without one’s own exertion in gaining it; nor is there any true
happiness, without the resignation of earthly enjoyments.
59. The Supreme felicity of rest in the state of Brahma, is to be bad
nowhere in this wide world, either in this mundane sphere, or anywhere
else beyond these spheres.
60. Therefore expect always how your soul may find its rest in the
divine Spirit, by relying on the exertion of your manliness, and
leaving aside your dependance on the eventualities of destiny.
61. The wise man detests all worldly enjoyments as if they are the
strong bolts or barriers at the door of bliss; and it is the settled
aversion to earthly pleasures, that brings a man to his right reason.
62. As the increasing gloominess of rainy clouds, is followed by the
serenity of autumnal skies, so clear reasoning comes after detestation
of enjoyments, which fly at the advance of reason.
63. As the seas and the clouds of heaven, help one another by lending
their waters in turn; so apathy to pleasures and right reasoning, tend
to produce each other by turns.
64. So disbelief in destiny, and engagement in manly exertion, are
sequences of one another, as reciprocities of service are consequences
of mutual friendship.
65. It must be by the gnashing of your teeth (_i.e._ by your firm
resolve), that you should create a distaste even of those things, which
you have acquired by legal means and conformably to the custom of your
country.
66. You must first acquire your wealth by means of your manly
exertions, and then get good and clever men in your company by means of
your wealth (_i.e._ patronise the learned therewith, and improve your
mind by their instructions).
67. Association with the wise produces an aversion to the sensual
enjoyments of life, by exciting the reasoning power, which gains for
its reward an increase of knowledge and learning.
68. These lead gradually to the acquirement of that state of
consummation, which is concomitant with the utter renunciation of
worldly objects.
69. It is then by means of your reasoning that you attain to that
Supreme State of perfection, in which you obtain your perfect rest and
the holiness of your soul.
70. You will then fall no more in the mud of your misconceptions; but
as a pure essence, you will have no dependance on anything, but become
as the venerable Siva yourself.
71. Thus the steps of attaining consummation, are first of all the
acquisition of wealth, according to the custom of the caste and
country; and then its employment in the service of wise and learned
men. Next follows your abandonment of the world, which is succeeded by
your attainment of Spiritual knowledge, by the cultivation of your
reasoning powers.[11]
CHAPTER XXV.
REFLECTIONS OF BALI.
Argument. Rise of intellectual light in Bali’s mind, and his Reference
to Sukra for Advice.
Bali said:—In this manner did my sapient father advise me before on
this subject, which I fortunately remember at the present moment for
the enlightenment of my understanding.
2. It is now that I feel my aversion to the enjoyments of life, and
come to perceive by my good luck the bliss of tranquility, to liken
the clear and cooling ambrosial drink of heavenly bliss.
3. I am tired of all my possessions, and am weary of my continued
accumulation of wealth, for the satisfaction of my endless desires. The
live-long care of the family also has grown tiresome to me.
4. But how charming is this peace and tranquility of my soul, which is
quite even and all cool within itself. Here are all our pleasures and
pains brought to meet upon the same level of equality and indifference.
5. I am quite unconcerned with any thing and am highly delighted with
my indifference to all things; I am gladdened within myself as by the
beams of the full-moon, and feel the orb of the full moon rising within
myself.
6. O! the trouble of acquiring riches, which is attended by the loud
bustle of the world and agitation in the mind, and the heart burn and
fatigue of the body; and is accompanied with incessant anxiety and
affliction of the heart.
7. The limbs and flesh of the body, are smashed by labour; and all
bodily exercises that pleased me once, now appear to be the long and
lost labours of my former ignorance.
8. I have seen the sights of whatever was worth seeing, and enjoyed the
enjoyments which knew no bounds; I have overcome all beings; but what
is the good (that I have derived from all this)?
9. There is only a reiteration of the very same things, that I had
there, here and elsewhere; and I found nowhere now any thing new, that
I had not seen or known before.
10. I am now sitting here in full possession of myself, by resigning
every thing and its thought from my mind; and thereby I find that
nothing whatever nor even its thought forms any component-part of
myself.
11. The best things in the heaven above, earth and in this infernal
region, are reckoned to be their damsels, gems and jewels; but all
these are destroyed and wasted sooner or later by the cruel hand of
time.
12. I have acted foolishly all this time, by waging a continuous
struggle with the gods, for the sake of the trifle of worldly
possessions. (The wars of the earth-born demons and the foreign deities
are well known in the early history of the world).
13. What is this phantom of the world, but a creation of the brain;
what then is the harm of forsaking it forever in which great souls take
no delight whatever?
14. Alas! that I have spent such a large portion of my life-time, in
pursuing after trifles in the ignorant giddiness of my mind.
15. My fickle and fluctuating desires, have led me to do many acts of
foolishness, in this world of odds and trifles, which now fill me with
remorse and regret. (Remembrance of the past, is fraught with
regret).
16. But it is in vain to be overwhelmed with the sad thoughts of the
past, while I should use my manly exertions to improve the present.
(The present time is in our hand, but who the past can recall, or the
future command).
17. It is by reflecting on the eternal cause of the endless infinity of
souls in the soul, that one can attain his perfect felicity; as the
gods got the ambrosia from the Milky ocean. (True bliss is to be
derived from the blissful Deity).
18. I most consult my preceptor Sukra, concerning the Ego and the soul
and spiritual vision, of the soul of souls in order to expel my
ignorance in these matters.
19. I must refer these questions to the most venerable Sukra, who is
always complacent to his favorites; and then it is possible that by
his advice I shall be settled in the highest perfection of seeing the
supreme spirit, in my spirit, because the words of the wise, are ever
fraught with full meaning and are fruitful of the desired object.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ADMONITION OF SUKRA TO BALI.
Argument. Sukra’s appearance at the call of Bali; and his advice to him
on the attainment of divine knowledge.
Vasishtha said:—So saying the mighty Bali closed his eyes, and thought
upon the lotus-eyed Sukra, abiding in his heavenly abode. (Sukra the
planet Venus represented as the preceptor of demons, as Vrihaspati the
planet Jupiter is said to be the Spiritual guide of the deities).
2. Sukra, who sat intently meditating on the all pervading spirit of
God, came to know in his mind, that he was remembered by his disciple
Bali in his city.
3. Then Sukra the son of Bhrigu, whose soul was united with the
all pervading infinite and omniscient spirit, descended with his
heavenly body at the gemming window of Bali (decorated with glass
doors).
4. Bali knew the body of his guide by its lustre, as the lotus-flower
perceives the rising sun by his dawning beams.
5. He then honoured his _guru_ or guide, by adoring his feet on a seat
decked with gems, and with offering of _mandára_ flowers upon him.
6. As Sukra took his rest on the gemming seat from the labour of his
journey, he was strewn over with offerings of gems on his body, and
heaps of mandára flowers upon his head; after which Bali addressed him
thus:—
7. Venerable sir, this illustrious presence of thy grace before me,
emboldens me to address to thee, as the morning sun-beams send all
mankind to their daily work.
8. I have come to feel an aversion, Sir, to all kinds of worldly
enjoyments, which are productive of the delusion of our souls; and want
to know the truth relating to it, in order to dispel my ignorance of
myself.
9. Tell me, sir, in short, what are these enjoyments good for, and how
far they extend; and what am I, thou or these people in reality.
(Extent of enjoyments—bhoga, means their limitation and duration).
10. Sukra answered:—I can not tell you in length about it, as I have
soon to repair to my place in the sky. Hear me O monarch of demons tell
this much briefly to you at present.
11. There is verily but the intellect in reality, and all this
existence beside is verily the intellect and full of intellect: The
mind is the intellect, and I, thou and these people are collectively
the very intellect. (Gloss. These sayings are based on the srutis,
namely: All these are but different aspects of the one intellect.
Again: All things depend on the _chit_. Also:—This _chit_ am I, thou
and this Brahma and Indra and all others. There is no other looker or
the subjective; or the hearer or objective beside the _chit_: and so
forth).
12. If you are wise, know you derive every thing from this Chit—the
universal Intellect; or else all gifts of fortune are as useless to you
as the offering of butter on ashes (which cannot consume it, or make a
burnt offering of it to the gods).
13. Taking the intellect as something thinkable or object of thought,
is the snare of the mind; but the belief of its freeness or
incomprehensibility, is what confers liberation to the soul. The
incomprehensible intellect is verily the universal soul, which is the
sum of all doctrines. (All faiths and doctrines tend to the belief of
one unknowable God).
14. Knowing this for certain, look on everything as such; and behold
the spirit in thy spirit, in order to arrive to the state of the
Infinite spirit. (Or else the adoration of a finite object, must lead
to a finite state).
15. I have instantly to repair to the sky, where the seven munis
are assembled (the seven planets or the seven stars of the
Pleiades—saptarshi?), where I have to continue in the performance
of my divine service.
16. I tell you, O king! that you must not of yourself get rid of your
duties, as long as you are in this body of yours, even though your mind
may be freed from everything. (The embodied being must continue in the
discharge of his bodily duty).
17. So saying, Sukra flew as a bee besmeared with the farinaceous
gold-dust of the lotus, to the aureate vault of heaven; and passed
through the watery path of the waving clouds, to where the revolving
planets were ready to receive him.
CHAPTER XXVII.
HEBETUDE OF BALI.
Argument. Bali attains to his state of Ecstacy, by his observance
of Sukra’s precepts.
Vasishtha said:—After Sukra, the son of Bhrigu and senior in the
assembly of gods and demigods, had made his departure, Bali the best
among the intelligent, reflected thus in himself.
2. Truly has the seer said, that the Intellect composes the three
worlds, and that I am this Intellect, and the Intellect fills all the
quarters, and shows itself in all our actions.
3. It is the Intellect which pervades the inside and outside of every
thing, and there is nothing anywhere which is without the Intellect.
4. It is the Intellect that perceives the sunbeams and moonlight, or
else there would be no distinction between them and darkness, had not
there been this intellectual perception.
5. If there were no such intellectual perception as this earth is land,
then there would be no distinction of earth and water, nor the word
earth apply to land.
6. If the Intellect would not understand the vast space as the quarters
of the sky, and the mountains as vast protuberances on earth; then who
would call the sides and the mountains by those names?
7. If the world were not known as the world and the vacuum as vacuity,
then who would distinguish them by the names that are in common use?
8. If this big body was not perceived by the intellect, how proper
could the bodies of embodied beings be called by their names?
9. The Intellect resides in every organ of sense, it dwells in the
body, mind and all its desires; the intellect is in the internal and
external parts of the body, and the intellect is all that is in
existent and non-existent. (Because the intellect has the notions of
all these things, which would not come to exist, if they were not in
the intellect).
10. The Intellect forms my wholeself, by its feeling and knowing of
everything that I feel and know; or else I can neither perceive or
conceive nor do anything with my body alone, and without guidance of
the intellect.
11. What avails this body of mine, which is inert and insensible as a
block of wood or stone; it is the intellect that makes my self, and it
is the intelligent spirit which is the universal Soul.
