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DAY
21
VISVAMITRA said:
O Rama, you are indeed the foremost among the wise, and
there is really nothing further for you to know. However,
your knowledge needs confirmation, even as the
self-knowledge of Suka needed confirmation from Janaka
before Suka could find the peace that passeth
understanding.
RAMA asked:
"Holy one! Pray tell me, how was it that Suka did not find
peace in spite of his knowledge, and how he found it
later."
VISVAMITRA said:
Listen, O Rama, I shall duty narrate to you this
soul-uplifting story of the born-sage Suka, the son of
Vedavyasa, who is now seated next to your father. Just like
you, Sika also arrived at the truth concerning existence
after deep contemplation of the evanescence of the world.
Yet, because it was self-acquired knowledge, he could not
positively affirm to himself "this is the Truth". He had of
course arrive at the state of extreme and supreme
dispassion.
One day this Suka approached his father, Vedavyasa, and
asked him: "Sir, how did this diversity of world-creation
come into being; how will it come to an end?" Vedavyasa gave
a detailed answer to this question, but Suka thought "All
this I knew already; what is new in this?" and was not
impressed. Vedavyasa sensed this, and hence he said to Suka:
"My son, I do not know anything more than this, but there is
the royal sage Janaka on earth who knows more than this.
Kindly approach him".
Suka thereupon came to Janaka's palace. Informed by the
palace guards of the young Suka's arrival, Janaka ignored
Suka for a week as he patiently waited outside. The next
week Janaka had Suka brought into the palace and waited upon
by dancers and musicians. Suka was unmoved by this, too.
After this, Suka was ushered into the royal presence, and
Janaka said: "You know the Truth. What else shall I tell you
now?" Suka repeated the question he had asked to his father,
and Janaka too gave him the answer his father had given.
Suka said: "I knew this, my father told me this, the
scriptures also affirm this, and now you declare the Truth,
and that is this diversity arises on account of mental
modifications and it will cease when they cease". Thus, when
his Self-knowledge had been confirmed, Suka attained peace
and remained in nirvikalpa samadhi.
DAY
22
VISVAMITRA said to the assembled sages:
Like Suka, Rama, too, has gained the highest wisdom. The
surest sign of a man of the highest wisdom is that he is
unattracted by the pleasure of the world, for in him even
the subtle tendencies have ceased. When these tendencies are
strong, there is bondage; when they have ceased, there is
liberation. He is truly a liberated sage who by nature is
not swayed by sense pleasure, without the motivation of fame
or other incentives. And, I pray that the sage Vasishtha
should so instruct Rama that he will be confirmed in his
wisdom and we, too, may be inspired. That instruction will
surely become the greatest wisdom, the best of all
scriptures - for it is imparted by an enlightened sage to
the qualified, dispassionate student.
VASISHTHA said: I shall surely do so. I shall now impart to
Rama the wisdom which was revealed to me by the creator,
Brahma, himself.
RAMA said: Holy sir, kindly tell me first: why was Vedavyasa
considered not liberated while his son Suka was considered
liberated?
VASISHTHA said:
O Rama, countless have been the universes that have come
into being and that have been dissolved. In fact, even the
countless universes that exist at this moment are impossible
to conceive of. All this can immediately be realised in
one's own heart, for these universes are the creations of
the desires that arise in the heart, like castles built in
the air. The living being conjures up this world in his
heart and while he is alive he strengthens this illusion:
when he passes away, he conjures up the world beyond and
experiences it - thus these arise worlds within worlds just
as there are layers within layers in a plantain stem.
Neither the world of matter not the modes of creation are
truly real; yet the living and the dead think and feel they
are real. Ignorance of this truth keeps up the
appearance.
O Rama, in this cosmic ocean of existence, beings arise here
and there who are equal to others, and others who are
different. This Vedavyasa is the twenty-third in this stream
of creation. He and other sages will attain embodiment and
disembodiment again and again. In some they will be equal to
others and in others unequal. In this embodiment Vedavyasa
is indeed a liberated sage. Such liberated sages also are
embodied countless times and they assume relations with
others - and sometimes they are equal to others and
sometimes unequal in their learning, behaviour, etc.
DAY
23
VASISHTHA continued:
O Rama, even as, whether there are waves or no waves, water
remains water, even so whatever be the external appearance
of the liberated sage, his wisdom remains unchanged. The
difference is only in the eyes of the ignorant
spectator.
