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And the Rishi Vashisht, preceptor of the Divine Ram, went on:
"The poison plant of the world's illusion springs from the mind
entangled in
sensuous enjoyment. But it is through mind alone, that the ills of mind can be
cured and eradicated. Those who live in this world without attachment to worldly
objects, like a duck in a pond, are the true conquerors of the mind. For what
are they—but vermin—those who cling to the objects of the senses, and taste not
of the fruit of renunciation? One ought to rid the mind of all thoughts of ego,
and fix it on the Soul Supreme, according to the teachings of the Vedas (Four
books of Wisdom), to attain complete bliss and harmony in life.
"Even as one thorn removes another thorn, so the higher mind of a man, will
remove the impurities from the lower mind of man. To cleanse the mind of its
defilements and desires is the first step on the high road to salvation, trodden
by the great Saint and Sages.
"When the mind that wavers and flickers like a flame in the wind, is steadied
and made one-pointed, as it were, through desirelessness, then alone is the Real
Truth that sustains the Universe made manifest in all its refulgent majesty. May
you tread this Sacred and Ancient Path (Yoga), O Ram, and by knowing the true
nature of your own self, and freeing your mind from all worldly entanglements,
attain to the highest bliss of salvation. May your mind, freed from hankerings
and longings for the objects of the world, be merged in God-Consciousness. Past,
present and future become as one, to he who has controlled his mind, and
conquered his worldly desires. When all the shining tinsel of the world becomes
a mere nothing. then alone is mind conquered. These thoughts of attachment and
possession,—that this is mine, that is thine, etc., belong to the realm of the
lower mind. When all such lower thoughts of differentiation are lost, and the
Atma, One behind all, is recognized, then alone the sorrows of the world cease
to exist. May you, O Ram, attain to that Divine State. When the mind is fully
controlled and the desires arising from it are destroyed, then alone comes
surcease from pains and afflictions that torment humanity. When the baser
passions of the mind are slain, then one attains perfect peace, and becomes, as
it were, the fountain head of peace in the world for the salvation of suffering
humanity.
"By meditating on the heart, spiritual Wisdom awakens, all doubts vanish, and
the mind is contented. This mind of ours, is susceptible to all kinds of
influences, hankering after worldly pleasures, and this is the greatest obstacle in
the path of salvation. Control
your. mind with the thought that these worldly objects are the merest tinsel
compared to the liberation which is a veritable treasure-trove of all bliss and
happiness. Then will you be freed from all worldly thoughts of possession and
differentiation, arising from an overgrown ego.
The Divine State of liberation, where one is freed from the cycle of birth
and death, confers untold bliss, and is everlasting like the Eternal One
Himself.
"It is indeed hard to find in this world, a mind really free from the snare
of the senses. To control this ever-fluctuating mind and make it one-pointed is
the aim of all meditation, and is the theme of all discourses on metaphysics.
Constant meditation on the One Unchanging Reality of the Universe, which is God,
the Self Supreme. The mind takes on the qualities it meditates upon. For that
reason the wise keep within strict control, those tendencies of the mind which
incline it toward the baser objects, and in the end attain the Bliss of complete
freedom, liberation, or Nirvana.
"The moment desires and distractions crop up in the mind, they should be
weeded out. The destruction of sensuous desires is akin to the destruction of
ignorance. Desirelessness leads to the peace of salvation. Constant effort is
necessary to attain such bliss. With the realization of the Supreme and
Sustaining Reality of the Universe, one sees that all worldly objects are false
and unreal to the core,—mere illusions, nothing else, like bubbles on the deep."
Prince Ram asked: "Tell us, O Saint, how one can destroy ignorance?"
Rishi Vashisht, the Preceptor, replied; "Through ignorance it is, O Ram, that
the Atma, which is eternal, is forced to go though the cycle of births and
deaths. To conceive of the illusion, which besets the embodied soul as real, is
ignorance, and a barrier to seeing true reality. A man, free from births and
deaths, and realizing the all-refulgent reality of the Universe, perceives that
desires are a creation of Maya. Extinction of lower desires is the extinction of
ignorance."
Prince Ram asked his preceptor, the Holy Vashisht: "All visible objects of
name and form, O Lord, you say are illusions, and that illusion is destroyed by
meditation on the true reality of the Atma. Pray, what is this thing called
Atma?"
Rishi Vashisht replied: "It is the Wisdom of the Brahman1 (God), who has no
visible form. All things of the world, perceived through our senses, contain the
essence of Brahman, such as growth, mind, birth and death, which are illusory,
not real. Brahman alone is true and self-existent, the Creator and Upholder of
the Universe. Out of that Supreme Soul, which is Eternal, Immortal, and
Absolute, arose the intelligence that governs the Universe. This Atmic Jnan is the Absolute Self shining every where.
