The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER CXVII.
DIFFERENT STATES OF KNOWLEDGE AND
IGNORANCE.[13]
[13] The Text uses the terms jnāna and ajnāna,
which literally
signify knowledge and ignorance, and mean to
say that, we know the
subjective ourselves only (as-ego-sum) and
are ignorant of the true
nature of the objective, as whether they are
or not and what they are.
Though it would be more appropriate to use
the words nischaya and
anischaya or certainty and uncertainty,
because we are certain of our
own existence, and are quite uncertain of
every thing besides, which we
perceive in our triple states of waking,
dreaming and sound sleep, which
incessantly produce and present before us a
vast variety of objects, all
of which lead us to error by their false
appearances.
Argument. The septuple grounds of true and
false Knowledge and
their mixed modes. And firstly, of
self-abstraction or
abstract knowledge of one or swarūpa; and then of the
different grounds of Ignorance.
Rāma said:—Please sir, tell me in brief, what
are the grounds of yoga
meditation, which produce the seven kinds of
consummation, which are
aimed at by the yogi adepts. You sir, who are
best acquainted with all
recondite truths, must know it better than
all others.
2. Vasishtha replied:—They consist of the
seven states of ignorance
(ajnāna-bhūmi), and as many of knowledge
also; and these again diverge
into many others, by their mutual
intermixture. (Participating the
natures of one another, and forming the mixed
modes of states of truth
and error).
3. All these states (both of right and wrong
cognitions), being deep
rooted in the nature of man (mahā-satta),
either by his habit or of
training, made produce their respective
fruits or results (tending to
his elevation or degradation in this world
and the next).
Note. Habit or natural disposition
(pravritti) is the cause of leading
to ignorance and its resulting error; but
good training—sādhana and
better endeavours—prayatna, are the causes of right knowledge and
elevation.
4. Attend now to the nature of the sevenfold
states or grounds of
ignorance; and you will come to know thereby,
the nature of the septuple
grounds of knowledge also.
5. Know this as the shortest lesson, that I
will give thee of the
definitions of true knowledge and ignorance;
that, it is the remaining
in one's own true nature (swarūpa or suiform state), that constitutes
his highest knowledge and liberation; and his
divergence from it to the
knowledge of his ego (egoism—ahanta), is the
cause of his ignorance,
and leads him to the error and bondage of
this world.
6. Of these, they that do not deviate from
their consciousness—samvitti
of themselves—swarūpa, as composed of the
pure ens or essence only
(suddha-san-mātra), are not liable to
ignorance; because of their want
of passions and affections, and of the
feelings of envy and enmity in
them. (The highest intelligence of one's
self, is the consciousness of
his self-existence, or that "I am that I
am" as a spiritual being;
because the spirit or soul is the true self).
7. But falling off from the consciousness of
self-entity—swarūpa, and
diving into the intellect—Chit, in search of
the thoughts of cognizable
objects (chetyārthas), is the greatest
ignorance and error of mankind.
(No error is greater than to fall off from
the subjective and run after
the objective).
8. The truce that takes place in the mind, in
the interim of a past and
future thought of one object to another
(arthadar thāntara); know that
respite of the mind in thinking, to be the
resting of the soul, in the
consciousness of its self-entity swarūpa.
9. That state of the soul which is at calm
after the setting of the
thoughts and desires of the mind; and which
is as cold and quiet as the
bosom of a stone, and yet without the
torpitude of slumber or dull
drowsiness; is called the supineness of the
soul in its recognition of
itself.
10. That state of the soul, which is devoid
of its sense of egoism and
destitute of its knowledge of dualism, and
its distinction from the
state of the one universal soul, and shines
forth with its unsleeping
intelligence, is said to be at rest in itself
or swarūpa.
11. But this state of the pure and
self-intelligent soul, is obscured by
the various states of ignorance, whose
grounds you will now hear me
relate unto you. These are the three states
of wakefulness or jāgrat,
known as the embryonic waking (or vijajāgrat), the ordinary waking,
and the intense waking called the mahajāgrat (i. e. the hypnotism or
hybernation of the soul, being reckoned its
intelligent state, its
waking is deemed as the ground of its
ignorance, and the more it is
awake to the concerns of life, the more it is
said to be liable to
error).
12. Again the different states of its
dreaming (swapnam or somnum), are
also said to be the grounds of its ignorance
and these are the waking
dream, the sleeping dream, the sleepy waking
and sound sleep or
sushupti. These are the seven grounds of ignorance. (Meaning
hereby,
all the three states of waking, dreaming and
sound steep (jāgrat,
swapna and sushupta), to
be the grounds fertile with our ignorance
and error).
13. These are the seven-fold grounds,
productive of sheer ignorance,
and which when joined with one another,
become many more and mixed ones,
known under different denominations as you
will hear by and by.
14. At first there was the intelligent
Intellect (Chaitanya Chit), which
gave rise to the nameless and pure
intelligence Suddha-Chit; which
became the source of the would-be mind and
living soul.
15. This intellect remained as the ever
waking embryonic seed of all,
wherefore it is called the waking seed (Vijajāgrat);
and as it is the
first condition of cognition, it is said to
be the primal waking state.
16. Now know the waking state to be next to
the primal waking
intelligence of God, and it consists of the
belief of the individual
personality of the ego and meity,—aham
and mama; i. e. this
am I
and these are mine by chance—prāg-abhāva.
(The first is the knowledge of
the impersonal soul, and the second the
knowledge of personal or
individual souls).
