The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER XXVI.
RELATION OF THE CAUSE OF LONGIVITY[**LONGEVITY].
Argument.--Reflection and Restraint of Respiration
leading to the
tranquility
of the soul, and the steadiness of the spirit, conducing
to long
life and felicity on earth.
Vhusunda[**Bhusunda] continued. This is the tranquility
of the mind,
which I have attained by degrees, by means of my
meditation
of the nature and course of the vital breath in myself.
2. I sit quiet at all times, with view fixed at the
movement
of my breath; and never stir a moment from my meditative
mood, though the mount Meru may shake under me.
3. Whether I am awake or asleep, or move about or remain
unmoved in my seat, I am never at a loss of this
meditation
even in dream, nor does it slide a moment from my
steadfast
mind. (For who can ever live without breathing, or be
unconscious
of its ceaseless course, or that the breath is both the
cause
and measure of life).
4. I am always calm and quiet and ever steady and sedate,
in
this ever varying and unsteady world; I remain always
with my
face turned inward in myself, and fixed firmly in the
object I have
at heart. (This is the soul-[**--]the life of the life
situated in the
heart).
5. The breeze may cease to blow, and the waters may stop
to flow but nothing can prevent my breathing and
meditation
of them, nor do I remember ever to live without them.
(The
gloss explains by metonymy the air to mean the planetary
sphere, which rests and moves in it, the waters as the
ever flowing
[Sanskrit: b痒u[**v痒u?]] currents of rivers, and the
sam疆hi [Sanskrit:
jyotiscakrah] meditation as
composed of breath and thought, to be in continuous
motion and
resistless in their course).
6. By attending to the course of my inhaling and exhaling
breaths of life, I have come to the sight of the soul
(which is
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their life), and have thereby become freed from sorrow by
seeing
the prime soul of all souls. (i. e. The highest soul of
god).
7. The earth has been sinking and rising repeatedly,
since
the great deluge, and I have been witnessing the
submersion
and emersion[**immersion] of things, and the perdition
and reproduction
of
beings, without any change of the sedateness of my soul
and
mind.
8. I never think of the past and future, my sight is
fixed only
on the present, and my mind sees the remote past and
future
as ever present before it. (Meditation makes a man a seer
of
all time).
9. I am employed in the business that presents itself to
me,
and never care for their toil nor care [**add: for] their
reward. I live
as one in sleep and solely with myself: (This is the
state of
Kaivalya or soliety[**solity]).
10. I examine all what is and is not, and what we have or
have not, and consider likewise all our desires and their
objects;
and finding them to be but frailties and vanities, I
refrain from
their pursuit and remain unvexed by their cares for ever.
11. I watch the course of my inspiration and expiration,
and behold the presence of the super excellent (Brahma)
at
their confluence; whereby I rest satisfied in myself, and
enjoy
my long life without any sorrow or sickness.
12. This boon have I gained this day, and that better one
shall I have on another, are the ruinous thoughts of
mortal
men, and unknown to me whereby I have so long [**add:
been] living and
unailing.
13. I never praise or dispraise any act of myself or
others,
and this indifference of mine to all concerns; hath
brought me
to this happy state of careless longivity[**longevity].
(Platonic
imperturbability).
14. My mind is neither elated by success, nor it is
depressed
by adversity, but preserves its equanimity at all times,
and is
what has brought this happy state on me. (A sane and
sound
old age).
15. I have resorted to my religious relinquishment of the
world, and to my apathy to all things at all times; I
have also
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abandoned the desire of sensuous life and sensible
objects, and
these have set me free from death and disease.
16. I have freed my mind, O great muni! from its faults
of fickleness and curiosity, and have set it above sorrow
and
anxiety, it has become deliberate calm and quiet, and
this has
made me longlive[**longlived] and unsickly.
17. I see all things in an equal light,
wheather[**whether] it be a
beauty or a spectre, a piece of wood or stone, a straw or
a rock,
or wheather[**whether] it is the air, water or fire, and
it is this equanimity
of mine, [**that] has made me sane and sound in every
state of life.
18. I do not thing[**think] about what I have done today,
and what
I shall have to do tomorrow, nor do I ail under the fever
of
vain thoughts regarding the past and future, and this has
kept
me forever sound and sane.
19. I am neither afraid of death, disease or old age, nor
am I elated with the idea of getting a kingdom in my
posession[**possession];
and this indifference of mine to aught of good or evil,
is the
cause of my length of my life and the soundness of my
body
and mind.
20. I do not regard, O Brahman! any one either in the
light
of a friend or foe to me; and this equality of my
knowledge
of all persons, is the cause of my long life and want of
my complaint.
21. I regard all existence as the reflexion of the
self-existant[**selfexistent]
one, who is all in all and without his beginning and end;
I know myself as the very intellect, and this is the
cause of my
diuturnity and want of disease and decay.
22. Whether when I get or give away any thing, or when
I walk or sit, or rise and breathe, or am asleep or
awake; I
never think myself as the gross body but its pure
intelligence,
and this made me diuturnal and durable for ever. (The
intelligent
soul never dies).
23. I think myself as quite asleep, and believe this
world
with all its bustle to be nothing in reality (but the
false appearance
of a dream); and this has made long-lived and undecaying.
24. I take the good and bad accidents of life, occurring
at
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their stated times, to be all alike to me, like my two
arms both
of which are serviceable to me; and has made me longeval
and
imperishable.
25. With my fixed attention, and the cool clearness of my
mental vision, I see all things in their favourable
light, (that
they are all good, and adapted to their various uses); I
see all
things as even and equal, and this view of them in the
same
light, has made me lasting and wasteless. "[**del
"](So says the Bharata:
[**"]all crookedness leads to death, and evenness to
the one even
Brahma)."[**").]
26. This material body of mine to which I bear my moiety,
is
never viewed by me in the light of my ego; and this has
made
me undying and undecaying. (The deathless soul is the
ego, and
the dying body the non-ego).
27. Whatever I do and take to my food, I never take them
to my heart; my mind is freed from the acts of my body,
and
this freedom of myself from action, has caused my
undecaying
longevity. (Because action being the measure of life, its
want
must make it measureless and imperishable).
28. Whenever, O Sage, I come to know the truth, I never
feel proud of my knowledge, but desire to learn more
about it;
and this increasing desire of knowledge, has increased my
life
without its concomitant infermity[**infirmity].
(Knowledge is unlimited,
and one needs be immortal in order to know all).
29. Though possessed of power, I never use it to do wrong
or injure to another; and though wronged by any one, I am
never sorry for the same; and though ever so poor, I
never crave
any thing of any body; this hath prolonged my life and
kept
safe and sound. (It is the christian[**Christian] charity
not to retaliate an
injury, but rather to turn to him the right cheek who has
slapped
on the left).
30. I see in these visible forms the intellect that
abides all
bodies, and as I behold all these existent bodies in an
equal light,
I enjoy an undecaying longevity.
31. I am so composed in my mind, that I never allow its
faculties, to be entangled in the snare of worldly
desires and ex-*
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*pectations; nor do I allow these to touch even my heart,
and this
conferred on me the bliss of my unfading longevity.
32. I examine both worlds as two globe[**globes] placed
in my hands,
and I find the non-existance[**non-existence] of the
visible world as it
appears to
a sleeping man; while the spiritual and invisible world
appear
full open to my view, as it does to a waking person, and
this
sight of mine has made me as immortal as the world of immortality.
33. I behold the past, present and future as set before
me;
and I see all that is dead and decayed, and all that is
gone and
forgotten, as presented a new[**anew] in my presence.
This prospect of
all keeps me alive and afresh to them alike.
34. I fell[**feel] myself happy at the happiness of
others, and am
sorry to see the misery of other people; and this
universal fellow
feeling of mine with the weal and woe of my fellow
creatures,
has kept me alive and afresh at all times.
35. I remain unmoved as a rock in my adversity, and am
friendly to every one in my prosperity; I am never moved
by
want or affluence, and this steadiness of mine is the
cause of my
undecayed longevity.
