The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER XXXIII.
RESOLUTION OF DUALITY INTO UNITY.
Argument. Unity, the source, substance, and ultimum of
plurality,
which is resolved to unity. The Doctrine of monotheism.
One in all and
all into one.
Vasishtha said:--Tell me, my lord, that bearest the
crescent
of the moon on thy fore-head, how the pure and
simple essence of the intellect, which is an
infinate[**infinite] unity and
ever uniform and immutable in its nature, is transmuted
to the
finite dualities of the variable and impure soul and
mind.
(More over the whole equal to a part is quite absurd and
impossible).
2. Tell me, O great god! how this uncaused prime cause,
becomes diffused in endless Varieties, and how can we get
rid
of the plurality of our creeds by our wisdom, for putting
an end
to our miseries. (By means of our belief in the true
unity).
3. The god replied--When the omnipotent god (sad),
remains
as one unity of immensity; (Eka Brahma); it is then of
course absurd, to speak of his duality or plurality, and
of the
manifestation of a part or minim of himself. (The whole
cannot
be a part).
4. Taking the monad for a duad, is to ascribe duality to
unity; and the imputation of dualism or bipartition to
the
simple intellect, is wholly futile from its nature of
indivisibility.
(So says the sruti: The one is no dual nor a bipartite
thing. In Him there is no plurality, diversity or any particularity
whatever. [Sanskrit: natu taddvit坙amasti tati-nya
hvibhaktam / nanuneha
n疣疽tikincana]
5. The want of the number one, causes the absence both of
unity, duality; because there can be no dual without the
singular,
nor a single one unless there be the number two above it.
(i. e. There can be no duality without the prime and
preceding
unity; nor even the unity unless it is followed by
duality; be-*
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cause the prime number would be indefinite and
indetermine[**indetermined]
without the suceeding[**succeeding] ones).
6. The cause and its effect being of one nature (or
essence),
they are both of the same kind, as the fruit and the seed
contained
in it. The difference which is attributed to them from
the change of one thing to the other, is a mere fiction
of imagination.
7. The mind itself evolves in its thoughts at its own
will;
the changes occurring in itself, are no way different
from its
own nature; as the mutual productions of seed and fruit,
are of
the same nature, the same fruit produces the same seeds,
and
these again bring forth the same fruits &c. (So the
mind and
its thoughts, are the same things and of the self-same
nature).
8. Many modifications incessantly rise in the infinite
mind
of the almighty Maker as its eternal will, and these
taking place
in actu in positive existences, and substantive forms
bear the
relation of causes and their effects in this world.
9. These productions are likened to the waves of waters
in
the sea, and mirage to the progeny of a barren woman, and
the
horns of a hare-[**--]all which are nil and not in being.
They are
all as negative as the water on the mountaintop, and as
the
barley corn growing on the head of a hare. (In all these
instances the producer or container is a reality; but the
produced
or contained waves Ect.[**typo for etc.] are false; and
so is Brahma the
producer and container of all as positive[** space added]
entity, but the
production
of the world is null and void).
10. Herein enquiring into the real truth, we must refrain
from logomachy; and find that though all things tend to
stablish
the unity, yet it is difficult even in thought to do away
with
the difference of things, as that of words and their
senses. (that
is to say, though unity is the result of right reason,
yet duality
is inseparable from common sense).
11. The essence of divine omnipotence, is not divisible
into
portions or their fractions, like the waves of the sea,
that are
broken into bubbles and particles of waters.
12. As the leaves and stalks and branches and flowers of
trees, are no other than the same substance; so unity and
duality,
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meiety[**usu. spelt meity here] and tuity and the
objectivity of the
phenomenal world,
are not different from the essence of the subjective
intellect,
which contains and puts forth itself in all these forms.
13. All time and place and variety of figures and forms,
being but modifications of the intellect, it is improper
for us to
question the reality of those, and assert the certainty
of this
intellect.
14. The entities of time and space, and the powers of
action and destiny (divine ordinance), are all derived
from and
directed by the intellect and bear their intellectual
natures
also.
15. As the power of thinking, the thought and its object,
jointly compose the principle of mind; so the whole
universe
and every thing that bears a name, are all included under
the
term-chit[**term chit] or intellect; as the water and its
rise and fall, are all
included under the word wave.
16. The thoughts which continually rise and fall, in the
great ocean of the intellect; are like the waves which
heave and
set down, on the surface of the boistrous[**boisterous]
sea.
17. It is this supreme intellect which is known by the
various
appellations of the Lord, God, Truth, Siva and others; as
also by the various names of vacuum, unity and the
supreme
spirit.
18. Such is the nature of god, whom no words can express;
and who is styled the Ego or the subjective "I am
that I am"
and whom it is beyond the power of speech to describe.
19. All that is seen all around, are but the leaves,
fruits,
flowers and branches of the all creeping plant of the
intellect;
which being diffused in all, leaves nothing that is
different
from it.
20. The divine intellect [Sanskrit: chit] being
omniscient [Sanskrit:
mah疱idy畩 has the
great nescience or ignorance[** space added] [Sanskrit:
mah・avidy畩
underlying it (as the lighted
lamp is accompanied by the shadow under it); and then
looking at this side of itself it takes the name of the
living soul,
and beholds this shadowy world stretched outside the
divine
mind, as we see another moon in the reflexion of that
luminary,
cast upon a nebular circle beyond it.
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21. Then thinking itself as another or a living being
jiva,
and other wise than what it is (i. e. the immortal spirit
param疸ma);
it becomes just of the same nature, as it thinks and
forms
itself by its own will.
22. Being thus transformed from its perfect and
immaculate
state, to that of an imperfect and impure nature; it is
made to
wade amidst the stream of this world, without ever
thinking (of
its fall from the state of original purity).
23. The intellectual form being then assimilated with the
elemental (puryashtaka) body, receives its vital or
mortal life
and living soul, which lives by reflexion of the essence
of the
supreme intellect.
24. The spiritual body is also transformed to the frail
living
body, which being joined with quintessence of quintuple
elements,
comes to know itself as material substance, (dravymas
[** Note to proofreader/PM: I cannot determine with what
letter the
previous word begins. It does not look like an "・
but like a "d" with an
accent above it, but I'm not sure.--P2:checked w.
print='d']
miti[**)].
25. This substance being next infused with the vital
breath,
receives soon after its vigor and strength like the seed
of a
plant; and then it feels itself to be endued with life,
and to be
conceived in the uterus in its own conception.
26. The same erroneous conception of its gross
materiality,
misleads to the belief of its own egoism and personality.
It
conceives also its state of a moving or unmoving being,
and
this conception of it converts it instantly into the like
form.
(We have the forms, as we picture to ourselves in our
minds).
27. Again the simultaneous meeting of former reminiscence
with the later desire of a person, changes its former
habitual
and meaner form, to that of a larger and grosser kind.
(Thus
one that had been a contemptible gnat in its previous
state of
existence, is come to a big elephant in its next birth,
not from
its remembrance of its former state of life, but from its
settled
desire of becoming the would be being in the next. So it
is the
will [Sanskrit: v疽an畩 that supercedes the former
impession[**impression] [Sanskrit: samsk疵a] of [**what]
one
had been before, and transforms it to what it wishes to
be afterwards.
