The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER CLXXIX.
THE DOCTRINE OF PANTHEISM OR THE ONE AS ALL.
Argument:--The intellectuality and incorporality of the
World, preclude
the idea of its materiality.
Vasishtha continued:--Now as the triple world is
known, to be a purely intellectual entity; there is no
possibility of the existence of any material substance
herein,
as it is believed by the ignorant majority of mankind.
2. How then can there be a tangible body, or any material
substance at all; and all these that appear all around to
our
sight, is only an intactile extinction of pure vacuity.
3. It is the emptiness of our intellectuality, and
contained
in the vacuity of the Divine Intellect; it is all an
extension of
calm and quiet intelligence, subsisting in the serene
intelligence
of the supreme One.
4. All this is but the quiescent consciousness, and as a
dream
that we are conscious of in our waking state; it is a
pure
spiritual[**removed 'space']
extension, though appearing as a consolidated expanse of
substantial forms.
5. What are these living bodies and their limbs and
members,
what are these entrails of theirs, and these bony frames
of them? Are they not but mere shadows of ghosts and
spirits, appearing as visible and tangible to us. (Or
very likely
they resemble the phantoms of our dreams, and the
apparitions
that we see in the dark. gloss).
6. The hands, the head, and all the members of the body,
are seats of consciousness or percipience; where it is
seated imperceptible
and intangible, in the form of the sensorium or
sensuousness.
7. The cosmos appears as a dream in the vacuum of the
Divine Mind; and may be called both as caused and
uncaused
in its nature, owing to its repeated appearance and
eternal inherence
in the eternal Mind.
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8. It is true that nothing can come out from nothing, or
without its cause; but what can be the cause of what is
eternally destined or ordained in the eternal mind.
(Predestination
and Preordination being the uncaused cause of all
events).
9. It is possible for a thing to come to existence,
without
any assignable cause or causality of it; and such is the
presence
of every thing that we think of in our minds: (and so
also is
the appearance of this world in its intellectual light).
10. If it is possible for things, ever to appear in their
various
forms in our dreams, and even in the unconscious state of
our sleep; why should it [**[be]] impossible for them to
appear also
in the day dream of our waking hours, the mind being
equally
watchful in both states of its being.
11. Things of various kinds, are present at all times, in
the
all comprehensive mind of the universal soul; these are
uncaused
entities of the Divine Mind, and are called to be caused
also, when they are brought to appearance.
12. As each of the Aindavas, thought himself to have
become a hundred in his imagination; so every one of
these
imaginary worlds, teemed with millions of beings--the
mere
creatures of our fancy.
13. So is every body conscious of his being many, either
consecutively or simultaneously at the same time; as we
think
of our multiformity in the different parts and members of
our bodies. (Or as the king Vipaschit viewed himself, as
dilated
in the sun, moon and stars, so also one man thinks
himself as
many, in different states of his life).
14. As the one universal body of waters, diverges itself
into
a thousand beds and basins, and branches into innumerable
channels
and creeks, and as one undivided duration, is divided
into
all the divisions of time and seasons, (so doth the one
and uniform
soul become multiform and many[**)]. (As the sruti
says:--aham-bahusyam).
15. All compact bodies are but the airy phantoms of our
dream, rising in the empty space of our consciousness;
they are
as formless and rariform[**rarefied?], as the hollow
mountain in a dream,
and giving us a void notion of it.
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16. As our consciousness consists of the mere notions and
ideas of things, the world must therefore be considered,
as a
mere ideal existence; and it appears in the sights of it
and observes
in the same light; as the fleeting notions of things
glide
over the void of the intellect. (The mind is conversant
only
with the ideas and not with the substance of things).
17. Our knowledge and nescience of things, resemble the
dreaming and sleeping states of the soul; and the world
is
same as the intellect, like the identity of the air with
its
breeze.
18. The noumenon and the phenomenon, are both the one
and same state of the Intellect; being the subjectivity
of its
vacuous self, and the objectivity of its own
intellections and
reveries; Therefore this world appears as a protracted
dream,
in the hollow cavity of the sleeping mind.
19. The world is a non-entity, and the error of its
entity,
is caused by our ignorance of the nature of God from the
very beginning of creation. In our dream of the world, we
see
many terrific aspects of ghosts and the like; but our
knowledge
of its non-entity, and of the vanity of worldliness,
dispel all
our fears and cares about it.
20. As our single self-consciousness, sees many things in
itself; so does it behold an endless variety of forms,
appearing
in the infinite vacuity of the Divine Mind.
21. As the many lighted lamps in a room, combine to emit
one great blaze of light; so the appearance of this
multiform
creation, displays the Omnipotence of one Almighty Power.
22. The creation is as the brusting[** bursting] bubble,
or foam and
froth of the mantling ocean of omnipotence; it appears as
a
wood and wilderness in the clouded face of the firmament,
but
disappears in the clear vacuous atmosphere of the Divine
Mind;
and there is no speck nor spot of creation in the
infinite ocean
of the Supreme Intellet[**Intellect].
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CHAPTER CLXXX.
BRAHMA GITA OR THE STORY ON AUSTERE DEVOTEE.
Argument:--Vasishtha's elucidation of the story of
Kunda-danta at the
request of Ráma.
Ráma rejoined:--I pray you sir, to remove the shade of a
doubt from my mind, as the sunshine dispels the darkness
from before it; in order to bring to light whatever is
dark
and obscure in the world.
2. I beheld once a self-governed ascetic, who came to the
seminary, where I was sitting amidst the synod of the
sages
and learned men, and conversing on subjects of theology
and
divinity.
3. He was a learned Brahman, and of a godly appearance;
he came from the land of the videhas or the Mithilas, and
was
practiced in religious austerities, and was as unbearable
in the
lustre of his person as the terrific seer Durvasas self.
4. On entering the assembly, he made his obeisance to the
illustrious persons; when we also saluted him in return
and
advanced his seat for him to sit down.
5. The Brahman being well seated, I picked up many
discourses
with him from the vedanta, sankhya, and siddhanta
philosophy, and when his weariness was gone, I made this
question to him, saying:--
6. Sir, you seem to be tired with your long journey to
this place, please tell me, O eloquent sir, from where
you have
started here today.
7. The Brahman replied:--so it is, O fortunate prince, I
have taken great pains to come up to this place; and now
hear
me to tell you the reason, that brings me hither to you.
8. There is a district here, known by the name of
Vaideha.[**,]
it is equally populous as well as prosperous in all
respects; and
is a resemblance of its semblance of the heavenly paradise.
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9. There I was born and educated, and held my residence
at the same place; and named as Kundadanta from the
whiteness
of my teeth, bearing resemblance to the buds of Kunda
flowers.
10. I resigned afterwards my worldly concerns, and betook
myself to travel far and wide about this earth; and
resorted to
the asylums of holy sages and saints, and to the shrines
of Gods
to rest from my fatigue.
11. I retired next to sacred mountain, where I sat silent
for
a long period, practicing my devotional austerities.