17. The glaring or great waking—mahajāgrat,
consists in the firm belief
that I am such a one, and this thing is mine,
by virtue of my merits in
this or by-gone times or Karman. (This positive knowledge of one's
self and his properties, is the greatest
error of the waking man).
18. The cognition of the reality of any thing
either by
bias—rudhādhyāsa or mistake—arudha, is called
the waking dream; as the
sight of two moons in the halo, of silver in
shells, and water in the
mirage; as also the imaginary castle building
of day dreamers.
19. Dreaming in sleep is of many kinds, as
known to one on his waking,
who doubts their truth owing to their
short-lived duration (as it was in
the dreaming of Lavana).
20. The reliance which is placed in things
seen in a dream, after one
wakes from his sleep, is called his waking
dream, and lasting in its
remembrance only in his mind. (Such is the
reliance in divine
inspirations and prophetic dreams which come
to be fulfilled).
21. A thing long unseen and appearing dimly
with a stalwart figure in
the dream, if taken for a real thing of the
waking state, is called also
a waking dream. (As that of Brutus on his
seeing the stalwart figure of
Caesar).
22. A dream dreamt either in the whole body
or dead body of the dreamer,
appears as a phantom of the waking state (as
a living old man remembers
his past youthful person, and a departed soul
viewing the body it has
left behind).
23. Besides these six states, there is a
torpid—jada state of the
living soul, which is called his sushupta—hypnotism or sound sleep,
and is capable of feeling its future
pleasures and pains. (The soul
retains even in this torpid state, the
self-consciousness of its merit
and demerit (as impressions—sanskāras in itself, and the sense of the
consequent bliss or misery, which is to
attend upon it)).
24. In this last state of the soul or mind,
all outward objects from a
straw up to a mountain, appear as mere atoms
of dust in its presence; as
the mind views the miniature of the world in
profound meditation.
25. I have thus told you Rāma, the features
of true knowledge and error
in brief, but each of these states branches
out into a hundred forms,
with various traits of their own.
26. A long continued waking dream is
accounted as the waking
state—jāgrat, and it becomes diversified according to the diversity
of its objects (i. e. waking is but a continued dreaming).
27. The waking state contains under it the
conditions of the wakeful
soul of God; also there are many things under
these conditions which
mislead men from one error to another; as a
storm casts the boats into
whirlpools and eddies.
28. Some of the lengthened dreams in sleep,
appear as the waking sight
of day light; while others though seen in the
broad day-light of the
waking state, are no better than night-dreams
seen in the day time, and
are thence called our day dreams.
29. I have thus far related to you the seven
grades of the grounds of
ignorance, which with all their varieties,
are to be carefully avoided
by the right use of our reason, and by the
sight of the Supreme soul in
our-selves.
CHAPTER CXVIII.
DIRECTIONS TO THE STAGES OF KNOWLEDGE.
Argument. Definitions of the seven Grounds of
Knowledge,
together with that of Adepts—ārūdhasin in Yoga, and also of
Liberation.
Vasishtha continued:—O sinless Rāma, attend
now to the sevenfold stages
of cognoscence, by the knowledge of which you
will no more plunge into
the mire of ignorance.
2. Disputants are apt to hold out many more
stages of Yoga meditation;
but in my opinion these (septuple stages) are
sufficient for the
attainment of the chief good on ultimate
liberation. (The disputants are
the Patānjala Yoga philosophers, who maintain
various modes of
discipline, for attaining to particular
perfections of
consummation—Siddhi; but the main object of
this Sāstra is the summum
bonum (parama-purushārtha), which is obtainable by means of the
seven
stages—Bhūmikas which are expounded herein
below).
3. Knowledge is understanding, which consists
in knowing these seven
stages only; but liberation—mukti, which is
the object of knowledge
(jnāna), transcends the acquaintance of these
septuple stages.
4. Knowledge of truth is liberation (moksha),
and all these three are
used as synonymous terms; because the living
being that has known the
truth, is freed from transmigration as by his
liberation also. (The
three words mukti, moksha and jnāna imply the same thing).
5. The grounds of knowledge comprise the
desire of becoming
good—subhechhā, and this good will is the
first step. Then comes
discretion or reasoning (vichāranā) the
second, followed by purity of
mind (tanu-manasa), which is the third grade
to the gaining of
knowledge.
6. The fourth is self reliance as the true
refuge—Sattā-patti, then
asansakti or worldly apathy as the fifth. The sixth is padārthabhāva
or the power of abstraction, and the seventh
or the last stage of
knowledge is turya-gati or generalization of all in one.
7. Liberation is placed at the end of these,
and is attained without
difficulty after them. Attend now to the
definitions of these steps as I
shall explain them unto you.
8. First of all is the desire of goodness,
springing from
dispassionateness to worldly matters, and
consisting in the thought,
"why do I sit idle, I must know the Sāstras
in the company of good men".
9. The second is discretion, which arises
from association with wise and
good men, study of the Sāstras, habitual
aversion to worldliness, and
consists in an inclination to good conduct,
and the doing of all sorts
of good acts.
10. The third is the subduing of the mind,
and restraining it from
sensual enjoyments; and these are produced by
the two former qualities
of good will and discretion.
11. The fourth is self-reliance, and
dependence upon the Divine spirit
as the true refuge of this soul. This is
attainable by means of the
three qualities described above.
12. The fifth is worldly apathy, as it is
shown by one's detachment from
all earthly concerns and society of men, by
means of the former
quadruple internal delight (which comes from
above).
13. By practice of the said fivefold virtues,
as also by the feeling of
self-satisfaction and inward delight
(spiritual joy); man is freed from
his thoughts and cares, about all internal
and external objects.