Hence the will is the parent of thoughts).
28. The difference and duality of one from its identity
and
unity, are results of one's thinking himself other wise
than what
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he really is; as a man becomes a devil by thinking
himself
possessed by a ghost.
29. The thought of the duality of one self-same soul, in
its
two aspects of the supreme and human souls; is driven
away by
the persuation[**persuasion] that I do nothing, and the
agency of all
actions
rests in the great god himself.
30. The unity is considered as a duality, by the
dualistic
openions [** typo for opinions] of men; while on the
other hand the belief
in unity,
destroys the conviction of dualism and plurality from the
minds
of men.
31. There is no duality or secondary being in the soul,
which may be regarded as the supreme soul, because there
is
but one soul only, which [**is] unchangeable and
unperishable at all
times and every where. (All other changing and finite
beings,
are but reflexions of the supreme).
32. All works of imagination are dispersed, with the
dispersion
of the fumes of fancy; as one's aerial castle and the
fairy city, vanish after the flight of the phrenzy and
the visionary
dream.
33. It is painful to raise a fabric of imagination, but
there
is no pain whatever in breaking it down; because the
chimera
of imagination is well skilled in building the aerial
cities, and not
in demolishing them. (Which belongs to the province of
reason
only).
34. If the fullness of one's desires and fancies, is
fraught
with the pains and troubles of life, it must be the want
of
such wishes and views, that will serve to set him free
from
these pains for ever.
35. If even a slight desire is enough to expose a man to
many cares in life, then its utter privation must afford
him complete
rest and quiet, in his transient state of being.
36. When your mind has got loose, from the manifold folds
of your serpentine desires; you will then come to enjoy
the
sweets of the garden of paradise. (Had it not been for
the
serpants[**serpent's]
ensinuation[**insinuation] to taste the fatal fruit, our
first parents would
be left to enjoy all the sweets of Paradise).
37. Drive away and disperse the clouds of your desire, by
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the breeze of your reason; and come and enjoy your rest,
under
the calm and clear autumnal sky of your indifference--non
chalance.
38. Dry the impetuous current of your rapid desires, by
the
charms of amulets and mantras; and then restrain yourself
from
being borne away by the flood, and restrict your mind to
its
dead inaction.
39. Rely thy trust in the intellectual soul ch咜疸m・ seated
in the cavity of thy heart, and look on mankind driven to
and
fro by the gusts of their desire, like fragments of straw
flying it
at random in the perturbed air.
40. Wash out the dirt of thy desires from thy mind, by
the
pure water of thy spiritual knowledge; and after securing
the
perfect tranquility of thy soul, continue to enjoy the
highest
bliss of a holy life.
41. God is all powerful and omnipresent, and displays
himself
in all forms every where; (He is seen in the same manner
as
one desires to behold him in a temporal or spiritual
light.
[Sanskrit: vrashma k疵anena bhogmak疵anena b・yath・bh疱ayate
tatha
pashyati])[**.]
42. It is the thought or imagination, that makes the
false
world appear as true; and it depends upon the thought
also,
that the world vanishes into nothing. (The existence and
inexistence
of the world; depend alike on the thoughts of divine and
human minds; the positive and negative are all creations
of
the mind).
43. It is the net work of our thoughts and desires, that
is
interwoven with the threads of our repeated births; but
the
winds of our apathy and indifference blow off this web,
and
settle us in the state of supreme felicity.
44. Avarice is a thorny plant, that has taken deep root
in
the human heart; it is fostered under the shade of the
arbor of
desire, root out this tree of desire, and the thorny bush
of avarice
will fade away of itself.
45. The world is a shadow and a pseudoscope, and rises to
view and disappears by turns; it is an error of the brain
that
presents the sight of the course of nature (sansriti),
like that of
the fairy land presented to us in a dream.
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46. The king that forgets his nature of the Lord,
mistakes
himself for a prince, or that he is born or become the
ruler of
the land; this conceipt[**concept] of his which springs
from ignorance of
his divine nature, vanishes soon after he comes to the
real knowledge
of himself.
47. The king in possession of his present royalty, has no
reminiscence of his past and former state; as we do not
recollect
the foulness of the past rainy weather, in the serenity
of the
present autumn.
48. The thought that is predominant in the mind,
naturally
prevails over the fainter and weaker one's[**ones], as
the highest pitch
in music suppresses the bas[**bass] tones, and takes
possession of the
ear.
49. Think in yourself that you are one (unit or the
unity),
and that you are the soul (or supreme soul); keep this
single
reflection before you, and holding fast to it, you will
become
the object of your meditation. (This is called [Sanskrit:
疸map仼畩 spiritual
adoration, or assimilating one's self to the supreme
soul).
50. Such is the spiritual meditation of spiritualists
like yourself,
who aspire to the highest felicity of the supreme Being;
while the external form of worship, is fit only for
ungoverned
minds, that rapt only for their temporal welfare. In
formular
worship composed of the worshipper, the formularies of
the
ritual and the articles of offerings, are symbolical of
ignorant
minds, and too insignificant to the wise.
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
SERMON OF SIVA ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
Argument The divine state, above the quadruple conditions
of waking,
sleeping, dreaming and profound sleep.
The god continued--such is the constitution of this
world,
composed of reality and unreality, and bearing the stamp
of
the almighty; it is composed both of unity and duality,
and yet
it is free from both. (To the ignorant it appears as a
duality,
composed of the mind and matter; but the wise take it
neither
as the one or the other, but the whole to pan-[**--]the
root of pantheism).
2. It is the disfigurement of the intellect by foul
ignorance,
that views the outer world as distinct from its maker;
but to
the clear sighted there is no seperate[**separate] outer
world, but both
blend
together in the unity.
3. The perverted intellect which considers itself as the
body, is verily confined in it; but when it considers
itself to be a
particle of and identic with the divine, it is liberated
from its
confinement. (In the mortal and material frame).
4. The intellect loses its entity, by considering the
duality
of its form and sense; and be conbined[** typo for
combined] with
pleasure and pain,
it retains no longer its real essence.
5. Its true nature is free from all designation, and
application
of any significant term or its sense to it; and the words
pure, undivided, real or unreal, bear no relation to what
is an all
pervasive vacuity.
6. Brahma the all and full (to pans plenum), who is
perfect
tranquility, and without a second, equal or comparison,
expands
himself by his own power as the infinite and empty air;
and
stretched his mind in three different directions of the
three
triplicates. (Namely 1 of creation, preservation and
destruction
of the universe--2 the three states of waking, sleeping,
and
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dreaming-[**--]3 the union of the threepowers[**three
powers]--the
supernal, natural
and material agencies. [Sanskrit: srishti, sthiti,
pralaya, j疊rat, nidra, sapta /
疆hidaiva, 疆hibhautika, 疆hibhauvikanca]
7. The mind being curbed with all its senses and organs
in
the great soul, there appears a dazzling light before it,
and the
false world flies away from it[** space added], as the
shade of night
disappears
before the sunlight. (This verse is explained in the
gloss to
refer both to the supreme spirit before creation, as also
to the
yogi who distracts his mind and senses from the outer
world, and
sees a blazing light stretched over his soul).