12. There I found a desert, which was devoid of grassy
pastures and woody trees; and where the light of the sun
and
the shade of night, reigned by turns, as it was the open
sky
on earth.
13. There is in the midst of it a branching tree, with
little
of its verdant leaves and leaf-lets; and the luminous sun
dispensed
his gentle beams, from the upper sky and through cooling
foliage.
14. There hung suspended under one of its boughs, a man
of a holy mien; who blazed as the
resplendant[**resplendent] sun pendent
in
the open air, by the cords of his wide extending beams
and
radiating rays.
15. His feet were tied upwards by a clotted cord of munja
grass, and his head hung downward towards the ground
beneath; and this gave him the appearance of an offshoot
of
the banian tree rooted in the earth below.
16. Having then after a while, approached to him at that
place, I saw him to have his two folded palms affixed to
his
breast, (as if he was intent upon the meditation of the
lord,
with the devoutness of his heart).
17. Advancing nearer to the body of the Brahman, I found
it to be alive by its respiration, and from its having
the feeling
of touch, and the perception of heat and cold, and that
of
the breeze and change of weather.
18. Afterwards I employed myself solely, in my attendance
on that devout personage only; and underwent all the
rigours
of the sun and seasons, until I was received into his
confidence.
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19. I then asked him saying; who art thou lord, that hast
thus betaken thyself to this sort of painful devotion;
say, O long
sighted seer, what is the aim and object of this thy
protracted
state of self-mortification at the peril-expense of thy
precious
life.
20. He then replied to my question saying:--Tell me first
O devotee, what is the object of thy devotion and those
of all
other persons, that are devoted to the particular objects
of their
pursuit. (So it is useless to inquire into the aim and
object
of another, when there is no body without his particular
end in
view).
21. This he said as introductory to his speech to me; but
being pressed further by my importunate inquiries, he
gave the
following answer to my questions.
22. I was born, said he, at Mathura where I grew up from
childhood to youth in the house of my father; and
acquired
my knowledge of philology and the arts in course of this
time.
23. I then learnt this also, that princes are the
receptacles
of all pleasures and enjoyments, at that it is the early
bloom of
youth, that is capable of the fruitions of life.
24. Since then I began to reflect on my being the
possessor
of the seven continents of the earth; and to foster the
ardent
expectation, of the gratification of all my desires of
this life.
25. It is for this purpose that I have come to this
place, and
have employed myself in this state of devotion, for
attainment
of objects of my desire.
26. Therefore, O thou disinterested and self offered
friend
of mine, do thou now return to thy own country and
desired
abode; and leave me to remain in this state, with my firm
resolution
for the accomplishment of my desired object.
27. Being thus bid by him to depart from that place,
listen
you now to what I replied unto him; this you will wonder
at
its rehearsal, and the wise will be gladdened in their
hearts to
learn.
28. I addressed him saying:--O holy saint[** space
added], let me remain
here at thy service, and underneath this holy tree, until
you
obtain the desired boon of your devotion.
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29. On my saying so, the meek minded devotee, remained as
cool and quiet as a block of stone, and with his closed
eye lids,
he persisted in his dormancy as a dead body, without any
motion in his outer limbs.
30. I too continued to stay before him, a[**as] quiet and
quiescent
as a block of wood, and endured without shrinking the
rigours
of the climate and seasons, for full six months at that
spot.
31. I saw at one time, effulgent as the blazing sun,
descending
from the solar orb, and then standing in presence of the
devotee.
32. As this deific personage was adored mentally by the
ascetic, and by bodily prostration of myself; he uttered
his words,
in a tone as sweet as the exudation of ambrosial
sweetness.
33. He said;[**:] O painstaking Brahman, that hast long
been
pendent on the projected bough of this branching banian
tree,
suspend thy severe austerities, and accept thy desired
boon, which
I am ready to confer on thee.
34. Thou shalt as thou wishest, reign over the seven
oceans
and continents of this earth; and with this present body,
thou
shalt rule over it, for seven thousand years.
35. In this manner did this secondary sun, give his
blessing
to the devout ascetic; and was prepared to
plung[**plunge] into the bosom
of the ocean out of which he rose of himself. (The sun is
usually
said to rise from and set in the mountain top, but he is
made
to rise out of and sink in the sea, according to the
Grecian
mythology).
36. The Deity having departed, I accosted the ascetic
hanging below the branch, and said to him I witnessed to
day
what I had heard from before, that the gods are ever
propitious
to their suppliants.
37. Now O Brahman, as you have gained the object of your
desire, it is desirable that you should give up your
austerity,
and pursue the proper callings and the course of your
life.
38. He having assented to my proposal, I ascended on the
tree and loosened his feet thereform[**therefrom]; as
they let loose the
feet
of an elephant from the fetters tied to its prop and
post.
39. Having then bathed himself, he made his offerings
with
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his pure hands for the remission of his sins; and then with
the
fruits which he was fortunate to pluck from the tree, he
broke
the fast of his long lent.
40. It was by virtue of his meritorious devotion, that we
obtained plenty of the delicious fruits of that holy
tree; where
upon we refreshed ourselves, and subsisted for three
days.
41. Thus this Brahman being desirous of obtaining the
soverignity[**sovereignity (OK/SOED)] of the earth,
consisting of the
septuple continents
girt by the seven oceans all around, made his painful
maceration
with his uplifted feet and downward head, until he
obtained
desired boon from the god of day, and refreshed himself
for
three days at the spot, till at last both of us set out
on our journey
towards the city of Mathurá.
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CHAPTER CLXXXI.
BRAHMA-GÍTÁ CONTINUED.
Argument:--The guests[**guest's] Description of sanctuary
of the goddess
Gaurí.
The guest Kunda-danta resumed his narration and said:--We
then betook ourselves to our homeward journey,
and bent our course towards the holy city of Mathurá,
which
was as fair and splendid as the solar and lunor[**lunar]
mansions, and
the celestial city of Amaravati of Indra.
2. We reached at the rustic habitation of
Raudha[**=print], and
halted at the mango forest over an adjacent rock. Then we
turned towards the city of Salísa, where we remained two
days
in the cheerfulness of our spirits.
3. We passed our itinerant time, with that hilarity of
our
hearts, which ever attends on travelling through unknown
places and scenes; and the succeeding season of our
halting,
was passed in our repose under the cooling shade of
woodland
arbours, and refreshing ourselves in the cooling brooks
and
breezes.
4. The faded flowers which were thrown down in profusion,
from the flowery creepers growing on the banks of rivers;
the
dashing of the waves, the humming of the bees, and the
singing
of birds, are delightsome to the souls of passing
travellers.
5. The thickening and cooling shades of beachening[**?]
trees,
the droves of deer and the flights of
chriping[**chirping] birds; and the
frozen ice and due[**dew (spelled correctly on page
following)] drops,
hanging tremulously as pearls on the
leaves of verdant trees, and at the ends of the blades of
green
grass, (are refreshing to the soul of the weary
passenger.)