36. That I am neither related to nor belong to any body,
nor that any one is either related or belongeth to me; is
the firm
conviction that has laid hold of my mind, and made me
live long
without feeling sick or sorry for another.
37. It is my belief that I am the one Ego with the world,
and with all its space and time also, and that I am the
same
with the living soul and all its actions; and this faith
of mine
has made me longeval and undecaying.
38. It is my belief that I am the same Intelligence,
which
shows itself in the pot and picture; and which dwells in
the sky
above and in the woods below. What all this is full of
intelligence is my firm reliance, and this has made me
long
abiding and free from decay.
39. It is thus, O great sage! that I reside amidst the
receptacle of the three worlds, as a bee abides in the
cell of a
lotus flower, and am renowed[**renowned] in the world as
the perennial
crow
Bhusanda[**Bhusunda] by name.
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40. I am distined[**destined] to dwell here forever in
order to behold
the visible world, rising and falling in tumultuous
confusion, in
the infinate[**infinite] ocean of the immense Brahma, and
assuming their
various forms like the waves of the sea at their
alternate rise
and fall for all eternity.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CONCLUSION OF THE NARRATIVE OF
VHUSANDA[**BHUSUNDA].
Argument.--Vasishtha's praise of Vhusunda[**Bhusunda],
and his homage
to the
sage, Whose return to Heaven through the midway-sky is
described in
length.
Vhusunda[**Bhusunda] added:--I have thus far related to
you, O sage!
what I am and how I am situated at this place. It was by
your behest only, that I was lead to the arrogance of
speaking
so far to one of superior intelligence.
2. Vasishtha replied:--O sir, it is a
wonderous[**wondrous] relation that
you have given of yourself; O excellent! it is a jewel to
my ears
and fills me with admiration, (It beggars description,
and is
merabile[**mirabile] dictu).
3. Blessed are those eminent souls (great men), that have
the good fortune to behold your most venerable person,
which
in respect of antiquity is next to none, expect the great
grandfather
of the gods the lotus born Brahm・himself.
4. Blest are my eyes, that are blessed this day with the
sight of your holy person, and thrice blest are my ears
that are
filled with the full recital of your sacred knowledge and
all
purifying sermon.
5. I have in my perigrinations[**peregrinations] all
about the world,
witnessed
the dignity and grandeur of the great knowledge of gods
and
learned men; but have never come to see any where, so
holy a
seer as yourself.
6. I[**It] may be possible by long travel and search, to
meet with
a great soul some where or other; but it is hard to find
a holy
soul like yourself any where. (Man may be very learned
and wise
as a sapient (savans[**savant]), but never so holy and
godly as a saint).
7. We rarely come to find the grain of a precious pearl
in
the hollow of a lonely bamboo tree, but it is rarer still
to come
across a holy personage, like yourself in any part of
this world.
8. I have verily achieved an act of great piety, and of
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sanctity also at the same time that I have paid a visit
to your
holy shrine, and seen your sacred person and liberated
soul this
very day.
9. Now please to enter your cell, and fare you well in
this
place; it is now the time of midday devotion, and the
duties
of my noontide service, call my presence to my heavenly
seat.
10. Hearing this Bhusunda rose from his arborescent seat,
and held out a golden twig of the tree with his two
fictitious
hands. (Holy persons have the power to add to the members
of their bodies).
11. The accomplished (lit. full knowing) crow made a
vessel with his beak and hands, and filled it with the
snow-white
leaves, and flowers and pistils of the Kalpa plant, and
put a brilliant pearl in it to be offered as an
honorarium--arghya
worthy of the divine sage.
12. The prime-born (ancient) bird, then took the arghya
with some water and flowers; and sprinkled and scattered
them
over me even from my head to foot, in as great a
veneration, as
when they adore the three eyed god siva[**Siva].
13. Then said I, it is enough, and you need not take the
pains to walk after me (in token of your respect). So
saying I
rose from my seat and made a lift, as when a bird puts to
its
wings for its aerial flight. (Bisht疵a-aseat, means also a
bedding
like the Persion[**Persian] bistar and urdu bistara
derived from the root
str・to spread).
14. Yet the bird followed me a few miles (yojana) in the
air, when I hindered his proceeding farther by compelling
him
to return after shaking our hands. (The custom of shaking
hands both on meeting and parting; is mentioned to have
been
in fashion with the ancients).
15. The chief of birds looked up for some time, as I
soared
upward in my etherial journey, and then he returned with
reluctance,
because it is difficult to part from the company of the
good (or of good people).
16. Then both of us lost the sight of one another in the
intermediate
air, as the sight of the waves is lost after they sink
down in the sea; and I fall[**full] with the thoughts of
the bird and
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his sayings, proceeded upward to meet the munis there. I
arrived
at last at the sphere of the Pleiades, where I was
honorably
received by Arundhat・my wife.
17. It was in the beginning of the golden age (satya
yuga)
before, and after two hundred years of it had passed away
that I had been at Bhusundas, and sat with him upon the
tree
on the summit of sumeru[**Sumeru].
18. Now, O R疥a! that golden age has gone by, and the
Treata[**Tret畩 or silver age has taken its place; and it
is now the
middle of this age, that thou art born to subdue thy
enemies.
19. It is now only eight years past that (or the eight
years
since) I met with him again on the same mountain, and
found
him as sound and same as I had seen him long before.
20. Now I have related unto you the whole of the
exemplary
character of Bhusunda; and as you have heard it with
patience,
so should you consider it with deligence[**diligence],
and act according to
his sayings. (In order to be as longlived as he).
21. Valm勛i[**V疝m勛i] says:--The man of pure heart, that
considers
well the narrative of the virtuous Bhusunda, will
undoubtedly
pass over the unstable gulf of this world, which is full
of formidable
dangers on all sides.
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
LECTURE ON THEOPATHY OR SPIRITUAL MEDITATION.
Argument. Learning from examples and parables. Falsity of
phenomenal
and reliance in the noumenal.
Vasishtha said:--I have thus far related to you, O sinless
R疥a! the narrative of Bhusunda; who had passed over
the perilous sea of delusion, by means of his
intelligence and
wisdom.
2. Keeping this instance in view, and following his
practice
of pr疣痒疥a or regulation of breath; you will also, O
mighty
armed R疥a! pass over the wide ocean of this hazardous
ocean.
3. As Bhusunda has obtained the obtainable one by means
of his knowledge and by virtue of his continued practice
of yoga;
so do you strive to gain the same by imitation of his
example.
4. Men of uninfatuated understanding may attain the
stability
of Bhusunda, and their reliance in the transcendental
truth like him by their attending to the practice of
pr疣痒疥a
or restraining of their breath.
5. Thus you have heard me relate to you many things,
relating
to true knowledge; it now depends on your own
understanding
to do as you may like to choose for yourself. (Either to
betake
yourself to spiritual knowledge or the practice of pr疣痒疥a
or either as the gloss explains it, either to esoteric
contemplation
yoga or exoteric adoration upasana).
6. R疥a replied:--you sir, that are the luminous sun of
spiritual light on earth, have dispelled the thick gloom
of unspiritual
knowledge from my mind at once, (By transcendental
light of your holy lectures).
7. I am fully awake to and joyous in my divine knowledge,
and have entered into my state of spirituality; I have
known
the knowable, and am seated in my divine state like
yourself.
8. O the wonderous[**wondrous] memoir of Bhusunda that
you have
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narrated! It fills me with admiration, and is fraught
with the
best instruction. (Lit. it is instructive of the highest
wisdom).
9. In the account that you have given of Bhusunda, you
have said that the body is the abode of the soul, and is
composed
of flesh and blood, and of the inner bones and outer
skin, (as its
materials and plaster).
10. Please tell me sir, who made this fabric and how it
came to be formed; how it is made to last, and who abides
therein.
11. Vasishtha answered: Listen now R疥a, to what I
will relate to you for the instruction of the supreme
knowledge,
as also for removal of the evils which have taken root
instead of true knowledge.
