The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER CXIX.
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.
Argument.--On the Expansion of Divine Powers, and the
Perfection
of Human Soul.
Manu resumed--The Lord with his creative power exerts his
active energy, and plays the part of a restless boy (in
his
formation of the worlds); and again by his power of
re-absorption
he engulphs all into himself, and remains in his lonesome
soleity[**solity].
2. As it is[** space added] his volition that gives rise
to his active energy
for
action, so it is his nolition that causes the cessation
of his
exertion, and the intromition[**intromission] of the
whole creation in
himself.
3. As the light of the luminous sun, moon and fire, and
as the lustre of brilliant gems spread themselves on all
sides;
and as the leaves of trees put forth of themselves, and
as the
waters of a cataract scatter their liquid particles all
about.
4. So it is the lustration of divine glory, which
displays itself
in the works of creation; which appears to be intolerable
to the
ignorant, who know not that it is the self-same god
though
appearing to be otherwise.
5. O! it is a wondrous illusion that has deluded the
whole
world, which does not perceive the divine spirit, that
pervades
every part of the universe.
6. He who looks on the world as a scenery painted in the
tablet of the Divine Intellect, and remains unimpressible
and
undesirous of every thing, and quite content in his soul,
has put
on an invulnerable armour upon himself: (which no dart of
error has the power to pierce).
7. How happy is he who having nothing, no wealth nor[**
space added]
support, has yet his all by thinking himself as the all
intelligent
soul.
8. The idea that this is pleasurable and the other is
painful,
being the sole cause of all pains and anxiety, it is the
con-*
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suming of these feelings by the fire of our indifference
to them,
that prevents the access of pain and affliction unto us.
9. Use, Oh King! the weapon of your restless anaesthesia
(samadhi), and cut in twain the feeling of the agreeable
and disagreeable, and pare asunder your sensation of love
and
hatred by the sword of your manly equanimity.
10. Clear the entangled jungle of ceremonious rites
(karma
k疣da), by the tool of your disregard of the merit or
demerit
of acts (dharm・dharma); and relying in the tenuity of
your
soul (as rarer than the rarified[**rarefied] air), shake
off all sorrow and
grief from you.
11. Knowing thy soul to be full of all worldly
possessions,
and driving all differences from thy mind, bind thyself
solely to
reason (viveka) and be free from all fabrications
(Kalpana) of
mankind; know the supreme bliss of the soul, and be as
perfect
and unfailing as itself, and being embodied in the
intellectual
mind, remain quite calm and transparent, and aloof from
all the tears and cares of the world.
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CHAPTER CXX.
CONTINUATION OF THE SAME. ON THE SEVEN STAGES
OF EDIFICATION.
Argument.--The three stages of the seekers of Liberation,
and the
three others of the Liberated.
Manu continued:--Enlightment[**Enlightenment] of the
understanding by
the study of the s疽tras and attendance on holy and wise
men, is said to be the first stage of yoga by yogis.
(These
seven stages have been spoken of before in other words in
the
Utpatti-prakarana).
2. Discussion and reconsideration of what has been learnt
before, is second stage of yoga; the third is the
rumination of the
same in one's self and is known under the[** space added
and deleted]
name of nididhy疽ana
or self-communion of meditation. The fourth is silent
meditation
in which one loses his desires and darkness in his
presence
before the light of God. (This is called the atm疽akshyat
kara
also; and all these four stages are expressed in the
vedic text[** space
added]. [Sanskrit: 疸m疱疵e sv咜av・mantab・nididhy疽itava
karttavasveti]
3. The fifth stage is one of pure consciousness and
felicity,
wherein the living-liberated-devotee remains in his
partly waking
and partly sleeping state. (This is half hypnotism).
4[**.] The sixth stage in one's consciousness of
ineffable bliss,
in which he is absorbed in a state of trance or sound
sleep.
(This is known as samadhi or hypnotism).
5. One's resting in the fourth and succeeding stages, is
called
his liberation, and then the seventh stage is the state
of an even
and transparent light, in which the devotee loses his
self consciousness.
6. The state above turya[**tur坙a] or fourth stage, is
called nirv疣a
or extinction in God; and the seventh stage of perfection
relates
to disembodied souls only and not to those of living
beings.
7. The first three stages relate to the waking state of
man,
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and the fourth stage concerns the sleeping state, in
which the
world appears in the manner of a dream.
8. The fifth stage is the stage of sound sleep, in which
the
soul is drowned in deep felicity; and the unconsciousness
of one's
self in the sixth stage, is also called his
turya[**tur坙a] or fourth state:
(because it is beyond the three states of waking,
sleeping or
dreaming and sound sleep [Sanskrit: jagatnidrasusupt疉]
9. The seventh stage is still above the turya[**tur坙a]
state of selfunconciousness[**
self-unconsciousness];
and which is full of divine effulgence, whose excellence
no words can express nor the mind can conceive.
10. In this state the mind being withdrawn from its
functions,
it is freed from all thoughts of the thinkables, and all
its
doubts and cares are drowned in the calm composure of its
even
temperament.
11. The mind that remains unmoved amidst its passions
and enjoyments, and is unchanged in prosperity and
adversity,
and retains full possession of itself under all
circumstances, becomes
of this nature both in its embodied and disembodied
states
of life and death.
12. The man that does not think himself to be alive or
dead,
or to be a reality or otherwise; but always remains
joyous in
himself, in[**is] one who is verily called to be
liberated in his life
time. (The happy minded are accounted as liberated in
life).
13. Whether engaged in business or retired from it,
whether
living with a family or leading a single life; (i. e.
whether
leading a social or solitary mode of life), the man that
thinks
himself as naught but the intellect, and has nothing to
fear or
care or to be sorry for in this world, is reckoned as
liberated in
this life.
14. The men[**man] who thinks himself to be unconnected
with
any one, and to be free from disease, desire, and
affections; and
who believes himself to be a pure aerial substance of the
divine
intellect, has no cause to be sorry for anything.
15. He who knows himself to be without
begining[**beginning] and end,
and decay and demise, and to be of the nature of pure
intelligence;
remains always quite[**quiet] and composed in himself,
and has
no cause for forrow[**sorrow] at all.
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16. He that deems himself to belong to that intellect,
which
dwells alike in the minute blade of grass, as well as in
the infinite
space of the sky, and in the luminous sun, moon and
stars,
and as also in the various races of beings, as men, Nagas
and
immortals; has no cause whatever for his sorrow.
17. Whoso knows the majesty of the divine intellect, to
fill
all the regions both above and below and on all sides of
him,
and reflects himself as a display of his endless
diversity, how can
he be sorry at all for his decay and decline.
18. The man that is bound to (or enslaved by his desire),
is
delighted to have the objects he seeks; but the very
things tending
to his pleasure by their gain, prove to be
painfull[**painful] to his
heart at their loss. (Hence the wise are never elated or
dejected,
at either gain or loss of temporal things)[**delete ')'],
but are ever
pleased[**space added]
and content with their spiritual souls only which they
can never
lose).
19. The presence or absence of some thing, is the cause
of
the pleasure or pain of men in general; but it is either
the curtailment
or want of desires that is practiced by the wise. (The
diminishing of desires is practiced by yogis in the
fourth and
its two succeeding stages; but its utter annihilation
occurs only
in the seventh and last stage of yoga).
20. No act of ours nor its result (whether good or bad),
conduces either to our joy or grief, which we do with
unconcern
or little desire or expectation of its reward.
21. Whatever act is done with ardent employment of the
members of the body, and the application of the whole
heart,
mind and soul to it, such an act tends to bind a man;
otherwise an indifferent action like a fried grain, does
[**[not]] germinate
into any effect.
