upon sight only,
may be false from the
fallacy or deception of our vision; and our
vision of them likening an
apparition in darkness, it is in vain that we
are glad or sorry at their
sight or disappearance.
31. What is unreal is always unreal (and can
never be a reality); and
what is real is ever the same (and can never
be an unreality); but that
which is real and unreal at the same or
different times, must be a false
appearance, and not deserving our rejoicing
or sorrowing at their
presence or absence.
32. Refrain from a partial (i.e. superficial or onesided) view of
things, and employ yourself to the full (or
comprehensive) knowledge of
objects; and know that the learned man of
vast knowledge, never falls
into the erroneous conceptions of things.
33. I have fully expounded the relation of
the visibles and their
vision, and shown the spiritual pleasure
which is derivable from the
contemplation, of the abstract relation
subsisting between them.
34. The abstract meditation of things is said
to be a divine attribute
(or Platonism of the mind); and our consciousness
of the relations of
vision and visibles, afford the highest
delight to the soul.
35. The consideration of the relation of the
visibles and vision,
affords the physical delight of knowing the
material world to the
ignorant; and it gives also the spiritual joy
of liberation to the wise
(by their contemplation of the vanity of all
worldly things).
36. Hence the attachment of our mind to the
visibles, is called its
bondage; and its detachment from them, is
said to be its freedom; the
former is pleasant to the sensuous body, and
the latter is delightsome
to the conscious soul.
37. The mind having the notions of the
relations of things before it,
and freed from the thoughts of its loss and
gain in this world, is said
to enjoy its freedom.
38. Abstaining from the sight of the
visibles, constitutes the hypnotic
vision of the soul, which is enlarged and
illumined by its inward vision
within itself.
39. Release from the bondage of the visibles,
and restraining the mind
to its inward workings, constitute its turīya or fourth stage of
perfection, which is also termed its
liberation.
40. The knowledge of the relations of the
visibles in the conscious
soul, neither makes it stout or lean, nor
more manifest nor obscure in
its nature.
41. It is neither intelligent nor inert, nor
a being nor not being; it
is neither the ego nor nonego, nor an unit
nor many in one.
42. It is not near nor even far from us, nor
is it an entity nor
non-entity either; it is neither within nor
without our reach; it is in
all yet not the all and nothing at all.
[Sanskrit: na tahu re na
tadantike]
43. It is none of the categories nor no
category, nor is it the
quintuple elements nor composed of any one of
them; it is not the well
known mind, which is reckoned as the sixth
organ of sense.
44. That which is beyond all things, is
nothing at all of this world;
but it is something as it is known and seen
in the hearts of the wise.
45. All the world is full of the soul, and
there is nothing which is
without and beyond it. It is in all that is
solid or soft or liquid, and
in all motions which proceed from it.
46. The soul is all in all things, which are
composed of the five
elements of earth, water, air, fire and
vacuum; and there is nothing, O
Rāma! that has its existence without the
essence of the soul.
47. This single soul is diffused in all the
worlds and throughout all
the parts of space and time, there is no
fragment of anything without
the soul; therefore keep thy mind fixed in
the universal soul, if thou
wilt have a great soul in thee.
CHAPTER LXXIII.—Inquiry into the Nature of the Soul.
Argument. Two kinds of Ego, the one
commendable and another
Reprehensible Egoism; the abandonment of
which is tantamount to
Liberation.
Vasishtha continued:—It is by reasoning in
this manner, and renouncing
the knowledge of duality, that the gnostic
comes to know the nature of
his soul; as the gods know the Divine nature
which is the gem of their
meditation—Chintamani.
2. Now hear about this surpassing sight,
which is the soul or in-being
of all visible beings; and by sight of which
you will have the keen
sightedness of the gods, to get into the
sight of the Divinity.
3. Think yourself as the light of sun, and
vacuum with all its ten sides
and the upper and lower regions of space; and
that your soul is the soul
of gods and demigods, and the light of all
luminous bodies.
4. Know yourself as darkness and the clouds,
the earth and seas; and the
air and fire and dust of the earth, and as
the whole world, to be
combined in thee.
5. That you are everywhere in all the three
worlds together with the
soul abiding in them; and that you are no
other than the unity itself;
nor is there any duality of any body, apart
from the unity which
pervades the whole.
6. Being certain of this truth, you will see
the innumerable worlds
situated in thy internal soul; and by this
means you will escape from
being subjected to, or overcome by the joys
and sorrows of life.
7. Say, O lotus-eyed Rāma! how can you call
one as connected with or
separate from you, when you know the whole
world together with yourself,
to be contained in the all-containing
universal soul.
8. Say, do the wise live beside that being,
that they should give way to
joy or grief, which are the two phases of the
universal soul? (The
unwise who think themselves other than the
one, may be affected by such
changes).
9. There are two kinds of egoisms growing out
of the knowledge of truth,
and both of these are good and pure in their
natures, and productive of
spirituality and liberation of men.
10. The one is the ego of the form of a minute particle, transcending
all things in its minuteness; and the other
is the ego of one's self.
The first is that the one ego is all, and the second is the knowledge,
that my or thy ego is the same one.
11. There is a third sort of egoism amounting
to the non-ego, which
takes the body for the ego, and thus becomes
subject to misery, and
finds no rest in this life nor in the next.
12. Now leaving all these three kinds of
subjective, objective and non
egoisms; he who holds fast the fourth sort—non-ego, sees the sole
intellect beyond these three.
13. This essence being above all and beyond
the reach of all existence,
is still the manifesting soul of the unreal
world.
14. Look into it in thy notion of it, and
thou shall find thyself
assimilated to it; and then get rid of all
thy desires and ties of thy
heart herein, and become full of divine
knowledge.
15. The soul is neither known by any logical
inference, nor from the
light the revelations of the vedas; it is
always best and most fully
known to be present with us by our notion of
it.
16. All the sensations and vibrations that we
have in our bodies, and
all the thoughts we are conscious of in our
minds, are all affections of
the sovereign soul, which is beyond our
vision and the visibles.
(Invisible yet best seen in all its works and
workings in us).
17. This Lord is no real substance, nor an
unreal non-entity; He is not
a minutiae nor a vast massiveness neither; He
is not in the midst of
these dimensions, nor is he this or that, but
is always as he is. (I am
that I am; says the Revelation).
18. It is improper to tell him such and such,
or that he is otherwise
than this or that; know him therefore as the
inexpressible and
undefinable one.
19. To say this is the soul and not the soul,
is only a verbal
difference of what no words can express or
differentiate; it is the
omnipresent power to which the soul is
attributed.
20. It is present in all places, and comprehends
the three times of the
past, present and future in itself; and is
yet invisible and
incomprehensible to us, owing to its extreme
rarity and immensity.
21. The soul residing in the infinity of
substances, reflects itself as
the living soul in animated bodies, as the
sun-light reflects its rays
in a prismatic glass.
22. It is owing to the animating power of the
soul, that we have some
notion of the soul (which no inanimate being
can ever have). The soul
though pervading all things, is most manifest
in living bodies, as the
air which surrounds all bodies everywhere,
circulates only in the open
etherial space.
23. The intellectual soul is all pervading
and ubiquious, and never
stationary in any place (as in the ideal
heaven or empyrian of some
sects); the spirit of the Lord is
co-extensive with the vast range of
his creation.
24. But the animating soul of living beings
does not breathe in minerals
but in animals only; as the light enlightens
the eye only, and the dust
flies with the winds.