12. I am the intellect which resides in the sun and in the sky, and I
am the intellect which dwells in the bodies of all beings; I am the
same intellect which guides the gods and demigods, and dwells alike in
the movables and immovable bodies.
13. The intellect being the sole existence, it is in vain to suppose
aught besides; and their being naught otherwise, there can be no
difference of a friend or foe to us.
14. What is it if I Bali, strike off the head of a person from his
body, I can not injure the soul which is everywhere and fills all space.
15. The feelings of love and enmity are properties of the intellect
(Soul), and are not separated from it by its separation from the body.
Hence the passions and feelings are inseparable from the Intellect or
soul.
16. There is nothing to be thought of beside the Intellect, and nothing
to be obtained anywhere, except from the spacious womb of the
Intellect, which comprehends all the three worlds.
17. But the passions and feelings, the mind and its powers, are mere
attributes and not properties of the Intellect; which being altogether
a simple and pure essence, is free from every attribute.
18. The Intellect—_chit_ is the Ego, the omnipresent, all pervasive and
ever felicitous soul; it is beyond all other attributes, and without a
duality or parts.
19. The term Intellect—_chit_ which is applied to the nameless power of
intellection—_chiti_, is but a verbal symbol signifying the omniscient
Intelligence, which is manifest in all places. (_i.e._ The Divine
Intellect is both omniscient as well as omnipresent, while human
understanding is narrow and circumscribed).
20. The Ego is the Supreme Lord, that is ever awake and sees all things
without manifesting any appearance of himself. He is purely transparent
and beyond all visible appearances.
21. All its attributes are lame, partial and imperfect. Even time which
has its phases and parts, is not a proper attribute for it. It is but a
glimpse of its light that rises before us, but the eternal and infinite
light, is beyond our comprehension.
22. I must think of it only in the form of light in my own self, and
know it apart from all other thinkables and thoughts, and quite aloof
from all shades and colours.
23. I salute his self-same form of Intelligence, and the power of
Intellection, unaccompanied by the intelligible, and employed in its
proper sphere.
24. I salute that light of his in me, which represents every thing to
me; which is beyond all thought, and is of the form of Intellect, going
everywhere and filling all space.
25. It is the quiet consciousness of all beings, the real Intellect
(sach-chit), the Ego and the Great; the Ego which is as infinite as
space, and yet minuter than an atom, and spreading in all alike.
26. I am not subject to the states of pleasure and pain, I am conscious
of my self and of no other existence besides myself; and I am
Intelligence without the intelligibles spread out before me.
27. No worldly entity nor non-entity (_i.e._ neither the gain of any
object nor its want), can work any change in me; for the possession of
worldly objects would destroy me at once (by their separating my soul
from God).
28. In my opinion there is nothing that is distinct from me, when we
know all things as the produce of the same source.
29. What one gets or loses is no gain or loss to any (_i.e._ to the
gainer or loser), because the same Ego always abides in all, and is the
Maker of all and pervading everywhere.
30. Whether I am any of the thinkable objects or not, it matters me
little to know; since the Intellect is always a single thing, though
its intelligibles (_i.e._ its productions or thoughts), are endless.
31. I am so long in sorrow, as my soul is not united with the Holy
spirit. So saying, the most discerning Bali fell to a deep meditation.
32. He reflected on the half mantra of Om (_i.e._ the dot only); an
emblem of the Infinite God; and sat quietly with all his desires and
fancies lying dormant in him.
33. He sat undaunted, by suppressing his thoughts and his thinking
powers within him; and remained with his subdued desires, after having
lost the consciousness of his meditation, and of his being the
meditator and also of meditated object. (_i.e._ Without knowing himself
as the subject or object of his thoughts and acts).
34. While Bali was entranced in this manner at the window which was
decked with gems, he became illumined in his mind as a lighted lamp
flaming unshaken by the wind. And he remained long in his steady
posture as a statue carved of a stone.
35. He sat with his mind as clear as the autumnal sky after having cast
off all his desires and mental anxieties, and being filled within
himself with his spiritual light.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
DESCRIPTION OF BALI’S ANAESTHESIA.
Argument. Anxiety of the demons at the supineness of Bali, and the
Appearance of Sukra with them before him.
Vasishtha continued:—The servile demons of Bali (being impatient at
this numbness of their king), ascended hastily to his high crystal
palace, and stood at the door of his chamber.
2. There were his ministers Dimbha and others among them, and his
generals Kumuda and others also. There were likewise the princes Sukra
and others in the number, and his champions Vritta and the rest.
3. There were Hayagríva and the other captains of his armies, with his
friends Akraja and others. His associates Laduka and some more joined
the train, with his servants Valluka and many more.
4. There were also the gods Kubera, Yama and Indra that paid him their
tribute; and the Yakshas, Vidyádhars and Nágas that rendered him their
services. (Were the Vidyádhars the Vedias or gipsies of modern India?).
5. There were the heavenly nymphs Rambhá and Tilottamá in the number,
with the fanning and flapping damsels of his court; and the deputies of
different provinces and of hilly and maritime districts, were also in
attendance.
6. These accompanied by the Siddhas inhabiting different parts of the
three worlds, all waited at that place to tender their services to Bali.
7. They beheld Bali with reverence, with his head hanging down with the
crown upon it, and his arms hanging loosely with the pendant bracelets
on them.
8. Seeing him thus, the great Asuras made their obeisance to him in due
form, and were stupified with sorrow and fear, and struck with wonder
and joy by turns at this sad plight of his.
9. The ministers kept pondering about what was the case with him, and
the demons besought their all knowing preceptor Sukra, for his
explaining the case to them.
10. Quick as thought they beheld the shining figure of Sukra, standing
confest to their sight, as if they saw the phantom of their
imagination appearing palpable to view.
11. Sukra being honoured by the demons, took his seat on a sofa; and
saw in his silent meditation, the state of the mind of the king of
demons.
12. He remained for a while to behold with delight, how the mind of
Bali was freed from errors, by the exercise of its reasoning powers.
13. The illustrious preceptor, the lustre of whose person put to shame
the brightness of the milky ocean, then said smiling to the listening
throng of the demons:
14. Know ye demons, this Bali to have become an adept in his spiritual
knowledge, and to have fixed his seat in holy light, by the working of
his intellect (_i.e._ by his intuition only).
15. Let him alone, ye good demons, remain in this position, resting in
himself and beholding the imperishable one within himself in his
reverie.
16. Lo! here the weary pilgrim to have got his rest, and his mind is
freed from the errors of this false world. Disturb him not with your
speech, who is now as cold as ice.
17. He has now received that light of knowledge amidst the gloom of
ignorance, as the waking man beholds the full blaze of the sun, after
dispersion of the darkness of his sleep at dawn.
18. He will in time wake from his trance, and rise like the germ of a
seed, sprouting from the seed vessel in its proper season.
19. Go ye leaders of the demons from here, and perform your respective
duties assigned to you by your master; for it will take a thousand
years, for Bali to wake from his trance (as a moment’s sleep makes a
myriad of years in a dream).
20. After Sukra the Guru and guide of the demons, had spoken in this
manner, they were filled with alternate joy and grief in their hearts,
and cast aside their anxiety about him, as a tree casts its withered
leaves away.
21. The Asuras then left their king Bali to rest in his palace in the
aforesaid manner, and returned to their respective offices, as they had
been employed heretofore.
22. It now became night, and all men retired to their earthly abodes,
the serpents entered into their holes, the stars appeared in the skies,
and the gods reposed in their celestial domes. The regents of all sides
and mountainous tracts, went to their own quarters, and the beasts of
the forest and birds of the air, fled and flew to their own coverts and
nests.
CHAPTER XXIX.
BALI’S RESUSCITATION TO SENSIBILITY.
Argument. Self-confinement of the Living-liberated Bali in the
Infernal Regions.
Vasishtha related:—After the thousand years of the celestials, had
rolled on in Bali’s unconsciousness; he was roused to his sensibility,
at the beating of heavenly drums by the gods above (the loud peal of
clouds).
2. Bali being awake, his city (Mavalipura) was renovated with fresh
beauty, as the lotus-bed is revivified by the rising sun in the eastern
horizon (Vairincha or Brahma-loka, placed at the sunrising points).
3. Bali not finding the demons before him after he was awaked, fell to
the reflecting of the reveries during his state of entrancement
(Samádhi).
4. O how charming! said he, was that cooling rapture of spiritual
delight, in which my soul had been enrapt for a short time.
5. O how I long to resume that state of felicity! because these outward
enjoyments which I have relished to my fill, have ceased to please me
any more.
6. I do not find the waves of those delights even in the orb of the
moon, as I felt in the raptures which undulated in my soul, during the
entranced state of my insensibility.
7. Bali was again attempting to resume his state of inexcitability,
when he was interrupted by the attendant demons, as the moon is
intercepted by the surrounding clouds.
8. He cast a glancing look upon them, and was going to close his eyes
in meditation; after making his prostration on the ground; but was
instantly obtruded upon by their gigantic statures standing all around
him.
9. He then reflected in himself and said: The intellect being devoid of
its option, there is nothing for me to desire; but the mind being fond
of pleasures vainly pursues after them: (which it cannot fully gain,
enjoy or long retain).
10. Why should I desire my emancipation, when I am not confined by or
attached to anything here: it is but a childish freak to seek for
liberation, when I am not bound or bound to anything below. (The soul
is perfectly free of itself, but it is the mind that enchains it to
earth).
11. I have no desire of enfranchisement nor fear for incarceration,
since the disappearance of my ignorance; what need have I then of
meditation, and of what good is meditation to me?
12. Meditation and want of meditation are both mistakes of the mind
(there being no efficacy or inefficacy of either). We must depend on
our manliness, and hail all that comes to pass on us without rejoicing
or shrinking (since all good and evil proceed from God).
13. I require neither thoughtfulness nor thoughtlessness, nor
enjoyments nor their privation, but must remain unmoved and firm as one
sane and sound.
14. I have no longing for the spiritual, nor craving for temporal
things; I have neither to remain in the meditative mood, nor in the
state of giddy worldliness.
15. I am not dead (because my soul is immortal); nor can I be living
(because the soul is not connected with life). I am not a reality (as
the body), nor an unreality (composed of spiritual essence only); nor I
am a material or aerial body (being neither this body nor Vital air).
Neither am I of this world or any other, but self-same ego—the Great.
16. When I am in this world, I will remain here in quiet; I am not
here, I abide calmly in the solace of my soul.
17. What shall I do with my meditation, and what with all my royalty;
let any thing come to pass as it may; I am nothing for this or that,
nor is anything mine.
18. Though I have nothing to do (because I am not a free agent; nor
master of my actions); yet I must do the duties appertaining to my
station in society. (Doing the duties of one’s station in life, is
reckoned by some as the only obligation of man here below. So says the
poet: “Act well thy part, there all the honor lies.”).
19. After ascertaining so in his mind, Bali the wisest of the wise,
looked upon the demons with complacence, as the sun looketh upon the
lotuses.
