SPEECH OF THE DIVINE MESSENGER.
Argument. Relation of the virtues of Ráma as dictated in the sástras,
and of the advancement of others, by means of good company and
self-exertion.
The diligent and rationalistic inquirer after truth, has a natural
aptitude to resort to the society of the sapient and good natured Guru,
and discusses on matters of the sástras by the rules of the sástras he
has learnt before and not talk at random.
2. It is thus by holding his argumentation on the abstruse science of
yoga, with the good and great and unavaricious learned, that he can
attain to true wisdom.
3. The man that is thus acquainted with the true sense of the Sástra,
and qualified by his habit of dispassionateness in the society of holy
men, shines like yourself as the model of intelligence.
4. Your liberal mindedness and self-reliance, combined with your
cool-headedness and all other virtues, have set you above the reach of
misery and all mental affliction; and also freed you from future
transmigration, by your attainment of liberation in this life.
5. Verily have you become as the autumnal sky, cleared of its gloomy
clouds; you are freed from worldly cares, and fraught with the best and
highest wisdom.
6. He is truly liberated, whose mind is freed from the fluctuations of
its thoughts, and the flights and fumes of its thickening fancies, and
ever crowding particulars. (The ultimate generalization of particulars
into unity, is reckoned the highest consummation of man).
7. Henceforward will all men on earth, try to imitate the noble
disposition of the equanimity of your mind, which is devoid of its
passions of love and hatred, as also of affection and enmity.
8. Those who conform with their customs of the country, and conduct
themselves in the ordinary course of men in their outward demeanour,
and cherish their inward sentiments in the close recesses of their
bosoms, are reckoned as truly wise, and are sure to get over the ocean
of the world on the floating raft of their wisdom.
9. The meek man who has a spirit of universal toleration like thine, is
worthy of receiving the light of knowledge; and of understanding the
import of my sayings.
10. Live as long as you have to live in this frail body of yours, and
keep your passions and feelings under the sway of your reason; act
according to the rules of society, and keep your desires under
subjection.
11. Enjoy the perfect peace and tranquility of the righteous and wise,
and avoid alike both the cunning of foxes and silly freaks of boys.
12. Men who imitate the purity of the manners and conduct of those,
that are born with the property of goodness, acquire in process of time
the purity of their lives also. (Men become virtuous by imitation of
virtuous examples).
13. The man who is habituated in the practice of the manners, and the
modes of life of another person, is soon changed to that mode of life,
though it be of a different nature, or of another species of being.
(Habit is second nature).
14. The practices of past lives accompany all mankind in their
succeeding births, as their preordained destiny; and it is only by our
vigorous efforts that we are enabled to avert our fates, in the manner
of princes overcoming the hostile force, by greater might of their own.
15. It is by means of patience only, that one must redeem his good
sense; and it is by patient industry alone, that one may be advanced to
a higher birth from his low and mean condition.
16. It is by virtue of their good understanding, that the good have
attained their better births in life; therefore employ yourself, O
Ráma! to the polishing of your understanding.
17. The godfearing man is possessed of every good, and exerts his
efforts for attainment of godliness; it is by means of manly efforts
only, that men obtain the most precious blessings.
18. Those of the best kind on earth, long for their liberation in
future, which also requires the exertion of devotion and meditation for
its attainment.
19. There is nothing in this earth, below, or in the heaven of the
celestials above, which is unattainable to the man of parts, by means
of his manly efforts.
20. It is impossible for you to obtain the object of your desire,
without the exercise of your patience and dispassionateness, and the
exertion of your prowess and austerities of _Brahmacharya_. Nor is it
possible to succeed in any without the right use of reason.
21. Try to know yourself, and do good to all creatures by your
manliness; employ your good understanding to drive all your cares and
sorrows away; and you will thus be liberated from all pain and sorrow.
22. O Ráma! that art fraught with all admirable qualities, and endued
with the high power of reason; keep thyself steady in the acts of
goodness, and never may the erroneous cares of this world betake thee
in thy future life.
YOGA VÁSISHTHA.
BOOK V.
THE UPASAMA KHANDA ON QUIETISM.
CHAPTER I.
THE ÁHNIKA OR DAILY RITUAL.
Argument. The Book on calm quiet and rest, necessarily follows those of
Creation and sustentation; as the sleeping time of night succeeds the
working time of the Day, and as the rest of God followed his work of
Creation and supportance.
Vasishtha said:—Hear me, Ráma, now propose to you the subject of
quietude or rest, which follows that of Existence and sustentation of
the universe; and the knowledge of which will lead you to _nirvána_ or
final extinction (as the evening rest, leads to sound sleep at night,
and quietude is followed by quietus).
2. Válmíki says:—As Vasishtha was delivering his holy words, the
assembly of the princes remained, as still as the starry train, in the
clear sky of an autumnal night.
3. The listening princes looking in mute gaze, at the venerable sage
amidst the assembly, resembled the unmoving lotuses looking at the
luminous sun from their breathless beds.
4. The princesses in the harem forgot their joviality, at hearing the
sermon of the sage; and their minds became as cool and quiet as in the
long absence of their consorts.
5. The fanning damsels with flappers in their hands, remained as still
as a flock of flapping geese resting on a lotus-bed; and the jingling
of the gems and jewels on their arms, ceased like the chirping of birds
on the trees at night.
6. The princes that heard these doctrines, sat reflecting on their
hidden meanings, with their index fingers sticking to the tip of their
noses in thoughtfulness; and others pondered on their deep sense, by
laying the fingers on their lips.
7. The countenance of Ráma flushed like the blushing lotus in the
morning, and it brightened by casting away its melancholy, as the sun
shines by dispelling the darkness of night.
8. The king of kings—Dasaratha felt as delighted in hearing the
lectures of Vasishtha, as the peacock is gladdened at the roaring of
raining clouds.
9. Sarana the king’s minister removed his apish fickle mind from his
state affairs, and applied it intensely to attend to the teachings of
the sage.
10. Laxmana who was well versed in all learning, shone as a digit of
the bright crescent moon, with the internal light of Vasishtha’s
instructions, and the radiance of his Spiritual knowledge.
11. Satrughna the subduer of his enemies, was so full of delight in his
heart at the teaching of the sage; that his face glowed with joy, like
the full moon replete with all her digits.
12. The other good ministers, whose minds were absorbed in the cares of
state affairs; were set at ease by the friendly admonition of the sage,
and they glowed in their hearts like lotus-buds expanded by the
sunbeams.
13. All the other chiefs and sages, that were present in that assembly,
had the gems of their hearts purged of their dross by the preachings of
Vasishtha; and their minds glowed with fervour from his impressive
speech.
14. At this instant there rose the loud peal of conch shells,
resembling the full swell of the sounding main, and the deep and
deafening roar of summer clouds, filling the vault of the sky, and
announcing the time of midday service. (The _trisandhya_ services are
performed at the rising, setting and vertical sun).
15. The loud uproar of the shells, drowned the feeble voice of the
_muni_ under it, as the high sounding roar of rainy clouds, puts down
the notes of the sweet cuckoo. (It is said, the cuckoo ceases to sing
in the rains. भद्रं कृतं कृतं मैनं कोकिलेः जलदागमे ।)
16. The _muni_ stopped his breath and ceased to give utterance <to> his
speech; because it is in vain to speak where it is not heeded or
listened to. (The wise should hold their tongue, when it has lost its
power to hold people by their ears).
17. Hearing the midday shout, the sage stopped for a moment, and then
addressed to Ráma! after the hubbub was over and said:—
18. Ráma! I have thus far delivered to you my daily lecture for this
day; I will resume it the next morning, and tell you all that I have to
say on the subject.
19. It is ordained for the twice born classes to attend to the duties
of their religion at midday; and therefore it does not behove us to
swerve from discharging our noonday services at this time.
20. Rise therefore, O fortunate Ráma! and perform your sacred ablutions
and divine services, which you are well acquainted with, and give your
alms and charities also as they are ordained by law.
21. Saying so, the sage rose from his seat with the king and his
courtiers, and resembled the sun and moon, rising from the eastern
mountain with their train of stars.
22. Their rising made the whole assembly to rise after them, as a
gentle breeze moves the bed of lotuses, with their nigrescent eyes of
the black bees sitting upon them.
23. The assembled princes rose up with their crowned heads, and they
marched with their long and massive arms like a body of big elephants
of the Vindhyan hills with their lubberly legs.
24. The jewels on their persons rubbed against each other, by their
pushing up and down in hurry, and displayed a blaze like that of the
reddened clouds at the setting sun.
25. The jingling of the gems on the coronets, resembled the humming of
bees; and the flashing rays of the crowns, spread the various colours
of the rainbow around.
26. The beauties in the court hall resembling the tender creepers, and
holding the chouri flappers like clusters of blossoms in their
leaf-like palms, formed a forest of beauties about the elephantine
forms of the brave princes. (It means the joint egress of a large
number of damsels employed to fan the princes in the Court hall).
27. The hall was emblazoned with the rays of the blazing bracelets, and
seemed as it was strewn over with the dust of _mandára_ flowers, blown
away by the winds.
28. There were crystal cisterns of pure water, mixed with ice and
pulverized camphor; and the landscape around was whitened by the _kusa_
grass and flowers of autumn.
29. The gems hanging down the head-dresses of the princes, cast a
reddish colour over the hollow vault of the hall; and appeared as the
evening twilight preceding the shade of night, which puts an end to the
daily works of men.
30. The fair faces of the fairy damsels, were like lotuses floating on
the watery lustre of the strings of pearls pendant upon them; and
resembling the lines of bees fluttering about the lotuses; while the
anklets at their feet, emitted a ringing sound as the humming of bees.
31. The large assemblage of the princes, rose up amidst the assembled
crowds of men; and presented a scene never seen before by the admiring
people.
32. The rulers of the earth bowed down lowly before their sovereign,
and departed from his presence and the royal palace in large bodies;
likening the waves of the sea, glistening as rainbows by the light of
their gemming ornaments.
33. The chief minister Sumantra and others, that were best acquainted
with royal etiquette, prostrated themselves before their king and the
holy sage, and took their way towards the holy stream; for performance
of their sacred ablutions.
34. The Rishis Vámadeva, Viswámitra and others, stood in the presence
of Vasishtha; and waited for his leave to make their departure.
35. King Dasaratha honored the sages one by one, and then left them to
attend to his own business.
36. The citizens returned to the city, and the foresters retired to
their forests, the aerials flew in the air, and all went to their
respective abodes for rejoining the assembly on the next morning.
37. The venerable Viswámitra, being besought by the king and Vasishtha,
stayed and passed the night at the abode of the latter.
