"'"Suka said, 'The declarations of the Vedas are twofold. They once lay
down the command, "Do all acts." They also indicate (the reverse,
saying), "Give up acts." I ask, "Whither do persons go by the aid of
Knowledge and whither by the aid of acts?"[979] I desire to hear this. Do
tell me this. Indeed, these declarations about knowledge and acts are
dissimilar and even contradictory.'"
"'Bhishma continued, "Thus addressed, the son of Parasara said these words
unto his son, 'I shall expound to thee the two paths, viz., the
destructible and the indestructible, depending respectively upon acts and
knowledge. Listen with concentrated attention, O child, to me, as I tell
thee the place that is reached by one with the aid of knowledge, and that
other place which is reached with the aid of acts. The difference between
these two places is as great as the limitless sky. The question that thou
hast asked me has given me such pain as an atheistic discourse gives to a
man of faith. These are the two paths upon which the Vedas are
established; the duties (acts) indicated by Pravritti, and those based on
Nivritti that have been treated of so excellently.[980] By acts, a living
creature is destroyed. By knowledge, however, he becomes emancipated. For
this reason, Yogins who behold the other side of the ocean of life never
betake themselves to acts. Through acts one is forced to take rebirth,
after death, with a body composed of the six and ten ingredients. Through
knowledge, however, one becomes transformed into that which is Eternal,
Unmanifest, and Immutable. One class of persons that are however of
little intelligence, applaud acts. In consequence of this they have to
assume bodies (one after another) ceaselessly. Those men whose
perceptions are keen in respect of duties and who have attained to that
high understanding (which leads to knowledge), never applaud acts even as
persons that depend for their drinking water upon the supply of streams
never applaud wells and tanks. The fruit that one obtains of acts
consists of pleasure and pain, of existence and non-existence. By
knowledge, one attains to that whither there is no occasion for grief;
whither one becomes freed from both birth and death; whither one is not
subject to decrepitude; whither one transcends the state of conscious
existence,[981] whither is Brahma which is Supreme, Unmanifest,
immutable, ever-existent, imperceptible, above the reach of pain,
immortal, and transcending destruction; whither all become freed from the
influence of all pairs of opposites (like pleasure and pain, etc.), as
also of wish or purpose.[982] Reaching that stage, they cast equal eyes
on everything, become universal friends and devoted to the good of all
creatures. There is a wide gulf, O son, between one devoted to knowledge
and one devoted to acts. Know that the man of knowledge, without
undergoing destruction, remains existent for ever like the moon on the
last day of the dark fortnight existing in a subtle (but undestroyed)
form. The great Rishi (Yajnavalkya in Vrihadaranayaka) has said this more
elaborately. As regards the man devoted to acts, his nature may be
inferred from beholding the new-born moon which appears like a bent
thread in the firmament.[983] Know, O son, that the person of acts takes
rebirth with a body with eleven entities, for its ingredients, that are
the results of modification, and with a subtile form that represents a
total of six and ten.[984] The deity who takes refuge in that (material)
form, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, should be known as Kshetrajna
(Soul), which is Eternal, and which succeeds by Yoga in transcending both
the mind and the knowledge.[985] Tamas, Rajas, and Sattwa are the
attributes of the knowledge. The knowledge is the attribute of the
individual soul residing within the body. The individual soul, in its
turn, comes from the Supreme Soul.[986] The body with the soul is said to
be the attribute of jiva. It is jiva that acts and causes all bodies to
live. He who has created the seven worlds is said by those that are
acquainted with what is Kshetra (and what is Kshetrajna) to be above
jiva.'"'"