14. Then comes the powers of cogitation into
the abstract meanings of
things, as the sixth step to the attainment
of true knowledge. It is
fostered either by one's own exertion, or
guidance of others in search
of truth.
15. Continued habitude of these six
qualifications and incognition of
differences in religion, and the reducing of
them all to the knowledge
of one true God of nature, is called
generalization. (Because all things
in general, proceed from the one and are
finally reduced in to the
same).
16. This universal generalization appertains
to the nature of the living
liberation of the man, who beholds all things
in one and in the same
light. Above this is the state of that
glorious light, which is arrived
by the disembodied soul.
17. Those fortunate men, O Rāma, who have
arrived to the seventh stage
of their knowledge, are those great minds
that delight in the light of
their souls, and have reached to their
highest state of humanity.
18. The living liberated are not plunged in
the waters of pleasure and
sorrow, but remain sedate and unmoved in both
states; they are at
liberty either to do or slight to discharge
the duties of their
conditions and positions in society.
19. These men being roused from their deep
meditation by intruders,
betake themselves to their secular duties,
like men awakened from their
slumber (at their own option).
20. Being ravished by the inward delight of
their souls, they feel no
pleasure in the delights of the world; just
as men immerged in sound
sleep, can feel no delight at the dalliance
of beauties about them.
21. These seven stages of knowledge are known
only to the wise and
thinking men, and not to beasts and brutes
and immovable things all
around us. They are unknown to the barbarians
and those that are
barbarous in their minds and dispositions.
22. But any one that has attained to these
states of knowledge, whether
it be a beast or barbarian, an embodied being
or disembodied spirit, has
undoubtedly obtained its liberation.
23. Knowledge severs the bonds of ignorance,
and by loosening them,
produces the liberation of our souls: it is
the sole cause of removing
the fallacy of the appearance of water in the
mirage, and the like
errors.
24. Those who being freed from ignorance,
have not arrived at their
ultimate perfection of disembodied
liberation; have yet secured the
salvation of their souls, by being placed in
these stages of knowledge
in their embodied state during their life
time.
25. Some have passed all these stages, and
others over two or three of
them; some have passed the six grades, while
a few have attained to
their seventh state all at once (as the sage
Sanaka, Nārada and other
holy saints have done from their very birth).
26. Some have gone over three stages, and
others have attained the last;
some have passed four stages, and some no
more than one or two of them.
27. There are some that have advanced only a
quarter or half or three
fourths of a stage. Some have passed over
four quarters and a half, and
some six and a half.
28. Common people walking upon this earth,
know nothing regarding these
passengers in the paths of knowledge; but
remain as blind as their eyes
were dazzled by some planetary light or
eclipsed by its shadow.
29. Those wise men are compared to victorious
kings, who stand
victorious on these seven grounds of
knowledge. The celestial elephants
are nothing before them; and mighty warriors
must bend their heads
before them.
30. Those great minds that are victors on
these grounds of knowledge,
are worthy of veneration, as they are
conquerors of their enemies of
their hearts and senses; and they are
entitled to a station above that
of an emperor and an autocrat, samrat and
virat, both in this world and
in the next in their embodied and disembodied
liberations—sadeha and
videha muktis.
NOTES:—These terms called the grades of
knowledge may be better
understood in their appropriate English
expressions, as: 1. Desire of
improvement. 2. Habit of reasoning. 3. Fixity
of attention. 4.
Self-dependence—Intuition (?) 5. Freedom from
bias or onesidedness. 6.
Abstraction or abstract knowledge. 7.
Generalization of all in the
universal unity. 8. Liberation is anaesthesia
or cessation of action,
sensation and thoughts.
CHAPTER CXIX.
ILLUSTRATION OF THE GOLD-RING.
Argument. Ascertaining the True Unity by
rejecting the
illusory forms and on the said Grounds of
Knowledge.
Vasishtha said:—The human soul reflecting on
its egoism, forgets its
essence of the Supreme soul; as the gold-ring
thinking on its formal
rotundity, loses its thought of the
substantial gold whereof it is made.
2. Rāma said:—Please tell me sir, how the
gold can have its
consciousness of its form of the ring, as the
soul is conscious of its
transformation to egoism.
3. Vasishtha said:—The questions of sensible
men, relate only to the
substances of things, and not to the
production and dissolution of the
existent formal parts of things, and neither
to those of the
non-existent; so you should ask of the
substances of the soul and gold,
and not of the ego and the ring, which are
unsubstantial nullities in
nature. (So men appraise the value of the
gold of which the ring is
made, and not by the form of the ring).
4. When the jeweller sells his gold-ring for
the price of gold, he
undoubtedly delivers the gold which is the
substance of the ring and not
the ring without its substance. (So the
shapes of things are nothing at
all, but the essential substance—Brahma
underlying all things, is all
in all).
5. Rāma asked:—If such is the case that you
take the gold for the ring,
then what becomes of the ring as we commonly
take it to be? Explain this
to me, that I may thereby know the substance
of Brahma (underlying all
appearances).
6. Vasishtha said:—All form, O Rāma, is
formless and accidental
quality, and no essential property of things.
So if you would ascertain
the nature of a nullity, then tell me the
shape and qualities of a
barren woman's son (which are null and
nothing).
7. Do not fall into the error of taking the
circularity of the ring, as
an essential property of it; the form of a
thing is only apparent and
not prominent to the sight. (In European
philosophy, form is defined as
the essence of a thing, for without it
nothing is conceivable. But
matter being the recipient of form, it does
form any part of its
essence. Vasishtha speaking of matter as void
of form, means the
materia prima of Aristotle, or the elementary sorts of it).
