DESCRIPTION OF ERROR.
Argument. Spiritual knowledge, the only means of dispelling worldly
errors, temporal desires and cares.
Ráma repeated:—Tell me sir, how this stony blindness of man, is to be
removed, which is caused by the train of ignorance or delusion called
_avidyá_.
2. Vasishtha replied:—As the particles of snow, melt away at the sight
of the sun, so is this ignorance dispelled in a moment, by a glance of
the holy spirit.
3. Till then doth ignorance continue to hurl down the soul and spirit,
as from a precipice to the depths of the world, and expose them to woes,
as thick as thorny brambles.
4. As long as the desire of seeing the spirit, does not rise of itself
in the human soul, so long there is no end of this ignorance (_avidyá_)
and insensibility (_Moha_).
5. The sight of the supreme Spirit, destroys the knowledge of our
self-existence, which is caused by our ignorance; as the light of the
sun, destroys the shadows of things.
6. The sight of the all-pervading God, dispels our ignorance in the same
manner, as the light of the twelve zodiacal suns (all shining at once),
puts the shadows of night to flight from all sides of the horizon.
7. Our desires are the offspring of our ignorance, and the annihilation
of these constitutes what we call our liberation; because the man that
is devoid of desires, is reckoned the perfect and consummate Siddha.
8. As the night-shade of desires, is dissipated from the region of the
mind; the darkness of ignorance is put to flight, by the rise of the
intellectual sun (_Vivekodaya_).
9. As the dark night flies away before the advance of solar light, so
does ignorance disappear, before the advancement of true
knowledge—_Viveka._
10. The stiffness of our desires, tends to bind the mind fast in its
worldly chains; as the advance of night serves to increase the fear of
goblins in children.
11. Ráma asked:—The knowledge of the phenomenals as true, makes what we
call _avidyá_ or ignorance, and it is said to be dispersed by spiritual
knowledge. Now tell me sir, what is the nature of the Spirit.
12. Vasishtha replied:—That which is not the subject of thought, which
is all-pervasive, and the thought of which is beyond expression and
comprehension is the universal spirit (which we call our Lord and God).
13. That which reaches, to the highest empyrean of God, and stretches
over the lowest plots of grass on earth, is the all-pervading spirit at
all times, and unknown to the ignorant soul.
14. All this is verily Brahma, eternal and imperishable intelligence. To
him no imagination of the mind can reach at any time.
15. That which is never born or dead, and which is ever-existent in all
worlds, and in which the conditions of being and change are altogether
wanting.
16. Which is one and one alone, all and all pervading, and imperishable
Unity; which is incomprehensible in thought, and is only of the form of
Intellect, is the universal Spirit.
17. It is accompanied with the ever-existent, all-extending, pure and
undisturbed Intellect, and is that calm, quiet, even and unchanging
state of the soul, which is called the Divine Spirit.
18. There resides also the impure mind, which is in its nature beyond
all physical objects, and runs after its own desire; it is conceivable
by the Intellect as sullied by its own activity.
19. This ubiquious, all-potent, great and godlike mind, separates itself
in its imagination from the Supreme spirit, and rises from it as a wave
on the surface of the sea. (So the Sruti:—_Etasmat Jayate pranahmanah_
&c. The life and mind have their rise from Him).
20. There is no fluctuation (_Sansriti_) nor projection (_Vikshepa_) in
the all-extending tranquil soul of God; but these take place in the mind
owing to its desires, which cause its production of all things in the
world. (Hence the world and all things in it, are creations of the
divine and active mind, and not of the inactive Supreme Soul).
21. Therefore the world being the production of desire or will, has its
extinction with the privation of desires; for that which comes the
growth of a thing, causes its extinction also; as the wind which kindles
the fire, extinguishes it likewise. (Here is a coincidence with the
Homœpathic maxim _Similes per similibus_).
22. The exertion of human efforts, gives rise to the expectation of
fruition, but want of desire, causes the cessation of exertions; and
consequently puts a stop to the desire of employment, together with our
ignorance causing the desire.
23. The thought that ‘I am distinct from Brahma’, binds the mind to the
world; but the belief that ‘Brahma is all’ releases the mind from its
bondage.
24. Every thought about one’s self, fastens his bondage in this world;
but release from selfish thoughts, leads him to his liberation. Cease
from thy selfish cares, and thou shalt cease to toil and moil for
naught.
25. There is no lake of lotuses in the sky, nor is there a lotus growing
in the gold mine, whose fragrance fills the air, and attracts the blue
bees to suck its honey.
26. The goddess of ignorance—Avidyá, with her uplifted arms resembling
the long stalks of lotus plants, laughs in exultation over her
conquests, with the glaring light of shining moonbeams.
27. Such is the net of our wishes spread before us by our minds, which
represent unrealities as real, and take a delight to dwell upon them,
like children in their toys.
28. So also is the snare spread out by our own ignorance, all over this
world, that it ensnares the busy people to their misery in all places,
as it binds fast the ignorant men and boys in its chains.
