yogavasishta sthiti prakaranam part 1

7/29/2019 YogaVasishta Sthiti Prakaranam Part 1

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YOGA

VAASISHTA

A PHILOSOPHICAL TREATISECOMPOSED BY

VAALMIKI MAHARSHI

ESSENCE OF YOGAVAASISHTA

Compiled by

Tejasvini


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PROLOGUE

The Fourth Prakarana is named as Sthiti (Staying firmly).If as explained in the Utpatti Prakarana, the world is not produced at all, then whatvalidity do our experiences in life have? What makes everything look so stable and real?How does this all come about without an intelligent being as the sole designer of such awonderful experience called the world?These questions are tackled here in this section.

This part of Sthiti Prakarana begins with a refutation of Saamkhya theory and thenproceeds to present the unreality of our life-narratives and describes also in length theugliness of the fragile body we pamper as our sole treasure.This part also contains the story of young Shukra, who later on became the Preceptor of non-gods (Asuras) as renowned Shukraachaarya. The story refers to how he experiencedmany lives in his mind, forced only by his desires.

OM TAT SAT


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STHITI PRAKARANAM

SECTION IV - PART ONE

MAINTENANCE

CHAPTER ONE

{THERE IS NO PRODUCER OR PRODUCED}

Vasishta spoke

||

You have heard the discourse about the Creation. Now listen to the discourse on STHITI

which when understood, straight away leads to the final beatitude.

{STHITI means standing, remaining, continuance in one state etc.In the last Section on Creation it was proved that the world we see around us is just a projection of themind. Now the next topic naturally has to be how the world looks solid and continuous as a reality, even if it be just an illusion created by delusion.}

{WORLD IS AN ILLUSION}

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Understand that, all that is perceived in this manner, appearing as this world,is made up of ego and mind which are shapeless things of illusory nature.


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{WORLD IS A PICTURE IMAGINED IN THE VOID}

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It is a painting not created by anybody. (No efficient cause) It is not painted with colors. (No instrumental causes)

It is a picture appearing in the empty sky. (No solid material)There is no one to see it. (Happens within the mind)

It is just an experience. (Due to ignorance) It is not a sleep. (The witness is awake) It is a dream. (Imagination of the mind)

{There is no intelligent cause or material cause or purpose that creates the illusion of the world. It is just anexperience like dream. The dreamer and his experience exist as a single unit, as just a random experience,like a picture in emptiness.}

{WORLD IS A FUTILE ATTEMPT IN GETTING HAPPINESS}

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This world rises in the mind like the imagination one has about a future city.

It is as worthless as the red shining objects collected by the stupid monkeyswith the purpose of producing fire.

{WORLD IS LIKE PATTERNS RISING ON THE WATER}

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Though not different from Brahman,the world shines differently

like the circular patterns seen on the surface of the water.Though it is of the same nature as That, it is bereft of emptiness.

It is lustrous like the sun in the sky (but not hot).


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{WORLD IS NOT SOLID BUT AN APPEARANCE ONLY}

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This world is like the dense shine of the gems filling the skyand is not solid (wall-like) in nature. (unsupported)

It is seen like the illusory cities of Gandharvas (magical beings)and is never solid in nature.

{WORLD IS LIKE THE WATERS OF THE MIRAGE}

|| This world is unreal like the mirage waters;

yet makes one believe it is real. It is experienced vividly like a city in imagination;

yet is not in the least real.

{WORLD IS LIKE A STORY NARRATED BY THE MIND}

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It (World) appears as if filled with objects imagined in a story. Nothing actually exists and is therefore unreal.

It is without essence; yet appears as if filled with essencelike a mountain seen in the dream.

{SKY IS LIKE AN INVERTED BLUE POT}

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It shines like a huge sapphire pot looking downwards, completely empty. It is as flimsy as the autumn cloud yet can block whatever is in front like a wall.

It cannot be destroyed; it cannot be broken.


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{When we look up, what do we see? A blue shining sky extending to every point our eyes can reach. It is asif a huge sapphire pot has been inverted over us. It blocks all that is out there from our vision and looks asif a solid shield is there which we cannot cross over. But it is nothing but void space which cannot bebroken or destroyed by any one. It is as flimsy as a cloud of the autumn.}

{BLUENESS OF THE SKY IS NOT REAL}

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Like the dust of the sky seen as the blue color, though seen it is unreal. Like union with a girl in dream it is meaningless though experienced as real.

{The blue color of the sky is real; it is beautiful; it is not imagined; our eyes prove it so. But it is not thereal character of the sky. Sky is a colorless void. The world is also seen; experienced; but is as unreal as adream experience.}

{WORLD IS A PAINTING SEEN ON THE EMPTY CANVAS OF THE VOID}

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Like the garden painted on the canvas it is bereft of essence,though pleasant to the eyes.

It is like a sun or fire painted on the canvas, lacking heat and light,though shining bright.

{WORLD IS A PAINTED PICTURE; PLEASANT BUT UNREAL}

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It is experienced like a kingdom built in the mind. It is not real and not true.

It is bereft of fragrance or true essence

like the lotuses painted on a canvas.

{WORLD IS LIKE A RAINBOW}

||


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It shines in emptiness.

It is made of various hues. It cannot be grasped like a solid lump.

It is complete void-ness. It rises like a rainbow.

{WORLD IS LIKE A BANANA TRUNK}

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It is made of inertness; is completely without essenceand shines like the inert dried up banana trunk,

which produces lots of delicate leaves(which is filled with fragile beings)

which dry by the mere contact of others (sun, wind or people) (which disappear by reflecting on the Supreme).

{Similar sounding words with different meanings:

Reflection, analyzing ; friction} {Like the overlapping leaves alone make the banana trunk, the world is made of overlapping experiences of the mind. If you remove the layers of the trunk, nothing is left. The world is also a nothingness made of only dream-like experiences.}

{WORLD IS A PERCEPTION OF AN IGNORANCE-INFECTED MIND}

||

When the eyes throb (due to some infection)the darkness whirls around as it were.

The world-appearance is similar.Though it is completely non-existent by nature,

it remains as if directly experienced.

{WORLD IS LIKE BUBBLES OF WATER}

||


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Like the bubbles forming on the surface of the water,the world is just a meaningless appearance; not real.

Though bursting out as a physical structure, it is all emptiness inside.Though seemingly full of essence (in the beginning)

it is truly bereft of any essence (at the end)

with its unceasing appearances and disappearances (births and deaths).

{WORLD IS INERT, EMPTY, AND IS LIKE THE SUBTLE ATOM}

||

It spreads out like mist;but not a bit of it can be grasped in the hand.

It is of the nature of sheer inertness (Saamkhya);emptiness and inertness (Avidyaa of Vedantins);

emptiness (Maadhyamikaas);momentary existence like the subtle atom (Yogaachaarya);

momentary in space and time like the subtle atom (Soutaantrika Vaibhaashika);subtle atom like in space (KanaadaGotami):

unpredictable like the subtle atom (Arhataas).

{WORLD IS LIKE THE IMAGINMED VAMPIRE}

s s ||

It appears as if made of elements;but in reality is empty and bereft of elements.

It exists like a vampire rising at nightsvanishing the moment one tries to catch it.


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CHAPTER TWO

{DOES THE WORLD (EFFECT) SPROUT FROM THE SEED (CAUSE)?}

INTRODUCTION:

The next section is mainly a refutation about the SatkaaryaVaada, the inherent existenceof the effect in its cause. SatkaaryaVaada holds that there is the potential existence of the effect in the material cause even prior to the actual operation of producing the effect.For example, the tree exists in the seed in latent form as an inherent potential effect. If itwere not so, the seed would never evolve and grow into a tree. SatkaaryaVaada is basedon the idea that nothing can be produced out of the material cause if it does not hold theeffects potentially even before the start of the production.

SatkaaryaVaada has two different aspects.ParinaamaVaada-Theory of Transformation (accepted by Saamkhya and Yoga systems)VivartaVaada -Theory of illusory manifestation (accepted by Vedanta or Upanishads)Both these theories however are intended to be inclusive of each other and notexclusively independent theories. According to this view-point the effect comes intoexistence only after the actual beginning of its production and does not exist in its causeprior to it.AsatkaaryaVaada holds that the actuality of the effect and not the potentiality of it.For example, TANTUS (fibers- the cause) are different from PATA (cloth) the effect.Cloth does not exist in the cause prior to the production. Effect is a different entity fromthe cause. AsatkaaryaVaada holds no meaning for YogaVaasishta.