8. The water in the mirage, the two moons in
the sky, the egoism of men
and the forms of things, though appearing as
real ones to sight and
thought, cannot be proved as separate
existences apart from their
subjects. (All these therefore are fallacies
vanishing before
vichārana or reasoning, the second ground of true knowledge).
9. Again the likeness of silver that appears
in pearl-shells, can not be
realized in the substance of the
pearl-mother, or even a particle of it
at any time or any place. (The Sanskrit
alliterations of kanam,
kshanam, kvanu,
cannot be preserved in translation).
10. It is the incircumspect view of a thing
that makes a nullity appear
as a reality, as the appearance of silver in
the shell and the water in
the mirage (all which are but deceptions of
sight and other senses, and
are therefore never trustworthy).
11. The nullity of a nil appears as an ens to sight, as also the
fallacy of a thing as something where there
is nothing of the kind (as
of silver in the pearl-mother and water in
the mirage).
12. Sometimes an unreal shadow acts the part
of a real substance, as the
false apprehension of a ghost kills a lad
with the fear of being killed
by it. (Fright of goblins and bogies of
mormos and ogres, have killed
many men in the dark).
13. There remains nothing in the gold-jewel
except gold, after its form
of jewellery is destroyed; therefore the
forms of the ring and bracelet
are no more, than drops of oil or water on a
heap of sand. The forms are
absorbed in the substance, as the fluids in
dust or sand.
14. There is nothing real or unreal on earth,
except the false creations
of our brain (as appearances in our dreams);
and these whether known as
real or unreal, are equally productive of
their consequences, as the
sights and fears of spectres in children. (We
are equally encouraged by
actual rewards and flattering hopes, as we
are depressed at real
degradation and its threatening fear).
15. A thing whether it is so or not, proves
yet as such as it is
believed to be, by different kinds and minds
of men; as poison becomes
as effective as elixir to the sick, and
ambrosia proves as heinous as
hemlock with the intemperate. (So is false
faith thought to be as
efficacious by the vulgar as the true belief
of the wise).
16. Belief in the only essence of the soul,
constitutes true knowledge,
and not in its likeness of the ego and mind,
as it is generally believed
in this world. Therefore abandon the thought
of your false and unfounded
egoism or individual existence. (This is said
to be self-reliance or
dependance on the universal soul of God).
17. As there is no rotundity of the ring
inherent in gold; so there is
no individuality of egoism in the all-pervading universal soul.
18. There is nothing everlasting beside
Brahma, and no personality of
Him as a Brahmā, Vishnu or any other. There
is no substantive existence
as the world, but off spring of Brahmā called
the patriarchs. (All these
are said to be negative terms in many
passages of the srutis as the
following:—
There is no substantiality except that of Brahma.
There is no
personality (ādesa) of him. He is Brahma the
supreme soul and no other.
He is neither the outward nor inward nor is
he nothing).
19. There are no other worlds beside Brahma,
nor is the heaven without
Him. The hills, the demons, the mind and body
all rest in that spirit
which is no one of these.
20. He is no elementary principle, nor is he
any cause as the material
or efficient. He is none of the three times
of past, present and future
but all; nor is he anything in being or
not-being (in esse or posse
or in nubibus).
21. He is beyond your egoism or tuism, ipseism and suism, and
all your entities and non-entities. There is
no attribution nor
particularity in Him, who is above all your
ideas, and is none of the
ideal personifications of your notions (i. e. He is none of the mythic
persons of abstract ideas as Love and the
like).
22. He is the plenum of the world, supporting and moving all, being
unmoved and unsupported by any. He is
everlasting and undecaying bliss;
having no name or symbol or cause of his own.
(He is the being that
pervades through and presides over all—sanmātram).
23. He is no sat or est or a
being that is born and existent, nor an
asat—non est (i. e. extinct); he is neither the beginning, middle
or end of anything, but is all in all. He is
unthinkable in the mind,
and unutterable by speech. He is vacuum about
the vacuity, and a bliss
above all felicity.
24. Rāma said:—I understand now Brahma to be
self-same in all things,
yet I want to know what is this creation,
that we see all about us
(i. e. are they the same with Brahma or distinct from him?)
25. Vasishtha replied: The supreme spirit
being perfectly tranquil, and
all things being situated in Him, it is wrong
to speak of this creation
or that, when there is no such thing as a
creation at any time.
26. All things exist in the all containing
spirit of God, as the whole
body of water is contained in the universal
ocean; but there is
fluctuation in the waters owing to their
fluidity, whereas there is no
motion in the quiet and motionless spirit of
God.
27. The light of the luminaries shines of
itself, but not so the Divine
light; it is the nature of all lights to
shine of themselves, but the
light of Brahma is not visible to sight.
28. As the waves of the ocean rise and fall
in the body of its waters,
so do these phenomena appear as the noumena
in the mind of God (as his
ever-varying thoughts).
29. To men of little understandings, these
thoughts of the Divine mind
appear as realities; and they think this sort
of ideal creation, will be
lasting for ages.
30. Creation is ascertained to be a cognition
(a thought) of the Divine
Mind; it is not a thing different from the
mind of God, as the visible
sky is no other than a part of Infinity.
31. The production and extinction of the
world, are mere thoughts of the
Divine mind; as the formation and dissolution
of ornaments take place in
the self-same substance of gold.
32. The mind that has obtained its calm
composure, views the creation as
full with the presence of God; but those that
are led by their own
convictions, take the inexistent for reality,
as children believe the
ghosts as real existences.