38. Then Vasishtha being honoured by all the princes, sages and the
great Bráhmanas, and adored by Ráma and the other princes of king
Dasaratha’s royal race:—
39. Proceeded to his hermitage, with the obeisance of the assembled
crowd on all sides; and followed by a large train, as the god Brahmá is
accompanied by bodies of the celestials.
40. He then gave leave to Ráma and his brother-princes, and to all his
companions and followers, to return to their abodes from his hermitage
in the woods.
41. He bade adieu to the aerial, earthly and the subterraneous beings,
that kept company with him with their encomiums on his merits; and then
entering his house, he performed his Bráhmanical rites with a duteous
disposition.
CHAPTER II.
RÁMA’S RECAPITULATION OF VASISHTHA’S LECTURES.
Argument. Performance of Daily Rites, and Ráma’s Reflection of
Vasishtha’s Teaching at night.
Válmíki continued his relation to Bharadwája and said:—After the
moon-bright princes had got to their residence, they discharged their
daily services according to the diurnal ritual.
2. Even Vasishtha and the other saints, sages, and Bráhmans not
excepting the king and the princes, were all engaged in their holy
services at their own houses.
3. They bathed in the sacred streams and fountains, filled with
floating bushes of lotuses and other aquatic plants, and frequented by
the ruddy geese, cranes and storks on their border.
4. After they had performed their ablutions, they made donations of
lands and kine, of seats and beddings and of sesamum grains, with gold
and gems, and food and raiments to the holy Bráhmans.
5. They then worshipped the gods Vishnu and Siva in their temples, and
made oblations to the sun and regents of the skies in their own houses,
with offerings of gold and gems; which are sacred to particular deities
and the planets. (Particular gems and metals are sacred to their
presiding divinities).
6. After their offerings were over, they joined with their sons and
grandsons, friends, and relatives, and their guests also, in partaking
of their lawful food. (Unlawful food is hateful to the faithful).
7. Shortly after this, the daylight faded away at the eighth watch
(yamárdha) of the day; and the charming scene of the city began to
disappear from sight.
8. The people then employed themselves to their proper duties at the
decline of the day, and betook to their evening service with the
failing beams of the setting sun.
9. They recited their evening hymn (Sandhyá), repeated their
_japamantras_, and uttered their prayer for the forgiveness of sins
(_agha marshana_); they read aloud their hymns and sang their evening
song of praise.
10. Then rose the shade of night to allay the sorrow of lovelorn
damsels, as the moon arose from the milky ocean of the east, to cool
the heat of the setting sun.
11. The princes of Raghu’s race then reclined on their downy and
flowery beds, sprinkled over with handfuls of camphor powder, and
appearing as a sheet of spreading moon-light.
12. The eyes of all men were folded in sleep, and they passed the
live-long night as a short interval; but Ráma kept waking in his bed,
meditating on all things he had heard from the sage.
13. Ráma continued to reflect on the lectures of Vasishtha, which
appeared as charming to him, as the cry of the parent elephant, is
gladsome to its tender young (karabha).
14. What means this wandering of ours, said he, in this world, and why
is it that all these men and other animals, are bound to make their
entrances and exits in this evanescent theatre?
15. What is the form of our mind and how is it to be governed? What is
this illusion (Máyá) of the world, whence hath its rise and how is it
to be avoided?
16. What is the good or evil of getting rid of this illusion, and how
does it stretch over and overpower on the soul, or is made to leave it
by any means in our power?
17. What does the _muni_ say with regard to the means, and effect of
curbing the appetites of the mind? What does he say regarding the
restraining of our organs, and what about the tranquility of the soul?
18. Our hearts and minds, our living souls and their delusion, tend to
stretch out the phenomenal world before us; and our very souls make a
reality of the unreal existence.
19. All these things are linked together in our minds, and are weakened
only by the weakening of our mental appetites. But how are these to be
avoided in order to get rid of our misery.
20. The slender light of reason is over-shadowed, like a single crane
in the air, by the dark cloud of passions and appetites; how am I then
to distinguish the right from wrong, as the goose separates the milk
from the water?
21. It is as hard to shun our appetites on the one hand, as it is
impossible to avoid our troubles here, without the utter annihilation
of our appetency. Here is the difficulty in both ways.
22. Again the mind is the leader to our spiritual knowledge on the one
hand, and our seducer also to worldliness on the other. We know not
which way to be led by it. The difficulty is as great as a man’s
mounting on a mountain, or a child’s escaping from the fear of a yaksha.
23. All worldly turmoil is at an end, upon one’s attainment of true
felicity; as the anxieties of a maiden are over, after she has obtained
a husband.
24. When will my anxieties have their quietism, and when will my cares
come to an end? When will my soul have its holiness, and my mind find
its rest from acts of merit and demerit?
25. When shall I rest in that state of bliss, which is as cooling and
complete in itself; as the full-moon with all her digits, and when
shall I rove about the earth at large, free from worldly cares and ties?
26. When will my fancy stop from its flight, and concentrate into the
inward soul? When will my mind be absorbed in the Supreme soul, like
the turbulent wave subsiding in the breast of the quiet sea?
27. When shall I get over this wide ocean of the world, which is
disturbed by the turbulent waves of our desires, and is full of the
voracious crocodiles of our greedy avarice, and get rid of this
feverish passion?
28. When shall I rest in that state of complete quiescence and
unfeelingness of my mind, which is aimed at by the seekers of
liberation, and the all-tolerant and indifferent philosopher.
(It is the sullen apathy of stoicism, which constitutes the true wisdom
and happiness of asceticism also).
29. Ah! when will this continuous fever of my worldliness abate, which
has irritated my whole body by its inward heat, and deranged my humours
out of their order!
30. When will this heart of mine cease to throb from its cares, like
the light of the lamp ceasing to flutter without the wind; and when
will my understanding gain its light, after dispersion of the gloom of
my ignorance.
31. When will these organs and members of my body, have their respite
from their incessant functions; and when will this parched frame of
mine get over the sea (flame?) of avarice, like the phœnix rising from
its ashes.
32. When will the light of reason like the clear atmosphere of the
autumnal sky, dispel this dark cloud of my ignorance, that envelopes my
heavenly essence under the veil of this sorry and miserable form.
33. Our minds are filled with the weeds of the mandára plants of the
garden of paradise (_i.e._ desiring the enjoyments of heaven). But my
soul pants for its restitution in the Supreme spirit.
34. The dispassionate man is said to be set in the pure light of
reason; it is therefore that passionless state of my mind which I long
to attain.
35. But my restless mind has made me a prey to the dragon of despair,
and I cry out in my sorrow, O my father and mother! help me to get out
of this difficulty.
36. I exclaim also saying:—O my sister understanding! condescend to
comply with the request of thy poor brother; and consider well the
words of the wise sage for our deliverance from misery.
37. I call thee also, O my good sense to my aid, and beg of thee, O
progeny of thy virtuous mother! to remain firm by my side, in my
struggle of breaking the bonds of the world.
38. Let me first of all reflect on the sayings of the sage on
Resignation (Vairágya), and then on the conduct of one who longs for
his liberation, and next about the creation of the world, (in the
Srishti Prakarana).
39. Let me remember afterwards all that he has said on the Existence of
the universe (Sthiti Prakarana), together with its beautiful
illustrations; all of which are replete with sound wisdom and deep
philosophy.
40. Although a lesson may be repeated a hundred times over, it proves
to be of no effect, unless it is considered with good understanding and
right sense of its purport. Otherwise it is as the empty sound of
autumn clouds without a drop of rain.
CHAPTER III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL ASSEMBLY.
Argument. The Meeting of the next morning, and the concourse of
attendants.
Válmíki continued:—Ráma passed in this manner the live-long night, in
his lengthened chain of reflection; and in eager expectation of dawn,
as the lotus longs for the rising sun at day break.
2. Gradually the stars faded away at the appearance of aurora in the
east, and the face of the sky was dimly pale, before it was washed over
with the white of twilight.
3. The beating of the morning and the alarm of trumpets, roused Ráma
from his reverie; and he rose with his moonlike face, blooming as the
full-blown lotus in its leafy bed.
4. He performed his morning ablution and devotion, and joined with his
brothers and a few attendants, in order to repair to the hermitage of
the sage Vasishtha.
5. Having arrived there, they found the sage entranced in his
meditation in his lonely solitude; and lowly bent down their heads
before him from a respectful distance.
6. After making their obeisance, they waited on him in the compound,
until the twilight of morning brought the day-light over the face of
the sky.
7. The princes and chiefs, the saints, sages and Bráhmans, thronged in
that hermitage, in the manner of the celestials meeting at the empyrean
of Brahmá.
8. Now the abode of Vasishtha was full of people, and the crowds of the
cars, horses and elephants waiting at the outside, made it equal to a
royal palace in its grandeur.
9. After a while the sage rose from his deep meditation, and gave
suitable receptions to the assembled throng that bowed down before him.
10. Then Vasishtha accompanied with Viswámitra, and followed by a long
train of _munis_ and other men, came out of the hermitage, and ascended
and sat in a carriage, in the manner of the lotus-born Brahmá sitting
on his lotus seat.
11. He arrived at the palace of Dasaratha, which was surrounded by a
large army on all sides, and alighted there from his car, as when
Brahmá descends from his highest heaven to the city of Indra, beset by
the whole host of the celestials.
12. He entered the grand court hall of the king, and was saluted by the
courtiers lowly bending down before him; as when the stately gander
enters a bed of lotuses, amidst a body of aquatic birds (all staring at
him).
13. The king also got up, and descended from his high throne; and then
advanced three paces on barefoot to receive the venerable sage.
14. Then there entered a large concourse of chiefs and princes, with
bodies of saints and sages and Bráhmans and hori, potri priests.
15. The minister Sumantra and others came next with the learned pandits
Saumya and others; and then Ráma and his brothers followed them with
the sons of royal ministers.
16. Next came the ministerial officers, the ministerial priests
(hotripotris), and the principle citizens, with bodies of the Málava
wrestlers and servants of all orders, and townsmen of different
professions.
17. All these took their respective seats, and sat in the proper order
of their ranks, and kept looking intently on the sage Vasishtha, with
their uplifted heads and eyes.
18. The murmur of the assembly was hushed, and the recitation of the
panegyrists was at a stop; the mutual greetings and conferences were at
an end, and there ensued a still silence in the assembly.
19. The winds wafted the sweet fragrance from the cups of full blown
lotuses; and scattered the dulcet dust of the filaments in the spacious
hall.