8. The imaginary world recedes from view, and falls down
like a withered leaf; and the living soul remains like a
fried grain,
without its power of vegitation[**vegetation] or
reproduction.
9. The intellect being cleared from the cloud of
illusion,
overhanging the deluded mind, shines as clearly as the
vault
of the autumnal sky; and is then called pashyanti or
seeing
from its sight of the supernatural, and utsrijanti also
from its
renunciation of all worldly impressions. (This is called
also the
cognoscent soul, from its cognition of recondite and
mysterious
truths).
10. The Intellect being settled in its original, pure and
sedate state, after it has passed under the commotions of
worldly
thoughts; and when it views all things in an equal and
indifferent
light, it is said to have crossed over the ocean of the
world.
(The course of worldly life is compared to a perilous sea
voyage,
and perfect apathy and indifference to the world, is said
to secure
the salvation of the soul).
11. When the intellect is strong in its knowledge of
perfect
susupti or somnolence over worldly matters; it is said to
have
obtained its rest in the state of supreme felicity, and
to be freed
from the doom of transmigration infuture[**in future]
births. (The perfect
rest of the next world, is begun with one's
ecstases[**ecstasis] in this).
12. I have now told you, O great vipra, all about the
curbing
and weakening of the mind, which is the first step
towards the
beatification of the soul by yoga; now attend to me to
tell you,
concerning the second step of the edification and
strengthening
of the intellect.
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13. That is called the unrestricted power of the
intellect,
which [**is] fraught with perfect peace and tranquility;
which is full
of light, clear of the darkness of ignorance, and as wide
stretched
as the clear vault of heaven.
14. It is as deep as our consciousness in profound sleep,
as
hidden as a mark in the heart of a stone; as sweet as the
flavour
in salt, and as the breath of wind after a storm. (All
these examples
show the strength of the soul, to consist in its close
compactness).
15. When the living principle comes to its end at any
place,
in course of time; the intellect takes it flight like
some invisible
force in open air, and mixes with the transcendent
vacuum.
16. It gets freed from all its thoughts and thinkables,
as
when the calm sea is freed from its fluctuation; it
becomes as
sedate as when the winds are still, and as imperceptible
as when
the flower--cup[**flower-cup] emits its fragrance.
17. It is liberated from the bonds and ideas of time and
place, (by it[**its] assimilation to infinity and
immortality); it is
freed from the thought of its appertaining to or being a
part of
anything in the world; it is neither a gross or subtile
substance,
and becomes a nameless essence. (The intellect or soul
bears
distinctive mark or peculiarity of its own, except that
it is some
thing which has nothing in common with anything in the
world).
18. It is not limited by time and space, and is of the
nature
of the unlimited essence of god; it is a form and
fragment of
the quadruple state of Brahma or virat [Sanskrit: t侔yya
t侔yyam疽a], and
is
without any stain, disease or decay.
19. It is some thing witnessing all things with its far
seeing
sight, it is the all at all times and places, it is full
light in itself,
and sweeter far than the sweetest thing in the world.
(Nothing
sweeter than one's self).
20. This is what I told you the second stage of yoga
meditation,
attend now, O sage! that art true to your vows, and dost
well understand the process of yoga, to what I will relate
to you
regarding its third stage.
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21. This sight of intellect is without a name, because it
contains like the Divine Intellect all the thinkables (or
objects
of thought) within its ample sphere, as the great ocean
of the
world, grasps all parts of the globe within its spacious
circumference.
It extends beyond the meaning of the word Brahm疸ma
or the ample spirit of the god Brahm・in its
extention[**extension]
adinfinitum[**ad infinitum].
(It resembles the comprehensive mind of god).
22. It is by great enduring patience, that the soul
attains
in course of a long time, this steady and unsullied state
of its
perfection purush疵tha; and [**it] is after passing this
and the fourth
stage, that the soul reaches to its supreme and ultimate
state of
felicity.
23. After passing the successive grades and until
reaching
the ultimate state, one must practice his yoga in the
manner of
Siva the greatest of the yogis; and then he will obtain
in himself
the unremitting holy composure of the third stage.
24. By long continuance in this course, the pilgrim is
led
to a great distance, which transcends all my description,
but
may befelt[**be felt] by the holy devotee who advances in
his course.
25. I have told you already of the state, which is beyond
these three stages; and do you, O divine sage! ever
remain in
that state, if you [**wish] to arrive to the state of the
eternal god.
26. This world which seems as material, will appear to be
infused
with the spirit of god when it is viewed in its spiritual
light, but upon right observation of it, it is neither
the one nor
the other (but a reflexion of divine mind).
27. This what neither springs into being nor ceases to
exist;
but is ever calm and quite[**quiet] and of one uniform
lustre, and swells
and extends as the embryo in the womb. (The embryo is to
be
understood in a spiritual sense from god's conception of
the
world in his mind).
28. The undualistic unity of god, his motionlessness and
the solidity of his intelligence, together with the
unchangeableness[**removed space]
of his nature, prove the eternity of the world, although
appearing as instantaneous and evanescent. (The solid
intelligence
is shown in the instances of solidified water in ice and
snow, and in the froth and salt of sea water).
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29. The solidity of the intellect produces the worlds in
the
manner as the congealed water causes the hail-stones, and
there is no defference[** typo for difference] between
the existent and
nonexistent,
since all things are ever existent in the divine mind.
(Though
appearing now and then to me or you as something new).
30. All is good (siva or solus) and quiet, and perfect
beyond
the power of description; the syllable om is the symbol
of the
whole, and its components compose the four stages for our
salvation.
(All is good. And god pronounced all was good. See the
quadruple stages comprised in the letter om, in our
introduction
to the first volume of this work).
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CHAPTER XXXV.
ADORATION OF THE GREAT GOD MAHA-DEVA.
Argument.--Of Mahadeva, the father of Brahma, Vishnu and
Siva and
the manner of his worship.
Vasishtha said--Then Hara, who is the lake of the lotus
of Gauri (i. e. her husband), being desirous of my
enlightenment,
glanced on me for a minute, and gave utterance to his
lecture.
2. His eyes flashed with light under his heavenly
forehead,
and were as two caskets of his understanding, which
scattered
its rays about us. (The eyes are the indexes of
mens'[**men's]
understending[** space added][**typo for understanding]
in Physiognomy).
3. The god said--O sage, call your thoughts home, and
employ them soon to think of your own essence; and to
bring
about your ends, as the breezes of heaven convey the
fragrance
to the nostrils. (The mind is usually compared in its
fleetness
with the winds, and therefore the task of the breezes is
imposed
upon the thoughts, which are as vagaries unless they
answer
one's purposes).
4. When the object long sought for is got in one's
possession,
whatelse[**what else] there for one to desire any more. I
who have
known and come to the truth, have nothing to expect as
desirable
nor any thing to reject as despicable: (When one is
possest of
his sole object, he is indifferent about all others,
wheather[**whether] they
be good or bad).
5. When you have got your mastery over yourself, both in
the states of your peace and disquiet; you should apply
yourself
to the investigation of yourself or soul, without
attending to any
thing besides. (Nothing better than self-culture, and the
advancement
and salvation of one's own soul[** space added]).
6. You may at first depend on your observations of the
phenomenal,
(as preparatory to your knowledge of the noumenal),
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which you will now learn from my lecture, if you will
attend to
it with deligence[**diligence].