33. The consciousness of ego (or the
subjective self-existence), is the
cause of the error of the objective knowledge
of creation; but the
tranquil unconsciousness of ourselves, brings
us to the knowledge of the
supreme, who is above the objective and inert
creation.
34. These different created things appear in
a different light to the
sapient, who views them all in the unity of
God, as the toy puppets of a
militia, are well known to the intelligent to
be made and composed of
mud and clay.
35. This plenitude of the world is without
its beginning and end, and
appears as a faultless or perfect peace of
workmanship. It is full with
the fullness of the supreme Being, and
remains full in the fullness of
God.
36. This plenum which appears as the created
world, is essentially the
Great Brahma, and situated in his greatness;
just as the sky is situated
in the sky, tranquillity in tranquillity, and
felicity in felicity.
(These are absolute and identic terms, as the
whole is the whole &c.).
37. Look at the reflexion of a longsome
landscape in a mirror, and the
picture of a far stretching city in the
miniature; and you will find the
distances of the objects lost in their
closeness. So the distances of
worlds are lost in their propinquity to one
another in the spirit of
God.
38. The world is thought as a nonentity by
some, and as an entity by
others; by their taking it in the different
lights of its being a thing
beside God, and its being but a reflection of
Brahma. (In the former
case it is a nonentity as there can be
nothing without God; in the
latter sense it is real entity being identic
with God).
39. After all, it can have no real entity,
being like the picture of a
city and not as the city itself. It is as
false as the appearance of
limpid water in the desert mirage, and that
of the double moon in the
sky.
40. As it is the practice of magicians, to
show magic cities in the air,
by sprinkling handfuls of dust before our
eyes; so doth our erroneous
consciousness represent the unreal world, as a
reality unto us.
41. Unless our inborn ignorance (error) like
an arbour of noxious
plants, is burnt down to the very root by the
flame of right reasoning,
it will not cease to spread out its branches,
and grow the rankest weeds
of our imaginary pleasures and sorrows.
CHAPTER CXX.
LAMENTATION OF THE CHANDﾁLA WOMAN.
Argument. Lavana goes to the Vindhyan region,
and sees his
consort and relatives of the dreaming state.
Vasishtha continued:—Now Rāma, attend to the
wonderful power of the
said Avidyā or error, in displaying the
changeful phenomenals, like the
changing forms of ornaments in the substance
of the self-same gold.
2. The king Lavana, having at the end of his
dream, perceived the
falsehood of his vision, resolved on the
following day to visit that
great forest himself.
3. He said to himself: ah! when shall I
revisit the Vindhyan region,
which is inscribed in my mind; and where I
remember to have undergone a
great many hardships in my forester's life.
4. So saying, he took to his southward
journey, accompanied by his
ministers and attendants, as if he was going
to make a conquest of that
quarter, where he arrived at the foot of the
mount in a few days.
5. There he wandered about the southern, and
eastern and western shores
of the sea (i. e. all round the Eastern and Western Ghats). He was as
delighted with his curvilinear course, as the
luminary of the day, in
his diurnal journey from east to west.
6. He saw there in a certain region, a deep
and doleful forest
stretching wide along his path, and likening
the dark and dismal realms
of death (Yama or Pluto).
7. Roving in this region he beheld
everything, he had seen before in his
dream; he then inquired into the former
circumstances, and wandered to
learn their conformity with the occurrences
of his vision.
8. He recognised there the Chandāla hunters
of his dream, and being
curious to know the rest of the events, he
continued in his
peregrination about the forest.
9. He then beheld a hamlet at the skirt of
the wilderness, foggy with
smoke, and appearing as the spot where he
bore the name of Pushta
Pukkasa or fostered Chandāla.
10. He beheld there the same huts and hovels,
and the various kinds of
human habitations, fields and plains, with
the same men and women that
dwelt their before.
11. He beheld the same landscapes and
leafless branches of trees, shorn
of their foliage by the all devouring famine;
he saw the same hunters
pursuing their chase, and the same helpless
orphans lying thereabouts.
12. He saw the old lady (his mother-in-law),
wailing at the misfortunes
of other matrons; who were lamenting like
herself with their eyes
suffused in tears, at the untimely deaths and
innumerable miseries of
their fellow brethren.
13. The old matrons with their eyes flowing
with brilliant drops of
tears, and with their bodies and bosoms
emaciated under the pressure of
their afflictions; were mourning with loud
acclamations of woe in that
dreary district, stricken by drought and
dearth.
14. They cried, O ye sons and daughters, that
lie dead with your
emaciated bodies for want of food for these
three days; say where fled
your dear lives, stricken as they were by the
steel of famine from the
armour of your bodies.
15. We remember your sweet smiles, showing
your coral teeth resembling
the red gunjaphalas to our lords, as they
descended from the towering
tāla (palm trees), with their red-ripe fruits held by their
teeth, and
growing on the cloud-capt mountains.
16. When shall we see again the fierce leap
of our boys, springing on
the wolves crouching amidst the groves of
Kadamba and Jamb and Lavanga
and Gunja trees.
17. We do not see those graces even in the
face of Kāma the god of love,
that we were wont to observe in the blue and
black countenances of our
children, resembling the dark hue of Tamāla
leaves, when feasting on
their dainty food of fish and flesh.
Lamentation of the mother-in-law.
18. My nigrescent daughter, says one, has
been snatched away from me
with my dear husband like the dark Yamunā by
the fierce Yama. O they
have been carried away from me like the Tamāla branch with its
clustering flowers, by a tremendous gale from
this sylvan scene.