20. The clusters of flowers hung about the hall, diffused their odours
all around; and the whole court house seemed, as it were sprinkled over
with perfumes of all sorts.
21. The queens and princesses sat at the windows, and upon their
couches in the inner apartment, which was strewn over with flowers, and
beheld the assemblage in the outer hall.
22. They saw everything by the light of the sun, which shed upon their
open eyes through the net-work on the windows; and also by the radiance
of the gems, which sparkled on their delicate persons. The attendant
women remained silent, and without waving their fans and chouries (for
fear of the sounding bracelets on their arms).
23. The earth was sown with orient pearls by the dawning sun-beams, and
the ground was strewn over with flowers glistening at the sun-light.
The lightsome locusts did not light upon them, thinking them to be
sparks of fire, but kept hovering in the midway sky as a body of dark
and moving cloud.
24. The respectable people sat in mute wonder, to hear the holy
lectures of Vasishtha; because the agreeable advice, which is derived
from the society of the good, is beyond all estimation.
25. The Siddhas, Vidyádharas, saints, Bráhmans and respectable men,
gathered from all sides of the sky and forests, and from all cities and
towns round about Vasishtha, and saluted him in silence, because deep
veneration is naturally mute and wanting in words.
26. The sky was strewn over with the golden dust, borne by the
fluttering bees from the cups of farinaceous lotuses; wherein they were
enclosed at night; and the soft airs blew sonant with the tinkling
sounds of ringing bells, hanging in strings on the door ways of houses.
(The Gloss says: it is usual in Nepal and at Deccan, to suspend strings
of small bells over the gate ways).
27. The morning breeze was now blowing with the fragrance of various
flowers, and mixing with the perfume of the sandal paste; and making
the bees fly and flutter on all sides, with their sweet humming music.
CHAPTER IV.
INQUIRIES OF RÁMA.
Argument. Dasaratha’s Praise of Vasishtha’s speech, and Ráma’s Queries
by behest of the sage.
Válmíki continued:—Then king Dasaratha made this speech to the chief
of sages, and spoke in a voice sounding as a deep cloud, and in words
equally graceful as they were worthy of confidence.
2. Venerable sir, said he, your speech of yesterday bespeaks of your
intellectual light, and your getting over all afflictions by your
extremely emaciating austerities.
3. Your words of yesterday, have delighted us by their perspicacity and
gracefulness, as by a shower of enlivening ambrosia.
4. The pure words of the wise, are as cooling and edifying of the
inward soul; as the clear and nectarious moon-beams, serve both to cool
and dispel the gloom of the earth.
5. The good sayings of the great, afford the highest joy resulting from
their imparting a knowledge of the Supreme, and by their dispelling the
gloom of ignorance all at once.
6. The knowledge of the inestimable gem of our soul, is the best light
that we can have in this world; and the learned man is as a tree beset
by the creepers of reason and good sense.
7. The sayings of the wise serve to purge away our improper desires and
doings, as the moon-beams dispel the thick gloom of night.
8. Your sayings, O sage, serve to lessen our desires and avarice which
enchain us to this world, as the autumnal winds diminish the black
clouds in the sky.
9. Your lectures have made us perceive the pure soul in its clear
light, as the eye-salve of antimony (collyrium antigoni nigrum); makes
the born-blind man to see the pure gold with his eyes.
10. The mist of worldly desires, which has overspread the atmosphere of
our minds, is now beginning to disperse by the autumnal breeze of your
sayings.
11. Your sayings of sound wisdom, O great sage! have poured a flood of
pure delight into our souls, as the breezy waves of nectarious water,
or the breath of mandára flowers infuse into the heart.
12. O my Ráma! those days are truly lightsome, that you spend in your
attendance on the wise; otherwise the rest of the days of one’s
life time, are indeed darksome and dismal.
13. O my lotus-eyed Ráma! propose now what more you have to know about
the imperishable soul, as the sage is favourably disposed to
communicate everything to you.
14. After the king had ended his speech, the venerable and high-minded
sage Vasishtha, who was seated before Ráma, addressed him saying:—
15. Vasishtha said:—O Ráma—the moon of your race, do you remember all
that I have told you ere this, and have you reflected on the sense of
my sayings from first to the last.
16. Do you recollect, O victor of your enemies? the subject of
creation, and its division into the triple nature of goodness &c.; and
their subdivision into various kinds?
17. Do you remember what I said regarding the One in all, and not as
the all, and the One Reality ever appearing as unreality; and do you
retain in your mind the nature and form of the Supreme Spirit, that I
have expounded to you?
18. Do you, O righteous Ráma, that art deserving of every praise, bear
in your mind, how this world came to appear from the Lord God of all?
19. Do you fully retain in your memory the nature of illusion, and how
it is destroyed by the efforts of the understanding; and how the
Infinite and Eternal appears as finite and temporal as space and time?
(These though infinite appear limited to us).
20. Do you, O blessed Ráma! keep in your mind, that man is no other
than his mind, as I have explained to you by its proper definition and
arguments?
21. Have you, Ráma! considered well the meanings of my words, and did
you reflect at night the reasonings of yesterday in your mind? (As it
behoves us to reflect at night on the lessons of the day).
22. It is by repeated reflection in the mind, and having by heart what
you have learnt, that you derive the benefit of your learning, and not
by your laying aside of the same in negligence.
23. You are then only the proper receptacle of a rational discourse and
a holy sermon, when you retain them like brilliant pearls in the chest
of your capacious and reasoning breast.
24. Válmíki said:—Ráma being thus addressed by the sage—the valiant
progeny of the lotus-seated Brahmá, found his time to answer him in the
following manner. (Vasishtha’s valour is described in his services to
king Sudása).
25. Ráma replied:—You Sir, who are acquainted with all sástras and
creeds have expounded to me, the sacred truths, and I have, O noble
Sir, fully comprehended their purport.
26. I have deposited every thing verbatim that you said in the casket
of my heart, and have well considered the meaning of your words during
the stillness of my sleepless nights.
27. Your words like sun-beams dispel the darkness of the world, and
your radiant words of yesterday, delighted me like the rays of the
rising sun.
28. O great sir, I have carefully preserved the substance of all your
past lectures in my mind, as one preserves the most valuable and
brilliant gems in a casket.
29. What accomplished man is there, that will not bear on his head the
blessings of admonitions, which are so very pure and holy, and so very
charming and delightful at the same time?
30. We have shaken off the dark veil of the ignorance of this world,
and have become as enlightened by your favor, as the days in autumn
after dispersion of rainy clouds.
31. Your instructions are sweet and graceful in the first place (by the
elegance of their style); they are edifying in the midst (by their good
doctrines); and they are sacred by the holiness they confer at the end.
32. Your flowery speech is ever delightsome to us, by the quality of
its blooming and unfading beauty, and by virtue of its conferring our
lasting good to us.
33. O sir, that are learned in all sástras, that art the channel of the
holy waters of divine knowledge, that art firm in thy protracted vows
of purity, do thou expurgate us of the dross of our manifold sins by
your purifying lectures.
CHAPTER V.
LECTURE ON TRANQUILLITY OF THE SOUL AND MIND.
Argument. The existence of the world in ignorant minds, and
tranquility of the spirit.
Vasishtha said:—Now listen with attention the subject of quietism
for your own good, wherein you will find the best solutions (of many
questions adduced before).
2. Know Ráma, this world to be a continuous illusion, and to be upheld
by men of _rájasa_ and _támasa_ natures, consisting of the properties
of action and passions or ignorance, that support this illusory fabric,
as the pillars bear up a building.
3. Men born with the _sátwika_ nature of goodness like yourself, easily
lay aside this inveterate illusion, as a snake casts off its time-worn
skin (slough).
4. But wise men of good dispositions (or sátwika natures), and those of
the mixed natures of goodness and action (rájasa-sátwika), always think
about the structure of the world, and its prior and posterior states
(without being deluded by it).
5. The understandings of the sinless and which have been enlightened by
the light of the sástras, or improved in the society of men or by good
conduct, become as far sighted as the glaring light of a torch.
6. It is by one’s own ratiocination, that he should try to know the
soul in himself; and he is no way intelligent, who knows not the
knowable soul in himself.
7. The intelligent polite, wise and noble men, are said to have the
nature of rájasa-sátwika (or the mixed nature of goodness and action)
in them; and the best instance of such a nature is found, O Ráma! in
thy admirable disposition.
8. Let the intelligent look into the phenomena of the work themselves,
and by observing what is true and untrue in it, attach themselves to
the truth only.
9. That which was not before, nor will be in being at the end, is no
reality at all but what continues in being both at first and last, is
the true existence and naught besides.
10. He whose mind is attached to aught, which is unreal both at first
and at last, is either an infatuated fool or a brute animal, that can
never be brought to reason.
11. It is the mind that makes the world and stretches it as in its
imagination; but upon a comprehensive view (or closer investigation) of
it, the mind is in its nothingness.
12. Ráma said:—I am fully persuaded to believe, sir, that the mind is
the active agent in this world, and is subject to decay and death (like
the other organs of sensation).
13. But tell me sir, what are the surest means of guarding the mind
from illusion, because you only are the sun to remove the darkness of
Raghu’s race.
14. Vasishtha replied:—The best way to guard the mind from delusion, is
first of all the knowledge of the sástras, and next the exercise of
dispassionateness, and then the society of the good, which lead the
mind towards its purity.
15. The mind which is fraught with humility and holiness, should have
recourse to preceptors who are learned in philosophy.
16. The instruction of such preceptors, makes a man to practice his
rituals at first, and then it leads the mind gradually to the abstract
devotion of the Most-Holy.
17. When the mind comes to perceive by its own cogitation, the presence
of the supreme spirit in itself; it sees the universe spread before it
as the cooling moonbeams.
18. A man is led floating as a straw on the wide ocean of the world,
until it finds its rest in the still waters under the coast of reason.
19. Human understanding comes to know the truth by means of its
reasoning, when it puts down all its difficulties, as the purewater
gets over its sandy bed.
20. The reasonable man distinguishes the truth from untruth, as the
goldsmith separates the gold from ashes; but the unreasonable are as
the ignorant, incapable to distinguish the one from the other.
21. The divine Spirit is imperishable after it is once known to the
human soul; and there can be no access of error into it, as long as it
is enlightened by the light of the holy spirit.
22. The mind which is ignorant of truth, is ever liable to error, but
when it is acquainted with truth, it becomes freed from its doubts; and
is set above the reach of error.
23. O ye men! that are unacquainted with the divine spirit, you bear
your souls for misery alone; but knowing the spirit, you become
entitled to eternal happiness and tranquility.