22. The thought that I am the doer and owner of a deed,
overpowers all bodily exertions, and sprouts fourth with
results,
that are forever binding on the doer, (i. e. an
indifferent action
may pass for nothing, but a conscious and meditated act
is binding
on the actor).
23. As the moon is cool with her cooling beams; and the sun
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is hot by his burning heat; so a man is either good or
bad
according as the work he does.
24. All acts which are done or left undone, are as
fugacious
as the flying cotton on cotton trees; they are easily put
to flight
by the breath of understanding (Jn疣a or wisdom). All the
acts
of men are lost by discontinuance of their practice, (as
in Jn疣a
khanda).
25. The germ of knowledge growing in the mind, increases
itself day by day, as the corn sown in good ground soon
shoots
forth into the paddy plant.
26. There is one universal soul, that sparkles through
all
things in the world, as it is the same translucent water,
that
glistens in lake and large oceans and seas.
27. Withhold sir, your notions of the varieties and
multiplicities
of things, and know these as parts of one undivided
whole, which stretches through them as their essence and
soul.
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CHAPTER CXXI.
CONTINUATION OF THE SAME.
Argument.--The causes of the Elevation and degradation of
living
being.
Manu continued:--The soul is originally full of bliss by
its nature, but being subject to ignorance, it fosters
its
vain desire for temporal enjoyment, whence it has the
name of
the living soul; (which is subjected to misery). This
corresponds
with the scriptural doctrine, that man was
orginally[**originally] made
in the image of his Maker (i. e. full of bliss); but
being tempted
by delusion to taste the forbidden sweetness, became the
mortal and miserable human soul).
2. But when the desire of pleasure, is lessened by the
viveka
or discriminative knowledge of man, he forsakes his
nature of a
living and mortal being, and his soul becomes one with
the
supreme spirit. (Man by his knowledge retrieves his godly
nature).
3. Do not therefore allow your desire of earthly
enjoyment,
to draw your soul up and down to heaven and hell; as a
bucket
tied in its neck with a cord, is cast down and again
lifted up
from a well.
4. Those selfish folks who claim something as theirs from
that of another, are grossly mistaken and led into error,
and are
destined like the dragging bucket to descend lower and
lower.
(The more niggardliness the more degradation or the more
selfishness
the greater baseness).
5. He who gets rid of his knowledge that, this is I and
that
is another, and that this is mine and that is the others,
gradually
rises higher and higher according to his greater
disinterestedness.
(Disinterestedness characterises[**misspelled
characterizes--P2: no,
variation/SOED] an elevated mind).
6. Delay not to rely your dependance[**misspelled
dependence--P2: no,
variation] in your enlightened
and elevated soul, out stretching over and filling the
whole space
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of the sky, end comprehending all the worlds in it. (This
magnanimity is characteristic of the catholicity of Hindu
religion).
7. When the human mind is thus elevated and expanded
beyond all limits, it then approaches the divine mind,
and is
assimilated to it. (This extinction is called its
nirv疣a).
8. Any one who has arrived to this state, may well think
in
himself to be able to effect whatever was done by the
Gods
Brahm・ Vishnu, Indra, (by his intellectual body
varuna[**Varuna] and
others; who were of such elevated souls and minds).
9. Whatever acts are attributed to any of the Gods or
other
persons, is no more than the display of divine pleasure
in that
form.
10. Whoso is assimilated to the divine intellect, and has
become deathless and unmindful of his mortal state, has a
share
of supreme felicity for his enjoyment, which bears no
comparision[**comparison]:
(unspeakable delight attends on the soul of the
spiritualist).
11. Continue to think this world as neither a vacuum nor
a
plenum; nor a material or spiritual substance. It is
neither an
intellectual being, nor a quite insensible thing.[*]
12. By thinking in this way, you will have composure
of your disposition, or else[**space added] there is no
separate place or
time
or condition for your liberation or salvation.
13[**.] It is by the absence of our egoism and ignorance,
that
we get rid of our personal existence, and it is our
contemplation
of the nature of god, and his presence before us in our
meditation
(s疚shat k疵a) of him, that constitutes our moksha or
liberation.
* Should you think it a nullity by the Sruti which says
neti-neti it
is naught, you deny the creatorship of god, who has
created it as something
substantial and tangible.
Again on the other hand, if you consider it as a
hypostatic reality,
you introduce in that case positive duality, beside the
reality of one
unity alone. So every other position being liable to
objection, you must
think it as neither the one nor the other, but as
something
incomprehensible,
or reflexion of the Divine Mind)[**delete ')'].
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14. It is the even delight and perpetual tranquility of
the soul, that constitutes our bliss and liberation; and
these
are to be obtained by means of calm and cool reasoning in
the
sense of s疽tras, avoiding all impatience and fickleness
of our
mind and temper, and the pleasure derived from our taste
in
poetry and light studies and trifling amusement. (It
requires
us to be free from the fluctuations of our desires and
options
of which there is no end).
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CHAPTER CXXII.
The same. Manu's Admonition to Ikshaku.
Argument.--On the Elevation of Humanity and its ultimate
liberation.
Manu continued:--Now the living liberated yogi, in
whatever
manner he is clad, and however well or ill fed he may
be, and wherever he may sleep or lay down his humble
head, he
rests with the joy of his mind, and in a state of perfect
ease and
blissfulness, as if he were the greatest emperor of the
world.
(Hence the fakirs are called shah sahibs by people).
2. He breaks down all the bonds of his caste and creed,
and
the rites and restraints of his order by the battery of
the s疽tra;
and roves freed from the snare of society, as a lion
breaking
loose from his cage, and roaming rampant every where.
(Here
the s疽tra means the upanishads on the esoteric faith of
spiritual
freedom).
3. He has his mind abstracted from all sensible objects, and
fixed on an object which no words can express, (i.e. the
unspeakable
rapture of his mind); and he shines forth with a grace in
his face, resembling the clearness of an autumnal sky.
4. He is always as deep and clear (i. e. grave in his
mind
and clear headed), as a large lake in a valley; and being
rapt in
holy and heavenly joy, he is always cheerful in himself,
without
his care for or want of anything else.
5. He is ever content in his mind without having anything
for his dependance, or any expectation of the reward of
his actions; and is neither addicted to any meritorious
or unworthy
acts, nor subject to joy or grief for aught of pleasure
or
pain.
6. As a piece of crystal does not receive or emit any
other[**space added]
colour in its reflexion, excepting that of its pure
whiteness; so
the spiritualist is not imbued with the tinge of the
effects
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of his actions. (i. e. The spiritualist does not
benifit[**benefit] by the
retribution of his acts).
7. He remains indifferent in human society, and is not
affected either by the torture or subministration of his
body;
he deems his pain and pleasure as passing on his shadow,
and
never takes them to his heart, as they do not touch his
intangible
soul. (It was by virtue of his[**this] indifference, that
the holy
saints did not shrink under their persecutions and
martyrdom).
8. Whether honoured or slighted by men, he neither
praises
nor is displeased with them; and remains himself either
connected
or unconnected with the customs and rules of society.
9. He hurts no body, nor is hurt by any; and may be free
from the feelings of anger or affection, fear and joy,
(and other
passions which are alloted[**allotted] to humanity).
10. No one can have the greatness of mind of his own
nature,
but it is possible for the author of nature, to raise the
greatness
of mind even in a boy.
11. Whether a man quits his body (dies) in a holy place,
or
in the house of a low chand疝a; or whether one dies at
this moment
(in youth), or many years afterwards (in old age).
