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Index Page
Book 4
Now, by means of a collection of narratives, recognized in
the Institutes, the
means of discriminative knowledge are to be
displayed: so, for this purpose the Fourth Book is commenced.
| Soul set right by hearing the
truth. |
Aph.
1.* As in the case
of the king's son, from instruction as to the truth [comes
discrimination between soul and Nature].
a.
'Discrimination' is supplied from the concluding aphorism of the
preceding section. The meaning is: as, in the case of the king's son,
discrimination is produced by instruction as to the truth. The story,
here, is as follows: A certain king's son, in consequence of his being
born under the [unlucky] star of the tenth portion2
[of the twenty-seven portions into which the ecliptic is divided],
having been expelled from his city, and reared by a certain forester,
remains under the idea, that 'I am a forester.' Having learned that he
is alive, a certain minister informs him: 'Thou art not a forester;
thou art a king's son.'
p. 285 As
he, immediately, having abandoned the idean of his being an outcast,
betakes himself to his true royal state, saying, 'I am a king,'
so, too, it [the Soul], in consequence of the instruction of some kind
person, to the effect that 'Thou, who didst originate from the First
Soul, which manifests itself merely as pure Thought, art [thyself,] a
portion thereof,' having abandoned the idea of its being Nature [or of
being something material or phenomenal], rests simply upon its own
nature, saying, 'Since I am the son of Brahmá, I am, myself, Brahmá,
and not something mundane, different therefrom:' such is the meaning.
b.
He exhibits another story, to prove that even women,
p. 286 Śúdras,
&c., may gain the [one desirable] end, through a Bráhman, by
hearing the instructions of a Bráhman:
| Even when the instruction is not
addressed to the hearer. |
Aph.
2.* As in the case
of the goblin, even when the instruction was for the sake of another,
[the chance hearer may be benefited].
a.
That is to say: though the instruction in regard to the truth was
being delivered, by the venerable Kṛishṉa, for Arjuna's
benefit, knowledge of the distinction [between Soul and Nature] was
produced in the case of a goblin standing near [and overhearing the
discourse]: and so it may happen in the case of others, too.
b.
And, if knowledge is not produced from once instructing, then a
repetition of the instruction is to be made; to which effect he
adduces another story:
p. 287
| Necessity of inculcation. |
Aph.
3.* Repetition [is
to be made], if not, from once instructing, [the end be gained].
a.
That is to say: a repetition of instruction, also, is to be made;
because, in the Chhándogya [Upanishad],1
and the like; there is mention of Áruṉi, and others, as having
more than once instructed Śwetaketu and others.
b.
With a view to the removal of desire, he sets forth, with an
illustration, the fragility, &c., of Soul's accompaniments:
| Transitoriness of mundane
things. |
Aph.
4.* As in the case
of father and son; since both are seen; [to one, to die, and the
other, to be born].
a.
That is to say: Discrimination takes place, through dispassion, in
consequence of its being inferred, in respect of one's own self, also,
that there is death and birth; since these are seen in the case of
father and son. This has
p. 288 been
stated as follows: 'The coming into being, and the departure, of Soul
[entangled in Nature],1
may be inferred from [the case of] father and son.'
b.
He next explains, by illustrative stories, the subservients to the perfecting
of knowledge in him in whom knowledge has arisen, and who is devoid of
passion:
| Voluntary abandonment
distinguished from involuntary. |
Aph.
5.* One
experiences pleasure or pain [alternatively], from [voluntary]
abandonment or [forcible] separation; as in the case of a hawk.
a.
That is to say: since people become happy by the abandonment of
things, and unhappy by [forcible] separation from them, acceptance of
them ought not to be made; 'as in the case of a hawk.'4
For a hawk, when he has food [before him], if he be driven away5
by any one, is grieved
p. 289 at
being separated from the food; [but] if, of his own accord, he leaves
it, then he is free from grief.
| How Soul ought to abandon
Nature. |
Aph.
6.* As in the case
of a snake and its skin.
a.
That is to say: as a snake readily abandons its old skin, from knowing
that it ought to be quitted, just so he who desires liberation should
abandon Nature, experienced through a long period, and effete, when he
knows that it ought to be quitted. Thus it has been said: 'As a snake
. . . its old skin,' &c.
p. 290
b.
And, when abandoned, he should not again accept Nature and the rest.
So, in regard to this, he says:
| Its resumption prohibited. |
Aph.
7.* Or as an
amputated hand.
a.