20. With the nods and glancings of his eyes, he received their homages;
as the passing winds bear the odours of the flowers along with them
(meaning to say: His cursory glances bore their regards, as the fleet
winds bear the fragrance of flowers the rose).
21. Then Bali ceasing to think on the object of his meditation;
accosted them concerning their respective offices under him.
22. He honoured the devas and his gurus with due respect, and saluted
his friends and officers with his best regards.
23. He honoured with his largesse, all his servants and suitors; and he
pleased the attendant maidens with various persons.
24. So he continued to prosper in every department of his government,
until he made up his mind to perform a great sacrifice (yajna) at one
time.
25. He satisfied all beings with his great gifts, and gratified the
great gods and sages with due honour and veneration. He then commenced
the ceremony of the sacrifice under the guidance of Sukra and the chief
_gurus_ and priests.
26. Then Vishnu the lord of Lakshmí, came to know that Bali had no
desire of earthly fruition; and appeared at his sacrifice to crown him
with the success of his undertaking, and confer upon him his desired
blessing.
27. He cunningly persuaded him, to make a gift of the world to Indra
his elder brother, who was insatiably fond of all kinds of enjoyment.
(Indra was elder to Vishnu, who was thence called Upendra or the junior
Indra).
28. Having deceived Bali by his artifices of dispossessing him of the
three worlds, he shut him in the nether world, as they confine a monkey
in a cave under the ground. (This was by Vishnu’s incarnation in the
form of a dwarf or puny man, who <was> considered to be the most cunning
among men; _multum in parvo_; or a man in miniature).
29. Thus Bali continues to remain in his confinement to this day, with
his mind fixed in meditation, for the purpose of his attainment of
Indraship again in a future state of life.
30. The living liberated Bali, being thus restrained in the infernal
cave, looks upon his former prosperity and present adversity in the
same light.
31. There is no rising or setting of his intelligence, in the states of
his pleasure or pain; but it remained one and the same in its full
brightness, like the disk of the sun in a painting.
32. He saw the repeated flux and reflux of worldly enjoyments, and
thence settled his mind in an utter indifference about them.
33. He overcame multitudes of the vicissitudes of life for myriads of
years, in all his transmigrations, in the three worlds, and found at
last, his rest in his utter disregard of all mortal things.
34. He felt thousands of comforts and disquiets, and hundreds of
pleasures and privations of life, and after his long experience of
these, he found his repose in his perfect quiescence.
35. Bali having forsaken his desire of enjoyments, enjoyed the fulness
of his mind in the privation of his wants; and rejoiced in
self-sufficiency of his soul, in the loneliness of his subterranean
cave.
36. After a course of many years, Bali regained his sovereignty of the
world, and governed it for a long time to his heart’s content.
37. But he was neither elated by his elevation to the dignity of
Indra—the lord of gods; nor was he depressed at this prostration from
prosperity.
38. He was one and the same person in every state of his life, and
enjoyed the equanimity of his soul, resembling the serenity of the
etherial sphere.
39. I have related to you the whole story of Bali’s attainment of true
wisdom, and advise you now, O Ráma! to imitate his example for your
elevation, to the same state of perfection.
40. Learn as Bali did by his own discernment, to think yourself as the
immortal and everlasting soul; and try to reach to the state of your
oneness or solity with the Supreme Unity, by your manliness (of
self-controul and self-resignation).
41. Bali the lord of the demons, exercised full authority over the
three worlds, for more than a millennium; but at last he came to feel
an utter distaste, to all the enjoyments of life.
42. Therefore, O Victorious Ráma, forego the enjoyments of life, which
are sure to be attended with a distaste and nausea at the end, and
betake yourself to that state or true felicity, which never grows
insipid at any time.
43. These visible sights, O Ráma! are as multifarious as they are
temptations to the soul; they appear as even and charming as a distant
mountain appears to view; but it proves to be rough and rugged as you
approach to it. (The pleasant paths of life, cannot entice the wise;
they are smooth without, but rugged within).
44. Restrain your mind in the cavity of your heart, from its flight in
pursuit of the perishable objects of enjoyment, either in this life, or
in the next, which are so alluring to all men of common sense.
45. Know yourself, as the self-same intellect, which shines as the sun
throughout the universe; and illumines every object in nature, without
any distinction of or partiality to one or the other.
46. Know yourself O mighty Ráma! to be the infinite spirit, and the
transcendent soul of all bodies; which has manifested itself in
manifold forms, that are as the bodies of the internal intellect.
47. Know your soul as a thread, passing through, and interwoven with
every thing in existence; and like a string connecting all the links of
creation, as so many gems of a necklace or the beads of a rosary. (This
hypostasis of the supreme spirit, is known as the _sútrátmá_ or the
all-connecting soul of the universe; as the poet expresses it.
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part, as full as perfect in
a hair as heart. Pope).
48. Know yourself as the unborn and embodied soul of _Virát_, which is
never born nor ever dies; and never fall into the mistake of thinking
the pure intellect, to be subject to birth or death. (The embodied soul
of _Virát_, is the universal soul as what the poet says: “Whose body
nature is, and god the soul).”
49. Know your desires to be the causes of your birth, life, death and
diseases; therefore shun your cupidity of enjoyments, and enjoy all
things in the manner of the all witnessing intellect. (_i.e._ Indulge
yourself in your intellectual and not corporeal enjoyments).
50. If you remain in the everlasting light of the sun of your
intellect, you will come to find the phenomenal world to be but a
phantom of your dream.
51. Never regret nor sorrow for any thing, nor think of your pleasures
and pains, which do not affect your soul; you are the pure intellect
and the all pervading soul, which manifests itself in every thing.
52. Know the desirables (or worldly enjoyments) to be your evils, and
the undesirable (self-mortification) to be for your good. Therefore
shun the former by your continued practice of the latter.
53. By forsaking your views of the desirables and undesirables, you
will contract a habit of hebetude; which when it takes a deep root in
your heart, you have no more to be reborn in the world.
54. Retract your mind from every thing, to which it runs like a boy
after vain baubles; and settle it in yourself for your own good.
55. Thus by restraining the mind by your best exertions, as also by
your habit of self-control, you will subdue the rampant elephant of
your mind, and reach to your highest bliss afterwards.
56. Do not become as one of those ignorant fools, who believe their
bodies as their real good; and who are infatuated by sophistry and
infidelity, and deluded by impostors to the gratification of their
sensual appetites.
57. What man is more ignorant in this world and more subject to its
evils, than one who derived his Spiritual knowledge from one who is a
smatterer in theology, and relies on the dogmas of pretenders and false
doctors in divinity.
58. Do you dispel the cloud of false reasoning from the atmosphere of
your mind, by the hurricane of our right reasoning, which drives all
darkness before it.
59. You can not be said to have your right reasoning, so long as you do
not come to the light and sight of the soul, both by your own exertion
and grace of the Supreme Spirit.
60. Neither the Veda nor Vedánta, nor the science of logic or any other
sástras, can give you any light of the soul, unless it appears of
itself within you.
61. It is by means of your self culture, aided by my instruction and
divine grace, that you have gained your perfect knowledge, and appear
to rest yourself in the Supreme Spirit.
62. There are three causes of your coming to spiritual light. Firstly
your want of the knowledge of a duality, and then the effulgence of
your intellectual luminary (thy soul) by the grace of God and lastly
the wide extent of your knowledge derived from my instructions.
63. You are now freed from your mental maladies, and have become sane
and sound by abandonment of your desires, by removal of your doubts and
errors, and by forsaking the mist of your fondness for external objects.
64. O Ráma! as you get rid of the faults (errors) of your
understanding, so you advance by degrees in gaining your knowledge, in
cherishing your resignation, in destroying your defects, in imbibing
the bliss of ecstacy, in wandering with exultation, and in elevating
your soul to the sixth sphere. But all this is not enough unless you
attend to Brahmahood itself. (These are called the _Sapta bhúmiká_ or
seven stages of the practice of Yoga).
CHAPTER XXX.
FALL OF HIRANYAKASIPU AND RISE OF PRAHLÁDA.
Argument. Slaughter of Demons by Hari.
Vasishtha continued:—Attend Ráma, to the instructive narrative of
Prahláda—the lord of demons; who became an adept by his own intuition.
2. There was a mighty demon in the infernal regions, Hiranyakasipu by
name; who was as valiant as Naráyana himself, and had expelled the gods
and demigods from their abodes.
3. He mastered all the treasures of the world, and wrested its
possession from the hands of Hari; as the swan encroaches upon the
right of the bee, on the large folia of the lotus.
4. He vanquished the Gods and Asuras, and reigned over the whole earth,
as the elephant masters the lotus-bed, by expulsion of the drove of
swans from it.
5. Thus the lord of the Asuras, having usurped the monarchy of the
three worlds, begot many sons in course of time, as the spring brings
forth the shoots of trees.
6. These boys grew up to manhood in time, with the display of their
manly prowess; and like so many brilliant suns, stretched their
thousand rays on all sides of the earth and skies.
7. Among them Prahláda the eldest prince became the regent, as the
Kaustubha diamond has the pre-eminence among all other precious gems.
(The Kaustubha gem was set in the breast-plate of Vishnu).
8. The father Hiranyakasipu delighted exceedingly in his fortunate son
Prahláda, as the year rejoices in its flowering time of the spring
(_i.e._ the father delights in his promising lad, as the year in its
vernal season).
9. Supported by his son on one hand, and possessed of his force and
treasures on the other; he became puffed up with his pride, as the
swollen elephant emitting his froth from his triangular mouth.
(Composed of the two sides of the tusks, and the lower part).
10. Shining with his lustre and elated by his pride, he dried and drew
up the moisture of the earth, by his unbearable taxation; as the
all-destroying suns of universal dissolution, parch up the world by
their rays. (Here is a play of the word _Kara_, in its triple sense of
the hand, tax and solar rays).
11. His conduct annoyed the gods and the sun and moon, as the behaviour
of a haughty boy, becomes unbearable to his fellow comrades.
12. They all applied to Brahmá, for destruction of the arch demon;
because the repeated misdemeanours of the wicked, are unbearable to the
good and great.
13. It was then that the leonine Hari-Narasingha, clattered his nails
resembling the tusks of an elephant; and thundered aloud like the
rumbling noise of the _Dig-hastes_ (the regent elephants of all the
quarters of heaven), that filled the concave world as on its last
doomsday.
14. The tusk-like nails and teeth of Vishnu, glittered like flashing
lightnings in the sky; and the radiance of his earrings filled the
hollow sphere of heaven, with curling flames of living fire. (The word
dwija or twice born is applied to the nails and teeth, as to the moon
and a twiceborn Bráhman).
15. The sides and caverns of mountains presented a fearful aspect; and
the huge trees were shaken by a tremendous tempest; that rent the skies
and tore the vault of heaven. (This is the only place where the word
_dodruma_ occurs for the Greek _dendron_ in Sanskrit, shortened to
_dru_ a tree, the root of Druid a woodman).
16. He emitted gusts of wind from his mouth and entrails, which drove
the mountains before them; and his eyeballs flashed with the living
fire of his rage, which was about to consume the world.