12. He is released from his bondage to life, no sooner he
comes to his knowledge of the soul and gets rid of his
desires;
because the error of his egoism is the cause of his
bondage, and
the wasting of it by his knowledge, is the means of his
liberation.
13. He the living liberated man is to be honoured and
praised,
and to be bowed down [**[to]] with veneration, and
regarded with
every attention, by every one who is desirous of his
prosperity
and elevation. (Because we honour ourselves by honouring
the
great).
14. No religious sacrifice nor wilful austerity, no
charity nor
pilgrimage, can lead us to that supremely holy state of
human
dignity; which is attainable by us only by our respectful
attenddance[**attendance]
upon the godly, who have got rid of the troubles of the
world. (Hence attendance on saints and at their holy
shrines,
is accounted as productive of our sanctity[**)].
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15. Vasishtha said:--The venerable sage Manu, having
spoken in this manner, departed to the celestial abode of
his
sire Brahm・ and Ikshaku continued to act according to the
precepts, which were delivered to him by the sacred seer.
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CHAPTER CXXIII.
On the Difference between the Knowing and Unknowing.
Argument.--Theoretical and Practical Yogas and the
practices of
Aerial journey &c.
RﾁMA said:--Tell me sir, that art most learned in
spiritual
knowledge, whether the living liberated man of this kind
(as you have described) attains to any extraordinary
power;
(or remains neutral with his theoretical knowledge of
yoga
only).
2. Vasishtha replied.--The all-knowing sage, has
sometimes
a greater knowledge of one thing than another, and has
his
mind directed in one particular way than any other; but
the
learned seer of a contented mind, has his soul quite at
rest
in itself.
3. There are many that have by their consummate knowledge
of particular mantras, tantras, and the virtues of
certain
minerals, have attained the power of aerial flight
&c; but what
is there that is extraordinary in these, (when these
powers are
in constant practice in the flight of ordinary birds and
flies?).
4. So the powers of self-expansion and contraction
&c, have
been acquired by others by their constant practice of the
same,
(anima, laghima and the like), which are disregarded by
other
seers in spiritual kowledge[** typo for knowledge?].
5. There is this difference of these knowing seers, from
the
bulk of idle practitioners in yoga, that they are content
with
their dispassionate mind, without placing any reliance in
practice.
6. This is verily the sign of unconspicuous seer in yoga,
that he is always cool and calm in his mind, and freed
from all
the errors of the world; and in whom the traces of the
passions
of love and anger, sorrow and illusion and the mischances
of
life are scarcely visible.
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CHAPTER CXXIV.
The Story of the Stag and the Huntsman.
Argument.--Degradation of the divine soul of man to the
state of the
animal soul.
VASISHTHA Said:--Know now that the Lord (Divine
soul), stops to take upon itself of the nature of the
living
or animal soul, as a Brahman (by birth) assumes the
character
of a vile sudra for some mean purpose, by disregarding
the
purity of its original nature. (This is the degradation
of the
lordly and blissful soul, to the state of the sensitive
animal soul,
by reason of its meaner propensity).
2. There are two kinds of living beings, that come into
existence in the beginning of the repeated creations; the
one
coming into existence without any causality, and are
thence
called to be causeless or uncaused, (such as that is they
are
not made like pots and the like (ghat疆i), by means of the
instrumental causality of the potters wheel, stick &c.
3. Thus the soul emanating from the Divine, is subjected
to various transmigrations, and becomes many kinds of
beings
(in succession), according to its previous acts and
propensities.
(Thus it is the tendency of the soul towards good or
evil, that
is the cause of its rise and fall or elevation or
degradation).
4. All beings emanate originally without any cause, from
the source of the divine essence; and then their actions
become
the secondary cause of continuous transmigrations (until
the end
of the world). (All souls are bound to their revolutions
in repeated
births, until their final extinction in the deity on the
last
day of resurrection, or by their prior liberation by
mukti or
nirvana).
5. The personal acts of men, are the causes both of their
happiness as well as misery; and again the will which is
produced
by the conscious knowledge of one's self, becomes the
cause
of the action: (i. e. the will proceeding from one's
consciousness
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of himself, is the cause of his action, which again
becomes the
cause of his pleasure or pain as its result).
6. Now this will or desire of any action or fruition,
being
likewise the cause of one's bondage to this world, it is
to be get
rid of for his liberation from it; and this what they
call moksha,
is no more than our release from the bond of our desire.
(Every
wish enchains the soul to earth, and drags it along to
repeated
birth).
7. Be therefore careful to make your choice of what is
right
and proper, from whatever is wrong and improper; and try
betimes
to contract your wishes within the narrowest scale.
8. Do not let yourself to be possessor or possest of
anything
or person, but give up thinking on anything, beside what
remains after the thoughts of all other things. (i. e.
Think
alone of thine and the supreme soul, which remains in the
absence of everything else).
9. Anything to which the senses are addicted at all
times,
serves to bind the soul the more that it has its zest for
the same;
as also to unbind and release the mind in proportion to
the distaste
which it bears to it. (i. e. Love thing to be enslaved to
it, and hate the same to be saved from it).
10. If there is anything which is pleasing to thy soul,
know
the same as thy binding string to the earth; if on the
contrary
thou findest nothing to thy liking here, you are then
freed
from the trammels of all the trifles on earth.
11. Therefore let nothing whatever tempt or beguile thy
mind, to anything existent in either in the animate or
inanimate
kind; and regard everything from a mean straw to a great
idol
as unworthy of thy regard.
12. Think not thyself to be either the doer or giver, or
eater
or offerer, of whatsoever thou doest or givest, or eatest
or
offerest in thy holy oblations of the Gods; but art quite
aloof
from all thy bodily actions, owing to the immaterial
nature of
thyself or soul.
13. Concern not thyself with thy past acts, or thy cares
for
future, over which thou hast no command; but discharge
well
thy present duties, as they are and come to thy hand.
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14. All the feelings and passions of men, as their
appetites,
desires and the rest, are strung together with their
hearts; and
therefore it is requisite to sever these heart string
with the
weapen of a brave and strong hearts: (because the
feelings are
fostered in weak hearts and minds only).
15. Now break your sensuous mind by the power of your
reasoning mind, and restrain its rage of running into
errors; as
they break the iron pegs by force of iron hammers, (and
remove
one thing by another of the same kind-similia similibus
curantur.)
16. So intelligent men rub out one dert by another, and
remove
one poison by another poisonous substance; and so do
soldiers oppose one steel by a weapon of the same metal.
17. All living beings have a triple form, composed of the
subtile, solid and the imperceptible spiritual bodies;
now lay hold
and rely on the last, in utter disregard of the two
former.
18. The solid or gross body, is composed of the hands,
feet
and other members and limbs; and subsist in this nether
world
upon its subsistence of food only.
19. The living being had an intrinsic body also, which is
derived from within; and is composed of all its wishes in
the
world, and is known as the mental or intellectual part of
the
body.
20. Know the third form to be the transcendental or
spiritual
body, which assumes all forms, and is the simple
intellectual
soul; which is without its beginning or end. and without
any alteration in its nature.
21. This is the pure turya state, wherein you must remain
steadfast as in that of your living liberation; and
reject the
two others, in which you must place no reliance.
22. Rama said:--I have understood the three definite
states,
of waking, dreaming, and sound sleep, as they have been
defined
to me; but the fourth state of turya is yet left
undefined, and I
beg you to explain it clearly unto me.
23. Vasistha answered:--It is that state of the mind, in
which
the feelings of one's egoism and non-egoism, and those of
his
existence and inexistence are utterly drowned under a
total im-*
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*passibility; and the mind is settled in one invariable
and uniform
tenor of tranquility and transparency.