25. When the animating principle resides in
the soul, it bursts forth
with all its desires; as people pursue their
callings when the sun has
risen above the horizon (i.e. all desires are concomitant with the
living soul and not with lifeless beings, as
all actions are attendant
upon the waking world, and not upon the
sleeping).
26. But as it is nothing to the sun, if
people should cease from their
activities, when he is shining above their
heads; so it is nothing to
the intellect, whether men be without their
desires and actions, while
it resides in the soul.
27. If the soul is existent by the inherence
of the Lord (Intellect) in
it, it suffers no loss by the absence of the
frail body from it. (There
is a Divinity that acts within us, and is
deathless at the death of the
body).
28. The soul is not born nor does it die, it
neither receiveth nor
desireth anything; it is not restrained nor
liberated; but it is the
soul of all at all times.
29. The soul is awakened by its
enlightenment, or else the soul is
supposed in what is no soul for our misery
only; as the supposition of a
snake in a rope, leads to our error and fear.
30. Being without its beginning, it is never
born, and being unborn it
is never destroyed; it seeks nothing save
itself for lack of anything
besides.
31. The soul being unbounded by time and
space, is never confined in any
place; and being always unconfined, it
requires no liberation.
32. Such, O Rāma! are the qualities of the
souls of all persons; and yet
the ignorant deplore for its loss from their
want of reason.
33. Look thoroughly, O Rāma! into the course
of all things in the world;
and do not lament for anything like senseless
men.
34. Abandon the thoughts of both your
imaginary confinement and
liberation; and behave yourself as wise men
like a dumb selfmoving
machine.
35. Liberation is a thing neither confined in
this earth or in heaven
above or pātāla below; but resides in the hearts of the wise, in their
pure souls and enlightened understandings.
36. The tenuity of the mind, by its
expurgation from gross desires, is
said to be its liberation by them that know
the truth, and look into the
workings of their souls.
37. As long as the pure light of the
intellect, does not shines forth in
the sphere of the mind, so long does it long
for liberation as it's
chief good. Liberation or freedom from all
feelings, is less meritorious
than the knowledge of all things. Here the
sage gives preference to
knowledge (guāna) above liberation (moksha).
38. After the mind has got the fulness of its
intellectual powers, and
the intellect has been fully enlightened; it
would not care for all the
tenfold blessings of liberation, and far less
desire its salvation also.
39. Cease O Rāma, to think about the
distinctions of the bondage and
liberation of the soul; and believe its
essence to be exempted from
both.
40. So be freed from your thoughts of the
duality (of worldly bondage
and liberty), and remain steadfast to your
duty of ruling the earth to
its utmost limit of the sea, dug by the sons
of Sagara (now called
Sagara or the Bay of Bengal).
CHAPTER LXXIV.—Lecture on Apathy or Stoicism.
Argument. Error is the cause of the
misconception of the World,
and Right Reason is the means of deliverance
from it.
Vasishtha Continued:—It is a pleasure to look
at the outer world, and
painful to turn the sight to the inner soul;
as it is pleasant to see
the delightful prospects abroad, and
bitterness of the heart to be
without them. (All men court pleasure, but
fly from pain).
2. It is by the fascination of these
delightsome objects, that we are
subjected to all our errors and blunders; as
the taste of spirituous
liquors, fills the brain with giddiness.
3. It is this intoxication, that drives the
knowledge of sober truth
from our minds, and introduces the delirium
of the phenomenal world in
its stead; as the heat of the sun (like the
heat of the brain), produces
the false mirage in the desert.
4. It is then that the deep ocean of the soul
boils in its various
aspects of the mind, understanding, egoism,
sensation and volition; as
the sea when moved by the hot winds, bursts
in the forms of foaming
froths, waves and surges.
5. The duality of the mind and its egoism, is
only a verbal distinction
and not distinct in reality; for egoism is
but a thought chitta, and
the thought is no other than the mind or manas.
6. As it is in vain to conceive the snow
apart from its whiteness, so it
is false to suppose the mind as distinct from
egoism (because the ego is
a conception of the mind only).
7. There is no difference of the ego from the
mind, as the destruction
of the one is attended with the loss of the
other also; just as the
removal of the cloth, is accompanied with the
absence of its colour
also. (Egoism is said to be the son of the
mind, and the one dies
without the other).
8. Avoid both your desire of liberation, as
also your eagerness for
worldly bondage; but strive to enfeeble your
mind by lessening its
egoism, by the two means of your indifference
to and discrimination of
worldly objects (i.e. neither seek the world nor hate it, but remain
as an indifferent spectator of everything).
9. The thought of getting liberation, growing
big in the mind, disturbs
its peace and rest, and injures the body also
(by a rigid observance of
the austerities necessary for liberation).
10. The soul being either apart from all
things, or intimately connected
with all, can neither have its liberation nor
bondage also (when it is
already so separate from, as well as united
with everything in the
world).
11. When the air circulates in the body, by
its natural property of
motion, it gives movement to the members of
the body, and moves the
voluble tongue, like the flitting leaf of a
tree.
12. As the restless wind, gives motion to the
leaves and twigs of trees;
so the vital airs add their force to the
movement of the members of the
body.
13. But the soul which pervades the whole,
never moveth like the wind,
nor is it moved as any part of the body; it
does not move of itself, but
remains unshaken as a rock at the motion of
the winds, and like the Lord
of all, it is unmoved by the breeze.
14. The soul shows by its reflexion, all
things that are hid in it; as
the lamp discovers by its light, whatever lay
concealed in the darkness
of the room.
15. It being so (but a counterfeit copy), why
should you fall into the
painful error, of conceiving like the
ignorant and senseless men, that
these members of your body and these things
belong to you?
16. Thus infatuated by ignorance, men think
the frail body as lasting,
and attribute knowledge and agency of action
to it (which in reality
belong to the soul).
17. It is gross error only, that makes us
believe the body as an
automaton, or self-acting machine of its motions, actions and
passions; and it is our sanguine wishes only,
that present so many false
views before us, as the solar heat, raises
the mirage of water in the
sandy desert.
18. It is this ignorance of truth, which
makes the mind to pant after
the pleasures of sense; and drags it along like
a thirsty doe, to perish
in the aqueous mirage of the parching shore.
19. But untruth being detected from truth, it
flies from the mind, as a
chandāla woman when once known she comes to
be as such, flies afar from
the society of Brahmans.
20. So when error comes to be found out, it
can no more beguile the mind
than the mirage when it is discovered as such
fails to attract the
thirsty to it.
21. Rāma! as truth is known and rooted in the
mind, the seeds of earthly
desires are uprooted from it, as thick darkness
is dispelled by the
light of a lamp.
22. As the mind arrives to certain truths, by
the light of the sastras
and reason; so its errors fastly fade away
like icicles, melting under
the heat of the solar rays.
23. The certainty of the moral truth, that
'it is useless to foster and
fatten this frail frame of the body,' is as
powerful to break down the
trammels of worldly desires, as the robust
lion is capable to break down
the iron grate of his prison.
24. The mind of man being freed from the
bonds of its desires, becomes
as brilliant as the moonlight night, with the
pure beams of
disinterested delight.
25. The contented mind gets a coolness like
that of a heated rock, after
it is washed by a shower of rain; and it
finds a satisfaction equal to
that of a pauper, by his getting the riches
of a king and his whole
kingdom.