Shamkara also argues against AsatkaaryaVaada (Vaisheshika and Buddhists) sayingsomething cannot come out of nothing. He rejects their seed-sprout example on thegrounds that the sprout is simply a different arrangement of the constituents of the seed,not something entirely different, the seed no longer existing. For Shamkara, SAT is simplyBrahman, which is Atman, which is Consciousness; and Brahman is changeless.YogaVaasishta also opposes the theory of the effect existing as potentiality in the cause.One analogy is taken here from SatkaaryaVaada where the world is supposed to exist asa sprout in the seed of Brahman.According to YogaVaasishta, there is no effect at all to dispute about its existence or non-existence in the Cause. There is no causality at all the Sage argues. It is just the absenceof proper knowledge which makes us see the world as real and absolute he says.

All the arguments presented by the rest of the philosophers, he throws aside as sheerverbal jugglery and illogical and not sensible. The Sage goes even one step aboveUpanishads to argue that the question of world is not at all there, as it is non-existent.We have seen in previous chapters that the Sage does not even have much regards for theNeti Neti method of Upanishadic contemplation, as it involves believing in the realityof the world and denying it again.Why even think that the ghost is not there to get rid of it? Why even get rid of it as it isnot there at all? Just dont conceive it at all, the Sage advises here.


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According to Vasishta, one need not bother about the creation of a ghost in darkness orthe creation of a mirage in the hot sun. They are just misconceived perceptions. They arenot at all there actually. Only the ignorant brain imagines them. A knower does notbother about a ghost and run away in fear or try to drink the waters of the mirage. He justwalks through them. These mind misconceptions are not even worth having theories

about their reality or unreality. They just arent there! Why waste time in language-circus? Why bother about the creation of a ring when the gold alone is the reality?

{NOTES:

A BRIEF GLIMPSE OF SAAMKYA THEORY:

Saamkhya is one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally consideredas the founder of the Saamkhya School, although no historical verification is possible. It is regarded as oneof the oldest philosophical systems in India.

Saamkhya was one of the six orthodox systems (aastika, those systems that recognize Vedic authority) of Hindu philosophy. The major text of this Vedic school is the extant Saamkhya. There are no purelySaamkhya schools existing today in Hinduism, but its influence is felt in the Yoga and Vedanta schools.

Saamkhya is an enumerationist philosophy that is strongly dualist. Saamkhya denies the existence of God.Saamkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities:Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter)Prakriti further bifurcates into animate and inanimate realms. On the other hand, Purusha separates out intocountless Jeevas or individual units of consciousness as souls which fuse into the mind and body of theanimate branch of Prakriti.

Sage Kapila is considered as the founder of the Saamkhya School, but there is no evidence to prove that thetexts attributed to him, the S khyapravacana S tra and the Tattvasam sa were actually composed by him.According to a modern scholar Surendranath Dasgupta, the doctrine of the earliest school of Saamkhya isfound in an ancient Indian medical treatise, Charaka Samhita. I varak a in his K rik described himself as being in the succession of the disciples from Kapila.It is stated that there were eighteen Saamkhya schools in the ancient days. Except the Kaarika, we do nothave any other text about Saamkhya.

According to the Saamkhya School, all knowledge is possible through three pramanas (means of validknowledge)Pratyak a or D am direct sense perceptionAnum na logical inferenceabda or ptavacana verbal testimony

Saamkhya cites two kinds of perceptions:Indeterminate (nirvikalpa) perceptions and determinate (savikalpa) perceptions

Indeterminate perceptions are merely impressions without understanding or knowledge. They reveal noknowledge of the form or the name of the object. There is only external awareness about an object. There iscognition of the object, but no discriminative recognition.For example, a babys initial experience is full of impression. There is a lot of data from sensoryperception, but there is little or no understanding of the inputs. Hence they can be neither differentiated norlabeled. Most of them are indeterminate perceptions.Determinate perceptions are the mature state of perceptions which have been processed and differentiatedappropriately. Once the sensations have been processed, categorized, and interpreted properly, they becomedeterminate perceptions. They can lead to identification and also generate knowledge.


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Broadly, the Saamkhya system classifies all objects as falling into one of the two categories: Purusha andPrakriti. Metaphysically, Saamkhya maintains an intermingled duality between spirit/consciousness(Puru a) and matter (Prakrti).

PURUSHA

Puru ha is the Transcendental Self or Pure Consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible,unknowable, above any experience and beyond any words or explanation. It remains pure, nonattributiveconsciousness. Puru a is neither produced nor does it produce.Unlike Advaita Vedanta and like Purva-Mimamsa, Saamkhya believes in plurality of the Puru as.

PRAKRITI

Prakriti is the first cause of the universeof everything except the Puru a, which is uncaused, and accountsfor whatever is physical, both matter and force. Since it is the first principle (tattva) of the universe, it iscalled the Pradhana, but, as it is the unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the Jada. It iscomposed of three essential characteristics (trigunas). These are:Sattva fineness, lightness, illumination, and joy;Rajas activity, excitation, and pain;

Tamas coarseness, heaviness, obstruction, and sloth

All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of Prakriti, or primal nature (fromwhich all physical bodies are derived). Each sentient being is a Puru ha, and is limitless and unrestricted byits physical body. Sams ra or bondage arises when the Puru ha does not have the discriminate knowledgeand so is misled as to its own identity, confusing itself with the physical body, which is actually an evoluteof Prakriti. The spirit is liberated when the discriminate knowledge of the difference between consciousPurusha and unconscious Prakriti is realized.

IVARA (CREATIONIST GOD)

The S khyapravacana S tra states that there is no philosophical place for a creationist God in this system.It is also argued in this text that the existence of Ishvara cannot be proved and hence cannot be admitted toexist and an unchanging Ishvara as the cause cannot be the source of a changing world as the effect. Almost

all modern scholars are of view that the concept of Ishvara was incorporated into the nirishvara (atheistic)Saamkhya viewpoint only after it became associated with the Yoga, the Pasupata and the Bhagavataschools of philosophy. This theistic Saamkhya philosophy is described in the Mahabharata, the Puranas andthe Bhagavad Gita

NATURE OF DUALITY

The Saamkhya recognizes only two ultimate entities, Prakriti and Purusha. While the Prakriti is a singleentity, the Saamkhya admits a plurality of the Puru has. Unintelligent, unmanifest, uncaused, ever-active,imperceptible and eternal Prakriti is alone the final source of the world of objects which is implicitly andpotentially contained in its bosom. The Puru ha is considered as the intelligent principle, a passive enjoyer(bhokta) and the Prakriti is the enjoyed (bhogya). Saamkhya believes that the Puru ha cannot be regardedas the source of inanimate world, because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself into theunintelligent world.It is a pluralistic spiritualism, atheistic realism and uncompromising dualism.

THEORY OF EXISTENCE

The Saamkhya system is based on Satkaryavada. According to Satkaryavada, the effect pre-exists in thecause. Cause and effect are seen as different temporal aspects of the same thing the effect lies latent in thecause which in turn seeds the next effect.


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More specifically, Saamkhya system follows the Prakriti-Parinama Vada. Parinama denotes that the effectis a real transformation of the cause. The cause under consideration here is Prakriti or more precisely Mula-Prakriti (Primordial Matter). The Saamkhya system is therefore an exponent of an evolutionary theory of matter beginning with primordial matter. In evolution, Prakriti is transformed and differentiated intomultiplicity of objects. Evolution is followed by dissolution. In dissolution the physical existence, all theworldly objects mingle back into Prakriti, which now remains as the undifferentiated, primordial substance.This is how the cycles of evolution and dissolution follow each other.

THE TWENTY-FOUR PRINCIPLES

Saamkhya theorizes that Prakriti is the source of the world of becoming. It is pure potentiality that evolvesitself successively into twenty four tattvas or principles. The evolution itself is possible because Prakriti isalways in a state of tension among its constituent strands Sattva a template of balance or equilibrium;Rajas a template of expansion or activity;Tamas a template of inertia or resistance to action.

In this state of equilibrium, the three together are one, "unmanifest" Prakriti. The most subtle potentialitythat is behind whatever is created in the physical universe, also called "primordial Matter". It is also a stateof equilibrium amongst the Three Gunas.

All macrocosmic and microcosmic creation is based on these templates. Due to the proximity of Purusha itis said, the continued cause and effect production of differentiation is due to the 'imbalance' of thesedifferent proportions of these three Gunas. Beginning with "the Great One" (Mah t). the twenty fourprinciples that evolve are:

Mah t first product of evolution from Prakriti, pure potentiality (predominately Sattva) 'Mahat is alsoconsidered to be the principle responsible for the rise of buddhi or discriminatory power (wisdom) in livingbeings.