29. Men are busied in worldly affairs with such thoughts, as these that,
‘I am poor and bound in this earth for my life; but I have my hands and
feet wherewith I must work for myself’.
30. But they are freed from all affairs of this life, who know
themselves as spiritual beings, and their spiritual part is neither
subject to bondage nor labour. (They know themselves to be bodiless, in
their embodied forms).
31. The thought that ‘I am neither flesh nor bones, but some thing else
than my body,’ releases one from his bondage; and one having such
assurance in him, is said to have weakened his _avidyá_ or ignorance.
32. Ignorance (_avidyá_) is painted in the imagination of earthly men,
to be as dark as the darkness which surrounds the highest pinnacle of
Meru, blazing with the blue light of sapphire, or at the primeval
darkness impenetrable by the solar light. (Hence ignorance and darkness
are used as synonymous terms).
33. It is also represented by earth-born mortals, as the blackness which
naturally covers the face of heaven by its own nature like the blue
vault of the sky. (Thus Avidya is represented as the black and the blue
goddess Kali).
34. Thus ignorance is pictured with a visible form, in the imagination
of the unenlightened; but the enlightened never attribute sensible
qualities to inanimate and imaginary objects.
35. Ráma said:—Tell me sir, what is the cause of the blueness of the
sky, if it is not the reflexion of the blue gems on the Meru’s peak, nor
is it a collection of darkness by itself.
36. Vasishtha replied:—Ráma! the sky being but empty vacuum, cannot have
the quality of blueness which is commonly attributed to it; nor is it
the bluish lustre of the blue gems which are supposed to abound on the
top of Meru.
37. There is neither the possibility of a body of darkness to abide in
the sky, when the mundane egg is full of light (which has displaced the
primeval darkness); and when the nature of light is the brightness which
stretches over the extramundane regions. (This is the zodiacal light
reaching to extramundane worlds).
38. O fortunate Ráma! the firmament (súnya) which is a vast vacuum, is
open to a sister of ignorance (avidyá) with regard to its inward
hollowness. (The sky and ignorance are twin sisters, both equally blank
and hollow within, and of unlimited extent, enveloping the worlds within
their unconscious wombs).
39. As one after losing his eyesight, beholds but darkness only all
about him; so the want of the objects of sight in the womb of vacuity,
gives the sky the appearance of a darksome scene.
40. By understanding this, as you come to the knowledge, that the
apparent blackness of the sky, is no black colour of its own; so you
come to learn the seeming darkness of ignorance to be no darkness in
reality (but a figurative expression derived from its similitude to the
other).
41. Want of desire or its indifference, is the destroyer of ignorance;
and it is as easy to effect it, as to annihilate the lotus-lake in the
sky (an Utopia or a castle built in the air, being but an airy nothing).
42. It is better, O good Ráma! to distrust the delusions of this world,
and disbelieve the blueness of the sky, than to labour under the error
of their reality.
43. The thought that ‘I am dead,’ makes one as sorrowful, as when he
dreams of his death in sleep; so also the thought that ‘I am living’
makes one as cheerful, as when he wakes from the deadly dream of his
death-like sleep.
44. Foolish imaginations make the mind as stolid as that of a fool; but
reasonable reflexions lead it to wisdom and clearsightedness.
45. A moment’s reflexion of the reality of the world and of his own
essence, casts a man into the gloom of everlasting ignorance, while his
forgetfulness of these, removes all mortal thoughts from his mind.
46. Ignorance is the producer of passions and tempter to all transient
objects; it is busy in destroying the knowledge of the soul, and is
destroyed by knowledge of the soul only. (Ignorance leads to
materialism, but it is lost under spiritual knowledge).
47. Whatever is sought by the mind, is instantly supplied by the organs
of action; which serve as ministers subservient to the orders of their
king. (The body serves the mind).
48. Hence who so does not attend to the dictates of his mind, in the
pursuit of sensible objects, entertains the tranquility of his inmost
soul, by his diligent application to spirituality.
49. What did not exist at first, has no existence even now (i.e.
material objects); and these that appear as existent, are no other than
the quiescent and immaculate essence—Brahma himself. (The eternal is
ever existent, and the instantaneous are but the phases and fluctuations
of the everlasting).
50. Let no other thought of any person or thing, or of any place or
object employ your mind at any time, except that of the immutable,
everlasting and unlimited spirit of Brahma. (For what faith or reliance
is there in things that are false and fleeting).
51. Rely in the superior powers of your understanding, and exert your
sovran intellect (to know the truth); and root out at once all worldly
desire by enjoyment of the pleasures of your mind.
52. The great ignorance that rises in the mind and raises the desires of
thy heart, has spread the net of thy false hopes for thy ruin, causing
thy death and decrepitude under them.
53. Thy wishes burst out in expressions as these that, “these are my
sons and these my treasures; I am such a one, and these things are
mine.” All this is the effect of a magic spell of ignorance, that binds
thee fast in it.
