yogavasishta nirvaana prakaranam part 14

7/29/2019 YogaVasishta Nirvaana Prakaranam Part 14

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YOGA

VAASISHTA

A PHILOSOPHICAL TREATISE

COMPOSED BY

VAALMIKI MAHARSHI

ESSENCE OF YOGAVAASISHTA

Compiled by

Tejasvini


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FIRST HALF OF SECTION SIX

FINAL EMANCIPATION

PART FOURTEEN

[CONVERSATION BETWEEN IKSHVAAKU AND MANU]

CHAPTER ONE

Rama spoke

Bhagavan! You are an all-knower!

What are the characteristics of the (Vaasanaa-less) Sattva state of the mind,

when the Chitta which is also known as the ego,

is melting away or melted off?

(Vaasanaa is the main force of all the actions a man performs in the world. Mind is the

channel which helps in manifesting the Vaasanaa in a suitable time and place.

A JeevanMukta has no Vaasanaas. His mind is very pure and his dissolved mind-state is

known as Sattva (state of purity).

How then can he live like any other normal human being on the earth? What will he see

and how will he act?)


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Vasishta spoke

(A JeevanMukta has a mind-state which acts as an instrument for perceiving the worldwhich others connected to him also see. His body will continue to see the same world

which was there before realization. But all the anxieties, hatred, desires, attachments are

not there anymore in his Sattva state of mind.

Emotions become his tools rather than his nature. He cannot be provoked into anger,

greed etc even if forced into such circumstances. He will have perfect control over every

thought that crosses his mind; rather he will produce the very thought he wants by his

own will if needed. Otherwise he will always remain in the peaceful state of the Self.

He is always happy. He has no identity with the limited structure of the body.

He has no anxieties; no worries; no apprehensions.

Like a lotus flower untainted by the mire waters in which it stays, he also remains

unaffected by the ignorant beings around him.

He is like a man with eyes in the world of the blind; yet he will act like a blind man for

their sake! The ignorant can never ever understand his state of existence!

A JeevanMukta is like free bird floating in the endless expanse of Chit; an ignorant man

is like a tiny worm crawling in the ditch!

Feeling like a bird inside, yet becoming part of the worm-world, a JeevanMukta has to

live amongst the ignorant! Yet he will be unperturbed and unaffected; for he sees the Self

as the essence of all that is perceived, whether it be an inert object or a living person.

As he alone is there as the Self, and as everything is his manifestation as Chit, he is

completely unbothered about the perceived world and lives happy and blissful without

anxieties. )

Even if forcefully aroused, (by trying to provoke them),

these faults of greed and delusion

do not taint the white (pure, Vaasanaa-less) mind,

like the lotus by the waters.

The riches of smile etc never leave the face,

when the mind with the nature of ego-sense,

which leads towards miseries,

dissolves away.


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The knots of Vaasanaas break down as if cut.

Anger reduces.

Delusion becomes dull.

Desire wears out.

Greed runs away somewhere.Senses do not jump about madly.

Sorrow does not rise high.

Miseries do not expand.

Joys do not hop around.

Everywhere equal-ness remains spreading coolness in the heart.

Even if the face expresses joy or sorrow, they are seen only on the face; they never taint

the mind, as they are meaningless.

When the mind dissolves, the knower becomes a favorite of gods.

The cool moonlight of equanimity always shines forth.

The person, whose mind has melted away, is calm in disposition; pleasing in behavior;

never harms others; is a model of conduct; and is modest.

His mind is established firmly in the state of the Self and is extremely pure without the

Vaasanaas.

The world never becomes a cause of happiness or sorrow for the realized man, even when

he goes through varied events of tragedies and joyful occasions.

{FIE ON HIM WHO DOES NOT ASPIRE FOR THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF}

Fie on that worst of men who, drowned in delusion,

does not aspire for the state of the Self, which ends all miseries;

though it is easily attainable by just the power of understanding!


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CHAPTER TWO

Vasishta spoke

Hey you born in the dynasty of Ikshvakus! Rama!

King Ikshvaaku was the first one of your dynasty.

Listen as to how he realized the Self.

Once, King Ikshvaaku who was the ruler of a vast kingdom, thought like this in solitude,

by himself

What could be the cause of this perceived world made of five elements, which is filled

with old age, death, anxieties, joys, pains and delusions?