24. It is that state in which the selfish feelings of
mine and
thine, are altogether wanting; and in which one remains
as a
mere witness and spectator of the affairs of life. This
is the
turya state of living liberation. (It is the state of a
philosopher
who lives to see and philosophise and mix with nothing).
25. This is neither the state of waking, owing to its
want
of any wish or concern, nor it is the state of sound
sleep, which
is one of perfect insensibility.
26. It is that calmness in which the wise man sees every
thing, to be going on in the world; and it is like the
state of
insensibility of the ignorant, in which they perceive no
stir in
the course of the world. (The calmness of the wise like
the
dullness of others is their turya also).
27. The evenness of the mind after subsidence of every
jot
of its egotism in it, like the setting of the turbid
waters underneath,
is the turya state of the insouciance of the soul.
28. Hear me relate to you an instance on this subject, which
will confer as clear a light to your enlightened mind, as
that of
all seeing Gods.
29. It happened once that a huntsman, roaming for his
prey
in somepart of a forest, chanced to see a sage sitting
silent in his
solitude; and thinking it as something strange, he
accosted him
saying:--
30. Have you seen, O sage, a wounded stag flying before
me
this way, with an arrow fixed in its back?
31. The sage replied:--You ask me, where your stag has
fled; but my friend, know that sages like ourselves and
living
in the forest, are as cool as blocks of stone; (and
insensible of
every occurrence on earth).
32. We want that egoism which enables one, in conducting
the transactions of the world; and know my friend, that
it is the
mind, which conducts all the actions of the senses. (All
actions
of the organs of senses being under the direction of the
mind,
as well as all sensible perceptions under its attention).
33. Know that the feeling of my egoism, has been long
be-*
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*fore dissolved in my mind; and I have no perception
whatever
of the three states of waking, dreaming and sound sleep.
But
I rest quiet in my fourth state of impossibility, wherein
there
is no vision of the visibles.
34. The huntsman heard these words of the sage, but
being quite at a loss to comprehend its meaning, he
departed
to his own way without uttering a word.
35. I tell you therefore, O R疥a[** unclear diacritical
mark], there is no
other state
beyond the fourth or turya quietism; it is that
unalterable impassivity
of the mind, which is not to be found in any other.
36. The waking, dreaming and sound sleep, are the three
palpable conditions of the mind; and these are
respectively the
dark, quiet and insensible states, in which the mind
situated in
this world.
37. The waking state presents us the dark complexion of
the mind, for its susceptibility of all the passions and
evils of
life; and the sleeping state shows us its quiet aspect,
for want
of its cares and anxieties.
38. The state of sound sleep is one of insensibility, and
the state beyond these three; bears the feature of death
in it.
Yet this dead like figure possesses the principle of life
in it,
which is diligently by preserved yogis from harm and
decay.
39. Now Rama, the soul which remains in its quiet rest,
after its renunciation of all desire, is said by sages to
be in the
coma or cool calmness of itself, and the liberated state
of the
holy and devout yogi on earth.
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CHAPTER CXXV.
The means of Attaining the Steadiness of the
Turya State.
Argument.--The means of attaining stability on
Insouciance.
VASISHTHA resumed:--Know R疥a, that the conclusion
which is arrived at in all works on spiritual philosophy,
is the negation of every thing except the entity of the
supreme
soul; and that there is no principle of ignorance
(avidya) nor
that of delusion (m痒・, as a secondary agent under one
quiescent
Brahma, who is ever without a second.
2. The spirit of the Lord is always calm, with the serene
brightness of the divine Intellect in itself; it is full
of its
omnipotence, and is attributed with the appellation of
Brahma.
3. The Divine Spirit is ascertained by some as the
formless
vacuum itself, and by others as omniscience, and is
called as the
Lord God by most people in the world.
4. Doyou[** typo for Do you?] avoid all these, O sinless
Rama, and
remain quite
silent in yourself, and be extinct in the divine essence,
by
restraining the actions of your heart and mind and by the
tranquility of your soul.
5. Have a quiet soul in yourself, and remain as a deaf
and
dumb man in your outward appearance; look always within
yourself, and be full with the Divine Spirit.
6. Discharge the duties of your waking state, as if you
are doing them in your sound sleep; forsake every thing
in
your inward mind, and do whatever comes to thee
outwardly,
without taking any into thy heart.
7. The essence of the mind is only for one's misery, as
its want is for his highest felicity; therefore the mind
must
be drowned in the intelligent soul, by destroying the
action
of the mental powers altogether.
8. Remain as cold as a stone, at the sight of anything,
which
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is either deligtsome or disgusting to thee; and by this
means
learn to subdue everything in the world under thy
control.
9. The objective is neither for our pleasure or pain, nor
is it
the intermediate state of the two; therefore it is by
diligent
attention to the subjective, that we can attain the end
of all our
misery. (Live to thyself alone and unmindful of all
others, in
order to be completely blest).
10. He who has known the supreme soul, has found within
himself a delight; resembling the cooling beams of the
full
bright moon; and being possest of the full knowledge of
the
essence of all things in the three worlds, performs his
parts in
a manner as he did not attend to them.
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CHAPTER CXXVI.
Description of the Spiritual state.
Argument:--The seven stages of yoga Meditation, and the
true state of
spirituality.
RAMA said:--Tell me sir, the practices of the seven
stages of
yoga; and the characteristics of yogis in every stage.
2. Vasishtha related:--Know R疥a, mankind to be divided
into two classes of the zealous and resigned (i. e. the
active and
the inactive); the one expectant of heavenly reward, and
the
other inclined to supreme felicity. Know now their
different
characters as follows:--
3. Those that are addicted to enjoyments, think the
quietude
of nirvana as nothing to their purpose, and give
preference to
worldliness above the final bliss of others; and he that
acts his
part on this sense, is styled an active and energetic
man.
4. Such a man of the world bears his resemblance to a
tortoise,
which though it has its neck well hid in its shell, still
stretches it out to drink the salt water of the sea it
inhabits;
until after many births, he gets a better life for his
salvation, (as
when the tortoise is removed to a lake of fresh water).
5. But he who reflects on the nothingness of the world,
and
the uselessness of his situation in it; such a man does
not allow
himself to be carried on, by the current of his old and
rotatory
course of duties here in day after day.
6. And he who reflects in himself, after being released
from
the burden of his business, on the delight of his rest
after labour,
he is the man who is said to repose in his quiescence.
7. When a man comes to reconnoitre in himself, how he
shall become dispassionate, and get over the boisterous
ocean of
the world; such a man is said to have come to his good
and
right sense, and to stand on the way to his tolerance.
8. He who was an unfeelingness in his heart, of the very
many thoughts that daily rise in his mind; and manages
his
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gravest and greatest concerns, without being much
concerned
about them in his mind; each a man is said to taste the
delight
of his stayedness day by day.
9. He who condemns the rustic amusements and mean
employments
of men; and instead of taking up the faults and
failings of others for his merry talk, employs himself to
meritorious
acts.
10. Whose mind, is engaged in agreeable tasks and unpainsome
acts; who is afraid of sin, and disdains all pleasures
and
bodily enjoyments.
11. Whose discourses are full of love and tenderness, and
appropriate without any harshness; and whose speeches are
suitable to the time and place in which they are delivered.
12. Such a man is said to stand on the first step of
yoga,
when he makes it his duty to attend the society of the
good and
great, whom he learns to imitate in his thoughts, words,
and
actions.
13. He collects also the work on divine learning from every
where, and reads with attenion[**attention?] and
diligence; he then
considers
their contexts, and lays hold on the tenets, which serve
to save
him from this sinful world.
