A LECTURE ON NIRVÁNA—EXTINCTION.
Argument:—A full exposition of the identity of God and the world,
and the adorableness of our soul as one with God.
Vasishtha continued:—The mind being as calm and quiet as the Intellect,
there can be no difference between them; and it is impossible to assign
the creation to the divine mind, in its undeveloped and tranquil state.
(The difference of the mind and intellect, consists in their activity
and inactivity).
2. The lighted lamp of the understanding being extinguished, the
erroneous conceptions of the world vanishes into the air; and the ocular
vision and mental operations, are as undulations of consciousness.
(_i.e._ The conscious acts through all the sensible organs, mental
faculties and bodily members).
3. The world bears the same relation to the supreme soul, as the
fluctuation of the winds bear to air, and as the radiation of rays bears
to light, which have no other causality except in themselves.
4. The world is inherent in the Supreme, as fluidity is connate with
water, and vacuity is connatural with air. But why and how they are so
intimately connected with one another, is quite inconceivable to us.
5. The world which is thus immanent in the vast vacuity of the great
intellect, is manifest to our minds as brilliancy in a gem. (The
appearance of light or lustre in a gem is no other than a property of
them itself).
6. The world therefore appertains to the supreme intellect, in the same
manner, as liquidity is related with water and fluctuation pertains to
air, and as vacuity belongs to the infinite void.
7. As ventilation has its relation with air, so doth the world bear upon
the supreme intellect; so there is no reason of supposing a duality to
subsist in the unity of any two of these.
8. The world is manifest to the sight of the ignorant, but it is frail
and nebulous in the estimation of the intelligent. It is however neither
manifest nor mysterious to the sapient, who believe it as an existence
subsisting in the entity of the self-existent unity.
9. It is well ascertained (in every system of philosophy), that there is
nothing else in existence, beside the sole intellect, which is pure
intelligence, and having no beginning, middle or end of it.
10. This is the great intellect of some, and the holy spirit of
others; it is the eternally omniscient Brahma according to some, and
the infinite void or vacuum of vacuists. It is also called
_jnapti_—knowledge or science by scientists.
11. Now people understand this infinite and intellectual spirit, in the
sense of an intelligible being; while others suppose him as knowable in
themselves, and thus trying to know, become quite ignorant of him.
12. Without the intellect there is no knowledge of the intelligibles,
neither is there the faculty of intellection unless there be the
intellect; as there is no air without vacuum, nor is there any air
without its ventilation.
13. So it is the shadow of the great intellect, that makes our
consciousness to perceive the existence of the world; and whether the
world is an entity or non-entity, there is no other cause of its
knowledge than the intellect.
14. It is owing to the unity of this duality (_viz_ of the world and the
spirit), that this sense of their identity is verified; nor is there any
one who can make unity or duality the all pervading vacuity.
15. There is but one universal concavity, of the whole sphere of the
vacuous sky, and the dualism of the air and its fluctuations, is only in
words and nominal and not in reality.
16. The duality of the universe and its universal Lord, is a mere verbal
and no real distinction of the one positive unity of God. It is
impossible for the self-existent soul to have a counterpart of itself,
except its own intellect.
17. That which has the appearances of the world, is no world in reality,
but a shadow of it; and that which is limited by space and time, cannot
be the infinite and external sphere.
18. As the different forms of jewels, are related to the substance of
gold (out of which they are made), so doth the world bear its relation
to Brahma; whose unity admits of <neither> duality, nor the attribute of
cause and effect (_i.e._ of the creator and creation).
19. If it be only a creation of the imagination, it is then no other
than a nothing and no such thing; it is just as well as the vacuity of
the firmament, and the fluidity of water and liquids.
20. As the sky bears the appearance of the sky, so doth Brahma present
the sight of the world; and both of them being of the same kind (of
vacuum), there can be no duality nor unity of the two in one.
21. All these are of the like kind, as the vast vacuum of itself; they
are selfsame in their nature with the one all extended and transparent
essence of the interminable intellect of God.
22. As all pebbles and dolls and marble statues, have the stony
substance in them; and there is no relation of cause or effect in anyone
of them, so these varieties of beings have no difference in them from
the nature of divine essence.
23. As it is impossible for vacuity to be another thing than vacuum, and
the reflexion of light is no other than the very light; so this creation
resides in and radiates from the great intellect.
24. As the images carved in a stone, are of the same sort being hewn of
the same substance; so O wise Ráma, all these various forms of things in
the world, are lost upon their insight, into the substantiality of the
all engrossing intellect of the great Deity.
25. It is the delusion of your mind, that presents to your sight all
this bustle and commotion of the world, which upon your right inspection
of them, must remain as mute and motionless as a block of wood or stone,
and as imperceptible as the prospect of things to a man with his closed
eyes.
26. As things absent from sight, appear to be present before one in his
thought of them, both in his waking and sleeping states; so it is the
misconception of the mind, that presents the phenomenals to the sight of
the open-eyed man.
27. As it is by the hallucination of your mind, that you see the absent
objects as present before you, both when you are awake as well as
asleep; but suppress your thoughts, and you will be as inert as a stone,
as in the abstracted and sound sleeping states of your mind.