Even after pondering for a long time he could not reason out the cause of the world.

He once questioned Manu, who had come to BrahmaLoka, who was the Lord of all

beings, who was seated in the court after the due salutations offered by all.

Ikshvaaku spoke

Your grace alone prompts to be bold enough to ask you this question now, Bhagavan,

hey ocean of compassion!

How did this created world appear?

What is its nature?

How long will it stay?

Whose, when, by what is it said to exist?

How will I be freed of this terrible delusion of world perception,

like a bird from the thickly woven net spread out widely?


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Manu spoke

After a long time, you have asked a very sensible question which will destroy the harmful

false phenomenon and which will fully blossom forth in Viveka.

(You are talking about a world which does not exist at all!

It is like asking the question about the cause of the waters seen in the desert. The waters are not real.

It is just an illusion created by excessive heat!

The world is like an illusory city produced by a magician. It is not real!)

King! Whatever is perceived is not at all there in reality,

like the illusory city of Gandharvas,

or like the water in the desert.

(There is some reality which is not perceived by the senses and the mind.

It is not an object that can be conceived.

But it is the only reality that is there. There is not a second thing that exists as an effect.

It is referred to by the term Self.)

That which is not perceived, exists like not any thing (imagined).

It is beyond the reach of the six senses.

Though it exists, it is not something (an object).

That imperishable alone exists here.

That is known as the Self, the principle of existence.


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(At the most you can say that, this world-appearance is just an illusory reflection seen in that mirror called

Self! The world has no existence apart from the Self and has no existence independent of the Self.))

King! This succession of worlds rich with all types of perceptions

has become the reflection in that great mirror alone.

(The world appears because of the manifesting nature of Brahman or the Self.

Cosmic eggs, or elements or objects, or beings, all are just the manifesting power of the Self.)

The projecting powers of Brahman, which are the appearances,

rising from its very nature,

sometimes take on the form of cosmic eggs,

sometimes attain the states of elements (bodies, objects etc).

Others take over other forms.

This is how the world appearance exists!

(Actually the terms liberation and bondage are meaningless!

Who is bound, by what?

Who has to attain liberation?

There is not one which has become the other; nor are there two things like the cause and effect.

There is only that essence of all, shining as the pure knowledge principle.)

There is no bondage; no liberation.

Only Brahman exists which is without afflictions.There is no one-ness or two-ness.

Only the essence of consciousness shines forth with its entire splendor.


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Just like the single stretch of water shines forth with varied curvatures of waves,

Chit also appears as all these forms.

There is not anything else.

You throw away far, the confusing ideas of bondage and liberation,

and remain established in your own nature.

Remain as the very essence of fearlessness, without the fear of Bhava!

(How does a person get freed of this delusion?

The belief I am the body binds you to this worldly existence.

A person aspiring for liberation should never entertain this idea.

The ascertained knowledge that

I am of the nature of consciousness only, where nothing else exists in the least;

I am subtler than even space,

does not bind you to this worldly existence.

(A man who does not know the Self is an idiot.

It is as idiotic as a mother crying aloud for her lost child, without seeing the child hugging to her very

bosom. Though as the Self, he is deathless, a man identifies with the inert deteriorating body and cries for

its loss.)


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The mother forgets the child hugging to her bosom and cries for the child;

so does the (ignorant) man forget the very Self!

He grieves without comprehending the Self which transcends death and old age,

crying aloud

Ha! I am ruined! I am an orphan! Ha! I am lost! and so on,when the body dies!

Water appears as different shapes because of its quivering nature.

Chit-Brahman also appears as this expanse of the world,

because of its conceiving nature.

Aha! This Maayaa is indeed amazing, for it deludes the entire world, dear king;

that one does not know the Self,

even though the Self is permeating all through his limbs!

He who understands that the entire world is just a reflection in the Chit-mirror,

and remains with all desires subsided,

he alone is happy adorned by the shield of Brahman!

One should contemplate on that (Self) state which is

freed of the characteristics of the (limited) ego,

and which is not identified with the existing (limited) ego;

but of the nature of Chit,

independent, empty, and all.


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By not identifying with the ego and its perceptions,

destroying fully the forest of actions,

attaining the subtle state of the Supreme which is subtler than space,

remain without any grief, hey you!