7. After saying in this manner, the holder of the trident
told
me, not to rely on my knowledge of the externals, but to
attend
to the internal breathings, which move this abode of the
body,
as the physical forces move a machine.
8. The lifeless body being without its breathing, becomes
dull and dull and dumb as a block; its power of movement
being derived from the air of breath, but its powers of
thought
and knowledge are attributed to the intellect.
9. This intellct[**intellect] has a form more rare and
transparent than
the vacuous air, it is an ens which is the cause of all
entities;
and is not destroyed by destruction of the living body
for want
of vital breath.
10. The intellectual is more rarified[**rarefied] and
translucent than
the ethereal air, and never perishes with the body;
because it
remains as the power of intellection, in the mental
(percepient[**percipient])
and living body. (The sruti says;[**:] it is the life of
life, and mind
of the mind).
11. As the clear shining mirror, receives the reflexion
of
external things; so the mind of god reflects all images
from
within itself, and from nothing situated without.
12. As the soiled glass receives no reflexion of outward
things, so the lifeless body has no reflexion of any
thing, though
it is preserved to our view. (And so are all thoughtless
persons
considered as dead bodies).
13. The all-pervasive intellect, though it is formless
itself,
is yet prone towards the movement of sensible objects
owing
to its sensuous perceptions; but coming to the pure
understanding
of its spiritual nature, it becomes the supreme Siva
again.
14. The sages then cult[**?] this immaculate intellect by
the
several names of Hari, Siva, Brahma, and Indra, who are
the
givers of the objects of desire to all living beings.
15. It is also styled the fire and air, the sun and moon,
and
the supreme Lord; and it is this which is known as the
ubiquious
soul and the intellect, which is the mine of all
intelligence.
16. It is the lord of gods[**,] the source of celestials,
the Dh疸a
-----File: 234.png---------------------------------------------------------
or Brahm・ the lord of gods, and the lord of heaven. Any
body
who feels the influence of this great intellect in
himself, is
never subject to illusion.
17. Those great souls that are known in this world, under
the names of Brahm・ Vishnu, Hara and others, are all but
offsprings[**offspring] of the supreme Intellect, and
endowed with a
greater
portion of it.
18. They are all as sparks of hot iron, and as particles
of
water in the immense ocean of creation; so all those that
are
mistaken for gods, have sprung from the source of the
supreme
Intellect.
19. As long as there exist the seeds of error, and the
sources
of endless networks of imagination; so long the arbor of
gross
illusion does not cease, to sprout in endless ramifications.
20. The veda, its exposition and the vedic literature,
are but
tufts of the tree of ignorance for the bondage of men;
and
these again produce many other clumps, to hold men fast
in
their ignorance.
21. Who can describe[** space added] the productions of
nature, in the
course
of time and place; the gods Hari, Hara, and Brahm・are
among the number, and have all their origin in the
supreme
Being-[**--]their common father. (So says the Atharva
Sera Sruti.[**:]
[Sanskrit: sarbbamidram [**sarvvamidram]
brahmavishnurudrendr疽te
sampam偰ate sarbbai[**sarvvani] c匤dr痒疣isaham偀eh sak疵anam
k疵an疣疥a][**)]
22. Mahadeva the great god is the root of all, as the
seed
is the source of the branches of trees; He is called the
All
(sarva), because He is the essence of all things, and the
sole cause
of our knowledge of all existence. (The purana says to
the
same effect). [Sanskrit: trayaste k疵an疸m疣ah j疸疉
m疉疥aheshvar疸 /
tapas・topathitvá
tam pitaram parameshvaram]
23. He is the giver of strength to all beings, he is self
manifest in all, and is adorable and hollowed[**hallowed]
by all. He is the
object of perception to them that know him, and is ever
present
in all places. (The word Mahadeva commonly applied to
Siva,
originally meant the great god, as in the definition of the
term
in the gloss. [Sanskrit: mahatyaparicchinne 疸majn疣a
yogaishvartye
mah坙ate p仼yate]
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[Sanskrit: iti mah疆evah] So the sruti also.[**:]
[Sanskrit: yo 疸majn疣a
yogaishvaryye mahati mah咩ate
tasm疆ucyate mah疆evah]
24. There is no need of addressing invocatory mantras
unto
the Lord, who being omniscient and omnipresent, knows and
sees all things as present before him at all places and
times.
25. But being always invoked (or prayed unto) in the
mind,
this god who resides in every thing is attainable by us
in every
place; and in whatever form doth one's intellect appear
to him,
it is all for his good. (This passage means[** space
added] the visible form
in
which the deity makes his manifestation to the devotee).
26. He takes upon him the visible form, according to the
thought in the mind of the worshipper, and this form is
to be
worshipped first of all with proper homage, as the most
adorable
Lord of gods.
27. Know this as the ultimum of the knowables of the
greatest minds; and whoso has beheld this self-same soul,
is
freed from fears and sorrows and the complaints of old
age, and
is released from future transmigration, like a fried
grain which
vegitates[**vegetates] no more.
28. By worshipping this well known and unborn first cause
in one's self and at ease (i. e. without the formular
rite); every
one is freed from his fears, and attains his supreme
felicity, why
then do you bewilder yourselves amidst the visible
vanities of
the world.
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPREME DEITY PARAMESWARA.
Argument.--Description of god as the Producer of all, and
present in
every form; his purity from his intangibleness and his
great grandeur.
The God added:--Know now the lord god rudra[**Rudra], who
in the
form of one self-same intellect, is situated within every
form of being, as is of the nature of self-conscious.
(Swanubhiati)
in every one.
2. He is the seed of seeds, and the pith and marrow of
the
course of nature; know it also as the agent of all
actions, and
the pure gist of the intellect also.
3. He is the pure cause of all causes, without any cause
of
himself; he is the producer and sustainer of all, without
being
produced or supported himself by another.
4. He is the sensation of all sensible beings, and the
sense
of all sensitive things; he is the sensibility of all
sensuous
objects, and the highest object of our sensuousness, and
the
source of endless varieties.
5. He is the pure light of all lights (of the sight,
luminaries
&c.), and yet invisible by all of them. He is the
increate and
supernatural light, the source of all sources of light
and the
great mass of the light of Intellect.
6. He is no positive (or material) existence, but the
real
(or essential) entity; he is all quiet and beyond the
common acceptations
of reality and unreality: (Being no absolute or relative
entity or non-entity). And among the positive ideas of
the
great entity &c. (mahasattw疆i), know him as the
Intellect
alone and no other. (Many kinds of Entities are
enumerated
in Indian philosophy, suchas[**such as]:--[Sanskrit:
matyena
ch疱ah疵ikena / satyena pr疸ibha-*siken畸asth疸va
yena] Again [Sanskrit: mah疽atta, jagat, satta,
疆isatt・karana
vy疚tatasatt畩
7. He becomes the colour, colouring and colouror; He
becomes
as high as the lofty sky, and as low as the lowly hut.
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(The colour-[**--]raga means the passion and feelings
also; and the
sky and hut mean the empty space and decorated cottage).
8. There are in the expanded mind of this Intellect
millions
of worlds likesands[**like sands] in the desert, like
wise many of these
like
blossoms of trees, have blown away, others are full
blown, and
many more will come to blow here after.