6. We passed many days through woods and forests, and
over hills and dales, through caves and defiles, over
marshes and
dry lands, and in cities and villages; and also crossed
over a great
many rivers and channels and running waters.
7. We passed our nights under the arbours of thick
plantain
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forests: and being weary with walking over snows and
dews,
who laid ourselves on beds made of plantain leaves.
8. On the third we came to a jungle full of gigantic
woods
and trees, which for want of human habitation, seemed to
have
divided the empire of heaven between themselves: (meaning
that there was to be seen nothing, except the skies above
and
woods below).
9. Here that devotee left the right path, and entered
into
another forest, with uttering these useless words to me:
(which
were discursive and preventive of our returning to our
respective
habitations).
10. He said:--Let us go to the sanctuary of
Gourí[**Gaurí] here,
which is the resort of many munis and sages from all
quarters;
and is the asylum to which my seven brothers, have
repaired
for attainment of their objects.
11. We are eight brothers in all, and all of us have
fostered
great ambitions in various respects; we are all equally
resolved
to devote ourselves to rigorous austerities, for the
success of
our determined purposes.
12. It is for that purpose that have sought their shelter
in this holy asylum, and with fixed determination
practiced
various acts of self mortification, whereby they have
been
expurgated from their sins.
13. Ere this I accompanied my brothers to this place, and
remained here with them for six months together; and now
I find this same sanctuary of Gaurí in the same state as
I had
seen it before.
14. I see the piece of ground, overhung by the shady
flower
of trees; under the shade of which I see the young fauns
to be
reposing in this their peaceful retreat; I see also the
leafy
bowers with the sprays of birds thereon, listening to the
recital
of the sástras, conducted by the sages underneath.
15. Let us therefore go to the asylum of the sages, which
resembles
the seat of Brahmá crowded by the Brahmans on all
sides; here shall our bodies be purified of their sins,
and our
hearts will be sanctified by the holiness of the place.
16. It is by sight of these holy men of superior
understand-*
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*ing, that the minds of even the learned and saintlike
persons,
and even those of the knowers of truth are purified:
(wherefore
it must be sanctifying to us also).
17. Upon his saying so, we both went together to that
asylum of the recluses of sages and hermits; but to our
great
disappointment, we saw nothing but the appearance of a
total
desolation.
18. There was not a tree nor plant, and neither a shrub
nor
creeper to be seen on the spot; nor was there any man or
muni
or a boy or child was met there abouts; nor any altar or
priest
was there any where.
19. It was only a vast desert, all void and devoid of
bounds;
an unlimited space of burning heat, and appeared as the
blank
expance[**expanse] of the sky, had fallen down of the
ground below.
20. Ah woe to us! what is all this come to be! said we to
one another; and saying so, we continued to rove about
for a
long while, until we chanced to espy an arbour at some
distance.
21. It presented a thickly shady and cooling aspect,
resembling
that of a dark and drizzling cloud in the sky; and there
was observed an aged hermit, sitting in his meditation beneath
it.
22. We two sat upon the grassy spot, spread out in front
of
the eremite; and though we kept sitting there for a long
time,
yet we could find no respite in the abstracted meditation
of
the muni.
23. Then feeling uneasy at my staying there for a long
while, I broke my silence in impatience, and cried out in
a loud
voice, saying, suspend, O sage, the live-long musings of
your
mind.
24. My loud cry awakened the muni from the trance of
his reverie, as the roaring of a raining cloud wakens the
sleeping
lion, rising straight with his yawning mouth (and
stretched
out limbs).
25. He then said unto us, who are ye pious[**space added]
persons, that
are
in this desert; say where is that sanctuary of Gaurí
gone, and
who is it that has brought me hither. Tell me what means
this change and what time is this.
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26. Upon his saying so, I replied to him saying, you sir,
know all this and not we; say how is [**[it]] that you
being a sage
and seer do not know yourself?[**. replaced by ?]
27. Hearing this the holy man betook himself to his
meditation
again, and there saw all the events that had occurred
to himself and us also.
28. He remained a moment in deep thought, and then
coming to himself from his abstraction, he said unto us,
learn
now about this marvelous event, and know it to be a
delusion
only by your good common sense.
29. This young kadamba tree, that you are seeing in this
desert, and that gives me a shelter underneath it, and is
now
flowering in kindness to me.
30. It was for some reason or other, that the chaste
goddess
Gaurí, dwelt for full ten years upon it, in the form of
the goddess
of speech, any[**and] underwent all the inclemencies of
the seasons
sitting there upon.
31. It was by her that a goodly grove, and an extensive
forest was stretched out at this place, which became
therefore
known by her name, and was decorated by the flora of all
the
seasons.
32. It was a romantic spot to all grades of gods and men,
who
kept singing and sporting here in concert with the melody
of
tuneful and sportive birds; the air was filled with
clouds of
flowers, which brightened as myriads of moon in the sky;
while
the flying dust of full blown lotuses, perfumed the air
on all
sides of the forest.
33. The pollen of mandara and other flowers, perfumed
the air around; and the opening bud and blooming blossoms
brightened as moons; the flowering creepers sent forth
their
fragrance all about, and the whole court yard of the
forest,
seemed to strewn over with perfumery.
34. Its bowers were the seats of the god of the vernal
season
and flora; and the orchestra of black-bees, sitting and
singing in concert with their mates on the top of
flowers; the
flower beds were spread as the out stretched sheet of
moon
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light, and as credles[**cradles] for the swinging sports
of siddha and
celestial damsels.
35. Here were brooks frequented by cranes and herons,
and aquatic birds of various kinds; and there spacious
lawns on
the ground, graced by cocks and peacocks, and land birds
of
various hues.
36. The gandharvas and yakshas, siddhas and the hosts of
celestials, bowed down to this kadamba tree, and their
coronets
rubbed against the branch, which was sanctified by the
touch
of the feet of the goddes[**goddess] Sarasvatí alias
Guarí[**Gaurí]. And
the flowers
of the tree, resembling the stars of heaven, exhaled
their fragrance
all around.
37. Gentle zephers[**zephyrs] were playing amidst the
tender creeper,
and diffusing a coldness throughout the secret bowers,
even in
the light and heat of the blazing sunshine; while the
flying
dust of the kadamba and other flowers, spread a yellow
carpet
all over the ground.
38. The lotus and other aquatic flowers, were blooming in
the brooks, frequented by storks and cranes and herons
and
other watery birds, that sported upon them; while the
goddess
regaled herself amidst the flowery groves, which
displayed her
wondrous powers in the variety of their flowers.
39. It was in such a forest as this, that the goddess
Gaurí
the conjex[**consort?] of the god Hara,
rusided[**resided] at this spot for
a long time,
for some cause known to her godly mind; and then by
changing
her name and form to that of kadamba-Sarasvatí, she waved
as gracefully as a kadamba flower, on the crown of the
head of
her spoused partner Hara or Siva.
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CHAPTER CLXXXII.