26. The countenance of the contented man,
shines as clear as the face of
the autumnal sky; and his soul overflows with
delight, like the deluvial
waters of the deep.
27. The contented man is as silent, as the
mute cloud after the rain;
and his soul remains as composed with its
consciousness, as the profound
sea is tranquil with its fulness.
28. He has his patience and steadiness like
those of a rock, and he
glistens as quietly in himself, as the
glowing fire glitters after its
fuel is burnt out.
29. He is extinct in himself as the
extinguished lamp; and has his
inward satisfaction as one who has feasted on
ambrosia.
30. He shines with his inward light like a
lantern with its lighted
lamp; and as fire with its internal lustre,
which can never be put out.
31. He sees his soul, as identic with the
universal and all pervading
soul; which is the lord and master of all,
and which abides in all forms
in its formless state.
32. He smiles at every thing, by his setting
himself above and beyond
all mortal and frail things; his days glide
away sweetly and softly with
him; and he laughs at those men, whose fickle
minds are made the marks
of cupid's arrows.
33. His holy mind is isolated from the
society of men, and from all
their amusements; and rests secluded from all
company and concern, with
the fulness of its spiritual bliss within
itself.
34. It gets clear of the turbid and turbulent
ocean of this world, and
is quite cleared of the dirt of worldly desires;
it is loosened from the
fetters of its error, and set free from the
fear of dualism.
35. The man being thus released, attains the
highest state of humanity,
and rests in that supreme felicity, which is
desired by all and found by
few, and from which nobody returns to revisit
the earth.
36. This height of human ambition being
arrived at, there is nothing
else to wish for; and this great
gratification being once gained, there
is no other joy which can delight us more.
37. The self contented man, neither gives to
nor receives anything from
anybody; he neither praises nor dispraises
any one, nor does he rejoice
or grieve at anything, nor is he ever elated
nor depressed at any
occurrence.
38. He is said to be liberated in his life
time, for his taking no title
on himself, and withholding from all
business; as also for his being
free from desires (which bind a man fast to
this earth).
39. Abstain from wishing any thing in your
heart, and hold your tongue
in tacit silence; and remain as dumb as a
cloud after it has poured down
all its waters.
40. Even the embrace of a fairy fails to
afford such delight to the
body, as the cooling beams of contentment
gladdens the mind.
41. Though decked with the disk of the moon,
dangling as a breast plate
from the neck, one does not derive such
coolness, as he feels in himself
from the frigidity of contentment-sang froid.
42. The florid arboret decorated with the
blooming florets of the vernal
season, is not so refreshing to sight; as the
smiling countenance of
one, fraught with the magnanimity of his
soul, and want of cupidity in
his mind.
43. Neither the frost of the snowy mountain,
nor the coldness of a
string of pearls; not even the gelidness of
the plantain or sandal
paste, or the refreshing beams of the
lightsome moon, can afford that
internal coolness, as the want of appetency
produces in the mind.
44. Contentedness or inappetency of
everything, is more charming than
the pleasurableness of royal dignity and
heavenly felicity, and the
pleasantness of moonlight and vernal delights.
It is more charming than
the enchanting graces of a beauty, (which
ravish the senses and not the
soul).
45. Inappetence is the source of that
complete self-sufficiency, to
which the riches of the three worlds can make
no addition. (Lit. It
cares not a straw (or a fig) for all the
prosperity of the world).
46. Self-complacency strikes the axe at the
root of the thorny
difficulties of the world; and decorates its
possessor with blessings
like the blossoms of a flowery tree.
47. The man decorated with inappetency (or
self sufficiency), has all in
himself though possest of nothing. He spurns
the deep earth as a cave,
and the big mountain as the trifling trunk of
a tree. He looks on all
the sides of air as mere caskets, and regards
the worlds as straws.
48. The best of men that are devoid of
desire, laughs to scorn at the
busy affairs of the world, and at men taking
from one and giving to
another, or storing or squandering their
riches.
49. That man is beyond all comparison, who
allows no desire to take root
in his heart, and does not care a fig or a
straw for the world.
50. Wherewith is that man to be compared,
whose mind is never employed
in the thoughts of craving something and
avoiding another, and who is
ever master of himself?
51. O ye wise and intelligent men! rely on
the want of cravings of your
heart, which is your greatest good fortune,
by setting you to the bliss
of safety and security, and beyond the reach
of the dangers and
difficulties of the world.
52. Rāma! you have nothing to desire in this
world, nor are you led away
by worldly desires, like one who is borne in
a car, and thinks that his
side-views are receding back from him.
53. O intelligent Rāma! why do you fall into
the error of ignorant men,
by taking this thing to be yours and that as
another's by the delusion
of your mind? (For all things are the Lord
God's for ever more, and
mortal men are but the poor pensioners of a
day).
54. The whole world is the selfsame spirit,
and all its variety is in
perfect uniformity with the supreme soul; the
learned know that the
world is eternally the same and unvaried in
itself, and do not grieve at
the apparent changes of things and
vicissitudes of times.
55. Seeing all things in their true light, to
be a manifestation of the
divine essence; all intelligent men place
their dependance in Him (as
the support and substance of all), and do not
desire for any thing else.
56. Rely therefore on that invariable state
of things, which is free
from the conditions of existence and
inexistence and of beginning and
end (and this is the everlasting essence of
God which fills the whole).
57. This illusive enchantment of the world
flies afar before the
indifference of strongminded men; as the
timid fawn flies of or at the
sight of the ferocious lion.
58. Men of subdued passions and sedate minds,
regard the graces of fairy
forms, to be no more than the loveliness of
wild creepers, or the fading
beauty of dilapidated statues of stone.
59. No pleasures gladden their hearts nor
dangers depress their spirits;
no outward good or bad can make any effect on
their minds, which are as
inflexible as the firm rocks against the
violence of winds.
60. The mind of the magnanimous sage, is as
impregnable as a rock, which
baffles the blandishments of youthful
damsels, and breaks the darts of
love to pieces, and falling down as
pulverised atoms of dust and ashes.
61. One knowing his self, is not carried away
by his fondness or
aversion of any person or thing; because the
heart which has no
vibration in it, is insensible of all
feelings.
62. The dispassionate man who looks on all
things with an equal eye, is
as insensible as a stone of the charms of
blooming maids; and is as
averse to pernicious pleasures as a traveller
is to the sandy desert.
63. All things necessary for life, are
obtained with little labour of
those, who are indifferently minded about
their gain; and the wise get
the free gifts of nature, with as much ease
as the eye sight gets the
solar light. (Nature's-bounties of air and
light and of water and
vegetable food, which are essential to life,
are denied to nobody).
64. The gifts of nature, which are alloted by
fortune to the share of
every one, are relished by the wise without
their rejoicing or murmur.
65. Neither rejoicing nor bewilderment, can
overtake the mind of the
way-farer, who well knows his way (and is
aware of the states of its
stages); but he stands firm as the Mandāva
mountain, amidst the
turbulent waves of the sea.
66. He looks indifferently on the pains and
pleasures of the world, with
his usual patience, taciturnity and want of
anxiety; and relies his
trust in that spirit, which resides in the
interior of every body.
67. Though beset by anxious cares, he remains
without the anxiety of his
mind; and stands steadfast with his
confidence in the supreme soul, like
Brahmā in his hurry of the creation of the
world.
68. Though overtaken by the accidents of the
times, places and
circumstances of life, yet he is not
overpowered by the influence of
their pain or pleasure; but stands erect as
the sturdy oak against the
influence of the seasons.