12. This dwelling of the body, R疥a! which has the bones
for its posts, and the blood and flesh for its mortar,
and the nine
holes for so many windows, is built by no one: (but is
formed
of itself).
13. It is a mere reflection, and reflects itself so to
our
vision; as the appearance of two moons in the sky by
illusion,
is both real as well as unreal. (This vedantic doctrine
is
opposed to the popular faith of the creatorship of god).
14. It may be right to speak of two moons from their
double appearance to our sight, but in reality there is
but one
moon and the other its reflection. (So are all phenomenal
bodies
but reflections of the noumenal).
15. The belief of the existence of body makes it a
reality,
the unreal seems as real, and therefore it is said to be
both real
and unreal at the same time. (The perception is real but
the
object of perception an unreality. Just so the perception
of a
snake in the rope may be true, though the snake in the
rope is
quite untrue).
16. Any thing seen in a dream is true as a dream, and
appears to be so in the state of dreaming, but afterwards
it
proves to be untrue, so a bubble of water is true as a
bubble,
which comes to be known afterwards to be false in
reality. (So
all things appearing to be true to sight, vanish into
nothing
when they are judged aright, and even a judge may deem a
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thing as just, which upon further and right investigation
is
known as unjust).
17. The body seems to be substantiality in the doing of
bodily actions, but it proves otherwise when we view the
essentiality
of the spirit only; so the reflection of the sun on the
sandy desert, makes the mirage appear as water, whose
reality
proves to be unreal the next moment: (so it is of the
body).
18. The body existing as a reflexion disappears the next
moment. It is no more than a reflexion, and so it
reflects itself.
19. It is your error to think that you are the material
body
which [**is] made of flesh and bones. It is the inward
thought of
your mind that is situated in the body, and makes you to
think
yourself as so and so and such a one. (The reminiscence
of
the mind of its former body, causes to think itself as an
embodied
being, in all its repeated transmigrations. Gloss).
20. Forsake therefore the body that you build for
yourself
at your own will, and be not like them, who while they
are
asleeping on their pleasant beds, deport themselves to
various
countries with their dreaming bodies: (which are all
false and
unreal).
21. See, O R疥a! how you deport yourself to the kingdom
of heaven even in your waking state, in the fanciful
reverie of
your mind; say then where is your body situated. (It
neither
accompanies the mind to heaven, nor is it on earth being
unperceived
and unaccompanied by the mind).
22. Say R疥a, where is your body situated, when your mind
wanders on the Meru in your dream, and when you dream to
ramble with your body about the skirts of this earth.
23. Think R疥a, how you seem to saunter about the rich
domains (of the gods) in the fancied kingdom of your
mind, and
tell me whether you are then and there accompanied with
your
body, or is it left behind.
24. Tell me, where is that body of yours situated; when
you
think of doing many of your bodily and worldly acts without
your body, in the fancied realm of your mind.
25. Tell me, O strong armed R疥a! where are those members
of your body situated; with which you think to coquette
and
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caress your loving courtezans in the court of your
painful
mind.
26. Where is that body of yours, with which you seem to
enjoy anything; the enjoyment belongs to the mind and not
to
the body, and both of them are real as well as unreal,
owing to
their presence at one time and absence at another.
27. The body and the mind are known to be present with
coeval with their actions, and they participate with one
another in
their mutual acts; (without which they are said to be
inexistent).
Therefore it is erroneous to say that, I am this body and
am
situated here, and this[**these] things are mine, all
which are illusory
and caused by illusion. (Egoism and meity are illusive
ideas).
28. All this is the manifestation of the will or energy
of the
mind, and you must know it either as a long dream or
lengthened
fallacy of the mind.
29. Now[**Know] this world, O son of Raghu's race, to be
a display
of the vast kingdom of your imagination, and will vanish
into
nothing, when you will come to your good understanding by
the
grace of your god.
30. You will then see the whole as clearly as in the
light
of the rising sun, and know this would to be like a
creation of
your dream or volition. (i. e. as you wish to have a
thing for
yourself).
31. So is this world a display of the will of the
lotus-born
Brahm・ as I have said before in length in the book of
creation.
32. There rises of itself a willful creation within the
mind,
and out of its own accord as if it were so ordained by
destiny;
and the mind being fully possest of the great variety of
forms,
is lost at last into the error of taking them for true.
33. It is a creation of the will only and a display of it
in the
same manner, as the fancied chimera of Brahmanship had
possessed the minds of the sons of Indu. (See the
narrative of
Indu's sons in the upasama Prakarana).
34. After the soul has passed from its former frame, it
receives the same form which it has in view before it
after the
fancy of the mind, which is either of the kind, to which
it has
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been long used and accustomed, or what it fondly longs in
the
mind.
35. The body shows itself in the form as it is shaped by
the
prior acts of a person, and is also convertible to the
intellect by
the manly exertions of some: (whose corporeal bodies may
become
intellectual beings, as some persons have mere brutal,
while others are highly intellectual).
36. He that thinks himself as another, is transformed to
the
nature of that air (as it is the pattern that moulds a
thing after
its own model): and the thought that you are this or
that, and
have this thing or others for yourself, is what actually
makes you
so in this world. (The metamorpho[**metamorphose] of the
natures and
forms of
things and persons to other kinds in ovid[**Ovid], were
all owing to
their tendencies and inclinations towards them).
37. Whatever is thought upon keenly and firmly, the same
comes to take place accordingly; and whatever is thought
of
with intense and great force of thought, the same must
occur in a short time: (so are all things done to which
we set our
minds).
38. We see every day the objects of our desire,
presenting
their fair forms to our view, like the comely faces of
our beloved
one's[**ones] present before our sight, in the same
manner as the sights
in a dream and distant objects, are recalld[**recalled]
to the mind of men;
with their closed and half-shut eyes. (This is the
doctrine of
reminiscence which reproduces our long remembered bodies
to us).
39. This world is said to be a creation of the thoughts
of
men, and appears to sight from habitual reflection of it,
in the
same manner as the sights in a dream, appear to the mind
of a
man in the day time.
40. The temporary world appears to be as lasting, as the
river which appears in the sky under the burning
sunshine.
(Though in fact both of them are equally evanescent).
41. This inexistent earth also appears as existent in our
cogitation, as there appears bundles of peacock's
feathers in the
sky to the vitiated or purblind eye.
42. It is only the vitiated understanding that dwells
upon
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the beauties of creation, as the vitiated eye sight looks
upon the
various tinges in the sky. But to the clear sighted
understanding
the one is as evanescent, as the other is to the clear
sighted
eye.
43. The sharp sighted man is never led away by the
display
of worldly grandeur, as even the most timid man is never
afraid of a tiger in his imagination.
43a. This great show of worldly grandeur can never
mislead
the penetrating sight of the wise, as a monstrous
creature
of imagination cannot terrify even the most timid.
(Because the
one knows the falsity of the show as well as the other
does that
of imaginary monster).
44. The wise man is never afraid of his imaginary world,
which he knows to be the production of his own mind, from
its
nature of self-evolution bahir mukhata. (The mind is
naturaly[**naturally]
possessed of both its power of self involution in the
interior soul,
as also that of its evolving itself in the form of the
exterior
world).
45. He that has stood in the path of this world, needs
not
fear for any thing in it, and he that is afraid of it for
fear of
falling into its errors, should learn to purify his
understanding
from all its dross and impurity. (Stretch your mind, and
the
world will appear to light, curb it in yourself and every
thing
will disappear from view).
46. Know R疥a, that the soul is free from the erroneous
conception of the world, and from the errors which
pervade all
over it. Look well into these things, and you will have a
nature
as pure as your inward soul.
47. The soul is not soiled by impurity, as a pure gold is
not spoiled by dirt; and though it may sometimes appear
to be
tarnished as copper, yet it soon resumes its colour after
its
dart[**dirt] is cleansed or burnt away. Thus the world
being a reflexion
of the omnipresent Brahma, is neither an entity nor a
nonentity
of its own nature.
48. Thus the abandonment of all other thoughts, besides
that of the universal soul or Brahma, is called the true
discernment[**=print]
of the mind; which derives the thoughts of life and
death,
-----File:
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heaven and hell into nothing, and proves all knowledge to
be
ignorance alone.