17. His shining mane shook with the glare of sun-beams, and the pores
of the hairs on his body, emitted the sparks of fire like the craters
of a volcano.
18. The mountains on all sides, shook with a tremendous shaking, and
the whole body of Hari, shot forth a variety of arms in every direction.
19. Hari in his leoantheopic form of half a man and half a lion, killed
the gigantic demon by goring him with his tusks, as when an elephant
bores the body of a horse with a grating sound.
20. The population of the Pandemonium, was burnt down by the gushing
fire of his eye balls; which flamed as the all-devouring conflagration
of the last doomsday.
21. The breath of his nostrils like a hurricane; drove everything
before it; and the clapping of his arms (bahwasphota), beat as loud
surges on the hollow shores.
22. The demons fled from before him as moths from the burning fire, and
they became extinct as extinguished lamps, at the blazing light of the
day.
23. After the burning of the Pandemonium, and expulsion of the demons,
the infernal regions presented a void waste, as at the last devastation
of the world.
24. After the Lord had extirpated the demoniac race, at the end of the
Titanic age, he disappeared from view with the grateful greetings of
the synod of gods.
25. The surviving sons of the demon, who had fled from the burning of
their city, were afterwards led back to it by Prahláda; as the
migrating fowls are made to return to the dry bed of a lake by a shower
of rains.
26. There they mourned over the dead bodies of the demons, and lamented
at the loss of their possessions, and performed at last the funeral
ceremonies of their departed friends and relatives.
27. After burning the dead bodies of their friends, they invited the
relics of the demons; that had found their safety by flight, to return
to their deserted habitations again.
28. The Asuras and their leaders, now continued to mourn with their
disconsolate minds and disfigured bodies, like lotuses beaten down by
the frost. They remained without any effort or attempt as the figures
in a painting; and without any hope of resuscitation, like a withered
tree or an arbour stricken by lightning.
CHAPTER XXXI.
PRAHLÁDA’S FAITH IN VISHNU.
Argument. Prahláda’s Lamentations at the slaughter of the demons, and
his conversion to Vishnuism.
Vasishtha continued:—Prahláda remained disconsolate in his subterranean
region, brooding over the melancholy thoughts of the destruction of the
Dánavas and their habitations.
2. Ah! what is to become of us, said he, when this Hari is bent to
destroy the best amongst us, like a monkey nipping the growing shoots
and sprouts of trees.
3. I do not see the Daityas anywhere in earth or in the infernal
regions, that are left in the enjoyment of their properties; but are
stunted in their growth like the lotuses growing on mountain tops.
4. They rise only to fall like the loud beating of a drum, and their
rising is simultaneous with their falling as of the waves in the sea.
(_i.e._ no sooner they rise, than they are destined to fall).
5. Woe unto us! that are so miserable in both our inward and outward
circumstances; and happy are our enemies of light (Devas), that have
their ascendency over us. O the terrors of darkness!
6. But our friends of the dark infernal regions, are all darkened in
their souls with dismay: also their fortune is as transitory as the
expansion of the lotus-leaf by day, and its contraction at night.
7. We see the gods, who were mean servants at the feet of our father,
to have usurped his kingdom; in the manner of the timid deer, usurping
the sovereignty of the lion in the forest. (So said the sons of Tipu
Sultan, when they saw the English polluting his library with their
hands).
8. We find our friends on the other hand, to be all disfigured and
effortless; and sitting melancholy and dejected in their hopelessness,
like lotuses with their withered leaves and petals.
9. We see the houses of our gigantic demons, filled with clouds of
dusts and frost, wafted by gusts of wind by day and night; and
resembling the fumes of fire which burnt them down.
10. The inner apartments are laid open without their doors and
enclosures, and are overgrown with the sprouts of barley, shooting out
as blades of sapphires from underneath the ground.
11. Ah! what is impossible to irresistible fate, that has so reduced
the mighty demons; who are while used to pluck the flowers from
the mountain tops of Meru like big elephants, and are now come to the
sad plight of the wandering Devas of yore.
12. Our ladies are lurking like the timorous deer, at the rustling of
the breeze amidst the leaves of trees, for fear of the darts of the
enemy whistling and hurling in the open air.
13. O! the gemming blossoms of the _guluncha_ arborets, with which our
ladies used to decorate their ears, are now shorn and torn and left
forlorn (desolate) by the hands of Hari, like the lorn and lonesome
heaths of the desert.
14. They have robbed us of the all-producing kalpa-trees, and planted
them in their _mandana_ pleasure gardens now teeming with their
shooting gems and verdant leaflets in the etherial sphere.
15. The eyes of haughty demons, that formerly looked with pity on the
faces of their captured gods; are now indignantly looked upon by the
victorious gods, who have made captives of them.
16. It is known, that the water (liquid ichor) which is poured from the
mouths of the spouting elephants of heaven on the tops of the
mountains, falls down in the form of cascades, and gives rise to rivers
on earth. (It means the water spouts resembling the trunks of
elephants, which lifted the sea water to the sky, and let them fall on
mountain tops to run as rivers below).
17. But the froth exuding from the faces of our elephantic giants, is
dried up to dust at the sights of the Devas, as a channel is sucked up
in the dry and dreary desert of sand.
18. Ah! where have those Daityas fled, whose bodies were as big as the
peaks of mount Meru once, and were fanned by the fragrant breeze,
breathing with the odorous dust of Mandára flowers. (Mandára is the
name of a flower of the garden of Paradise).
19. The beauteous ladies of the gods and Gandharvas, that were once
detained as captives in the inner apartments of demons, are now
snatched from us, and placed on Meru (the seat of the gods), as if they
are transplanted there to grow as heavenly plants.
20. O how painful is it to think! that the fading graces of our
captured girls, are now mocked by the heavenly nymphs, in their
disdainful dance over their defeat and disgrace.
21. O it is painful to think! that the attending damsels, that fanned
my father with their _chouri_ flappers, are now waiting upon the
thousand-eyed Indra in their servile toil.
22. O! the greatest of our grief is, this sad and calamitous fall of
ours at the hands of a single Hari, who has reduced us to this state of
helpless impotency.
23. The gods now reposing under the thick and cooling shades of trees,
are as cool as the rocks of the icy mountain (Himálaya); and do not
burn with rage nor repine in grief like ourselves.
24. The gods protected by the power of Sauri (Hari), are raised to the
pinnacle of prosperity, have been mocking and restraining us in these
caves, as the apes on trees do the dogs below. (The enmity of dogs and
apes is proverbial, as obstructing one another from alighting on or
rising above the ground).
25. The faces of our fairies though decked with ornaments, are now
bedewed with drops of their tears; like the leaves of lotuses with the
cold dews of night.
26. The old stage of this aged world, which was worsted and going to be
pulled down by our might, is now supported upon the azure arms of Hari,
like the vault of heaven standing upon the blue arches of the cerulean
sky.
27. That Hari has become the support of the celestial host, when it was
about to be hurled into the depth of perdition; in the same manner as
the great _tortoise_ supported the mount Mandara, as it was sinking in
the Milky ocean in the act of churning it. (Samudra manthana). This was
the act of the post-diluvians reclaiming from the sea all that had been
swept into it at the great deluge.
28. This our great father, and these mighty demons under him, have been
laid down to dust like the lofty hills, that were levelled with the
ground by the blasts of heaven at the end of the Kalpa.
29. It is that leader of the celestial forces, the peerless destroyer
of Madhu (Satan), that is able to destroy all and every thing by the
fire in his hands (the flaming lightnings preceding the thunder bolts
of Indra). (The twin gods, the thundering (vajrapani) Indra and the
flaming (analapani) Upendra, bear great affinity to Jupiter tonitruous
or the thundering Jove, and his younger brother the trident-bearer
Neptune).
30. His elder brother Indra baffles the battle axes in the hands of the
mighty demons, by the force of the thunder-bolts held by his mightier
arms, as the big male monkeys kill their male offspring. (These
passages prove the early invention of fire arms by the Aryans, to have
been the cause of their victory over Daityas or the demigods).
31. Though the missive weapons (lightnings), which are let fly by the
lotus-eyed Vishnu be invincible; yet there is no weapon or instrument
which can foil the force of the thunder: (lit. break the strong
thunderbolt). (Vishnu the leader of Vishas or the first foreign
settlers of the land, overpowered the earth-born Daityas by his fire
and fire arms, and dispossessed them of their soil, and reduced them to
slavery. The descendants of the Vishas are the Vaishyas, who settled in
India long before the Aryans).
32. This Hari is inured in warfare, in the previous battles fought
between him and our forefathers; in which they uprooted and flung great
rocks at him, and waged many dreadful campaigns.
33. It cannot be expected that he will be afraid of us, who stood
victorious in those continuous and most dreadful and destructive
warfares of yore.
34. I have thought of one expedient only to oppose the rage of Hari,
beside which I find no other way for our safety (lit. remedy).
35. Let us therefore with all possible speed, have recourse to him,
with full contriteness of our souls and understanding; because that god
is the true refuge of the pious and the only resort of every body.
36. There is no one greater than him in all the three worlds; for I
come to know, that it is Hari only, who is the sole cause of the
creation, sustentation and destruction or reproduction of the world.
37. From this moment therefore, I will think only of that unborn
(increate) Náráyana for ever more; and I must rely on that Náráyana,
who is present in all places, and is full in myself and filling all
space.
38. Obeisance to Náráyana forms my faith and profession, for my success
in all undertakings; and may this faith of mine ever abide in my heart,
as the wind has its place in the midst of empty air.
39. Hari is to be known as filling all sides of space and vacuum, and
every part of this earth and all these worlds; my ego is the
immeasurable Spirit of Hari, and my inborn soul is full of Vishnu.
40. He that is not full with Vishnu in himself, does not benefit by his
adoration of Vishnu; but he who worships Vishnu by thinking himself as
such, finds himself assimilated to his god, and becomes one with him.
(Or rather he loses himself in his God and perceives nought besides).
41. He who knows Hari to be the same with Prahláda, and not different
from him, finds Hari to fill his inward soul with his spirit. (So says
the Sruti:—Prahláda was the incarnate Hari himself).
42. The eagle of Hari (son of Vinatá) flies through the infinite space
of the sky as the presence of Hari fills all infinity, and his golden
body-light, is the seat of my Hari also. (Here the bird of heaven means
the sun, which is said to be the seat of Hari).
43. The claws of this bird,—Kara (or rays) serve for the weapons of
Vishnu; and the flash of his nails, is the flash of the Vishnu’s
weapons. (Here Garuda bird of heaven, serves for a personification of
the sun, and his claws and nails represent the rays of solar light).
44. These are the four arms of Vishnu and their armlets, which are
represented by the four gemming pinnacles of mount Mandara which were
grappled by the hands of Hari, at his churning of the milky ocean with
it.
45. This moonlike figure with the chouri flapper in her hand and rising
from the depth of the milky ocean, is the goddess of prosperity
(Laksmi) and associating consort of Vishnu.