14. Such a man is said to have come upon the (first)
stage
of yoga, or else he is a hypocrite who assumes the guise
of a
yogi for his own interest only. The yogi then comes to
the
next step of yoga, which is styled the stage of
investigation--Vich疵a.
15. He then hears from the mouths of the best pandits,
the
explanations of the srutis and smritis, the rules of good
conduct,
and the manner of meditation and conduct of yoga
practice.
16. He then learns the divisions of categories and
distinction
of things, together with the difference between actions
that
are to be done or avoided; all which being heard from the
mouth
of an adept in yoga, will facilitate his course through
the other
stages, in like manner as the master of a house enters
with facility
into every apartment of his dwelling. (The guidance of a
guru of spiritual guide, is essential to the practice of
yoga).
17. He wears off his outer habit of pride and vanity, his
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jealousy and avarice, and the other passions which formed
as it
were an outer garment of his person, as a snake casts off
his
slough from him.
18. Having thus purified his mind (from the vile
passions),
he attends to the service of his spiritual preceptors and
holy
persons, and makes himself acquainted with the mysteries
of religion.
(This is the second stage of yoga, which is one of moral
discipline and search after truth).
19. He then enters into the third stage of unsociality or
avoidance of all company, which he finds to be as
agreeable to
him as a bed of flowers. (Lit; a bedstead be strewn with
flowers).
20. Here he learns to fix his mind to its steadiness,
according
to the dictates of the s疽tras; and passes his time in
talking on
spiritual subjects, in society of hermits and devotees.
21. He sits also with the dispassionate Vairagis, and
religious
recluses sannyasis who are disgusted with the world; and
relying on the firm rock of his faith, he wears out his
long life
with ease.
22. He passes his moral life with cheerful delight of his
loneliness, and pleasing tranquility of his mind in his
woodland
retreat and wanderings.
23. By study of holy books and performance of religious
acts,
he gets a clear view of things, as it generally attends
upon the
virtuous lives of men.
24. The sensible man who has arrived to the third stage
of
his yoga practice, perceives in himself two kinds of his
unconnectedness
with the world, as you will now hear from me.
25. Now this disconnection of one with all others is of
two
sorts, one of which is his ordinary disassociation with
all persons
and things, and the other is his absolute unconnection
with every
thing including himself. (i.e. One's entire irrelation
with
both the subjective and objective).
26. The ordinary unconnection is the sense of one's being
neither the subject or object of his action, nor of his
being the
the slayer of or slain by any body; but that all
accidents are
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incidental to his prior acts (of past lives), and all
dependant[**dependent?]
to
the dispensations of Providence.
27. It is the conviction that, I have no control over my
happiness or misery or pain or pleasure; and that all
prosperity
and adversity, employment and privation, and health and
desease[**disease?], ever betide me of their own accord.
28. All union is for its disunion, and all gain is for
its loss;
so the health and disease and pain and pleasure come by
turns,
and there is nothing which is not succeeded by its
reverse.
Because time with its open jaws, is ever ready to devour
all
things.
29. The negative idea of inexistence, which is produced
in
the mind, from our want of reliance in the reality of
things; is
the very sense which is conveyed by the phrase of our
ordinary
unconnection with all things.
30. With this sort of the disunion of every thing in the
mind, and our union with the society of high minded men;
and
disassociation with the vile and unrighteous, and
association
with spiritual knowledge:--
31. These joined with the continual exertion of our
manliness
in our habitual practice of these virtues, one assuredly
arrives to the certain knowledge of what he seeks (i.e.
his god),
as clearly as he sees a globe set in his hands.
32. The knowledge of the supreme author of creation,
sitting beyond the ocean of the universe, and watching
over
its concerns; impresses us with the belief, that it is
not I but
god that does every thing in the world, and that there is
nothing that is done here by me, but by the great god
Himself.
33. Having left aside the thought of one's self agency on
any act, whoso sits quiet silent and tranquil in himself,
such a one
is said to be absolutely unconnected with every thing in
the
world.
34. He that does not reside within or without anything,
nor dwells above or beneath any object; who is not
situated
in the sky, or in any side or part of the all surrounding
air
and space; who is not in anything or in nothing, and
neither
in gross matter nor in the sensible spirit.
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35. Who is present and manifest in every thing, without
being exprest in any; and who pervades all things like
the
clear firmament, who is without beginning and end and
birth
and death. Whoso seeks this Lord of all, is said to be
set in
the best part of this stage.
36. Contentment is as sweet fragrance in the mind, and
virtuous acts are as handsome as the leaves of a flower;
the
heart string is as stalk beset by the thorns of cares and
anxieties,
and thralls with the gusts of dangers and difficulties.
37. The flower of inward discrimination, is expanded like
the lotus-bud, by the sun-beams of reason, and produces
the
fruit of resignation in the garden of the third stage of
yoga-practice.
38. As it is by association with holy men, and by means
of the assemblage of virtuous acts, that one arrives on a
sudden to the first stage of yoga:--
39. So is this first step to be preserved with care, and
grown up like a tender sprout, with the watering of
reasoning
at its root; (in order to lead it to the succeeding steps
or
stages).
40. The yoga practitioner like a good gardener, must
foster
the rising plant of spiritual knowledge, by the daily
application
of reasoning to every part of it. (The parts of the plant
of
spirituality, are its dispassionateness, unworldliness
and the
like, which require to be reared up by proper reasoning).
41. This stage being well managed, and all its parts being
properly performed, introduces the succeeding stages;
(all which
depend on the first as their basis).
42. Now the better state of the third stage, as it has
been
already described, is one of all desires and arrogations
in the
mind of the yogi.
43. R疥a said:--Now tell me sir, what is the way of the
salvation of an ignorant man, of one of a base birth, and
addicted
to baseness himself; who has never associated with the
yogis, nor received any spiritual instruction.
44. Who has never ascended on any of the first, second or
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succeeding stages of yoga, and is dead in the like state
of ignorance
in which he was born.
45. Vasishtha replied:--The ignorant man that has never
attained to any of the states of yoga in his whole life,
is carried
by the current of his transmigration to rove in a hundred
births,
until he happens by some chance or other, to get some
glimpse
of spiritual light in any one of them.
46. Or it may be that one happens to be dissatisfied with
the world, by his association with holy men; and the
resignation
which springs thereby, becomes the ground of one of the
stages
of his yoga.
47. By this means, the man is saved from this miserable
world; because it is the united voice of all the s疽tras,
that an
embodied being is released from death, no sooner he has
passed
through any one stage of yoga (or union with his maker).
48. The performance of a part only of some of the stages
of
yoga, is enough for the remission of past sins; and for
conducting
the expurgated person to the celestial abode in a
heavenly
car. (The wicked man turning from his wickedness, and
doing
what is right and saveth his soul).
49. He enjoys the Parnassion[**Parnassian] groves of
sumeru[**Sumeru]
in company
with his beloved, when the weight of his righteous acts,
outweights[**outweighs]
those of unrighteousness.
50. The yogi, released from the trap of his temporal
enjoyments,
and has passing[**passed] his alloted[**allotted] period;
expires in due
time[**space added], to
be reborn in the houses of yogis and rich men, or in the
private
mansions of learned, good and virtuous people.
51. Being thus born, he betakes himself to the habitual
practice of the yoga of his former birth; and has the
wisdom to
begin at once at the stage to which he was practiced, and
which
left unfinished before: (hence arises the difference in
the capacities of
youth).
52. These three stages, R疥a, are designated the waking
state; because the yogi retains in them his perception of
the
differences of things, as a waking man perceives the
visible to
differ from one another.