49. The knowledge of the nullity of everything, except
its
being a reflexion of the Intellect, is called the
individuality and
right discernment of the mind, which removes the thought
of the
separate and independant[**independent] existence of the
ego and tu and
also of
this world and its tensides[**ten sides]: (i.e. of the
subjective as well as
the objective).
50. That all things are but reflexions of the soul, is
what is
known as the true and right discernment of the mind; and
is
derived from its observation of true nature of things in
this real
and unreal world. (The real is the spiritualistic view of
the
world, and the unreal is illusory phenomenal
appearnce[**appearance]).
51. That nothing rises or sets or appears or disappears
in this
world, is what the mind perceives by its right discernment
of
things; and by its investigation into the true and
apparent
natures of all. (In their true light all things are in a
state of
continued revolution, and nothing rises anew to view or
disappears
into nothing).
52[**.] Right discernment gives the mind its peace and
tranquility,
and its freedom from all desires; and makes it
indifferent
to joy and grief, and callous to all praise and censure.
53. The mind comes to find this truth as the cooling
balsam
of the heart, that we are all doomed to die one day or
other,
with all our friends and relations in this world of
mortality.
54. Why therefore should we lament at the demise of our
friends, when it is certain that we must die one day
sooner or
later; (and without the certainty of when or where).
55. Thus when we are destined to die ourselves also,
without
having any power in us to prevent the same; why then
should we be sorry for others when we can never prevent
also.
56. It is certain that any one who has come to be born
herein,
must have some state and property for his supportance
here;
but what is the cause of rejoicing in it, (when neither
our
lives nor their means are lasting for ever).
57. All men dealing in worldly affairs, gain wealth with
toil
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and pain for their trouble and danger only; what is the
reason
therefore for pining at its want, or repining at its
loss.
58. These spheres of worlds enlarge, expand and rise to
our
view, like bubbles of water in the sea which swell and float
and
shine for a time, and then burst and subside in the water
of
eternity.
59. The nature of reality (the entity of Brahma), is real
at
all times, and the condition of the unreal world is
unsubstantial
for ever, and can never be otherwise or real, though it
my appear
as such for a time. Why then sorrow for what is nil and
unreal.
60. I am not of this body nor was I in it, nor shall I
remain
in it; nor is it any thing, even at present, except a
picture of
the imagination. Why then lament at its loss.
61. If I am something else beside this body, that is a
reflexion
of the pure intellect; then tell me of what avail are
these states of reality and unreality to me, and
wherefore shall
I rejoice or regret.
62. The Sage who is fully conscious of the certainty of
this
truth in himself, do[**does] not feel any rise or fall of
his spirits at his
life or death, nor doth he rejoice or wail at either in
having or
losing his life.
63. Because he gains after the loss of his gross body,
his
residence in the transcendental state of Brahma or
spiritual
existance[**existence];
as the little bird tittera builds its nest of tender
blades,
after its grassy habitation is broken down or blown away.
64. Therefore we should never rely in our frail and
fragile
bodies, but bind our souls to the firm rock of Brahma by
the
strong rope of our faith, as they bind a bull to the post
with
a strong cord.
65. Having thus ascertained the certitude of this truth,
rely thy faith on the reality of thy spiritual essence,
and by giving
up thy reliance on thy frail body, manage thyself with
indifference
in this unreal world.
66. Adhere to what is thy duty here, and avoid whatever
is
prohibited to thee; and thus proceed in thy course with
an even
-----File: 170.png---------------------------------------------------------
tenor of thy mind, without minding at all about thy
reliance on
the one and miscreance of the other.
67. He gets a cool composure of his mind; like the
coolness
at the close of a hot summer-day, who shuts out from his
view the reflexions of all worldy[**worldly] objects.
68. Look on this universe, O sinless R疥a, as one common
display of Divine light, like the appearance of day light
which
is common to all; it is the mind which taints it with
various
forms, as the sun-beams are reflected in sundry piece by
objects.
69. Therefore forsake all reflextions[**reflexions], and
be without any
impression
in thy mind, be of the form of pure intellectual light,
which passes through all without being contaminated by
any.
70. You will be quite stainless by your dismissal of all
taints and appearances from your mind, and by your
thinking
yourself as nothing and having no true enjoyment in this
world.
71. That these phenomena are nothing in reality, but they
show themselves unto us for our delusion only; and that
yourself
also are nothing will appear to you, by your thinking the
whole
as a display of the Divine Intellect.
72. Again the thought that these phenomena are not false,
nor do they lead to our illusion since they are the
manifestation
of the supreme Intellect, is also very true and leads to
your
consummation.
73. It is well R疥a, and for your good also if you know
either of these; because both of these views will tend
equally
to your felicity.
74. Conduct yourself in this manner, O blessed R疥a! and
lesson[**lessen] gradually all your affection and dislike
to this world
and all worldly things. (i. e. Neither love nor hate
aught
at any time).
75. Whatever there exists in this earth, sky and heaven,
is
all obtainable by you, by means of the relinquishment of
your
eager desire and hatred.
76. Whatever a man endeavours to do, with his mind freed
from his fondness for or hatred to it, the same comes
shortly,
-----File:
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to take place, contrary to the attempts of the ignorant:
(whose
excessive desire and dislike turn to their disadvantage).
77. No good quality can have its abode in the heart that
is troubled by the waves of faults; as no stag will set
its foot
on the ground, heated by burning sands and wild fires.
78. What acquisitions does he not make, in whose heart
there grows the kalpatree of desire, and which is not
infested
by the snakes of ardent desire or dislike (the two
cankers of
human breast).
79. Those men who are wise and discreet, learned and
attentive to their duties, and at the same time
influenced by
the feelings of love and hatred, are no better than
jakals[**jackals] (or
jack asses) in human shape, and are accursed with all
their
qualifications.
80. Look at the effects of these passions in men, who
repine
both at the use of their wealth by others, as also in
leaving
their hard earned money one behind them. (This proceeds
from excessive love of wealth on the one hand, and hatred
of
family and heirs on the other as is said [Sanskrit:
putr疆api ghanabhajam
bh疸i], the
monied miser, dislikes even his son[**)].
81. All our riches, relatives and friends, are as
transitory
as the passing winds: why then should a wise man rejoice
or
repine at their gain or loss.
82. All our gains and wants and enjoyments in life, are
mere
illusion or m痒a, which is spread as a net by Divine
power, all
over the works of creation, and entraps all the
worldlings
in it.
83. There is no wealth, nor any person, that is real or
lasting
to any one in this temporary world; it is all frail and
fleeting,
and stretched out as a fake magic show to sight.
84. What wise man is there that will place his attachment
on anything, which is an unreality both in its beginning
and
end, and is quite unsteady in the midst. No one has any
faith
in the arbour of his imagination or aerial castle.
85. As one fancies he sees a fairy in a passing cloud,
and is
pleased with the sight of what he can never enjoy, but
passes
-----File: 172.png---------------------------------------------------------
from his view to the sight of distant peoples; so is this
passing
world, which pases[**passes] from the sight of some to
that of others,
without its being fully enjoyed or long retained in the
possession
of any one. (The passing world passes from hand to hand,
without its standing still at any one's command).
86. The bustle of these fleeting bodies in the world,
resembles,[**del ,]
the commotion of an aerial castle, and the appearance of
a city in an evanescent dream and fancy.
87. I see the world as a city in my protracted dream,
with
all its movables and immovable things, lying as quiet and
still
as in profound sleep.
88. R疥a you are wandering in this world, as one rolling
in his bed of indolence, and lulled to the long sleep of
ignorance;
which lends you from one error to another, as if dragged
by a
chain of continuous dreaming.
89. Now R疥a, break off your long chain of indolent
ignorance,
forsake the idol of your errors, and lay hold on the
inestimable
gem of your spiritual and divine knowledge.
90. Return to your right understanding, and behold your
soul in its clear light as a manifestation of the
unchangeable
luminary of the Intellect; in the same manner as the
unfolding
lotus beholds the rising sun.