9. It is ever burning, as an inextinguishable flame by
its
own inherent fire; and though it is ever emitting
innumerable
sparks of its essence all about, yet there is no end of
its light
and heat and fire.
10. It contains in its bowels the great mountains,
likening
the particles of dust (or rather as the roes of a fish);
it covers
also the highest mountains, as the lofty sky hides the
dusts on
earth. So the sruti--Greater than the greatest and
smaller
than the smallest. [Sanskrit: an叝an坙an mahatimahiy疸]
11. It comprehends the great--mah疚alpa millenium, like
a twinkling of the eye; and is also contained in a kalpa
age,
in its quick motion of a twinkling. (i. e. He is eternity
as
well as jot of time).
12. Though minuter than the point of a hair, yet it
encompasses
the whole earth (as its boundary line); and the seven
oceans that encircle the earth with their vests, cannot
gird the
great Infinity.
13. He is called the great creator of the universe,
though
he creates nothing (Like the makers of other things); and
though he does all actions, yet he remains as doing
nothing (by
his calm quietness[**space added]).
14. Though the deity is included under the
catagory[**category] of
substance, yet he is no substance at all; and though
there be no
substantiality in him, yet his spirit is the substratum
of all things.
(All along he is the figure of vaiparitya or opposition,
which
well applies to Brahma who is all and nil or the omnium
et
nullum, Sarvamasarvam. (Though bodiless, he is the great
body of the universe corpus mundi-[**--]viswarupa of
viraj).
15. He is adya-(hodie) to day, and pr疸ar-practer to
morrow[**tomorrow], and though the preter and future, yet
he is always
-----File:
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present. Wherefore he is neither now or then, but
sempiternal
and for ever.
16. He is not in the babbling and prattling of babes and
boys, nor in the bawling of beasts and brutes, nor in the
jargon
of savages; but equally understood by all in their
peculiar
modes of speech. (This is the
enterpretation[**interpretation] of the gloss;
but
the words of the text are unintelligible and
meaningless).
17. These words are meaningless and are yet true, like
the
obsolete words occurring in the vedas. Therefore no words
can[**removed
hyphen]
truly express what is god, because they are not what he
is (but
mere emblems). These difficult passages are not explained
in
the gloss and left out in the Calcutta edition.
18. I bow down to him who is all, in whom all reside
and from whom they all proceed, and who is in all place
and
time, and who is diffused through all and called the one
and
all-[**--]topan[**to pan].
19. In this verbiology of obscure words, there will be
found
some fully expressive of the meaning, as in a forest of
thick wood
we happen to fragrant flowers, which we pluck and bear
with us
in handfuls. (The entangled phraseology of the stanza
will
bearno[**bear no] literal translation).
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CHPTER[**CHAPTER] XXXVII.
THE STAGE PLAY AND DANCE OF DESTINY.
Argument.--Of the endless powers or saktis of
siva[**Siva], among whom
the
power of Destiny is described in this.
The God joined:--The beauty of the words said before is
palpable, and their senses all allude to the truth, that
the
Lord of all is the rich chest of gems of all things in existence.
(The gloss is too verbose in the explanation of this
passage).
2. How very bright are the rays of the gems contained in
the receptacle of the supreme Intellect, that shines
forth with
the collected light of all the lumineous[**luminous]
worlds in it. (It means
to say, that the Divine intellect must be brighter far
than all
the orbs of light contained in it).
3. The essence of the intellect flies in the air in the
form of
the granular farina, and becomes the embryotic
corpusculi[**corpuscula];
which in the manner of the vegitable[**vegetable] seed,
sprouts forth into
the germ in its proper time, soil, moisture and
temperature.
(The gloss explains the essence satta to mean the
energy-[**--]sakti,
which is represented as the female attribute of the Divinity).
4. This power of the intellect, moves in the forms of
froth
and foam, and eddies and whirl pools in the sea; and
rolls its
waters against the hard stones of the beach. (The liquid
waters
are moving things that are hard to touch).
5. It is settled in the form of flavour in the clusters
of
flowers; it makes then[**them] full blown, and carries
their fragrance
to the nostrils.
6. Seated on bodies of stone (stonyrocks[**stony rocks]),
it makes them
produce unstone-like substances; (as the trees and their
foliage
and flowers of various hues); and makes the mountains to
support
the earth without their actually upholding it. (The
mountains
are called bhudharas or supports of the earth.)
7. The intellect takes the form of the air, which is the
source
-----File:
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of all vibrations, and touches the organ of touch (skin);
with as
much tenderness as a father touches the body of his
child.
8. As the divine power extends itself in every thing, so
it
contracts the essences of all things in a mass within
itself; and
having absorbed the whole in the divine entity, makes all
nature
a vacuous nullity.
9. It casts the reflexion of its own clear image, in the
transparent
mirror of vacuum; and takes upon itself the pellucid
body of eternity, containing all divisions of time.
10. Then there issues the power of Destiny, which
predominates
over the five principal divinities; and determines the
ultimate
fate of all that "this is to be so, and this other
wise."
11. It is in the presence of the bright light of the all
witnessing
eye of the great God, that the picture of the universe
presents itself to our sight; as the presence of the
lighted lamp
in the room, shows us the lights of the things contained
in it.
12. The universal vacuum contains the great theatre of
the
universe, wherein the Divine powers and energies are
continually
playing their parts, and the spirit of god is the witness
there of.
13. Vasishtha asked--What are the powers of that
siva[**Siva]
(jove[**Jove]),
my lord! who are they and where are they situated; what
is
number, and how are they employed and who is their
witness[**'?']
14. The god replied--The god siva[**Siva] is the
benignant,
incomprehensible
and tranquil supreme soul; He is gracious and formless
and of the nature of the pure intellect only.
15. His essences are volition, vacuity, duration and
destiny;
and also the qualities of infinity and fulness.
16. Beside these he has the properties of intelligence
and
action, as also of causality and quietude; and there are
many
other powers in the spirit of siva[**Siva], of which
there is no reckoning
nor end.
17. Vssishtha[**Vasishtha] rejoined--Whence came these
powers to him,
and how had they their variety and plurality; tell me, my
lord!
whence they arose, and how thy were separated: (from
omnipotence
which comprehends them all).
-----File:
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18. The god replied.--The god siva[**Siva] who is
intellect only of
himself, has endless forms also (according to his endless
attributes),
and the powers that I have said to belong to him, are
little and no way different essentiality. (The properties
that
are predicated of god, belong to his intrinsical nature
and not
derived from without).
19. It is the discrimination of the powers of
intelligence,
action, passion, vision and others; that the powers of
god are
said to be many and different from one another, like the
waves
of the sea: (which appears in the different shapes of
billows[**,]
surges &c[**.]).
20. Thus do those different powers act their several
parts
for ever, in the grand stage of the universe; as the
ages, years,
months and weeks and days, play their parts under
direction
of time-[**--]the manager of the stage.
21. That power which appears as the one or another, is
called
the divine powers of destiny; and is distinguished by the
several
appellations of action, energy or will of god, or the
dispensation
of his Time. (Time is said to be the producer, sustainer
and
leveller of all things. [Sanskrit: k疝・prabhavati dh疵yyte,
pral坙ate sarvvam
tasm疸 k疝í
hi valavattarah][**).]