53. Men employed in yoga acquire a venerable dignity, (in
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their very appearance), which induce the ignorant to wish
for
their liberation also; (in order to attain to the same
rank).
54. He is reckoned a venerable man, who is employed in
all
honorable deeds, and refrains from what is dishonourable,
who is
steadfast in the discharge of all his social duties,
whether they
are of the ordinary kind or occasional ones.
55. He who acts according to customary usage, and the
ordiances[**ordinances]
of s疽tras; who act conscenciously[**conscientiously] and
according to his
position; and thus dispenses all his affairs in the
world, is verily
called a venerable man.
56. The venerableness of yogis germinates in the first
stage,
it blossoms in the second, and becomes fruitful in the
third stage
of yoga.
57. The venerable yogi dying in state of yoga, comes
first
to enjoy the fruition of good desires for a long time (in
his next
birth); and then becomes a yogi again: (for the
completion of
his yoga).
58. The practice of the parts enjoyed in the three first
stages of yoga, serves to destroy at first the ignorance
of the
yogi, and then sheds the light of true knowledge in his
mind,
as brightly as the beams of full-moon illume the sky at
night.
59. He who devotes his mind to yoga, with his undivided
attention from first to last, and sees all things in one
even and
same light, is said to have arrived to the fourth stage
of yoga.
60. As the mistake of duality disappears from sight, and
the knowledge of unity shines supremely bright; the yogi
is
said in this state to have reached the fourth stage of
yoga,
when he sees the world as a vision in his dream.
61. The first three stages, are represented as the waking
state of the yogi; but the fourth is said to be the state
of his
dreaming, when the visibles disappear from his sight; as
the
dispersed clouds of autumn gradually vanish from sight,
and
as the scenes in a dream recede to nothingness.
62. They are said to be in the fifth stage, who have
their
minds lying dormant in them, and insensible of their
bodily
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sensations. This is called the sleeping state or
hypnotism of
yoga meditation.
63. In this state there is an utter stop of feelings, of
the
endless varieties of things and their different species,
in the
mind of the yogi, who relies in his consciousness of an
undivided
unity only; and whose sense of a duality is entirely
melted down and lost in the cheerfulness of his wakeful
mind.
64. The fifth stage is likewise a state of sound sleep,
when
the yogi loses all his external perceptions, and sits
quiet with
his internal vision within himself.
65. The continued sedateness of his posture, gives him
the
appearance of his dormancy, and the yogi continues in
this
position, the practice of the mortification of all his
desires.
66. This step leads gradually to the sixth stage, which
is
a state of insensibility both of the existence and
inexistence of
things as also of one's egoism and non-egoism (of his own
entity and non-entity).
67. The yogi remains unmindful of everything, and quite
unconscious of the unity or duality, and by being freed
from
every scruple and suspicion in his mind, he arrives to
the
dignity of living liberation. (This tetrastich is based
on the
sruti which says, [Sanskrit: bhidyate hadayagranyi,
chidyate
svvammshyayah tasmindvashte par疱are][**)]
68. The yogi of this sort though yet inextinct or living,
is said to be extinct or dead to his sensibility; he sits
as a
pictured lamp which emits no flame, and remains with a
vacant heart and mind like an empty cloud hanging in the
empty air.
69. He is full within and without him, with and amidst
the
fulness of divine ecstasy, like a full pot in a sea; and
possest
of some higher power, yet he appears as worthless on the
outside.
70. After passing his sixth grade, the yogi is led to the
seventh stage; which is styled a state of disembodied
liberation,
from its purely spiritual nature.
71. It is a state of quietude which is unapproachable (i.e.
inexpressible) by words, and extends beyond the limits of
this
earth; it is said to resemble the state of Siva by some,
and that
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of Brahma by others. (The two views of the Tantrikas and
Vedantists).
72. By some it is said to be the state of the androgyne
deity, or the indiscriminate of the male and female
powers;
while others have given many other
denomination[**denominations] to it,
according
to their respective fancies. (The other systems have
different
appellations to designate this state).
73. The seventh is the state of the eternal and
incomprehensible
God, and which no words can express nor explain in any
way. Thus R疥a, have I mentioned to you the seven stages
of
yoga (each branding the other in its perfections).
74. By practice of these perfections, one evades the
miseries
of this world; and it is by subjection of the indomitably
elephantine
senses, that one can arrive to these perfections.
75. Hear me relate to you R疥a, of a furious elephant,
which
with its protruded tusks, was ever ready to attack
others.
76. And as this elephant was about to kill many men,
unless
it could be killed by some one of them; so are the senses
of men
like ferocious elephants of destruction to them.
77. Hence every man becomes victorious in all the stages
of
yoga, who has the valour of destroying this elephant of
its sensuality
the very first step of it.
78. R疥a said:--Tell me sir, who is this victorious hero
in
the field of battle, and what is the nature of this
elephant that
is his enemy, and what are these ground[**grounds] of
combat where he
encounters
him, and the manner how he foils and kills this great
foe of his.
79. Vasishtha replied:--R疥a! it is our concupiscence
which
has the gigantic figure of this elephant, and which roams
at
random in the forest of our bodies, and sports in the
demonstrations
of all our passions and feelings.
80. It hides itself in the covert of our hearts, and has
our
acts for its great tusks; its fury is our ardent desire
of anything,
and our great ambition is its huge body.
81. All the scenes on earth are the fields for its
battle, where
men are often foiled in their pursuit of any.
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82. The elephant of concupiscence kills members of
miserly
and covetous men, in the state of their wish or desire,
or exertions
and effort, or longing and hankering after anything.
83. In this manner does this fierce greediness, lurk in
the
sheath of human breast under the said several names, and
it is
only our forbearance from those desires, that serves as
the great
weapon of their destruction.
84. This ubiquious desire of our posession[**possession]
of everything in
the world, is conquered by reflection on the ubiquity of
the soul
in all of them; and that the unity of my soul, stretches
over and
grasps all things that I covet.
85. He is doomed to suffer under the colic pain of this
venomous
avarice, who mind[**minds] to continue in this world, in
the manner
as it goes on with rest of mankind.
86. It is the mitigation of the smart poison of avarice,
that
is our highest wisdom, and it is our liberation, when the
calm
and cooling countenance of inappetency appears to our
sight.
87. Words of advice stick to the sapient mind, as drops
of oil
adhere on glass mirror; and that our indifference to the
world is
the only preventive of its thorns, and is the best advice
to the wise.
88. It is as advisable to destroy a desire by the weapon
of
indifference, no sooner it rises in the breast, as it is
proper to root
out the sprout of a poisonous plant, before it spreads
itself on
the ground.
89. The concupiscent soul, is never freed from its
miserliness;
while the mere effort of one's
indifferences[**indifference], makes it set
quiet in
itself; (without cringing at others).
90. It is by your carelessness about everything, and by
your
lying down as supine as a dead carcass, that you can kill
your
desire by the weapon of your indifference, as they catch
and kill
fishes with hooks; (by sitting silent beside some pond or
lake).
91. Let this be mine or that I may have it, is what is
called
desire by the wise; and the want of every desire for
wealth
&c[**.], is called resignation by them.
92. Know that the remembrance of some thing, is alike the
desire of having the same in one's possession again; and
it
includes both what was enjoyed before or next.
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93. O high minded R疥a, you must learn to remain as a
block in your mind, by forgetting whatever you think of
or
otherwise; all of which must be buried in oblivion, for
your
estrangement from the world. (Retire, the world shut out,
imagination's airy wing repress-[**--]young[**Young]).