91. I exhort you repeatedly, O R疥a! to wake from your
drowsiness, and by remaining ever wakeful to your
spiritual concerns;
see the undecaying and undeclining sun of your soul at
all times.
92. I have roused you from your indolent repose, and
awakened
you to the light of your understanding, by the cooling
breeze of spiritual knowledge, and the refreshing showers
of
my elegant diction.
93. Delay not R疥a, to enlighten your understanding even
now, and attain your highest wisdom in the knowledge of
the
supreme being, to come to the light of truth and shun the
errors
of the delusive world.
94. You will will[**delete] not be subject to any more
birth or pain,
nor will you be exposed to any error or evil, if you will
but
remain steady in your soul, by forsaking all your worldly
desires.
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95. Remain steadfast, O high minded R疥a, in your trust
in the tranquil and all soul of Brahma, for attainment of
the
purity and holiness of your own soul, and you will
thereby be
freed from the snare of your earthly desires, and get a
clear
sight of that true reality, wherein you will rest in
perfect security,
as were in profound sleep.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
PANTHEISM.
or
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD AS FULL WITH THE SUPREME
SOUL.
Argument. Elucidation of the same subject, and further
Instruction
to R疥a.
Valmiki relates:--Hearing this discourse of the sage,
R疥a remained sedate with the coma (sama) [** space added]
of his mind,
his spirits were tranquil, and his soul was full of
rapture.
2. The whole audience also that was present at the place,
being all quiet, calm and silent
(comatose-[**--]upas疣ta), the sage
withheld his speech for fear of disturbing their
spiritual repose:
(which converted them to stock and stone).
3. The sage stopped from distilling the drops of his
ambrosial
speech any more, after the hearts of the audience were
lulled to rest by their draughts, as the clouds cease to
rain
drops, having penetrated into the hearts of
ripined[**ripened] grains.
4. As R疥a (with the rest of the assembly) came to be
rose from their torpor after a while; the eloquent
Vasishtha
resumed his discourse in elucidation of his former
lecture. (On
spirituality).
5. Vasishtha said:--R疥a! you are now fully awakened to
light, and have come to and obtained the knowledge of
thyself;
remain hence forward fixed to the only true object,
wherein
you must rely your faith, and never set your feet on the
field of
the false phenominal[**phenomenal] world.
6. The wheel of the world is continually revolving round
the centre of desire, put a peg to its axis, and it will
stop from
turning about its pole.
7. If you be slack to fasten the nave (n畸hi) of your
mind, by your manly efforts (purush疵 tha[**purush疵tha]);
it will be hard
for
-----File:
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you to stop the wheel of the world, which runs faster as
you
slacken your mind.
8. Exert your manly strength (courage), with the aid of
your
mental powers and wisdom, stop the motion of your heart,
which is the centre of the wheeling course of the world.
9. Know, that everything is obtainable by means of manly
exertion, joined with good sense and good nature, and
assisted
by a knowledge of the s疽tras; and whatever is not
obtained
by these, is to be had nowhere by any other.
10. Relinquish your reliance on destiny which is a
coinage
of puerile imagination; and by relying on your own
exertions,
govern your heart and mind for your lasting good.
11. The unsubstantial mind which appears as a
substantiality,
has had its rise since the creation of Brahm・ and taken a
wrong and erroneous course of its own. (The human
understanding
is frail from first to beginning, it is a power, and no
positive reality[**)].
12. The unreal and erroneous mind, weaves and stretches
out a lengthening web of its equally unreal and false
conceptions,
which it is led afterwards to mistake for the substantial
world.
13. All these bodies that are seen to move about us, are
the
products of the fancies and fond desires of the mind; and
though
these frail and false bodies cease to exist forever, yet
the mind
and its wishes are imperishable; and either show
themselves in
their reproduction in various forms, or they become
altogether
extinct in their total absorption in the supreme spirit.
(The
doctrine of eternal ideas, is the source of their
perpetual
appearance in various forms about bodies).
14. The wise man must not understand the pain or pleasure
of the soul from the physiognomy of man, that a sorrowful
and
weeping countinance[**countenance] is the indication of
pain; and a clear
(cheerful) and tearless face is the sign of pleasure.
(Because it
is the mind which moulds the face in any form it likes).
15. You see a man in two ways, the one with his body and
the other in his representation in a picture or statues,
of these
the former kind is more frail than the latter; because
the
-----File:
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embodied man is beset by troubles and diseases in his
fading
and mouldering, decaying and dying body, whereby the
other
is not. (The frame of the living man, is frailer than his
dead
resemblance).
16. The fleshy body is assuredly doomed to die,
notwithstanding
all our efforts for its preservation; but a body in the
portrait being taken good care of, lasts for ages with
its
undiminished beauty.
17. As the living body is sure to die in despite of all
your
care for it, the pictured body must be deemed far better,
than
the false and fancied fleshy body, produced by will of
the mind
(sankalpa deha).
18. The quality and stability which abide in a pictured
body,
are not to be found in the body of the mind; wherefore
the living
body of flesh, is more insignificant than its semblance
in a
picture or statue.
19. Think now, O sinless R疥a, what reliance is there in
this body of flesh; which is a production of your long
fostered
desire, and a creature of your brain (Your mind makes it
seem
as such).
20. This body of flesh is more contemptible than those
ideal
forms, which our dreams and desires produce in our
sleeping
and waking states; because the creature of a momentary
desire,
is never attended with a long or lasting happiness or
misery.
(Because the products of the variable will, are of short
duration,
and so are their pains and pleasures also).
21. The bodies that are produced by our long desire,
continue
for a longer time, and are subjected to a longer series
of miseries
in this world. (so it is said, a "long life is a
long term of
woes and calamities)."[**").]
22. The body is a creature of our fancy, and is neither a
reality or unreality in itself; and yet are the ignorant
people
fondly attached to it, for the prolongation of their
misery only.
23. As the destruction of the partrait[**portrait] of a
man, does no
harm to his person; and as the loss of a fancied city is
no loss
to the city, so the loss of the much desired body of any
one, is
no loss to his personality in any wise.
-----File: 177.png---------------------------------------------------------
24. Again as the dis-appearance of the secondary moon
(halo), is no deprivation of the primary satellite
(moon), and
as the evanescence of the visonary[**visionary] world, is
no annihilation
of
the external world. (So there is no loss of the soul, as
the loss
of the shadow, is no loss of the substance).
25. As the dis-appearance of water in the sunny banks of
rivers, is no deprivation of the river's water; so the
creations of
fancy which are no negative in their nature, cannot be
destructive
of what is positive, nor any damage done to the machine
of
the body, can ever injure the dis-embodied soul.
26. The body is a piece of work wrought by the architect
of the mind, in its dreaming somnambulation over the
sleeping
world; wherefore its decoration or disfigurement, is of
no
essential advantage or dis-advantage to inward soul.
27. There is no end of the Intellect in its extent, nor
any
motion of the soul from its place; there is no change in
the
Divine spirit of Brahma, nor do any of these decay with
the
decline of the body.
28. As the inner and smaller wheel, makes the outer and
larger wheel to turn about it, so the inner annulus of
the mind,
sees in its delirium spheres over spheres revolving in
empty air.
29. The mind views by its primitive and causeless error,
the
constant rotation of bodies both in the inside and out
side of
it; and some as moving forward and others as falling
down,
and many as dropped below.
30. Seeing the rise and fall of these rotatory bodies,
the
wise man must rely on the firmness of his mind, and not
himself
to be led away by these rotations in repeated succession.
31. Fancy forms the body and it is error that makes the
unreal appear as real; but the formation of fancy, and
the
fabrications of untruth, cannot have any truth or reality
in them.
32. The unreal body appearing as real, is like the
appearance
of a snake in a rope; and so are all the affairs of the
world
quite untrue and false, and appearing as true for the
time
being.
33. Whatever is done by an insensible being, is never
accounted as its action (or doing); hence all what is
done by the
-----File:
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senseless bodies (of man), is not recounted as done by
it. (But
by the impulse of the actuating mind).