BRAHMA GÍTÁ CONTINUED. SOVEREIGNTY OF THE
SEVEN CONTINENTS.
Argument:--Meeting of the Kadamba Hermit with his
brothers, their
bane and blessing and final success.
The old anchorite resumed and said:--The goddess Gaurí
dwelt for a full decade of years, on this very Kadamba
tree of her own accord; and then she left this arbour of
her own
will, in order to join her lord Hara on his left side.
2. This young Kadmba[** Kadamba] tree, being verified by
the ambrosial
touch of the goddess, never becomes old, nor fades or
withers;
but ever remains as fresh as a child in the lap of her
mother.
3. After the goddess had left this place, that great
garden
was converted to a common bush, and was frequented only
by
woodmen, who earned their livelihood by woodcutting,
4. As for myself, know me to be the king of the country
of
Malwa, and to have now become a refuge in this hermitage
of
holy ascetics, by abdication of my kingdom.
5. On my resorting to this place, I was honoured here by
the inhabitants of this holy asylum; and have taken
any[**my] abode
beneath this kadamba tree, where I have been in my
meditative
mood ever since that time.
6. It was sometime ago, that you sir, had come here in
company
with seven brethern [** brethren], and betaken yourselves
to the practice
of your religious austerities.
7. So did you eight persons reside here as holy devotees
since that time, and were respected by all the resident
devotees
of this place.
8. It came to pass in process of time, that one of them
removed
from here to the Srí mountain; and then the second
among them, went out to worship the lord
kartikeya[**Kártikeya] in
another
place.
9. The third has gone to Benaras[**Benares] and the
fourth to the
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Himalayas; and the remaining four remained at this place,
and
employed themselves to their rigorous austerities.
10. It was the earnest desire of each and every one of
them,
it become the soveran[**sovran (OK/SOED)] lord of all the
seven
continents of the
earth,[**.]
11. At last[**space added] they all succeeded to
accomplish their objects
of
their self same desire, by the grace and boon which
[**[they]] obtained
from the respective deity of their adoration, that was
pleased
with the austerity of his particular devotee.
12. The brethren returned to their habitation, when you
had been employed in your devotion; and after their
enjoyment
of the fruition of this earth in golden age, they have
ascend[**ascended] to
the empyrean of Brahmá[**.]
13. O sir, those brothers of yours, finding their
respective
gods propitious to them, and willing to confer blessings
upon
them, had made the following request of them saying:--
14. Ye gods! make our seven brothers, the lords of the
seven continents of the earth; and let all our subjects
be truthful
and sincere, and attached to the occupations of their
respective
orders.
15. The gods that were adored by them, gladly occupied
their prayer; and having assented to their request,
disappeared
from them, and vanished in the open sky.
16. They all went afterwards to their respective
habitation,
and met death except this one who is now here.
17. I only have been sitting alone, devoutly intent upon
meditation; and have remained as motionless as a stone,
beneath
this kadamba tree, which is sacred to the goddess of
speech.
18. Now as the seasons and years, have been rolling on
upon my devoted head, I have lived to see this forest, to
be
broken and cut down by woodmen, living in the skirts of
these
woods.
19. They have spared only this unfading kadamba tree,
which they had made an object of their veneration, as the
abode
of the goddess of speech; and me also whom they believe
to be absorbed in inflexible meditation.[**=print]
20. Now sirs, as you seem to have newly come to this
place,
-----File:
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and bear the appearance of aged ascetics; I have
therefore related
to you all that I have come to know by my cogitation
only.
21. Rise then ye righteous men, and proceed to your
native
homes; where you will meet your brothers in the circle of
their
family and friends.
22. You will find eight of your brothers, remaining in
their
abode; and resembling the eight high minded Vasus,
sitting in
the high[**=print] heaven of Brahmá.
23. After that great devotee had said so far, I
interrupted
him saying:--I have a great doubt in this wondrous
relation
of yours, which you will be pleased to expound it to me.
24. We know this earth to be composed of seven continents
only, how then is it possible for eight brothers, to be
the lord of
them all, at the one and same time.
25. The kadamba ascetic said:--It is not inconsistent
what
I have related to you, there are many such [**[things
which]] are
seemingly
incongruous, but [**[which]] become evident when they are
explained.
26. These eight brothers, having passed their periods of
asceticism, will all of them become lords of the seven
continents
of the earth, in their domestic circles. (i. e. Each
think himself
as such).
27. All these eight brothers, will remain in their
respective
houses on the surface of the earth; and will there become
the
lords of the septuple continents, in the manner as you
shall now
hear from me.
28. Every one of these eight persons had each a wife at
home, who were of unblemished character and persons
withal;
and resembled the eight stars or planets of heavens, in
the
brightness of their bodies. (They were equally chaste and
fair
and loving wives also).
29. After this[**these] eight brothers have departed, to
conduct their
protracted devotion abroad; their love born wives became
disconsolate
at their separation, which is altogether intolerable to
faithful wives.
30. They in their great sorrow of spirit, made painful
austerities
to the memory of the absent lords; and conduced a
-----File:
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hundred chandrayana vows and rites, to the satisfaction
of the
goddess Párvatí. (The olympian[**Olympian] Juno, and the
patroness of
chastity).
31. Invisibly the goddess appeard[** appeared] to them,
and spake her
words to them separately in their inner apartments; after
each
and every one of them had performed her daily devotion to
goddess.
32. The goddess said:--O Child, that hast been long
fading
away by thy austerities, like the tender shoot under the
scorching
sun; now accept this boon to thy heart's desire, both for
thyself as also for thy husband.
33. Hearing this voice of the goddess of heaven, the lady
Chirantiká, offered her handfuls of flowers to her, and
began to
address her prayer to the goddess, to her heart's
satisfaction.
34. The reserved and close tongued damsel, utter her
words
in a slow flattering voice flushed with joy; and
addressed the
heavenly goddess, as the peahen accosts the rising cloud.
35. Chirantiká said:--O goddess, as thou bearest eternal
love to Siva-[**--]the god of gods, such is the love I
bear also to my
husband, O make him immortal.
36. The goddess Replied:--Know, O goodly minded lady,
that it is impossible to gain immortality, from the
inflexible
decree of destiny, ever since the creation of the world.
No
devotion, austerity nor charity can buy life, ask
therefore some
other blessing.
37. Chirantiká said:--O goddess! if it be impossible to
attain immortality, then ordain it thus far; that he
being dead,
his soul may not depart beyond the confines of this house
of his.
38. When the body of my husband, falls dead in this
house;
then confer me this boon, that his parted soul may never
depart from this place.
39. Be it so, O daughter, that your husband being gone to
other world, you may still continue to be his beloved
wife, even
after his demise.
40. Saying so, the goddess Gaurí held her silence in the
midst of the air; as the sound of the clouds is stopped,
after its
betokening the welfare of the world.
-----File:
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41. After disappearance of the goddess in air, the
husbands
of these ladies returned to them from all sides, and at
the lapse
of some time after they had received their desired
blessings.