19. O my daughter, with thy necklace of the
strings of red gunja
seeds, gracing the protuberant breast of thy
youthful person; and with
thy swarthy complexion, seeming as the sea of
ink was gently shaken by
the breeze. Ah! whither hast thou fled with
thy raiment of woven
withered leaves, and thy teeth as black as
the jet-jambu fruits (when
fully ripe).
20. O young prince! that wast as fair as the
full moon, and that didst
forsake the fairies of thy harem, and didst
take so much delight in my
daughter, where hast thou fled from us? Ah my
daughter! she too is dead
in thy absence, and fled from my presence.
21. Being cast on the waves of this earthly
ocean, and joined to the
daughter of a Chandāla, thou wast, O prince!
subjected to mean and vile
employments, that disgraced thy princely
character. (This is a taunt to
all human beings that disgrace their heavenly
nature, and grovel as
beasts while living on earth).
22. Ah! that daughter of mine with her
tremulous eyes, like those of the
timorous fawn, and Oh! that husband valiant
as the royal tiger; you are
both gone together, as the high hopes and
great efforts of men are fled
with the loss of their wealth.
23. Now grown husbandless, and having of late
lost my daughter also, and
being thrown in a distant and barren land, I
am become the most
miserable and wretched of beings. Born of a
low caste, I am cast out of
all prospect in life, and have become a
personification of terror to
myself, and a sight of horror to others.
24. O! that the Lord has made me a widowed
woman, and subjected me to
the insult of the vulgar, and the hauteur of
the affluent. Prostrated by
hunger and mourning at the loss of a husband
and child, I rove
incessantly from door to door to beg alms for
my supportance (as it is
the case of most female beggars).
25. It is better that one who is unfortunate
and friendless, or subject
to passion and diseases, should rather die
sooner than live in misery.
The dead and inanimate beings are far better
than the living miserable.
26. Those that are friendless, and have to
toil and moil in unfriendly
places, are like the grass of the earth,
trampled under the feet, and
overwhelmed under a flood of calamities.
27. The king seeing his aged mother-in-law
mourning in this manner,
offered her some consolation through the
medium of her female
companions, and then asked that lady to tell
him, "who she was, what she
did there, who was her daughter and who is
his son."
28. She answered him with tears in her
eyes:—This village is called
Pukkasa-Ghosha, here I had a Pukkasa for my
husband, who had a daughter
as gentle as the moon.
29. She happened to have here a husband as
beautiful as the moon, who
was a king and chanced to pass by this way.
By this accident they were
matched together, in the manner that an ass
finds by chance a pot of
honey lying on her way in the forest.
30. She lived long with him in connubial
bliss, and produced to him both
sons and daughters, who grew up in the covert
of this forest, as the
gourd plant grows on a tree serving as its
support.
CHAPTER CXXI.
PROOF OF THE FUTILITY OF MIND.
Argument. Lavana's return to his Palace and
the interpretation
of his dream by Vasishtha.
The Chandāla continued:—O lord of men! After
lapse of sometime, their
occurred a dearth in this place owing to the
drought of rain, which
broke down all men under its diresome
pressure.
2. Pressed by extreme scarcity, all our
village people were scattered
far abroad, and they perished in famine and
never returned.
3. Thence forward O lord! we are exposed to
utmost misery, and sit
lamenting here in our helpless poverty.
Behold us lord, all bathed in
tears falling profusely from our undrying
eyelids.
4. The King was lost in wonder, at hearing
these words from the mouth of
the elderly lady; and looking at the face of
his follower the faithful
minister, remained in dumb amazement as the
figure in a picture.
5. He reflected repeatedly on this strange
occurrence, and its curious
concurrence with his adventures in the dream.
He made repeated queries
relating to other circumstances, and the more
he heard and learned of
them, the more he found their coincidence
with the occurrences of his
vision.
6. He sympathised with their woes, and saw
them in the same state, as he
had seen them before in his dream. And then
he gave suitable gifts and
presents to relieve their wants and woes.
7. He tarried there a long while, and
pondered on the decrees of
destiny; when the wheel of fortune brought
him back to his house,
wherein he entered amidst the loud cheers and
low salutations of the
citizens.
8. In the morning the King appeared in his
court hall, and sitting there
amidst his courtiers, asked me
saying:—"How is it, O sage, that my
dream has come to be verified in my presence
to each item and to my
great surprise?"
9. "They answered me exactly and to the
very point all what I asked of
them, and have removed my doubt of their
truth from the mind, as the
winds disperse the clouds of heaven."
10. Know thus, O Rāma! it is the illusion of
Avidyā, that is the cause
of a great many errors, by making the untruth
appear as truth, and
representing the sober reality as unreality.
11. Rāma said: Tell me sir, how the dream
came to be verified; it is a
mysterious account that cannot find a place
in my heart.
12. Vasishtha replied:—All this is possible,
O Rāma! to the illusion of
ignorance (Avidyā); which shows the fallacy
of a picture (pata) in a pot
(ghata); and represents the actual
occurrences of life as dreams, and
dreams as realities.
13. Distance appears to be nigh, as a distant
mountain seen in the
mirror; and a long time seems a short
interval, as a night of
undisturbed repose.
14. What is untrue seems to be a truth as in
dreaming one's own death in
sleep; and that which is impossible appears
possible, as in one's aerial
journey in a dream.
15. The stable seems unsteady, as in the
erroneous notion of the motion
of fixed objects to one passing in a vehicle;
and the unmoving seem to
be moving to one, as under the influence of
his inebriation.
16. The mind infatuated by one's hobby, sees
exposed to its view, all
what it thinks upon within itself. It sees
things in the same light, as
they are painted in his fancy, whether they
be in existence or not, or
real or unreal.