Ahamk ra or ego-sense second product of evolutionIt is responsible for the self-sense in living beings. It is also one's identification with the outer world and its

content.

Manas or "Antahkarana" evolves from the total sum of the sattva aspect of Paca Tanmatras or the"Ahamkara"

"Paca Tanm trs" or five objects (color, sound, smell, taste, touch) are a simultaneous product fromMah t Tattva, along with the Ahamk ra. They are the subtle form of Paca mah bhtas which result fromgrossification or Panchikaran of the Tanmatras. Each of these Tanmatras are made of all three Gunas.

Paca j na indriyas or five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body) also evolves from the sattvaaspect of Ahamkara.

Paca karma indriyas or five organs of action The organs of action are hands, legs, vocal apparatus,urino-genital organ and anus. They evolve from the rajas aspect of Ahamkara.

Paca mah bhtas or five great substances earth, water, fire, air and etherThey evolve from the "tamas" aspect of the "Ahamkara". This is the revealed aspect of the physical

universe.

The evolution of primal nature is also considered to be purposeful Prakrti evolves for the spirit inbondage. The spirit who is always free is only a witness to the evolution, even though due to the absence of discriminate knowledge, he misidentifies himself with Purusha (body).


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The evolution obeys causality relationships, with primal Nature itself being the material cause of allphysical creation. The cause and effect theory of Saamkhya is called Satkaarya-vaada (theory of existentcauses), and holds that nothing can really be created from or destroyed into nothingness all evolution issimply the transformation of primal Nature from one form to another.

The evolution of matter occurs when the relative strengths of the attributes change. The evolution ceaseswhen the spirit realizes that it is distinct from primal Nature and thus cannot evolve. This destroys thepurpose of evolution, thus stopping Prakrti from evolving for Purusha.

Saamkhyan cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between Purusha andPrakriti is crucial to Patanjali's yoga system. The strands of Saamkhyan thought can be traced back to theVedic speculation of creation

Mok ha

Like other major systems of Indian philosophy, Saamkhya regards ignorance as the root cause of bondageand suffering (Samsara). According to Saamkhya, the Puru ha is eternal, pure consciousness. Due toignorance, it identifies itself with the physical body and its constituents Manas, Ahamkara and Mahat,which are products of Prakriti. Once it becomes free of this false identification and the material bonds,Moksha ensues. Other forms of Saamkhya teach that Mok ha is attained by one's own development of thehigher faculties of discrimination achieved by meditation and other yogic practices as prescribed throughthe Hindu Vedas.

Views of what happens to the soul after liberation vary tremendously, as the Saamkhya view is used bymany different Hindu sects and is rarely practiced alone. }

Rama spoke

||

: ||

Lord, it is stated by many that the perceived world exists as the sprout in the seed

at the end of the dissolution. It rises again in the Supreme as such! Is it correct?

Tell me, My Lord, are they (Kapila and others) right or wrong in their statements,

and clear all my doubts.

Vasishta spoke

s ||


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The view-point that the perceived world exists as a sprout inside the seed

at the time of the great sleep (dissolution)is unintelligent and childish

(as it presupposes is firm belief in the reality of the world).

||

I will explain to you what is incoherent in it,how the whole theory is disproved and

how this contradictory theory confuses both the speaker and the listener.

{The nonsensical character of this view point (effect pre-exists in the cause like a sprout in the seed) issomewhat like this.It is stated that the effect exists in the cause even before it is produced.That means, the world, the effect exists as a sprout inside the seed, the Supreme Cause.When it sprouts, the world appears.Now the questions which rise are-The word world means all the perceived objects and they exist inside the cause like sprouts inside theseeds.Are there many seeds all over the cause spread out? Or only one seed at one place only? Are there manysprouts or just one sprout?Were the cause and effect related or unrelated- say as the seed and the sprout? How this non-relation is tobe explained? Was it also a seed?

First argument is- If the effect was all over the cause as a universal principle, then it should be the commonprinciple of all objects; it sprouts as all objects and so it is connected to all the objects.

If it is agreed it is so, the reality of the Seen is limited to that place where the sprout has appeared. Onlysprouted realities are real. If the seed was not in the soil but in the store house or if the seed was on a stonyground, sprouts cannot appear. So, all those objects appearing from such seeds must be illusory and unreal;because they are not sprouts.Is that so?

Secondly, the effects like pot, cloth etc do not retain the qualities of their cause. A sprout is related to theseed by sharing the same qualities. Pot, cloth etc do not contain the original qualities of the cause; so theyare not related to the seed. How this non-relation to the seed should be explained?In a sprouting seed, only the sprout is real, not the cloth or the pot. How is it possible?A seed contains the whole world. Even a paddy seed may contain the whole world within it!

Thirdly, seed and the sprout share the same qualities. Sprout is related to the seed which shares the samequalities; it is also related to the pot, cloth etc. which do not share the same qualities. How is it possible?How can it be related to the pot, cloth etc. which do not have common qualities of the cause?Only the sprout which shares the qualities of the seed is real. The objects which are not from the seed assprouts are not real. Is it so?

If it is argued that the effect has common qualities shared by the cause yet there are sprouts which do notshare the same and have different qualities; then it means that sprouts with uncommon qualities have seedsin the cause and so cause is defined by the effect. Again the sprouts come out with the qualities of thecause; so cause decides the effect.All this is absurd.}


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||

The view-point that the world remains in the Supreme

like a sprout inside the seed is a foolish statement. Listen as to how it is so.

{SENSES PERCEIVE THE SEED-SPROUT PHENOMENON}

||

The perceived phenomenon arises through the function of senses and the mind. It is deducted that as every grain can be traced to an original seed,

the perceived world also rises out of a seed.

{BRAHMAN IS BEYOND THE GRASP OF SIX SENSES}

||

However, how can the Self-bornbe the seed of the perceived phenomenon of the world,

as it transcends the mind and senses and is the subtlest of all?!

{HOW CAN THAT BE DESCRIBED AS A SEED?}

||

The Supreme is subtler than space.It is beyond any definition.

How can it have any seed-ness as its nature?!When there is no seed at all,

where raises the question of the sprout?!

{BRAHMAN IS THE PURE VOID STATE}

||


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How can the world filled with Mount Meru, skies and oceans exist

in that Supreme state - which is purer and emptier than any point of space?!

{BRAHMAN IS NOT A PERCEIVED OBJECT}

||

How can any object exist in something which is not anything? If it does exist, then why is not perceived there?

{BRAHMAN CONTAINS NOTHING}

s s : ||

How and wherefore can that which has nothing as its essencebecome something?

How, when, wherefore has a mountain born out of the empty space of the pot?

{HOW CAN OBJECTS PERCEIVED IN IGNORANCE BE IN THE PRINCIPLE OF KNOWLEDGE?}

s ||

How can anything exist in the contradictory thing,like the shadow in Sun light,

like darkness in Sun or like the snow in the fire?

||

How can a Meru Mount exist in a single atom? How and wherefore can anything exist in the formless?

How can that and which is not that be the same? How can the shadow and the Sunlight be the same?


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{FORM CAN COME OUT OF FORM; NOT OUT OF THE FORMLESS}

||

It is a deduced fact that sprouts exist as the origin for trees etc. which are with form.

But it not reasonable to suppose that the perceived world of countless forms exist in the formless!

||

The perception of the objects of the world by different men at different times at different places

through the power of senses and intellect,is not at all there as a permanent feature.

Nothing is seen through the various methods of understanding also;so it is said.

{The Saamkhya adherents say that the effect pre-exists in the cause; i.e. the world, the effect pre-exists inthe Supreme, the Cause. Is this theory based on common observation or is it based on the Upanishadic

verse - (Existence alone was there in the beginning)?The first one the - common observation does not support the Saamkhya causation theory,because-Perception occurs through the medium of senses and intellect. The objects are not seen or seen according tothe presence of the person at a particular place at a particular time. Otherwise one cannot surmise theirexistence even if all the methods of reasoning are used. The perception depends on the proper functioningof the intellect and the senses also. It differs with the efficiency of the senses and intellect too. The realityof the permanence of the perceptive world is thus denied. When the effect is unreal, how can it ever exist inthe Supreme cause? It is a matter of common experience that perception varies according to the time andplace, and presence or absence of persons.}

||

The effect presupposes the cause is what the Upanishads declarethis is an utterly confused statement.

By what reason does the effect arise with the help of the concomitant causes then?


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{The Saamkhya adherents say that the effect pre-exists in the cause; i.e. the world, the effect pre-exists inthe Supreme, the Cause. Is this theory based on common observation or is it based on the Upanishadic

verse - (Existence alone was there in the beginning)?The second one is denied here. The Upanishadic verse (Existence alone wasthere in the beginning) does not support the Saamkhya theory of SatkaaryaVaada.