42. Now was there a mutual interview of the wives with
their husbands, and general meeting of the brothers with
each
other, and with their friend[**friends] and relatives.
43. Hear now a wonderful event, which happened to them
at this time; and which presented itself as an obstacle,
towards
the achievement of their noble purpose.
44. It was at the time when the brothers were employed
in their devotion, that their parents had gone out with
their
wives in search of them, and were wandering about the
hermitages
of saints, with their sorrowful hearts.
45. Unmindful of their porsonal[** personal] pains and
pleasures, for the
sake of the welfare of their sons, that intended to see
the village
of Kalapa, which lay on their way.
46. Passing by the village of munis or saints, they
espied
on their way a white man of short stature, with grey and
erect
hairs on his head, and his body bedaubed with ashes.
47. Thinking him to be an ordinary old passenger, the
parents, forgot to do him due honour, and let the dust of
the
ground they trod upon, fly unwearily[**unweariedly] to
his sacred person.
This
irritated the old passenger, who thus bespake to him in
his ire.
48. You great fool that are going on pilgrimage in
company
with thy wife and daughters-in-law; dont[**don't] you
heed me
the sage Durvasas, that you slight to do me due
reverence.
49. For this act of thy negligence, the boons so dearly
earned by thy sons and daughters in law will go for
nothing,
and will be attained with their contrary effect.
50. On hearing this malediction the old parents and their
daughters in law, were proceeding to do him reverence,
when
the ancient sage disappeared from their sight and
vanished
in air.
51. At this the parents and their daughters, were greatly
dismayed and disheartened; and returned disappointed to
their
home, with their melancholy countenances.
52. Therefore I say, there was not the only
inconsistency,
-----File:
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in each of the brothers reigning over the seven
continents all
at once; but there were many other odds awaiting upon
them
as on all human wishes; and these occuring[**occurring]
as thickly one
after
the other as the sores and ulcers growing on goitres. (Or
pouches on the throat).
53. There are as many oddities and vanities, always
occurring
in the wishes, and aerial castles of the vacuous mind; as
the numberless portents and comets and meteors and
unnatural
sights, are seen to appear in the empty sky.
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CHAPTER CLXXXIII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS.
Argument:--Brahmá's relation of the contending sides of
blessing and
imprecation.
Kunda-Danta rejoined:--I then asked the hermit of
Gourí's[**Gaurí's] asylum, whose head was hoary with age,
and
whose hair resembled the dried blades of withered grass.
2. There are but seven continents only, that composed
this
earth; how then could every one of the eight brothers,
become
the sole lord of earth at one and the same time.
3. Again how could a person, that had no egress from his
house, conquer the seven continents abroad, or govern
them
himself; (by sitting quietly at home).
4. How could they that had the boon on one hand, and its
contrary curse on the other, could[**delete 'could'] go
in either way which
are
opposed to one another, as the cool shade[**space added]
of trees and the
heat
of sunshine.
5. How can opposite qualities reside together at the same
time, which is as impossible as the container and
contained to
become the same thing. (Here the blessing of the gods and
the curse of the sage, must counteract one another, and
neither
of them could effect anything).
6. The Hermit of the asylum returned:--Attend, O holy
man, to my relation of the sequal[**sequel] of their
tale; and you will
come to see the sequence of their contrary fates.
7. As for you two you will reach to your home, after
eight
days from this place; and their[**there] meet with your
relatives, with
whom you will live happily for some time.
8. These eight brothers also, having joined with their
families
at home: will breathe their last in course of time; and
have their bodies burnt by their friends and relations.
9. Then their conscious souls, will remain separately in
air
-----File:
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for a little while; and there continue in a state of
torpidity,
as in the insensibility of sleep.
10. All this interval their acts will appear, in the
vacuous
space of their minds, for the sake of receiving their
retributive
justice; and also the blessing of gods and the curse of
the
sage, will wait on them at his time.
11. The acts will appear in the shapes of the persons to
whom they were done and the blessings and imprecation
likewise[**space
removed];[**, semi-colon not needed] will assume their
particular forms,
in order to make their
appearence[**appearance] before them.
12. The blessings will assume the forms of fair
moon-bright
bodies, having four arms on each, and holding a lotus
bud, a
club and other weapons in each of them.
13. The curse will take the forms of Siva with his three
eyes, and holding the lance and mace in his either hand;
and
having a dark terrific body, with a surly grim and
frowning
countenance.
14. The Blessings will vauntingly say:--Avaunt thou
accursed curse! it is now our time to work; as it is with
the
seasons to act their parts at their proper times.
15. The curse will say in his turn:--Be afar from here;
ye blessed blessings, and do not intrude upon my time; it
will
take effect as any one of the seasons, nor is there any
body
capable of counteracting its wonted course.
16. The blessing will rejoin and say; Thou
cured[**cursed] curse, art
but a creature of an human sage; but we are messengers of
the
God of day; now as preference is given to the first born
God
of light, over a human being (who is the last work of
God); it
is proper that we should have our precedence here (in the
present
case).
17. Upon the blessings saying so, the personified curse
of the
sage got enraged, and returned in reply saying, I am no
less the
creator of a God than you are since we are born of the
God
Rudra by his consort Rudraní-[**--]the Fury.
18. Rudra is the greatest of gods, and the sage was born
with a portion of Rudra's prowess; saying so the accursed
curse
lifted up its head, as high as the exalted summit of a
mountain.
-----File: 427.png---------------------------------------------------------
19. On seeing the haughty high-headedness of the
personation
of curse; the personified image of the boon smiled
scornfully
at him, and then made his reply in his speech of well
weighed words.
20. O thou miscreant curse, leave thy wickedness and
think
on the end of this affair; as also about what is to be
done,
after termination of all this altercation of ours.
21. We must have recourse to the father of the gods, for
his
favourable decision of the case, is it not therefore
better for us
to do even now what must come to be finally determined
by him.
22. The curse on hearing these words of the personified
boon replied, well, I agree to what you say; because a
fool even
cannot decline to accept the reasonable proposal of a
person.
23. Then the curse agreed to resort to the abode of
Brahmá;
in company with the divine Blessing; because the great
minded
gods are always resorted to by the wise, for the
dissipation
of their doubts.
24. They bended down before Brahmá, and related all that
had occured[**occurred] between them; and the god on
hearing the whole
on both sides, replied to them in the following manner.
25. Brahmá said:--Hearken unto me, ye master of blessing
and curse, and let him have the precedence of the either,
that is possessed of intrinsic merit and essence.
26. Upon hearing this from the month[**mouth] of the
Great god,
they both entered in their turn into the heart of one
another, in
order to sound their understandings, and descry their
respective
parts.
27. They then having searched into the eternal
essentialities
of one another, and having known their respective
characters;
came out in presence of the God, and besought him by
turns.
28. The curse said:--I am overcome, O Lord of creatures,
by this my adversary, in my having no internal merit in
myself,
and finding the curses of my foe, to be as sound and
solid
as the hard stony rock and the strong thunderbolt.