24. How are ye lost to your souls by blending with your bodies, expand
the soul from under the earthly frame, and you will be quite at rest
with yourselves.
25. Your immortal soul has no relation to your mortal bodies, as the
pure gold bears no affinity to the earthen crucible in which it is
contained.
26. The Divine Spirit is distinct from the living soul, as the lotus
flower is separate from the water which upholds it; as a drop of water
is unattached to the lotus-leaf whereon it rests. My living soul is
crying to that Spirit with my uplifted arms, but it pays no heed to my
cries.
27. The mind which is of a gross nature, resides in the cell of the
body, like a tortoise dwelling in its hole; it is insensibly intent
upon its sensual enjoyments, and is quite neglectful about the welfare
of the soul.
28. It is so shrouded by the impervious darkness of the world, that
neither the light of reason, nor the flame of fire, nor the beams of
the moon, nor the gleams of a dozen of zodiacal suns, have the power to
penetrate into it.
29. But the mind being awakened from its dormancy, begins to reflect on
its own state; and then the mist of its ignorance flies off, like the
darkness of the night at sun-rise.
30. As the mind reclines itself constantly on the downy bed of its
meditation, for the sake of its enlightenment; it comes to perceive
this world to be but a vale of misery.
31. Know Ráma! the soul to be as unsullied by its outer covering of the
body, as the sky is unsoiled by the clouds of dust which hide its face;
and as the petals of the lotus are untainted by the dew-drops, falling
upon them at night. (No liquid is attached to the oily surface of
lotus-leaves).
32. As dirt or clay clinging to the outer side of a gold ornament,
cannot pierce into the inside; so the gross material body is attached
outside the soul, without touching its inside.
33. Men commonly attribute pleasure and pain to the soul; but they are
as separate from it, as the rain drops and the flying dust, are afar
and apart from the sky.
34. Neither the body nor the soul is subject to pain or pleasure, all
which relate to the ignorance of the mind; and this ignorance being
removed, it will be found that they appertain to neither. (The mind
alone is subject to both through its ignorance; but the philosophic
mind knows all partial evils sarvárti, to be universal good).
35. Take not to your mind O Ráma! the pain or pleasure of either; but
view them in an equal light, as you view things in the tranquility of
your soul.
36. All the outspreading phenomena of the world, which are beheld all
about us, are as the waves of the boundless ocean of the Divine Spirit;
or as the gaudy train of the peacock, displayed in the sphere of our
own souls. (So the mind displays its thoughts in a train).
37. The bright substance of our soul, presents to us the picture of
creation, as a bright gem casts its glare to no purpose; but by its own
nature. (And so the mind deals with its dreams in vain).
38. The spirit and the material world, are not the same thing; the
spirit is the true reality, and the duality of the world, is only a
representation or counterpart of the Spirit.
39. But Brahma, is the whole totality of existence, and know the
universe as the expansion of the universal soul; therefore O Ráma! give
up your error of the distinction of one thing from another (lit.: such
as I am this one, and the other is another).
40. There can be no distinction, Ráma, in the everlasting and all
extensive plenum of Brahma; as there is no difference in the whole body
of water of the wide extended ocean.
41. All things being one and alike in the self-same substratum of the
Supreme Soul, you cannot conceive of there being any other thing (a
duality) in it, as you cannot imagine a particle of frost to abide in
the fire.
42. By meditating on the Supreme Soul in yourself, and by contemplation
of the intelligent Spirit in your own intellect, you will find the
glory of the Supreme Spirit, shining brightly in your pure spirit.
43. Therefore ease your mind, O Ráma! and know that there is no mistake
nor error in your believing the all as one; and that there is no
new-birth or a new born being (in the world), but all that is or <has>
come to existence, is ever existent in the Supreme.
44. Ease yourself, O Ráma! by knowing that there is no duality (save
the Unity of God); and that there is no contrariety of things (as that
of heat and cold), except their oneness in the Divine moniety. Then
knowing yourself as a spiritual being, and situated in the purity of
Divine essence, you shall have no need of devotion or adoration (in
order to appease or unite yourself with the Deity). And knowing also
that you are not separated from God, forsake all your sorrow (to think
of your helpless state).
45. Be tolerant, composed and even-minded; remain tranquil, taciturn
and meek in your mind; and be as a rich jewel, shining with your
internal light. Thus you will be freed from the feverish vexations of
this worldly life.
46. Be rational and dispassionate and calm in your desire; remain sober
minded and free from ardent expectations; and rest satisfied with what
you get of your own lot, in order to be freed from the feverish heat of
worldliness.
47. Be unimpassioned and unperturbed with earthly cares; be pure and
sinless, and neither be penurious nor prodigal, if you will be freed
from the fever heat of this world.
48. Be free from all anxiety, O Ráma! by your obtaining of that good
which the world cannot give, and which satisfies all our earthly wants.
Have this supermundane bliss, O Ráma, and be as full as the ocean, and
free from the feverish cares of this world.
49. Be loosened from the net of thy loose desires, and wipe off the
unguent of delusive affections from thy eyes: let thy soul rest
satisfied with thyself, and be freed from the feverish anxieties of the
world.
बिकल्पजाल निर्म्मुक्त मायाञ्जनार्ब्बर्जितः ।
आत्मनात्मनितृप्तात्मविज्वरोभबराघव ॥ ४६ ॥
50. With your spiritual body reaching beyond the unbounded space, and
rising above the height of the highest mountain, be freed from the
feverish and petty cares of life.
51. By enjoyment of what you get (as your lot), and by asking of naught
of any body anywhere; by your charity rather than your want or asking
of it, you must be free from the fever of life.
52. Enjoy the fulness of your soul in yourself like the sea, and
contain the fulness of your joy in your own soul like the full moon. Be
self-sufficient with the fulness of your knowledge and inward bliss.
53. Knowing this world as unreal as a pseudoscopic sight, no wise man
is misled to rely in its untruthful scenes. So you Ráma, that are
knowing and visionary, and are sane and sound headed, and of
enlightened understanding, must be always charming with your perfect
ease from sorrow and care.
54. Now Ráma! reign over this unrivalled sovereignty, by the direction
of your sovran Sire, and manage well everything under your own
inspection. This kingdom is fraught with every blessing, and the rulers
are all loyal to their king. Therefore you must neither leave out to do
what is your duty, nor be elated with your happy lot of royalty.
CHAPTER VI.
LECTURE ON THE DISCHARGE OF DUTY.
Argument. Effect of Acts, Transmigration of souls and their Liberation
in Life time.
Vasishtha continued:—In my opinion, a man is liberated who does his
works from a sense of his duty, and without any desire of his own or
sense of his own agency in it. (Here subjection to allotted duty, is
said to be his freedom; but that to one’s own desire or free choice, is
called to be his bondage and slavery).
2. Who so having obtained a human form, is engaged in acts out of his
own choice and with a sense of his own agency, he is subjected to his
ascension and descension to heaven and hell by turns (according to the
merit or demerit of his acts, while there is no such thing in the doing
of his duty).
3. Some persons who are inclined to unduteous (or illegal) acts, by
neglecting the performance of their destined (or legal) duties, are
doomed to descend to deeper hells, and to fall into greater fears and
torments from their former states.
4. Some men who are fast bound to the chain of their desires, and have
to feel the consequences of their acts, are made to descend to the
state of vegetables from their brutal life, or to rise from it to
animal life again.
5. Some who are blessed with the knowledge of the Spirit, from their
investigation of abstruse philosophy, rise to the state of moniety
(Kaivalya); by breaking through the fetters of desire. (_Kaivalya_ is
the supreme bliss of God in his solity, to which the divine sage
aspires to be united. Or it is the complete unity with oneself
irrespective of all connections).
6. There are some men, who after ascending gradually in the scale of
their creation in former births, have obtained their liberation in the
present life of _rájas-sátwika_ or active goodness.
7. Such men being born again on earth, assume their bright qualities
like the crescent moon, and are united with all prosperity, like the
Kurchi plant which is covered with blossoms in its flowering time of
the rainy season. (The good effects of former acts, follow a man in his
next birth).
8. The merit of prior acts follows one in his next state, and the
learning of past life meets a man in his next birth, as a pearl is born
in a reed. (A particular reed is known to bear pearly seeds within
them, well known by the name of _Vansalochana_).
9. The qualities of respectability and amiableness, of affability and
friendliness, and of compassion and intelligence, attend upon these
people like their attendants at home. (_i.e._ He becomes master of
them).
10. Happy is the man who is steady in the discharge of his duties, and
is neither overjoyed nor depressed at the fruition or failure of their
results. (Duties must be done, whether they repay or not).
11. The defects of the dutiful and their pain and pleasure, in the
performance of duties, are all lost under the sense of their
duteousness; as the darkness of night, is dispelled by the light of the
day, and the clouds of the rainy season, are dispersed in autumn.
12. The man of a submissive and sweet disposition, is liked by every
body; as the sweet music of reeds in the forest, attracts the ears of
wild antelopes. (The deer and snakes, are said to be captivated by
music of pipe).
13. The qualities of the past life, accompany a man in his next birth;
as the swallows of the rainy weather, attend on a dark cloud in the
air. (This bird is called a hansa or hernshaw by Shakespeare; as, when
it is autumn, I can distinguish a swallow from a hernshaw).
14. Being thus qualified by his prior virtues, the goodman has
recourse to an instructor for the development of his understanding, who
thereupon puts him in the way to truth.
15. The man with the qualities of reason and resignation of his mind,
beholds the Lord as one, and of the same form as the imperishable soul
within himself.
16. It is the spiritual guide, who awakens the dull and sleeping mind
by his right reasoning; and then instils into it the words of truth,
with a placid countenance and mind.
17. They are the best qualified in their subsequent births, who learn
first to awaken their worthless and dormant minds, as they rouse the
sleeping stags in the forest.
18. It is first by diligent attendance on good and meritorious guides
(or gurus), and then by cleansing the gem of their minds by the help of
reasoning that the pure hearted men come to the light of truth, and
perceive the divine light shining in their souls.
CHAPTER VII.
ON ATTAINMENT OF DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.
Argument. Attainment of knowledge by Intuition, compared to the falling
of a fruit from heaven.
Vasishtha continued:—I have told you Ráma, the usual way to knowledge
for mankind in general; I will now tell you of another method distinct
from the other.
2. Now Ráma! we have two ways which are best calculated for the
salvation of souls, born in human bodies on earth: the one is by their
attainment of heavenly bliss, and the other by that of their final
beatitude (apavarga).
3. And there are two methods of gaining these objects; the one being
the observance of the instructions of the preceptor, which gradually
leads one to his perfection in the course of one or reiterated births.