22. That power which determines the states of gods, and
those of the great Rudras as so and so, and what
regulates the
conduct of all things from a mean straw to the great Brahm畆**・->畩,
is
called the predominant doom or destiny.
23. This destiny continues to dance about the great arena
of the universe, until the mind is cleared of her bugbear
and
freed from anxiety by the knowledge of truth, (that it is
the
Divine will which destines the destiny).
24. The play of destiny is very pleasing to behold, owing
to
the variety of its characters and contrivances, and the
quick
changes of the scenes, and the repeated entrances and
exits of
its players and actors. It is conducted all along with
the
music of the drums and trumpets of the roaring clouds of
the
Kalp疣ta-doomsday. (i. e. On the last day of universal
dissolution,
when the dance of destiny and her play are over).
25. The vault of heaven is the canopy over this stage,
the
-----File:
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season flowers are its decorations, and the showers of
rain serve
for the sprinkling of rose waters in it.
26. The dark clouds hang about the heavens are, the blue
hanging screens around this stage, and the sexcenti[**?]
as of the earth
with the shining gems in their bosom, serve for the
ornamented
pits and galleries of this playhouse.
27. The shining sky with its sight of the days and
watches,
and its eyes of the twinkling stars; is witnessing the
continual
rise and fall of all being, and the plunging and up heaving
of
mountaintops at the great deluge.
28. The revolving luminaries of the sun and moon, and the
rolling currents of the gauges, appear as the pearly
jewels on the
person of this actress, and the lustre of the
twighlight[**twilight] seems as
the red red-dye of her palms.
29. The incessant motion of the upper and nether worlds,
with the continued gingling of their peoples; resemble
the
footsteps of this dancing destiny, with the ringing
trinkets and
anklets fastened to her feet.
30. The sunshine and moonbeams, represent the lustre of
her smiling face; and the twinkling stars in the sky,
resemble
the drops of sweet trickling on her face.
31. These very many worlds are supposed as somany[**so
many]
apartments
of this great theatre.
32. The two states of pleasure and pain or joy and grief,
which are destined to the lot of all living beings, show
the
different shows of comic and tragic representations.
33. The changing scenes, that are always seen to take
place
in the play of destiny, at the great stage of this world;
are continually
witnessed by the great God himself, who is neither
distant,
or distinct from this, nor is this so from that.
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ON THE EXTERNAL WORSHIP OF THE DEITY.
Argument. The External worship of God in his out ward
temple, with
bodily acts and service. And also of Internal adoration
in spirit or the
Way to Liberation.
The god continued--This god who is the supreme Lord,
is the adorable one of the wise; in the form of the
intellect and conscious soul, and as all pervading and
support
of all.
2. He is situated alike in the pot and painting, in the
tree
and hut, in the vehicle and in all men and brute animals;
under
the several names of siva[**Siva], Hara, and Hari, as
also of Brahm・
Indra, Agni, and Yama.
3. He is in the inside and outside of all as the
universal
soul, and always dwells in spirit and in the soul of
every wise
person. This Lord is worshipped in various forms by
different
people in the many modes as described below.
4. Hear me first relate to you, O great sage! how this
god
is worshipped in the outward form and formulas; and you
will
next hear me relate unto you, the inward form in which he
is
worshipped in spirit.
5. In all forms of worship you must cease to think of
your
body, and separate your mind from your person, however
purified
it may be (By your ablution and the like). You must then
apply your mind deligently[**diligently] to think of the
pure and bodiless
soul, which witnesseth the operations of the body from
its inside.
6. His worship consists in his inward meditation only,
and
in no other mode of outward worshipping, therefore apply
your
mind in the adoration of the universal soul, in its
meditation in
your soul only.
7. He is of the form of the intellect, the source of all
light
and glorious as millions of suns; He is the light of the
inward
-----File:
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intellect, and the receptacle (origin) of egoism and
tuism. (i. e.
of the subjective and objective).
8. His head and shoulders reach above the heaven of
heavens,
and lotus like feet decend[**descend] for[**far] below
the lowest abyss of
vacuity.
9. His arms extend to the endless bounds of all sides and
space; and hold in them the many worlds in the infinite
firmament
as their weilding[**wielding] weapons and arms.
10. The worlds rolling over one another, rest in a corner
of
his capacious bosom; His effulgence passes beyond the
limit of
the unlimited vacuum, and his person stretches beyond all
imaginable
bounds. (Extends through all extent, pope[**Pope]).
11. Above, below, in all four quarters and in all sides
of the
compass, he extends unspent and without end; and is beset
in
all sides by the host of gods, Brahm・ Rudra, Hari and
Indra,
and the demi gods also.
12. These series of creatures are to be considered as the
rows
of hairs on his body; and the different courses of their
actions,
are as the strings binding the machines of the world
together.
13. His will and destiny are powers proceeding from his
person, as his active agencies in nature, such is the
Lord-[**--]the
supreme one, who is always to be worshipped by the best
of men.
14. He is the intellect only and the
concious[**conscious] soul, the all
pervading
and the all supporting spirit; and resides alike in the
pot
and painting, as in the moving car as also in living
animals.
15. He is siva[**Siva], Hari, and Hara, Brahm・ Indra,
Fire, and
Yama; He is the receptacle of endless beings, and the
aggregate
body of all essences or the sole entity of entities.
16. He contains this mundane sphere, together with all
the
worlds with their mountains and all other contents in
himself;
and the all powerful time which hurls them ever onward,
is the
warder at the doorway of his eternity.
17. The great god Mahadeva, is to be thought upon as
dwelling
in some part of this body of eternity and infinity, with
his
body and its members, and with a thousand ears and eyes.
(This
is same with the macrocosm of viraj in the vedas).
18. This figure has moreover a thousand heads and a
thousand
hands with their decorations. It has as many eyes all
over
-----File:
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its body with their powers of sight and so many ears also
with
their power of hearing.
19. It has the powers of feeling or touch and taste all
over
its person, as also, the power of hearing in the whole
body, and
that of thinking in its mind within.
20. It is however wholly beyond all conception, and is
perfectly
good and gracious to all. It is always the doer of all
things
that are done, and the bestower of every blessing on all
beings.
21. It is always situated in the inside of all beings;
and is
the giver of strength and energy to all. Having thought
upon
the Lord of Gods in this manner, the devotee is to
worship him
in the usual method of the ritual.
22. Now hear me tell you, that are best acquainted with
Brahma, of the mode of worshipping him in spirit; which
con.[**-]
sists[**consists] only in adoring him in the conscious
soul, and not in
presenting
offerings unto him.
23. It requires no illumination nor fumigation of
incense;
It has no need of flowers or decorations, nor does
require the
oblations of rice or sprinkling of perfumes or sandal
paste.
24. It needs no exhalation of saffron or camphor, nor any
painting or other things (as chouriflappers and the
like); nor has
it any need of pouring the water, which is easily
obtainable every
where.
25. It is only by effusion of the
nectarious[**nectareous] juice of the
understanding,
that the god is worshipped; and this is styled the
best kind of meditation and adoration of deity by the
wise.