Therefore, O Rama, listen to what I am about to say, which
instruction is sure to remove the darkness of ignorance. In
this world, whatever is gained is gained only by
self-effort; where failure is encountered it is seen that
there has been slackness in the effort. This is obvious;
but, what is called fate is fictitious and is not seen.
Self-effort, Rama, is that mental, verbal and physical
action which is in accordance with the instructions of a
holy person well versed in the scriptures. It is only by
such effort that Indra became king of heaven, that Brahma
became the creator, and the other deities earned their
place.
Self-effort is of two categories: that of past births and
that of this birth. The latter effectively counteracts the
former. Fate is none other than self-effort of a past
incarnation. There is constant conflict between these two in
this incarnation; and that which is more powerful
triumphs.
Self-effort which is not in accord with the scriptures is
motivated by delusion. When there is obstruction in the
fruition of self-effort one should examine it to see if
there is such deluded action, and if there is it should be
immediately corrected. There is no power greater than right
action in the present. Hence, one should take recourse to
self-effort, grinding one's teeth, and one should overcome
evil by good and fate by present effort. The lazy man is
worse than a donkey. One should never yield to laziness but
strive to attain liberation, seeing that life is ebbing away
every moment. One should not revel in the fifth known as
sense-pleasures, even as a worm revels in pus.
One who says, "Fate is directing me to do this", is
brainless, and the goddess of fortune abandons him. Hence,
by self-effort acquire wisdom and then realise that this
self-effort is not without its own end, in the direct
realisation of the Truth.
In this dreadful source of evil named laziness is not found
on earth, who will ever be illiterate and poor? It is
because laziness is found on earth that people live the life
of animals, miserable and poverty-stricken.
VALMIKI said:
At this stage, it was time for everything prayers and the
assembly broke up for the day.
DAY
24
VASISHTHA began the second days discourse:
As is the effort so is fruit, O Rama: this is the meaning of
self-effort, and it is also known as fate [divine
will]. When afflicted by suffering, people cry, "Alas,
what tragedy" or "Alas, look at my fate" both of which mean
the same thing. What is called fate or divine will is
nothing other than the action or self-effort of the past.
The present is infinitely more potent than the past. They
indeed are fools who are satisfied with the fruits of their
past effort [which they regard as divine will] and
do not engage themselves in self-effort now.
If you see that the present self-effort is sometimes
thwarted by fate [or divine will], you should
understand that the present self-effort is weak. A weak and
dull-witted man sees the hand of providence when he is
confronted by a strong and powerful adversary and succumbs
to him.
Sometimes it happens that without effort someone makes a
great gain: for example, the state elephant chooses [in
accordance with an ancient practice] a mendicant as the
ruler of a country whose king suddenly died without leaving
an heir; this is certainly not an accident nor some kind of
divine act, but the fruit of the mendicant's self-effort in
the past birth.
Sometimes it happens that a farmer's efforts are made
fruitless by a hailstorm: surely, the hailstorm's own power
was greater than the farmer's effort and the farmer should
put forth greater effort now. He should not grieve over the
inevitable loss. If such grief is justified, why should he
not weep daily over the inevitability of death? The wise man
should of course know what is capable of attainment by
self-effort and what is not. It, however, ignorance to
attribute all this to an outside agency and to say that "God
sends me to heaven or to hell", or that "an outside makes me
do this or that". Such an ignorant person should be
shunned.
One should free oneself from likes and dislikes and engage
oneself in righteous self-effort and reached the supreme
Truth, knowing that self-effort alone is another name for
divine will. We only ridicule the fatalist. That alone is
self-effort which springs from right understanding which
manifests in one's heart which has been exposed to the
teachings of the scriptures and the conduct of holy
ones.
DAY
25
VASISHTHA continued:
With a body free from
illness and mind free from distress, one should pursue
self-knowledge so that one is not born again here. Such
self-effort has a threefold root and therefore threefold
fruit - an inner awakening in the intelligence, a decision
in the mind, and the physical action.
Self-effort is based on these three - knowledge of
scriptures, instructions of the preceptor, and one's own
effort. Fate [or divine dispensation] does not enter
here. Hence he who desires salvation should divert the
impure mind to pure endeavour by persistent effort - this is
the very essence of all scriptures.