As no one takes back again an amputated hand, just so this [Nature],
when abandoned, he should not readmit: such is the meaning. The word
'Or' is used in the sense of moreover;' [the import of the conjunction
being superadditive, not alternative].
| Duty to be sacrificed to
salvation. |
Aph.
8.* What is not a
means [of liberation is] not to be thought about, [as this conduces
only] to bondage; as in the case of Bharata.
a.
That which is not an immediate cause of Discrimination, even though it
may be a duty, still is 'not to be thought about;' i.e., intention of
the mind towards the performance thereof is not to be made; since it
tends to Bondage, from its making us forget Discrimination. 'As in the
case of Bharata:' that is to say, as was the case
p. 291 with
the royal sage Bharata's cherishing Dínánátha's1
fawn, though [this was] in accordance with duty.
Aph.
9.* From
[association with] many there is obstruction to concentration, through
passion, &c.; as in the case of a girl's shells.4
a.
Association is not to be made with many; because, when there is
association with many, there is disturbance, through the manifestation
of Passion, &c., which destroys concentration; as a jingling is
produced by the mutual
p. 292
contact of the shells on a girl's wrist: such is the meaning.
Aph.
10.* Just so,
from [the company of] two, also.
a.
Just so, even from two there is obstruction to concentration;
therefore one ought to abide quite alone: such is the meaning.
| Blessedness of those who expect
nothing. |
Aph.
11.* He who is
without hope is happy; like Pingalá.3
a.
Having abandoned hope, let a man become possessed of the happiness
called contentment; 'like Pingalá;' that is to say, as the courtesan
called Pingalá, desiring a lover, having found no lover, being
despondent, became happy, when she had left off hoping.
p. 293
b.
But then, granting that Pain may cease, on the cessation of hope, yet
how can there be happiness, in the absence of causes thereof?
It is replied: That natural happiness, resulting from the predominance
of Purity in the mind, which remains obscured by hope, itself resumes
its influence, on the departure of hope; as is the case with the
coolness of water which [supposed natural coolness] had been hindered
[from manifesting itself,] by heat: there is not, in this case, any
need of means. And it is laid down that precisely this is
happiness of Soul.
c.
Since it is an obstructer of Concentration, exertion with a view to
experience is not to be made, since this will be effected quite
otherwise; as he states:
p. 294
Aph.
12.* [One may be
happy,] even without exertion; like a serpent happy in another's
house.
a.
Supply, 'he may be happy.' The rest is simple. So it has been said:1
'The building of a house is, assuredly, painful, and in no way
pleasant. A serpent, having entered the dwelling made by another
[e.g., a rat], does find confort.'
b.From
Institutes, and from preceptors, only the essence is to be accepted;
since, otherwise, it may be impossible to concentrate the attention,
from there being, by reason of implications,3
discussions, &c., discrepancies in declared unessential parts, and
from the multiplicity of topics. So he says:
p. 295
| A bee-like eclecticism
recommended. |
Aph.
13.* Though he
devote himself to many Institutes and teachers, a taking of the
essence [is to be made]; as is the case with the bee.
a.
Supply 'is to be made.' The rest is simple. Thus it has been said:
'From small Institutes, and from great, the intelligent man should
take, from all quarters, the essence; as the bee does from the
flowers.'
b.
Be the other means what they may, the direct possession of
Discrimination is to be effected only by intentness, through
maintaining Meditation; as he tells us:
| Intentness on one object. |
Aph.
14.* The
Meditation is not interrupted of him whose mind is intent on one
object; like the maker of arrows.3
a.
As, in the case of a maker of arrows, with his mind intent solely on
the making of an arrow, the exclusion of
p. 296
other thoughts is not interrupted even by a king's passing at his
side, so, too, of him whose mind is intent on one point there is in no
way an 'interruption of meditation,' i.e., a failure to exclude other
thoughts.
| Rules not to be transgressed
with impunity. |
Aph.
15.* Through
transgression of the enjoined rules there is failure in the aim; as in
the world.
a.
Whatever rule, for the practisers of Concentration, has been laid down
in the Institutes, if it be transgressed, then the end, viz., the
effecting of knowledge, is not attained. 'As in the world.' That is to
say: just as, in ordinary life, if the enjoined procedures, &c.,
in regard to a medicine, or the like, be neglected, this or that
effect thereof will not be obtained.
p. 297
b.
He states, further, that, if the rules be forgotten, the end
will not be gained:
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