69. The wise may fail in the action of their
bodily organs, and falter
in their speech also; but their strong and
unconcerned
minds never fail
in their operations, nor despond under the
pressure of outward
circumstances.
70. The gold becomes impure by its inward
alloy, and not by its outward
soil; so a man becomes unholy by the impurity
of heart and foulness of
his mind, and not on account of the dust or
dirt on his body.
71. The learned understand the wise man apart
from his body; because the
maimed body does not take away anything from
the wisdom of a man.
72. The pure and luminous soul being once
known, is never to be lost
sight-of, as a friend being once known, is
never thought to be a foe.
73. The fallacy of the snake in the rope,
being once-removed, it is no
more looked upon as a snake; as the river
receiving its torrents from
the water-fall of a hill in the rainy season,
retains no more its
current after the rains have passed.
74. Gold though purified by fire, does not
retain its purity for ever;
for it becomes dirty by being thrown into the
mud and mire.
75. After the heart string has been broken,
it can never be joined any
more; as the first that has fallen down from
its stalk, can be stuck to
it no more.
76. As no analysis can distinguish the gem
from the ore, when they are
both broken to pieces; so there is no
reasoning to show the soul which
is lost with body.
77. Who that knows what error is, will be so
great a fool as to fall to
it again? as none that has known a body of
men to be the pariah
chandalas, will ever like to mix in their
company.
78. As the mistake of milk in water, passes
away upon examination of the
liquid; so the error of worldly desires,
vanishes upon knowledge of
their vanity.
79. Even learned Brahmans may fall into the
error, of drinking some
liquor for pure water; until they come to
detect their mistake of the
same. (So the wise are deluded to error, by
their mistake of the same).
80. Those who are acquainted with truth, took
upon fairy forms and
features in no better light than as paintings
and pictures with respect
to their outward bodies.
81. The sable locks and crimson lips of the
fairy, are portrayed as in
black and red in a picture; so their is no
difference of the figure in
its living form or in painting.
82. The idea of sweetness which is
accompanied with that of molasses, is
not to be separated in the mind even by its
separation from the body; in
the same manner the idea of bliss is
inseparably accompanied with that
of the soul, which is indestructible by the
destruction of the body.
83. Spiritual felicity may be enjoyed in this
corporeal body, in the
same manner, as one enjoys the pleasure of
imagination, while he is
occupied with his bodily functions.
84. Thus a man who is steadfast in his
spiritual meditation, and intent
upon the supreme soul, is not to be turned
away from it by the power of
the gods, or by the jealousy of Indra (for
the preservation of his
dignity, from its being superceded by an
austere devotee).
85. As there is no lover of a licentious woman,
that can turn her heart
from the dearest object of her love; so there
is nothing in the world
that can alienate the fickle mind, from its
love of spiritual joy.
86. There is no such joy in the whole world,
which is able to divert the
mind of the magnanimous philosopher, from its
reliance on the delight of
intellectual light.
87. As a domiciled woman who is subject to
all domestic toils and
privations, and is constantly employed in her
household drudgeries, and
subjected to maltreatment under the subjection
of her husband and
father-in-law:—
88. Has still the comfort of thinking on her
sweet heart, and dissipate
her sorrows with the thought of her favourite
lover; such is the mystic
love of spiritualists (as that of Persean
Mystic poets).
89. So the man who is bound to the cares of
worldly affairs, has the
consolation of his soul and spiritual bliss,
by freeing his mind from
ignorance, and conducting himself in the
right way, by his comprehensive
view of all things. (The worldly man may have
the blessing of
spiritualism).
90. He does not break under his bodily
torture, nor does he wail with
his bleeding heart and weeping eyes; he is
not burnt by the flame of his
martyrdom, nor does he die when perishing
under the scourge of the stake
and stock of persecution. (As the crucifixion
of Mandavy did not alter
the tenor of his mind. Gloss. Nor the unity of Mansur belief was
changed by the cruciating pains of the cross.
So says Hafiz. Kashad
maqshe Ana-al Haq bar Zamin Khun; cho Mansur
ar Kuni bar daram imshab).
91. The mind is free from the pain and
pleasure which befall to the lot
of humanity, and is unmoved amidst all the
mishaps of fortune. The
devotee rejoices in the region of his
spiritual bliss, whether he
remains in his hermitage in the forest, or
wanders about in deserts, or
ranges wide over mountains.
CHAPTER LXXV—On Mancipation and Emancipation.
Argument. Instances of the Enfranchisement of
many great
Examplars in Active Life among gods and men.
Vasishtha continued:—See, Janaka the king
employed in the government of
his realm, and yet liberated in his lifetime
from his bondage in the
world; by means of his mental release from
all its cares and anxieties.
2. Remember your grand sire Dilīpa, who
though deeply engaged in his
state affairs, had yet enjoyed his long and
peaceful reign, owing to the
dispassionateness of his disposition; (which
is tantamount to
self-liberation).
3. Think of Buddha who ruled over his people,
freed from all his
passions and affections; and bring to your
mind, how Manu ruled over in
peace, his realm and who was as an exemplar
of liberation in his
lifetime.
4. Remember how the monarch Māndhātā, had
obtained the blessed state of
his affranchisement; though he was incessantly
engaged in various
warfares and state affairs.
5. Think of Bali, who while he was confined
in the infernal region,
conducted himself in his virtuous course, and
became liberated in his
lifetime, by his unbounded bounty and want of
attachment to the world.
6. Namuchi the lord of Danavas, who carried
continued wars and
contentions against the gods; was
notwithstanding cool and quiet in his
mind (which bespoke his freedom from earthly
broils and bondage).
7. Vritra the Asura who fell in his battle with
the god Indra, was
however, of a great and calmly quiet mind, as
long as he faught with
him. (Vritra the Assyrian, called Vihithru in
Zend, was killed by Indra
the Aryan).
8. Prahlada the prince of the Daityas,
dwelling in the demoniac world
underneath the ground, dispensed his
dispensations to them, with an
unruffled and gladsome mind (and this want of
perturbation, is
tantamount to the deliverance of the mind,
from the fetters of earthly
broils).
9. Sambara the demon, who was a sorcerer in
warfare, was as cool blooded
as water in his heart; whereby he was
delivered from the sorcery of the
world, as a fleet deer flying from the dart.
(Here is a play upon the
word Sambara, which is repeated four times
without their different
meanings being given in the gloss).
10. The demon Kusala also, whose mind was not
fettered to the world,
waged an unprofitable war against Vishnu;
from whom he obtained his
spiritual knowledge, and his deliverence from
this temporary scene.
11. Look at fire how free and uncompressed it
is, while it answers for
the mouth of gods, and serves to intromit for
them the oblations that
are offered to it, and perform the endless
works of fusion for them.
(The evanescent fire is said to be the mouth
of the gods, because the
primeval Aryans represented as gods, had long
learnt to take boiled food
cooked on fire, before the raw flesh eaters
of the Turanian tribes. The
yajniya oblations stand for all sorts of daily consecrated food
of the
panchayajnas. The endless works of fire allude to the
vulcanian arts
first, discovered by the Aryans).
12. See the gods drinking the juice of Soma
plants, and presiding over
the endless functions of the world; are ever
as free as air (neither to
be seen nor touched by anybody).