26. The pure intellect which is known to be always
present
within one's self, is to be constantly looked into and
sought after,
heard about, and felt both when one is sleeping or
sitting or
moving about.
27. By constantly talking on the subject, and resuming
the inquiry after leaving it off, one becomes fully
conscious of
himsels[**himself]; and then he should worship his lord
the self-same soul
in his meditation of it.
28. The offering of the heart in meditation of the Lord,
is
more delectable to him than the sweetest articles of
food, offered
with the choices and most fragrant flowers.
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29. Meditation joined with self-consciousness or
contriteness
of soul, is the best p疆ya and arghya water and offering
that is
worthy of the Lord; because the best meditation is that
which
is accompanied with the flower-[**--]self offering to the
Lord. (For
naught avails the most intense meditation of the mind,
when
the heart and soul are not devoted to the service of the
Lord).
30. Without this kind of meditation, it is impossible the
supreme soul in one's self; and therefore spiritual
meditation is
said to abound with the grace of god and the greatest
enjoyment
of happiness and prosperity. (So the sruti:--Meditation
in spirit is attended with all enjoyment and felicity).
31. As the animal or irrational soul enjoys all its
pleasures,
in the abode of its body; so the rational and spiritual
soul
derives all its happiness from meditation. (Because the
Lord
being full of felicity, pours out the same into the
spirit of his
devotee).
32. The ignorant man that meditates on the Lord, for a
hundred twinklings of the eye; obtains in reward thereof,
the
merit of making the gift of a milch-cow to a Brahman.
33. The man who worships the Lord in his soul, for half
an hour in this nanner[**manner]; reaps the reward of
making a horse
sacrifice (according to law).
34. He who meditates on the Lord in spirit and in his own
spirit, and presents the offering of his reflections unto
him, is
entitled to the merit of making a thousands[**thousand]
horse sacrifices.
35. Whoso worships the Lord in this manner for a full
hour, receives the reward of making the Raj sacrifice;
and by
worshipping him in this form in the midday; he obtains
the
merit of making many thousands sacrifices of such kind.
36. The man who worships him in this way for a
wholeday[**2 words],
settles in the abode of the deity.
37. This is called the superior yoga meditation, and the
best
service of the Lord, as also the external adoration of
the soul.
38. This mode of holy adoration destroys all sins; and
whoso practices it for a minute with a steady mind, he is
certainly entitled to the venerations of gods and
demigods, and
placed in the rank of emancipated spirits like myself.
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CHAPTER XXXIX.
MODE OF THE INTERNAL WORSHIP OF THE DEITY.
Argument.--The inward form in which, He is worshipped in
spirit.
The God resumed:--I will now relate to you, the form of
the
inward worship of the spirit in spirit; which is reckoned
as the holy of holies, and dispeller of all darkness.
2. This mode of worship depends also on mental
meditation,
and is conducted in every state of life, whether when one
is
sitting or walking, or waking or sleeping.
3. It requires the supreme Siva, who is always situated
in
the body of man; and who is the cause of the perception
of all
things, to be worshipped in spirit and in the spirit of
man.
4. Wheather[**Whether] you think him, as sleeping or
rising, walking
or sitting; or whether conceive him touching or
intangible contact
with any thing, or quite unconnected and aloof from every
thing about him.
5. Or wheather[**whether] you take him as enjoying the
gross objects,
or shunning them all by his spiritual nature; or as the
maker of
all outward objects, and the ordainer of all forms of
action.--
6. Or whether you consider him as remaining quiescent in
all material bodies, or that he is quite apart from all
substantial
forms; you may worship him in whatever form your
understanding
presents him to you, or what you can best conceive of
him in your consciousness.
7. Whoever has fallen in and is carried away by the
current
of his desires and who is purified from his worldliness
by the
sacred ablution of his good sense; should worship the
Siva
lingum[**lingam] as the emblem of understanding with the
offering of
his knowledge of it. (The Linga is the type of unity,
represented
by the figure, as the syllable om is the type of trinity
expressed by its three letters).
8. He may be contemplated in the form of the sun, shining
brightly in the sky; as also in that of the moon, which
cools
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the sky with its benign moon beams. (Because the sun and
moon are included under the eight forms of as we see in
the
Prologe[**Prologue] to sakuntolla[**Sakuntala].
[Sanskrit: ye he 疝ah
vidharttah] Ect[**etc.]).
9. He is always conscious in himself of all sensible
objects,
which are ever brought under his cognizance by means of
his
senses, as the breath brings fragrance to the nostrils.
10. He gives flavour to all sweets, and enjoys the
sweetness
of his felicity (疣anda) in himself; and employs the
breathings
as his horses, and borne in the car of respiration,
sleeps in the
cell of the heart.
11. Siva is the witness of all sights, and actor of all
actions;
he enjoys all enjoyments, and remembers all what is
known.
12. He is well acquainted with all the members of his
body,
and knows all that is in existence and inexistence; he is
brighter
than all luminous objects, and is to be thought upon as
the all-pervading
spirit.
13. He is without parts and the totality of all parts,
and
being situated in the body, he resides in the vacuity of
the
heart; he is colourless himself and yet paints all things
in
their variegated colours, and is the sensation of every
member
of the body.
14. He dwells in the faculty of the mind, and breathes in
the respirations of the beings; he resides within the
heart,
throat and palate of the mouth, and has his seat amidst
the eyebrows
and nostrils (as intelligence and breath of life).
15. He is situated beyond the limit of the thirty six
categories
of the saiva s疸ras[**s疽tras], as also of the ten saktis
([Sanskrit:
dashamah疱idy畩)
that are known to the saktas; he moves the heart and
gives
articulation to sounds, and makes the mind to fly about
as a
bird of the air.
16. He resides both in equivocal and alterative words,
and is
situated in all things as the oil in sesame seeds.
17. He is without the blemish of parts (being a complete
whole in himself), and is compact with all the parts of
the
world taken together. He is situated alike in a part of
the
lotus-like heart of the wise, as well as in all bodies in
general.
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18. He is as clear as the pure and spotless intellect,
and
the imputation of parts to him is the work of mere imagination
only. He is as palpably seen in everything at all places,
as he
is perceptible to us in our inward perception of him.
19. Though originally of the nature of universal
intelligence
yet he appears in the form of the individual soul
according to
the desire of men; and residing in every individual, he
is divided
into endless dualities; (of universal and particular
souls).
20. Then this God (the intelligent individual soul)
thinks
himself as an embodied being, endued with hands and legs,
and
the other parts and members of the body, with its hairs,
nails,
and teeth.
21. He thinks of being possest of manifold and various
powers and faculties, and is employed in a variety of
actions
according to the desires of the mind. He feels glad on
being
served by his wives and servants: (and thinking himself
as their
master).
22. He thinks the mind as a porter at the gate, and
conductor
of the information of the three worlds unto him; and his
thoughts are as the chambermaids, waiting at his door
with
their pure attires.
23. He believes his knowledge of egoism as his greatest
power and consort (sakti), and his power of action as his
mistress;
he thinks his knowledge of various lores to be his
decorations
only.
24. He knows his organs of sense and action to be the
doors of the abode of his body, and is conscious of his
being
the infinate[**infinite] soul and
inseperable[**inseparable] from the same.