Manu spoke

{A BRIEFING OF THE SEVEN LEVELS OF REALIZATION}

At first, one should develop ones understanding

through the contact of the scriptures and the noble men.

This is said to be the first level of the Yogi

who is aspiring for the Yoga (union) of the Supreme.

Reasoning is the second; the third is the feeling of detachment.

Lamentation (or keeping away from world objects) is the fourth one,

where the Vaasanaas dissolve off.

The fifth one is of the nature of pure consciousness.

The JeevanMukta stays here half asleep and half awake.


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The sixth level (Turyaa) is of the nature of Self-awareness (Self as Brahman awareness).

It is a dense state of bliss and is equal to the deep sleep state.

The seventh level is equal-ness, purity and placidity.

The Turyaa state also dissolves here. It is a state of liberation alone.

The state of Turyaateeta (beyond Turyaa) is the state of supreme beatitude.

It is the seventh and the fully matured state.

It does not belong to the Yogis who are yet alive (with the body).

The first three levels remain as the waking state only.

The fourth is called Dream.

The world appears like a dream in that state.

The fifth state is known as Deep sleep as it is dense with bliss.

The sixth level is known as Turyaa and perceptions are not there in that level.


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{FINAL LEVEL}

The seventh level which is beyond Turyaa is the excellent state.

It is beyond the grasp of the mind and words.

It is a state where one is aware of the Self.

Because of the complete withdrawal into ones true nature,there is no perceived phenomenon and nothing gets perceived.

Because of the great equal ness, he is liberated without doubt.

Such a person is endowed with a fulfilled intellect

and is untouched by the pleasures, joys and pains of the world,be he with a body or not.

He will be with such an intellect

I will not die; I am not living; I do not exist; nor am I non-existing.


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Manu spoke

{THE STATE OF A JEEVANMUKTA}

The yogi will remain happy in the Self-state.Whether he is engaged in activities or not, whether he is a householder or a person living

in solitude, he never grieves, knowing that he is not a limited object of the world.

(The Yogi does not bother much about decorating the body; for he rarely has the sense of a body even. All

the actions connected to the body just go on as usual mechanically. He has no desires at all as connected to

the body. The yogi has no sense of owning the body. The body is just a tool for him to perceive the world.

Even the body is an illusory shape for him, like all other perceptions.)

He will cover the body with something or other.

He will eat whatever that is there.

He will sleep wherever.

He will shine like an emperor.

(The whole perceived phenomenon is his; for he is the Self, shining as all!)

He is out of the control of the systems of caste, duties,

conducts and scriptural ordinances.

He walks out of the cage of the world-prison, like a lion.

(The Yogi is no more a lion languishing in a cage! He is completely free! He has no doer ship or duties that

bind him.)

He is absorbed in that which is beyond definitions.

He is turned away from the experiences of senses.

He shines in a unique way like the autumn sky.


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(The Yogi is always acting from the state of Self only. He cannot see any reality in the sense perceptions.

No desires cloud his mind and he is taintless like the autumn sky.)

He is deep and pleasant like the huge lake in the mountain.

He is continuously experiencing the supreme blissful state and so is never agitated.

He enjoys the Self by the Self.

He has renounced all the fruits of all actions.

He is always satisfied.

He is not dependent on anything.

He is not tainted by merit or de-merit or any other thing also.

The crystal stone does not get colored by the reflection.

So also, the knower does not get colored by the fruit of the action.

When he moves in the crowd of people,

he does not feel distress or joy by the body getting cut or worshipped,

as if it is just a reflection.

He never is affected by praises when worshipped.

He never feels disturbed if not worshipped.

He does all the actions and duties with involvement; yet is not involved.


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He is not agitated by the world; or the world by him.

Though he has no attachment, hatred, or joy,he still acts as if he has them.

In knowledge, no one can surpass him.

He is so compassionate that he can be surpassed even by a child.

Let him discard the body in a sacred place or in the house of a low caste,

at any time or at the present moment,

he is already liberated the very moment he attained knowledge and is without a mind.

(The Yogi with the body is like a pot of water immersed in the ocean. The water feels no difference in its

state by the breaking of the pot. The Yogi, who exists as the Self does not perceive the world as having

divisions. He does not know of the existence or absence his body. His mind died the moment he attained

the knowledge of the Self. He is liberated already. It does not matter for him where the body dies or when it

dies! What does it matter if a non-existing thing is seen or not seen?)