13. Jupiter the leader of the gods, and Moon
the pursuer of his wife
Rohini, have been continually performing
their revolutions, without
changing their places in heaven; and so the
other planets also.
14. Sukra-(Venus) the learned preceptor of
the Asura demons, shines in
the same manner in the heavenly sphere, and
runs in his unvaried course,
of protecting the interests of the Asuras.
15. See also the winds to be flying freely at
all times, and through all
the worlds, with their charge of enlivening
and giving motion to all
bodies.
16. See Brahmā continuing in the same
unchangeable state of his mind,
and giving life and velocity to all beings,
which have been thereby
continually moving about in the world.
17. The lord Hari, though ever liberated from
every bond, has been
continually employed in his contests and
combats with the Asuras as if
in sport.
18. The three-eyed god Siva, though ever
freed from all concerns, is
joined in one body with his dearer half the
beauteous Gaurī, in the
manner of a lover enamoured of his beloved
one.
19. The fair Hara thou ever free, is bound to
the embrace of his fairy
Gaurī, and was as a crescent of the fair
moon, or as a lace of pure
pearls about her neck.
20. The heroic Skanda who was of vast
understanding, and like a sea of
the gems of his learning, and perfectly free
(as the sole lord of the
world), made war with Taraka (Darius?) of his
free will. (This passage
plainly shows them to be Alexander and Darius
of history).
21. Mark how Bhringi the attendant of Siva,
was absorbed in his
meditation, and thinking himself to be freed
from the burden of his
body, made a free offering of his blood and
flesh to his goddess Gaurī.
22. The sage Nārada, who was of a liberated
nature from his very birth,
and resigned the world and all its concerns
altogether, was still
engaged in many affairs with his cool
understanding.
23. The honourable Viswāmitra who is now
present here, is liberated in
his life time, and yet he does not slight to
preside at sacrifices,
solemnized according to the ritual of the
sacred veda.
24. The infernal snake bears the earth on its
head, and the sun makes
the day by turns; the god of death is ever
employed in his act of
destruction, and still they are all free
agents of their acts.
25. There are many others among the Yakkas,
Suras and Asuras of the
world, who are all liberated in their life
time, and still employed in
their respective employments.
26. What numbers of them are employed in
worldly affairs, and how many
more are engaged in different courses of
life; and still they are cold
blooded and cool headed within themselves,
and as still and quiet as
cold stones without.
27. Some attaining the acme of their
understanding, have retired to
solitude, to pass their lives in abstract
meditation; and among these
are the venerable Bhrigu and Bharadvāja,
Sukra and Viswāmitra (who were
not less serviceable to mankind by many of
their acts and works).
28. Many among mankind were rulers of their
realms, and held the exalted
canopy and chowry and other ensigns of
royalty on their heads, and were
not less distinguished for the piety and
spirituality at the same time.
Among these, the conduct of the royal
personages Janaka, Saryali and
Māndhatrī, stand preeminent above the rest.
29. Some among the living-liberated, are
situated in the planetary
spheres, and are thence adored by their
devotees for their blessings on
the world. Of these Jupiter and Venus, the
Sun and Moon, are the deities
of gods, demons and human kind.
30. Some among the deities, are seated in
their heavenly vehicles, and
continually ministering to the wants of all
created beings, as the
regents of fire, air, water and death and
Tumbura and Nārada.
31. Some situated in the secluded regions of
Pātāla, are equally
distinguished both for their holiness and
piety; such as Vali, Subotra,
Andha, Prahlāda and others.
32. Among beasts of the field and fowls of
the air, and inferior
animals, you will find many intelligent
beings, as the bird Garuda
(Jove's eagle), and the monkey Hanumāna (the
god Pan), Jambubāna &c; and
among the demigods there are some that are
sapient, and others as muddle
headed as beasts.
33. Thus it is possible for the universal soul
that resides everywhere,
and is at all times the same, to show itself
in any form in any being
according to its will (since it is all in
all).
34. It is the multifarious law of His eternal
decree, and the manifold
display of His infinite power, that invests
all things with multiform
shapes and diverse capacities, as they appear
to us.
35. This law of divine decree is the lord of
all, and embodies in itself
the creative, preservative and destructive
powers under the titles of
Brahmā, Vishnu and Siva. These names are
indicative of the intelligent
faculties of the universal soul.
36. It is not impossible for the supreme
soul, to reside in all bodies
in any manners it likes; it presides
sometimes in the manner of the
grains of pure gold, amidst worthless sands
and dust; and at others as
the mixture of some base metal in pure gold.
37. Seeing some good connected with or
resulting from evil, our
inclinations would lead us even to the evil
(in expectation of reaping
the good); were it not for fear of the
sinfulness of the act and its
consequent punishment, that we are deterred
from doing it (i.e. human
nature is addicted to vice, but fear of sin
and its punishment, leads us
to virtue. Had there been no such thing, we
would all become vicious).
38. We see sometimes something substantial
arising from the
unsubstantial, as we arrive to the
substantial good of divine presence,
by means of the unsubstantial meditation of
his negative attributes
(that he is neither this nor that nor such
and such (neti-neti-iti
sruti).
39. What never existed before, comes to
existence at sometime or place
unknown to us; as the horns of a hare which
are never to be seen in
nature, are shown to us in magic play, and by
the black art of sorcery.
40. Those which are seen to exist firm and
solid as adamant, become null
and void and disperse in air; as the sun and
moon, the earth and
mountains, and the godlike people of the
antedeluvian world.
41. Seeing these changes in the state of
things, you must give up, O
mighty armed Rāma! your joy and grief on any
occasion, and preserve the
equanimity of your mind at all times.
42. The unreal (material existence) seems as
real, and the sober reality
(of spiritual essence), appears as a
non-entity in nature; resign
therefore your reliance in this deceitful
world, and preserve the
equanimity of your mind under all
circumstances.
43. It is true that you gain nothing by your
resignation of the world;
and it is equally true on the other hand,
that you lose nothing by your
getting rid of its unrealities by yourself.
44. But it is true, O Rāma! that you gain a
certain good by your getting
rid of this world; and it is your riddance
from the manifold evils and
mischances, which are unavoidable
concommittants with this life.
45. Again you obtain the certain gain of your
salvation, by your
resignation of the world, which you can never
earn by your attachment to
it. Therefore strive for your liberation by
purging your mind from its
attachments to the world.
46. He who wishes for his prosperity, must
take the pains to have an
insight of his soul; because a single glimpse
of the soul, is sure to
cut off all the pains and pangs of the world
from their root.
47. There are many dispassionate and
disconnected men, even in the
present age; who are liberated in their
lifetime, like the sacrificial
king Janaka and others.
48. So you too are liberated for life, for
your having an unpassionate
and unprejudiced mind, and may manage to
conduct yourself with your
tolerant spirit, like the patient earth,
stone and moveless metals.
49. There are two kinds of liberation for
living beings, viz.: one in
their present life and body, and the other
after separation of life from
the body, both of which admit of some
varieties as you will bear
afterwards.
50. First of all the peace of mind, from its
unconcernedness with
everything is termed its liberation; and it
is possible to be had by the
sinless man either in this life or in the
next.
51. Lessening of affections is fraught with
the bliss of solity
(Kaivalya), and it is possible to become
impassible both in the embodied
as will as disembodied states of life.
52. He who lives in perfect apathy and
without his affection for any
body, is called the living liberated man; but
the life which is bound by
its affections is said to be in bondage, or
else it is free as air.