4. The second is the attainment of knowledge by intuition, or by self
culture of a partly intelligent being; and this is as the obtaining of
a fruit falling from heaven.
5. Hear now of the attainment of intuitive knowledge, as that of
getting a fruit fallen from the sky, from the old tale which I will now
recite to you.
6. Hear the happy and holy story, which removes the fetters of our good
and evil deeds, and which the last born men (now living), must taste
with a zest for their enlightenment, as others relish a fruit fallen
from heaven for their entertainment.
CHAPTER VIII.
SONG OF THE SIDDHAS OR HOLY ADEPTS.
Argument. Wandering of Janaka in a Vernal garden, and hearing the Song
of Siddhas.
Vasishtha continued:—There lives the mighty king of the Videhas
(Tirhutians) Janaka by name, who is blessed with all prosperity and
unbounded understanding.
2. He is as the ever fruitful _kalpa_ tree to the host of his suitors,
and as the vivifying sun to his lotus-like friends; he is as the genial
spring to the florets of his relatives, and as the god Cupid to females.
3. Like the dvija-rája or changeful moon, he gives delight to the
dvija—or twice born Bráhmans, as that luminary gives the lilies to
bloom; and like the luminous sun he destroys the darkness of his gloomy
enemies. He is an ocean of the gems of goodness to all, and the support
of his realm, like Vishnu the supporter of the world.
4. He chanced on a vernal eve to wander about a forest, abounding in
young creepers with bunches of crimson blossoms on them, and resonant
with the melody of mellifluous _kokilas_, warbling in their tuneful
choirs.
5. He walked amidst the flowery arbours, resembling the graceful
beauties with ornaments upon them, and sported in their bowers as the
god Vásava disports in his garden of _Nandana_. (Eden or Paradise).
6. Leaving his attendants behind him, he stepped to a grove standing on
the steppe of a hill, in the midst of that romantic forest, which was
redolent with the fragrance of flowers borne all about by the playful
winds.
7. He heard in one spot and within a bower of _támala_ trees, a mingled
voice as that of some invisible aerial spirits (siddhá), proceeding
from it.
8. I will now recite to you, O lotus-eyed Ráma! the songs of the
siddhas, residing in the retired solitudes of mountainous regions, and
dwelling in the caverns of hills, and which relate principally to their
spiritual meditations.
9. The siddhas sang:—We adore that Being which is neither the
subjective nor objective (not the viewer nor the view); and which in
our beliefs is the positive felicity, that rises in our souls, and has
no fluctuation in it.
10. Others chanted:—We adore that Being which is beyond the triple
states of the subject, its attribute and its object; (who is neither
the sight, seeing and the seer). It is the light of that soul, or
spiritual light which exists from before the light of vision, which is
derived from the light of the sun. (Sruti: The light of the Spirit
shone before the physical lights of the sun, moon, stars, lightning and
fire).
11. Others chanted:—We adore that Being, which is in the midst of all
what is and what is not (_i.e._ between existence and non-existence);
and that spiritual light, which enlightens all lightsome objects.
12. Some sang:—We adore that real existence which is all, whose are all
things, and by whom are all made, from whom have all sprung, for whom
they exist, in whom they subsist, unto whom do all return, and into
which they are all absorbed.
13. Some caroled:—We adore that Spirit, which begins with the letter
_a_ and ends in _h_ with the dot _m_ (_i.e._ _aham_ or _ego_); and
which we continually inspire and respire in our breathings. (Aham)
hansah.
14. Others said:—Those who forsake the God—Isha, that is situated
within the cavity of their hearts (hrid), and resort to others, that
are without them, are verily in search of trifles by disregarding the
gem _kaustabha_ (philosopher’s stone); which is placed in their hands.
15. Others again declared:—It is by forsaking all other desires, that
one obtains this object of his wish; and this being had, the poisonous
plants of all other desires, are entirely uprooted from the heart.
16. Some of them pronounced saying:—The foolish man who knowing the
insipidity of all worldly things, attaches his mind to earthly object,
is an ass and no human being.
17. Others said:—The sensual appetites, which incessantly rise as
snakes from the cavities of the body, are to be killed by the cudgel of
reason, as Indra broke the hills by his thunderbolts.
18. At last they said:—Let men try to secure the pure happiness of
quietism, which serves to give tranquility to the minds of the
righteous. The sober-minded that are situated in their real and natural
temperament, have their best repose in the lap of undisturbed and
everlasting tranquility.
CHAPTER IX.
REFLECTIONS OF JANAKA.
Argument. Abstraction of Janaka’s mind, from the Vanities of the World.
Vasishtha continued:—Upon hearing these sonatas of the Siddhas (holy
spirits), Janaka was dejected in his mind, like a coward at the noise
of a conflict.
2. He returned homeward, and conducted himself in silence to his
domicile, as a stream glides in its silent course under the beachening
trees, to the bed of the distant main.
3. He left behind all his domestics in their respective dwellings
below, and ascended alone to the highest balcony, as the sun mounts on
the top of a mountain.
4. Hence he saw the flights of birds, flying at random in different
directions; and reflected on the hurrying of men in the same manner,
and thus bewailed in himself on their deplorable conditions.
5. Ah me miserable! that have to move about in the pitiable state of
the restless mob, that roll about like a rolling stone (or ball),
pushed backward and forward by another.
6. I have a short span of endless duration, alloted to my share of
lifetime; and yet I am a senseless fool to rely my trust in the hope of
its durability.
7. Short is the duration of my royalty also, which is limited to the
period of my lifetime only; how is it then that I am secure of its
continuance as a thoughtless man.
8. I have an immortal soul lasting from before, and to continue even
after my present existence, the present life is a destructible One, and
yet I am a fool to rely in it, like a boy believing the painted moon as
real.
9. Ah! what sorcerer is it that hath thus bewitched me by his magic
wand, as to make me believe I am not spell-bound at all.
10. What faith can I rely in this world which has nothing substantial
nor pleasant, nor grand nor real in it; and yet I know not why my mind
is deluded by it.
11. What is far from me (_i.e._ the object of sense), appears to be
near me by my sensation of the same; and that which is nearest to me
(_i.e._ my inmost soul), appears to be farthest from me (by my want of
its perception). Knowing this I must abandon the outward (sensible
objects), in order to see the inward soul.
12. This hurry of men in their pursuits, is as impetuous and transient
as the torrent of a whirlpool. It precipitates them to the depth of
their dangers, and is not worth the pain it gives to the spirit.
13. The years, months, days and minutes, are revolving with succession
of our pains and pleasures; but these are swallowed up, by the repeated
trains of our misery (rather than that of happiness).
14. I have well considered everything, and found them all perishable
and nothing durable or lasting; there is nothing to be found here
worthy of the reliance of the wise.
15. Those standing at the head of great men to-day, are reduced low in
the course of a few days; what worth is there in giddy and thoughtless
greatness, which is deserving of our estimation.
16. I am bound to the earth without a rope, and am soiled herein
without any dirt (in my person); I am fallen though sitting in this
edifice. O my soul! how art thou destroyed while thou art living.
17. Whence has this causeless ignorance over-powered my intelligent
soul, and whence has this shadow overspread its lustre, as a dark cloud
overshades the disk of the sun?
18. Of what avail are these large possessions and numerous relations to
me, when my soul is desponding in despair, like children under the fear
of ghosts and evil spirits.
19. How shall I rest any reliance in my sensual enjoyments which are
the harbingers of death and disease, and what dependence is there on my
possessions, which are fraught only with anxieties and cares?
20. It matters not whether these friends, the feeders on my fortune,
may last or leave me at once; my prosperity is but a bubble and a false
appearance before me.
21. Men of greatest opulence and many good and great men and our best
friends and kindest relatives, that have gone by, now live in our
remembrance only.
22. Where are the riches of the monarchs of the earth, and where the
former creations of Brahmá. The past have given way to the present, and
these are to be followed by future ones; hence there is no reliance in
anything.
23. Many Indras have been swallowed up like bubbles in the ocean of
eternity; hence the like expectation of my longevity, is ridiculous to
the wise.
24. Millions of Brahmás have passed away, and their productions have
disappeared under endless successions; the kings of earth have fled
like their ashes and are reduced to dust; what is the confidence then
in my life and stability?
25. The world is but a dream by night, and the sensuous body is but a
misconception of the mind. If I rely any credence on them I am really
to be blamed.
26. My conception of myself and perception of other things, are false
imaginations of my mind. It is my egoism that has laid hold of me, as a
demon seizes an idiot.
27. Fool that I am, that seeing I do not see, how the span of my life
is measured every moment by the imperceptible instants of time, and
their leaving but a small portion behind.
28. I see the juggler of time seizing on Brahmás, Vishnus and Rudras,
and making playthings of them on his play ground of the world, and
flinging them as balls all about.
29. I see the days and nights are incessantly passing away, without
presenting me an opportunity which I can behold the true imperishable
one.
30. The objects of sensual enjoyment, are larking in the minds of men,
like cranes gabbling in the lakes, and there is no prospect of the true
and best object in the mind of any body.
31. We meet with one hardship after another, and buffet in the waves of
endless miseries in this earth; and yet are we so shameless, as not to
feel ourselves disgusted with them.
32. We see all the desirable objects to which we attach our thoughts,
to be frail and perishing; and yet we do not seek the imperishable one,
and our everlasting good in the equanimity of the Soul.
33. Whatever we see to be pleasant in the beginning (as pleasures), or
in the middle (as youth), or in the end (as virtuous deeds), and at all
times (as earthly goods), are all unholy and subject to decay.
34. Whatever objects are dear to the hearts of men, they are all found
to be subject to the changes of their rise and fall (_i.e._ their
growth and decay).
35. Ignorant people are everywhere enclined to evil acts, and they
grow day by day more hardened in their wicked practices. They repent
every day for their sins, but never reprove themselves for the better.
36. Senseless men are never the better for anything, being devoid of
sense in their boyhood, and heated by their passions in youth. In their
latter days, they are oppressed with the care of their families, and in
the end thy are overcome by sorrow and remorse.
37. Here the entrance and exit (_i.e._ the birth and death), are both
accompanied with pain and sorrow (for men come to and go away from the
world with crying). Here every state of life is contaminated by its
reverse (as health by disease, youth by age, and affluence by poverty).
Everything is unsubstantial in this seeming substantial world, and yet
the ignorant rely in its unreal substantiality.
38. The real good that is derived here by means of painful austerities,
are the arduous sacrifices of _rájasúyá asvamedha_ and others, or the
attainment of heaven; which has no reality in it, by reason of its
short duration of the small portion of a _kalpa_ compared with
eternity. (The Hindu heaven is no lasting bliss).