The Upanishadic verse does not suggest two types of Realities- cause and the effect.(Brahman is one and second-less) this Upanishadic verse does not support the Saamkhya

doctrine.What does the Saamkhya mean when they state that the Effect already exists in the cause and theirstatement is based on the Upanishadic declarations?Is the effect real (SAT) according to them? Does the existence of the effect ( ) results the existenceof the cause or is the reality of the effect ascribed to the cause?Or do they mean, cause alone is real and the reality (SAT) of the cause results in the reality of the effect?Or do they mean, reality (SAT) is reality; that reality is ascribed to the principles of cause and effect?If they still defend their theory with the first of the explanations, it leads only to confusion.

Shrutis (Vedas) declare

(All transformation has speech as its basis, and it is name only)Here the effect namely the world of names and forms is proved false.If the effect, as the Saamkhya says, pre-exists in the cause, then the cause which contains the qualities of the effect also will be proved false.Since the qualities of the cause are proved false, what are the causes that make the effect like MAHAT etc.rise?If the cause is proved false the effect also is false.If the effect is false, the cause thereof also cannot be proved to be real.}

||

Cast afar the theory of cause and effect devised by the irrational thinkers.

Understand that THAT alone- is true,

THAT alone - which is without end, beginning or middle,THAT alone - exists as this world.


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CHAPTER THREE

Vasishta spoke

||

||

I will now speak more about this theory (that the effect (world) is real),O intelligent Rama!

If the world exists in the great Chit-space which is pure and without any differentiations,then tell me

what are the concomitant causes there which help in making it come about?

{I will tell you more about the faults in stating that the world has a separate reality at the time of dissolution.If it is argued- Suppose the world is not there at all, then the creation also wont be there.The creation work is possible only by pre-supposing a creator; if there is no creator, it cannot be created.Because it is produced, there need not be another creator other than Brahman.Brahman alone is real; if he is the creator, then that Brahman alone has to get created, not the world.Being changeless ( ) Brahman cannot be attributed with such changes.So to prove the act of creation at the time of dissolution, the world has to be real.This argument gets disproved in this verse. The counter argument is-If the world exists already in the Brahman like a sprout in the seed, then what are the concomitant causeswhich help in its sprouting? What concomitant causes exist in the world-creation?}

||

If the sprout can rise up without any concomitant causes,such a thing has never been seen by anyone anytime.

It is like describing a daughter of the barren woman.

{If the seed-sprout theory is valid, the sprout should burst forth without any concomitant causes. But it isnot possible. Sun, water etc etc are needed for a seed to sprout. In Saamkhya theory of seed-sprout whereare the concomitant causes? How can the world come out of the cause without the concomitant causes? It islike saying the barren woman gave birth to a child.}


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||

In the absence of the concomitant causes,

the barley grain is the main cause, Rama! It is the expression of its natural state.

{Therefore, as shown in the example of the snake and the rope, there are no concomitant causes for theappearance of the snake in the rope. Snake is not created as a reality. It is just an appearance. The ropealone appears as the snake due to lack of light or some other misconception.Brahman alone is the main cause and appears as this world because of ignorance. The world does not existas a separate reality. It is meaningless to suppose its existence at the time of dissolution.}

||

At the beginning of the Creation, Brahman alone remains as it is, as the world in the Self

without any shape or form.Where is there a chance for a father and his off-spring?

||

Here, the earth, air etc or something else do help in the process of sprouting. But one cannot expect them to be helpful in the beginning when they did not exist at all.

{If it is argued that, since at the time of dissolution the whole world is accepted as existing, there is nodearth of concomitant causes; as the earth etc. are inherent in the world and so can help each other andproduce the world.But, prior to their production, the earth and other elements do not exist at all. How can they help each otherin the production?If the creation is proved then the concomitant causes will get proved; if the concomitant causes are proved,creation gets proved. So how can there be support for each other?In this earth, a sprout grows because of earth, water etc.But when the earth, water etc were non-existent before the creation, how could they have helped in thecreation of the world which was a like sprout in the seed?}

||

Therefore one cannot proclaim that the world with its concomitant causes wasquietly sitting in the Supreme and came out from the mind here. It is a statement of an imaginative child, not of the wise adult.


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Therefore Rama, the world was not there, is not there, will not be there.

The Chit-space alone shines like this in the Self.{This verse is the integral teaching of YogaVaasishta:The world is not real; is non-existent; is not created; is just an appearance shining in the mind of theignorant. What is there is only the Brahman-state.}

||

When the world is completely non-existent, Rama,then it is proved that Brahman alone is there as all this,

and not the other way.

{

All this that is in front is but Brahman, the immortal. Brahman is at the back, as also on the right and the left.

It is extended above and below, too.This world is nothing but Brahman, the highest.

This verse from the Upanishads proves the complete non-existence of the world in Brahman.}

||

The world which is said to exist before its creation,

which ceases to exist by getting destroyed or by the reciprocal negation,- does not subside in the mind; but seems to subside only when not perceived.

ABHAAVA:{Four kinds of Abhaava are recognized by Nyaaya adherents.

Praagabhaava: former not-being (like a cloth before it is woven)Dhvamsa: subsequent non-being (a jar being smashed)Atyantaabhaava: absolute non-being (impossibility like the son of a barren woman)Anyonyaabhaava: reciprocal negation (mutual difference such as the ice and the water)


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If Praagabhaava is not accepted, the view of the Saamkhya philosophy- Mahat rises from Prakriti, thenAhankaara and so on, will fall flat and all these come without beginning.

If Pradvamsaabhaava is not accepted, all these twenty five principles (tattvas) become eternal and themerging of all the Tattvas into each higher principle will become impossible.

If Anyonyaabhaava is denied, the twenty three principles other than Purusha and Prakriti will not excludeone another, but each will involve the other and thus will become all-pervading.

If Atyantaabhaava is denied the qualities of all the twenty five tattvas cannot be distinguished from eachother; so they will lose their identity.

The four defects Anaadi, Ananta, Sarvaatmaka and Asvaroopa accordingly rise by the denial of Praagabhaava, Pradvamsaabhaava, Anyonyaabhaava, and Atyantaabhaava.

Vasishta denies all these Abhaavaas which refer to the perceived objects.According to Vasishta these categories of absence or Abhaava are not valid. When the perceptioncompletely ceases, then only the Abhaava can occur.Whatever is said to be absent because of the destruction or mutual negation or through any other means isabout the perception occurring through the senses.But these perceived objects in the form of Vaasanaas never cease to exist in the mind. Mind retains theirideas. So their perception can never cease to be.They can be absent only when they are not perceived as real.

According to Vasishta actually there is only one Abhaava- Atyantaabhaava- the complete non-existenceof the perceived world of shapes and forms.This Abhaava denies all other Abhaavas of Nyaaya and also weakens the theory of Saamkhya.}

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If the Seen subsides in the latent level of thoughts,then only it completely ceases to exist.

It never dies down in the mind.Where does the perception ever cease to exist?

{Only if the perceived phenomenon ceases to exist along with the seed of Vaasanaas, the absolute non-existence of the perceived world becomes possible. As long as the Vaasanaas make their stay in the mind,there is no chance of perceptions ceasing to exist; and without knowledge, perceptions can never cease tobe. It is not that easy.}

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Except through complete cessation of perception and discarding the perception of the world all over,

there is no other means to destroy the harmful thing.


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s s ||

The Chit-space as the principle of knowledge alone shines as this world.

The mis-conception that I am so and so, I am not thisis like a folk-tale circulated by the gossiping crowd.

{THE SO-CALLED FOLK TALES OF OUR WORLD}

|

|

|

||

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This mountain etc, this earth etc, and the year etc,the idea that this is a span of Kalpa (Brahmas day- the duration of the world),

this is a second,these births and deaths,

this is the turbulence of the dissolution,this is the great dissolution time of the world,

this is the beginning of the creation,this is how the things like elements came about,

these are the distinguishing characteristics of the Kalpas,these are the countless Cosmic eggs,

these creations have passed away, these have again arrived,these are the hierarchy of beings (gods, humans etc)

these are the various times (Yugas) and places (Sapta Dveepas)

The Great Chit, the supreme space, without any covering and endless by nature,remaining as it is, in the quiescent state, shines by itself, as all this.

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These worlds are like the luster of the (thousand rayed) sunshining through the subtle atoms.