The Holy one emphasise: persistently tread the path that
leads to the eternal good. The wise seeker knows: the fruit
of my endeavours will be commensurate with the intensity of
my self-effort and neither fate nor a god ordain it
otherwise. Indeed, such self-effort alone is responsible for
whatever man gets here; when he is sunk in unhappiness, to
console him people suggest that it is his fate. This is
obvious: one goes abroad, one appeases one's hunger, by
undertaking a journey and by eating food - not on account of
a fate. No one has seen such a fate, but everyone has
experienced how an action [good or evil] leads to a
result [good or evil]. Hence, right from one's
childhood, one should endeavour to promote one's true good
[salvation] by a keen intelligent study of the
scriptures, by having the company of the holy ones and by
right self-effort.
Fate or divine dispensation is merely a convention which has
come to be regarded as truth by being repeatedly declared to
be true. If this god or fate is truly the ordainer of
everything in this world, of what meaning is any action
[even like bathing, speaking or giving], and whom
should one teach at all? No. in this world everything,
except a corpse, is active and such activity yields its
appropriate result. No one has ever realised the existence
of a fate or divine dispensation. People use such
expressions as "I am impelled by fate or divine dispensation
to do this", for self-satisfaction, but this is not true.
For example, if an astrologer predicts that a young man
would become a great scholar, does that young man become a
scholar without study? No. Then, why do we believe in divine
dispensation? Rama, this sage Visvamitra became a
Brahma-Rishi by self-effort; all of us have attained
self-knowledge by self-effort alone. Hence, renounce
fatalism and apply yourself to self-effort.
[the word used for fate is 'daivaim' which also means
'god']
DAY
26
RAMA asked:
Lord, you are indeed the knower of Truth. Pray, tell me what
do people really call god, fate or daivam.
VASISHTHA replied:
The fruition of self-effort by which one experiences the
good and evil results of past action is called fate or
daivam by people. People also regard that as fate or daivam
which characterises the good and evil nature of such
results. When you see that "this plant grows out of this
seed", it is regarded as an act of this daivam. But I feel
that fate is nothing but the culmination of one's own
action.
In the mind of man are numerous latent tendencies, and these
tendencies give rise to various actions - physical, verbal
and mental. Surely, one's actions are in strict accordance
with these tendencies, it cannot be otherwise. Such is the
course of action: action is non-different from the most
potent among latent tendencies, and these tendencies are
non-different from the mind. One cannot definitively
determine whether categories like mind, latent tendencies
action and fate [daivam] are real or unreal: hence,
the men of wisdom have alluded to them symbolically.
RAMA asked again:
Holy Sir, if the latent tendencies brought forward from the
previous birth impel me to act in the present, where is
freedom of action?
VASISHTHA said:
Rama, the tendencies brought forward from past incarnations
are of two kinds - pure and impure. The pure ones lead you
towards liberation, and the impure ones invite trouble. You
are indeed consciousness itself, not inert physical matter.
You are not impelled to action by anything other than
yourself. Hence you are free to strengthen the pure latent
tendencies in preference to the impure ones. The impure ones
have to be abandoned gradually and the mind turned away from
them little by little, lest there should be violent
reaction. By encouraging the good tendencies to act
repeatedly, strengthen them. The impure ones will weaken by
disuse. You will soon become absorbed in the expression of
the good tendencies, in good actions. When thus you have
overcome the force of the evil tendencies then you will have
to abandon even the good ones. You will then experience the
supreme Truth with the intelligent that rises from the good
tendencies.
DAY
27
VASISHTHA continued:
The cosmic order that people refer to as fate, daivam or
niyati and which ensures that every effort is blessed with
appropriate fruition is based on omnipresent and omnipotent
omniscience [known as Brahman]. By self-effort,
therefore, restrain the senses and the mind; with a mind
that is one pointed calmly listen to what I am going to
say.
This narrative deals with liberation; listening to it with
other wise seekers who are assembled here, you will realise
that supreme being where there is no sorrow nor destruction.
O Rama, the omnipresent omniscience or the cosmic being
shines eternally in all beings. When a vibration arises in
that cosmic being, lord Vishnu is born, even as a wave
arises when the surface of the ocean is agitated. From that
Vishnu, Brahma the creator was born. Brahma began to create
the countless varieties of animate and inanimate, sentient
and insentient beings in the universe. And the universe was
as it was before the cosmic dissolution.