39. What is this heaven and where is it situated, whether below or
above us or in this nether world; and where its residents are not
overtaken by multitudes of locust-like evils? (The Sruti says: “Evil
spirits infest the heavens and they drove the gods from it.” So we read
of the Titan’s and Satan’s band invading heaven).
40. We have serpents creeping in the cells of our hearts, and have our
bodies filled with the brambles of diseases and dangers, and know not
how to destroy them.
41. I see good is intermixed with evil, and pain abiding with pleasure;
there is sorrow seated on the top (excess) of joy, so I know not
whereto I shall resort.
42. I see the earth full of common people, who are incessantly born and
dying in it in multitudes; but I find few honest and righteous men in
it.
43. These beautiful forms of women, with their eyes like lotuses, and
the gracefulness of their blandishments, and their charming smiles, are
made so soon to fade and die away.
44. Of what note am I among these mighty beings (as Brahmá and Vishnu),
who at the twinkling of their eyes, have created and destroyed the
world; and yet have succumbed to death at last. (This last passage
shows that the Hindu gods were mortal heroes of antiquity).
45. You are constantly in search of what is more pleasant and lasting
than others, but never seek after that highest prosperity, which is
beyond all your earthly cares.
46. What is this great prosperity in which you take so much delight,
but mere vexation of your spirit, which proves this vanity to be your
calamity only.
47. Again what are these adversities which you fear so much, they may
turn to your true prosperity, by setting you free from earthly broils
and leading you to your future felicity.
48. The mind is broken to pieces by its fears, like the fragments of
the moon, floating on the waves of this ocean of the world. Its
selfishness has tossed it to and fro, and this world being got rid of,
it is set at perfect ease (from all vicissitudes of fortune).
49. There is an unavoidable chance (necessity), actuating our worldly
affairs and accidents; it is impudence therefore to welcome some as
good, and to avoid others as evil.
50. We are prone to things that are pleasant to the sight, but bear a
mortal flame in them, and consume us like poor moths in the flames,
which it is bright to see but fatal to feel.
51. It is better to roll in the continual flame of hell-fire to which
one is habituated, than rise and fall repeatedly in the furnace of this
world, as from the frying pan into the fire.
52. This world is said by the wise, to be a boundless ocean of woes
(vale of tears); how then can any body who has fallen amidst it, expect
any happiness herein?
53. Those who have not fallen in the midst and been altogether drowned
in woe, think the lesser woes as light and delight, as one condemned to
be beheaded, is glad to escape with a light punishment.
54. I am grown as the vilest of the vile, and resemble a block of wood
or stone; there is no difference in me from the ignorant clown, who has
never had the thought of his eternal concerns in his head.
55. The great arbour of the world, with its very many branches and
twigs and fruits, hath sprung from the mind and is rooted in it. (The
outer world has its existence in the sensitive mind only; because the
insensible bodies of the dead and inanimate things, have no
consciousness of it).
56. It is the conception (sankalpa) of the world, in my mind, that
causes its existence and presents its appearance before me, I will now
try to efface this conception from my mind, and forget this world
altogether. (This doctrine of idealism was derived, by Janaka from his
own Intuition (Svena-Jnátena)).
57. I will no longer allow myself to be deluded like monkeys with the
forms of things, which I know are not real; mere ideal, but changeful
and evanescent. (Here also Janaka learns by intuition not to rely on
concrete forms, but to have their general and abstract ideas).
58. I have woven and stretched out the web of my desires, and collected
only my woes and sorrows; I fell into and fled from the snare of my own
making, and am now resolved to take my rest in the soul.
59. I have much wailed and bitterly wept, to think of the depravity and
loss of my soul, and will henceforth cease to lament, thinking that I
am not utterly lost.
60. I am now awakened, and am glad to find out the robber of my soul;
it is my own mind, and this I am determined to kill, as it had so long
deprived me of the inestimable treasure of my soul.
61. So long was my mind at large as a loose and unstrung pearl, now
will I pierce it with the needle of reason, and string it with the
virtues of self-controul and subjection to wisdom.
62. The cold icicle of my mind, will now be melted down by the sun-heat
of reason; and will now be confined in the interminable meditation of
its Eternal Maker (from where it cannot return. Sruti).
63. I am now awakened to my spiritual knowledge, like these holy
Siddhas, saints and sages; and will now pursue my spiritual inquiries,
to the contentment of my soul.
64. Having now found my long-lost soul, I will continue to look upon
its pure light with joy in my lonely retirement; and will remain as
quiet and still in contemplation of it, as a motionless cloud in autumn.
65. And having cast away the false belief of my corporeality (_i.e._ of
being an embodied being), and that these possessions and properties are
mine, and having subdued my force by mighty enemy of the Mind, I will
attain the tranquility of my soul by the help of my reason.
CHAPTER X.
SILENT AND SOLITARY REFLECTIONS OF JANAKA.
Argument. Janaka though employed in Ritual service, continues firm in
his meditation, and comes to the conclusion of his immortality.
Vasishtha related:—While Janaka was thus musing in his mind, there
entered the chamberlain before him, in the manner of Aruna standing
before the chariot of the sun.
2. The Chamberlain said:—O sire! thy realm is safe under thy protecting
arms; now rise to attend to the daily rites, as it becomes your majesty.
3. There the maidservants are waiting with their water pots, filled
with water perfumed with flowers, camphor and saffron for your bathing,
as the nymphs of the rivers, have presented themselves in person before
you.
4. The temples are decorated with lotuses and other flowers, with the
bees fluttering upon them; and hung over with fine muslin, as white as
the fibers of lotus stalks.
6. The altars are filled with heaps of flowers, aromatic drugs and
rice; and adorned with every decoration in the princely style.
7. The Bráhmans are waiting there for your majesty’s presence, after
making their sacred ablution and purifications, and offering their
prayers for the remission of sins; and are expecting to get their
worthy gifts from thee.
8. The hand-maids are attending to their duties, graced with flappers
(chámaras) in their hands; and the feasting ground is cleansed with
sandal paste and water.
9. Rise therefore from thy seat, and be it well with thee to perform
the prescribed duties; because it does not become the best of men, to
be belated in the discharge of their duties.
10. Though thus besought by the head chamberlain, yet the king remained
in his meditative mood, thinking on the wonderful phenomena of nature.
11. This royalty and these duties of mine, said he, are for a very
short time; I do not require these things that are so transitory in
their nature.
12. I must leave these things, that are at best but waters of the
mirage; and remain close to myself in my lonesome seclusion, like a
calm and solitary lake or sea.
13. These pleasures of the world, that are displayed around us, are
entirely useless to me; I will leave them with promptness on my part,
and remain in my happy retirement.
14. Abandon, O my heart! thy shrewdness in pursuing after the objects
of thy desire; in order to avoid the snares of disease and death (which
have been set on thy way).
15. In whatever state or condition of life, the heart is set to hanker
for its delight; it is sure to meet with some difficulty, distress or
disappointment coming out of the same.
16. Whether your heart is engaged in, or disengaged from the objects of
sense, you will never find any one of them, either in act or thought,
conducing to the true happiness of your soul.
17. Forsake therefore the thoughts of the vile pleasure of your senses,
and betake yourself to those thoughts, which are fraught with the true
happiness of the soul.
18. Thinking in this manner, Janaka remained in mute silence, and his
restless mind became as still, as it made him sit down like a picture
in painting or as a statue.
19. The chamberlain uttered not a word any more, but stood silent in
mute respect through fear of his master, from his knowledge of the
dispositions of kings.
20. Janaka in his state of silent meditation, reflected again on the
vanity of human life, with cool calmness of his mind, and said:—
21. Now must I be diligent to find out the best and most precious
treasure in the world, and know what is that imperishable thing, to
which I shall bind my soul as its surest anchor.
22. What is the good of my acts or my cessation from them, since
nothing is produced of anything, which is not perishable in its nature.
(Thence the product of acts is perishing, and its want is a lasting
good).
23. It matters not whether the body is active or inactive, since all
its actions end in utter inaction at last as all force is reduced to
rest. It is the pure intellect within me that is always the same
(_i.e._ ever active and undecaying), and which loses nothing from the
loss of the body or by want of bodily actions. (The body is a dead mass
without the active principle of the mind).
24. I do not wish to have what I have not, nor dare leave what I have
already got; I am content with myself; so let me have what is mine and
what I have. (The Yogis like Stoics, were fatalists and content with
their lot).
25. I get no real good by my acts here, nor lose anything by refraining
from them. What I get by my acts or want of action, is all _Nil and
Null_ of Vanity or Vanities, and nothing to my purpose or liking.
26. Whether I am doing or not doing, and whether my acts are proper or
improper; I have nothing to desire here, nor anything desirable that I
have to expect from them. (Hence no exertion will bring on the desired
object, unless it is given by our lot).
27. I have got what was due to my past actions, and this body is the
result of my former acts. It may be in its motion and action, or it may
be still and fade away, which is the same thing to me.
28. The mind being set at ease by want of its action or passion, the
actions of the body and its members, are alike in their effects to
those of not doing them. (Involuntary actions done without the will are
of no account).
29. The acts of men are reckoned as no acts of theirs, which happen to
take place as the results of their destiny or previous actions. (The
action or passion relates to the mind only, but the doing of destiny
being involuntary, such action of men is accounted as no action of
theirs).
30. The impression which the inward soul bears of its past actions and
passions, the same gives its colour to the nature and character of the
actions of men afterwards. Now that my soul has obtained its
imperishable state of spirituality, I am freed from the mutabilities of
the transmigrations of my body and mind.
Commentary:—Janaka arrives after all his previous reasonings and
deductions, to the conclusion of the certainty of his being an
intellectual and spiritual being, endowed with an immortal soul, and
entitled to everlasting life, after the destruction of the frail body
and the changeful mind with it.
CHAPTER XI
SUBJECTION OF THE MIND.
Argument. Janaka’s Discharge of his Daily Rites, and Admonition to his
Mind.
Vasishtha related:—Having thought so, Janaka rose up for performance of
his daily rites as usual, and without the sense of his agency in them.
He did his duty in the same manner as the sun rises every day to give
the morn, without his consciousness of it.
2. He discharged his duties as they presented themselves to him,
without any concern or expectation of their rewards. He did them
awaking as if it were in his sleep. Gloss:—He did his acts by rote, but
wot not what he did in his insensibility of them; and such acts of
insensibility are free from culpability or retribution.