{The Suns rays coming through the small hole of the window get reflected in each of the countless subtleatoms; similarly the shine of the Chit also gets reflected from the countless minds and appears as theinfinite cosmic eggs.When the sunlight spreads all over, we see the small particles as if divided.}

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The wonder which is thrown out of the Chit by itself is the shine of the creation and shines without forms. It is not at all solid.

||

The so-called worlds do not rise; do not perish; do not come; do not go.They are like the mountains where the lines are superimposed on huge rocks.

||

These worlds flash forth in the taintless Self by the Self like the divisions seen in the sky.They are formless and shapeless.

||

||

Like the liquidity in water, like the movement in the wind,like the whirlpool in the ocean, like the virtues of a noble man,

the principle of knowledge in the dense state alone stands like thisas the rising and setting world,

without beginning, without end, as the all-pervading quiescent state.


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||

Due to the absence of concomitant causes,

to say that the world rises by itself from the void,is just a snorting sound coming from the insane.

CHAPTER FOUR

{SMRITIS/MEMORIES/PREVIOUS BRAIN CONFIGURATIONS}

Rama spoke

s ||

At the time of the great dissolution when the creation begins,the first one namely Brahma of the nature of Smriti arises, I believe.

Then the world must be of the nature of Smriti alone.

{Since the world of perceived objects is not created by the creator; as they do not exist in the supreme stateof Brahman as a sprout in the seed; as there cannot be pre-existing concomitant causes; the only plausibleexplanation seems to be that they exist as thoughts in the HiranyaGarbha- the golden wombed Brahma andbelong to the mental kingdom of Brahma as Smritis Memories. Concomitant cause need not be there;Brahma as the form of mind withdraws his thoughts within himself at the time of dissolution; and againexpresses them as a created world; so the memory of the world pre-exists in the Supreme; argues Rama.}

Vasishta spoke

{RANDOM SMRITIS (NOT PREVIOUS) ALONE BECOME THE WORLD THROUGH BRAHMA}

s ||

Indeed it is so, Rama! At the time of dissolution and the beginning of the creation,

the first one namely Brahma remains with the nature of Memories only.


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||

The world which is of the nature of conception alone,in the form of memories alone,

shines in the expansive manner like this. It stays as Brahmas city of conceptions before its creation.

||

The memories are not at all there in the Supreme Self,

at the beginning of creation. Because of the absence of the birth,how, where, can the world arise like a huge tree in the empty sky?

{Maybe the world is unreal because the Self transcends the mind and the changes caused by it; but it isreal as the expression of the mind. In the painting of a horse, the horse might be not real as a fleshy animal;but the colors and the other things which make the horse appear are real.This is Ramas doubt.

Vasishtas answer refuting Saamkhya theory is:True! The memories in the person who has memories are the mental modifications. The Pradhaana which ismentioned is capable of rising through memories. But mud etc cannot be produced like that as they areinert; so also the many Purushas.

Purusha is pure consciousness; the intelligent self; a witness; a solitary indifferent spectator. Purushas aremany. They are changeless, unattached, and indifferent. They do not differ from each other, do not excludeeach other. They are not different from the Supreme Self. So says Saamkhya.

Smriti cannot be a part of the Purusha at all. As Purusha is changeless even before the creation of theworld, as he is not-born, as he is bereft of mind according to the Upanishadic verse-

:,There is no Smartr one who remembers, at all. To say that Brahman has Smriti is saying that a tree isgrowing in the empty sky.}

Rama spoke

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O Lord! Is there no possibility of past memory at the beginning of creation?

How can the past memory get erased at the time of great dissolution where a complete faintness prevails?

{Daily at sleep everything is forgotten but all memories rush back when one wakes up. Why cant it be soat the time of dissolution?}

Vasishta spoke

s ||

At the time of great dissolution,

all those Knowers like Brahma and others of the past,have attained the final beatitude.

They have attained the state of Brahman for sure.

{Rama! What is your doubt? How do you think memories are left back? Do you mean HiranyaGarbha a single Jeeva who conceives in his mind multifarious beings and moves away leavingmemories behind ;or various beings conceive each a part of the world which they experience and alsoconceive a HiranyaGarbha as their creator as per their intellectual efficiency, and so memories continue ?But you mentioned the first one namely Brahma, you must mean that the first creation leaves its residueback. But since HiranyaGarbha gets liberated; none of the Jeevas conceived by him are left back. So thereis no one to remember anything. So past memories do not cause the creation.}

||

Therefore, O Disciplined Rama, tell me who is the creator of the past memories,as all memories get erased off in the person who has them,

when he attains liberation.

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Since the person who remembers is absent, how can the memory arise? At the time of the great dissolution, everyone surely gets liberated.

s ||


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Whether not experienced and experienced,

the memory which rises by itself in the Chit-space,that alone is the well-established perception called the world.

That shine of the Chit indeed is real. (Sat)

||

It is evident that the luster of the consciousness alone, shining beginning-less and endless,

is this world-appearance and is self-born.

||

The innate shine of the Brahma alone which is well-known from time immemorial,is the form of the world, the Aativaahika body of Brahma.

||

The tri-world with its forests, clouds and skiesshines in the subtle atom

along with its sequences of place, time, action, object, day and night.

{ | || }

||

Inside the previous one mentioned,another atom fills it and shines in a similar manner

shining again as the same mountain etc.

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Even there, with the same form, succeeding in the same manner,

the Seen shines forth. Dear one! It is just an appearance; not real!

||

O Taintless one! In this manner, it is endless both for the one who sees the real (Brahman), the knower who has attained the supreme state;

or for the one who sees the unreal (the world-appearance),who completely does not understand anything . ( )

||

For the knower, it is only the sole quiescent, unchanging state of Brahman.For the non-knower it shines as the understanding containing the entire world.

||

||

Just as this world shines as the expansive form of the cosmic egg; just as thousands of crores of worlds

shine in each atom inside another inside another and so on; just as the little statuette of the girl

carved on the pillar contains in its own body another statuette of a girl,on the body of that statuette is contained another statuette of a girl;

so is the tri-world statuette.

||

Just as the subtle atoms in the mountain are beyond the counting leveland are not stuck together,

so do the subtle atoms of the tri-worlds exist in the huge Meru of Brahman.


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{The mountain is taken as an example because it is never in a steady state. It is always changing, momentto moment. It is in a state of constant flux. So the atoms in a mountain cannot be counted because there isalways an unpredictable state for it every moment. Similarly the worlds that get created through minds arebased on random Vaasanaa collisions. So the number of worlds cannot be brought under the mathematicallimitation of numbers.}

s ||

May be it is possible to count the light weighted atoms in the sun rays.The subtle atoms of the tri-worlds rise in the Chit-sun.

||

Just as atoms keep moving in the light of the sun, water and dust,so do the subtle atoms of the tri-worlds move in the huge Meru of Brahman.

||

This element-sky is in essence, only the experience of the voidness.This Chit-sky is in essence, only the experience of the world.

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The world understood only as a world leads one downwards.The same thing when understood as Brahman bestows abundant goodness.


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CHAPTER FIVE

{THE CURE FOR THE DISEASE OF DELUSION}

Vasishta spoke

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The ocean of worldly existence can be crossed over only

through the bridge namely, controlling the set of sense organs.

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One who has conquered his senses, being endowed with discriminationattains the complete non-existence of the Seen

by the practice of study of scriptures and the company of the knowers.

||

What more is to say! Mind alone is the sprout of the tree of actions.

If that mind spreading out as the many-branched -world is destroyed,the body made of actions is also destroyed.

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Everything is mind alone O Rama! If that disease is cured,

the entire network of the perceived world gets cured instantly.

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The body is produced in this world, only as an agitation of the mind, for its function. Bereft of the mind, where is the body seen?

: ||

The mind-vampire does not perish even in hundred Kalpasexcept for the single means of the complete non-occurrence of the Seen.

||

Such a thing (killing the mind) indeed becomes possible,if the diseased mind is given the treatment proper.

The complete non-occurrence of the Seenis the excellent medicine prescribed for it.

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Mind alone gets deluded; mind alone dies; mind alone is born;mind alone is bound by worries; mind alone is freed by getting rid of worries.

||

The entire world flashes forth in the mind which has become numb due to non-stop thoughts,

like the illusory city of Gandharvas in the expansive void of the sky.

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The entire world flashes in the mind and stays there,like the fragrance of the cluster of flowers stays within the cluster,

and rises out of it as if separate.

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Like the oil in the gingili seed, like the character in the virtuous,like the righteousness in the noble, the world exists in the mind.

||

Like the countless rays shooting forth from the sun,like the shine emanating from luster,

like the heat from the fire,the world is in the mind.

||

Like the coolness in the ice,like the voidness in the sky,

like the movement in the wind,the world is in the mind.

|| Mind is the world. The entire world is the mind.