53. It is possible to obtain liberation, by
means of diligent inquiry
and reasoning; or else it is as difficult to
come to it, as it is hard
for a lame man to leap over a hole, though as
small as the footmark of a
cow-goshpada.
54. For know, O Rāma of great soul, that the
soul should not be cast
into misery by your neglect of it, or by
subjecting it through ignorance
to its affection for others (i.e. be master of yourself and not bound
to others).
55. He who relies on his patience, and
employs his mind, and cogitates
upon the supreme soul in his own soul, for
the attainment of his
consummation; finds the deep abyss of the
world, as a small chink in his
vast comprehension.
56. The high station to which Buddha had
attained by his patience, and
from which the Arhata prince fell to
scepticism by his impatience; and
that summum bonum which is reached at by great minds, is the fruit of
the tree of diligent inquiry, which like the
Kalpa arbor, yields all
what is desired of it.
CHAPTER LXXVI.—The World Compared with the Ocean.
Argument. The world likened to the ocean, and
the women to its
waves. The means of passing over it, and the
delight when it is
got over.
Vasishtha continued:—These worlds which have
sprung from Brahmā the
creator, are upheld by ignorance, and become
extinct before right reason
(i.e. their materiality melts away before the light of true
philosophy).
2. The worlds are vortices of water, and
whirlpools in the ocean of
Brahmā. They are as numerous as the particles
of light, and as
innumerable as the motes that fly in the
sunbeams.
3. It is the imperfect knowledge of the world
that is the cause of its
existence (or makes it appear as an entity);
but full knowledge of it
makes it vanish into nothing. (These are the
two opposite systems of
materialism and immaterialism).
4. The world is a dreadful ocean unbounded
and unfordable; and there is
no means of getting over it, save by the raft
of right investigation and
diligent scrutiny.
5. This ocean is full with the water of
ignorance, and its vast basin is
filled with fatal whirlpools and overwhelming
waves of discord and
dangers.
6. Here goodness and good actions float on
the surface, as its froth and
foams; but they hide the deadly latent heat
of hellfire underneath. Here
roll the incessant billows of avarice, and
there snores the huge whale,
and the great leviathan of the mind.
7. It is the reservoir of the endless
channels and rivulets of life,
running as its streams and currents; and it
is the depository of
innumerable treasures of brilliant gems
hidden under its depth. It is
infested by the serpents of diseases, and the
horrid sharks of the
senses.
8. See Rāma, the playful women, resembling
the tremulous billows of this
ocean; and are able to attract and pierce the
hearts of the wise, with
the hooks and horns of their looks.
9. Their lips are as red as rubies, and their
eyes are as black as blue
lotuses; their teeth are as the unblown
blossoms of fruits and flowers,
and their sweet smiles are as the hoary froth
of the sea.
10. The curled locks of their hairs are as
the crisped creepers of blue
lotuses, and their twisted eyebrows are as
the slanting of little
billows; their backsides are as protruded
islets, and their throats and
necks are lined over like conchshells.
11. Their foreheads are as plates of gold,
and their graces as the
sharks of the sea; their loose glances are as
the splashing waves, and
their complexions are gold coloured like the
sands on the sea shore.
12. Such is this ocean-like world, with its
tremendous surges and
rolling waves; and it is the part of manhood
to buffet it over by manly
exertions, in order to save one's self from
sinking under them.
13. Fie for that man! who having good sense
for his vessel, and reason
for his helmsman, does not conduct himself
across the wide expanse of
this worldly ocean.
14. He is reckoned the most valiant man, who
measures the immeasurable
expanse of this ocean (by his knowledge of
the Infinite soul, which
comprehends the whole within itself).
15. Considering well about this world with
the learned, and looking into
all its hazards with the eye of the mind, he
who relies his trust in the
Lord, becomes blest forever.
16. You are truly blest, O Rāma! that are
employed from your early youth
to scrutinize about this world.
17. Men who consider the world, and take it
in the same light of a
dangerous ocean as you do, are not likely to
be drowned in it, when they
steer their bark in it after due consideration.
18. The enjoyments of the world are to be
duly considered, ere one dares
to come to the enjoyment of them; and like
the ambrosia, before they
feed on any other fare (like Garuda—the head
of the fowls of the air).
19. He who considers beforehand the
employment he should engage in, and
the enjoyments he ought to share in this
world, fares well in his
present and future life; or else he falls to
danger like the
inconsiderate man.
20. The judicious and preadmonished man,
prospers in his fame and
fortune, and rises in his power and
understanding in his life; as the
trees come to flower and fructify in spring.
21. Rāma! you will shine with the elegance of
the bright and cooling
moonbeams, and with the beauty of perpetual
prosperity, if you will but
begin your worldly career with full
knowledge, of all that is to be
known respecting the world before hand.
CHAPTER LXXVII.—On Living Liberation.
Argument. On Liberation from Earthly Bondage,
and Salvation of
the Soul during one's Lifetime.
Rāma rejoined:—O sage! nobody is satiate with
all thou sayest, but must
learn more and more from you; therefore say
in short the substance of
the present subject, which is as grand as it
is wondrous to hear.
2. Vasishtha replied:—I have already given
you many interpretations of
living liberation, and here are some more for
your satisfaction and
close attention.
3. With their visual organs they view this
world, as a hazy maze in
their state of sound sleep; and they consider
it as an unreality in
their spiritual light, when their minds are
fixed in the Supreme soul
only.
4. He who has got his disengagement, has his
mind as still as in sleep;
and he that sees the soul, is ravished with
joy at the sight.
5. He takes nothing that is within his reach,
nor retains what is within
his grasp; but keeps his mind looking within
himself as having
everything there. (The liberated and
self-contented man having nothing
in his hand, has all in his inward soul).
6. He sees the bustle of the tumultuous with
the eye of his mind, and
smiles in himself at the hurry and flurry of
the world (like the
laughing philosopher of old).
7. He does not live in future expectation,
nor does he rely in his
present possession; he does not live on the
pleasure of his past memory,
but lives listless of all (in perfect insouciance).
8. Sleeping he is awake, in his vision of
heavenly light, and waking he
is plunged in the deep sleep of his mental
reveries; he does all his
works with his external body; but he does
nothing with his inward mind
(which is fixed in his God).
9. In his mind he has relinquished the
thoughts of all things, and
renounced his care also for anything; he does
his outward actions, and
remains as even as if he has done nothing.
(The spiritualist is neither
concerned with nor affected by his external
acts).
10. He pursues the course of duties of his
caste and family, as they
have descended to him from the custom of his
forefathers.
11. He does all that is required and expected
of him with a willing
mind, and without the error of believing
himself as their actor. (He
does them as a machine, and without the false
persuasion of his agency
of them).
12. He remains insouciant, of all that he does by rote and habit, and
neither longs for, nor loathes nor rejoices
nor grieves at anything.
13. He takes no notice of the amity or enmity
of others to him, and is
devoted to them that are devoted to him; but
cunning with such as deal
in craftiness with him.
14. He deals as a boy with boys, and as a
veteran with old people; he is
youthful in the society of young men, and is
grave in the company of the
aged and wise. He is not without sympathy
with the woes of others (but
rejoices at their happiness).
15. He opens his mouth in edifying speeches,
and never betrays his
penury in any way; he is always sedate in his
mind, and ever of a
cheerful complexion.