29. But both ourselves and the blessings, being always
but
-----File: 428.png---------------------------------------------------------
intellectual beings, we have no material body whatever to
boast of at any time[**space added].
30. The Blessing replied:--The intellectual blessing,
which
its giver (the god in the sun), has given to its askers
the Brahmans,
is here present before you; and this is entrusted to my
charge (to be delivered unto them).
31. The body of every one is the evolution of one's
intelligence,
and it is this body which enjoys the consequence of
the curse or blessing that is passed on one according to
his knowledge
of it; whether it is in his eating or drinking or in his
feeling of the same, in all his wandering at all times
and places.
(i. e. The consciousness of one's merits and demerits,
accompanies
him every where, and makes him enjoy or suffer their
results accordingly).
32. The blessing received from its donor, is strengthened
in the mind of the donee in time; and this acting
forcibly within
one's self, overcomes at last the power or effect of the
curse.
(i. e. Firm good will, turns away the evil ones).
33. The donors[**donor's] bestowal of a blessing, to his
supplicants for
it; becames[** becomes] strong and effectual only, when
it is deeply
rooted
and duly fostered in ones[**one's] self. (i. e. A good
given us by others,
is of no good, unless we cultivate it well ourselves).
34. It is by means of the continued culture of our
conscious
goodness, and by the constant habit of thinking of our
desert,
that these become perfected in one's self, and convert
their
possessor to their form. (It is the habitual mode of the
mind's
thought, that makes the future man, be it a holy or
accursed
one).
35. The pure and contrite conscience alone, consummates
one's consciousness in time; but the impure conscience of
the
evil minded, never finds its peace and tranquility. Hence
the
Brahmans' thoughts of the blessing, had taken the
possession
of their minds, and not that of the curse: because the
earlier one, has the priority over the latter, though it
be
that of a minute only; (as the law of primogeniture,
supercedes
the claim of youngsters to state); and there is no
rule;--[** appears
incomplete--P2: sentence continues in next verse]
36. Nor force of pride to counteract this law. (Hence the
-----File:
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blessing of the god, being prior to the curse of the
sage, must
have its precedence over the latter).
37. But where both sides are of equal force, there both
of
them have their joint effect upon the same thing; so the
curse
and blessing being conjoined together, must remain as the
commingling of milk with water.
38. The equal force of the blessing and curse, must
produce
a double or divided effect on the mind of man; as a
person
dreaming of the fairy city in his sleep, thinks himself
as turned
to one of its citizens (without losing the idea of his
own personality:
so a man has a different idea of himself, in different
states of his life).
39. Now pardon me, O Lord for my repetition of the same
truths bfore[**before] thee that I have learnt from thee,
and permit me
now to take leave of thee, and depart to my place.
40. Upon his saying so, the curse felt, ashamed in
itself,
and fled away from the presence of the god; as the ghosts
and
goblings[**goblins] fly away from the air, at the
dispersion of darkness
from the sky.
41. Then the other blessing, (which was given by the
Goddess Gaurí to the ladies of these brothers),
concerning the
restriction of their departed ghosts, to the confines of
their house,
came forward and presented itself before Brahmá in lieu
of the
curse, and began to plead his curse, as a substitute does
for
his constituent.
42. He said:--I know not, O Lord of Gods, how human
souls can fly over the seven continents of the earth,
after their
separation from their dead bodies; (Deign to explain this
therefore unto me.)
43. I am the same blessing of the godess[**goddess], that
promised
unto them their dominion over the seven continents in
their
own house; and also their conquest of the whole earth
within
its confines.
44. Now tell me, O Lord of Gods, how am I to restrain
their spirits to the narrow limits of their own abodes;
and at
the same time confer the domain of the septuple earth, to
each
-----File:
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and every one of them, (as it is destined to them by the
blessing
of the God of day.)
45. Brahmá responded:--Hear me, O thou blessing of
confering[**conferring]
the realms of the seven continents on each of them; and
thou the boon of detaining their departed spirits within
the
confines of these mansions; that both of you are
successful in
executing your respective purposes on them.
46. Now do you retire from this place with full assurance
in yourselves, that the delivered ghosts of these
brothers; will
never quit nor ever depart from their present abodes
after their
demise; but continue to reside there forever more; with
the
belief of their being the Lords of the seven regions of
this earth.
(It is the firm belief of the mind of the possession of
anything,
that makes it the true possessor thereof, much more than
its
actual enjoyment of the same).
47. Their souls will remain at proper distances from each
other, after the loss and extinction of their frail
bodies; and
will deem themselves as lords of the seven regions of
earth,
though dwelling in the empty air of their own abodes.
48. How could there be the eight regions and seven
contitents[**continents]
of the earth, when to all appearance the surface of the
earth, presents but a flat level everywhere.
49. Tell us Lord! where are these different divisions of
the
earth situated, and in what part of their petty abode;
and is it
not as impossible for the small place of their house to
contain
this wide earth in it, as it is for the little cell of a
lotus
bud to hide an elephant in its pericarp.
50. Brahmá replied:--It being quite evident to you as to
ourselves also, that the universe is composed of an
infinite
vacuity only; it is not impossible for its being
contained
within the hollow of the human heart, as in the minute
particle
of the vacuous mind, which contains all things in it in
the manner of its dreams.
51. If it were possible for the minute granule of their
vacuous
minds, to contain the figures of their houses and their
domestic circles within itself, why should it be thought
im-*
-----File:
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*possible for them, to compress the greater and lesser
circle of
this earth also, within their ample space.
52. After the demise of a person, the world exhibits
itself
in the same form as it is, in the minute atom of his
mind; and
this is but a vacuous mass of the visible and material
world, in
its invisible and imaginary figure.
53. It is in this invisible particle of the mind, that
the
world is seen in its abstract form, within the
precints[**precincts] of the
body and abode of every body; and this earth appears to
be
drawn in it as in a map, with all its sevenfold
continents and
the contents thereof.
54. Whatever is manifest in the mind, is a mere mental
conception and inborn in the mind, and there is no such
thing
as an extraneous or material world in reality. It is the
vacant
mind that presents these vagaries of the world and all
other
visibles before its vision, as the vacuous firmament
shows the
variety of atmospherial[**atmospherical] appearances to
our sight.
55. The personified benediction, having learnt this
abstract
truth, from the mouth of the divine Brahmá, who had
conferred
this boon to the Brahmanical brothers,
abondoned[**abandoned] his
erroneous
conception of the material world, and repaired to the
abode of
the desceased[**deceased] bretheren[**brethren], that had
been released
from the mistake
of their mortal bodies.
56. The personated blessing bow[**bowed] down to the
bounteous
Brahmá, and departing from his presence with speed,
enter[**entered] into
the parlour of the eight brother kings, in his eight-fold
spiritual
personallity[**personality] (called the ashta siddhi).