94. Who will not left[**lift] up his arms, and have his
hairs standing
at their end, to hear and reflect in himself that, want
of
desire is the summum bonum of every one's desire. (Desire
of nothing is the most desirable thing, is a paralogism
in
logic).
95. It is by sitting quite silent and quiet, that one
attains
to the state of his supreme felicity, a state before
which the
sovereignty of the world seems as a straw.
96. As a traveller traverses on foot through many
regions,
in order to reach to his destination, so the yogi passes
through
all his ordinary acts, to reach his goal of final bliss.
97. What is the good of using many words, when it can be
expressed in a few; that our desire is our strongest
bondage,
and its want our complete liberation.
98. Now R疥a, rest quiet in your joy, with knowing that
all this creation is full of the increate, everlasting,
undecaying
and tranquil spirit of god; and sit quiet and delighted
in yourself
with viewing the visibles in their spiritual sense.
99. Know that it is the ignoring of every thing and the
quiet posture of the yogi, which is called as yoga by the
spiritual; and continue to discharge your duties even in
your
yoga state, until you get rid of them by the privation of
your
desires.
100. It is also the unconsciousness of one's self, which
is
likewise styled yoga by the wise; and it consists of the
entire
absorption of one's self in the supreme, by wasting away
his
mind and all its operations.
101. Again this self absorption is the conceiving of
one's self[**removed
hyphen],
as he is the all pervasive spirit of Siva, which is
increate,
self-conscious and ever benevolent to all. This
conception of
one's self is tantamount to his renunciation of every
thing
besides himself.
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102. He who has the sense of his egoism and meism (i.e.
that this is I and these are mine), is never released
from the
miseries of life; it is the negation of this sensation
that produces
our liberation, and therefore it is at the option of
every
body, to do either this or that for his bondage or
salvation.
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CHAPTER CXXVII.
Admonition to Bharadhw疔a[**Bharadw疔a].
Argument:--Relation of the Quitude[**Quietude] of R疥a,
and the
Queries of
Bhardhw疔a[**Bharadw疔a]; with further description of
states of waking
and others, and
of the ultimate turiya condition of the fourth stage of
yoga.
Bharadhw疔a[**Bharadw疔a] asked:--V疝m勛i saying:--Tell me
sir,
what did R疥a do after hearing the lecture of the sage;
whether he with his enlightened understanding put any
other
question, or remain[**remained] in his ecstatic quietude
with his full
knowledge
of yoga and the supreme soul.
2. And what did next that supremely blest yogi
(Vasishtha)
do, who is adored by all and honoured even by Gods; who
is
a personification of pure understanding, and free from
the state
of birth and death; who is fraught with every good
quality and
kindly disposed for ever to the welfare and preservation
of the
peoples in all the three worlds.
3. V疥iki[**V疝m勛i] replied:--After hearing the lecture of
Vasishtha,
combining the essence of the vedanta philosophy, the
lotus-eyed
R疥a became perfectly acquainted with the full knowledge
of
yoga.
4. He felt the failing of his bodily strength, and the
falling
of the members of his body, he stared with his glaring
eyes, and
his clear intellect was shrouded under a cloud. He awoke
in a
moment from his entranced state, and felt a flood of
rapturous
joy within himself.
5. He forgot the fashion of putting his questions, and
hearing
their answers; his mind was full with the ambrosial
draught
of delight, and the hairs of his body stood up like
pricles[**prickles] in his
horripilation.
6. An inexpressibly ineffable light overspreads his
intellect with
its unusual glare; which cast the bright prospects of the
eight
dignities of yoga into utter shade. (The eight
dignities--(ashtasidhhis[**
ashta-siddhis])
are so many perfections arrived at by practice of yoga).
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7. In this way did R疥a attain the supereminent
[**[state]] of
siva[**Siva],
in which he sat sedate without uttering a word.
8. Bharadw疔a said:--Oh! how much I wonder at such a
high dignity, which R疥a had attained; and how much I
regret at the impossibility of its attainment, by a dull
and
ignorant sinner as myself.
9. Tell me, O great sage, how it may be possible for me
to
attain to that stage of perfection, which it is
impossible for
the gods Brahm・and others to arrive at any time; and tell
me
likewise, how I may get over the unfordable ocean of
earthly
troubles.
10. V疝m勛i replied:--It is by your perusal of the history
of R疥a from its first to last, and by your following the
dictates of Vasishtha as given in these lectures; as also
by
your consideration of their true sense and purport in
your
understanding, that you may be able to attain to the
state
that you desire. This all that I can tell you at present.
11. The world is an exhibition of our ignorance, and
there
is no truth in aught that we see in it; it is a display
of our
error only, wherefore it is entirely disregarded by the
wise,
and so much regarded by fools.
12. There is no entity of anything here, beside that of
the
divine Intellect; why then are you deluded by the
visibles,
learn their secrets and have a clear understanding. (or
have
the clearness of your understanding).
13. The perception of the delusive phenomenals, resembles
the waking dream of day dreamers; and he alone is said to
be
waking, who has the lamp of his intellect ever burning
within
himself.
14. The world is based on vacuity, and it ends in vacuum
also; its midmost part being vacuous likewise, there is
no
reliance placed upon it by the intelligent and wise.
15. Our primeval ignorance (avidya) being accompanied by
our primordial desires, it presents all what is
inexistent as
existing in our presence; just as our fancy paints an
Utopia or
fairy city to our view, and as our sleep shows its
multifarious
dreams before us.
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16. Being unpracticed to taste the sweet plantain of your
beneficient[**beneficent] intellect, you are deluded
greedily to devour the
delirious drug of your desire, and make yourself giddy
with
draughts of its poisonous juice.
17. He who lays hold on true knowledge for his support,
never falls down into the pit of ignorance during his
wakeful
state; and those who depend on their subjective
consciousness
alone, (as in the turiya or fourth stage of yoga), stand
above
all the other state[**states] (of fallibility).
18. So long as the adepts in yoga, do not plunge
themselves
(lit-[**.--]their souls), in the fresh and sweet waters
of the great
fountain of their consciousness; they must be exposed to
the
boisterous waves of the dangerous ocean of this world.
(Spiritual
knowledge alone saves a man from the troubles of life).
19. That which has no existence before, nor will remain
to
exist afterwards; (such as all created and perishable
things
in the world); must be understood to be inexistent in the
interim also, as our night dreams and fleeting thoughts
that
are never in being, and so is this world and whatever is
seen in it.
20. All things are born of our ignorance, as the bubbles
are
swollen by the air; they glisten and move about for a
moment,
and then melt into the sea of our knowledge.
21. Find out the stream of the cooling waters of your
consciousness,
and plung[**plunge] yourself deep into it; and drive out
all
external things from you, as they shut out the warm and
harmful
sun-beams from their houses.
22. The one ocean of ignorance surrounds and over floods
the world, as the single salt sea girds and washes the
whole
island; and the distinctions of ego and tu ect[**etc.],
are the waves
of this salt sea of our erroneousness.
23. The emotions of the mind, and its various feelings
and
passions, are the multiform billows of this sea of
ignorance;
our egoism or selfishness is the great whirlpool, in
which the
self willed man is hurled of his own accord.
24. His love and hatred are the two sharks, that lay hold[**space
added] of
him in their jaws; and drag him at last into the depth
(or to his
death), which no body can prevent.
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25. Go and plunge yourself in calm and cooling sea of
your solitude, and wash your soul in the nectareous
waters of
your ambrosial soleity[**solity]; dive and dive
deap[**deep] in the depth
of
unity, and fly from the salt sea of duality, and the
brackish
waves of diversities.