34. It is the will which is the active agent of its
actions,
and this being so, neither the inactive body nor the
unchanging
soul is the actor of any action. (The soul being the
witness of
the bodily actions done by the impelling mind. gloss).
35. The inert body being without any effort, is never the
doer of any act, which is desired by its presiding soul;
it is
only a viewer of the soul, which witnesses it also. (The
body is
attendant or dependant to the soul, as the other is a
resident
in it, they are both devoid of action, and unstained by
those
done by the will of the mind).
36. As the lamp burns unshaken and with its unflickering
flame, in the breathless air and in itself only; so doth
the silent
and steady soul dwell as a witness, in all things and of
all acts
existing and going on in the world. (So doth the human
soul
abide and inflame itself in the body, unless it is shaken
and
moved by the airy mind).
37. As the celestial and luminous orb of the day,
regulates
the daily works of the living world from his seat on
high, so
do you, O R疥a, administer the affairs of thy state from
thy
elevated seat on the royal throne.
38. The knowledge of one's entity or egoism, in the
unsubstantial
abode of his body, is like the sight of a spirit by boys
in
the empty space of a house or in empty air. (The
substantiality
of the unsubstantial body, is as false as the
corporeality of an incorporeal
spirit).
39. Whence comes this unsubstantial egoism in the manner
of an inane ghost, and takes passession[**possession] of
the inner body
under
the name of the mind, is what the learned are at a loss
to explain.
40. Never enslave sourself[**yourself], O wise R疥a! to
this spectre of
your egoism, which like the eginis fatuus leads you with
limbo
lake or bog of hell. (The sense of one's personality is
the cause
of his responsibility).
41. The mad and giddy mind, accompanied with its
capricious
desires and whims, plays its foolish pranks in its abode
of
the body, like a hideous demon dancing in a dreary
desert.
-----File:
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42. The demoniac mind having made its way, into the
hollow heart of the human body; plays its fantastic parts
in so
odd a manner, that wise men shut[** space added] their
eyes against the
sight,
and sit in their silent contemplation of the secluded
soul. (It
is good to fly from the fields, where fools make a
prominent
figure).
43. After the demon of the mind, is driven out of the
abode
of the body, there is no more any fear for any one to
dwell
in it in peace; as no body is afraid of living in a
deserted and
desolate city.
44. It is astonishing that men should place any reliance
in their bodies, and consider them as their own, when
they had
had thousands of such bodies in their repeated births
before,
and when they were invariably infested by the demon of
the
mind.
45. They that die in the grasp and under the clutches of
the
cannibal of the mind, have their minds like those of the
pis當ha
cannibals in their future births, and never of any other
kind of
being. (The will ever accompanies a man, in all his
future
states).
46. The body which is taken possession of by the demon
of egoism, is being consumed by the burning fires of the
triple
afflictions; occurring from local, natural and accidental
evils,
and is not to be relied upon as a safe and lasting abode
of
any body.
47. Do you therefore desist to dance your attendance on,
and follow the dictates of your egoism (or selfishness).
Be of an
extended and elevated mind, and by forgetting your
egotism
in your magnanimity, rely only on the supreme spirit.
48. Those hellish people that are seized and possessed by
the devils of Egotism, are blinded in their self-delusion
and
giddiness; and are unbefriended by their fellows and
friends,
as they are unfriendly to others in this world. (Egotism
is
explained in its double sense of selfishness and pride,
both of
which are hated and shunned by men as they hate and shun
others).
49. Whatever action is done by one bewitched by egoism
-----File:
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in his mind, the same grows up as a poisonous plant, and
produces
the fatal fruit of death. (The fruits are mutual
quarrels, enmity
and the like).
50. The ignorant man that is elated by his egoistic
pride,
is lost both to his reason and patience; and one who is
attached
to the former by his neglect of the latter, is to be
known as approaching
fast to his perdition. (Pride goes before destruction).
51. The simpletons[**simpleton] that are[**is] seized by
the devil of
Egoism,
is made as fuel to the fire of hell, (where he is doomed
to burn
with ceaseless torment).
52. When the snake of Egoism hisses hard in the hollow
heart of the tree of the body, it is sure to be cut down
by the
inexorable hand of death, who fells the
noxeous[**noxious] tree like a
wood cutter to the ground.
53. O R疥a! that are the greatest among the great, never
look at the demon of egoism, whether it may reside in
your body
or not; because the very look of it, is sure to delude
any one.
54. If you desregard[**disregard] deride or drive away
the demon of
egoism, from the recess of your mind, there is no damage
or
danger, that it can ever bring upon you in any wise.
55. R疥a! what though the demon of Egoism, may play all
its freaks in its abode of the body, it can in noway
affect the soul
which is quite aloof of it. (Egoism contaminates the
mind,
and cannot touch the soul that contemns it).
56. Egoism brings a great many evils, upon them that have
their minds vitiated by its influence, and it requires
hundreads[**hundreds]
of years, to count and recount their baneful effects.
57. Know R疥a, that it is the despotic power of egoism,
that makes men to grown under its thraldom, and
incessantly
uttering the piteous exclamations, "Oh! we are dying
and burning[**"]
and such other bitter cries."[**delete "]
58. The soul is ubiquitous and free to rove every where,
without
its having any connection with the ego of any body; just
as the unbiquity[**ubiquity] of the all pervading sky, is
unconnected with
every thing in the world.
59. Whatever is done or taken in by the body, in its
connection
with the airy thread of life; know R疥a, all this to be
the
-----File:
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doing of egoism, which empties and impels the body to all
its
various actions.
60. Know thus quiescent soul impels also, to be the cause
of
all the exertions of the mind or mental operations, as
the inactive
vacuum is the material cause of the growth of trees. (i.
e.
the circumambiant[**circumambient] air affords room for
the expansion
of the
plant).
61. It is owing to the presence of the soul, that the
mind
developes itself in the form of the body and all its
members;
as it is the presence of the light, that makes the room
display
its contained objects to sight. (The soul is the light of
the
mind-[**--]nous the container of infinite ideas).
62. Think now R疥a, on the relation between the ever
unconnected soul and mind, to resemble the irrelation
subsisting
between the dis-connected earth and sky, and betwixt
light and
darkness and betwixt the intellect and gross bodies.
63. Those that are ignorant of the soul, view the quiet
mind
as such, after its motion and fluctuation are stopped by
the
restraint of respiration-[**--]Pr疣痒疥a. (This is the
doctrine of
the s疣khya and Buddhist, that view the becalmed and
quiescent
mind as the soul).
64. But the soul is self-luminous and ever lasting,
omnipresent
and supereminent, while the mind is deceptive and
egoism,[**.]
It is situated in the heart with two[** typo for too]
much of its pride and
vanity.
65. You are in reality the all-knowing soul, and not the
ignorant and deluded mind; therefore drive afar your
delusive
mind from the seat of the soul, as they can never meet
nor
agree together.
66. R疥a! the mind has also like a demon, taken possession
of the empty house of the body, and has like an evil
spirit, silenced
and overpowered upon the intangible soul in it.
67. Whatever thou art, remain but quiet in thyself, by
driving away the demon of thy mind from thee; because it
robs thee of thy best treasure of patience, and loads all
kinds of
evils upon thee. (i. e. the impatient mind is the source
of all
evil).
68. The man that is seized by the voracious yaksha of his
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own mind, has no change of his release from his grasp,
either
by the lessons of the s疽tras or by the advice of his
friends,
relatives and preceptors. (Greediness devours the greedy
that
desire to glut all things).
69. The man who has appeased the demon of his mind, is
capable of being released from its clutches, by means of
the
dictates of s疽tras, and the admonitions of his friends,
as it is
possible to liberate a deer from a shallow quagmire.
70. All things that are seen to be stored in this vacant
city,
of the vacuous world, are all of them polluted by the
lickerishness
of the mind, licking at them from inside the house of its
body.