57. They beheld the brothers there in their respective
residences,
each sitting as the Lord of the earth with its septuple
continents, and all of them employed in the performance
of
their sacrifices and enjoyment of their blessings, like
the eight
Lordly Manus for the whole period of a day of Brahmá.
58. They were all friendly to each other, though
unacquainted
with the respective provinces of one another; each of
them
was employed in his concern with the world, without
clashing
with the authority of another over it.
59. One of them who was handsome in the bloom of his
-----File: 432.png---------------------------------------------------------
youth; held his happy reign over the great city of
Ujjain,
which was situated in the precinits[**precincts] of his
own house, or
rather in the environs of his own mind.
60. Another one of them had his domain over the country
of scythia[**Scythia].[**delete '.'] (sáka), where he
settled himself for his
conquest of
the Nágas.[**delete '.'] (saccae); he cruises as a
corsair in the wide
outlandish
seas, for his victory on every side.
61. Another reigns secure in his capital of Kusadwípa,
and
confers perfect security to his subjects from all alarm;
and
like a hero who has quelled his enemies, he rests in
peace on
the bosom of his beloved, after all his conquest.
62. Some one of them indulges himself to sport, in company
with the celestial Nymphs of Vidyádhara; in skimming over
the waters of the lakes on mountain tops, and in the
gushing
water falls on their side.
63. Another one is engaged these eight days in conducting
his horse sacrifice in his royal abode at Krauncha dwípa,
which
he has greatly aggrandised with his accumulated gold,
from
the other continents.
64. Another one is employed in waging a battle in the
Sálmali continents, where his war elephants have
assembled,
and have been uprooting the boundary mountain from their
basis with robust tusks.
65. The Monarch of the Gomedha continent, who had been
the eight and last of the Brahman brothers, was smitten
with
love for the princess of the Pushkara dwípa; upon which
he
mustered a large armament for ravishing her in warfare.
66. The monarch of the Pushkara continent, who was also
the master of the Mountainous regions of Lokáloka; set
out
with his deputy to inspect the land of the gold mines.
67. Thus every one of these brothers, thought himself to
be
the Lord of his respective province, as his imagination
pourtrayed[**portrayed]
unto him in the region of his mind.
68. The Blessings then, having relinquished
there[**their] several
forms and personalities, became united and one with the
consciousness of the Brahmans, and felt and saw whatever
passed in them, as if they were passing in themselves
likewise.
-----File:
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(The divine blessing on them being no other than the
approbation
of their conscience).
69. So these brothers became and found in themselves,
what they had long been longing,[**delete ','] after, in
their respective
lordship over the seven regions of the earth, which they
continued
to enjoy ever since to their heart's content.
70. It was in this manner that these men of enlarged
understandings, obtained what they sought in their minds,
by
means of their austere devotion and firm devotedness to
their
purpose. So it is with the learned that they find
everything
beside them; whatever they are intent upon in their
minds, by
means of their acting upon the same principle, and using
the
proper means conducing to that end.
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CHAPTER CLXXXIV.
A LECTURE ON THE ALL COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE SOUL.
Argument:--Nature of the unenlightened soul, to represent
unnumbered
worlds within itself.
Kunda-danta said:--I then asked [**[the]] devotee sitting
beneath
the kadamba tree, to tell me how the seven large
continents
of the globe, could be contained within the narrow limits
of the abodes of each of these brothers, (which is next
to an
impossibility).
2. The kadamba devotee replied:--The essence of the
intellect though so very vacuous in itself, is
notwithstanding
the most capacious and ubiquious[**OK/SOED] of any thing
in existence;
and
is present in its own nature with every thing, wherever
it is
known to exist.
3. The soul sees itself in the form of the triple world,
and
every thing besides in its different nature and figure,
without
changing itself to any one of them. (i[**.] e. The soul
remains
unchanged in all the changeful scenes of nature).
4. Kunda-danta rejoined:--But how do you attribute the
quality of variety or multiplicity, to the purely simple
and
immutable nature of the Supreme soul, as you see them
appertaining
to the intrinsic character of everything else in nature.
(Or as Pope says:--That changed through all, yet in all
the
same; great in the earth, as in the etherial frame).
5. The kadamba devotee replied:--The sphere of the intellectual
vacuum, is all quiet and serene, and there is nothing as
any variety or multiformity in it; the changes that are
apparent
in its face, are no more, than the waves and eddies,
whirling on the surface of the changeless main.
6. It is in the immensity of intellectual vacuity, that
infinite
creations seem to be continually purling about, as the
rising
waves are seen to be whirling in the sea; and it is in
its fathom-*
-----File:
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*less depth that they appear to sink, like the waters
subsiding
in the hollow of the deep.
7. The substantial forms of things, that rise in the
unsubstantial
essence of the intellect, are as the various forms of
substances, seen in the dreaming state of the soul, and
all
which are utterly forgotten in its state of sound sleep-
[**--]susupta[**susupti].
8. As a Hill seen in dream is no hill at all, and as
things
appearing to be in motion in dreaming, are found
afterwards
to be perfectly motionless; so are all things in nature
but mere
unrealities, and though as real from the real nature of
soul
itself. (i. e. It is the intellect that fashions
everything in its
own manner, and its imagination gives a form to an airy
nothing).
9. The intellect is an immaterial substance, and neither
creates nor perceives any thing material by itself; but
conceives
everything as it is manifested to it in its idea in the
beginning. (i. e. The ideas of things are inborn in the
mind).
10. As the intellect sees a great variety of objects in
dream,
which it takes for realities for the time; so its belief
in the
reality of its ideas, causes it to conceive them as real
entities.
11. The vacuous intellect, which glitters of itself in
its own
state of transparence[**OK/SOED]; comes to find the world
shinning in
the
same light within itself. (i. e. The world is subjective
with
the intellect, and not a part from our intellectual light
of the
same).
12. As we have the consciousness of heat in the fire,
even
when it is seen in a dream; so we are conscious of the
presence
of everything in our minds, even in the absence of the
thing
itself from us. (It was thus that the Brahman brothers
were
conscious of their lordship, even in their want of the
realms
themselves).
13. And as we have the idea of the solidity of a pillar,
from
our dream of it in sleep; so have we the idea of the
great
variety of things in existence; although there is no
diversity or
difference in the nature of the One unvaried unity that
pervades
the whole. (And that shows its unchangeable self, as
many and changed through all-[**--]Aham-bahusyam).
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14. In the beginning all substances were as pure and
simple,
as the essence of their maker by and after which they
were made; and they still continue to be in the same
state of
their ideal purity, as they were originally made out of
that
airy entity and unity.
15. As the tree is diversified in the various forms of
its roots
and fruits, and its leaves, flowers and the trunk; so is
the
Supreme unity varied in all and everywhere in his
self-same
and undivided essence.
16. It is in the fathomless ocean of the Supreme essence,
that the immensity of creation is subsisting like the
waters
of the deep; and it is in the boundless space of that
transcendent
vacuum, that the infinity of the worlds have been rolling
on, in their original vacuous and apparently visible
forms.