26. Who is lasting in this world, and who is passing from
it, who is related to any one, and what does one derive
from
another; why are you drowned in your delusion, rise and
be
wakeful, (to your spiritual concerns).
27. Know thyself as that one and very soul, which is said
to be diffused all over the world; say what other thing
is there
except that and beside thee, that you should regret or
lament
for; (since the one soul is all and that is thyself, thou
hast all
in thee, and there is nothing for thee to regret that
thou hast
not or dost require to have).
28. Brahma appears to the ignorant boys, to be diffused
through all the worlds; but the learned always rely in
the
undiffused felicitous soul of god.
29. It is the case of unreasonable men, to grieve as well
as
to be pleased on a sudden and without cause; but the
learned
are always joyous, and it is a sad thing to find them in
error.
30. The truth of the nice subtility of the divine soul,
is hid
from eyes of the ignorant; and they are as doubtful about
it's[**its]
nature, as men are suspicious of land and water where
they are
not. (Water appears as ground in dark, and sand seems as
water in the barren desert).
31. See the great bodies of the earth, air, water and
sky,
which are composed of atomic particles, to be so durable
as to
last for ever; why then mourn at the loss of anything in
the
world: (which is never lost at all).
32. From nothing comes nothing, and some thing cannot
become nothing; it is only the appearance of the form,
which
takes place in the substance of things.
33. But it is by virtue of the prior acts in the former
births
of men, that they are reborn in different shapes to enjoy
or
suffer the results of those acts; adore therefore the
lord god and
-----File:
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author of the worlds, who is always bountiful and
bestower
of all blessings.
34. The worship of this god destroys all our sins, and
cuts
off the knots of snares of this world.
35. You may worship Him in some form or other, until
your mind is cleared and your nature is purified; and
then
you can resort to the transcendent spirit of the formless
Deity.
36. Having overcome[**space removed] the impervious gloom
of
ignorance,
by force of the purity of thy nature; you may pursue the
course of the yoga, with the contrition of your inner
soul, and
belief in the s疽tras, (and in the dictates of your
spiritual guide).
37. Then sit a moment in your fixed meditation
(s疥adhi[**sam疆hi]),
and behold the transcendent spirit in thy own spirit; in
this
state the dark night of your former ignorance, will break
forth
into open and bright day light.
38. It must be by one's manly exertion or by virtue of
the
meritorious acts of former births only, as also by grace
of
the great god, that men may obtain the obtainable one.
(The
unknown god is said to be knowable and obtainable by
yoga only).
39. It is neither the birth nor character, nor the good
manners nor valour of a man, that ensures him his success
in
any undertaking, except it be by the merit of his acts in
former
births.
40. Why sit you so sad to think of the events of
inscrutable
and unavoidable fate, since there is no power nor that of
god
himself to efface what has been already written destined
in
the forehead (or luck) of any body. (Fate overrules even
jove[**=print, should be Jove] himself).
41. where[**Where] is the expounder of intellectual
science, and where
is the pupil that can comprehend it fully; what is this
creeping
plant of ignorance, and what is this inscrutable destiny,
that
joins two things together[**,] are questions too
difficult to be
solved.
42. O Bharadw疔a! Let your reason assist you to overcome
your illusion, and then you will no doubt gain an
uncomon[**uncommon]
share of wisdom.
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43. See how a high mettled hero overpowers on all his
imminent dangers, and stretches his conquest far and
wide; and
behold on the other hand, how a mean spirited man is
tried and
grieves at the ordinary casualties of life.
44. A good understanding is the result of, and attendant
upon the meritorious deeds of many lives; as it appears
in the
acts of wise men[**space added], and in the lives of all
living liberated
persons.
45. Know my son, that the same action is fraught both
with your freedom as well as bondage, accordingly as it
proves favourable or adverse to you. (As true faith is
attended
with salvation, but false faith or hypocrisy with
damnation).
46. The righteous acts of virtuous men, serve to destroy
the
sins of their past lives; as the showers of rain water,
extinguish
the flame of a conflagration[**=print] in the forest.
47. But my friend, I would advice you rather to avoid
your religious acts, and attach your mind to the
meditation
of Brahma, if you want to avoid your falling into the
deep
eddy of this world. (Because all actions bind a man to
the
world over and over again).
48. So long as one is attached to the outer world, being
led to it by his insatiable desires, or so long as one is
led by
the insatiable desires of his mind, to attach himself to
the outer
world; he is exposed to the contrary wind and waves of
the
sea, and has only to find his rest in the calm water of
his
loneliness.
49. Why do you lean so much upon your sorrow only, to
blend[**blind] your understanding, rather support
yourself on the strong
staff of your good understanding, and it will never break
under you.
50. Those who are reckoned in the number of the great
men, never allow themselves to be altered and moved by
their
joy or grief; and to be carried away like straws by the
current
of the river.
51. Why do you sorrow, friend, for these people, who are
swinging in the cradle of the circumstance of life in the
dark
night of this world, and playing their several parts with
giddy
amusement.
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52. Look at the gamesome time, that sports joyously in
this world, with the slaughter and production of endless
beings
by turns.
53. There is no body of any age or sex for his game in
particular,
he chases all in general like the all devouring dragon.
54. Why talk of mortal men and other animals, that live
to
die in a moment; even the whole body of gods (said to be
immortals), are under the clutches of the remorseless and
relentless death.
55. Why do you dance and make yourself merry in your
amusement, when you are in danger of loosing[**losing] by
degrees
the powers of your body and limbs; sit but silently for a
while, and see the drama of the course of this world:
(combining
its comedy and tragedy together).
56. Seeing the ever varying scenes of this changeful
theatre
of the world, the wise spectator, O good Bharadw疔a, never
shrinks nor shudders for a moment, (knowing such to be
its
nature).
57. Shun your unwelcomed sorrow, and seek for the
favourable
amidst all what is unfavourable; nor sadden the clear and
cheerful countenance of your soul, which is of the nature
of the
perfectly blissful intellect of god.
58. Bear always your reverence towards the gods, Brahmans
and your superiors; and be a friend even to a[**delete
the word 'a']
irrational animals;
in order to meet with the grace of god, according to the
dicta of the vedas; (that the grace is the leader to the
light of
truth, and thereby to the way of liberation).
59. Bharadw疔a rejoined:--I have known by your kindness
all these and much more of such truths, and come to find
that,
there is not a greater friend to us than our indifference
to the
world, nor a greater enemy than this world itself to us.
60. I want to learn at present the substance of all the
knowledge, which was imparted by the sage Vasishtha, in
many
works of great verbosity.
61. V疝m勛i answered:--Hear now, Bharadw疔a, of the
highest knowledge (which is taught by that sage) for the
salva-*
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*tion of mankind; and the hearing of which will save you
from
your drowning in the iniquities of the world.
62. First bow down to that supreme being, who is of the
nature of the sole entity combined with intellect and
felicity;
(all which are his forms in the abstract), and who is
ever
existants[**existent]
with his attributes of creation, sustentation and
destruction:
(which are said to be so many states of himself).
63. I will tell you in short, and upon the authority of
the
sruti; how you may come to the knowledge of the first
principle,
and the manner in which it exhibits itself in the acts of
creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.
64. But tell me first, how you have lost your remembrance
of what I have told you on this subject; since it is
possible by
your reconsideration of all that from first to last, to
know every
thing from your own memory, as they have a survey of the
earth
from a small globe in their hand.
65. Now consider all this in your own mind, and you will
get the truth which will prevent all your sorrows;
associate
moreover with the learned and study the best books, which
with
the help of your reasoning and resignation, may lead you
to endless
felicity.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the collection)
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