The Creator saw that all living beings in the universe were
subject to disease, death, pain and suffering. Compassion
arose in his heart and he sought to lay down a path that
might lead beings away from all this. He thereupon
instituted noble virtues [like austerity, charity,
truthfulness and righteous conduct] and centres of
pilgrimage. But these were inadequate; they could bestow on
people only temporary relief from suffering and not final
liberation from sorrow.
Reflecting thus, the Creator brought me into being. He drew
me to himself and drew the veil of ignorance over my heart.
Instantly I forgot my identity and my self-nature. I was
miserable. I begged of Brahma the creator, my own father, to
show me the way out of this misery. Sunk in my misery, I was
unable and unwilling to do anything, and I remained lazy and
inactive.
In response to my prayer, my father revealed to me the true
knowledge which instantly dispelled the veil of ignorance
that he himself had spread over me. The Creator then said to
me: "My son, I veiled the knowledge and revealed it to you
so that you may experience its glory; for only then will you
be able to understand the travail of ignorant beings and to
help them. O Rama, equipped with his knowledge, I am here
and I will continue to be here till the end of
creation."
DAY
28
VASISHTHA continued:
Even so in every age, the Creator wills into being several
sages and myself for the spiritual enlightenment of all.
And, in order to ensure the due performance of the secular
duties by all, Brahma also creates kings who rule justly and
wisely over parts of the earth. These kings, however, are
soon corrupted by lust for power and pleasure; conflict of
interests leads to wars among them which in turn give rise
to remorse. To remove their ignorance, the sages used to
impart spiritual wisdom to them. In days of yore, O Rama,
kings used to receive this wisdom and cherish it; hence it
was known as Raja Vidya, Kingly Science.
The highest from of dispassion born of pure discrimination
has arisen in your heart, O Rama, and it is superior to
dispassion born of a circumstantial cause or an utter
disgust. Such dispassion is surely due to the grace of God.
This grace meets the maturity of discrimination at the exact
moment when dispassion is generated in the heart.
As long as the highest wisdom does not dawn in the heart,
the person revolves in this wheel of birth and death. Pray,
listen to my exposition of this wisdom with a concentrated
mind.
This wisdom destroys the forest of ignorance. Roaming in
this forest one undergoes confusion and seemingly
interminable suffering. One should therefore approach an
enlightened teacher and by asking the right question with
the right attitude, elicit the teaching. It then becomes an
integral part of one's being. The fool asks irrelevant
questions irreverently; and the greater fool is he who
spurns the sage's wisdom. He is surely not a sage who
responds to the vain questions of a foolish questioner.
O Rama, you are indeed the best among all seekers, for you
have duly reflected over the Truth and you are inspired by
the best form of dispassion. I am sure that what I am going
to say to you will find a firm seat in your heart. Indeed,
one should positively strive to enthrone wisdom in one's
heart, for the mind is unsteady like a monkey. And one
should then avoid unwise company.
Rama there are four gate-keepers at the entrance to the
Realm of Freedom, moksha. They are self-control, spirit of
enquiry, contentment and good company. The wise seeker
should diligently cultivate the friendship of these, or at
least one of them.
DAY
29
VASISHTHA continued:
With a pure heart and a receptive mind, and without the veil
of doubt and the restlessness of the mind, listen to the
exposition of the nature and the means of liberation, O
Rama. For, not until the supreme being is realised with the
dreadful miseries of birth and death come to an end. If this
deadly serpent known as ignorant life is not overcome here
and now, it gives rise to interminable suffering not only in
this but in countless lifetimes to come. One cannot ignore
this suffering. But one should overcome it by means of the
wisdom that I shall impart to you.
O Rama, if you thus overcome this sorrow of repetitive
history [samsara], you will live here on earth
itself like a god, like Brahma or Vishnu! For when delusion
is gone and the Truth is realised by means of enquiry into
self-nature, when the mind is at peace and the heart leaps
to the supreme Truth, when all the disturbing thought-waves
in the mind-stuff have subsided and there is unbroken flow
of peace and the heart is filled with the bliss of the
absolute, when thus the Truth has been seen in the heart,
then this is very world becomes an abode of bliss.
Such a person has nothing to acquire, nor anything to shun.