16. He is wise and deep, yet open and sweet
(in his conversation; and is
full with the fulness of his knowledge, as
the full moon with all her
digits); he is ever free from pain and
misery.
17. He is magnanimous in his disposition, and
as sweet as a sea of
delight; he is cool and cooling the pains of
others, and as refreshing
as the full moonbeams to mankind.
18. He has meritorious deeds for his object,
nor is any action or
worldly good of any purpose to him; neither
does he gain anything by his
abandonment of pleasures or riches or
friends, nor by their
disappearance from him.
19. Neither action nor inaction, nor labour
nor ease; neither bondage or
release, or heaven or hell, can add to or
take away anything from his
inner contentment.
20. He sees everything and everywhere in the
same uniform light, nor is
his mind afraid of bondage or eager for its
release. (Such inflexible
passivity was the highest virtue of the
stoics).
21. He whose doubts are wholly removed by the
light of his knowledge,
has his mind towering upwards as the fearless
phoenix of the sky.
22. He whose mind is freed from error, and is
settled in its equanimity,
doth neither rise nor fall like any heavenly
body, but remains unaltered
as the high heaven itself.
23. He does his outward actions, by the mere
movement of the outer
members of his body, and without the
application of his mind to them; as
a baby sleeping in a cradle, has the
spontaneous play of his limbs,
without any purpose of his mind. (This shows
the possibility of bodily
actions independently of the mind).
24. So the drunken and delirious man, doth
many acts in his state of
dementedness; and as he never does them with
the application or
attention of his mind, he retains no trace of
them in his remembrance.
25. And as children lay hold of or reject
everything, without knowing
whether it is good or bad for them; so do men
do their actions or
refrain from them, without their deliberate
choice or aversion of them.
(This proves the causality of the mind).
26. So a man doing his duty by habit or
compulsion, is not sensible of
any pain or pleasure that he derives from it
(because his mind was quite
unconcerned with the act).
27. An act done by the outer body without its
intention in the inner
mind, is reckoned as no act of the actor, nor
does it entail upon him
its good or bad result. (An involuntary act
is not taken into account).
28. He neither shrinks from misery, nor does
he hail his good fortune;
he is neither elated at his success, nor
depressed by his failure.
29. He is not dismayed at seeing the sun
growing cool, and the moon
shining warmly over his head; he is not
disconcerted by the flame of
fire bending downwards, nor at the course of
waters rising upwards. (He
is not terrified by the prodigies of nature).
30. He is not affrighted nor astonished, at
any wonderful occurrence in
nature; because he knows all the phenomena of
nature, to be the wondrous
appearances of the omnipotent and
all-intelligent soul.
31. He expresses no need nor want of his, nor
is in need of other's
favour or kindness; nor has he recourse to
wiliness or cunning; he
undertakes no shameful act as begging and the
like, nor betrays his
shamelessness by doing an unworthy action.
32. He is never mean-spirited nor haughty in
his spirit, he is neither
elated nor depressed in his mind, nor is he
sad or sorry or joyous at
anytime. (The word dīnātmā is used for the meek in spirit in Dr.
Mill's version of the "Sermon on the
mount").
33. No passions rise in his pure heart, which
is as clear as the
autumnal sky; and as the clear firmament
which gives no growth to thorns
or thistles.
34. Seeing the incessant births and deaths of
living beings in the
course of this world, who is it whom you may
call to be ever happy or
unhappy? (Since happiness and sorrow succeed
one another by turns).
35. Froth as the foaming bubble bursts in the
water, so our lives flash
to fly out into eternity; whom therefore do
you call to be happy
anywhere, and what is that state of continued
pleasure or pain?
36. In this world of endless entrances and
exits, what being is there
that lasts or is lost for ever; it is our
sight that produces the view,
as our failing sight takes it out of view:
(as every spectre of optical
delusion). (The text drishti srishti kara narah is very expressive;
and means, "man is the maker of the
world by his sight of it").
37. The sights of these worlds are no more
than the transitory view of
spectacles in our nightly dreams; which are
unforeseen appearances of
momentary duration, and sudden disappearance.
38. What cause can there be of joy or sorrow
in this wretched world,
which is a scene of incessant advents and
departures?
39. It is the loss of some good, that is
attended with sorrow to the
sufferer; but what sorrow can assail the
self-liberated man, who sees
nothing as positive good in the ever-changing
state of things herein?
40. Of what avail is prosperity or the
enjoyment of any pleasure to one,
when it is succeeded by adversity and pain
the next moment, which
embitters life by its baneful effects.
41. It is riddance from the states of
pleasure and pain, of choice and
dislike, of the desirable and displeasing,
and of prosperity and
adversity, that contributes to the true
felicity of man.
42. After your abandonment of pleasing and
unpleasing objects, and
relinquishment of your desire for enjoyments,
you get a cold
inappetence, which will melt your mind like
frost.
43. The mind being weakened, its desires will
be wasted also; as the
sesamum seeds being burnt, will leave no oil
behind. (The mind being
repressed, will put a check to all its
passions and feelings).
44. By thinking existence as non-existent,
the great souled man gets rid
of all his desires, and sets himself aloof as
in the air; and with his
joyous spirits that know no change, the wise
man sits and sleeps and
lives always content with himself.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.—Manner of Conducting the Yoga Hypnotism.
Argument. The Action of the Mind is creative
of the Error of the
World, and Yoga is the suppression of that
Action.
Vasishtha continued:—As the rotation of a
firebrand, describes a circle
of sparkling fires; so the revolving of the
mind, depicts the apparent
circumference to the sky, as the real circle
of the universe.
2. In like manner the rolling of waters makes
curves in the sea,
appearing something other than water; so the
revolution of the mind
forms many ideal worlds, seeming to be bodies
beside itself.
3. And as you come to see strings of pearls
in the sky, by the
twinklings of your eyes fixed in it; so these
false worlds present
themselves to your view, by the pulsation of
your mind.
4. Rāma said:—Tell me sir, whereby the mind
has its vibration and how
it is repressed, that I may thence learn how
to govern the same.
5. Vasishtha answered:—Know Rāma, as
whiteness is concomitant with
snow, and oil is associated with sesamum
seeds; and fragrance is
attendant upon flowers and the flame is
coexistent with fire.
6. So Rāma, the mind is accompanied by its
fluctuations hand in hand,
and they are virtually the one and the
everything, though passing under
different names by fiction.
7. Of the two categories of the mind and its
pulsation, if either of
these comes to be extinct, the other also has
its extinction, as the
properties of a thing being lost, their
subject likewise ceases to
exist; and there is no doubt of this.
8. There are two ways of extinguishing the
mind, the yoga or hypnotism
and spiritual knowledge; of these the yoga is
the suppression of mental
powers, and knowledge is the thorough
investigation of all things.
9. Rāma asked:—How is it possible sir, to
suppress the vital airs, and
to attain thereby to that state of
tranquillity, which is fraught with
endless felicity?
10. Vasishtha replied:—There is a circulating
air breathing through the
lungs and arteries of the body, as the water
flows through the veins and
pores of the earth, and which is called the
vital breath or life.
11. It is the fluctuation of this air, that
impels and gives force to
the internal organs of the body, and which is
designated by the various
names of prāna, apāna &c.,
according to their positions and motions
(all of which are but varieties of the vital
breath).
12. As fragrance resides in flowers and
whiteness in the frost, so is
motion the flavour of the mind, and is one
and the same with its
receptacle—the mind.