17. No sooner does the mind contract its
ignorance, by its false notions
of egoism and tuism, than it is subjected to
endless errors, which have
no beginning, middle or end and are of
incessant occurrence in their
course.
18. It is the notion that gives a shape to
all things; it makes a kalpa
age appear as a moment, and also prolongs a
moment of time to a whole
Kalpa.
19. A man deprived of understanding, believes
himself as he is said, to
have become a sheep; so a fighting ram thinks
himself to be a lion in
his ideal bravery. (The word sheep is a term
of derision, as the lion is
that of applause).
20. Ignorance causes the blunder of taking
things for what they are not,
and falling into the errors of egoism and
tuism: so all errors in the
mind produce errors in actions also.
21. It is by mere accident, that men come in
possession of the objects
of their desire; and it is custom that
determines the mode of mutual
dealings. (The gain is accidental and the
dealing is conventional).
22. Lavana's remembrance of the dream of his
having lived in the
habitation of the Pukkasa, was the internal
cause, that represented to
him the external picture of that abode, as it
was a reality. (The mind
shows what we think upon, whether they are
real or unreal ones).
23. As the human mind is liable to forget
many things which are actually
done by some, so it is susceptible to
remember those acts as true which
were never done, but had been merely thought
upon in the mind. (The
forgetfulness of actualities as well as the
thoughts of inactualities,
belong both to the province of the mind. Here
Lavana did not remember
what he had not done, but recollected the
thoughts that passed in his
mind).
24. In this manner is the thought of my
having eaten something while I
am really fasting; and that of my having
sojourned in a distant country
in a dream, appears true to me while I think
of them.
25. It was thence that the king came to find
the same conduct in the
habitation of the Chandālas at the side of
Vindhyā, as he had been
impressed with its notion in his dream as
said before.
26. Again the false dream that Lavana had
dreamt of the Vindhyan people,
the same took possession of their minds also.
(The same thought striking
in the minds of different persons at the same
time (as we see in men of
the same mind)).
27. The notion of Lavana as settled in the
minds of the Vindhyans, as
the thoughts of these people rose in the mind
of the king. (If it is
possible for us to transfer our thoughts to
one another, how much easier
must it be for the superior instrumentality
of dreams and revelations to
do the same also. This is the yoga, whereby
one man reads the mind of
another). Again the same error taking
possession of many minds all at
once, proves the futility of common sense and
universal belief being
taken for certainty, hence the common belief
of the reality of things,
is the effect of universal delusion and
error.
28. As the same sentiments and figures of
speech, occur in different
poets of distant ages and countries, so it is
not striking that the same
thoughts and ideas should rise simultaneously
in the minds of different
men also. (We have a striking instance of the
coincidence of the same
thought in the titles of Venisanhāra and Rape
of the Lock, in the minds
of Vhattanarayn and Pope).
29. In common experience, we find the notions
and ideas to stand for the
things themselves, otherwise nothing is known
to exist at all without
our notion or idea of it in the mind. (All
that we know of, are our
ideas and nothing besides. Locke and Berkeley).
30. One idea embraces many others also under
it, as those of the waves
and current, are contained under that of
water. And so one thought is
associated by others relating its past,
present and future conditions of
being; as the thought of a seed accompanies
the thoughts of its past and
future states and its fruits and flowers of
the tree. (So the word man,
comprises almost every idea relating to
humanity).
31. Nothing has its entity or non-entity, nor
can anything be said to
exist or not to be, unless we have a positive
idea of the existent, and
a negative notion of the in-existent.
32. All that we see in our error, is as
inexistent as oiliness in sands;
and so the bracelet is nothing in reality,
but a formal appearance of
the substance of gold.
33. A fallacy can have no connection with the
reality, as the fallacy of
the world with the reality of God, and so the
fallacy of the ring with
the substance of gold and of the serpent with
the rope. The connection
or mutual relation of things of the same
kind, is quite evident in our
minds.
34. The relation of gum resin and the tree,
is one of dissimilar union,
and affords no distinct ideas of them except
that of the tree which
contains the other. (So the idea of the false
world, is lost in that of
its main substratum of the Divine Spirit).
35. As all things are full of the Spirit, so
we have distinct ideas of
them in our minds, which are also spiritual
substances; and are not as
dull material stones which have no
feelings.[14]
[14] All things existent in the Divine mind
in their eternally ideal
state, present the same ideas to our minds
also, which are of the
similar nature and substance with the Divine.
36. Because all things in the world are
intellectually true and real, we
have therefore their ideas impressed in our
minds also.
37. There can not be a relation or connection
of two dissimilar things,
which may be lasting, but are never united
together. For without such
mutual relation of things, no idea of both
can be formed together.
38. Similar things being joined with similar
form together their wholes
of the same kind, presenting one form and
differing in nothing.
39. The intellect being joined with an
abstract idea, produces an
invisible, inward and uniform thought: so
dull matter joined to another
dull object, forms a denser material object
to view. But the
intellectual and material can never unite
together owing to their
different natures.
40. The intellectual and material parts of a
person, can never be drawn
together in any picture; because the
intellectual part having the
intellect, has the power of knowledge, which
is wanting in the material
picture.
41. Intellectual beings do not take into
account the difference of
material things as wood and stone; which
combine together for some
useful purpose (as the building of a house
and the like).
42. The relation between the tongue and taste
is also homogeneous;
because rasa taste and rasand the instrument of tasting, are both
watery substances, and there is no
heterogeneous relation between them.
(And so of the other organs of sense and
their respective objects).