He is untainted by the defects of life, untouched by its
sorrow. He does not come into being nor go out, though he
appears to come and go in the eyes of the beholder. Even
religious duties are found to be unnecessary. He is not
affected by the past tendencies which have lost their
momentum: his mind has given up its restlessness, he rests
in the bliss that is his essential nature. Such bliss is
possible only by self-knowledge, not by any other means.
Hence, one should apply oneself constantly to self-knowledge
- this alone is one's duty.
He who disregards holy scriptures and holy men does not
attain self-knowledge. Such foolishness is more harmful than
all the illnesses that one is subject to in this world.
Hence, one should devoutly listen to this scripture which
leads one to self-knowledge. He who obtains this scripture
does not again fall into the blind well of ignorance. O
Rama, if you want to free yourself from the sorrow of
samsara [repetitive story] receive the wholesome
instructions of sages like me, and be free.
DAY
30
VASISHTHA continued:
In order to cross this formidable ocean of samsara
[repetitive history], one should resort to that
which is eternal and unchanging. He alone is the best among
men, O Rama, whose mind rests in the eternal and is,
therefore, fully self-controlled and at peace. He sees that
pleasure and pain chase and cancel each other, and in that
wisdom there is self-control and peace. He who does not see
this sleeps in a burning house.
He who gains the wisdom of the eternal here is freed from
samsara and he is not born again in ignorance. One may doubt
that such unchanging Truth exists! If it does not, one comes
to no harm by enquiring into the nature of life for seeking
the eternal will soften the pain caused by the changes in
life. But, if it exists, then by knowing it one is
freed.
The eternal is attained neither by rites, rituals,
pilgrimages, nor by wealth; it is to be attained only by the
conquest of one's mind, by the cultivation of wisdom. Hence
everyone - gods, demons, demi-gods or men - should
constantly seek [whether one is walking, falling or
sitting] the conquest of the mind and self-control which
are the fruits of wisdom.
When the mind is at peace - pure, tranquil, free from
delusion or hallucination and free from cravings - it does
not long for anything nor does it reject anything. This is
self-control or conquest of mind - one of the four
gate-keepers to liberation which I mentioned earlier.
All that is good and auspicious flows from self-control. All
evil is dispelled by self-control. No pleasure in this world
or in heaven is comparable to the delight of self-control.
The delight one experiences in the presence of the
self-controlled is incomparable. Everyone spontaneously
trusts him. No-one [not even demons and goblins]
hates him.
Self-control, O Rama, is the best remedy for all physical
and mental ills. When there is self-control the food you eat
tastes better. He who wears the armour of self-control is
not harmed by sorrow.
He who even while hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and
tasting what is regarded as pleasant and unpleasant, is
neither elated nor depressed - he is self-controlled. He who
looks upon all beings with equal vision, having brought
under control the sensations of pleasure and pain, is
self-controlled. He who, though living amongst all is
unaffected by them; who does not feel elated nor hates -
even as one is during sleep - he is self-controlled.
DAY
31
VASISHTHA continued:
Enquiry [the second gate-keeper to liberation]
should be undertaken by an intelligence that has been
purified by a close study of the scriptures, and this
enquiry should be unbroken. By such enquiry the intelligence
becomes keen and is able to realise the Supreme; hence
enquiry alone is the best remedy for the long-lasting
illness known as samsara.
The wise man regards strength, intellect, efficiency and
timely action as the fruits of enquiry. Indeed, kingdom,
prosperity, enjoyment as well as final liberation, are all
the fruits of enquiry. The spirit of enquiry protects one
from the calamities that befall the unthinking fool. When
the mind has been rendered dull by the absence of enquiry,
even the cool rays of the moon turn into deadly weapons, and
the childish imagination throws up a goblin in every dark
spot. Hence, the non-enquiring fool is really a storehouse
of sorrow. It is the absence of enquiry that gives rise to
actions that are harmful to oneself - and to others - and to
numerous psychosomatic illnesses. Therefore, one should
avoid the company of such unthinking people. They in whom
the spirit of enquiry is ever awake illumine the world,
enlighten all who come into contact with them, dispel the
ghosts created by an ignorant mind, and realise the falsity
of sense-pleasures and their objects. O Rama, in the light
of enquiry, there is realisation of the eternal and
unchanging Reality; this is the Supreme. With it, one does
not long for any other gain nor does one spurn anything. He
is free from delusion, attachment; he is not inactive nor
does he get downed in action; he lives and functions in this
world and at the end of a natural life-span he reaches the
blissful state of total freedom.