13. Now the vibration of this vital breath,
excites the perception of
certain desires and feelings in the heart;
and the cognitive principle
of these perceptions is called the mind.
14. The vibration of vital air gives
pulsation to the heart strings,
causing their cognition in the mind; in the
same manner as the motion of
the waters, gives rise to the waves rolling
and beating on the shore.
15. The heart is said to be the afflation of
the vital breath by the
learned in the Vedas, and this being suppressed
quiets the mind also.
(The mind, says the Sruti, is moved by the
vital air &c.).
16. The action of the mind being stopped, the
perception of the
existence of the world becomes extinct (as we
have no perception of it
in our sound sleep, when the mind is
inactive). It is like the
extinction of worldly affairs at sunset.
17. Rāma asked:—How is it possible to stop
the course of the winds,
perpetually circulating through the cells of
the body, like the
unnumbered birds flying in the air to their
nests. (The passage of the
nostrils is the open air, and the cells in
the body are as their nests).
18. Vasishtha replied:—It is possible by
study of the sāstras and
association with the good and wise, by
habitual dispassionateness, by
the practice of Yoga, and by removal of
reliance in every transaction of
the world.
19. Meditation of the desired object, and
keeping in view that single
object, and firm reliance on one particular
object, are the best means
of suppressing the vital breath.
20. Next, it is by suppression of breath in
the acts of inspiration and
respiration puraka and rechaka, in
such manner as it may be
unattended with pain, together with fixed
meditation, it is possible to
suppress the vital air (which gives longevity
to the practitioner).
21. The utterance of the syllable om, and
pondering upon the
significations of that word, and dormancy of
the perceptive senses, are
means of the suppression of breath.
22. The practice of rechaka or respiring out, serves to purge out the
crudities of the body, and by leaving the
nostrils untouched, the vital
breath is suppressed altogether.
23. The practice of pūraka or breathing in tends to fill the inside as
the clouds fill the sky; and then the
breathing being stopped, its
vibrations are stopped also.
24. Then the practice of kumbhaka or sufflation of the breath, the air
is shut up in a closed vessel and this serves
to stop the course of
breathing. (Long explanations of these
practices are given in the gloss
forming subjects of anemography).
25. Afterwards the tongue being carried to
the orifice of the palate,
and the tip being attached to the guttural
bulb or nodule, will prevent
the vibration of the breathing.
26. Again the mind getting rid of the flights
of fancy, and becoming as
vacant as empty air, prevents the course of
breathing by its fixed
meditation of itself (as in the state of Samādhi
or trance).
27. Again as the vital breath ranges within
the space of twelve inches
about the tip of the nose, this region should
be closely watched by the
eyesight in order to prevent the egress and
ingress of breath.
28. Moreover the practice of stretching the
tongue to the distance of
twelve inches above the palate, and sticking
the tip of it to the cavity
called Brahmarandhra, serves to make one unconscious of himself, and
stop his breathing. (These processes are
explained in great length in
the gloss for the practice of Yoga cult,
resembling the mesmerism of
modern spiritualists, for causing the
comatosity of the practitioner).
29. The eyesight being lifted upwards and
fixed in the cavity between
the eyebrows, exhibits the light of the
intellect, and stops the
vibrations of breath. (This is called the Khechari mudra and practised
by all intelligent men).
30. No soon does the spiritual light dawn
over the soul, and the mind is
steadfastly fixed to it, without any
intermixture of dualism (i.e.
worldly thoughts), there is an utter stop of
breathing.
31. The livelong practice of seeing a simple
vacuity within one's self,
and freeing the mind from all its thoughts
and desired objects, serves
to stop the fluctuation of breath. (This is
supported by the Patanjali
yoga sāstra).
32. Rāma rejoined:—Sir, what is this thing
which they call the human
heart, which receives the reflexions of all
things as a large reflector
or mirror?
33. Vasishtha replied:—Hear my good Rāma; the
hearts of all animals in
this world, are of two kinds, namely: the
superior and inferior, and
learn their difference.
34. That which has a certain dimension, and
is placed as a piece of
flesh inside the breast, is called an
inferior heart, and forms a part
of the body.
35. The other is of the nature of
consciousness, and is called the
superior mind; because it is both in the
inside and outside of the body,
and yet it is situated in no part of it.
36. That is the superior part, wherein all
this world is situated, which
is the great reflector of all things, and
receptacle of all goods (so
says the Sruti: "the earth and sky and
all things reside in it").
37. The consciousness of all living
creatures, is also called their
heart; though it is no part of the animal
body, nor is a dull inert
substance as a pebble or stone.
38. Now this conscious or sensitive heart,
being purified of its
internal desires, and joined perforce with the chitta or thinking
mind, the vibrations of vital breath are put
to a stand.
39. These as well as many other methods,
which have been adopted by
others, and dictated by the mouths of many
sages, equally serve to
suppress the breathing (both for the fixity
of attention and
prolongation of life).
40. These methods which are adapted to the
process of yoga meditation
(or concentration of the mind); are to be
slowly adopted by continued
practice, for the redemption of the good from
this world; or else their
hasty adoption of it may prove detrimental to
life.
41. As it is long practice, that perfects a
man to the rank of a
cenobite and anchorite, so the gradual
suppression of respiration, is
attended with equal success; as repression of
desires, is accompanied by
many happy results.
42. It is by continued practice, that the
breath is compressed within
the confines of twelve inches about the
cavities of the brows, nostrils
and palate, as the cataract is confined
within the limit of the pit.
43. It is repeated practice also, that the
tip of the tongue should be
brought to a contact with the gullet of the
throat, through which the
breath doth pass both in and out.
44. These are the various modes which by
their constant practice, lead
to Samādhi or hypnotism, when the mind has its fullest tranquillity,
and its union with the Supreme soul.
45. It is by practice of these methods, that
a man is freed from sorrow,
and is filled with internal rapture, and
becomes enrapt in the supreme
soul.
46. The vibrations of the vital air, being
suppressed by continued
practice, the mind gets a tranquillity, which
is akin to its extinction.
47. Human life is wrapt in desires, and
liberation (moksha) is the
release of the mind from these; and breathing
is the operation of life,
and its suppression is the path to its
extinction or nirvāna.
48. The vibration of breath is the action of
the mind, producing the
error of the existence of the world; and this
being brought under
subjection, dispels this error.
49. The knowledge of duality being removed,
shows the existence of the
unity only; which no words can express,
except by attributes that are
ascribed to it.
50. In whom and from whom is all, and who is
all in every place; yet who
is not this world, nor there abides such a
world as this in him, nor has
the world come out from him (i.e. the world abides in its ideal and
not material form in the spirit).
51. Owing to its perishableness and its
situation in time and space, and
limitation by them, this material world
cannot be a part of identic with
that immaterial spirit, which has no attribute
nor its likeness.
52. It is the moisture of all vegetables and
the flavour of all
eatables; it is the light of lights and the
source of all desires rising
in the heart, like moonbeams proceeding from
the lunar disk.
53. It is the kalpa tree yielding all earthly
fruitions as its fruits,
which are incessantly borne aloft only to
fall down with their juicy
flavour of various tastes.
54. The high minded man that depends on that
boundless spirit, and rests
secure in its bosom, is verily called the
wise and liberated in his life
time.
55. He is the best of men, whose mind is
freed from all desires and
cravings; and who has found his rest from the
thoughts of his fancied
good and evil. He remains listless amidst all
the cares and concerns of
this life.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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