25. He knows himself to be full of the universal spirit;
filled by and filling others with the same; and bears his
admirable
figure of the body, by his dependance on the Divine
spirit.
26. That he is filled with the god-head within him, and
is
therefore no contemptible soul himself. He never rises
nor sets
nor is he glad or displease[**displeased] at any time.
(But enjoys the
serenity of the Eternal soul).
27. He never feels himself satiate or hungry, nor longs
-----File:
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after nor forsakes anything; he is ever the same and of
an even
tenor, temper and conduct and form at all times.
28. He retains the gracefulness of his person, the
clearness
of his mind, and the calmness of his views at all times;
he is
ever the same since his birth, and the equanimity of his
soul
never forsakes him at any time.
29. He is devoted to the adoration of his god, for long
some[**longsome]
days and nights, and the mind abstracted from his body,
becomes
the object of his worship. (The gloss explains it
otherwise,
and makes the mindless body the worshipped object).
30. This god is worshipped with whatever offerings are
available by the devotee, and with all the powers of the
understanding,
employed in the adoration of the sole Intellectual
spirit,
31. He is to be worshipped with all things
agreebly[**agreeably] to the
received ritual, and no attempt is to be made to make any
offering, which was never made at any time before.
32. Man being endued with the body, should worship the
Lord with his bodily actions (as prostration, genuflexion
&c[**.]);
and with all things that conduce to bodily enjoyment.
33. So is Siva to be worshipped with eatables and
victuals,
food and drink of the best and richest kind; and with
beddings
and seats and vehicles as one may afford to offer.
34. Men must also entertain their souls, which are the
abodes of the Divine spirit in their bodies; with all
kinds of
things that they think pleasurable to themselves; such as
excellent
food and drink and all things affording enjoyment and
pleasure.
35. They must dilligently[**diligently] serve the supreme
soul in their
souls, under any calamity, difficulty, danger or disease
that may
befal[**befall] on them, as also when they are overtaken
by illusions of
their understandings.
36. The ends of all the attempts of mankind in this
world,
being no more than life, death and sleep, they are all to
be
employed in the service of the soul of nature.
37. Whether reduced to poverty or elevated to royalty, or
carried by the currents of casualty; men must always
serve
their souls, with the flowers of their best endeavours.
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38. Whether overwhelmed by broils, or
buffetting[**buffeting] in the
waves of mishaps, whether undergoing the troubles or
enjoying
the comforts of domestic life, men must serve their souls
at all times.
39. When the gentle beams of fellow feeling, overspread
the
breast of kind hearted men, and when the sweet influence
of
sympathy melts the heart, it is then must meet to serve
the soul
seated in it.
40. When a man has restrained the turbulent passions of
his breast, by the power of his right judgment; and
spread the
vest of soft tenderness and sweet content over his heart
and
mind; let him then worship in its serene aspect within
himself.
41. Let men worship the soul, on the sudden changes of
their fortunes; both when they come to the possession, or
loss of
their enjoyments. (Because the lord gave and the Lord
hath
taken them away).
42. The soul should be adhered to and adored, both when
you lose or abandon your legal or illegal possession and
enjoyment, of any
thing on earth.
43. Isha-[**--]the lord of wealth is to be worshipped
with
relinquishment of all wealth, which one may have got by
his
own exertion or otherwise. (Give your all to the giver of
all).
44. Regret not for what is lost, and make use of what you
have got; and adore the supreme soul without any
inconstancy
in your mind and soul.
45. Retain your constancy amidst the scene of the wicked
pursuits of men, and maintain your vow of the holy
devotion of
the supreme spirit at all times.
46. Every thing appears as good in the sight of the
Godly,
who view all things in god; and they all seem to be mixed
with
good and evil to the worshipper of god and Mammon.
Therefore
look on all things as situated in the divine spirit, and
continue
in your vow of the adoration of the supreme soul.
47. Things which appear as pleasant or unpleasant at
first
sight, are all to be taken in an equal light, by those
that are
firm in their vow of the adoration of the one universal
soul.
48. Give up thinking yourself as such or not such a one,
for-*
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*sake all particularities, and knowing that all is the
universal One,
continue in your vow of adoring the supreme soul.
49. Worship the supreme spirit as it always resides in
all
things, in their various forms and multifarious changes,
and that
it is all and all in their modifications also.
50. Forsake both your pursuit after or avoidance of any
thing, and remaining in your indifference of both
extremes,
continue in your adoration of the soul at all times.
51. Neither seek nor forsake any thing, but receive what
comes to thee of itself or by thy own lot; and enjoy all
things
as the sea does the streams of water, which fall to it of
their
own accord.
52. Fallen (placed) in this wide world of misery, man
should
take no heed of the lesser or greater sights of woe, that
incessantly present themselves to his view. They are as
the
fleeting tincts and hues that paint the vacuous vault of
the skies,
and soon vanish into nothing.
53. All good and evil betide us by turns at the junction
of
their proper time, place and action; therefore take them
with
unconcern to you, and serve your own soul. (Which is same
with the soul of souls).
54. Whatever things are mentioned as fit offerings of the
service of the supreme spirit, it is the
eqanimity[**equanimity] of your
soul
which is deemed the best and fittest offering. (A
contrite spirit
is most acceptable unto the Lord).
55. Things of different tastes, as the sour, bitter,
acid, sharp
and pungent, are useless in the service of the spirit; it
is the calm
and sweet composure of the soul, which is delectable to
the
holy sprit[**spirit].
56. Equanimity is sweet to taste, and has the
supernatural
power of transforming every thing to ambrosia. (The man
of
an even mind, enjoys the sweetness of contentment in
every
state of life).
57. Whatever a man thinks upon with the ambrosial
sweetness
of his disposition, the same is immediately changed to
ambrosia, as the nectarious dew drops under the moon
beams.
58. Equanimity expands the soul, and galddens[**typo for
gladdens] the
minds,
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as the sunlight fills the vault of heaven; and it is the
unchangable[**unchangeable]
sedateness of the mind, which is reckoned as the highest
devotion.
59. The mind of man must shine with an even lustre, as
the bright moon beams in their fullness, and it must
blaze with
the transparent light of the intellect, as a bright
crystal in the
sunlight.
60. He who is employed in his outward actions of life,
with
his mind as bright as the clear sky; and which is freed
from the
mist of worldly affections, is said to be the full
knowing devotee.
61. The true devotee shines as brightly, as the clear
autumnal sky, when the worldly impressions are quite
effaced
from the heart, and are not seen even in dream, when the
cloud
of ignorance is cleared away, and the fog of egoism is
utterly
scattered.
62. Let your mind be as clear as the moon, and as
spotless
as the blazing sun; Let it hide the thoughts, of the
measurer
and measured (i. e. of the creator and created) in it;
let it
have the simple consciousness of itself, like a newborn
child
(without its innateideas[**innate ideas]); and perceiving
only the steady
light
of the intellect the seed of all intelligence; you will
then come
to attain the state of highest perfection in your life
time.
63. Living amidst the fluctuations of pain and pleasure,
attending on the lot of all living beings, and occurring
at their
fixed times and places and actions of man, do you remain
in
the steady service of your soul-[**--]the leader of your
body, by
tranquilizing all the passions and desires of your heart
and
mind.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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