The eye of spiritual enquiry does not lose its sight even in
the midst of all activities; he who does not have this eye
is indeed to be pitied. It is better to be born as a frog in
the mud, a worm in dung, a snake in a hole, than to be one
without this eye. What is enquiry? To enquire thus: "Who am
I? How has this evil of samsara [repetitive history]
come into being?" is true enquiry. Knowledge of Truth arises
from such enquiry; from such knowledge there flows
tranquillity in oneself; and then there arises the supreme
peace that passeth understanding and the ending of all
sorrow.
[vichara or enquiry is not reasoning or analysis; it
is directly looking into oneself]
DAY
32
VASISHTHA continued:
Contentment is another gate keeper to liberation. He who has
quaffed the nectar of contentment does not relish craving
for sense pleasures; no delight in this world is as sweet as
contentment which destroys all sins.
What is contentment? To renounce all craving for what is not
obtained unsought and to be satisfied with what comes
unsought, without being elated or depressed even by them -
is contentment. As long as one is not satisfied in the Self,
he will be subject to sorrow. With the rise of contentment
the purity of one's heart blooms. The contented man who
possesses nothing owns the world.
Satsang [company of wise, holy and enlightened
persons] is yet another gate keeper to liberation.
satsang enlarges one's intelligence, destroys one's
ignorance and one's psychological distress. Whatever be the
cost, however difficult it may be, whatever obstacles may
stand in its way, satsang should never be neglected. For
satsang alone is one's light on the path of life. Satsang is
indeed superior to all other forms of religious practices
like charity, austerity, pilgrimage and the performances of
religious rites. One should by every means in one's power
adore and serve the holy men who have realised the Truth and
in whose heart the darkness of ignorance has been dispelled.
They who, on the other hand, treat such holy men
disrespectfully surely invite great suffering.
These four - contentment, satsang [company of wise
men], the spirit of enquiry, and self-control - are the
four surest means by which they who are drowning in the
ocean of samsara [repetitive history] can be saved.
Contentment is the supreme gain. Satsang is the best
companion to the destination. The spirit of enquiry itself
is the greatest wisdom. And, self-control is supreme
happiness. If you are unable to resort to these four then
practise one. By the diligent practice of one of these, the
others will also be found in you. The highest wisdom will
seek you of its own accord. Until you tame the wild elephant
of your mind with the help of these noble qualities you
cannot progress towards the Supreme, even if you become a
god, demi-god or a tree. Therefore, O Rama, strive by all
means to cultivate these noble qualities.
DAY
33
VASISHTHA said:
He who is endowed with the qualities that I have enumerated
thus far is qualified to listen to what I am about to
reveal. You are indeed such a qualified person, O Rama. Only
he would wish to hear this who is ripe for liberation. But
this revelation is capable of leading one to liberation even
if one does not desire it, as a light is capable of
illumining the eyes of even the sleeping person. As when the
truth that a rope is a rope is seen and the fear generated
by the misunderstanding that it is a snake disappears, the
study of this scripture frees one from sorrow born of
samsara.
This scripture consists of 32,000 couplets. The first
section known as Vairagya Prakaranam [chapter on
dispassion] imparts to one knowledge of the true nature
of life in this world. Its careful study purifies the heart.
This section consists of 1,500 couplets.
The next section, known as Mumuksu Vyavahara Prakaranam
[concerning the behaviour of a seeker of liberation]
consists of 1,000 couplets. In this the qualifications of a
seeker are described.
After that comes the Utpatti Prakaranam [section on
creation] which consists of 7,000 couplets. In it are
found many inspiring stories which help illustrate the great
Truth, which is: on account of the interplay of the false
ideas of 'this' and 'I', the universe which has never truly
been created, appears to be.
The next is Sthiti Prakaranam [section on existence]
and it consists of 3,000 couplets. With the help of stories
again, the truth concerning the existence of this world and
its substratum is revealed.
Then comes the Upasanti Prakaranam [section on
cessation] which consists of 5,000 couplets. By
listening to this the deluded perception of the world comes
to an end, leaving only a trace of ignorance.