43. But there is no relation between
intellect and matter; as there is
between the stone and the wood; the intellect
cannot combine with wood
and stone to form anything. (The mind and
matter have no relation with
one another, nor can they unite together in
any way).
44. Spiritually considered, all things are
alike, because they are full
with the same spirit; otherwise the error of
distinction between the
viewer and the view, creates endless
differences as betwixt wood and
stones and other things.
45. The relation of combination though unseen
in spirits, yet it is
easily conceived that spirits can assume any
form ad libitum and ad
infinitum (but they must be spiritual and never material. So also a
material thing can be converted to another
material object, but never to
a spiritual form).
46. Know ye seekers of truth, all things to
be identic with the entity
of God. Renounce your knowledge of
nonentities and the various kinds of
errors and fallacies and know the One as All to pan. (The omnipotent
spirit of God, is joined with all material
things, in its spiritual form
only; and it is knowable to the mind and
spirit of man, and never by
their material organs of sense).
47. The Intellect being full with its knowledge,
there is nothing
wanting to us; it presents us everything in
its circumference, as the
imagination having its wide range, shews us
the sights of its air-built
castles and every thing beside. (The
difference consists in the
intellect's shewing us the natures of things
in their true light, and
the imagination's portraying them in false
shapes and colours to our
minds).
48. To Him there is no limit of time or
place, but his presence extends
over all his creation. It is ignorance that
separates the creator from
creation, and raises the errors of egoism and
tuism (i. e. of the
subjective and objective. The union of these
into One is the ground-work
of pantheism).
49. Leaving the knowledge of the substantive
gold, man contracts the
error of taking it for the formal ornament.
The mistake of the jewel for
gold, is as taking one thing for another, and
the production for the
producer.
50. The error of the phenomenon vanishes upon
loss of the eyesight, and
the difference of the jewel (or visible
shape), is lost in the substance
of gold.
51. The knowledge of unity removes that of a
distinct creation, as the
knowledge of the clay takes off the sense of
puppet soldiers made of it.
(So the detection of Aesop's ass in the
lion's skin, and that of the daw
with the peacock's feathers, removed the
false appearance of their
exteriors).
52. The same Brahma causes the error of the
reality of the exterior
worlds, as the underlying sea causes the
error of the waves on its
surface. The same wood is mistaken for the
carved figure, and the common
clay is taken for the pot which is made of
it. (The truth is that, which
underlies the appearance).
53. Between the sight and its object, there
lieth the eye of the
beholder, which is beyond the sight of its
viewer, and is neither the
view nor the viewer. (Such is the supreme
Being hidden alike from the
view and the viewer).
54. The mind traversing from one place to
another, leaves the body in
the interim, which is neither moving nor
quite unmoved; since its mental
part only is in its moving state. (So should
you remain sedate with your
body, but be ever active in your mind).
55. Remain always in that quiet state, which
is neither one of waking,
dreaming nor of sleeping; and which is
neither the state of sensibility
or insensibility; but one of everlasting
tranquillity and rest.
56. Drive your dullness, and remain always in
the company of your sound
intellect as a solid rock; and whether in joy
or grief, commit your soul
to your Maker.
57. There is nothing which one has to lose or
earn in this world;
therefore remain in uniform joy and bliss,
whether you think yourself to
be blest or unblest in life. ("Naked
came I, and naked must I return;
blessed be the name of the Lord").
58. The soul residing in thy body, neither
loves nor hates aught at any
time; therefore rest in quiet, and fear
naught for what betides thy
body, and engage not thy mind to the actions
of thy body.
59. Remain free from anxiety about the
present, as you are unconcerned
about the future. Never be impelled by the
impulses of your mind; but
remain steadfast in your trust in the true
God.
60. Be unconcerned with all, and remain as an
absent man. Let thy heart
remain callous to everything like a block of
stone or toy of wood; and
look upon your mind as an inanimate thing, by
the spiritual light of
your soul.
61. As there is no water in the stone nor
fire in water, so the
spiritual man has no mental action, nor the
Divine spirit hath any.
(There is no mutability of mental actions in
the immutable mind of God).
62. If that which is unseen, should ever come
to do anything or any
action; that action is not attributed to the
unseen agent, but to
something else in the mind. (But the mind
being ignored, its actions are
ignored also).
63. The unselfpossessed (unspiritual) man,
that follows the dictates of
his fickle and wilful mind, resembles a man
of the border land,
following the customs of the outcast Mlechchās
or barbarians.
64. Having disregarded the dictates of your
vile mind, you may remain at
ease and as fearless, as an insensible statue
made of clay.
65. He who understands that there is no such
thing as the mind, or that
he had one before but it is dead in him
to-day; becomes as immovable as
a marble statue with this assurance in
himself.
66. There being no appearance of the mind in
any wise, and you having no
such thing in you in reality except your
soul; say, why do you in vain
infer its existence for your own error and
harm?
67. Those who vainly subject themselves to
the false apparition of the
mind, are mostly men of unsound
understandings, and bring fulminations
on themselves from the full-moon of the pure
soul.
68. Remain firm as thou art with thyself
(soul), by casting afar thy
fancied and fanciful mind from thee; and be
freed from the thoughts of
the world, by being settled in the thought of
the Supreme Soul.
69. They who follow a nullity as the unreal
mind, are like those fools
who shoot at the inane air, and are cast into
the shade.
70. He that has purged off his mind, is
indeed a man of great
understanding; he has gone across the error
of the existence of the
world, and become purified in his soul. We
have considered long, and
never found anything as the impure mind in
the pure soul.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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