"From the Brahman arise different forces and powers like waves and currents in
the ocean. To realize Oneself as Brahman is the goal; but to know the soul as
distinct from the body is to know the truth and be free from ignorance. It is
only the fancy of fools, that gives illusion the garb of reality. The wise have
pierced the veil of illusion by the shafts of their Jnan (Wisdom). Know then,
this body, this wealth, these kith and kin are not real. Atma alone is real and
eternal. Perform actions in this world without being absorbed by them."
Sri Ram then said: "How marvelous it is that illusion, which is unreal,
should cause so much pain and suffering in the world, and that which appears so
solid and concrete should be but a manifestation of Maya. O Master, I cannot
believe this Universe really came out of the unreality. How do you account for
the pains of King Lavana?"
Saint Vashisht answered: "King Lavana was not bound by the results of his
actions, as he performed them without attachment, and with complete indifference
to the outcome. One morning while sitting in solitude, the King fell into a profound reverie and thought
of performing mentally the Raj-suya Vajna, as performed by his powerful ancestor
Harish Chandra. He thought of all the accessories to the Sacrifice, and in
imagination offered oblations to the gods, and went through all the details of
the sacrifice. When he awoke from his reverie, it was night-fall. It is a rule
that whoever performs the Royal Sacrifice, must undergo great pain and
suffering. So the King of the gods, Indra, sent a celestial messenger to inflict
suffering on King Lavana. The mendicant, who appeared before the King, and put
him into a trance in which he suffered cruelly, was none other than Indra's
messenger. This I discovered by my ascetic powers. So you will see from this
episode, that actions performed even mentally have far-reaching consequences.
The story of King Lavana is as follows: A mendicant came to the Court
of King Lavana and besought him to witness has powers. On the King consenting,
the mendicant waved a peacock feather before the King's face, and immediately
the King sank into unconsciousness, while his body writhed fearfully. When some
time later the King recovered consciousness, his minister asked him what he had experienced. The King replied "I felt dizzy when the mendicant
waved the fan. Then I saw a horse coming toward me. On the mendicant's
suggestion I rode the horse and was carried away to a dense forest, where I fell
from the horse and felt very thirsty. While I lay dying of thirst, I saw a young
woman pass my way with a pitcher of water. I asked for water, but the girl
refused, saying that she was low-born and could not give water to the King
unless he married her and promised to live with her folks. In my extremity, I
consented. I married the girl, but found it very hard to live with her folks,
who were no better than barbarians. I moved up on the hill top and built a
house. There I lived with the girl for eight years, and we had two sons. Then
there was a severe draught, and as a result, terrible famine. People died by the
hundreds and thousands for want of food. I started, with my wife and sons, for
some other land. On the way, my wife died from fatigue and exhaustion and my
sons cried for food. Unable to see them suffer, I killed myself. Just at this
point I recovered consciousness." So said the King, and all present marvelled at
the strangeness of the dream. They looked around for the ascetic but he was
nowhere to be found.—by the Author.
"O Ram," continued the Rishi Vashisht, "I will speak to you of the nature of
Jnan and Ajnana—Wisdom and Ignorance. Each of these is seven-fold in character.
Wisdom enables men to perceive the true reality of the Universe and thereby
obtain salvation; whereas, ignorance, by regarding the physical body as the real "I", leads to bondage.
"Now, the difference between a seer and one who is denied spiritual vision.
The seers are those who have conquered illusions, and have awakened to a
realization of the true reality of the Universe. The ignorant slaves of
illusion. Shallow human intelligence causes doubts and disbeliefs and leads men
astray. This is but delusion. Wisdom leaves no room for doubts or disbeliefs. To
the man who has attained true Wisdom, the human soul and the Supreme Soul
becomes One.
"The seven states of ignorance are Bindu-jagrat, Jagrat, Maha-jagrat,
Swapnajagrat, Swapuna, Sushupti, Bindu-jagrat is the primary state of partial
perception. In the second state the individual begins to perceive the difference
of mine, thine and his. In the third state the man begins to have some
conception of the relationship between man and the Universe. In the fourth state
the mind realizes its supremacy over matter. The fifth state is really the dream
state. In the sixth state the individual recalls to mind things long past. In
the seventh state the individual realizes the futility of all his previous states, fraught with pain and suffering.