3. Having discharged his duties of the day and honoured the gods and
the priests, he passed the night absorbed in his meditations.
4. His mind being set at ease, and his roving thoughts repressed from
their objects, he thus communed with his mind at the dead of night, and
said:—
5. O my mind that art roving all about with the revolving world, know
that such restlessness of thine, is not agreeable to peace of the soul;
therefore rest thou in quiet from thy wanderings abroad.
6. It is thy business to imagine many things at thy pleasure, and as
thou thinkest thou hast a world of thoughts present before thee every
moment. (For all things are but creations of the imaginative mind).
7. Thou shootest forth in innumerable woes by the desire of endless
enjoyments, as a tree shoots out into a hundred branches, by its being
watered at the roots.
8. Now as our births and lives and worldly affairs, are all productions
of our wistful thoughts, I pray thee therefore, O my mind! to rest in
quiet by abandonment of thy earthly desires.
9. O my friendly mind! weigh well this transient world in thy thoughts,
and depend upon it, shouldst thou find aught of substantiality in it.
10. Forsake thy fond reliance on these visible phenomena; leave these
things, and rove about at thy free will without caring for any thing.
11. Whether this unreal scene, may appear to or disappear from thy
sight, thou shouldst not suffer thyself to be affected by it in either
case.
12. Thou canst have no concern with the visible objects (phenomenal
world); for what concern can one have with any earthly thing which is
inexistent of itself as an unsubstantial shadow?
13. The world is an unreality like thyself, hence there can be no true
relation between two unrealities. It is but a logomachy to maintain the
relation of two negatives to one another.
14. Granting, thou art a reality and the world is unreal, still there
can be no agreement between you, as there is none between the living
and the dead, and between the positive and negative ideas.
15. Should the mind and the world be both of them realities and
co-existent for ever, then there can be no reason for the joy or sorrow
of the one at the gain or loss of the other.
16. Now therefore avoid the great malady of worldliness, and enjoy the
silent joy in thyself, like one sitting in the undisturbed depth of the
Ocean, with the rolling tide and waves above his head.
17. Do not consume like a puppet in pyrotechnics with the fiery remorse
of worldliness, nor be burnt down to the darkness of despair in this
gloomy scene of the world.
18. O wicked mind! there is nothing here so good and great, whereby
thou mayest attain thy high perfection, except by the forsaking of all
frivolities and dependance on thy entire resignation to the
unchangeable One.
CHAPTER XII.
ON THE GREATNESS OF INTELLIGENCE.
Argument. The Living Liberation of Janaka, and the pre-eminence of
reason and intelligence.
Vasishtha continued:—Janaka having expostulated in his manner with his
mind, attended to the affairs of the state without shrinking from them
by his mental abstraction.
2. He was however not gladdened by the gladsome tasks and tidings, but
was indifferent to them as in his slumber of fixed mindedness in his
maker.
3. Hence forward, he was not intently employed in his duties, nor
forsook them altogether; but attended unconcernedly to the business
which presented itself to him.
4. His constant habit of reasoning, enabled him to understand the
eternal verity; and preserved his intellect from blunders, as the sky
is untouched by the flying dust.
5. By his cultivation of reasoning, his mind was enlightened and
fraught with all knowledge.
6. Unaccustomed to duality, his mind had learnt to know the sole unity
only; and his intelligent soul shone within him, as the full bright sun
in the sky. (He felt a flood of light in himself, as the believer finds
in his inmost soul. Gloss).
7. He became acquainted with the Soul, that is inherent in all bodies,
and beheld all things abiding in the omnipotence of the Intellect, and
identic with the infinite.
8. He was never too joyous nor exceedingly sorrowful, but preserved his
equanimity amidst the conflicts of his soul and sensible objects
(between spirituality and materiality).
9. The venerable Janaka, became liberated in his living state since
that time; and is since renowned as a veteran theosophist among mankind.
10. He continues thence forward to reign over the land of the Videha
people, without being subject to the feelings of joy or sorrow for a
moment.
11. Knowing the causes of good and evil, he is neither elated nor
dejected at any favourable or unfavourable circumstances of his life,
nor does he feel glad or sad at the good or bad accident relating the
state.
12. He did his duties without setting his mind to them, which was
wholly employed in his intellectual speculations.
13. Remaining thus in his hypnotic state of sound sleep (abstraction),
his thoughts are quite abstracted from all objects about him.
14. He is unmindful of the past, and heedless about the future; and
enjoys the present moment only, with a gladsome heart and cheerful mind.
15. He obtained the obtainable what is worthy to be obtained, by his
own ratiocination (or self-reflection), and not O lotus-eyed Ráma! by
any other desire (_i.e._ by abandoning all his worldly desires).
16. Therefore we should reason (or reflect) in our minds, so long as we
succeed to arrive at the conclusion of the subject.
17. The presence of the Holy Light, is not to be had either by the
lectures of a preceptor, or the teaching of the sástras; it is not the
result of meritorious acts, nor of the company of the holy men; but the
result of your own intellection.
18. A good understanding assisted by the power of its accompanying
percipience (prajaná), leads to the knowledge of that highest state,
which the acts of your piety cannot do.
19. He who has set before his sight the keen light of the lamp of his
percipience, is enabled to see both the past and future in his
presence; and no shadow of ignorance intercepts his vision.
20. It is by means of his percipience, that one is enabled to cross
over the sea of dangers; as a passenger goes across a river in a boat
or raft.
21. The man that is devoid of his prescience, is overtaken even by
small mishaps; as a light straw is blown away by the slightest breeze.
22. One who is endued with foresight, passes over the eventful ocean of
the world, without the assistance of friends and guidance of the
sástras.
23. The man with foreknowledge, sees the result of his actions
beforehand; but one without his prevision, is at a loss to judge of the
imminent events.
24. Good company and learning, strengthen the understanding; as the
watering of a plant, tends towards its growth and fructification.
25. The infant understanding like a tender shoot, takes a deep root in
time; and having grown up like a tree, bears the sweet fruit in its
season; like the cooling moonbeams at night.
26. Whatever exertions are made by men for the acquisition of external
properties, the same should be more properly devoted for the
improvement of their understandings at first. (_i.e._ Intellectual
improvement should precede that of outward circumstances).
27. Dullness of the understanding, which is the source of all evils,
and the storehouse of misery, and the root of the arbour of
worldliness, must be destroyed first of all.
28. Great minded men get in their understandings, whatever good they
may expect to find in this earth, in heaven above and in the nether
world. (The mind is the seat of all treasures).
29. It is by means of one’s good understanding only, that he can get
over the ocean of the world; and not by his charities, pilgrimages or
religious austerities.
30. The divine blessing attending on mortal men on earth, is the sweet
fruit of the tree of knowledge. (Here is a contrast with the mortal
taste of the forbidden fruit of knowledge).
31. Wisdom nips with its sharp nails, the heads of the elephantine
(gigantic) bonds of giddiness, with as much ease as the lion kills the
deer, or as if it were destroying a strong lion by a weak jackal. (Weak
wisdom having the power of destroying the wild worldliness).
32. An ordinary man is often seen to become the ruler of men, by means
of his greater knowledge than others; and the wise and discreet are
entitled to glory in both worlds.
33. Reason overcomes all its adversaries, dealing in diverse forms of
sophistry; as a disciplined warrior, overpowers on a host of untrained
savage people.
34. Reasoning is as the philosopher’s stone, which converts the base
metals to gold; and is hidden in the casket of rational souls as the
best treasure. It yields the desired fruits of men like the kalpa plant
of Paradise at a thought.
35. The right reasoner gets across the wide ocean of the world, by
means of his reasoning, while the unreasonable rabble are born away by
its waves; as the skillful boat-man cuts across the current, while the
unskilled waterman is tossed about by the waves.
36. A well directed understanding leads to the success of an
undertaking, but the misguided intellect goes to the rack and ruin; the
one sails to the shore before the wind; but the other is tossed in his
wrecked vessel over the wide gulph of the world.
37. The keen sighted and unbiassed wise man, is never over-come by the
evils arising from his desires: as the arrows of the adversary, do not
pierce the body of a soldier in armour.
38. The sapience of a man, gives him an insight into every thing in the
world and, the all knowing man, is neither subjected to dangers nor
reverses of his fortune.
39. The dark and wide-stretching cloud of blind egoism, which
overshadows the sun-light of the Supreme Spirit within us, is driven
away by the breath of intelligence.
40. The improvement of the understanding, is the first requisite
towards the knowledge of the Supreme soul; as the cultivation of the
ground, is of primary importance to the farmer, desirous of reaping a
rich harvest.
CHAPTER XIII.
GOVERNMENT OF THE MIND.
Argument. Reasons and Rules of Restraining the Mind from the
instance of Janaka’s _insouciance_.
Vasishtha continued:—Now Ráma! Reflect on the Supreme spirit, in thy
own spirit like Janaka; and know the object of the meditation of the
wise, without any difficulty or failing.
2. The wise men of the latter genus _rájasa-sátvika_ or active
goodness, obtain their desired objects by themselves (of their own
institution), like Janaka and other holy sages.
3. As long as you continue to restrain your organs of sense from their
objects, so long will the divine soul grace your own inward soul with
its presence.
4. The Lord God and Supreme soul, being thus gracious to thee; thou
shalt see a halo of light cast over all things, and dispersing all thy
woes from thy sight.
5. The sight of the Supreme spirit, will remove the plentiful seeds of
bias from thy mind; and it will drive away the woeful sights of misery,
pouring upon thy view in copious showers.
6. Continue like Janaka in the wilful discharge of thy duties, and
prosper by placing thy intellectual sight, on the divine light shining
in thy inward spirit.
7. It was by his inward cogitations, that Janaka found the
transitoriness of the world; and by placing his faith in the
unchangeable Spirit, he found its grace in time.
8. Hence neither the pious acts of men, nor their riches nor friends,
are of any use to them for their salvation from the miseries of life,
unless it be by their own endeavor for the enlightenment of their soul.
9. They who rely their faith in the gods, and depend upon them for
fulfilment of their desires and future rewards, are perverted in their
understandings, and cannot be heirs of immortality.
10. It is by reliance in one’s reasoning and resignation, and by his
spiritual vision of the Supreme spirit, that he is saved from his
misery in this ocean of the world.
11. The attainment of this blessed knowledge of intuition, which
removeth our ignorance, is as what they call thy getting of fruit
fallen from heaven (_i.e._ a heavenly and accidental fruit).
12. The intelligence which looks into itself as Janaka’s, finds the
soul developing of itself in it, as the lotus-bud opens of itself in
the morning.