Lastly, the Nirvana Prakaranam [section on
liberation] which runs to 14,500 couplets. A study and
understanding of this section destroys one's fundamental
ignorance; and when all kinds of delusions and
hallucinations are set at rest, there is total freedom.
Though still wearing a physical body, he lives as if he is
free from it, free of all cravings and desires, attachment
and aversion. He is free from samsara [repetitive
history]. Here and now, he is free from the demon known
as egotism. He is one with the infinite.
DAY
34
VASISHTHA continued:
One who sows the seed of the knowledge of this scripture
soon obtains the fruit of the realisation of the Truth.
Though human in origin, an exposition of Truth is to be
accepted; otherwise even what is regarded as divine
revelation is to be rejected. Even a young boy's words are
to be accepted if they are words of wisdom; else, reject it
like straw even if uttered by Brahma the creator.
He who listens to and reflects upon the exposition of this
scripture enjoys unfathomable wisdom, firm conviction and
unperturbable coolness of spirit. Soon he becomes a
liberated sage whose glory is indescribable.
The sage of infinite wisdom sees countless universes in the
one undivided intelligence, for he has realised the magic
maya or cosmic illusion. He sees the infinity of every atom,
and therefore he is unattached to the rise and fall of the
ideas of creation. Hence, he is ever contented with what
comes unsought [which he does not reject] and he
does not run after or grieve for what has been taken away
from him.
This scripture is easy of comprehension, as it is richly
embellished with a number of interesting stories. One who
studies this scripture and contemplates its meaning has no
need to undertake austerities, meditation or repetition of a
mantra; for what is greater than liberation which is granted
by a study of this scripture?
One who studies this scripture and comprehends its teaching
is no longer deluded by world-appearance. When one sees that
the yonder deadly snake is a life-like painting, one is no
longer afraid of it. When the world appearance is seen as an
appearance it does not produce either elation or sorrow. It
is indeed a great pity that even when such a scripture
exists, people seek sense-pleasures which lead to great
sorrow.
O Rama, when a truth that has not been personally
experienced is expounded, one does not grasp it except with
the help of an illustration. Such illustrations have been
used in this scripture with a definite purpose and a limited
intention. They are not to be taken literally, nor is their
significance to be stretched beyond the intention. When the
scripture is thus studied, the world appears to be a
dream-vision. These indeed are the purpose and the purport
of the illustrations. Let no one of perverted intellect
misinterpret the illustrations given in this scripture.
DAY
35
VASISHTHA continued:
Parables have only one purpose: to enable the listener to
arrive at the Truth. The realisation of Truth is so vital
that any reasonable method used is justified, though the
parables themselves may be fictitious. The parables
themselves are only partly applicable to the Truth thus
illustrated, and only that part is to be grasped and the
rest ignored. Study and understanding of the scripture with
the help of illustrations and a qualified teacher are
necessary only till one realises the Truth.
Again, such study should continue till the Truth is
realised; one should not stop short of complete
enlightenment. A little knowledge of the scripture results
in confusion worse confounded. Non-recognition of the
existence of supreme peace in the heart and assumption of
the reality of imaginary factors are both born of imperfect
knowledge and the consequent perverted logic.
Even as the ocean is the substratum of all the waves, direct
experience alone is the basis for all proofs - the direct
experience of Truth as It is. That substratum is the
experiencing intelligence which itself becomes the
experiencer, the act of experiencing, and the experience.
The experiencing alone is the fact; yet, in a state of
non-understanding, this experiencing seems to have a subject
[the experiencer]. Wisdom that is born of the spirit
of enquiry dispels this non-understanding and the undivided
intelligence shines in its own light. At that stage even the
spirit of enquiry becomes superfluous and dissolves
itself.
Even as movement is inherent in air, manifestation [as
the subtle perceiving mind and as the gross objects it
perceives] is inherent in this experiencing
intelligence. And the perceiving mind, on account of
ignorance, thinks "I am such and such an object" and thence
becomes that. The objet is experienced only in the subject,
not elsewhere!
Rama, till such time as this wisdom arises directly in you,
take recourse to the knowledge transmitted by the great
teachers. When you receive such knowledge from the great
teachers, your behaviour will mirror theirs; and when thus
you grow in their virtuous qualities, your wisdom will
unfold within you. Wisdom and emulation of the noble
behaviour of holy ones thrive on each other!
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