"There are likewise seven states of Wisdom, although any number of divisions
and subdivisions can be made. These seven states of Wisdom lead to Nirvana. They
are Subeccha or right desire, Vicharan or contemplation, Tanumansi, the state in
which the mind is alert, Satwapatti or the generation of the serenity of the
mind, Asansakti or detachment of the mind from worldly things,
Padarth Bhavana, the perception of the truth and reality, and Turya or light.
These states free the seeker from delusion, and lead gradually to complete
Nirvana or salvation and to the end of pain and suffering. Subhecha or right
desire is of course the longing and desire for spiritual enlightenment.
Vicharana is defined as meditation or contemplation of the things of spirit and
mind, contemplation of the Divinity that pervades the Universe, and the
realization of the Godhead, These two states lead to the third stage of keen
intellectual perception, which naturally leads to the real truth or divine
philosophy. Atma Jnan (Wisdom of the self) brings about emancipation from the thraldom of worldly things. This state confers ineffable bliss and
enlightenment on the seeker. By logical sequence in that state of advancement,
the student realizes his relationship with the Divine, and his relationship with
the Universe. here he sees, knows and understands all. Then the last state of
complete enlightenment and mastery is reached, when the very presence of the man
radiates spiritual light. Such a soul is free from the cycle of birth and death.
He is called Jivan-mukta (bodily emancipated). These souls are free indeed. Free
front worldly longings and desires, pleasure, pair, success, failure, praise,
blame, profit, loss, victory and defeat are as one to them. They have attained
salvation by the continued discipline of their mind, by unceasing effort in the
realm of divine philosophy.
"Rising by degrees from one spiritual stage of enlightenment to another,
until having passed through the seven stages, you attain liberation. Those who
have subjected their mind and acquired true perception of the Divine within, are
truly great, worthy of every respect, and adoration. Others have to go through
innumerable births and deaths. One desire leading to another, thus the wheels of Maya move on, and the soul is bound more and
more, until true awakening comes, and the man starts on the path of
enlightenment. This path begins with the desire for spiritual light, and attains
completion with acquirement of that light, by means of the seven stages
described above. Such a one realizes Brahman and becomes one with Brahman, the
first Cause of the Universe, the Source of Ineffable Bliss, the Ocean of Power,
the Sun of Spiritual Illumination, Immortal, Untreated, All-pervading,
All-seeing, All-knowing, All-powerful, Supreme Creator, Preserver and Destroyer
of the Universe."
Rishi Vashisht continued: "O Ram, I will narrate further the story of King
Lavana to illustrate the working of the Maya. On recovering consciousness, the
King was seized with a great longing to visit the strange country he had dreamed
of, so he started for the Vindhya mountains. and in due time reached the
impenetrable forest that cover its slopes.
He wandered about hither and thither unlit he reached the North, where he
came upon a settlement of the very people he had dreamed about. And wonder of wonders, these people were actually suffering from
famine and in a miserable plight. The King and his courtiers saw an old woman
bewailing the loss of her children, who had died during the famine. As they
listened to her lament, they discovered with much surprise that the old woman
was weeping for the girl whom the King had married in his dream, by whom he had
two sons, and who had died while on the way to a land of plenty. Greatly moved
by the incident, the King pacified the old woman, giving she and her tribesmen
food and clothing, and conducting them to his kingdom. He then sought an
explanation of the mystery, at the feet of the learned. After due discipline,
meditation, and study he attained the Bliss of Nirvana. It is thus, O Ram, O
Ram, that illusion works and gives the unreal, the appearance of the real."
Ram asked: "How was it, O Master, that what the King saw in his dream
actually came to pass?"
Muni Vashisht replied: "You will better understand this incident by the story
of Gandhi, which I will narrate for your benefit later on. What happened in this
case was not really true, only a conjurer's trick played by Indra's messenger on the consciousness of
the King and those aborigines on the Vindhya Mountains. The King experienced in
his unconscious state, and the tribesmen saw in their conscious state, that was
all. But that is how illusion works, tricking us into believing as real that
which is not, piercing the veil of illusion, O Ram, by the shining shaft of Jnan
(Wisdom of the self). May you attain that state of bliss, my son, in which the
human soul becomes one with the Divine—the state of complete Nirvana. May you
realize the Divinity within you, and know it to be the same that brought the
world into being and pervades and sustains it. Conquer, O Ram, by ceaseless
meditation, the ignorance of illusion, and attain the One Omnipotent and
Omniscient God, from whom the world evolved, and in whom it resolves itself."
Yoga Vashisht Chapter Links
1. The original text used the word
"Brahma". It has been changed to Brahman in this edition at
Hinduwebsite.com as per the beliefs of Vedanta school of
Hinduism
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