Both are always inseparable. If the mind is destroyed permanently, the world is also destroyed,

but if the world is destroyed, mind does not cease to exist.


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CHAPTER SIX

{HOW DOES THE WORLD STAY INSIDE THE MIND?}

Rama spoke

||

Lord! You are an expert in all learning.You know what was before and what will be later.

O Lord, tell me how does the entire world exist in the mind?

Vasishta spoke

||

Like the worlds created bythe ten Brahmin sons of Indu who had no physical bodies,

remained with solid nature,this exists in the mind the same way.

||

Like the Chaandaala- life experienced by King Lavana,through the magic of the sorcerer,

this exists in the mind the same way.

||

Like Sage Bhaargava experiencing many livesbecause of his long-cherished desire to enjoy heavenly pleasures,

this world exists in the mind.


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Rama spoke

||

O Lord, how the desire for heavenly pleasuresled Bhaargava to experience many lives?

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN BHRGU AND KAALA

Vasishta spoke

||

Listen O Rama, about the conversation that occurred betweenKAALA (Time) and Sage Bhrgu

inside the grove of Tamaala trees.

{SAGE BHRGU}

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Long ago, on the summit of Mandara Mountain,in some corner abounding in flowers,

Sage Bhrghu performed severe penance.


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{BHRGUS SON/USHANAS/BHAARGAVA/SHUKRA}

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Shukra, his son who was of tender agewho was of great luster,

who was highly intelligent,shining like the full moon (pleasant),

blazing like the Sun (wise),served him well.

||

Sage Bhrgu remained in the forest always absorbed in the state of SAMAADHI (trance)

like the rocks covering the forest grounds.

s : ||

Shukra, just a child growing amidst beds of flowers,moving about glittering lights shining like silver,

swinging among the branches of trees growing on the Mandara Mountain,was unable to attain the supreme state of realization.

He was in the state in-between knowledge and ignoranceand highly perturbed

like King Trishanku suspended midway between heaven and earth.

{THE MIND-TIGER WAS OUT OF THE CAGE}

{As his father was not there to supervise him continuously, Shukra was on his own. He had of coursepracticed self-control and was able to stay for long hours in the contemplation of the Self, as his father hadinstructed. Some fatal day, after some blissful moments of the meditation state, he felt he had attained astable state of wisdom. He thought that his mind had been conquered completely. With such amisconception about his level of knowledge, he slightly relaxed the mind for a few moments. As hecontinuously remained in the contemplation state always, he was not aware of the host of suppressedVaasanaas hidden in his mind. The moment he relaxed, all his Vaasanaas got ready to burst forth andbefore he knew he was lost in the experience-fields created by them. His un-dead mind instantly led to hisdownfall, like Trishanku pushed out of heaven.}


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s ||

Once as his father still remained absorbed in the NIRVIKALPA SAMAADHI (Trance of unperturbed state)

he became relaxed in mind like a king who had conquered his enemies.

{SHUKRA SEES AN APSARAA NAMED VISHVAACHEE}

: ||

He saw a divine damsel walking across the path of the sky(like Lord Vishnu looking at Mahaa Lakshmi produced by its churning

at the center of the milk ocean.)

She was covered by garlands of Mandaara flowers. The curly locks of hairs falling on herforehead were gently moving in the wind. The anklets on her feet tinkled melodiously.The space she moved away from still retained the pleasant fragrance emanating from herbody. Her movements were charming like a creeper surrounding the tree. Her passion-filled eyes moved restlessly. Her body emanated luster like the moon and bathed thesurroundings with nectar.

||

Seeing that attractive girl, his mind trembled with joy.

{THE ATTRACTION WAS MUTUAL}

||

She also saw the face of Shukra and became excited like the ocean at the sight of the taintless full moon.

{She went away. Shukra dragged the mind which was going after her and tried meditating again. But hismind now started contemplating not on the Self, but on the beautiful form of the Apsaraa. }


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||

Immediately, Ushanas brought the mind stuck by cupids arrows,

under control through discrimination.Yet having subdued all the thoughts, he still lost himself in her thoughtsand was completely one with her in his mind.

CHAPTER EIGHT

MIND-KINGDOM

||

Then, thinking of her in his mind he remained with closed eyes.USHANA, son of Bhrgu immediately started to build the kingdom of mind.

{What if the real apsaraa had moved off, his mind could create millions of Apsaraas if it was empoweredby such Vaasanaas. But at this moment, only one Vaasanaa had made its appearance desire for the unionwith that divine damsel.Where would she be? In heaven! Could he go to heaven? Yes! He could certainly; for he was the son of thegreat Sage Bhrgu. What would Indra do, if he saw him? He would salute and allow him to live there inheaven. He would search for her; she will also be filled with passion towards him; he will spenduncountable Yugas in her company because of his merits. Then merits may get over with. Maybe he will beborn in some place on earth again...These are just thought-waves of the mind. Suppose every thought immediately became a reality?That was what happened to Bhaargava. His mind could convert all thoughts into real experiences.Whatever he had read in the scriptures, whatever ideas he had about heavens and hells helped create hismind-kingdom.Soon he was lost in the pseudo world presented by his mind.}

This is the girl I saw in the sky who resides in the palace of Indra.I have reached the heaven beautiful with the sporting gods. These handsome gods have

decorated their heads with the soft flowers of Mandaara. Their bodies shine beautifullylike molten gold.These are the heavenly damsels flashing their looks exciting all with their dark lotus likeeyes. Their smile is so innocent. Their eyes move restlessly like that of the deer. All of them are shining beautifully covered by beautiful flowers all over and look like thereflections of each other. It is as if they are imitating the cosmic form of the Lord byfilling the whole of the heaven with their pretty forms.Here are the Marut Gods laughing joyously.


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Here the bees, not even interested in the temporin flowing out of Aeiraavatas neck region, are listening to the melodious songs of the gods.Here is the swan belonging to Brahma floating among the golden lotuses.Here the chiefs of gods are resting in the gardens on the banks of the Mandaakinee River.Here are the caretakers of the world- Yama, Chandra, Indra, Soorya, Agni, Varuna and

Vaayu with their shining bodies throwing sparks all over.Here is the elephant Aeiraavata who has a scratch on his face from some battlefield hemoved about and tossed the demons violently here and there.These are the waves of River Gangaa bathing the Mandaara trees on the banks.These are the Mandaara trees over-flowing with clusters of flowers.These are the groups of pretty girls roaming in the gardens belonging to Indra.They emanate the fragrance of Mandaara and jasmine flowers.Their forms appear as if made of moonlight.The winds carry the Paarijaata fragrance emanating from their faces.Their silky garments wave like the pollen dust as they play about excitedly chasing eachother. The whole of the garden is filled with such beautiful maidens.

They are singing intoxicating songs. They are dancing joyously.Here Naarada and Tumburu are playing their lutes and singing with their melting voices.Here the meritorious beings are adorned with divine ornaments and flying in the heavenlyvehicles.These are those divine damsels with intoxicating limbs raising passion in all.They are serving the King of Gods like the forest creepers serving the forest.Here I am saluting Indra, who is seated in the court like the second Brahma,the creator of the three worlds.

||

||

Having thought like this, Lord Indra was saluted by Shukra in the mind itself.

Having been saluted by Shukra, Indra lifted him up and worshipped him

who was like another Bhrgu in that heaven. He held his hand affectionately and made him sit next to him.

Indra said-O Lord Shukra! We are blessed by your arrival. The whole heaven is shininganew by your presence. Stay here as long as you like. Then, Bhaargava sat there with a smiling face and bore the beauty of the taintless fullmoon. He was saluted by all the Gods there as he sat next to Indra on his throne. He feltextremely happy and was treated by all like the pet son of the king.


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She rushed towards the son of Bhrgu like the peacock towards the cloud and joined himon a bed created by Bhrgus power, in a beautiful white room.She with her bent head approached him. He held her by the hand and made her sit next tohim. She spoke to him sweet words filled with love and passion.Lord! I am harassed by the cruel God of love! Save me from this pain. I have taken

shelter at your feet. I am consoled by the touch of your lotus feet.There is no other joy greater than the union of those who are in love with each other.I live only because of your touch. Embrace me who have become like a bee stuck to yourfeet and place me on the lotus of your chest.Having spoken such intoxicating words, she fell into his arms.Both of them lost themselves in extreme passion and enjoyed each others company for along time.