46. She is the brilliant glory of Hari, which was easily acquired by
him, and is ever attendant on his person with undiminished lustre, and
illuminates the three worlds as a radiant medicinal tree—_mahaushadhi_.
47. There is the other companion of Vishnu called Máyá or illusion,
which is ever busy in the creation of worlds upon worlds, and in
stretching a magical enchantment all about them.
48. Here is the goddess Victory (Jayá), an easy earned attendant on
Vishnu, and shines as a shoot of the kalpa tree, extending to the three
worlds as an all-pervading plant.
49. These two warming and cooling luminaries of the sun and moon, which
serve to manifest all the worlds to view, are the two eyes situated on
the forehead of my Vishnu.
50. This azure sky is the cerulean hue of the body of my Vishnu, which
is as dark as a mass of watery cloud; and darkens the sphere of heaven
with its sky blue radiance. The meaning of the word Vishnu was
afterward changed to the residing divinity in all things from the root
vish.
51. Here is the whitish conch in the hand of my Hari, which is sonant
with its fivefold notes (panchajanya), and is as bright as the
vacuum—the receptacle of sound, and as white as the milky ocean of
heavens (the milky path).
52. Here I see the lotus in the hand of Vishnu, representing the lotus
of his navel the seat of Brahmá, who rose from and sat upon it, as a
bee to form his hive of the world.
53. I see the cudgel of my Vishnu’s hand (the godá) studded with gems
about it, in the lofty peak of the mountain of Sumeru, beset by its
gemming stones, and hurling down the demons from its precipice.
54. I see here the discus (chakra) of my Hari, in the rising luminary
of the sun, which fills all sides of the infinite Space, with the
radiant beams emanating from it.
55. I see there in the flaming fire, the flashing sword—nandaka of
Vishnu, which like an axe hath cut down the gigantic bodies of Daityas
like trees, while it gave great joy to the gods.
56. I see also the great bow of Vishnu (Sáranga), in the variegated
rainbow of Indra; and also the quiver of his arrows in the Pushkara and
Avarta clouds, pouring down their rains like piercing arrows from above.
57. The big belly (Jathara) of Vishnu, is seen in the vast vacuity of
the firmament, which contains all the worlds and all the past, present,
and future creations in its spacious womb.
58. I see the earth as the footstool of Virát, and the high sky as the
canopy on his head; his body is the stupendous fabric of the universe,
and his sides are the sides of the compass.
59. I see the great Vishnu visibly manifest to my view, as shining
under the cerulean vault of heaven, mounted on his eagle of mountain,
and holding his conchshell, discus, cudgel and the lotus in his hands
(in the manner described above).
60. I see the wicked and evil minded demons, flying from me in the
manner of the fleeting straws, which are blown and borne away after by
the breath of the winds. (Lit.:—as the heaps of straw or hay _tarna_).
61. This sable deity with his hue of the blue sapphire and mantle
yellow, holding the club and mounted on the eagle and accompanied by
Lakshmí; is no other than the selfsame Imperishable One. (Vishnu
latterly called (Krishna) is the queller of demons, like Christ in the
battle of the gods and Titan, and is believed to be the only begotten
Son of God).
62. What adverse Spirit can dare approach this all-devouring flame,
without being burnt to death, like a flight of moths falling on a vivid
fire?
63. None of these hosts of gods or demigods that I see before me, is
able to withstand the irresistible course of the destination of Vishnu.
And all attempts to oppose it, will be as vain as for our weak-sighted
eyes to shut out the light of the sun.
64. I know the gods Brahmá, Indra, Siva and Agni (Ignis—the god of
fire), praise in endless verses and many tongues, the Vishnu as
their Lord.
65. This Lord is ever resplendent with his dignity, and is invincible
in his might; He is the Lord beyond all doubt, dispute and duality, and
is joined with transcendent majesty.
66. I bow down to that person, which stands as a firm rock amidst the
forest of the world, and is a defence from all fears and dangers. It is
a stupendous body having all the worlds situated in its womb, and
forming the essence and substance of every distinct object of vision.
(Here Vishnu is shown in his microcosmic form of Virát (Virat murti)).
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE SPIRITUAL AND FORMAL WORSHIP OF VISHNU.
Argument. Prahláda’s Worship of Vishnu both in spirit and his Image.
Witnessed by the gods, as the Beginning of Hero and Idol Worship.
Vasishtha continued:—After Prahláda had meditated on Vishnu in the
aforesaid manner, he made an image of him as Náráyana himself, and
thought upon worshipping that enemy of the Asura race. (Here Vishnu—the
chief of Vishas and destroyer of Asuras, is represented as the spirit
of Náráyana, and worshipped in that form).
2. And that this figure might not be otherwise than the form of Vishnu
himself, he invoked the Spirit of Vishnu to be settled in this his
out-ward figure also. (This was done by incantation of Pranpratishthá,
or the charm of enlivening an idol in thought).
3. It was seated on the back of the heavenly bird Garuda, arrayed with
the quadruple attributes (of will, intelligence, action and mercy), and
armed with the fourfold arms holding the conchshell, discus, club and a
lotus. (This passage shows the fictitious representation of the person
of Vishnu, with his fourfold arms of these, the two original arms with
the cudgel and discus were in active use, while the two fictitious and
immovable ones, with the conchshell and lotus, were clapped on for mere
show).
4. His two eye-balls flashed, like the orbs of the sun and moon in their
outstretched sockets; his palms were as red as lotuses, and his bow
_saranga_ and the sword _nandaka_ hang on his two shoulders and sides.
5. I will worship this image, said he, with all my adherents and
dependants, with an abundance of grateful offerings agreeable to my
taste. Gloss. Things delectable to one’s taste, are most acceptable to
the gods.[12]
6. I will worship this great god always, with all kinds of offering of
precious gems and jewels, and all sorts of articles for bodily use and
enjoyment.
7. Having thus made up his mind, Prahláda collected an abundance of
various things, and made offerings of them in his mind, in his worship
of Mádhava—the lord of Lakshmí. (Má and Ráma are titles of Lakshmí).
8. He offered rich gems and jewels in plates of many kinds, and
presented sandal pastes in several pots; he burnt incense and lighted
lamps in rows, and placed many valuables and ornaments in sacred
vessels.
9. He presented wreaths of Mandára flowers, and chains of lotuses made
of gold, together with garlands of leaves and flowers of kalpa plants,
and bouquets and nosegays studded with gems and pearls.
10. He hung hangings of leaves and leaflets of heavenly arbors, and
chaplets and trimmings of various kinds of flowers, as _vakas_ and
_kundas_, _kinkiratas_ and white, blue and red lotuses.
11. There were wreaths of _kahlara_, _Kunda_, _Kása_ and _Kinsuka_
flowers; and clusters of _Asoka_, _Madana_, _Bela_ and _kánikára_
blossoms likewise.
12. There were florets of the _Kadamba_, _Vakala_, _nimba_,
_Sindhuvára_ and _Yúthikas_ also; and likewise heaps of _páribhadra_,
_gugguli_ and _Venduka_ flowers.
13. There were strings of _priyangu_, _pátala_, _páta_ and _pátala_
flowers; and also the blossoms of _ámra_, _ámrataka_ and _gavyas_; and
the bulbs of _haritaki_ and _vibhitaki_ myrabolans.
14. The flowers of _Sála_ and _tamála_ trees, were strung together with
their leaves; and the tender buds of _Sahakáras_, were fastened
together with their farinaceous pistils.
15. There were the _ketakas_ and centipetalous flowers, and the shoots
of _ela_ cardamums; together with everything beautiful to sight and the
tender of one’s soul likewise.
16. Thus did Prahláda worship his lord Hari in the inner apartment of
his house, with offerings of all the richest things in the world,
joined with true faith and earnestness of his mind and spirit.[13]
17. Thus did the monarch of Dánavas, worship his lord Hari externally
in his holy temple, furnished with all kind of valuable things on
earth. (The external worship followed that of his internal worship in
faith and spirit. These two are distinctly called the _mánasa_ and
_bájhya pujas_ and observed one after the other by every orthodox
Hindu, except the Brahmos and ascetics who reject the latter formality).
18. The Dánava sovereign became the more and more gratified in his
spirit, in proportion as he adored his god with more and more of his
valuable outer offerings.
19. Henceforward did Prahláda continue, to worship his lord god day
after day, with earnestness of his soul, and the same sort of rich
offerings every day.
20. It came to pass that the Daityas one and all turned Vaishnavas;
after the example of their king; and worshipped Hari in their city and
temples without intermission.
21. This intelligence reached to heaven and to the abode of the gods,
that the Daityas having renounced their enmity to Vishnu, have turned
his faithful believers and worshippers _in toto_.[14]
22. The Devas were all astonished to learn, that the Daityas had
accepted the Vaishnava faith; and even Indra marvelled with the body of
Rudras about him, how the Daityas came to be so at once.
23. The astonished Devas then left their celestial abode, and repaired
to the warlike Vishnu, reposing on his serpent couch in the milky ocean.
24. They related to him the whole account of the Daityas, and they
asked him as he sat down, the cause of their conversion, wherewith they
were so much astonished.
25. The gods said:—How is it Lord! that the demons who had always been
averse to thee, have now come to embrace thy faith, which appears to us
as an act of magic or their hypocrisy.
26. How different is their present transformation to the Vaishnava
faith, which is acquired only after many transmigrations of the soul,
from their former spirit of insurrection, in which they broke down the
rocks and mountains.
27. The rumour that a clown has become a learned man, is as gladsome as
it is doubtful also, as the news of the budding of blossoms out of
season.
28. Nothing is graceful without its proper place, as a rich jewel loses
its value, when it is set with worthless pebbles. (The show of goodness
of the vile, is a matter of suspicion).
29. All animals have their dispositions conforming with their own
natures; how then can the pure faith of Vishnu, agree with the doggish
natures of the Daityas?
30. It does not grieve us so much to be pierced with thorns and needles
in our bodies, as to see things of opposite natures, to be set in
conjunction with one another.
31. Whatever is naturally adapted to its time and place, the same seems
to suit it then and there; hence the lotus has its grace in water and
not upon the land.
32. Where are the vile Daityas, prone to their misdeeds at all times;
and how far is the Vaishnava faith from them that can never appreciate
its merit?
33. O lord! as we are never glad to learn a lotus-bed to be left to
parch in the desert soil; so we can never rejoice at the thought, that
the race of demons will place their faith in Vishnu—the lord of gods.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
PRAHLÁDA’S SUPPLICATION TO HARI.
Argument. Hari’s Visit to Prahláda, and his Adoration of him.
Vasishtha said:—The lord of Lakshmí, seeing the gods so clamorous in
their accusation of the demons, gave his words to them in sounds as
sonorous as those of the rainy clouds, in response to the loud noise of
screaming and thirst-stricken peacocks.
2. The Lord Hari said:—Don’t you marvel ye gods! at Prahláda’s faith in
me; as it is by virtue of the virtuous acts of his past lives, that
pious prince is entitled to his final liberation in this his present
life.
3. He shall not have to be born again in the womb of a woman, nor to be
reproduced in any form on earth; but must remain aloof from
regeneration, like a fried pea which does not germinate any more.