28. You must not however allow your mind, become as insensible as a
stone; but remain in your natural state and employ it in the service of
your adorable object, with the best offerings of your reason on all
things about you.
29. Adore the Supreme God of nature; for the enlargement of your
understanding; and He being worshipped with your right reason and good
sense, will soon reward you with the best boon of your transcendent
felicity—_neratisayánanda_.
30. The adoration of Indra, Upendro and the other gods, is as the
worshipping rotten straws with respect to that of the God in spirit; and
the offering of flowers and sacrifices, are nothing in comparison to
your cultivation of reason, and association with wise and learned men.
31. The Supreme God who is the giver of all blessings, being worshipped
in the true light of the spirit in one’s own soul, confers his best
blessing of liberation in an instant.
32. Why does the ignorant man resort to another, when his soul is the
sole lord; Do you associate with the good and have your equanimity and
content, and adore the Supreme soul with your best reason.
33. The worship of idols, pilgrimages and all sorts of devotion,
together with all your charities, are as useless as the offering of
scentless _Sirisha_ flowers, and injurious as fire, poison and the
wounds of weapons are to the body.
34. The actions of mean minded men, are as useless as ashes on account
of their unreasonableness; let them therefore act with reason in order
to render their deeds fruitful.
35. Why therefore don’t you foster your reasoning powers in your mind,
by means of your knowledge of the true natures of things, and the
concentration of your desires in the Supreme spirit.
36. It is by divine grace only, that the reasoning faculty has its
exercise in the mind, therefore the power of reasoning is to be fostered
in the mind, by sprinkling the ambrosial water of equanimity over it.
37. Until the fountain of error in the mind, is dried up by the blaze of
right knowledge, so long the tendency towards the corporeal, continues
to run over it in all directions.
38. Equanimity overcomes the sense of shame, sorrow, fear and envy; as
the conviction of the nihility of the world and all corporeal things,
removes the possibility of their existence at any time. (According to
the dictum—nyáya,—_násato vidyate vába_. _Ex nihilo nihil fit_ nothing
comes from nothing).
39. And if it be the work of a cause, it must be the selfexistent
Brahma that both at once; as the reflexion is alike the reflector, and
the reflected knowledge of a pot or picture is nothing in reality. (The
effect is akin to the cause agreeably to the maxim “similes similibus”).
40. Know this world to be the shadow of the intellect, as one’s feature
is seen within a mirror; but the idea of the shadow of both, vanishes
when one acquainted with the original.
41. For want of the knowables or objects of objective knowledge, there
remains the only unknowable One, who is of the form of everlasting
felicity; and this soul of the incorporeal spirit, is extended all over
the infinite space in its form of perfect tranquility.
42. All knowledge, knowable and knowing, are said to be quite mute and
silent in their nature (being confined in the mind); therefore it
behoves you to remain as quiet and calm, as stones and pebbles and the
caverns of rocks.
43. Remain as knowing and wise man, both when you are sitting or doing
anything; because wise men are persons who know the unknown, and
personifications of true knowledge.
44. Remain as clear as the sphere of the sky, and be content with
whatever may happen to you; when you are sitting quiet, or moving about
or doing anything, and in every state of your life.
45. It is for wise men to be doing what they have to do, and whatever
comes in their way; or to give up and renounce all and everything, and
remain with their quiet and peaceful minds at every place.
46. Whether sitting in solitude or in silent meditation, let the wise
man remain as quiet as a statue or a picture; and having repressed his
imagination, let him view the world as an imaginary city or an airy
nothing.
47. The waking wise man sees the rising world, as sitting down in his
state of sleep; and let him view the spectacles before his eyes, as the
born-blind man has no sight of anything before him.
48. The ignorant man resorting to his _nirvána_, has more cause of
regret than the peace of his mind, at his renunciation of the world; and
the preaching of _bon-ideals_ serves rather to increase their ignorance,
than enlighten in the path of truth.
49. The ignorant man who thinks himself wise in his own conceit, is
deluded to greater ignorance, by thinking himself successful with his
ill success.
50. The man comes to meet with his ill success, who strives to thrive by
improper means; because the learned reckon all fanciful steps, as no
steps at all to successfulness.
51. It is wrong to resort to _nirvána_-resignation, on account of some
transitory mishap which ever happens to humanity. But that is known as
true resignation by the wise, which a man has recourse to after his full
knowledge of the errors of the world, and the indifference which he lays
hold upon, at his entire disgust with and distaste of all worldly
affairs.
52. Ráma, as you are delighted at the recital of tales, so should you
take a pleasure in your spiritual instructions, with a melted heart and
mind; unless you know the transparent intellect, and view it as diffused
in the form of the infinite world, you cannot attain to your
_nirvána_-extinction into it.
53. The knowledge of God, that you have gained from the vedas, is sheer
ignorance, and resembles the false notion of the world, that is born
blind on earth. Trample over that knowledge, and do not fall into its
errors; but know God in spirit, and by your _nirvána_-extinction into
it, be exempt from future births and transmigrations.