The delusion of the ego

(identification with the limited Self)

is bondage.

Its destruction is through knowledge;

and that is called liberation.


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{SEEK THE KNOWERS}

He (A knower) is to be worshipped, praised, and saluted with all effort.

He is to be waited upon, revered by one,

who desires the riches of the highest prosperity.

Dear King!Not through the performance of sacrificial rites,

not by visiting sacred centers,

not through penance and charities,

can that supreme sacred state be attained,

but only by devotion towards those Self-realized Yogis

who have got rid of the disease of Bhava.

Vasishta spoke

Having spoken in this manner, Lord Manu returned to the abode of Brahma.

Ikshvaaku also followed his advice and was established in the stable state of the Self.


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CHAPTER THREE

Rama spoke

{DOES A JEEVANMUKTA ATTAIN ANYTHING SPECIAL AFTER REALIZATION?}

If that is so, Hey Bhagavan,

what special power will newly belong to the JeevanMukta, Hey Best of the realized!

(All powers, all Siddhis are only useful in a perceived world!

When the Yogi knows that the world is just an appearance, why will he bother about attaining Siddhis?

What special powers does he need? For what? What more has he to gain?

He has reached the highest state ever possible.

He is the Chit which is the essence of all.)

Vasishta spoke

The knowers mind rarely will ever bother about any special powers.

He is always satisfied.

His mind is completely peaceful.

He remains in the Self alone.

What great specialty is there in the sky-travel etc,

which can be attained by the manifold methods of magical chants, penance,

and other special rites?!


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All the achievements like Animaa etc are also attained likewise

through various practices.What does a man of Self-realization want with those achievements?

(Well, the knower may not fly in the air or do magical acts if he realizes the Self. But he has one special

character that makes him outshine all others. While the ignorant run after the sense experiences to fulfill

their desires, he remains calm and unaffected. He has no desires. He never feels attracted towards the

objects.

While all other fools are madly running towards the mirage waters with their pots and cups to satisfy their

thirst, the realized Yogi walks his path in the desert of the world calmly, with the cool nectar oozing in his

heart continuously.

The mirage waters are not there for him and he has no need for them; for his insides are filled with thenectar of the Self-bliss at all times.)

This is his special power that makes him stand different from

the foolish people of the world!

His mind is taintless bereft of all desires;

as he has given up attachment to anything and everything.

The mind of such a man of great knowledge,

does not sink in objects.


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CHAPTER FOUR

Vasishta spoke

Just like a Brahmin who desires the company of a low-caste girl,

discards his esteemed state of Brahmin-hood,

and accepts the state of a low-caste,

so does the Supreme Lord take on the state of a Jeeva.

A Jeeva has three natures;

gross, subtle and supreme.

Identify with the Supreme nature and discard the other two.

This body endowed with hands and feet keeps jumping around seeking pleasures.

This gross physical body is here for giving experiences to the Jeeva.

Rama! Understand that nature of Jeeva as AatiVaahika,which is known as Chitta.

It is made of conceptions and projects the world appearance.


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Understand that nature of the Jeeva

which is without beginning or end;which is real; pure consciousness and unperturbed.

That is the Supreme and the third one.

It appears as the entire perceived world.

This is the state of Turyaa which is very pure.

Remain established in that state.

Completely renounce the other two natures;

and never identify with them.

CHAPTER FIVE

TURYAA STATE

Rama spoke

Hey Lord of all Sages!

Explain in detail that state of Turyaa

which remains in all the three states of Jaagrat, Svapna and Sushupta;

yet transcends them.


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Vasishta spoke

Where there are not the ego-state (waking and dream)

and the non-ego state (sushupti)

and also the idea of existence and non-existence;

where there is no attachment,

where there is equal-ness and purity,

that state is known as Turyaa.

That state

which is pure, equal, quiescent state of JeevanMukti;

where one remains as the witness in dealing with the worldly activities,

is known as Turyaa.

It is neither the waking state; nor the dream state;

as there is no possibility of any conception.

For the ignorant, this world is stable.

Likewise this world remains dissolved as it is,for the well-enlightened Yogis.

That quiet state is known as Turyaa.


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When the taint of ego is renounced,

when equanimity rises, when the mind melts off,the Turyaa state is attained.