4. A virtuous man turning impious, becomes of course the source of
evil; but an unworthy man becoming meritorious, is doubtless a step
towards his better being and blessedness.
5. You good gods that are quite happy in your blessed seats in heaven,
must not let the good deserts of Prahláda be any cause of your
uneasiness.
6. Vasishtha resumed:—The Lord having thus spoken to the gods, became
invisible to them, like a feather floating on the surface of waves.
7. The assemblage of the immortals then repaired to their heavenly
abodes after taking their leave of the god; as the particles of sea
water are borne to the sky by the zephyrs, or by the agitation of the
Mandara mountain.
8. The gods were henceforth pacified towards Prahláda; because the mind
is never suspicious of one who has the credit of his superiors.
9. Prahláda also continued in the daily adoration of his god, with the
contriteness of his heart, and in the formulas of his spiritual, oral
and bodily services.
10. It was in the course of his divine service in this manner, that he
attained the felicity proceeding from his right discrimination,
self-resignation and other virtues with which he was crowned.
11. He took no delight in any object of enjoyment, nor felt any
pleasure in the society of his consorts, all which he shunned as a stag
shuns a withered tree, and the company of human beings.
12. He did not walk in the ways of the ungodly, nor spent his time in
aught but religious discourses. His mind did not dwell on visible
objects, as the lotus never grows on dry land.
13. His mind did not delight in pleasures, which were all linked with
pain; but longed for its liberation, which is as entire of itself and
unconnected with anything, as a single grain of unperforated pearl.
14. But his mind being abstracted from his enjoyments, and not yet
settled in its trance of ultimate rest; had been only waving between
the two states, like a cradle swinging in both ways.
15. The god Vishnu, who knew all things by his all-knowing
intelligence; beheld the unsettled state of Prahláda’s mind, from his
seat in the milky ocean.
16. Pleased at Prahláda’s firm belief, he proceeded by the sub-terranean
route to the place of his worship, and stood confest before him at
the holy altar.
17. Seeing his god manifest to his view, the lord of the demons
worshipped him with two-fold veneration, and made many respectful
offerings to his lotus-eyed deity more than his usual practice.
18. He then gladly glorified his god with many swelling orisons, for
his deigning to appear before him in his house of worship.
19. Prahláda said:—I adore thee, O my lord Hari! that art unborn and
undecaying; that art the blessed receptacle of three worlds; that
dispellest all darkness by the light of thy body; and art the refuge of
the helpless and friendless.
20. I adore my Hari in his complexion of blue-lotus leaves, and of the
colour of the autumnal sky; I worship him whose body is of the hue of
the dark _bhramara_ bee; and who holds in his arms the lotus, discus,
club and the conch-shell.
21. I worship the god that dwells in the lotus-like hearts of his
votaries, with his appearance of a swarm of sable bees; and holding a
conch-shell as white as the bud of a lotus or lily, with the earrings
ringing in his ears with the music of humming bees.
22. I resort to Hari’s sky-blue shade, shining with the starry light of
his long stretching nails; his face shining as the full-moon with his
smiling beams, and his breast waving as the surface of Ganges, with the
sparkling gems hanging upon it.
23. I rely on that godling that slept on the leaf of the fig tree (when
his spirit floated on the surface of the waters); and that contains the
universe in himself in his stupendous form of Virát; that is neither
born nor grown, but is always the whole by himself; and is possest of
endless attributes of his own nature.
24. I take my refuge in Hari, whose bosom is daubed with the red dust
of the new-blown lotus, and whose left side is adorned by the blushing
beauty of Lakshmí; whose body is mantled by a coloured red coverlet;
and besmeared with red sandal paste like liquid gold.
25. I take my asylum under that Hari who is the destructive frost to
the lotus-bed of demons; and the rising sun to the opening buds of the
lotus-bed of the deities; who is the source of the lotus-born Brahmá,
and receptacle of the lotiform seat (cranium) of our understanding.
26. My hope is in Hari—the blooming lotus of the bed of the triple
world, and the only light amidst the darkness of the universe; who is
the principle of the intellect—chit, amidst the gross material world
and who is the only remedy of all the evils and troubles of this
transient life.
27. Vasishtha continued:—Hari the destroyer of demons, who is graced on
his side by the goddess of prosperity; being lauded with many such
graceful speeches of the demoniac lord, answered him as lovingly in his
blue lotuslike form, as when the deep clouds respond to the peacocks’
screams.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
PRAHLÁDA’S SELF KNOWLEDGE OF SPIRITUALISM.
Argument. Prahláda’s meditations and attainment of spiritual knowledge
by the blessing of Vishnu.
The Lord said:—O thou rich jewel on the crown of the Daitya race!
Receive thy desired boon of me for alleviation of thy worldly
afflictions.
2. Prahláda replied:—What better blessing can I ask of thee, my Lord!
than to instruct me in what thou thinkest thy best gift, above all
other treasures of the world, and which is able to requite all our
wants in this miserable life.
3. The Lord answered:—Mayst thou have a sinless boy! and may thy right
discrimination of things, lead thee to thy rest in God, and the
attainment of thy Supreme felicity, after dispersion of thy earthly
cares, and the errors of this world.
4. Vasishtha rejoined:—Being thus bid by his god, the lord of demons
fell into a profound meditation, with his nostrils snoring loudly like
the gurgling waters of the deep.
5. As the lord Vishnu departed from his sight, the chief of the demons
made his oblations after him; consisting of handfuls of flowers and
rich gems and jewels of various kinds.
6. Then seated in his posture of _padmásana_, with his legs folded over
one another, upon his elevated and elegant seat; and then chaunted his
holy hymn and reflected within himself.
7. My deliverer from this sinful world, has bade me to have my
discrimination, therefore must I betake myself to discriminate between
what is true and falsehood.
8. I must know that I am in this darksome world, and must seek the
light of my soul as also what is that principle (Ego), that makes me
speak, walk and take the pains to earn myself.
9. I perceive it is nothing of this external world, like any of its
verdant trees or hills; the external bodies are all of a gross nature,
but my _ego_ is quite a simple and pure essence.
10. I am not this insensible body, which is both dull and dumb, and is
made to move for a moment by means of the vital airs. It is an unreal
appearance of a transitory existence.
11. I am not the insensible sound, which is a vacuous substance and
produced in vacuity. It is perceptible by the ear-hole, and is as
evanescent and inane as empty air.
12. I am neither the insensible organ of touch, or the momentary
feeling of taction; but find myself to be an inward principle with the
faculty of intellection, and the capacity of knowing the nature of the
soul.
13. I am not even my taste, which is confined to the relishing of
certain objects, and to the organ of the tongue; which is a trifling
and ever restless thing, sticking to and moving in the cavity of the
mouth.
14. I am not my sight, that is employed in seeing the visibles only; it
is weak and decaying and never lasting in its power, nor capable of
viewing the invisible Spirit.
15. I am not the power of my smelling, which appertains to my nasal
organ only, and is conversant with odorous substances for a short
moment only. (Fragrance is a fleeting thing).
16. I am pure intelligence, and none of the sensations of my five
external organs of sense; I am neither my mental faculty, which is ever
frail and fruit; nor is there any thing belonging to me or
participating of my true essence. I am the soul and an indivisible
whole.
17. I am the ego or my intellect, without the objects of intellection
(_i.e._ the thinking principle freed from its thoughts). My _ego_
pervades internally and externally over all things, and manifests them
to the view. I am the whole without its parts, pure without foulness
and everlasting.
18. It is my intellection that manifests to me this pot and that
painting, and brings all other objects to my knowledge by its pure
light; as the sun and a lamp show everything to the sight.
19. Ah! I come to remember the whole truth at present, that I am the
immutable and all pervading Spirit, shining in the form of the
intellect (Gloss. The internal and intellectual Soul, is the Spirit of
God).
20. This essence evolves itself into the various faculties of sense; as
the inward fire unfolds itself into the forms of its flash and flame,
and its sparks and visible light.
21. It is this principle which unfolds itself, into the forms of the
different organs of sense also; as the all-diffusive heat of the hot
season, shows itself in the shape of mirage in sandy deserts.
22. It is this element likewise which constitutes the substance of all
objects; as it is the light of the lamp which is the cause of the
various colours of things; as the whiteness or other of a piece of
cloth or any other thing. (The intrinsic perceptivity of the soul,
causes the extrinsic senses and their separate organs).
23. It is the source of the perception of all living and waking beings,
and of everything else in existence; and as a mirror is the reflector
of all outward appearances, so is the Soul the reflective organ of all
its internal and external phenomena.
24. It is by means of this immutable intellectual light alone, that we
perceive the heat of the sun, the coldness of the moon, solidity of the
rock and the fluidity of water.
25. This one is the prime cause of every object of our continuous
perceptions in this world; this is the first cause of all things,
without having any prior cause of its own. (The soul produces the body,
and not the body brings forth the soul).
26. It is this that produces our notions of the continuity of objects
that are spread all around us, and take the name of objects from their
objectivity of the soul; as a thing is called not from the heat which
makes it such.
27. It is this formless cause, that is the prime cause of all plastic
and secondary causes (such as Brahmá the creative agent and others). It
is from this that the world has its production, as coldness is the
produce of cold and the like.
28. The gods Brahmá, Vishnu, Rudra and Indra, who are causes of the
existence of the world, all owe their origin to this prime cause, who
has no cause of himself.
29. I hail that Supreme soul which is imprest in me, and is apart from
every object of thought of the intellect, and which is self-manifest in
all things and at all times.
30. All beings besides, stand in the relation of modes and modalities
to this Supreme Being; and they immerge as properties in that
intellectual Spirit.
31. Whatever this internal and intelligent Soul wills to do, the same
is done every where; and nothing besides that self same soul exists in
reality any where.
32. Whatever is intended to be done by this intellectual power, the
same receives a form of its own; and whatever is thought to be undone
by the intellect, the same is dissolved into nought from its
substantiality.
33. These numberless series of worldly objects (as this pot, these
paintings and the like), are as shades cast on the immense mirror of
vacuum (or as air-drawn pictures represented on the canvas of empty
Space).
34. All these objects increase and decrease in their figures under the
light of the soul, like the shadows of things enlarging and diminishing
themselves in the sun shine.
35. This internal Soul is invisible to all beings, except to those
whose minds are melted down in piety. It is seen by the righteous in
the form of the clear firmament.
36. This great cause like a large tree, gives rise to all these visible
phenomena like its germ and sprouts; and the movements of living
beings, are as the flitterings of bees about this tree.
37. It is this that gives rise to the whole creation both in its ideal
and real and mobile or quiescent forms; as a huge rock gives growth to
a large forest with its various kinds of big trees and dwarf
shrubberies. (To him no high, no low, no great, no small, He fills, he
bounds, connects, and equals all. Pope).
38. It is not apart from anything, existing in the womb of this triple
world; but is residing alike in the highest gods, as in the lowest
grass below; and manifests them all full to our view.
39. This is one with the ego, and the all-pervading soul; and is
situated as the moving spirit, and unmoving dullness of the whole.