71. Say who is not afraid in this dreary wilderness of
the
world, which is infested in very[** typo for every]
corner of it by the
demoniac
mind. (The rapacity of the ambitious, converts the fair
creation
to a scene of horror).
72. There are some wise men in this city of the world,
who enjoy the abodes of their bodies in peace, having
tranquilized
the demon of their minds in them. (A peaceful mind makes
a peaceful abode).
73. R疥a! All the countries that we hear of in any part of
the world, are found to be full of senseless bodies, in
which the
giddy demon of delusion are Raving (and Ranging) as the
sepulchral grounds. (The bodies of ignorant people, are
as
sepulchres of dead bodies. gloss).
74. Let people rely on their patience, and redeem their
souls
by their own exertions; which are otherwise seen to be
wandering
about in the forest of this world, like lost and stray
boys: (that
know not how to return to their homes).
75. Men are wandering in this world, as herds of stags
are roving in burning deserts; but take care R疥a, never
to
live contented with a grazing on the sapless grass, like
a young
and helpless deer.
76. Foolish men are seen to graze as young stags, in
their
pastures amidst the wilderness of this world; but you R疥a
must stir yourself to kill the great Elephant of
Ignorance, and
pursue the leonine course of subduing every thing in your
way[** space
added].
77. Do not allow yourself, O R疥a, to ramble about like
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other men, who wander like senseless beasts in their
native
forests of the Jambu-dwipa.
78. Do not plunge yourself like the foolish buffets, in
the
bog of your relatives and friends; it appears to you as a
cold
bath for a while, but daubs you with its mud and mire
afterwards.
(The circle of relatives may appear as a limpid lake at
first; but dive in it, and you will be daubed with its
dirt after
wards[**afterwards]).
79. Drive afar your desire of bodily enjoyments from you,
and follow the steps of respectable men; and having well
considered
thy sole object of the soul (from the great sayings of
the
s疽tras), attend to thyself or soul only. (Consider the
objective
soul in thy subjective self).
80. It is not proper that you should plunge yourself,
into a
sea of intolerable cares and troubles, for the sake of
your impure
and frail body, which is but a trifle in comparison with
the
inestimable soul.
81. The body which is the production of one thing (i. e.
the
product of past deeds), and is possessed by another (i.
e. the
demon of egoism); which puts another one (i. e. the mind)
to
the pain of its supportance, and affords its enjoyment to
a
fourth one (i. e. the living soul), as a complicate
machinery of
many powers to the ignorant. (The human frame is a
mechanism
of the body and mind[**,] its egoism and living
principle).
82. As solidity is the only property of the stone, so the
soul has the single property of its entity alone; and its
existence
being common in all objects, it is impossible for any
thing else
to subsist beside it. (The soul being the only ens, it is
of its
nature the all in all; the minds Ect.[** typo for etc.]
being but its
attributes).
83. As thickness is the property of stone, so are the
mind
and others but properties of the soul; and there being
nothing
which is distinct from the common entity of the soul, it
is
impossible for any thing to have a separate existence,
84. As density relates to the stone, and dimension bears
its
relation to the pot; so the mind and other are not
distinct from
one common existence of the soul: (which pervades and
constitutes
the whole).
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85. Hear now of another view of spiritual light, for
dispelling
the darkness of delusion; as it was revealed to me of
yore, in a cavern of mount Kail疽a. (The former seat of my
devotion).
86. There is a mountain peak, bright as the collected
mass
of moon-beams, and penetrating the vault of heaven, where
the
god with the semi-circular moon on his fore-head,
delivered this
doctrine to me for appeasing the miseries of the world.
87. This mountain peak is famed by the name of Kail疽a, on
which the god Hara-[**--]the consort of Gouri, wearing
the crescent
moon on his head, holds his residence.
88. It was to worship this great god, that I had once
dwelt
on that mountain long ago; and constructed my hermit-cell
on
the bank of the holy stream of ganges[**Ganges]. (Which
ran down by
its side).
89. I remained there in the practice of ascetic
austereties[**austerities], for
the performance of my holy devotion; and was beset by
bodies
of adepts, dis-coursing on subjects of the sacred s疽tras.
90. I made baskets for filling them with flowers for my
worship, and for keeping the collection of my books in
them;
and was employed in such other sacred tasks, in the
forest groves
of the Kail疽a mountain.
91. While thus I had been passing my time, in discharging
the austereties[**austerities] of my devotion; it
happened to turn out once
on
the eighth day of the dark side of the moon of the month
of
sr疱ana.
92. And after its evening twilight was over, and the sun
light had faded in the face of the four quarters of the
sky,
that all objects became invisible to sight, and stood
rapt in their
saint like silence.
93. It was then after half of the first watch of the
night
had fled away, there spread a thick darkness over the
groves
and wood lands, and required a sharp sword to sever it.
(Asich'
hedy・tami-sr・tenebra ensis encesibelia).
94. My intense meditation was broken at this instant, and
my trance gave way to the sight of outward objects, which
I
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kept looking upon for sometime; when I observed a flaming
fire suddenly rising in the forest to my view.
95. It was as bright as a big white cloud, and as
brilliant
as the shining orb of the moon; It illumed the groves on
all
sides, and struck with amazement at the vision.
96. As I viewed it by the sight of my understanding, or
the
mental vision which was glowing in my mind; I came to see
the god Siva with the crescent of the moon on his
fore-head,
standing on the table land and manifest to view.
97. With his hand clasping the hand of gaur倞**Gaur偰, he
was led on
ward by his brace attendant Nand・walking before him; when
I after informing my pupils about it, proceeded forward
with
the due honorarium in my hand.
98. Led by the sight, I came to the presence of the god
with a gladsome mind; and then I offered handfuls of
flowers
to the three eyed-god from a distance, intoken[**in
token] of my reverence
to him.
99. After giving the honor (Arghya), which was worthy of
him, I bowed down before the god, and accosted him; when
he
cast his kind look upon me, from his moon-bright and
clear sighted
eyes.
100. Being blest by his benign look, which took away all
my pain and sin from me; I did my homage to the god that
was
seated on the flowery level land, and viewed the three
worlds
lying open before him.
101. Then advancing forward, I offered unto him the
honorarium, flowers and water that I had with me, and
scattered before him heaps of mand疵a flowers, that grew
there
abouts.
102. I then worshipped the god with repeated obeisances
and various eulogiums; and next adored the goddess
gour倞**Gour偰 with
the same,[**del ,] kind of homage together with her
attendant goddesses
and demigods.
103. After my adoration was over, the god having the
crescent
moon on his head, spoke to me that was seated by him,
with his speech as mild as the cooling beams of the
full-moon.
104. Say O Brahman, wheather[**whether] thy affections
are at peace
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within thyself, and have found their rest in supreme
spirit, and
whether your felicitous fellings[** typo for feelings]
are settled in the true
object of
divine essence.
105. Whether your devotion is spading unobstructed by the
demons of your passions, and whether felicity attends on
you.
106. Have you obtained the obtainable one, that is alone
to
be obtained, and are you set above the fears, that
incessantly
hunt after all mankind?
107. After the Lord of gods and the sole cause of all
created
beings, had spoken in this manner; I replied to him
submissively
in the following words.
108. O Lord! there is nothing unattainable, nor is there
anything to be feared by any one, who remembers the three
eyed god at all times in his mind; and whose hearts are
filled
with rapture by their constant remembrance of thee.
109. There is no one in the womb of this world, in any
country or quarter, or in the mountains or forests, that
does not
bow down his head before thee.
110. Those whose minds are entirely devoted to their
remembrance of thee, get the rewards of the meritorious
acts of
there[**their] past lives; and water the trees of their
present lives, in
order to produce their manifold fruit in future births
and lives.
111. Lord! thy remembrance expands the seed of our
desire,
thou art the jar of the nectar of our knowledge, and thou
art
the reservoir of patience, as the moon is the receptacle
of cooling
beams.
112. Thy remembrance, Lord! is the gate way to the city
of salvation, and it is thy remembrance which I deem as
the
invaluable gem of my thoughts.
113. O Lord of creation! thy remembrance sets its foot on
the head of all our calamities (i. e. tramples over
them).