54. Thy body is a void, wherein thy desires have produced all thy
selfish thoughts; as the empty winds raise the gliding waves on the
surface of the sea (resembling the fleeting moments in the infinity of
the Deity).
55. Learn ye that are seekers of truth, that the words: I, mine and this
and that, are all meaningless in their true sense; and that there is
nothing that may be called real at any time, except the knowledge of the
true self and essence of Brahma.
56. The heavens above and the earth below, with all the ranges of hills
and mountains on earth, and all the lines of its rivers and lakes, are
but the dissolving views of our sight, and are seen in the same or
different lights as they are represented by our ignorance. (This is a
tenet of the _drishtisrishti_ system of philosophy, which maintains
Visual creations or existence of phenomenals, to be dependant upon sight
or visual organs and are _deceptio visus_ or fallacies of vision only).
57. The phenomenals rise to view from our ignorance, and disappear
before the light of knowledge (as the dreams and spectres of the dark,
are put to flight before the rising sun-light). They appear in various
forms in the substratum of the soul, as the fallacy of a snake appearing
in the substance of a rope.
58. Know Ráma, that the ignorant only are liable to the error, of taking
the earth and sun and the stars, for realities; but not so the learned,
to whom the Great Brahma is present in all his majesty and full glory,
in all places and things.
59. While the ignorant labour under the doubt of the two ideas, of a
rope and a snake in the rope; the learned are firm in their belief, and
sight of one true God in all things.
60. Do not therefore think as the ignorant do, but consider all things
well like the wise and the learned. Forsake your earthly wishes, and do
not grovel like the vulgar by believing the unself as the self. (The
second clause has the double sense of mistaking an alien as your own,
and of taking an unreality for the true God).
61. Of what good is this dull and dumb body to you, Ráma? (in your
future state), that you are so overcome by your alternate joy and grief
at its pleasure and pain?
62. As the wood of a tree and its gum resin, and its fruit and seed, are
not one and the same thing, though they are so closely akin to one
another; so is this body and the embodied being, quite separate from one
another, though they are so closely united with each other.
63. As the burning of a pair of bellows, does not blow out the fire, nor
stop the air blown by another pair, so the vital air is not destroyed by
destruction of the body, but finds its way into another form and frame
elsewhere. (This is the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul and
life in other bodies).
64. The thought that ‘I am happy or miserable,’ is as false as the
conception of water in the mirage:—and knowing it as such, give up your
misconceptions of pleasure and pain, and place your reliance in the sole
truth.
65. O how wonderful is it, that men have so utterly forgotten the true
Brahmá, and have placed their reliance in false ignorance (_avidyá_),
the sole cause of errors.
66. Do not, O Ráma! give way to ignorance in your mind, which being
overspread by its darkness, will render it difficult for you to pass
over the errors of the world.
67. Know ignorance to be a false fiend and deluder of the strongest
minds; it is the baneful cause of endless woes, and producer of the
poisonous fruits of illusion.
68. It imagines hell fire, in the cooling beams of the watery orb of the
moon; and conceives the torments of the infernal fires, proceeding from
the refreshing beams of that celestial light. (This passage alludes to
the poetical description of moon light as a flame of fire, in respect to
a lover, who is impatient at the separation of his beloved, and is
burning under the inextinguishable flame of ardent desire).
69. It views a dry desert in the wide waters, beating with billows and
undulating with the fragrance of the aqueous _kalpa_ flowers; and
imagines a dry mirage in the empty clouds of autumn. (This alludes also
to the wild imageries of poets, proceeding from their false imagination
and ignorance).
70. Ignorance builds the imaginary castles in empty air, and causes the
error of rising and falling towers in the clouds; it is the delusion of
our fancy, that makes us feel the emotions of pleasure and pain in our
dreams.
71. If the mind is not filled and led away by worldly desires, there is
no fear then of our falling into the dangers, which the day-dreams of
our earthly affairs incessantly present before us.
72. The more does our false knowledge (error) lay hold of our minds, the
more we feel the torments of hell and its punishments in us, as one
dreams of night-mares in his sleep.
73. The mind being pierced by error as by the thorny stalk of a lotus,
sees the whole world revolving before it like the sea rolling with its
waves.
74. Ignorance taking possession of the mind, converts the enthroned
princes to peasants; and reduces them to a condition worse than that of
beastly huntsmen. (All tyrants are the creatures of ignorance).
75. Therefore, Ráma! give up the earthly desires, that serve at best to
bind down the (celestial) soul to this mortal earth and its mortifying
cares; and remain as the pure and white crystal, with reflecting the
hues of all things around in your stainless mind.
76. Employ thy mind to thy duties, without being tarnished by thy
attachment to any; but remain as the unsullied crystal, receiving the
reflections of outward objects, without being stained by any.
77. Knowing everything with avidity in thy watchful mind, and performing
all thy duties with due submission, and keeping from the common track
with thy exalted mind, thou wilt raise thyself above comparison with any
other person.