CHAPTER TEN

Then they both rested for some time in that bower of Kalpa creepers.With high excitement in minds both exchanged love-filled speeches suppressed so longby them. That union brought about extreme happiness to Bhaargava.Together they both enjoyed the pleasures of heaven unaware of anything but their ownpassion.

: ||

Sporting by creating gardens in the illusory cities,this creator of endless creation of the world,

resembled Kaala, the Time.

{As all this was the creation of his mind, Shukra was the controller of his own life destinies. He thought hismerits gave a place for him in heaven. Later he thought that his merits were over with and he was thrownout of the heaven. He was the creator of his own life-narratives. His own belief-systems and knowledge of Dharma, rules of heaven etc. subconsciously created the events of his life. So was he not like the greatcontroller Kaala? }

||

Then Shukra lived happily in the company of that doe-eyed beauty,in the city of Indra for eight units of four-fold Yugas.


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Through the deliberation of his decreased merits, he lost his divine form and fell into theregion of earth along with his beloved.His limbs melted off; his air-vehicle and gardens were taken away; he was highlydistressed; he fell down like a soldier dying in the battlefield.As he fell on the Earth, his worries extended and his melted body shattered into hundreds

of pieces as if stuck on a rock.

As the body shattered, his two bodies (subtle body and the mind-body) impure withdesires floated all over the sky like two birds which had lost their nests.The two bodies entered the moon light; attained a moist form of the dew; entered thepaddy-state. One excellent Brahmin living in the city of DASHAARNA cooked that paddy and ate it.That Shukra became the virile semen (Shukrataa) and by the union of the Brahmin withhis wife, was born as his son.Then by the contact of the Sages he became engaged in severe penance.In the dense forests of Meru Mountain he lived a blameless life for one MANVANTARA (one Manus time).

There he got a son of human form through a deer (the apsaraa who had attained such astate by curse).Being attached to his son, he instantly was covered by delusion again. Let my son have wealth, character and long life always; thus worrying incessantly, heslipped from the true state of the Self.He swerved from the path of the right goal as prescribed by the Scriptures; was engagedonly in worldly thoughts due to attachment to his son; his life-span decreased because of his anxious state of mind.Death stole him away like the serpent sucking away the breath.His mind, being filled with the thought of worldly pleasures was in a highly disturbedstate. He became the son of the king of Madra and lived later as the king of Madra.Having ruled the kingdom for long with all enemies subdued, he was overcome by oldage like a lotus by the snow-fall. At that time he was dominated by the Vaasanaa forpenance and discarded the body of his king through death and was born to a Sage whoperformed penance. Now he was residing on the banks of River Samangaa and doingpenance. He was now extremely wise and was cured of the fever of desires and he hadbecome a Sage himself.

{One single Vaasanaa of passion created a heaven for him. But his mind had read in the scriptures thatmerits do not last for long in heavens. So it fell down from heaven. Usually the divine damsels also getcursed in such stories of heavens. So his beloved also fell down from heaven. He had read about how birthtakes place on earth. So his mind followed the same course and became a Brahmins son.Forgotten was his heavenly life. Oscillating between a desire for liberation (as instructed by Sage Bhrgu inthe original life) and the desire for the company of the beloved, Shukra goes through many lives. His merit-levels go up and down and his experiences also follow their course. More Vaasanass add up; moreattachments get stuck and after a long time his mind is left with only one Vaasanaa, that of liberation.At last as a Brahmin he performs penance on a river bank and attains the realized state. He remainsabsorbed in Nirvikalpa Samadhi.Mind-wise he is very far from the summit of Mandara. His mind has no memory of his original life. Soonhe will give up this identity also and attain Videha Mukti. }


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Moved by various types of Vaasanaas

and going through many types of births,having experienced various types of bodies,

the son of Bhrgu lived happily now on the bank of the sacred river like a deep-rooted tree.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

{SHUKRAS BODY LIES AS IF DEAD}

As Shukra was lost in thoughts like this, seated in front of his father, time moved fastconsuming many long years.In course of time, being shattered by winds and heat of the Sun, his body fell on theground like a tree cut at its roots.His mind restlessly moving from body to body went through various experiences like adeer running from one forest to the other.His mind caught in the perpetual rotating wheel of imagined experiences of births anddeaths, and pleasures and pains, at last became peaceful on the bank of the River

Samangaa.Shukra as if bodiless was experiencing that illusory state of life filled densely withcountless events, meaningless as they were just imaginations of his mind and deep rootedbecause of his having forgotten completely his original identity as Bhrgus son.The original body of the wise Bhaargava which was sitting on the summit of MandaraMountain, withered away being left open under the hot sun. The skin dried awayrevealing the skeletal structure inside.

{TERRIFYING LOOKS OF A DEAD BODY}

The body was making melodious subtle noises like a flute when the wind flowed through

its pores as if celebrating the joy of getting freed of the pains once for all.(The body had reached the death state and no more would it suffer the pains of getting identified with someJeeva.)

The poor wretched mind which so far was wallowing in the dirty mires of worldlyexistence now appeared to smile as it were, exposing the row of teeth beaming like thewhite cloud.


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The body (of the wise Bhaargava) gave a direct demonstration about the void nature of the world, through the old rotting holes of wells (the eye-holes, the nose-holes) in itsface-forest.

Having been burnt by the fire of penance in the past and getting drenched in rain again

now, the body was shedding (joyous) tears as it were, remembering the past.

Having been caressed by the soft winds in the moon light in the past, the body now wasshattered by the heavy downpour of the clouds.

The body appeared reddish, getting colored by the sand particles flying in the mountainstorms and pouring like mountain torrents; and appeared as if it was angered by thewicked acts.

It rolled about like a dry stick making thudding noises when the winds blew.It stayed like the heat of the penance in a forest echoing the shrieking noises of the winds.

It had become crooked. The nerves and intestines had all dried up; it was empty insideand only dried skin hung from the stomach region.

As Sage Bhrgu was free of hatred and desires, as he was a highly meritorious soul, as he was person of great penance, his sons body was not consumed by any animal orbird.

The mind of Bhaargava was performing penance following strictly the disciplines of Yama, Niyama etc., with an emaciated body. The body of Bhaargava was rolling aboutthe rocks, with all its blood dried up in the winds, from quite a long time.

CHAPTER TWELVE

{SAGE BHRGU WAKES UP}

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Then, after thousands of divine years, Bhrgu, the great Lord,woke up from his enlightened state of trance.

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He did not see his son, the master of excellent virtues,standing in front of him like merit personified,

with the face bent in politeness.

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Instead he saw one skeleton fallen before him,like misfortune personified as a body,

like poverty taking a form.

{BHRGU SEES THE SHATTERED BODY OF HIS SON}

The body had dried up in the hot Sun; the partridges were pecking holes in the skin;

frogs were resting in the shadow of the hole in the dried up stomach region.

Some worm was living in the eye-holes with hosts of its new-borns. Spiders had madewebs all over the ribs.

The exposed bones of the body appeared like a dry bone-garland as if imitating theworthless Vaasanaa garland which a Jeeva wears fulfilling its latent desires and sufferingthe consequent pleasures and pains.

The skull was smooth and hairless; and shined like a moon and imitated the camphor-smeared ShivaLingas top portion.

The smooth hairless dried up skull with its exposed bony structure extended out of theneck as if following the path of the Vaasanaa and made the body look elongated.

The flesh in the face had loosened up and rotted by getting soaked in rains. The face waspale and white like the lotus-root. The nose was just an extended piece of bone as if bordering the area of the face.

The neck looked thin and elongated. The face was tilted upwards as if looking at thePraanaas which had floated off into the sky.

The knees and thighs were bony and had doubled in size and looked like two woodenlogs ready to run away as if afraid of the long journey to the other world.

The stomach region was empty and covered by dried up loose skin resembling the emptyheart of the ignorant.


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{BHRGU IS SHOCKED}

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Seeing that dried up skeletonwhich was a stake for tying the elephant of pains,

Bhrgu stood up immediatelywithout analyzing the pros and cons of the situation.

{BHRGU IS ANGRY}

s ||

||

The moment he saw the body, instantly a thought flashed in Bhrgus mind;Has this son of mine been dead for a long time?

Without bothering to see the future experiences of his son,he got terribly enraged at Kaala, the consumer of all.

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How dare my son be taken way at an improper time!With such an angry thought,

the Lord got ready to curse Kaala.

{KAALA APPEARS IN FRONT OF THE SAGE}

s ||

Then Kaala the consumer of all beings,who was actually without any form,

took on a visible physical bodyand appeared before the Sage.


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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

{THE GREAT KAALA, THE CONSUMER OF ALL}

: ||

He had a sword and rope in his hands. He was richly attired in ornaments like armor and ear-rings.