13. The firm conviction of the material world, melts into nothing under
the light of percipience; as the thick and tangible ice, dissolves into
fluidity under the heat of the sun.
14. The consciousness that this is I (_i.e._ one’s self-consciousness),
is as the shade of night, and is dispelled at the rise of the sun of
intellect, when the Omnipresent light appears vividly to sight.
15. No sooner one loses his self-consciousness that ‘this is himself,’
than the All-pervading Soul opens fully to his view.
16. As Janaka has abandoned the consciousness of his personality,
together with his desires also; so do you, O intelligent Ráma, forsake
them by your acute understanding and of the mind discernment.
17. After the cloud of egoism is dispersed, and the sphere is cleared
all around; the divine light appears to shine in it, as brightly as
another sun.
18. It is the greatest ignorance to think of one’s egoism (or
self-personality); this thought being relaxed by the sense of our
nothingness, gives room to the manifestation of holy light in the soul.
19. Neither think of the entity nor non-entity of thyself or others;
but preserve the tranquility of thy mind from both the thoughts of
positive and negative existences; in order to get rid of thy sense of
distinction between the producer and the produced (_i.e._ of the cause
and effect, the both of which are identic in Vedánta or spiritual
philosophy).
20. Again your fostering a fondness for something as good, and a hatred
to others as bad; is but a disease of your mind for your uneasiness
only. (Since all things are good in their own kinds, and nothing bad in
its nature, and in the sight of God, who pronounced all things good).
21. Be not fond of what you think to be beautiful, nor disgusted at
what appears hateful to you, get rid of these antagonist feelings, and
be even-minded by fixing it on One, before whom all things are alike
and equally good: (all partial evil is universal good. Pope.)
22. They that view the desirable and the detestable in the same light,
are neither fond of the one nor averse to the other.
23. Until the fancy of the desirableness of one thing and dislike of
the other, is effaced from the mind, it is as hard to have the good
grace of equanimity, as it is difficult for the moonlight to pierce
through the cloudy sky.
24. The mind which considers one thing as some thing à propos, and
another as nothing to the purpose (the one as desirable and the other
worthless); is deprived of the blessing of indifference, as the brier
_sákota_ is despised, not standing with all its fruits and flowers.
25. Where there is a craving for the desirable, and an aversion to what
is unseemly, and when there is a cry for gain and an outcry at one’s
loss; it is impossible for even mindedness, dispassionateness and
tranquility of the mind, to abide then and there in that state.
26. There being only the essence of one pure—Brahma diffused throughout
the universe, how very improper is it to take the one as many, and
among them something as good or bad; (when the Maker of all has made
all things good).
27. Our desires and dislike, are the two apes abiding on the tree of
our hearts; and while they continue to shake and swing it with their
jogging and jolting, there can be no rest in it.
28. Freedom from fear and desire, from exertions and action, together
with sapience and equanimity, are the inseparable accompaniments of
ease and rest.
29. The qualities of forbearance and fellow feeling, accompanied with
contentment and good understanding, and joined with a mild disposition
and gentle speech, are the indispensable companions of the wise man,
who has got rid of his desires and the feelings of his liking or
dislike.
30. The mind running to meanness, is to be repressed by restraining the
passions and appetites; as the current of water running below, is
stopped by its lock gate.
31. Shun the sight of external things, which are the roots of error and
fallacy; and consider always their internal properties both when you
are awake and asleep, and also when you are walking about or sitting
down.
32. Avaricious men are caught like greedy fishes, in the hidden net of
their insatiable desires, and which is woven with the threads of
worldly cares, and is under the waters of worldly affairs.
33. Now Ráma! cut the meshes of this net, with the knife of thy good
understanding; and disperse it in the water, as a tempest rends the
thick cloud and scatters it about the air.
34. Try O gentle Ráma! to uproot the root of worldliness, which sprouts
forth in the weeds of vice, with the hatchet of your perseverance and
the eliminating shovel of your penetration.
35. Employ your mind to hew down the cravings <of> your mind, as they use
the axe to cut down a tree, and you will then rest in quiet as you
arrive at the state of holiness.
36. Having destroyed the former state of your mind by its present
state, try to forget them both by your heedless mind in future, and
manage yourself unmindful of the world. (There is a play of the word
mind in the original).
37. Your utter oblivion of the world, will prevent the revival of your
mind; and stop the reappearance of ignorance which is concomitant with
the mind.
38. Whether you are waking or sleeping or in any other state of your
life; you must remember the nihility of the world, and resign your
reliance in it.
39. Leave off your selfishness (mamatá or _mei tatem_), O Ráma! and
rely in the disinterestedness of your soul; lay hold on what ever
offers of itself to you and without seeking for it all about.
40. As the Lord God doth every thing, and is yet aloof from all; so
must thou do all thy acts outwardly, and without thyself mixing in any.
41. Knowing the knowable, one finds himself as the increate soul and
Great Lord of all; but being apart from that soul, he views only the
material world spread before him.
42. He who has the sight of the inner spirit, is freed from the
thoughts of the external world, and is not subjected to the joy or
grief or sorrow and other evils of his life.
43. He is called a Yogi who is free from passions and enmity, and looks
on gold and rubbish in the same light; he is joined with his Joy in his
Yoga, and disjoined from all worldly desires.
44. He enjoys the fruit of his own acts, and minds not what he wastes
or gives away; he has the evenness of his mind in every condition, and
is unaltered by pain or pleasure. (The Sanskrit _sukh-dukkha_ means
also prosperity and adversity, and good and evil of every kind).
45. He who receives what he gets, and is employed with whatever offers
of itself to him, without considering the good or evil that he is to
gain by it, is not plunged into any difficulty.
46. He who is certain of the truth of the spiritual essence of the
world, pants not for its physical enjoyments, but he is even-minded at
all times.
47. The dull mind follows the active intellect in accomplishing its
objects, as the carnivorous cat or fox follows the lion in quest of
meat.
48. As the servile band of the lion feeds on the flesh acquired by his
prowess, so the mind dwells upon the visible and sensible object, which
it perceives by power of the intellect.
49. Thus the unsubstantial mind, lives upon the outer world by the help
of the intellect; but as it comes to remember its origination from the
intellect, it recoils back to its original state.
50. The mind which is moved and lighted, by the heat and light of the
lamp of the intellect; becomes extinct without its physical force, and
grows as motionless as a dead body.
51. The nature of the intellect is known to exclude the idea of motion
or pulsation from it; and the power which has vibration in it, is
called intellection or the mind in the sástras.
52. The breathing (or vibration) of the mind, like the hissing of a
snake, is called its imagination (kalpana); but by knowing the
intellect as the Ego, it comes to the true knowledge of the inward soul.
53. The intellect which is free from thoughts (_chetyas_), is the ever
lasting Brahma; but being joined with thought, it is styled the
imaginative principle or Mind.
54. This power of imagination having assumed a definite form, is termed
the mind; which with its volition and options, is situated in the heart
of living beings.
55. With its two distinct powers of imagination and volition, it is
employed in the acts of discriminating and choosing the agreeable from
what is disagreeable to it. (_i.e._ The imagination and volitive
faculties of the mind, supply it with the power of discrimination and
option, between what is fit or unfit for or suitable to it).
56. The intellect being seated in the heart with its thoughts and
volitions, forgets its spiritual nature, and remains as a dull material
substance (_i.e._ the passivity of the heart as opposed to the activity
of the mind).
57. The intellect being thus confined in the hearts of all animals in
this world, continues in utter oblivion of its nature; until it is
awakened of itself, either by its intuition or instruction of
preceptors &c.
58. So it is to be wakened by means of instruction, derived from the
sástras and preceptors; as also by the practice of dispassionateness,
and subjection of the organs of sense and action.
59. When the minds of living beings, are roused by learning and
self-control; they tend towards the knowledge of the Great Brahma, or
else they rove at random about the wide world.
60. We must therefore awaken our minds, which are rolling in the pit of
worldliness, through the inebriety of the wine of error, and which are
dormant to divine knowledge.
61. As long as the mind is unawakened, it is insensible of every thing
(in its true light); and though it perceives the visibles, yet this
perception of them is as false as the sight of a city in our fancy.
62. But when the mind is awakened by divine knowledge, to the sight of
the supreme Being; it presents every thing in itself, as the inward
fragrance of flowers pervades the outer-petals also. (_i.e._ The inward
sight of God, comprehends the view of every thing in it).
63. Though the intellect has the quality of knowing every thing,
contained in all the three worlds; yet it has but a little knowledge of
them from the paucity of its desire of knowing them. (_i.e._ Though the
capacity of the intellect is unlimited, yet its knowledge is
proportionate to its desire of gaining it).
64. The mind without the intellect is a dull block of stone; but it is
opened by divine light, like the lotus-bud expanding under the light of
the sun.
65. The imaginative mind is as devoid of understanding, as a statue
made of marble, is unable to move about by itself.
66. How can the regiments drawn in painting, wage a war in a mutual
conflict, and how can the moon-beams, make the medicinal plants emit
their light? (_i.e._ As it is life that makes the armies fight, so it
is the intellect that actuates the mind to its operations. And as the
plants shine by night by the sun-beams, which are deposited in them
during day, so shines the mind by means of its intellectual light).
67. Who has seen dead bodies besmeared with blood to run about on the
ground, or witnessed the fragments of stones in the woods to sing in
musical strains?
68. Where does the stone idol of the sun, dispel the darkness of the
night; and where does the imaginary forest of the sky spread its shade
on the ground?
69. Of what good are the efforts of men, who are as ignorant as blocks
of stones, and are led by their error in many ways; except it be to
endanger themselves by the mirage of their minds? (The exertions of the
ignorant are as vain as the labour of a Sisyphus).
70. It is the imagination that displays the non-existent as existent in
the soul, as it is the sun-beams, which exhibit the limpid main in the
mazy sands.
71. It is the moving principle in the body, which the sophists
designate as the mind; but know it as a mere force of the winds, like
the vital breath of living beings.
72. Those whose self-consciousness is not disturbed, by the currents of
their passions and desires; have their spiritual souls like an
unperturbed stream (of psychic fluid).
73. But when this pure consciousness is befouled by the false fancies
of this and that, and that this is I and that is mine; then the soul
and the vital principle, are both taken together to form a living being.
74. The mind, the living soul and understanding, are all but fictitious
names of an unreality, according to the conceptions of false thinkers,
and not of them that know the true spirit.
75. There is no mind nor understanding, no thinking principle, nor the
body in reality; there is the only reality of the One universal spirit,
which is ever existent everywhere. (So says the Sruti:—All else are but
transitory creations of imagination, and so pass into nothing).