40. The universal soul is beyond the distinction, of my, thy or his
individual spirit; and is above the limits of time, and place, of
number and manner, of form or figure or shape or size.
41. It is one intelligent soul, which by its own intelligence, is the
eye and witness of all visible things; and is represented as having a
thousand eyes and hands and as many feet. (Wherewith he sees and grasps
everything, and stands and moves in every place).
42. This is that ego of my-self, that wanders about the firmament, in
the body of the shining sun; and wanders in other forms also, as those
of air in the current winds. (The first person I is used for supreme
Ego).
43. The sky is the azure body of my Vishnu with its accompaniments of
the conchshell, discus, club and the lotus, in the clouds, all which
are tokens of prosperity in this world by their blissful rains. (Vishnu
is the lord of Lakshmí or prosperity, which is another name for a
plenteous harvest. Her other name Srí the same with Ceres—the goddess
of corn and mother of Prosperine in Grecian mythology).[15]
44. I find myself as identic with this god, while I am sitting in my
posture of padmásana and in this state of _Samádhi_—hypnotism, and when
I have attained my perfection in quietism. (which is the form of Vishnu
in the serene sky).
45. I am the same with Siva—the god with his three eyes, and with his
eye-balls rolling like bees, on the lotus face of Gaurí; and it is I
that in the form of the god, Brahmá, contain the whole creation in me,
as a tortoise contracts its limbs in itself. (The soul in rapture,
seems to contain the macrocosm in itself).
46. I rule over the world in the form of Indra, and as a monk I command
the monastery which has come down to me. _i.e._ I am an Indra, when I
reign over my domain; and a poor monk, when I dwell in my humble cell.
47. I (the Ego) am both the male and female, and I am both the boy and
girl; I am old as regards my soul, and I am young with regard to my
body, which is born and ever renewed.
48. The ego is the grass and all kinds of vegetables on earth; as also
the moisture wherewith it grows them, like its thoughts in the ground
of the intellect; in the same manner as herbs are grown in holes and
wells by their moisture. _i.e._ The ego or soul is the pith and marrow
of all substance.
49. It is for pleasure that this ego has stretched out the world; like
a clever boy who makes his dolls of clay in play. (God forms the world
for his own amusement).
50. This ego is myself that gives existence to all being, and it is I
in whom they live and move about; and being at last forsaken by me, the
whole existence dwindles into nothing. (The ego is the individual as
well the universal soul).
51. Whatever image is impressed in the clear mirror or mould of my
intellect, the same and no other is in real existence, because there is
nothing that exists beside or apart from myself.
52. I am the fragrance of flowers, and the hue of their leaves; I am
the figure of all forms, and the perception of perceptibles.
53. Whatever movable or immovable thing is visible in this world; I am
the inmost heart of it, without having any of its desires in my heart.
54. As the prime element of moisture, is diffused in nature in the form
of water; so is my spirit overspread in vegetables and all things at
large in the form of vacuum. (Which is in the inside and outside of
every thing).
55. I enter in the form of consciousness, into the interior of
everything; and extend in the manner of various sensation at my own
will.
56. As butter is contained in milk and moisture is inherent in water;
so is the power of the intellect spread in all beings, and so the ego
is situated in the interior of all things.
57. The world exists in the intellect, at all times of the present,
past and future ages; and the objects of intelligence, are all inert
and devoid of motion; like the mineral and vegetable productions of
earth.
58. I am the all-grasping and all-powerful form of Virát, which fills
the infinite space, and is free from any diminution or decrease of its
shape and size. I am this all-pervading and all-productive power, known
as Virát múrti or macrocosm (in distinction from the _súkshma-deha_ or
microcosm).
59. I have gained my boundless empire over all worlds, without my
seeking or asking for it; and without subduing it like Indra of old or
crushing the gods with my arms. (Man is the lord of the world of his
own nature, or as the poet says:—“I am the Monarch of all I survey, and my
right there is none to dispute”).
60. O the extensive spirit of God! I bow down to that spirit in my
spirit; and find myself lost in it, as in the vast ocean of the
universal deluge.
61. I find no limit of this spirit; as long as I am seated in the
enjoyment of my spiritual bliss; but appear to move about as a minute
mollusk, in the fathomless expanse of the milky ocean.
62. This temple of Brahmánda or mundane world, is too small and
straitened for the huge body of my soul; and it is impossible for me
to be contained in it, as it is for an elephant to enter into the hole
of a needle.
63. My body stretches beyond the region of Brahmá, and my attributes
extend beyond the categories of the schools, and there is no definite
limitation given of them to this day.
64. The attribute of a name and body to the unsupported soul is a
falsehood, and so is it to compress the unlimited soul within the
narrow bounds of the body.
65. To say this is I, and this another, is altogether wrong; and what
is this body or my want of it, or the state of living or death to me?
(Since the soul is an immortal and etherial substance and my true-self
and essence).
66. How foolish and short-witted were my forefathers, who having
forsaken this spiritual domain, have wandered as mortal beings in this
frail and miserable world.
67. How great is this grand sight of the immensity of Brahma; and how
mean are these creeping mortals, with their high aims and ambition, and
all their splendours of royalty. (The glory of God, transcends the
glory of glorious sun).
68. This pure intellectual sight of mine, which is fraught with endless
joy, accompanied by ineffable tranquility, surpasses all other sights
in the whole world. (The rapture of heavenly peace and bliss, has no
bounds).
69. I bow down to the Ego, which is situated in all beings; which is
the intelligent and intellectual soul, and quite apart from whatever is
the object of intellection or thought (_i.e._ the unthinkable spirit).
70. I who am the unborn and increate soul, reign triumphant over this
perishing world; by my attainment to the state of the great universal
spirit, which is the chief object of gain—the _summum bonum_ of mortal
beings, and which I live to enjoy. (This sublimation of the human soul
to the state of the supreme spirit, and enjoyment of spiritual
beatification or heavenly rapture, is the main aim and end of Yoga
meditation).
71. I take no delight in my unpleasant earthly dominion, which is full
of painful greatness; nor like to lose my everlasting realm of good
understanding, which is free from trouble and full of perpetual delight.
72. Cursed be the wicked demons that are so sadly ignorant of their
souls; and resort for the safety of their bodies, to their strongholds
of woods and hills and ditches, like the insects of those places.
73. Ignorance of the soul leads to the serving of the dull ignorant
body, with articles of food and raiment; and it was thus that our
ignorant elders pampered their bodies for no lasting good.
74. What good did my father Hiranyakasipu reap, from his prosperity of
a few years in this world; and what did he acquire worthy of his
descent; in the line of the great sage Kasyapa?
75. He who has not tasted the blissfulness of his soul, has enjoyed no
true blessing, during his long reign of a hundred years in this world.
76. He who has gained the ambrosial delight of his spiritual bliss, and
nothing of the temporary blessings of life; has gained something which
is ever full in itself, and of which there is no end to the end of the
world.
77. It is the fool and not the wise, who forsakes this infinite joy for
the temporary delights of this world; and resembles the foolish camel
which foregoes his fodder of soft leaves, for browzing the prickly
thorns of the desert.
78. What man of sense would turn his eyes from so romantic a sight, and
like to roam in a city burnt down to the ground: and what wise man is
there that would forsake the sweet juice of sugarcane, in order to
taste the bitterness of Nimba?
79. I reckon all my forefathers as very great fools, for their leaving
this happy prospect, in order to wander in the dangerous paths of their
earthly dominion.
80. Ah! how delightful is the view of flowering gardens, and how
unpleasant is the sight of the burning deserts of sand; how very quiet
are these intellectual reveries, and how very boisterous are the
cravings of our hearts!
81. There is no happiness to be had in this earth, that would make us
wish for our sovereignty in it; all happiness consists in the peace of
the mind, which it concerns us always to seek.
82. It is the calm, quiet and unaltered state of the mind, that gives
us true happiness in all conditions of life; and the true realm of
things in all places and at all times, and under every circumstance in
life.
83. It is the virtue of sunlight to enlighten all objects, and that of
moonlight to fill us with its ambrosial draughts; but the light of
Brahma transcends them both, by filling the three worlds with its
spiritual glory; which is brighter than sun-beams, and cooler than
moon-light.
84. The power of Siva stretches over the fulness of knowledge, and that
of Vishnu over victory and prosperity (Jayas-Lakshmí). Fleetness is the
character of the mental powers, and force is the property of the wind.
85. Inflammation is the property of fire, and moisture is that of
water; taciturnity is the quality of devotees for success of devotion,
and loquacity is the qualification of learning.
86. It is the nature of the aerials to move about in the air, and of
rocks to remain fixed on the ground; the nature of water is to set deep
and run downwards; and that of mountains to stand and rise upwards.
87. Equanimity is the nature of Saugatas or Buddhists, and carousing is
the _penchant_ of wine-bibbers; the spring delights in its flowering,
and the rainy season exults in the roaring of its clouds.
88. The Yakshas are full of their delusiveness, and the celestials are
familiar with cold and frost, and those of the torrid zone are inured
in its heat. (This passage clearly shows the heaven of the Hindus, to
have been in the northern regions of cold and frost).
89. Thus are many other beings suited to their respective climes and
seasons, and are habituated to the very many modes of life and
varieties of habits; to which they have been accustomed in the past and
present times.
90. It is the one Uniform and Unchanging Intellect, that ordains these
multiform and changing modifications of powers and things, according to
its changeable will and velocity.
91. The same unchanging Intellect presents these hundreds of changing
scenes to us, as the same and invariable light of the sun, shows a
thousand varying forms and colour to the sight.
92. The same Intellect sees at a glance, these great multitudes of
objects, that fill the infinite space on all sides, in all the three
times of the present, past and future.
93. The selfsame pure Intellect knows at once, the various states of
all things presented in this vast phenomenal world, in all the three
times that are existent, gone by and are to come hereafter.
94. This pure Intellect reflects at one and the same time, all things
existent in the present, past and future times; and is full with the
forms of all things existing in the infinite space of the universe.
95. Knowing the events of the three times, and seeing the endless
phenomena of all worlds present before it, the divine intellect
continues full and perfect in itself and at all times.
96. The understanding ever continues the same and unaltered,
notwithstanding the great variety of its perceptions of innumerables of
sense and thought: such as the different tastes of sweet and sour in
honey and _nimba_ fruit at the same time. (_i.e._ The varieties of
mental perception and conception, make no change in the mind), as the
reflexion of various figures makes no change in the reflecting glass.
97. The intellect being in its state of arguteness, by abandonment of
mental desires, and knowing the natures of all things by reducing their
dualities into unity:—
98. It views them alike with an equal eye and at the same time;
notwithstanding the varieties of objects and their great difference
from one another. (_i.e._ All the varieties blend into unity).
99. By viewing all existence as non-existence, you get rid of your
existing pains and troubles, and by seeing all existence in the light
of nihility, you avoid the suffering of existing evils.
100. The intellect being withdrawn from its view of the events of the
three tenses (_i.e._ the occurrences of the past, present and future
times), and being freed from the fetters of its fleeting thoughts,
there remains only a calm tranquility.