(Because Siva is called sankara for his doing good to
all, by
removal of their misfortunes).
114. I said thus far, and then bowing down lowly before
the complacent deity, I addressed him, O R疥a, in the
manner
as you shall hear from me.
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115. Lord! it is by thy favour that I have the fulness of
my
heart's content on every sides[**side]; yet as there is
one doubt lurking
in my mind, I will request thee to explain it fully to
me.
116. Say with your clear understanding, and without
hesitation and weariness, regarding the manner of the
adoration
of gods, which removes all our sins and confers all good
unto us.
(The query was quite appropriate as the Tantras of Siva
treat
principally of such formularies).
117. The god replied:--Hear me, O Brahman, that art best
acquainted with the knowledge of Brahma; tell you about
the
best mode of worshipping the gods, and the performance of
which is sure to set the worshipper free. (From the bonds
of
the world all at once).
118. Tell me first, O great armed Brahman, if you know at
all who is that god, whom you make the object of your
worship,
if it be not the lotus-eyed Vishnu or the three-eyed Siva
neither.
119. It is not the god born of the lotus Brahm・ nor he
who
is the lord of the thirteen classes of god-[**--]the
great Indra himself;
it is not the god of winds-[**--]Pavana, nor the god of
fire, nor the
regents of the sun and moon.
120. The Brahman (called an earthly god bhudeva) is no
god
at all, nor the king called the shadow of god, is any god
likewise,
neither I or thou the ego and tu (or the subjective self
and
objective unself) are gods; nor the body or any embodied
being,
or the mind or any conception or creation of the mind is
the
true god also.
121. Neither Laxmi the goddess of fortune, nor
sarasvat倞**Sarasvat偰
the goddess of intelligence and[** typo for are???] true
goddesses, nor is
there any
one that may be called a god, except the one unfictitious
god,
who is without beginning and end, that is the true god.
(The
viswasaratantra of Siva treats of the one infinite and
eternal
god).
122. How can a body measured by a form and its
dimensions,
or having a definite measure be the immeasurable deity!
it is
the inartificial and unlimited Intellect, that is known
as the
Siva or the felicitous one.
123. It is that which is meant by the word god-Deva-Deus,
-----File:
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and that is the object of adoration; that is the only ens
or on, est
or Esteor Esten, out of which all other beings have
proceeded,
and in which they have their existence, and wherein they
subsist with their formal parts.
124. Those unacquainted with the true nature of the
felitous[**felicitous]
siva[**Siva], worship the formal idols and images; as a
weary
traveller thinks the distance of a mile, to be as long as
the
length of a league.
125. It is possible to have the reward of one's adoration
of
the Rudras and other gods; but the reward of the
meditation of
the true god, is the unbounded felicity of the soul.
126. He who forsakes the reward of true felicity, for
that
of fictitious pleasures; is like one who quits a garden
of
madara[**mandara]
flower, and repairs to a furze of thorny karanja plants.
127. The true worshippers know the purely intellectual
and
felicitous siva[**Siva], to be the the only adorable god;
to whom the
understanding and tranquility and equanimity of the soul
are,
the most acceptable offerings than wreaths of flowers.
128. Know that to be the true worship of god, when the
Deity of the spirit (or spiritual Divinity), is
worshipped with
the flowers of the understanding and tranquility of the
spirit.
(Worship god in spirit and with the contriteness of thy
spirit).
129. The soul is of the form of consciousness, (and is to
be
worshipped as such), by forsaking the adoration of idols;
Those
that are devoted to any form of fictitious cult, are
subject to
endless misery.
130. Those knowing the knowable one are called as saints;
but those who slighting the meditation of the soul,
betake
themselves to the adoration of idols, are said to liken
little boys
playing with their dolls.
131. The Lord siva[**Siva] is the spiritual god, and the
supreme
cause of all; He is to be worshipped always and without
fail,
with the understanding only. (So the sruti.[**:] The
vipras adore
him in their knowledge, but others worship him with
sacrifices
&c.)
132. You should know the soul as the intellectual and
living
spirit, undecaying as the very nature herself; there is
no other
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that is to be worshipped, the true puja is the worship of
the
spirit. (God is to be worshipped in spirit only).
133. Vasishtha said:--The soul being of the nature of
intellectual void, as this world is an empty void also;
please
tell me, my lord, how the Intellect could be
come[**become] the living
soul
Ect[**etc.], as you have declared.
134. The god replied:--There being an only vacuous
Intellect in existence, which is beyond all limit; it is
impossible
for an intelligible object to exist anywhere which may
continue
to all eternity. (The subjective only is self-existent,
and the
objective is a nullity; it being impossible for two
self-existent
things to co-exist together).
135. That which shines of itself, is the self-shining
Being;
and it is the self or spontaneous agitation of that
Being, which
has stretched out the universe.
136. Thus the world appears as a city in dream before the
intellectual soul, and this soul is only a form of the
inane
intellect, and this world is but a baseless fabric.
137. It is altogether impossible for aught of the
thinkables
and visibles, to exist anywhere except in the empty
sphere of
the intellect, and whatever shone forth in the beginning
in the
plenitude of the Divine intellect, the same is called its
creation
or the world from the first.
138. Therefore this world which shows itself in the form
of a fairy land in dream, is only an appearance in the
empty
sphere of the intellect; and canot[**cannot] be any other
in reality.
139. The Intellect is the human speech, and the firmament
that supports the world; the intellect becomes the soul
and the
living principle, and it is this which forms the chain of
created
beings. (The seeming appearances being null and void; the
Intellect is all and everything).
140. Tell me, what other thing is there that could know
all
things in the beginning and before creation of the
universe,
except it were the Intellect which saw and exhibited
everything,
in heaven and earth as contained in itself.
141. The words sky, fermament[**firmament], and the
vacuum of Brahma
and the world, are all applicable to the Intellect, as
the words
-----File:
190.png---------------------------------------------------------
arbour and tree are but synonymous expressions for the
same
thing.
142. And as both our dreams and desires arise in us by
our
delusion, so it it[**is] our illusion only which makes us
perceive the
existence of the outer world; in the empty space of the
intellect.
143. And as it is our empty consciousness, that shows the
sight of the external world in our dream; so it is that
very thing
that shows us the same, in the waking dream of ourselves.
144. As it is not possible for the city in a dream, to be
represented
any where except in the hollow space of our intellect;
so it is impossible for the waking dream of the world, to
be
shown elsewhere except in the emptiness of the same.
145. As it is not possible for any thing that is
thinkable to
exist any where except in the thinking mind, so it is
impossible
for this thinkable world to exist any other place beside
the
divine mind.
146. The triple world rose of itself at the will and in
the
empty space of the supreme Intellect, as it was a dream
rising
and setting in the self same mind, and not as any thing
other
than it, or a duality beside itself.
147. As one sees the diverse appearances of ghatas and
patas[**,] pots and painting in his dream, and all lying
within the
hollowness of his mind; so the world appears of itself,
in the
vacuity of the Divine Intellect, at the beginning of
creation.
147a. As there is no substantiality of anything in the
fairy
land of one's dream, except his pure consciousness of the
objects;
so there is no substantiality of the things which are
seen in this
triple world, except our conciousness[**consciousness] of
them.
148. What ever is visible to sight, and all that is
existent
and inexistent, in the three times of the present, past
and
future; and all space, time and mind, are no other than
appearances
of vacuous intellect (of Brahma).
149. He is verily the god of whom I have told you, who is
supreme in the highest degree; (lit[**.] in its
transcendental sense).
Who is all and unbounded and includes me, thee and the
endless
world in Himself.
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150. The bodies of all created beings, of thine[**,]
mine, and
others, and of all in this world, are all full with the
intellectuality
of the supreme soul and no other.
151. As there is nothing, O sage, except the bodies that
are
produced from the vacuous intellect or intellectual
vacuity of
Brahma, and resembling the images produced in the fairy
land
of one's dream; so there is no form or figure in this
world, other
than what was made in the beginning of creation.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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