CHAPTER SIX

{THE HUNTING OF THE DEER}

(Here is an example of a Sage in the Turyaa state.

What will he perceive?

Just moving patterns!

A hunter who is chasing a deer sees the Sage who is sitting silently under a tree and asks him about the

direction the deer took.

The Sage explains his condition of Turyaa state in a few words to the hunter who of course does not

understand a single word of what he says.

What do we understand from this story?

The Sage of course understands the divisions that an ignorant will perceive. Otherwise he would not be

answering the hunter.

The Turyaa-state Sage is in the state of knowledge which is the complete experience of Chit-state, where

he has the unique bliss of himself manifesting as all the appearances.

He of course sees the trees, hunter, deer etc; but he knows that these divisions are mind-made and not real.

A Yogi in Turyaa state is not mad or insane who will become blind to the perceived world; run madly,dashing and colliding with objects.

He has the true knowledge that the perceived divisions are not real and does not act mad like a blind idiot.

He understands the deers pain, the hunters merciless character, and remains aloof from the scene without

involvement. He does not help the hunter also for he is compassionate by nature.

Suppose the hunter had killed the deer?

The Yogi would be unaffected then also, as it is just a moving pattern in the canvas of the Chit!

Who killed and who died?

The Yogi sees only lines written on the canvas of the empty space which the ignorant believe as real

objects.

The Yogi sees no divisions; and will remain unaffected by all that happens in the world!

Suppose the deer had fallen at his feet?

He would protect it as he is naturally oozing with love for all the beings who are his very Self.

We know how Sage Vaalmiki reacted to a death of a bird shot by a hunters arrow. From his level of Chititself, a curse formed in his mouth which later became the auspicious verse beginning the story of

Ramayana he composed later!

A yogi naturally is compassionate; but he is unaffected by the events of the world. He sees everything as

the Self.

This Turyaa state is the utmost level of realization that can be had for a man with a body. This is the sixth

level of Yoga.

The next seventh level is the state of Chit without any limiting adjuncts.)


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Listen now to the example given by me.

You are indeed equal to any knower.Though you are enlightened already,

yet you will improve your understanding by this.

In some huge forest,

some hunter who was chasing a deer

which had been hit by his arrow and was running fast,

saw some Sage sitting silently without any movement.

Surprised by his sight, he questioned him like this.

Hey Sage! A deer hit by my arrow came in this direction.

Which side did the deer go?

The Sage replied him like this.

Hey good man!

We are Sages who live in forests. We are equal-minded towards all.

We do not have an ego which makes worldly activities possible.

Friend! Mind alone does all the functions of the senses.


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That mind which was filled with the ego has long melted off in me.

I do not go through the three states of

- Jaagrat, Svapna and Sushupti (waking, dream and deep sleep state).

I remain only in the Turyaa state.

Perceptions do not exist there.

Raaghava! After hearing these words,

the hunter just walked away searching for the deer

because he did not understand the meaning of the words spoken by the Great Sage!

Hey MahaaBaahu (one with mighty arms)!

That is why I say that there is no other level to be reached other than the Turyaa.

Turyaa state of the Chit is the Nirvikalpa state.

That alone is there and nothing else.

The mind has three levels of experience-

Jaagrat, Svapna and Sushupti.

The mind of the individual self exists in the three levels of

horrifying (leading to endless births);

quiet (lost in meaningless dreams);

and dumb (without any movement).


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The mind which is in the waking state is terrifying.

The mind in the dream state is quiet.The mind in deep sleep is dumb.

If three states are not there, then it will be dead.

When the mind has died, only the equal state of Sattva remains.

That state alone is attained by all Yogis, making great effort.

Remain established in the Turyaa state, without afflictions.

That state is completely bereft of all games of conceptions.

The noble ones stay in that state as always liberated.

Those great Sages see no divisions.

PART FOURTEEN OFSECTION SIX - NIRVAANA PRAKARANAM

COMPLETE


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About the Author:

Maa Tejasvini

The author spent many years doing research on ancient Sanskrit texts in the Himalayan

region. She was exposed to many unique spiritual experiences which are beyond human

comprehension.

Her mission in life was to translate all renowned spiritual texts and literature of Sanskrit

and bring them to the light of the public.

yogavasishta nirvaana prakaranam part 14

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