101. The soul being inexpressible in words, proves to be a negative
idea only; and there ensues a state of one’s perpetual unconsciousness
of his soul or self-existence. (This is the state of anæsthesia, which
is forgetting oneself to a stock and stone).
102. In this state of the soul it is equal to Brahma, which is either
nothing at all or the All of itself; and its absorption in perfect
tranquilness is called its liberation (moksha) or emancipation from all
feelings (bodhas).
103. The intellect being vitiated by its volition, does not see the
soul in a clear light, as the hoodwinked eye has naught but a dim and
hazy sight of the world.
104. The intellect which is vitiated by the dirt of its desire and
dislike, is impeded in its heavenly flight, like a bird caught in a
snare. (Nor love nor hate of aught, is the best state of thought).
105. They who have fallen into the snare of delusion by their ignorant
choice of this or that, are as blind birds falling into the net in
search of their prey.
106. Entangled in the meshes of desire, and confined in the pit of
worldliness, our fathers were debarred from this unbarred sight of
spiritual light and endless delight.
107. In vain did our forefathers flourish for a few days on the surface
of this earth; only to be swept away like the fluttering flies and
gnats, by a gust of wind into the ditch.
108. If these foolish pursuers after the painful pleasures of the
world, had known the path of truth they would never fall into the dark
pit of unsubstantial pursuits.
109. Foolish folks being subjected to repeated pains and pleasures by
their various choice of things; follow at last the fate of ephemeral
worms, that are born to move and die in their native ditches and bogs
(_i.e._ as they are born of earth and dust so do they return to dust
and earth again).
110. He is said to be really alive who lives true to nature, and the
mirage of whose desires and aversion, is suppressed like the fumes of
his fancy, by the rising cloud of his knowledge of truth.
111. The hot and foul fumes of fancy, fly afar from the pure light of
reason, as the hazy mist of night, is dispersed by the bright beams of
moon-light.
112. I hail that soul which dwells as the inseparable intellect in me;
and I come at last to know my God, that resides as a rich gem
enlightening all the worlds in myself.
113. I have long thought upon and sought after thee, and I have at last
found thee rising in myself; I have chosen thee from all others; and
whatever thou art, I hail thee, my Lord! as thou appearest in me.
114. I hail thee in me, O lord of gods, in thy form of infinity within
myself, and in the shape of bliss within my enraptured soul; I hail
thee, O Supreme Spirit! that art superior to and supermost of all.
115. I bow down to that cloudless light, shining as the disk of the
full-moon in me; and to that self-same form, which is free from all
predicates and attributes. It is the self risen light in myself, and
that felicitous selfsame soul, which I find in myself _alter ego_.
CHAPTER XXXV.
MEDITATION ON BRAHMA IN ONE’S SELF.
Argument. Pantheistic Adoration of the universal soul.
Prahláda continued:—Om is the proper form of the One, and devoid of all
defalcation; that Om is this all, that is contained in this world. (The
Sruti says:—Om is Brahma, and Om is this all, it is the first and last
&c.).
2. It is the intelligence, and devoid of flesh, fat, blood and bones;
it abides in all things, and is the enlightener of the sun and all
other luminous bodies.
3. It warms the fire and moistens the water (_i.e._ gives heat and
moisture to the fire and water). It gives sensation to the senses, and
enjoys all things in the manner of a prince. (Warms in the sun,
refreshes in the breeze, &c. Pope).
4. It rests without sitting, it goes without walking; it is active in
its inactivity, it acts all without coming in tact with any thing.
5. It is the past and gone, and also the present and even now; it is
both the next moment, and remote future also; it is all that is fit and
proper, and whatever is unfit and improper likewise. (Changed through
all, and yet in all the same. All Discord, harmony not understood,
tends to universal good. Pope).
6. Undaunted, it produces all productions, and spreads the worlds over
one another; it continues to turn about the worlds, from the Sphere of
Brahma to the lower grounds of grass. (So Pope:—Spreads through all
extent, spreads undivided, operates unspent).
7. Though unmoving and immutable, yet it is as fleeting and changeable
as the flying winds; it is inert as the solid rock, and more
transparent than the subtile ether. “These as they change, are but the
varied God.” Thomson.
8. It moves the minds of men, as the winds shake the leaves of trees;
and it directs the organs of sense, as a charioteer manages his horses.
9. The Intellect sits as the lord of this bodily mansion, which is
carried about as a chariot by the equestrians of the senses; and
sitting at its own ease as sole monarch, it enjoys the fruitions of the
bodily actions.
10. It is to be diligently sought after, and meditated upon and lauded
at all times; because it is by means of this only, that one may have
his salvation from the pains of his age and death, and the evils of
ignorance.
11. It is easily to be found, and as easy to be familiarised as a
friend; it dwells as the humble bee, in the recess of the lotus-like
heart of every body.
12. Uncalled and uninvoked, it appears of itself from within the body;
and at a slight call it appears manifest to view. (So the Sruti:—The
soul becomes palpable to view).
13. Constant service of and attendance on this all-opulent Lord, never
make him proud or haughty, as they do any other rich master to his
humble attendants.
14. This Lord is as closely situated in every body, as fragrance and
fluidity, are inherent in flowers and sesamum seeds; and as flavour is
inseparably connected with liquid substances.
15. It is by reason of our unreasonableness, that we are ignorant of
the Intellect, that is situated in ourselves; while our reasoning power
serves to manifest it, as a most intimate friend to our sight.
16. As we come to know this Supreme Lord, that is situated in us by our
reasoning; we come to feel an ineffable delight in us, as at the sight
of a beloved and loving friend.
17. As this dearest friend appears to view, with his benign influence
of shedding full bliss about us; we come to the sight of such glorious
prospects, as to forget at once all our earthly enjoyments before them.
18. All his fetters are broken loose and fall off from him, and all his
enemies are put to an end; whose mind is not perforated by his
cravings, like houses dug by the injurious mice.
19. This one in all (_to pan_) being seen in us, the whole world is
seen in Him; and He being heard, every thing is heard in Him: He being
felt, all things are felt in Him; and He being present, the whole world
is present before us.
20. He wakes over the sleeping world, and destroys the darkness of the
ignorant; He removes the dangers of the distressed, and bestows His
blessings upon the holy. (So the sruti: _suptesujágarti_. God never
sleeps. Jones. The ever wakeful eyes of Jove. To wake over the sleeping
worlds. Iliad).
21. He moves about as the living soul of all, and rejoices as the
animal soul in all objects of enjoyment; it is He that glows in all
visible objects in their various hues. (Shines in the sun, and twinkles
in the stars; blazes in the fire, and blushes in flowers. Pope).
22. He sees himself in himself, and is quietly situated in all things;
as pungency resides in peppers, and sweetness in sugar &c.
23. He is situated as intelligence and sensations, in the inward and
outward parts of living beings; and forms the essence and existence of
all objects, in general, in the whole universe.
24. He forms the vacuity of the sky, and the velocity of the winds; He
is the light of igneous bodies, and the moisture of aqueous substances.
25. He is the firmness of the earth, and the warmth of the fire; He is
the coldness of the moon, and the entity of every thing in the world.
26. He is blackness in inky substances, and coldness in the particles
of snow; and as fragrance resides in flowers, so is he resident in all
bodies.
27. It is his essence which fills all space, as the essence of time
fills all duration; and it is his omnipotence that is the fountain of
all forces, as it is his omnipresence that is the support of every
thing in every place. (This is the pervasion, of omnipresence wrongly
called as pantheism).[16]
28. As the Lord unfolds everything to light, by the external organ of
sight and the internal organ of thinking; so the Great God enlightens
the gods (sun, moon, Indra and others) by his own light. (The Natural
Theism which represented the visible heavens and heavenly bodies as
gods, maintained also the doctrine of the One Invisible God, as shining
and supporting them all by his presence. Gloss).
29. I am that I am, without the attributes (of form or figure or any
property) in me; and I am as the clear air, unsullied by the particles
of flying dust; and as the leaves of lotuses, untouched by their
supporting and surrounding waters.
30. As a rolling stone gathers no moss, so there is nothing that
touches or bears any relation to my airy mind; and the pain and
pleasure which betake the body, cannot affect my form of the inner soul.
31. The soul like a gourd fruit, is not injured by the shower of rain
falling on the outer body resembling its hard crust; and the intellect
like the flame of a lamp, is not to be held fast (or fastened) by a
rope.
32. So this ego of mine which transcends every thing, is not to be tied
down by any thing to the earth; nor does it bear any relation with the
objects of sense or my mental desires, or anything existent or not in
existence in this world.
33. Who has the power to grasp the empty vacuum; or confine the mind?
You may cut the body to a thousand pieces, but you cannot divide the
invisible and the indivisible vacuous Spirit rising in me.
34. As the pot being broken or bored, or removed from its place, there
is no loss sustained by its containing or contained air; so the body
being destroyed, there is no damage done to the unconnected soul; and
the mind is as false a name, as that of a demon or Pisácha.
35. The destruction of the gross body, does not injure the immaterial
soul; and what is the mind, but the perceptive power of my desires and
gross pleasures and pains. (The organ of the mind is destroyed with the
body).
36. I had such a percipient mind before, but now I have found my rest
in quiescence. I find it is another thing beside myself, because it
perceives and partakes of the enjoyments of life, and is exposed to the
dangers that betake the body.
37. There is another one in me (_i.e._ the soul or intellect), which
beholds the actions of the other (_i.e._ of the mind) as a theatric
act; and witnesses the exposure of the body to peril, as its last sad
and catastrophe.
38. It is the wicked spirit, that is caught in ignorance; but the pure
spirit has nothing to suffer: and I feel in myself neither the wish of
my continuing in worldly enjoyments, nor a desire of forsaking them
altogether. (I enjoy my life while it lasts).[17]
39. Let what may come to pass on me, and whatever may happen to pass
away from me; I have neither the expectation of pleasures for me, nor
an aversion to the suffering of pain. (in my gain or loss of any thing,
in my resignation of myself to God).
40. Let pleasure or pain betake or forsake me as it may, without my
being concerned with or taking heed of either; because I know the
fluctuating desires, to be incessantly rising and setting in the sphere
of my mind.
41. Let these desires depart from me, for I have nothing to do with
them, nor have they any concern with me. Alas! how have I been all this
time, misled to these by ignorance, which is my greatest enemy.
42. It is by favour of Vishnu, and by virtue of my pure Vaishnava
faith, rising in me of itself, that my ignorance is now wholly
dispelled from me, and the knowledge of the True One is revealed unto
me.
43. My knowledge of truth has now driven away my egoism (or knowledge
of myself) from my mind; as they drive a spirit from its hiding-place
in the hollow of a tree.
44. I am now purified by admonition (mantra) of divine knowledge to me,
and the arbour of my body is now set free from egoism, which sat as a
demon (Yaksha) in it.
45. It is now become as a sacred arbour, blooming with heavenly
flowers; and freed from the evils of ignorance, penury, and vain
wishes, which infested it erewhile.