He had six arms. He had six faces. He was accompanied by his huge army of servants.

His body was blazing like fire. His form extended up to the sky like a mountain.The trident held in his hand shot forth fire in all the directions.The round ear-rings worn on his ears filled the quarters with their golden shine.The peaks of the mountains all around lost their balance by his breath and fell downcrumpled to pieces.The luster of his sword darkened the suns form.He shone as if the smoke rising from the earth burnt by the dissolution fires, covered hisface and made it look dark and terrifying.

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O Rama of mighty shoulders,he approached the angry Sage

who was like the disturbed deep waters of the dissolution oceanand spoke calming words.

Kaala spoke

{WHY ARE YOU ANGRY?}

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O Sage! The realized ones havea thorough understanding about the existence of the world.

They do not get angry even if there is a reason to do so. How can they for no reason, get angry?!

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O Brahmin, you are a man of endless penance.We are just the keepers of rules.

O noble one, that is the reason you are worshipped,and you are indeed worthy of worship;

but not for any other consideration.

{WHO CAN DESTROY DESTRUCTION?}

s : s ||

O unwise one! Do not waste away the merit of your penance. I have not been burnt by even the great fires of dissolution!

Do you think you can burn me with your curse?

:

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Successive spheres of worlds have been eaten up;millions of Rudras have been swallowed up;

hosts of Vishnus have been consumed;O Sage! What are we not capable of!?

: ||

We are the eaters, O Brahmin! People like you are our food!This is just the rule that is followed;

this is not something we do because we desire so.

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The fire burns upwards; the waters flow downwards;the food goes towards the eater; the creation moves towards destruction!

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Sage, this form of mine is an expression of the Supreme Self. It shines in itself by itself from itself.

{I DO NOT ACT MOVED BY EGO OR DESIRE}

s ||

There is no doer here, nor an experiencer for one who has a faultless vision.

There are lots of doers with faulty vision.

{ I PERFORM ACTIONS WITHOUT ATTACHMENT}

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The doer-ship and non-doer-ship are both conceptsimagined by the ignorant who do not know the Truth;but you are a Seer!

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The flowers on the trees and the beings in the world come and go as per the results of Karma,

by reason of the rules set by the Creator at the end of Kalpa.

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When the moon reflected in the water moves,if you suggest a doer-ship for that action,

it is neither true nor false.The TIME acts likewise in the Creations.


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The mind in a state of complete delusionconceives the ideas of doer-ship and non-doer-ship in everythinglike seeing a snake in the rope.

{SEE WITH YOUR POWER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SON}

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Therefore, O Sage, do not get into the state of anger in this manner.See for yourself whatever has happened as it is.

{I HAVE NOT DONE ANY WILLFUL HARM TO YOUR SON}

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We are not after fame; nor are we tainted by arrogance.We are in full control of ourselves

and only follow the rules set by the Creator.

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Wise men always behave befitting their station in life and strictly observe the ordained rules of Brahma.

Never do they give in to the great darkness of arrogance.

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Those adept in the rules of action have ordained that one should perform his prescribed duties properly.

Do not perish by taking recourse to the deep dark sleep of ignorance.


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{WHERE DID YOU LOSE YOUR WISDOM?}

s ||

Where is your vision filled with knowledge!Whither the greatness! Whither the courage!

Though well acclaimed in the path chosen by you,why do you act deluded like a blind man?

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O Sage! Not analyzing wellthe states arising out of consequences of ones own actions,

O All-knower, why like an idiot you want to curse me?

{TWO TYPES OF BODIES}

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O Sage! Dont you know that all the embodied beings here have two types of bodies ?

One is the physical; other is termed as the mind.

s ||

The physical body is inert and prone to destruction for the least of reasons.

Mind is of a deluded natureand is corrupted by all sorts of conceptions.

s ||

Like the charioteer driving the chariot diligently,the mind somehow directs the body.


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{MIND ALONE ACTS: NOT THE BODY}

: ||

A child makes a clay-man and immediately destroys it and runs after some other thing.

Likewise mind goes after what is not thereby destroying what is there.

||

Mind alone is embodied person here.The action of the mind alone is considered as the action. Mind alone conceives the unreal world and gets bound;

it alone is freed from bondage.

: ||

This is what the body is like; these are the limbs; this is the head. In this manner mind alone invents terminologies for all shapes.

{MIND IS ALL THAT IS THERE}

s ||

Mind alone is the Jeeva because it experiences the life. Mind alone is the intellect because of the decisive nature.

Mind alone is Ahamkaara (ego) because of the thoughts of possessiveness. Mind alone attains different levels and is termed in various ways.

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Due to the Vaasanaa (latent desire) for a physical body,the mind perceives physical bodies as per its whim and fancy

and identifies with them.


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If the mind understands the Truth,then it renounces the identity with the bodyand attains the final beatitude.

{YOUR SON WENT ON A MIS-ADVENTURE IN HIS MIND}

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As you were absorbed in the trance of Nirvikalpa Samadhi,the mind of your son

rode the chariot of imaginationand went further and further away.

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It left the body of this Ushanas in the valley of Mandara and went to the palace in heavens

like a bird flying away from its nest.

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He enjoyed the company of the divine damsel Vishvaachee there for eight units of four-Yugas

like a bee enjoying a lotus.

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When the merits which led to the speedy fulfillment of his desires diminished,like the mist of illusion in a magical feat,

he fell on the earth along with her like a ripe fruit from the tree.


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He left the divine body of the heavens in the sky itself;took shelter in the body made of elements; and took birth in the earth.

{HE WENT THROUGH BOTH PLEASANT AND PAINFUL LIVES}

s ||

: : ||

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He became a Brahmin in Dashaarna and later a king in Kosala;then a fisherman in a huge forest; then a swan on the banks of River Ganges;

then a king in the dynasty of the Sun; a valorous king in Poundra;a preceptor in Shaalva; a prosperous vidyaadhara for a Kalpa;

and then he was a wise son of a Sage; a king in Madra; then again the son of a Sage. Now he is residing on the banks of River Samangaa and is named Vaasudeva.

: ||

Your son wandered being pulled by his own latent desires,in many other various types of painful births.

: ||

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In the mountains of Vindhya, he was a hunter in Kaikata;then he became a subordinate king in Souveera;

a donkey in Trigarta; a cluster of bamboo in the hunters colony;a beautiful deer in the wild forest; a serpent on the Taala tree;

a wood cock in the Tamaala tree.


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: ||

When he was with you, your son, a master of sacred chants

had recited the chants which bestow the life of a Vidyaadhara.So he became a great Vidyaadhara in the heavens for one Kalpa.

He was an adornment of the city of Gandharvasand was the beloved master of many Vidyaadhara girls.

At the end of the Kalpa, the twelve Suns appeared together and he turned to ashes like a moth burnt by fire.

||

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s || His Vaasanaa was afloat in that creation-less phase

like a bird without a nest.When again randomly the process of creation started,

in the mental space of Brahma,after the night of dissolution,

the Vaasanaa of your son moved by the force of Praanahas attained the state of a Brahminand has taken birth on this earth.

s ||

O Sage! Now this son of yours is a Brahmins son of the name Vaasudeva. He has conquered all the deluding senses.

He is born among wise ones and has mastered all scriptures.


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Having lived as a Vidyaadhara for one Kalpa,

now residing on the bank of River Samangaahe is performing penance.

: ||

He now has matted locks; wears a rosary garland;he has conquered the deluding senses.

He has been performing penance unperturbed for eight hundred years.

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O Sage, if you want to see him deluded and dreaming like this,open your eyes of understanding and observe him.

{Sage Bhrgu understood his mistake. He calmed his mind and meditated on the past events. He, by thepower of his penance co-joined the route his sons mind had taken and within a second saw all that his sonhad experienced through many lives. At last he saw him performing penance on the bank of RiverSamangaa in a Brahmins body. Shocked beyond words, he woke up in his body and opened his eyes. He

felt ashamed of his hastiness and stupidity. He profusely apologized to Lord Kaala.}


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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Vasishta spoke

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When the Supreme Lord of equal vision spoke like this,the Sage meditated on the desires of his son

through the power of his knowledge.

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Within a few moments,he saw by the light of his intellect,

the entire occurrences of his sons lifeas they reflected in the mirror of his intellect.

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Then Sage Bhrgu removed his mind from the bank of River Samangaaand entered his own body standing in the summit of Mandara Mountain,

in front of the form of Kaala.

: ||

His beautiful eyes bloomed in wonder. He looked at Kaala who was free of desires.The Sage free of desires spoke these words.

yogavasishta sthiti prakaranam part 1

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