17. The transcendental and comprehensible i. e. the
immaterial
soul and the material world, are but commutual terms
as the tree and arbour, and their difference lies in the
intelligibleness
of the one and unintelligibility of the other; but
true intelligence leads us to the unconceivable One,
while our
ignorance of the same, deludes us to the knowledge of
many,
and tends to our distress only. (True happiness in our
reliance
on the unknown One only).
18. The mundane and supermundane is surely the One and
same thing, according to the deduction of spiritual
philosphy[**philosophy];
and the knowledge of this sublime truth, is sure to lead
one to
his ultimate liberation.
19. The world is the product of the will of God, and the
will is a power or faculty appertaining to the
personality of
the Deity; and the same being transmuted to the form of
the
world, it is proved that the world is the formal part of
the
Supreme soul. (Whose body nature is, and God the soul).
20. He whom no words can define, and yet who defines the
senses of words; who is subject to no law or prohibition,
or to
any state or condition of being, but appoints them for
all sorts
of beings, is indeed the only Lord of all.
21. He that is ever silent but speaks through all, who is
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inactive as a rock but acts in all; who is always
existent and
appears as inexistent, is the Supreme Lord of all.
22. That subtile essence that constitutes the solidity of
all
gross bodies, and remains undecayed in all frail bodies,
is the
pure Brahma himself; He has no volition or nolition of
creation
or destruction, and there is no possession or want of the
property
of anything.
23. It is the one and invariable soul, that rests always
in
its state of rest and sleep, and perceives the succession
of creation
and destruction of the world, in its alternate states of
dream and sound sleep, which present themselves as two
pictures
before its sight.
24. It is also in the substratum of the intellect, that
unnumbered
worlds seem to rise and set in succession; they
appear as passing pictures before the mind, without being
rooted or painted therein.
25. As the mixing of one thing with another, produces a
different effect in the mixture; so doth the union of the
mind
with the organs of sense, causes[**cause] a variety of
impressions to be
imprinted in the intellect. (So the commixture of curd
and
sugar creates a different flavour in the condiment,
gloss).
26. All things have their existence in the essence of the
intellect only, without which nothing is knowable to any
body; hence there is nothing anew in nature, except its
being
but a representation of the original idea in the mind:
(and this
is evident from the identity and similarity of the
ectypes with
its antitypes, gloss).
27. Hence our consciousness of the identity of things
with
the essence of our intellect, proves them to be as
immaterial
and immovable as their fixed ideas in the mind.
28. Thus the world which is so visible and perceptible to
us,
is nothing but a mere nullity in reality; and whatever
appears
as existing herein, together with the great gods and
angels, are
no more than the false visions in our dream and fancy.
29. We see the various fluctuations and phenomena, rising
in the waters of the vast ocean of the intellect; and
appearing
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in the forms of our joy and grief, and those of moving
and
unmoving bodies in creation.
30. O that the nature and course of the world, should so
obscure the bright mirror of the intellect; as to hide it
under
the dirt of our passions, and cover it under the clouds
and snows
of our ignorance.
31. As spectres and dissolving views appear in the air,
before
the sight of the dimsighted; so doth this shadow of the
world appear as substance, to the view of the unspiritual
myopist.
32. Whatever we imagine, the same we find, and seem to
enjoy for the time; and as we are delighted with the view
of
our imaginary city, so do we indulge ourselves in the
sight of
this air-drawn utopia of the world.
33. As we seem to enjoy our ecstasy, in the fairy land of
our fancy; so we are betaken by the delusion of this
unreal
world, under the belief of its reality.
34. There is one eternal destiny, which ever runs apace
in
its wonted course; and destines all beings to continue in
their
alloted[**allotted] careers as ever before.
35. It is destiny that produces the moving bodies from
living beings, and the motionless ones from the unmoving;
it is
that predestination which has destined the downward
course of
water and fluids, and the upward motion of the flames of
fire.
36. It is that blind impulse, that impels the members of
the
body to their respective actions; and makes the luminous
bodies to emit their light; it causes the winds to wind
about
in their continuous course, and makes the mountains to
stand
unmoved in their proper places.
37. It makes the luminaries of heaven, to roll on in
their
regular revolutions, and causes the rains and dews of the
sky,
to pour down in their stated seasons; and it is this
eternal destiny
that directs the courses of years, ages and cycles, and
the
whole curricle of time to run its wonted course.
38. It is the divine ordinance, that has ordained the
limits
of the earth and the distant ocean and seas, and has
fixed
the position of the hills and rocks in them; it has
alloted[**allotted] the
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natures and powers of all things, and prescribed the laws
of
rights and duties for all and every one.
39. Kunda-danta rejoined:--The reminiscence of the scenes
of past life, occurs in the present state of existence,
in the forms
of our imagination and of desire for the same; and these
inward
thoughts become the gist and marrow to frame our lives
in their fashion; but tell me sir, how could the first
created
beings in the beginning of creation could[**delete
'could'] have any
reminiscence,
whereupon their lives and natures were moulded.
40. The devotee replied:--All these that offer themselves
to our view, are quite unprecedented and without their
original
patterns in the mind, and resemble the sight of our own
death
that we happen to see in a dream. It is the omniscience
of
Brahmá[**à-->á], that caused the first creation, and
not his memory of
the past as it is with us and other created
being[**beings].
41. It is the nature of our intellect, to represent the
imaginary
city of the world in its empty vacuity; it is neither a
positive reality, nor a negative unreality either; being
now
apparent and now lost to sight by itself.
42. It is the clearness of the intellect, which
represents the
imaginary world in the manner of a dream; but the pure
vacuous
intellect, neither sees nor bears the remembrance of the
world in itself. (It is the sight of a thing, that leaves
its traces
in the mind afterwards; but when there is no sight of a
thing,
there can be no remembrance of it).
43. The wise that are devoid of joy and grief, and remain
unchanged in prosperity and adversity; are men of right
integrity
and equanimity in their nature, and move on as equably
as the wheel of fortune leads them onwardly[**onward].
44. As the intellect retains in it, the remembrance of
what
it has seen in its dream; so does it bear in itself the
false impression
of this triple world to its end.
45. It is only the reflexion of our consciousness, which
passes under the name of the world; now knowing the
nature
of your consciousness as mere vacuousness, you will blot
out
the impression of the world also.
46. That which is all and everything, and from which all
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have issued and in which they exist; know that All as all
which
fills all space, wherein all things are situated.
47. I have thus fully explained to you, how you may come
to know this creation as its creator--the Great Brahma
Himself;[**moved
the hyphen and changed it to a dash]
and have also expounded to you the means, whereby you may
get rid of your impression of the phenomenal world.
48,[**.] Now rise ye Brahmans and repair to your abodes,
as the
bees resort to their cells and calyxes of lotuses at the
dusk of
the day; go and perform your evening services, while I
remain
here in my pensive meditation, and absorbed in my
spiritual
ecstasy forever.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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